Road Works
a screen play
by Gregory Gusse
Act1
Scene 1
At a country day school in late summer in the mid-western hill country a small red headed boy about 4 years old pushes a tricycle up a steep asphalt paved embankment towards a short chain link fence. He turns and mounts his vehicle, a wide eyed smile crosses his face. He looks down below on the children playing about…the sounds of the children playing, giggling, shouting. He sees but ignores a nun in habit crossing the asphalt like a giant black winged beast flying towards him screaming “Nooooo….Luke!” He pushes off tiny feet flying on the peddles…the trike tips to the side Luke flys off forward head first arms stretched like flying….a brilliant blinding ethereal blue light….
Scene 2
Eight identical nuns are gathered bent over around the boy laying on a white sheeted table like an operating table or altar. They all have long thin faces and are wearing sun glasses that make them look like the “Grays” of close encounters . From each nuns neck hangs a large silver cross, each just touches the table so that a cross is precisely at the boys feet and head and three on each side. …from above the table appears framed in deep black frill with the child surrounded by bright white….as we move in we see the child’s expressionless face, calm but motionless, his eyes are blinking slowly…a deep almost whispered chorus prayer “Luke…Luke….Luke”
Scene 3
(Tim Hardin “Reason to Believe”)
Another flash of brilliant blue light… a tall, very, very thin boy about 17 years old is standing 2/3 back to us looking sky ward to the North East. He is wearing jeans with a cuff roll, black loggers boots, a Pendleton wool shirt rolled to his elbows. He has long auburn hair in a ponytail and an old park ranger style hat dangling on his back, a red bandana around his neck. A rucksack is about 6 feet away like it was dumped there as an after thought. He is standing beside a two-lane desert road…the sky is perfectly clear and star filled. What appears to be a shooting star, but too bright, streaks across the sky….
He rubs his butt….”Damn wish they’d quit the stupid ‘mind’ probes”
He grabs his rucksack and heads for the highway…a sign in the background says AMBOY 25 miles this section of road is perfectly straight and down hill for as far as can be seen fading into the distance….the road sort of glows in the full moon. Thousands of head and taillights can be seen….
Scene 4
An early fifties Ford stops turquoise and white…Luke gets in the back…2 brothers who “look” like escaped cons are in the front seat…2 six packs and a floor full of cans…the passenger brother picks a large pepperoni off the seat and hits it into his hand like a prison bull with a baton…
(Marty Robbins “
“Where ya goin?”
“No place in particular”
“Got money?”
“ think I have about $2.30 left.”
“You ain’t worth robbin’…guess you’ll have to earn your way. This roads a gold mine”
Scene 5
The car comes to a screeching halt ….dust flying…
Brother 1 says
“Give me the flash light and that tool box”
Parked on the side of the road is a ’63 Chevy Station wagon hood up…4 kids are screaming in the back…bouffant wife is in passenger seat, husband in white shirt tie and pocket protector crew cut “engineer” …though its night its about 110 and sweat is pouring off the “dude”
Brother 1…”you want a hand?”
Dude disgustedly….”Sure! I can’t figure what’s wrong.”
Brother 1…takes off the air cleaner
Brother1 to dude….”Get in and crank it over”
Dude cranks away and away…
Brother 1…”whoa that’s enough!”
To brother 2 “get me that bag o’ ice out o the cooler in the trunk”
Brother 1 packs the ice around the fuel pump and lines …scene shifts about 5 minutes
Brother 1 puts down the hood …Brother 2 is standing in front of the car headlights clearly show his pistol in his belt
(Hank Williams “Your Cheatin Heart is coming from the Ford”
Brother 1 “Okay Mister starter up…” engine starts
“That’ll be fifty bucks for the service …and the ice…lets see paid.. thurty-nine sence but there ain’t none round here..so ten bucks be fair…60 dollars be on your way”
Dude “I thought you were giving me a hand!”
Brother 1 “Did didn’t I? You one of those fuckers expect everything to be free?” Brother 2 moves his hand to his gun
Dude “I don’t have 60 dollars on me” has wallet in his hand
Brother 1 grabs it..taking the money out…counts it ”Thirty-eight bucks!” throws the wallet back at the dude
Dude…”I’ve got to have some money for gas!”
Brother1 “you ain’t even finished payin’ us yet. How bout your wifes weddin ring?”
Dude “Here take my watch that cost $125 dollars”
Brother2 grabs it “It’ll pawn 25 I figure”
Brother 1 throws three dollars at the dude…”Your change sir, thanks”
Walking back Brother1 gives brother2 10 dollars and Luke 10 dollars
Brother 1 “Your share…the watch and the 5 bucks is for the car and tools and ice and stuff”
Scene 6
Cruising down the highway
Luke.”so where you guys from?”
Together “Tenessee”
Brother 1 “Johnny here been in the Pen,
Luke “oh…”
Brother2 hands Luke a beer…
Car comes to a stop behind a pickup…a pretty girl 25 or so, standing looking at the right rear tire…flat has spare leaning against the truck scissor jack is twisted metal
Brother 2…”your turn kid…whats your name?
Luke “Luke…and you guys?”
Brother 1…”Johnny there, and me Absolom, Abby”
Luke gets out walks up to the girl..
“Hi, could you use a hand? it’ll cost you”
“yea my jacks broken…”
Luke walks back to the car…
“keys…” and opens the trunk gets the jack and four way lug wrench leaves trunk open….
Luke changes the tire….
“you owe those guys you know…”
“oh shit” she says,”….I haven’t got any money…well 5 bucks”
“that’s a start but you better start thinking about what you have to trade…”
Brother2 gets out his pistol quite apparent
“What’s the problem?”
Luke “She only has five dollars”
Brother2 “Don’t look better than a 10 dollar hooker. But somethin’ better than nothin’”
To the girl “give the kid the 5 bucks…an’ come on back and work off the rest”
Girl and Brother2 go off to the back seat of the Ford…Luke lets down the tailgate of the pickup and sets down pulls out his harmonica
Scene shifts and girl is walking back to the truck….straightening her bra gives Luke a big smile and says
“have a nice night cutie.”
Luke closes the tailgate and heads back toward the car.
Scene 7
Luke wakes up in the back seat the brothers are counting money
“280 bucks.. not bad.. plenty to get home”
Brother1 “Hey kid, we’re gonna go
up to
Car pulls to the side of the road…its pitch dark …nowhere….
Luke opens the door
Brother1 “Good travels kid…stay outta jail ain’t no fun…shit here have another ten.”
Luke…”thanks…sure learned a lot tonight. And I’m rich!”
Car drives off tail lights vanish…
Hear strange sounds and coyotes howling …black screen
Scene 8
Scene 89
A fifty to sixty year old man is standing at a truck stop in Kingman Arizona dusty black cowboy boots, jeans cuff rolled, floppy fidora, Lee storm rider jacket cuffs rolled back…big red Peterbuilt conventional pulls up fellow climbs in the cab throws rucksack on the floor….young Louisiana truck driver says…” Where ya headed?”
Old timer “No place in particular”
Driver…”where you been?”
(hank snow “I’ve been everywhere” comes on the radio}
Old Timer just smiles at the driver
Scene 90
Old Timer is sitting on guardrail by the railroad crossing on Foothill in Cucamonga… pulls out harmonica…he looks across the road…
Black and white flashback
Luke is standing by the road dust blows eucalyptus trees in the wind, big Thomas Winery Sign “21 Mello Varieties”
bright blue flash
The End
(Bobby Darin Route 66)