As promised, here’s what I call the “Director’s Cut” of the ending of A Division of Souls. This one’s been in my head for at least two years. And yes, this was written to fit Failure’s “Daylight”, as expected.
I actually thought about writing a prose version of this ending for the book, but it would have just been extraneous. It’s a completely visual segment anyway. So, using my dusty and woefully underused BA degree in film, I decided to instead write this in screenplay form.
Hope you enjoy!
[SPOILERS AHEAD, OBVIOUSLY.]
[For those of you who have not yet read the book or gotten to this part yet, a short description: Denni Johnson (aka The One of All Sacred, a revered deity) has failed in completing her Ascension to full deity status, but has instead saved Bridgetown by keeping the Rain of Light (aka an ever-swirling river of spirit energy that, thanks to Nehalé Usarai’s Awakening ritual, has not stopped expanding) from destroying Bridgetown. Oh, and also, Caren, Denni’s very protective older sister, has finally just come to terms with her own dangerous spiritual awakening, and has taken off to search for her sister, Anando at her side. Aaaaand, ACTION!]
EXT. ROOF OF CHRISTINE’S APARTMENT. CHRISTINE, POE and NICK have all just witnessed the closure of the failed Ascension of the One of All Sacred, as well as the disappearance of CAREN and ANANDO from the scene. They’re physically and mentally worn out from the experience. CHRISTINE says nothing, staying near the door of her roof shed, looking out into the sky.
NICK looks more confused than exhausted. POE walks up to him and pats him on the shoulder.
NICK
What…what the hell just happened?
POE
Honestly? I have no clue.
[beat]
Go see Sheila. She’s still at the warehouse.
I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.
NICK
[nods slowly]
I…maybe I will.
[exits]
POE watches NICK leave. CHRISTINE joins him at the door, touching him on the arm. He pulls her into a warm embrace, visibly releasing the tension he feels. He whispers a ‘thank you’ to her and kisses her on the cheek. She laughs quietly in return.
POE releases his embrace, and steps through the roof access door.
CUT TO:
EXT. Street level outside CHRISTINE’S APARTMENT
POE exits onto the street, pulling on his ARU overcoat. He looks exhausted but relieved. He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out his pack of cigarettes. He starts walking down the sidewalk, but slows to a stop after just a few steps. He has a cigarette in hand, but has not lit it yet.
Slowly, he looks over his shoulder, looking up in the air.
CUT TO:
EXT. Slow rise from the street, heading skyward. Moving past MOULDING WAREHOUSE just down the street, with the cliffs of The Crest in the distance. Continuing rise shot.
CUT TO:
EXT. Roof of Caren’s apartment. CAREN and ANANDO are looking up in the air as well. CAREN is frantically calling out DENNI’s name (NO AUDIO), while ANANDO is trying to comfort her.
CUT TO:
EXT. Continuing rise, faster this time, moving past the Crest and into the sky. We start moving through clouds and into the air above.
CUT TO:
INT. MATTHEW, inside a programming cage, surrounded by numerous monitors and keyboards. He’s deep in thought, frantically typing away, when he stops short. Calmly surprised, he slowly moves away from the keyboard and stares at the screen, as if trying to parse what he’s just figured out.
CUT TO:
EXT. Continuing rise, past the clouds. The sky is darkening and we start to see stars.
CUT TO:
INT. NATIANOS, standing at the window of his office at the Mirades Tower. Behind him, JANOSS has just stepped away from the window, deeply concerned about what has just happened. He wants to say something but stops short. NATIANOS says nothing, but continues watching the city below. His facial expression is hard to read; he could either be concerned, or merely observing.
CUT TO:
EXT. Continuing rise. We are now just above the atmosphere and stars are visible. Just before the cut, a single red spot is visible, and we slowly start moving towards that point.
CUT TO:
INT. MOULDING WAREHOUSE. NICK has just arrived and is frantically searching for SHEILA. He finally finds her and latches onto her in a tight embrace. SHEILA is surprised and moved by his action, but she’s also deeply relieved to see him as well. She laughs and hugs him back.
CUT TO:
EXT. Continuing rise. The red spot is expanding, and soon we can see that it’s in the shape of a person.
CUT TO:
INT. SAONE’S APARTMENT. SAONE and KRYSSYNA are frantically running through rooms, grabbing items and stuffing them in a small bag. SAONE is angry and spitting out words (NO AUDIO). KRYSS is in the background, concerned but saying nothing. SAONE stops short in the living room of her apartment, looking at a picture on the wall. It’s a family photo. SAONE is visibly sickened, shakes her head and leaves the shot quickly. KRYSS follows.
CUT TO:
EXT. Continuing rise. The person in space is floating freely without any protection. The person moves little, but we know they are alive. Just before cut, it is visible enough to confirm it is DENNI.
CUT TO:
EXT. MOULDING WAREHOUSE ROOF. NEHALÉ walks through the roof access door, holding his coat close, looking up in the air. He stops at the edge of the roof, frowning deeply.
CUT TO:
EXT. DENNI’S SPACE. Track shot towards DENNI. She’s barely moving, arms by her side as she floats in space. Continue track shot towards her as it becomes clear that she is not happy. She is looking back down at Earth’s surface, but we do not yet see what it is.
Continue track until it finally closes in on her face, then to her eyes.
She closes her eyes just as tears begin to fall.
CUT TO:
EXT. EARTH. Extreme wide shot of Earth’s surface, with the eastern North American coast visible. The Sprawl of Bridgetown is dead center.
Slowly at first but then accelerating, we start seeing pinpricks of white light in the Sprawl, spreading outwards like ripples on water.
The white pinpricks of light continue to expand up and down the coast and out into the ocean, gaining speed.
The light show becomes strong enough that the scene fades to white.
QUICK FADE IN:
EXT. CAREN’S APARTMENT ROOF. ANANDO holds CAREN in his arms, comforting her. She’s crying…but these are tears of joy. She’s found her sister.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET IN MAIN STREET SECTOR, BRIDGETOWN. SAONE and KRYSS throw Saone’s meager belongings into the back seat of KRYSS’ transport. KRYSS climbs into the driver’s seat, but SAONE wavers for a moment. She looks up at the MIRADES TOWER. She smiles, fiercely proud of her decision to leave her family.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET IN WATERFRONT SECTOR, BRIDGETOWN. SHEILA and NICK are walking down the street, heading back to Christine’s apartment. NICK is in a lively mood, happy to see his partner, but SHEILA is visibly bothered by something. She starts talking to NICK (NO AUDIO). He nods and comforts her.
CUT TO:
INT. MIRADES TOWER. NATIANOS, still standing at the window, closes his eyes and exhales slowly. His emotions are hard to read; he’s deliberately holding them back. In the background, JANOSS leaves the office. Eventually NATIANOS turns and walks away to towards his desk.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET OUTSIDE CHRISTINE’S APARTMENT. POE is still looking up in the sky. A smile slowly crosses his face. Finally he lights his cigarette, and begins walking down the street.
As he passes others on the sidewalk, we notice everyone else is a white silhouette. Only POE remains unadorned by this Light.
SHORT RISE towards the center of the street as POE exits the scene; we see more white silhouettes on the screen. In the distance is the MIRADES TOWER, catching the rays of the sun.
FADE TO BLACK
–END–
…aaaand roll credits. 🙂
Welcome to Bridgetown 