Chapter Twenty-Two
Fleabag Down
Outside Cactus Loop — Night
Ext. Near Stinkwood Island, Outside Cactus Loop — Night
Fleabag’s truck rattles south, bounces over a little-used scrub track.
The fossils lie in a bag beside him.
The road dwindles to nothing.
Virgin bush scrapes the chassis as the engine SCREAMS through the night.
Fleabag
(desperation in his voice)
Come on, you beauty. Don’t fail me now.
Wind cuts through the windscreen.
Insects whip into the cab, splatter against the back screen.
The truck LURCHES over a small embankment, comes to a jarring halt.
The wheels spin, fail to grip the softening filth of the dry riverbed.
Fleabag’s head SNAPS forward.
His lip splits open as his mouth SMASHES into the steering wheel.
Fleabag
(blood dribbling)
Shit…
He opens the door, steps outside, sinks to his knees in mud.
As he struggles to stand, he looks into the cab, sees light.
The fossils are glowing with otherworldly energy.
The glow intensifies, and suddenly Fleabag’s vision blurs.
The light seems to penetrate his mind.
He claps his head in his hands.
Fleabag’s Memories
Fleabag’s knife plunging into Calvin Hemming’s chest in the alley, the man’s shocked eyes as he falls
Blake witnessing him flee the scene, the moment that started this chase
The ancient cave, Marwen emerging confused and frightened from the capsule, reaching out for help
Fleabag’s rifle firing, Marwen’s head snapping back, the old man crumpling
Grabbing the glowing fossils with greedy hands while Marwen’s blood pools on the cave floor
The destruction following in his wake—Hurricane Duchess, people dying
Fleabag staggers, overwhelmed by the visions.
Fleabag
(whispered horror)
Jesus… what have I done?
The fossils pulse brighter, as if responding to his recognition.
Fleabag
(to the fossils)
All of it… the storms, the death… because I killed that old man. Because I took you.
He turns his head to listen.
A ROAR in the distance, getting louder.
A fifteen-foot wave appears as the moon illuminates it.
Gathering froth and debris rushing toward him.
Fleabag looks back at the glowing fossils, understanding flooding through him.
Fleabag
(with growing realisation)
You don’t belong to me. You never bloody did.
The wave approaches. Fleabag makes a desperate choice. He lunges back toward the truck to grab the dilly bag.
Fleabag
(shouting over the roar)
I’m sorry! I’m sorry for what I did!
The flash flood hits with tremendous force.
The truck lifts like a toy.
Fleabag, clutching the fossils, is swept into the churning water.
As he tumbles through the current, the Kutji spirit swirls around him.
The spirit WRENCHES the dilly bag from Fleabag’s hands with supernatural force.
He tries to hold on, but the spirit is too strong.
Fleabag
(desperately)
No! I wanna make this right!
But the Kutji spirit drags the glowing fossils down into the depths, toward where Endurance II lies at the bottom of the delta.
Fleabag is swept in a different direction, battered by debris, pulled toward a large rock formation where his hands find purchase.
He drags himself onto a ledge, gasping, empty-handed.
Fleabag
(coughing up water, staring at the dark water)
They’re gone.
He sits against the rock, exhausted, bleeding.
Nearby, the lighthouse on Stinkwood Island.
Fleabag
(with quiet understanding)
That’s where this gotta end.
He struggles to his feet, his shoulders slump in defeat.
Fleabag
(to himself)
Frederick Bagley, you’ve been a monster your whole poxy life. Time to find out if a monster can change.
Directly above him, the alien mirage appears.
Fleabag
(head shaking)
I thought I’d seen it all.
Determined, he starts walking towards the lighthouse.
Ext. Mad Water Delta — Underwater — Continuous
Deep beneath the surface, the Kutji spirit settles the glowing fossils near the downed shuttle.
The fossils pulse.
The spirit coils around them protectively, watchful.
End of Chapter Twenty-Two