SURVIVAL

by Jeffrey Banfield

Short Film
Email: [email protected]

A story of a grieving family, suffering the wrath of a two deaths in the family, in this story I document the emotions of the family while they deal with the death of the most previous loose. In the story there is mention of the previous death in the family but this story mainly concentrates itself around the second death.

DATE: 30/07/2007

SURVIVAL
Synopsis
A story of a grieving family, suffering the wrath of a two deaths in the family, in this story I document the emotions of the family while they deal with the death of the most previous loose.
In the story there is mention of the previous death in the family but this story mainly concentrates itself around the second death.

 

DATE: 30/07/2007

SURVIVAL
By Jeffrey George Banfield
TITLE CARD:
“In ealdor we libban, in cwalu we belifan.”
Translation
In life we live, in death we survive.
INT. LOUNGE ROOM OF THE HOUSE – AFTERNOON – 3:00PM
The Old oak grandfather clock strikes 3:00PM; a silence runs over the house hold, hearing nothing more than the clocks deadly blow, the sun glaring from out the window were the grandfather clock stands tall, the clocks siren sounding five times  as  if the world has come to a complete halt.
A young women, no more than twenty years of age sits on the lunge room arm chair, eyes wide open, filled with tears, her face filled with anguish and uncountable amounts of sorrow.
 The faint sound of a rattling cup and plate sweeps from beneath her, a tear rolls from her left eye and down her pain filled face, rolling past her cheek and dropping from her chin into her cup of tea.
The tea ripples like pebble being thrown into a lake.
The young woman loses function of the strength in her fingers and drops the cup and plate to the ground. The plate lands on an angle and roles along the carpet as if it was being guided to something, the plate eventually hits the shoulder of man, it stops the plate and makes it land flat on the carpet.
The plate sits still and lifeless as the man that it had struck.
The man lay’s the stiff and cold, fully dressed in a suit and tie, his face is wrinkled and old.

A mosquito fly’s in through a crack in the lounge room window from behind the grandfather clock, it completely ignores the girl who now has her hands over head and her head buried in her knees, the mosquito fly’s over to the man and lands on his foot, it begins to walk up his leg and onto his chest, it walks on a photo frame that lays on the man’s chest, in the frame is a picture of him, an elderly women and the same girl that sites in the chair not a few feet away from the man, the mosquito proceeds on its journey up the man’s body, it travels up his chin and cheek and stops just below his right eye, the mosquito then digs his needle like mouth into the man’s hard, wrinkled skin and begins to suck, the mosquito struggles for the one source that allows it to live, it fails to get what it so desperately needs.
The mosquito fly’s off of the man and out of the lounge room.
The girl still sitting the in grief and shock brings her head upright and looks directly at the man on the floor, she then stands to her feet, and proceeds to walk to the kitchen.
INT. KITCHEN OF THE HOUSE – 3:10PM
In the kitchen she picks up the telephone that is mounted on the hard, dry wall.
She begins to dial very slowly, 9...3...0...9...4...8...7...2.
The phone rings four times until it is answered.
YOUNG WOMEN
He’s gone, come as soon as you can thank-you.
She then hangs up the phone and looks at the clock on the other wall, 3:12PM, she stares at the clock as if time has stood still, she is dumbfounded as to how time is moving so slowly.
The young woman notices a knife on the kitchen table and proceeds to walk over to it slowly.
She picks it up and examines its craftsmanship; she stokes her fingers from the tip of blade to the blade down to the wooden handle, she then places the knife back on the table in the exact same position she picked it up from.
The young women hears three hard knocks at her front door, she swiftly turns her head to the noise.
YOUNG WOMEN
Must be time.
The young woman walks out of the kitchen and into the lounge room where the front door to her home is.
INT. LOUNGE ROOM OF THE HOUSE – AFTERNOON – 3:15PM
The young woman turns the knob to her front door and greets her sister JAMIE and her sisters husband JACK.
JAMIE looks at her sister with tear filled eyes and a blank expression while holding up her pregnant stomach with her hands.
JAMIE
Where is he? What do you mean he’s...gone, he can’t be, mum only just left us three weeks ago, I don’t believe my dad has left us too.
JACK
Its OK sweetie, he’s with your mum now.
JAMIE looks at JACK with anger and fear.
                             JAMIE
It’s OK? How can you say it’s OK? He, like mum will never meet our child, there grandchild, the one thing they always wanted and expected from me and my sister, they were so close to their dreams coming true.

JACK looks at JAMIE’S sister with deepest condolences.
JACK
How are you? Have...have you called the hospital?
YOUNG WOMEN
I can’t...I can’t send anyone there again...just can’t.
JACK
Where is he?
The YOUNG WOMEN slowly pulls her arm out in the direction of the body and points her finger at the body.
That same mosquito fly’s over JACKS shoulder and into the kitchen.
JAMIE runs into the lounge room, shouldering her sister as she passes nearly knocking her over, her sister however stands stiff, as if she was never touched.
JAMIE drops to her knees in frantic tears and screams holding her father’s head up, caressing his grey hair.
JACK walks towards the kitchen but notices his father in-law lying lifeless on the tea stained carpet, he comes to a halt and stares at him for a moment, his eyes over whelmed with tears, and he shakes his head and draws his attention away from the body and goes into the kitchen.
INT. KITCHEN OF THE HOUSE – AFTERNOON – 3:19
He stands beside the telephone and begins to cry for about twenty seconds, he once again controls his emotions and faces the telephone and picks it up from its cradle.
Over his shoulder you can see the mosquito on the kitchen table, it begins to walk up the handle of the same knife that the young women held, and it walks up the blade right to the tip of it and begins to suck a tiny morsel of blood from it that the young women must have left from touching the tip.
The mosquito sucks and sucks until there is no more, it then falls over and suddenly lay’s dead beside the knife.
JACK
Hello, can you please send a ambulance to 19 Carnell drive, rodeo
WOMEN ON THE PHONE
The ambulance will be there shortly, what is the situation?
JACK
A man had died.

INT.LOUNGE ROOM OF THE HOUSE – AFTERNOON – 3:23PM
JACK hangs up the phone and walks into the lounge room, past the YOUNG WOMEN that is standing in the door way to the lounge room and into the lounge room were his wife sits next to the desist.
JACK holds his wife back from the body.
JACK
JAMIE I know it’s hard but we can’t disturb the body.
JAMIE
It’s not a body; it’s my dad, my beautiful father.
JAMIE puts her head into JACKS shoulder and cries deeply, howling with agony.
JACK looks at the YOUNG WOMEN.
JACK
I called the hospital; they will be here soon to take your dad ok.
The YOUNG WOMEN just nodes her head, without expression or blinking.
The YOUNG WOMEN then walks over to that same arm chair and sits down as she waits.
JACK gets up and brings his wife up with him and places her on the sofa, JACK the looks through the window behind the sofa, he sees the ambulance pull up into the drive way.
JACK
OK, the ambulance is her, ill just let them in.
JACK rushes to the door and opens it to great the medics.
JACK
He’s just through here.
The medics rush through the door with a bag in one of the medics hands.
The medics get on their knees near the body and look at JAMIE.

MEDIC #1
Excuse me maim, how long has this man been here for?
JAMIE looks at her sister.
The YOUNG WOMEN looks at the clock it reads 3:30PM, and then goes back to staring blankly at the body.
YOUNG WOMEN
 I found him about thirty minutes ago; I’m not sure how long he’s been there tho.
I just got home, walked into the kitchen made some tea, sat down and there he was.
MEDIC #2
In cases like these you should call us immediately; we could possibly bring them back if they aren’t there for too long.
JAMIE looks at her sister with hate and anger, she rushes towards her, and she then grabs her shoulders and shakes her.
JAMIE
Where were you little sister? Tell me where you were while my father was dying? Out fucking that boy that he despised so much? ANSWER ME.
JAMIE slaps her sister and struggles for air.
YOUNG WOMEN
I was visiting mum, I went to her grave to give her flowers that dad asked me to give to her along with his love.
MEDIC #1
OK, call it, there’s not we can do.
MEDIC #2
Time of death 3:00PM.
MEDIC #1 pulls out a large folded black bag from his equipment bad, MEDIC #2 lifts the body from the feet and JACK lifts the body from the head off the ground while MEDIC #1 lays the body bag out on the ground to place the body in.
MEDIC #2 and JACK lower the body into the bag and MEDIC #1 zips up the bag.
MEDIC #1 walks over to JAMIE and her sister.

MEDIC #1
It’s you duty to inform you that at 3:00PM this afternoon your father had passed away, I’m very sorry for your loose, we must leave now but I must insist that you don’t touch the body, the coroner will be here soon, I will call the office immediately to inform then about the situation.
MEDIC #2 walks over to MEDIC #1.
MEDIC #2
We need to leave now.
MEDIC #2
Once again we are very sorry for your loose, just sit down, and relax until the coroner gets here.
MEDIC #1 and MEDIC # 2 walk out the front door and close it.
JACK walks up to his wife and puts his arms around her, he kisses her forehead.
JACK
You heard the MEDIC, why don’t we all go into the kitchen and have a cup of tea.
JAMIE and JACK begin to walk into the kitchen past the YOUNG WOMEN.
YOUNG WOMEN
Even in death, I know you will survive.
FADE OUT.
The END

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