PAGE ONE (Splash Page)

PANEL 1
Establishing shot – An angled overhead view of a small Pacific island, twilight. The island is about twenty miles long and five miles wide at its thickest point. A large hill dominates the center of the island, surrounded by the thick foliage of jungle. Two large bonfires burn at opposite ends of the island; sending large plumes of smoke into the sky.

CAPTION: SPRING 1945 - PACIFIC OCEAN - OUTER RIM OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS DIALOGUE BOX (HW): WE FOUND THE HEALERS OUR THIRD WEEK ON THE ISLAND.

PAGE TWO (Five equal-sized horizontal panels)

PANEL 1
A patrol of battered soldiers descends the island's main hill, silhouetted by the setting sun behind them. One of their wounded comrades, Garrison, requires transport via a stretcher.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): OR TO BE ACCURATE, THEY FOUND US.

PANEL 2
On an expanse of trampled ground, two beleaguered soldiers deposit the stretcher holding Garrison at the end of a line of five wounded soldiers on stretchers. No medics are visible.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): INTELLIGENCE HAD UNDERESTIMATED THE JAPANESE PRESENCE ON THE ISLAND.

PANEL 3
A long shot of the American encampment at dusk. Several large tents rest with slight illumination emanating from within. Various soldiers are beginning to congregate outside the canvas structures.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): THE COLONEL HAD LOST A THIRD OF HIS MEN SECURING OUR INITIAL POSITION...

PANEL 4
An army chaplain, Malick, kneeling down by the same wounded comrade, stops his administration of last rites to look at something odd in the distance. Under his fatigues, he wears a priest's collar.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): ..AND BY THE NIGHT OF THEIR ARRIVAL, HIS FORCES WERE DOWN TO HALF.

PANEL 5
Same long shot of the encampment as Panel 3, except now two sets of young feminine feet, identical to each other, occupy the foreground.

NO DIALOGUE

PAGE THREE (Four equal-sized horizontal panels)

PANEL 1
Close-up of one of the army tents, the Red Cross symbol embroidered into its faux door.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): THAT FIRST NIGHT, THESE MUTE CHILDREN JUST STARED AT US AS CURIOUSLY AS WE STARED BACK AT THEM..

PANEL 2
Two young soft feminine hands, one left & one right, about to touch the forehead of Garrison. The bodies of the two girls are out of frame.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): BUT ANY CONCERNS THAT WE HAD ABOUT THEIR PRESENCE WERE DISPELLED EARLY THAT MORNING..

PANEL 3
Same close-up of the medical tent as Panel #1 except a brilliant white light now emanates from the interior of the structure. It is positively blinding.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): ..WHEN THEY HEALED YOUNG GARRISON AND SUPPLIED US WITH A WHOLE NEW SET OF QUESTIONS..

PANEL 4
Long shot of the entire island just before a dawn. A perfectly straight beam of light projects itself from the right side of the island into the darkened sky (reminiscent of the Luxor in Las Vegas or the lights at the WTC site).

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): ..AS WELL AS A POSSIBLE KEY TO SALVATION.

PAGE FOUR (Five Panels)

Note to Artist on Pages 4-5: Both pages are composed of five equal-sized horizontal panels (same as Page 2). However, Panels 2 & 4 on Page 4 and Panels 1, 3 & 5 on Page 5 are framed individual panels laying over a large double-page spread. The spread depicts a wide shot of a vicious hilltop battle between the outnumbered American combatants and their Japanese counterparts. The skies indicate the approach of a ferocious storm.

PANEL 1
Battle Scene (1 of 5) - see note.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): NO ONE COULD EXPLAIN THE ABILITIES OF THE TWINS, PLAYFULLY CHRISTENED 'YING' & 'YANG'.

PANEL 2
Medium shot of a religious service conducted by Malick on a bright, sunny morning. Garrison is in the front row of a large congregation of worshipping soldiers.

DIALOGUE BOX 1 (HW): EVEN THOUGH THE FACT THAT THEIR POWER FRIED EVERY ELECTRICAL COMPONENT ON THE ISLAND, INCLUDING THE RADIO, HINTED AT A SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION..
DIALOGUE BOX 2 (HW): ..MANY LABELED THE PAIR 'ANGELS'.

PANEL 3
Battle Scene (2 of 5) - see note.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): YING & YANG COULD MEND WOUNDS, REGENERATE LIMBS & BRING SOLDIERS BACK FROM THE BRINK OF DEATH.

PANEL 4
Medium shot of a group of cheering soldiers proclaiming their success, arms raised high in a sign a victory with a bright, blue sky behind them.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): THEIR MIRACLES HELPED THE SELF-PROCLAIMED 'ZOMBIE BRIGADE' TURN THE TIDE OF THE BATTLE, DESPITE THEIR SMALLER NUMBERS.

PANEL 5
Battle Scene (3 of 5) - see note.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): HOWEVER, THE POWER TO HEAL HAD ITS PRICE.

PAGE FIVE (Five Panels. See Notes Page Four.)

PANEL 1
Reminiscent of Page 3, Panel 2 - Two elderly feminine hands, one left & one right, about to touch the forehead of a wounded Garrison. The bodies of the two women are out of frame.

DIALOGUE BOX 1 (HW): THEIR EXTRAORDINARY CAPABILITIES CAUSED THE TWINS TO AGE DRASTICALLY.
DIALOGUE BOX 2 (HW): BY SUMMER, OUR LITTLE GIRLS HAD BECOME ELDERLY WOMEN.

PANEL 2
Battle Scene (4 of 5) - see note.

DIALOGUE BOX 1 (HW): THEY DUTIFULLY CONTINUED THEIR WORK, UNTIL YOING DIED ONE AFTERNOON OF SEVERE OLD AGE.
DIALOGUE BOX 2 (HW): HER SISTER DIED THREE HOURS LATER.

PANEL 3
Medium shot of the encampment at sunset. The ground is littered with the bodies of dead American soldiers. The body of Garrison rests in the forefront.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): UPON THE DEATH OF OUR ANGELS, ALL THEIR HEALING BECAME UNDONE. EVERY WOUND, EVERY BURN, EVERY INJURY FELL UPON OUR MEN EN MASSE.

PANEL 4
Battle Scene (5 of 5) - see note.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): ONLY THE COLONEL AND MYSELF REMAIN, HAVING NEVER NEEDED THE MIRACULOUS TOUCH OF THE TWINS.

PANEL 5
Long shot of the Colonel and Malick fortified in a foxhole, fending off a squad of approaching Japanese soldiers. Several dozen soldiers, Japanese and American, lie dead on the ground. Malick cannot be seen actually firing a weapon.

DIALOGUE BOX (HW): YET, WE ARE ONLY TWO AND THE ENEMY IS MANY.

PAGE SIX (Four equal-sized horizontal panels.)

PANEL 1
Establishing shot - Horizon shot of the island on a bright summer day. The fighting is over as birds and gulls have returned to the island. In the foreground, a Grumman seaplane, seen from the rear, is approaching the island. (For reference, the Grumman seaplane is the plane that Jake Cutter flew in “Tales of the Gold Monkey”.)

CAPTION BOX: AUGUST 8, 1945 - TWO DAYS AFTER HIROSHIMA

PANEL 2
Upon the island's hilltop, a small ragtag group of Japanese soldiers wave their hands frantically to capture the attention of the approaching seaplane. Two of the soldiers are waving quasi-white flags.

DIALOGUE BOX (TW): THE RECONNAISSANCE TEAM FOUND TWELVE STARVING JAPANESE SOLDIERS, DESPERATE TO SURRENDER

PANEL 3
Close-up shot of the decomposed body of Malick atop a pile of his fallen comrades, his priest's collar identifies him from the crowd. A journal can be seen peeking out of one of his pockets.

DIALOGUE BOX (TW): THE BODIES OF 519 AMERICAN SOLDIERS AND APPROXIMATELY 6,000 OF THEIR JAPANESE
COUNTERPARTS

PANEL 4
Interior shot of a small army tent, a.k.a. pup tent. Lying on a sleeping bag, as if in a place of honor, the skeleton of a set of Siamese Twins, joined from the hipbone up to the shoulder blades.

DIALOGUE BOX (TW): AND THE MYSTERIOUS SKELETON OF A SET OF CONJOINED TWINS.

"PANACEA" © 2002 Michael Wojciak