The Dead Commandments

THE DEAD COMMANDMENTS

DIEM JUDILLA Email

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DM Judilla, SineBuano © 2010

1. EXT. BUILDING – DAY. A SCHOOL BUILDING, untold decades ruined, silent, empty, abandoned. Dirty clouds of dust hang against a gray sky with a brown sun, a perfect day for a dying world. CUT TO BLACK. FADE UP TITLE: “THE DEAD COMMANDMENTS” EXT. BUILDING – DAY. A LONE SCHOOLGIRL (teens) approaches, in a jacket, a ruined school uniform and running shoes. She carries a worn sling bag, with A HANDLE OF SOMETHING sticking out. Every inch of her is covered by dust. She stops several yards from the entrance of the building which gaped wide like a cave, or the hungry mouth of a giant. CUT TO BLACK. FADE UP TEXT: “10.” “There is no SAFE.” SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Rule number 10. There is no SAFE. She removes her dust-lined goggles from her eyes; clear, alert. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Be aware, be alert. There is no safe place. There's risk outdoors but more risk indoors. The Schoolgirl looks behind, sees a desolate landscape, no threat there...for now. She returns her attention the building, the interior seemingly desolate as the outside. MONTAGE The building‟s rooms and corridors. Upturned tables, chairs with drawers opened and pulled out of sockets. Doors open and closing by the spare wind. Chaotic. Ransacked. Littered. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Buildings, with rooms and corridors, can be death traps. Never trust corners. Food, water and useful treasures can be found but THEY can be also inside. The Schoolgirl checks her shadow, which leans indicative of the afternoon sun. She stares skyward just to be sure. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) No time is safe, but it's better to move about in the daylight than at night. The Schoolgirl warily steps into the wide entrance.


2. INT. BUILDING – DAY. The Schoolgirl steps into the canopy of the building‟s lobby. FROM SOMEWHERE ABOVE, SOMETHING watches the Schoolgirl. It hides just as the Schoolgirl looks up. AT THE LOBBY FLOOR, still looking up, the Schoolgirl stops. CUT TO BLACK. FADE UP TEXT: “09.” “Know the Enemy.” SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Rule number nine. Know the Enemy. The Schoolgirl slowly steps back, looks behind, sees she has a clear path to the outside. SCHOOLGIRL „Ayo? (howls) Ayoooo~! Ayoooo~! SCHOOLGIRL (VO) THEY like Noise. She continues to howl, making echoes. She stamps her shoes noisily. From somewhere, A DOOR SLAMS (OS). SCHOOLGIRL (VO) THEY make a lot of noise. She makes a lot of noise, casting suspicious glances about. She seems ready to flee at the first sign of trouble. Close up on Schoolgirl. There‟s a breeze. She feels it, She smells it, her nostrils flare wide like a hound, breathing the breeze all in. She grimaces. Snorts. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) THEY smell ROTTEN, worse than shit. The Schoolgirl stares forward, where on the floor before the HEAD OF A LONG SHADOW appears. Follow the shadow to the soles of dirty, soiled shoes that shuffle forward underneath ripped, bloodstained jeans that hung from a torso that‟s pale skin and protruding bones of a ZOMBIE. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) THEY'RE NEVER ALONE. If you find one, it's part of a group. True enough; TWO MORE ZOMBIES appear from behind the first zombie. The dead trio drags their feet towards the general direction of the Schoolgirl. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) THEY shuffle slowly, but they can move fast when a warm body is close.


3.

She turns and walks away fast, breaks into a half run. CUT TO BLACK. FADE UP TEXT: “08.” “Run, or Die.” SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Rule number eight. Run, or Die. EXT. BUILDING – DAY. The Schoolgirl moves to a “safe” distance away from the building, looking back to see if the zombies are shuffling to chase her. They are. The Schoolgirl then sprint. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) If you see THEM, run. Don't waste your time and energy to fight. It isn‟t easy to kill something already long dead. She looks back. TWO ZOMBIES slow down and slowly turning back towards the school, while the THIRD ZOMBIE, not as decayed as the others, still persist to follow her. The Schoolgirl stops, looks around the open territory, a moment of panic flashes on her face. CUT TO BLACK. FADE UP TEXT: “07.” “Escape to Higher Ground.” SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Rule number seven. Escape to higher ground. The Schoolgirl sprints up a high hill-side. EXT. THE HILLTOP – DAY. Reaching the hill-top. She looks around. It‟s clear, for now. She looks down at the shambling zombie stepping up the hill‟s incline. The zombie seems to be walking on jelly legs. She loses footing and rolls down the grown. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) THEY are poor climbers. No motor control and sense of balance. Lying on its back, the zombie is like a turtle that‟s turn-over on its shell. It‟s like a toddler coming to its feet. It tries to shuffle up the hillside only to fail, flailing on the ground. It stands up, seemingly looking up, moaning at the Schoolgirl standing at the hill‟s summit.


4.

The Schoolgirl looks down. A beat. She turns sharply behind ! There‟s...! NOTHING. The hilltop is clear... for now. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Remember, there is no SAFE. Rule number 10. She looks down below. The zombie shuffles back to the building. The Schoolgirl kneels down on one knee. Looks into her bag. Pulls out a plastic bottle that‟s half-full of cloudy water. Takes a swig for refreshment. She sips from the bottle again, swirls the liquid in her mouth as she takes out A GRAY SHARPENING STONE and pulls at THE HANDLE, that‟s been sticking out of her bag. It‟s a LONG BOLO. CUT TO BLACK. FADE UP TEXT: “06.” “Only the Dead Quit.” SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Rule number Six. Only the Dead Quit. She spits out some of the water on the sharpening stone. Sharpens the edge of her bolo on the stone. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) The Living can try and try again. The Schoolgirl meticulously sharpens her blade. INT. BUILDING – DAY. THE LOBBY, only one zombie stands sentry, looking blankly at a dirty wall. At the open entrance, the Schoolgirl bobs in for a peek and quickly pulls back. There‟s a NOISE(OS), insistent tapping. The zombie turns at the sound, then moves towards it, a moth drawn to the flame. It exits the entrance and turns. SWISH. A slice of wind and a dark round object falls and rolls away. The Schoolgirl enters, her sharp bolo bared out like a fang, she moves swift and silent, like a cat on the hunt. INT. KITCHEN, BUILDING – DAY. The Schoolgirl overturns small TRASH CANS, spilling out its contents. Pulls open drawers and cupboard, searching but making as little noise as possible.


5. INSIDE A CUPBOARD, she finds AN UNOPENED BOTTLE OF RUGBY. CUT TO BLACK. FADE UP TEXT: “05.” “Anything can be Useful.” SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Rule number five. Anything can be useful. She stows the bottle in her bag. She stops once in a while, listens and sniffs the air. A SCRATCHING NOISE (OS). She turns to a CLOSET. Her bolo at the ready, she inches towards the closet. With a quivering hand she reaches for the closet knob. She stops. She looks down on the floor. There‟s A LARGE UMBRELLA with a hooked handle under her shoe. USING THE HOOKED END OF THE UMBRELLA, the schoolgirl opens the closet, ready for anything. There‟s nothing in the closet, SAVE A COUPLE OF DUSTY CANS OF TUNA. Treasure. The schoolgirl smiles for the first time, she‟s pretty. She snatches the cans and these disappear into her bag. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Take what you can and leave as fast as you can. She sprints fast down the corridor out into the lobby where she brakes to a stop. INT. LOBBY, BUILDING – DAY. The two zombies stand at the entrance, barring the schoolgirl‟s exit. The zombies turn to her direction, not really seeing her because of t their eyes long dead, but hearing her footsteps and her loud gasps. The schoolgirl tries to calm down, slowly and softening her hot breaths. She slowly steps back, silently. CUT TO BLACK. FADE UP TEXT: “04.” “There‟s always an Exit.” SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Rule number 4. There‟s always an Exit. Make sure there‟s always an exit. The School Girl steps back, glances behind her to make sure her way is clear, faces forward to confirm the zombies remain at their place at the entrance.


6. INT. REAR, BUILDING – DAY. IN A REAR AREA, the schoolgirl finds only metal barred windows and an exit door that‟s been covered in chains, perhaps as a way to keep the zombies out. The schoolgirl tries the doors but the rusty chains won‟t budge. The zombies‟ moans(OS) echo to her, they could be close. CUT TO BLACK. FADE UP TEXT: “03.” “Don‟t panic. Think.” SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Rule number three. Don‟t panic. Think. INT. KITCHEN, BUILDING – DAY. The Schoolgirl returns to the kitchen. Careful and wary. Her eyes suspicious of every empty space as if a zombie is about to pop out. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Think. Don‟t panic. Think. Tired she sits on a chair. Her foot touches the overturned trash can. The Schoolgirl blinks. She has an idea. She takes two trash bins, sets them up-right. She fishes out the rugby bottle from her bag and cracks it open. She pours the amber liquid into both trash bins. EXT. LOBBY, BUILDING – DAY. The zombies stand guard at the entrance, almost still but they sway from time to time. A TRASH BIN falls on one of zombies, covering and remaining on the zombie‟s head. The zombie doesn‟t seem bothered. The second trash bin falls on the other zombie. The zombie moans but that‟s it. Moments later, the School girl slinks from behind the zombies who look utterly stupid with trash bins glued to their heads. The zombies don‟t bar her way or notice her presence. She steps away, smiling to herself but her remembers rule #2.

grin fades as she CUT TO BLACK. FADE UP TEXT: “02.” “Don‟t mock the Dead.”

SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Rule number two. Don‟t mock the Dead.


7. EXT. BUILDING – DAY. The schoolgirl pulls out her bolo and steps to the unaware zombies. LATER, the schoolgirl is burning something. Through the flames and smoke, she appears reflective. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Burn the bodies. The fire cleans. The smoke warns the Others away. EXT. HOUSE – DAY. By near-dusk, the Schoolgirl comes to a house that‟s just as ruined and abandoned as the building she went in earlier. Instead of heading inside, she carefully goes along the perimeter of the house, howling. SCHOOLGIRL Ayooo~! Ayooooo~! In response, shrill, pup-like barks are heard (OS). A LADDER is brought down and the Schoolgirl quickly climbs up. EXT. ROOF, HOUSE – DAY. The schoolgirl pulls up the ladder after her. On the roof there is a lean-to made up of tarp and an oil drum with an upturned umbrella. There are several potted plants set in a row, vegetables. There are also A BOY and A GIRL, younger siblings of the Schoolgirl. The little girl goes to the oil drum. Removing the umbrella shows it‟s half-full of rainwater, collected by the umbrella which serves as a funnel collector for the rain water. The little girl fetches a dipper of water which she offers to the schoolgirl, from which she drinks gratefully. The schoolgirl gives the two cans of tuna to the little boy who looks delighted. He shows off the can to the little girl who‟s just as delighted. The school girl watches the two, smiling a bit. CUT TO BLACK. FADE UP TEXT: “01.” “Live for a Reason.” SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Rule number one. Live for a Reason. LATER, a plastic plate, and a fork on the roof. An opened, empty can of tuna close by. The children sleep under the lean-to while the School girl sits, resting. She blinks her eyes once in awhile. Checks on the sleeping children. SCHOOLGIRL (VO) Live for a Reason. Or you‟re better off dead. She turns her ear, listening. Hears the moans (OS) on the wind. FADE TO BLACK.


The Dead Commandments

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