DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: THE WAY HOME

(Copyright 1996 by Patrick Drazen. Most of the characters are derived from the 1983-1986 CBS television series, "Dungeons and Dragons", and are not necssarily part of the game developed by TSR Games, Inc.)

[The mood is suspenseful as HANK, SHEILA, BOBBY, DIANA, PRESTO, ERIC and UNI slowly and cautiously make their way through thick undergrowth. They look around apprehensively, cautious of being followed or of possible ambush. Suddenly, HANK calls out to the others, pointing to a gap in the undergrowth:]

HANK:

This is it; over here!

[The others gather around and look through the gap. The mood changes at once to lightness and relief. They look out upon a valley ringed completely by mountains, like the inside of a crater. Here, however, there are rivers and waterfalls, the jungle plants have thinned to colorful flowers and fruit trees. The overall mood is one of shelter and serenity.]

HANK

Well, Dungeonmaster said this would be the Garden of a Thousand Delights.

PRESTO

So let's start counting them!

[They all rush into the valley. Time passes as the group relaxes, playing like the youngsters they are for the first time in a long time. Natural water-slides and pools are everywhere, and there's a general air of safety. After a while, the group is seen resting comfortably by the side of a pool.]

BOBBY

How long have we been here?

DIANA

Three or four hours, I guess

BOBBY

No, I mean here, in this whole place.

HANK

It's weird, Bobby. It feels like months, and sometimes--

SHEILA

[finishing Hank's thought] sometimes it's like time is standing still.

ERIC

[A little more seriously than the others] I never thought I'd say this, but I want to go home.

PRESTO

Give us a break, Eric; that's all you ever complain about.

ERIC

No, I mean my home. My dad, well, he pretends I don't even exist half the time, and he isn't there the other half, but I sure would like to talk to him right about now, about everything that's happened here.

HANK

We all feel that way, Eric, but we don't know the way out yet.

ERIC

Well, there's one guy who does, and next time I see him--

[As ERIC speaks, DUNGEONMASTER (DM) walks from behind a nearby tree]

That time is now, Cavalier.

DIANA

Dungeonmaster, we've been all over this world of yours, and I'm sure we haven't even seen half of it, but--

BOBBY

[sounding more like the weary child he is than the Barbarian he wants to be] but we're tired and we want to go home.

I know, my young friends. You have asked many times for the way home; it is the one question I cannot directly answer.

HANK

Directly? Even your hints don't help much.

But you help. You help this land to grow and flourish, to live its life better than if you had never come.

ERIC

Goody for us; give us the Nobel Prize and let us outta here. But first answer me one question--

Only if it's the right question.

HANK

Eric, don't blow it. Think about what you're going to ask.

ERIC

I have been thinking about it; all the time since we got to this valley. Between dragons and bats and golliwogs and Venger, I haven't had time to think until now.

PRESTO

[Aside to Sheila] That explains a lot of things.

ERIC

You want my question, DM? Here it is: why us?!

Are you sure that is your question, Cavalier?

ERIC

I've never been more sure of anything in my life.

Then it's a good thing you asked the right question.

ERIC

I did? It is??

SHEILA

Then what are we waiting for?

The right answer must be given at the right time.

ERIC

Here we go with the fortune cookies again.

You will know the truth when you have fought your most unlikely battle, when you win by losing, when your opponent knows your every move, and knows you better than you know yourselves.

DIANA

This isn't about Venger again, is it?

Everything in this realm is about him sooner or later, just as everything is about me. When Venger is no more, and yet lives on; when you give your weapons to him of your own free will, it will be time to leave. That is all that I can tell you now.

[There is a rustle in the bushes; the others turn toward it defensively.]

HANK

Someone's coming.

ERIC

[turning back to see DM is gone] And someone left--as usual.

[The others prepare for the worst. Instead, ZENA stumbles in on them. She is about HANK's age, but with Asian features. Her robes are a mix of African and Aztec, and her jet-black hair is gathered in a ponytail that stretches well down her back. ZENA takes a quick look around, then drops to her knees in front of HANK]

ZENA

You're here; I've found you.

HANK

[A little sheepishly helping her up] That depends on what you're looking for.

ZENA

We have heard of a band of young warriors that can defeat the dragon with five heads.

PRESTO

Oh, great; Tiamat's back in town.

ZENA

It is called a Tiamat?

DIANA

You never saw her before?

ZENA

[sadly] Not until ten days ago. [As ZENA speaks, we see her memories of TIAMAT attacking her city] The dragon suddenly appeared at our city and went on a rampage. We saved as many scrolls as we could; then agreed to split up and search the realm to see if what we'd heard about you was true. [ZENA's flashback ends] That reminds me--

[ZENA draws a small bird out of a pouch at her side and sets it free. it immediately flies to the far horizon]

BOBBY

Wow, he's really traveling!

ZENA

Now my people will know that I have found you. They are rebuilding our city.

SHEILA

What city is that?

ZENA

Forgive me, I am so rude. My name is Zena; I am one of the People of the Books.

ERIC

You guys run the library?

ZENA

Exactly. We keep written records of all that happens in the Realm, as we have done for generations, since the beginning of time.

PRESTO

So how come you didn't know about Tiamat?

ZENA

It's true; none of the scrolls spoke of her. In fact, I think I have it here. [ZENA rummages through a sack] We saved whatever we could, and--ah, here it is. [She produces a large scroll and opens it] This is the total history of dragons here; from the rare and wonderful golden dragon--

ERIC

[Dangling his feet in a pool] Seen it, done it.

ZENA

--to the blue dragon that only lives underwater. [ERIC panics and pulls his feet out of the pool] We have no record of a five-headed Tiamat.

PRESTO

How are you so sure that you know everything?

ZENA

We are trained from birth to protect the scrolls, to guard them in case of disaster, and to commit them to memory. We gather all the news and legends we hear from all over the realm into our scrolls. And we have very highly developed memories and powers of observation.

BOBBY

How high can that be?

ZENA

Enough to have noticed the heart-shaped gold pendant you wear under your clothes--

ERIC

That's no big deal.

[ERIC swallows a handful of berries from a bush]

ZENA

--and to notice that you just ate eleven berries from that bush; three red, five green, three blue. Ask me again in an hour or in a month, I will still remember. I'm not boasting; it's just the way we are.

HANK

Maybe we can help each other. Do you know the way out?

ZENA

[truly puzzled] Out? How can there be a place outside the Realm?

DIANA

We can tell you that on the way to your city. By the way, where is it?

[ZENA and the group are seen at a high edge of the hills surrounding the valley. ZENA points toward the setting sun, and they begin going down the hill--into a land that already looks much less friendly than the valley. As they pass one barren tree, the tree's shadow detaches itself. It is SHADOW-DEMON, Messenger to VENGER, and he immediately flies up and toward the opposite horizon.]

BOBBY

[to ZENA] Don't you do anything else, like play games or go to school?

ZENA

There is nothing else. The scrolls are the history of this realm. Nothing else matters.

HANK

Do you have a scroll about Dungeonmaster?

ZENA

[reaching into her bag] Of course; Dungeonmaster is this Realm. [ZENA unrolls a scroll]

PRESTO

But this doesn't look a thing like Dungeonmaster.

[The others stop to look at the picture on the scroll; that of a tall, thin wizard with a long grey beard]

ERIC

Looks like you got your wires crossed.

ZENA

Something is wrong. If you have not seen him before--

HANK

No, never. I mean, are you sure you don't mean someone else?

ZENA

There can be only one Dungeonmaster.

SHEILA

I don't like to think we've been getting bad advice all along.

PRESTO

You don't really think DM is working for Venger, do you?

ZENA

Excuse me, but who is Venger?

ERIC

Zena, old sport, we really have to talk about those scrolls of yours.

ZENA

But this is impossible. [ZENA looks around, and seems to notice UNI for the first time; speaks to her] You are of this realm; what is wrong here?

ERIC

{Aside to Presto] Doesn't handle being wrong too well, does she?

[UNI whinnies an answer]

ZENA

I see. But have the other unicorns ever spoken of the Dungeonmaster?

BOBBY

Hey, you can talk to her?

ZENA

She says she is too young to remember another Dungeonmaster.

HANK

Let's sort this out after we get to your city, Zena. If we have to deal with Tiamat again, the sooner the better.

DIANA

I think you've got that backwards.

[We see SHADOW-DEMON reporting to VENGER in his castle]

SHADOW

They have left the Valley of a Thousand Delights--by the west road.

VENGER

How interesting. That takes them past Warriors Well. I may not even have to fight them for their weapons--if the Well lives up to its reputation.

[They arrive near sunset at a stone well that's almost as big around as an automobile.]

HANK

Looks like a good enough place to spend the night.

ZENA

[had been consulting one of her scrolls; suddenly she looks up and around] No; we can't stay here. This place isn't safe.

ERIC

[openly skeptical] Got a scroll for this place, too?

ZENA

Yes. This is Warriors Well; the legends about it are as old as the Realm.

SHEILA

Is it poisoned?

ZENA

No, but nobody spends the night here if they can help it. Some have tried, and have never been seen again. A few return to their people as even greater warriors; but they never speak of what happened to them here.

BOBBY

C'mon, Zena, we can handle anything.

PRESTO

You gotta admit; it sounds like you're trying to weird us out with some kind of ghost story.

ZENA

[clearly hurt] All I know is, there is a clearing further up the road that's safe.

[ZENA leaves in a huff; UNI follows her.]

BOBBY

Hey Uni!

HANK

Don't worry, Bobby; they'll be alright.

SHEILA

[looking around apprehensively] But what about us?

DIANA

I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired and thirsty.

[DIANA reaches for a bucket on the side of the well, but just as she is about to touch it, a cloaked figure brings a staff down shattering the bucket, and almost hitting Diana's hand]

DIANA 2

This well's not going to give you anything; you'll have to take it. And you'll have to get by me to do it.

DIANA

(Readying her own staff) Suit yourself.

DIANA 2

You mean, suit yourself.

(She tosses off her cloak to reveal a twin of Diana, but dressed as Diana dressed in her own time and place.)

HANK

This is weird.

(Hank draws back his bow, but his shot is disrupted by another bolt, shot by another Hank, also in modern clothes)

HANK 2

Leave them alone. You have to deal with me.

(Gradually doubles of all six appear.)

HANK

Don't let them split us up!

HANK 2

Two against one? That isn't playing fair, Hank.

HANK

What did you call me?

HANK 2

Your name; what else? Everyone else in this realm can call you Ranger, but we know better, right?

[They all struggle, weapon to weapon but at first nobody coming out on top. Gradually, though, the six are knocked unconscious by their modern-dress doubles. The scene fades out with the six lying scattered around the well--

[They come to, only to see themselves lying on the ground]

HANK

Oh, my head. Hey- what happened? Did we get them after all?

DM2

[A bearded man in a long robe, sitting on the edge of the well, watching the six as they lay on the ground. He resembles the Dungeonmaster from Zena's scroll] There is no them. Your spirits have briefly come detached from your bodies.

BOBBY

You mean we're dead?

DM2

No. Think of this as a dream, since, when you wake, you won't remember what we say here. Although what you learn here tonight will be buried within you, waiting for the right time.

PRESTO

Who are you?

DM2

You wouldn't believe me if I told you. But you had to come by Warriors Well, to fight against yourselves, so that you could detach from yourselves. We're here to talk about your question, Eric: why you six.

ERIC

You know my name, too?

DM2

[Nods his head] And I know why you had to be brought from your world to this one. In a manner of speaking, you needed to be taught a lesson; not the kind of lesson that comes easily in your world.

HANK

But what's the difference?

DM2

A lot, for all of you. Beginning with Hank.

[He gestures toward Warriors Well, which seems to be glowing within. The six all crowd around to look in, and see the flashbacks which illustrate DM2's lesson]

You've always been a natural leader, Hank; it's always come so easily for you. You ended up taking charge when you all arrived here. But what about before you got here?

PRESTO

What's that supposed to mean?

DIANA

I'll bet I know. Remember when you tried to get the City Council to create a seat for a teen advisor?

HANK

[A bit defensive] Well, they could have used the input.

DM2

What you mean is, they could have used you. You didn't want an open election about it, either; just a straight appointment. And still you weren't taking it seriously; it was just another leadership post you thought you deserved. Maybe not every decision in your future will be a matter of life and death, but, the way you were going, you'd never know what that meant.

HANK

So I was brought here to learn to take myself more seriously?

DM2

Not you; the power that others give to you.

[Hank nods, understanding]

BOBBY

But what about the rest of us?

DM2

Some of you already know. Diana, for instance.

DIANA

[Distressed] Do we have to talk about this?

DM2

It's why you're here. You're a gifted natural athlete in track-and-field, but look at your events; javelin, pole vault. You could easily get into other sports as well--team sports; soccer, relay racing.

DIANA

[More distressed] Please don't...

DM2

I don't have to say anything further.

[The surface of the well glows again; all but Diana look at the image: a younger Diana finds someone has scrawled on her school locker a pickaninny caricature, a swastika and the words "Get out! White Power!" Tears and anger are mixed on Diana's face.]

SHEILA

I remember that.

[Sheila puts her hand on Diana's shoulder; Diana does not move from sitting on the ground, her back against the Well, her head buried in her arms.]

You stayed away from sports for the rest of that year. Why?

DIANA

[Barely above a whisper] I didn't think I could trust anyone ever again. Sometimes--I think I still can't.

PRESTO

Well, you haven't been like that here.

HANK

That's right. You didn't know most of us when we got here.

ERIC

And without your help, we wouldn't have lasted five minutes.

DM2

[Helps Diana to her feet] You see, Diana, what some people do to you is unkind. But sometimes, what we do to ourselves is worse. You can trust others, and they can trust you; don't trick yourself into believing it's not true.

SHEILA

What about Bobby and me?

DM2

That's exactly it, isn't it? You had to come here together.

BOBBY

What does that mean?

DM2

[Again, his speech is illustrated by scenes in the well] Sheila, you've watched over your brother pretty closely, haven't you?

SHEILA

Well, bigger kids have pushed him around...

DM2

Which is why you wanted to be a Barbarian, Bobby; so you could push back. Meanwhile, Sheila can't help keeping an eye on you; preferably, where she can't be seen--

SHEILA

[A bit embarrassed] Like a Thief, you mean.

BOBBY

So what are we supposed to do?

DM2

You can keep on doing what you've been doing. Nothing has to change in your world. Just remember that there were times here when the Barbarian could take care of himself, and when the Thief could come out of hiding. You're still in the same family, and that will never change.

[BOBBY and SHEILA look at each other, smiling]

PRESTO

And what's the deal with me?

DM2

And why does there have to be a "deal"?

PRESTO

[Suddenly nervous] Well, it's just, I don't know. You see, I was--

DM2

[Interrupting] You were a magician before you arrived here; at least, an amateur. Correct? And why was that?

PRESTO

Because hardly anything ever goes right for me. Back in our world--

DM2

Please; you don't have to explain words like "nerd" or "geek". The words may be new, but the idea is an old one. You didn't get a lot of respect for what you knew.

PRESTO

Yeah, but I thought that if I learned about magic, I'd at least know something about how the tricks work.

DM2

And what have you learned?

PRESTO

Well, back home we don't have this kind of magic--the real kind. It's just illusions.

DM2

And what will you take back with you?

PRESTO

I guess--that there are other things to learn about. In the meantime, I won't worry so much about what other people think.

HANK

I guess that just leaves Eric.

DM2

Why?

DIANA

Are you kidding? Don't you think he had a lot to learn when he got here?

DM2

I think he learned it already. He did ask the question that got you here.

HANK

I don't care if this is a dream; how did you know about that?

ERIC

That's not important, Hank. I just have one last question.

DM2

Make it quick; the sun is almost up.

ERIC

I never knew any of these guys before we came here. Even if we go back, well, am I going to see them again?

DM2

Eric, I can't answer a question that has no answer. When you get back to your world, what you do is entirely up to you.

[Just then, the sun breaks the horizon with a flash of light that overwhelms the six. They sink back to the ground; then, a second later, awaken one by one to see Zena and Uni sitting against the Well.]

PRESTO

Hey, you're back!

HANK

How long have you been here?

ZENA

Since about midnight. I was listening to Uni tell me about what you've been through here. You've done so much that I realized I shouldn't worry, no matter what the scrolls say.

VENGER

[His voice offscreen] It can't be! You survived the Well?

HANK

Zena, get behind us! [The six form a line] You know the rules, Venger; you want these, you've gotta take them.

VENGER

If that is what you want. [He starts toward them]

ZENA

[Looking over Presto's shoulder] So that is Venger.

[A blast of power comes out of the sky, striking a tree near Venger. Venger is knocked off his feet by the force, and the tree is turned to ice.]

PRESTO

[To Zena] And you've already met her.

[We see Tiamat, the five-headed dragon, swooping down on Venger; he throws energy bolts at her, to no effect. Suddenly, more power bolts burst around Tiamat--shot by Hank. Attacked from two sides, Tiamat pauses, then flies away.]

ZENA

[Watching Tiamat fly away] Why does she act like this? It makes no sense.

ERIC

Can we worry about that later? We still have company.

ZENA

[Ignoring Eric, pushing past him] I have to know; what did you do to anger the Tiamat?

VENGER

You seek the fate of fools, Scroll-child. {Pulls his hand back to attack]

HANK

[Drawing his bow] Hold it, Venger; you owe us one this time. Tell her what she wants to know.

VENGER

[Reluctantly lowering is hand] I did nothing. That beast attacked my castle one day. It keeps me from bringing this Realm under my control.

DIANA

Venger keeps trying to get our weapons. He thinks they'll make him strong enough to beat Tiamat.

ZENA

He wishes to be the Dungeonmaster. You must not do it.

PRESTO

And where's the real Dungeonmaster during all this?

ZENA

If you're right, there are two real Dungeonmasters--but that cannot be.

HANK

Maybe it can. I've finally got it figured out, I think. We keep forgetting his name; he's the Dungeonmaster. Everything that happens in this Realm is because of him. He started it.

BOBBY

You mean he makes people say and do things?

HANK

No, he just sort of sets things up, and drops people into the middle of them.

DIANA

Like he did with us.

PRESTO

So that just means he's in charge of the place. We knew that already.

HANK

It's more than that. Dungeonmaster had to be responsible for everything, and that means all the bad stuff too. So why does Venger handle all of that? I figure Dungeonmaster looked in the mirror one morning and got tired of being the bad guy, so he created one.

SHEILA

He created Venger?

VENGER

This is childish babble. You want to trick me into thinking I am not free to act on my own.

HANK

You're only part-free, Venger. You do what you do because that's how Dungeonmaster made you; out of all the parts of himself he didn't want to face.

PRESTO

I get it now. Venger goes off on his own, and gets a little out of control, so Dungeonmaster has to try to get him back in line.

HANK

He can't just erase Venger and start over again. He'd be erasing a part of himself. And he doesn't want to take Venger back into himself yet. So he created something strong enough to deal with Venger; something that doesn't have any other reason to be in this realm.

THE SIX

Tiamat!

VENGER

But there have always been dragons.

HANK

Around here, maybe, but there hasn't always been a five-headed dragon.

SHEILA

That explains why Zena's people never had a scroll with Tiamat--or Venger.

DIANA

That also explains why Venger could never stop Tiamat, even though he's powerful enough to do just about anything else.

VENGER

You know nothing of my power.

HANK

Actually, I think we're finally figuring it out. You want our weapons? We'll give you our weapons, Venger; we'll surrender them gladly.

ERIC

Speak for yourself, Hank; I may need this shield someday.

HANK

But it will be on our terms. We'll meet you at Tiamat's lair at sunset. After that, you won't have to be bothered with the dragon, or with us.

VENGER

A few more hours will make no difference to me. [Venger vanishes]

SHEILA

Hank, what's going to happen?

HANK

I don't know. We'll just have to go there and see what happens. But if my guess is right, it's our way home.

ZENA

Do you know where the Tiamat lives?

BOBBY

Sure, we've been there before.

[UNI whinnies to ZENA]

ZENA

Oh, I know now. [Zena reaches into her bag and consults another scroll] If you are to get there by sundown, you must hurry. You'll barely make it.

HANK

But what about you?

ZENA

I think I can find my own way back now. The scrolls can guide me.

ERIC

Look, Zena, get a clue. Those scrolls don't have everything in them.

HANK

What the Cavalier is trying to say is, come with us. Then you may be able to write down one pretty fantastic scroll.

ZENA

Alright. We go this way.

[The group moves through varied landscapes; rocky terrain, lush jungles, sand dunes, forests. Finally, as the sun nears the horizon, they climb a ridge and look down on a blighted valley, resembling a lunar crater scattered with giant reptilian skeletons: the Dragon's Graveyard, home of Tiamat. They see the mouth of a giant cave set in one wall of the valley, and start to descend.]

ERIC

I won't be sorry to leave this place behind.

DIANA

But you have to admit; some of this place is really beautiful.

PRESTO

[Looking back up at the ridge they had just left] Present company excepted.

[Venger is standing where they were a moment before. He seems to float down the slope toward them, without touching the ground]

HANK

Zena, you and Uni get someplace safe.

[Zena and Uni hide behind a flat rock, jutting out of the ground]

VENGER

At last, we will settle this.

HANK

One way or another, Venger.

[Hank is interrupted by a roar as Tiamat stands at the mouth of her cave. Hank shoots a bolt into the mountain above the cave, causing a landslide that blocks the cave mouth.]

HANK

Listen up, everybody; you too, Venger. That won't hold her for long. Tiamat's too powerful for any of us to fight alone--so it'll have to be all of us.

BOBBY

We can't all hit her at the same time.

HANK

We're not going to. Form a circle.

[They do so, Eric next to Hank, Venger opposite them]

DIANA

What do we do now?

HANK

We wait. Someone else is coming.

[As Hank finishes, Dungeonmaster steps out from behind a rock and moves next to Venger]

VENGER

What deception is this?

HANK

Are you sure you're ready for this, Dungeonmaster?

I'm not sure, but I am ready.

VENGER

[To Dungeonmaster] I will blast you into dust!

ERIC

There's no time for that. If you're going to blast someone, blast me!

VENGER

As you wish--fool!

[Venger throws a blast of energy at Eric, who pushes it off his shield to Bobby, who bats it to Presto, who takes it into his hat, then lets it out to Diana, who bats it with her staff to Sheila, who wraps it in her cloak. With each hand-off the burst of energy changes color, picking up static and growing. As soon as Sheila covers the ball of energy, two of Tiamat's heads burst through the rocks]

SHEILA

[apprehensive] Good luck, Hank.

[Sheila lets the burst go into the center of the circle; Hank fires a bolt at it, which pushes the energy pulse onto Venger and Dungeonmaster, ultimately fusing them into a single Dungeonmaster--taller, more reminiscent of Merlin--in fact, looking like the Dungeonmaster in Zena's scroll and at Warriors Well. He throws an energy bolt at Tiamat--who absorbs it, then flies off]

PRESTO

Tiamat's getting away.

DM2

It doesn't matter anymore. She was made to destroy Venger, and there is no more Venger. I've persuaded her to get on with her life. She won't harm anyone or anything again.

HANK

Then everything's alright here?

DM2

Everything is pretty much as it was when I came up with a bad idea. Thank you, all of you, for putting me back together again.

SHEILA

So Venger's inside you?

DM2

There's a bit of Venger in everyone, Sheila dear; remember that when you leave. And remember that you can't get rid of him, but you can control him.

ERIC

Excuse me, but can we get back to the leaving part?

DM2

All you have to do is click your heels three times and say, "There's no place like-"

ERIC

Hey, wait a minute!

DM2

Sorry; couldn't resist one last joke. I'll summon your ride back to your world.

BOBBY

Wait! What about Uni?

DM2

Are you really worried about her?

[Bobby looks at Uni, who is with Zena]

BOBBY

No, I guess not.

ZENA

Uni has to tell me everything you've done while you were here. We have a great many new scrolls to write.

DM2

And your brave deeds will live in this Realm for centuries to come. You should be proud; not everyone can be a success in two worlds at once.

[The car from the amusement park ride materializes on the ground]

HANK

I guess this is it.

DM2

We won't forget you--Ranger, Acrobat, Cavalier, Magician, Thief, Barbarian. [As their names are spoken, each gives up his/her weapon] Please don't forget us either.

[They get in the amusement car, which levitates and flies off, passing through pulsing rings of energy. In one of those passes, they return to modern clothes, and at last back into the amusement park ride. They pass by various mechanical monsters, and a wizard who looks suspiciously like the restored Dungeonmaster, before the car goes through the last set of doors and out into the sunlight of the amusement park. The air is full of sounds--music, children, machinery, announcements over the speaker system.]

PRESTO

We made it!

[All the others cheer as they climb out of the car]

ERIC

Hey, I got my watch back! [He checks it] And it says we've only been gone five minutes!?

DIANA

Doesn't surprise me.

HANK

I think it'll take a lot to surprise us.

[Eric's Driver walks up to him, ignoring the others. He's in his fifties, thin, pale, officious with a touch of a Boston upper-crust accent.]

DRIVER

Master Eric, I was right, wasn't I? You shouldn't have gone on that last ride. You look like you've seen a ghost.

ERIC

Actually, I saw a lot worse than that--but you wouldn't understand.

DRIVER

We have to leave now, sir. You'll just have time to dress for dinner at the country club.

[The Driver starts walking toward the park gate, and Eric--out of reflex--falls in step behind him, leaving the others silent and a bit confused. After a few steps, though, Eric stops.]

ERIC

Hold it; my dad's not going to be there, is he?

DRIVER

Of course not, sir; you know he won't be back from his business trip until tomorrow night.

ERIC

Then go home and wait until I call you. I'm going out with these guys for a pizza.

[Eric gestures to the others, who smile and burst into cheers]

DRIVER

[Dubious] But you don't even know these ... people.

ERIC

Are you kidding? We've got a lot of old times to talk over. See ya!

[Eric runs back to the others, and the group of six walk down the midway of the amusement park. Music up--fade to black]