wedding story
Page 1
Full page. Outside of a church, bright, sunny day. Church is in a suburban setting, trees and a few oldish-looking homes. One wide panel and two wide panels just below that splitting up the bottom of the page, lying over the grass and street I the foreground.
Panel 1: The wedding party, viewed from the rafters of the church, bride and groom in the center, angled slightly towards the officiant but facing each other. We see two or three rows of pews with guests in suits and dresses. Groom’s mom is in front, dabbing at her eyes.
Panel 2: Groom’s face, viewed from over bride’s shoulder. He is smiling awkwardly, a little anxiously.
Groom: “—to love and to cherish—”
Panel 3: Bride’s face, viewed from over groom’s shoulder. She is smiling brightly, trying to keep up with the emotions of the moment.
Groom: “—until we are parted by death.”
Page 2
Top third of the page is two panels side-by-side. Rest of the page is four panels, with the left-hand (3) a tall, narrow panel next to a larger panel (4) approximately taking up the majority of the bottom 2/3, and then panels 5 and 6 are vertical squares taking up the remaining right-hand space. The sound of the tearing runs across the tops of panels 3, 4, and 5, behind the characters and action but over the background.
Panel 1: View of the guests from the front of the church with the couple in the left-hand foreground. The bridesmaids are off to one side, various shades of proud, crying, and feigned interest. A bit beyong and between the maids and the bride we see the bride’s parents, mom crying profusely, dad with his arm around her.
Groom: “This is my solemn vow.”
Panel 2: Viewed from aisle now, looking up at the couple and the officiant standing over them as he turns towards the bride.
Officiant (quietly): “In the name—”
Panel 3: Closer in but still from below on the couple and officiant as they turn in shock to a shrieking, tearing sound behind them.
Panel 4: From the altar, between the couple, looking down the aisle at a gaping white hole in the area between the pews. The area around the hole is skewed, torn, as though a wind is passing through a hole in a hanging sheet. The guests closer to the hole are already pushing to get out of the way, a few climbing over pews and other guests in their fear.
Panel 5: Towards the front of the altar again. The groom is beginning to step in front of the bride, the officiant is stepping back, mouth agape, and, in the foreground, the Maid of Honor has a mixture of confusion.
Panel 6: Closer in on the hole as a single clawed finger pushes through the breach, the white blankness warping around it.
Page 3
Three square-ish panels along the top (1-3), two panels (4-5) along the left-hand side of the page running down from panel 1, two additional panels (6-7) just below 2 and 3, respectively, leaving approximately half of the page (8) in the bottom right-hand corner. All panels are about the same size, but with some space between with the background of 8 showing through.
Panel 1: Viewed from the side, a little further out than the last shot. The finger pushes through and becomes a fist of claws and ragged, rotting flesh. The claw digs into the ground, a similarly rotting arm attached.
Panel 2: Same perspective. A head emerges, mostly skull and disintegrating skin and muscle.
Panel 3: Another hand and arm, just as decayed, now with the beginnings of a mutilated upper torso being pulled through the hole.
Panel 4: The groom, with bride behind her. He has a look of disgust and an arm out to one side, as if to shield her somehow. The bride looks horrified, hand over her mouth, simultaneously holding in a scream and a heave.
Panel 5: The parents, mom beginning to fall off of the pew while looking behind her, make-up somewhat run from crying. Father has already stood up and is grasping for her arm to stabilize her but unable to look away from the creature. Maid of Honor is stepping into the aisle, completely absorbed by what’s happening in front of her.
Panel 6: Same perspective of the void. We can no longer see the head as it has pulled too far forward, but one leg has come through, the foot resting on the ground. Long toes with some holes where flesh once was between them, and crooked, cracked claws in place of toenails.
Panel 7: Looking down the aisle over the heads of the couple, the creature appears to be resting on the ground, dripping slightly. The few guests we can see are pressed up against the walls on either side, leaning to pull as far away as possible but unable to look away.
Panel 8: Closer in on the creature, looking slightly up at it as it rears upwards letting out a gurgling shriek. Blood and excrement and otherwise is dripping from various parts of its rotten frame. It was clearly never human, but it also clearly a corpse.
Page 4
A larger panel (1), ½ of the page tall and 2/3 of it wide. On the right, two panels divide up the remaining top half of the page. Panels 2 and 3 run vertically, with panel 2 twice the length of panel 3. The bottom half of the page is 5 panels played out symmetrically. Panel 4 is on the left, panels 5 and 6 in the middle one on top of the other (both wider and panels 4 or 7), and panel 7 mirrors 4 in dimensions on the right.
Panel 1: The creature stumbles back towards the hole as the smaller frame of the Maid of Honor lunges into it like a spear in a dress.
Panel 2: The creature falls back into the hole, rage and panic on its face and the Maid of Honor is falling through with it, tangled up in its splayed limbs.
Panel 3: We only see feet now, a pair in slippers above and gnarled talons below.
Panel 4: As the Maid of Honor’s foot slips through completely, the void has begun to ravel back into itself, slips of reality winding around into a weave.
Panel 5: Viewed from the front of the church with the bride and groom in the same position as before, the hole is getting smaller now, spiraling into itself. Parents off to one side, mom is sitting on the ground, peeking around the pew.
Panel 6: The groom has started to drop his arm and the bride is beginning to step out from behind him, hand falling away from her face. The guests continue to stare but are now looking less panicked, more confused. The hole is now a single point of light.
Panel 7: From directly in front of the couple, looking towards where the hole was. We see a bouquet in the foreground and a single slipping further out in the aisle.
Page 5
Page divided into 3 rows. Top row is two panels, the left-hand one (1) half as large as the right-hand (2). 2nd row has three panels (3-5), dividing it evenly into 3rds. Bottom row mirrors the top. (6-7)
Panel 1: Bride standing next to groom now, their faces viewed from the side. Shock and confusion.
Groom: “What just—”
Panel 2: Viewed from ground-level further back in the church looking towards the altar. Everyone you can see is flinching as the Maid of Honor is ejected back into the aisle, as if she’s been spit back through some unseen mouth.
Panel 3: The Maid of Honor, viewed from behind, is getting up from the ground, using the edge of a pew for balance. Continued shock and confusion on faces around her. Her dress is in tatters and she is covered in mud and dust. Her hair has either dirt, blood, or both in it.
Panel 4: Ground-level looking into the aisle from one of the pews. We see her bare feet stepping forward (from the calves down). A mixture of scratches and dirt on her skin.
Panel 5: Same perspective, but a few rows forward in the church as she continues walking forward. We see feet and her hand reaching down to pick up the bouquet.
Panel 6: Looking from the center of the aisle towards the altar, Maid of Honor continues walking forward, smoother her hair with one hand, as the couple, officiant, and parents stare in disbelief.
Panel 7: She has resumed her original wedding position now, hands clasped holding the bouquet, but staring at the ground a few feet in front of her. Her forehead and hair contain a mixture smeared, dried blood and dirt. There are various scratches and bruises on her skin. The various other people around have continued staring.
Page 6
Page 6 is layed out exactly like page 5, but the top two panels are reversed, so panel 1 is larger than panel 2.
Panel 1: Same perspective as last shot, as people continue staring. Maid of Honor is looking down and away from the couple.
Panel 2: Looking at Maid of Honor from the side, towards the couple. Her mouth is narrowed, as she is trying very hard to ignore the stares.
Panel 3: Faces in the crowd, all staring, wide-eyed, mouths ranging from clamped to agape.
Panel 4: Close-up of the Maid of Honor viewed from the front, head still down but looking up somewhat towards the crowd.
Panel 5: The couple again, still staring. Groom has opened his mouth as if he is trying to speak.
Panel 6: Maid of Honor from the front again, head still angled down but looking towards the couple.
Maid of Honor: “So…”
Panel 7: Same perspective as panel 1, groom still has his mouth opened to speak, mom is beginning to crawl back into the pew but staring at Maid of Honor in the process. Maid of Honor is staring at the ground in front of her again.
Maid of Honor: “I think we were at the vows?”
