fast color

by
Julia Hart & Jordan Horowitz

1/2/17
 ii.

"She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give
them back to me in all the right order."

- Toni Morrison, Beloved

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

A CAR ALARM CRIES OUT on the edge of an ABANDONED CITY...

Neglected STREET LIGHTS buzz and glare. APARTMENT BUILDINGS

and HOUSES stand dark, their windows boarded or broken. Faded
graffiti, no signs of life.

We focus on ONE BUILDING in particular...

BANG!

A GUNSHOT echoes from within.

The CAR ALARM rages on. Constant. Hypnotic.

We stare at the building.

Waiting...

Until --

THUMP.

From inside, someone pounds on a BOARDED UP WINDOW.

THUMP THUMP THUMPTHUMPTHUMP --

The WOOD on the WINDOW starts to SPLINTER --

Until it CRACKS OPEN.

SOMETHING starts to push through.

It’s a BLACK DUFFLE BAG. It DROPS to the ground.

A LEG comes out from the window. ANOTHER LEG. And then...

A FIGURE drops down onto the ground. They stand, grab the
bag, and quickly move away from the house.

As the figure comes under a streetlight, we see --

It’s a WOMAN. Her breaths heavy and quick. Cropped hair and
black jeans. An OVERSIZED MEN’S COAT obscures her frame. She
carries the bag in one hand and a GUN in the other.

This is RUTH.

She walks quickly to a DARK CAR that’s parked on the street

in front of the building, and digging into the deep pockets
of the coat, she finds the KEYS. Presses the --

BEEP BEEP.
 2.

The alarm STOPS.

She gets into the car. The engine REVS.

And as she pulls away...

We hang on the building. Distant SIRENS creep in.

INT. CAR - MOMENTS LATER

We’re in TIGHT with Ruth. Her eyes piercing and strained.

Even if she’s tired, it doesn’t matter. She’s driving fast.

We hear a SIREN getting closer and closer --

Out of the DRIVER SIDE window, a POLICE CRUISER blows past,

SIREN WAILING, painting everything BLUE and RED.

Ruth flinches. She looks down, sees the GUN resting on the
PASSENGER SEAT, and KEEPING ONE HAND ON THE WHEEL, she grabs
the gun and SHOVES IT into the open bag. But the BUTT of the
gun sticks out a bit, so she reaches down again and
rearranges it.

Satisfied, her eyes go back to the ROAD.

It stretches out in front of her, white and yellow and black.

CUT TO:

fast color
Our TITLE. Over black.

Until --

INT. DARK CAR - NIGHT

Ruth sits in the now parked car, artificial blue emanating

from a dim internal overhead light.

PUNK ROCK on the radio. The station goes in and out.

Inside the pockets of the coat she finds...

A black FLIP PHONE with a DEAD BATTERY. She SNAPS it in half,

throws it on the floor. A WALLET. She opens it, inside are a
bunch of $20s some $10s and $5s and a few $1s. She pockets
the cash and throws the empty wallet down, too.
 3.

She opens the GLOVEBOX, pushes some things around, KLEENEX,

an EMPTY PACK OF CIGARETTES, until she finds --

A MAP.

One of those folded paper ones. She opens it, moving it this
way and that, trying to make out the words in the dim
light...

EXT. MOTEL PARKING LOT - SAME

A DEAD TREE stands off to one side of the MAIN BUILDING. It’s
one of those cheap two story jobs with the room entrances on
the outside. And in the fluorescent light near the MOTEL
OFFICE we can just make out the BLEAK DESERTSCAPE that
surrounds the building.

The Dark Car is parked on the far side of the lot. Gripping
the bag, Ruth gets out.

INT. MOTEL OFFICE - LATER

Ruth stands at the DESK talking to a TIRED WOMAN, not much

younger than herself. They’re mid-conversation --

RUTH
Just me.

TIRED WOMAN
Nights?

Ruth sets down her bag.

RUTH
One.

TIRED WOMAN
$35 for the room. Water?

Ruth nods. Yes.

TIRED WOMAN (CONT’D)

Half is $26, full is $50.

RUTH
Half.

The woman nods, bends down and comes back up with a LARGE
PLASTIC JUG OF WATER, and she HOISTS it onto the counter. The
top of the jug is sealed. A RED LINE has been drawn around
the middle and the water is filled right to it.
 4.

RUTH (CONT’D)
What’s the name of the nearest
town?

The Tired Woman looks up --

TIRED WOMAN
View Park.

Ruth nods. Thinking.

TIRED WOMAN (CONT’D)

Alright. So that’ll be --

CRASH!

The Tired Woman turns --

TIRED WOMAN (CONT’D)

(yelling)
Angela!

She turns back to Ruth --

TIRED WOMAN (CONT’D)

I’m sorry, I’m --

Turning away again, and over her shoulder to Ruth --

TIRED WOMAN (CONT’D)

Just a second --

The Tired Woman opens a DOOR behind the desk to reveal a

small room, and inside is a LITTLE GIRL. A MESS of EMPTY
WATER JUGS scattered all around her.

TIRED WOMAN (CONT’D)

What have I told you about playing
back here?

ANGELA
Not to.

TIRED WOMAN
That’s --

The door CLOSES. Ruth stands there, alone.

Until --

The door OPENS AGAIN and the Tired Woman comes back to the
desk, holding Angela on her hip.

She exhales.
 5.

TIRED WOMAN (CONT’D)

Hi. Sorry. What was I...
(beat)
Right, that’ll be...

Angela looks at Ruth. Ruth meets her gaze --

In a FLASH --

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

A massive CRACK rushes down a DINGY PLASTER WALL --

INT. MOTEL OFFICE - NIGHT

Angela buries her face in her mother’s breast.

TIRED WOMAN
$72 with tax.

Angela starts to squirm --

ANGELA
I wanna play!

She glances back at Ruth --

Another FLASH --

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

A silver PIPE SNAPS, exploding with WATER --

INT. MOTEL OFFICE - NIGHT

Ruth’s eyes snap into focus.

TIRED WOMAN
I know. But what did I tell you?
(slowly)
Angela... will...

ANGELA
...Wait.

Ruth pulls out some CASH and puts it down.

 6.

The Tired Woman starts to figure out how she’s going to get
Ruth the change while also holding her squirming daughter,
who is now trying to wriggle from her mother’s arms --

JUST AS --

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Ruth, much younger, GASPS for air --

INT. MOTEL OFFICE - NIGHT

Quickly --

RUTH
It’s okay.

TIRED WOMAN
Thank you... thanks.

She smiles at Ruth, who’s already on her way.

INT. MOTEL ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Ruth comes into the room, holding her BAG and the JUG OF
WATER. Once inside, she puts everything down.

She takes off the COAT and we see...

ROPES, tied tightly around her WRISTS. The ends FRAYED and
STUBBY, ripped out by force.

INT. MOTEL ROOM/BATHROOM - LATER

Ruth sits on top of a TOILET. Her wrist positioned on the

counter, she saws back and forth through the rope with a
METAL FILE.

In the sink, there’s a FAUCET with HOT and COLD knobs, but
where the SPIGOT should be, there’s just a hole.

INT. MOTEL ROOM/BATHROOM - LATER

The rope is now in SHREDS on the floor.

Ruth lifts the JUG OF WATER onto the counter.

 7.

She looks at the spigot-less sink. She pushes down the

STOPPER. Then she breaks the hand-made seal on the jug and
holding her wrist over the sink, she pours some water onto
the wound.

She CRINGES.

Then she does the same with the other wrist.

Next she hastily grabs a TUBE OF SALVE from her bag and as
she does she places a couple of other things on the counter.
An EMPTY WATER BOTTLE, a T-SHIRT and a 6 MONTH SOBRIETY CHIP
with FOUR LINES drawn in BLACK MARKER on the front.

She picks up the CHIP and looks at it... and then she takes a
breath, puts it down and GRABS the salve.

INT. MOTEL ROOM/BATHROOM - LATER

Ruth’s wrists are now WRAPPED, and she stands over the
stopped-up sink. She takes a BIG SWIG of WATER from the jug
then puts it down, wiping her mouth. She uses a WASHCLOTH and
the water in the sink to SCRUB the BLOOD and DIRT off of her
skin. She presses hard, rough on her body...

INT. MOTEL ROOM/BATHROOM - LATER

Ruth brushes her teeth with her finger, and under her other
arm she’s spread the map out on the counter. She traces along
it to find... VIEW PARK.

And then she glances up, her gaze landing on

GARRISON.

She’s farther than she thought...

And then the hand on the map, her LEFT HAND, begins to SHAKE.
A FAST TREMOR, possessed and strange, moving the paper back
and forth.

She looks up, anxious --

INT. MOTEL ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

What happens next happens quickly, with a sense of routine

and urgency, her hand continuing to SHAKE --

-- Ruth turns off all the LIGHTS.

 8.

-- She unscrews the LIGHT BULB from the bedside LAMP, wraps
it in a wash cloth and places both it and the lamp on the
floor.

-- She takes a MIRROR off the wall, wraps it in a towel and

places it on the floor, too.

-- From her bag she pulls LONG BANDS OF FABRIC.

-- She sits on the bed, THREADING one of the fabric bands

through the METAL BED FRAME, and ties it around her ankle.

-- She does the same thing with the other ankle.

-- She inches up to the HEADBOARD and as gently as she can,

she ties the wrist with the TREMOR.

And as she’s about to tie up her other wrist, she glances

over at the PHONE... She grabs it, and hearing a dial tone,
she dials TWO NUMBERS and --

RUTH
Take your daughter and get under
the front desk.
(beat)
Stay away from windows.
(beat)
And cover her head.

Ruth drops the phone, and reaching for the last fabric band
she wraps it around her wrist and PULLS IT TIGHT with her
TEETH. And through the phone on the floor --

TIRED WOMAN’S VOICE (O.C.)

....Hello? Hello? Are you --

THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN --

Ruth stiffens.

An UNNATURAL WAVE rolls through her body. She begins to

WRITHE and SHAKE. Her eyes roll up. Her MOUTH OPENS.

And the

ROOM ITSELF BEGINS TO SHAKE.

The bed moves and the earth beneath it moves and everything
moves back and forth, quick and sharp.

The CLATTER of objects as they fall --

The GRINDING of metal and earth --

 9.

And then OUTSIDE --

SCREAMS. CAR ALARMS.

The sound of FEET as they run by Ruth’s door --

BANGING --

MAN’S VOICE (O.C.)

Anyone in there?! Does anyone need
help --

And still, Ruth shakes.

The feet RUN ON...

There are MORE SCREAMS. MORE RUNNING.

Until...

IT ALL STOPS.

And we’re back with Ruth, GASPING for air.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. MOTEL - LATER

BLUE and RED LIGHTS SWIRL across the dark.

An AMBULANCE and a FIRE TRUCK stand in the parking lot.

In a panic, people move this way and that, blue and red and
fluorescent yellow spilling over all of it:

-- A MEDIC wraps a BANDAGE around a WOMAN’S HAND.

-- SEVERAL FIREMEN walk quickly from their truck and up the

stairs.

-- A MAN supports an OLDER WOMAN, who limps over to the

ambulance.

And in the middle of the chaos, we find the Tired Woman. She
stands there, holding Angela to her chest, rocking her back
and forth. They’re alright.

We hang on them until...

A MAN steps into frame. We see only the back of his head, his
dark hair, neat, and the collar of his coat turned up around
his neck. We hold on him.
 10.

And over this:

BANG BANG BANG --

CUT TO:

INT. MOTEL ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

The door BURSTS OPEN --

TWO FIREMEN enter and look around. We see what they see:

The LIGHTS are out. The MIRROR is on the floor. The LAMP is
on it’s side, bulb missing. The BED SHEETS are strewn across
everything.

And there’s no one in sight.

FIRST FIREMAN
She said this room called the
office?

SECOND FIREMAN
Yeah.

FIRST FIREMAN
Just one woman?

SECOND FIREMAN
That’s what the owner said.

The First Fireman nods and heads into the --

INT. MOTEL ROOM/BATHROOM - SAME

But it’s empty in here too. Just a POLYESTER CURTAIN rolling

in the breeze of the OPEN WINDOW...

EXT. STREET - SAME

Ruth walks through the dark, passing parked CAR after parked
CAR. She looks back, over her shoulder, and then back towards
the road. She keeps walking. Throws one last look over her
shoulder...

And she stops.

In one swift move, she pulls the METAL FILE from her bag and
sticks it into a car window, popping open the door --
 11.

EXT. ROAD - DAWN

Ruth drives the STOLEN CAR.

She YAWNS. Wipes her EYE.

She turns a knob on the DASH, scanning the RADIO.

RADIO REPORTER #1 (V.O.)

-- price of water continues to soar
as lawmakers meet to discuss --

She scans through to another station --

RADIO REPORTER #2 (V.O.)

-- appears to be localized, with an
epicenter just outside of View
Park.

Putting her hand back on the wheel, she listens.

RADIO REPORTER #2 (V.O.)

It was the first to rock the area
in decades. Seismologists are --

And off Ruth, listening --

CUT TO:

INT. ROADSIDE DINER - MORNING

CLOSE ON: A fork digs into a FRIED EGG. YOLK runs everywhere.

Ruth sits at a COUNTER, eating the egg and drinking some

INSTANT COFFEE. She keeps looking out the WINDOW.

The stolen car is parked out front.

She takes a bite of EGG, and as she lifts the COFFEE CUP to
her lips, she adjusts her sleeve, hiding the bandage on her
wrist.

MAN’S VOICE (O.C.)

...Expecting someone?

She turns to see a MIDDLE AGED MAN with dark hair sitting on
the stool next to her. He has wire-rim glasses and wears a
casual button down shirt. A jacket. Jeans. Something like a
college professor without a campus.

This is BILL.
 12.

RUTH
Just watchin’ the cars.

BILL
Fascinating stuff.

RUTH
Riveting.

BILL
(re: the coffee)
This is terrible, huh?

RUTH
I don’t remember anymore what
proper coffee tastes like. Maybe if
I close my eyes...

She does. Takes a sip.

BILL
...Yeah?

RUTH
Nope. Nope. Still terrible.

He laughs.

Bill glances at Ruth’s wrists. It’s just a split second, but

Ruth notices and again adjusts her sleeve.

BILL
So where you headed?

RUTH
Oh, I’m... uh. Nowhere, really.
Just going.

Bill smiles.

BILL
You alright?

RUTH
Figuring some things out.

BILL
I remember those days. I’m married,
nine years. Two kids. So my things
are figured.
(beat)
Speaking of which. I should get
going.
 13.

She nods. He wipes his mouth, puts his napkin down on the
plate and stands up.

BILL (CONT’D)
Nice talking. Take care. And good
luck.

RUTH
Thanks...

BILL
Bill.

RUTH
Thanks, Bill.

And with that, he goes. Ruth looks down, a small smile to

herself. She takes one last bite and one last sip. And then
she grabs her check, stands and --

CUT TO:

EXT. DINER - MOMENTS LATER

Ruth comes outside. She’s walking over to her --

She stops. Dead in her tracks.

A COP, having just gotten off his MOTORCYCLE, is walking

towards Ruth’s STOLEN CAR. He’s leaning down to look at the
plates, and then he looks up to see --

Ruth. Looking right at him. She’s frozen, unsure of what to --

MAN’S VOICE (O.C.)

Honey!

Ruth turns --

It’s Bill.

Standing by the open DRIVER SIDE DOOR of his STATION WAGON.

BILL
I’m over here.

CUT TO:

EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - LATER

BILL’S STATION WAGON drives along an empty country road.

 14.

As the trees fly by, we see that they are BARE.

As the grass flies by, we see that it is BROWN.

BILL (O.C.)
So where can I take you?

INT. STATION WAGON - SAME

RUTH
I’m good anywhere. Honestly. You’ve
already helped more than you know.

BILL
Come on, I’ll take you where you
need to get.

RUTH
You have a wife and kids to think
about.

BILL
I feel responsible.

RUTH
I shouldn’t have let you get
involved, but...

BILL
(smiling)
You had no choice?

RUTH
Yeah.
(beat)
Really, you can just pull over here
and I’ll --

BILL
What did you do?

RUTH
...It’s complicated.

BILL
You stole that car, didn’t you?

She doesn’t say anything.

Bill nods. Takes a breath.

 15.

BILL (CONT’D)
Look, my life is pretty boring. Let
me help you, alright? Let me make
my wife proud. It’s been a while.

He holds Ruth’s gaze for a moment, then looks back at the

road. Ruth hesitates, and then --

RUTH
There should be a town, about... 20
miles from here? If you get me
there, you can tell your wife you
saved someone’s life today.

Bill looks back at Ruth.

BILL
That’s it?

RUTH
That’s it.

He nods. Alright.

Then it’s quiet. Just the sound of the road. Until --

BILL
You sure you don’t want to put your
bag in the back?

RUTH
It’s fine.

Self-conscious, she pushes the bag with her foot.

And it’s quiet again.

BILL
Lucky I was there, huh?

She nods.

BILL (CONT’D)
It’s crazy right? We’re out in the
middle of nowhere and a cop shows
up and heads right for your car
just as you were walking out. I
mean, if I hadn’t been there, what
would you have done?

Ruth looks at him...

RUTH
Like I said, you’re a life saver.
 16.

BILL
The world’s a strange place these
days, isn’t it?
(beat)
But I guess everyone always thinks
they’re living the end of the
world. My grandmother told me about
getting under her desk when they
thought the bomb was gonna drop.

He looks at Ruth and smiles. Ruth looks back at the road --

BILL (CONT’D)
And we’re still here.

He laughs a little.

BILL (CONT’D)
Did you know there was an
earthquake in View Park last night?
Since when are there earthquakes in
this part of the country? What’s
happening, you know?

Ruth is looking out the window, trying to act casual...

BILL (CONT’D)
I heard about it on the radio,
headed this way to see if I could
find out...
(beat)
I stopped at the motel there and
talked to a little girl. Heard all
about the woman who told her and
her mother to seek cover right
before it started.

Ruth’s eyes drift back towards Bill...

BILL (CONT’D)
You really thought that cop just
showed up there out of nowhere?
(beat)
Who do you think called him, Ruth?

Ruth’s eyes go wide and SUDDENLY --

Bill jerks the wheel to the right --

EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - SAME

The Station Wagon pulls over HARD on the side of the road.
 17.

INT. STATION WAGON - SAME

Ruth has backed away, pressed up against the door.

RUTH
What do you want?

Bill exhales. Looks at her.

BILL
I’ve been looking for you for a
long time, Ruth. When Joe called
and told us he’d finally got you...
I didn’t quite believe it, but he
said he saw it with his own eyes.
(beat)
I wanted to see it too.

Ruth has her arm behind her back, blindly searching for the
door handle...

BILL (CONT’D)
But when I got there, obviously, it
was too late.

She finally gets it, lacing her fingers around it...

BILL (CONT’D)
So here we are in the middle of
nowhere, waiting on the end of the
world. But there’s something I need
you to know... you can help me. And
I know I can help you.

She PULLS hard --

But the door doesn’t budge.

BILL (CONT’D)
(re: the door)
Come on.

Her eyes shift to her bag --

BILL (CONT’D)
You’ve still got his gun, don’t
you...

And now they just stare at each other... UNTIL --

Ruth goes for her BAG as Bill LUNGES towards her, but Ruth
blocks him, SLAMMING HER HEAD INTO HIS FACE --

Bill recoils, BLOOD pouring from his NOSE.

 18.

BILL (CONT’D)
AARGH --

And in an instant --

Ruth REACHES DOWN TO the BAG and PULLS OUT THE GUN. She AIMS
it at Bill --

He LUNGES at her, pushing the BARREL up. The gun GOES OFF,
sending a round through BILL’S HAND and through the ROOF --

He SCREAMS --

Recovering, Ruth aims at him --

But now Bill goes for the gun with his other hand, grabbing
the handle and pushing it up and back so it’s pointing over
Ruth’s shoulder as she FIRES AGAIN --

SHATTERING the window behind her.

GLASS flies everywhere --

Ruth tears the gun from his grip and reaches back and up and
starts to pull herself out through the broken window, but
Bill GRABS onto her legs --

She hoists herself up, pushing against his body, struggling

mightily, finally she frees one of her FEET and KICKS HIM
HARD in the face --

He FALLS BACK against the DRIVER SIDE DOOR.

She pulls herself out of the car --

EXT. STATION WAGON - SAME

And drops down into the brown grass.

Willing herself up, she stands, looks into the car, and goes
to fire at Bill again but

CLICK.

It’s empty.

A beat, and then...

Ruth starts to RUN. Her breath heavy, she makes it to the --

 19.

EXT. DESERT - CONTINUOUS

We TRACK with Ruth as she runs out into the EMPTY DESERT. She
runs as fast as she can. And she doesn’t look back.

CUT TO:

EXT. GAS STATION - LATER

A DUMPSTER, full of trash.

Ruth’s hands DIG through it, creating a hole. Then she

reaches behind her, and from her waistband, tucked at the
small of her back, she pulls out

THE GUN.

She gives it one last look, SHOVES it into the hole, and
covers it up.

INT. GAS STATION/MINIMART - MOMENTS LATER

DING DING.

The BELL above the door rings as Ruth comes into the store
and starts to walk down one of the aisles...

She looks over her shoulder to --

A KID, sitting behind the counter, hunched over a MAGAZINE.

He’s listening to the RADIO. Some DUMB TEENAGE SONG. The
SHELVES behind him are mostly EMPTY. Some CIGARETTES and
CANNED GOODS. The Kid doesn’t look up.

Back with Ruth, she grabs TWO BOTTLES OF WATER and heads to
the front of the store.

RUTH
Just these.

The Kid glances at the waters, then back to his magazine.

KID
24.

She pulls CASH out of her back pocket, only $13 left. She
gives him $12, takes ONE BOTTLE and starts to go.

RUTH
...Bathroom?
 20.

KID
Outside.

RUTH
Is there a --

KID
It‘s open.

INT. GAS STATION/BATHROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Ruth DRINKS HALF the bottle.

Through the thin wall of the bathroom, we hear the RADIO.

CUT TO:

INT. GAS STATION/BATHROOM - MOMENTS LATER

We still hear the radio.

Ruth pours a little bit of what’s left in the water bottle

into her palm and rubs her arms and face down. Cleaning off
the dirt and the blood as best she can. She winces as she
rubs the water on the MANY SMALL CUTS that cover her arms.

Then she drinks whatever is left. Head tilted back, she

shakes the bottle, tapping every last drop into her mouth.

CUT TO:

INT. GAS STATION/BATHROOM - MOMENTS LATER

It’s quiet. No more radio.

Ruth just stands there. Looking at herself in the mirror.

It’s getting harder to hide the wounds.

On the mirror, a FADED STICKER for a high school football

team --

GARRISON TIGERS.

Ruth glances at it, and then runs her hand across her head,
pushing back her mess of hair. She INHALES --

CUT TO:
 21.

EXT. DIRT ROAD - DUSK

Ruth stands at the top of the road.

In front of her --

A FARMHOUSE hangs back, just around a bend in the road. Off

to the side, a SMALL BARN. Between them sits an OLD BROWN AND
WHITE PICK-UP TRUCK.

The VIVID WHITE from inside the farmhouse is the only

artificial light for miles. The sky above is pink and purple
and changing.

Ruth stares at it. All of it.

For a while, she doesn’t move.

And then --

She turns and WALKS AWAY, back up the road.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. CAR - NIGHT

HEADLIGHTS shine on black pavement as a car moves alone on

the road. Until...

There’s SOMETHING up ahead.

A STATION WAGON, abandoned.

Bill’s, of course.

As our car gets closer and comes to a stop, RED AND BLUE
lights spill onto the road and Bill’s car...

EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - SAME

Our COP steps out of his cruiser. Hardy and bearded, with
soft, weather-worn eyes.

This is CAPTAIN DEAN MONROE.

Leaving his lights on, he cautiously approaches. He pulls out

his FLASHLIGHT, shining it into the back... nothing there.

He moves to the DRIVER’S SIDE and his light catches:

BROKEN GLASS... BLOOD STAINS... BULLET HOLES in the roof...

 22.

The PASSENGER DOOR wide open --

Monroe shines his light through the car and out the door and
into the DESERT.

But no one’s there.

INT. GAS STATION/MINI MART - NIGHT

DING DING.

The Kid’s still listening to the radio. Still lost in his

magazine. And then --

MAN’S VOICE (O.C.)

Where am I?

The Kid looks up --

It’s Bill, and he’s a mess. His glasses are cracked and bent,
his nose is red and swollen. The skin under his eye already
turning PURPLE...

He puts Ruth’s bag down on the counter.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

KID
A gas station?
(beat)
You alright?

He takes off his glasses, sets them down too.

BILL
What town.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

KID
Garrison. About three miles west
and you’ll hit it.

Bill nods.

KID (CONT’D)
Can I get you anything?

Bill looks down --

His HAND, shoved in his pocket, has soaked it through with

blood that’s now dripping onto the floor.
 23.

He looks back up --

BILL
You see a woman?

CUT TO:

INT. ROADSIDE BAR - NIGHT

It’s loud and smoky. Ruth breaks through MEN and WOMEN
talking over each other, over music. It’s more people than
we’ve seen, but it’s not crowded. She makes her way to the --

RUTH
Hey!

She waits.

RUTH (CONT’D)
Hey!

Behind the bar, a BIG WOMAN with long hair turns --

RUTH (CONT’D)
You serve food?

BIG WOMAN
Yeah. What do you want?

Ruth pulls herself up on the bar, leaning in --

RUTH
I don’t have any money.

The Big Woman turns away --

RUTH (CONT’D)
It’s just you here?

She turns back... Yes.

RUTH (CONT’D)
I’ll do the dishes and clean up
whatever you need in the back. All
I ask in return is dinner and a
jug.

The Woman looks her up and down. Extends her hand --

BIG WOMAN
Michelle.

Ruth takes it --
 24.

RUTH
Sarah.

And swings herself up over the bar.

MICHELLE
Sure you don’t wanna serve? You’re
a pretty girl. You can keep the
tips.

RUTH
I don’t like alcohol. Or people.

Michelle just laughs.

CUT TO:

EXT. ROADSIDE BAR/BACK PARKING LOT - LATER

Ruth DEVOURS a PIECE OF CHICKEN and some RICE. A SMALL JUG of

water at her side.

GLASS BREAKS in the distance, echoing...

Someone HOLLERS. An engine REVS as a car drives off.

Ruth takes a BIG SWIG from her JUG, wiping the back of her
arm across her face.

EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - NIGHT

Now TWO POLICE CRUISERS and a POLICE MOTORCYCLE are pulled

off on the side of the road, their lights flashing. A
FORENSICS SPECIALIST inspects the scene.

Monroe stands by, watching them work. He looks up --

WHITE LIGHT from FLASHLIGHTS shines through the dark, moving

back and forth as TWO COPS search the surrounding desert.

INT. ROADSIDE BAR - LATER

It’s closed now. Empty. Behind the bar, Ruth cleans GLASSES
with a rag. Her coat off, she just wears a T-SHIRT. You can
see the bandages on her wrists and the cuts on her arms. She
eyes an OLD JUKEBOX in the corner and puts down a clean
glass. She moves around the bar and into the open room.

She looks down at it, PUSHES a button. Again. And again.

 25.

She punches something into the keypad... and some FORGOTTEN

PUNK ANTHEM comes on. Ruth nods her head to it, and she
turns, heading back to work --

But Michelle is there, in the doorway to the kitchen. A

CHILD’S OLD BACKPACK hanging from her hand.

MICHELLE
Here.

She extends it to Ruth --

MICHELLE (CONT’D)
Some clothes. A sandwich. A small
water.

RUTH
Thank you.

She takes it. Primary colors, faded. A dinosaur.

MICHELLE
He’s gone.

Ruth looks up --

MICHELLE (CONT’D)
Not gone... grown up.

Michelle nods to Ruth’s now exposed wrists --

MICHELLE (CONT’D)
You okay?

Ruth nods.

RUTH
Yeah. I... am.

Michelle nods too. Alright.

RUTH (CONT’D)
Where do people stay? I saw
Valley’s is shut down.

MICHELLE
You from here?

Ruth isn’t sure what to say...

MICHELLE (CONT’D)
Sorry, it sounded like you knew
Valley’s.
 26.

RUTH
I was here.
(beat)
A long time ago.

They stand there for a moment. Until --

MICHELLE
Owners couldn’t afford the upkeep
anymore. Not with only a few guests
a season.

Ruth nods.

MICHELLE (CONT’D)
It didn’t take long before people
were vandalizing it. Tearing things
apart. Breaking shit.
(beat)
Men. Boys. Groups of them. Smashed
its windows. Destroyed the
furniture. It’s weird isn’t it?
What people will do once no one’s
there to stop them?
(beat)
You can still stay there though.
Can’t beat the price. Just make
sure you find a room that still has
a door.

And off Ruth --

CUT TO:

INT. VALLEY’S MOTEL - LATER

A door SWINGS WIDE, creaking on its hinges.

Ruth steps inside.

A broken TABLE. A ripped LAMP SHADE.

The QUILT all rumpled and pushed this way and that.

She throws open a closet --

Nothing there.

The bathroom --

Empty too. A shower-tub with a ripped curtain hanging down.

No spigot on the sink. Some crude graffiti on the back wall.
 27.

Ruth moves back towards the door. Closing it, she takes an
OLD CHAIR and wedges it under the knob. She tests the door to
make sure it stays shut.

She goes back to the bed and sits down, her back to us. She
doesn’t move for a good, long moment. Like she’s just staring
at nothing.

A ROUND MIRROR hangs, cracked, on the wall opposite,

revealing her expression...

CRASH --

Against the wall of another room, something breaks.

Ruth turns.

In the distance, a DOG BARKS.

Quickly, she moves to the mirror, takes it off the wall and
puts it down on the floor.

We hang on the faded wallpaper.

FADE OUT.

EXT. DOWNTOWN GARRISON - MORNING

The town is small. Most of the shops and storefronts have

been BOARDED UP or ABANDONED. There aren’t many cars parked
on the street, either.

At one corner of a CROSSROADS, the POLICE STATION.

A familiar CRUISER pulls up.

Monroe steps out.

INT. POLICE STATION - MOMENTS LATER

The big open room is surprisingly quiet. An OLDER WOMAN sits

at a DESK facing the door. SEVERAL UNOCCUPIED DESKS fill the
room behind her.

MONROE
Morning, Kathy.

Kathy smiles. Monroe walks on.

YOUNG MALE COP

Morning, Captain.
 28.

MONROE
Do you --

YOUNG MALE COP

Sheila’s got it.

He gestures to a an approaching FEMALE COP --

MONROE
Anything?

SHEILA
Blood samples were from two people,
a man and a woman.

He nods. Thinking.

She hands SEVERAL PIECES OF PAPER to Monroe. He looks them

over as he continues to make his way to his desk.

SHEILA (CONT’D)
We should have the rest of the
results back later today.

He nods.

SHEILA (CONT’D)
And this --

She hands him one more. He takes it in and then --

MONROE
They didn’t find anything out
there, huh?

She shakes her head. No.

MONROE (CONT’D)
Once we get the rest of the results
back we should talk about expanding
the search.

SHEILA
I’m sorry, sir, but... you know we
don’t have the resources for --

MONROE
There are two people out there who
are hurt and probably in trouble.
(beat)
We will do everything we can.

She nods. He looks down at his desk.

 29.

MONROE (CONT’D)
(calling out)
Kathy? Where’s my coffee?

CUT TO:

INT. VALLEY’S MOTEL/ROOM - LATE MORNING

Ruth -- tied to the bed frame with RIPPED STRIPS OF THE

POLYESTER QUILT -- wakes with a START.

In a moment of panic, she pulls her arms and then...

She remembers.

EXT. DIRT ROAD - LATER

Ruth, now wearing the backpack, makes her way down the long
dirt road again. The sun is hot on her face. And up ahead...

The farmhouse.

SUDDENLY --

A YOUNG GIRL runs out the front door. The screen SLAPS shut,
echoing across the distance. She runs down the front steps --

Ruth backs up, putting her hands on her knees. She can’t
catch her breath.

In the distance, an OLDER WOMAN calls out --

OLDER WOMAN(O.C.)
Lila! Come back in and help me --

Ruth stands back up --

And the Young Girl is gone.

Ruth just stays there, looking...

CUT TO:

INT. ROADSIDE BAR - LATER

It’s still early, maybe one or two people towards the end of
the bar. Ruth comes in, and from behind the bar, Michelle’s
eyes narrow. She leans in --

MICHELLE
I don’t want any trouble.
 30.

RUTH
What?

MICHELLE
Someone came here looking for you.

RUTH
Who?

MICHELLE
I didn’t tell him anything.

Ruth tightens.

MICHELLE (CONT’D)
You need to go. And not back to
Valley’s. You understand?

Ruth looks down. Nods.

MICHELLE (CONT’D)
Don’t you have somewhere you can
go?

Ruth doesn’t know how to answer...

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT

Multi-Colored WOVEN RUGS lie under CHAIRS in need of re-

upholstery. Handcrafted WOODEN TABLES hold BOOKS and POTTERY
and A VASE with ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS. OLD PHOTOGRAPHS and
CHILDREN’S PAINTINGS hang on faded wallpaper.

A FIRE CRACKLES in the FIREPLACE.

A female voice drifts in...

OLDER WOMAN’S VOICE (O.C.)

...It really works?

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - SAME

A STRIKING OLDER WOMAN collects plates and things from a

round kitchen TABLE. She wears an OVERSIZED BLOUSE tucked
into jeans. She has tough eyes and an easy touch.

This is BO. (NOTE: BO is a Grandmother nickname. Bo’s proper

name is HELEN.)

And over by a LARGE JUG OF WATER on the kitchen counter...

 31.

Is the Young Girl. Seeing her up close, she’s about 11 or 12.

And she’s exquisite. A blithe expression on her face as she
carefully drips some water from the jug onto a RAG.

Her name is LILA.

LILA
Come on, I’ll show you --

She makes to leave the kitchen --

BO
You’ll finish cleaning up.

Lila rolls her eyes as Bo puts the rest of the DIRTY DISHES
down next to her.

LILA
It was much easier than the
toaster.

BO
It wasn’t easier... you just got
better.

LILA
Do you think... do you think I
could maybe try the truck next?

Bo glances out the window and then back at Lila...

BO
We can discuss it.

Lila smiles, cleaning a dish with the damp rag.

LILA
Can I take a bath tonight?

BO
You took one yesterday.

LILA
Please, Bo?

BO
Maybe tomorrow.

Lila rolls her eyes again. Keeps cleaning.

LILA
Can I at least have enough to go to
the bathroom?
 32.

Bo nods. She moves to the jug on the counter, pours out a

HALF A CUP OF WATER and places it next to Lila.

LILA (CONT’D)
I need to brush my teeth too.

Bo gives her a stern look...

BO
Lila...

And just as Lila finishes up the last dish...

LILA
(mimicking Bo)
That’s enough for both.

BO
(clearly amused)
You’re very proud.

LILA
Very.

BO
Up!

Lila makes a face and then BOUNDS UP THE STAIRS.

Bo watches her go, and then turns back to her kitchen.

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - LATER

Bo puts away the last of the dishes.

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - LATER

Meticulously, Bo seals up the large water jug and places it

down in the basin of the sink.

INT. FARMHOUSE/LIVING ROOM - LATER

Bo comes in from the kitchen and stops to look at the

RECORD PLAYER.

She moves over to it. Puts her hand on it. Bends down and
looks all around, inspecting it.

BO
Interesting...
 33.

She turns a knob and the turntable COMES TO LIFE --

BO (CONT’D)
Son of a...

She shakes her head. Turns the knob again. It stops spinning.

She opens a cabinet and pulls out a RECORD -- NINA SIMONE’S

HERE COMES THE SUN -- and looks at the COVER, remembering...

She looks at the track listing and then pulls the record from
the sleeve and puts it on the turntable. She places the
needle on the first groove, turns the knob, and...

STATIC.

Then a PIANO, simple and clear...

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - LATER

FROM INSIDE A CABINET: BO’S HAND REACHES IN and finds a

RUSTED COFFEE CAN.

And then we’re with her as she opens the lid, and from their
hiding place inside she pulls out a PACK OF CIGARETTES and a
LIGHTER.

EXT. FARMHOUSE/PORCH - NIGHT

Bo PUSHES the SCREEN DOOR open and walks out onto the porch.
The SONG spills out from inside...

There’s a new world coming,

And it’s just around the bend...

She lights a CIGARETTE...

There’s a new world coming,

This one’s coming to an end...

And takes a long DRAG.

Exhales. Relaxes her shoulders.

Nina sings on...

Bo stands there for a beat, looking out over the land.

And takes another drag.

Until...
 34.

She looks at the cigarette, moving it around between her

fingers. Then she FOCUSES her EYES on it. But she’s not just
looking at it, it’s like she’s communicating with it...

And just like that, it starts to...

SPREAD OUT.

PAPER and ASH and FLAME all start to move away from each
other, away from her, separating and floating in mid air --

Then all the suspended pieces begin to...

DISINTEGRATE.

And now instead of paper and ash and flame it’s just...

DUST... WHITE and GREY and ORANGE and RED...

The particles of the cigarette hang, suspended, vibrating,

dancing, every particle alive on its own, separate but
together, and --

RUTH (O.C.)
You shouldn’t smoke.

Startled, Bo flinches and the DUST DROPS --

BO
Shit --

Ruth leans on the railing at the other end of the porch.

Bo takes her in and then... She gathers herself. Takes a

beat. Takes a breath and...

Looks down at the DUST, spilled out all around her feet and
she FOCUSES her EYES again...

The DUST gathers back together, rising...

Assembling itself back into

PAPER

and

ASH

and

FLAME

until...
 35.

A CIGARETTE comes to rest between her fingers once more.

BO (CONT’D)
Hi, Ruth.

She takes a drag.

RUTH
Hi, mom.

They just stand there.

CUT TO:

EXT. VALLEY’S MOTEL - NIGHT

A BLACK CAR pulls into the empty lot. A THICK MAN in a

TRACKSUIT gets out, carrying a large DUFFEL BAG. He moves to
one of the doors. Knocks.

He waits...

Until...

Bill opens it.

He’s in an undershirt and pants. His hand BANDAGED and in a

MAKESHIFT SLING, held tight to his chest. The BRUISE under
his eye appears to be taking over his face. He’s given up on
his glasses.

He looks around. Lets the man in.

The door CLOSES behind them.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - LATER

Bo and Ruth stand in the field next to the house.

RUTH
Can we go inside? I don’t
understand why we --

BO
Because I need a minute here, Ruth.

RUTH
I know you’re angry, but I --

BO
Angry?! I’m... You told me to
pretend you were dead --
 36.

RUTH
I know.

BO
So you can imagine my surprise and
my, my --

RUTH
I didn’t have a choice. There was
nowhere else for me to go.

Something registers on Bo’s face.

BO
...What do you mean?

RUTH
They came back.
(beat)
Like when I was young, but bigger.

Bo’s trying to understand...

RUTH (CONT’D)
I’m sober. Eleven months.

Bo takes this in. Nodding, slowly.

RUTH (CONT’D)
This girl I knew, she... was an
addict and she died.
(beat)
This friend of hers brought me into
program. I knew getting sober meant
the seizures would probably come
back. And they did. And then I --

BO
Who knows about you?

RUTH
What?

BO
If you’re in this program.

RUTH
I’m not. I had to leave. For
obvious reasons.

Bo nods.

RUTH (CONT’D)
I do meetings on my own now.
 37.

BO
But if they’re bigger, someone must
know.

Ruth looks down.

RUTH
I don’t know.

BO
What do you mean you don’t know?

RUTH
It means I don’t know!

BO
You can’t be putting her in danger
again, Ruth.

This hurts.

RUTH
I know, but if I leave, I’m not
gonna make it!

BO
What do you want me to do?

RUTH
I want you to try again.

Bo thinks for a moment. She shifts her weight.

She looks at her daughter.

Takes a breath.

CUT TO:

INT. BARN - LATER

Ruth UNFURLS a SHEET.

She stands over the now MADE-UP COT, and starts to take the
strips of fabric she made from the motel quilt out of the
backpack.

BO (O.C.)
I thought you could use these.

Ruth looks up. In her arms, Bo holds a PILE of FRESH CLOTHES.

Ruth’s old ones.
 38.

Ruth nods. Takes them.

Bo points to the bandages on her wrists --

BO (CONT’D)
Do you need anything for --

Self-consciously, Ruth pulls back her hands.

RUTH
No, I’m alright.

BO
It looks worse than usual, I can
get you a --

Ruth gives her a look. Bo backs off.

The women stand there for a moment. Until...

BO (CONT’D)
Are you hungry?

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - LATER

BO stands over a POT, stirring something with a wooden spoon.

She tastes it. Adds a pinch of salt. Goes back to stirring.

INT. BARN - LATER

Ruth sits on her cot, eating some kind of HOT STEW. Shoveling
spoonfuls into her mouth. She hasn’t eaten all day.

Bo can tell.

It’s quiet. Until --

RUTH
How is she?

Bo takes a beat, and then...

BO
She’s good.
(thinking)
She’s really good.

Ruth puts down the spoon. Clears her throat.

RUTH
And she can...?
 39.

BO
(of course)
She’s one of us.

RUTH
And are they --

BO
Nothing like yours.

Ruth nods. Relieved.

BO (CONT’D)
More like mine, you know...

Bo waves her hand in the air...

BO (CONT’D)
Parlor tricks.

Ruth gives her a small smile.

RUTH
She’s healthy?

BO
And smart too.

RUTH
Where is --

BO
Sleeping.

Ruth another bite. It’s quiet again until --

RUTH
The Weavers are still the closest
house, yeah?

BO
They left a few years back. As far
as I know there’s no one for miles.

Ruth nods. Good.

BO (CONT’D)
You’re sure she’ll be safe?

RUTH
I mean she’ll feel it, but --

BO
How much will she --
 40.

RUTH
It doesn’t matter what I say,
you’re gonna --

BO
Excuse me if my concern hurts your
feelings.

RUTH
Are you gonna help me? Or are we
just gonna do the same thing to
each other all over again?

Ruth accidentally HITS the spoon out of the bowl and it

CLATTERS to the floor.

Her question just hanging there.

After a moment...

Bo reaches down, picks up the spoon and extends it out it to

Ruth. Ruth exhales. Takes it.

Outside, a GREAT GUST OF WIND shakes the trees and rattles

the old walls of the barn.

Bo SHIVERS. Ruth barely registers it.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT

Bo walks back to the house. Arms wrapped around herself.

INT. FARMHOUSE/UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - SAME

Bo stands looking at the pictures that hang on the wall. And

after a moment --

She takes a PICTURE FRAME down and sets it on the ground,

leaning it up against the wall. She moves to the next and
does the same.

One after the other, all the way down the hall.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. SMALL SUBURBAN HOUSE - NIGHT

A door opens.

It’s Monroe.
 41.

He comes in, turns on a light. You can see the kitchen from
the living room, and the bedroom through an open door at the
other end of the house.

It’s small. Modest. Mostly beige and brown.

He puts down his bag. Takes off his coat.

He goes into the kitchen where we hear some kind of DRY FOOD
clattering into a bowl. He puts it down on the ground and a
BROWN CAT moves quickly to it and eats.

INT. SMALL SUBURBAN HOUSE - LATER

Monroe sits on the couch. Watching TV.

The COLORS from the TV move up and down and all over him.

His eyelids drift closed and...

OPEN again.

On the TV, the SOUND drones on, just some man talking about
something. And Monroe just stares at it as the colors flash
on the wall and the room and the darkness and his face.

Lulling him to sleep...

CUT TO:

INT. FARMHOUSE/LILA’S ROOM - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

CLOSE ON: Lila.

Her EYES SNAP OPEN.

HER BED IS SHAKING.

And then she realizes...

THE WHOLE ROOM IS SHAKING.

QUICKLY, she gets up and runs into the --

INT. FARMHOUSE/HALLWAY - SAME

She braces herself, moving along the wall.

LILA
Bo! Bo!
 42.

Bo moves quickly from her room --

She gets to Lila, pulling her down to the ground with her --

EXT. FARMHOUSE - MOMENTS LATER

The shaking has stopped.

Lila and Bo approach the barn. And once they get close, Bo
puts out her hand --

BO
Wait here.

Lila nods, nervously.

Bo walks the rest of the way to the barn alone. She

disappears inside while Lila waits in the dark.

Lila looks over her shoulder, back towards the farmhouse, and
then back over to the barn.

LILA
(calling out, quietly)
...Bo?

But there’s no response.

She wraps her arms around herself, it’s cold in only her
nightgown. And she keeps waiting. Until --

Bo emerges. Followed by...

Ruth.

She takes Lila in.

BO
Lila.

Lila looks from Ruth to Bo --

BO (CONT’D)
This is your mother, Ruth.

Lila’s mouth falls open. Her eyes narrow and...

She TURNS and goes back into the house.

Bo looks from Ruth to Lila... and then back to Ruth. She

holds her gaze for a moment, and then she too turns,
following Lila inside.
 43.

Ruth takes a beat, her insides collapsing.

She braces herself and takes a sharp breath. Then another.

She’s trying to steady herself, standing alone in the middle
of the night, breathing deep and fast and hard, but she
can’t, she can’t seem to find the rhythm of her breath, but
she keeps trying, hoping, breathing, breathing --

CUT TO:

EXT. DOWNTOWN - MORNING

The SUN cuts across the low buildings and the sidewalks. Just
a few PEOPLE here and there. A few CARS.

And then we see:

The Black Car.

Driving slowly through town.

EXT. STREET - SAME

Now parked, the DRIVER SIDE DOOR of the Black Car opens and
the thick man from last night -- BILL’S PARTNER -- gets out
and looks around.

Then he KNOCKS on the ROOF of the car and --

Bill steps out from the PASSENGER SIDE. He’s wearing a DARK
SUIT now, his hair combed, a fresh bandage wrapped around his
hand. He’s got on DARK SUNGLASSES, but they can’t really hide
the BRUISE. He SLAMS the door with his good hand and glances
over at...

The Police Station.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - MORNING

The OLD TRUCK we saw earlier sits between the barn and the
house. But now the hood is open, with the top half of Lila
disappeared inside.

Half-awake, Ruth comes out of the BARN and sees her...

She decides to sit in the grass.

Lila pulls her head out. Sees Ruth. And then goes back in.

BO (O.C.)
Breakfast!
 44.

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - SAME

Lila sits down at the table. Bo is already there, pouring

some GRANOLA into a BOWL. She passes it to Lila.

Off-screen, the screen door SLAPS.

Bo and Lila turn towards the sound --

RUTH
...Can I?

Bo looks to Lila. Lila just looks away.

Bo looks back to Ruth. Nods.

Ruth comes in. Slowly. She looks around, taking in the room.
She’s not sure what’s stranger: the things that have changed
or the things that are the same.

She makes it to the table. Sits.

Bo pours some granola in another bowl and pushes it towards

Ruth. Then she pours about a half a cup of coffee, black, and
passes Ruth the mug.

As she eats, Ruth glances over at Lila. Noticing something,

she looks up at Bo --

RUTH (CONT’D)
That’s my bowl.

BO
What?

Looking down at Lila’s bowl, Bo nods.

It’s ceramic, handmade, BLUE and WHITE.

Ruth takes a bite of granola.

RUTH
(to Lila, with her mouth
full of food)
I broke that bowl.

Lila looks from Ruth to the bowl and there, somewhere between
the blue and the white, SEVERAL LINES of BLACK run up and
around the edge, where it’s been glued back together.

RUTH (CONT’D)
I think my grandmother made it?

Bo nods, yes...
 45.

RUTH (CONT’D)
I remember I wanted to use my
abilities to fix it, but --

LILA
(parroting Bo)
-- whatever it looks like when you
take it apart --

RUTH
(also parroting)
-- is what it looks like when you
put it back together --

LILA
If it’s broken it stays broken.

RUTH
All we needed was a little glue.

A moment. And then --

LILA
So you can... like we can?

Ruth and Bo exchange a look --

RUTH
I can’t.

Lila takes this in.

RUTH (CONT’D)
I should. I did a long time ago.

CUT TO:

EXT. FARMHOUSE - DAY (FLASHBACK)

YOUNG RUTH sits in green grass. A SWIRL of MULTI-COLORED DUST

before her face. She’s looking right at us.

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - MORNING

BO
Lila, with your mother here, I
think it’s time we told you some
things, some things about the past.

Bo looks to Ruth. Ruth nods.

 46.

BO (CONT’D)
I knew. I knew before it happened.
It was like everything up ahead was
suddenly growing dark. I could feel
it coming. I knew her abilities
were... more than mine. She was
different.

CUT TO:

EXT. FARMHOUSE - DAY (FLASHBACK)

A YOUNG RUTH sits in GREEN GRASS.

We’re focused on her HANDS in front of her TORSO: a ROCK in

one and a PINK FLOWER in the other. And they begin to
disintegrate, swirl, levitate. TWO CLOUDS of DUST that pull
towards each other, BLENDING together...

SOMETHING STARTS TO TAKE SHAPE...

But not a rock or a flower...

IT’S SOMETHING NEW.

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - MORNING

BO
She could do things the other women
in our family couldn’t do, had
never done. I didn’t know what to
do with her. I tried, but...

She glances at Ruth --

BO (CONT’D)
I didn’t know how to nurture it.

CUT TO:

EXT. FARMHOUSE - DAY (FLASHBACK)

The NEW SHAPE catches FIRE and EXPLODES!

Ruth stands and starts to run, away from the explosion, away
from the farmhouse --

Just as a YOUNGER BO comes flying out onto the porch.

She watches as Young Ruth runs away...

 47.

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - MORNING

BO
So she pushed me away, started
trying crazier and crazier things
on her own.

RUTH
Like trying to take apart Lunch?

LILA
Lunch?

BO
Our dog.

RUTH
Lunch.

CUT TO:

EXT. FARMHOUSE/PORCH - DAY (FLASHBACK)

We’re looking at a SMALL BROWN DOG.

LUNCH.

He pants.

A YOUNG RUTH sits on the FRONT PORCH. She stares at Lunch,

rather intently. In return, he stops panting and cocks his
head.

She FOCUSES her EYES on him...

He KEEPS STARING at her...

And SUDDENLY --

His RED COLLAR

SEPARATES... and DISINTEGRATES.

Lunch is SURPRISED --

Young Ruth stands up suddenly --

She goes to GRAB for him but he TAKES OFF!

Down the PORCH STEPS and onto the DRIVEWAY. Young Ruth RUNS
after him... As Younger Bo looks on through the window,
shaking her head.
 48.

And through the glass of the window we see Lunch, running

faster and faster.

And Young Ruth, running faster and faster too.

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - MORNING

BO
Because her abilities were
different, because they were more,
because I couldn’t make her more
powerful than them, they... took
over.

CUT TO:

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - NIGHT (FLASHBACK)

Younger Bo holds Young Ruth down on the kitchen floor as her

body WRITHES and SHAKES. POTS AND PANS start to fall from
hanging racks --

Bo lays her body down over Ruth’s, shielding her.

And on the edge of frame, we see the BLUE and WHITE BOWL
shaking to the edge of the table until it finally falls to
the ground and BREAKS --

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - MORNING

RUTH
And once the seizures started, I
couldn’t use my abilities anymore.

BO
I tried everything, but nothing
seemed to work.
(to Ruth)
I almost took you to a doctor, but
I... couldn’t explain, I didn’t
know who we could trust.

Ruth looks away.

BO (CONT’D)
(to Lila)
She grew frustrated. Reckless.
Started hanging out with the wrong
kind of kids. Started doing drugs --

Ruth turns --
 49.

RUTH
She doesn’t need to --

BO
(to Ruth)
Yes. She does.

Ruth looks down.

BO (CONT’D)
Somehow, the drugs made the
seizures stop.

Lila looks at Ruth --

LILA
And did your abilities come back?

Ruth looks up --

CUT TO:

EXT. FARMHOUSE/PORCH - DUSK (FLASHBACK)

TEENAGE RUTH -- carrying a LARGE BAG over her shoulder --

pushes open the screen door, storming out onto the porch and
arguing with Bo, who follows her out.

We don’t hear what they say.

We just see the anger in their eyes and the wideness of their
mouths, screaming hateful words we cannot hear.

Over this --

BO (V.O.)
They never did.

Teenage Ruth STORMS down the porch steps. Bo follows her,

still yelling...

BO (V.O.)
She got so lost in that world
that... It was no use stopping her.

Ruth takes off down the driveway. She doesn’t look back.

BO (V.O.)
I knew the back of your mother’s
head better than I knew her face.

Bo just stands there, watching her go.

 50.

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - MORNING

LILA
If you left then how did I --

RUTH
I came back.

BO
With you.

Bo gives Ruth a look. Then back to Lila --

BO (CONT’D)
I begged her to stay, but...

RUTH
(to Lila)
I couldn’t stay.
(to Bo)
You knew I couldn’t.

LILA
Why not?

RUTH
I was so messed up by that point...
it was too dangerous. I couldn’t
keep you.

LILA
So why is it okay now?

Bo and Ruth exchange a look. Ruth doesn’t know what to say...

BO
Everyone’s older, a little bit
wiser. You’re not a baby anymore.

LILA
I haven’t been a baby for a long
time.

Ruth doesn’t know what to say...

BO
It’s... There’s a lot more to it
than...

Ruth gets up and walks away, her back to them. Bo looks from
Lila to Ruth, and then back to Lila --

BO (CONT’D)
Why don’t you show her.
 51.

LILA
Huh?

BO
Go on. Show her what you can do,
Lila.

Ruth turns back...

BO (CONT’D)
It’s okay.

Lila looks around and...

She sees the BLUE and WHITE CERAMIC BOWL. The one Ruth broke.
The one she eats her breakfast out of every morning. She
wipes it out and puts it in the center of the table.

Bo looks to Ruth, beckoning her back with her eyes.

Reluctantly, Ruth comes back to the table. Sits.

Ruth looks at Lila, who FOCUSES her EYES on the bowl...

And the bowl creeps upwards, starts to come APART --

BUT SUDDENLY

The pieces CLEAVE back together --

Lila’s eyes dart over to Bo, concerned --

Bo just nods --

And Lila takes a breath, grips the table, and FOCUSES her
EYES again.

Once more, the BOWL starts to lift and separate.

And then it starts to DISINTEGRATE, turning to DUST... the

BLUE and WHITE blurring, shaking, and dancing around just
above the table.

And the three women stare at it.

The dust dances higher and faster, spectacular and sudden.

Lila’s breath quickens and --

Slowly, haltingly, the bowl comes back together, the dust

turning solid once more, the round shape reforming, but it
hesitates, jerks --

AND --
 52.

The BOWL CLATTERS back down in the middle of the table. Just
as it was. The blue and the white and all the cracks.

Lila’s eyes DART all around. Up and down and --

Amazed, Ruth realizes...

RUTH
(to Lila)
...You see them?

Lila doesn’t respond, lost in whatever she’s seeing...

BO
She does.
(beat)
And she still finds it
interesting...

RUTH
(to Bo)
You don’t?

BO
(shaking her head)
I’ve been seeing the colors for 52
years.

Lila’s eyes stop moving. She closes them for a moment,

catching her breath. And then opens them once more.

RUTH
(to Lila)
What does it look like?

A look of surprise comes over Lila’s face --

LILA
...You don’t know?

Ruth shakes her head.

RUTH
I can’t see them.

LILA
Why not?

BO
We don’t know. She just... didn’t.

Lila nods.
 53.

LILA
But hasn’t Bo told you what they --

Bo smiles --

BO
She wants to hear it from you.

Lila looks at Ruth, looks down, takes a breath. And then...

LILA
Um... after you put whatever it is
you took apart back together, while
everyone else just sees the whole
object again, you see the colors,
it’s like an after-effect. Like
a... ghost of what just happened.
But bigger. Suddenly, there are all
these colors.

In a FLASH --

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

A BABY’S ARM, soft and full --

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - MORNING

LILA
Covering everything. And they’re
all moving around, like they’re in
a race.

RUTH
What does it feel like?

LILA
Really warm?

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

A WOMAN’S HAND grabs the BABY’S WRIST --

 54.

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - MORNING

LILA
Like when you blush. Like a memory
of something you really liked,
except it didn’t really happen.

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Ruth, much younger, presses her CHEEK to BABY LILA’S HEAD.

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - MORNING

LILA
Bo says if you do something really
big, sometimes the colors last a
long time.
(beat)
And then just when you forget where
you are... they’re gone. And
everything’s just... normal again.

Ruth’s eyes are glassy. She smiles at Lila and looks away.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. POLICE STATION/EVIDENCE ROOM - LATER

Sheila sits at a desk. Monroe comes in --

MONROE
Has the rest of the analysis not
come back?

She stands --

SHEILA
You didn’t hear?

MONROE
No...

SHEILA
Some men from another agency took
everything over.

MONROE
What are you talking about? What
agency?
 55.

SHEILA
You should call the lab.

INT. POLICE STATION - MOMENTS LATER

Monroe paces behind his desk. He’s on the phone --

MONROE
No one had the authority without my
signature.
(he listens)
I understand that, but there still
needs to be some semblance of
order, we can’t just --
(he listens)
You do know those samples were the
only evidence we had?
(he listens)
Who are these guys? Where did they
come from?

CUT TO:

EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - LATE MORNING

Monroe stands on the side of the road where Bill’s car was
left, abandoned. Remnants of POLICE TAPE flutter a little in
the breeze.

He looks around. And then he turns and walks out, into the
desert...

BO (O.C.)
What does it feel like when you
try?

EXT. FARMHOUSE - EARLY AFTERNOON

Ruth stands behind the house with Bo. They’re both staring at
a BLUE BUCKET, mid-conversation --

RUTH
Cold?

Bo’s face changes...

RUTH (CONT’D)
What?

BO
No, it... makes me feel warm.
 56.

RUTH
Do you do that consciously? Or does
it just happen?

BO
I don’t know. It’s... it’s like
driving a car, at a certain point
your body just knows.
(beat)
Maybe don’t think about doing it?
Maybe the pressure you’re putting
on is getting in the way.

RUTH
There’s this thing in program
where... uh, lots of stuff is out
of our control, so you’re supposed
to be able to just let it go. You
turn it over.

BO
Turn it over?

RUTH
To a higher power. God. Whatever.

BO
Whatever?

RUTH
You know what I mean.

BO
And can you?

RUTH
What?

BO
Turn it over.

RUTH
I want to.

Bo thinks for a moment.

BO
Close your eyes.

Ruth does.

BO (CONT’D)
When you feel the coldness, what do
you see?
 57.

RUTH
Nothing. Just darkness.

BO
Do you see a door... or an opening
somewhere?

RUTH
What are you --

BO
Look.

RUTH
How can I look with my eyes closed?

BO
You’re the one who said this was
serious.

Ruth opens her eyes.

RUTH
I just... I’m trying to --

BO
The only thing you should be trying
to do is --

Ruth sees something over Bo’s shoulder --

BO (CONT’D)
Are you even listening to me?

Bo turns and sees --

Lila. Not too far off. She’s been watching.

BO (CONT’D)
We’ll try again later.

INT. FARMHOUSE - LATER

Bo sits on the couch, reading what looks like an OLD JOURNAL.

RUTH (O.C.)
What’s that?

Bo looks up --

BO
All the women in our family wrote
in it. I thought...
(MORE)
 58.

BO (CONT'D)
I don’t know, maybe there might be
something that could help with...
other people have doctors when
something’s up. We have this.

Bo looks down, reads --

BO (CONT’D)
Extraordinary discovery. My
daughter, Martha can also
disintegrate objects and put them
back together again. Do these
abilities run in our family? I wish
my mother were alive so I could ask
if she could do this too. If she
could, I don’t know why she never
told me.

Ruth moves next to her, sits.

RUTH
Who --

BO
My great-grandmother.
(beat)
She goes on to talk about how once
she discovered Martha’s abilities,
she moved out here and built this
house.

Bo looks back down at the book, turns several pages...

And hands it to Ruth, points to a part and --

RUTH
(reading out loud too)
This land is so beautiful. So
green. Martha wants to plant
flowers along the path. I already
feel that we are safer. It was too
dangerous after what happened with
Martha at school. I couldn’t bear
the fear. Here we can live our
lives in peace and no one will know
our secret.

Ruth looks up.

RUTH (CONT’D)
Why didn’t you ever tell me about
this?

Bo shrugs.
 59.

BO
You weren’t big on history.

LILA (O.C.)
I had an idea.

They both turn --

Lila stands there, holding the blue and white BOWL.

LILA (CONT’D)
What if instead of trying to see
the bucket come apart you pictured
the bowl coming apart from last
night? Instead of having to
imagine, you could just remember.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - MOMENTS LATER

Ruth, Bo and Lila all stand outside.

Lila extends the BOWL to Ruth. Ruth goes to take it, but for
a moment, her hands hold onto Lila’s instead of the bowl.

Ruth looks at Lila, hands touching, eyes locked --

A SHARP WIND rolls around them and the trees and the house
and carries itself towards a WINDOW and --

CRASH!

The glass SHATTERS!

Ruth snaps back into the moment --

Bo looks from Ruth to the window.

BO
What the hell?

RUTH
I don’t...

Bo and Lila exchange a look.

RUTH (CONT’D)
I’ll go look.

Ruth runs towards the house. Bo and Lila stand waiting,

looking up at the broken window...

Until --
 60.

RUTH (O.C.) (CONT’D)

(calling from inside)
There’s nothing! Nothing hit it.

Ruth appears in the window, looking down at them --

RUTH (CONT’D)
It’s just a bunch of broken glass.

INT. FARMHOUSE/LILA’S ROOM - AFTERNOON

Ruth kneels in front of Lila’s window, sweeping the GLASS

into a DUST PAN. Lila comes in, holding the bucket, and moves
to Ruth, who dumps the glass into the bucket and then goes
back to sweeping.

LILA
Do you know how that happened?

RUTH
No.

Lila nods.

LILA
Is it possible that... that you did
it?

RUTH
I guess it’s possible...

LILA
Yours are different right?

RUTH
I’ve been so disconnected from them
for so long... I don’t remember
what it’s like to actually do
something.

LILA
Are there others?

RUTH
Other --

LILA
Women. Like us.

RUTH
As far as I know it’s just our
family.
 61.

LILA
But isn’t that narciss...
narcissistic?

Ruth laughs.

RUTH
Sorry, I just. It is. You’re right.

LILA
I mean if we’ve always been hiding,
how do we know there aren’t others.

Ruth remembers something...

RUTH
Did Bo ever tell you about Simona?

LILA
What?!

RUTH
Nothing, don’t get --
(beat)
Bo made her up. She lived in Europe
I think? And she could do things
women in our family couldn’t do.
Like she could take apart the sky.
I think Bo did it to help me, if
there was someone else out there
whose abilities were different like
mine were, maybe I would feel more
okay? She even had me write a
letter to her once. Like a freak
girl’s Santa Claus. But then one
day, Bo told me she wasn’t real.

LILA
And you never tried to find out if
there really were others?

RUTH
I was too much of a mess to do
anything.

Ruth dumps the last pieces of broken glass into the bucket.

RUTH (CONT’D)
I think that’s it.

Lila picks up the bucket and heads for the door. And with a
glance to the broken window --
 62.

LILA
I’ll go get the cardboard. And I
should probably vacuum too...

RUTH
What if instead of the cardboard,
you tried to put the glass back?

Lila looks at her for a second, trying to figure out what...

And then she realizes what Ruth means.

LILA
It won’t work.

RUTH
Why not at least try?

LILA
You know --

Ruth GRABS the bucket from Lila and DUMPS THE GLASS onto the
floor in front of the window.

Ruth gives her a look, challenging her.

And then...

Lila moves to stand next to her, in front of the glass, in

front of the broken window.

LILA (CONT’D)
This isn’t gonna work.

Lila stares down at the pieces, FOCUSING her EYES...

The glass starts to DISINTEGRATE and SPIN TOGETHER...

And suddenly a MASS OF GLASS starts to form and lift up from

the pile, shining in the low sun. As it goes higher and
higher, Ruth and Lila move back... It rises up past their
ankles, past their knees, past their waists and almost to
their shoulders --

POP!

Lila and Ruth jump back as --

THE GLASS SHATTERS!

And falls to the rug, the pieces just as they were before.

A beat.
 63.

Lila looks to Ruth, frustrated --

Then she turns and leaves the room.

INT. FARMHOUSE/HALLWAY - MOMENTS LATER

Lila walks briskly down the hall, looking down.

She passes Bo’s door, which is slightly ajar --

Bo is sitting on the bed looking at an old PHOTO ALBUM. Lila

blows past the door...

But for a moment, we linger here, with Bo.

INT. FARMHOUSE/BASEMENT - MOMENTS LATER

Lila comes down the stairs. She spots some CARDBOARD behind
some boxes and goes to pull it out.

A moment later --

RUTH
Lila, I’m sorry. I got it all back
in the bucket. If you tell me where
the vacuum is I’ll --

Something catches Ruth’s eye...

A CRATE OF RECORDS that’s COVERED in COLORFUL BAND STICKERS.

Ruth moves to it quickly --

RUTH (CONT’D)
I can’t believe she still...

Lila cranes her neck, trying to see...

RUTH (CONT’D)
Oh shit.

LILA
...What?

RUTH
Do we still have a record player?

And off Lila --

CUT TO:
 64.

INT. FARMHOUSE/LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Ruth and Lila stand on either side of the record player. Ruth
pulls one record in particular from the bunch. She hands it
to Lila, who puts it on. The record starts to spin.

RUTH
You did this?

Lila nods. She places the needle.

They both stand there. Waiting.

Until...

A WOMAN’S VOICE CRIES OUT --

Followed by a a GUITAR...

And DRUMS...

Lila’s eyes go wide

As X-RAY SPEX’s ART-I-FICIAL calls out from the shitty old

speakers.

Ruth turns it up.

And they both stand there. Listening.

Ruth starts to nod her head. Just a little.

They STRAIN their voices above the music:

LILA
Bo never told me you had any
records.

RUTH
Probably because she doesn’t like
them.

Lila nods. And now her head starts to move, too.

WHEN SUDDENLY --

Bo CLEARS HER THROAT.

Lila quickly moves to turn it off.

BO
I take it you found the cardboard?
 65.

EXT. ROAD - AFTERNOON

Monroe walks along a desolate road.

And then in the distance he sees --

THE GAS STATION.

INT. GAS STATION/MINIMART - MOMENTS LATER

Monroe stands in front of the counter, mid-conversation --

MONROE
You know anything about the
abandoned car that was found about
10 miles from here?

KID
Yeah. Heard about it on the radio.
Was there really blood in it?

MONROE
I can’t comment on an ongoing
investigation.

He pulls a pad out from his back pocket. Starts writing

something.

MONROE (CONT’D)
But I do need to ask you a few
questions.

CUT TO:

INT. FARMHOUSE/LIVING ROOM - LATE AFTERNOON

CLOSE ON: Ruth. Eyes CLOSED.

BO (O.C.)
What happened right before?

RUTH
When the window broke?

BO (O.C.)
What were you doing?

Ruth and Bo sit at the table. The BOWL is there, too.

 66.

RUTH
I was... I don’t know.

BO
Were you trying to remember it
coming apart?

RUTH
Um... I, uh...

BO
Could you see it coming apart?

RUTH
No.

BO
Were you trying to remember?

RUTH
No. I was...

CUT TO:

EXT. FARMHOUSE - DAY

LILA’S FACE, eyes wide and focused.

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - LATE AFTERNOON

Ruth opens her eyes --

BO
What?

CRRRRRRAAAAANNNNKK CHUG CHUG --

They both turn --

CRRRRRRAAAAANNNNKK CHUG CHUG --

Ruth and Bo get up, moving to the door to see --

THROUGH THE SCREEN

Lila in the driver’s seat of the truck.

It CRANKS...
 67.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - LATER

Lila and Bo talk in front of the truck while Ruth sits on the
front steps of the porch, listening.

LILA
I think I need a new belt and some
different tools.
(beat)
Please can we go? Please please?

BO
You know we don’t go for another
couple weeks.

LILA
But we need the new glass for my
window...

Bo looks from Lila to Ruth...

BO
With Ruth here we could use some
extra water.

Lila smiles.

BO (CONT’D)
I’ll get my purse.

Bo looks to Ruth --

RUTH
Go. I’ll be fine.

Bo eyes her, unsure...

RUTH (CONT’D)
Really.

LILA
(to Bo)
Can I drive?

Bo gives Lila a look as we --

CUT TO:

EXT. DOWNTOWN GARRISON - LATE AFTERNOON

BO’S CAR pulls into town, the mountains standing tall in the
distance beyond the end of Main Street.
 68.

Bo parks. She and Lila get out.

And as they walk, Bo looks around. It’s still strange, seeing

things looking this way. She glances over at the POLICE
STATION and then turns back to Lila.

INT. GENERAL STORE - MOMENTS LATER

It’s one of the only businesses left in town. And they sell
EVERYTHING. Bo stands in front of a wall that should be
filled with JUGS OF WATER, but the pickings are slim.

Lila comes up to her with a BASKET FULL OF TOOLS and the NEW
BELT and a few other things.

BO
We can’t afford all of this, Lila.
Go put some back.
(beat)
Just what’s essential.

Lila nods slowly, disappointed. And then she heads back down
the aisle, away from Bo.

INT. ROADSIDE BAR - SAME

The room is dim and smoky. Muffled music plays. Michelle

stands behind the bar. She looks up. Smiles...

MICHELLE
What can I get you, officer?

Monroe sits down on a stool. Smiles back.

MONROE
Nothing, thank you. I just have a
few questions.

She takes a breath.

MICHELLE
I figured you would.

Monroe looks at her, searching...

CUT TO:

INT. FARMHOUSE/BATHROOM - SAME

Ruth stands over the sink, UNWRAPPING her wrists. She

inspects her wounds, which seem to be healing well.
 69.

She throws the bandages in the trash.

INT. FARMHOUSE/HALLWAY - LATER

She sits on the floor looking at the FRAMED PHOTOGRAPHS Bo

leaned up against the wall. She picks them up, one at a time,
looks at them...

-- Lila when she was a little girl.

-- Lila with Bo.

Ruth touches her finger to the photograph. NO GLASS.

Just like always.

-- A PAINTING of a RAINBOW that Lila must have painted.

-- A PICTURE of BO from when she was young. Hands on hips.

And then --

RRRIIIIINNNNNNG RING.

Ruth starts, turns --

INT. FARMHOUSE/BO’S ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

RRRIIIIINNNNNNG RING.

Ruth pushes the door open.

She stands there, frozen, staring at the TELEPHONE on Bo’s

side table.

RRRIIIIINNNNNNG RING.

Ruth isn’t sure what to do. She takes a few more steps into
the room, moves closer to the phone. Hesitates and --

CLICK.

The MACHINE PICKS UP --

BEEEEEEEP.

Nothing. No voice. Just SILENCE...

Until --

CLICK.
 70.

Whomever called hung up.

CUT TO:

INT. GENERAL STORE - LATE AFTERNOON

Bo is at the checkout with the GLASS and TWO JUGS OF WATER.

She looks over her shoulder and then back to the CLERK --

BO
Sorry Nancy, Lila’ll be here any
second, I really don’t know why
she’s --

NANCY
Oh please Helen, it’s fine. It’s
not like there’s a line or
anything.
(beat)
How are you girls?

Bo smiles.

INT. GENERAL STORE - SAME

Lila rounds the corner of one of the aisles and --

BUMPS INTO SOMEONE.

MAN’S VOICE (O.C.)

You should be more careful.

She looks up...

Bill.

Without a word, Lila takes off down the aisle and disappears
around a corner. Bill watches her go as his Partner walks up
next to him. They exchange a look.

INT. GENERAL STORE - SAME

Bo stands there, still talking to Nancy when --

LILA (O.C.)
Okay.

Bo turns and Lila is there. She puts the BELT and a CAN OF
OIL and ONE TOOL on the counter.
 71.

BO
This is all you need?

Lila nods and smiles. In the background, out of focus, are

Bill and his Partner, lingering.

BO (CONT’D)
Okay...

Nancy starts to ring them up.

CUT TO:

EXT. FIELD BEHIND THE FARMHOUSE - DUSK

Ruth sits on a BIG ROCK. Eyes closed. The blue and white BOWL
sits on the dead grass by her side.

RUTH
...to accept the things we cannot
change, the courage to change the
things we can, and the wisdom to
know the difference.

She opens her eyes.

RUTH (CONT’D)
Keep coming back it works if you
work it and you’re worth it.

She looks down at the ground. It’s just dirt back here. She
leans over, feeling it between her fingers.

She looks over the land, at the brown, at the lifeless

nothing spread out before her. She looks up at the BARE
TREES. At the CLOUDLESS SKY.

She watches the blue for a good, long moment.

And then she leans over and picks up the BOWL.

She holds it again. She closes her eyes, feeling it in her

hands, thinking of Lila taking it apart and putting it back
together again. And as she does...

A WIND moves past her, rattling the dead branches...

Her eyes still closed, she breathes deep.

Just as --

A CLEAR DUST begins to swirl above her, against the BLUE, and
it begins to TAKE SHAPE, still swirling...
 72.

Until it turns...

WHITE.

And the WHITE DUST continues to swirl together, starting to

form some kind of... VAPOR? White against the blue...

The SOUND of BO’S CAR --

Ruth OPENS HER EYES --

As a PILE OF WHITE DUST falls from the sky behind her. But
Ruth doesn’t see it.

BO (O.C.)
Ruth! Can you come help us?

CUT TO:

EXT. FARMHOUSE - MOMENTS LATER

Bo pulls the GLASS out of the back seat. Ruth moves quickly
to help her, as Lila runs right past them.

She doesn’t offer to help. She doesn’t even acknowledge Ruth.

Ruth looks from Lila back to Bo, who’s too focused on getting
the glass out of the car to notice.

INT. FARMHOUSE/LILA’S ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Lila comes flying in, CLOSING the door behind her. She sits
on the floor on the other side of her bed and DUMPS her COAT
POCKETS out onto the rug.

On the floor now are THREE PILES OF SILVER DUST.

She FOCUSES her EYES on the first pile, and after a moment...

It MATERIALIZES into...

A RATCHET HANDLE.

Then, the second, bigger pile MATERIALIZES into...

A TORQUE WRENCH.

And as she goes to work on the third pile, we --

CUT TO:
 73.

EXT. OPEN DESERT - EARLY EVENING

SEVERAL DARK SUVS, the BLACK CAR and a VAN are parked in the
dirt. A GROUP OF MEN stand talking, amongst them is Bill’s
Partner.

An OLDER MAN IN A SUIT stands off to the side, talking on a

black FLIP PHONE, Bill waiting nearby. The man finishes and
walks over to Bill --

OLDER MAN
They want to send you home, Bill.

BILL
We saw a girl in town today. She
looked like her. My man is on it. I
think... I think it’s her family. I
think that’s why she’s here.

The Older Man looks down, then back at Bill.

OLDER MAN
They’re not happy.

BILL
I just need a little more time --

The Older Man gestures to Bill’s bruises.

OLDER MAN
She did that to you?

Bill looks down, frustrated --

OLDER MAN (CONT’D)

You had her and you lost her.
They’re running out of patience.

BILL
We’ve never been this close before,
you have to make them understand.
You saw our research, this woman
can cause tectonic plates to shift.
Plates that have never moved. Do
you realize what that means?
(beat)
She can effect the energy of the
earth. And they’re running out of
patience because I needed back up?

And off the Older Man’s face we --

CUT TO:
 74.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - EVENING

The HOOD of the truck stands open, the top half of Lila
disappeared inside as she works.

INT. FARMHOUSE/LIVING ROOM - SAME

Ruth sits on the couch. Looking through the JOURNAL again.

RUTH
(reading out loud)
Ruth wanted to go down to the pond
today, I was afraid after what
happened last time. But there’s not
much water left in it, so I figured
there wouldn’t any people there
either. There’s been so little rain
this summer.

Bo comes into the room, wiping her hands on a dishrag. Ruth

looks up at her, and then back down.

RUTH (CONT’D)
She threw a fit that there wasn’t
enough for a swim. She tried to
break apart the water with her
hands. She told me she wanted to
make more.

BO
Lila’s never even been swimming.

CRRRRRRAAAAANNNNKK CHUG CHUG --

CRRRRRRAAAAANNNNKK CHUG CHUG --

They both turn, looking out the window.

RUTH
Oh, the... I almost forgot, the
phone rang.

Bo looks sharply back at Ruth --

RUTH (CONT’D)
While you were out.

BO
And?

RUTH
I didn’t get it.
(beat)
(MORE)
 75.

RUTH (CONT'D)
The machine came on, but they
didn’t leave a message. I’m sorry
if I should have --

BO
No. It’s good. It’s fine.
(beat)
Probably a wrong number.

Ruth nods.

Then Bo notices Ruth’s bare wrists. Her scars. Ruth notices

Bo noticing. And self-consciously, she holds her wrists.

And again, from outside...

CRRRRRRAAAAANNNNKK CHUG CHUG --

CRRRRRRAAAAANNNNKK CHUG CHUG --

As we --

CUT TO:

INT. FARMHOUSE/LILA’S ROOM - NIGHT

Lila, in her PAJAMAS, sits in on the floor reading an old

AUTO REPAIR MAGAZINE. We can see the NEW PIECE OF GLASS lying
on the carpet near the broken window, which now has SEVERAL
PIECES of CARDBOARD TAPED over it.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

LILA
Come in...

Ruth pops her head in the door.

RUTH
You still awake?

LILA
Yeah.

Ruth comes in. She’s holding SOME RECORDS. Under her arm,
Lila can see the X-RAY SPEX “GERM FREE ADOLESCENTS” album
peeking out.

RUTH
I thought since you liked the other
one, I could show you some more?

CUT TO:
 76.

INT. FARMHOUSE/BO’S ROOM - SAME

Bo sits on the edge of her bed. She pushes PLAY on the

ANSWERING MACHINE.

ANSWERING MACHINE
You have one new message.

BEEEEEEP.

It’s silent, of course.

But then...

Bo starts to COUNT. Under her breath, to herself...

BO
One... two... three... four...
five...

Until --

CLICK.

Bo looks up --

CUT TO:

INT. FARMHOUSE/LILA’S ROOM - SAME

Lila and Ruth are sitting on the bed now, looking at the
records. Ruth is holding up PATTI SMITH, “HORSES” --

RUTH
She felt out of place as a kid, she
never felt like she belonged
anywhere. But Patti knew she had
something special inside that
needed to get out. And through her
music, it did.

Next Ruth pulls out NINA SIMONE, “SOUL & SILK” --

LILA
But that’s one of Bo’s records.

RUTH
No matter what kind of music you
like, you like Nina. She’s the
queen. That’s the rule.

Lila smiles. Ruth holds up...

 77.

LAURYN HILL, “THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL” --

RUTH (CONT’D)
Okay.
(beat)
Lauryn Hill got pregnant when she
was 22 and lots of people told her
not to have the baby. That it would
ruin her career. But she did. And
then she wrote this. It’s the only
solo album she ever recorded... But
it’s okay, cause it’s perfect.
(beat)
And the best song on the album is
about her kid.

And finally, the X-RAY SPEX, “GERM FREE ADOLESCENTS” --

RUTH (CONT’D)
And last but not least... X-Ray
Spex. The lead singer was Poly
Styrene and after seeing the Sex
Pistols live, she --

LILA
What’s a sex pistol?

Ruth can’t help but laugh --

RUTH
Sorry, it’s uh, they’re a band.

Lila nods.

RUTH (CONT’D)
So after seeing them she decided to
form her own group. She put an ad
in the paper that just said
“Looking for young punks who want
to stick together.”

LILA
Hey --

RUTH
She was 18.

LILA
-- you wrote that in the truck.

RUTH
What?
 78.

LILA
In the --

RUTH
Oh shit!

LILA
It was yours, right?

Ruth nods. Yes.

LILA (CONT’D)
Bo doesn’t know this but... I’m
fixing it so I can leave.

RUTH
You what?

LILA
She thinks I just like fixing
things, I mean, I do but... I want
to see what’s out there. Didn’t you
ever wonder if our abilities meant
something?
(beat)
Like could we really do something.

RUTH
We’re not superheroes, Lila. We’re
just trying to get by.

LILA
What if there’s more?

RUTH
Trust me. There’s not.

LILA
But what if there is and you just
can’t see it?

RUTH
Listen. These women...
(gesturing to the records)
Are the real superheroes and that’s
the truth.

Lila smiles.

RUTH (CONT’D)
Don’t be in such a hurry to leave.

LILA
Why not? You did.
 79.

RUTH
Exactly.

And with that, Ruth gets up, leaning the records against the
night stand as Lila gets under the covers. Ruth looks back at
Lila --

RUTH (CONT’D)
Okay.

Lila’s just sitting there, returning her gaze.

RUTH (CONT’D)
Good night.

LILA
Good night.

And off this, we...

CUT TO:

EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT

Ruth comes outside, walking across the porch and down the
front steps, but she pauses for a moment when she gets to the
front yard.

She looks up at the BRIGHT STARS and the BIG MOON and the
DARK SKY. Then she looks back at the house, at the warm light
coming from within...

And then she realizes that Bo’s car is gone...

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. OLD RESERVOIR - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

Monroe sits on a BENCH in front of a DRIED OUT RESERVOIR.

He looks around. Looks at his watch.

BO (O.C.)
What’s this about, Dean?

He stands, turns to her --

MONROE
Helen. It’s... I think it’s Ruth. I
think something’s wrong.
 80.

BO
How do you know she’s here?

MONROE
So she is here.

BO
Yes.

MONROE
And she’s okay?

BO
Yes.

MONROE
Were you going to tell me?

Bo sits.

BO
I hadn’t gotten that far --

MONROE
I can’t protect you if I don’t know
what’s going on.

Monroe sits, too.

BO
We never thought she’d come back.

He pulls out a PACK OF CIGARETTES. He hands one to her, helps

her light it.

She takes a long drag. Monroe doesn’t smoke.

BO (CONT’D)
Wait how do you know she’s here?

MONROE
The car.

BO
What car?

MONROE
The one on the side of the road.

BO
What the hell are you talking
about, Dean?

CUT TO:
 81.

INT. BARN - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

Ruth hastily grabs what few things she has, shoving them into
the backpack --

RUTH
I already told you, he attacked me
and I defended myself!

BO
Who was he?

Ruth hesitates --

RUTH
Just some guy I hitched a ride
from.

BO
There are people looking for you!

This throws Ruth.

RUTH
How do you know all of this?

And now Bo hesitates --

BO
It was on the radio.

RUTH
What was?

BO
Someone saw you, described you, it
was close to town. I put it
together.

Ruth’s eyes narrow...

RUTH
Where were you tonight?

BO
I needed to go for a drive.

RUTH
Why would you --

BO
You put Lila in danger, Ruth. Do
you even realize that?
 82.

Ruth takes this in, she doesn’t know how to respond --

LILA (O.C.)
...Are you leaving?

Bo and Ruth turn to see --

Lila standing in the doorway in her pajamas. She rubs an eye.

RUTH
I’m... Bo thinks I should.

LILA
But you said you wouldn’t make it
if you left.

Ruth throws a look to Bo --

RUTH
I did.

BO
That’s not fair --

LILA
(to BO)
Why do you want her to go?

BO
It’s too dangerous.

RUTH
(to Bo)
What are you afraid of?

BO
I don’t even know where to begin.

Ruth looks around, searching...

RUTH
Did they say my name?

BO
What?

RUTH
On the radio. Did they say my name?

Bo looks from Ruth to Lila and back again --

BO
No... they didn’t. I don’t think
they did. I --
 83.

RUTH
What do they actually know?

BO
That there was a car found on the
side of the road and two people’s
blood was in it. A man and a woman.
And someone described the woman and
it sounded like you.

LILA
I don’t understand --

RUTH
But they don’t know my name? Or
where I am?

Bo shakes her head. No.

Ruth looks intensely at her mother.

RUTH (CONT’D)
Did you even notice that I haven’t
had a seizure since the first night
I was here?

Bo looks down, and then back to Ruth --

RUTH (CONT’D)
I feel like I’m getting closer. I
do. I just need you to...

BO
To what?

It’s a stand-off, until...

RUTH
I’m staying. Alright? I’m staying
because I have to.

And with that, Bo turns and leaves.

But Lila stays, looking at her mother. Stuck in the middle,

totally unsure of what to do or say or think or feel.

And then, walking slowly, she too leaves the barn. But just
before she walks out, she throws a look over her shoulder
towards her mother. Ruth meets her gaze.

And finally, Ruth is alone. She takes a breath.

 84.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - MORNING

The Old Truck sits in the morning light.

INT. FARMHOUSE/LIVING ROOM - SAME

Sunlight breaks through the windows. The room glows.

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - SAME

An empty water jug.

The round table and chairs.

The bowl.

Bo walks in.

She LIGHTS A FLAME and turns to measure out some water.

Seeing the empty jug, she pulls another one out from under
the sink. She opens the jug and pours ONE CUP OF WATER into a
POT and puts the pot over the flame.

Lila comes in.

She and Bo don’t acknowledge each other as Lila opens a

CUPBOARD and takes out a GLASS JAR of GRANOLA.

She moves, placing the granola on the table as Bo opens

another cabinet and takes out THREE BOWLS.

Lila turns back towards Bo as she extends the bowls out to

Lila, who takes them.

And as Lila moves back to the table, Ruth comes in.

Lila lays the bowls out, one in front of each chair, and Ruth
takes the granola from the table and pours it into the bowls.

The three women sit around the table, eating their dry
granola in silence. Lila looks up at Bo, then over to Ruth,
and then back down to her granola.

In the background, the water starts to boil.

And over this --

CRRRRRRAAAAANNNNKK CHUG CHUG --

CRRRRRRAAAAANNNNKK CHUG CHUG --

 85.

INT. FARMHOUSE/LIVING ROOM - LATER

Ruth looks out the window at Lila, who is sitting in the

truck, trying to get it to start. Bo walks over to the window
and stands by Ruth. They both look out.

BO
The first time I left this house, I
met your father.

Ruth looks at her mother --

BO (CONT’D)
We were both about 14, I think? At
least I let her go out.

She nods out the window, towards Lila.

BO (CONT’D)
My mother wouldn’t even let me go
to the store. So I snuck out. I
walked. All the way. I must have
been standing in front of the candy
store -- there used to be this
candy store, right in the middle of
town -- staring in the window for
30 minutes. I didn’t have any
money. He bought me a piece of
blueberry taffy. Wanted to walk me
home, too. I wouldn’t let him of
course. He couldn’t know where we
lived. No one could.

CRRRRRRAAAAANNNNKK CHUG CHUG --

BO (CONT’D)
We did that every Saturday for
almost a year before my mother
found out. I couldn’t give him my
address to write letters, but I did
give him my number. He would call
and stay on the line for five
seconds, my mother going “hello?”
... “hello?” and me in the next
room, counting. And if it was
five... it was him. We’d meet at
the reservoir. In the middle of the
night. By the time my mother caught
onto that plan, I was already
pregnant.

Ruth looks at her mother in disbelief. Bo nods.

CRRRRRRAAAAANNNNKK CHUG CHUG --

 86.

BO (CONT’D)
We’re all just doing the same thing
over and over, hoping somebody will
get it right.

And then --

VROOOOOOOOOOOM!

The ENGINE STARTS as we --

CUT TO:

EXT. FARMHOUSE - MOMENTS LATER

Lila gets out of the idling truck, jumping up and down as

Ruth and Bo quickly come outside.

BO
Lila! You did it!

Lila smiles.

BO (CONT’D)
Well, I told you if you did, you
could have it. I’m so proud of you!

RUTH
Technically it’s my truck, so I’m
the only one who can give it to
you...

Bo smiles at Lila.

RUTH (CONT’D)
And I guess you can have it.

Lila smiles at Ruth.

And just then SOMETHING ON THE GROUND catches Bo’s eye --

BO
What are those?

Lila turns and looks down. Ruth does too.

LILA
...Tools?

And there on the ground... the NEW TOOLS.

 87.

BO
I’m aware of that. Where did you
get them?

LILA
I found them.

BO
Where?

LILA
In the barn.

BO
Those tools are new, Lila.

Lila looks away... Bo moves to the truck, turning it off, she

takes out the keys.

BO (CONT’D)
You’ve never lied to me before.

Lila looks at Ruth and then back to Bo --

BO (CONT’D)
(to Ruth)
Did you have something to do with
this?

RUTH
What? No.

Bo turns back to Lila --

BO
How did you get them out of the
store?

Lila looks away.

BO (CONT’D)
Did you...

She doesn’t respond.

BO (CONT’D)
Lila.

Ruth shakes her head.

BO (CONT’D)
What?
 88.

RUTH
I’m staying out of it.

BO
You’re good at that.

LILA
She didn’t do anything --

BO
I can’t believe you would use them
to steal.

LILA
What was I supposed to do?

BO
That is NOT what our abilities are
for, Lila!

LILA
Then what are they for?! What’s the
fucking point?

BO
Language!

LILA
At least I actually did something.
What do you do except sit here
making piles of dust?

SUDDENLY --

The SOUND of a CAR COMING down the driveway...

Bo turns --

And driving fast down the road is a

POLICE CRUISER.

BO
Go inside. Now.
(beat)
Both of you.

The Cruiser comes to a stop --

BO (CONT’D)
I said go inside!

Lila turns and heads up the stairs, across the porch and
through the door...
 89.

Just as Monroe gets out.

BO (CONT’D)
(turning on him)
What are you --

Ruth is still on the porch --

BO (CONT’D)
(turning to Ruth)
Inside!

But Ruth doesn’t move.

Monroe just stands there, staring at Ruth, who stares back at

him in disbelief. It takes him a good long moment to gather
himself, to get the words out --

MONROE
I’m not here to take you in, Ruth.

INT. FARMHOUSE - SAME

Just inside the house, Lila is watching through the screen

door...

MONROE
I’m here to tell you that you have
to go.
(beat)
Now.

EXT. FARMHOUSE/FRONT PORCH - SAME

RUTH
How long have you two been talking?

MONROE
I know this is a lot to be --

RUTH
And how long have you been a cop?

MONROE
We don’t have much time --

RUTH
(to Bo in disbelief)
The radio?

Lila comes back out --

 90.

LILA
What’s going on?

BO
(to Lila)
I told you to stay inside!

But she’s not going anywhere.

BO (CONT’D)
She was defending herself, what’s
going on?

MONROE
There’s a lot more to it than that.

RUTH
(to Monroe)
Please. It’s alright, I’ll go. You
don’t have to --

MONROE
Your mother needs to know, Ruth,
she needs to know what happened in
the city.

Bo turns to Ruth...

RUTH
(to Lila)
Lila, go upstairs.

But again, Lila doesn’t move.

Ruth looks from Monroe. To Lila. To her mother.

RUTH (CONT’D)
When the seizures came back worse
than before, this guy, he pretended
to be in program with me. He said
he could help, but it was all a
lie. He held me captive, but then I
had a chance to escape...

She looks right at Bo now, who has tears in her eyes, a

horrified look on her face.

RUTH (CONT’D)
It was his gun. Not mine.

Bo motions for Lila to move to her, and Lila does. Bo grabs

for her, holding her close.
 91.

RUTH (CONT’D)
And this other guy, the one in the
accident, they worked together.

BO
What do you mean?

Ruth doesn’t know how to --

MONROE
They know, Helen.

Bo’s hand goes to her mouth, eyes wide...

MONROE (CONT’D)
(to Ruth)
They’d been following you for
months.

RUTH
What?

MONROE
It’s big, they’re coordinated.
They wouldn’t tell us anything
directly, I got what information I
could and came right here. They’ve
tracked you to town. That’s
everything I know.

Lila’s looking at him... her wheels spinning...

Bo is quiet, scary quiet. Ruth just looks at her. Waiting.

She can’t wait any longer --

RUTH
(to Bo)
If I had told you would you have
let me stay?

Bo remains quiet. But we know the answer.

RUTH (CONT’D)
And then what would have happened
to me?

Until finally --

BO
What about your daughter?

Ruth doesn’t know what to say.

 92.

LILA
(to Monroe)
Why are you helping us?

Monroe turns. Everyone is silent. He looks to Bo...

BO
(hesitant)
We’re old friends sweetheart, but
that’s not what’s --

RUTH
(to Bo)
She doesn’t know?

LILA
(to Ruth)
I don’t know what?

Ruth moves to Lila. She looks at Bo, and then --

RUTH
Lila, this is my dad.
(beat)
Your grandfather.

Lila looks at Monroe...

MONROE
Things just got too complicated. It
was too risky. People asked too
many questions. So your grandmother
thought it was best if I leave.

LILA
Why is everyone always leaving?

Monroe doesn’t know what to say...

BO
I wanted to keep you safe. It was
too dangerous being connected to
the outside! Everything I did, I
did to keep you safe --

LILA
But I’m not afraid!

MONROE
Ruth, you need to go.

LILA
(to Ruth)
Take me with you.
 93.

BO
Lila! Don’t be --

LILA
I can’t stay here!

Bo hands Ruth the keys to the truck.

BO
Go.

Ruth looks into her mother’s eyes... and takes the keys.

LILA
Please --

Ruth steels herself, turns on Lila --

RUTH
You want some truth? I didn’t want
you. I was so messed up I couldn’t
take care of myself, I couldn’t
take care of a baby. I don’t even
know who your father is. For a
while after you were born the
seizures didn’t come back and I
thought maybe... you’d fixed me.
(beat)
But then...

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

A massive CRACK rushes down a DINGY PLASTER WALL --

EXT. FARMHOUSE - AFTERNOON

RUTH
One morning, I...

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

A silver PIPE SNAPS, exploding with WATER --

 94.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - AFTERNOON

RUTH
I wasn’t better.

LILA
So you left me here and now you’re
gonna leave again?

BO
Lila, sweetheart --

LILA
Just go! I don’t care anymore!

Lila turns and runs into the house.

Ruth looks down at her hand, at the keys to the truck.

She looks up, wants to go after Lila, but --

BO
Please.

Ruth stands there. She looks at Bo. At Monroe. He nods. She

gives one last look towards the house and then --

EXT. FARMHOUSE - MOMENTS LATER

The Old Truck RACES away, up the drive.

EXT. FARMHOUSE/PORCH - SAME

Bo and Monroe watch it go.

INT. FARMHOUSE/LILA’S ROOM - SAME

Lila looks out the window -- now FIXED -- and watches the
truck disappear around the bend...

INT. OLD TRUCK - SAME

Ruth’s hands GRIP the wheel as she speeds down the driveway.
Her eyes focused on the road ahead...

Her breath is short and quick. An ugly noise escapes her

lips. She’s alone. She’s leaving. She’s done this before...

She clears her throat, shaking the hair out of her face.
 95.

And she drives on.

EXT. ROAD - AFTERNOON

The truck races down the road.

And then... it starts to CLICK and SPUTTER and SLOW...

And finally...

It STALLS. And pulls off onto the side of the road.

INT. OLD TRUCK - SAME

She slams her hands on the wheel.

RUTH
Shit. Shit. Shit.

And then she sees the GAS METER and realizes...

THE TANK IS EMPTY.

EXT. ROAD - MOMENTS LATER

Ruth opens the METAL STORAGE BOX in the truck bed. And when
she does, spray painted across the inside of the lid --

looking for young punks who want to stick together

She moves her hand across it, gently.

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Ruth, much younger, sleeps on faded sheets. By her side, BABY

LILA, sleeps too.

EXT. ROAD - SAME

Ruth closes her eyes, opens them again --

She pulls an EMPTY GAS CANISTER out from the STORAGE BOX and
SLAMS the lid.

CUT TO:
 96.

EXT. ROAD - DUSK

Ruth walks down an empty road, GAS CANISTER in hand.

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT - SAME

Ruth shifts a little in her sleep.

EXT. GAS STATION - SAME

She FILLS UP the CANISTER and...

Her HAND starts to shake.

CUT TO:

INT. APARTMENT - SAME

Ruth’s head SNAPS BACK --

EXT. GAS STATION - SAME

Ruth looks at her SHAKING HAND and pulls the cannister away,
puts it down and RUNS --

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Ruth and the bed SHAKE. Baby Lila, near the end of the bed
now, CRIES and WAILS --

EXT. GAS STATION - SAME

Ruth runs across the street --

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

The DINGY PLASTER WALL CRACKS --

EXT. DESERT - DUSK

Ruth runs out into the land as far as she can --

 97.

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

The silver pipe SNAPS --

EXT. DESERT - DUSK

Ruth falls forward to her knees --

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Ruth comes to and GASPS. BABY LILA is NOWHERE --

EXT. DESERT - DUSK

The sky moves, big and DARKENING before her.

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Ruth is surrounded by WATER on all sides, with the PIPE

pushing more WATER into the room every second --

EXT. DESERT - DUSK

Ruth lies back --

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Ruth’s ARMS PLUNGE into the WATER...

NOTHING.

EXT. DESERT - DUSK

Ruth CLENCHES her eyes shut --

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Frantic, she PLUNGES her ARMS IN AGAIN --

EXT. DESERT - DUSK

Ruth grabs hold of DEAD WEEDS coming up from the dirt --

 98.

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

And GRABS UP Baby Lila.

Baby lila doesn’t move. She doesn’t make a sound. Ruth

stares. Breathless, helpless...

EXT. DESERT - DUSK

A STRONG WIND begins to blow --

The ground starts to BLUR and press together as an INVISIBLE

FORCE moves over everything...

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Until...

Baby Lila WAILS.

EXT. DESERT - DUSK

As a DROP OF WATER LANDS ON RUTH’S FACE.

She OPENS her eyes.

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Ruth holds Baby Lila close. She rocks her. Up and down, up
and down. Holding her as close as she can.

EXT. DESERT - DUSK

ANOTHER DROP.

Ruth touches her face.

It’s WATER.

She rubs it between her fingers until it’s completely

absorbed into her skin.

And she notices... her hand isn’t shaking anymore.

She looks up, WIND blowing back her hair --

 99.

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Ruth presses her face to Baby Lila’s head.

EXT. DESERT - DUSK

Ruth’s mouth falls open. She gets up, steps back...

INT. APARTMENT - DAY

Surrounded by water...

Baby Lila has stopped crying.

She stares up at Ruth, EYES WIDE WITH LIFE.

EXT. DESERT - DUSK

Ruth’s eyes dart EVERYWHERE --

She smiles, exhaling, and then we see what she sees:

THE SKY ABOVE HER is GREY, thick and cottony.

And then, through the grey comes...

COLOR.

Willowy and radial, seeping through the grey, coming for

her...

PURPLE

BLUE

RED

YELLOW

She sees them.

She sees the colors.

The WIND GROWS as she backs away, slowly, the colors still
coming --

CUT TO:
 100.

EXT. GAS STATION - EVENING

Ruth on the run, she grabs the GAS CANISTER from where she
left it and keeps running --

EXT. ROAD - SAME

She runs, carrying the canister, a GREAT WIND pushing her on.

And then again we see what she sees --

LONG BANDS OF COLOR

Racing towards her.

BLUE

and

RED

and

PURPLE

Bright and sharp in the night --

EXT. TRUCK - SAME

TIRES SCREAMING, the truck heads back down the road.

INT. TRUCK - SAME

Ruth’s eyes dart all around, as she sees the COLORS

reflecting and refracting on the windshield, in the street
lights and the wind and the night.

She comes to a STOP LIGHT and as she races through it she

looks up to see --

RED

and

YELLOW

and

GREEN

Stretching up and out across the dark --

 101.

EXT. FARMHOUSE - NIGHT

The truck races down the driveway and then starts to slow
down, barely stopping before Ruth jumps out... her COLORS
gone now.

She runs up to the house --

A look of horror on her face.

THE DOOR IS BUSTED.

SEVERAL WINDOWS ARE BROKEN.

She races up the porch steps --

INT. FARMHOUSE/KITCHEN - SAME

Everything has been TURNED OVER.

The table. The chairs. The pictures.

RUTH
Mom! Lila!

The blue and white bowl lies BROKEN on the floor.

And then she notices...

PILES OF DUST.

She runs into the --

INT. FARMHOUSE/LIVING ROOM - SAME

Everything is a mess here too --

RUTH
Mom?

INT. FARMHOUSE/LILA’S ROOM - SAME

Ruth just stands in the middle of the room. Devastated.

And over this --

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK --

CUT TO:
 102.

EXT. SMALL SUBURBAN HOUSE - NIGHT

CLOSE ON: RUTH’S FIST BANGS on the DOOR.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK --

It opens --

RUTH
Where are they?

MONROE (O.C.)
They’re alright --

RUTH
What happened?

INT. SMALL SUBURBAN HOUSE - SAME

Monroe moves aside as Ruth charges in.

MONROE
Sit.

RUTH
I can’t.

MONROE
Your mother is on her way here --

RUTH
What about Lila --

MONROE
They’re holding her. They came to
the house looking for you.

RUTH
They?

MONROE
Police. With those other men, the
ones who were after you.

RUTH
Why are they holding her, it’s --

MONROE
When they came to the house she
just... She used her abilities.

Ruth’s mouth falls open...

 103.

MONROE (CONT’D)
She thought she could make them
stop looking for you.

This hits Ruth right in the gut. She makes to leave, but --

MONROE (CONT’D)
There’s nothing to do until your
mother gets back.

RUTH
Can’t we just go to the --

MONROE
She’s coming from there. We just
have to wait.

Ruth gives in. Sits.

Drops her head in her hands.

MONROE (CONT’D)
I sold the body shop and started at
the academy soon after your mom
asked me to leave. You were about
8, I think.

RUTH
Why are you...

MONROE
Before, you asked how long I’d been
a cop.

Ruth nods. Right.

MONROE (CONT’D)
Whenever there’s a case with a
woman who’s missing? It’s always
you.

Ruth looks up --

MONROE (CONT’D)
I’ve been doing it for so many
years I don’t even remember how it
started. When they tell me where
the woman was, I see you there.
When they tell me what she was
doing, it’s you doing it. And then,
eventually, things get solved and
there’s this real woman standing
there. Someone’s else’s sister.
(MORE)
 104.

MONROE (CONT’D)
Someone else’s daughter. And it’s
not you.

RUTH
How did you know?

MONROE
The bartender. At the place near
Valley’s.

Ruth nods. Of course.

MONROE (CONT’D)
You’re sober?

RUTH
(yes)
Almost a year.

MONROE
I’m proud of you.

She meets his eyes just as --

The door OPENS.

BO
Dean, I need you to --

Ruth stands up.

RUTH
Are you alright? Is she alright?

BO
They’re holding her. They wouldn’t
let me see her. They don’t know
about my abilities and they don’t
know where you are. You have to
leave, Ruth --

RUTH
I can’t.

BO
Why must you always be so --

RUTH
I saw the colors.

Bo’s eye go wide...

RUTH (CONT’D)
I did. Right after I left.
 105.

Bo can’t help but feel it.

RUTH (CONT’D)
I think they’re more than something
we see. You were right that someone
could take apart the sky, but it’s
not Simona. It’s --

BO
No. You need to go! You need to
hide, you need to --

With so much tenderness, Ruth shakes her head.

RUTH
We’re done hiding.

She reaches up to touch Bo’s face, but Bo flinches --

Calmly, Ruth looks at her. Bo looks back.

And Ruth places her hand on her cheek.

RUTH (CONT’D)
I’m not scared anymore.

Ruth looks at both of her parents. They look back at her...

And with that, Ruth is out the door.

Bo stands there. Frozen.

MONROE
...Helen?

She can’t look at him. He grabs onto her.

MONROE (CONT’D)
We have to go after her.

She looks up at him --

MONROE (CONT’D)
I know you think you can’t stop
them, but we have to try.

Realization falls over Bo’s face...

BO
...You don’t know.

He lets go, shaking his head, confused.

 106.

BO (CONT’D)
All this time I thought you knew.

He looks at her, searching --

BO (CONT’D)
I thought you knew why it was so
important that we hid, why no one
could know about us.
(beat)
I’m not scared that I can’t stop
these men. I’m scared that I can.

His eyes go wide...

BO (CONT’D)
I don’t want to be afraid anymore.

He takes her arms in his hand, looking deep into her eyes --

MONROE
Then don’t be.

And off of her face we --

CUT TO:

INT. POLICE STATION/LITTLE ROOM - JUST BEFORE DAWN

CLOSE ON: SMALL PILES of SILVER and BLACK DUST

We WIDEN OUT to reveal Lila, sitting inside a white room on a

cot. The piles of dust are at her feet. She rubs her wrists,
freshly released from the handcuffs.

She moves to the door... and she FOCUSES her EYES on it.

But it’s useless. It’s too big for her.

EXT. DOWNTOWN GARRISON - SAME

Down the street from the POLICE STATION...

The Old Truck sits, parked.

INT. TRUCK - SAME

Ruth in the drivers seat. She opens the door --

 107.

EXT. DOWNTOWN GARRISON - MORNING

She looks up and down the street. Not many people here. Not
many cars. And then she looks up at...

THE SKY.

And the WIND starts to move...

ACROSS THE STREET

Bo’s car pulls up in front of the POLICE STATION --

Monroe and Bo hurry out as a GUST OF WIND blows past them.

Bo shudders and looks up --

She follows the wind as it moves over to...

RUTH.

Monroe heads for the station, but Bo puts her hand out,
grabbing his arm, stopping him. And he follows her gaze...

BACK WITH RUTH

The wind above her begins to collect and swirl, forming...

CLEAR DUST

That then turns into a MASS OF DUST, taking shape. And as it

swirls around it turns...

WHITE

Swirling into VAPOR...

That same WHITE against that same BLUE.

But this time, it’s... more. The swirling vapor beats and
grows and beats and grows until it’s...

A CLOUD. WAY UP in the SKY.

Ruth staggers back, catches herself.

BACK WITH BO AND MONROE

Bo’s expression is tight and expectant, looking from the

cloud back down to Ruth --

AND THEN --

WITH RUTH
 108.

The ONE CLOUD begins to CHANGE COLOR, turning from white to

grey... and then the grey SPREADS OUT out into MORE DUST and
the DUST swirls and becomes

MANY GREY CLOUDS

That cast a SHADOW across the SQUARE, across the people who
have stopped their cars, who have started to come out of the
few buildings left in town, who have come outside to see what
the hell is going on.

The CLOUDS get DARKER and DARKER...

And LARGER and LARGER...

UNTIL --

They BREAK OPEN and...

IT RAINS.

It’s light at first, water dropping slowly from the clouds.

Out of sequence, random.

Ruth feels the rain on her face and... she opens her eyes.

SOME PEOPLE run for cover. OTHERS stay and watch.

The rain falls on Monroe.

It falls on Bo.

AND THEN --

More drops... More rhythm...

Harder --

And FASTER --

AND --

INT. POLICE STATION/LITTLE ROOM - SAME

DROP DROP DROP DROP DROPDROPDROPDROP --

Lila looks around, so confused. RAIN falls on the roof and

streams down the outside wall and --

MAN’S VOICE (O.C.)

It’s raining! It’s raining!

She hears FEET running away from her door.

 109.

She runs to the door, and standing on her tip-toes she looks
out the tiny window to see...

NO ONE’S THERE.

EXT. DOWNTOWN GARRISON - SAME

It rains on.

And the people who ran inside when it started realize...

It’s safe. They come back out.

POLICEMEN come out from inside, Running down the steps of the
building, out into the street --

Everyone is outside. Everyone is looking up at the rain.

And then come the MEN IN SUITS, the Older Man, Bill’s
Partner, and...

Bill.

Everyone has come to see it rain. To see it rain for the

first time in years.

Seeing Bill, Ruth starts towards him --

But Bo moves quickly, into the middle of the street --

When Ruth sees Bo, she stops.

Monroe doesn’t know what to do.

Bill turns to his men --

BILL
(re Bo)
Why is she back here?

He turns to Bo --

BILL (CONT’D)
We already went through this,
Ma’am.

But Bo doesn’t move. She stands her ground.

ONE COP pulls his GUN.

BILL (CONT’D)
It will be better for you if you
cooperate.
 110.

Bo takes a breath... And doesn’t move.

Bill nods, and a few more POLICE draw their GUNS.

VARIOUS COPS
Please ma’am, put up your hands!

Ruth starts out again, towards her mother. Bo see her move,
throws her hand out, begging her to stop --

Now Bill sees Ruth. He looks from Bo to Ruth and he’s about
to turn back to his men when --

BO
There’s something I didn’t tell
you!

Bill looks back at Bo.

BO (CONT’D)
What these girls can do?
(beat)
It’s all because of me.

Bo’s breath quickens and then... she FOCUSES HER EYES

intently on the Police as --

The GUNS in their hands begin to beat and swell and --

DISINTEGRATE

Plumes of black and silver dust swirl from their hands to the
ground. The men step back, half-terrified, half-amazed, and
they watch as

The RAIN WASHES the dust AWAY...

Bo waivers, looking like she might --

Monroe makes a moves to catch her --

But she catches herself. Stands her ground.

Bill can’t believe what he’s seeing. He had no idea...

He knew nothing at all.

Slowly, the POLICE and the MEN IN SUITS begin to retreat,

back towards the station, hands empty, unsure of what to do
next. But Bill stands there. Amazed and... alone.

Bo continues to speak directly to him.

 111.

BO (CONT’D)
(calling out)
They’re just children. You don’t
want them.
(beat)
Take me instead.

Monroe moves to her --

MONROE
Helen, this isn’t what we --

She turns to him --

BO
I know.
(beat)
But they’ll just come after us.
Ruth is right, I’m done hiding.

He relents, he doesn’t want to but he does...

Bo looks back up at Bill.

BO (CONT’D)
(calling out)
You’re going to let them go. And
I’m going to stay. We could all go,
but I won’t do that to you. Someone
always has to stay behind. And this
time, it’s me.

Bill glances over at Ruth. She’s staring right back.

One of the COPS calls out to Bill --

COP #1
We have to take that woman in, sir,
she’s wanted for murder.

Bill looks from Ruth to Bo and, still looking at Bo, he

responds to the Cop --

BILL
This is far more important.

Bo nods.

BO
You think your world is dying, but
what you don’t know is that it’s
already dead. But a new world will
come. You can tie us up, but you
can’t hold us down.
 112.

And with that, Bo takes a breath and CLOSES her EYES --

INT. POLICE STATION/LITTLE ROOM - SAME

A look of wonder on her face, Lila backs away from the door
as from outside, Bo causes the door to BLUR and
DISINTEGRATE... turning to DUST that falls to the floor.

Lila steps over the pile of dust and out into the empty
hallway. She takes off running --

BO (O.C.)
The world is coming either way.

Lila emerges into the

MAIN ROOM

Which is also empty.

She looks this way and that until she sees --

The FRONT DOOR beginning to BLUR...

BO (O.C.) (CONT’D)
If you listen, I will tell you
everything.

...and it DISINTEGRATES to DUST and falls to the floor. Lila

steps over it and emerges into --

EXT. DOWNTOWN GARRISON - SAME

She sees BO.

BO
This is only the beginning.

And then Lila sees --

The POLICE and Bill and his Partner and the MEN IN SUITS --
useless on the steps of the station -- who have all turned to
look at her. Their mouths open. Their eyes wide.

MONROE, off to the side, watches too.

And LILA just stands there. Getting DRENCHED.

Bill looks back to Bo... And then he waves off his Men and
Police, who make a path for Lila...
 113.

Bo motions for Lila to come. And slowly, Lila walks down the
steps. All eyes on her.

Lila reaches Bo.

BO (CONT’D)
Give this to your mother.

She extends a SMALL PIECE OF PAPER.

Lila’s eyes widen --

LILA
She came back?

BO
For you.

Bo nods in the direction of where Ruth stands, further down

the street. Lila looks and sees --

HER MOTHER. Soaking wet.

Lila turns back to Bo --

LILA
You’re not coming?

BO
No, sweetheart.

Lila looks around, looks at the men.

BO (CONT’D)
Don’t worry. They can’t hurt me.

Lila THROWS her arms around her Grandmother.

LILA
I love you, Bo.

Bo squeezes back, so tight.

BO
I love you too.

And with that, Lila takes off, towards Ruth --

Bo watches her go. Lila runs through the RAIN --

And as Bo watches the

BACK OF LILA’S HEAD, running away

 114.

Suddenly it turns into --

YOUNG RUTH

Running away, chasing the dog through green grass --

Bo’s eyes narrow and widen, her mouth falling open just a
little as she stares at --

YOUNG RUTH FROM BEHIND --

She’s running, running through the green grass --

And then we see Young Ruth from the FRONT, we see her FACE,
and she’s RUNNING TOWARDS us instead of away...

And then we’re with --

RUTH.

Making the rain, making it fall. Watching her daughter run to

her, but also her eyes are everywhere, moving all around, up
and down and side to side and then, finally, we see --

LILA.

Running towards us.

And all around her --

PURPLE. BLUE. GREEN. RED. PINK. ORANGE. YELLOW.

While the rain falls down everywhere.

Beautiful colors, colors like ghosts, rushing and bending and

blending and falling --

And Lila runs through them and through the rain, she runs
through a world that is full of rain and color, falling so
fast and all around her.

Colors going like mad.

And finally she gets to her mother, who takes her up in her
arms.

LILA
You can see them.
(beat)
You can see the colors.

And Ruth squeezes her eyes tight as tears escape from the
edges and she holds fast to her child. To her daughter. She
holds tight and just nods. She nods because she can’t speak.
 115.

Ruth puts Lila down and they race through the rain back to
the Old Truck. Lila gets in the PASSENGER SIDE, Ruth opens
the DRIVER SIDE door, but before she gets into the car --

She turns back to her mother...

Their eyes meet. Wide open.

Bo nods. Ruth understands.

Ruth gets into the truck...

AND DRIVES AWAY.

BACK WITH BO

She watches the truck take off down the street.

She turns to the men. Standing all around. Their hands empty.

She turns to Monroe, who hasn’t moved. She walks to him, and
pressing her face to his --

BO
You...

And his face pressed to hers --

MONROE
I know.

It’s more than any kiss.

She pulls away, and walks towards Bill.

He leads the way, guiding her up the steps. He looks back one
last time, but by now, the Old Truck is out of sight...

He turns back to Bo. Who’s already making her way up the

steps. The men part as she moves.

When she gets to the place where the FRONT DOOR used to be,
she steps through the EMPTY SPACE and goes inside. And behind
her, the front door...

RE-MATERIALIZES.

All the men step back, dumbfounded.

Bill opens the door to follow.

 116.

INT. TRUCK - MOMENTS LATER

Soaking wet, Ruth and Lila drive through the rain, down the
road and out of town. Lila hands Ruth the PIECE OF PAPER that
Bo gave her --

LILA
Bo said...

Ruth, one hand still on the wheel, takes the paper and opens
it. Holding it up on the wheel, in her mother’s familiar
handwriting, is one last thing...

Simona Lott is real. She’s in Rome.

There are others. You were right about the colors.
Go take apart the sky.

Ruth’s eyes widen, the strangest smile of surprise and wonder

lights up her --

LILA (CONT’D)
What? What is it?

And with a look to Lila --

CUT TO:

EXT. ROAD - SAME

The truck makes its way out of town.

The road is empty and long.

And the rain continues to fall.

the end.