SCRAMBLE – EPISODE 1, SCENE 1

Key sits in the driver’s seat of his SUV, driving. Guts is beside him. Lee is seated behind Key; Rod, her boyfriend, is beside her. Behind Lee is Ames; beside him is Shard. Between Ames and Shard is a small, well-used notebook. Ames picks it up, which grabs Shard’s attention.

Ames: Hey, what’s this?

Shard: Give that back! (reaches over)

Ames: What is it? (holds it away from Shard)

Shard: (Growls) Its poetry. Now give it back!

(Rod gets up and sits between them, unamused. He and Lee share a look.)

Ames: (Reads aloud melodramatically) ‘Oh dearest love, the world is misery. Come with me and let us die together’? This ain’t poetry!

Shard: Yes, it is! You know nothing of good literature!

Ames: You can’t get a girl with this!

Shard: Yes you can!

Ames: Have you ever asked a girl?

Shard: No…

Rod:  (Mutters) This from the two guys that look like they belong in comic books.

(Ames and Shard turn to Lee and ask together)

A&S: What do you think of this?

Rod: (raises his voice) Don’t bother Lee with your troubles!

Lee: (shakily, raising her hands) Sorry boys, I’m staying out of this debate.

Key:  (turns his head and presses a button. The window beside Shard rolls down) Shard, break anything in my car and I will kill you.

Shard: (ignores him) Ames, lets see you write something better.

Guts: Write something lighter.

Key: Guys, shut up. Do you want to know your assignment or no?

(Rod firmly sets his hands over the mouths of Ames and Shard, who both struggle to remove it and then turn silent.)

Rod: Yeah.

Key: Good. We’re going to be clearing out a base that was recently overrun. Some experiments got out of control. The status of the base is unknown; no survivors are expected. Some Geths were being trained to guard, but their tameness was overestimated. They killed their trainers and we need to kill them to make sure they don’t leave the base 

Guts: What is a Geth?

Key: It’s got lots of big teeth, looks like an oversized frog, and eats things much larger than flies… You know, they used to be able to create explosions, but that trait should have been removed by now.

Rod: (to himself) You can’t always rely on scientists…

EPISODE 1, SCENE 2 

(They arrive and park at a clearing in the woods where a few cars are parked. Some cars look grimy from having been left there for days.)

(View from inside the entrance as a square floor/ceiling panel is opened. Ames looks down into the entrance, with a massive boxy backpack on his back and goggles on his forehead.)

Key: (yells from a distance) Ames, tell me what’s down there.

Ames: (shakily) I’m not goin’ down there first! It could be dangerous – and I’m an important member of the team, right guys?

(Key arrives and hits Ames in the back of the head so his goggles fall into place. He clears his throat.)

Ames: Oh. Heh. Yeah… (Turns a bit more serious) Motion sensors show nothing directly below the panel. Night-vision brings up nothing. We’re good to go.

Key: Good. (picks Ames up by the back and lifts him over the entrance)

EPISODE 1, SCENE 3

(Ames is on the ground, in pain. Shard lands, then Guts, Lee, Rod, and Key.)

Ames: (Groaning) Are you trying to kill me? (stands slowly)

Rod: Don’t you have some sort of flying contraption in that pack of yours?

Ames: It’s broken. (He has a large, box-shaped pack strapped to his back. The others have their weapons. Key has a rifle.)

Shard: Then what’s in your pack?

Ames: Important equipment.

(They walk through the dark hallway, flashlights shining. To break the silence, and out of curiosity, Guts speaks.)

Guts: What happens if we die here?

(Rod and Key look back at him. Rod is incredulous. Key explains after a moment.)

Key: Well, it depends on how you die…

(Lee doesn’t seem to like the topic. Shard is keeping a determined watch.)

Ames: What?

Key: If it’s just bullet wounds, stab marks, normal stuff that can’t be traced back to the Group, then the body is returned to their hometown.

Guts: And if it can be tracked?

Key: Cremation. You know, I hear there’s an entire team of pyropaths and pyromaniacs… Arson. They once burned a soldier alive by mistake.

Ames: (disturbed) Could we have some lighter conversation while in a dark, spooky, eerie compound full of dead folk?

Shard: (leans right in behind Ames) Boo. (Breaks a pane of glass in a nearby door.)

(Alarms sound. Rod puts a hand to his head and sighs.)

Lee: Oh, great…

Ames: Heh, smart one.

(A shrill scream can be heard from a distance away.)

Key:  So there are survivors! Come on!

(Key runs down the hallway, leaving behind his team. Ames is right after him but trips on something, causing Guts to trip over him. Lee and Rod help them up. Shard watches their back. And then its Key’s screams that they hear.)

EPISODE 1, SCENE 4

(The team runs after Key, only to find a pool of blood and Key’s torn off leg.)

Lee: Basic training. Never run off alone unless ordered to…

(Guts catches up, sees the blood, screams like a girl. Everyone glares at him. Rod takes charge.)

Rod: We need to secure a location where we can rest and fortify while cleaning up the place.

Ames: Like where?

Rod: A large room with supplies, like the medical facility, armory, or cafeteria.

Guts:  I say we find the cafeteria.

Shard: Why?

(Guts’ stomach grumbles. Lee sighs.)

Ames:  (looks to a small handheld screen) Down this hallway, third left.

EPISODE 1, SCENE 5

(Team trudges along, fires at a few distant things, and come across a large door. Ames looks at his computer.)

Ames: This is the dining hall. I can’t get any camera systems. Power is still out – only alarms have power.

(Rod and Guts try to open the doors but find them blocked. Ames tries to unpack contraptions. Even Shard tries to help. As a last resort, Ames pulls out a rocket launcher. Lee stops him, by shining her flashlight up to the hinges of the doors.)

Lee: It’s pull, not push.

(They open the doors and find tables overturned and scattered into a fortifying, defendable position. In the very center is a large metal umbrella. The scales are closed. The scales open a moment, forming a large metal flower, and then close before Bonni, in a bright red trench coat, gets out from behind it, somewhat angry.)

Bonni: Damn. Reinforcements. What took you guys so freezing long? (She growls and shivers. You can see her breath fog in the chilly room.)

–transition-

(They are seated around the table, some but not all. Ames is fiddling with a contraption and Guts is snacking on crackers while guarding the door.)

Bonni:  As long as you have ammo, shoot. Don’t let them get near you. The Geths would eat you alive if they had the chance.

Lee: Who are you?

Bonni: Part of the original team sent to guard the scientists and the base… I haven’t slept in days. Call me Bonni.

Ames: (looks up and jokes) Where’s Clyde?

Bonni: (growls) In the gut of a Geth.

(Ames is effectively silenced and returns to his tinkering.)

Rod: Are there any other survivors?

Bonni: (narrows eyes) It’s been two days since the attack. In the past thirty-six hours, except for your arrival, I haven’t even heard a scream.

(Ames lets his little robot loose, and it goes out the door, scanning everything as it goes.)

Rod: Well, we were sent here mainly about the Geths…

(Bonni nods grimly. Ames puts on his headset and taps at his little computer.)

Bonni:  Run across any yet?

Lee: No…

Rod: Our captain probably did. (Bonni raises an eyebrow. Rod nods) He’s dead now.

Bonni: (nods) Mhmm… It takes a lot to kill them. Your friend with the spear would have a slight chance. Their skin is fragile, but there’s no single thing to aim for… The eyes are too small to get blade or bullet through, and I don’t think anyone could go through its fangs… If you get behind one, fire high, for its brain. If you’re in front of one, run.

Shard: How did you survive? I don’t see a gun.

Bonni: (glares) They had slight trouble chewing large amounts of metal, even if they can eat anything.

(There is a loud noise from outside. A metallic crunch, an explosion. Ames falls back.)

Ames:  Holy crap! (lifts goggles) She didn’t even sense anything on heat sensors. And now I’m getting nothing.

Guts: Ha ha. Ames lost a recon bot.

Rod: Guts, Ames, you two take the left hallway. Lee and I will take the right. Bonni, can you stay here with Shard, keep the place defended? (Bonni glares). Good. Let’s kill some Geths.

(Ames pulls the rocket launcher out of his box and grins widely.)

EPISODE 1, SCENE 6

Concrete Hallway. Ames and Guts stop walking as Ames leans his rocket launcher on the wall so he can pick something up. It’s a piece of his bot, gnarled and slobbered upon. Guts makes a grossed-out-face.

Ames: Aww, hell.

(There are sounds of gunfire. Ames picks his rocket launcher back up.)

Radio-Rod: How many Geths are there?

R-Sha: She says eight remaining.

R-Rod: Copy. Lee and I just killed one.

R-Sha: (Bonni is ranting angrily in the background.) Okay sir. Seven then.

(Ames and Guts continue slowly)

R-Rod: Hey Ames, Guts, you two still alive?

Ames:  (On his radio) Yeah… Why?

R-Rod: We’re at the end of this hallway. Only killed two more here… They’re all at your end now.

Guts: What? I want reinforcements. Tell him we want reinforcements.

Ames: (On radio) Guts an’ I want reinforcements.

R-Sha:  You’ve got a rocket launcher and a spear that can kill watermelons. What other sort of reinforcements could you want?

R-Rod: Shard, go join them.

EPISODE 1, SCENE 7

Cafeteria. Bonni sits on a table, glaring at a clock and listening to the gunfire echoing from the hallway. Time passes.

R-Guts:  We’ve cornered the last two!

EPISODE 1, SCENE 8

(Two Geths are growling and one charges at them. Shard and Guts slice it up. Ames is dealing with a jam or over-heat on his rocket launcher while the two start to shoot at the second one, riddling the door behind it with holes. The door is marked HAZARD in black and yellow signage. The Geth starts to charge. Ames gets his rocket launcher to work and fires it, landing on his back. The rocket misses the Geth, and smashes a hole in the door and wall behind it. Guts spears the Geth and it dies before reaching them.)

Shard:  (On radio) We killed the last one.

R-Bon: I heard an explosion. Where are you?

(The guys look around.)

Shard:  (On radio) Hallway… Four B.

R-Bon: Oh hell…

(Bonni jogs in with her umbrella and a flashlight. Guts and Shard an Ames seem confused. Rod reaches them after her.)

Bonni:  Tell me you didn’t…

(The guys seem confused.)

Ames: What? (his rocket launcher is still in hand)

Bonni: (shines light on exploded door) Oh, hell no…

Shard: What? We killed the Geths!

Bonni:  (peers inside the room a bit with her flashlight.) You also let the Twelve escape.

Guts:  What? I didn’t see any twelve nothing…

Bonni: It was an experiment designated MR12.

Ames:  (puts on his goggles) Oh wait… whatever it was left reside, tracks on the wall…

Rod: Lets follow it! (radio) Lee, something escaped. We need your help. (Looks around) Shard, Guts, drag the last Geths to the disposal room and follow.

EPISODE 1, SCENE 9

(They run through halls and come upon a swinging door.)

Bonni: (whisper) The emergency exit…

(They open the door and see sunlight.)

Rod: Oh crap.