PANEL 9: Juggles is a yoga pose, back arched, as he juggles the three pins with his feet,. He blows cigarette smoke toward Murdermouth.
JUGGLES: I like you, Meat Head. We should get an act together. Call it “A Farewell To Arms.”
TEXT: No arms. What a waste.
PANEL 10: Juggles flips to his feet, letting the pins fall. Juggles balances on one leg, wiggling his toes on the other as if waving to a crowd. The torchlight is like a stage spotlight.
JUGGLES: A little comedy, a little tragedy. “You can’t hug with nuclear arms.” “Take a bite outta crime.” That sort of thing.
TEXT: His mouth is noisy. I love him.
PANEL 11: Juggles moves the burning cigarette toward Murdermouth’s outreached hand.
JUGGLES: Yeah, we’re both freaks. Wanna drag?
PAGE 11
PANEL 1: CLOSE-UP. The cigarette tip presses into Murdermouth’s palm, a little smoke rises.
TEXT: I smell good.
PANEL 2: Juggle’s face is grinning as he rubs the cigarette into Murdermouth’s flesh. Behind Juggles, the Fat Lady is entering the tent.
JUGGLES: “Cigarettes are hazardous to your health.” Good one, huh? I tell ya, we could make it big.
PANEL 3: The Fat Lady approaches the cage.
FAT LADY: Leave him alone.
JUGGLES: Finished with the soldier boys, eh? Did you make them stand at attention long?
PANEL 4: MEDIUM CLOSE-UP of Fat Lady.
FAT LADY: You’re just jealous, Juggles. You had your shot and fired a blank.
JUGGLES: Ouch.
PANEL 5: The Fat Lady gently holds Murdermouth’s hand in both of her hands.
JUGGLES: Better watch it. Meat Head looks a little hungry.
PANEL 6: CLOSE-UP of Murdermouth, he looks a little confused, eyes blank.
TEXT: Always hungry. She smells good.
PANEL 7: The Fat Lady kisses the burn wound on Murdermouth’s hand.
FAT LADY: He needs love like everybody else.
JUGGLES: And you should know, because you’ve loved them all.
TEXT: Love. Do I remember that word?
PANEL 8: Murdermouth grabs the Fat Lady’s wrist.
TEXT: Yes. I remember. I hate love.
PAGE 12
PANEL 1: FLASHBACK: Dimly lit bedroom. John Sorenson grabs Julie Sorenson’s wrist, imitating the previous panel.
JOHN: No.
PANEL 2: They are in bed, Julie is in a flimsy nightgown, trying to climb out of the bed, John still holding her wrist. Flickering light from distant fires comes from the window behind them.
JULIE: Let me go.
JOHN: What are you afraid of?
PANEL 3: Julie pulls free and sits up on her knees in bed. John, muscular and bare-chested in his boxer shorts, is also sitting up, tense.
JULIE: Because you’ve become a monster.
(Next few panels are back-and-forth close-ups of John and Julie, as if they are facing off—the effect of light flickering on their faces. Their expressions go from angry to a little confused)
PANEL 4: Close-up of John.
JOHN: I’m only following orders.
PANEL 5: Close-up of Julie.
JULIE: That would be corny if it wasn’t so sad.
PANEL 6: Close-up of John.
JOHN: Somebody has to fight it.
PANEL 7: CLOSE-UP of Julie.
JULIE: You’re a soldier, not a father. And you can’t fight what you can’t see.
PANEL 8: Wide view of bedroom—John grabs Julie again, covers falling to the floor as he yanks her off the bed.
JOHN: This isn’t about us. It’s bigger than that.
JULIE: Nothing’s bigger than us.
PANEL 9: John drags her toward the window, where the fire is reflecting in the glass…
JOHN: Except this…
PAGE 13
HALF SPLASH: The world outside the window—we see Julie and John from behind, standing at the window, and, a few houses in the neighborhood, and beyond, on the horizon, a city is burning, a skyscraper collapsing, a couple of helicopters flying in the air, a searchlight sweeping the night sky. The fire is reflected against a high canopy of clouds and smoke.
TEXT: I can remember a lot now. How I should have let the world end. How I should have held on to what mattered most. How I should have cared about the little things…
DOLORES (Off-panel, in the corner): Mommy?
PANEL 2: John and Julie turn.
JULIE (small): Honey?
PANEL 3: Dolores stands in the doorway in her rumpled pajamas, rubbing one eye, holding her doll against her body.
DOLORES: Something woked me up.
PANEL 4: Julie kneels and hugs Dolores while John stands helplessly behind her.
JULIE: It’s going to be okay, baby.
TEXT: I remember thinking it was never going to be okay again. But I didn’t say anything.
PAGE 14
PANEL 1: BACK TO PRESENT: Murdermouth moves the Fat Lady’s hand to his mouth, a drop of gooey saliva dangling from his cracked and corrupt lips.
TEXT: And now I can’t say anything. Mouth only good for one thing: To love.
PANEL 2: Juggles balances on one foot and tries to grab the Fat Lady with the other foot, to drag her away.
JUGGLES: Told ya he was hungry. Get away.
PANEL 3: Murdermouth’s lips are parted wide, his grungy jagged teeth about to puncture the soft, pale flesh of her wrist. You can see her veins pulsing with blue blood.
TEXT: This isn’t about us.
PANEL 4: Juggles tries to drag the Fat Lady back, and for the first time she is afraid, her eyes wide as she tries to pull away.
FAT LADY: Hey, hon, don’t play rough.
JUGGLES: You and your big fat heart.
PANEL 5: The teeth clamp on her flesh, not ripping, just squeezing firmly.
TEXT: Nothing personal.
PANEL 6: Eye Patch enters the tent, uniform shirt unbuttoned and open, he is sloppy and drunk, carrying the rifle. There’s a patch on his cheek where Murdermouth had scratched him. Juggles is still trying to yank the Fat Lady away.
EYE PATCH: I come for payback.
JUGGLES: Help me before he rips her up.
PANEL 7: The teeth open again and the Fat Lady pulls her hand free.
TEXT: I love her. But now I love him more.
PANEL 8: As Juggles and the Fat Lady fall backwards in a tangle, Eye Patch comes up to the cage with his rifle. He has a ring of keys.
EYE PATCH: I don’t forget.
TEXT: I do. If you forget, you can love as many as you want.
PAGE 15
PANEL 1: Eye patch rams a key into the lock.
EYE PATCH: Fifty bucks and the barker said you’re all mine.
PANEL 2: The Fat Lady is on top of Juggles, whose legs are scissoring and kicking in the air as he tries to get free.
FAT LADY: You leave him alone.
PANEL 3: Eye Patch swings open the cage door.
EYE PATCH: You had your turn. More than one, if I remember right.
PANEL 4: Murdermouth hunched and waiting for Eye Patch to come in.
TEXT: Remember. That word. Tastes like love.
PANEL 5: Eye Patch raises the rifle and points it at Murdermouth. They stare each other down, Eye Patch’s one eye squinting in a cruel expression, Murdermouth’s is blank and confused, mouth hanging open.
EYE PATCH: Fifty bucks. Not quite 30 pieces of silver, but more than your sorry soul is worth.
PANEL 6: The Fat Lady rolls to her knees and crawls toward the cage. Juggles is out of breath, trying to get up.
FAT LADY: He was a soldier like you.
EYE PATCH (off panel): He ain’t like me.
PANEL 7: Close-up of Murdermouth.
TEXT: Like. Love. Tastes the same.
PANEL 8: Eye Patch points the rifle barrel to Murdermouth’s forehead, the Fat Lady waddling fast behind him.
EYE PATCH: Get ready to be dead again.
TEXT: Dead. Alive. Feels
the same.
PAGE 16
PANEL 1: The Fat Lady moves in between Eye Patch and Murdermouth and now the rifle points at her.
FAT LADY: Don’t hurt him.
EYE PATCH: Get out of the way.
PANEL 2: Close-up of Fat Lady.
FAT LADY: You’ll have to kill me first.
PANEL 3: Eye Patch, with Juggles coming up from behind. Juggles is bouncing on one foot, holding one of the pins between two toes. Eye Patch’s face is determined, as if he’s about to pull the trigger.
EYE PATCH: You came cheaper than he did.
PANEL 4: Big Action Panel. Eye Patch and Juggles. Juggles swings the bowling pin down on top of Eye Patch’s skull. Eye Patch’s eyes bug out from the contact, mouth open, a bit of spittle flying from crooked teeth.
SFX: KUH-THUBB
PANEL 5: Wide view. Eye Patch falls, scalp bleeding, the rifle dropping to the side. The Fat Lady is in front of Murdermouth.
TEXT BOX: Blood.
PANEL 6: The Fat Lady kneels to check Eye Patch. Show Juggles and Murdermouth from the waist down. Eye Patch is facing the reader, eye closed.
JUGGLES: Get the gun. I ain’t exactly loaded with trigger fingers, ya know.
PANEL 7: Fat Lady feeling the soldier’s neck. She is straining from the effort of bending over.
FAT LADY: Is he dead?
TEXT BOX: Dead. Alive. Tastes the same.
PANEL 8: Murdermouth reaches for the Fat Lady’s shoulder.
JUGGLES: We better get out of here. Ya don’t mess with soldiers and live to tell about it.
TEXT BOX: Soldiers. We were soldiers once.
PAGE 17
PANEL 1: Murdermouth shoves the Fat Lady out of the way.
FAT LADY: Hey!!!
TEXT BOX: Now we are—
PANEL 2: Murdermouth lunges toward Eye Patch, hands outstretched like claws, face erupting in a frenzy, eyes lit in a way we haven’t seen before. He’s hungry, and the smell of blood has made him out of control. Eye Patch fires, the shot goes into Murdermouth’s chest, making a small wet hole.
SFX (rifle) KURR-CHEW
SFX (bullet hitting): PHLUTT
TEXT: Hungry.
PANEL 3: Murdermouth flops onto Eye Patch, mouth open, drool falling from cracked lips as Murdermouth moves in for a bite. Beneath him, Eye Patch’s one eye is half open.
JUGGLES: Christ, is he going to—
PANEL 4: Murdermouth rips into Eye Patch’s neck, tearing away a huge patch of flesh. Eye Patch’s eye is wide open now as the pain hits.
TEXT: Feel my love.
EYE PATCH (scream bleeds over): AiiiiiiieeeeeeEEE
PANEL 5: Big panel, outside of the tent, looking down on the littered carnival grounds. The carnival is sad at night, a few torches flickering, a horse tied to a tree, a barker’s medicine show wagon in the background. The monkey is awake. In the distance, the city is on fire.
EYE PATCH (bleed over): EEEEEEEEEEEEEE
PAGE 18
PANEL 1: FLASHBACK. Close-up. John Sorenson rips into a fried chicken leg, bits of meat and crust flying.
TEXT BOX: We were soldiers once.
PANEL 2: John is in a military lab, in uniform, eating at a stainless steel table, coffee cup by his food. There are rows of medical machines, vials, computers, an autoclave. Across the table is another soldier, CAPT. HAYDEN FRALEY. John is chewing with his mouth open. Behind him is a glass window, we can’t see behind it.
FRALEY: Christ, John, you’d make a great vegetarian.
JOHN: No fun in it. Carrots never scream.
PANEL 3: Over John’s shoulder, we see a human form in the window. We can’t quite make out the face, though it is somehow disturbing.
JOHN: Besides, you work up an appetite when you’re messing with rotters.
PANEL 4: Wider view, now the face is pressed against the glass, it’s a female zombie, deformed, hideous, one eye staring wild. One rotted hand is pressed against the glass, as if the zombie can’t figure out why.
John is still eating, talking with his mouth full, motioning back with his thumb toward the window, but Hayden is leaping up, knocking his chair over.
JOHN: If we can crack this one—
HAYDEN: Christ, John, it’s…it’s…
PANEL 5: Close-up of John, still eating, not seeing the creature.
JOHN: A virus? Bioterrorism? Space dust?
PANEL 6: Wide view, John is reaching for his coffee, Hayden is staggering back toward the door, the zombie now looks hungry.
HAYDEN: It’s working. They did it.
PANEL 7: The female zombie at the window, hammering his hand against the glass. Her mouth is open as if screaming but no sound comes out. John’s face in the foreground in shock as he turns to see the zombie.
SFX (of hand): DUDD
JOHN: You’re dead.
PANEL 8: Close-up. John’s mouth is open in surprise, food falling from it. We see the zombie’s face in each of his pupils.
JOHN (small): We’re all dead…
TEXT: Sometimes I remember. I am a rotter. I am John. Who am I?
PAGE 19
PANEL 1: PRESENT. We see Murdermouth from behind, busy chowing down on Eyepatch. Not too gory, but there’s a little bit of meat flying in the air. Juggles and the Fat Lady look on.
JUGGLES: You sure know how to pick ‘em.
FAT LADY: Love doesn’t have a lick of sense.
PANEL 2: The Barker runs into the cage, hair askew, shirt half unbuttoned as if he was asleep or dunk. His top hat is tilted on his head.
BARKER: Who got shot?
BARKER (second balloon): Oh.
FAT LADY: Better get him out of here.
PANEL 3: The Fat Lady puts her hand on Murdermouth’s shoulder, trying to pull him away. He has Eyepatch’s wrist in his mouth, the fingers dangling, bits of shredded meat hanging down from the end of the arm stump.
FAT LADY: Come on, hon. It ain’t safe here.
BARKER: Leave him alone. That’s my meal ticket.
PANEL 4: Juggles is dragging the rifle away, holding the barrel between his toes.
JUGGLES: If more soldier boys show up, we’re all meat.
PANEL 5: Medium close-up. Murdermouth looking back over his shoulder and up at the Fat Lady, bits of gore and blood streaking his mouth.
TEXT: She loves me.
PANEL 6: Murdermouth holds up a chunk of Eye Patch’s ragged, torn arm, offering it to the Fat Lady. Murdermouth tries to speak.
MURDERMOUTH (no balloon, just near his mouth): Urrrr?
TEXT: Here. Share.
PANEL 7: The Fat Lady pushes the meat away. The Barker is behind her, not quite trusting Murdermouth.
FAT LADY: Eating people is wrong, hon.
BARKER: Depends on who you eat.
PANEL 8: Murdermouth returns to his feasting.
TEXT: You always hurt the ones you love. Because they taste the best.
PAGE 20
PANEL 1: Outside the tent. It is dark. Juggles pokes his head out of the tent, torchlight flickering behind him.
JUGGLES: All clear.
PANEL 2: BARKER starts to close the cage door, with the Fat Lady and Eye Patch still inside. Murdermouth is busy eating.
BARKER: I can’t let my prize escape. You know how hard it is to capture one of these?
FAT LADY: It’s not like bait is hard to find.
PANEL 3: Barker closes the cage door.
BARKER: I’ll be back once I know we’re safe.
FAT LADY: You can’t leave me in here.
PANEL 4: Close-up of the Barker, now we see his eyes are mean.
BARKER: You’re just as much a freak as he is. You just don’t swallow.
PANEL 5: Juggles is sitting behind Barker, one foot balancing the barrel of the rifle, the other foot with a toe perched on the trigger.
JUGGLES: Let ‘em loose, Barnum.
PANEL 6: Barker turns and stares at Juggles, right into the barrel of the rifle. In the background, Fat Lady and Murdermouth stand at the bars of the c
age. Murdermouth is dangling one of Eye Patch’s arms.
BARKER: You’re not man enough.
PANEL 7: Juggles face in close-up, the barrel of the rifle in front of it.
Murdermouth: Zombie Bits Page 8
