the white death inspired by the kill count of simo...
TRANSCRIPT
The White Death
Inspired by the kill count of Simo Hayha
Page 1
A tactical map of northern Europe showing Russia, Finland, and other nearby countries. Ominous red arrows spread from Leningrad outwards. At the bottom is a caption that looks like an old piece of parchment.
Caption: I am always prepared at the order of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Government to come to the defense of my Motherland – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics – and, as a fighter of the Workers’ and Peasant’s Red Army, I vow to defend her courageously, skillfully, creditably and honourably, without sparing my blood and my very life to achieve complete victory over the enemy. And if through evil intent I break this solemn oath, then let the stern punishment of the Soviet law, and the universal hatred and contempt of the working people, fall upon me.
Stalin
February 1939
Page 2
We open in on a makeshift camp in the middle of the woods. Simple tents surround a small fire. It is the middle of a harsh winter and all plant life is dead. Snow blankets the landscape. Russian soldiers, dressed rather poorly for the weather, sit around the fire smoking cigarettes. One soldier walks over to a tree and unzips his trousers to pee. A sound catches his attention, and before he can react, a knife cuts through the air and buries itself deep in his skull.
SFX: snap snap
SFX (knife): wssss
SFX: KPUNK
Page 3
Simo removes his knife from the soldier’s head. Heavy white furs hang from Simo’s thick frame and a white balaclava covers all of his face except for his eyes. He blends in with the snow. He clenches his teeth on the bloody knife and advances quietly
towards the two soldiers sitting around the fire. One soldier, talking into an old ham radio, takes a swig of vodka while the other rummages around in a large bag. He removes a dead rabbit from the bag. Simo slowly rises behind the oblivious soldiers.
Page 4
Simo snaps the neck of the drunken soldier, the bottle of vodka still in his hand. The other soldier drops the rabbit and reaches for his holster, but Simo reacts quicker and slices his throat. The soldier writhes around on the ground, clutching his spurting neck, and is helpless as Simo takes his pistol from the holster.
SFX: SNAP
SFX: Fwwt
Soldier: Aaaack aack
Page 5
Simo opens a tent and shoots the pistol into it several times. A Russian soldier in full-bodied pajamas scrambles out of the other tent with an SMG. The soldier struggles to lock the magazine into place. It is clear that the gunshots woke him up. Simo smirks, then raises the pistol. He pulls the trigger but nothing happens. He frowns as he tosses the pistol aside.
SFK: KPACK KPACK
SFX (Empty gun): click click click
Page 6
Simo wields his knife and charges towards the soldier in pajamas. The soldier looks on in horror, his trembling hands unable to lock the magazine in. Simo raises his knife. Cut to a wide, overhead shot of the dead, winter forest, and startled birds taking flight.
Page 7
Simo wipes the blood off his knife with his coat. He pries the SMG from the lifeless hands of the soldier and slams the magazine in place. He puts his arm through the shoulder strap of the gun and steps over the soldier’s body, walking towards the fire. The camp is now still.
SFX (magazine): CLICK
Page 8
A voice emits from the radio as Simo searches through the bag by the fire. He inspects a can of beans and tosses it back into the bag along with the dead rabbit. He enters one of the tents and reemerges holding a blanket. He stuffs it into the bag.
Radio: I repeat comrade, we are to advance the front. Increase patrol. We are two kilometers northwest of your position. Faction of thirty. Orders to rendezvous at fourteen hundred hours. Tomorrow.
Page 9
Simo slings the bag over his shoulder and leaves the camp. A few yards out, he picks up an M/28 rifle leaning on a tree. Three claw marks are ingrained in the rifle. Equipped with two guns and a bag of supplies, Simo hikes forward and disappears into the snow.
Radio: A great victory for the Motherland approaches.
Page 10
Cut to a field in the forest. Simo is clearing dead brush and twigs from the field and placing it in a big wicker basket hanging on his arm. The dark coat he now wears stands out brilliantly from the surrounding snow and his face is visible. Simo is thirty but looks sixty, the years of fending for his own taking a toll. He rarely shows emotion, but his eyes are very expressive. He has a gruff beard and scars run over his wrinkled, hardened face. His M/28 rifle is slung over his shoulder. He takes his full basket of brush and walks towards his cabin rising from the snow in the distance until he spots another person with a satchel approaching. He tosses the basket aside to raise and aim his gun at the stranger.
Caption: Rautjarvi, Finland 1939
Simo: What do you want!?
Page 11
The stranger, who is revealed to be Simo’s late father’s friend Annti, sets his bag down and waves his arms. Similarly dressed, Annti is weak with age and views the world with a squint. Simo lowers his gun after he recognizes him and retrieves his basket of brush. The two enter Simo’s cabin.
Annti: Easy Simo, it’s me, Annti. I brought you supplies from town.
Simo: I’m low on milk.
Annti: I have milk and cheeses. Some imported wheat too.
Page 12
Simo’s cabin is very rustic and simple. It has a large stone fireplace, a wooden table with chairs, a washbasin, and a small straw cot. The dead rabbit hangs by the window and empty cans of beans litter the table. Simo puts his gun on the gun rack and begins placing the brush in the fireplace. Antti takes the supplies out of his bag and pours two glasses of milk as Simo starts a fire.
Annti: It’s chaos in town. Nobody was expecting the frost we got last night. The cattle were hard hit and ice is all over the roads. You’re lucky I was able to get this.
Simo: I can live without it.
Page 13
With the fire lit, Simo retrieves the dead rabbit and begins to skin it by the fire, tossing the hide into the flames. Antti brings the milk over and sits by Simo.
Antti: I know you can. But I don’t mind the trip, it’s quieter out here. The town has become restless of late, overreacting. There’s talk of a militarized Germany and everybody sees it as a threat. As soon as you give a soldier a gun, people get scared of dying.
Simo: It’s not death to be scared of, it’s the hands that bring it to you.
Antti: I suppose so.
Page 14
Simo continues to skin the rabbit with fervor.
Antti: It doesn’t help that there’s also rumors of Soviets coming here to claim some land.
Simo stops skinning abruptly. He looks intensely into the fire.
Simo: The land is already claimed.
Antti: It’s just speculation, them whining for a border buffer. Nobody’s even reported any Reds close to the area. Nothing to bother about.
Page 15
Antti notices the blood on Simo’s white furs lying on the bed. He then curiously studies the rabbit.
Antti: How has the hunt been?
Simo smirks as he continues skinning.
Simo: Good.
Simo grabs his glass of milk with a bloody hand and takes a satisfying gulp.
Simo: Lot’s of game.
Antti: Looks like you need a new knife. Why don’t you come into town with me?
Simo: Hand me a skewer.
Page 16
Simo jabs a skewer through the skinned rabbit with a faint smile. He hangs it over the fire to cook. Antti stands to leave. He looks at Simo as a worried father would. Simo doesn’t watch Antti leave. Instead, he watches the rabbit cook, his eyes lit with carnal delight.
Antti: The offer always stands. A man needs company besides himself and a life outside of work.
Simo: I hunt. I kill miles away.
Antti: It’ll be dark in an hour or so. I’d better get going. I’ll come back next week with more supply. Take care Simo.
Page 17
Outside of the cabin, Antti surveys the land around him in the waning light. He frowns skeptically and continues on his way. Inside, Simo opens a leather satchel full of rifle bullets. He examines a bullet in the light of the fire and takes a bite out of the rabbit.
Page 18
We cut to a flashback of a young, sixteen year-old Simo loading bullets into the rifle chamber. The rifle has no claw marks on it. He is sitting on a stump outside of the cabin. It is spring and the forest bustles with lush greenery. Simo’s father, standing in the distance with another man, hollers at his son. Simo runs up and is greeted by a much livelier Antti. Simo strongly resembles his father.
Caption: 1925
Simo’s father: Come Simo, the sun doesn’t wait for us. We must go soon.
Antti: Simo, my boy! You grow a foot each time I see you.
Simo’s father: Antti says there’s a good patch of jewelweed by the river.
Antti: White-tails love the stuff. Makes for a good hunt.
Simo’s father squeezes Simo’s shoulder.
Simo’s father: My son always has a good hunt. I’ve taught him everything I know.
Page 19
Back in 1939, Simo leaves his cabin early the next day. He’s heavily equipped: a leather canteen and knife hang from his belt, his arm is through the shoulder straps of his rifle and stolen SMG, and the large bag is slung over his shoulder. He is dressed in the white furs and ski mask from before. He takes a deep breath of the morning air and sets off, disappearing into the snow.
Page 20
Flashback. Simo and his father hike through the dense forest. Simo’s father holds the rifle.
Simo’s father: Step lightly. We don’t want to scare the deer off.
Simo: This isn’t the way to the river. How do you know where we’re going?
Simo’s father: If you stay quiet and listen, you’ll hear where to go.
Page 21
Older Simo arrives back at the devastated Russian camp. The frost-coated, dead bodies remain, untouched. Simo stares at the ham radio. He whispers to himself.
Simo: Two kilometers. Northwest.
Simo advances onward.
Page 22
Flashback. Simo and his father kneel behind a fallen tree as three deer graze a patch of jewelweed at the bank of the river before them.
Simo’s father: Jewelweed grows on the southern banks of the river. The current is faster and stronger here.
Simo is handed the rifle and he takes aim.
Simo’s father: Steady your hold and control your breath. Be patient. You know what to do.
Page 23
Before Simo pulls the trigger, a small cub carelessly bounds into the patch, scattering the deer. Simo’s father’s eyes widen with dread as he pulls Simo back, slowly and carefully retreating. Simo tightly grips the rifle.
Simo’s father: Lower the gun. Stay quiet. We need to get out of here.
Page 24
With the view of the river and cub now obscured by trees, Simo’s father wipes sweat off his face and the two walk away, now stepping with less purpose. Simo continues to look around, worried.
Simo’s father: We’re far enough away now. We should be safe.
Simo: Are you sure? What if it saw us?
Simo’s father: If it saw us, we’d know. As long as you got that rifle, you don’t need to worry about anything out here harming you. That’s the beauty of nature. Prove you’re more powerful, and it’ll leave you alone. It’s not scared of death, it’s scared of the hands that bring it.
Page 25
The older, camouflaged Simo finds another Russian camp in the forest. This camp is more established: a big military command tent is nestled in some brush with small tents arranged in a pattern before it. Two Ural 375d trucks are parked by the command tent. A few fires are going, each with soldiers huddled around them. Simo hides in a nearby trench.
Page 26
Simo peers out over the trench to inspect a few soldiers shivering in the cold. The steam from their breath is visible. Simo ducks back down in the trench and notices he can see his own breath through the balaclava too. He grabs some snow, lifts the mask up, and puts the snow in his mouth. His breath is no longer visible.
Page 27
Flashback. Light from the rising sun streams through the trees and onto the roof of Simo’s cabin. Simo’s father cleans the barrel of the rifle at the table. Simo sits up in
his bed and rubs his eyes. Simo’s father warmly smiles. He attaches a knife to his belt.
Simo’s father: Morning son. The potato fields need tending to today. I need you to care to it while I get us some more venison. I shouldn’t be more than an hour. I’ll help when I get back.
Page 28
The sun is high in the sky now. Simo stands in the potato field leaning on a shovel. He is drenched in sweat and covered in dirt. He squints up at the sun and then back down to the surrounding forest, searching. His brow is furrowed with concern. He glances at the potato plants and frowns. He drops the shovel and walks into the forest.
Page 29
Simo traverses through the forest, his head on a swivel. Exasperated, he sighs and closes his eyes. He stands still for a moment. A noise catches his attention and he opens his eyes.
Simo: Dad! Dad!
SFX: sigh
SFX (off panel): crack crack
Page 30
Simo begins to follow the noise but stops abruptly. He is stunned to discover a trail of blood on the ground. He tentatively creeps forward. He pushes some plants aside and, to his horror, finds the M/28 rifle splattered in blood, with fresh claw marks scratched into it. A severed finger is in the trigger loop.
SFX (off panel): crack
SFX (off panel): snap….(indistinguishable noise)
Page 31
Simo picks up the rifle. His eyes are full of terror and mouth agape. A louder noise snaps him out of his shock and he steps further, unveiling the rear of a bear in the
distance eating something on the ground next to a tree. The bark of the tree is ripped to shreds.
SFX (off panel): CRACK!
Page 32
The bear shifts to the side so that Simo’s father’s head is revealed, rolled back and lifeless. Simo yells out in deep anguish. The bear turns and gnarls it’s bloody, razor sharp teeth at Simo. It roars and charges.
Simo: FATHER!
Bear: Ggrrrrrr
Bear: RAAAWR!
SFX (sound of charging): badump badump badump
Page 33
Angry tears stream down his face as Simo raises the rifle and shoots off a round. The bullet tears through the bear’s arm but it continues its charge unfazed. Simo walks forward and pulls the breech bolt of the rifle back to reload.
SFX: KPRACK!
Bear: RAAAWWR!
SFX: badump badump
SFX: krrkick
Page 34
Simo fires another shot into the bear’s face. The bears stands and madly swings its front paws. Simo continues to advance, reloading and shooting another bullet into the bear’s chest. The bear collapses to the ground.
SFX: KPRACK!
Bear: GGRRAAARR!
SFX: krrkick
SFX: KPRACK!
Bear: Grruuuur
SFX: wump
Page 35
The bear struggles to get back up as we hear the rifle reloading off panel. Simo stands next to the bear and fires a shot point blank into the bear’s forehead. The bear becomes motionless. Simo drops the rifle and runs over to his slain father.
SFX: krrkick
Bear: Guuuuurrgh
SFX: KPRACK!
Page 36
The carnage is gruesome. Simo’s father is ripped open, ribs cracked and joints dislocated. Simo drops to his knees by his father. His eyes water and lips tremble. Cut to a wide shot of Simo crying, his face buried in his hands, over his father’s body. In the foreground, the dead bear rests by the smoking rifle.
Simo: no…..
Page 37
Older Simo removes his rifle and SMG from his shoulder. He places the rifle at the top of the ditch. He scoops up some snow and packs it on top of the gun, hiding the barrel. Cut to a front shot of Simo holding the rifle, the muzzle poking out of the mound of snow. He is barely visible, blending in seamlessly with the snow.
Page 38
Flashback. Young Simo is packing a mound of dirt with a shovel. He stands back to gloomily assess the makeshift grave. He puts his hands on top of his head and stares at the sky above. His face contorts in grief.
Simo: You can’t be gone. I can’t be alone.
The leaves of the trees ripple as a gust of wind blows through. A knife falls from the trees overhead, piercing the dirt mound of the grave.
SFX (wind): wshhhhhhh
Page 39
Simo picks up the knife in astonishment. He looks up above, then around him.
Simo: You’re alive. I’m not alone.
Simo runs his finger down the claw marks on the tree. His stare is much too intense for the circumstance.
Simo: You’re here.
He grabs a handful of dirt with a disturbing grimace.
Simo: I put you in the land, and there you live as the potatoes do.
Page 40
Simo picks up the rifle and wipes the blood, smearing it.
Simo: You taught me everything you knew.
Simo watches in disdain as a cub sniffs the slain bear with an implied sadness. Simo raises the rifle and takes aim at the cub.
Simo: I haven’t lost you. You protected me….
Older Simo takes aim at a soldier from the ditch. Cut back to young Simo aiming at the cub. His eyes are lost in madness.
Simo: And now I’ll protect you.
Page 41
The crack of a rifle echoes through the forest. A soldier by the fire falls to the ground with a bullet hole in the back of his head. Immediately, the soldiers take cover and scramble to ready their weapons.
SFX: KPRACK!
Soldier: SHOTS FIRED! MEDIC!
Page 42
The camp erupts in panic. Another rifle shot cracks through the air and a soldier running to a tent falls to the ground dead.
SFX: KPRACK!
Page 43
A soldier bursts inside the command tent where Pavel is sitting at a table stacked with radios, papers, and a typewriter. Pavel’s uniform proudly displays a sergeant insignia, yet he looks unqualified. Glasses hang at the tip of his thin nose.
Soldier: Sir, we’re under attack!
Pavel: Attack? From who?
Soldier: I…I..I don’t know sir. No enemies are sighted. Possibly a sniper.
Pavel: We weren’t supposed to encounter resistance so early.
Page 44
A soldier scans the land with a Mosin-Nagant rifle from behind a boulder. A frightened soldier huddles next to him, his rifle close to his chest.
Frightened soldier: Where’s it coming from?
Aiming soldier: Definitely east. I need the bastard to fire another shot to pinpoint.
Another rifle shot echoes, and the aiming soldier’s body slumps and falls into the lap of the frightened soldier. Blood leaks out from the fresh hole placed in his forehead. The frightened soldier stiffens in muted terror.
SFX: KPRACK!
Page 45
Everyone in the camp has taken cover and it becomes eerily still. Pavel peaks out of the command tent. Two soldiers stand at attention close by.
Soldier: Orders sir?
Pavel fumbles his fingers as he thinks, unsure of what to do.
Pavel: Grab ten men and go north one hundred meters. Head east and flank. Stay low and avoid clearings.
Soldier: Yes sir.
Page 46
Ten soldiers sneak through the forest cautiously, keeping low. A few jump down into a ditch. One soldier points to a set of footprints in the snow. Without warning, the soldiers in the ditch are mowed down by a spray of bullets. The remaining soldiers above the ditch dive for cover.
SFX: BRATATATATATAT
Page 47
Simo, holding a smoking SMG, sits on a branch of a great birch tree hanging over the ditch. He grabs on to another branch and pulls himself onto it. This gives him a different angle of the forest in front of him, exposing some soldiers taking cover. He reaches for his rifle slung over his shoulder.
Page 48
Multiple rifle shots echo throughout the forest. The soldiers taking cover at the camp flinch at the sound of each one. A panicked soldier runs out of the woods, pointing behind him. Another rifle shot blasts, and the soldier drops to the snow.
SFX: KPRACK
SFX: KPRACK
SFX: KPRACK
Soldier: HE’S BACK THERE! HE’S IN THE TREES!
SFX: KPRACK
Page 49
The soldiers at the camp fire their weapons into the trees, sending blinding clouds of snow and mist into the air. They cease fire as the fog of the snow rolls in, limiting visibility.
SFX (all soldier’s firing): KPRATATATKPRATATKPRATAT
Page 50
The soldiers stand isolated in the blinding mist. The vague silhouette of Simo runs up behind a soldier and slices his throat. A soldier aiming his gun steps forward in the mist and stumbles across a dead soldier in the snow, a deep slash across his face. As the soldier looks on, Simo’s silhouette appears behind him, arm raised.
Page 51
The mist settles. Three soldiers remain standing among their scattered dead comrades. Their lips quiver and they turn as white as the snow. They drop their guns and run for the command tent. Another rifle shot booms and another soldier falls with a wound to the back.
SFX: KPRACK
Page 52
The two soldiers enter the command tent.
Soldier: Sarge, sarge…..
The command tent is empty. The soldiers exchange doomed glances. Cut to a terrified Pavel starting the engine of a Ural 375d truck. As he drives away, he looks into the left rear-view mirror. In the mirror, Simo can be seen standing alone among the scattered dead.
Page 53
We are now in a large room with distinctive Stalin-baroque architectural features. The walls are lined with giant, mahogany bookshelves and mounted deer heads. In the center of the room is a large round table with a tactical map of the Soviet Union. Tiny figures of soldiers are placed on certain areas of the map, most notably on the border of Finland. Lieutenant General Andrei is at his desk mapping with a compass. Andrei has a mustache that matches his big build. A knock comes from the door.
SFX: Knock Knock
Andrei: Enter.
Page 54
A colonel in a formal uniform enters and stands at attention before Andrei’s desk. Andrei continues mapping. The colonel looks on nervously as if expecting something. Andrei stops mapping and makes direct eye contact. He speaks with quiet reserve.
Colonel: I bear news from the northwestern front, Lieutenant General Andrei sir.
Andrei: At ease colonel. What news do you bring?
Colonel: My command has encountered….a problem in Finland.
Andrei: And what kind of problem would that be that it requires my attention, colonel?
Colonel: We’re sustaining causalities, sir.
Page 55
Andrei resumes mapping.
Andrei: Light resistance was expected. You can’t mobilize an army in complete stealth.
The colonel anxiously continues. Andrei clenches his fist and snaps his compass in half. He stands, furious. His temper now controls him.
Colonel: We’ve lost over four hundred men.
SFX: snap
Andrei: HUNDRED! The campaign is still in its initial stage! Have the Finns already engaged!?
The colonel loosens his collar.
Colonel: Not exactly. It’s only one man.
Andrei stares at the colonel incredulously, then bellows into laughter.
Andrei: BWAHAHAHA!
Page 56
Andrei wipes a tear from his eye. The colonel waits uneasily.
Andrei: I’m sorry. I thought you said one man.
Colonel: I did. He’s taking out our…
Andrei leans over his desk and grabs the colonel’s jacket.
Andrei: You dare mock the worker’s army, the defenders of our Motherland!?
Colonel: I wish I were, I assure you. This man has become a problem fast spiraling out of my control!
Page 57
Andrei releases the colonel and composes himself.
Andrei: This man, he’s not with the Finns?
Colonel: Reports indicate he fights alone and not in uniform.
Andrei: Then why does he fight us?
Colonel: I’m not sure sir. We can only speculate on his motives.
Andrei: And we can’t stop him? Not even with our numbers?
Colonel: I diverted factions to intercept, but he managed to decimate them all.
Page 58
Simo sits high on the branch of a tree, watching a patrol of troops go by. Some soldiers sit in the back of a transport truck while other walk beside.
Caption: Apparently he stole one of our maps of patrol routes. He hides in the trees and waits.
Simo aims his rifle.
Caption: When he gets a visual of a patrol……
The passenger window of the transport truck shatters. The passenger inside is struck in the side of the head by the bullet. Glass and blood spray everywhere. Soldiers close by are stabbed by the glass debris.
Caption: He eliminates them. One by one.
Page 59
The soldiers of the patrol arm themselves and look up into the trees, searching the snow covered branches for Simo.
Caption: He wears all white. Invisible in the snow. Our soldier’s can’t find him.
A soldier falls to the ground with a gunshot wound to the chest.
Caption: Until it’s too late.
Simo jumps over to another branch.
Caption: He’s always moving, two steps ahead of us.
Simo bites the pin out of a grenade.
Caption: He’s resourceful, steals and uses our own weapons against us.
The transport truck explodes, sending soldiers and debris flying through the air.
Caption: He kills without mercy.
Page 60
The colonel is very animated in his story, almost finding joy in reciting it.
Colonel: He’s become a legend throughout the ranks. The infantry men even gave him a name.
Cut to a shot of Simo standing in front of the flaming wreckage from the truck. Dead bodies litter the road. One soldier in the background crawls, leaving a trail of blood. The light of the flames shine brilliantly on Simo’s white furs, giving the illusion of luminescence.
Caption: The white death.
Page 61
Andrei crosses his arms, scowling. The colonel feigns a cough, embarrassed.
Colonel: (cough) Of course, it’s nothing to romanticize, no matter how impressive. I need your help to handle it. We have to neutralize him.
Andrei takes a bottle of vodka from a drawer in his desk and takes a swig. He snarls.
Andrei: One man, defeating an entire army. It’s a disgrace. I’ll be damned if one man destroys everything I’ve worked for. Not a word of this, to anyone. I will not make Stalin’s glorious regime a laughing stock.
Colonel: What are your orders?
Andrei: Deploy the counter-snipers.
Colonel: How many?
Andrei: All of them.
Page 62
We now follow a squad of Russian soldiers making their way down a trail through the forest. A horse pulls a wooden carriage full of supplies. Pavel, now a disgraced private, walks alongside the carriage, head hung low. He no longer wears the sergeant insignia. Alexei, a highly decorated sniper, approaches Pavel.
Alexei: Escorting a cart of supplies. That’s asking for the white death to fall upon you.
Pavel remains silent.
Alexei: Cheer up comrade. You’re in good company. I am the best sniper in all of the Motherland’s army. Her most decorated too. My orders are from the top.
Pavel admires the sniper rifle.
Pavel: I always wanted to be a sniper.
Page 63
Alexei playfully slaps Pavel on the back.
Alexei: And with training I’m sure you could.
Pavel smiles and points to his glasses.
Pavel: Don’t have the eyesight for it.
Alexei: Bah. Right now the red army needs all the snipers it can get. Four hundred confirmed kills. I don’t know if I should be impressed or disgusted.
Pavel: I’ve seen him in person, you know. Only survivor of an attack.
Alexei: That’s a decoration right there comrade! Only a few can boast such an honor!
Alexei reaches out his hand for a handshake.
Alexei: Name’s Alexei. Real pleasure to meet you….
Pavel shakes his hand.
Pavel: Pavel.
Page 64
As they shake hands, Alexei’s expression changes from friendly to angry skepticism.
Alexei: Pavel…Pavel? As in disgraced Sergeant Pavel of the interior southwest camp?
Pavel nervously stammers.
Pavel: Umm..um…no, no…I’m…
Alexei shoves Pavel hard.
Alexei: You infamous coward! It’s because of you this guy knows our patrols! You abandoned your post to save your own ass at the cost of hundreds! You bring shame upon the red army! You should be grateful you’re still allowed to serve the Motherland. If I were command I’d toss you to the streets with the rodents.
Alexei spits at Pavel’s feet and storms off. Pavel hangs his head again in dejection.
SFX (spitting): sppt
Page 65
Simo waits in a tree, loading a bullet into his rifle. He hears the crunch of steps on the snow and surveys the ground. A white-tail deer roams around below. Simo leans forward for a closer look. A bullet immediately strikes the tree behind his head and the bark explodes.
SFX: crunch crunch crunch
SFX: BAKOW!
Page 66
Simo falls out of the tree and hits the ground hard, landing on his left arm. The deer flees in the background. Simo crawls towards his fallen rifle. His left arm is limp. He grabs the rifle and positions himself behind the tree. Another shot hits the ground, snow shooting up into the air.
SFX: WHAM!
SFX: BAKOW!
Page 67
Simo sits up, leaning against the tree. He pokes his head out then quickly ducks back. More snow erupts into the air as another bullet is shot into the ground. Simo takes his knife out and vigorously rubs snow on it. He dries it with his coat. The knife now has a small polished area that reflects like a mirror.
SFX: BAKOW!
Page 68
Simo sticks the knife out from behind the tree and tilts it up and down for different views. When he tilts the knife up, he spots the glare of a scope from a tree in the reflection. He returns the knife to his belt. Another bullet hits the trunk of the tree, closing in on Simo.
SFX: BAKOW!
Page 69
Simo stands with his back against the tree, clutching his left arm. He spots a mound of snow covered rocks to his left. Rifle secured in his right hand, he sprints in a serpentine pattern to the rocks. The snow on the ground erupts everywhere as multiple shots fire.
SFX: BAKOW! BAKOW! BAKOW!
Page 70
Taking cover behind the rocks, Simo places the rifle in a thin crevice between two rocks. His left arm rendered useless, the rocks steady and stabilize the rifle so Simo only needs his right arm to aim. He bends over and strains his neck to get a view from between the rocks.
Page 71
He spots the gleam of light from the scope again and adjusts his aim. He fires a shot. A moment of silence passes, and then a dead Russian sniper plummets to the ground beneath the tree.
SFX: KPRACK!
SFX: WHAM!
Page 72
Simo lumbers toward the dead sniper, looming above the body. He crushes the scope of the sniper rifle with his boot. As soon as he does, a bullet tears through his left thigh. The impact knocks him to the ground and he drops his rifle. He quickly backs up behind the tree.
SFX (scope): crrrckk
SFX: BAKOW
Page 73
Blood begins to pool under Simo’s injured leg. He rips off cloth from the bottom of his coat and wraps it around the wound, making a tourniquet. His rifle is out in the open, too far to retrieve safely. He turns his attention to the sniper rifle with crushed scope within arms reach.
SFX: riiip
Page 74
Simo quickly grabs the sniper rifle. He dislodges the scope from the rifle and tosses it aside. He opens the chamber and finds one bullet left. Simo sits still and closes his eyes. He waits.
Page 75
Voices emit from the radio on the hiding sniper’s belt. He hides behind a large, exposed tree root. Simo hears the radio and opens his eyes. The sniper fumbles to turn the radio off. He attends back to his rifle, and when he looks through the scope,
he sees Simo aiming the broken rifle at him. Simo fires and the sniper falls back dead.
SFX: Six kilometers south, an issue from command, advance the front onward. Next phase of the campaign for control…….
SFX: KPRACK
Page 76
We are now back with miserable Pavel attending to the carriage of supplies. Gunfire echoes throughout the forest. The patrol responds and runs toward the noise. One soldier barks orders into a radio.
SFX: BAKOW BAKOW KPRACK BAKOW KPRACK
Soldier: We have contact, to the right!
Soldier to radio: We have shots fired west of our position, five kilometers in route to interior western camp B!
Pavel moves to leave but a soldier stops him.
Soldier: Stay with the carriage private! Lest you abandon another post!
Pavel sits smugly on the carriage and watches as his comrades disappear into the forest.
Page 77
It’s night now and Pavel is asleep in the carriage. A close gunshot wakes him. He looks around confused, for he is alone. He looks anxiously into the forest. Determination sweeps across his face and he grabs a gun from the carriage. He marches into the woods.
SFX: KPRACK!
Page 78
Pavel creeps through the dark forest. The snow glows in the moonlight. He discovers the body of a fallen comrade. He continues forward and uncovers a trail of bloody footsteps. He follows the footsteps to a clearing, where Simo’s glowing cabin stands out against the dark night sky.
Page 79
Pavel sneaks up to the cabin and peers through the window. He hears the sound of a reloading rifle next to his ear. Simo points his rifle at Pavel’s head.
SFX: krrkick
Simo: Drop your gun. Get in the cabin.
Simo jabs his rifle into Pavel’s back as he ushers him in his cabin. He slams the door. Cut to a wide shot of the cabin as the lights turn off. It becomes a dark shape in the glowing snow.
Caption: To be continued…