Outbreak Page #15

The infantrymen stare at the brown rhesus, held tightly

in a "squeeze cage." Robby, Mike, Lisa, and Wally look

on anxiously as Izzy approaches the monkey with a needle

attached to a long syringe. The rhesus strains with

every muscle to lash out. Izzy moves quickly, jabbing

the needle into the monkey's thigh. He pushes the

plunger. The rhesus suddenly jerks his arm.

ROBBY:

Izzy!

NEEDLE HEADS FOR IZZY'S HAND (SLOW MOTION)

but he yanks it back just in time.

83.

ON IZZY:

trembling. A long beat.

BACK TO SCENE:

The rhesus falls asleep. Izzy draws blood as a Jeep

carrying Ford pulls up, followed by an Army truck.

Soldiers empty the truck, piling up crates of plastic IV

bags filled with brown fluid.

FORD:

Filo-four antiserum. Antitoxin.

Anyone with symptoms or positive

blood tests will get it stat.

GILLESPIE:

What for?

FORD:

It kills twenty-five percent of

filoviruses.

IZZY:

Not Motaba. We tried it.

FORD:

In the lab. People react

differently.

Gillespie and Izzy exchange a skeptical glance: is Ford

losing it, or what?

FORD:

We have nothing to lose -- the

disease is incurable.

ROBBY:

General Ford is right.

FORD:

Thank you.

CUT TO:

SERIES OF SHOTS:

A) A school classroom, empty.

B) A factory, empty.

C) A supermarket, empty.

(CONTINUED)

84.

CONTINUED:

D) The center of town -

Not a sign of life except for the Jeep carrying ChemWar

troops bearing M-16s.

ROBBY (V.O.)

The Army will begin emergency food

deliveries once a day...

CUT TO:

INT. SMALL ONE STORY HOUSE - KITCHEN

SHERRY listens to a RADIO with her three young children.

She coughs and exchanges a worried look with her husband.

INTERCUT WITH:

INT. LOCAL RADIO STATION - GLASSED-IN BROADCAST BOOTH -

ROBBY AND MIKE:

ROBBY:

(into mike)

... If you have special needs,

such as medicine you take, let

them know and it'll be delivered

to you.

inside.

But please -- stayDo not go out for any

reason.

GILLESPIE:

(into mike)

This disease looks like a regular

flu in its early stages, but if

you have flu symptoms, don't

panic... It's probably just a

normal virus and not Motaba.

INT. SHERRY'S HOUSE - SAME TIME

GILLESPIE (V.O.)

(on radio)

But the way to protect your family

is to detect it early, before you

spread it.

ON SHERRY:

Terrified.

85.

BACK TO SCENE:

SHERRY'S HUSBAND

You don't have it, honey.

HER FOUR-YEAR-OLD SON

What do you have, Mommy?

SHERRY:

Nothing. Mommy's fine.

CUT TO:

INT. MOTABA HOSPITAL WARD - SIMULTANEOUSLY

Ford walks through the Motaba ward, now overflowing with

infected patients, some of them unconscious and some of

them moaning. Their loved ones have not been allowed into

this infected ward, so most of these people are alone and

scared.

In Ford's eyes we see pain.

From a RADIO in the nursing station.

ROBBY (V.O.)

(on radio)

If you're feeling sick in any way,

you should hang a pillowcase or

other piece of cloth on your

front door. Soldiers will take

you somewhere safe for a test.

You'll know the result within a

few hours. If you're positive,

you'll go into one of our isolation

hospitals, so bring clothes and

personal things you might need.

INT. TOMMY HULL'S SMALL HOUSE

Darla and her two kids gather 'round the radio. In the

b.g. Tommy takes a swig of whiskey. He's still trembling

from his encounter with the chopper.

TOMMY:

Turn it off!

DARLA:

No.

Tommy grabs the radio and throws it across the room, breaking

it.

(CONTINUED)

86.

CONTINUED:

TOMMY:

We don't have it, goddamn it. But

if we stay here, we'll get it.

DARLA:

They're doctors. They know more

than you.

CUT BACK TO:

RADIO STATION BROADCAST BOOTH

ROBBY:

(into mike)

I know you're scared. We're all

scared. But together we're going

to get through this.

CUT TO:

BONNEVILLE GENERAL HOSPITAL

A room full of Motaba patients, all with antiserum running

through their IV's. Dr. Mascelli and Izzy listen to the

RADIO. Mascelli's eyes are blood-shot. He sneezes and

sniffles.

DOCTOR MASCELLI:

And now I've got it too. I'm

going to die along with the rest

of them, aren't I?

The look in Izzy's eyes confirms Dr. Mascelli's worst

fear.

INT. SHERRY'S HOUSE

Sherry slowly opens the front door, puts a white pillowcase

over the door. Her kids run into her arms crying.

SHERRY:

(hugging them)

I'll be back in a few hours. It's

like I'm goin' to work.

She wipes the tears from her eyes; she's trembling.

(CONTINUED)

87.

CONTINUED:

SHERRY:

(to each kid in turn)

Now, promise you won't fight.

Promise you'll do what your

father tells you.

They each promise - nodding "yes" in order from the

oldest to the youngest. It's a very solemn moment as

Sherry steps onto:

EXT. PORCH

She walks slowly down the small path, knowing this could

be the last time she ever makes this walk, ever sees her

family. She stops, wipes a tear off her cheek. She wants

to look back so bad, to get one last look at her kids,

but doesn't want them to see her scared. She climbs into

the waiting Army Jeep.

Sherry waves as the Jeep pulls away. But she's sitting

next to a soldier in full ChemWar gear, and this only

amplifies the fear in her children's eyes.

The Jeep drives past other houses with pillowcases over

the door.

SHOCK CUT TO:

SHERRY'S ARM

Her fist clinches as Lisa Aronson finishes drawing blood.

INT. TESTING TENT

Lisa carefully slips the test tube of blood into a plexiglass

case and locks it. As she exits the tent, we see:

TENT CITY:

Tent after tent -- at least four hundred of them -- a

tent city set up on the high school football field.

Housing people in isolation who have had or are about

to undergo the blood test. This is purgatory, where

you wait for judgment.

CUT TO:

88.

MOBILE BL-4 LAB

Izzy carefully withdraws a syringe of clear liquid from

a rubber capped bottle labeled "DNA PRIMER." He mixes

this into a blood sample from a test patient. At the

bench, Robby is doing the same. Izzy looks under his

scope. The field is filled with red circles.

IZZY:

Positive.

He takes another tube of blood from a different patient.

Looks under the scope.

IZZY:

Positive.

Robby looks under her scope.

ROBBY:

Positive.

IZZY:

The whole f***ing town's infected.

A sense of despair.

IZZY:

Double check it! Triple check it.

CUT TO:

INT. SHERRY'S TENT

Sherry Templeton tries to come to terms with the fact

she's positive.

SHERRY:

Does this mean my children have

it, too?

GILLESPIE:

(shaken by her pain)

No...

But she sees he's not sure.

SHERRY:

Oh my God.

CUT BACK TO:

89.

BL-4 LAB - IZZY AND ROBBY

working. Izzy looking under the scope. Everything is

purple.

IZZY:

How can this be? Doctor Mascelli

can't be negative. I know he's

got it. Something's wrong.

CUT TO:

BL-4 LAB - LITTLE LATER

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