Corn Monster — End of Life Cycle
Luc hadn’t been seen in two days: his disappearance affected the mood of the entire High School. He was the reason the Home Team won the Championship. Luc was the local school hero, the Star Quarterback, the most valuable player, and the most popular person in High School — but he was nowhere to be found. The Victory Party at the Clearing ended on a down note because the main act was a no-show. The Coach put on a positive front and told the attendees that Luc was probably just playing a practical joke and would surface in the morning.
LUC’S JOCK FRIENDS
(drunk, slapping each other on the back)
“Oh yeah, he’s just on a bender and gettin’ laid!”
David put on a somber face and played the part of a commiserating teammate. He knew Luc’s fate though, and couldn’t be happier. David’s number one enemy — the cruel Luc who always tormented and harassed him — was gone forever, and so were a few other mean obnoxious jocks. His best Friend, the creature in the cornfield, had made his dream come true. The Victory Party ended early and David giddily ran home; he would visit his confidant tomorrow evening and thank him.
After school and evening chores the next day, David went in search of his friend. The creature wasn’t in its usual spot. When David finally found his confidant, something was wrong — its eye had dimmed significantly and many of its leaves had sloughed off. It looked defeated. Their eyes met and David felt a profound sadness.
The creature slowly turned and limped away, shedding more leaves, and also some stalks which comprised its limbs. The creature stumbled to its own small clearing in the cornfield, then tripped and fell — one of its corn stalk legs had snapped off. David understood: his soul mate wasn’t dying, its life cycle was ending.
David walked around the front of his best buddy and his eyes welled up. The creature’s mouth was spinning for the last time, but more slowly, and copious amounts of water were spilling out between its sharp corn kernel teeth. The whirling stopped — the creature had cleaned the acid from its massive mouth.
David’s soul mate opened its massive maw wide, pulled out a handful of kernel teeth, and presented them to him. David intuitively knew his Friend’s intention: the creature was giving David his seed to create a new family next season.
CUT TO:
Monster, Friend — The Shining
David was an introvert — he avoided crowds and hated walking in the hallways at his High School. He dreaded running into the Jocks because they always teased him about some stupid thing, mostly about his failures on the Football Team. David fantasized about making them disappear; he was sure his new Friend would help. David turned the corner and saw the group of Jocks, laughing over some sports joke no doubt. They were all wearing Letterman’s Jackets — David didn’t have one.
The star player on the Team, Luc, looked and pointed at him.
LUC
(arrogantly)
“Hey, there’s the runt.”
David hated this nickname. Luc continued:
LUC
“Hey loser, come here — the guys want to go shining tonight and want you to drive. Pick ’em up at 9:00 at the Clearing.”
DAVID
(meekly)
“OK.”
David walked to the Clearing from the farmhouse. He loved the nighttime in North Dakota — millions of stars dotted the heavens and shooting stars erupted continuously. David heard the Jocks before he saw them. When he arrived, David noticed one top player wasn’t there.
DAVID
“Is Craig coming?”
JACK
“Naw — he’s getting some tonight. More coons for us!”
The three Jocks laughed and high-fived in unison. Jack, Diesel, and Eper took out their Remington shotguns and loaded both barrels. They brought along two boxes of shells. Jack and Diesel took the passenger seats; Eper jumped in the open back of the pickup. Jack worked the strong spotlight while Diesel and Eper peered down the cornrows for signs of the quarry. David started driving slowly on the noisy gravel road — corn was planted on both sides.
JACK
“Drive slower, peckerhead — they’re usually around here.”
JACK
(yelling)
“STOP RUNT! I see one — it’s a huge motherfucker!”
David saw it too, but it wasn’t a raccoon. The Jocks sprang into action, jumping out of the pick-up with loaded shotguns and flashlights.
JACK
“Stay in the truck, runt. Keep shining the spotlight.”
The Jocks ran deep in-between the corn rows and soon disappeared; only an occasional flicker of flashlight could be seen. There was calm for a long time — then David heard a distant scream. He knew his soul mate was out there, answering David’s wishes.
Jack was running fast in-between the corn rows when he saw a sudden movement to his right, followed by a lightning strike to his chest — a sharp thick cornstalk stuck out of his chest. Blood was spilling onto his camouflage jacket. Jack managed a loud pathetic scream. He heard crunching corn leaves and saw the creature standing in front of him.
JACK
(wailing)
“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?”
Jack lifted his shotgun to kill, but the creature grabbed it and threw the weapon over his head. Its huge mouth — made of two rows of rotten and diseased corn cobs embedded with razor-sharp teeth — started spinning. The creature’s acidic spittle flew from its smelly maw; some landed on Jack, ate through his Letterman’s Jacket, and seared his flesh. Its rancid, spinning mouth became a blur as it came closer — that was Jack’s last living memory as he fell.
The Thing looked at Jack’s twitching body and spastic mouth; he resembled a dying carp. David’s friend bent its head down, opened his mouth wide, and the acid flowed out onto Jack’s body, which was soon completely dissolved.
Diesel and Eper heard Jack’s shrieks and desperately searched for him for hours, but their pleading and yelling went unanswered. Jack was never found. Stone-faced, Diesel and Eper walked slowly back to the pick-up and climbed in.
DIESEL
(dead-eyed)
“Shut the fuck up and drive.”
David started the truck, smiled, and thanked his Friend silently as he shifted into drive.
SMASH CUT TO BLACK.