Here's the Transcript for the film TWISTER, done of course with as few mistakes as humanely possible! Enjoy! SUZANNE

On a second note, I'd just like to add that the blocking written here is of my own observations, everything else is the work of MICHAEL CRICHTON and ANNE-MARIE MARTIN. There are also references to music from the soundtrack, i.e. (Music starts "Virtual Reality")So, without further ado, I give you TWISTER!!!!

"TWISTER"

{Screen fades in to an eerie fog, gray clouds swirling across. Haunting music. We see "Warner Bros. Presents". The clouds swirl faster. Faster. Faster. Suddenly the word "Twister" stumbles into the clouds then are picked up and blown away. Only the impression of the word remains. Then the movie starts. Camera on an oil drill. At bottom of screen: June 1969. Camera on an iron bridge in front of a sunset. A thunderstorm rolls in across the prairie, in the foreground, a fence. We see lighting. Then camera on YOUNG JO'S house. Then inside. Jo's FATHER, is watching the black and white TV, the bottom of the screen flashing: "Tornado Warning". We hear the weather announcer: "….by radar now. There it is. The center of the circle over Kingfisher county, moving northeastward….a little bit earlier….tornado warning continues now, it's been extended officially…."Camera on the young Jo sleeping. Lighting wakes her up, she clutches a doll. Her dog, Toby, is at the foot of the bed. Her MOTHER comes in.}

Mother: Jo? Common'.

Jo: What is it, Mommy?

Mother: Common' sweetie, let's get up. Common'. It's okay. {She lifts Jo out of bed and down stairs. Toby is left on the bed.}It's okay.

{Dialogue tight together.}

Father: We need to get down to the storm cellar right now.

Mother: Okay.

Jo: Toby?

Father: Common', take Jo, let's go!

Jo: Toby! Mother: Okay, Common' sweetie.

Jo: Mommy?

Father: Common', Honey, hurry!

Mother: Don't be scared, Jo. Mama's gotcha, Mama's gotcha.

Father: TV. says it's big. Might be an F5.

Mother: Okay, we're going to the storm cellar.

Jo: Toby? Toby! TOBY!!!! {Toby barks, Jo keeps screaming "Toby"}

{They run out of the house, things exploding and falling all around them.}

Father: Hurry, we've got to move! Hand her to me!! Common', let's move!!

{The mother gives Jo to the father, they keep running. They get to the storm cellar, a door in the ground. Camera on Toby. He runs downstairs and out of the house. We hear on the TV the weather man ".....if you don't have a cellar or a basement, go to the center part of your house......" Camera on the three outside. }

Mother: {Watching things explode}AHHH! We're almost there, we're almost there!

Father: Take her, take her! I gotta get the door! Hurry! Let's go! {Father pries open the storm cellar door. They yell at each other to get inside. They do. The father slams the door and closes the latch.}

Jo: Daddy, daddy, Toby's still outside!

Father: Common' Toby, common' boy! {He opens door again, Toby jumps inside. He closes latch again.}

Jo: It's okay, Toby.

{Mother lights a kerosene lamp. Suddenly, the door begins shaking.}

Jo: Daddy!

Father: Grab Jo, honey! {The father goes over to door, pulling the handle toward him keeping the door closed.}Take Jo!

{She does so. It becomes harder and harder for him to keep the door shut. Harder. The strain becomes terrifyingly obvious.}

Father: I can't hold it!!!!! DEAR GOD!!!!!

{He tries harder. The strain is becoming painful.}

Father: OH, GOD!!!!!!I CAN'T HOLD IT DOWN!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

{Suddenly, the door flies off, pulling the father with it. Screaming, he disappears into the twister. Jo and her mother are screaming in horror. Jo runs forward to the doorway flailing her arms at the now open doorway.}

Jo: DADDY!!!!!!! MY DADDYYYYY!!!!!

{Her mother pulls her back. Soon the screams fade away, as the camera fades into early morning. The devastation is sobering. The silence ominous.

Camera to weather satellite. Bottom of screen shows: Present Day. The picture of the earth turns into a weather map in the radar room of the National Severe Storm Laboratory, or NSSL.}

RADIO: At 7:00 a.m. in Oklahoma City, the temperature is 75 degrees. Across the state, skies are partly cloudy, the dryline higher over western Oklahoma. Satellite pictures indicate thunderstorms developing........

Murphy: Bryce, take a look. {Holding a picture to her}Caps are starting to break.

Bryce: All the models are forecasting lifted indexes from minus six to minus ten.

Murphy: You know if these cells keep building like this we could have a record outbreak of tornadoes.{Eats a doughnut.}

Bryce :This is gonna be a long day.

{Energetic bluegrass music starts. Camera on a red Dodge Ram truck bouncing down a dirt road between fields of wheat and an occasional oil drill. A crop duster flies over. Inside is BILL HARDING, and his fiancé, MELISSA.}

Melissa: Um, honey, are you sure she's gonna be here?

Bill: If I know Jo, she's already dragged her entire department into the field. Ah, hell, a day like today, it's to be expected. She forgets everything except her work.

Melissa: You're nervous about seeing her, aren't you?

Bill: Nervous? No. Why, do I look nervous?

Melissa: No. Well, yeah you do, a little.

Bill: I just want to get it over with.

Melissa: But she said she signed the papers, right?

Bill: That's what she said. Melissa: You don't think so?

Bill: No, I think so. Give me a kiss. {They kiss. Camera over to JO HARDING, now grown up, on top of a blue van, wiring the Doppler radar. With her on her team are: DUSTY, RABBIT, BELTZER, HAYNES, SANDERS, LAURENCE, PREACHER, and JOEY. We hear music in background {Start music ("Talula")}.

Beltzer:{Inside Van, tapping on roof}Okay professor, hang on there, I think I fixed it. I've got it. {Jo tries turning on the Doppler radar dish, sparks fly}. Oops.

Jo:{Frustrated}Oh, fuck! This thing is useless!

Beltzer: Sorry, Jo. {Suddenly it works.}

Jo: Wait, wait, wait. Beltzer!{Bangs roof with foot}That's good. Give me a reading!

Beltzer:{Getting out of van}Okay , boss lady, hold your horses.{Goes over to a lap top connected to the Doppler}Which way do you want it, Jo?

Jo: Looks like the dryline has stalled. Give me a sector scan west, northwest, look at mid-levels for rotation and increase the PRF.

{Camera over to Dusty. He's in his bus, watching music videos along with the weather forecasts, singing the songs, and broadcasting them outside through a speaker on the roof.}

Dusty:{Singing}If I mistreat you girl, sho' don't mean no harm.....

{Camera over to Rabbit and Laurence}

Rabbit: All I'm saying is don't fold the maps!

Laurence: I didn't fold the map!

Rabbit: Yeah, well Kansas is a mess, there's a big crease right through Wichita-{Demonstrating}Roll the maps.

{Bill and Melissa drive up.}

Bill: What do you know, the storm chasers. {Gets out of truck. Dusty, Rabbit, and Sanders run up.}

Rabbit: Hey, I don't believe it! Who is that handsome devil!

Bill: Gentleman.

Dusty:{Goofy, Playful}The Extreme! IT'S THE EXTREME!! {Laughs}

Bill: Oh man, don't start that shit!{Also laughs}

Dusty: Oh manly hand shakin' Zeus. How you doin', man?

Bill: Doin' great, doin' great.

Dusty:{Still laughing}Oh bad!

Bill: Dusty, I'd like you to meet Melissa. {She walks over}Melissa, this is Dusty. Dustman's been chasing with us ever since we started. {They shake hands.}Listen man, where's Jo?

Dusty: She's over by Doppler. Broke down again, running out of grant money.

Bill:{To Melissa}Honey, why don't you hang out here for a little while, I'll-- I'll be right back.

Melissa: Okay.

{Start music ("Darlin' Pretty")}

Bill: Dusty, why don't you explain to Melissa.......why you are the way you are! {They exchange ridiculous faces and laugh.}

Dusty: {Dusty takes Melissa's hand.}Come on. Man. Jo's gonna wig when she sees he's back. {Bill walks over to where Jo is, however being stopped by everyone else. Bill's come back!}

Bill:{Hearing Dusty's comment}I'm not back.

Preacher: {Coming up to Bill}The prodigal son returns!

{Bill walks by. He passes by Joey, who's holding a weather instrument and writing down data on a clipboard. Bill pats his shoulder.}

Bill: Hiya, Joey.

Joey:{Surprised}Hey, Bill.

{Bill walks up to the van. There's a rumble of thunder. Jo is standing on the top.}

Bill:{Looking up at her}Hiya, Jo.

Jo:{Not a bit surprised}Hey, Bill. I'm happy you found us.

Bill: How you doin'?

Jo:{Looks at Bill, then at sky}It's goin' good. You see the sky today?

Bill: Yeah, she's, uh,- she's really talking.

Jo:{Tossing him a cord}Catch.{Bill gives Jo an annoyed look as Jo jumps off the van.}It's the biggest series of storms in 12 years. One lined up right after another. And NSSL says they've never seen anything like it.

Bill:{Not really interested in what Jo is saying}Is that right? So, Jo, about the divorce papers-

Laurence: Hey, Jo? Come here a second!

Jo: Oops.{She goes over to Laurence.}

Bill: Oh. Yeah, yeah sure. {Annoyed that Jo's barely listening to him.}

{As Bill walks by, he gets noticed again.}

Beltzer: Hi, Bill.

Haynes: Hey, Bill!

Bill: Hey.

Laurence:{To Jo, holding a camera}Hey, you know, this thing's acting up again, this thing-

Jo: Focus mount's jammed. There's grass in the auto-focus, did you check this? You have to check it. {Blows grass out.}

Laurence: I'll check it- you want me to clean it out?

Jo: Not unless you want to sketch the tornadoes. {Going back to lap top.}

Laurence: Hey, welcome back, Bill.

Bill: I'm not back.

Jo:{Wiring the lap top while talking}So, you want the papers?

Bill: I did drive all the way out here for them.

Jo: They're signed and ready.

Bill: Good, good. Let's see them.

Jo: What, you need 'em right this second?

Bill: Well, It'd be nice.

Jo: What's the urgent urgency, you act like you're getting married-

Bill: I am.

Jo:{Startled. She almost seems upset, but she's good at hiding feelings}Wow.

Bill: Yeah.

Jo:{Going to her truck for papers}Is it Melinda?

Bill:{Correcting}Melissa.

Jo:{To herself}Melissa.{To Bill}Wasn't there a Melinda in there somewhere?

Bill: No, there's only been Melissa since you.

Jo: Boy, not much for browsing, are you? {Grabs the papers out of her glove compartment}

Bill: No, I guess I'm not.

Jo:{Handing him papers}There you go.

Bill: Thank you. {Bill promptly flips through them to make sure they're all signed. We see Jo put her graduation ring over her wedding ring, a symbolical way for her to feel like she's still married.}

Bill: Whoa, whoa, whoa. You missed a page.

Jo:{Acting surprised}What?

Bill:{Pointing to the last page}Right here.

{She takes the papers, pretending she's never seen this part before. It's obvious she purposely didn't sign the last page, maybe to keep Bill around longer, also keeping the divorce from being final.}

Jo: Where'd this come from?

{She reads the last page, hunched over the hood of the car.}

Bill: What are you doing?

Jo: Can I read it first?

Bill: No! It's the same as it was in December.

Jo:{Lying}I didn't read it in December.

Bill: Christ, would you just sign it so we can get out of here? Please?

{Start music ("Twisted")}

Jo: We? She's here?

Bill: Yes, she's here, she's over with Dusty. Now would you please sign the document?

Jo:{Using the situation to deviate}You left her with Dusty? {Joking}What's the matter with you?

{She leaves the papers on the hood of the car, and walks away.}

Bill: What are you doing?

Jo: I want to meet her.

Bill: No you don't.{Bill runs back to get the papers, frustrated}Christ.

{Camera over to Dusty and Melissa. They're sitting under a beach umbrella in folding chairs.}

Dusty: The suck zone- it's the point- basically at which the twister sucks you up, but it's not that technical therefore obviously, but-

Jo:{Walks up to Melissa}Hi. {She's being overly polite}I'm Jo Harding.

Melissa:{Getting up}Oh, hello, nice to meet you. {They shake hands}

Jo:{Sickened by Melissa but once again hiding it}Bill just told me the happy news.

Melissa: Which?

Bill: Us, marriage. {Introducing}Jo, Melissa.

Jo: It's happy news.

Melissa: I guess, uh, it probably seems kind of sudden.

Jo:{Her annoyance surfacing}Seems sudden?

Dusty: Dude, you takin' the vows? That's sweet!

Melissa: Well, we- we just wanted to get it done before Billy started his new job.

Jo: That's right, that's right, right, right, right. Weatherman!

Bill:{Offended}What?

Jo:{Innocently}What?

Bill: Say it.

Jo: I said weatherman, I think it's great.

Bill: How come you had that tone?

Jo: There was no tone if you have a problem being a weatherman.

Bill:{Argumentative}I don't have a problem being a weatherman.

{Then, Melissa's cellular phone rings. She fishes through her purse to get it, then answers.}

Melissa: Excuse me.{Into Phone}Dr. Melissa Reeves here? Uh-huh?

Jo: Just wanted to say hello. Melissa:{To Jo}Hello. Jo: Very nice to meet you. Melissa:{To Phone}Uh-huh.{To Jo}You too. {Melissa makes a signal to Bill if Jo's signed the papers yet.}

Bill:{Loud whisper}What? {Sees her signal}No!

Jo:{Over by Bill's truck}New truck?

Bill: That's right.

Jo: Boy oh boy. New job, new truck, new wife......{Sarcastically}It's like a whole new you!

Bill: Jo.....

Jo: This is very awkward.

Bill: I know, tell me about it.

Jo: I thought you'd be coming out here alone.

Bill: I wasn't expecting on coming out here at all you said you meet me-

Jo: It's about Dorothy.

Bill: Dorothy? What about her?

Jo: She's here.

Bill: Show me.

{Going to the back of her truck, Jo rips off the burlap cover over Dorothy; a tornado instrument pack. Bill stands in awe.}

Bill: I can't believe you did it.

Jo: We built four of 'em.

Bill: She work?

{Jo smiles and lowers the tailgate. Bill climbs up and examines the instrument.}

Jo: Thought you'd want to be here for her first time out. It wouldn't be right if you weren't here.

{The whole team is coming over. Start music, ("Melancholy Mechanics")}

Joey:{Laughing}This is gonna be good!

Dusty:{Bringing Melissa over to the truck, referring to Dorothy} How sweet is that? Bill's concept man. Boom! The extreme. Man, it came from his brain.

Bill: I had a hand in it.

Melissa: Wow, it is great.{Pause} What is it?

Bill: It's an instrument pack for studying tornadoes. First one in history.

Jo:{Explaining}It's very exciting. Scientists have been studying tornadoes for ever, but still, nobody knows how a tornado works. We have no idea what's going on inside because no one's ever been able to take scientific measurements from inside the funnel. That's what she's gonna do.

Melissa: How?

Jo: We put her up inside a tornado. She opens up, {Demonstrating by opening the lid on Dorothy}and releases hundreds of these sensors {Hands one to her.}that measure all parts of the tornado simultaneously.

Bill: You see, Melissa, it's like this. These sensors go up the funnel, and radio back information about the internal structure, wind velocities, flow, asymmetry. We could learn more in 30 seconds than we have in the past 30 years. Get a profile of a tornado for the first time.

Melissa: And what will that do?

Bill: If we knew how a tornado really worked, we could design an advance warning system.

Melissa: Aren't there already tornado warnings?

Bill: Well the-

Jo: They're not good enough, they're nowhere near good enough. Right now, it's 3 minutes. If we can get this new information, we can increase warning time to 15 minutes.

Bill: Give people a chance to get to safety. At least that's what these guys are trying to do!{The team yells and cheers. Bill jumps down.Others help Jo down.}I can't believe you actually did it.

Jo: Well, we{referring to the team}did it.

Melissa: How do you get it in the tornado?

Bill: Well, you got to get in front of the tornado and put it in the damage path. And then get out again before it picks you up too.

{Melissa has a concerned look}

Dusty:{In Melissa's ear}It's the suck zone!

Melissa:{Startled by Dusty}Ohh.

{In the mean time, Haynes has been on the phone with the weather beaurau.}

Haynes: Excellent!{Hangs up phone, excited, talking fast}Jo, we got major action! The NSSL says the caps are breaking, the tower's going up to 30 miles up the dryline!

{Jo looks up at the sky, music soaring in the background. She pauses. Then suddenly focuses, slamming the tailgate.}

Jo: All right, let's go!!

Dusty: All right, we're movin'!

Beltzer: It's fatty time!

{Everyone scrambles to pack everything back in they're trucks.}

Haynes: Jo, we got it!

Beltzer: Rabbit, you're up. Let's go, let's go. Hurry up, we haven't got all day, let's go! {Everyone is throwing stuff into cars}

Beltzer: Joey, Haynes, a little help? {Throws Doppler in the van}

Joey: Yes, sir. Right behind you.

{Dusty is tossing all his beach stuff in his bus, Joey and Haynes give a "mutual fingersnap"}

Joey: {To Haynes} Smooth!

Haynes: {Searching for whatever she hasn't packed) Where is it? There it is!

Rabbit: Common' Dusty, you're always the last one to go!

Haynes: All right, Beltzer. Preacher, follow!

Jo: Laurence, don't forget the camera!

Laurence: I got it, I got it!

Bill:{To Melissa}They can handle this, they know what they're doing. I mean, well, this is what they do, they live for this.

Melissa: Uh-huh.

Beltzer: Dorothy 2 and 3 ready!

Haynes: Dorothy 4 ready!

Melissa: Are you sure you don't want to go along?

Bill: No. Oh, with them you mean?

Melissa: Well, yeah.

Bill: No, they'll be fine.

{All are now in cars. Jo drives in front honking horn as she passes Bill and Melissa} Melissa: Did she sign the papers?

Bill: Oh, shit!

Melissa: She didn't?

Bill: Common', if we hurry we can still catch them!

{They run to their truck, get it and follow the team.}

Rabbit: HEY BILL!!!! GLAD YOU'RE BACK!!!!

Bill: I'M NOT BACK!!!!!!

{Music is fast paced. Most conversation is now on CB radio}

Jo:{Into radio}Rabbit!

Rabbit:{Into radio}Yeah, boss?

Jo:{Into radio}Can we do better than the 30?

Rabbit:{Looking at map}No. Not for a while. It's best to stay on it until we pass Rogers creek.

Jo:{Into radio}Copy that.

{Camera to Bill's truck}

Bill: Once we catch up with them, you take the truck and head home. I'll get the papers signed and see you tonight. Okay?

Melissa: No! You know what honey, I find this kind of interesting. I'm gonna tag along!

{Music becomes louder as camera goes into aerial view of all the trucks in Jo's caravan race down the Oklahoma highway. Then we see another caravan. Six black Windstar vans pull up along side Jo's group. It's JONAS MILLER and his crew.}

Bill: Jonas! Son of a bitch!

Melissa: Who is that, honey?

Bill: Jonas Miller. He's a nightcrawler. {He pulls alongside Jonas' window, they both nod their heads, acknowledging each other}We all started out in the same lab, but Jonas went out and got himself some corporate sponsors. He's in it for the money, not the science. He's got a lot of high-tech gadgets, but he's got no instincts. And he doesn't have Dorothy.

{In Jo's truck}

Beltzer:{Over radio}Jo, I think we got fleas!{Referring to Jonas' crew}

Bill:{Over radio}Jo, come back!

Jo:{Into radio}Hey there, you change your mind?

Bill: Yeah, what's Jonas doin' here?

{Jo looks out side view mirror, sees black Windstars}

Jo:{Into radio}I'm not sure. But I bet he's asking himself the same question about you.

{Suddenly, a Windstar swerves toward Bill, driving his truck off the road.}

Bill: Oh, shit, hold on! Damn son of a bitch!

{Bill now has a flat tire. Camera to an Auto Repair shop. Bill pulls the flat tire out of the back seat, handing it to AUTO-TECHNICIAN. Dusty walks along the road as a car passes}

Dusty: {to the driver passing by} Hey!

Bill: How long do you think it'll take to fix?

Auto-Tech: Oh, maybe 10 minutes, 15 tops.

Bill: Sounds good.

{We hear Jonas' voice from across the street, with his crew: TONY, EDDIE, FLANDERS, PATTY, CHARLES, DEAN, and JAKE. Apparently, he's got the news reporters around him.}

Jonas: What drives me is the unknown. What if we could predict a tornado's path? How many lives would be spared with the creation of an early warning system? {He pulls out a large weather instrument}And D.O.T. 3 is the answer! The first digital orthographic telemeter. And inside, she holds hundreds of these little sensors.{Holds one up}Which when released into the tornado, will transmit back data on wind speed, pressure, and dew point temperature.

{Bill stares in horrid realization: Jonas has stolen he and Jo's idea! He gets pissed. Jo notices}

Jo: Bill?

Bill: Why didn't you tell me?{He runs toward Jonas}

Jo: Bill, don't-

Jonas:{Still going}Which will soon be the center of all study-{Bill grabs Jonas' collar, pushing him against his van}Hey! Hey!

Bill: You stole my design, you son of a bitch! What you think, I wasn't gonna find out about this?

Jonas: Hey, guys, can you get this loser off me?

{Jo's team runs over, pulling Bill away}

Dusty:{To Bill}Back off! Back off! It's not worth it!

Jonas:{To Bill also}What is the matter with you?

Bill: You stole my design, you son of a bitch!

Rabbit: Calm down!

Jonas: What the hell you talkin' about?!

Bill: Dorothy! You took her, you damn thief!

Jonas:{Smug}Oh I get it. You want to take credit for my design. Is that it?

Bill:{Sincere}You're a liar. She was our idea and you know it.

Jonas: Unrealized idea, unrealized.

Bill:{Going at him again}That ain't worth shit!!! {Jo runs over, breaking it up}

Jo: Hey, hey, hey, hey! Guys, guys. All my guys, get a grip on yourselves. {Now smug also}We both know he'll never get that thing up in the air.

Beltzer: That's right!

Jonas: Well let me enlighten you people! This baby has satellite comlink. We've got on-board pulse Doppler, we've got NEXRAD real time. Today, we're gonna make history. So stick around. {Jo lifts an eyebrow contemptuously}Cuz' the days of sniffin' the dirt are over.

Rabbit: Better than what you sniff.

Bill: We'll see who gets their first, pal.

Jonas:{Walking away}Oh, and by the way, I really enjoy your weather reports! {Jonas and his crew laugh. Bill trys to get at him again but Dusty and Bouncer hold him back.}

Bill: You slime! I ain't through with you yet! Come on! Come here! Come on! Come on! Get your hands off me! I'm all right! O. K!!

{They finally let him go}

Joey: He's a corporate kiss-butt, man!

Jo:{To Bill}I'm sorry. I should have told you.

Bill: One day. I'll give you one day. Whether she flies or not I'm gone.

{Melissa runs up}

Melissa: Honey, is everything okay?

Bill: It's okay, everything's fine.

Melissa: Are you sure?

Bill: Yeah, yeah, yeah, everything's okay.

Melissa: Okay.

Bill: Listen, I'm gonna hang out here and get some air. Why don't you get us some cold drinks.

Melissa: Okay, sweetheart.

Bill: Okay.

{Bill looks out at the sky. It's been said storm chasers have a sixth sense, and as Bill sifts a hand full of dirt, he lets nature embody his mind. Camera inside the diner across the street from the Auto repair. Start music ("Virtual Reality")}

Jonas:{To Jo, both standing}You know, Jo, I don't know what the matter is with Bill. I mean, he's wacko, he's crazy!{Jo pretends to be deeply concerned with what Jonas is telling her}You ought to keep a leash on him.

Jo: He's not my problem, he's yours.

Jonas: Oh, by the way, this storm's going to be a lot bigger than we anticipated. I got reports of mesos all the way from Grand County to Logan.

Jo: You sharing information with me?

Jonas: No, I was just curious as to which way you were going to head.

Jo: Southeast, I think........to the counter. {She walks over to the counter, sitting down by Melissa.}

Melissa:{To WAITRESS}Two lemonades to go, please.

Jo: Nothing changes.

Melissa: Pardon me?

Jo: He's gonna wait and see what Bill does.{To Waitress}Can I have a coffee to go, please.

Melissa: That man's waiting for Billy? Why?

{Camera back to Bill outside. He picks up a handful of dirt and watches it fall to the ground. Camera inside again to Melissa and Jo. Jo is eating. Music start ("No One Needs To Know")}

Melissa: So you're telling me Billy knows what a storm is thinking?

Jo: Something like that. {Holding out a pack of gum} Gum? {Melissa shakes her head, Jo puts it in her pocket}My Aunt Meg used to call him a human barometer.

Melissa: Well he never really told me about all this.

Jo: If you have to pee you should do it now, 'cuz there's not many places to stop once we get on the road.

Melissa: You're still in love with him, aren't you?

{Pause}

Jo :Check please.

Melissa: Not that I blame you. I just hope this isn't some desperate attempt to keep him in your life.

Jo:{Plopping down a $20}We're together. {Jo gets up, walks away from the counter. Camera on Bill outside. Dusty walks up to him.}

Dusty: Hey, man. What's up?

Bill: Goin' green.

Dusty: Greenage.

Bill: Saddle 'em up.

Dusty: You got it, boss.

{Camera on Jonas with crew.}

Jonas: Charles, give me a sector scan on that cell, keep looking for upflow. Flanders, what are my dew points doing?

Flanders: Dew point's up to 70 sir.

{Camera outside.}

Melissa: Honey, I got you a lemonade-

Bill: We gotta move out. Listen, follow us in the truck, but stay behind Dusty's van, you'll be safe back there. I gotta go with Jo. Okay, let's move out, people! Let's go!

Melissa: Where are we goin'?

{No one answers her. Everyone gets in their trucks again and pull out.}

Bill:{Taking keys out of Jo's mouth(her hands are full)}Thanks, I'll drive.

{Jo hops in passenger side. Camera on Jonas and crew. He notices Jo's group is pulling out.}

Jonas: All right people, lets pack it up, let's go.

{Camera on Dusty in his van, cranking up the music, sucking juice from a straw dangling from the roof.}

Dusty: IT'S THE WONDER OF NATURE, BABY!!!!!! {Laughs.}WOOOO!! WOOOOOOO!!!!!!

{His music is once again blaring through the speaker on the roof.}

Dusty:{Into radio}HEY YOU GUYS!!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!!!

{Over to Sanders car where we hear the William Tell overture! Camera on Melissa, answering her cellular phone.}

Melissa: Dr. Melissa Reeves here? Oh, oh. Yes, Donald, you've caught me in my car!

{Camera to Beltzer in his van, singing Oklahoma}

Beltzer:{Singing}OHKLAHOMA, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains, and the wavin' wheat-

{Camera back to Melissa}

Melissa: Donald, this feeling of inadequacy is normal for you, Julia doesn't resent you. We talked about this before. She did not marry your penis. Oh, okay, she didn't only marry your penis.

{Camera to Beltzer and Haynes singing Oklahoma at the top of their lungs}

Haynes: HOOOOO……

Beltzer: MAAAA… Haynes: MAAAA…..

Beltzer &Haynes: OKLAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMA!!!!!! YEEOOWWW!!!

{Camera now at Bill and Jo in Jo's truck.}

Jo: So...

Bill: So...

Jo:{Looking out windshield at the sky}Amazing coloring there, isn't it?

Bill: Yeah, look at those mammatas. Bet those tops have got to be spiking at about 40,000.

Jo: That's a good thing.

Bill: That's a very good thing.

Jo:{Now changing subject}She work at the station, is that where you met her?

Bill: Jo-

Jo: What?

Bill: I don't want to fight.

Jo: I'm not fighting, I'm talking.

Bill: I don't want to fight.

{Pause}

Jo: She's nice.

Bill: HAH!

Jo: Uh-oh, she's not nice?

Bill: I know what you meant.

Jo: You do?

Bill: Yes, so don't, don't do this.

Jo: Okay, I'm making extremely civilized conversation here. You're biting my head off. Jesus.

Bill: Yes. She's very nice. No, she doesn't work at the station she's, uh, she's a therapist.

Jo:{Pause}Oh.{Pause}Yours?

Bill: Christ!

Jo: What?

Bill: You couldn't resist, could you? Come on!

Jo: I'm not saying you need therapy!

Bill: What?

Jo: I'm not-

Bill: WWWWait. I need therapy?

Jo: I didn't say that.

Bill: I need a therapist?

Jo: I didn't say that.

Bill: What could I possibly need a therapist for?

Jo: I don't know.

Bill: You're the doctor, tell me.

Jo: I don't know, um, in ability to finish things?

Bill: Finish things?

Jo: Rushing into things you can't quite commit to-

Bill: Commitment?

Jo: You asked me.

Bill: Look-

Jo: You asked me!

Bill: No, that is bullshit! Look, I may have walked out,

Jo: You asked-

Bill: but at least I showed up in the first place! You never had the slightest idea

Jo: Okay, there's a whole road thing- coming on up here...

Bill: about commitment and what being married means. Like stability, supportiveness, the house and all kinds of neat stuff like that-

{The whole time, Bill hasn't been watching the road and the truck veers to the shoulder of the road, then the grass......}

Jo: Can I drive?

Bill: No.

Jo: Then would you?

{He looks ahead, they're no longer on the road, there's a tractor right in front of them!}

Bill: Woha!

{He swerves sharply back onto the road}

Bill:{really pissed}Damn.

Jo: Somebody should warn her about your temper.

Bill: Jo, I swear-

Jo: She obviously has no idea what she's getting into-

Bill: Stay the hell out of it.

Jo: You know.

Bill: I know exactly what I'm doing.

Jo: What exactly-

Bill: What am I doing?

{Camera over to Haynes and Joey}

Haynes: I think they're getting better at this.

{Camera back to Jo and Bill}

Jo: You know what? As long as you're happy-

Bill: Thank you! I am happy! I'm a happy person. I'm happy with my life. I'm happy with the way things are going in my life. I happy with...with, with-

Jo: Melissa.

Bill: I know her name! Yes, I'm happy with Melissa. I am!

Jo: Okay. {Mouthing/Whisper}You love me!

{Camera over to Beltzer in his van. He sees a tornado coming down on the right. At first sight, it almost looks beautiful.}

Beltzer: Shit, shit. {Into radio}Hey, are you guys gonna wrap this up pretty soon?

Bill:{Into radio, frustrated}What?!!

Beltzer:{Into radio}Oh, nothin. I was just wonderin' if we're gonna chase this tornado, or if you just wanna catch the next one.

{Camera over to Jo and Bill. Bill sees tornado}

Bill: Shit!

{Music kicks into a higher gear as the action becomes fast paced} Jo:{Taking microphone}

Beltzer, is it on the ground?

{Bill floors the gas}

Jo:{To Bill}Easy, easy, easy!

They all turn a corner.} {

Camera goes to Jonas with Eddie, in a Windstar van}

Jonas: Into radio}We have to bear right. It's on an easterly course.

RADIO :The national weather service has issued a tornado warning in effect until 11:00 am....

{Eddie sees tire tracks where Jo's crew turned the corner}

Eddie: Uh, Dr. Miller?

Jonas: Yes?

Eddie: I think they turned left here.

{Jonas sees marks}

Jonas: Do it.

{Jonas' crew turns left. Camera back with Jo and Bill}

Jo:{Into radio}We're moving to intercept guys, get ready to set up.

Beltzer: You got it!

{As they race along, they can see the tornado ahead. Cars passing the other way honk their horns, letting others know the impending danger.}

Jo:{To Bill}You got to get further ahead of it.

Bill: I know what I'm doing.

Jo: Cut across the field, Bill!

Bill: I know I have to get ahead of it.

Jo: You're gonna have to get into that field!

Bill: Do you want to drive?

Jo: I'm just saying-

Bill: Would you like to drive?!

Jo: Yes, I'd love to!

Rabbit:{In radio}Listen, it's about, 3 miles southeast, let's see what she does!

{Camera on twister. It dances across the land, haunting music in the background.}

Jo:{Eyeing an irrigation ditch, pointing}Go in there, go in there!

Bill: Just wait-

Jo: You're gonna miss it!

Bill: Hold on, hold on! Just hold on a second.

Jo:{Almost taunting}Have you lost your nerve?

Bill:{Smiling slyly}Tighten your seatbelt!

{He grabs her seatbelt toward him, pulling it tighter. The truck swerves into the irrigation ditch. He is still going 80.}

Dusty: Jo, Bill, where are you? We lost visual!

{Truck still bounces across the ditch, coming ever closer to the twister. They notice the ditch is becoming deeper, the sides slanting upward. They are unacceptably close.}

Bill: Are we having fun yet?

Jo: Okay, we got to get out of this.

Bill:{Sarcastic}Really?

Dusty:{Over radio}2 miles now, picking up speed!

Jo: Bill, sometime this week would be good!

Bill: I'm trying to get out!

{The sides are now too steep to drive over. They're stuck.}

Jo: Are you mad?

Bill: I'll be mad later, right now I'm trying not to kill us!

Dusty: Funnel's getting thicker! It's movin' fast, coming toward you Jo!

{The tornado roars as it destroys a barn off to the left.}

Jo: It's starting to turn!

Bill: Where? I can't see!

Jo: You will.

Dusty: Jo, you're too close, it's not gonna work. Get outta there!!!

Bill:{He does see now, it's right behind them}Shit! I can't get out, it's too steep! This was a great idea!

{He slams the breaks, they continue however, to skim forward. Ahead is a low lying overpass! The truck slams into it. They jump out, yelling , the wind is so loud}

Jo: SEE, THAT WASN'T SO BAD! COMON', LET'S GET HER OUT! LET'S GO!

Bill: Why can't we spend a normal day together?!!

{She goes to unload Dorothy, but they both know that they are within seconds of getting sucked up by the tornado.}

Bill: We're in the damage path, let's go!

{He grabs her, running to get under the overpass.}

Bill: JO, THIS IS CRAZY, COMMON'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jo: LET GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bill: THERE'S NO TIME!!!!!!!

Jo: WE CAN STILL DO THIS!!!!!!!

Bill: COMMON'!!!!! COMMON'!!!!!!!!!

{They run under the overpass.}

Bill: FIND SOMETHING TO GRAB HOLD OF!!!!!!

Jo: I KNOW!!!!!

{They hold on to the column holding up the overpass. Bill is over Jo, both are hugging it. Then, Jo slips out of his grip and crawls towards the twister, now only yards away.}

Bill: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!!!!!

Jo: I WANT TO SEE IT!!!!!!

Bill: COME BACK!!!!

Jo: I WANT TO SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

{He pulls her back under the overpass. The truck begins to slide.}

Bill: LOOK OUT!!!!!!! LOOK OUT!!!!!

{As the twister passes over the overpass, the truck flies into the air and is gone. Then, so is the twister. Camera over to Melissa driving up.}

Melissa: Oh my God.

{Camera back to Jo and Bill. They are climbing out of the dirt road, soaked in mud.}

Bill: It's gone. It's gone.

Jo: Where's my truck?

{Suddenly, Jo's truck slams into the road, narrowly missing Melissa in her truck. She's screaming}

Jo:{Smiling}There it is.

Bill: Melissa?

{Everyone runs over to Melissa as she gets out of the truck, shaking and hyper ventilating.}

Preacher: Are you okay?

Bill: Melissa!!

{Everyone runs over, to make sure she's all right.}

Dusty: You just missed the truck! Awesome! IT'S AWESOME!!!{Laughs}

Bill: Melissa!

Melissa: Oh God, Billy, BILLY!!

Bill: You okay?

Melissa: Oh, God, I'm okay....

Bill: You sure?

Dusty: Bill, she just missed the truck!

Melissa: God, what happened to you?

Bill: Nothin' honey, we're okay, we were perfectly safe!

{Jo walks by, followed by Haynes and Rabbit}

Jo: Gone.

Haynes: Wait a minute-

Jo: It's trashed.

Rabbit: No, just hang on a minute we'll take a look, I'll know.

Jo: It's gone.

Bill:{To Melissa, hugging her tight}It's over, it's over, it's all over.

Jo:{Like talking to a child}You okay? {Not waiting for response, keeps walking}

Bill: She's okay.

{Dusty laughs at Jo's car. It's flipped over, the top half, along with Dorothy is smashed.}

Dusty:{Still laughing}Well, there's some good news. It did fly. {Talking to Jo as she breaks a window and pulls her stuff out of the totaled truck.}What was it like?

Jo:{Looking up at Dusty}It was windy.

Dusty: Windy? That's intense-

Jo: All right, move it, Dusty!

Dusty: {Holding hands up}That's intense! That's intense!

{Black Windstars roll up.}

Joey: Hey, the auto club's here!

{In Jonas' van.}

Eddie: Maybe we should stop, see if they need some help.

Jonas: They're fine, pay attention to the road.

{Dusty runs up to Jonas' van, sticking the upper half of is body in the window}

Dusty: Fashionably late again, Jonas? Fashionably late! Gimmie kiss, baby!

Jonas: Get out of here, Get outta here!!!

{Dusty slides out of the window.}

Dusty: Loser! Loser!!!!

Rabbit: Why don't you find your own twister, buddy!!

Dusty: Loser!!{Like he's directing traffic}Move on!!

Beltzer: Let's go. Haynes: Don't worry, I'll get 'em cleaned. Common' guys let's get Dorothy 2 ready!

{Camera over to Jo, she has her backpack laid onto of her overturned truck.}

Jo:{To Bill, who has his arms around Melissa}You got full coverage on that truck?

Bill:{Smiling, as he knows what she really wants}Liability only.

Jo:{Wiping her face with a towel}Liability only? {Gives them a look that's a cross between "Whatever that means" and "That's a scary thought!"}It's a very pretty truck.

Melissa: Thank you.

{Bill makes a nervous laugh, he knows what she's up to. She wants to use his truck for the chase. Jo looks at him as she throws all her stuff in her backpack.}

Bill: Don't even think about it. {She continues looking at him}No way.

{Camera then goes to Jo, Bill , and Melissa driving in his truck with the next Dorothy loaded up in the back!}

Dusty:{Over radio}This is the caboose, this is the caboose! I'm waiting for orders, Boss!

{Both Jo and Bill grab for the radio mic. They hesitate, then both grab again.}

Bill: Go ahead.

Jo: It's your truck.

Bill: No, really. You should.

Jo:{Without delay, she picks up the mic.}Dusty, the battle zone should be northeast of 81.

Dusty: Copy that, Jo.

Melissa: Wait a minute. Battle zone? Billy, what're we doing?

Bill: We're going again.

Melissa: Again? But back there you almost got yourself killed!

Bill: No, no. Just a close call.

{Camera on Rabbit}

Rabbit: You're gonna cross 15 on Oklahoma412. 412.

Jo: Okay, copy that. Haynes, what's on the mesonet?

Haynes: Winds continuing to back, VIL's are at…..uh, 60.

Jo:{Into Radio}Okay guys, let's go get it!

{They keep driving. Jo dramatically leans over to see the speedometer. Goin' 50. She slaps her forehead. That's too slow! Bill rolls his eyes and speeds up. Off in the distance you ca see another twister. Then over to Jonas' group. Jo's group speeds up so that they're neck and neck.}

Jonas: Mobile lab. Yeah, Tony, Is it me or is the main updraft shifted?

Tony:{Over radio}No, all the winds are bearing, sir.

Jonas: Uh, this thing might dissipate. Do we have enough to get in front of it?

{Camera at NSSL}

Bryce: Murphy! Rotation is increasing. Sheer is 90 knots. 50 outbound, 40 inbound.

Murphy: {Into phone to Dean}Yeah, yeah, we see it. We do, we see it. Very pronounced hook.

{Camera in another Windstar van}

Dean: Checking for you now, sir.

Flanders: Dr. Miller. Good southeast gusts at 40 miles per hour. Approaching 150 in the funnel.

Tony: The storm motion is 225 degrees, coming straight out of the southwest.

Jonas: We're in perfect position, let's proceed.

{Camera on Jo, Bill, and Melissa. They pull alongside Jonas' van}

Eddie: Oh howdy. Got to admire their spirit.

Jo:{sarcastic }There's your pal.

{Bill and Jonas glare at each other and keep driving. Suddenly, Bill slams on the breaks.}What're you doin', what're you doin'?!

Bill:{Staring out the windshield}Look at the updraft, the angle! It's gonna shift it's track!

Jo: Are you sure?

Bill: Oh yes. It's defiantly a sidewinder! It'll move left.

Melissa: Is that bad?

Bill: Wasn't there a road back there?

Jo:{In realization}You're right, go, go, go, GO,GO!!!!

{Bill turns the truck around, driving fast. Then turns right onto a different road and speeds ahead. Melissa's phone rings.}

Melissa:{Answering hastily}Hello?! Donald, now's not a very good time for me, okay? What...all right, put Julie on. Okay.

{Camera over to Jonas.}

Jonas: {Looking at Doppler scanning on lap top}Looking good, looking very good. All right, {to Eddie}about 4 miles south, hang a right, let's deploy and we'll be done!

{The tornado starts to shift to the left, just like Bill predicted. Eddie notices.}

Eddie: Uh, Dr. Miller....

Jonas: Shit, shit.... It's moving away!! God!!

Eddie: Look's like they're gonna intercept.

Jonas:{Into radio}Damnit, Tony, I thought you said this thing was gonna stay on the same heading!!

{Camera back on Jo, Bill, and Melissa. Melissa responding to phone with "Uh-huhs" and "Yeahs"}

Bill: We're close.

Jo:{Into radio}Rabbit, tell me what road we're on, where does this take us?

Melissa:{Into Phone}I know it feels unnatural{Jo listens to Melissa's conversation}but with Donald's motility, you're not gonna have this baby the old-fashioned way. Even if you stand on your head.

{Jo gives Bill a funny look}

Bill:{Explaining}She's a, reproductive therapist.

Jo:{Into Radio}Laurence? Laurence come in, we've got to get ahead of this storm, what's on the satellite?

Melissa:{Into phone}I can't talk to you right now, I'll have to call you back. {Over to Haynes' truck}

Laurence: Twister south, skipping south, shifting to south, we have a, F2, ladies and gentlemen, possibly F3. You with me? It's a very, very large rope on the ground. Very large. Right on the ground.

{Camera on Joey}

Joey: It looks like it's turning, it looks like it's turning. The atmosphere is very unstable! Repeat, unstable!!

{Over to Rabbit and Sanders}

Rabbit: This is Rabbit, this is Rabbit, it's at 2:00, it's headed this way!!

Sanders: This is Sanders, this is Sanders!!! We're driving due east on a country road we've been on for about 6 miles. We've got an F3, 2, sitting on the ground, and she's a beauty! WHOOHOO!!!!

Over to Jo, Bill, and Melissa}

Dusty:{Over radio}Jo, it's Barn Burner, it's Barn Burner! It's not gonna hang out long. It's not hanging out long!!

Jo:{Into radio}W e got it, we got it, we see it!!!

{It's very dark outside, even though it's afternoon}

Bill:{Into radio}We're getting slammed in here guys, you better hang back.

{The rest of the group slows down a bit, while Bill, Jo, and Melissa drive on. They see the tornado. Jo grabs a camera.}

Jo: This thing loaded?

Bill: Yeah, go for it.

{Jo is about to take a picture of the tornado, when she notices the rain on the window.}

Jo: Rain bands.

Melissa: What?

Jo: Look at the surf coming off those fields.

{Points out window)

Bill: Shit, horizontal rain. Hang on!

{He floors the gas. They approach a bridge going over a large lake. The tornado is hanging over the lake, sucking up water. The three are racing it in their truck.}

Jo: Jesus, Bill, I've never seen it clouded like this.

Bill: I don't think anybody has. But, I-{Concentrating on the road, he breaks off.}

Jo: Bill....we're in the core.

{Suddenly, the twister splits in half. Now there's two!}

Bill: Okay, we've got sisters!

{Melissa's phone rings}

Melissa:{Rigid}Yes?!! Julie I can't talk to you right now!

Jo: We're right under the flanking line.

Bill: I realize that.

Jo: We can't attack this thing from the south, we're gonna get rolled!

Bill: Watch me.

Melissa:{Into Phone}Julie, I know you're upset, you just gotta, breathe, we've both just gotta breathe!

{Suddenly, a cow flies past, in front of them!}

Jo: Cow. Melissa:{Into Phone}I gotta go, Julie, we got cows!!{Hangs up}

{Cow flies past again.}

Jo: Another cow.

Bill: Actually, I think that was the same one.{Focusing back on what's going on} We've got drunkards here, we've got no path!

Jo: This is not good, get us out of here!

Bill: I'm trying, okay?!!!

Jo: Floor it!!!!

{ He floors the gas, then realizes that won't work, the truck can't go that fast, he slams on the breaks. The whole time they're all screaming. There are now three tornadoes, swirling around the truck like a carousel.}

Bill: HANG ON!!

{The truck begins to slide and spin.}

Bill: Honey, hang on!

{Melissa screams, Jo grabs the roof of the car.. Suddenly, the twisters elevate back into the clouds and are gone. For a second, all look like in shock. Then Bill and Jo hop out of the truck excited, leaving Melissa, still frozen with fear. Jo and Bill hug and laugh.}

Jo: God! Was that incredible?!

Bill: Did you see it? It was incredible!

{Jo points up to the clouds where the twisters disappeared.}

Bill: Oh!{Then noticing Melissa climbing out of the truck, scared stiff.}Oh, oh, honey!{Hugs her}

{The team arrives in their trucks, with the music ("Long Way Down")}

Bill: WHOOOOHOOO!!!

Jo: God! Was that incredible?! Did you see it?

Bill: It was incredible!

{Jo points up to the sky where the twisters were}

Bill: Oh! {Then noticing Melissa climbing out of the truck, scared stiff} Oh, oh, honey! {Hugs her}

{The team arrives in their trucks, with the music, ("Long Way Down")}

Jo:{To Dusty and others coming up}Did you see that?!!

Bill:{To Melissa}It's okay, it's okay.

Melissa:{Shaking}No, I'm not okay! This is not okay!{Voice cracking} Okay?

Bill: Aw, Christ...I'm sorry. Honey, I didn't think.

Melissa:{Almost crying}You know when you used to tell me you chased tornadoes? Deep down, I always thought it was a metaphor!

Bill: Shhhh. It's okay.

{Team walks over all talking at once excitedly.}

Beltzer: Three times a lady!

Joey: Did you see the inflow jets on these fatties?

{Jo tells them all the epic tale as she climbs up into the back of truck, by Dorothy.}

Jo: Did you see? I was sitting in the middle of it!!!!!

{All cheer.}

Laurence: I was thinking, it may not be too bad of an idea, if we just got the hell out of here. 'Cuz that was defiantly too many tornadoes back there......

Jo: Are you kidding? This thing's not over, we've only seen the start of it!

Rabbit: Hey, you know what, uh, Jo, somebody couldn't help but notice how close we are to Wakita!

Jo: No!

Sanders: Yeah, and Aunt Meg wouldn't mind a pit stop, right?

Jo: No!!

Dusty: Red meat, we crave sustenance!

Jo: Guys, we are not invading my aunt!

Dusty:{Signing in the ASL alphabet}Food!

All: FOOD!!! FOOOOD!!!!

Jo: HEY!! We are absolutely not going!

{Humorously, the Camera then goes to Jo's team pulling up in front of Jo's Aunt Meg's house. Her yard is full of wind chimes and sculptures, all ringing beautifully. She is telling a welder how she wants her newest project to look.}

Meg: {to the welder}There's the spot. Just do it.{She looks up, surprised, as she sees Jo and co. walk up.} BILLY!!!!

Bill: MEG!! {Leading Melissa}Come on, honey! Meg, how are you?! {Both hug}

Meg: Oh, it is so good to see you!

Bill: Good to see you too.

Meg: Day before yesterday, I was telling Jo,{Dramatically} how much I miss you!{Bill and Dusty laugh at this display} You haven't seen any of my new work!{Seeing Jo}Jo! Oh honey!{Kisses her cheek}Seen some action?

Jo: You should have seen it.

Dusty: Meg!

Meg:{Seeing the others}Hey, Boys!{They all hug Meg}

All: {Ad- lib}Give me some of that lovin'!, Steak and eggs!

{Camera to Meg's Kitchen. She's cooking beef and eggs. All around table.}

Rabbit:{Talking between bites of food}No, in a severe lightning storm you want to grab your ankles and stick your butt up in the air.

Haynes: He's right, if you're gonna get hit, it's the safest orifice.

Joey:{Sarcastic}Yeah, I'd like to get hit by lightning once. Ya know, see what it's like.

Laurence:{Pouring himself lemonade, tasting it}Hey, this is real lemonade. Hey, Meg, I'm movin' in here!!

{Jo walks over with a tray of beef. }

Jo: You guys, look out, make a space. {To Melissa}Look out, look out, look out.

{Jo plops a huge chunk of beef on Melissa's plate. Melissa looks at it, almost disgusted.}

Rabbit: God, Meg, you've got a lot of beef. Where'd you get all this beef?

Meg: Did you see my cows out front?

Rabbit: No.

Meg: Ohhhh!{Makes a gasping face, everyone laughs}

Rabbit: Ohh. Cool.

Dusty: You slaughter your own cows, {Impressed}Meg! Nice.

{Jo plops down a bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy. }

Dusty:{To Melissa}Potatoes?

Jo: Better grab some while you can.

Dusty:{To Melissa}Meg's gravy is famous. It's practically a food group.

{Dusty pours a ton of gravy on Melissa's potatoes. She sits there not knowing what to say.}

Bill: Shower's free.

Jo:{Popping open a can of Pepsi}I'm next!

{Bill almost walks into Jo}

Bill: Oops

{Meg offers Bill a plate of food}

Bill:{Longingly}Oh, I want that.

{Guys gathered around the TV Jonas comes on in an interview.}

Jo: How can you watch this garbage? {Walks over to watch}

Bill: Oh, pardon me gentlemen. You guys gotta see this.

{Cranks up the volume on the TV}

Laurence: Careful, buddy, he'll steel your microphone.

Jonas:{On TV}Well for me, it's the thrill of the hunt.{everyone booing.}Man vs. nature. Having battle with the elements.

Reporter:{On TV}So as a scientist, can you actually predict tornadoes now?

Jonas:{On TV}Well, no, they are very, very unpredictable, as some of my more unfortunate colleagues found out earlier today-

Haynes:{Rolling her eyes}Oh, turn him off.

Jonas:{On TV}But we hope to change all that with a system I have devised.

Dusty: God, he sucks.

Rabbit:{To T.V.}Aw, shut up.

Joey: BOOOO!!!

Rabbit: Turn him off.

Bill:{Turning off TV}What a wiener.

{Start music ("Broken")}

Jo: He really is in love with himself. I thought it was just a summer thing. {Slugs Pepsi}

Dusty: He's gonna rue the day. Dude, he's gonna rue the day he came The Extreme, baby.

Laurence: Here, here.

Dusty: I'm talking immanent rueage. Immanent rueage.

Melissa: I was just wonderin' why do you call Billy "The Extreme"?

Dusty: Cuz' Billy is the extreme. {Everyone except Melissa laughs.}

Preacher: Bill is the most out of control son of a bitch in the game!

Bill:{Looking at Jo}No, I think I came in second.

Dusty: Well I've seen The Extreme in high gear.

Jo: You guys need to get some new stories. I'm gonna go clean up.

{She exits upstairs to take a shower.}

Dusty: So we get this one near Dalton-

Bill: Oh, God. {Everyone laughs}

Dusty: We're way too close, and Jo got the bid on it, she's filmin' it, right. And all the sudden, out of nowhere, this shity looking valiant, comes pulling up, right in the way.

Beltzer: She starts yellin'. And this loser, stumbles out of the car, he's got like, a bottle of Jack Daniel's in his hand. He's naked-

Rabbit: He's BUTT naked.

Beltzer: Naked.

Bill: NOT naked.{All laugh}I was not naked!

Beltzer: He's without apparel.

Bill: Half naked.

Dusty: Naked. So, Jo is yelling at him to get out of the way, right. {All laugh again}He just- He strolls up to the twister, and he says "Have a drink." And he chucks the bottle into the twister, and it never hits the ground!

Preacher: Twister caught it, and sucked it right up.

{The whole time Melissa is looking at Bill funny}

Bill:{To Melissa}Honey, this is a tissue of lies. See there was another Bill, an evil Bill-- and I killed him! {Everyone laughs and cheers}

{Camera on Jo in the shower, she listens on, downstairs. Then camera back on downstairs}

Preacher: No, that was a good size twister, what was that, an F3?

Bill: Solid F2.

{Start music ("How").}

Melissa: See now you've lost me again.

Bill:{Explaining}It's the Fujita scale. It measures the intensity of a tornado by how much it "eats".

Melissa: Eats?

Bill: Destroys.

Laurence: The little encounter we had back there was a strong F2, F3 maybe.

Beltzer: Bet we see some F4's today.

Haynes: That'd be sweet!

Bill:4 is good, 4'll re-locate your house fairly officially.

Melissa: Is there an F5?{Everyone suddenly grows silent.}What would that be like?

Preacher:{Reflective} The finger of God.

Melissa: None of you have ever seen an F5?

Bill: Just one of us. {Everyone looks up a the ceiling where Jo is, upstairs.}

{Camera on Jo. She's dressed now, putting her necklace on, running her fingers through her hair. Meg walks over.}

Meg: Forget it. Doesn't matter what you do, you'll still be beautiful.

Jo: You're biased.

Meg: Yes, I am.{Pause}Sounds like old times down there.

Jo: Yes, it does.

Meg:{Pause, thinking}He didn't keep his part of the bargain.

Jo: Which part?

Meg: To spend his life pining for you, and die miserable and alone.

Jo:{Sad}That so much to ask?

Meg: I don't know. Bill always went his own way, which was usually the same way you were going.

Jo: Seems like a long time ago.

Meg: Not so long, Jo. He's here, isn't he?

Jo:{Watching the wind sculptures outside}That is so beautiful.

{Camera downstairs on Dusty, listening to the radio.}

RADIO: Well, I think we have a serious weather situation-

Dusty: WE GOT ONE, BABY! F3!! A MILE OUTSIDE PARLAINE!!!!!

{Fast paced music starting up again, everyone yells at each other to hurry up, and get ready to leave.}

RADIO: …….city of Wakita, this is a storm that has developed in the past 15 minutes. First - Alert Doppler radar shows that this is a very intense storm-

Bill:{Walking down the porch steps, to Melissa}You ride along with Dusty, okay, is that cool?

Melissa: Okay.

Dusty: What's the word from NSSL?

Haynes: Word is big!

Bill: All right, let's go, people!

Jo:{To Rabbit}You know where Jonas is?

Rabbit: Yeah, he's still in Milston, 30 miles from it.

Jo: Let's all get movin'! {To Rabbit again}Can we beat him?

Rabbit: I'm working on it.

Meg:{To Jo}Thanks for stopping by.

Jo: I'm sorry to eat and run.

Meg: It's what you live for.

Bill:{Running past Meg}Bye.

Meg: Good to see you, Bill.

Melissa:{To Bill}Honey, I-

Bill: It's okay, it's okay.

{Dusty walking up}

Dusty: Tasty cow, Aunt Meg.

Meg:{Handing Dusty a bag of food}It's for you, Dusty!

Dusty: Thank you, sweetheart. {Hugs Meg, then hugs Melissa}You and me, right?

{Everyone else is getting in their trucks.}

Melissa:{repulsed, but nodding anyway}Yes.

Dusty: Sweet, sweet.

Melissa:{Offering hand}Well, I-- it was a pleasure meeting you.

Meg:{Shaking hand}Likewise. You'd better run! {Gently nudging Melissa towards the trucks.}

{Bill and Jo are by Bill's red truck.}

Jo: Keys?

Bill:{Prompting}Please.

{Jo grabs the keys anyway and hops in the truck.}

Bill:{Sarcastic}You're welcome!

{Everyone's in their trucks now, with the motors running}

Jo:{Into Radio}Rabbit?

{Camera to Rabbit}

Rabbit:{Into Radio}Hang on!{Pulls out a road atlas}Uh, let's go right through Wakita, we'll take Myers Road past the fire station, and we'll take 132 to 44 east.

{Camera to Bill}

Bill:{Into Radio}Rabbit, do you know any shortcuts, let us know, we need every second!

{They all fly down the road, camera going into aerial view of the team. }

Bill: Okay, Rabbit, time to impress me!

Rabbit:{Into Radio}Okay, about a mile up there's a little detour we're gonna take, a little walk in the woods!

{They turn onto a winding dirt road, through a thicket. Guitar fades into music ("Humans Being"), a fast paced rock song.}

Bill:{As Jo's driving over a bump, Into radio}Hey, it's bumpy here, folks! {To Jo}Okay, let's get you wired. {He puts a wireless mic. headset on her, clipping the receiver on her shorts.}Oh, excuse me,{ He's so close, Jo's enjoying every moment of it.}Okay, you're on!

{Camera to Haynes and Beltzer as their truck soars over the bumps in the road.}

Haynes: WHOOOOOHOOO!!!!

{Camera on Beltzer}

Beltzer: {Into radio} See, kids? An ordinary person spends his life avoiding tense situations!

{Camera on Dusty}

Dusty:{Into Radio}Repo man spends his life getting in to tense situations, BELTZER!!!!!!!WOOO!!

{Camera on Bill and Jo}

Bill: Okay, Rabbit, what have you got?

{Camera over to Rabbit}

Rabbit: Okay, Bill, turn left here toward that farm.

{Camera over to Bill and Jo}

Bill: You sure about that?

{Camera over to Rabbit}

Rabbit: Uh, yeah. Trust me. Rabbit is good, Rabbit is wise.

{Camera on Jo and Bill, both rolling eyes}

Jo: Mother of God...

Bill: Jesus Christ....{Skeptical}This is a field, Rabbit!

Rabbit:{Over radio}I know, keep going, beyond it, right through that brush!{No response from Bill}You see that brush right in front of you.....

Bill: Yeah, we see the brush, what's beyond that?

{Camera over to Rabbit}

Rabbit: Beyond what?

{Camera over to Bill and Jo}

Jo: Beyond what?!!

Bill:{Frustrated}The BRUSH!! A brick wall, a bearded lady, what?

Rabbit: Oh, um, it's the highway, it's the highway!! {

Camera shows they are still driving through a corn field. Camera on Jo.}

Jo:{Throws her sunglasses on the dashboard frustrated, picks up CB mic.} Where's the road Rabbit?!

{Camera to Rabbit and Sanders}

Sanders: Yeah, where's the road, man?

Rabbit: It should be any moment-

{Suddenly, the caravan of cars spew right onto the highway, loud honking, just as Jonas' group passes by!!}

Preacher: HELL-O!!! {Muttering}Shit.

{Over to Jonas, exasperated.}

Jonas: She's insane. {Into radio}You're insane Jo! What are you trying to do, get somebody killed?!!

{Camera back to Jo}

Jo:{Pissed off, Into radio}Oh, really Jonas? {Sarcastically}It was so nice of you to stop back there and make sure we were all right!!! {Yelling as Bill pulls the mike away}IT WAS VERY CONSIDERATE OF YOU,HOW COULD YOU SEE TEN PEOPLE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND NOT STOP?!!!

Bill:{Trying to shut her up}Okay, okay, okay, okay!!! Keep the channel clear……..

Jo:{Mumbling to herself}Dirtbag.

{Erie music fades in as the sky suddenly grows dark. The thunderstorm is looming in the afternoon sky. A tornado should be around somewhere.....}

Bill:{Sensing trouble}We're gonna have to get off of this road.

Jo: What? This is no time to guess-

Bill: I'm not guessing. Just make a right turn. Trust me.

Jo: Do you want to drive?

Bill: Just turn!!!

{Jo turns sharply onto a dirt road, the crew following. Camera over to Jonas' van.}

Eddie: Do we follow?

Jonas:{Glances up}We do not.

{Jonas' team drives on. Camera on Sanders.}

Sanders:{To Rabbit}What's he doin', man?

Rabbit: I dunno.{Pulling out a road map}Find this road,{Sarcastically}it's like, "Bob's Road"!

{Both laugh. Camera to Joey, his lap top beeping}

Joey: We've got a touchdown!

Laurence: We got a touchdown, touchdown, tornado is on the ground.

Jo:{Into radio}Where is it?

Laurence: {Over radio}Looks like it's coming down route 33!

{Camera to Jo and Bill}

Bill: Jo, we're on 33!

Jo:{Into radio}What's the path?

{Camera to Joey}

Joey: It's going about 35 miles an hour.

{Camera on Sanders and Rabbit, listening to radio, looking out windshield.}

Rabbit: Can you see this?

Sanders: I cannot see this. Where is it? Hel-lo?!

Rabbit:{Into radio, to Joey}Where you guys lookin'?

{Camera on Jo and Bill}

Bill: Where, where, where?

Jo: Direction, Rabbit!

{Camera on Rabbit, he's found it}

Rabbit: North, northeast.

{Camera on Jo and Bill}

Bill: Do you see it?

Jo: No.

Bill:{Looking out at the storm}Do you got any thing up there?

Rabbit:{Over radio}North, northeast, you copy?

Bill: Shit, it's commin' right at us.

Laurence:{Over radio}Actually, she's gone vertical, gone vertical. This sucker's really gainin' strength.

Jo: D'you see it?

Bill: No. I can't-{Into radio}Beltzer, we don't have a visual. Repeat, we do not have a visual! Help us out, here!

Jo: Where is it?

Beltzer:{Over radio}Yeah, I got it Billy. It's the best motion I've ever seen! It's like the base of this fatty is about half a mile wide.

Bill:{Into radio}Rabbit?

{Camera over to Rabbit}

Rabbit: If you're goin' east on 7, it should be commin' right over that hill in a matter of minutes!

{Camera on Joey}

Joey:{Into radio}This is the one, man. I feel it.

{Camera on Jo and Bill}

Bill:{Searching the horizon}It's gotta be there.

Jo: Maybe it's stalled.

Bill: No, I think Rabbit's right. It's gonna show it's ugly face right over that hill. Jo, what do you think?

Dusty:{Over radio}You gonna go for it , Jo?

Bill: Jo?

Jo: Time for deployment, guys, let's do it!

{Camera over to Dusty and Melissa}

Dusty: Oh man, this is the fun part, sweetheart!

{Jo's crew stops to set up, but Bill and Jo keep going. It begins to hail.}

Bill: Okay, we got hail.

Jo:{Into radio}Hail. We got hail.

{Camera over to Crew setting up equipment. Dusty sets up a video camera.}

Rabbit: Sanders, pull it over. Anywhere in here. Here's good. That's good. That's good. We got a big one, guys!

{Camera on Jo and Bill}

Jo:{Into radio}Upflow, Beltzer, we have upflow, copy?!

Beltzer:{Over radio}Yeah, Jo, I'm checkin' it, I'm checkin' it, she's almost up!

Jo: Bill, right now, this is it.

Bill: I'll get her ready. {He slides open the back window, slides through it. The hail is pounding him, hurting him.}OW!!

{Camera on Dusty and crew.}

Dusty: Do you see him? Do you see him?!

Beltzer: What?!

Dusty: The red truck going right towards the core!

Beltzer: No!

Melissa: He's not talking about Billy is he?!!

{Camera back on Bill, turning on Dorothy.}

Jo: ARE YOU OKAY?!!!{Slowing down the truck}

Bill: I'M ALRIGHT, KEEP GOING!!!

{Jo speeds the truck back up. Bill flips a switch, Dorothy's sirens go on. Camera on Jo's crew.}

Dusty:{Watching everything through the video camera}Hey, Belzer, we got a view!!!

Beltzer: Yeah, I can see it!!! All right, I got it!!! THAT'S NO MOON, IT'S A SPACE STATION!!!!!!!WHOOOOOO!!!!!!

{Camera back on Jo and Bill. Stuff begins to fly past.}

Jo: Debris! We have debris!!!!

Bill: {Getting hit again} Ow! {Trying to get a strap lose}Come on, Come on! {He gets it loose}Okay!

{Camera on Dusty}

Dusty: They're in the birdcage! Oh my God!! Oh my God!! Melissa, look at this!!! Take a peek!!! You can really feel it with a telephoto lens!!!

Melissa: No!!!

Dusty: Oh, common' what's the matter?!!

Melissa: You people are all crazy, do you know that?!!!!

Dusty: What?!

Jo:{Over radio}Dusty, are you set up? We're not leaving 'till we get this!!!

Melissa:{referring to Jo}}She's the craziest one of them all!!!

{Camera on Bill. He's still turning stuff on.}

Bill: Okay, she's almost ready!!!!

Jo: Hold on, we're almost there, we're almost there!!!

{Suddenly a fishing boat flies past}

Bill: WHOOOAAAAAA!!! Stop, this is fine!!!

Jo: Wait, we got to get closer, just a little closer!!!

Bill: STOP, JO!!!! {A tricycle rams into the windshield.}

Jo:{Startled}Okay, that's close enough!

{She stops the truck, causing Bill to slam his head on the roof of the cab.}

Bill: OW, fuck!{They both go to pull Dorothy onto the road, the tornado looms overhead.}Okay, hurry, get the tailgate!

Jo: You got it?!!

Bill: Yeah, she's all set, help me get her down! HURRY!!! LET'S MOVE!!

{He tries to unhook Dorothy, down the road, there's an explosion by the funnel base}

Jo: BILL, HURRY!!!

Bill: {Still trying to get Dorothy out of the truck, unsuccessfully} Damn! We gotta go now, common'!!

Jo: WE CAN DO THIS!!!!!! COMMON', COMMON'!

{Suddenly a telephone pole falls on Dorothy, knocking her onto the road, all the sensors spilling everywhere.}

Jo: BILL!!!!

Bill: GET DOWN,LOOK OUT!!!! COMMON' HURRY!!!{Jo screams as Dorothy falls. Suddenly, the tornado is gone.}Where-- Where'd it go? Where is it?!!

{Camera to Beltzer}

Beltzer:{Punching buttons on his keyboard.}What's going on?!! Aw, aw, I don't believe this!!! What the hell?!!!

Sanders: What's the Doppler say?

Beltzer: I, I-

Preacher: The cone is silent.

{We hear thunder}

Beltzer:{Into radio}Jo, Bill, it's over! The thing was stable, and and and then, then it's gone.

{Camera goes back to Jo and Bill on the Highway. We hear the tornado's roar, however, we don't see it.}

Jo:{Staring at the sky}It's back Bill!

Bill: It's not through yet!!{Pause}You're right it's backbuilding!{Referring to tornado}We've got a jumper here!

Jo:{Into radio}Beltzer, it's backbuilding, we've got to track it!

Beltzer:{Over radio}Yeah, Jo, we know. Data's incomplete, I think you should get out of there, You copy?

{Jo bends down, trying to grab sensors}

Jo: Bill, help. Bill, Help me!!

Bill: Jo, we should leave!

Jo: No, no ,no. Help me. Help me!!

Bill: Forget the sensors we've got to get out of here now!! It's gonna drop!

Jo: Beltzer will see! If it drops, if it's anywhere near us, it will kill us!

Bill: It's not gonna drop anywhere near us, it's gonna drop right on us!!

Jo: Bill, turn this- wait, wait, wait!! No, Bill!!{He pulls her away into the truck}No, no, no, no, no! Go back!!

Bill: Forget it, Jo, forget it!!

Jo: Go back, it's not too late!!! {Bill starts to drive away} Go back!!

Bill: Forget it, it's too late!!

{Jo jumps out of the car, and bends down to the ground, picking up the sensors. By this time the tornado is gone. We hear slow sad guitar music in the background, with a crescendo of orchestra seconds later.}

Jo: Help me! Help me!!!

Bill: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!

Jo: HELP ME!!!!

Bill: Jo, the pack's wasted, it's over!

Jo: WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?! WE CAN STILL DO THIS!!

Bill: Jesus Christ, listen to yourself, you're obsessed!

Jo: You've never seen what that thing can do, so don't even talk to me about-

Bill: I just saw it-

Jo: You've never seen it miss this house, and miss that house, and come after you!

Bill: Christ, Jo, is that what you think it did?!

Jo:{To herself, annoyed with Bill}I don't know. {Turns and walks away}

Bill: Jesus, Jo, why can't you just forget it?!

Jo:{Turning back to him}You don't understand, okay? You'll never know.

Bill: When's it gonna be enough, huh?! How close do you have to get-{she's still walking away, he grabs her and turns her around}Talk to me!!! Jo, things go wrong, you can't explain it, you can't predict it! Killing yourself won't bring your dad back. I'm sorry he died, but it was a long time ago. You gotta move on. Stop living in the past and look at what you've got right in front of you!

Jo: What are you saying?

Bill: Me, Jo.

{She looks at him, quietly, however we can still see she is obviously emotionally upset inside. We also see Melissa, upset. The music continues, epic, but sad, as the crew drives off into a beautiful orange sunset. Then the camera comes up on the NSSL again}

Murphy: Hey, Bryce!

Bryce: What?

Murphy: You'd better get over here, take a look at this.

Bryce:{Looking at radar}The gate--the gate velocities are maxed out. If those two cells converge-

Murphy: Inbounds and outbounds have doubled.

{They look at each other worried. Camera to a drive in movie, right after a bolt of lightning flashes across the screen. They are watching Stephen King's "The Shinning". Seconds later the music("Moments Like This") fades into the background. Dusty is watching the Doppler and the weather reports. Camera to Melissa, sitting on the bed of a motel room, part of the drive-in. She's watching the weather also. Start music, ("Love Affair"). Melissa plays with her engagement ring. At this point, she knows that Bill is still in love with Jo, and she wonders if she should even marry him. Camera on Jo, walking up to the snack bar.}

Jo: Excuse me, can I have 8 coffees to go, please?

Employee: Eight?

Jo: Yeah.

{Jo grabs a pen that's sitting on a trey. Taking out the divorce papers, she signs the last page, with a heavy heart. Her day is up. Dorothy never flew. Bill walks up to the counter.}

Bill: Two coffees, please. {To Jo.} Long day.

Jo: Uh- huh.

Bill: You know, I've been thinking about the sensors. The way they scattered out there today on the highway. I'm starting to wonder if the funnel will carry them like we thought.

Jo: Too light?

Bill: I don't know, maybe the whole thing's too light.

Jo: What can we do about that?

Bill: I'm not sure.

{Camera back on Melissa, looking at her ring. The weather report's still on. Suddenly, the screen turns to static. This ominous occurrence lingers like a warning. Camera on Jo and Bill at snack bar.}

Bill:{To employee}Thank you.

{Jo stares at the TV inside the snack bar. It too is gone to static, Jo looks at it, the warning obvious to her. Bill notices as well. Camera back to Melissa in her room. The window curtains billow gently. Melissa turns the TV off, and walks outside, staring at the sky. The wind is softly howling. Suddenly, Jo first, then Bill turns to the north looks up at the sky. You can tell, as stormchasers, they can sense a tornado coming. We hear eerie music in the background. The wind grows louder. There is a low rumble. Camera on Dusty. He is in the van watching the Doppler radar. He suddenly grows very tense.}

Dusty:{Scared }Jesus, it's coming.{He jumps out of the van and starts running toward Jo and Bill, screaming}JO! BILL! IT'S COMING!!! IT'S HEADED RIGHT FOR US!!!!

Bill:{Looking around}It's already here. EVERYBODY UNDERGROUND NOW!!

{The tornado sirens go off in the background}

Melissa:{Frightened }BILLY!

{Bill grabs Melissa's hand and runs towards the warehouse.}

Bill: Honey! Come on!

Melissa: What's going......what-{Too scared and tired to talk}

{The Rumble is deafening, the winds turned gales blow papers and lighter objects around.}

Bill: Jo! JO!!{Pause}Jo, Common'!!

{The whole time, Jo has stood transfixed, staring at the tornado. Suddenly she snaps out of it. She runs to the snack bar, banging on the windows to warn the employees, screaming}

Jo: GET UNDERGROUND, TAKE COVER RIGHT NOW, LET'S GO!!!!!!

{All run to the warehouse. Everyone is in except Jo}

Dusty: The doors!! Close the Doors!! Doors! Doors!!

{Bill runs out to get Jo}

Dusty: BILL!!

{Bill helps one last employee from the snack bar inside.}

Bill:{to employee}Get inside. JO, COMMON'!!!!

{Jo, is coming but then sees Laurence, hiding under the steering wheel of his car, and goes back to help him}

Bill: What are you doing, come back!!

Jo:{To Laurence}Come on, take my hand.

Laurence: I can't-

Jo: Take my hand!!

{Jo and Laurence run to the warehouse.}

Bill: Come on!! Hurry!! Go! Go! Go! Let's go!

{They get inside. Dusty rolls the door shut.}

Bill: Everybody down in the pit! Get down! Let's go, everybody down! Jo, move, common'!!

{Everyone scrambles to the pit in the floor of the warehouse, where they all huddle up in a corner in fetal position. The whole warehouse begins to shake. The windows implode.}

Bill: STAY CALM!!!

{Suddenly, A high pressure water hose comes loose from it's latch, and flies around.}

Preacher: I got it, I got it! {Grabs hose}Hah hah!

{Suddenly, a hub cap flies through the air and cuts Preacher's forehead. Jo hold's his head to stop the bleeding.}

Preacher: My head!

Jo: You're okay!

{Everyone seems terrified except Jo and Bill. Melissa is almost in shock. We hear her screaming.}

Bill: IT'LL BE OVER SOON!!!

Melissa: THIS IS INSANE!!! THIS IS INSANE!! I DON'T LIKE THIS!!! THIS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!! I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!!!!

Bill: STAY CALM!!!

{Melissa continues to scream. A car rams through the ceiling. The neon sign for the drive in theater crashes ontop of the car}

Bill:{To Melissa}It's okay, honey! It'll be okay!!

{Suddenly, the winds start to die down, the lights buzz and go out. Camera in Wakita, Meg's house. We see her watching TV and reading a book. She hears her windchimes, grows tense. Like screams, they tell her a tornado is coming. She heads for the stairs. Camera on the now demolished drive in, as a police car pulls up. Dusty sits in his van again, listening to weather reports. Other people walk out of the pit}

Man: Oh, look at the truck, it's trashed!

Bill: {With Melissa, surveying the damage}Holy……..

{Beltzer comes up to Melissa.}

Melissa: Is that what it was like up on that hill?

Beltzer: That? No. We were lucky. Those were just down drafts and microbursts. Tornado just side swept us.

Jo:{To Dusty}Can you tell which way it's headed?

Dusty: It's backing northeast. It's um......It looks to hit Wakita head on.

Jo:{Frantic}I'm goin'. I'm goin', let's go, let's go!!!

Dusty: We're going!!!!

{Everyone is yelling things frantically}

Bill: Jo, wait!

Jo: Where's the phone?!

Beltzer: The lines are down, Jo, I already tried.

Jo: We're going.

Bill: Damn it. Hang on, I'll drive.

Rabbit: Hey, Jo, look. We can jump on the 38 exchange and cross highway 132.

{Bill walks over to Melissa}

Bill: Hey, honey, I gotta go.

Melissa: I'm goin' back.

Bill: Good, good, you'll be safe at the motel. I'll see you in the morning.

Melissa: I won't be there.

Bill: What? Why? What are you saying?

Melissa: I'm saying goodbye.

Bill: No-

Melissa: You know, I can't compete with this. I don't even know where to start!

Bill: Wait, don't do this now, please. Please!

Melissa: Sooner or later it would have ended, we both know that.

Bill: Please-

Melissa: The funny thing is, I'm not that upset. What does that mean?

Rabbit: {Running by}We can do it! Come on, let's move!

Bill: I never meant for any of this to happen.

Melissa: I know, Billy, I know. It's okay.

Dusty: Bill, come on!

Melissa: You go ahead. {Motioning to Jo}She needs you. I hope that Aunt Meg's okay.

Bill: What about you?

Melissa: Oh, don't worry about me. I know my way home.

{She walks away, by herself}

Rabbit: We can be in Wakita in about an hour. Bill, common'!!!

{We see them get in their trucks. Camera then goes to Wakita. The "Welcome to Wakita" sign is flapping in the breeze on the ground. Everything is destroyed. We see bonfires in the streets, babies crying, families picking through wreckage. They are too late.}

Bill: Oh my God.

Jo:{Sad, almost mad at herself, as if it was all her fault}They had no warning. {Like a mirage into the past, Jo sees her mother and father hugging each other and herself, a little girl. This is a heart ripping, all too familiar situation. They see Meg's house. It's been compacted into one story. Strangely, most of the wind sculptures still stand.} Oh my God.

{Jo flies out of the truck, towards the house}

Bill: Jo, Wait!!!

Jo:{Calling into the upstairs window.}Meg?!!{Bill runs over.}

Bill: Jo, wait!!!

{He comes over to where Jo is}

Jo: MEG?!!!!!

Bill: Careful, this house could go any second.

Jo: MEG?!!!

Bill: Jo, take a flashlight!

{With a flashlight in hand, they step into the house, now a labyrinth of debris.}

Jo: MEG?!!

Bill: This house is ready to go.

MEG?!!!

{A dresser topples over as they walk past.}

Bill: Careful.

Jo: Meg?!!

Bill: Meg?!

{Suddenly, they hear a dog whimper}

Jo: Shhh! You hear that?

Bill: What?

Jo: I think I hear something.

Bill: Easy does it

{Jo follows the sound. Suddenly they see Meg's dog "Mose" below them.}

Jo: Meg!!

Bill: Mose, boy!

Jo: Mose! I think she's down here. Meg? We're here! We're coming down!

{Then, they see Meg. She is trapped under wall framing, her head and chest bleeding.}

Bill: Meg!! {To Jo}We gotta get this off of her.{Meg mumbles something} Ready?

Jo: {to Meg}Don't move, don't move. {to Bill}Watch her head, watch her head.

Bill: Go! {They lift the framing off her.}I got it.

Jo: Easy, easy, easy. {to Meg} Are you okay?

Meg: Oh, I'm all right..... I'm fine.

{Suddenly the TV slides toward them, however held back by the cord. They all cover their heads, nothing happens.....}

Bill: Get down!

Jo: Oh, God……

Bill: We gotta go, hurry! Let's go! {To Meg}Think you can walk?

{....Suddenly the cord snaps and the TV crashes to the floor!}

Bill: Watch out!

{From outside everyone else watches as the house begins to buckle under itself.}

Dusty: MEG!!! MEG!! Meg, Bill!!!!{He runs over to the window where Jo and Bill entered.}Some one take my – Joey, take my watch.

{He scales the wall to the window}

Beltzer:{To Dusty}Go, go!!! Careful!!

Dusty:{About to go in}BILL?!!

{Then Jo and Bill come out, carrying Aunt Meg.}

Jo: We're okay, we're coming out!

Bill: Get an ambulance over here!

Dusty: {Helping Meg also}Get an ambulance, Laurence, Now!!!! Go!!

{Lawrence runs to flag down an ambulance. An ambulance comes over, a paramedic hops out, gets a stretcher, they lay Meg on it.}

Joey: {Also helping}All right.

Rabbit: {Helping Meg down}There you go.

Meg: Okay, okay.

Beltzer:{Joking}How 'bout some steak and eggs!

{Meg laughs}

Meg: How nice of you all to come over.

{They're all talking to her. Meg is about to be placed in an ambulance. Her dog, "Mose " is still in the collapsed house}

Meg: Bill! Grab Mose for me, I think he's a little shaken up!

Bill: Don't worry I'll get him. {Calling}Mose! {Goes back over towards the house}

Jo:(To paramedic)Is she okay?

Paramedic: We'll probably keep her overnight, just to be safe.

Meg: Overnight? Forget it. I'm all right.

Jo: You're going to the hospital.

Meg: Okay, I'll go, but I'm gonna drive myself.

Rabbit: Honey, your car is in a tree around the corner.

Meg: Ohhh.

Bill: {Calming the dog}It's okay, it's okay.

{Just as Bill comes back with Bows, the house behind him collapses the rest of the way.}

Meg: Ohh!

{Camera over to a TV set in Dusty's van, we see and hear the weather report: "The F4 that hit Wakita has now moved on to the north-east, I've just gotten word in that an even stronger tornado has now started to form 25 miles south of Wakita, but right now the two storm systems are funneling back, the National Weather Service saying that this is highly unusual and they are saying that this tornado could be the strongest in the state in more than 30 years-"}

Dusty:{Listening}Oh my God. {Motioning Beltzer over.} Look at this, look at this.

{Meg is sitting in the back of the ambulance wearing a wrist brace, and a bandage around the head. Jo walks over.}

Meg: Hey, what're you doin'?

Jo: I wanna see how you are.{To paramedic}How is she? {To Meg}I was worried about you.

Paramedic: {Answering Jo} All right. {Exit}

Jo:{Examining Meg's wrist}Oh, look at this-

Meg:{Quickly}It's nothing. He says I have a bump on the head, and maybe a broken wrist....

Jo:Let me see that.{Looking at wrist again}

Meg: There's nothin' to see, it doesn't even hurt.

Jo:{Quietly}I'm sorry I wasn't there.

Meg: Stop blaming yourself, you got me out of the house.{Tears begain to stream down Jo's face} Jo, it's gotta stop. I diddn't have any warning. The sirens went off a few seconds before it hit, I didn't even get down the stairs.

{Dusty walks over}

Dusty:Jo. I'm sorry, uh, I was listening to the radio, and, I mean, I don't even know if you wanna know, but I, it's happening, the NSSL's predicted an F5.

Meg: Jo, it could of happened to somebody else. You, you go stop it.

Jo:{Crying, talking so soft, she can hardly be heard}I don't know how.

Meg: Well, I think you do. You've been chasing these things since you were a little kid. It's what you do. Go. Do it.

{Camera on the ambulance, as it pulls away. Jo is standing facing the house, staring at Meg's wind sculpture. Haynes notices, slapping Joey on the arm and pointing. Bill walks over to her.}

Bill: You all right? {No response}I thought you'd go to the hospital with Meg.{She is still standing there, staring}Jo? What is it? {Pause}What is it?

{The sound of wind chimes fills the air, as if a memory, or a thought}

Jo: I know how to make Dorothy fly.

{Bill looks at the wind sculpture for a second}

Bill:{Knowing what Jo's idea is}Of course. Of Course!

Jo: {To crew}All right, I need every aluminum can you can find!

Bill: We need cutters and duct tape! Haynes, Beltzer, I want to get the last Dorothys on the back of my truck, and I want everyone working on it.!

Dusty: We're gone!!

{Music drums loud and fast as Camera goes into aerial view of Jo's crew skimming across a bridge in front of an Oklahoma sunrise. Camera then goes to half the crew in the back of Beltzer's van, cutting pin-wheel fans out of aluminum cans and screwing them onto the sensors. Camera then goes to the outside. Cars going the other direction honk their horns as an F5 twister spins in the distance.}

Jo:{Over radio}Dusty, you ready for us?

Dusty: Yeah, yeah, we're good!{Affirming with everyone else in the van}We're good? We're good? Very good!!

Bill: Let's go, come on!!!

{They stop the caravan on the highway.}

Jo: We get 'em done?

Bill: I think so.

{Haynes, Beltzer, Rabbit, and everyone else pulls out boxes of sensors, now with the fans attached. Box, after box, they dump them back into Dorothy 3 and Dorothy 4.}

Dusty: Beautiful!

Bill:{Closes the lids on the Dorothys.}Okay, okay!

Beltzer: Great job, guys, just be ready to report. Be careful, all right?

Jo: Don't follow us close.

Joey: All right, you got it, boss.

Rabbit: Okay!

Joey: We're back in business!

{They all hop back into their trucks. Music triumphant and hopeful.}

Dusty: Come on, let's go!

{Camera on Jo and Bill}

Jo: Half a mile more?

Bill: That's sounds right. I figure we'll put it right in the middle of the road.

Jo: Unless you think somebody'll hit it.

Bill: Nobody'll be there.

{The F5 tornado approaches the road that Jo and Bill are on. They're in Bill's truck, Bill is driving. The roar of the tornado is deafening. Bill stops the car, and Jo and Bill get out. The tornado is on the road, directly in front of them. Bill goes around and he and Jo take Dorothy # 3 out of the back of the truck.}

Bill: Hurry! Let's go, common'!!!

{It's sirens are on, they put it out in the road for the tornado to take.}

Bill: Okay, that's good!

Jo: You got it?

Bill: Let's go!

{They get back in the truck, Jo grabs the CB radio}

Jo:{Into radio}Dusty, you in position?

Dusty:{Over radio}Yeah, we're prime, ready for contact!

{They turn around and get a good distance away, watching}

Jo: This is it. Bill: It's gonna work.

Jo:{Into radio}Just another minute, Dusty!!!

Dusty:{Over radio}We're ready for it!!!

{They watch hopeful, Jo gets out the video camera. Dorothy rolls back and forth across the road.}

Jo: Common'', common' TAKE HER!!!!

Bill: It's too light-

Jo: NO IT'S NOT!!

{Dorothy rolls across the road and back again}

Bill: We're losing it!

Jo: No we're not! She can still fly!!!!

{Suddenly an uprooted tree tips Dorothy over, and the tornado decides to change direction......towards Jo and Bill.}

Jo: Let's go!!!

Bill: My God!

{They try to drive away, but the car gets stuck on the uprooted tree in the middle of the road.}

Jo: Oh my God....

{Following dialogue delivered one after another}

Bill:{About the car}Common'!

Jo: Get us off this thing!

Bill: Comon'!

Jo: Bill, kick it!{the gas pedal}BILL!! Let's go! Right now! Hurry!!!!

{Bill still floorin the gas, trying to get the truck off the tree.}

Jo: What is that?!!

{Pause.}

Bill: What is that?

{They both see something metallic flying around in the tornado.}

Jo: Bill, hurry! HURRY! HURRY!!!!!!

{still unsure, but whatever it is, it's huge}

Bill: This is not good!

{Suddenly they see what it is. It is a tank truck! Bill floors it again, no success.}

Jo: HURRY!!!

{Bill throws his whole body weight onto the gas pedal...}

Bill: Hold On!!!!!

{....Suddenly the car snaps forward as it's nudged by the tank truck coming right at them!}

Jo: LET'S GO!!

{Suddenly the tank truck falls to the ground right in front of them, exploding. They drive right through it. Jo holds on to the roof, almost scared.(Well wonders never cease!)}

Bill:{To no one in particular}Son of a bitch!

Dusty:{Over radio}Jo, Bill, You all right?!! Fact, can you guys hear me? You okay?

Jo:{Into radio}We're okay.

Dusty: Jo, Bill, did you see that explosion?

Jo:{Humorlessly}We saw it.

Rabbit:{Over radio}This one, she's still moving northeast on 80, you copy?

Bill: This is it. Last one.

Jo: Last time.

{Camera to Jonas' crew. With the direction they are headed, they look like they will reach the tornado first.}

Flanders:{Into radio} Mobile Lab to Mobile 1, ground speed still increasing, {Camera on the F5}, the base must be a mile wide, we can't see it anymore! What is your location?

Jonas:{Into radio} We're right along side her. She's beautiful. We're getting ready to place, so hold back a bit, prepare to monitor.

{Camera on Jo and Bill. They are looking over in the direction of Jonas' crew.}

Bill: They have to be there somewhere.

{Camera on Jonas}

Jonas: Okay, path is stable, copy that? Men, this is it! This is the one! Stay sharp back there!

{Camera on Jo and Bill}

Bill: They have position. They could make it.

Jo: Not unless they anchored the pack. {Into radio}Jonas? This is Jo. Can you hear me?

Jonas:{Over radio}Not now, Harding.

Jo:{Into radio}Jonas, listen to me. The pack is too light, the twister will toss it before it reaches the core, you have to anchor it.

{Camera to Jonas}

Jonas:{Into radio}Oh, sharing valuable information, Jo? {Flatly} I'll consider that, thank you.

{Camera to Jo}

Jo:{Into radio}Jonas, listen to me! Don't be a-{Bill looks at her}What? Do you see them?

Bill:{Into radio}Jonas, what's your position?

Jonas:{Over radio}Oh, howdy, Bill. We are heading northeast running parallel and about to pull ahead of it on the left, why?

Bill:{Into radio}Hang back a minute, we've got a pretty good view from back here. She could shift her track, and if she does, she's gonna come right at you! D'you copy?

{Camera to Jonas}

Eddie: Maybe we should do what he says. He's never put us in harm's way.

Jonas: When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you. Keep your mouth shut, put your foot on the gas, and stay on this heading.

Dean:{Over radio}It's unbelievable!

Jonas:{Into radio}What is it, what's wrong?

Dean:{Over radio}The base is so, huge! It must be at least, a mile wide! Do you copy that, Dr. Miller?

{Camera on Jo and Bill}

Bill:{Into radio}Jonas, listen to me. This is not-

{Camera on Jonas}

Jonas: Get off this frequency, Bill!! {He switches off the radio}

{Camera on Jo and Bill. They watch the tornado}

Jo: She's shifting.

Bill: Oh my God. {Into radio}Jonas, I'm telling you…. Eddie, I know you can hear me! Turn around now!! Get out of there!!!

{Just as Jo says, the tornado shifts direction and spins over Jonas' crew. Jo and Bill watch as the black Windstars fly through the air. Camera on Jonas. He's in his car screaming}

Eddie & Jonas: LOOK OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

{Suddenly a radio tower slams through the windshield, killing Eddie. Camera then on Jo and Bill, as they watches Jonas' car crash and explode. Jo flinches at this. In a fit of rage, Bill throws down the radio mic.}

Bill: Damn it!! Stupid.

{He angrily hunches over the steering wheel}

Jo: We tried. There's nothing we could do.

Bill: Yes there is.

Beltzer:{Over radio}Bill, Jo, ground speed is increasing. Get ahead of it as fast as you can or she's gonna bury ya!

{Jo and Bill are still in the truck, going down a highway, now chasing the F5 twister. Debris starts flying past the truck.}

Jo: Debris!!! DUSTY, WE HAVE DEBRIS!!!

Bill: DEBRIS?!!

{The debris consists of cars, tractors, road signs. It's falling everywhere. Jo directs Bill as it all falls around them.}

Jo: RIGHT!!!!!!

{Bill swerves right.}

Jo: LEFT!!!!!!

{Bill swerves left.}

Jo: RIGHT!!!!!!

{Bill swerves right.}

Jo: LEFT!!!!!!

{Bill swerves left.}

Jo:{A tire crosses the windshield} DUCK!!

Bill: What now?

Jo:{Out of breath}I have no idea.

Dusty: {Over radio}Bill, Jo, you still with us?

{Suddenly a house comes rolling along and stops on the road.}

Jo: Oh my God.

Bill:{Referring to house}I think we're goin' in!!

Jo:{Holding onto roof}AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

{They plunge through the house in their car.}

Bill:{After they've popped back out}Maybe we should get off of this road.

Jo: I think you may be right.

Dusty: Jo, Bill, you all right?

Jo: Yes. You guys set up?

Dusty: Jo, we're set. Goin' in?

Jo: We're goin' in.

Bill: You ready?

Jo: I'm on it.

Bill: Be careful.

{Exciting music in background. She opens the back window of the truck and crawls through. Dorothy # 4 is loaded up in the back, Jo switches it on and crawls back inside.}

Jo: She's up.

Bill: Okay.

{Camera over to Dusty and crew. Jo and Bill have turned, and are now driving through a cornfield.}

Rabbit: Where are they? I can't see 'em!!

Haynes: We're tracking 'em great. The speed's still increasing.

Beltzer: I've never seen anything like this.

Dusty: They're gonna punch the core.

{Camera back on Jo and Bill. They are driving in the cornfield, right towards the tornado.}

Jo: You ready?

Bill: Yeah. Let me just set the cruise control.{He does}Okay we're good.

Jo: On three?

Bill: On three. Go.

{They open the doors and stand, the truck is still going 50.}

Bill: Ready?

Jo: Ready!

Bill: One.....Two......Three!!

{They jump out of the truck, roll to the ground, get up, then watch the truck continue into the twister.}

Jo:{Following truck with her hand}Go. Go. Go!! GO!!GOOOO!!!!

{As the truck and Dorothy are lifted up into the twister, and the sensors fly up into the air, we hear the haunting sound of the windchimes. Celebrative music as Jo and Bill hug.}

Jo: Yes! YES!!!

{Camera over to Dusty's crew}

Dusty: Dorothy's flying'!!!!!!! Baby, she's flying'!!!!

{All ad-lib, "Yes", "It's Working'", etc.}

Joey: We're going to be very popular!!

Beltzer:{Looking at Doppler radar and all the data coming in from the sensors.}It's Christmas Time!! Look at that!!

Haynes: Look at these readings!!

{Everyone suddenly grows quiet}

Haynes: You guys, it's about to shift northeast.{The tornado}

Dusty:{Into radio, but of course, they're not there}BILL, JO, YOU'VE GOT TO GET OUT OF THERE, YOU COPY?!!!!

{Camera over to Jo and Bill. As the twister comes toward them, rows of corn fly up into the air}

Bill: Oh no! RUN!!!!!!!!

{Both break off in a dash through the cornfield. They approach a farm with a barn.}

Bill: The barn, common'!! Look out!!!

{They run up alongside a picket fence. All the boards are plucked up one by one right behind them. Suddenly, Jo sees an opening in the fence to crawl through.}

Jo: BILL, HERE, HERE!!!!! Bill: COME ON, HURRY!!!! {They climb through} TO THE BARN!!!!

{They run to the barn. Fence boards slam and stick in the barn walls. They get inside. Sickles, knives, and saws hang from the ceiling.}

Bill: Stay down!!

Jo: My God, who are these people?!

Bill: I don't think so!! Common'! Let's get out quick!! {They run out of the barn, then duck as the roof of the barn flies over their heads.}Oh my God! Common''! Run for it!!

{ They yell to each other but most of it can't be heard over the wind. They continue to run until they get to pumphouse.}

Bill: {the door to the pumphouse won't open}COME ON!!!! {He finally opens it}JO, GET IN!!!!1

{As Jo goes inside, a piece of a roof flies past her. She screams. They go inside. The well is a "U" shaped pipe coming up out of the ground.}

Bill: Here! These pipes go down at least 30 feet. We anchor to 'em, we might have a chance!

Jo:{Grabs rawhide straps}Bill!

{She hands them to him but they break.}

Bill: No good. {Sees more} This one! Common', get in!! {Grabs it, ties it first around them, then loops it on to the pipes.}Hold on!!!

{Suddenly the walls and roof are lifted away and only Jo, Bill, and the pipes remain.}

Bill: HANG ON!!!!!

{The tornado looms overhead, Jo and Bill are lifted up in the air, however still attached to the pipes. They look up. They are looking at the inside of the tornado! Angelic music fills the air, and Jo is awe struck. They stare up at a light at the top of the twister. Lightning circles around the light. The music crescendos, then resolves as the clouds, the lightning, and the twister blow away. We see a family come up out of a storm cellar, horses galloping away, then the camera goes back to Jo and Bill, sitting under the pipes.}

Jo: You all right?

Bill:{He nods}Wow, look at that. It didn't take the house.

{Hard rock music ("Humans Being") fades in as Dusty's crew approaches.}

Jo: We did it.

Bill: Yeah, we did. Dorothy really flew.

Jo: It was a good idea.

Bill: Yeah, well I....

Jo:{In realization}We've got so much to do.

Bill: Yeah.

Jo: I've got to get grant approvals for a new warning system, we need a bigger lab, you've got to do an analysis of all that data....

Bill: I do?

Jo: Yeah, we've got to generate models out of all this data, and I need to run the lab-

Bill: Oh, no, no ,no. You're doing the analysis, I'm running the lab.

Jo: You're running the lab? I don't think so!

Bill: I'm running the lab! G- Do you always have to do things the hard way?

{Dusty's crew walks over}

Haynes: You got it guys, the sensors worked! The computers went crazy, we've got data coming out of our ears!

{All laugh}

Beltzer: Biggest twister ever recorded!!

Dusty: Awesome, man!

Sanders: Hey, Jo, Bill, check out that sky!{The sky is clear}

Jo: You know what, I think we've seen enough!

{Jo and Bill kiss as the music for the credits come on,("Respect The Wind"), camera goes into aerial view, then credits start. Then fade to clouds in fast forward motion.}