‘TIL THERE WAS YOU

The scene cuts backstage to Arthur Pleasant who is walking down the corridor.  Does his gait signify a self-assured confidence or perhaps a determined march?  He pays no mind to those around him.  Juan, the maintenance worker sipping a cup of coffee while discussing his day with Mark from engineering or Cathy from Accounting arguing the cost of buying bulk versus retail with Mike from Sales.  Either these people mean nothing to Arthur Pleasant or they are nothing to Arthur Pleasant.   Arthur Pleasant passes a few bystanders and wallfowers before  make a right turn dow—–

CRRRRRACKKKKKKKK!!!!

Arthur Pleasant has been smashed in the face with a rusted piece of rebar.  Arthur Pleasant staggers backwards, blood trickling from his mouth.  He staggers a moment, confused and startled.  He sees the man holding the long metal—-

THWUMP!!!!!

WHACK!!!!!

BAM!!!   BAM!!!!   BAM!!!!!

Arthur Pleasant gets struck in the kneecap, then in the back, followed by three successive blows to the shoulder and back as he drops down to one knee.  

CLANG!!!!!

The man tosses the rebar to the cold hard ground.  The man retrieves something from his pocket, a very special black satin tie, and wraps it around Arthur’s neck.  He pulls back on the tie while driving a knee into Arthur Pleasant’s back, squeezing the life from him.  The man, whose maskless face is unfamiliar to those around in PRIME, is letting out a rage-filled scream as Arthur’s face goes from a red to a blue to a deep purple.  

How long has he been strangling Arthur?  Thirty seconds?  Two minutes?  Enough for Arthur’s eyes to roll into the back of his head.  He looks less like a man and more like a Deadite as the man releases the grip of his very special tie.

Arthur Pleasant drops face down on the ground emitting a faint wheezing and gurgling sound.  The man wraps the tie around his hand before pulling a mask from his pocket and putting it on.   He looks down at the bloody, battered, and wheezing body in front of him, for a moment he looks as though as he is about to spit on Arthur, but something catches his eye. 

Mortgomery Byrnes picks up a single, bloodied metal fang from the ground.  A slight smile crosses his face and he pockets the tooth before stepping onto the back of Mister Pleasant and walks calmly down the corridor whistling a tune that sounds somewhat like “Till There Was You” from “The Music Man”.