Evolve-Episode Two Part One

EVOLVE

"ahh, the noble life"


TEASER



FADE IN:

EXT. ACADEMY HEADQUARTERS - DAY

CLOSE on a SOLDIER dressed in BODY ARMOR, holding up a rifle, eye on the SCOPE.

PULL BACK slowly, revealing a PATCH on his upper arm-

a patch bearing the ancient rune PERTHRO.

As the CAMERA continues to PULL, it PANS ACROSS, eventually revealing a total of TWENTY SOLDIERS, facing the STEEL DOOR of the Academy.

CONTINUE THE MOVEMENT, the Soldiers getting further away as we move down the alley a little, until finally arriving on the MAN IN AN OVERCOAT, who is watching from the shadows, his BANDAGED RIGHT HAND wrapped around a drain pipe.

He watches, motionless, as the steel door swings open, and the Soldiers flood through it, the SOUND of GUNFIRE erupting shortly after.

CUT TO:


EXT. MILITIA COMPOUND - DAY

The CAMERA PANS across the BODIES of SEVERAL MILITIA SOLDIERS scattered all over the camp.

As it PANS, the amount of fallen SOLDIERS grows.

Away from the camp, Genevieve and her fellow Cadets finish wrapping their dead in blankets.

Except for Brian, who sits on a bouder, poking at his bloody, lifeless arm.

Once wrapped, they put them into the back of one of the MILITIA'S PICKUP TRUCKS.

Zetch and Brian hop into the cab, Genevieve and Steve climb into the back with the bodies.

The truck drives off.

CUT TO:





INT. ACADEMY HEADQUARTERS - CORRIDOR - DAY

The SOLDIERS swarm through the hall, kicking in doors and FIRING their rifles.


IN ONE OFFICE

bullets hit the wall behind an employee, tearing the wall to shreds. The employee is unharmed.


IN THE HALL

Soldiers drag people out of their offices, throwing them to the floor, face down.

They continue to SHOOT UP THE PLACE, but the intent seems purely to cause CHAOS.

More employees are pulled into the hall, flung to the floor.


IN ANOTHER OFFICE

two Soldiers kick open the door, FIRING WILDLY into the room.


END OF TEASER






ACT ONE



FADE IN:

INT. ACADEMY HEADQUARTERS - BATTLE STRICKEN OFFICE - DAY

The room is destroyed, the paint torn from the walls, there are pieces of the ceiling broken and dangling loosely.

SPARKS from a wire hang dangerously close to a PAIR OF MAINTENANCE MEN working to repair a wall.

The Director stands among the wreckage, SURVEYING the scene.

Genevieve, along with Zetch, Steve and Brian, wander into the room, SHOCK on their faces.

ZETCH
Jesus, what the hell happened
here?

STEVE
Did a bomb go off?

DIRECTOR
No, no. There was an incident,
but it’s been resolved.

GENEVIEVE
An incident?

DIRECTOR
(sternly)
Yes, Genevieve. An incident. There
was an attack, things are under
control now.

GENEVIEVE
Was it Fenris?

DIRECTOR
(dodging the query)
All Cadets are relieved of their
duties for the day.

Genevieve rolls her eyes.

GENEVIEVE
What?

DIRECTOR
Please report tomorrow at 0600
for class as usual.

GENEVIEVE
You gotta be kidding me. You’re
not gonna tell us what happened?

The Director glares at her.

DIRECTOR
You all did very well on your
mission today. The Academy is
very proud.

ZETCH
Thank you, sir.

Genevieve glares at the Director.

GENEVIEVE
Sir?

DIRECTOR
Dismissed, Cadet.

She HOLDS her glare, he stares right back at her.

GENEVIEVE
Whatever.

She turns and STORMS out. The boys watch her leave, then their eyes return to the Director, not sure what to expect.

DIRECTOR
(so they’ll leave)
Gentlemen…

ZETCH & STEVE
Yes sir.

As Zetch and Steve leave, Brian looks from person to person, severely offended.

BRIAN
Doesn’t anybody care about my
arm?


IN THE HALLWAY

The boys catch up to Genevieve, who walks down the hall, irritated.

STEVE
Hey, Gen, wait up.

She rolls her eyes, stops and turns around.

GENEVIEVE
Yeah?

STEVE
You all right?

ZETCH
Yeah, what was that?

GENEVIEVE
He’s hiding something. Something
big happened here today.

She sees the HEAD SCIENTIST going into the office.

GENEVIEVE
And I’m going to find out what.

She heads back to the office.


IN THE OFFICE

The Head Scientist approaches the Director.

DIRECTOR
It was a bad day today.

HEAD SCIENTIST
Could have been worse.

DIRECTOR
Any casualties?

HEAD SCIENTIST
No, sir. Their goal here wasn’t
a head count.

DIRECTOR
What did they want?

HEAD SCIENTIST
We’re still investigating that.
They could have just been covering
Dr. Silas’ escape.

The Director shakes his head, not understanding.


IN THE HALLWAY

Genevieve is outside the door, listening.

GENEVIEVE
(mouths the words)
Dr. Silas?

She walks away, pondering the information.

CUT TO:


EXT. ALLEY - DAY

Dr. Silas stands over a steel drum, a FIRE raging inside. He looks down into the flames, his LAB COAT in his hand.

After a moment, he TOSSES the coat into the flame.

He watches it BURN, his face void of expression.

He removes his ACADEMY UNIFORM SHIRT and tosses it in as well.

On his BACK, crudely carved into the flesh between his shoulder blades, is a nice, FRESH WOUND, still red and swollen.

Is a symbol-

The ancient rune PERTHRO.

He GLARES into the fire.

CUT TO:

EXT. AN ALLEY - DAY

A group of GARBAGE CANS are set up along a wall, but only for a second before Tommy crashes into them. They crumple as he falls to the ground.

Kelsey is standing a couple steps away, freaks.

KELSEY
Tommy!

TOMMY
Get the hell out of here, Tink!

A POLICE OFFICER reaches for her; Tommy springs forth, punches him in the gut. The police officer GRUNTS, Tommy follows with an uppercut.

As the cop falls to the ground -

TOMMY
Go, now!

She looks at her brother in a panic, doesn’t want to leave him behind, and definitely doesn’t want to go off alone.

A FEW MORE COPS round the corner.

TOMMY
GO!

Kelsey finally obeys, taking off.

Tommy springs to his feet, punching the first cop he sees.

TOMMY
Come on, piggies. Let’s play.

CUT TO:


INT. LOCKER ROOM - DAY

Zetch and Steve wander in.

STEVE
Dude, so what do you think
happened?

ZETCH
I think we were told to drop it,
so that’s what I’m doing.

STEVE
Yeah, yeah. You’re not even
curious?

ZETCH
Of course I’m curious, that
doesn’t mean -

Genevieve cuts him off as she walks in.

GENEVIEVE
It was Dr. Silas.

STEVE
What?

GENEVIEVE
Dr. Silas, he did this.

Zetch shakes his head, goes back to changing.

STEVE
What are you talking about?

GENEVIEVE
I’m going after him, you coming?

Both boys are caught off guard.

STEVE
What?

ZETCH
You’d better relax, Cadet.

GENEVIEVE
Shut the hell up, Zetch. We’re
not on a mission.

ZETCH
I still outrank you.

GENEVIEVE
You think you can stop me, stop
me. I’m going after Dr. Silas.

She leaves. The boys look at each other, not sure what to do.

CUT TO:


EXT. THE ACADEMY - DAY

A ROOFTOP

across the street, the Man in an Overcoat is looking down at all of the people below.


AT GROUND LEVEL

SEVERAL QUICK ZOOMS from FACE to FACE, moving quickly from person to person.


BACK ON THE ROOFTOP

His eyes move quickly, looking for something in the crowd.

He scowls, frustrated.

A BANDAGED right hand clenches into a fist.


AT GROUND LEVEL

almost right under his nose, Genevieve (now dressed in street clothes) walks along the crowded sidewalk, her eyes furious and determined.

CUT TO:

EXT. AN ALLEY - DAY

Tommy is the first on the scene, running.

TOMMY
Come on, Tink, hurry up.

He rushes off scene, his little sister several steps behind him.

As she leaves the scene, SEVERAL POLICE OFFICERS enter, chasing the kids.


UP AHEAD

A corner leads to a staircase; Tommy hits the brakes for a moment to allow his sister to catch up, then grabs her by the wrist and yanks her along, running downstairs.

CUT TO:


EXT. AN ALLEY - DAY

Genevieve turns into the alley, not at all frightened by the dark, eerie atmosphere, or the rats rushing from a garbage can.

Her boots stride through a pile of trash, kicking a bottle that spins across the ground, bouncing off of the inside wall of an intersecting alley.

She walks past the intersection, completely unaware that -

Tommy COMES FROM BEHIND, wrapping his arm around her neck.

TOMMY
All right, nobody move!

Genevieve REALIZES they are not alone. Kelsey hides behind her brother as the POLICE stop in their tracks.

POLICE OFFICER
Let her go, kid!

TOMMY
Back off or I'll break her neck!

POLICE OFFICER
I said let her go!

Tommy squeezes, jerking her head.

TOMMY
I said back the hell off!

ON GENEVIEVE’S TERRIFIED EYES…

CUT TO BLACK.



END OF ACT ONE







ACT TWO



FADE IN:

INT. ACADEMY HALLS - DAY

The building is pretty much empty, since all Cadets were sent home. This particular hallway is empty, except for the ECHOING SOUND of FOOTSTEPS.

As they get louder, we begin to HEAR a second sound, a voice -

STEVE
(as he comes onto
scene)
Crap crap crap crap crap crap…

He repeats the word over and over as he hurries down the hall.

CUT TO:


INT. ALEC’S LAB - CONTINUOUS

Alec is busily TINKERING away on one of his gizmos.

Steve steps into his doorway.

STEVE
Ummm, doctor?

Alec’s eyes perk up at being called a doctor.

STEVE
Can I talk to you for a second.

Alec spins around on his chair, still way too amused with the fact that his chair spins.

ALEC
Doctor? I’m not a doctor.

STEVE
(nervous)
Oh, sorry. Some of the other
Scientists, they make us call
them “doctor”.

ALEC
(scoffs)
Dorks.
(recognizes Steve)
You’re Miller’s Cadet, right?

STEVE
Yes, sir.

ALEC
All right, knock it off with the
formalities, kid. You’re making
me feel like an old man.

STEVE
(down to business)
You’re Genevieve’s Scientist,
right?

ALEC
(where’s this going)
Yes…

STEVE
Look, I think she’s about to do
something stupid.

Alec gives him a look that asks, "yeah, and?".

CUT TO:


INT. DIRECTOR’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS

The DIRECTOR looks like he just received somewhat amusing news.

DIRECTOR
Something stupid? And what might
that be?

Reveal he’s talking to Zetch, the smug son of a…

ZETCH
She’s going after Dr. Silas.

DIRECTOR
(no longer amused)
What?

ZETCH
Yes sir. She seems to believe
he’s responsible for today’s
attack.

The Director seems disturbed, but not incredibly surprised.

CUT TO:


INT. ALEC’S LAB - CONTINUOUS

Alec seems to believe it rather easily, he knows her better than anybody else in the Academy.

ALEC
You sure about this?

STEVE
She seemed extremely determined.

ALEC
Great.

He spins back around to his computer, and flips a switch. A small monitor flickers on, but before we see the image -

CUT TO:


INT. DIRECTOR’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS

The Director leans in, his mind has formed a plan.

DIRECTOR
Here’s what we’re going to do.

CUT TO:

EXT. AN ALLEY - DAY

Tommy still has Genevieve in hostage position, his little sister peeking out from behind his hip.

TOMMY
You heard me, tough guy. Get the
hell out of here before I snap
her pretty little neck.

The cops keep their guns on him, they don’t look like are about to comply.

POLICE OFFICER
Don’t do anything stupid, kid.

GENEVIEVE
Something tells me he already
has!

POLICE OFFICER
Miss, please. Let us handle this.

Genevieve ROLLS HER EYES.

GENEVIEVE
No, I don't have time for that.

Genevieve grabs Tommy by the wrist, TWISTS her way out of his headlock.

Instead of going after Tommy -

She KICKS a leg back, knocking the gun from the lead Police Officer’s hands. He’s shocked, which prevents him from stopping her foot from hitting him right in the teeth.

The OTHER COPS are too slow to react, Genevieve PUNCHES one in the jaw, and drives ANOTHER’S head into a TRASH CAN.

TOMMY
(to Kelsey)
Outta the way!

Tommy SHOVES KELSEY aside, into a wall. He rushes forward and puts a FIST into a cop’s nose.

After quickly dropping a couple of the cops with her quick fists, Genevieve DUCKS under the rifle swung by a third, crushing his jaw with an uppercut as she stands back up.

Tommy drops another with a fist to the chops, but he doesn’t notice the cop sneaking up behind him. Just before the cop grabs on to Tommy’s shoulder -

Genevieve brings the butt of a rifle down on the back of the cop’s head. Tommy turns in time to see him hit the ground.

TOMMY
(to the cop, angrily)
Oh, yeah?

He kicks the cop in the ribs, another one TACKLES him. Tommy GRUNTS as they hit the ground.

Kelsey FREAKS.

KELSEY
Tommy!

She looks around, desperately wants to help.

There’s a bottle not too far away, if only she can get to it…

Genevieve kicks one of the cops in the gut, followed by a fist to the side of the head.

Tommy tries to fight off the cop who has him down on the ground, but can’t seem to overpower him.

Luckily, a glass BOTTLE shatter’s over his head, making Tommy’s job significantly easier.

The cop slumps over, lying on Tommy’s chest.

TOMMY
(grunts)
Thanks, Tink.

Tommy shoves the unconscious man off of him and stands up, brushing himself off.

Kelsey is watching something off screen that widens her eyes and drops her jaw.

TOMMY
All right, where was I?

He goes to rush back into the fray, excited. When he sees what his sister sees, disappointment rushes over his face, his tight little fist drops to his side.

TOMMY
Oh.

EVERY POLICE OFFICER is down, but they are slowly getting back up.

Genevieve rushes over to them.

GENEVEIVE
(takes charge)
Let’s go! Move it! Now!

She leads the way, Tommy JERKING HIS SISTER by the bicep, dragging her behind as the trio make a run for it.


ON A FIRE ESCAPE

several yards away, the Man in an Overcoat was watching. His eyes watch the kids run away, fierce determination in his eyes.

CUT TO:


INT. ALEC’S LAB - DAY

Alec is gone, no one is in the lab. When the Director walks in, however, he does so assuming Alec will be there.

DIRECTOR
(as he enters)
Alec, I -

He stops when he sees Alec isn’t there.

DIRECTOR
What the hell?

CUT TO:


EXT. ACADEMY - DAY

Alec and Steve are headed into an alley near the Academy.

Alec is holding a small COMPUTER, which he is watching as they move.

ALEC
All right, well, her pulse is
stabilizing, but she’s still on
the run.

STEVE
So, what happened?

ALEC
Hard to tell. I don’t think it
was Silas, though. Her heartbeat
spiked, but there was no real
fear or anger.

STEVE
You can tell all that from your
thingy there?

ALEC
Yeah, man. My thingy rules.

Pause for a beat, both men slightly uncomfortable with the way that came out.

ALEC
Anyway…

STEVE
Yeah.

ALEC
This way.

He leads Steve down an alley.

STEVE
What are we going to do when
we find her?

ALEC
Hopefully, we find her before
she finds Silas. I might be
able to talk her down.

STEVE
And if not?

ALEC
Look. I know this girl. If she
wants to go after Silas, she’ll
go after Silas. I’m not letting
her do it alone.

STEVE
So, then we’re helping her?

ALEC
Help is a pretty strong word. I’m
just not going to try very hard
to stop her.

CUT TO:


EXT. ANOTHER ALLEY - DAY

Genevieve, Tommy and Kelsey rush around a corner, which leads them down a long staircase, into a dark room, some sort of maintainance tunnel.

Hiding in the darkness, the kids stop to catch their breath.

After a moment of heavy breathing…

GENEVIEVE
Anybody care to explain the
felonious incident that just
occurred?

TOMMY
Yeah, sorry about that. But you
couldn’t have come at a better
time.

GENEVIEVE
Really? Cause I can think of quite
a few times better than “break a
bitch's neck” time.

TOMMY
Aww, Genny, come on. I wasn’t
gonna hurt you.

KELSEY
Yeah, it was just a pretend hostage
taking. They were gonna kill us.

GENEVIEVE
Why?
(to Tommy specifically)
What’d you do this time?

TOMMY
(offended)
Hey, all I’m guilty of is feeding
my baby sister.

On Genevieve’s cold stare, he proceeds.

TOMMY
And a little property damage.
(she’s still staring)
Maybe a teeny tiny bit of assault.

She rolls her eyes, WALKS ahead.

TOMMY
(shouts)
What?
(beat)
Oh, like you’ve never assaulted
anybody.

KELSEY
It’s okay, Tommy. She’ll forgive
you.

He glares at his little sis, annoyed.

TOMMY
Shut the hell up, Tink.

She’s hurt, masks it poorly behind anger. Tommy shakes his head and rushes to catch up to Genevieve.

CUT TO:


INT. NONDESCRIPT OFFICE - DAY

The MAN with the LONG, SHAGGY HAIR is on the phone this time, his BALD PARTNER sitting to his LEFT, as usual.

MAN ON RIGHT
(into phone)
All right, doc. Chill out.
(pause)
No, you’ll chill out or I’m gonna
smack you in your snotty little
mouth.
(pause)
That’s better. Now listen. The
retrieval unit will be there in
a few. Just stay put.

He hangs up the phone, exhausted from the conversation.

RIGHT
Sheesh!

He tosses the phone onto the table.

RIGHT
That dude’s a pain.

LEFT
Why do you think I made you call
him this time.

RIGHT
Can't we kill him yet?

LEFT
I suppose. We got what we needed
from the raid.

RIGHT
(pleased)
Sweet.
(after a moment...)
And the girl?

LEFT
We’re getting there. Research
is going through the files as
we speak, soon enough we’ll
know who we’re looking for.

RIGHT
Good.
(looks around)
I’m starting to get real sick of
this room.

FADE OUT:



END OF ACT TWO