Preview: "Run!"

Written 04/03/17 | Edited 10/05/21

In my Creative Writing class in college, we were prompted one week to write a clip of an original story in screenplay format. I had written an eleven-page (single-spaced!) story on a whim one night in 2015 and decided to use that story's intro as my excerpt for the assignment. Fast forward to 2021 and this story has evolved into a three-part short story that I intend to adapt into a complete screenplay. (Please excuse the format. Customary fonts and alignments for screenplays aren't recognized when copying and pasting to a blog and I preferred not to insert a PDF link.)

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FADE IN:

INT. CARGO TRANSPORT TRUCK - NIGHT

Eight FIGURES– mix of MEN and WOMEN – sit opposite each other, hands bound behind them and faces covered with burlap sacks. A CHILD is crying. Judging by the truck’s jerky motion, it’s driving through rough terrain. There’s a substantial bump as the truck rolls over something in the road, sending one of the bound figures to the floor hard. Light from headlights outside show that the figure is a female. Meet SAM ACEVEDO.

PAN IN ON:

Now lying in the middle of the truck, SAM recovers and wriggles her hands under her legs and back to the front. The sack quickly comes off. Thin rays of light reveal SAM to be in her late 20’s. Athletic build with brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. She searches her boots and recovers a small pocket knife. Holding the knife between her knees, she cuts herself free. She then begins to help the others.

CUT TO:

EXT. WOODS – NIGHT

A Parade of three transport trucks and two Jeeps. Vehicle lights show men in the Jeeps heavily armed with a variety of assault weapons. They ride through the dense woods on a winding, narrow dirt road that has been cleared of debris from continual use. The convoy makes a sharp left turn.

CUT TO:

INT. TRANSPORT CARGO TRUCK

The sudden turn knocks SAM off balance and into the man she’s cutting lose – this is LUCA. Her pocket knife slips, cutting her hand in the process. She muffles a cry of pain.

LUCA

Are you okay?

SAM

(Nursing her cut)

Yeah.

An abrupt stop. A crescendo of angry voices become audible. Then an outbreak of gunfire. They’re now trapped in the middle of a firefight.

CLOSE UP:

Scared and stunned faces of the CAPTIVES. Between the shouting and gunfire, the noise is almost deafening. Bullets pellet the truck. There’s a thud – one of the captives has been killed. Someone screams. The CHILD starts crying again in terror.

CLOSE UP ON SAM:

She knows they’re sitting ducks. She cuts open the canvas covering the back of the truck.

SAM

(To the captives)

Let’s go! Stay low and head for cover.

(No one moves)

MOVE!

LUCA takes the CHILD who we see is a BOY of about 10 or 11, and the GIRL protecting him and runs for the woods. The rest follow. SAM is the last one out.

EXT. WOODS – NIGHT – FIREFIGHT

The CAPTIVES come to a sight that looks like Fourth of July fireworks, only instead of exploding magic in the sky it’s the lethal blasts of dozens of muzzle flashes. It’s nearly impossible to tell who’s fighting who.

CLOSE UP:

Bullets whistle uncomfortably close right past SAM’S head. BOOM! Their truck explodes from an M32. Turning, SAM sees the truck now engulfed in flames…and TWO FIGURES running for them: they’ve been spotted.

SAM

Run!

Adrenaline spike – all race off with SAM now in the lead. As the CAPTIVES run, there are a series of cuts: SAM hurtling a downed tree limb. LUCA and the CHILDREN stumbling along, saved by a burly MALE who stopped to fight the approaching attackers only to be killed in the process. A MAN with glasses heading off in another direction. A WOMAN cowering behind bushes.

RESUME FOCUS ON SAM:

SAM’s running like mad. The sound of the gunfire grows fainter and her breathing gets heavier. Moonlight provides some visibility much not much. Low tree branches and shrubbery tear at SAM as she races by, leaving her face and hands stinging with fresh cuts. There’s a sudden drop and SAM tumbles down a steep incline. She collides onto a large, solid object with a violent thud and lies motionless on the forest floor. She is unconscious.

BLACK OUT

[End of opening]