353. And There Was Light - Leslie

• FADE IN:


• EXT. SKI SLOPE - EARLY MORNING


• The sun hasn't quite risen yet, the orange glow at the horizon hinting at its arrival.


• TERRANCE and ANI snowboard down the mountain, little lights strapped to their goggles illuminating the virgin snow ahead of them.


• Ani speeds up and pops a simple Ollie, her backpack bouncing against her back.


• TERRANCE
• Careful!


• ANI
• You worry too much.


• TERRANCE
• And with good reason, I don't want to be stuck here without getting a little buzzed for goodness sakes.


• They coast over a hill and the view opens up before them, a massive city ringing the far end lake below.


• It glows orange.


• As Ani and Terrance move closer, they can see that buildings across the city are on fire.


• They slow, reaching a level patch of snow.


• ANI
• Perfect - and a great view.


• TERRANCE
• Amazing...I remember coming here as a kid with my Mom, it was all forest and now, look at it.


• ANI
• Going back to forest?


• TERRANCE
• Yeah, probably.


• Ani pulls off her pack and pulls a picnic cloth out, then removes a Champagne bottle wrapped in cloth and two flutes.


• ANI
• See, just fine.


• They sit, watching the city as the fire crawls along the lakeside.


• The sun peeps over the horizon.


• A distant rumbling begins, echoing off the slopes around them.


• TERRANCE
• Here we go.


• He pours champagne into the glasses and hands one to her.


• ANI
• You wish you were going?


• TERRANCE
• Who doesn't?


• ANI
• You knew you didn't have a chance, right?


• TERRANCE
• I know.


• ANI
• Just checking.


• The rumble grows to a soft roar.


• TERRANCE
• My writing wasn't going to get me onto one of those ships - the brightest minds? Ha! 15 billion people, and they say they'll pick the brightest minds.


• ANI
• More like the best-lined pockets.


• A column of smoke rises fast in the distance, followed by more and more, until the horizon is obscured by pillars of orange smoke and flame racing into space.


• TERRANCE
• There they go.


• ANI
• To the old world.


• She raises her glass.


• Terrance raises his and theirs meets with a soft 'clink.'


• TERRANCE
• To a new world.


• Massive silos doors at the far side of the lake slide open, three miles in width and much deeper.


• There is a deafening roar and one by one, massive space craft scream into the air, escaping the bounds of earth for the first and last time.


• Dozens fill the air around the city.


• ANI
• To the best and brightest.


• TERRANCE
• So what do we do now?


• ANI
• Fight a war or two...


• TERRANCE
• Maybe we can actually change the way this place works.


• ANI
• And people will listen to us because?


• TERRANCE
• Maybe they won't, but it's worth a try.


• ANI
• Is it?


• TERRANCE
• They'll probably kill us.


• ANI
• Probably.


• Terrance finishes his champagne and stands, the vibrations rattling his snowboard.


• Ani packs the backpack and stands, slinging the backpack back onto her shoulders.


• ANI
• So?


• TERRANCE
• It's like another chance at creation - let's go get killed.


• She looks over at him.


• ANI
• Are we really serious? We're clueless - why not stay up here? They're tearing each other apart down there.


• TERRANCE
• Maybe it's our turn to have our voice heard. I don't know where we start, but I think we should.


• A ship blasts out of the ground at the base of the mountain and they begin sliding.


• Snow begins tumbling past them.


• ANI
• Oh. Guess the mountain's telling us it's time to go.


• She looks over at him and sees his face is wet with tears.


• ANI
• Ok, ok, let's do this.


• They race down the mountain, a newly-birthed avalanche at their heels.


• FADE TO BLACK.