No Escape - Natalie Chambers - FINAL

No Escape

During the brutal beating and attempted murder of Honora Rieper, on the bushy track of the Christchurch Gardens, a passer-by happens to hear the frantic screams of the desperate woman, fighting for her life. As the passer-by sprints toward the direction of the disturbing screams, he is instantly struck by the haunting sight of two teenage girls taking turns at mercilessly beating a helpless middle-aged woman, despite her begging and pleading. The onlooker immediately takes action, despite his sudden panic. “Stop!” he shouts, deeply disturbed by the sight. “No, no!” Pauline cries, suddenly aware as if for the first time as to the extent of her actions as she stares in disbelief at her mother, covered in blood and barely recognisable. Pauline's legs give way beneath her as she crumples to the ground, distraught and in tears, releasing from her hands the stocking that contains the brick. “Paul, Paul,” Juliet gasps, insecurity clouding her face, “What have we done?” The stranger frantically fumbles around in his jacket and pulls out a cell phone, his hands shaking uncontrollably as he dials 111, stuttering as he asks for an ambulance. The two girls huddle together, sobbing and screaming hysterically as the shaken man begins to aid Honora, assessing whether or not she has managed to survive the ruthless attack. It is hard to tell.

Not long after, the medics arrive and hurriedly carry the woman, fighting for her life, away on a stretcher.

Fade to black. Next scene:

When Honora finally emerges from her coma three weeks later, the news of her severe brain damage is not a surprise to Herbert Rieper, because in his heart he already knew. But she has survived, against all odds, and Herbert feels nothing but disgust at himself as he can’t help but think that it may have been for the best if she hadn’t of made it through. If she could see herself now…this was no life. He gazes into the distance as he once again experiences the disturbing events of that day all over again…

Flashback:

Her confession at the police station when taken in for questioning is enough to bring all investigations to an end. “I didn't intend for it to happen like this. This wasn't supposed to happen!” Pauline breaks down and sobs uncontrollably. “We were supposed to be together forever. We were supposed to go to America and become film stars. They were going to take that away from us. Juliet didn't want to do it. She only did it because she didn't want to lose me. She knew it was either me or my mother. This was the only way.” The shocking incident made headlines throughout the whole of New Zealand. The public was fascinated yet disturbed at how two seemingly innocent teenage girls could be driven to such an act of brutality. Some saw the act as a cry for help, while others saw it as unforgivable. The defense argued that Pauline and Juliet were not guilty by reason of insanity but deep down the girls both knew that their actions reflected their losing touch of reality.

Back to scene at hospital:

“Mr. Rieper? I know this is not easy to accept, but you will get through it. You have a lot of support out there.” The doctor's soothing voice draws Herbert back into reality, back to the realisation that his daughter's court proceedings would be beginning soon. She was up against two to three years imprisonment for attempted murder, her age preventing a harsher sentence. He could not ignore his persistent feelings of guilt though that he was partly to blame. He should have noticed the gradual changes in Pauline from the day she met Juliet Hulme for the very first time. He should have recognised the warning signs that something was not right – the withdrawal, the moody behaviour, the increased time spent with Juliet, the poor school grades. However, he thought nothing of it when Honora attempted to share with him her growing concerns regarding the intensity of the relationship. Now he was torn between his wife and his daughter. He felt he could not support both thus his refusal to visit Pauline in the lead up to her court proceedings meant that he had not seen her since before the dire incident. It was almost certain that Pauline would be sentenced to imprisonment. Herbert's deepest fear was that he would be left without his wife and daughter and his saddest realisation was that this fear was coming true. The wife he grew to love was not bound to a wheelchair – unable to speak, unable to dress herself, incapable of simple day-to-day tasks.

From the minute his wife had been diagnosed with severe traumatic brain injury, placing her into the care of a home had never once been an option in his mind. “In sickness and in health” – he would never break his promise to the woman he loves.

5 years after Pauline's release from prison: (voiceover)

No matter what I do in an attempt to make amends for my sin, no matter how much I witness my mother suffer as I care for her 24 hours a day, I will never be able to escape from the damage I caused, or the lives I ruined. In our delusion, we did only what we believed would hold us together, as we saw no other escape. After Dad died of a sudden heart attack, presumably as a result of intense grief, Mum was put into a home and when I was released from prison a year later, under the condition that I never communicate with Juliet again, I knew in my heart that it was my duty to care for her. I not only attempted to murder my mother but I killed my father too and worst of all I murdered the woman my mother used to be and I will be forever penitent for these unforgivable sins. My family’s name will be tainted for eternity. Deep within I realize that my looking after mother is only a pathetic attempt, out of extreme guilt that will haunt me forever, to somehow put things right. But every time I look Mother in the eye I can only see what could have been, and I deprived my own flesh and blood of that, the only ones in the world who would have done anything for me.

I will never be able to escape from what I did.