Truepoint (3)
ADAM No, just on the far side of the island. On this part they usually survived. Until the tribesmen found them. BRENDA What happened to them? ADAM Sacrifices. BLUR TO Adam's memories. Various shots of the pyramid temple area. MONTAGE of people being led to a sacrificial altar, tied down and then having inner organs carved out, placed on sacrificial pyres, with bodies being thrown down the sides of the pyramid. CLOSE SHOT of a small boy seeing a long surgical instrument approaching his nose. Coca leaf liquid is forced into his mouth as the instrument enters the nostril. The boy's eyes close and the brain is removed and placed in a sacrificial bowl. FADE TO present as Adam closes his eyes and refocuses. CARL (sadly) All of them? ADAM (tearing up) Yes. I could do nothing to stop it. BRENDA Against the whole tribe. I guess not. ADAM (pleadingly) But I would have! CASSIE (quietly) I believe you. ADAM The carnage was unbearable. And for what? To preserve their way of life. They allow no outsiders. CARL Are there ways around the city? ADAM Far worse lies to the north. CARL More barbaric than this? ADAM Yes. BRENDA Great. We have a choice. Die by sacrifice or far worse. CASSIE Or live. ADAM Just as I have and will continue to do. BRENDA By yourself? ADAM (looks directly at her) Not any more. CASSIE (notices the look) Are the caves by the shore safe? ADAM No. The tribe already knows about them. CARL We'll go deeper in the jungle then. ADAM That may work. But we need to stay on this side of the mountain. CASSIE Why? ADAM The other side is forbidden. CARL By who? ADAM God. It is written. CASSIE Where? Adam crosses to a small trunk and opens it carefully. He withdraws a worn, moth-eaten book and opens it to one of the few pages still readable from years of neglect. ADAM May the glory of the Lord endure forever, May the Lord be glad in these works! If God glares at the earth, it trembles; If God touches the mountains, they smoke! Adam pauses, looking around at each of them. ADAM I don't expect you to believe it. But I've felt the earth shake. I've seen the other side of the mountain when it smokes. He lives there. God lives on the other side of the mountain. We cannot go there for shelter. Cassie, Carl and Brenda exchange a look. Then, Cassie takes the book and closes the cover. CARL All right. We'll find something else. Cassie glances at the embossed cover carefully. She notices a name at the bottom. CASSIE Is this yours, Adam? ADAM Yes, actually my mother's. The aides told me it was the only thing she truly wanted me to have. BRENDA A bible? CASSIE (slowly) And are these her initials? E. Braun ADAM Yes. Why? BRENDA (shocked) E. Braun? CASSIE I thought you said your last name was Brown. ADAM It is. You pronounce it differently. CASSIE (holds up the Bible) But it's spelled like this? ADAM Of course. Carl closes the book and hands it back to Adam. Then shoots a warning look at Cassie and Brenda. CARL It's an admirable name. That's all. ADAM Thank you. I always liked it. And my mother�you would have liked her. CASSIE I'm sure we would. CLOSE UP OF Brenda's face. She is shocked, intrigued but still in love with Adam. WIPE TO: EXT. MOUNTAINTOP DUSK TIGHT SHOT of Scott's head poking through a widened hole around one end of the stone slab. SCOTT Coast looks clear. CUT TO: INT. CAVE Scott is seen hoisted on Burke's shoulders in order to reach the opening. BURKE Good. Maybe the guards took off for the night. SCOTT (hops down) Ok, I'm still gonna need a little more height to get ahold of the edges up there. BURKE (looking around) This boulder over here oughta do it. SCOTT (helps him move the stone) Hurry, it's getting a lot colder. BURKE (manages a thin smile) We could always huddle for warmth! SCOTT (grins, knowing Burke's sense of humor) Get the stone in place. They move the boulder with great effort and roll it into position. BURKE Guess you'll go first. SCOTT Sure you don't want first call? BURKE You're thinner. Easier to fit through. SCOTT Done, then. And don't worry. Minute I'm through, I'll find something to use for a rope. BURKE Hopefully. SCOTT You don't think I will? BURKE Let's just say your track record leaves a bit to be desired. SCOTT You wanna go first? BURKE No. Not enough room. Just hurry. It's almost freezing now. SCOTT Boost me, partner. Scott climbs onto Burke's shoulders as he balances against the wall and maintains his footing on the boulder. Scott easily reaches the edge of the opening. Scrambling through, he vanishes from sight. Burke jumps down from the stone, checking his feet for frostbite. BURKE For God's sake, man, hurry. CUT TO: EXT. MOUNTAINTOP EVENING Scott searches for any kind of vine to be used as rope. Moving a bit down the trail, he doesn't notice two tribesmen who emerge from the trees behind him. Blowpipes are lifted and Scott feels the sudden sting of narcotics filing his veins as he falls forward unconscious. The tribesmen look back to check the slab. It is still apparently in place. Satisfied, they head off down the mountain with Scott in tow. WIPE TO: EXT. JUNGLE MID MORNING Cassie and Brenda are following the lead of Carl and Adam through the trees. It is already hot and muggy, the dampness rapidly beginning to drain their energy. CASSIE I see how Adam stayed in such great shape all these years. BRENDA Have to in this mess. CARL How much farther is it? ADAM Not far. But be careful. There are many holes on this side of the mountain. BRENDA Did he say holes? CASSIE (glumly) I think so. CARL What kind of holes? ADAM Empty ones. Step in one, you're gone. No one comes back. BRENDA Got a location map for those? ADAM Wouldn't do any good. They change. CARL The holes change position? ADAM Depends on location of the storm. CASSIE Or an act of God. ADAM He has His ways. CARL I'm sure He does. We ought to pay Him a visit. ADAM Not advisable. CASSIE For who? You or us? We've already faced the Almighty � just getting here. ADAM You mustn't speak that way. He might hear. CARL You really believe he's inside this mountain? Adam points to a spot high overhead along the face of the mountain. ADAM His ear listens there. The others look up to see a large circular object, ribbed along its inner layers, stuck securely in the side of the rock face. BRENDA What is it? CASSIE Looks like a giant wind tunnel. CARL Or a ventilation device. CASSIE For what? CARL I don't know. But I think it bears investigating. ADAM I will not lead you. If you go � you will not return. CARL Will you wait for us here? ADAM Only till nightfall. The tribe may come. Storms might start. BRENDA Is there even a way up there? ADAM Follow the west side. There's a small footpath. CARL (looking at the others) Cassie, Brenda � if you want to stay � CASSIE I'm with you. BRENDA (to Adam) Please wait. ADAM (insistent) Only till nightfall. What roams at night must be avoided. CARL All right, then, we're going. CUT TO: ANOTHER ANGLE as the group separates. Adam sets up a watch position not far away. Carl, Cassie and Brenda start up the steep slope. BRENDA I really wish he'd re-think this. CASSIE We may find a way out of here inside. BRENDA I meant Adam. CASSIE (nods) I know. CARL Come on. We still have at least five hours of daylight on our side. CASSIE And hope. BRENDA Definitely. FADE TO: EXT. MOUNTAIN FACE MID AFTERNOON Adam watches as the trio approach the giant aperture above his head. His lips are grimly clenched, fearful of their safety, yet bound by his own firm resolve not to boldly approach the Almighty presence. ANOTHER ANGLE as Carl reaches the side of the tunnel. CARL (peering inside) It's lit in there. Must be some of the holes Adam told us about. CASSIE Any sign of life? BRENDA Besides us? CARL We need to go in. CASSIE Just be careful. CARL (calls faintly) Hello? The sound echoes, then vanishes. They move slowly down the large dark corridor. Sounds of scurrying movement can be heard to the left. Light from overhead dimly plays over their features as they search the gloom for the source. BRENDA What was that? CARL Easy. CASSIE I don't like this. CARL We have to go further. BRENDA I really don't like this. CARL Looks like a prison cell ahead. CASSIE Bars across the whole area. ANOTHER ANGLE shows a fifty foot high opening, securely barred with no apparent door to enter. The bars are high and spaced enough apart that any of the trio could easily pass through. CASSIE Is it a grating? CARL Probably secured before the mountain formed. BRENDA Hey, we came, we saw, and now I'm leaving. CASSIE Wait! We can fit through there. CARL Might just be a filtration unit. Like a water purification plant. BRENDA Needs one in here. It stinks. CASSIE Maybe it hasn't worked in awhile. CARL (steps through the bars) There's a panel at the far end. CASSIE (looks wide-eyed at the ceiling) Carl, the holes are closing. CARL (notices the light dimming) Ok, we better get out of here. CUT TO: ANOTHER ANGLE as two hands grasp Brenda and spin her around. She screams momentarily before realizing Adam is holding her. The entire area begins shaking violently as a blast of hot air knocks Carl to the ground. ADAM GET OUT OF HERE NOW! BRENDA (runs for the entrance) Don't have to tell me twice. CASSIE CARL!!! Carl is groggy as a huge roar shakes the ground. An immense shadow appears behind him as Adam races to rescue him. ADAM RUN, CASSIE�DON'T LOOK BACK!!! CASSIE (stands her ground) NO! I WON'T LEAVE HIM! Adam reaches Carl and lifts/drags him swiftly away from the shadow. Two enormous fiery eyes, high overhead, bead down on the two men as a huge talon talon presses against the panel that Carl noticed earlier. A thirty-foot-high griffin chases them to the bars. They narrowly make it through. CUT TO: ANOTHER ANGLE as Carl, Adam and Cassie run for the entrance. They are almost into the opening as they see the entire outside area erupt into a thunderous windstorm. CUT TO: DIFF ANGLE as Brenda clutches the side of the rock wall along the footpath to keep from being blown away. ADAM JUMP!!! BRENDA IT'S TWENTY FEET DOWN! ADAM WE CAN'T SURVIVE THE STORM UP HERE!!! CARL AIM FOR BUSHES! THEY'LL BREAK THE FALL! All four jump off the cliff as a lightning bolt EFX crashes against the spot they were just standing. CUT TO: ANOTHER ANGLE JUNGLE FLOOR They manage to break their falls in various spots. CASSIE (looks upward) LOOK AT THE SKY!! ADAM IT'S A TRUEPOINT! BRENDA (rolls solidly against a tree) Ooof! What is it? CARL (to himself) The same way we go here. CUT TO: EFX as a herd of cattle drop from the sky. Some crash against the mountain, others fall in through the open holes at the top of the peak. Then, the wind and rain cease. CASSIE (startled) That's how it gets fed. BRENDA That thing in there� CARL Yes, it's an elaborate feeding process. CASSIE Like Pavlov's dog. CARL It pushes the panel and opens the void. ADAM You have angered the Almighty. CARL On the contrary, I believe the Almighty would be angered by this. ADAM But he must eat. BRENDA Not the same Almighty I know. CASSIE It's a creature in there, Adam. From what I saw, it's a mythological creature where we come from. BRENDA That was no myth. CARL You're right, Cassie. It's a live griffin. Oversized, to be sure. ADAM Your words are not convincing. CASSIE Convincing or not, that's what it is. BRENDA How does it work? CARL It feeds every time the panel is pushed. Like Cassie said, the classic Pavlov experiment. ADAM Who is Pavlov? CASSIE A famous Russian physiologist. He won the Nobel Prize in 1904 for studies on the nature of the digestive process. ADAM What is Nobel Prize? CARL Recognition. Achievement for contributing to the betterment of mankind. ADAM My father did that. BRENDA (shocked) Your father� CASSIE (quickly) Contributed in his own way, I'm sure. Cassie and Brenda exchange knowing glances. Cassie realizes the depths of pain Adam's statement may have awakened in Brenda, but also realizes they need his knowledge and experience of the island to survive. ADAM So what does that mean to us? CARL It means, whoever put the creature here, conditioned it to summon a food supply with the panel. BRENDA Who in God's name would do that? CASSIE No human technology. CARL We're dealing with something else. ADAM The Otherkinds. CARL What? ADAM That's what they're called. CASSIE Who told you that? ADAM My father's aides. BRENDA Great. CARL Adam, what are you saying? Your father knew about these Otherkinds? ADAM Yes. He built some type of transmitter that accidentally summoned them. CASSIE Oh, my God. CARL Go on. ADAM It was during a period of conflict. The aides said top scientists worked with the Otherkinds � to move people from one side of the world to another. CASSIE (with a gasp) And they succeeded. BRENDA I wouldn't go that far. CARL The transmitter, Adam � what did it look like? ADAM It was miniaturized. A small gold compass pin. If it came within a mile of a truepoint, the transfer site opened. Cassie and Brenda exchange glances, realizing they've seen the pin. CARL And the truepoints are �? ADAM When forces of nature balance perihelion of magnetic fields � truepoints occur. They surround the planet. CARL Anything caught in that path is drawn here. ADAM Or to various sites on the island. BRENDA That experiment needed more work. ADAM True, but there wasn't time for tests. My father opened the doorway with help from the Otherkinds,(pauses, remembering) yet he was prevented from making the trip himself. CLOSE UP of Brenda's face as she struggles to keep her emotions in check. CARL But you made it through. ADAM With help from the aides. They raised me here. BRENDA I've seen the pin. CASSIE We both have. Scott had it on at the bar. BRENDA (to Adam) Don't tell us it's the only way out of here. ADAM The pin's unstable. Once here, it only stays a short time. CARL Then what? ADAM My guess is it goes back to the Otherkinds. CASSIE Who return it to our former side of the void. BRENDA And how long's this been going on? ADAM Centuries. CARL Why? As a feeding trough for some botched experiment? CASSIE The griffin looked pretty real to me. CARL We've got to find the pin. BRENDA Just find Scott. CASSIE Or let him find us. ADAM May not be that easy. Listen. They all hear the faint sound of trumpet blasts in the distance. BRENDA What's that? ADAM The tribe. They sound those when a big ceremony takes place. CARL How soon? ADAM Tonight. CASSIE We ought to be long gone by then. CARL I agree. Let's get moving. WIPE TO: EXT. MOUNTAIN TOP EARLY EVENING The group is seen moving carefully across the far side of the mountain ridge. Adam pauses a moment on the trail, then motions for everyone to hide. They manage to find cover as a tremendous herd of wild horses thunder past. CARL Thanks, that was close. ADAM That is strange. BRENDA The horses or our finding cover in time? ADAM (grins at her) You're quick witted. BRENDA I've been called worse. ADAM Well, I wouldn't. CARL (coughs politely) Ahem � is it safe to go on? ADAM (refocusing) Yes. There's a sacrificial area ahead. CASSIE Could we just skip that? ADAM Unfortunately not. There's no other way to reach the city undetected. BRENDA You don't mean where the tribe is? Somebody tell me we're not going right into the city. ADAM If you need to find your friend Scott, and he's survived everything else out here, then that's where he'll be. There's no other civilized people within a day's walk of here. CASSIE Who said Scott was a friend? CARL Look, we have to make a decision. Either we go for the pin and try getting out of here, or we take our chances for survival on a daily basis. BRENDA No third option? CARL None that I can see. CASSIE As much as I don't care to meet up with him again, you're right. BRENDA (shakes her head) Majority rules, as far as I can tell. CARL Then it's settled. We find Scott, get the pin and get the hell out of here. ADAM (decisively) If the pin's still here. BRENDA Oh, great. They head off down the trail and go only a short distance before seeing a tremendous stone lying on the ground. BRENDA Good lord, what's that? ADAM It's recent. I don't recall it here in the past week. CARL Reminds me of Stonehenge. CASSIE Me, too. But for a different reason. BRENDA Old stomping grounds for a field trip? CASSIE No. Back in 1971 there was an article about people disappearing there. CARL I don't recall it. CASSIE It was in August. A group of hippies pitched tents and were gonna spend the night. They lit a campfire, smoked some joints and sat around singing. About 2 a.m. a severe thunderstorm hit the Salisbury Plain. Bright bolts of lightning crashed down, hitting the trees and even the stones. A farmer and a policeman said the stones lit up with a blue eerie light that got so strong they had to look away. They heard screams but by the time they got to the campsite, nothing remained except smoldering tent pegs and the remains of the campfire. No one ever saw the hippies again. BRENDA Are you for real? CASSIE Yeah, just as real as this. ADAM (thinking) I haven't seen anyone like that. Doesn't mean they couldn't have hit one of the other northern truepoints. BRENDA This island gives me the creeps. CARL Look, there's a hole at one end of the stone. As they approach the stone, they hear the faint cry of Burke below. BURKE Oh, God, please � don't let it end like this! CARL Burke! Are you in there? BRENDA BURKE!!! BURKE Who is it? Am I hallucinating? CASSIE No, we're here, Burke! You're gonna be all right. ADAM (to Brenda) A friend? BRENDA We met at the bar before � ADAM I understand. CARL (peering into the hole) Hang on! We'll find something to get you out of there. BURKE Hurry, please. Cold down here. CUT TO: DIFF ANGLE as Carl, Adam, Cassie and Brenda fan out to search for a long branch or vines. BURKE Hey, you're not leaving are you? BRENDA Not a chance. Adam finds a long vine hanging from a tree. ADAM Carl, give me a hand. This should work. Carl immediately joins Adam and together they tug on the vine till it separates from the topmost branches and falls. They hurriedly lower it into the darkness under the stone. CARL Burke, can you make it up on that? BURKE I think so. My feet are a bit numb, but I'll try. Cassie and Brenda hold opposite ends of the vine as Carl and Adam form a human chain to reach into the pit. Adam holds Carl's legs as he strains to grasp Burke's hand and direct him to the vine. CARL C'mon, buddy. You can do it. BURKE (stuttering from the cold) Than � Thanks! CASSIE You can do it! BRENDA C'mon Burke. CARL Little more � BURKE (exhausted) I can't. ADAM You have to. We're losing light. Burke makes a mighty effort, grabs hold of Carl's hand and the vine, managing to scramble out. BURKE Thank you. Everybody� BRENDA (admiring Burke's attire) Dressed for the occasion. BURKE They took my clothes. CARL Who? BURKE The tribe elders. ADAM You actually saw them? BURKE Yeah. Lot of mumbo jumbo going on. Upshot was Scott showed up. They had some big discussion about us and then threw us into the pit. CARL Big discussion? BURKE Kept calling us Manco something. CASSIE (thinking) The Incas had legends about that. BURKE One I'd like to forget. CASSIE No, you mustn't. Think hard. What was the last part? BURKE (shivering) Anybody got a coat? I tend to think better when I'm not freezing to death. ADAM That was the point. BURKE I should know you? ADAM Adam Brown. CARL Forgive the lapse on introductions. We need to get moving. Down to the city. BURKE Hold on. I'm not going near any of them. CASSIE (whispering to herself) Katoon, Kata � CARL We need to find Scott. BURKE You've got to be kidding. He climbed out of the pit and took off. Left me to die, again. CARL I'd like to side with you on this, but I can't. He's got a small pin that might get us off the island. BURKE A pin? I don't understand. CASSIE Capac? Was that it? BURKE
Copyright © 2002 Emmett O Saunders Iii |