Story Events:
Terry is flying with his flock at night, he starts to nod-off.
Terry’s flock is unaware of him since he’s in the back of the “V”.
Terry begins to lose altitude and his eye starts closing, he’s desperately trying to stay awake.
Terry falls asleep mid-flight, and plummets to the ground below.
Once Terry realizes what has happened, he tries to fly up in the sky but doesn’t know where he’s going, or where his family has gone. He has no sense of direction.
Terry flutters through the desert, aimlessly.
Terry sees a mirage, an oasis. It’s a shack next to a pond with a tree (or cactus).
Every time Terry gets closer, the oasis gets further away. The desert is playing with Terry, trying to exhaust him.
Terry rests during the night, the wind makes it very cold.
Terry seeks shelter in the skeletal remains of other critters.
Still thinking/playing with ideas
Weakness and Need:
Terry the flying eyeball is separated from his family after falling asleep while flying over the desert. He crash lands with no injuries, but he doesn’t know where to go or where his family went. Flying up high, he cannot see anything but sand. With little energy, Terry must conserve and returns to the ground.
Weaknesses:
Lost
Hopeless
Sad
Lack of energy
Needs:
Regain energy/determination
Navigate and understand the desert
Survive the desert
Reunite with family – main motivator
Desire:
Terry, lost and down on his luck is hopeless. His only goal is to reunite with his flock, but the vast empty desert prevents that. Terry must explore and navigate the dunes to understand his predicament. As he tries to find his family, he is faced with a bigger challenge. Surviving the desert.
Opponent:
The opponent of Terry is the desert itself. It is sentient, it absorbs the life out of any living creature that gets trapped there. The desert uses mirages to confuse and trap its prey, Terry falls victim to this many times before he realizes what is happening. Many creatures have found themselves in Terry’s position, often failing to survive. The desert always wins.
Plan:
Terry’s first plan is to fly as high as he can to try to see the edge of the desert. When Terry gets up in the sky, all he can see is sand. First plan fails, Terry returns to the ground and begins walking. Tired and thirsty, Terry thinks he sees a desert oasis in the distance; a pond, some trees, hopeful salvation. Terry continues to walk towards the mirage until nightfall. During the night, Terry takes shelter in the skeletal remains of a large animal. It’s extremely cold, and Terry knows he won’t survive unless he reaches the pond in the distance. Determined, Terry leaves his shelter and continues to walk towards his goal. He cannot see the mirage at night, but walks in that direction anyways ( he cannot see the mirage because it is a creation of the desert, and during the night, the desert is asleep). Along the way, he sees more and more skeletons. In the dark, Terry begins to hear noises and sees “things” moving in the dark. He takes refugee in another skeleton, waiting to continue his travel in the morning. Terry is discouraged to try flying during the nighttime, since the winds make it nearly impossible.
Battle:
The battle Terry faces is both internal and external. Internally, Terry believes that through persistence and determination, he will reach the oasis. Externally, the oasis doesn’t exist, and is created by the desert to trap Terry.
Self-Revelation:
Option A: Terry realizes what the desert is doing, and finds out how it’s alive and sleeps during the night. Terry finds out the skeletons he’s been sleeping inside are creatures who got lost as well, only they weren’t smart enough to understand that the desert is alive and is trapping them on purpose. Terry tries the only thing he thought was impossible, and tries to fly at night. He leaps off a sand dune, and the winds whip him around violently. Terry is able to recover, and gain control. He continues to fly higher and higher, as difficult as it is, it gets easier. Right as the Terry reaches a point where the winds stop, he is able to look down and see the desert, the same size as it was when he was crossing it with his flock, right before he crashed. Tired and weak, Terry finally learns his true strength by focusing his energy on himself, instead of focusing it on his environment.
New Equilibrium:
Terry is able to escape the impossible desert, and begins flying in the direction he was originally headed prior to crashing. In the distance, he sees a flying “V”. In disbelief, Terry flies towards them. Shockingly, it’s his family! The desert was able to manipulate time when he was down there, just another way the deserts controls its prey. Terry begins to tell his family about his experience, but they all roll their eye.
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