ARCTIC BLUE

Eric slams on the brakes and turns the Scout around.

CORBETT

Let me out and keep going. They

catch us, they'll kill you.

Eric doesn't need any convincing of that. He tears out.

66 EXT. PUMPING STATION

Mitchell runs out in front of them and BLASTS the front of

the Scout with his .45 Peacemaker. Steam HISSES out of the

radiator. Eric floors it and races past Mitchell, almost

hitting him.

(CONTINUED)

66 CONTINUED:

Mitchell and LeMalle SHOOT at the retreating vehicle. One

of the Scout's back tires gets blown out.

67 INT. SCOUT - (MOVING SHOT)

Eric slows, shifts into four-wheel drive and continues,

driving on the rim.

68 EXT. PUMPING STATION

Chewing an unlit cheroot, Viking Bob pulls up next to

Mitchell and LeMalle in the trappers' jeep. They pile in.

69 EXT. HAUL ROAD

Eric backtracks as fast as possible in the crippled vehicle.

70 INT. TRAPPERS' JEEP - THROUGH WINDSHIELD - (MOVING SHOT)

As the Scout heads for the Feldspar Creek bridge, it

disappears from sight over a hill.

71 EXT. HAUL ROAD & FELDSPAR CREEK

Viking Bob zooms over Feldspar Creek. They come over the

rise, but the Scout still can't be seen ahead of them.

REVERSE ANGLE

The Scout sits idling in a depression near the creek bed,

below the Haul Road. Above, the trappers speed past without

noticing.

After giving the trappers time to get around the next bend,

Eric drives the Scout up the embankment and crosses back

over the bridge.

72 INT. SCOUT

Eric stops the vehicle. He grabs a five-gallon gas can and

a piece of cloth from the back.

73 EXT. HAUL ROAD & FELDSPAR CREEK

The prefab bridge is the transportable type used by the Army

Corps of Engineers, left over from the building of the

pipeline. Eric stuffs the gas can between the abutment and

the honeycombed underside of the bridge. He puts the rag

inside the spout of the can, lights it with a match and runs

like hell back to the Scout.

74 EXT. HAUL ROAD

The trappers realize their quarry is missing. Viking Bob

slams on the brakes and looks around.

75 INT. SCOUT - (MOVING SHOT)

Eric speeds away.

CORBETT

They'll still catch us. All

you're doing is pissing them off.

76 EXT. HAUL ROAD & FELDSPAR CREEK

The gasoline can EXPLODES, tearing the bridge couplings away

from the concrete abutment.

77 EXT. HAUL ROAD

The trappers see the explosion behind them. They turn

around and head toward it.

78 EXT. PUMPING STATION - HANGAR

Eric parks the Scout sideways to block the way to the

airstrip.

With the magnum at the ready, Eric cuts Corbett's handcuffs

loose from the seat and hurries him toward the hangar.

The leeward side of the structure is a huge metal door on

rollers. Eric unlocks it and rolls it back. Inside is a

Cessna 182, dusted with snow and ice blown through the

cracks by crosswinds. Eric brushes the windshield with his

sleeve.

79 EXT. HAUL ROAD & FELDSPAR CREEK

The trappers pull up and find the far side of the bridge

burning and disconnected from the creek bank.

80 INT. HANGAR - CESSNA

Eric helps Corbett into the cockpit, then secures his

handcuffs to the frame of the seat with more nylon rope.

81 EXT. HAUL ROAD & FELDSPAR CREEK

Viking Bob assesses the damage to the bridge. Loose from

the abutments, it wobbles like a diving board. Below, the

water is too deep and fast-moving to be traversable.

82 INT. HANGAR - CESSNA

Eric tries to turn the ENGINE over. The starter is sluggish

from cold and lack of use.

83 EXT. HAUL ROAD & FELDSPAR CREEK

Viking Bob looks at the others, bursting with frustration.

He climbs into the driver's seat.

VIKING BOB

Get in. We can jump it.

They hop in. He SCREECHES backwards to get a running start,

REVS the engine, pops the clutch, and tears toward the

bridge.

As they reach the midpoint of the bridge it begins to buckle

under them. With a sickening WRENCHING, the crossbar

supports crumple.

The jeep flies through the still-burning gasoline, becomes

airborne, and SCRAPES to a rude stop on the edge of the

pavement on the other side, the back wheels dangling in

space.

LeMalle and Mitchell gingerly get out and push the ass end

of the jeep onto solid earth.

84 INT. HANGAR

Eric finally STARTS the plane and taxis out onto the landing

strip.

85 EXT. PUMPING STATION

The trappers drive up to where the Scout blocks their path.

They pile out of their jeep and run toward the landing

strip.

86 INT. CESSNA - (AERIAL SHOT)

It picks up speed and takes off.

ANGLE THROUGH WINDOW - (AERIAL SHOT)

Below, the trappers watch the plane zoom over their heads.

LeMalle points his carbine at it, but Viking Bob pushes the

rifle down.

87 INT. CESSNA - (AERIAL SHOT)

Corbett scowls as he sees the trappers helpless below him.

88 EXT. PUMPING STATION

Viking Bob watches, wide-eyed with fury. Mitchell spits.

LeMalle punches the wall. Then he turns and repeatedly

BLASTS the Scout, parked nearby, with his carbine.

89 INT. CESSNA - (AERIAL SHOT)

Eric's knapsack, an emergency kit and several five-gallon

cans of aviation fuel are tucked behind the seats.

ERIC

How the hell were they smart

enough to find us?

CORBETT

Smart? Sure. That's why I'm

sitting in this plane and they're

down there blowing me kisses.

Eric retracts the landing gear and banks toward the

southwest. Corbett notices that Eric seems a little unsure

of the controls.

CORBETT

(continuing)

Been driving long?

ERIC

I needed a pilot's license to

take the job here, so I got one

in six weeks.

CORBETT

That makes the flight more

interesting.

Eric ignores the jibe. He stays at 2,000 feet, making the

landscape all the more immediate.

Corbett stares out the window and broods. He spots an open,

snow-covered area where some dark blotches mar the

whiteness.

CORBETT

(continuing)

See the blood? Pack of wolves

took down a moose. Greedy,

gut-ripping sons of bitches. I'd

kill the last wolf on earth,

right in front of the President

of the U.S. Stinking, cowardly

predator, the wolf.

(CONTINUED)

89 CONTINUED:

ERIC

Sounds like professional

jealousy.

CORBETT

Hunting and trapping was a damn

fine life.

(beat)

Me and Mitchell, Bob and LeMalle,

we were teams. I'd always go

with Mitchell. Good man,

Mitchell. I'd let Bob worry

about goddamn LeMalle. We'd hire

a plane in October. On the way

to a dirt airstrip somewhere,

we'd drop supplies. We'd land,

tell the pilot to come back for

us a few days before Christmas.

ANOTHER ANGLE - (AERIAL SHOT)

While talking in an even tone, Corbett intently studies the

instrument panel and scans the landscape below.

CORBETT

The idea was to get to the

supplies before the bears did.

Along the route we'd set our

traps. Made our year's living in

three months.

Corbett spots a flat plateau farther in the mountains, above

the tree line.

CORBETT

(continuing)

Lot of times we didn't even have

a landing strip. We'd set down

on a plateau, like that one

there. Yeah, that one's easy;

you could glide right in...

Suddenly, he turns in the seat and pins Eric against the

door with his left foot.

The plane flies erratically. With his right foot, Corbett

kicks the fuel jettison lever on the instrument panel,

jamming it on.

90 EXT. CESSNA - (AERIAL SHOT)

The lever, used to empty the fuel tanks in case of

emergency, does so with great expediency. All the gas is

instantly discharged.

91 INT. CESSNA - (AERIAL SHOT)

Corbett releases Eric and calmly sits back up in his seat.

Eric rubs his neck, incredulous. Corbett's move was too

fast and too outrageous. In a moment, the engine SPUTTERS

to a stop. Eric struggles to hold the stick steady and

glide the plane down to the plateau Corbett pointed out.

CORBETT

Hope you got your money's worth

on those lessons.

92 EXT. CESSNA - (AERIAL SHOT)

There's an even chance of hitting a mountain instead of the

plateau. Eric pushes the Cessna's nose down. The plateau

comes up fast.

The plane drops lower and lower, pitching and yawing in the

wind.

It CRASH LANDS, its metal underbelly SCREECHING as it hits

the jagged granite under the snow. It stops suddenly,

flipping tail over nose.

93 INT. CESSNA

It rests upside down in the snow. The men are dazed.

Behind Eric, one of the extra fuel cans, now hanging upside

down, leaks gas. In front of him, the engine is ON FIRE.

Eric undoes his seat belt and rights himself, but his leg

gets caught in the tangled belt. He pulls out a Swiss Army

knife and cuts the rope binding Corbett's handcuffs to the

seat. Corbett pushes the passenger door open. Panicking,

Eric tries to pull loose of his seat belt, painfully

wrenching his ankle.

94 EXT. CESSNA

Corbett rolls out into the snow. With no time to grab his

supplies, Eric clambers from the wreckage. He and Corbett

crawl/roll down the incline of the plateau, away from the

plane.

A moment later the leaking gas reaches the burning engine

and the Cessna EXPLODES.

WIDER

Eric tries to stand. He cries out and falls into the

powdery snow, clutching at his ankle.

(CONTINUED)

94 CONTINUED:

Corbett realizes Eric is at a disadvantage. But before he

can bolt, Eric grabs for the .357 magnum under his coat. He

lies on the snow, gasping, pointing the gun at Corbett's

midsection.

ERIC

Stay put!

CORBETT

You got the belly to look me in

the eye and pull the trigger?

Eric cocks the gun's hammer with his thumb.

ERIC

Be no different than shooting a

rabid dog.

The men face off for a tense moment.

Corbett smiles and zips up his jacket, dispelling the

tension. Letting the hammer down, Eric looks back at the

burning plane.

ERIC

(continuing)

Next time you want to kill

yourself, don't include me.

CORBETT

I took the odds on getting down

in one piece, and I made it. Now

we're in my territory.

ERIC

With light clothing and no

supplies, this is nobody's

territory.

CORBETT

You sound like the tourists.

Know-it-alls who read about

survival in a magazine. Fuck

you. You won't make it off this

mountain.

Corbett drops his facade of conviviality. Eric is too angry

to be intimidated. He takes the scarf from around his neck

and wraps his ankle with it.

ERIC

Let's go.

(CONTINUED)

94 CONTINUED: (2)

CORBETT

(re Eric's ankle)

I'm not gonna carry you out of

here.

ERIC

That's right. You're not.

CORBETT

Look, take these cuffs off. We

need to work together.

ERIC

Forget it.

Eric holds his wristwatch up, points the hour hand at the

sun, counts forward to noon, and, accordingly, makes an

approximation of their direction.

ERIC

(continuing)

Last time I checked the flight

plan, we were forty miles

northeast of Devil's Cauldron.

Southwest is that way. No sense

waiting for a goddamn taxi.

Grimacing with pain, he gets up. Clutching the magnum, he

shoves Corbett in front of him and starts walking. Corbett

frowns -- it's tough to trudge through the snow with his

arms cuffed tightly behind his back.

Eric looks around and tries not to let his emotions register

on his face. They wouldn't be farther from the rest of

humanity on another planet. Smelling fear on Eric, Corbett

enjoys the view. And waits.

95 EXT. ENDICOTT MOUNTAINS - LATER THAT DAY

The Endicott range is full of jagged peaks, icy streams and

gnarled tundra valleys. Squinting in the glare of the snow,

Eric and Corbett trek through the grandiose Gates of the

Arctic area. The smoldering plane wreckage is a hard-won,

snow-covered mile behind them.

Intricate patterns of fragmented rock, strips of scruffy

tundra and bedrock outcrops produce lonely, foreboding

mosaics upon the landscape. The air is still. The silence

is itself a disconcerting presence. Ten miles ahead and two

thousand feet lower, the forest begins. But here, on the

rock face of the mountains, Eric and Corbett might as well

be in a desert.