The Reluctant
A Graphic Novel
Outline
Brad Wardell, July
2006
Prologue
I don’t know when they came. They’ve been
here as long as I have. They came to our world and toppled regimes and overthrew
governments. Some fought back while
others capitulated.
What they want, what they truly want,
remains a mystery. Power. Control. Obedience. These seem to be means to some
dark end.
They are powerful. But their strength lies
not in numbers for they are few. Individually mighty beyond the imagination of
most, they seem to some as gods. They look like humans but they are not. They
are alien. Where they are from we can only suspect.
Introduction
China capitulated to them. It only
took 3 of them to subdue the entire country. They fought hard but numbers, mass
waves of soldiers, meant nothing. The intruders, as they are called, simply
washed them away like one would wash down a sidewalk with a hose.
China was brought into line. The
Chinese were pragmatic.
In the United States,
the government was less…pragmatic. They fought, taking obscene levels of
casualties and still continued. It is believed they even managed to kill one –
by dropping a 50 megaton nuclear bomb on them on US soil. Americans don’t like to lose.
The intruders put the American slogan “Give
me liberty or give me death” to the test. So far, the official government policy
seems to be death. New
York is gone. Washington D.C. is gone. Los Angeles is gone, though the difference is
not as noticeable as one might expect.
The American government still operates, sort
of. Its doctrine has been designed to make the most of the enemy’s limited
numbers. 6 Intruders are apparently
are responsible for North America.
The federal government operates in secret
locations, always on the move, but America goes on. The intruders, while lacking formal
control, have defacto control over any population they go amongst.
There are rumors of course. One rumor in
particular concerns me but only at a distance. It is that they come for the
children. They come for them and take them away never to be seen again. My son is all I have left on this world.
He is the only part of Amanda I have left.
But the Intruders are far away. Living in a small town has its
advantages. No one cares about
Plainwell PA…My name is DL Bradley.
Chapter 1: They’re coming for you Ha Ha.
TV: US air force units operating from a
secret base in the Pacific performed a lightning strike on two Intruders today.
The planes were carrying a new kind of explosive according to onlookers. Neither intruder appeared to be harmed
while several civilians near by were seriously injured as the Intruders left a
local school in Tampa Bay
Florida. This is the third attack by the
reconstituted US military this
month.
In
retaliation, an Intruder wiped out what was left of Edwards Airforce base which
included.
DL: Come on Ethan, you’re going to be late
for school. We are scheduled to talk to your teacher at 9:30.
Ethan: I know Dad, I’m coming. Do you have
to go into the school? All my friends will see you.
DL: Am I that scary?
Ethan: No, but you’re my dad. It is so not
cool being seen with your dad.
DL: Sigh, making a note, 11 years old is
when it is no longer ‘cool’ to be seen with ones dad.
They get into DL’s truck. They go into town
first to pick some things up and it becomes clear that they live in a very
small, rural community.
Cut to school. It is an auditorium where
Ethan and other children are gathered together for pictures. DL is speaking to Ethan's teacher when
there is a commotion at the entrance to the
auditorium.
A
US soldier is thrown across the
auditorium. You can hear his bones snap as he hits the wall. Another soldier is backing into the
auditorium firing his MP-4 at something and continuing to back
away.
A
tall, dark-haired man walks in. He is dressed simply. Slacks, of some kind, with
a plain gray shirt with no buttons or other distinguishing elements. It could be
a T-shirt except it’s too loose fitting. He has a sword sheathed, slung behind
his back.
The soldier continues to fire at him but the
bullets have no effect. The dark haired man merely reaches his hand out and one
can almost see the force that reaches between the man’s hand and the soldier, a
sort of shimmering as the man disintegrates.
A
third soldier yells in rage from behind and runs into the auditorium with a
knife, jumps to stab the dark haired man only to be cut in half in a completely
fluid motion by the Intruder. The Intruder puts his sword back in a sheath that
is slung on his back.
The Intruder – the dark haired man – walks
towards the children that were already together and now huddled even closer
together in abject terror.
Intruder: Ah good, they are already gathered
together. I will be taking them all
with me.
Parent #1: You will not take my
daughter!
The man, unarmed but quite large, runs
full-forced at the Intruder. The
man bounces right off the Intruder who picks him up with one arm and flings him
across the gym.
DL
uses this distraction to slowly move his away in front of his son.
The Intruder motions to the door and three
men in black suits walk in. They are lackeys of the Intruder. No matter how
vile, the powerful will always find servants to do their more grotesque deeds.
The lackeys approach the group to
begin rounding them up.
DL
motions to the first lackey.
DL: I need to speak to him.
Lackey #1: No one talks to the
lords.
DL: He will want to talk to me. I must speak
to him.
Lackey #1: Well, it’s your funeral. (turning to the Intruder), My Lord,
this..man wishes to speak to you.
Intruder: I do not speak to the
cattle.
DL: Please, this is something you must
hear.
DL
makes a submission pose and walks slowly to the Intruder who has a look that is
a cross of annoyance and amusement.
Intruder: Your request may cost you your
life so I hope it has been worth it.
DL: My..lord, I do not..wish to become
involved in (sweeping his hand) this.
I only wish to be left alone to raise my only son here.
Intruder: What? You waste my time on
frivolous groveling.
DL: Please, my lord. I don’t want to be part
of any of this. But I cannot allow you to take my son. I don’t care what you do
elsewhere, I just…cannot have my son taken from me.
Intruder: You make demands of me, human? I
take what I want. I do what I want. We own this world and everything on
it.
DL: I understand, but I beg of you, do not
take my son. I have no desire to get involved but I can’t let you take
him.
Intruder: Bah. You are beneath me, you do
not even deserve to die by my hand…
The intruder turns to a henchmen and orders
him to take DL out and shoot him.
With the Intruders back turned, DL reaches and takes out the Intruder’s
sword, which looks like a sort of Katana.
The Intruder turns with super-human speed but it is already too late, DL
has taken the sword and with a quick thrust it goes right through the
Intruder.
There is an audible gasp in the gymnasium as
the Intruder falls to the ground…dead.
The henchmen, stunned and hearing sounds of more soldiers arriving
flee.
Next: Chapter 2: We’re from the
government…