Work in progress screenplay

FADE IN:

INT. ZACH’S ROOM -- DAY

Sunlight barrels in through the bedroom windows. ZACH, a 23 year old man, sits on the edge of his bed, wearing a pair of tattered dirt stained blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt. He is drenched in sweat and winded. Zach wipes his face with the bottom of his shirt. The ceiling fan spins off balance.

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, ETC.

He grabs the SMALL TRASHCAN by his nightstand and vomits into it. He dry heaves for a moment or two, and then balls up into the fetal position on the floor. He passes out.

INT. ZACH’S ROOM -- THAT NIGHT

Zach wakes up groggy. The fan is still clicking. He massages his temples and looks down in the trashcan. Sigh.

INT. KITCHEN -- SAME

Zach turns on the lights. He walks over to the sink, turns the water on, and rinses out the trashcan. Suddenly the lights turn off. Moonlight. The water slows to a drip.

Zach walks over to a drawer. He takes out a flashlight and turns it on. He shines the light in the drawer and pulls out a candle and a book of matches. He walks back over to the sink and shines the light in the trashcan.

The can is about a quarter full. Zach grabs a WET RAG out of the sink and begins scrubbing. He is very meticulous. Once he’s finished he dumps the water out in the sink, and scrubs away whatever remains.


INT. ZACH’S ROOM -- MOMENTS LATER

Zach walks back into the room, shines the light next to the bed, and puts the trashcan back. He shines the light on his work desk, finds a shot glass, puts the candle in it, and lights it with a match. He gently puts the candle on his nightstand.

Zach rubs his temples and eyes. He walks over to the windows and looks outside. There is no movement of any kind. He turns and walks out of the room with the flashlight.

EXT. FRONT PORCH -- SAME

Zach walks out onto the front porch and shines the flashlight in the BUSHES. He looks around slowly, shining the light ahead of him. He does this for about ten seconds. Once he’s satisfied he goes back in the house.

INT. ZACH’S ROOM -- SAME

Zach walks back into his room, turns off the flashlight, and lies down on his bed. He puts the flashlight on the nightstand. It rolls off, but he does not pick it up. Zach takes his shirt and drops it on the floor.

He bunches up his pillow and tries to fall asleep.


INT. ZACH’S ROOM -- DAY

Zach is sound asleep and the room is completely still. There is a slight breeze coming in through the windows.

SNAP.

Zach jumps awake at the sound. He looks around the room quickly in a groggy state, mumbling to himself. Everything appears normal, so he gets out of bed and goes over to the window.

I./E. WINDOW/FRONT YARD -- SAME

Zach looks outside to the yard and sees that a tree branch has fallen in the driveway. Zach lets out an annoyed groan, puts on a pair of pants, and heads outside.

EXT. FRONT YARD -- SAME

Zach walks over to the tree branch and sizes it up. It is a fairly large branch, but does not appear to be heavy. Zach grabs the branch by one end and drags it around to the side of the house.

EXT. SIDE YARD -- CONT.

Zach walks over to a LARGE PILE OF TREE LIMBS and throws the branch on top of the pile. Zach pauses for a moment and takes a look around the outside. The world is still: there is no traffic from the road, there is very little sound, there are only a few birds flying in the sky, etc.

Zach takes in a deep breath and gags. He suppresses vomiting, and goes back inside the house.

INT. KITCHEN -- SAME

Zach walks up to the sink and turns the on the faucet. Nothing comes out. He sighs with frustration. He looks at the refrigerator, reaches for it, but thinks better of it. He looks around the room and sees a CASE OF BOTTLED WATER sitting next to a counter. He stares at it momentarily, picks it up, and exits the room.

INT. BATHROOM -- SAME

Zach enters the bathroom with the water. He sticks his head in the shower and checks to see if there is soap and shampoo. After he sees that there’s everything he needs he takes his pants off, grabs the case of water, and gets in fully.

SHOWER

He opens the case and takes a bottle of water out. He unscrews the top and pours the water all over his body. He shakes himself off, and gets the water all over his body; the process repeats itself for two more bottles.

Next he grabs a bar of soap from the soap dish and lathers his body up. He is very thorough, making sure to get every inch that he can reach. Once he is satisfied he opens another bottle and pours it all over his body again. Some of the soap washes away, but there is more that needs to be washed. This process takes some time.

Once Zach is clean he pours two more bottles over his hair, and grabs the shampoo bottle. He squeezes some into the palm of his hand and then lathers up his hair. He is just as thorough with the shampoo as he was with the soap. The process takes just as long, and once he is finished he gets out of the shower, grabs a towel, and dries himself off.

BATHROOM SINK

He stands in front of the mirror and examines himself. His teeth are not great, and he has small cuts and bruises on his face. He rubs his eyes and lets out a tired sigh. Realizing he needs another bottle of water he reaches into the shower and grabs one.

He takes a toothbrush out from a small cup on the sink, pours water over it, puts toothpaste on it, and starts brushing his teeth. He brushes thoroughly, spits, and then pours some water in the sink to wash it out. He then takes his pants off the floor and exits the bathroom.

INT. KITCHEN -- SAME

Zach walks into the kitchen, still naked, and goes over to the refrigerator. He opens the door, and begins riffling through the food that’s inside. He finds a package of deli meat, opens the top, smells it, gags, and then tosses it aside.

Zach massages his temples again, and closes the door. He puts his pants back on and goes upstairs.

INT. ZACH’S ROOM -- SAME

Zach opens the door to his room and throws himself on the bed. He lays quietly face down on the bed, and lets the silence overtake him. Shifting onto his side he slowly closes his eyes, and appears to fall asleep.

SNAP.

Zach quickly opens his eyes. He rolls his eyes and sighs, and turns onto his other side. He scratches his head and ears and tries falling asleep again.

INT. ZACH’S ROOM -- EARLY EVENING

Zach wakes up in a daze. A storm has rolled in while he slept, and the rain BANGS against his windows. Thunder roars and lightning can be seen in quick flashes. Zach takes in a deep breath and checks his watch.

6:00

Zach looks up at the ceiling for a moment, and then down at his stomach. He gently rubs it and lets out an exasperated sigh. The rain calms down, and Zach looks outside his window for a moment.

Slowly, Zach rises from his bed and walks over to his closet. He opens the door and finds an UMBRELLA. He then walks over to his BUREAU and finds a T-SHIRT. He puts it on and walks out of his room.



EXT. FRONT LAWN -- SAME

Zach steps outside of his house, opens his umbrella, and heads out into the rain. He walks across the massive yard, and begins heading down the road.

EXT. SIDE OF ROAD -- SAME

Zach walks down the road with the umbrella over his head. The rain is falling slowly but steadily. There is a CAR stopped in the middle of the road. Zach approaches it slowly, peeking in as he passes by.

Inside are THREE CORPSES: a man, woman, and small child. They have been there for awhile, as their bodies are in the early stages of decay. Zach does not stop, but gags slightly. He turns down a side road and continues into the distance.

EXT. GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT -- SAME

Zach approaches the grocery store with great caution. There are a few cars in the parking lot, and a couple of DEAD BODIES near the driver’s side door. There are no marks on the bodies, and the doors to the store have been broken down. Zach enters slowly.

INT. GROCERY STORE -- SAME

Zach stands still for a moment and takes in his surroundings. The store has been looted: food and water bottles litter the ground, there are car keys and wallets mixed in, the register drawers are open and empty, etc. Zach heads down an aisle and begins picking through what’s left on the shelves.

STORE SHELF

The shelf has been picked over thoroughly, but a few items remain: a few cans of beans, some canned fruit, and a jar of pickles. Zach picks up the beans, but puts it down quickly.



CHECK OUT LANE

Zach looks around for a plastic bag, but doesn’t find one. He glances around the store, and sees that there are still a few reusable bags left on an end cap. Zach goes over to it and grabs two.

STORE SHELF

Zach grabs all the bean cans, the fruit, and the pickles.

MEAT FREEZER

Zach looks in the freezer to see if anything is salvageable. The food has a film growing over it, and Zach moves on.

CEREAL AISLE

Zach finds a large selection of cereal, and puts a few boxes in his bag.

BOTTLED WATER AISLE

Zach finds a large jug of DISTILLED WATER on the shelf and puts it in his bag.

CHECK OUT LANE END CAP

A bag of jerky is hanging on the end cap hook. Zach takes it. He takes one more look around, doesn’t see anything else he needs, and leaves the store.

EXT. PARKING LOT -- SAME

Zach walks over to one of the cars with a body lying against it, finds the car keys next to the body, picks them up, unlocks the door, and gets in. He starts the car up and slowly pulls out of the spot. He drives a few feet, stops the car, turns the engine off, and gets back out with the bag. He walks home.

INT. KITCHEN -- SAME

Zach pushes the door open and throws the bags on the kitchen table. He grabs the bag of jerky and rips it open. He chews quickly, barely taking time to breathe. Swallowing hard, he takes the water jug out of the bag, pops the top off, and chugs it down.

Water drips down the side of his face and stains his shirt, but he does not notice. He lets out a tired sigh and rubs his face. The rain has stopped outside, and the sun is now shining. Zach then exits back outside.

EXT. FRONT YARD -- SAME

Zach approaches the front yard and looks down at the grass. It is overgrown and dry; in need of a good cut. Zach walks back toward the house.

INT. GARAGE -- SAME

Zach walks over to the RIDING LAWNMOWER, sits down on it, and starts it up. He puts it in gear and slowly backs it out of the garage.

EXT. FRONT YARD -- SAME

Zach drives on the front lawn cutting the grass meticulously. He spends the rest of his time doing this until the sun goes down.

INT. GARAGE -- NIGHT

Zach parks the lawnmower, knocking a few stray things around on the ground, gets off, and goes inside.

INT. ZACH’S ROOM -- SAME

Zach throws himself on his bed and falls asleep.

INT. ZACH’S ROOM -- DAY

Sunlight pours in through Zach’s windows, and he slowly starts to awake from his sleep. Sweat drips down his face, and the room is very still. Zach stairs up at the ceiling for a few moments, then hops out of bed. He puts on a white shirt, a pair of jeans, his shoes, and exits the room.

INT. KITCHEN -- SAME

Zach walks over to the kitchen table and sits down at the head of it. He takes the water jug and jerky and has breakfast. After he has successfully gorged himself he looks outside and sees that it is a nice day. He gets up and goes outside.

EXT. FRONT LAWN -- SAME

Zach walks out onto the road and goes for a walk.
EXT. ROAD -- SAME

Zach walks down the road with the sun beating down on him. Sweat pools around his chest and his head drips profusely. There are cars scattered about on the road; some with corpses in the, some without. Zach does not notice them either way, and continues his walk without incident.

EXT. GUN SHOP PARKING LOT -- SAME

Zach approaches a small gun shop on a rural road. The door to the shop is propped open, and appears to be in good shape. A cardboard sign hangs on the barred window. Written in Sharpie it reads: KILL EM’ ALL AND LET GOD SORT EM’ OUT. Zach enters the store.

INT. GUN SHOP -- SAME

Zach takes in his surroundings and looks over all the guns on the shelves. There are a few empty slots where guns used to hang, but the inventory appears to be mostly intact. Zach runs his hand over the shot guns, picking one up and examining it.

He cocks it, puts it up to his shoulder, and pulls the trigger. The click is loud. Zach smiles and puts the gun down on the counter. He then looks inside the glass showcase at the handguns.

He goes behind the counter, puts his hands on the sliding glass door, and tries to open it. It’s locked. Zach looks behind him and sees a LARGE SET OF KEYS (at least 100) on a key ring hanging from a nail on the end of a shelf.

He takes the key ring and begins trying all the keys. He gets about five keys in then stops, drops the keys on the floor, and grabs the shotgun. He raises the gun over his head, turns his head away from the glass, and brings the gun down on the glass hard.

The sound of breaking glass briefly echoes around the room. Zach carefully clears the glass away and picks up a rather large handgun. He points the gun around the room and pulls the trigger a few times.

He looks it over and puts it in the waist of his pants.


EXT. FRONT YARD -- SAME

Zach stands in his front yard with the shotgun raised to his shoulder. He pumps the gun and fires a round into a tall tree. The side of the tree blows outward and Zach stands completely still. He puts the shotgun down and pulls the hand gun out of his waist band. He empties the clip into the tree and again stands still. Satisfied, he picks up the shotgun and walks back into the house.

INT. ZACH’S ROOM -- SAME

Zach enters the room and tosses the guns on the ground. He lies down on the bed and looks up at the ceiling. There is sweat still on his brow, and he breathes heavily. The only sound is a slight breeze coming in through the windows.