BLOODZONE: Pilot

June 2nd, 2025

INT. RILEY’S ROOM - EVENING

Riley wakes up in his bed, disoriented. He sits up, rubbing his eyes and looks at his clock and calendar. 6:06 p.m. June 6th.

RILEY

Mmmgh.. Did I… oversleep?

Riley gets off his bed and looks out from his bedroom window. It’s quiet outside. Too quiet. He shrugs it off and starts picking out clothes from his closet. Once he gets dressed, he heads downstairs, expecting to see his mom cooking dinner and his father in the garage working on the family car.

His mother isn’t in the kitchen.

INT. KITCHEN - EVENING

RILEY

Mom?

Riley then runs past the living room and then to the garage, swinging the door open.

His father isn’t in the garage.

RILEY

Huh…

Riley heads upstairs to grab his phone to call his mother. Straight to voicemail. He tries his father. Straight to voicemail. He then checks the signal bars on his phone… no signal. Riley heads back downstairs to grab his bike from the garage and he rides off down his street, leaving his home behind to go to his mother’s bakery shop. 

EXT. RILEY’S BLOCK - EVENING

RILEY

This is getting… weird. Where is everyone?

Scanning each block he passes, he finally spots a young man walking aimlessly on the sidewalk. Upon seeing him, Riley speeds up a bit to catch up to him.

RILEY

Hey!

The man doesn’t turn around, still walking. Riley dismounts his bike, speed walks up to him and taps him on the shoulder. He turns around, slightly surprised but gives a slight smile.

RILEY

(relieved)

Hey, um- so, do you know what’s going on around here? You’re the first person I’ve seen in the past twenty minutes.

The man shrugs.

RILEY

Okay…uhh- *rubbing the left sleeve of his jacket* do you want to search together? Possibly?

He nods.

RILEY

Alright.. thanks. What’s your name?

The man softly speaks, also using ASL gestures.

CAMPBELL

My name is Campbell.

RILEY

Oh- you’re deaf.. sorry- *gives a smile and extends his hand out* Nice to meet you, Campbell. My name is Ri-

Suddenly, there’s a loud noise around the corner. The sound of trash cans clattering. Riley and Campbell both look at each other. Then at the noise.

RILEY

(slightly unnerved)

Did you hear that?

Campbell nods. They both slowly walk over to see where the noise came from.

RILEY

Maybe it’s more people.

Just as Riley and Campbell reach the corner of the tall fence surrounding a house, a man runs right past them, growling. Riley yelps, stumbling back. The man slams into a parked car, smashing into the passenger side. The window spiderwebs on impact.

RILEY

What the-?! Hey- are you.. Are you oka-?

The man rises fast. His body twists upright in a snap, bones popping, grinding, his head lolling before snapping into place with a wet click. He stares at Riley and Campbell and then charges at them. They both take off the next millisecond, the zombie chasing them across the street.

RILEY

(yelling)

HELP!!!! ANYBODY!!!

EXT. ALLEYWAY - EVENING

They hit a hard right into someone’s yard, trying to shake the man. But it’s no use. Riley grabs Campbell’s hand and yanks him into another hard right, running into an empty alleyway. As they bolt through the back road, Riley throws things that’s sitting alongside fences to stop the man. No use. 

Before the man can reach them both, a gunshot crackles throughout the alleyway. Riley and Campbell stop running and duck for a minute to avoid stray bullets. The growling noise stops.

RILEY

Holy…

Riley peeks up and looks behind him to see the man dead with a clear gunshot wound to the back of the head, blood leaking out onto the pavement. Another man stands behind him, brandishing a pistol and a prison jumpsuit with the top half tied around his waist, wearing a white tank top.

???

Are you both alright?

Gasping for breath and close to collapsing, Riley and Campbell rose from the ground.

RILEY

Yes…oh my god, thank you…

???

What are your names?

RILEY

*motions to himself* I’m Riley. *motions to Campbell* This is Campbell.

Campbell gives a warm wave and smiles. Thomas exhales, relieved to also see other people.

THOMAS

Nice to meet you both. The name’s Thomas Bynes. You two wanna stick with me? It’s not safe out here. I know a place.

Campbell nods immediately.

RILEY

Yes… *catches his breath for a second* yes, please. Thanks again for saving us.

THOMAS

It’s no problem. Quick, follow me.

Riley and Campbell quickly jogs behind Thomas out of the alleyway. 

INT. GARRETT’S GRILL - NIGHT

After a couple minutes of running then walking, they reach the town’s diner, sitting at the edge of a strip mall. Neon letters flicker above:

“GARRETT’S GRILL – OPEN 24 HOURS.”

The door creaks as Thomas opens it, immediately raising his gun if anything dares to jump out. 

THOMAS

Check the back. Make sure it’s clear.

Riley nods and moves to the kitchen. Campbell trails after him, eyes alert. Half a second later, Riley returns to the front of the diner.

RILEY

We’re good.

They regroup at a booth near the window. Thomas slides into one side. Riley and Campbell take the other. A long moment of silence. Breathing. Processing. Riley leans back, stares at the ceiling.

RILEY

So… what the hell is going on? I woke up in my bed. Same house. Same everything… except my parents are gone, my neighborhood’s a ghost town, and that guy… that guy tried to kill Campbell and I…

THOMAS

Same here. I don’t think that was just a guy... It looked like something else.

Campbell taps to the table to get both of their attention. He gestures and then mimics a stiff-limbed undead creature.

RILEY

Campbell, do you think it was… a zombie?

Campbell nods, serious. Riley sinks in his spot. Thomas runs his hand through his hair.

RILEY

But… I don’t get it. That guy was SPRINTING at us… and he didn’t even stop to take a break.

THOMAS

Well, it isn’t The Walking Dead. It’s possible for these things to actually be fast. Which makes them ten times more dangerous. So, we need a plan.

RILEY

Yeah… *eyes Thomas’ attire* You uh… were you in prison or something?

Thomas doesn’t look offended. He just exhales slowly, amused.

THOMAS

(smirking)

Yeah. Good eyes.

RILEY

Can I ask what for?

He leans back in the booth and gives a crooked grin.

THOMAS

Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.

Riley tries to laugh, but it doesn’t quite land. Campbell just raises his brows.

RILEY

Okay... fair.

Another beat of quiet.

Thomas finally softens a little. Looks at Riley, not like a threat, but a kid.

THOMAS

I didn’t kill anybody. If that helps.

RILEY

That... does help, yeah.

Thomas looks away, back toward the window.

THOMAS

Sun’s going down. We’ll stay here tonight and then figure out more tomorrow morning.

RILEY

Sounds good to me. *turns towards Campbell* Campbell?

Campbell gives a thumbs up.

RILEY

Come on, let’s go try and find something to eat in the back.

Campbell follows Riley to the back. Thomas looks out the window again and sighs. He scans the darkened streets and gas pumps. Amid looking around, he sees across the street, just beyond the halo of a broken street lamp… a goat.

THOMAS

(curious)

Wait…

Somewhat alerted, he turns his body slightly more towards the window, squinting. The goat was striped. Uneven. Unnatural. Its fur bristles in strange patches and sports a golden collar that shines a bit. Its eyes, two different colors, glow faintly in the dark. One red. One yellow. It stands perfectly still.

THOMAS

A… goat?

The goat twitches its ears. Then, in one fluid motion, it turns and trots off, disappearing behind a rusted dumpster and out of sight. Thomas sits back down, slightly perplexed at what he saw.

THOMAS

…Weird.

Later into the night, almost morning, the trio is sleeping in the booths, all next to each other. A few moments later, a bright light illuminates and swallows the front of the diner whole. The trio slowly rise from the booths as they are woken up.

RILEY

What…? What’s going on?

He peers toward the window. Outside, a black Jeep Gladiator idles in the lot, its high beams trained on the front door. Two figures sit inside, armed.

RILEY

Oh my god-

Riley quickly jumps over to Thomas’ booth, shaking him fully awake.

RILEY

Thomas…! Thomas- there’s people outside. What do we do?

Thomas instantly grabs his gun and arms himself.

THOMAS

Get ready to run.

Riley nods, heading over to Campbell to get him up and ready. The man, looking in his late 50s, steps out of the driver side of the pickup truck with a shotgun and walks over to the door of the diner. 

RILEY

(slightly scared)

*eyes still fixed on the door* Thomasss…?

THOMAS

*aims at the man* TAKE COVER!

Riley and Campbell hide under a table nearby. The man raises the shotgun and fires right at the door, shattering the glass immediately. He steps inside of the diner and aims at Thomas.

???

Who are you?

THOMAS

I’m gonna need you to answer first.

He keeps the gun trained, steady but tense.

LOAVES

My name is Cyrus. Cyrus Loaves. But you can just call me Loaves… look, can you please lower your gun? We are not here to hurt you.

THOMAS

*scoffs* Pretty interesting coming from you. You came armed and shot at us.

Loaves lowers his shotgun, one hand raised.

LOAVES

It’s just a precaution. You’ve seen those things out there. You can never be too sure who’s what.

Thomas lowers his gun. Riley and Campbell come from underneath the table.

LOAVES

Holy shit… *looks at Riley, shocked* you have a kid. 

THOMAS

Yeah, I do. The name’s Thomas, by the way.

RILEY

I’m Riley and this is Campbell.

Campbell waves hello, a bit shaken.

LOAVES

(to Riley)

Is he okay?

RILEY

He’s deaf.

LOAVES

Oh! My apologies…

Campbell motions quickly, trying to calm Loaves’ nerves.

RILEY

(trying to decipher Campbell)

He’s saying… It's okay.

Thomas steps forward.

THOMAS

Why are you here?

LOAVES

We have a little community in the next city over from Springfield and currently looking for more people that are out there. It’s in Conway. You can join us if you’d like.

Thomas looks over at Riley and Campbell.

THOMAS

What do you guys think?

RILEY

Well- how do we even know you’re lying about this?

Loaves let out a soft hearty laugh.

LOAVES

Believe me, it’s something really weird happening to us for me to be lying like this. Please, join us. *motions towards the truck*

Riley and Thomas share a firm look. Thomas then eyes Loaves.

THOMAS

Alright, we’re in.

LOAVES

*smiles* That’s good to hear. *points to the truck outside* There in the passenger seat is my dear friend, Jade. He’s harmless, for the most part. We’ll be waiting for you three to get situated and ready to go.

Loaves walks back outside and gets in the truck. Riley turns to Thomas.

RILEY

Can we trust them?

Thomas looks at Loaves and Jade, sitting in the truck. His face turns into a mix of suspicion and uncertainty.

THOMAS

…I don’t know. But anything is better than staying in this diner.

RILEY

(ponders)

True… here goes nothing, I guess. Campbell, are you good to go?

Campbell nods, finishing up putting his flannel back on.

THOMAS

Alright, guys. Let’s go.

Riley, Thomas and Campbell beelines for the truck and gets in the back.

LOAVES

Jade. This is Thomas, Riley and Campbell.

Jade waves from the front seat, not looking at them.

JADE

Hello.

Thomas looks at Riley, with an eyebrow raise. Riley shrugs, unsure whether to respond to Jade. Loaves chuckles.

LOAVES

Reminder, he’s harmless.

Jade eyerolls and looks out the window. Loaves shift into gear. The Jeep pulls out of the lot, headlights cutting through the darkness. They drive off, leaving Garrett’s Grill behind. Riley looks out the back passenger window solemnly and hopeful. He spots a pair of glowing eyes nestled in the trees.

RILEY

(caught off guard)

Huh-

Riley stares back as they pass them. He taps Thomas.

RILEY

(whispering)

I just saw something strange. There was a pair of eyes that were glowing red and yellow staring at me in the trees when we passed by.

THOMAS

(whispering)

That's wei- *realizes* Red and yellow eyes???

Riley nods.

THOMAS

I saw those exact eyes too. Earlier when you and Campbell were searching for food in the diner. It was a goat. Like- an actual goat. It was staring at me then ran off when I saw it.

RILEY

Wow. I mean- it's just feels familiar because... *his heart drops* I saw those exact eyes before I fell asleep and woke up yesterday.

Thomas' eyes widen.

THOMAS

What? Are you sure?

RILEY

Yes... yes, yes I'm sure. I was... *tries to recall* closing my blinds in my room and I saw those eyes. It was those exact eyes. Red and yellow, those two exact colors as well.

THOMAS

Alright... this is starting to get fucking weird.

Riley stares out the window again, looking into the night sky.

RILEY

(slightly shaken)

Definitely...

As they drive away, the eyes emerge from the trees, the goat walking out. It stares as the truck intently drives down the road. Suddenly, the moon in the sky morphs into a deep shade of scarlet and zombies start appearing from the trees, spotting the truck.

Introducing:

BLOODZONE

"Riley, 13 year old boy, wakes up in a strange world, where there's little to no people and infested with zombies... that run. Upon meeting Thomas and Campbell, Riley must figure out how to survive in this world, being forced to mature and adapt all while trying to figure out what happened to him and where exactly are they."

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