Sorpresa de Octobre: Pages 1-4

Page 1, 6 Panels- Bar, outside Ciudad Juarez Mexico- April 23, 1911 Panel 1: We open on an interior shot from one of the back walls of the bar. It's filled to the brim this late night with soldiers loyal to Francisco Madero and commanded by Pascual Orozco General Pancho Villa. They're dirtied, sore, bloodied from the many weeks of battle that have preceded tonight. Their faces though are full of joy and pure relief as the sound of raucous music fills the area because of the news that came a few hours earlier- a truce between Madero's men and forces loyal to Mexican President Porfirio Diaz. CAPTION: Bar Outside Ciudad Juarez, Mexico April 23, 1911 FREEDOM FIGHTERS [singing proudly as a guitar plays off-panel]: "Voz de la guitarra mía, al despertar la mañana quiere cantar su alegría a mi tierra mexicana..." Panel 2: Cut to a different shot of a pair of freedom fighters seated at the bar, holding glasses of reposado tequila. The young men, scarred in the face and arms as a result of the previous day's battles, proudly singing (along with everyone else inside the bar) the song "Mexico Lindo y Querido." The off-panel guitar still playing as the young men sing. FREEDOM FIGHTERS [Cont.]: "Yo le canto a sus volcanes a sus praderas y flores que son como talismanes del amor de mis amores..." Panel 3-4: A two-part set of panels centered on a shot from the ceiling showing a larger shot of the bar. Some of which we saw in the first two panels and others we did not. All of Merado's freedom fighters inside (60 in total) singing the folk song with full throat and gleaming pride as the shifting view of the panels move over toward the entrance. FREEDOM FIGHTERS [Cont., Panel 3]: "México Lindo y Querido si muero lejos de ti que digan que estoy dormido y que me traigan aquí.... SOUND EFFECT [Off-Panel, settling underneath the playing guitar; Panel 4]: BOOMM!.... FREEDOM FIGHTERS [Cont., Panel 4]: "Que digan que estoy dormido y que me traigan aquí México Lindo y Querido si muero lejos de ti..." Panel 5: Cut to a shot from standing level of the bar's front entrance. The doors of which resemble the same swinging open design that you would find in a salloon from the Wild West around the same time period. You can see two pairs of feet from underneath the doors. Their pants and shoes look completely out of place to the time period. FREEDOM FIGHTERS [Off-Panel]: "Que me entierren en la sierra al pie de los magueyales y que me cubra esta tierra que es cuna de hombres cabales..." ARTHUR [from the right, to the left]: You sure we're gonna find this Maria de Meras here? ROSE [from the left, to the right]: Absolutely! The timeline has her tallied in this location at this time. Panel 6: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. The doors to the bar swing open, and we see for the first time our human protagonists (as much as can be surmised in this story) ARTHUR and ROSE walking into the establishment. They're both in their mid 20s, dressed in clothing that would be more at home in the earlier half of the 21st century than the early half of the 20th century. Arthur is dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt while Rose is in a hooded sweatshirt with the logo of the 2022 World Champion Cleveland Erie Gnats (a new variation of what we know as the Cleveland Indians). ARTHUR [concerned, to Rose]: But what if she doesn't want to travel with us, and ya know...try to kill us? ROSE [to Arthur, confidentally]: In that unlikely situation, we'll just recruit someone else here to do the job. Either way, with what we got planned, we're guaranteed to get beaucoup hits on Youtube! Page 2, 5 Panels- Bar, outside Ciudad Juarez Mexico Panel 1-3: A three-part set of panels centered on the two of them as they walk a short distance inside the bar, stopping by Panel 3 after ten steps. You can see some of the freedom fighters nearby in the background, looking at the two of them with a great degree of suspicion and curiosity. You can also see a rectangular object jutting from the pocket of Arthur's jeans in the foreground of the panel view, hidden from sight at this point. An object of which he only begins to reach for by the time of Panel 3 as a couple of freedom fighters closest start moving toward the two time travelers. ARTHUR [Cont., Panel 1]: What if we have planned ends up screwing up the timeline somehow? Like--Nazis take over the world or President Bush gets a fourth term in office. Or, Heaven help us, Michael Bay wins an Oscar for Transformers! ROSE [glancing to Arthur, Panel 1]: It'll be fine, Artie. I chose this point in Ms. de Meras' timeline because it posed the least amount of risk damaging it. ROSE [Cont., noticing the increase in attention; Panel 2]: Now, let's ask the Bartender where she is while we still have some semblance of secrecy. ARTHUR [interjecting, looking around at the same increase in attention; Panel 2]: And a shot to walk out without being killed. Panel 4-5: Close-up on Arthur a few moments later. The device, known as the Babel-T, is fully out and placed just below eye level. In Panel 4, you can see his eyes down on the screen of the device with the same dimensions as an iPhone 3. His left hand quickly typing away the commands at that moment. In the next panel, after completing what needed to be done, he looks up toward Rose and gives a quick nod. His right hand already beginning to slide the Babel-T back into his pocket. ARTHUR [muttering to himself, Panel 4]: Alrighty. Now... ARTHUR [to Rose, Panel 5]: You're up! Page 3, 7 Panels- Bar, outside Ciudad Juarez Mexico Panel 1-2: A two-part set of panels that are centered back on Rose at precisely the same moment. In Panel 1, she nods slightly in Arthur's direction, lowering her hood with one hand to reveal a crop of strawberry red hair drooping down to the top of her sweater. In the next panel, she turns and walks over toward the bar. In the background, you can see what appears to be a physically imposing bartender cleaning the countertop with a dirty rag at the same moment. Panel 3: Cut to a shot from the persepctive of the bartender a couple of beats later as Rose approaches his area. You can see a section of the freedom fighters looking on, starting to surround both her and Arthur (who cautiously move a step behind her to the right) in anticipation of whatever's about to come. ROSE [to the bartender]: Hello? Hello, sir!?.... Panel 4: We cut to a more close-up view of the bartender a moment later. It's here that we see, for the first time, the size and imposing muscle the man has in comparison to Rose. He glares squarely at our future protagonist, sizing her up with a degree of annoyance and confusion as to where she comes from. You can see in the background a dirty mirror along with an assortment of different types of alcohol lined up; some more full than others. BARTENDER [slight snarl, to Rose]: The hell do you want? How is it you can speak Spanish? Panel 5: Back to Rose in the same type of setting and layout that we saw in Panel 3. The crowd of freedom fighters behind the two of them has grown slightly compared to what we saw then, reaching for the handle of their guns or machetes as she speaks. At this moment, you can see some apprehension and fear on her face over what he may do next. ROSE [to the Bartender]: That...that's a long story. One I really don't have the time to deal with. All I want is... Panel 6-7: A two-part set of panels centered on a side shot of the same setting as the previous couple of panels. In Panel 6, just as Rose is about to finish her explanation, the Bartender grabs her by the collar and lifts her off the ground forcefully. Her body hovering above the countertop six inches while her face is pulled toward his with a gap of a couple of inches. In Panel 7, before he can go about enacting his threat in full, she's able to blurt out one name. The source of why her and Arthur are in the past to start with. BARTENDER [forcefully, to Rose; Panel 6]: Who are you?? WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?! BARTENDER [Cont.; Panel 6, Bubble 2]: ...You with Madero's men?! It's the only reason why someone would come here, looking for trouble the same night as the truce. ROSE [pleading to the Bartender, through strained breath; Panel 6]: I'm not looking to...start...something... ROSE [Cont.; Panel 6, Bubble 2]: I just...want to see...someone! BARTENDER [Cont., ready to smash her; Panel 7]: Who?...WHO?! ROSE [Panel 7]: La Adelita... ROSE [Cont.; Panel 7, Bubble 2]: Maria...Quinteras...de Meras! Page 4, 6 Panels- Bar, outside Ciudad Juarez Mexico Panel 1: Same setting/layout as the last panel of the previous page. At that moment, the tension inside that little section of the bar completely dissipates. The bartender loosens his grip on Rose’s collar ever so slightly in order for her to breathe a little more normally. You can see his glare zeroing in on her face, particularly her nose, examining the young woman with a great deal of suspicion. The other freedom fighters standing around them start to back away as they speak. BARTENDER [suspicious, to Rose]: What do you want with La Adelita? ROSE [in thought bubble]: "La Adelita?"… ROSE [to the Bartender, fumbling for words]: I—I—I’m here to offer her a job. Out of town. Panel 2-3: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. A couple of beats later, we see the burly middle-aged Mexican take his now freed (as of Panel 1) right hand and starts to reach down to his side in the direction of an off-panel weapon. In Panel 3, just before we’re allowed to see the weapon in full view, he’s stopped by the sound of Ms. de Mera emanating from the back of the bar. You can see in the background the attention of the other Freedom Fighters are also pulled in Panel 3 in the direction of the voice. BARTENDER [to Rose, Panel 2]: What kind of job? ROSE [increasingly nervous, trying to keep it together; Panel 2]: It—It’s out of town. That’s all I can say at the moment. But I— BARTENDER [prodding; Panel 2, Bubble 2]: Will it affect the truce? ROSE [Panel 2, Bubble 2]: Absolutely not! It will be— MARIA QUINTERAS DE MERAS [Panel 3, from the back to the Bartender]: Shut the hell up, Juan…let the woman speak! Panel 4: Cut to a corner of the bar a decent distance away from the action that we have seen for the past couple of pages. We see a round table with half of it jutting it out in the foreground, illuminated by a mixture of electric lights and light from the moon outside coming in from a nearby window. The only part we don’t see here in Maria herself, covered by a shadow that conceals her at that little snapshot in time. MARIA QUINTERAS DE MERA [Cont.]: I’m a little curious what her and the skinny puto have to offer. Panel 5-6: A two-part set of panels centered back on Rose and the Bartender. In Panel 5, he glares over in the woman’s direction as she smiles back boastfully. A second later, in Panel 6, we see the taller and more muscular man throw her back down to the hardwood floor dismissively. She lands on her feet though, albeit a bit inartfully. ROSE [to the Bartender, beaming ear-to-ear; Panel 5]: You heard the woman!