a chunky TV. A game of Super Smash Bros has just ended. Cluttered coffee table. Movie posters line the walls. A yellow ‘turtle crossing’ sign hangs askew above the TV. JUNE (18) lanky, in athleisure clothing, types on a laptop in the corner. Raj (18) plays with a yo-yo next to her. BENNIE (19), short bleached hair, athletic build, wearing hiking shoes, cargo shorts and a tank top sits on the couch. She beams. Puts down a gamecube controller. She looks at NOAH (19) scruffy beard, plaid shirt and jeans. Bennie elbows him. He rolls his eyes. Noah picks up a TV remote and jabs a button. The screen changes to muted news coverage. Satellite footage of a massive hurricane approaching the US East coast. The footer reads “HURRICANE URIEL” BENNIE Well, I should get going, the camp site is a few hours from here. NOAH Mara’s not going? BENNIE Nah she can’t this time. She’s got a lifeguarding shift tomorrow. Bennie picks up a camping stove from the table. BENNIE (CONT'D) Thanks for letting me borrow the stove June! June nods in her direction. Noah stands NOAH I’ll walk you out BENNIE How chivalrous. Bennie winks and smiles at Noah. He pushes her towards the stairs. RAJ Hey Bennie? She turns.
a drizzle. INT. TENT - MORNING Bennie sits up and yawns. She has bags under her eyes. Her clothes are dirty. Her hair is several inches longer. A large pack sits in the corner. EXT. TENT - HILLTOP - MORNING The tent is on top of a large hilltop. The landscape around the hilltop is almost completely underwater. Power lines and rooftops peak above the surface. Various objects float in the water. A mailbox. A couch. An amazon package. Lily pads dot the surface. Frogs croak. The tent door unzips. Bennie steps out. She stretches. Looks at the view. Picks up a stone and skips it on the water. She watches it bounce. She pulls a photo out of her pocket. Looks at it. It is water damaged, torn at the edges. In it, her and Noah smile, arms around each others shoulders, faces pressed together. They sit on a roof. A chicken weather vane behind them. Another hand rests on Bennie’s shoulder. Bennie runs a finger over the photo. She puts it away. She turns and breaks down her tent. EXT. WATER’S SURFACE - AFTERNOON Bennie floats on an uprooted tree. She wears her pack. The tree passes the tops of street signs. Bennie looks in the water. It becomes shallower. Ahead is a small neighborhood on top of a hill. The tree catches on the ground. It stops moving. Bennie gets off. She trudges down the street. Fish swim past her legs. 2.
houses and cars. Bennie stops in front of one shabby looking house at the end of the cul-de- sac. INT. GARAGE - AFTERNOON Work benches and industrial cabinets fill the room. Rusty bikes with flat tires. A foot of dirty water. Bennie enters from a window. A loud, electronic noise startles her. A plastic mounted fish sings “Take me to the River” in a distorted, hellish voice. Bennie dances to the tune. She picks up useful items. A pocket knife. A lighter. She opens a high cabinet. It is full of boxes of Drakes Cakes. She grabs them all. She walks towards the window. She stops. She turns to look at a piece of yellow plastic sticking out from behind a cabinet. EXT. TOP OF BILLBOARD - EVENING Bennie sits on the ledge of a billboard, her pack next to her. The water laps a few feet bellow. A yellow inflatable raft is tied to the billboard. On the billboard, a happy couple shares a salad. They smile broadly. It reads “Gabe’s Salad’s - Better Together!” Bennie chews a protein bar. She looks at the sign. She pulls out the photo, and the mounted fish out of her pack. She sets them next to her. She hits the fish. It sings “Take me to the River”. EXT. THE WATER’S SURFACE - AFTERNOON Bennie sits in the raft. The mounted fish is out. It finishes singing “Take me to the River.” Bennie hits it. It starts again. A church steeple pokes above the water ahead. Bennie approaches. The shadow of the cross passes over her face. She rolls her eyes. The steeple recedes. Bennie looks back at it. She stands. Pulls down her shorts and shakes her bare butt at it. She flips it off. She throws a protein bar at the cross. It bounces into the water. Plop. 3.
JOHN (63) standing in a sailboat nearby. They both wear plain, tidy clothes Bennie waves. They wave back. MARY You know there’s more dry land west, in the mountains. JOHN We’re headed that way if you’d like to join MARY And more people. Bennie’s raft floats away in the opposite direction to theirs. BENNIE Uh, that’s okay! Thanks though! She tosses them some Drakes Cakes. She waves. EXT. THE WATER'S SURFACE - NEIGHBORHOOD - AFTERNOON Bennie floats along in the raft. She approaches the roof of a house with a chicken weather vane. She hits the fish. It is silent. EXT. ROOFTOP - AFTERNOON She ties her raft to the chimney. She hits the fish. Silent. She looks at the photo and at the house. She puts the photo in her pack. She takes a deep breath. Bennie steps onto the roof. She looks in a sky light window. The room is full of water. Bennie takes off her shoes. INT. FLOODED BEDROOM - AFTERNOON Bennie plunges into the room. She hold her breath. Items float everywhere. A pair of bright red shorts pass behind her. A laptop sits open on the desk. Empty photo frames lay around it. Bennie approaches the bed. The covers are weighed down by debris. The shape of a body is outlined by the covers. 4.
She slowly pulls away the blanket. A massive stuffed bear pops out into Bennie’s face. EXT. ROOFTOP - AFTERNOON Bennie’s head bursts out of the water. She gasps for breath. Her face breaks into a huge smile. Laughs. Wipes tears from her eyes. A frog hops onto her head. It jumps onto the roof. Bennie watches it. A breeze turns the weathervane. It reveals a sign taped to the back. It reads, “GONE FISHIN ;)“ EXT. HILLTOP - SUNSET Bennie’s raft floats passed trees. The water becomes shallower. The raft scrapes the ground. Bennie steps onto dry ground. A rough, uphill trail through the woods. Bennie walks She comes to a thick tree. Carved into the trunk, it reads, “THE FISHIN HOLE”. Dozens of names and initials are carved around the words. An arrow points off the trail. Bennie walks in the direction it points. Old beer cans and cigarettes line the ground. Graffiti covers a boulder. It reads, “Class of ‘17” and “SHOW HOLE” and “Gore 2000”. EXT. CLEARING - THE FISHIN HOLE - SUNSET Bennie walks into a clearing. A few tents are circled around a pathetic pond, not much bigger than a puddle. People mill about. Noah sits on a log. Noah turns. He sees Bennie. Bennie’s eyes well up with tears. They walk toward each other. They run. A moment before they embrace, Bennie looks past Noah. She walks past him. His arms hang in the air. He turns to watch her. MARA (19), braided hair, wearing red shorts and a t-shirt sits on a log. She reads a book. She turns. Bennie stands next to her. Mara stands BENNIE Hi Mar- 5.
breath out of her. They kiss. When they break apart, Bennie kisses Mara’s forehead and cheeks repeatedly. Mara laughs. They both beam. Noah approaches. He wipes dirt off of his face. Bennie hugs him. He smiles. Bennie and Mara hold hands. Raj and June come over, and hug Bennie. Bennie gestures broadly. She mimes her journey. EXT. CLEARING - THE FISHIN HOLE - LATER Bennie, Mara, and Noah sit at the edge of the clearing. It overlooks the whole area. Houses and hills peak above the water. A few boats pass. A handful of lights flicker here and there. Mara’s arm is around Bennie. Her hand rests on Bennie’s shoulder. Bennie rests her head against Mara. Bennie reaches and puts her arm around Noah. THE END 6.
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