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Chapter 19 By Punkerslut
The camera fades out from the group in the squat. The song "8 Full Hours of Sleep" by Against Me! begins to play (with that bassy beginning). The camera now pans from one person to the next. It shows Sweep, curled up in a little ball, lying back to back with Gunner. Then the camera shows Gunner. And then it shows gunner with his arm wrapped around Freak. It keeps going, showing Kevin laying on his back, with a small pint of vodka in his palm on his chest. He moves his leg a little and moans, as his head moves a little bit back and forth, midnight squirming. Then it shows Lily, and Spike, curled up together, under several blankets, their clothes being used as a pillow to both of them. The camera zooms out and shows all of their bodies, just breathing and sleeping. All of a sudden, there's a banging. "BAM!! BAM!! BAM!!" Gunner rolls over and unconsciously speaks out, "Mom, open the door, okay...." Spike gets up immediately and looks out the window. SPIKE: Fuck! Spike moves over to Gunner and wakes him up. SPIKE: Cops are here with a battering ram! GUNNER: Shit! Gunner gets up and picks up Sweep. The little kid isn't even awake, and Gunner carries him to the closest window, opens the window and thrusts him out, holding on to the kid's jacket with strength. GUNNER: Fucking hang on, little guy! The cops are here! Fucking get on the roof! Gunner looks to the others, who are just barely waking up. GUNNER: Come on! You don't fucking want to wake up in prison tomorrow! Gunner ducks out the window. Him and Sweep are now on the roof. GUNNER (to sweep): Don't say a fucking word, no fucking matter what happens. Sweep nods. GUNNER: Grab on to my back, and don't let go for hell. Sweep grabs his back. Gunner makes a running jump and lands on a building next to the squat. GUNNER (to sweep): Okay, climb up. Sweep does so and hides on the building roof. Gunner climbs up. They duck down. Freak climbs out the window, and looks around, and then she snaps her fingers. GUNNER (in a hushed voice): oi oi! Freak looks over and makes a running jump to the adjacent building. She climbs over and ducks down. Lily climbs out and then so does Spike. GUNNER: Oi! Spike! Lily! They both see Gunner and do a running jump and catch the ledge. But Lily stands at the end of the squat. LILY: That's too far for me to jump. It's too far. Her eyes swell up with tears as she looks at the far distance. She just woke up thirty seconds ago and now she has to make this life and death decision. SPIKE: Come on, Lily! You can make it! Just go with your heart! Gunner holds out both of his hands over the ledge. GUNNER: Lily, just make a jump for us. Trust me, you can make it. I won't let you fall. Lily turns, walks a little, and does a running jump. Gunner catches her as she was sliding down the side of the building. GUNNER: Hold on, I got you.... Spike helps pull her up. Kevin emerges from the window. GUNNER: Kevin! As Gunner calls his name, Kevin jumps off the building. A police officer's voice, "Hey, you! Stop right there!" can be heard. The smashing of a car window echoes in the night, as Gunner grimaces, looking at the dark alley below him, all that he can see. Then he hears boots running. His face is relieved. GUNNER: Okay, I'm sure he got away. Every stay low for a few hours, okay? FREAK: Dodging cops is what I excelled at in college. Freak turns and shoves her tongue down Gunner's throat. GUNNER: Whoa, I have to breath somehow, you know... Hey, Sweep, you all right, you little bugger? SWEEP: I'm fine, droog. Just, fine as fine. Sweep looks a little broken up over the incident. SWEEP: It's just, it happened so fast, droog.... Sweep looks away, a little teary eyed. Gunner puts his hand on the back of his neck and pulls Sweep's forehead close to him. Sweep is still looking down. GUNNER: I would die before I let a pig put his hands on you. I'm sorry, honestly, if shoving you out that window as fast as I could scared the living fuck out of you. It would probably be worse if you ended up in an orphanage two thousand miles away from here. SWEEP: Don't be sorry.... Gunner curls up with Sweep, and Freak puts her arm around him from the other side. Spike and Lily curl up, very close to the others. The song "8 Full Hours of Sleep" is still playing. The camera moves up towards the sky, as the sun finally rises. That orange meniscus coats the world. The camera moves down, showing the crew all still asleep. Gunner makes a grumbling noise, and then covers his face (from the sun) with his jacket. The camera shows the group (Sweep, Gunner, Freak, Spike, and Lily) walking down the sidewalk at about noonish. SPIKE: So, where do you think a punk like Kevin would be in a city like this? GUNNER: Dude, I don't even remember a single flying fucking detail about last night, except the part where we went building hopping. SPIKE: We were avoiding the cops, man. We did not go building hopping. If we did, I would know it. Freak looks to Gunner. FREAK: I hope Kevin is all right. His flesh was so tender, his smile a gratification in itself. When I think of his orgasm I smile inside. GUNNER: Okay, you loved the kid, I get the idea. No need to delve into details like that. SWEEP: Oh, my god, that was way too descriptive. Sweep walks across the street to the other side. GUNNER: Haha, you're fucking around, aren't you, kid? Sweep walks back across the street to the group. SWEEP: Yeah, I am. (with a smile) LILY: Kevin was a friend to us all. But he's smart and he's brave. He would know what to do. SPIKE: There are damn near one million places in this city to sleep as a homeless kid. He probably could be creative enough to find one. GUNNER: Hey, now, he may be brave, sure, but nobody said anything about creativity.... SPIKE: (smiling) Hey, fuck you, man. As the crew is walking along, they come to a park bench where Kevin is asleep. GUNNER: Well, I'll be damned.... I told you he was uncreative. SPIKE: Hey, a park bench isn't cliche at least. GUNNER: Nah, I'm pretty sure sleeping on a park bench is cliche. SWEEP: I'm gonna have to side with Gunner on this one. SPIKE: Gunner, you should steal some whiskey breakfast for this bastadge. GUNNER: Have some heart, man. I'm going to steal him some malt liquor. I'll be right back. The camera follows Gunner as he walks to a small grocery store. As he walks in, the little bell at the top of the door rings, and the camera moves up , focusing on that bell. Ten seconds pass. The bell rings again, and the camera moves down, focusing on Gunner as he walks out and back to the group, a block down. He pulls out some orange juice. GUNNER: Is lazy ass still asleep? SPIKE: Well, I don't want to wake him. FREAK: Sleeping is perhaps the only time we are at peace. We shouldn't wake him. GUNNER: Well, uhhh, Sweep, you wake him. I couldn't imagine him being mad at you. SWEEP: No way, man. Doesn't he swing at whoever wakes him up? GUNNER: Fine, Lily, you do it. I got the orange juice, and no way would he ever hit a gir -- eehhhhh, actually, maybe you shouldn't. SPIKE: So what do we do? GUNNER: Well, since nobody here can wake him, I'm fucking going to sleep right here on the park, motherfucker. SPIKE: It's as good a plan as any. Kevin wakes. KEVIN: Huh? What the fuck? GUNNER: Hey, he's alive! Motherfucker, we worried about you last night. KEVIN: I looked all over this fucking city for you pieces of fucking shit. I thought you got nabbed up by the pigs or something. SPIKE: Nah, Gunner led us to safety, as we hopped over to the next building. He tried to call out to you, but you already jumped down. KEVIN: And booted in the side window of the police cruiser. Oh, good times, my comrades, good times. I ran like a motherfucker. GUNNER: Here, I got you some orange juice. It's still freezer cold. KEVIN: Fucking thanks, man... Jeeze, I can't even swallow I'm so dehydrated. Kevin takes a big swig of the orange juice. GUNNER: You know what happened to Tiff downstairs? KEVIN: Nah, why would I know? SPIKE: Well, seeing as you were the last one alive and unarrested out of the squat. KEVIN: True... I guess she got arrested. FREAK: Fuckers. Try to invoke their rule on those who don't want it. I bet they boarded up the goddamn place. GUNNER: It's possible. Now, we're like Sweep, out on the street after the cops busted our squat. LILY: Those bastards. SPIKE: Feelings the same as my girl's. KEVIN: Hey, now, I don't think one single person here would think that cops weren't bastards and pieces of shit. SWEEP: The man comes up with a valid point. GUNNER: Are we even arguing about it? And come on, Sweep. You can't even spell valid. You're still going through puberty. SWEEP: Shut the fuck up. (while laughing) Sweep makes a punch at Gunner. Weakling creature that he is, he does no real, physical harm. GUNNER: Well, the intelligent thing would be for us to look for a new squat. Gunner looks around and sighs. GUNNER: Spike, you do it. SPIKE: No, man.... make Kevin do it. FREAK: Make someone responsible do it. GUNNER: You only say that because it excludes you. FREAK: (smiling) I know. GUNNER: Eh... I'll look for a squat. SPIKE: All right, and meet us at the feeding tonight. GUNNER: Okay... Kevin, you wanna join me? KEVIN: I'll never leave my brother behind.
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