[EXT. GAS STOP - COUNTRY ROAD - MAINE – DAY]
(A classic rural, middle-of-nowhere Maine gas station -- a couple of pumps in front of a tiny store. Bruce's Cruiser pulls up, Johnny and Bruce climb out. Binoculars dangle from both their necks. Johnny is wearing appropriate hiking attire -- Bruce looks like he's dressed for the gym, in bright workout gear. Bruce has a "Field Guide to Birds of New England" in one hand and is reading from it, energized.)
BRUCE: Wingspan up to eight feet! Eight feet!
JOHNNY: You are not going to see a Bald Eagle.
(Bruce tosses the bird book to Johnny and pops open the hood to check the oil.)
BRUCE: Why not?
JOHNNY: Because there are about three Bald Eagles left in this entire county.
BRUCE: I'll settle for a Dodo.
JOHNNY: Too late. They're extinct.
(Bruce slams the hood.)
BRUCE: What's the point of bird-watching if all the birds I want to watch are missing in action?
JOHNNY: What's the point of dragging me all the way out here for physical therapy?
BRUCE: Because it's time you got back to basics. We cannot duplicate in a gym the kind of landscape our human legs evolved upon.
JOHNNY: Nobody evolved in Maine.
BRUCE: Until we pay a visit to Mother Africa, it'll have to do.
(Bruce pops open the gas cap and starts to fill the tank.)
BRUCE: (re: binoculars) In the meantime, if I'm gonna lug this sucker around you'd best deliver me something with an eight foot wingspan.
(Johnny heads over toward the tiny store and the old man who is sitting out front next to a narrow table with an ancient cash register and a small stand displaying tourist post cards.)
JOHNNY: Hi. How are you?
(The guy just stares at him. Several feet away is the man's young grandson. The boy has a toy drum he is awkwardly beating on with his open hand. A postcard catches Johnny's eye… Which reads "Hello from Picture Rock" and shows a local tourist site -- a rock face with a Palaeolithic drawing on it, the simple but elegant figure of a leaping deer.)
OLD MAN (O.S.): Not bad. Yourself?
[RESUME]
(Johnny turns back, caught a little off-balance by the man's delayed response.)
JOHNNY: Not bad at all.
(He reaches for his wallet, takes out a bill.)
JOHNNY: Twenty on Supreme.
(The Old Man makes no effort to accept the cash. Johnny has no choice but to play along with his odd rhythm.)
JOHNNY: (lightly) Seen any bald eagles around here?
(The man stares at the "Birds of Maine" book tucked under Johnny's arm.)
OLD MAN: Just yesterday.
JOHNNY: (excited) You're kidding.
OLD MAN: Yes I am.
(Johnny is disappointed.)
OLD MAN: But I do expect a couple tomorrow.
(The man reaches up and takes the twenty from Johnny. And as their hands make contact -- we go into slow motion and Johnny hears the sound of the toy drum become a much deeper and more rhythmic drum beating, which is then overwhelmed by a tremendous burning roar. The Old Man is frozen in place. A brilliant light suddenly illuminates the scene. Johnny turns to look up at the source of the light and the roaring sound, and finds himself…)
[EXT. LOW MOUNTAIN - DAY – VISION]
(Johnny stands at the foot of a low mountain, surrounded by wilderness, watching as…)
[JOHNNY'S POV - A METEOR – VISION]
(Streaks through the blue sky like a fiery arrow, burning the air as it goes, until it strikes the side of the mountain with a tremendous explosion.)
[OMITTED]
[RESUME JOHNNY - EXT. GAS STOP – VISION]
(Johnny watches as the frozen image of the Old Man suddenly wavers like a flickering candle flame -- and then vanishes. The vision ends.)
[RESUME SCENE]
(Johnny reacts to what he has just seen. The boy suddenly stops pounding on his toy drum. The silence is itself disturbing.)
OLD MAN: I'll give 'em your regards.
JOHNNY: Huh…? Oh, right.
(He turns and unsteadily makes it back to Bruce at the vehicle. Bruce sees the haunted look on his face -- he's seen it before.)
BRUCE: Now what?
(But Johnny doesn't answer -- he's still thinking about the impending disaster.)
END OF TEASER
ACT ONE
[EXT. A STARFIELD]
(Across which moves a single point of light -- like a star with its own agenda.)
[INT. OBSERVATORY LAB – DAY]
(The star field is an animated image on a computer screen. A woman in her late twenties -- the astronomer -- clicks a mouse and a graphic circle appears over the moving star -- highlighting it.)
ASTRONOMER: Asteroid nineteen-fifty "D" "A." Diameter: approximately one kilometer.
(Johnny is staring with great concern at the screen.)
ASTRONOMER: Big enough to wipe out a major metropolitan area -- or a good chunk of the countryside. Depending where it hits.
JOHNNY: (barely) When?
ASTRONOMER: March… of the year 2880.
(Johnny just looks at her.)
JOHNNY: Are you sure?
ASTRONOMER: NASA's sure. JPL's sure. So I'm pretty sure.
(She clicks the mouse and the star field disappears, replaced by the screensaver of a housecat in a funny pose.)
ASTRONOMER: And even then, the probability of impact is relatively low.
JOHNNY: That's not the one.
ASTRONOMER: We've mapped more than a thousand Near Earth Objects…
JOHNNY: …And there are thousands more you don't know about. There's a near-miss every couple of weeks and you never see them coming.
ASTRONOMER: (disbelieving) But you can… in a 'vision'…
(Johnny picks his words carefully, but his voice is intense.)
JOHNNY: People are going to die unless you can identify this meteor and tell us exactly where it's going to hit.
(The Astronomer is trying to be patient.)
ASTRONOMER: (dry) Where should I aim the telescope? It's a very big sky up there.
JOHNNY: All I can tell you is that it will hit at the foot of a mountain. A mountain that looks like a crouching animal of some kind. Like a dog or a wolf.
(The woman stands… she's had enough…)
ASTRONOMER: Mister Smith, I agreed to our meeting because public relations are my job here…
JOHNNY: …Let me talk to one of the astronomers.
(The woman bristles slightly.)
ASTRONOMER: I'll be finished with my doctorate by December. Maybe you should come back and see me then.
(Johnny knows he can't get any further. He stands. The Astronomer extends her hand. Johnny takes her hand -- she freezes as he hears the roar of the meteor flashing by…)
[THE ASTRONOMER – VISION]
(She suddenly wavers like a flickering candle flame, and then vanishes -- exactly like the old man at the gas station.)
[RESUME]
(Johnny lets go of her hand.)
JOHNNY: If I can find this mountain, give you an exact location and the meteor's angle of impact…
ASTRONOMER: (anything to get this guy out of here) You bring me the declination and right ascension and we'll point the telescope together…
(She ushers him out.)
[EXT. COUNTRY HIGHWAY - MAINE – DAY]
(A highway patrolman pulls his flashing motorcycle to a stop on the lonely stretch of road. He takes off his sunglasses -- his local Native American heritage is evident from his features. We follow him as he walks up to the car he has just pulled over. It's Johnny.)
JOHNNY: Good morning, Officer.
HIGHWAY PATROLMAN: License and registration please.
(As Johnny reaches for it, the cop notices the binoculars around his neck and the maps open on the seat next to him.)
HIGHWAY PATROLMAN: You were driving too slow for the road. Is there a problem?
JOHNNY: No, sir. Just looking for a mountain.
HIGHWAY PATROLMAN: Well, we've got plenty to choose from around here.
JOHNNY: Yes sir.
(He hands over his license and registration, and the moment the man makes contact with them -- he freezes as Johnny hears the roar of the meteor flashing by.)
[HIGHWAY PATROLMAN – VISION]
(The man suddenly wavers like a flickering candle flame, and then vanishes, just like the old man and the astronomer.)
[RESUME]
(Johnny tries to maintain his composure after this vision as the officer glances at the license and registration.)
JOHNNY: It looks sort of like a dog… or a wolf. When you're looking up at it.
HIGHWAY PATROLMAN: (dry) Not a bunny rabbit?
JOHNNY: No.
(The cop hands him back the license and registration.)
HIGHWAY PATROLMAN: There's a scenic turn-off a few miles up the road. You might have better luck.
(Johnny nods.)
[EXT. SCENIC TURNOFF – DAY]
(Johnny is parked at a scenic vista point off the rural highway. He is looking through his binoculars at the distant landscape. He scans the area, finally spotting a low mountain that has some vague resemblance to the meteor impact site in his vision -- but it is obscured by a couple of hills in the foreground. Johnny takes down the binoculars and consults a map he has already opened onto the hood of his car. Johnny's finger traces a winding country road that looks like it might take him in the direction of the mountain.)
[EXT. END OF THE ROAD – DAY]
(Johnny's car runs out of road in front of a stand of trees. He slows to a stop and gets out. Johnny considers the boundary of vegetation that lies before him -- this is where the unknown begins. He takes a daypack and his cane out of the car, and slams the door. He heads with resolve into the trees.
[EXT. WILDERNESS - DAY - SERIES OF DISSOLVES:]
(-- Johnny walking through a stand of trees.)
(-- Crossing a small stream.)
(-- Standing on hillside, scanning with binoculars.)
(-- Walking through another stretch of trees and brush, more dense, more genuine wilderness. A little tired, Johnny sits down on a rock in a small clearing to catch his breath.)
(The sound of quiet drumming. Johnny is puzzled. He looks around.)
[JOHNNY'S POV - A FALLEN TREE TRUNK]
(Nearby is being softly "beaten" over and over again by a breeze blown plant. The sound is strangely suggestive of a drum. The breeze suddenly turns into a cold wind, and Johnny is instantly chilled. He pulls his jacket closer around him - it is far too thin for this environment. The distant sound of a howl. Johnny shakes his head.)
JOHNNY: Great.
(He stands, grabs his cane, and moves off.)
[EXT. NARROW ANIMAL PATH – DAY]
(Johnny is walking along a narrow, brush-lined path along the top of a steep incline. The wilderness is absolutely silent. The path he is on seems ancient. As if countless creatures have cut this arrow across the landscape. His footsteps fall rhythmically on the earth, syncopated because of the cane, strangely like a drum… suddenly he hears a distant, rushing roar… Johnny reacts…)
[NEW ANGLE - JOHNNY IN A VISION]
(A blinding light from above almost whites out the scene… The roar flashes by.)
[RESUME]
(As the vision ends but Johnny finds himself disoriented and off-balance -- he tries to turn around and his cane catches on a rock that slips out from under him. Johnny suddenly pitches sideways, off the path and down the steep incline!)
[EXT. STEEP INCLINE – DAY]
(Johnny tumbles and rolls and slides along the rough ground, trying desperately to stop himself, finally smashing up against a clump of vegetation, which breaks the fall. Several tense moments pass as Johnny catches his breath. He tries to move his leg and groans with the effort. His trousers are torn and his leg is bleeding. He stares up at the incline to mark the fall -- it's a long climb to the top. He takes out the cell phone, opens it. Close on the cell phone which reads "No Service Area." Trying not to panic, he scans the slope for his daypack -- which is a few feet further down the incline. Johnny locates his cane, several feet away. Struggling, he crawls toward it. Agonizing seconds later, he grabs the cane…)
[EXT. ROCKY INCLINE - VISION – DAY]
(Roscoe is holding the cane aloft.)
ROSCOE: Sheriff!
(Walt looks over from several yards away. A search party of half-a-dozen people are carefully climbing among the rocks. Walt starts moving toward Roscoe, then…)
BRUCE (O.S.): Walt. Over here.
(Further down the incline. He is crouching down next to a body -- Johnny's. Walt joins him, takes a look.)
WALT: (grim) Guess it got a little too cold last night.
(Bruce just looks at him, devastated. Vision ends.)
[RESUME JOHNNY]
(As he considers this. His gaze travels up the way he fell -- no way. Then back down -- just as steep. He'd likely fall again. He scans horizontally along the incline. Not so far away. And on the same level as his current position. He uses the cane to reach down for his daypack, pulling it up to him. Then he struggles toward the cleft.)
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT – DAY]
(Johnny appears at the opening, shoving himself with the cane into the cleft. Larger than he anticipated, not quite a cave, but definitely better than the open elements. He drags himself over toward the wall, reaches down to check his leg -- the torn pants above his knee are soaked in blood. Johnny takes off his belt (or uses a piece of his ripped trousers), loops it inside the torn fabric, along his upper thigh, and pulls it into a rough tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Johnny leans back against the wall to catch his breath, his hand reaches out to the rock face for support, and on contact…)
[MULTIPLE HANDS – VISION]
(Move across the rock, dissolving to replace one another. Scrawling with marker, pen, knife, bright clay, burnt stick. Leaving graffiti, initials, dates, symbols, Paleolithic drawings.)
[RESUME]
(As Johnny feels a sudden chill he kicks something in the dark. He casually picks it up - and it's an old crushed beer can… as he touches the can, he hears the sound of the roaring meteor in the distance, and the rock face in front of him is lit with sudden brightness. He turns to find, not a meteor but…)
[A CAMPFIRE – VISION]
(The roar becomes only the popping of the green wood, the brightness merely from the flames. And just beyond the flames are the ghostly images of four 1980s vintage college kids drinking beer. One of the college kids lights a cigar, then tosses the lighter. Johnny watches as it falls behind a rock -- the vision ends.)
[RESUME JOHNNY]
(Who immediately hauls himself over to the rock -- sure enough, the lighter is still there. He tries it, and even if the fuel is long gone, the flint still sparks. Johnny puts the lighter in his pocket, starts to gather pieces of loose wood strewn around, piling them together. Then he picks up what looks to be an old piece of broken antler, but flat and smooth. Just as he is about to toss it over with the other kindling, his eye is caught by something on its surface -- upon which two faint lines can be seen, as Johnny traces them with his fingertip -- a double-curve, intersecting. The SOUND of a low drum beating, somewhere nearby. Johnny who slowly turns toward the source…)
[INCLUDE THE SHAMAN)
(Native American, about Johnny's age, dressed completely in deerskin clothing, sitting by his own small fire, beating on a flat drum hoop with a drumstick, eyes closed, in concentration or even semi-trance. The man is wearing feathers and dried plants woven into his long black hair. Two narrow green vertical lines rise above his nose bridge onto his forehead. This is a vision from a time long before Europeans landed on this continent. Johnny sees a knife carved from antler held in a sheath against the Shaman's chest -- Johnny then glances down at the antler shard in his own hand. Clearly it is the same object -- now worn smooth by the centuries. And this is what's causing the vision. Johnny watches as the man starts to speak a single word, eyes still closed.)
SHAMAN: (welcoming) Kwai… Kwai… Kwai…
(Johnny stares, fascinated -- when a sudden sharp pain in his leg makes him cry out. He turns away, and as he does so -- Opens his eyes and turns toward the sound of Johnny's voice -- and sees Johnny! The Shaman reacts with amazement -- he is both frightened and excited. As if he both expected and feared the arrival of this apparition. He stops beating the drum and stays completely still. Is Johnny a Demon? A Spirit Guide? How to tell the difference? He stares at the antler shard in Johnny's hand, then glances down at the antler knife in his sheath. Just as Johnny did, he concludes that they are somehow connected. As he watches, Johnny -- still facing away from him -- drops the antler fragment. And instantly disappears from the Shaman's vision.)
SHAMAN: (puzzled) Toni odosaan?
(And anytime we're alone with the Shaman we're in the ancient cave (i.e., no graffiti but with a small pool of water that doesn't exist in Johnny's era.) The Shaman thinks for a moment. He puts down the drum and drumstick. He stands, takes out the antler knife and waves it in the air. He shakes it once or twice, then points it at the place where Johnny was standing before he disappeared.)
SHAMAN: (a command) Pion n'wigomnok!
(Nothing happens. Clearly, he is trying to make Johnny reappear, but doesn't know exactly how. He walks over to exactly where Johnny was standing and tosses the knife down just as Johnny dropped the shard, and cries out in mock pain, imitating the same cry Johnny gave. He looks around expectantly -- but no Johnny. The Shaman thinks hard about this problem. And seems to have an idea. He picks the antler knife up off the ground, goes and sits back down next to his fire, taking the drum in hand. Then he starts to slowly beat on the drum with the antler knife, using it as drumstick. As he closes his eyes in concentration…)
[CLOSE ON: THE DRUM]
(Drawn across its surface is the simple but elegant Paleolithic image of a man with a cane.)
END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT – DAY]
(Johnny is lying on his side, straining to light the small pile of wood he has collected with the old lighter he found. The lighter sends out a spark with each try -- but nothing catches. Suddenly, he grits his teeth at a shooting pain in his leg. He rolls over onto his back and pulls himself backwards and up against the rock wall to look at the leg. Blood is dried and caked onto the torn up trousers, it's a real mess. The near subliminal sound of drumming. So faint it might be the wind against the rocks outside. Johnny glances down and spots the shard of antler nearby. He considers for a moment -- it has a good sharp edge along one side -- then picks it up.)
[THE SHAMAN (INT. ANCIENT CAVE - DAY)]
(Striking his drum quietly but insistently with his antler knife. Include Johnny who suddenly appears out of thin air. The Shaman reacts -- it worked! But Johnny is facing slightly away from him, using the antler shard he has just picked up to cut the torn trousers from his injured leg. Johnny does not yet know anyone else is there. The Shaman stops beating the drum, sets it aside, but keeps hold of his knife. Johnny suddenly feels as though he's being watched. He slowly turns -- the Shaman looks quickly away the moment Johnny's gaze finds him. Johnny stares at the man for a moment, then at the antler objects in both their hands. The Shaman pretends to busy himself by tossing another piece of wood onto his fire, but Johnny isn't buying it. Johnny grabs his cane, struggles to his feet and takes a few halting steps closer, getting a better look at him. He leans way over, stares right into the Shaman's face -- it's a comic moment as the Shaman avoids his eyes, still feigning ignorance of Johnny's presence. Then Johnny leans up and turns away. The Shaman glances up at him as Johnny whips back around and their eyes lock.)
JOHNNY: (amazed) You can see me.
(Intimidated, the Shaman instantly throws down the antler knife in his hand -- and disappears! Johnny considers this strange development for a several seconds, trying to process what he has just experienced. He looks closely at the antler shard in his hand. Then: The Shaman suddenly appears again, moving toward Johnny with antler knife in one hand, a gourd in the other. His voice is challenging.)
SHAMAN: Awani gia?!
(Johnny reacts to this next development -- trying not to freak out at the sight of the knife raised toward him.)
JOHNNY: (cautious) Hey. How you doing?
(Johnny shifts his own shard of the same knife into a ready defensive position, held up near his chest. The two stand face-to-face staring at each other. The Shaman suddenly points with the knife and shakes the gourd -- it is filled with tiny pebbles that make it rattle loudly. He shouts.)
SHAMAN: Kadgwi achiwaldaman?!
(He circles Johnny only inches away from him. And Johnny turns his head to follow, eyes wide, keeping his shard ready. The Shaman circles him entirely, facing him the entire time, shaking the gourd.)
JOHNNY: I'm sorry if I'm trespassing…
(The Shaman suddenly howls in his face -- as if to scare him away. Johnny pulls back slightly but doesn't flee. The Shaman stops, intimidated again. He takes a step back. He seems almost ready to bolt.)
JOHNNY: Look, I don't know what's happening here any more than you do. But I'm guessing from the deerskin pants that you lived a long time ago.)
(The Shaman obviously doesn't understand a word. But Johnny is saying it aloud for his own benefit, trying to puzzle things out.)
JOHNNY: So maybe I'm having a vision of the past and you're having a vision of the future and this knife of yours…
(He waves the antler shard in his hand.)
JOHNNY: …is the link between us.
(The Shaman just stares at him for a moment, then suddenly howls again, and shakes the gourd right in his face -- Instinctively, Johnny reaches out and grabs hold of it. And on contact -- The sudden sound of a distant rushing roar outside, and the light in the cleft brightens. Johnny turns toward it, reacts. In a panic at the roaring sound that he too can hear, the Shaman yanks the gourd out of Johnny's hand, steps back and throws down his knife -- vanishing as he does so. But Johnny has been galvanized into action, he drops the antler shard and bolts toward the entrance, covers a short distance then falls, losing the cane! He cries out, clutching his leg. Despite severe pain and the immobile leg, he drags himself forward, as the rushing roar grows and the light gets brighter. He makes it to the outer edge of the cleft, and stares into the sky…)
[JOHNNY'S POV - THE METEOR – VISION]
(Plummets down through the blue sky, a rocky fireball that arcs past with a deafening roar and smashes into the side of the small distinctive mountain Johnny saw in his vision, exploding in fire and debris.)
[RESUME]
(The vision ends and everything is still and quiet once more. Johnny looks out and sees the exact same mountain that was just hit, now sitting placidly across the small valley in front of the cleft. Then he glances up toward the clear blue sky in the direction he saw the meteor first appear. Johnny is completely energized, despite the pain -- this is exactly what he wanted to see.)
JOHNNY: (voice shaking) Origin… southwest… forty-degree angle from the horizon… maybe forty-five…
(He drags himself back inside the cleft to where the cane came to a rest and grabs it, using it to help shove him along until he can reach his daypack. Johnny pulls out his topographical map and opens it up -- As Johnny's finger traces his path into the wilderness and to the cleft, and from there to the mountain, which he stabs at with his finger.)
JOHNNY (O.S.): Impact… here.
(Johnny excitedly keeps tracing on the map.)
JOHNNY: Longitude 68 degrees 22 minutes west, latitude…
(…He is suddenly hit with a wave of agony from his leg. Johnny fights the dizziness, fights to stay conscious but can't, he shudders in the cold night and as he starts to pass out, he reaches for the antler shard nearby, grasping it in his hand -- the one lifeline he has to another human being. And he's out. Walt is on the phone as Bruce waits nearby, a look of concern on his face.)
WALT: Driving too slow? (Beat) Yes. (Beat) Can I get a location on that?
(He writes quickly on a pad.)
WALT: Thanks.
(He hangs up the phone, moves to a road map on the wall and Bruce moves with him.)
WALT: Highway Patrol directed him to a scenic turn-out.
(He finds the spot on the map.)
WALT: Exit four-seven off the Highway. Halfway between here and Bangor. (Beat) Any idea what Johnny had in mind?
BRUCE: He wants to save the population of southern Maine from complete and utter destruction.
WALT: (dry) Fair enough. (Beat) Let's get a search party out there, see how he's doing.
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT – SUNSET]
(Johnny's eyes flicker open… he's in bad shape, terribly cold… whatever internal injuries he has in his leg are taking a serious toll… he sees his hand still resting on the antler shard, then reacts with a start as he finds - Looking down at him… the Shaman takes a cautious step back when he sees Johnny move… he seems to realize the serious distress that Johnny's in… Johnny is weak but company is a good thing right now… it keeps him focused and awakes… he's raises himself up a bit.)
JOHNNY: I guess you probably think I'm some kind of spirit or demon. (Re: his leg) Can a spirit bleed?
(The Shaman doesn't understand the words, but the calm, reassuring tone of Johnny's voice calms and reassures.)
JOHNNY: Sounds crazy, but I need your help. I'm hurt, I'm stuck out here. (Re: Shaman's fire) And I need a fire or I'm gonna freeze tonight -- I was a lousy eagle scout... can you help me?
SHAMAN: (cautious) Kagwi k'didam?
(The Shaman considers this, his mind working, processing this bizarre experience. Johnny suddenly starts to shiver. He holds up a stick of the cold wood. His voice falters.)
JOHNNY: I need a fire. I know you understand.
(A long beat. The Shaman suddenly grabs a burning branch from his own fire, moves over to Johnny's pile of wood and touches it with his own flame. Nothing happens. The flame passes through it in a ghostly fashion. Johnny is disappointed.)
JOHNNY: I was afraid of that. Technically, this fire of yours went out centuries ago.
(The Shaman tosses the branch back into his own fire, then reaches high up the wall of his side of the cleft, and locates a piece of dried vine. He yanks it off, then offers it to Johnny. But Johnny is now impatient -- they've just seen the process fail, after all.)
JOHNNY: You're not getting it…
SHAMAN: Wzomi tka!
(There is impatience in his voice as he shoves it toward his own fire -- it ignites instantly. Johnny stares at it, understanding completely.)
JOHNNY: I have the wrong kindling.
(Energized, Johnny shoves the antler shard into his pocket, freeing his hands as he then moves toward the rock wall nearby, starts searching high along its surface for the same vine, finally locating a small patch hidden in the shadows. He breaks off a few handfuls, puts them onto his pile of wood, then pulls out the old lighter.)
JOHNNY: Bet you've never seen one of these.
(The Shaman watches wide-eyed as Johnny flicks the mechanism and the sparks catch against the vine, which flames up! Johnny carefully works the burning vine among the other branches, and in a matter of seconds has a roaring fire. Johnny laughs with the success. The Shaman can't resist a small smile as well. Johnny warms his hands against the flames.)
JOHNNY: Thanks.
(Johnny indicates the rock nearby.)
JOHNNY: Pull up a chair.
(But the Shaman suddenly turns and reaches for a huge Medicine Bag -- the size of a large pillowcase -- then turns it over, upending the contents onto the ground.)
[SLOW MOTION: THE MEDICINE OBJECTS]
(Spill out onto the ground, bouncing, catching the firelight -- they sparkle and shine, almost seem to breathe and move of their own accord. Then the illusion is shattered…)
[RESUME NORMAL SPEED]
(And Johnny sees that this is very much a mixed bag -- odds and ends of stones and bones and dried plants and pieces of wood, including but not limited to a clump of hair and a dead fish. Johnny nods, trying to look appreciative. The Shaman quickly locates a small bundle of animal fur and picks it up, untying the leather strap that holds it together. He opens it gently as he moves toward Johnny, then places the contents onto Johnny's open hand -- A tiny blue egg. The brightest blue there is. Like a jewel. The egg in Johnny's hand takes him to…)
[A TINY BLUE EGG – VISION]
(The egg is now sitting in a bird's nest in the crook of a slender branch. A small hand is reaching for it.)
[EXT. FOREST TREE - DAY – VISION]
(The hand belongs to the Shaman, now a small boy, six years of age, on a branch high in a tree -- the two narrow vertical green lines on his forehead identify him. Johnny is also up in the tree, sitting on a nearby branch, watching this. Johnny is amazed and even delighted to find himself in this vision. There is no injury here, no pain (and a reminder: Johnny does not use the cane in his own visions.) The boy is unaware of his presence. Johnny watches as the small hand stretches further and further, but the egg is just out of reach. He is suddenly concerned. One more stretch, a little more, too much – On Johnny who winces with the sound of crashing branches as the child falls O.S.
The boy semiconscious at the base of the tree, from which he has fallen, head bleeding, is struggling to sit up. Find Johnny now standing on the forest floor, watching as the boy rouses slightly, and stares down at the blue egg, which miraculously, is intact in his hand. Then he hears a sound -- of footsteps. Not soft, off the forest floor, but harsh, echoing off a street -- and with the added, syncopated tap of a cane. Both Johnny and the boy look up in the direction of the sound.)
[THE BOY'S VISION - A THREE LEGGED SPECTRE - OUT OF FOCUS - DARK - OTHER WORLDLY - TERRIFYING - SLOW MOTION]
(Coming toward him as though emerging out of a dark tunnel… what the hell could this be… The boy reacts, frozen in terror… Johnny, near the boy, watches curiously…)
[THE SPECTRE]
(Begins to take shape as it approaches like a distorted image on hot road… until to our astonishment we see the specter is wearing the black pea coat and his third leg is a cane, and in fact, it is Johnny Smith.)
JOHNNY SMITH SPECTRE: There's still time.
(But the specter of Johnny disappears into thin air… close on the boy… find Johnny watching this… completely astonished as the vision ends and we're back…)
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT - NIGHT - RESUME - MATCHING CUT IN TRANSITION]
(Johnny comes out of the vision with a start…)
JOHNNY: You've seen me before?
(The Shaman picks up the drum and shows him the drawing of the man with the cane…)
SHAMAN: (accent) "There's… still… time."
(Off Johnny's reaction…)
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
[INT. SARAH'S BEDROOM – NIGHT]
(Sarah's silhouette, sitting in silence at her vanity table. She's completely still, like a patient shadow. The sound of the phone ringing and she instantly answers it, her voice filled with anticipation and concern.)
SARAH: Hello?
[EXT. END OF THE ROAD – NIGHT]
(Walt is standing by his Sheriff's dept. vehicle, talking on the radio set to Sarah. The headlights illuminate Johnny's abandoned car parked where the road ends -- Roscoe is checking it out.)
WALT: We found Johnny's car.
SARAH: Where?
WALT: Wilderness area. Looks like he hiked in.
(Another deputy with a flashlight passes by, heading for his own vehicle.)
SARAH: Are you going after him?
WALT: Soon as the sun comes up.
(That's not what Sarah wanted to hear, but she knows her husband knows what he's doing.)
SARAH: Okay.
WALT: Okay. (Beat) I'll say hello for you.
SARAH: Thanks. (Beat) I love you, Walt.
WALT: Me too.
[INT. SARAH'S BEDROOM - NIGHT – CONTINUOUS]*
(Sarah clicks off the phone…)
JOHNNY JR. (O.S.): Mom?
(Sarah reaches over and clicks on the small lamp at her table, revealing Johnny junior in his pajamas.)
SARAH: What's the matter, Sweetie?
JOHNNY JR.: I can't sleep.
(Sarah reacts to this -- is the boy having some unconscious foreboding about his father? But she puts on as good a front as possible.)
SARAH: Join the club.
(The boy just stands there. Sarah indicates her lap.)
SARAH: The club is over here.
(He moves toward her and she helps him climb into her lap, where she holds him as he buries his head against her. But they both keep their eyes open.)
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT – NIGHT]
(Johnny stares at the contents of the medicine bag strewn across the rock floor, trying to put his most recent vision into perspective.)
JOHNNY: The stuff from your bag -- there's no copper, no bronze, no iron.
JOHNNY (CONT'D): Which you would've gotten from any European trader. Which means you lived before they got here. Maybe four, five hundred years ago? At least.
(He turns away from the objects.)
JOHNNY: So five hundred years ago, you fall on your head and have a vision of Johnny Smith. Why?
(The Shaman can read the puzzled tone in Johnny's voice.)
SHAMAN: Awani gia?
(He too, is puzzled. He's been puzzled his entire life. And finally, he wants an answer. The Shaman moves to the objects and finds a broken arrow… The Shaman turns and extends it toward Johnny. Johnny stares at it for a moment. Then puts out his hand and makes contact, ramp to his face…)
[EXT. WILDERNESS - DAY - VISION - THE SHAMAN]
(Now an adolescent of 14 years, the same two vertical green stripes rising up his forehead, is raising a bow and arrow as he hunts a deer standing at a pool of water, drinking. As the boy takes aim at the deer…)
[BOY'S VISION - JOHNNY SMITH SPECTRE]
(Suddenly stands between him and the deer! The specter stares right into his eyes.)
[THE BOY]
(He reacts with fear and shock…)
BOY: Awani gia!?
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT - NIGHT - AS BEFORE]
(Johnny reacts as he drops the broken arrow…)
JOHNNY: Again. I've appeared to you more than once.
SHAMAN: (calm) Awani gia?
(And the Shaman holds out a small fetish object… a wooden stick to which has been tied a few bright feathers and tiny seashells. Johnny takes it in hand…)
[EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY - VISION - (NOTE: PROPOSE THE ENCAMPMENT IS IN THE BACKGROUND AS A MATTE SHOT) - MATCHING SHOT OF THE FEATHER FETISH]
(Johnny Specter standing in the background and we rack focus to see him clearly… the Shaman, now eighteen, same lines on his forehead, is holding the feather fetish defensively in front of him, as if hoping its magic will chase away this demon. But it's not working. He yells at the specter…)
EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD SHAMAN: Awani gia!? Awani Gia!?
(Moving to find he's in a simple encampment of bark and animal skin-covered lean-tos. And all the people of this small rugged community -- A couple of adult women scraping birch bark with sharp-edged stones, an old man sits by himself fashioning a fishhook from wood, three younger women are carrying water in skins to a birch pot above an open fire and one particularly pretty girl near-by that perhaps he was courting before the specter made his appearance -- none of them can see the specter - they only see the crazy young man… a couple of children laugh at him, the others barely notice anymore. On his hurt and confuse face… the vision ends and we are back in…)
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT - NIGHT - AS BEFORE]
(Johnny reacts to this vision, letting go of the fetish.)
JOHNNY: I understand how you felt. More than you know.
SHAMAN: Awani gia.
JOHNNY: "Awani gia."
(Johnny can guess the meaning…)
JOHNNY: "Who are you?" "What do you want?" "Why don't you just leave me the hell alone?"
(The Shaman studies him, not comprehending. A beat.)
JOHNNY: You've been waiting for me to answer that your whole life. You've had visions of the future just as I've had. We're not so different you and I, are we…
SHAMAN: Kagwi k'didam?
JOHNNY: That's why you can see me… that knock on your head… maybe we're both operating out of our dead zones… huh?
(Johnny considers this for a moment… picks up his cane and holds it out for the Shaman… in essence returning the favor of the medicine bag offerings…)
JOHNNY: Hey, I don't know if it will work for you like it worked for me. But you want to know who am I? Take it.
(Maybe it'll help us figure out why our powers have brought us together. The Shaman tentatively reaches out for the cane and as he touches it, ramp to his face as we usually ramp to Johnny's and he finds himself in…)
[INT. JOHNNY'S CAR - NIGHT - PARTIAL CLIP FROM PILOT]
(…and into the passenger seat of Johnny's old convertible! Johnny at the wheel. The Shaman may have experienced strange visions, but he's never been in a car before -- his hands are fiercely gripping the seat and door, his eyes are wide. Then suddenly a huge truck looms up in front of them. The Shaman puts his hands out to stop it -- shouting loudly.)
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT - NIGHT - AS BEFORE]
(The Shaman throws down the cane in panic.)
SHAMAN: Kwe-yoh!
(Johnny smiles…)
JOHNNY: I guess it worked, huh.
(The Shaman stands, heart pounding, scared but driven to know the answers he seeks… he walks away a few steps but then gathers his courage and returns and sits again… stares at the cane…)
JOHNNY: More?
SHAMAN: Awani gia.
(He's just got to know. And he picks up the cane again… and he finds himself in…)
[INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY - VISION - PARTIAL CLIP FROM PILOT]
(The Shaman watches as the Nurse is suddenly grabbed by Johnny, coming out of his coma! The Shaman practically jumps back.)
JOHNNY: (croaking) Wrong! Something's wrong!
[SHAMAN'S POV - THE LITTLE GIRL - PARTIAL CLIP FROM PILOT]
(Threatened by smoke and fire. The Shaman is experiencing Johnny's vision of domestic doom.)
[RESUME]
(The woman can't pull away. Her patient holds tight.)
JOHNNY: There's still time!
[EXT. NURSE'S HOUSE - DAY - PARTIAL CLIP FROM PILOT]
(The fire is still smoking in the background. The little girl is safe in the arms of a firefighter. The Shaman is standing nearby, watching this with great interest… perhaps beginning to understand that the words…)
SHAMAN: (accent, quiet) There's… still… time. …are a warning.
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT - NIGHT – RESUME]
SHAMAN: (accent) There's still time.
JOHNNY: Yes, I'd want to know what it means too if I were you…
(His voice has taken on just a hint of a drift. His eyes get distant. His head lolls, the Shaman's voice is suddenly sharp as he indicates Johnny's injured leg.)
SHAMAN: Kwe-yoh!
(Johnny glances down -- a pool of blood is forming beneath his leg. He is stunned back to full consciousness.)
JOHNNY: Whoa.
(He grabs down at his leg, turns aside the fabric of his trouser leg -- the wound is open and bleeding freely.)
JOHNNY: (re: cleft entrance) My little stroll must've made it worse…
(Johnny tries to adjust the strip of fabric he tied above the wound, and thinks aloud.)
JOHNNY: Can't go any tighter on the tourniquet, that would cut the blood flow into the rest of the leg… kill the tissue.
SHAMAN: Yo gagwi.
(The Shaman suddenly turns to him holding a lit firebrand from his own fire, offering it. Johnny is confused.)
JOHNNY: Didn't we already go through this?
(But then the Shaman waves the flame with intent toward Johnny's open wound. Johnny suddenly understands -- and shudders at the prospect.)
JOHNNY: Stone age medicine? No thanks. I'll shake that rattle and say a prayer to the Great Spirit. But I'll be damned if…
(He stares at the pool of blood. He struggles to keep his wits and keep from panicking.)
JOHNNY: Lose any more blood and I lose consciousness. That happens it's all over.
(Almost without thinking about what he is doing -- as if to think about it is to change his mind -- Johnny pulls himself a couple of feet over to grab a burning brand from his own fire.)
JOHNNY: Have to stay alive till the sun comes up. Keep the fire going. They'll see the smoke. Just stop the bleeding. A little heat to cauterize the veins. That's all.
(He pulls himself back into position, leg wound exposed, fiery brand in position.)
JOHNNY: No problem…
(…He suddenly stabs the flaming branch into his open wound -- and cries out in agony as the sound of flesh searing and blood vessels cauterizing sizzles off the walls. Then he drops the branch and faints from the pain. The Shaman takes a step closer and inspects the wound with a "Stone Age" expertise that pronounces the procedure a success.)
SHAMAN: (approving) Oligun.
[OMITTED]
[INT. OBSERVATORY LAB – NIGHT]
(The Astronomer Johnny met with earlier is directing Bruce to a computer monitor. She's drinking from a can of Mountain Dew.)
BRUCE: Sorry to drag you out of bed.
ASTRONOMER: Are you kidding? I'm an astronomer. Vampire schedule.
(The Astronomer goes to the computer, moves the mouse and gives a click. The housecat screensaver is replaced by a satellite view of southern Maine.)
ASTRONOMER (CONT'D): You said he took the Picture Rock turn-off, right?
BRUCE: That's where they found the car.
(The Astronomer clicks on a smaller section of the image and it suddenly fills the screen -- it's the same region covered by Johnny's topographical map.)
BRUCE: He's still got some ambulatory issues from a previous accident. I'd say the furthest he could handle in a day is about fifteen miles.
ASTRONOMER: (mental calculation) That's about a hundred and eighty square miles of ground to search.
BRUCE: Which is why we want to narrow it down? Did he give any indication of where he was headed?
ASTRONOMER: No. But he wanted to locate the impact site. Of the asteroid. The one he saw…
(Her voice trails off into skepticism.)
BRUCE: In his vision.
ASTRONOMER: Right.
(She suddenly reacts to some of the data on the screen.)
ASTRONOMER: That's odd.
BRUCE: What's odd?
ASTRONOMER: This data includes geological surveys… look at that Iridium spike…
(She makes another click, which replaces the map with readout of pure numbers. Her eyes are very curious indeed…)
[EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY – VISION]
(Johnny stands on a high vantage overlooking the Indian encampment… and again it's wonderful to be here… without pain, without injury… the breeze of a thousand years years ago drifting through his hair…)
[POV - BELOW TO THE ENCAMPMENT (MATTE)]
(To see life as it existed long ago…)
[JOHNNY]
(Johnny at peace… until he looks up and sees the distinctive mountain where the meteor hit. As he hears the sound of the approaching roar, the expression on his face changes to one of terrible realization…)
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT – NIGHT]
(Johnny's eyes open, dazed with pain post "operation." He looks over to the Shaman who is concerned for him…)
JOHNNY: (strained) There's still time.
(A beat. The Shaman reacts. It's a great struggle for Johnny to speak. He raises himself up as far as he can. Johnny extends his hand toward the Shaman. The Shaman stares at it. Everything that went before -- the visions that altered his life, this encounter in the cleft, the mistrust and misunderstanding -- have all led to this moment. He grasps Johnny's hand…)
[EXT. ENCAMPMENT - DAY – VISION]
(Johnny and the Shaman are among the people of this tiny community… a rushing roar and the people stare into the sky like deer caught in the headlights, and watch with incomprehension as a meteor flashes across the heavens like an arrow, striking the mountain with a tremendous explosion… as time stops in its tracks… people frozen… flames already halfway down the slope, heading toward them. The Shaman looks with horror from his doomed people to Johnny.)
SHAMAN: (heavy accent) There's still time.
(Johnny nods…)
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT - NIGHT – RESUME]
(Their hands unclasp, ending the terrible vision. The Shaman has been shaken to the core; Johnny has been energized with hope. He drags himself toward the topographical map and the Shaman rushes to help him along.)
JOHNNY: The old man, the astronomer, the cop… I saw them disappear because they're descendants… of your people…
(He grabs the map, pulls it into position.)
JOHNNY: (almost raving) Must be hundreds of them… maybe thousands… they'd be wiped out if you were destroyed… don't you get it? That's why you saw me in your visions… that's why I ended up here… to warn you… because there's still time…
(Johnny stabs his hand out at the map.)
JOHNNY: Look… we're in this valley… see that?
(The Shaman is amazed at the level of detail, but a map is not a foreign concept. He nods his understanding.)
SHAMAN: Chowi.
JOHNNY: The meteor hits here.
(He points to the mountain on the map.)
JOHNNY: You saw it -- boom.
SHAMAN: (accent) "Boom."
(But he understands. Johnny grabs a branch from his fire and waves it over the map.)
JOHNNY: It's all going to burn. You've got to get them out. You have to make them believe you. They won't want to believe you.
(The visions and context have been enough - the Shaman understands the implications completely. He points to the spot on the map below the mountain where the encampment is - then traces a line down the valley and across a river.)
JOHNNY: Yes. Get them across the river.
(Johnny tosses the branch into the fire. He falls back onto the ground as the Shaman stands over him, unsure of whether he should go now or stay and help Johnny. Johnny's voice is strained, closer to delirium.)
JOHNNY: I did what I had to do… now it's your turn… that's the trick… with our little gift… you do what you have to do… and you never know why… until the end…
(His mind clears for just a moment and he points at the entrance.)
JOHNNY: Go.
(The Shaman takes off, moving quickly toward the opening. Then he pauses and looks back -- Johnny has passed out completely. He stares at him for a moment. Then he takes the antler knife from the sheath, lets it fall from his hand -- and disappears from this world. Off Johnny, still as death.)
END OF ACT THREE
ACT FOUR
[EXT. OBSERVATORY – DAY]
(Bruce is standing by the cruiser in the parking lot, a topographical map on his hood, talking on his cell phone, animated.)
BRUCE: Johnny didn't have a vision of a meteor that was gonna hit, he saw one that already hit. Not in the future. In the past. The geological surveys prove it.
[EXT. WILDERNESS – DAY]
(Walt is in the same clearing where we saw Johnny rest during his hike into the area, talking to Bruce on a handset with transmitter. A couple of deputies are with him, other searchers are moving through the trees.)
WALT: How does that help us?
BRUCE: We got the address of that rock! Want to bet Johnny beat us to it?
WALT: (to searchers) Hang on! (To Bruce) Go ahead.
(Bruce stares at the map -- the exact same mountain that Johnny indicated on his own map has been circled.)
BRUCE: Longitude is sideways right?
WALT: Right.
BRUCE: I mean the lines are up and down, but it's talking about right and left?
WALT: Bruce, just give me the numbers.
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT – DAY]
(Johnny is unconscious, possibly dead. The shaman is standing at the entry to the cleft, having just arrived, his antler knife is back in its sheath. His face is more calm and collected than we have ever seen. He moves toward Johnny and crouches next to him, studying his face. Johnny is out completely. His breathing is barely perceptible. The Shaman glances at the fire, sees that it's burning very low, almost out -- generating no smoke at all. He puts his hand on Johnny's shoulder. We are in a vision.)
[EXT. WILDERNESS - DAY – VISION]
(Johnny is walking along a small path, wearing his black pea coat and leaning on his cane. There's something dreamlike about him. He might be dreaming; he might be in somebody else's dream. Several of the Shaman's people are going in front of him, carrying their belongings. This is clearly the migration of these people to safety. Johnny turns to find the Shaman walking at his side. Their words throughout this sequence are matter-of-fact and dreamlike.)
JOHNNY: Gagwi yo? Are we escaping to the river?
(The Shaman puts a hand out and stops him. The others keep moving on ahead.)
SHAMAN: (re: others) They are. We have somewhere else to go.
(His voice has no trace of an accent.)
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT - DAY – VISION]
(Johnny and the Shaman climb into view. They move into the space, and Johnny pauses at the small pool of water. He crouches down, takes a handful of water and drinks it.)
JOHNNY: (not bad) Oligun.
SHAMAN: (nods) Not bad at all.
(Johnny stands up, notices something. Include Johnny’s body is lying unconscious on the ground, barely breathing.)
JOHNNY: (re: himself) Gagwi yo. I'm still here.
SHAMAN: You have to go.
JOHNNY: Why?
SHAMAN: Your friends are waiting. I saw them.
JOHNNY: (realizing) I can understand you.
SHAMAN: When we die, we all sound the same.
JOHNNY: Who's dying?
SHAMAN: (insistent) You have to go. There's something for you to do. I've seen it.
JOHNNY: I like it here. It's quiet.
SHAMAN: Not for long.
SHAMAN (CONT'D): (beat) "Boom."
JOHNNY: Then you better leave too. While there's still time.
SHAMAN: I have to stay here. And wake you from our dream. I've seen that too.
(The sound of a helicopter in the distance.)
JOHNNY: I'm dreaming?
SHAMAN: Wake up. Now.
(The Shaman takes his antler knife from its scabbard.)
SHAMAN: Wake and say goodbye.
(He tosses the antler away. The vision ends.)
[INT. ROCKY CLEFT – DAY]
(Johnny rouses to consciousness.)
JOHNNY: (barely) Goodbye.
(He opens his eyes. The sound of the helicopter is louder. It's approaching and will pass by. Johnny looks at the low fire, and knows he has one chance. He pulls himself together long enough to grab a handful of dried vines piled nearby, and shove them onto the fire. It flares up instantly, and smoke quickly ascends toward the sky. Johnny falls back down, and as his eyes start to close, he pulls the antler fragment from his pocket, clutches it in his hand. The sound of a growing roar from outside. Johnny's gaze moves toward the source…)
[JOHNNY'S POV - THE SHAMAN]
(Standing at the edge of the cleft, his back to Johnny, facing toward the outside. His animal skin garment billows momentarily like a pea coat, he is holding a wooden branch like a cane -- his silhouette mimicking the image that haunted him his entire life. It's as if he has become a final homage to the demon who turned out to be a spirit guide -- and his own destiny. The ROAR of burning atmosphere grows, the light outside gets brighter and brighter, fiery red, yellow, then finally a dazzling white that washes out the screen. And the roar becomes the chopping whirl of helicopter blades. And the sound of a radio.)
CHOPPER PILOT (O.S.): Sheriff, we've got him.
[EXT. GAS STOP - COUNTRY ROAD - MAINE – DAY]
(The helicopter is on the ground. Johnny is being slowly moved along on a gurney toward a paramedics van that is set up as a emergency unit. Bruce is moving alongside the gurney. IVs are in Johnny's veins, he is conscious but dazed. He suddenly grabs hold of Bruce's arm.)
JOHNNY: The old man who works here…
BRUCE: Don't try to talk.
JOHNNY: The old man…
BRUCE: What about him?
JOHNNY: He's alright?
(Bruce sees the Old Man watching with concern from nearby.)
BRUCE: Looks fine to me.
JOHNNY: The astronomer…
(Walt moves over…)
WALT: …Just talked to her. She's glad you're okay.
(Johnny suddenly spots the Native American highway patrolman whom he also saw "burn" in his visions. The man is helping with the traffic here. Johnny lies back, relieved.)
BRUCE: You are okay, Johnny. (Re: IVs) Just need to fill the tank again, that's all.
JOHNNY: I take Supreme.
BRUCE: I know you do... I know you do...
(As Johnny disappears behind a wall of paramedics, we move across the station to the cash register and the small stand of postcards for sale. CLOSE ON: "Hello from Picture Rock" The same card we saw in the Teaser. Only the Paleolithic drawing has changed -- to the simple but elegant image of a man with a cane.)
END OF ACT FOUR
THE END
