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[HOE] A blast from the past....[From the Ashes]
Hey, all. I was just cleaning out my old files, and I stumbled across the
[few] write-ups for my old HoE campaign, "From the Ashes". Because I'm kind
of proud of them, and there're some folks on the list now that weren't here
when I posted them back in 1999, I thought I'd repost 'em. Below is the
text as originally sent to the HoE list in September 1999.
[Welcome one and all. In the best tradition of Deadlands: Salvation, here
is the write-up for the kick-off of my Hell on Earth campaign. I'm taking
a bit more liberty this time through, adjusting, cutting, and inserting
scenes as I please. I'm funny that way. The following contains *mild*
spoilers for my posse- I won't be giving anything away, but I will be
showing some "off screen" stuff that you weren't privy to in the game
session itself.
And awaaaay we go!]
Hell on Earth: From the Ashes
"Promises to Keep"
TEASER
FADE IN:
EXT. HIGHWAY
somewhere in Utah. We hold for a moment, camera centered on the asphalt,
shooting down the length of the road. After a beat, Steppenwolf's "Magic
Carpet Ride" kicks in, just as a long-nose tractor speeds over the camera
from OS. We keep the vehicle in frame as it speeds down the highway, and
we can see *something* climbing on the outside of the rig. More
accurately, some*things*.
MEDIUM SHOT of the rig, as our POV speeds alongside the truck. Closer
now, we can make out more details. Vaguely humanoid shapes crawl all over
the tractor. As we ZOOM IN, we begin to pick out details: rubbery,
mucous-covered flesh, spindly arms and legs of nightmarish length, a face-
covered in short, stubby tentacles- that only a mother could love. In
short,
Wormlings.
CUT TO:
INT. TRUCK
where our heroes await:
At the wheel is a man of truly epic proportions. A great, bushy, brown
beard is spread across his chest, *almost* concealing an equally great
pot-belly. He's clothed head to toe in denim: jeans, jean jacket, even a
baseball cap fabricated completely of denim. Levi "Denim" Lockridge.
We'll call him LEVI. As we pan away, we see him reach under the dash to
his right, and pull out a sawed off pump shotgun.
To Levi's right (and dwarfed in his shadow), sits a man even more blue
than "Denim". Not his clothes, you understand. Him. From head to toe,
every inch of flesh is a pale, sickly blue. A Thompson sub-machine gun is
slung at his side, and assorted bits of salvage virtually *burst* from his
pockets. Abruptly, we hear a thump, and the metal of the cab's roof sinks
down toward his face. He cries out in surprise, and fires a quick burst
into the dent. We'll call him BART.
The camera swings to the back seat, where two more passengers sit. One- a
Doomsayer, judging from his purple robe- is gathering a globe of green
energy around his hands, while the other- dressed in an assortment of the
finest rags and cast-offs- smashes out the improvised rear window of the
cab with the hilt of a sword- a nice one. We'll call them GRANT and
JARROD, respectively. Our shot moves between them to bring the four
wormlings on the cab's improvised flatbed into frame, as a jolt of green
energy flies from the Doomsayer's hands and fries the nearest creature.
Levi turns to Jarrod and shouts
LEVI
I've already replaced that window
three times!
As a wormling appears at the driver's side window. Levi shoves the muzzle
of his shotgun into the lower portion of its face, and pulls the trigger.
CUT TO:
EXT. TRUCK
MEDIUM SHOT, as the wormling tumbles through the dirt and dust at the side
of the road, minus its head.
Move to a CLOSE SHOT of the truck again; this time, we can see more of the
vehicle itself. As we pan around the vehicle, we can pick out details: the
sheet metal of the cab's rear wall, the rigging of ropes and wires serving
as a passenger side door, the improvised flatbed built over the trailer
hitch. This baby's held together with spit and bubble gum, and the four
wormlings aren't helping matters.
CUT TO:
INT. TRUCK
Where we hear the hiss of acid, as the roof over Bart's head sizzles away.
A half-second later, a claw punches through the gap, grasping blindly at
Bart's shirt. In the back seat, Jarrod stabs out through the broken rear
window, and jabs one of the wormlings in the eye. It clutches at the ruins
of its face, and stumbles backward out of the flatbed. Meanwhile, Grant
slings more power out the rear window, and another wormling gets a sudden-
and fatal- case of radiation burns.
Up front, Bart fires another burst through the roof; this time, we hear a
wormling scream.
CUT TO:
EXT. TRUCK
CLOSE SHOT, as Bart stands up in the newly created sunroof. As he turns
rearward, the last wormling leaps to the roof of the cab. Bart falls back
inside the cab,
CUT TO:
INT. TRUCK
where Levi grips his shotgun in one hand- by the pump- and cocks it. He
slides his grip to the trigger, aims at the roof, and fires again. We hear
a wormling screech, and
CUT TO:
EXT. HIGHWAY
as the truck drives away from our POV. The wormling flies from the roof,
landing hard on the camera, and we
FADE OUT
END TEASER
ACT I
FADE IN
EXT. HIGHWAY
where we find the long-nose tractor pulled over to the side of the road.
The driver's side door swings open, and Levi lumbers out. He turns back,
and bangs on the side of his seat.
LEVI
They're gone, Gerry!
At which point a child of about twelve pulls himself from under the seat.
He grins a grin minus one front tooth, and jumps down from the cab to the
road. Since Levi did, we'll call him GERRY.
GERRY
You showed 'em good, right
Denim?
Levi smiles and tousles Gerry's hair.
LEVI
Sure did, Gerry. We sure did.
Gerry takes off his cap, and gestures to the truck with it.
LEVI
The old girl got pretty beat up,
though. Why don't you see
if you can make her purr again.
Gerry runs back to the truck, and pulls a tool chest from his hiding place.
He heaves it out of the truck, and begins to lug it toward the engine. As
the rest of the posse climbs out of the truck, Levi props the hood of the
truck up, and boosts Gerry up to a small platform jutting out of the side
of the tractor. The platform looks like it was built for just such a
purpose. Levi places the tool chest on the platform next to Gerry, as
Jarrod walks up.
JARROD
You let your kid work on your
engine?
(beat)
Isn't that a little dangerous?
LEVI
To the engine?
A beat passes.
JARROD
To your kid, actually.
LEVI
He ain't my kid. He's my God-
son. And believe me, if I thought for
one Goddamn minute he'd get hurt-
Levi pauses for a beat, and casts his eyes skyward.
LEVI
Sorry.
Then returns his attention to Jarrod.
LEVI
If I thought for one minute he'd get
hurt, I'd pull him outta there faster'n
spit sizzles on a griddle.
LEVI turns to face Gerry, and chuckles.
LEVI
But that kid knows his way around
an engine better'n I ever could, so
what the hell, y'know? Everybody's
gotta pull their weight these days.
JARROD
You aren't kidding.
Bart steps around the truck into view.
BART
We should get moving. I don't want
to be away from the others any
longer than we have to. We checked
out that mutant settlement, and it
didn't pan out. Let's go.
LEVI
Yer probably right.
We move to a MEDIUM shot of the truck, and find Grant seated in the
foreground, meditating. His eyes are closed, until
LEVI
(shouts from truck)
Let's get moving, Doomie! You
can meditate in the truck.
Grant's eyes snap open, and he climbs to his feet. As he walks back to the
truck, he shakes his head and says
GRANT
No I can't. It's too bloody loud
inside that beast.
Levi starts the truck, and the engine roars into life. Gerry is seated
next to him now, between Levi and Bart. Jarrod is again in the back seat,
and as Grant climbs in next to Jarrod, Levi turns to him and shouts over
the engine
LEVI
What'd you say?!
Grant shakes his head again, and shouts back
GRANT
Never mind!
CUT TO:
EXT. HIGHWAY (2)
where the posse dismounts from Levi's truck. Traveling on the highway are
a group of refugees, nearly fifty strong. Their clothes, appearances, and
degree of mutation vary a great deal. Presently, an older, portly black
man approaches our heroes- ELIAS. Stress is apparent on his face. The
refugees continue walking.
ELIAS
What did you find?
BART
Nothing helpful.
ELIAS
What about the mutants?
GRANT
There wasn't any mutant settlement
in the ruins. Maybe there was, once;
There's only wormlings now.
ELIAS
Damn!
(beat)
We need supplies if we're going to make it
to Junkyard, people. We couldn't salvage
much from Gateway, and we're already
running low on food.
(beat)
Water is even-
Elias staggers as the ground begins to shake, catching himself against the
side of Levi's truck.
BART
What the hell was that?
ELIAS
I don't know. We've been catching
tremors like on and off for the past
couple of hours.
BART
Earthquake?
ELIAS
Maybe. But I wouldn't count on it.
CUT TO:
EXT. HIGHWAY
albeit a couple of miles off the highway, where we find two men crouched
among the scrub brush. The first, BLACK, is clothed head to toe in
black(!), western clothing (duster, work shirt, jeans, cowboy boots). The
other one is dressed in standard survivor style: a mish-mash of leathers,
rags, and improvised armor. We'll call him CULTIST. As we move in on Black,
we can briefly make out a tattoo on the back of his right hand. The tattoo
covers the back of his palm, and depicts a thick-lined stick figure with a
gap in its lower torso, encircled by an unbroken ring of black ink.
Black watches the refugees through a pair of binoculars for a beat, then
lowers them from his face. He is, without a doubt, harrowed. His taut
flesh is stretched over his cheekbones like a tight leather jacket, and his
eyes are sunk deep in his sockets.
BLACK
We should've wiped 'em out at
Gateway.
CULTIST
This has already been explained to
you, Black. One of them bears the
mark of our lord. We were careful to
leave him alive when we destroyed
Gateway. We will leave him alive
now.
BLACK
Fine. But there's fifty people down
there. I count forty-nine that *don't*
carry the mark.
CULTIST
Forty-nine that he would protect-
maybe with his life. I will not allow
you to take any action that might
hinder our lord's resurrection.
Black climbs to his feet, shortly joined by Cultist.
BLACK
First you tell me the town's a target;
Gateway's to be destroyed. Next
thing, you tell me I can't finish the job.
Fine. I'll let 'em go. For now.
(beat)
But y'know what?
Cultist looks at Black, askance.
BLACK
I got a quota to make.
And the stark exclamation of a gunshot punctuates Black's sentence.
We move to a CLOSE SHOT, framing Cultist's waist and lower torso. As he
falls away from our POV, he reveals Cowboy's gun- an old style six-gun-
still smoking.
FADE OUT
END ACT I
ACT II
FADE IN:
INT. BOWLING ALLEY
where the refugees are camped, spread among the lanes and the lobby.
Elias is speaking to our heroes, in low tones. We can't make out any
words, until we move to a MEDIUM SHOT.
ELIAS
-supplies should keep us going
for a little while. It's a good thing
this bowling alley had a bar and
grill.
JARROD
How much were we able to salvage?
ELIAS
Enough to keep us fed for another
week or so.
(beat, then Elias sighs)
It's a hard thing. I led these people
back in Gateway. I was the elder,
the leader, The wise one. I had all
the answers. Now I'm not even sure
if I'll be able to keep these people fed.
(beat)
I don't have the answers.
JARROD
We'll keep them fed. The rest...
(beat)
Nobody's got all the answers.
We move back to a shot of the refugees, the ground begins shaking again.
People hunker down and wait, but the shaking only gets worse; the wood of
the bowling lanes begins to issue a tortured groaning sound, as if the wood
was warping in the space of seconds. Just as refugees begin to flee the
lanes, one of the wooden surfaces cracks with a loud report, then begins to
splinter. Jarrod, Levi, Bart, and Grant rush toward the lanes, as everyone
else rushes away from them. Finally, the panels of the bowling lanes burst
upwards, chunks and splinters of wood exploding everywhere. Squeezing up
through the gap is a Salt Rattler, a close cousin of the Mojave Rattler.
It is only visible from the maw up, as its tentacles begin weaving about in
the bowling alley, searching for prey. Shortly, it seizes a few of the
refugees, and our heroes rush into action.
Except for Bart, who runs for the restroom.
Jarrod and Grant fend off the tentacles with hand weapons: a sword and a
glowing green control rod, respectively. Levi just wades in and blasts any
unoccupied tentacles with his shotgun.
In the panic and confusion, the rattler is able to wolf down about 15
people (yum!). Finally, Bart returns from his sojourn to the men's room,
Molotov cocktail in hand. It is a somewhat shoddy device: a rag stuffed
into a plastic Pepsi bottle, which is filled with diesel fuel. He lights
it, and throws it toward the rattler. It bounces once, twice, and comes up
short, fuse slowly burning down. Jarrod drops his sword and dives for the
bottle, heaving it the rest of the way in to the rattler's burrow. Bart
follows up with another cocktail, and another.
The rattlers hole bursts into flames, and the rattler screams a keening,
unearthly wail. Glass shatters all around the bowling alley: light bulbs,
drinking glasses at the bar, the front entrance doors. Finally, the
rattler drops whatever pray it is holding, and retreats.
Slowly, the survivors begin to drag the injured outside the building.
CUT TO:
EXT. BOWLING ALLEY
Where our heroes are met by Elias.
ELIAS
What in the *hell* was that?
JARROD
Salt Rattler. A hundred different
kinds of mean. And hungry.
ELIAS
I've heard stories about them,
from before the war-
JARROD
Probably all true.
ELIAS
Will it be back?
JARROD
If it's still hungry. We should
get the people to the roof.
ELIAS
It's not going to be safe up there
if the rattler comes back. The roof
could come down.
JARROD
Safer up there than on the buffet
table.
ELIAS
We can't hide up on the roof forever.
If we're going to get to Junkyard, we
need to kill it.
JARROD
Or drive it off...
CUT TO:
EXT. BOWLING ALLEY
elsewhere, where we find Bart checking the loads in his Tommy gun. A woman
of perhaps forty-five years approaches him, her brow furrowed in
displeasure. She's dressed in what could best be described as
post-apocalypse chic. Very trendy, yet obviously salvaged clothing. Let's
call her CYNTHIA. Silently, she stands in front of Bart for a beat. When
he pays her no attention, she coughs.
BART
(doesn't look up)
What?
CYNTHIA
Do you know why I don't like you?
BART
Because I'm a mutant. Be-
cause we met in a past life.
Because you read my birth
notice before the war, and didn't
like the newspaper it was in.
I don't know, lady.
(beat, and Bart stands)
And I don't much give a damn.
Bart closes the Tommy gun's drum, and turns to walk away.
CYNTHIA
You cared before. In Gateway.
Bart stops, but doesn't turn around.
BART
Because I loved your daughter,
and you were her mother. That
doesn't much matter now, though,
does it? She's dead.
CYNTHIA
I'll tell you why I didn't like you. Be-
cause you wouldn't settle down.
(beat)
Because you were always off on
some new "adventure". Picking through
the ruins of cities, stealing and salvaging
whatever you could.
BART
(spins to face Cynthia)
Wait just a damn-
CYNTHIA
Let me finish!
(beat, as Cynthia composes
herself)
Because I knew you wouldn't be
around when my daughter needed
you. And I was right. Just like when
that rattler showed up. Just like
in Gateway.
Bart's mouth opens to respond, but the answer dies on his lips.
CYNTHIA
You *weren't* there. And now she's
dead.
Cynthia spits at Bart's feet and walks away. We hold for a beat on Bart,
and
CUT TO:
EXT. BOWLING ALLEY
later. Where we find Grant, Jarrod, Levi, Elias, and Bart wrapping up a
war council.
GRANT
You have the Molotov's, Bart?
BART
Check.
GRANT
You're sure you can get up into those
rafters?
BART
Yeah.
Gerry runs over, eager as a small puppy.
GERRY
I want to help, Uncle Levi! I want
to be a hero, too!
Levi takes Gerry aside. As the others continue speaking in low tones, we
move away with Gerry and Levi.
LEVI
The best way you can help
is to stay with everyone else,
so I don't have to worry about
you, alright Gerry?
GERRY
But-
LEVI
I got a job to do, and I don't
think I can do it right if I'm baby-
sittin' you at the same time.
Gerry sighs and his shoulders droop. Levi tousles his hair.
GERRY
Tell you what, bud.
(takes Gerry's sling shot from
Gerry's pocket, and puts it in Gerry's
hand)
Go protect everyone else while we fight
the rattler, alright? That way, we won't
have to worry about them. And you'll be
a hero.
Gerry's shoulders perk up.
GERRY
Alright! Wait'll I tell Elias!
CUT TO:
INT. BOWLING ALLEY
as Levi enters. Jarrod and Grant are standing on the lanes themselves,
while Bart is climbing up into the rafters overhead. A back pack full of
*something* is slung over Bart's shoulder. He slowly makes his way out
across the rafters, until he is in position: directly over the Salt
Rattler's burrow. He wraps his legs around the rafter, pulls a Zippo-style
lighter out of his pocket, and a Molotov out of his back pack. He waves
down to Grant and Jarrod.
BART
Ready!
Grant and Jarrod begin pounding on the ground with their feet. Hearing
this, Levi rushes over, and cocks his shotgun. Just as he reaches the
dancing duo, a low rumbling begins.
LEVI
You wanted to get its attention...
As the rumbling grows louder and louder, the building begins to shake, much
like before. Grant and Jarrod stop stomping, as we move to a MEDIUM SHOT
of Bart in the rafters, as his balance wavers. The Molotov slips out of
his hands, then his grip slips from the rafters.
Just in time, he's able to hook his now free arm around the rafter he was
sitting on, and halts his fall.
GRANT
(shouting over the din)
This wasn't in the plan, Bart!
BART
S'ok! Just hold it off!
GRANT
Are you *nuts*! It's *not* OK!
That thing is as big as a *house*,
and you want us to *hold it off*?!
With that, the rattler bursts from it's burrow once again, tentacles
flailing. Jarrod whips out his sword, while Grant draws a dull metal rod.
There's a hissing noise, and the rod begins to glow green. Levi puts a
pattern of shot into the rattler.
As the rattler begins it's many limbed attack, we move back to Bart, who
is trying to shimmy the backpack off his shoulder. Tentacles are reaching
dangerously close to his dangling legs, as he begins dumping Molotovs down
onto the rattler.
We move back below to the rest of our heroes, just as Levi takes a hit
from one of the tentacles. He's knocked to his back and tumbles across
several lanes, where he lies still. We move back to the main combat zone,
as the rattler wraps a tentacle around Grant's purple-hooded head, and
lifts him off his feet. Quickly, Grant presses his glowing control rod
against the rattler's flesh. We hear a sizzle and a scream as it drops him
back to the ground. Jarrod, meanwhile, lays into the rattler with his
sword.
Back above, Bart drops the last of the pack's contents, followed by the
pack itself. He lights the Zippo one handed, and locks it. He drops the
sputtering flame down onto the rattler, which is by now covered in diesel
fuel. Flames erupt upward from the rattler, nearly reaching Bart's
dangling legs. It screams an unearthly howl, and retreats down into its
hole.
The rumbling resumes, but fades quickly, leaving our heroes in silence.
After a couple of beats Levi groans and sits up.
LEVI
Did we win?
JARROD
(rushes over to help Levi
up)
Yeah, Levi, we got it good.
With any luck it won't be back.
Jarrod helps Levi get to his feet, and Levi leans heavily on Jarrod.
Jarrod grunts audibly under Levi's weight, but supports him as Levi limps
outside.
Grant meanwhile looks apprehensively down the now vacant rattler hole. We
hold on him as Bart shouts
BART
Somebody wanna get me down
from here?
Grant looks up, startled, and replies.
GRANT
Hold on, I'll be right-
Then we here Bart shout, as he falls past frame into the whole. We hear a
dull thump, and Grant winces.
BART
Ow. Ow. Ow.
CUT TO:
EXT. BOWLING ALLEY
as our heroes emerge through the shattered front doors, Levi on Jarrod's
shoulder, and Bart on Grant's. We can barely make out Grant:
GRANT
You're just lucky the rattler chewed
the dirt up already. Made for a soft
landing.
BART
Compared to what?
GRANT
Bowling lanes.
Bart winces at the thought, and we
FADE OUT
END ACT II
TAG
FADE IN:
EXT. BOWLING ALLEY
where the refugees- despite the recent rattler attack- apparently have
decided to take shelter for the night. HAND-HELD: we move among the people
for a bit, and find Jarrod speaking with Elias. We stop to listen in.
JARROD
-we saved a lot of people from
that thing Elias. Part of that
is thanks to your help on the plan.
ELIAS
But we lost a lot of people, too.
Before we even *had* a plan.
JARROD
We weren't expecting-
ELIAS
We *should* have been- *I* should
have been expecting it!
Elias pauses, takes a couple of deep, calming breaths, and continues.
ELIAS
Before the war, the government
installed a rattler-deterrent under the
highways. I don't know what they
were really named, but everyone
called them "thrummers".
(beat)
You know what happened to the
thrummers after the war?
Jarrod shakes his head.
ELIAS
Neither do I. And I behaved as if
they were still under the highways,
still keeping the rattlers away. I
took them for granted. And fifteen
of our people died because of it.
Jarrod reaches out and puts his hand on Elias' shoulder.
JARROD
This isn't just on you, Elias. No-
body thought about it. It's a whole
different world out there than it was
thirteen years ago. We *all* need to
get used to it.
Jarrod claps Elias shoulder again, and begins to walk away.
ELIAS
Jarrod. One more thing.
Jarrod stops, and turns back to Elias.
JARROD
Yeah?
ELIAS
There's more to you than you're
telling us, isn't there? You're not
just another mutant under those rags.
Maybe not even a mutant at all.
Jarrod responds only with silence. We move to a CLOSE SHOT of Jarrod's
sword, wrapped in rags. Elias stands in BG.
ELIAS
Don't walk away from these people,
Jarrod. They need your help- we need
your help.
As Jarrod speaks, we move to a CLOSE SHOT of him.
JARROD
If I was going to walk away, I would
have done it already. Gateway-
(beat)
The people of Gateway are good, and wise,
and just. You *will* make it to Junkyard.
ELIAS
Thank you.
CUT TO:
EXT. BOWLING ALLEY
out back, where we find Bart, sitting with his Tommy gun across his lap.
The ammo drum laying on the ground, but there is a bullet in the chamber.
Every couple seconds, he picks up the gun, and closes the chamber- only to
open it again, and lay it back on his lap. He does this three times before
Grant approaches him from OS.
GRANT
The fights over, Bart. It won't be
coming back.
Bart doesn't answer. He picks up the gun again, and repeats his earlier
actions. A silent beat passes.
BART
I ran, Grant. The first time. I ran
and hid. Fifteen people are died,
and I *hid*.
GRANT
You came back, right? It could have
been seventeen people. Or twenty-
three. You those people when you
came back and scared the rattler
off with those gas bombs of yours.
BART
(shrugs)
What about Gateway? I wasn't there
when Gateway fell, either.
Bart picks up the gun again, opens the chamber, and begins examining the
bullet.
BART (cont.)
I wasn't there when she died.
Grant steps forward and gently pushes the gun back down to Bart's lap.
GRANT
You didn't know. There's no
way you could've.
Bart leaps to his feet, and throws the gun against the wall of the bowling
alley. He punches the brick savagely,
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
And finally just presses his knuckles against the brick wall. When he
turns around, his fist is bloodied and bruised, and tears are welling in
his eyes.
BART
I know I couldn't have known.
A beat, and Bart taps his temple.
BART
I know it, up here.
(beat)
In my head.
Another beat, and Greg taps his heart.
BART
But in my gut- in my heart-
He shakes his head.
BART (cont.)
I should've been there, Grant.
I should've been there for her,
and it's twisting me up inside.
Bart picks up his gun, and removes the bullet from the chamber. Grant
reaches out to Bart's shoulder, but Bart shakes him off.
BART
I'm OK.
GRANT
Yeah.
(beat)
Just... be there for the rest of us,
alright?
Bart doesn't respond, and doesn't move. We hold, and ELIAS begins to speak
in VO.
ELIAS (vo)
The woods are lovely, dark and
deep/
Bart raises his face to the sky, tears streaming down his cheeks.
ELIAS (vo, cont.)
But I have promises to keep/
Bart picks up the ammo drum and reattaches it to his weapon.
ELIAS (vo, cont.)
And miles to go before I sleep.
Bart walks OS, and we
FADE OUT:
FADE IN:
BLACK SCREEN
over which text appears, fading in one line at a time, each line centered
below the previous line.
CAPTION
In loving memory: Brenda Anne MacKnight/
(1976-1999)/
I love you still, and always/
And I'm sorry/
We hold for a beat on the completed dedication, and
FADE OUT
[That's it. Questions, comments, and concerns, are welcome (and
requested!).]