This screenplay is copyrighted to its author. All rights reserved. This screenplay may not be used or reproduced without the express written permission of the author.
EXT. FOREST HIGHWAY - DAY Two lanes of cracked blacktop run through thick forest. The sun glares. The faded yellow line glows. TWO FEET stumble down the road. Filthy sneakers, caked in dirt and stained black. The laces have been cut open, leaving short ends hanging loose. The feet stagger forward, each step a struggle - the legs keep the body from falling over with each ragged step. The feet belong to a TIRED MAN. He stops walking, wobbles for a moment, then stands still. Baggy Eyes. Cuts on the cheeks. Three days worth of stubble and sunburns. The entire face remains unseen. His jeans and shirt are caked with dirt and blood. His left arm is crudely bandaged and bloody. A shotgun hangs across his chest. The shining metal barrel and cylinder are marked with dried blood. He carries a nearly-empty water bottle in one hand. The other hand is loosely wrapped around the shotgun. He looks at a sign beside the road: NEXTONVILLE - 5. He lifts the water bottle to his mouth and drinks the last of it, then throws it into the ditch beside the road. He stretches out his legs, then falls into a crouch and massages his temples. He takes a few deep breaths, then struggles to stand back up. He grabs the shotgun and lifts it, then turns around. A hundred meters back, there are- TWO THOUSAND ZOMBIES Shuffle up the road after him. They cover the road from treeline to treeline, three hundred meters deep. They're recently dead, none more than a week - all very pale. The zombies silently walk forward as best they can. Awkward, clumsy steps. Arms hang limp. Eyes never leave the Tired Man. Tired Man raises the shotgun and aims carefully as the zombies move towards him. He fires. A zombie's knee explodes in a red cloud. He topples. A minor pileup is created as zombies trip over him. Tired Man pumps the shotgun and fires again. A zombie's right hip explodes, spinning her to the side, knocking down three zombies. Another pile. The zombies swarm forward. The piles of zombies disappear into the horde. Tired Man pumps the shotgun and aims. A badly damaged female zombie without a face stumbles into the front of the pack. Tired Man stares at her, then aims at her head. His hands shake, throwing his aim off wildly. He lowers the shotgun and turns around, stumbles down the highway. EXT. OTHER FOREST HIGHWAY - DAY A dark SEDAN speeds down the highway. It approaches a corner - doesn't slow down. It swerves into the oncoming traffic lane and speeds around the corner. Tires SCREECH. Someone SCREAMS. INT. SEDAN - DAY LUCY lies in the back seat, SCREAMING. She's 20s, dressed for hiking, and her legs are lifted over the other seat, over the lap of NICHOLAS, also 20s in torn hiking garb. Nicholas reaches out to steady her legs - the left one has a towel wrapped around the shin. LUCY DON'T TOUCH IT! Nicholas' hands snap back. He tries to hold Lucy's hand, she pulls it away. Nicholas looks at the back of the driver's head. NICHOLAS Easy on the turns. COLIN, 20s - hiker number 3 - reaches up to the rear-view mirror and adjusts it, gets a look at Nicholas' face. COLIN Shut up. LUCY Colin! COLIN Please. Colin glances at the passenger beside him, KAYE, 20s, the fourth hiker. She's reading a crudely-folded map. COLIN How much farther? KAYE Another few kilometers. Kaye looks up. Sees trees whipping by. KAYE You could slow down. COLIN No, I can't. Lucy cries out. Colin pushes the engine a little harder. COLIN Try the cell phone again. Kaye takes the cell phone out of the glove compartment and turns it on. The LED reads: NO SERVICE EXT. OTHER FOREST HIGHWAY - DAY A POLICE CRUISER is parked across both lanes of the highway. CATALINA MORSE (late 20s) sits in the driver's seat, radio raised to her mouth. CATALINA Got a car coming in. BRANDT You know what to do. Catalina puts down the radio and flips on the police lights. INT. SEDAN - DAY Colin's eyes are fixed on the road, his hands tight on the wheel. KAYE Colin! COLIN What? KAYE Stop! Colin blinks. He sees the Cruiser. How did he miss it? He hits the brakes. EXT. FOREST HIGHWAY - CONTINUOUS The Sedan SKIDS, leaving rubber trails. Catalina grabs the steering wheel, braces herself. The Sedan JERKS to a stop - five feet of clearance left. Catalina charges out of her Cruiser, hand on her holster. INT. SEDAN - DAY Lucy is whimpering in the back seat. Nicholas is leaning as far forward as he can without moving her legs. NICHOLAS What the hell are you doing?! LUCY It's okay... Catalina approaches the car. COLIN I'll handle this. KAYE Just calm down. Catalina arrives at the window. CATALINA What the hell are you doing? COLIN I'm sorry officer. We're on our way to the hospital. My sister's leg is broken. CATALINA What are you doing out here? KAYE We're camping a few kilometers down the road. CATALINA There aren't any campgrounds around here. COLIN It's family property. Listen, it's a bad break, and we've got to get her to a doctor. CATALINA The town is in the middle of a medical emergency. COLIN Then we'll fit right in. Catalina looks into the back seat. Lucy's face is covered with sweat. Blood tinges the white towel. CATALINA Follow me. INT. POLICE CRUISER - DAY Catalina looks in the rear-view mirror. The Sedan is right behind. Catalina picks up the radio. CATALINA I'm coming in. BRANDT (RADIO) What's happening? CATALINA It's a woman with a broken leg, three others. She needs medical attention. Catalina waits for a second, her eyes on the road. BRANDT (RADIO) Bring them straight to the hospital. I'll have the Doctor get a room ready. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - EVENING Doctor STEVE JOHANSEN stands next to the hospital bed where Lucy lies, asleep, her lower leg in a cast. Nicholas sits beside the bed, holding Lucy's hand. Colin stands beside the doctor. NICHOLAS How long will she be out? STEVE Probably until morning. She needs the rest. COLIN What about her leg? Will she have to stay here? STEVE She won't be able to walk for a few days. After that- INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (2ND FLOOR) - NIGHT Kaye walks down the hall, a cup of coffee in either hand. STEVE (O.S.) -she'll be able to get around on crutches... Kaye stops beside an open door. There is some GROANING coming from behind it. KAYE Doctor? Kaye looks around. No one else in the hall. She slowly pushes the door open with her elbow. INT. PRIVATE HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - NIGHT Kaye slowly walks into the well-lit room. There is a SWEATY MAN lying in the bed, staring at the ceiling. His breaths come hard and fast. Kaye slowly walks towards the bed. KAYE Hey, sir, do you need a doctor? Kaye stands next to the bed. KAYE (CONT'D) Excuse me? The Sweaty Man's breath slows. His eyes close. KAYE (CONT'D) Hold on. Kaye switches both coffees to one hand and reaches for the NURSE button. She clicks it. The Sweaty Man's hand LASHES OUT - GRABS Kaye's left hand. Coffee goes flying. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - NIGHT Kaye's SCREAM penetrates two walls and bounces around the room. Lucy stirs. Steve, Nicholas, and Colin are out the door. INT. PRIVATE HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - NIGHT Kaye crouches in the corner of the room, behind the door. Steve rushes into the room. He notices Kaye. STEVE Check her. Steve walks over to the bed - slips on some coffee. He rights himself and takes out the stethoscope head. Colin crouches beside Kaye. Nicholas stands in the doorway. COLIN Are you alright? Kaye nods. Steve presses the stethoscope into the Sweaty Man's chest. He checks for a pulse at the neck. He stands up and turns to Nicholas. STEVE Get a nurse! Nicholas runs out of the room. INT. HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AREA (1ST FLOOR) - NIGHT Nicholas, Colin, and Kaye sit on chairs, staring straight ahead. NICHOLAS What's going on here? COLIN I still don't know. They continue to stare. KAYE Big hospital. NICHOLAS Small town. COLIN There's a plaque by the bathroom. It was built by a mining baron. KAYE Mining. Lots of injuries in mining. COLIN Hence the hospital. Steve walks into the Admissions area and sits down across from them. STEVE It's an infection. Practically the whole town has it. NICHOLAS Are we safe here? COLIN My sister had an open wound- STEVE It's being spread through the water supply. Started just a few days ago. KAYE How many people are sick? STEVE Practically the whole town. COLIN Where are they? STEVE We loaded everyone up with antibiotics and sent them home. KAYE What if you run out? STEVE Already have. We're getting help tomorrow. Don't drink any water, you should be able to leave then. NICHOLAS Has anyone died? STEVE Not many. Ei- Nine. So far. Anyway - there's a hotel two streets over. I'm sure they have some empty rooms. Colin and Nicholas stand at once. COLIN I'd like to stay- NICHOLAS Thanks, but I'll- Colin and Nicholas look at one another. STEVE One person can stay in the room. Steve looks at the two men. STEVE I've got patients to tend to, if you'll excuse me. KAYE Thank you, doctor. Steve leaves. Colin and Nicolas still stare. Kaye slowly stands, and steps over to them. KAYE Okay, guys... NICHOLAS Listen, Colin, I understand that- Colin punches Nicholas in the cheek. Nicholas falls to the floor, knocking over a chair. EXT. HOSPITAL PARKING LOT - NIGHT Catalina stands by her car. She sees the scuffle through the propped-open hospital doors. She runs towards the hospital. INT. HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AREA (1ST FLOOR) - NIGHT Nicholas sits on the floor, holding the cut on his cheek. COLIN You almost got her killed today, you think I'm going to let you- Kaye steps in front of Colin. KAYE Colin! Catalina runs into the room and grabs Colin, pushing him away from Nicholas. CATALINA Don't move. Colin raises his hands. Kaye helps Nicholas to his feet. NICHOLAS Jesus, Colin... COLIN You son of- Catalina pushes Colin back again. CATALINA I said stop it. She turns to Kaye. CATALINA Which one's yours? Kaye points at Colin. CATALINA Okay, get him out of here. COLIN No - I am staying to- Catalina raises a finger. CATALINA You leave with her, or you go to jail. Colin scowls and shifts for a moment. COLIN Fine. INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT The lock CLICKS. The door opens. Colin and Kaye enter the small, poorly-furnished hotel room. Kaye pushes the door - HARD. It slowly swings closed. Kaye looks up - There's an auto closer. KAYE God damn it! Colin sits down on the bed. COLIN This isn't about the door - is it? KAYE Very damn funny. COLIN Okay, I'm sorry but... This is all his fault. KAYE It's Nicholas' fault you punched him? COLIN You know what I mean. KAYE Your sister is an adult. COLIN Who's never climbed a cliff in her life. She didn't know what she was doing. KAYE So you punched him. Are you even now? COLIN It's not that simple. KAYE I'm not talking about this any more. Kaye walks into the bathrooms and SLAMS the door. COLIN You can't take a shower, remember? There is a muffled SWEAR from the bathroom. Colin stands and walks over to the mirrored dresser. Looks at himself. COLIN You're right. KAYE (O.S.) What? COLIN Nothing. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - NIGHT Nicholas sits beside Lucy's bed. They're holding hands. NICHOLAS Does it hurt? LUCY It's kind of numb. NICHOLAS I'm so sorry. LUCY Don't be. What happened to your face? NICHOLAS I tripped. EXT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (2ND FLOOR) - NIGHT Steve looks at a list as he walks down the hall. At the end of the hall BRANDT (40s, cop uniform) steps around a corner. Steve is startled. STEVE Sheriff. BRANDT Doctor. Any updates? STEVE No change. We had another death. Bill O'Dell. Brandt nods slowly. BRANDT Is there anything you can do? STEVE Pray Public Health gets here early tomorrow. BRANDT When was the last time you slept? STEVE This morning. For an hour or two. BRANDT Go home. Steve looks down at his list again. STEVE Yeah, okay. I've got to get this to Janice. INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Colin stares at the mirror and taps his fingers on the dresser. COLIN (to himself) Come on, come on... The bathroom door opens. Kaye stands in the doorway, wearing a bathrobe, scowl still present. COLIN Could you do me a favor? KAYE What now? COLIN I need you to change your name. KAYE What to? COLIN Kaye with a C. Think about it for a second - we're so close to having matching initials. Kaye walks out of the bathroom, looking at Colin. COLIN Think of the money we'd save on monogramming. We could share towels, handkerchiefs... cigarette cases. Kaye smiles and walks toward him. KAYE You can stop now. COLIN I'm serious about this. It means that if I ever decide to betray you in a way that involves signing for something, learning to forge your initials won't be complicated. KAYE You're forgiven, okay? COLIN Was that so bad? Kaye grabs Colin's waist. KAYE You have to stop blaming Nick. COLIN I will. Colin leans in and kisses her. They hug. COLIN Could I just have one more punch? KAYE Colin. COLIN Fine. EXT. FARM HOUSE - NIGHT CAROL (8 - pig tails) sits on a yard swing, playing a Game Boy. The DISCORDANT BEEPS are almost music. A Three-Story farmhouse looms behind her, the lights inside provide the only illumination. A SHAPE moves out of the treeline a dozen metres away. CAROL Just a little to the- Damn. Carol restarts her game. The SHAPE walks close to the swing - into the light. It's a MINER, wearing filthy coveralls - and a smashed headlamp. The Miner comes closer - his face is pale. His arms raise. Carol turns around - SEES the Miner. She YELPS, and falls sideways off the swing. CAROL Mom! INT. HOSPITAL MORGUE (BASEMENT) - NIGHT A freight elevator CLANKS and DINGS as it reaches the bottom floor. The doors slide open, revealing a sheet-covered gurney. COHEN (60s) walks out of the elevator, dragging the gurney behind him. He wears scrubs with ATTENDANT written on them. MEYER (30s) is the buzz-cut other ATTENDANT, according to his shirt. He waits by an open MORGUE SLAB. MEYER What's the name? Cohen glances at the chart. COHEN William O'Dell. Trust you can spell that. Meyer glances at Cohen, then takes out a pen and fills out a tag. Cohen wheels the gurney over to the slab. Meyer lifts the sheet and slips the tag over his toe. MEYER We're running out of room. COHEN There won't be many more. MEYER You psychic? COHEN I've got a good feeling. MEYER Is that a yes? Cohen grins. The two men lift the BODY and drop it on the slab. Meyer slides the SLAB into the wall and slams the door shut. MEYER You're not afraid? COHEN Not as long as I've got plenty of beer left in the fridge. MEYER I like your... Do you hear that? COHEN What? Meyer holds a finger up to his lips. They listen - and hear a slight CLANG-CLANG-CLANG coming from somewhere. COHEN Hot water pipes. They rattle if nobody uses them. I'll get Ives on it in the morning. MEYER Sure. The two attendants walk into the freight elevator and shut the door. The CLANGING grows louder. And louder. A slab door SHAKES. INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICE (3RD FLOOR) - NIGHT Steve sleeps in a high-backed leather chair, his white coat covering him. The window behind him is open. The edge of the parking lot is visible below. A DARK FIGURE stands beside a car, tugging at the handle. CRINK - CRINK... The door is locked. But the Figure doesn't stop. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - NIGHT Lucy sleeps on the bed. Nicholas holds her hand as he sleeps, still sitting in the chair, leaned over beside her. INT. CATALINA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Catalina sleeps on a large bed - still in her uniform. The walls are decorated with pictures of a MAN: He's about Catalina's age. Sometimes he's beside Catalina, sometimes alone - always smiling. In a few he's wearing a police uniform. The photos are unframed, and in no particular order. EXT. CITY HALL - NIGHT A POLICE CRUISER is parked in front of City hall. Brandt sleeps in the front seat. INT. HARDWARE STORE - NIGHT The hardware store is in disarray. Boxes are strewn about. A shotgun lays on the counter next to the cash register. A set of legs stick out from behind the counter. One foot twitches. At the rear of the store a light is on - a bathroom. INT. HARDWARE STORE BATHROOM - NIGHT TERRY MCGUIN (50s), stands at the sink. He pours hydrogen peroxide over the wound. TERRY Where the hell is that gauze? Terry puts down the bottle and opens the mirrored cabinet. He grabs a bandage- knocks down a few bottles. They clatter loudly into the sink. TERRY Oh, fuck this. Terry grabs a bandage and covers the wound on his arm - is that a bite? If so - it's a large one. A SHAPE steps into the doorway behind Terry. Terry swings the mirror closed. There is a person behind Terry - obscured by his reflection in the mirror. Only a pale ear is visible to the side of Terry's head. Terry SPINS. SCREAMS. INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Colin and Kaye lie under the covers, asleep in each others' arms. EXT. MAIN STREET - PRE-DAWN The blue morning light illuminates the street. EXT. HARDWARE STORE - PRE-DAWN A DARK SHAPE moves behind the glass door. The doorknob turns. The door shakes. A fist PUNCHES through the glass door. The hand and arm are TORN by the jagged glass. Dark blood dribbles out of the wounds. INT. VARIOUS HOMES - PRE-DAWN A MAN sleeps in his single bed, breathing quickly. A WOMAN sits in her shower, STEAMING WATER pours down on her. She breathes deeply. A MAN sleeps in a large bed, covered with layers of sheets. His breaths grow shallow. A WOMAN sleeps on a couch. She shivers. The television casts a BLUE LIGHT over her face. A TEEN sleeps on his bed, his face covered in sweat. His MOTHER sits beside the bed. She checks his temperature with the back of her hand. FASTER NOW - Ten new faces in rapid succession, each one breathing quickly. The ten faces again - each one absolutely still, their eyes closed. The ten faces again - one by one, their eyes snap open and stare - blank. INT. ANTHONY'S HOUSE BEDROOM (2ND FLOOR) - MORNING ANTHONY lies on his side, his face half-buried in a pillow. He's the man from Catalina's photos. An alarm BLARES. ANTHONY carefully rolls over, turns off the alarm, and rolls back the other way, his arm stretching over the other side of the bed. Anthony feels around. He looks up. He's alone. He furrows his brow. A Baby CRIES downstairs. Anthony sits up and looks around. His uniform is on a chair next to the door. INT. ANTHONY'S HOUSE KITCHEN (1ST FLOOR) - MORNING Anthony walks into the kitchen. His shirt is half-buttoned. ANTHONY Have you seen my gun? MARYLYN, Anthony's wife, sits at the table. She raises a bottle to the mouth of their baby, CARTER. MARYLYN Drawer next to the stove. Anthony slides the drawer open and grabs his REVOLVER. He shoves it into his holster. MARYLYN Good morning. Anthony steps behind Marylyn's chair. He hugs her and kisses the back of her neck. Carter starts crying. ANTHONY Up long? MARYLYN All night. Carter can't sleep. ANTHONY Why won't he stop crying? MARYLYN He's teething. ANTHONY Still? MARYLYN Always. Anthony picks Carter up and carries him around the room, kissing his head. MARYLYN Are the health- Anthony raises a finger. ANTHONY Shh. Not in front of the boy. Anthony carefully covers Carter's ears. ANTHONY They should be here by noon. I'm on the blockade until then. A horn HONKS outside. ANTHONY And that's my ride. MARYLYN Why can't she ever just knock? ANTHONY You know Cat. Always in a hurry. Anthony hands Carter back to Marylyn, then kisses her. ANTHONY Love you. I might be a little late. MARYLYN Love you. Call if you are. INT. HOTEL LOBBY - DAY Colin stands at the front desk. A CLERK stands behind it. COLIN May I use your phone? The one in my room isn't working. CLERK Long distance? COLIN Yes. CLERK Lines went out last night. Should be fixed soon. Kaye walks down the stairs into the lobby. KAYE Any luck? Colin shakes his head. COLIN I'm going to the hospital. You coming? KAYE I need some food. Think the grocery store's been cleaned out? COLIN I wouldn't be surprised. Grab something for me, would you? KAYE Sure. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (2ND FLOOR) - DAY Colin walks down the hall. The door to Lucy's room opens. Nicholas steps out and carefully closes the door. Colin stops. Nicholas sees him and walks over. NICHOLAS She's asleep. COLIN Oh. (beat) I'm sorry. About last night. NICHOLAS Hey, that's- COLIN Wait. You should know that I'm still... Really angry, and I know that I shouldn't be, but there it is anyway. So, if you forgive me, fine, and if you don't, that's good too. Just don't say anything else, or I might end up punching you again, and neither of us want that. Nicholas opens his mouth, then closes it. NICHOLAS I forgive you. COLIN Thanks. If she wakes up, tell her I'll be back in an hour. I'm headed to the camp to get our stuff. Nicholas nods. INT. GROCERY STORE - DAY Windows run along the front of the store. Kaye walks up to the front door and opens it. She steps inside and looks around. The store is empty. KAYE Hello? Customer here... Kaye lets the door swing shut. She takes a step into the room. She's KICKED something. It slides across the floor. Kaye looks down. The OPEN/CLOSED sign is on the floor next to the counter. She stoops down and picks it up... KAYE Found your sign... She drops it on the counter. KAYE Okay... Kaye walks through the aisles, picking up a bag of chips and a few chocolate bars. She stops at the clear fridge doors. Kaye transfers everything into one hand, and pulls open the fridge door. Through the back of the refrigerator, the storage room of the store is visible. Something TALL and DARK is right behind the shelves. Kaye grabs two cellophane-wrapped sandwiches and lets the door swing shut. She turns and walks away. Through the glass - behind the shelves - the DARK THING turns around. It's a person - shrouded in shadows. Eyes glint. The DARK THING turns toward the cash register. Kaye walks down the line of refrigerators towards the counter. The DARK THING walks in the same direction - about half as fast. Kaye puts everything down on the counter. KAYE Hello? So, anyway, I'm going to ring this stuff up myself, okay? Kaye waits a second. KAYE I'll take that as a yes. Kaye looks over the her purchases. Her head nods and her lips move as she counts. Kaye takes two five dollar bills and a two dollar coin out of her pockets. She reaches over the counter and taps the SALE button. The money tray slides open. She puts the money in and closes the drawer. Kaye grabs a plastic bag and shoves her purchases into it. Kaye leaves the store. EXT. GROCERY STORE - DAY Kaye steps outside the store. As the door swings shut, the DING sound of the cash register opening comes from inside. Kaye stops and turns around. She looks through the door. The DARK THING stands behind the register. Kaye can't make out any features - it's too bright out in the street. Kaye reaches for the door handle, then stops herself. KAYE I put some money in the register. The DARK THING turns its head towards her. Kaye waits. The DARK THING stares. KAYE You're welcome. Kaye leaves. EXT. HOSPITAL PARKING LOT - DAY Colin walks out into the lot. He sees a POLICE CRUISER parked on the street. Colin jogs toward it. Brandt sits in the passenger seat of the car, next to GEORGE (30s), another cop - his uniform shows signs of wear, and his hair is unkempt. Brandt is carefully coiffed, and his uniform looks pressed. COLIN Excuse me. BRANDT Yes- Do I know you? COLIN I don't think so. I brought my sister to the hospital last night. BRANDT The broken leg? COLIN Right. BRANDT You need something? COLIN Yeah, actually I was wondering if I could get past that road block. I think we could use a change of clothes. GEORGE You live around here? COLIN No, we've got a campsite about twenty kilometers down the road. We had to leave in a hurry. BRANDT Do you have any water at the camp? COLIN A few cases. Should I bring it back? BRANDT Every little bit helps. I'll call the roadblock. COLIN Thanks. Colin walks away from the Cruiser. The radio CRACKLES. DISPATCHER (RADIO) Chief, I've got a call in from Bob van Allen. GEORGE I'm drawing a blank. DISPATCHER (RADIO) Chicken farm just west of town. GEORGE Thanks. BRANDT You tell him the public health- DISPATCHER (RADIO) He said his wife attacked him. And he killed her. BRANDT Whoa - hold it. He said he killed her? DISPATCHER (RADIO) He said she was dead. He wasn't making a lot of sense. BRANDT Call Cat and Randy, get them over there. We're on our way. DISPATCHER (RADIO) Will do. Brandt hangs up the radio. BRANDT What are you waiting for? George blinks. GEORGE What? Oh, sorry. George puts the Cruiser in gear and hits the gas. INT. SEDAN - DAY Colin drives slowly down the street. He spots Kaye, then swerves over to her and stops the car next to the curb. Colin rolls down the passenger-side window. Kaye leans in. KAYE What's up? COLIN Going to get some clothes. Want to come? KAYE Very much. EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY The Sedan drives down the road. Colin drives, and Kaye sits in the middle, leaning on him. As they drive, she feeds chips to Colin and eats them herself. KAYE Any news on when we can leave? COLIN No. Soon, I think. You missing the tent that much? KAYE Have you seen a single person on the street? COLIN Creeped out? KAYE Very. COLIN There's a bug going around. I'm sure no one feels much like jogging. KAYE I think it's a little more serious than the flu. COLIN Bad water. That's why I hate small towns. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas enters the room. He's got a bottle of water. Lucy sits up, stretches her arms. LUCY What time is it? NICHOLAS Ten-thirty. LUCY Has the doctor been by? NICHOLAS I think he's been busy. Is something wrong? LUCY It's itchy. NICHOLAS I could go find a nurse. LUCY It's not that bad. Nicholas stares at the cast. NICHOLAS I'm not going to apologize again. LUCY You shouldn't. NICHOLAS I'm sorry. Lucy smack him upside the head. NICHOLAS Ow! LUCY Can I have some water now? Nicholas offers her the bottle. INT. SEDAN - DAY Colin and Kaye drive down the road. They share a chocolate bar. COLIN Is that a hitchhiker? Colin points to a man at the side of the road. KAYE Doesn't look like it to me. They speed past. EXT. ROADSIDE - DAY The sedan speeds past the HITCHHIKER. He's very pale, and stares straight ahead. He walks towards town. He wears telephone company coveralls. INT. ANTHONY'S HOUSE KITCHEN (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Marylyn walks into the kitchen, her nose buried in a book. She opens the fridge, and without looking, reaches in and grabs a loaf of bread. She closes the door and walks over to the counter. Out in the back yard, a MAN stands at the treeline. He stares at the house. Marylyn glances up from her book. Sees the Man. She puts her book down on the counter. She walks over to the door and opens it. MARYLYN Excuse me? Hello? The BABY MONITOR on the table SQUEALS. Marylyn spins. MARYLYN Carter! SOMETHING steps into the doorway behind Marylyn. A shadow is cast over her. EXT. CHICKEN FARM - DAY A Cacophony of CLUCKS emanate from the outbuilding next to the main house. Two POLICE CRUISERS pull up in front of the house. George, Brandt and Catalina pile out of their cars. The last man out is RANDOLPH (30s, short, leather jacket even though it isn't cold). BRANDT Randy, Cat - head around back. We're going in. Keep an eye out for Bob or Lisa. Randolph and Catalina pull their guns and head around the side of the house. George walks slowly up the stairs, Brandt right behind. GEORGE Got her. George steps onto the porch. He points through the open front door. Leaning against a wall in the entry is LISA VAN ALLEN - her face a broken and bloody mess. BRANDT And him. Brandt nods past her. Down the hall a set of legs stick out of an open doorway. BRANDT You check her. Brandt runs past Lisa. She slowly turns her head to watch as he crouches down next to the legs. George walks up to Lisa, lowering his gun. GEORGE Ma'am, are you alright? Lisa looks forward, straight at George. Her face is badly cut - the flesh hangs in loose flaps. Her left eye is missing - a ragged bloody hole. GEORGE Oh god. INT. POLICE CRUISER - DAY Anthony sips from a cup of coffee. He looks out the window to his right. A few hundred yards down the road is a speck on the highway. The Hitchhiker. Anthony takes out his pistol and puts it on the dashboard. EXT. CAMPGROUND - DAY Colin hoists a large case of water into the trunk. KAYE Gangway! Colin steps aside. Kaye drops her case into the trunk. She pants. COLIN That the last of them? Kaye nods, breathless. KAYE You sure we shouldn't get the tents? COLIN We'll grab them on the way home. Unless you really want- KAYE Actually, I don't care at all. I don't know why I asked. COLIN Okay. Colin slams the trunk shut. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (3RD FLOOR) - DAY Meyer and Cohen roll a covered gurney into the freight elevator. INT. HOSPITAL FREIGHT ELEVATOR - DAY Meyer slides the doors shut. Cohen hits the BASEMENT button. MEYER That's ten. COHEN Have you been counting again? Haven't I warned you about that? MEYER I liked Mrs. Jonas. She seemed nice. When she wasn't coughing up blood. COHEN You're a beast. MEYER Yeah, you're right. I blame you. COHEN You're welcome. The elevator doors DING, then slide open. Standing in front of the doors are three NAKED ZOMBIES. They stare blankly at Meyer and Cohen. Their bodies are pale - except for the legs - which are purple and swollen - distended and lumpy. Meyer's eyes find the control panel. He lunges for the buttons - but the gurney is in the way. MEYER Hit the button! Cohen is frozen - his eyes on the zombies. The zombies pile into the freight elevator - arms out. They reach - they grab. Screams. Arms flail. TEETH FIND FLESH. TEAR. More screams. In the struggle, an elbow hits the '2' button. The doors slide shut. INT. ANTHONY'S HOUSE NURSERY (2ND FLOOR) - DAY Carter lies on his back, crying. There is a THUMP from the hall. Then another. Slow, heavy FOOTSTEPS. The footsteps get louder - closer. They stop outside the door. The doorknob turns. The door swings open slowly. Carter turns his head to the doorway. He stops crying. INT. VAN ALLEN HOUSE - DAY Brandt crouches next to Bob's body. Bob has a knife buried in his chest - the handle sticks out sideways - an odd angle. GEORGE Sheriff, there's something wrong with- George is cut off as Lisa lunges forward - SINKS HER TEETH into George's throat. Brandt is on his feet in a second - gun raised. BRANDT Get off him! George struggles, tries to scream. He jams his pistol into Lisa's gut- FIRES THEE SHOTS They tear out her back, slam into the wall behind Brandt. Brandt ducks. BRANDT Get clear! George pulls away from Lisa - her teeth hold onto a good chuck of throat. George stumbles backward - holds his hand over the wound. Blood pours over his fingers. George fires two more shots. One hits Lisa's shoulder, the other misses. EXT. CHICKEN FARM - CONTINUOUS George stumbles out the door. He trips - falls down the stairs, lands HARD. Lisa follows him out onto the porch. Brandt walks out the front door, gun aimed with both hands. BRANDT George? Where are you? Lisa turns around and reaches for Brandt. He OPENS FIRE. 1-2-3 4-5-6 Shots into her chest - Lisa drops to her knees and lowers her head. Brandt watches her. BRANDT Where the hell are you?! CATALINA (O.S.) Get down! Brandt dives to the side. BOB stands behind him - Bob grabs for Brandt, but misses. TWO GUNS fire from inside the house - 12 fast shots. Bullets SLAM into Bob's back - a few burst out of his chest. Chunks are BLASTED off BOB's head - an ear, part of the temple - one catches him at the base of the skull. Bob sways, then topples over - lies still. RANDY (O.S.) Chief? BRANDT I'm good. Lisa falls forward - GRABS Brandt's ankle. BRANDT Christ! Brandt aims his pistol at Lisa's head. He fires five fast shots. The pistol's slide locks back. Lisa's hand lets go of his ankle. Randy and Catalina run out of the house and down the steps. They check on George. CATALINA He's dead! Brandt stares at Lisa's body. BRANDT (V.O.) (pre-lap) Okay, first things first- EXT. CHICKEN FARM - DAY Brandt stands beside his car. Randy and Catalina watch the three bodies laid out next to the porch. BRANDT -We all saw that. I'm not asking you to pretend you didn't. They were dead when we got here. And this virus brought them back. But until everyone is safe and as far away from this town as possible, I don't want any talk about it. No wondering about what it means, no opining about the philosophical ramifications. We see any more of them, we put them down - but we're not going to talk about it. Is that understood? RANDY I've never shot anyone before. CATALINA Me neither. They turn to look at Brandt. BRANDT You still haven't. INT. POLICE CRUISER - DAY Anthony holds the radio handset up to his head. ANTHONY Is this a joke? BRANDT (RADIO) No. This is an emergency. We're going to start rounding people up- ANTHONY Before the zombies get them? BRANDT (RADIO) Anthony, listen to me, if you want to keep your job- Hands BURST through the window beside Anthony's head. Anthony SCREAMS and pulls away from the hands. The Hitchhiker leans in through the window. Dried blood is caked around a huge wound on his neck. Anthony leans over and kicks the Hitchhiker in the head. The hitchhiker stumbles backward and falls on his seat. BRANDT (RADIO) Anthony?! Are you there?! Anthony grabs for his revolver. It falls into the footwell. He picks up the Radio. Screams into it as he searches for the gun with his other hand. ANTHONY What the fuck is going on!? BRANDT (RADIO) Shoot it in the head! Anthony finds his revolver. The Hitchhiker stands up, a few feet back from the window. Anthony raises the revolver and FIRES. The bullet SMASHES into the Hitchhiker's forehead - takes a piece off the back of his skull on the way out. The Hitchhiker takes a few steps back, then stops. He walks towards the Cruiser again. ANTHONY He doesn't seem to mind! BRANDT (RADIO) Just keep doing it! Anthony BLASTS AWAY. The bullets tear the Hitchhiker's face apart - Right eye - left cheek - one in the forehead - the last two go into his mouth - BLOW APART the back of his skull. The Hitchhiker collapses. Anthony slowly lowers his gun. ANTHONY I think he's dead. BRANDT (RADIO) He was already dead. Now listen, you've got to get back to town. We're going to round everyone up and get out of here. Get to the hospital as fast as you can. Anthony dumps the empty shells out of his revolver, then inserts a speed loader and CLICKS six new shells in. ANTHONY I'll catch up with you later. I'm going home. BRANDT (RADIO) Wait! I'll meet you there - don't go alone! Anthony turns off the radio and puts the Cruiser into gear. EXT. CHICKEN FARM - DAY Brandt gets into his Cruiser. BRANDT I'm going after him. Stop by the station and pick up some shotguns, then start rounding everyone up. CATALINA What about the public health people? RANDY I don't think this is a public health issue any more. BRANDT Exactly. Brandt drives away. CATALINA Alright, let's get- oh, fuck me. Randy turns to follow Catalina's eye line. George sits up. He slowly climbs to his feet. Randy and Catalina aim their guns. EXT. SMALL HOUSE - DAY The Mother helps the Teen into the passenger seat of a CAR. MOTHER Don't worry honey. We'll be in Dexter in a couple of hours. The Mother puts the seatbelt on her son and closes the door. INT. SEDAN - DAY Kaye drives. Colin leans back in the passenger seat. KAYE Hey, check it out. Kaye nods up to the rear-view mirror. COLIN What? Colin turns around in his seat. Out the back window, Colin sees two vans behind them. The vans draw closer - but they're not going much faster than the Sedan. COLIN That's the first good news in a while. KAYE Excuse me? COLIN Other than the food, I mean. KAYE Thank you. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas stands by the window. He looks out. NICHOLAS There's a few people out on the street. LUCY So? NICHOLAS They look a little strange. LUCY How? NICHOLAS I don't know, they're walking funny. And they're coming this way. LUCY They're sick. They're coming to the hospital. NICHOLAS Maybe that's it. LUCY Just let me take a look. Lucy swings her legs over to the side of the bed. Nicholas runs over and stops her. NICHOLAS Wait! You can't get up. Lucy raps on her cast. LUCY This isn't because of my keen fashion sense. NICHOLAS Okay wait a second, just let me go and get the doctor. LUCY And some crutches. NICHOLAS And some crutches. Nicholas leaves the room. Lucy gingerly lowers her legs down to the floor. She slowly stands up. LUCY Ah! She sits back down. LUCY Wait for the crutches. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (2ND FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas walks to the end of the hall. He stops at the elevator and reaches for the button - but there isn't one. Just a keyhole. Nicholas looks up. The sign over the doors reads: SERVICE ELEVATOR. NICHOLAS Great. Nicholas looks right - sees the 'EXIT' sign. Heads for it. He opens the stairwell door and walks inside. The SERVICE ELEVATOR DOORS slide open. Meyer FALLS OUT into the hall - his stomach torn open - entrails poking out. The elevator doors slide closed. Meyer sits up. INT. HOSPITAL BACK STAIRS - DAY Nicholas stops between the second and third floors. He looks out the window. There are more people on the street. All headed toward the hospital. Nicholas watches them for a second, then resumes his climb. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (2ND FLOOR) - DAY Meyer shambles down the hall, one hand on his stomach. He covers the wound, holds his guts in. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (3RD FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas walks down the hall. As he passes the doors, he reads the names off them. NICHOLAS Doctor Adam Salk. Doctor Emma Gruber. Doctor Steve Johansen. Nicholas stops at the third door and opens it. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - DAY There is a SCRATCH outside the door. Lucy looks over at it. Something HITS the knob on the other side. LUCY Nicholas? The doorknob turns. INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICE (3RD FLOOR) - DAY Steve's high-backed chair faces the window opposite the door. There is a KNOCK on the door. NICHOLAS (O.S.) Doctor Johansen? The door opens. Nicholas steps in. NICHOLAS Sorry to wake you, but- The high-backed chair starts to turn - stops when it's a third of the way turned. A PALE HAND reaches from the chair - grabs the desk - pulls the chair around. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - DAY The door opens. LUCY Nicholas? Hello? Meyer lumbers into the room. His eyes find Lucy. LUCY Oh my god! What happened to you? Meyer walks towards her. LUCY My boyfriend is g- What are you doing? Meyer lunges at her. INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICE (3RD FLOOR) - DAY The chair turns the rest of the way. Nicholas takes a step back, his mouth agape. NICHOLAS Wh- huh? Steve sits in the chair - his neck torn apart - his nose gone. Black, dried blood is caked around the wounds. NICHOLAS Doctor? Steve slowly stands up. NICHOLAS Okay. Nicholas takes two steps backwards, then turns and BOLTS. NICHOLAS (O.S.) Help! Help me! INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - DAY Lucy ROLLS OFF THE BED - dodges out from under Meyer, who falls onto the empty bed. Lucy falls onto the floor, her cast SMACKS into the floor. She SCREAMS. Meyer crawls after - leaves streaks of blood and viscera on the sheets. Lucy slides backward towards the other bed. Meyer falls onto the floor after her - grabs her cast. Lucy screams and grabs the bed frame behind her. Meyer crawls forward, mouth open. Lucy tries to pull away. Meyer SINKS HIS TEETH INTO - her cast. Lucy SCREAMS in agony. INT. HOSPITAL BACK STAIRS - DAY Nicholas FLIES into the staircase, leaps down the stairs six at a time. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - DAY As he bites her cast, Meyer's hands reach higher up - TEAR Lucy's gown. Lucy grits her teeth and reaches under the bed. Her hands find SOMETHING. She pulls it out - a large steel BEDPAN. Lucy sits up and SMASHES the bedpan into the back of Meyer's head. His skull FRACTURES - his teeth BITE DEEPER. Lucy SCREAMS - then raises the bedpan again. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (2ND FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas runs out of the stairwell door, sprints down the hall and turns at the elevator. A SCREAM from Lucy's room. Nicholas sprints harder - pushes through the door into INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (2ND FLOOR) - CONTINUOUS Nicholas runs into the room. Sees Lucy with the blood covered bedpan raised over her head. NICHOLAS Lucy! She doesn't look up. LUCY Get off! Lucy SMASHES the bedpan down - crushes the back of Meyer's head. Lucy SCREAMS. Nicholas runs over and crouches next to her. NICHOLAS Lucy, what hap- He sees Meyer. Lucy has tears on her cheeks. LUCY (whimper) Get it off me... Nicholas grabs Meyer's hair and yanks his head off Lucy's cast. Lucy winces. Nicholas lets go of Meyer's head. It flops to the floor with a small THUD. Nicholas wipes his hand on the bed - leaves a blood smear. NICHOLAS Let's go. Nicholas wraps Lucy's arm around his neck and helps her stand. LUCY What was that? NICHOLAS Zombie, I think. LUCY Oh. Lucy looks down. She's still got the bloody bedpan. She drops it - it CLATTERS to the floor next to Meyer. EXT. ANTHONY'S HOUSE - DAY A Police Cruiser skids to a stop next to the back porch. Anthony runs out, leaping up the porch steps. He freezes-The back door is open - there is a wide, uneven pool of blood on the kitchen floor. Anthony raises his pistol. ANTHONY Marylyn? Talk to me if you're here. Anthony looks past the pool - bloody footsteps lead out of the kitchen. INT. ANTHONY'S HOUSE FOYER (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Anthony walks out of the kitchen, leading with his gun. The bloody footsteps continue through the foyer and up the stairs to the second floor. (There are two bloody footprints on each step - matching left and right feet) Anthony follows the footsteps upstairs. ANTHONY Marylyn? INT. ANTHONY'S HOUSE HALLWAY (2ND FLOOR) - DAY Anthony reaches the top of the steps. The bloody footprints lead to the slightly-ajar door at the end of the hall. The Nursery. Anthony slowly walks down the hall. He glances into doorways as he passes them. Anthony reaches the end of the hall. He stops, takes a deep breath, then reaches for the door. EXT. OTHER FOREST HIGHWAY - DAY The Mother's Car speeds down the highway. INT. CAR - DAY The Mother drives FAST - glances to her son every few seconds. The Teen stirs. MOTHER Try to sleep. We'll be there in no time. The Teen's pale hand reaches for her shoulder. INT. SEDAN - DAY Kaye squints at the road ahead. KAYE What happened to the roadblock? COLIN Huh? Colin raises his seat back. COLIN Maybe they're meeting the vans? The CAR zips by the Sedan. COLIN Sure seems like an emergency. EXT. OTHER FOREST HIGHWAY - DAY The Car SWERVES SUDDENLY into the oncoming lane. The LEAD VAN BRAKES and TURNS - but it's TOO LATE. The Lead Van SMASHES into the side of the Car - goes up on two wheels. The second Van CRASHES into the back of the Lead, pushing it sideways - the Lead Van skids, scrapes, then rolls on its side and skids down the highway - throwing up sparks. The Lead Van pushes the car forward a few meters, then grinds to a stop. The second Van HITS it again, tearing off a wheel and the front bumper. The second Van skids to a stop. Front grill caved-in, front tires flat. The Sedan brakes HARD. Colin jumps out and runs towards the wreck. The LEAD VAN EXPLODES - sets the car on fire. The second van shifts to the side - but remains unlit. Colin falls backwards - covers his face. Kaye gets out of the car and stands beside it. She looks at the scene. The wrecked vehicles span the highway from ditch to ditch. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (2ND FLOOR) - DAY Lucy leans on Nicholas as they walk down the hall. NICHOLAS Let me put you down for a second, I'll find you a wheelchair. LUCY No. We're not separating again. Bad things happen when we seperate. NICHOLAS But we'd get out of here a lot faster if- DING! The service elevator door slide open. Lucy and Nicholas turn to look as- Cohen and the Naked Zombies walk out of the elevator, eyes on the pair. LUCY I'll hobble. They turn back towards the main staircase. INT. HOSPITAL MAIN STAIRCASE - DAY It is a square set of stairs that run around the outside of an atrium at the back of the hospital, from the ground floor up to the third. Nicholas and Lucy walk slowly - they're most of the way down. Cohen and the Naked Zombies are at the top of the stairs. INT. HOSPITAL ATRIUM (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas and Lucy hobble off the steps. A long hallway off the Atrium leads to Admitting, and the front doors. They start down the hallway. INT. HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AREA (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas and Lucy lope down the hallway. Lucy winces with each step. NICHOLAS Almost there. Just as they get close the doors BURST OPEN! Nicholas and Lucy step back as- Catalina and Randy run into the hospital, SHOTGUNS in hand. CATALINA Get down! Nicholas and Lucy crouch to the side as Catalina and Randy run past. Cohen and the Naked Zombies are nearly at the Admissions Area. Catalina and Randy stop ten feet away, raise their shotguns, and OPEN FIRE. The shots hit TWO AT A TIME - Cohen's arm and NZ 1's leg (whenever a leg is hit there is an excessively large blood splatter). NZ 2's head and Cohen's chest. Catalina and Randy walk forward as they shoot. The shells TEAR the zombies apart - spread them across the hall. INT. ANTHONY'S HOUSE NURSERY (2ND FLOOR) - DAY Anthony is in the doorway, wide-eyed. Marylyn stands beside the crib. She's pale. Her legs are ripped and torn - blood is pooled around them. She holds Carter to her naked chest with her right arm. Carter is missing his arm - there's a ragged stump at his left shoulder. His head moves up and down slowly as he GNAWS at the flesh of his mother's right breast - most of the flesh has been torn from it - no bleeding, though. Marylyn stares at Anthony and raises her arm. Anthony raises his pistol - aims carefully. Marylyn takes a step forward. Anthony fires five times. Marylyn falls to the floor - most of her head GONE. Carter lands a few feet from Anthony. He looks up, then commences a pathetic one-armed crawl. Anthony looks at Carter. Tears run down his face. Anthony takes a step forward and poises his foot above Carter's head. Anthony closes his eyes. CRUNCH. Anthony slowly turns and walks out of the Nursery. EXT. ANTHONY'S HOUSE - DAY Anthony stands on the back porch. He looks at his gun, then slowly pulls back the hammer. The barrel rotates. Anthony raises the gun and pushes the barrel against his temple. He closes his eyes. Finger vibrates on the trigger. He pulls it- THUD. BRANDT (O.S.) Ow. Brandt is beside Anthony. His thumb blocks the hammer. BRANDT Look at me. Anthony turns his head to Brandt. BRANDT I said look at me. Anthony opens his eyes. BRANDT I'm going to take your gun now. Brandt slowly reaches up and takes the gun. BRANDT We have to go. INT. SEDAN - DAY Kaye drives. Colin buries his head in his hands. COLIN They're all dead. KAYE I saw that. COLIN Okay, fuck this quarantine. We're picking up Nick and Lucy, and we're getting out of here. KAYE How do you propose we do that? You saw the road. COLIN It's not the only way out of town. Nextonville is just three hours west of here. KAYE That sounds like a plan. EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY The streets are no longer empty. Now they TEEM WITH ZOMBIES. They wander. They stare in shop windows. They walk in packs. They stand at corners. They try to get in their cars, but can't get past the cleverly locked doors. Many of them are in bedclothes - as far as the eye can see, badly-swollen purple legs. INT. SEDAN - DAY They slowly drive down main street. There's a crowd of Zombies at the intersection in front of them. Kaye stops the car. COLIN I don't get it? I mean, why was she in such a hurry? KAYE Colin. COLIN What? KAYE Look up. Colin does. COLIN Oh. Well okay, then. (beat) This is a problem. KAYE What's going on? COLIN Pull in over there. Colin points to an iron gate on the left side of the street. KAYE No way. COLIN Do it. Kaye pulls into the driveway. COLIN Okay, stop. KAYE What? COLIN Stop and pop the trunk. EXT. DRIVEWAY - DAY The Sedan stops. Colin gets out and the trunk pops open. Colin grabs some rope and runs for the left swinging gate. Kaye gets out of the car and watches as the Zombies notice them - start to walk towards the gates. COLIN Get the other one! Kaye runs to the right gate. Colin yanks at the gate - it CREAKS as it swings. Kaye pulls on the right gate - swings it for a few feet then- CLANG! A rock stops it. KAYE Colin! Colin swings the gate as far as it will go - he crouches down and slides the bolt into the metal hole in the ground. COLIN What?! KAYE It's stuck! Colin runs to the right gate. It's stuck on a half cinderblock. COLIN Oh, come on! Colin squats and grabs the block. He wrenches it to the side - the dirt comes loose. KAYE Hurry! Colin lifts with his legs - tears it out of the ground. He falls backwards, cinderblock in his hands. A Zombie walks into the open side of the gates. She's wearing pajamas, and her right wrist ends in a bloody stump. Kaye runs the gate in its arc as fast as she can - as she reaches the end, she gives it a SHOVE - the bars of the gate SLAM into the Zombie. She falls backwards into the street. Colin gets up and grabs the rope. He runs to the gate as Kaye slides the bolt into the ground. It's SECURED. COLIN Step back. Kaye clears out. Colin starts winding the climbing rope through the bars - he loops it back and forth, in and out - he ties knots - LOTS of them. KAYE Colin, they're almost- COLIN Just a second... Colin wraps the cords a few more times around the bars, ties a final knot, and takes a step back as TEN ARMS push through the bars - fingers GRAB, but miss their target. The ZOMBIES shove at the gate, but it doesn't give. In addition to the bolts, the large BUNDLE of rope and knots holds firm. COLIN Okay, that should hold them. KAYE I hope you know what you're doing. COLIN What do you mean? Kaye turns around and looks at the end of the driveway. Colin looks as well. A few feet past the car the pavement turns to a gravel road that winds its way through a LARGE GRAVEYARD. COLIN Trust me. INT. HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AREA (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas and Catalina push a large desk in front of the BOLTED front doors. Lucy sits in a chair. Randy watches the hall, shotgun at his side. Lucy looks out the window. LUCY There's a lot of them out there. RANDY A couple hundred, I think. LUCY Why are they coming here? CATALINA They're coming after us. LUCY Maybe if we're quiet they'll go away. Everyone stops moving. They wait. BANG! The doors shake. NICHOLAS Lucy, honey, we're going to need those chairs. INT. POLICE CRUISER - DAY Brandt drives. Anthony sits in the rear, caged-off section of the cruiser. BRANDT This is getting worse. Out the front window, the town is visible - zombies CROWD the streets. BRANDT How could everyone have... Brandt slows to a stop and stares. Anthony leans forward and puts his hand on the grate. ANTHONY I would like my gun back, please. Brandt looks at Anthony in the rearview mirror. BRANDT You're not ready. Anthony leans back. Brandt picks up the radio. BRANDT Dispatch? (beat) Dispatch? Mary, are you there? Brandt switches frequencies. INT. HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AREA (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Lucy is propped up against a wall. A disconnected computer sits next to her. The chairs, the tables, the sofa, the filing cabinets, even the Admissions Desk itself are piled against the doors. BANG. The doors shake - not as much as before. NICHOLAS Okay, good. How many more doors in this place? Catalina and Randy look at each other. CATALINA Got me, I mean- RANDY I've only ever used the front- LUCY Maybe there's someone left to ask. NICHOLAS Oh, god - I forgot to tell you. Doctor Johansen's one. Last I saw he was in his office. CATALINA Where's that? NICHOLAS Third floor. RANDY Anybody else? NICHOLAS I don't know. LUCY There were a few nurses yesterday. They might have gone home. Randy takes out his pistol and checks the clip. Catalina walks over to the wall and picks up her shotgun. RANDY What do you say? CATALINA Secure the doors first. RANDY Makes sense to me. Catalina's belt radio CRACKLES. BRANDT (RADIO) Randy, Catalina, come back. CATALINA Where's your- RANDY Left it in the car. Catalina raises the radio to her mouth. CATALINA Catalina here. They've got us cornered in the hospital. RANDY Really more surrounded. Catalina raises a finger. BRANDT (RADIO) Is anyone left alive in there? CATALINA Two so far. Is Anthony with you? BRANDT (RADIO) He's here. We haven't been able to get the station on the radio.. CATALINA There's a reason for that. INT. POLICE STATION - DAY Desks are overturned, the gun case is shattered. Papers are scattered everywhere. There are two bodies on the floor. A COP and a WOMAN. Both have bite injuries on torsos and arms. Both have ragged stumps and remnants where their heads used to be. INT. HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AREA (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas sits down beside Lucy. Randy watches the hall as Catalina stands with the radio. BRANDT (RADIO) Can you hold out there a little while longer? Brandt looks to Lucy and Nicholas. NICHOLAS Lucy? LUCY I'll be okay. CATALINA We'll lock up and wait. BRANDT (RADIO) We're going for supplies. Won't be too long. CATALINA We'll be waiting. Catalina puts the radio back on her belt. RANDY Okay, let's get to work. CATALINA You two should stay here. NICHOLAS I'm fine with that. LUCY If you spot some crutches... RANDY Will do. INT. GRAVEYARD - DAY Kaye and Colin walk between the tombstones. Kaye watches the zombies that line the metal gates. The zombies are in various states of damage. Some missing limbs, all with bites out of them. They stick their arms through the bars and stare. KAYE Are those what I think they are? COLIN Yes. KAYE And you think hiding in a graveyard is a good idea? COLIN I have a plan. KAYE Would you mind explaining it to me? COLIN Okay, think about it for a second. One way in or out, strong gates, and anybody already in here is too dead to be much of a threat. KAYE Some of them have to be... (unpleasant) Fresh. COLIN You can't crawl out of a grave. Coffins are buried inside cement boxes. Keeps rats out. KAYE So we just hide here? COLIN Until help comes or they get bored. KAYE That doesn't sound like a bad- Car! Kaye points. A Police Cruiser drives on the road next to the back cemetery gate. It turns down the road that runs parallel to the long cemetery wall. Colin climbs on top of a headstone. He waves his arms. COLIN Hey! Over here! KAYE Louder! HEY - OVER HERE! COLIN This isn't working. KAYE Do we have road flares? COLIN Good idea. In the trunk. Colin climbs down off the headstone. He and Kaye turn back towards the car. TWO ZOMBIES walk down the path towards them - between them and the car. KAYE Where did they come from? COLIN Get to the car. I'll distract them. KAYE How? Colin bends down and grabs a shovel off the ground. COLIN This should help. Kaye runs weaves through the tombstones, puts some distance between her and the zombies. Colin pulls back the shovel, ready to swing, and walks carefully towards the zombies. As Kaye runs close by, the zombies turn and take a step towards her. Colin lunges forward and SWINGS the shovel - SMASHES the back of one zombie's head. The first zombie collapses. The second turns to face Colin, her arms outstretched, her mouth wide. COLIN Okay, take it easy... INT. HOSPITAL SUPPLY ROOM - DAY Catalina and Randy shove a large shelving unit in front of the rear double doors. Once it's in place, they step away. THUMP. The door shakes - but not much. CATALINA That's pretty good. RANDY I'd feel better if we had some chains. CATALINA Why couldn't we be trapped in a mental hospital? RANDY Cute. Catalina smiles, then leans against the shelves. CATALINA Do you feel like screaming? RANDY All I've wanted to do for the past hour was curl up into a ball and sob. CATALINA How are we going to get out of this? RANDY Sheriff will be here soon. I'm sure he'll figure something out. Unless you've got an idea. CATALINA Fresh out. RANDY Is there a TV around here? INT. HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AREA (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas stands by the wall-mounted television. Nothing but snow on the screen. Nicholas flips the channel over and over again. All snow. LUCY You can stop that now. NICHOLAS Maybe there's something... LUCY There can't be anyone at the TV station. What do you expect? NICHOLAS They need to get a satellite dish. Nicholas turns the channel again. The TV BLACKS OUT - as do the lights. The curtains are shut - the room is very dark. NICHOLAS Did I do that? The is a RUMBLE, then emergency lights flicker to life. EXT. GRAVEYARD - DAY The Police Cruiser drives along the fence - as it passes each one, the zombies turn away from the fence to look at it. Colin SHOULDER-CHECKS the second zombie - she falls to the ground. Kaye stops at the trunk. She yanks out the keys, flips through them, and shoves the trunk key into the lock. The Zombie starts to sit up. Colin kicks her in the throat and follows through - pushes her back to the ground. Colin stands with one foot on the zombie's neck. He aims the shovel blade down, lifts it into the air. Colin THRUSTS the blade down - it strikes the zombie's brow, SLICES the top of her head off, and STICKS in the dirt. The top of the zombie's skull falls over, lands upside-down on the ground. Colin stares at it, then takes a slow step back from the zombie. Kaye rummages through the trunk. She finds the EMERGENCY KIT. She pops it open - grabs the ROAD FLARES. Colin stares at the lopped-off chunk of skull and brain. The zombie twitches, then moves - GRABS Colin's ankle. Colin SCREAMS, and starts to fall. He grabs the shovel for support. COLIN Son of a bitch! Colin TWISTS, and kicks his other foot down onto the zombie's neck. A bone CRACKS. The HAND lets go of Colin's ankle. Colin yanks the shovel out of the ground and CHOPS it back down - SPLITS the zombie's face open. Colin CHOPS the shovel down three more times - until the head is broken into pieces. Colin tosses the shovel aside and takes a step back - then falls over, eyes still on the zombie. Kaye runs for the fence, flares in hand. KAYE Got them! Kaye stops before the fence and tears the cap off a flare. KAYE Colin? She turns to look for him. KAYE Colin?! Colin sits up and leans against a headstone - he breathes heavily. He looks at Kay, then waves to her. Kaye lights the first flare. INT. POLICE CRUISER - DAY Brandt watches the Zombies turn away from the fence. BRANDT Why are they trying to get into the graveyard? Anthony turns his head and watches the zombies. His hand reaches down to his empty holster. A FLARE flies over the fence and lands on the hood of the cruiser. Brandt hits the brakes and rolls down the window. He switches the radio to LOUDSPEAKER. The zombies approach the stopped Cruiser. BRANDT (SPEAKER) Who's there? KAYE (O.S.) Officer! We're in the graveyard! We're parked by the gates! BRANDT (SPEAKER) Hold on. We'll be right there. INT. HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AREA (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas helps Lucy to her feet. Randy and Catalina walk quickly into the room. Randy carries a set of crutches that he offers to Lucy. She takes them. LUCY Thanks. NICHOLAS What happened to the lights? Catalina pulls one of the curtains to the side. A zombie CLAWS at the glass - fingers leave bloody streaks. CATALINA There are lights across the street. It has to be inside the building. RANDY We'll check the power room. You two stay here. Catalina and Randy move towards the hall. NICHOLAS Wait! They do. NICHOLAS It's too dangerous. Electricity doesn't just go out in a building. Somebody had to turn it off. Or some thing. CATALINA Exactly. At the very least, we have to secure the door to the basement. NICHOLAS I'm sure the Sheriff will be here any minute, and besides that, there's still doctor Johansen and God knows how many patients and nurses running around this place. CATALINA If anything happens, yell, we'll be back in a few seconds. EXT. DRIVEWAY - DAY The POLICE CRUISER pulls up next to the gate. Brandt gets out, his gun at the ready. Zombies approach - the nearest one is twenty feet away. BRANDT Does your car work? Kaye and Colin stand next to the Sedan. KAYE Yes. We've even got the water. COLIN What's going on? BRANDT Your guess is as good as mine. Brandt walks over to the gates and takes a knife out of his belt. He starts to cut the rope. BRANDT Get into your car. Follow me. COLIN Wait - The hospital... BRANDT What about it? KAYE Our friends are in there. BRANDT They're fine. He's almost through the ropes. BRANDT Get in your car now. They open their doors. Kaye gets into driver's seat and starts the car. COLIN We're going to the hospital? BRANDT Yes. Just one stop on the way. Brandt SLICES the last cord and SHOVES the doors open. BRANDT Move it! Colin gets into the Sedan and shuts the door. Brandt runs back to the Cruiser. INT. HOSPITAL ATRIUM (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Below the staircase, in the far wall of the atrium is the BASEMENT DOOR. Catalina and Randy approach it slowly. RANDY I'll take it. CATALINA You're covered. Catalina steps to the side and raises her shotgun. Randy reaches for the door handle. He takes a breath and- The door FLIES OPEN! Catalina SHOOTS - blasts a chunk out of the wall - misses the Large Naked Zombie that lunges through the doorway. Catalina steps back and PUMPS the shotgun. Randy frantically brings his shotgun to bear, but- The Large Zombie tackles Catalina. They fall to the ground. Randy aims the shotgun at the Large Zombie's back. RANDY Get clear! CATALINA I'm trying! Catalina drops her shotgun and grabs the Large Zombie's throat, pushes its mouth away. RANDY Hold on! Randy flips the shotgun around and SMASHES the butt into the back of the Large Zombie's head. The Large Zombie flops down on Catalina. Catalina struggles with the large body. Randy bends down and grabs the Large Zombie's shoulder. CATALINA Help, get this thing- Randy! Behind- Before she can finish, a THIN ZOMBIE walks out of the doorway. It grabs Randy's shoulders and- BITES DEEP into his neck! Randy SCREAMS and turns - pushes the Thin Zombie off. Blood SPURTS out of his neck. Catalina rolls, half-pushes the Large Zombie off of her. CATALINA Just hold on- Randy lifts his shotgun and BLASTS the Thin Zombie in the chest. The Thin Zombie stumbles backwards and falls down the stairs, knocking over a third Zombie. Catalina crawls out from under the Zombie and over to Randy. RANDY Help... Get me a d- Randy stops breathing. The spurts of blood from his neck slow. He squeezes his eyes shut. Catalina grabs Randy's shotgun and walks over to the stairwell. The lights are dim in the stairwell, but there's enough light to reveal the shapes of 15 ZOMBIES who mill about and walk up the stairs. Catalina turns back to Randy. CATALINA There's a door in the basement! Catalina aims the shotgun down the stairs and FIRES. EXT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY A Plaid-Wearing Zombie stands in front of the hardware store. The Police Cruiser speeds up to the store, jumps the curb, and SMASHES into the Zombie - who pitches into the Cruiser's WINDSHIELD - head goes clean through. INT. CRUISER - CONTINUOUS Brandt looks at the Zombie - face-to-face they're only a few inches apart. The Zombie's face has been SLICED APART - a chunk of glass is STUCK in his left eye. The Zombie's mouth opens - the good eye stares at Brandt. Brandt turns to Anthony. BRANDT Cover your ears. Anthony does. Brandt opens the door, steps out of the car, and aims his pistol at the Zombie's face. EXT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY The Sedan stops next to the curb behind the cruiser. Brandt fires three times - blows the back of the Zombie's head out. Colin and Kaye get out of the Sedan. KAYE What are we doing here? BRANDT Supplies. Get inside. Kaye and Colin hurry towards the store. Brandt walks around the front of the car and grabs the Zombie's legs. Colin nods to Anthony. COLIN What about him? BRANDT He's watching the car. (to Anthony) Holler if there's any problems. Colin and Kaye rush into the Hardware Store. Brandt pulls the Zombie's legs - YANKS his head out of the hole. INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY Colin and Kaye walk into the middle of the store. There are two bodies lying in the aisles - both of them hideously MANGLED by gunshots. Brandt enters. BRANDT Grab any guns you can find. All the ammo you can carry. And axes. COLIN Axes? BRANDT Axes. INT. HOSPITAL ATRIUM (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Catalina SHOOTS down the stairs. A Zombie's head is BLASTED APART. She pumps the shotgun - it LOCKS BACK. CATALINA There's so many... She reaches into her jacket pockets and pulls out a few shotgun shells. Nicholas and Lucy enter - they move faster now. Lucy hobbles quickly on the crutches. NICHOLAS What happened? Catalina feeds a round into the chamber and the cylinder. CATALINA They got Randy. LUCY I'm sorry. Catalina turns her pocket inside-out. CATALINA See if he's got any shells. Nicholas bends down and searches Randy's pockets. LUCY How many more of them are there? CATALINA There's a door down there. Who knows? Catalina unlocks the shotgun. A zombie is about halfway up the steps. She aims at it. LUCY We've got to find something to block the stairwell! Catalina SHOOTS - the Zombie's right leg EXPLODES in a red haze. It falls forward onto a Zombie corpse. CATALINA Get on that. NICHOLAS Found 'em. Nicholas comes up with a handful of shells. Catalina grabs them and loads the shotgun. CATALINA Thanks. Catalina pumps the shotgun and aims down the staircase. Lucy taps Nicholas. LUCY Let's go find something heavy. INT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY Colin walks down an aisle. Behind him, Kaye takes a box off the shelf, examines it, then throws it away. KAYE I don't know what I'm looking for! Brandt walks toward the back wall. BRANDT They're in the back. Follow me. Colin stops at a rack. COLIN Got the axes! Colin grabs all five axes off the rack. He walks down the aisle. Past the end of the aisle, a shotgun is raised by SOMEONE. Colin walks closer to the end. Colin stops suddenly - looks at the shelves. He picks up two rolls of double-sided tape. He tries to pocket them, but they won't fit. He slides them over the handle of an axe. Colin walks to the corner. He starts to turn right - sees the shotgun - dives to the side. BOOM. The shotgun BLASTS a corner off the shelf. KAYE Colin! Kaye and Brandt out from behind the counter - Brandt runs to the end of the aisles and raises his gun. BRANDT Drop it! Brandt is aiming his pistol at MOLLY MCGUIN (teens - work clothes). She starts to pump the shotgun. BRANDT Don't. Brandt takes a step forward. BRANDT Lower the gun, Molly. Molly does - slowly. Brandt steps over to her and takes the shotgun. Brandt over his shoulder at Kaye. BRANDT What's your name? KAYE Kaye. BRANDT Kaye. Catch. Brandt tosses the shotgun backwards. Kaye drops a box of shells and snatches it. Molly stands up straight. BRANDT What the hell was that? Colin stands. COLIN Yeah? MOLLY I thought... BRANDT We know what you thought. Molly. Where's your father? Molly points down the aisle to one of the corpses. MOLLY He didn't come home last night. I came here looking for him and- BRANDT Okay, sit down. Try to stay calm. KAYE Who is she? BRANDT Daughter of the owner. (to Molly) You're coming with us. MOLLY Okay. INT. HOSPITAL ATRIUM (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Catalina BLASTS a Zombie in the chest - it falls backwards. CATALINA They just don't give up, do they? At the bottom of the stairs there is a PILE of zombies, 20 deep - some twitch, most lie still. Zombies CRAWL over the pile to get at the stairs. She pumps the shotgun. Empty again. CATALINA Few more and we've got a wall. Catalina tosses the shotgun aside. She draws her pistol. Nicholas rolls a large filing cabinet into the room. NICHOLAS Little help? Catalina puts her gun away and helps Nicholas push the filing cabinet up to the doorway. They give it a SHOVE. The Cabinet tips down the staircase, unable to roll. It lands on its side and slides down the staircase FAST. The CRAWLING ZOMBIE gets over the pile. He looks up just as the cabinet SLAMS into him. Nicholas grabs the door. LUCY No. Leave it open. Nicholas stops, looks to Catalina. CATALINA She's right. No more surprises. Nicholas steps away from the door. EXT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY Two shotguns lie on the hood of the cruiser. BOOM. A zombie goes down - leg severed at the knee. Brandt pumps a shotgun. He turns back to the cruiser. BRANDT I'll hold onto this one. Anthony is still sitting in the back seat of the Cruiser. Everyone else is around the Cruiser's hood. Brandt is a few feet away, shotgun at his side. He nods to Molly. BRANDT You can handle yourself. MOLLY Yeah. Molly picks up one of the shotguns. BRANDT Either one of you ever fired a gun? Colin and Kaye shake their heads. Brandt takes out his pistol and offers it to Kaye. He demonstrates as he speaks: BRANDT It's not brain surgery. When you're out of bullets, the slide will lock back. Press the button, put in a new clip, then push this lever. Good? KAYE I can remember that. Brandt gives her the gun and an extra clip. BRANDT And you... Colin? COLIN Right. BRANDT Pick up the shotgun. He does. Brand demonstrates on his own shotgun: BRANDT See the slot in the bottom? Shells go in there, red part forward. Pump it after you shoot. When you're out, the chamber will be open - put a shell directly in, then hit the lever to unlock it. Colin looks the shotgun up and down. COLIN I'm good. BRANDT Molly, you're riding with me. You two follow in your car. Everyone but Colin walks to a car. COLIN What, exactly, is the plan? Brandt opens the door, then turns to Colin. BRANDT We're going to pick everyone at the hospital up, and drive out of here. KAYE There's a problem with that. BRANDT What? KAYE There was a car accident. The road's blocked. BRANDT Blocked? Blocked how? KAYE Three wrecked cars. BRANDT Fuck. COLIN What's the problem? There's two roads out of here, right? MOLLY There's a bridge two hours west of here. It's out. COLIN Fuck. MOLLY Why don't we just ram the cars out of the way? BRANDT Too risky. We'll just end up with a four car wreck. MOLLY So let's get a bus. Or a truck. KAYE Or a tow truck. Brandt looks at her. INT. HOSPITAL ATRIUM (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Catalina looks down the stairwell. The CABINET shakes a little, but doesn't move. NICHOLAS I think we need another one. Catalina's radio CRACKLES. The voice is broken up by static. BRANDT (RADIO) ...a, Ran.... Are you... The radio HISSES. CATALINA Sheriff? Can you read me? Sheriff? BRANDT (RADIO) We're....s station... please.... call back... CATALINA Sheriff! Catalina looks at the radio - the antenna is bent at a strange angle, and the casing is cracked. LUCY What's going on? CATALINA He can't hear me. Can you fix it? LUCY No. NICHOLAS I'm not good with machines. CATALINA Great. Catalina takes the radio off her belt and tosses it aside. CATALINA I've got to get to the car radio. NICHOLAS You can't. LUCY It's not safe. CATALINA Of course it isn't. But if we don't get in contact with the Sheriff he's going to assume we're dead and leave without us. Do you have a better idea? Nicholas looks at Lucy. NICHOLAS I'll go. LUCY That's crazy! You can't! NICHOLAS If she goes and the zombies break in what will we do? I've never fired a gun. I'm fast. Out on the street I'll be able to get around those things. LUCY You're not going out there. This is insane. You're not. EXT. HARDWARE STORE - DAY A crowd of Zombies close in on the two cars. Brandt puts away the radio. COLIN Why aren't they answering? BRANDT I don't know. We'll try again when we get there. INT. HOSPITAL BACK STAIRS - DAY Nicholas stands by the emergency door. NICHOLAS Why isn't this locked? He looks up. Catalina looks down from the second floor landing. CATALINA It's solid. It can only open outwards - and there's nothing out there to pull. Catalina looks out the window. Lucy stands behind Nicholas, propped up on crutches. Nicholas turns to her. NICHOLAS I'll be right back. LUCY Don't leave me here. NICHOLAS Come on, if your leg was better you'd be demanding to come with me. Lucy hits his arm. LUCY Don't joke about this. NICHOLAS I'm sorry. I know this is dangerous. But there's nothing else left. LUCY I know. CATALINA It's as clear as it's going to get. Nicholas leans in and kisses Lucy. NICHOLAS Right back. Nicholas takes Catalina's pistol out of his pocket, then pushes through the bar on the emergency door. EXT. HOSPITAL ALLEY - DAY Nicholas runs out into the alley. The door SLAMS SHUT behind him. Nicholas looks towards the front of the alley. Nicholas looks towards the front parking lot. A horde of zombies mill about. They block the alley. Nicholas spins. There a far fewer Zombies around the rear parking lot. He runs towards the back. A Zombie turns, reaches out for him. Nicholas ducks under the arms, slips past. INT. HOSPITAL BACK STAIRS - DAY Catalina runs down the stairs, her shotgun in hand. CATALINA He's clear. LUCY Thank god. CATALINA Now we'll just sit tight. Catalina helps Lucy over to the stairs and sits her down. There is a distant rumble. LUCY Did you hear something? CATALINA Yes. Catalina walks over to the doorway. CATALINA What is that? LUCY Can the elevator run on emergency power? CATALINA I don't- Wait here. Catalina walks quickly out the doorway. Lucy gets the crutches under her and struggles to her feet. LUCY Wait for me! EXT. HOSPITAL REAR PARKING LOT - DAY Nicholas runs into the rear parking lot. There are dozens of zombies about - none converged in any particular place. Nicholas runs, weaves through the crowd, headed for the road. EXT. GARAGE - DAY The garage has a little gas station built into it, with four gas pumps outside. Zombies mill about. The Police Cruiser pulls up between the pumps, followed quickly by the Sedan, which clips a zombie, knocking it against a pump. Everyone piles out of the cars. In addition to their weapons, they all carry small bags. Colin holds the three axes. Brandt opens Anthony's door. They run in through the front door. INT. GARAGE - DAY The office is deserted. Brandt holds the door open until everyone is inside, then shuts the door, locks it, and pulls an oil-covered shelf in front of it. Colin, Molly and Kaye put their bags onto the counter. Anthony walks into the corner and sits on a chair, blank. COLIN We should make sure the doors are locked. Brandt picks up the axe with the rolls of tape on it. BRANDT What's with the tape? COLIN It's for the handles. Make them easier to hold onto. BRANDT Get on that. Brandt puts his hand on Molly's shoulder. She winces. He takes it away. BRANDT You hurt? MOLLY No, not- I'm fine. She shakes it off. BRANDT Good. You're coming with me. Brandt leads the way down the hall in the back of the office. Molly follows. Colin opens a roll of tape and starts to wrap it around the hilt of an axe. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Catalina walks quickly down the hall. Lucy hobbles along behind her. LUCY What if Nicholas comes back? CATALINA Go back and wait for him. Catalina approaches the corner. She peeks around it. The elevator doors are open. A DOZEN ZOMBIES stand around in front of it. One sees Catalina. Walks towards her. Others follow. Catalina walks back towards Lucy. CATALINA Get back in the staircase. LUCY They're inside? CATALINA Get back in the staircase. Lucy turns as fast as she can. Catalina stops just behind her and turns around, aiming her shotgun down the hall. EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY Nicholas sprints down the street, stays well out of reach. The Zombies still try to grab him though - there's quite a crowd gathered in his wake. He turns a corner - the Hospital is up ahead. There are HUNDREDS of Zombies pushed against the front doors and windows. On the other side of the street is a Police Cruiser - smashed into a wall. A Zombie is pinned between the broken grill and the brick wall. It flails its arms, pushes against the wall, but to no avail. Nicholas runs for the cruiser. INT. HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AREA (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Four Zombies shuffle into the admissions area. The BLOCKADE has been disturbed. The doors are SPLINTERED inwards, and numerous chairs have fallen off. The Zombies each grab a large piece of furniture and PULL. INT. HOSPITAL BACK STAIRS - DAY Catalina holds the door open for Lucy. Once Lucy is inside, she leans out, aims her shotgun, and FIRES. Catalina steps inside and pumps the shotgun. The door swings shut. CATALINA We've got to find somewhere to hide. LUCY No! We have to wait for Nicholas. CATALINA We can't secure this door. They'll break through. LUCY Then we'll wait until they do. Catalina looks at the door. LUCY Well? CATALINA Just a second. Catalina reaches up to the CLOSER. She finds a SWITCH and turns it. She tugs on the handle. The door stays shut. CATALINA Okay, we'll wait. But you get upstairs. If they come through the door, I'm not going to carry you. LUCY Okay. INT. GARAGE OFFICE - DAY Colin wraps the last of the tape around the third axe handle - it's not quite covered. He picks up the axe and hefts it. Kaye walks over to Anthony. KAYE Is there anything I can do? ANTHONY You tell me. I had to murder my wife today. KAYE I'm sure you didn't m- ANTHONY And my baby son. Is there anything you can do? KAYE I'm sorry. ANTHONY You want to help? Give me your gun. Kaye backs away from him. KAYE I'm sorry. Anthony closes his eyes and leans his head against the window. ANTHONY Thanks anyway. Kaye takes a candy bar from the shelf and peels off the wrapper. INT. GARAGE HALLWAY - DAY Brandt walks down the hallway, shotgun raised. Molly follows him, shotgun lowered. Brandt pushed open a door on his left. Storage closet - No Zombies. He points to a door on the right. Molly slowly pushes the door open. Bathroom. No Zombies. Brandt walks towards the last two doors. He opens the one on the left - it leads into the Garage. He walks through. Molly carefully walks down the hall and pushes open the last door on the right. Inside the small room, a man sits propped up against the wall - gun in his mouth, blood and brains on the wall. His right arm is missing a CHUNK. MOLLY Sheriff! After a moment, Brandt comes back into the hallway and joins Molly in the doorway. BRANDT Blood's still wet. You should have waited a little longer, Joe. MOLLY There's nobody here. Can I go? BRANDT Sure. Molly walks down the hall. Brandt walks into the room and crouches beside Joe and pulls the gun out of his mouth. Brandt wipes the barrel on Joe's shirt then pockets the gun. Brandt sees a KEY RING on Joe's belt. He TEARS it off, then stands and leaves the room. He closes the door behind him. EXT. POLICE CRUISER - DAY Nicholas runs up to the Cruiser, then slows down his steps until he's stopped a few feet away. There are two Zombies next to the car, and more on the way. Nicholas carefully aims at the closest Zombie's head. NICHOLAS Come on... He squints, looks down the barrel, and FIRES THREE TIMES - winces at each shot. The Zombie falls forward - SMACKS into the pavement, still. Nicholas takes another step towards the Cruiser. He raises the gun and aims at the Next Zombie's head. BANG. Miss. NICHOLAS Damn- Nicholas lowers his aim. He FIRES TWICE. One shot SMASHES the Zombie's kneecap. It takes a step - the leg FALLS APART as it hits the ground. The Zombie topples. Nicholas leans into the Cruiser window - he spots the Radio on the passenger seat. He GRABS IT and hooks it into the waist of his pants. Nicholas pulls back out of the window and looks down. The Toppled Zombie crawls towards him. Nicholas takes a step back and runs around the Zombie to the trunk. Zombies approach from all sides. Nicholas pulls the keys out of his pocket and fumbles through them. NICHOLAS Door, handcuffs... He finds the key and sticks it into the lock. He turns it and the trunk pops open. It's a MESS. Everything is strewn about - Nicholas grabs the a leather bag - but it's only half-full of shells. The rest are scattered across the trunk. Nicholas straps the bag shut, then turns his resin bag inside out and shoves fistfulls of shells into it. He glances over his shoulder - keeps one eye on the Zombies. The bag is stuffed. Nicholas slams the truck shut and turns around - there's a Zombie FOUR FEET AWAY! Nicholas fumbles - pulls the gun out of his pants and BLASTS away - SIX fast shots into the Zombie's chest. The Zombie stumbles back. Nicholas runs past it. Once he's halfway across the street, Nicholas looks up. The front doors of the Hospital are open - Zombies pour inside. Eyes wide, Nicholas sprints for the Alley. INT. GARAGE OFFICE - DAY Molly looks out the front windows. Zombies come up the road from either direction. MOLLY There can't be too many people left. KAYE What are you basing that on? MOLLY They're all coming after us. KAYE Maybe everyone else is hiding. MOLLY I tried that. It doesn't work. Brandt walks into the room. BRANDT The tow-truck's in the garage. I've got the keys. Let's go. A door CLICKS down the hall. Brandt raises a finger to his lips, then motions for everyone to back away from the hall. They do. Brandt steps to the opposite side and flattens himself against the wall. Brandt points to Colin, then to an Axe, then motions back to himself. Colin shakes his head and points to Molly, who has her shotgun raised. BRANDT (mouthing) No! He points to the axe. From down the hall, footsteps CLOMP. Colin picks up the axe and throws it. Brandt snatches it out of the air, then gently lays down the shotgun. Joe lumbers out of the hallway, a flap of skull hangs from his head. He turns right, and walks behind the counter towards Colin. Molly's finger tightens on the trigger. Brandt steps up behind Joe. BRANDT Hey. Joe turns left - as his back is to the wall, Brandt SWINGS the axe - cuts through Joe's neck, then BURIES it in the wall. Joe's body falls to the ground, his neck a bloody stump. The HEAD remains in the air - it sits on a makeshift shelf formed by the perfectly perpendicular axe blade. Brandt lets go of the axe handle and looks over to Colin. BRANDT Good work. Colin gapes for a second, then- COLIN Thanks. Anthony stares out the window. ANTHONY They're all coming for us. KAYE We know that. ANTHONY We can use that against them. Everyone looks at Anthony. EXT. HOSPITAL ALLEY - DAY Nicholas grabs the building corner, pants. The ZOMBIES walk towards him, arms raised. Nicholas runs down the alley and SMASHES his fist against the emergency door. NICHOLAS Help! Open the door! He HITS the door again. NICHOLAS (CONT'D) Come on! Nicholas takes a step back and looks back towards the street. The Zombies swarm into the alley. Nicholas turns towards the rear parking lot. MORE ZOMBIES. Nicholas looks up. There is a balcony a few meters down the wall and five feet above his head. Nicholas JUMPS, grabs for the EDGE. Misses. The ZOMBIES on either side get closer. Nicholas looks at the wall. Sheer concrete. He spins around. The other wall is BRICK. Nicholas shoves his pistol into the back of his pants and grabs the wall - his fingertips can't get more than half an inch into the seam. He flexes his muscles, lifts himself off the ground - winces. He digs his feet into the wall, searches for a purchase. He can't find any. Falls back down to the alley. Nicholas pries his shoes off and ATTACKS the wall. He clambers up it, JAMS the sides of his feet into the crevices. His skin breaks - bleeds. The Zombies are close. Heads tilt back slowly - they raise their arms as they walk. The EMERGENCY DOOR swings open, a TALL ZOMBIE walks out - there are countless others inside. Nicholas struggles against the wall, YANKS himself up another two feet. The Tall Zombie's hand grazes his heel. Fingers GRASP - but don't catch. A CLIMBING ZOMBIE grabs the wall, fits her fingers into a crack, and flexes her arms. SNAP. Her fingers break. The Climbing Zombie lowers her fingers to her face. The last knuckles flop backward. Nicholas breathes quickly. He looks down. He's out of the Zombies' reach. He looks up. Fifteen feet to the top. NICHOLAS (CONT'D) No god-damn way. Nicholas looks back. The balcony is only five feet away. He lets go of the wall with one hand and STRETCHES for the railing - but his arms just aren't long enough. His foot SLIPS. Nicholas SCREAMS and pulls his arm back, frantically grabs the wall. He pulls his leg back up, pushing the ball his foot against the brick. Nicholas closes his eyes and tightens his grip on the wall. He looks over his shoulder and takes a deep breath. Nicholas KICKS OFF the wall. He turns as he FLIES THOUGH THE AIR, arms outstretched. He SMASHES into the balcony rail. He wraps his arm around the rail. He GASPS - can't find a breath. The GUN falls out of the back of his pants. Nicholas is JERKED DOWN. His grasp on the rail slips from SHOULDER to ELBOW. The TALL ZOMBIE holds Nicholas' ankle. PULLS on it. Nicholas SCREAMS. NICHOLAS Let go of me you sick f- The Tall Zombie yanks. Nicholas screams, tears in his eyes. Nicholas swings his other leg up onto the edge. He pulls with his arms and pushes with his leg. The Tall Zombie's grip SLIPS. His fingers DIG INTO Nicholas' flesh, leaving RED MARKS as they slide. Nicholas pulls his leg up, away from the Tall Zombie. He SCREAMS and crawls onto the fire escape. Nicholas rolls onto his back and cradles his foot in his hands. Below the grated metal of the fire escape, the Zombies push against each other. Their arms raised high over their heads, their eyes on Nicholas' back. NICHOLAS Oh god! Fuck! You bastard! I am going to find a gun and I'm going to blow your brains all over this fucking... His words drift away as he PANTS. EXT. GARAGE - DAY Anthony closes a handcuff around the lever of a GAS NOZZLE - gasoline FLOODS OUT. He grabs another Nozzle. Everyone else stands around the edge of the concrete gas station lot, their guns at the ready. There are a LOT of Zombies on the way from every side. A LOT. Hundreds. Brandt BLASTS one. So does Molly. Kaye fires off a few rounds into the legs of a Zombie. It falls forward. Colin aims carefully as a Zombie approaches. He FIRES - blasts a piece out of the Zombie's shoulder and neck. ANTHONY Done! Brandt glances over. All four pumps are OPEN - the gas forms a large pool around the pumps - it spreads quickly. BRANDT Inside! Everyone backs towards the door, walking through the pool. INT. GARAGE OFFICE - DAY Joe's head watches the group enter, his eyes dart from side to side. Once everyone is inside, Brandt locks and blocks the door. Molly walks over to Joe's head. MOLLY This is disturbing. As Molly gets close, Joe opens his mouth - which tilts his head to the side and pushes it to the edge. The head slides, then FALLS OFF the axe. Molly jumps back and aims her shotgun at Joe's head. Brandt stops her. BRANDT Don't waste it. Joe's head lies on its right side. The mouth opens and closes - it slowly scrapes around in a clockwise circle. It's not going anywhere. Brandt kicks it into a corner, then turns to Anthony. BRANDT How much longer? ANTHONY Got to give it time. Five minutes, maybe. BRANDT Okay, everyone, let's pack up and move into the garage. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (3RD FLOOR) - DAY Catalina helps Lucy sit down on a bed. Lucy grits her teeth. LUCY You've got to- Go get him. CATALINA I can't. I'm out of ammo and there's too many of them. LUCY He's alone out there. CATALINA This place is full of zombies. I'm sure he didn't even come back. LUCY Oh god, please, Nick... NICHOLAS (DISTANT O.S.) Lucy! Where are you?! Lucy glares at Catalina. LUCY Nick! Up here! INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (2ND FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas limps down the hallway, bag held tight to his chest. Zombies POUR out of the woodwork - they seem to come out of every doorway - turn out of every offshoot hallway - all of them converge on Nicholas. He hurries his step - just a little faster than the zombies - he's almost at the Main Stairwell. INT. HOSPITAL MAIN STAIRCASE - DAY Nicholas stumbles onto the second floor landing. He looks up the stairs - FIVE ZOMBIES walk towards him. He looks down - FOUR ZOMBIES headed up. NICHOLAS Oh, shit. He turns around, his back to the railing. The hall he came down is FULL of Zombies - Fifteen of them. CATALINA Nicholas! Nicholas spins and looks up - Catalina leans over the third floor railing. NICHOLAS Help! Throw me the gun! Catalina looks at the gun, then down at Nicholas. CATALINA Throw me the bag! Nicholas lifts the bag's strap over his head and grabs it by the side, turns, and HURLS it through the air. The bag FLIES up towards Catalina. She leans farther - reaches... GRABS IT! Catalina lifts the bag over the railing and TEARS the flap open. She grabs a box of shells and drops the bag. CATALINA The radio! Nicholas takes the radio off his belt, then turns - a Zombie is on top of him! He PUNCHES it in the mouth. The Zombie's head twists. Nicholas shoves the Zombie, knocks it off its feet. Catalina quickly loads the shotgun. Nicholas turns again and cocks back his arm - ready to throw. NICHOLAS Catch! He whips his arm forward- CHOMP! A Zombie BITES DOWN on his other arm! Nicholas SCREAMS, and FUMBLES the throw. The Radio flies through the air - but falls far short. Nicholas turns and ELBOWS one Zombie in the temple, PUNCHES another in the face. Catalina pops up, shotgun aimed. She BLASTS a Zombie on the stairs above Nicholas. Nicholas KICKS a Zombie - knocks it sideways. Another Zombie grabs his arm. Nicholas THROWS HIMSELF BACKWARDS against the railing. He hoists himself onto it. A Zombie takes a BITE out of Nicholas' leg - he SCREAMS again, then FALLS over the railing. INT. HOSPITAL ATRIUM (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Nicholas lands HARD on his side. He braces an arm against the floor and PUSHES - lifts himself halfway to his feet. Then SIX ZOMBIES are upon him. BITING - CLAWING - TEARING - all in clear view of Catalina, who watches from two floors up. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM (3RD FLOOR) - DAY Catalina runs into the room, Shotgun in one hand, bag in the other. Lucy looks at her. CATALINA We've got to go. LUCY Where's Nick? CATALINA Now. LUCY Where is he?! CATALINA Downstairs. He didn't make it. LUCY What? Catalina steps over to Lucy and grabs a crutch. CATALINA We've got to go now. Lucy stares at the crutch. LUCY Okay. Her hand shakes as she reaches for it. INT. GARAGE - DAY Everyone gathers around the TOW TRUCK as Brandt holds the radio up to his mouth. BRANDT If anyone can read me, respond. (beat) Randy, Catalina- INT. HOSPITAL ATRIUM (1ST FLOOR) - DAY A Zombie holds the radio in his hand. BRANDT (RADIO) -if you can read me, call back now. We're ready to get out of here. INT. GARAGE - DAY Brandt's radio crackles to life. Everyone perks up. There is a SCRAPING sound, followed by a CRUNCH - and then nothing but static. Brandt drops the radio on a workbench. BRANDT That's it. We're leaving. Get everything together. Kaye pockets her gun and picks up a large bag. Molly slings her gun over her shoulder and does the same. Anthony climbs onto the back of the truck. COLIN No. We can't leave yet. KAYE Why not? COLIN Because they could still be alive in there. Kaye steps over to him. KAYE I don't want to believe it either, but there's nothing we can do. COLIN We can check. Maybe their radios aren't working, maybe they- Brandt SLAMS his fist down on the workbench, then turns to Colin. BRANDT You think I'm not praying there's someone else left alive? This is my town that's dying, and there's nothing I can do about it. Those were my deputies in there! If there was any chance, I'd take it. There isn't. All I can do now is make sure that we make it out of here alive. COLIN We have to try. ANTHONY No, we don't. You lost your friends- COLIN My sister. ANTHONY Your sister. I lost everything! Anthony climbs down off the Tow Truck. ANTHONY We've all lost everything! Brandt steps between them. Colin steps back. ANTHONY We're not going to die for you! COLIN Fine, I'll go myself. Give me some ammo and drop me off out front. Brandt sits down at the counter. He puts down a box of shotgun shells and opens a toolbox. BRANDT You're not getting any of our ammo. COLIN Your ammo? Fuck you. BRANDT Fuck me? We don't have much ammo left, and we don't know what's out waiting for us at that roadblock. You can fill your gun. That's it. You want to go alone? Go alone. Colin turns to Kaye. COLIN Please, Kaye, help me. You've got to understand. Kaye stares at him, then tightens her grip on her bag. KAYE No, Colin. I can't. It's crazy. Please don't do it. Colin closes his eyes and rubs them. COLIN Okay. Okay, I can handle this. He turns to Molly. COLIN How about you? Where do you stand? Molly takes a step towards Colin and reaches into her pocket. She takes out a set of KEYS and offers them to him. MOLLY It's parked behind the Hardware store. Colin takes the keys. COLIN Thank you. MOLLY Just be careful. Colin turns back to Brandt. COLIN I'll do this alone. But I won't let you kill me. I want that ammo. ANTHONY Or what? Are you going to shoot someone? Brandt stands up, a box of Shells in his hands. He walks over to Colin. ANTHONY Sheriff - you can't. BRANDT I don't want you to have any illusions. Take these, and go. But don't think that you're accomplishing anything. It's not heroic, or noble, or even useful. It will be meaningless. Don't do it. Don't kill yourself. Come with us. Colin grabs the box of Shells and shoves it into his pocket. COLIN I won't let you talk me out of this. BRANDT Then you'll die. Brandt picks up a full bottle and stuffs a damp rag into it. KAYE Colin- Colin turns to her. COLIN Will you come with me? KAYE No. I love you. COLIN I love you too. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (3RD FLOOR) - DAY Catalina is in front of the elevator. Lucy leans against the wall behind her. The 'DOWN' arrow on the elevator is lit. CATALINA Get ready. The elevator DINGS. The doors slide open - two Zombies inside. Catalina raises her shotgun and FIRES. INT. HOSPITAL ELEVATOR - DAY The doors slide shut. Black blood is spattered on the floor and walls. Catalina and Lucy stand in the corners. The '1' button is lit. Catalina aims the shotgun at the doors. The elevator descends. The floor indicator reads '3' '2' '1' - Catalina HITS the EMERGENCY STOP button. The elevator shakes to a halt. LUCY And now we wait. Lucy lowers herself into a seated position. EXT. GARAGE - DAY Zombies surround the garage. They POUND on the windows and the garage door. They're all inside a wide pool of gasoline. The garage door EXPLODES from inside as the Tow Truck SMASHES through it. Zombies are TOSSED ASIDE and CRUSHED under the wheels. Brandt drives, Kaye sits in the middle, Molly on the outside - her shotgun out the window. Colin and Anthony stand on the back and hang on tight. Anthony lifts up the BOTTLE - the rage is on fire - a MOLOTOV COCKTAIL. The Tow Truck speeds towards the street. Zombies claw at the sides. One falls to the ground - grabs the back bumper. Anthony THROWS the bottle. It flies through the air, until it's CAUGHT by a Zombie. The Zombie lowers the bottle to his face and looks at it. Anthony reaches over to Colin. ANTHONY Give me that! Colin hands him the shotgun. Anthony raises it to his shoulder and aims... He FIRES. The Bottle EXPLODES! The FIREBALL reaches down to the GAS- BOOM. The gas station GOES UP. The explosion ENGULFS all the Zombies within twenty feet of the gas station. The Tow Truck SHAKES - Colin and Anthony are nearly shaken loose - but manage to hold on. The DRAGGING ZOMBIE is thrown off. EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY The Tow Truck speeds down the street. Colin takes the shotgun back from Anthony. Colin looks to the left as they pass the Hospital. Zombies are scattered throughout the parking lot. The front doors are OPEN WIDE. EXT. BEHIND THE HARDWARE STORE - DAY The Tow Truck slows down as it passes a small HATCHBACK. Colin jumps off. The Truck accelerates away. Colin looks at the back. Kaye stares at him through the back window. Colin runs over to the Hatchback. A Zombie stands next to the hood. It turns its head to look at Colin. Its lower jaw is GONE - nothing but hanging flesh. Colin opens the car door and slides in. NoJaw walks slowly around the front of the car. Colin slams the door shut and starts the car. NoJaw approaches the window. Colin puts the car in gear. He hits the gas. The car JUMPS FORWARD. The driver's mirror CLIPS NoJaw. Spins the Zombie around and tears the mirror off. EXT. ROAD INTO TOWN - DAY A shotgun BLAST to the stomach knocks a Zombie off its feet. The Tow Truck drives past. It reaches the roadblock and pulls a slow 3-point turn, finally it stops backed up to the front of the second Van. Brandt, Molly, and Kaye get out of the cab, Anthony hops off the back. They stand behind the Truck, look back toward the city. There are Fifty zombies just down the road, with more on the way. Brandt takes his shotgun out of the cab and hands it to Anthony. BRANDT This is going to take a while. These things are hard to kill - putting them down is just as good. If you're not sure you can get the headshot, don't waste it - go for the legs. Brandt reaches into the cab and pulls out the AXES. He tosses them to the ground. BRANDT Just in case. Brandt runs to the back of the Tow Truck. Molly hands a satchel to Kaye. They line up along the road. Molly on one side, Anthony on the other, Kaye in the middle holding the ammo. EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY The Hatchback speeds into the parking lot, turns quickly, and SCREECHES to a halt next to the front door. Colin opens the door and gets out. There's a Zombie a few feet away. Colin pulls the shotgun out of the car and WEDGES IT under the Zombie's chin. Colin PULLS THE TRIGGER. INT. HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS AREA (1ST FLOOR) - DAY A shotgun blast ECHOES down the hall. Colin runs into the room, shotgun raised. COLIN Lucy! Nicholas! To his left is a Steve. To his right, Randy. Down the hall straight ahead is a PATIENT ZOMBIE, behind it, a LUCKY ZOMBIE. Colin turns right and aims the shotgun at Randy. He shoots. Randy's head explodes. The body sways, then falls. Colin spins around - Steve is only a few feet away. Colin pumps the shotgun. Steve swipes his arms at Colin, stumbling close. Colin raises the shotgun, Steve's arms swing under it. He lowers the shotgun suddenly- The barrel is even with Steve's right eye - two inches away. BOOM. The left side of the Steve's head is torn away. He falls to the right. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Colin runs down the hallway. He pumps the shotgun. COLIN Lucy! Nicholas! The Patient Zombie lumbers forward, eyes on Colin. Colin raises the shotgun and fires. The Patient Zombie's face EXPLODES - bones, skin and brain matter slosh out - leaving a bloody shell of a skull. The Patient Zombie continues forward. Colin sidesteps. The Patient Zombie walks past him, arms at its sides. Colin walks down the hall as the Patient Zombie collapses to the floor. The Lucky Zombie approaches, arms half-raised, ready to grab. Colin aims carefully, right between Lucky's eyes. He pumps the shotgun- and the slide locks back. Empty. Lucky grabs at the barrel. Pulls Colin forward. Colin changes his grip on the shotgun and yanks it away from Lucky. He slams the butt into Lucky's temple. Lucky stumbles sideways and falls against a wall. Colin runs past him - straight for the Atrium. Halfway there he gets a look up the staircase. Three ZOMBIES slowly walk down it. Colin stops and leans against a wall. He reaches into his jacket and takes out the box of shells. He flips it open- COLIN That son of a bitch. The box is filled with SOCKET HEADS. Colin looks to his right. Lucky is a few meters away, stumbling towards him. Five more ZOMBIES have walked into the admitting room. NICHOLAS walks out of a doorway to Colin's left - pale, his clothes bloody. Colin is startled. He drops the box and takes a step backwards, half-raising the shotgun. The SOCKET HEADS scatter across the hall. COLIN (CONT'D) Nicholas? Nicholas takes another step forward. COLIN (CONT'D) Nicholas, say something. Nicholas turns to face Colin. The left side of his face is RAGGED and TORN. Colin takes another step back, raising the gun like a club. He glances over his shoulder. Lucky is getting close. Nicholas takes another step forward. His foot lands on a SOCKET HEAD. Nicholas slips and falls backwards. The back of his head SMACKS against the floor. Two shells spill out of his bag. Colin pounces on Nicholas, kneels over his chest. Nicholas grabs at Colin. Colin smashes the shotgun against Nicholas' forehead. Again. Colin raises the shotgun high over his head. He looks down. COLIN Sorry. Colin SMASHES the shotgun down, CRUSHES Nicholas' skull. Colin grabs Nicholas' bag - TEARS it off his belt. He stands up and moves forward. Trips over Nicholas. Colin falls, landing on his side. Lucky is a few feet away. Colin rolls onto his back and pulls a shell out of the bag. Lucky's mouth opens wide. He reaches down towards Colin. Colin scoots backwards. He slides the shell into the chamber and unlocks the shotgun. Colin's legs flail - kick Lucky's ankle. Lucky falls forward, mouth open, arms outstretched. Colin raises the shotgun. The butt hits the ground, he can't bring it to bear- Lucky's mouth falls onto the barrel of the shotgun. His head wrenches backward, the neck CRACKS at a bad angle. Lucky looks down as far as he can, tries to see Colin. His arms pull at Colin's jacket. Colin pulls the trigger. The back of Lucky's head is BLOWN OFF. His arms fall limp. Lucky's head slides down the shotgun, the barrel protruding from the back. His teeth catch on the pump and he stops. INT. HOSPITAL ELEVATOR - DAY Lucy struggles to her feet. Catalina moves to help her. LUCY That's them! They're here! Lucy reaches for the EMERGENCY STOP button. CATALINA Wait! Just wait a second. Lucy looks at her. LUCY No. Lucy presses the button. The elevator SHAKES, then descends. Catalina pushes Lucy back against the wall. CATALINA Okay, stay back. The doors slide open - ZOMBIES - walking away. LUCY Huh? Lucy cranes her neck, tries to see around the four Zombies. INT. HOSPITAL ATRIUM (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Colin walks quickly into the Atrium. He slides shells into the shotgun, then looks around. Many Zombies on the stairs - blood and shell casings by the door. Five Zombies down the hall to his left. Colin raises his shotgun and aims. BOOM. A Zombie FALLS FORWARD - its back TORN APART. Colin looks at his shotgun, then past the Zombies. He spots the open elevator. COLIN Lucy! LUCY Colin! Help! Colin raises his shotgun and BLASTS a Zombie's shoulder APART - it spins and falls to the ground. EXT. ROAD INTO TOWN - DAY Brandt works furiously. He slides the metal frame under the two front wheels. Molly and Anthony BLAST AWAY at the horde of approaching Zombies. Zombies fall with each shot, but it doesn't stem the tide. The Zombies are getting closer. Molly's gun runs out of ammo. MOLLY I need more! Kaye digs into the satchel - there's an empty satchel on the ground behind her, as well as dozens of cardboard boxes. She pulls out a fresh box. KAYE Running low. INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY (1ST FLOOR) - DAY Lucy hobbles her way down the hall. Catalina and Colin are on either side of her, shotguns ready. They move slowly towards the Admissions area. Zombie corpses are scattered across the hallway, both in front and behind of them. A Zombie walks into the hallway from the Admissions area. Colin FIRES - the shot hits its neck and face. The Zombie takes a step backward, then falls over. Catalina SPINS - BLASTS a Zombie in the chest. Colin pumps the shotgun, then feeds two shells into the cylinder. LUCY Where's Kaye? COLIN She's safe. I'll tell you about it when we are. EXT. ROAD INTO TOWN - DAY Brandt FASTENS the chain to the metal frame, then runs over to the Truck and starts the winch. The metal CREAKS. The chain PROTESTS - then LIFTS the front of the Van high into the air. BRANDT Ready to go! KAYE Great timing. Kaye tosses the satchel aside, the last few shells in her hands. She stoops down and picks up an axe. BRANDT I'm going to move it - get clear. Brandt climbs into the Cab and puts the Truck in gear. The Truck turns sharply right and moves forward until it's on the shoulder. Anthony's gun runs out of ammo. He tosses it aside and picks up an axe. The line of Zombies is about ten meters away. Molly fires her last round into a Zombie's FACE - pellets fly out the back of its head. It collapses. She pulls the trigger over and over again. Brandt spins the wheel left - the Truck drives across the road, turning hard. Kaye and Anthony step forward as a few Zombies approach. They raise their axes. BLADES FLASH - A shoulder is sliced off. - An axe is buried in a chest, then a foot kicks the body off of it. - An ARM is lopped off. - A HEAD is cleaved down the middle. Kaye stumbles back, blood all over her axe. She notices Molly. KAYE Molly! Kaye takes a step towards Molly, then hops back - dodges the rear of the van. MOLLY What? Molly looks around. She throws the shotgun aside like it's on fire. The Truck horn HONKS. Molly backs up and turns - reaches for the back doors of the van. Kaye runs around the side. KAYE Come on! Anthony SWINGS his axe - Cuts a Zombie's HEAD off. The back doors of the van FLY OPEN - Two Zombies FALL OUT - knock Molly over. Anthony turns around. ANTHONY Molly! He takes two steps towards Molly - The two Zombies are on the ground, covering her. Anthony brings the axe down - it CUTS into the base of A Zombie's neck. The Zombie goes limp. Anthony KICKS it off of Molly. He Swings the axe into the second Zombie's NECK. The SWIPE cuts halfway through - the neck flops sideways. Anthony KICKS the second Zombie down. Molly GASPS and FLAILS - her throat is GONE. Anthony stands transfixed. Kaye reaches the Cab door - opens it, then looks back. Nothing but Zombies in sight. KAYE Anthony?! Molly?! Brandt checks the driver's mirror then leans towards her. BRANDT Get in! Kaye steps up, then hesitates. Anthony SCREAMS. Kaye gets in and slams the door. Anthony stumbles forward, nearly trips over Molly's body. He grabs for the back of the Van - but it JERKS forward, just out of his grasp. Anthony has a large BITE out of his back. The Tow Truck and Van accelerate away. Anthony SCREAMS, then SPINS, axe raised. The Axe CHOPS through a Zombie's head just below the nose - the top half of the head FLIES off. Anthony swings the axe over and over, SCREAMING as the Zombies PILE ONTO him. Eventually, he's knocked to the ground - CRUSHED by the Zombies. A Zombie's mouth lowers to the back of Anthony's neck. Anthony looks up - watches the tow truck SPEED into the distance before he SCREAMS one last time. EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY The Hatchback slows to a stop near the road into town. Zombies crowd the road for a few hundred meters. INT. HATCHBACK - DAY Colin drives. Catalina is in the passenger seat, Lucy in the back, her leg stretched out. COLIN We can make it. CATALINA No way. I hit a deer once. Wrecked the axle, tore the engine up. COLIN Those aren't deers. CATALINA And this isn't a pickup. LUCY So what are we supposed to do? Is there a bank vault around here we can hide in? CATALINA Turn the car around. We'll go west. COLIN There's a bridge out. CATALINA Most of the way there. We'll cross it on foot if we have to. LUCY I can't cross a river. CATALINA This time of the year it's just mud and rocks. COLIN I'll carry you. Colin spins the wheel to the right and hits the gas. EXT. ROAD OUT OF TOWN - DAY The Hatchback ZIPS down the road toward. In the distance behind it, a CROWD of Zombies gathers on the highway. INT. HATCHBACK - DAY Colin grips the wheel. His knuckles are white. Straight ahead, a dozen Zombies are spread across the road, widely spaced. COLIN What now? LUCY Go for it. CATALINA Oh, I hope you're good. EXT. ROAD OUT OF TOWN - DAY The Hatchback SWERVES around the first Zombie, then WEAVES between two others. The car slaloms between the Zombies, CLIPS a few, but doesn't run any over. The Hatchback reaches the last bunch of Zombies, it SWERVES to the side, EDGES the roadside ditch, then TURNS HARD back onto the road. The Hatchback straightens out, leaving the Zombies in the dust. The front right tire EXPLODES. INT. HATCHBACK - DAY Everyone is THROWN forward as the Hatchback SLAMS into the ditch. EXT. ROAD OUT OF TOWN - DAY Catalina crawls out of a window, shotgun in hand. She LIMPS onto the road, then aims her shotgun. She FIRES EIGHT FAST SHOTS. Catalina lets the shotgun swing loose at her side. Smoke curls out of the locked-open chamber. INT. HATCHBACK - DAY Colin's head lies on the steering wheel. Blood trickles from a cut on his head. Lucy WHINES softly - her palms pressed into her eyes, her teeth clenched shut. One CRUTCH is broken in two - Lucy's arm is freshly cut. Catalina leans in the window and pushes Colin's head. He begins to stir. CATALINA Wake up. They're coming. EXT. ROAD OUT OF TOWN - AFTERNOON Catalina walks down the middle of the road. In one hand, she carries a bottle of water, in the other, a first-aid kit. Her shotgun is strapped to her back. Just behind her Colin and Lucy hobble along. Lucy uses one crutch and leans on Colin. Colin has a bottle of water as well, and his shotgun is strapped across his chest. Far behind, there is a shadow on the pavement - a huge number of Zombies moving up the road. COLIN About Nick... LUCY I know. COLIN I'm sorry. LUCY I- I think I'm still in shock. COLIN A couple of hours ago I chopped a woman's head apart with a spade. I think we're somewhere past shock. I think we're in a place that makes shock look like a fucking- CATALINA House! LUCY House? CATALINA Up there! She points - far ahead on the right side of the road a house is just barely visible. CATALINA I'll go ahead. COLIN Okay. Catalina LIMPS faster, slowly putting some distance between them. EXT. FARM HOUSE DRIVEWAY - AFTERNOON There are BODIES strewn across the lawn - most gathered around the front porch. All have badly damaged heads. A car sits in the driveway - front and back windows broken. Colin and Lucy are at the end of the driveway. Catalina stands on the porch. She speaks to the door, but is too far away to hear. Lucy stops and watches Catalina. COLIN What is it? LUCY There's something going on with her. COLIN What do you mean? Is she... LUCY I think... You should go see what she's saying. COLIN Are you okay here alone? LUCY I'll be fine. Colin puts down the two water bottles and first aid kit. EXT. FARM HOUSE - AFTERNOON Colin jogs down the driveway. He passes a few corpses - one of them is Carol - with a horrible GASH in the back of her head. CATALINA This is an order! Open the door! Catalina SMACKS her fist against the door. Colin runs onto the porch. COLIN What's going on? VOICE (O.S.) Get out of here! CATALINA They won't open the door. (to door) It's not safe for you here! Come out! COLIN Please. My sister has a broken leg, we need you help. VOICE (O.S.) I'm not going to warn you again! Go away! COLIN Warn? What are you talking about? CATALINA Listen to me. There are hundreds of them on the way. If you don't get out of here you'll be overrun! COLIN She's right. Please, we need your help. Catalina looks over to Colin. CATALINA They're not listening. She KICKS the door just above the KNOB. It shakes, but doesn't break. CATALINA I said, open this- BOOM! A hole explodes in the door. Colin's arm FLASHES RED - so does Catalina's CHEST. Colin spins sideways - presses his back against the wall next to the door. Catalina stumbles backwards. Another shot BLASTS through the door. Knocks Catalina off her feet - she flies off the porch, lands on the driveway. Colin unslings his shotgun and steps in front of the door. He aims at the door and FIRES. A section of the door SPLINTERS in. Someone inside SCREAMS. Colin leaps down the steps then turn and fires two more shots through the door. He pumps the shotgun and crouches. Watches the door. Another voice SCREAMS inside. Colin grabs the back of Catalina's collar and DRAGS her up the driveway. Inside the house, SOMEONE pushes open a curtain and looks outside. EXT. FARM HOUSE DRIVEWAY - AFTERNOON Lucy is lying on the highway, her head covered. Colin drags Catalina onto the blacktop. LUCY What's happening?! COLIN They started shooting! Lucy lifts herself up and looks at Catalina. LUCY Oh my god. COLIN We have to help her. Colin opens the first aid kit. He finds some bandages and crouches over Catalina. LUCY Colin. Stop. COLIN But I- LUCY She's not breathing. Even if she was, there's nothing we could do. Colin grabs Catalina's wrist and looks for a pulse. He drops it and sits down, eyes glazed. LUCY Take off your jacket. EXT. FOREST HIGHWAY - EVENING Colin and Lucy hobble down the road. Lucy wears Colin's jacket. Colin's left arm is heavily and crudely bandaged. The Zombies are much closer. A little under a kilometer back, and gaining. LUCY Wait. COLIN Do you need a minute? LUCY I can't do this any more. It's like my leg is on fire. I think I've screwed up the cast. COLIN We can't stay here. LUCY I know that. COLIN Just give me a second. I'll think of something. EXT. FOREST HIGHWAY - EVENING Lucy bounces down the highway, piggybacking on Colin. She holds the water and the crutch. The Zombies are only a few hundred meters back. LUCY Put me down. Colin stops. COLIN Can you walk again? Colin lowers her to the ground. LUCY No. It doesn't matter. I can't move fast enough. If you don't go they'll catch us. COLIN I'm not just going to leave you here. LUCY I didn't think you were going to. INT. FOREST - EVENING Colin supports Lucy on his shoulders as she climbs onto a thick branch. She turns and lies down on it. Colin tosses up a bottle of water. She catches it. LUCY Can you reach me? Colin swings his arms. LUCY I can't even see the road from here. COLIN I'll get to the city, I'll get some help, and I'll be right back. LUCY Hurry. COLIN I will. Colin smiles at Lucy, then walks away from the tree. LUCY Wait! Colin rushes back to the tree. COLIN What? LUCY How are you going to know where I am? Colin looks around he spots a small rotted LOG. He bends down and picks it up. COLIN I'll put this by the side of the road. LUCY Okay. Are you sure you'll recognize it? COLIN Trust me. EXT. FOREST HIGHWAY - EVENING Colin runs out onto the highway. He drops the log on the shoulder. The Zombies are only a fifty meters back. Colin stares at the SHEER NUMBER of them. He lifts his shotgun and FIRES. A Zombie's thigh is TORN. Blood SPLATTERS, and he falls to the ground. Colin turns and SPRINTS in the other direction. EXT. FOREST HIGHWAY - NIGHT Colin jogs slowly. He's sweating profusely. Panting, he slows to a walk and takes a long drink from his water bottle. He looks over his shoulder. The Zombies are nearly a kilometer back. Colin walks at a measured pace. EXT. FOREST HIGHWAY - DAWN Colin walks quickly. The Zombies are even farther back. He yawns and stretches his arms. Picks up his pace. EXT. FOREST HIGHWAY - DAY Colin walks a little slower. The Zombies are just a shadow in the distance behind him. His shoulders droop. His stare is fixed forward. His right hand is on the strap of his shotgun. EXT. FOREST HIGHWAY - NIGHT Colin walks slowly. Every third or fourth step is awkward - he's constantly correcting himself. There are heavy bags under his eyes - stubble on his chin and neck. The Darkness is complete - no Zombies in sight. EXT. FOREST HIGHWAY - SUNSET Colin's knees wobble. He's stooped over, looking at the ground. He looks worse - his face is lightly sunburned and his hair is greasy. The Zombies are only a hundred meters back. Colin stakes another step, his foot lands on- NOTHING. Colin falls out of sight into the RIVER. The bridge wasn't really a bridge at all - just a HUGE steel drainage pipe with dirt and pavement piled on top of it. It's missing the middle. Colin SPLASHES onto the metal BOTTOM of the pipe on his back. His head is under the water. Bubbles flow out of his mouth as he stares straight up. The bubbles stop... Colin blinks, then SITS UP - coughing water out of his lungs. He slowly looks around, then up. Colin shakes his head - throws off some of the water. He opens his water bottle and puts it in the river. He lets it fill, then slowly stands. He walks up the slope next to the bridge. EXT. BRIDGE OUT - NIGHT A near constant SPLASHING sound is coming from somewhere. Faint wet footsteps lead the way to Colin, who's nearly a kilometer away. A Zombie crawls to the top of the slope next to the bridge. She stands slowly and looks after Colin. Behind her, the river is PACKED with Zombies. The Zombies aren't near finished, either - the entire horde marches forward - heedless. They fall down the gap and roll down the slopes, all SPLASHING into the river. EXT. FOREST HIGHWAY - DAY The events of the prologue replay themselves. FAST. EXT. NEXTONVILLE - DAY The Zombies fill the street, only fifty feet behind Colin. Colin stumbles down the street. He passes small buildings. Doesn't look at them. He opens his mouth to speak - Nothing comes out. He stops in the middle of a crossroad. Colin raises the shotgun into the air. He pulls the trigger. BANG - the shot ECHOES through the empty streets. Colin looks around. He takes a deep breath. COLIN HELP! Everything is SILENT - except for Colin's BREATHS. And then a FOOTSTEP. Colin looks left. A ZOMBIE steps out of an alleyway. Colin mumbles something, then looks around. He sees a convenience store on the corner to his right. He lopes over to it. Colin stops in front of the glass door - a DARK SHAPE steps in front of it. Colin raises the shotgun to head level. A PALE FACE pushes against the glass - its mouth open wide. Colin FIRES. The glass door SHATTERS - the Zombie's HEAD disappears in a pink and black CLOUD. Colin steps through the broken door. INT. CONVENIENCE STORE - DAY Colin walks into the store. He grabs a bag off the counter and fills it with candy and chips. He glances down an aisle. A Zombie is walking towards him. Colin raises his shotgun and FIRES. INT. CONVENIENCE STORE BACK ROOM - DAY Colin walks in and locks the door behind him. He looks around. There's a BACK DOOR. Colin steps towards it. It SHAKES as something SLAMS into it. Colin looks harder. On the far wall a LADDER is set into the wall. He follows it up to a HATCH on the ceiling. Colin slings the shotgun over his shoulder and hobbles over to the ladder. A BODY behind some boxes sits up - there's a GAPING HOLE in its chest. Colin climbs the rungs. There is a SCUFFLE behind him. He looks down - the Zombie reaches for his ankle. Colin lifts it JUST in time. Colin climbs faster - it's not easy with a full bag over his right arm. He reaches the top. The Zombie grabs one rung and lifts its foot onto another. Colin reaches for the LATCH - it's STIFF. The Zombie grabs at Colin's heel. Colin SMASHES his foot down onto the Zombie's FINGERS - they CRACK. Colin TWISTS the latch - opens it. He SHOVES the hatch, flips it open. EXT. ROOFTOP - DAY Colin throws his bag onto the roof. He CRAWLS out after it - lies on the ground for a minute. The Zombie climbs the ladder. Colin crawls into a crouch and walks over to the hatch. The Zombie climbs to the top of the ladder - its HEAD pokes out of the hole. Colin lifts the hatch and SLAMS it down on the Zombie's neck. The Zombie's head twists to the side - it's trapped. Colin walks over to the hatch, lifts his foot, then STOMPS with all his might on it. The hatch closes - SEVERS the Zombie's neck. INT. CONVENIENCE STORE BACK ROOM - DAY The Zombie's headless corpse falls to the ground. EXT. ROOFTOP - DAY Colin slowly sits down next to the severed head. He reaches over slowly, then GRABS it by the hair and lifts it into the air - holds it up to his face. The Zombie opens its mouth. COLIN You won't beat me. The Zombie SNAPS its jaw shut. Colin starts to say something, then stops. He tosses the HEAD off the roof. Colin slides the shotgun under the hatch's handle and a pipe on the roof. He wobbles, then falls over. EXT. NEXTONVILLE - DAY The HEAD hits the ground, bounces, rolls a little, then stops, lying on its side. A set of feet walk past the Head. Then others. Feet soon crowd around it. The sky clouds over. A raindrop lands on the Head. EXT. ROOFTOP - DAY Colin sleeps peacefully on his back as rain POURS on him. EXT. NEXTONVILLE - DAY Rain pours on the THOUSANDS of Zombies that fill the streets - packed in like SARDINES. THE END
Return to Simply Scripts