Stories of War: The Doves

SCENE 1: The Beginning

EXT. The skies above the war. High above the looming clouds. Vultures

are flying beside the doves except their reasons are different. They’re

here for the aftermath. The doves are here to start it.

The doves are zooming through the skies above the clouds. The swarm of

doves bring the clouds with them as they approach the battlefield. The

swarm of doves fly over the field and split in half. One half goes left

and the other half goes right. One goes to the bears side and the other

goes to the foxes side.

We stick with the foxes side first with two doves discussing battle

plans for the foxes. General Irving and his soldier.

One dove looking below, laughing.

SOLDIER DOVE

“What’s so funny sir?”

GENERAL IRVING

(laughing)

“I can’t believe how no one remembers how this all started.”

SOLDIER DOVE stayed silent. He had no idea what the general was talking

about. He had been born into this war like the rest of the doves. Irving

was the oldest dove on the battalion who had been here since the war

began.

Irving notices his partner’s silence.

GENERAL IRVING (still chuckling)

“There was once this bear get into a fight against the fox. I

remained in the trees, observing.”

Irving continues to chuckle to himself as if he’s the one who caused the

event to happen. He can hardly get through a sentence.

GENERAL IRVING (continued)

“Those two tore each other to shreds. It was a sight to see.”

Irving sounded glad, almost honored, that he witnessed their battle.

Soldier Dove spoke hesitantly and cautiously. He’s seen what Irving is

capable off. The soldier asked his question carefully as to not awake

the sleeping giant that is Irving.

SOLDIER DOVE (hesitantly)

“Did-did you know who started it? Or why they started it?”

Irving studied his nervous soldier. And smirked. As much as a dove could

smirk. He spoke in a quiet voice.

GENERAL IRVING (smiling with pleasure)

“I didn’t care”

Soldier Dove remained unfazed. It fits Irving’s history.

Irving again noticing his soldier’s hesitance. He turns to his soldier.

GENERAL IRVING (challenging tone)

“You think of me as menace don’t you?”

SOLDIER DOVE

“No! I-I-“

GENERAL IRVING

“In fact if it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have a job right

now.

SOLDIER DOVE

“what do you mean?”

GENERAL IRVING (Stern)

“I made my choices so that WE may survive! After the war against the

humans, we had no place in this world other than keeping the ecosystem

in check. The more intelligent animals adopted a system similar to the

humans and we were left out. So when I saw the fox and bear fighting, I

saw an opportunity for us.”

SOLDIER DOVE

“You started a war just so that you could have a job?-”

GENERAL IRVING

(booming voice)

“So that WE may SURVIVE.”

SOLDIER DOVE

“And no one opposed you?’

GENERAL IRVING

“No. A fox and bear opposed me, but they’ll be taken care of soon

enough.”

The Doves land on a tree by the General’s tent. One of the foxes saw

Irving on the branches and immediately went to fetch the general. Irving

need not say anything. He commanded respect. He embodied it.

General Alton- the leading general of the foxes. A large fox with

bulging muscles that shadow his small mind. He’s your stereotypical

stupid-strong one. He saw the doves and ushered them into the tent.

GENERAL ALTON

“Irving! What do you have for me.”

GENERAL IRVING

“Bears are fabricating more weapons and gaining more men.

They’ll likely have their weapons made before we have ours done.”

GENERAL ALTON

“Good god...And we don’t have the fox-power to sustain another

assault. Are you sure of this?”

GENERAL IRVING-irked by Alton’s question. He perched right in Alton’s

face. He spoke with a calm ferocity.

GENERAL IRVING

“Are you questioning me boy.”

Alton stood still. The room stood frozen in fear.

GENERAL ALTON

“no.”

GENERAL IRVING

“Then take my directions. And go to war.”

Irving flew away. Soldier dove followed. Alton can be heard shouting his

orders as they fly away.

In the clouds, the soldier speaks with Irving.

SOLDIER DOVE

“You just lied to him?! The bears don’t have that kind of power at

all.”

Irving smirking once more. He took off with the soldier quickly behind

him. Irving turned towards his companion behind him.

GENERAL IRVING

“You don’t get it son. The animals who control the information,

Control the war.”

Irving sped off to the side of the bears to spin a similar tale.

SCENE 2: The BATTLE

EXT BATTLEFIELD- AFTERNOON in the treetops on the fox side.

Irving watches the battle unfold beneath him. Chuckling while his pawns

move across the board.

Soldier dove lands beside him.

SOLDIER DOVE

“What did you tell the bears?”

GENERAL IRVING (not looking at Soldier Dove)

“The same thing I told the foxes.”

SOLDIER DOVE

“You lied again?”

GENERAL IRVING

“Yes. And I set a few plans in motion.”

The battle rages below them. A fox hides behind a rock while a bear on

the opposing side contemplates his role in the war.

SOLDIER DOVE

“What have you done?”

GENERAL IRVING

“I took care of loose ends. There was a bear and a fox who could

oppose me if they found out that I was the one who spread the lie that

started this war. By the end of this battle, they’ll no longer be an

issue.”

Irving flies to the bear side and Soldier dove follows.

EXT- BATTLEFIELD- Afternoon in the treetops on the bear side.

Below a bear aims across the field at the young fox hiding behind rocks.

The bear tries to shoot, but his gun explodes and he is hit with a

bullet. Lying in his blood, the bear tried moving but a medical bear got

to him first.

Soldier dove stood watching Irving’s plan unfold in front of him.

The medical bear began to bury the injured bear soldier.

SOLDIER DOVE

“Why did you rig his gun to explode? Who would do that to

their own teammate?”

Irving points towards a bear making weapons behind the tents.

GENERAL IRVING

“He didn’t take much convincing. After all, as a weapons maker knows

what he has to do to survive. He’s a lot like us. This war is his life.

Without it, he has no purpose.”

SOLDIER DOVE

“And the bear? What did he do to deserve this?”

GENERAL IRVING

“He knew the truth. He was there.”

SOLDIER DOVE

“He saw the battle?”

GENERAL IRVING

“He was close enough to be a threat. I tried many times to kill him

and his family. Even tried bombing his home and he survived that.

SOLDIER DOVE

“You killed his entire family?”

GENERAL IRVING (ignoring the soldier)

“I thought about killing his child, but he was too young to even

remember. And as luck would have it, his son, Robert, is in this war.”

Irving points out the hulking bear with a bellowing roar that would make

anyone shudder with fear.

SOLDIER DOVE

“And what about the mother?”

Irving didn’t respond. He was watching a fox run away from the field.

Towards a cottage. Towards home.

SCENE 3: Home

EXT- COTTAGE ROOFTOP

Irving and Soldier dove drop down on the rooftop as the fox runs into

it. In the distance, a veil of golden dust shimmered on the battlefield.

Phase 2 of Irving’s plan was about to begin.

SOLDIER DOVE

“Why are we here?”

Irving point to the golden veil.

GENERAL IRVING

“Phase 2”

In the veil of dust, you could make out the silhouette of three bears

and a fox battling. Except, it didn’t seem like they were battling. They

were talking with each other. Enemies on the battlefield talking

peacefully with each other.

SOLDIER DOVE didn’t ask. He knew. Someone was going to die in that veil

of dust. It’s only a matter of when.

Breaking of glass can be heard below the doves. Irving peers over the

ledge and see’s the gun pointing out from the window ledge.

The Soldier also peers over and sees the gun. He stands in silence

watching the plan unfold.

Irving is searching the skies. He’s waiting for something to happen.

The Soldier watches the gun below and the golden veil of dust. Unable to

prevent what is about to happen. He hears the gun click. The safety is

removed. He can see the barrel of the gun steady and aim towards the

largest of the three bears. It was the large bear whose roar strikes

fear in anyone who hears it.

SOLDIER DOVE (alarmed)

“Wait! I thought you weren’t going to kill his son”

Irving doesn’t respond. The barrel of the gun gets its target. You can

see the fox’s paws steady the gun.

SUDDENLY, a dove rams into the barrel of the gun before the trigger is

pulled. The Bullet travels into the golden dust.

The dove circled back and landed beside Irving.

SIMMIONS(to Irving, snidely)

“See. I told you I could time it perfectly.”

Soldier Dove doesn’t pay attention to Simmons. He follows the trajectory

of the bullet in to the veil of dust. The bullet struck the fox. The soldier stood afraid.

SOLDIER DOVE

“You placed a hit on two soldi-?”

GENERAL IRVING

“-Two enemies. Yes. It’s for the greater good.”

SOLDIER DOVE (anger rising)

“Greater good? What good could allow for this?”

Irving looked at his soldier for quite a while. He looked back towards

the battlefield at the fallen fox and Robert.

GENERAL IRVING (to soldier)

“You’re dismissed for today soldier. I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some

rest.”

Soldier dove angrily flies off leaving Irving and Simmons alone the

cottage.

The bears in the golden veil look at the dead fox and grieve in agony

and anger. The bears search for the source of the bullet.

Simmons watches the golden veil.

Simmons

“The others were also successful.”

Irving doesn’t respond.

Simmons looks at Irving. Studying his face.

Irving is intently watching Robert. It’s difficult to read his face.

Difficult to know what plans are forming in his mind.

Simmons looks up and sees the soldier fly in the distant skies.

SIMMIONS

“He gonna be a problem?”

Irving doesn’t turn towards Simmons. He keeps his eyes on Robert.

IRVING

“Let’s hope not.”

THE END