GRACE
I’m sure they’re watching us right now.
Norm gulps. Jake looks behind him as they approach the
schoolfeeling unseen eyes.
CUT TO:
INT. SCHOOL RUINS
TRACKING WITH JAKE’S BOOTS as he steps among dried leaves and
a few moldering CHILDREN’S BOOKS. Floorboards CREAK.
GRACE (O.S.)
The kids were so brightso eager to
learn... they picked up English faster
than I could teach it to them.
WIDER as Jake explores the room. Grace and Norm are selecting
INSTRUMENTS from storage cases on a wooden table.
GRACE
Bring the soil probe -- right there
yellow case.
Jake looks up at a RUSTLING among the dark rafters. Roosting
STINGBATS eye him warilyfluttering their wings.
Grace picks up a moldering copy of “The Lorax” by Dr. Seuss
from the floor and puts it back on a shelf.
GRACE
(wistfully)
The stingbats knock them off. I guess I
always hope somebody will come back and
read them.
NORM
Why don’t they come back?
GRACE
(grimly)
The Na’vi learned as much about us as
they needed to know.
Jake sees somethingand approaches the blackboard -- reaches
out to touch a pattern of holes blasted into the slate.
Unmistakably BULLET HOLES.
30.
JAKE
(turning to her)
What happened here?
GRACE
(sharply)
Are you going to help with this gear?
We’ve got a lot to do.
She turns away. Jake watches her as he jams equipment into
his pack.
CUT TO:
EXT. RAINFOREST - DAY
CLOSE ON Grace’s blue hand gently brushing away soil
exposing a tangle of ROOT TENDRILS.
GRACE
Seeright here where the roots of the
two trees interact.
WIDER -- GRACE and NORM crouch among enormous octopoidal
roots. She takes a tiny sample using a needle-like probe.
Norm uses a digital DEVICE to scan the roots.
JAKEboredscouts ahead a few meters.
He comes to a GLADE filled with shoulder-high SPIRAL PLANTS
called HELICORADIANS.
He BRUSHES one and SHTOONK! -- it SUCKS DOWN into a tube in
the ground so quickly it seems to simply vanish.
CuriousJake touches another -- SHTOONK! And another --
like popping balloons after a party. SHTOONK! SHTOONK!
SHTOONK!
A chain reaction begins and the whole colony pulls down into
the groundREVEALING --
A HAMMERHEAD TITANOTHERE. Like a six-legged rhinocerosbut
twice that size. Its massivelow-slung head has projections
of bone giving it the look of a hammerhead shark.
Its baleful eyes lock onto him. Jake raises his rifle.
Gracealerted by the creature’s SNORTSruns to where she
can see the tableau. She presses her THROAT MIKE.
GRACE
Don’t shoot. You’ll piss it off.
31.
The bull HAMMERHEAD bellows and lowers its 3 meter wide
sledgehammer of a skull.
JAKE
It’s already pissed off!
GRACE
Jakethat armor’s too thick. Trust me.
Jake starts to back away. The hammerhead bellows again
pawing the earth.
GRACE
It’s a territorial threat display. Do not
runor he’ll charge.
JAKE
What do I do?
GRACE
Hold your ground!
The hammerhead SLASHES its head sidewayssplintering
saplings. It bellows againlowers its head and
CHARGES --
Jake SCREAMS at the top of his lungsspreads his arms wide
and runs straight at the thing.
It STOPS abruptlywith an oversized BLEAT.
ON JAKE -- amazed the gambit worked.
JAKE
Oh yeah! Who’s bad?! That’s right.
SOMETHING rises up behind him out of focus --
A THANATOR. The most awesome land predator the universe has
ever conceived This thing could eat a T-rex and have the
Alien for desert.
It is a black six-limbed panther from Hellwith an armored
head and massive distensible jaws.
JAKEunaware of the advancing thanatoris still bracing the
hammerhead --
JAKE
That’s what I’m talkin’ aboutbitch!
The bull wheels aroundTRUMPETING in fearand CRASHES away
through splintering undergrowth.
32.
JAKE
That’s right motherf--
A guttural SNARL behind him. Jake spins in time to see --
THREE TONS of rippling thanator LAUNCH over himlanding
between him and the hammerhead. The ground shakes.
The thanator emits an earsplitting ROARenraged that the
hammerhead got away. It twists on itselfturning to face
Jakeand bares its fangs with a lethal HISS.
JAKE
What about this one? Rundon’t run?
What?
GRACE
Run. Definitely RUN!
Jake BOLTS as --
The thanator LEAPS after him and --
Jake launches himself between two large trunksforcing the
beast to claw its way around to the side while --
Jake scrambles up -- around -- over a tangle of roots and --
SK-RASH!! CLAWS SLASH the air behind himEXPLODING bark off
a trunk as --
JAKE wills himself forward in a frenzy. With rippling muscle
the beast is airborne againblacking out the sun but --
JAKE dives under a massive root systemand --
CRASH! Kindling rains around him as the beast tears into the
root-trunks above him. Claws SLASH down next to him as he
rolls and crawls --
Glistening jaws SMASH and SNAP against the barrier trunks
sending chunks of wood flying. It’s spittle sprays across
Jakejaws inches away as --
He rolls onto his backand FIRES his AR point blank but the
rifle is SNATCHED out of his hands. The beast SCREECHES an
ungodly WAIL of pain and rage and -- RIPS the ENTIRE TRUNK
away. Jake scrambles to escape but --
GLISTENING JAWS lunge downwardSNAP SHUT and --
The creature rips Jake out of the treeshaking him like a
junkyard dog with a rabbitonly --
33.
It has him by the BACKPACKso Jake unlatches it and --
He FLIES FREE as the thanator crushes the pack with its
teeth. Giving Jake a moment to sprint awaybut --
With a hideous BELLOW the thanator crashes after him
splintering trees.
JAKE RUNS in a blurdodging between trunks as a glistening
black tornado shreds the forest behind him and --
He sees WATER ahead and DIVES OUTWARD with all his might --
The thanator’s jaws SNAP SHUT inches behind him as he flies
out into open space and --
JAKE SPLASHES down into a swiftly moving river.
The thanator LEAPS DOWN AFTER HIMpursuing from rock to
rockits claws swiping like a grizzly fishing for salmon.
Jake ducks under as -- FWHOOSH! -- black claws SLASH past
his face amid turbulent bubbles.
A WATERFALL ahead. Jake is swept over the fallswith the
thanator SWIPING at him from a rockjust MISSING and --
Jake disappears down the throat of the thundering cataract.
EXT. RIVER BELOW FALLS - DAY
The water boils below the cataract. Jake’s head bursts
through the surfaceand he gasps for breath.
He is carried along by the currentbut manages to grab a
limb on a fallen tree. He weakly pulls himself upand just
lies there gasping on the trunk.
Above himon the cliffthe THANATOR BELLOWSa roar which
echoes across the jungle.
CUT TO:
EXT. RAINFOREST - DAY
JAKEwet and bruisedcrouches under a screen of giant
leaves. He hacks manically at the end of a cut sapling with
his knifeforming a crude but sharp tip.
EXT. RAINFOREST - DAY
TRACKING with Jake as he walks through the forest like it’s a
minefieldcarrying his SPEAR white-knuckled. He is freaked
and hyper-alert.
34.
The trees here are a hundred meters highblocking out the
sky. A few pencil beams of sunlight filter down into the
cyan gloom.
POV FROM ABOVE -- looking down through leaves we watch Jake
move warily through the forest.
ECU -- TWO GOLDEN EYESbright in the shadows.
DOWNANGLE as Jake passes under a tree limb. Invisible to
himdraped on the limb like a leopardis a striking
NA’VI
GIRL. She watchesonly her eyes moving.
She is lithe as a catwith a long neckmuscular shoulders
and nubile breasts. And she is devastatingly beautiful --
for a girl with a tail. In human age she would be 18. Her
name is NEYTIRI(nay-Tee-ree).
Jake passes less than 2 meters beneath heroblivious.
NEYTIRI rises soundlessly. In one fluidsinuous movement
she NOCKS an arrow to her BOW and DRAWSaiming
RIGHT AT
JAKE. Utterly silent.
Below her Jake is totally unaware of the arrow aimed at his
THROAT.
ON NEYTIRI as she follows him with the bowmuscles tensing
for the shot --
-- and SOMETHING drifts down in front of herF.G. She
hesitates.
RACK FOCUS to the tip of the arrow -- where a single
WOODSPRITE floats down to land on the arrow-head.Like a
dandelion seedbut largerthe WOODSPRITE waves its silky
CILIAfeather lightas it balances on the deadly point. It
glows faintly in the dark shadows.
NEYTIRI frownspuzzledand LOWERS her bow slowly. The
woodsprite WHIRLS away into the gloom.
CUT TO:
INT./EXT. SAMSON - SUNSET
GRACE and NORM peer down into the shadowed forest as TRUDY
banks in a search pattern.
TRUDY (INTERCOM)
I’m going to have to call itguys. We’re
not allowed to run night ops. Colonel’s
orders.
35.
Grace looks to the west. The sun setting behind alien trees.
GRACE
Shit.
TRUDY
SorryDoc. He’s just gonna have to hang
on ‘till morning.
GRACE
He’s not going to make it till morning.
Grace stares into the dark forest as the Samson banks hard
thundering away toward the setting sun.
CUT TO:
EXT. RAINFOREST - NIGHT
LONG LENS-- POLYPHEMUS. The giant planet rises behind the
black trees.
Jake’s got a new problem. He sees shapes moving with liquid
grace in the NIGHT shadows behind him. He is being stalked by
a pack of VIPERWOLVES.
Jake catches only glimpses -- a glint of eyesa slinking
black movement -- then nothing. Darkness.
TIME CUT -- TIGHT ON Jake’s hands as he knots his T-shirt
around the butt end of the spear.
ANGLE ON THICK SAP trickling down a tree-trunk. Jake jams
the makeshift torch into the sapsoaking the shirt with it.
A WATERPROOF MATCH from his survival kit lights the torch.
The torch creates a pool of light surrounded by pulsing
leaping shadows. Jake turns warily as he moves along the
trail.
Behind him are several pairs of reflective green EYES.
Another pair flanking him beside the trail. Black-on-black
SHAPES which seem to flow like liquid.
He looks up -- sees one cross a limb overhead. Another on
his opposite flank.
Then a hideous soundlike a hyena's psychotic LAUGH.
The VIPERWOLVES can run like a dog and climb like a monkey.
They are hunting Jake from the ground and the trees.
36.
JAKE RUNS by torch-lighton the edge of panic. He reaches a
steep banked stream and -- without thinking -- runs across it
on a horizontal trunk --
-- and STOPS DEAD on the other side. The torch illuminates
GREEN EYES cutting ahead of him across the trail. The
viperwolves have him encircled.
The psychotic BARKS become more intense as they signal each
othergetting excited. ONE MAKES A RUN at himangling on
his legs from behind but --
JAKE WHIRLSjamming the torch in its face. It yips and goes
pastbut ANOTHER moves in --
He jabs it with the business end of the spear and it SNARLS
retreatingbaring its fangs.
Now half a dozen are circling him in the openand he sees
what he’s up against. The VIPERWOLVES are six-limbed with
shiny chitinous skintheir paws leathery BLACK HANDS.
Intelligent eyes. Glistening black teeth in dead white gums.
Jake realizes that he is making his final stand. He whirls
the torch in an arckeeping them at bay --
And feels a rush of adrenaline. It goes through him like a
lightning bolt and the fear is gone.
JAKE
(screaming)
I don’t have all goddamn night! Come on!
Come on!
With snarls and a blur of motion THEY ATTACK.
Jake CRACKS the spear down on onethen SPINS as --
ANOTHER LEAPS at him and he plants the spear in itstriking
truebut --
Its momentum wrenches it from his handsand the torch goes
flying. Left in semi-darknessJake draws his KNIFE as--
A WOLF LUNGESsinking its teeth into his arm. He YELLS in
pain and furySLASHING with the knife which --
CUTS deep into the beast’s shoulder and it lets go.
JAKE SPRINTStrying to escapebut a snarling viperwolf
leapsGRABBING him by the ankle with its fore-hand. Jake
tears awaysprawlingSCRAMBLING to get up as --
37.
THREE WOLVES charge at once. The nearest LEAPS at his throat
just as --
THUNK!! -- an ARROW appears in its chest.
The wolf lands on himalready a dead weight. He pushes it
off in time to see --
A BLUE AMAZON emerge from the treesnock another arrowdraw
and FIRE in one fluid motion. AN UNEARTHLY YOWL as another
wolf falls.
NEYTIRI LEAPS right over Jakeand CRACKS her bow down on the
skull of a circling wolf.
ANOTHER SPRINGS at her and she drops under its weightbut
rollscoming up on top of it with a knife in her hand.
Her knife FLASHES downburied to the hilt in its chest.
SNARLINGa wounded wolf attacks Jakeand he KICKS it away
but --
It SPINS and leaps back onto himand Jake barely catches its
throat in time to keep the SNAPPING JAWS away from his face.
MEANWHILE Neytiri swings her bow in a big arcCRACKING IT
across the heads and shoulders of two remaining wolves.
NEYTIRI
Rrreeyaaah! Hyaaaah!!
The wolves slink and circleyelping as the bow whistles past
them. Finally they break and runwith Neytiri chasing and--
They bound away through the foliage as she SHOUTS after them--
NEYTIRI
Raaaarrrr!
Jake has his adversary pinned and is choking it with all his
weight. Finally it stops thrashing. Pantinghe releases it
and looks up at --
NEYTIRI. Her tail LASHES as she scans the forestlistening
to the fading YELPS of the wolves. Satisfied the attack is
overshe turns.
She regards him coldly for a secondthen walks past him.
Neytiri picks up the torch and extinguishes it in a stream.
JAKE
Wait
don’t --
38.
Jake blinks around at the darkness -- realizing he can still
see. In factwith the blinding torchlight gone
the forest
is transformed.
The jungle has come alive with BIOLUMINESCENCE -- spots and
patternsghosts and galaxies of blue-green light.
Jake scrambles to recover his spear. Neytiri kneels beside --
