Important announcement.
Starting next year, alongside a visual revamp, full screenplays will be coming to the SubStick. Turns out I can do some formatting trickery to make it look close enough to a real script, even in a regular blog post.
Scripts will be released on a unique schedule compared to regular SubSticks, and will be cut up into chapters. However, small conceit: these will be paid content. I’ll make it as cheap as I feasibly can, but I figure, if anyone wants to actually read the movies I write, I might as well do what I can to profit from it. There will be an additional newsletter section within the SubStick, so you will be able to subscribe separately.
This post is a test run, free for all to read. Included is the opening sequence of the most recent draft of Project Warlords, alongside a treatment-style summary of the rest of the first act. To get the rest of the story, you’ll have to read the actual script when it gets posted as the first of the SubStick’s paid content this coming January.
As I will remind readers with every script from here on out, these are being posted to the SubStick completely unedited and unchanged from their original file back when they were written. This means that even if there’s a typo, or a line I really want to rephrase, or a whole plot element I am no longer satisfied with, I am not going to change anything. Revisions will be done as a whole per draft.
This is the third draft of Project Warlords (which, as a reminder, is a codename, not the script’s actual title, and I might change these codenames later), written in the summer of 2026.
No drafts are final. It will change a year from now, and a year from then, and so on until I die. I hope you enjoy nonetheless. If you don’t, don’t say anything. Just let me have this.
THE AMERICAN CONTINENT IS AT WAR.
IT DOES NOT MATTER WHY.
FADE IN:
A MURAL
Painted on a brick wall.
Soldiers, rifles in hand, dressed in the white robes of angels. They face away, marching into the Sun atop a distant hill.
Sprayed below them are the words:
HIS TRUTH IS MARCHING ON
A HEAD passes in front of us. We turn to find ourselves in -
EXT. SALT LAKE CITY - DAY
A company of twenty to thirty SCAVENGERS carefully make their way down the street. Human vultures, dressed in rags and cloaks, spreading out, inspecting buildings and abandoned cars.
A small group leads in front. Men on the outskirts carry rifles. Others hold shotguns, bows, crossbows, even spears or knives.
Two vehicles at the back, trucks, for loading supplies. A wagon pulled by mules.
Slowly they strip wiring, siphon gas, dig for cans and books, anything that may or may not be useful to take.
The streets of the city are pelted with rain.
A YOUNG MAN
Stares off, daydreaming. He carries nothing with him, merely observing in the midst of the bunch. This is BRIGGS (17).
SPENCER (O.S.)
Briggs.
Snapped out of his reverie, BRIGGS snaps his attention to the man leading ahead of him. Camouflaged in garments half-made from a soldier’s uniform. This is SPENCER (20).
SPENCER (CONT’D)
Is your head in the clouds again?
BRIGGS
Can’t see much of them in this
rain, sir.
SPENCER
Don’t call me sir. Makes me feel
old. I’m only your superior for
today, so pay attention. What do
you notice?
BRIGGS sweeps his gaze over the surrounding buildings. The scavengers move steadily forward. Yet...
BRIGGS
It’s quiet.
Beside him, GORDON (18) can’t keep his head still.
GORDON
Too quiet. Are we really sure the
city was cleared out?
SPENCER
You’re better off asking the
scouts. Right now, you follow me.
Stay alert, stay alive.
SPENCER nods towards the front end of the cluster.
A GRIZZLED MAN
Leads alongside a few other fellow scavengers, adept to the environment. Among them, a SCOUT and the FOREMAN.
SCOUT
We’re coming up on the square.
Following close behind the grizzled man is his son, OLIVER (15), whose eyes are fixated not on his FATHER, but the rifle strung around his shoulder.
The two dozen scavengers disperse, entering the -
EXT. SALT LAKE CITY, TEMPLE SQUARE - DAY
In the center, the SALT LAKE TEMPLE. Bright white, stretching high into the sky. A strange beacon in the midst of desolation.
FATHER
Stay behind me.
The vehicles behind them form a barrier. The FOREMAN leads his party to the unkempt grounds of the temple.
SPENCER LEADS
BRIGGS and GORDON up against an adjoining skyscraper across from the temple.
Around them, the scavengers do their work. They break into buildings and pile supplies into trucks and wagons.
GORDON
Never done a raid this big before.
SPENCER
I don’t like it. I told them. It’s
too big, too wide. Too many vantage
points.
BRIGGS watches the ragged men, hunched over like feral brutes.
BRIGGS
Is this really all we do? Just...
taking things and stripping them
for parts.
SPENCER
They’re scavengers, not soldiers.
BRIGGS
Is it true Oliver’s here?
SPENCER
(nods)
He’s with his dad.
OLIVER ARRIVES
At the foot of a staircase leading to the temple’s front doors. His FATHER crouches, and he mimics the action.
The SCOUT circles in place, inspecting the nearby buildings with a spyglass.
FATHER
Are we clear?
The SCOUT nods.
FOREMAN
We’re going in.
The men ascend the staircase. OLIVER nudges his FATHER.
OLIVER
I can carry something.
FATHER
(pulls his gun away)
Not this.
OLIVER
What if I need to defend myself?
FATHER
Don’t stray off, then.
They reach the doors.
FATHER (CONT’D)
What do we do, Oliver?
OLIVER
Take what you can.
The FATHER ruffles OLIVER’s hair and winks. This draws out a little smile.
SCOUT
Look alive, boys. You’re standing
on holy ground.
With the butt of his rifle, the FOREMAN SMASHES in the glass.
BRIGGS’ POV
Watching OLIVER accompany the adults inside.
A scavenger passes BRIGGS on his way to the trucks. He notes a small BOOK in his hands.
BRIGGS
Hey, can I see that?
The scavenger hands BRIGGS the book. He shows it to GORDON. It’s a thin horror novel.
BRIGGS (CONT’D)
Gordon, you think your brother
would like it?
GORDON takes the book and stuffs it into his bag.
GORDON
I bet he would. Thanks.
INT. SALT LAKE TEMPLE, HALLWAY - DAY
Natural wood and extravagant light fixtures hanging from the ceiling without power. The FOREMAN’s team piles inside.
FOREMAN
What do they keep in here?
SCOUT
Gold in the high floors, I’ve
heard. Tunnels underground.
FOREMAN
Let’s hope they’re not still in
those. Pat, see how high up you can
get. The rest, with me.
One man splits off while the FOREMAN leads everyone else down the perpendicular hallway. Their chuckling voices echo eerily.
EXT. SALT LAKE CITY, TEMPLE SQUARE - DAY
SPENCER observes.
SPENCER
Briggs, this one’s for you. If you
wanted to defend this block, where
would you position?
BRIGGS analyzes the square.
BRIGGS
The taller buildings? Up near the
top. We’re close to the center of
the city. You could probably see a
lot.
SPENCER
Yet the temple’s completely
untouched. Nobody cleared it out?
GORDON
They were scared God would get
angry and punish them for it.
SPENCER
Didn’t stop them from ransacking
the rest of his city. Look at this.
It’s a shitty haul, too risky.
GORDON
You think someone is keeping the
temple untouched?
SPENCER
I’m saying we watch the windows and
stay out of the open.
They go silent. BRIGGS looks at the temple.
BRIGGS
You ever been in one of those
before?
GORDON
The temples? I’ve seen pictures.
BRIGGS
Isn’t there supposed to be a statue
at the top?
BRIGGS points to the very top of the temple’s center arch. There’s nothing there.
SPENCER
The angel Moroni. He always points
his trumpet to the east.
(beat)
Guess they took him with them when
they left.
INT. SALT LAKE TEMPLE, BAPTISTERY - DAY
Daylight peers in through tinted windows, illuminating the white marble room.
The FOREMAN and the others clear out.
FATHER
Let’s go.
OLIVER stays. He stares at the baptismal font in the center, elevated by a circle of golden bull statues.
He climbs up a set of stairs and looks into the font. On the wall, a PAINTING: the baptism of Jesus Christ.
EXT. SALT LAKE CITY, TEMPLE SQUARE - DAY
The scavengers are everywhere, taking anything they can. SPENCER moves to the other corner of the building. He takes out his rifle, military-issue, and hands it to GORDON.
SPENCER
Here. Check the scope.
Dozens of men carry wood planks, cables, pieces of furniture.
GORDON looks through the rifle’s scope, locking in to a tall building on the far side of the block.
One of the windows looks darker than the others.
GORDON
Spencer. That window’s broken.
SPENCER snatches the rifle and looks. He sees the broken window, just barely making out a MOVING SHAPE inside. He turns and SCREAMS:
SPENCER
SHOOTER!
BANG! A bullet from the opposite direction WHIZZES straight through a man on the street. The sound of his fall echoes across the square.
The calvary erupts into CHAOS as men scramble for weapons and cover. The three boys shrink against the wall.
SPENCER (CONT’D)
At least two, opposite ends. We’re
sitting ducks. Get to cover and get
out of the square!
SPENCER loads his rifle and GORDON leads BRIGGS towards the street and out of the square.
BANG! BANG! More gunshots. SPENCER peeks out and fires his rifle into one of the buildings.
BRIGGS
What about Oliver?
Almost blindly steering BRIGGS out of the square, GORDON looks at the temple.
GORDON
He’s still inside.
INT. SALT LAKE TEMPLE, HALLWAY - DAY
OLIVER hears the muffled shots from outside. The FOREMAN’s team comes running, including his FATHER.
FATHER
Where were you?
OLIVER
Is there -
His FATHER grabs his arm and pulls him down next to the foyer. They sit and listen.
FOREMAN
How many you hear?
SCOUT
At least two. High up. Northeast
and southwest.
OLIVER
Who are they?
Nobody answers. They just pull him out.
EXT. SALT LAKE CITY, TEMPLE SQUARE - DAY
The FOREMAN leads the group down the stairs, taking cover behind a dead tree.
The rest of the scavengers are in the midst of a hasty evacuation.
OLIVER
Who are they? Are they snipers?
BANG! Bullets strike the concrete. The FOREMAN returns fire to the nearest high rise.
SCOUT
There must be more!
BANG! The SCOUT goes down. The FATHER hands OLIVER to one of the other men.
FATHER
Get him to the trucks.
FOREMAN
Don’t waste your ammo. We’re low.
FATHER
I have to draw them away.
OLIVER
Dad, wait!
The man drags OLIVER through the square and across the street. He can see his FATHER aiming a hunting rifle high.
BRIGGS SEES OLIVER
From behind a ransacked car on the street corner.
BRIGGS
Oliver!
A bullet OBLITERATES the windshield right in front of him.
SPENCER rounds the corner. He sees BRIGGS come up behind him, pointing to OLIVER, exposed in the center of the street.
SPENCER
Stay down!
The two run.
BANG! The man dragging OLIVER is shot, pulling him to the ground. OLIVER stares into the eyes of the dead man before noticing his gun. He slowly reaches for it...
Until BRIGGS and SPENCER GRAB HIM and pull him towards the trucks, seconds from leaving.
GORDON meets them by the truck bed.
GORDON
We get him?
BANG! A cacophony of yelling and screaming.
SPENCER
Let’s go!
OLIVER
Wait! Wait! My dad!
OLIVER looks over his shoulder.
OLIVER’S POV
His FATHER. Running out of cover, towards him.
BANG! BANG! Two bullets hit him, and he goes down.
OLIVER (CONT’D)
NO! NO! DAD!
SPENCER doesn’t see it, but he hears. He and BRIGGS drag OLIVER towards the wagon.
SPENCER
Get him into the wagon.
The scavengers flee out of the shooters’ ranges, many of them just running. GORDON helps force a hysterical OLIVER -
INSIDE THE WAGON
Where he is pressed to the floor, flailing and screaming.
GORDON
Oliver, Oliver - stop - it’s over.
OLIVER
LET ME GO! I’LL KILL THEM! I’LL
KILL THEM!
The wagon moves off. A bullet tears the cover above them.
HIS FATHER’S BODY
Lies abandoned, blood staining the temple steps. His son’s screams are heard growing fainter.
FADE OUT.
Part One: Utah
At the south end of Utah Lake lies the temporary camp of the scavengers, where anyone unfit to take part in the raids resides. It is here that we meet AMMON (13). Though he gets along well with THOMAS (14), Gordon’s younger brother, he feels somewhat isolated among the scavengers, as he is the only LDS Church member, or Mormon.
While reading above the camp, Ammon encounters two soldiers heading west to catch up with the rest of their unit. One of the soldiers recognizes Ammon’s book of religious scriptures, and explains that he came from a settlement in Missouri where the LDS Church has presumably resettled. When Ammon introduces himself, the soldier accurately names a few of his relatives, claiming that he met them at the settlement.
The scavengers return to camp, with Spencer despondent about the raid’s failure and death toll. Funeral rites are performed for Oliver’s father; since his body cannot be recovered, his possessions are burned in its place. Disillusioned by the group’s leadership, Spencer is convinced by Ammon to leave and take him to Missouri, since Spencer has been that way before and is familiar with the terrain.
Briggs learns of this plan and decides he’s going as well, tired of the nomadic structure of the community and seeking a means to settle down in a place where families can form. He attempts to convince Oliver, who thinks it is a suicide mission and refuses.
This information also spreads to Gordon, who decides to take himself and Thomas along with him in order to escape their abusive father. Spencer’s protests due to the journey’s dangers are unheard. As the group steals supplies in preparation to leave in the dead of night, Oliver silently joins them.
Heading out, Ammon attempts to warn everyone that they don’t have to do this, and that he’d never forgive himself if any of them died. No one obliges to turn back, so the six young men leave the scavenger camp and head east.
The group treks through Utah, with Spencer leading the way and avoiding main roads and large populated areas. Winter comes early as they pass through the mountains, so they attempt to barter with some of the isolated homesteads. When they are rebuked due to the paranoia of nearby thieves and the useless items they took from the scavengers to trade, Ammon refuses to allow stealing.
“We’re not thieves, and we’re not wild animals.”
Out from the mountains, they find several marked churches lined with mass graves, signs of a major religious conflict. On the outskirts of the Utah border, the boys encounter a small settlement. Ammon and Spencer introduce themselves to a group of guards in the hopes of trading for supplies. One of them, PATRICK, takes them across the settlement, which Briggs notes is full of children.
Patrick brings Spencer and Ammon into a small storehouse for trade. While sifting through items in the storehouse, Ammon accidentally reveals his book of scriptures to Patrick, outing himself as a Church member. Patrick reveals that he and his settlement (an offshoot of the Church) were previously involved in a violent dispute with them, and believes Ammon to be a spy, though Spencer denies their affiliation. Patrick allows them to leave on the condition Ammon stays, so Spencer promptly attacks.
The group outside hears gunshots, and the area quickly descends into a chaotic firefight while other patrolmen convene on the area. Spencer has Ammon flee while the others split up. In the chaos, Oliver gets his hands on a hunting rifle and shoots one of the guards, killing someone for the first time, before Briggs pulls him away. Ammon, left alone, runs blindly in the fog of the night. The rest of the boys escape into the hills, but one of the guards blindly fires at them. While searching for Ammon, Spencer loses his footing and plummets down a hill, knocked out cold.
The next morning, Spencer and the other boys recombine, only for Oliver to find Ammon’s body: he has been shot and killed.
The boys bury Ammon, while Spencer takes his book and decides to continue on to Missouri in order to inform his family, believing that’s what Ammon would’ve wanted. One by one, the other boys agree as well to keep going and finish the journey.
“For Ammon.”
And thus they continue into Colorado.
TO BE CONTINUED…
JANUARY 2027