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INT. SOUTHERN INDIA - MAYYANAD RAILWAY - DAYBREAK Bodies line the halls and moist, submerged tracks of the defunct Mayyanad Railway. On the station floor, a damp Hindi newspaper with the date November 20th, 2095 covers the face of a deceased YOUNG INDIAN BOY. His frame suggests he could be 14, but his sagged jaundiced skin and protruding belly hanging from his brittle bones tell the story of a 15th birthday that would never come. A middle-aged Indian man, frail and aged beyond his years and a crooked nose to boot, sits over the body. His grayed beard and yellowed teeth are parted by a cigarette. He places the cigarettes into the worn pocket of his shirt with the name tag RASHANNI barely hanging on to loose threads. He places his hand on the boys. RASHANNI When I was a boy, I used to stand right over there and sell peppers. RASHANNI gestures over to a vending machine, old by his memory, but advanced beyond the vending machines of the early 21st century. Three deceased women, bodies wrapped in dirty toilet paper, lean against the machine. Empty medical syringes and food wrappers blow with the wind, off the station and onto the tracks. RASHANNI (CONTD) Back in secondary school I used the money to ride the train and pick up girls. A train speeds through the submerged rails, spraying water across the walls and wash away reality. INT. SOUTHERN INDIA - MAYYANAD RAILWAY - AFTERNOON - 30 YEARS AGO RASHANNI runs over to the train car, whistling at a cute girls. An OLDER INDIAN WOMAN bats him over the the familiar Hindi Newspaper: August 7th, 2065. The calls out its glow as RASHANNI looks over at a cute a red bow tie laughing at his misfortune. group of head with light girl with

RASHANI, old and weathered, is basking in the glow of the summers light on the platform. RASHANNI And that right there... is where I met the love of my life. She didnt know it yet of course.

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The train fades away as part of the ceiling collapses, spraying the water onto the tracks. Droplets strike RASHANNIs face as muddied early morning light shines on his face. RASHANNI is thin... with leg muscles too malnourished to move. He licks at the water and smiles while tapping the YOUNG INDIAN BOY on the shoulder. RASHANNI (CONTD) You know, I went to the same college as that girl, in New Delhi. RASHANNI sighs. Looking over at the BOY. RASHANNI (CONTD) What? Am I boring you!? The BOY sits silent and still. RASHANNI (CONTD) Relax, Im just kidding. He taps the boys hand before looking back toward the haze of the tunnel, now partially obscured by the ever-growing light. The walls of the station fade to the New Delhi University Campus. EXT. NEW DELHI CAMPUS - DAY - 20 YEARS AGO A massive wave of student protesters spills out of the campus walls onto the streets of NEW DELHI. An 18 year old RASHANNI screams out with them, lifting a sign reading STOP THE INDUSTRY, STOP THE SEARISE, STOP THE REFUGEES!. Hes joined by a young girl with a red bow tie, she smiles at him as they join together. The Hindi Newspaper flies in the young RASHANNIs face, April 10th, 2075. RASHANNI rips it off his face as the girl giggles and takes his hand. RASHANNI and the GIRL take to a stage. The older RASHANNI sits on the sidewalk beneath him. RASHANNI I was so full of piss and vinegar back then... so stupid. The young RASHANNIs hair falls into his eyes. The old RASHANNI looks at the boy. RASHANNI (CONTD) What? Thats how everybody wore it back then! See how you stupid you look 20 years down the line. The young RASHANNI is passionately yelling into a microphone as the girl watches him intensely.

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RASHANNI (CONTD) I dunno why anyone listened to me back then... especially her. The young RASHANNI pumps his fist up and everyone cheers. He kisses the GIRL. Gunfire errupts and the mob scatters as the old RASHANNI jumps with a start. The young RASHANNI and the GIRL run off as storm troopers attack the stage, beating and firing at students in the process, the smoke from tear gas cannisters surrounds the old RASHANNI. INT. SOUTHERN INDIA - MAYYANAD RAILWAY - MORNING RASHANNI takes a puff from his cigarette. RASHANNI She always hated me smoking. She thought these would kill me. RASHANNI lets out a laugh choked by the smoke. RASHANNI (CONTD) She was right about a lot of things. I was good at telling some stories, but she was right about a lot of things. RASHANNI lays down next to the BOYs body. He looks up through the ceiling. Clouds pass by. Trucks speed by his head. EXT. MAYYANAD - DAY - 10 YEARS AGO In the distance waters have risen up and overtaken the old waterfront city. Dead bodies lie in the streets with malaria nets sitting over every shanty door, all of which read QUARANTINE. He looks down a dirt road as black trucks with government emblems pull up to a shanty shack filled with refugees. RASHANNI Fucking pigs... The soldiers file out of the truck as though they were taking down a fully-armored militia. They knock over a sick refugee and cause a pile of newspapers to spill into the street. The familiar Hindi newspaper, the date July 12th, 2086. They push forward single-file to the door of the shanty shack.

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INT. MAYYANAD RAILWAY - DAY The walls of the train station explode behind RASHANNI as he looks to his side. The young RASHANNI, aged, is cradling a small child on the station platform, decorated with the interiors of a ramshackle family home. The GIRL with the red ribbon is behind him, now a WOMAN with a single gray streak passing through her red ribbon. RASHANNI Fucking... The old RASHANNI tears up as the storm troopers drag her away and rip the baby from RASHANNIs hands. He tries to reach for them but the butt of a troopers rile breaks his nose sending him to the ground screaming. A single gunshot rings out. RASHANNI (CONTD) Pigs... The old memories fade as the light spilling into the tunnel grows to shine on the signs hanging above the doorways. PERMANENT QUARANTINE - NO EXIT - ESCAPEES SHOT ON SIGHT. RASHANNI wipes the tears from his face with what little strength still allows him. He lights another cigarette with his old one. The old butt drops into moist and fades out with a brief sizzle. RASHANNI (CONTD) We had some really... really great years though. RASHANNI turns to the YOUNG INDIAN BOY. RASHANNI (CONTD) Thanks for listening kid. Youre a good egg. My names RASHANNI by the way. You know, they called me the Verbarraconteur. The relater of stories, some French word or some shit. You? The BOY lay motionless. RASHANNI (CONTD) Thats a hell of a name kid... RASHANNIs words trail off as his eyes grow heavy. His lips grow still. The light from the hole in the roof of the tunnel covers his body. The cigarette falls from his mouth. A hiss is heard. CUT TO: BLACK