Where Death Follows the Rails – Episode 1 – Closing the Distance

Below we present the complete text of “Closing the Distance”, episode 1  of our new Weird Western serial; Where Death Follows the Rails. This is a brand new (unpublished draft) series (featuring Jim Wilkes, Annie Deems, Sally Turner, and Speeding Elk). If you would like to see these new stories advance from being drafts into polished publications then please consider supporting us by purchasing one or more of our previously published titles (they’re only $25.99 (AUD), great value for a whole night of entertainment for 6 – 8 people). Every sale directly funds the production of new stories.

WHERE DEATH RIDES THROUGH

EPISODE #1 – Closing the Distance

by Philip Craig Robotham

Cover Illustration by Miyukiko

Unedited Draft

Copyright 2016 Philip Craig Robotham

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Edition.

This play is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) International license. This play may not be commercially reproduced, performed, or sold. Non-commercial production, performance, and reproduction are allowed under this license so long as attribution is maintained. No derivative content or use is allowed. It can be freely shared in its current form (without change) under this license. If you would like to purchase one or more copies of this work (for your own personal non-commercial use, or to help financially support the author) then please return to https://www.weirdworlstudios.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Other works by this author can be found at the author’s website: https://weirdworldstudios.com or through select, online book retailers.

Serial #4: Where Death Follows the Rails

Their quest is coming to an end; Jim Wilkes, the undead sheriff murdered by Mayor Dan Wilson, a skin-walker that has escaped from the spirit world, along with the equally undead Annie Deemes, Sally Turner, and Speeding Elk, are finally catching up in their pursuit of the mayor.  Can they stop him from getting back East to establish to turn the government into an army of mindless hosts, waiting to be taken over by monsters just beyond the walls of reality? Tune in and thrill to the excitement of “Where Death Follows the Rails” and find out for yourself.

Episodes in the Host Your Own “Old Time Radio Drama” series are designed to provide a fun dinner party experience for 6–8 participants. Read along, taking on the role of one or more of the characters in the story, and listen as the exciting drama unfolds. This is the theater of the mind, where the special effects are only limited by your imagination, and your participation will build a memory that you’ll treasure for years to come.

CLOSING THE DISTANCE

CAST LIST

NARRATOR: The Narrator

JIM WILKES: Dead Sheriff of Liberty Gulch

ANNIE DEEMES: Dead Crack-Shot

SPEEDING ELK: Dead Indian

SALLY TURNER: Dead Gambler

SHAMBLING DEAD: Zombies

SHRIEKING SPIRITS: Banished Skinwalker Spirits

ACT 1

SCENE 1: EXT – A MAKESHIFT CAMP – NIGHT (JIM, ANNIE, SALLY)

1. MUSIC: OPENING THEME
2. WALLA: NIGHT NOISES – DISTANCT CRICKETS, OWL HOOT, CAMP FIRE CRACKLE – ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
3. SOUND: CLANG OF HORSHOE HITTING SPIKE – LET IT FINISH
4. JIM: Not bad. You hit the spike with your shoe but it bounced. You need to ease off a little on the power of your throw.
5. ANNIE: What is it with men and unwanted advice. I’ve been playing horseshoes since I was a mere slip of a girl, Jim Wilkes, and I don’t need your advice.
6. JIM: Okay. Okay. I was just trying to help.
7. SALLY: Hmpf! Like your help is needed here.
8. JIM: Since when have you and Annie been on the same side?
9. SALLY: Since it looks like she’s gonna whip your…
10. ANNIE: There ain’t no call for talkin like that Sally.
11. SALLY: Well, hell. (MUTTERING TO HERSELF) You try to do something nice…
12. JIM: (LAUGHING) You’re on fire this evening Annie. The only person you ain’t insulted yet is Speeding Elk, and that’s only cause he’s not here.
13. ANNIE: Yeah, well he’d probably have had more sense than to agree to playing this stupid game.
14. JIM: You’re just sore cause you’re losing. How many games is that now? Three? Four? I’m kinda losing count.
15. ANNIE: Aargh!
16. SOUND: ANNIE’S FOOTSTEPS MARCHING AWAY – FADE UNDER.
17. SALLY: (QUIETLY) You’re gonna pay for that later.
18. JIM: (AMUSED) Yeah. I bet I am too.
19. SALLY: Where’d you get them horseshoes anyway? Those dino-whatsit’s we’re riding don’t wear ‘em.
20. JIM: These? I just enjoy a game is all. I keep ‘em in my saddlebag.
21. SALLY: Bet you cain’t make three out of three.
22. JIM: Uh uh. No way. I can see the cards in your hand.
23. SALLY: (TEASING) I thought you didn’t believe in my power to shift the odds with the cards.
24. JIM: That’d be Annie you’re thinking of. Since we died I’ve kind of broadened my perspective a little.
25. SALLY: Well, you cain’t blame a girl for trying. (BEAT) So where is Speeding Elk? It looks like the sun’ll be up soon.
26. JIM: He went on a scouting mission ahead. I think he needs a bit o’ time by hisself.
27. SALLY: I’m startin’ to worry about him.
28. JIM: I’m worried about all of us. It looks like we’re finally about to catch up with that monster we’ve been tracking and none of us has any earthly idea what happens once we do.
29. SALLY: We kill ‘im o’ cours… or he kills us.
30. JIM: Yeah, but then what? We’re tools Sally. Brought back from the dead by a vengeful indian tribe to hunt down and destroy a possessed shape changing mayor. What happens to us once we’re done? Do we live on? Do we finally die? I don’t know.
31. SALLY: We could run for it.
32. JIM: (LAUGHS BITTERLY) Speeding Elk couldn’t. His promise to his tribe binds him. As for the rest of us, I don’t think we could either.
33. SALLY: Why not?
34. JIM: Try it. (BEAT) Go on. Try and force yourself to leave.
35. SALLY: But I don’t want to.
36. JIM: Uhuh. And you don’t find that a little strange. Annie pointed it out to me on the trail. I can’t even concentrate on the possibility of running for very long.
37. SALLY: Aw shucks, Jim. That’s just cause it ain’t in your nature to run. You just ain’t built that way.
38. JIM: And what about you? I reckon you’ve had to leg it out of more than one town in your time. Can you spend any time seriously thinking about running away?
39. SALLY: (PUZZLED) Now you come to mention it, no. It’s like the moment I try – I mean really try – my thoughts just slide away from the notion, like trying to pick a slimy rock up in a riverbed.
40. JIM: If it’s any consolation, the same thing happens to me. All my life I never ran from a fight… but I always thought about it. Anyone who says they don’t think about it’s a liar. I’ve thought about it every time… until now.
41. ANNIE: (AT A DISTANCE) Hey, you two. Speeding Elk’s coming back, and fast. You better saddle up them monsters quick.
42. SALLY: I still cain’t get over what we’re riding.
43. JIM: Yeah, I know. I heard tell that these things used to roam this country long before buffalo and men came along.
44. SALLY: Yeah? I never heard of ‘em afore we saw ‘em up close and personal in that hidden valley.
45. JIM: Yeah. I met a man named Edward Cope once. He called himself a… aw, hell. I cain’t remember the name. Lots o syllables anyhow. He was making a name for himself digging up the bones o’ these huge creatures. He was an arrogant man. Quarrelsome by nature. And he had a competitor by the name of Marsh. From all I heard, he was a pretty ornery cuss too. It’s hard to believe two men could hate each other as much as these two did. Still, they had a name for these things. Dinosaurs, they called ‘em. Cope reckoned they all died out a long time ago. What he wouldn’t give to see some live ones like we got.
46. SALLY: I guess that makes us pretty special then, huh?
47. JIM: You mean apart from comin’ back from the dead?
48. SALLY: Yeah, I guess.
49. ANNIE: (STILL AT A DISTANCE) Hey, you two, get the lead out.
50. MUSIC: (BRIDGE) NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER (LET IT FINISH).

SCENE 2: EXT – ON THE TRAIL (EARLY MORNING)
(JIM, ANNIE, SALLY, SPEEDING ELK)

51. SOUND: THREE SETS OF DINOSAUR FEET WALKING TOGETHER, ONE SET APPROACHING AND ALL COMING TO A STOP (BEGIN AND FADE UNDER).
52. JIM: Whoah. (BEAT) What’s the news Speeding Elk.
53. SPEEDING ELK: We must hurry. You must follow.
54. SOUND: DINOSOUR FEET AGITATED.
55. JIM: Now, hold on. What’s up?
56. SPEEDING ELK: We are nearly upon him. He has stopped. But he waits for an Iron Horse.
57. ANNIE: An Iron horse. Jim, he’s found hisself a train station.
58. JIM: Uh-huh. That means he’s heading back East with that load o’ cursed rock he’s been hauling.
59. SPEEDING ELK: Come. Come quickly.
60. SALLY: Your damn straight we’re gonna come quickly. Let’s git. (Yah!)
61. SOUND: DINOSAURS BREAK INTO LOPING RUN AND FADE INTO DISTANCE (LET IT FINISH).
62. MUSIC: (BRIDGE) NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

ACT 2

SCENE 3: EXT – APPROACHING THE TRAIN STATION (MID MORNING) (JIM, ANNIE, SALLY, SPEEDING ELK)

63. SOUND: FOUR SETS OF DINOSAUR FEET GALLOPING TOGETHER, JANGLE OF HARNESSES AND COMING TO A HALT (ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER)
64. JIM: Whoah. (BEAT) Well there’s the station. It looks pretty quiet.
65. SOUND: DISTANT TRAIN WHISTLE – LET IT FINISH.
66. ANNIE: And there’s the train heading off into the distance. (SARCASTIC) Do you think we missed it?
67. JIM: (DEADPAN) I cain’t see any sign of the Mayor’s cart so that would be my guess.
68. SPEEDING ELK: The station is not empty.
69. SALLY: What’s that?
70. SPEEDING ELK: (FRUSTRATED) You white eyes! You look but do not see. There is movement behind the curtains.
71. ANNIE: Yeah, I see it.
72. SALLY: So, what do we do? Can these animals catch that train?
73. JIM: We’ve been pushing them pretty hard just to get here. Even if they was rested I don’t think they could catch it.
74. ANNIE: I thought you said he was heading back East. That looks North to me.
75. JIM: Yeah, the track skirts the edge of the mountains here, making its way around in a wide loop before heading back Eastwards. It was only a few miles out of their way to go round and the train company felt it would be quicker’n trying to blast their way through with a tunnel.
76. ANNIE: So if we can get across we could cut him off?
77. JIM: Maybe, but we’d have to find a way through those Mountains. Without a guide we could be lost for days.
78. SPEEDING ELK: I know a way. There is a hidden canyon. It can be reached from beyond those hills. My people have always shunned it.
79. SALLY: Why’s that?
80. SPEEDING ELK: It is the canyon of the soul stealers.
81. SALLY: Ooookaaay. That sounds cheerful.
82. ANNIE: Well, what’re our options; check out the station, follow the rail line, or risk the cheerful sounding canyon?
83. JIM: Just how dangerous is this canyon of yours Speeding Elk?
84. SPEEDING ELK: My people fear it. No-one has gone there in many generations. The reason has been forgotten.
85. ANNIE: Just great.
86. JIM: I think we need to take a look at the station… just in case the Mayor has left anything nasty behind for the next train.
87. ANNIE: And after that?
88. JIM: The canyon, I think. We don’t seem to have a lot of choice.
89. SALLY: Agreed.
90. SPEEDING ELK: (GRUNTS) Hmpf!
91. ANNIE: Alright then, let’s get this over with.
92. MUSIC: (BRIDGE) NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 4: TANNER TRAIN STATION (A SHORT WHILE LATER)
(JIM, ANNIE, SALLY, SPEEDING ELK, WALKING CORPSES)

93. SOUND: FOUR SETS OF DINOSAUR FEET COMING TO A HALT.
94. JIM: Well, what do you think?
95. ANNIE: Looks like a watering station… a place to top the engine up with water. There’s the main station itself, the wind pump, and that shack over yonder, but nothing else.
96. SALLY: Yeah, nice and secluded. As good a place as any for the mayor to embark.
97. SOUND: SQUEAKING OF WIND PUMP (ESTABLISH AND UNDER)
98. SALLY: Hey what’s that?
99. JIM: Just the windpump… no wait, there’s something up there… on the water tower.
100. SPEEDING ELK: Yes, and on the roof of the station.
101. SALLY: Is it one of them?
102. JIM: I cain’t tell.
103. ANNIE: You should consider getting’ your eyes checked and maybe a pair of spectacles.
104. JIM: I’ll take it under advisement… especially from someone who loses at horseshoes six times in a row.
105. SALLY: (SNICKERS) Heh.
106. ANNIE: Well, I may not be much show at some dumb game, but I can see plenty. It’s one of them alright. I cain’t see any reason why it’d be chewing on a human arm otherwise. Definitely, poisoned by the ghost-rock.
107. JIM: And the one on the station roof?
108. ANNIE: The same, a lookout maybe?
109. JIM: If so, they’re getting smarter.
110. ANNIE: How so?
111. SPEEDING ELK: The ghost rock drives out the spirit of the host leaving it empty. The remnant is alive but only knows hunger, thirst, rage… basic things. They are not human any more.
112. JIM: But they don’t stay that way, do they?
113. SPEEDING ELK: No. After a while a new spirit – a Manitou – comes to take over the body. Some are stupid and mean – spirits of mischief. Others are clever and cruel – spirits of evil.
114. SALLY: And the two that are playing lookout…
115. SPEEDING ELK: Are more clever than usual. They have been inhabited by spirits of evil.
116. SOUND: RIFLE BEING COCKED – LET IT FINISH.
117. ANNIE: Well, I’ve drawn a clear bead on one of them.
118. JIM: Annie, wait!
119. SOUND: RIFLE SHOT, DISTANT HISSING SCREAM, DISTANT THUD OF BODY FALLING FROM ROOF – LET IT FINISH.
120. SOUND: HISSING SCREAMS AND GROWLS FROM ALL AROUND – ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
121. JIM: Damnit, now they’re all coming out.
122. SALLY: Aw hell! Aim for the heads.
123. SOUND: MULTIPLE GUN SHOTS INTERSPERSED WITH THE SOUND OF ARROWS BEING FIRED – ESTABLISH AND FADE
124. MUSIC: OMINOUS SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 5: EXT – TANNER TRAIN STATION (A GUNFIGHT LATER)
(JIM, ANNIE, SALLY, SPEEDING ELK, WALKING CORPSES)

125. SOUND: FADE IN SOUND OF GUNS FIRING – LET IT FINISH.
126. SALLY: I think that was the last of them.
127. JIM: Yeah, I’m pretty sure we ain’t gonna be bothered by the likes of them around here no more.
128. SALLY: No thanks to her.
129. ANNIE: Hey!
130. SALLY: Aw, no offence meant. I’m just enjoying NOT being the one who screwed up for once.
131. ANNIE: (SARCASTIC) Ha ha!
132. SALLY: No really, is this how you feel all the time? You know, superior and benevolent all at once?
133. ANNIE: (WARNING) I’m not sure you’ll feel much at all after I knock your damned head off.
134. SALLY: No, I mean it. Is this what it’s like to overlook other people’s weaknesses. Hell, I could get used to this.
135. ANNIE: Why you…
136. JIM: That’s enough out of both of you.
137. SALLY: But…
138. JIM: One more word and I’ll let Annie take you apart.
139. ANNIE: (MUTTERING) Like you could stop me.
140. JIM: And as for you, what in tarnation were you thinking? We’ve got Speeding Elk for the silent kill. There’s no need to be announcing our presence like that when we already know we’re walking into a trap.
141. ANNIE: (MUMBLING) You’re right.
142. JIM: What was that?
143. ANNIE: I’m sorry, already. I wasn’t thinking.
144. JIM: (BEAT) Good enough.
145. SPEEDING ELK: (BEAT) (HOSTILE) We can’t stay to bury the dead.
146. JIM: We’ve talked about this before, Speeding Elk.
147. SPEEDING ELK: Not this time. We have to get through the canyon before the iron horse reaches the other side.
148. ANNIE: I’m sorry Jim, I’m inclined to agree. If we don’t stop that train, we’ll be forced to follow on behind Mayor Wilson all the way to Washington.
149. SALLY: She’s right Jim. We’ll come back and see to the dead once this is over. But we cain’t delay now. We’re too close and we won’t have another opportunity like this.
150. JIM: (BEAT) (DEFEATED) Aw hell and damnation.
151. ANNIE: Jim?
152. JIM: Hell!
153. ANNIE: What is it?
154. JIM: No, you’re all right, of course. I know you are. It’s just that…
155. ANNIE: What?
156. JIM: I’m not sure there’s gonna be any “us” to come back here once we’re done.
157. SALLY: Well aint you the pessimist. I ain’t gonna allow that filthy mayor to kill me twice.
158. JIM: That’s not what I mean. Even if we do win, and it’s always been a risk that we might not, but even if we do… It’s like I was saying this morning. I ain’t certain what’ll happen next. I don’t want to just drop dead like carrion beside a wagon trail.
159. SALLY: What? You don’t think them Injuns who resurrected us are going to let us stay alive after we’ve completed this job?
160. SPEEDING ELK: It costs much energy to keep the spells sustaining us alive. I do not know if they are permanent or if…
161. ANNIE: Or if we go back to being dead once we’re done.
162. SPEEDING ELK: Yes.
163. SALLY: Then what are we doing this for? We should be putting off ending this for as long as possible.
164. JIM: We caint. It’s the same for all of us. We’re committed, but I cain’t help feeling bad about these folks.
165. SALLY: Well, we may not have time to bury ‘em but we can look them up in the station out of the sun and away from any animals that might come by. Will that do?
166. JIM: There’s only about ten bodies in total. I guess it’ll have to. Besides I want to have a look in that shed over there.
167. ANNIE: Why’s that?
168. JIM: I just have a feeling we might find something useful.
169. SPEEDING ELK: More delay. We must hurry.
170. JIM: I won’t be a moment.
171. MUSIC: NEUTRAL SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.

SCENE 6: EXT – ENTERING THE CANYON (MID-DAY)
(JIM, ANNIE, SALLY, SPEEDING ELK, SHRIEKING SPIRITS)

172. SOUND: STEADY FOOTFALLS OF DINOSAUR MOUNTS – ESTABLISH AND UNDER
173. SALLY: Danged if you ain’t the clever one, Speeding Elk. This canyon’s so well hidden, no one would find it in a million years. And it’s so close to the train station too. Who’d have thought?
174. SPEEDING ELK: (GRUNTS) Hmpf.
175. SALLY: You know, you’ve never been the most talkative cuss, but you could at least acknowledge a compliment.
176. SPEEDING ELK: I did not mean to cause offense.
177. SALLY: … And?
178. SPEEDING ELK: (CONFUSED) I did not mean to cause offense.
179. SALLY: No, I mean what’s got you so distracted?
180. SPEEDING ELK: I am not distracted. I am listening.
181. SALLY: What to? I can’t here a thing.
182. SPEEDING ELK: Mmm. No sound. Makes me cautious.
183. SALLY: But it’s gorgeous in here. The sandstone is beautiful. What kind of danger could there be?
184. SPEEDING ELK: I do not know… but I feel… something is wrong.
185. SALLY: You’ve just got the jitters is all. You said yourself that your people haven’t been here in living memory. The canyon was probably home to a bear or some such. Probably long dead…
186. And besides our mounts ain’t reacting?
187. SPEEDING ELK: Our mounts do not react to wrongness. If they did we could not ride them.
188. SALLY: It’s a fair point. Maybe I should let the other two know.
189. JIM: We know. We’re right behind you.
190. SALLY: (EMBARRASSED) Uh, yeah. Sorry I forgot about you there for a minute there.
191. ANNIE: Heh.
192. SALLY: (WHINING – TO ANNIE) Shut up!
193. SOUND: HOWL OF WIND WITH A HISSING CRY UNDERNEATH IT – LET IT FINISH.
194. ANNIE: What was that?
195. SPEEDING ELK: Soul Stealer.
196. JIM: Let’s not go jumping to conclusions. It could just be the wind.
197. SPEEDING ELK: No, it is a soul stealer. Take out your amulets.
198. JIM: Why, what’ll they do?
199. SPEEDING ELK: They have power. They let us control our beasts. We will need this power.
200. ANNIE: So… you actually have no idea and you’re just playing it safe?
201. SPEEDING ELK: Yes.
202. ANNIE: I’m sold. Let’s get ‘em out.
203. SOUND: ANOTHER SCREAMING HOWL – MUCH CLOSER THIS TIME – LET IT FINISH.
204. SALLY: (PANICKED) What was that? I felt it rush past my face.
205. SOUND: ANOTHER SCREAMING HOWL- LET IT FINISH
206. JIM: Whoah, I felt that one.
207. SPEEDING ELK: (URGENTLY) Take hold of your amulets.
208. JIM: Why?
209. SPEEDING ELK: I can see them?
210. ANNIE: Land sakes, yeah, the amulets let you see em… and they’re hideous. Like shadows or charcoal smudges with glaring red eyes, claws and teeth.
211. JIM: Stay together. The amulets seem to be holding them back.
212. SALLY: You don’t have to ask me twice.
213. SOUND: MORE HOWLS – INCREASING IN NUMBER – ESTABLISH AND UNDER.
214. SOUND: WIND RUSH IN AND OUT LIKE SLOW HEAVY BREATHING – ESTABLISH AND UNDER (IN SYNC WITH ABOVE)
215. JIM: There’s more of them the further we go in…
216. ANNIE: And they seem to be pulsing somehow. Like they’s being pushed out and sucked back in… kind of like something’s breathing.
217. SALLY: Except every once in a while one of them breaks away and escapes out of the canyon.
218. SPEEDING ELK: Usually they are trapped, but the ghost rock is calling to them, providing them with hosts.
219. JIM: Trapped? Trapped by what?
220. SPEEDING ELK: Trapped by that.
221. SOUND: LOW ELECTRICAL CRACKLING SOUND – FADE IN BELOW.
222. SALLY: Crimeny, what is that?
223. SPEEDING ELK: It is a tear, a wound in the world, and it leads to the place of evil spirits. We cannot safely go nearer, even with the protection of the amulets.
224. JIM: You seem to know a lot about these… things. I thought you said that whatever inhabits this canyon was forgotten by your people.
225. SPEEDING ELK: It was. But I have seen this before, in my dreams. This is not the only such place. There are many of them. Once, long ago, my people were not scattered as they now are. There were not many tribes but only one. They harnessed the power of the earth and the wind and became masters of great medicine. In their pride they performed the great Ghost Dance, pressing their power into the world beyond, desiring to make it serve them. Their strength did not match their ambition and calamity struck. Holes were torn in the world through which nightmares poured. The great grandfather, greatest among us, poured the power of his spirit, his breath, into the tears. He could not close the holes and the effort took him from us, but he trapped the spirits so that none but the most powerful, the wendigo, could escape the immediate area of the holes. This is one such place.
226. JIM: So, if they’re trapped, what’s the danger?
227. SPEEDING ELK: They are attracted to empty vessels. While the grandfather’s breath anchors them to the holes through which they attempt to enter our world, the ghost rock frees them to enter an infected host.
228. JIM: So they can’t hurt us then?
229. SPEEDING ELK: No, we are in their midst. Any living being they can reach can be dispossessed of its soul so that one of them may enter.
230. ANNIE: That’s horrible. What happens to the original soul.
231. SPEEDING ELK: It is lost, sucked into the nightmare realm to be tortured forever.
232. SALLY: Just when you think it cain’t get any worse, but surely it cain’t effect us. We’re dead already.
233. SPEEDING ELK: We are dead, and we are not. Our souls are still bound to this realm and those monsters can still harm us.
234. SALLY: … but hey, did you say you reckon you seen this in a dream?
235. SPEEDING ELK: Yes. My people have a unique gift. The moment of our death comes to us in a dream when we are children. I have long been confused, for I did not see my death at the hands of the Mayor’s men in my dreams… but now I understand.
236. SALLY: Wait you don’t mean?
237. SPEEDING ELK: This is the place I saw in my dreams. I know what must be done here.
238. SALLY: Wait, what are you getting off your mount for?
239. SOUND: SPEEDING ELK DISMOUNTING – LET IT FINISH.
240. SPEEDING ELK: You should dismount here. The beasts will not be needed beyond this point.
241. JIM: Now, hold on. Are you saying it all ends here?
242. SPEEDING ELK: No. We must get beyond this tear in the world and we cannot do it with the animals.
243. JIM: I don’t understand.
244. SPEEDING ELK: Take your amulets and focus your concentration on me. Will the power in my direction.
245. SOUND: DINOSAURS GROWLING NERVOUSLY – LET IT FINISH.
246. JIM: I think we’d better do as he says.
247. SOUND: REMAINING RIDERS DISMOUNT – LET IT FINISH.
248. SALLY: He’s walking straight towards it.
249. JIM: Concentrate.
250. SOUND: BRING UP SOUNDS OF HOWLING, HISSING SPIRITS. OVERLAY WITH THUDS AND BUFFETTING NOISES. ESTABLISH JUST BELOW SPEECH.
251. ANNIE: (SHOUTING TO BE HEARD) Damn it, they’re attacking him. Speeding Elk is being hit from all sides.
252. JIM: Keep concentrating. They’re hitting him, but they’re bouncing off. They aren’t getting inside him.
253. SALLY: And you’re okay with this. He’s going to get himself killed.
254. JIM: We’re all that’s keeping him safe. I couldn’t stop him now, if I wanted to. We’ve just got to keep concentrating.
255. ANNIE: He’s reached the tear. Goodness, he’s taking hold of it… pulling it shut.
256. SPEEDING ELK: (AT A DISTANCE – GRUNTING WITH EFFORT) Aaaargh!
257. SALLY: I’ll be damned if it ain’t closing, sucking them back through.
258. SPEEDING ELK: (AT A DISTANCE – PAINED GRUNTING) Aaargh!
259. SALLY: He’s hurting. Ain’t there anything more we can do?
260. SPEEDING ELK: (AT A DISTANCE – ONE LAST GRUNTING EFFORT) Aaaargh!
261. SOUND: ELECTRIC SIZZLE AS CRACK CLOSES CUTTING OFF HOWLS. BACKGROUND HUM (ESTABLISH UNDER AND INCREASE SLOWLY).
262. SPEEDING ELK: (AT A DISTANCE – PANTING BUT HAPPY) It is done. We have succeeded in closing one of the holes.
263. SOUND: AGITATED GROWLS OF DINOSAURS – LET IT FINISH.
264. SOUND: FOUR POPS OF DISINTEGRATING AMULETS – LET THEM FINISH.
265. SALLY: What the?
266. ANNIE: The amulets. They’re collapsing, crumbling to nothing.
267. SOUND: DINOSAURS GROWL AND WHINE IN DISTRESS THEN GALLOP AWAY IN A PANIC – ESTABLISH, UNDER AND OUT.
268. SALLY: No! Our mounts. We cain’t control them without the amulets.
269. SPEEDING ELK: They cannot help us now, but the exit through the canyon is not far and the metal tracks of the iron horse lie just beyond.
270. SOUND: RISING HUM – UNDER BUT INCREASING.
271. SPEEDING ELK: I am sorry I cannot be with you to the end.
272. SALLY: What are you…?
273. ANNIE: Where the crack was, something is starting to glow.
274. JIM: Look out!
275. SOUND: ELECTRIC EXPLOSION – LET IT FINISH.
276. JIM: (COUGHING) An explosion. Closing the hole must have caused it somehow.
277. SALLY: Speeding Elk! Oh no! (BEGINNING TO SOB)
278. SOUND: SALLY RUNNING TO SPEEDING ELK’S SIDE – LET IT FINISH.
279. SALLY: (SOBBNG) Speeding Elk. No. Oh, Speeding Elk.
280. JIM: I’m so sorry. He’s gone.
281. SALLY: (WEEPING)
282. ANNIE: (COMFORTING SALLY) It’s Okay. You just let it all out. He’s gone and we’ll all miss him. But I guess you’ll miss him the most.
283. SALLY: (WEEPING) Ohhh.
284. MUSIC: TRAGIC SCENE ENDER – LET IT FINISH.
285. SOUND: CLOSING THEME AND CREDITS – LET IT FINISH.

CASTING SHEETS — MAJOR CHARACTERS

JIM WILKES: I was the Sheriff of Liberty Gulch. I’ve been a lawman fer a long time. Liberty was meant to be a change – a chance to relax after my time as a U.S. Marshall. It don’t look like I’ll be doing much relaxing though. The town has been destroyed. Its people are dead, and now, I’m undead and hell-bent on being revenged upon the thing that wears the face of Dan Wilson, the mayor of Liberty Gulch.

ANNIE DEEMES: I used to run the local store. I’m a woman alone in a tough town and I hold my own. A few months back I was shot and killed, but I’m still here, raised to a pseudo-life by the powerful magic of a local Indian tribe. I was murdered by the Mayor and I was then brought back by Crow’s Shadow to seek revenge upon the man that did it.

SPEEDING ELK: I am a tracker and hunter for my people. Murdered by white men, I have been brought back by Crow’s Shadow to serve my people in seeking their revenge upon the mayor of Liberty Gulch.

SALLY TURNER: I am a drifter and gambler. I’ve had to make a quick exit from many a town over the years, but, until recently, my luck kept me one step ahead of the game. I say “until recently” because my luck ran out in Liberty Gulch. I was murdered by the mayor and brought back by Crow’s Shadow to seek revenge upon the man that killed me.

CASTING SHEETS — MINOR CHARACTERS

NARRATOR: Hello, I am your narrator. I introduce the cold stormy nights on which our stories take place, the dark alleys, and darker personalities who inhabit the lonely city. It is my job to set the scene and establish the serious tone of suspense and intrigue that will carry the story forward. It is also my job to remind listeners of what came before in a calm, trustworthy voice and ensure that everyone is oriented to where we are and where we are going.

SHAMBLING DEAD:  We follow. We obey.  We feed.

SHRIEKING SPIRITS: We want hosts.  We want to inhabit human bodies.  We wish to be free to walk the world once more instead of being banished to eternal torment.  But most of all we wish to be revenged upon the living.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Philip Craig Robotham grew up in a house full of books and has held numerous jobs as a teacher, computer programmer, graphic and web designer, an e-learning consultant and, most recently, writer. He currently lives in Sydney, Australia with his wife and two sons. When he was younger and fitter he enjoyed martial arts, but in recent years his hobbies have tended towards more sedate fare (board games, movies, books, and role-playing games).

He is extremely grateful for the encouragement he receives from his biggest fans — his wife and two boys — all of whom read and enjoy his scripts and in general make his life worth living.

You can contact the author regarding performance rights (or simply to say hello) through his website: https://weirdworldstudios.com.

Don’t forget to check out the free sample portions of our titles at https://weirdworldstudios.com/product-category/our-products/.

This post and all its content is copyright © 2013 Philip Craig Robotham and has been released under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license. This play cannot be reproduced, shared, or performed commercially without the written permission of the author. The production of derivative content, merchandise, or creative works and materials is expressly forbidden under this agreement. However you may share, reproduce, and perform this play freely so long as authorship is acknowledged, no money changes hands, and the play is not modified in any way.

Please follow and like us: