Cold open on a meteor hurtling through space. The meteor is dark and huge – the size of a
small planet. As the camera zooms in
closer, we start to hear a faint chorus of screaming that grows louder and
louder as the camera zooms closer, until the sound becomes an overwhelming
cacophony of discord and terror. Soon,
we realize that the meteor is in fact a piece of Earth, somehow burned and
charred and broken free from its orbit. While the screaming proves that some
have survived, they obviously don’t seem too happy about it. The screaming is abruptly silenced and the
title appears in a somber yellow cursive font:
But The Stars Shined
On
The slow and deliberate voice of Charles Turnkey provides a
voiceover as the opening credits begin
CHARLES
What a fuckin’ day. (Sighs) There’s
maybe a million of us left now. Maybe. But
nobody with any real hope. We all know
we’re dead. We know, it just hasn’t
finished happening yet. There ain’t no
future, no reason to keep living.
Everyone, everything we’ve ever loved is gone or destroyed. So we, the unlucky survivors, commiserate
together through however our bodies choose to process this. I chose to scream.
The camera finally zooms close enough to find Charles
Turnkey. He’s loosely holding a
flashlight which is accidentally highlighting his face. It’s covered in ash and
blood and his eyes are wide and without focus.
The contrast of their blue and white with his sooty-red face is
alarming. Charles is screaming and
shaking, pausing his screaming only long enough to gasp another breath. Charles continues to narrate as his screaming
fades into the background.
CHARLES
As
I stand here, choking on my own screams, my mind searches for sanctuary.
The image shifts dramatically to a vast green field. Charles Turnkey is riding on a golden
horse. His clothes remain in tatters,
and his face is still bloody and ash-covered.
He rides in complete stillness, his mouth stuck open in a silent scream. Behind him, on another horse, rides a little girl
with blond curls wearing a spotless white dress.
GIRL
Daddy? Daddy?
Where shall we ride today, Daddy?
Charles Turnkey does not respond. His face is still frozen
in silent terror.
GIRL
Oh, do let’s go someplace else! I would love to see the tulips! They should be in bloom by now! You did
always say that tulips were your favourite, Daddy!
Charles Turnkey remains silent and paralyzed with fear
GIRL
Oh thank you, Daddy!
Suddenly the scene quick zooms away from the field and then
zooms away from Charles’ wide eyes. We
are back on the broken shard of Earth. Charles
Turnkey is trying to scream, but his voice is raw and jagged. Charles narrates.
CHARLES
But I couldn’t scream
forever. Even that had to end.
His scream finally dying, Charles begins sobbing and falls
to his knees. His eyes wide with shock,
he takes in his surroundings. He is
surrounded by death. In the distance he
faintly hears the screams of the suffering.
Everything appears to be smoldering or burning. With days, maybe even just hours before all
life on Earth is extinguished, it definitely looks like Charles will never find
love again.
CHARLES
Hello? Hello?
Who else is out here? Hello?!
Charles rises to his feet, continuing to call out in hopes
of finding other survivors. He wades
through corpse after broken corpse, and his tennis shoes soon gleam a dark, wet
red, sopping with the blood of the lucky dead.
A few scattered screams and cries for help can be heard in the distance,
but they all weaken and fade out before Charles can reach them. Charles again narrates:
CHARLES
Hell.
Don’t know why I was looking for people anyway. Woulda been a disservice to save anybody even
if I knew how. Guess I was just lonely. Everybody dies alone, I know that, but I
didn’t want to be the last person to
die alone. Can’t get what you want
sometimes, I guess.
Exhausted and defeated, Charles sits down to let death take
him. There’s just no way he’s ever going to find romantic happiness now. His eyes close and we are transported back to
the green field seen earlier. The girl
and Charles continue to ride their glorious horses.
GIRL
Daddy, when you die, there will be
no one left to remember me.
CHARLES
I’m sorry, darlin’.
GIRL
I don’t want to be forgotten.
CHARLES
I know, honey, I know. And I promise, I’ll remember you as long as
my heart’s still beatin’. Longer even.
GIRL
Daddy? Stay just a little while longer? Stay so I
don’t fade away?
CHARLES
Ok. Alright.
Little while longer, darlin’.
GIRL
Thank you, Daddy.
Charles opens his eyes and slowly gets up. The blood is
starting to dry on his face. He staggers
off looking for something - anything - with a sign of life. A multitude of fires light his way in the
darkness, though the heavy black smoke casts a haze on everything nearby. After what seems like forever, he hears a
weak coughing. Slowly, painfully, he
drags himself towards it.
CHARLES
Somebody there?
ASHLEY
(Urgently) Here! I’m over here! Oh, thank God, there’s somebody else. Please, I can’t move! I think my legs are
broken.
Charles suddenly sees Ashley, lying in a heap of broken
stone. Her face is beautiful, and somehow clean and untouched by the
surrounding ruin. Her eyes, clear and wide, find Charles and seem to beg for
his help.
ASHLEY
Please! Please, you’ve got to help me!
As he approaches, Charles realizes that the immense stone
over her legs is the only thing stopping her from bleeding out. He closes his
eyes and sighs. True love couldn’t be
this fleeting, could it?
CHARLES
I’m sorry – I want to help, but there’s
nothing I can do. If I free your legs,
you’ll die. The stone on your legs is
the only thing keeping your insides from falling out.
ASHLEY
Oh no, oh no…. I just…It doesn’t matter. God! God…. Just…Just do it. Take it off.
I don’t want to live. Not
here. Not anymore. Everything is dead, everything is pain and
there’s just so much darkness now and there used to be so much light. Take it…
Charles takes off the stone
ASHLEY
AAAAAAGGGH! (dies)
Charles looks at her, his merciless
eyes forcing him to look at what he is done.
Her beautiful but lifeless face is frozen in the pain and agony of her
death. Charles looks closer, noticing something.
CHARLES
WTF are those fairy wings?!!?!
Titania appears, holding an iPad.
TITANIA
No.
THESE are fairy wings!
