The Accomplice

EXT.JUNGLE. NIGHT

Dense, ominous and dark, this is a JUNGLE no one would dare to venture into even in daytime. SOUND of SHOVEL hitting the surface grows louder as we move closer to a spot, deep inside.

A FRIEND of mine (male,50s) and I, scramble beside a DEAD BODY wrapped in a sheet. The body feels impossibly heavy and we are struggling to put it inside a shoddy CASKET.

FRIEND

come on...give me a hand now

MYSELF

(looking at PIT, not convinced)

...it is not deep enough

FRIEND

(ignoring)

we don’t have much time

MYSELF

but...

My FRIEND already holding one end of the CORPSE,

FRIEND

let’s just put it in the BOX first

Unsure and reluctant, I

walk up to the other end of the CORPSE, bend to find a strong grip.

FRIEND

on the count of three,

(beat)

one...two...three...

Both put in all our strength,to the lift the BODY but it is not enough and we end up dragging it to the CASKET, ...panting heavily, we gather whatever is left within, for one final push, this time it is me giving the count,

MYSELF

three...two...one

Botching the attempt miserably, we finally manage to roll it over into the CASKET. Exhausted both drop on the ground, leaning on the CASKET catching our breath back.

Dark clouds eclipse the moon as they drift by, the winds picking up momentum and breaking the moment for us. We turn back to the task at hand, now even more difficult and complicated.

Legs hang out. Hands dangle out.

I try to force the legs inside, but the stiffness makes the hands pop out. FRIEND shoves them back in, only for the shoulder to protrude awkwardly.

Almost comical, yet horrifying at the same time.

It is a cold, chilly night, but both of us are sweating profusely.

MYSELF

(voice over)

still trying to figure out,

why did i agree,

(beat)

...agree to help,

to be here,

to shut down reasoning,

... and not question,

(beat)

...that my presence here in this moment,

doing whatever we are doing,

...makes me an accomplice,

(beat)

...when I am not even aware of the truth,

if this is a murder or an act of self-defense,

... going horribly wrong.

My FRIEND runs out of patience. He jumps right back up and begins dragging the CASKET towards the PIT.

Having already sunk myself incriminatingly deep into this law-defying favor to my friend, I join him again to finish the job.

As I had both anticipated and feared, the PIT is shallow. The CASKET would not go down deep enough. It remains conspicuously exposed.

My FRIEND grows desperate, picks up the SHOVEL, and frantically starts digging around it to somehow push it lower.

By now, I too have lost patience and energy, so I do the same — making the task even shoddier than it already is.

Dig... push... conceal it with dirt, branches, and leaves until it looks like an abrupt mound.

A terrible job, and we both know it, but can do nothing except exchange a look and leave it all up to fate.

TIME CUT

INT.MY HOUSE. NIGHT

DAWN is just a couple of hours away. Using the duplicate keys, I enter the house.

Quietly hang my JACKET in the foyer and tiptoe towards the BEDROOM.

But as I step into the LIVING ROOM, I find my MOTHER, WIFE, and AUNT asleep where they had settled the previous night while watching a MOVIE.

It reminds me of our movie nights at home, where we eat, laugh, and eventually fall asleep without bothering to go to our ROOMS.

For a moment, all three stir.

Half-open eyes.

A sleepy glance.

Recognition.

Then they drift back to sleep.

I remain standing.

Still.

Watching them.

MYSELF

(voice over)

They sleep like babies.

(beat)

I stand at the threshold of

(beat)

...Sleepless nights ahead.

TIME CUT

MONTAGE- DAYS PASSING BY

The DOORBELL RINGS in the middle of the night. I jump out of BED, my stomach curling inward. The DOORBELL RINGS again, and then a couple more times, but it is not ours, the NEIGHBOR'S HUSBAND has come home drunk again.

My HEART still pounding, I guzzle water from the BOTTLE and think.

TIME CUT

ANOTHER DAY

CALL from UNKNOWN number, I do not take it...The PHONE rings again- SAME message flashes, I begin to tremble

TIME CUT

ANOTHER NIGHT

SIREN BLARING. I jump out of bed, rush to the window and yank the curtain aside. Below, two POLICE VANS stand facing each other outside the house. My stomach drops.

MYSELF

(voice over)

It’s only a matter of ti,

...that doorbell rings for real.,

...that anonymous call,

... actually comes,

(beat)

...that police van,

... pulls up outside my house.

(beat)

...because even deep inside a jungle,

...a body buried that badly,

.... cannot remain hidden for long,

(beat)

...a trekker wanders off the trail,

...a sadhu stops to rest,

...a cattle herder passes by,

...someone notices disturbed earth,

...someone starts digging,

(beat)

...and sooner or later,

...they will find him,

...and after that,

...they find me.

TIME CUT

INT.INTERROGATION ROOM.NIGHT

The dimly lit dingy room without ventilation or a FAN is bearing heavy on me. On the verge of collapsing I try to hold on somehow but OFFICER IN-CHARGE is not moved.

OFFICER IN CHARGE

Tell me,

... where have you buried body,

(beat)

tell me,

... the real reason behind crime,

... without missing any detail,

(leaning forward)

...else be rest assured,

... I can do this all my life.

I struggle to speak

MYSELF

...i just helped him,

(exasparated)

and I don’t know why...

OFFICER IN-CHARGE unmoved, keeps staring through the long silence

OFFICER IN CHARGE

...then it is all the more important,

(beat)

...for you to come up with a reason.

(ominous)

...or you might end up,

... paying for it with your freedom.

SOUND OF ALARM RING TONE catches them both off-guard.

PRE-LAP

INT. MY HOUSE. NIGHT

I sit upright.

Sweating.

Gasping.

Heart racing.

In the quiet moments before DAWN, the SOUND OF THE ALARM becomes deafening, forcing me to look at the MOBILE flashing the time.

...4 A.M.

Silence.

No police.

No grave.

No body.

Just the stillness of the night.

I sit motionless.

Trying to convince myself it wasn't real.

Just my body warning me that my lifestyle needed to change before sleep abandoned me altogether.

FADE OUT.