Dusty Skye

Synopsis:  A post-apocalyptic tale of the aftermath of a nuclear war.   Dusty and her crew of exterminators keep the world safe from mutated ‘monsters’ or overgrown pests. 

~*~CAST~*~

Dusty Rose Skye:

Raven Skye: (Dusty’s dad)

Poppy Skye: (Dusty’s mom)

Heron Skye: (Dusty’s grandpa)

Egret Skye: (Dusty’s grandma)

Lorenzo Bolero: (Dusty’s fiancé)

Ankeet Nipuna: 

Nisreen Cohen:  (Ankeet’s fiancée)

Esther Nicohen: (their daughter)

Kenya Skye: (Dusty/Lorenzo’s daughter)

Justice Skye:  (Dusty/Lorenzo’s 2^nd daughter, twin)

Buzz Hearst: 

Dolly Hearst:  (his wife) 

Berkley Hearst: (their eldest son)

Hartford Hearst: (middle son) 

Velvet Hearst:  (youngest daughter) 

Rosa Valdez:  (mother)

Tito Valdez: (father)

Mira Valdez: 

Pepe Valdez: (her brother)

Corina Valdez: (youngest sister)

Tina Valdez: (baby sister)

‘I saw this as a possibility, yet I’m surprised this is the road we’re taking.’—Sapphire, Stephen Universe, ‘Hit the Diamond’ 

Scene 1—Up to This Point

Dusty:  (walking by with her extermination crew looking totally bad-assed western-themed attire.  Each time an oversized pest appears, they gun it down in the most epic way possible, slow motion, guns blazing, bullet-time shots when the slugs whiz on by, ‘Indian Outlaw’ plays as she does most of the fragging and expertly so, she’s got dead-on accuracy when it comes to extermination)  (narrating)  You might ask yourself what caused us to mutate into undines or what made insects grow to Goliath-sized proportions.   Not long ago, there was a nuclear war brought on by political upheaval in some of the world’s major superpowers.   Those in my tribe had foreseen the cataclysm and prepared for it many moons in advance.   Like many others who had prepared for the oncoming nuclear holocaust, they were able to adapt, evolve and shift with the transforming landscape.    The face of humanity has changed quite a bit and there aren’t many of us left.   Somehow, humans have survived what many have claimed to be Armageddon.    There are some seriously gnarly beasties in this brave, insane and unreal new world.   As a mode of transport, we saddle ladybugs, butterflies and dragonflies.  Honeybees are amenable to this mode too, since we’re really not all that heavy to them.  Other varmints, like mosquitoes, hornets, wasps, termites and cockroaches, well, they’re not really kind to the remnant.   It’s either kill or be killed.  

(‘Bolero’ plays in the background while Lorenzo defends his lady love from being devoured by some rather nasty flying horned beetles.) 

Dusty:  (dreamily)  I do realize how mushy this sounds but Lorenzo is my everything.  Of course I can handle myself well in this environment but he acts as my extra pair of eyes.   Then you’ve got the others on my posse.  That over there is my dad, Raven, mama Poppy, Heron and Egret my grandparents.   We’re all one tribe here !   Then you’ve got Ankeet and Nisreen.  Sure they might be from totally different backgrounds but the fallout from the destruction knit them together.  The two of them were peas in a pod from childhood and the aftermath of nuclear war only made them closer.    One can say it’s done that for all of us.   We’re always on the move, new-age vagabonds, nomads if you will.   We go by many titles but ‘sojourners’ seems to fit us like our leather saddles do for our noble steeds. 

(They wrangle up some dragonflies and begin to ride them to exterminate a swarm of nasty locusts that’s trying to eat a neighborhood farm alive.  ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ plays in the background while all are leveled.  Some are taken home by the Sojourners for dinner.) 

Ankeet:  Ah, fantastic !   Enough for us all.  This will last us for months. 

Nisreen:  Thanks to dead eye over there.

Dusty:  Nah, it was a team effort.  

Lorenzo:  But you’re the best sniper I know, love.  Of course, other than myself. 

(pulls her close to kiss her, deeply on the lips, she blushes in spite of herself.) 

Poppy:  (teasing)  Get a room, you two.  Either that or get hitched ! 

Lorenzo:  Dearest mother, you know we would.   But as you know, the climate here isn’t exactly accommodating to marriage.  

Ankeet:   I know you don’t approve of us living together, even though the tribe says nothing of it.  

Poppy:  (in denial) I do no such thing ! 

Dusty:  Don’t worry, pop, grandpop and grandma are even worse about it. 

Nisreen:  We would all get ourselves legally wed if constables were still around.  There are none, no preachers exist any longer and the legal documentation is just a dusty artifact of the past.   We all know that our tribe is expanding.  

Ankeet:  We have to keep moving to where there’s more water, especially with the baby coming.  

Heron:  How long have you been pregnant, Nisreen ? 

Nisreen:  The doctors in the last town determined I’m close to my third trimester.  I know I wasn’t showing much in the past, but now it can’t be denied. 

Egret:  Is the baby healthy ?  Even in this harsh environment.

Ankeet:  The doctors say that Esther is going to be just fine. 

Nisreen:  She’s hale and hearty, thanks to our thriving farm. 

Dusty:  I just hope the community will be pleased with our haul this time.  

Heron:  I pray rain comes.   We may have to do our rain dance tonight if the draught keeps on any longer. 

Egret:  It’s never persisted too long.  We’re in the monsoon season, Heron.  You fret too much.  Mother Earth knows her cycles and keeps them all in order.  Don’t you worry, my darling.  Mother Earth is in control.  

Heron:  I believe this is Her way of putting everything back in balance.  

(They begin to land their dragonflies and dismount them. They give them little flasks of water to cool their tongues and leftover vegetables as food.) 

Lorenzo:  (patting his dragonfly affectionately on the head) Good boy, Fleetwood.   There.  Stay in the corral.  Fantastic. 

Dusty:  (chuckling)  Fleetwood.  I never understood why you chose that name for him. 

Lorenzo:  I’m remembering the bands of old.   Reminds me of where we’ve come from.  

(Seamless segue into next scene.) 

Scene 2—Graciousness

Raven:  Here come the Mayor and his family.  

Poppy:  Always good to see them, now we know we’re really back where we belong. 

Buzz:  Thank heavens you’ve come, Sojourners. 

Dusty:  We brought a haul with us this time, Mayor Hearst.  

Dolly:  Holy smokes, Dusty  !   It’s enough for the whole tristate area ! 

Berkley:  Dang, we’re gonna be eating good for a long time, ma ! 

Dolly:  That we are, Berk.  

Hartford:  Thanks for doing what you do.   You are wicked awesome, and dangerously frigid.  

Lorenzo:  Just doing what comes by the natch, son.  

Hartford:  Surreally chill, man.  

Velvet:  Don’t mind Hartford, dudes.  He can be a total dork sometimes. 

Hartford:  Vel, I’m in earshot ! 

Velvet:  (laughing)  I’m a bit of a hypocrite though.  We’re all your biggest fans.  

(They come up, swarm them for photos with updated old pieces of technology they have refurbished.) 

Berkley:  I hope these cams work.  They’ve been out of commission for decades now.  I had to reverse engineer them.  

(They take the photos, and then flip them over to see if the experiment Berkley conducted is successful.) 

Hartford:  Berk, they work !

Velvet:   Awesome job, Berk, you rock !   You were always the tech genius of the three of us.

Berkley:  Oh, shucks.  Come on, Velvet, you flatter me.  You’re just as good when it comes to rebuilding old compys.  

Velvet:  Dad taught us though.  No school could have ever given us that priceless amount of education.  

Dolly:  That he has, and it was all free.  

Buzz:  We’re all having dinner tonight as a community.  You’re welcome to attend, as always.  

Lorenzo:  Why, we would be honored, Mayor !  

Dusty:  (narrating)  Seeing as we had always been friends of the Hearst family, we promptly joined them for dinner and assisted in cooking the meat for the huge feast.  We told stories around the campfire from days long past and relayed legends from our own tribe.   Then I and my family danced and prayed rain.   Before long, the storm clouds gathered and the rains came.  

(A Celtic song plays in the background as the tristate area is given the nourishment it requires.) 

Dolly:  It worked !   It actually worked !   I can’t believe what I’m seeing ! 

Velvet:  (is completely dumbstruck, as are her brothers and the townspeople)

Hartford:  (getting teary-eyed)  So long we’ve been needing this rain.   You were the only people to bring it to us.  

Berkley:  You have to be prophets, angels or other-worldly.   Thank you. 

(They are flattered by the ethereal compliments.)

Nisreen:  No, Berkley, we’re undines.  Just like everyone else.   We do what we can to survive. 

Ankeet:  After that large meal though, we’re ready to hit the proverbial hay. 

Velvet:  Won’t you stay at our estate ?  Nisreen, especially.  You need to prop your feet up ! 

Lorenzo:  We don’t want to impose ! 

Dolly:  You wouldn’t.  

Dusty: (narrating)  To be honest, it was rather a break from the norm to be resting at a lavish mansion when usually we schlepped around the countryside sleeping under the stars, and it wasn’t always accommodating.  

(Scene fade) 

Scene 3—Crisis Moves the Sojourners Forward

Buzz:  (near the crack of dawn, he gets a distress call and has to awaken our heroes and heroines)   I’m sorry, but this came up at the last moment.  I didn’t know who else to come to but you’uns.  

Lorenzo:  Buzz, we’re used to it by now.

Dusty:  What seems to be the problem ?  

Dolly:   There’s a city not too far from here.  We were thinking you could help train them for further sieges since the great migration isn’t long from now. 

Ankeet:  (shudders)  Great Ganesh, I remember the last migration.   So many locusts, you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.   (shivering a little) 

Nisreen:   It’s no problem, guys.  

Dolly:  It seems like the moment y’all were settled y’all have to go and leave. 

(They all hug them close together.) 

Dolly:  That’s just how the Sojourners roll.   The earth is our home and we have to protect it from danger.  

Ankeet: (bowing in deference, hands pressed together to show deep gratitude)  We cannot begin to thank you enough for your overwhelming hospitality. 

Dolly:  Think nothing of it.  Mi casa es su casa as they say !   (she titters lightly) 

Buzz:  Be careful out there, though.   Lots of nasties out there, and I’m not just talking about the mutated insects. 

Lorenzo:  (heading out to the corral, tipping his hat to avoid the sun’s glare in his face)  We know.   We’ll be cautious.  

(They all leave and head to the city.  Linkin Park’s ‘Numb’ plays in the background while they wail on the locusts and teach the local people how to fend for themselves.  Most of them get the point but there are others who are a bit more selfish and get by in more unscrupulous ways.   This is where the Sojourners have to be bounty hunters, whether they like to or not.) 

Scene 5—A Family Affair

Rosa:  (coming aside in an alleyway to count their latest haul for bartering)  It’s a shame how gullible people really are. 

Mira:  No, mama.  What’s really pitiful is that we’re still doing this !  Aren’t you afraid we’re going to be caught ? 

Pepe: Mira’s right.  Haven’t you heard of the Sojourners ? 

Tito: (boldly, yet a bit stupidly)  Sojourners ?  (scoffs)  Yeah, so.  Whatever !  It’s not like they’re gonna swoop in here and stop us before our next score.   Let them try.

(They see dragonflies overhead and of course, the youngest overtly points them out.  ‘The Threat is Real main chorus plays’ as they are rounded up.)  

(The western music from the latest Wander Over Yonder, ‘The Hero’ plays.) 

Mira:  (tell-tale and a bit patronizing)  What did I tell you ? 

(Corina tries to escape but Thunderclap, Dusty’s dragonfly, slams a wing down and she can’t dodge or evade it.) 

Dusty:  (patting Thunderclap’s head and scratching him under the jaw)  Good boy, Thunderclap.  

Corina:  (whimpers)  He’s not gonna eat me, is he ?

Dusty:  No, young one.  All of you though are going to have to be processed for what you’ve done.  There may be a loose definition of law enforcement in these parts, but all of us have been deputized.  

Lorenzo:  That means we all have the ability for due process, court proceedings and the whole Schimel. 

Tito:  Can’t you reconsider ?  This is all we know, all we have to survive. 

Ankeet:  There are other ways.   We can help you. 

Dusty:  (Narrating)  The whole family seemed to be agreeable to our plan.  They weren’t bad people, they were doing what had to be done to scrape by in this wretched world.  We could relate.   However, the Sojourners and I taught them how to get by without resorting to stealing.   They weren’t the first case and they most certainly not the last.   After helping where we were needed, we received a much needed respite from vigilante work and the swarms had begun to die down.  Harvest season is right around the corner and all the farmers will begin working from dawn until dusk making certain everyone will be prepared for the coming harsh winters.  That’s one small drawback due to the nuclear fallout.   At least summers make up for it, even though it’s hotter than a fritter on the 4^th of July !  

(Scene shift) 
Scene 7—Makeshift Wedding

(Under the stars, Dusty’s parents sing an old Cherokee song and dance around the fire.  It’s a sacred moment, uplifting, free and spontaneous.) 

Esther: (cooing in her mother’s arms) 

Nisreen:  Esther seems to enjoy the music too. 

Heron:  That’s easy to understand.  It’s a language we all understand, live, thrive, hope and survive on.   It guides us and connects us. 

Ankeet:  Here, here, Heron !  Truer words were never spoken.   Speaking of being connected, what about you, Dusty ?  You and Lorenzo have been with us since the beginning of the fallout.  

Dusty: (rolling eyes)  Ankeet, really ?   Must you ?

Ankeet:  (wriggles eyebrows)  Hey, I’m just pointing out a simple, obvious fact.  

Lorenzo:  He makes a valid point.

Dusty:  (capriciously)  Now you’re turning against me too ?   Have I no friends in this cruel world ?  (dramatically) Oh, alas !   Woe is me !  

(They all laugh) 

Nisreen:  Quit being such a diva and ask Lorenzo to marry you already. 

Dusty:  (narrating)  The posse was right.  Lorenzo and I had been together for years now, but the environment wasn’t exactly accommodating towards a legal arrangement.   We finally did it though, knowing that it was in our best interest, especially since I was now expecting twins.  We never saw that coming, but in times like this, we knew we had strength in numbers rather than individually.  

(We see a ceremony unfolding and both of Dusty’s parents presiding.  They all sing an acappella version of Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.  The two kiss and the celebrating begins.  It’s nothing large, but it is sacred and lovely nonetheless.  They dance to Gipsy King’s ‘Volare’.  Fade to black.)  

Scene 8—No One Said It Would Be Easy

(Kenya and Justice nearly fall off Thunderclap, but Dusty holds them close.)

Dusty:  Hold on, Kenya !  Hold on, Justice ! 

Kenya:  (squealing)  We’re up so high, mom !  Look, all the people below us look like ants ! 

Justice:  This rocks !  

Lorenzo:  I swear, you little girls are afraid of nothing.  

Kenya:   Nope !  We take after mama !  

(The girls laugh, especially when Dusty makes Thunderclap do a barrel roll, and then a loop de loop.) 

Kenya/Justice:  Wheeeee  !  (They squeal with delight) 

Lorenzo:  I married a thrill seeker, and I love every moment of it !   (flies close to her on Fleetwood and kisses her deeply) 

Esther:  Ugh, mushy wushy ! 

Nisreen:  This will be you someday.  (grin)  You’ll come to like it. 

Esther:  Yuck, no way, mama.  (pretends to gag) 

Dusty:  (narrating)  It was surreal how quickly our twins had grown and to see how Esther had sprouted up like a weed overnight.  She had become a big sister and role model to the girls.   They were all little tomboys, and we cherished them all dearly.  There are fewer swarms and the earth has begun to renew itself.   We’ve learned to live off the land and the fruits of our labors.   Crime still runs rampant but we have deputized others to help us clean up the streets.  True, lawlessness will always exist, but I feel we’ve done our part.  Not to mention, our girls are really coming into their own when facing down criminals.   They have their own dragonflies, Ember and Smoke and they ride like champions.   So much has changed, yet so much remains the same.  It’s summer and we move more freely now, like gypsies.   We go wherever the call for help leads us, and it assures us our life is far from ordinary.   Believe us, we couldn’t want it any other way.

(As Dusty narrates, we see the girls and the family growing larger and the so called ‘criminals’ they helped living a peaceful life full of success and promise as well as counselling others in their city and inspiring those they are around to live full lives of influence and magnitude.   Something akin to what was played in Trigun or El Cazador de La Bruja is played as our heroes and heroines take off after assisting another town in peril and laze about on a beach somewhere, reaping the rewards of their mission well accomplished.  Credits roll and ‘Cherokee People’ plays as well as other songs about being a Warrior.   Behind the scenes are shown as well as bloopers and gaffes.   Scenes of a more peaceful earth and coexistence appear on screen as reminders such things are possible if love is involved as well as open mindedness and the ability to embrace each other as true brethren of our planet.)