The Town Hall Archives

Screech · Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2004 4:24 pm Post subject:

Continue!

Kanimoto · Posted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:37 pm Post subject:

Scenes 14-16

SCENE FOURTEEN ― Odyssey Children’s Hospital
WHIT
Oh. You two got here fast.

ELIJAH
Dad called home from work and told us to meet him at the hospital. Is he here?

MR. MAXWELL
Sure am.

ELIJAH
Dad!

SIMON
Where’s Dustin?

MR. MAXWELL
Intensive Care.

SIMON
(incredulous) Intensive Care? What in the world... (takes a deep breath) What happened?

MR. MAXWELL
Something that I knew was going to happen ever since we left Crailtown.

SIMON
What do you mean, Dad?

MR. MAXWELL
(takes a deep breath) Remember when Dustin had to have that operation to remove the infected part of his spinal cord? Well, doctors told me that no matter what, Dustin would never be rid of the poison. He’d always be weak and small for his age. They said that there was a fifty-fifty chance that his...ailment...could reappear...and spread. Evidently, that’s just what happened.

ELIJAH
Oh, man.

SIMON
But why? If Dustin was going to get sick again, why didn’t it happen before?

MR. MAXWELL
I think that the shock of seeing Turner Takuya again caused it.

ELIJAH
(stunned) Turner Takuya? Oh, no...

SIMON
He’s...in this town?

MR. MAXWELL
Apparently, yes.

ELIJAH
How do you know all this, Dad?

MR. MAXWELL
I’ve been doing a little...research with your cousin Richard. It's one of the reasons he came to visit.

WHIT
Excuse me for interrupting, but I still don’t understand what this is all about. Who is this Turner Takuya, and what did he have to do with Dustin in the first place?

MR. MAXWELL
Well...you’ve already seen how Turner got to Dustin...I might as well tell you it all. It started four years ago, when Dustin was only five. We were living in Crailtown at the time, and my wife Lara and my son Troy were still alive. Now, Crailtown wasn’t exactly the richest of places, but we managed to live comfortably for the most part. Then my nephew Richard came to visit...and things started happening fast.

ELIJAH
Yeah, almost the day after Richard came, one Dr. Turner Takuya showed up. He said that he was searching for a vaccine for this...Dokumi virus.

WHIT
Hmm...I’ve never heard of it. I thought that antidotes for viruses couldn’t be created.

ELIJAH
That’s what Dad and Richard thought. I didn’t know about the virus until then, but I know it’s real. Richard said it was created accidentally by scientists trying to find a cure for cancer.

WHIT
(incredulous) What? B-but why Crailtown? Shouldn’t he have tested it in a laboratory of some kind?

MR. MAXWELL
That’s exactly what I said.There was a laboratory there, a very old one, but it was strange. When I told him that, he just said,

TURNER TAKUYA
(flashback; echoing) Sometimes the most complex cures can be found in the most unlikely places.

ELIJAH
He was pretty nice at first. He set up a practice and a laboratory in Crailtown and gave free vaccinations to children. You know, against measles and stuff like that. I thought he was a good doctor.

SIMON
(detached) And then he just...changed overnight. All of a sudden, he said he had the Dokumi vaccine, and that he needed patients to test it on. (snorts) We were so eager to help him that we didn’t suspect a thing. Richard thought something was up, but we didn’t listen.

MR. MAXWELL
Dustin had always had low immunities, so we figured, hey, why not fortify him against this virus? Couldn’t hurt.

SIMON
But it did. Dustin and several other kids were put in the hospital so Turner could test the vaccine on them...and then they all became very sick. Dustin fell into a coma.

ELIJAH
Turner hadn’t vaccinated them; he’d poisoned them! He was going to let them die! Turner disappeared soon after that, but Richard and Troy knew his hideout was. (chuckles faintly) Simon and I followed them, and we saw the whole thing.

SIMON
They tried to make Turner give himself up. But he pulled a gun. H-he shot Troy.

ELIJAH
(quietly) He killed him!

In SIMON’S flashback, Troy’s scream echoes.

YOUNG SIMON
(flashback; echoingly) Troy!!

SIMON
Richard managed to knock him out and he called the police. They were going to put him in jail for life, but he plea bargained and got off easy.

ELIJAH
Dustin survived, but the poison did its work. He hasn’t been able to walk since then.

YOUNG DUSTIN
(flashback; echoingly) Mom...Dad...I can’t move my legs!

MR. MAXWELL
And then my wife Lara became very ill and died in the hospital. We still don’t know why.

ELIJAH
(angrily) But I’m sure Turner’s behind it.

MR. MAXWELL
After all that mess, I started an odd jobs business. It was better paying than the job I’d had, and it kept our family from staying in one place for long. We move quite often, just to keep Turner off our tails.

SIMON
Apparently, we didn’t move fast enough.

ELIJAH
(contemplating) It was strange though...Dustin was the only one of the kids tested on who survived. The others all died. Huh, guess he’s needed here, eh?

WHIT
(seriously) Everyone in this world is, Elijah. (sighs) Well, it sounds like you’ve been through a lot.

ELIJAH
You don’t know the half, Mr. Whittaker.

SCENE FIFTEEN ― Whit’s End
Whit’s End door opens and closes.

RICHARD
(cheerfully) Hey, Connie! Have you seen any of my cousins around here?

CONNIE
(nervously) Oh! Funny you’d ask that. Richard, Dustin just got taken to the hospital.

RICHARD
What?!

JARED
(runs up) What’s going on?

RICHARD
Who are you?

JARED
A better question is, who are you?

CONNIE
(warningly) Jared!

JARED
I’m Undercover Agent 001, direct from Wonderworld.

CONNIE
(annoyed) Jared!

JARED
I-I’m Jared DeWhite.

RICHARD
Richard Maxwell.

JARED
Well, what’s going on?

SCENE SIXTEEN ― Odyssey Children’s Hospital
DR. LAVEZ
Excuse me?

MR. MAXWELL
Yes, sir.

DR. LAVEZ
I’m Dr. Lavez. Are you Dustin Maxwell’s father?

MR. MAXWELL
I am. Is something wrong?

DR. LAVEZ
No, no. I just wanted to let you know that your son has revived, and he’s asking for you.

MR. MAXWELL
Oh! Okay, let’s go, everyone.

happysmiler · Posted: Thu Aug 19, 2004 11:23 am Post subject:

Oh, this is really getting good! Keep it up! 8) Very Happy