Knights of Columbus #6

Issue 6: “Moonville Massacre”

PAGE ONE

“Previously” page.

PAGE TWO

All in long panel.

1/ Red lights flash as a young woman dances wildly in a packed nightclub. She wears a Depeche Mode T-Shirt, matching her 80’s style outfit, though she’s clearly someone way too young to remember the eighties, and is instead approximating what she thinks they looked like in honor of Ladies’ Eighties Night at her favorite dance club. Her hair flies erratically, flinging sweat around her head in a halo that gets caught in the flashing strobe lights.

CAPTION: Lori Miller had only wanted to have a good time tonight.

CAPTION: For once in her life, she wanted to set foot on the dance floor at Ladies’ Eighties without having to deal with what she called “GRADESCHOOL DRAMA,” ever so elegantly perpetuated by her group of party-hungry friends.

2/ A young man, decked out in equally campy eighties attire, approaches Lori, grabbing her arm to get her attention. It’s clear by their familiarity that they are friends, and the boy whispers something in her ear. Lori looks pissed, and her dancing peters out into an awkward shuffle.

CAPTION: Nevertheless, as “99 Red Balloons” blasted from the overheads and five-hundred semi-drunken twenty-somethings thrashed about with reckless abandon, the drama reared its ugly head.

3/ Lori gesticulates angrily, a bit over the top, and turns to leave the dance floor. The guy motions after her, well aware of her anger and realizing he’s just further complicated whatever drama he brought word of to Lori.

CAPTION: The damage having been decidedly DONE, and Lori Miller being the kind of person that she WAS, she resolved then and there to deal with this particular crisis first-hand.

CAPTION: She considered herself to be a vanguard beyond reproach in the war against unnecessary domestic squabbling, and had heretofore been the proverbial LINE IN THE SAND in defense of a simple night of fun. Or, at least, so she imagined herself to be.

4/ The two storm off the dance floor together, the boy having decided he’d rather be on Lori’s side of whatever was about to happen than on anyone else’s.
CAPTION: Which, to be fair, was what everyone had always TOLD her, when she would ever-so-obliquely inquire about what they thought of her.

CAPTION: This, too, was a talent of which she was rather fond.

PAGE THREE

1/ Outside, on the large smoking patio, where rows of round tables topped with umbrellas and scattered with dropped ash are lined up, as two of Lori’s friends are deep in conversation. The girl on the right is drunkenly sobbing into her Cosmopolitan, while her brunette friend, somewhat more coherent, consoles her patiently. Drunken girl is smoking a cigarette, burned down to the filter with neglect. Sober girl looks up and toward us in silent frustration as she realizes Lori is on her way over.

DRUNK: I just thought ::hic:: that it was what he wanted.
DRUNK: I thought…I THOUGHT it would make him HAPPIER!

SOBER: (small font, whispered) Aww, crap. Here comes Lori, hold that thought.

LORI: (off panel) YOU DID WHAT!?

2/ Lori arrives at the table, looking furious. Her hand is propped on her hip and her sweat-drenched hair hangs loosely to the side as she brushes it from her eyes.

LORI: You let Jason bring another WOMAN into the BEDROOM with you? Are you frigging RETARDED?

3/ Long panel as the two girls face each other, Lori fuming and drunk girl looking confused. She does her best to defend herself, but is far too emotionally distraught to have anything like a rational conversation.

DRUNK: It’s not how it ::hic:: how it sounds, Lori. You’re being all…LORI.
DRUNK: It was supposed to be…Just supposed to be FUN! It was ::hic:: supposed…

LORI: That man is a PIG.
LORI: How could you have not expected him to do this? Adam said he completely ignored you the whole time?

DRUNK: He just…just wanted ::hic:: wanted HER.

LORI: Goddamn BASTARD son of a bitch. Humiliate you like that.
LORI: Look, you stay here. Screw him. You’re gonna have FUN tonight. I’ll figure out what we’re gonna do about JASON.

4/ Lori lights a cigarette, talking around the filter as she does.

LORI: I’ve got half a mind to go over there right now.
LORI: Give him a piece of my MIND while I’m still all RILED UP.

5/ Drunk Girl reaches out and grabs Lori’s arm, pleading.

DRUNK: NO!
DRUNK: Please, Lori, don’t! That’d be so ::hic:: so embarrassing! You can’t!

LORI: (off panel) You’re already embarrassed, hon.

DRUNK: Not like that, PLEASE not like that!

6/ Long panel as Lori storms off, the cigarette flying from her lips and doing a little flip in the air as she leaves. She has gone from fuming to determined, looking at her fingernails like weapons as she waltzes off panel.

LORI: Screw it.
LORI: I’m going. I’m sorry.

PAGE FOUR

1/ Lori pushes angrily through the crowd, thundering down the steps of the multi-tiered dance floor like Godzilla storming through Tokyo, shoving innocent patrons aside like toppling skyscrapers.

2/ She passes another friend in the crowd and gets his attention while he’s dancing. He turns to look at her and his eyes go wide momentarily, recognizing that something is happening. They shout over the music.

FRIEND: What’s wrong?!

LORI: I’m outta here! Jason’s a PRICK!

3/ Long panel, now at the bar, as Lori leans over it to get the bartender’s attention. Her friend hovers behind her, looking concerned.

LORI: Can I pay my TAB?!

FRIEND: Lori…

4/ Lori counts her money as the friend looks on over her shoulder, trying to understand what’s going on.

FRIEND: Wait. What’s happening?

LORI: I told you!
LORI: Jason’s a prick. And a pig. And lots of other NASTY WORDS. And I’m going to deal with it, right this instant.

FRIEND: That still doesn’t tell me what the hell happened!

5/ Lori’s hand slides the wadded up money across the counter, passing shot-glasses and spilled drinks on the neon bar, lit from below.

FRIEND: (off-panel) You’re tipping him a dollar? You had like, FOUR drinks.

LORI: (off-panel) Lousy service, lousy tip.

6/ Long panel as Lori walks out of the bar, hunching over to light another cigarette as she passes the line of people waiting to get inside. She’s lit from above by the neon sign of the bar, off panel, and she turns slightly toward the adjacent dark alleyway to escape the wind that interferes with her lighter. Perhaps some paper flyers float by to indicate the windiness. She is alone, her friend having stayed inside to uncover the source of all the drama.

LORI: So sick of this freaking insanity, ALL THE TIME.
LORI: Put a stop to it once and for all.

LORI: DAMMIT, stupid wind!

PAGE FIVE

1/ Full page splash, featuring the issue’s title, credits, and indicia. Low angle shot, below Lori, as she has now ducked into the alley, and is successfully lighting her cigarette. Overhead, leaping from the top of the building, is a dark figure that looks startlingly like Donovan - with his face obscured in the shadow cast by the building’s brick wall. He is framed against the backdrop of a starry, clear night, and the light from the stars and almost-full moon above glint off the enormous butcher’s knife he wields in his hands, aimed right for Lori’s back.

CAPTION: Yes, Lori Miller had dealt with her fair share of DRAMA on these weekly nights of debauchery.
CAPTION: But the REAL drama…


CAPTION: …was about to land right on her head.

PAGE SIX

This page is four rows, each divided in two – with one half being a television screen with a female reporter, and the other half being a wordless action shot in a single panel, relating to the dialogue spoken by the reporter. Alternate the images back and forth.

1/ Female reporter, with a blurb by her head that reads “KNIGHTS SIGHTING.”

REP: …Tina Eakin, reporting for 10TV News. Local newspapers are ABLAZE with the latest headlines – yet another sighting of our mysterious local SUPERHERO team, apparently calling themselves the KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS!
REP: This time they were spotted at the popular EASTON TOWN CENTER, engaged in a heated battle with a creature that local FOLKLORISTS are calling a GOLEM.
REP: There is STILL no information on the ORIGINS of the team’s powerful MEMBERS, and the chaos that goes hand in hand with their frequent sightings has PREVENTED any of our prodigious reporters from securing an INTERVIEW with a representative from the TEAM.

2/ Silent image of the team, minus Donovan, battling a monstrous reptilian/humanoid creature in the central fountain square of Easton Town Center.

3/ Milo, Rhiannon, and a partially wolfed-out Beth, posed dramatically inside local bar Havana as they face off against an off-panel threat, Rhiannon creating a shield around them and Milo firing plumes of fire toward the unseen ghost.

4/ Female Reporter.

REP: This is the SEVENTH sighting of the team in the past TWO MONTHS, the most RECENT involving what witnesses call the detainment of a rambunctious GHOST on the grounds of Short North gay bar HAVANA. Reps for the ROY G. BIV group, Havana’s parent company, have declined to comment.

5/ Female Reporter.

REP: The prevailing questions SURROUNDING the team’s appearances are two-fold: who’s footing the bill for the wanton COLLATERAL DAMAGE piled up by each of these ALTERCATIONS, and WHO is the DARK-HAIRED MAN whose membership status in UNCLEAR?
REP: He has been present for only FOUR of the seven sightings, and his BESERKER-RAGE, while effective, has many Columbus citizens concerned for their SAFETY!

6/ Image of Donovan, crouched in the middle of a grocery store as rafters crumble around him from some unknown battle, staring off panel and roaring like an animal as he succumbs to the violence of Ozymandias.

7/ Dramatic, comic-book-cover style image of the entire team, standing in the middle of a city street at night, looking heroically off into the distance. You could imagine that this shot was pretty deliberately arranged by whomever took the picture, and the dust from whatever fight the photographer was privy to still settles around the teammates as they pose for their glamour-shot.

8/ Female Reporter.

REP: While these and other questions may not be answered TODAY, one thing is for certain: this day of Wednesday, April 4, 2012 coincides with the Chinese CHI’NG MING – the Festival of Reverence of Ancestors – and it is said to be a day when UNHAPPY SPIRITS wander the earth. Could this ominous description herald yet another sighting of Ohio’s very own VIGILANTE PROTECTORS?
REP: It remains to be seen.

PAGE SEVEN

All in long panel, the two scenes alternating back and forth.

1/ Cut to a close up, Andrew’s hand and Milo’s hand blocking each other as the two of them spar in the Knights of Columbus Headquarters – The Atlas Building.

CAPTION: The Atlas Building, top floor. Headquarters of the Knights of Columbus, Paranormal Investigators – and currently the setting of another several-times-weekly sparring session between Milo Woodyard and Andrew MacTiernan, founding member and Commander-In-Chief of the Knights, respectively.

2/ Cut to an image of Beth, seated in Victorian’s Midnight Café, on Fifth Avenue. She sips from a big black cup of coffee, looking over the rim at Rhiannon, who is mostly off-panel. Beth has a new haircut, slightly more playful than we’re used to by now. It is midday, and the sun shines brightly through the big picture-window in the BG.

CAPTION: Victorian’s Midnight Café, which – for the duration of a quiet lunch, anyway – serves as the headquarters of Elizabeth Adams and Rhiannon McRhea, intrepid investigators and founding members of the Knights of Columbus.

RHI: So, where’s Landon today? Not used to seeing you SHOW UP without him at LEAST stopping in for a minute or two.

BETH: Working. They’ve been giving him a lot more hours at the SITE, since he’s been on the crew for a while now.
BETH: Besides, I thought you and I could USE a little much-needed GIRL TALK.

RHI: I’m game.

3/ Close on Milo, as he turns toward us, blocking another punch from Andrew. He grunts with concentration.

MILO: ::Nnnggh::

4/ Back to Rhiannon, smiling pleasantly at Beth. She holds her hands in her lap, below the table, as her steaming coffee mug sits before her. Rhiannon’s appearance has changed a bit, too. She’s still a dyed-in-the-wool Goth girl, but she looks somewhat brighter and significantly less closed off than she did before.

RHI: And I’m glad to hear the job’s going well for him.
RHI: What’s this I hear about you two finding a new MARRIAGE COUNSELOR?

BETH: (off-panel) Oh, Doctor Vaughn? She’s WONDERFUL.

RHI: That’s great, Beth!

PAGE EIGHT

1/ Beth leans back against the booth, her hands resting on the table. She raises and I-Can-Read-Your-Subtext eyebrow at Rhiannon, smiling knowingly.

BETH: Yes, yes, Rhiannon.
BETH: I know you wanted us to pick YOU.

RHI: (off-panel) TOTALLY not what I was driving at at all. I really am happy.

BETH: We just thought it would be best for us to go with a professional. Even hailing from the BROTHERHOOD, as it were, Landon’s far more comfortable with actual MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS than he is with MYSTICS.

2/ Andrew brings his knee up swiftly into Milo’s gut, doubling Milo over as the wind is knocked out of him.

ANDREW: Ha!

3/ Close on Rhiannon as she gestures with her coffee toward Beth, before she takes a sip of it. She smiles and winks.

RHI: Hey, I’m just sayin’.
RHI: As the EMPATHIC types go, I’m all that and a bag of chips. Every bit as reliable as a real therapist and I’d do it for FREE, on account of you being FRIENDS, and all. Give credit where credit’s due.

BETH: (off-panel) Of course.
BETH: But to be honest, there’s actually a REASON I wanted to have lunch with you today, aside from the usual chit-chat.

4/ Close on Milo’s foot, as Andrew reaches down and grabs it, preparing to pull it out from under him, flipping him onto his back.

PAGE NINE

1/ Andrew successfully topples Milo, sending him crashing to his back onto the office floor. Milo’s hands wave in the air uncontrollably, caught off guard by the attack.

MILO: Jesus!

SOUND EFFECT: Thud!

2/ Beth leans over the table conspiratorially, as she asks the probing question with a penetrating smirk on her face. Her coffee sits beside her elbow, neglected as Beth reaches the ultimate point to their lunch together.

BETH: Rhiannon.
BETH Where’s Donovan?

3/ Milo flips himself back up off the floor, recovering fully and pouncing into an action pose as he prepares to strike at Andrew.

MILO: Nice.

4/ Rhiannon freezes, shrinking inward as she grips the table. She, too, ignores her coffee. She looks momentarily frightened, giving away her lie.

RHI: (small font) Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about, Beth.

PAGE TEN

1/ Beth casually takes a sip from her mug, as though she hasn’t just surprised Rhiannon with a question she didn’t want to answer. She breaks eye contact with Rhiannon, opting instead to look into the black depths of the coffee.

BETH: Nonsense.
BETH: Being a WEREWOLF has OTHER perks, you know. I mean, BESIDES turning into a hulking gray behemoth with enough hair to break a shop-vac.

BETH: I can smell him on you.

2/ Milo lashes out with a punch into Andrew’s gut – a punch that sends him flying across the room, crashing into the flimsy tiles that make up the ceiling of the office.

MILO: But not nice enough.

3/ Rhiannon forgoes her fear, switching to annoyance. She folds her arms indignantly and furrows her brow, now completely ignoring her drink as it cools on the table. Her hair falls unceremoniously in front of her eyes. Her lips are pursed in half-amused anger.

RHI: GOD, Woman.
RHI Lay TRAPS for people, much?

BETH: (off-panel) More often than you’d think, actually.

RHI: Fine. What do you wanna know?

4/ Andrew climbs up from the pile of debris on the floor, rubbing his throbbing head. Milo runs over to him, bending down to help in concern.

MILO: Oh my god, are you okay?

ANDREW: I’m fine.
ANDREW: And that was GOOD. But please remember, when you’re doing the telekinesis thing?

ANDREW: I HAVE no powers.

MILO: Right, sorry.

PAGE ELEVEN

1/ Cut to a small panel, extreme close-up on a tightly shut female eye.

2/ Similar panel, as the eyelid pops abruptly open, revealing a blood-shot, frightened, turquoise blue eye.

3/ Pull back to reveal Lori Miller, slowly coming to from a long blackout, being yanked off the ground by her hair by an unseen man, his tight fist caught up in the locks of her sweat-stained blonde hair. She shouts in pain, completely disoriented in the now midday sun. Around her we see plant life and the dusty ground – they are somewhere in the woods.

LORI: Aaahhhh!

4/ Tall panel as we see a full-bodied image of Lori, struggling as she is dragged physically across the ground, clambering to get free. Her darkly dressed attacker, still looking startlingly like Donovan from behind, looks onward away from her, indifferent to her shouting and pleading.

LORI: Please! NO!
LORI: Oh my god…
ATTACKER: (Demonic balloon, small font) Shut up.

5/ Extreme close up on Lori’s terrified face, trying to look upward to get a decent view of the man attacking her. Tears stream down her face.

LORI: Oh god, Mister, I don’t know what I did but PLEASE –

6/ Close on the silhouette of the attacker, as he turns suddenly to stare her right in the face, his features obscured by virtue of the sun overhead being behind his back. He is a menacing, anonymous shadow.

ATTACKER: (Demonic balloon) I SAID SHUT UP!

7/ Pull back again to reveal a medium shot of the man dragging Lori toward their destination: a dark, old brick-and-mortar tunnel in the woods, standing like a sentinel in the overgrown greenery around it. Over the top of the tunnel’s cavernous entrance is an inscription the reads “Moonville Tunnel”.

LORI: Oh my god
LORI: Oh my god

PAGE TWELVE

1/ Cut to JOSH, Andrew’s philosophy student we’ve seen in previous issues, leaving Bolz Hall at Ohio State University, his back pack slung over his back in the early afternoon sun. He walks with a bounce in his step, enjoying the day.

CAPTION: The Ohio State University.

OFF-PANEL: JOSH! Hey, JOSH!

2/ Over Josh’s shoulder, as a dark-haired young man – about Josh’s age – comes jogging up in a white t-shirt and jogging shorts. He stops by Josh, keeping his running rhythm going in place for a moment. This is Bobby.

BOBBY: Hey, Josh. What’s up?

JOSH: Hey, Bobby.
JOSH: Just heading out right now, actually.

3/ Bobby ceases his running and the two embrace for a moment, kissing hello.

BOBBY: Where you coming from?

JOSH: Oh, I’m just leaving Professor MacTiernan’s class. It’s my favorite.

BOBBY: I know.

4/ Close on Josh, smiling playfully.

JOSH: So, what are you doing when you get done JOGGING?
JOSH: I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come over and get HIGH.

JOSH:…MAYBE get a little something else?

5/ Bobby laughs and shoves Josh away, teasing.

BOBBY: You’re such a DORK.
BOBBY: Yes, of course, that sounds great.

6/ Over Josh’s shoulder again, as Bobby runs off down the sidewalk, continuing his jogging session. Bobby calls back behind him in response to Josh’s goodbye.

JOSH: Later, then?

BOBBY: Catch you in a bit.

7/ Josh walks happily up the sidewalk, thumbs locked under the straps of his backpack, whistling a tune as he heads off toward his destination.

MUSIC: (Tuneless notes hovering in the air)

PAGE THIRTEEN

1/ Cut to a long panel as Josh stands in line at the commissary buffet, picking and choosing the different foods to add to his tray. A girl with her own tray – his friend Kate - walks up behind him, surprising him.

KATE: Boo.

JOSH: Kate! You startled me.
JOSH: What’s up?

2/ Kate responds while looking at the buffet, grabbing an orange from a basket of fruit and examining it closely while she talks.

KATE: Scott and I are going EXPLORING. You in?

3/ They walk through the commissary, toward their table.

JOSH: Sure, I guess.
JOSH: Where were you guys thinking of going?
4/ Josh and Kate take a seat at a long dark wooden table, where Kate’s boyfriend Scott waits for them with his own tray of food. Kate takes a seat next him and Josh positions himself on the other side, facing them. Scott has overheard and answers for Kate.

SCOTT: The MOONVILLE area.
SCOTT: There’s supposed to be all these crazy GHOSTS and like, EVIL SPIRITS and stuff up there. At least that’s what everybody says. You wanna go?

5/ Josh takes a bite of his food, talking around a mouthful.

JOSH: Sure, but can we wait for Bobby?
JOSH: He’s supposed to come by my place in a little bit. He’s out running.

6/ Long panel of the three of them, sitting around the table. Scott has his arm around Kate’s back while Josh picks at his food idly.

KATE: Of course we can.

JOSH: Sweet, then count us in.

SCOTT: Aren’t you two coming up on like, SIX MONTHS?

JOSH: Six months next Tuesday.

KATE: Aww, see then this is GREAT.
KATE: Maybe the trip to Moonville will be like, ROMANTIC or whatever.

SCOTT: (to Kate) It would probably be a lot more romantic if WE weren’t there with them, babe.

KATE: (to Josh) What, you two can’t do romantic with other people around?

JOSH: Ha, yeah…we’ll SEE.

PAGE FOURTEEN

1/ Cut to a long panel as Milo and Rhiannon enjoy the beautiful weather, walking southbound down the Short North together and both smoking cigarettes. Joggers run past them back and forth, and other groups of friends and couples can be seen to wander around checking out the art galleries and entertainment venues.

CAPTION: The Short North Arts District.

RHI: Isn’t the Gallery Whosawhatsits not until Saturday? It’s awfully BUSY up here for your average Wednesday afternoon…

MILO: It’s called the GALLERY HOP, and yeah, it’s the first Saturday of every month. You’d be surprised how busy it gets up here on a nice day. How could people NOT come out to cruise the Art Galleries on a day like this?

RHI: True, true.

MILO: So how was your lunch with BETH?

2/ The two continue their walk, Milo in FG, Rhiannon in BG.

RHI: It was okay, I guess.
RHI: Landon’s enjoying the CONSTRUCTION job. They have a new MARRIAGE COUNSELLOR. You know, that kinda stuff.

3/ Milo takes a drag from his cigarette.

MILO: Good, good.
MILO: Things were touch and go there for a minute. I’m glad to hear they’re finally getting all settled in.

4/ Rhiannon pulls her arms a little tighter around herself.

RHI: They really are. I saw the house for a little bit, too. Everything’s unpacked, they’re getting it decorated… it looks really nice.

5/ Rhiannon gestures in mock frustration, ashing her cigarette on the sidewalk as Milo looks on, amused with her.

RHI: Gotta say I’m a LITTLE resentful. I TOLD Beth I would gladly assume counselor responsibilities for FREE, just to help out a friend. But does she listen? Not a chance.

MILO: Ha! What did I tell you, Rhi? DON’T GET INVOLVED.
MILO: The last thing you want is to be caught in the middle of whatever ridiculous MARRIAGE PROBLEMS they have next.

RHI: Hey, mister, how do you know that isn’t EXACTLY what I want? I mean, for REAL, my gossip-bank is running pretty LOW these days.

6/ Rhiannon turns from playful to grim.

RHI: Oh, and, uh…SPEAKING of people who are NEW to life in the old O-H-I-O…she grilled me pretty hard about the whereabouts of a certain DEMON POSSESSED BADASS who lives just up the street…

7/ Close on Milo, looking a little concerned.
MILO: She and Andrew don’t KNOW he’s still living up in Clintonville?
PAGE FIFTEEN

1/ Long panel as Rhiannon looks shamefully at the ground, Milo scratching the back of his head with his cigarette-free hand.

RHI: Well, I mean, they do NOW.
RHI: But no, up until our little coffee break TODAY, I couldn’t bring myself to OUT him like that.

MILO: The guy could use some HELP, though, don’t you think?
MILO: Like…how long can he stay holed up in that apartment, trying to sort this out by himself? Maybe it’s BEST if Andrew and Beth get involved.

2/ Rhiannon takes a drag from her cigarette.

RHI: Well, obviously. And help is what I’ve been trying to GIVE him.
RHI: He’s just…DIFFICULT.

3/ Milo turns to her.

MILO: Well, it’s not like he ever ASKED you for help, is it?

4/ Rhiannon tosses her cigarette away, somewhat indignant.

RHI: No, Milo, he hasn’t, but it’s not like that’s gonna stop me from trying, right?
RHI: Don’t get me wrong, I know what you’re saying, and I realize that playing the cooperation game might not WORK. We might NEED to get together and FORCE him to deal with this, head on, as a member of a team, but still…

5/ They continue onward, Milo sticking his hands into his pockets as Rhiannon reverts to her arms-wrapped-tightly-around-her posture.

MILO: I just think it would be better for him to have a support GROUP, instead of a support…PERSON. We might get more accomplished. Even is it wasn’t necessarily ALL of us, or anything too intervention-y like that.

RHI: No, you’re right, I get it.
RHI: I just – I don’t know.

6/ Close on Milo, looking at her beseechingly.

MILO: He has a DEMON inside him, Rhiannon.

7/ Rhiannon looks onward and down, avoiding eye contact.

RHI: I just think he deserves a chance to handle this on his own.
PAGE SIXTEEN

1/ Long panel as Milo is abruptly plowed into from behind by a jogger, Rhiannon looking on in shock. The jogger is a young man, only slightly taller than Milo, with short blonde hair and a swimmer’s build, displayed through his sweat-soaked shirt. He has emerald green eyes to compliment Milo’s crystal blue, and he sports a well-developed, but not overpowering, suntan. Milo flies forward, toppling to the ground face-first.

JOGGER: Oh my god, LOOK OUT!

RHI: AHH!

2/ Close on Milo as he hits the ground, his right cheek smacking against the pavement as his glasses fly off his face, clattering to the sidewalk.

SOUND EFFECT: Thunk!

3/ Milo picks himself up off the ground, and behind him we can see the joggers well-worn tennis shoes as he stops to make sure Milo is okay.

JOGGER: (somewhat off panel) I am SO sorry, Man.
JOGGER: Are you okay?

MILO: Uh. I’ve been BETTER.

4/ Long panel as the Jogger helps Milo to his feet, Rhiannon swatting angrily at the Jogger’s back – and ceasing her attack the moment she gets a good look at him.

RHI: Why don’t you watch where you’re GOING, you ignorant –

RHI: Oh.

5/ Milo accepts the stranger’s help, turning to face him as he clambers up off the ground. He, too, turns to attack, but his anger deflates immediately and he is reduced to stuttering awkwardness.

MILO: SERIOUSLY!
MILO: What is your prob –

MILO: Oh…ha ha. Hi.

MILO: I’m Milo.

6/ Close on the Jogger as Milo gets a good look at him for the first time. He smiles.

JOGGER: Hi, Milo. I’m DAVID.
JOGGER: Really sorry about that.

PAGE SEVENTEEN

1/ David resumes his run, disappearing down the sidewalk, as Milo watches him go, hands on his knees as he tries to get himself composed. He waves forgivingly at David’s back, attempting to act nonchalant.

MILO: Oh, no. It’s okay. No harm done.
MILO: Nice meeting you, though!

2/ Rhiannon looks down at Milo and smiles as he dusts off his pant legs, returning his glasses to his face with his free hand.

RHI: Sweet Jeebus.
RHI: Check out you and Hottie McHotterson.

MILO: I KNOW, right? Who saw THAT coming?

RHI: Milo and DAVID sittin’ in a TREE….

MILO: Oh, spare me.

3/ Long panel as a random couple walks by them, discussing the day’s news items.

MAN: Have you heard about this series of killings? Down at the Moonville Tunnel and right Downtown HERE?

WOMAN: Oh god, no. There were murders?

MAN: Yeah, a few of ‘em. And several of ‘em in the last couple of DAYS. They say whoever’s doing it behaves like some crazed ANIMAL. Like he’s possessed by a DEMON or something!

WOMAN: They have any idea who it is?

MAN: There’s a COMPOSITE sketch. Short guy, dark hair, mid twenties…and a coupla people who got away say he’s always talking about OZYMANDIAS? Like that poem, you know? REAL whackjob.

4/ Milo and Rhiannon immediately face each other, eyes wide with surprise.

MILO: Did you HEAR that?

RHI: I did.

5/ They stand uncomfortably in the middle of the sidewalk, unsure of what to do next. Rhiannon scratches her arm and glances sideways at Milo, while Milo focuses on his fingernails, looking over the edge of his hand at Rhiannon.

MILO: You don’t think…

RHI: It COULDN’T be.
RHI: But, like…could it?

6/ Milo turns to face the opposite direction, back the way they came, while Rhiannon looks on, a little disappointed and very concerned.

MILO: So much for handling it on his OWN…

PAGE EIGHTEEN

1/ Large panel as Josh and his friends arrive at the Moonville tunnel, walking toward it in a group with their backs to us as late afternoon light cascades through the cracks in the deep woodland trees. The tunnel looms over them, forbidding and dark, as though the mouth of the tunnel is a great black hole that consumes all light near its edge. Crows perch on the top of the tunnel’s rocky ledge, one or two of them taking flight into the woods as trespassers arrive.

CAPTION: Zaleski Forest, Vinton County.

KATE: And here we are.

BOBBY: You think they hide it far enough back here?

2/ High angle shot as all four of them gaze up at the name inscribed on the rock, looking right at us and off the page. Kate pulls her pink hoody a little tighter around her, while Scott tries his best to act macho. Josh and Bobby look careful, but unimpressed.

SCOTT: Isn’t this place supposed to be, like, OOZING evil or something?

KATE: Seems fine to ME.

JOSH: Wait, what does that even MEAN? Oozing evil HOW?

KATE: They say that you can FEEL how dark this place is, like in your bones or whatever. Superstitious losers.
KATE: And like, if you take pictures here they all have those stupid ORBS in them that mean there were ghosts or something like that.

SCOTT: I don’t feel anything.

3/ Close on Bobby, amused.

BOBBY: Well, we ARE all standing OUTSIDE the tunnel in BROAD DAYLIGHT like a bunch of terrified PANTY-WAISTS.
BOBBY: The first one of us to step inside is the ONLY one who gets to act like they aren’t actually scared.

4/ Josh looks up at the menacing tunnel, while Scott glances over at him, responding.

JOSH: So…should we go in?

SCOTT: That IS what we came for.

4/ The four of them head into the tunnel, disappearing into the blackness.

SCOTT: So, when Josh wets his PANTS, we’re gonna make him ride the whole trip home that way, right?

JOSH: Go to hell, Scott.

PAGE NINETEEN

1/ Long panel as they all stumble around in the dark, their eyes adjusting to the new atmosphere. Scott and Kate lead, Josh and Bobby lagging behind.

JOSH: Um. What exactly IS it that’s supposed to be HAUNTING this place?

SCOTT: Does it matter?

KATE: No, I agree. That does seem like something we should KNOW.

2/ Scott and Kate walk deeper into the tunnel, Scott closest to us, as Kate turns to reprimand him.

SCOTT: It’s your MOM, Josh.
SCOTT: Your MOM is haunting the tunnel.

KATE: Don’t be a DOUCHE, Scott.

3/ Josh and Bobby push past the others, heading ever deeper into the tunnel first, both to show Scott up a little, and to get away from him.

JOSH: Pardon me.

SCOTT: Hey! Look out, PUTZ!

KATE: Guys!
KATE: Don’t get TOO far ahead; this is creepy as hell in here!

BOBBY: We’ll be FINE.

4/ Josh and Bobby stop, examining the walls. Bobby reaches his hand out to touch them, feeling something he doesn’t like. Josh looks on in concern.

BOBBY: Wait…
BOBBY: There’s something hanging on the WALLS here, guys…

5/ Behind Josh and Bobby as they look up. On the walls, appearing out of the darkness as their eyes adjust, there are the unmistakable forms of three human bodies nailed to the bricks with old railroad spikes. They are contorted and mutilated, their heads turned at impossible angles. They are, in some cases, missing limbs. Behind them is the graffiti covered wall, with the spray-painted shape of an evil clown, the word “HEAD” in huge block letters, and an elaborately painted Iron Cross (all real graffiti in Moonville Tunnel).

JOSH: Those can’t be what they look like…

BOBBY: Jesus Christ.

6/ Kate looks around, blissfully unaware of what’s going on up ahead.

KATE: I don’t know what all this crap is about some EVIL FEELING.

7/ She walks forward, and without realizing it, she passes by a figure in shadow, about Donovan’s height, with glowing orange eyes. Steam curls from the edges of his eyes and floats up into the darkness around them. He watches her pass.

KATE: It’s not so BAD.

FIGURE: (small font, quietly, in demonic balloon) …Ozymandias…

PAGE TWENTY

1/ Close on Kate’s hand, as it is sliced clean off at the wrist by an unseen tool. Blood splatters, flying off panel in the direction of the slice. A little piece of bone sticks out, cut cleanly at its edge.

SOUND EFFECT: Schlurp!

2/ Kate grasps her wrist in horror, her jaw hanging open in shock, as Scott stares on in terrified confusion, coming quickly around to the front to try and help.

SCOTT: Jesus, Kate!
SCOTT: What the hell HAPPENED?!

KATE: Oh my god, my HAND! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HAND?!

3/ Scott tries desperately to comfort her, looking at her in concern as his own arm is sliced off at the shoulder, similarly clean cut, splattering blood all over his upper torso.

SCOTT: It’s gonna be okay, Kate! We’re gonna get you –

4/ Scott looks down at his shoulder, where his arm used to be, in stunned confusion.

SCOTT: Dude, what the…?

5/ Josh and Bobby realize what’s going on and crouch, ready to run for their lives.

BOBBY: HOLY CRAP, Josh. RUN!

6/ Huge Panel as the Shadowy Figure appears out of nowhere, his back to us, and runs his hand right through Bobby’s chest, ripping out the other side with Bobby’s heart in his fist. In his free hand he dangles a gleaming machete, stained with the blood of Scott and Kate. His hand drips gore, and Josh stares on in impossible terror, frozen in place.

SOUND EFFECT: Schripp!

JOSH: JESUS!

PAGE TWENTY-ONE

1/ Josh runs toward us, crying. The Shadowy Figure lurks behind, eyes glowing.

JOSH: Bobby, Oh god!

2/ Josh darts out of the tunnel and presses himself against the wall, catching his breath and trying to regain composure. He looks off to the side, toward us, as the Shadow man’s hand creeps around the corner from the tunnel and reaches for Josh, unseen.

JOSH: It’s not a ghost, it’s not a ghost, it’s not a GHOST!
JOSH: God, god, what’s happening?!

3/ The hand grabs Josh by the face and pulls his head backward, knocking Josh’s skull against the wall. Josh’s eyes go wide with fear.

JOSH: Oof!

4/ The hand lets go and Josh falls, stumbling toward the dusty ground.

5/ Josh tumbles head over heels, falling backward into the tall grass. For the first time, he realizes the grass is stained with blood all around.

6/ Next to Josh, in the tall weeds, is the still living Lori Miller, arms and legs cut off and face streaked with tears and dirt. She turns to Josh, lying on her back helplessly, and pleads with him.

LORI: (withered balloon, dying) Please, God…
LORI: HELP ME…

7/ Josh recoils, startled and repulsed. He tries to get up from the ground but the best he can manage is to crawl.

JOSH: Holy Jesus!

8/ Long panel as Josh crawls toward us, the body of Lori Miller in the BG, and Moonville Tunnel even further in the BG, with the Shadowy Figure standing at its edge, looking out. Only a vague impression of the man can be seen, but his orange eyes glow like fire from the darkness. Josh sobs, tears running down his cheeks, as he cries for help.

JOSH: SOMEBODY!
JOSH: (huge) HELP!

PAGE TWENTY-TWO

1/ Cut to Andrew, sitting in his abandoned classroom late at night. The only light comes from the desk lamp, illuminating the stack of papers he is knee-deep in grading, and the television, propped up on a rolling TV-cart. On TV, two political pundits are in a heated debate. Andrew watches intently, his tie undone and hanging loosely around his neck.

CAPTION: The Ohio State University. Bolz Hall.

PUNDIT 1: (TV balloon)…the point is not whether these people are doing GOOD. They most certainly do SEEM TO BE. The point is that if these crazies are running around CENTRAL OHIO fighting BADGUYS and upholding the PEACE, where are their BADGES? Where is their OFFICIAL TRAINING? This is not an ANARCHIST STATE! We do not tolerate VIGILANTE JUSTICE!

PUNDIT 2: But Rod, there already IS heavy speculation that these people and the small handful of other teams we’ve heard rumor of are actually ON the Government Payroll – that they ARE, in fact, United States GOVERNMENT AGENTS!

PUNDIT 1: Do not sit here in this honest political discourse and tell me that SPECULATION is enough to douse the fires on this ISSUE, Steven, I won’t STAND for it! We want PROOF, and we want it NOW!

2/ On Andrew, as he watches the television with his cheek resting in his hand. He watches with interest, clearly having already anticipated this reaction.

ANDREW: Huhn.

3/ Close on the stack of papers before him, as he returns his attention to grading. The top sheet is Josh’s own essay, and Andrew picks it up, scanning over it a second time. There are many places in which he has previously highlighted passages.

4/ Andrew flips over to the second page, the television still playing in the BG.

ANDREW: Come on, Josh…
ANDREW: You can do better than this.

5/ Standing in the open doorway to the hallway outside, backlit slightly by the late night dim lights of the building, is Josh, looking like he’s just been run over by a truck, He is mostly unscathed, compared to his friends, but he has definitely been through hell.

JOSH: Professor MacTiernan.

6/ Andrew looks up from his papers, then his face turns to surprised concern.

ANDREW: Josh, speak of the…
ANDREW: Oh my god, what’s HAPPENED to you?

7/ Josh tentatively approaches the desk.

JOSH: Look…I know you won’t wanna talk about this.
JOSH: I know you’d probably rather keep it a secret. But there’s some serious BADNESS going down, so I’m just gonna come right out and SAY it.

JOSH: A lot of people are talking, and the rumor is that you’re ONE of the Knights of Columbus. That you might even be their LEADER.
JOSH: And I need your help.

8/ Close on Andrew, as he looks at Josh carefully, measured.

ANDREW: That’s ridiculous.
ANDREW: Where would you get an idea like that?

9/ Josh slams his hands down on the desk, leaning on it, forcing Andrew to accept him. Andrew recoils back slightly, the papers flying off the stack.

JOSH: Dammit, my friends are DEAD!
JOSH: And my BOYFRIEND, too! I NEED you to help me OUT on this!

ANDREW: Okay, Josh, okay. I just need to…wait, your BOYFRIEND?

JOSH: Totally not even KIND OF the important part of that sentence.

PAGE TWENTY-THREE

1/ Cut to a Long panel with Milo and Rhiannon, standing before Donovan’s apartment building in the middle of the night. The building is a near featureless brick box, with windows for eight apartments on the front. The front door has a small vinyl awning over it, and beneath the awning the doorway is lit by a dim yellow porch lamp. The building butts up right next to another building, creating a small alleyway between the two. Rhiannon is on her cell-phone, as Milo looks up at the building, surveying it.

CAPTION: Clintonville.

RHI: Yeah.
RHI: Yeah, we know.

MILO: Is that Andrew?

RHI: Yeah, he says that if I know where Donovan is, then we should check on him, because there’s something going down and blah, blah, blah.

MILO: Tell him we’re on it.

RHI: Yeah, don’t worry. We’re all over it.
RHI: No.
RHI: No.
RHI: Yes, I know.
RHI: Right.
RHI: No, seriously, man. We got this. Don’t worry.
RHI: Alright. I will.
RHI: O-kay.
RHI: Uh-Huh. Goodnight, Andrew.
RHI: We will. Thank you.
RHI: Goodnight.

2/ Rhiannon hangs up the phone and joins Milo in looking up at the building.

MILO: Good lord, what was THAT all about?

RHI: I know, right?! Cut the umbilical, for Christ’s sake.

MILO: So you’re sure he’s still here?

RHI: I’m fairly confident that I can track him better than YOU can, Milo. Give a girl some props now and again.

3/ Rhiannon looks up higher, toward the roof.

MILO: (off panel) So…should we just let ourselves in?

RHI: No, I THINK he’s on the roof. Just a hunch. I can feel it.
RHI: I guess we should CLIMB up there?

4/ Milo looks up higher, squinting as he judges the distance, and Rhiannon looks over at him, confused.

MILO: I don’t think I need to.

RHI: And why’s THAT?

5/ He turns to face her, confident.

MILO: Been working on a few things.

RHI: Is this a telekinesis thing?

MILO: It’s a telekinesis thing. Lemme get between the buildings.

6/ Long panel, between the two buildings, as Milo jumps. Making little telekinetic sparks along the way, he propels himself upward, bouncing back and forth off the walls until he reaches the top, leaping over the edge. He completely bypasses the several levels of catwalks along the side of Donovan’s building. We stay below with Rhiannon, looking upward as she watches him do his thing.

RHI: Nice.
RHI: Color me impressed.

PAGE TWENTY-FOUR

1/ Milo does his best to awkwardly land in something like an action pose, scattering gravel as he hits the roof. It’s covered in gravel all around, and we can see little vents and antennas sticking up in different places.

MILO: Uhn.

2/ Milo reaches over the edge, helping Rhiannon to the top as she completes her climb of the catwalks.

RHI: You are such a jerk.

3/ Now at the top, Rhiannon dusts herself off, Milo checking to make sure she’s alright.

RHI: Thanks.
RHI: Neat trick.

4/ Milo walks forward, Rhiannon lingering behind a bit. Milo crosses his arms, smirking as he greets the person they came to see, currently off panel.

MILO: Well, well.
MILO: If it isn’t Mister PERSONA NON GRATA himself.

5/ Donovan sits cross-legged on the roof, meditating. He sits atop a wicker mat, and all around him are glowing candles. He wears only a pair of sweat pants and a crucifix necklace, and beside where he sits, a rooftop vent leaks steam into the night. The stars shine brightly all around, and Donovan opens his eyes to acknowledge Milo, unimpressed.

DON: Can I help you?

6/ Milo lights a cigarette by doing his little flame-control magic trick, equally unimpressed with Donovan’s bravado.

MILO: Yeah, funny story. There’s some PSYCHOPATH running around killing INNOCENT PEOPLE. Everybody seems to think he looks and acts an awful lot like YOU.

MILO: Know anything about that? ‘Cause, you know…THAT would be pretty lame, if you were KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE.

7/ Donovan looks straight forward, no longer making eye contact with either of them. He prepares to resume his meditation.

DON: Yeah, well. I’m not.
DON: Got the wrong guy, kids. Sorry to let you down.

PAGE TWENTY-FIVE

1/ Rhiannon bends down to face him, looking him straight in the eye. She speaks to him slowly and cautiously, as if to a child who doesn’t realize he’s done something wrong.

RHI: Donovan…are you SURE?
RHI: How do you know, I mean? How do you know that Ozymandias isn’t…taking you OVER or something, and you’re not REMEMBERING that you’re killing people?

2/ Close on Milo, direct and steady. His demeanor changes from the playful antagonism to the measured tones used when confronting an alcoholic.

MILO: Don, you need to step back and think about this. The killer even runs around TALKING about Ozymandias.

3/ Donovan looks down at the ground - or, rather, the roof- ashamed.

DON: He does?
DON: Good God. I don’t know.
DON: I don’t even KNOW what I’m doing now. I can’t control it.

4/ Rhiannon tears up a little, unsure of what to do.

RHI: Donovan…

5/ Milo flicks his cigarette away and the others watch it fly off into the distance.

MILO: Well, no use beating yourself up over it NOW.
MILO: First things first, we see if we can’t PROVE you didn’t do it. And THEN...

6/ Close on Milo.

MILO: …we see if we can’t put a stop to these CONTROL issues you’re having.

MILO: (small font, afterthought) Okay, so not NECESSARILY in that order.

7/ Donovan looks up at him, from his meditation position. He remains skeptical.

DON: And HOW, exactly, do you intend to fix it?
DON: What do you think you’re going to DO?

MILO: (off panel) Simple.

8/ Long panel, low-angle behind Donovan, as he looks up at Milo. Milo stands importantly, posing a little more dramatically than necessary (if only because this is the last panel), while Rhiannon hangs behind him, looking at Don with concern. A shooting star flies by in the BG as the steam from the vent curls up around them.

MILO: I’m going to make you a PSYCHIC.




CAPTION: Next- Welcome to the Machine!