The best thing is, in my mind, I'm starting to plot out my next screenplay. That means I'm in total control.
INT. MADDIE’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
The bloody bat is gone from over the headboard.
EXT. A PATH IN THE WOODS NEAR WHIT & KID’S CABIN - NIGHT
A line of burning torches. Sound of many footsteps on the path. No one speaks. Men’s forms and faces in the flickering flames, half-glimpsed, half-seen.
A CABIN up ahead in the dark. No lights in the windows.
The footsteps stop. Suddenly, we see Maddie’s face in the torch light, every feature, every line in sharp relief. We see the bloody bat.
MADELINE
......Let’s roll!EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY
The Coeur d'Alene VAN rounds the corner, horn honking. It stops and lets Kid off. He straps on his heavy backpack, waves to the Driver, walks up the road.
EXT. THE PATH - DAY
Kid walks slowly, carefully balancing his burden. Suddenly, a “something’s not right” look on his face. He stops. He sniffs the air.
EXT. THE CABIN - DAY
A single blackened chimney is all that’s left of the cabin.
The Preacher, a cloth against his nose, has just begun shovelling dirt into a grave as Kid bursts into the clearing. Kid throws his backpack down. Kid's face tells us the stench is overwhelming.
The Preacher drops the shovel, grabs hold of Kid, picks him up and throws him into the grave.
PREACHER
......They came looking, you worthless country......cocksucker. They didn’t find you ‘cause you
......were still out and about enjoying yourself. But
......they found Whit. Wherever he is, he’s cursing
......you with every hellfire breath he has. Cursing
......you 'cause you can’t control your devils. And
......down the road, when you and he meet up,
......I hope he - -
Kid claws at the loose dirt. Whit’s rotting head, leaking ooze from the eye sockets, pops to the surface. He screams.
PREACHER
......I should bury you with him. What the hell......were you expecting? Did you think that
......boy wasn’t gonna spill the beans on you?
KID
......Please. You got to help me! You got to......save me.
The Preacher points.
PREACHER
......I’ll do this much for you. The hills are......that way. I strongly suggest you start
......running.
The Preacher drops his shovel, starts to walk away.
KID
......You bastard! You’re leaving me with......nothing! You’re leaving me with - -
He stops, turns, as Kid struggles to climb out of the grave.
PREACHER
......I leave you with your life. Which is more......than you deserve.
INT. A CELL BLOCK IN A PRISON - DAY
Everywhere we see overcrowding, filth and misery. Outside each cell door, a bucket of human waste. Bolivar and the Major walk past the cells, escorted by two uniformed PRISON OFFICIALS. The Major holds a scented handkerchief to his nose. Bolivar scans each cell they pass with a critical eye. He frowns.
BOLIVAR
......That man has a book.OFFICIAL 1
......It’s a religious book, General.BOLIVAR
......He shouldn’t have it. Call him.OFFICIAL 2
......You! Come here!A PRISONER in Cossack dress comes to the bars.
BOLIVAR
......What does your book say?PRISONER 1
......It says the rich and the strong already have......their reward, General.
BOLIVAR
......Show me. Show me the page.The Prisoner opens to a dogeared page. He holds it up. Bolivar reaches in, rips the page out. They walk on.
MAJOR
......You enjoyed that. You take pleasure in the......misery of others.
BOLIVAR
......On the contrary, I did him a favor. He was......operating under the illusion that the world is
......just. I gave him a proof that it’s not.
OFFICIAL 2
......Shall I go back and confiscate the book?BOLIVAR
......Let him keep it. But tear out a page each......day. Start with the end and end with the
......beginning. Over time, I expect his sense
......of hope will waste away like that of a
......starving African.
At the far end, the door opens. A MAN pushing a cart enters. The door clangs shut. We hear him calling “Garbage! Garbage!” as he picks up the slop buckets one by one and loads them.
BOLIVAR
......You keep pestering me for a command.......All right. You have it. Yours to do with
......as you see fit.
MAJOR
......Where, Father?BOLIVAR
......The Rocky Mountains. And the river......valleys that empty into the Western
......Sea. Should keep you busy and out
......of my hair for a long time.
MAJOR
......I’ll need an army.BOLIVAR
......So you will.Bolivar stops at a cell, signals for the ragged filthy man inside to approach him.
BOLIVAR
......What’s your name, my good fellow?PRISONER 2
......Tarik, sir.BOLIVAR
......Have you ever led troops, Tarik?PRISONER 2
......Never, sir.BOLIVAR
......Ever served in the army? Ever killed......a man?
PRISONER 2
......No, sir.BOLIVAR
......This man is exceptionally qualified,......uncorrupted by the flawed practices
......of the past. Do you see that man,
......Tarik?
PRISONER 2
......Yes, sir.BOLIVAR
......That is Matthew, my less than useful son.......Your job is to help him carve out his empire,
......so he’ll keep his nose out of my business.
......Think you’re up to the task?
PRISONER 2
......I’m your man, sir.BOLIVAR
......Don’t be my man, Tarik. Be his man.......Matthew, I give you your first recruit.
Bolivar grins a wicked grin and walks away. The Major stands, hanky to his nose, watching him. Then he turns to the Slop Bucket Man who’s now very close. We see it’s an old, bent, wasted Danny Prophet.
PRESIDENT
......Garbage! Garbage!Prisoner 2 tugs at the Major’s sleeve. He wipes his nose.
PRISONER 2
......Hope you have a nice thick uniform for......me, sir. It’s been cold in here. I’ve
......been a bit sick.
EXT. THE BALLPARK - DAY
Ten BOYS, ages eleven to fifteen, play a game of workups. A DOG lies in the shade of a tree. We see Jonah.
KID (O.S.)
......Told you they’d be there. They play ball......almost every day. I watch ‘em from here.
EXT. A NEARBY HILLTOP - DAY
A platoon of SOLDIERS stands in a grove of trees in combat gear. Nearby, lower down in a gulch, a military HOVERCRAFT rests a foot above the ground, its power system silently purring. Kid stands next to the OFFICER-IN-CHARGE, who scans the diamond with binoculars.
KID
......They’re good boys, most of them. Good workers.......Good students. They listen to their elders. They
......pay attention. They’ll make first-rate soldiers. I
......know them all and one thing I know for a fact is - -
The Officer-In-Charge turns.
OFFICER
......How about if you just have a big cup of shut the......fuck up?
EXT. A MEETING HALL - DAY
Twenty old Buses and Trucks parked in a row. Two armed MEN patrol the area.
WOMAN 1 (O.S.)
......It’s that faggot getting even! Shouldda......killed him when you had the chance,
......Preacher!
INT. THE MEETING HALL - DAY
Guns, coats and hats at the door. The Preacher at lectern.
A frightened, angry CROWD. Some of the WOMEN sob quietly. We see Kenny, Maddie, Tammy and Wendy.
PREACHER
......Kid had nothing to do with this.MAN 2
......Preacher’s talking through his hat.PREACHER
......Watch it! I tell you, this ain’t Kid. He couldn’t......conceive of something this big. Hasn’t got the
......brain. Anyway, he’s long gone. Probably eaten
......by wolves. And even if the wolves didn’t, wasn’t
......him. If he’d of tried, the boys would of beat the
......crap out of him. Or outrun him. One or the other.
WOMAN 2
......Then what happened to our boys?An shrivelled old MAN with wild eyes and hair below his shoulders speaks up.
MAN 1
......Vampires! Vampires, I tell you. Vampires out......there. I seen ‘em.
Some of the Women start crying louder.
PREACHER
......How can you say it was vampires? Where’s......the blood? Vampires need blood.
MAN 1
......There was no blood because they took ‘em......for later. Use your head, Preacher. They got
......‘em all in a big pit somewhere. When they
......need blood, they pull one out and open a vein
......or an artery. One or t’other.
PREACHER
......How do you explain no sign of a struggle?MAN 1
......There was no struggle because they use......mind control. Everybody knows vampires
......disable their victims with telepathic beams
......of mass energy. They marched ‘em off into
......the mist like wooden soldiers.
More of the Women start crying out loud.
KENNY
......Oh shit!MAN 1
......You go ahead and laugh, Ken Wetzel!......But that’s how vampires operate! There’s
......books that’ll tell you that. If you ever read
......a book.
He stands up.
MAN 1
......Mark my words, some day, when we least......expect it, our boys will return and their
......brains’ll be gone and they’ll have the look
......and smell of living death. Mark my words.
......Come on, girls. We’re leaving.
Three twentyish LADIES stand and follow him out the door, leaving behind a roomful of wailing Women.
PREACHER
......All right. All right. Calm down, everyone.......Let’s think this thing out. Let’s brainstorm.
......Let’s consider the facts.
MAN 3
......What gets me is there was no fight, no one......got away. How could that be?
PREACHER
......Got a theory. I read in a book about a kid......who led these other kids on a crusade to
......Arabia. He had a powerful personality and
......all the other kids obeyed him without question.
......He’d walk up to a kid and say, “You’re going
......with me” and the kid would do it.
WOMAN 1
......You saying one of our boys led the others......off on some wild goose chase?
PREACHER
......Don’t jump ahead, Sarah. Just considering......the possibilities.
WOMAN 2
......Well, my Clement ain’t no svengali. So don’t......you even suggest it.
MADELINE
......And Jonah wouldn’t do anything like that, either.......Anyone who says he would is a liar.
Everybody springs up. Everybody starts shouting.
INT. KENNY’S BUS - DAY
Just before sundown. Maddie, Tammy and Wendy sit silently side by side in the front passenger bench. The Bus approaches the motel. We see Maria and two older Boys and a teen-aged Girl, all armed, standing guard outside.
A look of relief on Maria’s face.
INT. MADDIE’S BEDROOM - DAY
Sound of kids playing somewhere outside. The bloody bat in the rifle rack. Maddie sits, stares through open window.
EXT. THE HILLTOP - DAY
Maddie sits and stares at the deserted baseball diamond.
EXT. SOMEWHERE IN THE FOREST - NIGHT
Alan walks. He’s dressed in military camo. He walks softly, carefully, stealthily, like one born to the trail. He suddenly stops. His face tells us he hears something that’s not quite right.
EXT. SOMEWHERE CLOSE BY - NIGHT
Maddie walks softly, carefully, stealthily, keeping the underbrush between her and her prey, as she stalks Alan.
EXT. BACK TO ALAN - NIGHT
Alan slowly takes out his weapon, turns, moves swiftly, silently, catlike, toward Maddie’s position.
EXT. SOMEWHERE CLOSE BY - NIGHT
Maddie watches from her hiding place as Alan bursts through, weapon at the ready. She sees him slowly turning a 360, scanning, surveying. Finally, he puts his weapon away, returns to continuing his walk. Maddie emerges and continues her stalking him.
EXT. THE MOTEL - DAY
Three choppers parked next to the bus.
KENNY (O.S.)
......We thank thee, Lord, for these thy......gifts received from thy bounty. ln
......the name of thy only begotten Son,
......Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
EVERYONE (O.S.)
......Amen.INT. THE DINING ROOM - DAY
Back when it was a functioning motel, this room was the cafe. Now it serves as the communal dining space. Maria, Tammy and Wendy each sits at a separate table with her children. Maddie sits alone.
Kenny sits at a table with his three guests, POPS, SONNY and GHOST. Everyone eats silently. Maddie picks at her food.
POPS
......lt's not every man that can live off......the land, you know? Do your own
......thing in your own time. You should
......be proud.
SONNY
......Can we have some more coffee?Kenny nods to Maddie. Maddie gets up, pours coffee for the Men and sits back down. The Kids at Tammy’s table snicker at a secret joke.
EXT. THE MOTEL - DAY
Pops, Sonny and Ghost get ready to leave. Tammy, Wendy, Maria and Maddie stand on the porch.
POPS
......The blonde one. She’s barren?Kenny nods.
POPS
......She’ll conceive. Soon. She’ll have......a boy.
KENNY
......How’s that gonna happen?POPS
......................(A wise smile)......Same way everything in the universe
......happens. Thanks for the food and the
......good company and the alcohol for our
......machines. And thank you for leading the
......prayer.
They rev their choppers and leave. Kenny looks up at the Women.
KENNY
......He says Maddie’s gonna have a......baby boy.
Maddie laughs. It’s a dark, angry laugh.
EXT. SATELLITE IN ORBIT - NIGHT
SATELLITE TRANSMISSION
......God is great. I bear witness to no god......but God. I bear witness to...
EXT. A HILLTOP - NIGHT
Alan eats dinner.
RUFUS (O.S.)
......There’s an old motel I want you to......take a look at. It’s near where
......you are.
ALAN
......Yes, sir.INT. RUFUS’ OFFICE - DAY
Classical music plays. A portrait on wall of an older, graver Bolivar.
RUFUS
......Stand by for coordinates download. Good......luck, Major.
Rufus presses a switch. He turns, smiles. It’s a nervous, brittle smile.
RUFUS
......It’s been a good day. I’ve done some good......work. There haven’t been very many days
......lately where I can say that.
Kid, in an immaculate military uniform, walks to the wet bar.
KID
......A drink, sir?RUFUS
......A drink. Yes. I think I will.EXT. THE HILLTOP - DAY
Maddie sits and stares at the deserted baseball diamond.
In the distance, we see the motel. We see Wendy, Tammy and Maria and all the kids, fishing poles in their hands, climb aboard the bus. We see the bus drive off, horn happily honking.
EXT. THE MOTEL - NIGHT
A fire consumes the motel. We see Maddie dancing before the flames.
INT. KENNY’S BUS - NIGHT
The Bus races toward the blaze. We see Maddie, bat held like a warclub, the fire behind her enveloping her, making her appear like an avenging angel.
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