OMURA'S POV
of a SPRAWLING, INTRICATE MESH of THICK CABLES running from the nuke and attaching themselves to a hundred different points on the UNDERCARRIAGE.
ON OMURA
OMURA
What the...?
IN THE APACHE
Fanfarski looks down.
HER POV
of the Leader as he climbs up onto the top of the trailer.
FANFARSKI
Well hello, Sailor.
Her fascination is interrupted when her instruments suddenly begin to fail. We HEAR the engine SPUTTER. The craft SHUDDERS. She flicks switches, pushes buttons, struggles with the controls.
FANFARSKI
OK, baby. I ain't arguing. Let's put
you down.
She is beginning landing procedures when a HUGE SHADOW darkens the cockpit. She looks UP. Her eyes grow huge.
ON OMURA
hanging on as the rig PITCHES and ROLLS more violently. It is leaving the road. The timer in Omura's hand runs out of symbols. It EMITS THREE SHRILL BEEPS. The network beneath the rig comes alive with PULSING LIGHT...and suddenly the ride is relatively SMOOTH again.
Stunned, Omura dares to move...just as a DARK SHADOW envelopes him. He looks UP.
OMURA
(gaping)
My God!
EXTREME LONG SHOT - THE ROAD AND SKY
THE PRISON SHIP, a gargantuan, armour-plated , metallic
Pg. 102
whale of a thing, is flying low over the minuscule eighteen-wheeler, matching its speed.
ON OMURA
He FEELS the ride change, from RATTLING to simple VIBRATION. He HEARS a great, heavy CREAKING...the rig sagging under its own weight, as an airliner does, when it leaves the ground. He looks down.
HIS POV
of the wheels. They are not turning: no longer in contact with the road. Then the rig drops, HITS the ground, RATTLES and RUMBLES...and once again TAKES OFF.
ON OMURA then HIS POV
as he looks up. We SEE a SECTION in the belly of the Prison Ship, directly overhead, SLOWLY OPEN. Then, just a glimpse of the Leader on the roof.
ON OMURA
OMURA
(aghast)
Leader! LEADER!
ON THE LEADER (INTERCUT WITH OMURA)
He grasps the side of the rig and looks over.
LEADER
Major! You should...not be...Fall!
Off!
OMURA
The serum! My daughter. I gave you
your ship.
LEADER
Too late. Now I have...trophies. For… my
Son. Jump. Save...yourself.
OMURA
(enraged)
Trophies?
Incensed, he SWINGS down amongst the brake hoses. The rig is now ten feet clear of the ground. He releases his six-inch blade from his thigh scabbard and unleashes his fury on
Pg. 103
several of the cables running from the nuke.
He SEVERS ONE, TWO, THREE. The pulsating lights SPUTTER, FADE, and DIE.
ON THE LEADER
losing his balance on a suddenly ROCKING rig.
LEADER
Major! NOOOOOO!
LONG SHOT
The rig begins to FALL. The Leader throws himself down on the roof and hangs on. The Prison Ship LIFTS AWAY, OUT OF FRAME.
SERIES OF DYNAMIC SHOTS: VARIOUS ANGLES
The rig hits the ground.
Bounces.
Lands.
Rushes onward.
The cab jackknifes left and right.
Rig bucks in a gully.
Cab tears away.
Rig carries on on its right-hand wheels.
Tips over.
Slides on its side.
Non-nuclear explosion while in motion.
EXT. THE DESERT - DAY
The SOUNDS of the EXPLOSION REVERBERATE away while DEBRIS rain down.
We PAN the CARNAGE, following the devastation to the main body of the WRECKAGE.
We SEE a piece of burning panelling THROWN aside, and a BLOODY and BRUISED Omura staggers to his feet...then sags to his knees. His bandaged chest shows BLOOD, and his LEFT ARM swings uselessly, obviously BROKEN. He sways upright again and shuffles towards the burning wreckage. BODIES, equipment, weapons lie scattered everywhere. He selects a likely looking SHOTGUN from the ground, satisfies himself that it is functional, and prowls forward again.
Pg. 104
OMURA
(calling, angry)
Leader! LEADER!
VOICE
(O.S.)
Will I do?
Omura whirls. Schollander has the drop on him; a large HANDGUN already aimed, held in two, shaking hands. The C.I.A. man is almost a zombie: half his face is burned away, his clothing is scorched, he is hobbling badly on both legs.
SCHOLLANDER
(gasping, breathing hard)
One shot never puts those alien bastards
down, but I'm sure one will do very
nicely for you.
Losing blood fast, Omura LOWERS his weapon, sinks to one knee...and SEES something...
HIS POV
of a large form shambling through the flames in the BG behind Schollander.
RESUME SCENE
OMURA
You know something, Victor. That might
be the first truth you've told your
whole life.
And he smiles.
Schollander frowns.
ANOTHER ANGLE
Instinct makes Schollander turn. The Leader lunges and grabshe human by the neck, hoisting him clear off the ground. Schollander gets ONE SHOT off, misses, DROPS the gun. He flails like a child, choking.
Omura moves. He retrieves the shotgun, struggles up again, and targets the Leader.
OMURA
Let him go.
Pg. 105
LEADER
Why?
OMURA
(shouts)
Let him GO!
LEADER
Do you...want...this one or...your
daughter?
OMURA
You said it was too late.
LEADER
Who...can you...trust?
SOUNDS make Omura look around.
ANOTHER ANGLE
A Predator DROP SHIP materializes. The hatch opens. TWO ARMED PREDATORS emerge and target Omura.
RESUME SCENE
LEADER
This...
(shakes the feebly
struggling Schollander)
is mine. My...trophy...The Elite says
I cannot...have. Illegal. But for...
Memory. Of my...son.
(a beat)
Do you...want it? Or daughter.
Omura lowers the shotgun.
OMURA
I don’t know what you mean.
The Leader finally sags, lowers Schollander, and tosses him to the other two aliens. Schollander collapses in the sand, scrabbles around, is hauled upright by the Predators.
SCOLLANDER
Omura. Do something. DO SOMETHING!
The aliens drag him towards the ship.
Pg. 106
The Leader reaches up to his dreadlock crest, pulls one out of his head, and removes two small blue beads. He tosses them to Omura who drops the shotgun, makes an awkward catch, and almost falls to the dust.
LEADER
Your trophies...Major. Take them. Let
the hunt...end.
He staggers to the drop ship. The hatch opens and the Predators stand aside to let their Leader enter. They follow on, dragging their prey.
SCOLLANDER
(screaming, crying)
Omura! In God’s name. For the love of
Christ! Omura! Omu...
The hatch CLANGS shut.
ON OMURA
who looks down at the two small baubles in his hand.
INSERT: CU ON HIS PALM
His fist closes around his prize.
RESUME SCENE
Omura looks at the Predator ship.
OMURA
(to himself)
For Madeleine. How’d I do, Dutch?
WIDER ANGLE
We SEE the ship lift off, DEMATERIALIZE, the sound of its engines replaced by the beating WHUP-WHUP-WHUP of the Apache as it ENTERS FRAME, blowing dust around the solitary figure of Omura below, who turns and painfully lopes towards it.
ARIEL PULL BACK, up, up, until...
Pg. 107
SPACE: ABOVE THE EARTH
Above the crescent of the Earth two small specks of light become one. The one speck grows larger, becomes the huge prison ship, and then veers away to be swallowed by the star field of space.
FADE OUT
So...Predators and Prey...a stand-alone story built from the discovery of the original Predator's dropship. That was the thread I needed to create so that I could establish the fact that humans could now dissect, study, and begin to understand this alien technology. It would prove invaluable in the future...
Next, my vision of the Alien/Predator endgame:
ALIEN REVELATION
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