You can set me free and change my fate.
In the dramatic scene from Killing You, wherein the killer has captured Billy and is undecided what to do next.
KILLER: It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from.
BILLY: Why not?
KILLER: I chose you.
BILLY: What?
KILLER: I sought you out.
BILLY: Chose me?
KILLER: That’s right.
BILLY: No one hired you to kill me?
KILLER: This isn’t a movie, Billy boy. No one hired me to do anything.
BILLY: Why me?
KILLER: Luck of the draw, I’m afraid.
BILLY: But how did you choose me?
KILLER: How?
BILLY: What made you decide to select me?
KILLER: You know, that’s a pretty damn good question. There really isn’t any rhyme or reason. (beat) I think it’s sort of like when a wave comes in from the ocean, it’s natural, mesmeric. A wave washes over me…there’s no thought process, no urge, time does not exist…when it happens, there’s a pathway, a certain darkness… I don’t quite know the trigger; it’s a feeling, a luring pull on my attention, all my concentration on a particular someone that tells me that it’s time and that it’s you.
BILLY: There’s no reason to kill me?
KILLER: I’m not the one to explain the science of it.
BILLY: But why me, damn it?! Why me?!
KILLER: I wish I could give you a reason, I really do.
BILLY: I have things to do before I die.
KILLER: So do I, but one day I too will expire.
BILLY: I don’t want to die now. Please. Please. You need help! You need help you sick, sick b’stard –
KILLER: You know how someone suddenly doesn’t feel right? So, they go to the doctor, and they discover they have six months to live. Well, that sucks. There’s nothing they can do about it. It’s that person’s fate. (beat) This, here with me, now…happens to be your fate. I will one day die, and it will be my fate. It’s just the way it is, Billy boy.
BILLY: But you have the power to change my fate. You and you alone. You don’t need to do this. You can set me free and change my fate. Perhaps it will even change yours. You have complete control over my fate.
KILLER: (smiles) You are quite the talker, aren’t you? You almost make me feel like I really shouldn’t tamper with your life. Wow, I even got a chill.
BILLY: It’s true. You have all the power.
KILLER: But I don’t. You see, that whole dark passageway that I told you about…it’s not mine; it’s a hold over me, instructing me, guiding me.
BILLY: But you have the power to stop it, don’t you?
KILLER: I can, but I can’t.
BILLY: You can! This isn’t my fate, I’m not meant to die now. You definitely can stop it.
KILLER: I can, but I can’t because if I let you go, I will be sick to my stomach. I will live on in regret because I didn’t act on my impulse, and I will only seek you out later anyway, until I get you.
BILLY: But, if you let me go and get help –
KILLER: I don’t want help. What makes you think I want help? What do you know about me, Billy boy? I like things just as they are…
BILLY: I know there is something I can give you, something that will help you release me and never think about me again. There must be something there.
KILLER: There is.
BILLY: There is?
KILLER: Yes. I have a little girl. Her name is Tiffany. The plum of my life. The apple of my eye. My daughter. My only child. I love her so much. I want you to bring her back to me.
BILLY: Where? How? Where is she located, and I will go get her for you.
KILLER: She’s dead. But if you could bring her back, I’d spare you your life. But I’ll tell you what…if life after life does exist…I would like for you to find my Tiffany and tell her Daddy’s coming. Tell her one day Daddy will be with her again. Do you think you can do that for me, Billy?
- To read the full one-act ePlay, find purchase link below:
In this short play, the KILLER may have met his match with his latest VICTIM as they exchange a battle of wits that may result in a surprising outcome. 2 Men. Drama.
