Florida Everglades
Archive for the ‘Week 09’ Category
Untitled Screenplay - Pages 16-27 EXT. - Camp - Day A camp sits in the middle of a sand pit. Surrounded by five cars, tents and shelters made from tarps are set up as people sit around fire places. JASON sits in a car with the door wide open. He's shifting through medical supplies, as he makes a list of needed supplies. EMILY strides over to the car. Emily How's everything looking? Jason turns away from the medical supplies, and lifts himself out of the car. Jason Not good. We're running low on most of the essentials. And I've been holding back on people for weeks now. EMILY Bet it doesn't help that I'm always rummaging through for my research. JASON That's different. Your research is important. Emily laughs to herself at the remark. EMILY I fear my research has met it's end. JASON No. You can't You have to continue. EMILY I'm not taking up anymore of the groups resources for something that may not even work. Emily grabs Jason by the shoulder, stopping him from rebutting. EMILY It was a nice run while we had it. Now just focus on what we're going to do with ourselves for the rest of our lives. Jason sighs and turns back tot he car. Emily strides alongside the car, looking out in the distance. The sky is under complete cloud cover. A gust of wind blows through the camp, lifting sand across the surface of the earth. EMILY (To herself) There hasn't been any sunlight for so long. On the other side of camp, CULLUM and TERRAN sit by a small fire, looking into the dancing flames. DANNY walks by and joins the two. He sit down with a wrench, cleaning it with a dirty rag. Danny We've lost the truck. Transmission's shot. Terran No! Not the truck. Cullum There's no way of fixing it? DANNY We don't have spare parts. And that kind of truck requires special fitted parts. TERRAN Damn. That truck was the only thing that could really bust through anything. DANNY So now we're only down to four cars, as long as nothing else happens to any of them. And on top of that we need to find a gas station soon that hasn't already been emptied. CULLUM Hopefully Ryder and Ethan found something out in this backwards hick town. TERRAN I wouldn't count on it. DANNY I just hope they actually make it back. Cullum and Terran give each other a grim look. Danny takes the wrench and places it in a pocket in his vest. They all return their gaze to the fire. Ext. - Empty Parking Lot - Day Liam, Ryder, and Ethan make their way across an empty parking lot, with Ryder in the lead. Ethan turns to Liam, whose trailing behind. ETHAN So, if you don't mind me asking, why travel this long all alone? LIAM I guess things are better off this way. ETHAN How? Liam holds back from saying anything. ETHAN I'm sorry. I'm just curious. LIAM It's fine. It's just, people tend to die around me. ETHAN Oh. I'm sorry. LIAM And being on my own, it's easier to slip by unnoticed. ETHAN I guess you have a point there. LIAM So this camp of yours... ETHAN Yeah. It's not as big as it used to be. When everything turned to shit, there was about twelve cars, buses, and trucks full of survivors. But there were disagreements amongst everyone, and people went their separate ways. LIAM How many of you are there now? ETHAN Well, after people left, we had six cars and a bus full of survivors. About three months ago, we camped too long in one spot outside of a bigger city, hoping we would be able to get as many supplies and maybe even find more survivors. After about a week in one spot, we were ambushed by the infected. We lost the bus and another car load of people. LIAM I'm sorry. ETHAN After that, we steered clear of any major cities, or even larger towns. But now that means we have fewer resources and supplies. That's why Ryder and I were out alone. LIAM And instead you found me. ETHAN Hey, another survivor is just as good as the rest. Ryder stops at the edge of a wooded area, and turns to the two guys. RYDER Shhh. Stop. Liam and Ethan stop. Ryder takes a step toward the woods, listening in. Liam and Ethan listen in as well. A branch cracks in the thick brush. Ryder takes the gun out from her belt, pointing it in the bushes. Liam slowly reaches for the knife in his belt. Ryder steps closer towards the path, gun in hand. Leaves rustle around. A squerell runs out across the path, and up a tree. Ryder sighs and steps back. Liam grasps onto the knife. He spins around as an infected runs right at the three. Liam bashes the infected to the side with his elbow. Ryder and Ethan spin to see the infect screech at them. Liam takes the knife and drives it into the infected's neck. The screeching stops, as blood gargles out of the wound. Ryder steps forward with he gun pointed at the infected. LIAM Wait! He hold out his hand to stop Ryder. LIAM The gun shot, it will attract more. Liam reaches back down and pulls the knife out from the neck. The infected starts to sit up, blood running from it's neck. RYDER (In protest) It's still coming for us! LIAM Just wait! The infected starts crawling towards Ethan and Ryder. Liam steps behind the infected, and slashes at the back of its head, near the top of the neck. The infected crumples to the ground, dead. LIAM You have to get the brain. The brain stem if you get the chance. Liam wipes the bloody knife on the dirty, tattered shirt of the infected. ETHAN But...how? LIAM You learn a lot when you're all alone. Ryder places the gun back on her belt. She turns back to the trail. RYDER Let's go. The camp's not to far off. ETHAN But Ryder... RYDER We have to get the camp moving if they're getting closer. She turns back and starts walking down the trail. Liam pockets the knife, as he and Ethan follow behind. EXT. - camp Outskirts - DAY JOANNA walks around the far side of the sand pits, scouting the area. She looks up at the tall mounts with a gun in hand. The sound of sand and gravel behind her, makes her turn. She points the gun at the giant mound. A small red ball rolls down the sand, towards her. Joanna lifts her foot stopping the ball. Joanna Clear! At the top of the mound, Ryder, and Ethan appear into view, They begin sliding down the hill. Joanna waves to them as they slide down, leaving a trail of dust behind them. Liam appears at the top of the mount, and begins to slide down after the two. EXT. - CAMP - DAY Joanna leads Ryder, Ethan and Liam towards the camp. People in the camp begin to notice. A few run towards the returning friends. Emily gets up from reading a book. Danny, Terran, and Cullum all rise from the fire and make their way over. Ryder and Ethan are greeted by the fellow survivors. Liam stays behind the crowd, trying not to gain attention. Terran gets to Ryder, lifting her in the air with a big hug. TERRAN Aha! There's our fearless hunters! RYDER (Laughing) Let go of me! Terran sets Ryder back down, as Cullum steps in. CULLUM But yet I see no winning trophies from the hunt. ETHAN It's barren out there. Cullum turns to Terran. CULLUM (Mirroring previous conversation) Backwards hick town. Emily enters the group, looking at Liam. EMILY And who might this be? Everyone turns towards Liam. He keeps his head down, but keeps his eyes focused on the group. RYDER This is Liam. EMILY Well look at that, another survivor. The camp starts mumbling to themselves about the new survivor. RYDER Liam and I go way back actually. TERRAN Wait, you two actually know each other? Ryder nods to Terran, who eyes Liam, not sure what to make of him. Emily strides around the group to Liam. EMILY Hello Liam. My name is Emily. She holds out her hand. Liam hold out his hand, as they shake them. LIAM Nice to meet you. EMILY Come, join us. You must be hungry. LIAM (Holding back a little) Oh. No thanks. I'm fine. Emily looks Liam over, trying to read him. EMILY Well if you insist. But don't be afraid to help yourself. CULLUM (To Terran) Not that we have much to help yourself to, to begin with. Ryder punches Cullums arm as she walks by into the camp. Terran laughs as Cullum clutches his upper arm. CULLUM Gah! TERRAN (Watching Ryder) Feisty isn't she? CULLUM (Sarcastically) Feisty...brutal...same thing. People start returning to the camp, going back to whatever they were doing before. Ethan turns back to Liam, who still stands off to the side. ETHAN C'mon. You look like you need to rest. Liam is hesitant, before following Ethan into the middle of the camp. Ext. - Camp - Night Groups of survivors sit around small fires in the camp. Ryder, Ethan, Terran, Cullum, and Danny sit around a fire off to the side. Liam sits alone at a fire away from the rest. Emily gets up from the closest group, and sits with Liam. EMILY So Liam, you just going to sit by yourself this entire time? LIAM Yeah. I guess I'm just used to being alone. this is the first time I've been with people in a while. EMILY How long have you been out there? LIAM Three years. Ever since this began. EMILY Oh wow. I couldn't imagine being all alone out there. LIAM It's not so bad. Liam looks towards the group where Ryder and Ethan are sitting. EMILY I guess you could call them the leaders of the group. LIAM Oh yeah? EMILY They've been making the big decisions mostly. Well, the entire camp does, but they really do lead us well. I wonder what they're talking about now? LIAM Probably about moving the camp. We ran into an infected on the other side of the woods. EMILY We would have been packed up by now. Come on, lets go see what the debate is. Emily and Liam rise up and walk towards the other group. DANNY We can't just leave them! CULLUM We don't even know if they're alive! The food supplies are too low, and if the infected are getting closer, you know we can't risk the lives of everyone else in this camp. ETHAN But where are we going to go? The cars are barely working and we only have enough gas to get maybe fifty miles away. RYDER We'll then we'll get fifty miles away. We have to keep moving. DANNY If you all want to go, then go. But I'm staying to look. RYDER No. You can't. You're needed here. TERRAN Not to mention it would be suicide going off on your own. It's impossible to make it alone out there. Liam and Emily approach the group. LIAM Not entirely. DANNY If he could make it, then so could I. CULLUM Maybe, but what are you going to do if you find them all dead, or if you can even find them at all? What then? Danny gets up in frustration. DANNY We can't just give up! Ethan you said it yourself, that this camp is in need of hope. Danny storms off into the camp. Liam turns to Emily, puzzled. EMILY Three from our camp, including Danny's brother went missing while looking for supplies. We fear that they're gone. CULLUM Hey, new guy! Sit down, join the festivities. Liam and Emily take a seat. CULLUM So tell us, how you've managed to survive three years on your own. LIAM There's not much to tell. I found myself alone after the outbreak, and just kept pushing on. EMILY Have you ever come across other groups of survivors. LIAM A couple times, but not many. None as big as this group. TERRAN Why didn't you stick around with them? LIAM Let's just say most other people out there are not as kind as you all are. RYDER Oh, we know that alright. LIAM Guess I'm not the only one who's ran into these kind of people. ETHAN There's another convoy of survivors, all military. They've been following us for a year, trying to take our supplies. RYDER They haven't gotten directly to us yet. Only the people who go out to find the supplies. LIAM Is that what happened to the people you're missing now? TERRAN Not likely. We haven't seen those bastards for over a month now. Liam glances over to the lone fire pit, where Danny now sits, staring into the flames. LIAM Is that why you haven't left yet? ETHAN We usually wait two days for people to come back, other wise we leave, so that nothing can happen to anyone else. LIAM How long has it been? ETHAN A week. LIAM I don't understand. If it's safer to leave, then why not go? ETHAN This is the first time someone's gone missing, that wasn't found dead and robbed. There's so few of us now. And Danny's brother was one of the best fighters we had against those things. LIAM Well, if you decide to go, I'll keep an eye out for them out there. TERRAN Wait...you're not staying? LIAM No. I'm leaving in the morning. EMILY Why? You should stay with us.
This is an abstract photo that I did of a lava lamp. I like the results I got and this one was my favorite. I hope you like it as well!
AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! Vacation…
I was a scheduled slacker over the past 2 weeks. My 25th reunion with Saudi Aramco Brats was held in Dallas. While I was away, my poppies presented themselves. This plant has a dear spot in my heart. She has been mowed down by careless landscapers, transplanted when I moved, and pulled petal from petal by neighborhood children. She has produced 2 or 3 blossoms a year when she was able to produce at all. This year? Well, my sweet put forth 12 blossoms and she’s as pretty as… well… a poppy! I share with you the art of perennial gardening.
Flying lesson 9
Flexibility and the ability to adapt to the surrounding circumstances.
Necessary when dark clouds and bad weather hits you suddenly or if warm air will make you rise too fast.
My daughter asks me to meet her in town. We’re going to see a photo exhibition of one of her friends, “Diktaturens barn/Hijos de la dictatura”. It’s a great exhibition, portraits of the children of a dictatorship, some of them started their lives in prison. Stories from her trip to Uruguay woven together with the photos in a captivating and very emotional way. She’s good!
Since I’m already in town I decide to have my next flying lesson after the exhibition. When we finished talking about how great the exhibition was I notice that we have ended up at the gigantic grocery store not far from home so I decide that a shopping walk indoors is also a good walk.
It’s also a place I need to visit since I’m changing my diet. My friend recommended that eating according to my blood group would be helpful for an earlier take off, so he sent me a list with “my” food. So a lot of stuff I have to throw out at home to fill my kitchen shelves with new stuff.
For about one hour I am totally focused on various foods, allowed according to my new healthy lifestyle.
Complicated but definitely a gift to myself.
I have a hard time finding the food that is supposed to be extra good for me. Not because it isn’t there but because I don’t remember exactly what to buy. I got the list but of course I haven’t printed it out yet, I just memorized what I had time to memorize. It’s also one of those months with more bills than money, but I won’t give up that easy.
Good for me and affordable makes this an hour of hard brain work and a lot of walking up and down the aisles comparing healthiness and costs.
Still at the end I feel kind of satisfied with both my purchases and my kind of relaxed walk, after all it took over an hour.
Is illegally caught fish
still considered healthy food?
This is why they lived there
- This is where they lived…
The smallest mask
(I am the face behind the mask)
“The Death of Art”
(He had it coming.)
Kidding!
The robot in the back I constructed with wire and “found objects”, including a heat sink, a penny, a piece of a wine cork, industrial staples, an LED bulb, a metal molly, and a spring! The rest are from my “private collection”. (Except possibly the far right robot: Bill, is he yours?)
From within but a tiny seed, all the possibility for a tree is harbored. Within each soul – all the possibility for greatness is harbored. Stimulate the soul like the seed – feed it with beautiful and watch it blossom
The Chakra Tree – Grow ME
This is what I did this week instead of comics or professional art. Oh well. Enjoy!
“Meconium”
I’m burning this skin the insects keep raping each other again and again on my skin, sprouting their wings like digestive little incidences apparent to no one but me and I just hold my breath, turning blue, until I can see you again but it doesn’t matter because time kills everything and I know someday you’ll hate me and it’s always the same and the cycles of periods at the end of sentences and statements cannot be rejoined all that is left are questioned exclamations repeating forever in my bloated burning belly
