This is my second piece, the characters based on stories ripped from headlines over the years, others just tragic scenarios . . . but they do have a similar current running through them . . . I hope you enjoy as I take you on a ride to an . . .
Extinction
Level Event
In the
darkness of the stage, “Moonlight Sonata”
from Beethoven begins to play. It starts
very melancholy and then fades up to a comfortable listening volume.
Then we
hear a new sound creep into this sonic bed.
It is that of a music box. It
starts to play a very happy melody that is stark contrast with the rather minor
cadences of the Sonata. But, at the same
time, it seems to go with it, seems to be a part of the Sonata; a subset within
the whole.
It too
slowly rises in volume but to a level slightly below the Sonata’s.
The stage
slowly begins to light up with a bluish-white tinge a la Moonlight. We see a backdrop of gnarled, leafless trees
in the clutches of a full moon.
Then we
hear the sound of wind whipping through trees.
Simultaneously, there is a gust of wind that comes from Stage Right,
blowing a few leaves along with it.
Trudging in
from Stage left is a Black Man, clad in a suit.
He hugs himself as the wind blasts him and the leaves smack him in the
face.
He gets to
the center of the stage, turns to the audience and treks down towards them.
He stops
now. The sounds of the music and music
box now begin to fade to a barely audible level at which they will stay. The only sound that can be heard at this moment
is that of the wind whipping through the trees.
The Man
starts to moan with discomfort and shivers violently almost
uncontrollably. After taking hold of
himself again he begins to speak . . .
MAN
Extinction
Level Event . . .
Extinction
Level Event . . .
No more are
they content . . .
To merely
torture me, heap suffering on my family
They want
to . . . kill me . . .
Commit my
soul to this present limbo
Where
nothing lives or grows
No tomorrow
. . .
Only this
everlasting, chilly night
Where I am
laughed at by mocking, rueful moonlight
And the
wind fights . . . with me.
Forever
trying to sap the warmth from my body
What little
dignity . . . I had in life
Is in the
tears the wind cuts away as a knife
My body now
twitches away last vestiges of life . . .
I have been
gone but two minutes now
But my body
is still rained on by blow . . . after blow . . . after blow . . .!
Through the
unfeeling portal of this moon
I see their
faces swoon . . .
. . . Into view. Might I have expired too soon . . .
Spoiling
their fun?
Making
clouds cover the sun
As they do
their duty of ridding the planet of yet another one of these Dark Abominations?
My flowing
blood reflects the gleam of teeth
As they
smile. A shell casing: my immediate
wreathe
No greater
than a rotting carcass am I, as I am prodded beneath
. . . Their
feet. They had to make sure It was dead
I stare
blankly at them from a concrete bed . . .
That is
slowly gaining Color. Up to now not a
word of apology has been said
By the
Warlord who sent these Mercenaries
To entrap
me, execute me . . . for protecting my dignity.
Why Me?
What was it about me . . . that invited this deadly scrutiny!?
I had a home;
a family . . . turned my life around from juvenile misdeeds . . .
Now . . . my
past has been posthumously dug up so Media Vultures can feed . . .!
To cover up
and justify the flippant scything of a Human Being . . . like a Weed!
I hope that
you’re content . . .
You’ve
started an Extinction Level Event
An
Extinction Level Event . . .!
With that the man trudges off to stage right much in
the same manner as before, with the leaves and wind battering him.
As he exits, another form emerges from the
backdrop. The figure is wearing a hooded
jacket some jeans and sneakers. The wind
still whips and howls with leaves surfing the thermals.
The wind treats him like the previous figure:
Battering him around as rag doll. As He
approaches the audience, he holds the hood by the edges shielding his face and
his identity from the audience.
He comes to a stop at much the same spot the previous
figure did. He raises his head revealing
the bottom half of his face, from the nose to his chin; his eyes are hidden in
shadow of the hood.
He begins to speak . . .
HOODED ONE
Extinction
Level event
Extinction
level event . . .
My pleas
couldn’t prevent
Them from
locking me away . . . here
Where light
does not dare
Or care . .
. to venture in
So it sends
its distant, scornful cousin,
The Moon,
to slither around this world as a water moccasin.
Just as
fearful malicious stereotypes
Infected
their minds as they slowly crushed my windpipe
They
accosted me, said that I fitted the “type”
My ‘Alien Wear’.
. . was enough to rear
In them a most
rabid suspicion: “Boy . . .what are you doin’ around here?!”
A smirk on
the face of one made their mindset too clear.
I was
fearful; their reputation preceded them
So I
complied with their commands, didn’t want any problems.
Didn’t want
to become another statistic in some mad politician’s ‘theorems’
About
violent tendencies of my dusky group.
Gritted my
teeth, kept silent as they slammed me against my coupe
Face first
into my bonnet. As reflections in my
dripping blood I saw them droop
Over me,
questioning me, bludgeoning me
With
extensions of their cowardly masculinity
They
accused me . . . of deeds against someone . . .
I didn’t
exist in their realm; I couldn’t have been the one . . .!
I have
never flirted with such a weapon . . .!
Didn’t
understand it then . . . but I understand now . . .
Couldn’t
see it then, couldn’t see how . . .
They could
mistake me. Truth is, if you’re endowed
With an
epidermis that shines like the earth,
To
distinguish one from another isn’t worth
The time or
the effort . . .!
They made
the ground and I one . . .
Placed all
their weight on . . .
Me. I couldn’t breathe; consciousness went off
and on.
So I
grabbed with life force’s weakening fingers
At air
which they made cruelly linger . . .
Out of my
reach. When my protestations grew dire,
thus stronger
They
interpreted for unwarranted duress
Callously
ignoring, defecating on my rising distress
So . . .
they crushed the air from my breast
I felt each
tendon, each muscle fiber as it gave way
Compacted,
wrenched every which way
Through all
the agony I endured . . . I tried to stay
There, in
the moment . . .
For me to
choke on my liquid warmth was their intent . . .
I expired .
. . Extinction Level Event . . .
With that this figure too retreats to the back of the
stage and eventually merges again into the dark of the upstage backdrop and
set.
Then from offstage right we see a Child saunter in
walking a bicycle. He too is fighting
the wind, trying to hold on to his cap.
As he reaches the center of the stage he lays down the
bike and reaches to his back and pulls out a toy gun. It is bright orange in color with black
handle grips.
He proceeds to play with his gun pretending to shoot
“badguys”, as he calls them, at various locations on stage and in the audience.
Still in the midst of his play he begins to speak . .
.
KID
Heard Daddy
say, “Extinction Level Event . . .”
Just before
they zip me up in that black plastic tent.
Din’ know
what that meant . . .
All I know
is that I was playin’
On the Ave
wit’ my cousin’
All of us
together was about half a dozen
Just got
this new toy from my daddy
But . . .
last I remember it wasn’t this dirty
What could
all this red stuff on it be?
Don’ know
how come I missed it before . . .
Would a
asked Dad to clean it ‘fore I walked out the door
I’m rubbin’
it ‘till I can’t rub no more
Maybe in
the morning I’ll be able to see better
I don’
know, the cold here make this red stuff feel wetter
When they
zip me up couldn’t they let me out some place better
Than this? I know those other guys must have been
playing the game too
Yeah, those
guys with those glitzy stuff on their clothes, you know who.
I wonder
when they gon’ let me out of here. I
gotta get home to
My Daddy
an’ Mommy. I gon’ get in trouble if I
stay out too late . . .
So anyway I
was outside, playin’ “Good Guys an’ Bad Guys.”
We couldn’ wait
To be like
that man on “Enemy of the State.”
I’m tellin’
you I was killin’ em . . .!
One by one
they was lights out, no problem!
If I missed
it was seldom.
Now I just
had to take Jahim out an’ it would be over
He was
hidin’ right aroun’ the corner
An’ I was
gettin’ closer an’ closer.
Suddenly
somebody said “Don’ move!”
Couldn’ let
Jahim get the drop on me so I had to prove
That I was
quicker. Did a nice spin move
All I heard
was Crack! Crack!
And I was
on my back.
Was in so
much pain, thought I slipped and hurt my back.
Jahim had a
hat just like the ones who got me good
Thought
they were friends of his from the hood
Tried to
move and talk but it did no good.
I don’
know, I just felt real tired after that slip up
I think I
kind a fainted or something ‘cause when I woke up
There was
Jahim’s friends zipping me up
In this
black tent. Thought they were playing a
joke on me
Getting me
back for beating them so severely.
Don’t know
where this place is; I couldn’t see.
Wonder
where they could be?
I’m cold,
tired . . . getting hungry . . .
The light
up there looks like the moon . . . I can
see . . .
Hey, wait .
. . I see . . . Me . . .?
That can’t
be . . .!
I’m lying
on the ground
Just like
when Jahim’s friends found
Me. There’s a lot of this red stuff coming from
around
Me and
messin’ up the concrete
Runnin’
into the street . . .
Jahim’s
friends are even wiping it off their feet.
There are
other people around . . . they look so sad . . .
This looks
really bad . . .
Oh wait
there’s my Dad . . .!
Why is he
crying so much . . .?
Why is he
screaming at Jahim’s friends so much?
He doesn’t
even want them to touch . . .
How come I
don’t remember Dad holding my head
Like
that? How come I didn’t feel his dreads
Touching my
face . . .? Am I . . . am I . . . dead .
. .?
(Touches his shirt . . . now sees the growing
Red . . .)
But no . .
. no . . .!
I’m
supposed to go with Dad to the Mets game tomorrow . . .
My Ninth
Birthday Present . . . I’ve been looking forward to it . . .!
It’s not
fair! I was hoping to catch a ball from
home run hit . . .!
My baby
brother . . . my friends . . . (cries out)
Mommy!!
What they
gon’ do without me? They need me . . .!
. . .
What’s gon happen’ to me now!?
I wanna
know how . . .
I can go
back . . . I wanna go back . . . now . . .!
Please . .
. don’t put me in that Black Tent
Please . .
. it’s . . .
The boy is unable to complete the sentence, as he is
overcome by hysterical sobs and cries.
But it is completed by his Father, whose voice can be heard yelling:
“. . . Extinction
level Event . . .! Oh God my boy . . .
Extinction Level Event . . .!!!”
The boy now begins to trudge despondently back upstage and
off to the right, still in the throes of sobbing.
The music and that of the music box now begin to rise
in volume once again to the level at the start of the scene.
Slowly, one by one, each soul treks its way across the
stage disappearing to the left or right as the wind and leaves batter them
continuously.
They continue to wander on and off stage as the lights
slowly go to black. The music will
continue for ten seconds more during the darkness then slowly fade to nothing.
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