Termites of Sin: What God Hath Wrought

1. EXT. CYPRESS SWAMP - NIGHT

An alligator lies motionless in the murky waters of a Florida cypress swamp. A full moon casts long, eerie shadows through the fog shrouded forest. An owl calls, a hog grunts, a snake slithers into the water. In the distance comes the approaching sound of men sloshing through the shallow water and soon three flashlight beams penetrate the night as they make their way towards us. As they draw closer muffled conversation is heard and three ghostly figures emerge from the darkness. The alligator goes under.

The three figures search the forest with their light beams. One of the lights settles on a giant old Bald Cypress tree. Then, all three lights scan it up and down.

VOICE IN THE NIGHT

That's it.

ANOTHER VOICE

Wow. What a grand old man.

The three men approach the tree. It’s too dark to make out their faces as they stand in awe and reverence of the old giant. One of them carries a large hammer. One, a bundle
.
The man with the bundle kneels and spills its contents onto the ground. It contains three long iron spikes. He picks up one of them and moves towards the tree.

ONE OF THE MEN

Let’s take a moment.

The three men pause for a moment of prayer.

ANOTHER MAN

Lord, please give us the strength to do your work and bring justice to those who defile your creation. In the name of Jesus Christ.

ALL OF THE MEN

Amen.

The man with the spike places it against the tree trunk. The man with the hammer begins to slowly tap it in. When it's well seated, he begins driving it in with full force. The CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! of the hammer echoes through the night.

2. CUT TO: INT. INDUSTRIAL SAWMILL - DAY

Loud, busy, outdoor/indoor shed sawmill.

Logs move down a conveyor where they pass through the bark stripper, a large steel grinder that turns the logs while its teeth rip away the bark. Wood chips and dust fill the air.

Roughneck workers tend the machines. Hard hats, work clothes, boots, eye goggles, some with bandannas covering their noses. Noise mufflers cover their ears.

The camera follows one log as it moves out of the stripper towards a giant spinning saw blade. Clamps grasp the log to hold it steady as it moves toward the loud, whining saw where it is cleanly cut in half. A worker walks over to the machine operator.

WORKER

(Shouts over the noise) I heard about Little Bobby’s football scholarship. (Pats the operator on the back) I know you’re proud of him.

OPERATOR

Yeah, he could never go to college without it.

WORKER

I heard that.

Our attention turns to the next log, the trunk of the huge old cypress, as it moves towards the saw. The clamps grab hold but it's too big and they slip. The conveyor stops. The men look up to see what’s wrong.

WORKER

Man! You don’t see many like that no more. Friggin ragheads’ll pay a fortune for it.

OPERATOR

No shit. Fuckin' pricks.

The operator quickly spins the adjusting wheel to its maximum setting then presses the start button. The clamps engage again. This time they hold. The whole thing restarts and draws the log towards the blade.

WORKER

Gotta git back. See ya at lunch?

OPERATOR

(Nods)

As the worker turns and leaves, the big blade whines and strains as it sinks into the ancient tree.

Suddenly, the air is pierced by the shriek of metal striking metal. The huge blade grinds to a stop so quickly that it shatters under the stress. Large pieces of the blade catapult into the mill. They cartwheel through the space, crashing into other equipment and scything through the walls of the plant.

Still carried forward by the conveyor, the huge log shudders as it strikes the hub of the blade. Slowly, it slips off of the tracks and rolls off of the conveyor. The horrified machine operator tries to run but it’s to late. The log crashes to the floor crushing him under its massive weight.

Terrified workers scramble in all directions as the log rolls across the floor and crashes through the wall of the shed, tearing out one whole side of the building. It rolls into the yard where it slams to a stop against a pile of other logs, scattering them like pick-up sticks.

The entire mill grinds to a halt as the building collapses and falls to the ground.

3. CUT TO: EXT. SMALL TOWN STREET – DAY (Fernandina Beach, Florida)

(Opening Credits Over)

A black limousine turns off of the main road and down a residential, tree-lined side street of well-kept historic Florida homes of broad porches and verandas.

In the back of the limo, two men talk. Both are top executives of E&D International Paper, a multi-national paper products company. One of them, the 60ish Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel, (Jim Lassiter), the other, a 50ish senior vice president (Juan Alvarez).

LASSITER

So this... this bug. It eats the wood and shits... and that's it?

ALVAREZ

(slight Hispanic accent)

(chuckles) I don’t know, you will have to ask the tech. All I know is, Carpenter thinks this thing could be worth millions... maybe a lot more.

LASSITER

Well, it must be big for the old man to give up the jet for the day.

They share a laugh.

LASSITER

(continuing) For sure he knows something. He’s been buying stock like it’s going out of style.

ALVAREZ

What about that? (looks at Lassiter quizzically) Is there something you would like to share?

LASSITER

(shakes his head) You know as much as I do.

The limo continues down the tree-lined lane. The houses have now become smaller mill houses of mixed repair. At the end of the street we can make out the mill. A huge, smoke belching, pulp mill.

4. EXT. OVERHEAD OF CAR APPROACHING MILL - DAY

LASSITER

(off-camera, voice over)

Why the hell haven't we found this thing before now?

ALVAREZ

(voice-over)

It's some kind of molecular, microscopic thing. That's all I know.

5. EXT. FRONT GATE OF MILL - DAY

The limo pulls up to the front gate of the mill where it’s met by a small group of a dozen or so environmental protestors carrying placards and signs with slogans like "Save Or Planet", "E&D Money Grubbers", "The Earth Belongs To GOD, not you!". When they spot the limo, they crowd in chanting:

CHANT

Earth first! Earth first! Earth first!

The plant security guards wade into the group and clear a path for the car. The gate swings open as the limo moves forward.

6. INT. LIMO – DAY

Through the windshield we see the limo move forward towards the gate. Suddenly, a woman protester (ANNIE) loses her footing and falls in front of the car. The limo strikes her, knocking her to the pavement.

LASSITER

Oh my God!

7. EXT. LIMO AT MILL GATE - DAY

A hush falls over the crowd. A guard rushes to help her to her feet. Then, the crowd gets angry and challenges the security men. Lassiter gets out of the car and holds up his hands to quiet the crowd.

LASSITER

Stop! Stop! (To guard) Put her in the car.

The guard opens the front passenger door and helps the grimacing woman inside. She's shaken and upset.

LASSITER

(To crowd) Don’t worry. She isn’t badly hurt. We’ll see she’s well taken care of.

A man in the crowd (JIMMY) moves forward.

JIMMY

I’m coming with you.

LASSITER

(Authoritatively) That won’t be necessary. Thank you.

Lassiter gets into the limo and closes the door behind him.

8. INT. LIMO - DAY

Lassiter turns to Alvarez.

LASSITER