Ghost short story script eight pages by Randy Stradley

PAGE ONE (four panels) Panel 1. Establishing shot. A dark street in one of Arcadias more dangerous urban industrial areas. The tallest buildings are no more than three or four stories in height and many feature steel roll-up doors that allow trucks to enter for loading and unloading. At this late hour, all of the businesses are closed and the steel doors rolled down and locked. A few of the places are closed permanently their doors and windows boarded up. The street is deserted except for a single figure, an OLD MAN, half-running, half-stumbling down a sidewalk. Maybe in the distance we can see some of the taller buildings of the downtown area, but please, no full moon (there cant always be a full moon in Arcadia). Its cool, but not uncomfortably cold. No rain. 1 MAN (weak): 2 CAP: HELP! HIS CRIES ARE WEAK HIS VOICE BRITTLE WITH TIME AND HOARSE FROM DISUSE. NOBODY WILL HEAR HIM.

Panel 2. Ground level, close on the old mans feet as he leaves the sidewalk and begins to run across the street. The man is wearing threadbare jeans, wrinkled and sagging on his thin form and notched with a belt obviously too large for him, and battered work boots. 3 CAP: HE RUNS, BUT HIS OLD LEGS CANT CARRY HIM FAST ENOUGH, AND BESIDES, THERES NOWHERE HE CAN RUN

Panel 3. Medium shot of the man as he stops suddenly, terrified. Headlights from off-panel have come on, illuminating him and half blinding him. He has thrown up one arm to block the light. The man is wearing a tattered button-front shirt and an equally tattered army fatigue jacket. He has a short, grizzled beard, but it doesnt obscure his hard cheek bones or thin, cracked lips. Everything about this guy says hard times, shattered dreams, and life on the street. 4 CAP: (more) THAT THEY CANT FIND HIM.

Ghost short story script eight pages by Randy Stradley

PAGE ONE, CONTINUED Panel 4. Larger panel. Through the window of the vehicle whose headlights shine on the old man. Make it one of those ubiquitous Jeep Cherokees. At the wheel is a burly creep with a crew-cut and an underbite. Lets call him BRUNO. Beside him, leaning close to the windshield, is a smaller guy, CLIFF. Cliff has all the charm of a weasel, with longish dark slicked back and an earring in one lobe. Hes holding an expensive home video camera to his eye, taping as the car races toward the terrified man frozen in the headlights. Both Bruno and Cliff are sixteen or seventeen, dressed in expensive brand name clothes, and look like they come from very well-to-do families. Bruno is turned to shout something at Cliff, his face lit with an evil grin. Both are wearing gloves (so theyll leave no fingerprints). Leave room for the captions. 5 CAP: ID HEARD ABOUT THIS. THEY CALL IT CAR TAG, BUM HUNTING, OR JUST THE SPORT. THE CHILDREN OF ARCADIAS ELITE STEAL A CAR AND CHASE A HOMELESS PERSON UNTIL THEY RUN THEM DOWN. SO FAR, THE POLICE HAVE FOUND NO LEADS. BUT I HAVE. ITS AMAZING WHAT SOME PEOPLE TALK ABOUT WHEN THEY THINK NOBODY CAN HEAR THEM.

6 CAP:

Ghost short story script eight pages by Randy Stradley

PAGE TWO (five panels) Panel 1. A dramatic up view of Ghost floating in mid air a few feet below the top of the nearest building. Lit from below, her stark face shows just the beginnings of rage. Her cape billows and swirls in the wind. Her .45s are in their holsters, her arms hang loosely at her sides. Ghost is the picture of a beautiful, vengeful goddess looking down on her subjects with displeasure. What were going for here is a shot of Ghost for all of those people who have never seen her before. We want to convey how sexy, how beautiful, how ethereal, how powerful she is. 1 CAP: AND ITS FRIGHTENING WHAT SOME PEOPLE WILL DO WHEN THEY THINK THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH IT. THE VIDEO CAMERA IS A NEW TWIST. THAT OLD MAN ONLY HAS ONE CHANCE ME. GHOST (use logo)
IN

2 CAP: 3 TITLE:

DEADLY GAME Panel 2. Looking through the windshield, into the Jeep. Cliff is still holding steady with the video camera, and Bruno is hunched over the wheel, anticipating the impending impact. Both wear expressions that indicate that they cant imagine having more fun than this. If we can see the red light on the front of the camera, it is lit. 1 CAP: 2 CLIFF (from car): 3 BRUNO (from car): HE CERTAINLY WONT GET A REPRIEVE FROM THE PAIR IN THE CAR. WAITLL THE GUYS SEE THIS! HOLD THAT CAMERA STEADY! DONT MISS ANY OF THE ACTION!

Panel 3. View from street level. We can see the old mans legs in the panel, and the fastapproaching headlights of the Jeep. From this POV we can also see The small figure of Ghost floating above, watching. 4 CAP: BUT TO REACH HIM IN TIME, I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING I USUALLY SAVE AS A LAST RESORT. I HATE TO DO IT, BUT I HAVE TO JUMP SPACE.

5 CAP: (more)

Ghost short story script eight pages by Randy Stradley

PAGE TWO, CONTINUED Panel 4. Medium shot of Ghost, floating in air. There is a building behind her. 6 CAP: I CONCENTRATE

Panel 5. Same angle as Panel 4, but now all we see is the building. Ghost is gone. Perhaps we see just a ghostly trace of her as she vanishes. 7 CAP: AND IM GONE.

Ghost short story script eight pages by Randy Stradley

PAGE THREE (four panels) Panel 1. Large establishing shot of Ghosts private hell. This is the dimension Ghost enters when she is teleporting from one place to another. Time here has no relation to our world. Ghost can spend a minute, an hour, or a year in this dimension, and when she returns to our world no time will have passed -- shell just emerge in a different spot. It is a bleak, desolate landscape of perpetual twilight. Dank pools of dark liquid dot the gently rolling plain, mirroring the scuddy clouds above. The bones and rotting carcasses of strange humanoid demon-creatures lie half-exposed in the mud and slime. The fanged skull nearest to us appears to have a bullet hole in the center of its knobby forehead. Ghost glides low above the terrain, keeping a watchful eye for danger. For the moment, however, there is no sign of any other living thing. 1 CAP: 2 CAP: BUT WHERE IVE GONE TO IS STILL A MYSTERY. THE DEMON WHO CALLS HIMSELF CAMERON NEMO SAID THAT THIS PLACE EXISTS WITHIN ME IN MY MIND.

Panel 2. Close on Ghost as she glides. Still wary, she also looks thoughtful maybe a little sad. 3 CAP: IF THATS TRUE, IT MIGHT EXPLAIN WHY TIME HAS NO MEANING HERE

Panel 3. Looking down at the gliding figure of Ghost from above as she passes over one of the pools. From this angle we can see the pool and the reflection it provides but is it really a reflection? Or is it an actual figure floating in the liquid just beneath the surface? The reflection mirrors Ghosts pose, but its not Ghost, its her alter ego, Elisa Cameron, in her street clothes. 4 CAP: AND WHY SO MUCH OF MY -- ELISA CAMERONS -- PAST MANIFESTS ITSELF IN THIS PLACE.

Panel 4. Long shot of Ghost gliding over the twilight terrain. In our foreground, peering at Ghost from behind the cover of a scarred boulder, is one of the living demons from this realm. Ghost is coming this way and the demon is preparing to spring on her. 5 CAP: OF COURSE, IM ASSUMING I CAN TAKE NEMO AT HIS WORD.

Ghost short story script eight pages by Randy Stradley

PAGE FOUR (five panels) Panel 1. The top half of this page is two equal-sized panels showing similar scenes. The first panel is happening now, in Ghosts hell world, the second and third are flashback panels. Make sure the panel borders clearly indicate happening now or flashback. In this panel, the demon from the last panel on Page 4 is leaping from behind his boulder to attack Ghost. Make him snarling, vicious, nasty. Ghost rears back, one hand up to defend herself, the other going for a gun. 1 CAP: IT COULD BE THAT WHEN HE TOLD ME HE CAME FROM THIS HELL -- WHEREVER THIS PLACE IS -THAT HE WAS LYING TRYING TO PSYCHE ME OUT MAYBE ITS EVERYONES HELL.

2 CAP:

Panel 2. Flashback. This is a scene that weve never actually seen before, but it could be construed as being the aftermath of Cameron Nemos first on-panel appearance in Ghost #2 in which Nemo confronts Ghost in a seedy bar. Ghost is reacting (in a way that parallels her position in the previous panel) as Cameron Nemo, in his tuxedo and grinning devil mask, lunges at her (similar, of course, the demon in Panel 1), leaping over the body of the man he has just killed. CAP: WHATEVER THE TRUTH MAY BE, THE FACT IS THAT IM THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR LETTING NEMO LOOSE IN THE WORLD.

Panel 3. Close on Ghosts face. A look of determination shows. She knows she has to be strong. She cant let herself give in to self-pity. CAP: ENOUGH OF THIS. I CANT AFFORD SELF-PITY

Panel 4. Largest of the three bottom panels. Ghost blasts the attacking demon with her .45. The shots knock the demon back, killing him. CAP: SFX: I CANT BACK AWAY FROM THE FIGHT FROM THE JOB IVE TAKEN ON. BLAM! BLAM!

Panel 5. Satisfied with her performance, Ghost holsters her gun, concentrating to return to the real world... CAP: TIME TO GET BACK TO IT.

Ghost short story script eight pages by Randy Stradley

PAGE FIVE (three panels) Panel 1. Back in the real world. Our POV is from just behind the terrified old man, still frozen in the headlights of the oncoming Jeep. Not a second has passed from the last time we saw him. The Jeep is about two seconds from impact. CAP: A SECONDS CONCENTRATION

Panel 2. Same angle as previous panel, but now we can see a billow of white from Ghosts cape as she has suddenly materialized directly behind the man. Her left hand is on his shoulder. He has turned to look at her, startled by the sudden presence beside him. The Jeep is even closer now, one second away. At this range we can see Brunos startled face through the windshield. We can also see the tiny red glow from the light on Cliffs camera. CAP: GHOST: AND IM BACK. NO TIME HAS ELAPSED. DONT WORRY. IVE GOT YOU.

Panel 3. Large panel. Either from inside the Jeep looking out, or from outside from an angle just slightly behind the front door of the vehicle looking forward. Ghost is behind the old man, her left hand on his shoulder, ghosting him. She has a look of righteous anger and defiance on her face once again our vengeful goddess. The old man is turned back toward the Jeep, looking certain that he is about to die. Ghosts cape billows about her as if it has a life of its own, framing both her and the old man in a white expanse one that is made all the whiter by the intense illumination from the Jeeps headlights. The Jeep is less than a foot away from impact. Within the vehicle, we can see Cliff and Bruno reacting in astonishment to Ghosts sudden appearance, but Cliff is still holding the video camera so that its taking pictures of Ghost. BRUNO: CLIFF: WHAT THE --?! WHERED SHE COME FROM --?!

Ghost short story script eight pages by Randy Stradley

PAGE SIX (three panels) Four panels, all from the same POV, each one on a separate tier. Place Ghost and the old man in the center of the panel. Theyll maintain this position in all four panels. The Jeep will move left to right through them. Panel/tier 1. Ghost and the old man are within the hood of the Jeep, ghosted so that the Jeep harmlessly passes through them. Ghost should be positioned so that she will pass more or less directly through the drivers position. The old man is reacting in fright, throwing his arms up to protect himself. Ghost is smiling, but not pleasantly she has some kind of punishment in mind for Bruno and Cliff. Cliff is still getting all of this on tape, though he and Bruno are gaping in disbelief. CAP: THE RED RECORD LIGHT ON THE CAMERA IS LIT. GOOD.

Panel/tier 2. Ghost and the old man are within the cab of the Jeep as it rushes through them. If we can see Bruno at all, the thing we might notice if we look real close is that his hands arent on the steering wheel anymore. CAP: THIS WILL ONLY TAKE A SECOND, BUT I WANT THEM TO GET IT ALL ON TAPE.

Panel/tier 3. Ghost and the old man emerge from the rear of the Jeep. They havent been touched. The old man is peeking through his fingers in uncomprehending relief. Ghosts left hand is, of course, still on the old mans shoulder, maintaining contact so that hes ghosted. We cant see her right hand, however, because the old man blocks our view. CAP: I WANT THEM AND THEIR FRIENDS TO BE ABLE TO WATCH IT OVER AND OVER.

Panel/tier 4. Ghost and the old man standing in the street. We see the rear of the Jeep at the right edge of the panel as it races out of frame. Ghost has let go of the man, and theyre both solid now. The old man is looking down at himself as if he cant believe hes still in one piece. She smiles at him. Dust and a shred of old newspaper blow by, kicked up by the speed of the Jeeps passage. The old man continues to block our view of Ghosts right hand. CAP: I DONT EVER WANT THEM TO FORGET WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PEOPLE TRY THIS KIND OF THING IN MY TOWN. RELAX, OLD TIMER --

GHOST:

Ghost short story script eight pages by Randy Stradley

PAGE SEVEN (four panels) Panel 1. Angle on Ghost as she turns to watch the Jeep as it roars away. It is swerving wildly, tilting up on two wheels, completely out of control. Ghosts right hand is below the panel border so that we cant see what shes holding. GHOST: -- YOURE SAFE, NOW.

Panel 2. A view through Ghosts eyes, looking down at her right hand. In it, she holds the Jeeps steering wheel which she ghosted out of the vehicle as it passed through her (or she through it). GHOST (OP): THEYRE NOT.

Panel 3. Largest panel. Inside the Jeep. Bruno and Cliff scream in terror as the Jeep runs out of control. Brunos hands are flailing wildly, still trying to understand what happened to the steering wheel. Cliff is holding the video camera loosely in one hand, no longer consciously aiming it. By coincidence, it is aimed for a good shot of Bruno. The tiny red light on the camera still glows. CLIFF & BRUNO: AAAAAAAHHH!

Panel 4. The Jeep crashes into the corner of a building. The building doesnt give. The Jeep does. The crash isnt bad enough that it will be fatal for Bruno and Cliff, but neither will they walk away without a few broken bones. Theres no fire, no explosion. Just a crash. SFX (only if necessary): KRASH!

Ghost short story script eight pages by Randy Stradley

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PAGE EIGHT (four panels) Panel 1. Two-shot. Ghost speaks to the old man, but hes distracted, looking off panel at the wreck. Hes still pretty freaked out. 1 GHOST: 2 GHOST: 3 MAN: WHEN THE POLICE GET HERE, TELL THEM TO WATCH THE VIDEO TAPE IN THE KIDS CAMERA. AND TELL THEM I SAID TO GIVE EACH KID A COPY OF IT -- AFTER THEYRE OUT OF JAIL. Uh, SURE WHATEVER YOU WANT

Panel 2. Close on the old guy. He turns toward Ghost (our POV) as she finally gets his attention. 4 GHOST: 5 MAN: LISTEN. THERES ONE MORE THING. Huh?

Panel 3. Similar to panel 1. Ghost is smiling. 6 GHOST: GET YOURSELF A GOOD LAWYER. WITH THE EVIDENCE THATS ON THAT TAPE, YOUVE GOT THE MAKINGS OF A CIVIL SUIT THAT WILL GET YOU OFF THE STREETS, AND THEN SOME.

Panel 4. Ghost flies away, rising toward us. Below her, we see the old man standing in the street, holding the steering wheel in his hand. Ghost has just the faintest traces of a smile on her lips. 7 MAN (quiet): 8 CAP: TH-THANK YOU. HIS VOICE IS WEAK, BRITTLE WITH TIME AND HOARSE FROM DISUSE. BUT I HEAR HIM JUST FINE. THE END.

9 BOTTOM CAP: