CUT TO:

EXT. BOYD house - night

The house looks peaceful, windows glowing yellow in the night. From outside the house we see Charlie rise and close the shutters of the kitchen, where men and women are gathered. We PAN UP to the upper bedroom window…

INSIDE THAT BEDROOM

Young Asher is in a nightmarish sleep. He mumbles in smothered terror, twitches. We see

HIS NIGHTMARE

In the blue-grays of his dream, Asher stands at the door of the garage, gazing at the hanged people. We WHIP PAN to their faces, garish, horrible. Then one of the heads moves and its eyes open. Asher wants to run but he can't get his body to respond, and the hanging person, his bloated tongue still bursting through his lips, moans…

GHOUL
Asherrr…!

Asher tears himself from sleep; looks around, swallowing tears and panic.

IN THE KITCHEN

A dozen Crunksvilleans have huddled. Red-headed RED, scarred, missing fingers, is stirred up, while her friend DAWKINS is reluctant.

RED
Boyd is right. We fight 'em.

DAWKINS
Anyone who had any will to fight
was at that meeting.

BILLY
So it's up tae us. We show them we
won't lie down tae be their slaves.

DAWKINS
Look, we're good fighters, but we
can't beat an army. Not with the
what, twenty people we can raise.

BILLY
We don't have tae beat 'em. Just
fight em. Tae show 'em we're not
dogs, but men.

Young Asher has snuck down and is eavesdropping from the stairs. He sees his father break out a sparkly crayon and use it to draw a map on the tabletop.

BILLY

They have a camp here. We attack
at sunset tomorrow. Give us all
night to run home.

EXT. BOYD house - day

Billy and Charlie are checking the short swords they're holding when Asher comes out of the barn with his own sword.

BILLY
Asher, yer stayin' here.

ASHER
I can fight.

These words from his youngest son make Billy pause, and kneel, to look into Asher's eyes.

BILLY
I know. I know you can fight.
But it's our wits that make
us men. I love ya, boy. You
stay.

Billy and Charlie get in the car and drive away, leaving Asher looking forlorn. They wave. Asher waves back.

EXT. CRUNKSVILLE PARK - day

It's strangely quiet, until Asher and his friend SHOTGUN RED, a red-head like her mother, race up the hillside and duck in among grove of trees. Breathless, they press their backs to the tree bark. Asher peers around the tree, then shrinks back and whispers…

ASHER
They're coming!

SHOTGUN
How many?

ASHER
Three, maybe more.

SHOTGUN
Armed?

ASHER
They're Raejaevillian soldiers,
ain't they?

SHOTGUN
With your father and sister
gone, they'll kill us and
burn the farm!

ASHER
It's up to us, Shotgun!

Shotgun leans forward for a look, but Asher pulls her back.

ASHER
Not yet! Here he comes, be
ready!

They wait; heavy FOOTSTEPS. Then from around the edge of the grove three enormous, ugly hogs appear. The kids hurl rotten eggs. The eggs slap the snouts of the pigs, who scatter as the kids charge, howling. We PULL BACK, as the sun goes down on their play.

EXT. BOYD house - night

Asher's face appears at the window, looking toward

THE DISTANT HILLS

of trees and heather, where there is no sign of life.

INT. BOYD house - night

Asher has cooked stew in a pot, and now spoons up two steaming bowls full and sets them out on the table. But he is only hoping. He looks out the window again; he is still all alone. So he leaves a candle burning on the table beside the stew, and moves upstairs.

EXT. BOYD house - dawn

Asher has been awake all night, afraid to sleep. He rises, and in QUICK CUTS: he dresses, he moves down the hall, stops at the door of his father's bedroom and sees the undisturbed bed. He moves on, passing the door of his sister's room, also unrumpled.

IN THE KITCHEN

He finds the two cold bowls of stew next to the exhausted candle. He spoons up his own cold porridge and eats alone.

EXT. BOYD house - day

Asher is sitting in the flowerbeds, weakly poking at some plants with a shovel, when he glimpses something coming.

THE BOY'S POV

A cart is coming down the street. Its driver is RED, with DAWKINS walking behind it. They glance up at Asher, their faces grim…

From his spot, Asher sees what the neighbours have brought: the bodies of his father and sister. The cart stops; Red, with a bandage around her left hand where more of her fingers are now missing, sighs and looks at her feet, wondering how to break the news.

RED
Asher… come here, boy.

Asher looks away, takes quick breaths, and looks back… but the bodies are still there.