The reddish orange of dusk bleeds across the large chapel-like fortress. The land which it stands on, along with the ocean around it sparkles with an orange gloss.
INT. HELICOPTER — CONTINUOUS
BREN, wearing full black kevlar and assault uniform, kneels at the edge of the helicopter staring at the fortress. Behind him, other soldiers sit in solitude, adjusting their gear.
EXT. TOP OF NAZURONE — CONTINUOUS
The helicopter touches down on a flat plane jutting out the side of the structure. Bren pulls down his red, demonic looking goggles and jumps out.
Behind him, soldiers pour out of the hold, all rushing quickly to the locked doorway of the fortress. They hastily paste a wire covered box onto the door. The wires run to a small computer that a single soldier taps.
As they secure the box, they join the rest of the soldiers in defensive positions around the doorway. A moment of silence in which only the sound of OCEAN, WIND, and TYPING can be heard.
The soldier at the computer raises his head while clicking the last button on the keypad with a loud CLACK. Blue veins of light pulse out from the box to the edges of the door.
Steam rolls out of the bottom of the door, and it opens. The box peels off and soldiers, including Bren, stream into the doorway.
INT. TOP OF NAZURONE — CONTINUOUS
Soldiers run down a hallway and spread out amongst the building, running in different directions at a four way intersection in the hall. Bren takes a left at the intersection along with three other soldiers.
No one speaks. They pass through numerous hallways and stair sets. Radio chatter CRACKLES out of walkies on their suits.
The interior of the structure is very dark with a purple tint. The only light, that of the setting sun seeping in through cracks and nooks.
INT. SMALL ROOM — CONTINUOUS
Bren’s group stops and covers the area. Bren remains standing in the middle of the room looking around. The voice of HERMES pops into his head through his NCN.
Note: NCN stands for Neural Communication Network.
HERMES All teams descend to ground level ASAP. Bren moves towards the exit giving the regroup signal.
BREN Down we go.
Bren’s team continues through the door and down a long spiraling staircase that leads to the
MAIN CHAMBER
A large, expansive room that sits in near darkness. Light shades of purple extend and fade down the walls. No windows or openings. A faint HUM lingers in the air, creating a very soft and serene melody. The notes change every two to three minutes, resonating deeply in every space.
A couple feet in the air, stairs extend from the left and right sides of the back wall. They cascade across the hall and lower to the ground in the middle of the floor.
Soldiers surge through the left and right entrances and down the stairs. Bren’s team leads the line of soldiers on the left. They spread out and cover the area as they reach the ground.
Bren and a few other soldiers stand at-ease in the middle of the hall. They observe the perimeter.
In front of them on the back wall in between the stairs stands a tall eerie mural. Flames and waves of all different colors wash up and across the wall in the shape of a distorted looking tower.
In the middle of the picture is painfully etched, “Oh Bloom, Oh Vigor. Leaning on the shoulders that make you cry. Advance, advance, to the purgatory between innocence and logic. Let the beautiful fires burn.” Below the mural a wide set of stairs drops into a black oblivion. A nearby SOLDIER sighs discontentedly and drops his head.
SOLDIER (surprised) Woah! Hello!
He, along with Bren and the rest of the soldiers back out of the middle of the floor. Beneath them lies another extravagant picture.
The floor depicts a flame formed opening with two angels, one with blonde hair and one with white. One set of their hands interlock fingers while the other set holds a dagger to the other’s throat. Sounds of AWE erupt from the soldiers. Hermes pops back into Bren’s head.
HERMES Focus.
A SOLDIER walks back into the middle of the floor. He circles his pointed finger in the air.
SOLDIER Room.
The soldiers spread out amongst the room again. They report CLEAR as they take their positions. The far off melody continues to drone on. The soldiers stay fixed in their positions.
HERMES Room clear. No vital signs detected on the top or ground levels.
They relax a bit.
HERMES (CONT’D) Five descend, ORHTs begin preparing the magnetic stabilizers, all others remain on stand-by.
Four soldiers leave their positions and head for the stairs. One taps on Bren’s head as he passes. He sprouts up and follows them.
Behind them, large armored soldiers with cubical capsules on their backs begin unloading projecting computer modules and wiring obscure terminals on the floor.
INT. LOWER LEVELS ENTRANCE HALLWAY — CONTINUOUS
Flashlight beams pierce through abyss of darkness. Bren, a long with the five other soldiers creeps down the stairs.
Flashlight beams scuttle around the floor in front of the stairs. The group of soldiers reach the bottom and run their flashlights down and around the area.
They continue forward, attentive, guns pointed. The walls pulse slowly with different illuminated colors. Silhouettes of random objects and actions fade in and out with the lights.
The objects vary from human figures preforming different actions to the life cycles of trees. The images clutter everywhere.
They reach the end of the hallway and step into a
CROOKED ROOM
with many different sized hallways leading out of it. Bren slowly enters, and immediately turns to his right, at a cat walking down one of the halls.
The red haze of the motion capture setting of his goggles doesn’t pick it up. He swings around and points his gun’s light down the hall.
Light spills down the hall revealing nothing. Bren slowly points his gun away. In the darkness, the cat disappears behind the back wall of the hall.
BREN Hey hey! I think we’ve got life!
The soldiers tense up and turn to Bren.
HERMES No vital signs detected anywhere near you.
They spread out and cover the room looking down each hallway.
HERMES (CONT’D) Room clear, false alert, move forward as planned. The soldiers arm themselves and proceed toward the large doorway at the front of the room. Bren stands tense in front of the hallway he spotted the cat in.
He looks back and forth between the soldiers and the hallway several times. He slowly etches towards the doorway and moves hastily down the hall.
INT. ANGEL SANCTUARY — CONTINUOUS
Light floods the chamber from a large bright ball floating at the top-center of the room. Bren steps out into the golden light. The silence louder than his footsteps.
The walls around him depict a utopian heaven in the clouds. In front of him a sculpture of a female angel molds out of the wall. She holds out her hand.
Bren stares at the room and statue and steps back hesitantly. He cautiously approaches the sculpture and examines it. After a few moments of silence, Bren hesitantly places his hand onto the angel’s. Immediately the statue begins gaining color. Blonde hair spills down the angel’s pale skinned neck. Her hand takes hold of Bren’s and pulls him close to her.
Bren stares into the gentle blue eyes of the angel. He GASPS and becomes entranced. His gun slides out of his hand.
The whole room begins to gain color and life. The angel begins sinking into the wall, holding Bren close to her. Bren begins struggling but cannot break free from her.
Bren’s vision becomes consumed with light.
ANGEL Sentio.
The angel’s voice resonates into the white oblivion.
