at the sound of the voice.
Just inside the cave stand FIVE ARMED SOLDIERS; gaunt, ragged men in ragged
uniforms, ice in their beards, hunger and fear in their eyes, snow caking their
boots. Their RIFLES cover Tom and Cat.
The SERGEANT is a tall black woman with a
rough, earthy voice. She warms her hands over the fire.
SERGEANT
Nice. Warm. And you
know, you can see it for miles.
ANGLE ON CAT
Backing up. She looks sideways at the hand
cannon on the ground nearby, tenses to make a dive for it.
RESUME
The sergeant knows exactly what she’s
doing.
SERGEANT
Girl, if you’re
going to try for that gun over there, you’re going to be real
dead real soon.
Cat FREEZES.
SOLDIER
What are we going
to do with them, Sarge?
SERGEANT
March them back to
camp and let the Captain have a look,
(to Tom)
Gather up whatever
food you’ve got and get into your snow gear.
TOM
We don’t have any.
SERGEANT
(incredulous)
In that case, you
two are going to have a long, cold walk.
OFF Tom’s dismay, we
CUT TO
EXT. - BASE CAMP - THAT AFTERNOON -
ESTABLISHING
A small military camp has been dug in
against the side of a mountain. There are tents, crudely built hutches, a
firepit in the center of camp. Around the perimeter, like snowbreaks, are an ancient
yellow SCHOOL BUS, a JEEP and an ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER, all in sorry
condition. More striking - and in better repair - are two larger and more
futuristic vehicles: a huge HOVER TANK (designed to ride on a cushion of
compressed air, it has no treads), and an even larger transport FLOATER, an
eighteen-wheeler without the wheels.
ANGLE ON TOM AND CAT
The soldiers stare, curious, as the
captives are marched in. Counting the squad that captured Cat and Tom, there
are twenty of them. We glimpse a few women and three times as many men.
Their ‘uniforms’ are worn, much patched,
and not very uniform. It looks as though they came from two or three different
armies. A few have heavy, hooded parkas; one man wears a moth-eaten fur coat;
the others bundle up under layers of clothing.
ANGLE ON THE JEEP
as Tom and Cat are marched past. A MACHINE
GUN is mounted on the jeep. It’s half in pieces now. WALSH, a private with a
heavy dark beard wearing a fur-trimmed parka, is cleaning and repairing it.
When he sees Cat, he stops, and jumps off the jeep to inspect her.
WALSH
Well, look at this.
Maybe those snow patrols aren’t useless after all.
He blocks Cat’s path, touches her under the
chin to raise her face, She stares at him impassively.
WALSH
You have a name,
pretty thing?
SERGEANT
Knock it off,
Walsh. And get back to work You were supposed to have that
gun cleaned and
serviced an hour ago.
WALSH
I’d like to clean
and service her.
TOM
I wouldn’t touch
her if I were you. She bites.
SERGEANT
Listen to the man.
I want that gun back in one piece by mess.
Walsh turns on the sergeant, defiant.
WALSH
Why? You think it
matters? What the hell we going to shoot? Snowmen?
SERGEANT
I gave you an
order.
Other soldiers gather to watch the
confrontation. Among the spectators is a woman, WHITMORE, very PREGNANT. A
minority make it clear they agree with Walsh.
WALSH
Stuff your orders.
CRONY
You tell her,
Walsh.
WALSH
All this patrolling
and drilling and cleaning our guns, what does it prove?
THE CAPTAIN (O.S.)
It proves we can
survive, Walsh.
REVERSE ANGLE - ON THE HUTCH
A tall, grim, powerful man has emerged from
the command hutch. THE CAPTAIN wears a heavy parka with a hood that shadows his
face.
THE CAPTAIN
The snow is the
enemy. The cold is the enemy. And despair is the greatest
enemy of all. Are
you tired of living, Walsh?
CLOSE ON TOM
He is looking at the Captain hard, with a
strange expression on his face,
Just inside the cave stand FIVE ARMED SOLDIERS; gaunt, ragged men in ragged
uniforms, ice in their beards, hunger and fear in their eyes, snow caking their
boots. Their RIFLES cover Tom and Cat.
The SERGEANT is a tall black woman with a
rough, earthy voice. She warms her hands over the fire.
SERGEANT
Nice. Warm. And you
know, you can see it for miles.
ANGLE ON CAT
Backing up. She looks sideways at the hand
cannon on the ground nearby, tenses to make a dive for it.
RESUME
The sergeant knows exactly what she’s
doing.
SERGEANT
Girl, if you’re
going to try for that gun over there, you’re going to be real
dead real soon.
Cat FREEZES.
SOLDIER
What are we going
to do with them, Sarge?
SERGEANT
March them back to
camp and let the Captain have a look,
(to Tom)
Gather up whatever
food you’ve got and get into your snow gear.
TOM
We don’t have any.
SERGEANT
(incredulous)
In that case, you
two are going to have a long, cold walk.
OFF Tom’s dismay, we
CUT TO
EXT. - BASE CAMP - THAT AFTERNOON -
ESTABLISHING
A small military camp has been dug in
against the side of a mountain. There are tents, crudely built hutches, a
firepit in the center of camp. Around the perimeter, like snowbreaks, are an ancient
yellow SCHOOL BUS, a JEEP and an ARMORED PERSONNEL CARRIER, all in sorry
condition. More striking - and in better repair - are two larger and more
futuristic vehicles: a huge HOVER TANK (designed to ride on a cushion of
compressed air, it has no treads), and an even larger transport FLOATER, an
eighteen-wheeler without the wheels.
ANGLE ON TOM AND CAT
The soldiers stare, curious, as the
captives are marched in. Counting the squad that captured Cat and Tom, there
are twenty of them. We glimpse a few women and three times as many men.
Their ‘uniforms’ are worn, much patched,
and not very uniform. It looks as though they came from two or three different
armies. A few have heavy, hooded parkas; one man wears a moth-eaten fur coat;
the others bundle up under layers of clothing.
ANGLE ON THE JEEP
as Tom and Cat are marched past. A MACHINE
GUN is mounted on the jeep. It’s half in pieces now. WALSH, a private with a
heavy dark beard wearing a fur-trimmed parka, is cleaning and repairing it.
When he sees Cat, he stops, and jumps off the jeep to inspect her.
WALSH
Well, look at this.
Maybe those snow patrols aren’t useless after all.
He blocks Cat’s path, touches her under the
chin to raise her face, She stares at him impassively.
WALSH
You have a name,
pretty thing?
SERGEANT
Knock it off,
Walsh. And get back to work You were supposed to have that
gun cleaned and
serviced an hour ago.
WALSH
I’d like to clean
and service her.
TOM
I wouldn’t touch
her if I were you. She bites.
SERGEANT
Listen to the man.
I want that gun back in one piece by mess.
Walsh turns on the sergeant, defiant.
WALSH
Why? You think it
matters? What the hell we going to shoot? Snowmen?
SERGEANT
I gave you an
order.
Other soldiers gather to watch the
confrontation. Among the spectators is a woman, WHITMORE, very PREGNANT. A
minority make it clear they agree with Walsh.
WALSH
Stuff your orders.
CRONY
You tell her,
Walsh.
WALSH
All this patrolling
and drilling and cleaning our guns, what does it prove?
THE CAPTAIN (O.S.)
It proves we can
survive, Walsh.
REVERSE ANGLE - ON THE HUTCH
A tall, grim, powerful man has emerged from
the command hutch. THE CAPTAIN wears a heavy parka with a hood that shadows his
face.
THE CAPTAIN
The snow is the
enemy. The cold is the enemy. And despair is the greatest
enemy of all. Are
you tired of living, Walsh?
CLOSE ON TOM
He is looking at the Captain hard, with a
strange expression on his face,
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