[Rob]

A dream I had the other night:

All of the following shots are stylized black and white a la Sin City

Wide shot of a warehouse interior. Completely empty. High windows on the left wall. Back and right walls are blank brick. White shafts of moonlight shine through the windows creating a checkerboard path down the middle of the room.

A Child runs, nearly tripping and falling, down the middle of the room to cower in the corner of the back and right walls. He (or she) is terrified of something.

Shot of the windows looking up from the corner where the Child is hiding. A massive black Figure slowly walks into the screen. Only the outline of light from the windows provides definition. The Figure is looking forward, at the back wall. He knows where the Child is, but does not look at him. The Figure speaks:

EVEN THE SHADOWS HIDE FROM ME

Shot over the left shoulder of the Figure down towards the corner with the hiding Child. The camera would be as equally high now as it was low in the previous shot. The Figure makes a small sigh, barely perceivable, and rolls his head to look in the corner.

Shot of the Child in the corner. He is crouched down hugging his knees, shaking.

Previous shot from above left of Figure. The Figure has been illuminated from behind this entire time from the moonlight. Instantly, all shafts of light are extinguished. Frame is completely black.

Previous camera angle from front right of Figure (the low one looking up). The Figure whips his head and shoulders around to look out of windows. Some light is still seen coming from stars and building lights, but very little. The moon is eclipsed by a black splotch.

The camera zooms and tracks through the windows onto the Hero. As with the Figure, the Hero is defined only by his outline. Where the Figure is bold and blocky, the Hero's outline is wild, constantly shifting. As the outline continues to whisp around (now a verb), a definite outline can be seen in the Hero's left hand: an electric guitar, being held just below the headstock. This is further emphasized when the hero turns the guitar slightly, causing a reflection to trace the outline of the right side of the guitar. As this spark of light moves over the guitar, a sound can be heard, that of a guitar string being pulled taught very quickly.

Wide interior shot again, same as first. This shot is in slow motion. The Figure is standing in the middle of the room staring up at the windows. The glass from the windows comes shattering into the room. The flying shards come close to the Figure, but miss. He takes a cautionary step back, just in case. But this reaction is more likely to stem from what comes through the window immediately after it's broken. The Hero is falling straight toward the Figure, with the guitar held above his head, katana style. Other than the one step, the Figure has no time to react before the guitar hits him, hard, on the head. As the guitar hits, a huge power chord (E possibly) sounds out, shattering the rest of the windows. The screen fades to black.

As the shot fades in, we see the Hero on the far right had side of the screen, looking down at the Figure, who is at about the right third. The guitar body rests on the floor between them, the neck still in hand. The Child can be seen on the far left portion of the screen. The Hero has not yet noticed him. The Child, sensing safety, begins to stand. Before he can even rise from his crouch, the hero rotates the guitar reflecting a stream of incoming moonlight off of the pickguard and onto the Child. The Hero looks at the Child as he does so. This causes the Child to fall from his half-stand flat onto his butt, his legs sticking out in front of him.

Close shot of the Child's face (from the right) looking up at the Hero. We see that he is dirty and disheveled, probably homeless. No more than 12 or 13 years old. The Child starts to speak:

I...

Wide interior shot, same as before. The Hero turns angrily, whipping the guitar up onto his shoulder as he turns. This is the cause for the Child's speaking to be cut short. The Hero walks toward the camera, so furious that he's nearly marching. The Hero fills the screen causing it to be filled with black. We hear the whisper of the Hero, more frustrated than angry:

...COWARD