Jericho Page #12

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What about firewood? I’m Is the drinking water okay?

MAYOR GREEN:

Folks, one at a time.

BURLY MAN JIMMY’S MARGARET

What happens when we run out Let the Mayor speak!

Gray Anderson slowly steps back into the shadows and watches

as the town swallows the Mayor with questions he can’t

possibly answer. Peter bangs the pulpit for order. Peopleshout at him angrily. Teasing.

SHEP:

Oh, Peter, put your gavel away.

MAYOR GREEN:

Please, folks. Calm down.

IRATE FATHER:

Calm down? My boy is still out

there, and you-

MAYOR GREEN:

The sheriff is looking for your boy

and my boy right now.

IRATE MOTHER:

And why weren’t there more police

in the budget?!

IRATE WOMAN:

Why didn’t we have more emergency

workers?

MAYOR GREEN:

The school needed books.

Gail joins the fray.

GAIL:

People, please. This shoutingisn’t helping anything.

She is swallowed. Voices shouting. Gray Anderson watches

the chaos with a measured eye. A faint, pleased look. He

takes the stage, raises his arms to give the town the

leadership it needs, and just as he opens his mouth...

HONK. HONK. HONK.

61.

143 EXT. TOWN SQUARE - NIGHT 143

The school bus limps into town, through the rows of

headlights and lanterns, its horn honking. It stops in frontof the proud statue.

144 INT. SCHOOL BUS - CONTINUOUS 144

Jake, relieved almost to the point of tears, puts the bus in

park. And turns off the engine with a shaking hand.

145 EXT. CHURCH - NIGHT 145

The people rush out of the church, down the hill, to the

school bus, as Jake staggers out. He looks like a ghost.

JAKE:

Help them.

146 EXT. TOWN SQUARE - NIGHT 146

Illuminated by the town’s headlights and Mr. Henderson’s

lanterns, we see the best of Jericho at work.

The Fire Chief guides the EMT vans to the bus. The EMT Crew

Chief pushes little Stacy. Alvie and his mom follow with

Stephanie.

TERESA CLEMONS:

Oh, Stacy.

EMT CREW CHIEF:

Don’t worry, ma’am. We got her.

Little Danny is scooped up by the Young Couple who first told

the Mayor about the school bus. The second the Irate Father

sees his little girl, Hilda, he bursts into tears of relief.

The Irate Mother hugs her precious Julie.

Gail, Mayor Green, Peter, and Ann move to the bus. The crowd

parts and they see Jake, being loaded on a stretcher.

GAIL:

Oh, Jake!

Gail rushes up to him. Grabs his left hand. Winces. “Ow!”

GAIL (CONT'D)

(cries laughs)

Sorry. Sorry.

The crowd whispers, “Is that Jake Green?” Seconds later...

Peter, Mayor Green, and Ann approach Jake.

62.

EMT MAN:

Mrs. Green, we have to move him.

Gail backs away. Mayor Green and Jake look at each other.

mixture of every emotion. Mayor Green touches Jake’s good

shoulder. Peter watches with a trace of jealousy.

A:

JAKE:

Dad, there’s an empty prison bus

out there.

MAYOR GREEN:

I’ll take care of it.

Mayor Green backs away, but not before...

Oh, Dad.

JAKE:

One more thing.

Mayor Green approaches and Jake puts something in his hand.

The EMT Crew carts Jake away and loads him on the ambulance

with Heather Lisinski. The doors close.

147 INT. AMBULANCE - MOMENTS LATER 147

Heather and Jake ride in the back of the Ambulance. Jake

turns to Heather. They smile. A lifetime in one night.

JAKE:

What’s your name?

Heather.

HEATHER:

Jake.

JAKE:

HEATHER:

It’s nice to meet you, Jake.

You, too.

JAKE:

They both finally close their eyes for sleep.

148 EXT. TOWN SQUARE - NIGHT 148

As the ambulances pull away, Mayor Green looks at the SWISS

ARMY KNIFE in his hand. He turns to his town. Mayor Green

is now a man who has seen the dark side of his town and will

never be the same. He speaks from the heart.

63.

MAYOR GREEN:

You said you’ve heard the speech

before, Shep. But you ever wonder

why I say it? Because I happen to

trust you people. Because I love

my town so much that I never

thought you could riot.

The crowd stares back at him. He doesn’t blink.

MAYOR GREEN (CONT’D)

You want to blame me for that?

Well, you go right ahead if you’re

fresh out of mirrors. Have someone

treat you like children. Have a

dictator if you want. But it’s

never going to be me.

The crowd looks down.

MAYOR GREEN (CONT'D)

Something happened in Denver.

Something happened in Atlanta. And

there’s a chance we could wake up

and find out that’s where it

stopped. So, until we know, are we

going to use our imaginations to

solve problems or cause them?

The Burly Man and Norman Perry look at the ground.

MAYOR GREEN (CONT'D)

We can get the power on. We can

find out how big this thing is. We

can feed ourselves. Protect

ourselves. Fight if we have to.

Mimi Clark looks over at Stanley and Bonnie Peterson.

MAYOR GREEN (CONT’D)

But the only way that’s going to

happen is if we work together. I

know where I stand. How about you?

Gray Anderson watches the crowd. Silent. Digesting.

MAYOR GREEN (CONT'D)

My son said there is an empty

prison bus out there, so until the

police return, I need guards on

every entrance and exit out of

town. Volunteers?

64.

The Fire Chief, Rod Hawkins, and the Burly Man raise their

hands along with some of the other men in town.

MAYOR GREEN (CONT’D)

Thank you. Everyone else, go home.

We’ll meet at the town hall in the

morning. And folks... don’t you

dare break my heart again.

As the crowd disperses, the Mayor turns to his family.

MAYOR GREEN (CONT’D)

Come on. Let’s go to Jake.

Some people shake hands. Like the EMT Crew Chief and the

Fire Chief. Other people are more suspicious. Like Shep andNorman Perry - union and management. Still others reach out

to each other. Like the two Margarets with the kids.

BILL’S MARGARET

Don’t worry. Jimmy and Bill will

be home soon.

Just before the Mayor gets into Peter’s Oldsmobile, he looks

over at Gray Anderson. The men lock eyes. Both smart, both

tough, both savvy. It’s going to be a dogfight.

As the volunteers team up to stand watch, the Fire Chief

approaches Rod Hawkins, looking out into the night. The

world outside of Jericho.

FIRE CHIEF:

What are you thinking, Mr. Hawkins?

ROD HAWKINS:

I was just wondering what it was

all going to look like in the

morning.

The two men stand silently, watching. The image pushes past

them into the darkness. Into the world outside of Jericho.

149 INT. EMILY SPENSER’S HOUSE - NIGHT 149

We see the champagne. The ice is now melted. We see the

“Welcome Home, Roger” sign. We see the candles, still

waiting to be lit. We end on the Post-It Note: Roger’s

flight. Kansas City Airport. 11:00pm.

END OF EPISODE:

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