Two Sons

-Ext Homestead-Night

The Snow fall picked back up. Ripely stares into the dark home.

The whisper on the wind… “Ripley”…

Then…

Deep, unintelligible, groans come from within, shaking the very fabric of the time and space surrounding the home. Ripley’s gaze is drawn to the entrance which seems to being falling into itself. He’s being pulled fearfully toward it. Upon entering the home, Ripley is blasted back outside into the snow on his back. He scrambles to find his feet, but the beast that is over devours his purchase. Hart is filled with a new untapped rage, a rage that soffocates. Ripley balls up to accepts the frey of the beating. Hart pulls Rip’s arms away from protecting himself, then grabs his face in his hands, presses it into itself breaking Rip’s nose. He then puts his face to Rip’s and screams.

HART

"She was alone! I saw how you looked at her! You knew she was sick. I wanted to stay behind and you told me you needed me. You robbed that time from my hands! While she purged out blood from her mouth and face she lay here and died alone."

Ripley’s face is all tears, snot and blood. Hart stands up, as he does he lifts Rip into the air like a child and drops him apathetically. His gaze falls to the entrance, into the space he knows his mother lay. Cold and alone.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

a day prior.

Ripley is alone in a lightless space, suspended in air. A thin, dark green light softly pierces the blackness, sound has been muffled as if by water. From the darkness forms the shape of a man. The man is a shadow, the shadow of his father. The figure begins to increase till it is ten times the size of floating Ripley. Muted thuds with delayed echoes start to fill the space.

Then.

An all consuming torrent of water crashes in, but from no distinguishable direction; as if the water was there all along. The shadow swirls into itself leaving a large rainbow trout in its place. The fish gapes at Ripley then darts away into the surrounding, thick murkiness. The thuds are increasingly louder and louder then the sound of something scrapping across ice.

Above RIPLEY'S head, a ceiling of frozen water with a rough hole in it. A bearded man plunges into the water up to his waist grabbing Ripley by his collar. As they emerge from the ice, Ripley is a MAN now, and the bearded brute next him is HART.

Rip has grown tall, lean, and strong, his face covered in a two day old scruff. Rip lays on his back, blood and water mix and drain from his forehead onto the frozen lake under his back. Hart, resembling their uncle Gareth in stature, has a rope cinched above his hips, that is tethered to their horses on the lakes edge. He grabs his brother and drags him to their horses.

HART

“Freeze came late this year as I had just got done telling you.”

RIPLEY

"Well little brother. I believe you now. To argue with you now would make me look like both a fool and—”

HART

—“If I was able to feel this cold I might be an ornery cuss. If I die of pneumonia I am going to break your hands and your feet Rip. “

RIPLEY (shivering)

“I’d understand. Mind if we head back to that hut to get warm and start out again in the morning?”

HART

“Well I can not suffer to hear you wailing about being cold and I don’t want Mama to cry when I show up with my dead frozen brother.”

RIPLEY

“ Oh your generous soul Hart.”

HART

“ I don’t want to keep Mama waiting any longer than we have to. So we head out befofe sun up. I have a sick feeling in my stomach.

Cut TO:

Int Lawson Home - night

Lydia stirs a pot over the fire while peering at the moon through the small window.

LYDIA

"I worry about my boys Lord. Ripely has so much anger he can’t be reached. Not by me. Free him. Cover my Hart! He's so precious. He needs to realize he is a man now."

Lydia starts to cough while praying, but she continues to talk as she sets her self up a small meal.

LYDIA (CONT’D)"

"Show them the way. Heal their wounds and show them the way. Show them the way Lord. If they are to veer from your path bring them back Lord. If they are fooled by appealing…truths…lies that are turned truths. Bring them back to light. Break the arms of those need braking. Show them the way Oh Mighty God."

Her coughing turns from a slight annoyance to a full blown attack. She knocks over her bowl of soup, and drops to the floor. Blood sprays out onto the ground from her mouth.

Cut to:

Ext Wide Flat Barren Tundra - Day

Ripley wonders through the black soil of another planet, wearing a full bear pelt. Lightning flickers on the distant horizons, too far for thunder to be distinguished. Ripley shivers as he walks, breathing out chains of steam. Up ahead a tall, grey figure stands on the solitary rise in the otherwise flat terrain. Hart, in a head to toe coyote outfit, stares out toward the on coming storm. Ripley approaches his brother, just as time stands still.

A white hot flash from behind Ripley washes out the whole scene, then a crawling, determined finger of lightning inches from over Ripley’s shoulder to the ground between his brother and him. The lightning strike seems to take minutes, then time starts again and the aftershock of the blast knocks Ripley down. Now the flashes and booms are constant. The entire landscape becomes a battlefield of explosions.

HART

" We should have stayed with mother. You knew she was ill...now she is leaving me. You wanted her to die alone!

Cut to: Int trappers Hut - Morning

Ripley abruptly rolls awake and onto the floor, scans the room for Hart, only to find an empty, quiet cabin. Sun and snow flakes falling to the floor throuh a hole in the roof. He is shivering from the cold.

RIPLEY

“Thaw come early my hide.”

He jumps up to go outside to find his horse, alone in the miniature stable, fresh tracks heading off the direction their tracks came from.

RIPLEY(CONT’D)

"Talking in your sleep again Ripley you damn fool.

SHADOW

"He has to grow up. "

Ripley gathers his things and heads out in the same direction as the tracks.

Cut to:

Ext homestead - night

Hart’s horse wanders outside the stables, needeing to be put away for the night, still panting from the days ride, steam lifting from its body. Ripley rides into view as the vestige of light fades from the deep, cloudy skies. The edges of the surrounding horizons flash and flicker with light from distant storms. Ripley rides slowly up to his brothers horse, scanning for his brother’s tracks in the snow, none are found by the horse. The house appears sleeping, no smoke churning from its chimney nor light from within The soul entrance is ajar, and tracks lead, only, inside. Ripley hesitates a moment then hops from his horse, instead of going right into the home he turns and busies himself with the horses. His walking becomes weak bringing him to his knees, his eyes filled with tears.

Then...

Snow fall has picked back up.

Ripley stands up. Snow fall picks up again. He walks toward the home when…

Deep, unintelligible, groans come from the home, shaking the very fabric of the time surrounding it. Ripley’s gaze is into the home which seems to being falling into itself. He staggers fearfully toward it. Upon entering the home, Ripley is blasted back outside into the snow on his back. He scrambles to find his feet, but the beast that is over only eats his purchase. Hart is filled with a new untapped rage, a rage that suffocates. Ripley balls up as much as he can and accepts the frey of the beating. Hart pulls Rip’s arms away from protecting himself, then grabs his brother’s face in his hands and presses it into itself breaking Rip’s nose. He then puts his face to Rip’s and screams.

HART

"She was alone! I saw how you looked at her, you knew she was sick. I wanted to stay behind and you told me you needed me. You robbed that time from my hands! While she purged out blood from her mouth and face she lay here and died alone."

Ripley’s face is tears, snot and blood. Hart stands up, as he does he lifts Rip into the air like a child and drops him apathetically. Harts falls to the entrance, into the soace he knows his mother lies.

HART (CONT’D)

"Rip. I will not forgive you. I will harbor this hate and allow it to embed me with…"

RIPLEY

Hart...Hart...Ma!

SHADOW

"Alone alone alone alone we are alone."

RIPLEY

"Quiet. You be quiet! '

Ripley drags himself into the home, their mother has been placed on her bed by Hart. The shadow stands above her looking down at her face. Ripley walks into the shadow , now occupying the exact space.

SHADOW

She left you when he was born. She left you as he left you. You forgot and yourself Rip. Finally together you and I.

RIPLEY

"Finally. "

Their shadow watched by the moonlight, are consumed as the room goes to… Fade to black:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ext Killing Fields - Morning

A wide flat riverbed snakes for miles through the Colorado plains, the water is shallow but fast. Still smoldering heaps of Cheyenne with their homes scatter the valley. A woman lay naked with her womb cut open and skewered baby beside her. A great majority of the dead are women and children. A group of Cheyenne men can be seen riding in on horseback, followed by Rip and Hart, both are men now. The Cheyenne bucks start screaming and running through the scene looking for their loved ones. Rip's eye are red with tears while Hart is calmly taking it all in. Far out, amongst it all, a giant man walks half naked, covered in blood and scared, oily skin. One scar traces from his chin to the crown; he drags two dead children by their hair. This man is only visible to Rip.

RIPLEY

"I did this"

Hart shakes his head. He disagrees.

HART

"Now?"

The giant's eyes are trained on Rip's, a broad, genuine smile crosses his face.

RIPLEY

" We go back to him. Then we will bury them all with their own blood."

HART

"Music. Sweet music."

SUPERIMPOSE:

F U R T H E R W E S T