S. S. Wilson & Brent Maddock's "Tremors" BENEATH PERFECTION Written by S. S. Wilson & Brent Maddock WD6 6/21/88 1 EXT. DESERT VALLEY - DAY 1 The high desert -- absolutely silent -- a vast, hard land- scape stretching away to distant mountains. The silence is broken by hoof-beats. 2 EXT. EDGAR'S PLACE - DAY 2 It's a simple cabin dwarfed by a big, ramshackle barn. EDGAR DEEMS (60s), a weathered desert rat of a hermit, is walking his donkey around in circles. Now, rattling toward them down an endless dirt road, comes an old, sun-bleached Buick. It stops and out leans OLD FRED (70s) wearing a sweat-stained fedora. The two friends nod. OLD FRED How's she doing? EDGAR She wants to lay down. I'm a little worried. Old Fred climbs out with a bushel basket of carrots. OLD FRED Well, I brung her something I know she likes. EDGAR Damn, Fred, you can't give away all those. OLD FRED Forget it. I got vegetables coming out my ears. Usually the varmints eat up half my crop, but lately I ain't so much as seen a gopher or a jack-rabbit nowheres. EDGAR If that ain't the truth. And I count on them for a little bit of stew meat...Thank you, Fred. Edgar takes the carrots and feeds one to the donkey. EDGAR (cont'd) Here you go, Justine. Look what Fred brought you. OLD FRED We playing cards tonight? EDGAR I think I'm gonna be sitting up with her. OLD FRED I'd do the same. Well, catch you Thursday. EDGAR You bet. The men nod, and Old Fred drives off. CLOSE-UP of the donkey's hooves thumping along as Edgar leads her to the barn. EDGAR (cont'd) Let's get you out of the sun for a spell. EDGAR (cont'd) I'll get you some fresh water. But, suddenly, we hear the donkey restlessly stomping its hooves and braying. Edgar turns, concerned. Now we hear an odd sound. Distant thunder? The wind? The donkey gets more and more frantic. The barn shudders violently. Frightened birds explode from the eaves. Dust puffs from every old seam. Roof shingles rain down. Edgar stares in amazement. EDGAR (cont'd) ...some kind of earthquake !? Then another sound -- the donkey starts screeching in wild panic. EDGAR (cont'd) Justine, hang on! I'm coming! Edgar races back to the barn and flings open the doors. 3 INT. EDGAR'S BARN - DAY 3 Dust swirls through the air. But -- the barn in empty. No donkey. Now Edgar is hit by a ghastly stench. He staggers back, and covers his nose with a handkerchief. Then he sees, splattered across the walls -- blood ! EDGAR What in the name of Jehovah...? He raises his arms above the door frame. When he lowers them he's holding a 12 gauge shotgun. He races outside, ready to shoot, but there's nothing -- as far as the eye can see. 4 EXT. CLIFFS - DAWN 4 The sun lights up spectacular sheer cliffs which plunge 1000 feet from a ruggedly beautiful high-desert plateau. At the top of the cliffs, silhouetted against the dawn, a lone cow- boy seems to gaze in deep contemplation at the sunrise. As we MOVE IN, we realize he's actually peeing over the cliff. This is VALENTINE MCKEE (25). Smart and good looking, Val has nevertheless managed to underachieve brilliantly. He coasts through life, following the path of least resistance -- which has brought him to this dubious rustic existence on the edge of civilization. But lately he's beginning to wonder why he hasn't accomplished more in his 25 years. As a few sleepy cows gaze at him, sleepy Val shuffles over to his battered old pickup truck. A hand-painted sign on the door reads: "V & E -- All Type's of Job's." Indeed, the pick-up bed is jumbled with tools and supplies for every conceivable odd job -- and the noisily snoring form of his partner huddled in a dirty sleeping bag. Val raps on the side of the truck. VAL (softly) Good morning, Mr. Bassett, this is your wake-up call. Please move your fat ass. No response from the sleeping bag. Val stares at the cows chewing their cud -- and perks up as he gets an idea. He gently steps onto the truck's running board, then suddenly starts jumping up and down as hard as he can, rocking the truck violently. VAL (cont'd) STAMPEDE! EARL, GET OUT OF THE WAY! The sleeping bag tries to get up and run for it. It tumbles out of the back of the pickup. While Val laughs uproar- iously, EARL BASSET (43) claws his way out of the bag, looks around wildly, and finds himself staring at three motionless cows. EARL You dumb shit. Earl is a good-ol' boy who has lived his life just like Val, drifting from job to job. He knows why he hasn't accom- plished anything, and often tries to impart his hard-won wisdom to Val, but the last thing the younger man wants is advice. Earl stretches. The men begin a silent ritual: Earl gropes through his pockets for a cigarette, but only finds a lighter. Meanwhile, Val digs in his pockets, coming up with cigarettes, but no lighter. Typical of these two, each guy always has half of what he needs. Eventually they sort it out, trading the necessary implements. Earl reaches for a coffee-pot on a battered Coleman stove on the tailgate. But it's cold. EARL You didn't cook breakfast? VAL Did it yesterday. Franks and beans. EARL (tries to recall) No...it was eggs. I did eggs. VAL Hell you did. Your turn. Earl raises his fist. This is The Challenge, and it instantly triggers the partners' conflict-resolution technique. They solve all disputes using the children's game of "scissors, rock, paper." Earl raises his fist in response. The game is played swiftly and silently -- one, two, three. On three, Val mimes "paper" (open hand. Earl mimes "scissors" (two extended fingers). Scissors cuts paper. Val has lost. He shrugs and starts pumping up the stove fuel tank. VAL (cont'd) Well, when I'm your age I'll probably forget what I eat, too. 4A EXT. DESERT VALLEY - FENCE - DAY 4A Val and Earl are restringing a dilapidated, and seemingly endless, barbed wire fence. A few bored cows watch them. VAL How many cows does it take to make a stampede? Is it like three or more? Is there a minimum speed? EARL (shakes his head) I was in one. A bolt of lightning blew up cottonwood tree. Three hundred head going hell-bent for the horizon. Wasn't so damn funny, I can tell you. Earl's hand slips and the fence snags him right through his thick glove. EARL (cont'd) Ow! God damn! Is this a job for intelligent men?! VAL If there was one nearby I'd probably ask him. EARL I keep thinking, if we were but half serious about money, we should quit being hired hands and... VAL (mock serious) Handymen, Earl. We're handymen. EARL Whatever the hell we are, we should quit and go get ourselves some real employment. Val gestures to the vastness around them. VAL What, and give up all this personal freedom? 5 EXT. JEEP TRAIL - DAY 5 Val guides the truck down a tortuous, rocky, almost impas- sable trail. It takes full concentration as he fights the steering wheel, shifts, rides the brake and leans out trying to pick a decent route. Earl braces his feet on the dash and munches breakfast, a raw hot dog right out of the package. VAL Goddamn jeep trail gets worse every year. EARL (shrugs) Has a lot of rain. Earl pulls a box of Hershey bars from under the seat. There's only one bar left. He sets the box down between them. Val glances at it -- and raises his fist: The Challenge. One, two, three. Val mimes "paper;" Earl mimes "rock." Earl loses. Val takes the bar. EARL (pointing ahead) You're gonna get us hung up. VAL Do not talk to the driver. THWONK! The truck lurches to a stop, its frame caught on a big rock. Val glares at Earl. 6 EXT. DESERT INTERSECTION - PICK-UP TRUCK - DAY 6 The pick-up turns from a dirt road onto an old paved road. VAL (V.O.) What do we have next? 7 INT. PICK-UP - MOVING - DAY 7 Earl consults a crumpled list pulled from inside his hat. EARL Uh...Digging that waterhole for Nestor. VAL Burt and Heather's place is closer. Let's do their kitchen today. Do Nestor tomorrow. EARL Nestor's out of town tomorrow. We don't dig today. We don't get paid today. Damn it, Valentine, you never plan ahead. You never take the long view. Hell, here it is Monday and I'm already working on Wednesday. (squints dubiously at his schedule) It is Monday, right? But Val is peering at the desert up ahead. Off the road a ways is a small Toyota pick-up truck and, beside it, a lone figure trying to flag them down. VAL Who the hell's that? That's not what's his name...the grad student? EARL Nah, it's September. Must be the new one. VAL The new one! That's supposed to be a girl! Earl braces himself, knowing what Val will do. Val swerves the truck wildly off the road, barreling across the desert. VAL (cont'd) (almost praying) You will have long blonde hair, big green eyes, nice full breasts that stand up and say hello, ass that won't quit. And legs, legs that go all the way up! Earl shakes his head, mildly bemused as they slide to a stop in a cloud of dust. 8 EXT. DESERT - RHONDA'S TRUCK - DAY 8 Val looks out hopefully. The dust clears. He sees her -- RHONDA LeBECK, (25). Val's eyes do an expert vertical scan: short brown hair, small brown eyes, so-so chest, legs hidden in baggy dungarees. Laden with a portable computer, notebooks, and some seismograph printouts, she stares at him through tilted glasses. Her little pick-up truck is loaded with geology field equipment. She shakes Val's hand firmly. RHONDA (brightly) Hi, I'm Rhonda. Rhonda LeBeck. I'm up here for the semester... VAL Yeah, geography. RHONDA Right, geology. And you have to be Val and Earl. I've heard all about you. EARL We deny everything. Rhonda smiles. RHONDA Listen, got a question for you. Do you know if anybody is doing any blasting or drilling or anything like that? VAL Around here? Why would they? RHONDA Well, I'm supposed monitor these seismographs. You know, they measure vibrations... VAL Yeah, vibrations in the ground. RHONDA Yeah, well, I'm getting what I refer to scientifically as "weird vibes." every sensor I've got is giving me strange readings. I mean, the school has had these machines up here three years and they've never recorded anything like this. EARL Well, we'll ask around. Let you know if we hear of anything. RHONDA Thanks. God, I hope they're not screwed up. I might have to bag the whole semester. Anyway, sorry to bother you. EARL No problem. Nice meeting you. Hope you get it sorted out. Rhonda unhappily turns back to her equipment as Val and Earl drive off. 9 INT. PICK-UP TRUCK - MOVING - DAY 9 Earl glances over at Val with a gleam in his eye. EARL You know, if you wanted, we could take a look at those seismographs for her. VAL What the hell do we know about seismographs? EARL Nothing. But it sure might be a nice way of getting to know her. VAL Why? EARL Goddamnit, Valentine, you won't go for any gal unless she fits that damn list of yours A to Z... VAL Well, sure. EARL ...And is dumber than my hind end. Like that Bobby Lynn Dexter... Val flips down the truck's sunvisor. Tapes to it are snap- shots of nearly identical blonde bimbos. Val points to one. VAL (defensively) Tammy Lynn Baxter. EARL Don't matter. They're all the same: dead weight. Can't make a decision, can't walk because of their shoes, can't work because of their fingernails. Make my skin crawl! VAL Well, I'm a victim of circumstance. EARL I thought you called it your pecker. Look, don't make the mistake I made. Twenty years of looking for a woman exactly like Miss October 1968, and where'd it get me? Here with you. Val rolls his eyes -- "Give me a break." 10 EXT. PERFECTION - ESTABLISH - DAY 10 The pick-up rattles toward a tiny, utterly isolated high desert hamlet -- a few dozen houses and mobile homes fighting for shade in the vast landscape. Its most prominent feature is an aging wood-frame water tower, perhaps 25 feet high, near the center of town. A sign PANS into view -- "PERFECTION -- Pop. 14." 11 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 11 Val and Earl head past the water tower for Pham Van's General Store, Perfection's main gossip stop and only business. The store's sign, in English and Vietnamese, reads: "Groceries, Haircuts, Post Office, Town Hall, VIDEOS !" Val and Earl park next to a camouflage-painted, large-tired Blazer. Just then they spot MELVIN, the town's surly teen-aged pain- in-the-ass, coming toward them, mindlessly bouncing a basketball off the hoods of parked cars. As he nears their truck: EARL Melvin, touch that truck and die. MELVIN Oh, man, I'm really shaking. But he steers clear of their truck. 12 INT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 12 Inside, the energetic Vietnamese owner, PHAM VAN, presides over his all-purpose establishment: part general store, part barber shop, part saloon. At the bar are BURT GUMMER and his wife HEATHER, two no- nonsense survivalists who have settled in Perfection to await the coming apocalypse -- a nice enough couple, but there's a hint of paranoia around the edges. Burt is shoving a box of cartridges across to Pham. BURT No, Pham, they're not hollow points. I ordered hollow points and that's what I want. When Val and Earl enter, Pham automatically pops the tops on two cold beers and has them in place before the cowboys reach the bar. Everyone exchanged nods. HEATHER Hi, guys, what you been up to? VAL Ran into the new college student, Rona. EARL Rhonda. Rhonda LeBeck. She's getting some kind of strange readings on her things. BURT Damn, you know, those kids turn up oil or uranium or something out there...next thing the Feds will be at our door. "Sorry, time to move. Eminent domain." HEATHER Down, honey, down. VAL Yeah, Burt. The way you worry, you're gonna have a heart attack before you get to survive World War III. Heather and Pham laugh. Burt smiles patiently. Just then the compressor in Pham's ice cream freezer comes on. It's a loud chug-chug-chug sound mixed with a high-pitched squeal. PHAM VAN Hey Val, listen. Bearing going out, you think? VAL Could be. He starts toward the compressor, but Earl heads him off. EARL Catch it later, Pham. Gotta get over to Nestor's. VAL Right. We plan ahead. That way we don't do anything right now. Earl explained it to me. As they turn to go, Val does a take, amazed, as he spots a decorative bleached-out cattle skull displayed on the counter -- with a $29.95 price tag. VAL (cont'd) Hey, Pham Van, what the hell is this? BURT A beauty, isn't it? We bought three of them for the rec room. VAL (whispers to Pham Van) We sell 'em to you for three bucks a piece! PHAM VAN (deadpan) And I appreciate it. VAL (playfully) You don't get it, Pham. The idea was: we were ripping you off. Suddenly a car alarm blares from outside. Burt's out the door in a flash. The others follow. 13 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 13 Burt races out and shouts at Melvin who back guiltily away from Burt's camouflage Blazer. BURT Melvin, you little pain-in-the-ass! MELVIN It wasn't me, man! Your truck's just screwed up, that's all. Burt angrily switches off the alarm. Val and Earl laugh as they climb into their truck. VAL Why don't his parents ever take him to Vegas with them? EARL You gotta ask that ? 14 EXT. PIT - DAY 14 At one end of town, Earl maneuvers a huge bulldozer with a scoop-loader blade through a choking cloud of dust, scouring out a shallow pit to serve as a watering hole. Val sights down a row of stakes which mark one end of the pit. The job is done. He signals Earl to cut the engine. Both men have kerchiefs covering their faces and are totally encrusted with dust. 15 ANGLE - TRUCK TRAILER - DAY 15 Nearby is an old battered truck trailer -- the massive, solid steel kind used for heavy rock hauling. Tires flat, mired in dried mud and weeds, it hasn't been used in years. Now it provides welcome shade as the men sit sipping some coffee. NESTOR CUNNINGHAM drives up, surveying the pit with approval. NESTOR It came out great, boys. Should fill up just fine come the next rain. Lemme have your bill. Earl and Val start fishing in their pockets for pen and paper. Earl comes up with various pieces of paper, Val with three or four pens. It's a moment before they realize each has the other needed implement. Earl writes out the bill during: NESTOR (cont'd) I'll have to send it to you the first of the month, boys. Val and Earl exchange pained looks. NESTOR (cont'd) Now, you know I'm good for it. VAL Yeah, Nestor, we know. Don't worry about it. Catch us when you can. They amble over to their truck. Earl takes the driver's side -- and starts fishing in his pockets for the key. VAL (cont'd) Are we too easy-going? EARL No, we're not too easy-going. This area is economically depressed. Val realizes he has the key and hands it over. VAL So what if we just did it...today. Pack up. Drive straight down to Bixby. Get serious. EARL We could. We could. But we'd have to get really serious. It's gonna cost twice as much to rent a place. VAL So? That car wash pays good, and they're always looking. EARL Car wash?! That's got no future. If we're gonna take the plunge we oughta have a better plan than that. VAL Yeah, sure. Go ahead and plan it...for a year or two. 16 EXT. VIOLA'S PLACE - DAY 16 CLOSE ON a stencilled sign: PHAM VAN'S U-RENT -- CESSPOOL, SEPTIC TANKS. PULL OUT to see Val and Earl have rented a portable septic pump (perhaps trailer mounted). The aged machine reeks of and drips with its ignoble cargo. The intake hose has been repaired so often it looks to be more tape than hose. Grimacing Val threads the slimy hose down through the open top of Viola's cesspool. Beside them is Viola's well-kept mobile home on a low hill not far from Pham Van's store. Well-kept flower gardens surround the place. VIOLA, a sweet little old lady, watches the men work while straining to hold the leash of her tiny but ferocious dog. The dog yaps continuously, lunging at Val and Earl. VIOLA Stop it! Stop it, you horrid animal! (to Val and Earl) I'm going to give her back to my son. I swear it. VAL Hey, Viola, you've got my permission. EARL God almighty, my mama sure didn't raise me for this. Val gets up and starts the pump's gas engine. VAL Well, you're the one won't work in the car wash. You're the one's gotta have a plan. EARL Damn it, Val! Not having a plan is what keeps us doing jobs like this! Earl angrily throws the pump valve and starts the pump mechanism. He and Val on stand either side of the intake hose as it gurgles happily. VAL What keeps us doing jobs like this is you dragging your feet. I was up for going to Bixby. I was getting excited. EARL In the past year I must've said a hundred times "We gotta get out of Perfection. We gotta better ourselves." You gonna stand there in broad daylight and tell me you think I'm the reason we're still here? You want to know how close I am to going to Bixby right now ? VAL I'll call that little bluff. How close? POW! GOOOOSH! The gurgling intake hose ruptures, showering them with -- well you know. They react as if they'd been shot; gagging, staggering, screaming obscenities. 17 EXT. VAL AND EARL'S TRAILER - DAY 17 Val and Earl's beat-up mobile home is just down the street from Pham Van's store. Val and Earl, now in cleaner clothes, march out resolutely. Val has a portable TV in one hand and a framed COORS beer sign in the other. Earl unhooks the clothes line and dumps it, clothes and all, into the back of their truck, on top of the rest of their belongings. They stare at each other for a moment. This is it. No going back. They leap into the truck. As they drive off, Val leans out and yanks their wooden nameplate ("E. Basset -- V. McKee") off the mailbox. 18 EXT. NANCY'S HOUSE - DAY 18 They haven't gone fifty yards when they spot NANCY STERNGOOD (40s) working in front of her house. The guys pull their hats low over their faces. Earl swerves to the far side of the street. EARL Uh oh, it's Nancy. She wants another load of firewood. VAL Forget it, man. It's not worth it. Nancy spots them and beckons excitedly. EARL She's got us. Now, listen, the plan is: we have done our last job in Perfection. VAL That's the plan. They stop beside Nancy. While they talk, Nancy's daughter, MINDY (9), comes bouncing along on her pogo-stick, listening to her Walkman and slowly circling the truck. NANCY Mindy, honey, don't pogo in the street. Hey, guys, I've got a job for you... EARL Sorry, Nancy. We ain't doing odd jobs anymore. We're headed for Bixby permanent. NANCY (skeptical) Oh, sure... (sees stuff in back of truck) ...My God, you really are! VAL Yep, we're relocating to an area with a greater economic base. (to Mindy, over her music) Hey, Mindy, what's the count? MINDY Six hundred three, six hundred four, six hundred five... VAL Go for it! NANCY Gee, guys. I made the big decision. I'm putting in that satellite dish. I was going to offer you five hundred dollars. Val and Earl glance at each other -- five hundred dollars! 19 EXT. DESERT ROAD - PICK-UP TRUCK - DAY 19 The truck roars toward the "Leaving Perfection" sign. Val and Earl are elated, downright giddy. EARL We did it! We faced temptation and we did not bend! VAL Damn straight! Now there's nothing between us and Bixby but nothing! They zoom past the sign. VAL (cont'd) Last time we'll see that sign! They laugh, then are thrown half out of their seats as Earl accidentally hits a big pothole. EARL Last time we hit that goddamn pothole! 20 EXT. DESERT - WIDE - DAY 20 As the truck streaks across the landscape. Val and Earl merrily continue their good-byes to whatever is visible. VAL (V.O.) So long, cactus! EARL (V.O.) Adios, bridge! 21 EXT. CANYON ROAD - DAY 21 On its way down from the high desert, the lonely road now winds through a twisting, narrow canyon. A county highway maintenance truck is parked to one side and two road workers, CARMINE and HOWARD, repair a slide-damaged section of the road, Carmine breaking up asphalt with a jackhammer. Val and Earl pull up, hand them each a beer, and speed away, shouting: VAL Last time down this damn twisty road! 22 EXT. SHACK - DAY 22 The pick-up speeds past a small shack. Val and Earl automatically roll up their windows. In a moment we see why: a monster, ferocious dog comes galloping out to chase their truck. Earl gives the dog the finger. EARL Last chance, asshole. Run, run...! 23 EXT. OLD FRED'S PLACE - DAY 23 Old Fred latches the gate on his corral filled with sheep. He looks up as Val and Earl's truck speeds past. Val and Earl honk their horn and wave happily. Old Fred waves back. 24 EXT. ROAD - ELECTRICAL TOWERS - DAY 24 The pick-up zooms along, the road now paralleling a line of tall high-tension electrical towers. 25 INT./EXT. PICK-UP TRUCK - MOVING - DAY 25 The guys have calmed down, but each is still dreaming of a new life. EARL Okay, here's the plan. We bust our tails in the car wash six months... well, maybe nine...and we don't spend a dime , you know? And then we go for it...down payment on a tow-truck or a back-hoe or something, right? Start a real business. We can start looking for something today, tonight! Val points up ahead -- a man is sitting near the top of a distant electrical tower. VAL Jeez, look at that guy. EARL (shakes his head) One job I'd never take is working around electricity. VAL Especially when it's two hundred feet off the ground. But as the pass the tower: VAL (cont'd) Hey, hold up...That's Edgar Deems! EARL You're full of shit. VAL He's only got one damn jacket. That's him, I'm telling you. 26 EXT. ELECTRICAL TOWER - DAY 26 Earl pulls over. They climb out and peer up at the tower. Edgar is hard to see through the criss-crossing girders. EARL (impressed) Man, oh, man. He must've really been drunk this time. (shouts) Edgar! What the hell you doing? Get on down from there! Edgar doesn't move. Val and Earl shift about uncomfortably. VAL Well, shit, we can't leave him up there. They stare at each other. Someone's got to climb up. Val raises his fist in The Challenge. Their fingers fly. Rock breaks scissors. Val loses. Valentine unhappily climbs the tall tower while Earl watches from below. VAL (cont'd) Hey, Edgar, don't you move. I'm coming to get you...You damn fool, you owe me on this one... Higher and higher Val climbs. He tries not to look down. He's approaching Edgar from below and behind. As he gets nearer he begins to notice forboding details: one of Edgar's shoes is missing, half the trouser led is torn off.. Edgar is strapped to a girder by his belt, his shotgun gripped in his hands. A swarm of flies buzzes away. VAL (cont'd) What the hell... He edges around to where he can see Edgar's face -- the eyes are wide open, staring. He's dead. 27 EXT. OLD FRED'S PLACE - DAY 27 Old Fred is now hoeing his garden. He glances up as Val and Earl's pick-up roars back toward Perfection. 28 EXT. JIM AND MEGAN'S HOUSE - DAY 28 A big station wagon is parked between a small mobile home and a half-finished house being built by JIM and MEGAN WALLACE, an out-going, energetic older couple. Lumber, cinder blocks, and tools are scattered around the yard. Jim examines Edgar's body in the bed of Val and Earl's pick- up truck. Val, Earl and Megan talk in subdued tones. VAL Real sorry to bother you, Megan, but we figured since Jim's a doctor... MEGAN No, it's fine. You did the right thing. When Jim is done we'll call the Coroner's office in Bixby. We'll take care of it. (shakes her head) Poor Edgar. EARL (tries to break the mood) Well, I see you got all the wallboard up. MEGAN That was easy. You two did the hard part. Sure sorry you're leaving. Jim climbs out of the pick-up. EARL Was is a heart attack? JIM (shaking his head) He died of dehydration. Thirst. VAL But that doesn't make sense. That takes a couple of days, doesn't it? JIM Three or four even. EARL You mean he sat up there three or four days ? Just sat there till he died of thirst? Jim shrugs. Everyone is mystified. 29 EXT. OLD FRED'S PLACE - DAY 29 Fred is still hoeing. In the nearby pen his sheep start acting restless. He eyes them. What's up? We hear a strange muffled sound. Unseen, behind him, at the far end of the garden, his scarecrow mysteriously tilts. Old Fred keeps hoeing. He stops, his foot is caught in the dirt. Suddenly he is yanked knee-deep into the ground! 30 EXT. CANYON ROAD - DAY 30 Val and Earl's truck, again headed for Bixby, and going way too fast, zooms past the two workers still repairing the road. The workers glance up, annoyed. 31 EXT. SHACK - DAY 31 Val and Earl, sobered and deep in thought, drive past the shack where the ferocious dog lives. They automatically roll up their windows during: EARL Reckon he hated Perfection more than us? You suppose he wanted to kill himself? VAL If he did, why didn't he use his damn shotgun? EARL Maybe he just couldn't pull the trigger... VAL Oh sure, he figured it was easier to die of thirst? Come on, sombody must've chased him up there. EARL Oh, you mean somebody who ain't scared of a twelve gauge shotgun. And then what did they do? Camp out down below and just wait for him to die? Val has no answer. It's too weird. VAL Well, whatever the hell happened it's just one more goddamn good reason to haul ass out of this place. EARL You got that right. They are passing the shack. Earl suddenly realizes: EARL (cont'd) Hey, where the hell's that asshole dog? VAL (looking around) Probably up a pole starving itself to death. EARL Okay, the plan is: pedal to the metal the whole way. We don't stop till we hit the carwash, not even to pee. VAL I'll go with that plan. 32 EXT. OLD FRED'S PLACE - DAY 32 CLOSE ON the pick-up's tires skidding to a stop. PULL OUT to see we're back at Old Fred's. VAL What are you doing? Earl is staring wide-eyed. Val follows Earl's gaze and is aghast when he sees -- The sheep pen -- it's a ghastly, bloody mess. Scattered on the churned up ground a few dismembered sheep legs and heads are all that remain of the flock. VAL (whispers) What the hell...? Val and Earl leap out of the truck to investigate. VAL Hey, Old Fred! Fred! Where are you?! Earl dashes into Fred's house. Val checks around outside. Earl comes back out. EARL Not here. Then they spot something lying in the middle of the garden -- Old Fred's hat. Still looking all around, Val squats distractedly to pick up the hat. He and Earl stumble backward in shock. OLD FRED IS STILL WEARING HIS HAT!! His mangled face stares up at them, eyes and mouth frozen open in a death grimace. EARL Oh, Jesus!! VAL What the hell is going on? I mean WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!! 33 EXT. CANYON ROAD - DAY 33 Carmine and Howard continue repairing the road, Carmine still using the noisy jackhammer. Val and Earl drive up. EARL You guys better get the hell outta here! We got a killer on the loose! HOWARD What? Carmine stops jackhammering to listen. EARL A murderer , man! A real psycho. He's cutting people's heads off! I'm serious! I'd high-tail for town if I was you! Val and Earl speed away. CARMINE They're drunk. HOWARD Yeah... But he edges over to the truck and takes out a heavy steel pry-bar to keep within easy reach. Carmine goes back to work, pounding the asphalt with the jackhammer. Suddenly the blade strikes something beneath the road, something soft. We hear a strange, unearthly shriek from underground. A weird orange goo gushes up around the blade. Then the jackhammer takes off by itself like a harpoon stuck in a whale! Carmine gets tangled in the jack- hammer's air-hose and is dragged along, shouting for help. Howard chases him down the embankment and into the scrub- brush. He hears Carmine screaming. HOWARD Carmine! What the hell is it?! Where are you? But now there is only silence. Howard crashes through the brush. All he finds is the torn end of the air-hose -- which suddenly sucks down into the ground. He's momentarily staggered by an awful smell, but forces himself to keep looking. He lets the pry-bar drag on the ground. Then something -- it looks like a mouth or a horrid beak -- shoots out of the ground and grips the pry-bar with uncanny strength! Howard drops his weapon and scrambles madly away. He clambers back onto the road. But almost immediately cracks form in the pavement around him. More beak-things break through the asphalt between him and his truck. He dashes across the road, scrambling up the embankment. He clings precariously to a tree root, looking down -- where'd they go? Suddenly the dirt around him begins to "bubble." Several hungry beaks break through and grab him, yanking him head first into the embankment. Then the embankment gives way, crashing down onto the road, taking with it a nearby telephone pole and snapping the lines. 34 INT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 34 Pham Van is talking to MIGUEL, a local rancher. They both jump as the doors burst open. Val and Earl race in, trailed by Nestor and Melvin. Val heads for the payphone during: NESTOR His head? You mean just his head? Val grabs the phone and digs in his pocket for change. VAL Yeah, really sick, man. Sweet Old Fred. Earl comes up with change and hands it to Val, who dials. PHAM VAN Something happen to Fred? MELVIN (ignoring Pham) Are you serious, man? They killed him just to take his sheep ? EARL He didn't have nothing else to steal. Neither did Edgar. MIGUEL What happened to Edgar? Val stares at the phone. VAL I don't believe this. The phone is out! Pham, your phone is out! PHAM VAN I didn't do it! What's going on? Val and Earl rush out. 35 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 35 Trailed by the others Val and Earl march out and leap into their truck , Val driving now. He searches for the key. NESTOR We've gotta get the police up here. You guys gotta step on it to Bixby. Earl hands Val the key. VAL Consider it stepped on. 36 EXT. CANYON ROAD - DAY 36 Again the pick-up barrels through the canyon. VAL Brother, we decided to leave this place just one day too late, you know? EARL (grimly) Well, there's sure as hell nothing to stop us now. Everybody we know between here and Bixby is already dead. Earl points ahead and screams: EARL LOOK OUT!! Val brings the truck to a squealing stop. Ahead: the collapsed embankment completely blocks the road. It's totally impassable. The cowboys are dumbfounded. EARL Is some higher force at work, here? Are we asking too much of life? But Val is in no mood for philosophy. He leaps out and peers into the highway maintenance truck which sits undisturbed, emergency lights still flashing. There's nobody in it. He starts looking around. VAL Those assholes are supposed to be fixing the goddamn road! (shouts) Hey! Where are you guys? People gotta use this road, you know! You on a booze break or what?! EARL (whispers; urgently pointing) Val! Val! Val looks where he's pointing -- Howard's bloodstained hardhat lies at the edge of the landslide. Val gets the point. Looking around for the unknown assailant, he eases back into the truck. Earl already has a pistol in his lap and is digging through the glove compartment. EARL (cont'd) Where are the bullets? Don't we have any goddamn bullets? Val quickly jockeys the truck to turn it around on the narrow road. But as he backs into the hillside, we hear a strange grating clunk from underneath. When he tries to pull forward, the truck won't move. The engine stalls. VAL Jesus! I don't believe this! EARL You're hung up again. VAL I am not! They both lean out. The rear tires are clear. Val restarts the truck and tries to pull forward, rocking the truck against some unseen pull. Smoke wells up from the clutch. EARL You're hung up I tell you. You're gonna burn the clutch. Val slams the truck into low-range four-wheel-drive and revs it. The tires dig in, fighting for traction -- and suddenly the truck lurches free. We hear an eerie shriek mingled with gear and engine noise as Val angrily roars away. EARL (cont'd) Jesus, you can break an axle like that. VAL Fuck you! EARL Hey, I don't want spend the night out here! 37 EXT. PHAN VAM'S STORE - DAY 37 The word has spread. Everybody in town is gathered at Pham Van's. They rush out to meet Val and Earl as they drive up. BURT What the hell you doing back already? VAL You're never going to believe this, but the canyon road...we were on it not two hours ago...well, it's completely... But he stops because they're all staring wide-eyed at the rear of the truck. NANCY My God...! Val and Earl jump out and look where everyone else is looking. Their jaws drop. REVEAL: hanging from the rear axle of their truck and trailing out behind like a nightmare wedding decoration -- a sex foot long, grotesque, fleshy, tentacle. The end gripping the axle looks like a vicious, razor-sharp beak or hook. The trailing end is mutilated, oozing orange goo -- as though the creature was torn in half. MELVIN Unreal! Where'd you get it? VAL Uh...didn't know we had it... NANCY It's disgusting. VIOLA Looks like...and eel. NESTOR Naw...eels live in water. VAL So...it's some kind of snake? EARL Or a big mother slug maybe? BURT Some kind of mutation...? Burt, more daring than the others, pries the thing off the axle with a shovel. PHAM VAN Don't touch, don't touch. BURT It's dead all right. Tore the damn thing in half. EARL It must've grabbed us. That's why the truck stalled-out. VAL (suddenly indignant) Yeah! Next time I tell you I'm not hung up...! BURT Stalled out your truck? Have to be one strong son of a bitch. Pham Van leaps over them. PHAM VAN I give you boys five dollars for it. Val and Earl square their shoulders. This time they're ready for him. VAL Twenty. PHAM VAN Okay, ten dollars. EARL Fifteen. PHAM VAN Okay, fifteen. VAL Damn right fifteen. Burt is deep in thought. BURT Just one of these couldn't eat up off a whole flock of sheep. There's gotta be more out there, a lot more. A cold chill spreads through the group. They stare out at the vast, forbidding desert. They suddenly feel alone -- very alone. 38 EXT. DESERT - DAY 38 CLOSE on Rhonda's hat lying on the ground. We think the worst. Then she reaches in, picks it up and puts it on. REVEAL she's in a lonely corner of the valley working with a seismograph. She pounds a marking stake into the dirt. 39 INSERT - CLOSE ON SEISMOGRAPH 39 The needle responds to each blow on the stake. We hear Rhonda stop pounding. The needle stops. All is silent -- but the needle starts moving again !" 40 BACK TO SCENE 40 LOW CAMERA is MOVING in Rhonda's general direction. She starts to pound another stake. CAMERA REACTS so it is moving straight toward her. As it passes a burrow, a rabbit suddenly scouts out. CAMERA WHIP PANS to watch the rabbit scamper into the distance, then TURNS BACK to move toward Rhonda, who still pounding her stake. CAMERA passes Rhonda's seismograph. The machine tilts slightly as the ground bulges up beneath it. Rhonda finishes pounding. She heads for her truck, noisily tossing in her tools and slamming the tailgate. CAMERA CLOSES IN on her, faster and faster. It is right on her heels as she climbs into the cab! 41 ANGLE - RHONDA'S TRUCK 41 A beak-thing thrusts out of the ground, groping where Rhonda's boot just was. Rhonda drives off, unknowingly running right over the thing. We hear a shriek of pain as the tentacle writhes and sucks back under the ground. 42 INT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - NIGHT 42 Mindy Sterngood poses cautiously with the bizarre hook tentacle. A camera FLASHES and we REVEAL Pham Van taking her photo beside a sign: "Photographs -- You and the Snake Monster -- $2.00." Viola and Miguel, wait in line. We now see the store is crowded with concerned townsfolk debating what to do, and how to protect themselves. Val and Earl sit on the sidelines, sipping beer, gazing in awe at enterprising Phan Vam: EARL Slick as snot and I'm not lying. VAL Fifteen lousy bucks. EARL A man who plans ahead. Dominating the discussion are Burt and Heather now armed with scoped, magnum hunting rifles. Heather stands guard at a window, peering out into the night. BURT (to group) ...Look, we organize, we arm ourselves. We go out, we find those damn snake things, we make 'em extinct. NESTOR Come on, Burt, we don't even know what they are. VIOLA Might be aliens. Who knows? MIGUEL Why go looking for trouble? BURT Miguel, the trouble's come to us. If we're not ready... HEATHER Phone's out. Road's out. We're on our own. NANCY (sarcastic) And you two just love it, don't you? HEATHER Come on, Nancy, don't let's get personal. We need to do something. Burt steps over to a faded topographic map on the wall and points out details during: BURT Damn right. You folks gotta analyze the situation. With that road out we're completely cut off. Got the cliffs to the north, mountains east and west. That's why Heather and me settled here in the first place, geographic isolation. NANCY Well...there must be dome way to get help. VIOLA Yes, that's what I say. BURT How, for chrissake? You gonna walk thirty-eight miles to Bixby? MIGUEL Hey, what about Pham Van's saddle horses? All heads turn toward Pham Van. PHAM VAN You're welcome to them. Does anybody know how to ride? All heads turn toward Val and Earl. 43 EXT. JIM AND MEGANS'S HOUSE - ESTABLISH - NIGHT 43 In the vast desert night a single floodlight illuminates Jim and Megan's partially finished house. Their station wagon is parked out front. A country and western tune drifts to us from it's radio. As we MOVE CLOSER, we see the floodlight is powered by a small, softly purring generator set maybe fifty feet away. Jim and Megan, both exhausted, unload a big stack of roofing shingles from their station wagon. Jim starts to lift a package of shingles but gives up and sits on the tailgate. JIM I'm dead. Let's finish in the morning. MEGAN We have to go into Bixby in the morning. (grins devilishly) The concrete blocks are in. JIM The con...! Oh my God. MEGAN Just keep looking at that beautiful sky. JIM What? MEGAN That's the sky that's going to be over our roof every night, when we're done. JIM (joking) Ah, but consider this, if we don't finish the roof, we can looks at that sky all the time. Just then the whirring of the generator becomes strangely muffled. The floodlight flickers. Now the generator dies. Darkness engulfs them. The car radio music drones on incongruously. JIM (cont'd) Damn that thing! MEGAN (sarcastic) We could always buy a new generator. Jim digs out a powerful flashlight and heads over toward the generator. Megan lies back, taking a welcome breather. After a moment: MEGAN Well, what's wrong with it? JIM (V.O.) It's...gone...! 44 ANGLE - JIM 44 Baffled, he sweeps the whole area with the flashlight. Megan joins him. MEGAN You sure this is where it was? JIM Am I sure?! (points with flashlight) It was right there. There's the cord. The severed electric cable stops at the edge of a cone-shaped depression in the dirt where the generator sat. He hands her the flashlight and kneels. We watch tensely as he probes the loose earth with his hands. JIM (cont'd) Maybe the ground caved in. There's a lot of old mines and stuff around here. Megan grabs his shirt, trying to pull him back. MEGAN Well don't then! You don't want to fall in. Suddenly, about ten feet away -- WHOOMP!! The generator shoots up out of the ground! Jim and Megan dive for cover as it sails through the air, and crashes to earth. They stare, transfixed. The generator is dented and bent almost beyond recognition -- and covered with oozing slime. JIM What the...? But Megan is all action. She yanks him back. MEGAN Come on. Get away from it! JIM God, what a stink! We again hear that mysterious rumbling sound. Jim stops, sweeping the flashlight around them. JIM (cont'd) Hear that? MEGAN Never mind ! Let's go! Let's just go into town or something! Jim, please ! She hustles him bodily toward the car during: JIM You know, I bet it's geological or something, like natural gas, or a geyser. They stink like that. Remember in Yellowstone...? Suddenly he drops knee-deep into ground! Megan is thrown off balance and tumbles to one side. The flashlight falls, lighting them at an eerie low angle. JIM (cont'd) Something's got me!! We hear sickening CRUNCHES from below the earth. He SCREAMS in excruciating agony. JIM (cont'd) Oh, God! Get me Out!! GET ME OUT!! He struggles wildly, but just sinks further down! Megan slides a 2X4 over to Jim. He grabs it like a drowning man, trying to keep himself from being pulled down. But he's pulled with suck power the 2X4 snaps! His head is going under. Megan desperately tries to dig the smothering earth away, but she's losing. Now only his arms are above ground. She pulls with all her might, but he sinks inexorably down, down. She's pulled flat on the ground. He's gone. The next instant, a vicious hook-tentacle erupts through the earth, missing Megan's face by inches. She scrambles back frantically. 45 ANGLE - STATION WAGON 45 LOW CAMERA pursues Megan toward the car, just missing her as she dives in through the open tailgate. She slams it after her. The talons rake across the car, scratching the glass. Megan tumbles into the front seat. Thank God the keys are in the ignition. She starts the engine. But outside the "snake things" attack the car in a frenzy, slashing blindly. A rear tire is totally shredded just as: Megan floors it. The car lurches forward but the mutilated tire falls apart. The wheel rim digs into the loose earth and the car is stuck. With no other recourse, Megan locks the door, rolls up the windows and cowers in the middle of the car, panting, sobbing. The radio is still playing a happy cowboy tune. She peeks out. They gave up? She's safe? Nothing happens for a moment, then -- The car starts to shake and shudder! Dust wells up around the windows. Outside we see a bizarre sight. The earth around the rear of the car is "boiling," dirt flying in all directions -- and the car starts to sink into the ground !! Megan wildly honks the horn! The car looks just like a ship going down by the stern, hood tilting up gracefully. The back windows shatter, dirt pouring in! Megan smashes the windshield with a small fire extinguisher and scrambles out on the hood. But there's no hope. The car keeps sinking, titling now almost ninety degrees, forcing her onto a precarious perch on the grille -- sinking, sinking. Out of her mind with terror, she keeps softly murmuring the same hopeless phrases: MEGAN Stop it! Stop it! Somebody stop it...! 46 EXT. DESERT - JIM AND MEGAN'S HOUSE - VERY WIDE - NIGHT 46 The headlights are two ironic beacons sending their beams skyward through the roiling dust into the night sky. The sound of the radio becomes muffled. The headlights sink from view -- and then Megan's scream floats across the desert. 47 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAWN 47 Out front of Pham Van's, nervous Val and Earl saddle up the horses while Pham loads their saddle bags with food. Every- one has gathered to see them off. There's an air of tension. VAL (eyeing the horses) Pham, we don't want to be stuck on a couple of canners. They better be fast. EARL Relax. A snake thing like that couldn't move too quick. VAL Screw you. For all you know they could fly . Earl pulls their old Smith and Wesson revolver and battered Winchester rifle out of the pick-up truck. EARL You want the rifle or the Smith? VAL (definite) The rifle. So does Earl. He raises his hand. They swiftly do a round of scissors-rock-paper. Earl loses. He hands Val the rifle. Just then, Burt and Heather pull up in their Blazer, climbing out with their hunting rifles. BURT You guys all set? EARL Ready as we'll ever be. BURT Heather and I are going to drive around a little, see if we can find that college girl and tell her to get her ass back into town. VAL Good idea. And we'll swing by the doctor's place. They were going to go into Bixby but we don't know if they left before the road was out. Val and Earl mount up. HEATHER Hold on. You guys oughta take something that packs more punch than that thirty-thirty. Take one of our Browning autos, or even my model seventy... (offers her hunting rifle) It's three-seventy-five H and H mag. Earl takes the awesome-looking gun with a smug glance at Val. EARL Gee...thanks, Heather. Hope we don't need it. Heather unhooks a box of cartridges from her belt and hands it to Earl. Suddenly there's a blood-curdling SCREAM! The door to Pham Van's flies open. Out staggers Melvin, wrapped in Pham Van's hook-tentacle, writhing in apparent agony. MELVIN IT'S GOT ME! IT's GOT ME! AAAAHGH! People scatter like sheep. Burt and Heather have guns trained on him in an instant. Then everyone realizes it's a sick joke. Melvin collapses with laughter. Burt is livid. He almost shot Melvin. He charges over and yanks the kid to his feet, screaming: BURT You stupid punk! You came that close, that close!! EARL One of these days, Melvin, somebody's gonna kick your ass. Pham rushes over and grabs his precious tentacle. As people calm down, Val and Earl gaze nervously at the vast desert before them. BURT Well...you fellas watch yourselves. NANCY Come back with the Sheriff. NESTOR Sheriff, like hell. Come back with the National Guard. They ride out to an adlib chorus: "Keep your heads down;" "Go careful, boys;" "Keep a sharp lookout;" etc. 48 EXT. DESERT - DAY 48 Val and Earl ride along, very tiny in the vast, lonely landscape, and very on edge. Constantly looking all around. EARL You know, we can't possibly make Bixby by nightfall. Val doesn't want to hear it. EARL That means we're gonna be out here, like, in the dark. VAL (resentfully) Great. Thank you. Faint Country and Western radio music drifts to them. They're nearing Jim and Megan's house. 49 EXT. JIM AND MEGAN'S HOUSE - DAY 49 Val knocks on the door to the mobile home. VAL Hey, doctor, anybody here? No answer. He opens the door and peers inside. Behind him Earl steps out of the half-finished house and shrugs. Nobody around. Wind rustles the plastic sheeting over the windows. Strangely they can still hear the muffled radio clearly. VAL (spooked) Oh, man, I hate this shit. They walk briskly to their horses. Earl snatches Heather's rifle from its saddle scabbard. Val pulls out the Winchester. Earl tries to reassure himself. EARL Car's gone. We just missed them, that's all. VAL Then where's the goddamn Conway Twitty coming from? They focus on the sound and walk gingerly toward it, keeping constant watch in every direction. The ground here is all torn up like the sheep pen -- and the music is coming from underneath ! What the hell is going on? Val scrapes at the dirt with his boot -- and finds the headlight of Jim and Megan's station wagon, still on, glaring up at him. He drops down and wildly sweeps away more dirt, revealing more of the car's grille and hood -- and blood - soaked dirt which sticks to his hand. He leaps away, frantically rubbing the blood off on his pants. VAL (cont'd) Oh, man...oh, man... 50 EXT. DESERT - CONCRETE DITCH - DAY 50 Val and Earl are riding at full gallop. They race alongside a concrete-lined flood-control ditch and veer off to follow a barbed wire fence which crosses the ditch. 51 EXT. DESERT - BARBED WIRE FENCE - DAY 51 They ride along the fence during: EARL Here's the plan...We don't even stop. Ride like hell. Tonight we keep right on going. We'll walk the horses. VAL That is the plan...I mean, goddamn it! What the hell are those things? How could they bury an entire Plymouth station wagon? EARL Why would they do it? Suddenly the horses stop short. In a frenzy they wheel around, rear up, refusing to go on. The cowboys fight to control them. VAL I knew it! Pham Van wouldn't know a decent horse if...! But Earl's already drawing his rifle. EARL Shut up! They got wind of something they don't like! VAL Oh shit! He draws his rifle. They look wildly in all directions at once -- but there's nothing, only empty desert. VAL (cont'd) But I don't see anything! They keep staring. The horses keep pacing nervously. Then -- Earl's horse rears wildly and falls! Earl goes flying. Val wheels around wildly, dismounts and runs to Earl, who's bruised and winded but basically unhurt. They think Earl's horse just tripped. VAL (cont'd) Hey, you okay? You okay? EARL Yeah...yeah. (turning to the horse) What about the hor...? Their eyes bulge. Several "snake things" have engulfed the horse's head, sucking, crushing, slurping. Val's horse goes berserk and gallops for the horizon. EARL (cont'd) What in the name...? VAL That's how they get you! They're under the goddamn ground ! Suddenly they realize what that means -- the thing could come up under them !! The cowboys scramble frantically away. But nothing pursues them. They pause, glancing back nervously. EARL What the hell are they? VAL Sons of bitches! Val raises his rifle and takes a well-aimed shot, hitting one of them. Orange goo spurts out. We hear a deafening shriek as all the "snake things" instantly zip back underground. Then -- A HUGE MOUND OF EARTH RISES UP UNDER VAL AND EARL!! The cowboys tumble down its side, Val losing his rifle. They roll over and stare dumbfounded at the mound. VAL (cont'd) (gasps) There must be a million of them!! The mound of earth turns toward them. The ground splits open and out rises -- a huge head! EARL (awestruck) Nope...just one. The monster is a horrendous thirty-foot long eating machine! Its head is eyeless, utterly alien, covered with tough boney plates which close together to form a cork-screw point. The cowboys stumble back toward the fence in speechless terror. The creature slides toward them, pushing through the earth like a whale through water. Now it opens its mouth -- but it's like a grotesque flower, boney plates spreading open like petals, revealing a huge, slimy, fleshy, oozing orifice! And inside the mouth, a ghastly multi-tentacled tongue! These are the "snake things," not snakes at all but actually the horrid hook-tentacles that can shoot out six feet to snag their prey! The monster snorts and snuffs, throwing up plumes of dust, sounding like a horrendous pig. It sinks into the earth and charges! We see the hump of earth move toward them faster and faster but then it disappears as the creature goes deeper. Val and Earl leap sideways and run along the fence. The creature goes straight and slams into a fencepost from below. All we see is the fencepost knocked at a crazy angle. The cowboys keep running. The creature regroups and charges after them, hitting each fencepost in turn, sending weird sinuous shock waves along the barbed wire, making almost musical twanging sounds. Val looks back. VAL It's gaining on us!! And as if that weren't enough, Earl points to more trouble ahead. 52 EXT. CONCRETE DITCH - DAY 52 The fence runs straight to the edge of the ditch, an eight foot wide gap yawning dead ahead. The creature churns like a locomotive from behind. They'll have to try to jump! They strain desperately for every last fraction of speed. EARL We can do it, we can do it! They leap and -- they don't do it!! They smack into the opposite side of the ditch, clawing frantically at the lip, only to tumble to its sloping bottom. A split second later the charging creature slams like a wrecking ball into the foot-thick concrete wall! The wall CRACKS AND BULGES OUT! A hook-tentacle flops out through one of the cracks! Terrified Val and Earl scramble away. But the wall holds together. And the, strangely, all is quiet. The tentacle lays dead still. Eventually, the cowering cowboys dare to creep back a little closer, still panting, exhausted, jumpy. EARL Stupid son of a bitch...knocked itself cold. And now orange slime begins to ooze through the cracks in the concrete. VAL Cold, my ass! It's dead! We killed the bastard! He suddenly shakes his fist at the dead beast. VAL (cont'd) You FUCKER!! They allow themselves a small wheeze of nervous laughter, only to jump like rabbits as some pebbles rattle loudly down the concrete wall behind them. They whirl to see Rhonda, up on the opposite side of the ditch, staring down at them. She's lugging a bunch of her equipment, including a small folding shovel. RHONDA Hi, guys, how're you doing? Look, can I ask you something? Did you just notice something weird? Vibrations? You know, some kind of earth tremor? Val and Earl look at each other, then burst out laughing. Rhonda spots the cracked wall. RHONDA (cont'd) What's that? 53 EXT. CONCRETE DITCH - DAY 53 The shattered concrete has been pulled away to fully reveal the creature's horrendous head. Start CLOSE on it: oozing blood, slavering mouth plates hanging open, hook-tentacles lolling out. WIDEN to see Earl and Rhonda, sweating, dusty and tired, staring in awe and cringing at the stench. EARL Jesus Christ...think it smells like that 'cause it's dead? RHONDA I don't see any eyes...must be totally subterranean...and those tentacles... EARL I think they shoot right outta its mouth, hook you, and pull you right in. Good thing we stopped it before it killed anybody else. RHONDA (shudders) Yeah, I'm lucky it didn't find me . (overwhelmed) This is important, you know. This is like, well, let's say it, it's probably the biggest zoological discovery of the century. The century? Forget it. History . We can hear a shovel digging up above, and now Val shouts: VAL (V.O.) I got it! Here's the other end! Just look at what we caught here! Earl and Rhonda climb up. CRANE UP with them to REVEAL the whole animal! Val, digging excitedly with Rhonda's shovel, is just scraping away the last loose dirt from the creature's tail. The whole length of the immense thirty foot beast is partially uncovered, in king-sized bas-relief. EARL (hushed) This is one big mother! VAL So this is the guy that had your seismos working overtime? She nods, stepping down to study the creature. The body is stream-lined, cigar-shaped, maybe eight feet in diameter at its thickest. It's covered with hundreds of short, rear- pointing, retractable spikes. Rhonda gingerly jiggles one. It can be pushed in and out of its socket like a plunger. RHONDA (cont'd) It must push itself along with these. Hundreds of them pushing at once. That's how it can move so fast. I mean this thing was tripping sensors all over the valley. No wonder I couldn't... A chilling thought stops her in mid-sentence. She springs down into the drainage ditch to get her backpack, pulling out her seismograph printouts. She studies them frantically during: EARL Hey, Rhonda, you ever heard of any thing like this before? VAL (elbows Earl) Sure, Earl, everybody knows about them. We just didn't tell you . Come on, nobody's ever seen one of these! We're really in on something here! The guys looks at each other. One thought immediately springs to their minds. EARL Pham Van don't get his mitts on this for no measly fifteen bucks! VAL You got that right! While they bask in their fame-to-be, Rhonda continues to study the print-outs, coming to a terrifying conclusion. EARL Here's the plan: we'll get a...a flatbed, I guess, with a big winch, figure a five ton anyway. VAL Naw, don't want to winch it. That'd tear it all up. Want to lift it. Some kind of crane with lifting straps. But Rhonda interrupts -- now really scared. RHONDA Hey, hey, shut up! The way I figure it. There are five more of these things! Val and Earl shut right up. Earl edges up a fencepost. Val sidles up onto a rock during: EARL Five more? Rhonda paws through her unwieldy printouts, pointing out jagged ink lines on the graphs, comparing different ones. RHONDA Yeah, darn it, look. I've got seismographs all over the valley. If you compare the different readings, there have to be five. Here's one at two o'clock yesterday, but here's another one three miles away at the same time. So that's two. Now, here... The men leap from their perches and hustle her in the direction she came from. VAL We'll take your word for it. EARL Yeah. Where's your truck? RHONDA The other side of that dome. She indicates what to most of us would be a hill, dotted with huge boulders thrusting out of the sandy desert soil like big mushrooms. The trio jogs toward the hill. 54 EXT. DESERT - SEISMOGRAPH - DAY 54 En route to the truck, they pass near one of Rhonda's seismographs. Suddenly Earl stumbles as one leg drops knee- deep into the ground! He screams. Val wheels and bodily yanks him up. They back away from the small hole in the ground, calming a little as they realize: EARL Prairie dog burrow... VAL Little sons of bitches. Rhonda tenses as she hears a sound she knows well -- the soft scratching of the seismograph needle across its paper cylinder. She whacks Val on the shoulder and points speechlessly at it. 55 INSERT - SEISMOGRAPH 55 The needle is going wild!! 56 BACK TO SCENE 56 She doesn't have to explain. All three of them dash dash for: 57 EXT. BOULDER FIELD - DAY 57 The remains of an old rail fence lay beside one of the boulders. Val, Earl, and Rhonda scramble over the wood, up onto the rock and stand there tensely. In a moment, the creature gently rustles the earth at the base of the rock. The monster's slimy hook-tentacles slither out, searching the rock base. Shuddering, the humans move as high as they can, well out of reach. The tentacles slip back beneath the earth. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief. EARL Well, at least the bastard can't climb. Pardon my French. RHONDA Probably couldn't move too easily on the surface. VAL God, the live ones smell worse tan the dead ones. EARL Okay, now, how far's your truck? Rhonda points. They can see the roof of her truck, maybe a hundred yards away through the boulders. Val and Earl think about it. VAL I don't know. If this one's any faster than that other one... EARL (nods) I think we wait right here. DISSOLVE TO: 58 EXT. BOULDER FIELD - SUNSET 58 It's hours later. Stiff and uncomfortable, they have nothing to do but theorize. RHONDA There's nothing like them in the fossil record, I'm sure...Okay, so they predate the fossil record... (not buying it herself) That'd make them a couple of billion years old...and we've just never seen one till now. Right. EARL I'd vote for outer space. No way those are local boys. VAL (joking) Atomic testing. Or, no, bio- engineering! The government built them, a big surprise in the next war. There's a long pause. Earl stares at the dirt around the rock. EARL Well...haven't seen a sign for hours. Maybe it's long gone. VAL Maybe it is. Why don't you take a little stroll and see? EARL Fuck you, too. Pardon my French. RHONDA Well, we've got to do something . Val gets an idea. He grabs a post from the dilapidated fence and cautiously slips down near the boulder's edge. EARL Watch yourself! It's got a good six foot reach. Val nods. Dead silence as he reaches way out with the post and scrapes it on the ground. Almost instantly the creature roars up, grabbing the post in a flurry of flying dirt and lashing tentacles, nearly hooking Val's hand. Val practically falls over himself scrambling back to safety. VAL Son of a bitch! EARL Son of a god damned bitch! Been waiting there all this time. How the hell's it even know we're still here? VAL It's been listening to us. It's got no eyes. It sure as hell can't smell anything underground, so I figure... Rhonda stares at Val, impressed. RHONDA Of course! It can sense the slightest seismic vibration...hear every move we make. Especially on this rock. It's a perfect conductor. They all settle back, having no idea what to do next. Rhonda gazes out at the desert that surrounds them like an ocean. RHONDA (cont'd) I always wanted to be stuck on a desert island. But somehow I always imagined, you know, water. DISSOLVE TO: 58A EXT. BOULDER FIELD - NIGHT 58A Our heroes are silhouetted against a huge, spectacular, desert night sky. After a very long pause: EARL You know, I hate to be crude, but I'm gonna have to take care of some business here. VAL (emphatic) Me, too. RHONDA (just as emphatic) Same here. The silhouettes shift, Val and Earl moving down one side of the rock, and Rhonda down the other. We can no longer see them. We just head zippers zipping down -- then soft sighs of relief from Val and Earl. Then: RHONDA (V.O.) (softly) Darn it! VAL (V.O.) You okay? RHONDA (V.O.) Yeah. But I'll tell you, if you ever wanted proof God is a man, this is it. DISSOLVE TO: 59 EXT. BOULDER FIELD - DAWN 59 Rich orange sunlight creeps silently across the deathly still desert. Earl is already awake. Val is curled up without his jacket, shivering. He wakes with a start. Where the hell's his jacket? Rhonda wakes slowly. She's surprised to find herself wrapped in Val's jacket. Touched by his chivalry, she embarrassedly hands it to baffled Val. RHONDA Thanks. Val glances at Earl, who looks away. Who, me? VAL (to Rhonda) No problem. Anytime. Earl gropes through his pockets, coming up with only cigarettes. Val fishes in his own pockets, finding only their lighter. They exchange items and light up during: EARL Well, folks, what's the plan? VAL First let's see if Stumpy's still out there. This time he tosses a piece of wood out onto the sand. With soft rustling, a bulge forms in the earth, moves over to the wood, then subsides. Rhonda starts looking around during: EARL Don't he have a home to go to? VAL (grim) Well, that's why Edgar never got down off that tower. RHONDA I might have an idea... EARL (ignoring her) We're gonna have to come up with some kind of plan or it's just gonna wait us to death. RHONDA Well, I was wondering if we could... VAL Well, let's just run for it. We outran that one yesterday, at least on a sprint. Rhonda gives up on them. She goes over and pulls a long cross rail from the fence during: EARL Run for it? Running's not a plan. Running is what you do when the plan fails. You're not even trying to come up with a plan! VAL Well, it's not like we've got a hell of a lot of options... RHONDA (interrupting) You guys know how to pole vault? They watch in surprise as she hefts her pole, checks the balance, eyeballs the distance to the nearest boulder. Then she charges between them, plants her pole and vaults smoothly over to the next boulder, maybe fifteen feet away. The creature surfaces where her pole touched down, but too late -- a hook tentacle vainly sweeps the area, the disappears into the ground. Val and Earl glance at each other, impressed . RHONDA (cont'd) We just stay where it can't get us...on these residual boulders. My truck's parked right next to one. Earl rushes to grab a couple more fence rails. EARL Stay on those residual boulders! Val just stands staring across at Rhonda -- his horizons are broadening. Earl stuffs a fence rail into his hands. EARL (cont'd) (pointedly) Tammy Lynn Baxter, she do a lot of pole-vaulting? Earl takes a deep breath and goes for it, vaulting across to Rhonda. Val follows. 60 EXT. BOULDER FIELD - WIDE SHOT - DAY 60 Through the shimmering heat in the distance we see the strange sight of the three figures vaulting from boulder to boulder. 61 EXT. BOULDER FIELD - RHONDA'S TRUCK - DAY 61 Val, Earl and Rhonda pole-vault their way toward the truck. Finally they're at the nearest boulder, but the truck is still ten feet away. VAL Think it's still following us? RHONDA Let's assume that it is. EARL And once we hit that truck we gotta go fast. I say we all jump together. Rhonda and Val nod. Rhonda grips her car keys in her teeth. RHONDA (through clenched teeth) Ready? VAL Yeah. One, two, three... They all vault in unison, landing in the truck bed. Rhonda scrambles up, slides open the cab's rear window, and begins wriggling through headfirst. EARL (whispers) Come on, girl, it ain't gonna give us much time... Dust explodes around the rear of the truck! Hook-tentacles snake up on all sides, narrowly missing Val. He and Earl grab whatever's handy, pounding at the tentacles with expensive instruments. VAL GO! GO! GO! Rhonda's only half way through the cab window, still hanging headfirst into the cab. She frantically starts the truck, dives down and punches the accelerator with her fist. As the truck roars away, one tentacles manages to tear off the the muffler. The engine thunders like a tank. Val and Earl sit back, sighing in relief, then react when they see Rhonda is driving upside down and blind. 62 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 62 Rhonda skids her noisy truck to a halt in front of Pham Van's. VAL We better get everybody together. Val leaps out and jumps into his pick-up truck. He searches for the key. EARL You go north, I'll go south. VAL Right. Val holds out his hand for the key. Earl tosses it to him. Val drives off. We FOLLOW Rhonda and Earl as they drive the other way, toward Viola's. EARL I'll bet you're sorry the college ever sent you up here. RHONDA Well, I'm scared, but I'm not sorry. EARL You know, Val went to that college, too. For a whole year. Couldn't quite sit still for it, though. Had too much vinegar in his system. But once he settles down, forgets this cowboy stuff, he'll be one in a million. Rhonda sees straight through Earl's clumsy attempt at match- making. She can't help but smile. Earl grins sheepishly. EARL (cont'd) All right, I'm about as subtle as a donkey's ass. Pardon my French. I'm just saying the boy's got potential, that's all. MOVE IN on Rhonda -- her and Val? 63 INT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 63 Nestor, Viola, Nancy, and Miguel nervously crowd around Val, Earl, and Rhonda. Viola holds her yappy dog which perio- dically snarls and snaps at people. Pham Van is on his CB radio trying to contact Burt and Heather. MIGUEL You serious, Val? You think we're not even safe here in town? VAL Ask me that after you meet one. I think we should all get the hell out while the getting's good. NESTOR Why not just take a Number Ten pick axe and give it one good whack...? VAL Nestor, damn it, these things are bigger than an Airstream trailer! NANCY God, I've got to find Mindy. Nancy rushes out. EARL Hey, Pham, where's Burt and Heather? PHAM VAN (hangs up CB) Can't raise them. I guess they're still out there somewhere. RHONDA If you've got a radio, why aren't you calling somebody in Bixby? The police or... PHAM VAN Can't reach outside the valley. You know, because of the mountains. MIGUEL Hey, Rhonda, what's the name you call those things, huh? PHAM VAN Where'd they come from? RHONDA Huh? I don't know. PHAM VAN You're a scientist, right? VIOLA You should have a theory at least. RHONDA Look, these things are absolutely unprecedented! NESTOR Yeah, but where'd they come from? RHONDA (exasperated) Where'd they come from? Okay, worms, probably in the Jurassic period. Cosmic radiation was much higher then...so they mutated...and they got so big they just sank right into the ground and fell asleep... But now continental drift has brought them to the surface, ready to be harvested by the ancient alien meat growers who planted them here. Everybody stares at her, then they smile, realizing she's pulling their legs. EARL You're right, don't matter where they come from. VAL Right. We need to be talking about what we're gonna do. VIOLA My goodness, Valentine, once they see the road is out and the phone lines are down, someone will be along to look in on us. Don't you think? 64 EXT. CANYON ROAD - DAY 64 We see the utility truck still parked near the landslide blocking the road. REVEAL, on the far side, a telephone maintenance truck is now parked, emergency lights flashing -- and nearby, amid phoneworkers' climbing and repair gear, two more hard hats lying on blood-soaked ground. 65 INT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 65 The crowd is still jabbering away. Rhonda speak over them: RHONDA No no no, they listen ! They can sense the slightest vibration through the ground. That's how they see! That's how they hunt ! MIGUEL So, like we don't vibrate, right? Maybe they won't even come to here, huh? Maybe they leave us alone. Val shakes his head, and marches over to the topographic map on the wall. VAL They caught up with Edgar here. They grabbed Old Fred here. They nailed the asshole dog here. And the doctor's place is here... The spots he indicates describe a line leading along the valley straight toward town. VAL (cont'd) This valley's just one long smorgasbord and if we don't haul ass outta here we're the next course. We hear an a eerie SHRIEK from outside. Something shoots in through the window, striking Earl in the chest!! Earl flails frantically at it -- but it's only Melvin's basketball. We glimpse Melvin outside, doubled over with laughter. Earl grabs the ball and hurls it viciously back, but Melvin easily dodges it. EARL You little ass wipe! You knock that off or you're gonna be shitting that basketball! Pardon my French. NESTOR (to Val) Now, Val, let's assume they're as dangerous as you say. Where are we going to go that's safer than right here? VAL Rhonda's got an idea about that. RHONDA Yes, see, they move very easily through the Pleistocene Alluvials... (off their blank looks) ...the dirt...the loose soil that makes up the valley floor. But they can't move through solid rock. I think we should travel west to the mountains. EARL You know, up the jeep trail. RHONDA The mountains are solid granite. We'd be safe there, and we could hike along them...all the way to Bixby if we have to. 66 EXT. EDGE OF TOWN - DAY 66 Nancy rushes back toward Pham Van's, still looking. NANCY Mindy! Mindy! 67 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 67 We're CLOSE on Melvin as he circles around the back of Pham Van's, bouncing his basketball, mischief in his eyes. We can hear the townsfolk inside. VIOLA (V.O.) No, Valentine, I'm not leaving my place. VAL (V.O.) Well, it's gonna take us days to get back with help. EARL (V.O.) Doggone it, Viola, it's just plain crazy to stay. Then, to Melvin's astonishment, the steady rhythm of his bouncing basketball suddenly stops. The ball just goes flup and doesn't bounce back up to him. He looks down. No ball! Just swirling dust at his feet. 68 INT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 68 Everyone jumps as we once more hear an ear-shattering SHRIEK from Melvin. Earl snarls and heads for the door, Val right behind them. EARL I'm gonna kick his ass! VAL I'm gonna help you. 69 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 69 Val and Earl are well ahead of the other townsfolk as they march around to the side of Pham Van's. But where's Melvin? Nothing out here but the oppressive, hot desert silence. Then they hear a soft shuddering whimper -- from above. There's terrified Melvin, halfway up a telephone pole, clinging to it desperately. Val and Earl freeze in their tracks and glance at each other, realizing instantly what's up. Without a word they leap desperately in opposite directions. Like a breaching whale, a creature roars up through the earth right where they were standing, great mouth gaping open, slimy tentacles lashing in all directions. The townsfolk scatter, some heading for their homes, including Viola and Nestor. Others scramble over each other as they pile back into Pham Van's. The telephone pole shudders. Melvin falls and scampers for the nearest hiding place, a corrugated tin storage shed near Pham Van's. 70 INT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 70 Val, Earl, Rhonda, Miguel, and Pham Van rush in. MIGUEL Jesus Christ! Man, you gut a gun?! PHAM VAN Big as a house! What are we gonna do...?! RHONDA Quiet! QUIET!! Miguel and Pham shut up. Then we hear something new -- the building itself creaking and groaning like a ship. The liquor bottles behind Pham Van's bar vibrate and clink. The creature is moving beneath the building. The people freeze like mannequins. Now we can hear its pig-like snorting. Pham Van and Miguel react as the awful smell percolates up through the floorboards. Val signals them to keep quiet. Finally, the creaking stops. Rhonda addresses the group in an intense whisper: RHONDA Remember...no noise. No vibration. Everyone stands stock still -- and sweats. But, then, slowly we become aware of a faint, yet oddly familiar sound. Squeak, squeak, squeak -- Mindy on her pogo stick! They all scramble to the windows. 71 EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY 71 There she is, alone in the vacant street, Walkman blaring in her ears, merrily bouncing along to a rock 'n' roll beat. 72 ANGLE - PHAM VAN'S STORE 72 Thoughts of personal safety vanish as the horrified people lean way out the doors and windows and shout with one voice: CROWD (ad lib) MINDY! Get off your pogo stick! Get in here, girl! Run, Mindy! 73 ANGLE - MINDY 73 She can't hear them over her Walkman. A tell-tale puff of dust spurts up not fifty feet from her! 74 ANGLE - PHAM VAN'S STORE 74 Val sees Mindy has only seconds left! He vaults straight out the window and charges toward her! Right behind him comes Earl and Rhonda. 75 ANGLE - NANCY 75 As she rounds a corner at the opposite end of town. She spots Mindy, then sees Val running. She starts running. NANCY Mindy! Mindy! 76 ANGLE - MINDY 76 She's lazily bouncing in circles -- squeak, squeak, squeak. She goes wide-eyed as she rotates to see Val coming at her like a mad bull, arms outstretched. The asphalt under her pogo stick cracks and -- Val tackles her, both of them tumbling head over heels. She scrambles up, rubbing her skinned elbow and yelling: MINDY Oww! Val, you hurt me...! Val claps his hand over her mouth. She goes wide eyed as she sees: her pogo stick standing straight up in the cracked asphalt! Then it is sucked down like so much spaghetti! Nancy rushes into frame, hugging Mindy. Val signals her to be quiet. They sit uneasily. Where's the creature? Suddenly the pogo stick erupts out of the earth right in their midst! Val runs one way, Nancy and Mindy the other, heading up the street toward their house. Val scrambles up onto his pick-up truck! The creature rams the truck, rupturing a tire. As it shakes the truck violently, Val spots Rhonda and Earl, now standing uncertainly halfway between him and Pham Van's. VAL Go back, for chrissake! Rhonda and Earl hesitate. EARL We gotta get him off there. It'll suck that truck down! But Earl now hears something behind them! Down the street, a little wall of cinder blocks framing Viola's driveway suddenly topples over. EARL Oh, Jesus. Rhonda, another one! 77 ANGLE - LOW CAMERA - RHONDA AND EARL 77 CAMERA charges toward them. Earl swerves toward Pham Van's, but Rhonda is cut off! She heads toward the next nearest haven: 78 EXT. STORAGE SHED - DAY 78 The storage shed where Melvin is hiding. It sits in a vacant, weed-choked lot. Crashing through the weeds, Rhonda has almost reached the shed when she is suddenly brought up short and slams face down in a cloud of dust! She can't get up!! Something's got her! She's caught in an old rusted barbed wire fence, lying almost flat, hidden in the weeds. Some strands have come loose and are curled up like vicious concertina wire. Barely has she taken this in when -- the ground caves in under her! She rolls wildly to one side as hook-tentacles snake up, missing her by inches! She keeps rolling-crawling- scrambling -- anything to get away from the awful maw -- but gets her legs hopelessly tangled in the barbed wire. She freezes. The creature feels around where she was. She calms herself, pulling gingerly at the wire, working tensely to free herself but -- The creature's mouth slams shut on the fence. Like a spider sensing something caught in its web, the monster knows it's on to something. Its hook-tentacles shoot forward to snare three feet of fence, then the creature lunges up and out, swallowing that three feet in a big "gulp" and yanking Rhonda violently toward it! She screams, pants ripped, legs slashed and bleeding! GULP! She's dragged even closer. 79 EXT. MAIN STREET - THE PICK-UP - DAY 79 The truck shakes and shimmies as Val's creature tries to pull it down. Val sees that Rhonda's in trouble. He searches frantically for a weapon -- and finds one -- a CHAIN SAW! He leaps as far from the truck as he can and hits the ground running, yanking furiously on the saw's starter cord. 80 EXT. STORAGE SHED - DAY 80 Rhonda is in a dead panic, thrashing helplessly in the barbed wire. The beast takes another gulp of fence, wrenching her within inches of a probing hook-tentacle! Suddenly we hear a nasty ROAR as Val's chain saw swings in, slicing the squirm- ing tentacle in half, spraying gore everywhere! The creature unleashes an unearthly shriek, and the other tentacles recoil. The severed one writhes like a beheaded snake. Val yanks off Rhonda's boots. VAL Come on! Outta your pants! She frantically claws at her belt. But in mere seconds: RHONDA (pointing) LOOK OUT! Tentacles snake out to regain their grip on the fence. Val grabs the saw and starts slashing wildly, but this time the hook-tentacles snag it and wrench it from his grasp. It slams to the ground, motor dying. The monster readies itself for the lunge that will suck Rhonda in. Val grabs her under the arms and pulls. Rhonda wriggles wildly to get out of her wire enmeshed pants. The creature lunges! Rhonda pulls free! She and Val tumble backward. The creature gets only a mouthful of Rhonda's jeans. The next instant the second creature explodes up through the ground right next to fallen Val and Rhonda! They roll sideways, come up running, and sprint for Pham Van's along an old wooden sidewalk. 81 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 81 Earl flings open the front door. Val and Rhonda race toward the porch. Right on their heels the creature ripples the boards like an ocean wave! EARL Come on! Come on! Don't look back! Just run! Run like screaming fuck! They dive through the open door of Pham Van's. The rippling boards zoom on past it. Earl quickly eases the door shut. 82 INT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 82 Earl turns to breathless Rhonda. EARL (whispers) Pardon my French. DISSOLVE TO: 83 INT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - LATER 83 It's a tense, edgy group. Every movement made is in slow motion, every word is a whisper. They gaze grimly out the windows at the silent, deserted, heat-shimmering main street. Val gingerly dabs iodine onto the cuts on Rhonda's legs. She doesn't even wince. VAL You paying attention? This oughta hurt like hell. RHONDA It does. She smiles at him. RHONDA (cont'd) So, is that one of your usual jobs, saving peoples' lives? VAL (embarrassed) First time for me. She gazes at him. He looks away. Over at the bar, Pham holds up a new pair of pants for Rhonda. RHONDA Oh, thank you. Grateful for something to do, Val eases over to get the pants. Rhonda looks after him. Then she becomes aware of someone staring at her . It's Earl, giving her a big Cheshire cat grin that says "What did I tell you?" Pham hands the pants to Val. Then Pham and Miguel reach simultaneously for a sods bottle and -- knock it over! It rolls all the way down the bar as a flurry of desperate hands try to stop it. No good. It rolls off the end and -- CRASH! Everyone freezes. Sure enough the building shudders. Floor boards creak and bend as searching tentacles thump and scrape along under the floor. People close their eyes, not even breathing. Finally the noise subsides. Everyone relaxes -- a little. MIGUEL So what are we gonna do, you know? How long till they go away? EARL (shakes his head) They got the patience of Job. They just sit and goddamn wait til they hear something that sounds like lunch. We need a plan. PHAM VAN I've got a plan. You and Val take your truck, get to the mountains. Hike to Bixby. Get us some help. VAL Those scumsuckers are my radials, Pham! RHONDA Well, we can take my truck then. EARL No good. You need major four- wheel-drive just to get up that jeep trail. They all shut up when they hear Viola's dog yapping in the distance. 84 EXT. VIOLA'S TRAILER - DAY 84 Up the hill across from Pham Van's, the old trailer looks perfectly peaceful. Except Viola's dog keeps yapping. Then we hear panicked Viola. VIOLA (V.O.) Quiet! Quiet you hateful thing...! 85 INT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 85 EARL Shut it up! Shut the little bastard up! VAL Chuck him out the door! Like a little hors d'oeuvre. INT. VIOLA'S TRAILER - DAY We hear a loud whap! The dog's bark simply changes to piercing yelps. It would be funny except -- The trailer suddenly bucks upward, hit from below as though by a pile driver! Again and again the unseen creatures slam into the frail structure. VIOLA (V.O.) Get away! Get away! Oh God in heaven, help me! The trailer is finally knocked right off its foundation! It tips over and tumbles all the way down the hill! As the dust clears, all is silent. A huge hole is torn in the trailer's floor. Viola's possessions are scattered everywhere. 86 INT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 86 Everyone stares in shock. RHONDA Oh my God. EARL Son of a bitchin' lowlife, putrid, scum... VAL Gotta do something. Gotta get the bastards! MIGUEL (hopeless) Man, what the hell can we do to those things? EARL Well, we're sure as hell not going to sit here being quiet for God knows how long. Are we? PHAM VAN Now wait a minute, Earl. I got enough food here to last us for weeks. Those damn things can't wait around forever. (pause) We can do it. I mean, if we have to, right? Everyone turns away from the windows, gingerly sitting down, glumly pondering this possibility. There is a long silence. Then suddenly -- ROAR! The silence is shattered as Pham Van's big freezer compressor suddenly comes on. EARL Jesus! Shut it off! Pham runs to the freezer. Its on/off switch is buried behind stacks of soft-drink cases. He tears at them like a madman, toppling them this way and that. Earl and Val join him. But right behind Pham, the floor BUCKLES UP, a monster's snout BURSTING THROUGH and engulfing one of his legs! The creature starts to back down into the jagged hole, dragging screaming Pham with it. Val, Earl, Rhonda, and Miguel grab Pham's arms but are no match for the monster. It shakes and spins him like some gigantic dog, effortlessly throwing them off, relentlessly pulling Pham down. The hole in the floor is too small for Pham to fit through ! As one leg goes down, the other is bent hideously backward. Pham screams and screams as jagged wood tears into him, bones snap, ribs crack. The others grab him again but are utterly helpless. With vicious, powerful jerks the creature yanks his man mangled body down. The last thing we see is his foot, now folded back past his head, and he's gone. Val is wild with helpless anger. VAL Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch! The floor bulges up in another place! A second creature! Then a third, coming RIGHT UP UNDER THEM! Earl sprawls onto the bar. Rhonda springs onto the shelves in the middle of the store, knocking groceries everywhere. Val and Miguel climb up shelves which cover the rear wall of the store. The whole building shakes and shudders, dust powdering down from the ceiling. Flailing tentacles are everywhere, slashing open food packages; clouds of flour fill the air! Val spots a hatch in the ceiling. VAL Everybody! This way! The roof! Earl leaps from the bar to the rear shelves. Val and Miguel slide sideways till they're beneath the hatch, then use the shelves as a ladder, climbing up to the hatch. Val pounds on it frantically. In the middle of the store, Rhonda leaps from shelf to shelf, trying to get closer to where Val is. Soon she reaches the last one, balancing precariously. But a creature tips over the first one! The shelves topple like dominoes, crashing toward Rhonda. She is half catapulted, half jumps right through an open window, ripping through the screen. Val sees what's happened. With maniacal strength he smashes open the hatch and climbs out onto -- 87 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - ROOF - DAY 87 Val rushes to the edge of the roof shouting: VAL Rhonda! Keep moving. Don't stop! He looks down where Rhonda fell. She's not there. He hears a whistle and is relieved to see: 88 EXT. WATER TOWER - DAY 88 Rhonda is perched as high as she can get on the water tower near Pham Van's. It's maybe twenty-five feet tall, a simple wood frame holding a big galvanized tank. The wooden legs stand on big concrete anchors buried in the ground. 89 EXT. STORAGE SHED - DAY 89 Melvin peers terrified out the shed door, up at the guys on Pham Van's roof. MELVIN Hey! What's going on, man?! What the hell you doing up there...?! MIGUEL Melvin, shut the hell up! It's too late. Wham! A creature strikes. The little shed shudders, dust puffing from every old seam. In a split second Melvin has climbed to the shed roof. 90 EXT. NANCY'S HOUSE - DAY 90 Nancy and Mindy peer to the window, surprised to see the men on Pham Van's roof. 91 EXT. PERFECTION - WIDE - DAY 91 We hear Val's shouting to the remaining townsfolk. VAL Nancy! Nestor! 92 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - ROOF - DAY 92 VAL Get up on your roof! On your roof! They can come through the floor! The store shakes and shimmies. We hear the monster's thunderous crashing from below. EARL Can't you shout a little quieter? 93 EXT. BURT & HEATHER'S HOUSE - DAY 93 Burt and Heather's place, about a mile from town, is no- nonsense, functional, ugly -- unpainted concrete walls, no yard, chain-link fence. Burt and Heather drive up in their big Blazer and park right beside the house. Hot and tired, they climb out, each carrying a heavy, scoped hunting rifle. Burt peers toward Perfection through binoculars during: HEATHER I can't believe it. No tracks, no sign, no spoor. BURT Yeah, whatever they are, you'd think after they ate all those sheep they'd have to take a dump someplace... (reacts to what he sees) What the hell's going on in town? 94 EXT. PERFECTION - TELEPHOTO - BURT'S P.O.V. - DAY 94 The town is a very strange sight. It's as though an invisible flood were in progress, driving people to high ground. We see: Rhonda perched on the water tower; Val, Earl and Miguel on the store roof; Nancy and Mindy on their roof; Melvin on the storage shed; Nestor on his roof. 95 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - ROOF - DAY 95 Val, Earl and Miguel gaze out at the town, trying to concoct a plan. Suddenly Earl perks up. The men speak softly. EARL Hey, here's the plan: Nestor's Cadillac. His tires are nine hundred sixteens. We sprint for it, grab the spare, put it on our truck with our spare. Val stares at him, incredulous. VAL How the hell long it take you to change a tire? EARL (sighs) Just about too damn long. Bolt pattern's probably wrong anyway. VAL We need another plan. Suddenly, down in the store, Pham Van's CB radio squawks loudly. BURT (V.O.) Yo, P.V., Burt here. Come back. The building shudders as the creatures again smash through the floor inside, looking for the source of the noise. Val, Earl and Miguel scramble to the edge of the roof. 96 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 96 The CB radio sits on a shelf near an open window. Tentacles are feeling along the wall just below it. Val appears out- side the window -- upside-down. He snatches the radio and is hauled straight up out of frame. BURT (V.O.) Pham? Anybody copy? 97 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - ROOF - DAY 97 Miguel and Earl haul Val by the feet back up onto the roof. Val quickly turns down the CB volume. VAL (whispers into mic) Burt, now listen. We found out what's been killing people. Over? 98 INT. BURT & HEATHER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY 98 A peculiar cross between bomb shelter and blue-collar den, Burt's wood-paneled basement has all the comforts for post- Apocalypse living. Burt talks on his CB. BURT Negative copy on that, Pham, check your frequency. I'm on forty-nine. VAL (V.O.) (a little louder) Burt, can you hear me now? BURT Just barely, Pham. What are you all doing up on your roofs. What the hell's going on? Come back. A few feet away Heather works at their ammunition reloading bench. She dumps a few hundred empty cartridge cases into a case cleaner and switches it on. It HUMS loudly as it vibrates. 99 INT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - DAY 99 The groping tentacles swiftly suck back below the floor. TILT UP to see out the window some distance away, a couple of old trash cans topple over as the creature streaks past beneath them, making a bee-line for Burt's. 100 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - ROOF - DAY 100 Miguel points frantically at the trash cans. MIGUEL Oh man, they're going, man! I think they're going for Burt! Val talks a little louder into the mic. INTERCUT as needed. VAL Burt! This is Val! Get out of your basement!! Take your radio! You and Heather get up on your roof! Then we'll talk, okay?! BURT (V.O.) Val? What the hell you doing back already? VAL (shouts) Burt, get out! Get up on your roof or someplace! We found out what's been killing people! They're under the ground! BURT (V.O.) What's under the ground? We're not getting up on the roof. Earth shelter's the best. Known that since I was a kid. VAL Listen! Listen! We know what they are! They're big things under the ground! Much bigger than we thought! They're coming after you! They're coming right now! 101 INT. BURT & HEATHER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY 101 Hearing that warning, Burt and Heather go into a well-honed drill. They grab their hunting rifles and take positions at basement windows. Burt scans with the binoculars. He sees nothing. He glances at Heather. She shrugs. Nobody coming. BURT (into CB) We don't see anything, Val. Now what the hell are you talking about? Over. Val is frantic. How do you explain these things? VAL (V.O.) They're coming under ground! They ...they can dig like a son of a bitch...Big monsters under the ground, Burt! Now get the hell out! Hurry! Burt and Heather exchange looks. Has Val gone nuts? Then they hear a low RUMBLE, growing louder and louder. Tools hanging over the work bench start to shake; the decorative cow skulls on the wall rattle; the overhead lights sway -- and then -- everything stops. Dead silence, except for the humming of the case cleaner. THEN THE WALL MOVES!! The wood paneling bulges slightly. Nails pop out. The wall is pushed again; the paneling cracks. A cow skull falls. Burt and Heather level their rifles and -- A huge creature pushes right through the wall! Fully half its bulbous, spiked body writhes into the center of the room, great multi-part jaws drooling open, hook-tentacles lashing out. 102 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - ROOF - DAY 102 The three men can hear the chaos over the CB. BURT (V.O.) Jesus Chri...! The CB goes dead. The men stare numbly. Then, drifting across the desert, a soft popping sound. The men perk up; they know what it is -- distant gunfire. 103 INT. BURT & HEATHER'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - DAY 103 The gunfire is DEAFENING as Burt and Heather blast away. Globby blood spurts from a dozen wounds, and the creature pulls back a little. The couple keeps firing until magazines are empty. The creature lunges forward again. PAN with Burt and Heather to REVEAL a wall of the basement we haven't seen until now -- a wall covered with guns -- hand guns, long guns, riot guns, flare guns, antique guns, military guns, elephant guns. Heather grabs an HK-91 assault rifle, slams in two magazines, bottoms taped end to end, and opens fire! A hook-tentacle snags her boot, yanking her right off her feet. Burt pumps out eight devastating blasts from a twelve-gauge riot gun, severing the tentacle. Heather is on her feet in an instant. She expertly flops her double magazine over, loading the full one taped upside-down to it, and opens fire again. Burt grabs an AR-15 semi-auto and joins her. They lay down massive fire, virtually disappearing in muzzle flash and smoke. Ejected shell cases clatter and clang all around the room. The guns are empty. THE CREATURE IS STILL COMING! They back down the wall, desperately grabbing weapons one after another: a lever-action, a magnum handgun, even a flare gun which Heather fires right into the creature's mouth. Shrieking in pain, the horrid thing thing KEEPS WRIGGLING TOWARD THEM! Burt and Heather scramble up over a desk to keep something between them and it. Burt smashes open a fancy glass case holding a huge four-gauge elephant gun. He slams in two gigantic cartridges nearly an inch in diameter. He fires. The concussion literally shakes the building. The recoil slams Burt back against the wall. The monster bullets tear monster holes in the monster. Great gouts of curdles blood spew from it -- Burt hit an artery or something. The beast convulses grotesquely, then collapses, deflating like a beached whale. Burt and Heather stagger together and hug each other fervently. They stare dumbfounded at the massive dead horror. Burt suddenly shouts vehemently: BURT Broke into the wrong goddamn rec room, didn't you, you BASTARD! 104 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - ROOF - DAY 104 Val, Earl and Miguel listen to the silence hoping for some sign that their friends are alive. Suddenly: BURT (V.O. filter) We killed it ! You got that? We killed that motherfucker! Come back! It takes a moment for this to sink in, then the men CHEER -- as quietly as possible. VAL Uh...roger that, Burt. Uh, congratulations. Uh, be advised, however, there are four more, repeat, four more motherfuckers. Come back. 105 EXT. BURT & HEATHER'S HOUSE - ROOF - DAY 105 Burt and Heather dash out onto the roof, laden with weapons, ammo boxes and their CB radio. They hit the deck, assorted rifles and the elephant gun the ready. 106 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - ROOF - DAY 106 Val shouts to everyone: VAL They got one! They killed one of the sons of bitches! 107 EXT. STORAGE SHED - ROOF - DAY 107 Melvin pumps his fist in the air. MELVIN Way to go, dudes! 108 EXT. THE STERNGOOD HOUSE - ROOF - DAY 108 Nancy and Mindy hug each other. 109 EXT. NESTOR'S HOUSE - ROOF - DAY 109 Perched on his Spanish tile roof, Nestor pours coffee from his thermos and raises his cup in a toast. 110 EXT. WATER TOWER - DAY 110 Rhonda lets out a WHOOP. 111 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - ROOF - DAY 111 The men sit, temporarily jubilant. EARL Well, I guess we don't get to make fun of Burt's lifestyle anymore, huh? Val grabs the CB mic. VAL Burt, any chance you can get the rest of them? 112 EXT. BURT & HEATHER'S HOUSE - ROOF - DAY 112 Burt and Heather peer from their fortress-like roof. Burt spots earth bulging up near the foundation of his house. BURT (into CB) One second, Val. He grabs the elephant gun and takes two well-aimed shots -- two deafening BOOMS which echo off the distant mountains. But the bullets bury themselves harmlessly in the dirt. The bulge in the dirt moves calmly away and sinks from view. Heather shakes her head. HEATHER You're not getting any penetration, even with the elephant gun. BURT Damn! (into CB) Val, we can't get them. Never figured on having to shoot through dirt! Best goddamn bullet stop there is. Come back. 113 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - ROOF - DAY 113 The men are disappointed. That's not what they wanted to hear from Burt. Then Earl perks up and grab the CB mic. EARL (into CB) Okay, Burt, listen. Forget shooting them. Tell me this: can you get to your truck? BURT (V.O.) No problem. EARL Good. You've got the only truck in the valley that can make it up that damn jeep trail. So, here's the plan: You and Heather go for help. Get to the mountains... But Rhonda interrupts, pointing urgently from the water tower. RHONDA Hey, guys! They're up to something. Val, Earl and Miguel rush to the edge of the roof and look down where she's pointing -- A creature is running its tentacles along the building's foundation. It's a strange, more studied movement than we've seen before. VAL (to Rhonda) What's it doing? RHONDA Why do you all keep asking me? They all stare nervously down as the tentacles feel their way along the wall, moving toward a corner of the building. Suddenly Miguel spots something down the next wall. MIGUEL Hey, there's another one coming! Another set of tentacles is feeling along the adjacent wall. The two creatures meet at the corner, their tentacles touch- ing rather like ants' antennae. They they submerge; tenta- cles zipping into the earth. Nothing happens for a moment. Then the corner of the building suddenly heaves up a couple of feet. Clapboard siding splits. A warped window shatters. (We don't see the creatures, only the effect of their shoving from below). The men nearly lose their balance. Then the corner sinks back down. EARL What the hell was that all about? 114 EXT. NANCY'S HOUSE - DAY 114 Nancy and Mindy are still huddled on the roof. They don't make a sound. They're startled when the house suddenly groans and tilts as creatures give it a tentative shove. Nancy and Mindy frantically cling to the peak of the smooth roof. The picture windows shatters. We hear beams POP and CRACK, dishes CRASH off shelves. The front screen door swings open. At last the house slowly settles back down. 115 EXT. PHAM VAN'S STORE - ROOF - DAY 115 The men are watching Nancy's house tensely. MIGUEL They weren't making no noise. Why they bothering them for? VAL (mind racing) They're studying the buildings... trying to figure them out. Rhonda chimes in from the water tower. RHONDA Yeah, they're confused. They can feel our vibrations, but they can't find us. VAL They're working together, too. EARL Yeah, like they got a plan... BURT (V.O.) Breaker there, Earl. What do you want us to do? EARL (into CB) Hang on, Burt. The bastards are up to something. 116 EXT. NESTOR'S HOUSE - ROOF - DAY 116 Straddling the peak of his steeply sloping roof. Nestor grabs on in panic as the creatures lift the place up slowly! The roof warps, Spanish tiles shatter and rain down on the ground. This causes a flurry of activity. Tentacles snake around where the tiles fell. We hear creatures crash through inside, snorting and huffing. They attack the house in earnest, shaking it violently, pushing the front wall out till it falls flat. The roof collapses on that side! Nestor can't hang on! He slides all the way down, landing across a window on the flattened wall. The next instant he's grabbed and pulled through the window, right into the ground. He SCREAMS! DOLLY along the ground, heading toward the storage shed where Melvin is. All we can see is dirt, but we can still hear Nestor screaming UNDERGROUND! His screams get more and more faint as DOLLY ENDS on: 117 EXT. STORAGE SHED - DAY 117 CLOSE ON horrified Melvin as he rocks back and forth autistically. MELVIN Oh, wow, man! No way! No fucking way, man...! 118 EXT. NANCY'S HOUSE - ROOF - DAY 118 Nancy comforts Mindy. 119 EXT. WATER TOWER - DAY 119 Rhonda turns away. 120 EXT. PHAM CAN'S STORE - ROOF - DAY 120 Val, Earl and Miguel stare in horror and disbelief. Miguel crosses himself. They're in worse trouble than they thought. VAL They knocked his place down on purpose, man. They're gonna tear this whole town out from under us! 121 EXT. BURT & HEATHER'S HOUSE - DAY 121 Burt and Heather's truck is parke