Project Menagerie
Issue #1 Script
Page One (two panels)
Panel 1. A completely blacked out panel. There is not the hint of shape or form. In the lower right corner of the panel is the dialogue text. It is small, indicating the disorientation of RABBIT.
RABBIT:
Why can't I see?
Panel 2. Another completely blacked out panel. However, in this frame the dialogue takes up nearly the entire panel, with RABBIT shifting from disorientation to panic.
RABBIT (burst):
WHY CAN'T I SEE?!?!
Page Two (six panels)
Panel 1. WOLF is sitting in a stasis bed, having risen from a prone position by bending forward at the waist and pulling himself up with his arms. He is a large man, with a hard, rough face, with hair that's been cut into a mohawk. Disoriented, he is looking about to ascertain the situation while speaking as calmly as he can manage. He has the look of a man who has fallen back on training in the face of uncertainty. His garment is black jump-suit that appears to be made from a high density polyethylene. Several instrument leads are stuck to his chest and forehead with wires that run into the stasis bed.
The stasis bed WOLF rises from is a not unlike a scaled down MRI machine with a hatch horizontally cut into it along the top. The glow from the control panel on the side faintly illuminates WOLF and his surroundings. The LED's of the panel indicate a wealth of information; rising pulse rate, brainwave activity, body temperature, blood pressure, respiratory rate, etc. Among these, inconspicuously blinking is a red warning light.
The background, what little of it is discernible in the dim light of the LEDs, is composed of smooth, metallic surfaces pitted with age and scratched with use. It has an old industrial look to it, which contrasts strongly with the new, smooth plastic of the stasis bed.
RABBIT's dialogue should be tailless and disembodied. She does not appear in this panel.
RABBIT (OP):
Somebody help me!
WOLF (weak):
Hold on, hold on…I'm coming.
Pane1 2. RABBIT has risen from her stasis bed and is pulling the instrument leads from her body. In her panic, she has become entangled in the wires. In this frame, she can be seen as a small woman of slight frame with an extremely short hair cut. She wears the same outfit as WOLF.
RABBIT (burst):
God, get this off me!
Panel 3. WOLF is out of his stasis bed and is stumbling across the floor towards RABBIT as she continues to struggle in the wires. There is a third stasis bed in the train car, next to WOLF's and RABBIT's. The floor is made of the same material as the walls. It is, in fact, the inside of an industrial train car.
Panel 4. WOLF stands over the much smaller RABBIT, helping her pull the leads off of her as she continues to thrash about in the wires. He is speaking to her in quiet voice.
WOLF (whisper):
I've got it…hold on…
RABBIT:
I can't see!
Panel 5. WOLF moves his hands to hold RABBIT by her shoulders, trying his best to calm the panicked young woman. The two can be seen in silhouette, lit by the LEDs of RABBIT's stasis bed as he speaks to her. In Rabbit's profile, various protrusions can be seen along her back, like micro stegosaurus spines; bio-metallic implants can be seen jutting out from in between each of her vertebra.
WOLF:
I've got you…
Panel 6. In profile, WOLF is holding RABBIT by her shoulders as he gets his first good look. While no great detail can be seen here by there silhouettes, along RABBIT's skull various nodules can be seen protruding, similar to the implants along her back.
WOLF:
Oh God.
RABBIT:
What?
Page Three (three panels)
Panel 1. This frame is from the point of view of WOLF, seen by RABBIT as she picks up on his optical signals through her telepathy. She is young, and perhaps was once beautiful, but now her face and head are covered in scars. From various parts of her cranium a half dozen implants stick out, marring her hair into a patchy mess along with the scars that trace her skull. Worst of all, her eyelids have been cut away, leaving WOLF to stare into the eggshell white of her artificial eyes.
She is staring at her own hideous visage at the same time she can feel the disgust rising through WOLF's psyche. She speaks, her own panic mixing with the WOLF's visceral reaction to her appearance.
RABBIT (whisper):
I can see myself through your eyes.
Panel 2. RABBIT's horror and panic overcome her. She lets out a scream, both physically and psychically, that fills the small train car and passes beyond the steel walls. WOLF attempts to physically hamper her to prevent RABBIT from harming herself.
RABBIT (scream):
AAAIIEEEEEEEE!
Panel 3. Outside, two groups of armed men stand next to the train car. The train car is in a huge, round subterranean tunnel. In either direction the tunnel disappears into darkness. Lining the walls of the tunnel are thick wires, pipes, support brackets and the occasional flood lamp. The tunnel is large enough that parallel to the train is parked a heavy truck with a short, covered bed.
The two groups of men stand facing each other with the train car door as the center point. One group is dressed in a somewhat uniform manner; black BDUs similar to the uniforms of SWAT teams or other paramilitary groups. Their firearms are also similar; black, matte, short-barreled submachine guns (http://www.hk-usa.com/le_mp7a1_general.html). A few have grenades clipped onto their uniforms. Despite the military nature of their dress, none where any insignia or rank designation. At the head of this group, facing the other, is HENLEY; a stocky white man of medium height well into middle age. He is bearded and wears a knit hat to protect his bald head from the underground cold.
The opposing group is made up of a motley bunch of men dressed in mostly outdoor clothing suited for travel; jeans, cargo pants, t-shirts, work jackets, and the like. They are dirty and unkempt, generally of the appearance of having traveled long and hard. Most are of Central Asian descent, with dark beards or scruff. Much like their clothing, the weapons they carry are an assortment of odds and ends; short-barreled Kalashnikovs, 9mm pistols, Scorpion SAs, et cetera. At the head of this group, opposite of HENLEY, is AZZAN. AZZAN is fair skinned compared to many of his compatriots, taller and skinnier than HENLEY and younger. He has a beard that covers a weak chin.
AZZAN and HENLEY have been speaking with one another, but RABBIT's scream has pierced the shell of the train car, interrupting them. All of the men, on both sides of the bargain, begin to look up and around, uncertain of where the scream is coming from.
RABBIT (OP - scream):
AAAIIEEEEEEEE!
Page Four (four panels)
Panel 1. Closer in on the group of men as they turn to each other, general confusion sweeping through the ranks. Many of them ready weapons as they look about.
Panel 2. AZZAN faces HENLEY, concern clouding his face as he speaks. HENLEY has turned to look in the direction of the train car, every bit the wary animal.
AZZAN:
I thought you said the product had been disabled.
HENLEY:
It was.
Panel 3. Back inside the train car, RABBIT has thrown her head back to let out her scream. WOLF is still holding her by the shoulders, albeit less gently than before. His head is bowed as he grapples with the pain of RABBIT mentally lashing out and the general unpleasantness of her scream. He speaks through gritted teeth.
WOLF:
Please stop. You're hurting me.
RABBIT:
AAAIIEEEEEEEE!
RHINO (OP):
This unit appears to have been damaged.
Panel 4. WOLF turns to face RHINO, who is off panel. He is clearly shocked, confused; as if things were not baffling enough, now he finds someone else is there.
WOLF:
What the -- ?
Page Five (four panels)
Panel 1. A clear frame of RHINO, who is out of her stasis bed and standing close to the train car door. She is wearing the same outfit as WOLF and RABBIT, but the center has been torn open (from a shotgun blast). The tear in her outfit continues through her skin, revealing armored shell and myomar muscles underneath. Similar damage has been done to her right cheek. Other than this, she appears to be a perfectly normal female in her late teens, taller than the average specimen and wider through the shoulders. The sides and back of her hair are cut short, while the rest is long and in a disheveled mess.
Rather than having pulled the leads off of her body, she seems to have ripped them out of the console upon exiting the stasis bed, so several wires are dangling from her head and chest. Despite the absolute strangeness of the situation and her own condition, she seems unruffled. RABBIT has ceased screaming and stares at RHINO, despite not being able to see.
RHINO:
I seem to have sustained damage as well.
Panel 2. With one hand still on RABBIT's shoulder, WOLF's ugly face is contorted with confusion. He looks like a man who has awakened from a dream into completely alien surroundings.
WOLF:
What the hell is going on?
Panel 3. A virtually identical panel, but WOLF is showing a glimmer of recognition as he looks back at RABBIT.
WOLF:
Do I know you?
Panel 4. RABBIT's panic has fallen away; a cold certainty has replaced it. The empty shells of her eyes begin to glow as she accesses her telepathic abilities.
RABBIT:
Yes.
Page Six (three panels)
The page is dominated by three images that look as if they have been pulled from military dossiers and are superimposed over the scene in the train car, so that in the background we can see RABBIT continuing to stare at WOLF as she passes this information to him and RHINO telepathically. In each of the three following panels, there is a picture of one of the units and a set of information next to it.
Panel 1. A military-profile-type photo of RABBIT with the follow text.
Unit Designation:
RABBIT
Function(s):
Team Communications
Defensive Fire
Surveillance
Interrogation
Panel 2. This panel is dedicated to RHINO's image and the corresponding text.
Unit Designation:
RHINO
Function(s):
Overwatch
Line Breach
Target Designation
Hazardous Material Handling
Panel 3. This panel is designated to WOLF's image and the corresponding text.
Unit Designation:
WOLF
Function(s):
Advance & Assault
Reconnaissance
Mission Specialist
Command Unit
Page Seven (four panels)
Panel 1. WOLF stares at RABBIT in astonishment tinged with suspicion as the information she has provided to him unfolds in his mind. The glow from her artificial eyes dims as she ceases sending her teammates data. RHINO seems non-pulsed by this mental exchange.
RHINO:
I see.
WOLF:
Wait…how did you do that? How did you show us that?
WOLF:
How can we know all that but not know who we –
Panel 2. A small frame of the train car door's wheels rolling into their tracks as someone from the outside prepares to open it.
SFX:
Click
Panel 3. WOLF turns to look at the door, having heard the wheels fall into place. RABBIT, sensing what is coming, continues to look at him with her vacant, lidless eyes as she speaks with utter certainty.
RABBIT:
They're coming.
Panel 4. The train car door opens, throwing the three units into silhouette as the flood lamps from the outside tunnel fills the interior of the car. Outside the door, men from both groups have gathered closer to the train car. Many of them have their weapons at the ready, pointed at the trio in the train car.
SFX:
CLANG
Page Eight (five panels)
Panel 1. Inside the train car, WOLF jumps atop RABBIT, pushing himself and her back into the stasis bed.
WOLF:
Down!
Panel 2. HENLEY and AZZAN, still on opposing sides of the door, are standing a good ways back from the train car. AZZAN looks somewhat horrified while HENLEY immediately calls out orders.
HENLEY:
FIRE!
Panel 3. Still standing next to her own stasis bed, RHINO has turned her head to look out calmly over the groups of armed men that have just thrust the door open.
Panel 4. Bullets go wild into the train car as HENLEY's men (and some of AZZAN's) open fire. Automatic gun fire pelts the train car. The sides and the interior of the car are lit up with the ricochets. RHINO continues to stand there, taking her fair share of bullets. She only recoils slightly, bracing against the kinetic charge of the rounds. The wires hanging off her and bits off her suit disintegrate under the barrage.
SFX:
Weapons fire
Panel 5. WOLF, lying atop RABBIT, holds her head down, shielding her body with his own as bullets fly over and around them, some colliding with the exterior of the stasis tank. He grits his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut against the noise and vibrations.
SFX:
Weapons fire
Page Nine (six panels)
Panel 1. AZZAN yells at his men and HENLEY's, obviously distraught, gesturing for them to cease fire.
AZZAN (yelling):
Stop firing! Stop firing!
AZZAN (yelling):
You musn't damage the product!
Panel 2. HENLEY brings his own weapon to bear as he yells to his men. HENLEY is acutely aware of just how dangerous the units are and sees this moment as the opportunity to disable them.
HENLEY (yelling):
Keep firin'! Put 'em down!
Panel 3. In the midst of the confusion, AZZAN pulls a pistol from his waistband and aims it at HENLEY.
AZZAN (yelling):
Kafir!
Panel 4. HENLEY notices AZZAN's action and dives for the ground. This action puts several of HENLEY's own men in between him and AZZAN. AZZAN fires his pistol, nailing one of HENLEY's men in the side.
SFX:
BLAM
Panel 5. HENLEY rolls on the ground, bringing his weapon to bear and fires a burst.
SFX:
Weapons fire
HENLEY:
Ya gobdaw! Ye've no idea what yer dealin' with.
Panel 6. A frame of AZZAN catching three or four bullets in the chest from HENLEY's weapon. AZZAN folds back from the shock of the blows, obviously dead.
Page Ten (five panels)
Panel 1. WOLF peeks his head above the rim of the stasis bed, still holding RABBIT down. He looks out beyond the train car door to see chaos breaking out amongst the two groups. While some of HENLEY's men still fire on the train, most of them, and nearly all of AZZAN's men, have noticed their respective leaders firing at one another. One of AZZAN's men (MAN1) yells out to his other compatriots.
MAN1 (yelling):
Yebnen kelp – they shot Azzan!
Panel 2. WOLF, noticing the change in the situation, lifts himself up off RABBIT. He gets into a position similar to that of a track star at the starting block.
WOLF:
Stay here.
Panel 3. From the point of view outside of the train car, looking across the groups of men, into the open door of the train car. RHINO still stands at the door, having bowed slightly to the weapons' fire. She has her arms crossed in front of her face to protect it from bullets, but she peeks over her forearms to watch the developing situation. In front of her, the two sides of men have begun turning their guns on one another. Some dive for cover behind the train or truck, others hit the ground, some just stand there and begin to die immediately.
Panel 4. WOLF leaps out of the train car, covering an impossible distance towards AZZAN's men. RHINO watches this passively from her place at the train car door.
Panel 5. A frame of WOLF landing on one of AZZAN's men, flattening him to the ground. In the same motion, WOLF grabs the man's rifle (http://tantal.kalashnikov.guns.ru/media/xrs001.jpg).
Page Eleven (six panels)
Panel 1. In the midst of AZZAN's men, WOLF fires the rifle in a wide, arcing burst. As everyone else in the crowd is hostile to him, he has no need to take specific aim. The speed of his action is such that the men around him have barely reacted even as he begins to cut them down.
Panel 2. WOLF drops down in a crouch, launching a sweeping kick at a man in the melee. He is, however, not even looking at the man he kicks, but in the direction that he is firing the rifle in (generally towards HENLEY's men). HENLEY should not make any more appearances until noted.
Panel 3. No longer being shot at, RHINO stands above the fray, watching with inhuman detachment. The bullets previously fired at her seem to have left her with only slightly more damage than she had awaked with. Looking across the melee, WOLF can be seen causing havoc amongst the two groups. He squeezes off more rifle fire. A few of the men outside of the train have begun to react, shooting wildly and at each other in their attempts to hit WOLF.
Pane1 4. Frame closer in on RHINO's as she watches the men turn on WOLF in the fray below her. An electronic glimmer seems to glint deep within her eyes.
Panel 5. Closer in still on RHINO still: In the reflection of her eyes, WOLF can be seen bashing the butt of his rifle into the face of a nearby man.
Panel 6. RHINO reaches over to the train wall closest to her and rips a sizable piece of hydraulic pipe from the door. She does in a nearly casual manner, without any seeming exertion.
SFX:
R I I I I I P
Page Twelve (five panels)
Panel 1. RHINO leaps from the train bed, holding the pipe above her head, preparing to bring it down like a hammer on whatever unfortunate individual she's targeted. She jumps into the midst of HENLEY's men, who are still somewhat organized, turned to fire at WOLF. Even as RHINO descends from the train, bullets (perhaps random or fired by WOLF) claim a few of the black-suited men.
Panel 2. RHINO lands into the middle of HENLEY's men, crushing one man who hit the ground for cover, while bringing the pipe squarely down on another one of them, crushing his head down to his bottom set of teeth. It should be noted that the man on the ground has a number of grenades clipped to his uniform by the shoulder strap.
As RHINO is not as quick as WOLF, the men around her have time to react; several are surprised by the horror, while others turn their guns on her. A few even turn to run away.
Panel 3. Standing in the middle of the intestines, blood and teeth of the men she has just slaughtered, RHINO swings the pipe in a 180 degree arc as she crouches down to the corpse below her feet, reaching for something with her free hand. Several men bring their weapons to bear on her. Another nearby man dies, taking bullets in his body from a source that cannot be seen in this frame.
Panel 4. A small frame centered on RHINO's hand reaching down to the row of the grenades that is on the man below her feet.
Panel 5. With an easy and swift motion RHINO rips the shoulder strap from the web gear, taking four grenades with it, and tosses the bunch over her shoulder. A grenade's pin can be seen dangling by its ring tab from one of RHINO's fingers as the safety lever pops off in a separate direction from the grenades.
Page Thirteen (three panels)
Panel 1. A frame pulled back from the action, far enough that the reader can see the entire melee. At the end of the fray where HENLEY's men once were, a huge explosion rips through the tunnel. Those in the midst of it cannot even be identified anymore, while those at the edge of the explosion are perforated with flying shrapnel, pushed away by the force. What few of AZZAN's men remain are also concussed by the blast.
SFX:
BOOM
Panel 2. A frame of WOLF shielding himself from the blast, using the body of one of AZZAN's men. He kneels close to the ground, holding the body between himself and the explosion.
Panel 3. Back in the train, RABBIT huddles at the bottom of her stasis tank, her hands pressed against her ears. The flare from the explosion lights the interior of the train car, throwing her into red and black relief.
Page Fourteen (three panels)
Panel 1. RHINO stands amidst the carnage that was formerly HENLEY's men. At the center of the grenades' explosion behind her, there is nothing but a charred hole, cleared of everything but the odd boot, bit of uniform, body part or twisted weapon. Surrounding this are the remains of the men who have been burned and wounded by the explosion and shrapnel. There is no living thing around RHINO. The side of the train car has been splattered with blood, blackened by smoke and pitted by bullets and flying metal.
RHINO herself stands tall, seemingly unhurt and unfazed by the blast to which she was so close. In addition to her chest and cheek damage, she has now sustained other superficial damage; particularly to the back of her shoulders and legs. Her suit is now ripped about the shoulders. Below the knees, to the soles of her feet, the suit has been utterly shredded, leaving nothing but the myomar muscles and intricately constructed cybernetic joints of her legs. The hand RHINO used to throw the grenades has also been skinned, revealing more metal beneath.
WOLF (OP):
So I have to ask –
Panel 2. Switching to RHINO's perspective, the reader sees WOLF standing among the remains of AZZAN's men. While a few (those closest to where RHINO was) lie dead from the grenade blast, most look as if they have been shot, stabbed, beaten and broken. Exit wounds have bored through chests, joints have been bent at impossible angles, faces have been smashed.
WOLF himself looks like he has taken a beating. His face is marred with a few powder burns and he holds his left arm with his right, putting pressure on a couple of wounds that stitch their way up his bicep.
WOLF:
-- Are you a robot?
Panel 3. Similar to Page Three, Panel 4, this frame is from the point of view of RHINO as RABBIT looks through her eyes. RABBIT stands on the ground in front of the door of the train car, wrapped in one of the mercenary's black jackets. It is large enough that on her small frame she seems to disappear into it. Her head is bowed.
RABBIT:
No.
RABBIT:
If she were an automaton I would not be able to touch her mind as I do.
Page Fifteen (six panels)
Panel 1. WOLF and RABBIT stand facing each other. WOLF is looking down at her, his right hand still clutching his wounded left arm. She is reaching out to WOLF, one arm extend beyond the folds of the jacket she has wrapped around herself.
WOLF:
How do I know you? How do you know so much?
RABBIT:
You're wounded.
Panel 2. A close in frame on the wounds of WOLF's arm. Despite what seem to be deep gashes, blood has stopped flowing from the lacerations.
WOLF (OP):
That's not what I –
Panel 3. From within the wounds, slivers of shrapnel and bits of bullets begin to emerge, as if they were being pushed from within to the outside of the body.
WOLF (OP):
-- That's –
Panel 4. The metal expelled, the wounds begin to close. The opposing sides of the holes reach out and touch, beginning to form together.
WOLF (OP):
-- That's –
Panel 5. A similar frame to Panel 1, but this time the wounds on his left arm are completely closed. Only the tear in his suit and the blood remain as proof that the injuries were once there. WOLF now looks at his arm with a somewhat pleasantly perplexed look. He doesn't know it, but a small amount of endorphins have been released into his system to compensate for the pain.
WOLF:
That's damn handy.
Panel 6. The pleasantness of the surprise falls from WOLF's visage as he turns back to RABBIT. Suspicion and uncertainty once again cloud his expression. RABBIT has withdrawn her hand back into her jacket. Despite the horrible scars on her face, her demeanor seems gentle.
WOLF:
Did you do that?
Page Sixteen (five panels)
Panel 1. Back on RHINO, her eyes have that electronic glint in them, the same from Page Eleven. She is studying the two others, still standing among the blood and bodies as before.
RHINO:
She did not.
RHINO:
A surface scan shows that your integumentary system has been woven with a series of active polymers.
RHINO:
It seems to be hard-coded with a series of responses to stimuli.
Panel 2. WOLF looks to RHINO, his confusion no longer amiable, but tinged with irritation. Does everyone know more that he does?
WOLF:
Uh…thanks.
WOLF:
Are you OK?
Panel 3. RHINO seems to pause and consider this, her eyes seeming to dim a moment before she answers.
RHINO:
...
RHINO:
No damage to primary systems.
RHINO:
The biomimetic collagenous layer on this unit is regrowing.
Panel 4. WOLF raises an eyebrow at this use of esoteric vernacular. RABBIT looks around the ground at the dead men, looking for something.
WOLF:
Bio...?
RABBIT:
Her skin.
WOLF:
Oh...does it hurt?
Panel 5. RHINO holds up her damaged hand and stares at it as if looking at someone else's body. Her face holds the distant fascination of a scientist looking at alien biology through a microscope.
RHINO:
No.
RHINO:
It itches.
Page Seventeen (three panels)
Panel 1. WOLF seems relieved by this last comment, almost grinning. In the background, RABBIT has picked up one of the dead men's pistols, holding it by the end of the barrel between thumb and forefinger. Her arm is extended so the pistol is away from her body.
WOLF:
I guess you are human.
Panel 2. WOLF turns back to RABBIT, snatching the pistol away from her. RABBIT offers no resistance to this action and lets the weapon pass away from her without hesitation or complaint.
WOLF:
OK, back to you. How do you know so much?
RABBIT:
I've shared everything with both of you.
RABBIT:
I don't know how, but I feel this is my function.
Panel 3. This frame should encompass most of the scene, so the reader can see the train car, the truck and all of the carnage that the trio has caused. The three stand in a rough triangle in the middle of the devastation. WOLF speaks quietly as if absorbing the complete strangeness of the situation.
WOLF (soft):
I...yeah, I think I can understand that.
Page Eighteen (four panels)
Panel 1. WOLF turns away from the other two and towards the bodies as he speaks. The confusion he has felt has been replaced by a sudden decisiveness that shows in his actions.
WOLF:
OK, we need to get out of here.
WOLF:
I don't know what's going on, but we don't want to be here when more of these guys show up.
Panel 2. His back turned to the other two, WOLF has crouched down among the bodies of AZZAN's men. He is beginning to pull one of the less abused pieces of clothing from a nearby corpse.
WOLF:
Let's get whatever we can scrounge.
WOLF:
No telling what's waiting for us outside.
Panel 3. WOLF looks over his shoulder at the other two. His gaze passes over the various exposed portions of RHINO's cybernetic housing that pokes out from beneath her ruined skin as well as RABBIT's scarred and fractured beauty.
WOLF:
We should probably all get covered up.
Panel 4. RABBIT and RHINO wander out among the burnt, bloody and broken bodies to follow WOLF's lead. RHINO walks like her name sake, taking little heed to any of the various obstacles littering the ground. RABBIT steps gingerly, working off the sight of the other two.
Page Nineteen (six panels)
Panel 1. A frame of RHINO's face as WOLF tapes a bandage over the rip in her right cheek. RHINO stares straight ahead, unflinching as WOLF works.
WOLF:
That should get you past anyone who's not looking too close.
Panel 2. With the point of view pulled back, the reader can see that RHINO has sat down with her back to the cab of the truck, knees pulled up, arms by her sides. She wears a working jacket taken from one of AZZAN's men and a pair of black combat boots. She continues to stare out into space as she speaks.
WOLF is kneeling in front of her, back straightened up after finishing with the bandage. With the clothing he has scrounged, he looks like a longshoreman with a punk flair; black knit cap, brown work boots, black pants and a tanned leather work jacket.
RHINO:
These men do not appear to have been together.
WOLF:
No, they don't. Since alarms haven't sounded, we can bet that wherever we are, they don't hold the keys.
WOLF:
God knows we made enough noise.
Panel 3. RHINO turns her head, her eyes looking over the scene.
RHINO:
What brought us all here?
WOLF (OP):
I don't know.
Panel 4. RABBIT speaks, poking her head out of the driver's side window of the truck. In addition to the large black jacket, she also wears a black knit cap, covering up the nodules and scars on her head. While it cannot be seen, she is looking through RHINO's eyes out across the tunnel. As a result, she gazes in the same direction as RHINO.
RABBIT:
We were being sold.
Panel 5. Still kneeling in front of RHINO, WOLF looks up at the other woman. His countenance indicates that, for reasons of his own, he agrees with that she is saying. RABBIT herself seems to have momentary trouble with the question he poses.
WOLF:
Yea…that makes sense. Any idea why?
RABBIT:
No. Before I –
RABBIT:
When I awoke I only sensed my own confusion. But this place is still tinged with their greed and mistrust.
Panel 6. WOLF stands up from kneeling, speaking to both the others.
WOLF:
All the more reason to get the fuck outta here.
Page Twenty (four panels)
Panel 1. WOLF opens the driver's side door of the truck, preparing to enter the cab. RHINO gets up to make her way to the other side of the truck. RABBIT pulls her head back through the window into the truck, disappearing like a hare into her burrow.
WOLF:
No idea how, but I think I can drive this thing.
Panel 2. All three units in the truck, the headlights turn on as the engine rumbles to life.
SFX:
RUMBLE
Panel 3. A view from behind the truck as the wheels kick in, pushing the large vehicle forward. WOLF follows the tracks the train sits upon, the headlights of the vehicle pushing the darkness back.
WOLF (OP):
Well, I do know one thing for sure --
Panel 4. HENLEY, out of sight far down the tunnel, can be seen peeking out from behind one of the supports of the tunnel, watching the truck disappear. He has been wounded in various places, his face and clothing scratched up, dirt and flash powder marring his face. His left hand clutches his gut where a tear has gone through his shirt. As the truck pulls away, he is bathed in the dim red of the rear lights, revealing a look of unreasoning hatred.
WOLF (OP):
-- If we ever see any more of these SOBs, it'll be too soon.
Page Twenty-One (three panels)
Panel 1. The truck continues on with the three units inside. Now, however, it is crawling up an incline, up and out of the ground the huge tunnel has been drilled from.
WOLF:
We're coming up on something.
Panel 2. A frame from outside of the tunnel as the truck finally emerges into open air. The tunnel itself heads into the cliff side of mountain. The tracks from the tunnel lead out onto an open space, then connect to a set another set of tracks the run perpendicular to the cliff and tunnel entrance. In the background, beyond the tunnel and the tracks that emerge from it, are several derelict buildings made of corrugated metal with A frame roofs. For an idea of the general layout see the following: |
