PAGE 1

Panel 1:
For the first page, we're going for a four panel view of the same scene, scrolling downwards to the bottom of the page. The reader will see time progress through these three panels, and each one will have a DIALOGUE box in them, set in the bottom right hand corner.

This page will introduce NATHAN REYNARS, the protagonist of the series, as he starts to describe his philosophy and asks the important question that runs through the whole story.  But we won't see him in this first panel, not just yet. The first panel will be a shot of a New York cityscape at night, so we see a darkened sky with bright stars, and skyscrapers lit up. In the foreground, we have a side view of a building, completely silhouetted, with a ladder running up the side of it, hanging from a fire escape overhead.

CAPTION 1
(In top left hand corner) Prologue.

CAPTION 2
(Just below CAPTION 1) Then

DIALOGUE
Have you ever had that feeling…


Panel 2:

This is the same scene as above, only now we see a silhouetted figure, jumping up from the bottom of the panel as his arm is outstretched to the bottom ring of the ladder.

DIALOGUE
… Deep down inside of you…


Panel 3:

Same again only we have the figure pulling himself up the ladder. He should be seen to be struggling slightly, shake marks around where his arms and shoulders are to indicate that he is trying to find the strength to pull himself up.

DIALOGUE
… That there is more to your life…


Panel 4:
Last panel for this page, showing the figure successfully getting a foothold on the ladder, though slightly awkward positioning, as he starts to pull himself up more.

DIALOGUE
… Than what you see with your own eyes?


PAGE 2
SPLASH:
What we want now is a slightly slanted look from the fire escape, just where the top of the ladder is, looking back down the alleyway. Now we see the man climbing the ladder - NATHAN - with all hands and feet on the rungs, looking like he is in mid climb. We can see him fully now, he is wearing a black suit, open at the front and a white shirt with the top button undone. We can see the patches of blood on his front, and some white the cuffs pop out from under the jacket sleeve. His hair is ruffled and messed up, and he looks like he hasn't shaved all day - Basically, he looks a mess.

He seems to have stopped mid climb, looking over his shoulder and down to the alleyway where a light shines up at him, illuminating his back. There are more people below, behind the light, but the glare obscures their appearance. The reader assumes now that it is NATHAN dictating to them.

DIALOGUE 1
My name is Nathan.

DIALOGUE 2
And honestly… I never had the chance.


PAGE 3
Panel 1:

The Panels are taking a more traditional view now; four to six panels a page to speed everything along. This page has five panels, and in the first panel we see a close up of NATHAN's face as he looks over his shoulder. We can see the fear and exhaustion in his face with this shot, so his eyes need to be open wide, beads of sweat on his brow and his mouth open slightly, indicating shock.

DIALOGUE
Things just moved… Too fast.


Panel 2:
Cut to the bottom of alley now. We're now facing the three people in the alleyway looking up at NATHAN from the ground. These guys are hired thugs; they need to look unsavoury and hardened, like they know how to take a man apart with little effort. Dress them in casual clothes - T-shirts, jeans, jackets - And have them looking up, the glare of the flashlight they're holding lighting up most of the bottom of the panel.

DIALOGUE
Things escalate…


Panel 3:
A slightly bigger panel now, going across the width of the page. We're looking back up towards the fire escape now, the view just behind one of the THUG's right hand as he holds a pistol in it - I was thinking police-issue Beretta, a subtle link to organized crime on a citywide scale. The hand should be gripping the handle tightly; giving the sense he is going to use it any second.

In the background, we see NATHAN still on the scaffold, but now a few seconds later. His back is turned to us, and he is now pulling himself up onto the first level of the fire escape, his legs hanging down still as he struggles to escape his pursuers.

DIALOGUE
Before you know it, you're in way over your head.


Panel 4:
A simple shot. A close up of one of the Beretta's being raised into the air, the trigger finger ready to squeeze down and fire.

NO DIALOGUE


Panel 5:
Another close up, this time of NATHAN's right eye. It should be wide with fear and anxiety as before, looking around to give the impression that he is turning his head hurriedly and looking over his shoulder to see the guns aimed up at him.

DIALOGUE
Only thing you can do…


PAGE 4:
There are three panels on this page; two large panels and a smaller one at the bottom. All three should be the full width of the page, opening up the views within them.

Panel 1:
For the top panel, we're down at the bottom of the alleyway again, looking up from the floor at an angle as the three thugs are all pointing their guns up towards the fire escape. All three are firing now the flashes of the bullets quite bright as they leave the barrels. The lead thug standing up front - we'll call him THUG 1 - should be holding the flashlight by his side now, and we can just catch a glimpse of it shining around his thigh.

DIALOGUE
… Is take the punishment as best you can.

SFX
(From guns) BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!


Panel 2:
This panel is of equal size to the previous one. Cut to the fire escape once again, we're more looking at it from the side as the three thug's fire up. NATHAN is in mid-fall, diving down quickly with his eyes closed tightly and arms stretched out. The bullets from the guns are either flying past him, or connecting with the steel frame of the fire escape. There's small sparks and bits of shrapnel flying out in all directions.

DIALOGUE
Take all the hurt and pain.

NATHAN (small)
Ngh!

SFX
(From bullets hitting fire escape) TING!


Panel 3:
Panel is much shorter than the previous two. A close up shot of NATHAN lying on the floor of the fire escape, his body is crumpled up slightly, his arms coming up to his head to shield himself. We can just see his eyes closed tightly still. Above him - In the foreground for us - we see another bullet whizzing by and ploughing into the wall next to him, pieces of stone breaking away from the impact crater.

DIALOGUE
And then…

SFX
(From bullet) THUNK!


PAGE 5
Panel 1:
There are six panels on this page - Basic flow for this page, something to get the story moving along. First panel is another close up of NATHAN's eye. Looking down at his face from an angle we see his eye open slightly, looking straight ahead of him, and his eyebrow furrowing in determination.

DIALOGUE
You give it back.


Panel 2:
Bigger panel for this one, a landscape view of NATHAN as his right arm reaches around his back, pushing past the jacket he wears - He's obviously reaching around for a weapon. He needs to be positioned awkwardly, half trying to get up by also wanting to keep himself hidden as much as possible, so he's pushing back into the wall behind him.

DIALOGUE
You get to your feet.


Panel 3:
A smaller panel again for this shot. A dynamic close up of NATHAN's body from the shoulders up. We can see his eyes are open wider now, but still with that determined look. Coming from the bottom of the panel, we can see the top part of a gun (Another Beretta) being held up, the arm holding it off panel.

DIALOGUE
You take a deep breath.


Panel 4:
This one has to be really dynamic! We're looking at the fire escape from the side, just away from it. NATHAN is now leaning out into the alleyway, his eyes narrowed and crying out as he swings his arm wildly towards the group below, the gun blazing several shots out down into the alleyway; the flash from the barrel should be really bright, lighting up his face as the streaks fly towards the reader. Have two of three shots coming up from off panel, just missing him.

DIALOGUE
You fight back.

SFX
(From NATHAN's gun) BLAM! BLAM!


Panel 5:
Pan down to the three thugs in the alleyway, moments after NATHAN has started to fire at them. We see the bullets raining down from above them, the men starting to scatted but caught in the hail of bullets. THUG 1 is reeling backwards as he take two of the shots in the chest, the splatters of blood flying out around him. The thug behind him to his right - we'll call him THUG 2 - is starting to dive aside, but has caught a bullet in his left shoulder and his face is contorted in pain. THUG 3, to the left, has barely managed to avoid the barrage of fire; he is ducking aside, his weapon halfway down his body as he lets go of it.

THUG 1
HNRGH!

THUG 2
GYAH!

SFX
(From impacts on THUG 1's chest) TNK! THK!


Panel 6:
Cut to a few seconds later, we're looking back down into the alleyway from the fire escape again. We can see the thugs sprawled out on the ally floor - THUG 1 is dead, lying in a growing pool of blood, while THUG's 2 & 3 are starting to pick themselves up. THUG 2 is clutching his wounded shoulder tightly, and we can see him shaking a little from the shock. In the foreground of this shot - Just below the three men - We can see another close up image of NATHAN's hand holding the Beretta, now out of ammo.

DIALOGUE
But that's just the problem, isn't it?


PAGE 6
Layout of page is set into a grid of 6 panels; three down, two across. Panels look like they're overlapping each other, the "top" panel alternating each side (e.g. Top row has the "top" on the left, the next one down on the right etc.)


Panel 1:
We're looking at a zoomed-out view of the fire escape, halfway between the bottom tier and the next one. We're looking at NATHAN as he is running up the stairs between tiers, seen to be moving quite fast.

DIALOGUE
Once you start down that path…

Panel 2:
Cut to a shot of an open window on another building. The curtains inside are blowing out into the open. Inside, the lights are off but we can see the outline of a man standing there, facing to the side as he looks down at something.

DIALOGUE
… You're more or less stuck on it.


Panel 3:
Cut back to the fire escape - Now zoomed in a little closer - we can see NATHAN still running. He is on a higher tier now, just finished climbing the stairs and running along the platform to the next set of steps. The tier above looks to be the top of the fire escape, the bottom of the roof's ladder visible in this shot.

DIALOGUE
Always running…


Panel 4:
Cut back to the window. We're now much closer to it, able to see the figure standing in the window better, yet his figure is still overshadowed. The man has his arms out in front of him, assembling something in front of him.

DIALOGUE
Always fighting…


Panel 5:
Still with the mystery man in the window, we can see him a lot clearer now; still overshadowed but able to make out the details of his body. He is quite thin, very short hair cut into spikes, and wearing a tight fitting t-shirt. We can see his hands clearer too, and are able to see him screwing the barrel of a rifle into the main body of it.

DIALOGUE
Always suffering…


Panel 6:
Cut back to the fire escape. Close up of NATHAN from the side, as he starts climbing the final ladder that leads to the rooftop. NATHAN's forehead is covered in sweat as he looks up slightly, and we can see the dark rings under his eyes.

DIALOGUE
It never has to be that way.


PAGE 7
This page consists of three panels; one big splash as the main panel, with two smaller panels at the bottom of the page that sit over the main splash.

Panel 1:
SPLASH:
We're inside the darkened room of the building, looking over the shoulder of the sniper from behind as he looks out of the window. We can barely see the figure of NATHAN emerging from the other side of the building, reaching the top of the fire escape. From this point of view, we can clearly see the rooftop of the building across the street. The sniper is holding the rifle up, looking through the scope as he takes aim.

DIALOGUE 1
(In top right hand corner) There are such things as second chances.

DIALOGUE 2
(Below first box) There is more to life.


Panel 2:
Close up, sideways view of NATHAN as he reaches to rooftop, ready to push himself forward from the railings and sprint across the roof.

NO DIALOGUE


Panel 3:
Cut back to the room. We are now looking at a close up of the sniper's scope, looking down it towards him. This fills the entire panel. We can see a big, distorted view of the man's eye, the centre of it is black with no colour to it.

NO DIALOGUE


PAGE 8
The page layout is for three panels; two smaller panels at the top and bottom of the page, with a bigger picture dominating the middle.


Panel 1:
Close up of the end of the sniper rifle, the end of the barrel exploding in sparks as the shot is fired through the silencer. The image should look like it is starting to follow the bullet from the gun, blurring in the background.

SFX
(From Silencer) PFT

DIALOGUE
Too bad…


Panel 2:
This would be one of the pivotal shots of the whole prologue. Frontal image of NATHAN from the waist up as he stands at the top of the fire escape, looking stunned. The shot fired from the rifle has hit him in the chest, where his heart would be. The blood splatter is quite big, droplets flying in all directions. Everything should look like he's reeling back; jacket blowing out slightly, arms jutting out. His eyes are wide open, the pupils nothing but dots in the middle.

SFX
(From bullet wound) THNK!


Panel 3:
Close up of NATHAN from the side, a few seconds after the shot has hit him. He is starting to lean backwards, head tilted down a little as he looks at the wound in his chest. The splatters of blood are flying around him, a thin slither of blood drooling from his mouth.

NATHAN
Gkt…

DIALOGUE
… I never realized it in time.


PAGE 9
Now we’re back to the four panel, descending from which we used back on page 1. The same setting as before, this time we’re going to follow the aftermath of the last page.


Panel 1:
This one is going to be an exact copy of page 1’s panel – Cityscape at night, side of building with the bottom of the fire escape showing.

DIALOGUE
Just like that…


Panel 2:
Same again, only this time we’re getting the silhouetted figure of NATHAN starting to appear from the top of the panel. He should be appearing head first, his head and shoulders visible as he twists in mid-plummet.

DIALOGUE
… Everything I was…


Panel 3:
Now we have a shot of NATHAN falling still, but his body more in shot than the last one. His head and part of his shoulders have disappeared off panel, his arms outstretched slightly as he falls quickly. There should be small blackened blobs falling alongside him, indicating the blood from the bullet wound.

DIALOGUE
… Everything Nathan Rayners could have been…


Panel 4:
Final shot of the alleyway. NATHAN has disappeared off scene; all there is left now are the droplets of blood that followed him down, in varying sizes.

DIALOGUE
… Was gone.

SFX (Bottom of panel, where NATHAN would have fallen)
WHUMP


PAGE 10
Last page of the prologue. Page is split into two again, the first panel taking up most of the page, and a smaller panel at the bottom to end it on a cliff-hanger.

Panel 1:
The aftermath of what happened over the last two pages; an angular shot of the floor of the alley from above, looking down at NATHAN as he lies dead. He is lying peacefully, eyes closed and skin pale. His right hand is placed on his chest, just below the bullet wound. His white shirt is stained with blood. As he lies there, we can see the feet of the remaining thugs as they stand around him.

DIALOGUE 1 (Starting in top left of panel)
And that’s my story.

DIALOGUE 2 (Directly beneath DIALOGUE 1)
I chose my path, and ended up consumed by it.

DIALOGUE 3 (Again, below the previous DIALOGUE box)
And that was the end of me.

DIALOGUE 4 (jumping now to the bottom right of the page)
Only thing is…


Panel 2
Ending on an easy one. Panel is just completely blank, nothing but black filling the small space.

DIALOGUE (Bottom right of the panel)
… It wasn’t.

CAPTION
End prologue.


PAGE 11
Cutting to an entirely different scene now, we are going to keep the readers in suspense a little longer while we start setting the scene for things to come.

Page 1:
Cut to; a wide shot of the countryside at night, looking out across the overshadowed trees. In the distance, between the landscape and the night sky, we can see the faint glow coming from the city. Power lines run from this spot, coming towards us and disappearing off panel.

Here, we are going to introduce three characters; MILLY, TOBI and SIAN, three family members on a farm.

CAPTION
Now.

MILLY
(Off panel, shouting) BETSY!


Panel 2:
Wide shot again, not looking down at the group. MILLY is the youngest of the trio, freckles on her face and hair tied behind her in a short ponytail; she is standing facing the reader, hands to her mouth as she shouts. TOBI is the elder brother, short brown hair and narrow eyes, well built as if used to heavy lifting; he is glancing over his shoulder at the younger MILLY, looking unimpressed. SIAN, the middle sister, has longer hair than her younger sibling, letting it hang over her shoulders; she is facing away from us, holding the sleek looking flashlight as she searches in the undergrowth.

All three are wearing the same outfit; a worker’s uniform, plain but with some little details, leaving a subtle hint we are not in the same time as the prologue.

MILLY
BETSY? Come on, girl!

TOBI
Man, can’t believe I’m out here babysitting you…


Panel 3:
Closer shot of SIAN as she looks over her shoulder, looking annoyed at her brother as he glances back at her, clearly not amused by the situation.

SIAN
C’mon, Tobi…

SIAN (Link)
You can’t tell me you’re not worried about Betsy too.

TOBI
Pfft.

TOBI (Link)
(Quiet) Whatever…

SFX
(Coming from off panel)CRIK


Panel 4:
Another close shot, this time getting all three siblings into frame. MILLY is closest to us, turning her head quickly at the noise just heard, and a confused look on her face. We can see SIAN and TOBI in the background, obviously still talking but noticing the sound too.

MILLY
Hm?

MILLY (Link)
Betsy?


Panel 5:
A wide shot again, this time from within the undergrowth. We can see the silhouettes of the three siblings (MILLY front and centre, the others flanking her) through the branches, their flashlights the only light seen here.

Also in this shot, very discreetly, we can see some shapes like long, slender talons blended into the bushes; these will come into play very soon, and also much later in the story.

MILLY
Are you there girl?


PAGE 12

Panel 1:
Another shot of the three siblings, all turning in shock as they hear another noise, just to the left of where the three were facing in the last panel.

SFX
(Bottom of panel) SKRNSH
Panel 2:
Here we have a small shot of the sibling’s dog, BETSY – something like a Bloodhound, a type of dog that wouldn’t suit the name – Looking up at the reader, illuminated by the light of the group’s torches. BETSY’s face looks a picture of innocence, tongue hanging out as she pants and tilts her head slightly.


Panel 3:
Another shot of MILLY and TOBI, the elder boy resting his hand on his forehead as if in denial he was spooked by the dog, and MILLY starting to run forward, an overjoyed look on her face as she sees the pet.

MILLY
BETSY!

TOBI
(Quiet) Oh boy…


Panel 4:
Shot looking down at the group in the clearing, as if looking from one of the trees. We can see MILLY as she kneels in front of BETSY, the dog jumping up a little to meet her owner. SIAN is walking towards her, her arms held out either side of her. TOBI doesn’t move, simply looking at MILLY and the dog as he crosses his arms.

In the foreground of the shot we can also see the silhouette of a thick tree branch at the bottom of the panel, with something long and slender snaking around it like a vine.

MILLY
There you are girl. We were worried sick about you.

BETSY
ARF!

SIAN
I don’t get it…


PAGE 13

Panel 1:
A side shot of MILLY, SIAN and BETSY. MILLY is still kneeling, the dog sitting up as it looks at her, panting happily that she has been found. SIAN is standing to the side of her sister (The side furthest from us), leaning down as she looks at BETSY. MILLY is looking up at her sister.

SIAN
Why would Betsy just run off like that? One minute she was fine, the next she just bolted.

MILLY
Beats me…

MILLY (Link)
Maybe she saw a cat or something. Dogs hate cats, right?

TOBI (Off Panel)
Come on…


Panel 2:
Shot of TOBI as he points the flashlight at the two girls, looking irritated at them and clearly wanting to go home.

TOBI
Can we please go home now? Ma and Pa will be worried about us otherwise.
SIAN
Tobi you jerk, we’re just-


Panel 3:
Cutting back to the two sisters, MILLY and SIAN reel back a bit as BETSY leaps back suddenly, barking at the two girls as she backs away. Both girls look shocked at this, MILLY raising her hands to try and ease her.

SIAN
Woah!

BETSY
ARF! ARF!

MILLY
Easy girl.


Panel 4:
Looking over the two girl’s shoulders, we see BETSY looking up at them both, crouching and snarling madly as they look on at her.

MILLY
Come on girl, it’s just us…

SFX
(From BETSY) GRRRRR


Panel 5:
Wide shot now, looking up at the three siblings from BETSY’s point of view. SIAN and MILLY are to the left of the panel, still looking at her in confusion and daring not to go nearer. The majority of the panel is taken up by what is going on behind them, as we see TOBI standing there, still looking at the dog displeased. While he looks towards us, we can see the silhouettes of shapes emerging from the undergrowth; long, snakelike tendrils that swirl around in the air. The heads of these are pointing towards the boy, made up of three pronged talons that are open wide, as if ready to snatch him away.

MILLY
What’s wrong?


PAGE 14

Panel 1:
Cut to; the farmhouse where the sibling’s live. We are looking into the kitchen through the window as we see their mother – Just for the purpose of this; we’ll call her AUDREY – looking out through the window as she stands by the counter. She is a fairly old lady, looking like the more traditional housewife.


Panel 2:
Still outside, we are looking at a landscape shot of the house. The house itself is pretty old, but there seems to be too many features out of place; satellite dishes pointing in different direction, a high tech generator on the side of the house etc, giving us more of a hint in what sort of times we are in right now.

It’s still night time, and we can see the path arcing around from the front door and into the distance, past a freshly tilled field. About halfway between the house and the edge of the landscape, we can see two figures running towards us, one holding a flashlight as they move as fast as they can, the second too small to be human.


Panel 3:
Cut to; back inside the house again, this time to the lounge. We are in the centre of the room, looking towards the doorway leading to the kitchen. AUDREY is leaning around the door and into the lounge, looking across at the siblings’ father, HAROLD as he sits in a chair, just noticing her as she speaks. HAROLD looks the typical farmer, still dressed in his work clothes, albeit the top half of the overall is off and tied around his waist by the sleeves. But he is an old man, with thinning hair on his head as he reads a novel, looking over his glasses.
We can’t see much of the room here, but it looks more modern than a typical, traditional farmhouse. The only source of light in the room coming from the lamp by HAROLD’s side, positioned on the side table.

AUDREY
Harold dear, I think the kids are on the way back.

HAROLD
About damn time…


Panel 4:
Cut to; back outside, now on the path leading to the house. We are at ground level right now, focused on BETSY as the dog runs at full pelt, looking ahead of her – She is scared, and we can clearly see that. Just behind the dog, we can see a pair of legs running along with her; right now we can’t see who it is exactly, but it is MILLY.

SFX
(Towards top of panel, coming from MILLY) HFF HFF


Panel 5:
Cut to; back inside the house, where we’re still in the lounge. We are now facing HAROLD and AUDRY as they are walking through the room. HAROLD is facing us, looking tired and displeased as he starts walking towards the hallway, AUDREY following him.

HAROLD
I keep telling that girl to keep that animal tied up at nights. Stupid dog.

AUDREY
Oh, you know Milly loves playing with that dog…


Panel 6:
We are out in the hallway, looking down the hallway from the side of the front door. We can see AUDREY and HAROLD coming through the doorway, him looking over his shoulder and away from the door as he talks back to his wife. On the far left of the panel, we can see the front door swinging open quickly, MILLY starting to run through.

HAROLD
Damn kid needs to learn that there’s more to life than fun and games, Hun.

HAROLD (Link)
And she’s gonna find out the hard way if she…


PAGE 15

Panel 1:
Close up shot of HAROLD and AUDREY as they look around towards the door, their eyes open in shock. AUDREY has her hand over her mouth as she looks past us.

SFX
(From door) SLAM

AUDREY
(Quiet) Oh my Lord…


Panel 2:
Looking up from the floor, we are facing the now closed door and see MILLY sitting against it. The girl’s uniform is caked in mud and her expression is one of disbelief and shock, her eyes wide open as she slouches against the door, staring blankly ahead. Her arms are drooped either side, the flashlight rolling away from her hand.

BETSY is standing just apart from her owner, huddled in the corner with a frightened look on her face.

MILLY
(Quiet) Gone… All gone…

MILLY 2
(Quiet) Couldn’t do…

MILLY 3
(Quiet) Took them…

AUDREY (Off Panel)
MILLY!


Panel 3:
Side shot of MILLY as she keeps staring ahead, catatonic. The only change we can see is the tear welling up in her eye. HAROLD is now kneeling down in front of her, hands on her shoulders as he tries to shake her out of her state, shouting at her. In the background, we can see AUDREY looking on in disbelief.

HAROLD
Milly? Milly!

HAROLD (Link)
Dammit girl, speak to me!

MILLY
All… Gone…


Panel 4:
Same shot, moving on a few seconds and we see both parents turning around at the loud noise behind them. MILLY is still catatonic, the tear rolling down her cheek as she stares into space.

HAROLD
What the—

SFX
(From behind him, leading off panel) KRUNK


PAGE 16
There are five panels on this page, the first four in a grid that makes up the first half of the page, the final panel taking up the rest.

Panel 1:
From the parents POV, we are looking back down into the hallway. In the centre of the floor, we can see a small ring on cracks forming on the wooden floor. Some small pieces of shrapnel are flying up, as if something is ramming it from below.

SFX
KRUNK


Panel 2:
Close up of the floor, looking back at AUDREY and HAROLD as they look at it. The centre of the circle is starting to rise up more, the wooden panels breaking and splintering from the force.

SFX
KK-KRNCH


Panel 3:
Again, we’re focusing on the impact zone on the floor, this time on a really tight shot of it. Here we can see something starting to push through; the tip of something sharp.

SFX
KR-K-KRIK-


Panel 4:
Moving back a bit, we are looking down the hall and back at the group by the door. Now the area of the floor has exploded; pieces of wood flying out in all directions as AUDREY and HAROLD jump, watching as something pushes out through the ground. We cannot see exactly what it is, only a large object that shoots straight up into the air.

SFX
KRRRISHH


Panel 5:
Wide shot of the family as they cower by the door; MILLY is still out of it, and we can see tears streaming down her face more and more. HAROLD is simply staring is disbelief, his face twisting in disgust at what he sees. AUDREY is loosing it, shrieking in fear as she falls to the floor, shielding herself with her arms. BETSY is the only one defiant, standing between her owners and whatever has emerged as she snarls madly.

Though we cannot see what has emerged, their shadows are cast on the back wall for us to see; as before in the last scene with TOBI, we can see silhouettes of three snake like entities, their heads made up of what looks like three pronged talons.

MILLY (Quiet)
All… Dead…

SFX
(From heads of the silhouettes) KZZZZZZZKT


PAGE 17
This page consists of four panels, very much like Page 1; all the panels are of the same scene, bringing to an end this part of the chapter. These images here are acting as a background between two other people.

Panel 1:
A portrait shot of the farmhouse from the outside. We are facing right down the path at it, and we see the lights on through the windows, and the two bright lights on the house’s porch illuminating it. Around the edges of the house, we can see movement coming up from the ground, twisted shapes emerging.

DIALOGUE (1st Person)
It’s confirmed.


Panel 2:
Same shot, now we are seeing the shapes burst forth from the ground, starting to encircle and burst through the walls and windows of the house. Some of the lights from before have gone out now.

DIALOGUE 1 (2nd Person)
Are we sure?

DIALOGUE 2 (1st Person)
Positive.


Panel 3:
More shapes have appeared, reaching into the house. All the lights are out now, and it looks like the house is collapsing in on itself, roof and walls buckling as it starts to be sucked into the ground.

DIALOGUE (1st Person)
We’ve been tracking them the last 72 hours.


Panel 4:
Final shot, and whatever is inside the house is crushed as it is sucked hard into the ground, a burst of debris flying up from the middle as the centre buckles inwards, the rest of the house slowly following.

DIALOGUE (1st Person)
And Watchpost Epsilon confirms a match in the southern area of the country.


PAGE 18

Panel 1:
Cut to; a cityscape at night. We are at rooftop height right now; we can see some stars in the sky but the main source of light coming from the skyscrapers littering the area. The main focus of the panel is the nearest tower, which oddly has no lights on it at all.

We are now with the two characters who were talking in the last page; namely KAITH TSIN, who will be one of our major characters, and his superior RIAL.

DIALOGUE (KAITH)
They’re here.


Panel 2:
Cut to; inside the building. We’re now in a dimly lit room. We have two figures – KAITH (On the left) and RIAL – walking away from us along a row of tables and monitors. We can only see them from the shoulders down, keeping their identities a secret for now. All we can see of them right now is that they are dressed in long, robe-like garments that cover their thing frames. There are no lights on overhead, only the glow of the screens illuminating them barely.

KAITH
We don’t have all the readings in right now, but the zone of impact seems to be an agricultural farmland in southern region of Georgia.

RIAL
Do we have an estimate?


Panel 3:
Side view of the two figures, their faces still hidden as they walk. We can see the monitors more clearly, showing images of figures in laboratories working.

KAITH
Judging from the readings that Epsilon gave us, they’re pretty contained. A small unit.

RIAL
Least we know the countermeasures are still working.

KAITH
Agreed. And seeing as it’s a minimal threat, I-


Panel 4:
Circling round now, we are facing them as they walk towards us. We cannot see their arms right now, the sleeves drooping over them.

RIAL 1
You want me to authorise the go-ahead on your little pet project, I know.

What I don’t know is why I should? We are still working in other, more effective areas, whereas yours has shown only the bare minimal.

RIAL 2 (Link)
I’m not entirely sure I can condone any more wasted resources.


Panel 5:
Back behind the two, we can see they have reaches a door. RIAL is reaching up as he taps in a clearance code on the small outlet on the wall. KAITH is turning to face him, his arms out in expression as he explains himself.

KAITH 1
If I may…

KAITH 2 (Link)
I admit the project hasn’t made many leaps and bounds since it began. But from what results we have seen, we are only scratching the surface of their potential. And this one is the next step.

RIAL
… Go on.

SFX
(From keypad) PIK PIK PIK


PAGE 19

Panel 1:
A wide shot, looking down and along a brightly lit hallway on the other side of the door. RIAL and KAITH are just stepping though the opened door, greeted with white walls and floor which stretches in a straight line. The hall itself looks very futuristic, the walls consisting of plain panels, and at the joints where the wall and floor meet we have a thin strip of lighting which runs all the way along.

KAITH
When we started, we were second guessing ourselves. Now we know what we’re doing.

Each and every subject has proved to be better than their predecessor, and now we have the chance to push the testing even further. What we’re looking at is the next-

RIAL 1 (Cutting in)
“Next step in evolution”, I know this speech.

RIAL 2 (Link)
You still haven’t answered my question, Kaith.

SFX
(From door) TSSSSSSHH


Panel 2:
Another front shot of them, the light revealing more details of their garments. KAITH is facing his superior, who only seems to glance at his as KAITH keeps talking.

KAITH 1
Because…

Because your resources outclass mine, and together we could make this the crowning achievement in my work… And perhaps offer a more permanent solution to what’s to come.

KAITH 2 (Link)
With you as its saviour.
RIAL
…


Panel 3:
Looking at them from the side, we can see RIAL contemplating as KAITH looks on.

RIAL
Very well… Though I have to say…


Panel 4:
We see RIAL starting to walk ahead of his subordinate, and though we cannot see his face his body language shows him as more upbeat, as if gaining a personal victory.

RIAL
It’s a long winded way of saying “I need your help”.


PAGE 20

Panel 1:
A wide shot, looking down into a large room. The walls curve around in a wide arc and bathed in a bright green glow. A small door situated in an archway opens, white light pouring in from the other side as KAITH and RIAL’s small figures enter.

RIAL
You can start the regeneration process right away, by that time I should have the appropriate clearance. And then…


KAITH
They’ll be some surgery needed, general augmentation… With any luck, 48 hours from now he will be ready to go.


Panel 2:
Another wide shot, positioned behind RIAL and KAITH as they walk deeper into the room. We can see now the source of the green light; numerous columns, glowing a bright neon green that stretch up to the room ceiling. This is the two’s first full body shot, albeit silhouetted.

RIAL 1
One other thing.

RIAL 2 (Link)
I will be merging this project with the Familiars. They will be charged with keeping an eye on his progress.

KAITH
I… Understand.


Panel 3:
Another shot looking down, this time closer to the nearest column. We can see clearly that these tubes are filled with liquid, bubbles rising up through the tube. RIAL and KAITH are approaching its base, talking amongst themselves.

KAITH
Thank you for your help on this… Despite our differences, I know we can make this work.

RIAL
I’m sure we will…


Panel 4:
Looking from the side in a tight shot, we are finally looking at KAITH and RIAL’s faces as they look at the tube, bathed in the green light. We can see a face which is a mix of humanoid and your typical appearance of an alien. We are mainly focused on their eyes, which are narrow and slightly oval, with dark centres to them, and we can see their noses to be virtually non-existent. The rest of the head is hairless, and the only distinguishing feature of them is the facial lines. It is of note here that KAITH’s features are more human than alien.

RIAL
… But do you think he will?

KAITH
Of course…


PAGE 21
SPLASH
A full view of the glowing tube that RIAL and KAITH are standing in front. We can see the liquid that is inside swirling around gently, small bubbles rising up from the bottom. Inside, naked and in a deep slumber, is NATHAN. His hair seems to have been shortened since we saw him in the first few pages, stubble shaved away from his face and generally looking healthy. The only blemish on his figure that we see is the round scar in the dead centre of his chest, from the bullet that struck him down.

In the foreground we can see the thin figures of RIAL and KAITH as they look up at him. KAITH seems more interested, RIAL off to the side slightly as he listens as KAITH speaks. Although they are darkened out by the light in front of them, we can see their stances a little better here, and how thin and inhuman they look.

KAITH
There’s more to him than what you see…

OUTRO CAPTION
To Be Continued…