Gravity Page #4

RYAN:

I’m trying...

MATT:

Try releasing the safety clip.

Shariff makes his way back toward the airlock as-

A PIECE of the debris HITS the Hubble’s SOLAR PANELS, making a

12-inch HOLE in its golden surface.

A piece of debris passes, nearly hitting them.

SHARIFF:

Need some help there Matt?

MATT:

No, don’t wait for us. Get inside.

RYAN:

It’s stuck!

Further back, another piece of debris collides with a bigger

one. The two chunks of debris explode into a million pieces of

shrapnel, one of which-

HITS Shariff’s helmet, breaking through the glass and hitting

his head like an expansive bullet.

MATT:

Man down! Man down!

Matt PROPELS himself toward Shariff, who is floating away from

the Shuttle unconscious.

MATT (CONT’D)

(to Ryan)

Disengage!!!

AN IMPACT.

A piece of debris pierces through the right wing of the Space

Shuttle, creating a five-foot hole.

THE SPACE SHUTTLE ROLLS.

The arm, with Ryan attached to it, rolls with the Shuttle.

MATT (CONT’D)

Explorer has been hit. Explorer do you

read? Explorer, over. Explorer-

Another IMPACT.

A piece of debris HITS the robotic arm like a cannon ball and

DETACHES it from the Shuttle.

The broken piece of the arm SPINS AWAY from the Explorer at a

great speed with Ryan attached to it. She passes next to-

THE HUBBLE as a big piece of debris hits the telescope. The top

of the cylinder explodes into more debris, which is expelled in

all directions, barely missing Ryan as she spins away attached

to the arm.

ON THE ARM:

Ryan’s panic grows as she spins further into the nothingness of

space.

MATT (CONT’D)

Astronaut off structure! Dr. Stone is

off structure!

With every spin, the shuttle, being punished by debris,

diminishes into a tiny dot in the distance.

MATT (CONT’D)

(on radio)

Dr. Stone, detach!

RYAN:

Nooooo!

MATT:

(on radio)

You must detach!

RYAN:

No.

MATT:

If you don’t detach that arm is going

to carry you too far!

RYAN:

(frozen)

I can’t!

MATT:

(a brief beat, then)

Listen to my voice. You need to focus.

I’m losing visual of you. In a few

seconds I won’t be able to track you.

RYAN:

(She pulls herself together)

Ok. Ok.

MATT:

You need to detach. I can’t see you

anymore.

The robotic arm keeps on spinning and stars orbit wildly in her

field of vision.

RYAN:

I’m trying. I’m trying.

MATT:

Do it. Now!

RYAN:

Ok. I'm trying! I can't it's stuck,

Hold on.

Ryan’s hands are trembling and she can’t get a grip on the hook.

MATT:

Houston, I’ve lost visual of Dr.

Stone... Houston, I’ve lost visual of

Dr. Stone.

As Matt’s VOICE is LOST to STATIC, Ryan squeezes the hook and

is...

...gone, kicking herself AWAY from the robotic arm and FLYING

FREE of the rotating arm. She catches a brief glimpse of the arm

as it helicopters away, then loses sight of it as she rotates

end over end in endless free fall.

A PRIMAL SCREAM of God forsaken fear erupts from her lungs.

The RADIO CRACKLES and Matt’s VOICE returns.

MATT (CONT’D)

Dr. Stone! Do you copy?! Repeat! Do

you copy?

RYAN:

Yes. Yes. I copy. I’m detached!

Ryan slowly spins, drifting into the empty darkness of space.

MATT:

...Give me your position!

RYAN:

I don’t know. I don’t know! I’m

spinning. I can't. I can't.

MATT:

Report your position.

Tumbling end over end, Ryan fixes her gaze on her wrist. The

effort makes her nauseous. She looks away.

RYAN:

GPS is...down. I can't, it's down, I

can't.

MATT:

Give me a visual.

Matt’s faint voice is heard on the transmission under a lot of

static. Ryan is panicking and begins to hyperventilate. Her eyes

rake the dark sameness of her surroundings.

RYAN:

I told you! Nothing. I see nothing!

MATT:

Do you have a visual of Explorer?

RYAN:

No-

MATT:

Do you have a visual of ISS?

RYAN:

No-

As Matt’s signal grows fainter her breathing becomes more

labored.

MATT:

I need you to focus. Give me a

visual... anything.

Ryan’s eyes flutter, then roll up into her sockets...

RYAN:

It's too fast.

INSIDE THE HELMET-

Ryan swallows harshly, her throat suddenly dry.

RYAN (CONT’D)

I can’t breathe. I can’t...breathe...

She inhales and exhales with quick short breaths-

AHHHH... OHHHH

AHHHH... OHHHH

Ryan’s eyes are wide open and desperate as her breathing

accelerates.

AHH... OHH... AHH... OHH

AHH... OHH... AHH... OHH

Her limbs look fragile against the black and incalculable void.

AHH... OHH... AHH... OHH

She inhales.

AHH...

And her throat closes.

HH...

Her mouth is open, but she cannot exhale.

Not a breath.

Ryan’s choking. The lack of oxygen is making her veins pop out

and her lips turn blue.

Her eyes open wide, and-

She exhales.

OHH...

And begins breathing deeply.

AHHHHHH... OHHHHHH....

As her breathing steadies, she begins to focus, her eyes

searching the distance.

THROUGH THE HELMET-

Ryan can see her face reflected against the visor, lit by the

control panels.

She dims the light and she can see-

Her legs and arms floating against endless space as she drifts

towards the empty void, broken only by lonesome stars whose

position change as she rotates, giving way to-

THE EARTH,

Very still and very distant. Night is creeping across the sphere

as the sun sets, a sliver of light on the Western Hemisphere.

A metallic object floating over the Earth is hit by a RAY of the

sinking sun, and it gleams like a tiny star. Her eyes blink in

recognition, gleaming with alertness.

Her intellect engages and she gains a new sense of calm.

RYAN (CONT’D)

Houston, this is Dr. Ryan Stone.. I’m

drifting but I have a visual of

Explorer.

Her eyes scan the enveloping darkness, trying to get a fix on

the gleaming orb that is earth, her face alive with

concentration as she makes calculations.

RYAN (CONT’D)

With North at 12 o’clock, the Shuttle

is at the center of the dial.

She frowns as she tumbles backward again, recalculating.

The sun is slipping behind the Earth. She studies the rim of

fire until it too slides from view.

RYAN (CONT'D)

I can see the Chinese station. No, no,

no, it’s the International Space

Station.

The sun’s glow illuminates another object in the distance, a

bright spec hovering over the horizon- the INTERNATIONAL SPACE

STATION.

RYAN (CONT’D)

ISS is at 6, no, 7 o’clock.

Just then, the sun’s rays recede and the Station DIMS, becoming

one with the darkness. Ryan blinks, mildly alarmed.

INSIDE THE HELMETRYAN

(CONT’D)

Lieutenant Kowalsky, do you copy?

Silence.

RYAN (CONT’D)

Explorer, do you copy?

Silence.

Slowly, the sun recedes further behind the earth and the light

bathing Ryan’s face evaporates. As she is swallowed by the

darkness, she speaks once again:

RYAN (CONT’D)

Houston, do you copy?

THE WHOLE FACE OF THE EARTH IS IN SHADOW.

And so is Ryan. Her eyes dart. It is utterly silent. She spins

in the darkness, waiting.

RYAN (CONT'D)

Houston, this is Mission Specialist

Ryan Stone. I’m off structure and I’m

drifting.

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