Tags:
Prim & Proper
Thriller
Audiobook
Fiction
Genuine
Headmaster
Mr. Fletcher
Parents
Adult (30s-60s)
Late Middle Age
Elderly
Education
Rules
Conduct
Academy
Infirmary
Dormitory
Standards
Dismissal
Exception
Script:
Here at Brantford Academy, you will obey the rules, said Mr. Seven, the headmaster. He was in his 60s, short, mostly bald, and almost absurdly thin. But yet there was nothing even remotely frail about the man. Though my parents and I were the only ones in his office, he spoke as if addressing an entire auditorium full of students. You will wake up every morning at 5.30 sharp. The concept of a snooze alarm does not exist here. Tardiness to any class will adversely affect your grade. All assignments must be turned in at the time they are due without exception. An A-level paper turned in late will receive an F. I raised my hand. Mr. Seven blinked with surprise, as if unaccustomed to such astounding rudeness during his speech. Yes, what if I'm sick? Students who are legitimately ill stay in the infirmary, and their classroom attendance requirements are determined on a case-by-case basis. While I can assure your parents that we provide excellent medical care, I can assure you, Mr. Fletcher, that feigning illness to get out of class is simply not possible. Your days of faking stomach pains to avoid taking a test are over. I've never done that. For a moment, I genuinely believed that Mr. Seven was going to slap me across the face. Mr. Fletcher, I realize that your parents are still here, but effective immediately, you are to follow the rules of conduct at Brantford Academy. And that means you will not interrupt when an adult is speaking. Is that perfectly clear? Yes, sir. He just meant that he doesn't fake being sick to get out of going to school, my mother explained. I was speaking hypothetically, said Mr. Seven. And many new students who are not used to being held to our high standards, or any standards in some instances, do attempt to use the infirmary as an escape from their responsibilities. So let me make this clear, it does not work. Your dormitory will have four boys to a room. The rules of conduct will be explained when you arrive there. Infractions will result in a loss of privileges, including but not limited to loss of free time, loss of mail privileges, both sending and receiving, and restrictions to the academy grounds on Saturdays. This will apply equally to all four boys in the room. So you are not merely responsible for your own behavior, but for the behavior of your roommates. Are there any questions? We had no questions. Mr. Seven looked directly at me. It is not standard policy to admit students after the term has begun, but we had a recent dismissal. I sincerely hope that making this exception will not prove to be a distraction.
Tags:
Emotional
Romance
Gruff
Drama
Audiobook
M/F
Adult
30s
thirties
Emotional trauma
survival
rape
torture
fear
love
relationships
PTSD
military experience
Script:
There's a place you can go to, right down inside yourself, where nothing can hurt you. It's where you go when an IED takes your leg off, or when you're being raped. It's where you go when you're being tortured. And the more times you go there, the easier it becomes to visit, and the harder it becomes to leave. You can't hear anything, you can't see anything. Stuff's going on around you, but you're not part of it anymore. You don't even think, you just are. Sounds peaceful. It isn't. Because the one emotion you have left is fear. Simple animal fear. You're cowering and you know that it, the pain, the rapists, the torture, is right outside that mental door, waiting for you to come out. You haven't escaped. You've hidden. You only come out when the need to live, to carry on, outweighs the terror of facing your fear. And if it doesn't, if your fear is so strong it keeps winning out, then you just stay in there forever. I lay there for what felt like hours before I became aware of something. Out on the edges of my perception, I could still feel the ceiling and floor. Sometimes they were rock, sometimes they were planks of wood. But they were always hard. Now there was something else. Something soft that slipped between those hard walls, reached inside me and caressed my mind. A voice. Her voice. It was barely a whisper and I had to strain to hear. I couldn't leave my hiding place but I could climb up inside and listen. I had to know what she was saying. I was addicted to that voice. And I know that you're scared. I don't know what happened to you. I don't know what those bastards did to you over there but you're not there now. You're here with me and I'm going to get you through this because you've got me through so much. The voice died away and there was another noise, one that sent a stab of pain through me. Then she started speaking again. I get it, she said. I get it now. I've figured it out. I get why you can't risk going to jail, not even for a month. And I'm so, so sorry I pressed you. That noise again. The one that hurt me. I pulled myself a little higher so I could figure out what it was. Crying. My woman was crying.
Tags:
Arguing
Thriller
Language
Spoiler Alert
Opp Gender
Audiobook
Male
Female
Garrett
Hannah
Toby
Intense
Suspenseful
Dramatic
30s
40s
50s
Mental illness
Divorce
Parenting
Script:
Garrett and Hannah are coming with me. I don't want your mental illness anywhere around us. You're not going to visit us. You're not going to call us. You're not going to fucking exist for us. Do you understand? You can't take my kids away. When you took Garrett out there and let him go near that thing, you gave up all rights as a parent. You're out of the picture. I love you, but there's something hideous in your brain, and I'm taking our children far away from it. Toby shook his head. No. There's no way I'm letting you do that. You want a divorce? Fine. Bring me the papers. I'll sign whatever you want. Just don't take Garrett and Hannah away from me. This isn't your choice anymore. I'll fight it. The hell you will. You do one thing to stop me, and I'll tell everybody about your dearest, most darling friend. I'll hold a goddamn press conference. They'll tear those woods apart looking for that freak, and they'll blow him away. I'm not bluffing. There was a cruel edge to her voice now, almost sadistic. Please don't take them, he said in a soft voice. You're lucky I'm not calling the police right now. What you need to do is go out into the woods, put a bullet into that thing, and straighten your life out. Is that where you were all those times? Those hundreds of times? What's wrong with you? How can you not see the insanity of this? I do see it. Then why the hell are you bringing our son out there? Because he's our friend. Not anymore. We'll work the money and property out like civilized people, and you can say goodbye. But if you ever try to contact our kids, it's over. If you spent time with him, you'd understand. I can't help, Toby. Go to a hotel. I'll call you when we're ready to leave.
Tags:
Two Thugs
Villain
Thriller
Horror
Humor
Dark Humor
Audiobook
Entertainment
Dark
Thrilling
Humorous
Adult
30s
40s
Crime
Mystery
Suspense
Script:
They walked into the bar, a jukebox played a country western song that immediately became George's least favorite song of all time. All of the stools at the bar were taken, though a couple of the booths in the back were unoccupied. There was no sign of Ivan. Now what, Lou asked, I guess we have a seat. They weaved through the crowd to the booth furthest in the back and sat down on the same bench. George brushed some ashes and a wet straw wrapper off the table, put a finger in his left ear to block out the hellish noise, then called Ivan. Are you there, Ivan asked. Yeah, where the hell are you? Making sure you're not setting a trap. We're not that clever. I see that, I'll be there in a minute. Ivan hung up. George tucked the phone back into his pocket. A waitress who was neither the appropriate age nor the appropriate body shape for her tight t-shirt walked over to their booth. What can I get you? Coke, said George. Diet, said Lou. The waitress gave them a look of mild disgust, as if they'd announced their intention to simultaneously urinate on the floor, then rolled her eyes and walked away. If you end up dying today, you'll wish you at least had a regular Coke, said George. If I live, I'm getting back in shape. Fair enough. Right after their drinks arrived, Ivan walked into the bar. He looked confident, fearless, arrogant, like a complete prick. He walked through the bar and sat down at their booth, then gestured to their drinks. Didn't you order me anything? No, said George, order your own drink. Did you bring the money? Yeah, let me see it. Lou took the briefcase off his lap and set it on the table. He kept it closed, as if worried that Ivan might make a sudden grab for it. Ivan nodded, open it. Lou popped open the lid. He held the briefcase open just long enough to give Ivan a glimpse of the cash inside, then closed it back up. Thank you, said Ivan. Now burn it. I beg your pardon. Take out a lighter and set the money on fire, right now. George gently kicked Lou under the table. They did not have an elaborate plan to trap Ivan. They tried to come up with one, but all of their ideas seemed like plans that would go terribly wrong, so they'd settled for the following scheme. If they decided that they had no other choice, George would give Lou the signal by gently kicking him under the table. At which point, they would pull out their guns and pump several rounds into Ivan's face. Hopefully, that would surprise and weaken him enough for them to throw the blanket with the silver rings over his head and drag him out to the cage. If he got a chance, Lou would also try to stab him. It was far from subtle, and it wasn't something they really wanted to do in front of a tavern full of witnesses, but they didn't have much of a choice at this point. They pulled out their guns.
Tags:
Audiobook
Thriller
Dialogue
Character
Humor
Dark Humor
Old man
Mobsters
Thugs
Accents
Script:
Almost in unison the men pointed their guns at George and Lou. Without being asked, George and Lou put their three hands in the air. This is them, Mr. Dewey said to the old man. The old man nodded and slowly walked over to them. He was so unsteady on his feet that George worried he might fall over, and George wondered why he didn't have anybody assisting him. A pride thing, probably. The old man walked right up to George and looked at him closely, as if examining a horse. George almost made a smart-ass comment. Should I open my mouth so you can check out my teeth? But decided against it. He turned his attention to Lou and examined him just as closely. Then the old man nodded with satisfaction and took a step back. Yes, that's them. We are not here to con you, said Mr. Dewey. Of course not. That doesn't mean I shouldn't inspect them. We'll be off now. The old man turned and began to slowly walk away. Without looking back, he gestured for somebody to follow. So do we go with him, George asked. You do, said Mr. Dewey. Lou stays here. George shook his head. No way. Surely, you're not so stupid as to think you have a choice. We work as a team, George said, case closed. Not anymore. I'm not gonna leave him here so you can experiment on him. We'll do this together or not at all, Mr. Dewey laughed. Experiment on him. This isn't a Nazi death camp, George. But we can turn it into one if you want to make this difficult for us. The old man stopped walking, his shoulders slumped, and he turned around. I'll bring both of them. That wasn't the deal, said Mr. Dewey. We have a job to do. I'd rather not have it complicated by him being obstinate. He'll be a lot less obstinate after we cut his nose off, said Mr. Dewey. Break a couple of fingers, a little sandpaper on an eyeball. I think he'll cooperate just fine. You don't know me very well, said George, who hoped that this would not actually come down to lost noses, broken fingers, or sanded eyeballs. I'm taking them both, said the old man. There will be no further discussion. Mr. Dewey looked very much as if he wanted there to be further discussion, but he said nothing. Who was this old bastard?
Tags:
Audiobook
Fiction
Thriller
Healing Powers
Character
Dialogue
Suspense
Mystery
Horror
Script:
The fruit has some type of healing power. I didn't realize it at first, but as I ate more and more of it over several months, I developed some type of immunity to injury. You said it yourself, Martin. You hit your head and hurt your arm, but after eating the fruit, you felt fine. Yeah, well, I didn't eat it over months, maybe only a couple of days or so. And I definitely still get hurt. Well, maybe you need to keep eating it. People at the restaurants only eat it when they go out, and only at a handful of restaurants, so that's pretty infrequent exposure for the patrons. I eat this stuff every day. Hell, I practically live in the greenhouse. I'm telling you, I fell off a ladder, hit my head, and a pair of shears went right through my arm. When I woke up, I was completely healed. You're scaring me, Andrew, Lori whimpered. Just stop it, okay? No one can heal that fast. I'm telling you, it's no joke. I jumped from the windmill at the farm, broke both legs, and they healed in a few minutes. It's real. A moment of silence passed between them. Okay, hotshot, challenged Martin. Do it again, but this time, I'll pick the spot. Andrew, no, cried Lori. It's fine, sis. Turning back to Martin, he opened his arms in a spread eagle and continued. Okay, pick a spot, Martin considered. All right, cut your cheek. Andrew looked around the restaurant and casually held up his napkin near his face, as if wiping his mouth. Hiding his cheek from the rest of the patrons, while still allowing Martin and Lori to see, he slowly picked up the knife, surveyed the restaurant, and then made a quick slash down his cheek. Gross, exclaimed Lori, covering her eyes. Open your eyes, sis. Again, no sign of the injury was visible. What the fuck, whispered Martin, staring at Andrew's cheek.
Tags:
NY Thug
Vague Accent
Thriller
Horror
Mobster
Humor
Dark Humor
Audiobook
Entertainment
Dark
Adult
30s
40s
Werewolf
Crime
Apology
Script:
Mr. Dewey casually slipped a hand into the pocket of his coat. Tell me, how does it feel to be such a fire hazard? You practice that line on the way over? No, George, I did not. Mr. Dewey took out a lighter. Do you really think that now is the time to be disrespectful? My last memory of you is not going to be of you saying something clever. It's going to be of you shrieking in absolute agony while your body burns. Do you think you can be witty while your hair is on fire? George did not think he could be witty under those circumstances. He had no intention of leaving this world begging for his life. At the same time, there was no good reason to let Mr. Dewey light him up without finding out if his sincere apology might help. I'm sorry we messed up, George said. I'm not trying to offer excuses, but jobs go bad all the time, and this one involved a werewolf. If any job is going to go bad, it's going to be the one with the werewolf, right? Do you have any cloth, Mr. Dewey asked. What? You heard me. We've got towels in the bathroom. Mr. Dewey shook his head. Too soft. I just want to make sure I don't get gasoline on myself. He walked over to the kitchen sink, unspooled some paper towels, and wrapped them tightly around his fist. Then he punched George in the face, almost knocking the chair over. He unwrapped his fist and tossed the paper towels into the sink. The werewolf was in a cage, Mr. Dewey said. George's newly split lip felt like it had already been lit on fire. Yeah, yeah, he was. But we weren't given proof that he was a real werewolf. You didn't need proof. He was in a cage. All you had to do was not open the goddamn cage. I understand how it can seem like we were irresponsible, George admitted. But we didn't just open up the cage for kicks. Nobody told us, hey, don't get too close to the bars because he can change his human arm into a werewolf arm whenever he wants. I'm not saying that Lou and I didn't screw up, but the disaster would have been avoided if we'd have been given all the information up front. Are you blaming me, Mr. Dewey asked. George shook his head. I'm blaming Bateman, he's the one who briefed us. Throwing a dead man under the bus, very classy. It's the truth, said George. And it was, although George wouldn't have fallen into a deep moral quandary if it wasn't.