Alien Nation Page #21

EXT. JETTY - NIGHT

Harcourt can't reach the boat from the same jetty Sykes

did, so he jumps on a platform beside this jetty, then

onto a second jetty. And from here, he vaults across the

seawater onto the boat.

EXT. FISHING BOAT - NIGHT

Sykes sees the phantom figure land on the boat near the

cabin. The fishing boat chugs up the channel toward the

open sea.

EXT. DOCKS - NIGHT

Jetson sees this and is shitting bricks. Suddenly the

stark BEAM of a police helicopter sun-gun stabs down from

above. Jetson looks up to see the chopper coming in low,

the sun-gun washing over the docks.

INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT

The sun-gun hits Jetson standing on the dock, frantically

waving his badge at the 'copter, signaling it down. The

Pilot starts to take it down.

EXT. FISHING BOAT - NIGHT

Sykes is on all fours, clawing his way up the fishing net

toward the back of the boat. Harcourt gets one hand on

his leg. Sykes jerks his leg away, and Harcourt's claws

dig deep through Sykes' pants into his legs as he pulls

away. Sykes BELLOWS in pain.

INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT

Jetson is barely in the seat as it lifts away from the

dock. He has to catch himself from falling out the open

door. Below, uniformed cops are now seen rushing out onto

the dock.

JETSON:

On that boat -- out there!

Jetson indicates the fishing boat headed toward the mouth

of the channel. The helicopter tilts forward and goes.

EXT. FISHING BOAT - NIGHT

Sykes manages to pull himself up into the dinghy hanging

over the stern of the fishing boat. He pushes to the back

of the dinghy as Harcourt's savage visage appears at the

bow. Harcourt grins -- the predator with his prey

trapped.

INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT

Jetson's face is bathed in sweat as he looks out at the

channel water racing past beneath. They come up on the

boat and the Pilot plays the sun-gun onto the deck,

looking for movement, finally pinning Sykes and Harcourt

at the stern dinghy.

EXT. BRIDGE OF FISHING BOAT - NIGHT

The Captain reacts to the helicopter overhead, looks back

at what the sun-gun spotlights. He sees Harcourt standing

at the bow of the dinghy, starting to clamber in.

CAPTAIN:

Hey!

EXT. FISHING BOAT - NIGHT

Harcourt turns, sees the Captain on the bridge above him.

He reaches for a wood-handled gaff nearby. He rears back

with it and lets it fly like a spear.

EXT. BRIDGE OF FISHING BOAT - NIGHT

The gaff impales the Captain, off-center in his chest.

The Captain, his face frozen in shock, is thrown back

against the throttle. The boat lunges forward as the

engines REV loudly.

EXT. FISHING BOAT - NIGHT

Harcourt is thrown into the dinghy with Sykes. As

Harcourt recovers, Sykes spots the release for the tie

line on the dinghy. He lunges forward, throwing the

ratchet. The line plays out, and the dinghy slides

backward into water!

INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT

Jetson watches this happen.

EXT. DINGHY - NIGHT

The dinghy bangs along (at the end of the ten foot tie

line) in the wake of the speeding fishing boat.

Harcourt claws his way toward Sykes. Water is already

splashing in over the stern transom... the dinghy is

sinking. Harcourt grabs Sykes' leg and pulls him toward

him. Sykes holds on to the stern cleats with all his

might. Harcourt yanks him free. Sykes kicks wildly at

the ratchet release, trying to free the remainder of the

line. Harcourt is coming in for the kill when--

-- Sykes' foot connects with the ratchet lever. The rest

of the tie line snakes through the ratchet, freeing the

dinghy from the fishing boat!

The dinghy is rocking wildly, sinking fast. A wave from

the fishing boat's wake splashes in over the side. Some

of it hits Harcourt -- he HOWLS and falls away. Sykes

sees this, tries to clamber over the side, but Harcourt is

on him again. Sykes' body weight at the side of the

dinghy coupled with the rocking motion cause more water to

wash in over the transom.

INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT

Jetson reacts to Sykes and Harcourt battling in the dinghy

below.

EXT. DINGHY - NIGHT

Harcourt, who is getting more and more wet, HOWLS in

agony, thick blood beginning to bead wherever the water

touches. Sykes is taking one hell of a beating. Harcourt

sweeps Sykes up in a bear hug, is about to crush his rib

cage, when Sykes shifts his body weight, knocking Harcourt

off balance. Harcourt wobbles, fear on his face for the

first time -- then he finally loses it, and the two of

them tumble overboard into the water, capsizing the

dinghy.

EXT. WATER - NIGHT

Sykes breaks the surface, gasping for air, frantically

clawing with his one good arm at the wedge of dinghy still

above the water. Suddenly, behind him, Harcourt's

partially melted form erupts from the water, lunges on top

of Sykes, and drags him under.

INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT

Jetson hangs in the open door, watching in horror, wanting

to help, knowing he can't.

EXT. WATER - NIGHT

Sykes breaks the surface, Harcourt's misshapen lump of a

body unmoving but still on top of him. Sykes shoves it

away, struggling to stay afloat. His head keeps dunking

under. He's drowning.

INT. HELICOPTER - NIGHT

Jetson screws up his courage and turns to the Pilot.

JETSON:

Take it down! Take it down!

EXT. WATER AND HELICOPTER - NIGHT

The helicopter moves down toward the turbulent water.

Jetson hangs in the doorway, watching Sykes' head dunking

under again. The helicopter's skids are three feet above

the water.

JETSON:

(to Pilot)

ALL THE WAY!

PILOT:

I CAN'T IT'LL DITCH!

Sykes' outreached hand stretches up from the water, but

the skid is just too high. Jetson has no alternative, and

he does the bravest thing he has ever done. He moves out

onto the narrow helicopter skid. Hanging on, three feet

above the water, he reaches down for Sykes' up reaching

hand.

The fingertips of the two hands waver mere inches from

each other... Jetson stretches farther, farther... and the

two hands meet! Jetson winces from the pain of the

seawater on Sykes' hand. He starts pulling Sykes up.

When--

HARCOURT'S HEAD BREAKS THE SURFACE A FOOT FROM SYKES'

FACE. His eye sockets are empty and his skin is mostly

gone. The nearly skeletal body heaves blindly onto Sykes,

breaking his grip from Jetson's, and dragging him under

again.

Jetson is frantic. He keeps waiting -- but this time

Sykes doesn't come up. Jetson doesn't know what to do.

Finally -- he leans down as far as he can, his face a foot

from the water, SCREAMS to block the pain, and plunges his

own arm below the surface! He feels around, gets hold of

something, and pulls. It is Sykes' wrist. He pulls hard,

bringing the sputtering Sykes up out of the water.

JETSON:

(to Pilot)

Take it up!

The Pilot does. Sykes comes up out of the water. His

feet are just clear of the surface when -- Harcourt's hand

and arm rocket out of the water, grabbing Sykes' ankle.

Sykes looks down in horror. The helicopter keeps moving

up, and before Harcourt's body breaks the surface, the arm

tears away from the torso at the shoulder. Sykes wildly

shakes the clinging severed arm from his ankle, and it

falls back into the water below.

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