Jericho Page #9

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43.

JAKE:

Come on, kid.

He blows again. Again. Finally, the little girl takes a

breath on her own. The kids are awestruck. Jake exhales.

He looks at the blood on his shaking hands.

HEATHER:

How did you know how to do that?

Jake turns to the pretty teacher.

JAKE:

Military school. My father sent

me.

HEATHER:

Were you a soldier?

JAKE:

No. A screw up.

88 EXT. RURAL ROAD - NIGHT 88

The flashlight rises, lighting the Sheriff’s face. He looks

shocked. A reverse angle reveals that he’s not looking at

Jake, Heather, the kids, or the School Bus Driver, but a...

PRISON GUARD:

Shot through the forehead. He moves the light to the bus. A

State Trooper is dead. The rest of the bus is empty.

The Sheriff’s men shine their flashlights on the outside of

the bus. We see the words...

KANSAS STATE MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON

END OF ACT THREE

44.

ACT FOUR:

89 EXT. TOWN SQUARE - NIGHT 89

90

Rod Hawkins climbs quickly up the telephone pole. He looks

out over the town. People roam the streets. Frightened.

ROD HAWKINS:

Chief! You need to get some lights

on. Folks are starting to lose it.

EXT. GREEN FAMILY HOUSE - NIGHT 90

Stanley Peterson’s pick-up truck comes to a skid.

the door and rushes to the house. Bonnie follows.

He opens

91 EXT. SHELL GAS STATION - NIGHT 91

92

The station is still crowded as the crowds of cars try to

untangle themselves in the darkness. Cars honk.

INT. GREEN FAMILY HOUSE - NIGHT 92

93

Gail and Ann open the door to reveal... Stanley and Bonnie

Peterson. Stanley is sad. Bonnie is shell-shocked.

STANLEY:

Mrs. Green, we uh... we saw

something. It’s horrible. You

should get Jake and your husband.

EXT. TOWN SQUARE - NIGHT 93

94

Stephanie Lancaster starts crying. Alvie holds her.

STEPHANIE:

I told my mom I wish she’d die.

EXT. JERICHO STREET - NIGHT 94

95

People rush down the streets. In the middle of this storm of

activity, we see a lone figure, walking. The trailer park

kid, Dale Turner. With a blank expression on his face.

INT. GRACIE LEIGH’S SUPERMARKET - NIGHT 95

Gracie walks through the darkness. Every corner has

something that looks like an attacker. A broom. A globe.

Finally, a KNOCK makes her scream. She shines the flashlight

through the glass door. Standing there is Dale Turner.

45.

96 INT. GREEN FAMILY HOUSE - NIGHT 96

The cell phone casts a glow on Stanley Peterson, Bonnie, Ann,

and finally Gail, who holds the cell phone to her face and

looks at the picture on it.

GAIL:

Oh, dear God.

97 EXT. SCHOOL BUS - NIGHT 97

The freezing night. Quickly. We move from the jack,

hoisting up the bus, to the rear of the bus where Jake grabs

the spare tire. He throws the spare on the ground. Thud.

He connects the lug wrench with the first lug nut on the flat

tire. He kneels down, his leg throbbing. Grimaces. Fightsthrough it. He leans in and pushes with all the strength in

his right arm against the lug wrench. Nothing.

He tries again, GROANING this time. Nothing. He’s gotta usehis legs. He stands, steadies the lug wrench, brings his bad

leg up. And just as he brings it down as hard as he can...

98 INT. SCHOOL BUS - NIGHT 98

Heather and the children watch Jake as his foot slips off the

tire iron and his bad leg buckles. Shrieking with pain.

JAKE (O.S.)

WHERE’S THE GOD DAMN RESCUE PARTY!?

99 INT. JIMMY’S POLICE CAR - NIGHT 99

Jimmy and Bill look at the highway.

BILL:

It’s like a ghost town.

JIMMY:

Bill, let’s face it.

come this way.

He didn’t

100 INT. SCHOOL BUS - NIGHT 100

Jake rushes into the bus.

Kids.

JAKE:

I need you. Now, dammit.

JULIE:

Mister, you swear a lot.

46.

Jake and Heather exchange a brief smile and then... he looks

her over. She is getting more and more pale.

JAKE:

How you holding up?

HEATHER:

(not fine)

Fine. How about your leg?

Jake’s eyes say it all. He’s losing blood fast.

HEATHER (CONT’D)

Hurry.

101 INT. GREEN FAMILY HOUSE - NIGHT 101

Silence like a heartbeat. Gail’s eyes scan Bonnie’s cell

phone again. We see her boyfriend’s smiling face. Then, the

image pans to reveal... the fire ball 5 miles behind him.

Gail turns to Stanley, sad, and Bonnie, who is on Mars with

shock. Gail struggles to keep her own composure.

GAIL:

Where was this?

STANLEY:

Atlanta, Mrs. Green.

GAIL:

We’ll notify the Mayor. Thank you,

Stanley. Bonnie. God bless you.

STANLEY PETERSON

Ma’am... I’m sure Jake will be

okay.

Gail nods. Thank you. Stanley nods back. Truth is, neither

of them are sure. Especially when...

BONNIE PETERSON:

No, he’s not. He’s not okay.

Nobody is okay.

STANLEY PETERSON

Bonnie-

BONNIE PETERSON:

Jake’s dead. Don’t you get that?

Why don’t you get that? He’s dead.

47.

102 EXT. SCHOOL BUS - NIGHT 102

The kids are in a line on the side of the bus. Jake bends

down on his knee. Pain. He puts the lug wrench onto the

flat tire’s lug nut. Holds it in place.

Go.

JAKE:

The first kid in the line runs at the tire iron and jumps.

He lands on it. Doesn’t budge.

JAKE (CONT’D)

Out of the way. Next!

The second kid runs at the tire iron. Jumps. Nothing.

bows his head. His body shivers in the freezing cold.

Jake

JAKE (CONT’D)

Please, help us God.

103 EXT. SHELL GAS STATION - NIGHT 103

Cars honk in the darkness. With no power, the pumps will not

work. NORMAN PERRY, whose labor dispute with Shep Cale feels

like an ancient memory, kneels by his SUV, screwing the cap

on his extra 2 gallon gas can. A BURLY MAN approaches.

Hey.

BURLY MAN:

You get extra there?

Sorry.

NORMAN:

BURLY MAN:

What do you mean sorry?

NORMAN:

First come. First serve.

BURLY MAN:

You already filled your car.

You gonna mow your lawn?

What?

Sorry.

NORMAN:

My family-BURLY

MAN:

We all have families. Come on.

The Burly Man reaches for the can. Tug of war.

48.

104 INT. SHELL GAS STATION - CONVENIENCE MART - NIGHT 104

An ANGRY CROWD stares down the convenience store CLERK.

ANGRY MAN:

But what if ours is contaminated?!

CLERK:

Folks, I can’t let you have the

water without paying for it.

ANGRY WOMAN:

It’s not my fault your credit card

machine’s down!

105 EXT. BAILEY’S TAVERN - NIGHT 105

Mayor Green helps Peter unload the ham radio from the trunk.

The Mayor has to stop. He begins coughing.

PETER:

Dad, you don’t look well. Let me

take you home.

MAYOR GREEN:

I’m fine. Let’s get it inside.

106 INT. BAILEY’S TAVERN - NIGHT

Pale and sick.

The tavern is now half full. The people with no families to

go home to are riding this out together. The doors burst

open and the Mayor shouts at the SEXY BARMAID, known to her

friends and neighbors as MARY BAILEY, 32.

MAYOR GREEN (O.S.)

Mary! We need your generator!

107 INT. GREEN FAMILY HOUSE - NIGHT 107

Gail hands a sealed envelope to the EMT Crew Chief.

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