PART 1

FADE IN: EXT. HELICOPTER POV – DAY The camera flies over Washington D.C. There is no moving traffic on the streets below. Instead, the streets are littered with debris blown around by a soft wind. MOVE IN ... until we are at street level. The Washington Monument, Capitol Building and finally the Lincoln Memorial. Each area is a jumble of mangled vehicles of every make and description strewn over the surface below. Wreckage of some vehicles smolder from fires now almost extinguished. The front gates of the Whitehouse swing and clang in the breeze. MOVE IN CLOSER ... Until we see hundreds of people moving slowly, aimlessly about, hideous, grotesque, deformed, and streaking blood behind them... they are not human in any sense of the word... they are walking death; a physical manifestation of our most horrible nightmares. INTERIOR HELICOPTER CONTINUOUS - DAY Seen from the neck down we hear one of two soldiers comment on the situation. Soldier 1. Radio Browlow and tell him there's no one left to save. STREET LEVEL CONTINUOUS - DAY ... Move in to the White House gates as they swing. Off-camera¾a MOAN, and the sound of SHUFFLING feet. The moan fades as whatever it is moves away. INSERT TITLE REIGN OF THE DEAD ROLL CREDIT MONTAGE NEWS REPORTS ON TV 1ST REPORTER Last night reports started pouring in from around the world of extreme acts of violence. Perpetrators of these acts of violence were reported to be strange in appearance and unresponsive to communication or reason. FADE TO NEXT REPORT Scenes of chaos fill the screen as report is given. 2nd REPORTER (Voice Over) Martial law has been evoked in all U.S cities. The National Guard has been called out to establish some sort of control as communities fall further into chaos. Reports are similar from around the globe as governments scramble to take control of the situation. FADE TO NEXT REPORT 3rd REPORTER It has been established that the bodies of the recently deceased have been returning to life and attacking the living. The first such reports came in from morgues, hospitals, and even car accidents of reanimated bodies committing acts of murder. In all cases these reanimates have attempted to consume the flesh of their victims. The President today... FADE TO NEXT REPORT 4th REPORTER Attempts to contain the recent outbreak of what is thought to be a new virus of some kind has been ineffective. Most cities have been evacuated and all law enforcement agencies have broken down. Military units in the field no longer able to receive their orders from command centers have either abandoned their posts or met their fate at the hands of an exploding population of walking corpses. (fade from reports) Religious leaders are calling it Armageddon and Judgment Day... END CREDIT MONTAGE TWO WEEKS LATER INT. MOUNT WEATHER UNDERGROUND Gilbert Brownlow moves down a hall as several military men salute him. The caption at the bottom of the screen says: MOUNT WEATHER, BLUEMONT, VIRGINIA. He enters a door as the camera follows. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - CONTINUOUS ... Gilbert Brownlow dons bifocals and opens a folder. Six other men of various positions and responsibilities also sit at the table awaiting Brownlow's instructions BROWNLOW Nuclear missiles will be launched at the following U.S. cities. JOHNSTON (leaps up) My God, Gil! Have you lost your mind? BROWNLOW We have to stop this now! Those bastards are thriving in the cities! JOHNSTON There are also thousands of people in dire need of our help in, or close to, those cities. If we drop bombs, we’ll kill them, too, not to mention the damage to the planet in general. BROWNLOW (pounds table with fist) Collateral damage. It’s regrettable but it can’t be helped. We must act now. JOHNSTON Well, I won’t let you do it! I won’t let you kill people who still have a chance to— BROWNLOW To what? Become the enemy? They have no chance! The order is given. At nine tonight, nuclear missiles will be sent to their targets. If anyone tries to interfere, they will be charged with treason and shot! This meeting is over. Brownlow storms from the room, slamming the door behind him. JOHNSTON (to the others) We cannot allow this to happen! Two of the men won’t make eye contact, pick up their files and papers and follow Brownlow’s lead, leaving the room. INT. MOUNT WEATHER – CAFETERIA - CONTINUOUS The cafeteria is empty except for a two SOLDIERS at the far end of the room. Sharon and Rich sit at a table, picking at their food. SHARON One in a million survive the bite and become immune to attack from them. If we had one of them to study maybe we could¾ Rich wipes the corner of his mouth with a napkin. RICH Yes, but the result is psychotic behavior, paranoid delusions and sociopathic tendencies. Usually, the one-in-a-million that are immune to the pathogen end up dead one way or the other before we can find them and bring them down here to study.. The emergency warning buzzer BLARES. A Soldier’s radio CHATTERS to life but Cowen and Sharon can’t hear because of the alarm. Whatever is said causes looks of disbelief on their faces and they run from the room, weapons drawn. SHARON Jesus, now what? A break in? RICH Good God, I hope not. Rich gets to the door first and peers out ... only a few SOLDIERS are on the subterranean street but it seems that GUNFIRE ERUPTS from everywhere within the complex. RICH Oh my God… What’s happening? A SOLDIER bursts through a tunnel connected to another part of the underground complex. Sharon and Dr. Cowen run back to the cafeteria, fully expecting to see an army of Creatures at their heels. Instead, they are shocked to see two SOLDIERS pursuing the first Soldier. One of the pursuers SHOOTS him in the back only a few feet from Sharon and Dr. Cowen. The two pursuing Soldiers run to the fallen Man to make sure he’s dead. SHARON What is it? What’s going on? SOLDIER It’s Brownlow! He’s gonna drop bombs on our own cities! He's gone completely insane! SHARON (incredulous) Dear God! He’s finally lost what was left of his power-mad mind! Another SHOT tears through the back of the speaking Soldier’s head and he falls to the floor. Instantly, the street is filled with warring SOLDIERS and a hail of flying bullets. Dr. Cowen shoves Sharon in the direction of the lab. (Sharon screams, momentarily immobilized by the horrific sight) RICH Go, Sharon! Go to the lab! RUN! Sharon reaches the hallway and turns to see Dr. Cowen lying face down in the middle of the street. SHARON RICH! Her first reaction is to go back and help him but even from where she stands it’s easy to see where the bullet exited his skull. Overwhelmed with shock and panic, Sharon races for the lab door. She slams it shut, and slides a heavy bolt across. The decomposing body of a middle-aged man is strapped to an examination table in the lab. Moaning loudly, it moves and struggles to free itself from the bindings INT. – AMANDA’S LIVING ROOM – DAY Amanda sits on the floor, back against a wall, asleep. She grips a hunting rifle that lies across her lap. A quick sweep of the room reveals windows boarded up from the inside. A heavy deadbolt is on the door. Amanda wakes with a blood-curdling SCREAM. She looks around, fearful. She checks her watch. AMANDA (blinking wearily) Jesus. INT. Kitchen Amanda empties the few remaining canned goods from the cabinet and fills a backpack. It’s time to go. Heavy, plodding FOOTSTEPS on the porch draws her attention. Soon, a CLAWING at the door. Her stress level is evident in her every move. Unable to cope, Amanda slips into a painful memory. BEGIN FLASHBACK Amanda’s husband, WILL, lies on the couch. His arm is bandaged and sweat bathes his face. WILL (wide eyed) The gun. When I’m gone ... the gun. Use it. AMANDA (in tears) I can’t! WILL (stern whisper) You will! I’ll hurt you when I come back. Will DIES as he utters those words. His hand, caressing the side of Amanda’s face, drops. END FLASHBACK Amanda’s grief dissolves into a rush of tears. She slides to the kitchen floor and wraps her arms tightly around herself and rocks back and forth in her own embrace. AMANDA (sobbing) Damn you, Will! I can’t face this alone. POUNDING at the front door startles her into action. Life as she knew it is gone, but she wants to survive. She quickly fills a backpack with water bottle and canned food. She scoops 5 BULLETS off the countertop and shoves them into her pocket. EXT COUNTRY STORE – DAY - CONTINUOUS The store is in shambles, its front door hangs loose on its hinges. Jim Workman carefully approaches it, his .44 leading the way. The voice of DJ Ernie Bradley is on the radio in Jim’s truck telling any listening to go to the Rescue Station in Riverton. He names several no longer safe. DJ’S VOICE ON RADIO ... Do not wait for assistance. Proceed as quickly as possible to the Riverton Rescue... INT. COUNTRY STORE – DAY Jim is searching the looted store for supplies. There is nothing of use to him as he pulls things from the shelves, dropping them to the floor one at a time. The DJ’s voice is barely heard from inside the store. Except for the DJ’s voice all is quiet. A door behind the counter gives him hope. It’s locked. A swift KICK remedies the problem. In an instant, two disfigured, and pale ghouls are on him, one male, one female. Their eyes are crazed. They are vampire-like in their appearance. As he clashes with them two more approach through the store’s front door. Both are disfigured, desperate to reach Jim, they move uneasily, but with some speed. Jim gets the upper hand and tosses both to the floor and quickly shoots them in the head. He spins and puts two well-placed shots in the heads of the other two as well. They drop like a rock. INT. AMANDA’S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS In the living room she places backpack and rifle beside the front door and looks through the peephole. PEEPHOLE POV ... several walking Dead shuffle about aimlessly. One of them is her dead husband Will, whose face moves in and covers her view. Amanda JUMPS away from the peephole. The creatures’ attempts to gain entry THUNDER against the wall and door as Amanda backs away. AMANDA (hands to her temples) Too many… There’s too many. INT. LIVING ROOM – CONTINUOUS Amanda runs to the kitchen and rummages through cabinets until she finds a claw hammer. She moves backpack and rifle to dining room window, begins prying the boards off. The first board CREAKS but doesn’t break free. Amanda puts a foot against the wall for leverage. It BREAKS free! She falls backward as it releases. She pries away two more boards. Two GHOULS, an overweight woman with a ripped out throat and a chubby child, advance to the opening. She pushes them away with a board. They stumble and fall. She squeezes into the window opening. Three more Ghouls approach. She hesitates. AMANDA (frightened) GOD, help me! She panics and tries to get back inside, but ... HER JACKET ... gets caught on a nail. She thrashes around in the window. MORE Ghouls move in. She yanks on the jacket, it tears free. She is so anxious and intent on breaking free and watching these ghouls that she fails to see one approaching from behind, until a THUMP to her head. A Ghoul has her by the hair. She reels backward, hair ripping out of her scalp as she falls. The Ghoul clumsily climbs in, her hair still in its hand. Amanda grabs backpack and rifle and runs to the front door, peers through the peephole. PEEPHOLE POV Only her undead husband, who has turned to join the others, remains. IN THE LIVING ROOM ... the SOUND of boards SPLINTERING. Amanda turns as Ghouls scramble through the window. She unlocks the door and runs outside. EXT. FRONT YARD Amanda drops the backpack. Will sees her and turns as she takes aim at his head. AMANDA (whispers) Come on ... a little closer. She drops her aim for one last look. She needs to convince herself that this thing is no longer Will. His dead eyes stare blankly as he approaches, MOANING LOUDLY. EXT. SIDE OF HOUSE The ghouls at the window hear the zombie Will’s call and turn enmasse. AMANDA (whispers) It’s not Will. Do it! Do it! She squeezes the trigger. The gun kicks hard against her shoulder as the shot RINGS out. Will’s head snaps back. He pauses, then continues, faster now, his groaning more urgent. She only grazed the side of his head. Amanda takes aim again, ready for the kick, pulls the trigger. CLICK! Her eyes widen. She squeezes again. CLICK! Will’s getting too close. She moves further away, ejects the spent cartridge from the 410-hunting rifle, reloads. She FIRES and Will drops to the ground. AMANDA (crying) I did it! Goddamn you, I did it! The other Ghouls are getting close now. Amanda runs to the road. She is almost run down by Jim Workman’s speeding truck as she is bounced to the ground. Jim jumps out to help. JIM (holding out his hand to help her up) Are you alright? Amanda crawls away crab-like from him to where her rifle is lying. She grabs it and points it up at him. Jim withdraws his out-stretched hand, eyeing the approaching ghouls. JIM We’re drawing a lot of attention out here lady. If you’re coming with me-come NOW. Amanda glances nervously at the ghouls then back at Jim. JIM Come on… I don’t bite... but they do. Amanda reluctantly allows him to help her up and gets into his truck. Ernie Bradley’s voice is still giving instructions on the radio. Jim drives away.