THE DECIDER

Written by

Ari Daryadel

aria.daryadel@yahoo.com

INT. BOXING RING - NIGHT

RYAN, 28, lean and clean cut sits in his corner juggling his mouth guard around his mouth and staring down his opponent CHRIS, 30, while his trainer SAM, 48, bent over with his hand on his shoulder radiating an intense stare.

CHRISYou made him bleed... You made him puke... You made him fall. You have this in the bag. With one round left the only way you lose is if you get knocked out so keep your arms up and stay on the defense.

Ryan nods his head and stands up. The crowd surrounding him and his opponent are losing their minds with excitement. He flashes them a wink and clicks his gloves together, ready to go.

INT. BOXING RING - MOMENTS LATER

Chris is throwing quick punches but Ryan’s defense is stifling the blows. He lifts one arm up to punch and misses. Chris slams his glove directly into Ryan’s cheek, knocking spit out of his mouth.

SAMFuck the offense!

Ryan is quick to regain full composure as Chris brings on another set of punches Ryan is quick to block.

The Bell RINGS.

Ryan heads back over to Sam very calmly while Sam is going ape shit with excitement along with the rest of the crowd. From across the ring Chris shakes his head with disappointment.

INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

ANNOUNCER (V.O.)(Over roar of the crowd)

Ladies and gentlemen... You’re winner, in an unanimous decision... Ryan Oakley!

Ryan, wearing a white shirt and black pajama pants hops into bed. His phone RINGS and he answers with a smile.

RYANDid you see it?

He LAUGHS incredibly pleased with himself.

RYAN (CONT’D)With betting odds against me. I’ll get what’s coming to me soon. The people have been getting louder too. It makes it harder to hide that spotlight from me, you know?

He nods his head with a smile.

RYAN (CONT’D)Thank you.

(Beat)Thank you.

(Beat)I’ll be home tomorrow afternoon. We’ll take Nick to see a movie or something.

He reaches over and turns the lamp off.

RYAN (CONT’D)I love you too. Good night.

He hangs up and places his cell phone on the night stand next to the lamp. He lays his head down against the pillow and shuts his eyes.

EXT. CAFE - OUTDOOR TABLE - DAY

The sky is clear white with a pinch of fog. DEMON, 30, brown hair and brow eyes sits across from ANGEL, 30, blond hair and green eyes. Both men are wearing suits and looking over a menu.

Standing to their left is Ryan, wearing his pajamas. He looks confused.

Demon lights a cigarette.

DEMONWhat’s good here?

ANGELI usually get the pasta.

DEMONThe steak looks nice.

2.

ANGELI’ve never had it.

DEMONI think I’m going to get the steak.

ANGELWhat in your opinion is the purpose for life?

DEMONBy life you mean what?

ANGEL Theirs.

DEMONPower and wealth I suppose.

Angel shakes his head.

DEMON (CONT’D)It’s incredibly condescending when you take a question whose answer is solely another person’s opinion and denounce it like your answer is fact.

ANGELThe purpose of life is just that. Life...

DEMONI can refute that. You guys push that on people just like you do all your other ideologies, as though if they can’t accept your practices you damn them to us. Why punish somebody who endures years of struggle and misery to the point they have a gun to their temple, pressing on the trigger?

ANGELI thought you guys loved punishment.

3.

DEMONNot by your hand we don’t. If you have the right to create the law itself that dictates what man and woman can and cannot do we should have the right to decide the suitable punishment for said actions.

(Beat)Where is the fucking waiter?

ANGELThere is no waiter.

Demon rolls his eyes and lights another cigarette.

DEMONIt’s just bull shit. You guys feel entitled to sanction our power while ever increasing your own. It’s hypocritical.

ANGELIt’s necessary. We encourage people to stay strong through the rough moments they face in life... To keep their heads up. The bible laid out many instances in explicit detail where people at the lowest of lows wound up on top in the end.

DEMONJoseph.

ANGELOne of many, yes.

DEMONWhat about those with no knowledge of the Bible?

ANGELYou know they get tried fairly and are put where they belong.

DEMONSo because you were lucky enough to have never read the bible or learned about God you can blow your brains out and still have a shot of getting in the gates.

ANGELYou’re arguing just to argue.

4.

Angel checks his watch.

ANGEL (CONT’D)I don’t have much time. Let’s just cut to the chase.

INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

Angel and Demon are now in a conference room sitting at a long black table. Demon has a note pad laid out in front of him. He CLICKS his pen and takes a drag off his cigarette.

Ryan stands in the corner of the room looking on, incredibly confused.

DEMONAnd now for the reason we are here today... We feel there’s been an incredible lack of disaster as of late.

ANGELWell --

DEMONNow, let me finish. We had come to terms on a ten year deal that saw less of these situations popping up but the restrictions you’ve put in place are really starting to get us annoyed.

ANGELThere have been Tsunami’s, tornado’s... The Boston incident... Several school shootings.

DEMONThe tsunami’s and tornado’s are natural disasters. We’ve never had our stamp on those. As far as the school shootings and the Boston incident are concerned, you act as if we’re unaware your biggest principal is free will. The school shootings don’t concern us in the least bit because we were not able to play a part in where these students attended school in the first place.

5.

(MORE)

We were pleased in regards to the Boston incident because with those situations we’re able to play a big part in where they occur. With that said, I’m not here to smile and tell you what makes us happy, I’m here to air our complaints.

ANGELThere’s always something, isn’t there?

DEMON All we’d like is to negotiate a more practical way of getting things passed. That’s not unreasonable.

EXT. MAIN ROAD, IN FRONT OF BRICK BUILDING - DAY

Ryan watches from behind the Angel as they stand in front of a building, facing each other.

ANGELI’ll let you know what we can do by 3 o’clock tomorrow. I can’t guarantee anything though. Like you, I am just a messenger.

DEMONKeep in mind I was appointed this position because of my incredible ability to keep an open mind and remain calm and collected. There aren’t many like me in Hell and I say this, not to threaten you but to keep you aware, things are teetering right now. If you want to restore some sort of a balance then you have to be willing to bend a little. I’m aware war is quote unquote inevitable eventually but none of us are exactly on the edge of our seats anticipating one. Not yet at least.

Demon loses his focus and looks around like something is wrong.

ANGELWhat is it?

6.

DEMON (CONT'D)

Demon makes eye contact with Ryan. Ryan’s eyes widen and he grows terrified.

DEMONShit.

ANGELWhat?

DEMONIts happened again.

The Angel looks around.

ANGELWhere?

DEMONDirectly behind you.

The Angel turns and faces Ryan, but doesn’t make direct eye contact with him because he can’t see him. Ryan is now even more terrified than before.

DEMON (CONT’D)You’re looking at him.

Demon snaps his fingers and shakes his head.

A large group of men, covered in black cloaks walk into view from the far side of the building. Ryan starts stepping back. Angel stares at the men and grows concerned.

ANGELIs this really necessary?

DEMONHe’s aware of what’s going on now. It’s no longer a dream but a nightmare. People remember nightmares. We can’t allow him to remember this.

Angel turns to the direction in which Ryan is located, in a panic.

ANGEL(Yelling)

Run!

Ryan runs for it. Demon shakes his head and lights a cigarette.

7.

DEMONThe things you grow concerned with versus what you find suitable baffles me. It’s as though we’re the more sensible ones while you remain naive. It instills false hope by the way when you tell somebody to run when there’s no point at all in doing so.

EXT. MAIN ROAD - CONTINUED

Ryan runs down an empty street headed nowhere in particular. Out of the woodwork men in dark cloaks appear and walk towards him, forcing him to change directions.

He sees a tall building up ahead on his right in otherwise desolate surroundings and runs towards it as fast as he can.

As he runs he turns his head and sees what must be a hundred of those men WALKING in the direction he’s running.

RYANFuck.

He arrives at the building, throws the door open and runs inside.

INT. BUILDING - CONTINUED

It’s PITCH BLACK...

DEMON (O.S.)Hello, Ryan. Allow me to apologize for my “friend” here who alluded to the fact you stood a chance running away. You didn’t.

The lights turn on revealing an empty, abandoned hotel lobby covered in dust. Demon is standing next to Angel, who looks sympathetic to Ryan’s fear.

RYANI don’t know what the hell is going on.

Demon LAUGHS coyly.

DEMONWell hell is going on. I know that’s not what you meant though.

8.

RYANI don’t know how I got here but--

DEMONYou’re dreaming, Ryan. This is a dream, and dreams are the one thing we have no control over. For a while that didn’t seem like such an issue, until dreams started mistakenly manifesting into real situations such as the one you played fly on the wall to today. I am a demon and he is an Angel and the conversation you witnessed is something you would never forget were you to wake up tomorrow. Because of that, you have to die.

RYAN What happened to everybody having a time?

DEMON (To Angel)

You want to answer that?

ANGELYou’re right. Everybody on earth’s death is pre-determined and executed in the exact manner in which it was written to be, this instant being the one exception. Because of that exception you cannot go directly to Heaven. In your life there were many other obstacles for you to climb through.

DEMONI.E. Your mother dying in a car accident on your thirty fifth birthday.

Angel looks at Demon angrily.

ANGELEnough.

(To Ryan)Though each of these obstacles and events you’re supposed to face conclude the same way no matter what your free will leaves it up to you to keep or discard your faith.

9.

(MORE)

Because we’re now unaware what your feelings about religion would be were you to carry on until the day you were supposed to die we cannot allow you to go straight into Heaven despite you being a Christian as of this moment.

DEMONYou’re not necessarily going to Hell, but you’re not necessarily going to Heaven either.

RYANBut--

ANGELIt’s done, Ryan. It’s done.

DEMONYour boxing career is over, your wife is now a widow and your son is now a bastard. What happens next falls on you.

ANGELYou’ll wake up in purgatory where you’ll meet with someone to discuss how this ends. You’ll be tested, but in a way that caters to your strengths, giving you the best chances of ending up where I’m sure you’d like to end up.

DEMONHell’s not so bad though.

Ryan stands shaken with fear. He opens his mouth to speak but no words come out. Demon checks his watch.

DEMON (CONT’D)I’d say this has gone long enough. While we can’t help inconveniences from happening, there’s no reason to prolong them as well.

ANGELGood luck, Ryan.

FADE OUT:

10.

ANGEL (CONT'D)

FADE IN:

INT. HOTEL ROOM - DAY

The phone alarm on Ryan’s phone goes off, waking him up. He wipes the sweat from his forehead and takes a look around still scared.

INT. HOTEL HALLWAY - LATER

Ryan exits his room, now fully dressed and takes a cautious look around his quite surroundings. He thinks for a moment and then knocks on somebodies door. No answer.

He walks to the next room and knocks on their door. No answer.

Door after door after door... Nobody answers.

RYANFuck.

He puts his hands on his head, freaking out. He pulls his phone out and sees there’s no service.

He approaches the elevator and hits the down button. It opens immediately.

INT. HOTEL LOBBY - MOMENTS LATER

He exits the elevator into the lobby and quickly runs towards the door that lets out into the street.

THE RECEPTIONIST (O.S.)(As Ryan reaches for the door)

Sir...

Ryan looks over at THE RECEPTIONIST, 30, tall, with a bald head and no eye brows pointing at a closed red door to Ryan’s far left. Ryan looks over at the door and grows concerned.

He slowly approaches it and then glances back at the receptionist who nods his head in approval.

11.

INT. THE RED ROOM - CONTINUED

Ryan enters a small office with dark red walls and white carpet. Sitting at the desk is THE MANAGER, 30, bald with no eye brows like the receptionist but taller and built like a terminator.

THE MANAGERPlease, have a seat.

Ryan takes a seat in a chair directly in front of the manager.

THE MANAGER (CONT’D)You’ve been made aware of your situation and now I’m going to ask you some questions. I encourage you to not take your time answering these questions and allowing whatever your gut tells you to serve as the answers you present me with. Before I get started, do you have any questions?

RYANWhy is this happening? I’ll keep my mouth shut -- Whatever I remember I won’t say to anyone.

THE MANAGERThose were not the sort of questions I was referring to. What’s done is done and I am simply here to assess you and determine the best way to move forward from here. Let’s just get started, okay? What’s your name?

RYANYou know my name.

The manager rubs his eyes, trying not to get impatient. He holds a paper out for Ryan to see with a list of questions on it.

THE MANAGERI am obligated to ask these questions regardless of whether or not I know the answers. The sooner you comply the sooner we can move forward. These situations tend to take a while to resolve and you will find purgatory is incredibly boring so let’s get a move on.

12.

RYANMy name is Ryan.

THE MANAGERAge at time of death?

RYANTwenty eight.

THE MANAGERBiggest fear?

RYANDeath.

A pause.

THE MANAGERIn your estimation, what is your greatest strength? Answers that are not accepted include but are not limited to, being a great father, a great husband, a great son and anything else unrelated to talent in a subjective manner.

RYANBoxing.

THE MANAGERInteresting. How long had you been boxing for while you were alive if you don’t mind me asking?

RYAN I never died.

THE MANAGERWord of advice, Ryan... If you accept the circumstances you’re in this whole thing gets a lot easier for you. As of now you’re neither in Heaven or Hell and you have a fifty fifty shot at either. It’s time to focus and not sulk.

13.