PITCH BLACK

     They trundle on, Fry the new tail-gunner.

     At side guard, Paris relaxes a bit -- even though the CLICKING
     never seems far from earshot. A weak FIREBALL SPEWS from his
     torch. He checks the reservoir. Almost empty.

                              PARIS
               Light, please, need light here....

     Still moving, Johns and Imam train lights on Paris while he
     refuels. For a brief moment, Audrey strays from the light.

     PREDATOR'S POV: Dive-bombing the girl.

     A HIGH-VELOCITY CLICKING: It's like an incoming missile. Imam
     lunges at the last nanosecond...

     And flattens Audrey to the ground. Scythe blades swing...

     CHINKING the harness-chains on Imam's back.

     Johns whirls, BLASTS. Light-beams leap around. But the predator
     is long gone.

                              IMAM
                         (trembling)
               Please...have we been cut? Can someone
               tell me if....

     He finds his dropped light, thumbs the switch again and again.
     Broken.

     In the confusion, Paris has been left in the dark. Something
     slashes him from behind. It's like the night has claws.

                              PARIS
               Oh, sweet Jesus....

     The bottle drops.

     The blood flows.

     The CLICKING STOPS.

                              PARIS
               Oh, sweet Jesus, WILL YOU GET ME SOME
               LIGHT OVER HERE!

     Faces whip around. But before their lights can rescue him...

     Paris is gone, snatched away by a swooping blur.

     Light-beams jump fitfully, vainly.

     RIDDICK'S POV: Of predators feasting on Paris. Carrying a
     youngling on its back, a female predator arrives late and can't
     find a place at the trough. With shocking apathy, it whips the
     youngling off its back and begins devouring it. Other predators
     start in-fighting, killing themselves for food. POV PANS to a
     pair of predators, closer, SOUNDING out new prey. POV PANS
     AGAIN to include the object of their desire. Audrey.

     CLOSE on Riddick. Trying to figure it out.

     CLOSE on Audrey. Listening to the HORRIFIC FEEDING SOUNDS.
     Oblivious to all the attention she's getting.

                              FRY
               What do you see? Riddick?

                              RIDDICK
               Hunger. I see 60 years of hunger.

     EXT. SKY - NIGHT

     As clouds mass.

     EXT. NIGHT

     Into a rising wind, the survivors range on.

     Audrey now carries Paris' torch, refueled and COUGHING FIREBALLS
     at regular intervals. Fry seems to be handling rear-point fairly
     well, until...

     The cutter sputters and dies. She ditches it and takes the torch
     from Audrey.

                              FRY
               Bottle-count.

                              AUDREY
               Four fulls, one half. That mean we're
               halfway there? I hope?

     Good question. They've just been blindly following...

     The light on Riddick's back.

                              FRY
               Can we pick up the pace?

     Working like a mule, Johns growls to himself. "If you think you
     can do better...." Abruptly he slaps an arm across Imam's chest,
     spotting...

     A sled-track. In front of them.

     Fry hears a SHOTGUN RATCHET. She spins to see...

     Johns out of his chains. Moving forward. Jamming the shotgun
     into the back of Riddick's neck.

                              JOHNS
               We aren't completely stupid.

                              FRY
               Stay in the light! Everybody! Stay in
               the fucking --

                              IMAM
               We crossed our own tracks.

                              JOHNS
               He's running us 'round in circles. Look
               for yourself. Look!

                              FRY
               Riddick? What the hell are you --

                              RIDDICK
               Listen.

     Imagine a hundred Geiger-counters next to a truckload of
     plutonium. That's the SOUND that rides the wind now.

                              RIDDICK
               Canyon ahead. I circled once to buy some
               time to think.

                              FRY
               Think about what?

                              JOHNS
               About how to kill us and still get these
               cells to the skiff. Goddamnit, we're just
               doin' the heavy lifting for this prick!

                              RIDDICK
                         (answering Fry)
               About the girl.

                              FRY
               What about her?

                              RIDDICK
               What it's gonna be like when we hit that
               canyon. With her bleeding.

                              JOHNS
               What're you jaw-jackin' about? Girl's not
               cut.

                              RIDDICK
                         (agreeing)
               No. She's not.

     It hits Fry like a two-by-four. She looks at Audrey.

                              AUDREY
                         (confessing)
               I didn't want you to leave me there...
               back at the ship...that's why I didn't
               say anything....

                              FRY
               No, we'd never....Oh, God, honey, you
               shoulda told me sooner.

                              JOHNS
                         (finally getting it)
               Aw, this can't be happening to me....

                              RIDDICK
               They been nose-open for her ever since we
               left. They go off blood.

                              IMAM
               Well...we must keep her close, then.
               Here, she'll be safe if we put her
               between --

                              RIDDICK
                         (scanning)
               There is no "safe."

     An epic beat. The wind gusts...the FLAMES CHATTER...their ears
     fill with CANYON SOUNDS.

                              FRY
               It's not gonna work. We gotta go back.

     Johns brays.

                              JOHNS
               Hey, you're the one who got me out here,
               turned me into a goddamn sled dog. An'
               now you 'spect me to go back like a
               whipped dog?

                              FRY
               I was wrong. I admit it. My bad, okay?
               Now let's just go back to the ship.

                              JOHNS
               I dunno. Nice breeze, wide open spaces --
               you know, I'm startin' to enjoy myself out
               here.

                              FRY
               Are you fucking high again? Just listen
               to --

                              JOHNS
               No, no, you're right, Fry. What's to be
               afraid of? My life is a steamin' pile of
               meaningless toadshit anyhow. So I say
               mush on! Canyon's only couple hundred
               meters, after that we're in Skiff City!
               So why don't you just butch up, stuff a
               cork in that kid, and get --

                              IMAM
               She's the captain, we should listen to --

                              JOHNS
               Listen to her? Her? When she was willing
               to sacrifice us all?

     A beat. Eyes turn to Fry. She wants to protest -- but can't.

                              AUDREY
               What's he talkin' about?

                              JOHNS
               During the crash, she --

                              FRY
                         (a warning growl)
               This does not help us, Johns.

                              JOHNS
               -- she tried to blow the whole fucking
               passenger cabin, tried to kill us --

                              FRY
               Just shut up, okay?

                              JOHNS
               -- tried to kill us in our sleep. Paris
               had it right -- we are disposable. We're
               just walking ghosts to her.

                              FRY
               Would you RAG YOUR STUPID HOLE!

     She rushes him, ready to rip his eyes out. He shunts her aside.

                              JOHNS
               We're not alive because of her -- we're
               alive in spite of her.

     He swung below the belt -- and connected. Fry's chin quakes,
     her knees fail. The undertow of events finally pulls her down.

                              FRY
               We cannot go through there....

                              JOHNS
                         (lording)
               How much you weigh right now, Fry? Huh?

                              IMAM
                         (pushing him back)
               Fine, fine, you've made your point. We
               can all be so scared as you.

     Johns snatches a light away from Imam.

                              JOHNS
                         (to all)
               Verdict's in. The light moves forward.

     EXT. BONEYARD - NIGHT

     They trudge on, slower now, building reserves for the canyon-run.
     At rear-point, Fry follows like a broken rudder. Pilgrim #1 now
     draws the sled with Imam. And up ahead...

     EXT. BONEYARD - NIGHT

     Johns falls in step with Riddick.

                              JOHNS
               Ain't all of us gonna make it.

                              RIDDICK
               Just realized that, huh?

     CLICKING nearby. Johns BLASTS the night, driving the sound
     away -- and reminding everyone of who carries the Big Gauge.

                              JOHNS
               Six of us left. If we could get through
               that canyon and lose just one, that'd be
               quite a fucking feat, huh? A good thing,
               right?

                              RIDDICK
               Not if I'm the one.