Shade: City on Fire

Shade#1 (C.O.F.): New management

CUT TO: BEDROCK, AR

EXT. ABANDONED BUILDING - NIGHT

THERE IS COMMOTION INSIDE OF AN ABANDONED BUILDING. A CAR IS CRASHED OUTSIDE AND MEN ARE LYING ON THE GROUND. AS AN EXPLOSION OCCURS SHADE IS THROWN OUT OF THE BUILDING, SMASHES ONTO THE HOOD OF THE CAR OUTSIDE, AND ROLLS OFF THE CAR ONTO THE GROUND. SHADE THEN STRUGGLES TO HIS FEET AND LOOKS BACK AT THE BUILDING WITH A TIRED EXPRESSION.

[Shade]

(Thinking)

Welcome to Bedrock. The city that, no matter what, has always chosen against its own best self-interest. Greedy capitalists, opportunists, self-righteous grand-standers, and optimists with their own agendas would tell you otherwise but someone who's really living here will tell you something different.

SHADE RUNS BACK INTO THE BUILDING AND BEGINS TO LOOK AROUND.

[Shade]

(Thinking)

A good example is the Bedrock 9. Nine black students who dared challenge the bigots of the time for an equal chance at equity those same bigots would say they were readily willing to turn down. Assholes from neighboring states even came through trying to intimidate them. On the first day of school, one of the girls missed a meeting and showed up to school by herself. She stoically walked through the crowd of shrieking, sobbing, and spasming snowflakes trying to get into the school but was turned away by the National Guard. It might have been one of the bravest things anyone in this city has ever done.

SHADE FINDS A COMPUTER, OPENS A PORTAL IN FRONT OF HIMSELF, AND STARTS TO WALK THROUGH IT HOWEVER HE'S TACKLED INTO THE PORTAL BY SOME UNKNOWN FOE. SHADE REOPENS THE PORTAL ONTO A BUILDING DOWNTOWN AND KICKS HIS ASSAILANT AWAY FROM HIM. SHADE LANDS ON THE ROOF ON HIS FEET AND HIS ASSAILANT LANDS ON AN AIR CONDITIONER. SHADE HANDS THE COMPUTER TO A SHADOW CLONE WHO LEAVES THROUGH THE PORTAL AND TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO THE LAKESIDE CREW GRUNT WHO'S BEEN BEEFED UP BY YÜDLELUTHERAN. SHADE DODGES LAKESIDE CREW GRUNT#1 AS HE THROWS A PUNCH AND KNEES HIM IN THE STOMACH. SHADE PUNCHES LAKESIDE CREW GRUNT#1 IN THE FACE CAUSING HIM TO SPIRAL ONCE AND FALL TO THE ROOF KNOCKED OUT. SHADE LEAVES BY JUMPING OVER TO ANOTHER ROOF AND LEANS AGAINST THE BULKHEAD TO REST.

[Shade]

(Thinking)

After it was decided that integration was the new normal, the whites who didn't have to take it sitting down moved out west. The new tactic was to inconvenience people enough to burn them out and leave them with what they fought for, even though, it was a husk of what was desired. No one really ever thought that bigots would take their ball and go home. That was the worst contingency not accounted for.

SHADE SPITS SOME BLOOD OUT OF HIS MOUTH AND NOTICES THAT A PIECE OF WOOD IS STICKING OUT OF HIS SIDE.

[Shade]

Dammit!

SHADE SLOWLY TAKES THE WOOD OUT OF HIS SIDE WHILE KEEPING HIMSELF FROM YELLING.

[Shade]

(Thinking)

From there it only got worse.

SHADE SITS DOWN ON THE ROOF LEANING AGAINST THE BULKHEAD.

[Shade]

(Thinking)

The redlining, whatever nefarious activity the government was up to; probably bulldozing through neighborhoods for barely functioning highways and pumping drugs into whatever neighborhoods remained. Assholes became cops because they didn't have anything better to do. Rumors of grandeur and justice were manufactured and spread by political pigs in charge of it all.