Cheerleaders On Fire

Happy Fridaze, crime slicksters. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where the girls are hot, the drinks are cold, and the hardboiled-pulp-noir action is non-stop, right here, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.

In Chapter 2 of Frankenstein In Love, teenage science nerd Frankie is accosted by his lovelorn next-door-neighbor Vita about playing Dungeons and Dragons later that night. In a hurry to go to school, he blows her off. Later at school, he sees his dream girl, head cheerleader Shayla ... who laughs in his face.



EXT. FRANKIE’S HOUSE - DAY
A small, plain four-bedroom colonial job
just like all the others on the street.

Frankie walks out the front door.
Starts walking over to his car,
a decrepit, old Volkswagon bus.
Fumbles with his keys.

FEMALE VOICE (O.C.)
Hey, Frankie.

He turns and look, sees --

VITA HECK (17), his next-door neighbor.
Dressed in black. Rail-thin.

Pale skin. Dark makeup. Wild hair.
Siouxsie Sioux has nothing on her.

FRANKIE
Hey, Vita. What’s up?

VITA
Finally fixed the motherboard.
Got two-hundred screaming gigs of power.

FRANKIE
(distracted)
That’s -- great.

He opens the car door.
Gets in. Starts the engine.
Vita walks over to the car.

VITA
A bunch of us are gonna play
Dungeons and Dragons tonight.
Can I pencil you in as the wizard?

FRANKIE
I haven’t played that
since we were kids.

VITA
I know, but hope springs eternal.
Play your cards right, and I’ll
let you loot and pillage.

FRANKIE
I’m sorry, Vita. I gotta go.
Don’t wanna be late for school. Sorry.

He drives away.
She SHOUTS after him.

VITA
I’ll let you be dungeon master --

EXT. SUBURBAN HIGH SCHOOL - DAY
Out of a John Hughes movie.
Old and stately. Manicured lawn.
Manicured kids from good homes.

The joint’s abuzz with dozens of
STUDENTS on their way to class.

Frankie walks with his friend
JOSH BOHNER (17), small and intense.
Makes Christopher Mintz-Platz look macho.

JOSH
You mean it WORKED?

FRANKIE
Yeah. I tweaked the enzyme,
stripped the double helix,
swapped out the nucleiods,
then zapped it with ten thousand watts.

JOSH
That’s amazing.
Do you realize what this MEANS?

FRANKIE
That I’m a genius?

JOSH
Yeah. You’re gonna be rich and famous.
(sees something)
Uh-oh. Here come the archetypes.

A trio of CHEERLEADERS
glide by the boys.

Three scoops of blonde
bathed in golden sunlight.

Frankie sighs. Stares at --

SHAYLA PETRIE (17),
the head cheerleader.

She sees Frankie staring.
Whispers to her friends.
They ERUPT in laughter.

FRANKIE
(whispers)
Shayla Petrie.

JOSH
I can’t believe you
have the hots for her.
She just laughed in your face.

FRANKIE
I don’t care. She’s perfect.

JOSH
Hello? Reality check?
She’s WAY out of your league.
(tugs on his sleeve)
C’mon, we’re gonna be late for chem lab.

They start walking inside.

FRANKIE
I would KILL to be with her.

JOSH
Careful what you wish for.

SITTING UNDER A NEARBY TREE
We see Vita, watching them.
Writing something in a notebook.

CLOSE ON --

The book.

We see a drawing of
CHEERLEADERS ON FIRE.

Night Of The Living Rodent

Hey there, crime kids. Happy Friday. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where your most violent fantasies become sins of the flesh, right here, where the hardboiled action is non-stop, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.

In Chapter 1 of FRANKENSTEIN IN LOVE, science genius nerd Frankie Stein brings a dead rat back to life in his secret basement lab ...


INT. SUBURBAN HOME - BASEMENT - NIGHT
Some cheesy 80’s hair metal ballad
plays on an I-pod stereo.
If I Close My Eyes Forever, indeed.

Your classic wood-panelled rec room.
Now a science lab STUFFED
with a maze of equipment.

Seated at a workbench is FRANKIE STEIN (17).
‘Nerd’ would be compliment.

Think Michael Cera
divided by Jessie Eisenberg.

He’s wearing thick gloves,
sleeves and a big apron.

Frankie looks at a dead RAT
lying on the table, recent roadkill.
Thinking. He nods.

Leans over, starts attaching a series
of electrical cables connected to
suction cups on the rat’s head,
chest, arms and legs. Nods.

Turns to a laptop.
Starts PUNCHING in data.

THE MONITOR
Shows a series of graphs that read
HEART, LUNG and BRAIN.
Each reads zero percent below them.

FRANKIE
Smiles grimly.

FRANKIE
Rat-tastic.

He picks up a syringe.
SQUIRTS it. Looks at the rat.

FRANKIE
You’re going to feel a small pinch.

And INJECTS it.
Frankie then turns to a TRANSFORMER
that the cables are attached to.

He starts flipping a series of switches.
We hear a HUMMING sound.

A NEEDLE
On the transformer starts
moving from left to right.
It approaches the red zone --

FRANKIE
FLIPS DOWN a metal bar, and --

THE RAT
Gets ZAPPED with electricity. BUZZZ.

THE GRAPHS
All JUMP to ONE HUNDRED PERCENT.

THE RAT
BOLTS UP in the air.
LEAPS onto the floor.

Starts DARTING around the room,
looking for an escape.

Frankie watches him.
Then realizes.

FRANKIE
I didn’t close the DOOR.

It goes to the stairs,
starts FLYING up to the first floor.
He CHASES after it.

INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
Total suburbia brought to you
by the color beige, dimly lit
by the light coming from
the various appliances.

The rat RACES through the kitchen,
ollowed by Frankie.

It gets to a dog door flap
in the back door.
PUSHES through it.

FRANKIE
Shit.

He reaches for the doorknob.

FEMALE VOICE (O.C.)
Frankie, is that you?

The lights FLIP ON.
Frankie’s mother JULIE (40’s)
stands there in her bathrobe.

Once a great beauty, now
a bit washed-out-looking.

But still appealing,
even fresh-scrubbed.
Frankie lets go of the knob.

JULIE
Everything okay?
I heard you running.

FRANKIE
Yeah. I was just coming
up from the lab.

JULIE
Why are you up so late?
It’s after midnight.

FRANKIE
Uh -- I was --

JULIE
Never mind.
One of your experiments, right?

FRANKIE
Uh, yeah -- actually.

JULIE
Have a seat, boy genius.
I’ll fix you a glass of warm milk.

FRANKIE
Could I, uh -- get a beer?

JULIE
Silly boy.

She throws a hand towel at him.

They Shoot Rednecks, Don't They?

Hey there, crime kids. Happy Saturdaze. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where your most violent fantasies become sins of the flesh, right here, where the hardboiled action is non-stop, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.

In the final chapter of Ridgeway, Cate escapes from the law by running up a gravel road that -- in a stroke of blind luck -- leads up the mountain right to her house -- where she collapses, then finds a 'special treat' courtesy of Dixie Mafia chief Big Boy ...


EXT. MOUNTAIN RIDGE ROAD - NIGHT
The cops get out. SLAM the doors.
witch on HIGH-BEAM FLASHLIGHTS.

Start heading down the steep canyon,
sweeping big, bright beams of light
through the woods.

AT THE BOTTOM
Cate stares at the dead bear.
In shock. Soaked to the bone.

The rain starts letting up.
Sees the lights approaching.

Starts high-tailing it up the
hill in the opposite direction.

THE COPS
Start racing down the hill,
flashlights bobbing.

GRAB
Somebody’s down there.

RADY
STOP, POLICE.

They get to the bottom.
See the dead bear. Stop.

RADY
Holy shit.

GRAB
Go get ‘em.
I’ll call it in.
Catch up with ya later.

Rady nods.
Starts heading up the hill.

CATE
Huffs and puffs.
Makes it to the top.

Out of breath. Turns around. Looks down.
Sees Rady’s light heading her way.

CATE
Shit.

Pushes through the foliage.
Arrives at a two-lane paved road
that snakes around in a tight U,
then heads up the hill.

An ancient Parks and Recreation
building sits at the turn, lit by
a lone, Victorian-era street lamp.

She looks up the long road
that snakes up the mountain.

CATE
Fuck that.

RACES toward the building,
just as Rady appears on the road.

Sees her go behind the building.
Pulls out his gun.

RADY
STOP, POLICE.

GRABS his radio --
as he RUNS after her.

RADY
Got ‘em cornered.
Call for backup.
I’m at the bottom of Ellis Grade,
in front of the parks and
recreation building.

He approaches the side
of the building. Stops.

RADY
I know you’re back there.
If you come out nice and easy,
you won’t get hurt.
(listens)
Back-up’s on the way.
Might as well give yourself up.

Cate comes RACING around the corner.
CRACKS Ray on the head with
the flat side of a shovel.
He goes down, THWUMP.

RUNS toward the tiny
parking lot in back.

EXT. PARKS AND RECREATION BUILDING - PARKING LOT - NIGHT
A small affair with a gravel road
heading up the mountain behind it.

Cate runs over.
Looks at the sign.

CATE
I don’t fucking believe it.

EXT. FULLER STREET - NIGHT
Spooky in the dim light coming
from houses at the top of
a ridge on either side.
A siren WHOOPS.

Cate JUMPS off the road,
tumbles down into a gully,
just as another POLICE SUV comes
ROARING by in a CRUNCH of gravel.

She climbs back up.
Sees it’s gone.
Then starts RUNNING.

EXT. FULLER STREET - MOUNTAIN TOP - NIGHT
Cate makes it to the top, exhausted.
Sees her house on the corner.
Starts trudging toward it.

INT. KAYLA’S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - NIGHT
Cate lurches to the sink.
Splashes cold water on her face.

Leans against the counter.
Every muscle in her body on fire.

Gingerly walks over
to the bedroom doorway.

Sees the lights are out.
And Kayla, sound asleep.

Goes back to the kitchen counter.
Grabs a bottle of whiskey.

Pours a shot.
Downs it. Pours another.
Does a third for good measure.
Wipes her mouth.

Grabs the bong.
FIRES it up.

Sucks down a big hit.
Holds it in a long beat.

Then BLOWS out the smoke. Sighs.
Grabs the bong. The bottle.
Shot glass. Pads into --

INT. KAYLA’S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Plops down on the couch.
Pulls out the wad of bills.
Starts counting it.

A small glassine envelope
filled with white powder falls out.
Hits the table with soft thwap.

CATE
Holy shit.

She dumps it onto the coffee table.
Cuts a big, fat line.

Leans over. SNORTS it.
Her eyes grow wide. Then glassy.

CATE
That’s not coke --
FADE TO BLACK

Rocky Mountain High

Happy Saturdaze, crime slicksters. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where the girls are hot, the drinks are cold, and the hardboiled-pulp-noir action is non-stop, right here, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.

In the next-to-last chapter of RIDGEWAY, after shooting Dixie Mafia chief Big Boy's former employee in the head, Cate hears sirens approaching and must escape down the mountain during a sudden, violent thunderstorm ...


EXT. MOUNTAIN ROAD - NIGHT
Cate walks down the hill,
boots CRUNCHING on the gravel road.

Hears a siren WHOOP-WHOOP.
Then sees red lights FLASHING.

Starts trying to RUN back up,
but quickly gets winded from
years of too many cigarettes.

She turns, RUNS into the woods --
just as a COP CAR comes
RACING up the road.

EXT. MOUNTAIN SLOPE - NIGHT
Cate DASHES across the steep hillside
through the underbrush and trees. Stops.

Catches her breath. Looks around.
Listens to the crickets CHIRPING.

She hears a twig SNAP.
WHIRLS AROUND.
Sees a FAMILY OF DEER.

Momma, Poppa and two young ones.
Staring at her.

CATE
(whispers)
Wow.

They DASH OFF into the darkness.

EXT. MOUNTAIN GORGE - NIGHT
Cate stands at the top of a gorge.
Looks down at the valley far below.

A woodpecker TAP-TAP-TAP-TAPS
like a machine gun.

CATE
SHIT.

She JUMPS, then TUMBLES
down the steep hill --

and CRACKS into a tree at the bottom.
Gets up. Brushes herself off.

Hears a low GROWL.
A GIANT BLACK BEAR
emerges from the foliage.

Flashes HUGE WHITE TEETH.
She stiffens. Shaking with fear.
This ain’t Gentle Ben.

They stare at each other a long beat.
The beast suddenly REARS UP
on its hind legs, ROARS --
and starts CHASING her.

She SCREAMS. Starts climbing
the tree like she’s on fire.

GRABS at a branch above her,
but it SNAPS off.

The beast SWIPES at her
with a meaty paw.

She tries to WHACK it with the branch,
but it GRABS it away from her. GROWLS.

She GRABS another branch.
Pulls herself up -- just as the bear
SINKS IT TEETH into her boot.
Cate CRIES OUT.

Thunder BOOMS. Lightning CRACKS.
It starts POURING RAIN.

Lightning CRACKS again, illuminating
the bear’s giant teeth and wild, red eyes.

Cate KICKS his head with her other foot,
causing him to ROAR and let go for a moment.

She reaches around.
Pulls the gun from her waistband.

SHOOTS him in the head.

BANG. BANG. BANG.
He SHRIEKS in pain.
Hits the ground with a sickening THUMP.

EXT. MOUNTAIN RIDGE ROAD - NIGHT
A POLICE SUV slowly comes down
the gravel road, search light
sweeping through the woods.
Pulls to a stop.

IN THE CAR
A pair of local COPS exchange glances.

OLDER, FAT COP
Gunshots.

YOUNGER, BEARDED COP
(points)
Came from down there.

OLDER, FAT COP
Fuck it, Rady.
We’re gonna get all wet.

RADY
Gotta dead body back there, Grab.

EXT. MOUNTAIN RIDGE ROAD - NIGHT
The cops get out. SLAM the doors.
Switch on HIGH-BEAM FLASHLIGHTS.

Start heading down the steep canyon,
sweeping big, bright beams of light
through the woods.

The Dixie Mafia

Hey there, crime kids. Happy Friday. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where your most violent fantasies become sins of the flesh, right here, where the hardboiled action is non-stop, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.

In Chapter 24 of Ridgeway, local redneck mob boss Big Boy takes Cate to a remote cabin high atop the mountain, where he makes her a deal she can't refuse ...


EXT. OZARK MOUNTAINS - GRAVEL ROAD - DUSK
A brand-new red double-dually PICKUP TRUCK
comes BARRELING up the road
in a CRUNCH of gravel.

An ARMADILLO lazily
skitters across the gravel.

The truck ROARS by and SQUISHES it,
CRACKING its shell with a CRUNCH.

EXT. MOUNTAIN CABIN - DUSK
A shack that looks like it’d
fall over if you sneezed on it.

The gravel road runs by it,
then disappears into a tunnel
of trees across the mountain ridge.

Dim light spills out
from behind dingy curtains.

The truck’s doors OPEN.
Out steps Big Boy and Cate.

INT. MOUNTAIN CABIN - NIGHT
Dimly lit by a kerosene lantern.
We see Hoyt, Jib --
and the Kid tied to a chair.

Badly beaten. Covered in blood.
Mouth a ruined mess.

Teeth litter the floor.
Softly whimpering.

Big Boy and Cate walk in.
Jib looks at Big Boy. Grins.

JIB
Finally told us.

Hoyt stares at Cate.
Smacks his lips.

HOYT
Who’s the cunt.

BIG BOY
New business associate.

Big Boy pulls a thick, banded
wad of bills from his pocket.
Holds it in front of Cate’s face.

BIG BOY
Five grand.
Like I promised.

Her eyes light up.
She reaches for it --
but he SNATCHES it away.

Pulls out a GUN.
Offers it to her.

BIG BOY
First you gotta shoot this
piece of shit in the head.

CATE
But what about --

BIG BOY
This man stole from me.
Now he needs to pay the piper.
Do you want the fucking money or not?
(off her look)
You want to write my movie,
you gotta be IN my movie.
(holds up the cash)
Go a long way round here --

She looks at the Kid.
Then at Jib and Hoyt.

Then the money.
Takes the gun in trembling hands.

BIG BOY
Atta girl.

Walks over to the Kid.
Slowly raises it. Pauses.

Looks at Big Boy. He nods.
She takes a deep breath --

Takes aim -- and BANG,
SHOOTS him in the head.

Brains, skull and blood SPRAY the wall.
Big Boy TOSSES her the cash.

BIG BOY
She shoots, she scores.
(off her look)
Londell sent you to
get the dirt on me.
Now the dirt’s on you.
(big grin)
You just did a hit
for the Dixie mob.

A SIREN starts WAILING in the distance.

BIG BOY
Whoops. Gotta go.
(winks)
Don’t spend it all
in once place now, ya hear?