YOU'VE GOT TIME - A short horror story about today

[Bad Touch Yakushi]

SCENE 1

NARRATOR: The technology included in this evening’s drama exists today. This is based- correction, will be based on a true story. Only if we allow it.

FX: INTERIOR. A MAN’S MOAN ECHOES AGAINST THE WALLS. A KEY OPENS A LOCK AND A PRISON DOOR CLANGS OPEN.

DALEY: Ugh…who is it? Hey-hey you! You guys left me down here for two days! You got no right doing that to a prisoner!

DR.ROACHE: Ooh, how ironic. Hello Mr Dah-ly.

DALEY: It’s pronounced Daley.

DR. ROACHE: I think you’ll find it isn’t Mr Dahly.

DALEY: I think I might know my own name mate.

DR. ROACHE: Ah, there’s many different variations, Dahly. It’s of ancient Irish origin if i’m correct? Trust me, it’s Dahly... Hah, you’ve been pronouncing your own surname wrong for thirty years!

DALEY: You’ve done your research.

DR. ROACHE: If only you knew, you’ve been a naughty boy haven’t you? Our man of the hour. Actually let’s make that man of the minute.

DALEY: Well you’re certainly not police. Speak too much for that aye? What are you? Detective? Lawyer?

DR. ROACHE: What, in these clothes?

DALEY: Look mate, if you’re someone I pissed off and you’ve come in for a bit of smug talk revenge then hurry and do your bit, I’m prison-bound ina’ coupla hours.

DR. ROACHE: Wrong again, i’m a scientist. Dr. Randall Roache, at your service. Are you thirsty Mr Dahly?

DALEY: Hmph. Yeah, about time.

FX: DALEY SNATCHES IT AND GUZZLES THE WATER

DALEY: Need a Doctor to be honest, the health standards down here are downright appauling. Two days they’ve left me down here, barely even eaten. Nobody should have to go through this crap.

DR. ROACHE: Yeah…to be fair though, probably shouldn’t have killed all those people then.

DALEY: Hey, you don’t know a thing about me! Those two people had it coming, even if I weren’t in here I’d g-

FX: BONES LIGHTLY TIGHTENING. HANDCUFFS RATTLE. DALEY RECOILS IN PAIN.

DALEY: What…what the hell?

DR ROACHE: Sorry. I’ve spiked your drink. The thing with volatile subjects is that they don’t really like being given drugs.

DALEY: Oh my god…you b-b-bastard.

DR ROACHE: As expected, you’re in a very agitated condition. I think it’d best for both me and you if you just took a little time-out.

DALEY: My head…I can’t feel it…what kind of doctor are you?

DR ROACHE: Please pay attention Mr Dahly, we don’t have much time- I’m here today, as a scientist.

DALEY: What…wait, no. I seen you in the newspaper for something. What the f-

DR ROACHE: Mm. In the field of bio-tech i’m actually one of the best. Do you want to be part of something amazing today Mr Dahly?

DALEY: What…did you put in my drink…?

DR. ROACHE: Something revolutionary. Now if you excuse me, I just need you give you some injections- it won’t hurt, just be a…second.

FX: UNLOCKS BRIEFCASE & INJECTS DALEY

DR. ROACHE: I probably should explain what’s hopefully about to happen, otherwise this is going to be a very strange afternoon for you haha.

DALEY: What…did you put in my drink.

DR. ROACHE: Just one pill. You see? About five years back we got thinking- what could biotechnology bring to the field of law enforcement? Fast-forward four or five years and me and my team have created…this.

DALEY: I don’t…feel so good. Speak faster.

DR. ROACHE: I can assure you i’m talking normal speed Mr Dahly, I think it may be kicking in. Already, hm…that’s gotta be fixed.

DALEY: What’s happening to me!

DR ROACHE: What if, instead of the very lovely 30 year sentence you’ve been given. Very long, very flawed, very expensive for the taxpayer, we could trick a prisoner’s perception of time. Turn just five minutes into 500 years.

DALEY: What? …Get off it you can’t do that.

DR ROACHE: Oh we can, we learned. If the speed-up were a factor of say, a million times faster than normal, that would enable the test criminal to serve a 500 year sentence by the time dinners ready. Oh my, it excites me just talking about it. This is going to transform the prison system.

DALEY: Ugh…but-but

FX: DALEY RAGES, SHOUTING AND THROWING HIS HANDCUFFS AROUND BERSERKLY IN A LAST-DITCH FIT OF DESPERATION.

DR ROACHE: Don’t look so glum Mr Dahly, think about like this- all goes to plan and the solution works you get to walk out a free man at 5pm. How good does that sound?

DALEY (slowed): Five…hundred years.

DR ROACHE: Yes. A lot of time for some well-needed personal reflection don’t you think?

DALEY: Wait, please stop this.

DR ROACHE (darkly): No… Mr Geoffrey Dahly. You see, this is a punishment. The biggest of punishments. Your own personal hell, so I hope you like the walls of this cell because you better get used to them.

FX: FADE IN. THE TICKING OF A CLOCK.

DR ROACHE: You took the lives of two people. Two lives Geoffrey. All that time they could’ve had, now it’s yours.

FX: THE CELL DOOR SLAMS SHUT. A KEY FALLS TO THE GROUND.

DR ROACHE: (polite again) I’ll leave the key here for when you’re done. Make sure to avoid an itch, hate to think what an itch for 500 years must feel like. Okay! See you in five minutes!

FX: THE TICKING CLOCK RAISES IN VOLUME. OTHER CLOCKS OUT OF SYNC FADE IN. SLOWED DOWN MOANS OF TERROR CAN BE HEARD.

---​

Spoiler

SCENE 2

FX: DALEY GROANS

DR ROACHE: Hello sleeping beauty…you made it! Signs of life good, no physical brain damage, little bit of shaking. Ooh, a lot of shaking. Tell me, how did it feel? Tell me what it was like.

DALEY: M-m-mo-

DR ROACHE: Yes, come on- you can do it.

DALEY: M-m-monster.

DR ROACHE: Now, now…

DALEY: Shut up. I’ve been waiting five hundred years to talk to you. Waiting, thinking.

DR ROACHE: You’ve reconciled?

DALEY: I saw everything. I thought everything. And you’re a monster.

DR ROACHE: No, that is you Mr Daley.

DALEY Is it? Because i’ve had five hundred years to think and so you’re going to listen.You have the ability to make a man, any man live countless lifetimes. An eternity of thought…and you’ve wasted it.

FX: THE CLOCK STARTS TICKING AGAIN, FRANTICALLY

DR ROACHE: What?

DALEY: There are two people in this room, one is an uncultured, arrogant criminal with no upbringing and no future and the other, a genius mind. One able to slow down time. Why didn’t you take it yourself?

DR ROACHE: Now why would I do that?

DALEY: Oh come on Randall. IQ like yours, five hundred years of just you and your thoughts? An academic mind like yours could have solved any number of humanties problems by now.

DR ROACHE: Well I..

DALEY: Well, what? I bet that never crossed your mind. So preoccupied trying to punish and torture what you percieve to be evil that you never even questioned your own moral integrity.

DR ROACHE: It’s hell. Why should I have to subject myself to my own prison, I’m a pioneer, a goddamn hero. Anyway, couldn’t if I wanted to.

DALEY: No. No, no, no, no , no. You have another pill in your labcoat pocket- you showed it to me right before you did your poxy injections. I know because I’ve waiting for this moment for a very long time.

DR ROACHE: You don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re a free man, leave.

DALEY: Take the pill.

DR ROACHE: No.

DALEY: Come on, it’ll only take five minutes. I’ll buy you lunch when you’re done.

DR ROACHE: As a scholar, as a g-g-goddamn citizen I refuse.

DALEY: If you don’t take this then not only are you a hypocrite but you’re definitely are a monster.

DR ROACHE: I’ve done nothing to deserve it! Why should I make a sacrifice of myself like you lowly animals!

DALEY: Because I only took two lives. A teenage boy called Connor and a mother of three called Carrie. And now I regret that, I’ve seen the bigger picture. I wish I could take that back a thousand times but at least I know their names. You refuse to take that drug and you’re dooming thousands. Potentially millions of people. And you’ll never even know their names. That’s why.

FX: THE FRANTICALLY TICKING CLOCK SUDDENLY STOPS.

DR ROACHE: You’ve really thought this through huh?

DALEY: Take the pill.

FX: HUGE PAUSE. A TINY PILL-SIZED THUD HITS THE GROUND. DALEY GETS UP AND UNLOCKS HIS HANDCUFFS AS HE WALKS OUT.

DALEY: I’m a free man. Are you?

 

[Mikeuhsomething36]

10/10 would read again, lord sasuke is bliss

 

[Bad Touch Yakushi]

10/10 would read again, lord sasuke is bliss

u g h why do i bother

 

[Mikeuhsomething36]

u g h why do i bother

Your story sounds like something out of Hannibal lector but it's pretty good, the amount of snark got me the most

 

[Bad Touch Yakushi]

Your story sounds like something out of Hannibal lector but it's pretty good, the amount of snark got me the most

Oh you actually did read? Woah thank you very much I take it back haha!

Yeah that's a good comparison ;D

 

[Urda]

I like it. A little more detail to give depth to the story and expressions and movements to characters, for more development.

I'll like to read more.

 

[merule27]

Ooooh. I actually really liked that. As a person who is writing their own short story, I really appreciated this very interesting piece of story telling. The concept of changing the prison system with a time-slowing drug, very revolutionary. Then turning the tables and turning it into a bottle episode type thing where the main character's resolve is unexpectedly tested. I really enjoyed this story, thank you very much

 

[Bad Touch Yakushi]

Ooooh. I actually really liked that. As a person who is writing their own short story, I really appreciated this very interesting piece of story telling. The concept of changing the prison system with a time-slowing drug, very revolutionary. Then turning the tables and turning it into a bottle episode type thing where the main character's resolve is unexpectedly tested. I really enjoyed this story, thank you very much

Thank you! CC & compliments always serious appreciated!!! Ofc your 500 year bit is totally warranted. It's an instant skip, which could work depending on the medium (this is actually a radio drama script) but the final version which I will actually direct will be a short film where the year gap is captured with an effect, time lapse or a small sequence.

And but yeah real talk:

You must be registered for see links

 

[merule27]

Thank you! CC & compliments always serious appreciated!!! Ofc your 500 year bit is totally warranted. It's an instant skip, which could work depending on the medium (this is actually a radio drama script) but the final version which I will actually direct will be a short film where the year gap is captured with an effect, time lapse or a small sequence.

And but yeah real talk:

You must be registered for see links

Dude that is awesome! I hope it goes well!