Jericho Page #4

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17.

29 INT. BAILEY'S TAVERN - MOMENTS LATER 29

We scan the old-fashioned saloon. Mimi Clark from the IRS

looks sad as she drowns the unfortunate aspect of her job

down with a little wine. The SEXY BARMAID turns up the

volume on the TV. We move in on the TV as his voice booms.

PRESIDENT:

... democracy in the Middle East,

the former Soviet Satellite nations

stabilized, and threats from Iran

and North Korea contained... the

state of our union is... strong.

Just then, the TV turns to snow. The patrons grumble.

PATRONS:

(ad-lib)

Damn. The cable’s out!

30 INT. JIMMY'S HOUSE - SIMULTANEOUS 30

Woody and the kids cheer!

Yay!

WOODY:

The cable’s out!

31 INT. STEPHANIE LANCASTER'S MANSION - MOMENTS LATER 31

Stephanie Lancaster turns off the snowy television and goes

right back to fighting with her mother on the phone.

STEPHANIE:

I didn’t do anything to the TV,

mom. Well, if you had brought me

to New York, then maybe-- What?

Oh, I wish you’d just die.

Silence. Stephanie is furious.

Mom.

STEPHANIE (CONT’D)

Did you hang up on me?!

32 INT. PETERSON FARM HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER 32

As Stanley shakes his head at the satellite TV, Bonnie looks

at the cell phone on the table flash green. A picture

message. Bonnie hits a button and the image begins to load.

33 INT. BAILEY'S TAVERN - EVENING 33

Mimi Clark, IRS employee, checks the ATM machine. The signreads... “Technical difficulties. Please, try again later.”

18.

34 INT. SCHOOL BUS - MOMENTS LATER 34

The pretty school teacher, HEATHER LISINSKI, 26, rides in the

front seat of the school bus. She talks on her cell phone.

HEATHER:

We finally found a garage thatcould fix it. Had to take a

detour. We’re heading back now.

Heather strains to see the road signs through the windows.

HEATHER (CONT’D)

We’re on... Cedar Run Road. We’ll

be back in an hour, Mr. Mcvey. Mr.

Mcvey? Hello?

Heather shrugs, folds her phone, and turns to the chubby bus

driver, who smiles.

BUS DRIVER:

(thick Southern drawl)

You wanna use my Blackberry?

35 EXT. JIMMY'S HOUSE - LATER 35

Good old hide and seek outside of this isolated house on the

west side of town. Woody, his hands over his eyes, counts it

down. His breath is foggy from the cold.

WOODY:

3-2-1... ready or not, here I come!

Woody looks around. No one under the porch. No one in the

tool shed. He finally creeps around to the bushes on the

West Side of the house. And...

Gotcha!

WOODY (CONT’D)

Woody grabs his little sister, SALLY, who giggles until she

sees Woody has a horrified expression on his face. She turns

around, and the image moves with her. It’s then that we see

it. In the distance, what used to be Denver is now...

A mushroom cloud.

END OF ACT ONE:

19.

ACT TWO:

36 INT. JAKE’S MUSTANG - DUSK 36

37

The mushroom cloud bellows in the distance of this isolated

highway. Jake holds his hands in front of his face to shield

his eyes from the blinding light coming from the rear view

mirror. We stay inside this white light for a beat.

The light subsides. Jake blinks to find his visual bearing.

And once his eyes focus, he sees it. A station wagon going

the other direction has just veered into his lane. Jake’s

eyes go wide and just before the moment of impact...

INT. STEPHANIE LANCASTER'S MANSION - DUSK 37

38

CRASH! Stephanie Lancaster has just dropped a plate of food

on the living room floor. She moves to the massive bay

windows of her family’s mansion on the hill. The mushroom

cloud bellows in the distance. Stephanie is speechless.

EXT. PETERSON FARM - DUSK 38

39

They are speechless. Stanley, Bonnie, and the rest of the

Peterson family rush out of the house to get a better view of

the horizon. Bonnie drops her open cell phone to the ground.

EXT. RURAL ROAD - DUSK 39

CRASH! Jake holds his left arm up to brace his impact, but

it’s too powerful. His head hits the steering wheel. The

car buckles, then careens into a ditch. Jake passes out on

the steering wheel. His head makes the horn Beeeeeeeeeeee.

We move away from him into the freezing night on this

isolated road. His car looks small.

40 INT. GREEN FAMILY HOUSE - BATHROOM - EARLY EVENING 40

The faucet runs. Unaware of events, Mayor Green opens up his

bottle of prescription pills. He coughs twice, then downs

the pills with a little water. He sighs. Thinking aboutJake. When he turns off the faucet, he hears something...

the sound of crying.

41 INT. GREEN FAMILY HOUSE - EARLY EVENING 41

The Mayor walks down the stairs to find Gail kneeling with

Jimmy and Bill standing in front of her. Both look sad.

Gail rises to reveal Jimmy’s son WOODY, horrified.

MAYOR GREEN:

Gail? What’s going on?

Gail turns around. Her own expression... horrified.

20.

42 EXT. GREEN FAMILY HOUSE - EARLY EVENING 42

Peter parks his Oldsmobile with a skid. Doors open.

43 INT. GREEN FAMILY HOUSE - SECONDS LATER 43

Peter and Ann, carrying their baby, rush into the house, now

buzzing with activity. The Mayor holds up his hand for

silence as he moves to the other side of the room.

Dad!

PETER:

Dad!

MAYOR GREEN:

We heard, Peter. Everyone, please.

The explosion came from the West.

There are military bases in

Colorado. It could have been a

test. An accident. Let’s not getahead of ourselves. I’ll call the

governor. Find out. In the mean-

time, let’s not forget who we are.

The Mayor’s confidence settles the group down. They watch ashe turns his back to them as he picks up the phone. We see

the Mayor’s face. The line is dead. He is now spooked. But

he can’t show it to the others. He takes a breath. Turns.

MAYOR GREEN (CONT’D)

Anyone’s cell phone working?

They all shakes their heads. No. Scared.

PETER:

Are we under attack, dad?

Silence. The Mayor thinks. Looks at their frightened faces.

MAYOR GREEN:

I don’t know. Jimmy, Bill? Get on

the radio. I want everyone at the

Sheriff’s office in 20 minutes.

Tell them to assess any damage

along the way. I need to know if

our town is still standing. Peter,

we need to get the city’s emergency

plan. Let’s move.

They begin to scurry. Woody trails after Jimmy.

WOODY:

Dad, don’t leave!

go with you!

Dad, I want to

21.

Jimmy kneels. Wipes the tears out of his son’s eyes.

They’ve said these words 1,000 times. No sentiment.

JIMMY:

Who’s my hero?

WOODY:

Me.

JIMMY:

Who’s the best?

WOODY:

Me.

JIMMY:

Who’s going to take care of these

nice ladies?

WOODY:

Me.

Woody hugs his dad. Peter kisses Ann and the baby and

leaves. Ann watches him go. Gail and the Mayor lock eyes

with a look that only comes with 35 years of marriage.

GAIL:

Jake.

MAYOR GREEN:

We’ll find him.

44 EXT. JERICHO STREET - EVENING 44

A police car flies down the street, followed by a Fire Truck.

But Stephanie Lancaster doesn’t notice them. StephanieLancaster is in another world.

45 EXT. TRAILER PARK - DUSK 45

Dale Turner sees the police car racing down the street. He

moves to his trailer past a few frightened and crying folks.

TRAILER PARK FOLKS

“Oh, my God” “Are we under

attack?” “Oh, those poor people.”

46 INT. DALE’S TRAILER - DUSK 46

Dale opens the trailer door. He sees old beer cans, pizza

boxes, and an answering machine flashing ONE MESSAGE.

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