The Last Breath

Opening Scene

EXT. SMALL TOWN RUINS - MORNING

The once-devastated town lies eerily silent. The skies are clear, and the balloons are gone. The camera focuses on Riley, Lucas, and the few remaining survivors, trudging through the ruins. Exhaustion is etched into their faces.

LUCAS

(weakly)

Do you think it’s really over this time?

OFFICER RILEY

(quietly)

It’s never really over. Not with something like this.

Mara’s absence weighs heavily on them, and the group’s morale is at its lowest.

INT. ABANDONED CHURCH - DAY

The group takes refuge in an abandoned church. Sunlight streams through broken stained-glass windows, casting colorful patterns on the dusty floor.

LUCAS

(sitting on a pew)

Maybe this is what’s left. Picking up the pieces, pretending everything’s fine.

OFFICER RILEY

(leaning against the wall)

We don’t have time to pretend. If there’s even a chance those things are still out there, we have to finish this.

A faint sound—a whistle—cuts through the silence. Everyone freezes.

EXT. ABANDONED CHURCH - DAY

The group emerges cautiously, weapons in hand. The streets are empty, but the whistling grows louder.

Suddenly, a balloon bursts through a nearby building, its face twisted into a grotesque imitation of Mara’s. Strings lash out violently, forcing the group to scatter.

Chase Sequence

The survivors run through the ruins, dodging strings and debris as the balloon pursues them. The whistling becomes deafening, and smaller balloons begin to rise from the cracks in the ground.

LUCAS

(screaming)

I thought we destroyed the Heart!

OFFICER RILEY

(shouting back)

We must’ve missed something!

INT. ABANDONED FACTORY - NIGHT

The group takes shelter in an old factory. Riley begins examining the map they took from Mara’s bunker.

OFFICER RILEY

There’s another chamber. Deeper underground.

LUCAS

(skeptical)

How deep?

OFFICER RILEY

(pointing to the map)

Farther than we’ve ever been.

SURVIVOR #1

(terrified)

You’re saying we go back down there? Into that?

OFFICER RILEY

(firmly)

If we don’t, this never ends.

INT. DEEPER MINES - NIGHT

The group descends into the earth, the air growing thicker and more oppressive with each step. The walls are covered in pulsating black veins, and the whistling grows louder.

They reach a massive underground cavern where the True Core lies—a grotesque, living mass larger and more sinister than the first Heart.

LUCAS

(horrified)

This is it.

The Core begins to pulsate violently, and balloons emerge from its surface, attacking the group.

Climactic Sequence: Sacrifice

The survivors fight valiantly, but the balloons are relentless. One by one, they’re picked off.

SURVIVOR #2

(entangled in strings, screaming)

Go! Finish it!

Lucas spots a weakness—a glowing fissure at the base of the Core.

LUCAS

(to Riley)

That’s it! That’s where we plant the charges!

As Riley and Lucas rush toward the fissure, a massive balloon descends, blocking their path. Its strings lash out, slicing through metal and stone.

LUCAS

(pushing Riley aside)

Go! I’ll hold it off!

OFFICER RILEY

(screaming)

Lucas, no!

Lucas charges at the balloon, using his body as a shield to protect Riley. The strings wrap around him, lifting him into the air.

LUCAS

(to Riley, smiling)

Finish it.

The strings tighten, slicing Lucas in half. His upper body falls to the ground, lifeless.

Final Blow

Riley, fueled by rage and grief, reaches the fissure and plants the charges. The Core’s defenses intensify, but she manages to activate the detonator just as the balloons close in.

OFFICER RILEY

(screaming)

This is for all of them!

The explosives detonate, engulfing the Core in flames. The balloons disintegrate, and the cavern begins to collapse.

EXT. SMALL TOWN - DAWN

Riley emerges from the mines, battered and bleeding but alive. The whistling has stopped, and the sky is clear.

She looks around at the ruins, tears streaming down her face.

OFFICER RILEY

(whispering)

It’s over.

Closing Scene

As Riley walks through the town, she hears a faint sound—a single whistle. She stops, turning around slowly.