AFTER THE FLOOD:

A DERRY INTERLUDE

BASED ON THE NOVEL "IT"

BY STEPHEN KING
 FADE IN:
OVER BLACK,
TITLE CARD APPEARS:

1984
I Love Derry

FADE IN:

INT. POLICE INTERVIEW ROOM 1 - DAY

This sequence is entirely in black and white.

We FADE UP on a sobbing MAN by the name of DON HAGARTY. Hes

wearing lipstick, eyeliner and has head shaved with the
remaining bits on top left to create a spiders legs effect
over his forehead. Off screen, a police officer talks. His
name is HARRY GARDNER (son of Dave)

GARDNER (O.C.)
Smoke?

Don shakes his head. A cigarette is pushed in front of him.

Eventually Don takes it, puts it to his lips and leans
forward into two hands cupping a lighted match.

GARDNER (O.C.) (CONTD)

Don, listen to me. Were not here
to cast judgement on you and the
choices you made in life. What you
do in your own time has nothing to
do with anyone in this room or
anyone out of this room either.
What you say to us wont be
compromised or twisted based on any
mans opinion. Thats not the issue
here is it? The issue here concerns
a young deceased gentleman, who you
knew as Adrian Mellon. You were one
of the four people to last see him
alive before he went head first
over that bridge. And Im positive,
that you can give me a much clearer
picture of the situation. You need
to be honest about what happened
back there. Youre an honest
person, right, Don?

Don nods.

GARDNER (O.C.) (CONTD)

Good. Now how about we start from
the beginning.

DON
I dont know where it began.
 2.

GARDNER (O.C.)
Well how long had you been living
with Mr Mellon?

DON
You want to go that far back?

GARDNER (O.C.)
Just answer the question, please.

DON
Couple a months.

GARDNER (O.C.)
I have to ask the obvious, Don. Was
your relationship with Adrian of an
intimate nature?

DON
What?

Another voice, belonging to JEFF REEVES speaks.

REEVES (O.C.)
Were you special little buddies.

Don looks in the other direction, towards where Reeves voice

is coming from.

DON
When you say special, do you mean
fuck? Because if the word special
was just an alternative, then you
can take this from me, the horses
mouth, we were definitely fuck
buddies.

GARDNER (O.C.)
It was a straightforward enough
question.

DON
It wasnt really, was it? But I at
least answered it in the same
straightforward manner your
question intended to be.

We hear a chair being scraped across the floor. Footsteps.

GARDNER (O.C.)
Alright then, perhaps you could be
just as straightforward when it
comes to your answer to my next
question.

Gardner finally comes into FRAME when he bends down to Don

and into his ear...
 3.

GARDNER (CONTD)
Who threw Adrian Mellon off that
bridge?

Don looks at Reeves. We now see him too. He has no time for
this little faggot.

DON
They did.

GARDNER
Who did?

DON
Those meatheads you hopefully have
in custody.

GARDNER
Why did they do that?

DON
I dont know why. Im as much in
the dark about why they did, what
they did, as you are. But if I was
to hazard a guess, I dont think
you need to be Einstein to figure
out why. Why does anyone need a
reason when it comes to the likes
of us?

Gardner walks away and lights up a cigarette.

REEVES
But yall live in the same town,
have done for years. Why wait till
now to throw one of you off a
bridge?

DON
I dont know. Maybe the opportunity
never came up. We never actually
crossed paths over that bridge
until last night.

GARDNER
Had there been any argument or
disagreement of any kind?

Don takes a huge breath as Gardner sits back down.

DON
Adrian never let them get away with
anything. When he walked down the
street and they called him a fag,
hed turn round and make a joke out
of it to embarrass them. Turn the
tables, so to speak.
 4.

GARDNER
Was there a specific incident you
can remember that might explain why
it ended in an altercation with you
all?

Don thinks.

DON
Last week. At the fair...
(Moment of realization)
It was the hat. He won this hat,
thats what it was about.

GARDNER
A hat?

DON
It was nothing, it was a shitty
little thing, made of paper. It
said I love Derry across it and
it had a little flower stuck on.

REEVES
I won one of those hats for my
daughter. It was at the Pitch Til
You Win stall.

DON
Yeah, you had to throw balls
through hoops and Ade got all the
balls through the hoop. Every one
of them. He wore that hat for the
rest of the night.
(Smiles)
Its not because he won it and he
was proud of the fact that hed won
something. It was because he really
did love this town. He wasn't
ashamed of that. He wasn't ashamed
of anything. Especially himself.
Anyway, those guys saw us a couple
o times at the fair. They didnt
really say anything, and if they
did, we sure as shit didnt hear
them. It was later, just as we were
leaving and they were at the Pitch
Till You Win stall. Thats when it
all started.

REEVES
What did they say?

DON
The usual: Queer, faggot, ass
bandits, that was a particular
favorite.
(MORE)
 5.
DON (CONT'D)
The bigger guy, I cant remember
his name, he yelled something to
Ade. He threatened to... no he said
he was gonna make him eat the hat.
Thats it. I ought to make you eat
that hat, you fucking faggot. Well
that only gave Ade more ammunition.
He started having a little fun with
this guy and told him he could
provide him with something tastier
to eat than a hat. This big guy? He
didnt like that one bit. He was
ready to raise all kinds of hell
but a cop intervened before
anything happened.

GARDNER
Was there any physical exchanges?

DON
No, not then.

REEVES
When you say Adrian started having
fun with them, what was he doing?
Was he goading John?

DON
He blew him a couple o kisses.
That didnt go down too well. Its
not like hed have said anything
had he not have been called a queer
or threatened with violence. He was
defending himself and he had a
right to do so.

GARDNER
Everyone has a right to defend
themselves against violent threats
but its always better to just walk
away from those kinda guys.

DON
Ade never walked away from
anything. Even when he was being
kicked and punched to the ground by
all three of them, he just kept
getting back up. Any normal person
would have stayed the hell down and
waited for them to give up. But the
more he got up, the more they
knocked him back down. He must have
swallowed half his jaw and still he
wouldnt give up.

GARDNER
How long did this go on for?
 6.

DON
I dont know.

GARDNER
What were you doing while all this
was going on?

DON
I was screaming for help at the
side of the road. Cars were going
past, they could see what was
happening but not one of them
slowed down. If anything, they
drove faster. I was calling for
help but no one came. But I never
expected anyone to. No one gives a
shit about anyone in Derry.

REEVES
Do you know who it was who
instigated the idea of throwing
Adrian off the bridge?

DON
I dont remember. It happened so
fast, I was out near the road, and
then I saw them pick him up and go
towards the bridge. I ran back
towards them and told them not to
throw him over. And one of the
guys, the little one, was telling
them not to as well.

REEVES
The smaller guy was telling them
not to throw him over?

DON
Yeah.

REEVES
So it was just the other two guys
who threw him over?

DON
No, they all did. I think the
little guy thought they would just
dangle him over the side.

REEVES
He had no idea they intended to
kill him?

DON
Well technically they didnt kill
him, did they?

Gardner and Reeves look confused.

 7.

GARDNER
He was dead when he hit the ground
after they threw him over the
bridge. If that isnt killing him,
I dont know what is.

Don stares at the officers. He talks to them like they are

stupid.

DON
Adrian was still alive when he hit
the ground. He got back up. It
wasnt the fall what killed him.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. POLICE INTERVIEW ROOM 2 - CONTINUOUS

We FADE UP on a sobbing 15 year old kid, CHRIS UNWIN. Across

from him, watching him cry, is Assistant District Director,
TOM BOUTILLIER and CHIEF INSPECTOR ANDREW RADEMACHER, resting
his hand on his forefinger.

CHRIS
We only meant to scare him.

BOUTILLIER
I think we can all agree that you
certainly did that.

CHRIS
(Sobbing subsides)
I didnt know they was gonna let
him go. I wouldnt have helped pick
him up if I knew. We were just
getting him back for he said.

RADEMACHER
What did he say to you?

CHRIS
He didnt say it to me.

RADEMACHER
To John?

CHRIS
Yeah.

RADEMACHER
What did he say to him?

CHRIS
He was acting like a girl and
saying things to him like he was a
queer like him.
(MORE)
 8.
CHRIS (CONT'D)
Sayin all this queer stuff to him.
We only meant to scare him at
first.

RADEMACHER
By dangling him off a forty foot
bridge? Couldnt you have just said
Boo to him?

CHRIS
Me and Steve didnt mean to drop
him.

RADEMACHER
But John did?

CHRIS
What?

RADEMACHER
You said you and Steve didnt mean
to drop him. Which means John did?

CHRIS
Thats not what I said. When we saw
that he was in trouble, me and
Steve tried to help him.

BOUTILLIER
Come on, Chris, dont bullshit us.
How long have been in this room? 6
hours? 7? Im sure youre just as
tired as we are.
(Pause)
You had every intention of throwing
that little queer into the canal,
as soon as you saw him.

CHRIS
(Breaking down)
No.

BOUTILLIER
Yes, you did. You, John Garton and
Steven Dubay. Youre the youngest
of the three so its easy for you
to say you were led astray by the
bigger kids, but I dont buy that.
Youre big enough to walk away and
you didnt. Why didnt you just
walk away? Why was John so obsessed
with wanting to teach this guy a
lesson?

CHRIS
Because he was still wearing that
hat.
 9.

Pause. Boutillier and Rademacher look confused.

BOUTILLIER
What hat?

CHRIS
From the fair.

RADEMACHER
Alright, back up.
(To Boutillier)
What am I hearing about a hat?

BOUTILLIER
(Looking in his notes)
Would this be the I Love Derry hat?

CHRIS
Yeah.

RADEMACHER
Say what now?

BOUTILLIER
Adrian Mellon won this paper hat
from one of the stalls at the fair.
Hed been wearing it the night he
died.

CHRIS
It had been three weeks since the
fair and he was still wearing it.

RADEMACHER
I see, and was there a significance
to the hat?

CHRIS
No.

BOUTILLIER
Did John try to win one of these
hats?

CHRIS
Yeah.

BOUTILLIER
And he couldnt.

CHRIS
No.

RADEMACHER
What skill was involved in winning
this hat.
 10.

CHRIS
You had to throw balls through
these hoops.

RADEMACHER
So the root cause of this mess
youre in is because of a paper
hat. A paper hat, big bad John
Garton couldnt win but the local
queer won without any trouble.

CHRIS
I guess so.

BOUTILLIER
And when yall saw him wearing this
hat, you decided to beat the shit
out of him and then hold him 40
feet over a bridge.

Chris looks up at the officers and eventually nods.

CHRIS
Only to scare him, not to hurt him.

BOUTILLIER
Dangling someone off a bridge that
high is absolutely guaranteed to
scare them. And you did a little
more than scare him. You dropped
the poor bastard. We ended up with
a young man, his whole future in
front of him, dead at the bottom of
a bridge because of what you did.

CHRIS
He wasnt dead when he hit the
bottom.

BOUTILLIER
He was eventually.

CHRIS
Yeah, because of that guy down
there.

BOUTILLIER
(...)
What guy?

CHRIS
The guy under the bridge. The one
with the balloons.

Rademacher rubs one of his eyes.

 11.

RADEMACHER
Well, it beats the one armed man
theory. Maybe the guy with the
balloons will catch on. It wasnt
me, officer, it was the man with
the balloons.

CHRIS
Officers, there was somebody else
under the bridge. Its the truth.

RADEMACHER
Some how, I dont think you know
what the truth is. You see theres
the truth, what wed like you to
tell us and then theres the truth
that smells of bullshit where you
talk about a man and his balloons.

CHRIS
I swear on my moms life, Sir.
There was a man under the bridge.
He was dressed up like a clown and
he was the one who killed the
queer. Ask Steve. Ask John. Ask the
other queer. Hell say the same
thing because he went after him.

The officers look serious. No more jokes.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. POLICE INTERVIEW ROOM 3 - CONTINUOUS

STEVE DUBAY, 17, has his head in his hands. Hes being
interrogated by BARNEY MORRISON and CHARLES AVARINO.

MORRISON
Steven, were all friends here. Im
your friend. Officer Avarino here?
Hes your friend.

AVARINO
(Thumps chest)
Till the end.

MORRISON
So thats you got two friends and
right now, you gonna need all the
friends you can get, son. You think
John Gartons your friend? He aint
nobodys friend. If he was, he
wouldnt be tryin to put you in
the frame for all this. And little
Chris Unwin, you think that limp
noodle is your friend? Bullshit on
that.
(MORE)
 12.
MORRISON (CONT'D)
His nutsack hasnt even hit the
floor yet. You dont need friends
as young as that. Be like playin
tag with your kid brother.
(Pause)
If you cant talk to us, who can
you talk to? You aint gonna get
any sympathy from a judge. A judge
will take one look at your face and
have no problem sending it on its
merry way to Shawshank prison for a
couple odecades. Youll be tried
as an adult, so you will go to an
adult prison and by the time you
come out of there, your ass will
have been stretched wide enough to
use as a basketball hoop.

Officer Avarino grimaces at the very thought.

MORRISON (CONTD)
Cooperate with us and you can
expect some kind of leniency.

STEVE
I already told you everything.

MORRISON
Yeah, you started to, then you thew
us out on loop by having us believe
someone else was involved.

STEVE
There was, Sir.

MORRISON
You do realise there is only two
other people saying the same thing
you are and those two people just
happen to be in the same situation
as you. And I have to tell you,
Steve, youre not convincing any of
us. Neither is John Garton and
neither is Chris Unwin.

STEVE
There was someone down there.

MORRISON
Who?

STEVE
I told you already.

MORRISON
Tell us again. Who else was down
there?
 13.

STEVE
Some guy in a costume.

AVARINO
(Whispering)
A costume.

STEVE
A clowns costume. He was right
there under the bridge and he had
all these balloons. So many I
couldnt even count.
(...)
He didnt look human.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT

Gardner is sat at his desk, looking over photographs of

Adrian Mellon at the crime scene. We CUT TO brief captures of
Adrians injuries. Theyre horrific, bloody, bashed,
beaten... and eaten.

Boutillier approaches his desk.

BOUTILLIER
You avoiding the missus?

Gardner jumps a little.

BOUTILLIER (CONTD)
(Smiles)
Whats got you spooked?

GARDNER
Oh, Im just going over all this.

Gardner sits back in his chair.

GARDNER (CONTD)
Who did you interview?

BOUTILLIER
Little Chris Unwin.

GARDNER
The youngest member of the group.
(Short pause)
Youd expect him to mention clowns
and balloons at his age wouldnt
you?

Boutillier smiles and nods.

BOUTILLIER
Yeah, thats a new one.
 14.

GARDNER
It wasnt just Chris who mentioned
that, though.

BOUTILLIER
Yeah, I know. Him and his buddies
think were fucking stupid.

GARDNER
Don Hagarty said exactly what they
all said.

Boutillier chews his gum, taking that little bit of info in.

BOUTILLIER
What did he say?

GARDNER
He confirmed that there was another
guy down there, dressed as a clown.

Boutillier looks confused.

GARNER
I know how it sounds.

BOUTILLIER
Do you?

GARDNER
Dont you believe it?

BOUTILLIER
(Matter of fact)
No.

GARDNER
Why would he lie?

BOUTILLIER
Maybe he wanted to break up with
his boyfriend and asked these guys
to intervene and scare him out of
town, I dont know.

GARDNER
I dont think that was the case at
all.

BOUTILLIER
You believe them dont you?
 15.

GARDNER
I shouldnt, but the fact is, we
not only have two of the suspects
making a lot of noise about some
guy in a clown suit but also the
witness saying the same thing right
after he saw all three suspects
beating all kinds of shit out of
the victim. If this clown story is
a lie...

BOUTILLIER
(Interrupting)
How long havbe you been doing this
now? Long enough to believe some
fairy-tale?

GARDNER
Has John Garton spoke yet?

BOUTILLIER
Not one word. He looks at the floor
and thats it. Clayton tried
slapping some words out of him,
but it was no use. The little
bastard didnt even flinch. He just
stares at the ground. Hes got
himself a big ol birthmark on the
back of his head, makes part of his
hair look white. Looks odd when the
rest of his hair is black.

GARDNER
I want to try and speak to him.

BOUTILLIER
Good luck with that.

GARDNER
Ill get him to talk.

BOUTILLIER
How?

GARDNER
Ill confront him with what the
others have been saying.

BOUTILLIER
You will do no such thing.

GARDNER
If it is going to get the ring
leader in all of this to talk,
thats exactly what I am going to
do.
 16.

BOUTILLIER
Do you wanna see these little punks
walk free? Because if you do, say
the word and Ill happily support
this clown story when its being
tossed around the court. Thats
only if you want to see all three
of them escape punishment.

GARDNER
I want to see these three young men
brought to justice for something
they have actually done.

BOUTILLIER
And they will. So long as you dont
mention this God damn clown. Dont
even look at that as a possible
theory. You keep your fucking mouth
shut about it and convince Don
Hagarty that if he wants to see
these three pricks go to the
slammer for giving his buddy a beat
down, then he wont fucking mention
it either.

GARDNER
Sounds like you believe it.

BOUTILLIER
Maybe to an extent.

GARDNER
What?

BOUTILLIER
I believe it to an extent, I
believe their eyes did the rest.

GARDNER
And to what extent is that?

BOUTILLIER
There probably was some guy under
the bridge that night. Hell, he
might have even been wearing a
clown suit, but take a look at what
Adrian Mellon went through before
he went over that bridge.

Boutillier leafs through the photographs and finds a couple

of good ones. We briefly see one.

BOUTILLIER (CONTD)
He was stabbed three times. Twice
in his nutsack. Take a look at that
would you?
 17.

GARDNER
Ive seen it.

BOUTILLIER
Savagery. Thats what this is. They
threw him over the bridge because
they wanted to. They threw him over
right after they punched him and
kicked him and stabbed him and you
want to prolong their freedom to
mull over the possibility that they
might not have finished him off?

GARDNER
He also had bite marks on him, a
chunk this big taken out of his
armpit. Are you saying John Garton
did that too?

BOUTILLIER
Thats whats gonna go in the
report, yes. We couldnt get a
clear enough match on the bite
marks but along with everything
else, it wont take a jury long to
be convinced that it was one of
them what did it.

GARDNER
When we have the evidence that
proves they werent the ones who
killed him, we cannot possibly sit
on that.

Boutillier gets up. He is in no mood to discuss this.

BOUTILLIER
OK. OK, lets do it your way. Lets
disregard all of this evidence
here.
(Nods at the evidence)
And lets get half the station out
there looking for a guy in a clown
suit. We might as well tell John,
Steve and Chris that they can go
home until we decide if we even
want to punish them. Its your
call, you let me know by tomorrow
what you want to do.

Boutillier leaves. Gardner is left with food for thought.

DISSOLVE TO:
 18.

INT. POLICE INTERVIEW ROOM 1 - EARLIER

We FADE UP on a close up of Don as he describes the

situation. Don doesnt look at either officer, he is totally
lost in his thoughts. He is haunted as he talks.

DON
There was so many of them. Floating
against the underside of the bridge
- not a dozen, or a dozen dozens
but thousands of them. Thousands of
balloons. Red, blue, yellow, green.
Every colour youve ever seen. And
on each one, the words I love
Derry was written across them. The
love wasnt written, it was a red
love heart in place of where it
would say love. On the red
balloons, the love heart was black.

We CUT to a concerned Gardner.

GARDNER
You saw these balloons?

Don holds out his hand in front of him.

DON
As clear as I can see my fingers on
my hand right now. There were
thousands of them. There was so
many of them, they didnt even move
when the wind blew. You could hear
their sides rubbing together. They
all had this white string hanging
from the top of balloon where it
had been tied. Thousands of them
together made them look like a
spiders web. Thats when I saw the
clown.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. UNDER THE BRIDGE - EARLY EVENING

Through the strings hanging down from the thousands of

balloons, we see Don, making his way down the embankment.

DON (V.O.)
I saw him coming through the
strings. He was holding Ade up...

Adrian Mellon, bloodied, battered, beaten, dying is being

held up by Pennywise. We dont see its face, as Adrian is
obscuring it. Adrians dying eyes look straight at Don.
 19.

DON (V.O.)
Ade had like one of his arms around
the guys shoulders to hold himself
up and I could hear him choking,
like... like he was dying. I
thought this guy in the clown suit
was helping him.

GARDNER (V.O.)
Did he say anything?

DON (V.O.)
Who?

CUT TO:

INT. POLICE INTERVIEW ROOM 1 - CONTINUOUS

GARDNER
The guy in the clown suit.

His haunted expression worsens.

DON
Thats where it gets really fucked
up.

GARDNER
Why?

DON
This clown knew my name.

GARDNER
What did he say?

Silence.

DON
Float with us, Don. He said float
with us and then he said my name.

Even Reeves is spooked.

GARDNER
What happened after that.

CUT TO:

EXT. UNDER THE BRIDGE - EARLY EVENING

DON (V.O.)
The clown started dragging Ade away
and I ran after them down the hill
at the side of the bridge. He was
fast.
 20.

Adrian is dragged through the strings by the arm of the

clown. Don runs after them.

DON
Ade!

He approaches the strings and wades through them, he can see

Adrian and the tufts of orange hair belonging to the clown.

DON (CONTD)
Stop!

The clown turns round and right before we see its face, we
CUT TO Don. Who looks terrified he starts to back out of the
strings and traces his route in reverse.

DON (V.O.) (CONTD)

I saw its eyes and I knew what it
was.

GARDNER
What was it, Don?

CUT TO:

INT. POLICE INTERVIEW ROOM 1

Don is silent.

GARDNER
Don, what was it?

DON
(Eventually)
Derry.
(...)
It was the whole town looking right
at me.

Gardner knows exactly what he means.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT

Were back with Gardner as he contemplates his next move. We

look at the evidence in front of him. The injuries Adrian
sustained. As we look at each photograph, we cut to a brief
FLASHBACK of Adrian being kicked, punched, beaten, knocked
down and stabbed. Gardner takes his desk keys from his pocket
and unlocks his bottom desk drawer. Underneath a pile of
papers is an old photograph. Its of Gardner as a young lad
and George Denbrough, posing with a fish they caught. It was
taken months before Georges death.

DISSOLVE TO:
 21.

INT. KITCHEN - DAY (FLASHBACK)

We dissolve from the old Harry, to the young Harry. Hes sat
at the kitchen table. From his point of view, we see into the
living room, via the kitchen door being ajar. In the living
room, in the small gap of the door, Harry sees his father,
Dave hunched over. His head in his hands. Sobbing. A female
voice speaks to Harry from across the table. The voice comes
from his mother, ANNIE GARDNER. (We will never see her)

ANNIE (O.S.)
Harry?

Her voice is soft. Harry looks in her direction.

ANNIE (O.S.) (CONTD)

Harry, there is something mommy has
to tell you.

Harry looks towards the crack of the door again.

ANNIE (O.S.) (CONTD)

Harry look at me. Because what I
have to tell you isnt nice. Its
very sad, Harry. Its about
Georgie.

Harry looks back at his mother. Intrigued.

ANNIE (O.S.) (CONTD)

Yesterday, Georgie had an accident,
while he was out playing. He got
his arm trapped in one of the storm
drains out in the street and
because the rain has been so heavy
lately, it made the water in the
storm drain rise up to the top and
Georgie swallowed a lot of the
water. He swallowed so much water,
he couldnt breathe... and he died,
Harry. Georgie died and went to
heaven to be with Jesus.

Harry looks confused and unable to express himself.

ANNIE (O.S.) (CONTD)

Thats why Daddy is so upset. Hes
crying because hes very, very sad
about what happened to Georgie. And
Im very sad too.
(...)
Now you might hear some nasty talk
about Georgie. I want you to know
that whatever you hear, however bad
it is, its not true, Harry. You
hear me? Its not true.
(MORE)
 22.
ANNIE (O.S.) (CONTD)
Georgie drowned in the water. There
was nothing else in that storm
drain.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT (PRESENT DAY)

Gardner gets up and exits the room.

CUT TO:

INT. CELL - NIGHT

Don is slumped up against a wall. The door opens and Gardner

enters. He has a cup of something in his hand.

GARDNER
Up, you get, Don.

Don gets up.

DON
Why am I the one in a cell?

GARDNER
Dont worry, youre gonna get to go
home.

DON
When? I wasnt the one that did
anything wrong.

GARDNER
Drink?

DON
No.

GARDNER
Its got a drop of the good stuff
in there. From my own private
stash.

Don eventually takes it from him.

GARDNER (CONTD)
Good?

DON
Its alright.

Gardner goes to retrieve the cup.

GARDNER
Well, if you dont want it.
 23.

DON
No, its nice. Thank you.

GARDNER
Sit down, Don.

DON
No, Ill stand.

GARDNER
Suit yourself.

Gardner lights up a cigarette and Don waits for him to carry

on talking. Gardner walks over to the cell window. The
brightness of the moon lights up his face slightly. He sighs.

DON
Whats going on?

GARDNER
When you leave here, have you
somewhere you can go?

DON
Home.

GARDNER
No, I meant somewhere far away from
Derry.

DON
Why?

GARDNER
I think we might have to let the
boys go.

DON
(Horrified)
What? Why?

GARDNER
Because of the evidence. Its not
matching up.

DON
I told the police every detail of
what happened and every word I said
was the truth, Sir.

GARDNER
Thats why we might have to let
them go.

DON
Youre not making any sense.
 24.

GARDNER
Well, up until you mentioned this
clown, we were satisfied that it
was just a story those three had
come up with to get themselves out
of the shit. Then you get your two
cents in and say no, Sir, thats
what really happened, there was a
clown under the bridge, he had all
these balloons. Now, I dont think
you were imagining things but
because youve confirmed their
story, they might not even be
prosecuted for the assault they
carried out.

DON
This is bullshit.

GARDNER
I know it is. Thats why you need
to make arrangements to get as far
away from here as possible because
those guys, those guys will come
after you. They werent satisfied
that they didnt get to finish your
friend off. Jesus, the look in John
Gartons eyes when your name was
dropped into the conversation. They
were blacker than night itself.
(Pause)
You could change your statement but
I dont know if it will make a
different.

DON
How do you mean?

GARDNER
If you contradict their evidence,
theyll all go down, I guarantee
it. I will make that happen. The
only way those three fuckers are
going down, is if you are willing
to play ball. Right now, youre on
their team, yall are sayin the
same thing and because of that,
theyll go free. Dont let them get
away with what they did to Adrian,
Don. Think about what he went
through before they tossed him over
that bridge. How long did they
spend knocking him down to the
point where he no longer had the
energy to get back up.
 25.

DON
You dont believe my evidence, do
you?

GARDNER
I do believe it. But what worries
me is that a jury will believe it
too and then it will have been a
waste of time dragging them kids to
court, because their lawyers will
dress them up like fucking choir
boys and send them out in front of
a jury looking wholesome. What you
remember of those guys will not be
what you see when it goes to court.
And appearances can be deceptive.

Gardner goes into his inside pocket and pulls out Dons
statement. Its folded up. He unfolds it.

GARDNER (CONTD)
This is the last page of your
statement, Don. Its on this page
that you mention the clown. With
your permission and taking into
account, every single injury Adrian
sustained during that vicious
attack, Id like to rip this up
into a million pieces and throw the
little pieces into my fire.
(Pause)
When Adrian went over that bridge,
he died from his injuries...
(Eventually)
And there was no clown.

FADE OUT.

A still image of Steve Dubays mugshot appears on screen.

CUT TO:
BLACK SCREEN, TEXT APPEARS -

Steven Bishoff Dubay was convicted of first degree

manslaughter and sentenced to seven years at Shawshank State
Prison.

CUT TO:

A still image of Chris Unwins mugshot appears on screen.

CUT TO:

BLACK SCREEN, TEXT APPEARS -

Christopher Philip Unwin was tried separately as a juvinele

and convicted of second degree manslaughter and sentences to
six months at the South Windham Boys Training Facility
 26.

The sentence was suspended.

CUT TO:

A still image of John Gartons mugshot appears onscreen. This

is the only time we see John. He looked haunted, scared, like
he was too scared to utter a word. He has a bruise on his
eye. His hair has a white streak through it.

CUT TO:

BLACK SCREEN, TEXT APPEARS.

John Webber Garton was convicted of first degree manslaughter

and sentenced to twenty five years in Thomaston State Prison.

FADE TO BLACK.