DAVID RUSH

​Writer

Scene from  "THE LAST NIGHT ON EARTH
OF JOSHUA HARKER"

 

AT RISE:  Two soldiers (JOSHUA and PETER JERRYWINKS are wrestling seriously.  JOSHUA has JERRYWINKS in a deadly hammerlock at his neck)


JERRYWINKS

Alright.  Alright. I give, I give, you fucking son of a bitch!

JOSHUA

Take it back.

JERRYWINKS

I take it back.

JOSHUA

My mother ain’t a whore.

JERRYWINKS

Your mother ain’t a whore.

JOSHUA

Yours is.

JERRYWINKS

Mine  fucked the whole Union army.  Sucked off General Grant for two bucks and cigars.

(JOSHUA releases his hold)

JERRYWINKS

Christ, you near to killed me, you son of a bitch. What the hell is wrong with you?

JOSHUA

Keep off my folks.

JERRYWINKS

I can’t insult Bobby Lee, I can’t badmouth Jeff Davis, I can’t muddy-up your Maw,  You don’t leave me much.

JOSHUA

Then whyn’t you just shut up and leave a body in peace.

JERRYWINKS

You’ll get enough of that later, Harker; all the eternal heavenly peace in the universe coming out of your damn Rebel ass.

JOSHUA

I ain’t talking to you.

JERRYWINKS

Alright.  I’ll just sit  here by myself countin’ down the seconds.  Let’s see, it’s about eight o’clock.  We’re gonna get shot at 6. That’s 10 hours?  600 minutes.  Thirty-six hundred seconds, although I already used up some so we’re down to say Thirty-five hundred and maybe what? 50?  49?  48?  Thirty-five hundred and 47?  46? 45?

(JOSHUA opens a small bible and studies it while JERRYWINKS continues to count down to himself.

(JOSHUA puts the bible down and recites from memory, haltingly.)

JOSHUA

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he….damn!

JERRYWINKS

Still waters, Josh.

JOSHUA

Why can’t I remember it?   I used to know it fine.

JERRYWINKS

Cuz you got something else on your mind a bit bigger.  Like the end of your wee little life. 

JOSH

I gotta have something in my head when it comes.  I can’t be thinking about…

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