Return to Terra Nova

Episode 6

"Revelations"

PART 1

EXT. COLONY, SUNRISE

The sun peeks its way up over the horizon, shining its light on a sleep deprived colony. Everyone is still shaken up about the anomaly that happened last night. Amongst the crowd of exhausted people, Carmichael walks, wide awake and with a purpose. He heads over to his personal rover, and drives off to the front gate. The half-awake guard on the tower opens the gate up and waves him through. Carmichael speeds off into the jungle.

EXT. TERMINUS SITE

Carmichael cruises his rover up to the site, and gets out. One of the guards stationed at the site comes over to him.

GUARD

Hello doctor, back to check up on the terminus?

CARMICHAEL

You got it.

The guard nods and walks back to his post. With that, Carmichael approaches the terminus. He hooks up his plex, and runs a diagnostic program. The program scans the hardware for a few seconds, before a message appears on Carmichael's plex, saying "DIAGNOSTIC SCAN COMPLETE: NO HARDWARE FAILURES DETECTED." Carmichael unplugs his plex, and takes a look behind his back at the guards in the area. None of them are paying much attention. Carmichael turns back towards the terminus, but fixes his gaze on the sky. He stares off in the direction of where the light receded to last night, and then uses his plex to mark it on a map of the area. After that's done, he gets back in his rover and drives off, back in the direction of the colony.

EXT. JUNGLE

Carmichael trucks along in his rover, and glances at his map. He's headed towards the colony, which is labeled "Terra Nova", and away from the point labeled "anomaly." After driving for a bit longer, he is confident no one knows what he's doing. He turns his rover, and arcs back towards the direction of the anomaly.

As he gets deeper and deeper into the jungle, the terrain starts to become more uneven, and the foliage harder to navigate through. Eventually, his rover gets stuck in some mud.

CARMICHAEL

Damn it!

Carmichael jumps out of his rover, and inspects the tires. They're sunken into the mud, but not that much. He tries to push the car out, but is unable to. In frustration, he kicks the car, but in the process stubs his toe, causing him to yelp in pain. He turns around to lean against the car, when he notices something strange. In a clearing about 20 feet away, is some kind of wood carving akin to a totem pole. It's very clearly supposed to represent some kinds of dinosaurs. Perplexed, he walks over to investigate it. As he slowly steps towards it, he starts to get a strange feeling, like he's making a mistake. He pushes on anyways. He takes one step, then another, then another, then-

BAM! A rope snare encloses around his legs and hoists him up into the air. Before he even realizes what just happened, he finds himself dangling upside down, six feet above the ground. He frantically tries to grab the rope around his legs, but is unable to. He just dangles there.

FADE

Some time has passed, and he's starting to get woozy from being upside down for so long. His vision starts to blur. Just before he passes out, he starts to hear something. It sounds like footsteps. The rope gives away, and he falls back to the ground. He twists around, vision still blurry, to see about three figures standing behind him. One of them has a slasher tail knife in hand.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE 1

Who the hell is this? He's not one of us.

MYSTERIOUS VOICE 2

He's too new and too clean to have been living in the jungle. I have an idea where he might be from. You two, bag him and take him back to camp. I've got some investigating to do.

Next thing Carmichael knows, a blindfold goes over his eyes.

EXT. COLONY, A FEW HOURS LATER

FOCUS

On three metal cups, all resting on one of the wooden bars of the colony fence. A gunshot is heard, and a bullet hole is made in the bar above the cans.

ZOOM OUT

Sam is holding the smoking gun, and Amanda is next to him.

AMANDA

Hold it steadier, and don't have such a loose grip on the gun.

Sam nods, and tries taking another shot. He hits the middle can.

AMANDA

Hey, not bad!

SAM

I was aiming for the one on the right.

Amands sighs.

AMANDA

Just… try again.

Sam raises his gun. On the other side of the fence, Amanda sees Carmichael's rover approaching the colony. She pushes Sam's gun towards the ground.

AMANDA

Nevermind. Can't have you killing our only scientist by accident.

She waits for Carmichael to approach the gates with his rover, but instead, the rover stops about a hundred yards out from the gate. Amanda gives a confused look, wondering what Carmichael is doing. That's when the driver steps out. It's not Carmichael. Instead, it's a haggard man. Despite his worn appearance, he appears to be somewhere in his mid to late 20s. The man has clearly been living in the jungle for quite some time, and sports a vest that appears to have been made from dinosaur hide. At his side is a knife made from a slasher tail. He just stands in the clearing outside the colony. The guards take notice, and the guards at the tower surrounding the gate sound an alarm.

GUARD

WE'VE GOT A POSSIBLE HOSTILE IN THE PERIMETER!

People start to exit their houses to get a look as to what is going on. Amanda picks a few group members to follow her, and motions for the perimeter guards to raise the gate. She squeezes out under the gate as it opens, and draws her pistol, pointing it at the stranger standing outside. The group members following her do the same.

AMANDA

(Yelling, to stranger)

Who are you?! What have you done with Carmichael?!

The stranger raises his hands, and speaks.

STRANGER

Thought I might find people here. Your man is safe, we're just keeping him at our camp as a bargaining chip, in case you try and do anything to me.

AMANDA

Who the hell are you, and what do you want?

STRANGER

I am Josh Shannon, leader of the raptor tribe, and I've come here to deliver a warning.

CUT

INT. TAYLOR'S OFFICE

The doors burst open, and Amanda marches into the room. Behind her, two guards haul Josh into the room by the arms, and sit him down on the end of Taylor's allosaurus skull desk. Amanda sits on the other side.

AMANDA

Josh Shannon, huh? And you've come to give us a warning, by… kidnapping one of my men. That's an act of war, you know.

JOSH

It's just for my own safety. Nothing will happen to him, so long as you don't do anything to me. I don't mean your group any harm. In fact, it's quite the contrary, I'm trying to do you a favor.

AMANDA

A favor? What makes you think we want or need advice from an outsider like you?

JOSH

You're not from around here. I could tell straight away. You just showed up here. They rebuilt Hope Plaza, didn't they?

AMANDA

Hope Plaza is a crater, buddy.

JOSH

But you're from the future, correct? You haven't been here very long. Whatever you've dealt with so far is nothing compared to what you'll find if you go to the badlands.

AMANDA
What do you know about the badlands?

JOSH

It's what I'm here to warn you about. My tribe and I saw what happened with the sky as well, and we know that it pointed towards the badlands. I bet you're thinking about investigating whatever that was, and I'm here to tell you to stay away. If you go to the badlands, you will once again bring about the destruction of the colony.

AMANDA

And why should I believe you?

JOSH

I was there. I saw what happened first-hand, and I never want to see it happen again. I don't know what nefarious purpose you're here for, and I don't care. Stay away from the badlands.

AMANDA

We're not here for nefarious purposes.

JOSH

Doesn't matter. If you want to live, follow my advice.

Amanda scratches her chin a bit, thinking.

AMANDA

Did you say your last name is Shannon? That's a funny coincidence. When we first moved into the colony, we found an old plex containing an unsent video message from seven years ago. The video was recorded by an Elizabeth Shannon. Is she a family member of yours? Mother, perhaps?

Josh's eyes grow wide.

JOSH

A video message? Do you still have it? I must see it!

Amanda nods, and brings up a hologram projection of the video from the first episode.

ELIZABETH

(Video record)

Hello, this is Elizabeth Shannon. I'm sending you this message to let you know that I will not be coming to work tomorrow as I feel that I cannot adequately perform my job as of right now.

(Pause)

It's just... I'm too worried about Jim. I mean I know why he's out there... and if he and the commander didn't do anything about the Phoenix group we could get attacked again, but... I'm just so worried and it's been days since…

As it plays, a cascade of emotions floods over Josh: happiness, sadness, guilt, regret, longing, all at once. He hasn't seen his mother in seven years. Josh chokes back tears. The video gets to the point where Elizabeth leaves in a hurry, due to whatever situation is going on. It then ends.

AMANDA

So, are you able to elaborate on what's going on in the video at all?

Josh nods, and tries to regain his composure.

JOSH

The video pertains to the fall of the colony; the night it happened, specifically. At the time, my father and commander Taylor had left the colony. We had defeated the Phoenix army, but they weren't gone. They had retreated into the badlands. Commander Taylor decided that their continued existence was a big enough threat to the colony, and went out to the badlands with my father, who was practically his right hand man. A week passed, and we hadn't heard anything from them. That's only where the problems started. There was one night in particular where everything went to hell.

TRANSITION INTO FLASHBACK

INT. BOYLAN'S BAR, SEVEN YEARS AGO

The bar is just as it was in season 1. People are drinking and having a good time. Boylan sits behind the bar, fixing up his old watch. Josh is working his usual job in the bar, but has a noticeably somber mood. He grabs some empty glasses from some customers and goes over to the bar to refill them. Boylan taps Josh on the shoulder and nods over towards a specific table.

BOYLAN

Hey Josh, I think there's someone here who wants to see you.

Josh turns around. Sitting at the table is Skye. She gestures for Josh to come over. Josh puts the glasses down and goes over to her.

SKYE

Hey Josh.

JOSH

Hey Skye.

SKYE

How's it going?

JOSH

I'm ok.

There's an awkward couple of seconds of silence.

SKYE

Listen, I know things have been going rough for you lately, especially now that we haven't heard from commander Taylor or your dad for days. I just wanted to tell you that I know what you're going through. Taylor is like a father to me, and I'm worried as well. So, if you need anyone to talk to, I'm here.

JOSH

What's there to talk about?

SKYE

Listen, Josh, I-

Skye is interrupted when someone runs down the stairs into the bar, screaming like crazy.

SCREAMING MAN

(Yelling hysterically)

OH MY GOD! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! EVERYONE RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! THEY'RE SLAUGHTERING EVERYBODY!

The man trips before reaching the bottom step and falls to the floor. Boylan takes notice of the situation, grabs his pistol he keeps hidden in the bar, and heads over. Boylan grabs the man by the shirt.

BOYLAN

What's wrong with you Bill?! What's the problem?

The bar goes silent, but now, everyone can hear what's going on outside the bar. Several unsettling sounds can be heard coming from the colony outside. There's screaming, and gunshots are ringing out in the distance every couple of seconds. People start getting up and going up the stairs to get a look at what's going on. Josh and Skye also get up to look. Outside, it looks like the apocalypse has started. Buildings are on fire in the distance, rovers are overturned, and there is damage everywhere. In the distance, someone can be seen running for their lives. They only make it a few seconds before two dark silhouettes of some kind of dinosaurs chase them down, easily catching up and snatching them in their jaws without breaking stride. The people in the bar begin screaming, and start pushing and shoving their way out of the building in a fit of chaos. Boylan tries to work his way back through the crowd, going in the opposite direction. Josh and Skye are also trying to get out with the crowd, but Boylan grabs a hold of them and pulls them down into the bar with him.

BOYLAN

Not that way.

Boylan drags Josh and Skye back down into the bar. They head over to a corner of the bar where there is a gap between the wall and the ceiling, allowing them to watch the outside. The crowd runs to the nearest section of the colony's perimeter fencing, and begins climbing it. Within seconds, three of the mystery dinosaurs show up and start picking people off the fence. The dinosaurs don't even actually eat the colonists, they're just killing them seemingly for fun, pulling people off the fence and dropping them twenty feet to the ground, or tail whipping them with enough force to break bones. Josh and Skye look away, but Boylan continues watching, horrified. All of a sudden, one of the dinosaurs turns its head at the bar. Boylan ducks down, and recedes into the bar. He grabs Josh and Skye, and leads them into the bathroom, locks the door, and flips the lights off.

JOSH

Oh my… god. Those things…

BOYLAN

(whispering)

Stay quiet. They shouldn't be able to find us here if we're quiet.

A few minutes pass, and Boylan's plan seems like it may work, when all of a sudden, something can be heard entering the bar on the other side of the door. It knocks over numerous glass bottles and tables. Animalistic snorting and sniffing can be heard, as whatever is on the other side of the door looks around. Boylan turns to Josh and Skye, and gestures for them to be quiet. Josh and Skye are shaking with fear. Boylan is too, but he tries to hide it. He pulls out his pistol, and points it at the door. His arms are shaking. The creature in the bar finally makes its way up to the door. It sniffs around it, and gives some kind of curious snarl. It bumps its head against the door, and the door knocks against the lock. The creature seems to realize that the door isn't a wall. It claws at the door a bit, figuring it out. It then begins to slam against the door, trying to break it down. Everyone begins to shake even harder in terror. Josh holds Skye. Boylan shudders with a ton of fear, knowing that they're not going to be able to survive whatever is trying to get through the door. Josh and Skye close their eyes, as the next bang on the door will most likely knock the door down. Suddenly, screaming can be heard coming from outside. The creature on the other side of the door snarls, and runs off towards the scream. It sounds like it exits the bar. Boylan lowers his gun, and breathes a sigh of relief. He turns back around to Josh.

BOYLAN

Alright we can't stay here.

JOSH

We can't leave until we know it's not still out there!

BOYLAN

Right

Boylan looks at the mirrors in the room. They're just little hand mirrors that have been strung up on the wall above the sinks.

BOYLAN

I have an idea. Hand me one of those mirrors.

Josh grabs a mirror and hands it to Boylan, who proceeds to slide it partially under the door, getting a bit of a look into the bar. Nothing seems to be there. Boylan nods.

BOYLAN

Alright, it seems to be clear. You remember the drainage ditch going under the fence near the storage containers in the colony?

Josh nods.

BOYLAN

We're going to sneak over there, and crawl out of the colony. From there, we'll find a safe place to hide in the jungle until this nightmare blows over.

Josh and Skye are shaking, but nod again. Boylan, who is also shaking but is trying to hide it, slowly opens the door and peeps outside. The bar is completely trashed. Tables are overtuned, and broken glass is all over the ground. There appears to be no sign of the creature that was hunting them. They slowly creep out of the bathroom, and head towards the staircase. Everyone moves slowly, as they are trying to avoid as much of the broken glass as they can. Boylan takes a step forward, and accidentally crushes a chunk of glass underneath his shoe. The crack echoes throughout the bar, and Boylan cringes from his own mistake. The trio sits silently, waiting for some creature to bust in and kill all three of them. After a couple seconds, no creature comes, and the trio picks up the pace a bit and reaches the stairs, exiting the bar.

EXT. COLONY, NIGHT

Boylan, Josh, and Skye come out of the bar, and see the hellscape that the colony has become. Even more buildings are on fire, and the people who were trying to climb the fence are all piled up on the ground, dead, from being picked off the fence and falling to the ground. Skye covers her mouth, sick to her stomach with what she's seeing. Josh is also visibly horrified, but takes a look at the mess that is the colony.

JOSH

I'm going to go find my family. I'll meet you two over by the drainage ditch, and we'll get out of here.

Josh tries to run off, but Boylan grabs him by the arm.

BOYLAN

Josh! Don't be a fool! You're not going to be able to make it through that nightmare alive!

JOSH

I can't just leave them!

BOYLAN

You have to! Otherwise you'll be dead.

JOSH

Bullshit!

BOYLAN

If you want to see them again, don't do this. You'll just get yourself killed. If they're going to survive this, they'll get out on their own.

Josh looks at Boylan, then out at the colony. He clenches his fists, and begins to walk off into the inferno, but stops short after a few steps. Josh, with his back to Boylan and Skye, lowers his head. He starts to sob. Boylan walks over and puts his hand on Josh's shoulder.

BOYLAN

Josh, let's go, they wouldn't want you to endanger your life.

Josh nods…

CUT

Josh, Boylan, and Skye sneak through the colony, weaving between buildings, trying to take the path with the most cover. Every scream, every roar they hear around them, all seem to be so close. The trio eventually makes it to the storage sector of the colony, and makes a break for the maze of storage containers. They make it without being seen, and find the drainage gutter that goes under the fence. Skye goes first. Josh walks up to go after her, but hesitates, turning around and looking at the colony. Boylan nods for him to go. Josh nods back and crawls through the ditch. Boylan follows afterwards. They all appear on the other side of the fence, and just as they do, they hear something on the colony side of the perimeter. There is a loud snarl, and turn around. They are just in time to see one of the mystery dinosaurs jump up on top of a storage crate. It is silhouetted against the inferno that is the colony, with its eyes shining orange from the flames around it. It swivels its head around. Evidently it has not seen them yet, but it sniffs the air, as if it knows they're in the area. Josh, Boylan, and Skye slink off into the foliage, as quietly as they can.

EXT. JUNGLE, NIGHT

Boylan leads Josh and Skye through the jungle, with his gun held at the ready. Every sound in the jungle causes them to pause in their tracks and listen. Eventually, Boylan turns around to Josh and Skye.

BOYLAN

I think we're far enough away from the colony. We should probably camp out somewhere safe.

JOSH

Where can we go out here that will be safe?

SKYE

If we can find a banyan tree, that'd be a good place. I mean, that's how commander Taylor survived in the jungle for so long.

BOYLAN

Not a bad idea. Shouldn't be too hard to find one around here.

The three of them search, without splitting up, and manage to find one.

BOYLAN

This will have to do.

All three of them climb up the tree, and stay on the branches. Josh and Skye hold each other. The troubling sounds of the jungle keep everyone on edge, but eventually, they manage to drift to sleep.

EXT. JUNGLE, MORNING

Josh and Skye wake up to find that Boylan is still asleep. They wake him up, and begin to discuss their plans.

JOSH

Boylan, are we going to head back to the colony?

BOYLAN

I don't know, we could, but the place may still be dangerous. If I remember correctly, there's an outpost a few kliks out from here that we could head to. There's probably someone there who can help us out, and we can try to phone the colony, see if anyone is left.

JOSH

Well, alright. Which way?

BOYLAN

North. Follow me.

EXT. OUTPOST EIGHT, DAY

The trio makes it into a clearing, to see a metal fenced entrance sticking out of the ground. They go up to the door. Boylan twists the handle to open the door, and surprisingly, it's unlocked. As the door swings open, they hear tons of chatter coming from inside.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT

Boylan enters the outpost first, with Josh and Skye right behind him. The doorway leads into a long concrete tunnel, going down underground at a slight incline. Inside, are tons of colonists, who are sitting along the walls of the hallway. Many of them are passed out against the wall in exhaustion. Those who are awake are either whispering with others about what they're going to do, or are tending to people who are wounded. There are quite a few people who are injured, laying down on tarps that have been placed on the ground. Many of the injuries appear to be broken bones, specifically in the legs, but some have some nasty slashes on their body.

JOSH

Looks like we're not the only ones who had this idea.

Boylan leads Josh and Skye down the hallway. Eventually, the hallway opens up into a bigger room, which some talking can be heard from.

PERSON

I mean, as long as the power is working here, we should be fine for now.

PERSON2

We don't exactly have a lot of resources. Once those run out, we're going to have a problem.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT COMM ROOM

The trio enters the room, and finds the source of the two voices. There are two people, one is a soldier, the other appears to be one of the outpost staff. The two people stop talking.

BOYLAN

Howdy, we walked here from the colony. I'm Boylan.

Boylan extends his hand. The two men shake it.

PERSON

I'm Alan Nielson, director of operations here, and this is Garret Bradley, outpost security.

(Points to soldier)

GARRET

(Unenthusiastically)

Howdy.

ALAN

We've been getting a lot of people here from the colony. Make yourselves comfortable somewhere in the hallway outside. We're trying to organize some ration distribution for everyone.

Josh buts in from behind Boylan.

JOSH

Has anybody with the name "Shannon" shown up yet?

SKYE

Or "Tate?"

ALAN

Shannon?

Alan looks at Josh.

ALAN

Hey, you're the sheriff's kid.

Josh nods.

ALAN

You're the first one, so far. I'm sure your folks will be along at some point though.

Josh frowns. Alan turns to Skye.

ALAN

Same for you.

Skye slinks down a bit. She doesn't believe him.

JOSH

What were those things that attacked the colony? They were merciless.

ALAN

We know less than you do. Garret and I have been stationed at this outpost the whole time. We've been trying to contact the colony and the other outposts, but so far: nothing good.

JOSH

So what's the plan?

ALAN

We continue to try and hail the colony.

JOSH

And if they don't answer?

ALAN

At that point a recon party may be on the cards. Don't worry about it right now, though. The comms with these outposts have always been spotty, so we just have to keep trying.

Josh and Skye try to say more, but Garrett ushers them out of the room. He hands the three of them some protein squares and water and shuts the door to the control room on them.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT

With nothing left to do, they go sit up against the wall in the hallway and try to get some rest.

FADE TO A DAY LATER

In the hallway of the outpost, Josh is awoken by the stomping of boots on the concrete floor. He opens his eyes to see Garrett walk past, with a group of colonists following behind him. All of them are armed. They exit the outpost. Josh gets a perplexed look on his face.

BOYLAN

That must be a recon party.

JOSH

Yeah, guess that means the colony is still silent.

BOYLAN

Let's hope the reason for the silence is the colony comm network being damaged.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT COMM ROOM, A FEW HOURS LATER

Josh opens the door to the comm room, and finds Alan working away at a console.

JOSH

Hey, Alan, is there any news with the recon party?

ALAN

I've got nothing to tell you. Wait outside, and if any news comes up, I'll make a formal announcement over the outpost speakers.

Josh begins to walk out of the room, when the console Alan is working at begins to relay the sound of the recon party.

GARRETT

(From console)

Outpost eight, we're approaching the colony.

ALAN

(Into console)

Copy that. Proceed on in.

A few seconds pass.

GARRETT

(From console)

Many buildings are damaged, but structurally intact. Some are relatively untouched. There may be a chance for survivors yet, although there is no sign of life anywhere. Hostile or otherwise. Proceeding forward.

ALAN

(Into console)

So far so good.

GARRETT

(From console)

Wait, I see something. It's… oh god... OPEN FIRE!

Gunshots ring out from the console's speakers, before the communication cuts out completely.

ALAN

(Into console)

Recon party, are you there? Recon party, please respond!

Josh looks to Alan, who is sweating in terror right now.

ALAN

(Into console)

Recon party… recon… ANSWER ME GOD DAMN IT!

Josh, mortified, begins to step back towards the door. Boylan enters the room.

BOYLAN

Looks like we're on our own.

ALAN

This doesn't concern you, Boylan.

Other people at the outpost begin to peek into the room.

RANDOM COLONIST

What's going on?

JOSH

(Quietly, under his breath)

They're dead.

ALAN

(To Josh)

No, they're not! We just lost contact!

RANDOM COLONISTS

So you're saying they're dead! What are we going to do now?!

ALAN

We're going to wait until we hear back from them!

RANDOM COLONIST

Bullshit! We're not going to hear anything!

The colonists get riled up, and start to really panic. Alan pulls out his gun and fires a shot in the air. The crowd screams but goes quiet.

ALAN

Do not panic. We're going to be okay. Everything will turn out alright.

As if on queue, the lights to the outpost go out. For a few seconds, it's pitch black. The colonists start screaming again. The emergency lights to the outpost come on.

RANDOM COLONIST

What's going on!?

Alan goes over to the console, and runs some diagnostic stuff.

ALAN

What the… we're not getting any power from outpost one. We're running solely off of the outpost solar power.

BOYLAN

Now hold on a second. You're saying outpost one isn't outputting anything? That facility is large, and has numerous backup means of outputting power. It shouldn't have just turned off like this, unless…

RANDOM COLONIST

(From crowd)

It's been deliberately sabotaged!

The crowd panics more.

ALAN

Hey, hey! Let's not jump to conclusions. Maybe this was some kind of reboot procedure or something to fix a problem! Let's just wait for a bit and see if it comes back on.

RANDOM COLONIST

That's a load of crap!

The crowd continues to get riled up. Alan points a gun at the colonist who said that.

ALAN

We're going to wait, and that will be that. If anyone disagrees, they can take it up with my little friend here.

(Shakes gun)

Now everyone get out.

The colonists pile out of the room and into the hallway. Boylan, Josh, and Skye follow.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT HALLWAY

Josh, Boylan, and Skye break off from the crowd.

JOSH

Are we going to be able to survive here on just the stock outpost power?

BOYLAN

Theoretically? Yes. Practically? No. From my understanding, the solar panels outside only generate enough to run this outpost's systems for a maximum staff of ten people, and they only see heavy usage during a crisis. We've got at least fifty people here right now. That means the life support systems are going to be seriously hampered, and it also means the solar batteries are going to be working overtime. If those malfunction, it won't be long before we're out of water.

SKYE

So someone is going to need to do something. Someone is going to have to go to outpost one and restart the power there.

Boylan nods.

JOSH

I'll go talk to Alan about it tonight, provided he's calmed down enough.

FADE

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT COMM ROOM

Alan sits at a console. Checking things over and over. A knock on the door to the room causes him to jump. He turns around and sees Josh knocking on the door's window.

ALAN

Go away, Shannon. I'm busy.

JOSH

Listen, Alan, I need to talk to you about something. We can't live off emergency power for long.

ALAN

Yes we can. Don't worry about it.

Alan looks at his console screen. On it is a calculation for the estimated time of death for everyone at the outpost. It says 9-13 days. Alan gulps, and turns back to Josh.

ALAN

(Lying through his teeth)

I've run the calculations. We're going to be fine.

Josh can tell that Alan is lying to try and control the situation.

JOSH

Listen, we need to round up a recon party and go to outpost one. We can turn the power back on, and we'll be in better shape over here for a little while.

ALAN

I can't allow that. Sorry.

JOSH

It doesn't matter what you allow or not. You know as well as I do that we're in trouble without that outpost up and running.

ALAN

That outpost is much more complex than you can even imagine. You'd need high level expertise to operate it. Get out of here Shannon.

JOSH

Alan, please. My family might be hiding over there. I need to at least see. I left them behind.

Alan lowers his head, and clenches his fists.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT HALLWAY

Crowds of people are gossiping about the situation in the hall, when all of a sudden, a voice comes on over the outpost speakers.

ALAN

(From speaker)

A recon party to outpost eight is being organized. We are currently planning it in the comm room. Anyone interested in joining the party should report there. Thank you.

People hear, and many scurry off towards the comm room.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT COMM ROOM

Several people begin to enter the room. Alan and Josh standing in the center of the room are looking at a holographic map of the area. There is a yellow line traced as the planned route. It goes out from the outpost in the north, and takes a large detour around the colony to avoid being anywhere near the perimeter, eventually leading to outpost one in the south. Alan turns around to see the new recruits entering the room. He begins to give a presentation, describing the plan.

ALAN

Before starting this, I want to warn all of you thinking about signing up about the danger of the mission. The likelihood of death is very high. Remember that the last recon party is still missing.

One or two people exit the room.

ALAN

Okay. Now, there is a very good chance that the colony has been claimed as territory by these new dinosaurs. So, you're going to have to take a detour way around it. It'll add on several hours, but it's a necessary precaution. From there, you proceed to outpost one. It will be easier said than done, but this is the plan. Any questions?

One colonist raises their hand.

RANDOM COLONIST

So what are we calling these dinosaurs?

ALAN

What?

RANDOM COLONIST

You know, they're the new big bad. We gotta name them. My vote goes for "Navarosaurs!" It's named after a real bitch of a teacher I had in middle school. I think it has a ring to it.

OTHER RANDOM COLONIST

That's stupid. We should call them "Demonisaurs."

The crowd starts arguing, both about what should be the chosen name, and also how stupid it is that they're trying to come up with a name in this situation.

ANOTHER RANDOM COLONIST

I say we go with "reapers!" It sounds the best

Josh cuts them all off.

JOSH

Fine, we'll go with "reapers." Now everyone shut up.

ALAN

Right… anyways. We're going to send out the party at first light tomorrow. So get ready tonight. Okay?

CUT TO THE NEXT DAY

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT HALLWAY, MORNING

Josh is gearing up, and begins walking towards the exit door of the outpost. On the way, someone grabs his arm. Josh turns around, it's Skye.

SKYE

Where are you going?

JOSH

I'm in the recon party.

SKYE

What?

JOSH

Yeah, did you really think I wasn't going?

SKYE

I don't think this is a good idea.

JOSH

It's not, but it's all we have right now.

SKYE

Couldn't someone else go?

JOSH

I have to do this, Skye. My family could be hiding out over there, and we can't live here without the power from outpost one.

Skye tries to say something, but can't. Josh steps forward, and takes the necklace he got from Kara off of his neck. He grabs Skye's hand and puts the necklace in it, closing her fingers around it.

JOSH

Hang on to this for me. We'll make it a bet. If I live, you give it back. If I don't, you keep it.

SKYE

Josh, just… promise you'll come back, okay? Promise me you'll come back.

JOSH

I promise.

He hugs Skye for a few seconds, before letting go and heading towards the door.

JOSH

Tell Boylan where I went when he wakes up.

Skye nods. Josh reaches the exit door, and steps outside.

EXT. OUTPOST EIGHT

Josh opens the door and steps outside. The recon party is already outside, waiting for Josh. There are about 12 people. The sky is a dark gray. It looks as though it is about to storm.

JOSH

Alright guys, this is going to be a long walk. So I hope you're ready. Let's get going.

Josh and the group march into the jungle. On some ferns near the doorway to the outpost, raindrops start to appear. Loud, heavy drops that come one by one.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT

Skye looks out the window on the main door of the outpost. Rain can be seen pouring extremely hard outside.

EXT. JUNGLE, EVENING

Several hours have passed, and the rain is hammering down on everyone in the recon party. The jungle foliage barely does anything to provide cover. The sound of the rain hitting everything overpowers every sound other than the sloshing of everyone's boots moving through the mud. Josh is holding a plex. On it, the route to outpost one can be seen. The group has covered most of the way there, but still has a bit to go. The whole group is tense, and silent. No one dares say a word. Eventually, they reach a patch of long grass on the jungle floor. They decide to cut through it. Everyone looks around cautiously as they move through the grass, trying to stay quiet. When Josh exits the grass, the first thing to catch his attention is a smell. Josh's nostrils recoil, and he looks around, finding a large dark mass on the ground. In addition to the pouring rain, it is also pretty dark in the jungle, hampering visibility even further. It takes him a few seconds to realize what he's looking at. It's a carnotaurus. Josh panics for a second, but then notices that it's dead. Josh calms down for a second, and the rest of the recon party exits the grass, coming up behind Josh. Josh's relief is once again stamped out, however, when another mass rises up from the other side of the carnotaurus' corpse. The mass is actually one of the "reaper" dinosaurs that attacked the colony. It's a smaller one, but still very threatening. The reaper immediately notices the party, jumping up onto the carnotaurus corpse and letting out a blood curdling screech. Josh still can't make out too much detail on it, due to the pouring rain and low light of the area. He doesn't try to stick around and examine it further though.

JOSH

RUN!

The reaper leaps off of the carnotaurus, right towards Josh, who dives out of the way, landing belly down in the mud. The reaper slides past him, falling down on the slippery ground. Everyone in the recon party begins scattering. The reaper, as it's getting up from the ground, snaps at one colonist, managing to catch them by the leg. Josh gets up, and notices that the foliage around the clearing is shaking. Evidently, more of the reapers are coming. Josh and eight members of the party run off in a direction where the bushes aren't rustling. Leaves and branches slap them as they run for their lives. Josh eventually slips, falling face down in the mud again. He looks up, to see the party running away without him. One of the reapers bursts out of a bush in front of the retreating party members, and snatches another person in its jaw. The remaining people vanish into the jungle. Josh, left behind, looks around for an escape route. Next to him is a small gap between two large trees. Josh crawls through the gap. Once he squeezes through he starts running for his life. He sprints without direction, running just to escape. As he stumbles through the jungle, the rain takes off more and more of the mud that was coating him. He can hear the reapers pursuing him, but he doesn't look back. Eventually, Josh breaks through a bush and into a clearing. Outpost one is right in front of him. Josh doesn't hesitate, running towards the front door and busting through it.

INT. OUTPOST ONE

Josh slams the door shut, and collapses to the floor, crying. After a few seconds, he pulls himself together somewhat, and gets up. There are no lights on in the outpost, and the hallways leading deeper into the facility are pitch black. Josh looks around, and finds an emergency kit on the wall, which contains chem lights. Josh takes one and turns it on. An orange glow emanates from cylindrical chem light, giving Josh a radius of a few feet of light around him. He proceeds deeper into the facility.

EXT. JUNGLE

In the distance, screams can be heard. After a few seconds, the only sound is that of the rain hitting the muddy ground. In the mud is a small comm device, having fallen from someone in the party.

ALAN

(From comm)

Recon party, do you read me?

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT COMM ROOM

Alan is at a terminal, speaking into it. Boylan and Skye stand around him.

ALAN

(Into comm)

Recon party, are you there? Please respond!

Nothing comes through on the comm. Skye begins to cry, and leaves the room. Boylan follows her.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT HALLWAY

Skye is up against the wall, bawling her eyes out.

SKYE

I could have stopped him from going. I SHOULD have stopped him…

She caresses Josh's necklace with her thumb.

BOYLAN

We don't know for sure that he's dead. Josh is a tough kid, and he's got a strong will. I believe he can survive. I know he can…

INT. OUTPOST ONE HALLWAY

Josh wanders through the dark, not really knowing what to look for. Pipes run along the walls, and everything else is concrete. It's like a maze. On edge doesn't even begin to describe Josh's current condition. He pulls out his plex, and looks at blueprints of the facility. He sees that there should be a diagnostic console somewhere around here.

All of a sudden, he hears a loud clang down in the hallway ahead of him. Josh puts the plex away, and stares ahead, terrified. Footsteps can be heard coming towards him, slowly, one after another. Josh can see nothing in the darkness in front of him, but whatever is causing the footsteps sounds like it is bipedal. Josh peers into the inky darkness, and out of the shadows, two beady points of light appear. The points of light are the eyeshine of some kind of creature. Josh's heart sinks, as they're definitely not human. The creature in front of him begins to enter the light. It's a nykoraptor, and it doesn't look friendly. It snarls at Josh while slowly stepping closer. Josh looks around for an escape route. He notices an open vent on the wall that appears to be just large enough for him to crawl into. The nykoraptor gets ready to pounce, and Josh makes a break for the vent. The nykoraptor chases after him. Josh dives into the vent. The raptor snaps at his boot, but he just barely makes it deep enough into the vent for it to miss. It tries to squeeze in after him, but can't get down low enough. Josh crawls for his life, but in his state of panic, does not notice that the vent takes a drop downwards. His hand falls on empty air while crawling forward, causing him to stumble forward and plummet down the vent.

The vent slopes downward into a curve, causing Josh to slam into the metal and start sliding down. He is launched into a sort of hub area for the ventilation shafts, slamming into the cold metal ground. He groans in pain, but quickly springs up from his stomach, and crab walks his back up against a wall. The chem light he had been carrying landed in the center of the hub. Josh sees no creatures around him. He closes his eyes, and takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. That's when something grabs his arm, causing him to scream as soon as it touches him. He looks, and it's a hand. He follows the hand to a body, and sees that it's none other than Malcolm Wallace.

MALCOLM

Josh? Josh Shannon? Is that you?

JOSH

Malcolm? What the hell?

MALCOLM

I thought I was all alone. What are you doing here?

JOSH

I came here to try and turn the power back on.

MALCOLM

Oh... do you know how?

JOSH

How hard could it be?

MALCOLM

Well... it's not exactly like flipping a switch.

JOSH

Well, why are you here?

MALCOLM

I came here to try and turn the power back on.

JOSH

Really? That's great. We can help each other out in that regard. I need to ask you a question though. Have you seen my family?

MALCOLM

I'm afraid not, Josh. When those… things attacked the colony, it was complete chaos, as I'm sure you saw. I went to your house, to try and warn Elizabeth- err, your mother, about the situation, but the front door was open, and the house was empty. I would have looked around more, but those creatures were after me, so I fled the colony. I hid out in the jungle for some time, and very cautiously worked my way over to here. Unfortunately, the power was out, but I figured I might be able to get it back on.

JOSH

Well, now that I'm here, I can help you with that.

MALCOLM

I hate to say this Josh, but there's nothing that can be done. If I could, I'd have already left here.

JOSH

What do you mean?

MALCOLM

This place is beyond my capability alone to repair. I can't even diagnose the main problem, because it's too dangerous to wander around. As I'm sure you've noticed, some of the wildlife has gotten inside. There's ovasaurs that came in here to chew on the cables, and nykoraptors who came to chew on the ovasaurs.

JOSH

What happened to the staff here? Surely they could have prevented this from happening, or at least helped you out.

MALCOLM

That's the most distressing part. When I arrived here, I found a trashed facility and various corpses, all riddled with bullet holes.

JOSH

Bullets? What?

MALCOLM

That's right. I'm thinking it was deliberate sabotage.

JOSH

Jesus. Still, there must be something we can do.

MALCOLM

I'm afraid not. Even with the two of us, we wouldn't be able to fix anything. Best thing we can do is leave here with our lives, and forget about this place. Speaking of which, did you come from a group of survivors?

JOSH

Uh, yeah, we're hiding out at outpost eight, but things aren't going too well over there. Without this facility running, the limited amount of power generated by the facility isn't enough to sustain the population there.

MALCOLM

How many people are over there?

JOSH

It was somewhere around 50, but I brought ten of them along with me on the trip here. I... don't think any of them made it.

MALCOLM

Well, I'm sure there are more survivors scattered around the landscape and at other outposts. As for outpost eight, the situation sounds dire, but it's the best chance we have. If we get back, we can come up with a game plan as to what we're going to do next. Maybe we can come back here someday, if we get enough people and weapons, but for now, we need to focus on surviving.

JOSH

I don't know. Are you sure there's nothing we can do here?

MALCOLM

Nothing. I was hiding here for a reason. That nykoraptor that chased me in here is probably still patrolling around outside.

JOSH

Well, it chased me in here too, so it's definitely still out there. We're just going to have to make a break for it. Which vent will deposit us closest to the front door?

MALCOLM

I haven't the faintest clue. I've been sitting here for hours.

JOSH

Well, if you had to make a guess?

Malcolm looks around, now being able to see the area due to the chem light.

MALCOLM

Well, the front door was in the direction of that vent over there.

(Points)

I think…

JOSH

Sounds about right. We'll go through there, and once we get out of the vent, we'll try to sneak in the direction of the door, quietly.

MALCOLM

Well, it looks like we don't have a choice. Lead the way.

Josh nods, grabs the chem light, and begins crawling towards the vent Malcolm pointed to. Malcolm follows Josh as he comes up to a grate that appears to empty into a hallway. Josh attempts to pull the grate off, but it's stuck. Against his better judgement, he kicks the grate off. It flies outwards and loudly clatters to the floor of the hallway, echoing through the whole facility.

MALCOLM

Hey! You might as well be ringing a dinner bell for everything in here.

Josh slips out of the vent and into the tunnel. Malcolm quickly exits the vent after him. Josh looks around, and sees a sign pointing out the direction of the exit.

JOSH

Look, the exit is this way. I don't hear anything in this hallway, so let's proceed with the sneaking plan.

Out of the darkness behind them, the calls of several nykoraptors can be heard, distant but getting closer.

JOSH

Nevermind, RUN!

Josh and Malcolm bolt in the direction of the exit. As they run, the nykoraptors can be heard gaining on them. The duo runs up a stairway, and the hallway begins to get brighter. They reach the front lobby, which is illuminated by natural light from the windows. Josh takes a quick look back, to see three nykoraptors hot on their tail. Josh chucks the chem light at them in a vain effort to slow them down. The front desk of the lobby is coming up. Josh, not breaking stride, clambers over it and opens the front door. Malcolm stumbles around the desk right behind him. Josh holds the door open for him, and Malcolm dives outside. The nykoraptors are only a few feet behind him, and Josh slams the front door on them.

EXT. OUTPOST ONE

The raptors slam against the door, almost knocking Josh down and the doors open, but they just barely fail. Malcolm grabs a tree branch from the ground, and stuffs it between the door handles, temporarily barricading it. The raptors slam against the door, trying to get out. Josh and Malcolm waste no time, and sprint off into the jungle.

EXT. JUNGLE

Josh and Malcolm stop in a clearing to catch their breath.

MALCOLM

Whew, that was a bit too close for comfort.

JOSH

Keep it down. Those new dinosaurs chased my recon party all the way here, so it's safe to assume they're still in the area.

MALCOLM

Right. Have you gotten a good look at them yet? We should know what to look for.

JOSH

No, so we need to be extra careful. Come on.

Josh and Malcolm begin to quietly sneak through the jungle.

FADE

EXT. JUNGLE, NIGHT

Josh and Malcolm are still trudging through the jungle, as quietly as they can. It's dark out, and their only source of light is the cold white glow of the moon, shining through the gaps in the treetops. Everything is eerily silent; no bugs, no birds, nothing but the sound of the trees gently swaying in the wind. As they walk, Josh picks up a sound in his right ear, coming from about 30 feet to his right. It is the sound of a faint rustle of the foliage, not big enough to be especially alarming, but too big to be caused by just the wind. Josh frowns a bit, and turns to Malcolm.

JOSH

(In a whisper)

I've been hearing some rustling every so often for the past few hours we've been out here. It's always been around 30 feet away. Stay cool, but be prepared to run.

Malcolm nods. He and Josh attempt to pretend they haven't noticed, and continue walking at the same pace. Josh pulls some ferns away from their path, revealing the clearing where outpost eight is located. The door to the outpost is in plain view, about fifty yards away, seemingly beckoning to them.

JOSH

(In a whisper)

There it is. On the count of three, we run. Ready?

Malcolm nods.

JOSH

One… two… thr-

WHACK! A scaly tail flies out of the foliage behind them and smacks Josh and Malcolm on their backs, sending them flying forward. Josh and Malcolm thud to the ground, but quickly twist around to see what happened. Josh catches a quick glimpse of a dark gray tail, covered in thick armor-like scales. The tail is swiftly drawn back into the foliage. Whatever it belongs to is definitely not a slasher. The bushes begin to part, as a creature begins to emerge. The eyeshine is the first thing that can be noticed, while the rest of the body begins to materialize from the ferns. It is covered in the same armor like scales all over its body, except it also has numerous small and sharp points running down its back. The creature is 10 feet tall, and looks down at Josh and Malcolm, with hunger in its gaze and saliva dripping from it's jagged mouth. It is one of the so called "reapers" that attacked the colony, and while it is still shrouded in too much darkness to see super well, this is the best look Josh has gotten of one. Too bad it's also when he's staring death in the face. Malcolm and Josh waste no time. They get up and begin frantically running towards the door. The reaper gives chase, screaming like death itself was calling their names. As Josh and Malcolm run for the entrance, the door swings open. Holding the door is Skye, who has a look of horror on her face.

SKYE

JOSH! COME ON!

Josh and Malcolm run as hard as they can, as the footfalls of the reaper smash down behind them. They make it to the door just in time, and lunge inside. Skye slams the door. The reaper outside hits the door and begins to claw violently at it, before stopping and peering through door's window, directly into the outpost.

CUT

Malcolm and Josh are sitting in the comm room. Around them is a massive circle of people

MALCOLM

They didn't kill us while they had the chance. No, they were following us. Trying to find out where everyone else was hiding.

ALAN

What are you saying?

MALCOLM

These things are more intelligent and more coordinated than anything else in the area. They're top of the food chain, it would seem.

JOSH

Everything else seemed scared of them. The whole walk back, the jungle was completely silent. No wildlife, nothing.

ALAN

Well, they're not from around here normally, right? So why are they here? Is it some kind of mating migration, like those pterosaurs the colony had to deal with? Where did these things even come from?

MALCOLM

No, this isn't like the pterosaurs. They're not here to defend some ancestral nesting site, they're here to hunt, to expand their territory, and put the rest of the food chain in their place. They see this area as theirs now, and they're going to kill anything that threatens their ownership of this territory, which in this case, is us. If I had to guess, judging by their dark gray coloration, they're probably from the badlands. The sand over there has that same color. When the phoenix group headed out there, they were most likely attacked by these "reapers", and after the subsequent slaughter, the reapers followed the trail that the phoenix made while driving in. Guess where that led them.

ALAN

Jesus.

BOYLAN

Alright, well, these theories are all fine and dandy, but we need to know one thing for certain. What are we supposed to do now?

MALCOLM

Only thing we can do: wait. After a few days, we can check and see if they're still around.

ALAN

That's going to require some "stretching" of our current ration system.

MALCOLM

We don't have a choice. You walk out that door, you're dead.

The room goes silent for a bit.

BOYLAN

(Sarcastically)

Well, that just sounds wonderful. Now all we need is a deck of cards.

CUT TO THE NEXT MORNING

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT ENTRANCE, MORNING

Josh stands at the front door to the outpost, peering through the window at the outside. The sun shines bright on the clearing surrounding the entrance to the outpost, but at the edge of the clearing, the bright sunlight gives in to an ominous darkness, as the foliage begins to crop up. Within the fern, vines, and other plants at the edge of the outpost's perimeter, slight movement can still be seen. Josh sighs, and walks away from the entrance.

FADE TO THE NEXT DAY

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT HALLWAY

Josh is laying down in his makeshift bed along the wall of the hallway. His "bed" consists of a dirty sheet that has been laid out on the cold concrete beneath him, one pillow, and one scratchy looking and thin blanket. Josh rests on his side, facing the wall. Behind him, some colonists can be heard whispering.

COLONIST #1

Those things... they're still outside the outpost. It's like they're pulling a siege on us all.

COLONIST #2

How long can they wait us out before giving up?

COLONIST #1

I don't know, but we can't survive here for much longer.

Josh closes his eyes, trying to tune out the conversation.

FADE TO AN UNSPECIFIED AMOUNT OF TIME LATER

INT. COMM ROOM

There is a large line of people, coming up to a desk that Alan is sitting at. At the desk, Alan has a box of protein squares, and a jug containing water. Everyone is carrying some form of cup, some people are carrying random things such as beakers or plastic bags, anything that can hold liquid. Some people have nothing at all, and are cupping their hands together. Alan is handing out food and is pouring water for the people. Josh and Skye reach the desk with small cups in their hands, and Alan hands them their rations and pours them some water. All they get to eat is one protein square, which is the size of a mini candy bar. Josh and Skye walk off into the hallway.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT HALLWAY

The line is wrapped out the door of the comm room and quite a ways down the hallway. As Josh and Skye walk, Josh bumps into someone by accident, and drops his cup of water. Josh drops down to try and grab it, but it is too late. The water spills all over the ground. Everyone in line gasps, and begins talking amongst themselves. Josh, on his knees, begins to shake a bit, and slams his fist on the ground in frustration. Skye puts her hand on his shoulder.

SKYE

Josh, here, you can have some of my water.

Josh shakes his head.

JOSH

No… no…

Josh gets up and begins to regain his composure.

JOSH

You need it more than me. I'll be fine.

SKYE

But Josh-

JOSH

I'll be fine.

Josh walks off, and stamps down into sitting on his makeshift bed. He takes a couple of small bites out of his protein square, trying to make it last and savor it while he can.

CUT TO THE FOLLOWING NIGHT

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT HALLWAY, NIGHT

Everyone in the hallway is lined up along the walls on both sides. They all have makeshift beds just like Josh's, and all seem to be sleeping. Josh, however, is wide awake, staring at the wall. Eventually, Josh gets up and walks towards the entrance to the outpost.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT ENTRANCE, NIGHT

Josh goes up to the window, and stares out into the night. The moon shines an eerie glow on the clearing. Within the treeline at the edge of the outpost perimeter, brief glimpses of eyeshine and the rustling of plants can be seen. Josh stares out into the void, and then turns his eyes towards the door handle. He stares at it for a few seconds, but eventually turns around and walks back.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT HALLWAY, NIGHT

Josh returns to his makeshift bed, and lays down in it, clenching his eyes shut.

CUT TO SOME DAY AFTERWARDS

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT ENTRANCE, DAY

Josh hears some commotion by the front door, and walks over to investigate. Two colonists are having some kind of argument, a man and a woman.

WOMAN

No, Robert! You don't have to do this!

ROBERT

I can't take it any longer! I'm getting out of here!

WOMAN

Robert, just stop and talk to me for a moment! Please!

ROBERT

Goodbye, Kelly.

Robert opens the door. Josh's eyes widen, and he extends his arm out towards Robert, who is pushing the door open.

JOSH

HEY! WAIT!

Josh's attempt to stop him is futile. Within a few seconds, Robert is out the door and into the clearing. He runs off to the left, out of view from the window. A few seconds later, a loud roar is heard. Robert screams in agony, before getting cut off a few seconds later. Kelly bursts into tears.

KELLY

No… Robert…

She screams in grief, and Josh just stands there in the hallway, feeling guilty.

FADE TO AN UNSPECIFIED TIME OR DAY LATER

INT. COMM ROOM

Josh and Skye are once again up at the desk to get rations from Alan. This time, Alan gives them half of a protein square, and even less water than last time. Josh and Skye walk off with their rations, being extra careful not to spill anything. As they turn their backs to Alan, the next person in line goes up to Alan. This person has an angry scowl on their face. Alan reaches into the protein square box, and the angry person pulls a knife on Alan, and puts the blade up against Alan's throat.

ANGRY PERSON

Give me five squares or I gut you!

Josh and Skye turn around. Alan kicks the assailant from under the table. The attacker falls to the ground. Alan stands up and pulls out his pistol. The attacker charges towards Alan, who has no choice but to fire. The attacker falls to the ground, dead. Alan, drops his gun, and proceeds to puke all over his own shoes. After getting it all out, Alan looks up, to see the next person in line, up at the table, having stepped over the body of Alan's attacker. The person stands there with a sympathetic look on their face, but still extends a plastic bag forward, waiting for Alan to fill it with some water.

SKYE

Uh, Alan, I can handle the rest of the distribution if you want.

ALAN

No, I'm good.

Alan takes the plastic bag from the person in front of him, and begins to pour some water into it.

CUT TO SOME TIME LATER

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT HALLWAY

Josh is sitting in his bed, one hand on his forehead and the other on his stomach. His eyes squeezed shut, he's clearly in pain. All of a sudden, the base speaker system comes on.

ALAN

(From speakers)

Uh, I have an announcement to make to everyone, and I'm afraid it's not good news. We've been pushing the solar generator of this outpost so much, and all this strain has led to the inevitable outcome of it breaking. This… um…

Some faint hints of crying can be heard from Alan over the speaker, before they just get shut off.

FADE TO THE FOLLOWING NIGHT

Josh is laying in his "bed" yet again, wide awake. He's staring at the wall, but hears some shuffling behind him. He twists his head, and sees Boylan walk off towards the entrance of the outpost. Josh gets up and trails him.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT ENTRANCE, NIGHT

Boylan stops at the door, and waits for a few seconds, staring out the window. Josh begins to walk up behind him. Boylan then proceeds to grab and twist the handle to the door.

JOSH

Boylan!

Boylan turns around, and sees Josh. He has a saddened look on his face.

JOSH

What are you doing?!

Boylan lets go of the handle, and guiltily walks over to Josh.

BOYLAN

Josh… listen… I know I'm not going to come out of this alive. I'm going to die regardless of what happens. Way I see it, there's two ways I can die, and I have a choice. I can die slowly and painfully from starvation and thirst, or I can take a stroll out there and just get it over with. And I can tell you right now, I'm sure as hell not looking to die of thirst.

JOSH

No… no…

BOYLAN

Listen, I don't want to try and tell you any sentimental bullshit and say "you were like a son to me," because that wouldn't be true. Instead, I'll tell you something that is true. You're a tough kid, and you remind me a lot of myself when I was younger. The moment you walked into my bar, I knew that you were a survivor. I won't make it out of here alive, but there's still a chance you might, and you do anything you can to survive this nightmare.

JOSH
Boylan… don't do this.

BOYLAN

Sorry Josh, but I don't want to suffer any more.

Boylan turns around and heads back towards the door.

JOSH

I've lost so many people in my life. This tragedy has torn me away from everyone in my life. All I have left is you and Skye.

Boylan stands still, his back still to Josh.

JOSH

Tom, please, don't do this.

Boylan sighs, and turns around.

BOYLAN

I can hang around for one more day, but after that, I have to go.

Boylan walks back over to Josh and puts his hand on his shoulder. He leads Josh back into the outpost.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT HALLWAY

Boylan splits off from Josh to go sleep in his own spot, while Josh heads back to where his own "bed" is set up. Set up next to him is Skye, who is laying down, and appears to be asleep. Josh gives her hair a quick stroke, before laying his head on his pillow.

SKYE

We're not going to make it, are we?

JOSH

Don't talk like that.

SKYE

I know it's true, and you do as well.

JOSH

It's not true, not yet.

SKYE

Listen, there's something I always wanted to tell you, something I've kept to myself, but now that we're going to die, I have to say it. Josh, I love you.

JOSH

I know.

Josh puts his hand on her cheek. She smiles, and Josh tries to smile as well.

JOSH

I've always known.

SKYE

Just thought you should know, before we die.

JOSH

I'm not going to let you die. I can't.

Josh gets up, and walks deeper into the outpost, with a purpose.

INT. UTILITY ROOM

Josh looks around, examining all the supplies of the outpost. It mostly appears to be agricultural tools, such as shovels, rakes, and hoes. There are also several general utility items, such as oil for vehicles, and a few first aid kits. Josh scratches his chin, thinking.

FADE TO THE NEXT DAY

INT. COMM ROOM

Alan is sitting with his head buried in his arms on the ration desk. The room is empty, until Josh enters.

JOSH

Alan, I need to see a map of the area while the outpost still has some power. Do you have access to one?

ALAN

(Muffled, not raising his head from his arms)

Get out.

JOSH

I have a plan. I think I can get everyone out of here, but I need to see the area on the map.

ALAN

(Still muffled)

Whatever. Check one of the consoles.

Josh walks over to one of the consoles. A few seconds later, he manages to pull up a holographic map of the area and its topology. Most of the map is covered in thick jungle, as to be expected. Josh scrolls around in a couple different directions, looking for something. Eventually, he scrolls over to a river, and stops. He then proceeds to scroll along the river, until he finds what he's looking for: a waterfall.

JOSH

Yes!

Josh pumps his fist, and turns around to Alan.

JOSH

Alan, I need access to the outpost announcement system.

ALAN

(still muffled, still not caring)

Whatever.

Alan raises one hand and points towards a panel on the wall of the room. Josh walks over to it, and hits a button on it. The panel lights up, and a red light for "recording" comes on. Josh begins to speak.

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT HALLWAY

Everyone in the hallway is exhausted, and are looking terrible from the lack of food and water. The outpost speakers come on.

JOSH

(From speakers)

Everyone needs to come to the comm room, right now. It's a matter of survival

Skye perks her head up, and bolts up and off towards the comm room. Other people in the hallway also get up and shamble to the comm room.

CUT

INT. COMM ROOM

The room is packed, as if there was still water to give out. Josh stands on a table, and Alan sits off in a chair over in the corner.

JOSH

As I'm sure everyone is aware, we can't stay here any longer. In light of this, I have come up with a plan to get us out of here.

Josh motions to Skye, who is standing at a console. She brings up the holographic map.

JOSH

What we're going to do is create as many torches as we can out of the materials available here at this outpost. Then, we're going to exit the outpost, all of us at once, forming a circle, torches out, which will hopefully deter the reapers from attacking us. From there, we slowly make our way to here.

(Points at the waterfall on the map)

We jump into the pool of water below, which should put enough distance between us and the reapers in order for us to escape.

The crowd erupts in murmurs.

RANDOM COLONIST

That sounds like suicide!

OTHER RANDOM COLONIST

Why should we listen to you? You're just a kid!

Boylan speaks up through the crowd yelling over everyone loud enough to quiet the ruckus down.

BOYLAN

(Yelling)

Hey! This kid is the only one to come up with a plan, and it's a good one too! Not like you have anything to lose!

The murmuring continues, but much quieter. Boylan nods to Josh, and Josh nods back.

JOSH

Look, I'm not going to pretend that it's a perfect plan, or is even a good plan, but it's all we have right now. If anyone has a better solution, please speak up now.

The room goes dead silent, and stays that way for a few seconds. Alan stands up.

ALAN

All of you, get to work.

CUT

INT. UTILITY ROOM

People are cannibalizing every resource and tool they can. Pulling off the heads of shovels and rakes, tearing apart outpost equipment, and more.

CUT

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT ENTRANCE, EVENING

Some people look out the window. The treeline is still seemingly full of reapers.

CUT

INT. COMM ROOM

Several colonists are giving Josh some of the bottles they had on them for water. Josh is filling the bottles with oil and alcohol, and stuffing rags in the top, making them into molotovs.

CUT

INT. OUTPOST EIGHT ENTRANCE, NIGHT

People are lined up against the walls, all holding sticks taken from outpost resources. The people are affixing cloth and other flammable substances to the top of their sticks. In between the lines of people against walls, Josh marches purposefully along the center, his torch in hand, and three molotovs hanging from a belt along his stomach. Josh reaches the end of the line of people, and pulls out a lighter. He flicks the lighter on, and puts it up to his torch. The head of the torch is engulfed in flame, and Josh looks along the two lines on his sides. The first person in line to his right is Skye, and to his left is Boylan. He lights Skye's and Boylan's torches, who in turn light the torches of those next to them. Soon enough, two rows of fire line all the way down the hallway.

JOSH

Alright, I guess it's now or never. Follow me, everyone.

Josh marches off towards the front door of the outpost.

PART 2

EXT. OUTPOST EIGHT, NIGHT

The door slowly creaks open, and Josh takes a few steps outside. His eyes scan the treeline, which sits fifty yards away. There is some slight movement amongst the bushes. The jungle is eerily silent. Skye, Boylan, and the rest of the colonists begin to exit the outpost as well, coming up to Josh's side.

JOSH

Form the circle everyone.

The colonists start a chain from Josh's right, and loop around in a circle back to Josh's left.

JOSH

Stay close to one another. Under no circumstances, even if the person next to you is taken, should you break the chain. The only way we're getting out of this alive, is if we trust in each other.

Josh looks to his left and right. Skye and Boylan are right by his side.

JOSH

Let's go, everyone.

Just like that, the circle of colonists starts its slow march into the unknown. As they inch closer and closer to the treeline, each person with their torch in front of them, the treeline seems to become more and more active. The bushes rattle with more and more intensity. Sweat drips down Josh's forehead. The sound of deep, heavy breathing can be heard from the treeline as they get closer.

JOSH

Stay together everyone.

They break through the bushes and into the jungle.

EXT. JUNGLE, NIGHT

Josh squeezes through the bushes first, his torch guiding the way. As soon as he's within the foliage, he already catches a glimpse of many horrible beads of light between the trees. The reapers are watching him. Skye, Boylan, and the rest of the colonists begin to phase through the foliage, staying at Josh's side. After a few seconds, everyone is into the jungle, and the circle proceeds forward. The sounds around them ramp up. The snapping of branches, and the faint animalistic snorts pick up in frequency. The moonlight cuts through the trees, illuminating dinosaur tracks all over the ground. The group marches on straight in a specific direction. The eyes around them seem to track their every step. The breathing can be heard getting louder, and more hungry. In the path of the group, is another pair of eyes, glowing with primal hunger. Terrified, but having no other choice, Josh continues moving the group forward in that direction. Everyone clutches their torches tightly. The eyes in front of them do not move. The circle gets closer, and closer. Eventually, the torch begins to illuminate parts of the creature in front of them. First is the snout, then the jaw, which is lined with jagged flesh tearing teeth. Then the eyes become visible, burning with a vicious intensity, staring right into the souls of the colonists. The whole head of the reaper in front of Josh comes into view. It opens its mouth, and roars right in his face. It is a scream that mankind was never meant to hear.

Josh, Skye, Boylan, and everyone else in the front of the circle, contract a bit and put their torches out in the face of the reaper. It gets angry, and tries to bite Josh, but is met with several torches being jabbed in its face. The creature snarls with anger, and backs off a few steps. Josh motions for the group to continue walking. As the circle proceeds forward, torches out, the reaper continues stepping back. It gets angrier, having not expected such defiance. In the back of the circle, more reapers begin to emerge from the shadows, and start to trail the colonists a few feet back. Alan, who is in the back of the circle, commands that side of the circle to extend their torches forward in order to keep the reapers back. That's when the attack comes; not from the front or the back, but from the side, where the torches were thinner. One reaper comes barreling out of the jungle, full speed, right towards the circle. With less time for the colonists to react, it manages to grab a hold of someone, and drags them a few feet out of the ring. The neighboring colonists attempt to jab the reaper, in a vain attempt to save the victim, who is screaming for help, but it is too late. In a few seconds, a loud snap is heard, and the person goes silent. Josh grabs one of his three molotovs, and chucks it at the reaper. The creature's side erupts in flames, and it screams in terrible pain. After writhing around for a few seconds, it runs off into the jungle.

JOSH

Close the gap!

The empty space in the circle is filled as everyone bunches closer together. The remaining reapers surrounding the colonists take notice, and seem to be angered by the sudden increase in risk. The circle proceeds forward once again. They seem to be covering quite a bit of ground. Another reaper goes for a charge from the jungle, right towards Skye. Her eyes widen as death barrels straight for her. Josh, noticing the imminent danger, grabs his second molotov, and chucks it right at the reaper. It hits the reaper right in the chest, causing it to trip to the ground. It screams in pain, before scrambling back to its feet and running off.

SKYE

Thanks!

Josh nods to her. He has one molotov left. Another attack comes from the back. Alan wards it off by chucking one of his molotovs. The reaper is stopped quite a ways away. For a brief moment, a faint sliver of hope develops in the colonists. They're getting closer and closer to their destination by the second, and the reapers are getting more cautious with each molotov, or so it seemed. The hope is quickly stamped out, a few seconds later, when another reaper charges the circle from the side again. Alan pulls out another molotov, he gets ready to chuck it, when the unexpected happens. The dinosaur leaps into the air. Alan's eyes widen, in an instant, before anyone can react, the creature lands on the 9 o'clock side of the ring, to Josh's left by a couple people. Many colonists are knocked down, while some are just crushed to death. A hurricane of claws and whips from reaper's bony tail follow to slaughter the surrounding survivors. Chaos ensues, and the circle splits apart. Some colonists run off in numerous different directions, some try to reform the circle, but are ultimately too cut off in the chaos to do it very efficiently. The reapers take their chance, and start killing as many people as they can. Some of the people run into the trees, only to find a reaper waiting for them. Some of those who are standing around confused are easily dispatched in ambushes. The plan is falling apart. Josh, Skye, Boylan, and Alan all find each other, and stand back to back.

JOSH

On me! Reform the circle!

A reaper tries to go for Josh, but Alan chucks his second molotov at it, preventing it from attacking further. Colonists begin to run towards Josh, and little by little, the circle begins to reform. The colonists proceed forward once more, but things are still not good. Every few seconds, another person is picked off out of the circle. The body count is rising fast. Josh fears that the plan may not work out after all. In an answer to Josh's fears, he begins to hear something: the sounds of rushing water. Josh's eyes widen with excitement.

JOSH

Keep going everyone! We're almost there!

More people get picked off by the second, but the foliage begins to thin, eventually leading them to the bank of a river. Down the river, the target waterfall can be seen. The circle heads towards it. The reapers still keep managing to take people, but with each casualty, the circle becomes more compact, more mobile, and harder to penetrate. With the circle getting close to the waterfall, only two reapers are visibly following the group. One goes around, and tries to cut off their escape, but Alan chucks his last molotov at it, hitting it on the left side, and causing it to run off. The remaining reaper sees that it is alone, and snarls with hatred. The circle reaches the edge of the waterfall. Josh is among the furthest away, with Boylan, Skye, and Alan.

JOSH

We're here! Start jumping down!

It's a long drop down the waterfall, but there is a seemingly deep pond at the bottom, so people begin to reluctantly jump. The remaining reaper keeps its distance, waiting for the crowd to thin out before going for its next attack. Eventually, Josh, Skye, Boylan, and Alan are the only ones left at the top. Skye jumps next, then Alan. The reaper gets ready to charge, hoping to kill at least one of the two left.

JOSH
Boylan, jump!

BOYLAN

Josh…

The reaper charges. Boylan pulls his pistol out and tries to distract it from going for Josh, but Josh pulls out his final molotov and chucks it. It nails the reaper right in the face, stopping it.

JOSH

Jump!

Boylan jumps from the waterfall, and Josh backs up to the edge, needing to wait for the bottom to be clear before he can jump too. He stares at the final reaper, thinking a molotov to the face must be enough to kill it. Suddenly, the reaper does the unexpected. Within seconds of the molotov hitting its face, it splashes its head into the water of the river, putting out the fire. It looks back up at Josh. Its face is burned from the fire, but not enough to do any real damage. It's almost as if it expected Josh to throw the molotov, and knew how to react. Perhaps the reapers were even smarter than Josh had initially thought. It charges towards Josh. Out of molotovs, and out of options, Josh leans back and falls down the waterfall. The jaws of the reaper clamp shut mere centimeters from his face. Next thing Josh knows, he's freefalling, the wind rushing past him. He closes his eyes, and is enveloped by cold darkness. His thoughts swirl around in his mind. Was he dead? Suddenly, a hand plunges into the darkness after him, and pulls him out. His vision is met with the bottom of the waterfall, glistening brilliantly in the moonlight. He made it, landing right in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. The hand drags him over to the shoreline. The hand belongs to Skye. She hauls him up onto the dirt, and turns to face him. They lock eyes for a brief second, and then she kisses him. Josh is surprised at first, but quickly embraces her.

Boylan comes over, and Josh turns his head towards him.

BOYLAN

Josh, you did it. Your plan worked. I want to congratulate you, and thank you.

JOSH

Well, we're not safe yet. I'm going to talk to Alan.

BOYLAN

He's not exactly in the state to talk right now.

Boylan points further down the shoreline. Alan is laying down, and Malcom is down on one knee next to him with a few other colonists.

MALCOLM

Someone give me something to tie around his wound!

Josh runs over, and sees what is wrong with Alan. He seems to have broken his leg from the fall, really badly. Bone is sticking out of his knee, and blood is everywhere.

JOSH

Oh god, is he going to make it?

MALCOM

It's not looking good, and I'm not the right kind of doctor to help him.

Someone hands Malcolm a torn piece of a shirt, who then proceeds to tie it around Alan's leg.

JOSH

We're going to need to get him a splint.

MALCOLM

Assuming we're able to stabilize him, that would be useful.

Josh nods and runs off into the brush around the lake, and comes back moments later with a branch and some vines. Him and Malcolm use the resources to create a makeshift splint, and put it around Alan's leg. After finishing that, Josh backs up a bit. Boylan comes up at Josh's side.

JOSH

He's not going to make it, is he?

BOYLAN

If he dies, it's not your fault, Josh. Had we not followed your plan, nobody would have survived.

JOSH

There's still no guarantee that anyone is going to survive this ordeal. With Alan in this state, we don't have anyone to lead us to safety.

BOYLAN

Josh, I think the people here are more than willing to look up to a new leader.

JOSH

What do you mean?

Boylan gestures for Josh to look around. When Josh swivels his head around, he sees nearly everyone looking at him for direction. Josh breaks out into a nervous sweat, and turns back to Boylan.

JOSH

Me?

Boylan nods.

JOSH

No no no, I'm not leadership material.

BOYLAN

Neither is anyone else. You're the guy who came up with the plan that saved everyone though, which makes you the best choice.

JOSH

No, I'm a terrible choice! Everyone will die if I'm leading this group.

SKYE

Josh, you're far from a terrible choice. We all believe in you. I believe in you.

Josh looks around once again, everyone is still waiting for him to come up with the next plan. Josh tries to swallow his fear, and stands up on a rock.

JOSH

(Addressing the whole group)

Well… we're all in strung out shape, so I guess the first order of business should be… food.

CUT

Josh bashes the bark off of a fallen log using a rock. Underneath the bark, hundreds of grubs wriggle around, panicking from the sudden exposure to open air. Josh picks out a couple grubs, and reluctantly eats them. He cringes a bit as soon as he starts to chew, but manages to not throw up or anything.

JOSH

Well, they're not as bad as I expected. Eat up everyone.

People from the group, having been starving, quickly shuffle over to whatever fallen logs they can find, and begin eating the grubs. Skye comes over to Josh.

SKYE

Two for two on good plans. Are you sure you're not fit for this?

JOSH

All I did was repeat what Lieutenant Washington taught us in survival training. I have no idea what to do next, though.

SKYE

Well, if you ask me, we should probably find shelter. Something that will keep us safe from the wildlife.

JOSH

Right

CUT

EXT. CAVE

Josh walks up to the entrance of a cave, carrying a torch. Skye is behind him, and behind her, the whole group trails a little back.

JOSH

Does this seem alright for a shelter?

SKYE

Yeah, assuming there's nothing currently living in it.

JOSH

Well, I guess there's only one way to find out.

Josh starts walking into the cave, but Boylan cuts in front of him.

BOYLAN

(Pulling out his pistol)

Unless you've got a death wish, it's probably best if I go first.

Josh doesn't argue, and follows Boylan into the cave.

INT. CAVE

The light gets darker and the echoes of footsteps more intense as Josh, Boylan, and Skye walk deeper into the cave. Things are starting to get unnerving. Josh's torch is the only thing holding back the darkness. Eventually, a loud roar screams through the cave at the trio. Josh wants to run, but doesn't because Boylan isn't moving, and to run off he'd have to leave him in the dark. Boylan just raises his pistol into the firing position.

BOYLAN

Keep going.

JOSH

Are you crazy?

BOYLAN

Trust me.

Josh continues with Boylan, and Skye lingers behind a bit. Eventually, Josh and Boylan come face to face with the creature that roared. It's an ovasaur, guarding a clutch of eggs. It hisses and snarls at Josh and Boylan, but doesn't move too far from it's nest. Boylan just shoots it in the heart. The gunshot disorientates Josh, and causes his ears to ring. The ovasaur drops to the ground, screeching and flailing, but slows down and eventually falls silent a few seconds later. It takes a few seconds before Josh can hear again. Boylan pulls the magazine out of his pistol, and checks the rounds.

BOYLAN

Hm, only five bullets left…

JOSH

Jesus, Boylan. It was just protecting its eggs.

BOYLAN

This isn't Terra Nova anymore, Josh. It may have been all sunshine and rainbows in the colony, but out here, you can't afford to have any sympathy for nature, because nature is cruel and unforgiving. It's eat or be eaten.

Boylan walks over and picks up one of the Ovasaur eggs.

BOYLAN

And I think we're going to be eating pretty good tonight.

CUT

The rest of the survivors have entered the cave. A campfire has been set up, and people are roasting meat from the ovasaur on sticks. Some of the eggs are being cooked on flat rocks around the fire. Josh and Malcolm sit across from each other at the fire. Skye sits at Josh's side, asleep, with her head resting on his shoulder. In fact, a lot of the group is asleep, including Boylan, who is lying down against one of the cave walls. Those who are awake, such as Josh and Malcolm are completely silent and staring off into the fire.

JOSH

What do you think, Malcolm?

MALCOLM

About what?

JOSH

Are we going to get out of this alive?

MALCOLM

I have no idea.

JOSH

Those things, the reapers, they're not going to leave us alone, are they?

MALCOLM

Well, if I had to guess, they're probably working their way down into this valley as we speak.

JOSH
So I'm guessing that means we shouldn't hang around too long.

MALCOM

Probably not.

Malcom closes his eyes and lies down to sleep. Josh looks into the fire, before lying back and closing his eyes as well.

CUT

EXT. CLIFFSIDE, DUSK

Josh and the rest of the colonists are making their way up out of the valley by scaling the sides of one of the rock walls. Josh is at the back of the group with Malcolm. The two of them are trying to get Alan up the cliff using a vine. Alan is still unconscious, so the vine has been tied around his waist. Josh and Malcolm are trying to pull Alan up, but aren't super successful. They barely have him ten feet off the ground, when the vine gets snagged on a branch sticking out of the rocks. They tug at the vine, but it doesn't come loose.

JOSH

Shit. Hang on, I'm going to climb down and untangle it.

Malcolm nods, and Josh starts his descent. However, after getting a few steps down, a roar echoes throughout the valley, and three reapers emerge from the foliage, one of them having a scorched face. Josh panics for a bit, and looks at Alan, who is still unconscious and stuck on the branch. He goes down and tries to untangle Alan from the branch. The vine is stuck pretty bad though, so Josh has trouble getting it untangled. Boylan looks down at what Josh is doing.

BOYLAN

Josh! Get out of there!

Josh freezes up, trying to decide what to do. In the time Josh is thinking, a reaper jumps up at them. It clamps its jaws around Alan's leg. As the reaper falls back towards the ground, the vine, still tied to Alan and still tied to the branch, goes taught, ripping the branch straight out of the rock wall. The branch hits Josh in the side a bit, almost knocking him off the wall, but he manages to hold on with his other hand. Alan plummets to the ground, and two of the reapers begin to tear him apart, fighting over his body parts. The one with the scorched face, however, stares at Josh as he struggles to pull himself back up the rock wall. Skye yells at Josh from the top of the cliff.

SKYE
JOSH!

The scorched one leaps up at Josh, just barely missing his boot. Josh gets a surge of adrenaline, and grabs a rock above him with his free hand, and then hoists himself up a bit. The reaper jumps up again, but is a few feet short of Josh's boot. It falls to the ground, and jumps again, this time using its arms and claws to bound up the wall and get a boost in height.

SKYE
LOOK OUT!

Josh turns his head, and sees the scorched reaper right beside him on the left. It snaps at him, and Josh lets go of the wall with his left hand, and clamps his right hand hard to the wall, causing him to swing away to the right, just enough to dodge the reaper's teeth by mere inches. The reaper begins to slide down the wall, its claws scraping horribly against the rock. Josh puts both hands on the wall again and climbs in double time. Eventually, he reaches the top of the cliff, where everyone else is waiting for him. Josh takes one last peek over the edge of the cliff. Two of the reapers are still eating Alan's body, while the scorched reaper stares straight up at Josh.

JOSH

(Narration)

Alan's death really hit me hard.

EXIT FLASHBACK

INT. TAYLOR's OFFICE, PRESENT

Amanda sits at the desk, listening intently to Josh's story. Josh sits in his chair, staring off into space as he tells his tale.

JOSH
The casualties during the escape from the outpost were bad, but Alan's death really stuck with me. I felt as though it was directly my fault. If I didn't freeze up, I could have saved him. I failed, and the reapers got him.

AMANDA

The reapers, they still continued to follow you, right?

JOSH

Of course. Every day, every moment, we lived under constant fear of when they would attack next. Sometimes it would be in the dead of night, while other times it would happen in broad daylight. Their attacks were inevitable, and all we could do was be prepared. I hate to say it, but I was almost relieved when we got attacked by dinosaurs that weren't reapers.

FADE INTO FLASHBACK

INT. JUNGLE, NIGHT

Everyone is sitting around a campfire. They all look even more dirty than they did before. Josh and Skye sit across from Boylan, who is sharpening a stick into a spear with a knife. Boylan is telling the group a story.

BOYLAN

...so there I was, out on patrol. I thought the coast was clear, so I went over to the moonshine I had hidden in the bushes. I took a few sips, and what do you know, it was just right. However, in my luck, another patrolman, uh, Albert, I think his name was, sneaks up on me as I'm drinking. I think he's going to bust me, but then, he-

Some rustling in the bushes cuts off the story, and puts everyone on alert. The whole group moves to the side of the fire opposite of the rustling, brandishing their spears in front of them. A few seconds of silence pass, before something jumps out of the bushes. It's a male slasher, which snarls and swings its tail barb around behind it. In the light of the fire, it can be seen that the slasher is very malnourished: its skin being shrink wrapped to its skeleton. Malcolm notices the state of the creature.

MALCOLM

Look at it. It's malnourished. Must not have been getting much food with the reapers being such competition.

JOSH

Malnourished or not, where there's one slasher, there's more.

MALCOLM

Not necessarily. This acceraptor looks like it's a loner. Must have been an omega that got left behind by its pack.

The slasher snorts, and pounces at the group. Everyone scatters off to the sides, and those with spears get ready to fight. Those without, pick up rocks and begin throwing them at the slasher. This angers the slasher, which charges over to a rock thrower and guts them with its tail. The people with spears begin to counterattack, stabbing the slasher in the stomach. Josh prepares to charge with his spear, when Boylan yells to him.

BOYLAN

Josh! Aim for the windpipe!

Josh charges forward, yelling. He gets within ten feet of the slasher, and trips on a root on the ground, causing him to slam face down in the dirt. Josh picks up his head, and sees the slasher looming over him. It opens its jaws, but then a rock hits it in the head, drawing the creature's attention. Skye threw the rock.

SKYE

Get away from him, you bitch!

She throws another rock. The slasher snarls in anger at Skye. Josh looks around on the ground. His spear is lying on the ground only a few feet in front of him, and the slasher is still right above him, although it is temporarily distracted. Josh takes his shot, and grabs the spear, stabbing it right into the slasher's neck from below. Blood spills out and onto Josh. The slasher steps back, writhing in pain and letting out a terrible gurgling noise in a vain attempt to roar. It collapses to its side, kicking and flailing, but eventually stops moving. Josh gets up off the ground, and people begin to crowd around the dead dinosaur.

MALCOLM

Well, it's not every day someone kills an acceraptor with a stick.

Boylan walks over to the slasher, and pulls out his knife. He hacks off the tail barb, and brings it over to Josh.

BOYLAN

You did good, kiddo. Consider this a reward. You'll need it.

Josh takes the tail barb.

Boylan looks over at the slasher corpse once more, and at the one person the slasher killed.

BOYLAN

We shouldn't hang around here for long. We also need to look for some water to wash that blood off of you. Let's go.

FADE OUT OF FLASHBACK

INT. TAYLOR'S OFFICE

Amanda is inspecting Josh's slasher tail knife.

JOSH

That encounter was the crucible through which my people became the survivors they are today. We decided to name ourselves the raptor tribe, after the acceraptor we battled. However, our trials were far from over.

FADE INTO FLASHBACK

INT. ROCKY PASS, DAY

The group is walking up a pass that is on a sort of rock formation. Everyone is noticeably more worn, with more handmade gear and such. Josh has a dinosaur hide jacket, and has his slasher tail knife strapped to his waist. Skye walks beside him, carrying a makeshift hunting bow. Boylan follows behind, carrying a spear, which he uses as a walking stick. Behind Boylan, is Malcolm, who looks a bit cleaner than everyone else, but has a noticeably larger beard than he did before.

JOSH

(narration)

Months had passed, and we had begun to carve a life for ourselves, living as a nomadic tribe. Boylan had taught me everything he knew about survival, and I was cemented as the tribe's leader.

The group continues up the pass. The rock begins to rise up on both sides of the pass, forming walls that get taller and taller as the group proceeds forward. Eventually the walls tower over everyone, and the peaks of each wall begin to merge above the pass, turning the pass into a sort of tunnel. The sun only shines through the occasional gap in the ceiling. The light at the end of the tunnel appears to be 100 yards away. The group walks along, until some small rocks fall from the ceiling. Josh holds his hand up, and the whole tribe stops, silently. They all look up at where the rocks came from, and see one of the small holes in the ceiling. Orange sunlight shoots through it like a ray from god himself. Some more rocks fall through the hole. Everyone stares at the opening for a few seconds, not saying a word. Josh breaks the silence.

JOSH

(Quietly)

Everyone, get ready to run for it.

The whole tribe sits there silently for a few more seconds, after which everyone starts sprinting towards the exit to the tunnel. They make it about 30 feet before the unmistakable roar of a reaper is heard echoing from where they entered the tunnel. Josh peeks backwards while running, and sure enough, the silhouette of a reaper obscures the light coming in from the entrance. Josh turns his head back towards the exit and continues running. He's about 50 yards away from the exit, when all of a sudden, another reaper drops down in front of the exit. Everyone skids to a halt, horrified. Both the entrance and the exit are blocked. The echoes of roars fill the tunnel, coming from both ends. The reapers begin to charge, and everyone is frozen with fear. Josh looks at Boylan, who is standing to his left. Boylan just stares at the oncoming reapers. Josh notices the pistol still holstered on Boylan's belt. Without thinking, Josh snatches it out of the holster and fires two sonic blasts at the ceiling, one in front of the tribe and one behind. The sound is deafening, but does not phase the reapers. The one that came from the exit is getting close to the group. The cave starts to shake, and the ceiling gives away. Rocks rain down throughout the entire cavern, some small, some as big as refrigerators. Josh turns around and grabs Skye, partially to protect her, and partially in a last embrace.

Everyone does their best to dodge the rocks falling down around them. The reapers still charge ever forward. The reaper from the exit is about ten feet away from Josh, about to end both his and Skye's life, when a massive boulder falls from the ceiling, right onto the reaper's head, crushing it into a bloody pulp. Rocks continue to fall around the group, left and right, front and behind. It seems like it's never going to end. The reaper from the entrance is still running towards the group. It's about 80 feet away, and Josh can see that this reaper is the scorched one. Suddenly, part of the ceiling completely collapses in front of the reaper, swinging down like a trap door. Where there was a hungry reaper before, is now a steep ramp of rock and exposed sunlight. The sun blasts from the newly made and very large opening where a portion of the ceiling used to be. Josh and everyone else are still under a part of the tunnel where the ceiling is falling apart, but notice the new opening, and run towards it to get out of the barrage of falling rocks. Boylan lags behind a bit, as everyone else runs for their lives. He turns around while running, and sees where Boylan is at. Josh then notices a large car-sized rock falling from the ceiling, right above Boylan.

JOSH
BOYLAN! LOOK OUT!

Boylan looks up, and sees the rock falling towards him, he dives away, and manages to evade the rock. He lands on the ground, stomach first. Before he can react again, a basketball sized rock falls from the ceiling and hits his right leg. He screams in pain, and tries to get up, but can't. The rocks continue to fall all around him. Josh sees it unfolding.

JOSH

Boylan!

Josh runs back into the barrage of rocks to get him. He manages to make it over to Boylan.

BOYLAN

(Weak)

Josh… no…

Josh grabs Boylan, and begins to drag him towards safety. Everyone else has already reached the spot where the ceiling is gone. Skye calls out to Josh.

SKYE

Josh! Hurry!

Josh pulls Boylan along as fast as he can. Lethally large rocks are just missing him left and right. One big rock lands right beside him, and bumps his arm a bit, making him yelp in pain. Josh tries to pick up the pace even more. He's so close to being in the clear. Just a few more seconds. A big rock begins to fall from the ceiling, right where Josh is about to walk. Boylan sees, and with all his strength, pulls back against Josh's tugging, managing to stop Josh just short of getting crushed. Josh picks Boylan back up, and drags him around the boulder. The rocks are coming down harder now. The ceiling won't be up for much longer. Josh pulls with all his might, dragging Boylan along. After a few more steps, he feels the warm tinge of sunlight. He did it, they're in the clear, and not a moment too soon, as the ceiling collapses right in front of them. With the entire tunnel collapsed, a sort of bowl has been formed, with the walls of the tunnel intact, and with the directions of the former tunnel now being covered with steep piles of rock. The survivors stand right in the center of the bowl. Josh collapses to the ground, panting and sweating. It looks like he might pass out from sheer exhaustion. Skye comes over.

SKYE

Josh, are you alright?

JOSH

I'm fine. Check on Boylan.

Skye looks at Boylan's leg. It's really bruised, and most definitely broken. Boylan is breathing heavily, he's clearly in a lot of pain. Everyone else in the tribe, however, feels very relieved, like a weight has been lifted off of their shoulders. Then,

BAM!

The rocks behind the group rumble a bit, as if something is trying to break its way out of the rubble. That was the spot the scorched reaper was buried. Josh jolts up to his feet, and people begin to stand back from the rubble. Another bang reverberates from the rubble, sending smaller rocks flying off of the top. Josh turns to Boylan, who is laying on the ground.

JOSH

Someone help me carry Boylan! We have to leave, now!

Josh runs over and grabs Boylan by the shoulders. The rubble explodes with the sound of angry roaring. The head of the charred reaper extrudes from the rubble.

BOYLAN

Josh, you can't do this. You have to leave me behind.

Josh ignores him, and starts dragging him towards the opposing ramp from where the reaper is coming from. People from the tribe are already attempting to climb up it, but it's very steep.

JOSH

Someone help me!

Skye shows up and grabs Boylan by his legs. Malcolm also comes, and takes one of Boylan's arms from Josh. The three of them can lift him, but he's still cumbersome to move. They head towards the ramp, while the reaper pulls itself out of the rubble. They reach the ramp, but it's very steep. Most of the tribe has made it up the ramp, and are waiting for Josh, Malcolm, and Skye. The trio has to use one hand each to carry Boylan, while their other hand is used for climbing. The reaper manages to pull its arms out from under the rubble. It claws wildly at the rock around itself, trying to push its body up and out. Josh, Malcolm, and Skye barely have Boylan ten feet up the ramp, while they still have thirty feet to go.

BOYLAN

Josh… if you don't save yourself, we're all going to die. Please, leave me.

JOSH

No, Boylan! I've left too many people to die. I'm not going to do it again! I'm not going to leave you!

Someone at the top of the ramp has found a vine, and chucks it down to Josh, who grabs it, and ties it around Boylan's waist. The reaper breaks free from the rock, and immediately charges at them. The people at the top begin to pull Boylan up. The reaper is getting close and targets the closest person: Skye. It reaches the ramp, and bounds straight at her. Josh grabs her by the hand, and pulls her up, just in time. The reaper snaps and narrowly misses her, before it slides back down to the base of the ramp. Josh pushes Skye up in front of him. The reaper runs back to the far end of the bowl, and charges once again. Josh scrambles to scale the ramp as fast as he can. Skye and Malcolm are starting to approach the top, with Boylan already having been pulled to safety. The reaper hits the ramp, and bounds up it after Josh. Someone chucks a vine to Josh, who grabs it and starts to climb as fast as he can. The reaper snaps at Josh, but it comes up short, and slides back down the ramp. Josh is pulled to the top of the ramp. The reaper tries to climb the ramp again, but trips and rolls down on its side, hitting the bottom with a loud thud. It gets up, and attempts again, but once again, the ramp proves to be too steep. The reaper screams in anger at Josh. Josh stares down at the reaper for a moment, and then motions for everyone to leave. The tribe walks away from the reaper, onwards towards their destination.

FADE OUT OF FLASHBACK

INT. TAYLOR'S OFFICE

AMANDA
So, did Boylan make it?

JOSH

Yes, he did, believe it or not. He's back at camp with the rest of my tribe. Play your cards right and you might meet him and everyone else some day.

AMANDA
And what about the reapers?

JOSH

Well, their numbers were reduced after that encounter, and the burned one was trapped seemingly long enough for my tribe to get far enough ahead to where it wasn't able to track us anymore.

AMANDA

Well, that's good.

JOSH

There were only a few after me and my people. If you go out into the badlands, you're going to bring back a lot more. If the colony couldn't deal with them the first time they showed up, it definitely won't stand a chance if you bring them back.

AMANDA
I appreciate your concern, Josh, not that I can 100% believe the story you just told me.

JOSH

You know you shouldn't believe it, but deep down, I know you do.

Josh looks out the window of Taylor's office. The sun is starting to get a bit lower in the sky.

JOSH

Well, it looks like it's getting late. I should probably get going so I can release your man from my tribe's custody.

AMANDA
You know I can't just let you leave, right? You're an outsider, you've kidnapped someone that belonged to me. That's a hostile action.

JOSH

You don't have a choice.

Amanda stares at him for a second. Josh kind of shakes the rope binding his hands together. Amanda sighs and cuts him loose. Josh stands up.

JOSH

The knife too, please.

Amanda, still holding Josh's slasher tail knife, hesitates, before very slowly placing the knife into Josh's hands. He immediately slides the knife back into a makeshift sheath on his belt.

JOSH

Well, it was nice meeting you… I didn't get your name.

AMANDA
Amanda.

JOSH

Amanda. Assuming we can learn to trust each other, I believe that we could potentially reach a mutually beneficial alliance in this hostile world. That's assuming you listen to my warning though. If you step a single foot anywhere near the badlands...

AMANDA

You gonna try and wage war against me?

JOSH

No, of course not. In fact, you'd never see me again. Even if the reapers didn't get you, my people and I would be gone; hiding from the mess you will have created. So please, don't do anything stupid, okay?

Josh leaves the building. Amanda gets up and looks out the window. Josh walks past Spunkmeyer on the way out, who was just on his way to Taylor's office. He turns and looks at Josh, and then at Amanda, confused.

Amanda turns on her comm.

AMANDA

(INTO COMM)

Open the main gate.

A guard answers from the other comm.

RANDOM GUARD

(From comm)

We're just letting him go?

AMANDA

(Into comm)

Yes…

EXT. COLONY, MIDDAY

Josh hops into the rover, and speeds off out the gate and into the jungle. The rover disappears into the foliage.

FADE

EXT. COLONY, SUNSET

A rover speeds out of the jungle and up to the gate. The gate opens, and the rover enters. It stops in front of Taylor's building. Carmichael steps out of the rover. Amanda exits the building, and stands on the balcony. She looks at Carmichael.

CUT

INT. TAYLOR'S OFFICE

Amanda and Carmichael are sitting at the desk.

AMANDA
Are you alright? Did they interrogate you or anything?

CARMICHAEL

No, it was actually a rather pleasant experience compared to what I was expecting them to do to me. They just sat me down, and had me talk to this man named Malcolm. Absolutely brilliant person. It was refreshing to talk to another scientist for a change. We discussed the badlands and such, and he talked about how it was the territory of a very dangerous species of carnivore, and that we really need to avoid it.

AMANDA
Someone from those outsiders showed up here, using your rover. They told a similar story.

CARMICHAEL

Well, that makes sense. They sounded very adamant when telling the story that we should not go anywhere near the badlands. But…

AMANDA
But what?

CARMICHAEL

That anomaly, I discussed it with Malcolm. We both were throwing around theories about what it could be, but there's no way to know without investigating. I know what they said about the badlands, but this anomaly is a very unique phenomenon, and I feel like we really need to see what it was. Even Malcolm said he really wanted to know, although he said it still isn't worth total annihilation.

AMANDA
Well, I don't know if I believe the story they told, but that anomaly didn't seem like it was the most pressing matter as of right now. Maybe we should avoid the badlands, just to be safe.

As if on queue, Spunkmeyer enters the room, holding a plex. He seems disturbed about something.

SPUNKMEYER
Commander, something very strange has just come up!

AMANDA
What is it?

SPUNKMEYER

Approximately an hour ago, long range colony comm relays started picking up a strange signal. I got some technicians to clean up the transmission. I think you'll want to hear it.

Amanda nods, and Spunkmeyer plays the signal. It's a series of beeps and tones.

AMANDA
That's morse code…

SPUNKMEYER
And not just that, it's an SOS message.

AMANDA
Where's the signal coming from?

SPUNKMEYER

That's the concerning part. After tracing it, we found that it's emanating from a specific spot.

Spunkmeyer pulls up a holographic map. The map scrolls from Terra Nova to a specific spot far off in the distance.

AMANDA
That's in the badlands.

CARMICHAEL
Indeed.

Amanda gets a very concerned look on her face. She gets up, and walks over to the window. She stares off into the distance.

AMANDA

You two are dismissed. I need time to process this.

Spunkmeyer nods, and leads Carmichael out of the office. Amanda looks off into the distance outside. The sun vanishes over the horizon, bringing a veil of darkness over the colony.

END OF EPISODE