The Family Way Excerpt

Excerpt from The Family Way feature screenplay written by Shiva Rodriguez & D. Duckie Rodriguez.




EXT. CULTRY HOUSE DRIVEWAY – DAY

Richard gets out of his truck and glances over at the house. Young Jeffrey bursts through the door.


YOUNG JEFFREY
Papa!


Richard forces a smile as his son runs toward him. He claps the boy on the back.

RICHARD
You behave yourself today?


YOUNG JEFFREY
Uncle Craw said a bad word again!

Richard sighs as he sees Young Crawford walking toward the truck. He looks down at his son.

RICHARD
Did he? Now, you know better than
to says things like that, don't
you?


Jeffrey nods happily. Richard glances over at Young Crawford, who is lingering at a distance but still within earshot.

RICHARD
Well, I'm sure that won't happen
again.

Richard hands Young Jeffrey his keys.

RICHARD
Jeffrey, go on and open up the
cellar for me.

YOUNG JEFFREY
Yes sir!


Richard watches as the boy runs off, then turns his attention to Young Crawford.

RICHARD
Come here.

Young Crawford strides over to Richard with teen-aged arrogance.

YOUNG CRAWFORD
Look, I didn't mean to say
"asshole" in front of your kid.
Sue's already chewed me out over it
and…

Richard grabs the boy by the throat and SLAMS him into the door of the truck. Crawford is shocked, but tries to remain tough.

RICHARD
They found another one of your
girls today.

Richard takes his hand away from the boy's throat and reaches into his back pocket.


YOUNG CRAWFORD
Yeah, I know.

RICHARD
You left a shoe print.

Richard pulls his pocket knife from his pocket and opens it in front of the boy. Young Crawford's eyes grow wide with fear.

YOUNG CRAWFORD
I didn't…


RICHARD
Give me your hand.

Crawford draws back in panic.

YOUNG CRAWFORD
No!

Richard looks at him hard as he grabs his hand.

RICHARD
I told you what would happen if you
put my family in danger.

YOUNG CRAWFORD
Please! I need all my fingers!

RICHARD
You should have thought about that
before you snuck out.

YOUNG CRAWFORD
Just kill me then! I can't paint
without my hand!

Richard contemplates for a moment, then folds the knife. Young Crawford sighs with relief.

Richard punches the boy hard across the jaw, sending him falling to the ground. Young Crawford cowers as he wipes his bloodied lip. Richard looks down at him.

RICHARD
You are not going out again. Not
until you learn how.

Crawford nods as he gets back on his feet. Richard looks at him for a moment, then gestures to the back of the truck.

RICHARD
I got some supplies for you in back
there. Why don't you take them down
to the cellar?


Young Crawford looks puzzled as Richard turns and walks toward the house. The boy walks to the back of the truck and sees a large bundle under the heavy canvas tarp in the bed of the truck.


He pulls back the tarp and looks into the bed. A wicked smile slides across his face.

Under the tarp there is a FEMALE VICTIM, tied and gagged but very much alive.



 The Family Way is currently in development and seeking financing to become a feature film. for more information about this project, please visit the official website at www.familywayfilm.com

The prologue to The Family Way story, a short film called "The Family Way: Coming Home", tells the story of how Crawford came into the Cultry family. This short film is available for viewing on Amazon and Amazon Prime.



















































































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