White Squall Page #17

EXT. BEACH - SHIPWRECK BAY - DAY

The Albatross rests at anchor. On the beach, the crew

watch a huge group of penguins dive and frolic from the

ancient guano cliffs. So unaccustomed are these creatures

to man, that they have no fear.

EXT. LAGOON - DAY

Chuck, John and Rick snorkel among the playful SEA LIONS.

They dart and swim like otters among their new human

friends.

EXT. LAVA OUTCROPPING - DAY

Terry, Chris, Chuck and Mike stand taking notes on exotic

birds. Frigates, hawks, flamingos, pelicans, boobies, and

of course... albatrosses.

EXT. ALBATROSS - DAY

The crew are sprawled across the deck taking final exams.

Alice walks among them. Chuck throws an anxious look

towards John who is buried in his test.

EXT. GRASSY LOWLANDS - DAY

Boobies nest in the grass. Thousands of them and

amazingly, the crew can walk among them without them

batting an eye. Chuck and Robin watch as the iguanas

sneak into unattended nests and steal eggs.

EXT. DUNES - DAY

Chuck is alone gazing over the shoreline. A huge flock of

finches darken the sky, circling the black sand beach.

Pure magic.

EXT. BEACH - DAY

Beyond, the anchored Albatross rocks and bounces in a

blue-sky gale. Chuck, John, Robin, Rick, Chris and Tod

stand by a dory watching the sea build. They wear only

tattered shorts, their hair sun bleached and their skin

dark.

RICK:

We're here for the night.

TOD:

Yeah.

EXT. ROCKS - SAME

Tight. The eyes of predators. Sharp, cunning, hungry.

EXT. BLACK SAND BEACH - DAY

A lone wild goat grazes on the beach. It looks up,

sensing something, unfamiliar, then, returns to it's

grazing.

Tight. Thundering bare feet on the black sand.

The goat looks up again, this time it sees five

Homosapiens bearing down on him. They come naked,

swinging their shredded clothing above their heads like

lassos. Shouting, whooping, primal. The goat bolts for

its life.

Pounding through the waterline like the wild horses of

Sable, the hunters charge after the hunted, closing. The

goat's eyes are full of a terror it has never known.

The beach is broad and long with no cover. The hunters

are gaining on the goat. Splashing feet pound closer...

Suddenly they are upon the goat. But, instead of

attacking it, they just run through it, passing it. The

goat pulls up and stops, breathless, watching the naked

humans run.

Close on the faces of brothers, matching each other, step

for step. The music builds as we...

FREEZE FRAME:

EXT. BEACH - NIGHT

Wild eyes behind the charcoal painted masks of primal man.

The rhythmic beat of sticks clacking and voices chanting.

The heaping of driftwood into piles. Taught and powerful,

the glistening bodies of young men.

Blue sparks leap from striking flint against stone. A

flame is born. Voices howl in guttural triumph.

As the flames leap and singe the darkness, silhouettes of

men pound the sand and cry out in a ritualistic dance.

The goat watches from the shadows, bemused, as the dance

builds to a frenzy. The night sky is filled with the

building sound of raging fire, pounding surf and chanting

voices.

EXT. ALBATROSS - SAME

The wind carries the sounds of ceremony across the water.

The flames from the beach reflect off of the water turning

the white hull of the ship, a deep flickering orange. The

word A-L-B-A-T-R-O-S-S has been spelled in huge flaming

letters. Alice joins Skipper at his place by the rail

watching.

ALICE:

What are they doing?

SKIPPER:

Claiming their place in the world.

EXT. SHORELINE - DAWN

The white surf hisses as it washes among the cinders of

the evenings ritual. The Galapagos have been returned,

for now, to the frigates and the iguanas.

Across the water against the rising sun, the Albatross,

under full sail, is bound for home.

EXT. DECK - SAME

The crew stand at their posts. The yards and foretop are

trimmed with sailors, their faces taught and their bodies

hard. No one looks back.

EXT. DECK - PANAMA CANAL - DAY

Alice steps onto the deck from the chart house with papers

in her hands.

ALICE:

Well gentlemen, I have the results

of your college board scores. I

think most of you will be pleased.

The crew members collect their exams. Chuck notices John

at the bow, alone, lost.

CHUCK:

You okay?

JOHN:

Yeah. How'd you do.

Chuck looks down at his exam apprehensively.

CHUCK:

Ninety-six.

JOHN:

Congratulations.

CHUCK:

What about you?

John slowly passes his test to Chuck.

CHUCK:

It's a ninety-one! It's an 'A'!

JOHN:

I know.

CHUCK:

(excited)

You know? Then why are you up here

looking like you're about to jump

overboard?!

JOHN:

I just can't believe it.

CHUCK:

This is your moment, don't you see?

The instant when you know that your

life is never going to be the same

again. When you stand up and are

counted.

John tries to choke back his emotions.

JOHN:

I couldn't have done it without you.

CHUCK:

Yes you could. You did.

(holding up the

exam)

This is all you. Nobody else.

John looks out.

JOHN:

Thank you.

Chuck smiles and joins John's gaze over the water.

CHUCK:

Feels different doesn't it?

JOHN:

What?

CHUCK:

That we're going back. I don't want

it to end. I don't want to be what

I was when I left.

JOHN:

What was that?

CHUCK:

Anonymous.

Chuck looks at his test grimacing.

CHUCK:

I've been getting ninety-sixes my

whole life. It's what they expect.

After all this, I still haven't

figured it out.

JOHN:

Figured what out?

CHUCK:

Who I am, outside of this boat.

What the hell I'm doing here.

JOHN:

I'll tell you who you are. You're

the glue. You're the thing that

holds everybody around you together.

You're strong, you listen and you

see things in people the rest of us

can't. It's a gift.

It's Chuck's turn to fight emotion.

CHUCK:

You know, I never had friends like

this.

JOHN:

Me either.

CHUCK:

I feel like... we can do anything.

John smiles, clutching his exam.

JOHN:

We can.

OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)

In the fading hours of that Pacific

dusk, with nothing left to confess,

for the first time we felt safe,

capable, sure of who we were and

where we were going.

INT. MAIN CABIN - DAWN

The crew sleep in their bunks. Lawford's voice rumbles

down the companionway.

LAWFORD:

A wet sheet and a flowing sea/ A

wind that follows fast, And fills

the white and rushing sail, And

bends the gallant mast/ Arise, arise

you salty dogs. The watch is on.

Chuck, Tom, John, Terry and Tod roll out. The dumb waiter

clatters down from the galley with the morning's

breakfast. Skipper and some of the crew are already

eating.

EXT. DECK - DAY

The Albatross is under full sail trying to take advantage

of what little wind there is. The skies are gray and

dank. Tod and Terry are at the helm. Chuck and John are

amid ship. John relieves Bill on the forward watch.

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