The Last Healer

By
Anthony Frederick

(541)-860-8081
anthony.d.frederick@gmail.com
fredericka@huntington.edu

EXT. ABANDONED HOUSE - DAY

A mold-crusted duplex house, reduced to a shack, droopy and
off-white, sits at the end of an overgrown dirt road.
Standing and gazing in reverence at the foot of the dirt
road is a tall dark man and a girl no taller than his chest.
The man is EZEKIEL, 46, an intelligently suited black man
with gentle eyes and a knapsack hung on the end of a pole
braced on his shoulder. His shoes have traveled hundreds of
miles through rain and sun. He is the father.
The girl is SADIE, 12, a pretty-faced black girl, innocent
and loyal. She trusts her father for everything and takes
joy in the most mundane. Shes carrying a small rustic
backpack and clad in a tattered sun-dress.
They approach the front doors of the duplex, find out that
both are locked. They look at each other.
Ezekiel walks around behind the house.
Ezekiels POV: a caved-in skeleton of a barn still stands
erect in the distance.
He looks back at Sadie.
INT. BARN - NIGHT
A bright oil lantern illuminates the interior. The father
and daughter lie on beds of straw on the ground.
Sadie lays on her back, playing with her fingers in the
light and shadow.
On the underside of her left forearm is a birthmark like a
tattoo, a symbol of a tree and a wave.
Ezekiel lies next to her, holding her hands in his own.
EZEKIEL
Again he measured a thousand; and
it was a river that I could not
ford, for the water had risen-Sadie begins reciting with Ezekiel in unison.
EZEKIEL & SADIE
--enough water to swim in, a river
that could not be forded.

2.

Until it is just Sadies voice. As they recite, the symbol

on Sadies arm begins to surge and grow, moving across her
skin.
SERIES OF SHOTS - SADIE IN THE WOODS
1)Sadie wanders innocently through thick woods.
2)She comes by a river. She places her hands in the water,
letting it flow over her.
3)She studies the silhouette of a spiders web.
SADIE(V.O.)
He said to me, "Son of man, have
you seen this?" Then he brought me
back to the bank of the river, and
behold, there were many trees on
one side and on the other.
EXT. BARN - DAWN
Its just before sunrise. Ezekiel sits alone outside the
barn on the grass, his posture upright, his eyes closed.
His lips move soundlessly in prayer.
SADIE(V.O.)
Then he said to me, "These waters
go out toward the east; then they
go toward the sea, and the waters
of the sea become fresh.
His eyes open, unsettled.
SERIES OF SHOTS - CONTD
1)Sun beams down through lofty trees.
2)Sadie stands on a barren beach by the sea. Then she is
gone.
SADIE(V.O.)
It will come about that every
living creature which swarms in
every place where the river goes,
will live.
6)Sadie balances on a railroad track overgrown with weeds.

3.
EXT. FOREST GLADE - CONTINUOUS
Sadie comes upon a dead bird lying in the underbrush.
She holds it in her cupped hands, admiring it.
She suddenly looks up to behold someone watching her.
JASPER, 20, a lean, cut young man stands at a distance,
watching Sadie.
He takes notice of the symbol on Sadies arm.
She stares directly into his eyes. They both hear the
CRACKLING of underbrush and LAUGHTER of a band of young men
coming closer.
The band of white-T clad men, like a patrol of Nazi youth,
arrive on the scene. They are led by THACKERY, 21, a blonde
with cold eyes.
Thackerys white T-shirt is stained with blood, the fresh
carcass of a coyote slung on his shoulder.
He lifts his fist at the sight of Sadie. The commotion of
the gang CEASES.
He drops the carcass to the ground as he too takes notice of
the symbol on Sadies arm.
Sadie stares back, dead still.
EXT. ABANDONED HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER
Sadie is running. She runs as if from a stampede.
She comes down the dirt road leading to the duplex.
The band of young men are in hot pursuit, Thackery leading
them. Jasper is in the rear.
EXT. BARN - CONTINUOUS
Ezekiel rushes out of the barn at the sound of Sadies
SCREAM.
Sadie runs into the barn behind her father. Thackery brings
everyone to a halt at the sight of Ezekiel.
Ezekiels eyes are ice.
Thackery pulls a blade.

4.

Ezekiel doesnt flinch.

Thackery waits a beat, then starts forward.
EZEKIEL
Stop where you are, boy.
Thackery is stopped in his tracks.
THACKERY
I can cut you just as quick as I
can cut her.
Ezekiel takes in his surroundings quick, sifting through the
band of boys with his eyes like sickles. His eyes stop on
Jasper; they sharpen.
Jasper matches his gaze, then looks down.
Ezekiel focuses back to Thackery.
EZEKIEL
Thatll be your mistake. You look
in my eyes, boy. Youre a damn fool
if you think Im gonna let you
touch a hair on her head.
Thackery cant shake Ezekiels glare. He fains a laugh.
THACKERY
Youre getting weak, old man.
EZEKIEL
Thats true. But you didnt come
here with all that fire in your
blood to fight an old man. You come
against a father and his cub. So
boy you better believe that today
Im the most dangerous man on this
green earth.
Thackerys eyes start shifting. He swivels his head to see
his band of misfits slowly cowering back.
He spits violently at Ezekiel, then retreats in silence.
Ezekiel watches them go.
Sadie appears out of the shadow of the barn, watching her
father.
He droops his head and gazes back at her.

5.
INT. BARN - CONTINUOUS
Sadie stands still, staring at Ezekiels things, all packed
up.
EXT. BARN - LATER
Ezekiel stands opposite Sadie, dressed in a tattered suit,
things slung on his shoulder as before.
He kneels down and holds Sadies face. He is on the verge of
tears.
EZEKIEL
Ill try and only be gone a day.
Sadie places her left hand on his forehead. She closes her
eyes for a beat.
Ezekiel breathes deep.
EXT. CITY TRAIN - DAY
The old city passes by in front of Ezekiel. Its a
post-apocalyptic vision of Philadelphia, had the apocalypse
come in the 1950s.
Some buildings lay in ruins, others have never been built.
EXT. CITY STREET - DAY
Ezekiel walks the empty street of a once-thriving center of
town. Life has continued but in a much less vibrant way.
INT. BARN - DAY
Sadie sits on the edge of a lofted window.
Shes holding a pine cone, dissecting it with intense care
and awe.
EXT. CITY ALLEY - DAY
Ezekiel walks down an alley towards an empty horizon.
JASPER(V.O.)
What did we do? How long did we
damn ourselves to the womb of this
rusted coil?

6.

EXT. ABANDONED BUILDING - DAY

Jasper wanders in and out of now-open courtyards in an
abandoned building.
He bats a rock through a broken window with a long stick.
JASPER(V.O.)
How can we free ourselves? When
that same ugly that turned the
world upside down still resides.
EXT. BOARDWALK - DAY
Ezekiel walks towards a long ocean pier.
JASPER(V.O.)
I can still feel it inside. That
rage that burns all things to ash,
that split a nation against
itself-FLACKBACK: EXT. FOREST GLADE - DAY
Jasper stands captivated, looking at Sadie, her hands cupped
over the dead bird.
They stare at each other.
JASPER(V.O.)
--turned man against his brother,
against his wife, separated mothers
from their children, scattered like
wheat. To the north and the south.
BACK TO PRESENT: EXT. PIER - DAY
A middle-aged WOMAN stands alone on the pier, scarred and
weary from living two lifetimes of heartache in one.
JASPER(V.O.)
My mother. Where are you now?
INT. BARN - DAY
Sadie traces her fingers across the silhouette of a spiders
web.
A KNOCK on wood makes her snap her head up.

7.
The entrance to the barn is blockaded by Thackery and his
thugs. Jasper is at the far side of the gang.
Thackery has a long, chewed up bat that hes rapping on the
barn door.
EXT. BOARDWALK - DAY
The ocean tide swells on the beach.
Ezekiel stops walking suddenly.
INT. BARN - DAY
Sadie stands alone. She cautiously steps back into a single
shaft of light coming through a lofted window.
Thackery starts stepping towards her.
Theres a flash of snakeskin moving. A RATTLING fades in.
Thackery steps closer, swinging the bat playfully.
Another flash, this time of the snakes head.
Sadie backs away slowly from the oncoming threat.
The RATTLESNAKE bears its fangs. It moves across the barn
floor.
Thackery quickens his pace. The bat comes up in a striking
position.
The rattlesnake lunges forward.
Thackery yelps in pain from the bite. He plunges to the
floor. The rattlesnake gets ready to strike again, when
suddenly-Sadie steps forward, hissing at the snake. It recoils
immediately into the dark hole it came from.
Jasper has come to Thackerys side, holding his leg to slow
the poison.
Thackery looks up, confused and scared, as Sadie kneels next
to him.
The two fang marks on Thackerys leg are oozing blood.
Sadie and Thackery look at each other for a beat. Then Sadie
places her hand on the bite marks. She closes her eyes.

8.

SERIES OF SHOTS - CONTD

1)Theres a flash of sunlight.
2)Silhouettes of leafy trees.
3)The ocean tide swells. Ezekiel drops to his knees in the
sand.
4)Timelapses of things growing, clouds rolling.
5)The symbol on Sadies arm moves and swells.
INT. BARN - CONTINUOUS
Jasper watches Sadie with wide eyes.
FLASHBACK: EXT. FOREST GLADE - DAY
Jasper and Sadie look at each other. The sound of CRACKLING
and LAUGHTER can be heard getting closer.
Suddenly Sadies cupped hands open, revealing the dead bird,
now alive. It flies out of her hands.
BACK TO PRESENT: INT. BARN - DAY
Sadies eyes open. She lifts her hand to reveal the bite
marks now gone.
She immediately finds Jaspers eyes with her own. They hold.
Thackery looks at his leg, then to Sadie.
Thackerys hand reaches for his pocket blade.
Jasper catches it out of the corner of his eye.
Then, swiftly, the blade slices Sadies throat.
Her blood splatters across Jaspers face as it turns to
petrified horror.
EXT. BOARDWALK - CONTINUOUS
Ezekiel screams bitterly on his knees in the sand. He begins
sobbing.

9.

INT. BARN - DAY

The barn is empty. Slowly revealed are Sadies feet.
Dangling.
Her body hangs limp, strung from a rafter.
JASPER(V.O.)
Can we set ourselves free?
EXT. BARN - DAY
In the field by the barn, Jasper sits alone.
His head is buried in the grass. He is weeping bitterly.
JASPER(V.O.)
When that same ugly I see in them,
is in me too?
EXT. BOARDWALK - DAY
Ezekiel stands on the beach, sobered. He puts his hat back
on his head.
EXT. PIER - CONTINUOUS
Ezekiel walks down the pier, empty except for the Woman
standing at the edge.
EXT. BARN - CONTINOUS
Jasper sits up in the field. He turns round to reveal Sadie
standing opposite him.
Is it her or an apparition? He doesnt know.
She comes towards him. Bending down she picks up his hand
and places it on her forehead.
He tries to speak but cannot.

10.

EXT. PIER - CONTINUOUS

Ezekiel stands talking to the Woman on the pier, but nothing
is heard. Suddenly she throws her hand to her mouth.
INT. CITY TRAIN - DUSK
The old city passes by outside the window.
Ezekiel sits on the train. And next to him is the Woman.
EXT. BARN - CONTINUOUS
Sadie holds Jaspers hand to her forehead for a beat. Then
she holds it down and turns it over.
On Jaspers forearm is now the same symbol that was on
Sadies.
Jasper marvels at it. He looks up at her again. She points
from her mouth to his.
SADIE
So everything will live where the
river goes.
JASPER
So everything will live where the
river goes.
Then they continue in unison as Sadie repeated Ezekiel
before.
SADIE & JASPER
By the river on its bank, on one
side and the other, will grow all
kinds of trees for food.
Until it is just Jaspers voice in the wind.
JASPER(V.O.)
Their leaves will not wither and
their fruit will not fail.
The field is now empty.
JASPER(V.O.) (contd)
They will bear every month because
their water flows from the
sanctuary.

11.

The rope where Sadie was strung now hangs loose. Sadie is
gone. The barn stands now alone.
JASPER(V.O.) (contd)
And their fruit will be for food
and their leaves for healing.
THE END