"Nigel's Unstoppable Optimism: A Cautionary Tale"
FADE IN: EXT. ARCTIC WILDERNESS – DAY
A vast, frozen wasteland. A howling blizzard. Snow as far as the eye can see.
In the middle of it all, a wild-eyed explorer, NIGEL, wrapped in furs, grins with unearned confidence.
He turns to his loyal sled dogs—except they aren’t dogs. They’re penguins, staring at him with mild disinterest.
He gestures forward. The penguins waddle in place.
CUT TO:
EXT. ARCTIC WILDERNESS – HOURS LATER
Nigel, staggering under the weight of a stack of disgruntled penguins, collapses into a snowdrift.
A hungry polar bear appears in the distance. Nigel beams.
The bear licks its lips.
The bear roars.
He flops into the snow. The bear approaches. Sniffs. Shrugs. Begins burying him.
FADE TO BLACK
FADE IN: INT. MAKESHIFT ICE CAVE – NIGHT
Nigel sits in his snow entombment. A single penguin sits across from him, staring.
The penguin snatches a scrap of food from Nigel’s pocket and swallows it whole.
The ground rumbles.
The roof collapses. Nigel tumbles into a dark cavern, landing with a splat in icy water.
A dozen eerie, glowing eyes surface in the water. The eyes of giant Arctic fish.
The fish bare rows of needle-like teeth.
He scrambles onto an ice shelf. The fish begin ramming it from below.
The ice shelf flips over.
SMASH CUT TO:
EXT. ARCTIC OCEAN – THE NEXT DAY
Nigel, frozen into an ice block, floats serenely past a research station. Scientists peer at him.
The ice block cracks. Nigel sits up.
They nudge his ice block away with a stick.
FADE TO BLACK
TEXT ON SCREEN: "Not everything is a blessing in disguise."
