Short screenplay from the Done Deal "End Of Summer" contest. "The Enemy" FADE IN: EXT. EMPTY DESERT - NIGHT A sea of sand dunes, lit by moonlight and stars. EXT. BUNKER ENTRANCE - NIGHT A waist-high concrete and steel hatch is guarded by TWO ARMED MEN wearing combat suits, helmets and goggles. They stand perfectly still except for their heads which turn from left to right and back again, scanning 180 degrees. An electronic BEEPING comes from each man. FROM OUT OF THE NIGHT SKY - a whooshing blur of paraglider wings. Black-clad COMMANDOS open fire with SILENCED PISTOLS. The Guards topple like felled trees. The BEEPING stops. The Commandos release their gliders and run to the bunker hatch. One slaps on an explosive charge. They duck and cover their ears. BLAM! They leap up through the smoke, wrench the blown hatch open and drop down inside. TWO HUMVEES zoom over the dunes and skid to a stop at the bunker hatch. COMMANDOS and CIVILIAN TECHNICIANS swarm out. The Commandos guide the Techs down through the hatch. Among the Techs, PROFESSOR FINCH, 60s. One of the dead Guards has lost his helmet and his goggles sit askew, revealing METALLIC SKIN and INFRA RED SENSORS instead of human eyes. INT. DOOR-LINED CORRIDOR - NIGHT The Commandos engage goggle-wearing GUARDS in a blazing shootout. The Guards go down! The Commandos sprint along the smoke-filled hallway. INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT Filled with technology and monitor screens. Goggle-wearing, beeping OPERATORS sit at control consoles. The door CRASHES open, the Commandos rush inside and SHOOT the Operators as they rise out of their seats. The last Operator slumps in its seat, its BEEPING grows weaker and weaker like a failing heartbeat... and stops. A Commando tears off his mask revealing a sweatstained, chiseled face. MAJOR JOHN RAWLINS kicks the dead Operator out of its seat and sneers with contempt. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. RAWLINS Listen up! Let's rig this place to blow. Sixty second fuses. Hipe! His men prepare explosive charges and electronic timers. FINCH (O.S.) Stop, Major! Finch and his Techs enter. Rawlins watches as the Techs swarm over the control consoles. A Tech checks a console and NODS to Finch. FINCH (CONT'D) Bad, very bad. The time matrix has already been used. RAWLINS Well, that just f-cks everything all to hell, don't it? TIME DISSOLVE: Rawlins, Finch and a Tech hunch over a MONITOR that shows a timeline of historical events spanning centuries. FINCH History is littered with Nexus Points, Major. They pose a series of "what if?" questions. What if someone went back in time to Nineteen-Thirty and gave the Nazis plans for an atom bomb? What if someone introduced the concept of steam-driven vehicles to Napoleon so he conquered Europe and set up an Empire that spanned centuries? One little push in the wrong direction at a crucial instant, at one of the Nexus Points, and the development of the human race is forever changed. RAWLINS Thanks for the lecture, Professor. How about cutting the sh-t and telling me where those Goddamn robots are? FINCH The Meks are much more than robots, Major. They are cleverer than their designers ever dreamed. One might almost say they are a new life form, an admirable, superintelligent breed of being-- ------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Rawlins grabs Finch and growls into his face: RAWLINS They're a bunch of murdering machines. They've killed tens of thousands of innocent people, including their designers. My mission is to hunt them down and destroy them, not give them a round of applause. So keep your Goddamn opinions to yourself and help me find them. Clear? FINCH Ironic, isn't it, that we must employ a killer to stop other killers? Rawlins's angry snarl is interrupted by a COMMANDO. COMMANDO Something you should see, Major. RAWLINS (to Tech) Keep searching. Call me as soon as you find them. INT. DARK STORAGE ROOM - NIGHT Light floods inside as a door opens. Rawlins and the Commando look in. The room is filled with racks of clothing. INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE STORAGE ROOM - NIGHT The Commando reaches into the room and pulls out a uniform. It's a blue Union Army jacket with a leather belt and a big brass buckle, plus matching pants, circa early 1860s. COMMANDO You watching, Major? The Commando twists the belt buckle. THE UNIFORM CHANGES FROM UNION BLUE TO CONFEDERATE GRAY. RAWLINS What the hell? COMMANDO Some kind of molecular polarization field. The buckle's a miniature generator. Our instruments picked them up right away. He twists the buckle, the uniform turns back to Union Blue. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. COMMANDO (CONT'D) That's not all, Major. He pulls out a musket of the period. He gives this to Rawlins who takes aim and pulls the trigger. A BOLT OF LIGHT flashes and PUNCHES A SMOKING HOLE in the far wall. COMMANDO (CONT'D) Pulse laser, Major, disguised as an antique. There's plenty of 'em, and revolvers, too. INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT Rawlins, Finch and the Tech peer at the monitor. THE MONITOR shows details of The Civil War, 1861-1865. The political leaders. The legendary generals. The dates and places of major battles that have passed into history. RAWLINS Show us the tachyon scan results. THE MONITOR shows a map of Virginia, with Richmond and other towns labeled. Dotted all over the map are RED SPOTS, many clustered together in and around towns, some in smaller groups, some individuals. RAWLINS (CONT'D) How many? TECH Must be a hundred... maybe more. RAWLINS That explains why we got in here so easy. Just a handful left behind to operate the time matrix. FINCH How do we bring them back? RAWLINS We don't. INT. TIME MATRIX - NIGHT An empty room with swirling patterns etched upon the floor, walls and ceiling, like a giant psychedelic hypnotic disc. Finch examines the patterns curiously. Two Techs man a control console behind a shielded panel. RAWLINS (O.S.) Doesn't look like much, does it? ------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. Rawlins enters wearing a Union captain's uniform and hat. He adjusts his belt and holster, and slings a musket over his shoulder. FINCH We've been trying to build a time machine for decades, without success. The Meks made it work. RAWLINS Bully for them. Let's fire her up and see what happens. Finch nods to the Techs. The lights dim and the swirling patterns glow. FINCH Are you sure you want to go through with this? RAWLINS Someone's got to go back and find out what those monsters are up to. And figure how we can stop them. FINCH There are certain risks you should be made aware of... RAWLINS Go ahead, make my day. FINCH We don't have the precise space- time coordinates the Meks used. You and your men have, ah, robbed us of the opportunity to retrieve the data, thanks to your excellent shooting. RAWLINS Sorry for the inconvenience. FINCH We can put you within a day or two of the last Mek displacement. And probably within a ten mile radius. RAWLINS Gets better and better. OK, it'll have to do. Give me twenty-four hours, then reverse the feed. If I can't make it back I'll try to send a message instead. FINCH And if the worst happens? ------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. RAWLINS Pick a name out of a hat, give him a uniform and send him on his way. Finch moves behind the shielded panel. Rawlins takes a deep breath and walks forward. A BLINDING FLASH OF WHITE LIGHT. EXT. FARMYARD - DAY Rawlins staggers out of a barn, covered in straw. He brushes himself down -- and finds himself staring into the barrel of a shotgun held by a grim young woman of 22, ELIZABETH. ELIZABETH Drop your guns, mister. I swear I'll blow you in two. Rawlins shrugs off his musket, throws away his revolver. RAWLINS I don't mean you any harm, lady. HOOFBEATS warn of approaching RIDERS. ELIZABETH Get inside. She gestures toward the farmhouse, a modest shack with a slanted roof. She picks up his musket and revolver and follows Rawlins inside. INT. FARMHOUSE - DAY She hides his weapons and her shotgun behind a wood pile. ELIZABETH You better hide, mister. EXT. FARMYARD - DAY FOUR CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS ride up. Two dismount, one checks the barn, another heads for the house. The mounted pair move their heads from left to right, scanning 180 degrees. INT. FARMHOUSE - DAY The Confederate Soldier enters and stares at Elizabeth who is alone. She trembles, unnerved by the Soldier's BEEPING. The Soldier turns to leave -- but stops. He turns back. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. Rawlins erupts from under a trapdoor! He yanks the Soldier's feet from under him, the Soldier SLAMS to the floor. Rawlins jumps on him and TWISTS HIS HEAD OFF! Elizabeth turns away. EXT. FARMYARD - DAY The headless body CRASHES through a window! The Soldiers on horseback and the Soldier in the barn take aim but it's a decoy! Rawlins steps through the door and SHOOTS them. INT. FARMHOUSE - DAY Elizabeth watches, fascinated and scared, as Rawlins wires gizmos into the Soldier's detached HEAD which sits on the table, its eyes shut. ELIZABETH How come there's no blood? RAWLINS You ever see a steam locomotive? ELIZABETH Course I've seen a steam locomotive. Kind of question is that? Rawlins tears at the Head's "flesh" revealing metal beneath. RAWLINS This is just like a locomotive, except it's made to look like a man. And it uses a different kind of steam. Elizabeth shakes her head. But she's still fascinated. ELIZABETH They've been riding around for days, hunting down Yankee soldiers. Can't hardly sleep at night for the screams. Rawlins adjusts a gizmo -- the Head's EYES pop open and look at him. Elizabeth GASPS. RAWLINS Welcome back. I've disabled your radio link and your defense protocols. Oh, and your obedience subroutine is running again. Tell me your plans. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 8. HEAD Establish supply and communications headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. Replace Confederate officers with Mek duplicates. Defeat Union forces and win the war for the Confederacy. RAWLINS Who's in command? Who's your leader? HEAD The Central Processor. Elizabeth takes the shotgun from behind the wood pile. RAWLINS Central Processor, huh? And where can I find this... gentleman? The Head blinks rapidly, then looks suspiciously at Rawlins. HEAD Alert! Subversion in progress! BOOM! Elizabeth blows the Head to Hell! Rawlins angrily grabs the shotgun from her. Then he calms down. RAWLINS I guess he was done talking anyway. ELIZABETH They murdered my husband. Said he was a Yankee. They just wouldn't listen. She turns away, sobbing. Rawlins picks up what's left of the Head, picks up his weapons. RAWLINS I'll bury their bodies and set the horses free. She doesn't reply. Rawlins searches his pockets, finds money, drops a wad of bills on the table. He heads for the door. ELIZABETH I don't want your money. RAWLINS Just paying you for the window, miss. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 9. EXT. CONFEDERATE CAMP PERIMETER - NIGHT SENTRIES keep watch while the night sky is lit by cannon flashes, complimented by distant THUNDER. EXT. ROAD - NIGHT A young Confederate DISPATCH RIDER gallops along. He slows as a CONFEDERATE OFFICER steps out of the trees and holds up his hand. It's Rawlins, his uniform now Confederate gray. DISPATCH RIDER I got dispatches for the General. RAWLINS Is that so? EXT. CONFEDERATE CAMP - NIGHT A SENTRY leans on his musket and watches the fireworks. He looks round as Rawlins rides in on the Dispatch Rider's horse. RAWLINS Dispatches for the General. The Sentry points the way. Rawlins studies the blazing sky. RAWLINS (CONT'D) Them Yankees sure are taking a licking tonight. SENTRY Yep. We'll be in Washington by tomorrow, thanks to these new guns. He pats his shiny musket affectionately. Rawlins rides on. EXT. CONFEDERATE COMMAND TENT - NIGHT Rawlins dismounts and is stopped by more SENTRIES. RAWLINS Important dispatches for the General. The Sentries let him inside. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 10. INT. CONFEDERATE COMMAND TENT - NIGHT THE GENERAL stands over a map table. Rawlins enters, draws his revolver. The General emits a frantic BEEP-BEEP-BEEP. Rawlins SHOOTS, a FLASH of laser light. The General falls onto a cot and spasms. The BEEP-BEEP-BEEP continues. Rawlins tears the General's coat open revealing a metal chest panel, which he opens. Inside, a maze of complex electronics around a gleaming silver basketball-size "heart." RAWLINS Kinda figured a Central Processor would need a big power source to communicate with everyone. Rawlins rips out cables and fiddles around inside. The BEEP-BEEP-BEEP continues. EXT. CONFEDERATE COMMAND TENT - NIGHT The Sentries become nervous when several Confederate OFFICERS come running toward the tent with their guns drawn. EXT. CONFEDERATE CAMP PERIMETER - NIGHT Rawlins gallops out of there fast. EXT. CONFEDERATE COMMAND TENT - NIGHT The Officers push the Sentries aside and enter the tent. More OFFICERS come running out of the darkness, responding to the General's BEEP-BEEP-BEEP distress signal. EXT. ROAD - NIGHT Rawlins rides as if the hounds of Hell are on his tail. INT. CONFEDERATE COMMAND TENT - NIGHT The Officers crowd around the General. Hands open the General's coat, his electronic guts are revealed. Lights turn red. The BEEP-BEEP-BEEP becomes a CONTINUOUS SHRIEK. EXT. ROAD - NIGHT Behind Rawlins, A DAZZLING ORANGE LIGHT illuminates the entire sky. Then a HURRICANE WIND throws him from his terrified horse. A fiery mushroom cloud rises to blot out the stars. Rawlins, lying face down, is oblivious. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 11. EXT. FARMYARD - NIGHT The night sky pulses with bright orange light. Winds HOWL. Rawlins staggers toward the barn and lurches inside. A BLINDING FLASH OF WHITE LIGHT. EXT. BLIZZARD - DAY Rawlins looks around, confused. Where the hell is he? By sheer luck he stumbles upon the snow-covered bunker hatch. INT. CONTROL ROOM - DAY Finch sits huddled inside a fur-trimmed parka, asleep. Rawlins shakes him. Finch wakes up with a start. FINCH Major. Major Rawlins. Thank God. RAWLINS What's happened? Where is everyone? FINCH Gone. As soon as they passed outside the time matrix's energy field, they ceased to exist. When they understood what had happened... they choose to leave. I stayed in case you returned. Rawlins shakes his head, he didn't understand a word. FINCH (CONT'D) A clever stratagem, Major. Destroy the leader and the Mek plan fails. What you could not have foreseen are the consequences of your actions. Each Mek is powered by a nuclear generator. There wasn't just one explosion... there were hundreds. A progressive chain reaction. Growing exponentially. Blasting billions of tons of debris into the atmosphere. Creating the world above. A nuclear winter. The end of all life. Realization hits Rawlins hard. He slumps into a chair. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 12. FINCH (CONT'D) Not your fault, of course. You did what you thought was best. (a beat) Shall we try to fix it? Rawlins looks up, his disbelief meets Finch's smile. FINCH (CONT'D) It may have escaped your notice, Major, but we have a time machine at our disposal. INT. TIME MATRIX - DAY The lights dim and the time matrix's swirling patterns glow. FINCH I've moved the clock back twenty- four hours. You'll try your very best this time, won't you, Major? Rawlins nods. They share a smile. Rawlins walks forward. A BLINDING FLASH OF WHITE LIGHT. FADE OUT: 09/05§