The Ghost and the Darkness Page #17

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REDBEARD. Alert. One step at a time.

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PATTERSON. The same. One step at at time.

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THE GHOST. Crouched high up behind one of the biggest anthills,

staring down at them both.

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REDBEARD. He gestures for them to stop. They do. For a moment they

might be statues.

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THE ROCKY GROUND. Spots of blood. Redbeard kneels to examine them

and as he does-

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THE GHOST, launched in mid-air and

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PATTERSON, whirling, falling, firing and as the sound detonates-

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THE GHOST, in mid-air, body twisted and-

-and FREEZE.

Freeze on The Ghost silhouetted against the morning sky.

HOLD. THen-

CUT TO:

SAMUEL, WALKING INTO THE SHOT-

-we're by the river and this is a repeat of the earlier moment

when the three men brought the old man-eater into camp-

-only now eight men appear, carrying The Ghost- eight is the

actual number of men that it took, and as they lower the dead

animal to the ground-

CUT TO:

THE GHOST- and now there's a flash of light as we

PULL BACK TO REVEAL

BEAUMONT, kneeling by the dead animal. He is smiling beautifully,

and there is no questioning the look of triumph on his face.

CUT TO:

A PHOTOGRAPHER; loads of bulky equipment. Patterson and Redbeard

stand behind him, watching him. We're in a lovely spot by the

river. Patterson and Redbeard have definitely been drinking.

BEAUMONT:

I think another for posterity-

this is an important moment in

my life.

He strikes another pose- the Photographer goes to work.

BEAUMONT:

Understand, I had help-

PATTERSON:

-not a time for modesty, Bob-

REDBEARD:

-undeniably your triumph.

BEAUMONT:

Oh surely there's enough credit

for us all- let's not forget, you

did the actual shooting. Of course,

I hired you, I was the general who

put the team together. And generals

are the ones who tend to be

remembered.

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Perhaps you might put your head in

its mouth, sir- could be a corker.

BEAUMONT:

Clever idea, I like it.

CUT TO:

THE MOUTH OF THE GHOST- it is huge-

-Beaumont manages to get it open- puts his head between the

enormous set of teeth- he's nervous, tries to hide it when we

CUT TO:

REDBEARD suddenly giving a loud imitation of a lion roaring and

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BEAUMONT, surprised and frightened-

-he jerks his head away-

-there is the sound of laughter, Patterson's and Redbeard's-

-Beaumont tries for his smile, can't bring it off, looks around,

humiliated, and as the laughter builds-

CUT TO:

THE TENT AREA. NIGHT.

Patterson and Redbeard flank a fire. It's a sweet moment for them,

their first, no fear in the vicinity.

It should be noted that they both are drinking from bottles of

champagne.

It should also be noted that the Patterson we see is a world away

from the young man who went to meet Beaumont. He's unshaven, his

eyes have seen terrible things, he is weary, he has known failure-

he is more at ease with the world.

PATTERSON:

(drunk)

I never thought I'd say this, but

I'm glad you came.

REDBEARD:

(drunk)

Understood- you realize now you

could never have done it without

me.

PATTERSON:

Actually, I could have done it

much more easily without you, but

for whatever reason, I'm glad you

came.

(They toast each other)

Samuel, with his own bottle of champagne has wandered over, joins

them.

SAMUEL:

(drunk)

Where do you go next?

REDBEARD:

Some Russian princes want to hunt

the Himalayas. You?

SAMUEL:

Help finish the railroad.

PATTERSON:

I want to meet my son- he must be

what, two months old?

They look at the fire a moment. Then-

SAMUEL:

Three years I've worked for the

railroad. Now I don't know why. It

seemed a good idea once.

PATTERSON:

I feel the same about the bridge.

This country certainly didn't ask

for it, doesn't need it.

REDBEARD:

Too soon to tell.

They look at him.

REDBEARD:

My life was shaped because someone

invented gunpowder. Our lives have

crossed because two lions went mad.

But what if in the future the three

of us do something grand for

humanity? Was that worth all the

lives? Too soon to tell.

SAMUEL:

(drinks)

Some mysteries should not have

solutions.

REDBEARD:

(finishes his bottle,

rises, looks at Patterson)

Hold your son high.

(And he turns, goes

to his tent)

PATTERSON:

(beat- quietly)

He has children?

SAMUEL:

(beat- quietly)

Once...

(HOLD on the two

in the firelight. Then-)

CUT TO:

THE STATION MASTER AT TSAVO STATION, WORKING IN HIS OFFICE. THE

NEXT DAY.

FEMALE VOICE (over)

I'd like to see John Patterson,

please.

(As he looks up-)

CUT TO:

HELENA standing there in Tsavo; she looks weary from travel, but

still lovely. She holds their son in her arms. The kid is

adorable.

HELENA:

Could you tell him that his wife-

(catches herself, smiles)

-that his family has come to see him.

(On that-)

CUT TO:

PATTERSON AT THE BRIDGE- Samuel hurries to him with the news-

Patterson takes off running and

CUT TO:

TSAVO STATION and Helena; she holds the sleeping child, walks back

and forth along the shaded front of the building, no sound at all

but her heels.

CUT TO:

PATTERSON, running like crazy and up ahead now is the station

area.

CUT TO:

HELENA- and now, in the distance, she sees him and she leaves the

building, walks out into the open, smiling and waving excitedly

and

CUT TO:

PATTERSON, excitedly waving back and

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THE DARKNESS, moving out of the grassy area behind Helena and

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PATTERSON, suddenly screaming "Get back- back-"

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HELENA, and she's too far away- his words are lost on the wind-

she smiles again, waves again and

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PATTERSON, screaming now, all he has, "GET BACK" and

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HELENA, and she still can't make out what he's saying but just the

same, she stops and

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THE DARKNESS, stalking silently, closing on the mother and child.

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HELENA, and the baby wakes, smiles and

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THE DARKNESS, starting to run and

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PATTERSON and now it shows on his face- he's not going to get

there, he's never going to get there-

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HELENA, and at last she knows something is terribly wrong and she

turns-

-but too late, too late as we

CUT TO:

THE DARKNESS, flying toward her now and

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PATTERSON, in agony.

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THE DARKNESS, leaping on them, taking them to the ground and as

Helena cries out helplessly-

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PATTERSON, crying out helplessly and

PULL BACK TO REVEAL

PATTERSON IN HIS TENT,

continuing to cry out until he realized the nightmare he just had

is over-

-he staggers to his tent opening, goes outside.

CUT TO:

OUTSIDE. It's dawn. Patterson, shaken, tries to rid himself of the

dream. He looks around.

Redbeard's tent is ripped- Patterson runs to it-

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INSIDE THE TENT. It's empty. Patterson stares around-

-there is blood on the tent floor and quickly-

CUT TO:

THE SUN. RISING.

CUT TO:

PATTERSON running wildly, rifle in hand and

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SAMUEL, carrying a weapon, hurrying to keep up and

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PATTERSON, flying across rough terrain and as he and Samuel splash

across a small river, he gestures for them to split and they do,

widening the area of search and

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