In a game of Russian Roulette, a kidnapped young man has to come to terms with the mistakes in his life and his impending death.
** Trigger warning: swearing and death
Flick of the Wrist
Written by: Joey Coleman
Characters:
BOY/“HYPERION”: Young male, twenty-three years old.
MAN/“ZEUS”: Older male, fifty-five years old.
Five Random Civilians sitting at table
Bodyguard
Random Civilian
Setting:
Somewhere close to Toronto, B.C.
Scene:
The scene starts in the midst of a game of Russian Roulette. Five people sit at a round table alongside ZEUS and HYPERION. There is a doorway out in the corner of the room with a bodyguard standing in front of it. The guard does not say or make any moves unless he is refilling the bullets in the gun. The room is dark and dank with minimal lighting besides one flickering bulb hanging above the centre of the table.
The scene starts with a gunshot. One of the five men falls lifeless onto the top of the table.
BOY: Oh, shit! Fuck!
MAN: Will you stop freaking out, kid?
BOY: How can you not?! You see a lot of brains being blown out in front of you?
MAN: Lately, yeah.
The one bullet is refilled by the bodyguard and the chamber is spun. Guard places the gun in front of the next man.
BOY: I don’t even know how I got here, man. Last thing I remember I was in my apartment making dinner. Then I got dizzy, blacked out and woke up here at this table.
MAN: Well, I assure you that you don’t have an apartment anymore.
BOY: What?
MAN: These people don’t mean to let you go. They can’t have the police trying to track you down. I’d say they blew up your apartment. Made it look like a gas leak. Maybe a fire.
BOY: Oh, Christ… What do they want with me?
The gun is used and passed to the next man.
MAN: Hell if I know. Someone in your family probably fucked with these guys. A brother, dad, uncle.
BOY: I don’t have any brothers. Only a younger sister.
MAN: A sister? Weird how they took you and not her.
BOY: Wait- you don’t think they have her somewhere else, do you? Torturing her or something?
MAN: Hm. Could be.
BOY: Fuck! I gotta get out of here!
MAN: Calm down, kid! (The gun is used and passed to the next man in the circle.) Tell me about yourself.
BOY doesn’t talk.
MAN: Okay. Well, I’m not going to give you my real name here. Just call me… Zeus.
BOY: Zeus?
ZEUS: Yeah. Always liked that guy. So, what do you want me to call you then?
BOY: I don’t know… Hyperion.
ZEUS: Who?
BOY: He was the Greek god of light. One of the Titan brothers who castrated his father.
ZEUS: Ouch. Somebody has daddy issues. Okay, well nice to meet you Hyperion. See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?
The gun is passed to ZEUS. He calmly uses it, hears silence, and passes to HYPERION. HYPERION doesn’t move.
ZEUS: Use it, kid.
HYP: Why? Why do I have to do this?
ZEUS: Because you see that big ugly bodyguard over by the door? He won’t hesitate to kill you if you don’t play or you try to escape.
HYP: Play?! You think this is a game? People are dying!
ZEUS: Just pull the trigger, kid.
HYPERION very slowly raises the gun to his head and pulls the trigger. Silence. He lets out a big sigh and passes the gun to the next man.
ZEUS: So, you were going to tell me about yourself—
A shot is heard from the man beside HYPERION. Bodyguard comes and refills the bullet before returning to his position at the door.
HYP: Jesus! That could’ve been me! Shit, fuck! What the hell am I going to do?! I could die here!
ZEUS: Kid, look at me! How old are you?
HYP: What? Why do you—
ZEUS: How old are you?
HYP: T-twenty-three.
ZEUS: Good. You go to college? University?
HYP: Y-yeah, I did. University of Toronto for business management.
ZEUS: Phew- smart kid. Did you ever do anything with your degree?
HYP: No… It was my dad who wanted me to do it. Wanted me to be a CEO at a big company.
ZEUS: So you castrated him, huh? (Laughs. Gun is passed to the next man.) Keep your eyes on me, kid. I’m talking to ya. What do you want to be?
HYP: Me? Oh, um… no one’s ever asked me that before. A mechanic.
ZEUS: A mechanic, huh? Well, maybe if my brains get blown out here you can fix me up to be a robot or something. (Laughs.)
HYP: You’re laughing…
ZEUS: I am! I’m fucking funny, kid!
HYP: Yeah, a riot… What about you?
ZEUS: What about me?
HYP: What do you do?
ZEUS: Ah. No good shit is what I do. That’s all you need to know.
HYP: What about a family? Are you married? Kids?
ZEUS: … Yeah. Had a wife who died in childbirth and a daughter who died of cancer at three. I just have the best damn luck, don’t I? I guess it was only a matter of time before I ended up in this shit hole.
HYP: … I’m sorry.
ZEUS: Nah, don’t be. Wasn’t your fault. At least I got a bit of time with both of them and wouldn’t trade that for the world.
HYP: Is that it? Your life’s story? No family and a secret job?
ZEUS: What can I say? I’ve got a real Hollywood life.
The gun is passed.
ZEUS: Now don’t lose me here, kid. Tell me about your family now.
HYP: Um… My- my mom died when I was eight. My dad is a piece of shit and my sister is probably being raped and tortured as we speak.
ZEUS: Now, don’t get all negative. I’m sure she’s safe. I mean why would they want her when they have a stud like you?
HYP: Why do they even want me? Who are they?
ZEUS: Like I said- someone in your family probably got messed up with these guys and owes them something.
HYP: But my dad buys and sells office supplies!
ZEUS: Oh, that’s the dirtiest business of them all! (Laughs.)
HYP (joins him.): God, are we actually laughing in this situation?
ZEUS: If you can’t laugh now, then when? (Pause.) See, I told you I was fucking funny.
HYP: Don’t know why I ever doubted you.
A shot is heard. The bullet is refilled.
HYP: Goddamn! One more down.
ZEUS: Four to go… So you got anyone special in your life?
HYP: Jesus, you are the master of changing the subject.
ZEUS: I do what I can. So? No girl? Or guy?
HYP: There was a girl. But I fucked it up.
ZEUS takes the gun, pulls the trigger quickly and passes it to HYPERION.
ZEUS: How did you fuck it up?
Silence.
ZEUS: Come on, kid. Use it and move on.
HYP: But what if this is it? My last thoughts will be of my regret and fuck-ups.
ZEUS (laughs.): Isn’t that how we all go? Life is just going from one fuck-up to another.
HYP: I can’t, Zeus… I can’t do it.
The bodyguard notices from the door and begins to move towards HYPERION, reaching for a gun in his belt holster.
ZEUS: Look, Hyperion. You can either play and have a 50/50 chance of not dying or you can let this thug blow your brains out and have a 100 percent chance of a shitty death. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve grown fond of talking to you.
HYPERION takes the gun, lets out a deep breath as he fires. Silence. The bodyguard goes back to his position near the door.
HYP: Fuck. (He passes the gun to the next man.)
ZEUS: See? You’re a lucky one. Now what happened to this girl?
HYP: I met her in university. We were project partners. Ended up doing more fucking then work though. Got a C- on our project and dated for four years. She wanted to move forward, and I was stuck standing still.
ZEUS: Ah. Commitment issues. Couldn’t propose?
HYP: I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I wanted to- God, did I want to. But I got to the jewellers and just freaked out. That diamond seemed like the nail on my coffin or whatever the saying is.
ZEUS: You’re still so young though. But I get it, the act of proposing is a difficult one. I sure as hell almost ran as well. The outcome, kid, the outcome is worth it. You get the security of knowing you’ll wake up to that gorgeous face every day until you die… or she dies… No matter how many fights or threats that may happen, you will always have her beside you. To comfort you when you have that shit day, to take care of you when you’re sick, to love you.
The gun is passed.
HYP: … funny. I didn’t take you for a sap.
ZEUS: Ah, shut it! You little shit.
HYP (laughs.): You know what I’m going to do if I ever get out of here? I’m going to go get the biggest damn ring I can find and am going to finally propose to Lisa… Then I’m going to go punch my father in the face.
ZEUS laughs. A shot is heard. The bullet is refilled.
ZEUS: Sounds like a good plan, kid. (ZEUS uses the gun again. Silence. He passes it to HYPERION.)
HYP (pause.): How do you do it Zeus? How can you just use the gun so calmly without wondering?
ZEUS: Thinking before death leads to heartache. Quick and painless, that’s my motto.
HYPERION uses the gun. Silence. He passes it along.
HYP: Zeus?
ZEUS: Yeah, kid?
HYP: Why’d you do it? Why’d you start talking to me?
ZEUS: You were too damn jittery. Had to calm you down. (Pause.) And you looked like you needed a chat.
HYP: I sure did.
The gun is again passed to ZEUS. He uses it and passes it to HYPERION.
HYP: Shit, again?
ZEUS: Don’t think, kid.
HYPERION uses it. Silence. He passes it along.
HYP: Zeus… what did you do to get in here? Were you kidnapped too?
ZEUS: Nah. Well, could you consider a gun being pointed at your back in the middle of a street kidnapping?
HYP: Yes.
ZEUS: Well, then that’s one more thing to cross off my bucket list.
HYP: Do you know what you did?
ZEUS: To get in here? Yeah… it wasn’t good.
HYP: What— (a shot is heard.) Shit. It’s just us now.
The bodyguard comes over and puts two bullets in the gun before spinning the chamber.
HYP: What’s he doing? He can’t do this. You can’t do this!
ZEUS: Calm down—
HYP: No! Stop telling me to calm the fuck down! Stop telling me what to do! I’ve spent my whole life with people telling me what to do! I can’t take it anymore! You may want to die, but I sure as hell don’t! I want to live my life with Lisa! I want to have kids and my own house! I want to fix fucking cars! I don’t want to die here with the smell of rotting brains in my nose! So fuck you, Zeus and your fucking meditative knowledge! And fuck these guys! You hear me?! FUCK YOU!
ZEUS (pause.): You done now?
HYP (takes a moment.): I- I think so…
ZEUS: Did that feel good?
HYP: Yeah.
ZEUS: I’m sorry, I must be getting old but I couldn’t hear you without some sort of profanity attached to your sentences. Plus I think there’s a ringing in my ears. I asked you, did that feel good?
HYP: Fuck yeah!
ZEUS: Alright, alright, you don’t have to yell. Now let’s sit down and finish this.
HYP: Zeus?
ZEUS: Yeah, kid?
HYP: Thank you. For everything.
ZEUS: You too, kid. (He uses the gun. Silence. He passes it to HYPERION.)
HYP: Shit… (He slowly holds up the gun again and pulls the trigger. Silence.)
ZEUS: My turn again? Yippee.
Suddenly another flustered man is thrown into the room. He tries to escape but the body guard forces him to sit down, pushing one of the previous dead bodies off a chair and onto the floor, and puts the gun in front of him. The man shakily raises the gun to his head. The gun goes off and the man falls onto the table.
ZEUS: Well… he didn’t last long.
HYP: What a way to go.
Two more bullets are added to the gun.
ZEUS: That makes three now… they must be getting impatient.
HYP: Zeus… I’m losing it again.
ZEUS: Kid, you think I’m fearless, don’t you?
HYP: Yeah, I guess… why?
ZEUS: I’m not. I’m scared shitless right now. I was scared when my wife died. I was terrified when my daughter died. Hell, I’ve been scared half my life.
HYP: What’s your point? Why are you saying all this?
ZEUS: Because it’s okay to be scared. It’s okay to let the fear take over sometimes. It means we’re human. And when you think about it, it kind of puts you at ease, you know? A comfort knowing you can still feel. So let’s play this damn game.
HYP: You still think this is a game? Are you kidding me? Last time I checked, I wasn’t at risk of getting my brains splattered on a table last time I played checkers!
ZEUS: But that’s all life is, isn’t it? We begin to play, maybe have some beginner’s luck, learn some strategy and kick some ass, fuck up a few times along the way, then we either win or lose and it’s done. Game over.
HYP: … Are you drunk? This is serious! We are going to die Zeus!
ZEUS: Probably. And that’s okay too.
HYP: You’re okay with this?
ZEUS: We all die, kid. Whether it’s in fifty years or ten minutes from now. What is uncertain is if you’re ready for death.
HYP: What’s the difference?
ZEUS: Well, if you’re ready, you go with peace. When was the last time you felt peace? And I’m not talking about lying on a goddamn beach or chugging down a cold glass of beer after a long day, I mean real peace. No stress, no realization that you forgot to do something earlier in the day. No worrying that you have to do something a week from now. No regrets. Nothing is on your mind. Now, imagine having that feeling the rest of your life.
ZEUS takes the gun and closes his eyes. He takes a few deep breaths before pulling the trigger. A shot is heard. ZEUS falls lifeless on the table.
HYP: Oh, shit! No, no, no, no, no, NO! Zeus- buddy, please get up. I need you. (Stands.) Fuck you guys! Are you fucking happy now?! Are you guys just watching and laughing from somewhere?! You’re monsters! You’re sick! You sick fucks! Jesus- why are you doing this?! ANSWER ME! (Silence.) Shit. Zeus, what do I do now?
HYPERION looks at the gun still clenched in ZEUS’ hand. He grabs it carefully. He takes a few deep breaths as he closes his eyes. He breathes until he is calmed.
Blackout. A shot is heard.
The End.