The Anti-Antichrist (2) So, what brings a girl like you out on a night like this? JEMMA Oh, I’m meeting some friends over in Sanford. HANK I live near there. JEMMA Cool. I was gonna take the Greyhound, but I ran out of money so I decided to hitch. HANK Kinda dangerous, isn’t it? You could meet some real psychos on the road. JEMMA I can take care of myself. I ain’t no Catholic schoolgirl. HANK Didn’t say you were. He turns the radio on to an easy listening station. Jemma shifts in her seat, making squelching noises. Her hand brushes against Hank’s thigh. He gulps nervously. CUT TO: EXT. FAST FOOD DRIVE IN – NIGHT Hank’s car is parked outside the restaurant. INT. HANK’S CAR – NIGHT Hank and Jemma eat some burgers and fries. JEMMA Thanks. I haven’t eaten since breakfast. HANK You’re welcome. So, do you know where you’re going to be staying tonight? JEMMA Well, my friends are away til the weekend. If I can’t find a cheap hotel room, I’ll probably find a park bench somewhere. HANK (clears throat) Hope this doesn’t sound forward, but I’d be willing to spring for a hotel room. Or you could even stay at my place if you want. There’s plenty of room. JEMMA That sounds good. HANK Which part? JEMMA Staying at your place, of course. You seem like a nice guy. I think I can trust you. HANK Okay then. He starts the car up. CUT TO: INT. HANK’S HOME – HALL – NIGHT Hank shows Jemma around his house. HANK The spare bedroom’s at the end of the hall. Just make yourself at home. JEMMA Thanks. Okay if I take a shower? HANK Sure. Bathroom’s on the right. Jemma carries her backpack down the hall. Hank enters the living room. INT. HANK’S HOME – LIVING ROOM – NIGHT Hank pours two drinks. He glances out his door into the open bathroom. He catches a glimpse of Jemma undressing before she climbs into the shower. He looks away, guilty. CUT TO: EXT. JENSON HOUSEHOLD – NIGHT The home of Hank’s neighbors is dark and quiet. We FLOAT TOWARDS the house and up to a bedroom window. We PEER IN at little Debbie, curled up in bed. We MOVE THROUGH the window. INT. JENSON HOUSEHOLD – DEBBIE’S BEDROOM – NIGHT We float towards the bed. The SHADOW OF A CLAW falls over Debbie as she sleeps. CUT TO: INT. HANK’S HOME – LIVING ROOM – NIGHT Hank is watching a news report on television about the massacre at the Hell’s Angels Club. Jemma walks in, and he mutes the TV. She is wearing one of his oversized bathrobes. JEMMA Hope you don’t mind. HANK Of course not. Have a drink if you want. JEMMA Thanks. She takes a sip. JEMMA Anything good on TV? HANK Not really. JEMMA Well, I might as well hit the sack. HANK (yawns) Me too. JEMMA (casually) So, you wanna fuck now? Hank coughs up his drink. HANK Excuse me? JEMMA I figured the only reason you brought me back here was to give me a good rogering. One good deed deserves another, ya know? HANK No, no. You’ve got it all wrong. I felt sorry for you. I just wanted to help you out. JEMMA Oh. Really? She walks up close to him. She rubs her lips against his quickly. JEMMA I know who you are. HANK What? JEMMA Take this body. Now! She GRABS HOLD OF HIS ARM and pulls him out of the room before he can protest. INT. HANK’S HOME – BEDROOM – NIGHT Jemma PUSHES HANK VIOLENTLY into the room. He falls back on the bed. HANK Look, this isn’t necessary. JEMMA Shut up. She opens her bathrobe and DROPS IT to the ground. Hank stares at her pale, naked body. His eyes widen when he sees that her PUBIC HAIR has been shaved into a 666 shape. He begins to realize what is going on. HANK Wait a minute. Are you . . ? JEMMA A Satanist? Of course. I’ve sought you out, because you are the chosen one. She climbs on top of him, moving and purring like a cat. She begins to RIP AT Hank’s clothes. HANK Oh my. She soon removes all his clothes. She STRADDLES HANK. He GASPS in both shock and pleasure. She lets her breasts PLOP into his mouth, and he bites them impulsively. Jemma RIDES HIM energetically. Hank lies beneath her, powerless. She begins to moan, interspersed with strange SATANIC CHANTS. Suddenly, a small SACRIFICIAL KNIFE appears in her hand. Hank sees it and panics. HANK Jesus! What are you-? JEMMA Shhh. Don’t utter that name. She CUTS HER OWN PALM with the knife, then smears the BLOOD on his chest. She COMES a moment later, her whole body shaking violently. She COLLAPSES ON TOP of a spent and confused Hank. JEMMA That was fucking incredible! How was it for you? HANK I’ve never been so scared in my life. JEMMA (laughs) You thought I would harm you? You’re my idol. I always wanted to tell my friends I fucked the Antichrist. HANK I think you’re mistaken about me. JEMMA No, I’m not. She gives him a sloppy kiss, before climbing off. JEMMA You’re our savior. She leaves the room. Hank pulls the sheets over him and lies there, feeling used and abused. CUT TO: INT. JENSON HOUSEHOLD – KITCHEN – DAY Debbie comes downstairs, dressed for school. Her mother, AUDREY, waits for her by the stove. AUDREY Morning. Debbie doesn’t reply. AUDREY How are you feeling? DEBBIE Fine. Why do you ask, mother? AUDREY I was just wondering . . . you didn’t have an accident last night, did you? DEBBIE Accident? AUDREY Your sheets were wet when I changed them. DEBBIE Mom, I haven’t wet the bed for years. AUDREY I didn’t say you had. But maybe when you were sleeping- DEBBIE (snaps) No. Audrey drops the subject and turns her attention back to cooking breakfast. Debbie’s father, MARK, enters the room dressed in his business suit. He notices Debbie rummaging through the cupboards. MARK Morning, hon. What you looking for? DEBBIE (exasperated) Can someone tell me where the fuck the Cap’n Crunch cereal is? Audrey looks shocked. Mark frowns at his daughter. MARK Young lady, in this house we use a little word called please. Debbie smiles innocently. DEBBIE Sorry, daddy. The box of cereal suddenly GLIDES INTO HER HAND as if by magic. Her parents don’t seem to notice. CUT TO: INT. HANK’S HOME – LIVING ROOM – DAY A bruised and sore Hank walks into the room, suffering from bed-hair. Jemma is already up, eating some toast. JEMMA Good morning! HANK Morning. JEMMA Have a nice sleep? HANK Eventually. JEMMA Thanks . . for everything. I’m sorry if I came on a little strong last night. HANK It’s okay. JEMMA So, what have you got planned today? HANK I’m going to work. JEMMA Oh, what’s your job? HANK I work for an ethical insurance company downtown. JEMMA Seems like a waste of your talents. Don’t you know the Apocalypse is approaching? HANK That’s what dear old Dad told me. I don’t know if I believe it, though. JEMMA You should do. HANK Can I trust you to stay here while I’m away? JEMMA Of course. I worship you, remember? HANK Yeah. He leaves the room. Jemma has a SINISTER SMILE on her face. CUT TO: EXT. SCHOOL – DAY Establishing shot of a typical school in a pleasant neighborhood. INT. SCHOOL – LUNCH CAFETERIA – DAY Debbie is eating lunch with her GIRL FRIENDS. A SMILING BOY comes up to their table and gazes intently at her. BOY Hi, Debbie. There is a pause, while Debbie looks like she is searching through her memory banks. DEBBIE Hi, Roy. The other girls all giggle. ROY Can I ask you something? DEBBIE Sure. ROY Um, alone? DEBBIE You say it now, or you don’t say it at all. Roy is taken aback by her confidence, but he presses on. ROY Will you go out with me? Debbie LICKS HER LIPS. She beckons Roy closer. He bends down and she whispers in his ear. DEBBIE I want my first time to be with a guy with a huge man-cock, not a little wiener like yours. Roy pulls away, shocked. Debbie suddenly OPENS HER MOUTH WIDE AND PROJECTILE VOMITS into his face. The girls around the table all SCREAM. INT. SCHOOL – PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE – DAY An anxious Audrey enters the office to find the balding PRINCIPAL sitting at his desk opposite Debbie. PRINCIPAL Mrs. Jenson, please sit down. Audrey sits down next to her silent daughter. AUDREY Can you tell me what reason you have for suspending my daughter from school? PRINCIPAL This is never an easy decision. There was an incident in the lunchroom earlier today. Your daughter vomited onto a fellow student. AUDREY (angry) You’re throwing her out of school because she was sick? PRINCIPAL I dislike the term "throwing her out" but there were other events, unfortunately. Debbie was taken to the nurse’s office to be examined. She, uh, attacked the nurse with a needle. AUDREY Oh my God. Is she all right? PRINCIPAL Yes, it was only a superficial injury. DEBBIE Too bad. I’ll try harder next time. AUDREY Debbie! PRINCIPAL We’ve decided not to involve the police, but I think it would be best if Debbie stayed off school for the next week. Perhaps you could arrange psychological counselling for her. AUDREY That’ll be my decision. I’d like to take my daughter home now. PRINCIPAL Of course. Audrey takes Debbie’s hand and starts to lead her out of the room. PRINCIPAL I hope you can return as soon as you’re feeling better, Deborah. Debbie turns and looks at him with contempt. DEBBIE Yeah, as if. Why don’t you suck my big fat one? AUDREY Debbie, stop that! She quickly pulls her daughter out of the office. CUT TO: INT. HANK’S CAR – DUSK Hank drives down the street where he lives. He parks and looks out the window. HANK’S POV He sees a KICKING AND SCREAMING Debbie being pulled out of her car by her parents. HANK Debbie? The family disappear into the house before he can get out of the car. EXT. HANK’S HOME – DUSK Hank leaves his car and find several STRANGE CARS parked in his driveway. A RHYTHMIC THUMPING SOUND emanates from the house, and a strange RED GLOW seeps out from behind the closed curtains. HANK What now? He rushes into the house. INT. HANK’S HOME – LIVING ROOM – DUSK Hank enters the room to find Jemma surrounded by PEOPLE IN BLACK ROBES. They dance to a Satanic beat and daub OBSCENE SYMBOLS on the walls. A red lava lamp casts an eerie glow over everything. Hank marches up to Jemma and grabs her arm. HANK Do you mind telling me what’s going on? JEMMA It’s a party. I told my friends about you, and they had to come over. You’re not mad, are you? HANK Look, I don’t mind you staying here. But I don’t want these people in my house. Tell them to leave, now. JEMMA But we were just getting ready for the orgy. A bald MALE DEVIL WORSHIPPER looks at Hank. MALE DEVIL WORSHIPPER What kind of Antichrist are you? Hank loses his temper. HANK I’m not the Antichrist! I don’t care who my father is! I just want you people to leave me alone, so I can get on with my life. JEMMA We were just having fun. HANK Darn you! He throws up his hands in disgust and leaves the room. CUT TO: INT. JENSON HOUSEHOLD – DEBBIE’S BEDROOM – NIGHT Debbie is propped up on her pillows in bed. She looks pale and sick. There is a knock on the door and Mark enters the room. He is quietly concerned. MARK How you feeling, sweetie? She makes an unintelligible grunt in reply. Mark sits on the edge of her bed. MARK I know some bad things happened today, but you have no reason to be ashamed. You’re at an age when your body and mind are going through a lot of changes. It’s confusing, but it’s all part of growing up. If you need to talk to your mother or me about it, don’t be afraid. He puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. Debbie shrugs him off and CACKLES LIKE A WITCH. DEBBIE You think I threw a shitfit because of period pains? This ain’t no P.M.S. Daddy’s little girl ain’t a girl no more. I’m a fucking demon from Hell, and I’ll kill you all if I get the chance! Mark only appears mildly shocked. MARK I don’t know where you learned to talk like that, but I want you to stop. I’ll let you sleep now. Maybe you’ll feel better in the morning. He kisses her on the top of the head then walks to the door. Debbie’s head starts to SPIN ROUND, making a HORRIBLE CRACKING sound. But Mark leaves without looking back. DEBBIE Fucking parents today. What’s it take to shock them? Debbie RISES OFF THE BED and floats over to the window. She looks at Hank’s house. DEBBIE’S POV Hank gets ready for bed, alone. DEBBIE Hmm, he looks busy. I wonder if I could get Satan Junior to fuck this body. That’d be good for a few laughs. She drops back on the bed. CUT TO: INT. KINGDOM OF HELL – CALLOW’S OFFICE Old Nick is going through some paperwork when a BLINDING WHITE FLASH fills the room. He falls to his knees and cries out in agony. The bearding, glowing face of the being who calls himself GOD appears before him. His VOICE SHAKES the whole cavern. GOD I HAVE BROUGHT YOU THIS MESSAGE, MY FALLEN ANGEL. MY SON WILL SOON BE RETURNING TO THE SURFACE. YOU HAVE ONE WEEK TO REMOVE ALL YOUR AGENTS FROM THE SURFACE OF EARTH AND DECLARE YOUR UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. CALLOW (gasps) Never! I didn’t spend an eternity fighting against your perverse ways in order to give up now. GOD IF THAT IS YOUR CHOICE, YOU SHALL MEET YOUR MAKER. WHICH WOULD BE ME. THE TIME OF THE APOCALYPSE IS INDEED AT HAND, AND I INTEND TO BE THE SOLE VICTOR. The image of GOD slowly fades. The door BURSTS OPEN and a high-ranking demon (in human form) named CATSUN enters the chamber. Callow quickly gets to his feet and regains his composure. Catsun speaks in a hissing voice we recognize from the telephone call Hank received before he met Callow. CATSUN Is something wrong, master? CALLOW Nothing that having my son at my side won’t solve. Is there any word from Astrygll? CATSUN None yet. He seems to have gone deep undercover. He won’t even reply to our voice mail. CALLOW Perhaps I was unwise to trust him. I may have to return to the surface sooner than I anticipated. CATSUN Isn’t that dangerous? CALLOW Of course. But my son is worth the risk. I can’t just let him go. CUT TO: INT. INSURANCE COMPANY – PETERSON’S OFFICE – DAY A stunned Hank sits in front of his boss. HANK You’re letting me go? PETERSON I’m afraid so. HANK Why? I thought I’ve always been a model worker. PETERSON Yes, a little too model, if you know what I mean. HANK I’m afraid I don’t. PETERSON You’re a goodie two shoes. No one here likes that, least of all me. HANK You can’t fire me for that! I’ll contact my lawyer . . . PETERSON Go ahead, and I’ll tell them you embezzled thousands from this company. HANK (horrified) Who got to you? Why are you doing this? PETERSON Let’s just say, he’s a friend in high places. (beat) Will you be leaving now or shall I have security throw you out? HANK I’m leaving. He walks out of the office, a shattered man. CUT TO: INT. JENSON HOUSEHOLD – DEBBIE’S BEDROOM – DAY Debbie lies WRITHING ON THE BED. Her blankets are tucked in tightly, preventing her escape. The wall above the bed appears to be smeared with faeces. DEBBIE (hisses) I’ll swallow your cock, I’ll swallow your soul! I’ll swallow your cock, I’ll swallow your soul! I don’t give a fuck which! We pull back to show Mark and Audrey watching her from the doorway, concerned. AUDREY I hate to keep her locked away in her room like this. MARK (calmly) It’s for the best. She did try to scratch my eyes out, remember? AUDREY I wish there was something else we could do. Dr. Sprungfeld said there was nothing wrong with her, at least physically. MARK I think it’s just a part of her becoming a teenager. I’ve seen worse cases on Ricki Lake. AUDREY I don’t know. Maybe we should seek help from another source. MARK Such as? AUDREY Now don’t laugh, this is just a suggestion. But maybe we could contact . . an exorcist? MARK I don’t think so. You know how I feel about religious types. AUDREY (pleading) We have to do something. MARK Look, we’ll give it one more day. If she’s not better by tomorrow, we’ll try calling anyone you want. Okay? Audrey reluctantly nods. They start to leave the room, but are stopped by a ear-piercing SCREAM. They turn and see Debbie FLOATING SIX FEET OFF THE BED. The crotch of her gown is SOAKED IN BLOOD. DEBBIE I finally got my period, bitch! I had to pop my own hymen first, though. AUDREY Oh my God! She runs to the bed, but is FLUNG BACK by an invisible force. Mark helps his stunned, but not seriously injured, wife to her feet. MARK I think I’ll check the yellow pages. He leads Audrey out of the room, quickly. INT. JENSON HOUSEHOLD - LIVING ROOM – DAY Mark sits by the phone, the phone directory in his lap. We hear Audrey crying off screen. THUMPS AND INHUMAN WAILS can also be heard from upstairs. Mark scans the yellow pages, and his finger stops on the "Exorcist" category. He looks momentarily surprised, then dials the number there. CUT TO: EXT. JENSON HOUSEHOLD – NIGHT A LONE FIGURE walks up to the house. He is silhouetted against the porch lights. He knocks on the door. INT. JENSON HOUSEHOLD – HALLWAY – NIGHT Mark and Audrey invite the new arrival into their home. He is a kind-faced IRISH PRIEST, carrying a black satchel. IRISH PRIEST Father Michael O’Grady, at yer service. AUDREY Thank God you’ve come.
Copyright © 2001 Randall Flagg |