EXT. MULDRAUGH, KY - NIGHT
The van winds its way down the road, passing by trailers,
convenience stores, farmer's supply depots, ramshackle
sheds, and open tracts of land. The rumble of the engine
draws the attention of nearby zombies as they pass. The
zombies can't quite keep up, but if Daniel takes his foot
off the gas, they'll converge in a heartbeat.
Daniel keeps accelerating, thundering down the road. The
crowd thins behind him. His headlights blaze a path through
the unending dark. Once the coast seems clear, Daniel slows,
taking refuge behind another trailer. This one stands alone
on the side of the road, affording a clear vantage point.
Daniel and Jamie exit the van and creep toward the door.
It's mercifully unlocked.
INT. ANOTHER TRAILER
Jamie watches Daniel's back as they circle the length of the
trailer, but there's not a soul to be found. The TV's still
on, and a frozen dinner sits on the table, waiting for its
master to return.
JAMIE
(whispering)
Do you think we should be in here?
DANIEL
mm. somethin' ain't right.
Daniel locks the door behind them.
JAMIE
What if they come back?
Daniel just looks at him. Jamie doesn't press it.
Jamie flips through the channels, but there's nothing
relevant on the air. He doesn't understand. How doesn't
anybody *know* about it yet?
Meanwhile, Daniel rustles through the cupboards. They're
barer than Jamie expects, but they still bear fruit in the
form of canned peaches, dried pasta, fresh tomatoes in a
bag. Anything that could feasibly be put to use, Daniel
takes.
Jamie turns down the volume, suddenly paranoid. Then he
systematically goes through the trailer and shuts all the
curtains. Turns off the lights.
Daniel cracks open a can of peaches and goes to town,
stabbing each piece with a pocket knife.
JAMIE
How can you just sit there and--
and-- and eat peaches?!
Daniel shrugs.
DANIEL
(through a mouthful)
pretty easy.
pretty easy.
Jamie watches him eat with a sense of reluctant longing.
Daniel offers him a peach slice on the end of his knife. It
takes Jamie a few moments to let himself take it.
He then sets to work in the kitchen. The tomatoes are plump
and ripe, the garlic pre-minced. Thinly-sliced onions sweat
in a pan. Daniel stares at him, bewildered.
DANIEL
are you... cookin'?
JAMIE
I mean, why not? Wouldn't want the
food to go to waste.
DANIEL
you can just eat it as is. it's the
same.
JAMIE
(sputtering)
I-- No. No the fuck it is not.
DANIEL
it's pretty close. you ever eat a
raw tomato?
Jamie snorts in disbelief. Daniel watches him cook, and the
sensation of being stared at - unflinchingly - makes a cold
sweat bead on the back of his neck. But he dishes up pasta
and tomato sauce for the both of them regardless.
Daniel doesn't thank him, but scarfs it down anyway. Jamie
picks at his own food. It's almost more nauseating to have
it than not.
JAMIE
(abruptly)
I think I'm gonna get a shower.
Daniel grunts.
INT. BATHROOM
Under the cold light, Jamie strips down. His nature becomes
obvious: the violin-shape of his back, the curve of his
breast as he struggles with his binder.
Jamie cranks the shower up as hot as it will go, which isn't
saying much. Weak water pressure dribbles over his head. At
least it gives him the chance to scrub the blood off his
skin.
JAMIE
(to himself)
With my luck, maybe he'll kill me,
too.
INT. ANOTHER TRAILER
On the other side, Daniel presses his ear against the door,
chest heaving.
On the other side, Daniel presses his ear against the door,
chest heaving.
The shower cuts off. Jamie exits, none the wiser. He's damp
and fully dressed.
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
There's only one bed. A twin. Jamie stares at it, exhaustion
settling in.
JAMIE
So, uh, if you're tired, there is
*a* bed.
Daniel hovers behind him, trying very hard not to stare at
his damp, bare shoulders.
DANIEL
nah, i'm... i can take the floor.
JAMIE
Come on, man, that's inhumane. I'm
not gonna do that to you.
DANIEL
couch.
JAMIE
It's no big deal. You can take it
first. I'll-- I can wait. Sleep in
shifts. Keep one eye open. You
know.
Daniel's shoulders hunch.
DANIEL
(fiddling with his
jacket)
right. might as well.
JAMIE
(little smile)
I'll hold down the fort. Promise.
DANIEL
this place ain't gonna blow up on
ya. and you-- you look bad.
JAMIE
(face falling)
Wow, thanks.
DANIEL
you gotta lay down for a bit, at
least.
Jamie curtails the argument by turning around and heading
past Daniel, giving him no choice but to take it. He doesn't
look back when he responds.
JAMIE
Don't sweat it.
INT. ANOTHER TRAILER
INT. ANOTHER TRAILER
Jamie sits on the couch and stares at the TV. It's nothing
but pap, nothing about the living dead swallowing an entire
town out of nowhere. He flicks through them, one by one,
then stops and lights another cigarette.
It'll keep him awake.
INT. ANOTHER TRAILER - DAY
Jamie's in the same exact spot when the sun comes up, only
with more cigarette butts in the ashtray. It's only then
that Daniel comes crawling out of the bedroom, scrubbing at
the bags under his eyes. As if he had stayed up all night,
too.
JAMIE
Morning, sleeping beauty.
Daniel doesn't even look at him.
JAMIE
You a coffee drinker? I got some on
the pot.
Daniel grunts and shakes his head.
JAMIE
(muttering)
Well, maybe you should start.
Daniel slams the door to the bathroom, rattling the cheap
Christian quotes mounted on the wall.
INT. BATHROOM
Daniel meticulously scrubs his hands clean. Then his face.
Then the rest of himself. His clothes are neatly folded on
the toilet, in contrast to Jamie slinging them on the floor.
When he emerges from the shower, he prepares himself for a
shave, just as meticulously. Every item in its place. His
strokes are even and precise.
Suddenly, a fist hammers on the door. Daniel nicks himself
with his razor and hisses in pain.
JAMIE
Are you done yet?
He tries to resume shaving, but Jamie just pounds on the
door again.
Daniel's eyes screw shut. Then he turns and flings the door
open.
DANIEL
(angrily)
can't a man have some privacy?
JAMIE
(in disbelief)
Are you *shaving?*
Are you *shaving?*
Jamie corners him against the sink before Daniel can react.
Daniel backs up a step, but doesn't have anywhere to go.
JAMIE
...Don't scare me like that, man. I
thought you died in here, or
something.
DANIEL
one day you'll walk in on somethin'
you *really* ain't gonna like if
you don't mind your damn business.
Jamie flinches back. His face turns a dark, ugly red. He
scans Daniel, brain racing to figure out the right
interpretation, but finds something there that makes him
speak before he thinks.
JAMIE
Hey, I think you nicked yourself.
DANIEL
(turning back around)
wouldn'ta happened if you hadn't
snuck up on me.
JAMIE
I wasn't trying to!
Daniel closes his eyes and sighs.
JAMIE
Anyway, whenever you're done
gussying up, I'm ready to go.
Daniel resumes shaving himself like Jamie isn't even there.
Jamie watches him for a moment, then huffs and leaves.
EXT. DANIEL'S VAN - DAY
Daniel steers the van closer to town, and the ramshackle
trailers disappear, replaced by farmer's supply stores and
garages.
JAMIE
We need to find something to eat.
DANIEL
got some cans in the back.
Jamie stretches back to reach for them, and after some
struggle, he grabs a pull-tab can.
JAMIE
...Corned beef?
DANIEL
it's food.
JAMIE
(miserably)
Well, I guess beggars can't be
choosers...
Well, I guess beggars can't be
choosers...
Jamie pries it open and picks at the contents
unenthusiastically. Daniel keeps driving.
When the van abruptly comes to a stop, Jamie can't help but
look up. Daniel's parked it in front of a small corner
store, with "FOOD" emblazoned above the doors.
INT. CORNER STORE
The store is somehow smaller on the inside than the outside,
with barely enough room for both of them to browse. Daniel
and Jamie hesitantly push through it, armed with some of the
blunt weapons from the backseat.
All seems clear. Nothing stirs. But curiously, the store
already looks half-ransacked - boxes of cereal spilled on
the ground, candy wrappers lying empty on the shelves.
Jamie snaps off a banana from a bunch and peels it on the
spot.
DANIEL
(amused)
you ain't too patient.
JAMIE
(mouth full)
Leave me alone, man. 'm starving.
He hurriedly shoves things into his duffel bag without
really looking at them. Daniel does the same.
When he approaches the freezers, his eyes go wide with
delight.
JAMIE
(loudly, as if they
aren't in the same room)
Hey Daniel! I found ice cream!
DANIEL
(wincing)
loud.
While Jamie's rummaging through the freezer for anything he
can feasibly bring, a shadow shifts behind him.
Behind the cash register, obscured by the long line of the
counter, something lurches to its feet, surrounded by empty
snack cake wrappers. Unnoticed by either of them. And it
shuffles oh-so-slowly toward Jamie.
JAMIE
Fuck, man, what am I gonna do with
all these frozen burritos?
He notices that shadow looming over him at last, and turns
around, ready to lambast Daniel for creeping him out.
But it's not Daniel.
JAMIE
DANIEL!
DANIEL!
Daniel immediately whips around, face twisted in terror. A
partially-decayed woman snaps her chocolate-stained teeth
barely an inch from Jamie's face. She paws at him with
inhuman strength, a swipe clocking him in the head, and
Jamie desperately tries to wrest himself away.
Daniel scrambles over a display to smash her in the head
with a crowbar. A thud echoes in the small space.
But she only stumbles. She doesn't fall.
DANIEL
move!
Jamie skitters backwards without protest.
Daniel clubs her a few more times until she gets the picture
and turns on him instead. Sharp, jagged fingernails leave
claw marks in his skin. Daniel hisses with pain. There's
only darkness in his eyes as he hoists the crowbar high
above his head, panting with exertion.
A sickening crack rips through the air, and she finally
drops for good.
A long moment of silence stretches out afterwards. Jamie
stares at him, but he only has eyes for the body beneath
him.
DANIEL
goddamn.
JAMIE
Jesus, man, are you okay?
DANIEL
(dazed)
huh?
Jamie awkwardly gets to his knees, then sways all the way up
onto his feet. By no means should he be the one asking the
question - a trickle of blood drips from his scalp - but he
can't help himself.
JAMIE
Are you good? Did it get you?
He gives Daniel a once-over before he can protest,
shamelessly examining his arms by turning them this way and
that. Daniel remains limp, allowing it.
DANIEL
(wide-eyed, voice hoarse)
uh. just a scratch.
His face goes pink under the low light.
DANIEL
not that bad.
Jamie's mouth pinches as he rubs a thumb outside the edge of
a scratch (or more accurately, a gouge). They run down his
forearm, all the way to his knuckles. Daniel winces.
JAMIE
JAMIE
Here, lemme just...
He shucks off his polo shirt, leaving himself in just a tank
top. The stitching is cheap and tears easily. Jamie then
ties a makeshift bandage around Daniel's arm and hand.
JAMIE
(darkly)
Keep an eye out for any rubbing
alcohol or anything we can put on
that. Her nails are fucking
disgusting.
Daniel flexes his fingers, then takes back his arm.
DANIEL
(looking at Jamie
properly for the first
time)
...you're bleedin'.
JAMIE
Huh? I'm-- I'm okay. She just had a
hell of a swing on her.
He touches a bump swelling on his skull and makes a face.
JAMIE
Kinda woozy. I guess. No big deal.
DANIEL
(mouth set in a flat
line)
i wanna see.
Jamie sighs, but ultimately acquiesces, ducking down so
Daniel can see. He follows the thin trickle of blood up to
Jamie's scalp.
DANIEL
dizzy ain't a good sign.
His hands are clumsier. Rougher.
JAMIE
(whining)
Ow.
After a moment of deliberation, Daniel wordlessly lets him
go, then grabs one of the bags of frozen peas Jamie had
fished out of the freezer and hands it to him. Jamie
hesitates before pressing it to his head.
Daniel turns away.
DANIEL
(tone unreadable)
ain't gettin' hurt no more for you,
jamie. watch your back.
Jamie's eyes widen, then narrow in anger. It simmers there
as Daniel packs things into his duffel bag.