Project Seven: Part Seven

Project Seven: Part Seven

INT. REBEL LAYER - DAY


Charlie approaches Stanislas.


STANISLAS: What is it?

CHARLIE MORRISON: Clayton and Dorothy found another fugitive. He’s wounded. He’s at the far exit.

STANISLAS: Myself and Jesse will take care of it.

CHARLIE MORRISON: Stanislas, just for the record. I don’t trust him.

STANISLAS: Just for the record. I didn’t trust you either.



INT. COURTROOM - DAY


JUDGE CLAIDAMORE: 62, FIVE FEET SEVEN INCHES, THINNING WHITE HAIR, WHITE BEARD, OVERWEIGHT,


Judge Claidamore is seated in the courtroom.


JUDGE CLAIDAMORE: In the case of the United States vs Jacob Standler, it is the decision of the court that the accused who has been found guilty will be exectuted for his crimes. We cannot and we will not tolerate alien life forms integrating into society in this great nation of ours. To this end it is the decision of the court that Jasmine Holdecker is also to be executed for sympathising with the changeling. Of course Ms Holdecker you do have the choice of a fair trial. Take them away.


JACOB: I’m sorry Jasmine. I did warn you.

JASMINE HOLDECKER: I don’t regret it for one minute Jacob. It was the right thing to do. One day a change will come. Good will always triumph over evil in the long term Jacob, just not today.



INT. REBEL LAYER - TWO WEEKS LATER (DAY)


Dorothy sat down beside Charlie at lunch time.


DOROTHY: Tell me about this woman friend of yours soft boy.

CHARLIE MORRISON: I don’t think I mentioned a woman friend.

DOROTHY: Almost every night you wake me up muttering her name in your sleep. Sylvia, I do believe.

CHARLIE MORRISON: That’s not true.

DOROTHY: Does she have a wart on her nose?

CHARLIE MORRISON: No.

DOROTHY: She must be out of your league so.

CHARLIE MORRISON: I’m not all that bad. Nothing that a little bit of filler and some masking tape wouldn’t fix.

DOROTHY: I’d say she’s better off. A guy like you would run away from the slightest sign of danger. What happened the last time you saw her?

CHARLIE MORRISON: I don’t know. We were separated and I was captured.

DOROTHY: So I was right. You left her behind. Next thing you’re going to say is that you loved her, but you left her behind because you had to put yourself first.

CHARLIE MORRISON: You wouldn’t understand if I told you.

DOROTHY: I guess men and women have a different concept of what it means to love someone.

CHARLIE MORRISON: Who burnt your bridges

DOROTHY: There were men in my past, but right now, all I care about is survival. I’ve never met a man who was worth risking everything for. All of them let me down.

CHARLIE MORRISON: There must have been one who was better than the rest.

DOROTHY: Don’t pry soft boy. If I have to eat any more rabbit in the next week I think I’ll throw up. No offence chef. The cooking’s excellent and it’s better than rat but there’s only so much I can take.


Dorothy stands up and leaves.


Charlie moves closer to Ackbar


CHARLIE MORRISON: Say, Ackbar what’s up?


Ackbar doesn’t respond and pokes at his food despondently.


CHARLIE MORRISON: Is there anything I can do to perk you up? I have a lot of bad jokes. No good ones unfortunately

ACKBAR: I don’t want to listen to your jokes Charlie Morrison.

CHARLIE MORRISON: That makes two of us. There is nothing that is more confidence eroding than a joke that goes down badly.

ACKBAR: You want to know what erodes confidence more, Charlie Morrison? Try being pelted with rocks by six year old kids, or walking down the street with women looking at you like you’re some sort of freak. There are lots of things more confidence eroding than a bad joke.

CHARLIE MORRISON: I think we can all agree that you have had the most miserable existence of all of us but that doesn’t mean your misery has to continue. You’re among friends now.

ACKBAR: Every night the same nightmares. It’s not like flicking a switch Charlie Morrison.


Charlie puts his hand on Ackbars back, but it is quite sticky and gooey. 


CHARLIE MORRISON: What is that?

ACKBAR: To us it is the equivalent of human sweat.

CHARLIE MORRISON: Well Ackbar, if you don’t win the award for most miserable, you’ll definitely win for slimiest spine. No offence.

ACKBAR:I should warn you, that stuff is bad for human skin. If you don’t wash your hands soon, it may start to erode them.

CHARLIE MORRISON: Really?

ACKBAR: I’m just messing with you Charlie Morrison.



INT. REBEL LAYER - NIGHT


Charlie is woken by Dorothy


DOROTHY: Wake up sleepy head. 

CHARLIE MORRISON: Oh Sylvia, its too early

(in jest)


Charlie gets out of bed and descends the ladder. Most of the rebels are asleep. There is only a very dim light in the headquarters. Clayton and Jesse are carrying a cluster of posters and Dorothy is carrying a spray can.


STANISLAS: Its time for you to take part in our extracurricular activities.


CLAYTON: He’ll only slow us down

CHARLIE MORRISON: Don’t you think Ackbar should come too? It’s dark, so he won’t be so conspicuous

CLAYTON: Yeah, he might get mistaken for an elephant.

STANISLAS: Ackbar, you’re going too

DOROTHY: Hold on Stanislas, if we bring big boy here with us, it is a suicide mission.

CLAYTON: Yeah, Stanislas. It’s pure dumb. Ackbar is better off down here with his head held low.

STANISLAS: I say he goes. Besides, he would be useful in a battle.


Clayton, Dorothy, Jeff, Ackbar and Charlie ascend to ground level in an elevator. Ackbar enters the elevator, hits his head off the roof and stands on Clayton’s feet


ACKBAR: Sorry


The elevator is concealed, in a street shop. 



EXT. OPEN STREET IN BURBANK - NIGHT


They reach the open street. Charlie can see that there is no name on the shop front. They keep right and follow Clayton’s lead. The streets are wet and it is dark, with a few street lights. In the distance they can hear the sound of army or police patrols and also the sound of a dog barking.


As Ackbar walks, he makes a relatively loud sound. Clayton looks back at him with a slight snarl.


ACKBAR: Sorry


Dorothy takes the spray can in both hands and starts spraying. Her message reads: 


“Hypocrites. We are all created equal. What have changelings and those wrongly accused of being changelings truly done against their fellow Americans? This hypocrisy must stop now.”


They move on, putting up posters at several different locations. The sound of a patrol approaching can be heard. They are positioned near a bridge. There was a narrow set of steps that lead down to a river. All five of the protestors descend the steps and hide from view. The patrol comes nearer and nearer. It consists of six soldiers two of which are droids.


CHARLIE MORRISON: Where’s Jeff (in a whisper)


Jeff approaches the patrol.


JEFF: Over here. They’re over here.


Ackbar confronts the patrol in an effort to buy the others some time. The patrol overwhelms him and shoots him dead.

Charlie, Dororty and Clayton make their way under the bridge and along the narrow ledge that bordered the river bed. Clayton who is the slowest of the three is wounded on the back of his upper right leg.


The three of them turn right, down a street and open the nearest manhole cover they find. They enter and close it after them.



INT. UNDERGROUND SEWER - NIGHT


Charlie, Dorothy & Clayton are in a narrow and low sewer. It is only about four feet in height from top to bottom.


CLAYTON: That man was your bloody friend. Are you one of them? Are you a traitor?

CHARLIE MORRISON: That wasn’t Jeff.

CLAYTON: You’re a liar. A total, devious, two faced liar.

CHARLIE MORRISON: The real Jeff would rather cut his own arm off, than be a traitor. He’s not the nicest person in the world, but he’s no traitor. Did you notice that he didn’t complain about Ackbar even once?

CLAYTON: Who was it then, if it wasn’t Jeff?

CHARLIE MORRISON: Clement

CLAYTON: Clement? He was asleep when we left.

CHARLIE MORRISON: Did you see his face?

DOROTHY: We’d better, move before those droids find us.

CLAYTON: One of us better go back to base camp. The other two, to the woods. I know these tunnels better than anyone, so you two should go that way and I’ll warn the others.


Turning to Dorothy


CLAYTON: Keep an eye on Morrison. I don’t trust him.



INT. REBEL LAYER - NIGHT


Clayton arrives at rebel headquarters. It has not been raided yet.


CLAYTON: Everyone, we have to move now


JEFF: It’s nearly five o clock in the bloody morning.


Clayton, turned to Clement’s bed. He pulled back the covers, to reveal two pillows.


CLAYTON: Did you kill him?

JEFF:  Sometimes I struggle for sleep and sometimes I go for a walk in the middle of the night. Right now I’m tired. If it’s ok with you I’d like to get some sleep.

CLAYTON: There’s no time for that now. We have to go. This place is going to be raided. It would appear that Clement has betrayed us. It would appear that he was a spy. Everyone, we have to head for the camp in the hills.


The elevator starts to move upwards.


CLAYTON: We only have a minute. Come on, run.


Some are reluctant to run or hurry.


FUGITIVE KNOWN AS THE PROFESSOR: I’m too old to run, Take the others to safety. I’ll try to stall them as much as I can.

CLAYTON: No one gets left behind Professor. No one.

FUGITIVE KNOWN AS THE PROFESSOR: Except for those that don’t want to keep running anymore. You’re wasting your time. Take the others and go.

ALEXIS: You go. My hip isn’t what it used to be. We’ll do what we can at our end.


Two other individuals over sixty, stood next to the Professor, without saying anything.

STANISLAS: Anybody who wants to survive. Come on now. There is no time to waste



I/E. FOREST NEAR BURBANK - NIGHT


Charlie and Dorothy reached the forest amid the sound of dogs barking. Dorothy stopped next to a large shrub and crawled underneath. He crawled after her. The shrub, concealed the entrance to a man-made cave.


ATTICUS: Is that you, Dorothy?

DOROTHY: I’ve brought a friend of yours, though I don’t know if we can trust him anymore. His friend has betrayed us.

CHARLIE MORRISON: I told you that was Clement and not Jeff. Besides, I don’t know if Jeff would call me his friend. I don’t know if he has any friends.


Dorothy took out her knife and pressed it against Charlie’s neck.


DOROTHY: You betray me, wimpy boy, and you’re the first one I’ll go for. Do you understand, boy?

CHARLIE MORRISON: I’m not your enemy but I do understand why you doubt me. You don’t know me well enough.

DOROTHY: It doesn’t take long for me to see right through you. Just make one false step.



INT. MAN MADE CAVE IN WOODS - MORNING


Jesse emerges from the entrance, accompanied by a teenager named Jasper and Jeff.


JASPAR: 19, Five feet ten inches tall, Thin, Relatively long dark hair, light blue eyes


Dorothy lunges for Jeff, applying pressure on top of him and puts a knife to his throat.


DOROTHY: You lying, devious little man. You snitch. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t cut your throat right now.

JEFF: Get off me, you cow.


Jesse then put a hand around Dorothy to restrain her.


JESSE: He didn’t do it. It was Clement.


Dorothy relaxed her stance and turned her neck to face Jesse.


DOROTHY: What happened

JESSE: They came at us from all angles. It was an ambush. We left the older ones behind. We didn’t have much of a head start. There was no time for the older ones to leave with us. The army weren’t just coming from behind us. They entered the system at a number of different points. They were shooting without warning at unarmed men and women. There were people next to us falling to the ground, riddled with bullets. There was nothing we could do. It was a case of every man and woman for themselves. I’ll have nightmares about it for as long as I live.

CHARLIE MORRISON: What do we do now?

DOROTHY: I don’t plan on hanging around here too long, You’re a liability. I can handle myself and as far as I can see I’m better off that way. This whole group thing isn’t working. It’s too much of a risk. Stanislas and the others were foolish to trust too many people. You’re only as strong as your weakest link.

CHARLIE MORRISON: Do you think Stanislas was foolish to trust you?

DOROTHY: He was taking a risk. He took a risk with me, with you and with Clement or Jeff or whoever else betrayed us. With the world as it is, we can’t afford to take risks. I’m not staying here much longer. Tonight I’m leaving.

DOROTHY: What do you plan to do Jesse.

JESSE: I don’t agree with everything Stanislas does or says, but I want to honour him and he would want me to help the group, to protect the weak, even if I die, doing it.

DOROTHY: You’re crazy. You should look after number one because nobody else will.

JEFF: I’m not hanging around here much longer with you lot either. This group love thing sucks. I’ve had it up to here with babysitting you lot.

CHARLIE MORRISON: I had a friend, who said that a group of people united was far more powerful than a group of people divided. He was similar to Stanislas in that regard. Together people can achieve great things.

DOROTHY: Your friend was a clown. And he is forgetting something. Trust. For all we know there is one person amongst us who cannot be trusted. You want us to unite, weak boy because you want someone to hunt for your food and read you bedtime stories.


Dorothy and Jesse ventured out to look for food.


JASPER: Maybe we should turn Charlie in. He’s the only one here who can’t change form and he can’t fend for himself. I bet we’d get a great reward, a fortune to live off for a few years.

JEFF: I’ve thought of that loads of times myself but there would be no way to trust the authorities to let you go free and give you loads of money to boot.

CHARLIE MORRISON: I’m sure you’ll think of a cunning plan Jeff. I’ll have to sleep with one eye open from now on.

JEFF: It wouldn’t matter if you had two eyes open if I was going to betray you. Even Atticus could handle himself better than you.

ATTICUS: Shush


There is a dog nearby who has picked up a scent. The dog sniffs at the plants that cover the entrance. Voices of some of the men outside can be heard.


HUNTER ONE: Have you found something?

HUNTER TWO: I don’t know.


The dog continues sniffing and using his paws. There is clear light coming from the entrance. Charlie can see the dog and the head of the man looking in. He is sure that he has made eye contact.


HUNTER ONE: Are you sure that you haven’t found something?

HUNTER TWO: No it’s just a rabbit hole. We’re wasting our time here, I reckon they’re long gone. This fecker is probably only interested in chasing rabbits anyway.

JASPER: He saw you, didn’t he? (in a whisper)



INT. MAN MADE CAVE IN WOODS - DAY


Charlie and the group were eating raw rabbit.


CHARLIE MORRISON: Are you really leaving Dorothy?

DOROTHY: What’s wrong? Are you afraid of looking after yourself, city boy?

CHARLIE MORRISON: Of course I am. I couldn’t hunt insects if I tried.

JESSE: Dorothy can do what she wants. If she no longer wants to be part of our group then that’s her decision. Some of us respect Stanislas ideas. Others don’t.

DOROTHY: I’m better off alone. That’s just the way it is.



INT. MAN MADE CAVE IN WOODS - DAY TWO MORNING



Charlie is awoken by something crawling up his trouser leg. Just as it reaches the top of the leg, Jesse stabs it through the trousers, with a knife.


Charlie unbuttons his trousers.


CHARLIE MORRISON: A rat

JESSE: Some extra breakfast for you my friend

CHARLIE MORRISON: I think I might pass on breakfast.

CHARLIE MORRISON: What do we do now that Jeff and Dorothy are gone?

JESSE: We can’t stay here forever. They will find us for sure. There is a large forest about twenty miles from here. It is full of grizzly bears and other wild animals. They will not expect to find us there.

CHARLIE MORRISON: Woe, that doesn’t sound like much of a plan.

JASPER: You’re such wuss, city boy.

JESSE: If you have a better idea, please suggest it

CHARLIE MORRISON:  I guess I don’t. I don’t know this area well enough.

JESSE: Ok then we will wait until nightfall before making our move.



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