INT: Underground military command bunker. Soldiers in futuristic combat garb and weapons.
Camera pans across the room and slowly zooms in on GARDNER. He has a slightly puzzled look on his face as his eyes scan the room searching for familiarity.
CURAN storms in, spots and heads straight to GARDNER
CURAN: Fucking Zenos, Gardner!
GARDENER (slowly): What?
GARDNER has regained focus it reads on his face now
CURAN: It’s not natives, Gard. Zenos. We are under attack by fucking Zenos.
CURAN and GARDNER both turn to look at the only OFFICER in the room. The OFFICER visibly perplexed as he looks over battle plans and maps spread out over a table. He is mouthing something to himself.
GARDNER: What the fuck, sir?
OFFICER: We…We were sent to recon’. Zenos weren’t expected in this sector for another two lunars. Supplies are in route. Templars are in route …
He looks up from the table at GARDNER
OFFICER: But were not prepared to fight Zenos.
GARDNER: No shit. Not a one of us will live to see another day and that’s if were lucky.
GARDNER hand signals something to CURAN. CURAN nods his head in approval, he taps the two closest soldiers.
CURAN: You’re with me.
CURAN and two soldiers leave the bunker.
GARDNER (to the OFFICER): The best we can hope for, sir, is that we hold out long enough to destroy any intel we have in this bunker that includes what’s in our own…
As GARNDER speaks the OFFICER without hesitation draws his service pistol puts the barrel in his mouth and pulls the trigger. As the echo of the report dies down a noticeable silence engulfs the room with the exception of the distant boom of random explosions.
GARDNER (addressing the room): That puts me in charge. I need two volunteers to stay behind here to set scuttle charges.
Everyone in the room raises their hands.
As he speaks GARDNER begins tapping into a keypad and terminal embedded into his forearm. A countdown commences on the terminal.
GARDNER: Nik, Carl.
Hearing their names is all the command NIK and CARL need. They set to work.
GARDNER: The rest of you are with me. We will form the last defense and buy our boys here the five minutes they’ll need. I don’t have to remind anyone here that the last thing you want is to be taken alive. Bourtange formation. You know what to do.
The room clears
EXT: Outside Underground command bunker. Combat is already underway. Screams pierce the inky blackness. GARDNER is kneeling in sling support position. He is firing discriminately. Each shot finds its mark. After several shots GARDNER looks at his forearm. The terminal reads 2:14 and counting down. Just then a loud explosion occurs behind him the scene goes black and silent.
Black screen.
A distant ringing grows noticeably louder. The scene flickers from black to GARDNER as hey lays on the ground. GARDNER lifts his arm to read out the terminal. He stares instead at a mangled arm the keyboard and terminal are gone. He reaches without hesitation for his service pistol as he does so someone stands on his arm he turns to see a Zeno standing over him. The Zeno aims what looks like a weapon at GARDNER.
GARDNER screams in pain
CUT TO
INT: Modern day bedroom. In an instant a heavier softer looking GARDNER jolts up in bed he is noticeably sweaty he looks around the room and slowly sighs with familiarity. He rubs his forearm reassuringly.
CLARA (from the bathroom): Have another bad dream, dear?
Gardner lives a normal life with his wife CLARA. He has an office job a handful of friends. He loves his life, it is the life he has always envisioned for himself. All is perfect except, every night since he can remember he has had eerily similar dreams where he’s a soldier battling an unrelenting alien foe on a foreign planet. He doesn’t always remember the details of his dreams when he wakes but the reoccurring dream of an explosion that concusses him and severs his arm always feels the most real. Whenever he speaks of his dreams to anyone he is at best dismissed often teased.
Besides the dreams Gardner is plagued by phantom pains most prominently his right forearm as well as stabbing pain in his abdomen. He’s had these checked but Doctors tell him he is fine and that what he feels is in his head. He’s tried psychiatric help as well as medicine to escape his dreams to escape his phantom pains, nothing’s worked. Instead the pain grows steadily worse, the dreams ever more realistic. He starts to question who he is. Aspects of his life start to feel odd, he doesn’t remember much of his childhood but what he does remember seems from a different time and prelude to a much harder life.
As the pain and dreams grow worse he feels like he is going steadily insane. He develops insomnia and life quickly becomes unbearable. Aspects of realty begin slipping into his waking dreams, aspects of his dreams slip into realty.
Reality bleeds into the opening scene.
INT: Underground command bunker from beginning scene but with aspects of GARDNER’s home.
Camera pans across the room and slowly zooms in on GARDNER. He has a slightly puzzled look on his face as his eyes scan the room searching for familiarity. The bunker contains aspects of his home life. His bedroom bathroom is connected to the bunker. We see CLARA brushing her hair in front of the bathroom mirror.
CURAN storms in spots and heads straight to GARDNER
CURAN: Fucking Zenos, Gard!
CLARA (from the bathroom): Have another bad dream, dear?
CURAN: It’s not natives, Gard. Zenos. We are under attack by fucking Zenos.
CURAN and GARDNER both turn to look at the only OFFICER in the room. GARDENER looks past the OFFICER to CLARA. The OFFICER visibly perplexed as he looks over battle plans and maps spread out over GARDNER’s kitchen table. He is mouthing something to himself.
CURAN grabs GARDNER by the arm and escorts him toward the OFFICER
OFFICER: We were sent to recon’. Zenos weren’t expected in this sector for another two lunars. Supplies are in route. Templars are in route …
He looks up from the table at GARDNER
OFFICER: Gardener I need you to tell me where the fleet is. How many squadron of Templars are there?
GARDNER stares at the OFFICER and starts to rub his forearm.
CURAN: Gard, are you ok? You should answer. How many squadrons of Templars are there?
CLARA (from the bathroom): Have another bad dream, dear?
GARDNER reaches for his abdomen as if pained.
CURAN: How many squadrons of Templars are there?
OFFICER: Where is the fleet?
CLARA (from the bathroom): Where is the fleet, dear?
CURAN: Have another bad dream?
GARDNER drops to his knees, the pain in his forearm and abdomen have grown unbearable. CURAN,CLARA and the OFFICER hound him with the same questions. GARDNER falls to his back and begins convulsing unbearably.
CLARA (from the bathroom): Have another bad dream, dear?
Cut to black
The distant thump of a heartbeat grows noticeably louder. The scene flickers from black to GARDNER as hey lays strapped into an alien but what is obviously a medical table. He is bare, covered in probes. Lacerated and without his right forearm, his abdomen is a maze of tubing serving as an artificial digestive system. He begins to struggle against his straps as realization sets in. He begins to hyperventilate he is on the verge of panic he turns to see a Zeno standing over him.
Fade to black