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by Erik Lutz (erik.lutz@dukeschool.org)

Rated:

Genre: Action/Adventure User Review:

Follows a young boy named Aldo as he joins a rebellion against an greedy dictator.

2021: AFTER THE APOCALYPSE

FADE IN:

EXT. BATTLEFIELD - NIGHT

TITLE:

White words flash on a black screen, 2013.

FADE TO SCENE

It is night. There is lots of smoke, flashing lights, and
gunfire. Soldiers are running around in the chaos of the
battle.

COMMANDER
(Roaring)
Hold them back, protect our homes!

But the enemy soldiers cannot be stopped. They push forward
steadily, bringing down their opposition one by one. The
Commander realizes that they cannot win with the few
soldiers that they have. He radios to the bomb shelters.

COMMANDER
(Desperate)
Everyone over five years old arm
up and report to the battle!
Reinforcements are needed
immediately! I repeat, everyone
over five, women and older
children, report to the
battlefield.

Scene flashes to a view of the bomb shelter. A line of
people can be seen departing, leaving only young children.
They are huddled up, crying, and scared. Sounds of the
battle filter into the shelter. The scene flashes back and
forth from the bomb shelter to the Commander, who is
valiantly trying to repel the enemy soldiers. He can only
slow there advance though, and they slowly push forwards, an
unstoppable wave. The scene switches back and forth from the
battle to the bomb shelter. The battle intensifies and the
sounds grow louder in the shelter. The Commander shouts
indecipherable orders to his troops. The scene keeps
switching between the two places. Then a massive explosion
is heard. Inside the bomb shelter the very ground shakes and
dust falls from the ceiling.Then there is silence. The
children in the shelter stop crying but continue to whimper.
After a while, a child ventures out of the bomb shelter and
onto the surface, He coughs as smoke assails his lungs. He

looks around, there is nothing left of his home but smoke
and fire. Both sides had been wiped out completely. The only
thing left is smoke and fire.

FADE OUT

INT. REBEL BASE - NIGHT

TITLE:

White words flash on a black screen, 2021.

FADE TO SCENE

Aldo is flanked by two others. They appear to be holding him
prisoner and leading him somewhere. All three boys look
grimy and torn up, as if they lived in the jungle, and look
no older than thirteen. The two captors are not openly
hostile towards the captive but they act suspicious of him.
Aldo's head is lowered so you can't see his face. The three
boys walk into a dark room with a pile of blankets in one
corner and a couple of stools made out of scrap wood along
with a medium sized table. A regular wooden chair sits with
the stools. There is nothing special about it except its
occupant, Ovid. Ovid is no older than the other boys are but
he radiates authority and commands respect. He is calm and
relaxed. Ovid looks at the captive.

INT. REBEL BASE - NIGHT

Aldo is being held by two boys in front of Ovid.

ALDO
(Stammering)
I...I want to join you
and...and...

Aldo trails off.

OVID
Release him.

The two captors let go of the boy and leave the room. The
boy and the leader look at each other.

OVID
What is your name?

ALDO
(Suddenly Nervous)
Aldo, sir.

OVID
My name is Ovid, but sir shall be
sufficient for you.

ALDO
Yes, sir.

Aldo looks nervously at Ovid

OVID
I ask this question to every new
recruit I get. Why do you want to
join the rebellion?

            ALDO
      (Surprised, a
       little confused)
Well I want to overthrow Slater of
course. He's a greedy dictator
that doesn't deserve the power
that he has. Isn't that what
rebellion is all about?

OVID
(A little sad)
Is that all you think about?
Overthrowing the evil dictator, a
glorious army? The whole point of
this rebellion is to bring peace
to this area. We've hurt no one
permanently and we want to keep it
that way. All our efforts at the
moment are on trying to find a way
to resolve this with as little
violence as possible. But we are
losing. We are running out of
options and we aren't thinking up
any new ones. Eventually Slater
will decide to get rid of us and
it will come down to a bloody war,
just like the one eight years ago
between our parents and those
strange black soldiers. And just
like last time, the black soldiers
will win.

ALDO
Oh no. Do you think we can find
Slater's weakness?

OVID
I don't know.
(Quietly)
I don't know

Ovid sits there for a minute. Then he lifts his head and
addresses Aldo.

OVID
Now Aldo, you say you want to join
me. How do I know you are not just
another spy for our greedy friend?

            ALDO
      (Stammering,
       caught off gaurd)
I...Sir I...

OVID
No, don't answer that. I already
know.

ALDO
(Relieved, nervous)
How?

OVID
(Slightly amused)
You think we are blind? No, we
have many eyes in your territory.
We watch almost everyone to see
who is willing to follow Slater
and who is forced to, like you.

ALDO
So you'll let me join?

Aldo looks hopefully at Ovid.

OVID
Not just yet. Your allegiance is
not all we look at. Some who wish
to join us are just not cut out
for the hard life in the ranks, so
they are assigned to less
difficult tasks, such as gathering
food. You will sometimes see these
minor workers around.

ALDO
(Nervous)
What do I have to do?

OVID
Prove that you're worth something
to this rebellion. Give us a
reason to take you up as part of
our force, or I'm afraid we'll
have to give you to the Task
Master

ALDO
(Scared)
Who?

OVID
(Smiling)
The task master is in charge of
the minor workers, organizing
their work schedules and telling
them what to do. He is really a
kind person, you'll be treated
well even if you don't make it
into the ranks.

Aldo nods.

The two boys look at each other and Aldo can tell their
conversation is about over. Aldo waits to be dismissed.

OVID
You may go now. The two boys that
brought you here will show you
your room and tell you the meal
schedule. In a few days you'll be
tested to see if you'll join the
ranks and what position you'll
start in.

ALDO
(Happily)
Thanks sir, bye!

Aldo leaves the room.

FADE OUT

INT. REBEL BASE - DAY

FADE IN

Aldo is sitting against a wall looking sweaty and tired. He
has just completed the testing that Ovid mentioned in their
conversation. He is waiting to see how he did. James walks
up to him. The two look like they are new friends.

ALDO
(Tired)
How'd I do James?

            JAMES
      (Somewhat
       uncertainly)
I guess you did okay. I'm pretty
sure you'll join the ranks but
there are still some pretty lame
job, and you didn't exactly pass
with flying colors.

ALDO
(Joking)
Well I guess I'm screwed then. If
there's a bad job then I'm bound
to get it.

JAMES
Still, I'd be a little worried if
I were you.
(More upbeat)
But you didn't completely fail.
The test show your pretty
intuitive and a fast and
instinctive thinker. You got some
potential in espionage but I
wouldn't count on it since Slater
probably knows you are with us so
he'll be on the lookout for you.
You absolutely failed in combat,
even in the classic
punch-kick-bite fight. My guess is
that you wont be on the front line
unless you do some serious
training.

ALDO
(A little put out)
So what does that leave me with?

Aldo looks up at James.

JAMES
Central.

ALDO
(Worried)
Central?

JAMES
Central is our term for the room
that makes everything happen. The
few radio sets we have from the
storehouse all link up to Central.
The boys in there coordinate and
plan the task force operations
based on our spy reports.

            ALDO
That doesn't sound so bad. I could
end up a commander.
      (A little
       depressed)
Or I could end up a minor worker
for the rest of my measly life.

James laughs.

JAMES
Ah, don't worry about it. Your
test results will come in tomorrow
and I'm pretty sure your gonna
make it to Central.

Aldo, once more happy, looks up at James playfully.

ALDO
Since I'm the only tester today
why don't we go see what the boys
off-duty are doing?

JAMES
All right, lets go! Race you to
the rec room!

Both boys jump up laughing and run out of the room.

FADE OUT

INT. REBEL BASE - DAY

FADE IN

Aldo is walking down a hallway on his way to his first day
in Central. He is excited so he is walking quickly. Aldo
meets James in the hallway. They exchange a few words as
Aldo hurries past.

            JAMES
      (Mock Surprise)
You landed a job in Central? I was
sure you were gonna get sent to
            (MORE)

JAMES (cont'd)
the task master!

ALDO
Ah, you new I was gonna get into
central from the very beginning.
They told me I made it no problem.
See you tonight.

Aldo hurries past James. Behind him he hears James laughing.

INT. CENTRAL - DAY

FADE IN

Aldo walks into Central. It's a slightly rounded, square
room with a big table in the middle, a bank of tables on one
side with radio equipment, and two whole walls with charts
tacked to them and large stacks of papers underneath them.
The only uncovered wall is the one with the door that Aldo
just walked through. On this wall, "CENTRAL" is written in
big block letters. Nasir mans the radio equipment. He looks
like he's tired. Cael, Vatsa, and Tyro are standing around
the chart table. Tyro looks up as Aldo enters.

TYRO
(Calmly)
Ah, you must the techie, er,
engineer, they sent us to relieve
Nasir here, he's been working both
the receiver and the techie jobs.

Nasir looks relieved and smiles at Aldo.

ALDO
I'm Aldo. They told me to come
here to start my job.

TYRO
Hello Aldo, I'm Tyro. I'm in
charge around here. And this is
Cael, commander of force two, and
Cael, our main tactician. And
lastly we have Nasir, our
receiver. Kade and Dihnt, the
commanders of force one and three,
are not here.

The five greet each other, Nasir quieter than the others.

ALDO
So what do I do first?

            CAEL
      (Leaning back on
       the table)
Nasir here will give you a short
tour of the stats and the radios.
You know, show you were stuff is
and how to keep the radios
working. Then you'll just hang
out. Maybe get us a chart or two.
We don't get a lot of action here
in Central unless there's a
operation going on. That's when
the fun starts.

VATSA
Everybody's rushing around trying
to keep everything together. The
commanders are screaming into the
radios and the techies are running
about like mad getting past
reports if the operation goes
wrong and we have to improvise.

ALDO
(Interested)
Sounds chaotic.

TYRO
It's not that bad. It's really
very structured. Now, Nasir, go
give Aldo the runaround.

Aldo walks over to Nasir and Nasir stands up.

NASIR
(Quietly)
When you first enter Central you
are a technician and stats man.
That means you fix the radios and
keep the statistics papers
organized. If you do well enough
they'll promote you to a radio
receiver, where you basically work
the radio receiver at Central and
keep it on the right channel. Up
and up you'll go until you become
the 2nd in command, the right hand
man for Ovid.

            NASIR
      (Shyly, quietly)
Um, these are the radios. Your job
will be to keep the cords need and
the clean them. All you've gotta
            (MORE)

10.

NASIR (cont'd)
do is keep the dust off of them.
These are the only radios so we've
got to take really good care of
them.

ALDO
Alright. Radios, clean and keep
organized.

NASIR
(Timidly)
And be careful.

ALDO
Careful, got it. What's next?

Nasir leads Aldo over to the charts on the wall and the
stacks of papers.

NASIR
These are the maps.

Nasir gestures to the papers on the wall.

NASIR
They all have labels so you'll
just have to memorize where each
one is so you can get them fast
for the commanders.

ALDO
And these?

Aldo waves at the enormous stacks of papers.

NASIR
Those are the reports and the
stats we've collected since the
beginning of the rebellion. We
copy down all the reports we
receive and put them from
oldest...

Nasir gestures at the first stack on the far wall.

NASIR
to newest.

Nasir gestures about halfway down the second wall.

11.

NASIR
The high-ups will ask for reports
from certain dates so you'll be
able to find them. The other
papers are stats. Everything from
the amount of people in the
rebellion to the number of houses
in Slater's territory. They're not
really organized so I'll help you
find them until you know where
everything is. The high-ups
usually ask for the same ones a
lot so it's easier than you think.

ALDO
(Looks overwhelmed)
I hope so.

NASIR
Your allowed to look through any
of the papers and charts when
there's nothing to be done around
here as long as you don't disrupt
the system and you don't mess up
the papers. Who knows? Things have
been missed and turned up a long
time later when a techie was
reading the papers.

ALDO
Got it. Is there anything else?

NASIR
Nope, that's about it. Get comfy
'cause there isn't a planned
operation for a long time.

ALDO
Alright. I guess I'll start
reading.

Nasir returns to his post by the radios. Aldo looks at the
large stacks of paper, chooses one randomly, and removes a
large chunk of papers from the very middle, carefully noting
where they go so he can put them back right. Aldo walks over
to an empty chair in the corner of the room and plops
himself down. He scans the first page then turns to the next
page.

FADE OUT

12.

INT. ALDO'S ROOM - NIGHT

FADE IN

Aldo is in a small, square, and plain room. On one side is a
bed made of two blankets, on the other a chair and a small
table. Aldo is sleep in the cot. He seems peaceful enough.
The camera zooms in very quickly on Aldo's head and the
edges of the screen blurs.

QUICKLY BLUR/RIPPLE
SCREEN

The camera is looking over Aldo's shoulder at a stack of spy
reports. The edges of the screen are blurred so it looks
like a dream. Aldo is in Central, like earlier that day,
looking over the spy reports. Aldo is turning the page. The
next page is a spy report from 2018. Aldo keeps turning the
pages. The turning gets faster and faster until it is a blur
with flashes of the spy reports. Suddenly the pages stop and
the camera zooms quickly in and then out on the page. It is
another report from 2018. On the bottom a brief message is
scrawled, "Report: spy captured while sending message,
appears to be gibberish.". The camera zooms on the words and
follows across the first and second line. "This is Jennes to
Central! Jennes to Central! This is it! We can win this war!
Slater's got an in-schkkk"

SCREEN FLASHES

It is late evening. Jennes is peering through a hole that
serves as a window at Slater and another boy. Slater's left
sleeve is rolled up to his shoulder. From his elbow up is a
black and shriveled mass.

SLATER
(Deadly)
What is this Doc?

Doc look terrified but is trying to hide it.

DOC
Sir...I...Sir...It's the-

SLATER
(Snarling)
Answer me!

DOC
(Quickly, scared)
Its an bad infection!

13.

SLATER
Are you sure?

DOC
Yes, yes. I'm sure...sure.

Slater looks threateningly at Doc

SLATER
How bad?

Doc doesn't answer. Slater advances on him.

SLATER
(Deadly)
How bad?

Doc hesitates and Slater growls.

DOC
(Very quietly)
Lethal.

Slater seems to deflate and sits down in a chair. Doc look
relieved.

SLATER
How long do I have?

DOC
Well... if we had medicine i wou-

SLATER
(Snapping)
How long?

DOC
(Sighing)
Three years, max.

Jennes turns around to run but accidentally bumps the wall.
Slater whirls around and sees Jennes.

SLATER
(Screaming)
Intruder! Get him!

ZOOMS QUICKLY TO
ALDO

14.

Aldo jerks his head back from the wall. He was eaves
dropping too. He turns to run away. In the background you
can here shouts and Jennes screaming through his portable
radio.

JENNES
This is Jennes to Central! Jennes
to Central! This is it! We can win
this war! Slater's got an in-

Then a crack and a thud as Jennes is hit in the head and
falls to the ground.

CAMERA ZOOMS OUT
QUICKLY AND
EVERYTHING BLURS

Aldo is in his bed still asleep. He is breathing hard and he
squirms once or twice. He is sweaty. Slowly his breathing
returns to normal and he relaxes.

FADE OUT

INT. OVID'S ROOM - DAY

Camera is on the door of Ovid's room from the inside. Aldo
bursts through the door shouting.

ALDO
Ovid! I've found it! The way to
beat Slater!

Ovid, who is standing by his table facing away from the
door, whirls around.

OVID
You what?

ALDO
(Still shouting)
Slater sir, we can beat him!

OVID
Now calm down. Tell me what you've
figured out so we can approach
this in an organized way. Sit
down.

Aldo and Ovid sit down on the stools.

15.

ALDO
Yesterday I was reading the spy
reports in Central. I stumbled
across one of a spy names Jennes
who was captured by Slater's men.
His last words in the massage were
"Slater's got an in-". The message
cuts off there. It sounded
familiar to me but I couldn't
figure out why until last night.
This was three years ago. I was
eaves dropping on Slater and his
medical boy nicknamed Doc. Doc
said that Slater had a lethal
infection that would kill him
within three years. So far all it
had done was turn his left arm
black. Apparently Jennes was also
eaves dropping but in a different
place. When he heard this he ran
off, and so did I. But Slater saw
him and he was almost immediately
caught. I could hear him saying
exactly what was on that report as
I ran off. Slater's gonna die from
a infection soon. We can be there
to take over!

Ovid looks at Aldo

OVID
You are sure of this?

ALDO
Positive.

Ovid hesitates.

OVID
Then lets launch the final
operation of the rebellion.

SCREEN FLASHES
WHITE.

INT. REBEL BASE - NIGHT

TITLE

White words flash on a black screen. "Three Days Later"

16.

Aldo and Ovid are hurrying along a corridor towards Central.
The two are talking.

OVID
(Quickly)
Operation White Storm is poised
for action. We have all forces
with their commanders surrounding
Slater's territory. Tyro and his
elite force have infiltrated the
houses and are hiding out near
Slater's sick house.

ALDO
What do the spies report?

OVID
Slater is on his deathbed but he
has a good sized force protecting
him. This will be difficult but we
think we can pull it off.

ALDO
Why have the spies not reported
Slater's infection before?

OVID
He's been in hiding for a couple
of months now. The infection must
have spread so much it was
visible. We suspected he was not
in the town, maybe with the
workers in the sapling forest.
That's where they gather their
wood. It's about a mile away from
the town. But now that we know
that he is sick we had spies scour
the place for any hiding place. We
found it about a day ago. It was a
cellar hidden by a patch of
bushes. We managed to find a
second way in. We have a guy with
a radio set watching Slater at all
times.

ALDO
Great! Let's go over the plan one
more time. When the infection
kills Slater we move in and
capture his boys. We end up taking
over with only a few bruises and
some swollen noggins.

17.

The two walk into Central.

FADE OUT

INT. CENTRAL - NIGHT

Aldo and Ovid hurry into Central. Nasir is the only one in
there. Everyone is near the town, ready for action.

ALDO
What's the latest news?

NASIR
Our spy in Slater's cellar report
him to be writhing in his bed. He
doesn't have long.

Aldo and Ovid seat themselves at the radios.

            OVID
      (Talking into the
       radio)
This is Ovid to commanders! Check
in!

The commanders voices crackle over the radio.

VATSA
Ready and waiting.

DIHNT
Here!

KADE
We're ready.

TYRO
(Quiet, calm)
Ready.

Ovid nods at Aldo.

            OVID
      (With finality)
It is time.
      (Loudly)
Launch Operation White Storm!

FLASH TO NEXT SCENE

18.

EXT. TOWN - NIGHT

Kade's force is advancing on the town from one side.

FLASH

Dihnt's force is advancing from another side.

FLASH

Vasta's force is advancing from the last side.

FLASH

Tyro and his force slip out from a hiding point in town.
Ovid's voice crackles over a radio.

OVID
(From radio)
Remember, you have a guns but only
use them if you have to! All we
want is unconscious boys! No dead
bodies!

TYRO
Affirmative.

Vatsa's force reaches the town. They proceed to take out two
guards as silently as possible. They are using clubs to
knock them unconscious. Vatsa signals to two boys carrying
ropes. They begin to tie the unconscious boys up.

CUT TO

Tyro's group is doing the same as Vatsa's. They have three
boys knocked out and tied up.

            TYRO
      (Talking into the
       Radio)
All is going as planed. We've
managed to get to the few guards
Slater's placed before they raised
the alarm. Slater's personal guard
have not come out. Most of his
boys are-

A shout of alarm cuts him off. A guard on a rooftop has
spotted the rebellion and is shouting.

OVID
(Sharply)
What's that?

19.

            TYRO
      (Quickely.)
We missed someone.
      (Ordering)
Somebody take him out!

One of Tyro's boys climbs up and knocks the guard out. But
the damage is done. The spy in Slater's cellar is speaking
desperately into the radio. He can be heard by all the
commanders.

SPY
Slater's dead! Slater's dead! But
the alarm was sounded! His entire
guard is leaving the cellar!
They've all got some pretty
powerful looking guns. They must
have gotten them from the
underground warehouse that
survived the bombing in our
parents war! This is not good.
They look like they would kill us
in a hear-

The spy is cut off by the sound of gun fire on the radio. He
doesn't speak again. Tyro looks shocked.

FLASH

Aldo and Ovid look at each other. Ovid speaks into the mic.

OVID
Find a safe position, fast! we're
coming to the town.

TYRO
(Over the radio)
No sir! Don't come it's too
dangerous!

            OVID
      (Shouting)
Tyro! If they have guns and intend
to kill us this is gonna be an all
out war! This is it! The last
stand of the rebellion! I will be
there to die with my troops or
emerge victorious! Now, get to a
safe position, and get Vatsa,
Kade, and Dihnt there too! That's
and order!
      (Quietly)
Tyro, this is it. You have my
personal permission to use your
            (MORE)

20.

OVID (cont'd)
guns. Good bye.

TYRO
Sir I-

Ovid turns off the radio and looks at Aldo.

OVID
Lets go.

SCREEN FLASHES

EXT. TOWN - NIGHT

Aldo and Ovid are running across a field towards the town.
Distant gunfire can be heard. The scene flashes to the
force. All four commanders are there. They have taken refuge
behind a stone wall that Slater's boys built around their
town. They fire through small holes in the crude stone wall.
There are screams. Boy fall on both sides but the camera
only shows the rebellion side. Shards of rock ricochet
whenever a bullet hit's the wall.

SCREEN FLASHES

Aldo and Ovid are running towards the battle. They are about
a hundred yards away. They can see the rebellion on their
side of the wall.

OVID
(Shouting)
Hurry up!

They run even faster. They are about to collapse from
running the mile or so from the rebellion base to the town.

SCREEN FLASHES

The rebellion is still fighting. The commanders are
encouraging their troops but they are almost crazy from the
horrible sights of the battle. Aldo and Ovid skid to a halt
under the protection of the wall. The rebellion looks at
Ovid. Encouraged by the fact that their leader is there.

OVID
(Shouts)
Keep fighting! Hold them back!
Keep the rebellion alive!

The rebellion fights even harder. The sounds of the battle
grow louder and more scary.

21.

OVID
You can do it! Fight for the peace
we all want!

The sounds grow louder. Ovid shouts indecipherable words.
The sound grow louder and more intense. Louder and louder.
And then it all stops. The gunfire ceases. The ragged and
torn group that is the rebellion peer over the wall. It
looks like there has been a massacre. Bodies are every
where, though it is hard to see in the darkness. The
rebellion just sits there. Ovid climbs over the wall, Aldo
following a short distance behind him. The two walk through
the battlefield, stunned and shocked, too amazed to even
speak. They stand there for a minute. Then a grunt comes
from the ground, a pistol is cocked, then fired. Ovid falls
to the ground. Aldo shouts. The soldier on the ground who
fired the bullet has already died. There is lots of
shouting. Tyro rushes to Ovid.

TYRO
Ovid! Look at me! Look at me! We
gonna get you someplace safe.

Tyro is almost delirious. He begins to cry silently.

OVID
(Almost inaudible)
Tyro...

TYRO
(Crying)
No! No! your gonna make it! Don't
die!

OVID
Tyro...

Ovid gives a little smile. More like a grimace. He looks at
Tyro.

OVID
(Dying words)
Lead the people well...

Ovid dies. The camera zooms out and up. Tyro is wailing.
Ovid's, now Tyro's, forces lay like a broken machine by the
wall. Aldo stands up and looks east to where the sun is just
beginning to rise. Tyro's wails fade out. Aldo drops to his
knees, a silhouette against the rising sun. His head droops.
The war is over. But the rebuilding has just began.

FADE OUT.

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From Nathan	Date 12/10/2009
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