Chapter 2 (The Figure of Death)

Chapter 2 (The Figure of Death) is the second chapter of The Clearwood Murders: Episode I - The Figure of Death. It was written by Donald Newton and published on May 14, 2021.

Plot
We are introduced the main characters; Andrew Carter, his family, his group of friends, along with a few other characters.

Full Chapter
EXT. CARTER HOUSE - DAY

The Carter home is a three story (with a basement hidden below) middle class house. The lawn is kept well. There are four vehicles parked within the home's property; The Sheriff's car, a plain white one, a silver two-back-row SUV for the family, and a nice red car.

INT. CARTER HOUSE - DINING/KITCHEN - DAY

Making breakfast for her family is KATHY CARTER (42), a beautiful blond housewife. She is making eggs, bacon, and hash browns. The food looks delicious. She is a great cook.

Sitting at the table is her husband and the town's sheriff -- CLARENCE CARTER (45) and their youngest daughter KIARA (pronounced KEE-R-AH) CARTER (12), a beautiful girl with light brown hair. She seems like a strong independent person for her age and has a great mind that can help her early in life.

Walking into the kitchen is the middle child and the only Carter son, ANDREW CARTER (16). He is lean, average built, with brown hair, and a face that could be unpredictable. He looks like he could either be weak or a badass. It just depends on his physical status, mood, and who is messing with him. Andrew can either be a weak late hero or the strong badass hero who can lead from the very beginning.

ANDREW: Hey, Dad.

CLARENCE: Hey, Son.

Andrew takes a seat next to his baby sister, who gives him a greeting smile, which he returns. It's obvious that they have a good sibling relationship.

Entering the kitchen last is the eldest child, LORRAINE CARTER (18), a beautiful blond. She is definitely the "beautiful" one of the children as she is the type that likes to go out on dates, dances, and to parties. Not necessary a whore or a party-girl in the worst sense. Just a girl who likes to have a good time.

LORRAINE: Morning, family.

EVERYONE: Morning.

Lorraine takes a seat across from Kiara. Kathy brings over the plates of eggs, bacon, and hash browns to the table in front of her family.

KATHY: Eat up, everyone.

ANDREW: Looks good, Mom.

CLARENCE: It does.

Every proceeds to eat their breakfast. Kiara appears to be very hungry as she gobbles up her breakfast.

CLARENCE: Slow down, Kiara.

KIARA: But I'm very hungry, Dad. Besides...I just love Mom's big breakfasts.

Kathy smiles over her daughter's compliment.

EXT. CARTER HOUSE - DRIVEWAY - DAY

Waiting for Andrew is his best friend COLE DECKER (16), a handsome yet rough looking dude with black hair. Looks like he could be an athlete. But it's hard to tell what style he is.

Andrew walks out of the house.

COLE: Sup, bro?

ANDREW: Nothing much, dude.

Andrew and Cole give each other the bro-hug/shake. It's clear by their interaction together that Andrew and Cole have a long history together. Most likely been best friends since middle school.

A car arrives and parks at the edge of the lawn away from the path of the driveway. Exiting out is Lorraine's boyfriend, KEITH CURTIS (18), average height but an athletic built-tough guy. Coming out from the passenger's side is Keith's little brother, NICK CURTIS (16), tall (the tallest character in the story at six-foot-four), lean, handsome as hell, but extremely goofy. Nick is similar to Michael Kelso from That 70s Show.

Both Lorraine and Kiara come out of the house. Lorraine sees her boyfriend and smiles.

LORRAINE: Hey, Baby.

KEITH: Hey, Beautiful.

Lorraine and Keith kiss each other.

KEITH: You ready?

LORRAINE: Yeah. Let's go.

Lorraine and Keith, holding each other's hand, head for Keith's car.

LORRAINE: (to Andrew, Kiara, Cole, and Nick) Later, guys!

ANDREW/KIARA/COLE/NICK: Later!

ANDREW: Well, I suppose we must get going to school.

COLE: Yeah.

The four proceed into the SUV. Andrew is the driver, Cole gets into the passenger side beside Andrew, Nick gets in the back behind Cole, and Kiara gets in the back behind her big brother. Andrew starts the engine and drives off.

EXT. CLEARWOOD UNIFIED SCHOOL - DAY

The Clearwood Unified School is a large school that consists all of K-12. So all kids from five years old to eighteen year olds attend this school.

INT. CLEARWOOD UNIFIED SCHOOL - HALLWAY - DAY

Mopping the floor is the school's janitor, BUD LANE (21), a rough and tough looking dude. This guy is obviously not a business guy or has much ambition for anything big. In fact, the only reason that he's a janitor is because it's most likely the only thing that he's willing to do and perhaps the only job that anyone is willing to hire him for. He's not that friendly either.

Suddenly, some ketchup is sprayed on the floor in front of him.

BUD: What the?

Bud turns to find -- THREE MIDDLE SCHOOL BOYS. They laugh at him, knowing that he has to clean up their mess. This irritates Bud.

BUD: You little shits!

Bud picks up his mop with the intention of using it as a weapon.

BUD: You fuckers better run.

But before Bud can attack, he's pulled back by his younger brother, SCOTT LANE (16), a junior at this school.

SCOTT: Bud, don't. It's not worth it.

BUD: Let go of me, Scott. I'm gonna beat their asses.

SCOTT: Bud, if you touch them, you'll be fired, possibly even arrested, and Mom and Dad are sure to kick your ass out of the house.

BUD: I wanna hurt them so bad!

SCOTT: I know, Bud. I know. But it's not worth it.

Bud calms down, realizing that his brother is right.

As Scott calms down his big brother, we shift our focus on Hispanic-American CHARLIE RODRIGUEZ (16) and his best friend BRETT STUART (16). These are nerds from movies to video games.

BRETT: Freddy totally won. He winked at the end.

CHARLIE: But Jason kicked his ass.

BRETT: But he didn't keep him down is the point.

CHARLIE: He freaking impaled him with his own damn gloves, weakening him, and Lori finished him off.

BRETT: Another point...Jason fell back into the water and had the final girl finish it for him. Jason lost by default.

CHARLIE: Bullshit!

BRETT: Bullshit my ass. (sees Andrew, Cole, and Nick approaching) Hey, Andrew.

ANDREW: Hey, Brett. What are you guys "bullshitting" about?

BRETT: We're debating on who won between Freddy and Jason. I say Freddy.

CHARLIE: Jason totally won!

BRETT: What do you guys think?

ANDREW: I think it was a tie.

COLE: Don't look at me, I never seen it. I'm not a fan of horror movies.

CHARLIE: (jokingly to Andrew) Quick, Andrew. You must ditch him. He's not one of us.

ANDREW: It's too late, bro. He has me wrapped around his fingers.

CHARLIE: Darn it. If you two were gay, you'd be the man and he'd be the woman that has you in control.

COLE: (chuckles) Fuck you, Charlie.

CHARLIE: See what I mean?

Cole laughs. It's obvious that these guys can insult each other jokingly without anyone getting offended by it.

Finally the girls arrrive; Andrew's girlfriend JENNA MCKINLEY (16); shoulder-length brown hair, Nick's girlfriend KRIS BRIDGES (16); long brown hair, Cole's girlfriend PAIGE MCCOY (16); black long beautiful hair tied up, and the blond friend of the group CHERYL REID (16).

JENNA: (to Andrew) Hey, Babe.

ANDREW: Hey.

Andrew and Jenna greet each other with a sweet smooch. Nick and Kris kiss each other passionately. Cole and Paige barely kiss. They just put their arm around each other. They're not into PTA as the rest are. But they are clearly dating.

COLE: (to Paige) I'm sorry about last night. My Dad needed me very late.

PAIGE: It's okay, Cole. We'll have another evening together.

CHERYL: My parents are going to be out late tonight. They have some important dinner for my Dad's work that will help him get a promotion.

BRETT: So you're inviting us to a party?

CHERYL: You wish. No. The last time I attempted to have a party, my freaking nosy neighbors called my parents and told them. They're always watching my house.

CHARLIE: Weird.

CHERYL: Not as weird as...(pointing out Bud)...the janitor. He's always staring at my ass, saying "Hey" to me like he's trying to get my attention. He's a creep.

JENNA: Yeah, that's disgusting. He's an adult and you're a minor.

ANDREW: Just ignore him.

CHERYL: Kinda hard to. I've notice him driving around my neighborhood a few times. He's passed by my house a few times.

ANDREW: Okay, that is really disturbing. He's stalking you?

CHERYL: I don't know. Sometimes I feel like he is.

JENNA: If he does it again, you should tell someone about it.

ANDREW: I'll even get my dad involved.

CHERYL: Thanks.

BELL RINGS!

All of the students hurry up to their classes.

ANDREW: See you guys in class and lunch.

All of the students have gone to class, leaving only Bud the Janitor alone in the hall. He continues mop the floor, singing to himself.

BUD: (singing) Gonna kill them. Gonna kill them all, yeah! Fuck them!

Is Bud the Figure? Or is he just a grumpy asshole who hates everyone?

Deaths
None

Trivia

 * First appearance of
 * Andrew Carter
 * Scott Lane
 * Lorraine Carter
 * Kiara Carter
 * Clarence Carter
 * Kathy Carter
 * Jenna McKinley
 * Cole Decker
 * Nick Curtis
 * Keith Curtis
 * Kris Bridges
 * Charlie Rodriguez
 * Brett Stuart
 * Paige McCoy
 * Bud Lane