DAVE (Edgar)
Days and nights of bitter grief
Our son had fled to new york city with his cello
The lady and i slept in separate chambers
As roxie lay dead
In the vault beneath us
BRITTAIN (Roxie)
The dead can sing
Sleep will not come
There is a storm tonight
There is a storm tonight
The dead can sing
DAVE
I gasped and struggled
And bolted upright in my bed
The terrible wind
The song of the dead
The storm
The storm
My wife rapped on my door
GELSEY (Lady Usher)
Can you hear her
Throw open the windows
Let the storm in
We don't need moons
Or stars or god
We have the wind
The terrible wind
DAVE
My wife's madness has grown to epic proportions
The only things that soothed her were fictions,
Stories from our vast library
Let me read you a story
Let me read you a romance
I will read, you will listen
And this terrible night will pass
ALL
Let me read you a story
Let me read you a romance
I will read, you will listen
And this terrible night will pass
DAVE
I lifted the book
Read the title
Book Seven, Chapter Ten:
The tale of pearl & the pusher, and the subway driver and the photograph
DAVE & BRENT
Pearl stood on the platform
Playing a game on her phone
Trying to beat the boss at the end of the level
And there's a man on the platform
Screaming about the apocalypse
BRITTAIN & GELSEY
And behind her
Under the raving
She heard the echo a footstep
DAVE
And beneath me
Under the raving
I heard a footstep
In the house
BRITTAIN & GELSEY
In the game
On the platform
DAVE & BRENT
Pearl stood on the platform
Playing a game on her phone
Trying to beat the boss at the end of the level
And the boss was a bear
A graet big bear
BRITTAIN & GELSEY
How will you defeat him?
DAVE & BRENT
Pearl went to the option menu
Selected the silver sword
BRITTAIN & GELSEY
And there's a man on the platform
Screaming about the train coming
DAVE & BRENT
Pearl raised the silver sword
Struck the bear in his side
And the bear shrieked
BRITTAIN
A shriek so harsh and horrid and piercing
DAVE & GELSEY
And behind me
Under the raving
I heard a shrieking
Our little girl
DAVE
And deep within the house of usher
I heard a flashbulb rip
And the dead stood in the doorway
Roxie
BRITTAIN
There is blood upon my robes
DAVE
And the dead girl leapt upon her mother
And her daughter
And her sister
And her lover
With the rage of four generations
And lady usher's heart burst
Exploded within her chest
DAVE & BRENT
Pearl stood on the platform
Battling the bear
The bear breathed fire
The bear had acid in his honeypot
BRITTAIN & GELSEY
The train was coming
And the train was coming
And the train was coming
And the train was coming...
DAVE & BRENT
And the man on the platform
Screaming about the apocalypse
The man we know as the pusher
Took a last drink
Steeled himself
Got behind pearl
And he got behind pearl
BRENT (Pusher)
And the pusher
Couldn't help himself
ALL
And the pusher pushed pearl
Onto the subway track
GELSEY
Pushed me into the path
Of the screaming train
I fell on the track
And everything slowed down
And all the color got a little grey
(Do you hear it?
Do you hear it?
Her footstep is on the stair)
I saw the train
Howling toward me
Its light was dazzling
Blinding
I tried to climb out
For just a moment
But then I stopped
I stopped and listened to the train
(The heavy and horrible beating of her heart
She shrieks
I tell you she stands outside the door!
We have put her living in the tomb!)
And then I looked up on the platform
And saw Rose
Back from the dead
Standing there with her camera
I raised my head
And I smiled
Smiled for the camera
That moment right before you die
Is such a gift
Because you get to choose what goes thru your head
What you last song will be
I thought of someone I love very much
Smiling in bed
Clutching a teddy bear
And then,
I let the train rip thru me