The Last Dawn 21 Pages

8/14/2019 The Last Dawn 21 Pages

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THE LAST DAWN

FADE IN:

INT. BLACK ROOM - UNDEFINED

We see nothing but a black room. Slowly, the room is bathed in

black light. The walls turn purple.

A man enters the room through a door directly ahead and steps

into the room. Behind the door is a long field, full of grass.

The man turns and closes the door. He then looks around. This

man is William Delaney.

Delaney walks to the other side of the room and knocks on the

wall. Something knocks back on the other side. Delaney looks up

at the ceiling.


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There is no ceiling to the room. Just a black, inky void above.

Delaney goes to the center of the room and sits down. He stares

at the door ahead.

The door and the room begin to shake, save for the floor and De-

laney. He continues to stare at the door. From nowhere comes ablinding white light on the other side. Delaney continues to

stare as the door flings open and the light overtakes him.

EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY

The highway is calm and abandoned. Nothing crosses the blacktop.

The blacktop itself is dirty and grimy. An abandoned car, cov-

ered with the same dirt, sits alone off the side of the road.

The front windshield is misted with something on the inside.

The passenger side window is open. We push in. There is a rotten

corpse laying in the seat, flies all about it, a gun in hand.

There is a hole in its skull.

A car flies past the drivers side window. The car is black and

looks beat all to Hell.

INT. CAR - DAY

A man in black drives the car. He looks nervous. He has a gun inthe passenger seat. He turns the radio on. All he receives is

static. He continues on the highway.

INT. CAR - NIGHT

The man in black lays in the backseat of his car. It is now

night. He smokes a cigarette and stares at the moon through the

window. The moon is bright. The engine is off and the window

rolled down. There is a small flashlight he has aimed at the

roof of the car which illuminates things for him.

He takes a wallet out of his jeans and opens it up. There is

nothing much of importance in it. He finds his drivers license

and laughs at it. He drops it to the floor. He finds another

picture. His expression falls. He takes the cigarette from his

mouth and squashes it out against the plastic of the door.


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The picture is of him and a woman smiling. He almost cries but

manages to hold himself back. There is a cracking sound outside.

The man looks up.

EXT. FIELD - NIGHT

The man walks through the grass. He has his gun ready now. He

looks around the moonlit field and swallows. There is another

crack. He spins towards it. He squints into the darkness.

A man swings a branch at the man in blacks head. The man in

black turns at the sound in time to be hit and fall to the

ground.

EXT. FIELD - DAY

BLACK.

JOHN (OC)

Who are you?

There is light. A man sits, face bloody, against the wheel of a

car. Grass moves in the wind about him. The man spits blood on

himself and squints. He wears black.

John, the assailant, is crouching down a few yards away. Hewears a white t-shirt and jeans. He has a gun in one hand.

MAN IN BLACK

Who the fuck are you?

JOHN

Im the guy with a loaded gun.

MAN IN BLACK

Im a dead man. Im a dead man. There is nothing you can do to

me that would change that.

JOHN

You sound sure.

MAN IN BLACK

Hell kill me if I come back without you.


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JOHN

He was going to kill you no matter what you did.

MAN IN BLACK

Sure. Sure. And you arent?

JOHN

No. Yes. I dont know. Well find out. One of Delaneys men?

MAN IN BLACK

Who wants to know?

JOHN

Another dead man.

MAN IN BLACK

Yeah, Im with Delaney.

JOHN

Ive been following you for awhile.

MAN IN BLACK

Right. Right.

The man leans back. He struggles with his arms. He finds that he

is chained to the car- the wheel of the car keeps his arms di-

vided. The car would have to pull over the chain for the man in

black to get loose. He looks back up at John.

MAN IN BLACK

You dont fuck around.

JOHN

I cant afford to.

MAN IN BLACK

No. No, you cant. So which town are you from?

JOHNBefore or after?

MAN IN BLACK

Both.

JOHN

Before... before, I was from Louisville.


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MAN IN BLACK

And after?

JOHN

Lucida.

MAN IN BLACK

Went west, didja?

JOHN

Thats right.

MAN IN BLACK

I spent some time in Lucida.

JOHNI know. Thats why Im here.

MAN IN BLACK

Yeah. I figured as much. You know, hes losing power now.

Theyre leaving him. Going home.

JOHN

Whyd he give you a car? Things going like that?

MAN IN BLACK

Im not ready to go home yet.

JOHN

Right.

MAN IN BLACK

Hes gonna try to take it.

JOHN

He doesnt have anything left to take.

MAN IN BLACKSure he does. You know what hes after.

JOHN

Do I?

MAN IN BLACK


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Yeah. Youre John Black, arent you? Petersons not with you.

Youre the only one.

JOHN

Not the only one. Just the last one left.

MAN IN BLACK

Hes not going home.

JOHN

Yeah.

MAN IN BLACK

Hes going for Dobbs. Hes opened it again.

JOHN

He cant.

MAN IN BLACK

He thinks he can fix what hes done. He thinks he can change it.

I know about... the place. He can. He can.

JOHN

He cant open it again. We made sure of that.

MAN IN BLACK

Come on, John. Didnt you feel it? When it happened?

John sits back. He looks up at the sky.

MAN IN BLACK

Are you gonna kill me?

JOHN

No. No, Im not.

John stands up and walks to the car. He opens the drivers side

door and looks at the ignition. The keys are already in it.

MAN IN BLACK

Can you let me go?

JOHN

No.

MAN IN BLACK


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Then what do I do?

JOHN

I dont know.

John gets into the car and closes the door. He starts it. Theman in black starts to panic.

MAN IN BLACK

Hey! Hey! My hands!

John rolls the window down.

JOHN

What?

MAN IN BLACKHow are you gonna get around my hands?

John pauses and looks around again before looking back down at

the man in black.

JOHN

Figure it out.

He rolls the window up and puts the car in drive.

MAN IN BLACKHey! Hey, wait, you sonovabitch! You motherfucker! Wait a god-

damned-

John pulls over the man in blacks hands. The man in black

screams. He rolls over holding his mangled hand, screaming and

crying, as John pulls away from the field.

INT. CAR - DAY

John drives. He looks into the mirror at himself. He is un-nerved.

EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY

He pulls back onto the highway. He passes the car with the

corpse inside and fades into the distance.


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TITLE: THE LAST DAWN

EXT. ROAD - NIGHT

All is calm. Nothing moves. The car is parked off the side of

the road.

INT. CAR - NIGHT

John has stopped driving. He is sitting in the front seat

slumped over the wheel. The car is pulled onto the shoulder of

the highway. The gun is still in his hand. He jumps up suddenly

and cocks the gun. Jittery, John looks around for a moment and

then takes deep breaths.

He sees flashes of a smiling woman and a little girl. He leans

back over the wheel and starts to smile. There are more flashes-

this time of the little girl laying in a pool of blood and the

woman shot in the head. He starts to cry.

After a moment he gets himself under control. He turns the car

on and looks up at the clock in the dashboard. It is 7:00 in the

morning. He turns the engine on and pulls back onto the road. He

stares straight ahead and sets his jaw.

INT. CAR - DAY

The car continues moving in one set direction. John still

drives. The gas tank is dangerously low. He glances down at the

gauge and grimaces. He looks back up.

He punches the radio after a moment. Nothing but static again.

He listens for a few seconds and then begins to turn it off when

a strange sound begins to come through the radio. He glances

back down at it. After a moment there is a musical tone. Heturns the radio up and stares ahead at the road.

RADIO (Delaney)

John.


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John jumps in place and looks at the radio again. The cars en-

gine sputters and he looks back at the gauge. The gauge is deep-

redded. He steps on the brake.

EXT. HIGHWAY - DAY

The car rolls to a stop. The engine still sputtering, John turns

the key in the ignition. The engine dies and he sits in the si-

lence for a moment before patting the dashboard absently. He

gets out of the car and walks around to the passenger side. He

pulls the doors open. From the front seat he takes his revolver.

From the backseat he takes travel gear. He slings it over his

shoulder and looks out at the land surrounding. Nothing but

trees on both sides. He starts to walk.

ALEX (OC)John.

EXT. WOODS - DAY

John is staring off at the trees. His face is dark. He has the

same attire as earlier on. A man stand behind him, hair blonde.

ALEX

John.

John turns and stares at Alex. They stare at eachother for a mo-

ment before Alex turns and continues off into trees. John even-

tually turns and follows.

The two walk through the trees quietly. The only sounds in the

woods are that of their movements and the wind moving through

trees. Animal life seems to be gone.

EXT. CAMP - NIGHT

The two have pitched camp. They have two tents and they are

situated next to eachother. Alex and John sit out by a fire.

John stares into the flames while Alex is watching John.

ALEX

Its not going away.


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EXT. CAMP - NIGHT

John slips out of his tent, zipping it back up as he moves. He

has his gun in hand. The fire is bright in front of him. Some-thing moves again in the woods. John raises his weapon and

starts to walk, leaving the campsite.

EXT. WOODS - NIGHT

The moon is still bright above. John looks around and continues

walking. Something moves behind him. He spins. Nothing is behind

him. He turns back around and looks out into the darkness.

There is a woman in the darkness now. She stands facing towardsand silhouetted against the moon. John lowers his weapon. It is

the woman from the dream. He trembles and steps forward.

JOHN

Susan?

The woman turns her head slightly. He continues stepping for-

ward. There is a little girl clutching at her leg, he sees now.

John stops and falls to his knees. He reaches out to them and

starts to cry.

JOHN

Ally?

The little girl turns and looks at him. John starts to smile and

cry.

JOHN (contd)

Ally, its Dad. Ive missed you two so much. I... I cant move.

Please, come here...

Susan, the woman, finally turns and looks at John. She smilessadly at him.

SUSAN

Miles to walk and skies to burn, holes in hearts left to burn.

The wind alone will not learn: whats lost is lost, and you will

return.


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They stand a moment longer. Johns face falls, increasingly

frightened and distraught. Susan and Ally, when we next see

them, have rotten away and there are bulletholes in both of

their skulls. John starts to scream.

INT. TENT - DAY

John wakes up, breathing in quickly. He looks around wildly. He

slows himself down and sits up.

EXT. CAMP - DAY

Alex is sitting by the fire. He is killing it. John steps out of

his tent and glances around.

ALEX

Eat something. We move in thirty minutes.

EXT. FIELD - DAY

John and Alex walk along quietly. John looks up at the sun. It

is high above.

EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY

The sun is now low in the sky. John and Alex walk down the life-

less road, keeping their eyes mostly on the concrete. The sky

looks odd. Thunderheads are moving in. There is a distant crash

of thunder. Alex looks up finally and see the sky. He stops

walking. John continues.

ALEX

Lets find a place to ride this out.

John stops and looks up at the sky.

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

The house is silent and unmoving. There is a door ahead and one

on each side. Somebody pushes the door open and steps through.

It is Alex. He has a gun raised and he moves quietly through the


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house. He spins around the corner and sees a kitchen. He looks

back ahead. John comes in behind.

JOHN

Why isnt it rotted away?

ALEX

I dont know.

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

The room is lit by two flashlights aimed at the ceiling. Alex

sits against the wall, huddled under his blanket and with a pil-

low. John lays opposite. The flashlights are within distance of

both. Rain falls outside. The windows have been pulled open.

John stares at the ceiling for a moment. There are flashes of

the woman and the child again. He doesnt react to these flashes

much. He slowly smoulders.

ALEX

Her name was Ellie. Ellie Duke. We were sixteen, just stupid

fucking kids. I knew her since Kindergarten. First day of

school, I didnt talk to anyone. I was afraid. Ellie, she... she

came over to me and kissed me on the forehead and said Come on

out to the playground, silly bear. You know, she was always

calling me bear. Up till... when we were fourteen we slept to-gether for the first time. No. Not the first time. But the first

time we ever... neither of us knew any better. We learned, yeah.

Started to look for ways to hide it. We did, knowing it might

not work. When we were sixteen, it didnt.

Alex falls silent. John sits up.

JOHN

What did you do?

ALEXI didnt do anything. I didnt know. She didnt tell me. She was

five months in when she got in a car crash with Lila and Billy.

Head-on collision. They didnt even tell me. They told her par-

ents. And they told me at the funeral.

John looks down at the floor.


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ALEX (Contd)

So when I say, just dont even think about it? I mean it. Deal

with it. Move on.

JOHN

What would I do? What could I do?

ALEX

Go home. Thats where I should go.

JOHN

Just give up?

ALEX

Yeah. Just give up. Tend to yourself. Youve worried enough

about right or wrong, good or bad. So have I. We deserve a rest.

JOHN

If we go, everybody goes.

ALEX

No. Everythingll be okay. Not the way it was, but people will

get along just fine without you or me. Itll come back. Dont

drag it with you to your death.

JOHN

I cant... stop. I wont stop.

ALEX

You will. You will.

John looks up at Alex.

EXT. ROAD - DAY

John walks along the highway alone. He looks up at the sky. The

sun is still somewhat high. He stops and sits down in the middle

of the road. He sits cross-legged and slips out of the backpack.He wipes sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm. John

pulls a small water bottle out of his backpack. It is only half-

full. He upends it. Water does not leak. He turns it right side

up. Water drips from a pinhole in the bottom.

JOHN

Shit.


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John opens the water bottle and drinks whats left of the bottle

and then shakes the droplets out. He wipes them onto his face.

He pulls a chocolate bar from the pack. It is somewhat melted as

he opens it. He eats it nonetheless, looking around. There is

nothing within distance worth seeing. He sighs and pulls his gunfrom his pocket. He checks how many bullets are in the chamber.

Then he slips it back into its holster.

John pulls a map from his backpack and opens it up. He traces a

finger along the highway and then looks around. There are no

road signs.

JOHN

Last major intersection... Stillson. Two hours. Three miles an

hour. Six miles.

John traces a finger to find where he is. There is an X marked

in blue ink two or three inches from his finger. He nods to him-

self and folds the map back up.

Something moves behind him. He goes for his weapon, but it is

too late. Somebody puts a rifle into his neck.

ELIZABETH

Dont move.

John sits silent.

ELIZABETH

What youre going to do is take that gunbelt off and toss it to

your right. Slowly. Make any smart moves... you know the drill.

John does so.

ELIZABETH

Now lay down. On the ground. Slow. Thats right.

John complys. Elizabeth pulls a pair of handcuffs out of herpocket.

ELIZABETH

Hands on your back. Stay down.

John lays, face against the ground, still silent. He has re-

signed himself now. Elizabeth moves forward and puts the gun in


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his neck again. She keeps one hand against the trigger and with

the other snaps handcuffs on Johns hands.

JOHN

Whered you get handcuffs?

ELIZABETH

Shut the fuck up.

Elizabeth turns around and goes to Johns pack. She pulls things

out as she finds them and tosses them away. She finds a choco-

late bar.

ELIZABETH

Whered you get chocolate?

JOHNFound it.

ELIZABETH

Where?

JOHN

Too far back for you to bother.

Elizabeth pulls the gun from the gunbelt.

ELIZABETHRevolver. Colt. .44 gauge. Anaconda. Six shot. Not the most eco-

nomic of choices these days. Definitely not the best bang for

your buck.

JOHN

Call it nostalgia.

Elizabeth puts the gun back. She looks back to the backpack and

opens it. She pulls out a small box and looks inside.

ELIZABETHThese are the real deal. Hundred and fifty. Whered you get

these?

John doesnt answer.

ELIZABETH (Contd)

What? You dont know how to talk all of the sudden?


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JOHN

I got them in Lucida.

Elizabeth looks up at him, face dropping. She stands and walks

over to him. He twists to the side and looks up at her.

JOHN

What?

Elizabeth smacks the butt of her rifle on the back of his head.

He is completely unconscious. He lays still. Elizabeth glares

down at him for a moment before squatting down and whispering in

his ear.

ELIZABETH

Lucidas gone.

She starts looking through Johns pockets. She finds something

and frowns. She pulls it out. It is a wallet. She opens it up.

She pulls out a drivers license and stares at it for a second

before tossing it away.

ELIZABETH

John Black... now theres a name.

She keeps looking. She pulls out a few dollar bills and tosses

them away as well. She comes up with a picture of a little girland she holds it for a moment before sliding it back into the

pocket. The identification pocket bulges. She pulls it open.

She looks up at John, face stone now. She drops the wallet to

the ground. There is a Sherriffs Badge inside of the pocket,

accredited to Lucida City. Johns name is on the badge.

INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

John leans against the wall. There is a flashing light somewhereand John wakes up slowly. He looks ahead at the source of the

light.

Alex sleeps on the floor, head covered. The wind has risen and

so has the rain. There is a spotlight on the stairwell leading

upstairs now. John watches with fascination. A man comes down

the stairwell and the spotlight follows.


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The man stands naked and rotten in the large doorway for a mo-

ment before pointing to his right and walking away. The lights

continue to follow until he has disappeared. Then the search-

light and strobe lights fade. John grabs his gun and stands up.

He walks towards the door. He stops in front of Alex and staresat him for a moment before leaning out of the hall. He looks to-

wards the hallway the man went down. The strobe light is emit-

ting now from a basement stairwell. John turns and looks down at

Alex.

After a moment, he crouches down and shakes Alex.

JOHN

Alex. Alex.

Alex wakes up quickly, grabbing for his gun.

ALEX

Yeah?

JOHN

Were not alone.

INT. BASEMENT STAIRWELL - NIGHT

Alex leads the way down the stairs. John follows. They walkslowly into the darkness. The strobe still lights it.

The man stands at the bottom of the steps, spotlight on him. The

two take aim.

The man raises a hand.

ALEX

Who the fuck are you?

The thing lowers its hand. There is a slow sucking sound at thebottom of the steps. It raises its hand again and points to its

right side. There is a door there.

VOICE

In darker lights, under other moons.


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The thing steps through a door. After a moment it turns a light

on inside the room and closes the door. John and Alex stand and

watch it disappear into the room. They stand for a moment longer

at the top of the steps before moving forward. Alex stops for a

moment.

ALEX

What the fuck are we doing?

John keeps going. After a few seconds Alex follows.

INT. BASEMENT - NIGHT

John swings around to look around the basement. He turns back to

the door after a moment.

Alex exits the stairwell and looks at the door. He looks over at

John for a moment. John looks back at him. He almost says some-

thing, then he turns and twists the doorknob and throws the door

open. There is no light inside. The two step in.

INT. BLACK ROOM - UNDEFINED

John and Alex step into the black room and look around. The door

closes behind them. Alex turns around. John continues to stare

ahead. Alex looks back.

Delaney sits in the middle of the floor. John raises his gun but

Alex pushes it down and points.

The spotlight returns. The naked man stands behind Delaney,

against the darkness.

VOICE

I have dreamed... a terrible dream. In it, I was walking under a

pale sun. In roses. Moon roses. I stopped to watch the fires as

the roses burned in daylight. I saw... a world, glowing. Men andwomen on a beach, waiting as the ocean took them one by one. I

saw the sun set and the moon rise. I saw the roses come once

more, but man not.

ALEX

What is this?


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VOICE

Midstation.

Alex looks around.

JOHNWhats he doing here?

VOICE

To walk the ocean and see the sun afire in the sky. To match

rhythm with the beat of a drum, how I feel inside. To take your

hand and take you away. To show you what you cannot see. To be

as one, to keep at bay, this thing inside of me.

John trembles.

JOHNWhere the fuck did you hear that?

VOICE

Miles to walk and skies to burn. Holes in hearts left to yearn.

The wind alone will not learn. Whats lost is lost and you will

return.

John cries out and falls to the ground. The naked man smiles and

steps forward. He leans down and whispers in Delaneys ear. He

does the same for John. He looks at Alex. Alex is at a loss.

ALEX

What is this?

The man looks at John as he speaks.

VOICE

Go now, for I am Death.

The spotlight aimed on the man fades. The light illuminating De-

laney also fades. Alex looks down at John. Their light dies.

INT. BASEMENT STORAGE ROOM - NIGHT

John sits against a cabinet staring ahead. Alex is looking down

at him. He looks back up.

ALEX


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What the...

He trails off and stares at what John is staring at. There is a

rotten body leaned against the wall, a dreamcatcher hanging

above it.

JOHN

Hes the Circuit.

John stands up and walks away. Alex continues to stare for a mo-

ment before following.

EXT. HOUSE - DAY

John has tossed both of the pairs gear out onto the grass. He

walks down the steps towards them. Alex comes through the door .John picks his things up.

ALEX

What the fuck is going on?

John looks up at Alex for a moment. He smiles sadly.

JOHN

Closing time.

John turns and starts to walk away. After a moment, Alex fol-lows.

The Last Dawn 21 Pages

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