Night Clerk (2) PITCHER HEY! Watch it, lady! Those cost me a hundred bucks! She is stunned. MORSE You have to pay for your own equipment? Oh this just keeps getting better. HARRIS MORSE! (beat) Calm down. Have a seat. (beat) NOW, Agent. She bites her tongue and glares at him. HARRIS (cont�d) I apologize if this department is not up to snuff Agent but we�re doing the best we can here. Your loss is our gain, let me assure you. I�m sure that is small comfort if any at all, though. (studies her) I know all about you Morse. You�re a good agent. Not a great agent but I�ll take what I can get. MORSE Gee, thanks. He dusts off a folding chair and offers it to her. She sits reluctantly. HARRIS Let me tell you all about us... Morse jumps from her chair and moves to leave. MORSE Forget it! Maybe I can get a job with the army or the cops or something, or a convenience store-anything must be better than this-- Harris shares a perturbed glance with Pitcher, who returns to his work. PITCHER (muttering) ..told you so... Morse begins to open the door when Harris leans against it, preventing her escape. HARRIS (a harsh whisper) Look. You have two choices here, work for me or don�t work. This is the bottom of the barrel, you can only go up from here. She glares at him, but knows it is true. She closes the door and sighs. MORSE (motions towards Pitcher) What�s his story? HARRIS Hacker. Remember the Asian stock meltdown? That was him. Voluntary sentence instead of jail. Morse is taken aback a moment as Harris guides her back to the folding chair. Pitcher spins to greet her, chewing on a straw. PITCHER Welcome back. She sends him a withering look and turns to Harris as he cross to sit in front of her, the three of them forming a soft triangle. HARRIS Agent Morse. (beat) Please. I cannot stress this enough, try to have an open mind... INT. JERRY�S APARTMENT -BEDROOM -DAY Jerry wakes with difficulty, blinking the light out of his eyes. Light? His eyes pop open, spotting a shaft of light across his face and chest. He snaps up, scuttling across the bed, back into the shadows. He touches his skin, searching for burn marks and only then doe he notice the light source. The living room light is shining in on the bed through the partially opened door. He snorts and pulls on some track pants. INT. JERRY�S APARTMENT -KITCHEN -DAY Kerry is frying BACON and EGGS in the kitchen. She smiles extra sweetly at him as he enters. KERRY Good timing, babe. Have a seat. He obeys, dropping in front of a plate as she pads over to him, the still sizzling PAN held in front of her. She scoops the bacon out onto his plate, followed by some scrambled eggs. He eyes her warily as Kerry serves herself and then returns the pan to the stove. Trying to be discreet, he sniffs the food, searching for anything untoward, like draino. She sits, still sweetly smiling at him. KERRY (cont�d) How did you sleep? JERRY Okay. How about you? KERRY (too perky) Oh just wonderfully. This is going to a great day, I can already tell. Jerry is waiting for the other shoe to drop. He hesitantly digs into the eggs, after covering them with ketchup. He stuffs the eggs in his mouth, but before he is able to chew, she speaks again, her tone questioning and falsely chipper. KERRY (cont�d) (fake casual) Who�s Geniveive? Jerry freezes, searching his memory in an instant, trying to place that name. He comes up empty. She watches him, reading his hesitance as guilt. e simply opens his mouth, letting the eggs spill out onto the plate, no longer trusting them. KERRY (cont�d) Not hungry? JERRY What�s going on? KERRY You said that name all night in your sleep. So I was just curious who you were dreaming about. JERRY (snorts) It was a dream! How would I know? Your�re not seriously holding me responsible for my dreams, are you? KERRY Oh...well... (regains composure) Well...then I�m sorry. JERRY Me too sweetie. They lean over the table for a brief peck. He watches her eat but hesitates to begin himself, until she eats a spoonful of his eggs. He smirks and pours more ketchup onto his eggs, until there is more red than yellow. KERRY What are you, some kind of-- INT. A CLOSET -THE BUREAU -DAY MORSE --VAMPIRE. (beat) No wonder you guys are in the basement. PITCHER I felt the same way when they threw me into this and confiscated my stuff. Things have changed. HARRIS This probably is a giant circle jerk but if the possibility exists that any of this could be real, that would change things dramatically. All we need is proof. MORSE What kind of proof? PITCHER Proof about the nature of vampires. (collects himself) You see, in the universe there are basically two states of being, matter and energy and they are always in balance. Things are either one or the other but not both. Now it is pretty simple to change matter into energy, like setting something on fire. Like a cat. As the cat burns, energy, heat and light are released. Changing energy into matter is a whole other bag of snot. Can�t be done, at least as far we know. Now our bodies have all kinds of energy in them, but especially we have neural energy. Brain energy. You know those little sparks of electricity zapping from neuron to neuron, letting us drive and shoot other and pay for sex and shit? We think a vampire is actually a being made of pure neural energy, it has no physical form. Whatever flesh and bone it had was consumed and transformed into energy when it became a vampire. As neural energy it has the ability to affect other patterns of neural energy- vampires can change our perceptions of them and of ourselves. Within a limited range, everyone who could see a vampire would actually be seeing the vampire�s own perception of itself, when it was human. Filtered through our own unique perception, everyone would see a slightly different version of the same being. Perception is reality. By that reasoning, the legends of vampires transforming into fog, wolves, swarms of rats could be explained as figments of perception, we see what the vampire wants to us to see! They don�t have physical forms, they just think they do, so that�s what we see. I think therefore I am, you know? MORSE My brain hurt just listening to that. HARRIS Obviously this is all theoretical until we actually find a vampire. MORSE So how do you find something that is only real if it thinks it is? PITCHER Now this is where things get cool. We have been monitoring all the 911 calls in the country for the last 8 months, and then cross-referencing any �hinky� calls with weird calls over the past 5 yrs. Especially those concerning the same people over & over again. We have a coupla interesting ones that we are gonna check out. HARRIS That�s why your here, Morse. You screwed up at the best possible time just when we needed a field agent most. MORSE I�m ecstatic for you. Really. (sighs) Where do we begin? Pitcher hands her a PAGE OF NAMES, ADDRESS, OCCUPATIONS AND # OF 911 CALLS in last 12 months. She scans the top line,stops then reads it again, her mouth moving slightly. She looks up at Harris and Pitcher MORSE (cont�d) A convenience store clerk? EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE- NIGHT Night blankets the store�s parking lot, the greenish- white light of the fluorescent street lamps outling the cracked pavement in harsh relief. INT. CONVENIENCE STORE- NIGHT Jerry sits behind the counter on a stool, eating from a BAG of CHIPS and watching �Buffy the Vampire-Slayer�. He smiles smugly at the depiction of vampires and the hot young hard body that slays them. JERRY As if. He shakes his head ruefully and tips the bag up, tapping the crumbs into his mouth. A beautiful matriarch of the vampires dashes across the screen theatrically, catching Jerry�s eyes. He pauses, unable to stop staring at the vampire queen:- DREAM FLASHBACK --A flash of a memory or a dream- another beautiful demon woman, sex and fangs, violence and lust, she calls Jerry to her side amidst a forest of writhing bodies-- INT. CONVENIENCE STORE- NIGHT --Jerry stumbles off his stool, the visions appearing to cause him real pain. He holds his head in his hands, trying not to fall down-- DREAM FLASHBACK --the same girl (GENEVIEVE) from his earlier dream runs across a FOGGY MOOR, lit only by the moon. She stumbles screaming soundlessly as she falls into the mud. She looks behind her, pure terror filling her face-- INT. CONVENIENCE STORE- NIGHT --Jerry�s eyes bug wide, he is consumed by the vision now. His mouth is a ghastly rictus of horror as he crosses his arms over his eyes, desperate not to see-- DREAM FLASHBACK --The girl finds her feet only to be slammed to ground by a swooping shadow. Blood spills from a split lip. She sobs uncontrollably, trying to stand again. The shadow becomes material, it is the demon woman from earlier. She lunges at the fallen woman, grabbing her by the throat and effortlessly lifting her into the air. The victim begins to choke from the steel grip around her neck, the attacker cackling with glee. She chokes Genevieve a moment more and then draws the victim close and bites into her neck viciously� INT. CONVENIENCE STORE- NIGHT --Jerry screams and begins sobbing-- DREAM FLASHBACK --Blood spurts out of her torn arteries, spraying the attacker. The demon woman bites again and again, rending and tearing, consuming flesh and blood, and then looks up, holding the twitching, bleeding Genevieve up as an offering-- INT. CONVENIENCE STORE- NIGHT --Jerry is struck mute, face wet with tears-- DREAM FLASHBACK --a demonized horrific Jerry, the vampire he could be, takes the offering in his arms and feeds from the massive neck wound, killing Genevieve once and for all as the vampire woman cackles-- INT. CONVENIENCE STORE- NIGHT Jerry snaps back to reality, realizing where he is. A couple of STONED TEENS are sitting on the hood of their CAR, just outside the glass doors, passing a JOINT back and forth. Jerry notices them, wiping his face as he stands, still shaking from the vision. The teens start applauding and then enter the store. TEEN 1 That was totally cool man. TEEN 2 Serious bad trip guy, seriously. You should get better shit, man. Jerry ignores them and wanders back behind the counter, slapping off the tv as he passes. EXT. UP THE STREET FROM THE STORE -NIGHT A dapper young man sits in an expensive new BMW, sipping from a STEAMING CUP, watching the convenience store. He finishes drinking, a red foam on his upper lip(blood latte), and puts a CELL PHONE to his ear. He listens a moment as it rings. LASHER Found him. INT. A DARKENED RED-WALLED ROOM-NIGHT Long fingers ending in longer RED-PAINTED NAILS tap a desk surface thoughtfully. A sultry voice, hard and soft simultaneously, answers: WOMAN�S VOICE Bide your time a little longer. We�re not finished playing with him yet. LASHER (thru speaker) Yes ma�am. There is a click as he disconnects. She flicks the phone off and continues strumming her fingers. WOMAN�S VOICE There are other pieces yet to be played... EXT. A COUNTRY ROAD- NIGHT A BEATUP STATION WAGON rumbles its way down the road, dim headlights licking at the night. INT. A COUNTRY ROAD- NIGHT cOUNTRY MUSIC plays just below conversation level and Pitcher sings along as he drives. Morse sits in the passenger seat, her elbow on the window sill, her head resting in her palm. She looks tired and pissed, but unable, unwilling to sleep. Harris snores in the back seat, his head straight back, his mouth hanging open, making the noise louder. Fed up, Morse ejects a TAPE from the old deck, rolls down the window and throws the tape out. PITCHER HEY! WHAT THE HELL!?! She swats him across the arm. PITCHER (cont�d) OW! That totally sucked, man. He turns back to driving, rubbing his bruised arm. After a moment he breaks the silence, humming the tune they were just listening to under his breath- He glances sideways at her and hums louder and louder until finally he is full out singing. Morse glares at him and raises her fist causing him to flinch, swerving the car. Harris snores blissfully. Morse snickers at Pitcher and after a moment they start laughing but struggle to keep it quiet so as to not wake Harris. Tears well out of Pitchers� eyes as he covers his mouth with a free hand, stifling guffaws. Stress and exhaustion are wearing on them. Morse regains her composure and eyes Pitcher. PITCHER When the agency �acquired� me I started on the security of the systems from both inside and outside sources. (snickers) Morse arches an eyebrow. PITCHER (cont�d) (confidential) Don�t tell anyone but with a modem and palm pilot I could bring the western world to its knees. (beat) I mean, just because you are a computer geek, that doesn�t mean all you know are computers. Harris had some rough ideas about this stuff but I�m the one who actually came up with the theories. I�m the one who conned fabrication into making the equipment for us. All on the hush-hush of course. MORSE When am I going to get a look at �the equipment�. HARRIS When we trust you. Morse jumps, startled by his voice. PITCHER (grinning) I knew you were faking. MORSE How long have you been listening? HARRIS Long enough. He watches her with dark eyes, still not fully trusting her. Morse faces forward again and glares out the window as orange starts to streak the horizon. INT. 911 CALL CENTRE- DAWN A row of CUBICLES stands before a great glass wall. Outside, POLICE CRUISERS stop and go. The cubicles are have filled with men and women speaking into HEADSETS in calm measured tones. Their hands speed across their KEYBOARDS, tracing numbers, pulling up help files for various emergencies. Kerry is just finishing her shift, warm orange sunlight bouncing off various buildings and coloring her face. She stands and reaches for the �make busy� button on her phone just as a �beep� is heard in her headset, indicating an incoming call. She sighs quietly and starts to sit. KERRY Rescue 911. Please state the nature of your emergency. A sultry female voice, (the voice heard earlier) coos in Kerry�s ear. Her voice is seductive yet threatening. WOMAN�S VOICE Don�t get used to having your man around much longer darling. I�ve come back for my property. KERRY Excuse me!?! WOMAN�S VOICE (laughing) You should just go. Jerry�s bad luck. With a click she disconnects. KERRY GO TO HELL! She rips the headset off and flings it at her desk, storming out of the room as her co-workers watch. EXT. A CITY HOSPITAL -DAWN An ambulance streaks into a busy hospital as the sun begins to rise. Even at this early hour, the grounds are bustling. DOCTOR KLINE, a slim older woman, still quite striking, slips through the main entrance. Obviously a doctor, but perhaps not an MD, she moves away from the ER and towards the elevators. INT. DR. KLINE�S OFFICE -RECEPTION -DAWN Doctor Kline enters her office�s reception area, a small room with 2 chairs and a secretary�s desk. The doctor is in before her secretary Robert, as usual. She flicks on the overhead fluorescents and steps to the inner office door and opens it. INT. DR. KLINE�S OFFICE -DAWN Immediately she notices the blinds are down all the way on all the windows. The room is layered in shadow as the rising sun begins to peek in. Yellow lines creep across the ceiling, towards the walls. After a moment Kline steps into the room, dropping her purse into a waiting chair. KLINE Hello Jerry. She heads for the desk, eyes adjusting to the low light. KLINE (cont�d) How are you? Jerry flicks on a desk lamp beside him. He looks haggard, still bothered by his vision from earlier. JERRY Hey Doc, how�s it going? (beat) Never could sneak up you. KLINE If only we could have tea and watch the sunrise. JERRY Yep. KLINE What�s wrong? You only come by when something is bothering you. JERRY I�m working on that. (hesitates) This is going to sound silly but I had a nightmare. I was wide-awake. I saw a woman. A horrible woman who was like me. She brutally killed this other woman. She ripped her throat out and-- um-- KLINE And what? JERRY And...fed. (beat) Then I saw myself, only not me, not me the way I am now. More animal, like a demon. Then I fed too. Then I snapped out of it. (beat) What�s happening to me, Doc? KLINE I honestly don�t know Jerry. It could be stress, it could be memories from the past...you�ve been around a while you know. JERRY Don�t remind me. Chewing his nails,Jerry shakes his head. JERRY (cont�d) I barely remembers meeting you and that was 30 yrs ago. These visions are from hundreds of years ago. KLINE These visions could be reminders of something terrible from all those years ago and now they�ve come back to haunt you, literally. You shouldn�t fight them. You should let them come because they can�t hurt you. Not now, not unless you don�t deal with them. He rips a curved length of nail free and flicks it away. Kline watches him as he starts on a new finger, her mouth agape. Jerry, lost in thought, takes a moment before he notices her staring. JERRY What? Kline moves out from around the desk and drops to her knees in front of Jerry, lightly patting the floor. JERRY (cont�d) Doc I�m flattered but I�m kinda with someone. (beat) What are you doing? She stands, the bitten-off curve of a nail pinched between her forefingers. KLINE How long have you been biting your nails? JERRY I don�t know. Not long I guess...why? She moves to him, running her hands through his hair. JERRY (cont�d) What? Do I have dandruff? He snorts, wondering what she is doing. She stops, looking down at him. Then she holds the nail out in front of his eyes. KLINE What�s this? JERRY .....A nail?
Copyright © 2001 Robin Taylor |