User blog:Joeaikman/Wiki: Apocalypse - Chapter 1 - Through the Eye of a Tank

A farmhouse stands tall on the landscape. It is a lonely building, with a barn far off in the background. It is in a clearing, a forest cutting it off from the world. Cows, and chickens, and sheep wander around the green fields. In the far corner some tomato plants grow tall, with a small field of corn next to them.

Brandon: Come here, Daisy. I know, I know. We have to get you milked though.

Enter Brandon. He is a young man, with shaggy brown hair and wearing blue dungarees and a red checkered shirt. On his head is his father’s hat, keeping the sun away from his skin and out of his eyes. He is trying to pull a large cow along behind him.

Tigar: She is too strong for you, boy. You need to build some muscle on you before you can handle Daisy.

Nit: Shouldn’t you be inside reading, or summit?

Enter Tigar and Nit. The two of them dress similarly to Brandon. Tigar laughs at Nit’s joke. Tigar has jet black hair, whereas Nit’s is a deep brown.

Brandon: Father told me to come out and deal with Daisy. Kung is looking after Ma, and you two were both nowhere to be found.

Nit: We are running out of pot. Me an’ Tigar might have to go on another supply run sometime soon.

Brandon: I don’t think Pa would like you to risk ammunition over some drugs…

Nit: What your Pa don’t know can’t hurt him, boy.

Brandon: I can’t not tell him…

Nit: Sure you can. Just don’t rat on us, that’s all we want.

Brandon lets go of Daisy, and the cow walks off as the three of them talk.

Tigar: It doesn’t matter, Nit. I am sure we can live without weed for a week or so. How is your mother doing, boy?

Brandon: Her fever ain’t goin’ down. Kung is worried that she is becoming one of them. She ain’t been bitten though.

Tigar: That is a puzzler. Is your Pa with her now?

Brandon: He said he would stay with her whilst Kung mixed something up. He was taught stuff like this in the Boy Scouts, ‘pparently.

The group of them are then interrupted by a man’s scream from inside the farmhouse. The three of them run after it, and enter the building. It is a classic farmhouse, with a table in the main room. The walls are covered in pastel blue and white wallpaper.

Enter Kung, who is stood at the door to his mother and father’s room, his back to the door, blocking it off. He looks similar to Brandon, as they are brothers, but wears different clothes. He has a pair of ripped jeans on, and a dark purple t-shirt. There is blood on his brow.

Kung: Get my brother out of here, Tigar. She turned. She got Pa. Get him out. Go!

Tigar puts his arm around Brandon and tries to pull him away from Kung and the blocked door. They leave the corridor, but can hear the action from behind them.

Kung: Pass me your gun, Nit. No, I'll do it. They are my parents, man. Just give me it.

Two gunshots are fired a few seconds later. Nit and Kung then enter the room, and Brandon escapes Tigar’s hold and runs to his elder brother.

Brandon: Tell me this is a joke, Kung! Tell me that Ma and Pa are still alive! Tell me that you ain’t just shot them both!

Nit: Your parents are dead, boy. We are surrounded by death.

Kung strikes Nit across the face.

Kung: Don’t you talk about my parents like that, Falcone. I can send you out in the forest to fend for yourself, if that would please you.

Nit is silent and doesn’t respond. Tigar steps forward to try and cool the situation.

Tigar: Now, now, Mr Crevicees. You are the boss now. I will take Nit and milk the cattle. You look after your brother.

Kung put his hand out to stop Tigar.

Kung: No. You take Brandon to deal with the cows. I have two graves to dig.

-

The four characters from before are gathered around the back of the barn. It has been two weeks since the boy’s mother turned and took their father. Brandon is wearing the same clothes. Kung is now in a black t-shirt.

Kung: We are running low on canned goods. Tigar and Nit, you guys are going to have to go on a supply run.

Brandon: I want to go too!

Kung: No Brandon, You are too young. I am not letting you go out and risk your life.

Brandon: But brother-

Kung: There is nothing you can say to change my mind-

A gunshot comes from the surrounding woods. Tigar and Nit go straight for their guns and run off.

Kung: Get back in the house, Brandon! Stay there and be safe!

Brandon: Brother, I-

Kung: This is not the time for arguing! Get back in there now!

Kung ran off then, and Brandon traipsed back to the building. He seated himself at the table from before and waited for his brother, not knowing if he would ever come back. He could be one of them by now. It was half an hour before anyone arrived. Tigar came in first, followed by Nit and Kung, who were carrying an unconscious man with them. They lay him down on the table.

Brandon: Who is he?

Kung: We don’t know. We found him in the forest. He had fired some shots into one of the dead. He was unconscious when we got to him. He was lucky, otherwise he would have been food for them.

Tigar: We checked him for bites. There was nothing. Not sure how long he's been out there alone.

Brandon: Well, what do we do now?

Kung: We just have to wait for him to wake up.

-

The setting is a garage. Two feet are sticking out from underneath a jeep. Enter Leege. Leege is wearing black trousers, a black t-shirt, and a black hoodie. He has floppy blonde hair. He speaks with a slight greek accent.

Leege: Dude, I was sent down here by Justin. He wants to know how the tank is coming along. Its being taken out this afternoon.

The person underneath the car wheels out from beneath it. Enter Han. Han is short and dirty, with hairy arms and a black leather jacket. He has a thick Southern American accent.

Han: The tank got badly damaged last time you took it out. It could be used this afternoon, I suppose, provided whoever you are planning on scaring don’t have any high power weaponry. In that case I wouldn’t reccommend it.

Leege nods, but stays stood where he is.

Han: Shouldn’t you be going to report back what I just told you to Justin and Nathan?

Leege: And have them send me to go check in on the prisoners? No way. I'm fine relaxing here for a few minutes. They are working me like a dog today.

Han moved round to the front of the jeep that he was working in. He pops the hood up and starts to rummage around inside it.

Han: Well, I can’t be distracted. I want to get this done today. We're going to need a getaway car if we are leaving at the end of the week.

Leege: About that…

Han straightens up and glares at Leege.

Han: You promised me Leege. Why would you want to stick around in this place. It has no redeeming features.

Leege: It is safer than out there, Han. Life on the road is harder than you think.

Han: I survived out there by my own before. This time I would have you with me.

Leege: You survived for a week and a half, dude. Who know how long we would be out there by ourselves. Months. Years, even. We just don’t know. Here we have walls, and here we have people protecting us.

Han: I am sorry if I don’t appreciate Justin and Nathan’s style of protection enough. They have people fight in that arena of theirs. This place isn’t safe for them, is it? How long until Justin runs out of people to take prisoner and starts using us for his sick games?

Leege: Justin is a good guy-

Han: Look dude, I know that you knew him before all of this went down. You can’t be sentimental. We have to survive. If you don’t want to do that by leaving here then you are more than welcome to put a bullet in Justin’s head for me.

Leege: I- I couldn’t do that. You know that. He was my friend.

Han: And what is he now? He is a twisted monster, Leege. Whatever man you knew before all of this shit went down is gone. We have to live.

Leege bites his lip and considers what Han is saying for a moment.

Leege: Let me talk to Justin and see if I can make him see sense. If he hasn’t done that by the end of the week then I will leave with you. Deal?

Han: Deal.

-

The location is an office-room. The glass windows are dirty. There is a wooden table in the centre of the room, surrounded by swivel chairs. The view outside is onto a small city, ravaged by fires, bombs, and the living dead. Enter Justin and Nathan. Justin is slightly overweight, with brown hair and a pocked face. He wears a white collar shirt but no tie. Nathan is thin and tall, with black hair and square black glasses. He wears the same white collar shirt, but with a navy blue tie. Both have a southern American drawl.

Nathan: We tracked him as far as the forests, Justin, I tell ya. His friends are dead, but he had ammo and guns. We figured the dead would get him ‘ventually.

Justin: Eventually isn’t good enough, Nathan. We can’t allow prisoners to escape. We will be a laughing stock if that carries on. How will our people feel safe?

Nathan: With all due respect, sir, we are surrounded by walkin’ corpses. How are they gonna feel safer because one man is in a prison cell?

Justin: These people trusted us to run our shit and keep them protected from anything that is on the other side of those walls. This man is dangerous. We can’t just let prisoners run free.

Nathan: I get you want him found, boss, but it’s gettin’ late-

Justin smacked his hand down on the table. There was anger in his eyes.

Justin: Then I suggest you get a fucking move on.

-

The scene is a bedroom in the Crevicees farmhouse. Brandon and Kung are sat by the bed of the man that was found in the forest. He is wearing tattered grey and black clothes. He is also very skinny, and his skin is pale.

Brandon: Do you think he will be okay?

Kung: I don’t know, Brandon. I don’t know if we should let him stay when he does wake up. We don’t know if he can be trusted.

Brandon frowned.

Brandon: We don’t know if he can’t be trusted either. We need the hands here, Kung. We won’t survive long with just the four of us. When you three go on a run together I'm left here alone. We need a fifth person.

Kung: What we need is to carry on living. What if this man is dangerous? What if he killed you and left me alone without you, Brandon?

Brandon: I think that you can protect me if he does turn out to be bad, big brother.

The two brothers share a quick embrace. The unconscious person suddenly started to splutter and come to.

???: Just- Justin- Where am I? Where is this place?

Kung: This is a safe place, friend. We found you in the woods and brought you here. You were dehydrated. We gave you some of our water and waited for you to come to. My name is Kung Crevicees. This is my brother, Brandon. What is your name, stranger?

???: My name? My name is Rob. Rob Goman. I’m on the run-

Brandon: Who are you running from?

Kung: Quiet, Brandon. Let me do the talking. Who are you running from, Rob Goman?

Rob: There’s a guy- There is a guy who runs a community near here- His name is Justin- He- He’s a monster- He was trying to kill me.

Kung: So how did you escape from this person?

Rob: We were being escorted through the town. Some of those dead things and the guards went to the walls. We managed to run. There was five of us. I was the only one who made it. Out of the town that he has set himself up in.

Kung: So this person is dangerous, then? I don’t think we should let him stay, Brandon. He can rest until he is well and then he has to go.

Brandon: But Kung-

Rob: Hey! Hey! I've worked on a farm before! I can be useful to you. I don’t think Justin will come after me!

Kung: You have farming experience? Did you live somewhere around here before all this shit went down?

Rob: No- But I was part of a community. We called ourselves the Eggplant Collective. We had expansive farms. They were real pretty. I got taken by some bad people whilst out looking for some supplies.

Brandon: Will this- What did you call him? Jonathan? Will he follow you here?

Rob: Honestly? I don’t know. He is a madman. I can’t guarantee your safety, but if you take me in then you can guarantee mine.

-

The room is dark. Straw is strewn across the floor. Three men lie in the darkness. One of them is asian. He is tall, with large muscles and black hair. He has an intense look in his eyes. Another of them is arabic. He has long, black hair, pulled back in a ponytail and dreadlocks. He has a pointed face and hollow eyes. The third man is white, with curly brown hair and brown eyes. He has an impish nose.

White man: This makes it day five… I wonder how much longer we gonna be here.

The door to the room opens. Enter Nathan. He is dressed in the same clothes as before. He looks down at the prisoners with disdain.

Nathan: Who is in this cell, Cam?

Enter Cam LeGrey. He is a slim white male with a shock of red hair on his head. He is wearing a black biker jacket and is chewing on some gum.

Cam: That would be… Mendes Tu, the asian one… Barry Anson, the white guy… Stan Niaryssa, the arab… The last two were brought in together last week-

Nathan: Yeah, I remember bringing them in. The white guy had a bit of a large mouth on him. Guess you’ve quietened down a bit since then, eh?

Barry: Not quite, Nathan.

Nathan kicks Barry in the stomach.

Nathan: You don’t get to call me Nathan, cunt. You call me boss or master or some shit like that!

Barry: Calling you master? Sounds kinda kinky to me, Nathan.

Nathan: Stop calling me Nathan, shithead! You are in my prison! Where do you get the balls to talk to me like that?!

Stan: He has more balls than sense. He likes to talk. He does it too much, in my opinion.

Cam: Nobody asked your fucking opinion. Keep your mouth closed.

Barry: That’s how our partnership works. I do the talking whilst he stays silent. He can kill you pretty good though. If he wanted to.

Nathan: Then he should be perfect for the arena. I wonder what matchup Justin will choose. Will he make you fight your partner and let the asian kill your friend-

Barry: Our friend who is, curiously, absent from proceedings. Did you give up your hunt?

Nathan: You wish. One of our scouts knows where he is though. We gonna go after him this afternoon. He will be here for the arena, don’t you worry ‘bout that.

Barry: Wasn’t worrying, Nathan. I’ll be going home soon, and I won’t even have to fight in your poxy arena.

Nathan: Oh really? And what makes you so sure?

Stan: Nial will come for us. He will rescue us.

Nathan: Maybe. Maybe not. But if he isn’t here by wednesday then the both of you will be dead when he gets here. Think about that when you’re making your quips.

Stan: It won’t stop him. He can’t stop himself when something he thinks is funny comes into his head.

Nathan spat on Stan, before him and Cam left. The room returned to darkness after the door closed.

Stan: Bastard.

-

It’s dark. Tigar and Nit are stood behind the barn smoking. They are wearing the same clothes as when Rob was found, signifying it is later on during that same day.

Nit: What do you think ‘bout the boy?

Tigar: We need more hands. He could be useful. Who knows.

Nit: Kung told me he was some sort of outlaw. If you ask me, we don’t want no trouble here. The boy wants him to stay though, so Kung’ll pander to him.

Tigar: Brandon is a good kid.

Nit: Good kids don’t survive when the world goes to shit, man. If you ask me, we would be better off killin’ the stranger.

Tigar: It could be the safest option, but-

Nit: But nothing, friend. That stranger gonna get us killed. I guarantee it.

-

Brandon and Kung are stood in the room adjacent to the one where Rob is laid out. He is just visible in the background. The room is dark and messy. It was their father’s old office, and a lot of paper is strewn on the floor.

Kung: Look, Bran. He can’t stay. He is dangerous to us. If the people that are following him trace him to here- Well, you heard him. He said that they were dangerous.

Brandon: And what if they don’t, Kung? You want to throw him out into the woods? You know that is good as an execution.

Kung: We could quickly and easily put a bullet through his brain-

Brandon: And make us killers, dude? That man is alive, and we have the chance to save him. We aren’t killers.

Kung: Face it, Brandon. We have to learn to be. Killers survive in this world. Dad wasn’t a killer, and look what happened to him. We have to learn to be tough. Tough people live. You have to be tough for me.

Brandon: You think Dad would have killed this man?

Kung: I think he wouldn’t. That is why we have to kill him. Dad died, we didn’t. We have to learn to not be like him. That is how to survive.

Brandon: That isn’t what Dad would have-

Kung: Don’t you get it, Bran! Dad is dead! He died! Mum killed him! She bit into him and turned him into one of those creatures! His last words to me were to tell me to protect you, and that is what I am going to do. If that means becoming a killer then so be it. I will pay that price for my baby brother.

Brandon: I-

Kung threw more papers onto the floor, enraged at how Brandon isn’t getting what he was saying.

Kung: He dies, Brandon. He dies so that we can live. He dies. He has to.

A gunshot rings around, and the two look up, they run from the room, with Rob waking up and stumbling after them.

-

The scene is the outside of the barn. It is early evening. There is enough light to see, but not all that much. There is a tank, and two jeeps alongside it. Leeg is sat in one of the jeeps, with Cam in the other, and a few other armed men alongside them. Nathan is stood in front of the tank, a smoking gun in his hand. Tigar is laid on the floor in a pool of his blood, a bullet having gone through his stomach. Enter Brandon and Kung onto the porch, and Nit, from behind the house.

Nit: Tigar! You bastards! What did you do to him!?

Nathan: A warning shot that your friend happened to get in the way of. I mean, it was fired at him, but he coulda dodged, right!

Nit: I’m gonna kill you-

Nathan: Raven! Kill that one! Shoot him through the balls!

One of the armed men pulls their gun up quickly and fires his gun into Nit’s crotch. Nit wails and falls to the floor. Nathan then strolls over and fires a bullet through his head.

Nathan: Now you can finally shut your fucking mouth, bitch.

Nathan turns to Brandon and Kung, a smile on his face.

Nathan: So, now that we have that ugly business out of the way, I figure it’s time that we start talking, brothers.

Brandon: You killed Tigar and Nit. They were good people.

Nathan: No doubt. Now they dead people. You’re alive. You wanna stay that way, little boy? Let your… brother? Let your brother do the talkin’

Kung: You’re the people following the stranger, right? He left. We threw him out.

Nathan: Don’t lie to me, boy. I know that ain’t true. We have eyes everywhere, boy. We saw him come in, and we never saw him come out.

Leege: Come on, Nathan. Stop playing with them. Get the boy and we can leave them alone.

Nathan: Not quite as easy as that, Leege. You see, these two have been trespassing on our property.

Kung: Your property?

Enter Rob. Nathan smiles wickedly.

Nathan: That’s right, bitch. And now you’re coming home with us. All three of you.

-