Run to the Hills
2016 | English | Game scene | Full
(*) Image by Max Pixel, licensed under CC0 Public Domain.
Details
- Year: 2017
- Language: English
- Word count: 12K
- Type: Game scene script
Text
EXT. SOMEWHERE IN THE ARIZONA DESERT – NIGHT
A prison bus follows a lonely road in the middle of the barren landscape.
At the front we find DOUG, the driver, and FRANK, the guard, both middle aged inconspicuous federal employees. They are busy, one with the driving and the other with the talking. Doug looks sleepy.
The prisoners, seated in their orange uniforms, are handcuffed. There is barely any talking. The player, MALORY, a cute middle class blonde white boy barely in his twenties, is clearly out of place. He seems uneasy.
Arm to arm to him is CONEJO, a strong but slightly overweight tough looking over-tattooed Hispanic male in his late forties. A brisk individual, his eyes show the experience of a lifetime of excesses.
MALORY: I can’t go to jail. There’s something I need to do.
The player controls Malory from a third-person perspective. When the player moves in any direction.
CONEJO: Where are you going, pendejo? Sit back before Frank sees you and we both pay for it.
If the player tries to hit him.
CONEJO: Don’t do that, chiquito, or I’ll kill you.
When the player moves towards the driving seat.
MALORY: I believe the guard deliberately “forgot” to chain me to my seat. I need to talk to him.
When the player approaches the front seat, a prisoner blocks his way.
RANDOM PRISONER: Back off, snowflake!
MALORY: Excuse me, but I need to speak to the guard.
RANDOM PRISONER: And I need to get out and take a long breath before we get to the house, kid, but ain’t gonna happen either. Frank sees you and we all get trouble.
The player has no choice but to go back. When the player gets near his seat.
CONEJO (amused, pointing): Psst… chico!
There is a half-opened package of Halls lying on the floor. When the player takes it.
MALORY: “Halls. Candy with directions.”
When the player gives the candy to the random prisoner.
RANDOM PRISONER: What the fuck? Yeah, whatever, boy.
When the player approaches the front of the bus we get a short, scripted scene. The driver, Doug, is yawning.
FRANK: …best quarterback ever! I’m telling you.
DOUG (still yawning): I… don’t know, Frank. He’s got a good run, sure… but there are bigger names out there.
FRANK: Bigger names? What are you talking about? A bunch of old legends that won their fame when jogging was considered a crazy thing?
DOUG: Nonsense. But I’m falling asleep here, man, just keep talking.
MALORY: Excuse me, gentlemen, I don’t know much about football, but I really, really need to be at a different location right n–
FRANK (angry and surprised): What are you doing out of your seat?
Frank pushes him back to his seat and handcuffs him to Conejo. He starts then to check the other prisoners too.
MALORY (complaining): What?
FRANK: You got to learn, kid.
When the player talks again to Conejo.
CONEJO: See, chiquito? Told you so. What are you doing here anyway? Mom put you in the wrong bus this morning? (LAUGHS)
MALLORY (angry, frustrated): What was your name again? Cordero?
CONEJO: It’s Conejo, gringo! The fastest guy in the bunch. Remember that!
MALORY: My Spanish is no bueno, but it seems whoever named you thought you’re a pussy. Muy suave, si?
CONEJO: I’m so fast, pendejo, you never see me coming. I also like the baby making! (SALACIOUS LAUGHTER)
MALORY: You better be really quick, then. I hear they love it soft in the hou–
Doug finally succumbs to sleep as Frank isn’t there to keep him awake. He loses control of the bus for a second, reacts quickly and hits the break with force. Frank is pulled to the ground.
The bus spins out of control and crashes. Upside down, everyone is hurt to some degree. Frank is unconscious, keys still in hand.
When the player tries to reach him, a prisoner gets there first.
AGGRESSIVE PRISONER: Outta ma way, snow white!
Unarmed combat mechanics are explained here. The player must fight off at least one prisoner, but even if he wins Malory can’t get the keys. Somebody gets them (and the gun) first. The prisoners begin to free themselves and escape through smashed windows.
When the player tries to move, Conejo is unconscious.
MALORY (slapping in the face): Come on, amigo, wake up! We have no time to waste.
Doug then starts to get on his senses again.
DOUG: What the…? (ON THE RADIO) They’re getting away right now! (TO THE PRISONERS) Stop right there, fools! You don’t want to become fugitives…
When the player hits Conejo again.
CONEJO: Que paso…
MALORY: Fastest in the bunch, right? What are you waiting for? Run, Conejo, run!
The player must get away from the bus, fighting more prisoners. At certain distance he triggers a scripted scene.
EXT. DESERT. NIGHT – OVERHEAD
Sirens wail in the distance as patrol cars approach the scene. Prisoners are running away in all directions. A police helicopter breaks into the view.
AGENT BRONCO (V.O): Can we get closer to those pricks?
PILOT (V.O.): Too dark now. It ain’t safe until dawn.
INT. CHOPPER. CO-PILOT SEAT.
AGENT BRONCO: And when would that be?
PILOT: You never now in Arizona, sir. Any moment now.
AGENT BRONCO: I need to get those criminals back before the citizenry wakes up, boy. I don’t need the Marshals or the press here, so better make the move with or without light or I’ll throw you out and do it myself!
The chopper searchlight shifts to the nearest mountain. Hiding there under the tree line are Malory and Conejo.
CONEJO (breathless): Where… to?
MALORY (pointing): Up? Maybe there is a place to hide in the mountain.
The player follows a trail. From time to time the chopper can be heard and the searchlight illuminates the area. Hide mechanics are explained here, the player must make it without being detected.
CONEJO: What do you know about caves, gringo?
MALORY (showing the chains): That is unwise to enter alone!
When the player finds the entrance of a cave the sound of a rattlesnake startles him.
CONEJO (breathing heavily): What a… jump, city boy! (LAUGHS)
MALORY: OK, snake man… What should I do?
CONEJO: Maybe sweet talk her like you did Frank? Don’t look at me, gringo, throw something!
When the player picks a stone and throws it we hear the sound get lower and disappear. When they go inside the cave the place is almost pitch black.
CONEJO: Now what, genius?
Then the searchlight hits the entrance of the cave, forcing them to hide. It also shows a glimpse of their surroundings. When the player looks at a tunnel nearby.
MALORY: There. It goes deeper into the mountain.
CONEJO: I won’t crawl like a blind cucaracha.
MALORY (with dreadful confidence): Then I should kill you and cut your hand off. Or maybe the other way around, I don’t know. But I’m not going to jail, amigo.
CONEJO (somewhat scared): What the hell were you going to prison for, kid?
MALORY: The cops are almost here, Conejo. Make up your mind.
CONEJO: Alright, alright! Take it easy, I’ll crawl. Not the first time I go down for a good cause.
When Conejo gets into the tunnel.
CONEJO: La Santa Muerte me guarde de la oscuridad.
Outside the cave armed agents are now descending from the chopper, flashlights in hand. They look military.
Inside the shaft the player struggles to advance in the darkness. We can hear them breathing hardly.
MALORY: Wait. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
CONEJO: You think?
MALORY: I’m serious, I can see a light, it flinches.
CONEJO: Maybe it’s the cops, maybe the cartels. Sinaloa is very active these days. I hear they hide some mercancía in places like this. Maybe today is our lucky day, gringo! If there is coca we die high, if there is guns we die like hombres–
MALORY: We don’t have to die. You seem to know things, what were you going to prison for again?
CONEJO: I guess running an “unlicensed pharma–
They reach a large room, partially illuminated by candles. There is a big wooden table in its center and some bloody sheets of plastic at its side.
CONEJO: Santa Maria!
On the table we see a few knives of different size and shape and a couple of 2L soda bottles filled with blood. Strange symbols are carved on walls and ceiling. A striking contrast of old and new.
When the player looks at the symbols.
MALORY: Looks old, like before the Indians old.
If the player tries to use a knife with the handcuffs.
CONEJO: Forget it! That’s no toothpick.
If the player uses a knife against Conejo.
CONEJO: What are you doing, man? We’re in this together now. We’re friends!
When the player reaches the dark area of the room piles of clothes, wallets and phones can be seen lying on the floor, clearly sorted.
When the player notices baby clothes.
MALORY: This is no cartels.
CONEJO: What?
MALORY: I said this is not a place to hide drugs. This is something different.
CONEJO: How would you know? Cartels are merciless too. More than capable to kill little ninos. We need to find a way out.
MALORY: No, we need to show this to the police.
CONEJO: What? No way! I thought you didn’t want to go to jail?
MALORY (deeply concerned): You don’t understand, she’s here.