ACE
Howdy, folks. Having trouble there?
JENNY
(Jersey accent)
This was supposed to be the easy stretch. ‘Get away from it all,’ he says.
PETE
Shut it, Jenny.
JENNY
I was port and you were starboard. You screwed up. As usual.
They paddle badly toward shore, Jenny accidentally bumping Pete’s helmet with her paddle.
PETE
Christ, we can walk out. It’s only eight miles to the ranger station.
ACE
Nice day for a hike.
JENNY
Some vacation.
PETE
Shut it.
They bump into shore. Ace helps out Jenny, who eyes him nervously.
JENNY
You got a trail map?
Ace grins and shakes his head.
ACE
Strait is the gate and narrow is the way.
Pete sits in the canoe, Ace gripping the bow.
PETE
Jenny, we’d better get the boat back.
(to Ace)
We registered with the Park Service, and you know how they can get.
ACE
I don’t see no park service.
PETE
Listen, we didn’t bring any money. You can take our wedding rings, but that’s all we got.
Ace pulls the Colt out from where it was hidden in his waistband.
ACE
You’re mighty cooperative.
JENNY
(to Pete)
Jeez. He’s going to rape me, isn’t he?
Pete glowers like he wouldn’t mind watching.
ACE
I don’t do nothing to a woman against her will.
(calls into woods)
Right, honey?
Clara steps out, wearing the backpack, looking pale and sweaty.
CLARA
You going to shoot them?
ACE
Nah, they’re in God’s hands.
(to Pete)
Now get out of the goddamned boat before God changes his mind.
Pete scrambles out of the canoe, splashing in knee-deep water. Ace holds the canoe steady while Clara gets in. He settles behind her and works the paddle, pushing away from shore.
PETE
What about our gear? We’ll get lost.
ACE
There’s only one right path.
He strokes, makes some distance, then hollers over the swelling splash of the river.
ACE (CONT’D)
You might want to watch out for them angels, though.
Pete and Jenny hug each other, looking small and isolated in the vista of the peaceful gorge.
CUT TO:
INT.CAVE. DAY.
A little light leaks into the rocky crevice. Samford’s flashlight bulb has grown dim. Samford lays on the flat rock, his skin ravaged, cloths shredded, blood soaking the stone, his face shriveled. His eyes open—
They glow red. His mouth opens—he has mutated, his teeth are sharp. From the blackness of his throat—SKEEK.
CUT TO:
EXT.RIVER. DAY.
SLOOSH—explosion of river spray as a kayak splashes between two boulders and shoots down a roostertail of current. Farrengalli, Dove, and Raintree are in the lead Muskrat. They wear helmets, lifejackets, and snug drysuits, working the paddles. They are in control, moving with teamwork, faces set in a mix of joy and concentration.
Upriver trails the second Muskrat—Bowie in the rear, Travis, C.A. in front. Their Muskrat is headed for a sheer boulder, spinning sideways.
BOWIE
(shouts over current)
Curler off port!
Bowie dips his paddle, using it as a rudder, as C.A. tries to pole the Muskrat away from the rocks. Travis is indecisive, his paddle poised over the rapids.
BOWIE (CONT’D)
Left, left, left.
Travis finally joins in, the kayak spins until it is pointed downriver. It smacks into the boulder and Bowie shoves against the rock with his oar, pushing them free. The kayak bounces over a swell and splashes water in their faces.
C.A.
Whoo! Only fuckin’ natural.
TRAVIS
Told you it was tough.
BOWIE
Keep your panties dry. We’re not through yet.
As they struggle to regain control, the other Muskrat has reached calmer water on the far side and below them. Raintree raises up and points, cups his mouth and yells.
C.A.
Raintree’s pointing.
BOWIE
Shit. The river’s changed. Floods from the hurricanes.
TRAVIS
You don’t remember this?
The current suddenly accelerates. They are being drawn to a straight drop of fifteen feet, the water swirling in a suction.
BOWIE
(calm)
Hang onto your asses, gentlemen.
In slow motion, the Muskrat is sucked down the falls. Water drops hang like jewels in the sun. The river is hushed and sibilant as the Muskrat goes airborne. Travis flails, his paddle smacking Bowie’s helmet, C.A. opens his mouth to yell, the kayak is almost like a live animal is it arcs toward the churning foam.
KA-SWOOSH. The Muskrat smacks, dips into the water briefly, throwing its passengers. A paddle bobs up, then Travis’s head. He spits water and hacks as he drifts downstream.
BLOOP. Underwater, Bowie kicks against the current, which is spinning him and tugging him down. Above, light strikes the surface of the river, taunting him. He finally swims free and struggles toward calm water.
Raintree and Dove are knee-deep, helping Travis. Farrengalli sits in the other Muskrat, watching.
RAINTREE
C.A. He didn’t come up.
BOWIE
Shit.
Bowie peels off his lifejacket and dives back into the chaos he just escaped from. Underwater, he squirms upstream, fighting the current, beneath the pounding falls, face contorted. Then he’s under the falls and emerges. There’s an open space between the wall of water and the rocks. C.A. is resting, safe, half out of the water.
C.A.
Thought I’d take a break.
BOWIE
You asshole. This isn’t a game.
C.A.
Sure it is. Say, what do you think of Dove? Pretty hot, huh?
Bowie edges along the rocks toward the side of the waterfall where the water is calmer.
BOWIE
You want to play kissy-face with death, do it on your own time.
C.A. gives a mock salute.
C.A.
Aye-aye, Captain.
CUT TO:
EXT. RIVERBANK. DAY.
Castle emerges from the woods to find Pete and Jenny sitting on a fallen log. Castle doesn’t realize he’s carrying the Glock. Pete stands up.
PETE
If you’re going to rob us, you’re too late. We’re still open to rape, though.
JENNY
Shut it, Pete. Can’t you tell he’s a cop?
PETE
He doesn’t look like no cop.
(to Castle)
Are you a cop?
CASTLE
I’m a lunatic with a gun. Good enough?
PETE
It was a man, short, bad teeth, weird eyes. Had a girl with him, cute young thing.
JENNY
How do you know? You didn’t look above her tits.
(to Castle)
You know the way out of here?
CASTLE
They headed downriver?
PETE
We had a $500 deposit on the canoe.
JENNY
(to Castle)
Atlantic City, I told him. But, no, he had to go to hillbilly hell.
CASTLE
Seen any...unusual wildlife?
JENNY
Besides talking monkeys with guns?
Castle starts walking along the riverbank, headed
downstream.
JENNY (CONT’D)
You just going to leave us out here? Some public servant.
Castle rummages in his backpack, gives Pete a trail map.
CASTLE
Stay north and you’ll hit the main trail. Keep walking and you should hit a highway by morning.
Pete squints at the sky.
PETE
Which way’s north?
CASTLE
(points)
Just go that way. And don’t stop, come hell or high water.
CUT TO:
EXT. RIVERBANK. DAY.
Lane sits in sand, recovering, Dove and Raintree attending to him. Travis is woozy but otherwise okay. Bowie and C.A. wade toward shore.
FARRENGALLI
Maytagged their asses. Put ‘em through the spin cycle.
DOVE
Pulse is normal, no sign of shock.
RAINTREE
He passed out from fright.
FARRENGALLI
Wet his pants, huh?
DOVE
(to Farrengalli)
Why don’t you make yourself useful and go catch the other Muskrat?
Bowie and C.A. reach shore, passing Farrengalli on the way.
FARRENGALLI
Maytagged your asses.
Farrengalli swims downstream after the abandoned Muskrat. Bowie hurries to Travis.
BOWIE
How is he?
TRAVIS
I’m fine. Told you the Muskrat would hold up to anything.
BOWIE
It didn’t bust, but it took on water.
Travis waves an unsteady hand.
TRAVIS
The boys in the lab will fix that.
BOWIE
They can’t fix a dead man.
C.A.
Save the melodrama, Bowie. This is a test run.
BOWIE
Your job is to look good, but mine is to get us all out of here in one piece.
DOVE
Let’s take a break. We’ll still make BabelTower before dark.
Bowie flashes rebellion, then relaxes.
BOWIE
Fine.
CUT TO:
EXT.FOREST. DAY.
Raintree is alone in the trees, the river rushing in the background. He squints against the tall cliffs, where a lone creature soars in slow circles. It’s too far away to identify.
RAINTREE
Figures that my spirit guide would be a vulture.
Farrengalli crashes through the brush.
FARRENGALLI
What you say, Keemosabee?
RAINTREE
I was communing with nature. In silence.
FARRENGALLI
It’s only fuckin’ natural, right?
Farrengalli pulls out a silver flask, takes a gulp, holds it to Raintree.
RAINTREE
I’m on a vision quest. I have to keep my head clear.
FARRENGALLI
Oh, like where you push yourself to the limit until you go batty?
RAINTREE
A little more spiritual than that.
FARRENGALLI
(drinks)
Whatever. This Bowie guy—is he for real?
RAINTREE
He lost his wife in a skiing accident. Avalanche took her. He’s been making suicide runs like this ever since.
FARRENGALLI
Women, man. They fuck with your head one way or another.
RAINTREE
I have to keep my head clear.
Raintree heads through the woods. Farrengalli takes one more serious gulp and wipes his lips. He chases after Raintree.
FARRENGALLI
Yo, Raintree? How do you get an agent?
CUT TO:
EXT.FOREST. DAY.
Castle jogs through the woods, carrying his Glock, sweating, moving parallel to the river. He panics, drops to his knees, waves the gun at the treetops.
Wind pushes the leaves. He spins with the gun aimed, then relaxes. He tries the two-way radio, shakes it. Dead.
CASTLE
(into radio)
Base, this is Castle. Bama Bomber is confirmed. My partner got plucked off the ground by a flying nightmare and I think I’m going batshit crazy. Got it?
(pauses, smiles)
Good. Over and out.
He flings the radio into the trees and continues.
CUT TO:
EXT.RIVER. DAY.
Ace and Clara are in the canoe, Ace doing most of the paddling. Clara looks like she has motion sickness. They are in a calm, rocky stretch but the water moves deceptively fast. Low rumble of water.
ACE
You hear that?
CLARA
What?
ACE
Like a thousand trumpets knocking down Jericho.
CLARA
Might be the wind.
Ace stands up unsteadily, the canoe rocking. Ahead, the river seems to disappear. The roar grows, the current speeds up.
ACE
Shit! Waterfall.
Ace grabs the backpack and jumps out of the canoe, nearly tipping it. As he swims for shore, Clara is frozen, staring ahead, realizing Ace has ditched her.
Clara looks at the paddle, then tosses it overboard. She rolls into the water and kicks toward shore. She is a strong swimmer and beats Ace, waits as he struggles onto shore just as the canoe is swept over the edge.
CLARA
What do we do now?
ACE
Wait for the next ride.
CLARA
Story of my life.
CUT TO:
EXT. FOREST TRAIL. DAY.
Pete wrestles with the trail map while Jenny swats at mosquitoes. Her mascara has run, her hair is in tangles, she limps on blistered feet.
JENNY
Go north, he says.
PETE
Can’t be much farther.
JENNY
Atlantic City.
PETE
Shut it.
JENNY
I’m thirsty.
PETE
Look, we—
SKEEK. Branches crack overhead, the creature swoops down so fast Pete doesn’t know what hit him. Slam—a streak of red geysers across Jenny’s blouse.
The creature is gone and Pete stands there, wobbling.
JENNY
Pete?
Pete grins and takes a step, then his neck opens up. Jenny opens her mouth to scream but the creature has returned and its claws pierce her back. She is carried aloft.
From her POV, unbalanced, dizzy, looking down, two more creatures swoop from the treetops to descend on Pete. Then her POV from up, up, she’s breathing hard, the creature beating leathery wings, emitting small skeeks, Jenny is crying, scared.
Eyes roll up, she gets a glimpse of the creature’s wrinkled flesh. It looks down and its gray face is terrible and vaguely human, a grin full of wet red fangs. She looks down.
POV below her, the gorge is big and beautiful, the Appalachian mountains are a glory of autumn color—blood drips into her eyes.
CUT TO:
EXT. RIVERBANK. DAY.
In a clearing at the bottom of the falls, Ace and Clara make a camp. Clara is in bra and panties, their clothes hanging on a branch to dry. Ace, in dirty underwear, pulls his Bible from a sealed plastic bag.
ACE
Saved my bible and my bomb. It’s a sign.
CLARA
Why did you leave me in the canoe?
ACE
It was in the Lord’s hands.
CLARA
The Lord wanted me to drown?
ACE
Sometimes it ain’t that simple.
(waves bible)
Take this here book. Some of it's plain, but other things you got to figure out. Sometimes good looks like evil, and sometimes words mean something else besides what they say.
CLARA
Anything left to eat?
Ace roots in the backpack and takes her an apple, grinning, eyeing her body.
ACE
Just like Eve and the serpent.
(leers)
The cold makes your nipples hard.
He reaches down and squeezes one.
CLARA
Ow. That hurts.
ACE
You like it hurt. That’s why you’re with me.
He fumbles with his fly and moves on top of her. She pushes at his shoulders, struggles against his weight.
CLARA
I don’t feel like it.
THE GORGE screenplay Page 3