Godzilla
FADE IN (Zilla.3.a.1.0/Arctic.Ocean) (zilla.a.1.0./Teaser) (_zilla_3 begin)
EXT. ARCTIC OCEAN - DAY
Stars in the black of space. PAN DOWN to sapphire blue sky, the brighter stars still shining through. It's Arctic midnight, the weak sun tiny on the distant horizon. We skim along the water, in and around looming glacial cliffs-- The top of an iceberg pushes through the water's surface. Carved into the ice is a single mammoth word:
G o d z i l l a
We continue past, along the ocean, and discover: An old fishing boat, the RAINBOW WARRIOR, holds position outside a small natural harbor. All lights extinguished.
FADE UP TITLE:
ARCTIC OCEAN
NEAR THE 170th PARALLEL
On deck: Eco-warriors peer through high-powered binoculars and video cameras. Among them: An intense WOMAN. A RUSSIAN man with a scraggly beard. A surly BLOND MAN, who monitors a Geiger counter. All wear heavy parkas against the gray cold.
WHAT THEY ARE WATCHING: A distant SALVAGE SHIP, moored inside the harbor. Its hoist is swung out over the sea. Floodlights illumine salvage divers as they submerge with hoist cables.
RUSSIAN MAN
Not me. Bojemoi...I think my eyeballs are frozen.
WOMAN
It's blacked out. Whatever they're up to, it's no goddamn good.
Near the salvage ship, the divers guide the cable as the hoist engines begin working, winching the cable up.
BLOND MAN (looks up from Geiger counter)
Background radiation is nearly a hundred times normal. They're harvesting reactor cores. They must be.
RUSSIAN MAN
We don't know that. There's no evidence of...
BLOND MAN (pointedly accusing)
There's a thirty-year-plus history of Soviets dumping old reactors into the Kara, the Barents, the Sea of Japan--
RUSSIAN MAN (amused)
I swear, I was not there. I had a cold.
BLOND MAN
So why not the Arctic? Who knows how many--
WOMAN
Something's wrong!
The two men re-focus on the salvage ship--where crewmen race across the deck. Divers scramble onto the platform. A klaxon sounds--Suddenly the GEIGER COUNTER SQUEALS, readings off the scale. The BLOND MAN drops it, startled.
The sea begins to BOIL beneath the salvage ship.
The sea ERUPTS. The salvage ship is heaved into the air. It disappears in a fiery explosion--The shock wave rocks the Rainbow Warrior violently. People scramble as the deck tips. Huge chunks of ice peel off the cliffs, crash into the sea, onto the ship. With a cry, the BLOND MAN falls overboard. Smoke pours from below decks.The Geiger counter calls out an uninterrupted staccato. The RUSSIAN MAN stumbles blindly through the chaos, grasping for deck rails.
...I can't see...Claus? Martha? Help me!
OBSERVER
Look at that! The snow can't burn! It can't burn!
Near where the remains of the salvage ship, the snow is indeed on fire--an eerie sight. A fissure has opened up in the glacier, still expanding.
Oh my god!
RUSSIAN MAN (stumbles toward her)
Martha? Where are you? What is happening?
The WOMAN stares toward the shore.
Red-black fluid flows out of the fissure, into the sea. The fluid steams in the chill Arctic air. Turning the ocean blood red.
INT. LLEWELLYN HOME - BEDROOM - NIGHT (Zilla.3.a.l.5/Llewellyns) (_zilla_1 begin)
The window is wide open. The curtains don't move. A fan labors pointlessly, aimed toward the bed--which is empty. Suddenly, the mattress JUMPS, bumped from beneath. There is a giggle.
KEITH (o.s)
JILL (o.s.)
Oh, gee. I'm sorry. I'll stop.
KEITH (o.s.)
Just an observation. No complaint. Please, continue.
The phone RINGS shrilly.
KEITH LLEWELLYN pulls himself out from under the bed to answer the phone. He is mid-forties with a charming smile.
JILL LLEWELLYN has emerged from beneath the bed. A woman of intelligence and strong passions. KEITH extends the phone.
She hangs up the phone. Looks at Keith, dismayed.
JILL pulls him to her. Smiles at him.
JILL
He smiles back at her, leans in to kiss her-- BRIGHT LIGHT FLOODS THE ROOM. The curtains are blown back. A government helicopter settles down outside the window.
JILL
EXT. LLEWELLYN HOME - NIGHT
A quiet suburban cul-de-sac--except for the Navy helicopter settling down in the middle of the street. TINA LLEWELLYN steps out onto the porch of the house. Fifteen, and ticked-off at being woken up. She glares at the helicopter. A NEIGHBOR--Torkelson--emerges from his house to investigate the noise. Prop wash blows loose a pink plastic lawn flamingo. The NEIGHBOR grabs for it. JILL and KEITH exit their house, in parkas, carrying well-worn duffels.
TINA
Why always the middle of the night? Can't they ever wait 'til, say, noon?
KEITH (aside to JILL; a smile)
JILL (matches his smile)
TINA rolls her eyes at their flirting.
JILL smiles at her. Puts her hands on her shoulders.
She waves at TORKELSON. He raises the flamingo in response.
KEITH spreads his arms in a shrug, the helicopter behind him in the street.
He shares a smile with his daughter. JILL feels a bit left out. A beat, then she kisses TINA good-bye.
TINA nods.
He shrugs, smiles, kisses her forehead. He and JILL hurry for the helicopter. The helicopter lifts. JILL sees TINA standing in the shadows of the porch. She looks very small and alone. (_z_1 end)
EXT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - DAY (Z.3.b.2.0/Godzilla.Awakens) (z.2 begin)
A C-130 transport plane with ski treads lands on a makeshift airstrip. Temporary shelters have been set up.JILL and KEITH come down the plane's steps. They now wear biohazard suits, heavy-duty coveralls with full hood and visor, hood slung back. KEITH has a thin file folder.
TUCKER is a Navy lieutenant, peach fuzz mustache failing to make him look older. He also wears a biohazard suit. He snaps something onto KEITH'S sleeve, then JILL'S.
TUCKER leads them toward the fissure. Ahead, bio-suited soldiers wheel large storage drums out of the fissure. Others videotape everything.
A soldier re-seats a lid on a drum. JILL stops him, peers inside.
JILL
TUCKER
JILL
KEITH
TUCKER
Uh-huh...well, not really... there're some complex compounds... and a heavy barbiturate presence. We think.
JILL scowls, her mind suddenly very far away as she contemplates thi s information.
JILL is already moving off with the worker wheeling the barrel.
She waits. He hands her the file. She turns away--but then comes all the way around, smiling, gives him a kiss. She continues away with a little wave over her shoulder.
KEITH, smiling lovingly, becomes aware of Tucker again. TUCKER smiles, pulls on his hood, seals it. KEITH does, too. TUCKER gestures to follow, slips into the fissure--
CAVERN - DAY
KEITH and TUCKER clamber down ladders anchored to the glacier, deep into the fissure, into: A huge cavern, carved out of ice and earth, lit by a string of bare lights that stretch away in both directions. The wall opposite the fissure is imposing and strange, made up of crevices and finely textured stone, markedly different from the ice wall and ceiling. A bio-suited military workcrew pumps the red-black fluid into storage drums. More video cameras. TUCKER leads KEITH, slogging through shin-deep fluid.
Suddenly there is a LOW RUMBLE--a small TREMOR. Ice sifts down from above. Lights flicker. KEITH glances at Tucker.
Something beyond Tucker has drawn KEITH'S attention: apparently, it is a smaller cavern. Inside are weirdly regular rows of stalagmite and stalactites. KEITH moves inside, examining them. TUCKER stands outside.
KEITH gives him a puzzled look.
TUCKER grins at him.
KEITH frowns. Starts to really examine the 'cavern'--
KEITH'S eyes widen--he suddenly sees what's been in front of him all along: he's inside a giant mouth. He scrambles out to beside Tucker.
He takes in the mouth. Touches the strangely-textured 'wall.'
KEITH
And this isn't stone...is it? It's petrified or something--but this is skin. (he turns to Tucker). It's skin.
TUCKER
It's skin. We think. But it might as well be stone, for all the luck we've had getting a tissue sample.
But KEITH has stepped away from the 'wall.' He peers down into the darkness of the cavern. The string of lights is more than a football field in length.
INT. WOMB CAVERN - LATER
KEITH and TUCKER are on a manlift, rising past the mouth and face of the half-buried creature.
KEITH
TUCKER
KEITH
So much for seismosaurus and ultrasaurus...It is a dinosaur, isn't it?
TUCKER shrugs--then nods, grinning.
Another tremor, bigger this time. More ice rains down. The lights fl icker. Go out, plunging the cavern into darkness. The lift stops.
He snaps on a flashlight, illumining the two men. Behind them is the creature's brow.
TUCKER (bellows an order)
Nobody move 'til we get the lights back on. (to KEITH) We don't need anyone tripping over some giant dinosaur nuts in the dark or something... (another order) And let's get the lights back on, shall we? Thank you!
Behind the two men, unnoticed by them, there is MOVEMENT-- The monster's EYELID OPENS, ten feet across. A second, semi-transparent protective eyelid slides away-- Revealing iris and slit pupil, glinting wetly--The pupil dilates, focuses--The lights come back on. The pupil contracts. The eye blinks.
KEITH turns back to the beast. Its eye tracks his movement-- KEITH'S own eyes go wide.
And then the earth shakes again as the beast's head moves-- Claws tear out of the earth--One whole section of wall undulates--and we become aware that the monster's tail is wrapped around the entire cavern-- Sections of the ladder tear loose. Climbers plunge to earth. The mouth closes, then opens again. FIRE fills the cavern-- And there is a DISTINCTIVE ROAR, sharp and terrifying, unlike anything anyone has ever heard. Chunks of ice fall--
INT. TRANSPORT PLANE - DAY
Crates form a make-shift work station. JILL peers into a microscope. It starts to vibrate, annoying her. Without looking up, she steadies it--and realizes its not just the microscope shaking, but the whole plane.
EXT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - DAY
The glacier explodes outward, a column of fire shooting skyward. A giant HAND with four claws emerges. Muscles and tendons flex as something huge begins to haul itself out of the earth. The military crew run for safety--
INT. TRANSPORT PLANE - DAY
A RADIO MAN races in, scrambles to the radio. JILL braces herself--t he shaking is getting worse.
The whole plane tips, upending crates. JILL is thrown.
He glances out the windshield--and freezes. The mic drops from his hand. JILL clambers to the cockpit, to look out the windshield--
EXT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - DAY
GODZILLA'S HEAD emerges from the earth. Huge teeth glint in the sun. He BREATHS FIRE, to free himself from the glacier. People disappear in the flames.
INT. TRANSPORT PLANE - DAY
JILL stares, eyes wide. One thought comes to her--
EXT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - DAY
Godzilla hauls himself upright. Three rows of dorsal fins down his back, tapering to his tail. Huge, powerful legs. The GROUND SHAKES when he takes a step--TOWARD THE TRANSPORT PLANE.
INT. TRANSPORT PLANE - DAY
The RADIO MAN grabs at JILL--
But she's transfixed, staring up at Godzilla. Through the windshield, Godzilla looms. His foot lifts-- The RADIO MAN runs for the door, out-- Godzilla's foot descends, directly toward the plane, toward JILL She watches it come down-- Godzilla's toes crunch down on either side of the cockpit, miraculously sparing her.
EXT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - DAY
Godzilla steps over the transport, into the ocean. JILL emerges from the Transport Plane. Stares after Godzilla. Godzilla pauses. He cranes his head back, looking up into the sky, searching for something--The sky is empty, gray. GODZILLA ROARS and BREATHES FIRE. A warning. A challenge. And then he slips out into the ocean, his huge bulk moving impossibly fast. JILL stares after him, out to sea--where the monster sinks down, disappearing into the ocean. (z.2 end)
EXT. TAKEDO VILLAGE - DAY (z.b.2.0/Intro.Aaron) (z.5 begin)
A car drives along a road, slows...and comes to a stop beside an upside-down fishing boat, hull crushed, thrown far inland.
FADE UP TITLE:
TAKEDO VILLAGE
NORTHEAST COAST OF JAPAN
Two men exit the car: AARON VAUGHT. Tall, graceful, eyes watchful behind wire-rimmed glasses. He looks like a ski instructor who chucked it all to become a librarian. MARTY KENOSHITA, enthusiastic, bordering on intense. He lugs a large trial case. They look up at the fishing boat, exchange a dismayed glance.
They walk through the deserted village, dismayed--houses are half-demolished, debris piled up, trees knocked over.
MARTY (nods)
The worst hurricane in fifty years swept through six months ago. At least, that's the official version.
AARON
Please, Marty. You're not allowed to be paranoid today.
The village is silent. No life, no rebuilding. Completely still, completely dead. AARON and MARTY climb over a Buddhist prayer tower, half-buried in sand.
He catches AARON'S look, trails off. Forces a smile.
MARTY gives him a 'You're kidding--or are you?' look. AARON smiles enigmatically. Looks out toward the ocean.
A wide dock, nearly destroyed, barely reaches the water's edge--beyond are just pilings. On the dock is a lone man, staring out to sea. His name is JUNJI. A pad and pencil hang on a thong around his neck.
EXT. TAKEDO VILLAGE - DOCK - LATER
JUNJI speaks rapidly, in Japanese. MARTY translates into English, nearly simultaneously.
There is a pause, a moment of mourning. AARON looks at MARTY
JUNJI becomes agitated as they speak.
As AARON speaks, MARTY now translates to Japanese, continues throughout.
AARON reaches into Marty's case, pulls out an oversized paperback, hands it to JUNJI. Aaron's photo is on the back cover. JUNJI looks from it to AARON. AARON a little sheepish, strikes the same pose, smiles the same smile. JUNJI turns the book over. His eyes widen-- 'The Waking Dragon' by Aaron Vaught. The cover is an old wood print of a dragon; it vaguely resembles Godzilla. JUNJI hurriedly opens the book to a photo: an Aztec hieroglyph of Quetzacoatl, again Godzilla-like.
JUNJI flips through the book, becoming more excited with each photograph, each reproduced drawing. He pauses-- CLOSE ON: a watercolor of a Godzilla-like dragon, in front of Mt. Fuji.
JUNJI stares up at him. Then takes the pad from around his neck, hands it to AARON, who leafs through it curiously-- It is filled with drawings of Godzilla, emerging from the sea, breathing fire, details of the beast. A DaVinci notebook quality to it. Throughout, three Japanese Katakana characters for Godzilla are repeated. AARON points them out to JUNJI.
MARTY has whipped out a PDA, is scanning records.
MARTY
AARON
I have. In 1928, Atkinson translated the characters as...Godzilla.
AARON looks down at the drawings--
EXT. TAKEDO VILLAGE - NEAR THE CAR - DAY
CLOSE ON: AARON'S BOOK. His photo on the back. An American agent holds it up while a second agent studies Aaron through binoculars. Glances at the book. Then nods to-- PIKE, wearing a scowl he was born with. He stands with a Japanese official and several uniformed Japanese police officers. All three Americans wear sharply-tailored black suits and no-nonsense expressions. PIKE rolls his neck, a characteristic tic, cracking it. Gestures for the police to move in--
EXT. TAKEDO VILLAGE - DOCK - DAY
JUNJI speaks quickly, MARTY translating and taking notes at the same time. AARON leafs through Junji's notepad.
Something in the pad catches AARON'S attention: A gryphon, curled into a fetal position, in a mound beneath the earth. Godzilla breathing fire on it. Another shows a streaking ball of fire, falling from the sky. AARON scowls, concerned. He shows them to MARTY, who gasps.
AARON shrugs--
Startled, AARON and MARTY turn to face-- the cops, the agents and the OFFICIAL.
PIKE flashes his credentials at AARON
PIKE
Pike, U.S. Consular Operations. I'll escort you out of the country.
MARTY
Oh, man...ConsOps. He's ConsOps, Aaron. Those're real supersecret black-bag spook guys--they've got their fingers in everything.
PIKE
Oh, I'm hardly that bad, Mr. Kenoshita. By the way, you might want to pay those parking tickets.
MARTY gives him a frightened look.
AARON regards him, turns to JUNJI. Proffers him back his drawing pad. JUNJI gently pushes it away. Speaks in Japanese.
JUNJI gestures for AARON to take the pad. AARON looks at him. Nods, understanding. Puts the pad in his pocket. JUNJI smiles serenely--he has been accepted. PIKE leads AARON and MARTY away. JUNJI watches them go, his eyes a little less wild. He turns, stares back out to sea. (z.5 end)
INT. JETLINER - LOUNGE - IN FLIGHT - DAY (z.6 begin)
AARON and MARTYsit in the plush lounge, uncomfortable. PIKE extends a thick file to AARON.
Puzzled, AARON takes the file. On the front is a logo: an armored gauntlet holding a sword. Emblazoned with the words ST. GEORGE PROJECT. Stamped TOP SECRET. AARON opens the folder. His eyes widen. MARTY leans in, over his shoulder-- The first page is a photo of Godzilla's head as he was found, half-buried in ice. A bio-suited figure gives it scale. AARON gasps. MARTY leans in over his shoulder--and his jaw goes slack. AARON flips through a couple more photos.
AARON
PIKE
AARON
Well, um...yeah, but that was a theory--
PIKE
MARTY
I knew it! I told you, Aaron--
PIKE gives him a look that shuts him up.
AARON
PIKE
MARTY
AARON
PIKE
And the Pacific Ocean is sixty-four million square miles. That's why you're here, Mr. Vaught. We want your help finding it.
AARON narrows his eyes. Looks at the cover of the folder.
Grinning, PIKE tilts his head, cracks his neck.
EXT.UTAH WILDERNESS - VARIOUS - DAY (Z.3.b.2.3/Probe.Lands) (Z.c.3.0/Probe.Lands) (z.4 begin)
The sun is blazing, blindingly white.
FADE UP TITLE:
LAKE AHIGA
10 MILES outside Traveller, Utah
Grazing HORSES raise their heads. Natter nervously. VULTURES on a gnarled branch edge sideways, then take wing. A crawling lizard stops, tilts its head. A SNAKE coils defensively. A mountain lion leaps atop an outcropping, surveys the desert floor.Then, suddenly startled, it crouches, looks up over its shoulder-- In the center of the sun, barely noticeable at first, is a tiny black dot...growing larger as it approaches. Soon it ECLIPSES the sun...it is an ALIEN PROBE, hurtling toward us, taking us into DARKNESS-- The lizard disappears into a crevice. The horses rub past each other, spooked--then bolt, stampede away. The Mountain Lion SNARLS-- The Alien Probe is a BALL OF FIRE, SCREAMING as it rips down throughthe atmosphere--
EXT. LAKE AHIGA - DAY
A quiet, remote lake. On the surface is the reflection of the approaching Probe. It grows larger-- and then the Alien Probe slams into the lake; TONS of water are DISPLACED. The rest HISSES, BOILS, churning upwards into a CURTAIN OF STEAM. Nearby treetops EXPLODE INTO FLAME--
EXT. LAKE AHIGA - UNDERWATER -DAY
The Alien Probe descends into frame, its smooth metal-chrome surface cutting through the water. Ahead is a submerged CAVE OPENING. The Probe is swallowed into darkness--
EXT. TRAVELLER, UTAH - DAY
A sign reads: 'Now Entering/Now Leaving Traveller Utah Welcome and Good-bye.' Along the bottom it proclaims: 'Visit the Glistening Caves--Guaranteed 30 Degrees Cooler!' Two ranch hands, JOHN and STU, get out of a battered pickup, parked in a slot in front of a diner. A Border Collie jumps out of the back. Snffs the air, heads out toward the road. STU lights up a Pall Mall.
JOHN (an old complaint)
Goddammit, Stu, when you gonna quit? (STU ignores him) And aren't you supposed to smoke after you eat?
STU takes a satisfying drag, grins.
STU
The Collie suddenly STOPS. Makes a low GROWL toward the sky. Then it starts to HOWL--
JOHN
STU
Yeah, you ever heard of the dangers of second-hand ass-kicking? That's when I think about hitting you so hard, you feel it--
WHACK! Suddenly, for no apparent reason, JOHN is knocked flat. STU s tares.
STU
JOHN
STU looks, points: a mangled frog, dazed, lies beside John.
STU
BANG! Another frog bounces off the roof of the truck. Another one slaps down onto the street.
STU
And then comes the deluge: Rain, frogs and fish pour down from the darkened skies. They BANG off the corrugated tin roof of the cafe. The siren light bar on a sheriff's 4X shatters. STU and JOHN leap into the pick-up. The SHERIFF exits the cafe, hand on gun. A roly-poly waitress, DEBORAH, follows. They stare as: Frogs and fish plummet, breaking windshields. Electricity CRACKLES as telephone wires are snapped. Beneath the pickup the frightened Collie looks out at the madness.
DEBORAH
She falls to her knees, begins to pray. The rain of frogs and fishesslowly abates.. NELSON FLEER pushes warily out of the door of his store, onto the porch. The sign above advertises: Wilderness Guide/Cave Diving/ Prospecting /Nelson Fleer, Prop. A tall, athletic man, FLEER carries a dive tank in one hand, a wrench in the other. The SHERIFF moves into the street, hand still on his gun, peering up at the sky, and stepping gingerly. Fish gasp and flop. Some frogs twitch. Less mangled ones try to hop. FLEER sees a frog on the rail. Peers at it. It HOPS at him. he jumps back.
FLEER
A final glance at the sky, then FLEER ducks back inside.
INT. BAT CAVERN - DAY
Dim light filters down. Water laps against an underground sandy shore. Suddenly, the Alien Probe BREAKS THE SURFACE. It bobs in the middle of the pool. Water laps against it. And then the Probe rotates suddenly, unfolding--
ANGLE - CEILING where HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of BATS hang, crawling over each other, emitting an occasional squeak and flutter. The Probe ERUPTS--a silvery tendril SNAPS out of the probe, snares one of the bats, cocooning it, absorbing it. And then more tendrils EXPLODE from the probe. The sound of the bats' screams echoes in the cavern. (z.4 end)
INT. ST. GEORGE PROJECT - SITUATION ROOM - DAY (Z.d.4.0/Intro.Jill) (z.6)
FADE UP TITLE:
FORT TUSCARORA, NEW YORK
HEADQUARTERS, THE ST. GEORGE PROJECT
AARON and MARTY follow PIKE into the Situation Room, a combination of mission control and a science lab. Beyond a large glass wall is a cavernous hanger. A huge electrical grid spreads across the ceiling. AARON and MARTY gape in wonder. On a huge screen is a 3-D rendering of the ocean floor. Another plays video from the Arctic--in a freeze frame, Godzilla breathes fire. Other monitors show computer renderings ofanatomical structures for the monster. AARON spots the fire-breathing shot, stares in awe. Suddenly, a door slams open-- JILL LLEWELLYN pushes through. The passion is still evident, but events have darkened it, given it a steely edge. She is followed by ED, a scientist in comfortable jeans and trademark white T-shirt, and ADMIRAL TIMOTHY BENEDEK. Deep laugh lines in an otherwise stern face.
JILL
This is unacceptable. Aaron Vaught is a crackpot. He might be some help if we were looking for the lost continent of Atlantis. Or Santa's workshop.
BENEDEK carries a copy of Aaron's book. Holds it up.
BENEDEK
AARON is surprised; he exchanges a pleased look with MARTY. JILL is still oblivious to Aaron's presence:
JILL
Listen. Vaught is going to want to...to collect this thing. And write books about it. And earn lecture fees talking about it and pose for goddamn photos with it.
AARON
She whirls.
PIKE
He grins at the uncomfortable situation. MARTY gives a little wave. AARON gamely extends his hand to JILL.
AARON
A little embarrassed, JILL shakes his hand. Turns to Benedek.
JILL
BENEDEK
JILL
PIKE
A beat; BENEDEK nods. JILL turns back to Aaron.
JILL
Well, Mr. Vaught...I look forward to hearing your ideas.
AARON smiles, nods...then realizes that everyone seems to be waiting.
AARON
Clearly, they do.
AARON
Oh...okay. Well, I was thinking...on the, uh, plane...
He feels a bit warm. Shucks his jacket to stall for time, organizing his thoughts.
AARON
Okay. Taking into consideration Godzilla's size and mass, he must--
JILL
MARTY
JILL and ED exchange a glance. Pike rolls his eyes at Benedek. BENEDEK ignores them all.
BENEDEK
Go on, please, Mr. Vaught.
AARON
Like I was saying--Given Godzilla's size and mass, he must eat huge amounts just to stay alive. So if we track fish migratory patterns, looking for disruptions in--
ED
AARON
JILL
We thought of that, Mr. Vaught. There's been no change.
AARON is disappointed--then scowls, baffled. He starts to pace.
AARON
But that makes no sense...no change? There's got to be a change...(a new thought dawns) ...unless...unless Godzilla's metabolism is so unique, he doesn't need much food.
He pauses to stare at the monitor again, at the still of Godzilla breathing fire. He almost enters a fugue state, forgetting about everyone else in the room. PIKE shifts impatiently.
PIKE
MARTY
AARON comes out of it, a huge grin on his face.
AARON
He realizes no one's following him. He points at the monitor.
AARON
Look, look...he doesn't really breath fire. The flame starts a couple of meters from Godzilla's mouth...
The others peer at the monitor.
ED
AARON
He's exhaling something so hot its actually ionizing the oxygen molecules...Steam, maybe?
PIKE
AARON (figures it out)
MARTY believes him immediately.
MARTY
AARON
JILL
ED looks at her, surprised--as does AARON, who grins.
JILL (pointedly)
AARON's satisfied grin disappears. To one side, a PHONE SHRILLS. ED answers it. Extends it to JILL.
ED
JILL takes the phone, curious--then realizes what its about.
JILL
She hangs up, pushes out past Aaron. He watches her go. BENEDEK sidles up to him, hands him the copy of his book.
BENEDEK
AARON looks up, a little shell-shocked. (z.6 end)
INT. SECURITY OFFICE - DAY (Z.f.6.0/Jill & Tina) (z.7 start)
Standard issue office, standard issue desks, standard issue MP leads JILL through the bullpen.
MP
TINA sits in a chair beside a desk.
TINA
She is sixteen now, grunge clothes, hair buzz-cut on one side. But the camouflage doesn't quite hide the bright, attractive young woman she really is.
MP
Dr. Llewellyn, if she continues to be unmanageable, you and she will be expelled from base housing.
JILL
INT. JILL'S VOLVO - DAY
JILL winds her Volvo through clone-identical base housing. They are silent for a long moment.
TINA
I'm sorry, mom. (beat) God, why did we have to move here? I hate it. I'm sick of base housing and the MPs and the PX...and I'm sick of green.
JILL
This is where my job is, Tina. Ergo, this is where you are.
TINA
JILL
She regards Tina with a sidelong glance.
JILL
Tina, I realize this is hard for you. But what I'm doing--I have to do.
TINA
Mom, you need to get out of this place, too. I don't think its good for you.
She gauges Jill's reaction. So far, so good. Takes a deep breath, plunges ahead:
TINA
Ever since Dad died, you've...you changed, okay? Maybe we didn't always get along, but--
JILL
Do not pursue this, Tina. And do not blame our difficulties on...on that.
TINA
I'm not! Jeez, you can't even talk about it. (beat) You can't even talk to me.
Obviously a vulnerable spot for Jill. She looks away. A long silence in the car. They both stare out the front windshield. Tears well up in TINA's eyes.
EXT. BASE HOUSE - DAY
JILL pulls the car up into the driveway of their house. TINA bolts from the car. JILL scrambles out, calls to her across the roof of the car.
JILL
TINA slams through the front door. JILL shuts her eyes. Bangs her fist on the car roof in frustration.
JILL
She realizes she's hurt her hand. Shakes it, then rests her head on it, covering her eyes.
JILL
EXT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - MID-SUMMER NIGHT (Z.h.8.0/Jill & Aaron) (z.7)
Wind-blown snow washes across the familiar icy landscape. A SOLDIER trudges toward one of a cluster of shacks that sit at the edge of the gaping crevice of Godzilla's womb. Suddenly a low RUMBLE builds to a deep, rending GRINDING SOUND. The SOLDIER turns: in the distance a pillar of light shoots toward the sky. The light emerges from a huge CRACK in the ice. A GLOWING STRUCTURE pushes up, cutting through the ice. It is made of a series of large frozen bubbles, arranged in the regular/irregular pattern of a Mandlebrot equation. The SOLDIER backs away from it...turns and runs toward a low building--so fast he slips, falls hard on the ice. He gets up, pulls open the door--
INT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - RADIO ROOM - MID-SUMMER NIGHT
The SOLDIER flips on the radio, grabs the mic.
SOLDIER
Nome, this is Outpost 42--come in! Jesus, come in--
The radio emits a HIGH-PITCHED SQUEAL. He clicks the dial; the SQUEAL covers all channels. (z.7 end)
EXT. ARCTIC - SKY - LATE DAY (MID-SUMMER - NIGHT) (z.8 begin)
A military transport plane drops out of dense clouds, banks in a long slow curve over the remains of Godzilla's womb site--
INT. TRANSPORT PLANE - LATE DAY (MID-SUMMER NIGHT)
Out the windows the horizon tilts as the plane banks. AARON, MARTY and JILL on board. AARON cranes to see--approaching below them is the new structure.
AARON
JILL (nods)
Worldwide interference, narrowing down to a single directional band. (low) That whole structure wasn't there before...
AARON pulls Junji's notebook from a pocket, gazes at it. MARTY glances uncomfortably from the drawing to the structure outside.
MARTY
JILL is puzzled by the exchange.
JILL
AARON
It's, uh, nothing. It's just... (shrugs; forges ahead) It's a common myth-theme for the great dragons to have opponents...adversaries. Sometimes it's a sun-king, sometimes another monster--
MARTY
In the Bible, for instance. Leviathan and Behemoth.
AARON
He looks back out the window at the structure--as do MARTY, then JILL. Silence in the plane.
EXT. ARCTIC - LATE DAY (MID-SUMMER NIGHT)
A Military Snow Cat trundles across the snow.
INT. SNOW CAT - LATE DAY (MID-SUMMER NIGHT)
An uncomfortable ride. JILL, AARON and MARTY pull on bio-protection suits. AARON blows on his hands, cold.
AARON
He's unknowingly struck a nerve. JILL shoots a look at him.
JILL
Even before the Cat comes to a complete stop, she is up and out.
EXT. ARCTIC - OUTPOST - LATE DAY (MID-SUMMER NIGHT)
Wind blows loose snow. AARON and MARTY catch up with JILL at a construction elevator which has been erected over the fissure.
INT. FISSURE - LATE DAY (MID-SUMMER NIGHT)
As the elevator descends toward the bottom--a long way down.
AARON
Dr. Llewellyn, listen. I was drafted. I don't mean to keep stepping on your toes. I'm still dealing with the fact that Godzilla actually exists--
JILL
AARON didn't know. He nods understandingly. Moves away, giving her privacy. JILL gazes down, eyes distant, remembering.
INT. WOMB CAVERN - LATE DAY (MID-SUMMER NIGHT) (Z.9.0/Womb)
The threesome exit the elevator. The SOLDIER, in bio-protective gear (as is everyone in the cavern) spots them, waves to them. They move toward him--and stop. They stare, awed. The cavern has changed. At one end, growing out of the ice like a grove of crystalline sequoias, are a number of giant pillars. Their trunks are composed of thousands of FROZEN BUBBLES, varying in size. They widen near the roof of the cavern, merging together, pushing through. This is what broke through the ice, creating the new structure above. The PILLARS are beautiful, at once delicate, huge...and alien. Several of the bubbles are broken; inside are a honeycomb-like cells. JILL, AARON and MARTY move closer to pillars. More of the amniotic fluid flows from a crevice in a wall. As before, work crews collect it in barrels and wheel it out. Something about the place now inspires hushed tones. MARTY can barely see through his visor. He breathes out hard through his nose. The visor defogs briefly--then re-fogs. AARON moves through the pillars.
AARON
This is...constructed. There's intelligence behind this. (an idea occurs) Remember Junji's stories. The 'people before people'?
MARTY
AARON
Suppose you've got a race of people--more advanced than us--with an organic technology instead of a mechanical technology--
MARTY (realizing)
There wouldn't be any evidence--the relics would all decay. All you'd have left are stories of lost civilizations...
AARON
JILL has listened, incredulous. Shakes her head.
JILL
Suddenly we cut to:
HIGH ANGLE - LOOKING DOWN, on JILL, AARON and MARTY. It's a surveillance-type angle, the sudden shift in perspective creating the feeling that something is watching them. JILL examines one of the broken bubbles.
JILL (to the SOLDIER)
SOLDIER
Above them, a bubble breaks with a crystalline 'POP.' The honeycomb inside is exposed.
SOLDIER
Like that. About one an hour.
JILL
AARON
Why not information? (JILL gives him a puzzled look) I wonder...these pillars appear then we're signaled--to let us know something's here... (chasing an idea) Godzilla was discovered accidentally...maybe prematurely?
MARTY
We weren't supposed to find him until we found the pillars--they could be here to tell us about Godzilla.
JILL
AARON
Well, that makes it sound a little silly...but, yeah. (JILL stares at him)
JILL
You spout stuff like that, huge leaps of logic, a total guess, and in your mind, it's already true.
AARON
JILL
AARON
JILL
AARON
Yeah, well, I'm a good guesser.
It's almost an argument--but then JILL realizes he just gave in. She can't help but smile. He smiles back. MARTY gives up on clearing his visor--he wants to see. He pulls up his hood briefly to wipe the visor--
FROM THE HIGH ANGLE, we suddenly, shockingly SHOOT DOWN TOWARD MARTY, CLOSE, TOWARD HIS NECK, UNDER THE HOOD, TOWARD HIS EYE-- MARTY drops to one knee, blinking.
AARON
MARTY (nods he's all right)
To one side, JILL has a sudden realization.
JILL
AARON
JILL
AARON
JILL
The fluid. I did the analysis. There were molecular chains in there that had no business in nature--because they weren't natural!
AARON
JILL'S really excited--it's an insight in a way she's never had one before.
JILL
We assumed the fluid kept Godzilla preserved--what if it didn't? If he is a fusion reactor, what were the control rods? What if the fluid...
AARON
JILL
Well, when you put it that way, it makes it sound silly.
He looks at her speculatively.
AARON
I think you're a good guesser, too.
JILL'S a little befuddled by the compliment--and isn't sure it is one. She turns to move further into the pillars--
JILL
AARON smiles, follows her. Unnoticed, MARTY stumbles. He catches himself against one of the pillars--barely. On shaky legs, he follows them. (z.8 end)
EXT. UTAH - FLEER'S HOUSE/WOODS - DAWN (Z.j.10/Mutilations) (z.9 begin)
FLEER stands with the SHERIFF, examining a small corral behind his house. Part of the fence is smashed. FLEER holds a rifle.
FLEER
It was the most god-awful sound you ever heard. Cinnamon was screaming, and... (sadly) There's some blood.
The SHERIFF nods sadly. Surveys the area.
SHERIFF
The two men head into the woods. The SHERIFF looks at the ground in front of them, watching for tracks.
SHERIFF
You know, they had some cattle killed down at the Quincy farms...pretty grisly. Maybe a rabid mountain lion...
FLEER
SHERIFF
He has spotted something. Leans down, puzzled--and a little frightened.
FLEER
He looks. On the ground is a horseshoe. It isn't until the SHERIFF turns it slightly that we realize-- it's still attached to a hoof and horse's leg, severed at the fetlock. FLEER steps back, stricken. He turns away--and something in a tree draws his attention. He stares.
SHERIFF
FLEER is still staring. The SHERIFF follows his gaze, up--high in the branches of a tree--is a large, cinnamon-colored horse. Brutally mutilated, impaled on several sharp branches. Dead.
SHERIFF (low, dismayed)
FLEER rubs a hand across his face, still staring.
FLEER (choking back tears)
Aw, Cinnamon... (beat) Goddamn weird shit. (z.9 end)
INT. OCEAN LINER - BALLROOM - NIGHT (Z.k11/On the Move) (z.10 begin)
A hundred couples spin and turn on the vast dance floor, a sea of swirling motion. We have no idea we're on a ship until the CAPTAIN, elegant in his dress uniform, dances into view.
FADE UP TITLE:
S.S. NORWEGIAN GODDESS
PACIFIC OCEAN - 159:30 LAT., 28 LONG.
INT. OCEAN LINER - COMPASS BRIDGE - NIGHT
A RADAR GUY stares incredulously at his display--
RADAR GUY
Sir, unidentified objects, approaching from the west...
A female NAVIGATION OFFICER joins him. They look at: ON RADAR: SWARMS of dots are massed on the periphery of the display. Irregular, shifting shapes, moving toward the ship.
OFFICER (mystified)
The RADAR GUY checks, sheepishly taps the high-tech display, like it's a faulty home appliance.
RADAR GUY
Looks like, um, schools of fish.
OFFICER
Again the RADAR GUY TAPS the display, to no effect. Finally he notices the OFFICER staring at him reprovingly. He stops.
OFFICER (shouts an order)
Inform the Captain, he's needed on the compass bridge.
BACK TO RADAR DISPLAY: as the wave of dots closes in--
EXT. OCEAN LINER - FORECASTLE - NIGHT
At the rail, a HONEYMOON COUPLE kisses under the full moon. The BRIDE catches something out of the corner of her eye, twists out of the kiss, looks out to sea--
BRIDE
DOWN ANGLE - WHAT SHE SEES: The dark water around the ship suddenly turns SILVER as a WAVE OF FISH sweeps in. All sizes, all varieties, flashing bright in the moonlight. Predator and prey, small and large--tuna, yellowtail, snapper, dolphins. An ichthyic stampede-- Hundreds, thousands of THUMPS are heard as fish SLAM into the side of the ocean liner, fall back into the churning sea. --and then, just as quickly as it began....the onslaught is over. The fish are past, disappearing. The waters empty, going from silver to blue.
INT. OCEAN LINER - COMPASS BRIDGE - NIGHT
As the dot-swarms move off the display screen. The OFFICER looks at the Radar Guy. They shrug, and she moves away. The RADAR GUY looks back at the screen-- That now shows ONE BIG DOT, moving toward them.
RADAR GUY
The OFFICER comes back. Sees the display. Exchanges a worried glance with the RADAR GUY, whose eyes are wide. The OFFICER can't help it--she slowly reaches up...taps the display, hard, several times. The BIG DOT stays on screen, moving toward them--
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - UNDERWATER - NIGHT
SHAFTS of MOONLIGHT shine down, doing little to illumine the murky blue depths. In the distance, a small shape takes form, growing larger, swimming toward us--GODZILLA. The huge creature seems almost graceful, approaching, growing ever larger, undulating through the water. He nears, growing larger still, completely FILLING THE SCREEN--
INT. OCEAN LINER - COMPASS BRIDGE - NIGHT
Alarms SOUND. The CAPTAIN barks orders. A CREWMAN rushes in, panicked--
CREWMAN
Tidal wave! A tidal wave, port--
The BRIDE SLAMS SIDEWAYS as Godzilla rams into the side the ship. A horrible rending sound as his dorsal fins rip the metal hull--
INT. OCEAN LINER - BALLROOM - NIGHT
All the dancers are simultaneously knocked off their feet as one end of the dance floor rises while the other end drops--
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - NIGHT
The mighty ship lists perilously. Slowly, majestically, it rolls OVER, into the sea. Beyond it is a huge V-shaped wake, as Godzilla continues on--
INT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - RADIO ROOM - LATE DAY (MID-SUMMER NIGHT)
A COMM OFFICER hands JILL a headset. AARON stands beside her.
COMM OFFICER
I've got the U.S.S. Idaho, part of the rescue team--
MARTY is at a water cooler, filling and drinking a cup of water incessantly--oddly detached from the scene.
COMM OFFICER
A VIDEO SCREEN flashes to life, showing the rescue ship communications room. A young LIEUTENANT speaks INTO CAMERA.
LIEUTENANT (filtered)
...apparently capsized, then sank to three thousand feet. Just pieces on the surface now--
Suddenly the audio drops out. The LIEUTENANT is still on screen, his lips moving, but no sound.
COMM OFFICER
JILL
The COMM OFFICER is already doing it. Switches are flipped, dials turned--and the audio is back. (With the radio audio delayed, the Lieutenant's lips don't sync--our tribute to dubbed Godzilla films of years past.)
LIEUTENANT (filtered)
--eyewitness reported a tidal wave. Another described it as a, uh, creature, like a dragon. 'It swam up from beneath us,' he said...
The audio CRACKLES. JILL looks at Aaron. Could it be?
LIEUTENANT (filtered)
...too big to be a whale--some say it had arms and legs. Right now we're not sure just what we're dealing with...
The audio cuts out. The COMM OFFICER works to get it back.
AARON
JILL
MARTY suddenly thinks of something he needs to say. He takes a step toward Aaron and Jill-- and COLLAPSES against the water cooler, knocks it over. The water bottle bounces, clatters on the floor--completely empty.
AARON
Marty! (rushes to him) Get a doctor, quick!
INT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - RADIO ROOM - LATE DAY (MID-SUMMER NIGHT)
A MEDIC examines Marty. A NURSE applies chemical heat pads to Marty's hands and feet.
MARTY
AARON
Can we get him to better facilities?
MEDIC
The NURSE tugs away Marty's jacket. Gasps, drops the jacket. Marty's shoulders are swollen, his collarbones distended grotesquely. The bones in Marty's shoulders move with a life of their own. THEY SHIFT, repositioning themselves under Marty's skin. The MEDIC'S eyes go wide.
MEDIC
Holy Christ. Um, let's get him to better facilities--
EXT. ARCTIC OUTPOST - AIRFIELD - LATE DAY (MID-SUMMER NIGHT)
Marty, on a stretcher, is loaded into the cargo bay of a C-130. AARON helps.
MARTY
AARON clasps his hand.
AARON
If I meet him, I'll tell 'em you said 'hi.'
MARTY manages a weak smile.
AARON hops down from the cargo bay. Looks in-- CLOSE ON - Marty, as the cargo door SLIDES SHUT. The engines WHINE as they start up. JILL steps up next to Aaron, puts a hand on his shoulder.
JILL
AARON
JILL turns her head away from the engines. She has to shout over the noise:
JILL
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - FORT POINT - DAY (Z.3.l.12/Bridge) (z.11 begin)
FADE UP TITLE: FORT POINT
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
The Golden Gate Bridge. Beneath it sits Fort Point. Heavy artillery is deployed. A state of siege. A jeep pulls up. JILL and AARON, still dressed for the Arctic, hop out.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
The high-tech command post. Large view screens dominate the room. ADMIRAL BENEDEK is there, and so is PIKE. JILL hurries in, AARON in her wake
JILL.
BENEDEK
PIKE
JILL and AARON look at the chairs, glance at each other.
JILL
Visible in the bay outside the windows is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, the U.S.S. Everheart. A LAMPS I SH-2F helicopter lifts from the Everheart's deck, joining a second already in the sky.
AARON (re: the copters)
BENEDEK
Each helicopter carries two Mark 46 torpedoes--that's a 98-pound warhead with active and passive sonar for hunting its prey. And the U.S.S. Everheart is designed for anti-submarine warfare.
PIKE
I'm more afraid of what we'll hear from the animal rights people than of what basically amounts to a whale.
AARON
Well, actually, Godzilla's the size of three blue whales--
PIKE
JILL
PIKE glowers at her. He doesn't. BENEDEK looks at Jill and Aaron.
BENEDEK
They exchange a glance. JILL nods.
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - UNDERWATER - DAY
There is an above surface SPLASH--then something is falling past us in a trail of bubbles. It slows. Stops. It is a CAPTOR (Encapsulated Torpedo) mine, which launches a torpedo when its target is in range. One of several, extending across an underwater channel. Closing it off. WE SURFACE--
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
Navy Iroquois (Huey) helicopters, outfitted with Medfly-spraying apparatus, skim above the water. Feeder tubes run to the spraying apparatus from yellow drums of amniotic fluid (as seen in the Arctic). Beyond the helicopters, the Golden Gate Bridge spans the mouth of the bay. It is jammed with abandoned cars and trucks.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
AARON supervises the loading of the yellow barrels onto an Iroquois. A truck towing an artillery cannon shoves its way through parked cars, moving the cannon into place.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
ON A TV SCREEN: the Golden Gate Bridge, artillery in place, now backdrop to a remote stand-up news report.
REPORTER (filtered)
The reasons for all the activity are still unknown. There's speculation that a nuclear powered sub has become disabled in the Bay. But again--that's just rumor...
JILL and BENEDEK watch the report. The REPORTER is replaced by video of people being evacuated by National Guardsmen.
REPORTER (o.s.) (filtered)
ON THE MAIN SCREEN: a satellite image. San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge...and then GODZILLA, heading for it.
OPS OFFICER
BENEDEK
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
AARON can see the helicopters headed out to sea.
JILL (o.s.) (filtered)
AARON (into radio; quoting)
'Now shall hard edge, hand and blade, do battle for the hoard.'
JILL (o.s.) (filtered)
AARON
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
PIKE raises an eyebrow.
PIKE (into radio)
AARON (o.s.) (filtered)
PIKE (dryly)
JILL
Aaron, you ought to get off the bridge.
ON SCREEN: POV of a pilot as his helicopter skims over water
INT. FIRST HELICOPTER - DAY
As PILOT, co-pilot/tactical operator (TACO) and sensor operator scan the ocean. They spot-- Godzilla's dorsals rise and fall, breaking the surface.
TACO
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - SKY - DAY
The Mark 46 Torpedo drops from the helicopter, hits the water, races towards the dark shape of Godzilla. The second torpedo follows. They find their targets. Plumes of water rise up--The shape is gone.
INT. FIRST HELICOPTER - DAY
PILOT
TACO
EXT. PACIFIC OCEAN - DAY
Godzilla ERUPTS from the water, directly in the 'copter's path--
TACO
Godzilla dives forward, his arm sweeping up-- His claws rake the undercarriage of the helicopter, causing it to dip precariously--but it stabilizes, zips past. The second LAMPS I helicopter banks around toward Godzilla. Godzilla sees it coming. Godzilla rears up-- The torpedo drops from the helicopter--Godzilla BREATHES FIRE, engulfing the torpedo--and the helicopter. The helicopter explodes.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
JILL looks stricken. BENEDEK doesn't take his eyes off the screens.
BENEDEK
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
AARON stares out toward the ocean, scanning for Godzilla. The helicopters buzz in front of the bridge.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
PIKE watches the monitor. Cracks his neck.
PIKE
C'mon, you bastard...where are the mines? He should be hitting them.
EXT. BAY - DAY
The water ERUPTS as a mine goes off. Then another. Another. A chain of explosions, nearing the bridge.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
PIKE (a feral smile)
BENEDEK (to the Ops Officer)
EXT. BAY - DAY
The helicopters begin spraying, coating the water with RED-BLACK AMNIOTIC FLUID.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
Another mine ERUPTS, a plume of water arcing into the air. Staring, AARON moves against the soldiers and evacuees, drawn toward the center ofthe bridge. At the rail, beyond the spraying helicopters, he can see the explosions. Godzilla is coming.
EXT. BAY - DAY
More mines detonate in sequence, nearing the area the helicopters are spraying. Godzilla breaks the surfaces with a ROAR.
INT. IROQUOIS - DAY
IROQUOIS PILOT
He banks his helicopter. Godzilla is almost directly beneath him. The PILOT pulls a lever--
EXT. BAY - DAY
The entire contents of the helicopters tanks dumps onto Godzilla, a torrent of fluid. Godzilla roars and dives. Mines EXPLODE. The other helicopters keep up the onslaught, chasing the string of explosions. Godzilla resurfaces...right in the red-black amniotic fluid slick. It coats him as he swims through it.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
An ARTILLERY SOLDIER listens to a radio, Aaron behind him.
SOLDIER
AARON
The SOLDIER gives him a glance, turns to his job.
EXT. BAY - DAY
Bright orange flashes as the artillery on the bridge open fire-- EXPLOSIONS as the shells hit. Godzilla pulls back, into the center of the fluid. He slows. And CRIES OUT...a different sound than his roar. Sickly. In pain.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
AARON frowns. He's still rooted to the spot.
EXT. BAY - DAY
Godzilla growls like a cornered animal. Then dives.
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
Lit by the glow of the monitors, JILL and PIKE stare with similar rapt expressions.
PIKE (muttering)
Welcome to my world, lizard. It's a world of hurt.
JILL gives him an uneasy glance, turns to the window.
EXT. GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE - DAY
AARON searches the ocean. No sign of Godzilla.
EXT. BAY - DAY
The water is still...the Bridge eerily empty of movement. Suddenly GODZILLA ERUPTS FROM THE WATER--
INT. FORT POINT - COMMAND CENTER - DAY
