I am Legend Screenplay by Mark Protosevich based on the novel by Richard Matheson In 1995, researchers at the University of Kansas used viruses linked to healthy respiratory cells to destroy and replace diseased cells in patients afflicted with lung cancer. In 1997, scientists at the Krippen Center for Genetic Research in Berkeley, California made a significant stride forward. By manipulating the genetic information in a common blood cell and infusing it with the characteristics of a potent virus, they were able to create a biological warrior cell--the viragene. Once introduced into a host, the viragene could hunt and obliterate the body's natural enemies--tumors, thickening arteries, decaying bone. Anything. The 'enemy' would be consumed, digested, and transformed into energy to fuel the viragene. It was a perfect tool. And the possibilities were limitless. AIDS, cancer, muscular dystrophy, even the flu--the viragene could beat them all. The first human trials began in March of 1998. The initial trial group, dubbed the 'Krippen Ten', were afflicted with leukemia. These individuals, along with Dr. Krippen, were about to make more than medical history. They were to forever change the course of humanity. "Being unconquerable lies with yourself; being conquerable lies with the enemy." Sun Tzu, The Art of War. "We used to wonder where war lived, what it was that made it so vile. And now we realize that we know where it lives. That it is inside ourselves." Albert Camus, Notebooks. "'Let there be light!' said God, and there was light. 'Let there be blood!' says man, and there's a sea!" Lord Byron, Don Juan. A VIDEO IMAGE FLICKERS TO LIFE. A ruggedly handsome man with dark, haunted eyes. Eyes that have seen hell. NEVILLE My name is Robert Neville. Today is October 17th, the year 2002. I was born in 1960, on this very day, so that makes today my birthday. (remembering) Every year for my birthday, my wife Ellen would throw me a party. A kid's party. Cake, ice cream, funny hats, "Pin the Tail on the Donkey". One year she rented a pony. It didn't matter that we were grown-ups and this was all kind of silly to the neighbors. She just did things like that. She brought such joy into everything she did, everything she touched... (too nostalgic) I am forty-two today. I feel fine. I feel fit. My mental state is... pretty good. (withdraws) Let's start over. (focuses) My name is Robert Neville. I was born forty-two years ago in Des Moines, Iowa. I had a wife Ellen and a daughter Grace. My father's name was Bill and my mother's Charlotte. They were farm people. I hope... Someday... When someone finds these tapes... You will know who I was. What I was about. What I tried to do. What I try to do. (withdraws) I think I killed six last night. THE VIDEO IMAGE TURNS TO STATIC. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - DAY ROBERT NEVILLE switches off the VIDEO CAMERA pointed at him. He collapses the tripod and rests the apparatus in a corner. He wears shorts, a t-shirt, tennis shoes. He slices a CD into an impressive MUSIC SYSTEM and Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony BLASTS from speakers throughout the house. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - EXERCISE ROOM - DAY A serious workout facility. Weights, boxer's heavy bag, rowing machine, etc. Neville pushes himself through a series of strenuous exercises. His body is in fantastic shape. Taught muscle. Lean, not bulky. His movements are lithe, almost graceful. More track athlete than body builder. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - SHOWER - DAY Neville washes his body and we notice the SCARS. On his ankles, wrists, neck, stomach, back. A few are the results of crude stitches, the others... Bite marks ? Scratches ? INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIBRARY - DAY Neville passes shelves filled with COMPACT DISCS, AUDIO CASSETTES, and VIDEOTAPES. Another section filled with BOOKS and PAINTINGS. Only a carefully selected few hang on the walls--Degas, Klee, Rothko, Van Gogh. The rest are stacked like pallets. They must be copies. Mustn't they? A TELEVISION gives us the "Today Show", A RADIO, NPR's "Morning Edition", "Resurrection" in the background. A wall of sound. The sound of everyday life. Normal life. Neville descends a SPIRAL STAIRCASE leading to the GROUND FLOOR. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - GREENHOUSE - DAY Neville strolls the aisles of a hothouse. Vegetables, fruit, herbs, potatoes. All in carefully compartmentalized lots. Panes of glass on the roof allow in SUNLIGHT. Neville notices a loose screw on a shutter and pulls a SQUARE of METAL from his pocket. It's an ALL-IN-ONE-TOOL--something Neville is never without. Only two inches-by-two inches, it has a screwdriver tip, a serrated 'saw' edge, a knife edge, magnifying glass, etc. Neville tightens the screw, holds the tool in his teeth--a habit--and makes sure the window is shut tight. Neville picks a few strawberries, checks the Condition of a tomato plant, and trims a vine with the knife side of the tool. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY Neville sits at a table eating a bowl of oatmeal with fresh s-strawberries, sipping a cup of coffee. On a wall mounted TELEVISION, Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel. Neville watches with an almost disturbing gaze. He mouths along with them, somehow anticipating the "live" dialogue... NEVILLE / KATIE And for those of us who'd like to lose a few pounds, Dr. Art Ulene will be here to tell us about his new weight loss plan... (If we paid attention we'd notice the information contained in the TV show and radio "broadcast" is old and familiar. We know these stories. There's nothing "new" about the news.) Outside, we HEAR a DOG BARKING. Neville enters a ROOM adjacent to the kitchen--a state-of-the-art MEDICAL FACILITY. Operating table, pharmacy, I.V.s, EKG, surgical equipment, you name it. He uses a hypodermic to withdraw BLOOD from his arm. He fills two plastic vials and tosses the syringe into a BIOHAZARD waste bin. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAY Spartan. Bed, reading lamp, a few books. A PHOTO of his wife and child. on the wall, an HISTORICAL PAINTING showing Napoleon's surrender at Waterloo. Nearby, within a second's grasp from bedside, are a SHOTGUN and a .44 MAGNUM. At a closet filled with very few clothes--all the same type--Neville loses the robe and steps into a BLACK TIGHT-FITTING BODYSUIT. Similar to a diver's wetsuit, but the material is more flexible. It's some type of protective undergarment, composed of a Kevlar-like mesh. He dons a Kevlar vest, a work shirt and durable pants. He slips on combat boots, tucks the pants into them, and TAPES THEM . He adds a "utility" belt and fits the BLOOD VIALS into a secure pouch. He straps on two wristwatches and chains an ELECTRONIC POCKET WATCH to his belt. Again, the DOG BARKS outside. NEVILLE All right, all right. Keep your fur on. He picks up a REMOTE CONTROL and switches off the TV, radio, and music. It's replaced by an EERIE SILENCE. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - GARAGE - DAY A no-frills underground garage. A LAND ROVER, SPORTS CAR, and MOTORCYCLE. (Now shut off, the walls are lined with HALOGEN LAMPS.) Neville walks to an electronic control panel and hits a button. The garage door opens, but it doesn't open vertically. Instead, a horizontal panel slides back, parallel with the earth's surface, revealing a slanted cement ramp leading to the garage below. SUNLIGHT pours in from above. The DOG BARKS. A MUSCULAR CANINE silhouetted at the top. Neville WHISTLES. The dog bounds down the ramp, delighted to see its master. Neville reacts coldly. No, "Hi, boy, how ya doin'?!" Nothing. We know the dog wants a reaction, but Neville is firm. He opens a CABINET, grabs a bag, and pours some chow. The dog hungrily devours his breakfast and Neville sees the bag is empty. He opens ANOTHER and finds it's CRAWLING WITH ANTS. NEVILLE Terrific. He dumps the infested bag into a trash Container. Neville whistles and points to the Land Rover. The dog leaps into the vehicle. Neville shuts the passenger door and we see the Rover has been customized. The roof, hood, doors, and trunk are crisscrossed with BARBED WIRE. All windows--save the windshield, and that is protected by chicken wire--have been replaced by THICK METAL PLATES. SLITS are cut into the steel, but visibility is limited. INT. LAND ROVER - DAY Neville climbs behind the wheel. The interior of the vehicle is outfitted with emergency medical supplies, flares, heavy-duty flashlights, lamps, rope, wire, tools. The dog settles an a blanket an the floor. Neville hits a few switches and CLOSED-CIRCUIT MONITORS flicker to life. Via video, they show the side and rear views from the Land Rover. Neville starts her up and the souped-up engine ROARS to life. We stay within the Land Rover as it ascends the ramp. NEVILLE (donning sunglasses) Another beautiful day. EXT. CITY STREET - DAY The Land Rover speeds along. We vaguely recognize the road as one of streets of SAN FRANCISCO, but something's wrong. The road is in great disrepair and littered with debris. The trees are barren, the area deathly silent, and there is absolutely no other traffic. INT. LAND ROVER - DAY Neville continues to listen to Resurrection an the Rover's CD player. He spots a DRIVE-WAY and turns into it. EXT. RADIO STATION - DAY High on a hill sits an abandoned broadcasting facility and tower. This too is in utter disrepair. The Land Rover is parked outside, the dog an guard. A desolate wind whistles. INT. RADIO STATION - BASEMENT - DAY Very familiar with the equipment, Neville connects wires, throws switches, and powers up the EMERGENCY GENERATOR. INT. RADIO STATION - DJ BOOTH / CONTROL ROOM - DAY Neville adjusts the mixing panel and takes a seat behind a microphone. (Throughout this scene we will notice that the radio station looks like a tornado blew through it.) NEVILLE Good Morning San Francisco. Big Bob Neville here with you this morning, as I am every morning. Monday through Sunday, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five fucking days a year. Traffic? There is none. Weather? Who cares. News? I'm still alive. What about you, San Francisco? How 'bout giving me a call? 1-800-F-U-C-K-Y-O-U. He glances to his right. The Telephone switchboard panel is shattered, dead, covered with dust. NEVILLE Wow. The board's lit up like a Christmas tree. Too bad our time is up. If you would like to see me in the flesh, however, I'll be doing a personal appearance this afternoon at Golden Gate Park. Today and every day. 12 Noon. All you have to do is show up. (dead air) Please (more silence, then pops a tape cart into a player) I leave you today with one of my favorites. I know you're sick of the fact that I only play classical music, but frankly, I don't care. I like it. And right now... that's all that matters. An Eric Satie piano concerto. Melancholy and haunting. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREETS- VARIOUS - DAY MUSIC CONTINUES as the Land Rover cruises through the heart of the city. We don't spend much time here and it's frustrating, because we can't fully comprehend the visual make-up of downtown. The streets are deserted, litter and dust blow freely with the wind and the buildings look ravaged. Looted? Burned? Destroyed by earthquake? EXT. PET STORE - DAY Neville and the dog exit the Rover and for the first time we notice Neville wears a shoulder holster containing a .45 automatic. and carries an M-16 machine gun. A high-intensity flashlight is attached to the machine gun barrel and extra ammo clips taped to its handle. INT. PET STORE - DAY Merchandise is scattered on the floor--chew toys, plastic bones, etc.--and the dog is drawn to it. Neville whistles and the dog obeys, disappointed. Neville switches on the flashlight and heads for a STORAGE ROOM. INT. PET STORE - STORAGE ROOM - DAY Neville KICKS IN the door. The flashlight beam dances to all corners. Nothing but old supplies. The dog prances in and leads Neville to the bags of chow. He hefts them onto his shoulder. Whistles. The dog doesn't follow. His vision is locked on a thick piece of rawhide. He turns his sad eyes to Neville, who gives in, nods. The dog happily grabs it between his teeth. EXT. GOLDEN GATE PARK - DAY The monuments still remain, but the grass is scorched, tall, and dry. Neville eats a sandwich he made at home and the dog chews the rawhide. Neville checks his watch. 12:45. Scans the area. Absolutely no one in sight. Forlornly, he stares at the ground, the cracks in the pavement... Alone. EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET - DAY The streets are abandoned, buildings deserted. The Land Rover parked at an intersection, the dog on lookout. Neville stands beneath a lamp post, a coil of WIRE over his shoulder. He measures a length, tosses it over the arm of the post, and creates an old-fashioned SNAPE out of the cable. He adjusts, tightens, and pulls one of the vials of blood from his utility belt. He takes a rag, douses it with the blood, and positions it as "bait" in the snare. Satisfied with the trap, he whistles for the dog and returns to the Land Rover. EXT. ANOTHER STREET - DAY Neville sets another snare. EXT. DEPARTMENT STORE - DAY The Land Rover pulls to a stop in front of what used to be Nieman-Marcus. Right now, it looks like a ghetto tenement. INT. LAND ROVER - DAY Neville's eyes are glued to something across the street... EXT. STREET - DAY A BODY dangles from one of Neville's traps--one he must have set a previous day. It hangs limply, ankle ensnared by the cable, its head hanging a few feet above the ground. EXT. LAND ROVER / STREET - DAY With the dog at his heels, Neville chambers a round in the .45 and approaches the body. ANOTHER ANGLE Quite abruptly, we are watching Neville from across the street, HIGH ABOVE, from a sixth or seventh story window. We HEAR movement and labored breathing. BACK ON THE STREET Neville reaches the body and spins it around. As soon as he sees the face of a MANNEQUIN, he knows he's fucked. THE HIGH ANGLE We HEAR a bolt slide on a rifle and we realize we're watching Neville through a SNIPER'S SCOPE. Neville's chest dead in our sights. We FIRE. BACK ON THE STREET Neville hits the dirt. The first bullet EXPLODES in asphalt. Neville rolls. The second bullet just misses him. He DASHES behind an abandoned car, escaping yet another shot from the sniper. The dog stands in the middle of the street, BARKING at an upper story window in Nieman-Marcus. Neville shouts... NEVILLE GET OUT OF THE STREET! The dog continues to , its eyes on a specific section of the building. Neville steals a glance and sees a RIFLE BARREL poking out of a shattered window frame. ANOTHER SHOT whistles past the dog's fur. The beast flinches, afraid. NEVILLE GET OVER HERE! He waves his arm and the dog comes running to his side. He pulls the dog close to him, sheltering him from the gunfire. NEVILLE Dumbest goddamm dog I ever had. BLAM! A bullet HITS the car. Neville is pinned down. NEVILLE Great, Bob, just great. He looks at the pistol in his hand. It's useless against a rifle. And unfortunately, the machine gun is in the Land Rover. He can't make a move. Unless... Along the curb, hidden from the sniper's view, is a storm drain. Neville inches his way toward it and slithers inside. The dog tries to follow, but Neville motions for him to stay and speak. The dog understands and BARKS at the sniper. INT. STORM DRAIN TUNNEL - DAY Crouching down, Neville is able to scurry to the other side of the street. He inches his way through a crevice. INT. DEPARTMENT STORE - DAY Neville crawls into a dilapidated BATHROOM in the store's first basement. The plumbing has been backed up for god knows how long and Neville can barely tolerate the stench. INT. DEPARTMENT STORE - FIRST BASEMENT - DAY What used to be "Housewares." Neville spies the no-longer-functioning escalators and strides upwards. INT. DEPARTMENT STORE - ESCALATORS - VARIOUS - DAY Neville reaches the fourth floor. We catch glimpses of BIZARRE GRAFFITI, but mostly we're taken aback by the sheer emptiness of the store. INT. DEPARTMENT STORE - SEVENTH FLOOR - DAY Neville creeps up the escalator. He HEARS the sniper, but it's difficult to see anything because the windows in this section have been covered with sheets of cardboard, blankets, and plywood. The only light is a tiny shaft coming through the cracked pane the shooter is using for his rifle. The shooter himself is bundled in rags. Gloves cover his hands, a parka hood hides his head, and a scarf shields his face. We see no details, only a shape. in a corner is a sort of "tent' made from bedsheets and blankets. The sniper watches the street. Faintly, we HEAR the dog BARKING. The sniper SHOOTS. A distant ping!--the bullet hits the abandoned car. Neville gauges his surroundings, his enemy. Thinks. Positions himself about twenty feet behind the sniper. Locks target with the .45. NEVILLE Hey. The sniper jumps, turns around, and shakes in his shoes at the sight of Neville. He fumbles with the rifle. NEVILLE Ah-ah-ah. The sniper stops. It's no use--he'd never be quick enough. NEVILLE Slide the gun over here. The sniper has no choice. He sets the rifle on the floor and shoves it at Neville, who quickly examines it. NEVILLE A hunter's gun. Where'd you find it? No reply. Neville points the .45, SHOOTS and blasts the window behind the shooter. Glass explodes and SUNLIGHT pours into the room. The sniper SCREAMS with fright and scurries for darkness. Neville aims his pistol at another window. NEVILLE (a threat) Where? SNIPER (his voice a raspy hiss) Up north. In the mountains, a cabin. NEVILLE You're not part of Cortman's bunch. SNIPER Who? NEVILLE Never mind. In the mountains... Were there people? Like me? SNIPER If there were, we wouldn't have had to come to the city, now, would we? NEVILLE You're a smart one. SNIPER Thank you. NEVILLE You said "we." The sniper realizes his error. Goes tight-lipped. NEVILLE How many? No answer. Neville flips back the top of the "tent" and sees three sleeping areas. NEVILLE Where are they? The sniper refuses to respond. Neville BLASTS another window. More LIGHT. Like a snake escaping a predator, the sniper slithers away, but Neville pounces on him and jams the .45 into the center of his back. He pins one arm and extends the shooter's other arm into the path of the light. SNIPER No! The sniper is in agony. NEVILLE Tell me. Frustrated, Neville, pulls off the man's glove. First, we see that the flesh is pale white. So pale it's almost translucent. Second, we see the effect of sunlight--the skin blisters and blackens. NEVILLE WHERE ARE THEY? The sniper SCREAMS. Neville releases him and he hides in the shadows, caressing his tortured limb. The sniper decides to pull off his hood and remove the scarf, revealing... A demonic visage. Ghostly white flesh so devoid of pigment we can see the blue and purple veins beneath the surface. His eyes are an unearthly cold blue/grey and white. He is completely hairless--nothing on his pate, no brows, no facial hair. His lips a deep ruby red. This thing was once human, but now, now... SNIPER (somewhat awed) You're him, aren't you? You're Neville. Neville reaches into his belt and takes out a VIAL of blood. The sniper's eyes light up. NEVILLE Where are they? The sniper is mesmerized by the blood. SNIPER (can't help himself) The bay... The basement. NEVILLE I was in the basement. SNIPER Down... below... By the... subway. NEVILLE Do they have guns? He won't answer. Neville pours a few drops of blood and steps back. Thirstily, the sniper laps it up with his tongue, like a cat to some spilled cream. Neville looks away. The sniper falls back onto a pile of rags and lets his "fix" kick in. His body spasms and his face contorts. The sniper's arm jerks and he lets out a satisfied breath. A junkie feeling the high. SNIPER We heard about you. Way up in the hills we heard about you. Miraculously, the sniper's charred hand begins to heal. NEVILLE Your friends. Guns? SNIPER No. We found only the rifle. His hand forms a fist. A sinister, unearthly hiss emerges from his gullet. He looks at the vial in Neville's hand. SNIPER More. NEVILLE You'll get more if you tell me the truth. SNIPER More! And something dark, something terrible fills the sniper's eyes. He LUNGES at Neville. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Neville pounds him with three bullets. Two in the stomach. One in the shoulder. Blood spatters. The sniper teeters, but does not fall. Neville aims at the heart and fires, but his weapon is empty. He mutters "shit," hastily loads a clip. The sniper clutches at his wounds, kneels and touches the floor with his finger. He takes a deep breath and enters into some kind of meditative trance. He summons... The scattered drops of his blood heed his call. Like droplets of mercury drawn to a common source, the blood moves across the floor and flows up his finger into the open bullet wounds. And heals them. NEVILLE That was clever, the mannequin. That took some thought. You nearly had me. Click. Neville jams in the clip. The sniper moves. POW. POW. POW. POW- Only this time, Neville aims at the windows. GLASS SHATTERS and a wall of LIGHT pours in, hitting the sniper like a freight train. SNIPER NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The skin on the sniper's face blisters. Smoke rises from beneath his protective clothes. he HOWLS. Neville, with intense calm, holsters his .45 and raises the RIFLE. NEVILLE You know, I can understand me. But why shoot at the dog? What did that dog ever do to you? The sniper staggers toward Neville, one last attack. Neville SHOOTS, hits the sniper square in the chest. The force of the blast propels him backward, to the open windows. The sniper slips on the broken glass and falls... ... out the window. Seven stories to the street below. Neville moves to the window, locks at the sniper's body on the concrete. The DOG emerges from behind the abandoned car, sniffs in the direction of the corpse, and looks up at Neville in the window. Neville shouts down... NEVILLE STAY AWAY FROM HIM! You stay away! The dog sits. NEVILLE Good boy. EXT. DEPARTMENT STORE - DAY A bandana acting as a mask on his face, Neville pulls a spare gas can from the rear of the Land Rover and douses the sniper's corpse (blackening in the sun) with fuel. He ignites a book of matches, tosses them at the body, and whoosh--instant funeral pyre. Neville reaches into a supply chest in the rear of the Land Rover. He pulls out a mean looking, more powerful MACHINE GUN, two ammo clips, a portable high-intensity halogen lamp, a COMBAT KNIFE, three small electronic devices, and a customized remote control. He hangs a pair of night-vision goggles around his neck and instructs the dog... NEVILLE Come. INT. DEPARTMENT STORE - SUB-BASEMENT - DAY Neville walks past rusting generators to a collapsed wall which connects the store to an old subway tunnel. The FLASHLIGHT on the barrel of the machine gun illuminates the path. The halogen lamp is strapped to his shoulder, but for now, it's switched off. Neville allows the dog to sniff a rag taken from the sniper's 'tent.' Having the scent, the dog proceeds into the tunnel. Prior to following, Neville fixes one of the SMALL ELECTRONIC DEVICES to the to the wall. INT. SUBWAY TUNNEL - DAY A dank, dark, creepy place. No more electricity to feed the lights or tracks. Neville paces himself behind the dog, flashlight illuminating old cigarette ads, a 49ERS billboard, a pile of cat and rat skeletons, the rails, more GRAFFITI. Which we now see more clearly. This isn't the creation of homeboy gangbangers. it is fierce and savage in its beauty. Wild symbols, patterns, and colors. Majestic. Tribal. Neville has seen it many times before and doesn't like it. It spells trouble. He stops and attaches another electronic device to an overhead pipe. The dog stops and utters a soft bark in the direction of a wrecked SUBWAY CAR spilled on the tracks ahead. Neville shuts off the flashlight and dons the night-vision goggles. He raises his finger to his lips and the dog knows to proceed quietly. Neville attaches the final electronic device to the door leading to the car and silently enters. INT. SUBWAY CAR - DAY THROUGH THE GREENISH TINT OF THE GOGGLES, we scan the interior. Ripped seats, trash, and in one corner, a HUMAN FORM. An EMACIATED CORPSE. Stripped naked, every ounce of blood drained. A festering bullet wound in the chest, the skin punctured by teeth marks. on its chest, an elaborate TRIBAL DESIGN, much like the graffiti, somehow raised from the skin, similar to a cattle brand. Neville checks out the opposite end. Sleeping there are TWO FORMS. Breathing. He removes the goggles and motions for the dog to move back. He readies his weapon with one hand, and reaches back with the other, igniting... THE HALOGEN LAMP. Instantly, BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT floods the compartment. The two figures stir awake and SCREECH. NEVILLE DON'T MOVE. But they do not listen. Instead, they REACH into their bedding, pull out TWO HANDGUNS and FIRE. Not what Neville expected. As bullets whiz past, he unleashes the machine gun, firing a spray across the car. One of the sleepers' bullets takes out the halogen. It shatters, burning Neville's cheek. More gunfire. Is he hit? Neville falls back. A firefight in close quarters is not what he wants. He maneuvers back into the tunnel. Takes cover behind a pile of rubble and finds the dog already there. NEVILLE Never believe them, Robert, never. BLAM! BLAM,! Bullets explode in the wall near his head. He sneaks a peek and sees the two sleepers firing at him from inside the train. Neville reaches into his belt and pulls out the customized REMOTE. He presses one of the buttons and KABLAM! The car is rocked with a small EXPLOSION. The door is torn from its mooring and one of the sleepers is RIPPED APART- The wounded sleeper HOWLS with pain and falls to the tunnel floor, barely able to keep his body from splitting in half. Amazingly, he's still alive. BLAM! The other one's still shooting. Neville takes cover. The second sleeper exits the car and tends to its wounded comrade. Both are the same type of creature as the sniper, but this one, the living one, is FEMALE. Her dying partner, a MALE, is finished. She caresses his face, then buries her mouth in an open wound, infusing herself. Dark blood covers her chin and chest, but as she walks, the liquid crawls across her skin into her mouth. It seems to give mass and power to her body and rich color to her translucent skin. She raises her gun. Neville ducks just as she FIRES. BEEP BEEP BEEP. His electronic stopwatch sounds an ALARM. He switches it off and looks at the sunlight pouring into the tunnel. Its quality slowly starting to shift. MOVEMENT. Both Neville and the female react to SOUNDS behind them, past the wrecked subway car. Neville knows what's coming. Far in the distance, we see MORE FORMS. What could be an army. He and the dog RACE to the crumbled wall of the department store. The female SCREECHES and gives chase. She's very fast, like a panther. Neville glances up, runs, presses the REMOTE... The second DEVICE EXPLODES, collapsing the roof of the tunnel. Pipes, concrete, dirt--it all cascades down. A SHAFT OF LIGHT be in from the street above, stopping the female dead in her tracks. The light separates her from Neville and she does not like it. Frustrated, she snarls... INT. DEPARTMENT STORE - SUB BASEMENT - DAY Neville helps the dog through the hole and heads for the escalator. Presses the REMOTE. The third device EXPLODES, sealing shut the connection from the store to the tunnel. EXT. DEPARTMENT STORE - DAY Neville and the dog hurriedly enter the Land Rover, haphazardly tossing supplies and weapons into the rear. Neville starts the vehicle and checks the sky. Must be about an hour before sunset. EXT. SAN FRANCISCO - DAY The Land Rover zips down California Street and we PULL BACK, FAR BACK, revealing the scope and breadth of the city. San Francisco has been raped, mutilated, and murdered. Buildings burned, streets littered with rusting cars, trees and grass dry, dead. No bombs were dropped--too , y of the structures are intact--instead, it feels as though something sinister and insidious rotted the place from the inside out. Most startling is the GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE. Barricades, barbed wire, EMPTY NATIONAL GUARD TANKS--all scattered about like a child's toys. it looks like a war zone. The bridge itself is charred and torn, unstable, swaying in the wind. EXT. CHINATOWN - DAY This area too -has been ravaged. WIND kicks up LEAFLETS. The Land Rover speeds through, kicking up the old papers. CLOSE ON A LEAFLET as it sails to the ground. It reads: YOU ARE NOT ALONE. I AM A SURVIVOR JUST LIKE YOU. I WILL HELP. YOU CAN TRUST ME. THERE IS HOPE. MY NAME IS ROBERT. MEET ME IN GOLDEN GATE PARK. PORTALS OF THE PAST. 12 NOON. MIDDAY. EVERY DAY. WHEN THE SUN IS HIGHEST IN THE SKY. PLEASE. The leaflet is yellowed and dirty. These things have been floating around for a long time. EXT. HILL DISTRICT- DAY Land that once held the beautiful homes of Pacific Heights, Nob Hill, and Russian Hill now looks like terrain in Bosnia. or the surface of the moon. Atop one of the hills still stands one edifice--Neville's house. The Land Rover climbs. INT. LAND ROVER - DAY Neville presses a remote garage door opener. EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - DAY The vehicle slows outside a massive GATE fashioned out of wrought iron, corrugated steel, and barbed wire. It WHEELS open, allows entry, then CLANGS shut once the Rover's inside. PULL BACK TO REVEAL THE REST OF THE HOUSE A turn-of-the-century house. The kind you can't find in other cities. From a distance, it almost locks "normal." But normal it is not. Every window and door has been bricked and cemented shut. Small SLITS have been cut into the walls at strategic points to provide some vantage. These portals are covered with chicken wire and are outlined by sharp NAILS pointing outward at jagged angles. The exterior walls are covered with a hodgepodge of metal plating--steel sheets, corrugated iron. The gables bounded by coils of barbed wire. High-intensity LAMPS (now shut off) and SECURITY CAMERAS jut out at odd angles, pointing at every corner of the surrounding landscape. And what a terrifying landscape it is. In the immediate vicinity, every other house--to the north, south, east, and west--has been burned and razed to provide Neville with an unobstructed view, and to prevent his enemies from using other structures as bases of attack. Outlining the perimeter of Neville's house are TWO FENCES. The interior fence, only fifty feet from the house itself, is seven feet high and constructed of wooden beams and ribbons of BARBED WIRE, crisscrossed and interlaced. From within the house, once could see through, but no one could get past. The outer fence, much higher and foreboding, forms an impenetrable square. It is composed of railroad ties, Telephone poles, metal sheets, iron staffs, barbed wired, and massive amounts of RAZOR WIRE. outside and in, it is bordered by row upon row of SHARP WOODEN PIKES, pointed out. Between the two fences, within the compound, is a three foot deep DITCH, filled with muddy water. A crude moat. Its circle broken only by a thin LAND BRIDGE, over which now comes the Land Rover. We an ELECTRONIC WHIRRING and a STEEL DOOR, level with the ground, SLIDES BACK, revealing the slanted driveway into the UNDERGROUND GARAGE. INT. UNDERGROUND GARAGE - DAY Neville and the dog climb from the stopped Rover. He looks up the ramp and sees the sun begin its descent. He hits a button and the upper door slides CLOSED. He winces with pain as he pulls off the shattered halogen. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BASEMENT He BOLTS AND LOCKS the door to the garage, ignites THREE BIG GENERATORS, opens a fuse box, and flips the circuit breakers. Artificial light flickers on throughout the house. The basement acts as a workshop, tool room, and repair facility. All manner of hardware is in stock as are various chemicals, electronics, and instruction manuals. At the opposite end of the room is a WEAPONS ARSENAL and TARGET RANGE. Neville deposits the busted lamp on a workbench and checks the rifle taken from the sniper. NEVILLE Sight's for shit. He dumps it on the workbench and selects a gorgeous MARKSMAN'S RIFLE from his well-stocked arsenal. NEVILLE Now, if you had this, I might not be here right now. (sardonically) Too bad. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DUSK Neville peels off the bodysuit. We see that his shirt is ripped above the sleeve and a shoulder badly BRUISED. He examines the vest and finds a BULLET flattened into the fabric. He pries it out and hangs the suit in his closet. He slips into some loose fitting black pants, black t-shirt, and sneakers. Clothes for mobility, agility. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DUSK Neville looks at a shelf of VIDEOTAPES: NBC NIGHTLY NEWS/JUNE 5, 1992, NBC NIGHTLY NEWS/AUGUST 5, 1997, ABC NIGHTLINE/ DECEMBER 12, 1995, CBS EVENING NEWS/OCTOBER 27, 1994. He pops one into a vcr and Dan Rather reports on the day's events. A long ago yesterday's events. Neville slides a CD into a player. Gorecki's Miserere. Like this morning, a wall of sound. Comforting. "Normal." INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DUSK Neville digs into a freezer and pulls out two frozen STEAKS from a dwindling supply of meat. NEVILLE It's my birthday. Why not? INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - EARLY EVENING A rather sad figure, Neville sits at a lonely little table eating his steak. Next to it, a lumpy muffin with a thick candle stuck in its heart. A pathetic "birthday cake." Uneaten. On the floor, the dog devours his steak--raw. Neville's disturbed by the bloodiness of the meat and can't watch the red juice drip from the dog's mouth. Nearby, past a TV playing the news video, is a wall of CLOSED-CIRCUIT MONITORS showing grainy black-and-white images of the area surrounding the house. There's MOVEMENT on a few of the screens and Neville attunes to it instantly. NEVILLE They're early. He snaps into action. Moves to a LARGE COMPUTER SET-UP near the security video console, takes a seat, and calls up a PROGRAM detailing the various ELECTRONIC CONTROLS connected to the compound. Hits the keyboard... EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - EARLY EVENING LIGHTS. Dozens of bulbs along the outer fence ignite. others atop the roof SPRAY LIGHT onto the compound. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - DINING AREA - EARLY EVENING Neville grabs the muffin off the table, blows out the candle, and tosses it to the dog. NEVILLE Happy birthday. The dog sniffs and doesn't find the prospect too appealing. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BASEMENT ARSENAL - NIGHT Neville checks and loads a series of WEAPONS. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - VARIOUS - NIGHT He places GUNS around the house and heads UPSTAIRS. EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - ROOF - NIGHT A HATCH opens onto a PROTECTED DECK--A makeshift "crow's nest." It screws with the aesthetics of the old home's architecture, but it serves a purpose, providing Neville with a high, secure vantage point. He rests his marksman's rifle in a crook, climbs up a small "lookout post," and raises a pair of NIGHT VISION BINOCULARS to his eyes... IN THE DISTANCE, through the foggy green light of the glasses, we see FORMS beyond the outside fence. Right now, there are a dozen, perhaps twenty. However, to the left, to the right, MORE, many more, are journeying up the hill, toward the house. Hiding in the shadows creeping behind rubble, crawling through trenches. ON THE ROOF, Neville slides down the pole, into the house. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Neville opens a DOOR, revealing a small room within--a converted closet. He moves INSIDE and we see its walls are lined with numerous HOLY TEXTS and FIGURES OF WORSHIP-- A crucifix, the Buddha, a Celtic cross, rosary beeds, Hindu gods, a menorah, Norse rune stones, you name it. Neville lights a candle and incense, silently prays. The dog rests outside the door. He becomes ALERT, hearing the SOUND before his master. AN EERIE MOAN. Low, resonant. A C Far in the distance. Beyond the walls, beyond the fence. The MOANING INTENSIFIES. The dog whimpers. NEVILLE I know. The moaning subsides. It is replaced by a DEEP, RHYTHMIC DRUMMING. There is something powerful and dangerous to the beat. And it affects Neville. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Neville plays a CD. CRANKS UP THE VOLUME. The music is loud, angry and disturbing. Krzystof Penderecki. Neville moves to the computer station, presses a co EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - NIGHT MUSIC BLARES from SPEAKERS mounted on the roof. Outside the fence, the DRUMMING INTENSIFIES. Combined with Neville's music, an odd, discordant symphony is created. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Neville sits on the floor, hands covering his ears. The dog whimpers his concern. Finally, Neville SCREAMS... NEVILLE STOP! He SHUTS OFF the music. Outside, the drumming continues. Neville GRABS the dog by the collar and JERKS him to a small HATCH cut into the KITCHEN DOOR. He slides back a bolt and PUSHES the dog outside. The dog looks back at Neville with sad, frightened eyes. Neville angrily instructs... NEVILLE IT'S YOUR JOB. GO. He slides the hatch back in place, locking the dog outside. EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - NIGHT The dog begins his patrol of the inner perimeter. it is his job to alert Neville to anyone who makes it this far. out here, the DRUMMING is much louder. EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - ROOF - NIGHT Neville emerges from the hatchway, grabs the marksman's RIFLE, adjusts the sight with the screwdriver tip of the all-in-one-tool, and positions himself in the crow's nest. He arms the weapon and raises the INFRA-RED SCOPE to his eye. NEVILLE All right, Cortman. I'm ready. EXT. BARREN LANDSCAPE - NIGHT We shift our point-of-view to the area far beyond the outer fence, to the source of the drumming. And what we see should be terrifying... AN ARMY. A horde of awesome, frightening creatures. Close to three hundred in number. Male and female. All have the pale, translucent skin of the creatures Neville encountered in the department store and subway, the same lack of hair, the same disturbingly blue grey/white eyes. But this group, this tribe, has something different about it. Something strong. Something imperious. Something savage. They wear very little clothing an their magnificently shaped bodies. Most of the men and many of the women are topless, proud of their muscular torsos and ghostly flesh. Unique TRIBAL MARKINGS AND JEWELRY adorn their bodies. However, all, each and every one of them, bear one identical mark an their chests. The "brand" Neville saw an the drained corpse in the subway car. It is their mark. There is a hierarchy to the assembled: Lowest are CARETAKERS, who nurse and tend to the wounded. Above them are the DRUMMERS. They intone frightening chants and beat out powerful rhythms an large decorated drums. Next are the CLERICS--A somber, serious bunch whose markings are very ornate, very significant, very "holy." The greatest in number are the WARRIORS. The strongest, the fiercest, the most savage-appearing. Hate fills their eyes. Hate fuels them. A pure hate for one man--Neville. Very near the top are two LIEUTENANTS, one leader of the Clerics, the other leader of the Warriors. The Cleric Lieutenant is CHRISTOPHER. An intense, almost sensitive looking fellow whose body is the most decorated, the most artistic in its impression. The Warrior Lieutenant is EVA. A fantastically strong, vicious woman whose body bears the SCARS of warfare. She possesses a manic, ferocious energy. And the LEADER. The leader is CORTMAN. He exudes the confidence and power of a king. His body is chiseled, his visage haunting. He commands this group with the calm of a head of state, the drive and focus of a field marshall, and the brute force of a tribal warlord. He stands an a promontory, a big jagged hunk of concrete jutting from the earth's surface. It provides protection and perspective--beyond the range of Neville's guns, but close enough to observe his activity. There is constant movement in the ranks, but all await and heed the word of Cortman. ( *NOTE--Although these creatures consume blood, are allergic to light, and bear other similarities to vampires, they are not. They are something new, something we have never seen before, something strikingly different. There is nothing but their existence or behavior that is based in the occult or supernatural. They are real. And we will learn how and why soon enough. For the purposes of this screenplay, we will call these creatures Hemocytes. ) Cortman RAISES HIS ARM and the drummers cease. CORTMAN Bring her to me. TWO WARRIORS shove forward the FEMALE Hemocyte Neville encountered in the subway. Eva forces her to "bow", in submission. Cortman gently strokes the female's cheek. CORTMAN You wish to join us. She nods in the direction of Neville's house. FEMALE He killed my love. CORTMAN Neville has slaughtered so many we loved. You want to see him dead? See him punished for this injustice? FEMALE Yes! CORTMAN You want to feed on him. FEMALE Yes! CORTMAN Why should we grant you that privilege? FEMALE Why? She reaches into the small of her back and pulls forth the PISTOL she used against Neville. FEMALE I'll give you this. Cortman and others LAUGH. He takes it, examines it. CORTMAN I haven't played with toys since I was a child. What about you, Eva? He tosses it to her. She looks at it with disdain. CORTMAN Do you really think I need these relics of the past? I have every weapon I need. My body. my mind. My soul. (re the gun) Such toys are pointless. (MORE) CORTMAN (cont'd) Neville. He needs them. Take them away, and he is naked. To prove a point, Cortman nods to Eva and she SHOOTS him twice in the stomach. He LAUGHS and we watch his body heal itself, blood refusing to flow, flesh sealing the holes. Eva THROWS the gun into the night. CORTMAN Remind her of what she has done. Christopher turns to his clerics and they bring forth the DRAINED CORPSE the female and her "Love" fed upon in the subway car. There is real anger in the eyes of the Clerics. CORTMAN You recognize him? The female realizes she is in trouble. Cortman shows her the DISTINCTIVE BRAND on the chest. Cortman touches his own brand. Others in the tribe touch theirs. CORTMAN It is our mark. It distinguishes us and unites us. Without it, we mean nothing. Without it:, we are no better than you. And you disgust me. FEMALE Please... CORTMAN "Please." (re the corpse) Did he beg? whimper and plea? If so, what: was your response? How did you react? With understanding? Compassion? Or with hunger? And brutality? Cortman extends his arm. He CONCENTRATES and the muscles and tendons of the forearm thicken. Elegantly, his NAILS GROW, creeping forth from the flesh, forming RAZOR-LIKE TALONS. CORTMAN Life is eternal. He SLASHES her throat. SLASHES her chest once, twice. Her body spasms and twitches at the massive blood loss, but there's clearly still life in her eyes. Her FLESH tries to heal itself, to heal the wounds. Cortman looks to Eva. CORTMAN Who goes forth tonight? She motions toward TEN HEMOCYTE WARRIORS, their faces and bodies painted differently than the others. CORTMAN Feast on her. Let the blood give you strength. Your brother's spirit will live within you. Go. Drink. The ten move on the female like vultures to carrion. She SCREAMS and within moments, she is drained. The other Hemocytes link hands and surround the warriors. Cortman approaches the body of the female, a last glimmer of life in her eyes. He whispers... CORTMAN This is not a punishment. It is a gift. His talons puncture her heart. The talons RECEDE and her blood forms a pool in the "cup' of Cortman's hand. CORTMAN You have been chosen on this night of glorious darkness to do battle with an anachronism. our nemesis. Say his name. Together, the warriors chant, "Neville." CORTMAN Allow the blood to flow through you, allow its power to strengthen your limbs, your flesh, your soul. Feel its beauty. Feel its immense force. Fueled by the fresh blood, the bodies of the ten men and women seem to grow in mass and muscle. Their skin thickens, forming a kind of flesh armor. They open their eyes and they are red with ferocity, Cortman raises his own hand to his mouth, drinks, and kisses each warrior on the mouth. CORTMAN Feel the power. He repeats this down the line, and when finished, the warriors are frighteningly pumped up, their bodies and spirits now adrenalized with terrible dark energy. Everyone chants, "Ne-ville". Again and again - "Ne-ville". Cortman signals the DRUMMERS who begin an accelerated beat, an accompaniment to combat. Like magnificent predatory beasts, the TEN WARRIORS MOVE across the barren landscape and gather at the OUTSIDE FENCE. Cortman stands atop the promontory and points at the house. CORTMAN DESTROY THE DEVIL! The warriors SCREAM. EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - ROOF - NIGHT A dark intensity in his eyes, Neville watches the perimeter. The HOWLING and DRUMMING of the Hemocytes echoes through the night sky. He does his best to block it out. Block it out. IN THE DISTANCE, LONG POLES are RAISED against the outer fence. The TEN climb, reaching the razor-wired crest. Neville looks through his INFRA-RED SIGHT, finds the CHEST of one warrior and FIRES three rounds--two find the heart. The warrior drops. NEVILLE SEARCHES for another target. ATOP THE FENCE, the warriors struggle to avoid lacerating themselves with the razor wire. THREE STRONG HEMOCYTES LEAP OVER THE WIRE and land in the compound, avoiding the row of PIKES before the moat. ON THE ROOF, Neville switches on SUPER BRIGHT LIGHTS aimed at the outer fence. (We notice a considerable DIMMING of other lights in and around the house--these lamps draw power). ATOP THE FENCE, SIX HEMOCYTES are BLINDED by the light. One loses his footing and FALLS BACK onto the exterior PIKES, horribly impaled. Another BADLY CUTS HIMSELF on the razor wire. The blood loss is too great and the warrior nearest him--a BEAUTIFUL FEMALE--wills it to her, drawing the fuel into her mouth, into her system, and LEAPS into the compound. IN THE CROW'S NEST, Neville removes the sight and uses the high-intensity lamps to seek out the THREE remaining Hemocytes on the fence. He SHOOTS. HITS one square in the chest, dropping him. SHOOTS. Bullets tear into the flesh of another, but they're off-center and the WOUNDS HEAL. This Hemocyte leaps, joining the others inside the compound. The last of the three jumps down, but NEVILLE FIRES, catching her in mid-flight, spinning her off-balance. She tries to correct her fall, but lands on the INTERIOR PIKES. Her body is SPEARED in three different places, but she's still alive. ON THE ROOF, Neville SHUTS OFF the high-intensity lamps (returning power to the other utilities). Inside the inner perimeter, the DOG BARKS, alerting Neville to the FIVE HEMOCYTES who made it into the compound. NEVILLE I know, I know. He climbs through the hatch into the house. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Neville propels himself down the spiral staircase and moves to the MONITORING STATION- On the closed-circuit screens, we can see FOGGY IMAGES of Cortman and his followers outside the compound, IMAGES of the FIVE HEMOCYTES just inside the compound, and THE DOG patrolling the inner perimeter. He checks the COMPUTER and we see an ELECTRONIC GRAPHIC--an OVERVIEW LAYOUT of the compound. Neville checks the VIDEO of the five within the compound, near the MOAT. NEVILLE You like surprises? EXT. THE COMPOUND - NIGHT The five Hemocytes gather around the warrior impaled on the inner pikes. She struggles to pull herself off the sharp poles, but the blood continues to seep out of her. WARRIOR ONE--A muscular male--gently leans in... He kisses her. The OTHERS congregate and drink her blood. The Impaled Warrior dies. Again, we see the bodies of the Hemocytes grow stronger. They turn, hiss at Neville's house, hiss at the dog, move through the pikes, and toward THE MOAT. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Neville bounds upstairs, to a second story slit/window. He PUNCHES out the protective chicken wire with his fist and reaches for something on a table... A FLARE GUN. NEVILLE I like surprises. EXT. COMPOUND - NIGHT WARRIOR TWO AND WARRIOR THREE try to LEAP across the ditch, but don't make it. They slide into the WATERY MUD. WARRIOR ONE succeeds in jumping across. WARRIOR FOUR and the BEAUTIFUL FEMALE warrior approach the edge of the moat. Four is about to slide into the muck when Beautiful recognizes ODOR, INHALES DEEPLY and realizes something terrible. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Neville aims the flare pistol at the moat and FIRES. NEVILLE Happy birthday, Bobby. EXT. COMPOUND - NIGHT The FLARE sails from the bedroom window into the moat. it takes only a split second for the Hemocytes to realize the ditch is filled with GASOLINE. Warrior One is blasted back by the ERUPTION OF FLAME. Two and Three HOWL WITH DESPAIR as they are roasted alive. FIRE SPIRALS into the black sky. The Beautiful Female PULLS Warrior Four to safety. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Neville watches as the flames SPREAD around the moat, forming a CIRCLE OF FIRE. As the flames grow higher, the DRUMMING AND CHANTING of the Hemocytes abruptly ceases. NEVILLE Get your attention, Cortman? EXT. SURROUNDING AREA - NIGHT Cortman and his followers watch in horror. EVA is furious. EVA WE GO! NOW! ALL OF US! CHRISTOPHER When we send more, it simply means more dead. Our dead. EVA He can't kill us all! CORTMAN He can. He would. Even if it meant killing himself in the bargain. EVA COWARDS! We're cowards! Cortman GRABS her by the throat and LIFTS her into the air. CORTMAN YOU CALL ME COWARD? YOU QUESTION MY JUDGEMENT? He HEAVES her away like a rag doll. Eva lands hard. Cortman intimidates the hell out of her --out of everyone. CORTMAN WHO ELSE CHALLENGES ME? WHO AMONG YOU? INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM Neville checks the screens, but SMOKE obscures the view. He looks at the computer. Moves his mouse to an area labeled MOTION DETECTORS / SENSORS and creates an ELECTRONIC "X" on the screen for each of the Hemocytes in the compound. Neville presses a button and an OVERLAY GRID appears. EXT. COMPOUND - NIGHT WARRIOR ONE--through the flames licking the moat--encourages Warrior Four and the Beautiful Female to press on. Warrior One looks to the inner fence. Beyond it is the DOG, BARKING fiercely. When the warrior approaches, the dog RUNS. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Neville observes the COMPUTER as one of the "X"s steps onto a RED quadrant of the grid. Neville PRESSES a button. EXT. COMPOUND - NIGHT We HEAR an ELECTRONIC "BEEP" before Warrior One steps on a REMOTE-CONTROLLED MINE. The CONCUSSIVE BLAST propels him up and back, into the fiery ditch. Across the moat, Warrior Four and the Beautiful Female look on in horror. Frightened, Warrior Four slinks back in the direction of the outer fence. WARRIOR FOUR We'll never get inside! The Beautiful Female looks at him with disgust. She notices the blast has torn a HOLE in the fence, creating easy access to the HOUSE ITSELF. She turns to her cowardly comrade. BEAUTIFUL FEMALE I have a better idea. She extends her RAZOR SHARP TALONS... INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM. - NIGHT Neville's eyes watch the monitors He can barely make out TWO HAZY FIGURES beyond the moat. Suddenly, one drops from view. He checks the computer screen. The sensors only show the area between the outer fence and inner fence. (The area between the house and inner fence is unmonitored to allow for the dog's patrols.) There is still one "X" outside the moat. EXT. COMPOUND - NIGHT The Beautiful Female stands over the corpse of Warrior Four, his throat slashed, body pale and drained. RICH CRIMSON drips from her lips and her body GROWS in strength and energy. She sets her sights on the house. In a MAGNIFICENT LEAP, she hurdles over the moat, through the flames, and LANDS on the other side. The DOG GROWLS. She HISSES and moves toward him, talons ready. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Neville reacts with surprise as the final "X" disappears from the screen. He adjusts the grid, fiddles with the mouse, checks the video screens --nothing. OUTSIDE, the dog WILDLY, then MANICALLY SCRATCHES at the "dog door." Neville rushes to it, but can't open it--it's stuck. The dog YELPS in fear. Neville tries to force open the hatch, but it won't budge. The dog BARKS a warning. Then SILENCE. He rushes to the MONITORS, but can't see anything. Just smoke and dead Hemocytes. He frantically paces. Then grabs a FLASHLIGHT and heads to the basement. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - NIGHT Near the garage entrance, Neville removes a STEEL PLATE from the wall, revealing a TUNNEL--about two feet high, three feet wide--leading from the house, below the compound. He grabs two .45 AUTOMATICS from the Arsenal, tucks them in his belt and slithers into the tunnel, flashlight showing the way. INT. TUNNEL - NIGHT Neville reaches a specific section of the crawlspace. Directly above him is another HATCHWAY. He undoes a bolt, slides it back, shuts off the flashlight and sits for a few moments in darkness, listening for movement above. When he's satisfied with the level of quiet, he reaches for the hatch. EXT. COMPOUND - NIGHT The hatch, camouflaged by dirt and dry grass, FLIES UP from the ground. In a flash, Neville SPRINGS UP, .45s at the ready. Silhouetted against the gasoline flames in the moat, he surveys the area between the inner fence and the house... Nothing. He silently moves to the HOLE in the barbed wire, inspects it. He follows FOOTPRINTS around the house, eyes moving side to side, behind, above. He rounds a corner ... MOVEMENT. Raises his weapons. And finds... Nothing. MOVEMENT. He spins, ready to shoot... THE DOG. on the opposite side of the barbed wire fence, near the moat. Neville scolds the dog. NEVILLE What are you doing over there? Neville points to the hole. NEVILLE Get inside. The dog heads for the hole, then stops. He BARKS WILDLY. Neville spins, but the warning comes too late. THE BEAUTIFUL FEMALE Hemocyte stands a few feet away from him. Completely nude. Her talons are sheathed, the blood wiped clean from her mouth and chin. Although her pallor is ghostly, there is no denying her body is comely, seductive, and magnificently shaped. Proud and calm, she extends her hand toward Neville, as if welcoming him. He raises one of the weapons and aims at her heart. She pouts. And takes a step toward him. Neville's hand shakes. His face sweats. His finger cannot pull the trigger. The dog senses his master's dilemma and RUNS for the hole. BEAUTIFUL FEMALE Please don't hurt me. I want to... The Beautiful Female steps within inches of him. Neville hates himself for being unable to act. BEAUTIFUL FEMALE ... touch you. Her hands caress his face and she kisses his neck. Her hands move down his body, along his arms, pull the guns from his fingers, and drop them to the ground. She pulls Neville's hands to her breasts. BEAUTIFUL FEMALE Touch me. As Neville becomes lost in her flesh, the Beautiful Female extends an arm. TALONS emerge from her fingers. Her eyes glow with hate, with blood lust. BEAUTIFUL FEMALE So easy. As her razor-sharp fingers move to his throat, THE DOG TACKLES them both. Neville snaps out of his sexual reverie and PUSHES her away. She LASHES OUT, SLASHING his forearm. Neville scrambles for the guns. The dog jumps at the Hemocyte, but she bats him away, knocking him unconscious. Neville aims the .45s. FIRES. Three-four-five-six shots from each gun. Protecting herself, the Beautiful Female turns SIDEWAYS and covers her chest with her arms. The SKIN THICKENS an command, forming a protective shield. The bullets penetrate, but do not cause damage. Neville drops the spent, smoking weapons to the ground. The Beautiful Female stands and "commands" her skin to return to "normal." She looks the helpless Neville up and down and laughs. A superior, cruel laugh. She bares her teeth, hisses, and moves in for the kill. Like lightning, Neville reaches into a boot sheath, pulls his COMBAT KNIFE, and drives it into his attacker's heart. The Beautiful Female SCREECHES WITH SHOCK. Neville TWISTS the blade. She falls to her knees and tries to summon her body to heal, but the damage is too great, the loss of blood immense. She hisses and dies. As life drains from her, her eyes become soft, almost human Neville is haunted by the transformation. And cannot bear to watch. A WHIMPER. The dog is regaining consciousness. Neville lifts him in his arms and heads for the tunnel. EXT. SURROUNDING AREA - NIGHT Cortman kneels, deeply feeling. He rises. Stoic. Majestically raises his arms... CORTMAN Let them hear you. Tell their souls we do not forget. Christopher and his Clerics lead the tribe in a MOURNFUL CHANT. The DRUMMERS provide haunting accompaniment. There is something disturbing, yet beautiful about the sound. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - MEDICAL FACILITY - NIGHT Neville is shirtless, tending to the laceration on his forearm. He disinfects, bandages, then looks to the DOG who lies on an exam table, stunned, but conscious. Neville examines his pelt for cuts, checks his bones for breaks. NEVILLE You okay? The dog looks up at him with sad eyes, then licks his face. NEVILLE You're okay. The dog REACTS to the distant MOURNFUL SOUND generated by the Hemocytes. Neville too can't seem to deny its power. He LIFTS the dog in his arms. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Neville huddles in a corner, cradling the dog in his arms, needing the contact with another living thing. The MOURNFUL CHANTING INTENSIFIES. And Neville fights back tears. He desperately holds the dog, burying his face in his fur. FADE OUT. FADE IN: EXT. SURROUNDING AREA - DAWN The Hemocytes are long gone. The bodies of the warriors who never made it past the outer fence have been taken away. EXT. COMPOUND - DAWN However, the bodies of the Hemocytes who died within the compound remain, smoldering in the early morning light. The gasoline fire has died and black acrid smoke forms a fine mist over the compound. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAWN Neville and the dog slumber in the corner. An ALARM sounds from the upstairs bedroom and Neville BOLTS AWAKE, reaching for a gun that isn't there. The dog springs away. Body aching, Neville initiates his daily routine. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - VARIOUS - MORNING CLASSICAL MUSIC--upbeat (Vivaldi?)--plays over the following. Neville works out in the EXERCISE ROOM. SHOWERS. Applies a new bandage in the MEDICAL FACILITY. He selects a VIDEO-another past episode of the "Today Show"--and a TAPE of "Morning Edition." The sounds of "normalcy." He removes STEEL SHUTTERS from the roof of the GREENHOUSE. And picks fruits and vegetables for today's meals. He stops near a section of FLOWERS, taken by their simple beauty. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING He surprises himself by further depleting his supply of meat and giving the dc>g another STEAK. The dog, too, is shocked, but delighted. Neville sits at the small table, barely touches his oatmeal and strawberries, and watches the dog. NEVILLE You saved my ass last night, you son of a bitch. (re the steak) For what it's worth... Enjoy. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - MORNING Neville DRESSES. He finds himself staring at the PHOTOGRAPH on his bedside table. His wife and daughter. Both beautiful. Smiling. Neville's eyes are cold. Almost blank. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING Neville addresses the VIDEO CAMERA. His daily journal. NEVILLE My name is Robert Neville. I was born in Des Moines, Iowa, October 17th, 1960. My father was Bill, my mother Charlotte. I had a daughter Grace. My wife... Ellen. He stops. Continues... NEVILLE Ten last night, there were ten. Tonight, they will mourn and there'll be no attack. I'll have "peace." But tomorrow it'll start all over again. Why doesn't he give up? Why not, Cortman ? Thinks. NEVILLE Why don't you, Bob? Why don't you? He stares into the camera. EXT. COMPOUND - MORNING - LATER The Land Rover waits near the inner fence. The dog observes Neville's bleak task--the carting away of dead Hemocytes. Three corpses lay piled on the roof of the vehicle and Neville drags two more out of the moat. He wears gloves and a bandana covers his mouth and nose to block out the stench. He tends to the sun-ravaged body of the Beautiful Female, but can't bear to look at her face. LIFTS her in his arms. EXT. PRESIDIO - DAY The Land Rover turns off California Street just below Highway 1, onto the grounds of the Presidio. It looks as though, at one time, a small war was fought here. Neville steers the vehicle onto what once was the Army Golf Course. No links here. Only DEEP PITS dug far, far into the earth. An old sign reads: U.S. GOVERNMENT CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL EMERGENCY CREMATION CENTER. The Land Rover stops. EXT. PRESIDIO - CREMATION PIT - DAY - MINUTES LATER The dog stays inside the Rover, hating the smell of this place. Neville lines the Hemocyte corpses along the edge of the pit, douses them with gasoline and pushes them over the side. The Beautiful Female is the last to go. He lights a MOLOTOV COCKTAIL and LOBS it into the pit. A BURST OF FLAME rises into the air. CAMERA CRANES to reveal the expanse and awful nature of this place. THREE DEEP CRATERS filled with the bones and ashes of human beings. It is a disturbing, unforgettable image. Neville takes something from, the Rover and walks to the edge of another pit. He kneels and we see a small bouquet of FLOWERS in his hand. He whispers... NEVILLE I love you, Gracie. EXT. PRESIDIO - DAY The Land Rover exits, black smoke still rising from the pit. EXT. GOLDEN GATE PARK - PORTALS OF THE PAST - DAY Neville sits, waits. It is so silent, the air incredibly still. No movement, no sound, nothing. Neville can't bear it. He erupts with frustration, SCREAMS at the sky. EXT. CEMETERY - OUTER GATES - DAY The fences and gates of the cemetery look like Fort Knox. More barbed wire and evidence of conflict. SIGNS read: ENTRY FORBIDDEN! ABSOLUTELY NO ENTRY PAST THIS POINT BY ORDER OF U.S. NATIONAL GUARD. TRESPASSERS SHOT ON SIGHT. The Land Rover waits outside a heavily fortified gate. Neville carries a huge CIRCLE OF KEYS. Uses one to open a padlock and chain. EXT. CEMETERY - DAY Many graves have been dug up, many vaults ripped down. Others carry BIOHAZARD warning labels. The Land Rover stops at a BEAUTIFUL TOMB guarded by statues of angels. The door to its interior locked and chained. Neville waits. It's difficult for him, whatever he's about to do. INT. TOMB - DAY The door cracks open and Neville uses all his weight to push it in. LIGHT fills the crypt, illuminating dead flowers on a stone casket. Followed by the dog, Neville enters, collects the old flowers and lays fresh ones in their place. He kneels, shuts his eyes, and silently prays. NEVILLE It was my birthday yesterday, Ellen. Forty-two. You wouldn't recognize me, sweetie--I'm in better shape today than I was when we got married. (thinks of something) Gracie's birthday is next month, isn't it? She would've been ten. That's a big birthday for a kid. He can't continue. Whispers... NEVILLE I miss you, Ellen. I miss you so much. FLASHBACK TO: INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAY A beautifully decorated, sun-filled room. ELLEN NEVILLE, a pretty, gentle woman, lies in bed, half-awake. in his bathrobe, Neville reads the morning paper. NEVILLE Did you hear about this guy? ELLEN What guy? NEVILLE Dr. John Krippen. He's at the U. ELLEN What about him? NEVILLE This is really something. ELLEN Would you tell me, already? NEVILLE Wow. In theory, this could cure AIDS. ELLEN What are you talking about? NEVILLE "Krippen's Viragene." (laughs) Sounds like something you'd buy from an infomercial. Neville reads to her from the article. NEVILLE "A simple hemocyte..." ELLEN What's a hemocyte? NEVILLE A blood cell. (continues) "... which has been genetically altered and adhered to a virus." (explains) They started with lung cells a couple years ago, but Krippen's working with blood --on leukemia. (reads) "The altered cell--the viragene--is injected into the bloodstream where it destroys all cancerous cells and, by utilizing the properties of a virus, replaces them with healthy cells." It eats disease and makes you healthy. "Dr. Krippen states that, in theory, use of viragenes could be applied to HIV, other forms of cancer, damaged nerves, blindness --virtually any ailment." ELLEN Let me get this straight. Genetic engineering and viruses? NEVILLE The properties of a virus--I guess so it can multiply and grow throughout the bloodstream. But they disable it (MORE) NEVILLE (cont'd) somehow, so it's not harmful. This is amazing! And it's buried on page 12. ELLEN It sounds dangerous, Bob. NEVILLE Ellie... ELLEN All these so-called scientific breakthroughs. Playing with the building blocks of life. As a race, do you think we can catch up? I mean, we're back here, and they're twenty miles down the road. NEVILLE (significantly) It could cure cancer. All forms of cancer. ELLEN (sadly) Maybe there's supposed to be cancer. Does anyone think about that? What if there's a reason? What if... All this goes against God's plan? NEVILLE I thought God's plan was simple. She waits. NEVILLE To love each other, Ellie. To lend a helping hand to someone in need, to care for one another. Compassion. ELLEN Bobby, you're an idealist. You always have been. NEVILLE I have hope. You can never lose hope. GRACE'S VOICE Mommy? Their daughter appears in the doorway. ELLEN What is it, honey? GRACE I don't feel good today. ELLEN Oh, come here, sweetie... Grace joins them in bed. Ellen hugs her close. Neville finishes the article in the paper and joins them NEVILLE (whispers in Ellen's ear) I'm going to see him. This Dr. Krippen. ABRUPT CUT TO: INT. TOMB - DAY END FLASHBACK. Neville stands. Dispassionate, almost militaristic in his movements. He collects the dead flowers and exits. EXT. CEMETERY - DAY Neville locks the outer gate, climbs into the Land Rover and drives away, the SUN an hour or two away from setting. INT. EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - VARIOUS - DAY / DUSK Neville secures the house for the evening. Fills generators with gasoline, checks power connections, repairs the hole in the inner fence, loads weapons, etc. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DUSK Neville barely touches his dinner as the dog devours its bowl of fresh chow. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT The sun's last rays shine through the window slits. Neville washes dishes. The dog glances at the "doggie door" leading outside. Neville tells him. NEVILLE Not tonight. You can stay in tonight. The happy dog follows him to the video monitor/computer station. Neville checks the screens--no activity yet. He sits behind the computer and looks at a CHESS PROGRAM--a game already in play. He analyzes the board, but is distracted. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Neville goes through his archives of VIDEO TAPES. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Neville sits up in bed, the dog at the foot, on the floor, watching TV. Guns in close proximity. A videotape plays John Ford's THE LOST PATROL. A small group of British soldiers cracking under the pressure of attack by a superior force of Arabs. Neville's seen it many times. He's seen all his favorites too many times. He gets bored with it, stops the tape, returns to the archives and moves to another. He hesitates. Wanting to play certain tapes, and desperately not wanting to play them. He gives in, selects one, and moves to the vcr. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT - MOMENTS LATER VIDEO IMAGES. His wife ELLEN and daughter GRACE (5 years old here) washing the car in the back yard. Both wear bathing suits and are having a terrific time with the water and soap suds. Ellen turns the hose on the camera and we hear. NEVILLE'S VOICE Hey! This thing costs a lotta money! The video camera ducks out of the way and we see Neville's bare feet. Typical home movie shenanigans. He refocuses on his wife. She looks quite lovely in her bikini. ELLEN How come we're doing all the work? GRACE Yeah, how come? I think you should wash the car, daddy. NEVILLE Uh-uh. Mommy and I made a bet and she lost. ELLEN You cheated! REVEAL NEVILLE. Sitting on the edge of his bed, haunted by the images. Haunted by his vibrant little girl, mesmerized by his wife's vitality, her beauty. And then we HEAR... MOURNFUL CHANTING. SLOW, RHYTHMIC DRUMMING- The ghostly cries... VOICES OUTSIDE Neville... Neville... Neville shuts his eyes. Covers his ears. The dog goes to the balcony, demurely barks a reminder. Neville looks out. In the distance, in the darkness, the Hemocytes continue to MOURNFULLY WAIL. Neville SLAMS SHUT the steel shutters. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Neville moves to an ALCOVE containing a HAM RADIO setup, dons HEADPHONES and juices up the system. He SCANS and LISTENS. Nothing. The static and dead air, however, blocks out the cries of the Hemocytes. Neville switches to the emergency frequency and leans into his microphone... NEVILLE San Francisco KDX-CFY-CA 1971335. San Francisco KDX-CFY-CA 1971335. Listens. He's done this far too many times. Tried too many times. But still, he listens. NEVILLE San Fran-- He stops. What was that? He turns up the volume and now we HEAR it, too. Is it? A human voice? Unintelligible, staticy. What did it say? Was it "Help me?" Was it?! He adjusts the scanner, cranks the volume. It's gone. Just like that, it's gone. Was it even there? NEVILLE Hello? Please... Static. There was nothing. You're cracking up! Neville rips the headphones from his ears, throws them. NEVILLE There was nobody. Nobody. He looks at the monitors, the Hemocytes. The CHANTING very loud now. Neville SCREAMS. NEVILLE LEAVE ME ALONE! FOR GOD'S SAKE. Manically, he runs upstairs, grabbing a HANDGUN on the way. EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - ROOF - NIGHT Neville indiscriminately FIRES the pistol. NEVILLE LEAVE ME ALONE ! He futilely empties the clip. The Hemocytes collectively HISS. He THROWS the gun into the compound and falls to his knees. He cradles his head in his hands. NEVILLE Dear Jesus, why? Please. Why? INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT He secures the hatch and collapses onto his bed. The dog sadly approaches. Softening greatly, Neville lays his hand on the dog. His eyes move to the photo of his wife. EXT. SURROUNDING AREA - NIGHT The Hemocytes stand hand-in-hand in mournful vigil. CORTMAN THE BLOOD IS ON YOUR HANDS, NEVILLE. YOU ARE THE MURDERER.. TRY TO SLEEP TONIGHT. TRY. REMEMBER THE FACES OF THOSE YOU KILLED. WE WILL NEVER FORGET. AND ONE DAY, YOU WILL PAY. I PROMISE YOU THAT. THERE WILL BE RETRIBUTION. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Neville's haunted face stares at the ceiling. CORTMAN'S VOICE RETRIBUTION, NEVILLE. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - NEXT MORNING Neville drives the Land Rover out of the compound. INT. LAND ROVER - DAY Eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, a quiet, solemn Neville cruises the deserted city streets. EXT. CIVIC CENTER - DAY City Hall is in ruins. The Federal Building blown to bits. The Library has suffered damage, but the structure is intact. Neville, loop of wire in hand, sets another SNARE on a lamp post and keeps a watchful eye on the surrounding buildings. What was that? Did something move? Nothing. Nothing, Bob. EXT. EMBARCADERO - DAY The Land Rover stops near the Bay Bridge. Neville looks around. Cars are overturned, burned, rusting. Boats in the harbor are ravaged, sunken. EXT. EMBARCADERO - DAY - AN HOUR LATER Neville has strung a series of five traps along the street. He's working on his sixth when he realizes he won't have enough wire. He returns to the Land Rover, pets the dog, and sets his machine gun on the roof of the vehicle. He removes the Kevlar vest and his shirt. It's hot today. He drinks from a bottle of water, grabs a fresh spool of wire, and returns to the post. He arranges and sets the wire and prepares to bait it when he STOPS. Absolutely dead stops. MOVEMENT. About half a block away. He locates the source of the SOUND and sees something in one of the abandoned buildings. Neville reaches for his machine gun. But it's not there. It's on the fucking roof of the Land Rover. The dog is hyper-alert. He heard it, too. Keeping his eyes glued on the abandoned building, Neville moves toward the vehicle... The dog BARKS a warning, but it's too late... Neville has stepped into the snare of his own trap! SNAP! The wire WHIPS TAUGHT jerking Neville off his feet. He SMACKS his head on the asphalt as the wire PULLS UP. The snare LOCKS into place and Neville HANGS above the street, upside-down, his head about three feet from the surface. The ALL-IN-ONE-TOOL FALLS from his pocket. He REACHES for it, but it's already on the street. The dog BARKS AND BARKS. Panicked, afraid, scolding. Neville is so pissed at himself. The wire CUTS deep into his ankle. BLOOD drips to the street. He's a little dazed, but Neville's desperately trying to maintain clarity. The dog circles below, barking and whimpering. Neville breathes deeply, gauges his surroundings. What to do?! And then he realizes why the dog is so frantic. The sun is setting. As if on cue, his ELECTRONIC POCKET WATCH sounds its ALARM. BEEP-BEEP-BEEP. The color drains from Neville's face. BEEP-BEEP-BEEP. Neville angrily THROWS the watch down the street. The dog continues to BARK his warnings. NEVILLE SHUT UP! DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW?!!! The dog backs off, circles the area, sniffs. Whimpers and growls. Transforms into defensive posture. SOUNDS OF MOVEMENT in a nearby building. Neville hears it. Looks at the sky. About thirty, forty minutes before sunset. Damn! He calms himself. Can't panic, absolutely cannot panic. He tries reaching for the wire, to pull himself up, but it's just beyond his reach, the strain too great. He remembers his KNIFE in the ankle sheath. Pulls it and HACKS at the wire. No good. It would never cut through. He tucks the knife back into the sheath. Thinks. CRASH! Something falls and breaks in one of the shops. More MOVEMENT. The dog REACTS, BARKS and RUNS to check it out. NEVILLE NO! STAY! Neville can do nothing. The dog's gone. Must act quickly. Although it makes the wire cut deeper into his ankle, Neville SWINGS back and forth, making his body a pendulum. Reaches for the post. Misses. Swings back. Forth. GRABS IT. Holds on for dear life. In an impressive feat of strength and dexterity, he twists and PULLS himself up the post, to the overhang bar, and CRAWLS along it, even though the tension it creates on the wire is shredding his ankle. Neville desperately tries to untangle the snare. His fingers can't quite do the trick, so he pulls the KNIFE and uses it to SAW into the cable. A HOWL from within a building. Neville glances in the direction of the sound. Just as the blade succeeds in slicing through enough of the wire, it weakens and SNAPS! Releasing an unprepared Neville. He FALLS and lands HARD on the asphalt. A bone BREAKS in Neville's wrist but that's the least of his worries. He landed on the knife. It's sticking straight through the meat of his thigh. He screams in pain! Reaches for it, but that arm has a broken wrist--and that's agony! He rolls to his side, feels for the handle with his good hand and psychs himself up for what must be done. He PULLS the blade, SCREAMS, and passes out. The image loses focus... FADES... To BLACK. Silence. FADE IN to grey. Unfocused, gaining sharpness... A SOUND. A wet sound... The DOG LICKS Neville's face and pokes him, urging him to consciousness. When Neville awakens... IT IS NIGHT. The look of terror on his face is unmistakable. The dog whimpers, prods him, begging him to move. A small pool of blood has collected around Neville's thigh and ankle. His broken wrist is swollen and he has a bad bump on his forehead. He coughs, spits, raises his head... The atmosphere of the Embarcadero has changed. Gone is the deadness and silence--replaced by SOUNDS. Some far off, some closeby. Activity. There is life. Some kind of life. The dog's defenses are way up. He sniffs and growls. The Land Rover is about fifty feet away. Such a short distance, but now, for Neville, in this condition, it is more like fifty miles. He examines his wrist, his ankle. The blood has coagulated and he looks to the thigh. He rips part of his shirt into a tourniquet. It's difficult to work with the broken wrist, but he manages to stop the bleeding. He tries to stand, but that is a joke. The ankle is bad enough, but the thigh wound is just too deep--it can't take the pressure. He falls back to the asphalt and catches his breath. He finds the knife, clutches it in his fist--just in case--and begins to drag himself toward the Land Rover. SOUNDS. MOVEMENT. All around him. Something--footsteps?--circling the area. Neville accelerates his pace. The dog viciously growls, BARKS! And then Neville HEARS it, too. SNARLING. HOWLS. Not footsteps. Paws on pavement. Neville knows what's coming and it terrifies him. Again, he tries to stand, but falls hard onto the street. He drags himself toward the vehicle, and his dog begins to circle, BARKING, urging him to move faster. Neville stops when he sees the first one... A BLACK DOG. A hemocvte dog. Standing on top of a pile of rubble. Watching him with icy grey eyes. The beast's fangs are bared--long, sharp, vicious things. It assesses Neville and his dog. It BARKS AND HOWLS. Neville's about twenty feet from the Rover. He remembers the MACHINE GUN on the roof and yells at his dog. NEVILLE THE GUN! GET THE GUN! But this isn't "Rin-Tin-Tin." The poor thing has no idea what Neville means. NEVILLE GET THE FUCKING GUN! No use. Neville presses on, dragging his wounded body toward the Land Rover. Holds tightly to the KNIFE when he sees... FIVE MORE DOGS. DANE, BROWN, BOXER, WHITE, and GREY. All muscular, sharp-fanged, and icy-eyed. They snarl and sniff, calmly waiting, gauging their best attack... The dog moves in close to Neville, guarding. Neville fears the worst. Hits the dog with his arm, instructing him... NEVILLE GO! RUN! Get the hell out of here! The dog doesn't move. NEVILLE GO! You stupid thing! GO! But the dog will not leave him. And the attack begins. Black BARKS and THREE RUSH IN. Neville's dog meets BROWN, immediately engaging in combat. Neville knows his dog is doomed, but can't think about that now. The OTHER TWO are upon him! He LASHES out with the KNIFE, ripping WHITE open along the ribcage. The beast YELPS and retaliates and BITES into Neville's thigh. Neville SCREAMS- And KNEES White with the opposite leg. GREY BITES into Neville's broken wrist. The PAIN is unimaginable, but Neville STABS GREY in the chest. AGAIN AND AGAIN. Blood bursts from Grey's heart and the dog dies. Neville spins to see WHITE in the air, POUNCING, eyes on Neville's jugular... But the beast is broadsided by Neville's dog! Battered and bleeding, he FIGHTS with a proud ferocity. Neville sees the badly wounded BROWN coming, LICKING BLOOD from Grey to gain strength. As his dog engages in struggle with White, Neville sees BOXER and DANE move in. And Neville knows there is only one chance. Summoning every ounce of strength and adrenaline in his body, he RISES to his feet and emits a guttural, primordial SCREAM. Grimacing, denying the pain, he MOVES to the Land Rover, forcing his fragile limbs forward. As Neville's dog and White engage in a brutal dance, Brown-rushing on the fresh blood--sets his sights on human prey. Neville makes it to the Land Rover. He rests against it-just for a moment--then reaches up and grabs the machine gun. He turns. Just in time to see Brown coming at him. Neville OPENS FIRE and Brown is ripped in half. Neville WHISTLES and his dog breaks away from White. Neville shoots White, then SPRAYS bullets at the oncoming Boxer and Dane. The automatic weapon fire has the desired effect and the two beasts--sufficiently intimidated--run away. Neville and his dog relax for a moment, then, almost simultaneously, realize they have forgotten about the leader, the BLACK. Who ERUPTS from behind, knocking Neville to the ground. The Black is about to devour human neck when Neville's dog BITES into Black's hindquarters. The Black YELPS, spins, and LOCKS ITS JAWS onto the dog's neck. NEVILLE NO!!!!!!! Neville SMACKS the Black with the butt of the machine KICKS him away, and OPENS FIRE, emptying the clip into the hellish thing. Until it falls. Dead. Neville checks his dog. The poor thing is bleeding badly. Fueled by desperation and conviction, Neville LIFTS the dog and deposits him in the Rover. Now well beyond pain-transcendent, really--Neville shuts the doors, climbs behind the wheel, and gets the hell away. INT. LAND ROVER - NIGHT NeviIle drives in darkness, one hand comforting the dog... NEVILLE It's okay, boy. You're gonna be okay. EXT. AREA SURROUNDING NEVILLE'S HOUSE - NIGHT The Hemocytes on their nightly vigil. Cortman observes Neville's house. The lights are off. No music, no signs of activity within. Curious. A trap? Perhaps not. Cortman leaps off the promontory and leads his followers across the barren landscape, toward the outer fence. INT. LAND ROVER - NIGHT Neville looks ahead, observing the terrain. He's about half a mile away from home and can see the Hemocytes surrounding the compound. He stops the vehicle and turns to the dog... NEVILLE I'm going to get us home. EXT. LAND ROVER - NIGHT Neville exits, opens the trunk, straps on two SHOULDER HOLSTERS with fully loaded automatics and grabs two more clips for the machine gun. He takes a JERRY CAN of gasoline, a rag, and quickly manufactures a king-size MOLOTOV COCKTAIL. EXT. STREET LEADING TO HOUSE - NIGHT With its lights still off, the Land Rover slowly moves up the hill. And violently ACCELERATES. EXT. AREA - SURROUNDING COMPOUND - NIGHT The Hemocytes furthest from the fence have no time to REACT to the speeding, armor-plated Rover heading straight at them. INT. LAND ROVER - NIGHT Neville hits a series of SWITCHES. EXT. AREA SURROUNDING COMPOUND - NIGHT A BURST OF LIGHT! Not only from the LAMPS, but from a RACK OF LIGHTS on the ROOF, two HIGH-BEAM lamps mounted near the side mirrors, and FOUR LIGHTS rigged near the trunk. The Hemocytes SCREECH and retreat. A few react like deer, frozen, and the Land Rover just PLOWS through them. NEAR THE FENCE, CORTMAN REACTS. He sees the Rover ROARING toward him and realizes Neville is outside the compound! He stands at the GATE--the only way into the compound--and BELLOWS... CORTMAN STOP HIM! INT. LAND ROVER - NIGHT Neville maintains focus. His eyes stay fixed ahead. He sees the Warriors forming a wall in front of the GATE. Takes a deep breath... And STOPS the Land Rover. EXT. AREA SURROUNDING COMPOUND - NIGHT Hemocytes form a circle around the vehicle. The LIGHT blinds them and SCORCHES their skin, but they must take advantage of this opportunity, they must get Neville! INT. LAND ROVER - NIGHT Neville readies the machine gun, undoes a ceiling BOLT. EXT. AREA SURROUNDING COMPOUND - NIGHT A HATCH opens on the ROOF of the Rover and Neville pops up. He SPRAYS MACHINE GUN FIRE in a circle, keeping the Hemocytes at bay. INTENSELY FIRES at the Warriors barring the gate. Neville crawls out farther, rests the machine gun, and pulls out the JERRY CAN. TWO BRAVE HEMOCYTES rush the Land Rover, SMASH a side lamp and headlamp, and crawl toward Neville. He pulls a sidearm and SHOOTS! Dead shots in their hearts. Takes a LIGHTER from his utility belt. MORE HEMOCYTES move toward the Rover. Neville spots them. Lifts the MACHINE GUN. FIRES, keeping them back--momentarily. He tries to light the rag in the jerry can, but his hand isn't working well and the lighter SLIPS down the windshield. Neville curses, crawls out, REACHES for the lighter... His arm is GRABBED by a Hemocyte. EVA. They lock eyes. She smiles and TALONS emerge from her fingertips. Neville's weak hand fumbles for a sidearm and PULLS the trigger. A BULLET RIPS through Eva's shoulder, sending her back, spinning off the vehicle. Neville SNATCHES the lighter, ignites the rag, and THROWS the jerry can at the gate. It lands with a THUD. Neville FIRES the machine gun. Bullets RIP into the can and BLAM! A FIREBALL! At least a dozen Warriors are roasted. They stumble away, SCREECHING. Cortman knows what Neville has in mind and hurriedly leads a CHARGE at the Land Rover. INT. LAND ROVER - NIGHT Neville drops into the driver's seat. He reaches up to close the hatch and sees the FACE OF A HEMOCYTE. He FIRES. The shattered Hemocyte face disappears from view and Neville SHUTS the hatch. PRESSES the REMOTE CONTROL. EXT. AREA SURROUNDING COMPOUND - NIGHT THE GATE SLIDES OPEN. Halfway to the Land Rover, Cortman realizes he's made an error. CORTMAN BACK! INSIDE! INSIDE! He changes the direction of the charge just as the Rover ROARS THROUGH THE FIRE. SIX HEMOCYTES manage to jump on THE VEHICLE as it SPEEDS into the compound and abruptly STOPS. Its REAR LAMPS SHINE on the open gate. INT. LAND ROVER - NIGHT Neville hits the remote. EXT. AREA SURROUNDING COMPOUND - NIGHT The gate starts to shut. Cortman and his Warriors RUN to it. The HATCH on the roof of the Land Rover FLIPS OPEN. Neville emerges, machine gun in hand. First, he BLASTS THREE of the Hemocytes clinging to the Rover. (The other three are smarter and hang onto the SIDES of the vehicle, out of Neville's field of Vision.) Next, Neville SPRAYS the gate with machine gun fire, keeping Cortman and the Hemocytes at bay. Neville can only urge the gate to move faster... NEVILLE COME ON! COME ON! He empties one clip, loads the LAST of the three, takes a few more shots, then relaxes when the GATE IS SHUT. INT. LAND ROVER - NIGHT Neville accelerates, shuts the hatch, hits another REMOTE. EXT. COMPOUND - NIGHT The other GATE--for the inner fence--SLIDES OPEN, as does the DOOR to the garage, revealing the sloping driveway leading underground. The Land Rover ROARS over the moat. the THREE HEMOCYTES holding tight as the Rover descends. INT. UNDERGROUND GARAGE - NIGHT The Rover SCREECHES to a stop, almost crashing into the wall. The overhead door starts to CLOSE... INT. LAND ROVER - NIGHT Neville checks the dog, comforts him, and almost opens the door. He stops when he faintly hears a SCRATCHING on the outer shell of the vehicle. INT. UNDERGROUND GARAGE - NIGHT The Three Hemocytes quietly release their hold on the Land Rover and set foot on the garage floor. They look to each other and devilishly smile. INT. LAND ROVER - NIGHT Neville checks the VIDEO SCREENS. There they are. NEVILLE Were you fellas Boy Stouts? You know what the Scouts always say... ? He flicks a switch on another remote. INT. UNDERGROUND GARAGE - NIGHT The three Hemocytes barely have time to notice the HALOGEN LAMPS lining the walls of the room before they BURST ON. The creatures SCREECH! with pain. Sunglasses covering his eyes, Neville calmly opens his door, steps out, and proceeds to exterminate the three pests. QUICK MACHINE GUN BURSTS to the hearts of One and Two. When the clip runs out, a pistol for the Third. NEVILLE Be prepared. As they lay dying, Neville shuts off the wall lamps, opens the passenger door, and gently carries out the wounded dog. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - MEDICAL FACILITY - NIGHT Neville deposits the dog on an exam table. How can he stand the pain?! His body shinners with sweat from exertion, his eyes barely open, barely conscious. After making sure the dog is stable, he tends to his own wounds. Can't help the dog 'til you help yourself. He goes to a cabinet and INJECTS himself with a small dose of MORPHINE to eliminate the pain. To keep himself alert, he sniffs a capsule of AMYL NITRATE, then injects himself with an ANTIBIOTIC. He takes a SCALPEL and cuts open his pants leg. The thigh is damn bad. He cleans it--which stings like a mother--bandages it, then releases the tourniquet. God, it hurts! He thinks about another shot of morphine, but he must stay conscious. He painfully removes his boots and cleans and bandages the ankle. Now the wrist. Swollen, throbbing. He feels the tendons, the bones, locates the affected section. He readies a splint, some tape, and more amyl nitrate. And then, amazingly, Neville sets his own broken bone. The pain is intense. He nearly passes out, but manages to crack open another capsule of amyl nitrate. He applies the splint and tape. It's sloppy, but it does the job. Neville turns to the dog. He injects the poor thing with a strong dose of morphine, knocking him out. He cleans and bandages, making sure bleeding has stopped, but he knows, and we know, that these wounds are deep and serious. Neville watches the dog's sad eyes as the morphine kicks in. He leans in and pets his faithful companion. NEVILLE They will not have you. I promise. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Neville moves to the central SECURITY PANEL. Switches on the monitors, boots up the computer, flicks switches, etc. EXT. COMPOUND - NIGHT LIGHTS. On the roof, along the fence, in the compound. EVERYWHERE. Lights at maximum power. EXT. AREA SURROUNDING COMPOUND - NIGHT The Hemocytes REACT to the shock of illumination. They scurry for cover, for pockets of shadow and darkness. Cortman defiantly STANDS near the gate, at the fallen BODIES of his soldiers. He screams a FIERCE CRY of anger as his skin sizzles from exposure to the light. CHRISTOPHER runs to his side and PULLS him to safety. BEHIND A WALL OF RUBBLE, Cortman and Christopher join Eva and the others. The group appears dispirited, disillusioned. Others are angry, ready to attack. CORTMAN How many made it inside? CHRISTOPHER A half dozen. CORTMAN And the others? How many, Christopher? CHRISTOPHER Altogether, over twenty dead. (a plea) our numbers dwindle and we lose strength. Perhaps it is time for change. Time to move on. He is just one man. CORTMAN After what he has done? The blood he spilled? All the souls taken? We must never cease, we--all of us--can never change. Not if change means allowing Neville freedom, life. That cannot be. He looks at the wounded, the dead. CORTMAN But you are right about one thing, Christopher. That must change. We have lost too many. Neville's death will come, of that I am certain, but it cannot come at the expense of our lives. No more. (to his followers) He will not have that pleasure. But Neville will pay. We will feast on his flesh and drink his blood. EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - ROOF - NIGHT Neville manages to pull himself into the crow's nest. He's armed to the teeth--ready for an onslaught. He raises a RIFLE to his eye and looks through the scope. NEVILLE All right, Cortman, come on. HIS POV No one there. He scans the area around the fence. There's one, two... A few. But their backs are turned and they're walking away. No chants, no drumming. Silence. Defeat. Is he grateful? Astonished? Or disappointed? INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - MEDICAL FACILITY - NIGHT Neville hobbles over to the exam table and turns his attention to the unconscious dog. He stitches and disinfects--as if this were the most important medical procedure ever performed. He will not let this dog die. He lifts one of the dog's eyelids and despises what he sees. A faint greyness to the iris. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - NIGHT Neville searches for something near the Arsenal. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - MEDICAL FACILITY - NIGHT Neville rests a heavy KENNEL CAGE / CARRIER on the floor. He puts a child's blanket within, then places the dog inside. Strangely, he CHAINS AND BOLTS the cage to the floor and walls. He gives the dog a sad, knowing look and exits. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Neville sits himself in a chair, elevates his wounded legs, and loads another shot of morphine. He injects himself and finally, mercifully, he sleeps. FADE OUT. FADE IN: EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - DAWN The sun has risen. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - MORNING CLANG! CLANG! Neville stirs from his drug-induced slumber. INSTANT PAIN! His legs and wrist are throbbing! CLANG! CLANG! NOISE from the medical facility. He lowers his legs. When the blood returns to them, the pain intensifies. Neville administers another low-level shot of morphine, gets to his feet and hobbles toward the sound. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - MEDICAL FACILITY - MORNING CLANG CLANG CLANG! The dog is not happy about being in a cage. BARKS at Neville when he enters. Neville prepares a sedative and carefully injects it into the dog. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - GARAGE - DAY Neville switches off the power for the exterior lights. Hits the switch for the overhead door and remembers the Hemocytes he encountered here last night. He steps to the Land Rover. There, on the floor, are one, two corpses. Both are completely drained of blood. There were three. Where's the third? Neville turns... And sees the THIRD HEMOCYTE standing before him. mouth red. Body gorged on blood. Death lust in his evil eyes. Neville is so tired. And doesn't have a gun! Thank god for the SUN. As the Hemocyte makes his move, the OVERHEAD DOOR slides open. Neville backs up the ramp, into the LIGHT as it cuts into the room and descends upon the horrified Hemocyte. The creature's skin blackens and blisters. With a disturbing intensity, Neville GRABS the Hemocyte by the throat and DRAGS him up the ramp, into the HARSH SUNLIGHT. Tosses him into the compound like a bag of trash. NEVILLE (exhausted) Leave me alone. EXT. NEVILLE'S COMPOUND - DAY Neville carries out the morning's grim task: gathering the corpses of the hemocytes killed last night. Because of his weakened state, he builds a PYRE in the moat, adds the one he just finished off. So sick of it. Just sick of it all. EXT. DESERTED HIGHWAY - DAY The Rover heads out of the city, crossing the BAY BRIDGE. EXT. BERKELEY - DAY The Land Rover speeds through the ravaged, desolate college town and veers toward the UNIVERSITY. EXT. U.C. BERKELEY - DAY The campus looks like the scene of a war. Not a riot, a war. It is perhaps even more bleak than anything we saw in the city. The Land Rover heads past a group of dead buildings, buildings which hold a terrible secret. The sign reads: MEDICAL SCIENCES - KRIPPEN CENTER FOR GENETIC RESEARCH Spray-painted over the sign is one word: ARMAGEDDON! EXT. KRIPPEN GENETICS BUILDING - DAY The Rover stops and Neville hobbles to the bunker-like structure, dragging a PORTABLE GENERATOR. Adorning the exterior wall--and we will see it within, too--is a LOGO. A circle with a spiraling line cutting through the center. We recognize it as the "mark" of Cortman and his followers. INT. KRIPPEN CENTER - DAY The LOBBY once saw awful carnage. Dried blood cakes the walls as do scorch marks from fires. Bullet holes are so plentiful, they create an odd "mural." more significantly, there is something ominous about this place. The serpent's lair in the Garden of Eden. Or Satan's throne room in Hell. Neville wheels the Generator to a thick metal door. Impenetrable. He removes a panel from the floor and accesses a bundle of electrical wires. He fires up the Generator and attaches feed connections to the bundle. Attaches a bypass circuit and punches in his own code... G-R-A-C-E. The mammoth door HISSES, GROANS and OPENS, as if responding to an occult charm. INT. KRIPPEN CENTER - DAY Neville steps into the first room of a large genetics lab. There are numerous rooms, each color and number coded, i.e. DNA STORAGE - ORANGE 7. The colors and ratings correspond to germ-free environments, biohazard conditions, etc. Amazingly, much of the interior of the Krippen Center is clean and in working order. But there are hints of disaster and violence--a bullet hole here, a blood spatter there. Neville deposits the dog cage outside a room labeled ANIMAL RESEARCH LAB - RED 9 and walks to a LOWER LEVEL ROOM-ELECTRICAL - BLUE 5. He opens a panel and finds circuit breakers labeled EMERGENCY GENERATORS. Switches them on. THROUGHOUT THE FACILITY, overhead LIGHTS flicker to life. The empty sterile rooms gleam with an antiseptic sense of dread. We see a few of the ROOMS --- BLOOD LAB - RED 9. AUDIO VISUAL - GREEN 2. VIRUS STORAGE - RED 10. INT. KRIPPEN CENTER - AUDIO VISUAL ROOM - DAY SHELVES filled with VIDEOTAPES. Neville finds the ANIMAL TESTING section and selects a handful of cassettes. INT. KRIPPEN CENTER - ANIMAL LAB - DAY Empty cages. Surgical tables. Microscopes. A VCR and TV an A/V CART sit in the corner. Neville pops in a cassette labeled TEST RESULTS/DOMESTIC ANIMALS/KRIPPEN 5/12/98. Sits in a chair, elevates his legs, and watches as the TV plays... ON THE TV SCREEN, we see the face of DR. JOHN KRIPPEN. An intelligent, passionate face now panicked and deadened. His eyes have seen great disappointments. And even greater horrors. He speaks to a CAMERA which he runs himself. KRIPPEN ... The viragene appears to have no discernible impact an birds. When injected into subjects, no matter the size of the dosage, the result was death. No mutation. The same results with fish and reptiles. (gravely) We had no such luck with the feline, canine, and rodent hosts. All accepted the viragene, all mutated. The mice and rats exhibited no hostility when infected, nor did the cats, not really. Their predatory instincts were elevated, yes, but they maintained a more calculated, cunning approach to... feeding. The dogs... sadly, they... We saw the most alarming results with the dogs. The viragene seems to bring out a savage instinct, a primal brutality that goes beyond mere survival. (beat) Just like the humans. The LARGE IMAGE shows us video footage of a GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG in a strong metal CAGE. The SMALL IMAGE is footage taken through a MICROSCOPE of the dog's BLOOD CELLS. An LED READ-OUT at the bottom of the screen shows date and time (5/4/98/6:20 a.m.) . Krippen's VOICE provides commentary on one AUDIO TRACK, the SOUNDS from the dog in the cage on the other. There will be abrupt cuts and jumps, the tape having been hastily prepared. LARGE IMAGE: SCIENTISTS inject the dog. SMALL IMAGE: STRANGE NEW CELLS mix with the others. (5/4/98/6:25 a.m.). KRIPPEN Hemocyte viral genetic agent introduced into normal canine circulatory system. ABRUPT CUT. LARGE IMAGE: the Shepherd is happy and playful. SMALL IMAGE: the strange cells appear to be gobbling up select others. (5/4/98/7:02 p.m.). KRIPPEN Just over twelve hours. The viragene has eliminated any diseased or unhealthy cells in the host. ABRUPT CUT. LARGE IMAGE: the Shepherd is lethargic, depressed. SMALL IMAGE: the strange cells are eating healthy red blood cells. (5/4/98/11:10 p.m.). KRIPPEN Sixteen hours. The viragene turns to healthy blood cells for fuel. ABRUPT CUT. LARGE IMAGE: the SHEPHERD is magnificently healthy. Very active. Hyper-alert. He glows with remarkable strength. An eerie blue-greyness in its eyes. Its fangs appear sharper, more savage. SMALL IMAGE: fresh blood is introduced and we see the strange cells GROW AND MULTIPLY. (5/5/98/l:38 a.m.). KRIPPEN One liter of transfused blood introduced into canine system. The viragene feeds and multiplies at a rate of .25 percent per minute. Multiplication rate increases exponentially to amount of blood injected into host. Note increases in muscle strength, bone mass, pulse, adrenaline flow. ABRUPT CUT. LARGE IMAGE: the Shepard is weak, emaciated, irritable and hostile. He barks and lunges at the scientists near his Cage. SMALL IMAGE: The strange cells are desperately searching for blood cells, devouring them like candy. (5/7/98/2:00 a.m.). KRIPPEN Viragene consumes blood at an astonishing rate. If more blood is not introduced, subject will perish. ABRUPT CUT. LARGE IMAGE: the Shepard is dying. An awful blackness in its eyes. SMALL IMAGE: the strange cells have eliminated all healthy blood cells. They move anxiously, searching, desperate to survive. They lose momentum and cease movement. (5/7/98/3:33 p.m.). KRIPPEN No additional blood has been given to the host. Subject terminates. ABRUPT CUT. LARGE IMAGE: The dog's dead form lies motionless. A scientist carefully injects it with blood. SMALL IMAGE: fresh blood cells swim past the dead cells. They flicker to life. (5/9/98/4:24 p.m.). KRIPPEN No heart, respiratory, or brain function in forty-eight hours. Fifty cc's of blood injected into expired host. LARGE IMAGE: the Shepherd's limbs TWITCH with life. The bluegreyness returns to its formerly lifeless eyes. KRIPPEN Reanimation occurs in 15.6 seconds. LARGE IMAGE: the Shepard STAPES at the surveillance camera. Bares its fangs and snarls. Neville abruptly STOPS the tape. He moves to the dog's cage and unhinges the door. The dog is still sedated and Neville locates a syringe and DRAWS BLOOD. He places a DROP on a glass slide and examines it under a MICROSCOPE. He REWINDS the videotape in SEARCH mode and FREEZES it so he can compare the SMALL SCREEN IMAGE to what he sees under the microscope. The dog is still in the first stage. Neville notes the LED readout--5/4/98/7:02 p.m.). He FASTFORWARDS in SEARCH mode and STOPS on the IMAGE of the lethargic, depressed, hostile Shepherd. (5/4/98/11:10 p.m.). Sadly realizes how little time he has... INT. KRIPPEN CENTER - OFFICE - DAY The nameplate on the door tells us this was the office of DR. JOHN KRIPPEN. Neville glances at the mementos on the desk-photos, awards--and wall--diplomas, certificates, a PHOTO of the entire academic staff of Berkeley. Standing among the distinguished gentlemen and ladies is Robert Neville. FLASHBACK TO: INT. KRIPPEN CENTER - OFFICE - DAY DR. KRIPPEN escorts a VISITOR into his office. Offered a chair, NEVILLE sits opposite Krippen. Looking every bit the professor in tweed jacket and corduroys, Neville smiles... NEVILLE Thanks for seeing me, Dr. Krippen. Krippen is happy, energetic, pleased with himself. KRIPPEN We don't get too many visitors from the History Department. (recalls) We met at the Christmas Party, didn't we? NEVILLE Yeah, Jeff introduced us. KRIPPEN That's right. NEVILLE Listen, I know you're busy, so I'll get right to it. The work you're doing with leukemia--from what I read in the paper, it seems to me the same principles could apply to other forms of cancer. KRIPPEN Absolutely. We chose leukemia because, well, if we can do it with blood, we can do it with just about anything in the body. Once we tackle blood, the rest... NEVILLE The lymph system? KRIPPEN Down the line, yes. NEVILLE How far down the line? KRIPPEN What's the problem, Professor ? NEVILLE Six months ago my daughter Grace was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer. KRIPPEN How old is she? NEVILLE Seven. (a plea) If you could see her... KRIPPEN I'd be happy to recommend someone, but there's really nothing I can do. NEVILLE Please... Krippen's SECRETARY pops her head in... SECRETARY The "Nightline" crew is here. KRIPPEN Have them set up in the lab, Margie. Oh! And let Ben know they're here. SECRETARY Right. She exits. Neville feels insignificant, rejected. KRIPPEN Going to be on TV tonight. Neville sort of nods. Krippen scribbles a name and number on a piece of paper, gives it to Neville. KRIPPEN Dr. Tom Bernardi. He's the best pediatric oncologist I know. Make sure you tell him I referred you. NEVILLE We have a doctor. KRIPPEN Well. I see. If you'll excuse me, professor. Neville nods, stands, as Krippen shows him the door. NEVILLE Sure. INT. KRIPPEN CENTER - MAIN CORRIDOR - DAY Krippen hurries to the LAB. Neville stands outside the office and crumples the piece of paper in his fist. Through a glass partition, we catch sight of a PATIENT. As if he senses Neville's stare, the man turns... It is Cortman. Healthy. Human. END FLASHBACK: INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - MEDICAL CENTER - DAY Neville offers a bowl of food to the dog, but it is uninterested. Neville tries a dish of water. No reaction. The dog sadly curls up in a corner of the cage. DISSOLVE TO: Neville examines a recent blood sample from the dog under the microscope. His reaction tells us things are getting worse. DISSOLVE TO: Neville sits in the corner, on the floor, watching the dog slowly die. The poor thing is withering away to flesh and bone. Neville can't stand it. He rises, reaches for a GUN, and aims at the dog's heart. His arm hangs there, waiting. The dog's pained eyes look to him... Why? Neville cannot do it. Lowers the gun. And makes the decision. He takes a syringe and begins to withdraw BLOOD from his own arm. He allows a catheter to pour the red liquid into a pan. when he's lost about half a pint, he stops the process, opens the cage door, places the dish inside, LOCKS it. He cannot watch as the animal hungrily laps up the blood. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - ROOFTOP - NIGHT Neville stands in the crow's nest, rifle nearby. He raises the night-vision binoculars to his eyes ... Nothing. No sign The dog. Forever changed. Rejuvenated by the blood. Possessing a new strength. It paces, gnaws on the bars, and growls at Neville. The icy grey-blue eyes of the dog do not see a friend, a master. They see food. HOWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLL! The beast's appetite is great. The hunger painful. Neville curses himself for what he has done. SLAMS shut the door. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - MEDIA CENTER - NIGHT Neville cranks MUSIC-Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. LOUD. Neville sits. Thinks. Nervous. Concerned. He lurches to the stereo and shuts it off. Is drawn to a stack of VIDEOTAPES. Most labeled KRIPPEN. Another handful: CORTMAN. A TV SCREEN FLICKERS TO LIFE: NIGHTLINE with Ted Koppel. Neville stares. Painful memories... TED KOPPEL ... and this is 'Nightline.' The world of medicine has seen its share of miracle cures, from polio vaccine to heart transplants. However, all past achievements may pale in comparison to the work of Dr. John Krippen... The tape FAST-FORWARDS. DR. KRIPPEN engages with Koppel... KRIPPEN The process is simple. A blood cell is genetically engineered to incorporate the properties of a virus. When this viragene is introduced into a diseased circulatory system, the new cells seek out the cancerous cells, destroy them, and replace them with healthy cells. TED KOPPEL There is some concern, though, doctor, because of the viral element. KRIPPEN We need to use a powerful virus, yes, but the virus itself is made impotent. We simply utilize its essential characteristics, its benefits--rapid duplication, molecular strength. This isn't really a virus. It's not contagious, it's not destructive. Neville LAUGHS. He fast-forwards. The video image now includes CORTMAN. He and Krippen are seated in the lab. Cortman is the picture of vitality and health. Although a bit pale, he's muscular and charismatic... TED KOPPEL Joining us from Berkeley is "Patient One," Mr. Benjamin Cortman. CORTMAN Hello. TED KOPPEL Mr. Cortman, one year ago, you were diagnosed with terminal cancer. Leukemia. CORTMAN That's correct. TED KOPPEL And today? CORTMAN I'm cured. Thanks to Dr. Krippen. Every blood cell in my body is 100% healthy. Better than ever before. TED KOPPEL Indeed. There have been rumors, Dr. Krippen, that your viragene not only eliminates disease, but revitalizes the system as well. KRIPPEN That is a positive side effect, yes. TED KOPPEL What other side effects are there? CORTMAN None, really, that... KRIPPEN ... Photosensitivity... CORTMAN ... Oh. Yeah. The sun... My skin is really sensitive to light KRIPPEN Which has to do with blood supply... KOPPEL Yes, and that brings up the harshest criticism of your work, Dr. Krippen. The tremendous amount of donated blood needed to pursue these experiments... ELLEN'S VOICE He's very handsome. Neville turns... REVEAL we are now in his OLD BEDROOM. Watching TV with his wife. Their daughter GRACE fast asleep in Neville's arns. (NIGHTLINE continues in the background). NEVILLE Krippen? ELLEN No, silly, the other one. The patient. NEVILLE He was there today. I saw him. He had scary eyes. ELLEN Scary is attractive. Don't you know anything, Bobby? CLOSE ON CORTMAN'S FACE. VIDEO STATIC. The NIGHTLINE tape has been replaced. We are now watching an in-house INTERVIEW with Cortman inside the Krippen Center. He is inside a PADDED CELL. The camera recording this must have been behind a thick wall of PLEXIGLASS. Cortman STARES at the lens. He is naked save a pair of boxer shorts. His body is muscular, his extremely pale skin drenched in sweat. He's lost most of his hair and his eyes are ice. He's in a very agitated state. He paces, no stalks around the cell, occasionally pounding his fists against or headbutting the plexiglass wall. KRIPPEN'S DISEMBODIED VOICE is piped into the cell. KRIPPEN'S VOICE Ben? Cortman SLAMS his body into a wall. KRIPPEN'S VOICE Ben? Why don't you try to calm, down? Cortman RUSHES to the plexiglass and sneers... CORTMAN Calm? CALM?! YOU WANT ME TO FUCKING CALM DOWN?!! YOU GO TO HELL, KRIPPEN. YOU GO THERE AND MEET YOUR MAKER. KRIPPEN'S VOICE Ben... CORTMAN GIVE IT TO ME! ! ! ! We HEAR Krippen push something through a SLIDING TRAY into the padded cell. Inside, Cortman LUNGES for the contents of the drawer--a plastic packet of BLOOD and a syringe. KRIPPEN'S VOICE Please use the syringe this time, Ben. Cortman throws the needle. RIPS open the blood packet and DRINKS. Every drop. Licks the plastic clean. Mouth smeared with crimson, he placidly approaches the plexiglass... CORTMAN You don't understand, doctor. It's the taste. The flavor. (lost in reverie) I can feel it... Feel it inside me. (laughs) God. It's so beautiful... The blood races through his veins, apparent to us due to the translucence of Cortman's flesh. His muscles grow-pectorals, biceps. A transformation from man to superman. CORTMAN You did this. You made me. I am the future, Dr. Krippen. Live with that. VIDEO STATIC. A new tape. KRIPPEN. A shell of a man. A wreck. In the b.g., a blaring ALARM and flashing EMERGENCY STROBE LIGHTS. From head to toe, he is soaked with water. He clutches computer print-outs. Clears his throat and tries to muster up his former pride and dignity... KRIPPEN The latest estimates have it spreading to the rest of the country in six days. By the time it hits New York, ninety-five percent of the population of California will be infected. The fighting in the streets... The bloodshed... I fear is nothing but a harbinger of the real battle yet to come. (fights back nausea) We have determined that exposure to sunlight, plasma starvation, oxygen depravation, massive blood loss, and severe damage to the heart are the only lethal means of stopping those... infected. Even so, cremation is the sole guarantee that reanimation will not occur. He wipes moisture from his eyes. The ALARM stops. Somewhere, beyond the thick walls of the center, we HEAR the CRIES of the Hemocytes... VOICES OUTSIDE Krippen... Krippen... KRIPPEN Yes. Well. My latest blood test reveals I am in stage two of the disease. Already my mind is beginning to deteriorate into fantasies of savagery. I feel the desire to feed, but I cannot bear the thought of it. Nor can I bear the thought of... Of Cortman ripping me open. Gutting me. Feasting... He pulls something from his pocket. A LIGHTER. We finally notice an object in the background. An empty GASOLINE CAN. That's not water he's covered with. KRIPPEN God forgive me. He ignites the lighter. His body BURSTS INTO FLAMES. Neville shuts off the TV. Why? Why did I watch it again? Why torture myself?! He presses his fists against his temples. Closes his eyes. HOWWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLLL... The dog again. It BARKS and MOANS... NEVILLE STOP IT! STOP! Neville watches the SECURITY MONITORS. Where are they? HOOOOWWWWLLLL... Damn dog. Neville STORMS to the medical center. He looks like he could strangle the beast, but he stops and leans against the door... NEVILLE I'm sorry... DISSOLVE TO: MORNING. Neville asleep. Slumped against the med center door. All is quiet. But the silence is broken by a HORRIFIC CRY OF PAIN. Neville bolts awake. He flings open the door. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - MEDICAL CENTER - MORNING A SHAFT OF SUNLIGHT slices through the room to the cage. The dog desperately tries to stay away, but the light touches its tail and sizzles. The dog CRIES. Neville shoves the cage aside and covers the window with a blanket. He moves to tend to the dog, hut it snarls at him as he approaches. The dog's body is thin and weak. Its eyes are blank, the tongue a sick, pasty white. Neville draws blood from himself, but places the packets in a refrigerator. The dog sees them, and it drives him mad with thirst. He yelps and whines, begging for the blood, but Neville betrays no emotion. How could he torture the poor thing like this? EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - OUTER FENCE - DAY Neville walks the perimeter. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY A stoic Neville eats breakfast. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - GREENHOUSE - DAY Neville tends to his garden. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - GARAGE - DAY Neville repairs the Land Rover. Four o'clock. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - MEDICAL CENTER - DAY Neville enters, careful not to allow in sunlight. Switches on a flashlight. Its beam finds the dog. Inside the cage. Dead. This is what Neville expected. He covers the cage with a blanket and retrieves the blood from the refrigerator. EXT. WOODS/PARK - DAY The Land Rover drives over rough terrain, through an unpopulated, thickly wooded park area, and stops at Land's End, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Neville climbs out, machine gun in hand, and surveys the area. The dirt reveals SMALL ANIMAL TRACKS and up above, in the sky, are a few SEAGULLS. Neville can't believe it. He hasn't seen a bird in quite awhile. When they see him, however, they take flight, soaring out to the ocean. Neville steps down to the BEACH. To his right, a LIGHTHOUSE and PIER. To his left, built into a hillside, is a THICK IRON DOOR. A weather-beaten sign reads SAN FRANCISCO UNDERGROUND TRANSIT--MAINTENANCE TUNNEL. INT. LIGHTHOUSE - DAY Neville searches. Empty. Nothing lives here. When he reaches the top, Neville looks out at the majestic ocean, the sun beginning its descent. He looks down at the PIER. And spies an old TUGBOAT moored there. INT. TUGBOAT - DUSK Neville takes a closer look. Apparently, the craft is still seaworthy. What about it, Bob? Just go... EXT. BEACH - DUSK Neville removes the cage from the Rover and pulls off the blanket. He fills a syringe with his blood, takes the already-prepared packets and rests them on the ground. He looks at the dog's dead eyes and whispers... NEVILLE Good-bye. He opens the cage door, injects the beast with blood, then quickly runs to the Land Rover and locks himself inside. INT. LAND ROVER - DUSK Neville watches as the dog's body twitches back to life. It lifts its head and color--icy blue-grey--returns to its eyes. They find Neville. He exchanges one last look with the dog, then speeds away, unable to linger. EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Again, Cortman and the Hemocytes do not come. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT A forlorn Neville sits at the table, his dinner uneaten. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Neville watches the surveillance monitors. Nothing. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM NIGHT Neville in bed, wide awake. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - MORNING Neville stares at his uneaten breakfast. In a sudden BURST of VIOLENCE, he SWIPES the food onto the floor. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAY Although it's the middle of the day, Neville lies in bed, eyes staring blankly ahead, gently rocking himself. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - MEDITATION ROOM - DAY Neville stares at the religious icons. They mean nothing. EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - DAY The Land Rover ROARS out of the compound. EXT. SUBURBS - DAY The VEHICLE stops outside a decaying grocery store. INT. GROCERY STORE - DAY Neville fills a SATCHEL with bottles of LIQUOR--scotch, wine, gin, vodka. What the hell, grab CIGARETTES, too. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Neville stands at the kitchen table. Fills a goblet with wine, a tumbler with scotch, and a martini glass with gin. The ritual is complete. Just one last step. Just go ahead... He lifts the tumbler of scotch to his lips. Stops. He returns it to the table and goes to the media center. Locates and plays a VIDEOTAPE. One of his "diary" tapes, clearly made awhile ago. This Neville is pudgy, pasty, heavily bearded, and very drunk. He holds a PISTOL in one hand and a bottle of booze in the other. NEVILLE (ON TAPE) ... Nobody tells Bob Neville what to do. That's because there is nobody--not one damn body--to tell me anything! (laughs) What the hell difference does it make, anyway, right? Most people are bores, or assholes, or creeps, or... People betray you, people criticize you, people steal from you. Who needs people? (laughs hard) People who need people are the stupidest people in the world. In the background, we hear VOICES bellowing, "Neville..." NEVILLE (ON TAPE) SHUT UP! SONSOFBITCHES! He FIRES madly at the walls. HURLS the bottle, shatters it. NEVILLE (ON TAPE) Fuck. What'dja do that for, Bobby? That was the last of the scotch. Stupid. He points the gun at his own temple. Pulls the trigger. CLICK. Empty chamber. Neville breaks up with LAUGHTER. The tape is shut OFF. Neville stares at the blank screen. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - NIGHT Neville empties the bottles of liquor into the sink. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT Neville lies in bed. Wide awake. DISSOLVE TO: INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - GREENHOUSE - DAY Many of the fruits and vegetables are rotting. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN DAY Dirty dishes piled in the sink. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BASEMENT DAY The shooting range is empty. Exercise equipment unused. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - MEDIA CENTER - DAY No wall of sound. No "normalcy." INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAY Neville still in bed. Empty food wrappers and water bottles litter the floor. He stares at the PHOTO of his wife and daughter. He's been staring at it for days. Finally, before he--and we--can take it no longer, he sits up... NEVILLE Get up, Bob. Just get up. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY The VIDEO CAMERA sits before him, recording. Neville stares at the lens, words failing to come to his mouth. And then... NEVILLE My name is Robert Neville. I was born in Des Moines, Iowa. I had a wife Ellen and a daughter Grace. Since this all happened, I've had many dogs. They're good scouts, good sentries. They were necessary. And disposable. But this last one, he... He was a good dog. He seemed to... Gracie would've liked him. It was my fault. My own stupid fault. EXT. GOLDEN GATE PARK - DAY Dishevelled and depressed, Neville wanders around the park and finds himself at Portals of the Past. Somewhat dazed, he sits on his usual bench. One of his old LEAFLETS at his feet. He smirks at his desperate plea for contact then realizes something is written on the other side... WHERE ARE YOU ROBERT??? For a moment, he thinks he's going crazy. But no, it's there, right in front of him. And then he notices the entire bench is covered with leaflets. Crudely, quickly taped down. All bear variations of the same message... WHERE ARE YOU? He stands. Disbelieving. Exhilarated. Terrified. Suspicious. He rips the flyers from the bench, frantically gathering them. One which conveys a more detailed message... I HAVE TRIED FOR DAYS TO MEET YOU. WHERE ARE YOU, ROBERT? I AM ALONE AND NEED HELP. ARE YOU FOR REAL? Neville feels a shiver run through his body. He searches his pockets for something to write with and scrawls a reply... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I should have been here every day. I will be here tomorrow, I will. 12 noon. When the sun is highest in the sky. I am real. I will help. I am here. He signs his name and tapes it to the bench. NEVILLE I'm here, (shouts) I'M HERE. (at the top of his lungs) I AM HERE. His VOICE ECHOES throughout the city. EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - NIGHT Again, the area is devoid of Hemocyte activity. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - VARIOUS - NIGHT Like a housewife preparing for company, Neville cleans the house from top to bottom. Changes bedding, washes clothes, tends to the garden. There's a manic energy to his activity. He's not entirely "all there." And then, when everything is clean, when the house sparkles, he turns to himself. He showers, shaves, clips his nails, washes his hair. Stares at himself in the mirror, smiling. And the smile fades as a moment of clarity prevails. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - BASEMENT - NIGHT Near the firing range, Neville dismantles a thick wire door used for storage. He gathers some lumber, some metal plating, and his tools. INT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - MEDICAL CENTER - NIGHT Neville dumps everything from the basement into the room. Clears out a corner and gets to work. EXT. NEVILLE'S HOUSE - DAY Wearing a fresh outfit, bulletproof padding, and heavily armed, Neville climbs into the Land Rover. EXT. GOLDEN GATE PARK - DAY Neville stakes out the surrounding area. Checks any place where someone might hide. Places MOTION DETECTORS in a circle about two hundred feet surrounding the bench. Doublechecks his weapons. Looks at his watch. 11:45. He waits. Not sure what to expect. He rests an ELECTRONIC DEVICE next to himself on the bench. It will alert him to anything that moves past the sensors. 11:55. The area surrounding the bench is relatively free of clutter. A waste basket, rotting garbage, newspapers, etc. 12:01. Neville looks around. Already anxious. Clutches his machine gun. He does not hear or see the pile of ROTTING GARBAGE move. He does not see a HAND. He does not see a HUMAN FIGURE emerge from a HOLE, dug into the ground behind the bench, a GUN in its hand... However, Neville does feel the barrel press into his neck. WOMAN'S VOICE Don't move. Neville does not panic. Simply does as he is told. WOMAN'S VOICE Now. Real slow. Put the gun down. Neville follows orders. The gun barrel fits snugly into the base of his skull. WOMAN'S VOICE Well, well, well. I was beginning to think you were a fairy tale. She starts to move around him. The gun moves with her. NEVILLE Oh no. I'm real. And with the quickness of a cat, Neville ducks and BACKHANDS her hard. She FIRES a wild shot. Neville PUNCHES. SQUEEZES her wrist until she releases her gun. Neville grabs it and PISTOL BUTTS her in the forehead, knocking her out. He stands. Finally able to look at his attacker. She's covered in filthy rags from head to toe. Neville pulls back the cloth covering her face... Although sheathed in dirt and grime, she is beautiful. Her flesh doesn't boil and blister in the sunlight. He brushes away her long dark hair.