SOCIAL SERVICES: You’re Captain Sharp?

CAPTAIN SHARP: That’s right.

SOCIAL SERVICES: I’m Social Services. I remanded the boy to your personal custody. You’re responsible for his safety. I’m told he was just struck by lightning.

[Captain Sharp frowns. He looks to Scout Master Ward and says skeptically:]

CAPTAIN SHARP: That’s the first I heard of it.

SCOUT MASTER WARD: *unfortunately* It’s true.

[Captain Sharp tries to process this. Social Services now moves in on Scout Master Ward. She says aggressively:]

SOCIAL SERVICES: Scout Master Ward, I presume?

SCOUT MASTER WARD: Yes, ma’am.

SOCIAL SERVICES: *bitingly* Your reputation precedes you.

[Captain Sharp and Scout Master Ward stand side-by-side in front of Social Services. She berates them:]

SOCIAL SERVICES: You two are the most appallingly incompetent custodial guardians Social Services has ever had the misfortune to encounter --

SOCIAL SERVICES: *shouting* -- in a twenty-seven year career!
[Captain Sharp and Scout Master Ward look sheepish. Social Services says bitterly:]

SOCIAL SERVICES: What do you have to say for yourselves?

[Captain Sharp hesitates. He says strangely:]

CAPTAIN SHARP: You can’t do this. They’ll eat him alive in there.

SOCIAL SERVICES: *hesitates* Where?

CAPTAIN SHARP: *aside, to Scout Master Ward* What’s the name of the place again?

SCOUT MASTER WARD: *hesitates* Juvenile refuge?

CAPTAIN SHARP: *horrified* Juvenile refuge. That sounds like jail.

[Silence. In the background, the acolyte picks up Panagle’s walking stick weapon off the floor. He stares at it, puzzled. Social Services says carefully:]

SOCIAL SERVICES: Just find the boy -- and deliver him –

SOCIAL SERVICES: *motioning to herself* -- to Social Services. Nothing else is in your power.

MR. BISHOP: *sharply* I’m sorry.

[Social Services, Captain Sharp, and Scout Master Ward turn to Mr. and Mrs. Bishop. Mr. Bishop looks tense.]
MR. BISHOP: Can we get back to the rescue now?

MRS. BISHOP: *urgently* Suzy’s still out there.

SOCIAL SERVICES: *frowning* Who are you?

SCOUT MASTER WARD: Walt and Laura Bishop. Their daughter’s the missing girl.

SOCIAL SERVICES: The parents of the stabber?

MRS. BISHOP: I object to that description. She was attacked.

[Commander Pierce appears with an oxygen mask over his face. He pulls it aside briefly and says to Secretary McIntire:]

COMMANDER PIERCE: I want the details. Where’s the scout she knifed?

SECRETARY MCINTIRE: Right here.

[Secretary McIntire snaps his fingers and gives a signal. Redford appears.]

REDFORD: Field Mate Redford, sir.

COMMANDER PIERCE: *through the oxygen mask* What’s his condition?

SECRETARY MCINTIRE: He may suffer some limited chronic kidney insufficiency. Here’s the report.
[Secretary McIntire hands Commander Pierce a doctor’s report. Mrs. Bishop snatches it and throws it over her shoulder.]

MRS. BISHOP: We don’t have time for this!

SCOUT MASTER WARD: She’s right!

SOCIAL SERVICES: Let’s go!

[Social Services turns and starts up the aisle. She stops suddenly. Captain Sharp is standing in their path brandishing Panagle’s walking stick weapon.]

CAPTAIN SHARP: Nobody’s going anywhere.

[Everyone stops. Captain Sharp locks eyes with Social Services. He says in a steely voice:]

CAPTAIN SHARP: He’s not getting shock therapy.

[Social Services looks furious. Her jaw sets. She reaches inside her jacket and withdraws a small pad labelled Citation Book.]

SOCIAL SERVICES: That’s it! I’m citing you for gross misconduct! You are hereby summoned to appear before the board of --

[Captain Sharp looks enraged. He grits his teeth. He reaches into his back pocket and withdraws a similar pad labelled Boating Violations.]

CAPTAIN SHARP: I’m writing you up back! Be notified that you stand accused of the mistreatment and improper --

SOCIAL SERVICES: *screaming* What are you talking about?

CAPTAIN SHARP: *screaming* I won’t let you do it!

REDFORD: *screaming* Look!

[Everyone looks. Redford is standing on a pew with his arm stretched out pointing up at the choir loft in amazement. The troop is there, but Sam’s and Suzy’s seats are empty.]

[There is a flash, a bang, and all the lights in the room go out at once. People gasp. Candles flicker alight on candlesticks. A back-up generator kicks into gear, humming, and the room fills with a new, different light.]

[Captain Sharp says to himself:]

CAPTAIN SHARP: They’re gone.

MR. BISHOP: *confused* Who?

MRS. BISHOP: *uncertain* Suzy?

CAPTAIN SHARP: *yelling* Sam?

SCOUT MASTER WARD: *shouting* Gadge! Lazy-eye! Skotak!

SOCIAL SERVICES: *realizing* They’re here?

[Captain Sharp strides down the aisle. He shouts up to Skotak:]

CAPTAIN SHARP: Where’d they go? Answer me!

[Skotak hesitates. He and the rest of the troop all look up to a small, rickety, attic door. It is slightly ajar above a long, narrow ladder behind the pipes of the organ.]

[Captain Sharp bolts up the steps. Everyone follows him, running.]

[EXT. CHURCH ROOF. NIGHT]

[The storm rages. Captain Sharp opens a trap door onto the high eaves. Faces appear in numerous windows below, looking up. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop poke their heads out behind Captain Sharp. On the far end of the rooftop, Sam and Suzy huddle together at the base of the high steeple.]

[Captain Sharp stares up at Sam and Suzy, dumbstruck.]

[Sam and Suzy quickly start climbing a rusty gutter up the side of the steeple. Captain Sharp looks astonished. He hollers:]

CAPTAIN SHARP: Halt! Stop!

[Sam and Suzy continue to climb. Captain Sharp shouts back to Mr. and Mrs. Bishop over the roaring wind:]

CAPTAIN SHARP: Stay there!

[Scout Master Ward appears and thrusts out the coil of rope. He yells to Captain Sharp:]

SCOUT MASTER WARD: Take this!

[Captain Sharp throws the rope over his shoulder and advances. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop both crawl out after him, but Scout Master Ward pulls them back. Mr. Bishop looks to Mrs. Bishop. They are both terrified and helpless. They hold on to each other tightly.]

CUT TO: Captain Sharp tight-rope-walking along the edge of the slippery roof with his arms stretched out sideways, balancing. He army-crawls up steep slate shingles and reaches the bottom of the steeple. He looks up. Sam and Suzy have arrived at the top. They inch away sideways around a ledge and disappear to the other side. Captain Sharp’s voice strains:

CAPTAIN SHARP: Where you going? What are you doing? Come down!

[Captain Sharp rubs his eyes. He knots one end of the rope around his waist and ties the other to a pipe at the foot of the gutter. He pulls the rope tight, presses his foot on the wall, and gets ready to start climbing -- then stops suddenly. He hesitates. He pulls the walkie-talkie off his belt and yells into it:]

CAPTAIN SHARP: Social Services? Do you read me? Over!

CUT TO: Sam and Suzy at the top of the steeple standing with their backs against a painted cross. They look out.

[The entire church has become an island. The cemetery is under water, and the circling streets are fast rivers. Suzy turns to Sam. They both appear relatively calm.]

SUZY: We might have to swim for it.

SAM: How deep is it? I didn’t bring my life jacket.

SUZY: I don’t know, but if it’s too shallow, we’ll break our necks, anyway. Hang onto me.

SAM: OK.

[Sam and Suzy link arms.]

CUT TO: Captain Sharp climbing the steeple as Social Services yells at him over the speaker of his walkie-talkie:

SOCIAL SERVICES *V.O.*: Application denied! I’m sorry! Over!

CAPTAIN SHARP: *frustrated* Counsellors? What’s the legal perspective? Over!

CUT TO: Mr. and Mrs. Bishop watching from the trap door with Scout Master Ward. Mr. Bishop’s eyes widen. He turns quickly to Mrs. Bishop. She nods, energized. Mr. Bishop grabs Scout Master Ward’s walkie-talkie and shouts forcefully:

MR. BISHOP: In this state? I would litigate with extreme confidence.

MRS. BISHOP: *absolutely* I concur.

MRS. BISHOP: *inspired* Open with article fifteen of the Codes of Civic Jurisdiction.

MR. BISHOP: *from memory* No party, under any circumstance, shall be denied due and proper consideration...

CUT TO: Social Services’ face, inscrutable, as she listens.

CUT TO:Sam and Suzy preparing to jump. They each take a deep breath.

SUZY: On three again.

SAM: *suddenly* Wait. Just in case this is a suicide, or

[more]

SAM: *cont'd* they capture us, and we never see each other again anymore -- thank you for marrying me. I’m glad I got to know you, Suzy.

[Suzy looks deeply moved. She kisses Sam. A little electric zap crackles at their lips. Suzy’s eyes widen.]

SUZY: I think you’ve still got lightning in you.

SAM: Let’s jump.

[Sam and Suzy look down at the water again. Captain Sharp’s voice screams from off-screen:]

CAPTAIN SHARP *O.S.*: No!

[Sam and Suzy recoil. Captain Sharp appears, clinging to the corner of the ledge. He shouts:]

CAPTAIN SHARP: Goddammit!

[Sam and Suzy retreat slightly. Captain Sharps waves his hands in surrender. He yells into the walkie-talkie:]

CAPTAIN SHARP: Tell him! Over!

[Captain Sharp holds out the walkie-talkie. Social Services voice comes over the scratchy speaker once more. She shouts:]

SOCIAL SERVICES *V.O.*: Captain Sharp is offering to assume the responsibility of foster parenthood!

CUT TO:Scout Master Ward watching from the trap door with Mr. and Mrs. Bishop. He says excitedly into his walkie-talkie:

SCOUT MASTER WARD: He wants you to live with him!

CUT TO:Social Services watching from an attic window. She says softly into her own walkie-talkie:

SOCIAL SERVICES: Is this acceptable to you, Mr. Shakusky?

CUT TO:Sam staring at Captain Sharp. Captain Sharp says hopefully:

CAPTAIN SHARP: What do you think, pal?

[Tears stream down Sam’s cheeks in the rain. He looks to Suzy. She nods. She holds Sam’s hand, and Sam reaches out to take Captain Sharp’s. Captain Sharp says into the walkie-talkie:]

CAPTAIN SHARP: We’re coming down! Over and out.

CUT TO:Inside the church. The congregation listens on another walkie-talkie. They are all just about to burst into a cheer -- when there is a second, brighter flash followed by a much louder bang and then a terrible, thunderous, ripping explosion. The lights go out again. Everyone screams.

[EXT. CHURCH ROOF. NIGHT]

[Scout Master Ward, Mr. and Mrs. Bishop, and Social Services stare with their mouths open in frozen horror. The entire steeple has disappeared. Only a twisted stump remains. Off the edge of the roof, at the end of the rope, dangling in the rain, Captain Sharp hangs swinging with Sam’s hand in his fist and Suzy’s in Sam’s. Voices shout in a panic above. Sam and Suzy look up at Captain Sharp. He says to them evenly, swaying above the rushing water:]

CAPTAIN SHARP: Don’t let go.

CUT TO: Three days later. The detached steeple of the church lies on its side on the roof of a smashed Volkswagen. The ground is covered with strewn branches and trash. Sandbags still surround the building. The narrator stands in front of the wreckage and addresses the camera:

NARRATOR: The Black Beacon storm was considered by the U.S. Department of Inclement Weather to be the region’s most destructive

[more]

NARRATOR: *cont'd* meteorological event of the second half of the twentieth century.

[EXT. SCHOOL YARD. DAY]

[A basketball backboard sticks up out of nine feet of standing water. The net grazes the surface. The narrator sits in a rowboat floating alongside it.]

NARRATOR: It lingered through six high-tides and inundated the islands with punishing winds and extreme high waters.

[EXT. PUBLIC BEACH. DAY]

[An enormous neon ace-of-spades with the word Open spelled in broken light-bulbs above it is jammed sideways into a sandy beach. Brightly painted wooden planks are littered everywhere. The black lighthouse remains intact in the background. The narrator, now tiny in the frame, continues:]

NARRATOR: On St. Jack Wood, powerful surges broke the arcade boardwalk and demolished the village bandstand and casino.

[EXT. SCOUT CAMP. DAY]

[One week later. A repaired Camp Ivanhoe sign is being hoisted up into place above the entrance. Scouts throughout the camp hammer, chop, nail, and saw.]

[INSERT:Scout Master Ward’s portable night stand. The reel-to-reel tape recorder is recording. The photograph of the Scout Master-in-Chief at the Matterhorn has been replaced by a picture of Becky operating her switchboard.]

[INT. SCOUT MASTER WARD’S TENT. DAY]

[Scout Master Ward says into the microphone:]

SCOUT MASTER WARD: Scout Master’s log. October tenth. Reconstruction continues increasingly ahead of schedule, which I attribute to a particularly robust esprit de corps among the troop. The latrine, however, continues to present --

[Scout Master Ward notices Skotak and a young boy with glasses standing in the doorway. He says, off-mic:]

SCOUT MASTER WARD: Is this the new recruit?

SKOTAK: Yes, sir.

SCOUT MASTER WARD: What’s his rank?

SKOTAK: He doesn’t have one.

SCOUT MASTER WARD: *enthusiastically* Pigeon Scout! Let’s get you a patch.

[Scout Master Ward presses stop on his tape recorder and leads Skotak and the young boy out of the tent. The narrator continues:]

NARRATOR: The coastal areas of New Penzance were battered and changed forever.

INSERT:

[The narrator’s nautical chart. The cove is no longer identified.]

NARRATOR (V.O.): Mile 3.25 Tidal Inlet was erased from the map.

[EXT. WIDE MEADOW. DAY]

[One year later. The sky is blue. Wildflowers grow in the tall grass. The narrator, now in shirtsleeves, concludes:]

NARRATOR: But harvest yields the following autumn far exceeded any previously recorded, and the quality of the crops was said to be extraordinary.

[The narrator lingers for a moment, looking into the camera -- then turns away and walks down the hillside.]

[INT. BISHOP’S HOUSE. DAY]

[The landing at the top of the staircase. The portable record player sits on the braided rug with the turntable spinning. A child’s voice says over the speaker:]

RECORD PLAYER (V.O.): So you see, the composer Benjamin Britten has taken the whole orchestra apart. Now he puts it back together again in a fugue.

[Lionel, Murray, and Rudy lie on the floor on their stomachs, propped up with their chins on their fists. They listen.]

[Suzy sits in a small armchair reading a book called The Return of Auntie Lorraine. There is an illustration on the cover of a leathery, old woman and a girl with a pony-tail looking together into a crystal ball. The kitten scratches at Suzy’s feet.]

[Sam sits on a stool painting a picture at the small easel. He wears a miniature version of Captain Sharp’s short-sleeved uniform with a black necktie and a baseball cap.]

[Mrs. Bishop’s amplified voice booms from the bottom of the stairs:]

MRS. BISHOP *O.S.*: Suzy? Lionel, Murray, Rudy! Dinner!

[Sam starts. Lionel, Murray, and Rudy look up from the record player. Suzy is impassive. Mr. Bishop’s voice takes over the megaphone:]

MR. BISHOP *O.S.*: Don’t make us ask twice!

[Lionel, Murray, and Rudy jump to their feet and race down the stairs. Sam dashes to the window. He opens it, climbs out, and disappears. Suzy closes her book and rises to her feet. Sam’s head pokes back up from below. He and Suzy lock eyes.]

[Sam smiles. He whispers to Suzy urgently:]

SAM: See you tomorrow.

[Suzy smiles back. Sam ducks away. Suzy goes over to the window and looks out with her binoculars.]

CUT TO:A binocular shot of Sam dropping to the ground and running across the back lawn, into the trees. He comes out on the dirt road where Captain Sharp waits, sitting on the hood of his station wagon, smoking a cigarette. They both get into the car and drive off.

[Suzy lowers the binoculars. She pauses in front of the easel and looks at the picture. She walks quietly away down the stairs. The kitten follows her. The record continues to play on the empty landing.]

[The camera moves in toward Sam’s painting on the easel. It is a watercolor landscape of Mile 3.25 Tidal Inlet. The tent is pitched on the beach, and Sam’s and Suzy’s clothes hang on the clothesline. Written in the sand with seashells just at the water’s edge are the words:]