by Cory Mccoy
in the distance, We see what jim is running toward. He has spotted a truck offloading munitions. The truck looks packed, with only a dozen or so crates offloaded. Two men are unloading while a third guards them.
The guard sees JIM and tries to start firing. CONNOR has a line on the guard and takes him out before he could raise his gun. CONNOR keeps firing and hits the unloader nearest the guard.
CONNOR is sprinting furiously, trying to catch JIM. Jesse has seen the commotion and is drawing others in the opposite direction, we hear fighting coming from that way as well.
CONNOR reaches out to grab JIM, who is running headfirst into an unloader's muzzle. CONNOR's feet come out from under him just as he grabs JIM's shirt. CONNOR hits his head hard on the painted concrete floor, losing his grip on JIM as he falls. CONNOR is momentarily dazed.
As CONNOR pulls himself up, we see that he had slipped on a handful of grenade pins strewn across the slick floor. CONNOR flings himself around a corner for cover.
JIM, still running, pulls his pistol and shoots the unloader in the stomach. We see a look of horror on the unloader's face as JIM barrels past, swatting him out of the way. JIM reaches the ramp and throws himself into the trailer full of munitions.
from the parking lot, we get a view of the massive explosion. CONNOR is bunched up with his hands covering his ears as the explosion tears past. We then track up the main alley to the front where jesse has led the soldiers into a fire fight with a few of the living customers. For a moment everyone stops.
As CONNOR regains conciousness, he is pulled to his feet. CONNOR reaches for his pistol, but it is not there. A disoriented CONNOR looks up and sees Jesse and a half dozen more people. They all have weapons and most are covered in blood.
JESSE
Whoa, cool it General!
JESSE surveys the situation.
JESSE
What the hell happened back here?
CONNOR
We found his son. When Jim saw that the boy was dead he snapped and made a beeline for a supply truck they were unloading. I tried to catch him, but the floor was wet. I slipped on grenade pins. The blast damn near brought this whole place down. Who the fuck are these people?
JESSE
They were hiding near the front of the store when I ran those bastards up there. They saw me and came out to help. I threw this guy the gun since I didn't know what to do with it. Dude was taking them out like it was halo!
Jesse points to a gruff looking man in his early fifties or so.
MCDONNELL is in his late fourties to early fifties with peppered hair. He is very gruff.
MCDONNELL
Staff Sgt McDonnell. You a marine, son?
CONNOR
Semper Fi. Corporal Jeffries, 1st Recon.
MCDONNELL
Good man. You probably saved us all today.
CONNOR
Well sir, today ain't over yet. We need to move. I managed to get some intel out of one of them before the explosion.
CONNOR walks over to the rubble where the truck had been and starts looking around for salvageable weapons.
CONNOR
Anyone else here a vet?
Silence.
CONNOR
Ok, guess not. How many of you can handle a weapon?
All but one of the men respond eagerly.
CONNOR
Alright, look through the crates and on those bodies and find a few guns each. Don't forget extra clips. You'll need 'em before the day is through.
JESSE
Well shit, there cant be more than 2 or 3 left. We've taken out at least two dozen. We've got these fuckers.
MCDONNELL
Slow it down a bit son. It's only a matter of time before they send more in, those two boys we left up front can't hold them off forever.
Employee 1
I've got keys to the lift in the back. We can get it and block the front doors until we figure out what to do.
McDONNEll
Go get it, I'll stay here and see if we can salvage some heavy artillery from the truck.
CONNOR
Alright, you two with me. Jesse you too. After we get the lift, I'm going back for my girlfriend. She's holed up in an office near the back.
CONNOR, JESSE and the two employees move cautiously toward the service doors near the back of the store. They are tense, knowing the remaining soldiers will be waiting for them. CONNOR is looking around for a better route.
Connor
We can't just bust through the doors, they'll pick us off if we do
EMPLOYEE 1
Over here, there's a crawlspace through the tv displays that we can go through. It's dusty but they probably didn't even see it. It comes out behind some boxes.
CONNOR goes through first. We follow him and see that the boxes provide enough cover to get into the warehouse. Using the spotting mirrors, CONNOR sees at least three soldiers. Two are stacking pallets to block the receiving doors and the other is guarding the nearby doors that they almost ran right through.
CONNOR turns to EMPLOYEE 1 and silently gives him directions to get into position. EMPLOYEE 1 quietly climbs the warehouse racks and gets into position to get a clear shot on the man guarding the door. CONNOR sneaks around the rear. On CONNOR's signal EMPLOYEE 1 shoots at the guard. He wasn't as good of a shot as he thought, it takes him half a clip to kill the soldier. CONNOR calmly waits behind the steel rack, biding his time. As the other two soldiers come around the corner CONNOR steps out. They begin backpedaling, forgetting to grab for their guns. CONNOR shoots them both in the head, with his assault rifle, from so close it lifts them off of their feet.
CONNOR
Alright, we're clear. Jesse, after we get LIZ I want you to head up front and see if you can figure out what's going on outside.
As CONNOR is heading back to where he left LIZ, we hear gunshots. CONNOR starts sprinting, only to see a gunman firing at the door of the office LIZ is hiding in. JESSE and the 2nd Employee are following him.
The gunman turns and trains his gun on the three. His first shot kills the Employee. Jesse breaks off to the side to try and help him, sliding on his knees. CONNOR is now alone running head first toward the business end of his rifle. CONNOR is less than ten yards away and moving too fast to pull up his own gun.
We hear a shot. The gunman slumps to the ground. LIZ is standing in the office door shaking. She had taken him out.
CONNOR has too much momentum to stop, he slams into the counter and falls to the ground. We look up from CONNOR's dazed POV to find that she hadn't been alone. There were four others in the office with her. Three kids and a lady, who is bawling while holding the children for dear life.
LIZ
Thank god, its you. I was starting to think you'd never come back.
CONNOR is still on the ground by the counter. He leans back against it, clutching his ribs.
CONNOR
It's ok. I think that was all of them. I sure as fuck hope so anyway. I'm getting really sick of this counter.
LIZ
You're bleeding! What happened?
CONNOR
It's ok, a bullet just grazed me. It didn't know who it was fucking with. I'll be fine, but we need to get everyone to a safe spot.
MOTHER
Where are we going? I don't understand
CONNOR
Yeah, that makes two of us lady.
We're securing the front entrance and the outdoor area, we've got a lift to block the doors. I'd guess there are probably fifty men outside, I think they're setting up a some kind of base here.
The MOTHER walks over to a small window that gives a view of the auto bay. She seems to be in shock. Her voice is emotionless.
Mother
They ran off. They all started shooting and running off earlier, when that one came in. He saw the girls at the door and was going to kill them, but there was an explosion and they all went running that way.
>
CONNOR tries to make out what is happening outside, but they had closed the bays. Through the narrow service window it looks like there is a fire fight going on. They seem to be distracted for the time being. CONNOR grabs a phone and turns on the PA
CONNOR
Attention Mega Mart shoppers. We seem to be under attack by a force of Chinese soldiers. Do not attempt to leave the building or you will be killed. We have secured most of the store and neutralized most of the fighters inside. Please proceed to the outdoor living area in an orderly fashion. Be careful, there may be more gunman hiding. And as always, thank you for shopping at Mega Mart
The little girls are giggling.
CHILD
Mommy, I wanna talk on the thingy.
Their mother starts scooting them toward Jesse, who is waiting to help escort them back.
CONNOR
Come on hun, I've got a feeling that this is far from over. Stick with those girls, if we draw fire you keep going. I'll hold them off.
The group makes it back without incident. McDonnell has done exceedingly well with the salvaging. He has set up half a dozen tripod mounted machine guns, ready to be moved. From under the rubble they have brought out another half dozen crates of other guns, ammo, rockets, and grenades.
MCDONNELL is grinning as they enter the makeshift fort, crates stacked three high for cover.
MCDONNELL
Ain't they purdy? I reckon we got enough ammo here to hold them off for weeks
CONNOR is looking around at the ragtag group of survivors. There are about two dozen in all.
CONNOR
Good, we may need to. You, come here. Yeah, you.
MANAGER
Yes sir?
CONNOR
Nice sweater vest. I need roof access and any men you have that can handle a gun. Oh, and grab a pair of binoculars for everyone.
The manager hurries off to find volunteers
MCDONNELL
You're in charge here General. Listen I'm just an old jar head. I'm way too old for this runnin' and gunnin' shit. I've got my daughter to think of. So why don't you take the men and do what you've got to. I'll stay here with the civilians and see about patchin' 'em up.
CONNOR
Listen up, we may have stopped the two dozen or so Chinese soldiers who were sent in to secure this shit hole, but there are dozens more outside. Right now they seem to be engaged in a fire fight with who ever is trying to break through to help us. I say we go cause some fuckin' trouble.
These men picked this place for a reason, it's easily defendable and they can nonchalantly pick off anyone who tries to break throug, like it isn't a motherfucking thing. It's a joke how easy it'll be to defend this bitch. Good thing we're on the inside.
I need as many strong guys as I can get. Anyone who can handle a gun. If you're a vet, even better. Don't much care what you've got between your legs on that note.
We're going to take most of this ammunition up to the roof. We'll be setting it up around the perimeter.
We're going to give these boys hell. If these stupid fucks were their A-Team then the ones outside are sure as hell not as thoroughly trained. This bunch of grunts won't be expecting us from above. I'm counting on them panicking.
We got a man up front operating the lift, he could use some help blocking the front entrance. No one gets in this monstrosity of capitalism until these boys have picked off every single son of a bitch that's outside waiting to kill us. It's time we take the offensive.
Alright ladies, cowboy up!
JESSE
Hell yeah!
CONNOR pulls a machine gun off of it's tripod and hoists the gun onto his shoulders. Most of these people have no formal combat training, but they are mad and ready to fight back. They are determined not to be the victims any longer.
Ext. Rooftop - dusk
You can see for miles standing up there. The Chinese have picked this place as a base of operations because It was ideal for not only it's natural defenses, like the layout of the land around it, but also for the simple fact that the place was built like a fort. snipers can defend the place in all directions, for years if you had to. Once properly set up, No one would stand a chance of getting close.
Luckily they had not gotten that far. All hell has broken loose outside. The military has not responded, but it looks like every cop in the precinct had.
The police officers are unprepared for what was waiting for them. The Chinese army has set up a solid perimeter, All access is blocked from one light to another and they have jeeps patrolling the outside walls.
CONNOR sends the boys to scout around to see what they are up against, while he attempts to survey the damage in the outlying areas. The sun is beginning to set, the sky a blazing red. Smoke is billowing from the nearby airport. It looks like they had crashed planes into the parking garage in order to block access to it from the road.
There are dozens of military vehicles with the People's Liberation Army symbol on them. That red and yellow star is unmistakeable. Meanwhile, three planes are circling waiting to land. The Chinese now controll the airport. Seemingly normal civilian planes are offloading troops, tanks, and god knows what else. It is evident that the attacks were coordinated and began at the same time.
CONNOR
I'll kill any man who pulls their trigger before I give the word, got it? We're runnin' recon at this point. Keep your head down, don't let anyone see you. Scout every inch of this store. We might have an advantage, but we have to do this right.
CONNOR is so busy trying to get a picture of the size of the invasion, that he doesn't notice a teenage kid come running up to behind him.
KID
Sir? Mr Jeffries, sir? Are you Mr. Jeffries sir?
Connor
What the hell are you doing up here kid?
Kid
We've got a problem sir, there's a middle eastern guy in there and some of the older guys keep saying he's an Al Qaeda. I don't even know what that is. They're yelling and shoving and being jerkfaces.
CONNOR
Slow down, slow down.What are they doing?
KID
They were gonna shoot him, but a little kid ran out and said it was his dad. The old army guy said he's gonna shoot the other guys if they don't leave him be. And he's got a big ol' gun and is all like 'GRRR' at them like my mean old neighbor.
Connor
Ok, ill be right down. Get your butt back inside.
Kid
Hurry they said they ain't gonna listen to nobody but you!
Int. Department store-garden area
CONNOR arrives to find McDonnell engaged with an old red neck, standing there with guns pointed at each others heads. We see a much larger crowd, with many injured people lying nearby. A woman in scrubs is tending to those that she can.
CONNOR
That's enough! You're scaring these kids, you dumb sack of shit. Dont you think they've been through enough already?
OMAR
Please sir, we were shopping just like the rest of you. I've lived here for over twenty years, my children were all born in Portland.
CONNOR
You're gonna show this monosyllabic yokel your ID and he's gonna calm the fuck down, unless he wants me to take him up top and teach his ass to fly. Got it?
OMAR
Yes, of course. You see, I live right down the street. These are my children. This is my wife. My oldest boy is in the army, see?
Connor
Now I want you to listen to me. All of you. If we can't trust each other, we are as good as dead, you got that? Our enemy is the Chinese army, this is not an isolated incident, the airport has been completely taken over. The good news is, they're stuck outside being distracted by the police for the time being.
CONNOR
Ma'am are you a doctor?
Sarah
No, no I'm an EMT. I really don't have time to chit chat.
Connor
>
Understood. Just tell me what you need. I'll have some of these kids head over to the pharmacy and see what they can find. You just tell them what to bring you.
Sarah
These people need a hospital
Connor
I'm fresh out of those. For now, why don't you have one of them grab some paper and make a list.
CONNOR leans in close to whisper
Connor
We're going to have to move soon. There's no way we can hold this place once their reinforcements break past the airport. We need to do whatever it takes to get these people mobile enough to make a break for some vehicles. I know you can do this.
A teenage girl runs over, pulling a notepad from her purse. The EMT begins relaying the supplies to her, occasionally stopping to spell something out. CONNOR spots an injured man in a lab coat, his relief is palpable when he realizes this is the pharmacist. He is pretty badly injured, but he gives Liz his keys to get in and find whatever medicine the EMT might need.
Connor
Hey bud, I need your help. These people need it, ok? I know it's unethical, but we have to get into that pharmacy to help you and the others.
As CONNOR turns to leave, Liz pulled him to the side to find out exactly what he has seen.
Connor
It's bad LIZ, it's really bad. This is an all out invasion, we're at war. You can't tell them that though, they might lose heart.
LIZ looks like someone has just kicked her puppy. CONNOR wraps his arms around her.
