Issue Twenty-Four: “The Last Gorilla Medium, part 3: Pillar of Salt.”
NOTE: Some narration will be added shortly to the scenes with Milo and David.
PAGE ONE
“Previously” page.
PAGE TWO
1/ Long Panel, Close Up on Palmer's forehead, as an unseen worker applies stitches to a deep but serviceable gash across the older man's eyebrow. From what we can see of Palmer's face, he looks deeply annoyed with the recent turn of events.
CAPTION: Elsewhere. Now.
WORKER: ...but all in all, you're lucky to be ALIVE, Mr. Palmer.
WORKER: How did you survive this?
2/ Long Panel, as we see from behind Palmer, looking over his shoulder at three official-looking Government representatives, all looking down at him as he sits on a comfy office chair getting his wounds mended. The three men are backlit by a blinding light, making them little more than hazy silhouettes as they question him about the events in the Atlas Building.
GOV 1: We've been able to determine that MacTiernan wasn't acting ALONE.
GOV 2: Though the rest of the team was otherwise OCCUPIED, he seems to have acted with the help of one SARAH CORDELIA BRUSS, and her partner ADAM FALSTAFF. Man calls himself “Mister WIZARD.”
GOV 3: He has some history with the team.
3/ Large, Long Panel as Palmer sits back in the chair, cracking his knuckles and looking irritated as he puts the pieces together on his own. The medical technician fixing his eyebrow steps back out of the panel as Palmer shifts his weight.
PALMER: That's it, then.
PALMER: Falstaff. He must have cast some kind of PROTECTION SPELL.
PALMER: It's the only way ANDREW could destroy the office without killing us BOTH.
PALMER: Which means it was all a SHOW.
PAGE THREE
1/ Long Panel on the three government Reps, looking down at him from their shadowy figures, betraying nothing. The light behind them is almost painful to look at.
GOV 2: To what END?
2/ Long Panel as Palmer fishes a cigar out of his coat pocket and puts it to his lips, fumbling a silver butane lighter out of his other pocket. He glances up at the men over the shaft of his cigar, raising his damaged eyebrow as he nonchalantly relays the massage meant to be gathered from Andrew's seemingly crazed attack. He almost smiles at the prospect of it, a twisted part of him reveling in the promise of war with the Posthuman movement.
PALMER: To let us know that he's going UNDERGROUND.
PALMER: He's declared WAR on us. THEY'VE declared war.
PALMER: Everything's going to CHANGE, now.
3/ On one of the Shadowy figures, leaning forward a bit as he presses for more information.
GOV 3: Why don't you tell us EXACTLY what happened?
4/ Close on Palmer, his face lighting up with sarcastic glee. He holds his cigar away from his face, not yet lit, as he speaks.
PALMER: My pleasure.
PAGE FOUR
1/ CUT TO the recent past, as the door to the team office opens and we see Andrew's arm and hand as he crosses the threshold. The office is lit by a yellow-orange source light from the desk lamp, suggesting that Palmer is already there.
CAPTION: Atlas Building. Two hours ago.
2/ Andrew stands before the desk, looking down at the person sitting behind it and looking as professionally, insincerely pleased to see him as possible. Andrew is soaked to the bone with rain from walking in the downpour outside.
ANDREW: Palmer.
ANDREW: I'm glad you could make it.
3/ Long Panel as Palmer reclines in Andrew's chair behind the desk. He holds his hands together, cracking his knuckles contemplatively. Beside him, the yellow glow from the green-tinted desk lamp highlights the deep wrinkles etched in the older man's face, showing his displeasure at the sight of Andrew MacTiernan.
PALMER: Likewise.
PALMER: Sit down, Andrew. It's time to talk.
4/ On Andrew, looking pointedly oblivious, batting around what he obviously knows is about to happen. His coyness could be better faked, but he knows that it's about to be irrelevant, and there's no stopping the plans he's already put in motion.
ANDREW: Is this about my request to forestall action against the COLUMBUS ZOO situation?
ANDREW: Because I'm telling you -
5/ Close on Palmer as he levels his gaze, staring Andrew in the eye forbiddingly.
PALMER: This is about telling you that you have used up all your FAVORS from me, Andrew.
PAGE FIVE
1/ CUT TO a Long Panel as David stands outside the door to Milo's apartment, his forehead pressed to the door and his balled up fist slammed against it, resting hopelessly against the wooden door as Milo ignores him on the other side. David has clearly been crying, his face red and tears forming deep etches in his cheeks as he pleads. The dim lights of the hallway cast him in a gray pallor. The metal “4” that hangs over the peephole rests against the top of David's head, glinting in the light.
CAPTION: The Short North. Milo's apartment.
DAVID: Milo.
DAVID: Milo, open the goddamned DOOR.
2/ Long Panel, on the opposite side of the door, as Milo leans with his back against it. He holds his hand to his face in despair, not liking what he's doing but rationalizing it as something he has to do. He, too, has been crying, but he tries desperately to block out David's pleas. He has almost no lights on in the apartment, keeping him in a darkened room. He wears a dark, button-down shirt.
DAVID (through door): Milo, I don't know what HAPPENED to you when Malice...
DAVID: ...when he did what he DID.
3/ Long Panel as we return to David, in the hallway. He steps back, leaning against the door frame with his outstretched arms supporting his weight on either side of the door. He looks at the door, correctly imaging that Milo stands right on the other side.
DAVID: But it has NOTHING to do with you and ME.
DAVID: I don't know what you SAW, but if you DO this -
DAVID: - if you walk AWAY from us because of it -
DAVID: - then you're an even bigger COWARD than I thought.
PAGE SIX
1/ Long Panel, Close on Milo, as he reaches his finger up and wipes his wet nose horizontally. He opens his eyes, looking painfully off into the darkness of his apartment. David continues.
DAVID (though door): You think you can curl up in a ball and shut out the world because you're such a VICTIM...
DAVID: ...but it's a JOKE and you KNOW it.
2/ Long Panel, back in the hallway, as David leans bodily against the door, wracked with sobs. His forearm rests against the door, his forehead buried in the crook of his elevated arm. His free arm forms a fist against the upper portion of the door, his anger causing him to twitch involuntarily.
DAVID: Everybody goes through HARDSHIPS, Milo.
DAVID: Everyone has things in their LIFE they wish they could ERASE.
DAVID: But you're only a VICTIM if you let it MAKE you one.
DAVID: You're only a victim if you let it take away your power to FIGHT for something.
3/ Long Panel, Closer on Milo, as he turns his head to the side. He squeezes his eyes shut tight, tears flowing freely now.
DAVID (through door): And you gave up on FIGHTING a long time ago.
DAVID: Nobody took it from you.
DAVID: You threw it AWAY.
PAGE SEVEN
1/ Long Panel as we CUT TO Beth and Landon, laying down together on their bed in the dark, streetlamps from outside shining into the window and giving them an almost ethereal, unreal feeling to their two silhouetted figures. Landon lowers Beth to the sheets slowly, gently, his arm blocking the view of her naked breast. He looks down at her, smiling slightly. She smiles up at him.
.CAPTION: Bexley. Beth and Landon's house.
2/ Beth looks up at Landon, the smile disappearing and her face suddenly going sober. She stares up at him with a deeply serious look, though not at all a bad one. She brushes a chunk of blond hair from her eyes.
BETH: Landon...thank you.
3/ Landon leans down and kisses her neck, causing her to tilt her head backward as she lets him touch her gently. She raises her hand up and runs it through his hair, his own hand appearing behind her neck.
LANDON: For what?
4/ Long Panel as Beth sits up in bed slightly, Landon's broad shoulders blocking the view of her body. She brings herself up on her left arm, her right hand reaching out to touch the side of his face. She locks eyes with him meaningfully.
BETH: For putting up with me.
BETH: For understanding when I'm weak.
BETH: For forgiving me for my MISTAKES.
PAGE EIGHT
1/ Landon leans forward and kisses her forehead, using his free hand to pull her closer into the kiss by the back of her head. She looks away momentarily, clearly wanting him to understand what she's saying.
LANDON: We've both done things we're not PROUD of, Beth.
LANDON: But there's a BIG PICTURE, here, and in it? Those things don't MATTER.
2/ Close on Beth, looking at him seriously.
BETH: I don't think you understand.
3/ Long Panel as Landon pulls away a little, looking at her patiently as she explains. She looks at him importantly, passionately, as she tries to get across the feeling she's experiencing. She pulls the sheet up to cover her breasts while she speaks, and Landon reaches out, resting a hand on her bare arm.
BETH: I've come to realize...
BETH: ...that we didn't meet by CHANCE.
BETH: It wasn't some ACCIDENT that you came into my LIFE. We were BROUGHT together.
BETH: By something bigger than all this.
4/ Landon leans in closer, preparing to kiss her, and she looks up into his eyes, still explaining. He smiles slightly while looking at her, trying very hard to not reveal that he still hasn't mentioned Thadeus's revelation to Beth.
BETH: You've made me BELIEVE in something, Landon...and nothing will ever -
LANDON: Beth.
5/ They kiss, Beth closing her eyes and giving in to it. Landon, too, closes his eyes, kissing her deeply and sensually, putting an end to the conversation as he brings his hand up to her face, pulling her more deeply into the kiss.
LANDON: Stop.
PAGE NINE
1/ CUT TO Donovan, looking painfully at his white Priest's collar as he holds up in the air, letting it burn over a red Bic lighter he holds crackling beneath it. He has returned to his apartment in Clintonville, and he sits on his knees in the living room, in dim lighting.
CAPTION: Clintonville.
DON: Our father, who art in Heaven...
DON: Hallowed be thy name.
2/ On the small wooden altar before him, reaching up only to his waist as he sits on the floor, we see a wooden bowl next to a ceramic statue of Mary. He drops the flaming color into the bowl, its cinders flying up into the air as it sparks with fire.
DON: Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done...
DON: On Earth, as it is in Heaven.
3/ He closes his eyes and assumes a position of Prayer, his clasped hands held out in the air over the flaming bowl, smoke rolling up around him in wispy plumes.
DON: Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
DON: Lead us NOT into temptation...
4/ Close on Donovan, as he looks up at the Altar and opens his eyes. His face has gone from mournful regret to bitter frustration, as he steels his resolve to this new decision.
DON: But deliver us from EVIL.
DON: For THINE is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory.
5/ Long Panel as Donovan remains in the prayer position, looking sincerely at the Altar as he speaks to himself, to nobody and to God.
DON: I'm sorry, Lord -
DON: But I have to FORGO the Path I once thought had been laid OUT for me.
DON: I do not turn my back on YOU, Lord. Only on the man I thought I was SUPPOSED to be.
PAGE TEN
1/ Long Panel as Donovan continues, the angle pulling back some so we can see the whole image of him kneeling at the Altar as the smoke rolls up into the dim light around him. On the other side of the statue of Mary, we see Donovan's rosary beads, coiled up, left aside.
DON: I don't do this out of FEAR, or COWARDICE.
DON: I do this because the path I CHOSE is not the path I'm meant to FOLLOW.
2/ Long Panel as Donovan continues, closing his eyes tight, his hands still clasped together. It's a closer shot, but not quite a close up, as we see him over the shoulder of the statue of Mary. Her back is to us, and she fills one side of the panel, very close.
DON: Please, God...
DON: Understand that I do this to be a better MAN.
RHI (off panel): Donovan?
3/ Long Panel as Rhiannon enters the room, now wearing street clothes, with a light jacket. Her face is all business, prepared for the crazy task they're about to embark on together. She folds her arms across her chest, her face showing little emotion.
RHI: Let's do this.
RHI: Before I lose my NERVE.
PAGE ELEVEN
1/ CUT BACK to a Long Panel of Andrew, standing in the team office and gesturing angrily as he yells at Mr. Palmer. Andrew's face is contorted with frustration. He honestly hoped it wouldn't come down to committing the act he now knows he's about to commit.
ANDREW: You can't shut us DOWN!
ANDREW: You have no GROUNDS!
2/ Long Panel as Palmer looks up at him across the desk, his face stoic and resolved. He he waves a manila folder in the air, preparing to open it and present the contents. He raises his eyebrow slightly, challengingly.
PALMER: I can do whatever I see FIT to do, Andrew.
PALMER: And I certainly deem this FIT.
3/ Palmer drops the manila folder, taking out papers and waving them at Andrew. They contain headlines like “CRIME FIGHTER THREATENS CITY IN BROADCAST,” and “RUMORS CIRCULATING AFTER TEAM'S 3-DAY ABSENCE.” Palmer is beginning to get angry, and his body language shows it.
PALMER: Strike one was Milo's PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT.
PALMER: Strike TWO was your blatant interference with the MASSACHUSETTS UNDERGROUND'S mission against the AKASHI.
PALMER: With MILO resurrecting himself from the DEAD and KILLING a civilian in COLD BLOOD? That's three strikes, buddy.
4/ Close on Andrew, looking insulted and furious.
ANDREW: To call MALICE a “civilian” is to strain CREDULITY to its BREAKING POINT.
PALMER (off panel): You've had your FUN.
PAGE TWELVE
1/ Long Panel as Andrew tries to maintain his composure, standing before the desk and looking down at the intractable Palmer. His Body Language is rigid as he tries not to reveal his deep seated hatred for the older man, his fists clenched at his sides as he looks down at him.
ANDREW: Palmer, listen to me...
ANDREW: No matter what you THINK, or whatever PRESSURE you're getting from WASHINGTON – this City SUPPORTS us.
2/ Palmer looks angrily up at him.
PALMER: This city is AFRAID of you, MacTiernan.
3/ Andrew gets angry, his eyebrow shooting high as he raises his voice in slowly rising fury.
ANDREW: They're throwing a GRAND BALL in our HONOR as we SPEAK!
ANDREW: You have no idea what you're TALKING ABOUT!
4/ Close on Palmer as he lowers his gaze, staring forcefully up at Andrew from beneath his brow.
PALMER: I've told you, and I'll tell you ONE LAST TIME:
PALMER: It's OVER.
5/ Long Panel as Andrew finally reaches the point of certainty that there will be no talking Palmer out of the decision. Suddenly, and with a look of steely resolve, he raises from his pocket a small black electronic detonator switch, and brandishes it high, at his own eye level, so that Palmer can plainly see. It looks like a simple black cylinder with a textured grip and a red button, normally concealed beneath a black cover which Andrew has flipped open with his thumb.
ANDREW: Then this is where we part WAYS, Mr. Palmer.
PAGE THIRTEEN
1/ CUT BACK to Milo's apartment, where we see Milo's hand reaching out to turn his doorknob, preparing to open his door to the hallway where David waits.
2/ Behind Milo as he swings the door open, revealing David as he stands in the hall, looking surprised that Milo has gone so far as to let him in. The yellow light of the hallway shines in, silhouetting Milo and highlighting David.
MILO: David, I -
3/ Suddenly, David forces his way into the apartment, grabbing Milo by the collar and shoving him into his own home as he slams the door behind them. Milo nearly stumbles and falls, but is held up by David's forceful grip. Milo looks terrified, and David looks furious and sad.
MILO: Jesus, Dave, what're you - ?
4/ David spins Milo around and slams him up against the wall near the door, jarring a picture off the wall and causing Milo to recoil in shock as he hits the wall. David draws in close, still gripping Milo's collar, and stares Milo directly in the face, their noses inches apart.
DAVID: LOOK AT ME.
DAVID: You don't get to talk.
5/ Long Panel as David places his hand on the wall by Milo's head and pulls Milo's head back at an angle by the hair. He kisses Milo's neck, passionately and angrily. Milo protests, trying to pull David off of him, but David is too strong, too driven by adrenaline. Milo looks up at the ceiling awkwardly, unsure of what to do.
MILO: David, wait -
PAGE FOURTEEN
1/ Milo looks down in shock as David steps back, ripping open Milo's button-down and sending the buttons flying off into the room.
DAVID: Shut up.
2/ Angle switch as we see over Milo's shoulder, as David pulls his own t-shirt off over his head, fumbling a little in the near dark. Milo has no idea what to do, completely unprepared for this reaction from David.
DAVID: You are NOT getting off the hook that EASILY.
3/ Long Panel as David spins Milo around, pressing him against the wall. Milo pushes back against the wall, so his face is not smashed against it, but he is powerless to really fight back against the anger-driven David. David reaches down around Milo, unbuttoning his pants off panel. Milo tries to turn his head and look back at David, but can't quite do it, while David stares threateningly at Milo's back, ranting furiously.
DAVID: You are NOT gonna sit here and act like you're making some NOBLE SACRIFICE by walking away and SPARING me your WORTHLESSNESS.
DAVID: You're gonna FEEL every minute of your HYPOCRITICAL CRAP!
MILO: David, WHAT THE HELL!?
4/ Milo looks forward and resigns himself as David presses against him, burying his face in Milo's tensed neck. David reaches out and puts his own arm on Milo's outstretched arm, gripping it intensely as he whispers in Milo's ear.
DAVID: I hope you're READY...
5/ Close on Milo's face, blocked partially by David's arm, as he looks blankly at the wall in front of him. A tear rolls down his cheek, and he lets David do what David needs to do.
DAVID: This is the last thing you'll ever GET from me, you COWARD.
PAGE FIFTEEN
1/ Long Panel as we CUT TO the Columbus Zoo, where we find ourselves inside Luna's cage. The mother Ape huddles in a corner, looking fearfully out at the humans who have arrived, and she carefully pulls her young children into her protective embrace. Outside the bars, we see Allison Whit, being forcefully restrained by two federal agents, while a third agent – a blond man in his late twenties – approaches the bars, holding a high-powered rifle at his side and speaking into a walkie-talkie. The rain continues to pour on them, and the gray sky permeates the scene with a feeling of impending doom.
CAPTION: The Columbus Zoo.
BLOND MAN: This is ANDERS, sir.
ANDERS: I'm looking at her NOW, and the WHIT woman has been RESTRAINED.
ALLI: NO! God, please, NO!
2/ On Anders as he listens to his walkie-talkie, the rain pouring down on his head.
WALKIE-TALKIE: You have your ORDERS.
3/ Anders drops the walkie-talkie to his side, standing in the rain silently for a moment. He looks down at the ground, his face contorted in frustration and confusion as he resists the idea of what he's about to do. He doesn't want to kill the apes any more than Allison wants him to, but he will if that's what he has to do. He brings the rifle up slowly.
4/ Finally, having regained his composure, he raises the rifle and points it at the cage, staring down the length of it to frame his shot. His face becomes a mask of resigned certainty, and he grips the trigger, preparing to fire.
ANDERS: Alright.
ANDERS: It's time.
5/ Long Panel as Donovan suddenly appears before him, standing in the rain with the rifle pointed squarely at his chest. He wears the black t-shirt with the iron cross that he inherited from Samson Paul, and steam rolls from his glowing orange eyes as he channels Ozymandias, his fierce scowl cutting through to the heart of the federal agent. He stands confidently, his hands at his sides but tensed for action, his body language showing no hesitation.
DON: And what time is THAT?
ANDERS: SON OF A -
PAGE SIXTEEN
1/ The other agents release Allison and reach to their sides, drawing their handguns as they realize what's happening. Allison stumbles backward, shocked and frightened.
AGENT 1: STAND DOWN!
2/ The agents spin around, looking behind them. One of them grabs Allison by the arm, jerking her around with them. Standing behind them, only seen to us as a small piece of her head intruding into the panel, is a dark-haired female figure, and they react with surprise at the sight of her, pointing their guns up and ready.
3/ Long Panel as we see who the female figure is. Of course, it's Rhiannon. Standing in the pouring rain, lit dramatically as lightning flashes, she stares them down, unfazed by the loaded weapons pointed straight at her. She wears a dark hooded sweatshirt, of the non-zip variety, and her hair hangs in front of her face, drenched from the storm. Steam crackles from her hands as she channels energy into them, immediately flash-boiling the rain as it strikes her tensed hands, hanging at her sides, awaiting an excuse. She, too, gives the men a fierce glare, almost challenging.
RHI: I know you're just ITCHING to kill the APES...
RHI: But how willing are you to kill the human beings standing in your WAY?
4/ Agent 1 stares at her down the barrel of his gun, looking angrily at her as he threatens. He reaches up with his thumb, pulling the hammer back on his weapon. Rain soaks him, plastering his hair to his face.
AGENT 1: If you people DO this – make some kind of a STAND, here – it's OVER for you.
5/ Close on Rhiannon as she looks him square in the eye, still not flinching from the now cocked weapon aiming straight at her face. Her face is pure resolve, and she shows no sign of standing down from it any time soon. Her scowl could frighten the most hardened of men.
RHI: Buddy, it was over for us a LONG TIME ago.
RHI: We just decided we don't CARE anymore.
PAGE SEVENTEEN
1/ Anders points his rifle at Donovan, screaming angrily at him. His face is distraught, clearly as angry at his entire reason for being there as he is at Donovan and Rhiannon. He waves the weapon erratically, losing his temper.
ANDERS: What do you think you're gonna DO!?
ANDERS: How do you expect to STOP this?
2/ He shoves past Donovan, knocking the man out of the way, and approaches the bars to Luna's cage. Lightning flashes, illuminating the scene.
3/ Luna looks up through the bars, gripping them frightfully, and her children huddle in the back, away from the rain and yelling, as Anders points his rifle into the cage, perilously close to Luna's forehead.
ANDERS (off-panel): Go ahead!
4/ Anders looks over at Donovan as he holds the rifle with only his right hand, dangling into the cage. He screams at Donovan, the frustration of his job causing a complete breakdown as he waves his readied weapon like it's a toy. His free hand is balled into a fist, rigid at his side.
ANDERS: Go ahead and USE your MAGICAL POWERS!!
ANDERS: See if it makes the slightest goddamn bit of DIFFERENCE in the big PICTURE!
ANDERS: See if it -
5/ Small panel, CLOSE ON the barrel of the rifle, as it abruptly goes off. The muzzle-flash glows bright white, and the gun bucks aggressively but not erratically.
SOUND: BLAM
6/ On Rhiannon, Allison, and the two Agents as they all react. Allison turns her head away, covering her eyes with her forearm. Rhiannon turns from the Agents, looking straight over at the cage as she cries out. The two Agents turn around, looking to see what has happened with dread in their faces.
RHI: NO!
PAGE EIGHTEEN
1/ CUT TO a Computer Monitor in a darkened room somewhere. The only light comes from a dim red emergency light bulb mounted somewhere near the ceiling. On the monitor, we see Andrew as he pulls out the detonator switch, brandishing it in the air. His voice comes through the tinny speakers mounted on either side of the monitor. There is also a slight hint of yellow light from a currently unknown source, flickering erratically like candle light.
CAPTION: Elsewhere.
ANDREW (Speakers): Then this is where we part ways, Mr. Palmer.
2/ We see a pair of meaty male cheeks, a brief glimpse of an overweight man with bad facial hair, as he holds a lighter up to the cigarette in his lips and lets the embers glow orange-hot, smoke leaking out the edges of his mouth as he gets the cigarette going.
MAN: Jesus Christ, he's actually gonna DO it.
3/ Long Panel as we pull back and see Mr. Wizard and Cordy, from Ekadanta, as they sit together in an elaborate computer room. The red light overhead reveals a somewhat small but intricately designed room reminiscent of the Control Room on the ship in the MATRIX movies, with multiple computer screens, multiple keyboards, elaborate systems of wiring linking them all together, and huge bunches of wiring bundled together into large tubular masses lining the plate metal wall – the walls themselves riveted together at the seams, highlighted throughout with small stands covered in melted candles, some of which still glow dimly. Wiz is dressed in a black leather trenchcoat and black cloathing, the typical look you would expect from someone like him, and Cordy wears a dark purple shirt. They glance at each other as they speak.
CORDY: Not having second THOUGHTS, are you?
WIZ: Of course not, CORDY.
WIZ: We go exactly according to plan.
4/ Cordy looks away, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she contemplates their involvement in something so blatantly illegal. Her eyes squeeze shut tight.
CORDY: God.
CORDY: Okay.
5/ She opens her eyes and turns to Wiz, looking at him beseechingly.
CORDY: I'm assuming you REALIZE the gravity of what we're DOING here, Wiz?
CORDY: I mean -
PAGE NINETEEN
1/ Wiz looks at her calmly, rationally. He pulls his cigarette away from his mouth.
WIZ: I'm not stupid, Cor.
WIZ: This is going to make us ACCOMPLICES.
2/ Cordy looks back at him as he continues. She smiles faintly, agreeing with him but not liking what that means for her immediate future. She brushes her hair out of her eye.
WIZ (off panel): Unfortunately, however, I think this is one of those SITUATIONS in which being on the right side of the BATTLE means being on the wrong side of the LAW.
3/ Long Panel as they turn away from each other, focusing on the old, tattered spell book Wiz has propped up against an open stand near the monitor. He flips to a page, presenting it to Cordy. She looks down at it, nodding in earnest, as he glances over at her.
CORDY: Okay, then.
CORDY: So we're really doing this.
CORDY: I guess we've got some work to do.
WIZ: I've never done a physical PROTECTION spell as hardcore as THIS before, so I'm gonna need your BACKUP, here.
4/ Cordy turns to look at him meaningfully.
CORDY: You've got it.
CORDY: And Wiz? ADAM?
5/ Wiz turns to face her at the mention of his real name, surprised. It's clear that she usually calls him Wiz, and she must be serious if she's saying “Adam.” He searches her face, waiting.
CORDY (off panel): Whatever happens...
6/ CLOSE ON Cordy as she maintains eye contact, her face a mask of subdued emotion.
CORDY: I love you.
PAGE TWENTY
1/ CUT BACK to Rhiannon, staring in disbelief at the carnage off-panel. Her face has gone white, and her shock is washed away in the cascading rainstorm.
RHI: Oh, my God.
2/ From inside the cage, seen over a FG glimpse of bloody brain-matter, we see Anders as he stumbles backward from the bars, the smoking gun dangling uselessly from his surprised hand. His face is stunned horror, barely comprehending what has just happened.
ANDERS: I didn't mean...
ANDERS: It just...
3/ The other two Agents train their guns on Donovan and Rhiannon, who now stand side by side, Donovan putting a comforting arm around Rhiannon. The Agents shout angrily back at Anders, glancing sideway over their shoulders while never turning away from Don and Rhi.
AGENT 2: Get it TOGETHER, Anders!
AGENT 1: These freaks are gonna lose it any SECOND, over here!
4/ Allison crumbles to the ground, sobbing into her hands as she stares over at the violent mess in the cage. She no longer pays any attention to the rain, as it soaks her to the bone.
ALLI: Luna!
ALLI: Oh, God, no...
5/ Long Panel as the three agents gather around Donovan and Rhiannon, guns pointed right at their heads. Don and Rhi look up, assessing the situation. Rhiannon clings to Donovan, who holds her tight. They stare at the gunmen, unsure of what happens next.
RHI: Donovan...
PAGE TWENTY-ONE
1/ Suddenly, Donovan turns to face Rhiannon. His face is serious, appraising her as he suggests the unthinkable. The rain still pours down on them, soaking his face and sticking his hair to his forehead. His gaze is penetrating.
DON: Rhi, I need you to look at me.
DON: There's only one way we're getting out of this.
2/ Rhiannon turns away, looking down at the ground to her side as she comprehends what he's suggesting. Her eyes well up, thinking about the line she's about to cross.
RHI: You can't be SERIOUS, Donovan.
3/ Close on Donovan as he continues to stare her right in the face, not backing down.
DON: I know it doesn't seem RIGHT, Rhiannon.
DON: I know it doesn't seem like what we're SUPPOSED to do...
4/ In a hazy, rounded-off panel, we see Donovan's memory of Milo, leaning against a crate in Malice's headquarters and staring forbiddingly at Donovan. His eyes shimmer momentarily as he correctly informs Donovan of events not far in the future, his prophecy about to come true...
MILO: I saw her KILLING people, Donovan.
MILO: And she was doing it because you TOLD her to.
5/ Back in the present, Donovan still looks at Rhiannon, but his expression is softer, more apologetic. He's shaken by how accurately Milo predicted this moment.
DON: But if we're gonna leave here alive – if we're gonna live to see another DAY?
DON: It's the only thing we CAN do.
6/ Rhiannon looks at him, silently. Her face is conflicted, but she has begun to resign herself to the reality of their situation. She looks distraught as the rain soaks her through and through.
7/ Without a word, she closes her eyes, concentrating. From beneath her tightly shut eyelids, small wisps of smoke curl out of her eyes, indicating the use of her power as she bites her lip in deep focus.
PAGE TWENTY-TWO
1/ Agents 1 and 2 still train their guns on Donovan and Rhiannon, but as the situation suddenly turns unpredictable, they begin to lose their nerve. Agent 1 looks nervously over at Agent 2, who keeps his eyes locked on the two targets in their sights.
AGENT 1: What...what is she DOING?
AGENT 2: Uh, guys...maybe we should -
2/ Inside the cage, we see Luna's body, and though it is obscured and hard to make out, we witness what happens next through a vantage point partially blocked by the gore of her broken head, blood coating the body. Nearby, her children huddle in a corner, frightened. Donovan and Rhiannon can be seen in the BG, as the bars to the cage suddenly begin to shake, the concrete holding them to ground cracking and giving way as the bars are wrenched free by Rhiannon's power, preparing to send them hurtling through the air.
SOUND: CRRACK
3/ Long Panel as the bars break free entirely, flying through the air and hitting their targets, violently striking the Agents all at once, skewering each of them as the bars run straight through their bodies and wedge into the concrete ground, pinning the Agents like kabobs. Blood flies as the Agents flail helplessly, breathing their last breath.
SOUND: SCHRIPP
SOUND: SCHLUNK
AGENT 1: ACK!
4/ Allison Whit stands alone, horrified, looking down at the blood and guts of the skewered Federal Agents coating the ground before her. She is frozen in place, her hand over her mouth, everything she thought she was prepared for turned upside down.
RHI (off panel): Allison...
5/ Close on Rhiannon as she stares at the shocked Allison, warning her to escape before things get even uglier. Her face is dead-serious, her expression unflinching. She still can't believe what she's done, but she is prepared to face the reality of it.
RHI: Run.
PAGE TWENTY-THREE
1/ CUT BACK to Palmer, looking up from his spot behind the desk with a carefully measured expression, trying not to look impressed and succeeding admirably.
PALMER: I see.
2/ Andrew still flashes the detonator, looking angrily but steadily down at the older man.
ANDREW: I didn't wanna DO this, Sir – but there's a TREND developing here.
ANDREW: A trend I can't allow to continue.
ANDREW: You want a WAR? You got it.
3/ Palmer pops a fat cigar into his mouth and lights it with his silver butane. Without looking up at Andrew, he poses a question, his eyebrow raised.
PALMER: Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges, Andrew?
4/ Close on Andrew, still holding the detonator, as he stares back at Palmer, not missing a beat.
ANDREW: Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc.
5/ SMALL PANEL as Andrew's thumb comes down on the detonator button, the red button lighting up as it clicks into place.
SOUND: Click.
6/ Outside the building, we see a smaller version of the same image from the last page of the previous issue: The Atlas Building's top floor, blown to bits as the bomb detonates, sending concrete and glass showering into the street below.
PAGE TWENTY-FOUR
1/ CUT BACK to the original scene, with Palmer sitting in the hot lights of the interrogation room, holding his smoldering cigar. His wounds are now patched, stitches crossing his forehead in a spot where there will clearly be a visible scar for the rest of his life. He looks up at the reader, and his interrogators.
CAPTION: Now.
PALMER: Next I knew, I was standing atop the crumbling ATLAS BUILDING, waiting for the CHOPPERS to pick me UP.
PALMER: Falstaff obviously did his job WELL, if both of us are still ALIVE.
PALMER: May I GO, now? I've had a long day, as I'm sure you can see.
2/ Close on One of the Shadow Figures, looking down at Palmer, the figure's head cocked curiously.
SHADOW: Of course.
SHADOW: But first – what was that LAST part?
SHADOW: Was that LATIN?
3/ Long Panel as Palmer gets up from the chair, cautiously. He is obviously still sore from the experience he describes, and he needs both his hands to push himself out of the chair. He looks up at his interrogators.
PALMER: Very astute.
PALMER: I said to him: “In time of war, the law falls SILENT, Andrew?”
4/ The shadow figure watches as Palmer leaves, calling after him.
SHADOW: And him?
SHADOW: What was his RESPONSE?
5/ Palmer walks toward a large metal door, preparing to leave. In response to the question, he looks back over his shoulder, his face a mask of resentment and sworn vendettas.
PALMER: Basically?
PALMER: “You started it.”
PAGE TWENTY-FIVE
1/ CUT BACK to Milo's apartment. Having finished their business, Milo and David sit side-by-side on the bed, fully clothed. Milo looks off into space, shaken, as David looks at him in disbelief.
DAVID: So that's it?
DAVID: We're DONE here?
DAVID: I can't talk you OUT of this?
2/ Close on Milo as he looks up, facing David. His glasses catch the streetlight coming in from outside the window.
MILO: I've made up my MIND, David.
3/ Long Panel as Milo shows David the door, opening it for him as David steps out into the hallway. On his way out, David stops, turning back to face Milo.
DAVID: You know...
DAVID: Until today, you were the best thing that ever happened to me.
4/ On David as Milo waves his hand in front of David's face, in a “wiping the slate clean” motion. David looks at him, perplexed.
5/ On Milo, as he completes the motion, looking resentfully at David.
MILO: David, I'm the ONLY thing that ever happened to you.
MILO: Forget me. And go find him.
PAGE TWENTY-SIX
1/ David stands in the hallway, looking blankly at Milo's closed door, with the bronze number 4 staring him in the face as it hangs over the peep hole.
2/ On David as he shakes his head, looking confused.
DAVID: Where...?
3/ Long Panel as David walks down the hallway, passing doors 3, 2, and 1 as he looks helplessly at his hands as he struggles to figure out where he is.
4/ David walks out the front door of Milo's building, looking around strangely in the pouring rain. Off panel, someone calls out to him.
VOICE: You look lost.
5/ David turns to see who it is, and standing before the door to the bar located beneath Milo's apartment is Josh, looking equally lost and hiding from the rain beneath the concrete overhang on the front of the building. He looks up at David.
DAVID: I don't believe we've met.
JOSH: No, I don't believe we HAVE.
JOSH: I'm JOSH.
PAGE TWENTY-SEVEN
1/ FULL PAGE SPLASH, featuring the Issue's TITLE, CREDITS and INDICIA as David and Josh walk away, heading down the sidewalk together in the rain, their backs to us and their hands in their pockets. David looks over at Josh, and Josh looks up at him.
DAVID: Wanna get something to EAT somewhere?
DAVID: I'm uh...I'm feeling a little disoriented.
JOSH: I'd love to.
NEXT: Annual #2
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Knights of Columbus #23
Issue Twenty-Three: “The Last Gorilla Medium, part 2: Storms.”
PAGE ONE
“Previously” page.
PAGE TWO
1/ Long Panel, Establishing Shot, as we see the Skyline of the city of Columbus. The storm has rolled in in force and the rain now cascades down on the city in sheets, casting the entire town in a gray pallor. It is early evening, but the pervading storm prevents the sun from breaking through.
CAPTION: Downtown.
NARRATION (ANDREW): Part of the trouble in running a team like this is that you have to possess a pretty strong understanding of RIGHT and WRONG.
2/ We see Andrew, walking down High Street midway between Long and Gay, a vast expanse of parking lot next to him as he lets the rain fall meaninglessly on his head, absorbed in a cryptic conversation on his Cell Phone.
ANDREW: I need to know you're committed to this.
ANDREW: When I say go, the mission is a go, and backing out is no longer an option.
NARR: You're gonna go up against things that blur the line of your understanding. It's just part and parcel of the whole deal.
NARR: You accept that, or you don't.
3/ Pull in closer, and we see his look of stern determination as the rain runs down his face in rivers, filling the all-too-prominent stress lines that have marked his face as the team's complications has begun to wear on him.
ANDREW: And the girl? I know she's got your EAR.
ANDREW: She's going to be as much a part of this as YOU are, if things take a turn for the worse.
ANDREW: And she's prepared for that?
NARR: But every now and then, knowing what's right and knowing what's wrong become a lot less intuitive than it NORMALLY is.
NARR: When everything gets turned around on you, and the concepts of LOYALTY and GOOD JUDGEMENT seem like a luxury you CAN'T afford?
4/ Andrew stops, standing idle in the middle of the sidewalk, as he looks down at his watch, still holding the phone to his ear.
ANDREW: Alright. As long as I have your word.
ANDREW: No...they don't know ANYTHING.
ANDREW: No, I don't suspect they WILL be happy with me.
ANDREW: It's 1800 hours. I'll be in touch in 3.
NARR: That's when you see how you REALLY hold up under pressure.
PAGE THREE
1/ Cut to a Long Panel as Donovan sits on his bed in his apartment, staring mindlessly at his old Priest's outfit as he waits in the dark. The main source of light is the window to the right, and the light coming in from that window is dim as the rain pounds against the window.
CAPTION: Donovan's apartment.
2/ Donovan holds up the white Priest's collar that once adorned his neck, looking at it regretfully as he remains motionless on the bed.
3/ On Donovan's knee as he drops his hand to his leg, letting the collar hang limply from his hand as he collapses in frustration and confusion. A voice comes from out of sight.
RHI (off panel): Donovan?
4/ Large Panel as Rhiannon stands in the small archway between the kitchen and the living room, the light from the now unoccupied Bathroom shining into the kitchen and illuminating her. She wears a sparkling, dark blue evening gown – its shining sequins catching the light of the Bathroom and making her look significantly brighter than the image of Donovan we just saw, saddened and defeated. Her hair is done superbly, making her look like the classic image of a young woman prepared for a Grand Ball – which is, of course, exactly what she is. She's obviously been in the Bathroom getting ready, but now she's good to go and she looks curiously at Donovan with her arms folded across her chest, leaning against the wall.
RHI: What's the matter?
PAGE FOUR
1/ Donovan turns to face her, his face sober and distraught.
DON: I haven't told you.
DON: I'm being excommunicated.
2/ Rhiannon's face turns from being warm and encouraging to shocked sadness. She looks at him sympathetically, knowing how important and upsetting this must be for him.
RHI: Oh, God...
RHI: Don, I'm so sorry...
3/ Long Panel as Donovan looks down at his open, upturned palms, examining his hands as extensions of himself, and therefore instruments of his downfall. His face is expressionless, the frustration and disappointment having been there for so long over this matter that he's begun to lose his connection to the reality of it.
DON: No, it's...it's okay.
DON: I mean...it's my OWN fault, really.
DON: I moved here for this team, and I got so wrapped up in all of the craziness and the new IDEAS, I kind of lost TRACK...
DON: Do you know that the meeting regarding my excommunication was the first time I've ever actually been INSIDE the Josephinum?
4/ Rhiannon walks closer, putting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. Her face remains grim, knowing that right now he needs a sounding a board, not a cheering up.
RHI: Well, you're part of something BIGGER, now.
RHI: It's only natural that you've had a hard time focusing on your OLD life.
5/ Donovan looks up at her, his face a mask of scrutiny as he judges himself harshly.
DON: I guess.
DON: My whole LIFE, I've wanted to be a PRIEST. My FAMILY wanted it.
DON: Once I have the chance to, I move to a new city and don't bother to check in with my new SCHOOL for a whole SIX MONTHS? I really let the BALL drop, here.
DON: My DAD would be very disappointed.
PAGE FIVE
1/ Long Panel on Rhiannon, as she looks down at Donovan seriously. She scolds him for his shortsightedness, but she does it gently and firmly, not harsh or cruel.
RHI: You're not DEFINED by your role in the CHURCH, Donovan...
RHI:...or by what your FATHER wanted you to BE.
RHI: You're a HERO, and you're on the FOREFRONT of something HUGE, here. Be PROUD of that.
2/ Donovan glances sideways up at her, smiling weakly for a moment as he accepts her words of comfort.
DON: No, you're RIGHT. And I KNOW that.
DON: Look, I...I was afraid to TELL you, thinking you might see me as a FAILURE or something...
3/ He now looks up to face her directly, his expression serious and resolute.
DON: ...but I've decided to LEAVE the Church.
DON: I'm not facing the EXCOMMUNICATION. The Church isn't my PATH anymore, anyway.
DON: I've decided to SPARE them the PAPERWORK and show MYSELF the door.
4/ Long Panel as Rhiannon smiles at him, encouragingly. She reaches out a hand to him, offering to pull him up off the bed and help him get ready.
RHI: All that matters, Donovan, is that you know you're doing what's BEST for you.
RHI: As long as that's the CASE? I'll never be disappointed in you.
RHI: But right NOW? We have a big GRAND BALL to go to, in honor of US.
RHI: SOMEBODY out there appreciates us exactly as we ARE.
PAGE SIX
1/ Cut to a Long Panel, as we find ourselves on the deserted Olentangy Bike Trail, looking down the path in the gray, pouring rain as it winds alongside a tall concrete wall separating it from the highway. Along the opposite side from the concrete wall, a small wooden fence sits alongside a break in the foliage, showing a path that leads down into the woods below.
CAPTION: The Olentangy Bike Trail.
2/ We now find ourselves looking down the small dirt path, and the Olentangy river itself can be seen through the bushes and trees, thundering along as it picks up water from the storm. Tree trunks span the width of the river, covered in moss. A Blue Heron plods along beside the river, bobbing its head.
3/ Close on the mossy ground, beside one of the fallen tree trunks. Suddenly, the wet dirt is disturbed as we see a set of dirty fingers push their way up from beneath the earth, struggling to break the surface. In the BG, the Heron becomes alert, startled by the unexpected disturbance.
4/ Long Panel as the angle shifts, and we see the Heron in the BG take flight as a train rolls by on the elevated Track Bridge that recently carried Link Geblan across the span of the Olentangy. In the immediate FG, amid the dirt and plant-life, we see the full hand burst up from beneath the ground, grasping at the air. The pouring rain strikes the hand, washing it free of the dirt caked in its fingernails.
PAGE SEVEN
1/ This is a FULL PAGE SPLASH, featuring the issue's TITLES, CREDITS, and INDICIA, as Milo bursts up from beneath the ground like a zombie brought to life, crawling and clawing his way to the surface. His midsection is free, and he pulls at the ground before him to drag himself the rest of the way out of the ground. His glasses are squarely on his face, undisturbed by the experience, and the mud and dirt covering his body begins to wash away in the downpour of rain. His hair hangs limply from his head, and his hand reaches out to us, looking enormous as it seemingly claws off the page. Milo is back.
PAGE EIGHT
1/ Cut to Beth, standing in she and Landon's home and looking surprised and confused. The same dim gray light permeates here, the rain pounding against the window outside. As Beth speaks, she finishes pouring a glass of red wine and hands it forward, to an off-panel Landon.
CAPTION: Bexley. Beth and Landon's home.
BETH: SAMSON!?
BETH: You saw SAMSON PAUL!?
2/ On Landon as he accepts the wine. His face is serious, knowing the importance of his words.
LANDON: Yeah.
LANDON: And he had some interesting things to SAY.
3/ Long Panel as Landon sips at the wine, explaining as he glances over the rim of his glass at Beth, knowing that after the conversation they've just had in the reader's absence, she will understand the significance of what he's saying.
LANDON: Basically, he told me that something big was about to happen with you guys.
LANDON: That whatever was going down, it revolved around the fact that Milo was going to be involved in something MAJOR.
LANDON: Something that would “change the rules.”
LANDON: Given what you've told me about the MALICE situation, I'm gonna say Samson was pretty damn SPOT-ON, wasn't he?
4/ Beth glances away, pouring herself a glass and contemplating what Landon has told her. She looks confused, but also a little excited that Samson is running around somewhere.
BETH: God. How could he have KNOWN?
BETH: What about THADEUS? What did he have to say for himself?
5/ Landon turns to set his wine glass down on the console table behind him, using the opportunity to look away from Beth while he makes a major omission to his story.
LANDON: Nothing important.
LANDON: Look...I think you need to know: if Samson wanted to be FOUND, he would make it happen.
LANDON: I think it's best you don't mention this to Andrew.
PAGE NINE
1/ Long Panel as Beth moves forward, pulling Landon into an embrace and burying her head in his chest. She looks off into the distance as she speaks, feeling deeply guilty. Landon rests his chin on her head, looking away as he processes the information. She holds the glass of wine up behind him.
BETH: No, you're right.
BETH: But Landon, there's something I need to tell YOU.
BETH: While you were AWAY...I came very close to sleeping with ANDREW.
2/ Landon pulls away, resting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her away slightly so that he can look into her eyes. His face is fearful, but waits for more information.
LANDON: Define “VERY CLOSE.”
3/ Beth looks down, guilt making her break the eye-contact. She brushes a swatch of hair out of her eyes and bites her lip, afraid she's going to hurt him.
BETH: Nothing happened.
BETH: He came ON to me, in the hotel...
BETH: We were a little DRUNK, but I stopped him before we got past FIRST BASE.
4/ Closer on Beth, as she expounds. Her face looks a little more determined now, but she still has guilt marring her features.
BETH: I've obviously made some MISTAKES, here.
BETH: I haven't DEFINED things with Andrew clearly enough. I think it's messing him up.
5/ Landon pulls her close, kissing her forehead. She closes her eyes, thankful.
LANDON: We'll cross that bridge when we COME to it, Beth.
LANDON: What matters is that you STOPPED it.
PAGE TEN
1/ Cut to a Long Panel as Andrew continues his travels around town, still speaking into his phone. He wanders down Broad Street, past Rhodes Tower as he speaks. The rain comes down around him, soaking him to the bone.
ANDREW: Mr. Palmer?
ANDREW: Have you received any more information about the situation at the ZOO?
ANDREW: This is very important to us, Mr. Palmer.
2/ Cut to a Long Panel of Milo, making his way across town, heading East on 3rd toward High Street on foot, the rain washing him clean as he moves like a dead man walking, his eyes fixed on his unknown destination. His clothes are still muddy, but his skin has washed almost completely clean.
3/ Cut to a Long Panel as Andrew continues his conversation, closer on him now as he looks angrily ahead, ending his conversation tersely.
ANDREW: Then I'll meet you in half an HOUR. The ATLAS BUILDING.
4/ Cut to a Long Panel as Milo stands at the door to his apartment building, looking up at the dark brick building in the rain, hesitating at the door. The sign for the bar occupying the lower level glows neon blue, looking almost ethereal in the downpour.
PAGE ELEVEN
1/ Close on Milo's hand, inside the yellow-orange lighting of the badly carpeted hallway, as it turns the key in the lock of his Apartment Door.
SOUND EFFECT: Click
2/ We see David, sitting quietly alone on Milo's bed, as Milo's torso and hand enter the panel, silhouetted in the dimly lit room. David turns from staring off into space and looks up at Milo, surprised but mostly numb, given recent events. David's hands rest in his lap, unsure of what to do.
DAVID: Milo?
3/ On Milo, looking strung out and emotionally distraught.
MILO: Chris, we need to TALK.
4/ David looks up at him, feeling a little hurt by the Freudian Slip. He questions Milo.
DAVID: Milo...I'm DAVID.
DAVID: Look, what...what are you DOING here?
DAVID: I got a call from the HOSPITAL, telling me you'd -
5/ Large Panel on Milo as he cuts David off, going into a long speech. His face is stoic, his mind made up. There will be no arguing with him now.
MILO: Whatever I AM, whatever has HAPPENED to me...
MILO: I'm not the same as I was before MALICE.
MILO: There's something at WORK here that's bigger than ALL of us, and it's not SAFE for you or anyone else to be this CLOSE to me.
MILO: I'm LEAVING you, David.
PAGE TWELVE
1/ Long Panel as we Cut to a beautifully decorated ball room in a convention center, filled with people in elegant clothing and waiters bustling around with trays full of champagne glasses, all lit with the warm glow emanating from multiple overhead crystal chandeliers. There is a banner along the far wall that reads “Thank you Knights of Columbus,” and a small orchestral group sits on a stage before it, playing soft music. Along one side of the wall we see a series of glass doors opening onto a darkened balcony, and the rain can be seen pouring down outside. The majority of the room is carpeted in deep crimson, but the center is a polished dance floor, and couples waltz together, enjoying the evening.
CAPTION: The Convention Center.
2/ Beth and Landon enter, dressed in formal wear, and notice Donovan and Rhiannon standing by a table with a punch bowl and h'ors d'evours. They too are dressed for the occasion, Rhiannon in her Ball Gown and Donovan in a classy, well-tailored suit with a crimson tie. Landon wears a suit with blue accents and Beth wears beige dress-pants and a nice white blouse with flowing designs. They both carry dark overcoats slung over their arms, having just walked out of the rain. They smile when they greet Donovan and Rhiannon, approaching them. Donovan raises his champagne glass in salute.
BETH: Guys! How weird is this?
DON: Nice to be pampered.
RHI: Seriously. Palmer or the MEDIA may not have much nice to say, but at least they like us here on the HOMEFRONT.
3/ Rhiannon and Beth exchange a quick hug as Don and Landon watch, Don glancing down into his drink. Beth motions over toward an off-panel coat check while Rhiannon smiles, acknowledging her.
BETH: I'm gonna go check our coats and grab a drink.
RHI: Okay, cool. I see somebody I know, so I'm gonna go say hi. I'll be around.
4/ Long Panel as Landon follows after Beth, passing Don. The two smile at each other.
DON: Landon, good to see you BACK.
LANDON: Good to BE back, Donovan. We'll see you in a few.
PAGE THIRTEEN
1/ Across the room, Allison Whit sits at a bar, slowly nursing a drink. She's dressed in a dark green Evening Gown, and she looks forward, not noticing as Rhiannon approaches in the BG.
RHI: Allison!
2/ Allison turns around, facing her. She smiles, raising her glass in toast.
ALLI: Rhiannon. Enjoying yourself?
ALLI: Not every day one gets a CELEBRATION thrown in one's honor.
3/ Long Panel as the two women talk. Rhiannon moves past the pleasantries and gets down to business, Allison turning serious as well.
RHI: Ha. I suppose not.
RHI: Look...I've been making some phone calls.
ALLI: Oh? And how goes that?
RHI: Not great. Our team director's working hard to talk our Government Contact down, get him to pull some strings and put a STALL on this APE situation. But Palmer...he's kind of...UNPLEASANT.
ALLI: Do you think they'll LISTEN?
RHI: I don't know, but we can TRY.
4/ On Rhiannon, talking under her breath to Allison as she glances around a little nervously.
RHI: Either WAY, we need to start considering what we're going to DO if I CAN'T pull through for you on this.
RHI: Legal or NOT, I have no intention of letting those Apes DIE.
5/ Allison puts her drink down and looks seriously at Rhiannon, almost criticizing Rhi with her eyes.
ALLI: Uh, Ms. McRhea...
ALLI: I have no INTENTION of DEFYING the Government on this.
ALLI: If you can't talk them DOWN, then I am ABIDING by the LAW, here.
PAGE FOURTEEN
1/ Rhiannon looks taken aback, almost angry.
RHI: But, Allison...
RHI: What if the LAW is WRONG?
2/ Allison swivels around on her bar stool, crossing her arms and making point-blank eye contact with Rhiannon. She faces her sternly, not letting Rhi talk her into active defiance.
ALLI: It's the LAW, Rhiannon.
ALLI: It's not about RIGHT and WRONG, it's about LEGAL and ILLEGAL.
3/ Rhiannon returns Allison's stern look, condemning the issue, almost pleading with Alli.
RHI: I know, I know...
RHI: But...it USED to be the law that owning SLAVES was okay. It used to be the law that BLACK PEOPLE had to drink from different FOUNTAINS. It used to be the law that WOMEN couldn't VOTE.
RHI: It's CURRENTLY the law that GAY PEOPLE are second -class CITIZENS. You really think upholding those laws was- or IS – the right thing to DO?
4/ Allison looks away, nodding that she understands Rhiannon's point, but doesn't agree in this case.
ALLI: You're RIGHT – some laws are WRONG.
ALLI: But there are LEGAL ways – PROPER ways – to get those laws CHANGED. We don't REVOLT.
ALLI: This isn't CUBA.
5/ Rhiannon looks away as well, biting her lip as she considers the seriousness of what she's saying.
RHI: Okay...but what if REVOLUTION is the only WAY?
ALLI (off panel): What?
RHI: What if the shift in the POLITICAL LANDSCAPE – in the CULTURAL landscape – is SO extreme that nothing's gonna make it right any time soon ENOUGH? Before GOOD PEOPLE get seriously HURT?
RHI: What then?
6/ Allison picks up her drink, swirling it around a little as she prepares to take a sip.
ALLI: I stand by my COUNTRY, Rhiannon.
ALLI: I stand by AMERICA.
PAGE FIFTEEN
1/ Rhiannon looks at her, begging with her eyes for Allison to understand.
RHI: America's not a PLACE, Allison. It's a collection of PEOPLE.
RHI: When does it become our JOB to protect a PLACE if that means hurting PEOPLE who haven't done anything WRONG?
2/ Allison takes a sip from her glass and looks at Rhi over the rim, raising her eyebrow.
ALLI: They're APES, Ms. McRhea.
ALLI: Just apes.
3/ Rhiannon gets angry, leaning in closer.
RHI: Goddammit, I KNOW you don't believe that.
RHI: But, okay, FINE. Let's say they're just APES. What're WE?
RHI: God, look...how's the saying GO?
4/ Rhiannon looks at Allison importantly as she recites, her eyes showing the intensity of her passion on this issue. Around her, the party still bustles.
RHI: First they came for the COMMUNISTS, but I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a communist.
RHI: Then they came for the JEWS, but I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a JEW.
RHI: Then they -
5/ Long Panel as Allison stands, making as though she's about to walk away. She sets her empty glass down on the bar and picks up her purse, looking scoldingly at Rhiannon.
ALLI: Okay, Rhiannon?
ALLI: I don't think I can continue this conversation with you any longer.
ALLI: Goodnight.
6/ Long Panel as Rhiannon stands in shock, Allison pushing past her and disappearing into the crowd. Rhiannon does not follow her with her eyes, but remains looking forward, shaken.
PAGE SIXTEEN
1/ Cut to Beth, on the other side of the ballroom, looking down into a glass of sparkling champagne. She looks contemplative as she speaks, addressing an off-panel Landon.
BETH: I've just been THINKING...
BETH: There's a very CLEAR line that needs to be DRAWN with Andrew, and I've never DONE that.
2/ Landon looks at her, sipping his own drink.
LANDON: How so?
3/ Long Panel as the two of them talk. Beth gestures with her hands as she speaks, and Landon looks on, curious to hear what she thinks.
BETH: There've been no...PARAMETERS established. For our FRIENDSHIP, I mean.
BETH: He's got it into his head that sooner or LATER, he and I are still going to...HAPPEN.
4/ Landon raises an eyebrow, looking skeptical.
LANDON: And you're NOT, then?
LANDON: Going to “HAPPEN,” I take it?
5/ Beth Smiles at him, teasingly.
BETH: Landon...
BETH: I know who I LOVE.
BETH: I know who makes me HAPPY.
PAGE SEVENTEEN
1/ Long Panel as Landon smiles at her, wiggling his finger in the air in faux confusion as he looks at her questioningly, joking with her.
LANDON: And just for the RECORD...
LANDON: That's ME, right?
2/ Beth shoots up a pretend angry eyebrow, smiling wickedly at him.
BETH: I'm going to PRETEND you didn't just ASK that.
BETH: Of COURSE it's you.
3/ Landon takes a drink, switching gears and looking genuinely interested in the conversation.
LANDON: Well, what do you think it's going to TAKE to get THROUGH to him?
4/ Long Panel as Beth gestures with her glass, a little champagne sloshing past the rim.
BETH: Well, honestly, I think violently pushing him AWAY back in NEW HOPE was a good START.
PAGE EIGHTEEN
1/ Landon looks at her seriously, not letting her off the hook that easily.
LANDON: But you ARE eventually going to have to TALK to him about it.
2/ Beth looks down, dreading that conversation.
BETH: Yeah.
3/ Long Panel as they both put down their glasses, looking away from each other. Beth looks out into the crowded Ball Room, and Landon turns back toward the table, reaching for a snack.
BETH: I figure after this BALL, maybe the HIGHER-UPS will see sense and lay OFF of us for a change.
BETH: Once things calm DOWN, I should have a chance to sit him down and work this out.
4/ Landon looks at her and smiles.
LANDON: Well, go easy on the guy.
LANDON: I mean, his only CRIME is falling in love with YOU.
5/ Beth smiles and holds out her hand, beckoning him to the dance floor.
BETH: Is that SYMPATHY for ANDREW MACTIERNAN I hear?
BETH: I believe that earns you a DANCE, sir.
PAGE NINETEEN
1/ Cut to a Long Panel as we see Rhiannon from behind, standing outside on the balcony. There's an overhang that protects this part of the balcony from rainfall, and she stands beneath it. She leans against the stone railing, watching the rain pour down, as lightning turns the sky into a fireworks show. In her left hand, resting on the railing, we see a smoldering cigarette, half-smoked. It is now officially night time, and the lightning fills the night sky with a bright white streak.
DON(off panel): Rhiannon?
2/ Angle reverse, and we see Rhiannon, facing forward, as Don approaches from behind, cautiously. He carries two glasses of champagne with him, and he looks at her back apprehensively, afraid she's upset about something.
RHI: You know...I used to worship storms.
3/ Donovan walks up beside her, taking a spot along the railing and setting down the drinks without tasting one or offering it to Rhi. It doesn't seem like the appropriate time for drinks, so he faces her and lets her say what she wants to say, smiling at her patiently.
DON: Used to?
4/ She turns to him, smiling sheepishly through her thoughtfulness. He looks away from her, laughing quietly as he looks down into the storm.
RHI: Yeah, not so much anymore.
RHI: The older you GET, you know?
DON: Heh. Tell me about it.
5/ Closer on Rhiannon, looking back at the rain and thinking.
RHI: Still, though...
RHI: There's something ABOUT them.
RHI: The way lightning tears the sky in half. Sometimes even turns night into DAY? It's beautiful.
PAGE TWENTY
1/ On Donovan, looking up into the storm and smiling at his own memory.
DON: When I was a KID, and there would be a big THUNDERSTORM outside?
DON: I used to hide under my BED.
2/ He looks down at his chest, suddenly looking a little sad. Rhiannon looks over at him, noticing his sadness and listening to what he has to say.
DON: At least, that's one of the last things my MOM told me. Before...things got WEIRD.
3/ Rhiannon looks at him in silence for a moment, considering what to say. Lightning flashes, but not as bright as before. Her eyes look a little watery, but not quite on the verge of tears.
4/ She looks away, choosing to change the subject. Or at least, to partially change the subject.
RHI: Did you know that the same kind of electricity that's in a lightning bolt is what makes SHARKS capable of mapping the ocean FLOOR?
5/ Don looks at her, seizing the moment to think about something else.
DON: Really?
6/ Rhiannon takes a drag from her cigarette, exhaling a plume of smoke.
RHI: Oh, yeah. All sorts of crazy connections, if you know where to look.
PAGE TWENTY-ONE
1/ Donovan looks at her, listening, as she stares off into the storm, elaborating.
RHI: For example – it's also how BIRDS travel such ridiculous distances with such great ACCURACY.
RHI: All living things have that electromagnetic current running through them.
RHI: Some people even say that CHI -
2/ On Rhiannon as Donovan interrupts, smiling. She grins back at him, amused by the stereotype he mentions and running with it. She flicks her cigarette out into the rain.
DON: Like “harness your CHI?” That kind of CHI?
RHI: That's the one.
3/ Long Panel as they lean together against the railing, both looking off into the rain. Rhiannon folds her hands together and Donovan gently rests his own hand on her forearm.
RHI: Some people say that THAT'S an electromagnetic phenomenon, TOO.
RHI: That this SPIRITUAL force in your BODY is no different than what those SHARKS and BIRDS use.
RHI: I guess I don't know what I think about all THAT.
4/ Rhiannon turns to look at him, her eyebrows raised in thought.
RHI: I do know that we have a BIO-ELECTRIC FIELD, though.
RHI: That's why we're so susceptible to STATIC ELECTRICITY. When your hair stands up, and you know you can feel a lightning storm coming?
5/ She looks away, turning back to the storm.
RHI: That's why.
PAGE TWENTY-TWO
1/ Rhiannon turns and begins to walk away, heading toward the edge of the overhang where the rain pours down freely over the remainder of the balcony. Behind, Donovan remains in place for a moment, watching her walk away from him quietly.
RHI: That's probably why I worshiped them, really.
2/ She reaches out her hand and holds it up into the torrential downpour, letting the water splash against her fingers and palm, watching it in awe as it strikes her and rebounds, splashing off in a million different imperceptible directions. She smiles slightly, remember the feeling she once had about these natural phenomenon.
RHI: Chi or NO chi, it's nice that there's this ONE phenomenon in nature that makes you REALLY AWARE of this ineffable force INSIDE you.
3/ Long Panel as Rhiannon turns back over her shoulder to face Donovan, and we can see the long stretch of Balcony ahead of her where no overhang exists and the rain pours freely. She looks at him seriously, almost hopefully, her eyes looking closer than ever to crying.
RHI: I mean...what if it's your SOUL?
4/ She looks down, thinking. Lightning crashes in the distance.
5/ She looks back up at him, smiling at what she perceives as her own silliness.
RHI: It's probably NOT, but still -
RHI: It would be nice to have some PROOF that you actually HAD one.
PAGE TWENTY-THREE
1/ Large Panel as Rhiannon steps out into the rain, letting it fall all around her, soaking her clothes and hair and washing down her face. She closes her eyes and lets her hands drift out around her, as though she's spinning, but she remains still, offering herself to the storm, arms wide. She looks up, eyes closed, and gives in to the old feeling of being one with the storm.
RHI: And you could just stand out in the STORM, and let it WASH OVER YOU, and you'd KNOW.
RHI: You'd know for SURE that even when things seem REALLY messed up, everything's gonna turn out okay in the END, because there's ORDER in the universe and it's all part of some big picture that makes sense to at least ONE person, on at least ONE planet, in at least ONE galaxy.
2/ Donovan steps out into the storm and joins her, also letting it soak into him. He approaches her and grabs her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him, and he stares her in the eye. She looks at him sternly.
DON: Rhiannon, I lov -
RHI: Don't. Don't say it.
RHI: Not yet.
3/ We see them, just for a panel, from a distance – as they stand together in the rain, not speaking, not knowing what they'd say in that moment if they DID speak.
4/ On Rhiannon as she breaks the silence, looking at him meaningfully.
RHI: I know how you feel, and I wanna say it TOO – so bad it almost HURTS.
RHI: But it's not TIME, yet. Those words have POWER.
5/ On Donovan, looking down at her in the rain, his hand on her face as she finishes. He searches her face, knowing the truth of what she's saying.
RHI: They mean something PROFOUND...something MAGICAL. Especially to ME.
RHI: I want you to hold onto those words until they're the TRUEST words you've ever heard. Until the whole UNIVERSE is going to spin off its AXIS if you don't say them right then and THERE.
RHI: And then I want you to say them. Say them and NEVER look BACK.
PAGE TWENTY-FOUR
1/ Long Panel as they kiss, standing in the rain and passionately locking lips, letting the water consume them. Lightning flashes brightly in the sky.
2/ Rhiannon pulls away, beginning to walk back toward the safety of the overhang. Donovan looks at her, worried.
3/ As she walks away, stepping out of the rain, Donovan looks after her. He remains in the rain, confused and concerned. He calls out to her.
DON: Rhiannon, what's WRONG?
4/ She turns back to him, angry and saddened. She yells a bit, her body language going rigid.
RHI: She's going to LET THEM, Donovan!
5/ He comes out of the rain, joining her as they stand under the overhang, dripping wet. He looks at her inquisitively as she turns away, handing him her cell-phone.
DON: What? Who?
RHI: Allison Whit.
RHI: I tried to make her see some REASON, but -
RHI: She's gonna let them KILL the APES.
PAGE TWENTY-FIVE
1/ We see the Cell Phone as Donovan looks down at it. It's open to a text message from Andrew. The text reads “Rhi – not going well. Try to stall Mrs. Whit. -And”
2/ Donovan looks away from the text, disgusted.
DON: Dammit.
3/ Rhiannon throws up her hands in frustration.
RHI: I know, I KNOW!
RHI: I don't know what to DO! My gut says I can't let this HAPPEN, but -
4/ Donovan looks at her seriously, knowing what has to be done.
DON: Rhiannon, I think we BOTH know what the right thing to DO really IS, here.
5/ Rhiannon looks at him, searching his face for some alternative. She looks on the verge of snapping.
6/ Finally, she looks away, putting her hand over her mouth in horror at the gravity of what they're discussing. Her face shows just how terrified she is of what happens next.
RHI: Oh, God.
RHI: God, God, God...
PAGE TWENTY-SIX
1/ Long Panel as Andrew walks up to the front door of the Atlas Building, swinging open the door and stepping out of the rain.
NARR (AND): It's like I was saying – you go through life hoping that certain things will always be true. Among them?
NARR: That the people looking OUT for you will ALWAYS be looking out for you, and that you will always find yourself in the position to do RIGHT by those who've helped you out along the way.
2/ Long Panel as he stands in the elevator, reaching out and pressing the button for their floor on a tall stretch of ivory buttons. He drips water like a sopping rag, his hair pressed down and soaking against his apprehensive face.
NARR: But when the people looking out for you become the people who HAVE IT OUT for you?
NARR: When the people who've done right by you decide to throw RIGHT and WRONG out the window?
3/ Long Panel as he approaches the door to the office of the Knights of Columbus. The hallway is lit with soft light, and the red carpet and wooden molding along the printed walls look warm and inviting. Inside the dim office, through the glass on the door, we can see that lightning flashes outside. Andrew fumbles for his keys.
NARR: Well, that's when your understanding REALLY gets tested.
NARR: And that's where you starting wondering what lines you're willing to CROSS.
NARR: It's days like this where you really have to stand back and ask yourself...
4/ Long Panel as Andrew stands in the office, lit only by the green desk lamp on his large oak desk. In the small cone of light offered by the lamp, we can see Mister Palmer sitting in Andrew's chair at the desk, looking up at Andrew expectantly. His hands are folded in front of his face in an arrogant gesture, and his posture is relaxed, like a man who knows he's going to win. Andrew stands in front of him, his back to us, as he drips all over the floor.
ANDREW: Mr. Palmer.
PALMER: Mr. MacTiernan.
PAGE TWENTY-SEVEN
1/ THIS IS A FULL PAGE SPLASH, as the issue ends with a bang – literally. We see the Atlas Building, from outside in the pouring rain. Suddenly, the building is engulfed in flame as a violent explosion rips the top level in the southwest corner of the building apart (the section of the building housing KoC headquarters). The glass explodes outward and scatters down into the street, as the concrete decorative flourishes on the corners of the architecture suddenly crumble under the violent pressure, causing the roof in that corner of the building to buckle. The explosion is SO big, so destructive, that there's no way anyone could possibly be alive in there.
Knights of Columbus headquarters is gone.
NARR: Am I ready for what happens NEXT?
Next – Pillar of Salt.
PAGE ONE
“Previously” page.
PAGE TWO
1/ Long Panel, Establishing Shot, as we see the Skyline of the city of Columbus. The storm has rolled in in force and the rain now cascades down on the city in sheets, casting the entire town in a gray pallor. It is early evening, but the pervading storm prevents the sun from breaking through.
CAPTION: Downtown.
NARRATION (ANDREW): Part of the trouble in running a team like this is that you have to possess a pretty strong understanding of RIGHT and WRONG.
2/ We see Andrew, walking down High Street midway between Long and Gay, a vast expanse of parking lot next to him as he lets the rain fall meaninglessly on his head, absorbed in a cryptic conversation on his Cell Phone.
ANDREW: I need to know you're committed to this.
ANDREW: When I say go, the mission is a go, and backing out is no longer an option.
NARR: You're gonna go up against things that blur the line of your understanding. It's just part and parcel of the whole deal.
NARR: You accept that, or you don't.
3/ Pull in closer, and we see his look of stern determination as the rain runs down his face in rivers, filling the all-too-prominent stress lines that have marked his face as the team's complications has begun to wear on him.
ANDREW: And the girl? I know she's got your EAR.
ANDREW: She's going to be as much a part of this as YOU are, if things take a turn for the worse.
ANDREW: And she's prepared for that?
NARR: But every now and then, knowing what's right and knowing what's wrong become a lot less intuitive than it NORMALLY is.
NARR: When everything gets turned around on you, and the concepts of LOYALTY and GOOD JUDGEMENT seem like a luxury you CAN'T afford?
4/ Andrew stops, standing idle in the middle of the sidewalk, as he looks down at his watch, still holding the phone to his ear.
ANDREW: Alright. As long as I have your word.
ANDREW: No...they don't know ANYTHING.
ANDREW: No, I don't suspect they WILL be happy with me.
ANDREW: It's 1800 hours. I'll be in touch in 3.
NARR: That's when you see how you REALLY hold up under pressure.
PAGE THREE
1/ Cut to a Long Panel as Donovan sits on his bed in his apartment, staring mindlessly at his old Priest's outfit as he waits in the dark. The main source of light is the window to the right, and the light coming in from that window is dim as the rain pounds against the window.
CAPTION: Donovan's apartment.
2/ Donovan holds up the white Priest's collar that once adorned his neck, looking at it regretfully as he remains motionless on the bed.
3/ On Donovan's knee as he drops his hand to his leg, letting the collar hang limply from his hand as he collapses in frustration and confusion. A voice comes from out of sight.
RHI (off panel): Donovan?
4/ Large Panel as Rhiannon stands in the small archway between the kitchen and the living room, the light from the now unoccupied Bathroom shining into the kitchen and illuminating her. She wears a sparkling, dark blue evening gown – its shining sequins catching the light of the Bathroom and making her look significantly brighter than the image of Donovan we just saw, saddened and defeated. Her hair is done superbly, making her look like the classic image of a young woman prepared for a Grand Ball – which is, of course, exactly what she is. She's obviously been in the Bathroom getting ready, but now she's good to go and she looks curiously at Donovan with her arms folded across her chest, leaning against the wall.
RHI: What's the matter?
PAGE FOUR
1/ Donovan turns to face her, his face sober and distraught.
DON: I haven't told you.
DON: I'm being excommunicated.
2/ Rhiannon's face turns from being warm and encouraging to shocked sadness. She looks at him sympathetically, knowing how important and upsetting this must be for him.
RHI: Oh, God...
RHI: Don, I'm so sorry...
3/ Long Panel as Donovan looks down at his open, upturned palms, examining his hands as extensions of himself, and therefore instruments of his downfall. His face is expressionless, the frustration and disappointment having been there for so long over this matter that he's begun to lose his connection to the reality of it.
DON: No, it's...it's okay.
DON: I mean...it's my OWN fault, really.
DON: I moved here for this team, and I got so wrapped up in all of the craziness and the new IDEAS, I kind of lost TRACK...
DON: Do you know that the meeting regarding my excommunication was the first time I've ever actually been INSIDE the Josephinum?
4/ Rhiannon walks closer, putting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. Her face remains grim, knowing that right now he needs a sounding a board, not a cheering up.
RHI: Well, you're part of something BIGGER, now.
RHI: It's only natural that you've had a hard time focusing on your OLD life.
5/ Donovan looks up at her, his face a mask of scrutiny as he judges himself harshly.
DON: I guess.
DON: My whole LIFE, I've wanted to be a PRIEST. My FAMILY wanted it.
DON: Once I have the chance to, I move to a new city and don't bother to check in with my new SCHOOL for a whole SIX MONTHS? I really let the BALL drop, here.
DON: My DAD would be very disappointed.
PAGE FIVE
1/ Long Panel on Rhiannon, as she looks down at Donovan seriously. She scolds him for his shortsightedness, but she does it gently and firmly, not harsh or cruel.
RHI: You're not DEFINED by your role in the CHURCH, Donovan...
RHI:...or by what your FATHER wanted you to BE.
RHI: You're a HERO, and you're on the FOREFRONT of something HUGE, here. Be PROUD of that.
2/ Donovan glances sideways up at her, smiling weakly for a moment as he accepts her words of comfort.
DON: No, you're RIGHT. And I KNOW that.
DON: Look, I...I was afraid to TELL you, thinking you might see me as a FAILURE or something...
3/ He now looks up to face her directly, his expression serious and resolute.
DON: ...but I've decided to LEAVE the Church.
DON: I'm not facing the EXCOMMUNICATION. The Church isn't my PATH anymore, anyway.
DON: I've decided to SPARE them the PAPERWORK and show MYSELF the door.
4/ Long Panel as Rhiannon smiles at him, encouragingly. She reaches out a hand to him, offering to pull him up off the bed and help him get ready.
RHI: All that matters, Donovan, is that you know you're doing what's BEST for you.
RHI: As long as that's the CASE? I'll never be disappointed in you.
RHI: But right NOW? We have a big GRAND BALL to go to, in honor of US.
RHI: SOMEBODY out there appreciates us exactly as we ARE.
PAGE SIX
1/ Cut to a Long Panel, as we find ourselves on the deserted Olentangy Bike Trail, looking down the path in the gray, pouring rain as it winds alongside a tall concrete wall separating it from the highway. Along the opposite side from the concrete wall, a small wooden fence sits alongside a break in the foliage, showing a path that leads down into the woods below.
CAPTION: The Olentangy Bike Trail.
2/ We now find ourselves looking down the small dirt path, and the Olentangy river itself can be seen through the bushes and trees, thundering along as it picks up water from the storm. Tree trunks span the width of the river, covered in moss. A Blue Heron plods along beside the river, bobbing its head.
3/ Close on the mossy ground, beside one of the fallen tree trunks. Suddenly, the wet dirt is disturbed as we see a set of dirty fingers push their way up from beneath the earth, struggling to break the surface. In the BG, the Heron becomes alert, startled by the unexpected disturbance.
4/ Long Panel as the angle shifts, and we see the Heron in the BG take flight as a train rolls by on the elevated Track Bridge that recently carried Link Geblan across the span of the Olentangy. In the immediate FG, amid the dirt and plant-life, we see the full hand burst up from beneath the ground, grasping at the air. The pouring rain strikes the hand, washing it free of the dirt caked in its fingernails.
PAGE SEVEN
1/ This is a FULL PAGE SPLASH, featuring the issue's TITLES, CREDITS, and INDICIA, as Milo bursts up from beneath the ground like a zombie brought to life, crawling and clawing his way to the surface. His midsection is free, and he pulls at the ground before him to drag himself the rest of the way out of the ground. His glasses are squarely on his face, undisturbed by the experience, and the mud and dirt covering his body begins to wash away in the downpour of rain. His hair hangs limply from his head, and his hand reaches out to us, looking enormous as it seemingly claws off the page. Milo is back.
PAGE EIGHT
1/ Cut to Beth, standing in she and Landon's home and looking surprised and confused. The same dim gray light permeates here, the rain pounding against the window outside. As Beth speaks, she finishes pouring a glass of red wine and hands it forward, to an off-panel Landon.
CAPTION: Bexley. Beth and Landon's home.
BETH: SAMSON!?
BETH: You saw SAMSON PAUL!?
2/ On Landon as he accepts the wine. His face is serious, knowing the importance of his words.
LANDON: Yeah.
LANDON: And he had some interesting things to SAY.
3/ Long Panel as Landon sips at the wine, explaining as he glances over the rim of his glass at Beth, knowing that after the conversation they've just had in the reader's absence, she will understand the significance of what he's saying.
LANDON: Basically, he told me that something big was about to happen with you guys.
LANDON: That whatever was going down, it revolved around the fact that Milo was going to be involved in something MAJOR.
LANDON: Something that would “change the rules.”
LANDON: Given what you've told me about the MALICE situation, I'm gonna say Samson was pretty damn SPOT-ON, wasn't he?
4/ Beth glances away, pouring herself a glass and contemplating what Landon has told her. She looks confused, but also a little excited that Samson is running around somewhere.
BETH: God. How could he have KNOWN?
BETH: What about THADEUS? What did he have to say for himself?
5/ Landon turns to set his wine glass down on the console table behind him, using the opportunity to look away from Beth while he makes a major omission to his story.
LANDON: Nothing important.
LANDON: Look...I think you need to know: if Samson wanted to be FOUND, he would make it happen.
LANDON: I think it's best you don't mention this to Andrew.
PAGE NINE
1/ Long Panel as Beth moves forward, pulling Landon into an embrace and burying her head in his chest. She looks off into the distance as she speaks, feeling deeply guilty. Landon rests his chin on her head, looking away as he processes the information. She holds the glass of wine up behind him.
BETH: No, you're right.
BETH: But Landon, there's something I need to tell YOU.
BETH: While you were AWAY...I came very close to sleeping with ANDREW.
2/ Landon pulls away, resting his hands on her shoulders and pushing her away slightly so that he can look into her eyes. His face is fearful, but waits for more information.
LANDON: Define “VERY CLOSE.”
3/ Beth looks down, guilt making her break the eye-contact. She brushes a swatch of hair out of her eyes and bites her lip, afraid she's going to hurt him.
BETH: Nothing happened.
BETH: He came ON to me, in the hotel...
BETH: We were a little DRUNK, but I stopped him before we got past FIRST BASE.
4/ Closer on Beth, as she expounds. Her face looks a little more determined now, but she still has guilt marring her features.
BETH: I've obviously made some MISTAKES, here.
BETH: I haven't DEFINED things with Andrew clearly enough. I think it's messing him up.
5/ Landon pulls her close, kissing her forehead. She closes her eyes, thankful.
LANDON: We'll cross that bridge when we COME to it, Beth.
LANDON: What matters is that you STOPPED it.
PAGE TEN
1/ Cut to a Long Panel as Andrew continues his travels around town, still speaking into his phone. He wanders down Broad Street, past Rhodes Tower as he speaks. The rain comes down around him, soaking him to the bone.
ANDREW: Mr. Palmer?
ANDREW: Have you received any more information about the situation at the ZOO?
ANDREW: This is very important to us, Mr. Palmer.
2/ Cut to a Long Panel of Milo, making his way across town, heading East on 3rd toward High Street on foot, the rain washing him clean as he moves like a dead man walking, his eyes fixed on his unknown destination. His clothes are still muddy, but his skin has washed almost completely clean.
3/ Cut to a Long Panel as Andrew continues his conversation, closer on him now as he looks angrily ahead, ending his conversation tersely.
ANDREW: Then I'll meet you in half an HOUR. The ATLAS BUILDING.
4/ Cut to a Long Panel as Milo stands at the door to his apartment building, looking up at the dark brick building in the rain, hesitating at the door. The sign for the bar occupying the lower level glows neon blue, looking almost ethereal in the downpour.
PAGE ELEVEN
1/ Close on Milo's hand, inside the yellow-orange lighting of the badly carpeted hallway, as it turns the key in the lock of his Apartment Door.
SOUND EFFECT: Click
2/ We see David, sitting quietly alone on Milo's bed, as Milo's torso and hand enter the panel, silhouetted in the dimly lit room. David turns from staring off into space and looks up at Milo, surprised but mostly numb, given recent events. David's hands rest in his lap, unsure of what to do.
DAVID: Milo?
3/ On Milo, looking strung out and emotionally distraught.
MILO: Chris, we need to TALK.
4/ David looks up at him, feeling a little hurt by the Freudian Slip. He questions Milo.
DAVID: Milo...I'm DAVID.
DAVID: Look, what...what are you DOING here?
DAVID: I got a call from the HOSPITAL, telling me you'd -
5/ Large Panel on Milo as he cuts David off, going into a long speech. His face is stoic, his mind made up. There will be no arguing with him now.
MILO: Whatever I AM, whatever has HAPPENED to me...
MILO: I'm not the same as I was before MALICE.
MILO: There's something at WORK here that's bigger than ALL of us, and it's not SAFE for you or anyone else to be this CLOSE to me.
MILO: I'm LEAVING you, David.
PAGE TWELVE
1/ Long Panel as we Cut to a beautifully decorated ball room in a convention center, filled with people in elegant clothing and waiters bustling around with trays full of champagne glasses, all lit with the warm glow emanating from multiple overhead crystal chandeliers. There is a banner along the far wall that reads “Thank you Knights of Columbus,” and a small orchestral group sits on a stage before it, playing soft music. Along one side of the wall we see a series of glass doors opening onto a darkened balcony, and the rain can be seen pouring down outside. The majority of the room is carpeted in deep crimson, but the center is a polished dance floor, and couples waltz together, enjoying the evening.
CAPTION: The Convention Center.
2/ Beth and Landon enter, dressed in formal wear, and notice Donovan and Rhiannon standing by a table with a punch bowl and h'ors d'evours. They too are dressed for the occasion, Rhiannon in her Ball Gown and Donovan in a classy, well-tailored suit with a crimson tie. Landon wears a suit with blue accents and Beth wears beige dress-pants and a nice white blouse with flowing designs. They both carry dark overcoats slung over their arms, having just walked out of the rain. They smile when they greet Donovan and Rhiannon, approaching them. Donovan raises his champagne glass in salute.
BETH: Guys! How weird is this?
DON: Nice to be pampered.
RHI: Seriously. Palmer or the MEDIA may not have much nice to say, but at least they like us here on the HOMEFRONT.
3/ Rhiannon and Beth exchange a quick hug as Don and Landon watch, Don glancing down into his drink. Beth motions over toward an off-panel coat check while Rhiannon smiles, acknowledging her.
BETH: I'm gonna go check our coats and grab a drink.
RHI: Okay, cool. I see somebody I know, so I'm gonna go say hi. I'll be around.
4/ Long Panel as Landon follows after Beth, passing Don. The two smile at each other.
DON: Landon, good to see you BACK.
LANDON: Good to BE back, Donovan. We'll see you in a few.
PAGE THIRTEEN
1/ Across the room, Allison Whit sits at a bar, slowly nursing a drink. She's dressed in a dark green Evening Gown, and she looks forward, not noticing as Rhiannon approaches in the BG.
RHI: Allison!
2/ Allison turns around, facing her. She smiles, raising her glass in toast.
ALLI: Rhiannon. Enjoying yourself?
ALLI: Not every day one gets a CELEBRATION thrown in one's honor.
3/ Long Panel as the two women talk. Rhiannon moves past the pleasantries and gets down to business, Allison turning serious as well.
RHI: Ha. I suppose not.
RHI: Look...I've been making some phone calls.
ALLI: Oh? And how goes that?
RHI: Not great. Our team director's working hard to talk our Government Contact down, get him to pull some strings and put a STALL on this APE situation. But Palmer...he's kind of...UNPLEASANT.
ALLI: Do you think they'll LISTEN?
RHI: I don't know, but we can TRY.
4/ On Rhiannon, talking under her breath to Allison as she glances around a little nervously.
RHI: Either WAY, we need to start considering what we're going to DO if I CAN'T pull through for you on this.
RHI: Legal or NOT, I have no intention of letting those Apes DIE.
5/ Allison puts her drink down and looks seriously at Rhiannon, almost criticizing Rhi with her eyes.
ALLI: Uh, Ms. McRhea...
ALLI: I have no INTENTION of DEFYING the Government on this.
ALLI: If you can't talk them DOWN, then I am ABIDING by the LAW, here.
PAGE FOURTEEN
1/ Rhiannon looks taken aback, almost angry.
RHI: But, Allison...
RHI: What if the LAW is WRONG?
2/ Allison swivels around on her bar stool, crossing her arms and making point-blank eye contact with Rhiannon. She faces her sternly, not letting Rhi talk her into active defiance.
ALLI: It's the LAW, Rhiannon.
ALLI: It's not about RIGHT and WRONG, it's about LEGAL and ILLEGAL.
3/ Rhiannon returns Allison's stern look, condemning the issue, almost pleading with Alli.
RHI: I know, I know...
RHI: But...it USED to be the law that owning SLAVES was okay. It used to be the law that BLACK PEOPLE had to drink from different FOUNTAINS. It used to be the law that WOMEN couldn't VOTE.
RHI: It's CURRENTLY the law that GAY PEOPLE are second -class CITIZENS. You really think upholding those laws was- or IS – the right thing to DO?
4/ Allison looks away, nodding that she understands Rhiannon's point, but doesn't agree in this case.
ALLI: You're RIGHT – some laws are WRONG.
ALLI: But there are LEGAL ways – PROPER ways – to get those laws CHANGED. We don't REVOLT.
ALLI: This isn't CUBA.
5/ Rhiannon looks away as well, biting her lip as she considers the seriousness of what she's saying.
RHI: Okay...but what if REVOLUTION is the only WAY?
ALLI (off panel): What?
RHI: What if the shift in the POLITICAL LANDSCAPE – in the CULTURAL landscape – is SO extreme that nothing's gonna make it right any time soon ENOUGH? Before GOOD PEOPLE get seriously HURT?
RHI: What then?
6/ Allison picks up her drink, swirling it around a little as she prepares to take a sip.
ALLI: I stand by my COUNTRY, Rhiannon.
ALLI: I stand by AMERICA.
PAGE FIFTEEN
1/ Rhiannon looks at her, begging with her eyes for Allison to understand.
RHI: America's not a PLACE, Allison. It's a collection of PEOPLE.
RHI: When does it become our JOB to protect a PLACE if that means hurting PEOPLE who haven't done anything WRONG?
2/ Allison takes a sip from her glass and looks at Rhi over the rim, raising her eyebrow.
ALLI: They're APES, Ms. McRhea.
ALLI: Just apes.
3/ Rhiannon gets angry, leaning in closer.
RHI: Goddammit, I KNOW you don't believe that.
RHI: But, okay, FINE. Let's say they're just APES. What're WE?
RHI: God, look...how's the saying GO?
4/ Rhiannon looks at Allison importantly as she recites, her eyes showing the intensity of her passion on this issue. Around her, the party still bustles.
RHI: First they came for the COMMUNISTS, but I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a communist.
RHI: Then they came for the JEWS, but I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a JEW.
RHI: Then they -
5/ Long Panel as Allison stands, making as though she's about to walk away. She sets her empty glass down on the bar and picks up her purse, looking scoldingly at Rhiannon.
ALLI: Okay, Rhiannon?
ALLI: I don't think I can continue this conversation with you any longer.
ALLI: Goodnight.
6/ Long Panel as Rhiannon stands in shock, Allison pushing past her and disappearing into the crowd. Rhiannon does not follow her with her eyes, but remains looking forward, shaken.
PAGE SIXTEEN
1/ Cut to Beth, on the other side of the ballroom, looking down into a glass of sparkling champagne. She looks contemplative as she speaks, addressing an off-panel Landon.
BETH: I've just been THINKING...
BETH: There's a very CLEAR line that needs to be DRAWN with Andrew, and I've never DONE that.
2/ Landon looks at her, sipping his own drink.
LANDON: How so?
3/ Long Panel as the two of them talk. Beth gestures with her hands as she speaks, and Landon looks on, curious to hear what she thinks.
BETH: There've been no...PARAMETERS established. For our FRIENDSHIP, I mean.
BETH: He's got it into his head that sooner or LATER, he and I are still going to...HAPPEN.
4/ Landon raises an eyebrow, looking skeptical.
LANDON: And you're NOT, then?
LANDON: Going to “HAPPEN,” I take it?
5/ Beth Smiles at him, teasingly.
BETH: Landon...
BETH: I know who I LOVE.
BETH: I know who makes me HAPPY.
PAGE SEVENTEEN
1/ Long Panel as Landon smiles at her, wiggling his finger in the air in faux confusion as he looks at her questioningly, joking with her.
LANDON: And just for the RECORD...
LANDON: That's ME, right?
2/ Beth shoots up a pretend angry eyebrow, smiling wickedly at him.
BETH: I'm going to PRETEND you didn't just ASK that.
BETH: Of COURSE it's you.
3/ Landon takes a drink, switching gears and looking genuinely interested in the conversation.
LANDON: Well, what do you think it's going to TAKE to get THROUGH to him?
4/ Long Panel as Beth gestures with her glass, a little champagne sloshing past the rim.
BETH: Well, honestly, I think violently pushing him AWAY back in NEW HOPE was a good START.
PAGE EIGHTEEN
1/ Landon looks at her seriously, not letting her off the hook that easily.
LANDON: But you ARE eventually going to have to TALK to him about it.
2/ Beth looks down, dreading that conversation.
BETH: Yeah.
3/ Long Panel as they both put down their glasses, looking away from each other. Beth looks out into the crowded Ball Room, and Landon turns back toward the table, reaching for a snack.
BETH: I figure after this BALL, maybe the HIGHER-UPS will see sense and lay OFF of us for a change.
BETH: Once things calm DOWN, I should have a chance to sit him down and work this out.
4/ Landon looks at her and smiles.
LANDON: Well, go easy on the guy.
LANDON: I mean, his only CRIME is falling in love with YOU.
5/ Beth smiles and holds out her hand, beckoning him to the dance floor.
BETH: Is that SYMPATHY for ANDREW MACTIERNAN I hear?
BETH: I believe that earns you a DANCE, sir.
PAGE NINETEEN
1/ Cut to a Long Panel as we see Rhiannon from behind, standing outside on the balcony. There's an overhang that protects this part of the balcony from rainfall, and she stands beneath it. She leans against the stone railing, watching the rain pour down, as lightning turns the sky into a fireworks show. In her left hand, resting on the railing, we see a smoldering cigarette, half-smoked. It is now officially night time, and the lightning fills the night sky with a bright white streak.
DON(off panel): Rhiannon?
2/ Angle reverse, and we see Rhiannon, facing forward, as Don approaches from behind, cautiously. He carries two glasses of champagne with him, and he looks at her back apprehensively, afraid she's upset about something.
RHI: You know...I used to worship storms.
3/ Donovan walks up beside her, taking a spot along the railing and setting down the drinks without tasting one or offering it to Rhi. It doesn't seem like the appropriate time for drinks, so he faces her and lets her say what she wants to say, smiling at her patiently.
DON: Used to?
4/ She turns to him, smiling sheepishly through her thoughtfulness. He looks away from her, laughing quietly as he looks down into the storm.
RHI: Yeah, not so much anymore.
RHI: The older you GET, you know?
DON: Heh. Tell me about it.
5/ Closer on Rhiannon, looking back at the rain and thinking.
RHI: Still, though...
RHI: There's something ABOUT them.
RHI: The way lightning tears the sky in half. Sometimes even turns night into DAY? It's beautiful.
PAGE TWENTY
1/ On Donovan, looking up into the storm and smiling at his own memory.
DON: When I was a KID, and there would be a big THUNDERSTORM outside?
DON: I used to hide under my BED.
2/ He looks down at his chest, suddenly looking a little sad. Rhiannon looks over at him, noticing his sadness and listening to what he has to say.
DON: At least, that's one of the last things my MOM told me. Before...things got WEIRD.
3/ Rhiannon looks at him in silence for a moment, considering what to say. Lightning flashes, but not as bright as before. Her eyes look a little watery, but not quite on the verge of tears.
4/ She looks away, choosing to change the subject. Or at least, to partially change the subject.
RHI: Did you know that the same kind of electricity that's in a lightning bolt is what makes SHARKS capable of mapping the ocean FLOOR?
5/ Don looks at her, seizing the moment to think about something else.
DON: Really?
6/ Rhiannon takes a drag from her cigarette, exhaling a plume of smoke.
RHI: Oh, yeah. All sorts of crazy connections, if you know where to look.
PAGE TWENTY-ONE
1/ Donovan looks at her, listening, as she stares off into the storm, elaborating.
RHI: For example – it's also how BIRDS travel such ridiculous distances with such great ACCURACY.
RHI: All living things have that electromagnetic current running through them.
RHI: Some people even say that CHI -
2/ On Rhiannon as Donovan interrupts, smiling. She grins back at him, amused by the stereotype he mentions and running with it. She flicks her cigarette out into the rain.
DON: Like “harness your CHI?” That kind of CHI?
RHI: That's the one.
3/ Long Panel as they lean together against the railing, both looking off into the rain. Rhiannon folds her hands together and Donovan gently rests his own hand on her forearm.
RHI: Some people say that THAT'S an electromagnetic phenomenon, TOO.
RHI: That this SPIRITUAL force in your BODY is no different than what those SHARKS and BIRDS use.
RHI: I guess I don't know what I think about all THAT.
4/ Rhiannon turns to look at him, her eyebrows raised in thought.
RHI: I do know that we have a BIO-ELECTRIC FIELD, though.
RHI: That's why we're so susceptible to STATIC ELECTRICITY. When your hair stands up, and you know you can feel a lightning storm coming?
5/ She looks away, turning back to the storm.
RHI: That's why.
PAGE TWENTY-TWO
1/ Rhiannon turns and begins to walk away, heading toward the edge of the overhang where the rain pours down freely over the remainder of the balcony. Behind, Donovan remains in place for a moment, watching her walk away from him quietly.
RHI: That's probably why I worshiped them, really.
2/ She reaches out her hand and holds it up into the torrential downpour, letting the water splash against her fingers and palm, watching it in awe as it strikes her and rebounds, splashing off in a million different imperceptible directions. She smiles slightly, remember the feeling she once had about these natural phenomenon.
RHI: Chi or NO chi, it's nice that there's this ONE phenomenon in nature that makes you REALLY AWARE of this ineffable force INSIDE you.
3/ Long Panel as Rhiannon turns back over her shoulder to face Donovan, and we can see the long stretch of Balcony ahead of her where no overhang exists and the rain pours freely. She looks at him seriously, almost hopefully, her eyes looking closer than ever to crying.
RHI: I mean...what if it's your SOUL?
4/ She looks down, thinking. Lightning crashes in the distance.
5/ She looks back up at him, smiling at what she perceives as her own silliness.
RHI: It's probably NOT, but still -
RHI: It would be nice to have some PROOF that you actually HAD one.
PAGE TWENTY-THREE
1/ Large Panel as Rhiannon steps out into the rain, letting it fall all around her, soaking her clothes and hair and washing down her face. She closes her eyes and lets her hands drift out around her, as though she's spinning, but she remains still, offering herself to the storm, arms wide. She looks up, eyes closed, and gives in to the old feeling of being one with the storm.
RHI: And you could just stand out in the STORM, and let it WASH OVER YOU, and you'd KNOW.
RHI: You'd know for SURE that even when things seem REALLY messed up, everything's gonna turn out okay in the END, because there's ORDER in the universe and it's all part of some big picture that makes sense to at least ONE person, on at least ONE planet, in at least ONE galaxy.
2/ Donovan steps out into the storm and joins her, also letting it soak into him. He approaches her and grabs her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him, and he stares her in the eye. She looks at him sternly.
DON: Rhiannon, I lov -
RHI: Don't. Don't say it.
RHI: Not yet.
3/ We see them, just for a panel, from a distance – as they stand together in the rain, not speaking, not knowing what they'd say in that moment if they DID speak.
4/ On Rhiannon as she breaks the silence, looking at him meaningfully.
RHI: I know how you feel, and I wanna say it TOO – so bad it almost HURTS.
RHI: But it's not TIME, yet. Those words have POWER.
5/ On Donovan, looking down at her in the rain, his hand on her face as she finishes. He searches her face, knowing the truth of what she's saying.
RHI: They mean something PROFOUND...something MAGICAL. Especially to ME.
RHI: I want you to hold onto those words until they're the TRUEST words you've ever heard. Until the whole UNIVERSE is going to spin off its AXIS if you don't say them right then and THERE.
RHI: And then I want you to say them. Say them and NEVER look BACK.
PAGE TWENTY-FOUR
1/ Long Panel as they kiss, standing in the rain and passionately locking lips, letting the water consume them. Lightning flashes brightly in the sky.
2/ Rhiannon pulls away, beginning to walk back toward the safety of the overhang. Donovan looks at her, worried.
3/ As she walks away, stepping out of the rain, Donovan looks after her. He remains in the rain, confused and concerned. He calls out to her.
DON: Rhiannon, what's WRONG?
4/ She turns back to him, angry and saddened. She yells a bit, her body language going rigid.
RHI: She's going to LET THEM, Donovan!
5/ He comes out of the rain, joining her as they stand under the overhang, dripping wet. He looks at her inquisitively as she turns away, handing him her cell-phone.
DON: What? Who?
RHI: Allison Whit.
RHI: I tried to make her see some REASON, but -
RHI: She's gonna let them KILL the APES.
PAGE TWENTY-FIVE
1/ We see the Cell Phone as Donovan looks down at it. It's open to a text message from Andrew. The text reads “Rhi – not going well. Try to stall Mrs. Whit. -And”
2/ Donovan looks away from the text, disgusted.
DON: Dammit.
3/ Rhiannon throws up her hands in frustration.
RHI: I know, I KNOW!
RHI: I don't know what to DO! My gut says I can't let this HAPPEN, but -
4/ Donovan looks at her seriously, knowing what has to be done.
DON: Rhiannon, I think we BOTH know what the right thing to DO really IS, here.
5/ Rhiannon looks at him, searching his face for some alternative. She looks on the verge of snapping.
6/ Finally, she looks away, putting her hand over her mouth in horror at the gravity of what they're discussing. Her face shows just how terrified she is of what happens next.
RHI: Oh, God.
RHI: God, God, God...
PAGE TWENTY-SIX
1/ Long Panel as Andrew walks up to the front door of the Atlas Building, swinging open the door and stepping out of the rain.
NARR (AND): It's like I was saying – you go through life hoping that certain things will always be true. Among them?
NARR: That the people looking OUT for you will ALWAYS be looking out for you, and that you will always find yourself in the position to do RIGHT by those who've helped you out along the way.
2/ Long Panel as he stands in the elevator, reaching out and pressing the button for their floor on a tall stretch of ivory buttons. He drips water like a sopping rag, his hair pressed down and soaking against his apprehensive face.
NARR: But when the people looking out for you become the people who HAVE IT OUT for you?
NARR: When the people who've done right by you decide to throw RIGHT and WRONG out the window?
3/ Long Panel as he approaches the door to the office of the Knights of Columbus. The hallway is lit with soft light, and the red carpet and wooden molding along the printed walls look warm and inviting. Inside the dim office, through the glass on the door, we can see that lightning flashes outside. Andrew fumbles for his keys.
NARR: Well, that's when your understanding REALLY gets tested.
NARR: And that's where you starting wondering what lines you're willing to CROSS.
NARR: It's days like this where you really have to stand back and ask yourself...
4/ Long Panel as Andrew stands in the office, lit only by the green desk lamp on his large oak desk. In the small cone of light offered by the lamp, we can see Mister Palmer sitting in Andrew's chair at the desk, looking up at Andrew expectantly. His hands are folded in front of his face in an arrogant gesture, and his posture is relaxed, like a man who knows he's going to win. Andrew stands in front of him, his back to us, as he drips all over the floor.
ANDREW: Mr. Palmer.
PALMER: Mr. MacTiernan.
PAGE TWENTY-SEVEN
1/ THIS IS A FULL PAGE SPLASH, as the issue ends with a bang – literally. We see the Atlas Building, from outside in the pouring rain. Suddenly, the building is engulfed in flame as a violent explosion rips the top level in the southwest corner of the building apart (the section of the building housing KoC headquarters). The glass explodes outward and scatters down into the street, as the concrete decorative flourishes on the corners of the architecture suddenly crumble under the violent pressure, causing the roof in that corner of the building to buckle. The explosion is SO big, so destructive, that there's no way anyone could possibly be alive in there.
Knights of Columbus headquarters is gone.
NARR: Am I ready for what happens NEXT?
Next – Pillar of Salt.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Knights of Columbus #22
Issue Twenty-two: “The Last Gorilla Medium, part 1: Dark Moon, High Tide.”
PAGE ONE
“Previously” page.
PAGE TWO
1/ Long Panel Establishing Shot as we see a COTA bus traveling down a back road somewhere on the North Side of Columbus. It's early afternoon, but the sky is overcast and gray. Power lines hang in the BG, dangling from their wooden poles as the bus passes suburban-looking homes.
CAPTION: En Route to the Columbus Zoo.
NARR (RHI): I had a TEACHER once – an English Teacher – who tried to teach us about Jungian Archetypes.
2/ Long Panel as we see inside the bus, from up near the front, by the Driver. Near the back sits Rhiannon, looking off into space and trying not to make eye contact with any one person on the bus. She wears street clothes, dressed casually in Jeans and a TOOL T-Shirt, with a light brown corduroy
jacket. Dangling between her legs is a scrap of manila paper, but from here we can't see what it is.
NARR (RHI): She was only around for a year or so before she moved away, but I liked her a lot.
NARR (RHI): She told us that there were really only TEN STORIES, and that every story ever told was really just a VARIATION on one of those basic ARCHETYPICAL ideas.
3/ Long Panel, Close on Rhiannon's legs as her hands dangle the scrap of paper between her knees. At this angle, we can begin to see the paper, but all we can see are the words “You are Cordially...” An IPod sits by Rhiannon's side, lit up and playing something whose name we can't see, and the ear buds run up along their white cord to her ears, off-panel.
NARR (RHI): At the time, of course, I thought it was RIDICULOUS – but as I've grown OLDER, I've come to realize that it's TRUE.
4/ Long Panel as we see Rhiannon's face for the first time, looking idly up toward the front of the bus as she continues her train of thought. By her side sit total strangers, engaged in conversation with each other. Her ear buds dangle from her ears as she ignores them.
NARR (RHI): The Matrix is just Star Wars is just The Lord of The Rings.
PAGE THREE
1/ Long Panel as we see through Rhi's POV, looking across the aisle at a young man sitting opposite her. He's probably 23 years old, with a dark red baggy polo shirt that appears to be a uniform from some fast food restaurant he works at, at least 3 sizes too big and hanging off of him like a tent. He's a red head, with pale skin and an army of freckles to complement his short-cut flaming orange hair. He, like Rhiannon, listens to music on a head set, but his is a set of big, chunky, classically hip-hop looking headphones, carefully picked to match his Ghetto stance, with his legs spread wide and threatening, shoulders cocked back in arrogance as he looks challengingly around the bus at anyone who catches his eye. His hands rest in his lap and dangle off his knees, completing his cocky stance. There are Chinese Tattoos on his arms.
NARR (RHI): But it doesn't really stop there.
NARR (RHI): Take this guy sitting across from me on the bus.
2/ Rhiannon looks over at the boy, appraising him with her eyes.
NARR (RHI): Red-head kid, lame Chinese Tattoos that he probably thinks say “COURAGE,” and “STRENGTH,” but really say something more like “GULLIBLE AMERICAN MORON.”
NARR (RHI): Shirt fifteen sizes too BIG, hair so full of GEL for something that doesn't really look like anything you could call a “HAIRSTYLE.”
3/ The boy looks back at her, momentarily locking eyes as if to say “What're you lookin' at?”
NARR (RHI): Legs spread wide enough and POSTURE carefully measured so as to suggest that if you CROSS him, you'll find out what a HARDASS he is.
4/ Long Panel as we see the boy's knees, baggy blue jeans stretching to accommodate the ridiculous lengths to which his legs are spread out. His IPod dangles between his knees, held loosely in his hand.
NARR (RHI): His face a carefully designed SCOWL, undercut by the bad piercings under his lip and twice in his eyebrow.
NARR (RHI): Pale skin, lots of freckles, probably listens to TUPAC and calls things “tight,” or “phat,” or whatever it is they say these days.
5/ Long Panel as Rhiannon looks away, biting her fingernails absentmindedly. He eyebrows shoot up in silent criticism of the boy across from her.
NARR (RHI): It doesn't matter that I've never seen this kid before, because I've SEEN this kid before, about eight million times.
NARR (RHI): So have you.
PAGE FOUR
1/ Long Panel as Rhiannon flips open the folded piece of paper she carries and looks inside the fold. On the upper half, now facing us upside down, we can see the full text : YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED. She smiles an odd smile, perplexed but pleased.
NARR (RHI): There are only so many ways anything can be, and every situation you've ever encountered has probably happened to a million different people and played out exactly the same way every time, within a reasonable margin of error.
2/ Long Panel as we see through Rhiannon's POV, looking down at the paper. On the inside, it is a stylishly printed card that reads “August 26th, 2012, at 8 P.M. A Grand Ball in honor of local Adventurers the KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS. Hosted by the City of Columbus and Franklin County.”
NARR (RHI): It's just LIFE.
NARR (RHI): And while it doesn't mean that life is MEANINGLESS, it certainly means it's FRUSTRATING.
3/ Long Panel as Rhiannon folds the invitation back together and returns to looking idly off toward the front of the bus, smiling slightly as she does.
NARR (RHI): But then, I guess FRUSTRATION is kind of a way of LIFE for us these days, isn't it?
PAGE FIVE
1/ CUT TO a CLOSE UP on Milo's prone hand, resting against his side as he lays silently in a hospital bed. Salmon colored sheets cover his lower half as he lies unconscious on the bed, and David's hand creeps into the panel, depositing the Dream Catcher Milo received from Chris into the cranny made by Milo's hand against his side. The room is darkened, lit by yellow source light from the nightstand by the bed.
CAPTION: Riverside Hospital.
DAVID (OFF PANEL): There you go, Milo.
2/ Close on David, looking sadly at his boyfriend's comatose body. He looks like he has been crying, his face red and a little puffy.
DAVID: I thought you might NEED that, while you were sleeping.
3/ Long Panel as David leans down against the bed, resting his head on Milo's chest. We see Milo's face for the first time, the cuts across his brow from his battle with Malice only just now beginning to fully heal. David stretches his hands open, gripping Milo tightly and closing his eyes. Behind them, we see Andrew and Beth standing over the bed, looking on. Andrew's arms are folded as he looks down at Milo and David, and Beth stands uncomfortable with her hands in her pockets, looking past David at Milo's blank face.
ANDREW: He's been in a COMA for a MONTH.
ANDREW: He has to come out of this SOONER or later, doesn't he?
4/ Beth turns to him, glancing nervously out of the corner of her eyes to David, hoping he isn't paying attention to their conversation. She whispers to Andrew.
BETH (small font, whisper): It's hard to SAY. We don't really know what this IS.
BETH: Milo DIED, and then suddenly -
5/ Andrew looks at her skeptically, but gently. He rubs the back of his head uncomfortably as he stresses the lack of information they really have.
ANDREW: Not to sound like a skipping RECORD, here...but what if he didn't DIE?
ANDREW: What if he was just...OUT, or something?
PAGE SIX
1/ David looks up from the bed and stares at Andrew seriously. His hands still rest on Milo's chest.
DAVID: No.
DAVID: Don, Rhi, Me – everyone even a little bit SENSITIVE in that room FELT it. He was DEAD.
DAVID: His SOUL left his BODY, and then it came BACK.
2/ Beth turns to him, crossing her own arms. She raises an eyebrow at the mention of Donovan and Rhiannon, looking to change the subject away from the possibility of Milo never waking up.
BETH: I haven't really had the chance to TALK to Don and Rhi about all this.
BETH: I've been so tied up in the office PAPERWORK since I lost my ability to WOLF OUT, I'm afraid they've been doing all the FIELD WORK.
3/ Long Panel as Andrew turns to Beth, explaining what Don and Rhiannon have been speculating. We see a meaningless reproduction of a pop-art painting on the wall behind Milo's bed. Beth looks confused.
ANDREW: They have some interesting THEORIES, actually.
ANDREW: Rhiannon thinks he didn't just push his SOUL back in, but rather that he forced it to REINCARNATE into the same BODY. Donovan agrees.
BETH: Don believes in REINCARNATION?
ANDREW: That's kind of an ACADEMIC distinction at this point, don't you think? We've ALL had our beliefs challenged in the past seven months or so.
4/ Beth looks away from Andrew and David and focuses on Milo's silent body, her arms folded. Her face is fraught with confusion and concentration, trying to grasp what has happened to Milo.
BETH: So they think he INTERRUPTED the reincarnation cycle?
BETH: I don't get how -
5/ Suddenly, the door to the hospital room swings open and Milo's doctor from Grant Hospital in KNIGHTS #3, Doctor Dave, enters. He is wearing street clothes, as he is not the Doctor presiding over Milo in this particular situation. He carries a Styrofoam drink carrier with four paper cups of piping hot coffee.
DAVE: Hi, Everybody.
ANDREW (OFF PANEL): Doc!
PAGE SEVEN
1/ David stands and turns to face the others, and everyone grabs a cup of coffee from Doctor Dave. Beth looks at him thankfully, smiling graciously and gripping his bicep in a friendly gesture.
BETH: Thanks for doing all this, Dave.
BETH: I'm sure it would mean a lot to Milo to know that you were here, even if you're not his Doctor throughout all this.
2/ Dave smiles sincerely, looking tired but determined.
DAVE: Well, he's a very old PATIENT of mine.
DAVE: I would only hope he'd do the same for me.
3/ Beth changes her demeanor, looking seriously at Doctor Dave.
BETH: Doc, I was wondering something, but it's kind of a strange QUESTION.
DAVE (OFF PANEL): Shoot.
BETH: Is there any way we could find out what Milo was FEELING when he, um...GOT RID of Malice? Any kind of TEST that can be run?
4/ On Dave, looking confused and a little taken aback.
DAVE: Uh, Mrs. Adams...
DAVE: I mostly specialize in treating STD's. That's not really the kind of thing I DO.
DAVE: But no, I don't believe there's any way to TELL, unless you people have some PSYCHIC trick up your sleeve I don't know about.
5/ Beth sips at the edge of her hot coffee, walking past the group in the direction of the hospital room door, looking lost in thought. They turn to watch her go, looking a little bothered by her line of questioning, but understanding why she wants to know.
BETH: All the same, Milo killed someone – in the most EXCRUCIATING way possible.
BETH: I don't care if we have to check his SERATONIN levels, or WHATEVER...
BETH: I wanna know if he ENJOYED it.
6/ Beth continues toward the door, but stops to look back over her shoulder when Doctor Dave speaks, stopping her. She looks a little sad at having asked the question she asked, but it didn't stop her from doing it.
DAVE (OFF PANEL): Well, Beth, while you're busy trying to prove that your friend is a VILLAIN, why not stick around for the GOOD news?
DAVE (OFF PANEL): Milo's HIV?
PAGE EIGHT
1/ This is a FULL PAGE SPLASH, featuring the issue's TITLE, CREDITS, and INDICIA. Doctor Dave looks over at us (and Beth) and drops the bomb, while David and Andrew stare on in shock behind him. In the BG, Milo's body lies motionless in the hospital bed, an EKG machine beeping away at his side. Dave's face is a mask of seriousness, aware of the amazing nature of the news he is delivering.
DAVE: It's gone.
DAVE: Completely.
PAGE NINE
1/ CUT TO an Exterior Shot of a Passenger Train, chugging along its track with sparse wooded areas on both sides, the overcast afternoon sky visible overhead. Through the window, even from a distance, we can see a small boy leaning against the window, reading a book.
CAPTION: Elsewhere.
2/ Inside the train, we find Edward Lincoln Geblan, from the earlier “Missing Link” storyline, curled up in the train seat and leafing through a copy of a book called “The Seth Material.” He looks engaged, flipping through the pages hungrily, taking it in. A shadow falls over him from the aisle, as someone walks up and looks at him.
3/ Long Panel, as the angle reverses and we see Link from the opposite direction, with a girl about his age standing in the aisle next to him, looking at him curiously. He looks over, acknowledging her silently before she speaks. She smiles at him, looking curious about him.
GIRL: Mind if I sit?
LINK: You can sit.
4/ The girl looks appraisingly at Link as she takes a seat, trying to get a look at the book in his hand and not being too subtle about it. She raises and eyebrow.
GIRL: What are you READING?
GIRL: Is it something for school?
5/ Link looks up at her from his book, slightly annoyed at the interruption but also enjoying the idea of getting to talk about what he's reading with someone who seems genuinely interested.
LINK: It's called “The SETH Material.” It's by Jane Roberts.
LINK: It's pretty weird.
PAGE TEN
1/ Long Panel as the girl looks at him, her curiosity not satisfied.
GIRL: What's it about?
2/ Long Panel as Link sets the book face down in his lap, and begins to explain.
LINK: Well this lady says that she was Channeling this Ghost or Angel or something named “SETH -”
GIRL (off panel): What's CHANNELING?
LINK: It's when you let something else – or someone else – use your body to speak through you.
3/ Long Panel on the girl as Link continues. She looks confused, but still interested.
LINK (off panel): This SETH person told her that we have the power to change our reality with our THOUGHTS, BELIEFS and EXPECTATIONS.
LINK: That we were in control, not some unseen figure in the sky who just moves us around however we want.
GIRL: It's about GOD?
4/ On Link, beginning to look more engaged in the conversation. He squints slightly, trying to find the right words to describe what he's thinking.
LINK: Sort of. I mean, that's part of it.
LINK: Seth says that God is “ALL THAT IS,” and that instead of taking his form in some OUTSIDE observer, who sits in Heaven and WATCHES, he's really the nature of reality ITSELF.
GIRL (off panel): I don't understand.
LINK: It's like – okay. You're god. I'm god. This chair is god. Everything is god.
PAGE ELEVEN
1/ The girl looks at him, dubious.
GIRL: But if I'm already God, why should I have to learn anything?
2/ Link looks away, staring off into the space in front of him as he struggles with philosophy, gesturing with his hands as he speaks.
LINK: Because that's...I dunno...spiritual LAZINESS?
LINK: Like, think of it this way – if you're GOD, that doesn't mean you can sit back and call your work “DONE.” It means you have an even bigger responsibility.
3/ Long Panel as we pull back and see both of them, sitting and talking. You can surmise that the girl has probably never had a conversation like this, but she looks surprisingly engaged by it. Link is in his element, gesturing excitedly as he talks.
GIRL: Why?
LINK: Because there's no MAGIC SAFETY NET, cleaning up all your MESSES for you. Personal responsibility becomes really IMPORTANT. What you DO matters, and you have to do RIGHT.
4/ Close on Link, looking at her seriously now.
LINK: If God is EVERYTHING, and Everything is GOD, then everything is CONNECTED. Everything you do affects everything ELSE.
LINK: That means that when you make a DECISION, it's going to -
5/ Suddenly, Link's mom, Dianne, pops around the back of the girl's seat, looking relieved to have finally found her wandering son. She looks down at them and locks eyes with Link.
DIANNE: LINK, there you are!
DIANNE: Your father found some more comfortable seats up FRONT. Come with me.
PAGE TWELVE
1/ Long Panel as Link follows his Mother's insistence and gets up from his window seat, waving timidly at the Girl as he scoots past her to the aisle. She smiles and waves back at him. Dianne's hand sticks demandingly into the panel.
GIRL: It was nice talking to you...
DIANNE: Come on, Link.
2/ Close on the Girl as she looks after them intently, trying to watch them as they leave for as long as she can. She seems to have noticed something that bothered her, and she squints in suspicion.
DIANNE (off panel): It's bad enough you destroyed the CAR when we can't afford a RENTAL, Eddie.
DIANNE: I will not have you wreaking HAVOC on this train, spreading your crap to other kids.
LINK (off panel): I don't WREAK HAVOC, Mom.
3/ Girl's POV, we see Link from behind and his mother's midsection as she drags him toward the front of the Train, a stack of papers in her free hand, pressed against her side. The papers can be seen in some detail, and we can see that the leaflet reads “Ellis Children's Mental Health Institute.”
DIANNE: You just come right back to us and you stay there until we're done with this trip.
DIANNE: We do NOT need any further trouble.
4/ Long Panel as the Girl sits back in her seat and crosses her arms, looking a little sad. The gray afternoon rolls by in the window, a vague blur against the motion of the train.
PAGE THIRTEEN
1/ CUT TO a Long Panel Establishing Shot of the Pontifical College Josephinum, as previously seen in “Malicious Intent.” Dark clouds are moving in slowly overhead, and we see Donovan leaving the building and heading toward his car. He is taking his phone from his pocket.
CAPTION: Pontifical College Josephinum.
2/ Donovan arrives at his car and stands beside it, holding the driver's side door open as he speaks into his phone, looking a little shaken. He wears full priestly regalia.
DON: Rhiannon, hey, it's me.
3/ CUT AWAY to a CLOSE UP of Rhiannon, standing against a brick wall and speaking into her phone, an impatient look on her face in reaction to Donovan's absence.
RHI: Don, where are you?
4/ Donovan sits down in the car, the door still hanging open, and shuffles a stack of paperwork into the passenger seat. His eyes dart off to the side as he spouts out a half-truth.
DON: I had a meeting at Josephinum. Church thing.
DON: But I'll be there soon, I promise. I'm leaving now.
5/ CUT BACK to Rhiannon, in a somewhat fuller shot. We can see that she stands at the Main Entrance Gate at the Columbus Zoo, shuffling impatiently near a stainless steel turnstile. She looks as though she's wrapping up the conversation, her hand already motioning to shut her phone.
RHI: Okay, cool.
RHI: I'm here already, so I'm just gonna head on in. I'll catch you up on everything when you get here.
PAGE FOURTEEN
1/ Long Panel as the scene switches over completely to Rhiannon, standing inside the Main Gate. She is greeted with a handshake by Allison Whit, the Administrator. Allison is a Mary McDonnell type, in her mid-forties, with dark shoulder-length hair and a face that suggests pride and wisdom. She carries a brown wooden clipboard, papers flipping slightly in the wind. She smiles warmly at Rhiannon, and Rhiannon smiles back, taking the handshake.
RHI: Hi, you must be - ?
ALLISON: Allison Whit. I'm the Administrator here at the Columbus Zoo.
ALLISON: And I take it you're Rhiannon?
RHI: One and only.
2/ Rhiannon switches gears, getting right down to business with a look of professional concern on her face. The sky behind her is now a deep gray, threatening to rain at any time.
RHI: Word has it that you've got some BEHAVIORAL SITUATION going on up here that would be of interest to us?
3/ Allison takes her hand back with an ironic smile, folding her arms together tightly around her clipboard.
ALLISON: Ha. Behavioral situation? Is that how they described it to you?
4/ The two women turn and begin to stroll together deeper into the Zoo. Allison keeps her arms around her clipboard, holding it against her chest, and Rhiannon tucks her hands into her blue jean pockets, looking over curiously at her Guide.
RHI: Well, what exactly are we talking about?
ALLISON: Follow me.
ALLISON: I'll take you right to them.
5/ Allison looks over at Rhiannon, her face twisted in a wry, expectant smile. She obviously cannot wait to share her discovery with the new arrival.
ALLISON: You ready for this?
PAGE FIFTEEN
1/ CUT TO a Large Panel as Rhiannon and Allison arrive at their destination: a Gorilla enclosure. The image is seen from inside the cage, with Rhi and Alli at a short distance on the other side of the bars. Closer to us is an adult female Gorilla, with two baby Gorillas playing at her side. They tumble over rocks and pick at logs with spare sticks, and the adult female watches with motherly pleasure. Rhiannon looks on in confusion as Allison smiles at her favorite animals.
RHI: Monkeys?
RHI: It's a problem with MONKEYS?
ALLISON: Well, they're APES.
ALLISON: But yes, this is why we called you here.
2/ Rhiannon turns to Allison, looking a little disappointed. Allison looks back at her, smiling knowingly as she beckons Rhi to be patient.
RHI: Um...this isn't really what we DO.
RHI: I'm not sure I understand why you called us.
ALLISON: God, are you people ALWAYS this impatient, or have I just caught you on a bad DAY?
ALLISON: Give the girl a moment. And LOOK at her.
3/ On the Adult Female, as she looks up from her busy work through the bars at Rhiannon, looking straight into the reader's eyes. A small smile creases her Gorilla Lips as she suddenly sends out a psychic message to Rhiannon.
LUNA (psychic balloon): Pretty lady nice to Luna?
PAGE SIXTEEN
1/ Long Panel as Rhiannon and Allison stand side-by-side. Rhiannon takes a shocked step backward, utterly floored by this unexpected event. Her hand comes up slightly, her fingers almost covering her mouth in shock. Allison looks at her with pride, gesturing toward the Gorilla, who is off panel.
RHI: Did that...APE just talk to me?
ALLISON: No, Miss McRhea – she THOUGHT to you.
ALLISON: Meet LUNA, the world's first TELEPATHIC GORILLA. And her CHILDREN are beginning to show signs of having the same GIFTS.
2/ Long Panel as Rhiannon approaches the bars and leans down, reaching her hand out slightly and staring in awe at Luna. Luna, too, approaches the bars, poking a finger out in Rhiannon's direction. Behind her, her children play with their sticks and stones. Allison stands behind Rhiannon, watching with pleasure.
RHI: Oh, my God.
RHI: How does she know ENGLISH?
ALLISON: She doesn't, that we know of.
ALLISON: Best that we can figure is that TELEPATHY isn't really in ANY language, but rather that it's pure INTENT, translated by your BRAIN into whatever language you understand.
ALLISON: She speaks to our HISPANIC employees in what they swear is SPANISH.
LUNA (psychic balloon): Pretty lady nice to Luna?
3/ Long Panel, from Luna's POV, as Rhiannon reaches in through the bars and extends an open hand to the Gorilla. She smiles brightly, trying not to alarm Luna, and her eyes are pure wonderment. She speaks back by following the same method, never opening her mouth.
RHI (psychic balloon): Pretty lady VERY nice to Luna.
RHI (psychic balloon): Pretty lady is RHIANNON. Rhiannon is happy to MEET Luna.
PAGE SEVENTEEN
1/ Long Panel as Rhiannon and Luna continue to have a telepathic conversation. Rhi looks intrigued and questioning, and Luna just looks happy to be talking with someone new. NOTE: All Dialogue on this page is in psychic balloons.
LUNA: Luna happy to talk to Rhiannon.
RHI: Rhiannon has never met an ape like LUNA.
RHI: Does Luna know any other apes like Luna?
LUNA: Not like Luna.
LUNA: But other apes.
2/ On Luna, looking up at Rhiannon expectantly.
LUNA: Rhiannon like OTHER apes, too?
3/ Rhiannon looks at her, slightly confused.
RHI: Other apes?
RHI: Other apes like your CHILDREN?
LUNA (off panel): No. Gone Apes.
LUNA: Old apes.
RHI: ...DEAD apes?
4/ Long Panel as Luna looks at Rhiannon, her brow furrowed with the complicated idea of death. She gestures around her enclosure, waving to things that don't seem to be there.
LUNA: Not...DEAD.
LUNA: Still here. Just gone apes.
LUNA: All around.
PAGE EIGHTEEN
1/ Long Panel as Rhiannon stands up straight, popping into the panel alongside Allison, who looks down at her with a gleeful grin. Rhiannon's face goes slack, her mind a little shattered under the implications of the situation. Allison lets her clipboard drop to her side, brushing a chunk of hair out of her face.
RHI: Is she...talking about - ?
ALLISON: Ghosts?
ALLISON: She sure is.
ALLISON: We've gone through this with her a million times, and the only conclusion we can reach is that she can see and communicate with the SPIRITS of apes who have DIED here.
ALLISON: Or at least that she's CONVINCED she can.
2/ Rhiannon looks over at Allison, barely comprehending. Her face is slack and white, chills going down her spine.
RHI: But that's -
RHI: This is AMAZING, Allison.
RHI: This is unlike anything I've ever SEEN.
3/ Allison goes back to holding her clipboard to her chest, looking away from Rhiannon and allowing her eyes to drift in Luna's direction as a shadow of regret passes over her usually cheery features.
ALLISON: Yes, well...
ALLISON: We're inclined to AGREE.
4/ Long Panel, Close on Rhiannon as her brow furrows in consternation, the dread anticipation of concealed information competing with irritation at already having a pretty good idea what it is.
RHI: Why do I have a feeling there's a “BUT?”
RHI: What did you need the KNIGHTS to DO about all this...?
PAGE NINETEEN
1/ Allison looks over at Rhiannon, seriously. She looks as though she's running a mental countdown to the moment when she begins to beg for help. Her eyes have become slightly watery.
ALLISON: There are RUMORS, Rhiannon, that you and your PEOPLE are being funded by the United States GOVERNMENT.
ALLISON: Even if you're NOT, you've still gained enough CLOUT to have a voice that can be HEARD. A voice people will LISTEN to.
2/ Close on Rhiannon, looking impatient and aware of where this is going.
RHI: What's going ON here, Mrs. Whit?
3/ Long Panel as Allison looks away, staring wistfully at the ape enclosure as she speaks. She looks as though she's about to cry.
ALLISON: We've been getting VISITORS from the GOVERNMENT.
ALLISON: They've poked, prodded, and STUDIED, and they've come to the conclusion that – and this is VERBATIM:
ALLISON: “...in the CURRENT CLIMATE of superhuman FERVOR, Luna and her children are the LAST THING we need.”
ALLISON: They're calling them a THREAT to National SECURITY.
4/ Rhiannon looks at Allison, sickened and angered that she was right in her assumption. Her brow is as furrowed as can be, anger sending thick creases across her forehead.
RHI: And what exactly are they planning on DOING about that?
5/ Close on Allison, looking deadpan over at Rhiannon. She has clearly been very deeply embittered by this development, and she delivers the information like an ultimatum.
ALLISON: Exactly what you think.
ALLISON: They're going to KILL every last one of them.
PAGE TWENTY
1/ CUT TO Beth, in the Bathroom of she and Landon's house in Bexley, standing at the sink and splashing water on her exhausted face. Through the bathroom window, we can see that the encroaching storm clouds have amassed in dark and threatening force, clotting the sky with alternating gray and black swatches. The room is lit by the unnatural yellow of mirror lights.
CAPTION: Bexley.
2/ Beth looks up into the mirror, her face looking tired and haggard. Though she's only 28, the stress of Beth's life is beginning to etch deep age lines into her face, though she does a good job of covering them up. Here, in the privacy of her home, she observes the effects of the way she lives and sighs in frustration as the water drips from her hands and head, and she leans against the mirror with both hands gripping its sides for support.
BETH: When did I start to look this old?
3/ Long Panel as she looks down into her open hand, displaying three red and blue capsules. On the sink, in the BG, we see a bottle labeled “Ibuprofen EXTREME.” Her hair hangs limply into the panel, and the light is unflattering for her skin tone.
4/ Beth tilts her head back as she takes a long swig of water from a tall glass, washing down the headache medicine with a grimace as she supports herself against the sink with her free hand. In the BG, we hear the front door click as someone opens it.
SOUND EFFECT: CLICK
5/ Beth lets the glass drop to about chest level as she turns in surprise, wondering who has entered her house. We see her surprised face only by way of her reflection in the mirror, as her back is to us.
BETH: Who - ?
SOUND EFFECT: SLAM
PAGE TWENTY-ONE
1/ Large Panel as Beth enters the darkened living room and finds Landon, standing in the middle of the room and looking world-weary and relieved to see her. The room has no lights turned on, and the dark and threatening sky can be plainly seen out the big picture window against the front wall. A clock on the Cable Box above the television reads 4:15. Landon is wearing reasonably nice clothes, presumably given to him by Magda – a black, warm-looking trench coat covers a well-tailored dark blue button down, while a pair of new dark blue jeans lead to thick black boots. His hair is still long as usual, but has been cut to look less messy and unkempt. He stands in the middle of the room and smiles hesitantly at Beth, knowing a lot has happened that needs to be discussed.
LANDON: Beth.
LANDON: I'm home.
LANDON: We have so much we have to talk about, I don't -
2/ Large Panel as Beth runs over to him and they hug tightly, reveling in the feel of each other's bodies pressed together. He closes his eyes as he buries his head in her shoulder, and a single tear of joy runs down Beth's cheek as she presses her cheekbone into his shoulder, looking toward us and squeezing him tight. For just a moment, she looks substantially younger than she did in the mirror, and light rain begins to fall against the window, little rivulets running down the glass in a subtle reflection of Beth's own tears.
BETH: Oh, Babe.
BETH: You are so right about that. More than you could possibly know.
PAGE TWENTY-TWO
1/ CUT TO a Long Panel of Donovan and Rhiannon, back at the Columbus Zoo. Don has recently arrived and been filled in on the events by Rhiannon, and he now looks at her in anger and disbelief, struggling to comprehend the situation at hand. Rhiannon looks back at him, looking a little more composed given the fact that she's had more time to assimilate the idea.
DON: You're trying to tell me that right there in that cage is a real live TELEPATHIC APE, and the GOVERNMENT wants to just come down here and put a BULLET in it's HEAD!?
2/ Rhiannon looks at him, her arms folded indignantly as she works hard to focus her anger and not misdirect it at Donovan. The storm clouds continue to darken around them, and a slight rain is falling now. It is not yet a downpour, but it's clear that it will be in a short while.
RHI: Not ITS.
RHI: HER.
RHI: She's a MOTHER, and her name is LUNA. And yes, that's EXACTLY what I'm telling you.
3/ Donovan looks away from Rhiannon, looking into the cage at the innocent, doomed apes. His face is twisted in mental agony, feeling the helplessness of having no control over the situation.
DON: I just can't believe they'd DO that.
DON: I read somewhere about TECHNOLOGICALLY unlocking these abilities in Apes, but THIS?
DON: This is AMAZING. Natural Evolution taking a LEAP like this? Why would they KILL them?
4/ Long Panel as Rhiannon bends down, reaching into the cage and touching fingers with Luna. Her face is a mask of sadness, but we can't see Luna's face. By Rhiannon's side, Donovan looks down in disbelief.
RHI: Well, you better START believing it.
RHI: The SUPERHUMANS are already proving too hard for the Government to control. They've deemed LUNA and her KIDS here an UNNECESSARY RISK.
PAGE TWENTY-THREE
1/ Rhiannon stands, looking angrily at Donovan as she brushes a chunk of wet hair from out of her eyes. She is furious about the whole situation, and she's choking back barely restrained tears.
RHI: Don't you see what's HAPPENING here?
RHI: Every day, all of this, it spirals further out of CONTROL.
2/ Donovan looks at her, quietly comprehending and developing a look of anger himself.
RHI (off panel): What we're looking at here is something BEAUTIFUL. An EVOULTIONARY MIRACLE.
RHI: And they wanna kill it because it's a threat to NATIONAL SECURITY?
3/ Long Panel as Rhiannon and Donovan stand side by side, looking into Luna's cage. Rhiannon folds her arms as she continues, growing ever more embittered. Donovan looks at her, realizing how personally she's taking it and becoming a little worried.
RHI: They're going to get AWAY with it, if only because they're APES and they aren't going to KNOW what's coming for them until it's too LATE...
4/ Luna looks up at them, smiling innocently. She is oblivious to the entire ordeal.
RHI (Off panel): ...but what happens when it's not MONKEYS anymore, Donovan?
RHI: What happens when it's US?
5/ Rhiannon turns to lock eyes with Donovan, a dark promise in her gaze.
RHI: Because that moment is COMING, and it's coming SOON.
RHI: Think about MILO.
PAGE TWENTY-FOUR
1/ CUT TO a Long Panel, low to the hospital floor as Milo wakes and swings his legs out of his bed, his bare feet touching the cold floor. His hand reaches out and grabs his pile of folded clothes, sitting on the nightstand next to his bed. His Dreamcatcher sits by his side. We do not see his face, but Rhiannon's voice continues in Narration.
NARR: Milo DIED.
2/ Long Panel as Milo wanders across a dark and somewhat rainy Columbus, crossing downtown like a Zombie in the same clothes he wore when he fought Malice, but barefoot on the cold concrete of the sidewalk. We see him from behind, wandering through the intersection of Broad and High. People stare as he passes, the Dreamcatcher dangling from his hand.
NARR: But because of SOMETHING – some power that was already INSIDE of him, or because of something he SAW on the other SIDE, who knows? - he pushed himself back into his body...
NARR: ...and he used his powers to do something devastating...something TERRIFYING.
3/ Long Panel as Milo wanders along the Olentangy bike trail, stepping off the concrete path and wandering into the wooded patch to his side, stepping through the weeds down into the bank of the Olentangy river bed. A blue heron flies away suddenly, startled.
NARR: You think they don't know what HAPPENED?
4/ Long Panel as our POV switches: we see inside the train, as Link presses his hand against the window and looks outside, just as they cross an old iron bridge over the Olentangy River. Link glances over in surprise as he sees Milo enter the riverbed through the clearing in the trees, stepping down to the muddy patch of beach to the right and standing silently among the fallen tree trunks, looking strangely at the expanse of the river. The river is somewhat low, and patches of land and trees stick up out of the water all throughout it. A small flock of birds take flight, crossing the panel in alarm.
NARR: We've taken so many steps forward, as a group, in the last seven months – but Malice pushed us to the BRINK. And pretty soon?
NARR: The government's gonna push BACK.
NARR: Starting with Elliot Woodyard.
PAGE TWENTY-FIVE
1/ Long Panel on Milo as he looks up at the train, locking eyes with us (and Link). He holds up the Dreamcatcher that David left at his side in the hospital bed, and its yarn dangles freely in the wind. Suddenly, Milo and the Dreamcatcher both start to break apart, little shreds of their forms splitting off their body and drifting upward into the air, as if they are being split apart at the atomic level. The left side of Milo's face crumbles slowly, it's materials getting caught in the wind and drifting upward and to the left, like the white flecks blown from a dandelion, caught on a gust of storm front wind.
NARR: So imagine, for a moment, that you're MILO.
2/ Long Panel, looking into the train window, as Link looks on in shock at the sight of an evaporating Milo, his hands pressed against the glass and his eyes wide. Behind him, his mother is oblivious, reading an article in a magazine without a care in the world.
NARR: You claw your way back into your body after the HELL that man put you through, you come back with a vengeance and maybe even more powerful than you were BEFORE...
3/ Long Panel, low angle, as we see from behind Milo's bare feet rising up off the ground, achieving low-level flight. The Dreamcatcher dangles from his hand down into the panel. He hovers about three feet off the ground, with the sod and weeds of the riverbank just below. He continues to evaporate, the cells of his body splitting away and drifting off into the wind, at a more rapid and alarming rate now. In the BG, we see the passenger train go chugging by on the iron bridge. The rain continues to fall quietly.
NARR: ...and you're greeted with an ARMY, wanting you to submit to their control or DIE.
NARR: You may just check out of humanity ALTOGETHER.
4/ INSET PANEL, small, in the corner of Panel Three: CLOSE ON Milo's face, his eyes staring up over the edge of his glasses, as his face begins to completely break apart, drifting off into the wind.
PAGE TWENTY-SIX
1/ LARGE PANEL, taking up three quarters of the page, as Milo finally explodes into a cloud of unrecognizable matter, the matter of the Dreamcatcher mixed in freely with his own. The cloud floats above the ground, taking the shape of a Dreamcatcher for a fleeting moment, the matter convalescing together to form the ethereal shape as it's particles shimmer in the air. Beneath, in the sand and mud of the riverbank, the ground splits apart, sending sod flying up into the air as a hole magically appears almost four feet deep. This panel should look, of course, completely insane and impossible.
NARR: There're only so many ways this whole thing will turn out.
2/ Long Panel, taking up the remainder of the page, as Milo's cloud of matter plummets into the hole in the ground, the sod and grass collapsing in behind him as he buries his own deconstituted form beneath three feet of dirt. A squirrel runs up into the panel, watching in surprise as the phenomenon plays out in front of it like something from a science fiction movie.
NARR: There's only so many ways ANYTHING can turn out, and this one's predictable as HELL.
PAGE TWENTY-SEVEN
1/ LARGE PANEL, taking up half the page, as Link sits inside the train and watches in awe, his hand pressed against the glass and his eyes open wide, his mother sitting in her own little unaffected world beside him. She reads the pamphlet for the Mental Institution, held up in front of her so we can see it, and Link mutters quietly to himself.
NARR: This story's already been TOLD, and in the CLIMAX?
LINK (small font, quiet): Everything's going to change now.
2/ LARGE PANEL, taking up the other half. Outside, we see the train go drifting away, chugging along the track with no regard for the world changing around it, heading toward inevitability like a rocket. In the FG, we see the patch of ground where Milo just buried himself, looking like a fresh grave – a heap of mud looking like a distended belly. Slowly, drifting down from above, a single feather remaining from the Dreamcatcher drifts down and comes to rest on top of Milo's hibernation spot, and the squirrel runs away in fright. The river runs on, quietly unaware.
NARR: It all comes crashing down on us.
NEXT: Storms.
PAGE ONE
“Previously” page.
PAGE TWO
1/ Long Panel Establishing Shot as we see a COTA bus traveling down a back road somewhere on the North Side of Columbus. It's early afternoon, but the sky is overcast and gray. Power lines hang in the BG, dangling from their wooden poles as the bus passes suburban-looking homes.
CAPTION: En Route to the Columbus Zoo.
NARR (RHI): I had a TEACHER once – an English Teacher – who tried to teach us about Jungian Archetypes.
2/ Long Panel as we see inside the bus, from up near the front, by the Driver. Near the back sits Rhiannon, looking off into space and trying not to make eye contact with any one person on the bus. She wears street clothes, dressed casually in Jeans and a TOOL T-Shirt, with a light brown corduroy
jacket. Dangling between her legs is a scrap of manila paper, but from here we can't see what it is.
NARR (RHI): She was only around for a year or so before she moved away, but I liked her a lot.
NARR (RHI): She told us that there were really only TEN STORIES, and that every story ever told was really just a VARIATION on one of those basic ARCHETYPICAL ideas.
3/ Long Panel, Close on Rhiannon's legs as her hands dangle the scrap of paper between her knees. At this angle, we can begin to see the paper, but all we can see are the words “You are Cordially...” An IPod sits by Rhiannon's side, lit up and playing something whose name we can't see, and the ear buds run up along their white cord to her ears, off-panel.
NARR (RHI): At the time, of course, I thought it was RIDICULOUS – but as I've grown OLDER, I've come to realize that it's TRUE.
4/ Long Panel as we see Rhiannon's face for the first time, looking idly up toward the front of the bus as she continues her train of thought. By her side sit total strangers, engaged in conversation with each other. Her ear buds dangle from her ears as she ignores them.
NARR (RHI): The Matrix is just Star Wars is just The Lord of The Rings.
PAGE THREE
1/ Long Panel as we see through Rhi's POV, looking across the aisle at a young man sitting opposite her. He's probably 23 years old, with a dark red baggy polo shirt that appears to be a uniform from some fast food restaurant he works at, at least 3 sizes too big and hanging off of him like a tent. He's a red head, with pale skin and an army of freckles to complement his short-cut flaming orange hair. He, like Rhiannon, listens to music on a head set, but his is a set of big, chunky, classically hip-hop looking headphones, carefully picked to match his Ghetto stance, with his legs spread wide and threatening, shoulders cocked back in arrogance as he looks challengingly around the bus at anyone who catches his eye. His hands rest in his lap and dangle off his knees, completing his cocky stance. There are Chinese Tattoos on his arms.
NARR (RHI): But it doesn't really stop there.
NARR (RHI): Take this guy sitting across from me on the bus.
2/ Rhiannon looks over at the boy, appraising him with her eyes.
NARR (RHI): Red-head kid, lame Chinese Tattoos that he probably thinks say “COURAGE,” and “STRENGTH,” but really say something more like “GULLIBLE AMERICAN MORON.”
NARR (RHI): Shirt fifteen sizes too BIG, hair so full of GEL for something that doesn't really look like anything you could call a “HAIRSTYLE.”
3/ The boy looks back at her, momentarily locking eyes as if to say “What're you lookin' at?”
NARR (RHI): Legs spread wide enough and POSTURE carefully measured so as to suggest that if you CROSS him, you'll find out what a HARDASS he is.
4/ Long Panel as we see the boy's knees, baggy blue jeans stretching to accommodate the ridiculous lengths to which his legs are spread out. His IPod dangles between his knees, held loosely in his hand.
NARR (RHI): His face a carefully designed SCOWL, undercut by the bad piercings under his lip and twice in his eyebrow.
NARR (RHI): Pale skin, lots of freckles, probably listens to TUPAC and calls things “tight,” or “phat,” or whatever it is they say these days.
5/ Long Panel as Rhiannon looks away, biting her fingernails absentmindedly. He eyebrows shoot up in silent criticism of the boy across from her.
NARR (RHI): It doesn't matter that I've never seen this kid before, because I've SEEN this kid before, about eight million times.
NARR (RHI): So have you.
PAGE FOUR
1/ Long Panel as Rhiannon flips open the folded piece of paper she carries and looks inside the fold. On the upper half, now facing us upside down, we can see the full text : YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED. She smiles an odd smile, perplexed but pleased.
NARR (RHI): There are only so many ways anything can be, and every situation you've ever encountered has probably happened to a million different people and played out exactly the same way every time, within a reasonable margin of error.
2/ Long Panel as we see through Rhiannon's POV, looking down at the paper. On the inside, it is a stylishly printed card that reads “August 26th, 2012, at 8 P.M. A Grand Ball in honor of local Adventurers the KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS. Hosted by the City of Columbus and Franklin County.”
NARR (RHI): It's just LIFE.
NARR (RHI): And while it doesn't mean that life is MEANINGLESS, it certainly means it's FRUSTRATING.
3/ Long Panel as Rhiannon folds the invitation back together and returns to looking idly off toward the front of the bus, smiling slightly as she does.
NARR (RHI): But then, I guess FRUSTRATION is kind of a way of LIFE for us these days, isn't it?
PAGE FIVE
1/ CUT TO a CLOSE UP on Milo's prone hand, resting against his side as he lays silently in a hospital bed. Salmon colored sheets cover his lower half as he lies unconscious on the bed, and David's hand creeps into the panel, depositing the Dream Catcher Milo received from Chris into the cranny made by Milo's hand against his side. The room is darkened, lit by yellow source light from the nightstand by the bed.
CAPTION: Riverside Hospital.
DAVID (OFF PANEL): There you go, Milo.
2/ Close on David, looking sadly at his boyfriend's comatose body. He looks like he has been crying, his face red and a little puffy.
DAVID: I thought you might NEED that, while you were sleeping.
3/ Long Panel as David leans down against the bed, resting his head on Milo's chest. We see Milo's face for the first time, the cuts across his brow from his battle with Malice only just now beginning to fully heal. David stretches his hands open, gripping Milo tightly and closing his eyes. Behind them, we see Andrew and Beth standing over the bed, looking on. Andrew's arms are folded as he looks down at Milo and David, and Beth stands uncomfortable with her hands in her pockets, looking past David at Milo's blank face.
ANDREW: He's been in a COMA for a MONTH.
ANDREW: He has to come out of this SOONER or later, doesn't he?
4/ Beth turns to him, glancing nervously out of the corner of her eyes to David, hoping he isn't paying attention to their conversation. She whispers to Andrew.
BETH (small font, whisper): It's hard to SAY. We don't really know what this IS.
BETH: Milo DIED, and then suddenly -
5/ Andrew looks at her skeptically, but gently. He rubs the back of his head uncomfortably as he stresses the lack of information they really have.
ANDREW: Not to sound like a skipping RECORD, here...but what if he didn't DIE?
ANDREW: What if he was just...OUT, or something?
PAGE SIX
1/ David looks up from the bed and stares at Andrew seriously. His hands still rest on Milo's chest.
DAVID: No.
DAVID: Don, Rhi, Me – everyone even a little bit SENSITIVE in that room FELT it. He was DEAD.
DAVID: His SOUL left his BODY, and then it came BACK.
2/ Beth turns to him, crossing her own arms. She raises an eyebrow at the mention of Donovan and Rhiannon, looking to change the subject away from the possibility of Milo never waking up.
BETH: I haven't really had the chance to TALK to Don and Rhi about all this.
BETH: I've been so tied up in the office PAPERWORK since I lost my ability to WOLF OUT, I'm afraid they've been doing all the FIELD WORK.
3/ Long Panel as Andrew turns to Beth, explaining what Don and Rhiannon have been speculating. We see a meaningless reproduction of a pop-art painting on the wall behind Milo's bed. Beth looks confused.
ANDREW: They have some interesting THEORIES, actually.
ANDREW: Rhiannon thinks he didn't just push his SOUL back in, but rather that he forced it to REINCARNATE into the same BODY. Donovan agrees.
BETH: Don believes in REINCARNATION?
ANDREW: That's kind of an ACADEMIC distinction at this point, don't you think? We've ALL had our beliefs challenged in the past seven months or so.
4/ Beth looks away from Andrew and David and focuses on Milo's silent body, her arms folded. Her face is fraught with confusion and concentration, trying to grasp what has happened to Milo.
BETH: So they think he INTERRUPTED the reincarnation cycle?
BETH: I don't get how -
5/ Suddenly, the door to the hospital room swings open and Milo's doctor from Grant Hospital in KNIGHTS #3, Doctor Dave, enters. He is wearing street clothes, as he is not the Doctor presiding over Milo in this particular situation. He carries a Styrofoam drink carrier with four paper cups of piping hot coffee.
DAVE: Hi, Everybody.
ANDREW (OFF PANEL): Doc!
PAGE SEVEN
1/ David stands and turns to face the others, and everyone grabs a cup of coffee from Doctor Dave. Beth looks at him thankfully, smiling graciously and gripping his bicep in a friendly gesture.
BETH: Thanks for doing all this, Dave.
BETH: I'm sure it would mean a lot to Milo to know that you were here, even if you're not his Doctor throughout all this.
2/ Dave smiles sincerely, looking tired but determined.
DAVE: Well, he's a very old PATIENT of mine.
DAVE: I would only hope he'd do the same for me.
3/ Beth changes her demeanor, looking seriously at Doctor Dave.
BETH: Doc, I was wondering something, but it's kind of a strange QUESTION.
DAVE (OFF PANEL): Shoot.
BETH: Is there any way we could find out what Milo was FEELING when he, um...GOT RID of Malice? Any kind of TEST that can be run?
4/ On Dave, looking confused and a little taken aback.
DAVE: Uh, Mrs. Adams...
DAVE: I mostly specialize in treating STD's. That's not really the kind of thing I DO.
DAVE: But no, I don't believe there's any way to TELL, unless you people have some PSYCHIC trick up your sleeve I don't know about.
5/ Beth sips at the edge of her hot coffee, walking past the group in the direction of the hospital room door, looking lost in thought. They turn to watch her go, looking a little bothered by her line of questioning, but understanding why she wants to know.
BETH: All the same, Milo killed someone – in the most EXCRUCIATING way possible.
BETH: I don't care if we have to check his SERATONIN levels, or WHATEVER...
BETH: I wanna know if he ENJOYED it.
6/ Beth continues toward the door, but stops to look back over her shoulder when Doctor Dave speaks, stopping her. She looks a little sad at having asked the question she asked, but it didn't stop her from doing it.
DAVE (OFF PANEL): Well, Beth, while you're busy trying to prove that your friend is a VILLAIN, why not stick around for the GOOD news?
DAVE (OFF PANEL): Milo's HIV?
PAGE EIGHT
1/ This is a FULL PAGE SPLASH, featuring the issue's TITLE, CREDITS, and INDICIA. Doctor Dave looks over at us (and Beth) and drops the bomb, while David and Andrew stare on in shock behind him. In the BG, Milo's body lies motionless in the hospital bed, an EKG machine beeping away at his side. Dave's face is a mask of seriousness, aware of the amazing nature of the news he is delivering.
DAVE: It's gone.
DAVE: Completely.
PAGE NINE
1/ CUT TO an Exterior Shot of a Passenger Train, chugging along its track with sparse wooded areas on both sides, the overcast afternoon sky visible overhead. Through the window, even from a distance, we can see a small boy leaning against the window, reading a book.
CAPTION: Elsewhere.
2/ Inside the train, we find Edward Lincoln Geblan, from the earlier “Missing Link” storyline, curled up in the train seat and leafing through a copy of a book called “The Seth Material.” He looks engaged, flipping through the pages hungrily, taking it in. A shadow falls over him from the aisle, as someone walks up and looks at him.
3/ Long Panel, as the angle reverses and we see Link from the opposite direction, with a girl about his age standing in the aisle next to him, looking at him curiously. He looks over, acknowledging her silently before she speaks. She smiles at him, looking curious about him.
GIRL: Mind if I sit?
LINK: You can sit.
4/ The girl looks appraisingly at Link as she takes a seat, trying to get a look at the book in his hand and not being too subtle about it. She raises and eyebrow.
GIRL: What are you READING?
GIRL: Is it something for school?
5/ Link looks up at her from his book, slightly annoyed at the interruption but also enjoying the idea of getting to talk about what he's reading with someone who seems genuinely interested.
LINK: It's called “The SETH Material.” It's by Jane Roberts.
LINK: It's pretty weird.
PAGE TEN
1/ Long Panel as the girl looks at him, her curiosity not satisfied.
GIRL: What's it about?
2/ Long Panel as Link sets the book face down in his lap, and begins to explain.
LINK: Well this lady says that she was Channeling this Ghost or Angel or something named “SETH -”
GIRL (off panel): What's CHANNELING?
LINK: It's when you let something else – or someone else – use your body to speak through you.
3/ Long Panel on the girl as Link continues. She looks confused, but still interested.
LINK (off panel): This SETH person told her that we have the power to change our reality with our THOUGHTS, BELIEFS and EXPECTATIONS.
LINK: That we were in control, not some unseen figure in the sky who just moves us around however we want.
GIRL: It's about GOD?
4/ On Link, beginning to look more engaged in the conversation. He squints slightly, trying to find the right words to describe what he's thinking.
LINK: Sort of. I mean, that's part of it.
LINK: Seth says that God is “ALL THAT IS,” and that instead of taking his form in some OUTSIDE observer, who sits in Heaven and WATCHES, he's really the nature of reality ITSELF.
GIRL (off panel): I don't understand.
LINK: It's like – okay. You're god. I'm god. This chair is god. Everything is god.
PAGE ELEVEN
1/ The girl looks at him, dubious.
GIRL: But if I'm already God, why should I have to learn anything?
2/ Link looks away, staring off into the space in front of him as he struggles with philosophy, gesturing with his hands as he speaks.
LINK: Because that's...I dunno...spiritual LAZINESS?
LINK: Like, think of it this way – if you're GOD, that doesn't mean you can sit back and call your work “DONE.” It means you have an even bigger responsibility.
3/ Long Panel as we pull back and see both of them, sitting and talking. You can surmise that the girl has probably never had a conversation like this, but she looks surprisingly engaged by it. Link is in his element, gesturing excitedly as he talks.
GIRL: Why?
LINK: Because there's no MAGIC SAFETY NET, cleaning up all your MESSES for you. Personal responsibility becomes really IMPORTANT. What you DO matters, and you have to do RIGHT.
4/ Close on Link, looking at her seriously now.
LINK: If God is EVERYTHING, and Everything is GOD, then everything is CONNECTED. Everything you do affects everything ELSE.
LINK: That means that when you make a DECISION, it's going to -
5/ Suddenly, Link's mom, Dianne, pops around the back of the girl's seat, looking relieved to have finally found her wandering son. She looks down at them and locks eyes with Link.
DIANNE: LINK, there you are!
DIANNE: Your father found some more comfortable seats up FRONT. Come with me.
PAGE TWELVE
1/ Long Panel as Link follows his Mother's insistence and gets up from his window seat, waving timidly at the Girl as he scoots past her to the aisle. She smiles and waves back at him. Dianne's hand sticks demandingly into the panel.
GIRL: It was nice talking to you...
DIANNE: Come on, Link.
2/ Close on the Girl as she looks after them intently, trying to watch them as they leave for as long as she can. She seems to have noticed something that bothered her, and she squints in suspicion.
DIANNE (off panel): It's bad enough you destroyed the CAR when we can't afford a RENTAL, Eddie.
DIANNE: I will not have you wreaking HAVOC on this train, spreading your crap to other kids.
LINK (off panel): I don't WREAK HAVOC, Mom.
3/ Girl's POV, we see Link from behind and his mother's midsection as she drags him toward the front of the Train, a stack of papers in her free hand, pressed against her side. The papers can be seen in some detail, and we can see that the leaflet reads “Ellis Children's Mental Health Institute.”
DIANNE: You just come right back to us and you stay there until we're done with this trip.
DIANNE: We do NOT need any further trouble.
4/ Long Panel as the Girl sits back in her seat and crosses her arms, looking a little sad. The gray afternoon rolls by in the window, a vague blur against the motion of the train.
PAGE THIRTEEN
1/ CUT TO a Long Panel Establishing Shot of the Pontifical College Josephinum, as previously seen in “Malicious Intent.” Dark clouds are moving in slowly overhead, and we see Donovan leaving the building and heading toward his car. He is taking his phone from his pocket.
CAPTION: Pontifical College Josephinum.
2/ Donovan arrives at his car and stands beside it, holding the driver's side door open as he speaks into his phone, looking a little shaken. He wears full priestly regalia.
DON: Rhiannon, hey, it's me.
3/ CUT AWAY to a CLOSE UP of Rhiannon, standing against a brick wall and speaking into her phone, an impatient look on her face in reaction to Donovan's absence.
RHI: Don, where are you?
4/ Donovan sits down in the car, the door still hanging open, and shuffles a stack of paperwork into the passenger seat. His eyes dart off to the side as he spouts out a half-truth.
DON: I had a meeting at Josephinum. Church thing.
DON: But I'll be there soon, I promise. I'm leaving now.
5/ CUT BACK to Rhiannon, in a somewhat fuller shot. We can see that she stands at the Main Entrance Gate at the Columbus Zoo, shuffling impatiently near a stainless steel turnstile. She looks as though she's wrapping up the conversation, her hand already motioning to shut her phone.
RHI: Okay, cool.
RHI: I'm here already, so I'm just gonna head on in. I'll catch you up on everything when you get here.
PAGE FOURTEEN
1/ Long Panel as the scene switches over completely to Rhiannon, standing inside the Main Gate. She is greeted with a handshake by Allison Whit, the Administrator. Allison is a Mary McDonnell type, in her mid-forties, with dark shoulder-length hair and a face that suggests pride and wisdom. She carries a brown wooden clipboard, papers flipping slightly in the wind. She smiles warmly at Rhiannon, and Rhiannon smiles back, taking the handshake.
RHI: Hi, you must be - ?
ALLISON: Allison Whit. I'm the Administrator here at the Columbus Zoo.
ALLISON: And I take it you're Rhiannon?
RHI: One and only.
2/ Rhiannon switches gears, getting right down to business with a look of professional concern on her face. The sky behind her is now a deep gray, threatening to rain at any time.
RHI: Word has it that you've got some BEHAVIORAL SITUATION going on up here that would be of interest to us?
3/ Allison takes her hand back with an ironic smile, folding her arms together tightly around her clipboard.
ALLISON: Ha. Behavioral situation? Is that how they described it to you?
4/ The two women turn and begin to stroll together deeper into the Zoo. Allison keeps her arms around her clipboard, holding it against her chest, and Rhiannon tucks her hands into her blue jean pockets, looking over curiously at her Guide.
RHI: Well, what exactly are we talking about?
ALLISON: Follow me.
ALLISON: I'll take you right to them.
5/ Allison looks over at Rhiannon, her face twisted in a wry, expectant smile. She obviously cannot wait to share her discovery with the new arrival.
ALLISON: You ready for this?
PAGE FIFTEEN
1/ CUT TO a Large Panel as Rhiannon and Allison arrive at their destination: a Gorilla enclosure. The image is seen from inside the cage, with Rhi and Alli at a short distance on the other side of the bars. Closer to us is an adult female Gorilla, with two baby Gorillas playing at her side. They tumble over rocks and pick at logs with spare sticks, and the adult female watches with motherly pleasure. Rhiannon looks on in confusion as Allison smiles at her favorite animals.
RHI: Monkeys?
RHI: It's a problem with MONKEYS?
ALLISON: Well, they're APES.
ALLISON: But yes, this is why we called you here.
2/ Rhiannon turns to Allison, looking a little disappointed. Allison looks back at her, smiling knowingly as she beckons Rhi to be patient.
RHI: Um...this isn't really what we DO.
RHI: I'm not sure I understand why you called us.
ALLISON: God, are you people ALWAYS this impatient, or have I just caught you on a bad DAY?
ALLISON: Give the girl a moment. And LOOK at her.
3/ On the Adult Female, as she looks up from her busy work through the bars at Rhiannon, looking straight into the reader's eyes. A small smile creases her Gorilla Lips as she suddenly sends out a psychic message to Rhiannon.
LUNA (psychic balloon): Pretty lady nice to Luna?
PAGE SIXTEEN
1/ Long Panel as Rhiannon and Allison stand side-by-side. Rhiannon takes a shocked step backward, utterly floored by this unexpected event. Her hand comes up slightly, her fingers almost covering her mouth in shock. Allison looks at her with pride, gesturing toward the Gorilla, who is off panel.
RHI: Did that...APE just talk to me?
ALLISON: No, Miss McRhea – she THOUGHT to you.
ALLISON: Meet LUNA, the world's first TELEPATHIC GORILLA. And her CHILDREN are beginning to show signs of having the same GIFTS.
2/ Long Panel as Rhiannon approaches the bars and leans down, reaching her hand out slightly and staring in awe at Luna. Luna, too, approaches the bars, poking a finger out in Rhiannon's direction. Behind her, her children play with their sticks and stones. Allison stands behind Rhiannon, watching with pleasure.
RHI: Oh, my God.
RHI: How does she know ENGLISH?
ALLISON: She doesn't, that we know of.
ALLISON: Best that we can figure is that TELEPATHY isn't really in ANY language, but rather that it's pure INTENT, translated by your BRAIN into whatever language you understand.
ALLISON: She speaks to our HISPANIC employees in what they swear is SPANISH.
LUNA (psychic balloon): Pretty lady nice to Luna?
3/ Long Panel, from Luna's POV, as Rhiannon reaches in through the bars and extends an open hand to the Gorilla. She smiles brightly, trying not to alarm Luna, and her eyes are pure wonderment. She speaks back by following the same method, never opening her mouth.
RHI (psychic balloon): Pretty lady VERY nice to Luna.
RHI (psychic balloon): Pretty lady is RHIANNON. Rhiannon is happy to MEET Luna.
PAGE SEVENTEEN
1/ Long Panel as Rhiannon and Luna continue to have a telepathic conversation. Rhi looks intrigued and questioning, and Luna just looks happy to be talking with someone new. NOTE: All Dialogue on this page is in psychic balloons.
LUNA: Luna happy to talk to Rhiannon.
RHI: Rhiannon has never met an ape like LUNA.
RHI: Does Luna know any other apes like Luna?
LUNA: Not like Luna.
LUNA: But other apes.
2/ On Luna, looking up at Rhiannon expectantly.
LUNA: Rhiannon like OTHER apes, too?
3/ Rhiannon looks at her, slightly confused.
RHI: Other apes?
RHI: Other apes like your CHILDREN?
LUNA (off panel): No. Gone Apes.
LUNA: Old apes.
RHI: ...DEAD apes?
4/ Long Panel as Luna looks at Rhiannon, her brow furrowed with the complicated idea of death. She gestures around her enclosure, waving to things that don't seem to be there.
LUNA: Not...DEAD.
LUNA: Still here. Just gone apes.
LUNA: All around.
PAGE EIGHTEEN
1/ Long Panel as Rhiannon stands up straight, popping into the panel alongside Allison, who looks down at her with a gleeful grin. Rhiannon's face goes slack, her mind a little shattered under the implications of the situation. Allison lets her clipboard drop to her side, brushing a chunk of hair out of her face.
RHI: Is she...talking about - ?
ALLISON: Ghosts?
ALLISON: She sure is.
ALLISON: We've gone through this with her a million times, and the only conclusion we can reach is that she can see and communicate with the SPIRITS of apes who have DIED here.
ALLISON: Or at least that she's CONVINCED she can.
2/ Rhiannon looks over at Allison, barely comprehending. Her face is slack and white, chills going down her spine.
RHI: But that's -
RHI: This is AMAZING, Allison.
RHI: This is unlike anything I've ever SEEN.
3/ Allison goes back to holding her clipboard to her chest, looking away from Rhiannon and allowing her eyes to drift in Luna's direction as a shadow of regret passes over her usually cheery features.
ALLISON: Yes, well...
ALLISON: We're inclined to AGREE.
4/ Long Panel, Close on Rhiannon as her brow furrows in consternation, the dread anticipation of concealed information competing with irritation at already having a pretty good idea what it is.
RHI: Why do I have a feeling there's a “BUT?”
RHI: What did you need the KNIGHTS to DO about all this...?
PAGE NINETEEN
1/ Allison looks over at Rhiannon, seriously. She looks as though she's running a mental countdown to the moment when she begins to beg for help. Her eyes have become slightly watery.
ALLISON: There are RUMORS, Rhiannon, that you and your PEOPLE are being funded by the United States GOVERNMENT.
ALLISON: Even if you're NOT, you've still gained enough CLOUT to have a voice that can be HEARD. A voice people will LISTEN to.
2/ Close on Rhiannon, looking impatient and aware of where this is going.
RHI: What's going ON here, Mrs. Whit?
3/ Long Panel as Allison looks away, staring wistfully at the ape enclosure as she speaks. She looks as though she's about to cry.
ALLISON: We've been getting VISITORS from the GOVERNMENT.
ALLISON: They've poked, prodded, and STUDIED, and they've come to the conclusion that – and this is VERBATIM:
ALLISON: “...in the CURRENT CLIMATE of superhuman FERVOR, Luna and her children are the LAST THING we need.”
ALLISON: They're calling them a THREAT to National SECURITY.
4/ Rhiannon looks at Allison, sickened and angered that she was right in her assumption. Her brow is as furrowed as can be, anger sending thick creases across her forehead.
RHI: And what exactly are they planning on DOING about that?
5/ Close on Allison, looking deadpan over at Rhiannon. She has clearly been very deeply embittered by this development, and she delivers the information like an ultimatum.
ALLISON: Exactly what you think.
ALLISON: They're going to KILL every last one of them.
PAGE TWENTY
1/ CUT TO Beth, in the Bathroom of she and Landon's house in Bexley, standing at the sink and splashing water on her exhausted face. Through the bathroom window, we can see that the encroaching storm clouds have amassed in dark and threatening force, clotting the sky with alternating gray and black swatches. The room is lit by the unnatural yellow of mirror lights.
CAPTION: Bexley.
2/ Beth looks up into the mirror, her face looking tired and haggard. Though she's only 28, the stress of Beth's life is beginning to etch deep age lines into her face, though she does a good job of covering them up. Here, in the privacy of her home, she observes the effects of the way she lives and sighs in frustration as the water drips from her hands and head, and she leans against the mirror with both hands gripping its sides for support.
BETH: When did I start to look this old?
3/ Long Panel as she looks down into her open hand, displaying three red and blue capsules. On the sink, in the BG, we see a bottle labeled “Ibuprofen EXTREME.” Her hair hangs limply into the panel, and the light is unflattering for her skin tone.
4/ Beth tilts her head back as she takes a long swig of water from a tall glass, washing down the headache medicine with a grimace as she supports herself against the sink with her free hand. In the BG, we hear the front door click as someone opens it.
SOUND EFFECT: CLICK
5/ Beth lets the glass drop to about chest level as she turns in surprise, wondering who has entered her house. We see her surprised face only by way of her reflection in the mirror, as her back is to us.
BETH: Who - ?
SOUND EFFECT: SLAM
PAGE TWENTY-ONE
1/ Large Panel as Beth enters the darkened living room and finds Landon, standing in the middle of the room and looking world-weary and relieved to see her. The room has no lights turned on, and the dark and threatening sky can be plainly seen out the big picture window against the front wall. A clock on the Cable Box above the television reads 4:15. Landon is wearing reasonably nice clothes, presumably given to him by Magda – a black, warm-looking trench coat covers a well-tailored dark blue button down, while a pair of new dark blue jeans lead to thick black boots. His hair is still long as usual, but has been cut to look less messy and unkempt. He stands in the middle of the room and smiles hesitantly at Beth, knowing a lot has happened that needs to be discussed.
LANDON: Beth.
LANDON: I'm home.
LANDON: We have so much we have to talk about, I don't -
2/ Large Panel as Beth runs over to him and they hug tightly, reveling in the feel of each other's bodies pressed together. He closes his eyes as he buries his head in her shoulder, and a single tear of joy runs down Beth's cheek as she presses her cheekbone into his shoulder, looking toward us and squeezing him tight. For just a moment, she looks substantially younger than she did in the mirror, and light rain begins to fall against the window, little rivulets running down the glass in a subtle reflection of Beth's own tears.
BETH: Oh, Babe.
BETH: You are so right about that. More than you could possibly know.
PAGE TWENTY-TWO
1/ CUT TO a Long Panel of Donovan and Rhiannon, back at the Columbus Zoo. Don has recently arrived and been filled in on the events by Rhiannon, and he now looks at her in anger and disbelief, struggling to comprehend the situation at hand. Rhiannon looks back at him, looking a little more composed given the fact that she's had more time to assimilate the idea.
DON: You're trying to tell me that right there in that cage is a real live TELEPATHIC APE, and the GOVERNMENT wants to just come down here and put a BULLET in it's HEAD!?
2/ Rhiannon looks at him, her arms folded indignantly as she works hard to focus her anger and not misdirect it at Donovan. The storm clouds continue to darken around them, and a slight rain is falling now. It is not yet a downpour, but it's clear that it will be in a short while.
RHI: Not ITS.
RHI: HER.
RHI: She's a MOTHER, and her name is LUNA. And yes, that's EXACTLY what I'm telling you.
3/ Donovan looks away from Rhiannon, looking into the cage at the innocent, doomed apes. His face is twisted in mental agony, feeling the helplessness of having no control over the situation.
DON: I just can't believe they'd DO that.
DON: I read somewhere about TECHNOLOGICALLY unlocking these abilities in Apes, but THIS?
DON: This is AMAZING. Natural Evolution taking a LEAP like this? Why would they KILL them?
4/ Long Panel as Rhiannon bends down, reaching into the cage and touching fingers with Luna. Her face is a mask of sadness, but we can't see Luna's face. By Rhiannon's side, Donovan looks down in disbelief.
RHI: Well, you better START believing it.
RHI: The SUPERHUMANS are already proving too hard for the Government to control. They've deemed LUNA and her KIDS here an UNNECESSARY RISK.
PAGE TWENTY-THREE
1/ Rhiannon stands, looking angrily at Donovan as she brushes a chunk of wet hair from out of her eyes. She is furious about the whole situation, and she's choking back barely restrained tears.
RHI: Don't you see what's HAPPENING here?
RHI: Every day, all of this, it spirals further out of CONTROL.
2/ Donovan looks at her, quietly comprehending and developing a look of anger himself.
RHI (off panel): What we're looking at here is something BEAUTIFUL. An EVOULTIONARY MIRACLE.
RHI: And they wanna kill it because it's a threat to NATIONAL SECURITY?
3/ Long Panel as Rhiannon and Donovan stand side by side, looking into Luna's cage. Rhiannon folds her arms as she continues, growing ever more embittered. Donovan looks at her, realizing how personally she's taking it and becoming a little worried.
RHI: They're going to get AWAY with it, if only because they're APES and they aren't going to KNOW what's coming for them until it's too LATE...
4/ Luna looks up at them, smiling innocently. She is oblivious to the entire ordeal.
RHI (Off panel): ...but what happens when it's not MONKEYS anymore, Donovan?
RHI: What happens when it's US?
5/ Rhiannon turns to lock eyes with Donovan, a dark promise in her gaze.
RHI: Because that moment is COMING, and it's coming SOON.
RHI: Think about MILO.
PAGE TWENTY-FOUR
1/ CUT TO a Long Panel, low to the hospital floor as Milo wakes and swings his legs out of his bed, his bare feet touching the cold floor. His hand reaches out and grabs his pile of folded clothes, sitting on the nightstand next to his bed. His Dreamcatcher sits by his side. We do not see his face, but Rhiannon's voice continues in Narration.
NARR: Milo DIED.
2/ Long Panel as Milo wanders across a dark and somewhat rainy Columbus, crossing downtown like a Zombie in the same clothes he wore when he fought Malice, but barefoot on the cold concrete of the sidewalk. We see him from behind, wandering through the intersection of Broad and High. People stare as he passes, the Dreamcatcher dangling from his hand.
NARR: But because of SOMETHING – some power that was already INSIDE of him, or because of something he SAW on the other SIDE, who knows? - he pushed himself back into his body...
NARR: ...and he used his powers to do something devastating...something TERRIFYING.
3/ Long Panel as Milo wanders along the Olentangy bike trail, stepping off the concrete path and wandering into the wooded patch to his side, stepping through the weeds down into the bank of the Olentangy river bed. A blue heron flies away suddenly, startled.
NARR: You think they don't know what HAPPENED?
4/ Long Panel as our POV switches: we see inside the train, as Link presses his hand against the window and looks outside, just as they cross an old iron bridge over the Olentangy River. Link glances over in surprise as he sees Milo enter the riverbed through the clearing in the trees, stepping down to the muddy patch of beach to the right and standing silently among the fallen tree trunks, looking strangely at the expanse of the river. The river is somewhat low, and patches of land and trees stick up out of the water all throughout it. A small flock of birds take flight, crossing the panel in alarm.
NARR: We've taken so many steps forward, as a group, in the last seven months – but Malice pushed us to the BRINK. And pretty soon?
NARR: The government's gonna push BACK.
NARR: Starting with Elliot Woodyard.
PAGE TWENTY-FIVE
1/ Long Panel on Milo as he looks up at the train, locking eyes with us (and Link). He holds up the Dreamcatcher that David left at his side in the hospital bed, and its yarn dangles freely in the wind. Suddenly, Milo and the Dreamcatcher both start to break apart, little shreds of their forms splitting off their body and drifting upward into the air, as if they are being split apart at the atomic level. The left side of Milo's face crumbles slowly, it's materials getting caught in the wind and drifting upward and to the left, like the white flecks blown from a dandelion, caught on a gust of storm front wind.
NARR: So imagine, for a moment, that you're MILO.
2/ Long Panel, looking into the train window, as Link looks on in shock at the sight of an evaporating Milo, his hands pressed against the glass and his eyes wide. Behind him, his mother is oblivious, reading an article in a magazine without a care in the world.
NARR: You claw your way back into your body after the HELL that man put you through, you come back with a vengeance and maybe even more powerful than you were BEFORE...
3/ Long Panel, low angle, as we see from behind Milo's bare feet rising up off the ground, achieving low-level flight. The Dreamcatcher dangles from his hand down into the panel. He hovers about three feet off the ground, with the sod and weeds of the riverbank just below. He continues to evaporate, the cells of his body splitting away and drifting off into the wind, at a more rapid and alarming rate now. In the BG, we see the passenger train go chugging by on the iron bridge. The rain continues to fall quietly.
NARR: ...and you're greeted with an ARMY, wanting you to submit to their control or DIE.
NARR: You may just check out of humanity ALTOGETHER.
4/ INSET PANEL, small, in the corner of Panel Three: CLOSE ON Milo's face, his eyes staring up over the edge of his glasses, as his face begins to completely break apart, drifting off into the wind.
PAGE TWENTY-SIX
1/ LARGE PANEL, taking up three quarters of the page, as Milo finally explodes into a cloud of unrecognizable matter, the matter of the Dreamcatcher mixed in freely with his own. The cloud floats above the ground, taking the shape of a Dreamcatcher for a fleeting moment, the matter convalescing together to form the ethereal shape as it's particles shimmer in the air. Beneath, in the sand and mud of the riverbank, the ground splits apart, sending sod flying up into the air as a hole magically appears almost four feet deep. This panel should look, of course, completely insane and impossible.
NARR: There're only so many ways this whole thing will turn out.
2/ Long Panel, taking up the remainder of the page, as Milo's cloud of matter plummets into the hole in the ground, the sod and grass collapsing in behind him as he buries his own deconstituted form beneath three feet of dirt. A squirrel runs up into the panel, watching in surprise as the phenomenon plays out in front of it like something from a science fiction movie.
NARR: There's only so many ways ANYTHING can turn out, and this one's predictable as HELL.
PAGE TWENTY-SEVEN
1/ LARGE PANEL, taking up half the page, as Link sits inside the train and watches in awe, his hand pressed against the glass and his eyes open wide, his mother sitting in her own little unaffected world beside him. She reads the pamphlet for the Mental Institution, held up in front of her so we can see it, and Link mutters quietly to himself.
NARR: This story's already been TOLD, and in the CLIMAX?
LINK (small font, quiet): Everything's going to change now.
2/ LARGE PANEL, taking up the other half. Outside, we see the train go drifting away, chugging along the track with no regard for the world changing around it, heading toward inevitability like a rocket. In the FG, we see the patch of ground where Milo just buried himself, looking like a fresh grave – a heap of mud looking like a distended belly. Slowly, drifting down from above, a single feather remaining from the Dreamcatcher drifts down and comes to rest on top of Milo's hibernation spot, and the squirrel runs away in fright. The river runs on, quietly unaware.
NARR: It all comes crashing down on us.
NEXT: Storms.
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