MYTRO

by
Bret Ioli
Based on the book Mytro, Part 1 of the Mytratti Trilogy,
by John Biggs
Bret Ioli
1114 King James Court
Bear, DE 19701
206-819-6686
bret_ioli@hotmail.com
FADE IN:
EXT. HILL OF THE WINDS, BASQUE COUNTRY, SPAIN - DAY
The wind rustles through the tall grass and weeds that grow
above a wide field. CARLOS LLORENTE, mid 20s, keeps watch on
the horizon for any sign of the landowner or his hired men.
SUPER: Basque Country, Spain, 1766
Carlos glances down at a ONE METER WIDE HOLE near his feet.
A rope is spiked into the ground with a long iron rod. The
rope twitches as its other end is pulled farther and farther
into the hole.
CUT TO:
INT. WORMHOLE - DAY
JOS LLORENTE, older brother of Carlos, snakes through the
narrow wormhole on his belly. His hands are stretched
forward and a rope is tied around his legs.
Twenty meters in, Jos crawls out of the wormhole and lands
on a stone floor within a pitch dark open space.
CUT TO:
EXT. HILL OF THE WINDS, BASQUE COUNTRY, SPAIN - DAY
Carlos fixes his eyes on the motionless spiked rope. He
crouches down to inspect, but he stops at the sound of his
brothers voice.
JOS
(In Spanish)
Carlos! Send down the lamp!
CUT TO:
INT. CAVE - DAY
Jos pulls the rope through the wormhole until the lamp
reaches him. He strikes a flint to light the wick, and the
lamplight reveals a LARGE CAVE, 20 feet tall and 40 feet
wide, carved into the bedrock of the hill.
Tall, curved walls arc up through the gloom. Somewhere water
drips onto the ground. TWO TUNNELS lead into the darkness at
the far ends of both sides of the cave. Each of Joss
footsteps echo against the rocky walls.
CUT TO:
INT. CAVE - LATER
Jos ties two lenghts of rope together. Carlos ties one end
of the rope around his waist. Jos finishes his knot and
moves toward Carlos. He gives the knot at his brothers
waist one more tightening tug.
Carlos steps into the tunnel on the right hand side of the
cave.
The rope slides across Joss open palm as he watches his
brother disappear into the tunnel.
Carlos follows the direction of the wind into the darkness.
The rope uncoils farther and farther. The winds blow with
greater force. The rope in Joss hands unspools and grows
taut. Jos looks down at the rope and then toward the
tunnel.
JOS
Carlos?
Jos closes his hands around the rope, but the tunnel yanks
the rope through his palms and burns his skin. The strands
of the knot in the rope pop out under the strain.
The knot snaps. The rope disappears into the dark. Joss
jaw drops in horror.
JOS (CONT'D)
Carlos! CARLOS!
Joss voice echoes into the endless dark.
CUT TO:
EXT. CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK CITY - DAY
14 year old TURTLE FULTON huffs and puffs his way through a
practice race with his school track team. His sweat-soaked
tee shirt bears the logo of the MANHATTAN FRIENDS TRACK TEAM.
He counts out prime numbers between heavy breaths.
2.
TURTLE
Two, three, five, seven, eleven,
thirteen-
NICK AND NATE
(In Cecil Turtles voice)
Slow and steady wins the race!
Blond identical twins NICK and NATE KINCAID run past Turtle
and mock him in the voice of Bugs Bunnys classic racing
nemesis. The twins also wear Manhattan Friends Track Team
tee shirts.
The twins look back at Turtle just long enough to LAUGH at
his plodding gait. Turtle watches the Kincaid twins run
farther down the course. He restarts his prime number count
from the beginning.
TURTLE
Two, three, five, seven, eleven...
At the far end of Turtles field of vision, the Kincaid twins
turn and veer off the race course.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
Thirteen?
The twins rummage through a cluster of tall green bushes
topped by purple flowers that grow on the face of a TOWERING
ROCK. The twins move farther into the greenery and submerge
themselves as if to hide.
Turtle he reaches the point where the twins veered off
course. He stops running. The sound of a SURGE OF WIND
emits from the bushes. Turtle takes in large breaths and
finds no sign of the Kincaids among the brush.
A THRUMMING JACKHAMMER, the TRILL OF BIRDS, and mid-afternoon
TRAFFIC NOISE fill the air as Turtle parts the bushes and
steps closer to the giant rock. Its edges are chiseled at
rough right angles and the cracks are filled with brown dust.
The NUMBER 13, worn down to near invisibility, is carved into
the rock.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
Thirteen.
At the base of the rock Turtle sees the faint imprint of a
Nike swoosh in a patch of drying mud. He puts his own foot
next to the fresh track. It is close to his size, and Nick
and Nates size as well.
3.
Turtle reaches out and rubs his hand along the surface of the
stone. He feels a RUMBLE under his feet and hears what
sounds like a TRAIN ROARING BY, under the rock.
Turtle puts his ear against the rock wall. He feels the
RUMBLE again, and he hears the unmistakable CLACK CLACK,
CLACK CLACK sound of a subway train rattling on iron rails,
followed by a loud POUNDING from inside the rock.
Turtle flinches back from the sudden pounding noise, but he
is drawn in again by the sound of a GIRLS VOICE. She yells
something indiscernible.
Turtle leans forward against the rock face to listen for the
girls voice. As he puts pressure on it, the rock face gives
way and moves inward on invisible hinges. The WIND from
inside the rock begins to suck him into the opening.
Turtle grabs two handfuls of bushes to keep from falling into
the open rock. The bushes are right at the breaking point
when a 14 YEAR OLD GIRL barrels out of the open rock and
knocks Turtle onto his back.
The girl is AGATA LLORENTE. She rolls her body off Turtle
and scoots back several feet through the bushes. The
backpack slung over her shoulder bulges out to the breaking
point.
AGATA
Ayudame! Cierra la puerta!
TURTLE
What?
AGATA
Close the door!
Turtle follows the pretty girls orders and springs up toward
the open rock. He looks into the rock and sees a SUBWAY
PLATFORM inside, 50 feet wide and 10 feet deep, gas-lit from
above with crystal chandeliers.
A RED TRAIN made of two long cars coupled together idles on
the tracks. TWO MEN step out of the rear train car and rush
toward the door. Turtle sees that both men hold PISTOLS in
their hands. They are ADAMS and WARREN.
Adams is the taller of the two men. He has a scruff of blond
beard and steps out in front of Warren. Adams takes a
focused look at Turtle as he marches toward the door. He
notices Turtles MANHATTAN FRIENDS TRACK TEAM tee shirt.
4.
Turtle reaches into the opening and puts his hand on the
NUMBER 13 carved into the rock. The door swooshes shut just
as Adams is about to step through the opening.
Turtle steps back from the rock and looks down at Agata. She
sits on the ground and struggles to catch her breath. She
reaches around her shoulder to make sure her backpack is
still there.
AGATA (CONT'D)
Donde estamos? - Where are we?
TURTLE
New York. Manhattan. Central
Park.
AGATA
Bueno. We need to move.
Agata attempts to pull herself up off the grass. Her legs
wobble and she splats back down onto the ground.
Turtle wipes his hands on the sides of his sweatpants. He
reaches out to help Agata up from the grass. She stands a
good half head taller than Turtle.
TURTLE
Im Turtle - I mean Paul. But
people call me Turtle.
AGATA
Agata Llorente.
Agata reaches out to shake Turtles hand. An odd necklace
slips out of her shirt a leather string with a JAGGED-
LOOKING COIN made of dull copper, a bit green on the edges.
Agata shakes Turtles hand and uses her other hand to push
the coin necklace back under her shirt. She speaks perfect
English with a delicate Spanish accent.
AGATA (CONT'D)
Can you show me the way out of
here? Before that door opens back
up.
TURTLE
Where to?
AGATA
Anywhere. Your home.
5.
TURTLE
My home?
A series of loud THUDS and muffled SHOUTS emanate from the
rock. Turtle flinches. He looks toward Agata with an air of
embarrassment.
AGATA
Yes, now, por favor.
Turtle leads Agata back onto the main path toward the N
subway stop at the foot of the park.
A group of tourists stand near a bench and take photos with
the giant rock as a background. Turtle looks back at the
rock and squints his eyes to find the faded Number 13 carved
into the rock.
TURTLE
Those men are after you?
AGATA
They almost had me at the station.
I dont know why they didnt come
out.
TURTLE
These people taking pictures would
have seen everything.
AGATA
But those men couldnt have...or
maybe it could...
Turtle looks toward Agata as they walk double time through
the park.
TURTLE
It, what is it?
AGATA
It, is the Mytro.
TURTLE
Mytro?
AGATA
Long story.
TURTLE
We have a long ride to Bay Ridge.
6.
AGATA
Bay Ridge?
TURTLE
Brooklyn.
CUT TO:
INT. THE HANGAR - DAY
A constant melodic RATTLING fills the dark cavernous space.
The RED TRAIN from the subway station in the park lurches
into the massive Hangar. The light from the trains front
headlight cannot penetrate the farthest corners of the huge
bay.
A group of long, thin humanoid creatures glow upon the
arrival of the train. They lift their heads like stalks of
wheat bobbing away from a gust of wind. They are the
NAYZUNS.
The train comes to a halt at the work area of the foreman, a
Nayzun known as FOUR-ELEVEN. Broken glass from a shattered
window tinkles out of the metal frame and onto the ground.
The gas lamps inside the train wink on and off.
Four-Eleven looks like a mantis with long arms and longer
legs. His skin is pearlescent with glints of yellow on his
long, thin face. He has dark sockets where his eyes would be
and small holes where ears would be. He has no mouth.
Four-Eleven looks down at the shallow streetcar tracks that
crisscross the gray cinders of the Hangar floor. The Mytros
machinery pitches the damaged train off the tracks and onto a
small set of side tracks with a THUMP.
Four-Eleven signals the younger Nayzuns. They shuffle out of
the dark and toward the train with new replacement windows in
hand. They pull the broken windows out and install the new
ones with painstaking precision.
The Nayzuns resemble gigantic, long-limbed spiders as they
scrabble over the varnished wood of the Mytro car. Their
pointed fingers brush broken glass into dark holes, and the
pads of their hands scan the surface of the train for damage.
Four-Eleven stands in front of the door to the damaged train
car. A DOUBLE CHIME rings out from the train, and the doors
open. Four-Eleven steps inside the train.
7.
INT. MYTRO TRAIN CAR - DAY
Wicker chairs line the inner walls of the train car, each one
bolted beneath wide glass windows. Rich velvet curtains hang
along the windows. Small oil lamps flicker above the seats,
and a sign above the door reads Mytro.
Four-Eleven glides through the car and feels around the plush
interior for damage. Two of the windows are shattered, one
of which is being replaced by the busy Nayzuns outside. The
floor of the train car is littered with broken glass.
Four-Eleven stops in front of one of the wicker seats and
runs his long thin fingers over it. An image materializes in
the seat, ghost-like, almost a hologram. It is ADAMS, pistol
in hand. WARRENS IMAGE materializes in the next seat.
Four-Eleven recoils at the presence of the men. Both images
rise from their seats and exit the train through the closed
door. Seconds later, AGATAS IMAGE dives in through the
closed door and into the car.
Four-Eleven GLOWS BRIGHTER as he observes Agatas image. A
virtual bullet crashes through the train and shatters the
image of the window above Agata. Virtual glass pours over
Agatas back. She covers her face and eyes.
A second virtual bullet splinters the image of a window on
the far side of the car. Agata scurries away from the
gunfire. Her body jerks to one side and she grabs a chair
for support, as if the train had just accelerated.
Agatas image looks toward the opposite end of the train car.
The images of Adams and Warren attempt to gain entry from the
adjacent train car through a locked door. Agatas image
rushes out of the car through the closed door.
INT. THE HANGAR - DAY
Four-Eleven exits the train car and moves through the Hangar
toward the area where the damaged train first arrived. The
other Nayzuns continue to repair the train. Four-Eleven
stands against the wall near the entrance to a tunnel.
A new train arrives in the Hangar and stops with the sound of
a DOUBLE CHIME. Four-Eleven hitches himself to the back of
the train. A SINGLE CHIME rings out, and the train streaks
into the dark of the tunnel.
8.
INT. MYTRO TUNNEL - DAY
The metal tracks end just a few feet into the tunnel. From
there, the train car travels over a skein of light and
plasma, a shining thread through the darkness of the
wormhole.
Four-Eleven spins behind the train like a wraith. A MELODIC
TONE exudes from Four-Elevens body, and his bioluminescent
skin casts a cold blue glow across the black tunnel.
CUT TO:
INT. N SUBWAY TRAIN - DAY
Turtle and Agata sit inside the nearly empty subway train as
it ratchets out of the tunnel and over the East River into
Brooklyn. A woman at the back of the car reads out loud from
a political book about the economy, jobs, and the Bronx Zoo.
Agata looks out the window with a strained expression, still
traumatized by her recent experience. She attempts to focus
on something else. She points to a small green spot on the
horizon.
AGATA
Is that the Statue of Liberty?
TURTLE
Thats it. Its green now, but it
used to be gold. The air changed
it. That the Brooklyn Bridge
there. Were on the Manhattan
Bridge.
AGATA
Its all very beautiful.
Despite her complimentary words, Agatas voice is
downtrodden. Turtle looks away from the bridge and back
toward Agata.
TURTLE
Are you sure we shouldnt call the
police?
AGATA
And tell them that I came here from
Barcelona in twenty seconds on a
super-powered train?
9.
TURTLE
When you put it that way-
AGATA
My uncle told me to find a friend
named Kincaid, someone I met when I
was very little.
TURTLE
Kincaid?
CUT TO:
EXT. CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK CITY - DAY
The blond Kincaid twins run past Turtle on the race course
and look back at him for a quick laugh. Far ahead of Turtle,
the twins veer off the main path and into a cluster of tall
green bushes.
CUT TO:
INT. N SUBWAY TRAIN - DAY
Turtle thinks back over his experience in the park.
TURTLE
I go to school with twins named
Kincaid. I swear I saw them go
into the Mytro just before you came
through.
AGATA
My uncle must have known that the
Kincaids use that station.
Turtle nods his head in agreement. He shifts in his seat and
takes a breath.
TURTLE
Can you tell me why those men are
chasing you?
Agata continues to look out the window, into the darkness of
the subway tunnel.
AGATA
Because of what my father knows
about the Mytro.
CUT TO:
10.
EXT. AGATAS HOUSE, BARCELONA - DAY
The four story structure is over a hundred years old, but it
is maintained with impeccable care. A warm ray of sun
illuminates the idyllic home. A small metal sign above the
doorbell reads Llorente.
AGATA
(V.O.)
My father used to teach physics at
Cambridge. He met my mother there,
shes American.
CUT TO:
INT. AGATAS HOUSE, THIRD FLOOR LIVING ROOM - DAY
A thin, wrought-iron spiral staircase leads up to the attic.
A closed door protects the entrance to the office space
within.
AGATA
(V.O.)
After I was born, my father began
to work from home. He did his
research from an office in the
attic. It was his private space,
and I never disturbed him there.
CUT TO:
INT. AGATAS BEDROOM - DAY
Agata finishes getting dressed and ready for school. A SMALL
LAMP shaped like an old passenger train sits on the night
stand next to her bed.
AGATA
(V.O.)
This morning, my mother was...not
her usual self. She was, how do
you say, on the edge.
Agatas mother CLAIRE enters the bedroom with a stack of old
papers in her arms. She picks up Agatas backpack and stuffs
the papers inside. Their conversation is in Spanish. Claire
speaks with an American accent.
AGATA (CONT'D)
What is that?
11.
CLAIRE
I want you to take these to school
with you.
AGATA
To show my teachers?
CLAIRE
Just hold on to them.
AGATA
Why? My backpack is already full-
CLAIRE
(Shouting)
Just do it, Agata! You need to
have them with you!
Agata freezes in place at the unexpected sound of her
mothers raised voice.
AGATA
Okay, Mama.
Claire reaches into her pocket and pulls out the odd jagged
COIN NECKLACE. She puts the leather string around Agatas
neck.
CLAIRE
And I want you to hold on to this
too.
AGATA
What is it?
CLAIRE
Its your fathers.
Agata takes the serrated coin in her hand and looks at it.
She sees small, strange markings punched into the metal.
AGATA
Its turning green.
CLAIRE
Just, keep it under your shirt.
Claire conceals the coin necklace under Agatas shirt.
AGATA
Alright.
12.
Claire straightens up Agatas shirt. She looks at her
daughter for a moment. She pulls Agata in close for a hug
CLAIRE
Mi cielo.
Claire releases Agata and wipes a tear from the corner of her
eye before Agata can see it. Agatas face is full of
concern.
AGATA
Ill see you after school?
Claire nods her head. Agata turns to exit the room with a
series of uneasy steps.
CUT TO:
INT. CLASSROOM, ENGLISH ACADEMY, BARCELONA - DAY
Agata stares out the window while her teacher, MRS. TORRES,
conducts a geometry lesson at the front of the classroom.
Agata does not respond to the first or second time that Mrs.
Torres calls out her name.
MRS. TORRES
(O.S.)
Agata? Agata? Agata!
Agata snaps back from her daydream and looks toward her
teacher.
MRS. TORRES (CONT'D)
(O.S.)
Todo bien?
CUT TO:
EXT. ENGLISH ACADEMY, BARCELONA - DAY
Agata waits outside the school for Claire to arrive. She
takes out her cell phone and calls home. She listens for her
mothers voice but doesnt hear it. Agata puts her phone
away and walks into the street toward home.
CUT TO:
13.
INT. AGATAS HOUSE, THIRD FLOOR LIVING ROOM - DAY
Agata takes a few of steps into the empty and quiet living
room. She looks around for any sign of her parents.
AGATA
Mama? Mama?
Agata looks toward the wrought-iron spiral staircase that
leads to the attic. The door to her fathers office is
closed as usual. Agata takes several hesitant steps toward
the staircase.
Agata climes the staircase. Her feet CLANG against the
stairs with every step up. She arrives at the top and stops
in front of the office door. She makes several gentle KNOCKS
on the door.
AGATA (CONT'D)
Pap? Pap?
Agata waits for an answer but receives only silence. She
steps back down the spiral staircase and rushes toward her
bedroom.
CUT TO:
INT. AGATAS BEDROOM - NIGHT
Agata lays on top of her bed in the fetal position. She
wears her same school clothes from earlier in the day. The
light from her train lamp casts a glow over the room.
AGATA
(V.O.)
My parents had never left me alone
before, I didnt know what to do.
I tried to take a nap so that the
time would pass and I would just
wake up when they came home. But
they werent the ones who came in.
Agata hears FOOTSTEPS in the living room outside her bedroom
door. She rolls off her bed and onto the floor. She crawls
toward the door and puts an ear on it to listen. She hears
the footsteps get closer and closer to her door.
The DOORKNOB turns. Agata scurries away from the door and
under her bed. The door swings open, and a man sticks his
head inside. He watches Agatas shoes disappear under the
bed.
14.
ERNESTO
Agata, its me, Ernesto.
ERNESTO kneels down on the floor. He is a thin man with
thinning hair, but his eyes are full of warmth for his niece.
Agata crawls out from under the bed and throws her arms
around her uncle. They speak Spanish to each other.
AGATA
Tio! Where are Mama and Pap?
ERNESTO
I called their phones. When I
couldnt reach them, I came here.
Let me take you somewhere safe,
okay?
AGATA
Okay.
Agata stands up and grabs her backpack. She stuffs a change
of clothes into her already overstuffed backpack. Ernesto
leads her out of the bedroom with his hand on her shoulder.
CUT TO:
EXT. AGATAS HOUSE, BARCELONA - NIGHT
Agata locks the front door to her house. She steps away from
the house with Ernesto. They make their way down the small
street lined with shops.
AGATA
Where do you think they are?
ERNESTO
Agata, I want you to stay calm, and
keep walking with me. Because of
your fathers research, someone has
taken your parents away.
Agata stops walking. Tears pour out of her eyes as she looks
up to her uncle for answers.
AGATA
Whos taken them! Why do they want
Paps research!
Ernesto crouches down and wipes the tears from Agatas face.
15.
ERNESTO
Agata, please, you must stay
strong, your parents need you.
Keep walking, keep your voice down,
and let me explain.
Agata takes hard and heavy breaths. She does her best to
remain calm and listen to her uncle. She walks alongside
Ernesto while he speaks.
AGATA
(V.O.)
My uncle told me about the Mytro.
He said that our family had been
connected to it for hundreds of
years.
CUT TO:
INT. CAVE - DAY
Jos Llorente lights his lamp to reveal the vast MYTRO CAVE
all around him.
AGATA
(V.O.)
Our long ago uncles, Jos and
Carlos Llorente, discovered a Mytro
tunnel on their farm land.
Jos watches as his brother Carlos steps into the tunnel on
the right hand side of the cave. A rope tied to Carlos
slides across Joss open palm as his brother disappears into
the tunnel.
AGATA (CONT'D)
(V.O)
Carlos was lost in the tunnel, but
Jos built a great fortune by using
the Mytro for shipping.
Joss jaw drops in horror over the disappearance of his
brother.
CUT TO:
EXT. LA RAMBLA, BARCELONA - NIGHT
Ernesto and Agata walk along the wide boulevard among throngs
of other Spaniards and tourists. They pass a row of stalls
where parakeets and finches are for sale.
16.
AGATA
(V.O.)
My uncle said that the family
fortune was lost during the Civil
War of the 1930s. The Mytro
stopped working, and it was all but
forgotten until my father began his
research. There are men who want
to use the Mytro again, to make
money.
Ernesto stops in front of Restaurante de Julio and points up
at the sign.
ERNESTO
Are you hungry? Might want to eat
before the trip.
AGATA
What trip?
ERNESTO
On the Mytro. You said your mother
put something in your backpack.
AGATA
Some old papers.
Agata takes the backpack off her shoulder and hands it to her
uncle. Ernesto crouches down to the ground and unzips the
back pack. He pulls several of the papers halfway out and
makes a quick study of them.
ERNESTO
You have maps, and some of
Hernandos research notes. You
must have a map before you go to
the Mytro, otherwise you wont know
where to tell it to go, and youll
be lost in the tunnels.
AGATA
Lost forever?
ERNESTO
We dont know. Your father and I
spent years on these maps. If you
know exactly where the stops are,
you think it, you say it, and the
Mytro takes you there. We can-
Something catches Ernestos eye at the far end of La Rambla.
17.
ADAMS and WARREN make their way down La Rambla toward Ernesto
and Agata. Both men wear dark jackets and military boots
that crunch against the pavement with every step.
ERNESTO shoves the papers back into Agatas backpack and zips
it up. He puts the backpack around Agatas shoulders and
turns the girl around to look into his eyes.
ERNESTO (CONT'D)
Listen very carefully. Go into the
alley between the stalls where they
sell roses, all the way to the end.
Youll see a Number 13 painted on
the wall. Push it and go through.
AGATA
Youre not coming with-
ERNESTO
Ill find you later, now listen.
Take the Mytro to New York, to the
Central Park South station. Say
that, Central Park South.
AGATA
Central Park South.
ERNESTO
Again!
AGATA
Central Park South!
ERNESTO
Go to my friend Kincaid, in New
York, you met him years ago, Ill
text you his phone number. Just
remember to say, Central Park
South. Now go!
Ernesto pushes his niece toward the stalls where the roses
are for sale. He turns around and looks up La Rambla toward
Adams and Warren. Ernesto marches toward the men. He sees a
third member of their party, MARTIN.
CUT TO:
EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT
Agata runs down the alley and squints her eyes toward the
back wall of a garage where a NUMBER 13 is written in faded
spray paint among a mesh of other graffiti.
18.
Agata stops at the wall, takes a breath, and pushes her hand
against the number.
Something small and black SNARLS and scampers across Agatas
feet. Agata YELPS and hops back away from the wall. She
looks behind her for further signs of trouble.
Agata reaches out to push against the Number 13 even harder.
The wall begins to give, and Agata falls inward on a cushion
of air. The wall/door slams closed behind her.
CUT TO:
INT. BARCELONA LA RAMBLA MYTRO STATION - NIGHT
Agata stands up inside a long train station. Rails run in
both directions and disappear into the tunnel. Brown,
unglazed adobe tile covers the station walls and ceiling.
A breeze lifts and swirls several loose leaves into the air
at Agatas feet. The leaves blow down the tunnel into the
dark just as a train squeals into the station. The train
stops, and the doors open with a DOUBLE CHIME.
Agata gawks at the train for a moment before she takes a
careful step on board.
INT. MYTRO TRAIN CAR - NIGHT
Agata marvels at the interior of the train. The doors close
with a SINGLE CHIME, and the train heaves forward out of the
station at unnatural speed. The sudden acceleration pitches
Agata into one of the wicker seats.
Agata sits up straight in the chair and recalls some of her
instructions.
AGATA
New York! New York!
Agata feels the train pick up even more speed. After a few
seconds of movement, the train stops. The doors open with a
DOUBLE CHIME.
INT. CITY HALL MYTRO STATION, NEW YORK - DAY
Agata steps out into a station dimly lit by guttering gas
lamps. Her train roars away into the tunnel. Agata ambles
along the platform in amazement. She spins around to soak in
the sights and sounds of the station from every angle.
19.
A NEW TRAIN trundles down the tracks into the station.
Agata stops and turns back toward the new train. Its doors
open with a DOUBLE CHIME. No one exits the train. The doors
close with a SINGLE CHIME, and the train chugs out of sight
into the tunnel.
Agata walks toward a heavy wooden door held together with
polished iron bands. Sharp gold letters carved in deep
relief along the top of the door read City Hall. She
reaches out to push through the door, but then she stops.
AGATA
This isnt my stop.
Agata turns around and strides back toward the platform.
Another train blows into the station. The doors open with a
DOUBLE CHIME, and both ADAMS and WARREN step out. Agata sees
the PISTOLS in their hands and takes a step back.
WARREN
(In Spanish)
You need to stand still, Miss.
The Mytro train doors CHIME and slam shut. A sudden BLAST OF
AIR from the tunnel pushes Warren and Adams off balance.
Both men stumble to the ground and roll several yards down
the platform.
The train doors open again. Agata dives inside.
INT. MYTRO TRAIN CAR - DAY
Agata looks out the window and sees Warren and Adams stand up
outside the doors to the adjacent train car. WARREN makes
eye contact with Agata. He raises his pistol toward her and
aims.
CUT TO:
INT. N SUBWAY TRAIN - DAY
Turtle listens to Agatas story with rapt attention. Agata
trembles as she describes the last moments of her ordeal
before her escape.
AGATA
He shot at me twice, shattered the
windows behind me, broken glass
fell everywhere.
20.
(MORE)
They got into the other car before
the doors closed, but they couldnt
unlock the entrance to my car. I
finally remembered Central Park
South, so I screamed it out over
and over again, Central Park
South, until we arrived. I ran
out of the train, pounded on the
door, and there you were.
Agata lets out a long cathartic sigh. Turtle takes a quick
glance out the window, then looks back at Agata.
TURTLE
This is our stop.
CUT TO:
EXT. SIXTH AVENUE, BROOKLYN - DAY
Turtle leads Agata down the leafy streets of Bay Ridge, past
old duplex houses, toward his grandmothers small, thin brick
home with its well-tended front yard and gold numbers over
the old wooden door.
TURTLE
Im not sure what to tell my
grandmother about you.
AGATA
Say Im a, what do you
call them...exchange.
TURTLE
Exchange student.
AGATA
Exactly.
CUT TO:
INT. TURTLES HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - DAY
Turtle holds the door open for Agata to enter. He closes and
locks the door behind her. He sees a note stuck to the
decorative key rail on the wall. Turtle pulls the note off
the rack and reads it.
TURTLE
Shes not here. She volunteers at
the retirement center. But she did
leave food in the oven.
21.
AGATA (CONT'D)
AGATA
I havent eaten all day.
TURTLE
Let me get the food out for you,
and Ill get cleaned up while you
eat.
AGATA
Thank you.
Turtle and Agata cross the living room and head toward the
kitchen. Agata stops and picks up a framed photo of Turtle
and his grandmother.
AGATA (CONT'D)
Is this your grandmother?
Turtle looks at the photograph in Agatas hand. He nods.
TURTLE
Thats from a couple years ago. My
parents died when I was still a
baby, in a car accident. She and
my grandfather took care of me,
until he caught pneumonia last
year.
Turtle and Agata stand in awkward silence, unsure of how to
break out of the sad remembrance of lost family.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
The kitchens, in here. You must
be starving.
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN, TURTLES HOUSE - DAY
Agata sits at the kitchen table and eats the last forkful of
spaghetti from her plate. Her fathers maps and notes are
spread out on the table in front of her. She reaches out and
places a finger beneath an intriguing word.
CUT TO:
INT. TURTLES BEDROOM - DAY
Fresh out of the shower and dressed in clean clothes, Turtle
brushes his teeth with vigor.
22.
He wipes his mouth clear of pasty residue, then he fusses
with his hair. He looks at himself from multiple angles to
be sure hes at his best.
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN, TURTLES HOUSE - DAY
Turtle enters the kitchen with as confident a stride as he
can manage. He smiles at Agata and looks down at her empty
plate.
TURTLE
I told you my grandmother makes a
mean plate of spaghetti.
AGATA
It was excellent. I put yours in
the oven to stay warm.
TURTLE
Thank you.
Turtle grabs an oven mitt and reaches into the oven to
retrieve his half of the spaghetti. He sits down at the
table and scans the notes and MAPS that surround his plate.
Black and gray lines cross the map in frantic trajectories.
The names of stations are written in a tiny, careful hand.
Some of the stations are crossed out while others are checked
off in red pencil.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
Most of your fathers notes are in
Spanish. I know a little from what
I hear on the street, but in school
Ive only studied German.
AGATA
Heres a word thats not Spanish,
or English. Nay-zun.
TURTLE
Nayzun? Sounds. . .alien.
AGATA
The Nayzuns repair the tunnels and
maintain the trains. Thats all
he says.
TURTLE
Has your uncle texted you yet?
23.
Agata picks up her phone and swipes the screen open. She
looks up and shakes her head with an air of dread.
AGATA
He was marching right toward the
men who chased me when I left him.
TURTLE
He sounds like a brave guy, Im
sure hes taking care of himself.
And I bet his friend Kincaid is
related to the twins. I have their
number.
Agata thinks over her options for a moment. She looks at
Turtle.
AGATA
Call them.
Turtle reaches for his address book. He finds the Kincaids
phone number and picks up the house phone. He dials the
number and switches the phone to speaker. The phone rings
four times before the gruff voice of an grown man answers.
MANS VOICE
(O.S.)
Hello?
Turtle flinches at the unexpected voice on the phone.
TURTLE
Hi, uh, is Nick or Nate there?
MANS VOICE
(O.S.)
Who is this?
Turtle looks at Agata as he mulls over what to say.
MANS VOICE (CONT'D)
(O.S.)
Who is this!
Turtle hits the button to end the call.
TURTLE
Sorry, but they live with their
mother, and shes not remarried, so
I dont know who that-
24.
The phone RINGS in Turtles hand. Agata jumps back away from
the ringing, and Turtle fumbles to keep from dropping the
phone. After three rings, Agata nods her head and points at
the phone. Turtle hits the button to answer the call.
MANS VOICE
(O.S.)
Hello? The name Fulton came up
on Caller I.D. Is this Nicks
friend Lizard?
Agata lets out a little laugh over the mans mistake.
TURTLE
Turtle, they call me Turtle. Who
is, whats your-
MANS VOICE
(O.S.)
Im Tom Kincaid, Nick and Nates
uncle. Are you calling for Nick?
TURTLE
Not really. Im calling on behalf
of, Ernesto Llorente?
There is a short pause on the other end before Kincaid
speaks.
KINCAID
(O.S.)
How do you know Ernesto?
TURTLE
I know his niece.
KINCAID
(O.S.)
Agata, is she there with you?
(In Spanish)
Agata, Im a friend of your uncle
and your father. We met at your
uncles party, when you were just a
little girl. I worked with your
father on his research, I know hes
gone missing. Please, let me help
you.
Turtle looks at Agata. She takes a moment to think before
she speaks.
AGATA
How can you help us?
25.
KINCAID
(O.S.)
Tell me where you are, Ill be
right over.
Agata looks toward Turtle and nods her head.
TURTLE
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Sixth Avenue
at 68th Street.
KINCAID
(O.S.)
I drive a silver Jeep with
Advanced Urban Archeology written
on the side. Ill be there in ten
minutes.
TURTLE
Ten minutes? Arent you at Nick
and Nates place, on Central Park
West?
KINCAID
(O.S.)
Youre right. Make it thirteen
minutes.
Kincaid ends the call. Turtle looks at Agata with a puzzled
expression.
AGATA
Maybe he drives fast?
CUT TO:
INT. CENTRAL PARK SOUTH MYTRO STATION - DAY
Four-Elevens train rumbles into the station. The Nayzun
hops of the back of the train and onto the platform. The
walls of the station are inlaid with polished brass and tile
coated with crackled glaze. The ceiling swings up high above.
Four-Eleven moves past a wooden booth with glass windows. A
ticket machine pokes out of it, and a length of connected
tickets sticks out it like a tongue. A hand-lettered sign,
yellowed with age, reads Closed Until Further Notice.
Four-Eleven examines the wooden door that leads out to the
giant rock in the park. The wood is covered in delicate
carvings and polished to a bright sheen. Sharp letters along
the top of the door read Central Park South.
26.
Four-Eleven brushes his long fingers over a BULLET HOLE in
the wood. He turns his head back toward the platform and
sees AGATAS IMAGE materialize out of a mist and run through
the closed door of the front car of his train.
Agatas image sprints across the platform toward the wooden
door. Four-Elevens body glows again in the presence of
Agatas image. He watches the holographic Agata shout and
pound at the wooden door with her fists.
A VIRTUAL BULLET crashes into the brick and tile next to
Agatas head. Four-Eleven looks back at the platform and
sees the IMAGES OF WARREN AND ADAMS outside the closed doors
of the rear car of his train.
Warren fires a second virtual bullet into the thick wooden
door. As the girl shouts and pulls on the iron door handle,
Four-Eleven sees something concealed under the girls shirt.
It FLASHES like a phosphore flare every few seconds.
The images of Warren and Adams stomp toward the door. An
image of the door itself opens inward, and Four-Eleven gets a
quick but close glimpse of the IMAGE OF TURTLE before Agatas
image jumps out and knocks Turtle away.
The image of Adams steps out in front of Warren. He is about
to step through the opening of the door, but the image of
Turtles hand reaches in and closes the door at the very last
second.
Adams pounds on the closed door in a rage. Warrens image
stands behind him and waits. The images of both men pulse
with a rich cerulean blue. They turn away from the door and
rush back inside the Mytro train through closed doors.
Four-Eleven moves back along the platform. The Mytro tracks
BUZZ with something like electricity. He reaches out to grab
the back of the train, but then retracts his arm. The doors
open with a DOUBLE CHIME, and Four-Eleven enters the car.
INT. MYTRO TRAIN CAR - DAY
The train jerks out of the station, but Four-Eleven is not
knocked off balance. He sits down in one of the wicker
chairs. His posture and body language are awkward, unsure,
as if this is the first time hes actually sat in a chair.
CUT TO:
27.
INT. TURTLES HOUSE, LIVING ROOM - DAY
Turtle and Agata look out the front window. They see a
SILVER JEEP pull up and park across the street. Advanced
Urban Archeology is written on the side. Turtle looks down
at his watch.
TURTLE
Thirteen minutes.
TOM KINCAID steps out of the Jeep. He appears to be a close
relative of the twins with his dark blond hair and tall lanky
build. He wears large sunglasses over his weather-beaten
face, and he surveys the street for any sign of the kids.
AGATA
He does look familiar, but it was
so long ago.
Kincaid looks toward Turtles front window and sees Agatas
face. He smiles and struts toward the front door of the
house. Turtle walks toward the front door and opens it.
Kincaid removes his sunglasses and looks into Agatas eyes.
KINCAID
(In Spanish)
Do you remember me now?
AGATA
(In English)
From my uncles engagement party.
You made smoke rings.
KINCAID
But I dont smoke anymore. And you
must be...Turtle.
TURTLE
Paul Fulton.
KINCAID
May I please come in, Paul Fulton?
We have a lot to discuss.
TURTLE
Sure.
Turtle steps to one side to allow Kincaid to enter. Turtle
closes and locks the front door. Agata leads Kincaid into
the kitchen.
28.
AGATA
We have my fathers maps and notes
in the kitchen.
KINCAID
Good, you have maps. You need
those.
TURTLE
Or else youll be stuck in the
tunnels forever.
KINCAID
Very good, Paul. And hey, now you
know how Nick and Nate always beat
you at those track meets.
INT. KITCHEN, TURTLES HOUSE - DAY
Kincaid follows Agata into the kitchen. He looks down at the
maps spread out over the table. Turtle enters the kitchen
after them with a perturbed look on their face.
TURTLE
They use the Mytro to win races?
AGATA
They cheat.
KINCAID
I wanted them to use it to get to
school on time. But they had other
ideas.
Kincaid sits down and leafs through the loose pages of notes
on the kitchen table. He finds a paper with a peculiar
drawing on it.
KINCAID (CONT'D)
Now Agata, the men who took your
parents-
AGATA
The ones who want to make money
from the Mytro.
KINCAID
Yes. They need something called
the Conductors Key, to put their
plans in motion. Your father
didnt want them to have it. Have
you ever seen anything like this?
29.
Kincaid points to the drawing of a LONG SKELETON KEY with a
huge fob at one end. The Key is covered with dials and tiny
switches.
AGATA
No, never.
KINCAID
Not at your house, in your fathers
office?
AGATA
Im not allowed in his office.
KINCAID
Okay.
Kincaid picks up a different paper and points to different
drawing.
KINCAID (CONT'D)
What about this one? Its called
the Railmans Key. You use it to
wind and set the Conductors Key,
at least we think so.
Turtle and Agata look down at a drawing of a strange CIRCULAR
OBJECT with a part cut out at a jagged angle - the copper
coin on Agatas necklace.
Turtle glances at Agata. Her body tenses up just a bit as
she answers.
AGATA
No, not that one either.
KINCAID
We need to find these. Its the
only way to keep your parents safe.
Maybe theres something in your
fathers office thatll help.
AGATA
We have to go back, to Barcelona?
KINCAID
Right away.
Kincaid rises from the table.
30.
KINCAID (CONT'D)
Paul, youve been a great help, and
I know Agatas family appreciates
all that youve done. Ill take it
from here.
Kincaid puts his hand on Agatas shoulder.
KINCAID (CONT'D)
Lets gather up your fathers
papers, we still need them.
Especially the maps-
TURTLE
If its all the same to you, Mr.
Kincaid, Id like to come along.
Kincaid looks up from the maps on the table.
KINCAID
It could be dangerous, Paul.
Theres no reason to bring you
further into this.
TURTLE
I understand that, but...she found
me in the park. That kind of makes
her my responsibility. I want to
be sure she stays safe.
Agata smiles back at Turtle. Kincaid looks down at Agata and
sees her reaction.
KINCAID
Alright, Paul.
AGATA
You can call him Turtle.
Turtles cheeks blush in reaction to Agatas statement.
KINCAID
Turtle. Youll be my extra set of
eyes, to watch my back, right?
TURTLE
Right. Just let me leave a note
for my grandmother.
31.
Turtle pulls a piece of paper from his notebook and scribbles
out a quick note. Agata stuffs her fathers maps and papers
into her backpack.
CUT TO:
INT. KINCAIDS JEEP - DAY
Agata sits in the back seat of the Jeep and buckles her seat
belt. Two marble statues wrapped in plastic take up the rest
of the space in the back. The snarling snout of a FIREPLACE
LION peeks out at Agata from under the plastic.
Turtle occupies the front passenger seat and takes a nickel
out of his pocket. He pops the coin over each of his
knuckles and into his hand for a flawless coin walk.
Kincaid turns the key to start the Jeep. He observes
Turtles coin walk before he drives the Jeep into the street.
KINCAID
You do that when youre nervous,
Paul? I mean Turtle, since were
friends now.
TURTLE
Just something I picked up from
reading.
KINCAID
What else have you picked up?
TURTLE
Cryptography, magic, slight of
hand, I can pick pockets - but just
for show, not to steal.
KINCAID
Of course. With those skills,
youll make an excellent addition
to the Mytratti.
TURTLE
Mytratti?
KINCAID
People who study the Mytro. We go
back a long time, long before
Agatas family found those tunnels
on their farm.
32.
AGATA
Who are the...members of the
Mytratti?
KINCAID
Hernando of course, Ernesto,
myself, a few others - here we are.
Kincaid steers the Jeep down an alley behind the Alpine
Cinemas. He switches on the headlights. They shine against
a blank brick wall with a NUMBER 13 spray-painted in bright
blaze orange like a gang tag.
AGATA
I saw the same thing in Barcelona -
Number 13.
TURTLE
There was a 13 carved on the door
in the park.
KINCAID
Its on all the station doors.
Its a prime number, the bad luck
thing keeps people away, and
the 3 looks like a sideways M, for
Mytro, underlined by the 1. Signal
of the Mytratti.
Kincaid edges the car forward. The front bumper touches the
brick. The wall starts to move and fold up on itself like a
garage door on invisible hinges. The heavy bricks tip up
enough to let the Jeep pass through.
CUT TO:
INT. BAY RIDGE FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE MYTRO STATION - DAY
Kincaid smiles as Turtle and Agata stare in awe at the
incredible brick door. The kids spin around to watch the
wall fall back down and grind into place with a sound of
gravel on gravel.
The Jeeps headlights shoot bright beams into the station. A
sign that reads Bay Ridge Fifth Avenue Theatre under a pair
of comedy and tragedy masks hangs over the main door. The
larger door they came through is no longer visible.
KINCAID
They used to run whiskey through
these tunnels during Prohibition.
33.
TURTLE
People have used these tunnels?
KINCAID
As long as the Mytro lets them.
AGATA
It lets them? Is it...alive?
KINCAID
The Mytratti have asked that
question for centuries. Ever heard
of a wormhole?
TURTLE
Two spots that open up in space?
AGATA
And space is bent inbetween, my
father taught classes about them.
KINCAID
He did more than lecture about
them. He went through them. And
so will you, in just a few.
The wind picks up within the station. A Mytro train rolls
out of the dark and into the station. This new train is made
of three cars - two passenger cars on the front and back with
a large, flatbed carrier in the middle.
Kincaid maneuvers the Jeep onto the flatbed. As soon as he
applies the handbrake, the train rattles off into the
darkness. Sparks shoot up from the wheels of the train as
they tick and pick up speed.
CUT TO:
INT. THE HANGAR - NIGHT
The air of The Hangar vibrates with the MELODIC RATTLING and
RINGING that is the song of the Nayzuns. Four-Eleven directs
other Nayzuns in their repairs to the train damaged by Warren
and Adams.
Four-Elevens body lights up with a bright glow, and AGATAS
IMAGE, inside Kincaids Jeep on the Mytro train, flashes
through Four-Elevens consciousness.
34.
The other Nayzuns take a step back from Four-Eleven. Their
foreman directs them to return to their work.
CUT TO:
INT. MYTRO TUNNEL - NIGHT
The darkness overtakes the Jeep and its passengers. The
train veers hard to the left, then shakes back and forth to
right itself as it continues into the darkness. Kincaid
closes his eyes and shouts over the screaming wind.
KINCAID
Barcelona, La Rambla!
Turtle counts off his prime numbers to keep his head
straight.
TURTLE
Two, three, five...seven. . .
eleven. . .
The travellers hit a wall of total silence and crystalline
space. Turtle is unable to count any further.
CUT TO:
INT. BARCELONA LA RAMBLA MYTRO STATION - NIGHT
The train comes to a abrupt stop. Turtle gasps for breath.
Agata nods her head at the sight of the now familiar setting.
Kincaid drives off the edge of the flatbed and onto the
platform. He parks the Jeep and switches off the engine.
KINCAID
This is one of the few stations big
enough for a car.
Kincaid and Agata climb out of the Jeep. Turtle takes a
moment to catch another breath before he sidles out of the
Jeep and onto the Mytro platform. He follows Kincaid and
Agata to an iron door bolted into the station wall.
CUT TO:
EXT. LA RAMBLA, BARCELONA - NIGHT
Kincaid, Agata, and Turtle walk down the popular esplanade
still crowded with locals and visitors alike.
35.
They take the reverse course that Ernesto and Agata walked
before her escape.
KINCAID
The Mytro is nonlinear. There are
no actual lines from stop to
stop, city to city. We just make
the maps like that as a way to wrap
our minds around it.
TURTLE
Trains are a linear idea. Is that
why they...or it, uses trains?
KINCAID
Before trains there were wagons.
Better to ride in one of those than
to be flung into the darkness by a
wild wind.
AGATA
When you put it that way-
CUT TO:
INT. AGATAS HOUSE, THIRD FLOOR LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The front door swings open. Agata pulls her key out of the
door and directs Turtle and Kincaid to the wrought-iron
spiral staircase that leads to her fathers office in the
attic.
The CLANGING of their shoes on the spiral staircase makes
three distinct tones based on the different weights and shoe
types of the three. Agata reaches the top first. She knocks
and puts her ear to the door.
AGATA
Pap?
She hears nothing from within the office. She turns the
doorknob and pushes the door open.
INT. HERNANDOS ATTIC OFFICE - NIGHT
The office is impeccably arranged and packed full of
bookshelves, filing cabinets, desks, and stacks of papers and
books. Faded pictures of old subways, printed schedules, and
train track maps cover every inch of exposed wall.
One of the computer monitors lays facedown on the floor
surrounded by a halo of broken glass.
36.
Agatas foot brushes what looks like a huge, squashed bug
made of electronics. Someone has stepped on a computer mouse
and splayed it open.
AGATA
Is this what they call signs of a
struggle?
Agatas voice quivers with fear. Turtle steps toward her.
He hesitates for a second before he places his hand on
Agatas shoulder.
TURTLE
Were here to find them.
Kincaid turns toward a wall where a large etching is hung in
an ornate frame. It depicts a statue of an angel falling
from the sky above bold black letters which read Parque Del
Buen Retiro, Madrid. Lucifer.
Kincaid shudders at the Satanic sight. He regains his
composure and directs his attention toward Agata.
KINCAID
And the surest way to find them is
to find the Conductors - cheese
and crackers!
TURTLE
Youre thinking of food now?
AGATA
Theres plenty in the kitchen down-
KINCAID
No no no. . .
Kincaid stares at a PLAIN WOODEN DOOR next to one of the
computer desks. The door is still in its frame and has
several scratches along the surface. A small NUMBER 13 is
written on the wood in black marker.
KINCAID (CONT'D)
Hernando, you crazy genius, you
actually made one.
TURTLE
A door?
KINCAID
Not just any door.
37.
Kincaid taps the door three times, then lifts it up from the
floor. He places the door back down, leans it against the
wall, and smiles.
KINCAID (CONT'D)
You cant make one of these without
a Conductors Key, so we know your
father definitely found one.
AGATA
He needed a special key just to
make that?
An open padlock hangs from a hasp on the door. Kincaid
removes the lock, turns the green brass handle with a CLICK,
and pushes the door open to reveal A MYTRO STATION which has
somehow materialized right there through the attic wall.
The entire station is gently slanted because of the angle of
the door to the wall. It is complete but quite small. A
gust of wind threatens to blow the door closed as a MYTRO
TRAIN storms down the tracks.
The train doors open with a DOUBLE CHIME that echoes through
the attic.
AGATA (CONT'D)
Some nights Id hear that bell,
that chime, from downstairs. I
just thought it was my fathers
work.
TURTLE
It was.
Agata smiles back at Turtle. She wipes a proud tear from her
cheek.
KINCAID
We need to find where your father
keeps his Key.
Kincaid closes the door. He places the padlock to the door
on one of Hernandos desks. The THUD of the padlock onto the
desk breaks the stations hypnotic spell over Turtle and
Agata.
TURTLE
Lets each take a stack of papers.
Turtle and Agata slide their backpacks off their shoulders
and place them on the floor.
38.
Kincaid, Agata, and Turtle each hunker down in front of a
stack of papers and begin to comb through the data.
CUT TO:
INT. MYTRO TUNNEL - NIGHT
Four-Eleven and an older Nayzun called TWO TWENTY-SEVEN cling
to the walls of the tunnel like large luminous insects. Four-
Eleven assists Two Twenty-Seven as he repairs the walls of
the tunnel with a dark material that glitters with starlight.
Four-Elevens body pulsates with BLUE LIGHT. A stream of
plasma from the Mytro pulls itself through Four-Eleven and
shoots into the darkness of the tunnel.
In his consciousness, Four-Eleven sees the plasma stretch all
the way to the City Hall station in New York.
CUT TO:
INT. CITY HALL MYTRO STATION, NEW YORK - DAY
Warren and Adams step through the station door and onto the
platform.
CUT TO:
INT. MYTRO TUNNEL - NIGHT
Four-Eleven sees the IMAGE OF WARREN take out a Mytro map.
THE IMAGE OF ADAMS points to the stations on the map. The
crackle of their presence cascades through the thread of
plasma and back to Four-Eleven like a fly in a spiders web.
Four-Eleven detaches himself from the tunnel wall. He falls
onto the skein of light and plasma that is the truest form of
the Mytro. He rides the waves and particles of the Mytro and
hurtles through the howling darkness of the wormhole.
CUT TO:
INT. HERNANDOS ATTIC OFFICE - NIGHT
Agata flips through a pile of papers. She stops at a paper
that is the color of weak tea. It has fine printing on the
edge and it is folded in half. A Post-it note in stuck in
the middle reads Para Agata.
39.
AGATA
Look at this!
Turtle and Kincaid step away from their piles of books and
papers and jostle toward Agata. She points to the Post-it
note.
AGATA (CONT'D)
For me.
Agata unfolds the paper to reveal an old Mytro map, different
from the one in her backpack. Its a topographic map that
shows surface detail with shaded colors. It depicts the area
around three large cities Vienna, Prague, and Budapest.
There is a small inscription in the corner: 15 AOT 1914.
AGATA (CONT'D)
Its French.
KINCAID
August 15th, 1914. An historical
date for the Mytratti. The Last
Conclave.
TURTLE
That sounds ominous.
KINCAID
It was meant to be benevolent. A
great sharing of information among
Mytratti throughout the world.
CUT TO:
INT. ABANDONED WATCH FACTORY, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - NIGHT
A group of 20 men of diverse nationalities sit at a large
round wooden table. Piles of papers, models, and gadgets are
scattered across the surface. The men engage in passionate
discussion.
KINCAID
(V.O.)
The First World War had begun, and
the Mytro was more important than
ever. But one member of the
Mytratti, a mystic named Frater
Perdurabo, refused to share what he
had discovered.
40.
FRATER PERDURABO sits at the table. A hood conceals most of
his face, and the table space in front of him is free of the
clutter found in front of the other Mytratti.
CUT TO:
INT. MANDURIA SPIAGGIA CIMITERO MYTRO STATION - NIGHT
Perdurabo sits within the smooth sandstone station. A gas
lamp provides the only illumination. His right ear is turned
toward the tunnel.
KINCAID
(V.O.)
Perdurabo had listened to Mytro for
decades. Those sounds, in the
tunnels, the melodic background
tones. He believed that sound
would allow him to harness the
Mytro.
CUT TO:
INT. ATTIC ABOVE FACTORY, MANDURIA, ITALY - NIGHT
Perdurabo sketches the designs for his creation in an almost
robotic motion. He doesnt look at the paper on which he
draws - the ideas appear to flow out of his body through the
charcoal with which he sketches.
KINCAID
(V.O.)
He envisioned a Key, the wards
controlled by clockwork. It would
send melodic, musical signals
through the Mytro that could stop
it, start it, control it.
Perdurabo sketches two Keys side-by-side. The CONDUCTORS
KEY is a long thin skeleton key topped by a clockwork control
system with a crown that could be wound like a watch. The
RAILMANS KEY is the very necklace worn by Agata.
KINCAID (CONT'D)
(V.O.)
The Conductors Key held the real
power, but the Railmans Key was
needed to wind and set it.
CUT TO:
41.
INT. HERNANDOS ATTIC OFFICE - NIGHT
Turtle and Agata trade glances at the mention of the
Railmans Key, still hidden beneath Agatas shirt.
CUT TO:
INT. ABANDONED WATCH FACTORY, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - NIGHT
Thirteen of the twenty Mytratti stand at the table and yell
out for Perdurabo to share his knowledge of the Keys.
Perdurabo sits in his chair, still as a statue. His dark
eyes peer out from beneath his hood but meet no others.
KINCAID
(V.O.)
Perdurabo made the Keys with his
own hands. When he saw how well
they worked, the power that they
could yield, he became frightened.
He wouldnt give his Keys or his
designs to the Mytratti.
CUT TO:
INT. MANDURIA SPIAGGIA CIMITERO MYTRO STATION - NIGHT
Perdurabo trudges across the empty station toward the Mytro
tunnel. He carries a locked wooden box under one arm. A
gust of wind picks up, and the darkness of the Mytro tunnel
swallows the hooded mystic and his wooden box.
KINCAID
(V.O.)
The more extreme members of the
Mytratti made threats, but
Perdurabo would not turn over his
creation. After the Conclave, he
was never seen or heard from again.
CUT TO:
INT. HERNANDOS ATTIC OFFICE - NIGHT
Turtle wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead. Agata takes
a deep breath. Kincaid steps back from the kids and the
special map theyve found. He looks down at them with a
smile.
42.
KINCAID
So you would agree that August
15th, 1914 is a rather significant
date to be written on that map.
Turtle and Agata both nod their heads in the YES direction.
TURTLE
Uh huh.
KINCAID
And if Hernando has found the
Conductors Key, you see why so
many dangerous men would be after
him?
AGATA
Uh huh.
KINCAID
Better study that map then. Uh
huh?
Agata opens up a drawer in one of her fathers desks and
pulls out a magnifying glass. She hunches over the map and
passes the magnifying glass across the page, inch by inch, in
every detail.
The lines on the map are drawn in different colored ink and
by different hands, and there are a few spots where the lines
stop and then start up again an inch or so away. Each of the
stops is marked with a tiny 13 and a set of letters.
AGATA
Look at this.
Agata stops the magnifying glass on the lower right edge of
the map over something that appears out of place. It is a
small note, scrawled in light pencil. It consists of a set
of letters and then five numbers, with two words underneath:
EQAFNUC 5, ITYAQGC, OQCDC 1, 12, 28, 8, 21
BUSCAR AQU
Agata points to the handwritten Buscar Aqu.
AGATA (CONT'D)
Thats my fathers handwriting. It
says Seek here.
43.
Kincaid stands behind the kids and closes his eyes. He takes
in a deep but silent breath through his nose.
KINCAID
Good eyes, Agata. You guys get to
work deciphering that code. I have
to make a quick phone call. Let
Nick and Nates Mom know not to
expect me back anytime soon.
Kincaid backs out of the room. His shoes clang against the
spiral staircase as he descends to the third floor living
room. Turtle and Agata remain fixated on the maps coded
message.
AGATA
What do we do with this?
Turtle motions toward the encrypted note.
TURTLE
Like it says, we seek here.
Turtle takes the map to one of Hernandos desks and sits
down. Agata follows him there. Turtle grabs a clean sheet
of paper and copies the numbers and letters with a pencil.
As he writes, he describes an observation about the map.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
Look to the left of the note on the
map. The word Cechy is
underlined twice, in the same ink
as the note. Keep that in mind.
Agata looks over Turtle shoulder. He points to the numbers
and letters of the code.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
These letters repeat, which makes
it a substitution cipher. One
letter takes the place of one
other. All you need to decode it
is the coded alphabet.
AGATA
How do you know this?
TURTLE
Im a poor kid on scholarship at a
rich kid school. I fill the gaps
in my social calendar by reading
about things like this.
44.
(MORE)
Write out the entire alphabet, A to
Z, in order.
Agata leans over beside Turtle and jots down the letters of
the alphabet several inches away from Turtles copy of the
coded note.
AGATA
What about the letters you dont
use in English, like the ee?
TURTLE
Theyre usually not included in
codes. You need to keep things
compact.
Turtle points to the OQCDC in the code, then to the circled
PRAGA on the map.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
What if these five letters refer to
the nearest city on the map,
Prague, which is called Praga in
Spanish.
Turtle fills in the letters for Praga beneath the last five
letters in the coded note.
OQCDC
PRAGA
TURTLE (CONT'D)
And then you transcribe these
letters to our alphabet.
Turtle writes the replacement letters under their
counterparts in Agatas alphabet.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
C D O Q
AGATA
The first letter is C. My father
underlined that word Cechy twice.
TURTLE
Lets fill it in.
Turtle fills in the letters of Cehy after the first C.
45.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
CEHY D O Q
AGATA
What about the second C in
Cechy?
TURTLE
In a Caesarean cipher, you dont
repeat letters. One-to-one
substitution.
AGATA
And the rest?
TURTLE
See how the writing is quick, like
he didnt have a lot of time to
make it overly complex? Just fill
in the rest with the remaining
letters of the alphabet, in order,
that we havent already used.
Agata picks out the remaining letters of the alphabet with
great care. She does not look up from her work as she
speaks.
AGATA
Right about now, Turtle, Im glad
those rich kids werent your
friends.
Turtle smiles at Agatas unexpected remark.
CUT TO:
INT. BARCELONA LA RAMBLA MYTRO STATION - NIGHT
A train rattle-clacks into the station. The doors open with
a DOUBLE CHIME. Adams steps out, followed by Warren. Warren
fumbles with the map and trails behind Adams. They head for
the iron door out of the station.
The train doors close with a SINGLE CHIME. The train rushes
out of the station with a cool blast of air.
Adams pulls the heavy iron door open.
FOUR-ELEVEN zooms out of the tunnel on a thread of plasma.
He lands on the platform a few feet behind Warren.
46.
Adams steps through the doorway and out into the alley.
Warren keeps his eyes fixed on the map as makes his way out
of the station.
Four-Eleven waves his long, thin arm in a wide arc.
The station door SLAMS closed. Warren looks up from his map.
He stuffs the map into his pocket and yanks on the iron
handle of the station door. Warren notices the flicker of
Four-Elevens blue light reflected on the station door.
Warren turns around and sees Four-Eleven. Warrens eyes pop
open, and the color drains from his frightened face.
A train pulls into the station and stops with a SCREECH.
Four-Eleven gestures toward the train with his long fingers.
The Nayzun speaks in a voice like the hiss of a wire brush on
steel.
FOUR-ELEVEN
This is your train.
Warren backs up against the iron door. He shakes his head as
he squeaks out his response.
WARREN
No!
FOUR-ELEVEN
You can board the train and it will
take you home. You will never ride
this train again. Or you can stay
here and fight.
Warren remains in place with his back against the door. His
panicked lungs suck in mouthfuls of air.
The train doors close with a CHIME.
Warren pulls his pistol from his shoulder holster and aims.
He squeezes the trigger and FIRES a bullet. Four-Eleven
shifts to the right. The bullet THUNKS into the side of the
departing train and splinters the wood molding.
Warren FIRES another round. Four-Eleven leaps up and clings
to the ceiling. An electrical energy CRACKLES between his
hands and the ceiling. A mechanical HOWLING noise fills the
station. Four-Eleven looks toward the tunnel.
Darkness from both ends of the tunnel pours into the small
station. It rolls over the trackbed and up onto the
platform. Warren watches in horror as the darkness laps at
his shoes.
47.
Four-Eleven crawls down the wall as Warren SCREAMS. The
Nayzun reaches out from the wall, grasps Warren by the wrist,
and lifts him up away from the encroaching blackness. Warren
drops his pistol into the darkness below his feet.
WARREN
Stop this!
FOUR-ELEVEN
The woman, the girls mother.
Where?
WARREN
Manduria, Italy. The refugee camp.
Shes not hurt.
FOUR-ELEVEN
And youre trying it as well?
WARREN
What? Trying what?
FOUR-ELEVEN
Theft. Slavery.
Four-Eleven releases Warrens wrist, and the man crumbles
onto the platform. The darkness rises up and engulfs Warren
in a black flood.
Four-Eleven scampers across the ceiling and falls atop an
arriving train. The trains wheels slosh through the
darkness like a streetcar through a puddle. The darkness
oozes off the train. It leaves no residue.
Four-Eleven watches the flood recede from the burnished
copper roof of the train. There is no trace of Warren left
on the platform.
CUT TO:
INT. HERNANDOS ATTIC OFFICE - NIGHT
Turtle and Agata both jot down letters on the piece of paper
in front of them. Once theyve completed their cipher
alphabet, they pull back from the paper and take an overview
of their work.
48.
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
CEHYABDFGIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXZ
TURTLE
Its a short code, but just long
enough to hide something.
Turtle scribbles out the rest of the code on their sheet of
paper.
EQAFNUC 5, ITYAQGC, OQCDC
BREHOVA 5, JUDERIA, PRAGA
Turtle looks at Agata. She reads out what she sees.
AGATA
Juderia.
TURTLE
The Jewish quarter.
AGATA
Most big cities in Europe have one.
TURTLE
Looks like well be visiting the
one in Prague. As soon as Mr.
Kincaid finishes his phone call.
Turtle folds up his decryption paper and places it inside his
backpack. He zips it up and slings it back over his
shoulder.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
(CALLING OUT)
Mr. Kincaid! Tell Nick and Nate-
Turtles words are cut off by the appearance of ADAMS in the
doorway of the office.
Agata puts her bursting backpack around her shoulders. She
notices that Turtle has stopped speaking. She looks toward
him. She follows his stupefied gaze toward Adams in the
doorway.
AGATA
Maleton!
Kincaid returns to the attic and steps out from behind Adams.
He holds up his hands toward Agata.
49.
KINCAID
Calma, Agata. Hes not here to
hurt you. He works for Mr. Goode.
Kincaid steps to the side to allow MR. GOODE to enter. Goode
is a middle-aged man with close-cropped hair. He carries a
stun gun whose silver barbs glint with menace in the
lamplight.
GOODE
Thats quite a set of stairs. Good
evening, children.
Turtles eyes fixate on Goodes stun gun. It lays in his
hand like a sleeping snake, hanging lazily as if Goode forgot
it was even there.
TURTLE
It doesnt look good from here.
GOODE
You have my assurance, Mr. Adams
here meant no harm.
Adams flashes a smarmy smile toward Turtle and Agata.
ADAMS
Trigger slipped.
AGATA
Three times.
GOODE
Now Agata, Paul, whats past is
past.
TURTLE
Seven bullets past her head.
Goode grins toward Kincaid.
GOODE
Thomas, you werent kidding when
you said this boy was clever. And
you certainly werent kidding about
this.
Goode widens his eyes and he strolls across the office toward
Hernandos special door. Goode gives the door three light
taps.
50.
GOODE (CONT'D)
Miss Llorente, your father is a man
of singular brilliance. I would
like to take you to him now, and to
your mother. If you can tell me
about the Key.
AGATA
Asqueroso!
TURTLE
Take us to her parents first.
GOODE
Your part in this is finished, Mr.
Fulton. From here on, you watch
from the sidelines, silently.
TURTLE
No until she sees her parents.
Goode turns his eyes toward Adams. He cricks his neck in
Turtles direction. Adams treads across the office and takes
a set of white PlastiCuffs out from his pocket. Kincaid
takes a step toward Adams.
KINCAID
Not too tight.
Adams smirks at Kincaid. He pulls the cuffs taut around
Turtles wrists. Agata looks toward Kincaid.
AGATA
My uncle called you his friend.
Kincaid is unable to respond. Adams cuffs Agatas wrists and
pushes her toward Goode. Kincaid takes a step toward Goode.
Adams glares in Kincaids direction.
GOODE
My dear Miss Llorente, we shall now
board the Mytro. I am certain that
you know where your fathers Key is
hidden. Once we are all aboard,
you will tell the Mytro where to
take us. If you do not bring me to
the Key, then I will tell the Mytro
where to take us. And you will not
like it there.
Goode struts toward Hernandos portable station door. He
opens the door with a flourish just as the next train roars
into view.
51.
GOODE (CONT'D)
My friends, our train has arrived.
INT. PORTABLE DOOR STATION - NIGHT
Goode leads the group across the small platform. Adams
steers Turtle and Agata with a hand clutched onto each of
their shoulders. Kincaids guilt slows his pace and keeps
him at the back of the queue.
Goode trills out a playful tune as the train clatters to a
stop. Adams shoves Turtle and Agata up to the side of the
train. The doors open with a DOUBLE CHIME, and FOUR-ELEVEN
reaches out to pull the children into the train.
The doors close with a SINGLE CHIME. Goode, Adams, and
Kincaid are left slack-jawed on the platform. They watch the
train tear out of the station.
CUT TO:
INT. MYTRO TRAIN CAR - NIGHT
Four-Eleven releases Turtle and Agata. The kids back away
from the Nayzun and stare up at him in both fear and wonder.
Four-Eleven speaks to them in a voice like a buzzing rattle.
FOUR-ELEVEN
Do not be afraid.
A BULLET rips through the train car and hits the wall with a
THUMP. The kids scream and get down on the floor.
Four-Eleven turns and sees Adams point his gun for a split
second before the train disappears into the tunnel.
TURTLE
Im sorry, but with bullets flying
and...you, we are very afraid.
FOUR-ELEVEN
You are safe now, from the bullets.
Turtle and Agata rise from the floor. They remain several
feet away from Four-Eleven as the train rackets through the
wormhole.
TURTLE
What do you want with us?
52.
FOUR-ELEVEN
I am Nayzun Number Four-Eleven.
AGATA
Nayzun. My father says you repair
the tunnels and maintain the
trains.
FOUR-ELEVEN
We are the ones who work.
TURTLE
Are you an...alien?
FOUR-ELEVEN
If it helps for you to think of me
as one, then I can be.
Turtle takes a moment to consider Four-Elevens statement.
TURTLE
No, that doesnt help.
FOUR-ELEVEN
But I am here to help.
AGATA
Thats what Mr. Kincaid said.
TURTLE
We just want to find her parents.
Can you help us with that?
FOUR-ELEVEN
Yes. But to get them back, you
must retrieve the Conductors Key.
TURTLE
You too? Everybody wants this Key.
FOUR-ELEVEN
Not for myself. I want you to have
the Key. You, and. . .Agata.
Four-Elevens body pulses with a white light when he says
Agatas name.
AGATA
You know my name?
FOUR-ELEVEN
Yes.
53.
Agatas fear dissipates. She smiles and takes one trusting
step toward Four-Eleven. Turtle follows her with a single
step.
TURTLE
And my name is Paul, Fulton.
AGATA
You can call him Turtle.
FOUR-ELEVEN
Turtle, Agata. The Mytro is
changing, and there are men who
would try to tame it while it is
weak.
TURTLE
Mr. Goode.
FOUR-ELEVEN
Have you learned where to find the
Key?
Turtle and Agata look at each other. Agata nods her head in
the Yes motion.
AGATA
Prague. Juderia.
Four-Eleven waves his hand. The train lurches forward and
seems to move faster. Turtle and Agata hold on to the wicker
seats to keep from falling over.
AGATA (CONT'D)
This train is not very steady.
FOUR-ELEVEN
It is not really a train. It is
Entropy. Endless Change. A field
of energy that we all move through.
This is your stop.
A brightly lit station materializes around the train like a
complex origami. The train stops alongside the platform, and
the doors open with a DOUBLE CHIME.
INT. STAR MESTO MOST KARLUV PRAGA MYTRO STATION - NIGHT
Turtle and Agata step out of the train and onto the platform.
Four-Eleven remains within the train. The kids notice that
the Nayzun has not followed them onto the platform. They
turn around and look toward him as he speaks.
54.
FOUR-ELEVEN
I cannot leave the station. In one
hour, I will meet you at the
portable door in your fathers
study. Those men are no longer
there.
AGATA
What will you do for the next hour?
FOUR-ELEVEN
Return to The Hangar, and work. We
are the ones who work.
TURTLE
Before you go back to work at The
Hangar. . .
Turtle holds up his ziptied hands.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
. . .can you untie us first?
The Nayzun holds up his own hands to reveal that he has no
thumbs.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
No thumbs. So youre not a
primate.
The train doors close with a SINGLE CHIME. The train rolls
away from the platform and into the tunnel.
AGATA
I have a little knife in my back
pocket.
Agata hops around and leans forward. Turtles face turns
bright red as he fishes the small pocket knife out of Agatas
back pocket. Agata hops back around and holds out her
ziptied hands. She looks at Turtles blushing face.
AGATA (CONT'D)
Are you okay?
TURTLE
Oh yeah. This is fun.
AGATA
Theyre shooting at us.
TURTLE
They keep missing.
55.
Agata throws her cut zipties to the ground. She takes the
knife and cuts Turtle loose from his cuffs. Both kids rub
their wrists as they walk across the platform toward two
small doors, each only three feet high.
The sign above the door to the left reads Na Karlove moste,
while Pod Karlovym mostem is written on the sign over the
door to the right.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
Have you learned any Czech at your
school?
AGATA
Not this year.
TURTLE
When in doubt, always go to the
right.
Turtle reaches out and opens the door to the right. A WALL
OF WATER rushes out of the door and into the trackbed. The
kids leap out of the way, and the door slams shut.
AGATA
Right was not right.
Turtle moves toward the door on the left. He pulls the door
open about a quarter inch. Nothing pours out, so he opens it
a bit further. Turtle steps into the doorway and waves Agata
through. The door closes behind them.
The station is empty for a moment. A new train arrives, and
a MAN IN A LONG RAINCOAT disembarks. He treks across the
platform, reads the two signs at the end, and takes the left
door out of the station.
CUT TO:
EXT. CHARLES BRIDGE, PRAGUE - NIGHT
The bridge is lined with tall sandstone statues of thirty
saints who look down over the dark brown river. Crowds of
tourists click pictures with cameras and cell phones while
hawkers on the bridge sell caricatures and jewelry.
Turtle and Agata walk across the bridge. Agata takes out her
cell phone and opens a map application. A virtual pin drops
to their location. Her phone DINGS with a new message.
TURTLE
Is that your uncle?
56.
AGATA
Its the phone company. They send
texts when you land in a new
country. What they think of me
getting from Spain to Prague in
three seconds I have no idea.
Turtle leans over and looks at the map on Agatas phone.
TURTLE
This is the Charles Bridge.
Brehova is that way.
Turtle points northeast over the Vltava River.
CUT TO:
EXT. OLD TOWN PRAGUE, BREHOVA STREET - NIGHT
Old Town Prague looks like a fairy tale with its ornate brick
buildings and leering gargoyles looking down over the cobbled
streets. Turtle and Agata look up at a line of white stone
buildings.
AGATA
Its there, the hotel.
Agata points to a large yellow and cream brick building
offset by bright white decorations. A tall blond DOORMAN
stands in front of the hotel. He holds the door open for
guests to enter.
AGATA (CONT'D)
Theres a Number 13 somewhere in
there.
TURTLE
How do we get past the doorman?
AGATA
Thats the easy part.
Agata grabs Turtles hand, and the two of them stroll across
the street into the light cast by the posh hotel. Turtle
glances down at his and Agatas hands, clasped together. The
Doorman looks down at the kids in his doorway.
DOORMAN
(In Czech)
Can I help you?
(In English)
Can I help you?
57.
AGATA
My grandmother is here.
DOORMAN
Is she a guest of the hotel?
AGATA
Of course.
DOORMAN
Then go to the front desk. They
can call her down for you.
INT. LOBBY, BREHOVA 5, HOTEL, PRAGUE - NIGHT
Turtle and Agata saunter hand-in-hand across the marble
floors of the brightly lit hotel lobby. Agata smiles wide
and surveys the area in search of the elevators.
AGATA
Easy, like I said. Ive stayed in
lots of these hotels.
TURTLE
Ive never stayed in any.
Agata leads Turtle to the elevators. She pushes the down
button.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
Down? Were on the first floor.
AGATA
Basement. Start at the bottom,
work our way up.
The elevator doors open with a curt DING.
CUT TO:
INT. BASEMENT, BREHOVA 5, HOTEL, PRAGUE - NIGHT
Turtle and Agata step out of the elevator and into the
basement. The entire floor is one large, mostly empty room
with a few smaller rooms at the far end. There are piles of
sheets and pillows dumped into big cloth bins.
The kids find a darker, wider, and older elevator door next
to the one they just exited.
58.
AGATA
Staff elevator?
Agata approaches the dark elevator door. She reaches out and
runs her finger over something scratched into the paint - a
NUMBER 13.
AGATA (CONT'D)
Bingo. . .is that the right word?
My Mom says it when she finds
something.
TURTLE
Bingo is right.
Turtle smiles at Agata and jams the down button on the dark
elevator. The doors open with a much lower, foreboding DONG.
Turtle steps back away from the dark elevator.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
I hope its Bingo.
Agata shakes her head and steps into the elevator.
CUT TO:
INT. SUB-BASEMENT, BREHOVA 5, HOTEL, PRAGUE - NIGHT
Turtle and Agata move out of the dark elevator and into the
quiet and dirty sub-basement. The kids see a door marked WC
to the left of the elevator, and then another room, its door
ajar.
Turtle and Agata peer into the open door and find a room
lined with lockers. Someone inside rustles about with a
duffel bag. The kids creep past the door and go deeper into
the cellar. The space is lit with bare light bulbs.
Turtle and Agata arrive at a large, wooden double door at the
end of the hall. Turtle reaches out to open the door but
finds it locked. Agata looks back along the right side of
the hall.
AGATA
Notice the room numbers?
TURTLE
There are no room numbers.
AGATA
Except that one.
59.
Agata points to a door with a small NUMBER 13 drawn in black
marker.
TURTLE
Its dark in here, anyone could
have missed it.
AGATA
Almost anyone.
Turtle marches toward the door marked with the 13. He gives
the door a good push and nearly falls in when the door opens
with little resistance.
INT. STOREROOM, SUB-BASEMENT, BREHOVA 5, HOTEL - NIGHT
Agata taps a button on her cell phone to turn on the built-in
flashlight. She sweeps the area in front of them with the
light.
Old leather chairs are stacked up in a jumble, and a set of
tablecloths look as if theyve seen too much tomato sauce. A
toilet flushes somewhere above, and the rush of water roars
through the pipes within the ceiling.
Turtle and Agata walk along a wall made of carefully cut
stone bricks. They step over several pieces of broken
furniture toward an area where the debris is cleared into
more orderly stacks.
AGATA
This is something my Dad would do,
clear up the broken furniture.
Remember how organized his office
was?
Turtle runs his hand along the brick wall as he walks. He
feels something out of place on the wall and stops moving.
TURTLE
Shine the light right here, on the
wall.
Agata aims the light toward Turtles hand. A set of bricks
within the wall are noticeably lighter in color than the
others, as if theyd been cleaned. The clean bricks formed
the shape of a letter A.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
A. . .Agata.
60.
Turtle presses one of the clean bricks into the wall. The
brick CLICKS back a bit with his touch. Turtle pushes the
rest of the bricks in until he has completed the A. The
wall begins to vibrate. Turtle steps back.
The wall rolls inwards and then back to reveal a NEW MYTRO
STATION made of long sheets of riveted polished steel. New
tracks are set into dark concrete and studded here and there
with a kind of glowing mineral.
Above the door the kids see a name etched into the metal:
AGATA STATION, PRAGUE.
INT. AGATA MYTRO STATION, PRAGUE - NIGHT
Turtle and Agata step into the bright new station. The wall
rolls back down behind them to seal the station. The kids
glance black at the wall as it closes. They make their way
across the platform.
AGATA
Over there.
Agata points to a METAL BOX on the ground. It sits against
the far wall at the end of the platform. The kids rush
toward the box and crouch down to inspect it. The box has a
close-fitting lid locked in place with a numbered dial.
TURTLE
The numbers.
Turtle unslings his backpack from his shoulder and takes out
his decryption paper. He reads off the numbers. Agata turns
the dial back and forth to the corresponding numbers.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
1, 12, 28, 8, 21.
Agata tugs on the lid. The kids look inside the box and find
a CONDUCTORS KEY. It has a fob that looks like a pocket
watch, and the length of the key is studded with dials and
buttons. It is so brightly polished that it seems to glow.
The Key sits on a soft silk pillow. Agata lifts the pillow
out of the box with the Key on top. Agata takes the Key off
the pillow and admires its craftsmanship. Turtle looks back
down into the box and sees something inside.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
Theres another one.
61.
An OLDER, DARKER CONDUCTORS KEY rests on the bottom of the
box. Turtle takes the older key out of the box.
The FAR STATION WALL behind them rolls outwards and then in.
The kids turn around and see the MAN IN A LONG RAINCOAT enter
the station. He wears gold spectacles on his face and a
beret over his head.
Turtle and Agata stuff the Keys into their backpacks. They
stand up and face the mysterious man in the raincoat. Turtle
takes a step behind Agata and reaches into her back pocket.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
Wheres that knife?
AGATA
Oye!
Turtle fishes the knife out of Agatas pocket. He steps in
front of Agata and brandishes the tiny tool like a samurai
sword.
TURTLE
Stay back! Im not afraid to use
this!
The man in the raincoat shoots his hands up into the air. He
speaks with a soft British accent.
MAN IN LONG RAINCOAT
Dont shoot, or rather, stab? My
names is Niles Partridge. I am a
friend of Hernandos.
TURTLE
Friend of Hernando, friend of
Ernesto, weve heard it all.
PARTRIDGE
Please, Agata, and...Agatas
friend. I am Hernandos assistant.
AGATA
Then why dont I know you?
PARTRIDGE
I work out of Cambridge. I keep
copies of his research there, safe
and out of the way. When I
couldnt reach Hernando I went to
his study, through the portable
door. I saw the old map, with the
code, and I followed it here.
62.
TURTLE
So you told Mr. Goode about the
code.
PARTRIDGE
Goode was not in the study when I
arrived, and were he there I would
most certainly never tell that man
anything.
Agata steps forward and places a hand on Turtles elbow.
AGATA
Turtle, I think he might be telling
the truth.
PARTRIDGE
Turtle? Im Partridge. Jolly good
then.
PARTRIDGE begins to lower his arms. Turtle slashes at the
air with the pocket knife. Partridge jolts his arms back up
in the air.
TURTLE
Show us whats under your coat. If
I see a gun, youre all done.
Partridge opens his coat and reveals a white button-down
shirt stained yellow near the collar. He pulls a notebook
out of his breast pocket and a wallet from his left pants
pocket. He takes a RED PEN out of his right pants pocket.
PARTRIDGE
Im a teacher.
Partridge points to the stain at his collar.
PARTRIDGE (CONT'D)
Thats a curry I ate for lunch.
Ive been in a bit of a panic.
TURTLE
Wheres your phone?
PARTRIDGE
Im one of the last not to have
one. I never liked them - nasty
business.
Turtle lowers the pocket knife.
63.
TURTLE
Alright.
Agata takes the knife away from Turtle and puts it back in
her pocket. Partridge crosses the platform and joins the
kids at the far wall. He motions toward their backpacks.
PARTRIDGE
May I see the Keys.
Turtle continues to eyeball Partridge with lingering
suspicion. He reaches into his backpack and takes out the
OLDER CONDUCTORS KEY. Partridge shakes his head in
reverence.
PARTRIDGE (CONT'D)
The original Perdurabo Key.
Agata removes the NEW CONDUCTORS KEY from her backpack and
holds it out for Partridge to admire.
PARTRIDGE (CONT'D)
And your fathers Key. He used it
to make this station, and the
portable door. Hernando has a mind
like no other.
TURTLE
Weve heard a lot of that today.
PARTRIDGE
You can control the trains with
those. Start them, stop them, send
them to any station, regardless of
what the rider wants. Do you have
the Railmans Key, to wind and set
them?
Agata pulls the Railmans Key out from under her shirt. She
turns the New Key around and finds a jagged groove in the
back of the fob where the coin on her necklace would fit.
She gives the Key several good winds.
The Key comes to life in Agatas hand. It ticks like some
kind of metal bug trapped in a jar. Agata flinches a bit at
the newly energized device in her hand.
CUT TO:
64.
INT. THE HANGAR - NIGHT
Four-Eleven communicates with a group of older Nayzuns.
Their conversation is a series of melodic rings and rattles,
the soundtrack of The Hangar. Their bodies pulsate with
delicate light synced to the rhythm of their conversation.
Four-Elevens body blazes with white light like a flare. An
IMAGE OF THE CONDUCTORS KEY flashes through his
consciousness. Four-Eleven steps away from the elder Nayzuns
and rushes toward the tunnel.
CUT TO:
INT. AGATA MYTRO STATION, PRAGUE - NIGHT
Turtle finishes winding the Old Conductors Key with the coin
from Agatas necklace. He hands the winder back to Agata and
examines the watch-like fob at the top of his Key.
TURTLE
Why do you need the Railmans Key?
Couldnt you just wind them with
any coin or piece of strong metal.
PARTRIDGE
Give it a try?
Turtle reaches into his pocket and takes out a nickel. He
pops the coin over each of his knuckles for a quick coin walk
before he tries to wind the Old Key. Partridge nods his
head. Agata rolls her eyes at Turtles showboating.
Turtle positions his nickel over the jagged hole in the back
of the Old Key. The nickel should easily fit into the space.
Turtle pushes the nickel in, and the Key SNAPS out an
electric spark. Turtle yanks the nickel out of the groove.
TURTLE
Ow!
Turtle drops the Old Key, but Partridge catches it before it
hits the ground. Partridge smiles at Turtle and he hands the
Old Key back to him.
PARTRIDGE
Railmans Key only.
TURTLE
Okay...what about this button at
the top?
65.
Turtle places his thumb over the GOLD BUTTON at the top of
the key fob.
PARTRIDGE
That button controls the trains,
and this knob here on the side is
for building. But please, do not
press or turn anything until its
time to use them.
A train whooshes into the station. The kids zip up their
backpacks and sling them over their shoulders. The train
doors open with a DOUBLE CHIME. Partridge motions toward the
train.
PARTRIDGE (CONT'D)
Shall we?
Turtle and Agata enter the train, and Partridge follows. The
doors close with a SINGLE CHIME.
INT. MYTRO TRAIN CAR - NIGHT
The trio take the first three seats near the door. Turtle
sits in the protective spot between Agata and Partridge.
AGATA
Barcelona, the portable door.
The train rolls into the dark. The window glass rattles in
its frame as the train picks up speed. Partridge taps his
foot on the wooden floor.
The clatter of the train stops, and everything freezes in
place. The gas lamps flicker off and leave the trio in the
dark.
TURTLE
What did you do?
PARTRIDGE
Not a thing.
AGATA
Everyone just, sit still.
Agatas voice cracks a bit with fright. A cold blue glow is
cast over the train. The train doors open with a DOUBLE
CHIME. Four-Elevens upside down head appears in the
doorway.
66.
PARTRIDGE
Oh, bother. . .
Four-Eleven climbs down from the top of the train and enters
the car. His bioluminescent skin lights the dark train in a
bluish tint. Partridge cowers at the site of the
otherworldly being.
FOUR-ELEVEN
I have stopped the train.
AGATA
We were going back to the portable
door, like you said.
PARTRIDGE
You know this...individual?
AGATA
Niles Partridge, Nayzun Number Four-
Eleven.
PARTRIDGE
Nayzun? I was never certain they
existed. Your father and I
disagreed on the matter.
TURTLE
You lose.
FOUR-ELEVEN
We have a new destination.
The gas lamps light up, and the train jerks forward once
again in motion. Partridge grips the sides of his wicker
seat to keep from falling forward. He takes out his notebook
and scribbles furious notes as he observes the Nayzun.
FOUR-ELEVEN (CONT'D)
I have spoken to the elder Nayzuns.
We must keep those men out of The
Breach.
AGATA
The Breach?
67.
PARTRIDGE
It was your fathers chief concern.
An enormous station, beneath
Barcelona, the size of the entire
city. It was built with a Key,
just like the station in Prague.
CUT TO:
INT. THE BREACH - DAY
The colossal cavern stretches out for miles in all
directions. A slow CRACKING noise echoes through the empty
space. A stone falls from the high ceiling and makes a small
crater on the cinder floor below.
PARTRIDGE
(V.O.)
But it was never completed. The
Civil War of the 1930s ended
everything. And now Mr. Goode has
designs on The Breach for heaven-
knows-what reason.
CUT TO:
INT. MYTRO TRAIN CAR - NIGHT
Partridge looks at Four-Eleven for some kind of validation of
his assessment. Four-Eleven shows no reaction.
TURTLE
Thats why he wants the Keys, to
complete The Breach, the way
Agatas father made that station in
Prague.
PARTRIDGE
But The Breach is too large, its
unstable. It could destroy the
entire city.
Agata turns to Four-Eleven.
AGATA
Are were still going to Barcelona?
FOUR-ELEVEN
Italy. Their plan begins in Italy.
That is where your family is held.
68.
(MORE)
Find them there, and keep those men
from entering The Breach.
Four-Eleven waves his arm. The train slows down and pulls
into a sandstone station. The sign above the rough-hewn door
reads Manduria Spiaggia, Cimitero. Partridge reads the
sign with an air of dread.
PARTRIDGE
Cimitero. That means cemetery.
Delightful.
INT. MANDURIA SPIAGGIA CIMITERO MYTRO STATION - NIGHT
Partridge and the kids walk out of the Mytro train and onto
the platform. The only decoration on the walls of the
station is a tile inlay map of Italy with a golden dot at the
heel of the boot-shaped peninsula.
Four-Eleven stands in the doorway of the train and addresses
the trio. They turn around to listen to the Nayzun.
FOUR-ELEVEN
We will meet again when your work
here is complete. I cannot leave
the station.
TURTLE
So you go back to The Hangar again?
FOUR-ELEVEN
We are the ones who work.
AGATA
I dont like the way you say that.
As if the work is not your choice.
FOUR-ELEVEN
Choice is irrelevant. We are the
ones who work.
TURTLE
Choice is always relevant.
The train doors close in front of Four-Eleven with a SINGLE
CHIME. The train clatters out of the station.
CUT TO:
69.
FOUR-ELEVEN (CONT'D)
EXT. OPEN PLAIN NEAR THE BEACH, MANDURIA, ITALY - NIGHT
Partridge leads the kids out of the Mytro station and onto
the grassy surface of a low hill near a thin, gray beach.
Seagulls caw overhead, and a spray of cold, wet air hits
Partridge and the kids as they walk.
Turtle looks back as the door closes behind him. He sees a
small NUMBER 13 etched into the sandstone of the station
door.
The trio look inland and find a massive field of BLUE PLASTIC
TENTS. A fence of thin slats wired together surrounds the
field of tents. Piles of garbage and plastic bags swirl up
into little eddies of wind throughout the camp.
Tufts of smoke rise up over the protracted rows tents which
create an expanse of blue. Ten thousand men, women, and
children move from one tent to the other and call out in a
singsong language.
PARTRIDGE
West African refugees, Nigerian I
believe. They seek asylum from the
Civil War back home. But Italy
cant take them in. Nasty business
indeed.
The only light in the camp comes from winking lights that
twinkle between the blue plastic shelters An unexpected
chorus of CHEERS and WHISTLES fills the air. The sudden
burst of noise makes the trio pause for just a moment.
As they approach the fence, they see a THREE-STORY WOODEN
STRUCTURE about a hundred meters away. It is cobbled
together with pallets and painted bright red. In blaze
yellow, slathered on the side wall, is the NUMBER 13.
TURTLE
Once again - Bingo.
Agata smiles at Turtles callback.
The trio move along the edge of the tent city. A few white
trucks idle by a main road barred with a gate and checkpoint.
Agata points to an opening in the fence where the slats are
cracked at the base and the wire is pushed out of the way.
Turtle and Agata scuttle through the fence with little
trouble. The tall Mr. Partridge hunches over into a comical
pigeon walk in order to fit through the narrow opening.
70.
EXT. REFUGEE CAMP TENT CITY, MANDURIA, ITALY - NIGHT
The trio cuts through the aisle between tents. Weak LED
lamps outside each tent light their way. Agata shivers in
the chill night air. She rubs her hands over her arms.
AGATA
Its so cold here.
Farther down the aisle, several families huddle around a
television powered by an unseen gas generator. Partridge
squints his eyes and peers toward the television.
PARTRIDGE
Theyre watching a football match -
soccer to you Americans. Thats
what they were cheering for.
Theyll be glued to those sets for
the next hour. No one will pay us
any-
BOYS VOICE
(O.S.)
Are you looking for someone?
The trio jumps around in a fright. They find a 14 year old
NIGERIAN BOY standing outside one of the tents. The boy
wears an old taped-up parka over a long-sleeve shirt and
jeans that are a bit big on him.
NIGERIAN BOY
You are American?
TURTLE
Yes.
PARTRIDGE
No. English.
AGATA
Spanish.
NIGERIAN BOY
Nigerian. Ehioze.
TURTLE
Ehioze? Whats that?
EHIOZE
My name.
71.
TURTLE
Oh, well, mines Turtle.
EHIOZE
Like the reptile.
TURTLE
Only not as fast.
The bright-eyed EHIOZE smiles at Turtles joke and puts the
trio a bit more at ease. Agata steps toward him to shake his
hand. She introduces herself and points to Partridge.
AGATA
Agata Llorente. Niles Partridge.
Ehioze looks toward Partridge.
EHIOZE
Are you Red Cross?
PARTRIDGE
Im afraid not.
AGATA
Were looking for my parents. We
think theyre in there.
Agata points toward the three-story red structure.
EHIOZE
Building 13? That is a bad place.
AGATA
My parents are not there by choice.
Ehioze nods his head in understanding.
EHIOZE
Then I will show you a way in.
TURTLE
Thank you.
Ehioze looks toward Partridge again.
EHIOZE
Is this your father?
Partridge shakes his head with an amused snort.
72.
PARTRIDGE
Just a family friend. Is your
father here?
EHIOZE
Its just me and my mother here.
PARTRIDGE
A terrible thing-
Another chorus of CHEERS resonates through the camp.
EHIOZE
Football. I dont care so much,
but everyone else does.
AGATA
Were counting on that.
Ehioze leads the trio through the rows of tents. He looks
around a corner to be sure it is safe. He shepherds the
visitors across a dark aisle past a row of kiosks.
One man stands at his stall and looks into his cell phone.
The glow of the bright screen shines on his face. The man
looks up at Ehioze.
Turtle, Agata, and Partridge shrink back into the shadows.
Ehioze waves at the man.
EHIOZE
(In the Hausa language)
Any money on the game?
The man GRUNTS at Ehioze and looks back down at his cell
phone.
Ehioze brings the trio close to the bunker-like central
building. It is made of wooden pallets nailed together
around a steel and concrete frame. The red paint is chipped,
and ARMED GUARDS stand at the front entrance.
EHIOZE (CONT'D)
One of those guards is my friends
older brother. He is very mean.
Ehioze takes them to a break in the makeshift wall along the
side of the building. The trio slip inside through the
broken wall.
CUT TO:
73.
INT. STAIRWELL, BUILDING NUMBER 13 - NIGHT
Ehioze leads the trio up a flight of stairs to the second
floor. The CHUGGING sounds of a diesel generator fill the
air. The only other noise seems to be scattered voices on
the third floor.
INT. THIRD FLOOR LANDING, BUILDING NUMBER 13 - NIGHT
The group arrives at the third floor landing. They creep
toward a half-open door to a room that seems to be the source
of the voices. They crouch down toward the floor. Agata
looks inside. She puts her hand over her mouth.
CUT TO:
INT. GOODES OFFICE, BUILDING NUMBER 13 - NIGHT
Mr. Goode paces around a dark wooden desk within his warm and
richly appointed office. Kincaid and Adams stand near a
window covered by a thick red curtain. CLAIRE and ERNESTO
sit in wooden chairs with their wrists tied in plastic cuffs.
GOODE
Its nothing the Mytro hasnt
transported before, only now well
have a more permanent presence,
with a factory, in The Breach. All
the machines, all of the human
resources, taking up no real estate
in our reality.
A tall object shaped like a door and covered by a canvas
sheet leans against the far wall. Another similar object,
covered in blue plastic, leans against the wall near the
window.
ERNESTO
Goode, youre not listening. The
Breach is too big, too unstable.
It will break through the Mytro
space and into ours, and it will
destroy the entire city.
THREE OTHER ARMED MEN in Goodes employ take up posts in
different corners of the room. One of the men is MARTIN. He
smiles at Ernesto and points to his eye socket - a reference
to his credit for the SWOLLEN BLACK EYE on Ernestos face.
74.
GOODE
We will stabilize it, complete it,
once the Key is in our possession.
But we can put the initial phases
of our plan into motion without it.
CLAIRE
Initial phase - its inhuman.
GOODE
Its job creation.
CLAIRE
Its slavery.
GOODE
Nonsense. Who else is doing
anything for these people? Italy
doesnt want them, and theyd be
killed back in their own country.
I offer them a new country, a
chance to share in an historic
venture. We will drive the other
manufacturers out of business, and
theyll never know where our
products are coming from. Well
start with clothing, then well
move into electronics. We can
build other Breaches. We make a
million pieces here, a million
pieces there. Well flood each
market, control it, and these
people will have comfortable lives
to boot.
ERNESTO
Comfortable? Theyll be prisoners.
Without maps theyll be lost in the
tunnels if they ever want to leave.
GOODE
They wont want to leave.
Ernesto closes his eyes. He shakes his head in disgust at
Goodes arrogant certainty.
ERNESTO
Have you even considered the Mytro
itself? Do you really think it
will allow this?
75.
GOODE
The Mytro is changing. It is
weakened. Now is the time to take
control of it.
ERNESTO
You know how has the Mytro responds
to control? With fire.
CUT TO:
INT. ANCIENT ROMAN MYTRO STATION - DAY
A large CHARIOT built for four horses and carved with
exquisite detail sits alone within the station.
ERNESTO
(V.O.)
When Crassus of Rome, the richest
man in the world, defeated the
slave uprising, his next move was
into the Mytro, to turn his army
against his rivals. The Mytro
responded with fire.
A torrent of flames rushes out of the tunnel and engulfs the
glorious chariot.
CUT TO:
INT. MEDIEVAL MONGOLIAN MYTRO STATION - DAY
A long TENTED WAGON lingers within the station. The tent is
the signature yurt of the nomadic Mongols, and this one is
large and sturdy enough for the Khan himself.
ERNESTO
(V.O.)
When Genghis Khan crushed the
armies of Asia, he was counting on
the Mytro to help him take Europe.
The Mytro responded with fire.
Tongues of fire sweep out of the tunnel and burn the imperial
yurt to a cinder.
CUT TO:
76.
INT. BARCELONA LA RAMBLA MYTRO STATION - DAY
A Bilbao ARMORED CAR idles within the station. The fierce
and sturdy-looking vehicle awaits its next violent mission.
ERNESTO
(V.O.)
When atrocities mounted on both
sides of the Spanish Civil War, the
Mytro responded with fire upon
fire. More than fifty years would
pass before anyone dared to enter
the stations again.
An intense inferno erupts within the station. It melts the
armored war vehicle down to a molten puddle.
CUT TO:
INT. GOODES OFFICE, BUILDING NUMBER 13 - NIGHT
Goode looks down at Ernesto and smiles.
GOODE
Ernesto, why try to frighten us
with your scary Mytro ghost
stories? There are no children
here.
INT. THIRD FLOOR LANDING, BUILDING NUMBER 13 - NIGHT
Agata listens to Goodes master plan with eyes full of anger
and disgust. A LARGE HAND lands on her left shoulder. Agata
looks up and finds that MARTIN has a hold of her.
MARTIN
And just who might you be?
AGATA
Red cross?
Martin clamps his other hand down Agatas other shoulder. As
he pulls her toward the office door, he notices the three
other members of Agatas party crouched down along the wall.
AGATA (CONT'D)
Turtle, run!
TURTLE
But-
77.
AGATA
Now!
Turtle and Ehioze scamper down the stairs. Partridge rushes
forward and grabs Martin by the elbows.
PARTRIDGE
Unhand that girl, this instant!
Martin glares back at Partridge with an intimidating sneer.
PARTRIDGE (CONT'D)
Please?
Adams and the two other armed men run out of the office.
Adams sees Agata held by Martin and hears the ECHOING
FOOTSTOMPS of Turtle and Ehioze on the stairs. Adams motions
for his two colleagues to chase after the boys.
Partridge sticks out his leg and trips the first man who
rushes toward the stairs. The man falls over and rolls
headlong down the rest of the first set of stairs. The
second man grabs Partridge by the collar.
INT. GOODES OFFICE, BUILDING NUMBER 13 - NIGHT
Martin drags Agata into the office. Agata slips out of
Martins grip and runs to her mother.
AGATA
Mama!
Agata wraps her arms around her mother and squeezes. With
her wrists still cuffed, Claire is unable to hug her daughter
in return.
AGATA (CONT'D)
Te quiero, Mama!
CLAIRE
Agata, mi cielo!
CUT TO:
EXT. REFUGEE CAMP TENT CITY, MANDURIA, ITALY - NIGHT
Ehioze leads Turtle on a zigzag route through the maze of
tents and stalls. The boys run and turn and pivot from one
aisle to the next like a pair of springboks evading a hungry
leopard.
78.
Ehioze pulls the flap of his home tent open. Turtle ducks
inside. Ehioze follows him in.
CUT TO:
INT. EHIOZES TENT - NIGHT
The interior of the tent is only five feet wide and ten feet
long. Turtle leans down with his hands clasped around his
knees. He struggles to catch his breath after the run of his
life.
TURTLE
Ive never run that fast in my
life. I couldve beaten the
Kincaid twins, even if they
cheated.
EHIOZE
The guards will be all around the
fence. Theyll get you as soon as
you try to leave, no matter how
fast you run.
TURTLE
Maybe theres another way out.
Turtle slings his backpack off his shoulder and reaches
inside. He pulls out the OLD CONDUCTORS KEY and CLICKS the
tiny knob on the side of the large fob.
The boys look through holes punched into the case and watch
the enmeshed gears click through each other. The Key begins
to HUM, and a gentle TUNE emanates from within the fob.
EHIOZE
A music box is your way out?
TURTLE
Something Mr. Kincaid said, about
harnessing the Mytro, through
musical tones.
Turtle hums along to the tune of the Key. Ehioze joins him.
He smiles as he recognizes the music.
EHIOZE
Its an old song from Hausaland.
My uncle has played it. Keep
humming along.
Ehioze thinks for a moment while he hums along with Turtle.
79.
EHIOZE (CONT'D)
What if we tried to play this song,
with instruments. Maybe thats how
you harness it.
TURTLE
I didnt bring my trumpet with me.
EHIOZE
But you do play?
TURTLE
Not since the sixth grade. I
wasnt very good.
EHIOZE
Ill get my uncles instruments.
Hes watching the football match,
he wont even notice theyre gone.
Ehioze runs out of the tent. Turtle hums along with the tune
of the Key. He glances back and forth between the flap of
the tent and the fob of the Key, uncertain which one will
deliver him from his predicament.
CUT TO:
INT. GOODES OFFICE, BUILDING NUMBER 13 - NIGHT
Partridge is seated in a chair next to Ernesto. Adams places
plastic cuffs around his wrists. The corner of Partridges
mouth is bruised by a hard punch from the man he tripped down
the stairs.
Agata sits in a chair next to her mother. Kincaid takes her
backpack from her shoulders. Martin zipties her wrists
together. Kincaid reaches for the zipper on the backpack but
is distracted by Martins rough handling of Agatas cuffs.
KINCAID
Take it easy, would you.
AGATA
Where is Pap?
GOODE
Truth be told, dear girl, weve
never had him. Hes in the Mytro,
somewhere, either hiding, or lost.
80.
CLAIRE
He could never get lost in there.
Agata, when we knew they were
coming for us, I told Pap to run.
He didnt want to leave me, but one
of us had to stay back, for you. I
put the maps in your backpack in
case you ever needed to escape, on
your own.
GOODE
I knew that Hernando would leave a
trail of breadcrumbs for you to
find those Keys, so why should we
fumble through his notes and papers
when you could find it for us? Mr.
Kincaid first suggested it. He
said you were smart enough to
decipher your fathers notes, yet
still young and therefore foolish
enough to trust him. Especially
after all of that dramatic gunfire.
Kincaid tears open the zipper to Agatas backpack and pulls
out the flashy NEW CONDUCTORS KEY. He stomps toward Goode
and slaps the Key into his hand.
GOODE (CONT'D)
And the winder?
Kincaid grabs a pair of scissors from Goodes desk. He trots
back to Agatas chair, reaches under her collar, and pulls
out the leather string. Kincaid cuts the string with the
scissors and removes the Railmans Key from Agatas neck.
Kincaid clomps back toward Goode and slaps the winder into
his hand.
KINCAID
There, you have your Key, and the
winder. Now let the kid go. I
agreed to trick her into finding
it. I did not agree to kidnapping
a child.
GOODE
Thomas, would you still like to
receive your fee for services?
KINCAID
Yes.
81.
GOODE
Then do not ever give me an order.
I will decide when her part is
finished, as well as yours. In
fact, I have someplace special to
take her, and the others. Ernesto,
youll appreciate the novelty of
this place.
ERNESTO
Te voy a romper la cara a
trompadas.
GOODE
Indeed.
CUT TO:
INT. EHIOZES TENT - NIGHT
Ehioze runs back into the tent with a musical instrument in
each hand. One looks like painted aluminum TRUMPET while the
other resembles an exotic OBOE. Ehioze hands the painted
trumpet to Turtle.
EHIOZE
That is a kakaki, its like a
trumpet. I will play the algaita.
Ehioze raises the exotic-looking oboe when he says the word
algaita. The boys hold the instruments up to their faces
and listen to the tune that hums out of the Key.
EHIOZE (CONT'D)
Do you have the tune?
TURTLE
Kind of.
EHIOZE
What are you expecting to happen?
TURTLE
This...guy might show up
whos...kind of an, alien.
EHIOZE
Really?
TURTLE
Lets just play.
82.
The boys begin to play their instruments. They struggle to
match the tune at first. After a few seconds, they find the
right notes and manage to harmonize with the Key.
Out of the shadow in the corner of the tent, the faint
outline of a MYTRO STATION assembles itself out of empty
space. Tracks materialize right on the ground. Ehioze
widens his eyes but manages to keep playing his algaita.
A train rolls over the tracks like a ghost in the LED light,
all of it far too large to fit inside the small tent. Only
the middle section of the train is visible to them, while the
front and back are obscured by the walls of the tent.
The front flap of the tent flutters in the wind, and the
station flickers. The tent, for a moment, is back and the
station is gone. The flap falls back down, and the Mytro
reappears.
Turtle and Ehioze stop playing. They lower their instruments
and stare at the miraculous station. Turtle clicks the knob
on the side of the Key to stop the music.
EHIOZE
Is this magic?
TURTLE
No, its something else.
The train doors open with a DOUBLE CHIME. Turtle puts the
Key and the two musical instruments inside his backpack. He
steps toward the doorway of the train car and looks back at
Ehioze.
EHIOZE
If I leave the camp, I could be
deported.
TURTLE
No onell see you leave from here.
Ehioze steps into the inexplicable train car. The doors
close with a SINGLE CHIME.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
Barcelona. Agatas house. The
portable door.
The train lurches across the tracks and out of the station.
The station flickers and fades from sight.
83.
TWO OF GOODES MEN burst through the flap of the tent. They
survey the empty tent and shake their heads in frustration.
CUT TO:
INT. HERNANDOS ATTIC OFFICE - NIGHT
Turtle and Ehioze step through the portable door into
Hernandos office. Both boys wobble a bit as they step out
of the slanted door and into the un-slanted office. The boys
grab each others arms for support.
EHIOZE
We are really in Spain right now?
TURTLE
This is Agatas house. We need a
Mytro map. The one we were using
is in Agatas backpack.
Turtle hops toward the desk where he left the map that held
Hernandos coded message. The map is a detailed picture of
EUROPE. Turtle looks at Ehioze.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
Look for a map of Africa, so we can
help the people in the camp. Start
with that pile.
Turtle points toward the pile where he and Agata found the
map of Europe. Ehioze rummages through the papers in search
of the appropriate map.
Turtle studies the map of Europe. He finds the number 411
written in Russia, just outside Moscow. Turtle shakes his
head and continues to study the map. He sees a hand written
note near the bottom left corner if the map - The Hangar.
Ehioze springs up from the pile of papers with a map in his
hand. He rushes toward Turtle.
EHIOZE
Got it.
Turtle glances at the map. He nods his head and takes the
map from Ehioze.
TURTLE
Thats a Mytro map.
Turtle places the maps inside his backpack.
84.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
Now we have to find Four-Eleven,
the alien...but hes not really an
alien, I think. He works on the
trains, hell help us with The
Breach.
EHIOZE
I understood very little of what
you just said.
The sound of a train clanking into the station comes through
the open portable door. The DOUBLE CHIME indicates that the
train doors have opened.
TURTLE
Theres our train, Ill explain on
the way.
Turtle takes a step toward the portable door. He stops mid-
stride when he sees ADAMS clomping his heavy shoes across the
stone floor of the station. Turtle reaches in to pull the
door closed. Adams raises his pistol and aims.
Turtle yanks the door closed and holds onto the green brass
handle. Three bullets SLAM into the door above Turtles
head.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
The lock! Is the padlock on the
desk?!
Ehioze runs toward the desk and scans the items on top of it.
The portable door shakes and slants inward as Adams tries to
pull it open from the other side. Turtle holds onto the door
handle and crouches down to dig his feet into the floor.
Ehioze finds the lock and hurries toward Turtle. He places
the padlock in the hasp of the door. Turtle lets go of the
handle.
Ehioze runs back toward he desk. He picks up the desk chair
and carries it back toward the door. Ehioze positions the
chair under the brass handle. The door continues to shake
and clatter as Adams continues to yank from the other side.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
We can go to another station. But
we shouldnt leave this year.
85.
EHIOZE
The door?
CUT TO:
INT. TOP OF THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE, AGATAS HOUSE - NIGHT
Turtle and Ehioze drag the heavy portable door out of the
office and onto the landing between the office door and the
top of the staircase. The door is wrapped in multiple layers
of packing tape with extra thick layers around the center.
Ehioze cranes his neck to look down the wrought iron spiral
staircase.
EHIOZE
Why cant your alien friend help us
with this?
TURTLE
He cant leave the stations.
EHIOZE
Convenient for him.
The boys pull the door onto the first step with a loud CLANG.
CUT TO:
INT. GOODES OFFICE, BUILDING NUMBER 13 - NIGHT
Goode removes the blue plastic from the door near the window.
The door is weathered and worn as if its been exposed to the
elements for a hundred years. He turns toward his captives
and makes a sweeping gesture toward the old door.
GOODE
I am no Hernando Llorente, so I did
not build my portable doors, I
merely found them. These were made
by Perdurabo himself, and this one
leads to a very unique place in the
Mytro, where the trains do not
stop.
Goode signals for Martin and the two other armed men to move
the captives toward the door. Martin and one other man pull
Ernesto off his chair and shove him toward the door. Agata,
Claire, and Partridge rise from their chairs.
86.
GOODE (CONT'D)
One way in.
Goode opens the door. Three guttering gas lamps cast a weak
light over the cinder floors of the empty cave within.
GOODE (CONT'D)
No way out.
Martin shoves Ernesto through the door and into the cave.
The other two armed men push Partridge, Claire, and Agata in
after Ernesto. Claire and Agata crouch down next to Ernesto.
Partridge looks back as the old portable door slams shut.
CUT TO:
INT. AGATAS HOUSE, THIRD FLOOR LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The wrapped portable door rests at the bottom of the spiral
staircase. Turtle and Ehioze lean against the wall and catch
their breath. They both drink from bottles of water and much
on cookies from the kitchen.
EHIOZE
You didnt mention, that we were on
the third floor.
TURTLE
They rent out the first two floors.
Ehioze takes one more bite of his cookie.
EHIOZE
Alright.
Ehioze swigs down the last of the water in his bottle. He
places the bottle on the floor and grabs hold of the door
once again.
EHIOZE (CONT'D)
When were out of the house, then
no more stairs?
TURTLE
No more stairs.
Turtle and Ehioze drag the heavy door across the living room
floor.
87.
TURTLE (CONT'D)
Just a bit of a walk to the next
station.
CUT TO:
INT. OUBLIETTE ITALIANO - NIGHT
Agata and Claire help Ernesto to his feet as best they can
with their wrists ziptied together. They turn and look to
where the door used to be. Instead of a door, they find a
sign that reads Oubliette Italiano.
PARTRIDGE
Oubliette. Ivanhoe, Queen
Margot...
ERNESTO
A dungeon, where you put people to
forget about them.
AGATA
Turtle wont forget about us.
CLAIRE
Agata, do you still have your
pocket knife?
AGATA
That big matn, Mr. Martin, took it
from me.
ERNESTO
I have a house key in my pocket.
Agata reaches into her uncles pocket and pulls out a key
chain.
ERNESTO (CONT'D)
Let Niles do it.
Agata hands the keys to Partridge. Partridge goes to work
cutting through Ernestos plastic cuffs with the dull house
key.
PARTRIDGE
Did you know that your niece has a
friend of the Nayzun variety?
Ernesto looks down at Agata and smiles through the discomfort
of his zipties.
88.
CLAIRE
And who exactly is this Turtle boy?
CUT TO:
EXT. LA RAMBLA, BARCELONA - NIGHT
Turtle and Ehioze lug the wrapped door past the Restaurante
de Julio. A party of late night diners exit the restaurant
and puzzle over the sight of two teenage boys schlepping a
door down La Rambla at this hour of the night.
CUT TO:
INT. BARCELONA LA RAMBLA MYTRO STATION - NIGHT
The boys haul the door across the platform. A train arrives,
and the doors open with a DOUBLE CHIME. Turtle and Ehioze
drag the door into the train car. Before the doors even
close, Turtle announces his intended destination.
TURTLE
The Hangar.
Ehioze appears unnerved by the sound of The Hangar. The
train pitches forward into the tunnel.
CUT TO:
INT. THE HANGAR - NIGHT
The barest hint of light, like a cloudy sunrise, surrounds
the train. As if passing through a glowing fog, the train
cuts out of the dark and into the light.
The train shudders to a stop in the open space of The Hangar.
The train doors open with a SINGLE CHIME, and the boys pull
the portable door out of the car and onto a floor made of
crushed rock.
The walls and the ceiling are too far away in the dark for
the boys to see. The air vibrates with melodic ringing and
rattling. The dull glow of Nayzun bodies casts a dim
ghostlight on the edges of the huge room.
One of the Nayzuns moves toward the boys.
EHIOZE
Not really an alien?
89.
The Nayzun stops a few feet in front of the boys. Turtle
waits for him to speak, but the Nayzun remains silent.
TURTLE
Four-Eleven?
NAYZUN
One Ninety-One. Come this way.
Leave the artifact.
Turtle motions toward the portable door with his head.
TURTLE
This?
One Ninety-One bobs his head in what appears to be a Yes
motion.
Turtle and Ehioze settle the door into the grit on the floor.
The door sinks into the ground and rights itself.
One Ninety-One leads Turtle and Ehioze through the darkness
into a huge room full of old trains. The melodic RATTLING
song of the Nayzuns is a constant presence in the space. A
piece of wood CRACKS in the distance.
Through the dim light the boys see other Nayzuns work on
multiple trains. A pair of them drive a train car onto a
round platform and turn down a different track.
Another Nayzun works on a platform suspended by chains
connected somewhere high over head. The Nayzuns long arms
turn a crank and hoist an old train inch by inch.
ONE NINETY-ONE
That train was broken by humans.
They shot it with guns.
One Ninety-One gestures with his long arm to an empty spot on
the ground where two tracks cross over each other and merge.
ONE NINETY-ONE (CONT'D)
Stand there.
Turtle and Ehioze stand at the crossroads. There is a
CLANGING in the dark.
Something calls out from the tunnel behind them, almost a
HOWL, like metal twisting and breaking.
The heads of the Nayzuns all turn to look.
90.
A bright and blinding THREAD OF LIGHT AND PLASMA approaches
the boys from their left side. Just as quickly it appears to
their right, and then on all sides.
TRAINS converge on their position from every set of tracks in
the Hangar.
Turtle reaches out to pull Ehioze away from their designated
spot.
ONE NINETY-ONE (CONT'D)
Stay there.
TURTLE
But-
OMNIPRESENT VOICE
Stay.
A cylinder of light and plasma surrounds the boys. The
CLANGING noise builds to a deafening volume, and then stops
altogether.
The omnipresent voice that booms out from the light and
plasma is undeniably female.
OMNIPRESENT VOICE (CONT'D)
Why did you bring that artifact in
here? Did you think you could
control me with it?
TURTLE
I dont even know who you are?
OMNIPRESENT VOICE
I am The Endless One, The Monarch
of the Roads. I connected the
stars before your kind crawled out
of the swamps. I am the Mytro.
TURTLE
We came to stop the people who want
to control you.
MYTRO
The artifact is meant to harness my
power, as is the Key you carry with
you.
Ehioze reaches out and passes his hand through the light and
plasma. He pulls it back in a quick motion.
91.
EHIOZE
Very warm.
TURTLE
We just want to help our friends-
MYTRO
You think I am weak, that now is
the time to take control. Perhaps
now is the time for a reminder of
my power.
The cylinder of light and plasma glows brighter and turns
red. Turtle and Ehioze huddle close together as the light
gets hotter. Sweat pours down Turtles face.
The cinders at their feet melt into a black pool that sticks
to their shoes like tar. The light becomes a wall of flames.
The fire closes in on the boys like a stalking animal.
The PORTABLE DOOR slides through the flames. FOUR-ELEVEN
pushes the door across the floor and into the crossroads.
The packing tape melts off the door, and the wooden frame
begins to burn.
Ehioze reaches down and lifts the padlock out of the hasp.
Turtle yanks on the brass handle to pull the door open. A
thin vein of melting plastic tape scalds Turtles hand. The
boys jump through the door, and Four-Eleven follows them.
The door slams shut behind them. The Mytro flames ignite the
rest of the wooden door, and in a flash of fire, the door is
gone.
CUT TO:
INT. MYTRO TRAIN CAR - NIGHT
Turtle, Ehioze, and Four-Eleven run into the red train. The
doors close with a SINGLE CHIME. The boys wipe the sweat
from their faces and lean on the wicker chairs as they catch
their breath.
EHIOZE
Just so I understand what is
happening, did the Mytro just try
to kill us?
FOUR-ELEVEN
Yes.
92.
EHIOZE
Is there a magic bus we can take
instead?
FOUR-ELEVEN
The door is destroyed, the Mytro
has moved on.
TURTLE
Where?
FOUR-ELEVEN
Everywhere, and nowhere.
EHIOZE
I thought hed say something like
that.
TURTLE
We need to help Agata. If shes
still at the camp-
FOUR-ELEVEN
The Breach. The Mytro wants to
break it. It will collapse and
destroy the city. You must use the
Key to complete The Breach.
TURTLE
How do I complete The Breach?
FOUR-ELEVEN
By playing your song.
Four-Eleven waves his long arm. The train shudders and takes
off into the darkness.
CUT TO:
INT. GOODES OFFICE, BUILDING NUMBER 13 - NIGHT
Kincaid is alone in the office. He paces the floor and makes
repeated glances at the old portable door that leads to the
oubliette. The other portable door leans against the far
wall, still covered by a canvas sheet.
Kincaid walks toward the far wall. He takes a breath. He
reaches up and removes the canvas sheet from the door. It is
old and worn much like the door to the oubliette, but this
door is larger and much lighter in color.
One of Goodes hired gunmen enters the office.
93.
HIRED GUNMAN
Next wave, ready to move.
Behind the hired gunman and out on the third floor landing,
Kincaid sees a group of NIGERIAN WOMEN AND CHILDREN.
Behind the larger door, a train RUMBLES into the station.
KINCAID
Ready to board.
Kincaid motions toward the smaller door to the oubliette.
The hired gunman takes a few steps toward the smaller door
near the window. He looks back at Kincaid and points to the
smaller door.
HIRED GUNMAN
You sure its this one? I thought
Goode said it was the bigger one.
KINCAID
Ive gone through fifty times
already, I know which door to take.
The hired gunman sneers back at Kincaid and reaches for the
door handle. The muscle-for-hire twists the handle and
pushes the door open.
From the other side of the door, AGATA throws a handful of
cinders into the gunmans eyes.
The gunman staggers backward and rubs his eyes. ERNESTO and
PARTRIDGE charge through the door and knock the gunman to the
floor. Ernesto subdues the gunman with several quick punches
to the face.
Claire and Agata step through the oubliette door. They watch
Kincaid jog toward the office door. They see the group of
Nigerian women and children outside on the landing. The
women shout in protest as Kincaid closes the office door.
Partridge reaches into the gunmans pockets and pulls out a
handful of plastic cuffs. Ernesto cuffs the unconscious
gunman with a tight zip. Partridge and Ernesto rise from the
floor and face Kincaid.
ERNESTO
Why, Thomas? You knew this was
wrong.
KINCAID
For the money, Ernesto, nothing
else.
94.
(MORE)
Im an urban archaeologist, I have
to borrow from my nephews, and
theyre 14 years old.
ERNESTO
That doesnt make me want to punch
you any less.
KINCAID
I took the money, but I tried to
protect the kids. I didnt tell
them she had the Railmans Key, or
that they cracked the code.
Kincaid takes Agatas backpack from the desk and hands it to
her. He crouches down and looks at Agata with a face full of
shame.
KINCAID (CONT'D)
Im sorry, Agata. I never wanted
you to get hurt.
Kincaid holds out his wrists. Partridge hands Agata a set of
plastic cuffs. Agata binds Kincaids wrists with a powerful
zip.
KINCAID (CONT'D)
Ow!
CUT TO:
INT. THE BREACH - NIGHT
Light from gas-powered generators rains down on the cold
stone floor of the gargantuan grotto. A long row of work
tables stretches into the endless factory. Several of the
countless blue tents are already filled with Nigerians.
Mr. Goode steps out of a concrete bunker not far from the
rails that lead out of The Breach. Martin and Adams follow
him out of the bunker. Martin carries a violin case.
Menacing CREAKS come from the high ceiling of The Breach.
Goode looks up at the source of the disturbing noise.
GOODE
High time we shore up those walls.
Adams takes the NEW CONDUCTORS KEY from his pocket. Martin
opens the violin case and hands the instrument and its bow to
Goode. Goode places the violin under his chin and holds the
bow over the strings. He tilts his head toward Adams.
95.
KINCAID (CONT'D)
Adams CLICKS the tiny knob on the side of the key fob. The
mechanical works within Key HUM with activity. Adams places
the Key on the ground.
The three men listen for a melodic tune. It does not come.
GOODE (CONT'D)
Is it wound?
ADAMS
As far as we could wind it.
GOODE
Then wheres the bloody tune?
A stone falls from the ceiling and smacks into a light. The
bulb within the light pops and leaves a portion of the
factory floor in darkness. The CREAKING above grows louder.
ADAMS
Your plan, Mr. Goode?
Goode looks down the uncooperative Key. He glances up at the
distressed ceiling, then stares back at Adams and Martin.
GOODE
Let the Key warm up here and do its
work, while we...find shelter?
Goode rushes back toward his concrete bunker. Adams shakes
his head in disgust and trails after his boss, followed by
Martin. The three men leave the NEW CONDUCTORS KEY on the
floor of The Breach.
A train rolls into the crumbling Breach. Turtle, Ehioze, and
Four-Eleven step out of the train car. The boys look up and
duck away from the rocks that fall from the cracked ceiling.
CUT TO:
EXT. LA RAMBLA, BARCELONA - NIGHT
The entire boulevard TREMBLES as if an earthquake is
underway. Late night revelers fall over and hold on to each
other for support as the unexplained tremor rages on.
CUT TO:
96.
INT. THE BREACH - NIGHT
Ehioze reaches into Turtles backpack. He removes the
kakaki, the algaita, and the old Conductors Key. Turtle
CLICKS the side knob and places the Key on the ground in
front of him.
Turtle and Ehioze hold their instruments up to their faces.
They wait for the Key to prompt them with a tune. Just as
the new Key did not cooperate with Goode, the old Key does
not play for the boys.
TURTLE
Theres no song. What do we play?
Four-Eleven reaches out and swats a falling rock away from
Ehiozes head. Ehioze flinches at the near impact of the
deadly stone missile.
FOUR-ELEVEN
You must complete The Breach, make
it strong. Play a song of
completeness. Think of what fills
you with life, with strength, and
play all of that, into song.
Another train arrives in The Breach. Rocks from the ceiling
fall onto the rails and block the progress of the train.
Partridge, Ernesto, Claire, and Agata rush out of the train.
Ernesto leads them away from the falling rock.
AGATA looks through the chaos of the collapsing Breach and
sees Turtle several yards away.
TURTLE looks back at Agata. He places the end of the kakaki
into his mouth and begins to play. At first he mimics the
rattling melody of the Nayzuns in the Hangar. Ehioze
recognizes the tune and plays along on his algaita.
Turtles song moves away from the Nayzun melody and into a
soaring musical creation all his own. Ehioze follows
Turtles improv and matches it like a master sideman.
Turtle closes his eyes and mines his memory of the days
adventure as he plays.
CUT TO:
97.
EXT. CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK CITY - DAY
Agata barrels out of the giant rock and knocks Turtle onto
his back.
CUT TO:
INT. HERNANDOS ATTIC OFFICE - NIGHT
Agata appears impressed by Turtles ability to decipher her
fathers coded message.
CUT TO:
EXT. OLD TOWN PRAGUE, BREHOVA STREET - NIGHT
Agata grabs Turtles hand, and the two of them stroll across
the street.
CUT TO:
INT. THE BREACH - NIGHT
The OLD CONDUCTORS KEY glows hot on the ground at the boys
feet.
Turtle and Ehioze play on. The Breach creaks and cracks, and
more rocks fall. Four-Eleven swats numerous falling rocks
away from the boys just before they smash the tops of their
heads.
The far end of the Breach crashes down. A torrent of broken
rock shatters a line of workbenches. Winks of light come
through the back wall of The Breach. Something blue shines
out from behind it.
Turtle and Ehioze play the last notes of their song with a
flourish.
The back wall of the Breach collapses with a thunderous CLAP.
The area behind the wall is revealed as open, OUTER SPACE,
the universe entire.
Turtle and Ehioze behold the universe through a kind of
crystal where the back wall of The Breach once was. White
and gold ribs arc from the floor into the darkness above.
98.
Agata, Claire, Ernesto, and Partridge join them. They take
in a dark sky dotted with stars, a planet with a swirling
atmosphere, constellations in a ribbon of blue and purple,
and a moon so full it appears to be in the room with them.
The door to the concrete bunker swings open. Goode sticks
his head out to be sure it is safe. His eyes bug out of
their sockets at the sights before him. Martin and Adams
follow their boss out of the bunker.
Goode looks up along the edge of the ceiling above them.
GREEK LETTERS traced in bright gold, each one a foot high,
spell out a familiar phrase. Goode smiles as he translates
the words.
GOODE
Its Democritus. Nothing exists
except atoms and empty space.
Everything else is opinion.
Goode looks down at Turtle and Ehioze.
GOODE (CONT'D)
And on that note, I thank you boys,
for completing my factory. It
would appear as though well be
taking our business...interstellar.
The sound of rock against rock echoes through The Breach.
Goode turns to find the source of the noise.
A group of NIGERIANS, covered in cement dust, emerge from
their blue tents. They push rocks out of the way to help
clear a path for their trapped countrymen. A particularly
LARGE NIGERIAN spots Ehioze at the edge of The Breach.
LARGE NIGERIAN
(In the Hausa language)
Is that the big bossman with you?
EHIOZE
(In the Hausa language)
Yes. He says you wont be paid
overtime to clean this up.
The Large Nigerian leads a group of thirty other laborers
across The Breach toward Goode and his men. They waive
shovels and trowels in an angry, agitated motion.
GOODE
What are they on about?
99.
EHIOZE
They say the safety conditions in
your factory are sub par. Several
of their friends have been hurt.
They want to...renegotiate their
contracts.
Adams reaches into his coat to grab his pistol. A Mytro
train pushes through the clutter and stops just a few feet
away. Goode motions for Adams to put away his pistol. He
smiles at the fortuitous timing of the train.
GOODE
Another day, perhaps.
Goode bounds across The Breach toward the waiting Mytro
train. The doors open with a DOUBLE CHIME. Adams and Martin
follow their boss toward the conveyance of their deliverance.
Turtle kneels down and grabs the OLD CONDUCTORS KEY from the
ground.
TURTLE
Mr. Partridge, did you say that the
Keys could redirect the trains, to
any stop we wanted?
PARTRIDGE
Indubitably.
Goode, Martin, and Adams step inside the Mytro train. The
doors close with a SINGLE CHIME. Goode lets out a sigh of
self satisfaction before he announces his destination.
GOODE
England, London, Piccadilly Circus.
The Mytro train lurches forward and skids toward the nearest
tunnel.
Turtle presses the GOLD BUTTON at the top of the key fob.
TURTLE
The Hangar.
They Key buzzes like a metallic bee in Turtles hands.
The train car rolls away and disappears into the tunnel.
Agata picks the NEW CONDUCTORS KEY up from the ground where
Goode and his men left it.
100.
Ehioze looks around for Four-Eleven. He finds the Nayzun a
few yards away from the rest of the group. His head is bowed
as if in deep meditation. Ehioze hesitates before he
addresses Four-Eleven.
EHIOZE
What will happen to them, at The
Hangar?
FOUR-ELEVEN
They will be put to work. The
Hangar is a place of work. We are
the ones who work.
Turtle takes a step toward Four-Eleven.
TURTLE
Is it your choice to work?
FOUR-ELEVEN
It...wasnt always...
TURTLE
Then you can be free of it. Were
helping Ehioze and his people. We
can help you too.
FOUR-ELEVEN
Free of it, as I was before I
became...Nayzun Number Four-Eleven.
Agata takes a step toward Four-Eleven. She holds the new
Conductors Key in her hand.
AGATA
You had a different name, didnt
you.
FOUR-ELEVEN
Yes. Long forgotten, until you
appeared in the Mytro. I was drawn
to your presence, Agata. You made
me remember something. And then
the song, the song that these boys
played, it completed my memories.
My name. . .my name is...Carlos.
CUT TO:
101.
INT. CAVE - DAY
Carlos Llorente ties the end of a rope around his waist. He
steps into the tunnel on the right hand side of the cave.
Carlos follows the direction of the wind into the darkness.
CUT TO:
INT. THE BREACH - NIGHT
Four-Elevens body lights up with the glow of recovered
memory. He turns his head and looks among Ernesto, Claire,
and Agata.
FOUR-ELEVEN
Carlos Llorente. I remember
falling, through the tunnel, being
lost, until the Nayzuns found me.
Over time, the Mytro transformed
me, into Nayzun Number Four-Eleven.
Agata reaches out and takes Four-Elevens hand. His long
thin fingers wrap around the girls tiny hand several times.
AGATA
Come back with us.
FOUR-ELEVEN
I am still bound to the Mytro. I
cannot survive outside these caves.
AGATA
Well find a way. Well set you
free.
FOUR-ELEVEN
We must find your father first,
before he is transformed, as I was.
He is somewhere, beyond this
station.
Four-Eleven motions toward the wide expanse of space beyond
the edge of The Breach.
FOUR-ELEVEN (CONT'D)
I will help you find him.
AGATA
Thank you, abuelo.
102.
Four-Eleven lets go of Agatas hand. He takes a step toward
the tunnel, then looks back at Turtle.
TURTLE
Where will you go?
FOUR-ELEVEN
The Hangar. I still must work,
until I am free. But whenever you
ride the Mytro, I will know you are
here. And I will be there for you.
Four-Eleven walks into the tunnel. He hops up and lands on a
glistening skein of light and plasma. The Nayzun surfs
through the wormhole on a shining string of energy and
disappears from sight.
Ernesto, Partridge, and Claire help the injured Nigerians
onto a newly arrived Mytro train. Turtle, Agata, and Ehioze
join them inside the train car. The doors close with a
SINGLE CHIME.
INT. MYTRO TRAIN CAR - NIGHT
For the first time, the train car is filled with passengers.
Most of the wicker seats are occupied by Nigerian laborers.
Ehioze sits next to Partridge and teaches him a few words of
the Hausa language.
Turtle, Agata, Claire, and Ernesto stand and hold onto
leather straps that hang from above. Ernesto reaches out and
places his hand on Turtles shoulder.
ERNESTO
Youre in charge now, Turtle. So
take us home.
TURTLE
Ive been gone for six hours.
Whatll I tell my grandmother?
Agata steps closer to Turtle. She takes hold of his free
hand and squeezes.
AGATA
Tell her you were out, with your
girlfriend.
Turtle beams with excitement. He nods his head, and in his
mind he instructs the Mytro to take them to their desired
destination.
103.
INT. THE BREACH - NIGHT
The train heaves forward across the cluttered rails of The
Breach. It picks up speed and rockets away, into the tunnel
and through the wormhole.
FADE OUT.
104.