Jericho Page #11

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Fire Chief all begin walking toward the sound of the bell.

132 INT. SCHOOL BUS - NIGHT 132

Hilda pounds on him. Jake opens his eyes. Shakes out the

cobwebs. Hilda keeps punching.

JAKE:

Thanks, Hilda. You can stop

hitting me now.

133 EXT. JIMMY’S HOUSE - NIGHT 133

GONG! The two Margarets leave the house with the children.

134 INT. STANLEY’S PICK-UP TRUCK - NIGHT 134

GONG! Stanley Peterson puts a comforting hand on Bonnie’s

shoulder. She begins to cry.

55.

135 EXT. RURAL ROAD - NIGHT 135

The bus inches away from the tree it struck. Jake backs up

the bus. Gets it onto the road.

136 EXT. MAYFLOWER HOTEL - NIGHT 136

GONG! Mimi Clark leaves the hotel to follow the sound.

137 EXT. GRACIE LEIGH’S SUPERMARKET - BACK ALLEY - NIGHT 137

GONG! Gracie heads toward the sound. Dale doesn’t.

GRACIE LEIGH:

Dale, honey... aren’t you coming?

DALE:

Someone has to guard your food.

GRACIE LEIGH:

This is Jericho. We don’t lock our

doors. No one’s going to steal it.

DALE:

Not everyone is as nice as you,

Mrs. Leigh. And there are animals.

It’s okay. I’ll be fine.

GRACIE LEIGH:

Thank you, Dale. You might havejust saved the town, you know?

DALE:

Anything for you, ma’am. I won’t

let anything ever happen to you.

Gracie walks away, but not before looking back to see Dale,

stomping his feet and blowing on his hands to keep warm.

Having gone from the age of 17 to 40 in the space of 5 hours.

138 EXT. CHURCH - NIGHT 138

GONG! The throngs of people descend upon the church. We see

quick reunions as Woody runs over to Jimmy’s Margaret.

WOODY:

Mom, I took care of the nice ladies!

Peter rushes to Ann, much to Mary Bailey’s dismay. And

finally, Mayor Green joins Gail with a hug.

56.

On the last GONG, the headlights and lanterns go on,

illuminating... GRAY ANDERSON. He stands in front of the

church on the top of the hill, welcoming his town.

139 INT. SCHOOL BUS - NIGHT 139

Jake looks at the odometer. The gas gauge is hovering on

empty. He turns to Heather, who fights to stay awake.

JAKE:

Don’t you quit on me.

Heather nods, weakly. Jake turns back to the road, looks to

his left, and his eyes open WIDE.

140 EXT. RURAL ROAD - NIGHT 140

The school bus passes the PRISON BUS and keeps moving down

the road. The image follows it, then moves to the other side

of the prison bus. The Sheriff and all of his men are dead

on the ground. Their uniforms stripped off. Their car gone.

The image moves to the Sheriff’s hand where his radio starts

making a crackling sound.

JIMMY (V.O.)

Sheriff? Sheriff? It's Jimmy. Is

that your car behind us? Why

aren’t you with the kids? Sheriff?

Slow down. Sheriff. You’re going

to hit us. Sheriff?! Stop!!!!

END OF ACT FOUR:

57.

ACT FIVE:

141 INT. SCHOOL BUS - NIGHT 141

The gas gauge is now below the red. Jake glares at it.

Woozy, he blinks a couple of times. Pale. He turns and sees

Heather, who smiles at him weakly. Until...

JAKE:

Does this bus have a gas can?

She shakes her head, no. Jake looks at the gas gauge again.

Looks at the rearview mirror at the children.

JAKE (CONT'D)

Kids... do you know what road we’re

on?

(off their “no”)

This is Cedar Run. If you gostraight ahead for a long way,

you’ll come to a stop light. Then,

if you make a left...

JULIE:

Which way is left?

Jake looks at Heather, who nods, sadly. She understands that

the children might have to make it back on their own.

HEATHER:

(gestures with her hand)

If you hold up your hand and stick

out your thumb, it makes an “L”,

see? That’s left.

Jake smiles at Heather.

JAKE:

They don’t pay you enough.

(to kids)

So, kids, turn in the direction of

the “L” and walk straight ahead for

a long way. That’s where town is.

The kids all nod to each other. “Oh.” And then...

JULIE:

Why are you telling us this?

Jake looks at Heather.

JAKE:

You want to take this one?

58.

142 INT. CHURCH - NIGHT 142

The crowd is noisy. Torches, flashlights, and lanterns

illuminate faces, casting shadows. Gray Anderson stands at

the pulpit as Mayor Green moves to the front of the room.

GRAY ANDERSON:

With all due respect, Mr. Mayor,

this isn’t a debate about road

signs and taxes. We have a missing

bus. No police. Fireman doing

policemen's jobs. No plan.

PETER:

Gray, how dare you politicize-

MAYOR GREEN:

(under his breath)

Dammit, Peter.

Big reaction. The crowd split down the middle. Some

shouting, “Yes!” Some shouting, “No!” Gail sighs.

GRAY ANDERSON:

Politicize? Peter, I’m not talking

to my opponent. I’m talking to my

Mayor. There was almost a riot at

the Shell station, and I haven’t

seen him in hours. What? You

think I planned that just to get a

few votes?

Peter is silenced. He sits down.

GRAY ANDERSON (CONT’D)

I don’t care about the election. I

care about survival. We might be

on our own here, and I need to know

what my Mayor intends to do.

The Mayor takes the stage. Scans the crowd. He collects

himself and gives a heartfelt address. He means every word.

MAYOR GREEN:

Folks, I know we’ve been through a

lot tonight, but I want to tell you

something. I have been to big

cities. I have been to foreign

countries. And I would take the

good people...

Shep, the union boss, nods. He’s not being cruel, but...

59.

SHEP:

... good people of Jericho over any

city. We know, Mr. Mayor. We’ve

heard the speech. We need to know

what you’re going to do now.

The Mayor is taken aback. If he weren’t such a proud man,

you might have seen his heart break a little bit. Gail

watches, concerned. Not for the Mayor. For her husband.

MAYOR GREEN:

Well, uh... Shep, I hope you don’t

think I’ve been asleep at the

switch here. I have spent tonight

trying to contact the governor to

coordin-

SHEP:

But what if the governor is dead,

Mr. Mayor?

That starts the seed. People we’ve come to know begin asking

the real questions. Some helpful. Some frightened. Louder

and louder. The Mayor does his best to keep up.

MAYOR GREEN:

Now, hold on. There have been no

reports of anything happening to

Topek-

IRATE WOMAN:

How are there going to be reports

with no phones?

NORMAN PERRY:

Or no televisions.

MAYOR GREEN STEPHANIE

Ma’am please. Did they hit New York?

MAYOR GREEN:

(answering irate woman )

We’ll get the phones working ag-(

to Stephanie)

We’ll find out about New York.

MIMI CLARK:

My mother is in DC!

GRACIE LEIGH:

How are we going to get the power

back on, Mr. Mayor?

60.

WOMAN’S VOICE MAN’S VOICE

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