THE STAGE 32 LOGLINES

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GHOST SOLDIER
By David McPete

GENRE: War, Sci-fi
LOGLINE:

The ghost of a fallen WW2 soldier realizes it must continue to fight the ghosts of its’ enemy in the afterlife.

SYNOPSIS:

Two brothers, Joseph and Conner, are stationed in two different army units in Europe during World War II. One day, one of Joseph's friends is shot. Joseph pulls Big Ben into a mud puddle. A huge Nazi (Max) discovers Joseph and the two engage in fighting. Max thrusts Joseph's head underwater to drown him. With things looking hopeless, Max suddenly releases his grip. Joseph emerges from the puddle to find Big Ben choking Max with the strap of his rifle. Joseph stabs Max with his knife, killing him.

The next day, another battle. A bullet strikes Joseph, sending him to the ground. A few seconds later, Joseph quickly sits up in a daze. Two Nazi soldiers race right at him. Joseph jumps to his feet and swings his knife back and forth at the Nazis, only to have them run right through him. Joseph turns to find Max - seemingly risen from the dead. As Max steps towards Joseph, a red blur crashes into him. “Move it!”, Wesley screams as he grabs a stunned Joseph by the arm. Joseph follows the man through an array of live soldiers and ghost soldiers. When a ghost soldier is killed by another ghost, a portal opens up and swallows the spirit. Wesley is a soldier from the War of 1812. Joseph learns that he and the other soldiers around him are dead. Throughout history, a soldier’s afterlife consists of fighting enemies of their country when they declare war. Ghosts can only kill ghosts. What’s waiting for them beyond the portal, no one knows. Joseph’s new unit includes two Black soldiers, who are unhappy to find out that one of the co-leaders of their unit is Sargent Sasser, who died in the Civil War - as a Confederate. The battles feature living soldiers fighting one another at the same time the ghosts are engaged in war. During one such battle, the Nazi ghosts wield a special knife that can kill living soldiers. The living Allied soldiers retreat as Joseph, Wesley, and the rest of their squad fight the Nazi ghosts back.

The ghost soldiers are now pivotal in the capture of Berlin. The living soldiers from Bravo, Charlie, and Delta Company band together as they draw nearer to Berlin. In a deserted town, they are attacked once again by the Nazi ghosts, only to have the Allied ghosts come to their rescue. Once the Nazi ghosts retreat again, the living Allied soldiers ask their invisible saviors if they can help clear the way for them. They stand in awe as a Nazi knife is seemingly picked up and scrawls, YES, into the ground.

The final clash is epic. Both sides suffer heavy ghostly losses, then the living soldiers, including Conner, enter into the fray. Wesley and Joseph enter a building in search of the new weapon. They find the room - and it comes with a twist. The special pulsating lights in the room illuminate all of the ghost soldiers so they can be seen by living soldiers as well. Joseph and Wesley come face to face with Max once again. Wesley pushes Joseph aside and attacks Max one-on-one. A monstrous ghost named Otto grabs Joseph. With Otto about to kill Joseph once and for all, Otto screams in utter pain. Conner has stuck one of the Nazi knives into Otto’s back. Otto drops a gasping Joseph to the ground and turns his attention towards Conner, who takes out his guns and empties his bullets into and through Otto. Otto steps forward, then falls to his knees in agony as Joseph has slashed his tendons. A beaten, struggling Joseph stands up and disposes of Otto.

Meanwhile, Max has Wesley pinned against the wall, his hands clutching knives, ready to behead Wesley. Then- BOOM! Max stands still. BOOM! Max drops Wesley, then staggers backwards, eventually falling to his knees. His chest is oozing blood from two distinct holes. Wesley pulls a round bullet from his coat, loads his antique gun, and presses it against a now helpless Max’s forehead. BOOM! The Nazis are defeated. Conner is able to see and talk to Joseph one more time and say good-bye.

GHOST SOLDIER

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Teambera Ware

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