Death's Final Offer

Written By Jonathan Camden

Jfcamden@gmail.com

EXT. PARK - EVENING The sun is just starting to go over the horizon. A GUY and GIRL, both in their twenties and both mildly attractive, sit next to a pond. GUY You know, I've always loved how when the sun just starts to go over the horizon, it makes the sky an awesomeGIRL Do you love me? The guy pauses, caught completely off guard. GUY What? GIRL Do you love me? GUY Um...well, I guess IGIRL No. No guessing. I want to know. We've been going out for almost a year now. GUY Why do we have to label everything? We like each other, it's fun hanging out (with a smirk) The sex isGIRL Is that really all you want? A few good times and some occasional sex? Nothing else? GUY Well, more than just some occasionalGIRL Whatever, I'm leaving. GUY Wait, what? The girl starts to walk off.

GIRL (loudly, while walking away) Call me when you grow up! The guy sits there and opens his arms in a gesture saying "What the hell did I do?". When the girl is out of sight, he makes a deep sigh and then proceeds to lay back in the grass and close his eyes. He slowly drifts off. CUT TO: EXT. PARK - LATER THAT NIGHT It is pitch black outside. The guy is suddenly awakened by the sound of his phone ringing. He groans at the harsh awakening and sits up. The guy answers the phone. GUY Hello? (beat, and now speaking with a bit of surprise) What? INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - LATER The guy's girlfriend is up to life support. The only sound in the room. is speaking to him. The false sense of shock. laying in a hospital bed and hooked beat of the heart monitor is the The guy stands in shock and a DOCTOR guy is surprisingly calm. He has a

DOCTOR Her injuries are pretty intense. She has multiple rib and skull fractures as well as a very severe traumatic brain injury. We're waiting on some tests to come back so we can know how to proceed. GUY Do you think she'll be okay? DOCTOR (beat) We'll hope for the best, but at this point, it isn't looking too good. Does she have any family that should be notified? GUY Uh, yeah...yeah, her parents live out of state. I'll let them know.

DOCTOR Great. I promise that we're going to do the best we can. The doctor walks off. The guy stares at his girlfriend from across the room, still showing no emotion. He walks over and sits in the chair near the hospital bed. He stares at her. He can see the gentle rise and fall of her chest. The heartbeat monitor beeps away and nothing else can be heard. He grabs her hand. He feels the countours of it very slowly. The guy gently rubs a ring on her finger. Then, he looks up. A STRANGE MAN is now suddenly standing in front of the girl. He never walked in. He is wearing a black hooded trench-coat. The man's skin is incredibly pale, as if he was already dead. His eyes are empty and soulless. The man looks like a walking corpse. GUY Who the hell are you? The man says nothing. He starts to reach for the girl's face. GUY (CONT'D) Whoa, what are you doing? The guy attempts to grab the strange man's arm but his hand goes through it. This freaks the guy out and he falls back in his chair. The strange men then touches the girl's face very gently. Then, he lightly touches her heart. The strange man pauses for a moment. Then, he walks out while the boyfriend sits there confused and freaked out. The girlfriend suddenly flatlines. The boyfriend starts to freak out. GUY (CONT'D) Oh shit, oh shit! No! No! Medical personnel start to flood in. The boyfriend breaks down crying. GUY (CONT'D) No no no no no no! He continues to cry. Doctors attempt to use an AED on the girl but she does not wake up. We hear them charge it up once more.

INT. BEDROOM - WEEKS LATER Instead of the loud thump of the AED, we hear the thump of the boyfriend hitting a hardwood floor. He looks terrible. He hasn't shaven in weeks, obviously hasn't bathed either, and his clothes are covered in stains. He climbs up off the floor and sits on the bed he just fell off of. He grabs a large bottle of vodka and chugs some of it. INT. LIVING ROOM - A LITTLE LATER The living room looks like it hasn't been cleaned. Food and alcohol bottles are everywhere. It's just depressing in general. The boyfriend walks in, still carrying the bottle of vodka. He opens the curtains and the light stings his eyes. The guy walks away from the window and takes a drink from the bottle which finishes it off. Realizing this, he tosses it off to the side and it shatters on the ground. He boyfriend sits down in a recliner and is about to turn on the TV when he hears a knock at the door. He groans and gets up to answer it. The boyfriend opens the door without looking to see who's there. GUY What the hell do youHe stops talking when he realizes the person at the door is the strange man from the hospital. The boyfriend becomes terrified and immediately slams the door before locking it. He leans against the door and breathes nervously. When he turns around, he sees that the man is already in his house. STRANGE MAN Do not be afraid. The man's voice is raspy and distant. His words are drawn out. The boyfriend starts to run away. INT. BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER The boyfriend runs in and opens his drawer. He pulls out all his clothes and grabs a gun that was hidden inside. When the boyfriend turns around, he sees that the strange man is standing in his bedroom. The door slams shut without anyone

touching it. The boyfriend opens fire on the strange man but he doesn't seem to move. The bullets went right through him without leaving a mark. The boyfriend then calms down, as if he realizes there's something going on here. GUY What are you? And why were you with my girlfriend before she died? STRANGE MAN It is I that brought upon her death. GUY What are you talking about? You barely touched her. STRANGE MAN But I was tasked to reclaim her soul. I go by many names, but you may refer to me as...Death. GUY So you're saying you're the grim reaper or something? Death slowly nods. GUY (CONT'D) Well, why are you in my house? Come to kill me too? DEATH No. I did not enjoy taking her life. The sweetest souls always taste the most bitter. GUY Then what do you want? DEATH I want to give you another chance. So that your love may live again. The boyfriend pauses. GUY You can do that?

DEATH I can. But it is rare that I deem anyone worthy of such a blessing. GUY Well, how do you do it? Death extends his hand. DEATH Take my hand. The boyfriend pauses to look at the hand. He reluctantly grabs hold of it. Suddenly, time starts to rewind. EXT. PARK - WEEKS AGO He is by his girlfriend once more. Everything is as it was in the beginning. GIRL Do you lHe doesn't let her finish the sentence because he plants a huge kiss on her. It's probably the most passionate kiss ever given and it seems to last forever. Eventually, he pulls back and the girl is kind of shocked. GUY More than you could ever imagine. He hugs her and she gets an awkward look on her face. GIRL Wow, what's gotten into you? GUY Nothing, I just love you so much. I love your smile, I love your voice, I love the way you crinkle your nose when you laugh. I just...love you. I can't living a life without you. And I don't want you to ever forget that. GIRL Well, god, a simple yes would have sufficed. The boyfriend starts to both laugh and cry. GUY Hey, the night's still young! Why (MORE)

7 GUY (CONT'D) don't we go get dinner? And maybe see a movie! Or a play! And then we couldGIRL Whoa, cowboy. Let's just go to a movie. GUY Okay! He leans in and kisses her again. They continue to kiss for a while. EXT. THEATER - LATER THAT NIGHT The couple walks out holding hands and they begin to casually stroll along the nearby sidewalk. GUY Those were some of the coolest special effects I've ever seen. GIRL Oh, come on, is that all you care about? GUY No, it's not all I care about. But seeing a few buildings being blown to hell and back sure neverHe is interrupted when a MUGGER reveals himself from an alley they happen to be walking by. GUY (CONT'D) Hurt. The mugger is really skinny. His clothes are also very filty. He's fidgety and appears to be a meth addict. GUY (CONT'D) Can I help you? The mugger draws a knife. The girlfriend gets scared and steps behind the boyfriend. MUGGER G-g-gimme yo wallet. The boyfriend pauses for a bit. He's a little frightened. GUY Okay, okay. I'll give you my (MORE)

8 GUY (CONT'D) wallet. The boyfriend slowly and carefully takes out his wallet as the mugger stands there nervously. MUGGER O-o-open it. O-op-open that shit up, m-man. I-I don't w-want you playing no t-tricks, man. GUY Okay, not a problem. Just take it easy. The guy opens the wallet slowly and shows the mugger the money inside. GUY (CONT'D) See? Just money. No tricks. The mugger grabs the wallet and starts taking out all the money. He nervously stuffs it all in his pocket. Then, the mugger walks over to the girlfriend who becomes more scared. MUGGER N-now the p-p-purse. O-open it up. The girlfriend, about to break down in tears, opens up her purse. MUGGER (CONT'D) W-where do you k-keep your money? The girlfriend pulls out a wallet from within the purse while the mugger twitches nervously and watches. Suddenly, the boyfriend spots Death standing in the distance. Death is standing in the direction that the girl and the mugger are. The boyfriend becomes terrified at the sight of Death. GUY (screaming) No!!! The mugger freaks out and this sudden outburst. He puts the wallet in his pants, stabs the girlfriend in the chest, and then does the same to the boyfriend before running off. The boyfriend looks down at the deep wound in his chest and touches the blood. He goes down to the ground and feels very weak. He looks over and sees his girlfriend laying on the ground in a pool of blood that is slowly growing. He then starts to cry.

GUY (CONT'D) No. No. He eventually gets to her. But when he does, he looks up to see Death standing over her. GUY (CONT'D) No!!! Death touches her face and then her chest just like before. GUY (CONT'D) Why are you doing this to me?! DEATH It is my job. Death reaches down and touches the face of the boyfriend. FADE TO BLACK. THE END.