BEDTIME STORY

Written by

Alex Johnston

Based on, Bedtime Story from The World's Shortest Stories 2015

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INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

We see a woman, ABIGAIL, sitting on a queen sized bed,

brushing her fingertips on a pistol beside her thigh. RODGER
then enters in the room wearing nothing but a bathrobe. He’s
smiling.

RODGER
You’re oddly quiet tonight.

ABIGAIL
(beat)
There’s a lot on my mind.

RODGER
It’ll be over before you know it.
Soon this whole thing will be
nothing but a bad dream.

Abigail’s shoulders tense and she looks up at him with a

troubled expression.

ABIGAIL
How can you live with yourself?
Deciding to go through with this?

RODGER
What can I say? Drastic times call
for drastic measures. You know for
as long as she’s alive my life is
in danger.

Rodger approaches the side of the bed. His eyes grow wide and
he backs up when he sees the gun. He puts his hands up.

RODGER (CONT'D)
Careful, honey, it’s loaded.

Abigail chuckles and looks back at the gun.

ABIGAIL
This is for your wife? Seems like
such a brutal way to let her go.

Rodger relaxes his shoulders.

RODGER
No, too chancy.

Rodger turns his back to Abigail and approaches the dresser.

He picks up a picture frame of him and his wife and observes
it.
 2.

RODGER (CONT'D)
(beat)
I’m hiring a professional to do the
job.

Abigail looks at Rodger out of the corner of her eye.

ABIGAIL
How about me?

Rodger smirks and lets out a chuckle of amusement.

RODGER
Cute! But no. You couldn’t handle
getting your hands dirty with
blood.
Rodger puts down the picture frame and stares off into space.

RODGER (CONT'D)
And who’d be dumb enough to hire a
lady hitman?

Abigail licks her lips and lifts the pistol, aiming for
Rodger’s head.

ABIGAIL
Your wife is.

Abigail fires the gun. Rodger staggers forward as the back of

his head is blown open by the blast. He falls over onto the
dresser before sliding down to the carpet, dead. Abigail gets
up off the bed and stands over Rodger’s dead body. She takes
the picture frame and stares at it. She sighs and puts it
back before leaving the bedroom, still holding the pistol.

EXT. BACK YARD - NIGHT

Abigail slinks through the back door of the house. Waiting

for her outside is Rodger’s wife, HELEN, sitting on a lawn
chair with her legs crossed. She smiles upon seeing Abigail.

HELEN
Is the deed done?

Abigail nods solemnly. Helen claps her hands together and

stands up, approaching her.

HELEN (CONT'D)
Excellent! Now that my husband is
rotting in hell, I can finally live
in peace!
 3.

Abigail remains silent, her gaze pointed down at the grass.

Helen stands a few feet away from her, her expression
dropping.

HELEN (CONT'D)
I know it must’ve been hard for
you, but you know what needed to be
done.

ABIGAIL
You’re twisted. Both of you.
Absolutely twisted.

HELEN
Whatever do you mean? My life was
being threatened so I took the
necessary precautions.

ABIGAIL
That’s what your husband told me
too.

Abigail raises the gun up to Helen who backs away with her
hands up.

HELEN
Woah, woah, Abbi we can talk about
this!

ABIGAIL
I’m sorry, but I can’t let you get
out of this untouched. You’re just
as rotten as him.

HELEN
Abbi, don’t do this!

ABIGAIL
(solemn)
Too late.
Abigail fires the pistol at Helen’s chest. Instantly, Helen
falls backwards, dead, as blood leaks from the bullet hole.
Abigail stares at the damage with an unsteady gaze. Then
Abigail’s phone starts buzzing which catches her by surprise.
He fishes it out of her pocket and answers the call.

ABIGAIL (CONT'D)
Hello?
(beat)
Yeah... They’re dead.
(beat)
Okay, I’m... I’m coming back now.
Bye.
 4.

Abigail hangs up the phone and puts it back in her pocket.

She stares at Helen one last time before turning away and
exiting the back yard, a determined look on her face.