Thel and Justin are sitting in the trash heap that passes for Justin’s bedroom. There is garbage on the floor, and every square inch of wall space is covered with pictures of naked women.

THEL

I’m telling you, this stuff is amazing. It’s like you’re really high, but everything is so real. So vivid, it’s hard to believe it’s not real.

JUSTIN

You dropped acid?

THEL

It’s not exactly acid. It’s some kind of African root.

JUSTIN

My cousin Jimmy dropped acid once. He said it was kind of lame. He spent the whole night watching light reflect off of a beer can.

THEL

This is so much better.

Justin leans into Thel.

JUSTIN

So, what’s it like?

THEL

You’re in this other world, only it’s just like our world. You can do anything you want, because it’s just make believe, but it seems so real. You can have any woman you want. You’re in total control of everything.

Justin grins.

JUSTIN

Who did you fuck?

Thel smiles sheepishly.

THEL

Kelly.

JUSTIN

You dog. How was she?

THEL

Mind blowing.

Justin sits in admiration, when Thel takes two pieces of root from his pocket.

THEL

Do you want to try it?

Justin looks at the root.

JUSTIN

Right now?

THEL

Sure.

JUSTIN

How long does it last?

THEL

I don’t know.

JUSTIN

What if my mom walks in?

THEL

Your mom wouldn’t come in this room, to tell you the house is on fire.

Justin thinks for a moment, then takes a piece of root, from Thel’s hand. Thel eats his piece of root. Justin, beaming with curiosity, follows suit. The boys sit in anticipation, when suddenly, they are both sucked out of the window.

INT. STRIP BAR - NIGHT

The strip bar is empty, except for a gorgeous naked DANCER. Thel and Justin drop from the sky, into two seats in front of the stage. Justin looks around to get his bearings, then gleefully tunes in on the Dancer. Thel is happily content.

THEL

Did I tell you, this was great?

JUSTIN

It’s a hell of a lot better than the porno channel.

THEL

Check your pockets.

Justin reaches into his pants pockets with both hands. He is ecstatic when he pulls out two handfuls of one-dollar bills.

JUSTIN

They’re all ones.

Justin squeals with delight, as he waives the bills in the air. The Dancer comes over to Justin and gives him a lap dance. Crutch appears in the chair next to Thel.

CRUTCH

Who’s this jerk-off?

Thel looks at Crutch.

THEL

He’s my friend Justin.

CRUTCH

Get rid of him. We have work to do.

Crutch snaps his fingers, and Justin and the Dancer disappear into the floor. Thel is perplexed.

THEL

You didn’t have to do that. Justin’s a good guy.

Crutch gets in Thel’s face.

CRUTCH

Maybe you need a lesson in paranoia. People are lining up to fuck you. You can’t turn your back for a second. You have enemies all around you, and you’re sitting here looking at the naked titty dancer.

Thel is ashamed.

THEL

I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.

Crutch lightens up with a smile.

CRUTCH

Hey, I like looking at the titties too, but when there’s work to be done, you shall have no fun.

THEL

What sort of work did you have in mind?

CRUTCH

You’re the boss, you tell me.

Thel shrugs his shoulders. Crutch looks at him, disappointed.

INT. MRS. GINTY’S HOUSE - NIGHT

Mrs. Ginty stands horrified, in her living room. Thel drops her with a fist to the jaw. Crutch sits on the sofa, casually smoking a cigarette.

Thel sits on Mrs. Ginty’s chest and beats her unmercifully. Crutch gives Thel an approving nod. Thel beats Mrs. Ginty into an unrecognizable bloody mess.

EXT. LUCKY’S HOUSE - NIGHT

Lucky is squirming on the ground, with a noose around his neck. The rope goes up over a tree limb. Thel is holding the end of the rope. Crutch sits on the grass, in a relaxed position.

Thel pulls the rope and hoists Lucky into the air. Lucky struggles as he tries to free himself. Also in the tree, hang the Three Skinheads. They are all dead from hanging. Thel and Crutch laugh, as Lucky stops struggling, and expires.

INT. CONVENIENCE STORE - NIGHT

Thel is behind the counter, hacking the Clerk to death, with a hatchet. Crutch is emptying the cash register. Thel stops his assault and looks at Crutch.

THEL

Tell me again, why we’re killing this guy.

CRUTCH

He’s been overcharging you for years.

Thel looks at the bleeding Clerk.

THEL

Bastard.

Thel continues to whack the Clerk with the hatchet.

EXT. BRIDGE - NIGHT

Thel and Crutch are sitting on the edge of a bridge. They are both drinking beer.

THEL

I can’t remember the last time I had that much fun.

CRUTCH

That’s what I’m here for, buddy boy.

Thel looks at Crutch with a certain seriousness.

THEL

You are my friend, aren’t you?

CRUTCH

When you needed some poon, I delivered. When you needed self-esteem, I hooked you up. I’ve turned you into the person you’ve always wanted to be. You’re a stud. You’re a heartbreaker. You’re a macho macho man. I’d say I’m your best friend.

THEL

I guess it doesn’t much matter. This is all make-believe anyway.

Crutch leers at Thel with a sinister look, and repeats.

CRUTCH

Yeah. Make-believe.

Thel smiles, then takes a swig of beer.

THEL

You know, I wouldn’t mind doing it with Kelly again.

Crutch gets a weird look on his face.

CRUTCH

No can do, pally.

THEL

Why not?

CRUTCH

You have school tomorrow, and your alarm is about to go off now.

The sound of an ALARM RINGING blares, and everything goes black.

INT. THEL’S HOUSE/BEDROOM - DAY

The alarm wakes up Thel. He turns it off, and gets out of bed. He is in a good mood. As he walks across the room, he kicks a bloody beer bottle. He doesn’t notice it. Thel exits.

INT. THEL’S HOUSE/BATHROOM - DAY

Thel enters the bathroom. He turns on the faucet and splashes some water on his face. He turns and grabs a towel. Just as he’s about to dry his face, he sees Kelly’s dead, bloody, naked body in the bathtub.

Shocked, he quickly dries his face. When he looks at the bathtub again, it’s empty. He turns off the sink faucet and takes another look at the tub. It’s still empty. He dismisses his hallucination, and exits the bathroom.

INT. SCHOOL/CLASSROOM #2 - DAY

Thel is sitting in the front of the class. MS. BLAIR, the sexy teacher, is writing equations on the blackboard. Thel and the rest of the class, are utterly disinterested in the math problems. Thel puts his head on his desk, and falls asleep.

DISSOLVE TO:

DREAM SEQUENCE:

INT. SCHOOL/HALLWAY

Thel finds himself wandering down the school hallway. The hallway is eerily vacant of students. Thel sees blood leaking from the bottom of a locker. He approaches the locker and opens it.

He is startled to see Craig inside the locker. Craig’s skull is dented by hammer blows, and he is oozing blood.

CRAIG

Man, do I have a splitting headache.

Craig laughs maniacally. Terrified, Thel turns and runs. As he comes around a corner, he is face to face with Lucky and the Three Skinheads. Lucky and his boys are goose-stepping towards Thel.

Thel quickly reverses direction and flees from the Skinheads.  Thel is running towards a staircase, when he sees Kelly, slumped on the stairs. He stops and looks at her.

She turns around to face Thel. Her throat is cut, and her corroded arteries are gushing blood.

KELLY

I’ll never get a prom date now. Look at me. I’m hideous.

Kelly stands up and walks to Thel.

KELLY

Why did you kill me? I never did anything to you.

Kelly grabs Thel by the neck. He struggles to no avail. Craig, Lucky, and the Three Skinheads arrive on the scene. They all paw at Thel, and bring him to the ground. He screams.

BACK TO REALITY:

INT. SCHOOL/CLASSROOM #2 - DAY

Thel wakes from his nightmare with a scream. Ms. Blair and the students stare at Thel. As he catches his breath, he becomes embarrassed by the attention he has called to himself.

EXT. BEACH - DAY

Thel sits beside Crutch, who is sunbathing. Crutch has a reflective shield under his chin, to tan his whole face. The beach is deserted.

THEL

I need to know if all of those things we did really happened?

CRUTCH

Why don’t you let me worry about that kind of stuff?

THEL

Damn it, Crutch. I’ve been having vision of the dead all day. You have to tell me. Did we really kill those people?

Crutch looks at Thel with surprise.

CRUTCH

What’s this “we” stuff, white man?

Crutch realizes that Thel is gravely serious.

CRUTCH

Reality is merely a state of mind. If you think you did something, then in your mind, you did. If you tell yourself you didn’t do something, it never happened.

THEL

You haven’t answered my question.

CRUTCH

How do you know you got up this morning? Are you sure you took a shit before gym class? These are questions you have to answer yourself.

Thel takes a deep breath, to clear his mind.

THEL

This is getting a little too weird for me. I’m not going to take the root anymore. So, I guess I won’t be seeing you again.

Crutch puts the reflector down. He looks at Thel with mock sadness.

CRUTCH

I’m sorry you feel that way. I tried to show you a good time, but I obviously failed. My apologies.

THEL

It’s not you, I just think the root is starting to mess up my brain.

Thel stands up, as does Crutch.

CRUTCH

Hey, it was fun while it lasted. Take care of yourself.

Crutch extends his hand. Thel shakes it. Crutch has an afterthought.

CRUTCH

It’s a shame, that you won’t be coming around anymore.

THEL

Why is that?

CRUTCH

You see that lifeguard, over there?

Thel looks down the beach, and sees a gorgeous female LIFEGUARD.

THEL

Yeah, so?

CRUTCH

She told me, that she wants to gargle your balls, but since you are leaving for good, I’ll have to tell her to forget about it.

Thel is fixed on the sexy Lifeguard.

THEL

She said that about me?

CRUTCH

She’s way into you, man. She’s warm for your form, Norm.

Thel looks back at Crutch, with a happy grin.

THEL

Maybe I could stay a little while longer.

CRUTCH

Are you sure? I wouldn’t want you to mess up your brain, or anything.

Thel looks back to the Lifeguard.

THEL

I’ll be all right.

Like a zombie, Thel walks towards the Lifeguard. Crutch smirks.

INT. THEL’S HOUSE/DEN - NIGHT

Thel sits in front of the television. He is floating in another world, then something on the TV catches his attention.

TELEVISION:

A cheesy, Hollywood type FAKER, stands on the Santa Monica pier. He has a microphone in his hands.

FAKER

Are you sick and tired of being ripped off by pretend psychics? Stop wasting your money. Call the Joey Lawrence Psychic Phenomenon.

The TV cuts to JOEY LAWRENCE sitting with a gypsy-looking PSYCHIC, by the side of a pool.

PSYCHIC

I am getting very strong feelings from you. I see you settling down and raising a family.

Joey looks in the camera.

JOEY

Whoah.

The TV cuts back to the Faker on the pier.

FAKER

As you can see, we’ve assembled the top psychics in the world. Don’t make a move, without consulting the Joey Lawrence Psychic Phenomenon.

The number 555-JOEY appears on the screen.

BACK TO THEL’S DEN:

Thel grabs the phone and dials the number on the screen. He waits for an answer.

INT. PHONE BANK - NIGHT

LYDIA, a pretend psychic, answers the phone.

LYDIA

Hello, this is Lydia. Your Joey Lawrence Psychic Phenomenon.

THEL’S HOUSE/DEN

THEL

Yes. I would like a reading.

PHONE BANK

LYDIA

I need your name, age, and a credit card number.

THEL’S HOUSE/DEN

THEL

You’re supposed to be psychic, tell me something, and then I’ll give you the credit card.

PHONE BANK

Lydia closes her eyes and tries to hone in on Thel.

LYDIA

You’ve had problems with women. I see one in particular.

With her eyes still closed, Lydia crinkles her brow.

LYDIA

(Continuing)

Wait. I keep seeing the color red. I see the girl’s face, and then...

After a moment, she opens her eyes, completely terrified. She screams and hangs up the phone.

THEL’S HOUSE/DEN

Thel hears the click of Lydia hanging up.

THEL

Hello?

Angered, Thel slams the receiver down.

INT. COMMUNITY CENTER - DAY

Thel sits in a room with a young Christian community center HELPER. The Helper is clean-cut and way too perfect to be seventeen.

HELPER

I’m so glad you came to rap. We are trying to help teenagers through the difficult adolescent years. Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?

Thel looks at the Helper, then proceeds.

THEL

I think I’m in a lot of trouble. I don’t know how to explain, what’s going on.

HELPER

Feel free to use the teenage slang. Don’t worry, there’s nothing you can say, that I haven’t heard before. You cannot shock me.

THEL

I can’t stop killing. Or at least I can’t stop thinking about it. All day and night my head is full of visions of me tearing people limb from limb and feasting on their innards.

The Helper sees the seriousness in Thel’s eyes. The Helper becomes uneasy. He gets up and goes to the door.

HELPER

Another counselor will be right with you.

The Helper quickly and nervously exits the room.

INT. CONFESSIONAL BOOTH - DAY

Thel sits on the opposite side of the booth, from the PRIEST.

PRIEST

How long has it been since your last confession?

THEL

Here’s the thing, Father. I’m not Catholic, I don’t go to church, and I’m not even sure I believe in God.  Would it be okay if we just talked?

PRIEST

It is my job to show you the path to righteousness. Whatever is troubling you, God will show you the way.

THEL

I was treated bad by someone, and I think I might have gotten even with them. How does God feel about revenge?

PRIEST

Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The Holy Father also teaches us forgiveness. It would be easier to judge, if you told me what you did.

THEL

There’s no way to sugar coat it. I took a psychedelic root. While I was tripping, I raped and killed a girl, because she wouldn’t go out with me. Actually, I was so high, I don’t know if it actually happened or not.

Without skipping a beat, the Priest answers.

PRIEST

Were you married to this girl?

THEL

No.

PRIEST

The church frowns upon premarital relations.

Thel rolls his eyes and exits the booth.

INT. THEL’S HOUSE/HALLWAY - DAY

Thel walks down the hallway, towards his parent’s bedroom. Just as he’s about to knock on the closed door, he hears his parents talking. He eavesdrops.

MOM(O.S.)

I’m worried about Thel. I think he might be on drugs.

DAD(O.S.)

He wouldn’t know which end of a bong to suck on. When I was his age, I smoked so much weed, I had a constant Bob Marley concert going on in my head.

MOM(O.S.)

You’re terrible.

DAD(O.S.)

If you ask me, the boy is gay.

MOM(O.S.)

What?

DAD(O.S.)

A pole smoker. A butt pirate. You know, a homo.

Thel’s face fills with rage. He storms away from the door and heads back down the hallway. After a few moments of silence, a river of blood flows from the crack below the door.

EXT. PARK - DAY

Thel sits on a park bench. He is angrily writing in a notebook. Justin approaches him.

JUSTIN

Hey, Thel. What’s the good word?

Thel looks up to see Justin standing in front of him.

THEL

What did you think?

JUSTIN

About what?

THEL

The other night. What else?

Justin thinks for a moment.

JUSTIN

Not bad. I got bored after a while.

THEL

You did?

JUSTIN

Yeah. I ended up turning it off around midnight.

THEL

How the hell did you do that?

Justin pauses. He looks at Thel with confusion.

JUSTIN

What are you talking about?

Not wanting to be embarrassed, Thel volleys back.

THEL

No. What are you talking about?

JUSTIN

Coverage of the comic book convention on channel 36.

Thel covers up.

THEL

Yeah, that’s what I was talking about, too.

Justin shakes his head.

JUSTIN

You might want to try to get a little more sleep.

Justin reaches for Thel and tries to pull him up.

JUSTIN

Let’s get going. We’ll be late for school.

Thel slaps Justin’s hand away.

THEL

Don’t touch me.

Justin looks shocked.

THEL

I’m sorry. I’m under a lot of stress lately. I have to finish this assignment for Ryan. I’ll catch up with you later.

Thel flashes a fake smile. Feeling uneasy, Justin walks away.