INT. SMALL SHACK AT TIP OF PLATEAU NEAR SEA - NIGHT
CLOSE ON silvery, uneven lashes of an OLD MAN as he slowly wakes up. The blanket underneath him RUSTLES as he pushes himself to sit and plant his feet on the floor beside his bed. He is alone. The shack is only big enough to fit one person. He sits there for a while to hear the crickets CHIRPING outside his window.
The TIME 2:45 AM shows on the bottom right side of the screen.
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CLOSE ON leathery, gnarled fingers of the OLD MAN shaking from arthritis as he gathers three small portraits from the top of his bedside table. The portraits SHUFFLE as he grabs them.
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CLOSE ON pencil held by the OLD MAN as it SCRAPES against the back of a portrait. When he is done, we see the numbers 1, 2, and 3 on the back of each portrait. The portraits SHUFFLE again as he grabs the portraits and the pencil, and places them in the pocket of his pants.
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The OLD MAN FLICKING a lighter a number of times. A flame finally APPEARS and he slowly walks over to his bed. The flame licks the edge of his blanket and holds on. Fingers sore from the exertion, the OLD MAN drops the lighter immediately and it HITS the ground.
Back hunched, the OLD MAN walks out of his shack, slowly and painfully due to his stiff joints. Behind him the flames spread fast on his bed. Just as he is out the door, he suddenly stops and makes a sound similar to a mix of a GRUNT and a WHIMPER. Annoyed, he walks back into the shack just as smoke begins to exit the windows. He walks a little faster now to his bedside table, JERKS open a drawer, and takes out what looks like a portrait that has been torn before, and haphazardly taped together. Just as the OLD MAN is about to leave, his heel ventures too close to a flame and he GASPS, letting in a large amount of smoke into his lungs. He COLLAPSES to the ground, and as the fire CRACKLES behind him he uses his fingers to grab the floorboards and drag himself out of his shack.
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EXT. MUDDY PATH BY PLATEAU - NIGHT
About thirty feet away from the shack, OLD MAN is further away from the fire that has completely enveloped the home he has lived in for many years. Crickets continue to CHIRP loudly and the leaves of the trees surrounding the muddy path RUSTLE from the sea breeze. He lifts himself up with his hands against the path and stands upright. Slowly he starts walking again. Not once does he look back at the shack.
The TIME is 3:10 AM.
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EXT. ISOLATED ROCKY BEACH COAST - NIGHT
The OLD MAN arrives at a small, wooden boat near the coast. He shakes as he PUSHES the boat to the tip of the shore. When he climbs in, he steps on something soft and a DOG YELPS. The camera shows a very fat, dark DOG of mixed breed lying on his belly on the bottom of the boat. The OLD MAN places his palms against the DOG’s fur and pushes.
OLD MAN:
Go.
The DOG is too heavy for the OLD MAN to push out the boat, and simply stares back with sleepy eyes.
The DOG responds by licking the OLD MAN’s heel where it had been burnt. The OLD MAN sits down and looks at the DOG. He knows the significance of the decision he is about to make; he grabs an oar, and pushes the boat away from the shore. The sand sharply SCRAPES against the bottom of the boat. The OLD MAN starts to row and talks to the DOG, as if attempting to explain the rationale behind his decision.
OLD MAN:
You’re too fat. You eat everything.
The OLD MAN starts to sweat, and his muscles strain harder to row the boat. The DOG puts his paws on the edge of the boat and begins to LAP at the water with his tongue.
OLD MAN (cont’d):
(grunts)
You drink anything.
The OLD MAN stops a fair distance away from the coast. He tentatively places the oars back inside the boat. The DOG paws at something, and the moonlight illuminates free-diving gear, and a small metal box. The OLD MAN takes off his pants, and fishes his pocket for the four portraits. On the back of the last portrait, he writes the number 4. He places all four portraits in a tight flap within the DOG’s collar. The DOG tries to scratch at his collar but the OLD MAN brushes his paw away.
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OLD MAN putting on the last black fin on his right foot. The boat CREAKS as he FALLS into the water, back first. The DOG follows him to the side of the boat and stares down.
OLD MAN:
Stay.
OLD MAN disappears under the water and the DOG lays his belly back on the bottom of the boat to wait.
The TIME is 4:30 AM.
SERIES OF CUTSCENES:
OLD MAN’s arm as he DUMPS a strange metal object onto the boat. He disappears into the water, and resurfaces two more times with two more strange metal objects. It is obvious the OLD MAN is becoming weaker and weaker. On the fourth time he resurfaces, and attempts to climb back onto the boat but falls back onto the water. He holds on to the edge and is silent for some time.
The TIME is 5:00 AM.
As if on cue, the DOG fetches the metal box and hands it over to the hands of the OLD MAN, who takes it. The DOG then looks back over the side at the OLD MAN, who continues to hold on to the boat. They look at each other.
OLD MAN:
If I don’t do it, they can’t find this place.
The DOG continues to stare at the man as waves SOFTLY LAP against the boat. A long time passes by while the OLD MAN waits to regain his strength. The water, reflecting the coming dawn, becomes a deep vibrant blue.
OLD MAN:
Everything and everyone I ever loved, I met under the surface. Now I’m the last.
(beat)
If I could take you with me, I would. It gets lonely down there.
The DOG licks the OLD MAN’s fingers before he lets go of the boat. He takes a DEEP BREATH and descends. The DOG watches as the water consumes him.
EXT. BOAT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA - MORNING
EXTREME LONG SHOT of the back of the DOG sitting upright in the boat as he waits, alert this time.
The TIME is 5:20 AM.
Seconds later, a LARGE EXPLOSION one hundred feet away sends a SURGE of water into the air to RAIN back into the sea. At the same point where the explosion occurred the water starts to turn to red.
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The strange metal pieces beside the dog, which start to shift by themselves, as if guided by an errant magnetic field. With a CLASP, they form a metal square. A high frequency sound immediately RENDS the air. The DOG starts to BARK.
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An EXTREME LONG SHOT (bird’s eye view) of the sea. The red stain over the water has spread to form the rough shape of a heart. The DOG - stranded and unable to swim - continues to BARK as the high frequency sound INCREASES in intensity.
CUT TO BLACK.
END.
-myra
