EPISODE 4: Origins
PRODUCTION CODE: #467054
WRITER: Donald Marcus
DIRECTOR: Bill Corcoran
EDITOR: Lee Haxall

TRANSCRIBED BY: Karen King

***********************

THE SHOW OPENS. WE SEE A DIRT ROAD WITH SCRAGGLY SHRUBS LINING IT. DUST
BILLOWS AS A TUMBLEWEED ROLLS ACROSS THE ROAD. A LOCATION IS SUPERIMPOSED
"MEXICO--LATITUDE 19 DEGREES NORTH, LONGITUDE 97 DEGREES WEST".
A SPORT UTILITY VEHICLE ROUNDS THE BEND OF THE ROAD. WE SEE SLOAN DRIVING.
ED IS IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT, AND TOM SITS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE REAR
PASSENGER SEAT. TOM IS DEEP IN THOUGHT. (MY THOUGHT IS, TOM LOOKS REALLY
GOOD IN THESE CAR SCENES. LOTS OF CLOSE-UPS OF THOSE BABY BLUES.)

Sloan: How we doing, Ed?
Ed: Well, near as I can tell...

HE CONSULTS HIS MAP.

Ed: ...we’re there.

HE PUTS THE MAP AWAY.

Ed: Or not.

THEY ROUND A CURVE AND SEE AN OVERTURNED MEXICAN POLICE CAR AFLAME. SLOAN
PULLS UP NEXT TO THE BURNING CAR. SHE GIVES ED A CONCERNED LOOK.

Ed: Hey, this trip was NOT my idea.

SLOAN DRIVES AWAY FROM THE CAR. THEY CREST A HILL AT A STRIKING OUTCROPPING
OF ROCK. TOM’S EYES WIDEN AS HE LOOKS OUT THE SUV’S WINDOW.

Tom: Stop the car.
Sloan: Why?
Tom: (insistently) Stop.

SLOAN PULLS OVER AND LOOKS BACK AT TOM. TOM GETS OUT OF THE SUV AND LOOKS
AROUND. HE GETS A PAINED LOOK ON HIS FACE AND PUTS THE HEEL OF HIS HAND TO
HIS TEMPLE. HE FLASHES ON A VISION OF A YOUNG WOMAN BATHED IN FIRELIGHT, HER
BLONDE HAIR FLOWING BEHIND HER. HE LOOKS AROUND AT THE ROCKS SURROUNDING
HIM, THEN FLASHES ON AN IMAGE OF A YOUNG BOY, LYING ON HIS STOMACH WITH HIS
ARMS STRETCHED OUT AT HIS SIDES. TOM LOOKS ALL AROUND AND WALKS AWAY FROM
THE CAR. SLOAN GETS OUT OF THE VEHICLE AND WALKS OVER TO TOM. HE HAS A
CONFUSED, LOST LOOK ON HIS FACE.

Sloan: What is it?
Tom: This is the place.
Sloan: (to Ed who is getting out of the SUV) We should look around.

TOM WALKS OVER TO THE OUTCROPPING AND FALLS TO HIS KNEES. SLOAN APPROACHES
THE STONE WALL AS WELL, A FEW FEET FROM TOM. SHE NOTICES SOMETHING IN THE
DUSTY SOIL BY THE WALL. SHE BENDS DOWN TO EXAMINE IT.
CUT BACK TO TOM, STILL ON HIS KNEES IN THE DIRT, SCOOPING UP THE DUSTY SOIL
WITH HIS HANDS AND LETTING IT FALL THROUGH HIS FINGERS.
CUT BACK TO SLOAN. SHE’S UNEARTHED SOMETHING.

Sloan: Ed! C’mere!

TOM LOOKS BACK AT HER SHOUT AND ED LOOKS UP. ED JOINS SLOAN, WHO HAS NEARLY
FINISHED DIGGING UP HER DISCOVERY.

Ed: What is it?
Sloan: (aghast) Oh, my...

SLOAN HAS UNEARTHED A MUMMY FROM THE DUSTY GROUND. ED AND SLOAN GENTLY LIFT
IT OUT OF THE HOLE AS TOM WATCHES, TRANSFIXED.

NEXT SCENE

AT THE OUTCROPPING. SLOAN AND ED ARE EXAMINING THE MUMMY WITH THE EQUIPMENT
THAT WAS PACKED IN, AND TIED ON TOP OF, THE SUV.

Ed: Ok, so what do we know about her?
Sloan: (sighing) Obviously, she’s a female.
Ed: Judging from the epiphysial plates in the teeth, I think we can put her
age at nine, possibly ten. Also her internal physiology seems pretty well
intact.
Sloan: Any indication of how she died?
Ed: There’s no sign of external trauma.
Sloan: I guess that’s it till we get the results of the DNA tests. What we
really need is to get her back to the lab.
Ed: If...she’s one of them.
Sloan: (checking a timer) Well, eighteen minutes more and we’ll know that
for sure.

CUT TO TOM, STANDING ON A LARGE SLAB OF ROCK, HIS SHORT OVERCOAT BILLOWING.
HE LOOKS OVER AT SLOAN AND ED.
CUT BACK TO SLOAN AND ED AT THE ‘MINI-LAB’.

Ed: Could you give me a hand?

SLOAN AND ED GENTLY LIFT THE MUMMY FROM THE TABLE. TOM APPROACHES THEM.

Sloan: (to Ed) Careful. Wait. Oh, WAIT! Put her down.

ED PLACES THE MUMMY BACK ON THE TABLE. THEY SLOWLY TURN THE MUMMY OVER.

Ed: Careful. Hold on, Sloan.
Sloan: Got ‘er?

TOM WATCHES THE SCENE WITH INTEREST. SLOAN IS SHOCKED BY WHAT SHE SEES. ON
THE BACK OF THE MUMMY SOME OF THE BANDAGES HAVE COME LOOSE. WE SEE THE SKIN
UNDERNEATH. TATTOOED ON THE MUMMY’S BACK IS A SERIES OF SQUARES AND CIRCLES.
TOM FLASHES ON A MAN WALKING IN FIRELIGHT.

Sloan: I’ve seen this design before.
Ed: Where?

TOM WALKS CLOSER TO THE EXAMINING TABLE.

Sloan: On the beds!

CUT TO A SHOT OF THE BLACK BED. IT HAS THE SAME DESIGN ON TOP AS THE TATTOO
ON THE MUMMY’S BACK.

Sloan: (to Tom) Cut into the top. It’s the same, isn’t it?
Tom: (nodding) Yes.
Sloan: What does it mean?

TOM SHAKES HIS HEAD SLIGHTLY.

Tom: I don’t know.

SLOAN AGAIN LOOKS AT THE MUMMY’S TATTOO.

NEXT SCENE

AT THE BIO LAB. THE LADY FROM THE LIMOUSINE BURSTS THROUGH THE DOORS OF THE
LAB. ATTWOOD IS SITTING AT ONE OF THE LAB COUNTERS.

Attwood: Thank you for responding so quickly.
Limo Lady: Well your call sounded urgent.
Attwood: It is. Parker and Tate have left the country.
Limo Lady: Why?
Attwood: Tracing a lead on the origin of the new species.

LIMO LADY TURNS AWAY FROM HIM, RESTING HER HANDS ON A COUNTERTOP.

Limo Lady: That could be dangerous.
Attwood: For them. And for us.
Limo Lady: You got something to propose?
Attwood: Perhaps it’s time we told them.

LIMO LADY LOOKS UNSURE.

NEXT SCENE

OAXACA, MEXICO. ED AND SLOAN ARE WITH THE EQUIPMENT SET UP AT THE BACK OF
THE SUV. ED IS ZIPPING UP EQUIPMENT IN A BAG.

Ed: So, uh, you really trust this guy, huh?
Sloan: Yes.
Ed: Based on a leap of faith?
Sloan: Yes.
Ed: Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn't that usually require some kind of
deep, underlying...conviction? Uh, powerful intuition, revelation?
Sloan: I’ve had that, Ed.

AN ALARM SOUNDS AND ED AND SLOAN LOOK AT EACH OTHER. THE DNA TEST IS DONE.

Ed: Let’s see what we got.

ED PUNCHES SOME BUTTONS ON THE COMPUTER.

Ed: One point six percent.

HE LOOKS AT SLOAN.

Ed: Mummy’s one of them.

SLOAN HOPS UP EXCITEDLY.

Sloan: Ok, now we’ve really got something to work with. Oh, God, this could
answer so many questions, Ed.
Ed: Anatomy, physiology...We-we could find out what their weaknesses are.

SLOAN STARTS GRABBING EQUIPMENT.

Sloan: Let’s get the car home.
Ed: (surprised) Now?
Sloan: You bet. Once she’s removed from the microclimate that preserved
her, she’ll deteriorate. Rapidly.
Ed: We can’t leave now. It’ll be dark in another half hour.
Sloan: So?
Ed: So we can not drive in the dark. C’mon we can barely follow the road in
daylight.
Sloan: (resignedly) You’re right.

ED AND SLOAN STRIDE OVER TO TOM, WHO IS KNEELING IN THE DUST, PULLED INTO A
TIGHT BALL, HIS ELBOWS RESTING ON HIS KNEES. HE HAS A VACANT STARE ON HIS
FACE. ED SPOTS SOMETHING AND RUSHES OVER TO IT. HE FALLS TO HIS KNEES,
SCRAPING AWAY DIRT AND DUST WITH HIS HANDS.

Ed: I-I can’t get the sand off. It’s encrusted. I think it’s attached to
something.

WE SEE WHAT ED IS TRYING TO CLEAN OFF. IT’S A ROUND OBJECT ABOUT FOUR FEET
IN DIAMETER. TOM IS ONLY SLIGHTLY COGNIZANT OF ED AND SLOAN’S PRESENCE.
HE’S LOST IN HIS OWN WORLD.

Ed: I think it goes way down.

SLOAN LOOKS AT TOM AND SEES THE STATE HE’S IN.

Sloan: (to Ed) Just, leave it for now. It’ll be dark soon, why don’t you
hunt up some firewood?

ED GIVES SLOAN A ‘WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT’ LOOK. HE REALIZES HER
PURPOSE.

Ed: Sure.
Sloan: (calling to Ed, who is walking away) I’ll pitch a tent in a second.

SLOAN LOOKS AT TOM AND WALKS OVER TO HIM. SHE HUNKERS DOWN NEAR HIM.

Sloan: (to Tom) You’ve been here before, haven’t you?

HE TURNS HIS HEAD SLIGHTLY AT THE SOUND OF HER VOICE. THEN HE LOOKS AT HER.

Tom: I think so.

TOM CLOSES HIS EYES, RAISES HIS HEAD AND SWAYS A BIT.

Sloan: (concerned) What?

TOM IS FLASHING ON IMAGES OF THE YOUNG WOMAN AND THE MAN IN THE FIRELIGHT
AGAIN.

Sloan: What? What?
Tom: (exhaling and opening his eyes) I keep flashing on these images of a
young woman and a man.
Sloan: What about this?

SHE POINTS TO WHAT ED HAS JUST FOUND IN THE DIRT.

Sloan: Is this in any of the images?

TOM’S BROW FURROWS AS HE THINKS. HE SHAKES HIS HEAD. A CONFUSED LOOK COMES
OVER HIM.

Tom: No. But it’s in my head somehow. Like a dream I-I can’t remember.

NEXT SCENE

NIGHTTIME IN OAXACA. A FIRE BURNS NEAR THE SHELTER OF THE ROCK WALL. ED
PLACES MORE KINDLING ON THE FIRE AND LOOKS OVER AT SLOAN, WHO IS FIXING A
TENT.
CUT TO THE SPOT OF ED’S DISCOVERY. IT HAS BEEN PARTIALLY EXCAVATED,
REVEALING THE TOP OF A COLUMN. TOM IS IN THE HOLE SURROUNDING THE COLUMN
WITH A FLASHLIGHT. HE’S EXAMINING THE PILLAR, RUNNING HIS HANDS OVER IT,
STARING INTENTLY AT THE SYMBOLS.
CUT BACK TO ED AND SLOAN AT THE CAMPFIRE.

Sloan: (to Ed) You ok?
Ed: Yeah, yeah.
Sloan: I’m sorry. I um, I pushed you away back there.
Ed: Ah, that’s ok. I didn’t take it personally. I know that he’s only
gonna open up to you.
Sloan: Do you trust him yet?
Ed: (with a smile) I’m still working on you.

ED PLAYFULLY TOSSES A ROCK AT HER AND SLOAN SMILES AT HIM. QUIETLY AND
WITHOUT THEM NOTICING TOM WALKS UP.

Tom: Sloan.

SLOAN LOOKS UP, SURPRISED.

Tom: I need to show you something.

SLOAN GETS UP.

Sloan: What is it?

SUDDENLY LIGHTS FLASH. BLUE AND GREEN LIGHTS SWEEP OVER THE TRIO AS THEY
LOOK AROUND IN CONFUSION AND FRIGHT. TOM GRABS A HANDFUL OF DUST AND DOUSES
THE FIRE.

Ed: What the hell is that?
Tom: They’re here. Now they know we’re here.
Sloan: (looking at the lights) Are those weapons?
Tom: Not yet. Just information gathering.
Ed: How do you know that?
Tom: Because I’ve used them. We have to go.
Ed: We can’t!
Tom: (to Ed) Look, I’ve come to this place with you. I’ve helped you find
it. Sloan knows I’ve helped you in other ways as well. Now I’m telling you.
Leave!
Ed: (convinced) I’ll load the equipment. You two break down the tent.

ED RUSHES TO THE CAR AS SLOAN SCAMPERS OVER TO THE TENT AND STARTS PULLING UP
STAKES. TOM WALKS OVER TO HER.

Tom: I’m not coming with you.
Sloan: Where are you going?
Tom: (gesturing with a turn of his head) Out there.
Sloan: In the desert?
Tom: I need to take care of whatever’s out there.
Sloan: I-I can’t leave you here.
Tom: I’ll be alright.
Sloan: I’m not leaving you.
Tom: Sloan, it’s the safest thing for all of us. You gotta believe me.
Promise me you’ll go!
Sloan: If you’ll promise me...you’ll come back.

SLOAN LOOKS TORN.

Tom: (nodding slightly) I do. Now hurry.

HE WALKS AWAY FROM HER. ED COMES OVER AND GRABS SOME EQUIPMENT. HE NOTICES
TOM LEAVING.

Ed: Where the hell is he going?
Sloan: Start the car!

SLOAN IS STRUGGLING WITH A TENT.

Ed: Leave it!

SLOAN GRABS THE LAST OF THE EQUIPMENT AS ED CLOSES THE REAR DOORS OF THE SUV.
THEY CLIMB INTO THE CAR AND RACE OFF. A HELICOPTER HOVERS ABOVE THEM,
FOLLOWING THE CAR AND SHINING A BRIGHT LIGHT INTO THE VEHICLE, BLINDING THEM.

Ed: What is it? Do you see it?
Sloan: Uh-huh.
Ed: I can’t see! I gotta stop.

ED PULLS OVER AND STOPS THE CAR. THEY GET OUT CAUTIOUSLY. ANOTHER CAR WITH
FLASHING HEADLIGHTS ADVANCES ON THEM. THE HELICOPTER LANDS. WE SEE ATTWOOD
GET OUT OF IT. HE PULLS ED AND SLOAN OVER TO HIM.

Sloan: What are you doing here?
Attwood: Hurry, c’mon, c’mon!
Ed: The mummy!

ED RACES OVER TO THE SUV.

Attwood: Where you going?!?

ATTWOOD PULLS ED FROM THE CAR BEFORE HE GETS THE MUMMY OUT.

Attwood: Now run! Come on!

THE OTHER CAR IS STILL APPROACHING. SHOTS ARE FIRED AND SLOAN DIVES FOR THE
HELICOPTER. THE THREE HURRIEDLY PILE IN AS BULLETS WHIZ PAST THEM. THE
HELICOPTER TAKES OFF, PASSING OVER THE EXCAVATED CRATER AND THE PILLAR.

NEXT SCENE

ABOARD A PRIVATE JET. ED AND SLOAN SIT IN LEATHER SEATS BEFORE A CONFERENCE
TABLE. ATTWOOD APPROACHES THEM, WALKING UP THE AISLE OF THE PLANE.

Sloan: What the hell is this all about Walter? How did you find us?

ATTWOOD SITS ON THE ARM OF THE SOFA OPPOSITE THEM.

Attwood: I’ve been tracking you since you left Van Nuys airport.
Ed: (contemptuously) Tracking us. In Mexico?
Attwood: Through various means of surveillance, including satellite.
Ed: (with a sneer) Courtesy of the University?
Attwood: No. I work for the Federal government.
Sloan: Federal government?

ED SHAKES HIS HEAD IN DISBELIEF.

Sloan: How long have you been working for them?
Attwood: From the beginning.
Sloan: What? So you’ve been lying to us for the past two years?
Attwood: Sloan...
Sloan: You worked beside us all this time. We trusted you. You betrayed us!
Attwood: That’s not true. I did my job at the University and I did it well.
I did not betray you.
Ed: Oh yeah? What would you call it?
Attwood: Don’t be so naive. The government needs to keep abreast of importan
t developments in the scientific community.
Sloan: Yeah, well, they can read it in the newspaper.
Attwood: They need to know about these things before they’re made public.
Ed: So you’ve been spying on us.
Attwood: No, Ed. I’ve been doing the job that my government asked me to do.
Look. I was as stunned by Lynch’s DNA as you were. Needless to say--

A STEWARD WALKS UP AND HANDS ATTWOOD A NOTE.

Attwood: (to Steward) Thank you.

THE STEWARD WALKS OFF.

Attwood: (to Ed and Sloan) Excuse me, there’s a call for me.

ATTWOOD WALKS AWAY, DOWN THE AISLE.

Ed: Do you believe him?
Sloan: I don’t know what to believe. He did save our lives.
Ed: Have you even thought he might have staged everything to gain our
confidence? You know, seduce us into sharing information?
Sloan: It should be easy enough to find out if he works for the Feds. I’ll
talk to Ray Peterson. I’ll have him run a check on Attwood, ok?

NEXT SCENE

DAYTIME IN OAXACA, BACK AT THE OUTCROPPING. THE CAMERA PANS FROM THE ROCK
OVER TO TOM, STANDING AT THE EDGE OF THE PARTIALLY UNEARTHED PILLAR. HE
GLANCES DOWN AT THE PILLAR, THEN DROPS TO HIS KNEES. HE CLOSES HIS EYES AND
BOWS HIS HEAD. IMAGES FLASH. A CAMPFIRE, A SMALL BOY ON THE GROUND, A YOUNG
BLONDE WOMAN IN A FLOWING WHITE DRESS, A LARGER MAN IN HIS THIRTIES,
ADVANCING, HOLDING A POINTED STYLUS. THE IMAGES END. TOM OPENS HIS EYES AND
STARES AT THE PILLAR.

NEXT SCENE

AT THE POLICE STATION. RAY ROUNDS A CORNER AND WALKS THROUGH A DOORWAY. ALL
OF THE OTHER COPS BUSTLING ABOUT STOP SHORT AND GIVE HIM ROOM AS HE PASSES.
THEY ARE STARING AT RAY AND HE REALIZES IT. HE PASSES THE COFFEE MAKER AND
SLOAN TURNS AROUND. SHE’S GOT A CUP.

Ray: Huh. You’re back. How was Mexico?
Sloan: Scary as hell. Frustrating. I’ll tell you all about it, but I’ve
gotta ask you a favor first.

THEY WALK OVER TO HIS OFFICE AREA AND SHE SITS AT THE CHAIR ACROSS FROM HIS
DESK. RAY SITS IN HIS CHAIR.

Ray: Uh-oh. Shoot.
Sloan: Do you know anyone totally trustworthy, who could run a check on someo
ne claiming to work for the Federal government?
Ray: Sure. My friend Tony. Regional FBI office.

RAY LEANS FORWARD.

Ray: Who we checking up on?
Sloan: (checking over her shoulder then speaking quietly) Walter Attwood.

RAY SITS BACK, A BIT STUNNED.

NEXT SCENE

AT THE BIO LAB. ED ENTERS THE HALLWAY TO HIS OFFICE WITH A PAPER CUP OF
COFFEE HANGING IN HIS TEETH. HE PAUSES AT THE DOOR OF HIS OFFICE AND LOOKS
DOWN THE HALLWAY. SOMETHING CATCHES HIS EYE AND HE CONTINUES ON AWAY FROM
THE DOOR. HE’S STARING UNBELIEVINGLY AT BOXES AND BOXES OF NEW EQUIPMENT.
ED ENTERS THE DOORS TO THE DESERTED LAB AREA AND SLOWLY WALKS AROUND LOOKING
AT THE NEW MACHINERY. WE SEE ATTWOOD WATCHING HIM FROM HIS OFFICE. ATTWOOD
APPROACHES ED. ED STANDS AS HE SEES ATTWOOD.

Ed: What is going on? Where is everybody?
Attwood: Heightened security, Ed. They have been assigned elsewhere in the
University. Our work has to be in absolute secrecy now.
Ed: So, uh, where did all the new stuff come from?
Attwood: There are advantages to partnering up with the Federal government,
Ed. Try to keep an open mind. Where’s Sloan?
Ed: She had...

ED CATCHES HIMSELF.

Ed: ...an appointment, and she’s heading home.
Attwood: Come in for a minute.

ATTWOOD WALKS BACK TO HIS OFFICE. AFTER A FEW SECONDS DEBATE, ED FOLLOWS HIM
IN. ATTWOOD TURNS ON AN OVERHEAD PROJECTOR THAT IS SITTING ATOP HIS DESK AND
PLACES A TRANSPARENCY ON IT.

Attwood: Mexico. A satellite photograph of the area where we picked you up.

ATTWOOD PLACES ANOTHER TRANSPARENCY ON THE OVERHEAD.

Attwood: An infrared image of this same area.
Ed: What is that, is that some kind of village?
Attwood: (nodding) More than a mile and a half across and buried fifteen
feet beneath the desert floor.
Ed: Fifteen feet?

ATTWOOD NODS.

Ed: So it’s old. What is that four, five centuries?
Attwood: Try fifty years.
Ed: No. There’s no way. A village that size would require a water source.
You know. Fields for agriculture. The area we saw was completely
inhospitable.
Attwood: Now. Some kind of extreme ecological change went on there. A
confluence of unique conditions that greatly accelerated global warming.
Nothing like this has ever been seen before. Less that half a century ago
that desert was more like a swamp.
Ed: Their Eden. Where the species began.
Attwood: Quite possibly.

NEXT SCENE

AT SLOAN’S APARTMENT. SLOAN UNLOCKS THE DOOR AND TOSSES HER KEYS ON THE
SECRETARY NEAR THE DOOR AS SHE ENTERS. SHE TURNS TOWARD THE KITCHEN AND
STOPS. PILED UP ON HER CENTER ISLAND ARE VARIOUS CARTONS OF JUICE, MILK,
SODA BOTTLES, BAGS OF FOOD, ETC. SHE LOOKS ABOUT THE APARTMENT WARILY AND
NEARS THE REFRIGERATOR. SHE OPENS IT AND WE SEE THE MUMMY INSIDE, WRAPPED IN
PLASTIC. TOM STEPS OUT FROM THE DINING AREA. SLOAN STANDS IN FRONT OF THE
FRIDGE, MOUTH AGAPE.

Tom: I told you I’d come back.

SLOAN LOOKS BACK AT THE MUMMY IN THE REFRIGERATOR.

NEXT SCENE

SLOAN’S APARTMENT. CLOSE UP OF THE MUMMY ON THE CENTER ISLAND. THE FOOD
FROM THE FRIDGE HAS BEEN PUT AWAY. SLOAN STANDS ABOVE THE MUMMY, ZIPPING HER
INTO A BLUE BAG.

Sloan: This is just incredible! It’ll be invaluable to us.

TOM TURNS FROM THE SECRETARY HE WAS STANDING NEXT TO AND APPROACHES SLOAN.

Tom: I’m afraid that’s not a secret.

SLOAN TURNS TO LOOK AT HIM.

Sloan: The green lights in the desert?
Tom: Yes.

TOM IS SLOWLY PACING THE APARTMENT NOW. (AND HE’S STILL WEARING THE SAME
CLOTHES HE WORE DOWN TO MEXICO. PEEE-YOOO! MUST BE GETTING A MIGHT BIT
GAMEY BY NOW. IT’S BEEN WHAT, AT LEAST THREE OR FOUR DAYS NOW...)

Sloan: What’s wrong?
Tom: I don’t um....I can’t describe it.
Sloan: Try.
Tom: I’m feeling things. Emotions. Like pity. And empathy.

HE PAUSES AND GIVES HER A BRIEF ONCE-OVER.

Tom: Affection.

THE CORNERS OF SLOAN’S MOUTH LIFT JUST SLIGHTLY. SHE NODS.

Sloan: Human emotions.

TOM ACKNOWLEDGES HER STATEMENT.

Sloan: There’s nothing wrong with that.

TOM TILTS HIS HEAD, CONSIDERING, AND PACES OVER TO THE LIVING ROOM AREA.
SLOAN FOLLOWS HIM.

Sloan: What happened to you out there?

SHE SITS ON ONE OF HER COMFY-LOOKING OVERSTUFFED CHAIRS. TOM STANDS OPPOSITE
HER, STARING TOWARDS THE WINDOWS. HE CROSSES HIS ARMS OVER HIS CHEST AND
LOOKS AT SLOAN.

Tom: I knew the moment we drove in that I’d been there before. I just can’t
pin down when or why.
Sloan: The images you kept flashing on. Tell me about them.

HE LOOKS AWAY FROM HER, BOWS HIS HEAD AND SIGHS.

Tom: They won’t stop.

HE TURNS TOWARDS SLOAN AND TAKES A STEP CLOSER TO HER.

Tom: Emotions I can’t handle. Memories I can’t identify. These
visions--the pillar--somehow they’re all linked. I know that.
Sloan: Why can’t you remember, Tom?
Tom: (brow furrowing in confusion and retrospection) I don’t remember most
of my childhood.
Sloan: Well that’s where you’ve gotta start. That’s the key. Your parents,
your home. The--

TOM TURNS AWAY FROM HER AND SIGHS AGAIN. HE SHAKES HIS HEAD MINUTELY. SLOAN
SIGHS.

Sloan: Except you can’t go back, can you?

TOM LOOKS AT HER.

NEXT SCENE

AT THE BIO LAB. SLOAN ENTERS THE EMPTY LAB AND LOOKS AROUND IN CONFUSION.
LOTS OF NEW EQUIPMENT BUT NO BUSTLING PEOPLE AS BEFORE. SHE WALKS ACROSS THE
LAB AND APPROACHES ED IN HIS OFFICE. ED IS STANDING NEXT TO A CORKBOARD WITH
LARGE SATELLITE IMAGES TACKED TO IT.

Sloan: Where is everybody?
Ed: (smiling) Boy, have you got a lot to catch up on. Hey, I called you
fifty times. Where you been?
Sloan: You’ve got a lot to catch up on too. Come on.

SLOAN STALKS OUT OF HIS OFFICE AND ACROSS THE LAB.

Ed: (rushing after her) Wait! Sloan, Sloan, Sloan! Whoa...whoa...hang
on...hang on...hang on....Attwood has this photo that actually proves the
existence of some kind of village.

SLOAN REACHES THE LAB DOORS AND PAUSES AT A GURNEY. SHE THROWS BACK THE
COVERING AND REVEALS THE MUMMY TO ED. HE’S SUITABLY STUNNED.

Ed: My God. How did you get it out?
Sloan: Tom.
Ed: (looking at the mummy) Let’s go.

THEY HURRIEDLY WHEEL THE GURNEY INSIDE THE LAB.

NEXT SCENE

AT THE POLICE STATION. A MAN IN A DARK SUIT WALKS THROUGH THE DOORS, FIXING
HIS TIE. HE’S LOOKING FOR SOMEONE. HE WALKS UP TO THE OFFICER AT THE FRONT
DESK AND PRODUCES A SHIELD.

Man: Tony Zendejas. I’m looking for Detective Peterson.
Ofc.: (pointing through some doors) Right in there.

AGENT ZENDEJAS WALKS THROUGH THE DOORWAY AND SEES RAY. RAY STANDS AND THEY
SHAKE HANDS.

Ray: Hey, Tony!
Tony: How ya doing, Ray?
Ray: Good, good.

RAY TURNS AND WALKS TO HIS DESK.

Tony: Wife, kids?
Ray: Uh, everybody’s great. Uh, sit down, Tony.

TONY SITS.

Tony: (with a smile) I can’t believe you dragged me all the way out here
for this. You got something against the Bureau these days?
Ray: I’d just rather talk on my own turf. So, uh, what did you learn about
this Attwood guy?
Tony: I checked this guy Attwood out, but he doesn’t check out. Ten years
of personnel files, the entire fingerprint database, I mean even the obsolete
print cards, every source I could access, and I got nothin’.
Ray: So what does that mean?
Tony: That means there is no Walter Attwood.

RAY TURNS HIS HEAD AND SIGHS AS HE DIGESTS THIS.

NEXT SCENE

AT THE BIO LAB. THE MUMMY RESTS ON A GURNEY. ED AND SLOAN WEAR LONG BLUE
LAB COATS AND SAFETY GLASSES. SLOAN SNAPS ON A PAIR OF LATEX GLOVES.

Ed: Well, the lab’s not the best place to do this, but it will have to do.
Gonna make a midline incision in the abdomen.

SLOAN HANDS HIM A SCALPEL. ED CUTS OPEN THE MUMMY.

Ed: Later we can weigh the individual organs, I just wanna make a cursory
evaluation of the physiological stat--My God.
Sloan: What is it?
Ed: Sloan, this girl was pregnant.
Sloan: She was only nine years old. Ten at most.
Ed: And there are four fetuses.
Sloan: Quadruplets?

ED LOOKS UP AT SLOAN FROM WHERE HIS GAZE HAS BEEN RIVETED UPON THE MUMMY.

Ed: No. This girl has four uteruses.

NEXT SCENE

A DUSTY COUNTRYSIDE LOCALE, WITH LARGE TREES AND ROCKY HILLS. TOM STRIDES UP
FROM A DIRT ROAD. (HE’S STILL WEARING THE SAME OUTFIT THAT HE WORE IN
MEXICO, BUT LET’S REMEMBER, HE BURNT HIS HOUSE DOWN IN THE LAST EPISODE.) HE
PAUSES AND THE CAMERA PANS AROUND TO SHOW WHAT HE’S LOOKING AT. THE
BURNT-OUT STRUCTURE OF A HOUSE STANDS BEFORE HIM. HE APPROACHES IT AND
CLIMBS THE BLACKENED PORCH STAIRS. HE HALTS AT THE REMAINDER OF THE FRONT
DOOR AND GRIPS THE DOORKNOB. HE TURNS IT AND OPENS THE DOOR WIDE. AS HE
STEPS ACROSS THE THRESHOLD, HE CLOSES HIS EYES TIGHTLY AND BOWS HIS HEAD, HIS
HAND COMING UP TO HIS TEMPLE. IMAGES FLASH--THE YOUNG BLONDE WOMAN IN THE
WHITE GOWN, SLOAN EXAMINING THE TATTOO ON THE MUMMY IN OAXACA, HIMSELF,
STANDING BEFORE THE CRATER CONTAINING THE HALF-EXPOSED PILLAR, THE BLUE AND
GREEN LIGHTS OF THE INFORMATION GATHERING SCANNERS, THE YOUNG BOY ON HIS
STOMACH BEFORE THE FIRE. TOM OPENS HIS EYES AS THE IMAGES RECEDE. HE LOOKS
SLOWLY AROUND THE REMNANTS OF THE HOUSE, KICKING AWAY DEBRIS WITH A REALLY
NICE PAIR OF VERY DARK BROWN LEATHER LACE-UP SHOES. (WHY THEY PUT BROWN
SHOES WITH BLACK PANTS, I’LL NEVER KNOW....FASHION FAUX PAS NUMERO UNO.) HE
STOPS BEFORE A STAIRWAY TO WHAT WAS ONCE THE SECOND STORY AND KICKS AT MORE
DEBRIS. HE SEES SOMETHING AND BENDS DOWN TO PICK IT UP. IT’S AN OLD
PHOTOGRAPH. BLACK AND WHITE, NEARLY DESTROYED, BUT WE SEE A WOMAN IN HER
EARLY TWENTIES, EMBRACING A YOUNG BOY. TOM LOOKS UP FROM THE PHOTO, HIS BROW
FURROWING.

NEXT SCENE

AT THE BIO LAB. SLOAN IS LOOKING AT A CLIPBOARD AS SHE WALKS FROM THE LAB
AREA OVER TO THE OFFICES. ED TRAILS HER.

Ed: So are all of their ten year-olds capable of bearing children?

THEY ENTER SLOAN’S OFFICE AND SLOAN WALKS AROUND TO HER DESK CHAIR.

Sloan: It’s a good bet that they all have multiple uteruses. But do they
all have four?
Ed: Or more.
Sloan: We just don’t know. We don’t have enough information.

WE SEE ATTWOOD APPROACHING.

Ed: Yeah, we need it. It’s the only way we can figure out how many of them
there are.

ATTWOOD ENTERS SLOAN’S OFFICE.

Attwood: Maybe this can help.

ATTWOOD HANDS SLOAN A REPORT.

Ed: What you got?
Attwood: It’s the military assessment of the photograph.
Sloan: (looking at the report) They think the village was abandoned in 1964.
Attwood: At which time there were between one thousand and twelve-hundred
inhabitants.
Ed: Okay.
Sloan: (sitting at her computer and typing information into it) Take a
worst case scenario...
Ed: Go.
Sloan: If the ‘64 population was half female...
Ed: If all the females can conceive at ten...
Sloan: If on average they conceive four children at a time...
Attwood: Factor in the biological imperative to procreate as quickly as
possible.
Ed: So say every female conceives, uh, five times in her lifetime.

ED LEANS OVER SLOAN’S SHOULDER AS THE RESULTS COME UP ON THE SCREEN.

Ed: My God.

SLOAN LOOKS AT ATTWOOD.

Sloan: A hundred and eighty-seven thousand of them.
Ed: Today.
Sloan: They could be anywhere.

A PHONE RINGS. SLOAN ANSWERS IT.

Sloan: Hello.

CUT TO TOM ON HIS CELL PHONE AT THE BURNT HOUSE.

Tom: I took your advice.

SLOAN LOOKS OVER AT ED. HE RUSHES OVER TO HIS OFFICE. SLOAN GLANCES AT
ATTWOOD, WHO WAVES GOOD-BYE AND BACKS OUT OF HER OFFICE.

Sloan: What do you mean? Wh-where are you?

CUT BACK TO TOM.

Tom: I’m in Wildwood Canyon. I came home, Sloan.

CUT BACK TO SLOAN. WE HEAR TOM SPEAKING OVER HER RECEIVER.

Tom: (voiceover) The house I grew up in.

CUT BACK TO TOM. HE LOOKS AROUND.

Tom: What’s left of it.

CUT BACK TO SLOAN.

Sloan: You shouldn’t be there. It could be dangerous. You have to leave!

CUT BACK TO TOM.

Tom: It paid off. I found something...a photograph.
Sloan: (voiceover) Of who?

TOM LOOKS AROUND AND LOWERS THE PHONE FROM HIS EAR. HE SEES A BLONDE WOMAN
IN HER EARLY FORTIES STANDING A FEW FEET AWAY FROM HIM IN THE YARD BELOW.

Sloan: (voiceover) Tom? Hello?

CUT BACK TO SLOAN IN HER OFFICE. WE SEE HER ON THE PHONE FROM A VIEWPOINT IN
ED’S OFFICE. ED IS LOOKING OVER AT HER, CONCERNED.

Sloan: Tom? Tom!

CUT BACK TO TOM AS WE SEE HIM SCRUTINIZE THE WOMAN.
CUT BACK TO SLOAN. SHE HANGS UP THE PHONE, LOOKING WORRIED.
CUT BACK TO TOM. THE WOMAN WATCHES HIM. SLOWLY SHE ADVANCES UPON TOM.

Woman: Tom.

SHE CLIMBS THE STAIRS INTO WHAT’S LEFT OF THE HOUSE. TOM CONTINUES TO STARE
AT HER QUESTIONINGLY. HE FLASHES ON AN IMAGE OF THE YOUNG BLONDE WOMAN FROM
BEFORE, AND THE IMAGE SUPERIMPOSES OVER THE FACE OF THE WOMAN STANDING IN
FRONT OF HIM.

Woman: Tom.
Tom: Mother.

CUT BACK TO SLOAN. SHE HURRIEDLY GETS UP FROM HER DESK AND GRABS HER COAT.
SHE STRIDES FROM HER OFFICE, PAST ED, WHO LEAPS UP AFTER HER.

Ed: Sloan, Sloan! Hey, hang on!

SLOAN PAUSES IN THE DOORWAY AND LOOKS BACK AT ED.

Ed: It’s Tom, isn’t it?
Sloan: Yeah.

ED LOOKS AWAY.

Ed: (shaking his head) Don’t do this, Sloan. You have no idea what you
might be walking into.
Sloan: Ed. I have to go.

SHE LEAVES. ED LEANS AGAINST THE WALL, FRUSTRATED AND WORRIED. HE TURNS AND
ENTERS HIS OFFICE, SLAMMING THE DOOR BEHIND.

NEXT SCENE

AT THE BIO LAB. RAY NEARS THE DOORS OF THE LAB. HE WALKS THROUGH AND PEERS
IN THE LAB WINDOWS.

Attwood: Can I help you, Detective?

RAY TURNS AND GLANCES AT HIM.

Ray: I’m uh, looking for Dr. Parker.
Attwood: She just left.
Ray: (gesturing to the lab) Looks like Santa came early.
Attwood: University’s been most generous.
Ray: Sure it wasn’t Uncle Sam?
Attwood: Meaning?

RAY TURNS TO FACE ATTWOOD.

Ray: I hear you claim you work for the Federal government.
Attwood: Come with me.

ATTWOOD WALKS DOWN THE HALL AND RAY FOLLOWS.

Attwood: I guess Dr. Parker has a great deal of faith in you.
Ray: How do you figure?
Attwood: Why else would she tell you things that I told her in strictest
confidence?

THEY ENTER ATTWOOD’S OFFICE.

Ray: Well the thing is, when I ran a check on you--
Attwood: No one had ever heard of me. Not the FBI, the Secret Service, the
CIA, ATF--
Ray: Not even the Border Patrol.
Attwood: (sitting at his desk) What did you expect, Detective? My name
would be available to every civil servant with a computer terminal?
Ray: Why don’t you just tell me who the hell you are?
Attwood: It’s not who I am, it’s who I work for that matters. You need to
raise the bar, Detective. Take out your cell phone. Go on.

RAYS GETS HIS CELL PHONE OUT OF HIS BREAST COAT POCKET.

Attwood: Dial Washington, D. C. Information. Area code 202. Do you know
who John Maxwell is?

RAY LOOKS UP.

Ray: (disbelieving) President’s National Security Advisor?
Attwood: Ask for the White House.
Ray: (into the phone) General number for the White House, please....Thank
you.
Attwood: Dial it.

RAY DIALS.

Attwood: Ask for Maxwell.
Ray: It’s ten o’clock at night there.
Attwood: They’ll patch you through to his house. Just say Walter Attwood
told you to call.

SOMEONE ANSWERS ON THE OTHER END.

Ray: Yes, hello. John Maxwell, please....Could you ring his home? Walter
Attwood said to call.

RAY LOOKS AT ATTWOOD.

Ray: It’s ringing.

THE PHONE IS ANSWERED. WE HEAR A MAN IN VOICEOVER FROM THE OTHER END OF THE
LINE.

Man: (voiceover) Hello, John Maxwell here. Hello? Hello?

RAY COVERS THE PHONE WITH HIS HAND AND LOOKS AT ATTWOOD IN SHOCK. ATTWOOD
SMILES AT HIM.

Attwood: Say hi.

NEXT SCENE

AT WILDWOOD CANYON. TOM AND HIS MOTHER (WHO WILL HENCEFORTH BE CALLED ‘JANE
DANIELS’) WALK FROM THE BURNT SHELL OF THE HOME. JANE STRIDES ALONG WITH
HER HANDS CLASPED AT THE SMALL OF HER BACK. TOM HAS HIS ARMS CROSSED IN
FRONT OF HIS WAIST, GRIPPING HIS FOREARMS.

Jane: Why have you come? You know how dangerous it is for you.
Tom: Yes.
Jane: They say you’ve betrayed us.

THEY STOP.

Tom: I did.

JANE LOOKS AT TOM.

Jane: How could you have done that?
Tom: I don’t know. That’s why I’ve come.

TOM WALKS OVER TO A LARGE TREE AND STANDS BENEATH IT. JANE FOLLOWS HIM TO
THE TREE AND FACES HIM.

Jane: How long has it been? Sixteen, seventeen years?
Tom: Nineteen years. I was eleven.
Jane: (proudly) I remember the day they took you.
Tom: So do I. It’s one of the few things I do remember. Why is that?
Jane: It was part of your training.
Tom: To erase my childhood?
Jane: Yes. To prepare you for what you had to do.
Tom: And erasing my emotions, shouldn’t that have been part of my training
too?
Jane: It’s us or them, Tom. And there are so many of them. Remember
they’re going to do everything it takes to wipe us out.
Tom: I know that.
Jane: Yes, of course you do.

TOM LOOKS AT HER. (VERY NICE SHOT. EXTREMELY DESKTOP-WORTHY. GREAT EYES,
LOVELY LIPS.)

Jane: Our weakness is that our ancestors were human. We still carry traces
of warmth and emotion within us. But if we start to feel compassion or pity
we’re lost. We have to fight those emotions. No matter how hard that fight
may be. And I know it can be hard.

TOM LOOKS AT HER FOR CONFIRMATION.

Tom: Do you?
Jane: Yes. I do.

SHE OPENS HER ARMS TO HIM AND HE ALLOWS HER TO EMBRACE HIM. HE HESITANTLY
PUTS HIS ARMS AROUND HER AS IF THIS IS THE FIRST TIME HE’S EVER DONE THIS.
THEY HUG FOR A FEW SECONDS AND THEN JANE PULLS BACK. TOM LOOKS QUESTIONINGLY
AT HIS MOTHER. SUDDENLY SHE GRABS THE BACK OF HIS HEAD, FORCING HIM TO KISS
HER. (A BIG ‘EWWWWWW’ ALL AROUND, HERE.) SHE BREAKS OFF THE KISS AND TOM IS
STUNNED AND GROGGY, STAGGERING.

Tom: (breathlessly) What did you do?

TOM GROANS AND FALLS TO THE GROUND UNCONSCIOUS, HIS MOUTH HANGING SLIGHTLY
OPEN AND LITTLE BLOOD DRIPPING FROM HIS PARTED LIPS. JANE SMUGLY REMOVES A
BARBED CAPSULE FROM ON HER TONGUE. SHE HAS USED IT TO DRUG TOM. SHE TURNS
AND WALKS AWAY FROM HER SPRAWLED SON.
CUT BACK TO A CLOSE SHOT OF TOM’S FACE. (NICE SHOT OF HIS LOVELY EYEBROWS AS
HE LAYS UNCONSCIOUS.)

NEXT SCENE

NIGHTTIME OUTSIDE THE LIFE SCIENCES BUILDING AT WHITNEY UNIVERSITY. SLOAN
STANDS ON THE CORNER MAKING A CALL ON HER CELL PHONE. SHE SEES RAY PULL UP
AND SHUTS OFF THE PHONE. SHE LEANS OVER THE PASSENGER WINDOW.

Sloan: Thanks for coming. I must’ve called Tom a hundred times in the last
hour, he doesn’t answer.

SLOAN GETS IN THE CAR.

Ray: I was in the lab when you called, with Attwood.
Sloan: What’d you find out?
Ray: I’m not exactly sure.

THEY DRIVE OFF.

NEXT SCENE

THE CAMERA PANS DOWN A TAUT ROPE IN A DIMLY LIT GREY-BRICK ROOM. WE SEE THE
ROPE IS TIED TO A WRIST. TOM’S WRIST. TOM JERKS AWAKE AND REALIZES HE’S TIED
UP. HE’S STANDING IN FRONT OF A SUPPORT COLUMN FOR THE BUILDING, ARMS
STRETCHED WIDE, BOTH WRISTS TIED TO A BEAM IN THE CEILING BY TWO SEPARATE
ROPES. HE’S NAKED FROM THE WAIST UP. (YOWZA!! GEE, HE’S GOT A NICE LITTLE
TUMMY!) HE TURNS HIS HEAD TO THE LEFT AS JANE DANIELS WALKS INTO VIEW BEHIND
HIM.

Tom: Where am I?

JANE CONTINUES TO PACE AROUND HIM.

Tom: Why am I still alive?
Jane: You have some questions to answer.
Tom: (curling his lip in derision) Why should I tell you anything?
Jane: To help us. You are one of us.

TOM LAUGHS RUEFULLY.

Tom: (with an evil smile) You’re gonna kill me no matter what I
say.....Aren’t you, Mother?

A MAN IN HIS MID-THIRTIES APPEARS IN THE DOORWAY. TOM TURNS TO LOOK AT HIM.
(ANOTHER NICE DESKTOP-WORTHY SHOT.)

Jane: (to Man) Go ahead.

THE MAN ENTERS THE ROOM AND WALKS UP TO TOM. HE GRABS TOM’S (BEAUTIFUL) CHIN
IN HIS MEATY PAW. TOM JERKS HIS HEAD BACK AND FORTH, TRYING TO REMOVE IT
FROM THE MAN’S GRASP.

Man: Mexico. What did you tell them? Did you tell them about the lights?
The pillar? Did you take the mummy?

GETTING NO RESPONSE FROM OUR STALWART HERO, THE MAN LAYS A PUNCH ACROSS TOM’S
CHIN. TOM GROANS, RECOVERS, AND GIVES THE MAN A VICIOUS GLARE.

Tom: (pointedly) I don’t know anything to tell.

THE MAN WALKS AWAY FROM TOM AND OVER TO JANE.

Man: (to Jane) This is useless.

NEXT SCENE

RAY AND SLOAN ARE TRAVELING IN RAY’S CAR.

Sloan: Listen, I really appreciate you taking this ride with me.
Ray: Hey, pretty soon you’re gonna be the only one I can talk to.
Sloan: What do you mean?
Ray: I’ve been married for twenty-seven years. And the whole time my wife
and I never had secrets between us. I always knew how to walk away from the
job.
Sloan: Until now.
Ray: It’s all I think about. It’s tearing us apart.
Sloan: (looking out the car window) Stop!

WE SEE RAY BRAKE THE CAR. HE PULLS UP NEXT TO A DUSTY BUICK SEDAN (AT
LEAST, I THINK IT’S A BUICK) AND SHUTS THE ENGINE OFF.

Ray: Daniels’ car?

SLOAN NODS.

Ray: I don’t wanna hear a whole opera about this, but you’re staying here.
Sloan: No, Ray, I have to come with--
Ray: (stopping her) Dr. Parker.

RAY GIVES HER A STERN LOOK.

Sloan: (cowed) Okay.

RAY REACHES INTO THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT AND PRODUCES A PISTOL.

Ray: Now, you wouldn’t know how to use this by any chance, would you?
Sloan: (shying away from the weapon) I hate guns! I’ve never even touched
one.
Ray: Until tonight. Here.

HE PUTS THE GUN IN HER HAND AND GETS OUT OF THE CAR WITH A FLASHLIGHT. HE
SHINES THE INSIDE OF TOM’S CAR WITH THE LIGHT. SEEING NOTHING, HE CONTINUES
ON.

NEXT SCENE

TOM IN THE BASEMENT ROOM. HE’S STILL TIED UP AND HE’S CLEARLY EXHAUSTED AS
HE HANGS FROM THE ROPES. HE CAN BARELY KEEP HIS EYES OPEN AS HE SWAYS IN HIS
RESTRAINTS. JANE APPROACHES HIM, SLOWLY TRAILING HER HAND ACROSS HIS CHEST
AND UP TO HIS FACE. HE DOESN’T LIKE HER TOUCH. WITH HER OTHER HAND SHE
PUTS A LITTLE GREEN CAPSULE UP TO HIS CLOSED LIPS.

Jane: I can make this easier for you. It can all be over in ten seconds, pai
nlessly.

TOM TURNS HIS HEAD, REFUSING THE EASY OUT.

Jane: Just tell me what you told them.

JANE FACES TOM, HOLDING HIS FACE AS IF SHE’S GOING KISS HIM AGAIN.

Tom: (harshly) I won’t.

HE INCLINES HIS HEAD A FRACTION.

Jane: Your choice.

TOM NODS.

Jane: I know you understand why it has to be this way.
Tom: (nodding again and speaking softly) YOUR survival depends on it. I’m
a risk.

SHE TRIES TO CARESS HIS FACE AND HE TURNS AWAY. SHE STROKES HIS CHEST AGAIN
AND A LOOK OF DISGUST CROSSES HIS FACE. JANE WALKS OVER TO THE DOORWAY. WE
SEE THE MAN STANDING RIGHT OUTSIDE IT. TOM CALLS TO JANE.

Tom: Answer one question.

JANE LOOKS BACK AT HER SON.

Tom: The tattoo?

JANE WALKS SLOWLY OVER TO TOM.

Jane: It’s bestowed only on the chosen. On those children selected to be
our leaders.

TOM FLASHES ON THE IMAGE OF THE YOUNG BOY IN FRONT OF THE FIRE, THE YOUNG
BLONDE WATCHING THE SCENE. THE IMAGES END AND WE SEE JANE BEHIND TOM, HAND
ON HIS ARM, KISSING HIS BICEP. TOM MOVES AWAY FROM HER TOUCH IN DISMAY.
(SHE IS ONE SICK PUPPY.) JANE WALKS THROUGH THE DOORWAY AS THE MAN ENTERS
THE ROOM AND WALKS MENACINGLY OVER TO TOM.
CUT TO RAY, OUTSIDE THE BURNED REMAINS OF TOM’S CHILDHOOD HOME. HE’S TALKING
ON A PORTABLE RADIO TO SLOAN.

Ray: (over radio) I see it. There’s not much left. Burned to the ground.

CUT TO SLOAN IN RAY’S CAR.

Sloan: (over radio) Anyone around?
Ray: (over radio) Doesn’t seem to be. I’ll have a look.

CUT BACK TO THE BASEMENT. JANE FLASHES ON AN IMAGE OF RAY WITH THE
FLASHLIGHT SPEAKING INTO THE PORTABLE RADIO. THE IMAGE ENDS AND WE SEE THE
MAN HAS JOINED JANE IN THE HALLWAY OUTSIDE THE ROOM TOM IS BEING HELD IN.
THE MAN HAS FLASHED ON THE IMAGE OF RAY AS WELL. TOM LOOKS TOWARD THE
DOORWAY AS JANE AND THE MAN WALK AWAY CAUTIOUSLY.

CUT TO SLOAN IN THE CAR. SHE’S GOTTEN A PAIR OF BINOCULARS FROM UNDER THE
SEAT AND IS LOOKING THROUGH THEM UP TO RAY, WHO IS STILL WALKING AROUND THE
BURNT HOUSE.

Ray: (over radio) Doesn’t seem to be any place for anyone to hide, either.

SLOAN IS SCANNING THE HOUSE. HER GAZE PAUSES ON THE STORM CELLAR DOORS. A
CRACK OF LIGHT FILTERS OUT, THEN WIDENS AS WE SEE THE MAN FROM THE BASEMENT
EMERGE AND CLIMB UP THE STAIRS WITH A GUN.

Sloan: (frantically over the portable radio) Ray...Ray...RAY! Watch out!
He’s outside Ray! He’s outside!

THE MAN WALKS OVER TO RAY, GUN RAISED. RAY TURNS AS THE MAN SHOOTS. RAY IS
HIT AND GOES DOWN WITH A GROAN. SLOAN HAS WITNESSED THE SCENE AND SEES RAY
GO DOWN. SHE STARTS THE CAR AND TEARS UP THE ROAD TOWARDS RAY AND THE MAN.
SLOAN PLOWS THROUGH THE MAN AND HE GOES FLYING OVER THE HOOD OF THE CAR,
FALLING TO THE GROUND UNCONSCIOUS. SLOAN GETS OUT OF THE CAR, LOOKING AROUND
FRANTICALLY.

Sloan: Ray!

RAY LIFTS HIS HEAD UP.

Ray: I’m alright.

SLOAN TRIES TO HURRY OVER TO RAY, BUT IS STOPPED BY JANE DANIELS, WHO HAS
JUST EMERGED FROM THE STORM CELLAR. SLOAN POINTS THE PISTOL AT HER.

Sloan: Where’s Tom?
Jane: Why do you care so much, Sloan?
Sloan: Who are you?
Jane: His mother.

SLOAN IS SHOCKED BY THIS STATEMENT.

Sloan: What did you do with him?
Jane: (coldly) He’s downstairs.

JANE TAKES A STEP TO THE SIDE TO LET SLOAN PASS. SLOAN HESITATES,
CONSIDERING JANE, THEN RUSHES FORWARD DOWN THE STAIRS. JANE GRABS HER ARM
AFTER A FEW STEPS, TURNING SLOAN AROUND TO FACE HER.

Jane: (contemptuously) Don’t get too attached.

JANE STARES AT SLOAN FOR A BEAT THEN LETS HER GO AND WALKS AWAY. SLOAN
WATCHES HER GO, THEN SCAMPERS DOWN THE STEPS. SLOAN BURSTS THROUGH THE
DOORWAY AND SEES TOM, STILL HANGING FROM THE ROPES. SHE GASPS AND PUTS THE
PISTOL IN HER POCKET.

Sloan: Ohmigod, Tom!

SHE RUSHES TO HIM AND REMOVES A STRIP OF DUCT TAPE FROM HIS MOUTH.

Tom: I’m okay, really.
Sloan: (softly, hysterically) Omigod, ok....ok.

SLOAN REACHES FOR THE ROPE AROUND HIS LEFT WRIST AND UNTIES IT. HE FALLS
INTO HER AS SOON AS IT IS LOOSE. SHE SWAYS AS SHE STRUGGLES TO SUPPORT HIS
WEIGHT.

Sloan: (breathlessly, mainly to herself) I got ya...ok.

SHE REACHES FOR THE OTHER ROPE AND UNTIES IT. TOM WINCES IN PAIN AS IT COMES
OFF. SLOAN’S BREATHING HARD NOW, SOBBING. TOM PULLS HER INTO AN EMBRACE AND
SMOOTHS THE BACK OF HER HEAD WITH HIS HANDS, COMFORTING HER, STROKING HER
HAIR. SHE CLINGS TIGHTLY TO TOM, REALLY WAILING NOW.

Tom: It’s ok....it’s ok....it’s ok. Shhh....shhh, it’s ok.

HE PULLS BACK TO LOOK AT HER FACE, HIS LIPS STILL PURSED FROM SHUSHING HER.

Tom: Shhh.

SLOAN LOOKS AT HIM. THEIR LIPS ARE SCANT INCHES APART, THEY’RE BREATHING
EACHOTHER’S AIR. SHE WANTS HIM TO KISS HER. SHE LOWERS HER LIDS AND HE
GLANCES DOWN AT HER LIPS. SLOAN EXHALES.

Tom: There’s something you need to see.

TOM, OBVIOUSLY STILL IN PAIN, TURNS SLOWLY AROUND AND BRACES HIMSELF AGAINST
THE SUPPORT COLUMN. ON HIS RIGHT SHOULDER BLADE IS A TATTOO, A PATTERN OF
CIRCLES AND SQUARES, LIKE THOSE ON THE BEDS AND ON THE MUMMY’S BACK. SLOAN
FLASHES ON AN IMAGE OF THE BED IN TOM’S LIVING ROOM AND ON THE MUMMY. SHE
STROKES HER HAND UP HIS BACK AND ACROSS THE TATTOO. SHE RAISES HER EYES AND
WE SEE SHOCK AND WONDER IN HER GAZE.

END