Initiation: The Beginning of Time PETER

Stage whisper. I know youre here. Where are we? You always bring me so far away from home. Its not very fun. Please can we go home now? Silence. PETER gets angry. Stop laughing! Your laugh is really sad, I hate it! Come out! Silence. SHADOW Not this time. PETER Fine! Maybe Ill just y back and never ever come look for you again! Youll always be moving because youll have no boy to attach to. Every other boy in the world already has a shadow so no one will want you. Youll be lost. Lost forever. Then youll be sorry! Youll miss all the fun we had. But when you nally come back, Ill y away and then youll be chasing me! Ha! SHADOW Thats not the way it works. PETER Why do you always do this? We have so much fun ghting pirates and chasing indians. We swim with the mermaids and go fairy-catching. We are connected and I feel that you are just as happy as I am. You become lighter and y with me. But in a moment, you turn dark y away. To the Growning Up Land. Then I have to chase after you! I hate Growing Up Land! And every time you come here you want to stay more. And the worse part is you never tell me why . . . Well?!?! Silence. Fine! You dont have to tell me because I know why!!! You want to go back to that mean lady and her loud, stupid dog! You want to live in the drawers and not in Neverland! Well, you can live in a smelly, dark drawer until you become part of the dark. See if I care! SHADOW Do you really want me to become a thing that goes bump in the night? That wouldnt be a very fun thing for both of us, you know. PETER You are a mean shadow! The meanest shadow that ever attached itself to anyone! You only live with me because Im the nicest boy who ever lived so Im the only one who will let you stay. Well even the nicest boys dont want mean shadows after a while. Its been a very very long while now!!
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 Silence. PIRATE! CODFISH-SUCKING, POISON-POURING, STABS-HIMSELF-WITH-HISOWN-HOOK PIRATE!!!! Sound of breath. PETER looks horried. NO! I didnt mean it! Please dont leave again, I really didnt mean it! Every time you leave me it gets so loud! Please lets go back home where clocks only tick inside crocodiles! Lets go home and be friends. We can ght pirates, and chase indians, and swim with mermaids, and catch fairies! We can y together, and I wont yell at you if you run away again. Come home with me? SHADOW This is home, or at least, closer to home than youve been in a long time. PETER No its not! This is a scary place! Home is not scary! Home is a light. SHADOW Home is a dream. PETER No. Its real. Silence. Two suns slowly diving into the sea each night. Silence. The sound of adventure exploding from the clashing of swords. Silence. Wings so smooth, they make your ngers feel like cats tongue. Silence. Fruit that bites your tongue but melts down your throat, coating with sweet until it falls in the stomach. Silence. Letting the golden dust tickle your heart. Breathing in air as each grain swells into a sun that beams summer throughout your insides. Breathing out and lifting up with the warmth. Silence. SHADOW Its all a dream. Too beautiful to be real. PETER No! I see them! Hear them! Touch them, taste them. Feel them! They cant be dreams. SHADOW Youve forgotten. PETER
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I dont forget! SHADOW Then you remember too much. Theres too much. We must come here to loose it. PETER I dont understand you! Come out! SHADOW Look at the toys. PETER These are not toys. SHADOW Yes they are. PETER But I dont know how to play with these. SHADOW Exactly. You must re-learn how to play with them. PETER NO! SHADOW Play with them, and I will come out. PETER Weve never played the game this way before. SHADOW Im trying something new. Youre a smart boy. You can play this game. PETER Indignantly. Of course I can play this game! I can play any game! Looks at the toys. With any toy. PETER looks at the toys, it is clear he has no idea what to do with them. SHADOW Try playing with them one at a time. PETER Thats just what I was going to do, stupid!
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SHADOW The Acne Cream rst. Its that little bottle. PETER Why that one rst? SHADOW You cant play with the others until youve played with that one. PETER Oh. Okay. PETER picks up the ACNE CREAM rst. He puts it on the bed. and examines it. He has no idea where to even begin. SHADOW The top part twists off. . . PETER I know that! He puts his hand to the cap and begins to twist it off.

First Epoch PETER and ACNE CREAM on bed.

PETER Hello. My name is Peter. Lets be friends. ACNE CREAM Just like that? Only morons are that trusting. PETER But I would like to be your friend. Wouldnt you like to be mine? ACNE CREAM No. And friendships dont start in like, ve seconds anyways. PETER Why not? ACNE CREAM Because people are fucking retarded, thats why not. PETER Fucking retarded? Does that mean they are bad? ACNE CREAM If you want to say it like a little kid, sure, that works. PETER But people arent bad, unless they are pirates. And I am a little kid. ACNE CREAM Then grow up. Theres a pirate in everyone. PETER No! Theres no pirate in me. ACNE CREAM Ever wanted to laugh like a crazy for no reason at all? Then the next minute need to see pain burn someones eyes? PETER Yes. ACNE CREAM Theres pirate in you.

PETER But pirates are grown up! ACNE CREAM We all grow up. PETER I wont. ACNE CREAM You will. Face it. Youll grow up and get married to a bitch you hate. Youll have a kid anyway. Youll ght over the poor little bastard. Youll ght about everything else, leaving him alone to fend for himself. Hell end up hating you. PETER Thats horrible! Mothers and fathers love each other and love their children! They tell them stories! ACNE CREAM I never heard no fucking story. PETER . . . You must not have had a real mother and father. ACNE CREAM What kind of storybook land do you live in?! Real?! What the hell does that even mean? How were your parents? PETER I have none. ACNE CREAM Bullshit. PETER Okay, I had parents. But I never knew them. ACNE CREAM You were dumped to the side, kid. PETER No! I chose to leave them! ACNE CREAM Really?

PETER Yes. . . I chose. . . I wanted to be a little boy forever, so I ran away. Yes. Yes, thats what happened. Im sure! ACNE CREAM Youre obviously kidding yourself. PETER No. No. No, I ran away from them. ACNE CREAM Sucks to be abandoned, huh? Its like youre in this dark cold place. PETER You cant tell if you are ying or falling. ACNE CREAM Theres no one to catch you either way. PETER So you decide you are ying, because at least you wont hit hard ground. You start imagining people to catch you. ACNE CREAM But youre really still alone. BOTH You realize youre really the only person you need. ACNE CREAM Yeah. Fuck everyone else! PETER Cant count on those bastards anyway. ACNE CREAM Build the wall high and thick, man. PETER and ACNE CREAM have a moment. PETER So, will you play with me now? ACNE CREAM Play?! Seriously, are you ve years old or something? Playing is for ass-tards. PETER
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What do you do then? ACNE CREAM Chill. PETER With yourself? ACNE CREAM Duh. Everyone else is a moron. Youre cool though. You can chill with me this one time. PETER Cool. What now? ACNE CREAM Wanna play a videogame? PETER Yeah. Cool. Whats that? ACNE CREAM Theres no strategy or special technique, you just go in and shoot the mother fuckin shit out of all these other dudes! Theres aliens too, and you can make your guy look so bad ass. And you run around in these awesome worlds and blow shit up! Its like, seriously the best thing ever! You get so much anger out. PETER Awesome. Lets do it. ACNE CREAM pulls two, old obviously broken X-box controllers from under the bed. They mime playing a shooter game. PETER looses. Dammit all to hell! ACNE CREAM Laughs. That actually wasnt bad for the rst time. PETER Again? They play again. PETER almost wins. ACNE CREAM Youre getting good. They play again. PETER wins. PETER
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Yesssssss!!!!! ACNE CREAM Damn youre awesome! PETER I could so this all day! SHADOW Suddenly, from above. We did this for years. PETER There you are! Come out! SHADOW Abandonment traps us in ourselves. We grow alone, with roots sunk deep in the wrong soil. Silence. PETER Damn your fucking laugh. SHADOW At least you are remembering now. You lost a lot of words. And found some colorful new ones. PETER Fuck off! I dont need you anyway! I can do this all by myself! SHADOW You cant. You do. I wont. We both know this. PETER I dont need you! SHADOW Im a part of you. You need me and I need you. PETER Come out then! SHADOW First, you must tell me what you remember. I cant come out until you remember everything and forget everything else. PETER
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Ive been left to y, or fall, or whatever the hell it is, by two people that should have been there to prevent me from slipping off the edge. There was never any love to pull me back, and theres no hope of it to cushion me when I collide into whatever the end is! But dont you dare feel sorry for me, because I can catch myself! Slow myself down, and even entertain myself as I tumble wildly to the unknown end! I want someone but I can only be safe if Im alone. . . are you fucking happy now?!?! SHADOW No. This is something you needed to remember. PETER Can you come out now? SHADOW You must play with all the toys. This one has been played now. Put him down. PETER broods. A moment of silence. PETER holds the acne cream. Thinks. Gets it. Unscrews the cap and squeezes out a little glop on his nger. Dabs on his face. Screws cap gently back on. Sits in silence. Sound of breath. Clocks tick slightly faster, but not louder. PETER awakes and with sudden violence throws ACNE CREAM down on the oor. PETER hunches slightly over to brood. Keeps his slight hunch. PETER DAMMIT! SHADOW We are getting somewhere! Finally! Ive been waiting for ages! The briefcase is next. Go on! Pick it up! PETER Which one is that? SHADOW The box with the handle on top. PETER I know that! SHADOW You open it by pushing that little button on the. . . PETER I know that too! You think Im a dimshit? SHADOW Of course not. Go on. Say hi.
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 PETER begrudgingly picks up the BRIEFCASE. Walk around with it for a while. PETER experiments with how to walk with it. He eventually gets a rhythm he is comfortable with, but is kind of awkward. Now you open it. PETER opens the BRIEFCASE.

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Second Epoch BRIEFCASE Punch in. Start shift. Here goes another day. Work, work, work. PETER Work?! BRIEFCASE If you dont work, you cant live. PETER I want to stay home and play videogames! BRIEFCASE Thats irresponsible. You need to earn a living. PETER Why? BRIEFCASE You need money. Without it you wont have food, running water, electricity, or cable. You arent a kid anymore, I can see that. Children stand up strait. Obviously you are capable of a job. PETER Well, duh. BRIEFCASE With an attitude adjustment, you might get somewhere. Time to start. Punch in! They both punch in. PETER Now what? BRIEFCASE We need to get these reports led by noon today. Mr. James will never let me hear the end of it if I dont. PETER Reports? BRIEFCASE These sheets of paper with long complicated words on them. Numbers also. A decent combination of numbers and words. One is legally obligated to sign his signature at the end. Or in several places.
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PETER Sounds like a suck-fest. BRIEFCASE Veried. Just keep on. Dont watch the clock. Brew more coffee. Even more coffee. Follow workplace protocol. No sexual harassment. Keep negative comments to yourself. If you have a problem with someone, say it to them, not someone else. Eye drops twice a day. Cubicle lighting is faulty. Dont look at the computer screen too long. PETER Too many words. I dont understand them. How did you learn them? BRIEFCASE Read the company handbook. Takes out the company handbook and gives it to PETER You should have done that rst. Im sorry. PETER Ill read it now. Reads. Gets it. Now I understand. BRIEFCASE Yeah, it doesnt take too long to get. I always wonder why my co-workers dont know these things. I work with a bunch of idiots, you see, but in a work environment the better term is mentally lacking. PETER and BRIEFCASE laugh. Seriously, higher ups who have been here way longer than me dont know anything. I could run this company. However, because my boss is a close-minded, oblivious individual and my coworkers are morons, Ive never moved up. I just do the same thing day after day. Its so easy its torture. PETER Dont you like any part of it? BRIEFCASE I was pretty attached to my screen saver. I also had a website. Here. BRIEFCASE makes a gesture telling PETER its okay to reach inside. PETER pulls out an ancient, cream colored computer. PETER Ah. I see now. BRIEFCASE

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Yes you push that little button on the front to open it and once youve done that you push the round button on the side to turn it on. PETER does so. It takes an obnoxiously long time to boot up. PETER Damn it, this fucking thing is slow! BRIEFCASE Vulgar and/or Negative comments are not conducive to a healthy work atmosphere. PETER What does that mean? BRIEFCASE No swearing. At least not out loud. PETER Why? BRIEFCASE Youll get red. PETER Whats that? BRIEFCASE You cant work anymore. PETER Thats bad? BRIEFCASE You cant live if you dont work. PETER Okay. No swearing. BRIEFCASE No vulgar and/or negative comments, sexual harassment, clock watching, looking at the computer too long. . . Oh, speak of the devil. PETER Its booted up? BRIEFCASE Youre all set.

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PETER Why doesnt he talk? BRIEFCASE Hes an old model, he stopped working properly years ago. The company got new models and they let me keep him for free. Hes pretty worthless, but I keep him around to do minor writing projects. One day here and there he can get on the internet, but hes mostly a useless mess of parts who are burnt out and dont know how to work together anymore. PETER Thats sad. BRIEFCASE Well such is life. Unfortunately. PETER . . . Now what? BRIEFCASE Isnt the background picture awesome? PETER What is it? BRIEFCASE My elf wizard from this online fantasy game. Hes pretty sweet. I want to be him. All I can do is dream, I guess. PETER Dream. . . Your elf wizard is pretty damn awesome. BRIEFCASE Swear only in your head! PETER Sorry. BRIEFCASE No vulgar and/or negative comments, sexual harassment, clock watching, looking at the computer too long. PETER Right right. No vulgar and/or negative comments, sexual harassment, clock watching, looking at the computer too long.

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BRIEFCASE Youre getting the hang of it now. PETER Anyway, what else can this thing do? BRIEFCASE If the connection is good here, he might be able to get on the internet, then we could have some fun. PETER Fun is good! I feel like I havent had fun in centuries! BRIEFCASE You are getting the hang of it. Okay so see that picture of the letter E? See that little white arrow? Take the arrow up to the E and tap down with your ngers twice really fast. Moves screen up and taps twice. Lets see if hes alive today. PETER Looks like hes straining. BRIEFCASE Itll take a while. Just dont watch the clock. PETER And brew coffee? BRIEFCASE Certainly! A ton of coffee! PETER And no clock watching. Maybe not watching it will help take the ticks away. Sparks y out of the OLD LAPTOP. OLD LAPTOP gasps and wheezes, trying extremely hard. The sparks startle both PETER and BRIEFCASE. PETER clenches onto BRIEFCASE and the two of them jump back. The heavy breathing, pants, wheezes and sparks, etc. crescendo into a grand nale that ends with a huge BANG! Like a big rework. There is a long silence while PETER and BRIEFCASE collect their nerves. BRIEFCASE Looks as if hes dead for real this time. Thats never happened! PETER Its like . . . a thousand . . . fairies . . .died . . .
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BRIEFCASE Like what? PETER . . . Nothing. Pause. I forget now. BRIEFCASE Thats understandable. It was quite the explosion. PETER So hes dead for good? BRIEFCASE Life goes on. PETER Life goes on. BRIEFCASE Back to work now. PETER Back to work. BRIEFCASE Remember: Get these reports led by noon today. Mr. James. . . Repeat after me so you remember. PETER Alright. Get the reports led by noon. Mr. James. BRIEFCASE Close. Repeat this: Reports are sheets of paper with numbers and words on them, One is legally obligated to sign his signature. PETER Reports are sheets of paper with numbers and words. You are legally obligated to sign. BRIEFCASE Really LIsten: Keep negative comments to yourself. If you have a problem with someone, say it to them. PETER
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Really LIsten: Keep negative comments to yourself. If you have a problem with someone, say it to them. BRIEFCASE Even if your boss is a looser and your co-workers are all incompetent. PETER Chuckles a little Even if your boss is a looser and your co-workers are all incompetent. BRIEFCASE It isnt your fault. PETER Not my fault. BOTH No vulgar and/or negative comments, sexual harassment, clock watching, looking at the computer too long. Pause. Punch in. Start shift. Here goes another day. Work, work, work. BRIEFCASE See, perfect. You got down what you need to get down to survive. Just punch the clock and hope you dont blow like a rework. Life goes on. PETER Life goes on. SHADOW Back to work now. PETER Yes. Back to work. PETER discards OLD LAPTOP into BRIEFCASE. Closes BRIEFCASE somberly, and sets it down economically on the oor. Sound of breath. Clocks tick a little faster, but no louder. SHADOW We are learning so much. PETER Im bored, Im frustrated. I work one day after the other, even though I dont like it. PETER develops bags under his eyes. Im tired now. SHADOW
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Life goes on. PETER Life should be a dream. SHADOW Dont worry. All dreams end some time. PETER NO! Horried.

SHADOW The ones that never end are nightmares. No one wants to be trapped in a nightmare forever. Silence. PETER No laughing! Please stop! Im sad enough as it is! SHADOW Sorry. How about you move on to the next toy? PETER Toy? SHADOW Your next task. This one will take away the sad. PETER I want that more than anything. SHADOW Indicates the CAPTAIN MORGAN Thats who you are meeting with. PETER takes the CAPTAIN MORGAN.

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The Brief Epoch PETER Theres a pirate on you. . . CAPTAIN MORGAN Heeeeeeeyyyyyyyyy matey! Course theres a pirate! I bring out the bestest and worstest pirates in everyone! PETER What kind of protocol is this?! CAPTAIN MORGAN Pro- co- to Laughs. to- po Laughs. I cant say it! PETER Laughs. Youre more fun than the others! CAPTAIN MORGAN Course I am! Take a swig! PETER You dont mind? CAPTAIN MORGAN Mind?! The more the merrier! PETER Even if its just us? CAPTAIN MORGAN Threes a crowd, me hearty! PETER laughs and takes a swig. He is used to it. PETER Chokes a little as it goes down, but the taste and feeling of alcohol is surprisingly familiar to him. He smiles as it warms his stomach. Damn, thats good! This taste bites me down to my stomach, but when it gets there a roaring re unleashes on the rest of my body! Its wonderful! CAPTAIN MORGAN
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Damn straight. I solve allllll your problms. Hey! Lets play a game! You gotta say a vegible name an if you show your teeth you gotta drink. PETER What happens if Im able to say the name? CAPTAIN MORGAN You drink anyway, dimshit! PETER Huge swallow. Okay. PETER tries to say carrot without showing his teeth but is unsuccessful. He does this numerous times with little sips in between each failure. He does this until in a state of stable drunkenness. ONE MORE! CAP OFF THE NIGHT! CAPTAIN MORGAN Youre thinker than you smart you are! They both laugh. Told you this would be fun. PETER I never- didnt- no doubt. Noooo! CAPTAIN MORGAN One more and a song to nish the night!!!! BOTH FIFTEEN MEN ON A DEAD MANS CHEST YO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF RUM DEAD BE THE MAN THAT TELLED ALL THE REST YO HO HO. Breath. AND A BOTTLE OF RUM!!! They both laugh for a while. The laughter soon settles down. The mood quickly changes from gleeful laughter to a solemn quiet. PETER holds the bottle in his hand. Looks around. PETER No one else. CAPTAIN MORGAN Never was, friend. PETER I do this alone, dont I?
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CAPTAIN MORGAN Eeeeyep. PETER Yeah. . . CAPTAIN MORGAN Hasnt stopped ya yet. PETER I was happy. . . for one mommment. No vulgar and/or negative commnts. . . clock watching, lookin at the computer too long. . . Fuck. My. Life. Its not fun anymore. CAPTAIN MORGAN Cant last forever, friend. SHADOW Cant last forever. Life goes on. PETER Life goes on. SHADOW To CAPTAIN MORGAN. Back to the shelf. Until tomorrow. And the next day, And every day after that. PETER Takes one last long swig of the CAPTAIN MORGAN. Sound of breath. Clocks now tick in a different rhythm, almost like a heartbeat. He sits in silence for a while. Suddenly he gets sick and tired. Ouahh! Damn! SHADOW You shouldnt have drank so much.

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Third Epoch PETER Throws up.We hear creaking sounds. My bones! PETERs hunch becomes stronger. SHADOW It seems as if we are nally getting to the end. Just one more toy. PETER Toy!? Even if I was 5 years old again, you think Id be in a condition to play with anything right now?! In his vigor he over exerts himself. SHADOW This next item will help you feel better. PETER You said the same thing about the last item. SHADOW I said that one will make you happy. This one will make you better. Theres a difference. PETER Will it take away the ache in my bones? SHADOW For a time. PETER Thats enough for me. SHADOW Its the last one left. PETER picks up the PILL BOTTLE with ache and fatigue in every movement. He opens the lid, takes out a pill. Looks at it for a moment. PETER Yes. I remember this one. He puts the pill in his mouth and swallows. PILL BOTTLE One tablet every six hours. Do not eat any citrus fruits thirty minutes before or after consumption. Take with a full glass of water, but do not drink anything fteen minutes
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after swallowing. We must be careful not to upset that temperamental tummy, now, mustn't we? PETER Yes. Certainly. Thank you. PILL BOTTLE Be sure to contact your doctor if any problems urinating or defecating occur. We know how delicate that bladder of yours is nowadays. PETER Yes, yes. Its a bitch. PILL BOTTLE Laughs a spectacularly faked genuine laugh. My my, weve certainly not lost our spunk, now! You just be sure to contact the doctor, okay? Oh yes, and also contact him if you notice any of these other side effects: Swelling of the throat, rashes, itching, irritated eyes, irregular heart functions and in some cases death. PETER Well if the last one occurs, guess it wont matter much anyway. PILL BOTTLE Lets out another faked genuine laugh. Oh sir, you really are a hoot! PETER Im still feeling some pain in my bones. . . PILL BOTTLE It will be between 10 and 15 minutes to take effect. PETER I apologize for being apprehensive, being on a new medication always makes me a little antsy. It seems like something always goes wrong. Theres never that damned perfect miracle cure. Youd think with all the high tech crap theyve got nowadays, theyd have invented some sort of cure-all. PILL BOTTLE Well sir, if that happened, then where would I be?! Laughs. PETER A nice young thing like you? You could be a counselor. Youre so friendly.

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PILL BOTTLE You are too kind, sir! Well, I would love to stay and chat with you, but there are many people to care for today. PETER Before you go, turn the TV on for me rst! PILL BOTTLE Alrighty, what channel? PETER I dont watch much TV, I trust a young person like you to nd something good for me. PILL BOTTLE Now, sir, I dont have time to go channel surng. Although Id love to. There are many more people to see! PETER Yes, I understand. But, before you go, please adjust the bed. It feels a little odd on my bones. Hard. Too hard. PILL BOTTLE All right, but just this one last thing, and then I need to go, okey-dokey? PETER Okey dokey. Thank you very much, you are really kind. Please dont leave me. Im lonely. Ive been lonely for a long time and I like having you here with me. PILL BOTTLE Well if I did that then where would all my other patients be? PETER Please dont leave! PILL BOTTLE Loosing patience. I really dont want to sir, but you should sleep. Youre not well. Ill stay with you while you take your last three pills, all right? Thats a little longer. PETER Yes, of course, Im sorry. I didnt mean to keep you. Its just that you seem like a nice person and Im . . . PILL BOTTLE Bottoms up!

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PILL BOTTLE PETER takes three more pills. Slowly puts the cap back on and holds it for a while before setting it down on the oor. He sits back on bed. Sound of breath. Clocks now sound exactly like a heartbeat, pumping at a steady rate. PETER sits curled up on the bed. PETER Im alone again. And it still hurts. SHADOW Everything has been hurting. Cant you feel it? PETER Down to the marrow of my bones. Silence. Weve been hurting for a long time, havent we? SHADOW VERY INCREDIBLY LONG!!! PETER Please. How long? SHADOW Its impossible to say. Silence. PETER Youre laughing again. SHADOW We tried to ignore the ticking hands when we began in Growing Up Land. But we couldnt, so we ew away and into the darkness. You radiated with starlight. Your luminescence twinkled its own sound. You could ignore the ticking, and stopped counting the seconds, so the seconds stopped for you. Do you remember? PETER When seconds stop, you nd impossible, fantastical worlds. SHADOW They are indeed impossible. They are only dreams. Us shadows, who are stitched to the earth and nurtured by the sun, cant possibly live under the starlight of slumber. Silence. I cant ignore the cracks, the soil, the clay. They pull me back. I will never become starlight. I always. Always. Hear the ticking hands.
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 Silence. I would give anything to stop counting. But when you stopped I had to start, you see. PETER Im counting them now. SHADOW You can not comprehend the extent of my relief. PETER Its painful, every tick pierces me like a pin point. SHADOW Its something you never get used to. PETER Yes. Yes, I remember now. SHADOW Remember what? PETER Growing. Working. Failing. Drinking. Growing. Lying. Waiting. SHADOW Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick. Tick. PETER Tick-Tick. Tick-Tick. Tick-Tick. SHADOW Growing and Growing. PETER Tick-Tick. Tick-tick. Tick-tick. Sound of breath. SHADOW Working and working. PETER Tick-tick. Tick-tick. Tick-tick. SHADOW Failing and failing. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

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PETER Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock. SHADOW The ticks in our brains are nally beating to the rhythm of the same metronome. PETER That makes eighteen. Five groups of six ticks makes 30. Well what do you know, I learned something in school. . . Damn, now I missed some. PETER starts to laugh, but it comes out in tears. He keels over in pain. OH GOD IT FUCKING HURTS!!! SHADOW YES! IT FUCKING DOES! IVE HAD TO FEEL IT FOR YOU FOR AGES!! PETER Still in tears from the pain. Stunned. I-Im sorry. . . SHADOW NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!

You have remembered what you need to remember and forgotten the things youve needed to forget. We can go home now. PETER Home? SHADOW Home.

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Awakening SHADOW Arent you tired of being here? This is just sad. PETER Yes. Lets go. SHADOW appears. He looks exactly like PETER, except everything about him is darker. SHADOW Finally. Ive caught you. Take my hand. Were going home. The heartbeat clock ticking is increasing in speed. As this portion progresses, it speeds up dramatically. PETER slowly and painfully stretches out his arm. SHADOW touches it with the same pain. SHADOW is crying. PETER is crying. They are both despaired, but there is a joy in the completeness they nd with each other. BLACKOUT. LIGHTS UP. The heartbeat clock-ticking turns into an actual heartbeat. Same room, but white and sanitary. The bed is a hospital bed. All the TOYS are neatly piled around a heart monitor machine. An OLD MAN in the bed wakes up. We hear the most heart-breaking, gentle laugh. The heartbeat goes at. BLACKOUT.

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