Scene: 12 The Fire
(Lights come up on Julia inside the shed. She's about to leave, but door seems to be locked, we hear voices calling outside.)
JULIA: Hey, you guys! Open the door! Someone locked me in! Guys?!
(She's banging on the door to get out. Smoke starts to appear. She sniffs and realizes that maybe the shed's on fire.) Help! You guys?! There;s smoke in here. Someone let me out! I think the shed's on fire! Open the door! Someone help! Fire! Fire!
(The shed door is yanked open, The wind howls more. Ken has freed Julia.)
KEN: Come on!
JULIA: Someone locked me in!
(Julia, and Ken run into the open air. The shed burns. All the kids come running.)
DOOFUS: What happened?
JULIA: Someone locked me in the shed and set it on fire.
KEN: I heared her screaming so I came to help her.
TINA-LOUISE: Why would someone do that?
HELEN: I think it was Ken!
KEN: I saved her, freak!
BENNY: He's just jealous that I'm ice skating with Julia.
KEN: I could care less.
BUCKY: You're ice skating with Julia?
CLIFFORD: I dub Benny king of the smoothies!
BENNY: I'm not a smoothie.
KEN: I didn't set the shed on fire.
VINCENT: Sure you didn't. Just like you didn't steal my twenty dollars.
KEN: Brendan, set the shed on fire.
(Pause)
TREY: What did you say?
KEN: It was Brendan. I saw him running with a can of gasoline.
JENNA: When?
KEN: Just a little while ago. I was chasing him and he was yelling "Julia's bad! Julia's bad!"
JULIA: Why would he say that?
KEN: I don't know but he ran out onto the pond, and there was hole out there.
CLIFFORD: We were just ice fishing there.
KEN: And Brendan fell in the hole in the ice because he didn't see it. He fell in.
VINCENT: He fell in the hole?
KEN: Yeah, and I tried to help him, but he kept slipping underwater, and I couldn't get a grip on him and he just... disappeared. He drowned. He died.
(Pause)
TREY: That's a lie.
KEN: We should get the police over here. Maybe they can find the body.
TREY: He's lying!
KEN: You're just upset because he was your friend.
TREY: You locked Julia in the shed.
KEN: Brendan admitted it when he was splashing in the ice!
TREY: You set the shed on fire. You did that, bot Brendan!
KEN: He felt bad and he told me to go help Julia.
TREY: You let Julia out so you would look like the hero, but you're not!
KEN: Brendan did it, and he fell through the ice! And he's dead!
TREY: No, he isn't! You can't do that!
KEN: Don't blame me.
TREY: You're not allowed to kill him off like that!
KEN: What are you talking about?
TREY: You can't kill him off!
KEN: I'm sorry. He's dead.
(They all take this in, silence.)
ARNO: He's not dead. He's... He's bit dead because he never existed. Trey made him up. I wouldn't normally say anything but-
EDYTHE: We-were-searching-on-the-computer-and-we-found-these-old-newspaper-articles-and-Trey-stole-the-story.
TREY: I didn't steal the story! Vincent, you said you saw him yourself.
VINCENT: I lied. I mean... everyone else was saying they saw him so...
TREY: Tina-louise played Xbox with him!
TINA-LOUISE: I just needed something to write in my journal. I thought that's what we were doing. Isn't that what we were doing?
TREY: What about the jokes he cracked at the 7-11?!
DOOFUS: Yeah, I just needed something for my journal too.
TREY: See?! I told you that you were all liars! I knew it! But I saw him! I saw him!
JULIA: Who set the shed on fire if it wasn't Brendan?
KEN: It was Brendan! I saw him too. And he fell in the ice and he's dead!
TREY: He's not dead. Because I saw him fall in , but I ran to him and when I got to the hole he popped up again.
KEN: Come on...
TREY: And he was shivering and we and almost dead, but not quite. And I pulled him out of the pond and helped him off the ice and we made it to the woods.
KEN: Do you believe this crap?
DAN: No, he's right.
CLIFFORD: He is?
DAN: Yeah. I saw Trey and Brendan in the woods, and Brendan was wet. You remember, Trey? And we put our coats on him, to keep him warm?
TREY: Yeah...Right. We did.
DAN: And we rubbed his hands and his face, and we kept talking to him, and he started to warm up.
TREY: Right. And I apologized to Brendan for a fight we had. And he said he forgave me.
CLIFFORD: And that's when I showed up with a thermos of soup.
TINA-LOUISE: And I had a blanket that had been in my car.
HELEN: And I let him borrow my gloves.
EDYTHE: Wait-I'm-totally-confused-I-thought-there-was-no-Brendan.
JULIA: No, we all helped him get warm.
BENNY: You got this story all wrong, Ken.
KEN: Shut up!
VINCENT: So...Where is he now then?
TREY: He's gone. These strange lights appeared.
VINCENT: Lights? Like space ship lights?
TREY: No, like heavenly lights.
TINA-LOUISE: Etheral lights.
DAN: But they weren't scary, they were comforting lights.
TREY: Right, and out of these lights came Brendan's mother and his little brother, they were all so happy to see each other, they just kept hugging.
KEN: This is so cheesy.
FRANKY: So he just left with them?
TREY: Yes.
EDYTHE: And-he-didn't-even-say-goodbye?
TREY: No, he said-(Brendan enters)
BRENDAN: Trey, I heard what you said in your bedroom, and yes you're still my favorite.
EDYTHE: That's-what-he-said?
HELEN: But then he added.
BRENDAN: Thought, I'm also very fond of Helen.
TREY: But his final words were.
BRENDAN: But mostly, I like Trey best of all.
(Trey and Brendan hug goodbye.)
TREY: And then they eveloped into snow and disappeared and the lights were gone.
DAN: But it was ok that he was gone, because he was going home and that's where he wanted to be.
KEN: That's so bogis, It's a total crock!
DAN: We saw it happened, did anyone else besides you see Brendan torch the shed?
KEN: You know what. I know what I saw, I bet the police would believe me before they believe any of you. You all can go to hell.
BENNY: That's where you're going Ken, Brendan told us.
KEN: Bite me!
VINCENT: So... now what?
DOOFUS: I guess we go home.
TINA-LOUISE: Anyone need a ride?
ALL: Nooooooo!
TINA-LOUISE: You guys are so mean.
(They all leave, Trey stays behind)
TREY: Hey, Dan
(Dan re-enters)
DAN: Yeah?
TREY: My mother works at the hospital
DAN: Uh-huh?
TREY: And she say your mom's one of the nicest patients.
DAN: Oh yeah?
TREY: Yeah.
DAN: Cool, well I'm gonna take off.(Dan exits)
TREY: Okay. (Helen enters)
HELEN: Hey, Trey.(Trey sheilds his face) You coming?
TREY:(Un-sheilds) Uuhh... yeah.
HELEN: Cool, I'll walk back with you.
TREY: Oh, Okay.
HELEN: Brendan tells me you're named after "Trey Gunn."
TREY: Uhh... yeah.
HELEN: I'm a big fan of his.
TREY: Oh, really?
HELEN: I'm named after "Helen Gurley Brown" the founder of cosmopolitan.
TREY: Oh, I didn't know that.
HELEN: Wanna see my glass eye?
TREY: No thanks.
HELEN: Just checking.
(They both exits)
RADIO GUY: Good evening Wisconsin at W-A-C-K radio, reports of the mysterious lost boy has come up empty, leaving authorities to wonder if they were fooled by a snow day prank by local school kids. Do we have another bigfoot in the making folks? Who knows, but if you see something walking in the woods, get out your cameras andstart clicking. Special anouncement to 's class she called me to remind you about those journals, if you haven't started now then you better get cracking, She's sure you had something to write about after this long winter break. This is Tom Thompson signing off and remember to bundle up.
THE END