Predator Page #11

Suddenly a small TAPIR bursts through the leaves, startling Blain. He

relaxes momentarily as he watches the animal scurrying from sight. He

stands...

SOMETHING grazes his shoulder, a gout of BLOOD erupting. He starts to

turn, the Mini-gun held low, ready to fire...

... from out of the jungle, 75 feet away, the Hunter's WEAPON streaks

toward him like a missile. He SCREAMS as it enters his back, erupting

from his chest in an EXPLOSION of BLOOD.

EXT. MAC - DAY

Has heard Blain's cry. He moves fast through the brush. He HEARS a

RUSTLING in the bushes. A wet SUCKING SOUND. Mac charges into the

clearing. In the instant before the Hunter disappears into the forest,

Mac SEES a vision so brief and fantastic that it seems like a

hallucination.

The Hunter's EYES flare momentarily from the green before they vanish.

Mac sees his friend, lying on the ground, his chest open, the powerful

man, dead.

MAC:

(shouting)

Contact, 30 Right!!!

He OPENS FIRE with his M-203, belted shells slamming into the weapon

from the magazine at his waist, expending it in one LONG BURST.

EXT. THE OTHER TEAM MEMBERS - DAY

Flying through the jungle, weapons ready, eyes searching for movement.

EXT. MAC - DAY

He throws down the weapon and with a cry of rage, lunges forward,

grabbing the Mini-gun. As he stands, the CARTRIDGE BELT, attached to

Blain, strings out between them.

He opens FIRE and the foliage before him EXPLODES with the fury of the

terrible weapon. Mac sweeps the Mini-gun from left to right, like a man

possessed, mowing down the jungle.

The other team members race INTO SIGHT and begin firing with Mac.

Ramirez opens FIRE with the SIX-SHOOTER grenade launcher... EXPLOSIONS

rock the jungle.

EXT. HUNTER - DAY

Moving. A piece of SHRAPNEL cuts his shoulder. A splash of ORANGE BLOOD

spatters across the LEAVES of a nearby tree, bullet holes ripping

through the surrounding foliage.

BACK TO SCENE - MAC

More FIRING. Mac, his weapon expended, continues to thrust the Mini-gun

forward, still squeezing the trigger.

Suddenly, as quickly as it started, THE FIRING STOPS. The men move

catlike into the jungle, reloading, searching, their nerves taut,

stretched to the limit, ready to fire again at any second.

Mac is frozen, eyes wide, unblinking, his breath coming in rapid gasps

as he stares into the jungle, still squeezing the trigger of the

weapon, its breech locked open, GUNSMOKE wafting from the chamber and

barrel.

Schaefer moves in front of Mac, still staring into the jungle. Dillon

pushes Anna into the clearing, moving towards the body. Anna looks at

the body and then up to Mac. Schaefer sees a terrifying moment of

recognition flash in her eyes as she continues to stare at Mac. He

turns to Mac.

MAC:

(confused)

I... saw it.

At these words, Anna reacts in shock, drawing a slight breath. Schaefer

turns, sees her staring at Mac. He turns back.

SCHAEFER:

You saw what?

MAC:

(still dazed)

I saw it.

Schaefer turns back to see Anna, staring fixidly at Mac, watching his

lips. Schaefer turns quickly to Blain's body and kneels alongside

Dillon.

SCHAEFER:

Is at Blain's side, shocked at the sight of the mutilated body. He is

joined by Dillon.

SCHAEFER:

(to himself)

Blain...

(puzzled)

... Just like the others... no powder burns, no shrapnel.

DILLON:

The wound all fused, cauterized... what the hell did this?

Schaefer stands, looking at the body. In the background Anna drifts

away from the group.

SCHAEFER:

(to Mac)

... Mac!

Mac stares ahead, dumbly, not hearing. He grabs Mac by his shoulders,

shaking him violently back to awareness.

SCHAEFER:

(demanding; angry)

Mac! Mac! Look at me!

Mac turn to face Schaefer, a shocked expression on his face.

SCHAEFER:

(urgent)

Mac, who did this?

Mac is suddenly angry and frustrated, he has no explanation.

MAC:

I don't know. Goddamn it, something... I saw something.

Ramirez runs from the jungle, breathing hard, shaking his head.

RAMIREZ:

Nothing. The same thing. Not a f***ing trace. No bodies, blood,

anything.

Mac stands. Instinctively the team has now grouped around Schaefer,

their weapons pointing into the jungle, ready, their nerves on total

edge. Schaefer looks upward at the darkening sky.

SCHAEFER:

(quietly)

We're losing the light. Mac, I want a defensive position above this

ridge, mined with everything we're got.

Man is again the hardened professional.

MAC:

Yessir.

Schaefer looks down at Blain's body. He turns to Ramirez and Billy.

SCHAEFER:

Put him in his poncho and liner and carry him back. We'll bury him in

the morning.

MAC:

I'll take him.

ANNA:

As they leave approaches the brush, her attention focused on something

clinging to the leaves, well off to the side of where Mac saw the

Hunter. She draws closer, reaching out, hesitant, as if drawn

magnetically to the leaves.

EXT. DETAIL - HUNTER'S BLOOD - DAY

Clinging to the leaves, thick, viscous, pale-orange, almost like the

sap of an exotic plant. Her fingers hover above it, hesitantly, and

then touch it.

ANNA:

Examines the blood, transfixed. Dillon appears at her shoulder,

startling her. He motions for her to return. She turns, wiping the

blood onto her pants leg.

EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DUSK

The team is dug into the foxholes in a dense grove of trees, a solid

wall to their backs. The men are barely visible they blend in so well.

Nearby, Mac is stringing a TRIP WIRE, low to the ground, covering it

with leaves and grass. He moves into camp and reports to Schaefer.

MAC:

We've got most of the flares, frags. and two claymores just outside.

Nothin's comin' close to here without trippin' on somethin'.

SCHAEFER:

Thank you, Sergeant.

Mac starts to go but Schaefer places his hand on his shoulder.

SCHAEFER:

I'm sorry, Bull. It's never easy. He was a good soldier.

MAC:

(hardened)

The best friend I ever had.

Mac turns and walks through the camp, stopping beside a DARK OBJECT on

the ground. He kneels beside the PONCHO pulling back the zipper

REVEALING Blain's face, looking peaceful in death, as if lying in

state.

Mac removes something from his pocket, holding it in his hand, studying

it.

DETAIL OF OBJECT IN MAC'S HAND

The small WHISKEY FLASH, the chrome rubbed away in places REVEALING the

brass beneath and a MEDALLION depicting the 101 1ST AIRBORNE DIVISION.

MAC:

Takes a tiny sip from the flask. He replaces the cap and lifts the flap

of Blain's shirt pocket, placing the flask inside. He lingers on the

face and then closes the zipper.

MAC:

(softly)

Good-bye, Bro.

ANNA:

Is huddles into a foxhole, her hands still tied in front of her. She

looks down at her pants leg. The Hunter's BLOODSTAIN glows with a faint

luminosity. She places her fingers near the stain.

INT. HUNTER'S SHIP - NIGHT

Hawkins' BODY impacts the floor with a THUMP.

EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY (DUSK)

A momentary HUSH falls over the symphony of night sounds. Anna and

Billy turn towards the trees with a growing look of wariness. The

others, setting up the RADIO, show no response.

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