Hi fellow Steemians,
Just a brief intro this started as something I had an idea about and I being the older brother of 5 sisters and am very protective of all of them just played with an idea for a bit and I realized something about myself. I would do anything and everything to keep my family safe. I've had my share of troubles among my parents as I'm sure most people have but ultimately I love all of them with all of my being. My two youngest sisters really inspired these thoughts along with my love for sci-fi, well done CGI, and apocalyptic movie's. If there's anyone who inspired the main character I'd like to think it was me but more so than myself is a combination of my father, my younger brother, as well as myself. If anyone is familiar with most versions of superman's alter ego Clark Kent I grew up with a very strong admiration of his character and though he may not seem very present in this script I'd like to leave a hint at the feeling of "others first" and "hope" that the Man of steel stand for are very present in Dustin's character. Anyhow without further adue please feel free to critique this piece if you so please and If you enjoy It leave a comment and let me know and I might publish the full script once it's finished. Grammar Nazis invited! I try my best to be as grammatically correct as possible but I understand I make mistakes and haven't proofread my own piece yet and so am not sure if i've made any mistakes. Thanks for reading enjoy!
Dustin Hanson
2/1/18
The Guardian From Tempest
Introduction:
(As monologue comes on the camera slowly pans through the streets of a trash filled polluted futuristic neon world)
Narrator: They told us our planet got too dirty to live on
(flashback of USA president deeming a state of emergency due to the pollution
President: My fellow Americans, As of December 11th at 10:21am 3124 We are declaring a national state of emergency, we are working with the nations of the world to dedicate all possible resources to cleaning up the planet! (audience claps)
Camera pans out from holographic projection in a home with a family watching intently
Family Mom: It’s about time we started doing something)
Narrator: They tried coming together to cleanup and save us is what they told us.
(camera pans through rundown empty businesses and schools)
Narrator: See it kinda gave everyone hope. We could all see how bad everything was and we figured the planets days where numbered and humanity would just fade away from ever having existed. The climates where intense. Half the planet was already freezing. But that was normal for our generation we overcame these environments.
(camera pans to a trashed functional city covered in ice and the masses going about their day as usual wearing very heavy clothing)
Narrator: What they didn’t tell us was that the whole cleanup effort was a cover up. With the project never having come to fruition the people started to get restless(flashback to people starting riots), governments where on the brink of toppling the people where threatening officials and their families until finally we got a response. Five years after the cleanup announcement we received this transmission
(Flashback: USA President alongside world leaders are standing at a podium in front of the base of a not yet visible massive set of space ships covered by canvases.
President: My fellow Americans and people of the world, Today marks a new day in the history of mankind. Today we embark on a journey man has only dreamed of being capable of for the past thousand years. Today ladies and gentlemen I stand before you presenting you with the only solution to the necessary survival of mankind. Today we received word from our space program on mars and we have successfully been able to both harvest a crop from plantations we’ve introduced and we’ve been able to successfully alter the atmosphere and it has become a habitable environment. We apologize deeply for the cleanup. We tried the process, we must have ran it through a million stimulations but all failed. We brought the brightest minds to collaborate on this but we where unfruitful. But from that failure stemmed a solution. We had an entire world and all its resources collaborating in harmony, we didn’t need to stop at a failed cleanup, we quickly realized we could see further than that of this doomed rock! But we could try molding a new rock. And from the fruits we’ve been able to bear I stand here before you NOT AS YOUR PRESIDENT, but as your ambassador. I take all the pride in the world to having the honor of presenting you to the Mayflower!
Canvases drop from the ships and the camera pans out to see the row of twenty colossal space ships)
Scene 1:
(Starts out with camera in the truck and phone dialing tone over the cars stereo.)
Dad: (answers phone) Hello!
Dustin: Hey Dad, Just calling to check in on you we’re on our way to the house right now.
Dad: Oh Hey, awesome alright no problem we just got done watching the announcement the whole family is over right now. Did you tune in to it or anything?
Dustin: Um no actually did they say anything about the cleanup? The least they could do is clean these damn roads. The other night me and Jenny where driving home from down south and we almost smacked into this freakin pileup there was no signs no nothing it was just there thing looked old as hell too unfortunately for us there wasn’t any traffic to follow which might’ve helped if we where following someone who knew the area. Anyways so how’s it going at the house? Have you guys figured out if it’s a boy or a girl yet?
Dad: Umm Dustin We’ll talk when you get here. The announcement was more than just important. I’ll see you in a bit son.(hangs up)
(Dustin and Jenny look at each other confused)
Dustin: huh must’ve been something real special.
Scene 2:
(Dustin and Jenny walk in the door and everyone greets them. Jenny walks off with older sister and mom excitedly making small talk and Dustin walks off with the two younger brothers and the brother in law who are still watching announcements over the news.
News anchor: the released printed copy of the migration plan states that the migration from planet to planet is a several year process due to the ships only being able to carry so many people at a time and since the resources available to fuel the ships are still immensely underdeveloped on mars than that of earth. Everyone will be assigned a number to determine their turn to board the ship the numbers will be called randomly as soon as selection starts and everyone will have 24hrs to reach one of the many locations across the globe where these ships will be stationed otherwise the number will be reassigned to a new random number and the missed number will be put into a pool that will be pulled from after everyone has had their turn to try getting on. Please Keep that in mind IN OTHER WORDS IF YOU MISS YOUR PICKUP TO DEPART YOU WILL BE ONE OF THE LAST TO LEAVE THE PLANET! Instructions for acquiring your number will be announced shortly.)
Dustin: What the hell is she on about leaving the planet???
Christian(younger brother): You missed it. The announcement said the cleanup failed. They ditched it so we could all kick it on mars.
Jesse(other younger brother): They couldn’t clean us up. Were just gonna have abandon an entire world… haha I think I played a game like this once.
Dustin: (sarcastically) Oh shut the hell up, (*chuckles) where’s Dad you guys?(he says as he exits the room to go search)
(Dustin wanders around the house and bumps into mom)
Dustin: hey Mom any idea where Dad is?
Mom: I think he’s on the phone out back
(camera cuts to him walking out the back door to find his dad on the phone as he stands and waits for the call to end)
Dad: (into the phone) Yes Sir, I look forward to hearing back. Also, Thank you. (phone hangs up)
(Talking to Dustin) : Has anyone filled you in?
Dustin: Are you serious? This isn’t a joke? The cleanup actually failed?
Dad: Yep, and that was the agricultural department of the Mars program I just got off the phone with. They are inviting me and my current family to be some of the first on mars due to our roots in farming. But they need me on one of the first ships out… Dustin I need to know if you’ll help me with this, I can’t leave the family unless someone takes care of them because I won’t abandon them but they promised it would just be a couple years process before they got all of us moved otherwise we might be waiting for the next ten years I was told. They need farmers and scientists to cultivate the land and develop everything to ensure a survivable environment for the masses. They need people like us up there. I’ll call them back and tell them yes right now but I need to know you’ll take care of them till your called I wont ask anything of you past that. Just till your number is called son. So what’re you thinking?
Dustin: I think they’re gonna get one hell of a farmer if he doesn’t spray the crop with weed killer and get thrown into space for sabotage haha
(they hug)
Dustin: We’re gonna miss you Dad but I’m proud of you. Make sure you get a lot of land! And oh hey make sure you get life insurance, if things get too rowdy down here before my number is called I’m gonna go up there and kill you myself to collect my payment for the bullshit Jackie(older sister) and her husband put me through haha!
Dad: How about I take a life insurance policy out in them and if they get too much then ill vouch for you in court after their deaths and we split that money haha!
(They walk back in the house as the camera pans out to reveal the small plantation growing amongst the piles of debris and rubble and garbage.
Scene 3:
(camera overhead while the family is saying goodbye to their dad as he’s boarding the first ship amongst all the other famers and scientists and engineers also saying bye and boarding.)
Narrator: First He went but there was quickly our first issue
(Mom getting rushed down the halls of the hospital on a gurney about to give birth screaming down the hallway)
Narrator: She was born only two months after my Dad left, Her name was Lindsey.
(camera pans to newborn sleeping in the nursery room of a hospital amongst the other babys.)
Narrator: See the issue wasn’t anything to do with not wanting another little sister or my parents not wanting another kid because we all actively and vividly awaited her arrival. We where all ready to love this child we all waited to receive but then we got the news.
(Camera Pans to Dad on Mars Yelling at a commanding officer)
Dad: WHAT DO YOU MEAN I CAN’T BRING MY NEWBORN UP WITH MY WIFE? SHES A FUCKING BABY!
Commanding Officer: Calm down Sir, what I’m saying is that your contract stated that your current family at the time of the signing where the ones eligible for the opportunity to be one of the firsts there was nothing stated about any new additions you might have because by doing so we’d have to give up another promised seat to a random number. And you know as well as I there’s an entire planet on that waiting list.
Dad: SHE’S A BABY DAMNIT ROB!!! (now weeping) What am I supposed to do. I can’t just leave her there. My wife was pregnant before I signed, there has to be something, someone you can talk to.
Commanding officer: Since she was pregnant before you signed I can talk to a few people see what I can find out but don’t get your hopes up I honestly have no clue where this will go but you can rest assured I will find out what I can and I’ll be in touch as soon as I find anything out.
Narrator: He tried for months, with no success, finally came time and my mom’s number was called Lindsey was left in my sisters care and one by one my family’s numbers where called until finally it was just me, the baby, and Jenny. By this time 3 years had passed New super cities had developed around the extraction sites. Pretty much everywhere else was vacant. By this time most of the valuable resources had been exported to mars. The only food anyone had was the food we either farmed if we could even pull off farming in this wasted unfertile soil, or scavenging to try finding places that haven’t already been looted or trying to hunt what little of the wildlife was left. I was one of the fortunate few that never had to leave my parents farm we didn’t have much but we where able to produce enough to provide for three. We where living comfortably just waiting the days out.
(Dustin walks into the house from the garden bringing fruits and a chicken)
Dustin: Hey baby, anything new on the next extraction numbers for next month?
Jenny: No not yet, I think they said something about pushing the announcement till tomorrow afternoon but that was just a rumor I’m not sure how true that was.
Dustin: Ok Jenny, well anything new from mom or Dad?
Jenny: Yes, but first I need to talk to you about something.
Dustin: yea baby what is it everything alright?
(Jenny smiles really big and excited)
Jenny: Well something big happened, something big, something beautiful, and something also really small.
Dustin: That doesn’t make any sense, is that a riddle? Did I miss something?
Jenny: No, but I’d hate for you to miss out on what I’m talking about. (she grabs his hand and puts it on her stomach)
Dustin: Oh, I see where this is going (he grabs her waist and starts kissing her neck) Is Lindsey asleep?
Jenny: (Pushes away) haha no so stop that. (she grabs his hands again and puts them on her stomach again and looks at him intently and excited.)
(holographic call comes in from dad and is answered automatically)
Dad: Oh, good you already told him!
Jenny: No No No! No No (panicking hangs up)
Dustin: what the heck was that about
Jenny: haha babe I’m pregnant (she smiles and hugs him.)
Dustin: (extatically) How far along are you? How long have you known?
Jenny: I just found out today, I called your Mom and Dad to let them know and they said they’re not 100% sure but they’re pretty confident I’m gonna be on the next ship. Then it’s just you two. You’re gonna be fine watching Lindsey by yourself babe I know you will. Besides you’ve got the dogs to help hold down the fort and It’s just the two of you left it can’t possibly be that much longer before you’re with us.
(Dustin walks around the kitchen and starts nervously fidgeting with a fake fruit)
Dustin: I’m happy baby I am but it’ll be the first time I’ve actually been alone since everyone started leaving. I could go a few years without seeing mom or Dad or the kids but It’s just gonna be hard seeing you go even for a day. I love you baby. I’ll have to make do but I can’t wait to finally hold you in my arms our new home. You’re not allowed to have that baby without me there! Haha You better hold that sucker in if it takes a year otherwise this kids gonna think a hologram is his dad and he’s not gonna know what feeling like a disappointment from day one feels like haha (he says sarcastically as she eyeballs him)
Jenny: (she sarcastically says) uh hu hand the you get to have a watermelon implanted, and you get to hold that thing for however long you have me stuck holding a baby deal? Haha
Dustin: Deal haha!
Lindsey: (enters room rubbing her eyes) I’m thirsty.
Dustin: (picks her up) alrighty let me get you a cup then and then I’ll sing you a song like daddy does to put you to sleep. How does that sound?
Lindsey: (Smiles) Ok
Dustin: (fills a cup of water and gives it to her and carries her off to bed and starts to softly sing) From this valley the say you are going, we will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile, for you take with part of the sunshine that has brightened our pathway awhile…
(fades to Marty Robins singing Red river valley as they hug and wave Jenny off as she’s getting on the ship)
Narrator: Someone in the crowd was screaming that day as the ships took off, he was yelling and screaming at the top of his lungs for them to wait. A rather large group started showing up soon after.
(Shows thousands of people pouring in getting angry and violent)
Narrator: It wasn’t long after that the riots started
(Flashback: Molotov’s being thrown in the street at officers and at the space shuttles landing pads and equipment.)
Scene 4:
6 months later
(Heavy panting, camera is focused on a dog’s(German shepherd) feet as its running in the snow through an abandoned neighborhood being chased, yelled at and shot at. Swerving though yards climbing through abandoned houses the dog finally decides to hideout in a small dark hole behind a tattered sofa. The hunters scatter as they walk around quietly trying to find the dog while whistling and trying to lure him with a dead rabbit but the dog stays put. When suddenly from behind the dog a hunter pops up and grabs him by the collar)
Hunter1: (Dog Whimpering and whining) Haha you thought you could run ole boy huh. Hey, Doug, I got em! Should I save him so he’s fresher for dinner or should I shoot him now?
(hunter looks around confused and shouts) Doug? Hey, Doug, where’d you go? (Hunter wanders around carrying the still alive dog by the collar to his truck and by now the dog has started trying to fight and bite.)
Oh, Shut the hell up dog you wanna get rough I’ll slit your throat now and save the ammo.
(Suddenly a voice is heard chuckling)
Dustin: “Funny I had the same Idea”
And a body falls from the building next to the truck and slams down onto the pickup to reveal its Doug. The hunter drops the dog in fright and surprise. The dog doesn’t run instead he starts to growl and bark at the hunter. The hunter took a step back but found something ice cold touching his neck and a quiet voice behind him saying
Dustin: “So you thought it was a smart move to come after one of my dogs. (he take the pistol from the hunters holster) So here’s the deal I can kill you now and It’ll be done and my dogs will be safe from you… but if I do that then someone else might try the same stupid shit, so if I let you live and you somehow manage to survive the weather then maybe word might spread about how protective I am of my dogs and no one will try this again hopefully. (Dustin takes the blade off of the hunters neck and points the pistol at him as he walks over and pops the hood on the hunters truck) So here’s the deal I think both of us like option 2 better (He pulls out the car battery and lights a cigar) do you smoke?
Hunter: No Sir
Dustin: Good, me either I just carry this when I wanna light a fire, it’s easier to find cigarettes than lighter fluid after all, however for some reason a cigar is a little harder to find then cigarettes… No matter though as you can see I’ve got one of those too I just like to save them for special occasions you see and while I’ve never blown up a truck before this should be a cool first so here’s what I’m gonna do. I am going to give you this cigar and your gonna drop it in that gas tank, if you’re fast you should be able to drop it and run a few feet away fast enough we could only hope, and then I’ll be on my merry way and I’ll leave you to your lonesome.
(Dustin hands the cigar to the hunter and Dustin walks a bit away all while keeping the pistol pointed at him. The hunter walks slowly over to the truck, opens the gas fueling lid, he steps back and throws it into the gas tank and jumps back as the truck explodes in a ball of flames. The Hunter is unscathed and gets up looking for Dustin but he’s gone and so is the dog. Seconds later after the hunter has a sigh of relief A truck whizzes by with the window rolled down)
Dustin: (from the truck yells) Be careful out here I hear there’s a few animals on the loose from the zoo!
Scene 5:
(Back at the house Dustin and Lindsey are sitting at the dinner table eating while the dogs Charlie (German shepherd from last scene) and Sassy (New German shepherd) are eating from their bowls on the ground.)
Dustin: So, did you talk to Mommy and Daddy today?
Lindsey: Uh uh the thingy doesn’t work (she shrugs her shoulders)
Dustin: What doesn’t work sweetheart?
Lindsey: The thingy to see Mommy and Daddy, I was watching it and then it just stopped. So, I went outside and picked some fruit and then I came inside, and I fell asleep. (She says while petting Charlie)
Dustin: Hold on this thingy? (he points to the hologram projector)
Lindsey: Uh huh.
Dustin: (hastily and nervously hits the reset button and waits for the booting screen to load. After a few moments of suspense, the news comes on) Oh phew, you scared me Lindsey. Haha see it still works. (In the background he hears the anchor say In a few hours we’ll be airing the first set of numbers for the next transport ship which will be arriving in a few days.) You see that Lindsey its gonna be your turn and then you get to go see Mommy and Daddy and then I’ll be with you in a few months Isn’t that exciting!?
Lindsey: I get to see mommy and Daddy?
Dustin: uh huh and then Daddy can sing you to sleep every night and give you kisses along with Mommy and Jenny and everyone else haha.
Lindsey: (grins happily)
(Scene cuts to the number calling)
News anchor: and the last few numbers are l-8i927, Z-2c736, and B-1a892
Dustin (shows a look of horror on his face) What.
News anchor: these numbers will be repeated in the same order shortly.
2hrs later
News anchor: and again, the last few numbers are l-8i927, Z-2c736, and B-1a892
Dustin:(looks at the hologram in tears while Lindsey is asleep with her head on his lap. Camera pans to the hologram to reveal the set of numbers along with Dustin’s name and photo showing he has been chosen for the next ship.)
Scene 5:
(Dustin is in the middle of having a holographic conversation with Jenny the next day)
Dustin: Hey Baby, remember the thanksgiving when I got so drunk I accidentally told everyone about our engagement early, but I found you crying on the porch with the girls and when I found out you where crying because you got so drunk it accidentally slipped by you too? Haha, the next morning everyone was laughing at us, but they all still congratulated us… I Love you Jen, and when I’m drunk it may be hard for me to keep a secret but when I’m sober I’ll admit it’s even harder.
Jenny: What do you mean baby? What’s wrong? What happened?
Dustin: I’m probably not gonna see you for a long time Jenny (he breaks down in tears)
Jenny: What do you mean? Baby you’re scaring me.
Dustin: (emotionally struggling to gather himself) They called my number! I watched the numbers twice and they called mine!... I can’t go. I can’t leave Lindsey. She was supposed to be called first. I talked to Dad and he said they told him they’d deal with it that she wasn’t originally on the list because she wasn’t on the contract when he signed… we where fucked from the start. I’m sorry baby.
Jenny: (Starts crying) No, you’re lying! No! I Need you here for this Baby Dustin, Lindsey needs her parents there must be something we can do! Please!
Dustin: I’m sorry Jen, I Love you… (transmission cuts off) puts his face in his hands and starts crying.
(A few seconds later a receiving transmission from Dad starts coming in. Dustin Looks at the hologram for a second and wipes away his tears and answers.)
Dustin: Hey Dad
Dad: Listen very carefully They’re only gonna let me relay this transmission once. The officer who issued my contract is letting me switch yours and Lindsey’s numbers, so you aren’t at the back of the list and she gets to come home now but if she misses this it counts as if you miss this and then she gets reinstated with her old number. This is by no means legal so tell no one and be discreet as possible about this. Make sure she is on that ship no matter what or else you’re fucked! I Love you son, I’ve got to go.
Scene 6:
(early morning on the couch Lindsey wakes Dustin up and points at the hologram)
News anchor: It appears as though we are having some kind of uprising as the ship docking stations are all under attack by who we’ve been told are by the many that have missed their initial departure time and are at the back of the list.
