"HARD RAIN" Screenplay by Graham Yost 1998 SHOOTING DRAFT FADE IN RAIN Falls from low grey clouds. Down below we see... THE RIVER Muddy, slow and powerful, overflowing its banks. In the near distance is... THE RESERVOIR Filled to the maximum, water thundering out of two open gates. We close in on... THE DAM There's a Dam Control Office in the middle of the dam. We MOVE OFF the reservoir and head out over... THE TOWN OF HUNTINGBURG We see "NO FEAR" spelled out in stones on one man's roof. We go down and into... EXT. STREETS OF HUNTINGBURG - DUSK Storefronts are sandbagged and closed. A sign on one store reads: GONE FISHING. A sign on another: HEY LOOTER. NOTHING OF VALUE HERE. TRY NEXT DOOR. And on the next store: HE'S LYING. A CHURCH Beautiful, old, ringed with a five-foot-high wall of sandbags. The floodwater is up to the first level of sandbags. CARS AND PICKUP TRUCKS Loaded down, are heading out of town on streets covered in the first water of the flood. A STATUE On an island in the middle of the street. It's Civil War- era, of a general on a horse, sword held high. The floodwater is over the curb, lapping at the base of statue's pedestal. Near the statue stands... THE SHERIFF 50s, with soft edges and friendly eyes. He's talking into his radio mike. SHERIFF So, are we all going to die? EXT. RESERVOIR DAM HANK, the dam control officer, is on the radio with the Sheriff. HANK Not right now. But I'm gonna have to let out a little more. EXT. MAIN STREET WAYNE and PHIL, two deputies, 30s, are near the Sheriff, shoring up a sandbag wall that has partially collapsed. PHIL I think my best was when I turned twelve. My Dad set up a treasure hunt. It was really cool. (off Wayne's disdainful look) Well, it was. Wayne shrugs a "whatever" and pulls a sandbag up out of the water. There's unpleasant-looking muck all over his arms. He drops the sandbag back into the water and shakes off the crud with disgust. WAYNE This blows. PHIL My most awful birthday was sweet sixteen. I had mono. How about you? What was your worst? WAYNE You kidding? You think I could've possibly had a birthday worse than this? What kind of loser do you think I am? SHERIFF (O.S.) Don't answer that, Phil. The Sheriff walks over. SHERIFF Hank says he's gonna open another gate. We're gonna get another rise. They turn at the sound of honking. The MAYOR drives up. MAYOR Gentlemen. Hey -- happy birthday, Wayne. Wayne nods. Phil stiffens. They do not like this guy. MAYOR (to the Sheriff) Mike, I gotta say, what you're doing... I don't know if I'd be here, considering. SHERIFF (good-natured) Well, you would be if you wanted to get the last couple of paychecks some bastard owed you. MAYOR (grins, then:) I just want you to know I think the people 'round here made a big mistake. Phil grumbles to himself. PHIL "The people"? You're the one who screwed him. MAYOR Sorry, Phil? PHIL (blushes) I, uh -- SHERIFF (to Mayor, saving Phil) You know, Bob, as much as I'd love to stand here all day talking about how great I am, if you don't get moving I'm gonna have to haul your sorry ass off to jail. MAYOR (laughs) Okay, okay, I'm going. Keep up the good work, boys. It's appreciated. The Mayor rolls up his window and heads off. WAYNE Whaddya say we go torch the fucker's house and blame it on looters. Or how about we put a dead cow in his living room. He comes back after it's been in the water a couple of days. Hello! SHERIFF (shakes head) You wanna know how to get the best revenge on the Mayor and his boys? You do exactly what we're doing. You protect the town. You protect it better than they would. Better than they ever could. WAYNE (thinks, shrugs) I think the dead cow's better. SHERIFF (ignores Wayne) Any looter that comes in here is in for a big surprise, cause as long as I'm still wearing this pointy thing... (indicates badge) ...nobody's taking anything from this town. INT. BANK VAULT Nervous assistant bank manager WELLMAN is hurriedly tossing stacks of money into two canvas bags. A MAN'S SHADOW Washes up on Wellman. CHARLIE (O.S.) Do you think you could go a little faster, pal? WELLMAN I -- I'm going as fast as I can. SECOND SHADOW COMES UP TOM (O.S.) Well, it's not fast enough. Wellman is about to speak, then sees something, gulps. A SHOTGUN Is held by one of the men, pointed at the floor. WELLMAN Sweeps the money off the shelves and into the bags. SECOND MAN (O.S.) That it? WELLMAN Yes. We don't keep any of our -- THE TWO MEN Ignore Wellman, grab the canvas bags and stride off. EXT. BANK - DAY CLOSE ON the lower half of the front doors as they fly open. Out come TWO MEN in long dark raincoats. WELLMAN Runs up, stopping in the open door. WELLMAN Hey, wait! VERY CLOSE ON THE TWO MEN As they slowly turn to face Wellman. We just see their faces, shielded from the rain by hat brims. Meet... TOM AND CHARLIE Tom, 30, handsome, with an easy smile. Charlie, 50, with a tough, red face. CHARLIE Excuse me? WELLMAN Looks nervous for a second, then holds up a clipboard. WELLMAN You forgot to sign. TOM AND CHARLIE We see, for the first time, by their hats and uniforms, that they are armored car drivers. There's an armored car parked at the curb, on the other side of a low wall of sandbags. Charlie sighs, goes back to Wellman and perfunctorily signs the form. Then he and Tom go to the sandbag wall. Tom holds both bags in one hand and the shotgun in the other. Charlie doesn't want to get wet. He steps from the sandbag wall onto the rear bumper of the truck, then keys open the doors. CHARLIE Okay. Charlie reaches out for the money bags. Tom jumps off the sandbag wall and lands in the water, splashing Charlie. CHARLIE For Christsakes! TOM It's a flood, Charlie. You're gonna get wet. Charlie takes the bags, tosses them in then shuts the back. He moves toward the front, still trying to keep out of the water. Tom splashes him some more. CHARLIE Hey! Do you know what kind of crap is in that water? TOM (of course he knows) Well, yeah. Tom kicks some more water at Charlie. Charlie gives Tom a withering look and climbs in the truck. INT. ARMORED TRUCK Charlie gets into the driver's seat; Tom climbs into the shotgun seat. They shut and bolt the doors. Charlie gets on the radio. CHARLIE Dispatch, this is 31. DISPATCHER (V.O.) Go ahead, 31. CHARLIE We're leaving Huntingburg. We'll be back in an hour. DISPATCHER (V.O.) Ten-four. Get out of there. CHARLIE We're gone. Over and out. Charlie hangs up the radio. He starts writing on a clipboard. Silence for a few moments, and then Charlie notices Tom staring at him. CHARLIE What? TOM Your ear. CHARLIE What about my ear? TOM You've got a major hair growth going on. CHARLIE Shut up. TOM I'm serious. You're gonna need somebody to go in there with a weed whacker. Charlie grabs a donut bag off the seat and tosses it to Tom. CHARLIE Here. TOM You're offering me one of your donuts? I don't know what to say. I'm getting all misty. CHARLIE If it'll shut your mouth you can have the whole bag. Charlie starts the truck. Tom thinks about it, then tosses the bag back. TOM Nah. I start eating donuts and I'll never get out of this truck. CHARLIE (disgusted) I love how you think you're better than this. TOM Don't get me wrong, Charlie. There's a lot to like about this job -- and I don't just mean the dashing polyester ensemble and the solid three-figure income. CHARLIE (angry) You ungrateful shit! I don't believe you! TOM (surprised) Charlie, relax! I was kidding! CHARLIE You don't wanna do this? Fine. Go back to selling hot construction machinery. That's a helluva career. TOM It had better hours. Charlie slams the clipboard down on the seat. CHARLIE You think this is a joke? This is funny? Jesus Christ! You know how lucky you are you could get in here? Thirty years old and all the crap you pulled and you never got caught? TOM (angry) That wasn't luck, old man. That was skill. I was good at it. CHARLIE Oh, yeah, it takes a lot of skill to fence bulldozers. That's goddamn genius time. TOM About as much skill as it takes to sit in a truck and get fat eating donuts. CHARLIE Oh, so that's all I've been doing, huh? Just wasting my life away. TOM I didn't say that. CHARLIE Yeah, building a home, raising a family -- that's just stupid. TOM I didn't say that! CHARLIE You know what, Tom? I really don't give a shit what you said. Tom doesn't reply. Charlie puts the truck in gear; starts off. Tom looks at Charlie, shakes his head -- what was that about? EXT. ROADSIDE BAR - ESTABLISHING - DUSK INT. ROADSIDE BAR - DUSK ECU PEN ON PAPER Writing letters in a crossword puzzle. Holding the pen is... JIM Late 50s, with a creased face and piercing eyes. He's sitting at the bar, drinking coffee. Rain sheets down outside. The BARTENDER watches TV, sound off. Next to Jim at the bar are... RAY, KENNY AND MR. MEHLOR Ray, 40s, has lank hair, rheumy eyes and a glass of Irish whisky in front of him. Kenny, 20s, long hair, has the energy of a puppy -- unfortunately he has about as much smarts as a puppy. Mr. Mehlor. 40s, looks like -- and was -- a high school teacher. ON TV Sound off, a MAN is crying about what he has lost in the flood. RAY "Thus saith the Lord; Behold, waters shall rise up out of the north and be an overflowing flood and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl." Jeremiah 47:2. Ray takes a drink. Kenny leans over to Ray, sotto. KENNY You're gonna be able to buy a helluva lot of bibles, huh, Ray? Me? First thing I'm gonna do is get my brother a lawyer. Best that money can buy. A thought comes to Jim -- an answer to a clue in the crossword -- and he starts filling in words as Ray and Kenny talk. RAY What's he facing? KENNY Thirty in. RAY He cap a cop or something...? KENNY Security guard. "In the commission..." All he's got is a piece of shit P.D. Now I'm gonna be able to afford him a good lawyer -- a guy with a haircut. Jim leans over to Kenny. JIM 'Scuse me a second. Take a look at thirty-one across. Jim slides the newspaper in front of Kenny. KENNY Shit, Jim. I don't do crossword puzzles. MR. MEHLOR I'll take a look, Jim. JIM Kenny can read. (to Kenny) Just look at it. You know when you write down a word and suddenly it looks all wrong? Maybe it's right, but it doesn't look right? Jim points at the newspaper. JIM Thirty-one across. Kenny shrugs and looks down at the newspaper. KENNY (mumbles as he reads) Mention money again and... His eyes go wide. ECU CROSSWORD PUZZLE In an uncompleted part of the puzzle, Jim has written a message in the boxes. It reads: MENTION MONEY AND I'LL KILL YOU. JIM AND KENNY Kenny looks up at Jim. Jim glances over at the bartender then back at Kenny. Understand? JIM Did I get it right? KENNY Yeah, Jim. You got it right. INT. ARMORED TRUCK - DUSK Charlie and Tom continue to drive in silence. They both sneak looks at each other. Their eyes meet for a second, then they look away. A moment's pause then... TOM Jerk. CHARLIE Jack-ass. A hint of a smile on both of them. Tom reaches for Charlie. TOM Give us a kiss. Come on. Charlie goes red in the face, pushes Tom away. CHARLIE Get out of here. TOM (laughs, beat) You really are a cranky old fart, you know that? CHARLIE I'm sorry. TOM What was that about? I mean, I'm just sitting here and all of a sudden you go postal on me. CHARLIE I don't know, I... It's just this weather. I... I want to get back. TOM You know, I really do appreciate what you've done for me. This is a good job. CHARLIE No, it's not. It stinks. It's putting your life on the line for someone else's money. EXT. ROAD OUT OF TOWN - DUSK Looking away from town, the HIGH SCHOOL is on the left. On the right is the CEMETERY. Farther on, on the left, is a CAR AND BOAT DEALERSHIP. The road is covered in water. THE ARMORED TRUCK Goes by the entrance to the high school, water shooting up from the wheels, pushing out in a wide wake. INT. TRUCK Tom glances ahead and sees that the road is covered in water. TOM Jesus. Where's the road? THEIR POV Stretching out ahead of them are reflector bars on the telephone poles, a few feet above the rippling surface of the floodwater. CHARLIE It's there. (beat) Somewhere. I hope. (beat) Look, Tom, I don't care what it is you end up doing. TOM Oh, God, here we go again. CHARLIE This is the last time, I swear. Tom sees something ahead. He doesn't understand at first. HIS POV The reflector bar on the pole two poles ahead is lower than the others. No reflector bars for a hundred yards, then they resume. CHARLIE (looks at Tom) I just think, whatever it is you do, it's time you did some heavy lifting. Tom figures out what's going on with the reflector bars. TOM Stop! CHARLIE No, you gotta hear this. You're better than -- TOM Stop the truck! We're going down! OUTSIDE THE TRUCK The water rises fast up the grille as the truck angles down. INSIDE THE TRUCK CHARLIE Jesus! Charlie stands on the brakes. THEIR POV A wave of water rushes forward from the truck, then comes back and washes over the hood, splashing up on the windshield. TOM Back up! Charlie throws the truck into reverse but gives it too much power. They hear the rear wheels spinning underwater. Charlie eases off, the tires start to catch, they start moving backwards. Charlie and Tom exchange a quick look of relief... and then the engine dies. Charlie tries to restart it, but there's nothing. OUTSIDE THE TRUCK It's stopped on a downgrade -- it's a dip in the road. The water is up to the top of the front tires: up to the hubcaps on the rear wheels. The headlights are underwater, spots of yellow glowing. They've stopped next to a lighted sign. CLOSE ON SIGN WELCOME TO HUNTINGBURG. HOME OF THE 1987 STATE CHAMPION WARRIORS. IN THE TRUCK CHARLIE Goddammit! TOM It's a little dip in the road or something. You can see the reflectors come up the other side. CHARLIE (curses to himself) I knew this would happen. (grabs radio mike) TOM I'll see if there's anyone coming. Maybe we can get pulled out. Tom opens the door. Charlie adjusts the radio frequency selection button; clicks on. CHARLIE Dispatch, this is 31. 31 calling dispatch. DISPATCHER (V.O.) (over radio) 31, this is dispatch. CHARLIE (into radio) Dispatch, we're stuck outside of Huntingburg. Truck's dead. DISPATCHER (V.O.) Where are you? CHARLIE We're on 231, headed for the Interstate. Right by a sign saying "Welcome to Huntingburg." Tom climbs out and up on top of the truck. OUTSIDE THE TRUCK Tom stands on top of the truck. In one direction, nothing but blackness. The other way he can see the lights of the town. But there are no cars coming. IN THE TRUCK Charlie looks over as Tom appears, upside-down, in the doorway. TOM The town's been evacuated. We won't get any help from there. CHARLIE Dispatch can't get anyone out. TOM They are aware we're carrying a shitload of money...? CHARLIE They called the National Guard. They're gonna be here in about ninety minutes. TOM Ninety minutes? Jesus. CHARLIE (nods; into radio) Dispatch, we're gonna need help a little sooner than -- There's a sudden sparking sound and the radio cuts out and interior lights and the headlights go out. TOM Oh, shit. INT. HOUSE - DUSK POV THROUGH WINDOW Looking out as the Sheriff's car rolls past on the water- covered street. A HAND lets go of a curtain and it swings across the window. EXT. STREET - DUSK IN THE SHERIFF'S CAR The Sheriff motions Wayne to stop the car, then he grabs the radio mike and clicks it on as a megaphone. SHERIFF (into mike) Henry, I saw you. Come on out. No one comes out of the house. SHERIFF Henry, I'm not leaving until you come out. A few moments pass and then... HENRY AND DOREEN SWERZKY Late 70s, step out onto their porch. DOREEN Jesus H. Christ, Henry, I told you to stay away from the damn window. THE SHERIFF Gets out of the car. SHERIFF What are you still doing here? HENRY We're just -- DOREEN We're setting traps. SHERIFF That's illegal, Doreen. DOREEN You gonna arrest us, Sheriff? Hell, are you even sheriff anymore, Sheriff? Didn't you lose an election? I sure as hell know I didn't vote for you, and neither did Henry. HENRY Doreen... SHERIFF You don't need to set traps. DOREEN That's what they said in '73. When we got back, anything the bastards didn't steal they broke, just for the hell of it. SHERIFF That's not happening this time. DOREEN Damn right it's not. SHERIFF You can't stay, you know that. HENRY We're going to my sister's. SHERIFF Good. DOREEN Soon as we finish setting the traps. The Sheriff wants to say something more, but he's not about to argue with Doreen. He just nods and gets back into the car. IN THE CAR The Sheriff climbs back in. He and Wayne watch Henry and Doreen go back into the house, Doreen still nagging at Henry. SHERIFF God'll understand if you have to drown her in the basement, Henry. The Sheriff sighs, nods to Wayne. Wayne puts the car in gear. EXT. ARMORED TRUCK - NIGHT The water is creeping up the sloping hood of the truck. CHARLIE We gotta get out of here. TOM What about the money? CHARLIE The money's safe; we're not. Water rose about a foot in the last twenty minutes. The National Guard isn't going to be here for another hour. You do the math. Tom shrugs -- Charlie's right. They're about to get out when light washes up on them. They look out to see... THE HEADLIGHTS OF A GMC SUBURBAN Approaching on the other side of the dip, a quarter-mile away. CHARLIE AND TOM Look at each other then get out of the truck. THE SUBURBAN Stops on the far side of the dip -- a hundred yards away. The headlights shine across the water. Doors open and MEN get out. TOM AND CHARLIE Come around the front of the truck. They can't see through the glare of the Suburban's bright headlights. CHARLIE Hello! MAN'S VOICE You okay? You stuck? CHARLIE Yes! MAN'S VOICE We'll see if we can get you out! We'll be right over! Charlie looks at Tom, relieved. CHARLIE Looks like we might just -- THE SUBURBAN Headlights go on high beam. CHARLIE AND TOM Squint, blinded by the high beams. TOM Why'd they do that? CHARLIE Probably so they can see better. TOM Or so we can't see at all. Charlie looks at him -- what does he mean? Tom puts his hand on his pistol. IN THE WATER Assembled by the Suburban are... JIM AND HIS MEN All holding guns. He speaks to them quietly. JIM This is my retirement fund, boys, and if any one of you screws up, I swear to God I'll kill you. Let's go. They start wading down into the dip in the road. Kenny carries a rifle. TOM AND CHARLIE Tom squints through the bright light. CHARLIE Company dispatch and the National Guard are the only ones who know we're here. TOM Anyone with a scanner from Radio Shack could've intercepted your call, Charlie. CHARLIE (realizes) Jesus. TOM (to Jim and men) Could you turn down your lights?! JIM We're bringing a rope! TOM Turn down your lights! JIM We'll be right there! Tom starts to pull his gun. KENNY is fired up on adrenalin. He has his rifle up and is aiming it. HIS POV Tom with his hand on his pistol, starting to pull it out. TOM AND CHARLIE Charlie sees Tom going for his gun. He moves close to Tom, half in front of him, putting his hand on Tom's. CHARLIE Take it easy, Tom. KENNY Stiffens. KENNY'S FINGER Squeezes the trigger of his rifle. TOM Jumps at the sound of the rifle crack. CHARLIE Is knocked back. TOM Yanks out his gun and starts shooting back. JIM AND HIS MEN Duck down in the water. TOM Shooting blindly, looks over and sees... CHARLIE A horrible look on his face, blood coming out of his neck. He sinks into the water. KENNY Shoots off another few quick rounds. TOM Drops into the water, bullets plugging in around him. Just his hand and pistol are visible, shooting blindly back toward Jim and his men. THE SUBURBAN Is hit by Tom's fire. TOM Runs out of bullets. A beat later we see Charlie start moving through the water -- Tom is pulling him. JIM STOP SHOOTING! KENNY Doesn't hear Jim and keeps firing. JIM Aims his pistol at Kenny's head. JIM Stop. Kenny stops. BEHIND THE ARMORED TRUCK Tom comes up in the water behind the truck, gasping, holding Charlie. Tom rests his gun on the truck bumper. CHARLIE I'm sorry, Tom. Charlie's gone. JIM AND HIS MEN Jim glares at Kenny, his eyes on fire. KENNY He was going for his gun! JIM He wasn't gonna shoot, Kenny. Goddamnit! (shakes head, calls to Tom) We just want the money! Get away and we won't have to kill you! TOM Shuts his eyes, thinking, scared. JIM (O.S.) Now! Tom opens his eyes. He looks down at... CHARLIE Floating in the water. TOM What the hell is he going to do? JIM AND HIS MEN Jim's men look at him. Jim motions them to wait some more. JIM You got thirty seconds to get the hell away! Jim and the others wait, but there's no answer from Tom. JIM The clock's running! Go! Still no response from Tom. THEIR POV All they can see is the front of the truck, in the light of the "Welcome" sign. They can't see the back. JIM AND HIS MEN Jim nods to his men. They head for the truck, down into the deeper water at the bottom of the dip in the road. All have guns up and ready. Jim sends Mr. Mehlor and Ray out to circle around. They all move quietly. The only sound is the rain. JIM Gets to the truck and moves along its side, Kenny right behind him. Jim gets to the back of the truck, nods for Kenny to cover him, then steps out behind the truck, gun up. JIM'S POV Tom is gone. CHARLIE Is floating in the water, eyes of glass. KENNY, MR. MEHLOR AND RAY Step into the circle of light thrown by the "Welcome" sign. JIM (eyes Charlie) Ah, Jesus. (to Kenny) Your dad'd be real proud of you, Kenny. KENNY He was going for his gun! JIM Mr. Mehlor, I believe we're gonna need your science project. Mr. Mehlor nods and digs into his pack. Ray looks down at Charlie in the water. RAY "I shall bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy all that lives under the heavens and every creature that has the breath of life in it shall perish." Genesis 6:17. KENNY Were you a preacher or something? Ray laughs. MR. MEHLOR Ray did five years in the hole at Joliet. The only thing you get to read in the hole is the Bible. KENNY (to Ray) You got religion? RAY Obviously. Mr. Mehlor laughs as he pulls something out of his pack. It's... SMALL EXPLOSIVE DEVICE A half-stick of dynamite with a timer, mounted on a magnet. MR. MEHLOR When you hit the switch you've got thirty seconds. RAY You teach your students how to make things like that? Mr. Mehlor puts the device on the back door. MR. MEHLOR You been to a high school recently, Ray? My students taught me how to make things like that. Ready? JIM Hold on. Something's wrong. Jim touches the handle on the door. It moves. Uh-oh. He raises his pistol, grabs the door handle and pulls. The door swings open. We don't need to see what he sees -- we can tell from the expression on his face. EXT. ON THE ROAD Tom is running hard through the knee-deep water, pulling a string of canvas money bags buckled together. The truck and "Welcome" sign are two hundred yards behind him. Tom hears an angry yell. EXT. BY THE ARMORED TRUCK Kenny is the one yelling. JIM Shut up. Everyone. They quiet. The patter of the rain is too loud -- they can't hear anything. Jim scans the horizon, but sees nothing. RAY Now why'd he have to go and do a thing like that? JIM To stay alive. (off their looks) He thinks we'll kill him -- unless he knows where the money is and we don't. MR. MEHLOR There is another possibility. (off their looks) He's thinking of keeping it for himself. JIM There's always that. Either way, we got ourselves a sharp one. KENNY What do we do? Jim is looking at something in the distance. JIM Pretty soon the water'll be too deep for him to run. But for us it'll be just deep enough. KENNY (unclear) Deep enough for what? INT. CAR AND BOAT DEALERSHIP - SHOWROOM A glass window is smashed and water floods into the boat showroom. Jim and his men stride in. Kenny ogles a particularly nice cruiser. Jim stops at a smallish ski-boat. JIM Here we go. KENNY (re: cruiser) What about this monster? JIM (re: ski-boat) This is all we need. RAY Shit, Jim, we're stealing. Can't we take anything we want? JIM The water isn't very deep yet. We need something with a low draft. Mr. Mehlor -- find us some gasoline. Mr. Mehlor heads off. KENNY Sees something else he likes. We don't see what it is. KENNY Oh, Jim...? EXT. CEMETERY The name WILLIAM PORTMAN is chiseled into a crypt. Tom appears from underwater, gasping for breath. He gets to his feet and trudges off through the water. EXT. ROAD OUTSIDE CEMETERY Tom comes out through the gates of the cemetery, splashing through the knee-deep water. He's running when he hears, from behind him, boat engines firing up. He turns to see... LIGHTS Racing toward him over the water, a hundred and fifty yards back. TOM Sprints off. THE SKI-BOAT Jim is steering the ski-boat. Mr. Mellor hunkers down beside him. We PULL BACK to see... TWO JET-SKIS Flanking the ski-boat, piloted by Kenny and Ray. ON THE ROAD Tom is running as fast as he can. He looks back, sees the ski-boat and jet-skis closing. They'll get him before he gets to town. He suddenly veers off the road toward... THE HIGH SCHOOL The sign out front reads: GO WARRIORS! EXT. HIGH SCHOOL Tom runs around the side of the high school. JIM AND HIS MEN Ride up on the ski-boat and jet-skis and round the corner. THEIR POV No sign of Tom. JIM Cut your engines! The engines are shut down. They all drift. Jim shines a flashlight over onto... WINDOWS There's a hole in a window large enough to climb through. INT. HIGH SCHOOL - CLASSROOM Tom wades through the classroom, pushing floating desks aside. Flashlight beams stab into the room. Tom hurries to the hall. EXT. HIGH SCHOOL Jim turns to his men. JIM Let's get him out. But for Godsake, whatever you do... (with a hard look at Kenny) ...don't kill him. Not until we find out where he hid that money. INT. HIGH SCHOOL - HALLWAY Tom makes his way past banks of lockers, trying to get as far as he can from the probing flashlight beams. EXT. HIGH SCHOOL - FRONT DOORS Kenny drifts up to the front doors. He pulls on them. Locked. JIM Mr. Mehlor? MR. MEHLOR Reaches into his pack. INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY Tom tries lockers, looking for a place to hide. EXT. FRONT DOORS Kenny rides his jet-ski fast away from the front doors and the doors explode. INT. SCHOOL FRONT LOBBY Tom ducks down as... A FIREBALL Shoots over him. KENNY AND RAY Ride the jet-skis into the flooded school. UNDERWATER Tom is swimming as hard as he can, out of breath. KENNY AND RAY Ray goes off down a hall while Kenny idles in the lobby. TOM Surfaces, gasping. KENNY Hears the gasp, turns, grinning. KENNY Enemy sub off the port bow! TOM Gets to his feet runs as fast as he can down the hall. He rounds a corner and keeps going. KENNY Guns his engine and takes off after Tom. TOM Runs another thirty feet, then trips on something and goes down. KENNY Comes around the corner, grinning when he sees... TOM Halfway down the hall, standing frozen, caught in Kenny's light. KENNY Guns it, racing forward down the hall toward Tom. KENNY Full steam ahead! THE JET-SKI Hits something underwater and stops. KENNY Keeps going. He flies through the air, slams headfirst into a trophy case and drops into the water. TOM Stands up -- he was kneeling. TOM Low tide, sailor. A HANDRAIL On the wall, angles down into the water. Underwater there are a couple of steps leading up to a change in level in the hall -- that's what the jet-ski grounded on. HALLWAY Ray motors down the hallway toward the corner. RAY Kenny? HIS POV Around the corner comes a jet-ski. Ray assumes it's Kenny. RAY See him? Then the jet-ski speeds up and shoots by him. Ray sees it's... TOM Wearing Kenny's hat and jacket. RAY Gives chase. SCHOOL HALLWAYS Ray races after Tom along the flooded hallways, taking the turns fast. Ray pulls a gun, starts shooting. TOM'S POV Tearing through the halls, flashlight lighting the way. Bullets hit the walls, ceiling, water around him. TOM Comes around a corner, sees the open front doors ahead of him. JIM AND MR. MEHLOR Come into view in the ski-boat, blocking the exit. TOM Turns hard and speeds down a side hall. TOM'S POV A wall of windows at the end. No way out. Trapped. Then... KENNY Rises out of the water, blood running down his face, pistol up. TOM Looks back. RAY Is on his tail. TOM Makes his choice and guns the jet-ski straight at Kenny. TOM Yee-hah! KENNY Fires, misses and is knocked to the side as... TOM Hunches down on the jet-ski and crashes through the windows. EXT. HIGH SCHOOL Jim and Mr. Mehlor are moving right outside the windows just as Tom blasts out of the school and races off into the dark. EXT. OPEN WATER Tom moves fast over the water. He yanks off his clip-on tie. JIM AND THE OTHERS Chase Tom's light, behind by fifty yards, heading out into farm fields. They get closer and closer and then watch as... TOM'S JET-SKI Runs straight into a tree and explodes. JIM AND THE OTHERS Race up to find the burning, flaming wreckage of the jet- ski. Ray circles on the other jet-ski. Kenny, still bleeding from the head, is in the boat with Jim and Mr. Mehlor. KENNY (laughing) Nice driving, buttwipe! RAY I'm glad you're enjoying this, Kenny, but if he's dead, how do we find the money? Kenny reacts -- oh, right. JIM Oh, he's still alive. We see what Jim sees. ECU THROTTLE OF JET-SKI Tom used his tie to wrap the throttle open. HUNDRED YARDS AWAY Tom is hiding in the branches of a floating tree, watching the distant lights of Jim and his men. The current carries Tom away. WITH JIM AND HIS MEN Jim scans the horizon; sees nothing. JIM Ray, I'm in need of a little inspiration. RAY "With a raging flood he makes an end of those who oppose him, and pursues his enemies into darkness." From one of the more obscure -- KENNY Sorry to interrupt Bible study and all, but has no one but me noticed how completely screwed we are? We should be back in the motel room, counting out the money. Instead -- Jim lashes out with a fist, hard and fast, hitting Kenny in the chest, knocking him out of the ski-boat, into the water. Kenny comes up in the thigh-deep water, sputtering. JIM No one likes this particular turn of events, Kenny, but we have a choice -- we can can either deal with it or we can walk away. There's a lot of money out there, so I choose to deal with it. If you want to go, that's fine -- start swimming. You want to stay, that's fine, too -- just stop your damn whining. Jim pushes the throttle forward and the ski-boat takes off, leaving Ray on the jet-ski, with Kenny in the water. KENNY What the hell's his problem? All the money in the world ain't worth a goddamn nickel if you get caught. It's not like there won't be other jobs. RAY You may have more of these in you, Kenny, but Jim doesn't. Ray pulls Kenny up onto the jet-ski and takes off after Jim. EXT. BACK OF CHURCH - SANDBAG WALL The water level is creeping up a five-foot-high wall of sandbags. REVERSE ANGLE Looking out over the top of the sandbag wall. A tree floats by on the water. HANDS Suddenly appear on the top of the wall and... TOM Pulls himself into view. He climbs over the wall, exhausted. BEHIND THE SANDBAG WALL Gasoline-powered pumps are sucking up any rainwater. The sandbags have kept the floodwater at bay. TOM He hurries up the back steps and goes into the church. INT. CHURCH - BACK ROOM Tom walks through a small room lined with closed cupboards. He goes through a door. INT. CHURCH - MAIN HALL Tom comes out into the altar. He looks around, impressed. It's a beautiful church. Scaffolding goes up one wall -- the church is being restored. Tom is startled by a sound from above. He grabs a heavy silver candlestick as a weapon and looks up to see... BIRDS Fluttering up in the rafters. TOM Takes a breath. Just as he relaxes, he hears a whooshing sound from behind him and turns to see... A LARGE CRUCIFIX Being swung at his head. Thunk and... THE SCREEN GOES BLACK FADE IN: INT. SHERIFF'S STATION Tom slowly regains consciousness, blinking his eyes. He hears... SHERIFF (O.S.) What are you doing here? But the Sheriff isn't asking Tom, he's asking... KAREN 30, pretty, even in head-to-toe rain gear. KAREN I was setting up pumps. WAYNE I sure as hell don't get what you see in that church. KAREN I wouldn't expect you to, Wayne. WAYNE What's that supposed to mean? SHERIFF Karen, did you think the order was for everyone but you to evacuate? KAREN I was gonna go as soon as I filled the pumps, but the next thing I know, I've got a looter on my hands. Now, maybe I'm crazy, but I was expecting a little gratitude? PHIL I think it's great what you did. WAYNE That's it, Phil. That'll finally get you into her pants. PHIL Shut up. SHERIFF What if he'd had a gun, Karen? A lot of these looters carry guns. TOM (O.S.) I'm not a looter. TOM Sits up on a cot, behind bars in the holding cell, woozy. INT. HIGH SCHOOL Jim and his men are searching the school for the money. RAY Jim, it could be anywhere. It might not even be in the school. JIM Keep looking. EXT. MAIN STREET The rain sheets down hard. A lightning flash reveals... THE STATUE The water is up to the horse's knees. The lightning passes and a second later thunder rolls. INT. SHERIFF'S STATION The Sheriff, Phil, Wayne and Karen stand outside the cell. Tom is inside, on the cot. He touches the cut on his forehead. WAYNE What were you doing at the church? KAREN I told you -- he was looting it. TOM I just said I'm not a looter! (to Karen) You're the one who nailed me? (Karen nods) You got a better arm than my ex-wife. What the hell did you hit me with -- a statue? I saw a flash of some guy coming at me. KAREN (mumbles, embarrassed) It was a crucifix. (to others) It was the only thing there! TOM Oh, great. Now I'm gonna have people coming from around the world to see the face of Jesus on my forehead. SHERIFF Look, son, what were you doing in the church? TOM Looking for a place to hide out. WAYNE From who -- Swamp Thing? TOM The bastards who killed my partner. That stops the room. TOM We were driving an armored truck. The truck got stuck out past the high school. They must've picked up our call to dispatch, 'cause they knew where we were. Charlie and I were just standing there and all hell broke loose. SHERIFF How much money did you have? TOM A little over three million. They all exchange a look -- that's a lot of money. TOM The bank was afraid of looters. They had us cleaning out their branches up and down the river. WAYNE They stole three million dollars? SHERIFF No, I don't think so. They all look at the Sheriff. He looks at Tom. SHERIFF You took the money, didn't you. TOM I hid it in the cemetery. Tied it to a crypt for a guy named Portman. WAYNE What the hell'd you do that for? TOM I don't like to carry around that much cash. SHERIFF Jesus, Wayne, use your head. If he hadn't hidden it, they woulda killed him, too. The Sheriff looks at Tom -- is that it? Tom nods. SHERIFF You got any ID? TOM No, it was in my jacket and I -- WAYNE Color me surprised. The Sheriff thinks for a beat, then tosses some keys to Phil. SHERIFF Get out two rifles and a shotgun. Phil nods and goes to it. The Sheriff opens a desk drawer, pulls out an ankle holster. WAYNE You believe him? SHERIFF Well, yes, Wayne, I do. And even if I didn't, I'd say we sure as hell had an obligation to check it out, don't you think? The Sheriff starts strapping on the ankle holster. TOM I'll go with you. I can show you where -- SHERIFF No, I think you better stay put. But that was -- WAYNE Yeah, all we need is an armored car guy helping us out. The Sheriff thwacks Wayne in the ear. WAYNE Ow! SHERIFF Wayne, what's the worst that's ever happened to you? When old Mrs. Dugan went after you with a knife? This guy just got shot at! (dismisses Wayne; to Tom) Smart move with the money. Phil comes over with the guns. SHERIFF (to Phil) Wayne and I'll check out the cemetery. You escort Slugger... (nods at Karen) ...out of town. Get her to some high ground, then come on back. The Sheriff jams a small pistol into his ankle holster. KAREN I have to fill the pumps -- SHERIFF (pulling her out) Not any more you don't. The Sheriff straightens up, grabs a rifle from Phil and pulls Karen to the door. Wayne goes to Tom's cell door and pulls it shut with a click. SHERIFF Wayne... WAYNE He could still be lying! The Sheriff rolls his eyes and gestures for Wayne to come along. He opens the door for Karen, Wayne and Phil to go through. TOM Sheriff -- they killed my partner without any warning. SHERIFF And they're gonna regret that, I guarantee you. They're gonna regret coming anywhere near this town tonight. And out he goes. EXT. SHERIFF'S STATION Water is halfway up the four-foot high wall of sandbags around the station. There are three outboard motorboats moored to the sandbags. SHERIFF Phil, take Karen's boat. The Sheriff and Wayne climb toward their boats. WAYNE You can do it, Phil. The men of Huntingburg are counting on you. PHIL Just bite me. Wayne laughs as he and the Sheriff fire up their boat engines. INT. SHERIFF'S STATION Tom hears boat engines start up and move away. He lays back down on the cot, listening to the rain. INT. DAM CONTROL OFFICE Empty. Light comes out from under the door to the bathroom. INT. BATHROOM Hank is on the can reading a copy of "American Survivalist" magazine. An odd reaction comes over his face. He feels something weird. He looks down. ON THE FLOOR Water is seeping in under the door. HANK Holy shit! INT. DAM CONTROL OFFICE The bathroom door flies open and Hank waddles out, pants around his feet. He shuffles fast to the control wheels and starts spinning them. EXT. RESERVOIR DAM Two gates open fast, all the way, and water thunders out. INT. DAM CONTROL OFFICE Hank pulls up his pants as he gets on the radio. HANK Sheriff! Sheriff! EXT. PARK AREA The Sheriff and Wayne are motoring in their boats, zooming through the trees, engine noise obliterating anything coming in over the radio. INT. DAM CONTROL OFFICE HANK (on the radio) Sheriff, come in! EXT. MAIN STREET - MOVING BOAT Phil steers Karen's small boat down Main Street, past the statue. The water is up to the rider's stirrups. KAREN (pleading) Did you see the stained glass windows, Phil? Did you see what a good job they did? I can't let anything happen to the church, not after all I've put into it. PHIL Karen, you know I'd do anything for you, but the Sheriff told me to get you out of town. I'm sorry. It's for your own good. Karen stands up. PHIL What're you doing? KAREN If you're not going to take me back to the church, then I'll swim. Karen moves to get out of the boat. PHIL No. Hey, hold on. Phil lets go of the throttle and stands, moving toward Karen. KAREN What am I saying? Karen suddenly turns on Phil and pushes him out of the boat. KAREN This is my boat. You swim. Karen guns the engine and shoots off down a side street. Phil stands in the waist-deep water and watches her go, flabbergasted. EXT. CHURCH Karen comes around a corner and drives her boat up to the church. The water is swirling quietly, still a good three feet below the top of the wall. EXT. ROAD OUT OF TOWN - WELCOME SIGN Close on the lighted "Welcome to Huntingburg" sign. There's a rushing sound and a two-foot-high wall of water hits the sign. The lights explode in geysers of sparks and the water rushes on. EXT. PARK AREA The Sheriff and Wayne are racing through a grove of half- submerged trees. There's a rushing sound above the sound of the engines. WHAM! and they're hit by the wall of water. Wayne falls out of his boat and is lost in the swirling water. EXT. ALLEYWAY Jim and his men are motoring down an alleyway when... THE WALL OF WATER Rushes down the alley. RAY The water hits him hard, knocking him off the jet-ski. He's swept away by the water. CLOSE ON A FENCE LACED WITH CONCERTINA WIRE The surge water shoots through it. And suddenly there's... RAY Slammed up against the fence, pinned to it, water rushing over and around and by him. He yells as the wire cuts into him. EXT. CHURCH Karen is pouring gasoline into the pumps. She hears the rushing and looks up as the surge hits. Water shoots over the top. INT. SHERIFF'S STATION Tom hears the sound and opens his eyes -- what the hell is that? EXT. SHERIFF'S STATION The wall of water slams in hard, cascading over the sandbag wall. INT. SHERIFF'S STATION TOM SITS UP, SWINGING HIS LEGS OVER THE SIDE OF THE COT. HE REACTS, LOOKS DOWN. HIS POV There's two feet of water in the station. EXT. SHERIFF'S STATION The building is like a rock in a stream, with the water rushing up high against one wall, roiling and swirling around the sides. INT. SHERIFF'S STATION Tom looks over, stunned, to see... THE DOOR As a fine stream spits in through the keyhole. THE WINDOWS Are heaving as the water rises up against them. TOM Gets to his feet, woozy and goes to get out of the cell. He remembers -- uh-oh: the cell door is locked. EXT. ALLEYWAY Jim pulls Ray, coughing, choking, bleeding, into the ski- boat. INT. SHERIFF'S STATION The water level inside is rising fast. It hits the wall sockets and there's a spit of sparks, then all the desk lamps go dark. Light still comes from overhead fluorescent panels. Tom sees... TWO KEYS ON A KEY RING Laying on the Sheriff's wooden desk. They're four feet away -- too far to reach. EXT. CHURCH Karen suddenly has a horrible thought and stops. She shakes it off -- doesn't want to think about it -- and mutters to herself. KAREN They'll get him out. EXT. MAIN STREET Phil is clinging to the statue as the water surges by below him. EXT. PARK AREA Wayne gets back into his boat. The Sheriff realizes something. SHERIFF Wayne... You locked him in. INT. SHERIFF'S STATION Tom looks through the cell bars at wooden chairs bobbing in the water. The Sheriff's desk lifts up, starts floating. Tom gets an idea. He takes his belt off. EXT. NEAR SHERIFF'S STATION A telephone pole is half-submerged, being pulled along fast by the current. INT. SHERIFF'S STATION Tom holds one end of the belt and tosses the rest of it at... THE DESK Bobbing in the rising water. He misses the keys. TOM AND THE DESK Tom tries again. The belt lands on the desk top. Tom very gently starts pulling. Too hard; the belt starts slipping off the desk. He gets it just right and the desk starts moving toward Tom. He reaches out with his hand, stretching. HIS FINGERS Touch the top of the desk, start pulling it toward him, and he just gets a firm grip on the desk when... THE TELEPHONE POLE Smashes into a window, bending in the bars on the window, shattering the glass, letting a torrent of water into the room. THE DESK Is moved by the rush of water, but not before Tom grabs... THE KEYS And grips them tight. TOM Tries the keys in the lock. They don't fit. He looks at them. CU KEYS The tag is emblazoned with the Ford logo. TOM Great! I can drive out of here! Tom tosses the keys into the water and looks around at... THE WATER LEVEL Rising very fast. A foot in ten seconds. TOM Climbs up the cell bars, the water rising with him. He's running out of room between himself and the ceiling. Three feet. Two feet. He's being pushed up by the water toward... FLUORESCENT LIGHT FIXTURE On the ceiling, caged in a wire cover. TOM Is terrified, about to die. The water rises up past his face. TOM'S HANDS Pull his Maglite flashlight from his belt. He takes off the lens and the battery cap, then shakes the batteries out. TOM Sticks the flashlight tube up through the wire grate over the light fixture. He blows out the water -- like clearing a snorkel -- then breathes. Reprieve for a few moments and then... THE WATER Reaches the top of the flashlight tube and starts to trickle in when... THE FLUORESCENT LIGHT FIXTURE Goes dark. In the darkness, there's the sound of tubes breaking and metal being wrenched. TOM Looks up, astonished, to see... THE FLUORESCENT FIXTURE Being lifted up and away from above. Streetlight comes in, silhouetting... A FIGURE Standing on the roof. The figure leans down and starts tugging at the wire cage over the inside of the fixture. In the light, Tom sees that it's... KAREN And she's pulling as hard as she can, but the wire cage isn't budging. She pulls out a Swiss Army knife, unfolds a small knife and starts taking out the screws holding the cage in place. She gets two screws out. TOM Pulls on the cage and it swings down. He climbs up it. EXT. SHERIFF'S STATION ROOF Tom surfaces in a hole in the roof. There's a vent duct laying on the roof -- Karen must've kicked that over to get to the light fixture. Karen helps Tom up. She sits and he lays down on the roof, catching his breath. TOM Thank you. KAREN I owed you -- for hitting you and all. But we're even now, okay? TOM Even. (beat, looks around) What happened? KAREN I don't know. They get up. KAREN Maybe another levee broke upriver. They've been -- Just then... A PROPANE TANK Explodes. The fireball rips across the dark sky, illuminating everything, showing... JIM AND HIS MEN Fifty feet away -- Jim, Mr. Mehlor and Ray in the ski-boat and Kenny on the jet-ski -- guns aimed at Tom and Karen. TOM Oh, God. DARKNESS As the lightning passes, and in the darkness, the thunder rolls. JIM AND HIS MEN Switch on their lights and move forward. They pass... CARS Floating down the street with other debris. The cars have been damaged by the flood -- one is missing a door. JIM AND HIS MEN When they get closer to the Sheriff's station, what they see -- or don't see -- makes them stop. THEIR POV Tom and Karen have disappeared. Karen's boat is still moored to the Sheriff's station roof, empty. JIM They're in the water! Kenny, cut your engine! Kenny shuts off the engine of the one remaining jet-ski. Jim shuts down the boat engine. They float in silence, scanning the water with their flashlights. There's no sign of Tom and Karen. UNDERWATER Tom motions Karen to follow him. She's freaked and hesitates. Tom grabs her hand and pulls her. THEIR POV The ski-boat and jet-ski are right above them, flashlights playing over the water. JIM AND HIS MEN Reach the roof of the Sheriff's station. Jim looks around. JIM Kenny, go that way. We'll go down here. LONG SHOT POV THROUGH CAR WINDSHIELD Of Kenny and Jim heading off in different directions. TOM AND KAREN Rise into view in a car. They gasp for air and keep low. KAREN Tell them where the money is. TOM I can't. KAREN Well, I can. She's about to call out. Tom grabs her hard. TOM If they know where the money is, they will kill us. Before Karen can say anything, a flashlight beam comes swinging toward them and they have to duck underwater. JIM Watches as his flashlight beam washes over the car. Nothing there. He guns his engine and heads off down the street. THE CAR Floats off around a corner. IN THE CAR Tom and Karen surface, catch their breath. Quiet for a few moments as they both look around to see that Jim and his men are gone. KAREN So what do we do? TOM I guess just drive around until we run out of gas. KAREN (pissed) Look, I've spent the last eight months of my life restoring that church, and I just left it to come save your ass, so spare me, okay? TOM (beat) When we get down here a little further we'll find a place for you to hide. (off her look) I'm gonna get back to the truck and wait for the National Guard. (checks watch) They should be there pretty soon. Karen nods. Tom looks at her. She's shivering. TOM Cold? KAREN No, I'm fine. The heater just kicked in. Tom looks at her, gives a little grin. Their eyes meet for a second, then they look away. EXT. SHERIFF'S STATION Phil climbs up onto the roof, exhausted. He sees the hole in the roof and goes to look at it. As he's looking down... SHERIFF (O.S.) Is he dead? Phil turns to see... THE SHERIFF AND WAYNE Coasting up in their boats. PHIL No. Someone got him out. SHERIFF Who? PHIL (hesitates) Maybe Karen. WAYNE Karen? How could she get him out? You took her out of town. PHIL I -- It -- SHERIFF Let's hear it, Phil. PHIL It happened real fast, okay? EXT. ALLEYWAY Tom and Karen float down the alley in the car. KAREN You ever been robbed before? TOM No. The scariest thing that ever happened before was Charlie running out of donuts. (off her look) I've only been doing this for a couple months. KAREN (not what she wanted to hear) Oh. Silence for a few moments. KAREN What'd you do before this? TOM I, uh... I sold construction machinery. (off her look) I was making good money, it just... I don't know. It just didn't seem right for me anymore. KAREN How'd you end up in this? TOM My uncle did me a favor; got me in. KAREN Nice favor. How's he gonna feel after tonight? TOM My uncle was Charlie -- my partner in the truck. KAREN Oh, God. I'm sorry. Tom nods -- so is he. EXT. SHERIFF'S STATION Phil climbs into the Sheriff's boat. WAYNE She know karate or something, Phil? Maybe kung fu? I mean, I can't see how else she could overpower the likes of you. PHIL Shut up, Wayne. SHERIFF Shut up, both of you. Let's go find Karen; see if she's got him. The Sheriff fires up his engine and heads off, Wayne following. EXT. ALLEYWAY Karen and Tom are still in the car. They freeze at the sound of engines in the distance. The sounds fade. Tom looks around. TOM God, I wonder whose car this is. Karen plucks some cassette tapes out of the water. KAREN Well, whoever it is, he listens to Pat Benatar, Eddie Money and the soundtrack to "Footloose." TOM Really? (looks at tapes) Hold on... (looks around car) ...I think this is my car from high school. Karen laughs. Just then... THE CAR Gets caught on something and stops. TOM Looks like we get out here. (Karen hesitates) Come on -- I told your father I'd have you home by ten. Karen grins. Just then... A TRANSFORMER down the street explodes. TOM AND KAREN Hear a sparking sound and look over to see... A TRANSFORMER On a telephone/power pole close to them. Rain hits it, causing the sparking sound. The floodwater is inching up the pole toward it. The water will reach the transformer in a matter of seconds. And while they're staring at that... ANOTHER TRANSFORMER At the end of the street explodes as water hits it. TOM AND KAREN Look around -- what to do? Tom points. TOM There! They climb out of the car and start swimming toward a house. THE TRANSFORMER Water is three inches from the transformer; two inches... TOM AND KAREN Swimming as hard as they can. THE TRANSFORMER One inch from the water... TOM AND KAREN Reach the house. They pull themselves up onto a television antenna/ladder running up the side of the house. Karen's feet are still in the water. TOM Get your feet up! THE TRANSFORMER The water is about to touch. There's a sizzling sound. TOM AND KAREN They heave a huge sigh of relief -- but then Tom realizes... TOM Oh, shit! KAREN What? TOM (re: antenna/ladder) It's metal! Tom pushes Karen over onto a window ledge. Then, just as Tom's about to step over... KENNY Comes screaming in on the jet-ski. He dives off the jetski, gets a hold of Tom and pulls him under. KENNY AND TOM Surface. Kenny is stronger and he has Tom in a tight grip. One problem -- Kenny doesn't know the danger they're in. TOM We've gotta --! Kenny shoves Tom underwater. KENNY HEY! I GOT HIM! Tom comes up, looks over at... THE TRANSFORMER The sizzling is getting louder. TOM We have to --! Kenny dunks Tom again. KENNY I GOT HIM! UNDERWATER Tom grabs Kenny's arms and pulls himself up fast. KENNY AND TOM Tom's head comes out of the water and slams into Kenny's chin. Kenny is stunned. Tom gets free of his grasp. KAREN Hurry! Tom does the backstroke, pulling hard toward Karen. KENNY Still stunned, finally hears the sizzling and looks over at... THE TRANSFORMER The water touches the outer casing of the transformer. KENNY Starts swimming fast toward... TOM AND KAREN Karen grabs Tom's arm and Tom gets a hold of the windowsill and pulls himself up. KENNY Grabs onto... THE TV ANTENNA And starts pulling himself out of the water. THE TRANSFORMER Explodes. KENNY Feels pretty pleased with himself until... THE TV ANTENNA Starts dancing with electricity and... KENNY Is hit by the voltage and his teeth clamp shut and his body goes rigid and his clothes explode in flames. TOM AND KAREN Look away. THE WATER Dead fish start floating to the surface. KENNY Is fried, smoking. He falls off the TV antenna and hits the water with a loud and ugly hiss. He floats away, his body shaking spasmodically. TOM AND KAREN Tom hears an engine approaching. He looks around, then smashes the window with his elbow. INT. HOUSE The window glass tumbles in. Tom reaches in, undoes the latch and slides up the window. He climbs in, straddling the window sill. The camera moves down Tom's leg to show... A WOLF TRAP Laying on the floor, just below the window. TOM Is oblivious. He starts to put his foot down into the trap. Just then he knocks... A POTTED CACTUS Off the windowsill. It falls straight down into... THE WOLF TRAP Hitting the trigger. The jaws snap, obliterating the cactus. TOM Jesus Christ! A SHOTGUN BARREL Snaps into view, pointing right at Tom's head. WOMAN (O.S.) You so much as breathe funny and your head is going back out that window without you. EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET Jim drives the boat down the street. Mr. Mehlor is scanning the water with a flashlight. MR. MEHLOR Jim! Over there! Jim looks over to see... THE JET-SKI Floating in the water. And not far from it is... KENNY Still twitching. OMITTED Sequence omitted from original script. INT. HOUSE - BEDROOM Doreen holds the shotgun on Tom and Karen as they move away from the window, hands raised. DOREEN Real slow now. Like you were in a big jar of molasses. That's it. They hear footsteps coming down old wood stairs. MAN (O.S.) Doreen? You haven't killed anybody, have you? DOREEN I've got everything under control, Henry. You go back up. Henry enters. HENRY Jesus, Doreen, you caught a whole gang. EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET Jim and Mr. Mehlor pull Kenny into the ski-boat. Kenny is shivering. Part of his hair has been burned away. KENNY Jesus, God, it hurts! JIM You're gonna be okay, Ken. Mr. Mehlor knows these things and he thinks you're gonna be okay. Mr. Mehlor looks at Jim. Mr. Mehlor knows these things and he thinks Kenny is going to die. KENNY It hurts! JIM Don't you, Mr. Mehlor? Don't you think Kenny's gonna be okay? MR. MEHLOR Yeah, Kenny. You're gonna be fine. KENNY Jesus, I can't stop shivering. Mr. Mehlor moves aside. Jim puts his arms around Kenny. KENNY I know you didn't want me to come. JIM You kidding? We couldn't've done anything without you. KENNY My dad'd sure be pissed off, huh? JIM Your dad'd just want you to lay still while we got you some help. KENNY Hey -- hey the pain's goin'. (relief) Oh, man. He looks up at Jim and grins. KENNY When you said I was gonna be okay, I thought you were just shittin' me. JIM See? You gotta trust me. Kenny's shivering stops. It stops because he's dead. Jim slowly lets go. INT. HENRY AND DOREEN'S ATTIC Henry and Doreen have brought everything into their attic -- a TV, some silver and china, bowling trophies. A Coleman lantern lights the room. DOREEN (sarcastic) Well, isn't that just wonderful! Now these bastards are gonna want to kill us, too! Why the hell did you have to come to this house? KAREN We thought it was empty. DOREEN You know what? The house next door is empty. So whaddya say we go back downstairs and you two keep moving? HENRY We are not going to send these people out to the wolves. DOREEN Oh, we're not, are we? Then what's your plan, General Schwartzkopf? HENRY I -- I just don't think -- TOM It's okay. I have to go anyway. They look at him, surprised. TOM The National Guard'll be at the truck in about fifteen minutes. I'm gonna go wait for them. DOREEN You can't swim that far in fifteen minutes. HENRY He could take our boat. DOREEN Henry! HENRY (to Tom) I'll go get it ready for you. DOREEN Henry, he is not taking our boat. Henry ignores Doreen. He pushes the attic stairs down, heads down them. DOREEN (grabs TV; to Tom) Here. You want a TV too? How about some china? Maybe our silver? (sets TV down) Henry! Henry, you leave the boat where it is! Doreen heads off down the stairs. Tom starts down the stairs, stops. TOM Karen? (she looks at him) I'm Tom. They shake hands. KAREN Watch yourself, Tom. I really don't wanna have to save your life again. Tom nods and goes down the stairs. EXT. HENRY'S HOUSE Henry stands on the roof of the back porch, steadying a small rowboat as Tom gets in. Doreen nags from the window. DOREEN You give away our only boat in the middle of a flood. You are a genius, Henry. A goddamn genius. TOM (whispers to Henry, re: Doreen) You wanna come with me? Henry looks at Tom, entertaining the notion... DOREEN Jesus, Henry, what are you waiting for -- a kiss goodbye? Get back in here. Henry sighs and lets go of the boat. Tom rows off. LONG SHOT OF TOM We see him in silhouette, crossing the gap between two houses. JIM AND HIS MEN Are watching, from the shadows on the dark side of the street. RAY Why don't we just get him? JIM If our resourceful young friend hears us coming, he'll electrocute us or sink us or one of you'll shoot him. Besides... (glances at watch) ...I know where he's going. What I'd like to know is where he came from. EXT. CHURCH The Sheriff sits in his boat, moored to the wall of sandbags around the church. Wayne's boat is tied up next to it. The floodwater is trickling over the top of the wall. The gas- powered pumps inside the wall are keeping the waters at bay. WAYNE AND PHIL Come out of the front doors of the church. WAYNE They're not here. EXT. ROAD OUT OF TOWN - WELCOME SIGN Tom rows up to the truck and "Welcome" sign. His flashlight shows just the top of the truck and sign. Tom looks at his watch, ties the rowboat to the sign, jumps into the water. A few moments pass, then Tom surfaces, holding a shotgun. Then he senses something behind him and turns to see... A COW Floating in the water, tongue out, eyes glassy. TOM Kicks away, horrified. And then he hears an engine. He looks. TOM'S POV Jim's ski-boat is coming over the water. The engine cuts out and the ski-boat drifts, a hundred feet from Tom. JIM (yelling) Son, before you go underwater and do something tricky, there's something I'd like you to see! A flashlight comes on, the beam swivels, illuminating... HENRY AND DOREEN Standing in the ski-boat, blinking in the light. TOM Slumps. JIM Now, I know it's your job to protect that money, and maybe you'd even be foolish enough to give your life for it. The question is, are you willing to give their lives for it? Jim puts a pistol to Doreen's head. JIM Drop the gun and get into the boat. TOM Thinks for a second, then throws the shotgun away and pulls himself into the rowboat. JIM Excellent choice. TOM, JIM, HENRY AND DOREEN As Tom and Jim call to each other across the water, Doreen goes at Henry. TOM I'll take you to the money, but you gotta let them go. DOREEN I hope you're proud of yourself, Henry Sears. HENRY Shh. JIM I think it'd be best if -- DOREEN I told you not to give him the goddamn boat. HENRY Doreen, please. JIM I think it'd be best if we all stayed together. TOM You say all you want is the money? Prove it. Let them go. JIM I don't know if that's -- DOREEN We could be safe in our home instead of out here in a boat with these low- life scumbags! JIM (after a look at Doreen, nods to Mr. Mehlor) Let 'em go. EXT. MAIN STREET The Sheriff, Wayne and Phil motor past the statue. Wayne is driving his boat; Phil is with the Sheriff. The water is up to the General's neck. EXT. ROAD OUT OF TOWN Tom helps Henry and Doreen over into the rowboat. As he does, his face comes close to Henry's for a second. TOM (whisper) Karen? HENRY (shakes head, whispers) In the attic. They never saw her. EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET Karen swims down the center of the street. EXT. ROAD OUT OF TOWN Tom is in the ski-boat with Jim. He looks out at... HENRY AND DOREEN As Henry rows them off into the darkness. DOREEN (disappearing in dark) Faster, Henry! The bastards might change their minds! Stop lily- dipping and move it! Henry starts to turn the boat around. DOREEN What're you doing? HENRY I'm gonna row back there and see if he'll shoot you. Or me. Fine either way. DOREEN Henry...? HENRY Do you want me to get us out of here? DOREEN Yes, of course, I -- HENRY Then shut the fuck up. Henry turns the boat around and rows off. Doreen is silent. JIM'S SKI-BOAT Jim shakes his head. Tom looks at Ray, coughing and at Kenny, dead. Tom doesn't know what to say. TOM I... JIM The only thing I want to hear from you is where the money is. EXT. STREET The Sheriff and Wayne are motoring fast down a street, the Sheriff leading. The Sheriff sees something in the water in front of him. He curses and throttles down fast. KAREN Is in the water, exhausted and cold. EXT. CEMETERY Jim pilots the ski-boat into the cemetery. All are aghast. A DOZEN CASKETS Are floating in the water. Half of them have drifted up against the fence; the others are headed that way. JIM I wonder where they think they're going. RAY What the hell's going on? MR. MEHLOR This happened in a flood in Georgia. The ground gets soggy, and the caskets are air-tight -- anyone who hasn't been planted too long just pops up. RAY You teach your students stuff like that? No wonder they kicked you out. MR. MEHLOR I didn't teach my students anything at all. JIM (to Tom) Where is it? TOM It's hard to tell now with the water so deep. Jim cocks the hammer on his pistol. Tom gets the hint. TOM It's down there a little further. Jim nods, gives the engine some juice and they move on. TOM Takes a quick look at his watch. JIM Sees Tom looking at his watch. EXT. STREET Karen is in the Sheriff's boat, wearing Phil's jacket, trying to warm up. KAREN Tom went off in their rowboat. WAYNE (to Phil) It's Tom now. Looks like you lost out, pal. SHERIFF Where was he going? KAREN Back to the armored truck. EXT. CEMETERY Jim throttles down the ski-boat engine. JIM Here? TOM Uh... no. A little farther -- JIM They're not coming, son. Tom looks over at Jim, pretending to be confused. TOM What? JIM The National Guard. They're not coming. TOM I don't -- JIM I know you've been trying to stall until they show up, but they're not coming. TOM (pause as he realizes) Oh, God. You intercepted Charlie's call, then you called them off. JIM No, son, I didn't call them off. They never were coming. We didn't "intercept" Charlie's call. He called us direct. And on Tom's look of disbelief... INT. DAM CONTROL OFFICE Hank is on the radio. HANK I'd love to help you, Sheriff, but I can't leave! If the water goes over the top again it's bye-bye, dam! Bye- bye, town! In fact, I could use a little help up here myself. EXT. PARK AREA The Sheriff is in his boat; Wayne is back in his own. The Sheriff is on the radio. SHERIFF Hank, remember when Mike Crane holed up in Jack Finch's barn and said he was gonna burn it down? CROSSCUT WITH HANK HANK Hey, I was the one who got the dumb son-of-a-bitch to come out. SHERIFF Right. And before you went in, I deputized you, you dumb son-of-a- bitch! So when I say get down here, it's not a request, it's an order. So get down here! Now! I won't need you for long. And bring your gun. EXT. CEMETERY JIM We were gonna hit you just before you got on the Interstate, but then you got stuck so we had to change our plans and take you -- TOM Bullshit. This is all bullshit. JIM I knew Charlie when we were both working construction for the Johnstown company. His middle name was McCarthy because his parents loved Charlie McCarthy on the radio. His wife's name was Mary. She died of a heart- attack last year. He has a daughter and a son, both grown with children of their own. I'm afraid I don't know the names of the grandchildren. Tom looks down, not wanting to believe. JIM What else do I know...? Oh, yes. I know Uncle Charlie was trying to steer his favorite nephew away from a life of crime. Tom suddenly lunges for Jim. Ray yanks Tom back. TOM Why'd you shoot him? Kill Charlie and you get to keep another share? JIM No, That was an accident. Ken shot him. (eyes Kenny sadly) I never told him Charlie was on my side. Ken liked to talk. (shakes head) He shouldn't've been here. But his dad asked me to watch over him. I guess I didn't do the best job. RAY Excuse me, Jim. I hate to interrupt and all, but could we just get the money and get the hell out of here? JIM (nods; to Tom) I'm gonna ask you one more time. And before you think of bullshitting me again, keep in mind I have had a very frustrating night. And while I know I'll never get the money if I kill you, it's getting to the point where I just don't care. Jim casually aims his gun at Tom. TOM I'll tell you where it is. But it's not going to do you any good. Jim arches an eyebrow. TOM The Guard may not be coming, but someone else sure as hell is. EXT. OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN THE SHERIFF At the controls of his boat, moving fast, sprayed by rain. Karen and Phil are in the back of the boat. Wayne is close behind in his boat. EXT. CEMETERY JIM I'll take my chances. Tom pauses, looks over to... THE CRYPT Just the top of it is visible. Two more COFFINS float nearby. TOM There. Jim steers the ski-boat over, hands Tom a flashlight. JIM Well, go get it. Tom climbs over the edge of the ski-boat and into the water. He turns on the flashlight and drops below the surface. RAY (eyeing Tom in water) "At night we'd go down to the river and into the river we'd dive." (off Jim and Mehlor's looks) Springsteen, "The River." I'm all out of bible quotes. UNDERWATER Tom shines his light on... THE CRYPT One end of a rope is tied to the crypt. The other end, cut and frayed, is suspended in the water, waving in the current. ON THE WATER Jim watches Tom's light rise. Tom comes up fast, takes a breath. TOM It's gone. JIM What? TOM (smug) Looks like somebody beat you to it. RAY Oh for Christs -- I'm gonna shoot him, Jim. Ray grabs pistol in his belt. Before he can pull it out, holes puff out of his chest, followed by blood and then the sound of the rifle-shots. Ray tumbles into the water. A half- second later there's... HAIL OF BULLETS Ripping into the ski-boat, water, trees, crypt. THE SHERIFF'S BOAT, WAYNE'S BOAT Are outside the fence, a hundred feet from the crypt. PUSH IN FAST on... THE SHERIFF To the rescue. He and Wayne and Phil fire their guns. TOM Ducks underwater. JIM Pulls his pistol, returns fire. MR. MEHLOR Opens fire with a shotgun, shooting wild, yelling. Then he's hit and knocked out of the boat, dead. IN THE SHERIFF'S BOAT KAREN Stop! You'll hit Tom! The Sheriff stops shooting, yells at the others. SHERIFF Hold your fire! Wayne and Phil stop shooting. BY THE CRYPT Tom is holding onto a coffin, out of view of the Sheriff. He hears a rush of bubbles and turns as... JIM Comes to the surface, breathing deep. JIM'S GUN Comes out of the water fast and the barrel goes to Tom's forehead. THE SHERIFF'S BOAT There's an adrenal fire in the Sheriff's eyes. He starts his boat forward, Wayne following. Their lights find... JIM'S BOAT No sign of life. Then there's a sound and the lights sweep over to find... JIM AND TOM Climbing up on top of the mostly-submerged crypt. Jim is behind Tom with his gun to Tom's head. THE SHERIFF Stops his boat. Wayne stops, too. They are thirty yards from Jim and Tom. KAREN AND TOM A look passes between them. JIM (to Sheriff) Now, sir, I can imagine you'd love nothing more than to shoot me, but I caution you -- in order to do that, you're gonna have to shoot through young Tom here. THE SHERIFF Thinks for a second, then shrugs. SHERIFF Okay. He raises his rifle. KAREN Realizes what is about to happen. TOM AND JIM Also clue in, but before they can move... THE SHERIFF Squeezes the trigger as... KAREN Hits the gun with her arm. THE RIFLE Fires. TOM is grazed in the arm by the bullet. THE SHERIFF Smacks Karen hard with his rifle and she tumbles out of the boat, unconscious. TOM AND JIM Throw themselves back off the crypt as... THE SHERIFF AND WAYNE Empty their guns in their direction. JIM Returns fire, shooting blindly over the top of the crypt. PHIL Reaches for Karen, floating limp in the water, but... WAYNE Is closer. He grabs Karen and pulls her into his boat, then grins at Phil. TOM AND JIM Are behind the crypt. Tom holds his bleeding arm. Jim reloads. TOM Well, that was unexpected. JIM Is he the one you thought was coming to your rescue? No answer from Tom, but the answer is clear. WITH THE SHERIFF AND HIS MEN The Sheriff and Wayne reload. HANK (O.S.) Anyone mind telling me what the hell is going on? The Sheriff, Wayne and Phil turn to see... HANK In his boat, right behind them, all dressed up in hunting gear, rifle at the ready. SHERIFF Hey, Hank. That money I told you about? From the armored car? We're gonna keep it. Three million dollars. Four ways. (shoots at crypt) Seven fifty apiece. You okay with that? Hank is stunned. He doesn't answer. SHERIFF Hank? You okay with that? HANK Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars? (beat, grins) Damn straight I'm okay with that. WAYNE (grumbling, re: Hank) Don't see what we needed him for. SHERIFF Then I guess you've never been hunting with Hank. (to Hank) We got two behind that crypt. Get 'em. Hank nods. He motions for Wayne to go one way; he'll go the other. They start off. A blind shot comes from Jim behind the crypt. The Sheriff shoots back. Phil finally musters up the courage to say something. PHIL Maybe I'm not okay with it. SHERIFF Come on now, Phil. PHIL You're gonna kill people? SHERIFF They're looters, Phil! They come and steal from an armored truck in our town -- they're looters. (fires