Shootout Workout

Prison Escape Scene

PRISON HALLWAY – NIGHT 

JEROME closes a door, but leaves it slightly open as he slips into the closet. He looks around at the objects in the room. It is difficult for him to see, due to the low light. Jerome rummages through the junk to eventually find a broom and an external hard drive with a rough exterior. 

JEROME 

(whispers) 

Perfect. 

Jerome slowly sneaks over to the door and quietly closes it. He sits on the floor with his back against the door. Jerome sands the end of the broom stick. He does this as quietly as possible. Jerome hesitates. 

JEROME 

(inside his head) 

Have to be careful. Don’t want the guards hearing what I’m doing in here. 

Jerome more gingerly sands the broom stick. No noise can be heard other than the faint sound of the sanding.  

Some time passes, and Jerome hears footsteps outside of the closet. Outside, GUARD 1 is 

sauntering by. Jerome slouches near the hinge of the doorway. The guard appears to hear the shuffling and more quickly dashes toward the closet. The guard slowly opens the door. 

GUARD 1 

Randy? You in here? 

Guard 1 looks left and right. All he sees is some janitorial junk. 

GUARD 1 

(questioningly) 

Huh. 

Guard 1 slowly closes the door. Jerome more quietly slides back to the middle of the door.  

JEROME 

(inside his head) 

That was too god damn close. 

Jerome continues sanding the broom stick. 

More time passes. The broom stick is now pointed. He snaps off the bristled end with relative ease and with virtually no noise. Jerome hesitantly places the hard drive back in the pile of junk. He listens intently for any footsteps. Nothing is heard. Jerome props the door open and peers out the small gap. He looks left and right. No one is in sight. 

Jerome slowly opens the door and quickly stands up against the wall to the right outside of the closet. He tiptoes his way down the hallway. He thinks he hears a guard and stops to listen. Nothing is heard, so he continues to tiptoe.  

Jerome eventually arrives at the open door of the warden’s office. It is completely dark on the inside. Jerome looks left and right, then slips into the office.  

Jerome flops onto the floor. He crawls behind the warden’s desk. 

JEROME 

(inside his head) 

Have to find that security override device. If I ever want to get out of this hell hole, I will             definitely need it.  

From behind the desk, Jerome uses the little bit of light coming from outside of the room the pick out silhouettes of objects on the desk. He gingerly picks up small box-shaped object. Jerome examines the object with his hand. 

JEROME 

(inside his head) 

Just another hard drive. Why is everyone in this place just leaving their hard drives                     around everywhere? Guess I know where to go if I’m looking for some data storage. 

Jerome feels around for objects on the desk. He feels that he is knocking something off, so he dexterously reaches around the corner of the desk to catch the falling object. 

JEROME 

(inside his head) 

God damn it. I need to be more careful. 

Jerome reaches onto the table again. This time, his hand passes over a small circular object. He attempts to pick up the object with his thumb and index finger, but the objects presses downward instead. 

Suddenly, all of the lights in the prison are on. A loud ALARM sound is heard. 

In another room down the hallway and past the janitor’s closet, GUARD 2 is standing straight up in the middle of the room as the lights come on and the alarm goes off. 

GUARD 2 

What the hell? 

Jerome is on the floor of the warden’s office. 

JEROME 

Shit. 

Jerome bolts back up into a standing position. He hurriedly rummages through all of the junk in the office. 

Guard 2 sprints toward the central hallway. 

Jerome continues tossing objects aside in the warden’s office. 

JEROME 

(quickly) 

Come on come on come on! 

Guard 2 runs into a central corridor with about ten other guards, including the HEAD GUARD. He stops. 

GUARD 2 

What the hell is going on out here? 

HEAD GUARD 

Someone set off the alarm in the warden’s office. Get there now! 

All of the guards start to rush down the hallway toward the warden’s office. 

Jerome rummages through the junk a bit more, and finally finds a device with a TNT-style plunger.  

JEROME 

Finally! 

The guards are still rushing toward the warden’s office. 

Jerome pushes the plunger down on the device. A pulse that knocks him back a bit is released. 

All of the lights in the prison shut off. The alarm stops. In the darkness, the guards all manage to trip and fall all over each other. 

Jerome is in the dark again. Only the distant moans on the fallen guards can be heard. 

JEROME 

Now to get the hell outta dodge. 

Jerome, with his broom stick, charges out the doorway of the warden’s office. Just outside of the doorway in the hallway is RANDY, the janitor. Jerome stops and stares at Randy for a few seconds. Randy sees that his broom has been horribly disfigured. 

RANDY 

My broom! How dare you; my mother sent me that! 

JEROME 

Uh… Sorry… 

Jerome, with his broom stick at hand, sprints at the wooden door across the hall from the warden’s office. He forcefully jabs the broom spear at the door, effectively breaking it in half. A window with no bars on the outside is shown.  

JEROME 

I’m getting the hell out of here. 

Jerome runs toward the window and dives through it, landing on the ground outside. He slowly stands up, then runs off in the distance.