1. Almost Home
first 40 pages
by
Chuck Loch
14314 Summertime Lane
Culver City, CA 90230
Voice (310) 713-5480
Fax (310) 559-2332
chuck9@sbcglobal.net
Registered WGAw Number: 1712013

2. FADE IN:
EXT. WORN OUT URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD - ALLEY – NIGHT
Rain.
Half-way up the wet street, a TWEEN GIRL, 12, dressed in
rags steps from the cobblestone gutter onto a curb. She
WHISTLES a happy tune as she glides into the shadows.
A beast-like ORANGE EYE stares from one of her sockets, then
blinks closed.
MATCH CUT TO:
EXT. WORN OUT URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD - URBAN SHACK – NIGHT
A BLUE EYE blinks open through a PEEPHOLE in a PLYWOOD DOOR
whose paint long ago peeled away.
A patch of frayed cardboard drops into place on the inside,
covering the opening.
The door opens.
THUNDER, LIGHTNING.
IN AND OUT ON:
LEGEND
White over black:
SIXTY YEARS IN THE FUTURE
FROM ACROSS THE ALLEY
The dim orange flush of a single street lamp reveals
The RAIN BEATING A STEADY RHYTHM, bouncing off wooden boards,
rusting sheets of corrugated metal, plastic bags woven
together with sticks, that make up the shack.
INSIDE
The blue eyes belong to a plain-looking pumpkin-haired waif,
JUDY KERIOTH, age 10. A dim light reveals she's dressed in
patched hand-me-downs.
She stands on tiptoe, leans out, looks up and down the alley,
then turns away from the door.
JUDY
It looks okay.

3. 2.
EXT. URBAN SHACK - NIGHT
JED, 7, in torn and dirty clothes with shoes that are too
big, skittles past Judy out among the potholes. His breath:
steam in the cold air. He looks around.
JUDY
(from the doorway)
Be careful.
The door swings shut. Jed SNEEZES, shudders.
Partially obscured by the mist of the night, the orange-eyed
Tween, still whistling, stumbles toward Jed.
As she lurches, she morphs into the indistinct form of a
sinewy wolf-like BEAST with two glowing orange eyes.
The unstable Form sniffs the air, SHRIEKS, shoots into the
air to swoop down on Jed like a witch on a broom. She pulls
the child out of his shoes, leaving them teetering on the
wet cobble.
Jed shakes, SCREECHES in a DEATH RATTLE. Blood runs down
his dangling kicking legs, drips off his naked feet.
A new Jed is on its feet again, calm, stepping into its shoes,
wiping blood from its mouth with its sleeve. The pale skin-
shell of a lifeless Jed lies nearby.
EXT. WORN OUT URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD - MAIN STREET – NIGHT
A KNOT OF MORE CHILDREN dressed almost in rags, some teens,
some younger, warm their hands over a fire in a barrel.
Sheets of cold drizzle whip sideways, brutal, graceful, in
and out of semi-abandoned buildings that go on forever.
In the distance: lights glow, broken neon, now and then a
bright stream from a window. Above a streetlight stutters,
buzzes. The voice of an older teen girl, PETRA, whispers...
PETRA (V.O.)
The edge of the world...
The wet sidewalk, street, reflect the headlights of broken
trucks rumbling by. It's Blade Runner all over again.
PETRA (V.O.)
...it's what I deserve.
The fire in the barrel flairs-up.
OTHER CHILDREN, breath steaming, slide out of the shadows,
pass a Christmas kettle, join those at the barrel.

4. 3.
Behind the kids, older low class WORKING MEN stumble from a
boarded up bar, Happy Luna's, then disappear into the night.
Last call is over.
PETRA (V.O.)
The street. The neighborhood. They
go on and on, wrapping cold arms around
us like flypaper. Night or day, it
doesn't matter. We stumble through.
PETRA, 18, solidly-built, with a constant limp from a right
leg ending in a clubfoot and a massive hard-leather crudely
protective boot, wears cloth gloves, a heavy jacket - dressed
for the cold.
She looks like she hasn't slept in a month. She's not noticed
as she pushes her way through the crowd at the barrel. No
resistance, as if she and the grocery bag she carries are
invisible.
Unseen by Petra, Judy breaks away from the crowd, cautiously
follows her a few steps behind.
PETRA (V.O.)
Runaways. Orphans. Delinquents.
Bad girls. Bad boys. Bad children...
A tough-looking gorilla of an OLDER TEEN shoulder-bumps Petra
who keeps moving.
Petra now glances from side-to-side as she walks. Others
stare right through her.
PETRA (V.O.)
Nobody knows we exist. They're always
looking the other way.
She notices a passing pair of scowling TEN-YEAR-OLDS.
PETRA (V.O.)
If there was just one...
EXT. ALLEY - DOWN THE STREET - NIGHT
Petra steps over a stream of raw sewage. Her booted clubfoot
catches on a curb sending her sprawling. A few red
pomegranates fly out of her bag; one splits open, stains the
grey sidewalk with its bright red pulp. She gathers up the
unbroken ones, turns into the alley.
PETRA'S ABANDONED BUILDING DOORWAY
PETRA (V.O.)
Time to go to work.

5. 4.
Petra disappears inside. Lets the door slam behind her.
INT. PETRA'S ABANDONED BUILDING - NIGHT
HALLWAY
Gingerly, Petra steps through a knot of sleeping tweens all
huddled together on the floor like a litter of puppies.
She fumbles with a ring of keys. Unlocks a strong wooden
door. Enters a room that contains only the barest
necessities. In one corner a small Christmas tree naked
except for its topping: a homemade star.
EXT. ALLEY - PETRA'S ABANDONED BUILDING DOORWAY - NIGHT
Petra reappears. No grocery bag. Jams a small gauge sawed-
off pump shotgun into a makeshift holster on her back.
PETRA (V.O.)
Twelve hour shifts, prowling the
night, exterminating those "things."
DECAYING ONCE-YELLOW SCHOOL BUS
Parked in the alley. Petra pats the bus's fender.
PETRA
Tomorrow, Poppi. That's four more
hours fixing broken bikes, cars...you.
FURTHER DOWN THE ALLEY
Judy darts from one doorway to another. Smothers a cough.
Above, behind her, mid-alley, a Beast Man resolves from an
orb of dark mist as it slips through a slice of air. Its
demonic features - withered, almost rotting - contain the
hint of fangs under cruel lips. Claws on hands cap its arms.
The Beast Man sniffs, swoops down, SHRIEKS. It grabs at
Judy, scratches her arm, draws blood.
SMASH CUT TO:
BOOM!
Petra FIRES, fast pumps the chamber and FIRES another load a
split second later--
BOOM--two loads travel as one.
The Beast Man drops, gasps for breath.

6. 5.
Judy runs to Petra, clings to her leg. Blood oozes from the
scratch on her arm.
Petra stares at the Beast Man, smoke wisps ebb from her
weapon's barrel, swirl in a gust of wind and rain. She dumps
the spent shells into her hand and into a pocket. Takes two
good ones from another pocket, reloads.
PETRA
It's okay.
Petra, her shotgun shouldered, cautiously approaches the
body on the ground. Judy tries to hold her back.
JUDY
NO!
The Beast Man's face, hands: incredibly old, wrinkled, ugly.
Gently, Petra pries Judy off her leg, pushes her to the side.
Dark blood seeps out of the creature, steam rises from the
small pool collecting under the body.
Judy watches as Petra kneels down, peels off a glove, reaches
toward the Beast Man with a bare hand, touches its hair.
She makes contact; it stops breathing. The glow in its eyes
dims. The Beast Man - its blood - fade, then disappear under
her touch.
JUDY
Where did it...?
PETRA
We better get your arm fixed.
INT. LUCKY LOU'S - NIGHT
A seedy block-long after hours sports club. Cavernous.
Permanent fluorescent dinge. Faded perfunctory Christmas
decorations, Petra and Judy pass through-- Male and Female
WORKERS drink, yell for more.
Foosball, pool tables, b-ball on the big screens, beers,
shots poured, some spilled, give way to another area filled
with metal exam tables, shelves with various medical supplies
marked with red crosses, MEN and WOMEN in white coats.
PETRA
I remember where doctors had offices.

7. 6.
WAITING STATION
They stop. WHITE COATS medically treat KIDS like those on
the street. They clean, bandage cuts and bruises, take
forehead temperatures, listen to the hearts of sneezing,
coughing, wheezing ragamuffins.
Petra pushes Judy into a Coat.
DOCTOR
Who's this?
PETRA
Tell him your name.
She Hesitates. Finally
JUDY
Judy.
DOCTOR
Last name?
She screws up her face.
JUDY
Ummmm. Kerioth. Judy Kerioth.
PETRA
Show him your arm.
JUDY
It'll get better.
DOCTOR
Let's see it.
Beefy BIGJIM - another patient - older than Petra - greets
her with a sharp punch to the shoulder. A Native American
tribal boy, he wears a single eagle feather pointing down in
his hair.
PETRA
OW! For Chris-sakes BigJim, that
hurt.
BIGJIM
Babysittin' again, Petra? You doin'
any real work lately, like on the
fuckin' bus?
PETRA
I do stuff you don't even want to
know about. Look at her arm.

8. 7.
BIGJIM
Oh, yeah, your other job. Don't see
why we even pay you. Can't tell
what you've done.
DOCTOR
You got money?
PETRA
Yeah, yeah. Just take care of her,
maybe disinfect, stitch her up.
Judy's eyes open wide at the thought of the pain from the
stitches. She complains in a quiet, little-girl voice.
JUDY
No.
PETRA
Listen. It almost got you out there.
Least you can do is take the repairs.
She stifles a cough, half sob. Breaks into a full blown
coughing fit. Petra massages her back until she stops.
The Doc works on a reluctant Judy's arm. She bites her lip.
Tears well up in her eyes.
DOCTOR
Want something for your cough?
JUDY
(in her little girl
voice)
No.
BIGJIM
(to Petra)
I asked about the bus because I heard
something.
PETRA
Yeah?
BIGJIM
Yeah. New kid, Jude, says if we can
get through The Zone, homes, family
are on the other side.
PETRA
Family? They don't exist. My
family's here.
Petra bites her lip.

9. 8.
INT. WORKINGPERSON'S KITCHEN - DAY (FLASHBACK)
SMACK! A YOUNGER PETRA recoils from a fist to the face.
Pat, Petra's mother, short, stocky, hairy, and MEAN, is on
the other end. Petra SCREAMS. Pat SCREAMS back.
YOUNGER PETRA
Leave me alone.
PAT
You always want us to leave you alone.
You don't give a fuck about us.
YOUNGER PETRA
I can't talk to a drunk.
PAT
You little bitch...
She charges at the Younger Petra.
A dirty-faced urchin, MISSY, 7 years younger than Petra,
peeks out from behind a sparsely decorated Christmas tree,
tears in her eyes.
MISSY
(whispers)
Don't go...
The Younger Petra ducks Pat's charge, runs to the front door
and out.
PAT
Where are you going?
END FLASHBACK
THE BAR
Behind Petra, BigJim yells
BIGJIM (O.S.)
Where are you going?
Without answering, she ambles up to a stool on the end, sits,
signals for a shot. BARKEEP pours, slides the shot to her.
She slicks it, signals for another.
PETRA (V.O.)
I never looked back. Didn't even
have a toothbrush. They don't come
easy here in the Jungle.
PONTY JACKSON, 42, thick facial hair, a gold tooth, taps
Petra on the shoulder only slightly less hard than BigJim.

10. 9.
JACKSON
Petra. What brings you here?
Petra rubs her shoulder.
PETRA
Geez Ponty.
JACKSON
Heard you exterminated another one
tonight.
PETRA
Just doing my job. What about you?
Can't you do something about the
street kids? They're living in hell.
JACKSON
Hell, wish I could. The Council
wants to spend the little extra we
have fixing streetlights.
PETRA
Fuck the Council.
JACKSON
Watch your mouth. Use it to help
us. One of our other shooters got
one of 'em to talk a little before
it died. Learned interesting stuff.
Petra and Jackson continue to talk for a moment but their
words are drowned out by the rising din around them.
A friendly game of darts EXPLODES next to them -- an angry-
thrown dart puts out an eye -- a fist fractures a jaw -- a
knife plunges into a body, carving flab, lean meat alike --
a broken beer bottle gouges a face, twists into a Man's
nose/mouth. The VICTIM SCREAMS, CHOKES, SPITS/drools blood.
PETRA (V.O.)
Nothin' changes.
EXT. LUCKY LOU'S - NIGHT
Petra leaves the club by a side door. She moves slowly,
overcome by events, the weariness, the chill of the night.
Looks around through the orange glow.
PETRA
Judy?

11. 10.
No one in sight. She slumps. Drags herself to a curb...
sits down in the pouring rain, wind blasting her, looking
off into the dark...
She blinks back the rain, forces a breath -- a cloud of steam.
PETRA (V.O.)
The fuckin' rain steals everything,
the air, your breath, your will.
(beat)
I got to get out of this fuckin'
place...
She closes her eyes. The rain pelts her face. She sits
like this for a moment...
...in an instant of decision, HER EYES SNAP OPEN, she yells...
PETRA
GOD DAMN, MOTHER FUCK!
SHE RAISES HER SHOTGUN, SLIDES THE BARREL INTO HER MOUTH,
rocks forward, leans back -- her free hand slides to the
trigger...she closes her eyes again.
A LOW GROWLING SOUND, muffled, muted by the gale wind, rises
into a shrill YOWL.
Petra slowly opens her eyes. Looks around.
A BLOCK AWAY, out of the rain-swept orange haze, A LARGE
HUMAN-LIKE SHAPE looms. Petra fixes her gaze, focuses.
The CREATURE, a swaddle of layers of winter clothes, shambles
through the rain toward Petra, lips curled back, head weaving,
sniffing the air.
PETRA (V.O.)
Drunken animal.
Petra, shotgun still in her mouth, doesn't budge, stares
dead into the Creature's brown eyes. It rears up.
Slowly, Petra withdraws the weapon from her mouth -- spittle
drooping off the barrel. She turns the weapon around, aims
it at the Creature, flips the safety off.
The Creature jumps into the air, swats the rain, gut-
growls...STOPS.
Petra's finger curls over the trigger, The Creature jumps
again...STOPS.
It dances into a drunken turn, lumbers back down the street
away from Petra. Then GONE. Petra watches after it.

12. 11.
Gradually lowers her weapon.
PETRA (V.O.)
...not tonight...
Out of nowhere, Judy rests a hand on her shoulder.
JUDY
What happened?
PETRA
Let's go home.
JUDY
I don't have a home anymore.
PETRA
You can stay with me.
She drapes her arm around Judy's shoulder, steers her down
the street. She pulls the hood over the young girl's head,
tightens her parka. Does the same to her own.
PETRA (V.O.)
...and not tomorrow...
Rain blasts the two of them as they stumble on...tears run
down Petra's cheeks.
PETRA (V.O.)
I don't know why I did half the things
I've done.
EXT. ALLEY - DOWN THE STREET - NIGHT
PETRA'S ABANDONED BUILDING DOORWAY
A LATE TEENS BOY and GIRL embrace. The girl wears a BABY
in a sack on her back. The couple giggle, snort with
laughter.
SUDDENLY the dark mist and orb of a Beast Man slips through
a slice of air above the happy pair. The resulting animal
sniffs, swoops down, SHRIEKS.
It tears the Baby from its mother's sack, drinks blood from
its neck like the child has become its personal vessel of
refreshment.
As it drinks, the Beast Man's withered body grows younger,
its skin smooth -- like the Baby's. It's as if the Beast

13. 12.
Man's life essence is being restored while the infant's body
shrivels, becoming an aged caricature of its once vital self.
SMASH CUT TO:
BOOM!
THE HEAD OF THE BEAST MAN AND THE BABY EXPLODE.
The Beast Man's body fades into oblivion, leaving only the
bloody remains of the withered child.
Petra holsters her smoking weapon, turns a hysterical Judy
away from the blood.
PETRA (V.O.)
I can't take it any more.
INT. PETRA'S ROOM NIGHT
Petra tugs on a bottle of beer as she sits uncomfortably
hunched over a table, WRITING A LETTER BY HAND, a task she
treats as if both hands were shackled in thumbscrews. Judy
lies in a corner asleep, inside a dirty sleeping bag, under
a dark dirty window.
PETRA (V.O.)
I know I haven't written in awhile.
Never believed it would do any good.
Still don't. But I need to tell
you, I'm thinking of coming back. I
wish I could explain it better than
this. But, I can't. If I could
talk to you again, see you on
Christmas, help you this time...ahhh
I'd just screw things up again. I'd
give anything if it wasn't this way,
if I wasn't this way, but it's the
way things are and the way I am.
I'm so afraid you won't believe me
but I think about you in my every
waking minute...
LATER
A song like James Taylor's FIRE AND RAIN with its poignant
lyrics of a person going quietly insane plays in the
background. The source of the music: a small digital player
sitting on Petra's night stand.
Petra sprawls across her bed, a well-worn gym bag stuffed
with dirty greasy tools sits on the table. Her eyes stare
at the ceiling. Something crushed, crinkled, like a note,
lies on her chest - a photograph.

14. 13.
She glances over at Judy. In between them, another small
photograph propped up on the night stand: a MAN, late 30s,
blue eyes, blonde hair, handsome. The Younger Petra sits
next to him, smiles, looks up at his face.
PETRA (V.O.)
...I wish you could hold me and look
into my eyes, with the eyes you kept
just for me. Can I see your face?
Feel you hands holding mine? Would
that be better than where we are
now? I feel cursed. I'm shuffling
through life like I've been damned.
She turns the picture on the stand face down, sits up. The
photo from her chest falls to the floor. Can't see the
content.
Gray daylight peeps through the window. Petra pushes herself
off the bed, glimpses herself in the mirror, turns away.
PETRA (V.O.)
I wanted to take care of you, saved
up a lot, most everything I've earned,
all for you. Please know I carry
you with me, inside my heart. I
love you like I've never loved anyone.
I promise I'll be home soon. I'd
call you if I could. I'd so like to
be better for you.
She tries to zip her gym bag, can't close it all the way.
Sweeps the photo off the floor, peeks at it, brushes a comely
lock of hair from sleeping Judy's face as she shuffles out
the door.
AT THE TABLE
A groggy Judy, arm wounds festering, stabs and slices
something in front of her with a hunting knife. Her head
dives down out of sight, comes up from a pomegranate with a
blood-red stain on her teeth and around her mouth. She
coughs, spits red onto the floor.
EXT. ALLEY - PETRA'S ABANDONED BUILDING - DAY
DECAYING ONCE-YELLOW SCHOOL BUS - "POPPI"
No rain.
Tools litter the alley around behind Poppi. Petra's feet
stick out from underneath. Unseen tools POUND, CLANK.
BigJim strides to Petra's feet, kicks a wrench underneath.

15. 14.
PETRA (O.S.)
OW!
BIGJIM
The feet have a fuckin' mouth. Come
out from under the fuckin' bus.
PETRA (O.S.)
It's not "the fuckin' bus." It's
name is "Poppi."
A hodgepodge horde of teens, various ages, trudges up behind
BigJim. Some are familiar - patients from Lucky Lou's. All
skinny, dirty, average-looking. No cuties.
BIGJIM
Brought some kids that think like me.
Jimmy, Johnny Fisher, get up here.
BigJim pushes twin African American boys, JIMMY and JOHNNY
FISHER, 8, forward. They hunker down to speak at Petra.
JIMMY
We're scared here, Miss Petra. Can
we take a ride in Poppi?
JOHNNY
Back to where we came from?
Petra slides out.
PETRA
Where is that?
The twins spell in sing-song unison:
JIMMY
M-I-S-S-I-P-P-I.
JOHNNY
M-I-S-S-I-P-P-I.
Judy, mouth still stained and coughing, joins the group.
BIGJIM
Show him, Jude.
JUDE TADEO, 12, Hispanic in glasses, waves a piece of paper.
JUDE
Hi! I'm Jude Tadeo. Got a map.
Paid attention on my ride here.
Didn't sleep like most. Drew it up
after I settled in.
BIGJIM
That there's a valyoooable paper.

16. 15.
ANDY JONAS, girl, 13, grabs the map.
ANDY
Don't know. Look at it. Doesn't
make any sense.
BIGJIM
Forget it, Andy Jonas.
JUDE
I can tell you. Look
(points to spots on
the map)
that's where I came from. Got a
little brother who still lives there.
I miss showing him how to fly kites,
and sled ride and stay on his bicycle -
he keeps falling off... And that's
the For...For...Forbidden Zone. And
here's The Jungle where we are now.
Andy fingers a star-shaped squiggle in the Forbidden Zone
halfway between Jude's hometown and The Jungle.
ANDY
What's this thing in the middle?
JUDE
It's where I saw a bright golden star,
like from a big Christmas tree.
BIGJIM
(pushing Jude out of
the way)
That's enough. Phillybeth, tell
your story.
PHILLYBETH
I'm scared too. I miss my big sister.
I got to wear her clothes a lot.
It's always so cold here... I remember
she and my mom smelled like Roses -
soft, silky.
BIGJIM
Bart Cana?
BART CANA, 8, sits down by Petra's head.
BART
Please ma'am, won't you take us?
It's hard here. Every day.
MATT TACKSMAN, 7, grabs Andy's hand. Andy holds on.

17. 16.
MATT
I'm scared...and I miss Mommy. We
used to go places together, like to
see Santa at the Mall.
ANDY
It's okay, Matt.
BIGJIM
C'mon Tom. Tom Teoma.
TOM TEOMA, 13, embarrassed to admit.
TOM
I miss my Dad. Playing catch with
the new baseball glove I got for
Christmas. We used to do everything
together. We wrestled. Played all
the time.
(giggles)
I could catch better than him.
SIMON SHIMONE, 14, confronts Petra.
SIMON
I'm Simon Shimone. The way I see
it, you're our only hope. You like
Hanukkah? Nobody here does. Let's
spin the dreidel, take our chances.
PETRA
Wait a minute all of you. The bus
doesn't run. Got to get it running
before anybody goes anywhere. And we
need gas. Who's got money for gas?
All are silent.
PETRA
Didn't think so. You know home wasn't
so great or you wouldn't be here.
JUDY
I want to go home...to my Dad and my
big brother. They'll take care of me.
Petra looks at her long and hard. Points to a huge wrench.
PETRA
Hand me the wrench.

18. 17.
INT. LUCKY LOU'S – EVENING
BAR
Petra walks up to Jackson seated at a table with Others,
pops him a good one on his arm.
JACKSON
OW! What the fuck you want?
PETRA
Money to buy a new engine for Poppi.
I'm taking some kids home.
JACKSON
Streetlights. Whatsa matter, don't
you like sunsets all night?
PETRA
Streetlights? Sunsets? I'm talking
kids lives.
JACKSON
Sorry. No can do.
One of Jackson's table mates pops him on his other arm.
TABLE MATE
C'mon you cheap son-of-a-bitch give
the kids some money. You got a
discretionary fund.
EXT. ALLEY - POPPI - NIGHT
Rain drizzles as usual.
IN THE STREETLIGHT
KIDS, all of the above included - and others, carry paper sacks,
and tattered hand luggage onto a newly repainted yellow Poppi.
Some hang out its windows and throw paper wads and fruit at
those boarding.
A handmade banner taped in place on the front of Poppi reads
"GOING HOME" - punctuated by a crudely drawn Santa and sleigh.
From Petra's digital player, a song like The Beatles THE TWO
OF US with lyrics suggesting a happy road trip covers the
scene with the message that the kids will soon be off on a
trip "All the way back home."

19. 18.
GAS TANK AND OPEN EXTERIOR LUGGAGE COMPARTMENT DOOR
Simon pours a huge can of gas into the tank. Petra saunters
up, carrying her bag of tools and a battered knapsack.
SIMON
This should hold us until we get to
a station. Judy has the money the
kids kicked in.
PETRA
How much?
SIMON
Barely enough.
Petra swings hers belongings into the exterior luggage
compartment, slams the door shut.
INT. POPPI - DRIVERS SEAT - NIGHT
Petra, in a lap belt, pulls back on the parking brake. Poppi
lurches forward.
EXT. GAS STATION – NIGHT
Poppi's parked at a gas pump.
Poppi's doors open. Simon clambers out.
SIMON
We got enough to fill it up here.
INSIDE POPPI
Petra nods acceptance.
OUTSIDE
Simon walks through the drizzle toward the station's
convenience store adorned with a bright Christmas star.
INSIDE
Petra's voice calls out:
PETRA
Last chance to pee.
DISSOLVE TO:

20. 19.
MOMENTS LATER
Kids re-board Poppi, carrying snacks, cans of soda, bottles
of water, sandwiches, pudding cups.
Simon, last to board, hands Petra a cup of steaming coffee.
DRIVERS SEAT
Petra folds up the map lying on the dash, hands it off to
Jude sitting behind her.
PETRA
Jude. Take the map. I got it.
Petra reaches in her jacket pocket for the letter she wrote
earlier.
She opens, stares at it - a single handwritten page - then
abruptly tears it up, stuffs the pieces back into her pocket.
Buckles up.
EXT. POPPI – NIGHT
Petra steers Poppi around some road barriers that seal off
the entrance to a freeway. A sign post reads: "WARNING!
ENTRY IS FORBIDDEN."
INT. POPPI - NIGHT
Petra pushes a button on her digital player, a song like
James Taylor's SWEET BABY JAMES with lyrics suggesting a
road trip full of hope, drifts out, down the aisle, over the
heads of the young riders.
Jude plays HERE COME THE ZOMBIES on a Gameboy.
BigJim pushes Jude out of his seat, sits down.
JUDE
That's my seat.
BIGJIM
Sorry bro. Want to talk to the driver.
THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD
Petra steers Poppi onto a dark abandoned freeway; the
freeway's lights have long since blown out or been stoned to
death. They talk while Petra drives.
BIGJIM
Damn it's dark.

21. 20.
BIGJIM
How can you see anything? Ya think
there's lights up ahead?
PETRA
Don't know.
BIGJIM
I'm goin' to say "No." It's so fuckin'
wet out there couldn't see anything
anyway. I'm tired of being wet all
the time. Woke up this morning and
had to wring the water out of my socks
before I could wear 'em. My feet are
rotting away. Look at my blisters.
PETRA
Keep 'em. We all got 'em.
BIGJIM
Ever since I came here I get up in
the morning, wring out my socks, and
take a good long look in the mirror
that always ends with: "What the
fuck am I doing here?" You ever
have times like that?
PETRA
Everybody has.
BIGJIM
Fuck, I've done time that was better
than this. Federal too, stole a big
expensive car and took this little
12-year-old tribal girl across some
state lines. What a cutie! The
Feds came down hard and I did time
in the Texas "JayJay." Juvenile
Justice. Three-year stretch. Came
here to start over. Shit, that felt
like a camping trip compared to this.
You have a guy back home?
After a moment, Petra replies grudgingly.
PETRA
No.
(beat)
No one I want to talk about.
BIGJIM
I got me a few cuties. One of 'em
got knocked up. Said it was me.
Been hitting me up for money for
over a year.

22. 21.
BIGJIM
I told her "we both fucked." I'd
split it with her. She don't have
to go Dutch, pay for him out-of-
pocket. I'm no punk. I want to go
back to Texas, see my son.
From his wallet, he shows Petra a photo of a young boy.
BIGJIM
You got kids?
Petra takes her eyes off the road, stares at him for a moment.
PETRA
No.
BigJim recognizes he's hit a sore spot with Petra, puts the
wallet back in his pocket, changes the subject.
BIGJIM
So you blast those ugly son-of-a-
bitches, huh? I hear those fuckers
are evil bloodsuckers. Ever shoot
anything else? Animals? People?
Petra's had enough.
PETRA
Listen, I got to concentrate on my
driving. You can keep talking but I
need to shut up for a while.
BigJim just sits. Not sure if he should be offended or not.
Other Kids fiddle with cheap electronics, page through comic
books, chatter to each other. Judy, others, doze.
BigJim slinks off to another seat, leaves this one empty.
Jude finds another one too.
SUDDENLY
An enormous
BANG!
OUTSIDE
Poppi bottoms out on a huge unseen pothole.
METAL ON METAL SCRAPING
screams from underneath.

23. 22.
INSIDE
Everything bounces - everybody goes quiet. Then a tremendous
CLAP OF THUNDER.
Lightning strikes near Poppi, the night glows like day for
an instant.
Some of the kids whimper. The younger ones cry. Simon tries
to calm everybody down.
SIMON
It's all right. Going to be all
right. Petra will get us through
the rain and the night. You'll be
home soon.
OUTSIDE
The wind picks up, HOWLS, drives the rain with added fury,
buffets Poppi from side to side.
INSIDE
In spite of Petra's repairs the old bus RATTLES like it's
coming apart. Petra fights the steering wheel. Everybody
on board freezes, holds their breath.
BIGJIM
Hey, put your stuff away. If we
crash, it'll be sharp shit flying
through here, probably kill more of
you than the crash itself.
A chorus of crying and angry voices erupts aimed at BigJim.
Many voices, shared fear and outrage.
SIMON
Why are you saying
that, asshole?
ANDY
You fucking idiot, you're
scaring everybody. Shut
the fuck up.
TOM
Shut up. You want to
see it happen?
PHILLYBETH
Stop talking. Don't say
it.
BIGJIM
I saw this plane crash in a movie.
People were eating dinner. Suddenly
knives and forks were flying through
the air. Speared people like arrows.
One guy's head was almost cut off by
a plate.

24. 23.
ANDY
Don't need to hear this. SHUT UP!
Or, I'm gonna kick the living shit
outta you.
BIGJIM
All I'm saying is--
JUDY
(coughs)
Stop it. Stop saying
anything.
(She continues to
cough in emotional
moments from
this point on.)
PETRA
Not a goddamn thing!
BigJim shrugs, shakes his head.
BIGJIM
Just tryin' to help
The wind subsides. The rain slows down.
The BUZZ of the kids' talk returns. Some ask BigJim
questions. A couple of AD LIB threats fly through the air.
THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD
SNOW!
INSIDE
The Others are back to their games, comic books. Andy starts
"Jingle Bells." The Others stop what they're doing to sing
along - cautiously at first, then rousing.
ANDY
(Singing)
Dashing through the snow...
(etc)
As they sing, their faces reflect the hope and terror of the
moment.
Judy slides into Jude's old seat behind Petra.
Petra maintains her calm, joins in, reaches back, touches
Judy reassuringly on her good shoulder. Judy's wounded arm
has noticeably withered.
Gradually, Petra's head bobs, her chin drops to her chest
then snaps back up.
THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD

25. 24.
In the headlights: Poppi turns onto a connecting ramp leading
up an elevated roadway.
A flash of lightning reveals the roadway ahead clings to the
side of a mountain.
FADE TO BLACK:
INT. BEDROOM – DAY (DREAM)
Morning. Unearthly sunlight sets white sheets on fire. A
face, blinks, just awake. It's the Man from the photo in
Petra's room.
Petra, dressed as she is onboard Poppi, lies on the bed across
from him. She smiles, touches the Man's clean hand with her
filthy greasy paw.
He smiles back, takes Petra's hand, kisses it lightly.
The Man's smile never changes but his eyes turn orange as he
draws his head slowly back and SUDDENLY SLAMS IT FORWARD--
HIS SKULL SMASHING INTO PETRA'S FACE--blood bursts from
Petra's nose, eyes, cheeks. A HOWL escapes her as--
SMASH BACK TO:
INT. POPPI - NIGHT
BAM!
Petra's bloody face bounces off the steering wheel.
EXT. ELEVATED ROADWAY - NIGHT
Poppi CRASHES through a dilapidated guard rail, plunges off
the shoulder, down the mountainside.
INT. POPPI – NIGHT
Slowly, the bus rolls over and over - finally upside down.
Children, their belongings, snacks, all fly through the air.
The Kids SHOUT and SCREAM.
DRIVER'S SEAT
Petra's body flops like a rag doll but is held in place by
her lap belt -- everything lurches out of sight.
OUTSIDE

26. 25.
Upside down, the bus nosedives backwards, faster, steeper.
INSIDE
Kids/debris fly rear to front, collide with Petra and the
windshield -- bags/bottles/pudding cups/books/gameboys/cell
phones slam into the kids pinned to the windshield.
OUTSIDE
Poppi tumbles end over end.
INSIDE
SCREAMING KIDS and debris fly back and forth. A CRUSHING
SOUND, like the end of the world, pops out.
Everything/everyone spins like in a rotating drum. The bolts
on the seats don't hold, shear. Bleeding limbs slide in and
out of busted windows.
The spin stops suddenly. Heads CRACK walls.
OUTSIDE
BANG!
A hard impact -- at the bottom, Poppi hits the surface of a
lower roadway upside down, slides backward, sparks fly from
the ground underneath. The roof peels back like an open can
of sardines. Poppi's body splits open.
INSIDE
Moonlight fills the torn interior.
A truckload of debris and bodies shoot forward. The bloody
head of a child rolls by like a soccer ball.
Poppi stops with a tremendous lurch. Debris and bodies fly
to the rear, collide with the safety door forcing it open.
OUTSIDE
They spill out the door onto the empty concrete roadway.
SILENCE!
INSIDE
Fire erupts in the engine, up front.
Petra, upside down, releases her lapbelt, falls to the
pavement. Cuts her face on broken glass.

27. 26.
She jumps up, swipes at the blood on her forehead and nose,
picks her way back through the flames, pulls and pushes kids,
or what's left of them, through the split in the frame and,
finally, through the open emergency door.
EXT. OUTSIDE THE WRECKAGE - NIGHT
A bright moon peeks between clouds, shines down through the
diminishing rain and snow onto the debris, bodies. The breath
of all those still living hangs like cold smoke in the air.
Petra collapses on the concrete next to the bodies. Flickers
from the fire inside Poppi cast shadows on her wet face.
PETRA
(weeping)
My kids...Poppi...
BigJim, shirt shredded, sits beside her freezing, bleeding,
broken. Blood drips down his feather onto his face. His
voice brings Petra back to the moment.
BIGJIM
(blubbering, pissed)
Where's my fucking jacket...it's
here somewhere..I can't find it.
Petra wipes her eyes, nose with her sleeve, sits up, pulls
off her jacket.
PETRA
Put this on--
BIGJIM
My arm is fucked, my hand...
Petra slips her jacket around BigJim who winces. The jacket
covers non-lethal gashes, wounds, burns.
She embraces him for a moment. Takes his bloody hand in
both of hers.
Gently zips up the jacket.
PETRA
Can you get up? Help me up?
BIGJIM
I don't...just just give me a fuckin'
minute...I'm going to just...sit
here...a second...catch my breath...
(a wave of pain washes
over him, he winces)
Goddamnit...

28. 27.
Slowly, BigJim rises, extends his good hand, helps Petra up
into his arms.
Petra surveys the debris, bodies.
PETRA
A lot of kids are dead. I need you
to help me find the ones who aren't.
They stumble around. Together they poke bodies of kids we've
met before. They find Judy curled in a fetal position,
huffing hard, wheezing wildly.
JUDY
What just...hap...hap...happened?
PETRA
Pay attention now. The bus crashed.
JUDY
It couldn't have...I was sleeping.
PETRA
Probably saved your life.
She helps her up, hugs her.
PETRA
(whispers)
Thank God.
For a long moment, Judy clings to Petra in shock; then
snapping out of it, she glares at BigJim.
JUDY
You happy, fuckhead? You had to say
something. Fucked us all up.
BIGJIM
I didn't do shit. Did I crash Poppi?
Petra pushes the three of them over to Johnny, lying face
up, breathing heavy, scared speechless.
JOHNNY
(screams)
JIMMMEEEE!
(crying, to Petra)
Where's my brother? Is he okay?
Petra glances to the burned and mangled body of his twin
lying close by.
PETRA
I'm sorry. He didn't make it.

29. 28.
While Johnny sobs, Petra and BigJim gather up Jimmy's remains,
carry him out of Johnny's sight to the other side of the
debris pile.
Petra pries a piece of paper written in childish scrawl from
Jimmy's hand. Almost reduced to ash, it contains an address,
phone number, of somewhere in Biloxi, Mississippi.
BIGJIM
It's their home.
On the far side of the pile, Jude turns over, crawls clutching
his map, broken glasses hanging off his face.
JUDE
(whispers)
I saved it.
Andy moans from the pile. Her face, head, burned, bruised,
bleeding.
ANDY
(whispers)
It hurts a lot.
Petra props her up, leans Andy against her body.
PETRA
(whispers back)
It'll be all right.
ANDY
She bites her lip, smiles, hugs Petra.
Simon stirs from the middle of the pile.
SIMON
Does this mean we can't go home.
BIGJIM
Go home? Most of the kids on the
bus have already gone home.
PETRA
As long as I'm alive, we're going
home.
Petra, BigJim dig through the pile searching for more
survivors.
BigJim uncovers Phillybeth's face. Petra, her arms and legs.
Together, they lift a heavy piece of the bus off Phillybeth's
body. In response, blood gushes out of her midsection, under
her extra clothes. The pressure of the wreckage, now removed,
had plugged its flow.

30. 29.
Phillybeth touches her midriff, lifts her hand, covered in
blood, to her face. Horrified, she stares at Petra.
PHILLYBETH
(whispers)
Do something, anything. I'm losing
too much. This is wrong. I'm all
numb in the middle.
Petra surveys her massive blood loss.
PETRA
(gently)
Listen. I have to tell you this.
You're dying...okay? That's what's
happening to you.
Andy kneels down beside her, lays her hand on Phillybeth's
bleeding.
Phillybeth, wide-eyed, looks at Andy, then Petra -- terror
covers her face then fades away -- like a fist, clenching
and unclenching.
PHILLYBETH
I don't want to die.
PETRA
Look at me...look at me, Phillybeth.
Phillybeth, gasps -- eyes close -- open -- gasps -- trembles --
head shakes -- blood drains -- grows quiet.
Petra won't let go with her eyes.
PETRA
It's okay. It's okay. It'll slide
over you...it'll feel warm...let it
move over you. It's okay. Let your
thoughts go...all the good things.
All the good things.
She nods slowly, transported to a future only she can see.
Tears flow...silence falls. Then, her small voice...
PHILLYBETH
(to Petra)
Please don't let me disappear.
ANDY
Help her.
PETRA
I can't.

31. 30.
It's as if a light inside Petra clicks on. She moves closer
to Philly's face, wipes Phillybeth's tears.
PETRA
(whispers)
Who do you love?
At death's door, she finds focus.
PHILLYBETH
My Mom...but she's...
PETRA
(smiles sincerely,
nods)
...let her take you to her...
(touches her forehead)
...let her take you...
The blood flow slows, becomes a dribble. She opens her eyes,
stares at Petra, closes them, opens them wide, stares into
space. Clear as a bell
PHILLYBETH
...wait for me...
She goes still, eyes close for the last time. She breathes
out a final breath - a tiny cloud that dissolves in the air.
Andy pulls her hand away like she's touched a hot stove.
ANDY
(in horrified wonder
and sadness)
I felt her go...
BIGJIM
...she won't be cold anymore.
Simon joins the dig. Finds Tom's scorched baseball glove,
lying on top of him. Petra slips it off Tom's hand.
Bart, Matt, both crumpled, broken, lie under Tom.
SIMON
Bart's hard days are over.
Andy takes Matt's limp hand, holds it for a moment.
MATCH CUT TO:

32. 31.
INT. FUNERAL HOME - DAY (ANDY'S FLASHBACK)
A YOUNGER ANDY dressed in black and carrying two flower-
wreathes walks slowly up to twin closed caskets, one normal
size, one smaller.
She places the wreath labeled "Beloved Mother" on top of the
larger one, and the one labeled "Beloved Brother" on top of
the smaller ones.
She sinks down on a prayer kneeler.
A FAT MAN with a beard also dressed in black leers at her
from behind.
END ANDY'S FLASHBACK
She looks up to Petra, still holding Matt's hand.
Petra looks around. The pile is motionless, dead.
PETRA
(to BigJim, Simon)
We should collect everybody's home
address, phone numbers.
BIGJIM
Who's going to call them?
PETRA
I will.
BigJim pulls a slip from Bart's pocket, gives it to Petra.
Petra picks out Matt's. Looks at it.
PETRA
I didn't know his last name was
Tacksman.
They examine several more bodies, collecting slips from each.
BigJim finds some money on several bodies - pockets it.
BIGJIM
They won't be needing this.
Petra grabs his hand full of bills.
PETRA
Give me that. We can all use it.
BIGJIM
Okay, okay. Take these too.
He hands over the slips he's found.

33. 32.
Petra adds them to hers, stuffs the handful into her pocket.
The fire dies down, out. The bus cools. The remaining rain
stops. The moon is the only light.
Several times, Petra kicks at the door of the exterior luggage
compartment. With more anger each time. Reluctantly, it
springs open.
She removes her bag of tools, knapsack. She pulls her
shotgun, ammo, hunting knife, out of her bag. Slings the
bags over her shoulder. Sticks the knife into her belt.
She peeks at her photo.
PETRA
Is this everybody?
SIMON
I count seven, includes you and me.
PETRA
We've got to do something now or
we're fucked. We'll freeze.
Everyone, spooked and in shock, stares at her.
She ignores their apathy. As she talks, she strips a flannel
shirt and a too-small jacket off one of the bodies, squeezes
into them.
PETRA
To make it through the night, we
need warm clothing and need to build
a fire...We need sweatshirts, jackets,
coats...And we need whatever's left
that'll burn. Seats, luggage... We
smashed up a lot of trees coming
down the hill...We need to get the
branches, leaves, debris...
BIGJIM
(fishing in his pants
pocket)
I got a lighter.
PETRA
Search the piles for water, cell
phones, food...bags, knapsacks,
something to carry it in. Andy?
Andy pulls out her cell phone. Checks it.
ANDY
No signal.

34. 33.
BigJim checks his cell phone, shakes his head.
BIGJIM
Now what?
PETRA
When the sun comes up, we figure out
which way is home.
BIGJIM
That's bullshit. We oughta go back
to the Jungle.
Petra examines Jude's map, shakes her head.
PETRA
We're almost half-way. Got to go on.
Andy leads Johnny, Judy, Jude, to pick through the debris
again, building growing piles of clothing, combustibles,
edible necessities, and carry-alongs.
EXT. WRECK TRAIL - NIGHT
Petra, Big Jim, Simon head up the hillside, gather loose
wood in their arms.
Petra, arms full, heads down the hill, back toward the burned
out bus.
She stops, listens.
EXT. OUTSIDE THE WRECKAGE - NIGHT
She peers through the split in Poppi's frame -- past it to
the other side -- sees a dark CLUMP, can't make out if it's
a bag or a body - but IT'S MOVING.
Petra takes a step.
The Clump moves again -- like someone trying to get up -- it
shudders -- shakes -- convulses.
Petra yells at the Clump.
PETRA
HEY! I see you. I'm coming.
The Clump twitches, shudders. The Clump is a back, shoulders,
then a front, it SHRIEKS.
In a flare up of orange flames, it resolves into an orange-
eyed Beast Man, holding up Tom's body, drinking blood.

35. 34.
Petra drops her wood, sprints toward the Beast Man.
PETRA
GET OFF HIM YOU MOTHERFUCKER!
The Beast Man lowers Tom's body, his head comes around to
face Petra, but it doesn't move, just watches Petra charge.
PETRA
GET THE FUCK OFF HIM!
The Beast Man stares, doesn't turn to flee, doesn't flicker,
licks Tom's blood off his lips.
Gradually his skin turns smooth -- having just fed on young,
rejuvenating blood.
His facial features morph into Tom's. His body stays the
same.
Petra stops dead at the bus.
She draws, steadies her shotgun against the side of the split
in the frame.
A SHRIEK above Petra.
The dark mist and another Beast Man slips through a slice of
air.
It swoops down on her her, grabs the shotgun, flips it away,
shoves her hard, face-first into smothering suffocating mud.
Fighting blackout she swallows black goo, CHOKES, HEAVES.
In a blur, the Beast Man bites, scratches Petra all over.
Its claws shred her too small jacket sending pieces of cloth
and insulation flying as she twists onto her back.
She pushes him off, draws her knife.
BigJim, Simon are right there, swinging thick tree branches,
bashing the two Beast Men, yelling, driving each away.
BIGJIM
Back you Fucker! Back!
SIMON
Get away from her, asshole!
The Beast Men retreat into the woods.

36. 35.
EXT. WOODS - CAMPFIRE – NIGHT
Seats from Poppi, luggage, branches all burn in a crude
campfire.
Seated around the fire, BigJim, Simon dab at the blood in
Petra's wounds -- on her back, hands, legs.
Petra rests her head in BigJim's lap.
BigJim runs his hands gently through her hair.
She looks up at him, smiles.
Muffled Beast-Man SHRIEKS echo from the woods.
Jude's face twists in terror.
MATCH CUT TO:
EXT. GOVERNMENT HOUSING PROJECT BUILDING - EVENING (JUDE'S
FLASHBACK)
The face of a HISPANIC WOMAN SCREAMING unintelligibly.
A DRUNKEN HISPANIC MAN beats on her back with both fists.
Jude stand at her side trying to block the man's blows with
his hands.
END JUDE'S FLASHBACK
Jude SCREAM'S then cuts off the sound in his throat.
Littler Kids WHINE, CRY.
Andy passes out pudding cups from a carton at the top of the
pile of food.
As they dig in, the Little Kids grow silent, comforted by
the food.
PETRA
We can't stay here. We've got to
find our way.
Another SHRIEK from the woods.
The kids fall asleep, Petra kicks the fire in anger. Embers,
ashes fly though the air.
PETRA
(shaking)
DAMN IT!

37. 36.
PETRA (V.O.)
I can't do it.
She looks up to an orange glow on the horizon.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. AROUND THE CAMPFIRE – LATER
At the last flickers of the fire, Judy tosses, turns, dreams.
Petra stares at the glow in the sky.
EXT. AROUND THE CAMPFIRE – DAY (JUDY'S DREAM)
Judy wakes. She notices short coarse hair sprouting from
her arm wound, her hands withered.
She SCREAMS, picks at the hair, pulling bloody clumps from
her skin.
END JUDY'S DREAM
Petra watches Judy toss, turn in her sleep. She hears a
muffled scream catch in Judy's throat. She shakes her.
PETRA
Are you okay?
Judy hugs Petra.
JUDY
(whispers)
I don't wanna be like them. I wanna
go home.
Over Petra's shoulder, she gazes east - to the glow.
EXT. AROUND THE REMAINS OF THE CAMPFIRE – DAY
Jude, BigJim, Petra study the map.
PETRA
The map says go due east. Last night
it was the glow. Today, we follow
the rising sun.
The kids struggle to carry stuff.
PETRA
(to BigJim)
Help them will ya?

38. 37.
BIGJIM
I ain't carrying their stuff.
PETRA
It's OUR stuff.
She takes stuff from Judy and a couple of struggling kids.
EXT. LOWER ROADWAY - DAY
They trudge on through roadway mist, wearing knapsacks,
carrying bags stuffed with food and drinkable liquids, guided
by the blush of the rising sun.
Petra brings up the rear, watching the kids.
Some wander off toward the thick woods flanking the road on
both sides.
Petra whistles, waves them back on the road.
Over all of them, Petra's digital player, plays a song like
The Beatles THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD with lyrics suggesting
a weary difficult journey ahead.
EXT. LOWER ROADWAY - NIGHT
The next night they continue their trudge following the glow
in the sky.
In the clear night, the low is brighter, resembling a pillar
of fire lined up at one end of the magnificent Milky Way
overhead.
IN THE WOODS
Orbs, and fully resolved The Beast Men, follow them at a
distance, swooping up and down from clouds of mist through
slices of air,
Darting among trees,
Bushes,
Boulders - only the sound of breaking branches and the glint
of glowing eyes alert Petra to the danger.
She looks around, helplessly.
Her fingers tighten around her shotgun.
The others don't seem to notice the forms, but

39. 38.
They jump away from the sides of the road every now and then
when they catch peripheral sight of the beastly eyes.
JUDE
(voice shaking)
Are those owls?
PETRA
(comforting)
Yeah, they're owls.
BIGJIM
How come they don't say "Who?"
PETRA
They do. We just can't hear them.
OFF RAMP
The roadway ends here.
EXT. MAIN STREET OF AN ABANDONED CITY - NIGHT
They follow it, peering down alleys and other streets
branching off at angles.
The pillar of fire rises above a central cluster of buildings.
On either side a block or more away, orbs and dark shadows
with eye-sheen SWOOP up,
Down,
Sideways,
Dart in and out of windows,
Doors, and
Alleys between buildings.
FOOTSTEPS.
They recede into SILENCE.
Petra peers down a side street, sees the pillar of fire
reigning high over a dilapidated cross, illuminating an
abandoned complex of decaying buildings in high alien
architecture.
She discerns government and university buildings,
A library,

40. 39.
Museum,
Shopping center - all scorched as if once engulfed by a
tremendous conflagration. Now, overgrown with trees, weeds,
and covered with a layer of fine gray volcanic ash.
PETRA
All of this abandoned after the war.
ANDY
It's like Christmas.
SIMON
Today's Hanukkah.
(to Petra)
I brought my dreidel.
Holds it up for Petra to see.
PETRA
Keep it in your pocket.
Simon's face drops,
Glances at the dreidel in his hand.
MATCH CUT TO:
INT. SCHOOL CLASSROOM - DAY (SIMON'S FLASHBACK)
The dreidel in a YOUNGER SIMON'S hand.
A crowd of older CLASSMATES hover around him.
CLASSMATE NUMBER 1
Dirty heathen!
CLASSMATE NUMBER 2
Guess your future now, Jew!
Classmate Number 2 smacks the Younger Simon's hand,
Knocks the dreidel onto the floor.
END SIMON'S FLASHBACK
EXT. ABANDONED COMPLEX OF DECAYING BUILDINGS - NIGHT
Petra pushes the Kids to take cover behind chunks of a massive
forsaken church at the base of the cross.

41. 40.
PETRA
(placing a finger on
her lips)
Shhhh!
Above them, Dark Forms with glowing eyes swoop in and out of
an empty frame which used to hold a stained glass "rose"
window whose shards lay strewn on the ground.
They swoop up into the Pillar of Fire,
Disappearing and appearing through a crack in the fire, as
if they are angels disappearing and appearing into a crack
in the firmament between heaven and earth.
Johnny bends down toward a ruby-colored piece of glass from
the window, he comes up with a tarnished crucifix.
Andy spies a broken string of Rosary beads lying among the
glass.
Quizzically, both look to Petra who takes the items and shoves
them into her bag.
PETRA
(whispers)
For good luck.
Beyond the complex, Petra points out unearthly deserted
apartment buildings and run-down factories.
PETRA
(whispers to the Kids)
People lived and worked there once.
It grows light again - on a new day.
EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING - ENTRANCE - DAY
Petra ushers the group into the lobby.
PETRA
We'll be safe in here. Maybe find
something we can use.
Across the street, Dark Forms rest in the shadows of the
ruins of the church.