Twisted Falls

By Joshua S. Friedman

Troubled nineteen-year-old Ritchie Bond is given an ultimatum; ninety days in county lock-up or thirty days as a patient of St. Stephen's hospital; fifth floor; the mental ward; otherwise known as Lucid Falls. Amidst a cocktail of prescription drugs, mental duress, and deranged inmates, Ritchie must navigate the maze of his mind and ultimately face his greatest fear: The Great Polar Bear.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joshua S. Friedman
• Release date: Apr 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310127533

Joshua S. Friedman

Greetings friends,I love reading and writing. There is no better (at least in my opinion, but what the Hell do I know), escape from the banality of reality than just expressing that is within you.If you feel it, love it. If you love it, embrace it. And if you embrace it, and take everything entirely for what it is, then though art truly a master of thyself.To thine known self be true, and truly unto they self. Then take that knowledge and understanding and give unto others.Is that too esoteric?Be yourself. Enjoy one another (especially in these times).If not, then what the Hell are you doing?I also enjoy reading and reviewing works from other Smashwords authors; especially those offering their books for free hoping someone will read them. Well, someone is. Slowly but surely. I encourage my fellow Smashwords constituents to read and write honest and insightful reviews of ALL works they download.Hey...You read it. Someone wrote it...Provide feedback.Good DayGood NightHave a Restful SleepAnd Good AppetiteJ.S.F.

Book preview

TWISTED FALLS

A Screenplay

By

Joshua S. Friedman

FIRST EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Joshua S. Friedman on Smashwords.com

Twisted Falls

Copyright © 2015 by Joshua S. Friedman

This book remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed for any commercial or non-commercial use without permission from the author

Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated

All persons, places, and events depicted are purely the work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental

Adult Reading Material

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For Dave.

Stop living in your head, bro.

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"Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"

-Albert Einstein

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A BRIEF WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

Oh, how I’ve tried rewriting this into a short story or novel. But, alas, I’ve failed. I suppose this was always meant to be a screenplay, after all, it’s how I originally wrote it all those years ago.

Fun factoid: I went to film school in college and was even part of a production company. I don’t want to get into details about how our corporation fell apart; but when we graduated, this was the movie we were supposed to make. The stories’ a little outdated and not very well written (‘cause as I said, I wrote it in college), but I believe the message stands plain-as-daises.

J.S.F

February, 2015

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Fade in:

EXT. BACK PORCH – NIGHT

It is a quiet summer night in the country. Crickets chirp merrily in the tall grass. A small box-radio pumps out Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Simple Man from a screen window. Bill and Ritchie are hanging out on the porch carrying on like a couple of drunken monkeys. A cooler pops open as Bill grabs himself another Pabst.

BILL

Yo, Ritchie, ya need one?

Ritchie staggers as he peers through the lid of his can, examining the contents.

RITCHIE

Almost…

He takes a can.

RITCHIE

Yeah, well hell, get me two.

BILL

Two it is.

Bill casually plucks a beer from the now luke-warm water and tosses it.

RITCHIE

Hey!

Ritchie protests; not ready for the can sailing past him.

RITCHIE

(Cont.)

Fucker.

BILL

Ready?

Preparing to toss the next one.

RITCHIE

No.

BILL

Too bad.

This one Ritchie attempt to catch, but his inebriation slows him down, causing him to miss. Ritchie sighs, looking despondently at the forsaken beer.

RITCHIE

You’re drinking those, you know.

BILL

No, I’m not.

Bill grabs his own beer from the cooler and pops the tab.

RITCHIE

(To himself)

Well I’m not gonna drink ‘em, all shook up and shit.

Ritchie downs the Pabst in his hand, pitching the empty receptacle into a lawn in dire need of moving. Ritchie looks over at his drinking buddy, who is refreshing his own thirst before turning his attention to the two full cans splayed across the ragged lawn. They shine brightly through the tall grass; they seem to be calling out to Ritchie, for after all, they are fresh and only a little shaken.

RITCHIE

Fuck it.

He picks one up and slides it into the front pocket of his jeans. He then retrieves the other, rapping his middle finger on the tab before opening it. The beer foams a bit yet all is well.

BILL

Sure is a nice night.

RITCHIE

Ehh.

BILL

Oh, and what’s wrong with you?

We’ve got frosty brews, cool tunes, and just check out them stars.

What more could you want?

RITCHIE

First of all…

Ritchie stumbles, losing his balance. Bill laughs.

BILL

Whoa, you all right, man?

RITCHIE

Fuck yeah.

Ritchie raises his beer to toast, from across the porch, Bill does the same. They drink.

BILL

So then what’s your deal, man?

You’ve been acting like a mopey little bitch lately.

RITCHIE

As I was saying, first of all…

He pauses, steadying himself just in case.

RITCHIE

These beers are hardly frosty.

We’re listening to the same ‘ol Skynard tape.

And as for them stars, I’ve seen ‘em.

BILL

Oh, poor baby, is that all?

RITCHIE

No it ain’t all.

As for your little bitch, I got yours hanging right here, buddy,

(Grabbing his crotch).

Bill laughs as Ritchie makes his way across the porch and over to the beat up old dodge truck sitting in the gravel driveway.

BILL

Now where you going?

Ritchie turns and smiles wildly at Bill before opening the truck’s door and sliding into the driver’s seat.

RITCHIE

Wherever God takes me.

He gets in and begins searching for something.

RITCHIE

Where’re your keys?

BILL

Huh?

RITCHIE

(Louder)

‘Said, where the fuck are your keys?

BILL

In my pocket,