RUN

By John Elander
INT. WHITE ROOM. NIGHT.
MAGGIE Freeman, 30, is sitting at a table, writing in a
journal. Her 5-year-old daughter, HOPE, is laying in bed,
eyes wide open. They are both wearing white jumpsuits. The
room is completely empty other than the table and bed.
Hope sits up and turns to her mother.
HOPE
Mommy, I cant sleep.
MAGGIE
Just do what I do, sweetie. Close
your eyes extra tight and think
about something that makes you
happy.
HOPE
I tried that. It didnt work.
Maggie looks up from her writing and over at Hope.
there isnt much to be happy about.

She knows

HOPE (CONTD)
Can you read me a story?
MAGGIE
(smiling)
Of course.
Maggie gets up and pulls out a stack of books from underneath
the mattress.
MAGGIE (CONTD)
Which one do you want to read?
Green Eggs and Ham? Where the Wild
Things Are?
HOPE
Can you tell me the story about
Daddy again?
MAGGIE
(chuckles)
But I just told you that one last
week!

2.
HOPE
I dont care. Its my favorite.
MAGGIE
Its mine, too.
Maggie puts the stack of books back under the mattress and
lies down next to Hope on the bed, putting her arm around
her.
MAGGIE (CONTD)
A long, long, time ago, in a world
just like this, existed James Clark
Freeman. The greatest man Ive
ever known. What made him so
great? His sense of adventure, his
dashing good looks, but most of
all, his kindness and love. He had
the biggest heart of anyone Ive
ever known.
How big?
This big!

HOPE
MAGGIE

Maggie holds her arms out wide, with one over Hopes face,
which makes her giggle.
MAGGIE (CONTD)
James Freeman, or better known as
your father, would travel the world
righting wrongs. He helped people.
(pause) He helped me. Ill never
forget the day I met him.
HOPE
Did he beat up bad guys?
MAGGIE
He most certainly did. He could be
in a room with 10 bad guys, and
walk out without a scratch on him.
Hope giggles and mimes punching and kicking the air.
HOPE
Tell me about the time he stole the
bad guys computer!

3.
MAGGIE
Of course, his greatest adventure.
(pause) Years ago, the bad guys
wanted to build a big machine so
they could do bad things to our
city. When Daddy heard this, he
broke into their big bad guy
headquarters and stole the key to
the machine.
HOPE
Did he get out?
MAGGIE
He sure did. He beat them up so
bad that their leader still has a
scar under his eye.
HOPE
(smiling from ear to ear)
Dads the coolest!
MAGGIE
But of all his greatest
achievements, the one he valued
most was his little girl. Hope
Margaret Freeman.

Me!

HOPE
(enthusiastic)

MAGGIE
Thats right. You were always the
apple of his eye. His little angel.
HOPE
Why isnt Daddy here?

I miss him.

MAGGIE
He cant be here right now. There
are dangerous men looking for him.
Hes protecting us by not being
here.
HOPE
I wish he could be here.
MAGGIE
Me too, sweetie.
Maggie kisses Hope on the head and holds her tight.

4.
MAGGIE (CONTD)
Are you ready to sleep?
No.

HOPE
I dont wanna go to sleep.

MAGGIE
Well youre gonna have to sleep
eventually..
A loud banging on the door breaks up their conversation.
HOPE
Mommy who is that?
MAGGIE
I dont know. Stay close.
The banging continues, and an officer is heard on the other
side of the door.
VOICE BEHIND DOOR (O.S.)
(shouting)
Maggie, open up. Dont make us
break down the door!
Maggie gets out of the bed, preparing herself. Hope is
confused, quickly looking back and forth between her mother
and the door.
MAGGIE
Hope, I need you to listen to me.
HOPE
What do you mean?
MAGGIE
Just listen, sweetie. Those men
are gonna come in here and take me
away.
HOPE
(on the verge of tears)
Why?!
MAGGIE
Because theyre bad people. The
same bad people who are looking for
Daddy.
The banging on the door has stopped, and multiple men are
heard on the other side.

5.
VOICE BEHIND DOOR
Alright, were coming in.
MAGGIE
What I need from you is to not tell
them anything. They cant know
anything about us or where Daddy
is, okay?
HOPE
(terrified)
Okay.
Some sort of battering ram is now crashing into the door.
The first hit nearly takes the door off its hinges. Maggie
grabs Hope by the shoulders.
MAGGIE
Ill never let anything happen to
you, Hope. I love you so much. Be
strong for Mommy, okay?
Hope nods her head in terror as the battering ram hits again,
BUSTING THROUGH THE DOOR. 5 men in black and red uniforms
come rushing in, followed by their leader, PERCIVAL Hughes,
45. He is as menacing as he is charismatic. He flashes a
wicked smile as he looks at the dismantled door.
PERCIVAL
Sorry about the door. I bet
insurance will cover it.
Maggie glares at Percival, keeping Hope behind her.
PERCIVAL (CONTD)
Oh, Maggie, what happened to our
usual pleasantries? Seeing as
weve been in this cat and mouse
game for almost two years, Id hope
for a nice to see you at least.
Percival outstretches his arms for a hug and stands in front
of Maggie. She takes this opportunity to kick him square in
the gut, causing him to double over in pain. The guards move
in on her, but Percival waves them off.
MAGGIE
Youre scum, you know that?
PERCIVAL
(through clenched teeth)
Id be lying if I said Ive never
heard that before. Cant we just
have a conversation?

6.
MAGGIE
I have nothing to say to you.
PERCIVAL
Oh, dont be like that, we have
plenty of things to talk about.
He squats down to Hopes eyeline, smiling at her.
PERCIVAL (CONTD)
Like this little bundle of
sunshine. How are you, Hope?
Hope stares at him in horror, noticing a scar under his left
eye.
PERCIVAL (CONTD)
Heh, I was a quiet kid, too. Took
me years to discover how fun it is
to be loud...and now I cant stop!
Percival stands back up and lets out a belly laugh.
MAGGIE
What do you want?
PERCIVAL
Isnt it obvious? You.
Percivals officers grab Maggie by both arms and restrain her
as she struggles to break free.
PERCIVAL (CONTD)
Dont be too rough, boys. This
ones special.
MAGGIE
I didnt do anything wrong!
cant take me in!

You

Percival takes a moment to ponder this.

PERCIVAL
I suppose youre right. Legally,
youve done nothing wrong. But Im
sure that if we have a quick look
around we can find something.
Percival saunters around the room, ending up next to the bed.
He looks under the mattress and pull out the stack of
childrens books.

7.
PERCIVAL (CONTD)
(over-the-top)
Uh-oh! Hey boys, we have ourselves
a big problem here. Looks like
Maggie here has herself a
collection of books. Hey big guy,
is owning a book legal?
OFFICER
Not without a permit, sir.
MAGGIE
Thats bullshit!
PERCIVAL
No, thats the law! As an enforcer
of the law, it is my duty to bring
you in for the crimes you have
committed. Take her away, fellas.
Maggie turns to Hope before she is dragged away by the
officers.
MAGGIE
Hope, sweetie, remember what Mommy
said earlier, okay? Be strong for
Mommy.
Hope continues to look on, petrified.
PERCIVAL
How sweet. Maybe if I had a loving
mother I wouldnt have become such
a ruthless, disgusting monster.
The 3 officers handling Maggie leave the room with her,
leaving Percival and 2 guards with Hope. He gets down on one
knee to talk to her.
PERCIVAL (CONTD)
You dont think Im a monster,
right?
I-I do.

HOPE

PERCIVAL
And why is that?
HOPE
Because youre a bad guy.
Percival sighs and pulls up a chair, sitting directly in
front of Hope.

8.
PERCIVAL
I wish it was that simple, kid. I
wish it was that black and white.
Everyone separated into two
categories: good and bad. But
heres where youre wrong, Hope.
Im not a bad guy, I just do
unpopular things. Dont get
unpopular mixed up with evil.
Its a dark world, and sometimes
you have to be unpopular to make
significant change for the better!
HOPE
Youre wrong. Youre a bad guy and
you know it.
PERCIVAL
No, youre wrong, Hope. Youve
been raised with your eyes closed,
not seeing what the worlds really
like. You see, its impossible for
the blind to see the bigger
picture. Your mother and your
father are both blind, and Id hate
to see you go down the same path.
Percival gets up out of his chair, kisses Hope on the top of
her head, and begins to walk towards the door.
PERCIVAL (CONTD)
Take her in.
Just as Percivals men get close to Hope, a hooded figure
CRASHES THROUGH THE WINDOW and into the room. He gets up and
throws small objects at the two officers, electrifying them
on impact. Percival turns around and sees both of his men
lying on the ground.
PERCIVAL (CONTD)
You just couldnt help yourself,
huh?
Percival takes out a small blade from his pant leg and runs
straight at the hooded figure, who takes out an electric
baton. Before he can reach it, Hope throws one of her books,
hitting Percival square in the head. He isnt hurt, but the
distraction let the hooded person stick the baton right under
his chin, knocking him out cold. Hope stands over Percivals
body in awe as the hooded figure reveals themselves.
Daddy!

HOPE

9.