CARNEGIE

  Don’t you see? It’s not just any book.

  (MORE)

  68.

  CARNEGIE (cont'd)

  It has the power to motivate people. It can give them hope, it can terrify them. It can shape them. Control them.

  (beat)

  Do you remember how I built this town? It wasn’t done with force, and it wasn’t done just with water.

  It was done with the power of words. I created this place out of nothing, because people believed in a promise that I sold to them.

  Those guys on the TV, they were richer than you could ever dream, and it was all built the same way.

  With words. With promises. And with that book.

  (beat)

  That book is a weapon. Aimed right at the hearts and minds of the weak and the desperate. Just imagine what I could do with it.

  REDRIDGE

  Boss... we’re running out of water and the people are running out of patience. You’re trying to tell me that a book is going to keep them in line?

  CARNEGIE

  Oh, it’ll do much more than that.

  The water in this town may run dry, but faith - that springs eternal!

  And that faith will help turn this town into a city. And this city into a nation. It will help me build a new world. In my image.

  People will come from far and wide to hear what’s inside of it.

  They’ll follow me anywhere just to get a taste of it. And they’ll do whatever I tell them.

  As usual, Carnegie’s slick rhetoric has worked - Redridge has totally bought into it. Claudia, however, looks appalled.

  REDRIDGE

  And what if this book don’t work?

  What if it don’t say what you want it to say?

  69.

  CARNEGIE

  Oh, it’ll say what I want, I can promise you that. Because I’m going to rewrite it. I’ll keep the parts that work for me and make the rest whatever I need it to be.

  (beat)

  A new bible, for a new world.

  He reaches out and takes Claudia by the hand.

  CARNEGIE

  What do you think, darling? A whole new world, to do with as we will.

  Won’t that be grand?

  She smiles halfheartedly, but it’s clear she is mortified.

  Carnegie turns back to Redridge.

  CARNEGIE

  Find that book.

  REDRIDGE

  He has half a day on us already.

  CARNEGIE

  So use the motor pool.

  REDRIDGE

  There ain’t much gas in reserve.

  CARNEGIE

  Whatever there is, use it.

  Redridge nods and goes to leave.

  CLAUDIA

  What about Solara?

  BEAT. In all this excitement about the book, she had been completely forgotten about.

  CLAUDIA

  She’s still out there. With him.

  CARNEGIE

  Right. Right. Of course. Bring her back, too, if you can. But-REDRIDGE

  The book. I know.

  70.

  Redridge turns and leaves. Claudia scowls at Carnegie, but he doesn’t even notice, just goes back to feeding his animals.

  EXT. DESOLATE ROAD - DAY

  Solara wanders the road. She’s tired. The sun beats down mercilessly. Nothing but desolation and wasteland all around.

  She comes to a FORK IN THE ROAD. Stops at the junction, unsure. Was this here before? She doesn’t remember.

  There are no signs. Both paths look the same. Which one is which? She turns and looks back, looks around. She’s lost.

  SOLARA

  Shit. Shit.

  She alternates her finger between the two paths. Eeny-meeny-miney-moe. Picks a path and follows it, headed down the road.

  EXT. ROAD - DAY

  Eli walks on. Slow and steady. His gaze, as ever, fixed firmly on the horizon. Takes a swig from his canteen.

  Suddenly, he STOPS and stands stock still in the center of the road. Impossible to know what he’s thinking.

  He stands there for a long time.

  EXT. WASTELAND GAS STATION - DAY

  Solara comes upon an abandoned CHEVRON STATION. She doesn’t remember passing this. Looks back up and down the road.

  SOLARA

  Where the hell am I?

  There’s a RUSTED CAR parked at one of the pumps. Like every other car we’ve seen, stripped of its tires and engine.

  She walks around to the driver’s side. A PETRIFIED FEMALE

  BODY lies on the ground, half-in, half-out of the car.

  Solara claps her hand to her mouth and recoils, horrified.

  In the dead woman’s hand is a dusty bottle of MINERAL WATER.

  Solara hesitates. Not wanting to get closer. But so thirsty.

  She braces herself, grimacing, and tries to take the bottle, but the dead woman’s hand is closed tight around it. She pulls harder and wrenches it free. In the process she falls on her butt and flips the corpse over onto its back.

  71.

  In the other woman’s arm, she has a SKELETAL BABY cradled to her bosom. It seems to be staring right at Solara.

  Solara SCREAMS and frantically shuffles backward away from it. Gets to her feet and runs across the forecourt.

  She stops by the station shop and rests against the wall, hyperventilating, heart pounding. Trying to get it together.

  She inspects the water in the bottle. It looks clean.

  Unscrews the cap with shaking hands and takes a sip.

  She SPITS IT BACK OUT, coughing. It’s rank. Undrinkable.

  INT. WASTELAND GAS STATION - FOOD COURT - DAY

  Solara enters. Gloomy inside. Comprehensively looted. Empty shelves coated in thick sheets of dust.

  She moves further in, searching for something, anything. But the place has been gutted. There’s nothing. She checks the wall of dead refrigerators. Shattered glass, all empty.

  She’s never known desolation and emptiness like this. It’s beginning to scare her. She wheels around in a panic.

  FEMALE VOICE (O.S.)

  Hello?

  Distant, calling from outside. Solara hears it and freezes.

  FEMALE VOICE (O.S.)

  Hello? Can anyone help me?

  EXT. WASTELAND GAS STATION - CONTINUOUS

  She runs out across the forecourt, onto the road.

  A FEMALE FIGURE is hunched by the side of the road about fifty yards up ahead. Hard to see what she’s doing from here.

  SLUMPED FEMALE

  Hello? Is anybody there?

  Solara starts walking toward her.

  The woman has her back to Solara. She’s on her knees, muttering to herself. Gathering objects up from the road.

  As Solara moves closer, we see that the woman is struggling with an UPTURNED SHOPPING CART. Stuck in a roadside ditch, its contents spilled out next to a few BRACKEN BUSHES.

  72.

  We see her face now. It’s the SAME YOUNG WOMAN from before.

  The same shopping cart. The same trap.

  SOLARA

  Are you all right?

  The woman looks around, sees Solara standing nearby. She’s shocked to see that it’s a girl.

  YOUNG WOMAN

  Oh. Yes, I’m fine. Thank you. You go along, I’ll be okay.

  SOLARA

  You look like you need some help.

  YOUNG WOMAN

  No, really! I’m fine. Really... I need a man to help. Not you. You just keep along. Please.

  The woman seems anxious to get rid of her. Tries to indicate the threat silently with her eyes, but Solara doesn’t get it.

  SOLARA

  It’ll just take a minute.

  She steps into the ditch and starts to haul the cart out.

  YOUNG WOMAN

  Really, it’s fine! Please!

  Too late. THREE ROAD BRIGANDS POUNCE FROM THE BUSHES. Every bit as brutish and horrifying as the group that Eli killed on the road in our opening. They grab Solara and drag her from the road into the desert, screaming and kicking all the way.

  YOUNG WOMAN

  Let her go! She ain’t got nothing!

  The BRIGAND LEADER looks Solara up and down lustfully.

  BRIGAND LEADER

  I ain’t too sure about that.

  Solara is reviled by the man. He’s filthy, his stench overpowering. One eye missing, just a dark, empty socket. He licks his lips, revealing a mouth almost devoid of teeth.

  YOUNG WOMAN

  This wasn’t the deal!

  The brigand leader lashes out and grabs her by the throat.

  73.

  BRIGAND LEADER

  Shut your mouth, bitch. You oughta be grateful you’re getting a break.

  He releases her. She slumps to the dirt, whimpering.

  BRIGAND LEADER

  Never did care much for that dried-up old snatch anyhow.

  He looks back to the struggling Solara.

  BRIGAND LEADER

  This one, though... this one looks fresh. You a virgin?

  She says nothing, just sobs helplessly.

  BRIGAND LEADER

  Well, let’s find out.

  He unbuckles his pants, lets them drop to his ankles.

  We hear a sound. It’s hard to place. Something like a THHUP.

  The brigand leader is frozen in shock. His face goes pale, the blood draining from it. The two bandits holding Solara look at their leader in dismay. Staring down at his crotch.

  A quiet whimper escapes from his lips as he looks down.

  There is an ARROW IMBEDDED IN HIS CROTCH. What was once down there is now just a bloody mess of mangled meat. More blood streams down his thighs. A real horror show.

  He staggers backward, shrieking. Hands shaking. Staring down at the awful wound from which the long arrow shaft extends.

  The two other brigands release Solara and whip around, scanning the horizon. They see nothing. One of them has a RIFLE. He unslings it and aims it frantically around.

  Then they both see it. Coming right at them. The most terrifying thing either has ever seen.

  ELI, WALKING TOWARD THEM FROM THE ROAD, OUT OF THE SUN. His silhouette distorted in the rippling heat. An avenging angel.

  He pulls another arrow and draws it back as the rifle bandit trains his weapon on him, finger tightening on the trigger.

  Eli SHOOTS. The arrow sails through the air and RIGHT INTO

  THE RIFLE BARREL. The feathers at the end of the shaft plugging the muzzle tight.

  74.

  Rifle bandit pulls the trigger. The gun EXPLODES, BLOWING HIS

  HANDS CLEAN OFF. He falls to the ground, screaming.

  Eli only had two arrows. He shoulders the bow and draws his sword. All the remaining brigand has is a small knife. The two now square off at arm’s length. A hopeless mismatch.

  BEAT. The knife brigand hesitates, trembling. And then RUSHES

  ELI WITH THE KNIFE. Eli deftly sidesteps, flourishes the sword. So quick it almost seems like he didn’t move at all.

  The knife bandit staggers forward a couple more steps. His hand goes limp and drops the knife.

  And then his HEAD FALLS BACKWARD like a Pez dispenser. Almost completely decapitated, but not quite. Blood fountains from the neck stump as his body falls to the dirt.

  Eli moves to the other two bandits who lay horribly wounded on the ground, but still breathing. He stands over their fallen bodies. They stare back up at him, helpless.

  He crouches down between them in the dust.

  ELI

  I offer you both one final chance in this life to seek forgiveness for your sins so that your souls may find salvation. Will you say with me the act of contrition?

  The brigand leader defiantly spits blood at him.

  BRIGAND LEADER

  Fuck you.

  Eli sighs. Stands and looks down on him without pity.

  ELI

  Some might think it’d be most fitting to leave you here like this. Let you die slow in the sun.

  But I know better. I know where you’re going. And the sooner you get there, the sooner you’ll get what’s coming to you.

  He plunges his sword into the bandit leader, finishing him off. Pulls the arrow from his crotch and wipes it clean.

  He turns to the other man, raising his sword.

  RIFLE BANDIT

  Wait!

  75.

  Eli pauses, sword hovering over him, poised to strike.

  RIFLE BANDIT

  I want to say it. I want to be forgiven.

  Eli crouches once more by his side.

  ELI

  Repeat after me. Oh God, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee, and I detest all my sins.

  The bandit follows along with Eli, mouthing the words quietly. The life ebbing from him with each moment.

  ELI

  I firmly resolve, with the help of thy grace, to confess my sins, and do penance, and to amend my life.

  Amen.

  RIFLE BANDIT

  Amen...

  His eyes roll back as his final breath leaves him. Dead. Eli signs a cross over his body, then stands and walks away.

  Solara sits on the ground nearby, a wreck. Eli approaches and gathers her up in his arms. She clings on to him tightly.

  SOLARA

  You came back for me.

  ELI

  What are friends for?

  She laughs, a tear rolling down her cheek. Grips him tighter.

  He helps her up and escorts her back to the road.

  ELI

  This is the deal. You keep up. You pull your weight. You fall behind, I can’t help you. Okay?

  SOLARA

  Okay.

  She looks back at the young woman still slumped in the dirt.

  SOLARA

  What about her?

  76.

  ELI

  There’s nothing can be done for her.

  They walk on down the road.

  EXT. DESERT TOWN - MAIN STREET - DAY

  METAL GARAGE DOORS roll back to reveal darkness within.

  A PAIR OF HEADLIGHTS fires up. Full beam right at us.

  A VEHICLE roars out of the darkness onto the street. Heavily modified with plate armor and turret-mounted weapons. But its original form still recognizable underneath.

  It’s a HONDA ODYSSEY minivan. Once the #1 choice of soccer moms, transformed now into an armored personnel carrier.

  Another minivan roars from the garage behind it. A DODGE

  GRAND CARAVAN, similarly customized and armed to the teeth.

  THREE MORE CARS follow. As eclectic an assortment as you could imagine. A MINI COOPER. FORD EXPLORER. A PRIUS. Each adorned with plate armor and weapons.

  In the lead Minivan is REDRIDGE, heavily armed. He nods to the DRIVER, who guns the engine.

  The fleet of armored vehicles moves out, kicking up a great funnel of dust in their wake as they roar out of town.

  EXT. DESERT - DAY

  Late afternoon. The sun hangs low on the horizon. We’re far from the road. Nothing but scrub brush and a few PRAIRIE DOG

  BURROWS dotted around.

  A PRAIRIE DOG pops its head up, scans the horizon. Sniffing the air, whiskers twitching... and is SKEWERED BY AN ARROW.

  Thirty yards away, one of the pieces of scrub brush appears to COME ALIVE. And then we realize it is Eli’s GHILLIE SUIT, camouflaging both he and Solara beneath it.

  Eli casts off the camouflage net and walks toward the dead prairie dog. Solara just stands there, appalled.

  SOLARA

  You killed it! That cute little thing!

  Eli picks up the dead animal by the scruff.

  77.

  ELI

  It’s good eating, is what it is.

  He yanks out the bloody arrow. Solara looks away.

  When she turns back, Eli is standing right there, holding the dead animal in front of her face. She YELPS in surprise and staggers backward, falling on her butt.

  SOLARA

  That’s not funny.

  ELI

  If you’re going to be on the road, you can’t be picky about what you eat. You eat what’s there to eat.

  SOLARA

  I’m not eating that.

  ELI

  (shrugs)

  More for me.

  EXT. WASTELAND CAVE - DUSK

  Eli and Solara sit in the mouth of a desert cave, around a flickering campfire. The prairie dog roasts on a spit.

  Eli digs his knife into the carcass, the blade comes out clean. It’s done. He clasps his hands together and gazes down penitently at the ground.

  ELI

  Father, we thank you for your generosity in providing us with this meal. Bless this food to our use and us to thy service, and keep us ever mindful of the needs of others. Amen.

  Eli carves off a piece of meat. Juicy and succulent. He bites into it, teasing Solara by making a show of how good it tastes. He feeds a piece to the rat perched on his shoulder.

  Solara tries to appear uninterested, but she’s starved.

  SOLARA

  What does that taste like?

  He takes another bite, thinks on this as he chews.

  ELI

  Tastes like chicken.

  78.

  She tries to fight the temptation to try it... but she can’t.

  She reaches out and tears off a piece. Sniffs at it, takes a small bite... then quickly wolfs down the rest. Eli smiles.

  As she eats, she gestures toward Eli’s Saint Christopher.

  SOLARA

  What is that?

  Eli reaches up and touches his hand to it.

  ELI

  It’s a Saint Christopher medal.

  SOLARA

  Who’s Saint Christopher? Is he a character from your book?

  Eli smiles and shakes his head.

  ELI

  Christopher was a man who lived a long time ago. He wanted to be a good man, he wanted to help people.

  So he would stand by a river that had no bridge and carry people across. He was a big strong man and there was no one he couldn’t carry.

  Solara listens, rapt. Eli is a good storyteller.

  ELI

  Then one day a young child came to the river and asked to be carried across. Christopher tried to carry him but he was too heavy. He was just a small boy but he was heavier than any man he had ever carried.

  The boy explained that he was the son of God, and that he was so heavy because he bore all the sins of the world. After that,

  Christopher was able to carry him across and when they got to the other side the boy baptized him in the river. And that’s how he became a saint. Later on, he was known as the patron saint of travelers.