[font=courier]As TAARNA flies off, the hanging beast eyes the barbarian
hungrily.
CUT TO
AUSTIN GRIMALDI
He is still sitting on the floor, working on his machine.
As the camera pulls closer, we see that AUSTIN is reaching
deep inside the machineworks, trying to solder a small orange
diode in place with an odd-style soldering iron. The connection
breaks, and the diode and some hot solder fall deeper into the
machine and start smoking and sputtering. As the smoke grows
thicker, the machine starts to buzz loudly.
AUSTIN
Dammit!
AUSTIN pulls his face out of the smoking chassis, grabs a pair
of needlenose pliers, and reaches back to retrieve the part.
The camera follows AUSTIN'S arm into the chassis, where smoke
surrounds it and clouds over everything. The buzzing sound
grows, and changes into the sound of powerful, throbbing
engines. Slowly the smoke begins to clear as we hear a voice
crackling over a radiophone.
BOMBARDIER
(V.O.)
Where the hell are we?
Suddenly the smoke dissipates and a formation of B-17 bombers
come tearing out into the moonlit night.
CUT TO
THE GROUND BELOW
The sound of jungle night creatures fills the air. We see
palm trees silhouetted against the moon bright sky. The
scene is almost serene. The camera pans and suddenly the
nose of a large parked bomber fills the screen, and as the
camera continues panning, we pass a large red rising sun on
the bomber's fuselage. The pan stops at the tail of the
aircraft, and we see a Japanese soldier - a guard.
There is a moment of tranquillity, as jungle sounds fill the
air. The soldier almost dozes ... suddenly the cacophony of
sound stops, and for a brief moment there is complete silence
... then with an agonizing wail an air raid siren shatters
the silence and the guard looks skyward, startled.
Instantly all hell breaks loose as we hear pounding feet.
Silhouetted figures rush by.
CUT TO
A GUN EMPLACEMENT
Japanese soldiers crank the barrel of an anti-aircraft gun
skyward. We begin to hear the sound of approaching engines.
CUT TO
CLOSEUP OF A SHELL
It is thrust into a breech.
CUT TO
THE B-17 FORMATION
As the bombers press on, the camera moves in to the lead
aircraft. In the moonlight we see her name, "Pacific Pearl".
CUT TO
INT. - THE "PACIFIC PEARL"
NAVIGATOR
We're there Stepek, right on
target ... Rabual dead ahead!
Suddenly a cacophony of explosions split the air as anti-aircraft
shells explode ahead of the aircraft, lighting the inside with
electric blue flashes.
BOMBARDIER
Gee! Thanks for telling me,
Holden. I thought it was Cleveland.
CUT TO
THE GROUND
Ackack guns blast shells skyward. The gun blasts light up
the palm tree background, causing momentary silhouettes.
CUT TO
THE BOMBARDIER
BOMBARDIER
For Christ sake, hold her steady!
CUT TO
THE BELLYGUNNER
He can be seen from outside the plane as the shell flashes
light up his turret.
BELLYGUNNER
Quit yer bitching Stepek, just drop
'em and let's get outta here!
CUT BACK TO
THE BOMBARDIER
BOMBARDIER
Keep your shirts on guys, tonight I'm
gonna hit something.
(he settles over the bomb sight)
Left two degrees ... steady ...
steady ...
CUT TO
THE BELLYGUNNER
The flak is severe, with electric blue flashes lighting up
the fuselage interior.
BELLYGUNNER
Hey kid, how ya doing back there?
CUT TO
THE TAILGUNNER
Tailgunner momentarily lit with a shell burst, he's scared
shitless. He looks nervously back behind the aircraft at
the flak puffs behind the tail.
TAILGUNNER
Gulp, ah ... I'm ah ... okay
... I think.
PILOT
(V.O.)
Button it up, we're almost there.
CUT TO
THE BOMBARDIER
He is crouched over his bomb-sights, concentrating.
NAVIGATOR
(V.O.)
C'mon Stepek, there's the
whole island of Rabaul down
there, you can't miss!
BOMBARDIER
Screw you ...
CUT TO
THE PILOT'S COMPARTMENT
Suddenly a shell explodes almost on the windshield and the
pilot rears back with the blast. The right windshield is
shattered.
PILOT
We took a hit ...
The co-pilot sags forward, held back only by his shoulder
straps. His eyes stare. Blood runs from under his helmet.
We know he is dead.
PILOT
Shit. Elkhorn just bought it.
BELLYGUNNER
(V.O.)
We took one back here too.
C'mon Stepek, blast 'em!
CUT TO
THE BOMBARDIER
BOMBARDIER
(hand on the release button)
Steady ... steady ... bombs away!
Let's get the hell outta here!
CUT TO
THE GROUND
We hear the shriek of descending bombs. The explosions walk
across the airfield, and in the light of the explosions we
see devastation. The last bomb hits a fuel dump, causing an
enormous ball of fire.
BOMBARDIER
(V.O.)
Yahoo! Bullseye!
CUT BACK TO
THE PACIFIC PEARL
PILOT
(exhilarated)
Nice shooting Stepek, how are the
rest of you guys?
FLIGHT ENGINEER
(V.O.)
Flight Engineer okay.
RADIO OPERATOR
(V.O.)
Radio okay.
NAVIGATOR
(V.O.)
Navigator check.
BELLYGUNNER
(V.O.)
Belly okay.
TAILGUNNER
(V.O.)
Ah ... tail okay ...
There is abrupt silence.
PILOT
Bellson ... Lewis?
Still silence, no reply from either name.
PILOT
Kid, check the waist positions, see if
they're okay.
CUT TO
THE TAILGUNNER
TAILGUNNER
Yeah ... will do, skipper.
TAILGUNNER crosses himself, then exits back into the body of
the machine.
CUT TO
THE PILOT
PILOT
(wearily)
Let's go home.
We hear jumbled comments from all positions. Everyone is
happy.
CREW
(V.O.)
Cheers and whoops.
The mood of high spirits is stopped abruptly as the tailgunner
reports back.
TAILGUNNER
(V.O.)
Skipper, Bellson and Lewis are both
dead.
This is the first time the kid's voice is not scared, just
puzzled.
PILOT
Dammit!
BOMBARDIER
(V.O.)
Well kid, now you got a real
bombing mission under your belt.
CUT TO
THE BOMBARDIER
He removes his oxygen mask and takes a long swig from a
bottle.
CUT TO
EXT. - THE "PACIFIC PEARL"
She rejoins the rest of the group. The formation is not
quite as tight as before. As the formation flies along,
puffs of cloud pass by, occasionally obscuring a machine.
CUT TO
LOW VIEW OF THE "PACIFIC PEARL"
Under the "Pacific Pearl's" belly, we see the bellygunner
suspended in his small glass pod. A red glow brightens up
as he drags on a cigar. The rest of the formation are
visible stretched to the side and behind as puffs of cloud
waft past. We begin to feel as if the weather might be
changing.
CUT TO
THE NOSE OF THE "PACIFIC PEARL"
The BOMBARDIER is relaxing inside as he swigs from the bottle
and sings raucously. From the front we look in on the pilot
with the dead co-pilot sagging in his seat next to him.
BELLYGUNNER
(V.O.)
Sorry about Elkhorn, skip.
What happened?
PILOT
I dunno. The shell exploded and he
collapsed. I think he took it in
the head.
BELLYGUNNER
(V.O.)
Are ya sure he's dead, Skipper?
PILOT
He's dead.
BOMBARDIER
(sings drunkenly)
Oh I put my finger in a woodpecker's
hole and the woodpecker said God
bless my soul; take it out, take it
out, take it out, remove it ...
TAILGUNNER
(bolder)
Hey Stepek, just shut up, okay?
BOMBARDIER
Up yours kid, wassa matter, you don't
like my voice?
While all this banter has been going on the cloud has been
thickening. Suddenly a serious voice cuts in on the small
talk. It's the NAVIGATOR.
NAVIGATOR
(V.O.)
Something's wrong!
CUT TO
THE NAVIGATOR
He is frantically tapping the compass.
PILOT
(V.O.)
You got a problem, Holden?
BOMBARDIER
(V.O.)
Naw, the kid's the one with the
problem. He don't like my voice!
PILOT
(V.O.)
Button it up Stepek. What's the
problem, Holden?
NAVIGATOR
I must have a malfunction, my compass
says we're heading north!
CUT TO
PILOT
He looks at his compass.
PILOT
Mine says east.
NAVIGATOR
(V.O.)
Hey, can you guys see the rest of the
squadron?
BELLYGUNNER
(V.O.)
Negative, there's too much cloud.
A sudden flash of lightning illuminates the whole inside of
the plane.
CUT TO
THE COCKPIT
The dead co-pilot's pale face is momentarily electric blue,
lit by the lightning flash. We pan past him to the compass in
the instrument panel. It is spinning madly.
PILOT
What the hell ...
He reaches forward to tap the compass.
PILOT
Hey Holden, now my compass has gone
crazy. It's spinning like a son of
a bitch!
NAVIGATOR
(V.O.)
Mine too, we must have hit a magnetic
field or something !!
CUT TO
OUTSIDE THE PLANE
We see a dull glow coming from all crew positions from the
on-board lights. Suddenly a curtain of rain lashes the machine.
PILOT
(V.O.)
Christ, now they're all doing it!!
CUT TO
THE INSTRUMENT PANEL
All the dials are going haywire. Above the instrument panel
we see the windshield is spattered with rain.
BOMBARDIER
(V.O.)
You guys quit talking business?
I'm trying to sing here! Oh I
put my finger in a woodpecker's ...
PILOT
(irritably)
Can it Stepek, we got real problems.
Just then through the rain, a strange green glow is seen
in the distance. It begins to curve toward the aircraft.
CUT TO
OUTSIDE THE PLANE - NEAR BELLY TURRET
The turret swings as the gunner spots the glow.
BELLYGUNNER
Jesus! Look at that!!
From under the starboard wing, we see the object approaching.
PILOT
(V.O.)
Look at what ... look at what!!?
BELLYGUNNER
It's out there, just look at it ...
PILOT
(V.O.)
For Christ sake, give us a position!
BELLYGUNNER
It's about four o'clock, just below
... Holy Shit, it's coming right at us!
The glow suddenly zooms at the plane with great speed and hits
the starboard inner engine.
CUT TO
PILOT'S POV
He has to push the dead co-pilot back to peer out the
broken starboard window ... the number three prop is bent
and windmilling wildly. It has a strange green luminescence
about it ... the whole machine shakes.
PILOT
Damn.
The PILOT tries to fly the plane and do the co-pilot's job of
feathering the bad engine. Suddenly it's too late as the prop
wobbles loose and cartwheels over the wing.
CUT TO
OUTSIDE THE PLANE
The prop flies back and slices a great gash in the aircraft's
skin, near the TAILGUNNER'S position.
CUT TO
THE PILOT
PILOT
We lost the goddamned prop ...
Did it do any damage? Kid, check
the tail.
Silence.
PILOT
Come in kid ... kid are you okay?
Silence.
PILOT
Travis; go check the back.
BELLYGUNNER
(V.O.)
Will do, skipper.
CUT TO
INSIDE HATCH
TRAVIS' turret opens and TRAVIS pulls himself up into the fuselage.
CUT TO
THE PILOT
The gauges are now settled except for the oil pressure to
No. 2 engine. The pressure drops. The engine heat gauge
climbs rapidly. A red warning light begins to flash.
PILOT
(to himself)
Goddamn it, now what?
He glances out of his window just in time to see a strange,
claw-like feeler coming out of the engine casing. It detaches
one of the cooling gills, then another, and another. They blow
away in the slipstream.
PILOT
Gremlins!
(rubbing his eyes)
Jesus, I must be getting tired.
CUT TO
THE BELLYGUNNER
He looks in to the kid's reargun compartment. All that is left
of him is a tattered skeleton.
TRAVIS turns, horror frozen on his face. Quick as a flash,
from seemingly nowhere, something flies at him and grabs his
throat. The mask on his face falls off, and we get a split
second look of abject horror as he falls out of frame.
PILOT
(V.O.)
Travis, what's goin' on back there?
CUT TO
TRAVIS
His eyes are open but he is obviously dead. Through his helmet
headphone, we hear his name.
CUT TO
THE PILOT
PILOT
Holden, how far to base?
NAVIGATOR
(V.O.)
Skip, with everything screwed up here, I'd,
I'd guess about two hundred miles.
All the time the engine pops and bangs wildly.
PILOT
For Christ's sake, find us a place I
can put her down!
CUT TO
THE NAVIGATOR
NAVIGATOR
It's all ocean down there, skip!
CUT TO
THE PILOT
PILOT
Mack, can you get us a radio fix?
CUT TO
THE RADIO OPERATOR
RADIO OPERATOR
Negative skip, too much interference.
CUT TO
THE PILOT
He is fighting the controls.
PILOT
Shit! I've gotta put her down!
CUT TO
THE BOMBARDIER
BOMBARDIER
Hey Holden ... ya old stuff shirt ...
ya wanna snort?
PILOT
(V.O.)
For God sakes Stepek, shut up!
STEPEK takes another swig from his bottle. He is lying on
his back partly propped up by the curving nose of the aircraft.
He is about to make another smart ass reply, when he hears a
strange scratching and chirping noise above his head. He
looks up in time to see sharp teeth and claws start to appear
through the lining above his head. He blinks in disbelief and
throws his bottle away as if the image came from the whiskey.
BOMBARDIER
Oh my God, there's ... there's ...
ahh ... keep away ... keep away ...
(struggles)
... hey no ... hey somebody ...
(screams)
NAVIGATOR
(V.O.)
Stepek, you stupid sonovabitch, will
you lay off the booze, you've got the
D.T.'s ...
STEPEK is wide-eyed and scared silly as the sound now begins
under his feet and pincers begin to snip through the floor.
He suddenly realizes that the whole floor is giving way beneath
him, and he grabs for a handful of cables as the floor collapses.
CUT TO
OUTSIDE THE AIRCRAFT
The lower half of STEPEK is hanging in the slipstream, kicking
madly. We see that his legs are covered in wriggling creatures.
CUT BACK TO
STEPEK
He is losing his grip with one hand, but still desperately
clinging on to a bunch of cables with the other. Suddenly
an ugly pincer cuts the cables and STEPEK is gone ... out
into the night.
CUT TO
THE PLANE
Suddenly the No. 2 engine begins to backfire, blasting back
large gobs of orange flame. The oil, heat and manifold gauges
are off the dial and red lights frantically flash. Desperately
the PILOT looks out of the window.
Pieces begin flying off the engine. The cowling disintegrates
revealing the bare engine beneath. Small figures are frantically
busy ripping the engine to pieces.
CUT TO
THE PILOT
He is scared.
PILOT
Holden, for God's sake get up
here on the double.
NAVIGATOR
(V.O.)
What's the problem, skip?
PILOT
Just get up here!
The NAVIGATOR grimaces as he pushes past the dead co-pilot.
NAVIGATOR
What is it, skip?
(looking out windows)
JESUS H. CHRIST!
PILOT
Hold 'em off. I'm taking her down.
He peers out at the incredible sight of the creatures ripping
off the wing skin and tearing huge plates from the cowlings.
The camera pans down to his feet as the hatch door handle twists
and then bursts open. A dozen bat-like creatures swarm in.
The NAVIGATOR panics and reaches up, grabbing the flare gun
from its rack. He screams as the creatures attack and shoots
right through the creatures, bathing the aircraft with a bright
ruby glow.
NAVIGATOR
(struggling)
Okay you little bastards ... shit ...
(screams)
CUT TO
THE RADIO OPERATOR
The flare shoots down the fuselage and smashes into him.
Wreathed in flames, he falls back into the fuselage.
CUT TO
OUTSIDE THE AIRCRAFT
Creatures swarm all over the plane. The ball turret falls
off. A wheel suddenly lowers, then falls off. A flap flutters
free and blows away. Oil streams back into the slipstream and
sections of the skin of the plane come away, revealing the
skeleton framework of the fuselage.
CUT TO
THE PILOT
He is fighting the controls. Creatures are now in the cockpit,
plucking out the instruments. The PILOT reaches to the throttle
only to grab a creature that locks on to his gloved hand.
Flying the plane with his good hand, he strikes and pummels
at the attacking creatures with the other.
CUT TO
OUTSIDE THE AIRCRAFT
It is now almost a flying skeleton. For the first time, we
see that it is heading for an island. A figure detaches itself
from the machine and plummets away.
CUT TO
THE PILOT
He falls, terror-stricken, through space. Finally his chute
opens. A slimy creature still clings to his gloved hand. He rips
off the glove and throws it and the creature away.
PILOT
(struggling)
Jesus H. Christ!
CUT TO
THE ISLAND
The approaching smoking plane bellies onto the sea, bounces,
then skims along the wave tops, careening up onto the beach,
where it twists around crazily before coming to a lopsided
stop. The machine faces us head-on and we see a glow coming
from what's left of No. 3 engine. The camera zooms in rapidly
to a green ball stuck in engine No. 3.
CUT TO
THE PILOT
He has landed, and is undoing his parachute harness. He looks
around incredulously. The island is a junkyard - a veritable
graveyard of aircrafts. There are many aircrafts, both old
wrecks and futuristic-looking ones lying everywhere. Skeletal
corpses are still left in some of the wrecks. The camera pans
to the remains of one machine. It is an old American Lockheed
Electra. It glints dull in the half light of dawn. Painted
on its side are two names; "Amelia Earhart" and "Fred Noonan".
The camera continues to move through this panorama of metallic
junk until it stops on a long chrome rod sticking up out of
a pile of scrap.
Tilting up to the sky we see the clouds part as two gargantuan
metal arms emerge and descend down toward the junkpile. The
metal arms reach the chrome rod, grip it tightly, and begin to
lift it up.
WWe follow as the cylinder is pulled higher and higher, finally
coming to a stop in front of a giant eyeball. The camera pulls
back to reveal that the eyeball belongs to AUSTIN GRIMALDI,
who carefully scrutinizes the orange diode held tightly in his
needlenose pliers.[/font]