Chereads / Death's Bargain / Chapter 15 - Act 3: Part 3

Chapter 15 - Act 3: Part 3

JILL

Fine. But please for the love of

Jesus, stay away from the alcohol.

Our supplies are diminished

already.

Bach nods in embarrassment.

FRANKLIN

What kind of supplies do you need?

I can take the plane and go fetch

them.

JILL

Everybody out. Tito will help you

find your places around here.

Franklin stays.

They all obey and exit the room. Sumi looks back at Franklin

and offers a weak smile before she closes the door.

FRANKLIN

How can I help?

JILL

Do not for one second think that

I'm letting my guard down around

you. For the record, I don't

believe your sop story with the

angel. You won't be donating

anything around here other than

your time.

Franklin sighs and nods in submission.

JILL (CONT'D)

Now that we've got that straight...

There's an outpost here where

soldiers have reaped the cities

nearby of all its supplies.

She points to a marked location nearby on a mountain on the

map.

JILL (CONT'D)

But I don't trust you enough to go

there yet. Go hunt for us and

gather some food. Take Tito with

you. He may be young but he's a

fast learner.

Franklin shrugs.

72.

FRANKLIN

You don't want me to take one of

your other scouts?

Jill shakes her head.

JILL

The people here have been through

some rough things. Men have a

harder time opening up and

reporting things. Kids seem to be

candid regardless of what they want

to hide.

Franklin frowns.

FRANKLIN

What would they need to hide?

Jill scoffs.

JILL

If you win them over... If a scout

went with you perhaps he could hide

it. Tito would never lie. Even if

he tried, I'd be able to tell.

Franklin nods and turns to leave.

JILL (CONT'D)

Wait.

He looks back at her from the door.

JILL (CONT'D)

No boars no rabbits. Grab a deer.

Franklin raises a brow.

FRANKLIN

You picky with your food in this

desperate time?

Jill rolls her eyes.

JILL

Just... please...

Franklin nods and gives her a thumbs up before exiting the

door. We are left with Jill sitting at her desk alone,

looking up at the shelf where the empty bottle is.

73.

She shakes her head and rubs her temples. The door is left

ajar and sounds of hurting patients seep through.

CUT TO:

EXT. FOREST VILLAGE - SUNSET

Sumi and Tito trail behind Franklin as they make their way

out of the village. People stare at Franklin as he walks past

them.

He has a rifle slung across his shoulder and a canister of

water around his waist. Sumi has cotton balls in her ears

stained with blood.

FRANKLIN

So why is she coming along?

Tito glances at Sumi and shrugs.

TITO

She said she wanted to come.

Franklin looks at Sumi who is blankly staring off into the

distance.

FRANKLIN

Don't you want to look after your

father?

Sumi continues to look off into the distance. She notices

Franklin looking at her and snaps out of her daze.

SUMI

Sorry, what did you say?

Franklin has a look of concern on his face. Tito leans into

her ear, cupping his hands around his mouth to speak.

TITO

(shouting)

He asked you about your father.

Sumi scoots back, startled.

SUMI

I can still hear a little bit

better than that. You don't have to

shout at me.

Tito blushes in embarrassment.

74.

TITO

Oh... sorry.

Franklin stops and kneels down in front of Sumi, grabbing her

shoulders and studying her ears.

FRANKLIN

Are you okay?

Sumi nods hesitantly.

SUMI

They said I'll lose my hearing

gradually. It's okay though... I'm

more worried about my father. They

said he may have an infection-

FRANKLIN

Wait a minute. You are actually

losing your hearing... that's

horrible! The last thing you should

be doing is being around another

gun fire. Go back. We shouldn't

risk your ears. Tito and I can

handle the hunt on our own.

Jill suddenly steps out in front of them from behind a bush

she has been hiding in. She has been following them.

Franklin steps back surprised. He studies Jill and Tito and

makes an assumption.

JILL

She doesn't have to head back. I

have ear covers with me. I figured

her condition would worsen.

FRANKLIN

Have you been following us? I can't

believe this... What about the

village you left behind?

Jill rolls her eyes.

JILL

They have people that I trust who

can look after them. You on the

other hand...

Jill puts on the ear muffs on Sumi and tussles Tito's hair;

walking past Franklin and ignoring his annoyed expression.

75.

JILL (CONT'D)

C'mon let's go. We don't have all

day. People are hungry and waiting.

Franklin shakes his head and leads the way into the woods. A

time lapse montage of them tracking dear and walking in the

woods follows.

Tito and Sumi trail a bit behind Jill and Franklin. Franklin

is visibly growing uneasy with Jill who is studying his every

move, following close behind him.

Tito is making silly faces and cracking silent jokes to get

Sumi to laugh. She lets out a giggle.

Franklin looks behind him with a stern annoyed expression and

shushes them.

Tito rolls his eyes and after several minutes of the same

monotonous hiking, he breaks out another silent joke.

Sumi tries hard to conceal her smile but the silence mixed

with the ridiculous faces Tito is making in an attempt to

break her eventually wins over.

She bursts out in laughter and it ignites Franklin's temper.

He stomps over to both of the kids, yelling ferociously.

FRANKLIN

Ha ha real funny little guy. Was

that funny to you? Do you think

this is a joke? Will you still be

laughing on an empty stomach

tonight? Are the villagers going to

think it's funny that they're all

hungry because some kid wanted to

crack some jokes on a very

important mission?

Franklin is breathing down Tito's neck. Tito is shaking,

visibly scared of Franklin's temper. He looks over at Jill,

who stands with her arms crossed unbothered.

He then looks to Sumi, who has a shameful look of guilt on

her face. Tito might be scared, but he will not be caught

lacking in front of his new friend.

TITO

Yeah, I do think it's funny. I

think it's hilarious that Jill here

trusted you to lead this hunt and

all we've been doing is walking

around for hours!

(MORE)