Int. hospital room - Day
[A patient is laying inside of a bed, propped up by a pillow. A nurse is tending to them, adjusting the covers and whatnot. Finally, the nurse finishes with their fretting, and gives the patient a sad smile.]
Nurse:
All comfortable, Mr. Leaf?
[Mr. Leaf coughs]
Leaf:
(Weakly)
As comfortable as I can be, yeah…
[The nurse gives a short nod]
Nurse:
Just press the call button if you need anything, Mr. Leaf. We want your remaining time to be as pleasant as possible.
[The nurse pats Mr. Leaf against the shoulder, and then walks offscreen and out of the room, the door clicking shut behind them. Mr. Leaf lets out a sigh and stares up at the ceiling, their breathing short and labored.]
SFX:
[The ticking of a clock, mixed with the beeping of monitoring equipment.]
Panning shot, right:
[Focus on an empty chair by Mr. Leaf’s bed.]
[VFX: A middle-aged man wearing a dark suit with no tie gradually fades onto the chair.]
Cut to Mr. Leaf:
[Mr. Leaf startles, craning his head to the man with wide eyes.]
Leaf:
(Panicked)
… Who are you? How did you get in here?
Cut to other man:
[The mysterious man does not answer; instead, he calmly meets Mr. Leaf’s gaze and simply stares at him.]
Cut to Mr. Leaf:
[This only serves to make Mr. Leaf more nervous, and he reaches for the call button that the nurse indicated to him and presses it a few times.]
Zoom on call button:
SFX:
[A few useless clicks.]
Pull back to Mr. Leaf:
Leaf:
(In raised, but hoarse and scratchy voice)
Nurse…! NURSE!
Panning shot, right:
[There is no response. In fact - as the camera returns to the other man - it becomes quickly apparent that the ticking of the clock, and the beeping of the medical equipment, have ceased as well. The room has become almost completely silent.]
Cut to:
[Mr. Leaf, after several seconds of alternating between looking fearfully at the stranger – who is still staring at him – and the room’s door, keeps his focus on the latter. Worry creases Mr. Leaf’s brow.]
Leaf:
(Fearful, quiet)
Are you… the Reaper?
Cut, Dutch angle:
[This finally gets a reaction out of the mysterious man, who smirks and shakes his head. After a moment, the man pulls something out of his suit pocket. It is a packet of cigarettes. The man pulls two of them out of the packet, and offers one to Mr. Leaf.1
Cut, level frame:
[Mr. Leaf stares at the cigarette being offered to him, and after staring at it for a few moments, shakes his head, pushing the stick away with his hand and offering a nervous laugh.]
Leaf:
(Halting)
No… N… No. That’s how I got here in the first place.
Cut to:
[The mysterious man shrugs his shoulders in a “suit yourself” kind of manner, and puts the cigarette back within the packet.]
Jump cut:
[He now suddenly a lighter in his other hand, which he uses to light the remaining cigarette.2]
Cut, wide shot:
[Mr. Leaf stares at the man, looking as if he wants to say something, but then thinks better of it, turning back onto his back and staring up at the ceiling. He relaxes, letting out a deep sigh.]
Cut, closeup shot of face:
Leaf:
If you’re not the Reaper, than what… Who are you?
Cut to:
[The man does not answer, instead placidly watching Mr. Leaf while he quietly smokes the cigarette.
Cut to:
[Mr. Leaf, for his part, simply laughs after a few moments.]
Leaf:
I guess it doesn’t really matter, anyway. I’m probably going to meet the Reaper soon enough, anyway.
[Mr. Leaf sighs again.]
Leaf: I wonder. Will they appear to me like an angel? A pale goth woman?
[Mr. Leaf laughs, which then lapses into a painful cough]
Leaf:
(Hoarse)
Maybe a skeleton in a cloak… with a Jamaican accent…
Cut to, waist shot:
[The mysterious man tilts his head at Mr. Leaf.]
Cut to, waist shot:
Leaf:
(Sheepish)
Old cartoon I used to watch when I was a kid… Forget about it.
[Mr. Leaf lets out another cough. It is wetter, more visceral than the previous one.]
Leaf:
… I tried to lead a good life, you know. No drinking, no gambling, no sex before I got married. But I just had to lapse, and start smoking.
Cut, waist shot:
[The old man leans forward, listening intently to Mr. Leaf’s words.]
Panning shot, left:
Leaf: It happened after my boyfriend broke up with me. I tried so many coping mechanisms after it happened, but none of them worked. Eventually, though, I got desperate for anything to take the pain away, and…
[Tears start to well up in Mr. Leaf’s eyes. His voice starts to shake.]
Leaf:
(Wavering)
I told myself, “It’ll only be once”, “It’ll only be just one cig”, but I… I got addicted to the taste, awful as it was. And I kept buying packs, whenever I could. I went through one packet at least daily. And I kept going and going and going until…
[Mr. Leaf looks down at himself, and chuckles weakly, before coughing again]
Leaf:
Well, look where it got me. Rotted lungs… and dying alone…
[The mysterious man suddenly places his hand on top of Mr. Leaf’s.The other man looks up, startled.]
Pull back:
[The mysterious man speaks, his voice deep and rumbling.]
SCP-4999: You’re not alone now.
[Mr. Leaf considers this for a moment, and then slowly begins to smile as they lay back down against the bed.]
[SFX: The heartbeat monitor begins rapidly beating, reaching a crescendo until it suddenly flatlines.]
Cut to:
[Two or three nurses rush through the door, frantically looking over Mr. Leaf as they attempt unsuccessfully to perform resuscitation.]
Panning shot, left:
[The chair is now empty.]
Panning shot, down; zoom:
[On the floor, a singular cigarette butt lays next to the chair.]
FIN