On Chronos An Original Screenplay

EXT. SPACE Earth. In all Her glory. A blue marble, floating effortlessly through space around the sun. EXT. NATURE - DAY Silence. Nature in its pure beauty. Mountain regions, oceans, plains, and meadows. Wildlife is abundant. The world is green. Lush grass for miles. There is no sign of human life, whatsoever. No roads, cars, airplanes, houses, buildings. This Earth seems to have never been touched by the human race. EXT. MEADOW - DAY A rabbit is munching away on a bit of vegetable. The MUNCH is the only sound. Another rabbit approaches, and sniffs the food that the first rabbit is eating. While this is occurring, a fiery streak appears in the sky behind them. The bunnies notice and scatter. The fiery ball gets larger, closer. Wildlife throughout the meadow take notice. A deer watches in stunned curiosity, but mostly the animals scatter. A flock of birds panic. Their wings are startling LOUD as they take to the sky. It becomes clear that the red streak, marring the blue sky is a spaceship. Its coming in for a landing on the meadow, but its coming in too fast. The speed of the craft gets louder. The ship finally comes close enough that details can be made out. An American flag is painted on the side, alongside the name: CHRONOS. With an uncomfortably loud CRASH, the ship makes contact with the earth at a 45 degree angle. There is no landing gear. The impact has caused siding of the craft to fall off. The windshield cracks. The craft slides along the grass, smoking heavily. It COLLIDES with a wall of trees at the beginning of a forest and finally stops. There is fire on the craft. The world is quieter again, with only the roar of the fire and faint screams being heard. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

2.

A door on the side of the craft swings open with force, KICKED loudly and suddenly from the inside. The screams are louder. WOMAN (O.S.) We need to get out! The voice belongs to RILEY HAWK, a tough woman in her 30s. Without real order, eight people in skin tight, modern spacesuits flee the craft. Three women, and five men. RILEY Quick, its not safe here! The group runs quickly away from the craft. With a startling BOOM, the craft explodes. A fire burst catches a woman lagging behind the group. She is fully engulfed in flames, screaming. At the same time, shrapnel from the craft is raining and shooting everywhere. A few in the craft get hit in minor places. One is cut non-fatally on the cheek, another in the leg. One man, however, gets a large piece of shrapnel through the back of skull with enough force that a quarter of the piece protrudes through his forehead. The man falls over, dead. Riley runs towards safety, followed by the remaining crew: CHESTER FIELDSWORTH, in his fifties; VIRGIL BLEDSTOW, around Chesters age, but older looking; JOSS MEADOW, thirty something, very muscular and attractive, ELIZA SHURR, Joss wife of similar age; and HEATH BRINKLEY, in his later thirties, rough, with an average build. A few scream louder, now that carnage has ensued. However, their screams are nothing compared to the blood curdling SHRIEKS of the woman on fire. The explosion has sent fire everywhere. Some patches of grass have caught. The fire has spread to the trees next to the burning ship. As the gang continues running, it becomes clear that a large portion of the forest is now aflame. They are running from a full scale forest fire. Everything goes black. Without visuals, only sound continues. The fires roar, the crews footfalls, the burning womans screams.

3.

The burning womans screams stop. Shes dead. can be heard. All sound fades out. EXT. OUTSIDE CLEARING - DAY

A few cries

The six surviving crew members are all gathered in a clearing. Some are sitting, some standing, all are clearly traumatized and breathing heavily. Chester is the first to speak up, in a deep British accent. CHESTER So, we can be quite certain your co-ordinates were wrong. RILEY They werent. CHESTER They had to have been. RILEY Well, they werent. ELIZA Then how do you explain what just happened? Joss reaches over to her. He speaks with a Southern drawl.

JOSS Baby, give her some credit. I was in the cockpit. Were here. ELIZA We cant be. RILEY Well, we are. HEATH Come off it. Just admit you screwed up. RILEY I didnt. JOSS Dont talk to her like that.

(CONTINUED)

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4.

HEATH I think after her causing Gary and Maras death, I should have permission to speak candidly. JOSS Youve never done anything but. RILEY Joss, its fine. JOSS No, its not. HEATH (Through gritted teeth) Im sorry. Ill be more respectful from now on. Commander Hawk, Im just saying that if these were the co-ordinates, then the runway would have been here. RILEY These are the co-ordinates. HEATH Well I didnt see a fucking runway. JOSS A lot can change in ten thousand years. HEATH We got a promise from the president himself that no matter what happened to the American people, or NASA, that we would have a runway waiting for us when we got here. RILEY Joss is right. A lot can happen in ten thousand years. CHESTER Maybe the runway is here. HEATH I sure as shit didnt see one. CHESTER Under. Overgrown.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: JOSS Riley and I have brought this ship nothing but success this entire mission. Weve been in this together for over ten years, and weve never-HEATH Due respect, but the total responsibilities of this crew included taking off, flying nearly straight for five years, circling back, and landing. The only thing you could have fucked up, you did. VIRGIL Alright now, Heath. HEATH What? VIRGIL Its not Commander Hawk or Commander Meadows faults. HEATH Two of our own are dead, dont you understand that? VIRGIL Its not their fault. HEATH What, its all part of the Lords grand, master plan? Well, yes. VIRGIL But I--

5.

HEATH When youre ready to put on your engineering hat, and take off your pastoral hat, you can contribute to this conversation. VIRGIL Im not speaking as an engineer or a pastor. Im speaking as a human. ELIZA Heath, I understand where youre coming from, but I think were all just worked up from the crash--

(CONTINUED)

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HEATH Dead! Two of our closest friends and crew are dead because of these two clowns, and were supposed to sit here awaiting their next brilliant plan? Rileys head is in her hands. RILEY Thats enough. VIRGIL A lot more than two have died since we left on this mission. What? HEATH Who else?

Virgil smiles calmly, speaking with quiet confidence. VIRGIL Everyone. EXT. CLEARING IN THE WOODS - NIGHT The crew is huddled around a crudely made fire. the fire, the clearing is completely empty. Other than

The clearing itself is rough. It is as if the crew flattened a sparse part of forest. Nature looms, and its loud. Cicadas, owls, branches creaking and breaking, the occasional coyote howl. ERIZA What are we going to do? RILEY The only thing there is to do. Look. CHESTER If youre right that these are the right co-ordinates, then I dont think that bodes well. RILEY Why not?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: HEATH Its got to be wrong. CHESTER Because, if an entire Air Force base is overgrown, what does that say about the rest of the world? RILEY What are you suggesting? all gone? A coyote howls. JOSS Well, the cye-otes are still here. HEATH Were not extinct. RILEY Were not. Theres no signs of nuclear warfare, or ruin. VIRGIL That doesnt mean anything. RILEY Tomorrow, well walk. Well find something. Someone. We need to take shifts keeping up the fire. JOSS Im not tired, I can stay up first. ELIZA Ill stay up with him. RILEY Okay, wake me before you go to-That its

7.

The coyote howls again, but this time its in distress. Its a cry. A loud CRACK in the distance grabs the groups attention. HEATH What was that? Everything goes silent, even the bugs. Suddenly, the coyote lets out one more shrill SHRIEK and is silenced. Killed. The group look at each other in stunned horror. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

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JOSS Forgive my ignorance, but what hunts cye-otes? RILEY It could have been another coyote, or a wolf. She is obviously not quite convinced. JOSS Well, whoever wants to sleep first is welcome to turn in. No one moves. PRESENT: INT. A LABORATORY - NIGHT A middle aged MAN sleeps at his desk, lit only by the light of his computer. The screen-saver is on. The mans breathing is heavy, but slow. SUPER: 10,000 Years Prior The man continues sleeping for a few moments, the only sound being his light snore. Suddenly there is a startlingly loud CRASH. Glass breaks and settles, jolting the man awake. He bolts upright, and looks around, still in a fog. He groans, as if remembering he has forgotten something, and clicks his computer mouse rapidly. The computer screen fades in and the man notices the time: 3:24 AM. MAN Fuck. He gets up from his desk and turns on the rooms lights. He notices a clock face down on the floor, in front of a high bookshelf. He looks up at the shelf, and notices a space between all sorts of statues and figures, where the clock should be. The man sighs. He looks around again and notices in the other corner of the room an open cage. Hypnotizing.

(CONTINUED)

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Fuck.

MAN (CONTD) Where are you, Frankie?

The man begins looking around the office for something small. Quickly, two small rodent legs and a long tail disappear behind a file cabinet. The man walks over to the cabinet, and waits on the opposite side. A small animal comes out the other side, and looks up curiously at the man. The animal is not like anything else in the animal kingdom. Its face is unmistakably feline, but its body proportions are that of a mouse. It is orange and gray. And cute. MAN (CONTD) Youre a trouble maker, Frankie. He kneels, and puts his hands out for the Frankie. climbs into the mans hands. Frankie

The man puts Frankie in the open cage, closes and locks it. He quickly goes over to the broken clock, and makes a motion to pick it up. He pauses and checks his watch. MAN (CONTD) Fuck. Ill get it tomorrow. The man hurriedly puts on a coat, and flees the room, still lit. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT The door to the lab, from the outside, reads: DR. SEAN K. WILLIAMS GENETICS MAN/SEAN (O.S.) Fuck! Sean opens the door, steps inside momentarily, and shuts out the lights.

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EXT. SEANS HOME - NIGHT Sean pulls up to his home in a beautiful, silver sports car. His home would easily be worth half a million dollars in the weakest markets. Sean pulls into his garage. INT. SEANS KITCHEN - NIGHT Sean enters his house through the garage into the kitchen. His wife, LORRAINE, is doing dishes. He cringes when he notices her. SEAN Lorraine. Lorraine turns off the water, and takes a towel to dry her hands. SEAN (CONTD) You should be sleeping. LORRAINE Should I? Lorraine finishes drying her hands, and refolds the towel. LORRAINE (CONTD) Why, is it late? Beat. SEAN Im sorry. Dont be. LORRAINE Im used to it.

SEAN Thats not fair. LORRAINE Oh, isnt it? Im sorry, am I glossing over the--maybe--four times you made it home to have dinner with your family this month? SEAN You know Im working to support--

(CONTINUED)

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LORRAINE Dont even start with that. We have the money for you to retire. SEAN Well, Im working on this project! As soon as-LORRAINE The project you cant even tell me about? SEAN You know how these military projects are, baby. But I have the presentation next week, and then Ill hear if its-LORRAINE Whatever. SEAN As soon as its done, Ill be here all the-LORRAINE Be here now, Sean. Even when youre here, youre not here. SEAN I need time. If this all pans out, well never have to worry about money, and my name will be cemented in the field! LORRAINE Im going to bed. You think about your priorities. Lorraine walks away. Lorraine. LORRAINE (O.S.) I left you a pillow on the couch. Youre welcome. Sean looks over to his living room, there is a bed pillow on the couch. He sighs. Sean starts to follow her. SEAN

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INT. SEANS LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Sean tosses and turns trying to sleep on the couch, without a blanket. INT. TOMS APARTMENT - NIGHT TOM DAWSON, 28 is sitting up in bed, next to his sleeping fianc, JULIA, 24. There is loud rap music coming from the apartment above them. Tom looks over at Julia, then lays down flat. He then bolts up and looks over at her again, like a child waiting for his father to come home. TOM Julia? Jules? She groans. TOM (CONTD) You awake? She turns around to look at him, and only opens one eye. I, um. JULIA I dont know. TOM Im awake. JULIA Okay. Julia falls back over, asleep. TOM No! Wake up. Im anxious. JULIA Tom, youre going to be a zombie tomorrow. TOM Today. Its so late. The later it gets, the more anxious I get. I just wish it was morning. JULIA Get some sleep. You have kids to inspire. Minds to mold.

(CONTINUED)

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TOM Right. Tom flops down. He tries to close his eyes, but they wont close. He begins nodding along to the beat of the song being heard through the ceiling. Tom begins rapping along to the expletive-filled chorus. He sits up, with a burst of energy, and raps enthusiastically in Julias ear. JULIA I dont know why they let you teach. TOM Me neither. Lets go see if we can party with them. Julia laughs. JULIA I have work in the morning. And so do you, professor! We cant go party like teenagers. TOM If we cant party like teenagers, theres always another option. JULIA Sleep. TOM We can fuck like teenagers. JULIA (Laughing ) With our jeans on, in a locker room? TOM You sure know how to turn me on. INT. CLASSROOM - DAY Tom is standing in front of a group of college students, not too much younger than himself. Hes dressed stylishly. The class is settling.

(CONTINUED)

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TOM Good morning, class! Semi-enthused grumbles from the class. TOM (CONTD) I know, youre tired. Im tired, too. I was kept up all night because of kids like you making noise all night. Just wait until youre old and bitter like me. Youll see. STUDENT Arent you only, like, thirty? TOM Ouch! Twenty-eight. But in spite of my lack of sleep, and being aged to the dreaded thirty, Im in a great mood. (Beat) Why am I in such a great mood? Who knows what today is? Silence. TOM (CONTD) Come on, someone has to know. Ill give you a hint. My doctoral work was in Aeronautical Engineering. A student raises their hand. STUDENT TWO Wasnt there a shuttle launch today? TOM There was! Yes. But, really class, this should be pop culture. Its fun! Exciting. Listen. Today we launched Chronos. Whats Chronos? STUDENT THREE A rocket ship. TOM What gave that away? Yes, but what is the significance of Chronos? Anyone? Listen, because this is exciting. Eight people, on one shuttle for ten years. Eight people volunteered to give up a (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: TOM (contd) decade of their life for the mission--and a lot more--in the name of knowledge. STUDENT Knowledge of what? TOM Black holes. Theyre traveling faster than any other man made craft has ever traveled towards the closest black hole to our world. Theyre traveling with a tracker, equipped with high definition sound and video. Does anyone know what theyre going to do? STUDENT Fly into the black hole? TOM Well, hopefully not. The class laughs. TOM (CONTD) Around it. Theyre going to circle the black hole, getting just close enough to send the tracker into it. STUDENT How are they going to keep themselves from getting sucked into it? TOM Using technology that I helped research, theyre able to get pretty damned close to this thing without being affected by its gravitational pull. But, listen. Regardless of what happens to this tracker, we will never see the Chronos Crew on Earth again. Who knows why? Silence. No one? holes? TOM (CONTD) What happens around black

15.

(CONTINUED)

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STUDENT THREE Doesnt everything just get sucked into it? TOM Everything. Yes! All matter, including light. Thats why we call it a black hole. Everything but our favorite shuttle. Including time. Yes, time itself is pulled into the black hole. So it distorts around it! What does that mean? Well, it means that when the Chronos crew spends a few days circling this black hole, theyll experience that as, what, eighty some hours? Theyll eat, theyll sleep, theyll exercise, theyll sleep, theyll eat, theyll exercise, and theyll be on their way back to Earth. But in that same amount of time, Earth will have aged almost ten thousand years. The class murmurs. TOM (CONTD) Exciting stuff, right? Seriously, watch the news. In what feels like ten years, the crew of Chronos will be landing on Earth ten thousand years from now. STUDENT FIVE Why would anyone do that? Every one they know will be dead. TOM Thats true. Very true. I, personally, wouldnt do it. But only because I just signed a lease on my apartment, and I have a very, very hot fianc. The class laughs. TOM (CONTD) I cant speak for them. But, who knows what kind of world theyll come back to? The American government has to plan for ten thousand years in the (MORE) (CONTINUED)

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TOM (CONTD) (contd) future--considerable, since weve only been around four hundred years, and they can barely plan for tomorrow--but yes, its very dangerous! Risky. But, exciting. STUDENT FIVE I cant believe people would do this. TOM I can. Black holes are such a mystery. Are they worm holes? Death machines? Portals to other dimensions? Who knows? Maybe itll help us figure out why were here, or how were here. Well, in five years, well know. They do it for posterity. They do it for the future. They do it for the contribution of knowledge to the human race. Well know. FUTURE: EXT. WOODS - DAY The gang is trekking through the woods, in conversation. Riley is taking up the lead. Virgil is lagging behind. HEATH So is this your grand plan? We just stumble around, hoping to bump into someone? RILEY You have a better way? ELIZA At least we dont have anything to carry. JOSS Im not sure thats a bright side, sweetheart. ELIZA Virgil, do you really think theres no one left? VIRGIL Im sure of it.

(CONTINUED)

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ELIZA How? VIRGIL I just know. HEATH Youre full of shit. Riley stops suddenly. JOSS What, what is it? Riley is looking down at a horribly mangled coyote corpse. The midsection has been eaten completely out, but the head and legs are untouched. RILEY We found our coyote friend. The crew reacts. ELIZA Is that what another coyote would do? Or a wolf? RILEY Come on, lets move on. Riley continues on. The rest follow suit.

EXT. SPARSE WOODS - DAY Chester, Heath, Virgil, Joss, Riley, Eliza continue walking through the woods. CHESTER Theres no sign of war. HEATH There wasnt one. JOSS Theres no sign of people, either. VIRGIL There arent any. HEATH Quit it with that shit, man.

(CONTINUED)

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RILEY I havent seen any planes. Weve been out here for hours, and I havent seen any planes. HEATH Have you been looking? RILEY Off and on. I saw none last night. ELIZA I noticed that too. CHESTER Eliza, are you feeling well? ELIZA Me? Yes, why? CHESTER I heard you throwing up this morning. ELIZA Oh, just stress, I suppose. JOSS Its going to get dark soon. Should we start looking for a place to camp? HEATH Camp? JOSS Yes, camp. RILEY Its not a bad idea. HEATH Were not camping. find someone. Were going to

RILEY Yes we are. We dont know how long well be walking before we find someone. Or if theres anyone to find.

(CONTINUED)

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ELIZA Im getting hungry. HEATH Well find someone. RILEY We need food. JOSS I can start trying to build a trap. RILEY Okay, lets get to a place to rest, and well see what we can do. EXT. CLEARING - DAY The gang come out of the woods into a field, as the sky just begins to turn orange-red. They all notice something ahead in the field. They walk towards it. At the edge of the woods on the other side are three dead deer, and a lot of blood. One of the deer is mangled in the same manner as the coyote. Another is torn up a little, as though it was eaten out of, but mostly in tact. The third is simply lifeless. CHESTER Something couldnt finish its dinner. HEATH Lucky for us. ELIZA Riley-RILEY I dont know. VIRGIL Its a blessing. RILEY Thats how I choose to see it. ELIZA Joss, its dead, right?

(CONTINUED)

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JOSS Which one? He laughs a little. Sorry. Check. Joss obviously doesnt think its necessary, but wants to humor her. He gets on his knees and moves close to the deer. He leans in to listen to the deers head. Its silent. Serene. The way the setting sun is shining on Joss and the deer is almost beautiful. SUDDENLY a disembodied buck head falls onto Joss. He screams in pain, while the rest scream in terror. JOSS What the hell?! They all look up to where it fell from. In the tree above Joss is a completely mangled, bloody deer carcass. Limp among the higher branches. A few drops of blood fall. ELIZA Are you okay? JOSS Im alright. Startled. hell-How the JOSS (CONTD) Yes, of course. ELIZA

CHESTER I dont think we should take this deer. HEATH Come on, well starve. CHESTER I think something may come back for it. HEATH Like what? CHESTER Something that can do that.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: He points to the deer carcass. it.

22. The whole gang stares up at

RILEY Chester, we need energy. to eat.

We need

CHESTER You dont think Im hungry as well? RILEY I just think we need to take our chances. HEATH Were lost, were starving, and theres a full, dead, edible animal. Were taking it. ELIZA Can we just go somewhere a little safer? EXT. WOODS - NIGHT Riley, Joss, Heath, and Chester are all carrying the buck with much effort through the woods. Eliza and Virgil are behind them. CHESTER I need to stop. RILEY Okay, heres fine. EXT. WOODS - NIGHT Quick cuts: Riley and Chester building a teepee with branches and dry leaves, and starting a fire. Quick cuts: Joss breaking off some of the bucks antlers. Joss uses the jagged part of the broken antler to begin skinning the deer. Joss cutting pieces of flesh out of the deer. The gang sit around the fire with pieces of deer meat on long sticks, cooking. ELIZA If people were dying out, wouldnt they have left us some kind of message? (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

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HEATH Yeah, Im sure if Mankind was dying out, their first priority would be to make sure the six of us knew what happened. JOSS Im sure we wouldnt have had the forethought to realize we were going extinct. HEATH Theres no sign of Man going extinct. We wouldnt disappear without a struggle. ELIZA Maybe we did struggle. Maybe the Earth healed. RILEY What do you think, Virgil? VIRGIL I think the Lord has made some promises that Hes going to keep. Im not worried. CHESTER (Sarcastic) Maybe He raptured all pious, burned all the sinners, and forgot about us. VIRGIL The Earth may have forgotten about us, but the Lord hasnt. EXT. WOODS - NIGHT The fire is going out. Sharpened sticks are propped against it. The entire gang is asleep around the fire, except for Heath who is no where to be seen. A loud crack is heard, but only Joss stirs. calls out quietly. Heath? JOSS You around, man? He sits up and

The fire dwindles down to nothing.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: JOSS (CONTD) Goddammit man, you were supposed to have been watching the fire, where are you?

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It is now PITCH BLACK and silent, save for the buzz of the insects. Some red embers can be seen, but they are giving off no light. Joss slow footsteps can be heard, as he cautiously tries to maneuver. A few moments go by. Suddenly, LOUD and quick footsteps run by. JOSS (CONTD) Heath! Silent again. Joss unsure footsteps are heard once more. Again, LOUD and quick footsteps run by. JOSS (CONTD) Somebody wake up! The bodies stirring can be heard. RILEY Joss? JOSS I cant find Heath. CHESTER Why is the fire out? Its freezing. Suddenly, a TERRIFYING INHUMAN SHRIEK is heard within the camp. Joss screams for his life. Everyone screams. There is an impact, red embers disperse into the air, and flesh sounds ripped. Loud footsteps fade away. Overlapping: ELIZA Baby, are you okay?! RILEY Joss! CHESTER My God! Joss! Joss whimpers. (CONTINUED)

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JOSS I was pushed. (Yelling ) Heath! God damn it! He pushed me. ELIZA Heath! RILEY Im coming to help you. Her cautious foot steps are heard. It is still pitch dark. RILEY (CONTD) My hand is out. Reach out your hand. There you are. Can you stand? JOSS I dont think so. pretty hard. I hit my leg

RILEY Can you put your weight on the other leg? JOSS Ill try. His movement is jagged. He breathes heavily. up, he screams in agony. JOSS (CONTD) I have a puncture. I can feel something in my leg. RILEY Okay, well get that looked at, step out. The sounds of him getting out of the fire pit. loudly. RILEY (CONTD) Come, lay down. Eliza, can you start the fire? ELIZA Yep. Her footsteps moving over to the fire. She can be heard fumbling for sticks, blowing on the fire, and rubbing sticks. He whimpers As he gets

(CONTINUED)

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RILEY Alright, take my hand, and place it lightly where it hurts. Joss screams. RILEY (CONTD) Theres a piece of wood through your calf, Joss. But were going to get it out. Sparks land and catch fire in the pit. Theres a small, dim light in the camp area. Outlines can now be made out. ELIZA Oh, God, Joss! RILEY Eliza, get that fire going okay? Okay. ELIZA Oh, God.

The fire starts to catch and burn throughout the scene. Eliza breaks up branches around the fire and adds them. RILEY Im giving you a small branch okay, Joss? JOSS Okay. RILEY I want you to put it in your mouth and bite down on it. I can get this stick out of you. Oh my God. JOSS Okay.

Joss does as hes told. The fire is now large enough to illuminate Joss with the stick in his mouth, wincing. His calf is fully penetrated by a sharpened stick. His leg is up on Rileys knee, who is on one knee beside him. RILEY Eliza, can you bring me a piece of the deer hide?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: ELIZA (Beat) The deer is gone. What? RILEY Thats not possible.

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JOSS (Through the stick) Heath. ELIZA The hide is still here, though. RILEY Heath cant carry a full buck by himself. Bring me the hide. She brings a lengthy piece. ELIZA I love you, Joss. Joss says something like, "I love you, baby," through the stick. RILEY Chester? CHESTER Yes, Riley. RILEY Are you able to pee right now? CHESTER Oh, God. ELIZA Oh, baby. RILEY We dont have anything else. We need to do our best to sterilize this. CHESTER Yes, I can. RILEY Come stand here. Chester gets up and walks over to them, removing his jumpsuit. (CONTINUED)

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Riley takes the stick and slides it through his calf. Joss screams in shocking amounts of pain. Riley gets the stick out, with a bit of a struggle. The wound begins pooling with blood. RILEY (CONTD) Chester. Chester urinates on the wound. Joss screams in agony. Chesters stream stops. RILEY (CONTD) Thank you. The wound begins bleeding very heavily. Riley grabs the deer hide and wraps it around the wound tightly. She puts a stick through the band and twists it, to kill the blood vessels. Joss screams. RILEY (CONTD) Im sorry. ELIZA Joss! Riley puts Joss leg down. Eliza runs to Joss side.

RILEY Rest, okay, Joss? Well look for Heath. HEATH (O.S.) Look for me? Im right here. Heath is in shadows at the edge of the woods. He steps forward into the light. He is carrying a large walking stick, with a sharpened antler fork fashioned on the end of it. ELIZA You fucking bastard! HEATH Were you all yelling for me? sorry, I heard-RILEY You let the fire go out. were you? Im

Where

HEATH I heard some noises, I went out to--

(CONTINUED)

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JOSS Bullshit, you pushed me. HEATH Pushed you? I wasnt here! JOSS Why do you have that? Heath shakes his stick. HEATH This? I made it. I heard a noise, I went to see what it was. RILEY (Suspicious) By yourself? HEATH Yes, by myself. too, you know. JOSS Bullshit! RILEY You dont go off by yourself. Not when youre the only one keeping the fire going. JOSS Riley, he pushed me! I did not! wasnt me. HEATH Whatever pushed you Men can be brave

JOSS Well it wasnt a fuckin coyote! ELIZA Maybe it was a person. HEATH No, it wasnt a person. CHESTER How do you know? Heath pulls down the top half of his jumpsuit. covered in bloody scratches. His chest is

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: HEATH Because I found what caused the noise. Riley stands up and moves closer to investigate. CHESTER Oh, can I piss on him, too? HEATH Cool it, Mary Poppins. We are not alone on this earth. But we are not amongst humans. PRESENT: INT. SEANS LABORATORY - DAY

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Sean is alone in his lab, video chatting with his wife, and their two kids, JEREMY, 9, and SHAUNA, 13. SHAUNA Good luck, Daddy! JEREMY Yeah, good luck, Dad! SEAN Oh, thanks angels. Are you two behaving for Mommy? SHAUNA Of course. JEREMY No. Shauna hits Jeremy in the shoulder. SHAUNA Shut up, yes we are, brat. JEREMY You shut up. LORRAINE Shauna, dont say that. JEREMY Shauna said shut up. LORRAINE I know, I heard. Shauna, why dont you go upstairs for a few minutes.

(CONTINUED)

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JEREMY Yeah, go upstairs. LORRAINE Alright, both of you. Run along for a few minutes, let me talk to your father. JEREMY Awe, Mom! SEAN Ill see you later, buddy. JEREMY Promise? SEAN Of course. JEREMY I love you. SEAN I love you, too, Son. daughter! SHAUNA Love you, Dad. Jeremy and Shauna leave the screen. LORRAINE Nervous? SEAN Like you wouldnt believe. LORRAINE Understandable. SEAN Wish me luck. LORRAINE Yeah. Beat. SEAN Is something wrong? And

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

32.

LORRAINE Its just a double edged sword. Ill be happy for you if it goes well, though. I guess. SEAN You guess? Come on, even the kids were wishing me luck. LORRAINE But they dont know. They dont know that if you get this project your hours are going to get longer. SEAN Lorraine. LORRAINE You promised Jeremy youll be home tonight. SEAN I know. LORRAINE Dont break it, okay? SEAN Why would you say that? me luck. Beat. LORRAINE Good luck, Sean. She signs off. They disconnect. Sean sighs, and gets up. He paces a bit. He stops at Frankies cage. SEAN (CONTD) Its my big day, Frankie. day, eh? Our big Frankie seems to Just wish

Frankie looks up at Sean, quizzically. smile.

SUDDENLY a loud BANG as the door slams shut. Sean jumps, and notices Tom in the room. TOM Sorry, Im late, Dr. Williams.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

33.

SEAN Its fine, do you want to go over the pitch one more time? TOM Id rather use this time for you to write me a letter of recommendation for tenure. SEAN Youre up for tenure? Arent you like eighteen? TOM You know what? Better than being told Im thirty. SEAN You get the letter when we get approved. TOM Oh, well get approved. Is that broken glass on the floor? SEAN Clock broke the other day. TOM You should clean that up, Frankie could get hurt. SEAN That little rat was the culprit. Okay, from the top. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY Sean and Tom are set up with a projection screen, giving their presentation to a board of military officials. On the desk is a box with a cloak on it. SEAN We live in a country made possible by war. Our independence couldnt have been possible if we didnt fight for it. Since our first battle as a disorganized militia, we have never lost a war. Technically.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

34.

TOM It is important to remember that even our most heroic battles and victories are not without American soldier casualties. With the Gulf Wars, and wars in the Middle East, and the current Great African War, the question is begged by the American public, "is the cause worth the bloodshed?" SEAN You have all invested a lot of money in technologies for the offensive, youve invested money in technologies for the defensive. America has the best guns money can buy, the best armor money can buy, the best vehicles money can buy. It seems only logical to extend that one further step. Lets give America the best soldier money can buy. TOM Dr. Williams has worked for decades on working to trick a species genes into expressing traits and abilities of a different species. Tom pulls the cloak off the box, revealing Frankie in his cage. TOM (CONTD) You see here that this field mouse is displaying traits of a tiger. Rather cute. We call him Frankenstein. Frankie, for short. But not only is Frankie physically expressing these traits, but this little animal has the muscle structure of the tiger as well. SEAN Thats just a live demonstration, but for more on what we can do, please refer to this video. Sean starts a video on the projection system. The video is of a chimpanzee in a massive indoor sanctuary.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

35.

SEAN (CONTD) When we brought Tom on to this project on my recommendation, after his internship with DayDream Labs, he was able to find a way to use the same methods I used with our field mouse, and extend that to other animals. This chimpanzee was given a serum first to express certain genes of a house cat. You can see in this later video, that aside from a more feline face, and a more slender body, the chimpanzee was now able to jump greater distances, and land with great ease from heights of over one hundred feet. The video, a few months later, shows a feline-looking chimp fall a great distance, and land without incident. TOM We were able to use compound DNA, and have the chimp express traits of multiple animals at once. Youll see that after we gave this Feline-Chimp a serum to express bat traits, it was able to. The video shows the chimpanzee, still unmistakably feline, with large pointed ears, menacing teeth, and membranes under its arms. TOM (CONTD) We have perfected the ability to create hybrid-animals. And quickly. The time between the chimpanzee you saw in the first video, and the same chimpanzee in the third video was only four months. SEAN We have a serum in our possession that we believe would work without side-effect on humans. The implications are obvious. A more efficient, nearly super-powered soldier. We could have a smaller army, with more might. Reduce casualties to nothing. Have differently expressed hybrid-soldiers to different (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

36.

SEAN (contd) terrain. We can mold the soldier to the situation. Our best and brightest, with the brawn and skill of a beast. Wed be unstoppable. TOM Please refer to this next video-A large man about sixty, DR. JONATHAN LEWIS, at the end of the table stands up. DR. LEWIS I need see no more, Dr. Dawson. Oh, um. TOM Sure.

He switches off the projection. DR. LEWIS Boys, I have been excited for this project for the last decade. The fact that it is in this stage is deeply--WOO! I lost my son in the Great African War. If we had programs like this a few years ago at the ready, that might not have happened. Im very interested in seeing a human subject. I have to discuss this with the board, of course, but I think its safe to say you can begin thinking about getting a trial ready for a human participant. SEAN Dr. Lewis, thank you, sir. DR. LEWIS I have one problem with it. SEAN Yes? DR. LEWIS The Russians. They are developing machines that can kill hordes of men using nothing but highly concentrated energy.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

37.

TOM Are they? DR. LEWIS Im certain of it. Were currently reverse engineering some of their weaponry. These soldiers need to be ahead of the curve. Is there a way to make these soldiers highly resistant to weapons like this? SEAN Well, sir, Id have to have a few more specifics, but there are plenty of animals that can resist higher temperatures, or voltage. I could surely figure something out. DR. LEWIS Please, look into it. I will surely be in touch, Dr. Williams, Dr. Dawson. Thank yous and handshakes are exchanged all around. INT. SEANS LABORATORY - DAY Sean and Tom are celebrating in Seans lab. TOM So, come on, how about that Tenure letter? SEAN Why dont you leave the university, and work for me full time? TOM I love teaching. SEAN Yeah, yeah. Im going to want your input though. TOM Of course. God damn, Im in a great mood. Can we take the rest of the day off? SEAN Its not even eleven.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

38.

TOM Lets get a drink. No. SEAN We have work to get done.

TOM Come on, celebratory drinks. SEAN I am not going out for drinks at eleven AM, Tom. INT. MICKEYS TAVERN - DAY Tom and Sean sit at a bar in Mickeys Tavern. Its empty, save for MICKEY, the barkeep--mid thirties and very muscular. A handsome, but disheveled DRIFTER in a large coat is a few seats down from the pair. Tom and Sean are both drinking a beer. There are a few empty glasses next to them. Tom is borderline drunk, happily oblivious. TOM Do you think the Russians are really developing energy warfare? SEAN Shh! Keep your voice down. TOM What? Im just asking. MICKEY Oh, I think they are. Sean looks over at Mickey, a little annoyed at the interjection, but then intrigued. SEAN Do you? MICKEY Oh, definitely. Russians have always been ahead in technology. Why do you think we kept them as our allies for so long?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: TOM Thats a good point. MICKEY You know, I heard that back during the Cold War they were training psychic spies. They could come see all our countrys most guarded secrets all the way from Russia. They call it "remote viewing." TOM How interesting. SEAN It makes a great story for the tabloids, but none of its true. TOM How do you know? MICKEY I hate to disagree but I have friends for the CIA. They how to psychically of body spies. with you, boss, who used to work were trained in combat these out

39.

SEAN Well, just because we were paranoid of the psychic spies doesnt mean there were any. TOM Well, its just as well. We need to find a way to make our serum energy resistant. SEAN Tom! Classified! MICKEY Your serum? SEAN Nothing. Youll have to excuse him, its not even quarter of noon and hes drunk. Mickey laughs. The drifter calls from the end of the bar, hes very timid.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

40.

DRIFTER Excuse me, Michael? MICKEY Please, Mickey. DRIFTER Right, right. You said that, right. MICKEY What can I do ya for, bud? DRIFTER Can I get another draft when you get the chance? MICKEY Of course you can! Mickey fills a glass. MICKEY (CONTD) So whats all this classified business? SEAN Well, its classified. MICKEY Come on, just a little bar talk. TOM No, no. That was my mistake. The big guy cant even tell his wife. MICKEY Military project? Mickey slides the glass down the bar. SEAN Something like that. DRIFTER Thank you, sir. MICKEY Thats on the house. DRIFTER Why the kindness?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

41.

MICKEY You seem like youve got a lot on your mind. I never charge the boys drownin sorrows. Its the celebrators I bleed dry. Mickey laughs. SEAN You know, if youre giving them away, Ive got a sorrow or two to drown. MICKEY Ive got a draft and an ear for ya. SEAN Youre a saint, Mickey. MICKEY I try. SEAN Well, you know Tom and I are celebrating our probable approval on an important project for our careers. MICKEY Right. SEAN This is something thatll get me acclaim. Ill have articles written on me. News pieces. Ill be remembered. Tom and I both. MICKEY Im in the presence of greatness, aint I? SEAN But its going to take time. Getting the project approved means Ill never have to worry about money again. But my wife is starting not to like the long hours. MICKEY Ah, family verse career?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

42.

SEAN No, no, its more than that. Its a couple years of being number one dad, versus being remembered for hundreds and hundreds of years in my field. TOM You can see why Id rather stay at the University than get suckered into this. Its addicting. DRIFTER Youre getting stuck in your perspective, sir. SEAN Whats that? DRIFTER I beg your pardon. eavesdrop. Dont mean to

SEAN Didnt stop you, did it? The drifter looks down, ashamed. TOM Come on, Sean. here. Were all friends

SEAN Sorry, bud. No offense intended, but I just dont want to talk about my marriage with a stranger. MICKEY You shared with me. SEAN Yeah, but, Ive come in here a dozen times before. I know you a little. DRIFTER Im sorry. I didnt mean to overstep my-SEAN No, no, its fine. I guess Im just sensitive about it.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

43.

DRIFTER Understood. SEAN Mick, his next beers on me, alright? MICKEY Noted. TOM Whats your name, stranger? DRIFTER/NICK Nick. Nicholas Clemens, but everyone calls me Nick. TOM Ha! Nick. Nick and Mick. Mickey. NICK Yeah, I suppose so. SEAN What were you saying, earlier? Perspective? Nick moves closer to them. NICK Youre just stuck in your own perspective. You see it as a few years now, versus an immortal reputation. SEAN More or less. NICK Well, your wife probably sees it as missing the most crucial years of your childrens development. Being absent in their childhood for the sake of the opinions of some academics. SEAN I dont think Ive underscored the importance of this project. Nicky and

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

44.

NICK Im not saying you dont have a point. Im just saying, to your wife these moments now are more important than anything else. TOM The wise bar-patron, huh? Nick laughs, hes a little embarrassed. SEAN So, what do you do for a living, Nick? NICK I, uh. I dont. Hey, Mickey, can I have a shot of Jack? MICKEY Coming up. He gets the materials and pours it. TOM Tough times. NICK Youre telling me. SEAN You got family? NICK Uh. Yeah. I guess. Theyre up North, small town outside of Boston. Mickey passes the shot down to Nick. SEAN Ah, divorced? NICK Not quite, really. Its a sad story, you guys dont need it when youre celebrating. TOM I want to hear. He doesnt take it.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

45.

SEAN Tom, if he doesnt want to get into it... MICKEY Ive got two ears and no other customers. NICK Tell ya the truth, Im a little embarrassed. MICKEY No judgment here. Beat. NICK Well, alright. I was married to my wife, Kimberly for seventeen years. We had three kids. A little girl, Jane. Shes, well, shes thirteen now. SEAN Thats my daughters age. NICK Is that right? Rough age. Well, we got her, and twin boys. Four years old, now. Love them more than anything on this Earth. The boys are both slow in the head. Ive always loved them, just the same, never been anything but happy they were in this world. But theyre a handful. Need a lot of care. And it took a lot out of my wife. I mean, not just her energy level, but it took a lot out of her soul. She got really cold. Our marriage got to be like a partnership; we worked together to raise and care for our kids, but it seemed like the love was gone. And I succumbed to an affair. SEAN And she left you? NICK No, actually. You see, I was feeling so guilty, that I (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

46.

NICK (contd) confessed. I told her everything. But, I guess she was just so emotionally dead that it barely phased her. She said she wasnt happy about it, but that she understood. Asked me not to let it happen again. She was watchful of me from then on, but said nothing about wanting to separate. Just the faintest heightened level of anxiety in her voice when she asked where I was going, or why I was late. But things continued as usual. As time went on though, Kimmy wanted a little extra help with the boys. Just someone to play with them and distract them while she got done things she needed to do, or to watch them when she ran to the store. Nothing major. So one summer we hired a babysitter, full time. Little fifteen year-old girl who we had used to watch them occasionally. No real experience with kids with disabilities, but she just had a great connection to them. She came over all day, when I wasnt home, and helped out my wife with them. Id come home, pick up the babysitter, and drive her home. Every day. About a twenty minute drive. Well, after about a month of this, I could tell this girl had a serious little crush on me. She got nervous around me, tried to flirt in the way a little high school girl flirts. She tried to sound adult, mature, or whatever. Well, one day she starts asking me about my marriage. Asks me how close my wife and I are. Asks me if were intimate. I tell her its not appropriate to discuss. We ride in silence for a little bit, but when I go to drop her off, she lingers a moment. He takes a deep breath.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

47.

NICK (CONTD) Just before she gets out, she says to me, "you know, you can have me. If you want," and she gets out before I have a chance to respond. The next day again, I take her home. She says nothing about it. I decide, hey, I should just let it go. Shes a young, hormonal thing. I wont bring it up again. But we get to her house, and she doesnt get out. She just sits there. I say, "thanks for your help today, see you tomorrow." Nothing. She just sits there. Finally, she looks over to me, looking scared. She asks me if I thought about what she said yesterday. I tell her it wasnt appropriate, and that she shouldnt say things like that again. She ignores it. She asks if Ive ever thought about her. Sexually. I tell her no. Even if I wasnt married, shes a kid. Young enough to be my daughter. She stares me straight in the eyes as she takes off her panties under her skirt. She offers them up to me, like shes hoping Im going to take them. She says she wants me to have them. I tell her to get out of the car. She promises she wont tell, says her parents arent home. I start getting mad. Im yelling at her now to get out of the car. She starts crying, but she leaves. I come home from work the next day, and I find out she didnt show up. Usually, her mom drops her off in the mornings. The next week, she doesnt show up. My wife keeps calling and calling, and doesnt get ahold of her. Im too embarrassed to tell my wife of the conversation I had with the girl. Well, finally the girls mom calls the house. Kimmys furious at the woman, demands to know why she hadnt called, and where her daughter had been. The woman says her daughter told her I raped her.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

48.

The aire of the room changes. Mickey, Tom, and Sean are horrified and listening intently. NICK (CONTD) I swear up and down, of course, that I hadnt, and I come clean about the conversation we had. Her mom doesnt believe me, says shes going to press charges. Kimmys a little suspicious, but believes me. Until she finds the girls underwear on the floor of my car. I thought she had taken them with her. Well, Kimmy turns this over to the police, and I get convicted. According to the judicial system, I raped a fifteen year old girl. I had to register as a sex offender. Did two years. When I got out I had to go around, door to door, in the neighborhood I lived for almost twenty years and have people sign a form saying they were aware I was a sex offender. My wife left with the kids. And I was left alone. Completely alone. I wasnt allowed to see my kids, my whole neighborhood thought I was an offender; my parents wouldnt even talk to me. For all intents and purposes, I was a sex offender. So, I got in my car without packing, withdrew my entire bank account and just left. SEAN You just left? NICK Yep. I have nothing but a reputation. I am nothing but what they think I am. He stops. Nicks face is deeply, deeply saddened. TOM Wow, friend. That is some story. I dont even know what to-NICK I cant move anywhere permanently. I cant say those (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

49.

NICK (contd) words to an entire neighborhood again. SEAN But you have to. I mean, one day youre going to run out of money. NICK Its been a few months. I just about have. The only thing I have now, is a routine. What time do you have, Mickey? Mickey clears his throat, still lost in Nicks story. MICKEY Uh, were just about at noon on the button. NICK Right. Well, like I was saying. All I have now, is my routine. I drive at night. All night. Not necessarily towards a destination. Not in a straight line. I just drive. When I get hungry in the morning, I stop for breakfast. After breakfast, I find the first place serving liquor, which is harder than it sounds in the mornings, and I sit by myself and have a few drinks. At noon, every day, I take a shot-He takes the shot in front of him. NICK (CONTD) I excuse myself to the bathroom-Nick pulls out a handgun from his coat, as well as a single bullet. The three other men draw sharp breaths as they see it. NICK (CONTD) --and I load one bullet into this gun. He puts the bullet in the gun, spins the chamber, and closes it. He cocks the gun.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

50.

SEAN Dont do this, Nick. TOM Put it away, friend. Please.

NICK Usually I do this in the bathroom. Just in case I make a mess. But, I dont usually tell this story to strangers, either. MICKEY Nick, I need you to put that gun down. NICK But, thats not part of my routine. I put the gun in my mouth. He does so. MICKEY Dont do this! Its foolish. NICK (Stifled through the gun) And I pull the trigger. Nick pulls the trigger. It doesnt fire. Mickey, Tom, and Sean all breath a relieved sigh. Nick shrugs and puts the gun back in his coat. NICK Another day, I guess. MICKEY Nick, Im going to have to call someone. NICK Mickey, I appreciate your concern, but Im not going to prison, and Im not going to a mental hospital. If you call someone, the only place Im going is the morgue. Mickey is speechless.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

51.

SEAN You dont need to be doing this to yourself. Why? NICK My life is ruined.

TOM Its not worth this. Youre more than what people think you are. Youre more than your reputation. NICK Im nothing. I have nothing. have no one. I

MICKEY Youll stay here. Ive got a spare room above the bar. Take it. NICK I cant afford-MICKEY No, no rent. Im not going to let you live like this. TOM Sean and I know your story. believe you. Right, Sean? Sean looks at him warily. SEAN Mhm. TOM Were here for you, man. There is a life for you. Whats it going to take to get you to give us the gun? Nick looks Tom in the eyes. NICK You guys really care, huh? TOM Yeah, man! MICKEY Of course. We

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: SEAN Yeah.

52.

Nick takes his gun out and puts it on the bar. He keeps his hand on it. NICK Ive got friends in you? TOM You do. The others nod. NICK Okay. Okay. That project I heard you guys talking about. The military thing? TOM Yeah? NICK Well, I used to work as an engineer. We did some work in military defense. Do you think theres anything I could do for you guys that would help out? I might feel better if I could just be helpful somehow. SEAN I dont know about that, Nick. Its highly classified. MICKEY Why dont I give you some chores around here? Earn your keep at the bar? NICK I gladly will. I just thought, maybe Id have something to contribute. SEAN I think it would be best if you worked here. TOM Couldnt you hire him to do something without having to have direct knowledge of the project?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

53.

SEAN I dont know. NICK I have my Ph.D in engineering, and I worked for the same company for fifteen years. SEAN Its a different kind of engineering. And it doesnt really work like that. Theres a lot of hoops we got to go through before you can be doing work in my lab, and-Nick pulls the gun closer to him. Okay. NICK Its okay. Sean takes notice.

SEAN Okay, fine. Fine. Well find something for you to do. Nick smiles broadly. NICK Really? SEAN Sure. NICK Sir, you are not going to regret this. I appreciate your kindness. All of you. He lets the gun go. Mickey grabs it quickly. him. They laugh about it, uncomfortably. FUTURE: EXT. ALONG A STREAM - DAY Its raining heavily, sometime around mid-morning. There is a cave tucked away in the stone about fifteen feet from the edge of the stream. A fire glows in the cave. Nick lets

54.

INT. CAVE - DAY Riley, Eliza, and Joss are huddled around the fire. Virgil is laying, snoring occasionally. Chester is staring absentmindedly. They are considerably weaker. Heath is standing at the mouth of the cave, watching the rain. He looks surprisingly healthy. RILEY I figure as soon as the rain lets up, well travel. HEATH Oh, really? Is that what you figure? CHESTER No need to be argumentative. HEATH I just figure, if theres no more humans, why am I following a human order? Shes only my commander from a human institution. RILEY And as long as youre a part of this group, I shall remain so. JOSS How in the hell do you have so much spunk in you, Heath? Its all any of us can do to make it from shelter to shelter, an hear ourselves talk over our bellies. And youve got the energy to pick fights. HEATH And I bet wed move from shelter to shelter a little faster if it werent for your dying leg, cowboy. JOSS Im not so certain it aint your fault. HEATH YOU THINK I DID THIS TO MYSELF? Virgil jolts awake.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

55.

Heath rips off his shirt, revealing the wounds on his chest have started to scar. Some time has passed since they were fresh, but they arent going anywhere. RILEY Both of you-Eliza suddenly bolts up and runs out of the cave. EXT. ALONG THE STREAM - DAY Eliza stands out on the banks, getting drenched. She begins vomiting profusely. She spits a couple of times. INT. CAVE - DAY Eliza reappears in the cave, soaking. HEATH Youve been doing that almost every morning. He points at Joss. HEATH (CONTD) That your handywork? JOSS Come on, Heath. HEATH You repopulating the world already? Is that it? Yeah, I like your thinking. We want to find people, we got to make some. Riley, Ill fuck you right now. Lets make a new generation, bitch. CHESTER Settle, Heath. JOSS You know you dont talk to Commander Hawk that way. HEATH Commander Hawks about to command my cock. Come on, I want firsts, before old crusty-dick gets in there. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

56.

Chester stands up. CHESTER I said settle down, Heath. HEATH Or fucking what? What is your sixty year-old ass going to do? Chester takes a few steps towards him. Heath stops him from approaching more by holding his hand out. HEATH (CONTD) Ill tell you what, Chestnut. You can even ambush me with Reverend Virgil, over there. Virgil looks over at him with a hint of a smile, but then casts his eyes down. HEATH (CONTD) Come on, Virgil. Ill tell you what, why dont you bring God into it? You, Chester, and Big Guns. All three of you faggots against-SUDDENLY Chester punches Heath directly in the nose. He stumbles back but doesnt go down. Its bleeding heavily, obviously broken. HEATH (CONTD) You motherfucker! CHESTER I told you to set-Heath runs full speed at Chester, but Chester moves and pushes Heath down with his own momentum onto the rock floor. Chester clears his throat. CHESTER (CONTD) Settle down. The gang all laugh, a bit. Heath gets up, embarrassed. points on his head now. Hes bleeding from multiple

HEATH Glad you all think this is funny. Were fucked. Were all (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

57.

HEATH (contd) fucked. Weve been walking about like a bunch of boyscouts lost in the woods, building fires, hunting, but what good is it doing? Even if there are people out there, theyve long since forgotten about us. VIRGIL The Lord has not forgotten about us. HEATH Is that whats in Eliza right now? Second coming of Christ? Because if not, it seems like Hes fucking forgotten about us. VIRGIL My God cannot lie. He has made His promises. He must keep them. CHESTER Due respect, Virgil, I think this is falling on deaf ears. Youre the only one of us who believes in-HEATH Youre probably the only human being alive who believes in God. So be it. VIRGIL Maybe I am.

Virgil appears proud of the thought. HEATH Thats the problem with you, man. Youre not motivated to question anything, because you were taught theres a master fucking plan. God has a plan. Your parents have a plan. Your commander has a plan. The plan is to keep you ignorant, obedient, and docile while they make it up as they go along. Fuck it. Fuck the plan. Fuck your God. He creates us, without our fucking consent, and then holds us accountable to His rules? Makes some angels to worship Him, makes some ignorant (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: HEATH (contd) humans, and just expects the universe to follow His order? The only one with some damn sense was Lucifer. He saw an unfair Heavenly kingdom and asked "Why?" God wouldnt have it. The Devil saw some naked bastards in a garden, and offered them Free Will? God cast him out, and punished Mankind forever. God sounds like a fucking bully to me. If I had the chance, when Lucifer stood up to God, I wouldve been standing right beside him.

58.

Heath picks up his spear with the deer antler head and moves to the mouth of the cave. HEATH (CONTD) Im sick of aimlessly wandering. Im sick of not knowing. Will any of you come with me? Silence for a moment. He steps out of the cave, and disappears. Its quiet. VIRGIL The Lord works mysteriously. He works. A moment passes. RILEY Chester, will you help me fish? CHESTER Of course. EXT. ALONG THE STREAM - NIGHT The sun is setting, and the rain hasnt let up. INT. CAVE - NIGHT The gang is shivering around the fire. RILEY So, Eliza, do you think you are actually... But

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

59.

ELIZA I believe so, yes. She nods, but is obviously worried. This would be a considerable burden. CHESTER Hey, maybe it is the second coming. Then we have nothing to worry about. VIRGIL I dont find that very funny. CHESTER Sorry, Virgil, I only-VIRGIL It is my fear that if a child were born onto this Earth with an otherworldly spirit, it wont be on our side. Chester chuckles to himself. CHESTER You know I try to respect your beliefs, Virgil, but you make it hard sometimes. VIRGIL Very well. He gets up, a little bit frustrated. He paces the cave. Its quiet aside from the fire roaring, the rain in the background, and the prominent footsteps. The footsteps are even, and slow. They continue becoming hypnotic. Soon they are the only sound. SUDDENLY! An other-worldly animalistic SHRIEK penetrates the calm. The gang all startle. Coyotes howl madly, birds call frantically. It all goes quiet again. JOSS What in the hell was that? CHESTER It was probably Heath. scare us. Trying to

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

60.

ERIZA That didnt sound like Heath. RILEY I suggest we move further into the cave. I think itll be safer. INT. DEEP CAVE - NIGHT It is pitch black. Nothing can be seen. Chester and Riley are struggling. Rocks can be heard stacking. Wood landing on wood. Spinning of the wood, and blowing. Fire sparks, and quickly catches on spare fodder made in the inner-cave. On the cave wall behind them, drawings can be seen, but it is too dim to make out. CHESTER There we go! JOSS Great job, guys. Joss notices the drawings. JOSS (CONTD) Hey, guys, behind you. They all turn around. RILEY Its so dim. CHESTER Joss, your walking stick. Joss offers it up to Chester. He grabs it and wraps something around the top of it. He lights it on fire, and it gives off more light. CHESTER (CONTD) Heaths shirt. I bet hes regretting this one. He glides his torch across the wall. Theres all sorts of pictographs. Theyre faded, but can be made out easily. JOSS Well, who couldve done this? do you suppose it all means? What

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

61.

RILEY It looks quite faded. I dont know how to date cave-drawings. VIRGIL Our oldest form of artwork was done on the walls of caves. ELIZA So, whatre you suggesting? Its ancient? Cave-man, type of thing? VIRGIL No. He smiles cryptically but only points to the top, left of the wall. Chester throws more light on it. Its a drawing of a spaceship, next to a drawing of the Earth. Eight crudely drawn people are next to it. CHESTER We were able to see stories of our ancestors unaltered like this. It endures. If someone wanted to communicate with people several thousand years in the future, and wasnt sure about what technology was going to look like, how would they do it? Paper breaks down, gets lost. Computers die, or become impossible to read. But this. This will endure. RILEY Its a letter. ELIZA From who? Chester shines the torch as he reads the drawings. Theres a picture of an Earth with stick figure drawings surrounding it, representing a populated Earth. Then, a monster. A large human-like figure, with large teeth, drawn exaggeratedly to show its intimidation. Figures with guns against the same type of drawing. Dead figures. Airplanes dropping bombs on the monster. Dead people. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

62.

An Earth with only a few people surrounding it, and drawn bombs with trajectories around the Earth. An Earth with an X through it. People around a fire. around the fire. The monster threatening the people

People drawing on a wall. A skull and crossbones. CHESTER I think the monster is a metaphor for nuclear war. We fought each other, society collapsed, and as the last people struggled to survive, they drew this on the wall as a message. ELIZA How can you be so sure its a metaphor? Chester laughs. CHESTER As opposed to what? An actual monster? RILEY At least we have something message from humanity. Some

CHESTER All that worrying, all that growth, and all that advancement and planning as a species, and were reduced to a cautionary tale on a cave wall. Some legacy. JOSS At least its something. PRESENT INT. SEANS HOUSE - DAY Sean, Lorraine, Jeremy and Shauna are sitting around the dinner table, eating and talking. SEAN How was everybodys day? Nobody responds.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

63.

SEAN (CONTD) Jeremy, Shauna, anything fun happen in school today? Learn anything new? Jeremy laughs. JEREMY Its Saturday, daddy. Oh. SEAN So it is. I lost track. Lorraine does not.

Sean and his kids laugh.

LORRAINE Easy to lose track of your days when you work all of them, isnt it? Beat. SEAN Thats a little uncalled for, isnt it? We had to work a few extra days to make the--ahem, well to correct what Dr. Lewis needed us to correct. LORRAINE How about you work normal hours, and you have your project ready for him a few days later? SEAN The sooner were finished, the sooner I can start cutting my hours. LORRAINE Youre just so obsessed with your future in academia that youve forgotten about the importance of the future of... She motions to the kids with her fork. SEAN Thats not true. You know I work my ass--butt, my butt off for this family. I left work early so I could be home for this damn dinner that was so important to you, I-(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

64.

Lorraine slams her fork down on her plate, gets up, and storms off. Sean is stewing in his anger. He slams his fork down and storms off. Jeremy and Shauna look at each other. down, and storms off. Jeremy slams his fork

Shauna shrugs and empties Jeremys plate onto hers. INT. SEANS LABORATORY - NIGHT Sean is sitting on his desk chair with Frankie in his arms. Frankie gazes up at him, lovingly. Sean strokes him. SEAN You know what I love about you, Frankie? If Im ever late to the lab, you dont ask me where Ive been. He laughs to himself. SEAN (CONTD) You know, if nothing else works out for me, Im proud of you. You are the embodiment of everything Ive worked for. Youre my legacy, Frankie. Frankie smiles up at Sean, waits a moment, and then bites him in the hand. SEAN (CONTD) OW! Fuck you, Frankie. Fuck you. Sorry, I didnt mean that. I love you. Frankie bites Seans hand again. SEAN (CONTD) Fuck you! Sean gets up and frustratedly puts Frankie back in his cage. SEAN (CONTD) Thats what you get, you little shit. Frankie purrs a little bit sadly.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

65.

SEAN (CONTD) No whining. Sean paces around the room, bored and frustrated. He opens a cabinet, and shuts it. Opens a drawer and shuts it. He goes over to a refrigerated cabinet and opens it. There are dozens of vials and bags with unknown substances in it. Two vials in the front are labeled. The vial on the left is labeled: HYBRID SERUM BETA The vial on the right is labeled: HYBRID SERUM ENERGY RESISTANT Sean closes the cabinet and sits back on his desk chair. He sighs loudly and spins around in his chair a few times, like a child. He stops at his office phone and dials a number. Tom picks up, eating dinner with Julia. The scene jumps between them. INT. TOMS APARTMENT - NIGHT TOM Hello? Tom. SEAN I am bored.

TOM Where are you? SEAN The labs. Where are you? TOM Im at home, eating with my fianc. Go home, Sean. SEAN I dont want to. Had a fight with the wife. Lets go to Mickeys. TOM How about this. SEAN Ugh, I hate that. Clean your office.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

66.

TOM Have you clean up that broken clock yet? Sean looks over. The clock is still face down on the floor, with glass shards everywhere. SEAN Miiiiickeys! Beeeeer! TOM For a middle aged man with two Ph.Ds you sound a lot like one of my students. SEAN BEEEEER. TOM Fine. Beer. Ill meet you there in a half an hour. Tom hangs up the phone. Julia looks at him disapprovingly. JULIA Youre leaving? TOM I am, but not for too long. JULIA Listen, dude. You know I dont want to play the role of nagging housewife already, but I dont get to see you all week. I kind of wanted to spend tonight with you. TOM I know baby, but after these beta tests get run, I wont be working much with Dr. Williams anymore. Youll see me all the time. JULIA Youre not even going to work. Youre going to get drunk. TOM With Dr. Williams, that is work. Well have tomorrow, okay?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

67.

JULIA Okay. Im holding you to that. Tom kisses Julia and gets up to go get ready. JULIA (CONTD) I cooked, I gotta do your dishes, too? Tom comes back and grabs their plates. JULIA (CONTD) Thats a boy. INT. MICKEYS TAVERN - NIGHT Tom and Sean and having beers at the bar. The bars lively, and Mickey is struggling to pay attention to everyone. SEAN Sorry if Im taking you from something. TOM Ah, its alright. Tell you the truth, I dont like staying home on Saturdays. Makes me anxious. SEAN Anxious? TOM Yeah. Julia falls asleep pretty early. Doesnt matter if its Tuesday or Saturday, shes in bed by like 10 PM. But, Im nocturnal. So being in my apartment by myself at night, awake with nothing to do, makes me feel claustrophobic. Like what? in? SEAN Your walls are closing

TOM Nah, nothing like that. Just that, time is passing and I cant do anything about it. I lie there, motionless, the whole place silent like the night before Christmas, and yet Im falling through (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: TOM (contd) time. Its not regular movement. With regular movement I can go sideways, backwards, forwards, and stop if I want to. With time, Im constantly falling through, at a constant rate, whether I want to or not. SEAN We all are. TOM True. Well, all of us except the crew of Chronos, now, huh? They get to choose their fates, the lucky bastards. See whats become of us all. Who knows, maybe your namell be written in the textbooks when they get back. SEAN A man can dream, eh? He locks eyes with Mickey. SEAN (CONTD) Hey, Mick! Another round when you get a moment? I know youre swamped. MICKEY Sure thing!

68.

Mickey leans his head towards an open doorway behind the bar, leading somewhere unseen. MICKEY (CONTD) Hey, Nick, you got a minute to pour some drinks? NICK (O.S.) Sure thing! Mickey begins pouring some shots for other patrons. Nick pops around the doorway ready to help. Mickey gestures to Sean and Tom. MICKEY Two buds for the intellectuals. Nick grabs their glasses and fills them as he greets them. Hes a little nervous.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: NICK Gentlemen. TOM How you been, Nick? NICK Oh, so-so. He drops the glasses. NICK (CONTD) Damn it. Not really built to be a bartender. Im sorry, Mick, I dropped the glasses. Yeah. MICKEY Thats alright.

69.

NICK Youre a saint, Mickey. Hey, Sean, Tom, you still looking for help around your lab? SEAN Looking for help? practically-Tom elbows Sean. SEAN (CONTD) I dont know if we... Nick looks saddened. NICK I get it, Ill get your beers. Nick walks away a moment to grab glasses. TOM Come on, Sean. We still need a cage built, maybe he can work on that. SEAN I dont know, he seems unstable. TOM Hes doing well! Sean sighs; hes obviously conflicted. Nick returns with the beers. Nick, you

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: SEAN Nick, are you free tomorrow afternoon? INT. LABORATORY STAIRCASE - DAY

70.

The next day, Sean, Tom, and Nick are climbing the stairs to Seans office. NICK So what is it you guys are working on, exactly? SEAN Ive got to get you to sign a non-disclosure agreement before we get into that. INT. SEANS LABORATORY - DAY Nick is reviewing a lengthy document at Seans desk. NICK Ill be tried for treason if I tell anyone? SEAN The government takes their projects pretty seriously. TOM Hey, Sean, I cant stay more than a few minutes. Julia made me promise Id spend the day with her today. SEAN Not a problem. Well introduce him to stuff today, and well dive in tomorrow. Now, Nick, will you grab a pen for me? Nick crosses the room to a desk with a cup of pens. steps on some glass in the process. NICK Youve got, some, uh, broken glass here, Sean. SEAN Yeah, I know. Its Frankies fault. He

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

71.

NICK Frankie? SEAN Sign the paper. Nick grabs a pen, crosses, and signs the NDA. Sean smiles contentedly, excited to have someone interested in his work. He gets up, removes a cloth obscuring Frankies cage. He takes Frankie out. SEAN (CONTD) This is Frankie. A field mouse whose genes think its a tiger. Thats what we do here. Genetic modifications. He hands Frankie to Nick. SEAN (CONTD) Feel free to pet him. Hes cute, isnt he? Frankie blinks at Nick. NICK He is. SEAN Take in the surreal. look at this. Here, take a Nick laughs.

Sean presses a few buttons on the computer. Footage of the Feline-ChimpBat starts playing. Its gliding around a giant cage. SEAN (CONTD) This is a Chimpanzee expressing genes of a house cat and, well, some species of bat. NICK Thats incredible! Where is it? TOM I think I last I saw, it was fighting crime in Gotham City. Heh. Kidding. SEAN Its being held in a military facility.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: NICK Amazing. His eyes are wide with wonder. excitement. SEAN Were going bigger. NICK Bigger? SEAN We want to create a hybrid human being, with a perfect cocktail of animals traits. A super soldier. NICK Thats impossible. SEAN Its my lifes work. legacy. Itll be my

72.

Seans encouraged by his

NICK Is there any possibility this could work? SEAN Nick, we have what we believe is a working serum ready for human trials in this very office. Nick is speechless with wonder. wrinkles his nose in pleasure. He pets Frankie, who

TOM Now, we dont know how the serum would affect a soldiers brain, so wed have to hold him in a cell. We dont currently have anyone designing the cell, so I thought, depending on your experience, you may be able to design a holding cell strong enough to hold a hybrid soldier. NICK Yes, I would love to! SEAN Dont get too excited, wed have to see what kind of design you came up with, probably tweak it a bit. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

73.

NICK Itd keep me busy. Nick laughs appreciatively, and pets Frankie a little more. TOM Well, Im going to head out and put in some girlfriend time. SEAN Godspeed. NICK See you later, man. Tom winks at them and heads out. him. Nick looks at Frankie. NICK I want to volunteer. SEAN Im sorry? NICK To be injected with the serum. SEAN Nick, you cant just-NICK I have nothing, Sean. I need this. I dont mind whatever the...risk...may be. SEAN Even so, Im not the person who can make that decision. And Im sure youd have to be in top physical condition-NICK What does it matter what shape Im in, wont the serum-SEAN I dont even have the authority to recommend someone for this-He closes the door behind

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: NICK I want to be injected. SEAN Youre not listening to me, I dont have the ability to-NICK I want to be injected. SEAN Nick, I cant do that, I-SUDDENLY Nick throws Frankie full force into the wall. Frankie splats from the force. Sean is left terrified and speechless. NICK IT WAS NOT A FUCKING QUESTION! SEAN I...I... NICK I need this. I have nothing. I will have this. Where is the serum? SEAN Im not telling you anything.

74.

Nick reaches down and grabs a shard of glass and points it at Sean threateningly. NICK Get me the serum. SEAN Youll have to get through me. NICK Sean, Ill kill you. SEAN Youre a good man, somewhere in there. Come to your senses. Nick waits a moment and smirks to himself. NICK A good man? He laughs.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

75.

NICK (CONTD) I fucked my kids babysitter. Sean looks up at Nick, shocked. NICK (CONTD) I fucked her tight, fifteen-year-old pussy without hesitation. And Ill slice your throat without hesitation. SEAN If you do this, Ill lose everything. I am a man fighting for his future. Youre not getting away with this. NICK I AM A MAN WITH NO FUTURE! I am a man with nothing but a past. I have nothing to lose. You have a wife, children, a salvageable legacy. I fight with no fear of death. Ill kill you, Ill ransack your office, and Ill inject myself. Spare your life and get me the serum. Sean allows a tear to escape for his legacy. He walks over to the refrigerated cabinet and opens it. There are two serums in the front: HYBRID SERUM BETA on the left HYBRID SERUM: ENERGY RESISTANT on the right. There is a clever look in Seans eye. He know he hasnt won, but its a hope. He grabs HYBRID SERUM BETA. There is a needle extending from the bottom of the vile. SEAN Its here. NICK I wont make you do it. Give it to me. You can tell them I took it by force. Hand it here. Nick extends his hand. Sean is hesitant.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

76.

NICK (CONTD) Hand. It. Here. He does. Nick rips off his shirt and squeezes his hand into a fist repeatedly until a vein appears in his arm. He stabs the needle into his vein without hesitation. He casts the vile down and it shatters. Nick begins laughing. SEAN Its all over. NICK Its all just beginning. Nick closes his eyes in pain, and smiles. When he opens his eyes the pupils are unmistakably feline. He gasps. Nick laughs, but hes obviously in pain. another gasp. He lets out It

Sean looks on in horror as Nicks skin begins to crawl. begins turning the color of brass, looking coarser--something akin to alligator skin. Blood begins dripping from Nicks nose and ears. His face starts to broaden; bones crack and move.

Two bumps form on Nicks foreheard, in the placement of Devil horns. Something begins breaking through the bumps. Nick begins wincing in pain loudly, while laughing. Malformed antlers rip through the bumps, blood pours down Nicks face as he laughs hysterically, spurting the pouring blood all over the place. The jagged antler horns protrude nearly three inches off Nicks face. His face continues to transform as he laughs loudly and maniacally until it is barely human. Its a monster. FUTURE: EXT. THE WOODS - DAY Chester and Riley are walking side by side through the woods, with walking sticks. Virgil walks behind them a few steps, deep in thought.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

77.

Thirty feet or so behind Virgil is the still very injured Joss, whose leg is now blackened and dying. He is being supported by his--now noticeably pregnant wife. They are walking in the woods, but a stream is within twenty five feet of them. CHESTER You know, at least with all this walking Ive gotten into better shape. Riley laughs. CHESTER (CONTD) I am a walking machine, now. Unlike the most valuable players back there. He glances back to Joss and Eliza. RILEY Chester. Show Commander Meadow some respect. CHESTER You know I have nothing but respect for the both of you. But dont you feel like it was a tad irresponsible of them to get pregnant? RILEY Maybe, but I havent seen anywhere selling condoms since weve landed. Chester laughs. CHESTER Fair enough. Virgil clears his throat. VIRGIL It makes me nervous. Chester looks back at Virgil for a moment. CHESTER You really buy into all that anti-Christ stuff, dont you? Even with five or six human beings left in the world?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

78.

VIRGIL The Lord has made-CHESTER Promises, I know. To be fulfilled at some point in the future. Always in the future, always coming, even when theres no one left. RILEY Dr. Fieldsworth, please. Just because Heath isnt here doesnt mean you have to take over his role as the argumentative one. CHESTER Im just saying, I think we have bigger worries than imaginary monsters. Virgil laughs to himself. VIRGIL Imaginary. RILEY Like? CHESTER Like the fact that weve been walking for months and have found no signs of humanity. Or the fact that we hear shrieks and footsteps at night. RILEY I think we both know Heath is responsible for that. CHESTER What about the fact that we have a pregnant woman back there with a husband whose leg is overdue for an amputation? RILEY I think we should worry about what we need to do now to survive. Joss calls ahead.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: JOSS Commander Hawk, can we take a rest?

79.

Riley sighs and looks ahead, shielding the sun with her eyes. She spies a cave about half a mile away inset in a hill. RILEY Can you two make it to that cave? Well stop for the day once we get there. Joss and Eliza look at each other. ELIZA Id really like to stop a few moments, Commander. Riley sighs again and nods to them. EXT. THE WOODS - DAY Chester, Virgil, Joss and Eliza are sitting on a log, resting. Riley stands. RILEY So, you two thought of a name for that baby, yet? Virgil looks noticeably annoyed. ELIZA You know, we were thinking Riley. For our fearless leader. Riley laughs. RILEY Well, I appreciate it. But I think with six people on the planet, having a third of us named Riley might be a bit much. Joss and Eliza laugh a moment before realizing they very well may be the last six people. ELIZA Good point. Its quiet a moment. SUDDENLY footsteps run passed in the woods. Eliza and Chester. It startles

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

80.

RILEY Its okay. JOSS We know youre followin us, asshole! You think after stormin off like you did, youd do better than followin our tracks and stealin our food! INT. CAVE - DAY The gang is settling into the cave for the day. Chester walks around, exploring a little. Light is shining in to most of it. CHESTER Will lookee back here. They all look at him. Virgil walks over. Near the back of the cave, there are cave drawings. Theyre the same as the ones in the last cave. Everyone studies them. CHESTER I suppose thats one way to get your message out. Put it in every cave. Eliza points to the drawing of the Monster. ELIZA I tell you, that unsettles me. Between the drawing, and the shrieks, and the footsteps... JOSS You know, Riley, Ive been wanting to bring something up. Weve been walking for, well if Elizas bellys any indication, four months or so. We havent seen any sign of people. At what point do we stop looking? Should we just settle down and-RILEY And what? Repopulate the Earth, or wait to die?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

81.

JOSS Well... RILEY Neither option sounds good to me. I will search until I find something. JOSS Its just that I dont know about having Eliza keep walkin, and then toting a baby around with us. RILEY For people who worry about our future so much, you did a pretty terrible job of planning for it. JOSS Commander, my leg... RILEY I know. I know it hurts. We need to have a talk about what were going to do about it. JOSS You cant be suggestin that we... RILEY Youre a smart man, Joss. You know its got to go. Probably smart to do it before we walk again. Well do it tomorrow. Joss face goes white. INT. CAVE - NIGHT There are three small fires guarding the entrance to the cave. A main fire is burning in the middle of the "room." Joss, Virgil, Riley, and Chester are all sleeping. Its quiet. A shadow-y figure RUNS past the entrance to the cave, causing one of the small fires to blow out. Virgil stirs in his sleep, and looks up at the entrance puzzled. He looks around for a moment and notices everyone sleeping.

82.

INT. CAVE - DAY Light is just beginning to pour into the cave. All three small fires have burned out, but the main fire still burns. Joss wakes up, winces in pain at his leg, and looks around for Eliza. He calls out, hushed so as not to wake anyone. JOSS Baby? Nothing. JOSS (CONTD) Baby? Everyone stirs. Riley wakes up completely.

RILEY You alright, Joss? JOSS Yeah, everythings fine. Lookin for Eliza. She must be answerin natures call. Heh. Riley nods, and lays back down. Virgil sits up. VIRGIL Last night, I heard something that woke me. Eliza wasnt here. JOSS She...she wasnt? Virgil shakes his head "no." Joss begins to try to get up; its difficult. JOSS (CONTD) I better go look for her. He tries to get his balance, and winces at the pain. He begins painfully making his way to the cave mouth. It wakes Chester. Riley sits up. RILEY Joss, Ill go. Rest that leg. The share a knowing look. The leg has to go.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

83.

Riley gets up and leaves. is heard out of the cave.

A moment passes and a loud gasp

RILEY (O.S.) Uh, someone! Chester! Chester gets up, confused. Chester leaves the cave. EXT. BY THE CAVE MOUTH - DAY Just a few yards away from the cave mouth, Riley is standing staring down at something. Horrified. Chester comes out of the cave, and instantly notices what Riley is staring at. He, too, looks horrified. He walks over to Riley. CHESTER Who...what... Elizas body lays on the ground. Her face is relatively unaffected. Some blood is around her neck. Her stomach and intestines are completely ripped out. CHESTER (CONTD) An animal? RILEY I dont know. It looks more...deliberate. JOSS (O.S.) Riley?! Chester?! Whats goin on? EXT. BY THE CAVE MOUTH - DAY Chester, Riley, Virgil, and Joss are all staring down at Elizas corpse. Joss is crying, but trying to keep himself composed. JOSS What coulda done this? RILEY I dont know, Commander Meadow. Im truly sorry. Joss looks very worried.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

84.

VIRGIL May the Lord be with her soul. CHESTER Not now, Virgil. JOSS No, Chester. Its fine. I just want to know how this happened. A noise in the woods. Something is there. JOSS What was that? They look in the direction of the sound. Its well hidden, but the morning light reveals there is a figure hiding in the woods. RILEY Whos there? No answer. RILEY (CONTD) Show yourself. No answer. Riley moves closer to the treeline. RILEY (CONTD) Show yourself, Heath. A pause, and then the figure moves. It comes closer. They all notice.

Heath walks out of the woods, shirtless, still carrying his spear. His scars havent healed. JOSS You sonuvabitch. HEATH Joss, I swear it wasnt-Joss tries to run at him, but his leg gives out and he falls. He tries to get up to keep running, but cannot. crawls a short distance further. JOSS You killed her! He

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

85.

HEATH No! I know what this looks like-RILEY Youve been following us, Heath? HEATH Yes. CHESTER Couldnt make it on your own after all? HEATH Its not that, I-JOSS Why would you kill her? I didnt! else... HEATH It was...something

JOSS It looks like a murder. HEATH Oh, and Ive got to be the suspect? RILEY Who else would do this? HEATH Well, I dont know, I remember hearing that Chester thought it was shitty of her to be slowing you guys down with a baby...fuck, Virgil thought the thing could be the anti-Christ. Virgil looks solemn, but a little comforted thinking about the possibility being diminished. RILEY Are you suggesting Reverend Bledstow or Dr. Fieldsworth would do this? HEATH No. It was something else entirely. Theres something in the woods. Something awful, and powerful, and not human. Its what (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

86.

HEATH (contd) gave me my scars. Ive seen it--a few times. Its following your trail, but it seems like its curious. It knew I was weak when I was alone, but when I slept near your camp, it let me be. I didnt see it kill Eliza, but Id guess its testing the group. Eliza must have left your cave in the middle of the night, and it was waiting. CHESTER Thats quite enough. RILEY I think we should get moving. CHESTER You dont believe him, do you? RILEY I dont think were safe here. HEATH Its just going to follow you. RILEY You can come if you want, but Im getting out of here. Well bury Eliza, pay our respects, and leave. Joss is reluctant to speak, but knows he has to. JOSS What about my leg, Commander? RILEY Well deal with that next time we stop. Chester, help me find a place and dig. HEATH Ill help. Riley looks at him and thinks a moment, then nods approvingly. Chester and Joss appear upset. A few quick cuts of them digging in the soft soil in the woods with Heaths spear and their hands, Riley and Heath carrying Elizas corpse, Riley and Heath gently dropping the body into the shallow grave.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

87.

Everyone stands around the grave, covering Eliza with dirt. Joss is crying. Virgil begins saying a few words. PRESENT: INT. SEANS LABORATORY - NIGHT Sean is bloody and unconscious on the floor of his lab, lying as though thrown. The lights are on, but its dark outside. The window is shattered. He comes to. Hes confused and obviously in pain. at the window, and it comes back to him. SEAN No! No, no, no! Oh, God, no! He gets up in an absolute panic. INT. TOMS APARTMENT - NIGHT Tom and Julia are finishing up having sex. his lover; both are content. JULIA I love you. TOM I love you so much. JULIA You know, Ive been thinking. What if we didnt do that again for a little bit. TOM Thats cool. I was going to grab a glass of juice or something, recharge for a few minutes, anyway. JULIA No, I mean until the wedding. TOM Thats not for three months. Julia smiles, excited by the idea. JULIA I know! Tom rolls off of He looks

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

88.

TOM This is an awful idea. JULIA No its not! Think about it. Think about how much better the payoff will be when weve been waiting. TOM Im not really a planner. I like to be in the moment. And in this moment, Id like to be in you. JULIA Tommy Dawson! TOM Julia Dawson! JULIA Not yet. TOM Soon. JULIA Maybe, if youre lucky. keep my last name. Maybe Ill

TOM Nope, youre taking mine. In fact, you can take my first name, too. Well both be Thomas Dawson. Julia cracks up. JULIA Oh yeah? TOM Yeah. JULIA Yeah? Tom leans in close to Julia. TOM Yeah. He kisses her. SUDDENLY! There is a pounding at the door.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

89.

SEAN (O.S.) Tom! Tom sighs. TOM Its Sunday, Sean! He pounds more. SEAN (O.S.) Its an emergency. Tom looks a little worried. He exchanges an apologetic look with Julia and answers the door. Sean is bloody and exhausted looking. TOM Jesus Christ, what the hell happened to you? SEAN I...Its Nick. TOM Nick did this to you? you? Yes. He attacked

SEAN He injected himself, Tom.

TOM He injected himself? SEAN I handed the fucking vile to him. It all happened so fast, I was petrified. He killed Frankie, he would have killed me, it was my fault. Tom looks at Sean in horror. JULIA What is he talking about? SEAN We have to find him. JULIA Whats going on?

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: TOM Ill explain later. INT. SEANS CAR - NIGHT

90.

Lets go.

Sean is driving frantically with Tom in the passenger seat. Theyre looking desperately. TOM Does he look different? SEAN Dramatically. Hes--hes a beast. TOM What are we going to do if we find him? We dont have anything to restrain him. Sean sighs. Toms right.

SEAN I dont even know if we can kill him. The serum was designed to make the soldier impervious to anything but those energy beams. TOM Well, then we have to get an energy beam. SEAN We have to call Dr. Lewis. TOM Oh, God. Thats it. for me. Well, you something you. You something SEAN This is going to be it

TOM wanted to create that would outlast may have very well made immortal.

SEAN It wasnt my-SMASH! Something unexpectedly collides with the car. The car does a few 360s and comes to a halt. Tom has hit the dashboard, and is bloody. Theyre both conscious. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

91.

Sean gets a handgun out of his glove compartment, he gets out of the car. Standing in the middle of the road is the naked Beast. It is clear that the Beast collided with the car, and is unharmed. Sean fires a few shots at it. It shrieks a very familiar shriek and runs toward Sean. Sean cowers a bit, but fires again. The Beast jumps at least 12 feet in the air, clear over Sean, and runs into the woods on the other side of the road. A shriek is heard again, faintly. INT. SEANS LABORATORY - NIGHT Sean and Tom sitting in Seans destroyed laboratory. Lewis is also in the room. DR. LEWIS Im going to need sworn statements from the both of you. They nod. DR. LEWIS (CONTD) Dr. Williams, you understand that your department of DayDream will be shut down indefinitely, and you will be removed from employment. SEAN Yes, sir. DR. LEWIS Dr. Dawson, while you are under no disciplinary threat, you are also encouraged to tender a resignation. TOM Yes, sir. DR. LEWIS Now, the serum with which he was injected was not the energy resistant formula, correct? SEAN Correct, sir. Dr. Sean looks defeated.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: DR. LEWIS Then we can kill it. SEAN How, sir? DR. LEWIS Dr. Williams, we have found somewhat recently that human DNA vibrates at a distinct frequency. A unique frequency not found in any other combination of DNA. If this thing still has any human DNA in him, we can fire a frequency that will destroy him from his very building blocks. Hell, we got bombs thatll destroy all human DNA in a hundred miles radius, and not touch a single building, squirrel, or single blade of grass. SEAN We want to help. This is our mess, we went to help you clean it up. TOM Yes, sir. DR. LEWIS We have highly trained military personel for that. SEAN Let us help you track it. It could be anywhere by now, let us help find it. Dr. Lewis considers this. DR. LEWIS Very well, if itll appease your consciences. However, your employment will still be terminated after we kill this son-of-a-bitch. FUTURE: EXT. NATURE - DAY Nature is alive and well. as the eye can see.

92.

Green fields, green trees, as far Its loud. Insects and

Treetops go on for miles and miles. birds are almost deafening.

93.

Below, five people are walking through the forest. EXT. THE WOODS - DAY The crew continue on their trek in silence. arguing, no light conversation. There is no

Joss is struggling in the back, obviously in pain, but says nothing. The sounds of nature are abundant. They are desperate, and its evident on their faces. they were once losing hope, they are now terrified. Suddenly, something falls in front of them. RILEY Jesus Christ! CHESTER What is it? A rabbit has fallen by Rileys feet. Its stomach is torn out in the same fashion as Elizas was. They all look up at the trees, wondering where it could have come from. HEATH Its fucking with us. Theres no response. Its tense. Where

Riley gasps.

SUDDENLY another rabbit falls. Its torn up in the same way. CHESTER How intelligent is this thing? RILEY Lets just keep moving, okay? They begin moving again. Joss winces.

JOSS Commander, I dont know how much longer I can go on with this leg. RILEY I know. We just dont have the option of stopping right now.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

94.

JOSS I understand, I just dont know how much more I can physically do. RILEY Well, what are the alternatives? HEATH What if we try to coax it out? it to show itself. RILEY And then what? HEATH We kill it. VIRGIL Perhaps it is not something that can be killed. CHESTER Virgil. Virgil holds up a hand as if to say "point taken." RILEY How would we coax it? EXT. CLEARING - DAY A few deer are munching away in a clearing. Heaths spear flies through the air, but flips and hits the deer with the shaft. Heath sighs from the treeline. EXT. WOODS - DAY The deer is in the woods. Heath drops in on it from the tree above it, but the deer startles and runs off before Heath makes contact. Heath winces in pain on the ground. Get

95.

EXT. WOODS - DAY Riley perches in a branch above another deer. from the branch. She drops

Once again, the deer startles and runs straight ahead. Riley lands with precision on the ground. However, Heath is waiting a short distance, hidden from view in some shrubbery and PIERCES the deer as it runs towards him unwittingly. The deer falls. EXT. WOODS - DAY Heath, Chester, and Riley drag the deer to a clearing. Heath cuts it open, causing blood to pour out. HEATH Hopefully it catches the scent. EXT. WOODS - DAY The five crew members watch the clearing from the tree line as the sun begins to set. CHESTER Its getting dark. Theyre all uneasy. RILEY Yeah. EXT. WOODS - DAY The sky is orange as the sun nears the horizon. There is still some light in the clearing, but large amounts of shadow in the trees. The crew watches the deer in safety. HEATH It must realize it was a trap. Riley taps Heath and points across the clearing. glowing eyes can be seen in the woods. A set of

They stare at the eyes in horror, but with curiosity.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

96.

Out walks the owner of the eyes--a wolf. approaches the deer.

It cautiously

They all seem a little frustrated, and a little nervous. The wolf looks back and signals the forest. appear. Four more wolves walk out into the clearing. Suddenly, Joss winces in pain. Everyone snaps to look at him. JOSS My leg. RILEY Shh! Its too late. The wolves have taken notice of the hiding crew. They walk slowly over to the treeline. The alpha walks in front. RILEY (CONTD) Stand your ground. The alpha begins to run towards them. away, Joss hobbles after. RILEY (CONTD) No! Stand! The alpha picks up speed. Riley steps out from outside the tree line to face it. She screams menacingly. The alpha pounces. Riley extends her right arm for the wolf to bite, which it does. Riley lets out a scream in pain. She puts her left arm behind the wolfs neck and forces her right arm up powerfully, snapping its neck. She wrestles her arm free. Its bloody and punctured. The wolf falls limp. Chester begins to run A few more eyes

The rest of the wolves start advancing. HEATH We have to run, Hawk! RILEY Theyll outrun us.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

97.

HEATH Theyll outfight us, too. only shot!

Its our

Riley retreats, but the wolves keep advancing. RILEY Give me the spear, start running. Heath hands it over and takes off, tapping Virgil, prompting him to follow. Another wolf pounces, and Riley spears it effortlessly before it lands. She pulls the spear free with great effort. Three more wolves surround her. outmatched. She realizes she is

She begins to run. Quickly she passes Virgil and Joss, she catches up to Heath and runs alongside him. Heath and Riley pass Chester. RILEY Come on! Joss falls. The wolves take him out. crew, satisfied with their kill. RILEY No! Joss! Chester stops and looks back, solemn. RILEY (CONTD) You cant stop, come on! They continue running, but Chester still stands. HEATH Chester! Theyll kill you, come on! He begins running again. PRESENT: INT. TELEVISION STUDIO - DAY A beautiful news anchor is having her face powdered at a news desk. Three cameras are in front of her. They stop chasing the

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

98.

ANCHOR Okay, thats enough, any more powder and theyll think I was doing blow. She laughs at her own joke in the manner only pretentious aristocrats can get away with. The crew all laugh in support. ANCHOR (CONTD) Which camera? GUY Camera two. ANCHOR Okay, okay, serious faces everyone! Her smiles fades. GUY Three, two... He counts on on his finger and points. A red light illuminates on the camera in front of her. In "that news anchor voice:" ANCHOR Good evening, Henderson County. We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you solemn news. The police have found a third body in Fleck Forest, disfigured and disemboweled in the same way as the man found this morning, and the woman found last night. Police have not revealed the identity of the latest victim, but are theorizing the possibility of a serial murderer in Henderson county. You are advised to travel with caution, and not to venture alone outside of public areas. INT. DR. LEWIS OFFICE - DAY Dr. Lewis is watching the anchor on a TV in his office. Sean and Tom are also in the room.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

99.

ANCHOR (CONTD) Our sincerest sympathies are with the families and loved ones of the deceased. Take caution, Henderson County. If you see any suspicious activity, please report it immediately to the local police department. Well be back with more as the story unfolds. Dr. Lewis switches off the television. DR. LEWIS This is getting out of hand. Three murders since he escaped last night? If anyone sees the thing, itll come back on us. SEAN I understand that, sir. I just dont know what else we can do. DR. LEWIS Youre the one who said he could track it. Come up with a plan! SEAN Due respect, its not that easy. DR. LEWIS Well, start trying. If another murder happens, were dropping the energy bomb. INT. SEANS HOUSE - NIGHT Sean comes into the house just as Lorraine and their kids are finishing their meals. JEREMY Daddys home! SHAUNA Where were you, Daddy? Lorraine is visibily pissed. SEAN Daddy has some very important work emergencies to deal with.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

100.

LORRAINE Kids, go upstairs for a few minutes. Mommy and Daddy need to talk. SEAN Lorraine, I dont have time. Tom is waiting in the driveway, I just came to-LORRAINE Youll have a minute. upstairs now. They leave. LORRAINE (CONTD) You owe me an explanation as to why you didnt come home last night. SEAN I...I cant tell you right now. Just know that if I didnt have to be doing this, I wouldnt. I need to go, I just wanted to tell you that you three need to-LORRAINE I dont want to hear that. I want to hear a sincere explanation as to whats so god damned important. SEAN I cant tell you! LORRAINE Fuck the confidentiality! SEAN Its more complicated than that! LORRAINE Alright, Ive heard enough. The van is packed. The kids and I will be staying with my mother in Filmore. Sean is upset, but relieved theyre leaving town. SEAN Okay. Kids,

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

101.

LORRAINE Okay? Thats all you have to say? Were leaving, Sean. Fine, if you dont even want to fight for this family...Kids! Get in the car. They come down the stairs. SEAN I cant tell you why right now, but its a good idea for you to be out of town. LORRAINE So you can have all the time you need to work on your project, and secure your future. SEAN No! Lorraine, have you been watching the news? LORRAINE No, Ive been raising our children. Jeremy hugs his dad. JEREMY Bye, Daddy. LORRAINE Come on, Jeremy. She picks him up. door. Lorraine, Jeremy and Shauna walk out the

EXT. SEANS HOME - NIGHT Lorraine, Jeremy and Shauna walk down the path from the house to the driveway, where a van sits loaded with luggage. Toms car is also running in the drive way. Sean follows out the door. LORRAINE These kids, Sean, theyre your legacy! Not your work, not your name in a magazine. These kids are your DNA, Sean. They are your immortality! (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

102.

Sean hangs his head. Lorraine puts Jeremy down, and opens the back door to her van. SUDDENLY! The beast appears and tackles Lorraine. children scream continuously in terror. SEAN Lorraine! Tom is equally terrified in his car, but is paralyzed in fear. The beast rips out Lorraines insides as she screams. Lorraines protests silence as she dies. SEAN YOU FUCKER!! The beast grabs Jeremy in one arm, Shauna in the other. It looks back at Sean and appears to almost form a smile. Its a look that could turn any soul cold. It shrieks and runs off. Sean runs immediately to Toms car and gets in. backs out and chases after the beast. FUTURE: INT. CAVE - DAY The group sits in a cave with a fire pit, but there is no fire burning. Rileys arm is wrapped in material cut out of her shirt. She is wearing only a sports bra on her torso. Virgil is mixing something in a hallowed out piece of wood; a crudely made bowl. CHESTER Im exhausted. I never thought wed find another cave. No one answers. CHESTER (CONTD) Should we talk about it? RILEY We didnt talk about Gary and Mara. We didnt talk about Eliza. We dont need to talk about Joss. Theyre dead, and pretty soon well be dead, too. It quickly The

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: HEATH We can beat this fucker. RILEY If this is the thing in the cave drawings, its survived somehow for thousands of years. This isnt just some animal we can beat. Weve been acting foolishly. CHESTER Well, whats the alternative? RILEY I dont know. Weve been walking as though there were some point to it all, but theres not. We all know were not going to find anyone. VIRGIL We maynt have much longer to wait before the Lords plan becomes evident. RILEY Stop it, Virgil. We understand youre a man of faith, but that doesnt make God real. I dont have a plan. You dont have a plan. You think that just because were in a corner, and were confused, it means that there has to be something that understands. There has to be some omnipotent being that knows whats happening, and has a plan. There is no fucking plan. HEATH Now, thats a girl. Commander been? Heath laughs. Virgil nods once, as though considering the point. up and walks over to the back cave wall. Where has this

103.

He gets

There are cave drawings that are identical to the other caves. Virgil begins using what is in the bowl to paint a line under the drawings. He begins drawing something else underneath the line. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: CHESTER What are you doing, Reverend? VIRGIL Writing. CHESTER To whom? VIRGIL Whomever comes next. He smiles cryptically. Suddenly a noise is heard outside the cave. to look out. EXT. CAVE - DAY

104.

Riley gets up

Riley peers out of the cave and notices a deer, disemboweled, is on the ground a few yards from the cave mouth. Heath appears next to Riley. HEATH Its letting us know its here. RILEY Well, come and get us, then! Youve already taken Joss and Eliza, come take us! COME TAKE US! Heath notices something else by the tree line. A furry leg sticking out from the brush. HEATH Whats that? They run out to examine it. Heath clears some brush.

Its a dead wolf, also disemboweled. RILEY What the hell? Heath thinks a moment, then notices something else. HEATH Its a trail. It wants us to follow this, look. He points ahead. In the woods is another disemboweled wolf. Its neck is broken. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

105.

HEATH (CONTD) Thats the one you killed. Riley looks down at her freshly wounded and wrapped arm. RILEY Its taunting us to come to it. How smart is this thing? HEATH Well, I say it should get its fight. INT. CAVE - DAY Riley and Heath return to the cave. RILEY Its challenging us. It left a trail of its kill that we think will take us right to it. HEATH Were gonna go kill the son of a bitch. CHESTER We have no idea what were up against. VIRGIL I do. CHESTER This isnt the time for your shit. VIRGIL No, I mean, Ive seen the beast. Theyre stunned. RILEY Excuse me? VIRGIL Ive gotten up nights when Ive had trouble sleeping and wandered. Ive seen it watching our camp. Ive looked into its eyes, and I tell you, it has not harmed me and has not harmed you because of the protection of our (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

106.

VIRGIL (contd) Lord. Even the most frightening devil is powerless before God. RILEY Why have you not told us this before? VIRGIL I knew it would frighten you, and I knew we were safe. However, if you insist on comfronting the beast, I will accompany you. I walk with the power of the Lord. We will have his protection. EXT. WOODS - DAY The four crew members walk passed the limp deer to the first dead wolf. Heath has his spear. They all look at each other. Riley steps into the woods and proceeds towards the dead Alpha. The rest follow her. When they reach the Alpha, a very small clearing can be seen in the distance. Something lies in the center of it. RILEY Heath, is there something in that clearing? HEATH It appears so. They begin walking towards it. They get close enough to see whats inside, while still not entering the clearing. Elizas dug up body lies in the dead center of the clearing. CHESTER Is that...? HEATH It appears so. PRESENT: INT. TOMS CAR - NIGHT Sean and Tom are driving.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

107.

TOM Sean, I-SEAN Dont say anything. TOM I just wanted to-SEAN Its my fucking fault, dont say anything. They drive in silence a bit more. hurt and seething anger. He notices something. SEAN (CONTD) STOP! STOP! Tom screeches to a halt. Something is lying on the ground outside, a few feet to the right of a crossroad. SEAN (CONTD) What is that? He gets out of the car, and notices its Shaunas dead body. He embraces it a moment. Sean clenches a fist, his face giving way to unfathomable anger. SEAN (CONTD) This way. He gets back in the car, and the car speeds off down the crossroad. EXT. - MICKEYS TAVERN The beast is carrying a screaming Jeremy. It grabs his throat and crushes it, silencing the child and killing him. The beast discards the body at the entrance to the Mickeys parking lot. It looks off and sees a large cement compound a half a mile in the distance. Its a military base. The beast sprints in its direction. Seans face is a world of

108.

INT. TOMS CAR Theyre speeding off again. SEAN DRIVE FASTER! TOM Im driving as fast as the car will freaking go, Sean. SEAN Dont slow down, give me your phone. Tom obliges. Sean dials and waits.

SEAN (CONTD) Dr. Lewis, were following the trail of the Hybrid and were...yes, we need you to send help with an energy gun...were going to find him. We will find him tonight-Sean stops mid-sentencing, noticing something out of the window. Its Jeremys body. A moment goes by as the horror hits Seans face. Hes devastated. The feelings quickly turn to anger. SEAN (CONTD) PULL OVER! Tom screeches to a stop. SEAN (CONTD) God dammit, did you see it? The body at Mickeys? Dr. Lewis, send someone to Mickeys Tavern in South Henderson! INT. MILITARY BASE - NIGHT A large enclosure, with trees, caves, and a pond in it. is separtated from the hospital-like hallway by thick plexiglass. The beast steps in front of the glass, in the hall way. It

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

109.

It PUNCHES the glass, but it does not break. It backs up and takes a running start at the glass, causing it to bend in significantly, but not break. It shrieks, and takes another run at the glass. it shatters. Alarms blare loudly. SUDDENLY! The chimp-bat appears and screeches. siezes the chimp-bat. EXT. MICKEYS TAVERN Sean and Tom are running through the parking lot of Mickeys tavern. They burst through the tavern doors. All the patrons, Mickey included, stare at them. SEAN Is everyone okay? Is it here? MICKEY Is what here? Whats going on? SEAN Listen, youre all in great danger, you need to-The bat-chimp screech is heard LOUDLY as it DIVES through the door way, hitting Tom, and sending him to the ground. A crunch can be heard. Toms arm has broken. Everyone in the bar panics, some flee, some hide under tables. Mickey jumps behind his bar. SEAN How the hell?! The bat-chimp is on top of Tom. Tom punches it a few times with his good arm, which disorients it. He crawls away, terrified. Hes in a great amount of pain. Sean tries to attack the bat-chimp from behind, but it swats him aside with enough force to send him to the floor. The bat-chimp lurches forward again, and is about to bite him when its head explodes. The Beast This time

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

110.

Mickey is standing behind Tom with a double barreled shotgun. Its smoking. He just took out the bat-chimp. MICKEY What in the hey was that? Hes earnestly asking, though theres fear in his voice. Mickeys face goes white. The barpatrons scream.

MICKEY (CONTD) What in the hey is THAT? Sean looks over towards the door. The beast is standing in the door frame. FUTURE: INT. WOODS - DAY Straight ahead, in the clearing is Elizas decomposing, disembowled body. A closer look reveals there is a small fire pit crudely built in the clearing. CHESTER Do you think it will come as soon as we enter the clearing? RILEY I dont know. HEATH Is that...is that a fire pit? CHESTER Jesus Christ, its building fire pits. RILEY Whos ready? Heath nods. Chester is a little reluctant, but nods. Virgil smiles. VIRGIL I will stand behind. Fine. RILEY Whos first?

HEATH Lets go together. Goddamn it, were a crew. Were a team. Well die fighting as one. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

111.

CHESTER Very well. The three stand side by side and begin approaching the clearing. Virgil stands back, watching. They get closer, and closer. Sound begins to fade.

All that can be heard is their footsteps, perfectly synchronized. Left, right, left, right, left, right. The reach the edge of the wood, and are STRUNG UP by their ankles. Heath drops his spear. A trap. They are all dangling from crudely made, yet sturdy ropes attached to a large tree. Their heads hang about three feet off the ground. RILEY It can make traps? Dear God. Virgil smiles and walks forward leisurely. clearing and faces them. HEATH Virgil cut us down. Virgil grabs Heaths spear, but backs away a few feet. VIRGIL After I went through all the trouble of getting you up there? Certainly not. HEATH What? VIRGIL I may be an old man, but I can still make a good rope, set a good trap, and build a nice fire just as good as when I was in the boy scouts. He laughs. CHESTER What the hell is going on? He enters the

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

112.

RILEY Cut us down, imediately. VIRGIL Its not easy for an old man to drag all those bodies to lead you out here. And I was worried one or two of you wouldnt trip your line. Its positively divine intervention. RILEY You set this trap? CHESTER What, did you kill Eliza, too? VIRGIL I had to. She was carrying the anti-christ. HEATH She was not! There is no God, there is no Devil, there is no Anti-Christ! VIRGIL There most certainly is a God. I am His agent. And

CHESTER So theres no beast? Youve been the one terrorizing us? VIRGIL You are the beasts. I understand now. He has allowed all to perish at the hand of the Angel of Death. That is what has been following us. Hes judged you all. Like Sodom and Gommorah, like the Great Flood, He has wiped the slate completely. He has been rebuilding the world; erasing the mistakes Man made. He will start Mankind completely anew. He has allowed me to return to Earth with you as my final judgement. I have answered the call. I have destroyed the anti-Christ, I have brought you before His Spirit, and I will be left unharmed. Once you are gone, He will bring to life His (MORE) (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

113.

VIRGIL (contd) new Mankind, and I will be a shephard over this new world! HEATH Youre fucked, you know that? Youre fucked in the head! Youve gone crazy. VIRGIL Youll see. I will leave you for His Spirit, for his Angel of Death. and He will leave me unharmed. HEATH I will fucking destroy you, you delusional cunt! He holds up the spear and slices Heaths chest. fatal cut, but its bleeding heavily. VIRGIL YOU WILL NOT SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY! In his anger, Virgil slices Riley and Chesters chests in the same fashion. VIRGIL (CONTD) I summon the Angel of Death to come destroy the last of the sinners! I SUMMON YOU! PRESENT: INT. MICKEYS TAVERN The beast stands in the doorway of Mickeys tavern. room is panicking. The Its not a

Mickey fires several shots at it, but they do no damage. The beast enters. SEAN Nick! It looks over at Sean, almost confused. SEAN (CONTD) Are you still in there? TOM Sean, I dont think hes--

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: SEAN Shut the fuck up! I will destroy you, Nick. Youve taken everything from me!

114.

Tom places his hand on Seans shoulder, but Sean swats it away with hostility. MICKEY Nick? The beast shrieks. Sean lunges at it, but it jumps over him and begins terrorizing bar-patrons. Every few seconds it takes another life. SEAN Take me, you fucker! I have nothing, so TAKE ME! TOM Sean! Again, Sean runs towards the beast. The beast effortlessly flings a chair at Sean, which knocks him over, and subdues him. The beast walks over to him and stands above him. Hes about to reach down for him, when Mickey appears and punches it in the face. This of course does nothing, except switch the Beasts attention. With one effortless pinch, the Beast crushes Mickeys head as though it were a soda can. SEAN He saved you, Nick! Why would you-TOM Sean, thats not Nick, man! Maybe part of it is...but the human part of him is probably... Two men in army clothes enter the bar, carrying a large weapon. It takes both of them to hold it. They aim it at the Beast. Dr. Lewis walks in behind them. ARMY MAN 1 Holy shit. Charge it! A light on the gun grows brighter and brighter until it is steady. This catches the beasts attention, who charges at the men.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

115.

ARMY MAN 2 Fire! The guy in front fires. No bullet leaves the gun, no stream of light. However, the air distorts between the gun and the beast like the horizon on a hot day. It holds the beast in place. The beasts form begins to alter. begins to decompose rapidly. Suddenly, the beast The

Pulp of what once was a monster falls to the ground. gun powers down. Sean turns to Tom. SEAN Why would he do this? TOM I dont know, Sean. Maybe the only part left of him under all the animal DNA and instincts was his guilt. Guilt can make people do awful things.

Sean looks at Tom at a loss. Sean begins sobbing uncontrollably. He leans into Tom, who tries to comfort him with his broken arm, winces, and comforts him with the good arm. INT. DAYDREAM LABS - DAY Sean is being escorted by two armed military personelle through the Daydream building. He is carrying an empty box. There is pure contempt on Seans face. They arrive at Seans office. GUARD 1 We dont have clearance to go inside. You have 120 seconds to get all personal tokens: pictures, degrees, knick-knacks, and get back outside. 120 seconds, is that clear? SEAN Yes.

116.

INT. SEANS LAB - DAY Sean places the box on his messy desk. He picks up a picture of his wife and kids and looks at it. Hes about to place it in the box, but smashes it down. INT. HALLWAY - DAY The guards outside here the crash. questioningly at Guard 1. Guard 2 looks

GUARD 1 Theyre always a bit disgruntled. He has 90 seconds. INT. SEANS LAB - DAY Sean opens the refrigerated cabinet and glances nervously at the door. He looks inside the cabinet. One vile is still in there.

HYBRID SERUM - ENERGY RESISTANT. His gaze tightens. EXT. CLEARING - DAY Heath, Riley and Chester are all still strung up. They are losing a lot of blood, and are barely conscious, but are all groaning. VIRGIL I SUMMON YOU, ANGEL OF DEATH! A shriek is heard in the distance. Ah, yes. VIRGIL (CONTD) And so my angel comes.

The shriek again, its closer. Rapid footsteps approach, quicker and quicker and quicker! Suddenly, a rustle as it jumps and-The Beast lands in the middle of clearing. clearly made out in the the daylight. Its face can be

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

117.

Its a familiar face, but not identical to the one seen so long ago. This face is different than the Henderson beast. It looks like someone else... Virgil laughs. VIRGIL (CONTD) Truly you are a terror to behold. I offer you the last three sinners. Virgil begins walking away from the clearing, through the woods. We hold on his gaze as he walks away, listening but not looking to what is occuring behind him. In the background, out of focus, the beast is killing the three crew members that are strung up. Virgil continues walking. His face shows pride. The three

In the background the beast shrieks and leaves. behind Virgil are dead.

Virgil continues walking, smiling, proud of himself and his service to his Lord. His smile is ear-to-ear, now. chuckling a bit. He cant contain himself from

SUDDENLY! The beast LUNGES at Virgil with murderous intent, shrieking. EXT. HALLWAY - DAY The two guards stand outside Seans closed office door. GUARD 1 15 seconds, Dr. Williams! Sean emerges from his office with nothing in his box. GUARD 2 Your box is empty. SEAN I guess I realized everything in there is a token of the past. I live for the future.

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: GUARD 1 (with snark) Its a shame you wont make the legacy you thought you would. Sean chuckles. SEAN You know, they say that man dies two deaths...

118.

Sean continues talking in narration, as the scene changes. INT. CHURCH ALTER - DAY Tom is on the alter exchanging vows with his fianc. arm is in a sling. SEAN (V.O. CONTD) The first, after his heart takes its final beat. The Priest can be heard. PRIEST ...for as long as you both shall live? TOM I do. SEAN (V.O. CONTD) The second after his name is mentioned for the final time. Ive simply been too focused on the second death. PRIEST I now pronounced you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride. Tom and Julia kiss. INT. HALLWAY - DAY Back with Sean talking to the guards. Sean closes his eyes a moment. When he opens them, they have CHANGED. They are unmistakably feline. The screen goes black. His

(CONTINUED)

CONTINUED: SEAN (V.O. CONTD) Something tells me Ill be remembered. EXT. SPACE

119.

Clusters of galaxies illuminate through the nothingness. EXT. SPACE The milky way shines in a familiar pattern. EXT. SPACE Earth swings around the sun like a tetherball, rotating all the while. EXT. NATURE - DAY From impossibly high, the world can be seen. CUT BETWEEN: Hundreds of miles of rivers. Hundreds of miles of mountain ranges. Hundreds of miles of forrests and woodland. SUPER: 25,000 years later. EXT. A FIELD - DAY On a bright and sunny day, a few flowers stand tall towards the sun. In the background, a bright streak appears in the blue sky, only noticeable if one was paying attention. EXT. A CAVE - DAY The external of the final cave the Chronos crew stayed in. INT. CAVE - DAY The bright light from the entrance to the cave illuminates the paintings on the cave wall. The familiar drawings left for the Chronos crew are very faded, but still present. Below that is a faded, but less so, line, and other cave drawings. (CONTINUED)

CONTINUED:

120.

Just as they come into focus a shadow of a figure obscures them. At the mouth of the cave, obscured in shadow is a human-like figure. A couple more step up behind it. CUT TO BLACK. The end.