Cast Away Page #13

CHUCK:

You're too low in the water. Too damn

low.

Chuck's shoulders begin to shake, as he is racked with deep

sobs of despair.

And then he throws his head back and lets forth, from deep

inside himself, a SCREAM of rage and anger and pain. The

Scream pierces the indifferent natural sounds of the island,

the rustling of the breeze, the lulling rhythm of the waves.

It is powerful, disturbing, primal.

The breeze picks up. Behind Chuck, the palm trees begin to

sway. The tide is reaching up toward the beach. The waves

crash louder. The palm trees sway even more.

Chuck picks up some wet sand and rubs it on his body.

CHUCK:

Dust thou art -- that's for damned sure

-- and unto dust shalt thou return.

A few DROPS OF RAIN begin to fall, splashing on Chuck and

sizzling in the fire.

Chuck looks up:
clouds have obscured the sun. The wind

blows harder. The rain falls harder, streaking the sand

Chuck had rubbed on his body. STEAM sizzles out of the fire.

Chuck looks up, disbelieving. The bottom falls out of the

heavens -- monsoon rain, more rain than you have ever seen

before. A long wave rolls up, its frothy fingers reaching

for the fire.

Forget the raft! Forget despair! The fire could go out!

This is disaster!

CHUCK:

Sh*t!

He springs into action. Chuck grabs an empty FedEx box.

With his wooden shovel he frantically SCOOPS SOME COALS out

of the fire as the rain HISSES and POUNDS at them. He slides

the coals into the FedEx box, grabs some sticks of driftwood

and sets off on a run.

EXT. WOODS - DAY

Chuck runs through the woods, slipping and stumbling. Vines

grab at him. The rain is so thick he can hardly see.

EXT. WOODS - MINUTES LATER

Chuck bursts out of the woods into the lava field. Smoke

pours out of the FedEx box. The coals are about to burn

through!

EXT. LAVA FIELD - MOMENTS LATER

Chuck stumbles up the slippery rocks, dragging the smoking

box. His face is drenched, desperate.

EXT. CAVE - DAY - MINUTES LATER

Chuck tumbles into the cave just as the coals burn through

the FedEx box.

Using the remains of the box, he desperately tries to scoot

the coals into a dry spot.

One by one, THE PRECIOUS COALS GO OUT.

Dripping water off his hands and face, he pushes a few

together with his fingers, ignoring the burns.

CHUCK:

Please...please...please...

He stomps on the driftwood and saws at it with his knife. He

places this kindling on the coals. They sputter and sizzle.

Barely catch. He fans them with the box. A tiny flicker

catches, then starts to grow.

CHUCK:

Firewood. I need firewood.

SERIES OF SHOTS:

On the beach, Chuck desperately gathers more firewood in the

driving monsoon. He can barely see. Driven by the storm,

the waves are licking at the palm grove.

He runs through the woods. Branches whip at his face. Roots

tear at his feet, tripping him.

He stumbles up the lava field. Sliding. Struggling. Barely

able to breathe, the rain is so strong.

INT. CAVE - DAY

He dumps the firewood on the floor of the cave. But where

the fire had flickered, there is only a pile of wet black

ashes.

THE FIRE IS OUT.

INT. CAVE - NIGHT

Chuck lies on the floor of the cave, shivering in the

darkness as the rain falls. His fire is out, his tooth is

killing him, he can't escape.

EXT. CAVE - NEXT DAY

Chuck emerges from the cave. The rain has stopped. This is

the absolute lowest. His face reflects his pain and despair.

He's trapped. It's hopeless. Everything he tried to build

is gone.

EXT. LEDGE - DAY

Chuck slowly walks out on the ledge. He stares down at the

waves breaking on the jagged rocks far below.

He lets go one hand. Then lets go the other. He is barely

balanced. It looks like a wisp of breeze would blow him

right off. He slides one foot to the very lip of the

precipice.

Suddenly his foot slips!

Instinctively he turns into the cliff, grabs for a hold! One

hand reaches for a nubbing of rock, slips off! The other

closes, his fingers straining to hold him.

He breathes in deep gasps. He had wanted to end it, come so

close.

CHUCK:

What the f*** are you doing?

His deepest instinct was to survive. And that is what he is

going to do.

CHUCK:

Hang on. Just hang on.

Slowly he pulls himself back from the edge.

EXT. BEACH - LATER

Chuck walks aimlessly down the beach, feeling the burden of

starting over. The beach is littered with seaweed and

flotsam, bits of rope, plastic bottles. He picks up a

plastic bottle. That will come in handy.

The Chuck sees a SOCCER BALL with "Wilson" stamped on it in

big black letters.

He picks it up, holds it, tosses it up in the air. Then he

kicks it, then kicks it again, then runs down the beach,

trying to kick it and keep it out of the water. Feeling joy

again, even here.

INT. CAVE - THAT DAY

The sun is setting on his darkened cave. The soccer ball

sits in the corner by the black cold ashes of what was once

his fire.

Chuck carves a bit of coconut meat, takes a bite and winces

as the meat hits his sore tooth. He tosses the shell on a

small new pile of shells.

Chuck shakes out the last half Tylenol tablet. He puts the

tablet in his mouth, then takes a sip out of his coconut

canteen. When the water hits his tooth that hurts too.

INT. CAVE - MORNING

Chuck mixes a mash of breadfruit and coconut. He tries to

pack the tooth with the mash, but it's so sensitive that even

this hurts. He pounds the floor of the cave in frustration.

INT. CAVE - LATER

Chuck holds a stone chisel and his hammer stone. He

positions the chisel against his inflamed tooth. But the

thought of what he is about to do is too frightening. He

lowers the chisel.

CHUCK:

Sh*t. Sh*t. Sh*t.

EXT. BEACH - DAY

Chuck tries to fill his mouth with sea water. The pain is so

great his eyes water.

CHUCK:

Whoo, pig. Sooey!

He falls back in the water and floats there, looking up at

the sky.

INT. CAVE - LATER

Determined, Chuck hold the stone chisel again. He raises it

slowly to his mouth and picks up the hammer stone.

CHUCK:

No pain, no gain.

He brings the hammer down hard on the chisel! The screen

goes BLACK as Chuck's SCREAM continues UNDER.

FADE IN:

EXT. OCEAN - SUNRISE - THREE YEARS LATER

The sky takes on the first colors of the day. The ocean is

still dark, but a few waves catch the first light. The

sunrise touches the summit, moves down the cliff, then lights

the cove. On the screen superimpose:

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