EXT.
DENVER, COLORADO -- ESTABLISHING -- DAY
Mountains
tower above the plain. Skyscrapers rise in the distance. Blue sky. A
flock of black birds is perched on telephone wires above a gravel road.
EXT.
GRAVEL ROAD
A
rattlesnake suns itself.
Dusty
sneakers SCUFFLE on gravel. It's a BOY (9) wearing shorts and a t-shirt.
MALE
NARRATOR
Today
I'm going to perform another task for the Eternal Amun, Lord of
Hosts.
A
pickup truck barrels down the dirt road, kicking up dust. In the pickup
bed there's a small body wrapped in plastic, a pick and a shovel. The
driver is a scruffy-looking man, LEROY DISSEL (30s). He's wearing a
flannel shirt and blue coveralls.
MALE
NARRATOR
He
commanded that I should seek out the child murderer Leroy Dissel.
INT.
PICKUP CAB -- CONTINUOUS
(OVER)
loud MUSIC on the radio, I CAN'T GET NO, SATISFACTION. Leroy
clutches the wheel with bloody hands. His arms are heavily tattooed.
There's white powder under his nose. The digital dash clock reads:
3:03. Leroy takes a sugar donut from an open box on the seat and
stuffs it in his mouth. More white powder.
MALE
NARRATOR
Five
children cried out from the earth for justice. Great was the
complaint of their innocent souls.
EXT.
GRAVEL ROAD -- CONTINUOUS
The
rattlesnake lies in the road. Birds sit on the telephone wires. The boy
walks along without a care in the world.
GIRL
NARRATOR
Did
we offend thee, Oh God, to deserve such a fate? Is it not true
that you despised our killer at the moment of his cursed
conception?
As
the pickup truck gets closer the rattlesnake lifts its head, flicks its
tongue, suddenly alert.
GIRL
NARRATOR
Yet
you let him live. Does he not plot at this very moment to bury
another victim before the sun sets?
INT.
PICKUP CAB
Leroy
eats another donut. I CAN'T GET NO... The digital dash clock
reads 3:05. ...SATISFACTION.
GIRL
NARRATOR
If
you love us, Lord, then shed the blood of our murderer and open
unto us the gates of heaven so that we may find peace.
EXT.
GRAVEL ROAD
The
boy notices the approaching pickup, keeps walking. Odd how the tall
grass alongside the road quivers as he passes.
MALE
NARRATOR
And
so the Eternal pronounced a death sentence on Leroy Dissel, a
total death sentence, not just from the earth but to a place of
such horror that even a grain of sand would cry out for mercy.
Birds
take panicked flight. The rattlesnake slithers into the grass. Bearing
down on the boy, the pickup skids on gravel. Stops. The boy stops. A
beat.
MALE
NARRATOR
The
Eternal, however, leaves it up to my imagination as to how I
will carry out the assassination.
INT.
PICKUP CAB
Leroy's
beefy hand turns down the radio. The clock reads 3:06. The boy
looks in at Leroy.
LEROY
Hey
there young fellow.
He
approaches the open window, not the least bit afraid.
LEROY
Have
you seen my lost puppy?
BOY
I'll
help you find it.
The
boy sees the box of donuts on the seat.
BOY
Can
I have a donut?
LEROY
Sure.
Hop on in here.
BOY
Gee
thanks, mister.
He
opens the door, gets in, SLAMS the door, grabs a donut, starts eating
it. Leroy guns the engine, and they're off. As the pickup RUMBLES down
the dirt road, the digital clock reads 3:07. Leroy wipes the palm
of his right hand on his coveralls. The boy eats the donut. Sweat beads
on Leroy's forehead. He licks his lips, grabs the boy's thigh. The boy
recoils, drops the donut.
BOY
Let
me go!
LEROY
Now
don't be like that, boy.
BOY
Leave
me alone!
Leroy
is driving with his left hand, backhands the boy with his right. The boy
CRIES out, cowers by the door.
LEROY
You
better be nice to me or I'll hurt you worse than that.
Leroy
LAUGHS, turns up the radio.
I
CAN'T GET NO, SATISFACTION.
EXT.
PICKUP TRUCK -- CONTINUOUS
The
pickup turns off the gravel road and onto rutted dirt, careens around
sharp bends and down steep inclines, far from the main road.
EXT.
UNDER A SHADE TREE
It's
peaceful here. Breezy. Birds CHIRP. Until the pickup ROARS in CRUNCHING
dirt. The engine stops. There are four mounds of dirt nearby. Shallow
graves.
INT.
PICKUP CAB
The
boy looks around, glances at the digital clock. 3:14 Leroy turns
to him, arm on the seat back, hand moving closer.
LEROY
Now
we're gonna have us some fun.
The
boy sits up, an air of confidence in him now.
BOY
It's
very nice here.
LEROY
Aren't
you afraid?
BOY
I
believe I will kill you when the clock reaches 3:18.
LEROY
(astounded)
It'll
be ME killing you, ya little bastard.
The
boy lunges at Leroy, grabs the hair at the back of his head, SLAMS his
skull into the cab's back window and presses an odd stone knife to his
throat. Where did that come from?
BOY
Get
one thing straight, Leroy Dissel.
LEROY
You
know my name?
BOY
The
Eternal has condemned you to die for murdering those kids. It's
my job to see that you suffer.
LEROY
I
didn't kill anybody.
BOY
A
picture's worth a thousand words.
He
holds up five Polaroid pictures to Leroy's face.
BOY
Look
familiar?
INSERT
- pictures of the children tied and gagged.
LEROY
Where
did you get those?
BOY
The
Eternal has heard their cries for justice.
The
boy sets the pictures on the dashboard.
BOY
I'll
just leave the evidence here.
The
clock reads 3:16. Leroy tries to push the boy away.
LEROY
No!
Please. I promise. I won't kill again. Please believe me.
BOY
I
think I'll pluck out your eyes and tear out your tongue.
LEROY
Jesus!
Jesus, please help me.
BOY
He
cannot save you. I work for his dad.
LEROY
Don't
hurt me.
BOY
Oh,
you'll feel pain, all right. You'll beg for death as I claw out
your heart and crush it in my mouth.
The
clock reads 3:17.
LEROY
You're
just a little kid.
BOY
I'm
Horus the Avenger, God's assassin. Rest assured I'm here to kill
you.
LEROY
Please
let me live. I'm sorry.
BOY
People
like you make me sick, the takers of this world, the predators.
I'd rather be home having a tea party with my neighbor's little
girl, but no, I've gotta kill another bad guy for God. Five
thousand years I've been doing this job, but guess what.
Leroy
shudders, WHIMPERS. Horus BANGS Leroy's head against the back window.
BOY
Guess
what, Leroy. I love my job.
LEROY
Please.
BOY
And
there's no end to the work. Too many bad guys, not enough time.
The
clock CLICKS over to 3:18.
BOY
Speaking
of which, look, Leroy.
It's
time to die . . . but first, you must have a cheering section to
see you off.
Ghost
kids rise from their nearby graves, approach the truck, gather around
the hood. There's a BANG. A ghost boy, his body wrapped in plastic,
POUNDS on the roof. The ghost kids start BANGING clenched fists on the
hood, chanting:
GHOST
KIDS
Kill
him! Kill him! Kill him!
Leroy
is terrified. BANG! BANG! BANG!
LEROY
No!
Don't listen to them!
BOY
Goodbye
Leroy.
Horus
transforms into the Falcon God of Egypt, the body of a man, the head of
a falcon, sharp curved beak, raging red eyes, so beautiful, so deadly.
He fills the entire truck cab and WHAM, he strikes.
EXT.
PICKUP TRUCK -- CONTINUOUS
A
guttural SCREAM as the truck rocks on its springs. Then stillness.
Silence. One beat, two beats. A falcon flies out the window, pumps
powerful wings up and away into the blinding sun.
MATCH
CUT TO - the blinding sun. Below, a Mercedes sedan is parked off the
road. The falcon lands and transforms into a handsome man wearing a
white shirt, black slacks, and expensive shoes. HORUS quickly moves to
the driver door and gets in.
INT.
MERCEDES SEDAN
The
radio is playing Another one bites the dust. In the passenger
seat sits ELELETH, a small man with bug eyes and a fashionable two-day
beard.
HORUS
I
found Leroy's dumping ground. There are four graves and one body
in the truck bed.
Eleleth
smiles.
ELELETH
Good
job, boss.
There's
a sandy quality to his voice.
ELELETH
Their
parents will be relieved to know they've been found.
HORUS
And
those poor kids can rest in peace.
Confusion
in his eyes, Eleleth looks at Horus a beat.
ELELETH
What's
with you and kids these days, Horus? You got a soft spot for
them. That's not like you at all.
Horus
turns off the radio.
HORUS
It's
Joshua. He's getting worse. Only four years on this earth and
already the Eternal is calling him home.
ELELETH
God
must have a good reason.
HORUS
What
reason can justify taking the life of one so young? Tay-Sachs is
a horrible way to die. I see the hopelessness in his grandma's
eyes, and little sister Sara is devastated. Why are they forced
to endure such sorrow?
ELELETH
Human
suffering is nothing new to you. In five thousand years . . .
HORUS
But
this time it's close to me.
He's
gripping the steering wheel.
HORUS
It's
right next door. How can I ignore it?
ELELETH
Then
do something about it. Write the secret name of god in heaven on
his forehead. Save him.
HORUS
It
won't work. He's Jewish. He's not related to me. Besides, if I
did, he'd become immortal. I wouldn't do that to the poor kid.
ELELETH
Yah,
look at the mess it's made out of your life, boss.
Horus
starts the engine.
HORUS
Quit
calling me boss.
Eleleth
grins, then does something amazing. He dissolves into sand, and every
grain is taken up by a gust of wind and hurled out the open window.