Helmut & Gertrud

Page 1

Panel 1: An underwater laboratory with fish swimming around it and surrounded by reefs.

Panel 2:

Captain Bailey and Professor Bell sit in the dimly lit den of Underwater Laboratory. The Captain is a stern looking 46 year old man. His hair is neatly combed back and he wears a pair of big glasses and his captain's uniform. The Professor is a tall, thin, shrewd, snake face lady with short black hair pulled tightly back in a pony tail.

Captain: “What are we going to do Professor? The air supply is running low, we are using more air than we are able to collect!”

Panel 3:

The Professor glances over cooly.

Professor: “ In the morning we will take the two assistants into the ocean depths and leave them there. ”

Panel 4:

The Captain is shocked

Captain: “We can't do that, they will certainly die if we leave them there.”

Professor : “They die or we all do.”

Panel 5: Helmut and Gertrud are upstairs in their bunks. They have their ears to an air vent and they heard every word the Captain and Professor had said. Helmut is a tall teenager with short blonde hair in his orange one-piece Underwater Laboratory assistant jump suit. Gertrud is Helmut's sister and is shorter with thick glasses and blonde hair pulled into a pony-tail.

Helmut: “Don't worry Gertrud, I have a plan”

Panel 6: Helmut is in the supply closet of the station rummaging around.

Panel 7: Helmut pulls out a spool of clear fishing line.

Panel 8: Helmut stashes the spool in his pocket.

Page 2:

Panel 1: The morning alarm sounds and Helmut and Gertrud groggily get up out of bed. The Professor is standing in the doorway.

Professor: “Get suited up, we are going down into deep water today for mineral samples.”

Panel 2: The crew of the underwater station in full scuba gear is swimming down into a dark deep part of the ocean.

Panel 3: Close-up on Helmut's pocket the shape of a spool is apparent and the thread coming out is barely visible.

Panel 4: They are swimming deeper and deeper to where there is hardly any light. The line from the spool runs out and drifts away.

Panel 5: They reach the bottom and the Professor points to the assistants.

Professor: “You two gather mineral samples here, the Captain and I are going to a nearby underwater cavern.”

Page 3:

Panel 1: Helmut and Gertrud pretend to be getting mineral samples until the Captain and Professor are out of site.

Helmut: “Come on Gertrud, lets go.”

Panel 2: Helmut reaches for the line that should be going into his pocket but it isn't there.

Gertrud: “How are we going to find our way back to the station now?”

Helmut: “We'll just have to try and find our own way.”

Panel 3: They start trying to swim back in darkness.

Helmut: “This way!”

Panel 4: They keep swimming still passing many deep sea creatures.

Panel 5: They are still swimming but their tanks show that their oxygen is running low.

Gertrud: “Are you sure this is the right way?”

Helmut: “I hope so.”

Page 4:

Panel 1: In the distance Helmut sees what looks like the wreckage of a huge submarine.

Helmut: “Over there look! I wonder if there are oxygen tanks in that submarine.”

Panel 2: They are entering the submarine through a large hole in the hull. There is barely enough light to see by.

Gertrud: “Look Helmut!”

Panel 3: There is a rack with plenty of oxygen tanks in the submarine.

Panel 4: Helmut and Gertrud both grab an oxygen tank

Panel 5: They replace their almost empty ones for each other.

Stranger: “Who is in my submarine!?”

Page 5:

Panel 1: Helmut and Gertrud are completely bewildered by the fact that someone is on the submarine that appeared to be abandoned.

Helmut: “Our names are Helmut and Gertrud. We are crew members of Underwater Laboratory.”

Panel 2: Gertrud nervously continues explaining where Helmut left off. The person who spoke steps forward just enough so you can see he has a harpoon gun.

Gertrud: “W-We were abandoned in the d-deep ocean we are trying to get back to the station.”

Panel 3: The stranger turns away slowly and looks back over his shoulder.

Stranger: “Come with me”

Panel 4: Helmut and Gertrud are led by the stranger up a shaft in the submarine.

Panel 5: They enter a chamber where the water is let out of and replaced with oxygen.

Panel 6: The stranger cranks open a large metal door and they step inside.

Page 6:

Panel 1: They are in a small chamber of the submarine. There are working lights and it is bare except for a few bones and the machinery that gathers oxygen from the water and provides it for the chamber.

Stranger: “This chamber is sealed off from the rest of the submarine and is the only livable room on it now.”

Panel 2: Helmut and Gertrud remove their helmets.

Helmut: “Who are you? What are you doing down here?”

Stranger: “I am the captain of this submarine.”

Panel 3: The Captain paces the room slowly the harpoon gun hanging casually at his side.

Sub Captain: “Two months ago me and my crew of 50 men were exploring down here when we encountered a narwhal of a tremendous size.”

Panel 4: The Captain paces past them without glancing over.

Sub Captain: “It ripped that hole in our ship and most of the crew died.”

Panel 5: The Captain turned to look at them now with a serious look.

Sub Captain: “Except for me... you see this chamber was only made for one person... everyone else had to die.”

Panel 6: Gertrud looks over at Helmut confused, she can't believe what the captain is saying. Helmut is still looking at the captain.

Helmut: “How could you survive down here for two months? You couldn't have had more than a month's supply of food.”

Panel 7: The Captain looks up and smiles a maniac shark teeth smile.

Sub Captain: “Sometimes people have to die so others can survive.”

Page 7:

Panel 1:Gertrud is the first one to make a run for the door.

Panel 2: She is stopped quickly when a harpoon whizzes right by her head.

Panel 3: Helmut lunges at the captain.

Panel 4: Helmut grabs the harpoon gun and he and the captain are wrestling over it.

Panel 5: Gertrud jumps on the Captain.

Panel 6: The Harpoon gun goes off shooting a harpoon through the captains head.

Page 8:

Panel 1: Helmut and Gertrud with their helmets tucked under their arms exit the room with the dead captain in it.

Panel 2: Gertrud starts to crank open the door to the rest of the submarine.

Helmut: “No you idiot!”

Panel 3: Water rushes in from the rest of the submarine

Panel 4: They are forced back into the room with the Captain.

Panel 5: Their helmets are smashed open an water has rushed in.

Panel 5: They are all floating in the chamber, clearly dead.

Page 9:

Panel 1: The Captain and the Professor are back in the underwater station in the den.

Panel 2: A gigantic narwhal approaches the station.

Panel 3: The Professor glances out the window.

Panel 4: The Professor freaks out and spills her drink on herself as the narwhal is crashing through the hull of the Underwater Laboratory.

Panel 5: Water rushes into Underwater Laboratory.