By George R. R. Martin
FADE IN
EXT. - FREEWAY - NIGHT - AERIAL
Traffic is fast and heavy. Suddenly we hear a CRACK, as loud as a clap of thunder, as sharp as a sonic boom.
SMASH CUT TO TIGHT ON CAT
A girl stands trapped in the center of the freeway, as speeding traffic surges around her. Call her CAT. She’s twenty. Her figure is lean, boyish, wiry-tough. Her hair is short, raggedly shorn. There is something wild about her, something quick and feral and not-quite-tamed. Her pants are leather, old, cracked, badly worn. She wears a loose black uniform shirt several, sizes too big for her, unbuttoned, over a tight silver-gray undershirt. Her feet are bare. She looks lost, confused.. .
INTERCUT - CAT’S POV
HEADLIGHTS are coming at her from all directions, it seems, cars are missing her by inches.
RESUME CAT
She tries to dart toward the shoulder, misjudges the speed of traffic. A car almost hits her, its horn BLARING. Cat jumps back.
A second car SWERVES to avoid her. Brakes SQUEAL. More HORNS sound. Cat spins, searching for a way out. She takes a step in the other direction, jumps back as two cars SLAM TOGETHER. Metal CRUNCHES with impact. More HORNS. Off in the distance, we HEAR police SIRENS too.
CLOSE ON CAT
She covers her ears against the noise, draws herself in protectively, closes her eyes amidst the chaos ...
Suddenly she is AWASH IN BLINDING LIGHT, and we hear the deep, terrifying sound of a big truck’s AIR HORN. Her eyes snap open.
REVERSE ANGLE
A huge SEMI is bearing down on her.
RESUME CAT
She freezes, like a deer pinned by the truck’s lights. Then the fear is replaced by defiance. From under her shirt, she pulls a WEAPON; sleek and strange, like no gun we have ever seen. Cat swings it up quickly, aims with both hands, and FIRES. The only sound is a soft PHUT of compressed air as the weapon spits out a needle.
ANGLE ON THE SEMI
One moment it is roaring forward at sixty miles an hour, its horn screaming, its headlights blinding. Then it EXPLODES. The cab blows apart, sending chunks of glass and metal flying in all directions. The huge truck careens wildly out of control, veers off to one side, and CRASHES. A second EXPLOSION rocks the truck as its gas tank blows, sending up a towering ball of flame.
CAT
is turning to make a break for the shoulder when a spinning piece of debris from the explosion comes flying at her. She ducks, but not fast enough. She catches a glancing blow on the forehead. The impact sends her sprawling.
PUSH IN TIGHT
Cat lies on the road, unconscious, bleeding from a cut over one eye. The weapon has slipped from her grasp, and the sleeve of her shirt has ridden up to reveal an ornate bracelet clasped around her right forearm. It’s a strange piece, a Gigeresgue tangle of silvery metal inset with three parallel slashes of dark plastic, that coils around her arm like a nest of snakes.
OFF that image, we
FADE OUT
END OF TEASER
ACT I
FADE IN
EXT. - HOSPITAL - NIGHT
SIRENS scream through the night as an ambulance races down the freeway, closely followed by two POLICE CRUISERS with lights flashing.
CUT TO
INT. - EMERGENCY ROOM - NIGHT
An eight-year old boy sits on an examination table, surrounded by his MOTHER, a young doctor (TOM), and a heavyset nurse (MADGE).
TOM
Not like that. Look at that mess. No, you have to keep your hand steady. It’s
a delicate operation. Mistakes can be fatal. Here, watch.
REVERSE ANGLE
Tom holds up his hand, palm down. He is twenty-seven, dark haired, rumpled, confident. The nameplate on his greens reads LAKE. He has a quarter between two fingers. He ‘walks’ it across his hand, flips it up in the air, catches it, opens his hand. He pulls it out from behind the boy’s ear.
TOM
What did I tell you. Magic is easy. Diagnosis is hard.
He grins at the young patient, who LAUGHS with delight. The nurse and the mother smile fondly. In b.g., we HEAR the sound of SIRENS. Tom hears it too.
TOM
(to boy)
And for my next trick, I make you disappear,
(to mother)
He’ll be fine.
INT. - HOSPITAL - NIGHT
Two PARAMEDICS rush a gurney down a corridor to the Emergency Room. A pair of cops (CHAMBERS and SANCHEZ) follow close behind.
TRACKING WITH THE GURNEY
Tom falls in beside the gurney.
TOM
What do we have?
PARAMEDIC
Head injury, facial lacerations, maybe some internal. Her vitals are real
strong, but she’s non-responsive.
A gauze bandage covers Cat’s cut; it’s PINK with blood.
SANCHEZ
She was playing tag out on the freeway. Blew the crap out of a semi with
some weird gun.
INT. - EMERGENCY ROOM - CONTINUOUS
They push through a set of double doors into the ER.
TOM
We’ll take it from here. Madge, notify X-Ray I’m sending someone up. Tell them I’ll need a full set of cranials.
The nurse scrawls a signature for the paramedics. They EXIT as Tom begins his examination of Cat. He feels gently around her neck, searching for breaks. Lifts the gauze pad to examine her head injury. When he pushes up her sleeve to take her pulse, he reveals her strange bracelet. He touches it.
TIGHT ON CAT
Her eyes snap open and Cat MOVES. She grabs Tom by the crotch and SQUEEZES. Tom GASPS in shock and pain.
RESUME
Cat rolls off as Tom collapses, on her feet with all the speed of her namesake. Chambers jumps her. Cat tries to punch him, but he grabs first one arm, then the other. He holds her by the wrists as she struggles.
CHAMBERS
You’re under arrest, girly. You have the right to remain silent. You have
the—
Cat throws herself right up against him, face to face, and BITES him on the nose. Chambers SCREAMS and grabs his face, BLOOD seeps between his fingers. Cat scrambles away.
Sanchez cuts off her exit. Tom is on his knees, unsteady, gasping for breath.
Cat backs off and SPITS a piece of the cop’s nose onto the floor. There’s a smear of blood around her mouth.
She snatches up a metal IV stand and holds it in front of her like a quarterstaff, ready for anyone.
Sanchez draws his gun.
TOM
NO!
(panting a little)
Put that ... put that away. This is ... a hospital.
SANCHEZ
She’s psycho.
Tom pulls himself unsteadily to his feet.
TOM
She’s scared. Look at her.
CHAMBERS
My nose ...
TOM
It’s around here somewhere. We can fix it. Madge, find the officer’s nose,
(to Cat)
Don’t be afraid. No one will hurt you. Promise.
She’s watching him now, warily. She says nothing. Tom edges closer. Cat gives a short, threatening swing of the pole.
SANCHEZ
I wouldn’t go any closer if I was you. Doc.
MADGE
Tom, be careful. I don’t think she understands English.
Tom keeps all his attention on Cat.
TOM
That’s a nasty cut there.
Cat touches her face. Her fingers come away wet with blood.
TOM
Can I take a look at it? Put that down, why don’t you? I won’t hurt you.
TIGHT ON TOM AND CAT
A tense moment. He is right beside her now. He lifts a hand to her face. No sudden movements. Cat is taut, poised. Tom turns her face to one side to examine the gash.
TOM
Not as bad as it looks. Still, we better get an X-ray. Will you come with me?
Tom offers her his hand. Cat hesitates a long moment. Then she FLINGS AWAY the pole. It falls with a clatter.
SANCHEZ
Real good. We’ll take her now, Doc.
Tom faces him down. The nurse is visible in E.G., on her hands and knees, searching for the missing bit of nose.
TOM
I’m admitting this patient overnight for observation.
SANCHEZ
She’s under arrest. We’ll observe her down in lockup.
TOM
You want the responsibility of removing her against medical advice?
(off his hesitation)
I didn’t think so.
Madge triumphantly holds up something we cannot see.
MADGE
I found it!
DISSOLVE TO
INT. - HOSPITAL ROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT
A semi-private room with two beds.
CLOSE ON CAT
She stands by the window, dressed in a hospital gown now, looking out over the city lights like one entranced. The gash over her eye has been stitched and bandaged.
Cat pushes back her sleeve to expose the bracelet clasped around her forearm. She raises her arm, palm down, points it toward the window and the city beyond.
TIGHT ON CAT’S ARM
as she makes a fist. Inset deeply into the coiling metal are three matte black SLASHES, roughly parallel, sinuous, suggestive.
Now those slashes begin to GLOW: very faint at first, a dim BLUE. Slowly, deliberately, Cat moves her arm from right to left and back again. The blue glow BRIGHTENS when she swings toward the east, DIMS when her fist points west again.
CLOSE ON CAT
Her face solemn, her concentration fierce. She sweeps her arm back and forth again; the glow BRIGHTENS and FADES.
She turns her arm over, opening her fingers.
TIGHT ON CAT’S HAND
As a HOLOGRAM springs to vivid life in her palm: a small, three-dimensional EARTH, turning slowly. She holds a miniature world in her hand. Strange swirling SYMBOLS run across its face, like stock quotations on an electronic ticker.
Behind her, we HEAR the sound of a door OPENING.
RESUME CAT
She whirls. The globe winks out at once.
REVERSE ANGLE - ON TOM
A uniformed POLICEMAN opens the door for him. Tom is carrying her clothing, neatly folded. He can see how jumpy she is.
TOM
Did I startle you? I’m sorry. I just wanted to see how you were doing.
He closes the door behind him. Cat seems to relax.
TOM
I brought your clothes. We washed them for you.
Tom places the pile of clothing on the bed.
TOM
There’s a new pair of jeans in there. Your pants were, ah, beyond salvage.
ANGLE ON CAT
Cat crosses the room and snatches up the clothing. She clutches it tight against her chest.
ANGLE PAST CAT ON TOM
A little taken aback by the fierce possessiveness.
TOM
I know how you feel. My girlfriend is always throwing out my favorite shirts.
Cat slips out of the hospital gown, letting it puddle on the floor at her legs. She is naked underneath. We see her bare back as Cat starts to dress.
She does it without a trace of self-consciousness or shame. Tom turns his back, more embarrassed than she is.
She pulls on the silvery undershirt, SNIFFS at the jeans, steps into them. Tom keeps up a stream of talk.
TOM
I didn’t catch your name. I’m Dr Lake. Thomas,
(nothing)
We’ve got you down as a Jane Doe. For the paperwork. The office wants to
know if you have any medical insurance, Jane.
CAT
is dressed now. She crosses the room to the door, tries to open it. It’s locked.
TOM
It’s locked. I don’t think the cops want you going anywhere right now.
Cat SLAMS a fist against the door.
TOM
Look, I know the food’s not great, but there are worse places to spend the
night.
Cat moves to the window. She looks down. She starts to push at the glass, looking for a way to open it.
TOM
Don’t get any ideas. We’re four floors up. Besides, this is a modern hospital.
None of the windows open.
Cat gives up, turns away angrily.
CLOSE ON TOM
A dawning suspicion in his eyes.
RESUME
Cat retreats to a corner of the room, sinks down to the floor. Her stare is sullen, angry. Tom looks at her thoughtfully.
TOM
You knew what I was saying. About the window.
Cat watches him. Her face gives nothing away. Tom moves closer, smiling despite himself.
TOM
You little con artist. You hear me.
Cat turns her head away from him.
TOM
This would be a lot easier if you’d talk to me. She ignores him.
TOM
Come on. Say something. Anything. Name, rank, phone number, I don’t
care. What’s your sign? What’s your favorite color? You like anchovies on
your pizza?
(nothing)
Fine. I don’t need to waste my time.
Scowling, Tom knocks on the door.
ANGLE ON THE DOOR
The POLICEMAN opens the door from outside.
POLICEMAN
All through in here, Dr Lake?
TOM
I guess we are.
He is about to exit when ...
CAT
(soft)
Cat.
TOM
She talks .. .
(to policeman)
Maybe you better give us a few more minutes.
The policeman closes the door, leaving them alone.
TOM
Did you say something?
CAT
(a beat, then:)
Cat.
TOM
Cat? Like in Catherine?
CAT
Cat. Name,
(shy smile)
Toe Mas.
Cat speaks with a slight ACCENT. Nothing we can easily put a finger on, nothing that suggests any known country or region, but a musical lilt to her words that hints that somehow she is a stranger in this place.
TOM
Bingo. Toe Mas. Toe Mas Lake
(beat)
How about an address? Do you have a family? A boyfriend? Anyone we can
contact?
(no response)
Where did you come from?
Cat gets up from the floor.
CAT
Earth.
TOM
That clarifies things. What part of Earth?
CAT
Angels.
TOM
Angels ... you mean L.A.? Los Angeles? Here?
CAT
Not here. There. Angels.
TOM
Okay. How did you get from there to here?
CAT
Door.
Now it’s his turn to look blank.
TOM
On the freeway? A car door?
CAT
Door between,
(impatient)
Leaving now, Toe Mas. Going now. Getting out.
She gets up, strides to the door, pulls at it It’s locked She looks at Tom, expecting him to help.
TOM
That door only opens for me right now. Sorry.
Firmly, but gently, he moves her away from the door, KNOCKS. THE POLICEMAN IN THE HALL OPENS FOR HIM.
TOM
Look, my girlfriend’s a lawyer. I’ll talk to her. That’s all I can do for you right
now.
CAT
Not knowing lawyer.
TOM
You really must be from another country.
He EXITS, the door closes, and Cat throws herself on the bed, frustrated and trapped.
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - BEACHFRONT APARTMENT - NEAR DAWN
Tom’s car, a little Mazda Miata, pulls up in front of a ramshackle old wooden apartment building by the beach.
INT. - TOM’S BEDROOM - DAWN
A woman is asleep in a big brass bed, under a rumpled sheet. In b.g. are lots of bookcases crammed with medical texts, law books, and paperbacks. Right over the bed, very prominent, is Tom’s framed antique poster for a performance featuring HARRY HOUDINI. The woman in the bed is in her late twenties, pretty, with long red hair. Her name is LAURA.
Tom sits on the bed beside her. He touches her shoulder, gently, Laura rolls over, muttering a protest. Tom shakes her a little harder. Her eyes open.
LAURA
(sleepy)
Tom? Is that you? What time is it? You just get home?
(glances at clock)
Oh, god, it’s too early. Go away. Leave me alone.
Laura rolls over and pulls the sheet back over her head. Tom gently tugs it down again.
TOM
Wake up. Coffee’s on. Jump in the shower and put on your shyster hat. I
need help.
Tom moves off. Laura sighs, stirs. She sits up in bed, grumpy but awake.
INT. - TOM’S KITCHEN - DAWN
Laura sits at the kitchen table. She has slipped into a terrycloth robe. Her hair is still tousled from sleep. She cradles a steaming mug of coffee and listens. Tom paces the kitchen floor, restless, angry.
TOM
I tell you, there’s something very strange about this girl.
LAURA
She obviously made quite a first impression. Normally you don’t get so
involved with people who knee you in the groin.
TOM
It wasn’t a knee. Look, can you help her?
LAURA
I’ll see what I can do. Did she really bite off his nose?
TOM
(glumly)
Just the end bit.
Laura can’t help but smile.
LAURA
That’s something. If you bite off the whole nose they really throw the book
at you.
She finishes her coffee and gets up. Tom grabs her, pulls her close for a kiss.
TOM
I’ll owe you one.
TIGHT ON TOM AND LAURA
as he puts his arms around her.
LAURA
(playful)
So, is she cute? Should I be jealous?
TOM
What is this, cross-examination?
LAURA
The witness is instructed to answer the question.
TOM
Not guilty. Their lips move together.
LAURA
Good. Otherwise . . .
Laura changes direction. Instead of kissing, she snaps her teeth together and lightly nips at the end of his nose. Tom breaks up. They laugh together, then kiss.
CUT TO
EXT. - FREEWAY - DAWN
The burned wreckage of the semi still blocks part of one lane and spills across most of the shoulder. A road crew with a CRANE and a FLATBED TRUCK works to remove the wreck. The predawn traffic is
WORKER
Last year it was just freeway shootinqs. Now they’re using missiles.
FOREMAN
From now on, I stick to surface streets.
Suddenly we hear a CRACK, as loud as a clap of thunder, as sharp as a sonic boom.
FOREMAN
What the hell .. .
The crane stops; its lights, its engine, everything. The big flatbed truck dies simultaneously. All the other lights in b.g. also go off: houses, cars, streetlamps.
ANGLE DOWN FREEWAY - FOREMAN’S POV
Only two or three cars are in sight. All of them are dead or dying: headlights out, engines giving up the ghost, slowly coasting to a halt, drivers climbing out.
RESUME
The worker is banging a big emergency flashlight against the heel of his hand, flicking the switch on and off.
WORKER
I don’t get this, I just put in new batteries.
But the foreman isn’t listening. We HEAR slow, ominous footsteps.
FOREMAN’S POV
Six figures fan out across the freeway. They were not there a moment ago. Now they are. There are three men, three women. The women are as lean and tough and hard-looking as the men. They wear high black boots, black uniforms with silver metallic trim. Their hair is cropped close to their skulls.
Behind them comes a strange vehicle, a PALANQUIN or open sedan chair of black metal, as big as a Caddy, with long OUTRIDERS on either side, as on an outrigger canoe. It FLOATS three feet above the roadway, moving in utter silence, its line alien, suggestive, almost organic. A single passenger rides inside, surrounded by a roiling grayness: the DARKFIELD, a cloud that drinks light, making everything within vague and mysterious, like shapes half-seen in fog. All we can tell is that the passenger inside is hunched and massive, altogether huge by human standards.
REVERSE ANGLE
The foreman and his road crew stare at these apparitions before them. A few have the sense to be afraid.
REVERSE ANGLE - TIGHT ON THANE
The leader of the six on foot is THANE. His collar displays the insignia of rank: a silver pin in the shape of a hound’s head. He is in his thirties, awesomely fit, with eyes like ice. A hunter’s eyes. A warrior’s eyes.
His eyes meet the foreman’s for a second.
One by one, the hunters step aboard the palanquin, taking up position on the outriders like footmen on a carriage.
Thane boards last. The palanquin vanishes into the darkness.
THE ROAD CREW
stands in a stunned silence for a moment.
WORKER
What the hell just happened?
FOREMAN
I don’t think I want to know.
All at once, the power returns: headlights, streetlamps, flashlight, everything.
FADE OUT
END OF ACT I
ACT II
FADE IN
INT. - HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - AFTERNOON
Tom strides down the corridor, whistling. Then he notices something odd: no cop by Cat’s door. He stops whistling, moves to the door, opens it.
ANGLE INTO ROOM - TOM’S POV
Cat’s room is EMPTY, spotless, the bed freshly made. No one has been here for hours.
RESUME
People are coming and going: nurses, patients, a NUTRITIONIST with a food tray, an ORDERLY.
TOM
Pete, what happened to the girl in this room? Did they move her
somewhere?
ORDERLY
Room was empty when I came on shift, man.
NUTRITIONIST
That patient was discharged last night, Doctor.
TOM
By who? I didn’t authorize any discharge. Did anyone see the police leave?
Shrugs. No one knows, no one cares. Except one OLD WOMAN struggling down the hall, leaning on a walker.
OLD WOMAN
They took her. Men in suits. It was three in the morning. She woke me up,
the way she was screaming and kicking.
TOM
God damn it!
He goes striding off angrily.
CUT TO
INT. - ER NURSE’S STATION - MOMENTS LATER
TIGHT ON TOM
He is on the phone, still furious, INTERCUT with shots of Laura, behind her desk in a legal office.
TOM
What do you mean she wasn’t arrested?
LAURA
I mean there’s no arrest report. No paper of any kind. Your little feline
friend was never arraigned. The incident was never logged. Officers
Sanchez and Chambers are mysteriously unavailable.
TOM
They can’t just pretend it never happened. There must have been a
hundred witnesses.
LAURA
You didn’t happen to get the names of any, did you?
CLOSE ON A HAND
Before Tom can answer, a hand ENTERS FRAME and depresses the button on the receiver.
ANGLE PAST TOM
Still holding the dead phone, he turns to face an imposing man in a dark gray suit: TRAGER. About fifty, his suit impeccable, his hair carefully combed, Trager is a man of ice and iron.
TRAGER
Dr Thomas John Lake?
Tom just glares at him. Trager flashes a badge.
TRAGER
Special agent Trager, federal intelligence unit. Would you come with me,
please?
Tom makes the connection. He’s suspicious and angry.
TOM
Why?
(beat)
You removed a patient of mine from this hospital last night. Illegally. Who
the hell do you think you are? What have you done with Cat?
TRAGER
Is that her name? She’s in good care, Doctor. She’d like to see you.
TOM
I’m not going anywhere with you until I’ve talked to my lawyer.
Trager has had enough; his patience runs out.
TRAGER
Fine. You get one phone call. Tell her you’re under arrest.
TOM
You can’t do that!
TRAGER
You’d be astonished at what we can do, Doctor,
(beat)
On the other hand, if you’ll give us your cooperation .. .
TOM
(reconsidering)
I’ll call someone to fill in for me.
CUT TO
EXT. - HOSPITAL - NIGHT
Trager escorts Tom out of the hospital. A long black limo with tinted windows waits by the curb. They get in.
INT. - LIMOUSINE - CONTINUOUS
Trager climbs in after Tom and closes the door. The car moves off without a word. A second man sits across from them: thirtyish, sandy-haired, muscular.
TRAGER
This is agent Cameron.
Agent Cameron wears a blue suit and a large white bandage over his nose that covers the center of his face. He looks unhappy.
TOM
I see you’ve met Cat.
Cameron gives him a foul-tempered stare. Tom turns his head away and fakes a COUGH, covering his mouth to hide the smile he cannot quite suppress.
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - DESERT BASE - NIGHT
The high desert of California. A uniformed GUARD waves the limo through a gate in a high chain link fence. On one side of the gate a sign says AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY; on the other DANGER HIGH VOLTAGE. Beyond the fence are the quonset huts and ugly cinder-block buildings of an abandoned army base.
INT. - DESERT BASE - NIGHT - TRACKING
Trager and Cameron escort Tom down a long windowless corridor. They pass one section where the wall has been BLOWN OUT; through a jagged blackened hole we glimpse a long interior room GUTTED by fire, its ceiling collapsed.
TOM
You have a fire?
TRAGER
Our shooting range. One of our bright boys decided to test fire your
girlfriend’s gun.
TOM
She’s not my girlfriend.
TRAGER
Whatever. In here, please. There are some things I want you to see.
He opens a door. Tom steps through.
INT. - TRAGER’S OFFICE - NIGHT - TIGHT ON A WALL SAFE
A high tech, electronic safe with a card slot and numerical keyboard. Trager’s HAND inserts a plastic security card into a slot. The keypad LIGHTS. Trager punches in a sequence of numbers. The safe swings open; Trager begins to remove the contents.
ANGLE DOWN ON DESK
as Trager spreads out Cat’s weapon, her bracelet, three BLACK CYLINDERS. A hundred-odd BLACK PLASTIC NEEDLES are scattered across the desktop.
ANGLE UP
Trager and Tom have been joined by MATSUMOTO, a government scientist, Asian, forty, wearing a lab coat.
TOM
She blew up a semi with that?
TRAGER
Correct. Go on, pick it up.
Tom lifts the weapon, sights down the barrel.
TOM
I used to have a water pistol that looked like this.
TRAGER
Close. Try a beebee gun.
MATSUMOTO
An air gun, more precisely. Quite sophisticated. I doubt we could duplicate
it. It uses a high-velocity jet of pressurized air to spit out...
Matsumoto lifts a thin black needle with tweezers.
MATSUMOTO
.. . these.
TOM
Needles?
MATSUMOTO
Needles with the explosive power of a bazooka round.
TRAGER
This beebee gun has teeth.
Matsumoto picks up a cylinder: black, long as a finger.
MATSUMOTO
The police found three of these magazines in her pockets. Each one holds
one hundred forty-four needles, and ...
He pulls a cap off the back. Inside, built-in, is a POWER CELL; it pulses with RED LIGHT.
MATSUMOTO
(continuous)
... its own power cell. So you recharge every time you reload. If Detroit had
battery technology this good, we’d all be driving electric cars.
Tom is still hefting the weapon.
TOM
Awkward grip. I can barely reach the trigger.
TRAGER
The girl had to use both hands to fire it.
TOM
Bad design ...
MATSUMOTO
Unless the gun was designed for someone with bigger hands.
TOM
You’d need fingers like a squid.
Tom puts down the weapon, picks up the bracelet.
TOM
She was wearing this when the paramedics brought her in.
TRAGER
It seems to be very important to her.
TOM
What is it?
MATSUMOTO
The metal is a superconductive alloy. I’ve never seen anything like it. Inside
it’s solid microcircuitry. Very odd microcircuitry. Parts of it seem almost
organic.
TOM
But what does it do?
MATSUMOTO
At a guess ... it detects certain unusual subatomic particles.
Tom looks blankly over at Trager. He’s lost.
TOM
I don’t understand any of this.
TRAGER
Neither do we. That’s why you’re here. We need answers, Doctor. And the
girl won’t talk to anyone but you.
OFF Tom’s silent, reluctant agreement, we
CUT TO
INT. - CORRIDOR - NIGHT
A uniformed MATRON is seated outside a locked door, beside a window of oneway glass. Cat is visible inside, curled up on a bed, listless, in prison grays. The matron fans herself with a small HAND FAN, its accordion folds alternately red and black.
TRAGER
How’s our guest?
MATRON
Quiet. She just lays there, staring off. I don’t blame her, in this heat.
TRAGER
Let him in.
He gives the bracelet over to Tom.
TRAGER
Your conversation will be monitored and recorded.
The matron unlocks the door. Tom enters.
INT. - CAT’S CELL - CONTINUOUS
Cat looks up slowly.
CAT
Toe Mas.
Cat gets up. She sees the bracelet. Her eyes WIDEN. She moves across the room, reaching for it.
CAT
Mine! Give it, Toe Mas.
TOM
First we need to talk.
Cat doesn’t take no for an answer. She reaches for the bracelet. Tom holds it out of her reach.
CAT
Give it now. Needing it now. Coming soon. Coming after.
TOM
Who is coming after?
CAT
Darklords! Manhounds! Give!
TOM
Tell me what it is and you can have it back.
Cat almost spits the word at him.
CAT
Geon. Give it now!
Tom tosses it to her. Cat snatches it out of the air, slides it back onto her arm. It seems to calm her.
TOM
What does it do, Cat? What’s it for?
CAT
Finding doors. Doors between. Doors away.
Backing away from Tom, Cat extends her arm, hand tight in a fist. She turns in a slow circle, sweeping the room.
TOM
What kind of doors? Cat, what are you doing?
She ignores him, concentrating. The device can’t find a reading in this enclosed place. It stays dark.
CAT
No good, no good, no good.
TOM
Cat, where did you get that? And the gun, the air gun .. .
(off her blank look)
The weapon, the ...
Frustrated, Tom does a pantomime of lifting the gun with both hands, firing, with appropriate sound effects.
TOM
You know ... phut ... BOOM!
He shapes an explosion with his hands. Cat giggles.
CAT
Phut BOOM?
TOM
Right. The phut boom. Where did you get the phut boom?
She looks at him as though he were a moron.
CAT
Hand cannon, Toe Mas. Stealing it. Not-for-men, hand cannon,
(beat)
Needing it, taking it.
TOM
What did you need the hand cannon for?
CAT
Shooting. Killing,
(off his reaction)
Getting away, Toe Mas.
Cat is getting more and more agitated. She looks around the sealed room desperately, searching for a way out.
CAT
Lights out! Darklords coming soon.
TOM
The . .. darklords. Is that a gang?
CAT
Darklords masters. Darklords owners.
TOM
And the ... manhounds?
CAT
(whisper)
Thane ...
Tom can see the fear on her face now. This conversation is getting to her. She tries the door to the room. It’s locked, of course. Cat spins away in frustration.
TOM
Hey, take it easy. I don’t know who these people are, but they can’t get to
you here. You’re safe.
Instead of calming her, that just drives her WILD. Grabbing up a CHAIR, she swings at the mirrored window with all her strength. It bounces off the glass. Cat swings it again and again. The mirror begins to BREAK. A spiderweb of CRACKS fissures out.
CAT
(screaming)
Not safe! Not safe! Not safe!
The mirror SHATTERS, showering the hall outside with pieces of one-way glass. Cat is about to leap through the broken window when Tom grabs her, restrains her.
TOM
Cat, stop. Don’t ...
He holds her tight, trying to comfort her, as the door opens and Cameron and the Matron come running in.
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - CANYONS - NIGHT
A densely wooded canyon outside Los Angeles. Thane stands on a precipice, looking down at the city lights. His face is a mask. A woman comes up beside him: DYANA. He senses her presence.
THANE
So many men, Dyana. Their lights go on forever.
DYANA
This is but a shadow of the trueworld, the master says.
THANE
Perhaps the masters of this world say the same thing of our own.
Thane turns his head very slowly toward the east, as if he is listening to something no one else can hear.
DYANA
What is it? Do you have a reading? Is she using the geosyncronator?
When Thane speaks, it is not to Dyana.
THANE
I hear you, Cat. Even now, you call to me.
He turns sharply back to Dyana, all business.
THANE
East, northeast, three hundred hexes.
CUT TO
INT. TRAGER’S OFFICE - NIGHT
Trager behind a desk. Tom is pacing. Cameron sits in the visitor’s chair, snapping a rubber band.
CAMERON
Pentathol.
TOM
No. She’s my patient. I won’t allow you to drug her.
TRAGER
We gave you a chance to do it your way, Doctor. Tom leans over Trager’s
desk.
TOM
Give me one more shot at it. Let me hypnotize her.
Trager steeples his fingers, thinks, nods.
CUT TO
INT. - TRAGER’S OFFICE - LATER
The lights have been turned down low. Cat sits in the visitor’s chair, Tom close to her side. Trager is behind his desk, watching, Cameron stands.
TOM
... deeper. You hear nothing but my voice now. There are no other sounds,
no other voices. Only me. You are relaxed. So relaxed. Floating. All the fear
has gone away.
Cat is deep in a trance.
TOM
Tell us your name. Your whole name.
CAT
Cat.
Tom frowns. Trager and Cameron exchange glances.
TOM
All right. Cat, tell us about the place you come from.
CAT
All dark. Lights out.
TOM
Does it have a name?
CAT
Angels.
TOM
Where is it?
CAT
Behind. Other side.
TOM
The other side of ... the door?
Cat NODS agreement. Tom continues, his voice gentle.
TOM
I am going to ask you something else now. You will not be afraid. All the
fear is gone.
(beat)
Cat, who are the darklords?
CAT
Owners. Masters.
TOM
What do they own?
CAT
Earths.
Behind him, Cameron ROLLS HIS EYES in scorn. Trager’s face is impassive, a mask. Only Tom picks up on the plural.
TOM
Earths ... more than one Earth?
CAT
Not all. Some. Many.
TOM
And your world, from . . .
CAT
Darklords came. Long ago. Lights out. Mommy saying. No cars, no guns, no
air-o-planes. Ashes, ashes. All fall down.
TOM
All fall down .. .
CAT
Cities. Soldier men. All fall down. Lights out. Long ago.
TOM
How long ago? How many years?
CAT
Before Cat.
TOM
Cat, where did the darklords come from?
(nothing)
From another country?
(no reply)
Another planet? Did they come in ships? Where?
CAT
The doors.
Silence. Trager leans forward.
TRAGER
Ask her about the weapon.
TOM
Cat, the hand cannon ... you took that from your owner.
CAT
(vehement)
His owner. Owning Thane.
TOM
Thane. Thane was a ... a manhound?
CAT
(echoing)
Let her live, saying. Give to me, saying. Served you well, saying. Little
animal, wanting her, saying.
TOM
You were given to Thane ...
CAT
(vehement denial)
Not his. Never his. Pretending. Watching. Listening. Knowing.
TOM
Learning .. .
CAT
Waiting. Long waiting. Then taking, running, killing.
TOM
Cat, who did you kill?
CAT
Darklord. Master.
TOM
You learned their secrets, stole the weapon, and escaped through a door,
didn’t you?
Cat NODS slowly. Cameron looks at Trager.
CAMERON
What the hell is he talking about?
Trager does not reply. He’s listening, intent.
TOM
One last question, Cat.
(beat)
How many fingers do the darklords have?
Cat does not respond. Tom holds up a hand in front of her face, his fingers spread wide.
TOM
If this was a darklord’s hand, how many fingers would you count?
TIGHT ON CAT - ANGLE THROUGH TOM’S FINGERS
Long hesitation. Finally Cat raises her hand, touching each of Tom’s fingers as she counts, SLOWLY.
CAT
One. Two. Three. Four,
(beat)
Five.
‘Five’ is the thumb. There’s a long beat. Cat is still staring at the hand, seeing something else, remembering. Just when we think she’s done, her finger moves over PAST Tom’s thumb, counting a ‘finger’ that is not there.
CAT
Six.
Now she is done. Tom closes his fingers into a FIST. In the strained silence that follows that moment, we
FADE OUT
END OF ACT II
ACT III
FADE IN
INT. - TRAGER’S OFFICE - NEAR DAWN
Trager leans forward, presses his intercom.
TRAGER
Griggs, summon the matron, and tell Matsumoto to prepare an injection of
pentathol.
(to Tom)
Bring her out of it.
Trager heads for the door. Tom bolts after him.
TOM
You can’t.
Trager EXITS, followed by Tom. Cameron remains with Cat.
CUT TO
INT. - CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS
Tom catches Trager by the shoulder, spins him around.
TOM
What do you want from her?
TRAGER
A story that makes sense.
Matsumoto comes up to them in the hall. He’s carrying an instrument case. Tom is still intent on Trager.
TOM
You refuse to see the truth when it’s right in front of your face. How many
fingers, Trager?
Tom holds up both hands, fingers spread.
TRAGER
What is it with you and fingers?
TOM
I learned to count on my fingers. So did you. It’s universal. We have ten
fingers, so we count in units of ten. One hundred is ten times ten. One
thousand is ten times ten times ten.
TRAGER
What’s your point?
TOM
That gun you took from Cat. Matsumoto said the magazines hold one
hundred forty-four rounds. Didn’t that strike you as an odd number?
In b.g., the matron approaches down the hall, FANNING herself,
TRAGER
Maybe.
TOM
Twelve times twelve is one hundred forty-four.
Matsumoto gets it, even if Trager does not.
MATSUMOTO
Base twelve mathematics. Of course.
TOM
A race with twelve fingers would count in twelves, Trager. How much
evidence do you need? Face it. That woman in there is not a twentieth
century American.
TRAGER
What are you saying, that she came down from another planet?
MATSUMOTO
Not likely. We’ve run DNA samples. Her genetic structure is completely
human.
TOM
She told you where she came from. Earth. But not our Earth.
MATSUMOTO
A parallel world?
TOM
Exactly.
The matron reaches them and stands fanning herself.
TRAGER
Excuse me?
MATSUMOTO
A neighbor universe. Certain mathematicians have theorized about the
existence of... well, a layman would call them other dimensions. The proofs
suggest that an infinite number of these other timelines may coexist with
our own.
TRAGER
What the hell is a timeline?
TOM
Remember the last World Series?
TRAGER
The Braves lost in seven. Cameron was out a week’s pay.
TOM
Let me borrow that,
(grabs fan)
What if there was another world where the Braves won? Look, we think of
history as a straight line. Past leads to present.
He holds up the fan, folded: a straight line.
TOM
But if more than one result is possible ... maybe they both happen. New
worlds are created at each nexus.
Tom unfolds the fan, just one notch. Now one red fold and one black diverge from the axis pin.
TOM
So you have one world where the Braves won and one world where the
Twins won.
(opens the fan more)
Then you have the world where the Pirates and the Bluejays played instead.
TOM
(still spreading)
The world where the Dodgers won the pennant. The world where the
Dodgers are still in Brooklyn. The world where baseball was never invented
and everybody bets on cricket in October.
(the fan spreads wide)
An infinite numbers of worlds, embracing all the possibilities, all the
alternatives. Not a universe. A multiverse.
Trager looks at the fan, then at Matsumoto.
TRAGER
And these other worlds exist?
MATSUMOTO
The math would seem to suggest that. Travel between universes, however,
is flatly impossible,
(shrugs)
In any case, it’s all theory.
Trager scowls, takes the fan from Tom, folds it up.
TRAGER
Theory,
(beat)
Here’s a fact, Dr Lake. I’m sorry I ever involved you in this matter. It’s time
you went home. I’ll arrange transport,
(to matron)
Take her to a holding cell.
TOM
Trager, wait ...
Tom GRASPS Trager by the arm, holds him for a moment.
TOM
At least give me a few moments alone with her. I want to say good-bye.
ECU - TOM’S OTHER HAND
While one hand is clutching Trager’s arm, the other is dipping into his pocket and lifting his wallet.
RESUME
as Trager, unsuspecting, NODS his assent.
TRAGER
Five minutes. No more.
Trager walks off with Matsumoto. Tom artfully conceals the wallet he’s lifted.
CUT TO
INT. - TRAGER’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Tom re-enters Trager’s office. Cat is still in her trance. Cameron is playing with his rubber band again.
TOM
Trager wants you.
CAMERON
(hesitant)
Who’s going to watch her?
TOM
Watch her do what? Sleep?
Cameron shrugs, and EXITS. Tom LOCKS the office door behind him, sits beside Cat.
TOM
I’m going to count to five. When I reach five, you’ll wake, refreshed,
relaxed, unafraid. But you’ll be very, very quiet. One. Two. Three. Four.
Five.
Tom SNAPS his fingers. Cat’s eyes open. He puts a finger to her lips.
TOM
No talking. Just nod.
(she nods)
There’s another door, isn’t there? A door out. That’s where you want to go.
CAT
(softly)
Time to go, Toe Mas. Leaving here now.
A long beat; Tom hesitates, his eyes search her face. He reaches a decision, with vast reluctance.
TOM
I’m probably going to regret this, but. . . watch the door, Cat. If {anyone
comes through, bite ‘em.
Cat nods eagerly and scrambles to her feet. Tom moves to the wall safe. He fishes the security card from Trager’s wallet, inserts it into the slot, punches some buttons.
CUT TO
INT. - CORRIDOR - MOMENTS LATER
The matron waits by the door as Cameron and Trager come striding up. Cameron tries the door. It’s locked.
CAMERON
Open up in there. What the hell you trying to pull?
Trager motions him aside.
TRAGER
Doctor, this is very stupid.
He takes out his keys, unlocks the door, and enters the office with Cameron right behind him.
TRAGER’S POV
He finds himself face-to-face with Tom ... and the hand cannon. Cat is sliding the bracelet onto her arm. Trager keeps his cool.
TRAGER
You really don’t want to do this, Dr Lake. If you fire that in here, you’ll kill all
of us. Including your girlfriend.
TOM
She’s not my girlfriend. We need a car.
TRAGER
Shall I tell you how many felonies you’re committing?
TOM
I’d just as soon you didn’t, thanks. That limo will do fine.
TRAGER
Cameron, bring the limousine around to the front.
CUT TO
INT. ENTRANCE - DAWN - ANGLE OUT THE DOOR
Trager stands at the exit with Tom and Cat. All the other guards are face-down on the floor. Cameron pulls up in the limo.
TOM
Let her idle. Okay. Climb out nice and easy and back off. That’s it. A little
more. Cat, make sure nobody’s hiding in the backseat.
Cat scrambles out to the limo, checks inside.
CAT
Not hiding, Toe Mas.
TOM
I didn’t plan this, Trager. It’s just happening. Don’t take it personally.
Trager just looks at him. Tom makes his break for it.
INT. - LIMOUSINE - CONTINUOUS
Tom jumps in and slams the door. Cat is squirming anxiously beside him in the passenger seat. He tosses the hand cannon into her lap as he revs the engine, pops the clutch, and takes off.
The limo speeds across the compound. Tom drives with his left hand, fumbles in his pocket with his right, pulls out three black cylinders. He tosses those at Cat too.
TOM
Here. See if you can figure out how to load the phut-boom.
Cat GRINS at him, and slides one of the cylinders into the weapon with an audible CLICK.
CAT
Hand cannon, Toe Mas. Hand cannon.
Then the high electrified fence and the guardhouse loom up in front of them. Tom floors it.
TOM
Hold on. I was always wanted to see how fast one of these big mothers
could go.
EXT. - DESERT BASE - CONTINUOUS
The guards leap out of the way as the limo CRASHES THROUGH the fence in a shower of SPARKS. They bring up their guns and FIRE as the car speeds off. To no effect ...
INT. - LIMOUSINE - CONTINUOUS
Tom turns the wheel hard. The limo fishtails, turns, and roars off down the road. Tom risks a quick look at Cat.
TOM
You know, if you turn out to be a runaway from Boise, I’m going to feel
really stupid,
(smiles at Cat)
We’ll need to lose the limo soon. Every cop west of the Mississippi is going to be looking for it. Where are we going, anyway?
In answer, Cat lifts the bracelet, closes her hand into a fist. The insets glow blue once more. They are brightest when she points straight ahead: due east.
CAT
That way, Toe Mas.
Tom is impressed.
TOM
I guess you’re not from Boise after all.
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - UNDERPASS - LATER THAT MORNING
Cat helps Tom roll the limo into a weed-choked underpass beneath the highway. It’s well hidden when they’re done.
TOM
That should do. They’ll find it eventually. By then we should be long gone.
CAT
(echoing)
Long gone.
She turns her hand up, opens her fingers. The HOLO appears; the WORLD in her hand. Tom is suitably astonished.
TOM
You know more tricks than Houdini.
TIGHT ON THE HOLO -TOM’S POV
The Earth turns slowly, a transparent ghost in brown and green and blue, but down in what we would call southern New Mexico, a WHITE LIGHT is FLASHING On and off.
CAT
There, Toe Mas. Long gone.
RESUME
as Tom studies the display, makes sense of it.
TOM
New Mexico. Eight hundred miles, at least. We can be there in a day.
Alien SYMBOLS crawl across the face of the globe. Cat understands them, even if Tom does not.
CAT
No good. Too late. Door opening, door closing. Quick quick. Be there
sooner,
(glance at sun)
Before new light. Before ...
(searching for word)
... before dawning.
TOM
Tomorrow at dawn? What happens if we don’t make it?
CAT
No door.
CUT TO
EXT. - HIGHWAY - DAY
Tom tries to hitch a ride. The traffic shoots past, ignoring him.
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - HIGHWAY - LATER
Tom coaching Cat on how to hold her thumb.
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - HIGHWAY - STILL LATER
A car pulls over to pick her up. The DRIVER grins when Cat slides into the passenger seat ... until Tom appears from nowhere and gets in back.
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - PICKUP TRUCK - SUNSET
Several rides and several hours later. Cat and Tom sit on a bale of HAY in the back of a battered pick up, bouncing down a rough dirt road. The sun is going down. Cat scans with the bracelet. The glow is BRIGHTER now.
TOM
It’s brighter.
CAT
Closer now.
Tom is in a pensive mood as he watches her scan.
TOM
Cat ... do you know where this door is going to take you?
CAT
Some place.
She sits beside Tom. The bracelet goes dark again.
TOM
Someplace worse, maybe. Can you come back?
CAT
No coming back.
TOM
The doors open only from one side, is that it?
(off her nod)
And you’d go through, not knowing what might wait on the other side?
CAT
Going through.
TOM
You might not like where you wind up, Cat.
CAT
Is always a next door, Toe Mas.
TOM
You can’t just keep running. What’s the point?
Cat frowns, puzzled. The point seems obvious to her. She notices the sunset: the gorgeous red and orange splendor of the evening sky. She points.
CAT
There.
Tom follows her finger, and seems to understand.
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - ROADSIDE DINER - NIGHT
A big rig slows with a HISS of air brakes on a dark mountain road, Tom and Cat climb down from the cab in front of a roadside diner. The truck rolls on.
INT. - ROADSIDE DINER - CONTINUOUS
Tom parks Cat in a booth, slides in opposite her. It’s late. The place is almost deserted. Signs over the counter advertise Mexican food specials.
WAITRESS
What can I get you?
TOM
Let’s have a couple of the cheeseburgers.
CAT
Couple of cheeseburgers.
WAITRESS
You want four cheeseburgers?
In b.g., a cowboy in jeans and denim shirt enters the diner and slides into a booth near the window.
TOM
(firmly)
Two. And two coffees.
CAT
Not knowing coffee.
TOM
Make that one coffee and one milk. You have a pay phone?
WAITRESS
Over by the men’s room.
She goes off to place the order. Tom gets up.
TOM
I’ll be right back. Don’t bite anything but the food.
Cat nods. Her interest has been captured by a squeeze bottle of ketchup. She SNIFFS at it, squeezes a little on the back of her hand, tastes it, looks an inquiry at Tom.
CAT
Not knowing ...
TOM
Ketchup. It’s a kind of Republican vegetable. Eat all you want.
He leaves Cat with the ketchup as he crosses to the phone.
ANGLE ON THE PHONE
The phone rings. We HEAR Laura’s voice.
LAURA
Hello?
TOM
Laura? It’s Tom. You’re not going to believe—
LAURA
Don’t say anything more. There are police here. They’ve been questioning
me about you.
TOM
Damn it. Is it Trager?
LAURA
No. They’re very upset with you. Tom, what’s this all about?
TOM
Cat. Listen, tell them I’ll give myself up in ...
(looks at watch)
. . . four hours. Just as soon as I get Cat to her door. I don’t care what they
do to me then.
LAURA
I do.
TOM
It won’t be so bad. I know a real good lawyer,
(beat)
I better get off before they trace this. I just wanted to hear your voice. You
okay?
LAURA
I will be once you’re home.
TOM
Me too. I love you.
Tom HANGS up. For a moment he seems sad and tired as he walks back to the booth.
CUT TO
INT. - DINER - LATER ANGLE ON THE REGISTER
The waitress is giving Tom his change.
TOM
Thanks. Hey, where are we? What town is this?
WAITRESS
T-or-C.
(off his look)
Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.
Tom pockets his change and grins.
TOM
Yeah. Figures.
He exits, with Cat right behind him.
ANGLE ON THE COWBOY
Nursing a cup of coffee. He watches them through the window, then produces a PALM-SIZED RADIO. He cups it, speaks into it in a whisper.
COWBOY
Subjects have just left the diner. Heading south along the road, on foot.
OFF his watchful eyes, we
CUT TO
EXT. - TWO-LANE ROAD - NIGHT
The night is warm and still. It’s very late now, around three in the morning. Cat and Tom walk slowly down the shoulder of a road on the outskirts of T-or-C. There’s no traffic at this hour, Cat raises her arm to SCAN. The blue GLOW is VERY BRIGHT now.
TOM
We must be close.
Cat brings her arm around in a slow SWEEP ... and the bracelet begins to STROBE, the triple insets FLASHING on and off in sequence, one two three, one two three, one two three, faster and faster.
CAT
There.
TOM
That?
REVERSE ANGLE - TOM’S POV
Cat is pointing at an old gas station, a two-pump mom-and-pop operation that looks as though it’s been shut for twenty years. The windows are boarded up, the pumps are gone.
Cat crosses the empty highway at a run. Tom comes after, slowly, She does another sweep. The silent strobing indicates one particular door. Tom is bemused.
CAT
Door.
TOM
Of course. What else?
REVERSE ANGLE - ON THE DOOR
The Men’s Room. It’s BOARDED SHUT.
TOM
This one doesn’t need Houdini.
Tom RIPS OFF the boards, tosses them aside. He opens the door cautiously, peeks inside.
TOM
I hate to tell you this, but it’s a men’s room.
CAT
Too soon.
TOM
So we wait.
CAT
(echoing)
So we wait,
(shyly)
Toe Mas .. . leaving here? Going with?
TOM
I’m sorry, Cat. This is as far as I go. Whatever’s on the other side of that
door, it’s not for me. I’ve got a life here. A career. Friends, family,
(gently)
A woman I love,
(beat)
Do you understand?
Cat looks up, NODS briskly.
CAT
Understand.
She sits on the ground, crosses her legs. Her face gives nothing away. After a moment, Tom sits beside her. Cat looks at him. Tom, feeling awkward, says nothing. She moves closer, then curls up beside him, and closes her eyes. Finally, Tom puts an arm around her. Cat stirs faintly, and nuzzles closer.
MATCH DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - GAS STATION - NEAR DAWN
Tom and Cat are both asleep.
Suddenly a BLINDING LIGHT hits them straight in the face. Cat wakes instantaneously, Tom more groggily. He holds up a hand in front of his face.
REVERSE ANGLE - TOM’S POV
He is staring into two sets of HEADLIGHTS. Dark figures move out in front of the light, silhouetted in the glare. They have guns in hand. Tom hears a familiar voice.
TRAGER
You’re under arrest.
RESUME
Cat is not about to go meekly. She reaches for her weapon, Tom grabs her arm before she can get it up.
TOM
Cat, don’t.
Cat won’t fight Tom. He takes the hand cannon from her.
TOM
Here. We’re unarmed. Don’t shoot.
CAMERON
Smart move, Doctor.
Cameron relieves Tom of the weapon and slides it through his belt. Behind him are Trager and two other agents, GRIGGS and MONDRAGON.
TOM
How did you find us?
TRAGER
Please, doctor. We never lost you. We played out the line a little to see
where she’d go.
Cat struggles as Griggs and Mondragon pull her arms back, handcuff her wrists. Cameron cuffs an unresisting Tom.
TOM
Trager, please, don’t do this.
Cat and Tom are forcibly walked toward the waiting cars.
TOM
A few minutes, that’s all I ask. The door is about to open. What have you
got to lose? For god’s sakes, man—
They are about to force Tom inside the car when the headlights of both cars suddenly GO OUT.
TIGHT ON CAT
She is the first to realize what it means. She goes wild, kicking and fighting, anything to be free.
RESUME
Trager has his first serious moments of doubt.
TRAGER
Get her under control, damn it.
Tom, staring over Trager’s shoulder, is the first to see them.
TOM
Trager, we’ve got company.
REVERSE ANGLE
Silent as ghosts, three black-clad manhounds walk out of the predawn darkness: Thane, Dyana, ICE.
The palanquin appears a moment later, blocking out the moon. The other three manhounds are riding atop it, guarding their master. Its SHADOW drifts across the upturned faces of the agents, and the alien, distorted voice of the darklord booms down.
DARKLORD
Give us the female.
MONDRAGON
I’m not seeing this.
TRAGER
Cat, who are these people?
TOM
Look at them, Trager. You know who they are.
He does; but he still cannot admit it.
TRAGER
The girl is a federal prisoner. What’s your business with her?
Dyana and Ice move forward toward the feds.
CAMERON
Hold it right there.
The manhounds keep coming. They’re not even armed. Griggs lifts his gun with both hands.
TRAGER
Griggs, fire a warning shot.
Griggs squeezes off a round. The gun CLICKS. Then Dyana is on him. She grabs his head on both sides. She TWISTS. We hear the SNAP as his neck breaks. Then everything happens at once.
MONDRAGON
pulls the trigger. The gun CLICKS. Ice curls his hands into fists. Six-inch STEEL CLAWS spring from his knuckles. He SLAMS his fist hard into Mondragon’s gut.
A BOLT OF ENERGY
crackles down from the palanquin, touching first one car, and then the other. The vehicles EXPLODE and BURN.
THANE
strides through the carnage, straight for Cat. She backs up, looks behind her. We see her REACT.
CAMERON
tries to face Dyana hand to hand. She blocks his karate blow, pulls him off balance, and slams him down across her knee, snapping his spine like a dry stick.
TRAGER
unlocks Tom’s cuffs, gives him the keys.
TRAGER
Get her out of here.
Tom runs toward Cat. Trager turns, and ...
A BOLT OF ENERGY
from the palanquin fries him where he stands.
ANGLE ON THE MEN’S ROOM
A pale blue GLOW shines through the crack beneath the men’s room door. Cat throws herself against the door. But with her hands cuffed, she can’t open it. Tom reaches her at a run. He has the keys.
TOM
Turn around. Hold still,
(unlocks cuffs)
We’ve got to ...
Too late. Thane is there. He grabs Tom contemptuously, and FLINGS him aside like a child. Cat tries to claw out his eye. Thane catches her hand, holds her prisoned by her wrist. She glares at him defiantly.
THANE
Look. Look at he who gave you mercy, and was repaid in shame.
Tom RABBIT PUNCHES Thane from behind.
TOM
Let go of her, you son of a—
Thane whirls, and tears into Tom, a brutal barehand attack. Blow after blow drives Tom back across the lot, staggering.
ANGLE ON THE DOOR (SFX)
Cat OPENS the men’s room door. Beyond is chaos, a portal of strobing light. The light is a brilliant BLUE-WHITE. Somehow it hurts the eye to look at it.
Within the light, images flicker past too fast to follow, almost subliminal. For just an instant, the path is clear. Cat could step through at will. But she hesitates ...
RESUME TOM
Thane is murdering him with his bare hands. Tom FALLS to his knees beside Cameron’s corpse. Thane grabs him by the hair, lifts his fist for the killing blow ... and Cat comes hurtling through the air and lands on his back, pummeling him with blows.
QUICK CUT - THE DOOR
The light has faded to a DEEP MIDNIGHT BLUE. We sense the portal is closing.
RESUME
Thane pulls Cat off his back, and hits her a single terrible backhand blow across the face. She falls.
TIGHT ON TOM
On the ground. Dazed. He wipes blood from his mouth. Then he sees Cameron lying there, still and dead. He crawls to the body, fumbles in the agent’s jacket, and pulls out the hand cannon.
ANGLE ALONG THE HAND CANNON
Tom aims at Thane, but he’s too close to Cat. Instead he swings the cannon UP at the palanquin, and FIRES.
THE PALANQUIN
is rocked by a tremendous EXPLOSION. The darkfield protects the rider, but we see one of the manhounds FALL, screaming, wreathed in flame. A moment later, the massive palanquin itself CRASHES DOWNWARD.
QUICK CUTS
The manhounds stare in horror.
Ice and Dyana are both directly under the palanquin. They look up in shock as it falls. Dyana drops and ROLLS out. Ice isn’t quite quick enough. He SCREAMS as the palanquin crushes him.
Thane moves to help his master.
TOM
staggers over to Cat, sliding the cannon away. She is unconscious on the ground. Beyond her, the door has faded to a DEEP PURPLE GLOW. It’s almost closed. Tom scoops up Cat in his arms, and RUNS.
THANE
sees, and comes after them. But too late. Tom LEAPS through the door. Thane lunges after him .. . and finds himself in a gas station men’s room. Alone.
SMASH CUT TO
EXT - BLIZZARD - DAY
as Tom emerges, cradling Cat, into knee-deep SNOW, in the midst of a HOWLING STORM.
FADE OUT
END OF ACT III
ACT IV
EXT. - BLIZZARD - DAY
Tom cradles Cat in his arms as the storm HOWLS around them. It’s day, but the sky is DARK, the sun hidden from sight. The wind drives the snow into Tom’s bruised, battered face. In b.g., we glimpse the mountains. Tom SHIVERS. He’s not dressed for this kind of cold.
TOM’S POV
as he turns, slowly. The world is a stark white wilderness of ice and snow and rock, with no shelter in sight.
RESUME
Already frost is forming on Tom’s eyebrows. He picks a direction at random, and begins to WALK, carrying Cat.
DISSOLVE TO
SERIES OF SHOTS - TIGHT ON TOM’S LEGS
as he struggles through knee-high snowdrifts, up ice-slick slopes, over rocks, sometimes staggering, fighting for every yard as the storm rages around him.
DISSOLVE TO
INT. - CAVE - DAY
As caves go, it isn’t much: a hole, half hidden by an overhang of rock, a dead tree near its entrance. But it’s shelter. Wearily, Tom carries Cat inside, lays her down on the hard-packed earth floor, out of the wind.
He’s covered with caked snow, trembling. He picks up some fallen branches from the dead tree near the cave mouth, begins to gather wood for a fire.
DISSOLVE TO
INT. - CAVE - HOURS LATER
Flames crackle and dance near the mouth of the cave. Outside, the snow has finally stopped falling. Tom washes the blood off Cat’s face with a handkerchief wet with melted snow.
ANGLE DOWN ON CAT - TOM’S POV
Cat’s eyes are open. She’s looking up at him.
TOM
Good morning. How’s the head feel?
CAT
Hurts.
TOM
Yeah. My face feels like chopmeat. Your friend Thane’s got quite a punch.
CAT
Not my friend.
She struggles to rise.
RESUME
Tom helps Cat to her feet. She crosses to the mouth of the cave, looks out. Beyond is a white wilderness of snow and ice. Cat SHIVERS, hugs herself.
TOM
Grim, isn’t it? You’re sure the doors don’t open in both directions?
CAT
Sure.
TOM
I was afraid you’d said that,
(beat, weary)
Maybe I traded us a quick death for a slow one.
CAT
Slow is better. More living.
TOM
Even if it’s only for a few days? A few hours?
CAT
Even if.
She cocks her head sideways, regards him curiously.
CAT
Why?
TOM
The door was closing.
CAT
Still. Why?
TOM
Some things you have to do.
Cat thinks about that. Then she moves closer, HUGS him with all her strength.
We can see TEARS in her eyes. Tom can’t.
CLOSE ON CAT
Her arms wrapped around Tom, holding him tight.
RESUME
Cat finally breaks the embrace, steps back. Tom looks as awkward as he feels. Maybe he doesn’t know what that hug means. Maybe he’s thinking of Laura.
CAT
Some things you have to do.
That brings a smile to Tom’s face.
TOM
What we need to do is make plans. The firewood won’t last long, and we’re
not dressed for skiing.
CAT
Not knowing skiing.
TOM
It’s where you pay a lot of money to strap boards on your feet and slide
down a mountain.
He moves to the cave mouth, studies the outside world. The black, overcast sky. The howling wind. The deep drifts of snow and overhangs of ice.
TOM
I don’t like the look of that sky. Darkness at—
(glances at watch)
—ten twenty-seven. Blizzards in September.
ANGLE ON TOM
Tom moves away from the wind and the cold, picks up a stick, prods the fire.
TOM
Maybe there was a geographical shift. Maybe we’re in Greenland ...
Antarctica ...
SERGEANT (O.S.)
Try Wyoming.
REVERSE ANGLE
as Tom whirls at the sound of the voice. Just inside the cave stand FIVE ARMED SOLDIERS; gaunt, ragged men in ragged uniforms, ice in their beards, hunger and fear in their eyes, snow caking their boots. Their RIFLES cover Tom and Cat.
The SERGEANT is a tall black woman with a rough, earthy voice. She warms her hands over the fire.
SERGEANT
Nice. Warm. And you know, you can see it for miles.
ANGLE ON CAT
Backing up. She looks sideways at the hand cannon on the ground nearby, tenses to make a dive for it.
RESUME
The sergeant knows exactly what she’s doing.
SERGEANT
Girl, if you’re going to try for that gun over there, you’re going to be real
dead real soon.
Cat FREEZES.
SOLDIER
What are we going to do with them, Sarge?
SERGEANT
March them back to camp and let the Captain have a look,
(to Tom)
Gather up whatever food you’ve got and get into your snow gear.
TOM
We don’t have any.
SERGEANT
(incredulous)
In that case, you two are going to have a long, cold walk.
OFF Tom’s dismay, we
CUT TO
EXT. - BASE CAMP - THAT AFTERNOON - ESTABLISHING
A small military camp has been dug in against the side of a mountain. There are tents, crudely built hutches, a firepit in the center of camp. Around the perimeter, like snowbreaks, are an ancient yellow SCHOOL BUS, a JEEP and an ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER, all in sorry condition. More striking - and in better repair - are two larger and more futuristic vehicles: a huge HOVER TANK (designed to ride on a cushion of compressed air, it has no treads), and an even larger transport FLOATER, an eighteen-wheeler without the wheels.
ANGLE ON TOM AND CAT
The soldiers stare, curious, as the captives are marched in. Counting the squad that captured Cat and Tom, there are twenty of them. We glimpse a few women and three times as many men.
Their ‘uniforms’ are worn, much patched, and not very uniform. It looks as though they came from two or three different armies. A few have heavy, hooded parkas; one man wears a moth-eaten fur coat; the others bundle up under layers of clothing.
ANGLE ON THE JEEP
as Tom and Cat are marched past. A MACHINE GUN is mounted on the jeep. It’s half in pieces now. WALSH, a private with a heavy dark beard wearing a fur-trimmed parka, is cleaning and repairing it. When he sees Cat, he stops, and jumps off the jeep to inspect her.
WALSH
Well, look at this. Maybe those snow patrols aren’t useless after all.
He blocks Cat’s path, touches her under the chin to raise her face, She stares at him impassively.
WALSH
You have a name, pretty thing?
SERGEANT
Knock it off, Walsh. And get back to work You were supposed to have that
gun cleaned and serviced an hour ago.
WALSH
I’d like to clean and service her.
TOM
I wouldn’t touch her if I were you. She bites.
SERGEANT
Listen to the man. I want that gun back in one piece by mess.
Walsh turns on the sergeant, defiant.
WALSH
Why? You think it matters? What the hell we going to shoot? Snowmen?
SERGEANT
I gave you an order.
Other soldiers gather to watch the confrontation. Among the spectators is a woman, WHITMORE, very PREGNANT. A minority make it clear they agree with Walsh.
WALSH
Stuff your orders.
CRONY
You tell her, Walsh.
WALSH
All this patrolling and drilling and cleaning our guns, what does it prove?
THE CAPTAIN (O.S.)
It proves we can survive, Walsh.
REVERSE ANGLE - ON THE HUTCH
A tall, grim, powerful man has emerged from the command hutch. THE CAPTAIN wears a heavy parka with a hood that shadows his face.
THE CAPTAIN
The snow is the enemy. The cold is the enemy. And despair is the greatest
enemy of all. Are you tired of living, Walsh?
CLOSE ON TOM
He is looking at the Captain hard, with a strange expression on his face, almost as if he recognizes him.
RESUME
Walsh is cowed and a little frightened by the Captain.
WALSH
No, sir.
THE CAPTAIN
Death is easy. Lie down in the snow, that’s all it takes. Life is harder. It
requires courage, work, discipline. Do you want to live?
WALSH
Yes, sir.
THE CAPTAIN
Then get back to work.
Walsh SALUTES and gets back into the jeep. The Captain turns to his sergeant.
THE CAPTAIN
Sergeant, who are these people?
SERGEANT
We found them in a cave by the south ridge, Captain.
THE CAPTAIN
Bring them inside.
CUT TO
INT. - CAPTAIN’S HUTCH - CONTINUOUS
The furniture is crude and well-worn. A wood-burning stove warms the hutch to a comfortable temperature.
The sergeant and one of her men escort Tom and Cat into the hutch. The Captain pulls down his hood. We see his face for the first time. His hair is shoulder length, tangled, but the same iron gray color. He sports a dark beard shot through with gray, but beneath it the face is the same. Tom recognizes him; so does Cat.
TOM
(stunned)
Trager.
CLOSE ON THE CAPTAIN
He frowns, off-balance for a second.
THE CAPTAIN
Where did you hear that name?
TOM
I ... knew you.
THE CAPTAIN
Before the war?
(thoughtful)
No. You’re not old enough,
(beat)
Names are for peacetime. I’m the Captain.
(to the sergeant)
Were they armed?
SERGEANT
We found these in the cave.
She deposits Cat’s weapon and two spare magazines in front of the Captain, who inspects them carefully.
CAT
Mine! Give it!
The soldiers restrain her as she starts forward.
THE CAPTAIN
Curious. Is this what the enemy is carrying these days?
TOM
We’re not the enemy.
THE CAPTAIN
That remains to be seen.
TOM
Your sergeant said this was Wyoming.
That draws a long, curious stare from the Captain.
THE CAPTAIN
This is the Mountain Free State. Or what remains of it.
TOM
The Mountain ... Captain, what’s happened?
Cat has figured it out; it’s obvious.
CAT
Warring.
THE CAPTAIN
Twenty-nine years of it.
TOM
(shocked)
Twenty-nine ...
THE CAPTAIN
You heard me.
(beat, brusque)
My turn. I would like some answers. What’s your purpose here? Where did
you come from?
TOM
Los Angeles.
THE CAPTAIN
Do I look like a fool to you? There is no Los Angeles,
(to sergeant)
Did you find their supplies?
SERGEANT
The only clothing they’ve got is what they’re wearing, and they had no food
at all.
THE CAPTAIN
How about a vehicle?
CAT
Walked.
The Captain looks at Tom, who SHRUGS.
TOM
Ah ... I hate to say it, but we did.
THE CAPTAIN
(rising)
You’re either a madman or a liar. We don’t have food for either. Sergeant,
take this man and—
The Captain breaks off as a WOMAN SOLDIER bursts inside the hutch, breathless and scared.
WOMAN SOLDIER
Captain, it’s Barbara. She’s gone into labor. Something’s gone wrong.
TOM
Take me there,
(no one moves)
I’m a doctor. I can help ...
The Captain studies Tom a moment, uncertain. We hear a SCREAM. It makes up his mind. He NODS. Tom rushes from the hutch with the woman soldier.
CUT TO
INT. - WOMEN’S HUTCH - LATER
Candles and a smoking torch provide the only light. The hutch houses the army’s five women. On one cot, Whitmore shudders and pants in the agony of labor.
The sergeant and the other women have gathered to help, but Tom is the only man in the hutch. He kneels between Whitmore’s legs. Cat watches from the door, curious as her namesake.
WHITMORE
It hurts ... oh, please ... it hurts ...
TOM
Bear down. That’s it. Go on, scream if you have to.
She does. Tom ignores it, concentrating.
TOM
Barbara, listen to me. It’s a breech birth. I’m going to have to reach in and
try and turn the baby around. It’s going to hurt. Are you ready?
Biting her lip, face damp with sweat, Whitmore NODS.
TOM
Here we go.
CLOSE ON CAT
Wide-eyed, watching. Whitmore’s next scream is SHATTERING. Cat pales, whirls, and flees the hutch.
EXT. - WOMEN’S HUTCH - CONTINUOUS
In headlong flight, Cat runs right into the Captain, waiting with a few other men outside the hutch. The Captain catches her by her arms, holds her a moment.
THE CAPTAIN
What’s happening?
Cat shakes her head wildly, she’s the wrong one to ask. She wrenches free of the Captain, and runs.
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - WOMEN’S HUTCH - LATER
The Captain and the other men are still waiting. It has grown quiet in the hutch. Finally the sergeant emerges.
SERGEANT
It’s a little girl.
The Captain nods. He shows no visible emotion.
THE CAPTAIN
And Whitmore?
SERGEANT
The doc says she’ll make it. She wants to see you, Captain.
The Captain enters the hutch.
INT. - WOMEN’S HUTCH - CONTINUOUS
The mother is cradling a tiny newborn to her breast. She looks exhausted and weak, but happy. Tom is drying his hands.
WHITMORE
Look at her, John. Isn’t she beautiful? Would you like to hold her?
The Captain looks uncomfortable. He doesn’t know what to say. Whitmore pulls the child closer.
WHITMORE
She’s going to be all right, isn’t she?
THE CAPTAIN
She’s going to be fine. We’ll be going south as soon as the weather breaks.
It’s still warm down there south of Mexico. The oceans are full of fish, and
there are green valleys where the food grows right out of the ground.
INTERCUT
with reaction shots from Tom, listening. The captain gently touches the baby’s head as she nurses.
THE CAPTAIN
I promise you, Whitmore. She’s going to grow up under blue skies. She’s
going to taste honey and ride a horse and play in the sun. I promise you.
CLOSE ON WHITMORE
There are tears in her eyes. Tears of joy, tears of sorrow? Maybe both. She bites her lips, and nods.
WHITMORE
I want to. name her Eve. It will be a new world, won’t it? And she’s the
first…
THE CAPTAIN
It’s a good name.
Whitemore smiles.
RESUME
as the Captain gets up. He looks at Tom.
THE CAPTAIN
Doctor, if I could have a word with you outside.
Tom follows him out.
EXT. - WOMEN’S HUTCH - CONTINUOUS
Outside the hutch, the Captain turns to face Tom. The sergeant, standing nearby, listens to their exchange.
THE CAPTAIN
So you really are a doctor.
TOM
Not a liar or a madman?
Cat, hiding around the corner of the hutch, hears Tom’s voice and comes creeping back into view. She listens.
THE CAPTAIN
Maybe all three. It doesn’t matter,
(sees Cat, in hiding)
Come out of there.
Cat emerges, shyly.
TOM
Cat, are you all right? Why did you run away?
CAT
Too much hurting. Dying.
TOM
Childbirth doesn’t have to be fatal, Cat.
CAT
No dying?
TOM
No dying.
THE CAPTAIN
You had a lot to do with that, it seems. We need a doctor. And we always
need women. You’re both drafted. Sergeant, explain the terms of
enlistment to our new recruits.
The Captain walks off. The sergeant takes over.
SERGEANT
Three articles. First, you obey orders. Second, you serve as long as we want
you. Third ... the penalty for desertion is death.
OFF the look on Tom’s face, we
FADE OUT
END OF ACT IV
ACT V
FADE IN
EXT. - FLOATER - DAY
Inside are crates of canned food, stacks of wood and faded yellow newspaper, bundles of old clothing. The QUARTERMASTER, jowly and unshaven, tosses down a bundle of clothing from the tailgate.
QUARTERMASTER
Here you go. You put on six, eight shirts, hey, who needs a coat, right?
Cat pokes her finger through a hole, SNIFFS at the stain around the hole.
QUARTERMASTER
That’s good luck, you know. I mean, what’s the odds on another bullet
hitting that same spot, right?
Cat starts pulling on the shirts, layer on layer. A little blood does not bother her at all.
TOM
We need warm socks.
QUARTERMASTER
Try the five-and-dime.
The quartermaster hands down a couple of rifles.
QUARTERMASTER
This here is your rifle. Make sure you don’t lose it. If the enemy shows up,
you can hit him with it.
Cat grabs her rifle eagerly, checking the action.
TOM
You mean there’s no ammunition?
The quartermaster LAUGHS like that’s the funniest thing he’s heard in years.
TOM
What good is a rifle without ammunition?
The sergeant gives him a wry, bemused smile.
SERGEANT
Good enough to capture you.
OFF Tom’s reaction, we
DISSOLVE TO
INT. - MESS TENT - EVENING
Tom and Cat, wearing their new ‘uniforms’ and looking as ragtag as the rest of this army, accept tin plates of canned beans and mystery meat from the cook, and carry them to empty places on the mess hall bench.
Cat picks up the meat with her fingers, tears at it with her teeth, She’s hungry.
CAT
(her mouth full)
Good. Hot. Eat, Toe Mas.
There’s a smear of GREASE around her lips as she grins at him over a ragged piece of meat. She wipes it away with the back of her sleeve. Tom holds up a FORK.
TOM
Remind me to teach you how to use a fork.
He picks up his knife, tries to cut his meat. It’s hard. Now it’s Cat’s turn to grin.
CAT
Use teeth. Better than forks.
Her smile fades as the quartermaster seats himself on the bench beside her. She tries to ignore him.
QUARTERMASTER
Your girlfriend’s hungry.
TOM
She’s not my girlfriend.
QUARTERMASTER
Your loss. Nice looking girl like her, nobody to keep her snug at night,
(to Cat)
You come out and visit me tonight, I’ll keep you nice and warm. Maybe I
can even find you a pair of socks.
He slides close to Cat.
TIGHT ON CAT’S LEG
Under the bench. The quartermaster puts his hand on her knee, slides it slowly up her thigh, his fingers groping.
ANGLE ON CAT
Her eyes flick sideways. That’s all the warning he gets. He has one hand on the table and the other under it.
QUARTERMASTER
I used to give roses to the girls. When there were roses. Hey, roses, socks,
what’s the difference? They both smell.
He starts to LAUGH at his own joke. Cat picks up a FORK and drives it down brutally into the quartermaster’s hand. The man SHRIEKS in sudden agony, and leaps up, clutching his bleeding hand.
QUARTERMASTER
My hand ...
Cat grins at Tom, her eyes sparkling.
CAT
Knowing how to use forks. See.
QUARTERMASTER
You filthy little .. .
TOM
(rising)
Don’t touch her.
The sergeant puts a hand on Tom to cool him.
SERGEANT
At ease, Lake. Timms, get back to the floater.
QUARTERMASTER
I was just trying to be nice to her.
The other soldiers don’t have much sympathy.
WOMAN SOLDIER
Next time maybe she’ll stick it between your legs.
The quartermaster GLARES at them all, and EXITS the mess tent, angry. Tom sits back down.
SERGEANT
He was a good man once,
(shrugs)
Things’ll be better once we’re moving again. Heading south.
Behind her, Walsh LAUGHS derisively.
WALSH
Yeah? When will that be, sarge? Tomorrow? Day after, you think?
(beat)
Face it. We’re never moving south. We been here eighteen months. We’ll
die here.
WOMAN SOLDIER
The Captain says as soon as the weather breaks ...
WALSH
Nothing’s going to break around here but us. We’re out of ammo, out of
fuel, and sooner or later we’re going to run out of food. We’re all dead
men.
He EXITS the mess tent, followed by two other men who obviously agree. A grim silence settles.
TOM
Your vehicles ... that tank, the hovercraft ...
SERGEANT
(wearily)
The big floater died eighteen months ago. That was the last. We have
thousands of miles to go, and no transport.
CAT
Walk.
SERGEANT
Even if we could make it through the blizzards on foot without freezing to
death, there’s no way to carry all the food we’d need.
No one has the heart to say anything more. The faces in the mess tent reflect resignation and despair. The sergeant gets to her feet.
SERGEANT
Lake, you’re on sentry duty tonight.
TOM
How do you know I won’t just run off?
SERGEANT
(bitter laugh)
And where the hell do you think you’re going to run to?
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - BASE CAMP - NIGHT
Tom, huddled up in his ragged clothes, rifle slung over a shoulder, walks his rounds as sentry. Tom’s breath STEAMS in the chill night air. He looks cold, miserable, lonely.
The night is cold and still. The wind howls through the camp. Tom, gloveless, tries warming his hands in his armpits. It doesn’t work. He fumbles in his pockets, takes out his wallet.
TIGHT ON TOM’S HAND
as he opens the wallet to a photo of Laura.
RESUME
Tom looks at the photograph for a long time. He has come a long way, and there may be no way back. For the first time, Tom is thinking about that. We see the pain on his face.
Then we HEAR a noise. The sound of motion.
TOM
Hello? Who goes there?
No answer. Hurriedly, he tucks away the photograph and unslings his rifle.
TRACKING WITH TOM
as he moves in the direction of the noise. We HEAR it again. A stealthy footfall, from the direction of the snowbound vehicles. Tom creeps along past the old yellow school bus, stops. We HEAR a MUFFLED THUD, a GROAN.
Tom screws up his courage, RUNS toward the cab of the big floater. Outside, he finds the quartermaster lying in the snow, out cold. He gapes at the unconscious man for a moment. Cat sticks her head out of the cab.
CAT
Quiet now, Toe Mas. Making noise loud. Too much.
TOM
(surprised)
Cat, what are you—
She opens the door, grabs him, pulls him in.
CAT
No talk. Inside now.
INT. - FLOATER CAB - CONTINUOUS
It looks like the cab of a semi. Cat slides down under the dash, lights a MATCH. She’s inspecting something.
TOM
(whisper)
What are you doing here?
CAT
Looking. Seeing.
She blows out the match, pulls herself up beside him.
CAT
Leaving now.
Cat pushes up her sleeves, shirt after shirt, opens her hand.
The HOLOGRAM winks on. The world spins slowly between her fingers; alien symbols squirm across the globe; a light flashes in Montana.
TOM
Another door? To where?
CAT
Out.
TOM
(frustrated)
Out. Out where? How do you know where it leads?
CAT
Go through. Find out.
TOM
Cat, is there a door that leads back the way we came? Can I get home
again?
CAT
Not knowing. Maybe. Maybe this door.
Tom studies the position of the light.
TOM
That’s got to be somewhere in Montana. When does it open?
She lowers her arm. The holo WINKS OUT.
CAT
Two days. Going now.
TOM
(disappointed)
It’s too far, Cat. A hundred miles, at least. Well be lucky to make ten miles a
day on foot.
CAT
Not feet. Taking this. She touches the controls of the floater.
TOM
There’s no power, remember?
CAT
Fixing it.
TOM
Who? You?
CAT
Knowing how. Thane teaching. Power cells.
It takes Tom a moment to comprehend. Then it hits him.
TOM
Power cells - god, yes!
(grins)
Cat, I could kiss you.
CAT
Not knowing kiss. Going now, kissing later.
TOM
(sudden doubt)
Wait a minute. The food .. .
(beat)
All the food is on the truck. If we take it, these people will die.
CAT
Dying anyway. Fast, slow. No matter.
TOM
That’s not what you said back in the cave. Remember? You thought life was
worth something then, even if it was only a few more days, a few more
hours .. .
Cat gets a stubborn look on her face. She doesn’t like having her own words thrown back at her.
CAT
Different then. Talking us then. Talking them now.
Tom stares at her, aghast, realizing maybe for the first time how strong her drive for survival is.
TOM
They’re people, Cat. Just like us. There’s a baby in that camp not six hours
old. A baby I delivered. I’m not going to sentence her to death.
Cat does not understand.
CAT
Leaving now! Going fast!
TOM
Then go.
CAT
You too.
TOM
I’m not going, Cat.
Cat is furious. Her mouth is set in a grim line.
CAT
Yes!
TOM
(quiet but firm)
No.
They stare each other down. Finally Cat lowers her eyes.
CAT
(surrender)
Not going too.
CUT TO
EXT. - CAPTAIN’S HUTCH - NIGHT
Tom leads Cat inside the captain’s hutch. The windows are all dark, as if the captain were asleep.
INT. - CAPTAIN’S HUTCH - CONTINUOUS
The interior of the hutch is PITCH DARK. We can barely discern the figures of Tom and Cat as they pass the windows. Cat is nervous.
CAT
Too dark.
TOM
Captain? Are you ...
Behind him, a match FLARES to sudden light. The Captain is not asleep. He is sitting up, behind his desk. He has a service revolver in one hand. He lights a candle with the other. The hutch fills with flickering light.
THE CAPTAIN
Stay right there. I promise you, this gun is loaded.
TOM
We thought you were asleep.
THE CAPTAIN
You thought wrong.
The Captain leans back in his chair. He keeps the pistol pointed at Tom and Cat. Cat’s hand cannon is on the table in front of him.
THE CAPTAIN
You two. Odd. I had rather expected Walsh and his friends.
TOM
Expected Walsh to ... ?
THE CAPTAIN
To try and kill me, of course. The surest way to promotion.
TOM
We’re not here to kill you. We want to talk.
THE CAPTAIN
Yes. You strike me as the sort of man who is much better at talking than at
killing. Now your girlfriend here ...
CAT
Not my girlfriend.
Tom is momentarily bemused by the echo.
TOM
Close, Cat. But we need to have a talk about pronouns,
(to Captain)
Captain, is it true? About the warm place down south...
THE CAPTAIN
I knew a man who knew a man who had seen it with his own eyes,
(shrugs)
A man needs hope if he wants to keep on living.
TOM
Can I show you something?
The Captain nods. Tom crosses to the table, picks up one of the spare cylinders, rips the cap off the end.
ANGLE ON TOM’S HAND
as he holds up the magazine for the Captain to see. Inside is the red GLOW of the power cell, PULSING with energy. The Captain leans forward, puzzled and curious.
THE CAPTAIN
What is it?
TOM
Hope. ..
The Captain looks at Tom’s face. He puts down his gun.
THE CAPTAIN
I’m listening.
CUT TO
EXT. - THE MOUNTAINS - NIGHT
Black sky over still, silent snows. Nothing moves but the wind. Suddenly we hear a CRACK, as loud as a clap of thunder, as sharp as a sonic boom.
The darklord’s palanquin is suddenly THERE, where there was nothing an instant before. Three surviving manhounds - Thane, Dyana, and the second woman, JAELE - cling to the battered vehicle. The palanquin is visibly damaged.
Thane leaps down to the snow, light as a panther. The hunt has resumed.
FADE OUT
END OF ACT V
ACT VI
FADE IN
EXT. - BASE CAMP - MORNING
The camp is feverish with activity. Soldiers are digging out the snowbound bus, securing the load in the floater, cannibalizing parts from the jeep and APC for the bus and the floater. A new animation and energy seems to have taken possession of the Captain’s listless little army.
TIGHT ON CAT
Upside down under the raised hood of the floater, face and clothing covered with oil, cables running through her hands, her face as intent as a doctor in surgery. She holds out a hand, wordless. The woman soldier, assisting, puts a power cell in her palm. Cat solders it in place.
RESUME
The quartermaster, his head wrapped in a makeshift bandage to match the one on his hand, sticks his face out the driver’s side window. He’s excited.
QUARTERMASTER
She’s showing a charge! Mother of god, look at it, the needle’s halfway off
the scale.
Cat climbs out, wipes her hands on a rag, NODS.
SERGEANT
Try the fans,
(shouts)
Stand clear! We’re going to try and lift ...
Soldiers SCRAMBLE out of the way. The quartermaster takes a deep breath, crosses himself, and turns the ignition. There’s a high-pitched WHINE as the floater’s electric turbines catch hold ... and then the ROAR of the great fans under the floater as they start to turn.
LONG SHOT - THE FLOATER
The floater ROCKS back and forth for a moment. Snow comes SPRAYING out all around it, sending the spectators running. Then, slowly, majestically, the hovertruck begins to LIFT off the ground.
The soldiers break into a ragged CHEER.
CAT
All of a sudden, she’s surrounded by people. They slap her on the back, grab her hand and pump it. She looks lost at first. Then she gets the idea and slowly begins to smile.
SERGEANT
One down. Now let’s see what she can do with die tank.
CUT TO
EX. - SCHOOL BUS - HOURS LATER
The soldiers are filing aboard the school bus, carrying rifles and duffle bags. A crew is at work chaining the bus to the floater. Cat and Tom wait while the Captain talks to die sergeant.
THE CAPTAIN
Take the old interstate as far as you can, but stay well clear of Denver. It’s
still too hot for safety.
THE SERGEANT
Yes, sir.
THE CAPTAIN
I should catch up to you by Sunday at the latest. If I’m not at the
rendezvous within the week, go on without me. Is that understood?
SERGEANT
Captain, we’d rather ...
THE CAPTAIN
Is that understood?
(off her nod)
You keep on going. No matter what. Those turbines could burn out any
time. You get as far south as you can.
Whitmore is about to board the school bus. Her little girl is cradled in her arms, swathed in layers of clothing. She stops to say goodbye.
WHITMORE
Doctor ... thank you ... for everything.
TOM
Take good care of her, you hear?
She KISSES him lightly. Cat watches, frowning.
WHITMORE
You too, Cat. Thank you.
(to Captain)
I ... I wish you were going with us.
THE CAPTAIN
I won’t be long. The sergeant will get you through.
Whitmore nods. She seems awkward, shy. She turns to board the bus ... and the Captain speaks up.
THE CAPTAIN
Barbara ...
(she stops)
Could I ... hold her?
She gives him the baby. The Captain takes the infant tenderly, holds her.
WHITMORE
She has your eyes.
The Captain gives her back the infant, and KISSES her. The kiss is tender and affectionate; it lasts a long time. Cat stares openly, curiously.
TOM
That’s a kiss, Cat. They’re kissing.
Whitmore is crying. Even the Captain’s eyes are damp. They break apart with an effort.
THE CAPTAIN
Take her someplace warm, love.
Choked up, unable to speak, Barbara NODS and boards the bus. Tears are rolling down her face.
CAT
Kissing hurts.
TOM
(smiling)
Oh, I don’t know about that
CUT TO
THE TOW CHAINS
The turbines WHINE. The fans ROAR. The floater lifts off the snow. The chains rattle and clank as the slack is pulled tight.
THE FLOATER
starts forward. Hovering a foot above the snow on a cushion of air, it begins the long journey south. The chains grow taut. For a moment, the bus refuses to move.
THE TIRES
of the bus are frozen into the snow, rimed in ice.
THE FLOATER
The whine of the turbines grows higher and faster as it strains against its load.
Nothing. Until finally
THE ICE ON THE TIRES
cracks, and the big tires begin to roll.
TOM AND CAT
watch as the vehicles start to move, very slowly. A window in the bus opens.
Walsh sticks his head out.
WALSH
Hey, Cat ...
(off her glare)
You made a liar out of me, pretty lady. I owe you one.
He tosses his warm, heavy, fur-collared parka out of the window at Cat. She catches it, astonished.
WALSH
Keep it. It’s warm where I’m going.
And then the bus is past. Cat stares after it.
TOM
Let’s go. The Captain is waiting.
REVERSE ANGLE - OVER TOM’S SHOULDER
to where the huge, battle-scarred tank waits, its own turbines slowly starting to rev. They walk toward it, Cat shrugging into the parka as she goes.
MATCH DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - BASE CAMP - HOURS LATER
The empty hutches and abandoned vehicles sit forlorn in the snow, The floater, the school bus, and the tank are all gone. Dyana strides over a rise, to where the darklord waits in its palanquin, looking down over the camp. She bows her head to report. Jaele and a sullen Thane listen.
DYANA
A military encampment, my lord. Recently deserted. I found these.
CLOSE ON DYANA’S HAND
as she opens her fist. Inside are two black cylinders.
THANE
Cylinders from the hand cannon.
DYANA
They’ve been stripped of their power cells. Useless.
THANE
But they prove she was here.
RESUME
Within the shadowed darkfield, the alien STIRS angrily.
DARKLORD
And she is gone again!
DYANA
One group went north, another south.
THANE
The next door is north. Cat will run to it.
DARKLORD
Then those who went south are nothing to us. Dyana, take us north.
She bows her head in acknowledgment. Thane speaks up.
THANE
My lord, your vehicle is damaged. Travel will be slow. She may reach the
door first.
DARKLORD
Pray that she does not, Thane, disgraced, twice-failed. I will have her, or I
will have you in her stead.
THANE
Send me ahead, lord. She must go around the mountains. I can take a more
direct road, and secure the door.
DARKLORD
Make it so. And do not harm her. She will serve my pleasure, not your
empty human pride.
THANE
To hear is to obey.
Thane climbs onto the OUTRIDER on one side of the palanquin, straddling it like a motorcycle. He works a control. The front section of the outrider slides forward and DETACHES from the main vehicle.
DARKLORD
Be warned, dog. There must be no third failure. My mercy is not without
limit.
Thane BOWS his head. The outrider takes off across the snow, swift and silent.
CUT TO
EXT. - THE MOUNTAINS - DAY
The tank, hovering on its cushion of air, makes its way north over the wasteland of snow and ice toward the mountains.
INT. - THE TANK - DAY
The interior of the tank is cramped and cold. The vehicle is obviously in bad shape; in b.g. are circuit boards seared by fire, panels torn out, evidence of makeshift repair. The sound of the fans is loud.
The Captain drives. Tom is seated in the turret gunner’s position, Cat huddled at his feet.
TOM
I’ve been thinking. You said it had been twenty-nine years. That would
mean your war started in—
THE CAPTAIN
October, 1962. But it was never my war.
TOM
(figures it out)
The Cuban missile crisis ... the Soviets never backed down, did they?
The Captain gives a weary shake of his head.
TOM
How bad was it?
THE CAPTAIN
We lost a few cities. Boston, Denver, Washington ... but we won. The new
president - McNamara, I think it was - he said so. People were dancing in
the streets. Flags flying everywhere, victory parades, the second baby
boom ... god, what fools we were.
TOM
Afterwards . .. the fallout.
THE CAPTAIN
Poison rains. Crop failures. The survivors swarmed out of the cities,
starving. There was no place for them to go. The lights went out all over
America.
CAT
Darklords .. .
TOM
Not here. They did it themselves here. Just men and women ...
THE CAPTAIN
The food wars were the worst of it. Once they started there was no
stopping them. And all the time the winters were getting longer and colder.
He shakes his head, as if to shake off the memories.
Then, suddenly, a CLAXON sounds. The tank SHAKES. Smoke starts to pour out of an instrument panel. Cat covers her ears against the noise.
The Captain grabs a fire extinguisher, rips off a panel cover, and starts to spray. The fans GRIND and fall silent, and the tank crashes to earth, jarringly. The smoke is thick.
THE CAPTAIN
Lake, pop the hatch. Move it! Before we all suffocate ...
EXT. - THE TANK - CONTINUOUS
Smoke POURS from the open hatch as Tom climbs out. He pulls Cat out after him. The Captain comes last, holding a cloth over his face and COUGHING.
TOM
What happened?
CAT
Fire, Toe Mas.
TOM
I figured out that much.
THE CAPTAIN
Some kind of overload. This thing should have been put out of its misery
years ago.
TOM
Can we repair it?
The Captain looks around. There’s nothing but mountains, as far as the eye can see. Snow and ice everywhere.
THE CAPTAIN
Do we have a choice?
CUT TO
EXT. - ANOTHER PART OF THE MOUNTAINS - SIMULTANEOUS
Thane rides the outrider through the foothills. His face is grim and implacable. He is moving very fast, eating up the miles. The mountains loom large ahead of him.
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - THE TANK - EVENING
The Captain has been working on the tank for hours. Cat sits perched on top of the turret, their sentry. When the Captain emerges, she comes vaulting down to hear.
TOM
How does it look?
The Captain’s face is grim.
THE CAPTAIN
I can gerryrigg something to replace the burnt out circuitboards. The real
problem is this.
He TOSSES something at Tom, who snatches it from the air.
TIGHT ON TOM’S HAND
He’s holding a power cell. It’s dead, blackened.
RESUME
Cat moves close. Tom gives her the dead power cell with a sour look on his face.
THE CAPTAIN
The faulty board caused an overload. We’re going to need another power
cell.
TOM
We don’t have another power cell. There were only two spare cartridges.
Tom looks helplessly out over the barren winterscape.
TOM
Where the hell is the Energizer bunny when you really need him?
THE CAPTAIN
Excuse me?
TOM
Never mind. What do we do now?
They look at each other helplessly.
THE CAPTAIN
We die.
Tom is startled by the sudden despair in the Captain’s tone. If this man is giving up, then the situation must be truly hopeless The Captain’s voice is weary.
THE CAPTAIN
Funny way to end it, though. I always thought I’d die in battle. A soldier’s
death ...
(beat)
My father was a soldier, and his father before him. For them it was all
about honor and courage, about defending your country from its enemies.
Then the war came, and there was no more country, and the enemies I was
killing one year turned out to be the people I’d been defending the year
before.
(beat)
Nothing was ever right in this war. Not even the dying.
Tom doesn’t know what to say, but Cat does.
CAT
No dying now.
She draws the hand cannon, pops out the cartridge. The last cartridge. She offers it to the Captain. He takes it from her hand solemnly, realizing what it means.
THE CAPTAIN
Without this, your weapon is useless.
TOM
Cat, are you sure?
CAT
Sure.
THE CAPTAIN
You’re leaving yourself defenseless. If your enemies find you ... these
darklords you’ve told me about ... you’ll have no way to fight them.
CAT
Lots of ways. Kicking. Biting. Throwing rocks.
The Captain draws his revolver from its holster, presses it into Cat’s hand.
THE CAPTAIN
Here. There are only four bullets left, but it’s something. Take it.
Cat takes the gun, examines it.
CAT
Something. Better than rocks,
(tucks it away)
Fixing now. Going now.
The Captain turns back to the tank to resume work.
DISSOLVE TO EXT. - CLIFF FACE - NIGHT - ANGLE DOWN
A bitter wind howls across a sheer cliff of rock and ice. The ground is a long way down, the top of the precipice a long way up. A HAND enters frame, grabs a precarious finger hold. Then Thane pulls himself up into view. His fingers are BLOODY from clawing at the rock, and there is FROST on his face, yet he pushes himself on.
As Thane CLIMBS out of sight, we
DISSOLVE TO
EXT. - MOUNTAIN PASS - THE NEXT DAY
The tank climbs slowly up a steep slope, and STOPS where a narrow pass opens between two high, ice-covered walls of stone. After a moment the hatch opens. Cat scrambles out first. Tom and the Captain are right behind.
Cat stands on top of the tank, exposes the bracelet, and SCANS. The BLUE GLOW is brightest when her fist points straight ahead, through the pass and up the mountain.
CAT
There. That way.
THE CAPTAIN
The pass is too narrow.
He glances up above them, at the looming mountains.
THE CAPTAIN
I don’t like the look of that snow up there. If I try to get the tank through, I
could bring down half the mountain.
TOM
Cat, how close is the door?
CAT
Close. Two hex, three hex.
TOM
I think we can make it the rest of the way on foot.
THE CAPTAIN
Then this is it. I need to get back to my people.
TOM
You can come with us.
THE CAPTAIN
This is my world. Besides . ..
(smiling)
I still think you’re mad.
Tom SMILES. They CLASP hands. Then Tom and Cat jump off into the snow. Their feet drive DEEP FOOTPRINTS as they land. Tom slips and goes down. Cat pulls him to his feet. The Captain watches them walk off up the slope, then shuts the hatch.
MATCH DISSOLVE TO
THE SAME SPOT - AN HOUR LATER - ANGLE ON DYANA
She kneels beside the deep footprints that Cat and Tom left in the snow. She stands.
THE PALANQUIN
floats close behind her. The creature in the darkfield leans forward eagerly.
DYANA
They left their vehicle here and continued on foot. Not more than an hour
ago.
DARKLORD
Then she is ours.
DYANA
What will you do with her, my lord?
DARKLORD
To you, pain is as short and sharp as a scream. You cannot hear its music.
But I can write a symphony with those notes, manhound.
Dyana doesn’t want to hear any more. She vaults aboard the palanquin. They push on, through the pass.
CUT TO
EXT. - MINE ENTRANCE - DAY
Tom is breathing hard. Even Cat is flushed by the exertion of the climb, but when she sees the dark hole of the MINE ENTRANCE up ahead, she RUNS. Pushing up her sleeve, she exposes the bracelet, makes a fist. The insets begin to STROBE, one two three, one two three.
TOM
(breathing hard)
Bingo. We found it.
Thane steps out of the darkness inside the mine.
THANE
So you did.
Cat SHRINKS back away from him. She whips out the battered old revolver the Captain gave her, swings it up with both hands, and FIRES without a moment’s hesitation.
The bullet catches Thane in the shoulder. He staggers, then straightens himself, smiling.
THANE
The child has a new toy to play with.
BLOOD is seeping from his shoulder wound, but Thane seems to feel very little pain. Tom is horrified.
THANE
That which does not kill me makes me stronger.
Cat SNARLS at him, and FIRES again. The second shot is a clean miss. We hear it RICOCHET off the rocks.
THANE
Afraid? You should be. She is coming, little animal. She is close now. Do you
know what she will do with you?
Cat FIRES. The bullet catches Thane square in the stomach. He GRUNTS, bends, clutches at the wound — but only for a moment. Slowly, he straightens, his hands falling back to his sides.
THANE
That one almost hurt.
Only one shot left. Cat is about to use it when Tom catches her wrist.
TOM
Cat, enough.
THANE
Cat. Yes. I gave her that name, shadow man. Did she tell you that?
(with mounting rage)
I taught her to speak. To read. To use machines. I gave her life. Food.
Honor. I took her as my mate.
TOM
(realizing)
You loved her ...
(beat)
Let her go, Thane. What kind of man are you?
THANE
Not a man. A manhound.
Behind him, suddenly, the mine entrance LIGHTS with a BRILLIANT BLUE LIGHT as the door opens.
CAT
The door ...
THANE
There it is. All you need to do is get past me.
At his sides, his hands coil into fists, and six-inch STEEL SPIKES slide from his knuckles, off that moment, we
CUT TO
EXT. - IN THE PASS - SIMULTANEOUS
The darklord drives the palanquin upward.
DARKLORD
Faster! Faster! The door is opening. She must not escape. Faster!
A half-mile in front of them, the HOVER TANK slowly lifts into view.
DARKLORD
What is that? That is a weapons system. Stop it.
The turret of the tank slowly swings around.
INT. - THE TANK
The Captain works the controls, a grim smile on his face.
THE CAPTAIN
Welcome to my world, you son of a bitch.
He presses the firing switch.
EXT. - THE TANK
The turret gun belches flame. The noise is a hammer blow.
THE PALANQUIN
veers off wildly as a shell EXPLODES directly underneath it. Both manhounds are THROWN OFF. The darkfield absorbs most of the damage, but the darklord SHRIEKS in fury, a torrent of unintelligible alien sounds.
The palanquin returns fire, a LIGHTNING BOLT flies down the pass, smashing into the tank. Then another. Another. The bolts CRACK through the air, and the pass rolls with THUNDER.
INT. - THE TANK - TIGHT ON THE CAPTAIN
He’s thrown sideways as the tank is hit. His lights go dark. The vehicle loses power and CRASHES, jarring him.
THE CAPTAIN
Hit me again. Hit me again. Come on, again,
(another hit)
Yes!
Smoke is pouring from his bulkheads now, but the Captain SMILES. He hears something else: a deep, ominous RUMBLING from above.
ANGLE THROUGH THE DARKFIELD
The darklord on her palanquin hears it too. Inside the darkfield, the great distorted form twists in fear, and tries to shelter itself with its arms.
DARKLORD
Nooooooo.
The word disintegrates into a SHRILL ALIEN SCREAM, and
AN AVALANCHE
thunders down and buries tank, palanquin, and all.
CUT TO
EXT. - MINE ENTRANCE - ON THANE
His head SNAPS sideways at the sound of the avalanche. In that brief moment of distraction, Cat breaks free of Tom, snaps up the gun, and fires her last shot.
The bullet catches Thane in the head, a grazing shot that bloodies his temple. He spins and goes down. Cat flings away the empty gun and scrambles past him to the door.
The BLUE GLOW of the door is fading, growing darker. Thane is already moving, rolling over, hand on his bloody temple. Tom stands frozen.
CAT
(to Tom)
Coming on!
He doesn’t need a second hint. Tom runs, jumping over Thane. Cat takes him by the hand. Together, they LEAP through the door, and we
SMASH CUT TO
EXT. - THE GREENWOOD - DAY
as Tom and Cat LAND in a pile of fallen leaves. The sky is a deep blue overhead. They are in an autumn forest, the foliage brilliant all around. In the distance, perched high on a mountain beside a glittering waterfall, is a CASTLE. Tom stares at it.
An ARROW thunks into the tree trunk an inch from Tom’s head, he jerks back, and looks at Cat.
TOM
Here we go again.
CAT
Bingo.
And OFF Cat’s GRIN, we
FADE OUT
THE END