©

THE SHASTA GATE

Screenplay By
Dick Croy

9413 Southgate Dr.

Cincinnati, OH 45241
(513) 600-4042
wordandimage@fuse.net
THE SHASTA GATE 1

THE SHASTA GATE

FADE IN:

EXT. DAWN - MOUNTAINS

Still dark, clouds aflame in the east silhouetting jagged
peaks. We HEAR a HORSE'S HOOVES picking their way in the
rocky terrain, the CREAK OF LEATHER, SNORTS from the
animal, which at first we don’t see.

ANOTHER ANGLE
The rhythmic swing of the legs and clicking of hooves of
an APPALOOSA create an almost hypnotic effect.

NARRATOR (V.O.)
(commanding male voice)
One hundred thousand years ago, some 900
centuries before the Atlantic Ocean is
believed to have covered the lost
continent which bears its name, another
far larger land mass may have existed in
the vast area that is now the Pacific
Ocean.

WIDER ANGLE
RAM, an imposing Native American in his 60s or 70s, in
exceptional physical condition, is the horse’s rider.
THE SHASTA GATE 2

There is more grace than power in his bearing, serenity

softening the self-confidence in his deeply lined face.

NARRATOR (V.O. cont'd)

According to legend, it was known as
Lemuria, or the Land of Mu, peopled by
a race more advanced in some ways than
modern man. Then, in a catastrophic
upheaval of global proportions, a new
ocean was born...a continent and
civilization all but destroyed. Only
the highest mountains, on Lemuria's
eastern coastline, remained above water.
To these snow-capped promontories, on
what is now the West Coast of the
Americas – a few survivors were able to
flee. And their descendants may live
there still.

EXT. DAY - A GOLDEN EAGLE

its fierce cry echoing from the surrounding peaks, rises
at the approach of the rider.

BACK TO SCENE
It’s late spring, cool enough for the breaths of horse
and rider to be visible in the clear air. Morning ascends
as the Indian leads us through the spectacular scenery of
Northern California's Siskiyou County, dominated by Mt.
Shasta. Finally Ram spots what he's been looking for:

ARABIAN PUREBREDS - POV RAM

A stallion, 12 mares and 10 foals. They are part of an
Arabian breeding ranch owned by a wealthy San Francisco
industrialist and managed by Ram.

RAM
(to the appaloosa)
Look at the young A-rabs, Tawahani.
The meadow gives them desert legs.

He rides into the arroyo where the horses are pasturing.

They watch the approach warily, ears twitching, but it's
THE SHASTA GATE 3

obvious the mares trust the appaloosa and his rider.

THE STALLION
JEBEL DRUZE, snorts and canters over to confront them.
Ram laughs.
RAM
You're proud of your winter's work, ay,
desert chieftain?
(glancing at Mt. Shasta)
You were always in favor with the
Mountain.

EXT. DAY - MEADOW

Ram slips from the saddle, talking gently to the horses.
Before long the foals are frolicking around him, while he
gives each of them a quick but thorough once-over.
Remounting, he places a halter over the stallion's head.

RAM (cont'd)
Today you have a visitor.

The stallion offers little resistance. As Ram leads him

away the others follow.

WIDER SHOT
From a distance as the horses streak across the high
meadow, they're like stones in an Indian necklace
shimmering against a piece of brilliant green fabric.
Above them looms Shasta, silent and majestic.

INT. DAY - APARTMENT

belonging to CATHERINE: early 20s, slim, lithe, athletic
looking, the appearance and manner of a patrician
upbringing; somewhat the spoiled brat. Upset, she's
hurriedly packing what she'll need for summer at the
Arabian ranch owned by her father. Two wine glasses and
an empty wine bottle. BILL, Catherine's lover and
roommate, 30ish, shows the effects of an emotional night
on a face more accustomed to the composure attending
success. Packing, longing to escape, Catherine fields his
heated questions.
THE SHASTA GATE 4

BILL
Why did you wait till last night to
tell me?
CATHERINE
We went over this - I didn't make up
my mind till yesterday. You put me on
such a guilt trip about it last summer...

BILL
Are you sure now? Why don't you let me
call about the marketing position? With
your qualifications, I'm sure you could
get it.
CATHERINE
I'm sure I could too. I don't want it!

BILL
Well goddamnit, Katy, don’t you think you
should start figuring out what it is you
want? Going up to the ranch again’s just
an escape!
CATHERINE
I still have time to figure that out.

BILL
Listen, Katy, you do want to do something
with your talents. God knows we've talked
about it enough. But you've got to - that
doesn't just happen.

He watches her continue to pack.

BILL (cont’d)
Hell, why don't you just run the ranch?
Be a Marlboro woman!

EXT. DAY - SAN FRANCISCO NEIGHBORHOOD

Catherine lugs two bags out to her late-model sports car.
Bill accompanies her with another. She gets in, looks up
miserably at his clouded face, then drives away.

INT. - CAR
THE SHASTA GATE 5

She wipes tears away fiercely.

EXT DAY - COASTAL HIGHWAY

EUGENE, compact, intense, mid-20s, guns his Harley along
the Baja California coast, the sudden ROAR of the engine
like a response to Catherine's angry gesture.

INT. DAY - STALL

The stallion eats hay from his feed tray.

INT. DAY - TACK ROOM

Ram oils a bridle in a room full of leather and silver.
Beside him is a gleaming saddle he’s just cleaned.

EXT. DAY - RANCH

DOUGLAS, the sweet-natured developmentally disabled
nephew of the housekeeper and her ranch hand husband,
walks to the barn. His loping stride is marked by an
exaggerated swing of his shoulders and loose-jointedness
in his legs. He enters the...

INT. - TACK ROOM

DOUGLAS
When you spose Cathrun'll be here, Ram?

Ram's smile is more in the eyes than on his lips.

RAM
I don't know who is more eager for her
arrival, Douglas: you or Jebel Druze.

DOUGLAS
How does he know?

INSERT - BRIDLE
reveals Ram's graceful, almost sensual handling of it.

RAM (O.S.)
Cleaning her saddle and bridle tells
him.
THE SHASTA GATE 6

BACK TO SCENE
DOUGLAS
You know how I’d know, even if nobody
told me? Because it’s summer.

His face is full of pleasure from the deduction.

RAM
That's right, Douglas. Catherine is
our summer mustang.

Douglas doesn’t understand but it doesn't bother him. He

walks into the stallion’s...

STALL
...completely at ease with the horse.

DOUGLAS
Well, she's comin' back, huh Boy?
You sure got you a brushin'!

INT. DAY - RANCH KITCHEN

LUCILLE, mid-50s, the housekeeper, is baking. She glances
up from a recipe when her husband NORMUND, same age,
sweaty and grimy from work, comes in for iced tea from
the refrigerator. A gentle, wary man, he pours himself a
glass and takes a couple of big gulps.

NORMUND
That Catherine's nut bread?

LUCILLE
(good-naturedly)
You'll eat as much of it as she will.

He grunts, not quite smiling, into his glass, drains it

and sets it down heavily.

EXT. DAY - MEXICAN VILLAGE

Riding slowly into town in mid-afternoon, Eugene gets
casually curious stares from some of the townspeople, as
well as a few shouted greetings from kids. He parks the
THE SHASTA GATE 7

Harley in front of a cafe and walks in.

INT./EXT. DAY - CATHERINE’S CAR

I-5 north of San Francisco. Still upset, she’s tearing up
the highway. Her face shows the fatigue of her drive, but
the emotional strain is gone. In the distance in front of
her is the gleaming white cone of Mt. Shasta, wreathed in
clouds. She's mesmerized by it.

INT. DAY - CAFE

Eugene sits at the bar beside a venerable OLD MAN, with
eyes both older and younger than his. They've apparently
been talking to each other over their beer and tequila.

OLD MAN
(toasting him)
Gasolina par la maquina - tequila par
el chofer! [subtitled: Gasoline for the
machine - tequila for the driver.]

EUGENE
(downing his tequila)
Si, Don Veijo! They both make a fire
in the engine.
OLD MAN
So, you travel with the seasons like
the birds - or the touristas.

EUGENE
(smiling)
Maybe a little of both. I like to get
to know a place though.

OLD MAN
To know a place you should know all
of its seasons.
EUGENE
I guess time forces some compromises.

OLD MAN
Summer in Mexico sweats the foolishness
out of a man.
THE SHASTA GATE 8

EUGENE
But winter...you can still find beaches
without a soul on them. The wind's swept
them so clean you hate to leave your
footprints. Has a bite to it. You feel
challenged.
OLD MAN
(laughing good-naturedly)
To feel challenged you come south for
the winter?
EUGENE
(smiling, lifting his glass)
You got a point there, amigo.

OLD MAN
Where do you go from here?

EUGENE
California - on my way up to Mt. Shasta.

OLD MAN
You've heard the tales they tell of
Shasta?
EUGENE
Everything from Indian legends to
flying saucers.
(with ironic exaggeration)
Secret entrance to an underground world!

OLD MAN
And you are looking for adventure.

EUGENE
(raising glass self-mockingly)
On a quest to the sacred mountain!

OLD MAN
(same ironic tone)
How fortunate to be taking such a
journey! Your wife and children: how
will they manage while you are on this
"quest"?
THE SHASTA GATE 9

EUGENE
(taken aback)
The only family I have is out there in
the street.
OLD MAN
No woman, no children - and off to
learn the secrets of the universe.
Another lone wolf howling at the moon.

EUGENE
Vaya, amigo! What the hell does havin'
a woman have to do with -

OLD MAN
In our culture it is customary for a man
to learn something of himself before
seeking to know...
(expansive gesture)
...the cosmos.

EUGENE
And a man can’t learn that on his own?

OLD MAN
Maybe.

EUGENE
Far as I'm concerned, any man has to
find his way through a woman hasn't
been born yet. I'm not plannin' to
study the universe up there anyway. I
don't think Shasta gets much over
14,000 feet. I'll be satisfied to get
above the tree line once in a while.

The old man's eyes sparkle, amusement playing at the

corners of his mouth as he raises his glass.

OLD MAN
May your trip be fruitful!

EXT. - CAFE
THE SHASTA GATE 10

Eugene walks out into the street beside his bike and
takes in the small dusty town in the slanting rays of the
low sun. At the end of the street a pair of...

YOUNG LOVERS
...walk along the sidewalk, drawing his attention.

BACK TO SCENE
Smiling, he loosens the red bandana holding back his long
hair and shakes his hair out, kick-starts the bike to
life and roars off, dust rising in the street after him.

INT. LATE AFTERNOON - CATHERINE’S CAR

She rounds a bend in a two-lane road, and her face tells
us she's arrived. Before her is the...

EXT. LATE AFTERNOON - RANCH

...its fenced paddocks, barn and outbuildings graced with
trees, the ranch house lit by the late afternoon sun.
Shasta is a majestic backdrop more than 10 miles away.
She’s greeted at the end of a long gravel drive.

EXT. - PARKING AREA

Douglas runs exuberantly up to the car. Lucille, drying
her hands on her apron, is as excited in her own way as
the boy. Normund stands at a distance, wiping his hands
on an oil-soaked rag. A big dog dances around. Catherine
hops stiffly from the car as Douglas runs up to her.

DOUGLAS
Hi, Cathrun!
CATHERINE
Hello, Douglas!

He wants to hug her, but is unsure whether he should or

not, or how. His long arms flail about until Catherine
grabs his hands, swinging his arms from side to side.

CATHERINE
I think you're a foot taller than me now!
THE SHASTA GATE 11

DOUGLAS
An' I'm not even through growin' yet!

She laughs and releases his hands to embrace Lucille.

DOUGLAS
I'm so glad you came, Cathrun!

LUCILLE
Hi, girl - we've been expecting you.

CATHERINE
Lucille. This place looks so good to me.
You can't imagine.

LUCILLE
Oh, maybe I can. What do you think of
this boy here? Grown some hasn't he?

CATHERINE
He sure has!

She waves to Normund but she’s looking for Ram. When she
sees him walk out of the barn, her arm shoots up and she
dashes over to him, flinging her arms about his neck.
It's obvious they love each other deeply.

CATHERINE
Oh, Ram!

When tears come, she averts her eyes for a moment, then
looks back at him, laughing and crying at the same time.
Ram's eyes tell her everything he has to say.

CATHERINE
(through tears)
So good to be back!

RAM
(smiling benignly)
You have been anticipated.

There's a long silence as they reacquaint themselves.

THE SHASTA GATE 12

CATHERINE
(nodding toward the barn)
Is he...?
RAM
He's there.

With a half-laugh, half-shriek she runs for the barn.

INT. - BARN

Catherine bursts through the door, and at the loud SNORT

which greets her, we see the stallion in his stall, ears
up, nostrils flared. She stops to take in the sight, then
walks toward him, hand out. The horse puts his head over
the bottom door of the stall, ears back and eyes rolling,
feigning wildness. She laughs at his show and hugs his
neck, stroking his chest, then buries her head against
his muzzle, thrusting her hands up into his mane.

EXT. - RANCH
Everyone waits expectantly for them to emerge.

DOUGLAS
Maybe she won't bring him right out.

Ram motions for patience; a moment later she leads the

stallion through the door, bridled but unsaddled.

DOUGLAS
She's got a bridle on him!

RAM
Be alert, he's wild from pasture!

She leads him over to them, talking to him quietly,

looking at them with pride and an almost childish glee.
Ram makes a step for her with his hands. She vaults onto
the stallion's back, gathers the reins and looks down at
them, her eyes mad with excitement.

CATHERINE
We'll be back!
THE SHASTA GATE 13

She wheels the horse around, and they canter from the
paddock area, across the drive and into the open meadow.

EXT. LATE AFTERNOON - BAJA HIGHWAY

A hard-core biker, the first of several members of a
biker gang. They are the MECHANIC, wiry build and grease-
stained...the VET, who’s never quite recovered from his
experiences in Nam...and the VET'S BUDDY, a mean little
boy in a young man's body, who idolizes crazies.

Sixth from the front is PRETTY BOY, with HELEN, a

striking but loose-looking woman, on the back, blond hair
streaming out behind them. Next is the FOOL, with a young
boy of 8 or 9: Helen's son JERRY. The Fool is big and
loose, while Jerry is an interesting combination of
street toughness and, in his smile and eyes, childish
sweetness. WIRE RIMS, small and semitic-looking with
glasses and a bundle of books on his bike, is next,
followed by FU MAN CHU, long braid and evil-looking.
CHRIS, plain, with acne scars and a hint of character and
compassion in her face, rides behind him.

Riding the second bike from the front is BECKY, beautiful

and self-possessed. To the rest of the Gang - the male
members anyway - this is the Leader's woman. In her eyes
she's no one's woman but her own. Last to come into view
is the LEADER himself. Behind sunglasses, he looks
ruthless and absolutely sure of himself.

EXT. DUSK - THE GANG'S CAMP

A stream reflects a magnificent sunset. The idyllic mood
is broken by a motorcycle's reflective handlebars; then
another and another, all parked as they always are at the
Gang's campsites in a staggered straight line. Then the
swaggering figure of one of the bikers, beer in hand.

THE VET
Hey, Loose Lips! Put the rest a that
beer over here in the water!

CHRIS
Fuck you!
THE SHASTA GATE 14

Nearby, members of the Gang are sprawled on sleeping bags

and backpacks around a pile of wood and brush. On the
other side of this unwoodsman-like brush pile, the Fool
confronts Pretty Boy, propped against a tree, cigarette
hanging from his mouth: a lame James Dean impression.

THE FOOL
Hey, man, where's Helen?

GANG'S CAMP - POV JERRY

from high in a distant tree.
PRETTY BOY
How the hell should I know? Prob'ly out
lookin' for the kid.

THE FOOL
I thought you was gonna watch him while
we got the firewood.

PRETTY BOY
(chuckling without mirth)
Shit.

JERRY

looks down from the tree.

BACK TO SCENE
Chris, sitting beside Fu Man Chu, watches the Fool, while
we watch Fu jealously watching her. She walks over to the
Fool, darkening Fu's expression even more.

CHRIS
What's the matter, baby?

The Fool isn’t interested until noticing Fu's malevolent

glare; then he grabs Chris in mock passion, kissing her
long and deeply. He pulls away with a sly look at Fu and
winks at Chris, who’s hip to what he's up to. She turns
to Fu and shrugs while he smolders.

Wire Rims is holding forth with Becky from the...

THE SHASTA GATE 15

INSERT - BOOK
...in his hand: Kierkegaard's The Sickness Unto Death.

BACK TO SCENE
WIRE RIMS
"The sickness unto death is despair.
Despair is a sickness in the spirit, in
the self, and so it may assume a triple
form: in despair at not being conscious
of having a self - (despair improperly
so-called); in despair at not willing to
be oneself; in despair at willing to be
oneself." And this is just a chapter
heading - the guy's fantastic!

Becky doesn't hide her boredom. She walks over to where

the Mechanic works on a bike. Squatting beside him to
watch in silence, she hands him a tool he needs before he
reaches for it. Nearby, the Leader watches everyone with
the pleasure of a consummate expert in anticipating who
will do what to whom. A skinny mongrel dog wanders into
camp. Chris picks it up and fondles it.

CHRIS
Lookit the poor li'l thing! Bet he
hasn't eaten in days.

Fu grabs a knife from his belt. Cowering in Chris's arms,

the dog looks up at her pitifully. Suddenly Fu yanks it
from her arms and the knife flashes down and O.S. The dog
SHRIEKS and runs away, yelping.

VET'S BUDDY
Goddamn! He cut its tail off!

The Fool bolts for Fu, who whirls to confront him. The
Fool stops short, then feints with arms and shoulders,
seeking an opening. Suddenly the Leader is there. He
speaks - not loudly but with absolute command.

THE LEADER
Chinaman!
THE SHASTA GATE 16

When Fu turns, the Leader kicks the...

INSERT - KNIFE
...from his hand. It careens into the air, twisting
upward in SLOW MOTION, catching the sun’s last rays.

BACK TO SCENE
The Leader stands between Fu and the Fool, a slight smile
on his face, daring them to continue.

THE FOOL
(to Fu)
You sonofabitch! One a these days I'm
gonna take you out, ya hear me?

Fool turns away casually as Jerry runs into camp.

HELEN
Where the hell have you been?

EXT. DUSK - EUGENE - MONTAGE

A) He buys vegetables in a village marketplace...
B) ...and makes camp near the highway. His simple actions
have an unusual grace and precision.
C) He takes the vegetables, two pots (one nested inside
the other) and a small portable stove from his
saddlebags...
D) ...boils water from a stream in one pot, some of which
he uses to cook rice, the rest to steam the vegetables
in the other pot...
E) ...gathers driftwood from the beach...
F) ...and builds a simple fire pit surrounded by stones...
G) ...then sits down, legs crossed, silhouetted against
the fading sunset, to meditate.

EXT. NIGHT - EUGENE'S CAMP

He eats cross-legged beside the fire. In the distance a
COYOTE HOWLS.

INT. DAY - RANCH KITCHEN

THE SHASTA GATE 17

At breakfast Catherine talks to Lucille, who waits on her

while working in the kitchen.

LUCILLE
(pouring Catherine coffee)
This is the best bunch of foals we've
had in years. It's a good thing Douglas
is doin' a man's work now. You sure you
don't want any more pancakes?

CATHERINE
No thanks, 'Cille. I'm almost too full to
ride as it is. I wanted to be up by
sunrise, but I was dead to the world.

LUCILLE
It would’ve surprised me if you'd been up
that early, the shape you were in when you
got here.
CATHERINE
Well I'm sure going to make up for lost
time! I lay there last night and saw the
whole summer stretched out in front of me.
I could feel myself letting go.

LUCILLE
That's what Shasta can do for you.

CATHERINE
A few more meals like this will help too.

Lucille laughs appreciatively as she takes something from

the oven.
LUCILLE
(trying to be casual)
You talk to your parents before you left?

CATHERINE
I don't need permission to come up here.

LUCILLE
Well of course you don't. I just wondered –
THE SHASTA GATE 18

CATHERINE
Things haven't changed between us, 'Cille.
Dad still thinks I'm worthless, and Mom's
just another of his executive VPs.

LUCILLE
What upsets me isn't what you say about
your folks but how you feel about yourself.
I'm glad you've got another summer to get
reacquainted. One of these days you're
going to find out you're not half bad.

Putting her dishes in the sink, Catherine looks at 'Cille

with love and some embarrassment. Ram walks in and she
runs over to hug him.
CATHERINE
I was hoping you'd come in, before I go
off for the day.

Lucille puts herbs from a jar into a bamboo strainer and

pours boiling water over it into a cup, then brings it
over to the table, where Ram and Catherine have sat down.

CATHERINE
Mmm! I remember that smell. I’m going
to take a picnic out by the falls and
just ride all day.

Ram grunts while lifting the steaming cup to his mouth.

CATHERINE
Ram, do you think I should have come
up here this summer, instead of working,
I mean? I had a real fight with Bill
about it. He thinks it's just an escape.

Lucille snorts in disagreement at the stove, while Ram

cradles the cup, his eyes for the moment turned inward.
When he speaks, he looks deep into Catherine's eyes.

RAM
When I said you had been "anticipated,"
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 19

RAM (CONT’D)
I didn't mean by just those of us here
at the ranch.
CATHERINE
(delighted)
What do you mean, Ram?

He says nothing. Rising from the table, he sets his mug

on the counter and gives Lucille an ambiguous look, then
meets Catherine's expectant gaze with a chuckle. She
smiles, puzzled and impatient.

CATHERINE
Ra-am, tell me what you're talking
about.

He walks over and puts his arm around her as she looks up
into his face for an answer, then guides her to the door.

EXT. DAY - RANCH

They walk arm-in-arm toward the corral. The Indian looks
into the distance, as if seeing what he's describing.

RAM
I dreamt the night before you came.

DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. DAY – MEADOW (RAM’S DREAM)

The stallion under an orange sky. A dust devil rises.

RAM (cont'd, V.O.)

Jebel Druze, alone beneath the Mountain.
The sky as if a forest burned somewhere.
I felt a great wind coming.

EXT. DAY - CORRAL

Ram, his elbows on the top rail, looks in at Jebel Druze.
Catherine glances at the horse, but her attention is on
Ram's face. Mt. Shasta shines whitely in the distance.
THE SHASTA GATE 20

RAM
The summer may be very special for
you, Catherine. You must be alert.

The SOUND of GALLOPING HOOVES grows louder.

EXT. DAY - OPEN MEADOW

Catherine thunders past on the stallion, then she and
Jebel Druze streak across spectacular high meadow country
overlooked by the mountain.

EXT. DAY – MOUNTAIN STREAM

Stopping to let the stallion drink, she takes her boots
off in the saddle, tosses them to the ground and jumps
down into the icy water, gasping as she digs her toes
into the streambed.
CATHERINE
Oh, Jesus, it's cold! Whoo! I can't
believe I'm here again, Jebel!
(getting eye-level with him)
Did you miss me, Baby?

The stallion snorts and rolls his eye at her, prompting a

peal of her gleeful laughter.

CATHERINE (cont'd)
You know where we're going, don't you.
I'll bet no one's visited it since last
summer.

She remounts, leaving her boots on the ground, and guides

the horse along a narrow ledge beside the stream.

CATHERINE
Do you remember the way? It's a little
tricky – but not too tough for you, is
it, baby!

They pick their way carefully. The ledge opens into a...

SECLUDED SPOT
...beside a pool, surrounded by steep cliffs and forest.
THE SHASTA GATE 21

When they enter this sanctuary, Catherine sighs and leans

back, her hands on the horse's flanks.

INT./EXT. NIGHT - CATHERINE'S BEDROOM

Moonlight silvers the swaying branches of a tree outside
her window. We HEAR its LEAVES RUSTLING in the breeze and
GLASS WIND CHIMES. Then a MOAN: having a nightmare,
Catherine writhes beneath the sheet.

EXT. DAY - HIGHWAY - MONTAGE

Eugene is about to pass the three bikers in the rear of
the Gang when, without even looking back, they swing to
the left in unison, blocking his way. He veers sharply to
the right, into the midst of the riders.
To the left is Wire Rims; in front of him, the Fool with
Jerry on the sissy bar. When the Fool slows suddenly,
instead of braking Eugene accelerates. Lifting his front
wheel almost straight up and leaning back, he pivots the
bike on its rear wheel in one continuous motion through a
full roll. When he comes down he shoots to the left
between the Fool and Wire Rims. The trio in back look at
one another for confirmation of what they've just
witnessed, and Jerry whoops in delight. Eugene's tight,
controlled smile reveals that he's enjoying this.
He jukes Pretty Boy with ease, feinting to his right and
passing him on the left. Ahead of him now, his long braid
streaming out in his slipstream, is Fu. Ignoring Eugene's
feints, he goes right with him when he finally makes his
move. But Eugene cuts into a high clay bank along the
right side of the road so smoothly he's up under the
overhanging lip and back down on the highway, ahead of
Fu, before the ground can give way beneath him.
Now just Becky and the Leader are ahead of him. She
matches Eugene juke for wheel-fake as he hangs on her
tail, trying to pass. He has to get past in a hurry
because Fu's right on his ass. They're approaching a long
curve to the left; the road drops off steeply on that
side with no guardrail: this is Eugene's only opening. He
swings to the right, brakes, then shoots out toward the
unguarded berm on the left. If the girl recovers quickly
enough to force him off the road, he's toast. When he
THE SHASTA GATE 22

accelerates, his bike leaves the ground; there can't be

more than the width of his tires between his bike and the
sheer drop-off. But he comes down on solid ground and
sweeps past both Becky and the Leader uncontested,
thrusting his fist into the air as he roars ahead.

INT. MORNING - CATHERINE'S BEDROOM

She opens an eye cautiously, her hair in disarray, her
shoulders bare. Sunlight streams through her open window,
birds sing in the tree next to it, but she's not happy.
She sees a spot of blood on the sheet over her. Rolling
her eyes in anger, she lies there staring at the ceiling
until a solitary tear runs down her cheek. She wipes it
away and sits up, hugging her knees under the sheet.

INT. - BEDROOM
Sitting in front of a mirror attached to her dressing
table, she brushes her hair sullenly, then stops and
looks long and seriously into the reflection of her eyes.

INT. DAY - KITCHEN

Catherine walks through the kitchen without speaking to
Lucille. Her tone is more distressed than insolent.

CATHERINE
No breakfast this morning, ‘Cille.

EXT. DAY - RANCH

Catherine walks to the corral where Ram works with the
horses. We’re too far way to hear what's said.

EXT. DAY - MEADOW

Catherine and Ram ride to a spot with a view of the
mountains, where they drop their reins so the horses can
graze. Ram sits at ease in the saddle, while she leans
forward restlessly in hers, not looking at him.

CATHERINE
My life is shit, Ram. I've really
messed it up.
THE SHASTA GATE 23

He doesn't answer and she turns to look at him.

CATHERINE (cont'd)
I don't know what I'm doing here or with
the rest of my life.

RAM
You are here. Life is not to be figured
out. It will always elude you.

CATHERINE
But I've got to have some kind of plan,
some idea where I'm going. I could make
some serious mistakes right now.

RAM
Make them.
CATHERINE
Make them? I make enough mistakes as it
is, without trying to.

RAM
Make them and release them. Hold onto
nothing.
CATHERINE
I can't just...let go like that. I don't
know where I'd land.

RAM
Your fear is as natural as your skin. So
is your anger.

He takes a deep breath and puts his hand on his chest.

RAM (cont'd)
Feel them.
CATHERINE
Why is it natural to be afraid? That seems
so twisted.
RAM
I have no answer for that. Don't look
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 24

RAM (CONT’D)
for answers to your pain in words,
Catherine.

He sweeps his hand out in front of his chest, gesturing

to the magnificent view dominated by Mt. Shasta.

RAM (cont'd)
Find them here – in the world.

She looks at him with an expression of frustration, but

she has lightened up.

EXT. DAY - HIGHWAY - MONTAGE

Eugene crosses the border, skirts L.A. and, through
clouds, traverses the Grapevine, the winding pass through
the Tehachapis that takes him into the Central Valley.

EXT. DAY – WIND CHIMES

hang from a verandah-like side porch near a window of
Douglas's room. We HEAR them but all we SEE are unfocused
glimmers of light, or the glass pendants so tightly
framed as to be unrecognizable.

ANOTHER ANGLE
Douglas is sitting on the ground watching the glass
chimes twist and shimmer in the sunlight, entranced.

CATHERINE (O.S.)
Douglas! How beautiful.

She walks up to him as he grins delightedly.

DOUGLAS
Hi, Cathrun!

CATHERINE
Did you put them up?

DOUGLAS
Sure did – I made it. I got the glass
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 25

DOUGLAS (CONT’D)
out of a chan-de-lier that was in the
loft. I seen a whole bunch a these at the
fair, but Aunt Lucille said they was too
expensive, so I made this one here myself.

CATHERINE
They’re beautiful, Douglas. I heard them,
lying in bed.
DOUGLAS
(fingering pendants)
Sometimes I get real...”agitated,” Aunt
Lucille calls it. Used t' be I couldn't
do nothin' 'bout it, 'cept sometimes
I'd just run – holler as loud as I
could. Now I come here.

CATHERINE
Oh, Douglas, that's wonderful!

Douglas is not at all self-conscious now. Then Catherine

pulls away to look up at him admiringly.

CATHERINE
Come on – help me get Jebel saddled!

Holding hands, they run toward the barn.

EXT. DAY - HIGHWAY - MONTAGE

Late afternoon. Eugene rides through the foothills of the
Cascades south of Mt. Shasta. He gets off I-5 at the Mt.
Shasta Village exit and comes into the bend on the two-
lane highway Catherine took in arriving at the ranch.

EXT. DAY - RANCH

Catherine gallops down the drive, across the highway and
into the meadow just as Eugene rounds the bend.

CATHERINE – POV EUGENE

with Mt. Shasta glistening in the late sun behind her.

EUGENE
THE SHASTA GATE 26

does a double-take.

WIDER ANGLE
He wheels off the highway across the meadow after her,
frightening the stallion, who rears and bolts into a
gallop. Furious, Catherine tries to bring the horse under
control. Bike and horse are now side by side. She screams
at him, enraged and frightened.

CATHERINE
Get out of here!

Intent on her and the horse, he doesn't notice the...

FENCE
...coming up in front of them. The stallion jumps it; he
plows right into it.

BACK TO SCENE
Catherine thunders ahead, finally slowing her horse.

EUGENE
gets up sheepishly, ruefully inspects the moderate damage
to his bike, then throws his head back in a huge laugh.

EXT. DAY - ROADSIDE

Eugene is pushing his bike toward the road when the Gang
rides up with catcalls and sarcasm. They stop.

THE VET
Hey man, you got saddle sores?

VET'S BUDDY
She run away wit'cha, boy?

THE FOOL
Looks like he had a ac-ci-dent.

Ignoring them, Eugene pushes the bike onto the road. The
Leader motions to the Mechanic, who nods and rides over
on his immaculate chopper beside Eugene.
THE SHASTA GATE 27

MECHANIC
Whatever's wrong with it, man, I
prob'ly got the tools t' fix it.

Eugene flashes him an appreciative look.

EUGENE
You don't happen to have a spare hose
clamp do you?

MECHANIC
I speck so. That all ya need?

EUGENE
Yeah! Tore the carburetor and manifold
off, but it was a clean break; they
went back on all right.

The Mechanic swings off his bike, Eugene puts down the
kickstand on his, and they walk back to the Mechanic's
complete, well-organized toolbox on the back of his
chopper.
EUGENE
Nice set of tools.

MECHANIC
Yeah, I can fix 'bout anything – short
of a fool in the driver's seat.

Eugene accepts the criticism and helps him with the

repair. The Leader looks on. Some riders get off and
stretch, but the Fool rides over with Jerry on the back.

THE FOOL
That was some good ridin' yesterday.

JERRY
Oh man, I ain't never seen anyone roll a
bike like that!. Where'd you learn how?

EUGENE
Right there.
THE SHASTA GATE 28

JERRY
You mean you never done it before?

EUGENE
Never had to.
BECKY
Don't gimme that, man – you're a pro
ain'cha? You do stunt ridin'.

Eugene shrugs, busy helping the Mechanic with the repair.

THE FOOL
Don't mind her – she just don't like t'
be showed up.
BECKY
I ain't the only one – and I know a
good hustle when I see one. I could do
shit like that too if I got paid for it.

FU
We all know what you'd do if you was
good enough t' get paid for it.

Becky gives him a look of hatred, but WHISTLES and a

general commotion prevent things from escalating.

PRETTY BOY
Jee-zus!
THE FOOL
That ain't him, man!

EXT. - MEADOW
Catherine sits atop a rise on the stallion, looking down
at them. When she spots Eugene, she canters to the ranch.

EXT. - ROADSIDE
Pretty Boy kicks the engine of his bike into action.

PRETTY BOY
Hold on there, honey! Let's play
cowboys and cowgirls!
THE SHASTA GATE 29

Others start their bikes too.

EUGENE
Take it easy, man!

PRETTY BOY
You talkin' t' me?

EUGENE
(smiling)
You don't wanta tangle with her.
That's how I got my bike messed up.

THE VET
She too tough for ya?

EUGENE
She can take care of herself – but I
don't think she'd be much of a
challenge for all of you.

BECKY
(whooping with laughter)
You tryin' to psych-out these assholes?
The only psychology they understand is
a kick in the balls!

Still with a smile and good-natured banter, Eugene moves

in front of Pretty Boy's bike.

EUGENE
I don't think it'll come to that.

PRETTY BOY
You lookin' t' get tire-tracked, man?

THE LEADER
Ain't you got that fixed yet?

MECHANIC
(standing)
Fixed and ready t' roll.
THE SHASTA GATE 30

LEADER
Let's get outa here.

This is all the Leader needs to say to change the minds

of anyone thinking of going after Catherine. Eugene nods
to him but the Leader doesn't respond.

EUGENE
(to mechanic)
Thanks, man. What do I owe ya?

MECHANIC
You don't owe me nothin', man.

EUGENE
Sure appreciate it.

With one last look at Eugene and another toward the

ranch, the Leader sticks the broken hose clamp in his
pocket and roars onto the highway. The others follow.

INT. DUSK - TACK ROOM

Ram is mending a saddle when Catherine storms in angrily,

leading Jebel Druze. She curses loudly, unsaddling him.

RAM
What troubles you girl?

CATHERINE
Oh some fool biker spooked Jebel! I
just got him calmed down and a whole
gang of them shows up. A motorcycle
gang – up here!

There's an alertness in Ram's face. He listens intently

as Catherine continues stripping the tack from her horse.

CATHERINE
(laughing vindictively)
He got what was coming to him! He ran
into the fence! We jumped it and he
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 31

CATHERINE (CONT’D)
ran right into it. I thought he might
be hurt, so I went back to see if he
needed help – then find out he has this
whole gang with him. Just the kind of
thing I'm trying to get away from!

She begins brushing her horse.

RAM
I hear your father speaking. If he
had his way, there'd be nothing on
the ranch with wheels but a buckboard
– and his Mercedes of course.

Miffed at the comparison with her father, she laughs in

spite of herself at the reference to his car.

EXT. EVENING – HIGHWAY

Eugene pulls onto the road and weaves back and forth to
test the bike's stability. Satisfied, he looks over
toward the ranch then accelerates.

EXT. DAY - HIGH MEADOW - MONTAGE

Catherine galloping on the stallion. She comes to the
stream beside her sanctuary and turns the horse up the
narrow ledge which leads into the clearing – not noticing
the motorcycle hidden in a clump of trees. Suddenly there
is a SPLASH and the stallion whinnies and almost rears.

EXT. - CLEARING
In the middle of the pool is the naked bronzed body of
Eugene. Neither of them could be more surprised; her
astonishment, however, quickly becomes outrage.

CATHERINE
What are you doing here?

The stallion, feeling her agitation, is skittish, forcing

her to maintain a tight rein; she’s looking at Eugene
first over one shoulder, then the other as Jebel pivots
and prances nervously. Self-consciously lowering himself
THE SHASTA GATE 32

into the water, Eugene doesn't know what to say.

CATHERINE
This is private property! You're
trespassing!

The horse continues to dance around, ears back.

CATHERINE (cont’d)
What do you mean coming here? After
that, that stupid stunt of yours
yesterday? You and your gang had
better be off of this ranch in a
goddamned hurry! Don't think you
can ride roughshod over the people
around here – we can take care of
ourselves!

She wheels the stallion around, leaving Eugene treading

water in the pool. He whips the hair out of his eyes. The
look on his face is of a man who’s been very favorably
impressed, not intimidated, as he lets out a war whoop
and lies back in the water.

EXT. DAY - RANCH

The Gang swarm up the drive. Douglas comes running out to
see what's going on and, less openly, so does Normund.
Alarmed, he ducks back inside the...

INT. – BARN
...and loads and cocks a shotgun hanging there, then
plants himself in the doorway.

BACK TO SCENE
Lucille peers through the kitchen door held ajar as the
Gang rides up to within 20 feet or so of Douglas.

FU
Hey kid, where's Lady Godiva?

Douglas is too confused to answer.

THE SHASTA GATE 33

FU
Hey! I'm talkin' t' you, boy!

THE FOOL
Don't pay no attention to the Yellow
Peril, man. He just talks tough. We
seen a good-lookin' young lady ride
in here on a horse yesterday, and we
was wond'rin' if, uh, if ya give ridin'
lessons.

GUFFAWS from the Gang at the Fool's improvisation. Then,

yelling above the noise of the bike, he does some stunt-
riding abound the paddock.

THE FOOL (cont’d)

See, we can ride pretty good ourselves
...but this ain't the same thing as
ridin' a horse...not as aristocratic.
Know what I mean? Now a horse...a horse
gives a man respectability.

Normund has had enough of the paddock's being gouged up.

He walks toward the Gang, his hands nervous on the gun.

LEADER
Hold up there, Pop, with that gun!

The Fool wheels in close to him; Normund swings around

and brings the gun up.

LEADER
Hey-hey, man! I told ya t' be careful
with that! If we was to spread out a
little, you couldn't hardly hit all of
us now, could ya?

At this, the Gang does just that, while Normund turns

first one way, then the other with the shotgun. Then the
NOISE of the BIKES dies. Ram walks unhurriedly toward the
bikers. Even the Leader appears taken aback. One of the
MARES in the nearby corral WHINNIES. Pretty Boy grabs the
opportunity to get things started up again.
THE SHASTA GATE 34

PRETTY BOY
Say, ain't that the horse the girl was
ridin'?
DOUGLAS
(laughing)
That ain't even –

Feeling Ram's eyes on him, he stops in mid-sentence and

glances over to confirm the Indian's silent command. But
he can't leave the words hanging in mid-air; he completes
the sentence to himself.

DOUGLAS (cont'd)
...a stal-yun.

PRETTY BOY
Hot-damn – if she can ride that thing,
I sure as hell can.

He revs the bike and rides over to the corral. Douglas

shoots a questioning glance at Ram, whose impassive
expression reassures him. As usual, the Leader misses
none of this. The rest of the Gang is egging Pretty Boy
on, but as he gets closer, the horse looks a lot more
formidable. Then he notices the foals on the other side
of the corral.
PRETTY BOY
Hey, we got us a buncha little dirt
bikes over here! C'mon, let's get a
little deemolition derby goin'!

He climbs into the corral and the others gun their bikes
over to watch. Douglas looks at Ram; the slight smile on
the Indian's face strikes home. Douglas grins as he runs
over to the corral. The bikers and their women are spread
along the fence rail in rodeo tradition as Pretty Boy
walks cautiously toward the foals.

PRETTY BOY
(“singing”)
C'mon, li'l doggy...
THE SHASTA GATE 35

The foals grow more skittish with his approach. The Gang
whoops it up as he moves in on the closest. When the foal
whinnies in fear, it’s answered from the other side of
the corral. The mare bares her teeth and lays her ears
back – clearing the rails as she turns in the direction
of the Gang. Pretty Boy is only halfway to safety when
the mare catches him and bites him in the back, getting
mostly jacket. He squeals, jerks himself free and breaks
for the fence again, leaping headlong for the bottom rail
– and falling a foot short. Twice the mare rears and
comes down with flailing hooves, but each time Pretty Boy
manages to roll free. Finally he wriggles on his belly
beneath the railing to safety. When he gets sheepishly to
his feet, the Vet's Buddy points and cries:

VET'S BUDDY
Look! He pissed his pants!

O.S. there is the ROAR of a BIKE being started. The

Leader's signal that the fun is over meets with hostile
disappointment from the Gang as they return to their
bikes, while the Leader swings around to confront Ram.
But when the Leader circles around in front of him, it's
not Ram's face but his own...

INSERT – LEADER’S FACE

...staring back at him. And when he reaches up to remove
"his" dark glasses, it's...

THE LEADER
...who has to turn away. Riding at his side...

BECKY
...is the only witness to the Leader’s confusion; to
her...

RAM
...looks perfectly normal.

BACK TO SCENE
As the bikes roar down the drive, Douglas climbs into the
THE SHASTA GATE 36

corral and hugs the foal Pretty Boy threatened. A moment

later, Catherine gallops up from the other direction and
rides over to where Ram, Normund and Lucille are talking.

CATHERINE
Was that motorcycles I just heard?

LUCILLE
Sure was, honey – a bunch of 'em.

RAM
We had visitors, but they didn't stay
long.
CATHERINE
Well they must, they must be the same...
but I just saw one of them, up at the
pool. The guy who ran into the fence.

Douglas comes running over.

DOUGLAS
Cathrun! Motorcycles! People on
motorcycles was here!

LUCILLE
She knows, Douglas.

CATHERINE
Would someone please tell me what the
hell is going on?

RAM
(chuckling)
They learned something of Arabians.

CATHERINE
Oh great! That tells me a helluva lot!

She pulls the stallion around toward the barn.

DOUGLAS
Where's she goin'?
THE SHASTA GATE 37

LUCILLE
(amused)
I'd say she and Jebel both need
cooling out.
DISSOLVE TO:
INSERT - RATTLESNAKE

A large timber rattler coiled in the sun on a flat rock

RATTLES a warning as...

EXT. LATE AFTERNOON - THE POOL

...Catherine and the stallion pick their way along the
narrow ledge to the pool, just beyond its striking range.
Suddenly Catherine pulls up in astonishment.

POOL – POV CATHERINE

A gorgeous tent of white parachute silk emblazoned in red
and blue with the Chinese yin/yang symbol. Its thin sides
seem to breathe in the breeze. Eugene is reading on an
Indian rug. He looks at her without surprise, and neither
of them speaks at first.
CATHERINE
I just came from the ranch. A
motorcycle gang came in this morning
and tried to terrorize the place.

EUGENE
Tried?
CATHERINE
I told you we couldn't be pushed around.
Do you know who they are?

EUGENE
Probably that bunch you saw me with
yesterday.
CATHERINE
You're not with them?

EUGENE
I passed them on the road two days
ago in Mexico. Now they show up here.
THE SHASTA GATE 38

He lifts his hand in a you-tell-me shrugging gesture.

CATHERINE
Whatever possessed you to come riding
after us like that?

EUGENE
(chuckling, embarrassed)
I don't know, I was probably as surprised
as you were. I'm sorry.

CATHERINE
(almost a smile)
I sure wasn't sorry to see you get taken
out by the fence.

EUGENE
I'll bet you weren't!

CATHERINE
At least you weren't hurt.

EUGENE
No, and I got my bike fixed – came out
okay. Lucky you weren't.

CATHERINE
Luck had nothing to do with it.

EUGENE
Then I’m glad you're a good rider. Why
don't you get down and give your horse
a break. He's a beauty – Arabian, right?

CATHERINE
You have some nerve – inviting me onto
my own land.
EUGENE
I didn't know it was yours. Didn't think
anyone would know I was here. I leave a
place just as clean as I find it.
THE SHASTA GATE 39

CATHERINE
You knew it belonged to someone. It's
posted.
EUGENE
If I stayed off all the land that belongs
to someone I'd have to have wings. I'm
only planning on being here for a day or
so. I'll leave now if you want me to.

CATHERINE
Your tent's really beautiful. Not what
I'd have expected.

EUGENE
From a biker? Made from a couple of
parachutes.

The stallion is restless and Catherine uses this excuse

to dismount and allow him to crop the lush green grass.

CATHERINE
Who are you? Why are you here?

EUGENE
Name's Eugene – on my way up to Mt.
Shasta. I followed an old logging road
up here from the highway.

CATHERINE
It's beautiful isn't it?

EUGENE
Sure is – I can understand why you'd
like to keep it to yourself.

CATHERINE
It's a special place.

EUGENE
I've got some coffee made; will you have
a cup with me?
THE SHASTA GATE 40

CATHERINE
(smiling for the first time)
Okay, thanks. My name's Catherine – this
is Jebel Druze. You're right, he's an
Arabian.

She ties the reins to a sapling with enough slack so he

can graze. Eugene pours coffee on a Coleman stove into a
ceramic mug for Catherine and into a tin cup for himself.
Both sit down on the Indian rug.

CATHERINE
(feeling the rug)
You travel in style.

EUGENE
Well, this is my home when I'm on the
road.
CATHERINE
How often is that?

EUGENE
Between gigs. I'll set up somewhere -
I'm a mechanic, among other things – and
when I've saved enough to hold me for a
few months, I start lookin' for the next
place.
CATHERINE
Maybe that's what I should do.

EUGENE
What's stoppin' you?

CATHERINE
Oh, family...doing the “right” thing.

She smiles weakly and shrugs.

EUGENE
That'd be the last thing to stop me.
I haven't had family for quite a while.
THE SHASTA GATE 41

CATHERINE
I've wished I didn't a few times. Or
at least one with less profile.

EUGENE
Why’s that?
CATHERINE
My father's a biggie in San Francisco.
Doesn't have a damned thing to do with
me, but people act like it should.

She takes a sip from her mug and looks around, sighing.

CATHERINE
This ranch is my refuge.

EUGENE
You must have heard some of the stories
they tell about Shasta.

CATHERINE
Oh sure. The man who runs the ranch is
a Shasta Indian. Ram is his name, he's
a second father to me – more of a father
in a lot of ways. I've heard stories
about Shasta since I was a baby.

EUGENE
What kind of stories?

CATHERINE
About the mountain's sacredness for his
people. But stories are one thing. He's
shown me.
EUGENE
What do you mean?

CATHERINE
I have memories of seeing things on the
mountain that are hard for me to believe
now. It's like they were dreams, but I
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 42

CATHERINE (CONT’D)
know they happened. A feeling comes
over me when I'm up there.

EUGENE
A feeling?
CATHERINE
Of being watched, or watched over. Why
are you so interested?

EUGENE
That's what brought me up here – the
stories and legends. Have you ever heard
of a secret entrance, some kind of opening
in the mountain that's hidden or invisible?

CATHERINE
(smiling patronizingly)
That's the biggest crock of all: there's a
secret world inside the mountain. There's
even some cult that believes that's where
flying saucers come from. Leave it to us:
what the Indians made beautiful, and sacred,
we have to turn into some kind of weird trip.

Black clouds have begun to gather. DISTANT THUNDER.

EUGENE
So you don't think much of the legends.

CATHERINE
(standing, as if to go)
The reality of Shasta’s what turns me on.

EUGENE
Looks like it's gonna rain. Why don’t you
share my tent, till it blows over.

CATHERINE
(sarcastically)
Nice of you to make me feel welcome!
Do you have something to tether my
horse with?
THE SHASTA GATE 43

A loud CRACK OF THUNDER. It starts to rain; Eugene runs

for his bike, camouflaged with evergreen boughs over a
plastic cover, and Catherine runs toward Jebel Druze.
She leads him to the shelter of a nearby tree, removes
the saddle, leaving the saddle blanket on for warmth.
It's raining harder as Eugene runs up with a rope, picks
up the saddle, while Catherine ties her horse, and runs
to the tent with Catherine right behind.

DISSOLVE TO:
INT. DUSK - TENT
LIGHTNING, THUNDER, the drumming of RAIN against the
tent. They're enjoying the drama and the company.

EUGENE
I'm glad you stayed. Hate to think
of you out there in this storm.

Catherine snuggles into the coziness of the tent.

CATHERINE
We'd have found shelter somewhere – but
not like this. Tell me some more about
yourself.
EUGENE
Like what?
CATHERINE
I don't care. I can’t share a tent with
a total stranger.

She encourages him with her eyes.

EUGENE
Well, been on my own, more or less,
since I was 10. Hangin' out in the
street – got interested in cars and
bikes....

The SOUND OF Eugene's words FADES OUT and we...

DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. NIGHT - CAMPSITE
THE SHASTA GATE 44

FROGS and an INSECT CHORUS. A FIRE POPS and CRACKLES

O.S., illuminating Catherine's serene face. She turns and
smiles up at Eugene as he walks up and sits beside her.

CATHERINE
I've had a lot of meals around a fire
but none better than that.

EUGENE
Thanks – I feel the same about the
company. Will they worry about you
back at the ranch?

CATHERINE
Nah, they'll assume I'm holed up
somewhere. Long as I'm back in the
morning they won't come looking for me.

She teases him with her eyes, grows more provocative in

manner. But this is as much the delight of a child as the
seductiveness of a mature woman: not, Come on, let's get
it on! but Wow, feel this happening between us! Eugene,
however, seems in no hurry. He repeats a gesture he made
earlier, removing his bandana and shaking out his hair,
then holds it up to his face like a bandit's mask.

CATHERINE
Who is that masked man?

They both laugh and finally embrace, tentatively at

first, then lying back on the sleeping bag beneath them,
kissing passionately. Catherine clearly wants Eugene to
make love to her.
EUGENE
(huskily)
What’s the hurry?

CATHERINE
No hurry – I just want you, that’s
all.
EUGENE
I want you too. We’ve got all night.
THE SHASTA GATE 45

CATHERINE
You’re right, we do. Okay, Masked Man,
you lead.

INT. DAY - TENT

Catherine awakens alone, then leans over to inhale
Eugene’s scent, to run her hand over the warmth where he
was sleeping. She lies on her back looking up at the roof
of the tent, lost in thought or mental images, then gets
up, digs a towel from her saddlebags, and goes outside...

EXT. - CAMPSITE
...to the stallion, whom she leads to the pool to drink,
then ties up to graze. Not seeing Eugene, she peels her
clothes off and dives into the pool – pushing off from
the bottom, shrieking in pleasure from the frigid water.
Eugene runs up as she climbs out and begins toweling
herself off vigorously.
EUGENE
You all right?

CATHERINE
(shivering)
Won-der-fu-ful!

He admires her body before turning away chivalrously. But

she drops the towel and embraces him.

CATHERINE
Get me warm!

He laughs and rubs his hands and arms over her, then
kisses her. She kisses him back passionately, then pulls
away playfully.
CATHERINE
I’m starved.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. DAY - HIGH MEADOW - MONTAGE
Catherine, in front of Eugene in the driver's seat, is
learning how to drive his motorcycle. She has trouble
with the clutch at first, then on making turns.
THE SHASTA GATE 46

EUGENE
You gotta use your body weight! We
lean together!

His legs and booted feet are all that keep them up at
times, but she gets better. We can feel the heat between
them: there's a lot more than teaching going on.

EUGENE
Stop at that fallen tree!

She's approaching it too fast.

EUGENE
Put the clutch in!

CATHERINE
I'm trying to - I can't find fucking
neutral!
EUGENE
Down! Kick it down!

She's too late; all she can do is slam on the brake. The
bike skids into the tree and the engine stalls.

CATHERINE
Shit!
EUGENE
(laughing)
Don't feel bad, I ran into a fence once.

DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. DAY CAMPSITE - MONTAGE
Catherine and Eugene are ready to mount the stallion.

CATHERINE
(with a bow)
Apres vous. Remember, this ain't no
hawg, he's an Arabian stallion. His
mouth is really sensitive. You have
to be firm but gentle with the reins.
THE SHASTA GATE 47

Eugene swings into the saddle fairly gracefully.

CATHERINE
Take your foot out of the stirrup and
give me your arm.

She climbs up behind him. He holds both reins in his

right hand, western-style.

CATHERINE
We're riding English so take a rein in
each hand. When you want to turn him,
press against him with the inside leg
and frame him in with the outside.

EUGENE
Frame him in?
CATHERINE
He's not like your dumb motorcycle - he
bends. And you want him to bend with the
line of the circle. Got it?

EUGENE
Got it.
CATHERINE
Okay, now canter him. Squeeze with your
legs and when you feel him depart, give
with the reins.

After a couple of false starts the stallion breaks into a

canter around the meadow.
CATHERINE
Use your knees - don't be a passenger.

When they return to the campsite, Catherine suddenly

vaults off the stallion's rump, leaving him to solo on
the startled horse. The stallion rears and Eugene leans
in against him.
EUGENE
Whoa! Easy, boy!

Laughing, Catherine gets control of herself and then of

THE SHASTA GATE 48

her horse so Eugene can get off. With an English accent,

he acts as if he wasn't the least bit concerned.

EUGENE
Is that the way you normally dismount,
my deah?
CATHERINE
Only ven I'm in a hurry, dahling - or
getting even vith some cla-zy biker who
chases horses on his motorcycle.

EUGENE
Are we even now?

CATHERINE
For now. You did pretty well by the way.

EUGENE
So did you. You see? Bikes and horses
aren't all that different.

CATHERINE
(sarcastically)
Right - horsepower and all that.

They walk to the tent, Catherine leading the stallion.

EUGENE
And freedom. That’s what we’re both
looking for.

CATHERINE
I never looked at it that way. You know,
you're welcome to stay here for a few
days if you want.

EUGENE
Thanks, But I'm goin' up to Shasta. Why
don't you come with me?

CATHERINE
There are places I could show you that
you'd never even know about otherwise!
THE SHASTA GATE 49

EUGENE
It'd be great to have you along.

She strokes the stallion's muzzle.

CATHERINE
How soon are you going?

EUGENE
Soon as you get some things together.
I'll clean up here and meet you at the
ranch.
CATHERINE
Okay. You got yourself a tour guide.

She swings up into the saddle.

CATHERINE
Meet you back at the ranch!

She canters away. Eugene watches them go, then smiles and
shakes his head at what he's getting them both into.

INT. DAY - RANCH KITCHEN

Catherine bursts through the door. Lucille looks up with
a start from the table, slipping something she's been
looking at beneath her apron. She appears upset.

CATHERINE
Hi, Lucille! Where's Ram?

LUCILLE
I don't know where Ram is. He's gone up
to the Mountain, I believe. Where have
you been, girl?

CATHERINE
Up to Shasta?
LUCILLE
You didn't answer my question.
THE SHASTA GATE 50

CATHERINE
Oh, Lucille...I spent the night with a
friend, out of the rain. I'm going to
show him Mt. Shasta. But why's Ram gone
up there?
LUCILLE
Far be it from me to know why Ram does
any of the things he does. I don't
suppose you're going to tell me what
you're up to either.

CATHERINE
Just camping - I won’t be gone long.
You'll tell Ram for me when he gets
back?
LUCILLE
You bet I will, young lady.

EXT. DAY - RANCH

Eugene sweeps up the drive on his bike. Douglas runs out
of the house to see who it is. Eugene drives up to him,
stops and shuts off the engine.

EUGENE
Hi. I'm here to see Catherine.

DOUGLAS
(puzzled, not hostile)
Whattaya want with Cathrun?

EUGENE
I'm a friend of hers. Could you tell
her Eugene is here?

DOUGLAS
Eu-gene?

Eugene nods. Normund looks on in the BG. Douglas turns

for the door as Catherine comes out with a backpack.

CATHERINE
Hi! Douglas, this is my friend Eugene.
THE SHASTA GATE 51

She puts her arm around Douglas, smiling reassuringly.

CATHERINE
Could you please help me on with this?

Douglas's face reveals hurt, jealousy, incomprehension,

but he helps her. When the pack is on, she turns to him.

CATHERINE
Douglas, I'm going to be camping for
a few days. Could you please look
after Jebel for me while I'm gone?

He doesn't answer, looking at her with bewilderment.

CATHERINE
Aw, c'mon - we're friends aren't we?

She stretches to kiss him on the cheek, then on tiptoe

leans to whisper in his ear.

CATHERINE
I love you, you know.

He’s thunder-struck. She seems somewhat surprised and

delighted herself. Eugene watches with interest. She
pulls away and with a hand touching Douglas's arm, looks
questioningly into his eyes, asking if he understands the
kind of love she's talking about, reassuring him that she
means it.
His expression says he does. Catherine squeezes his hand
and bounds toward the bike, where Eugene regards her with
affection and admiration. She climbs on, hugging him with
her cheek against his leather jacket. He starts the
engine, glances back to make sure she's ready, and pulls
away down the drive. She turns and waves to Douglas. He
waves back and watches them go, then turns to enter the
house. Lucille stands at the door.

LUCILLE
That girl...
THE SHASTA GATE 52

DOUGLAS
She'll be okay, Aunt Lucille. She knows
what she's doin'. That Eu-gene must be
a good person.

He says this with such uncharacteristic authority that

Lucille stares at him. Then she looks at something she's
holding and her eyes cloud over. It's a...

INSERT - GOLDEN EAGLE FEATHER

Its significance appears unclear, but ominous, to her.

EXT. DAY - HIGHWAY

Catherine (ecstatic) and Eugene (coolly in control) roar
away from us toward Mt. Shasta...while, in profile, his
eyes hidden as always behind sunglasses, the emotionless
face of the Leader watches them.

EXT. DAY - MT. SHASTA CITY

Catherine and Eugene enter the small town at the foot of
Mt. Shasta.
CATHERINE
There's a place up ahead where we can
get food.

He nods and they pull up to a health food store.

INT. - STORE
CATHERINE
(walking between shelves)
What do you usually get?

EUGENE
Dried fruits and nuts mostly. Some of
these freeze-dried soups aren't bad.
Bread. Peanut butter – whatever you want.

CATHERINE
Fruit? Vegetables?

EUGENE
Sure, just keep weight and space in mind.
THE SHASTA GATE 53

CATHERINE
I’m going to look for shampoo.

She looks at organic shampoos while he gets the rest. At

the cash register they both put money on the counter. On
a bulletin board are notices and posters of the various
spiritual trips always going on around Shasta.

CATHERINE
The Mt. Shasta spiritual menu.

EUGENE
Plenty of variety anyway.

CATHERINE
This is all just a joke. Where we’re
going tomorrow you sure won't need
any kind of "spiritual" trip.

EUGENE
Sounds like a good place to start.

The CASHIER, a "spiritual hippie" in his late 20s, has

been listening to Catherine's remarks with amusement.

CASHIER
I couldn't help overhearing. I know
some of our activities may sound a
little weird. But if you're feeling
adventurous, there's a lady who's lived
here for years who's had some pretty
far-out experiences with Shasta.

EUGENE
Really?
CASHIER
She has meetings every Friday night
during the summer; anyone can come and
they usually turn out to be real highs.
Her name's Roberta - 424 Maple Street.
THE SHASTA GATE 54

CATHERINE
I'll meet you outside.

She gives him an "I-told-you-so" look.

EXT. DAY - ROAD UP THE MOUNTAIN

CATHERINE
See what I mean? People latch onto
Shasta like parasites.

Eugene just smiles. Soon afterwards she leans and points.

CATHERINE
That's a good place to camp.

They pull off the road. He rides and pushes the bike into
the underbrush and covers it, then puts on a backpack
stowed in back, and they take turns loading each other's
packs with what they'll need for the night.

EXT. DAY - TRAIL

The rest of their dialogue over a MONTAGE compressing a
half hour hike into the length of their conversation.

CATHERINE
Well, what do you think of it so far?
You feel any "strange vibrations"?

EUGENE
(chuckling)
Not so far.
CATHERINE
What is it you hope to find up here?

EUGENE
I don't know, maybe that secret entrance
- to another world.

CATHERINE
Right. I'd like to find that myself.
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 55

CATHERINE (CONT’D)
It's bound to be an improvement over
this one.

They walk on in silence for a while.

CATHERINE (cont’d)
You were reading when I rode into your
camp.
EUGENE
Yeah, books are my road maps sometimes.

CATHERINE
Road maps?
EUGENE
They’ve helped me realize how much of
what I thought was “me” is really just
bullshit I've absorbed over the years.

CATHERINE
So, why don’t you share some "Road
Warrior's wisdom" with me.

EUGENE
(laughing)
That has a nice false ring to it.

CATHERINE
I thought so.
EUGENE
Okay, you ready for this?...We create
our own reality.
CATHERINE
(groaning)
Ohh no. That's worse than a cliché!
It's a new-age cliché!

EUGENE
It’s not really that simple. But it helps
explain your childhood experiences on Mt.
Shasta - rather than just dismissing
them as a child's imagination.
THE SHASTA GATE 56

CATHERINE
Oh I don't dismiss them.

EUGENE
You shouldn't. And I don't dismiss the
possibility that there may be something
behind Shasta's legends.

CATHERINE
Oh, there is, definitely - wishful
thinking.

Eugene laughs, then points to what appears to be a...

EXT. - CAMPSITE
EUGENE (O.S.)
Looks like some kind of campsite.

BACK TO SCENE

They walk over to check out what seems to be someone's

semi-permanent camp: very elaborately laid out, with
landscaped terraces, a small garden, rock-lined paths and
geometrically shaped plots of earth cleanly swept.
Miniature irrigation channels divert water from a nearby
stream. Some are purely decorative or ceremonial. There
are tiny waterfalls and pools; artificially constructed
"rapids", where the water spreads out on the ground like
a silver fan. It's beautiful in a simple, primitive way.
They stare at the scene in silence but for the SOUNDS of
RIPPLING WATER and WIND in the evergreens.

CATHERINE
(enchanted)
Have you ever seen anything like it?

They circle the site at a distance to avoid disturbing

any occupants of a weather-beaten tent. As they near the
stream, which the trail crosses, he points out another
tent-like structure, low to the ground, made of plastic.

CATHERINE
What do you suppose that is?
THE SHASTA GATE 57

EUGENE
A sauna?
CATHERINE
You think so?
EUGENE
Someone plans to stay the summer up
here, wouldn't you say?

CATHERINE
In style! All those geometric shapes –
do you think they're just for looks?

EUGENE
You know, it reminds me of a mandala –
know what I'm talking about? A sort of
ritual design, for meditation or prayer.

CATHERINE
They do feel like more than decoration
don't they?
EUGENE
You know what I really like about you?

CATHERINE
(pleased and intrigued)
No, what?
EUGENE
How turned on to life you are.

CATHERINE
You think so?

EUGENE
I know so.

They look into each other's eyes. He cradles her face in

his hand to kiss her tenderly. When their lips part
there’s a loving expression on her face that we haven’t
seen before.
CATHERINE
I sure feel that way now.
THE SHASTA GATE 58

EXT. NIGHT - CAMPFIRE

Catherine and Eugene eat amidst a chorus of FROGS and
CRICKETS, the GURGLE of the nearby STREAM.

CATHERINE
It's so good to be on the mountain
again. But, you know, if you hadn't
come along I might not even have come
up here this summer.

EUGENE
Why not?
CATHERINE
Laziness. I keep taking the easy way. I
thought I'd get over it by coming up to
the ranch, but I could feel it returning
the day after I got here.

EUGENE
There aren't any mountains high enough
are there?
CATHERINE
Or horses fast enough.

EUGENE
Or motorcycles.
CATHERINE
You too?
EUGENE
Sure, when I'm as honest with myself as
you are.
CATHERINE
Here with this super-cool biker image, I
thought you had everything under control.

EUGENE
At least I've got the image down.

CATHERINE
That's all it is? Underneath, the "Zen
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 59

CATHERINE (CONT’D)
Biker’s" just as fucked up as everyone
else?

He smiles and shrugs in reply.

CATHERINE
What's the answer, Mr. Motorcycle Man?

EUGENE
That's what I'm trying to find out.

Suddenly a beautiful, almost ethereal chanting-singing

male VOICE rolls down from the slopes. It's a DEVOTIONAL
SONG of some kind, and its clear, haunting tones persist
for some time beneath the rest of their conversation.

CATHERINE
Isn't it beautiful?

EUGENE
I bet it's coming from that camp we saw.

CATHERINE
(lying on her back)
When Ram first brought me up here, he
showed me the stars as I'd never seen
them before. These fantastic stories.
Then when the moon came up, he said we
were going to see the things he'd been
telling me about. The sky clouded up...

...As is happening now, as we...

DISSOLVE TO:
FANTASY SEQUENCE - NIGHT - MONTAGE
...of the scene Catherine is describing. Intercut between
Catherine and Eugene, and the fantasy, with...

CATHERINE AS AN 8-YEAR-OLD
...and Ram, looking only slightly younger.
THE SHASTA GATE 60

CATHERINE (cont'd, V.O.)

...and sure enough, when I looked where
he pointed, and let my eyes go out of
focus, I could see wolves chasing a bear.
(gasping)

EUGENE
What is it?
CATHERINE (CONT’D)
Something I'd forgotten: I can see it just
as clearly as if it were happening now. A
canoe, with an INDIAN MAIDEN, floating
downstream.

Catherine seems transported to another time or place.

INTERCUT BETWEEN CATHERINE & INDIAN MAIDEN

CATHERINE (cont'd)
(V.O. & on camera)
She had jet black hair, and something...
something red: a sash maybe, or a
feather. She looked so serene, sitting
there. Then Ram pointed to this whirlpool!
She doesn’t see it! I tried to warn her,
but she didn't hear me!

Her voice rising, she's somewhat breathless in recalling

the vision. When she regains her composure, her voice has
a calm certainty.
CATHERINE (cont'd)
...Then, it was almost as if I was right
beside her. I knew we'd be all right.

In Catherine’s vision, the Indian maiden appears to see

her, with an expression that’s a combination of surprise
and recognition, as if she's been expecting Catherine.

CATHERINE
looks back at her, amazed. Then we PULL BACK from the
forested slopes, illuminated by a nearly full moon, until
revealing, high above them, his face faintly lit by his
THE SHASTA GATE 61

own small campfire...

RAM
...listening to the same voice as Eugene and Catherine.

EXT. MORNING - GANG’S CAMP

Jerry, the biker boy, runs to his mother's sleeping bag,
where he kneels and strokes her hair. She mumbles her
displeasure.
HELEN
Goddamnit, Jerry what the hell you
doin'? Leave me alone, will ya!

JERRY
I'm hungry.
HELEN
Well, Goddamnit, there ain't nothin t'
eat. If there was nothin' last night,
how do ya think there could be anything
this morning? You think any a these
assholes could hustle up something after
dark? Hell they're afraid a the dark!

This is for the benefit of Pretty Boy, awakened by her

harangue, propped on his elbows glaring at the sky.

PRETTY BOY
What're ya doin' up this early anyway?

JERRY
Why don’t you get off your ass and get
my mom and me somethin’ to eat?

Pretty Boy kicks his booted feet to get out of his

sleeping bag, succeeding only in entangling himself in
it. Kicking, flailing his arms, he rolls down into a dry
streambed trying to get out. The Fool comes over.

THE FOOL
Jesus Christ! What'd he do, go t'
bed with a scorpion?
THE SHASTA GATE 62

HELEN
No, I did! We're hungry! With everyone
around here too stoned and too helpless
t' get some food somewhere, we're all
gonna starve! We gotta get back to
civilization!
THE FOOL
You sayin' we ain't able t' survive out
here fer Chrissake? Hell, baby, them
kinda roots runs deep. My granpappy was
a trapper. Between me and a dude that
seen action in Nam, we got us enough
fire-power t' bring down a damn bear!

HELEN
You're out of your mind. The only way
we're gonna get anything to eat is to
go on a food run.

She glares at the Leader.

THE FOOL
(yelling to the Vet)
Yo, Mai-lai! Git yer piece assembled!
We're goin' after venison!

EXT. DAY - CATHERINE & EUGENE’S CAMPSITE

A solitary figure in meditation as mist rises from the
ground. O.S. a ZIPPER is PULLED. Catherine emerges from
her sleeping bag, yawning, looking for Eugene. When she
spots him, she’s annoyed. Fully awake now, she turns in
resignation for a hike alone through the woods. She
hasn't gone far when she sees first...

A DOE
...then, nearby, her two fawns.

BACK TO SCENE
Delighted, she turns to Eugene, wanting to share the
experience. Confronted by the sight of him in meditation,
she shakes her head in frustration and walks away.
THE SHASTA GATE 63

DISSOLVE TO:
SAME SETTING - LATER

Eugene stretches, stands and gazes with pleasure around

him, then walks to where Catherine is making coffee.

EUGENE
You're up!
CATHERINE
(coolly)
Good morning.
EUGENE
Coffee smells good.

She says nothing. He walks over and hugs her from behind.

CATHERINE
I saw you meditating.

EUGENE
I figured you might. I thought about goin'
someplace more private, then decided the
hell with it.
CATHERINE
Why? Didn't you want me to see you?

EUGENE
Looks kinda pretentious to someone who
doesn't understand what it's all about.

CATHERINE
Like me huh? What do you get out of it?

EUGENE
You know how your pool's a special place
place for you? Meditation's where I go
t' keep myself from gettin' too weird.

CATHERINE
(doubtfully)
Does it work for you?
THE SHASTA GATE 64

EUGENE
Most of the time. It’s supposed to have
all kinds of long-term benefits too.

CATHERINE
Like what?
EUGENE
Well, imagine what it would be like if you
could wave a magic wand and spend half an
hour at your pool every day. No hassle
about getting there, no bad weather -

CATHERINE
No crazy bikers, with yin/yang tents and
road-warrior's wise sayings!

EUGENE
(chuckling)
Definitely none a those.

CATHERINE
Sorry I interrupted - couldn't resist.

EUGENE
I don't blame you; guy like that makes an
easy target.
CATHERINE
The only guy I know like that's a fucking
enigma. Maybe that's part of the attraction.

Eugene just smiles.

CATHERINE
How else to explain it? Motorcycles, new-age
clichés...meditation? They're not even part
of my reality.
EUGENE
“Reality's” just an interpretation.
Meditation is getting to a place so
quiet inside you begin to experience
...what we talked about yesterday: other
parts of yourself. Parts usually covered
up by just getting along in life.
THE SHASTA GATE 65

CATHERINE
What's so great about that? I mean
assuming that it's even true?

EUGENE
You kidding? That's like asking, Why
explore space, or the New World? I'm
talking about a part of you that’s like
the hidden side of the moon - that no
one's ever gonna know about if you don't
make contact with it somehow.

CATHERINE
Maybe that's the way it should stay -
hidden.
EUGENE
I don’t believe you really feel that way.

CATHERINE
Why not? I have enough trouble getting
along with the parts I'm aware of.

EUGENE
That's the whole point! If we're
ignorant of a huge piece of ourselves,
we're bound to have trouble making sense
of our lives.

Catherine is finding this all hard to accept.

EUGENE (cont’d)
How do you explain your Indian maiden?
You can't - it just happened. I believe
it happened.

CATHERINE
You do?

EUGENE
Damn right. There's so much more going
on in the world than we’re aware of,
Catherine. Don't you sense that?
THE SHASTA GATE 66

CATHERINE
You really are hoping to encounter some
kind of strange experience up here
aren't you?
EUGENE
(smiling)
Absolutely. I already am.

CATHERINE
Mine I'd call downright weird – but that's
not the kind of experience I was talking
about.
EUGENE
Maybe it's too early to know.

Catherine says nothing but appears more receptive and

intrigued by him.

EXT. DAY - INSERT

A patch of bare ground. The SOUND of a SHAKEN GOURD. A
stick traces the image of a bird's wing in the earth.

EXT. DAY - MT. SHASTA

Ram is the shaman/artist, absorbed to an almost trance-
like degree. He drops a golden eagle feather onto the
wing, then looks down as if from a...

HIGH ELEVATION
..above the mountain.

BACK TO SCENE
He moves his hand over the feather as a seer does before
a crystal ball.

HIGH ELEVATION
Something red on the ground. Like a predatory bird's
telescopic vision, we ZOOM IN to Eugene's red bandanna
draped across the branch of a tree. O.S., Ram GRUNTS.

INSERT - THE EAGLE FEATHER

THE SHASTA GATE 67

that Ram dropped. A drop of blood drips onto the feather.

The SOUND of the GOURD SEGUES into the SOUND of a small
bird's BEATING WINGS.

EXT. DAY - MOUNTAIN TRAIL

Catherine and Eugene hike back down the mountain to
Eugene's bike, Catherine in the lead.

EUGENE (O.S.)
Damn!
CATHERINE
(stopping, turning)
What's wrong?
EUGENE
(brushing hair from eyes)
Must've left my bandanna where we camped.

CATHERINE
Want to go back for it?

EUGENE
Nah, not worth it.

CATHERINE
Looks like you have a visitor.

EXT. DAY - MOTORCYCLE

A cardinal sits on the handlebars.

EUGENE (O.S.)
Well that's...a cardinal, isn't it?

BACK TO SCENE
CATHERINE
I guess so. Why?

EUGENE
Have you ever seen one around here?

CATHERINE
Hell, I don't know.
THE SHASTA GATE 68

EUGENE
They're not native to this area.

They get closer to the bike but the bird, eyeing them
intently, doesn't fly away.

CATHERINE
Look how he's watching us!

EUGENE
(smiling)
Guess he's guarding the bike.

CATHERINE
(laughing)
I was thinking the same thing. Okay, baby,
you've done your job, you can fly away now!

The bird does just that. They watch it fly from the side
of the mountain into a brilliant blue sky.

EUGENE
I knew you could talk to horses but you
never said anything about birds.

CATHERINE
(laughing)
Well, I've talked to them before, but I
never knew they were listening.

EUGENE
I told you we have powers we haven't
tapped yet. Let's go find this waterfall
of yours.

EXT. DAY - MT. SHASTA

Ram's appaloosa grazes. Suddenly the cardinal alights
near the horse, which lifts its head and snorts.

EXT. DAY - MT. SHASTA VILLAGE

As in a traditional Western, the Gang roars into town.
Townsfolk look up in alarm - or delight, in the case of
THE SHASTA GATE 69

some youngsters. Is the Leader following intuition when

he leads the Gang to the health food store Catherine and
Eugene visited? He stops and motions for the Fool to go
inside. He pushes through saloon-style swinging doors.

INT. - STORE
He pauses melodramatically inside the door, then swaggers
to the counter. Suddenly the JINGLE of what sounds like
SPURS in sync with his steps. The Fool glares around to
locate the sound. The grinning hippie cashier behind the
counter holds up a leather bracelet adorned with bells.

THE FOOL
That's real funny.

CASHIER
Hey man, it was too good to pass up.

THE FOOL
(breaking into a grin)
Guess it was at that. Say, I'm lookin' for
a buddy of mine, and his lady friend. He's
kind of a quiet dude, intense. The
chickie's a real looker.

CASHIER
"Friends" of yours huh? I'm not sure I
remember seeing them. Who should I say is
looking for them if they, uh, happen to
come in?
THE FOOL
Well, if they just "happen" t' come in,
maybe you could give 'em somethin' for me.

CASHIER
Sure.

EXT. - STORE
The Fool swaggers out, eating a piece of carrot cake with
a big smile on his face, and tosses maps and brochures
rubber-banded together to the Leader.
THE SHASTA GATE 70

THE FOOL
Place called Panther Meadows. We take
the next street right up the mountain.
Real helpful little guy.

The Gang guffaws as he mounts his bike.

EXT. DAY - DIRT ROAD

A plume of dust rises behind Catherine and Eugene as they
approach the base of Mt. Shasta from the north.

CATHERINE
The peak on the right is Shastina,
Shasta's "mate." Most people don't even
know it's there. I think it's prettier
than Shasta.

END OF THE ROAD - LATER

CATHERINE
This is as far as we can ride. It's an
hour's hike from here.

They get off and Eugene hides and covers the bike, then
surveys the magnificent countryside.

EUGENE
Shastina huh? You ever heard of tantra?

CATHERINE
Does it have something to do with sex?

EUGENE
Well, sex and a lot more. Or all of sex,
not just the physical part. The most
important thing is getting so much inside
another person you forget about yourself.

CATHERINE
Why did you ask?

MT. SHASTA & SHASTINA

THE SHASTA GATE 71

EUGENE (O.S.)
The two peaks. Tantric mates.

CATHERINE
looks from the mountains to Eugene, pleased.

EXT. NIGHT - CAMPSITE

In the BG a full moon makes a silver curtain of the
falls. She’s nestled against him beside a fire.

CATHERINE
Ram brought me here for the first time
when I was seven....I'm sorry I went on
so about your meditating.

EUGENE
That's all right - I'm glad we talked.

CATHERINE
I guess it's the idea of trading-in
thinking and common sense for simplistic
spiritual bullshit being the answer to
everything.
EUGENE
"New-age" as just another organized
religion.
CATHERINE
Exactly. And the smug self-righteousness
that comes with it.

EUGENE
Let's don't let that spoil our party.

CATHERINE
It won’t. Let's wash such thoughts from
our minds.

She stands up and begins to unbutton her blouse. There's

a warm smile on her face: sexual but with more innocent
pleasure than lust in it. Eugene is spellbound. In a
moment she’s nude, lit by the wavering firelight.
THE SHASTA GATE 72

CATHERINE
Come on! It'll be freezing but we have
the fire.

She slips away into the darkness.

CATHERINE (O.S.)
Bring a towel!

Eugene grins and begins to undress.

WATERFALL
Catherine shivers knee-deep in a pool in front of the
falls as Eugene tests the water with his foot.

EUGENE
Whoo! How can you stand it?

CATHERINE
C'mon, Motorcycle Man, don't be a wuss!

He wades into the pool, grabs Catherine and carries her,

shrieking and struggling, into the waterfall. It takes
their breaths away but they embrace. The falling water
slows until it is fluid silver in SLOW MOTION...and the
scene becomes an impressionistic choreography of the
dance of love.
DISSOLVE TO:
CAMPSITE - LATER
They lie in each other's arms on their sleeping bags by
the fire. More subjective than most love scenes: by
seeing mostly what each of them sees, we experience it
with them more than witnessing it as voyeurs. Shots of
each of them from the other's POV become increasingly
more abstract and orgasmic until it's difficult to
distinguish one person, one body, from the other. All we
see is their combined movement: frenzied, fluid, flowing
...which finally climaxes for them simultaneously.
FADE TO:
EXT. MORNING - CAMPSITE
They lie on their open sleeping bags, only partially
revealing their nude bodies. Mostly wordless at first,
THE SHASTA GATE 73

the scene reveals how relaxed and tenderly loving they've

become with each other. Neither comes across as "sexy" or
driven by desire so much as overcome by wonder at what
they're experiencing together. We linger on their
caressing hands, their eyes - one moment closed, the next
looking deeply into the other's - and their lips, parted
not so much in passion as in gentle murmuring sighs.

CATHERINE
(almost a whisper)
Isn't it wonderful?

EUGENE
Mmmmmm!
CATHERINE
Under the waterfall I couldn't tell where
we left off and the water began. And then
later...

She utters a half-laugh ending in a musical note of

delight, then covers him in an embrace that moves her
body over his like flowing lava.

EXT. DAY - PANTHER MEADOWS CAMPGROUND

The Gang finds the campground deserted.

PRETTY BOY
(as the Fool rides up)
Panther Meadows huh? Everything but
panthers and the guy we're lookin' for.

THE FOOL
(giving him the finger)
Look at this, Goldilocks.

THE LEADER
(to Pretty Boy)
I want you t' show our friend in town
how we feel about false information.

THE FOOL
Hey, man, that's my score t' settle.
THE SHASTA GATE 74

THE LEADER
You had your chance, and the dude sold
you ten acres of mountain real estate.

PRETTY BOY
You go on, Hoss. I'll bring you back
another one a them cakes you was eatin'.

THE FOOL
Sit on yer fuckin' cakes, shithook!

PRETTY BOY
Course I will, Hoss - 'at's the way you
like 'em ain't it?

The Leader walks off with the maps and brochures the Fool
gave him while the rest of the Gang break open beers and
enjoy themselves.

PANTHER MEADOWS OUTHOUSE

Jerry and the Fool encircle it with a chain attached to
the Fool's bike, then take off. With a crash, the
outhouse follows - leaving Wire Rims groveling in the
dirt with his pants down.

THE LEADER
is hunched over a...

INSERT - TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP

...spread out on the ground.

BACK TO LEADER
who looks almost hypnotized. With the broken hose clamp
from Eugene's bike in his left hand, he randomly traces
the fingers of his right over the...

INSERT - TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP

...homing in on a smaller and smaller area until he's
finally pinpointed a specific location: Whitney Falls.

BACK TO SCENE
THE SHASTA GATE 75

He looks up with a grim expression of success.

EXT. MORNING - CAMPSITE

Catherine and Eugene are drinking coffee after breakfast.
She's restless and uptight; he doesn't know why.

EUGENE
So where's the next Mt. Shasta power
spot you wanta show me?

CATHERINE
"Power spot"? I don't know - where do
you want to go?

EUGENE
Well, let's see...isn't tonight when
Roberta has her weekly soiree?

CATHERINE
You're not thinking of going there are
you?
EUGENE
(taken aback)
Just thinkin' out loud is all. What harm
could it do?

CATHERINE
It's just a complete waste of time! It'd
drive me up the fucking wall.

EUGENE
What's wrong, Catherine?

CATHERINE
I don't know, I'm just - it's not you.
I just feel so restless all of a sudden.

EUGENE
I don't care whether we go there or not.

CATHERINE
It's not that.
THE SHASTA GATE 76

He shrugs and waits for an explanation.

CATHERINE
This is just my bitch persona checking in.
Another of Catherine Conrad's many faces.

He gives her a one-armed hug.

EUGENE
No problem. I'll pack up and we'll get
outa here.

EXT. DAY - DIRT ROAD

The Gang turns off the highway onto the dirt road
Catherine and Eugene took to the falls.

EXT. DAY - CAMPSITE

Catherine, looking helplessly stricken, looks at Eugene.
He looks back with compassionate bewilderment.
CATHERINE
See, this is my hidden side, not some
new-age self-realization fantasy.

EUGENE
We're just outa sync for the moment - no
big deal.
CATHERINE
(sighing)
Maybe you'd better just take me into town.

EUGENE
Okay.

She gets on and they ride onto the dirt road.

THE GANG
approaches; only the railroad track and half a mile
separate them from Catherine and Eugene. We HEAR a
freight TRAIN laboring up the steep grade. Suddenly, a
cardinal appears from nowhere, right in the Leader's face
like a red blur! Taken by surprise he has to put his bike
down to keep from wrecking. Then the bird’s gone. The
THE SHASTA GATE 77

rest of the Gang gather around as the Leader brushes

himself off and tries to explain.

THE LEADER
Fuckin' bird! Came outa nowhere!

The long freight train lumbers past in front of them.

CATHERINE & EUGENE

approach the train from the other direction.

EUGENE
Shit! We'll be here for 20 minutes.

CATHERINE
Take the road to the right! I know how
to get back on!

They do...
DISSOLVE TO:
THE GANG - LATER
...and by the time the train has passed, all that's left
of Catherine and Eugene is their lingering dust.

EXT. DAY - MT. SHASTA CITY

Catherine and Eugene ride into town. She gets off and he
sits there waiting to hear her plans.

CATHERINE
I just need to be alone for awhile. You
understand don't you?

EUGENE
Sure. Want me to take you back to the ranch?

CATHERINE
(frowning)
I'll let you know this afternoon, okay?

EUGENE
Fine with me.
THE SHASTA GATE 78

CATHERINE
Three o'clock, at the coffee shop over
there?
EUGENE
See you then.

They exchange a wordless look. He pulls away from the

curb and accelerates. She watches him, then walks away
with determined independence. When she passes a boutique,
something in the window catches her eye and she goes in.

EXT. DAY - SIDEWALK

Pretty Boy is standing in front of a bar up the street,
picking his teeth. He's seen her. He walks past the
boutique, glances inside...

INT. - BOUTIQUE - POV PRETTY BOY

BACK TO SCENE
...and recognizes her. When he turns, his eyes are cold.
He stands casually on the sidewalk, lights a cigarette,
and watches her through the corner of his eye, appearing
to be in full stride when she walks through the door.

PRETTY BOY
(double-take)
Hey - the lady with the horse!

She gives him a withering look and brushes past him.

PRETTY BOY
(overtaking her)
Sure was some horse you was ridin' the
other day.

She ignores him disdainfully.

PRETTY BOY
Understand you had a little run-in with
the dude we was talkin' to.
THE SHASTA GATE 79

CATHERINE
(without slowing)
Who told you that?

PRETTY BOY
He did. There's a few things about him
you don’t know.

CATHERINE
What the hell do you know about him?

PRETTY BOY
Plenty, baby, plenty.

CATHERINE
(stopping)
Like what?

PRETTY BOY
Like what he does t' good-lookin' women.

Catherine blinks and starts walking again, nervous now.

CATHERINE
You're full of shit.

PRETTY BOY
Don't say I didn't warn ya.

He stops; she keeps walking, but Pretty Boy has planted a

seed. When she turns her head he's gone.

PRETTY BOY
kick-starts his chopper and pulls into the street.

CATHERINE
hears him. He cruises slowly past with a look that
appears to have only her best interests in it.

CATHERINE
Wait!
THE SHASTA GATE 80

He swings around and returns.

CATHERINE
How the hell do you expect me to
believe you? I don't even know you.

PRETTY BOY
How well do you know him?

CATHERINE
So what is it he's supposed to have done?

PRETTY BOY
Sposed to? Lady, this dude's done time.
And the law don't even know about most
of 'em.
CATHERINE
I don't believe you.

PRETTY BOY
Yeah, that's prob'ly what the others
would a said.
CATHERINE
Who the hell are these "others" you
keep talking about?

PRETTY BOY
Women no one warned - or if they were,
it didn't do no good.

We can see her wondering how much of this to believe.

They're getting stares from motorists and pedestrians.

PRETTY BOY
Listen, we can't talk here in the street.
Is there someplace in this one-horse town
where we can?
CATHERINE
Well, there's a coffee shop - no, not
there. There's a Denny's just off the
Interstate.
THE SHASTA GATE 81

PRETTY BOY
Hop on.
(she hesitates)
...I can meet you there if you want.

CATHERINE
(impatiently)
No, it's too far. Okay, but don't even
think of trying anything or I'll rip your
eyes out.
PRETTY BOY
Jesus Christ, lady - I'm tryin' t' save
yer ass.

She climbs on reluctantly. The second she's on the bike

he pulls away so abruptly her head snaps back and she has
to grab hold of him to keep from falling into the street.

EXT. DAY - GAS STATION

Eugene, having just gassed up, is talking to a young
MECHANIC who's impressed with the bike.

MECHANIC
Harley-1200 isn't it.
(Eugene nods)
Haven't seen many in the kinda shape
this one's in.

Pretty Boy and Catherine roar by but she doesn't see him.
Eugene's expression gives him away.

MECHANIC
You know that dude?

EUGENE
Uh, yeah.
MECHANIC
I've seen the girl up here before.
Comes up every summer.

Eugene looks after the bike, thinking. Finally he gets on

his own, still considering what he's seen. He shakes his
THE SHASTA GATE 82

head as if dismissing the incident - and Catherine with

it - and looks at the Mechanic.

EUGENE
Take it easy.
MECHANIC
You too, man.

Eugene leaves the station in the opposite direction from

Pretty Boy and Catherine, his face still troubled. He
goes only a block, then makes a U-turn and accelerates.

THE MECHANIC
shakes his head in admiration as the bike roars past.

CATHERINE & PRETTY BOY

CATHERINE
Goddamnit, let me off!

PRETTY BOY
Fuck you, sister!

CATHERINE
You want your eyes torn out?!

PRETTY BOY
Do it! Let's die together, Baby!
(laughing hysterically)

A car approaches. Catherine waves her arm and screams.

CATHERINE
Help meeee!

The male teens in the car yell back with mocking jeers.

TEENS
Help meeee! Fuck youuuu!

PRETTY BOY
(laughing)
You’re just a bike bitch now, baby!
THE SHASTA GATE 83

They're out of town now. Catherine thinks frantically –

looks up the road: no one coming; looks behind them.

A MOTORCYCLE - POV CATHERINE

BACK TO SCENE
She squints. Pretty Boy spots the bike in his...

INSERT - MIRROR
Eugene’s gaining fast.

BACK TO SCENE

Pretty Boy turns and identifies the rider, then turns

back around and accelerates. They're going well over a
hundred now on the narrow highway. A couple of cars zip
past so fast they're just blurs.

EUGENE
the better rider on the better bike, continues to gain.

BACK TO SCENE
Catherine looks back again, terrified; she holds onto her
abductor as if he were her lover. Eugene pulls even with
them. Catherine mouths the word "Help!" Eugene edges up
to where he can look directly into Pretty Boy's face.

EUGENE
Pull over!
PRETTY BOY
Try anything and the bitch is dead!

They race along side by side. Then Eugene drifts back so

Pretty Boy can't see his communication with Catherine.
He touches his ear and mimes an exaggerated bite. She
grimaces and gives him an "are you crazy?" look. He nods
emphatically. She takes a deep breath, leans forward
precariously to reach his ear...then bites down – not
savagely but firmly. The bike wobbles dangerously.
THE SHASTA GATE 84

PRETTY BOY
Owww! What the fuck ya doin'?

EUGENE
(beside him now)
She'll take it off if you don't stop!

PRETTY BOY
She's gonna kill us both!

EUGENE
Not before you lose your fuckin' ear!
Pull over!

Pretty Boy slows. Catherine doesn't release her grip.

INSERT - EAR

Blood oozes from between her clenched teeth.

BACK TO SCENE

When they've slowed sufficiently Eugene motions for her

to vault from the back, as she did from her horse. She
gathers her nerve and does a back roll on her shoulder to
cushion the fall. A split second later Eugene leaps from
his bike, pulling Pretty Boy to the ground and falling on
him, then tucking and rolling expertly. Jumping up, he
lifts the injured biker with one arm and creams him in
the jaw with the other. Pretty Boy wriggles like a
wounded snake to avoid a kick, while Eugene glares down
at him...and Catherine, dazed and on her knees, retches.

EUGENE
Get out of here if you can. You try
anything like that again, I'll kill you.

He turns to Catherine, taking the bandanna from his hair

- a white one now - to swab her mouth.

EUGENE
It's all over now, Catherine. You were
fantastic!
THE SHASTA GATE 85

CATHERINE
(sobbing)
Oh Gene, I'm such a fool! I believed him!

EUGENE
(hugging her)
No, Baby - you're magnificent.

She looks at him with an expression almost of wonder and

throws her arms around him...while in the BG Pretty Boy
struggles with his banged-up bike, glowering at them with
a look of hatred. In a tree overlooking the scene is...

A CARDINAL

EXT. NIGHT - ROBERTA'S HOUSE

Catherine & Eugene ride up. The address is lit by a porch
light.
EUGENE
Four-twenty-four - that's what the man
said.
CATHERINE
I don't see any weirdos in robes and
“auras” floating around though.

EUGENE
(chuckling, pointing to his head)
I think most of them are up here.

She gets off the bike in obvious pain and stiffness and
they walk up to the house.

CATHERINE
You think they'll allow a non-believer
into the inner sanctum?

EUGENE
I think they'll let us in the house.

CATHERINE
(making a face)
You're supposed to react.
THE SHASTA GATE 86

He runs onto the porch ahead of her, raising his arms.

EUGENE
Abandon hope, all ye who enter here!

CATHERINE
(laughing)
The doorway to hell?

EUGENE
Best I could come up with on the spur of
the moment.

INT. - ROBERTA'S HOUSE

They're ushered into a tastefully furnished living room
in which about 30 people - mostly late teens, early 20s,
though a few are middle-aged plus an elderly couple - sit
on chairs or the floor listening to ROBERTA, late 50s/
early 60s with extraordinary presence. Most hang on every
word. Two green candles on the mantel with an array of
photographs and paintings of well-known saints and a
stunning visionary landscape painting on the walls.
The lighting is low-key but not dark, with a FLAT SCREEN
TV on one wall. PHOTOS, ILLUSTRATIONS where appropriate.
Seated in a comfortable chair with a remote control,
Roberta is dressed in a sort of muu-muu/daishiki which is
becoming rather than tacky. Others tend to the hippie-
spiritual: denim, loose-fitting gowns, shawls and bright
scarves. Eugene and Catherine find seats on the floor.

ROBERTA
(acknowledging them with a smile)
...Stories of the people said to be
living inside the Mountain are both
numerous and bizarre. Descriptions
run the gamut from "Little Men," a
race of tiny dwarves, to the "Big
Foot" or Sasquatch creatures.

CATHERINE
(in undertone to Eugene)
Oh brother!
THE SHASTA GATE 87

ROBERTA
Many Mt. Shasta residents have
experienced odd occurrences in
connection with the Mountain. One of
the most authoritative was Dr. Edgar
Larkin, who wrote several articles on
Lemuria and Atlantis, at least one of
them published in the San Francisco
Examiner. He was testing a telescope
when he saw three gold-tinted domes,
which he said looked Oriental. Just a
harmless kook? Hardly - Dr. Larkin was
director of the Mt. Lowe Observatory.

This prompts a murmur but Catherine rolls her eyes.

MAN IN HIS 20'S

What did the domes turn out to be?

ROBERTA
Neither Dr. Larkin, nor anyone else
that we know of was ever able to locate
them again.
MAN
Well, wouldn't you say that makes his
sighting somewhat suspect? Couldn't it
have just been some sort of optical
illusion or something?

ROBERTA
Of course. But that doesn't discourage
some from believing the Lemurians are
still among us. One of the stories I
find most fascinating is of a great
transparent bell located near a secret
entrance to the Mountain. When the
wind blows against its rim, it emits a
strange, high-pitched vibration which
repels anyone close enough to hear it.

This provokes another murmur and prompts Catherine to

turn in disgust to Eugene.
THE SHASTA GATE 88

CATHERINE
This is too much!

EUGENE
(chuckling)
Don't be such a tight-ass.

YOUNG WOMAN
Roberta, I can't tell whether you
really believe all this or not. Would
you mind telling us?

ROBERTA
Well, let me put it this way. I am
here - as are a great many of the
people around Mt. Shasta - I won't say
"for a reason," but shall we say: not
accidentally or coincidentally. We were
somehow drawn here. Of course the mind,
sensing there is some force at work
here, needs an explanation. We need
reasons for justifying our behavior,
even when we've acted through intuition.
I think this is how many of the legends
have sprung up. They may symbolize
subtle forces and dimensions which our
rational minds can't grasp at present.
I think intuition - things we know,
without knowing how we know them - is
the source for most myths and legends.

EUGENE
Why would our intuition about something
require us to create a legend about it?

ROBERTA
You see, your mind receives bits and
pieces of information - from your cells
and your genes; from what Jung called
the "collective unconscious": our
species' biological memory of evolution.
One way your mind tries to make sense
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 89

ROBERTA (CONT’D)
of these is by making a story out of
them. Now this story, when compared to
what we consider the "real" world, may
seem to be false or nonsense. But the
bits and pieces of information are real.
And if they're important enough to our
survival as individuals and as a species,
our minds will eventually agree on a
story that makes enough sense to enough
people that we'll make the story come
true, through our consensual behavior.

Again there is a murmur, of excitement and confusion this

time, and Roberta lets her audience digest for a moment
what she's said. Eugene doesn't look at Catherine. His
face has the sort of illumination that comes from making
a mental connection. Catherine appears more impressed by
his expression than put off by Roberta's remarks.

ROBERTA
So, do I believe in these stories? I
think only time will tell whether the
information they're attempting to
convey is important enough for us as a
society that we'll agree to integrate
them into our everyday lives. Maybe
first of all, by actually finding a
secret entrance in the mountain: the
gateway, perhaps, to a whole new
realm of reality.

EXT. NIGHT - ROBERTA'S FRONT PORCH

A few people are talking earnestly to Roberta.

EUGENE
What'd you think of her?

CATHERINE
Well, I'll admit she's got charisma,
but I think she's spent too much time
on the mountain. Or inside of it.
THE SHASTA GATE 90

EUGENE
(chuckling)
I know you're dying to get out of here.
I just have a couple of things I’d like
to ask her.
CATHERINE
Sure.
EUGENE
(bending close)
I really appreciate your coming. It
wasn't a total waste of time was it?

CATHERINE
I'd rather be here with you than
anyplace else without you.

Eugene hugs her and they kiss, all the more poignant
because they're trying to be reasonably discreet. When
they part, the cashier from the health food store stands
beside them - with a black eye and bandaged nose.

CASHIER
Hi - glad you decided to come!

CATHERINE
What happened to you?

CASHIER
Some of your "friends" were looking
for you.
CATHERINE
(to Eugene, alarmed)
It's them isn't it.

EUGENE
(nodding)
Sorry they took it out on you - what
happened?
CASHIER
Guess I gave them some information they
weren't happy with. I'm okay, I'm a fast
healer. What did you do to those guys?
THE SHASTA GATE 91

EUGENE
(shrugging)
Challenged them, I guess.

CASHIER
What brings you up here?

Eugene glances at Catherine and grins mischievously.

EUGENE
Maybe you could say we're looking for
that Shasta "gate" Roberta was talking
about.
CATHERINE
Hah!
CASHIER
A secret entrance to the mountain? You
know what I think? If there really is
some kind of entrance, it's probably not
an opening our physical body could enter
but only our energy body.

CATHERINE
"Energy" or "imaginary"?

The cashier awards the skeptical pun a tolerant smile.

CASHIER
The body of energy surrounding, and
Governing, our physical body. All we
need are the tools to measure it
somehow, so science can get in on the
act and give it credibility, and we'll
be able to start taking advantage of
the greatest natural resource we have.

CATHERINE
You said this energy body surrounds
the physical body?

CASHIER
Right!
THE SHASTA GATE 92

CATHERINE
Then how can the energy body go
somewhere the physical body can't?

CASHIER
Uh, good question. I haven't figured
that out yet.

Catherine laughs good-naturedly. The cashier isn't

offended. Eugene notices that Roberta's alone.

EUGENE
Nice talking to you.

He and Catherine walk over to Roberta.

EUGENE
I was interested in what you had to
say and I have a couple of questions.

ROBERTA
I'll do the best I can.

EUGENE
The "information" you mentioned - as
being the basis for the stories about
Mt. Shasta...what are the stories
trying to tell us?

ROBERTA
(beaming, to Catherine)
Someone was listening.
(to Eugene)
Well, that's the biggest mystery of all.
I don't think, though, that the most
important thing is whether or not
Lemuria existed, or whether there are
actually beings of some kind living
inside the mountain. This isn't a story
about the distant past or a separate
people living apart from us.

She looks at them, wordlessly asking: Do you understand?

THE SHASTA GATE 93

ROBERTA (cont'd)
The stories are about us - our future
and our present: what we must do now.

CATHERINE
You mean they're telling us to look
inside ourselves for answers.

Catherine's as surprised as anyone that she's spoken.

Flustered, she looks from Eugene, who's observing her
intently, to Roberta, who's smiling at her.

ROBERTA
I know that the two of you are on a
journey. What Mt. Shasta has to teach
you is between you and the Mountain.
But I can tell you that the journey we
must all make, very soon, is the most
difficult, and crucial, that evolution
has ever demanded of us: the journey...
(gesturing)
...from the head...to the heart. As
extraordinary as it is, the human brain
is essentially a biological computer.
Consciousness, the ‘operating system,’
comes from the heart.

EUGENE
I’m not sure I follow.

ROBERTA
Think of consciousness as a universal
energy like light. It’s not created by
the brain. The heart is the primary
receptor of consciousness, as the eyes
are of light. In both cases, the energy
is then converted for the brain’s use.
I have no idea how, of course. I’m not a
physicist or a neurologist. But think of
a brain starved of love from the heart,
running on a primitive operating system.
That’s the majority of the human race
today, the western mind in any case. All
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 94

ROBERTA (CONT’D)
this conjecture about AI, artificial
intelligence – that’s exactly where
we’re headed: from a primitive,
thwarted kind of human intelligence
to one that is entirely artificial.

EXT. NIGHT - ROBERTA'S FRONT LAWN

Catherine and Eugene walk to the bike lost in thought.

CATHERINE
What she said about a journey from the
head to the heart sure as hell isn't
new. That's what Romanticism was all
about, a century and a half ago.

EUGENE
Well, if you think of evolution as a
sort of spiral, maybe we're back where
we were then but at a higher level –
new set of circumstances. Something like
that. What she said about consciousness
sounded pretty revolutionary.

CATHERINE
Or just wrong. Which chamber of the heart
do you suppose filters consciousness? It
sounds ridiculous when I say it.

EUGENE
Well, she’s definitely not talking about
the physical organ that pumps blood. Maybe
the heart chakra – the heart in the energy
body that our friend from the health food
store was talking about. After all, love
is the highest form of consciousness.

CATHERINE
Love? What about genius?

EUGENE
That’s exactly what she was talking about.
Genius without love is probably the worst
kind of unconsciousness."
THE SHASTA GATE 95

CATHERINE
Why do you suppose she says we're
both on a journey?

EUGENE
I've known that all along.

EXT. NIGHT – MOTORHOME

The Gang is partying with two school teachers who have
rented a Winnebago for a month of sexual exploration.
It’s rockin’ and rollin’ as if negotiating 70 miles an
hour of bad road. The party’s in full swing around a
blazing fire. The Leader and Becky talk, away from the
action.

BECKY
Why don't we get outa this miserable
place? Why are we wastin' our time lookin'
for some punk and his snot-nosed girl friend?

LEADER
After what he done t' my man over there?

BECKY
Bullshit! You were hung up on this dude
before he messed up James Queen.

LEADER
He interests me. That's more than I can
say for anyone around here. We'll move on
- soon as we find him.

BECKY
Yeah, well another wild goose chase like
today, and you'll be movin' on without me!

HELEN & WIRE RIMS

are joined by Becky.
BECKY
This trip sucks!
WIRE RIMS
A clear case of obsession if you ask me.
THE SHASTA GATE 96

BECKY
(to Helen)
The Word-man's right for once. I think
it's time for a fuckin' mutiny.

When neither of them responds, she shakes her head with a

sneer and walks off.
HELEN
Think she'll get anyone to go with her?

INTELLECTUAL
Nah - takes more than words.

HELEN
You should know.

WIRE RIMS
We scribes do not ascribe to diatribes
against the tribe. Unless it suits our
purpose of course.

HELEN
Go fuck yourself.

WIRE RIMS
A physical impossibility, my dear Helen
- face that lunched a thousand Greeks.
Engaged in embattled intercourse with the
Trojans - or was it Greek intercourse
without a Trojan? That's gamy lunch meat
for m'lady.

He continues in this vein as she walks away in disgust,

WIRE RIMS (cont'd O.S.)

Or "gaming," if one considers the risk
involved: Rushin' toward infinity...
gambling with the grim reaper in a
game of Greek roulette.

BECKY
walks up to the Fool and Mechanic.
THE SHASTA GATE 97

BECKY
I'm thinkin' of gettin' my own thing
together. You two and the Chinaman are
the only ones with the balls t' get us
outa here.

The Mechanic spits contemptuously.

THE FOOL
Don't say nothin' t' me about no Chinaman!

VET'S BUDDY
Only balls that scumbag has is eyeballs!

THE FOOL
Prob'ly comes when he blows his nose.

JERRY
looks on intently, beyond the ring of firelight.

CATHERINE & EUGENE’S CAMPSITE

Having returned to their initial campsite, Catherine and
Eugene unroll their sleeping bags by the fire.

CATHERINE
You think they'll keep looking for us?

EUGENE
It's big country up here. Maybe they'll
lose interest if they can't find us.

CATHERINE
What if they don't? Should we be afraid
of them, Eugene?

EUGENE
Yeah, I'm afraid of people like that:
in bunches - I don't care whether they
ride bikes or convertibles in Fourth of
July parades. Anyone so afraid of
something different they'll do anything
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 98

EUGENE (CONT’D)
to erase the difference. Most of the
time I do such a good job of convincing
myself I'm not afraid, I end up fooling
everyone else.
CATHERINE
Seems to me you're overcoming fear just
to be able to admit that.

EUGENE
Maybe. I hope you're right. I can tell
you when that began too: the first time I
was really honest with myself, I mean.

CATHERINE
Tell me!
EUGENE
I was eight or nine. My folks were
fighting. They did all the time but
this was the last time.

INT./EXT. – MONTAGE
INTERCUT are GLIMPSES of the incident Eugene is
describing, as if we are experiencing his memory of it.

EUGENE (cont'd)
(V.O. and on camera)
Either she kicked him out or he walked
out on us - probably a little of both.
Anyway, as he was leaving, my dad says
to me: "You're the man of the house
now." And my mom just laughed. She goes,
"Thanks a lot, you bastard!"

Catherine touches him protectively.

EUGENE
I ran up to my room. I felt like....
But this is the strange part: I looked
in the mirror over my dresser, and for
just a second, it wasn't me....I don't
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 99

EUGENE (CONT’D)
remember what I saw - just how I felt.
Something told me I was all right. I
would amount to something some day.

The story's positive ending is lost on Catherine.

Weariness and depression underlie anger in her voice.

CATHERINE
It's incredible what parents can do to
kids. With me it was my father.

A MENTAL IMAGE
the towering figure of her father from a child's POV.

CATHERINE (V.O.)
He was such a bastard when I was little.
I was terrified of him.

BACK TO SCENE
EUGENE
How do you feel about him now?

CATHERINE
He'll never have that power over me again.

EUGENE
Seems like a hell of a load to be carrying
around. That trip Roberta was talking about,
from the head to the heart: it's not easy.

CATHERINE
What do you mean?

EUGENE
I'm an expert when it comes to knowing how
that kind of anger can stand in your way.

CATHERINE
Well thank you, Mr. Enlightenment.

He grins sheepishly.
THE SHASTA GATE 100

CATHERINE (cont’d)
I don't know what you had standing in your
way before, but I don't see it there now.

EUGENE
You're a wonderful lover.

Catherine smiles radiantly. Suddenly, the DEVOTIONAL

SINGING we heard their first night on the mountain.

CATHERINE
...Who is that?

EXT. DAY - CATHERINE & EUGENE'S CAMP

Early morning sunlight falls on the lovers, locked in an
embrace, with Catherine sitting on his lap, facing him.

CATHERINE
Aren't you going to meditate this morning?

EUGENE
(huskily)
Have to see a lady about a horse first.

They begin to move together, gently, rhythmically.

CATHERINE
(change in tone)
Would that be bareback?

EUGENE
It would.
CATHERINE
A lady on a stallion.

EUGENE
Hi yo...
CATHERINE
...Silver!

They both laugh, before their lovemaking becomes more

urgent, and we pull back discreetly...then farther away,
THE SHASTA GATE 101

until we are watching the lovers from the POV of...

EXT. DAY – THE FOOL

...astride his motorcycle.

THE FOOL
Well, well, well!

He coasts downhill, then gives his bike the gas.

EXT. DAY - CATHERINE & EUGENE

Their love-making this time is portrayed primarily from
within, with mental images predominant over what their
eyes are seeing. Upon climaxing, they each experience a
temporary loss of identity, which is exhilarating for
Eugene...but terrifying for Catherine.

EXT. DAY - GANG'S CAMP

The Gang are so hung-over we can feel it in our bones.
The SOUND of an approaching BIKE, as the Fool rides into
camp.
THE FOOL
I found 'em! Half an hour from here!

The Leader raises his fist in triumph, his thin lips

stretched tight, exposing his teeth like a dog's bared
fangs, and snarls viciously deep in his throat. Then down
the staggered line of bikes, to which all the Gang have
run, there is the ROAR of motorcycles being started...
which SEGUES into the SNARLING of a pack of wild dogs.
For a moment, from the Leader's POV, the bikers all have
ferocious DOG FACES. Many of the bikers (their faces
returned to normal) throw back their heads to gulp
uppers. The Leader pops an amy – and in the distance...

MOUNT SHASTA - POV LEADER

...becomes for a moment a horrible demon to him.

BACK TO SCENE
Then they're off, in a cloud of dust and machine fury.
THE SHASTA GATE 102

EXT. DAY - CATHERINE & EUGENE'S CAMP

Catherine, dressed, her eyes fearful and looking inward,
brushes her hair with ferocity. Eugene is bewildered; he
stands apart from her, watching, then comes to her side.
But she barely acknowledges the arm he puts around her.

EUGENE
Catherine, what's wrong?

CATHERINE
It's nothing about you, Gene. You've
been great.
EUGENE
If it's about you, it's about me.

CATHERINE
(avoiding his eyes)
This isn't. It's about me before we ever
met.
EUGENE
Can't you tell me about it?

CATHERINE
No. I can't!

Suddenly in tears, she darts away from him - blindly at

first, then on a trail up the mountain.

EUGENE
Catherine!

He starts to go after her, then stops and stands there

looking at her receding figure with incomprehension. He
picks up a rock and throws it off the mountain.

EUGENE
Jesus fucking Christ!

EXT. DAY - TRAIL

Catherine stumbles ahead in tears. Breathing hard, she
stops to support herself against a tree and regains a
measure of self-control. Then, faintly, growing louder,
THE SHASTA GATE 103

DRUMMING and the same CHANTING SONG we heard earlier.

Ascending another nearby trail is RAIN, a young American,
barefoot and dressed only in a very careworn "robe,"
rhythmically beating a mushroom-shaped Indian drum.
She peers at him in surprise, then curiosity, and melts
back into the trees as he passes a short distance away
without seeing her. He continues without looking up until
reaching a small...

CLEARED CIRCLE

...in the midst of a sun-bathed meadow, where he sits

down facing the sun. Feeling that she is "spying" on him,
Catherine starts to turn away. But the turn becomes a
full circle and she finds herself approaching him. His
own surprise turns into an expression of welcome.

CATHERINE
...I hope I'm not intruding.

RAIN
Not at all - sit down if you like. My
name's Rain.

CATHERINE
I'm Catherine.

She sits. He’s in his late 20s, face weathered and

wrinkled from the elements. His hair is uncombed but not
unkempt and he has a 2- or 3-day growth of beard. There
is no sense of his being dirty, just impoverished. Over
one shoulder is a heavy cloth bag which he opens to
reveal some small plastic containers. He takes the
plastic tops from two and removes cigarette papers from
one, marijuana from the other.

RAIN
(grinning pleasantly)
Smoke the sacrament?

CATHERINE
Okay...sure – I'll take a hit. Thanks.
THE SHASTA GATE 104

He sprinkles weed onto a paper with no attempt to shield

it from the wind, which blows it away. Amused rather than
surprised or annoyed, he turns toward sunlit Mt. Shasta.

RAIN
(smiling)
That's right, Mother; got to have your
share.

He grins at Catherine and tries again, with no problem

this time. They pass it back and forth between them.
She's subdued but we can feel her responding to his
openness and warmth.
RAIN
You've been crying.

She smiles forlornly, and shrugs. Squinting into the sun,

he makes a few light runs on the drum between his knees,
then begins to play expertly. She remains silent, a look
of pain and fatigue in her eyes.

RAM
Care to talk about it?

Looking into his eyes, Catherine appears reassured.

CATHERINE
...I had the strangest experience a
minute ago. I was standing over there
when you came by. I stepped back so you
wouldn't see me, and started to leave.
But it was almost like some big finger
came down and pressed into the top of my
head...and just kept turning me around.
There I was - walking over to you.

Chuckling, Rain adds a special flourish on the drum.

RAIN
I know the feeling.

CATHERINE
Strange...
THE SHASTA GATE 105

Another verbal silence while the gentle drumming

continues, the complex rhythm constantly changing in
astonishing virtuosity.

CATHERINE
That's wonderful!

RAIN
My morning meditation. I'm late today;
a little hung over - the first time since
I've been up here.

CATHERINE
How long's that?

RAIN
About a month. This is my eighth summer
up here. I'm thinking of staying through
the winter this year.

CATHERINE
Are you here by yourself?

RAIN
For now. Pretty soon the kids will
start arrivin’. I'm sorta their summer
guru. I was into that spiritual
groupie trip myself for awhile - then
it was time to get out on my own. I
came up here to be with Kali.
(nodding toward the peak)
When she comes down here and tells me
she loves me, I won't need to come back.

Catherine doesn't know quite how to take this remark.

RAIN (cont’d)
Some of the little girls wanta tell me
they're Radha Rani, share my sleeping
bag. Make me out to be Krishna, the
reincarnation of some Hindu god. But
Kali demands complete celibacy. I have
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 106

RAIN (CONT’D)
to tell 'em, "No, you're an American
teenager in the unaltered states of
America, honey - playin' at something
you don't know the first thing about."

They both smile.

CATHERINE
That’s your tent by the stream isn’t it?

RAIN
Sure is. And a sauna beside it. Up here
a ways...
(gesturing)
...I've got a cave, with a big piece of
plastic to keep out the damp. That's
where I sleep these cold nights. This
is my meditation spot - where I converse
with Kali. She talks back but, it's
taken me a long time to hear her.

He continues to play, his body swaying, the tempo faster

now.
RAIN (cont’d)
What put those tear-tracks on your cheeks,
Sister? Don't you know that's what brought
you over here: the chance to tell someone
who won't judge you - that don't care, and
won't ever see you again?

She wants to talk. As he plays, she gets an almost glassy

look in her eyes.
CATHERINE
You keep coming up here, summer after
summer. How do you know Kali will ever
really come down here and speak to you?

The question prompts another special riff on the drum.

RAIN
The secret's in the waiting, learning the
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 107

RAIN (CONT’D)
patience so it’s not really waiting
anymore. Then some day I'll look up and
Kali will be here. Where if I was to put
my hopes in her coming, that would stand
in the way right there.

Catherine thinks about this, then looks up at...

THE SUN - POV CATHERINE

...as it flares in the lens, DOUBLE-EXPOSED over a...

FLASHBACK
...of her and Eugene in profile, sitting locked in the
sexual embrace she experienced this morning, her back
arched and her head thrown back, mouth open in ecstasy.

BACK TO SCENE
CATHERINE
(dreamlike tone)
I'd think it would be so hard. That
kind of patience must be the hardest
thing in the world.

Rain just keeps drumming, his eyes closed now.

CATHERINE (cont'd)
I thought I knew what life was all
about - and it bored the shit out of
me. Now all of a sudden I've seen what
it could be. It's so beautiful it
scares me to death.

His eyes closed, Rain is lost in his music but listening

to her.
RAIN
"Scared to death." That's what fear is
all right.
CATHERINE
I see how much there is to lose...that
I didn't even know was there.
(MORE)
THE SHASTA GATE 108

CATHERINE (CONT’D)
(her tone turning desperate)
And now I can't go back to where I was
before. Everything's changed...
(her voice breaking)
...I don't know which way to go.

Rain stops playing and puts a hand out to touch her knee.
He cocks his head, as if listening to an inner voice or
trying to focus his thoughts.

RAIN
Catherine, they say there's a point in
our development where the only sin is a
failure of nerve. That's dangerous talk
because if you're not in that place, you
can end up tryin' to justify the kinda
things we're used to callin' sins - like
killing life, in the name of some belief
or other. But you might keep that in mind.
And another thing I'm sure of. You find
something you're afraid of, and, Sister,
that's a doorway. Fear's a door to walk
through.

He begins playing again; his eyes closed, face radiant,

he breaks into the devotional singing we heard earlier.
Catherine just looks at him for a while, the slightly
puzzled expression on her face softening into one similar
to his. Then she gets up quietly, her voice pitched so as
to intrude as little as possible on the singing.

CATHERINE
Goodbye, Rain....I hope you and Kali
get it together.

RAIN
(laughing lightly)
Thank you, Catherine. Peace and light,
Sister.
CATHERINE
(mouthing the words silently)
Thank you!
THE SHASTA GATE 109

He returns to his devotional meditation as she walks to

the trail, pausing to take in the magnificent view of the
mountain and, before it, the strange man who would be its
lover. A sudden gust of wind springs up, whipping the
branches beside her and almost drowning out the sound of
the drumming. She walks partway down the trail and turns
again, her face registering astonishment. Rain is gone.

EXT. DAY - THE GANG

are fanned out across a high meadow, riding at top speed
and stoned. We see the scene from their own drug-induced
POV. Then we're close on the Fool, with Chris, leaning
over so she can hear him above the ROAR of the BIKES.

THE FOOL
Fantastic, ain't it? All just a game:
findin' new ways t' break the rules!
That's why I dig street acid better'n
the pure stuff. Hell, nothin' in life's
pure. Little strychnine makes it real!

CHRIS
Sure! Oyster needs sand to make a pearl
don’t it? Wound's gotta have its salt!

They laugh hysterically and we PULL AWAY to their bizarre

psychedelic impression of the onrushing countryside.

THE FOOL
Ain't nobody here but you an' me,
Baby - and damned if I don't wonder
about you!

Again they laugh in sustained hysterical unison.

EXT. DAY - CATHERINE & EUGENE'S CAMPSITE

At the end of the trail Catherine breaks into a run, into
Eugene's arms.
EUGENE
(happily)
What happened to you?
THE SHASTA GATE 110

CATHERINE
Oh I feel fantastic!
(after their embrace)
Let's fly somewhere!

EUGENE
You got it!

EXT. DAY - MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN

Ram is riding as fast as his horse can safely negotiate
the treacherous footing. He's leading another horse:
Catherine's stallion.

EXT. DAY - WINDING MOUNTAIN ROAD

Catherine and Eugene make hairpin turns on the bike. On
the road below, 5-10 minutes behind them, are the Gang.
Catherine and Eugene are unaware of them.

EXT. DAY - THE GANG

Chris spots...

CATHERINE & EUGENE - POV CHRIS

...on the road above and points. The ROAR of the bikes
SEGUES into...

EXT. DAY - THE ROAD

...the LOUDER SOUNDS of a ROCK SLIDE on the road ahead of
Catherine & Eugene - blocking the way. The SOUND OF their
BIKE tells us they're about to round a blind turn in the
road just 30 or 40 yards from the slide. On one side of
the narrow road is a sheer face of rock; on the other, a
cliff which drops off into nothing but sky. They come
around the bend with just enough time for Eugene to brake
expertly to avoid crashing into the rocks or skidding off
the edge of the cliff. He shuts off the bike and they sit
there on a turn-out, both a little shaken.

CATHERINE
Christ! We're lucky it didn't come
down on top of us!
THE SHASTA GATE 111

They listen intently for a moment, then turn to each

other with knowing expressions.

CATHERINE
It's them isn't it?
(after Eugene nods)
...What can we do?

EUGENE
(studying the rock barrier)
They may not know you're with me. You
can hide up there. If I can get through
them, they'll go after me.

CATHERINE
No. I want to stick with you.

EUGENE
Catherine, all they can do is kill me.

CATHERINE
I know that.

EXT. DAY - A BLUFF ABOVE THEM

Hidden from their view, Ram is on the appaloosa, holding
the reins of Jebel Druze. O.S. the DRONE of the GANG
gradually rises above the SOUND of the WIND.

THE TURN-OUT - MONTAGE

Eugene looks back at Catherine and starts his bike. She
holds tightly to him, a dazed look on her face, her eyes
wide. "This can't be happening!" says her expression.
Eugene's face is a mask of determination, but the
uncertainty in his movements betrays his own fear - for
Catherine if not for himself. The steady WHINE becomes a
ROAR, and suddenly the Gang rounds the bend. A hand
signal from the Leader slows the bikes behind him in time
to avoid a pile-up into the rocks.
Eugene's hands tighten on the handlegrips. He reaches
back without turning and rests the palm of his hand on
Catherine's thigh. She grasps the hand tightly and he
clasps hers. Taunting them, revving their engines, the
THE SHASTA GATE 112

Gang closes in. The Leader sits supremely confident

again. To Catherine, the swirling mass of machines and
bodies becomes terrifyingly surrealistic, assuming the
psychedelic quality they possessed earlier. Suddenly her
expression of terror changes to one of amazement. In this
mass of confusion, one face stands out.

BECKY’S FACE
...is that of the...
DISSOLVE TO:
INDIAN MAIDEN - CATHERINE'S FANTASY SEQUENCE
She looks piercingly into...

CATHERINE’S
...eyes. Stunned, Catherine brings her hand to her mouth.

EUGENE
is bent over the bike looking for an opening through the
Gang. Then he, too, straightens up in shock. He sees...

JERRY

...the biker boy, looking at him wide-eyed.

DISSOLVE TO:
EUGENE'S FACE - CHILDHOOD MEMORY

...with the reassuring look he saw staring back at him,

in the mirror in his bedroom the day his father left.

CATHERINE & EUGENE

are both absolutely bewildered. Suddenly Ram's appaloosa
NEIGHS on the bluff above them. They look up to see...

RAM & THE HORSES

...on the bluff. Jebel Druze rears beside the appaloosa,
splitting the air with his stallion SCREAM.

THE GANG
All eyes sweep upward, but...
THE SHASTA GATE 113

THE BLUFF
...is empty now.

RAM
and the horses are in the fallen rock. Ram calls out to
Eugene and Catherine in a powerful ringing voice.

RAM
To reach the Shasta Gate, you must
pass through your own fear!

THE GANG
are too stunned for the moment to do anything but gawk.

RAM
leads the stallion down onto the road next to...

CATHERINE & EUGENE

The bewilderment on Catherine's face seems to peak as she
mouths Ram's name silently. Then she shakes herself out
of her dazed, trance-like state. There's no one in the
world she'd rather see right now!

CATHERINE
Gene - it's Ram! It's Ram!

Though still stunned by this inexplicable turn of events,

Eugene is roused by Catherine's excitement.

THE GANG
are taken aback. The Leader appears the most surprised of
all - maybe because this is the first time we've seen
real emotion on his face. But he shakes off the Indian as
just another of the day’s druggy hallucinations.

LEADER
Get ‘em!

First one, then another member of the Gang follows the

Leader's example. Ignoring Ram, they advance toward...
THE SHASTA GATE 114

CATHERINE & EUGENE

The renewed threat snaps Eugene into alertness again.
This is all that's real now. Catherine looks wildly to...

RAM
...for help. Both horses rear. Ram’s eyes blaze into
Catherine's. He gestures with his hand at his chest.

RAM
Anger is fear, Catherine!

CATHERINE
gets it. Fury flashes from her eyes and she tries to
scream - but she can't release the rage inside of her.

RAM
RAM
Let go of it! Hold onto nothing!

CATHERINE
Terribly frustrated, she seems reluctant to try again, as
if this were a dream where one tries to run and can't.
In her case it's a scream that won't come.

THE GANG
continue to move menacingly closer.

EUGENE
is still looking for an opening.

RAM
If human will has a face it’s this one.

RAM
Eugene!

EUGENE
His head snaps around. How does the Indian know his name?

ANOTHER ANGLE
THE SHASTA GATE 115

RAM
A man unafraid is a man without
feeling!

CATHERINE & EUGENE

He looks at her, caught in her own struggle. This is the
first time we’ve seen him so at a loss for what to do.

RAM
seems to have no conception of their danger. Exultant,
his eyes shining with triumph, he lets out a savage
battle cry - and this finally sets Catherine off.

CATHERINE
screams back at him in frustration. Echoing against the
rocks (and ALTERED ELECTRONICALLY), her scream is like
the howl of the wind in Ram's dream. Her face lightens
up. She did it - it felt fantastic! She looks at Ram as
if to ask, How was that? then turns toward the Gang.

ANOTHER ANGLE
She screams again, with rage this time and looks
pleadingly at Ram...who holds out the reins of the
stallion to her. She grips Eugene's arm and, when he
turns, gestures toward the horse. Eugene nods and Ram
brings the stallion closer. In one graceful step in SLOW
MOTION, Catherine goes from the bike to the stallion's
bare back, using Ram's stirrup and arm for support.

EUGENE
looks in awe at...

CATHERINE
...on the rearing stallion. O.S. we hear Ram speak - but
it's not his voice.
RAM/MEXICAN (O.S.)
Hey, Gringo! You! "Seeker"!
RAM
For a moment this isn't the Indian but the elderly
THE SHASTA GATE 116

Mexican Eugene met in Baja. His face is full of amusement

but his voice rings with authority.

RAM/MEXICAN
The warrior's way lies within! The
last frontier is fear!

He throws back his head and laughs an extraordinary

laugh, gesturing, Get on with it!

EUGENE
Coming unglued, looks up at...

CATHERINE
Poised, powerful-looking, she's ready now...for what?

EUGENE
Finally gives in to his own scream/battle cry. It comes
rolling out mighty and glorious (and ELECTRONICALLY
ALTERED), as if all of mankind, embodied in this one
courageous man, were giving voice to - and releasing -
the agony of our species' evolution on the planet. Eugene
is transformed and...

ANOTHER ANGLE

...Catherine's face is full of loving admiration. They

share a timeless moment of illumination, then turn to
face their adversaries, their demons, lifting their faces
to the sky and giving voice to a scream of terrible
power. Their shared scream is no ordinary human sound.
There are extraordinary forces at work here, to which at
this moment Catherine and Eugene have surrendered
themselves completely. What comes from their mouths is
the triumphant SCREAM OF NATURE itself.
The scream is ELECTRONICALLY AMPLIFIED AND SYNTHESIZED
into a sustained and rising MUSICAL CHORD. A crack
appears in the rock face of the cliff behind the Gang. A
sheet of brilliant white light floods through it onto
Eugene's and Catherine's faces, whose expressions are
serene, almost saintly, bathed in this light. They look
lovingly at each other, then in SLOW MOTION plunge
THE SHASTA GATE 117

together into the midst of the dissolving Gang...who,

wavering like a highway mirage, have begun to fade or
dissolve. The last thing we see of them is the Leader's
astonished face - which has become an empty, crumpled,
sightless and disembodied mask staring blankly at the sky
from the ground.
With nothing now to stop them, horse and motorcycle are
heading right for the sheer rock wall of the mountain.
But the crack of light is widening. The rock slide, which
seemed only a barrier, has apparently exposed an opening
in the cliff face. Catherine and Eugene burst through the
portal in a blinding FLOOD OF LIGHT which saturates the
SCREEN...and are gone. The door closes seamlessly in the
rock behind them with a tremendously loud CRASH that
REVERBERATES long afterward like THUNDER. The appaloosa
NEIGHS in fright O.S.

THE APPALOOSA, RIDERLESS

Ram is gone.

A GOLDEN EAGLE
has taken wing above the horse. The eagle SCREAMS as in
SLOW MOTION it rises above the precipice where the
appaloosa stands. We HOLD on the eagle for a few seconds,
then begin a long, long PULLBACK to reveal Mt. Shasta
wreathed in its mysterious lenticular, or lens-shaped,
blanket of cloud as END CREDITS ROLL.
FADE OUT.

THE END