Black Island (Draft 3) By Christopher Jacobs
Story by Damon Hocking
Christopher Jacobs © 26/10/2016
EXT. ATLANTIC OCEAN - DUSK A solitary 18th century double-mast Brig is situated on the empty sea, overseeing the sun sink into the horizon. EXT. ROW BOAT - DUSK A row boat wades through the surf towards the shore. SKINNY sits across from THE PIRATE, who is bound and beaten. RAZOR, a towering titan of a man, has scars across his neck and rows the boat with ease. THE PIRATE Take me back. Let me talk to her. SKINNY If we return with you, we dance the hempmen’s jig. The Pirate coldly stares back at Skinny. THE PIRATE Must you give no quarter? SKINNY Not when my life’s on the line. The boat reaches the shore. EXT. TROPICAL ISLAND - DUSK Razor immediately stands. He grabs The Pirate and drags him off the boat, through the wet sand, and onto the dry. SKINNY He’s one of us, let go of him. The Pirate is thrown to the ground. Skinny takes out the bottle of rum and has a swig. Razor marches back to the row boat, and turns it around. Skinny limps to The Pirate. THE PIRATE The Davenport’s prize... Skinny pauses in his tracks. THE PIRATE My share of Davenport’s prize. Save me from this fate and its yours. SKINNY How much?
(CONTINUED)
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2.
THE PIRATE Bags of gold doubloons. Two plunders worth. Bring me back, and I’ll show you where its hidden. Skinny kneels in front of the Pirate. SKINNY Bullshit. We both know you squandered yer doubloons on grog and wenches. How much do ye have left? THE PIRATE Half a bag... SKINNY That won’t save me or you from rope’s end. Skinny undoes the ties around his hands. SKINNY I’m sorry lad, our hands are tied. THE PIRATE Don’t let me die on this island brother... not alone. SKINNY The captain is rational. She’ll listen to me. THE PIRATE We both know that’s a lie. The Pirate dashes sand into Skinny’s face, dazing and staggering him back. The Pirate swipes the flintlock from his holster. Razor pulls out a rifle from the row boat and takes aim. The Pirate moves back, his arm shaking whilst he points the heavy flintlock at Skinny. THE PIRATE Put the rifle down Razor! SKINNY You think that gun will grant you freedom? Yer addledTHE PIRATE -I’m not going to die alone in this hell-hole!
(CONTINUED)
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3. SKINNY We all live and die on the ambitions of murderers. We agreed to the terms, and also the consequences. However, your fate isn’t death; its exile. THE PIRATE A fate worse than death. I’ll be no different to an animal on this island. Alone, banished... SKINNY Must you cower to your own existence?
Skinny shuffles closer to The Pirate, his aim slowly lowers. SKINNY You must face your demons, as I must mine. We will come back for you. THE PIRATE Is the season so sharp as to make me shake, to which observers may imagine to be fear? I would have no such imputation. The flintlock slowly lowers. Skinny reaches the Pirate and delivers a right hook connecting with the Pirate’s chin, knocking him off his feet. Skinny delivers a barrage of punches to the Pirate whilst he struggles on the ground. SKINNY Don’t you ever point a gun at me. Breathless, Skinny uncorks the bottle of rum and enjoys a swig. He corks it and drops it by the pistol. SKINNY You’ll need these items more than I. Till we meet again... The Pirate eyes wearily close. Skinny marches back to the boat. The AFRICAN WOMAN stands behind Razor, whispering words into his ear (no one reacts to her). Razor takes aim at Skinny. The flintlock rifle fires. BOOM. Skinny drops to the floor. Razor reloads the weapon. Razor puts the rifle under his chin and squeezes the trigger.
4.
EXT. TROPICAL ISLAND - DAY The Pirate springs awake screaming, his face bruised, and the hot tropical sun blinding him. Beside him lay the bottle of rum and the flintlock pistol. The Pirate scans the coast and the horizon; he sees no sign of life, even though a solitary African lady stands by the water/treeline. He slouches back, lips chaffed, and takes a swig of rum in a desert paradise. THE PIRATE Would it not be so easy to just lay here and die? Rapidly, he starts sinking into the sand, drowning. EXT. TROPICAL ISLAND - DAWN The Pirate jolts awake, his face aged, attire ripped, and a growth of facial hair. He sits up under his makeshift shelter, the embers from the tired campfire still hot. He inspects the flintlock; the name Skinny is scratched into the handle. He holsters the pistol, picks up a handmade sack, and ventures off to the shore. In the shoreline, rocks are placed in an upside down V SHAPE, breaching the water line. Caught in the rock formation are a few shellfish, not enough to feed the Pirate. He breaks a mussel open with his hands, the inside a worn-out grey with orange puss. He flings it away. He opens the other mussels and begins to test the food on his skin, first the back of his hand, then his lips. EXT. TROPICAL ISLAND - DUSK Waves engulf the rocks as the Pirate marches over the jagged coastal terrain. He discovers an alcove with many rocks; plenty of mussels and shellfish are attached to them. The Pirate collects many and stores them in the bag crafted from his shirt. He slings his inventory over his shoulder and paces into the woods.
5.
EXT. BEACH CAMP - NIGHT He unloads firewood and the collection of shellfish onto the sand. He sprawls out over his makeshift bed exhausted, inspecting Skinny’s name etched into the pistol. THE PIRATE (to the pistol) You’re not coming back, are you... A lamp-lit boat silently drifts across the horizon, catching the Pirate’s eye. He springs up and runs to the edge of the water, waving his arms manically in the air. THE PIRATE he... He- HEY! OVER HERE! HEY! PLEASE! OVER HERE! The Pirate takes out his flintlock and points it towards the sky. His hand shaking. THE PIRATE PLEASE!!! HELP ME!!! He cocks the hammer. The ship slowly moves across the horizon. THE PIRATE FUCK! He throws the flintlock pistol into the sand and dashes to his supplies on the beach. Desperately, he builds a tinder nest. He places the bark underneath the notch, and with the spindle, rigorously spins it. THE PIRATE C’mon, c’mon! The ship slowly sails out of sight just as he produces a spark. With haste, he transfers the ember into the tinder nest, and the fire begins to grow. He dislodges a long branch that held his shelter up and shoves bark into the open end of the branch. He ignites the bark with the embers, producing a torch. He runs into the shallow shore; the ship, now a glimmer of light in the dark horizon. He swings the torch in the air. THE PIRATE HEY! Over here! COME BACK FOR ME!!
(CONTINUED)
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6.
The ship disappears in the horizon, the Pirate left clutching the torch, on his knees, in the shallow water. His shelter ruined; the empty rum bottle stands pointed towards the sky. Slowly, rain starts dripping onto the shore. A crack of lightning pierces the clouds and the volume of rain amplifies. Water begins to fill up the empty bottle. EXT. BEACH CAMP - DAY The bottle stands amongst the wrecked shelter, filled to the brim with water. The Pirate picks it up and ventures inland. EXT. INLAND - DAY The Pirate navigates his way deeper into the forest; light penetrating the tree tops slowly dwindle. He notices the eaten and rotting fruit at the bottom of a tree. He climbs it, collecting the fruit in his handmade rucksack. He returns to the ground, relaxing on a moss-covered fell-tree, secluded in a vibrant green environment. He takes the juicy fruit out from his bag, tearing it open with his hands. The Pirate notices a lizard cautiously approaching him on the fell tree. He tears off a piece of the fruit and places it near the lizard. THE PIRATE Every time we returned to land, first thing I’d eat was fresh fruit. He takes a bite of his fruit and his eye’s begin to tear; the sound of warm childhood jingles surround him. The jungle morphs into a market. EXT. MARKET - DAWN The African Woman stands at the fruit stall, witnessing a younger version of the Pirate eating the fruit, his eye’s tearing and face melancholic. THE PIRATE It reminds me of home. AFRICAN WOMAN (In native language) Then why did you leave?
(CONTINUED)
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7.
THE PIRATE Because there was nothing for me there. EXT. INLAND - DAY The rugged and aged Pirate emulates the same expression. THE PIRATE That market sold the nicest fruit I’ve ever tasted. Me and the vendor were alike. She was... er... I forgot the word, but... The lizard snatches the food and scurries away. The Pirate takes another bite of the fruit in silence. THE PIRATE (Depressed) This one tastes better anyway. EXT. INLAND - DUSK As he journeys back to his camp, he spots the African Woman stoic in his path, facing the opposite way. The elderly Pirate circles her; her face decorated with a white tribal paint. AFRICAN WOMAN (Speaking in native language) This is what you need; an escape from the decadence of society. THE PIRATE I’m... I can’tSkinny slaps the Pirate on the back. SKINNY It’s alright brother, we’ll be back for yer soon! Skinny turns the old Pirate around. SKINNY You’ve just gotta get back to the coast. Skinny shoves the Pirate onward, as he rambles through the forest alone.
8.
EXT. TROPICAL ISLAND - DUSK The Pirate emerges from the tree line still old. He trudges to his wrecked camp, Skinny following behind. THE PIRATE You’re not real, you can’t exist... SKINNY And you can? You live only because we witness you. THE PIRATE I survived without you; I know I exiSKINNY You can’t even remember yer own name. The Pirate shakily holds the flintlock to his head, revealing Skinny’s name etched into the handle upside down. THE PIRATE Ye had to engrave yours. He points the pistol at Skinny and back to himself. You and I, we’re no different... SKINNY You’ve become an animal. We’ve been away for awhile andTHE PIRATE Awhile!? You left me here for YEARS! The Pirate notices the African lady in the background, standing by the shore front. The water in the Pirate’s bottle turns black. SKINNY You’ve lost your sense of time. He marches to the lady curiously. She is staring into an open chest buried half way into the sand. THE PIRATE The Davenport’s prize... She smiles at the contents, but when the Pirate looks, he is horrified.
(CONTINUED)
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9.
The Pirate falls back and aims the pistol at the lady shaking. The African lady is in front of him surrounded in a cloud of mist; her dress black, and a white skull painted on her face. She reaches down, offering him the glowing fruit. He reaches out for it but is bombarded with images of black rotting fruit. The Pirate jumps back. He pulls the trigger. BOOM! SKINNY falls to the floor, blood spewing from his chest and mouth. The tribal lady that looms over Skinny disappears. The chest buried by the shore becomes the row boat. The Pirate ceases to be an old man, becoming young, frail and withered. The Pirate drops the pistol. He rushes to hold Skinny as he squirms on the sand. THE PIRATE Please... Skinny no. Don’t die, come on Skinny, please! The Pirate desperately applies pressure on the blood spilling out of his chest. Skinny’s body is motionless. Razor towers over them silently. THE PIRATE Please, Razor, don’t leave me here. Take me back, let me talk to herRazor turns away and paces back to the row boat. THE PIRATE Don’t leave me... not alone... Razor pushes the row-boat out to sea and sails back to the Brig, peacefully sitting on the horizon.