CONTENT: Steel House in the Prairie, comic script, full chapter
April is now trapped in the building and needs to find the safest way out.
WHAT IS THIS PLACE?
INT. PIPE ROOM - DAY
April falls inside the building and lands right on her bottom!
APRIL: Ack!
She clumsily stands up and looks around the room which is full of pipes. Unfortunately, there's no pipes she can climb back out the window. April then starts walking around and tries searching for Ida, who still has her jacket and probably the answers to what's going on.
APRIL: (Timidly) Ida? …Ida? (Annoyedly) *Sigh*
April walks around silently, still trying to look for Ida. She then decides whether or not she should peek into one of the pipes. She does, and peeping through one of the pipes, she gets surprised when a bunch of rodent-like creatures jump out at her! April immediately backs off and runs away, but one of them scratches her cheek in the process.
April spots a wheeled bin and quickly heads towards there, but while running, she realises there's a giant open pipe below her! Quickly she jumps over it, lucky not to fall in (unlike one of the creatures that actually did fall in). The bin's right in front of April now, and she immediately dives inside there. Not long after, the creatures start to disappear from the area. April still sits in the bin, all curled up.
APRIL: W-what was that...?
Outside the bin, someone's whistling and walking towards the bin April's hiding in. That someone is a young, green, eight-limbed, quadrupedal being, also called an uvra.
???: Eew…! What’s up with these critters everywhere?
The uvra pushes the wheeled bin, or at least tries to.
???: Hm?
They try pushing the bin again.
???: What the-
The uvra peers into the bin then quickly backs off, surprised to find someone inside there. The uvra looks inside the bin again. April forcefully wipes her face dry. She finally sees the uvra.
APRIL: AAH!!!
April gets so shocked that she punches the uvra in the face! (She does this with her left, non-robotic hand. Thankfully, she was born left-handed) The uvra, now on the floor, stands back up, cupping their cheek with their hand.
???: HEY! What’s the big idea?!
APRIL: (From inside the bin) *Whimpering*
???: ...?
The uvra curiously looks inside of the bin.
???: Wait… Are you… crying?
April aggressively shakes her head.
???: ...Wow. So, androids these days really can cry now, huh… ... Oh! You can get outta there! What’re you doing in a bin, anyway?
April's face goes totally red out of embarrassment. She wobbly climbs out of the bin and the uvra helps her out by pulling on her (left) arm. April balances herself as she stands. Still holding onto her arm, the uvra realises that April’s left arm's actually skin, flesh and bone.
???: (In surprise) Holy sh- that's flesh!
April pulls away.
???: Sorry! I just… Uh…
The uvra clears their throat.
???: Ahem! So, you’re a human… Half-human cyborg…?
APRIL: ...
???: Oh, I get it, now! You’re not from this place, are you? So, you’re lost.
April nods.
???: And I don’t think you’re here to stay either. … Well, my name's Pillia. I can help you outta here if you want?
APRIL: (Quietly) Really…? That’d be cool.
PILLIA: So, you do talk! What’s your name?
APRIL: …April.
PILLIA: Hey, that’s a pretty name.
APRIL: Thanks.
PILLIA: Yeah! Follow me; I’ll help you outta here, now.
Pillia pushes her bin and April follows. They continue walking.
INT. CORRIDOR - SAME DAY
April and Pillia walk down the corridor. April looks out the window and sees the grassy landscape.
PILLIA: Sorry the view's not too great, today. It's been really foggy out, lately.
APRIL: It's okay. I'm just kinda glad I'm not out there anymore.
PILLIA: But you live out there, don't you?
APRIL: Back in the city.
PILLIA: So your home's here on Imest... Hm. Since we're on the topic now, here's a fun fact: mine's not, actually. My home, I mean.
APRIL: It's not?
PILLIA: I know this might sound really weird, but I'm not exactly supposed to be on this planet. My home's all the way in Stawdos.
APRIL: S-Stawdos?
PILLIA: Well, it used to. I live here now... Yeah, we're really lucky we found this building.
APRIL: Wait a minute... "We" as in...?
PILLIA: My entire town. You know all the stuff's been happening between the planets?
APRIL: Not really...
PILLIA: Huh... You're not kept up with the news, are you?
APRIL: I guess not... Sorry...
PILLIA: Nah it's fine, I don't blame you. It's not pretty. ... ...Ah well, that's on me for bringing it up!
APRIL: ...
INT. TRAIN STATION - SAME DAY
April and Pillia enter a room with a train station.
APRIL: ... (In her thoughts) Whoa... Just how big is this place...?
April and Pillia sit on the bench and wait for the train. They wait for a while. The train arrives.
INT. TRAIN - SAME DAY
An android all dressed in a blue driver’s uniform sits at the driver's seat. Steam whistles out of the android's chimney-antennae. The door opens and Pillia energetically walks right in.
PILLIA: Hello, Matro!
MATRO: (Warmly) ‘Ey there, Lia. How're you?
PILLIA: I'm good,
MATRO: And who've you brought with you? This is a new new face,
April awkwardly waves when Matro looks at her.APRIL: (In her thoughts) Oh my God... I've only seen guys like him in history books
PILLIA: Mhm, this is April. She’s a bit lost and I’m thinking about helping her get back home.
MATRO: I see, (To April) Well, it's lovely to meet you, April
Matro lets out his hand out to shake with April.
MATRO: Matro Sivastes. How're you?
April's shakes hands with Matro.
APRIL: I'm good, I guess...
MATRO: That's always nice to hear.
Matro pulls a lever and the train starts to move.
MATRO: (To April, still) Now, I wonder… How in the world did you get lost here? D’you remember what floor your place was?
APRIL: ...
PILLIA: April's not actually from here. She's a cyborg from the city.
Steam (that's actually air-freshener) chuffs out of one of Matro's chimney-antennae.
MATRO: Sorry about that, April! Well, ehrm... So, April, how'd you wind up here anyway? You look a bit young to find your way here all by yourself.
April shrugs.
MATRO: That's alright, ...How about you go take a seat, now?
APRIL: 'K,
April walks down the train and takes a seat. She watches Pillia and Matro who continue talking.
MATRO: So, you're actually calling off your things for the day? And what time d’you think you'll get home?
PILLIA: Nothing’s changing! I can help her back and still do my stuff ‘cause I’ve got an idea. April?
APRIL: ?
PILLIA: Do you wanna do some exploring while I do my things? Or do you wanna stay in here with Matro and, I dunno. Matro, what can April do?
MATRO: Well, I guess you can always listen to music appreciate the view out,
PILLIA: Alright, sounds nice. Which do you choose?
APRIL: I guess I’ll go with Pillia.
PILLIA: Woot!
WHAT ARE YOU?
INT. TRAIN - DAY
April and Pillia sit inside the train. April listens to music with her earphones and Pillia draws on her sketchpad.
APRIL: *Gasp!*
PILLIA: Huh? April, what’s wrong?
APRIL: (Whispering) My jacket…! There’s this person who still has my jacket…! Wait… you heard of someone named Ida?
PILLIA: Hold up… You know Ida? Ida Imauri?
APRIL: Mhm. We talked quite a bit back at the city,
PILLIA: No way! Ida and I are best friends!
APRIL: Whoa...
PILLIA: Anyway, you don't have to worry about anything. I’m gonna make sure we’ll run into her eventually.
Pillia gets out her phone and text messages show on the screen. She types, “ida where u at” and sends the message. She and April wait for a response. Pillia types again, “i kno u got aprils jacket” and she and April wait again. There’s not a response to that, either.
PILLIA: Weird. I woulda thought she’d respond by now. Oh well,
INT. TRAIN STATION (2) - SAME DAY
April and Pillia get off of the train. Matro sits inside.
MATRO: Now Lia, try not to go off to your usual shenanigans again… I don’t want any more trouble with your parents, at least for a while.
PILLIA: Yeah, yeah okay.
MATRO: And April, you be careful out there, too. (Jokingly) In fact, maybe it’s better if you keep some distance from Lia, here! You’ll never know what trouble she’ll get herself into, these days, haha!
APRIL: Got it.
PILLIA: ... ... He’s kidding. Believe me.
MATRO: I’ll see you both, soon.
The train drives away while April and Pillia wave goodbye.
INT. ELECTRICAL ROOMS ENTRANCE - CONTINUOUS
Pillia and April enter the room.
APRIL: Hey, uh… Pillia? About those critters from when you found me...
PILLIA: What? They scared you, didn’t they?
APRIL: Yeah. They gave me a pretty bad scratch, too.
April places her hand over the scratch on her cheek.
APRIL: And it's still there... Yeah… Just in case something like that happens again… I kinda wanna know if there’s anything I can… Y’know… Borrow?
PILLIA: Oh yeah! Sure! Believe me though, stuff like that doesn’t happen often. But if you really wanna…
Pillia stops pushing her bin. The focus is now the bin.
PILLIA: …Bin's all yours,
April browses through the bin for a bit. Eventually, she picks up a thin, long-ish metal pipe, about half her height. Behind her, Pillia proudly takes a small shank from her pocket.
PILLIA: Also, you gotta check out this shank I made all by myself! Could spark some inspo, y’know, haha! …Only kidding. But you can if you wanna…
April looks at Pillia’s shank and continues browsing the trash. Pillia awkwardly scratches her head and then puts her shank back in her pocket afterwards. After some time, April finally shows a metal pipe and a sharp piece of scrap metal tied to an old bike handle to Pillia.
APRIL: These good?
PILLIA: Neato.
Pillia then finds a small string knapsack from the bin and gives it to April.
PILLIA: I think you’d want this, too. For your stuff in case you have too much to carry. It doesn't stink, so don't worry.
APRIL: Damn… Pretty amazing how you can even find this stuff.
PILLIA: Yeah, it is. But I've been finding it a lot easier to find stuff since our janitor bots've kinda just been lazy or something...
APRIL: ???
PILLIA: Ah, don't worry about it,
Pillia and April continue walking. Pillia picks up some rubbish in one area. April looks around in awe.
INT. ELECTRICAL ROOM - SAME DAY
It's been some time since Pillia started picking up rubbish. She's now organising her collection. Meanwhile, April practises using her metal pipe. Pillia watches her for a bit.
PILLIA: You’re pretty good!
APRIL: Thanks…!
Again, later on, Pillia clears up some more scraps again. April leans on a wall while listening to some music on her earphones. She checks the time on her robotic arm.
APRIL: So... Pillia? Apparently, according to that train guy, you get into a lot of trouble.
PILLIA: Usually. Today just feels a little different. Maybe, I'm not feeling it? I dunno, haha
APRIL: Oh, okay.
PILLIA: ...You’re bored, aren't you?
APRIL: No. ... …Actually, yeah. Sorry...
PILLIA: Hey, don’t worry ‘bout it. You can go ahead and explore while I continue my stuff, if you wannna. How's that?
APRIL: I’m going on my own…?
PILLIA: If you wanna? ...You’re not scared, are you? I mean, I think I do recall you crying a little back then!
APRIL: (Embarrassedly, with some forced boldness) Hey, I wasn't crying, y'know! I’ll be fine on my own, thanks.
PILLIA: I'm just teasing! You don't really have to worry much anyway since everyone here’s usually pretty friendly. Promise. And when you're done, we can meet all the way there, past those rooms, and then head to the next station. I swear it’s not too far.
APRIL: Oh, okay
Pillia starts to walk away.
PILLIA: See you in 30!
APRIL: Mhm, got it,
April waves before walking in the direction that Pillia pointed at.
APRIL: 30…? As in 30 limuns? Man…
SUBTITLE: "Limun" - The Imesian equivalent to a minute. Definitely not as long as an Earthean minute, though. Probably, it's longer. And yeah, this is that sorta sci-fi.
INT. AROUND A FEW ROOMS - SAME DAY
MONTAGE:
--April walks through what seems to be a small shopping centre. It's pretty empty of people and there are signs in about every shop that read, "FREE! PLEASE TAKE ONE," and all things similar. There is a small service bot wandering around.
--April looks at another large room through a barred window. There's a power station inside.
--April walks through a small lounge. She gets frightened by an insect!
END MONTAGE
EXT. LODGINGS VERANDA-BALCONY - SAME DAY
April walks along the balcony railing and looks over it. The fog's completely gone now, and the sun's still pretty high up in the sky.
SFX: (Offscreen) Chatter, chatter, chatter...
APRIL: ?
April looks around and sees a small crowd of alien creatures talking amongst each other tensely. She curiously walks towards them, but keeps her distance.
APRIL: (In her thoughts) Whoa... I've never seen people like that before... They're so little...
One of the aliens spot April. This one's smallish, six-limbed and walks on fours. They run towards her.
APRIL: Uh oh...
???: Hey! Who are you?
April sweats.
???: ???
APRIL: …April?
???: April! Hello! My name’s Ilekren. You busy?
APRIL: Not really,
ILEKREN: Great! Follow me!
APRIL: Wait--
Ilekren dashes away back into the small crowd. April tries to catch up.
CROWD: Blah, blah, blah, they're still gone, blah, blah, blah stupid idea, blah, blah, blah…APRIL: Uh… What’s up?
ILEKREN: We’re in a bit of a muddle. Or actually, this might be an emergency.
APRIL: Okay,
ILEKREN: In other words, we need help, and fast!
APRIL: Wait, so you're suggesting...
ILEKREN: Everyone! I’ve found some more help! Someone's here to help us!
The crowd quiets down.
ILEKREN: That's all!
The crowd starts talking to each other again.
APRIL: ... (Muttering) Oh boy… (whispering nervously) Hey uh, what’s-your-name? Ilekren? What’s going on? You seriously think I can help you guys?
ILEKREN: Yep. But first, let me fill you in on the situation here. Let's move on to somewhere quiet.
Ilekren and April walk away from the crowd and along the balcony.
ILEKREN: You see, there used to be plenty of us that live here. It’s also important to mention that this place also mostly consisted of sennajays since we can tolerate voltages and whatnot the best out of everyone in this building. Here, it’s safe for us to live in, while for others, it’s not.
APRIL: Sennajays…?
ILEKREN: That’s what we’re called. Just like you are a human!
ILEKREN: (In her thoughts) Finally!!! (Out loud) Actually, I’m kind of human. Just kinda robotic.
ILEKREN: Cyborgs aren't really all that strange where I'm from.
APRIL: ...Whoa.
ILEKREN: Anyway, as I was saying, there were obviously many of us sennajays before, but now, there’s, well, not. The android that works around here is nowhere to be found, too. If you want to know, her name is Wyra Kappel. She's pretty short for an android - less than two metres - and's got a cap attached to her head. And oh yeah, you can't miss her hair - she wears it in pigtails or something.
APRIL: Mhm...
INT. LODGINGS YARD-BALCONY - DAY (FLASHBACK)
Seennajays hang out around the balcony and Wyra does her work. Wyra's identity is a bit ambiguous here, though (it's being cut off from the panel frame).
ILEKREN: (Voiceover) Once, we were all going on with our days as we would normally, until about two days ago…
View of some robot's legs. The rest of their identity is cut off from the panel frame. They put a bag on the ground.
ILEKREN: (Voiceover) …Some idiot doctor came up here.
EXT. LODGINGS VERANDA-BALCONY - DAY (BACK TO PRESENT)
April and Ilekren walk past some lodges.
APRIL: Should I know who this guy is, too?
ILEKREN: They’re one of the doctor androids here on the top floors. The one we're talking about's name’s Sarlife. You’d probably forget it, but you know what doctors look like? With those white long coats and all. This one’s got antennae that look like long ears too.
EXT. LODGINGS VERANDA-BALCONY - NIGHT (FLASHBACK)
Sennajays line up outside of a tent.
ILEKREN: (voiceover) Anyway, the doctor demanded each of us to have a check-up and a large fraction of us were taken in by them. Wyra was asked to be in the tent, too. We expected that Wyra and the sennajays who were taken away would return back later on...
EXT. LODGINGS VERANDA-BALCONY - DAY (FLASHBACK)
The following day, sennajays hang out at the balcony. But, there's less of them, and some are even doing Wyra's work.
ILEKREN: (Voiceover) But they didn’t return the next morning. We weren’t too worried, since it had only been less than a day. Clearly we were wrong about that!
EXT. LODGINGS VERANDA-BALCONY - DAY (BACK TO PRESENT)
April and Ilekren stop walking.
ILEKREN: Until now, no one has returned yet, and we're starting to think something bad's happened! We’ve sent a few groups to go find them, but if we send out too many, there’ll be not enough of us to help maintain the building, especially without Wyra, who does the majority of the work here.
APRIL: And so, you want me to help you find them?
ILEKREN: If you can, yes, please.
APRIL: How much time do I have?
ILEKREN: As long as it takes!
APRIL: Yeah, I can do with—
ILEKREN: But it’s best if you’ve got 30 limuns… minimum…
APRIL: Oh… uh… I might need to head somewhere soon, though…
ILEKREN: Hm… I’ll see if I can make this work…
From somewhere hidden above, a mysterious being spies on April from a rooftop...
???: … ... Some idiot doctor…?
Back to April and Ilekren, they seem to have just finished their conversation.
APRIL: Mm… Alright, sure. I’ll see what I can do.
ILEKREN: Thank you so much!
April goes off to find Wyra and some of the missing sennajays.
SEARCHING
INT. LOUNGE ROOM - DAY
April searches around. She timidly walks up to a stranger when she sees them.
APRIL: Heyuh, have you seen any sennajays around? And some android named Wyra?
STRANGER: Have I seen any sennajays? Oh, you mean the missing ones? Nah… And I haven’t seen Wyra either… Weird, isn’t it?
INT. INDOOR LODGINGS FRONT - SAME DAY
April continues her search in another nearby room. She's talking to another stranger.
STRANGER (2): Wyra? Haha, nope! And sennajays? I’ve only heard that the ones we see all the time now look scrawnier than before… Interesting!
INT. BAR - SAME DAY
April awkwardly sits down on a barstool, next to a line of a few strangers.
STRANGER (3): You even allowed here, kid?
APRIL: …
INT. LOUNGE (2) - SAME DAY
April searches around some more. She sees Pillia still doing her thing, rummaging in a bin. She runs up to her.
PILLIA: Whoa, hey April! What’s the rush? We didn’t need to meet this early; you know! Did you miss me already? Haha!
APRIL: Sorry…! I’m just helping find someone named Wyra and a bunch of missing sennajays. Seen any?
PILLIA: No, actually. I heard about this around, though... The news is pretty fresh.
From another place hidden above, there's probably the same mysterious person spying on April. Looks like someone's following her around. They look at a smaller, armoured creature. They'll be seen under low light, giving a silhouette effect, making them hard to identify.
???: Hey, you. Go follow that kid over there.
ARMOURED CREATURE: Mhm,
The armoured creature scurries away. The mysterious being turns around to face the other way. There's more of the armoured creatures, there.
???: And the rest of you, I want you all to listen here…
Back to Pillia and April. They're conversation seems to have just finished. April starts heading somewhere.
PILLIA: Good luck!
INT. INDOOR LODGING ROOFTOPS - SAME DAY
April searches around, still. She is a little bit exhausted from searching, no surprise. She checks the time on her robotic arm and then looks behind her. April walks back in the way she came. Suddenly, she hears some quick footsteps! April immediately looks in the direction of the sound. But, she shrugs it off and continues walking. She hears the footsteps again.
APRIL: ...
April sweats a little. Tensely, she holds out her metal pipe. From somewhere hidden, the mysterious person that was spying on April before, watches April again from another rooftop. They see April in her fighting stance.
???: Yeah bingo. Now, that confirms it...!
Back to April. She looks around anxiously.
April: (In her thoughts) Alright, it's probably just those critters from before. I’ll be fine…Just as April expected, there's some creatures running straight for her.
APRIL: (Quietly) Here we go, I got this...
Just, they're not the critters from before - they're armoured creatures and they're much bigger! And they're holding some rope, a large bag and some metal rods, too. April takes a breath and is still steady in her stance.
APRIL: (Quietly) ...Weird that they're holding things, though.
But the closer the creatures get, the more fear grows in April. Next thing she knows, the armoured creatures are communicating with each other!
APRIL: WHAT THE?! Oh no; I’m gettin' the heck outta here!!!
April runs away, but soon enough, the armoured creatures eventually catch up to her and start trying to capture her with the rope and a bag. April then tries to defend herself with her metal pipe.
APRIL: H-hey look! I got this here! I don't wanna have to hurt you!
ARMOURED CREATURE (2): Yeah, whatever!!!
The armoured creatures still try to trip up April with the rope and get her inside the bag. April gets totally ticked off by this.
APRIL: Alright, that's it!
She eventually whacks the helmet off one of the armoured creatures and discovers that underneath the armour is a sennajay!
APRIL: *Gasp!*
April backs off immediately. But, one of the armoured creatures produce electricity that passes through their metal rod as a threat!
APRIL: AH! What the--
April tries to back off some more, but the sennajays keep getting closer. Eventually, she just bats one on the side, giving her space to run away.
April keeps running. She looks behind her and sees the same sennajays still chasing her. She looks forward again and sees the door where she came from, but a couple more sennajays block her way there, too! April changes her direction a bit and runs ahead that way.
Before knowing it, April realises that she’s running straight ahead to the edge of the roof that she’s on! Luckily, over the gap is another rooftop. Not-so-luckily, she'll have to jump - sennajays are chasing her from all directions behind her. This jump will have to be aimed perfectly though, because otherwise she'd suffer the consquences of a pretty nasty fall!
April jumps over the gap and with her metal pipe, miraculously hooks onto a long railing. She manages to climb up on the roof and takes a breath.
APRIL: Ho-ly crap...! I am never doing that again!
When she looks behind her, some sennajays that failed to slow down fall off the edge. The remaining sennajays discuss a plan.
APRIL: …
The sennajays begin stacking on top of each other!
APRIL: What are they...
ARMOURED SENNAJAY (3): Alright people! LEAN FORWARDS!!!
The tower of sennajays lean forwards, supposedly to create a bridge over the gap.
APRIL: ... (In her thoughts) What do I do...? I don't wanna hurt them, but I don't wanna get myself in trouble, either...!
The tower of sennajays are close to reaching the roof that April's on.
APRIL: Screw this!!!
April bats the sennajay at the end of the tower, causing the link to collapse! The sennajays fall down the gap.
APRIL: ... ... ...
April immediately runs to the gap to see what's happened. Turns out the drop wasn't so far down. It is just a boxed alleyway that the sennajays are trapped in.
APRIL: (In relief) *Sigh* (Calling out) H-hey uh... Sorry! ... ...You guys alright?
SENNAJAY (4): WHAT KIND OF A QUESTION IS THAT?!
APRIL: ...
April embarrassedly looks up from the gap. She then sees an android looking at her from another rooftop with a number of other armoured sennajays with them. The android is short, appears to be wearing a cap, and most identifiably, wears their hair up in large twin tails.
APRIL: ... Is that... Wyra?
On the rooftop Wyra's on, Wyra looks at April who sits down.
WYRA: ...
ARMOURED SENNAJAY (5): ...What are we going to do about them?
WYRA: I don't know... ... ...Follow me. Don't worry, we'll think of something better...
Back to April. She watches the android walk away and the sennajays that follow them. April keeps watching until they all leave.
EXT. LODGINGS VERANDA-BALCONY - SAME DAY
The once captured sennajays just hang out near their homes, a few reunited with their families, but they all still show fear and anxiousness. April stands with Ilekren.
APRIL: Are those guys okay…?
ILEKREN: They just need some time to settle. But, even though not everyone was retrieved, we’re still happy that at least some of them managed to return.
APRIL: Okay…
April looks some more at the returned sennajays.
APRIL: ...
ILEKREN: Why’re you so tense? Did something happen? You look a bit beat. ...That’s why you can have this!
Ilekren gives April a small pouch.
ILEKREN: April, I’m giving you this on behalf of everyone here. Here’s some ursémoma as a gift! I hope you like it!
April happily takes the pouch.
ILEKREN: It’s a favourite for mostly sennajays, but maybe it’d taste just as great for humans, as well. It’s similar to Earthean popping candy, if that sparks some interest!
APRIL: Thanks!
After some time, April waves goodbye to Ilekren the community of sennajays and continues her way to the next station.
ILEKREN: Thank you for helping us today, April! Hope we’ll meet again, soon!
END.
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