Arctic Blue Page #9

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72 INT. SCOUT

Eric stops the vehicle. He grabs a five-gallon gas can and

a piece of cloth from the back.

73 EXT. HAUL ROAD & FELDSPAR CREEK

The prefab bridge is the transportable type used by the Army

Corps of Engineers, left over from the building of the

pipeline. Eric stuffs the gas can between the abutment and

the honeycombed underside of the bridge. He puts the rag

inside the spout of the can, lights it with a match and runs

like hell back to the Scout.

74 EXT. HAUL ROAD

The trappers realize their quarry is missing. Viking Bob

slams on the brakes and looks around.

75 INT. SCOUT - (MOVING SHOT)

Eric speeds away.

CORBETT:

They'll still catch us. All

you're doing is pissing them off.

76 EXT. HAUL ROAD & FELDSPAR CREEK

The gasoline can EXPLODES, tearing the bridge couplings away

from the concrete abutment.

77 EXT. HAUL ROAD

The trappers see the explosion behind them. They turn

around and head toward it.

78 EXT. PUMPING STATION - HANGAR

Eric parks the Scout sideways to block the way to the

airstrip.

With the magnum at the ready, Eric cuts Corbett's handcuffs

loose from the seat and hurries him toward the hangar.

The leeward side of the structure is a huge metal door on

rollers. Eric unlocks it and rolls it back. Inside is a

Cessna 182, dusted with snow and ice blown through the

cracks by crosswinds. Eric brushes the windshield with his

sleeve.

79 EXT. HAUL ROAD & FELDSPAR CREEK

The trappers pull up and find the far side of the bridge

burning and disconnected from the creek bank.

80 INT. HANGAR - CESSNA

Eric helps Corbett into the cockpit, then secures his

handcuffs to the frame of the seat with more nylon rope.

81 EXT. HAUL ROAD & FELDSPAR CREEK

Viking Bob assesses the damage to the bridge. Loose from

the abutments, it wobbles like a diving board. Below, the

water is too deep and fast-moving to be traversable.

82 INT. HANGAR - CESSNA

Eric tries to turn the ENGINE over. The starter is sluggish

from cold and lack of use.

83 EXT. HAUL ROAD & FELDSPAR CREEK

Viking Bob looks at the others, bursting with frustration.

He climbs into the driver's seat.

VIKING BOB:

Get in. We can jump it.

They hop in. He SCREECHES backwards to get a running start,

REVS the engine, pops the clutch, and tears toward the

bridge.

As they reach the midpoint of the bridge it begins to buckle

under them. With a sickening WRENCHING, the crossbar

supports crumple.

The jeep flies through the still-burning gasoline, becomes

airborne, and SCRAPES to a rude stop on the edge of the

pavement on the other side, the back wheels dangling in

space.

LeMalle and Mitchell gingerly get out and push the ass end

of the jeep onto solid earth.

84 INT. HANGAR

Eric finally STARTS the plane and taxis out onto the landing

strip.

85 EXT. PUMPING STATION

The trappers drive up to where the Scout blocks their path.

They pile out of their jeep and run toward the landing

strip.

86 INT. CESSNA - (AERIAL SHOT)

It picks up speed and takes off.

ANGLE THROUGH WINDOW - (AERIAL SHOT)

Below, the trappers watch the plane zoom over their heads.

LeMalle points his carbine at it, but Viking Bob pushes the

rifle down.

87 INT. CESSNA - (AERIAL SHOT)

Corbett scowls as he sees the trappers helpless below him.

88 EXT. PUMPING STATION

Viking Bob watches, wide-eyed with fury. Mitchell spits.

LeMalle punches the wall. Then he turns and repeatedly

BLASTS the Scout, parked nearby, with his carbine.

89 INT. CESSNA - (AERIAL SHOT)

Eric's knapsack, an emergency kit and several five-gallon

cans of aviation fuel are tucked behind the seats.

ERIC:

How the hell were they smart

enough to find us?

CORBETT:

Smart? Sure. That's why I'm

sitting in this plane and they're

down there blowing me kisses.

Eric retracts the landing gear and banks toward the

southwest. Corbett notices that Eric seems a little unsure

of the controls.

CORBETT:

(continuing)

Been driving long?

ERIC:

I needed a pilot's license to

take the job here, so I got one

in six weeks.

CORBETT:

That makes the flight more

interesting.

Eric ignores the jibe. He stays at 2,000 feet, making the

landscape all the more immediate.

Corbett stares out the window and broods. He spots an open,

snow-covered area where some dark blotches mar the

whiteness.

CORBETT:

(continuing)

See the blood? Pack of wolves

took down a moose. Greedy,

gut-ripping sons of b*tches. I'd

kill the last wolf on earth,

right in front of the President

of the U.S. Stinking, cowardly

predator, the wolf.

(CONTINUED)

89 CONTINUED:

ERIC:

Sounds like professional

jealousy.

CORBETT:

Hunting and trapping was a damn

fine life.

(beat)

Me and Mitchell, Bob and LeMalle,

we were teams. I'd always go

with Mitchell. Good man,

Mitchell. I'd let Bob worry

about goddamn LeMalle. We'd hire

a plane in October. On the way

to a dirt airstrip somewhere,

we'd drop supplies. We'd land,

tell the pilot to come back for

us a few days before Christmas.

ANOTHER ANGLE - (AERIAL SHOT)

While talking in an even tone, Corbett intently studies the

instrument panel and scans the landscape below.

CORBETT:

The idea was to get to the

supplies before the bears did.

Along the route we'd set our

traps. Made our year's living in

three months.

Corbett spots a flat plateau farther in the mountains, above

the tree line.

CORBETT:

(continuing)

Lot of times we didn't even have

a landing strip. We'd set down

on a plateau, like that one

there. Yeah, that one's easy;

you could glide right in...

Suddenly, he turns in the seat and pins Eric against the

door with his left foot.

The plane flies erratically. With his right foot, Corbett

kicks the fuel jettison lever on the instrument panel,

jamming it on.

90 EXT. CESSNA - (AERIAL SHOT)

The lever, used to empty the fuel tanks in case of

emergency, does so with great expediency. All the gas is

instantly discharged.

91 INT. CESSNA - (AERIAL SHOT)

Corbett releases Eric and calmly sits back up in his seat.

Eric rubs his neck, incredulous. Corbett's move was too

fast and too outrageous. In a moment, the engine SPUTTERS

to a stop. Eric struggles to hold the stick steady and

glide the plane down to the plateau Corbett pointed out.

CORBETT:

Hope you got your money's worth

on those lessons.

92 EXT. CESSNA - (AERIAL SHOT)

There's an even chance of hitting a mountain instead of the

plateau. Eric pushes the Cessna's nose down. The plateau

comes up fast.

The plane drops lower and lower, pitching and yawing in the

wind.

It CRASH LANDS, its metal underbelly SCREECHING as it hits

the jagged granite under the snow. It stops suddenly,

flipping tail over nose.

93 INT. CESSNA

It rests upside down in the snow. The men are dazed.

Behind Eric, one of the extra fuel cans, now hanging upside

down, leaks gas. In front of him, the engine is ON FIRE.

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