EVERYTHING BIG ALWAYS HAPPENS IN MANHATTAN
Issue 1 - The Beginning, The Origin
SCRIPT BY REX HORNER
Page 1 -
Panel 1 - A sprawling, overhead view of a quaint town. Something out of the fifties, on the edge of industry, but still with a heap of old-fashioned values. It's nighttime and bright out but shadows still manage to wash across the pine-filled hills.
CAPTION
The tallest building in Durham was the water tower. . .
Panel 2 - Swoop in over the town green. A lone teenager drags off a cigarette, a wisp of smoke clouds over him.
CAPTION
The once-a-year fair drew more customers than the Durham's entire population.
Panel 3 - The fairgrounds. Abandoned, farmhouse fences this way and that, the beer-hall, a rough, log cabin building. A slew of beer bottles, some broken, litter the ground and tables.
CAPTION
Drinking was popular. . .
Page 2 -
SPLASH - The water tower shooting up towards us, and a gnarled, man-like creature huddles atop the tank, looking down a steep hill towards the bulk of Durham. It is too dark to make out anything concrete about its features, besides its nakedness and stringy, taut musculature. The moon acts as a sentinel perched up high, surrounded by its army of vibrant stars.
CAPTION
The thing crouched atop the tank, not under the stars but over the city.
CREDITS - THE BEGINNING, THE ORIGIN; Issue 1; Kenneth Rex Horner - Writer
Page 3 -
Panel 1 - A teenager's room. Posters tacked to the walls, lyrics, and other phrases scrawled on the walls. Things scattered everywhere, clothes carpeting the ground. A bed fills the middle of the room, headboard pushed against a wall. A centerpiece. A boy and girl clutch at each other, no clothes on, and the sheets wrapped around their lower halves.
CAPTION
The bed was like a slaughterhouse. Drained fluids spilled across the bed covers.
Panel 2 - Close on the girl's hand draped over the edge of the bed, glistening with sweat. A beaded bracelet and a few rings are still attached.
AMY (O.P.) [the girl]
We have to go soon.
Panel 3 - Close on a hand massaging a muscled shoulder.
JOSH (O.P.) [the boy]
Sure.
Panel 4 - Vantage point from the ceiling, a string with Chinese lanterns bobbing along it crosses the panel. Amy and Josh swing off separate sides of the bed.
Page 4 -
Panel 1 - The teenage boy on the town green drags on his diminishing cigarette. He stares at the looming pine tree in the center of the green. He wears a black blazer over a half-buttoned cowboy shirt, not tucked into his black jeans. His studded belt shows a bit.
Panel 2 - Amy and Josh plow out of the darkness and Josh bumps against the boy. Cale, the underage smoker, loses the remnants of his vice. Now dressed, Josh wears a polo shirt and Amy, a skirt over jeans, and a plaid shirt covering her chest, nothing else. She wears a necklace or two, seen through the unbuttoned shirt front.
CALE
Hey!
Panel 3 - Amy and Josh stop, turning to look back at Cale. They're anxious to get out of there.
AMY
Don't sweat it. We didn't see you.
JOSH
What do we have against you anyway?
Panel 4 - Cale searches the thick grass, squinting his eyes. Amy and Josh squirm impatiently.
CALE
My cigarette. . .
Panel 5 - Focus on Josh's face, his eyes pointed off the panel. His brow is furrowed.
JOSH
You'll have another. They come in packs of twenty, you know.
Panel 6 - Focus on Amy, running a hand through her hair.
AMY
And when did you smoke?
Page 5 -
Panel 1 - Cale stands with his hands shoved into his pockets.
Panel 2 - Amy and Josh dash back off into the darkness.
Panel 3 - Cale meanders down a paved road off of the green.
Panel 4 - Shoot up into the sky, to see the terrain in full. Cale is a miniature, walking beside a graveyard that sprawls down a slope to his left. Houses line the right side of the road, mingled with trees and a steep slope just beyond the meager backyards, heavily wooded. The green's behind Cale, and the paved road surrenders to countryside further down.
Page 6 -
Panel 1 - Seen from the interior of a living room, Cale pushes open the front door. It's a family house, toys in the corners, big sofas, and a sizeable TV. Hank reclines on the sofa, square features, and dark hair, classically handsome with a big frame. He's Cale's age and his good friend.
HANK
Everything you hoped it would be?
CALE
The cigarette? I couldn't walk straight.
HANK
Dunno why else they keep you comin' back.
Panel 2 - Cale smiles, lodged against the doorway into the kitchen/dining room.
CALE
It's always this or that.
Panel 3 - From inside the freezer, the door open and Cale peering in, grabbing at box nestled next to the ice packs.
HANK (O.P.)
It's not a good habit.
Panel 4 - Cale pulls the frozen taquitos from their box, a few already on a plastic plate laid on the linoleum countertop.
CALE
How many years for you?
Panel 5 - Hank plays with the TV remote. He has a wry smile on.
HANK
I prefer to count them individually.
Page 7 -
Panel 1 - Josh and Amy are leaning against pines deep in a forest. They stare each other down.
JOSH
We did it.
AMY
Yeah.
JOSH
Show it to me.
Panel 2 - Amy digging through her jean's pocket.
AMY
What do we do with it?
JOSH
Christ, Amy. Everything. We're gonna do everything. We may even get out of here. Can you imagine that?
Panel 3 - Close on Amy's soft face, as she grins.
AMY
Yeah, Josh. I got the picture all straightened up.
Panel 4 - Josh shifting, agitated.
JOSH
Come on! Tell me you have it.
Panel 5 - Close on Amy's open palm. A gold, shining Rolex watch rests there. Their stolen treasure.
AMY (O.P.)
See?
Page 8 -
Panel 1 - Amy and Josh startle and dash off into the deeper forest, hand in hand.
CAPTION
A delicate snap of brush set the fledging thieves on edge, but it was the heavy steps of two others that sent them running.
Panel 2 - Hank and Cale cross the same spot moments later. They each have a cigarette, Cale's pressed to his lips and Hank's held between two fingers at his side.
CALE
The water tower? Why the water tower?
HANK
You've never look out over the town until you've done it smoking.
CALE
Are you sure she didn't hear us go out?
Panel 3 - Swoop back, showing a full view of the slope Cale and Hank ascend. Past the dense trees that cover the incline, sits the water tower in a clearing atop the hill. The gnarled, man-like creature still rests atop the tank, and casts a long shadow across the clearing and down the slope, over the trees.
CAPTION
“Yeah.”
Page 9 -
Panel 1 - The man-creature stands atop the tank, stretching its arms towards the sky. We stand just behind it, seeing the same view it would. The slope slides downward before the creature. A maintenance shack sits at the edge of the clearing, then gangly brush thickens into an arboreal haven.
CAPTION
It sees the town not as a playground, but more of the way a Persian conqueror looks over a bustling city from his perch atop a mountain pass.
Panel 2 - Through the crook of the creature's neck we see an outstretched arm and a hand tensed and curled as if grasping an invisible sphere. The creature's back is riddled with pronounced veins.
CAPTION
It wants to hold. . . control. . .
Panel 3 - Move closer towards the hand, the forearm filling the foreground. The thumb and index finger form the shape of a claw with the cratered moon positioned between the fingertips.
CAPTION
It doesn't quite know why, some primal urge. . .
CAPTION #2
It wants to clutch. . . caress. . .
Panel 4 - Now the contorted hand fills the entire frame, tightened into a fist. The moon can't be seen past the ridge of jutting knuckles and bulging fist.
CAPTION
Possibly destroy.
Panel 5 - Small frame, centered on one eye of the man-creature. The lids are pulled way back, almost unnaturally so. The eye is a searing array of cataracts and lighting streaks. Muscles clench all around the socket and the bone structure is extremely prominent.
CAPTION
Almost certain, actually.
Panel 6 - We look up at the man-creature. It's splayed awkwardly in mid-air, after a lunge from the water tower. Wicked looking wings framed by knotted bone ridges and strands of muscle blossom from the creature's shoulder blades. Leathery flesh stretches across the framework, dotted with dark feathers here and there. Almost a sinister bat and almost a soaring falcon. Thorny protrusions line its fingers and palms. Blades resembling scythes run on each side of creature's calves.
CAPTION
It flies.
Page 10 -
Panel 1 - From the ceiling, we see a man in jeans and a creased t-shirt pacing his bedroom. It has a log cabin feel, a lot of wood surfaces and handcrafted furniture. The alarm clock is the surest sign of the times in the room. It reads 7:00, with a glowing dot next to the PM stamp.
CAPTION
Yesterday.
CAPTION #2
“A creature needs. . . lost love, terrible fate. . . something that really sets it off. Throws it over the edge.
Panel 2 - Close on the man's face. The narrator has angular features, straw-colored hair that behaves like a wild shrub. He has a hand rubbing his chin, covering his mouth. He bears a look of deep thought.
CAPTION
“A creature needs. . . conviction. Motivation. . .”
Panel 3 - The man sits on the edge of his bed, elbows on his knees, hands in his hair. The bedding is a patchwork quilt.
CAPTION
“A creature, above all, needs to be horrifying. I mean that. I really do. If you think the creature is anything like yourself, then it's just another human.”
Page 11 -
Panel 1 - Hank holds a lighter to his cigarette, his head turned, looking at Cale.
HANK
What?
Panel 2 - Cale offers a wry smile.
Panel 3 - Hank gestures with his lit cigarette.
HANK
It's a pre-game smoke. A warm up for the water tower.
Panel 4 - Cale now looks alert, eyes glancing to his side.
HANK
Come on. . .
Page 12 -
Panel 1 - The newly emerged tail of the man-creature slides its way between tree trunks and foliage.
CAPTION
A slight whisper.
Panel 2 - The scythed legs of the beast claw against the bed of leaves and dirt of the forest floor. The legs are barely touching the ground.
CAPTION
Reverberations.
Panel 3 - From behind, we see the transformed man-creature. Its wings are tucked close to its body, one gnarled arm outstretched, and the other thrown back. The man-creature's tail leaves a swath of upturned leaves in its wake.
CAPTION
A rush of blades, flesh, and air.
Panel 4 - From close to the ground, Hank throws his hands in front of himself, protecting against the man-creature that half soars, half sprints towards him. His cigarette tumbles through the air, a fiery ember. Cale is in mid-leap, desperately wrenching his body out of the thing's path.
CAPTION
It meets its firsts.
Page 13 -
Panel 1 - A hand taking hold of a tree root, clenching franticly. The hand is smeared with dirt and grime.
Panel 2 - Looking down at Cale, as he pulls himself up the steep hillside. His clothes and face are smeared with dirt, his shirt ripped.
CALE
Hank!
Panel 3 - From behind, Hank in a leaping sprint, head turned back to face us with wide eyes
Panel 4 - The almost human face of the man-creature, its pupils are dots, and its jaw is contorted in the way a wolf would raise its hackles.
Panel 5 - The man-creature's wing unfolds and catches Hank full in the chest.
Panel 6 - Hank is almost on his feet again.
Panel 7 - The man-creature tries to execute a quick turn, but its bulk and momentum make it slide pell-mell on the slick forest floor. Its wings beat furiously, working like a parachute.
Page 14 -
Panel 1 - Wide frame, with Hank pressed against a rock wall, looking up at Cale, perched on the precipice feet above Hank's head. The sheer rock extends for yards along the hillside. Hank has no time to traverse the slippery terrain before the man-creature pounds its way back up the slope.
Panel 2 - The man-creature manages to gain purchase and tenses its haunches, extends its forearms, starting its rush.
Panel 3 - Cale extends a hand down to Hank, lying on his stomach.
CALE
Come on! Get the hell up here!
Panel 4- Hank makes a mighty leap.
Panel 5 - The boys' hands clasp.
Panel 6 - A big frame, as the man-creature crashes against the sheer rock, feet below Hank's dangling body. Cale struggles to hold the weight of his bigger friend.
Page 15 -
Panel 1 - The man-creature holds itself upright against the sheer rock, head thrust back and a growl on its face. It searches the slope for the boys.
Panel 2 - Two pairs of feet strike the ground.
Panel 3 - Hank and Cale rush towards the maintenance shack by the clearing where the water tower stands.
HANK
Get inside!
Panel 4 - Hank and Cale have their backs leaning against the door to the shack. The walls are cluttered with tools; the floor is covered in bins of spare parts, nuts, and bolts. A steel girder leans against the back wall. The shadows are heavy.
CALE
Can you hear it?
HANK
No.
CALE
Your mom's gonna have to wait the night out all alone.
Panel 5 - Hank and Cale have relaxed somewhat, but are still holed up in the shack. They sit against walls opposite one another. Cale has his arms on his knees, curled up to his chest. He holds a cigarette in one hand. Hank leg's are spread out, his arms at his sides, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
CALE
Christ. What was that?
HANK
Huh. Well here's our smoke. Not quite how I imagined it.
Page 16 -
Panel 1 - A panoramic view of a high school. It's set atop a hill, four buildings scattered on the sides of the quad, where students congregate. Trees line the edge of the campus, giving way to a stretching forest. There's a soccer field, baseball diamond. It's early morning.
CAPTION
The Academy. Not a private school. It's just called that. The sun is new in the sky, and sleepy looks pass between all the students.
Panel 2 - In front of the gymnasium, a two story building that doubles as a cafeteria and home to the basketball team. Students converge on the glass double doors, and two single doors that flank the main entrance on each side. Hank and Cale are towards the back of the crowd, shifting along slowly.
CALE
I don't want to be here.
HANK
It's assembly. Just sit peacefully, let them tell you they're putting their foot down on parking, warn you that snowball season is ahead and that'll get you a detention. . .
CALE
Right.
Panel 3 - Inside the gymnasium, Hank and Cale climb the steps towards the faux assembly hall. The architecture is in the New England style. A lot of brick, some of it painted and rusty colors. A teacher stands by the door into the gym, a stern look on his face. He's in his late fifties, graying hair, and a peppered beard, just a little more than five o'clock shadow. He wears khakis and a plaid button-up. A wool jacket tops off the outfit.
CALE
Fenton looks grimmer than usual.
HANK
Prolly doesn't want to be here either.
CALE
There's no harm in retiring.
Panel 4 - The bleachers are pulled out across the shiny wood panels of the basketball court. Students dot the benches here and there; most of them still standing and conversing. Hank and Cale take seats in right corner of the gym, away from the stage, where the Dean of Students stands alongside two other teachers.
CALE
Dean's never here this early.
Page 17 -
Panel 1 - The Dean stands tall in front of all the seated students. His arms are folded.
DEAN
There's been a tragedy in our community.
Panel 2 - Hank and Cale share a curious look.
Panel 3 - Close on the Dean.
DEAN
Close by, a member of the community has been reported missing.
Panel 4 - The look Josh and Amy share, a few seats down Hank and Cale, is much more shifty. Almost worried.
Panel 5 - A wide frame of the assembly. The Dean's hands are in his pockets.
DEAN
There is no firm explanation for his disappearance, but police investigation points towards suspicious circumstances. I'm telling you this as a warning. Be cautious of your surroundings and keep on the lookout. The law would be indebted to anyone who can be of help.
Page 18 -
Panel 1 - Hank and Cale sit next to each other in Fenton's class. The teacher gesticulates with a stick of chalk from the board. Arrows point this way and that, formulas accompanying the diagrams. “Newton's Laws of Motion” is written and underlined atop all the writing. Cale slides a note to Hank.
Panel 2 - Hank looks down at the note, while Cale feigns attentiveness. Fenton continues his lecture.
FENTON
The second law of motion. . .Come on. . .
CAPTION
“I saw Josh and Amy last night. When I was out.”
Panel 3 - Josh and Amy sit a few rows behind the boys. They too look conspiratorial and distracted. Amy plays nervously with a lock of hair. Josh drums a silent rhythm with his pen.
CAPTION
“Smoking? No way. What were they doing?”
Panel 4 - Cale's hand scrawls on the scrap of notebook paper, below the reply. “Running.”
Panel 5 - Fenton strikes his chalk against the board. He's still wearing his wool jacket.
FENTON
The rate of change of momentum is proportional to the resultant force producing it and takes place in the direction of that force. Write that down. Resultant? Let's see some hands.
Page 19 -
Panel 1 - Back to the abode of the unnamed man. He's back at his pacing, hands on his hips. The vantage point is from the ceiling fan.
CAPTION
“Lightning. Flashes of hot white, forks of blinding daggers, heading right at the timid heads of our ancestors.”
Panel 2 - Looking through the window of the house, as the man stares out through the panes of glass.
CAPTION
“What must they have thought? Gods, most likely. Or demons. Something supernatural, not human, I'm sure. Did they think: Lightning is an exclamation of solar particles, charged to the breaking point?”
Panel 3 - Close on the man's features, his face buried in an expression of intense belief.
CAPTION
“It was a phenomenon. It was not a static charge. Tumbling electrons and protons.”
Panel 4 - The man points at us, imitating the men who walked the earth millions of years ago, marveling at the jagged darts of lightning. His face mirrors the amazed expression the men must have had.
CAPTION
“It was decidedly marvelous.”
Page 20 -
Panel 1 - The Academy, on the quad. It's lunch and kids are spread out on the grass. Hank and Cale stand in front of another student. A typical high-schooler. She's slouched, dressed snazzy with a backpack hanging off one shoulder.
STUDENT
Josh and Amy? Yeah, they're down at the woodlot. It's for Forestry. I wouldn't interrupt them, though. They're prolly. . . You know. In the teepee-thing.
HANK
Thanks.
Panel 2 - Hank and Cale cross the quad, heading toward the main entrance to the Academy. Beyond the two-lane road is a slope, heading to a ridge of forest. A man-made path winds its way into the woods, towards the woodlot.
HANK
She's cute.
CALE
Yeah. . .
HANK
No red-haired beauty of course.
Panel 3 - Cale looks over his shoulder to a group of students walking the opposite direction.
Panel 4 - Move to the group of students, particularly a tall-ish girl wearing a flowing skirt and red t-shirt. Her auburn hair flows over her shoulders and down her back. She has emerald eyes.
Panel 5 - Cale gives Hank a stern look.
CALE
Hey. . .
Page 21 -
Panel 1 - Inside the teepee, at the woodlot. The Rolex sits on a stump between Josh and Amy. They give the watch suspicious stares.
AMY
It's just a watch.
JOSH
No! It's not our watch. So it's not just a watch. It's our dirty little trinket.
Panel 2 - Hank and Cale approach the teepee, steeping over fallen tree trunks, and axes lying across the path.
CAPTION
“At least the sex was really fuckin' good.”
Panel 3 - From inside the teepee. Hank peels back the flap, peering inside. Josh launches at the Rolex, hoping to hide it. Amy is caught in a pose of surprise.
HANK
Flashy.
Panel 4 - Amy glares daggers at Hank.
AMY
Get the hell out. Now.
Panel 5 - Hank puts on a wry grin. Cale looks through the flap from behind Hank.
HANK
Where were you last night Amy?
Panel 6 - Josh looks livid.
JOSH
Fuck Cale. I told you I didn't have a problem with you. So you had to go tell the jet-black hulk here, didn't you?
Page 22 -
Panel 1 - Cale enters the tepee.
CALE
Someone's missing. You heard that? So just tell us what you did. Screw the cops. Let's just get this straight.
Panel 2 - Josh is just as angry.
JOSH
Really? Someone's missing. No way. Why do you care so much anyway?
Panel 3 - Hank and Cale look at each other uncomfortably.
Panel 4 - Hank squats and stares at Josh and Amy.
HANK
Listen. Alright? We were going up to the water tower last night. . .
CALE
For a cigarette. . .
Page 23 -
Panel 1 - The four kids, Josh, Amy, Hank, and Cale trudge up a dirt road, bordered on both sides by heavy woods. Hank and Amy shine flashlights through the darkness.
JOSH
Why do we have to go up here?
HANK
Things like this don't happen everyday.
JOSH
Doesn't mean we need to get involved if they do.
Panel 2 - Amy trails behind the rest of the group. She has a funny look on her face, like something's just a bit off in her perception.
CAPTION
1687. Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. Sir Isaac Newton's coup de grace. A lanky man with a wavy mane of light hair. He had those eyes that looked so profoundly aware.
Panel 3 - Amy stares at her hand by her waist. It swings slightly and a blur follows its movements.
CAPTION
Law, the first. A physical body will remain at rest, or continue to move at a constant velocity, unless an outside net force acts upon it.
Panel 4 - A wider frame of Amy alone on the road, jerking slightly. Each limb has a blurry trail behind it.
AMY
Guys?
Panel 5 - The three boys are in the foreground, looking back at Amy. Her entire body appears evanescent. Scattered about the road are three imprints of Amy, floating in the still air. Her dialogue balloon comes from the three ephemeral bodies and the solid one.
AMY
Something's happening. . .
Page 24 -
Panel 1 - Josh runs towards Amy. He's frantic, scared. Hank and Cale look in awe and disbelief.
JOSH
Amy!
Panel 2 - Josh throws his arms around Amy, but it's one of the transient bodies. It dissipates when Josh comes into contact with.
Panel 3 - Josh whirls around, the real Amy in front of him. She's holding out her arms.
Panel 4 - Josh and Amy embrace.
AMY
I'm here.
JOSH
Wh-why?
Panel 5 - Focus on Hank and Cale. The dirt around Hank's feet swirls in bizarre patterns. Cale eyes the miniature whorls out of the corner of his vision.
CAPTION
Back to 1687. Law, the second. The rate of change of momentum is proportional to the resultant force producing it and takes place in the direction of that force. Curious. . .
Panel 6 - Hank picks up his foot, wary of the dust storm surging about his tennis shoes.
HANK
Huh.
Page 25 -
Panel 1 - Hank stands beside Cale. Leaves, dirt clots, and branches gravitate towards, and around Hank. Josh is posed as if he was about to put his hands on Amy's shoulder, but the girl is falling backwards.
CAPTION
Law, the third.
Panel 2 - Amy lands on all fours, the fleeting haze streaming around her.
AMY
Hey Josh! It's still me.
Panel 3 - Josh looks down, surprised, palms displayed outward in a position of innocence.
JOSH
No. I didn't mean to. I just wanted to hold you.
Panel 4 - Amy looks almost angry.
AMY
Well you didn't!
CAPTION
To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. . . Horse pulls a rock on a string, and the rock pulls back with just as much vigor.
Panel 5 - Everyone stares at Cale, standing bemused.
HANK
What about you?
Page 26 -
Panel 1 - The abode again. The log cabin. The man has his hands spread outward.
CAPTION
“A chimera.”
Panel 2 - The mythological beast, on its hind legs, letting out a mighty roar. It stands atop a jut of rock, clouds wreathing the blue sky.
CAPTION
“A lion's head protrudes from the neck, and down into the forepaws, followed the ragged fur of a goat, and an awkward, blatting head of the mountainous cross between an antelope and a sheep.”
Panel 3 - The beast stares us down, licks of flame curling at the corners of its fanged mouth. Gouts of smoke spew from the goat head's flared nostrils.
CAPTION
“And from the tensed haunch of the immortal creation, a scaled tail emerges, topped with the lean countenance of a snake, a brilliant emerald green.”
Panel 4 - The chimera throws its forepaws at us, drawing its maw wide, and releasing a furling spit of flame.
CAPTION
“Birthed by the tumultuous Typhon and the scathing beauty Echidna. Instead, I see a different history.”
Panel 5 - The man swings his arms around, like a propeller. The ceiling fan follows a similar cyclonic motion above him.
CAPTION
“I see three animal friends, a goat, a lion and a viper. They crawl about each other when a mortal stumbles into their clearing. The animals turn at his entrance.”
CAPTION #2
“From the man's angle, he sees one creature, something surely from beyond his world. The lion skirts his paw across the ground, breaking a natural deposit of sulfuric gas, and igniting it with a spark from an unsheathed claw struck against sheer rock.”
CAPTION #3
“The mortal runs back to his village, his assessment confirmed by the maelstrom of fire that appeared to issue from the lion's mouth.”
CAPTION #4
“I mean, things are confused like that often. You just don't know what you're seeing. Could be this. . .Could be that. You never know.”
Page 27 -
Panel 1 - The house Josh and Amy invaded earlier looms in front of the four. All the lights are out. It's built against a hill, in a rustic, farmhouse style. Crimson clapboards line the walls and simple, stained wood sills sit below the windows.
CALE
What do we do?
Panel 2 - Hank strides up the cobble stone path to the front door.
HANK
We go inside.
Panel 3 - Shadows coat every surface. The interior is a mirror to the bedroom in the unnamed man's abode. Wood surfaces everywhere and a lack of extravagant decor.
AMY
It's dark.
JOSH
Where's the light switch?
HANK
Figured you'd know. You've been here before.
JOSH
Shut up.
Panel 4 - Illumination floods the living room. Cale stands by a light switch, his finger still one the flicker.
CALE
Found it.
Panel 5 - Josh turns his head, attentive to a faint sound.
JOSH
Shut up!
Panel 6 - Cale turns on Josh, agitated.
CALE
I found the damn switch! This isn't your little con now either, so just cut ─
Panel 7 - Hank puts a hand on Cale's shoulder. Hank's forefinger is at his lips in the “shush” gesture.
HANK
Listen.
Page 28 -
Panel 1 - The frame fills half the page. The front door bursts off its hinges and is tumbling through the air. The man-creature pulls itself through the front door. Its tail is poised like a scorpion's above its head. Its face is a mask of revulsion and anger.
MAN-CREATURE
HOME!
Panel 2 - Hank backs up, keeping his gaze fixed on the writhing man-creature.
HANK
Oh no.
Panel 3 - Amy is out of the frame save a bracelet-laden hand trailing behind her. The evanescent remnant hangs suspended.
Panel 4 - Close on Cale's face. He's terrified, turned away from us, about to make a leap.
Panel 5 - Josh steels himself, facing directly at the man-creature.
JOSH
Come on. . .
Page 29 -
Panel 1 - The unnamed man looks out his bedroom window. A flashing ball of light floats towards his window, slightly bigger than the stars.
MAN
Well, here you are.
Panel 2 - Focus on the ball of light, growing larger through the window.
CAPTION
“I've been waiting and who knows what you've been up to.”
Panel 3 - Shafts of light shine through the window and fill the bedroom with ricocheting beams of luminescence. The clock reads 10:00. The man opens his arms in submission.
MAN
Yeah, go ahead! I'm all ready!
Panel 4 - A vague silhouette hovers through the bright light, approaching the man.
CAPTION
“Damn Flyers. I knew you'd come.”
Panel 5 - The windowpanes shatter, spraying against the man. He keeps his arms open. His face is warped in anger.
MAN
What's the worst you can do?
Panel 6 - Back at the water tower. A funnel of light washes over the tank, the man-creature descending within it.
CAPTION
“What have you done to me?”
Page 30 -
Panel 1 - The man-creature rushes at Josh, who remains determined, hands at his sides. Amy looks on in horror.
CAPTION
An equal and opposite reaction.
Panel 2 - The man-creature crashes into Josh, beating its wings furiously. Josh puts all his weight against the creature.
Panel 3 - Both the man-creature and Josh fall backwards. Amy is jetting her way towards Josh, who looks stunned.
Panel 4 - She catches him, and dashes away just as the man-creature breaks the wood floor with a strike of its clawed forearm.
Panel 5 - Hank swipes his arm at the man-creature, intense with concentration.
Page 31 -
Panel 1 - The debris from around the shoots at the man-creature. The unhinged door hits the thing full on the side, leaving a wing limp at its side.
Panel 2 - Cale stands in a corner of the living room, tormented he can't join the fight, and feeling helpless.
Panel 3 - Hank, Amy, and Josh unite in front of the man-creature. They all have fierce looks directed at the beast.
MAN-CREATURE
HOME!
Panel 4 - Cale pulls back his blazer's sleeve, gazing at his bare wrist.
CALE
The watch. . .
Panel 5 - Cale runs towards the three, his bare wrist outstretched.
CALE
Josh! The watch! It's all about the watch!
Panel 6 - Josh turns, just as the man-creature flails its tail, catching John across the chest.
Page 32 -
Panel 1 - Cale holds out a hand. Amy runs towards Josh, who looks like he's been through a wood mill. Hank stands the man-creature down, both hands thrust at the creature, sending lances of splintered wood forward.
HANK
Get back!
Panel 2 - The man-creature catches one of the wooden lances in its chest, and kicks Hank with a scythed foot, screaming out.
Panel 3 - Close on the Rolex around Josh's wrist. His other hand is sliding it off with a hooked finger. The hands are stopped on the 10:00 marker.
Panel 4 - Josh throws the Rolex across the room with the rest of his strength.
JOSH
Cale!
Panel 5 - Cale takes a mighty vault over a pile of debris, the Rolex falling into his grasping hand.
Panel 6 - Amy streaks in front the man-creature bearing in the collapsed Hank and Josh.
Page 33 -
Panel 1 - Amy launches a blurred punch at the man-creature's leering face.
Panel 2 - It gazes at her through a trickle of blood with mirth and a raised eyebrow.
Panel 3 - Cale's on the ground, cut, and struggling to his feet.
CAPTION
Einstein. The universe is expanding. Time dilation. Even weightless rays of light bend in the presence of a gravitational field.
Panel 4 - Cale stands, the Rolex clutched his hand.
Panel 5 - The man-creature rears back, grasping its skull in anguish. Fingers pry at its eyes.
CAPTION
For it, the man-creature, only absolute darkness is seen. Every beam of light veers away from the thing's straining pupils.
Panel 6 - The man-creature slams its fist against a wall blindly, the other hand still clinging to its useless eyes.
Page 34 -
Panel 1 - The man-creature retreats through the ruined doorway. The four kids stand side by side among the wreckage of the living room. Amy and Josh have their arms around each other.
CALE
I found mine.
Panel 2 - Josh runs a hand through his hair, staring at the gaping doorway.
JOSH
Where's it gonna go?
Panel 3 - Hank and Cale stand near each other. Hank pats Cale on the back, head turned toward Josh.
HANK
Dunno. I figure it'll be back.
CALE
It said “home.”
Panel 4 - The four kids pick their way through the wreckage and out into the night.
CAPTION
The four walked under the stars, towards the city that was more of a town. They called it home.
Page 35 -
Panel 1 - We see the woods trail from overhead; the Academy nestled in the edge of the frame. Four figures stand next to a wooden railing, talking.
Panel 2 - Swoop in, the four figures are Cale, Hank, Josh, and Amy. Hank and Cale are smoking.
CALE
What do we do now? I mean with these. . .powers. . .
HANK
When it comes back. We keep it at bay.
Panel 3 - Amy takes a drag from Hank's cigarette.
AMY
What do you mean us?
Panel 4 - Cale gives her a smirk.
Panel 5 - Josh takes the communal cigarette.
JOSH
I liked things before.
Panel 6 - Cale grows serious, looking at Josh.
CALE
You didn't like it here anyway. You wanted out. Now there's a better reason to stay in town.
Panel 7 - A wide frame of the four kids. They all stand separate, unique, but united. Cale takes a drag from his cigarette.
JOSH
I guess I'll stick around then.
CALE
What about that water tower Hank?
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