CHAPTER SEVEN
FADE IN
EXT. MOUNTAIN ROAD – DAY (THUNDERSTORM)
A two-lane road winds around a pine-forested mountainside. A violent thunderstorm darkens the day, rain coming down in blinding sheets. Lightning and thunder are continuous. Headlights come out of the gray gloom, then a police car with all lights flashing appears, moving up the gently sloping road at a slow speed. Behind it is a large (state government) bus, which is followed by another police car with all lights on. As the cars pass, the emblem on the door of the lead police car becomes visible: COLORADO STATE PATROL. On the side of the bus is an emblem with an eagle and American flag that says: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. Below that are the words: FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS.
INT. INSIDE OF PRISON BUS
A BUS DRIVER in a khaki law-enforcement uniform peers through the windshield as the wipers work overtime against the downpour. The lead car is barely visible through the rain. The driver turns his head for an instant to glance behind him.
Two shotgun-armed PRISON GUARDS in khaki uniforms (like the driver’s) sit in seats facing the rear of the bus. The guards look out the windows, ignoring the four PRISONERS in orange jumpsuits and black shoes sitting a short distance in front of them. Two more prison guards are in the back of the bus, one standing. The four prisoners sit one to a seat, all but one also looking out the windows. The bus creaks and rocks, motor grinding as the bus climbs the slope.
One prisoner is not looking out the windows. He is tall and as massively built as a wrestler, his head shaved bald. He sits in a front-row seat with his head down, hands clasped before him, staring at the floor in silence. Like the other prisoners, the bald man’s wrists are cuffed and chained, as are his ankles. The chains pass through a metal loop on the floor of the bus.
The prisoner is revealed to be MUDDY GRIMES, a few years older and grayer than when last seen in Beavis and Butt-head Do America. His face bears healed-over scars partially covered by once-brown Van Dyke beard. Part of a tattoo can be seen on the back of his neck.
The bus driver turns his head and calls back as they pass a road sign.
BUS DRIVER
Bridge comin’ up in a quarter mile.
PRISON GUARD 1
(looking downslope)
River’s lookin’ bad.
BUS DRIVER
Been rainin’ for two days, it oughta look bad.
One prisoner (not Muddy Grimes) gives a twisted smile.
PRISONER
And I didn’t bring my umbrella. Ain’t that the shit.
PRISON GUARD 1
Shut it.
PRISONER
(snarls)
Shut it yourself, asshole.
PRISON GUARD 1
(riled)
Son, you better—
BUS DRIVER
What’s he slowin’ down for?
Everyone but Muddy Grimes turns to face the bus driver.
PRISON GUARD 2
Is the road blocked?
BUS DRIVER
Nah. There’s the . . . whoa. Jesus!
EXT. MOUNTAIN ROAD – DAY (THUNDERSTORM)
The bus rounds a curve. A long, two-lane, metal-framework bridge crossing a valley is visible ahead through the driving rain. Below it is a flooded, rampaging river almost up to the bottom of the bridge. Branches and debris are visible in the raging waters. The bridge creaks and groans. The lead police car has stopped just before the bridge. The bus pulls up behind it, with the second police car stopping behind the bus.
INT. INSIDE OF PRISON BUS
Driver stares in disbelief at the scene ahead. The radio crackles, static audible as lightning flashes.
RADIO VOICE
Bravo 12, this is Car 51, come in, over.
The bus driver picks up the radio handset and speaks.
BUS DRIVER
Bravo 12, over.
RADIO VOICE
We’re going across, but we’re gonna make it fast. You copy?
BUS DRIVER
Roger, real fast. Over and out.
The bus driver hangs up the handset and waits for the police car to move. Behind the driver, the guards and prisoners again look nervously out the windows.
PRISON GUARD 1 (shaking his head)
I don’t believe this.
PRISON GUARD 2
Can’t turn the bus around, can’t just sit here.
Both guards glance at the prisoners, then look out the rainy windows again. Muddy Grimes sits in silence, head down, hands together, elbows on his knees, waiting.
EXT. BRIDGE – DAY (THUNDERSTORM)
The lead police car starts onto the bridge, moving at a slower speed than agreed upon. It begins to accelerate, but not greatly. Behind it, the bus lurches forward and climbs onto the bridge. No other traffic is visible. The last police car hesitates before it too crosses.
EXT. FARTHER UPRIVER – DAY (THUNDERSTORM)
Upstream, a huge fallen tree is partially visible in the raging river, carried along on the powerful current. It is heading for a bridge support near the middle of the span. The lights of the three vehicles are barely visible as they cross the span.
INT. INSIDE OF PRISON BUS
Anxiety is visible in the faces of guards and prisoners alike as they cross the bridge—except for Muddy Grimes, who waits. The metallic groans of the bridge can be heard by all.
EXT. RIVER – DAY (THUNDERSTORM)
The huge floating tree is about to strike the bridge support.
INT. INSIDE OF PRISON BUS
From the bus driver’s POV as he looks through the window, the center of the bridge suddenly bends sideways with a shriek. The middle of the span then collapses and falls out of view, taking the lead police car with it.
The bus driver stamps on the brakes, throwing everyone forward.
BUS DRIVER
(terrified)
Jesus fuckin’ Christ!
EXT. BRIDGE – DAY (THUNDERSTORM)
The bus slides sideways and hits the side of the bridge as it brakes, then is thrown sideways again as the bridge slowly shifts toward downstream. Metal girders howl. The rear police car almost slides into the back of the bus.
INT. INSIDE OF PRISON BUS
Guards and prisoners shout in pandemonium.
PRISON GUARD 1
What the hell is going on?
PRISONERS
(chorus, except Muddy Grimes)
Hey! What the fuck? What’s happening? Back up! Get these chains off!
BUS DRIVER
The bridge is goin’!
EXT. BRIDGE – DAY (THUNDERSTORM)
With a roar, more of the bridge in front of the bus collapses and disappears into the river. The other supports below the bus begin to shift. The rear police car is already backing up at high speed, fishtailing wildly as it goes.
INT. INSIDE OF PRISON BUS
The bus driver desperately tries to back up using the outside mirrors for guidance. One of the prison guards at the rear of the bus runs up the aisle toward the driver, holding his shotgun ahead of him.
Without warning, Muddy Grimes comes out of his seat and grabs the guard’s shotgun, wrenching it from his grip and throwing the guard aside. He then aims the weapon at the floor between his feet and fires. The gunshot is deafening even over the other racket. Guards and prisoners shout as Muddy, still manacled but no longer chained to the floor, knocks down another guard with the butt of the shotgun and runs to the back of the bus. The guard at the back raises his shotgun to fire, but Muddy fires first. Hit, the guard is flung backward and falls. A third shotgun blast from Muddy’s weapon damages the rear door lock. Muddy then hits the rear door with his right shoulder at full throttle, chains rattling behind him.
EXT. BRIDGE – DAY (THUNDERSTORM)
The rear door crashes open and Muddy, still gripping the shotgun, falls out. One of his leg chains snags something inside the bus and pulls him up short. A shotgun blast fired from inside the bus smashes into the swinging rear door.
The remnant of the bridge again shifts, bending in the rushing waters. A support gives way, and the rest of the bridge—bus included—falls into the wild river. Muddy is last seen jerking on his leg chain, trying to pull it free as he goes down with the bus and bridge. After the titanic splash, only a few girders can be seen above the torrent.
The rear police car, battered from running into the sides of the bridge as it backed up, stops on the road at the bridge entrance. Both officers, in raincoats, get out of their car in the downpour to stare in horror at the fallen bridge in the river. The officer standing by the open driver’s door picks up the radio handset. Lightning flashes, thunder crackles and booms.
POLICE OFFICER
(top of his lungs)
Ten five-thousand! Ten five-thousand! Officers need immediate assistance on State Route three fifteen! The Cheyenne Canyon Bridge has collapsed! Car 51 and the SuperMax bus went down with the bridge! Get ambulances and rescue over here and check downriver for survivors!
EXT. RIVERBANK – DAY (THUNDERSTORM)
A terrific current surges past a tangle of trees and undergrowth in the storm. A grimy hand with a manacle around the wrist suddenly breaks from the torrent and blindly catches a branch, holding on.
EXT. LIQUOR STORE BY MOUNTAIN ROAD – DAY (THUNDERSTORM)
The storm continues unabated, rain coming down in buckets. A ramshackle roadside shop is visible through the downpour. The painted sign over the covered porch reads: CHEYENNE RIVER LIQUORS. A card on the screen door reads: OPEN. No cars are in the gravel parking lot. A faint light is visible through one window.
INT. INSIDE OF LIQUOR STORE
Inside the small country liquor store, a battery-powered radio plays country music, frequently interrupted by static from lightning flashes and drowned out by thunder. In the foreground, a middle-aged storekeeper stands at the checkout counter. He uses a coin to scrape off lottery tickets, but he frowns a lot (no luck). A lit oil lantern rests on the counter next to a cell phone. The interior is otherwise dark. Shelves of beer partially hide the front screen door from view.
A shadow falls over the screen door, then the front screen door opens and bangs shut as someone ends. The storekeeper looks up. A large man walks inside, silhouetted by the dim light from the screen door. The sounds of dripping water and a dragging chain can be heard as the newcomer moves.
STOREKEEPER
(hopeful smile)
Hello, there. Sorry it’s dark; the power went out. It’s an evil day out . . . there.
The shopkeeper reacts in shock as Muddy comes closer, revealing his torn, mud-stained prison jumpsuit and the chains on his hands and feet. Before the shopkeeper can react, Muddy whips his arms up and around in a roundhouse swing. The long heavy chain connected to his wrists hits the shopkeeper in the head, knocking him down.
MUDDY GRIMES
Got that right.
Muddy walks around the counter, filthy bare feet passing by the silent, open-eyed, bloodied face of the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper is not breathing.
MUDDY GRIMES
Don't bother to get up.
Muddy picks up the cell phone, thinks for a moment, then punches in a phone number and holds the phone to his ear.
RECORDED PHONE VOICE
(after a series of warning tones)
We’re sorry, but the number you have dialed is no longer in service. If you need assistance, please—
Muddy shuts the phone and tosses it on the counter.
MUDDY GRIMES
You can’t hide from me, Dallas. I found you before, and I’ll find you again . . . but no one will ever find you after that.
FADE OUT
