Authors note: EXPERIMENT FAILED. After struggling for weeks with chapter two I had to admit defeat and revert back to writing the story in the screenplay format, and the story started to come together nicely. I have completed 3 chapters and the ending. I find I just get bogged down in the intricate detail required for writing fiction and I find writing in the screenplay format so much easier, as all the excess is trimmed and the rest is pure story. I will finish the story in the screenplay format and maybe try and "convert" it into fiction once completed.
Any feedback greatly appreciated.
Mad Max: Into The Darklands Draft Two.
APPRENTICE ENGINE MASTER OF GASTOWN MATHIAS V.O.
The Immortan is dead. One of the Prophet's earthly incarnations has been called to Valhalla to sit at the right hand of the Lord. "If it is So, It was meant to Be".
The Road Warrior has returned. Four weeks previously, he arrived at Gastown with the revelation of Joe's demise: Slain by the rogue Imperatrix Furiosa on the Fury Road. The former commander in Joe's army has assumed leadership and the few remaining Warpups, Imperators and Warboys too sickly to participate in Joe's doomed crusade to retrieve his prized breeders, swore an oath of fealty to Furiosa the new Warchief of the Citadel. Joe's surviving son Corpus Collosus was pardoned and offered a place in the new regime. Despite his physical deformities Collosus was gifted with an above average intelligence, and knew he didn't have any choice if he was to survive without his late fathers protection.
Sending out emmissaries under a flag of truce, Furiosa negotiated trade treaties with the Rock Riders and Buzzard tribes, bartering Guzzaline and clean water for machinery and other items the Buzzards scavenged from the ruined cities. The mountain pass was reopened. Broken and scattered, the surviving Warboys and their vehicles trapped in hostile territory when Nux had blocked the pass with the War Rig, were hunted relentlessly without surcease by the Buzzards and Rock Riders until none remained alive.
A few days after the battle, The Road Warrior ventured back out onto the Fury Road with a Citadel towing rig to retrieve his battered and smashed V8 Interceptor. With the Road Warrior and a crew of Gastown mechanics we rebuilt the engine,cannibalising Warboy vehicles and Gastown stores for parts, panel beating and replacing the dented and smashed panels, reinforcing the damaged chassis and roll cage, we restored the high performance vehicle.
Once the repairs were complete and the vehicle was once again roadworthy and armored, it was time for Max to move on. Furiosa had offered the Road Warrior a place in the new Citadel leadership, she was planning on sending War parties to the Strontium Sea area to subdue the cannibal tribes with a view to opening up a secure trade route to the Last Chance refinery town (see Mad Max: Gasoline Alley), but the Road Warrior chose to continue his journey on the road to redemption. I never saw the Road Warrior again, I know not whether he still lives, but he shall always remain my friend.
OPEN ON:
In the pre dawn stillness Max departs the Citadel, the Interceptor generously stocked by Furiosa with fuel, water, spare parts, weapons and food.
EXT. WASTELAND - TWO DAYS TRAVEL FROM THE CITADEL.
AERIAL POV.
The Interceptor is speeding across the desert wasteland.
Pulling the Interceptor over Max exits the vehicle and raising his binoculars scans the wasteland ahead.
BINOCULAR POV.
He sees ruined buildings on the far horizon. A nuked city, slowly being reclaimed by the Wasteland desert. Nothing is moving in the midday heat. Max turns to get back into his vehicle.
MAX'S POV:
A wall of dark clouds is fast approaching from the direction he had come. He starts the Interceptor and floors the accelerator to try and outrun the approaching storm.
As he speeds toward the distant ruins, the sky above grows dark and threatening and the wind begins to howl around the Interceptor.
Gravel, sucked up into the atmosphere by wasteland twisters, ricochets off the wire mesh protected windows and windshield and the already battered vehicle is dented and bashed even more by the high velocity of the storm fired projectiles.
As the metallic spangs of wind driven gravel hitting the car abates slightly a new sound slowly becomes audible above the noise of the fierce storm, although faint at first it grows louder and is unmistakable, the sound of an engine, high above, misfiring. It continues uninterrupted for a few seconds and again the engine coughs and splutters.
Max scans the sky above, the engine noise grows louder and as it passes overhead he sees it is an ancient World War One era biplane trying to outrun the storm. In bad trouble, the plane is losing altitude and is heading for the distant ruins on the horizon.
The wasteland storms are fierce and unbelievably destructive but luckily for the two vehicles they are spared the worst of the massive storm, as the vast dark wall of gale force wind, dust and gravel changes direction heading east and bypassing the ruined city. The sky ahead is clearing as the Interceptor speeds toward the distant ruins and the rapidly descending biplane.
EXT. WASTELAND - NUKED CITY LIMITS - DAY.
The highway leading out of the city is jammed with the blackened rusting hulks of decaying vehicles, driven by black, leering skeletons. Incinerated and entombed in the coffins of their dead vehicles by the falling nukes. The lanes leading into the city are mainly clear, concrete barricades seperate the inbound and outbound lanes, though Max has to maneuver around the occasional burnt out military vehicle. The grim traffic jam continues on for kilometre after kilometre.
INT. INTERCEPTOR.
The dash mounted geiger counter Mathias had installed was clicking and chattering to itself, Max checks the radiation level.
He pulls the Interceptor to a halt behind a charred APC and gets out. Crouching low, he approaches the front of the burnt out personnel carrier and scans the highway ahead through his binoculars.
BINOCULAR POV:
There it was, a few hundred metres further on; the pilot had managed to put the plane down intact on a clear stretch of highway. A short distance from the ancient plane two wastelander vehicles that had taken shelter from the rock storm had seen the plane come down and were pulled up close to where the aircraft had landed. Max saw three raiders had the pilot pinned down behind a wrecked car. As Max focused on the car the pilot leans out and lets off a few rounds in the direction of the Wasteland raiders. The dissipating winds had masked the sound of his approach, and the three raiders were unaware of his presence.
Coming to a decision, Max made his way back to the Interceptor and retrieved Furiosa's treasured high powered sniper rifle the grateful Imperator had gifted him for saving her life. Steadying the rifle across the window ledge of the APC's open driver's door, Max drew a bead on one of the raiders, exhaling he squeezes the trigger and the shot is dead on target, the raider goes down. He lines up the next Wastelander, fires and again his shot is on target. The remaining raider realising he is taking fire from behind as well, decides the odds are not looking so good, dives into his vehicle and speeds off back into the Wasteland.
Max slowly approaches the downed plane. He checks the raiders, they are both unmoving, seeping blood. Staying behind the cover of the remaining raider vehicle he calls out to the pilot,
MAX.
Hey, are you OK?
The only answer he receives is a bullet that ricochets off the raider vehicle barely centimetres from his head. Max ducks reflexively.
MAX.
OK look. I just stopped to lend a hand, I don't want anything from you, I've got gas and food, I'm just going to go back to my wheels and I'll leave you be. I'm going to stand up, hands on my head, walk back to my vehicle and drive away. You can shoot me in the back if I make a wrong move, whatta ya say? We got a deal?
He stands up straight hands on his head, at the same time a figure emerges from behind the car.
CLOSE UP ON:
The Pilot.
Leather flying helmet, goggles, scarf wrapped around the mouth and nose, dressed in an old leather flying jacket, aiming an ancient Winchester repeating rifle at Max.
PILOT.
Put down the rifle. Take the shotgun out of it's holster slowly and throw it down
It is a woman's voice. Max complies.
PILOT.
Put your hands back on your head and turn around slowly
Max does this.
PILOT.
So, a good samaritan come to rescue the damsel in distress. Bullshit. Who are you?
MAX.
I was a cop before the war, saw your plane come down
PILOT.
That was your vehicle I flew over in the wasteland? This trash was already here.
She kicks one of the dead raiders. Max looks over the ancient biplane
MAX.
You're lucky the storm changed course, it would have torn that thing to shreds.
PILOT.
Yeah, but your vehicle wouldn't have made it either.
MAX.
Look you've got me covered, can I put my hands down? You want some water or something to eat?
PILOT.
Sure, I just gotta come back to your vehicle, right? Maybe you do got food and water, maybe you're after something else, pussy must be awful hard to come by out here officer.
MAX.
I'm not a rapist
Before the pilot can react, Max drops his hand, pulls out a concealed pistol from his waistband and fires at the woman. She is not hit. She turns and sees one of the raiders wasn't dead only unconscious, he had dragged himself up and he had been aiming his crossbow at the woman's back. Max's shot had taken him right between the eyes. Max lowers the pistol, trigger finger resting along the barrel, but the woman cradles her rifle loosely, no longer aiming at Max.
PILOT.
OK Bronze I guess you're alright, my name is Aurora
MAX.
My name is Max.
Aurora looks closely at Max, sizing him up before replying.
AURORA.
Well Max it seems like I've got something of a problem, that offer of a meal still on the table?