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Chapter 1 By Punkerslut A very malt liquor-inspired story...
A black screen, and the following words appear in the center: "Every day was a battle in the war of survival. We never let them have one inch without giving them a black eye and a bruised face. It was still a struggle, though, no matter how hard we fought." Ten seconds and then it turns all black, and the camera goes to the first scene... A small store in the inner city -- night time. Gunner, wearing tattered pants that end at his mid shin with 14 eyelet boots and a black trench coat, is examining the products on the shelf, trying not to look suspicious. He takes something big off, looks at at, and puts it back. He moseys along, suspiciously, careless, looking about for eyes now and then as he tries to appear natural. A security guard looks around with weary boredom. Then he walks out of the store and an alarm goes off, and he starts running as the security guard runs after him... Camera focuses in on Gunner's face as he turns and runs down the street... The song "Fuck With Fire" by Planes Mistaken for Stars plays. Camera shifts from Gunner's face to 10 or 20 feet to his back and side, to show him running from a security guard. GUNNER, VOICE OVER: I've been running all my life. Gunner runs passed a mounted cop who takes notice to Gunner, but does nothing, until the security guard appears and yells, "Get him!" The mounted officer turns and starts through scattered crowds of people after Gunner. Gunner gets to an alley that's blocked off by police barricades. He puts his hand on the railing and jumps over, still running. The mounted officer tries to go around the following block to cut off Gunner. Camera on the ground, looking up as Gunner runs through the alley and inadvertently kicks an empty beer can... GUNNER, VOICE OVER: Everyday is just another struggle. You make it or you don't. Gunner avoids the mounted officer and the security guard by zig-zagging through the different blocks of the city. He rushes through crowds of people, as they make remarks, "Someone's in a hurry," and, "Hey, watch it!" He ducks into a small alley between two houses about 5 feet wide. The houses are run down, old, many of them boarded up, and those that aren't have metal bars to protect the doors and windows. The mounted cop runs down the street, and stops in the middle, looking around. Gunner stands in the alley, his back against the wall of one of the buildings, as he watches the mounted cop. Only a small imprint of Gunner can be seen in the extreme darkness of the alley, as he is panting heavily. The horse lets out a hiss, and the cop leaves. POPS: You lost, sonny? Pops, an obviously homeless, old, black man confined to a wheel chair, was already in the alley, not to Gunner's notice. GUNNER: Holy fuck, Pops. You scared the shit out of me. Gunner, still panting, pats Pops on the shoulder. GUNNER: You doing all right, Pops? POPS: Ha, there's never a day I'm not. Gunner pulls out a bag of almonds from his trench coat inside and holds it to Pops' chest, as Pops grabs it. GUNNER: Here, Pops. Have some dinner. Gunner already starts down the alley as Pops looks back to say something... POPS: Thanks, Gunner. Gunner travels to the back of one of the houses and knocks on the door in a specific pattern and yells "oi!" A small voice whispers, "Who is it?" GUNNER: It's me, Gunner. An older, black woman (Tiff) opens the door. She hurriedly rushes him in. TIFF: Come in! Come in! Gunner walks in and collapses on one of the sofa chairs, missing its cushions and pillows. Tiff rushes to put the barricade back on the door. The floor has scattered papers about it in this back room. Gunner is still catching his breath. TIFF: What's happenin', baby? GUNNER: I bring gifts. (said with a smile) Gunner pulls out a bottle of champagne from the inside of his trench coat and hands it over to Tiff. She gives him a wide smile. Gunner finally catches his breath. GUNNER: Anyone else here? TIFF: See for yourself. Gunner heads up the stair case, passing the living room, which is completely full of garbage. Newspapers, plastic from wrappings, beer bottles, soda bottles, hard liquor bottles, tin cans, some tattered clothing, a tire, across the area. He heads up stairs, yelling out "OI!" And hears a group of people yelling out "OI!" Camera focuses on his face for a few seconds as he smiles and goes into the bedroom. GUNNER: Almost got caught by the police again. KEVIN (with a smile): Who won? Gunner smiles and pulls out a bottle of vodka from his trench coat. GUNNER: Who wants to toast? SPIKE: To us, the most miserable group of squatters that ever lived! FREAK (almost agitated, but lovingly): Now give it an OI OI, you fucking bastards. LILY and KEVIN: Oi oi! Gunner opens the bottle of vodka and passes it to Lily. Lily takes the bottle and pours some in the mouth of Kevin, whose head is in her lap, as he lays down and she sits up. The camera is just on Kevin, and female hands (with a lot of rings and some ornate tattoos) pouring the bottle into his mouth. He takes several gulps of vodka and then chokes a little on it, his tolerance for the burn having been reached at that point. The words "Kevin" appear at the bottom of the screen. For two seconds, the camera is looking at his mugshot and wrap sheet. He has various charges: Criminal Trespassing, Petty Theft, Assault, Battery, Breaking an Entering. Then the camera goes back to looking at Kevin. He looks up adoringly at Lily, who is still out of camera view. Then the camera moves up to Lily as she looks down on her lover, lovingly. She takes a swing of the vodka as the word "Lily" appears at the top right of the screen. Quickly, for two seconds, the camera (moving and spinning slowly) looks at her mug shot and wrap sheet, and for two seconds again, looking at her laying down on the floor of her cell (this part of the film fast forwarded) as she lifts her hand, scratches her arm, and places her hand back on the floor again. The camera then goes back to her face in the squat. She passes the vodka to Kevin, who is sitting on an empty milk crate, leaning and hunched over a little. He takes the bottle, takes a swig, stops, takes a breather, another swig, stop, breather, and another final swig. During his first swig, for two seconds, the camera cuts to him standing alone in a park, holding a sign (downwards, not up in the air) that says "Fuck Your Laws" in bold red letters, and he has a look of apathy. He is outfitted in a leather jacket with a hundred studs and ten patches, as well as a mohawk. At his second swig, the word "Kevin" appears at the bottom center of the screen. After the third swig, a look of disgust is on his face as he turns to his side and holds out the bottle to Freak, as she looks up from sewing and takes it. She takes on big swig on the bottle and once complete, shakes her head really fast. While swigging, the word "Freak" appears at the top left of the screen. As she shakes her head, the camera cuts to her curled up in a ball on the roof top of a department store at night time naked, for two seconds, shivering, and then for two seconds, the camera scrolling left to right of a newspaper article with the headline, "Naked homeless person found on rooftop." Then it cuts back to the squat, as she stop shaking her hand, looks up to Gunner, and hands him the bottle of vodka. As Gunner looks at the bottle of vodka, the camera cuts to a convenience store security camera watching him, and then the main camera zooms in and sees him pocket something. Then back to the squat, looking at Gunner, as the word "Gunner" appears at the bottom left of the screen, he takes one big swig and kills the bottle. GUNNER, VOICE OVER: It's all one big happy family. Credits roll over mugshots, newspaper clippings, security camera footage, or just scenes where gutter punks are. For mugshots, the haircuts are: spiked all over, mohawk (spiked and then let down), skinhead, devil lock, shaved all over except the back. Some have tattoos: a ban sign over a Nazi Swastika on the neck or chest, "Crass," "Fuck the Law," a squatter symbol, an anarchy symbol. For outfits: leather jackets, shirtless, tattered clothing altogether, lots of studs. For piercings: eyebrow, nostril, nose top, lip. This is at least descriptions of those in the mugshots. For newspaper clipping, it will be more varied. One headline reads, "Gutter Punk Season!" The pictures in the newspapers are gutter punks on the sidewalk with above mentioned physical traits. Other headlines directly involving gutter punks read, "Cop Assaulted by Gutter Punks" -- "Gutter Punks Strong Arm Convenience Store." And then indirectly involving Gutter Punks, "Homelessness of the Youth on the Rise" -- "Are your children in bed at night or on the streets?" -- "Unemployment Soars" -- "Where'd the economy go?" -- "Spare change? Change your life, human waste!" For security camera footage, in one scene, five gutter punks walk into a convenience store, each of them grabbing as much hard liquor as they can hold, and just walking out, while the one security guard looks phased. Another with another convenience store, where two gutter punks walk in and the manager comes and yells at them, telling them to go away; one goes away, walking out the door, while the other punches the manager in the face, then running. Finally, one with a different convenience store, where one gutter punk comes running into the store, and disappears around the shelves out of sight, then another gutter punk comes in and disappears behind the same shelves, then the first gutter punk comes running out, closely followed by the second (playing tag). One more, of someone's back (a leather jacket back with studs) being smashed against a store window, on security footage. For photos of just gutter punks, they're on the sidewalk spanging ("spare change?"), climbing in through windows in the ghetto, walking down the street in a pack (carrying batons or chains casually), two gutter punks with their torsos in a dumpster while their legs stick out over the side (camera only shows their back sides), and then those same two gutter punks completely inside the dumpster right side up, one of them holding a fog horn that has a McDonald's sandwich wrapper on it (he found it in the dumpster), and finally, as the last scene in the credits, the gang (Gunner, Kevin, Lily, Spike, and Freak) sitting on some benches outside of a convenience store, just hanging out. Slowly, the photograph becomes real and begins the acting in the movie...
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