Screenplay
by
ROSPO PALLENBERG
SECOND DRAFT
March, 1990
Transcribed
by
DON ALEX
REEL ONE
FADE IN
EXT. U.S. 93 (TEXAS) - SUMMER - SUNSET
An automobile comes over a rise halfway across the divider.
It continues downhill swerving from side to side. Unlike
the car it's about to crash into, its headlights are off.
The rogue car drifts -- it doesn't seem to be steered --
back into its own lane. Collision is avoided by inches.
EXT. GAS STATION (U.S. 93, TOWN OF ARNETTE) - DUSK
Twilight and fluorescents. HAP, the proprietor, and VIC,
TIMMY, NORM, and STU REDMAN hang out and drink beer,
when another local, HANK, pulls up at the pumps. His
RADIO is playing, and the D.J. announces that a new song
is climbing the charts fast: “Baby, Can You Dig Your Man?”
VIC
Hey. I can't hear.
Hank RAISES the VOLUME.
EXT. U.S. 93 - APPROACH TO ARNETTE TURN-OFF - DUSK
The runaway car, a '76 Chevy, keeps on coming,
not fast but steadily, still no lights on, weaving
driverless -- but there is a form slumped over the
wheel. The Chevy heads toward the gas station.
EXT. GAS STATION - DUSK
The Chevy approaches. Hank pumps gas. On the RADIO,
a male voice sings “Baby, Can You Dig Your Man?”
HANK
That ain't country ...
VIC
That's a city boy doin' country.
NORM
Not too bad ...
TIMMY
And not too good.
HAP
Yep ... Stu?
Only Stu Redman is watching the Chevy's approach. It is
drifting to the wrong side of the road -- where the gas station is.
The Chevy keeps on coming. The men see what Stu sees,
and getting to their feet, they look at each other nervously.
STU
(re: song)
City boy, not bad.
Stu walks toward the pumps while the others back away.
HAP
Christ! He's gonna hit the ...
The Chevy is heading straight for the pumps; and Stu
strides up to them also, the oncoming car ever closer.
VIC
The jerk forgot to turn his headlights on.
STU
No kick off the reflectors on the
road. He ain't using his brakes.
Stu is smart, and cool. Hank panics, yanks out the gas nozzle,
drops the hoze, and runs for it. Gas gushes onto the asphalt.
HAP
Oh God! The place's gonna blow!
The Chevy is about to slam into the pumps.
Stu reaches a column that supports the overhang and
finds what he's looking for: the emergency switch.
Stu cuts the power. The gas stops flowing.
The Chevy crashes into the pumps, knocking them
down. The Chevy spins, its tailpipe SCREECHING
as it scrapes on the asphalt and spews sparks.
Stu observes, primed to react, as the Chevy grinds to a halt.
Holding their breath the others wait -- no explosion.
Stu goes to the Chevy; he can't see inside. The
windshield is a web of cracks. Hap rushes up.
HAP
Thanks, Stu. For throwing the switch.
Stu nods. The others edge closer.
NORM
Guy must be pretty damn drunk.
Nobody gets out of the car. Stu opens the driver's side,
and a MAN slides out. A shocking sight -- his face and neck
swollen horribly, the flesh rotting -- nonetheless Stu has the
presence of mind to catch him. He lowers him onto the asphalt.
Mastering his revulsion, Stu forces himself to look inside the car.
A young woman and a child are bloated and rotting. They are dead,
suffocated by their own swellings. Their eyes bulge sightlessly.
An acid-yellow steam wafts up from the cadavers. It hits Stu.
He recoils. Hardly able to look, the others gag.
HANK
Jesus ...
Hank throws up. It startles Vic, Hap and Timmy, Stu also,
when the man on the ground reaches up to grasp Stu's leg.
The Man's eyes strain with desperation. He's trying to talk but cannot.
STU
Guys, help me roll him
over. He's choking.
Vic and Norm, squeamish about touching the slime-drenched clothes,
help Stu turn the man on his side. His chest heaves suddenly and
he disgorges phlegm. His eyes seek Stu's; with tremendous difficulty:
MAN
Tell my wife I ...
Stu glances into the Chevy.
MAN
I ... did put the dog out.
STU
Okay, buddy. I'll tell her.
Stu has to look away. He sees Hap talking excitedly on the phone.
STU
Hang in. An ambulance is on its way.
The man is fading fast. His body goes soft. Stu lets go,
wipes his hands on his jeans. Hank can't handle it:
HANK
What's wrong with these people?!
EXT. GAS STATION - NIGHT (LATER)
Red domelights cast lurid red shadows. Ambulances
and police cars are pulled up. State Patrolmen hold back
curiosity mongers from Arnette and folks who have pulled up.
Patrolmen, Hap and the boys, and Stu, keep
glancing at the Chevy. The medics are having a
hard time ungluing the woman from the car seat.
A breeze blows the yellow steam rising from the
rotting flesh towards the onlookers. They gag and gasp.
The last body bag is zipped up. A MEDIC feels queasy. Stu steadies him.
STU
You ever seen anything like this?
MEDIC
Once. Cholera. But this is ten times worse.
The body bags are hauled into ambulances.
STATE TROOPER
Okay, folks. Show's over.
The ambulances head east on 93. People reach their cars,
drive into Arnette, or off on 93, going east and west ...
EXT. VIEW OVER ARNETTE - FIRST LIGHT
... U.S. 19 cuts across Texas scrubland. As the gas station, the turn-off
leads into town. There's a THROBBING BUZZ in the air, and --
INT. BEDROOM - FIRST LIGHT
-- it's suddenly, shockingly louder. Stu Redman wakes
up, stumbles to the window. Sweeping, blinding search-
lights. Billowing dust. Stu sees choppers descending.
INT. LIVING ROOM - FIRST LIGHT
Stu, in undershorts, goes to the chest of
drawers, and is about to grab a pistol when --
-- the front door shatters, and in steps a COMMANDO
in hi-tech anti-biological warfare gear that sheathes
his entire body. He trains his automatic on Stu. His
voice blares out of his mask FILTERED and AMPLIFIED ...
COMMANDO
U.S. Army. Do not resist. We are here to protect
you. How many people in this household?
STU
... I live alone. “Protect” from what?
COMMANDO
Out!
EXT. STREET - FIRST LIGHT
Stu is prodded out of his home. He sees
other Commandos in protective gear herding
dazed and frightened neighbors -- men,
women, and children in their night clothes.
EXT. SQUARE WITH STATUE - DAWN
Under the edgy scrutiny of Commandos in protective
gear, the guys from the gas station: Stu, Hank, Norm,
Timmy, Vic and Hap stand before a civilian, LEN CREIGHTON,
who without gear sits at a field desk inside a transparent
inflated operations room which extends out from a chopper.
Also in the enclosed environment are the C.O.
and aides without protective gear. -- Angrily:
VIC
We're Americans, and --
VIC AND NORM
-- we have rights!
HAP
Who in the hell are you guys coming here --
CREIGHTON
I'm the one asking the questions.
Creighton is preoccupied and in a hurry. Stu thinks.
CREIGHTON
What I have to know is this. Other than the
police officers and the medics, who was at the
gas station last night who was not from here?
HANK
... Not from our town?
CREIGHTON
Yes.
STU
Those folks from the Chevy. Did
they die of something contagious?
CREIGHTON
The cause of their death is classified.
STU
To me, that means more yes than no, and I wanna help.
CREIGHTON
Please.
STU
I saw the Taylor boys from the farm three miles up the road ...
Creighton glances at the C.O.
C.O.
We're covered, sir.
STU
Makes sense that folks going to the drive-in
at Seco could've pulled up at the wreck.
This time the C.O. doesn't have a ready answer for Creighton.
Norm coughs. Creighton, the C.O., the aides turn toward
Norm with a suddenness that doesn't go unnoticed by Stu.
CREIGHTON
You, sir? Did you have that cough yesterday?
INSIDE TRANSPORT CHOPPER IN FLIGHT - DAY
The blinds are down. The six guys from the gas station are
its passengers, and all but Stu are with family members.
Everybody is still in their nightclothes, the only comfort
Army-issue blankets. Commandos in protective gear keep
watch. All eyes are on Norm, and the noise in the cabin
makes his attempt to explain all the more difficult.
NORM
It musta been the dust ...
He tries to suppress a cough, fails.
NORM
Dust from the helicopters.
Hank, who's closest to Norm, edges away.
Stu takes advantage, and lifts the blinds.
Below he glimpses an intersection and choppers
landing, Commandos setting up a roadblock.
COMMANDO
Eyes front.
The Commando shoves Stu back against his seat and slams down the blind.
STU
They're cutting off the whole county --
COMMANDO
Shut up. Or we'll sedate you.
CUT TO:
EXT. HOUSE ON THE BEACH (MALIBU, CALIFORNIA) - DAY
A wave breaks, climbs up the sand. Two figures appear on the
porch: LARRY UNDERWOOD shoves the GIRL down the steps.
GIRL
Larry ... I stood by you when you were nothing.
LARRY
Your mouth's good for one thing, and it's not talking.
GIRL
Youre not a nice guy, Larry.
At twenty-two, Larry has boyish good looks. Deeply
hurt and crying, the girl starts down the beach.
INT. / EXT. BEACH HOUSE - DAY
Larry steps back inside.
YOUNG GUY
Way to go, Larry. Way to go.
Larry smiles at his cheerleader; then looks him over.
LARRY
... Who are you?
YOUNG GUY
I'm the delivery boy. I dropped off the champagne and
diet Pepsis last night. Remember? Great party.
LARRY
Yeah. Right.
The place is what fast money can buy. In a Jacuzzi, dazed
kids swirl lazily. TV set are stacked in columns, all tuned
to MTV; and the host announces that “Baby, Can You Dig
Your Man?” has jumped from eleventh to seventh place.
LARRY
Far out. Fucking far out.
Larry turns to admire his arty video.
LARRY
You hear that?!
HANGER-ON
You're number one, Larry. You'll go platinum.
The groupies in the pool applaud.
YOUNG GUY
Hey, Larry. Look there. You kick one out, a fresh one pops up.
He points beyond the plate glass where a YOUNG
WOMAN is peering in. Larry goes to the window.
LARRY
I'm seventh, bitch! And now you want to hitch up with me.
She shakes her head in disapproval. He's puzzled, but
then a man's accented voice makes him spin around.
URI
Larry, my booblick, how are you?
Larry faces URI, a smiling overdressed Russian coming
through the front door. Larry tries not to seem scared.
LARRY
Hi, Uri.
URI
You got my money?
LARRY
... Next week, Uri. I promise.
URI
Last week it was next week, and last week I give more bucks
'cause I'm a loanshark with heart ... but now I must busta
finger, so you know I mean business. This America, no?
Uri starts forward. Larry points at the TV
where he is playing guitar, and to his hands.
LARRY
That's me playing -- you can't --
Uri rushes him but trips. Larry sees his chance and bolts.
EXT. BEACH HOUSE (PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY) - DAY
Larry runs out and leaps into his Porsche. He's shocked. The
young woman he saw behind the glass is in the passenger seat.
YOUNG WOMAN
You'd better move it, Larry.
Uri stumbles out of the house. Larry
BURNS RUBBER. Uri climbs into a Caddy.
IN PORSCHE (PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY) - MOVING
LARRY
Now that you heard I'm seventh, you wanna hitch --
YOUNG WOMAN
How much do you owe Uri?
LARRY
Seventeen thousand for rent. Two --
Suddenly paranoid, Larry stares at her. He barely avoids an accident.
YOUNG WOMAN
Easy, Larry. Just want to help you.
IN CADDY - MOVING
No longer smiling, Uri races to catch up.
BACK IN PORSCHE
YOUNG WOMAN
You're renting this car, right?
Larry nods, glances nervously in the rearview mirror.
IN CADDY - MOVING
Uri drives recklessly; he's gaining on the Porsche.
BACK IN PORSCHE - MOVING
YOUNG WOMAN
You write one okay song --
LARRY
(outrage)
-- One okay song ?!
YOUNG WOMAN
Yep. Could be a flash in the pan. And do you know how long
you'd have to be number one just to pay back what you owe? ...
Quoting the girl he threw out:
LARRY
Hey, I guess I'm not “a nice guy”.
YOUNG WOMAN
No.
LARRY
No ?!
YOUNG WOMAN
You're an asshole, Larry. A real asshole.
Shocked, incoherent nearly, Larry pulls over.
LARRY
Get the fuck out.
She doesn't budge. She smiles and points behind.
IN CADDY - MOVING
Uri jumps lanes, about to pull up.
IN PORSCHE - MOVING
Larry swerves back into traffic.
LARRY
Fuck ... where do I go? Hey, what about your place?
She laughs, and smiles sweetly.
YOUNG WOMAN
Larry, go home. Go back home and get your shit together.
Larry slams on the brakes: the traffic ahead is stopped for a light.
LARRY
... Home?
He turns to face her but she's no longer
in the car. She stands at the roadside.
YOUNG WOMAN
Good luck, Larry.
Larry doesn't know what to do. The cars
behind lean on their HORNS. He speeds off.
CUT TO:
INT. HIGH-TECH BIO-LAB - ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
Stu Redman and the guys, and other folks from Arnette, are
herded down a corridor by personnel wearing what look like
spacesuits. Norm is hacking up gobs of phlegm. Others cough,
sneeze; still others look feverish; BABIES WAIL; nobody talks.
Hank accosts Stu, clears his throat, whispers.
HANK
Stu. How are you feeling?
STU
(under his breath)
Mad. We were on an airplane with
blacked-out windows for seven hours --
SPACEMAN
You. Quiet.
Stu turns on the SPACEMAN.
STU
Where in the hell are we?
Others echo Stu's demand. The Spaceman jams a
stun gun into Stu's stomach and knocks him back.
AT INTERSECTION OF CORRIDORS - ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
A gauntlet of Spacemen examine the people.
They peer into their mouths with bright lights.
They palpate their necks through their gloves.
Norm's neck is swollen and cracked with angry
lesions. Stu is inspected by one Spaceman, then
by another, who pulls Stu out of the flow of people
and pushes him down an empty passageway, alone.
SPACEMAN
Keep going.
Stu is reluctant to leave the others. He's mad.
His face is flushed. Is he also feverish?
INT. WAITING AREA - ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
Stu, a woman, a man, and a little boy are seated waiting
in silence. All but Stu struggle with bad flu symptoms.
Suddenly Spacemen descend upon the three who are
infected and lead them away, ignoring their questions.
Three Spacemen close in on Stu. They yank down
his underpants, and -- below frame -- shove what
looks like a pencil attached to a cord up his ass.
Stu is stunned by the indignity. The electronic
thermometer reads: 96 ... 97 ... 98 ... 98.4 --
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
Stu now wears a patient's smock. Two Spacemen lead
him through an airlock into a one-bed hospital room. Two
other Spacemen approach Stu armed with medical gizmos.
Stu takes the Spacemen by surprise. He lunges at one.
Clumsy in his protective suit, the Spaceman topples.
Stu is quick upon the Spaceman, grabs his helmet --
the face unseen behind the reflective visor -- and
bangs it against the floor, in rhythm with his outrage.
STU
Show - your - face. Who - are - you? Where --
SPACEMAN
He's going to break the seal.
Her panicked voice -- FILTERED and AMPLIFIED -- booms out.
The other Spacemen attack Stu with their
stunners, and send him flailing across the floor.
Shaking it off, Stu gets to his feet to renew the attack.
SPACEMEN
Out. All out.
The Spacemen stagger back into the airlock, and a
glass door slams closed before Stu can get to it. In
the lock, the spacemen are flushed by a green gas.
Outside the observation room, a Spaceman
pushes a button on the control panel.
In the room, a small panel in the observation window slides open --
now Stu shares his air with a gerbil. Stu steps up to its cage,
and stares at the animal running on an endless treadmill.
CUT TO:
EXT. DINER - HIGHWAY FUEL STOP (OKLAHOMA) - DAY
Larry Underwood pulls up in his Porsche and gets
out. In the next space, a family on vacation piles
into a station wagon: a little girl sneezes as a
tired Larry passes her. Her MOTHER sighs.
GIRL'S MOTHER
A summer cold. That's all we need.
INT. DINER - DAY
Larry doesn't notice that the others at the counter are clearing
their throats or sniffling more than usual. The TV is ON,
and he is watching a local newscaster: “In neighboring
Texas, an accidental release of radioactivity from the Gran
Arroyo Power Plant may have fallen on the town of Arnette.
As a precautionary measure, U.S. 93 is closed to traffic.”
A TRUCKER clears his throat and tells Larry:
TRUCKER
Hey. I came through there less than
36 hours ago. I made it just in time.
It's gotta be my lucky rabbit's foot.
The Trucker shows Larry his keychain. Larry acknowledges with
a wan smile. The waitress puts a plate of m'n'x in front of Larry.
The newscaster, cheerfully: “Cases of flu have been
reported in California... and when California sneezes,
the whole nation catches cold!” Larry wolfs down an
egg. Bickering from a couple reaches Larry's ears.
SHE
I tell you. It's feed a cold, starve a fever.
Larry thinks about it, then gobbles down another egg.
Meanwhile the newscaster: “And now an update on
the Tri-State kill spree.” Everybody in the coffee shop
is interested. On the TV SCREEN, a reporter: “Our
local police have caught up with the two men who have
terrorized Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma” --
CUT TO:
EXT. ROADSIDE GENERAL STORE (OKLAHOMA) - DAY
REPORTER
-- and are responsible for 13 holdups and 6 murders.
The enterprising REPORTER crouches forward to a
barrier of police cars where deputies are poised with rifles.
INT. GENERAL STORE - DAY
LLOYD HENREID and POKE are sitting against
the wall and two bleeding bodies lie nearby. Poke
is a wise-ass shitkicker, Lloyd a backwoods hoodlum.
They are watching the newscast about themselves.
POKE
Six?! It's eight now. And the body count is gonna go up!
Poke squeezes the trigger. BULLETS from his automatic
assault RIFLE SHATTER the TV SET. Lloyd is also armed,
and he's chugging down a carton of chocolate milk.
LLOYD
It ain't eight. That one there's still kicking.
One of the bodies does show signs of life. Poke gets
up, and steps on the throat of the dying man, and
keeps his boot there. While the man is busy dying:
POKE
Lotta firepower out there, Lloyd.
LLOYD
Poke, you ain't nervous?
POKE
(deadpan)
Nervous as a longtail cat in a room fulla rockin' chairs.
LLOYD
(deadpan)
I know what you mean, valleybean.
They burst out laughing, cracking each
other up. The man under Poke's boot dies.
Laughing, Poke begins to cough. Lloyd finishes the
carton of chocolate milk, and begins another -- his fifth.
Poke can't control his cough; and as he
stomps around trying to stop himself:
Poke -- INTERCUT -- enters the
crosshairs of a rifle's telescopic sights.
Half of Poke's face explodes, and the BULLET's impact
spins him around. He sags against the food shelves.
POKE
Lloyd ... I don't feel so good anymore.
Blood flows from Poke's face. Chocolate milk
flows from the carton as Lloyd stares at Poke.
LLOYD
Without you, Pokey, it's ain't gonna be fun.
(upbeat)
You kept half your promise.
POKE
... I did !?
LLOYD
You said we were gonna be rich
and famous. Hey, fuck being rich.
Poke is dead. Lloyd tosses his rifle away, he is resigned.
DEPUTIES rush him, throw him to the floor, guns at his head.
DEPUTY
You have the right ...
The Deputy begins to cough.
LLOYD
Not in my face, asshole.
CUT TO:
EXT. GAS STATION (ARNETTE, TEXAS) - TWILIGHT
Stu Redman walks up to the door of the Chevy, opens
it, and is welcomed by the grisly sight of the three
decaying bodies. The bodies come to life, grab Stu --
INSIDE CHEVY - STRANGE TWILIGHT
-- yank him inside. The man closes the door. Stu panics.
He tries to get out but the man pushes him back. Stu
goes for the other door, clambers over slime, and the
woman and child help him through. Stu bursts out --
EXT. CORNFIELD - STRANGER TWILIGHT
-- pushing past the high corn stalks, escaping.
He looks back. No Chevy. Stu is totally baffled.
He looks around, when he comes face to face
with a large shining feline eye in the gloaming
between the stalks. Stu backs away in fright.
Stu turns and runs. In nighmarish slo-mo.
Where Stu's boot leaves a print, a second later
a large feline paw touches the earth. Next
bootfall, and a huge bird's claw touches down.
Next bootfall, and the claw -- no, a cowboy boot, its shining
silver filigree suggesting a claw -- steps on Stu's print.
The point of view catches up with Stu -- a large bird's
beak reaches forward to strike his neck. Stu --
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
-- wakes as a large needle plunges into his
neck. Stu finds himself held down by three
Spacemen while another takes a blood sample.
A 5TH SPACEMAN
Mr. Redman. It would be so much easier
if you decided to collaborate with us.
A Spaceman leaves with the vial of blood.
The others let go. Stu is seething.
STU
Give you blood every four hours?
5TH SPACEMAN
Yes. And --
He releases the latches of his helmet, continuing:
5TH SPACEMAN
-- we want to run an E.E.G., a CAT scan,
but your hostility would give us false readings.
STU
Why should I help if you people don't give me answers?
The Spaceman removes his helmet. He is Len
Creighton, the civilian who questioned Stu in Arnette.
CREIGHTON
I'll answer whatever questions I'm allowed to answer.
STU
Allowed by who?
CREIGHTON
Classified, I'm afraid.
STU
Why do you want to test me?
CREIGHTON
Mr. Redman. You've already figured that out.
STU
The critter there --
(indicating gerbil)
-- isn't sick. You took your helmet off.
I'm not sick, and I'm not contagious.
CREIGHTON
That's right.
STU
How are the others? How's Norm
doing? Norm Bruett? He looked bad.
CREIGHTON
I'm sorry. Classified.
STU
The others?
CREIGHTON
Again, classified.
The TV set is ON with the SOUND OFF. Stu sees Tom Brokaw
talking about his hometown. Stu pushes the mute button
on the remote. Brokaw: “ -- the quarantined area around
the town of Arnette has been widened to include five counties.
The reason given is an alleged leak of radioactivity from “ --
STU
Bull.
CREIGHTON
(agreeing)
Bull.
Brokaw: “Still from the West. Health authorities believe that the
outbreak of flu in California is a reoccurence of last year's “ --
STU
How serious is this flu?
CREIGHTON
Classified.
Stu thinks on it a moment. his face twists strangely ... very strangely ...
and then he sneezes. -- Creighton bolts for the airlock in panic.
STU
That serious?
Creighton stops in his tracks, spins around:
CREIGHTON
You are faking?
STU
Classified.
The two glare at each other.
CUT TO:
EXT. APPROACH TO MANHATTAN - DAY
In his Porsche, Larry Underwood drives into the city.
EXT. STREET (UPPER WESTSIDE) - DAY
Nodding off, Larry sits on the stoop of a brownstone in a low-
income neighborhood. People passing by cough and wheeze.
A WOMAN who has obviously had a tough life starts up
the stoop, stops and stares at Larry. She shakes Larry awake.
WOMAN
Larry?
He looks up at her.
LARRY
... Mom? Hi, Mom.
MOTHER
I thought it was you. Let's have a look at you.
He stands up. She looks him over, somber.
MOTHER
You can stand straighter than that?
He straightens and grins. There's a stiffness between
them, a hesitation. Larry embraces his mother.
After a moment, she embraces him and he's relieved.
INT. SHABBY APARTMENT - LATE DAY
She closes the door. Larry looks around.
LARRY
You've repainted.
MOTHER
Two years ago ... Larry, I regret some
of the things I said when you left.
LARRY
I shouldn't have left the way I did, I guess.
MOTHER
So you're back. What brought you?
He hesitates, and handles it with bravado:
LARRY
I guess I missed you, Mom.
MOTHER
That's why you wrote?
LARRY
I'm not much of a letter writer.
MOTHER
You can say that again.
LARRY
I'm not much of a letter writer.
MOTHER
Same old Larry. Never serious.
LARRY
Not true, Mom. You have heard my song.
MOTHER
Yes. Do you want something to eat?
He's thrown by his Mother's reaction.
LARRY
... Sure.
INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT
Larry and his Mother eat in silence. The RADIO is ON ...
“Baby, Can You Dig Your Man?” begins to play. Larry looks
to his mother, expecting a response. After a long moment:
MOTHER
I tell everybody you sing that song.
LARRY
I wrote it, too. Do you like it?
MOTHER
As well as I like any of that music. It's suggestive. Lewd.
LARRY
... I do get paid.
MOTHER
Go on! ... Really? How much have you made so far?
LARRY
Nothing yet. But ...
MOTHER
Nothing yet? When will you get your money?
LARRY
(nervous)
... I don't know. Soon.
MOTHER
(sighs)
I've heard it all before, Larry. You're a dreamer, just like your
father. He was always going to be rich tomorrow. And he started
borrowing money, and he kept borrowing money ... and in
the end, the debts killed him. Old wounds are wide open.
LARRY
Dad was a loser.
MOTHER
Larry. You haven't borrowed money, have you?
LARRY
No. Shit, mom. You always think the worst of me.
Angry, he leaps to his feet.
LARRY
Nothing has changed.
He stomps to the door and out.
MOTHER
There's something you don't know, Larry. It's about you.
Larry steps back in.
MOTHER
Deep down you're a nice boy ... and one day you'll find that out.
Not knowing what to say, he slams the door on her.
CUT TO:
INT. MENTAL HOSPITAL - CORRIDOR (INDIANA) - DAY
A matchhead sticks out from under a finger-
nail, and dragged along the wall, it ignites.
The finger belongs to TRASH, a young man with an
innocent face and crazed eyes. He's strapped to a gurney.
TWO ORDERLIES wheel him down a hallway. Trash
flicks the lit match into a wastebasket. He's burnt his finger.
The trash inside the basket begins to burn.
Trash strains to look back. He grins gleefully when
he sees smoke and fire. The Orderlies also see.
ORDERLY #1
Damn you, Trash.
The two run to put out the fire. Trash: Voices talk with each other:
TRASH
Why'm I called Trash? Can't pass a trashcan without setting it on
fire! Burned your cock off yet? No, but my finger's got a boo-boo.
The fire -- it excites the mental patients; some cheer Trash -- is put out.
The Orderlies return, and wheel Trash away.
ORDERLY #2
Trash, you don't need electroshock. You need electrocution.
He's half-joking. He coughs, bringing up phlegm.
ORDERLY #1
Jesus, man.
ORDERLY #2
We zap Trash and I'm going home.
ORDERLY #1
The flu?
ORDERLY #2
I guess. Gotta bad pain here.
He hits his chest, coughs again.
INT. ELECTRO-SHOCK ROOM - DAY
The Orderlies wheel Trash in. A DOCTOR and TWO NURSES
continue talking as they prep Trash; the Doctor wears a cloth mask.
NURSE
15% of the staff is out.
ORDERLY #1
What's with the mask, Doc?
DOCTOR
This damn flu that's going around. Next week I go on vacation.
Nurse #1 blows her nose.
NURSE #2
Someone in the cafeteria said the symptoms reminded him of the plague.
DOCTOR
The plague !? Who said that?
NURSE #2
Doctor what's-his-name, the new internist. He went home.
The Doctor is disturbed. Orderly #2 is quietly
trying to clear his throat -- without success.
Trash is prepped. The Doctor turns on the juice.
Trash is convulsed. Just then Orderly #2
retches, bringing up phlegm and pus.
DOCTOR
I'm --
He doesn't bother to finish. In panic, the others take off too --
all but the sick Orderly. Trash convulses with increasing
violence: the electrodes are about to tear from his head --
CUT TO:
INT SHABBY APARTMENT (UPPER WEST SIDE) - DAY
Larry Underwood, who has just woken up,
shuffles into the living room clearing his throat.
MOTHER
Good morning, Larry.
LARRY
Shouldn't you be at work?
MOTHER
I've got sick time coming, so I phoned in sick.
LARRY
You don't have to stay home on account of me.
MOTHER
I know ... but I feel a bit under the weather.
LARRY
You are sick?
MOTHER
(lying)
No, no.
(steeling herself)
I was thinking of cooking your favorite dish. Do you remember it?
LARRY
Sure. But I might be going out.
MOTHER
Well. I should do some real cooking anyway
instead of heating those T.V. trays.
She gets up, goes to the front door.
MOTHER
I'm going shopping. Need anything?
LARRY
... No. Nothing.
She exits.
INT. PRISON PASSAGEWAY AND
CELLS (PHOENIX, ARIZONA) - DAY
Lloyd Henried, with shackled wrists, is led by two guards past coughing,
wheezing inmates who bang on the bars of their cells, groaning:
“I'm sick”, “I need a doctor”. GUARD #1 sneezes.
LLOYD
Fuck you, man. Put your hand in front of your mouth.
The guard wipes away the snot with the back of his hand.
GUARD #1
Shut up, fucking killer.
GUARD #2 drives his fist into Lloyd's stomach.
INT. HOLDING CAGES
The three trudge past, when:
GUARD #1
I ain't feelin' too hot. I gotta go to the infirmary.
GUARD #2
We'll dump him in here for now.
Guard #2 shoves Lloyd inside a holding cage
and locks the gate. Lloyd is still shackled.
LLOYD
Hey! My hands.
The Guards take off. In a rage, Lloyd grabs the bars:
LLOYD
I'm hungry. Bring me FOOD.
CUT TO:
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM - HI TECH BIO-LAB - ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
No one outside is watching. Using his bedframe as a
ram, Stu is trying to break through the airlock. On
the TV, Tom Brokaw interrupts a rerun of “Lassie”.
Stu glances at the TV but doesn't stop working.
Brokaw: “ -- a statement just released from the White
House: 'Take two aspirin, drink a lot of water and
rest.' ” Stu continues battering, an eye on the set.
With disbelief, Brokaw stares at what he's just read, and
its madness releases his: “The Black Death is once again
loosened upon the land, and folks, lookie here.” He tilts
his neck to the light revealing horribly swollen glands, the
skin suppurating and black. He continues: “Recognize
these? The plague has come to take you and me away.”
Stu steps up to the TV set. Brokaw waxes: “I pity the
survivors, for God knows 'what rough beast, its hour
come round at last, slouches toward Bethlehem to be
born' God knows who -- ” “Lassie” cuts in. Stu
returns to the airlock; on TV Brokaw reappears for
three seconds as soldiers in gas masks lead him away.
“Lassie” returns. But then the lights go out and
Lassie disappears in mid-jump. Dim red emergency
lights come on, and Stu renews his effort to escape.
CUT TO:
INT. SHABBY APARTMENT (UPPER WEST SIDE) - DAY
Larry Underwood gets to his feet, angry.
LARRY
Where is she?
EXT. AVENUE - DAY
Larry passes sick people and people terrified of those
who are sick. HORNS BLARE. Traffic is at a standstill,
the cause an accident ahead. The culprit sits in his car,
coughing up his lungs. Aghast, Larry quickens his pace.
He stops at a Mini-Mart. The Puerto Rican OWNER is closing up.
LARRY
Have you seen my mother? Mrs. Underwood?
OWNER
Larry! Your mother say you come back. I close. Family is sick.
LARRY
Where did my mother go? Did you see?
OWNER
Your mother tell my wife she sick. My
wife tell her go to Mercy General. Maybe --
Larry starts off, now dodging irate motorists
on the sidewalk trying to bypass the traffic jam.
GLASS is SMASHED - someone starts to loot a store.
INT. MERCY GENERAL HOSPITAL - ENTRANCE - DAY
It's chaos. Larry pushes past coughing, wheezing, sweating
people all seeking attention. He slips past a masked
guard. The guard sees Larry but he's too weak to care.
INT. HOSPITAL - CORRIDOR - DAY
It's filled with gurneys laden with patients. Larry threads his
way among them, searching. He comes upon his mother
lying in her own waste, her clothes drenched in sweat.
LARRY
Mom. My God.
Dazed, her eyes focus. Although it's difficult for her to talk, her tone is peevish.
MOTHER
Larry, get your father. He's down at the corner bar ... as usual ...
LARRY
Mom, Dad is -- Mom, there's something I have to tell
you. I ... I'm getting a doctor. I'll be right back.
INT. WARD - DAY
Larry searches frantically, casting curtains aside.
LARRY
Is there a doctor here?
He is answered by a chorus of woe. No doctors, no
nurses, all beds are filled. As some bedsides relatives
sit, some nearly as sick as their dying loved ones.
Larry appears at a run, searching.
LARRY
Doctor ...
A DISHEVELLED DOCTOR steps into Larry's path.
DISHEVELLED DOCTOR
What is it, sonny?
LARRY
(out of breath)
My mother ...
DISHEVELLED DOCTOR
No one needs a doctor no more. And listen up, boy ...
(glares at Larry)
Christ is coming ... and He is pissed.
Larry is thrown for a moment, then runs out.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
He rushes up to his mother. She's lifeless. He shakes her.
LARRY
Mom!
He listens to her heart. Nothing. He stands
over her, dumbfounded. He gathers himself.
LARRY
Mom. I never told you that you were right to
worry about me ... I never told you that I ...
Furious, he punches the wall. He recomposes himself.
LARRY
I never told you that I love you ...
EXT. CENTRAL PARK (MANHATTAN) - LATE DAY
Grief-stricken and guilty, Larry wanders. He passes sick people,
some muttering incoherently, some just waiting to die, lost in
anguish, screaming. A man and his dog -- they're both dying.
Larry continues on toward a woman seated on a bench. He
approaches carefully. There's something about her that strikes him.
Elegant in a Chanel suit, high heels and jewelry,
RITA BLAKEMOOR, although fifty, has successfully
preserved her beauty. She appears not to be sick,
and she's curious about Larry. She gets to her feed,
draws a PISTOL from her handbag, and SHOOTS
above Larry's head, the kick nearly unbalancing her.
RITA
Don't move, young man, hands up.
Frightened, he obeys. She slinks closer, pistol level.
LARRY
You're not sick ?!
RITA
You don't look sick, either.
She inspects him, wary of him, and he is terrified of her.
RITA
You're not sick. You're the first one I've seen.
LARRY
Same here .. I guess.
RITA
You can relax now.
She drops the pistol into her bag, snaps it shut, and offers her hand.
RITA
Rita Blakemoor.
They shake, he stiffly.
LARRY
Larry, ma'am. Larry Underwood.
RITA
Larry. Be a good boy. Escort me home. I'm afraid.
EXT. 5TH AVENUE (CENTRAL PARK) - LATE DAY
Her arm linked through his, Rita and Larry come out of
the park. There are stalled cars on the Avenue, and one
weaves out of control. Larry guides Rita across. She's flighty.
RITA
Crazy, isn't it? People dropping like flies ... and me walking
down 5th Avenue on the arm of such a handsome young man.
She smiles her naturally sensual smile. He looks away.
Larry and Rita pass three YOUNG MUGGERS who are
relieving some sick people inside a limo of their cash
and valuables. They see Larry, and especially Rita.
YOUTH
Look at that rich bitch.
YOUTH #2
Let's do her.
Money and jewelry spilling from bulging pockets, the three
muggers shamble toward the couple. They are infected too.
Before Larry can do anything, Rita has her pistol out.
RITA
You go home to your mothers.
She aims above their heads, and squeezes
the trigger: BANG ... CLICK ... CLICK ...
The three continue forward.
Larry leads Rita away at a run.
Wheezing, gasping for breath, the three gain on Rita
and Larry. That's because of her high heels and tight
skirt. She can trot only just so fast no matter how hard
Larry pulls. The three are about to grab the couple.
RITA
It's here.
EXT. / INT. MARBLE AND BRASS LOBBY - LATE DAY
She leads Larry past the comatose doorman and
into an open elevator. Rita pushes the button
for the seventh floor. The three Muggers
lurch into the lobby, when Larry realizes:
LARRY
It's not working.
Leading her, Larry starts up the stairs. The three follow,
and again Rita is slowed by her tight skirt and high heels.
FURTHER UP STAIRS
Larry stops -- she's out of breath. He unzips her skirt.
She understands, helps, when the three appear.
He tears off her skirt and hurls it at the gasping muggers, and
they continue up. She's wearing dark stockings and a garter belt.
FURTHER UP
Rita stops, Larry too. She tries to unfasten her
high heel shoes. Hacking and wheezing, the three are
catching up. Rita fumbles with the buckle, fails. Larry
yanks on her strands of pearls, breaking the string,
sending hundreds of pearls cascading down the steps.
The three are pelted by the pearls. They snatch at them.
INT. 7TH FLOOR LANDING - LATE DAY
Wobbling in her high heels, Rita stops by a door.
LARRY
The keys !?
She begins rummaging in her handbag. Announced
by their hideous breathing, the three climb into sight.
She finds the keys ... but the first key she tries is wrong.
Agitated she tries another -- it works, but there's a second lock.
The pursuers clamber onto the landing. Larry swats
them with Rita's purse. She gets the door open.
INT. PLUSH APARTMENT ENTRANCE - LATE DAY
Rita and Larry stumble in but one of the
kids grabs onto the sleeve of her jacket.
She freaks. Larry pushes the door shut, one against three.
He succeeds, but Rita's sleeve is caught in the closed door.
Larry slides her arms out of the jacket and frees her.
Rita is exhilarated. She stands before him in high
heels, black stockings and garter belt, and a chemise
that clings to the sweat of her shapely breasts. She grabs
Larry's head with both hands and kisses him fiercely.
Rita pulls away, her hand caressing his face, his neck.
RITA
Your neck isn't swollen ... but something else is.
Larry is horribly embarrassed and terribly turned on.
LARRY
I'm sorry --
RITA
Sorry to be alive? Sorry to be able to prove it?
Her lust for life unleashes his. He possesses her.
CUT TO:
INT. PRISON (PHOENIX, ARIZONA) - HOLDING CAGES - NIGHT
The strain, the pain, the tearing of flesh. Lloyd
Henreid rips one of his cuffs from his wrist.
He sucks on the wound, nearly feasting on it.
LATER - DAWN
Crazy and exhausted, Lloyd scoops up water from the
toilet bowl, drinks, swallows, winces ... and he sees --
-- a rat.
LATER - DAY
Lloyd lies dead on the floor.
The rat approaches, passes Lloyd's hand.
The hand springs, snatches the rat in its grasp.
Lloyd -- very much alive -- lifts the rat to his mouth ... and
then into it. After a moment, he bites down on its head --
END OF REEL ONE
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