Second Chances

by
Joe LaPenna

Current Revisions by
Joe LaPenna 11/13/03

Name Grey Ghost Productions

Address 2120 Ramrod Ave. Apt 1315. Henderson, NV 89014
Phone Number 702-450-6921
 FADE IN:

EXT. SMASHED CAR NIGHT

A bloody faced man is slumped over in a car that has just

crashed. Glass and debris is everywhere. He begins to moan in
pain as he starts to regain consciousness.

A angry voice begins to speak out to the man.

ANGER
Wake up! Wake up you fool! Look at
what you’ve done!

The injured man begins to come around but is very groggy.

INJURED MAN
What? Where am I? What’s going on?

ANGER
Your in a world of trouble!

The angry man pulls the injured man out of the car and drags
him to the front of it and shows him the body of a young
woman that is sticking out from under the front of the
smashed car. The injured man has hit her and killed her.

The injured man begins to focus on what he is seeing and

begins to react in anguish. He breaks down and begins to cry.

INJURED MAN
What is this? What have I done?

The angry man stands over the injured man and yells down at
him. Scolding him.

ANGER
You have killed this innocent
woman. You drank, you got drunk and
then you hit her!

Another voice rings out from nowhere. A more compassionate

voice.

COMPASSION
How could he have known. It wasn’t
intentional. I’m sure he didn’t set
out tonight with intentions of
doing this.

The angry man becomes enraged.

 2.

ANGER
As soon as he turned the key his
intentions became clear. He is
solely responsible for what he has
done. He has her blood on his hands
and always will!

The injured man looks up at the other men.

INJURED MAN
We have to help her! We have to get
her help!

COMPASSION
She is gone.

INJURED MAN
We can’t just let her lie there!

ANGER
Someone’s coming to clean up your
mess don’t you worry about that.
But think now. What is her family
going to go through when they hear
you killed her!

INJURED MAN
I don’t remember hitting her!

ANGER
Being drunk has its advantages
don’t it! Toss back enough and you
get instant amnesia!

COMPASSION
Back off. He is going through a lot
right now and there will be more
ahead of him.

ANGER
He is going through a lot?! What
about her family!? What are they
going to go through? He will just
let this fade away and continue on
with his pathetic life. What of
them? They will have to deal with
that empty space inside that will
never get filled! One less plate
for dinner. One more empty room in
the house. What about never hearing
her voice again, what about that?
She is never going to go home! He
saw to that!
 3.

INJURED MAN
I’m sorry! I never saw her, I
didn’t do this on purpose!

ANGER
That’s exactly what her family
would want from you. Your
apologies.

COMPASSION
This was just an accident, I know
you feel it is completely out of
your control. Sometimes we do
things in excess and there can be
consequences for it. This is just
an unfortunate side effect to those
consequences.

INJURED MAN
I got together with my buddies from
work. We just had a few drinks with
dinner. I never get too drunk to
drive myself home. I admit I may
have had too much to drink but I
didn’t do it to harm anyone. We
were just drinking after work and
having fun.

ANGER
You make me sick. Every drink you
took was like loading a bullet into
a gun. When the gun goes off your
surprised by it and then act like
it was fired accidentally. Get this
in your head, you pulled the
trigger the minute you got behind
the wheel.

INJURED MAN
We were just having fun! I wouldn’t
ever intentionally hurt anyone!

COMPASSION
This event will pass, you will have
to come to grips with the results
of your actions. It will pass with
time.

INJURED MAN
I’ll do whatever it takes to make
this right. I’ll turn my self in
and go to jail.
 4.
INJURED MAN(cont'd)
Maybe they will make me do
community service. I’ll apologize
to her family!

ANGER
Yeah. That will fix it all, Sheesh
you just don’t get it do you.

A female voice joins in. The voice belongs to the dead woman.

DEAD WOMAN
I was going to graduate college in
the fall.

The injured man turns and sees her and becomes visibly
shaken. He stands up.

INJURED MAN
Oh my god, what’s happening?

DEAD WOMAN
I was studying real hard to
graduate on time. I wanted to be a
doctor.

The injured man can’t bear to look at her. The angry man
yells at him.

ANGER
Still can’t see her? Look at her!
Look into the face of your handy
work!

The injured man refuses.

ANGER
Look at her damn you!

The injured man forces himself to turn and look her in the
eye.

DEAD WOMAN
My dad was saving for my graduation
gift. He wanted to get me a new
car. Mine always breaks down and
then I have to take the bus or walk
to and from school. Like tonight.
He was going to get it for me
tomorrow.

The injured man begins to cry.

INJURED MAN
I’m so sorry. God I am so sorry.
 5.

Compassion comes over to him and places his hand on the

injured mans shoulder.

COMPASSION
Sorrow at least shows you are
listening. Changes begin when you
start listening.

INJURED MAN
There’s nothing I can do to change
what has happened!

Anger chimes in.

ANGER
Your stupid selfish act of
indulgence has screwed everything
up. You have changed this girls
family forever! Maybe listening to
her will shake something loose in
that head of yours. Tell him more.

DEAD WOMAN
I never fell in love. Never had a
boyfriend. I figured that could
wait till after I had my life where
I wanted it to be. My father and
mother always said career first
then romance. I listened to them.
My dad he worked so hard. He wanted
us to have everything he didn’t
have growing up. He scrimped and
saved and went without so we all
could live better. I guess he will
have to take the savings for my car
and pay for the funeral. He is
going to be so sad now.

She bows her head. Compassion walks over to her and hugs her.

A little girl and a man dressed in a robe and slippers walk

up slowly.

FUTURE DAUGHTER
I am never going to meet my mommy
now.

Injured man turns to them and stares with a look of intense

sorrow.

INJURED MAN
Who are you?
 6.

FUTURE DAUGHTER
I was going to be her daughter. I
will never get to go to the park
with her, or be held by her when I
can’t sleep at night.

The man in the robe steps up.

PATIENT
I was going to be a patient of hers
when she became a doctor. She was
going to pioneer a technique that
would have saved my life. She was
going to give me a second chance to
live a longer life with my family.

The injured man turns to Anger.

INJURED MAN
Why am I seeing this, Why am I
seeing all of you?

ANGER
Up until you hit her you couldn’t
have been more blind! Now you have
the chance to see.

INJURED MAN
The chance to see what?

ANGER
The chance to see what you could
never perceive on your own. You
have the chance to step out of
yourself and look at what your
actions have wrought! To see the
domino effect you have created!

INJURED MAN
And what can seeing this do for
me?! How can this help me?!

COMPASSION
It can teach you. Possibly show you
another road you can travel.

Injured man turns to Compassion. He looks into his eyes.

INJURED MAN
If I could take this all back
honest to god I would.
 7.
INJURED MAN(cont'd)
But what can I do? How can I
possibly reverse this and make it
right?

COMPASSION
How does what you are seeing make
you feel?

INJURED MAN
I already said I am sorry!

Anger becomes enraged and grabs the Injured man and presses
him up against the car.

ANGER
Just saying you are sorry isn’t
going to cut it! You have to be
truly sorry! It has to come from
deep within before this can have
any effect on you! Look at her man
she had her whole life ahead of her
now she’s gone and her family has
to try to live without her! You did
this! You made this all happen and
now others have to live with your
choice! Now try to tell me you are
sorry!

INJURED MAN
What do you want from me!? How can
I show you how sorry I am?!

Compassions walks over to them.

COMPASSION
You can wake up. You can wake up
and make the right choices for once
in your life. You have a chance to
change this!

The injured man looks confused.

INJURED MAN
Wake up? Make the right choices?
What does that mean? What are you
trying to say to me?!

Anger starts to slam him into the car.

ANGER
Your as thick as a brick aren’t
you! Wake up and do the right
thing! You made the choice and you
now can change it!
 8.

He continues to slam him into the car.

INJURED MAN
I don’t understand!

ANGER
Wake up! You son of a.. Wake up!
Wake up!

The scene contorts and blurs then changes.

EXT. PARKING LOT NIGHT

The injured man is now at the wheel of his car and it is now
smashed and he is not injured he is waking up from being
asleep at the wheel and it is before he has had the chance to
start the car. Someone is wrapping on the drivers side closed
window.

STRANGER
Hey buddy wake up!

Injured man jumps awake and turns to the stranger. He is

groggy but comes to rather quickly.

INJURED MAN
Huh?

STRANGER
You OK?

INJURED MAN
Yeah.

STRANGER
You should go home and sleep it off
buddy.

INJURED MAN
Yeah you are right. I will.

He puts the key in the ignition but before he can turn it he

hears the voice of Anger in his head.

ANGER
You made the choice and you now can
change it!

INJURED MAN
I made the choice.

He pauses as he realizes it all makes sense now.

 9.

He takes the keys out of the ignition. He takes a deep breath

then exits the car.

He begins to walk away from the car.

EXT. PAYPHONE NIGHT

Injured man puts a coin in the phone and begins to dial.

INJURED MAN
Yeah I would like a cab.

Before he can continue he notices something out of the corner

of his eye. He turns and sees the girl that he hit walking
down the street passing in front of him.

She turns to him and smiles.

DEAD WOMAN
Hi.

She continues on her way as he nervously responds to her.

INJURED MAN
Hi.

The cab dispatcher on the phone yells to get his attention.

INJURED MAN
Oh sorry. Yeah I could really use a
cab right now. I had a lot to drink
and I need to go home.

FADE TO BLACK.