[This is the result of a writer's prompt given during my residency at Goddard. It's a revised first draft (not quite second draft). I may rework it later into a short-story.]

A hospital delivery room. One set of swinging doors with windows in them at eye level.

In the hot seat, CLARICE, a one-armed white girl, early teens. Her arm is heavily tattooed. On the stump of the other, there is a bandage; it is a recent loss.

She is surrounded by five or six female NURSES, all of whom are gathered around one particular status monitor. They murmur to each other, and once in a while, they glance at Clarice with a mixture of wonder and fear.

CLARICE
Um…excuse me? Excuse me? Do you realize…Nurse? You know I’m the patient, right?

One nurse, her eyes still glued to the monitor, reaches out to pat her arm, but she’s on Clarice’s wrong side, and so her searching hand only finds air. The nurse turns to look, and is horrified to see what she’s doing.

CLARICE (cont.)
Yeah, it’s not there. You’re very supportive though.

The nurse smiles lamely and turns back to the monitor. This pattern?Clarice looking for help, the nurses either ignoring her or stealing a glance of fear and wonder?continues for a while.

CLARICE (cont.)
Excuse me? Nurse? Hello? What’s it say? Where’s the doctor? Do you realize…

A nurse finally turns, an older woman. She opens her mouth to speak, but just at that moment, a harsh alarm screeches out from all four corners of the room. The alarm is continuous, constant, piercing. Most of the nurses freeze for moment, but one bolts out the door without a moment’s hesitation; through the open door, the sound of the alarm is ringing throughout the entire ward. Whatever it is, the danger is not in this room.

The door swings shut, and its movement is like a call to action for the nurses. Power cords are torn from the walls. Monitors and surgical tools are slammed atop carts. Enveloping it all, the single piercing screech of the alarm. The action in the room is a form of controlled chaos like nothing Clarice has seen before. Then, with everything gathered, all the nurses rush out of the room, taking all the equipment with them.

Clarice is alone. The alarm continues to screech. And that’s when her next contraction starts. The alarm drowns out her cries.

The contraction passes. She lays back, spent.

JAGGER kicks in the hospital room door. He is a big and tall, middle-aged, black biker who knows the terror-filled joy of a knife fight. He’s brandishing a gun.

He smiles at Clarice. He knows her. He says something to the young girl, but he can’t be heard over the alarm.

Jagger frowns. The vision of a man puzzling over a problem. His eyes search the ceiling. He’s got it.

Jagger smiles. He aims and fires at one corner of the ceiling. The alarm gets a quarter-percent quieter. Jagger repeats the gesture in each of the other corners of the room. He’s shooting out all the speakers. When he’s done, the alarm is soft and muffled out in the hospital proper, a background irritation.

JAGGER
Hey kid.

CLARICE
Hey Jagger.

JAGGER
You know if there’s a bathroom around here?

CLARICE
(as if she’s heard the question a hundred times)
No Jagger. (beat) What’s going on Jagger?

JAGGER
Later. Where’s the bathroom?

CLARICE
What’s the alarm all about?

JAGGER
That’s just like you. ‘Alarm goes off, must be Jagger’s fault.’ How come you never…are you sure there’s not a bathroom around here?

CLARICE
Why is the alarm going off, Jagger?

JAGGER
Seriously, kid. If I don’t go now, I’m not going to be able to. And I mean, ever.

CLARICE
(patiently)
Jagger, the alarm.

Jagger quickly raises the gun and fires a round into the wall behind her head. Clarice barely registers the gun shot, let alone where the bullet went.

JAGGER
Kid. Bathroom. Seriously.

CLARICE
Will you tell me about the alarm when you get back?

JAGGER
You want me to come back?

CLARICE
I think I saw a bathroom down the hall. Go left out the door, I think.

JAGGER
You been in it?

CLARICE
In what? The bathroom?

JAGGER
No. Labor. You been in labor? How’s our little angel doing? He ready to fly?

CLARICE
(under her breath)
He’s ready to do something.

JAGGER
We’re all so proud of you, you know. Everybody down there. We’ve got balloons and everything. I’ve never seen such…what’s the word…gaity.

CLARICE
Suck it, Jagger.

JAGGER
Fuck you too, Clarice. (beat) Go left, you say?

CLARICE
Yeah, go left.

JAGGER
I’ll be right back.

CLARICE
Don’t take all day.

Jagger exits. (beat) Three gunshots go off. Several people scream. And that’s when Clarice’s next contraction hits. Afterwards, she’s surprised she’s still alive.

CLARICE
(to herself)
Breathe.

She does. Some time passes. The alarm, soft and muffled, distant. Then, in the hallway, a man cries out. A gun shot cuts the cry short. Jagger walks back into the room. He’s got a newspaper under his arm.

JAGGER
That was messy.

CLARICE
They’re gonna kill you, you know.

JAGGER
Must have been the burrito. (beat) How you doing? He still in there?

CLARICE
Something’s still in there. (beat) This place needs a window.

JAGGER
Should I get a fan or something?

CLARICE
A fan would be nice.

Like a little boy, he beams at the prospect of a mission. He walks over and slaps the newspaper on top of her belly.

JAGGER
Good Op-Ed on contemporary morality in there. Might want to check it out. I’ll be back with a fan.

He exits.

Two quick gun shots from out in the hall. Then, rapidly now, more gun shots, all overlapping each other. It sounds like a firefight between half a dozen people. Then, abruptly, the guns go silent.

SEVERAL POLICE OFFICERS
(voices offstage, overlapping)
Let her go! Drop your weapon! Let her go! Put it down! We’ll shoot! Stop moving! Freeze! Drop your weapon! Stop! Let her go! Don’t go in there! Freeze! Drop your weapon! Don’t go in there!

The police go silent.

Clarice begins to hum to the baby. It’s the melody of “Do you realize?,” by the Flaming Lips. The hum turns to song, a tired rendition.

CLARICE
(singing)
Do you realize - that you have the most beautiful face?
Do you realize - we’re floating in space?
Do you realize - that happiness makes you cry?
Do you realize - that everyone - you know - some day - will die?

SEVERAL POLICE OFFICERS
(voices offstage, overlapping)
Let her go! Drop your weapon! Lady, drop the fan! Freeze! Drop it! Put the gun down! Drop the fan!

CLARICE
(singing over them)
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes - let them know
You realize that life goes fast.
It’s hard to make the good things last.
You realize the sun dudn’t go down
It’s just an illusion - caused by the world spinning round.
Do you realize - oh, oh oh!

Her singing turns back to humming.

Jagger slams ass first through the door. He’s crouched over, with one arm around the neck of a human shield, LUCIA, an elderly Hispanic woman in a hospital gown who is a foot and half shorter than him. Lucia is dragging along a gurney, on top of which is a fan. She’s crying, frightened, shaking. They get through the door, and it swings shut again. The police stop yelling.

JAGGER
If I see one person peep through these windows, I’ll kill them both. I don’t want to, so don’t make me.

He turns with Lucia, to make sure he’s completely out of range through the windows, then he lets her go. He doesn’t push her away or anything; he just lets her go. Scooting around beneath window level at all time, Jagger sets the fan up close to Clarice. When’s its going (with no response from Clarice), he scoots back to the gurney, flips it on its side, and pushes it up against the door. He looks at it a moment, struggles with something. Then, deciding, he flips the gurney back onto its wheels and wheels it away from the door. He scoots back over to Clarice, grabs the newspaper, and kisses her forehead.

JAGGER
Better safe than sorry, right?

He scoots back to Lucia, grabs her by the neck again, puts the gun back to her head.

LUCIA
No, senor!

JAGGER
Un momento, por favor.

He kicks the doors open and bursts back out to the hall.

SEVERAL POLICE OFFICERS
(voice offstage, overlapping)
Drop your weapon! Don’t move! Freeze! Let her go!

JAGGER
(voice offstage)
There’s a bomb in that room! If anyone goes in there, I’ll blow us all to hell!

SEVERAL POLICE OFFICERS
(voices offstage, overlapping)
Drop it! Stop! Freeze! Let her go! Don’t go in there! Let her go!

Their voices drop silent again.

Clarice has another contraction. This one’s stronger than any of her previous ones. A silent scream. Spots of blood appear on the bandage wrapped around her stump. The contraction reaches its peak and it’s as if someone finally turned off the mute button on her silent scream. The scream lasts for a long time. At the end, it’s nothing more than a whimper. She whimpers her way out of consciousness.

SEVERAL POLICE OFFICERS
(voices offstage, overlapping)
Put it down! Let her go! (etc.)

Again, almost like a replay of before, Jagger bursts ass first through the door, arm around Lucia’s throat, gun to her head.

JAGGER
(to Clarice)
I think I got it all out that time.

Again, he flips over the gurney.

JAGGER (cont.)
I hope those cops don’t go in there for a while. They’ll think less of me.

Again he stays low.

JAGGER (cont.)
(to Lucia)
You, lady. Sit down.

Lucia doesn’t. She’s scared.

Jagger touches her gently on the small of her back. They make eye contact.

Clarice begins to stir.

JAGGER (cont.)
(gently now)
It’s okay. I’m not going to kill you.

LUCIA
No kill?

JAGGER
No kill.

He directs her to the gurney and helps her sit on the ground. She leans back against it.

JAGGER (cont.)
(to Clarice)
You got an extra pillow over there?

CLARICE
(weaker than ever)
Do you realize - that everyone - you know - someday - will die.

JAGGER
Clarice? Pillow? You got one?

CLARICE
(still singing)
Do you realize?

Jagger scoots to Clarice’s side (of her good arm). He tugs on a pillow, but it won’t budge from beneath her head. She finally looks at him.

CLARICE
What are you doing down there? You want my other arm too? The first wasn’t enough to satisfy your hunger?

JAGGER
(stung)
She needs a pillow.

CLARICE
Who?

JAGGER
(pointing with his head)
Her.

Clarice looks over. She smiles at Lucia, weakly. Lucia forces a smile back to her. That’s when Clarice’s next contraction hits. Her good arm darts out and she grabs Jagger by the hair and pulls.

CLARICE
(in pain)
It’s coming! It’s coming!

Lucia adjusts so she can see up Clarice’s gown from her spot on the floor.

LUCIA
La cabeza! La cabeza! Dios mio! The head! La cabeza! Baby!

JAGGER
Push Clarice! Push!

CLARICE
Do…argh!….you….ooooh…realize…ohhh!

Lucia struggles to get up from the floor, but the elderly woman can’t do it by herself. She gives up and crawls over to Clarice’s feet.

LUCIA
Is okay, lady. Respira! Respira!

CLARICE
Do…argh!…you…oooh…realize…ohhh!

JAGGER
Breathe, kid. Breathe.

LUCIA
Empuja!

JAGGER
Push!

Clarice gives one last primal scream and the baby is born. The young girl collapses back to the bed, completely spent.

The child is not crying.

Lucia swings the baby out from under Clarice’s gown, but once she sees it in the light, the old woman almost drops the child to the floor. While not dropping it, she does put it down rather roughly.

LUCIA
Dios mío!

JAGGER
What’s the matter?

LUCIA
Este bebé es el diablo!

JAGGER
What?

LUCIA
Diablo! Diablo! Este bebé es el diablo!

Jagger races to the end of the bed. He looks down at the baby.

CLARICE
(weakly)
Do you realize - that you have the most beautiful face?

Jagger calmly raises the pistol. He calmly aims at the baby’s face. He calmly pulls the trigger. Lucia screams.

Jagger turns around and shoots Lucia in the forehead.

CLARICE (cont.)
Do you realize - that everyone…

A shot bursts from the hall, through the door’s window, and hits Jagger in the shoulder.

CLARICE (cont.)
…you know…

Jagger stumbles. He’s still alive. He points his gun at the door and shoots three aimless bullets.

CLARICE (cont.)
…someday…

Another shot from the hallway hits Jagger in the head. His lifeless body collapses.

CLARICE (cont.)
…will die?

The police shove against the door, trying to break through.

CLARICE (cont.)
Do you realize?

They bust the door open and the lights go out.

THE END