ELECTRICAL DISCHARGES

EXT. SCHOOLYARD – NIGHT

 

Gradually, a cat behind a chain-link fence dollies
forward—its cat-rattle is audible even beyond the
neighborhood of shadows. The cat enters a purple
light facing a yard of human clutter.

 

Sudden electrical discharges silence the cat.

 

EXT. SCHOOLYARD – NIGHT (CON’T)

 

The cat stands slowly.

 

The cat stands empty of sound, scanning his
surroundings.

 

His hair no longer covers his skin. His body feels
depthless.

 

With graceful precision, he walks away from the
light.

 

He glances at a kneeling man.

 

CRANE SHOT – SCHOOLYARD/CITY – NIGHT

 

The man approaches the cat in the darkness beyond
the human yard.

 

The night cloud looms above the cityscape.

 

A thunderstorm approaches.

 

The man stands gazing down at the naked cat.

 

EXT. PLAYGROUND – NIGHT

 

The man and the cat are lounging on a deserted
jungle gym.

 

A punk youth notices the man and the cat.

 

PUNK YOUTH

Hey, nice cat.

 

MAN

This cat is not like others.

 

PUNK YOUTH

Huh?

Without warning, the cat opens its eyes. Its knife
eyes close and open. Close and open.

 

The punk youth’s eyes are motionless. The punk youth
and the cat exchange glances.

 

Stumbling backwards, the punk youth steps into a shadow.

 

PUNK YOUTH

Fuck you, cat!

 

With blinding speed, the cat closes in. Its veins
force out from its skin. Its eyes are wet and wide.
So reptilian—it ducks back and jerks forward.

 

The cat peals away the punk youth. Dancing, the cat
and the punk youth drop to the ground. The cat tiptoes
away from a heap of twitching human.

 

MAN

Nothing clean, right, cat?

 

The man and the cat slide into a streetlight. They
drop so easily.

 

Thunder punches the sky. Liquid punches the ground.

 

EXT. STREET / NEARBY – NIGHT

 

A ground-pool emerges. Shaking, the cat sits under
the streetlight.

 

Rain streams down the man’s coat.

 

The man and the cat do not blink in the rain. They
sit coldly.

 

EXT. DOWNTOWN / STREET ALLEY – NIGHT

 

A purple shockwave paints over the man and the cat.

 

The man feels angry and filthy.

 

The cat feels angry and filthy.

 

The cat hurls onto the pavement.

 

A dead rat glistens in the rain. The man rises—stands
above the dead rat.

 

The purple shockwave lights up the city.

 

The traffic moves slowly.

 

The cat drops into a muddy pool.

 

The man blinks, amazed. He crouches down beside
the motionless cat. Electrical burns cover the
naked-muscled cat.

 

The cat fades slowly in the rain. The wet sound
will be replaced by the hissing of another cat.

 

The man returns to the motionless punk youth and
begins stripping off his clothes.

 

The man puts on the punk youth’s clothes.

 

The hissing city glistens as the man returns to
the shadows.

 

He feels out of frame.



from James Cameron's Terminator script by
P. Edward Cunningham