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Chapter 4 By Punkerslut
The group (Spike, Lily, Tank, Kevin, and Freak) move on down the street. The camera stays with Gunner and Rat. RAT: Come on, follow me... GUNNER: All right, but we're working on a limited alcohol supply here. Rat takes gunner through some bushes, and over some fences, and finally arrives at a cemetery. The camera focuses on the face of Rat, while in the background, you can see Gunner jumping the fence (obviously drunk). The wind blows in her face, as leaves blow pass her. Her eyes look around. Everything turns bright white and then the camera is focused on Gunner and Rat laying on their backs looking up. Both of their jackets and "accessories" are off. RAT: The sky is so beautiful at this time of night. GUNNER: The sky is always beautiful. RAT: Yeah, but not like this. Gunner looks to Rat, and strokes her face; she smiles, looks at him, and they both look back to the stars. GUNNER: The cops arrest us for everything they can get us on. If you're homeless, technically, it is illegal to fall asleep. Of course, they call it, obstruction of a public passage, or disturbing the peace, or obstruction of the due process of law, or disrespecting a police officer. The way things are... just.... (makes an angry face and looks away) RAT: What are you trying to say? GUNNER: Look up tonight, and see the beautiful stars. Enjoy it now, get inspired by it now, because tomorrow, they'll make it illegal to look up. Rat smiles, looks to Gunner, and caresses his face; he looks at her, smiles, and they both look back to the sky. GUNNER: How old were you when you ran away? RAT: I was 11 years old. GUNNER: Shit, that's young. I've met a few ten year olds scurrying on the streets. They certainly can't drink like us, but they still enjoy it... What happened? RAT: My father would beat my mother up a lot. And one night, I told him to stop. He hit me in the face. His ring cut my cheek and left a scar. It was small, and it passed away by the time I was 14. You can barely notice it now. When I left, I took a plastic bag with a loaf of bread, a butter knife, and some peanut butter. I also took a sweater. God, I was so young, so stupid, so bold. GUNNER: Are you glad that you ran? RAT: (long sigh) Yeah, I am. I left a place that would have only been harmful to me. Here I am. A 16 year old female. I've been to every major American city, I've slept in every dumpster I found. Even if there was three inches of water in there, I've slept in dumpsters. Have enough alcohol, enough poison, that I wake up without remembering how I got there, but at least well rested. And now... (another sigh) It just seems, that I'm so far away from those library roof tops, those park benches. I'm a 16 year old girl, and I haven't heard from or seen my parents in 5 years. If they think I'm dead, it would probably make me feel better. Gunner pulls out a small bottle of vodka from his trench coat, which is lying by his side. GUNNER (obviously drunk, but enduring the dissociation of it): Here, take a swig. RAT: No, no, I don't want any. GUNNER: Please? Rat smiles at Gunner for a minute, and takes a big swig. She gives the bottle to him, and he goes closer to her, and bites her lower lip and slowly pulls on it. He then takes a big swig himself. GUNNER: Do you miss your family? RAT: Why? Do you miss yours? Gunner looks away and then looks back at Rat. RAT: When did you flee your place of residence? GUNNER: Well, I was an outcast at my high school. I was 15 years old, and fucking angry. I hated my parents. They disgusted me. I hated my school. It sickened me. They just wanted to keep the system living long and strong. The government lies so you can die. Police brutality is common. The people believe the lies that they are told by the media and their politicians... And it was more than just that. The kids in my classes were assholes. They fucking pissed me off. Camera focuses in on a class room of some obvious outcast drawing pictures of monsters in his notebook while the teacher is talking. Someone throws a spitball at him and he looks up, and sees a whole bunch of stupid kids all around laughing. "Who the fuck threw that?" he asks, and they all just keep laughing. Camera focuses back on Gunner. GUNNER: I couldn't connect with any school kid, or any family member. They all did their job well at making me feel alone in this Universe. So, I left, hoping maybe I would find one or two souls, who didn't care about the way I looked or where I came from. I left with my first travel brother, Danny. We were young, we were strong, and we were enchanted with the idea that there was some place beyond the sun set, where there were people just like us. I just never imagined it would be something like this. If I didn't find this place, the streets, I probably would have killed myself... But here I am. I'm now a drunk and a violent person. I remember my very first fight. I was drunk as fuck, feeling depressed about life, some motherfucker tried to jack my CD player, and I fucking punched him in the face. He fell back, and I punched him again, and when he hit the ground, I kept kicking him, again and again. RAT: I remember my first fight. Some guy tried to grab me, so I kicked him in the stomach. He fell over while his girlfriend jumped on my back, like a bitch. The camera focuses on the fight Rat has while she does the voice over. The camera shows some girl jumping Rat from behind. RAT, VOICE OVER: She was on my back, so I put my thumb in her eye. The camera shows Rat doing just that. RAT, VOICE OVER: She fell off, so I kept kicking her. The camera shows Rat doing just that, as blood starts to spurt out. The camera then goes back to Rat in the cemetery. RAT: What's your real name? GUNNER: Ha, what do you need that for? RAT: I'm just curious. GUNNER: It's Taylor. RAT: Ha, I can see why you didn't want to give it... So, how did you get the name Gunner? GUNNER: I was stealing shit from a convenience store with Danny. This was back when I was 16. Camera shows Gunner walking out of the store with Danny. A security guard comes out. SECURITY GUARD: Excuse me, sirs.... I need you both to step inside. GUNNER, VOICE OVER: So, I told the guard to... GUNNER: Fuck off, before my boot has a conversation with your face. GUNNER, VOICE OVER: The crazy fucker. I wouldn't ever expect it, but he says... SECURITY GUARD: Sorry to hear that. But I'll have to deal with it. GUNNER, VOICE OVER: He pulls out a gun and shoots twice at me. Camera shows Gunner running from two shots as the guard chases him a short distance. Then the camera goes back to the cemetery. GUNNER: He missed, thankfully, but at least we got the liquor we wanted. Danny told everyone the story, and he wasn't one to exaggerate, and everyone just started to call me Gunner. The name stuck. Jesus Christ... I haven't seen Danny since I was 16. We got attached to different people and just drifted apart, as I traveled with one gang to other cities and he traveled with another to others. And what about you? Your real name? RAT: It's Elizabeth Carson. But don't tell anyone. The cops can't know my real name. GUNNER: Why not? RAT: Come on, stupid. I'm 16 years old. You know what happens when cops find a minor? First, you serve whatever time for your current sentence, then you get shipped out in a crate to your parents, the last people I would want to see. GUNNER: Understood. How'd you get the name Rat? RAT: Well, I was at this squat, and I was drunk and sleepy. So I crash out on the ground. Camera shows Rat in the squat asleep, as a rat crawls over her. RAT, VOICE OVER: This fucking huge rat crawls over me, and I didn't even wake up. Some other kid saw it crawl on me. And he saw two others crawl on me. He didn't do anything, and I slept. Camera returns to the two in the graveyard. RAT: Next morning, I heard about it, and my name has been Rat ever since. Gunner kisses Rat on the neck and gets closer to her, resting on his side and not on his back. GUNNER: I'm sorry about your parents... You deserved better. I think you're sweet and beautiful. I love to be around you. She kisses him on the nose. The screen slowly fades to white as it shows the two walking down the street, each drinking a tall can of beer. Gunner grabs her hand and pulls her closer, kissing her on the lips, spilling a little beer, in that he is very drunk.
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