Night Clerk (5) direction. INT. JERRY’S APARTMENT -SUNSET The TELEVISION explodes,sending shards of picture tube across the room. Kerry screams just as Jerry is caught by the energy wave. He spasms as if in an epileptic fit, different parts of his body seeming to be pulling away from the whole only to snap back elastically. He is flung into the far wall as the microwave sparks and pops before going dark. KERRY JERRY!! She moves to his side-- EXT. THE STREET OUTSIDE JERRY’S APARTMENT -SUNSET Pitcher crawls out of the car, flopping onto the pavement. After a moment of gasping, trying to catch his breath, he sees Morse lying very very still. He crawls/stumbles to her side, calling her name. He feels at her neck for a pulse and is startled by how pale shes looks. A reddish area on her neck is just starting to darken into what will be an ugly bruise. Pitcher moves his fingers around her neck unsure of where her pulse should be, panicking more and more as he feels nothing. He leans down to see if she is breathing, immediately deciding to give her mouth to mouth. His lips slip over hers and he blows hard. Her cheeks puff up comically and her eyes pop open startled. Her fist slams into the side of his head before she knows what she is doing, knocking him off her. She rolls away from him onto her knees,meaning to scream at him, able only to let out a small croak. She feels at her throat, coughing. Pitcher shakes the stars from his head as he tries to kneel as well, unable to quite steady himself. PITCHER HEY! I thought you were dead MAN! I was only trying to help but I am so sorry, believe you me. She nods emphatically, her face showing that she is sorry too. MORSE (croaking) -vampires? She carefully stands, leaning on the station wagon to help support herself. Pitcher stands slowly, rubbing his jaw and walks to her side, keeping a respectful distance. PITCHER Looks like it worked, don’t it. She stares at him quizzically. PITCHER (cont’d) EMP burst. I’ll explain later. Police and fire sirens are in the distance but grow quickly closer. INT. JERRY’S APARTMENT -SUNSET Jerry shakes his head clear as Kerry hovers over him. JERRY What happened? KERRY I don’t know. You started shaking like you were having a fit and then you flew--! He reaches up and touches her face. JERRY That’s not what I meant. She gives him a sad smile and stands, walking over to her dropped suitcase. Jerry slowly gains his feet, following her. JERRY (cont’d) Kerry? KERRY Goodbye. She lets herself out just as Jerry stumbles into the foyer. JERRY KERRY! WAIT! He follows her out. EXT. THE STREET OUTSIDE JERRY’S APARTMENT -SUNSET PITCHER notices Kerry leaving and nudges Morse. Kerry walks quickly to her car, opening the door and tossing the suitcase into the passenger seat. Jerry follows. JERRY KERRY! DAMMIT! She starts the car and slips it into reverse, backing down the drive. Jerry takes a few half-hearted steps after her, knowing it won’t help and stops, watching her go. The car passes Pitcher and Morse and heads down the street, tailights shrinking into red dots. The sirens are very close now. Jerry stares hard at Pitcher and Morse. After a moment he heads back to the apartment. PITCHER Ohhhh boy. He, like, looked right at us, man. You think he thinks anything? MORSE (croaking) --why? Have you seen anything suspicious? She rubs at her throat. Red and Blue lights appear down the street, quickly closing. PITCHER Got your badge handy? She nods. PITCHER (cont’d) Good, let me do the talking. She gives a ha-ha-very-funny-fucker-look as a police black and white screeches up to them, red and blues globes casting hard strange shadows in the twilight. INT. KERRY’S CAR -NIGHT Kerry sobs as she drives away from the apartment She fights to keep the car headed straight as tears stream down her face. EXT. A STREET -NIGHT She passes a another red sports car. Lasher sits within. He puts the car into drive and follows Kerry into the night. EXT. THE AIRPORT -NIGHT A private lear jet taxis up to a secluded hanger. Several limousines stand waiting as it rolls to a stop. The efficient ground team opens the hatch, lowering it into stairs, placing a wooden step at the bottom. Sasha steps gracefully out of the plane and down to the ground followed by her servants. She is dressed in a stylish black suit,designed to intimidate and arouse simultaneously. A young vampire named Gerrard steps out of a waiting limo to greet her. His face is tight, his lips pursed. SASHA Gerrard! So kind of you to meet us. I believe you to be a harbringer of bad tidings, though. GERRARD (kisses her hand) Magistrix. Welcome. He motions her to the limo, the follows her. She leans over and steps in seating herself to the far side of the cabin. SASHA Sweet sweet Gerrard, please join me. GERRARD (nervous) Oh, Magistrix, you honor me, but there is still so much to do-- SASHA Nonsense! (beat) You mistake this for a request. INT. LIMO -NIGHT He steels himself and enters, sitting opposite her. The door is slammed behind him. SASHA (cont’d) Tell me, how do things go? GERRARD They go...as well as can be expected, Magistrix. As you know, even the best laid plan must make account for contingencies-- He is unable to meet her eyes. She stares at him and asks him again, this time without using her voice. SASHA (telepathy) I’ll will ask only once more, how do things go? Her words appear in his mind, terrifying him further. GERRARD (coughing) We-we- we have lost four of our kind. Magistrix. SASHA (telepathy) How? GERRARD There has been outside interference but they will be eliminated even as we speak. SASHA Was that so bad? I think not. GERRARD No-no Magistrix, it was not. I must apologize for my unseemly behaviour. I beg your forgiveness. She dismisses it with a wave. SASHA Return to your duties, faithful Gerrard. GERRARD Thank you Magistrix. He steps out of the limo. SASHA Oh Gerrard, one last thing--? GERRARD (smiling) Anything-- --a shaft of wood pierces out of his chest. He screams as Vladimir yanks him away from the limo. Gerrard, screaming, convulses and explodes into shards of light. Vladimir drops the charred end of the stake and walks to the limo, stepping inside. SASHA Pull yourself together! She laughs as Vladimir pulls the door shut. SASHA (cont’d) Gerrard will not fail me again, I think. Her laughter echoes across the deserted tarmac as the string of limos pull away, leaving tiny sparks of energy to start to re-gather themselves into Gerrard. EXT. MOTEL -NIGHT The motel is a low-rent Motel-6 type place. A two floor quad surrounding a dirty pool. Pitcher and Morse work their way up to the second floor. PITCHER How’s your throat? Morse glares at him. An ugly bruise has formed, stretching from her jaw to her collarbone, black against her white shirt. PITCHER (cont’d) Oops. Sorry. They reach the top of the stairs and begin the trek to the far end of the open hall. PITCHER (cont’d) “Only room left.” Yeah right. They just wanted to screw us. As if this place is ever full. Morse clutches at Pitcher, stopping him. PITCHER (cont’d) --what? She nods at the door to their room. It’s open. PITCHER (cont’d) HEY-- --Harris flies out their window, over the 2nd floor railing and down into the pool. PITCHER (cont’d) JESUS CHRIST! Then Morse draws her weapon, motioning for Pitcher to go get Harris. PITCHER (cont’d) (freaking) --ok-ok-got it-got it-- She creeps up to the half-open room door-- --Sounds of destruction issue from within. Holding the weapon in a double-handed grip she quietly toes the door fully open, revealing two gigantic men destroying the room. She quietly retreats, backing slowly out, then turns and runs to an alcove down the hall. There, between the ice and soda machines she finds an old broom. With one swift kick, she snaps it in two. She holsters her gun, grabs the round end of the piece of handle and bolts back to the room. INT. HOTEL ROOM -NIGHT Morse kicks the door in, jabbing the broken handle into the back of the nearest man. The man shouts in pain as the handle becomes wedged in his back, a red line dripping down. Morse`s eyes widen. KOBALD OWWWW! GODDAMMIT! JONES Hold still! The other behemoth jumps over to his compatriot and yanks the stake from his back, revealing a half inch of blood on the tip. KOBALD What the hell are you doing, woman!?! MORSE (croaking) --you’re...not..vampires? The men trade a bemused look. JONES Shit no. KOBALD That hurt. MORSE ...I...bet. (considers) ...You’re..not..vampires. (grins) She drops the stake and cracks her knuckles. EXT. MOTEL 2ND FLOOR -NIGHT Pitcher helps Harris up the steps. Harris is soaking wet and bleeding from tiny cuts all over. His suit is torn. He sags in Pitchers arms, semi-conscious. They approach the room with trepidation. The sounds of a brutal fistfight eminate from within. INT. HOTEL ROOM -NIGHT Jones is reeling against the vanity mirror shaking his head clear- Kobald is on his hands and knees in front of Morse. She scissor-kicks into his abdomen, lifting him right off the ground and over onto his back, driving the air from him. Jones catches his breath and launches himself at Morse. She meets him with a hard throat chop then an open-palm left cross, knocking out two teeth. He stumbles and then collapses, unconscious. Morse spins to the other man-- EXT. MOTEL 2ND FLOOR -NIGHT Harris and Pitcher stop short as Kobald flies out of the open door to slam against the railing. Unconscious, he slides prone, his face squished between two bars. PITCHER Fuck ME! Harris snorts and leans against the wall, then sits. Morse steps out of the room to stand by the prone thug. Her left eye is beginning to swell shut and a trickle of blood runs down her chin from a split lip. PITCHER (cont’d) Damn. You okay? Morse grins painfully and winks at him with her good eye, then drops hard to sit on Kobald. Kobald, still unconscious, coughs and moans lightly. HARRIS She’s fine, kid. Probably the most fun she’s had in a while. Morse makes a pistol shape with her hand and clicks it at Harris, then begins to dig in Kobald’s pockets. PITCHER This is totally insane. Seriously. I am not enjoying this and I would like to go home now. Morse finds a wallet and tosses it to Harris. HARRIS Don’t be a sissy, kid. (checks wallet) What do we have here? Harris checks out the wad of hundreds in the bill-fold as well as the driver’s license. HARRIS (cont’d) (mumbling to himself) ...good fake... Morse pulls a folded piece of paper from Kobald’s jacket and opens it. She snaps her fingers to get Pitcher’s attention: PITCHER What? She hands him the paper. PITCHER (cont’d) Oh shit... He hands it to Harris who studies it a minute before whistling slightly. The page is a photocopied picture of the three of them sitting in the station wagon in front of Jerry’s house. HARRIS Looks like we have competition. INT. DR. KLINE’S CONDO -NIGHT Kline is asleep in front of the television, the only light in the room coming from the color bars. A file folder is open across her lap, with her hands clasped together over it. She snorts and shifts, waking herself. With a low moan she stretches in her chair, and squints at her watch, then starts to collect the file together. JERRY She left me. Kline screechs, jumping in her chair. Jerry is sitting across from her, nursing a cup of coffee and staring at her. KLINE GODDAMMIT JERRY!!!! JERRY Sorry. She sits still a moment, trying to calm her pounding heart. JERRY (cont’d) Kerry, I mean. She left me. KLINE When? When did this happen? JERRY Tonight. A few hours ago. KLINE Oh Jerry I’m sorry. I know you were having problems but I didn’t think-- JERRY Neither did I. (beat) I thought she may have gone to her mother’s or her sister’s but she’s not there. Or they’re lying to me. KLINE Would they? JERRY ...yes. If she asked them too. KLINE Maybe this is for the best. JERRY Maybe it is, given my track record. KLINE Excuse me? JERRY I had another dream. I remember it all now. I remember why I wanted to forget. KLINE Can you tell me? Jerry pauses a minute. To Kline he seems a lost little boy. JERRY There was a girl named Genevieve... INT. A DARKENED ROOM -NIGHT Kerry awakens with a start to find herself tied to a chair. A single bare bulb casts a circle of light around her that falls off the darkness. KERRY Hello? (beat) HELP!!!! HELP ME!!! ANYBODY!!! HELP!! SASHA (telepathically) ...shusssshhhhhh. KERRY WHAT THE HELL!?! Sasha steps of the darkness to stand before Kerry. Several other vampires seem to bleed out of the darkness to surround her. KERRY (cont’d) WHAT THE FUCK! LET ME GO! NOW!! Sasha cruelly grabs her face, holding it still. SASHA SHUSH! Little girl...you need to be more respectful of your betters. KERRY (smushed face) -fuhck youh-- Sasha glares at her hard a moment and then breaks into laughter. SASHA Oh I can see why Jerry was so attached to you. KERRY Jerry? What? How-? SASHA Oh dear...he hasn’t told you about me has he? That scamp! (considers) Methinks Jerry hasn’t shared a lot of things with his little love here. KERRY SCREW YOU! LET ME GO YOU BITCH! Sasha backhands Kerry hard enough to knock her over, chair and all. Kerry lies stunned bleeding from her mouth. SASHA Hold your tongue or I’ll tear it out. INT. DR. KLINE’S CONDO -NIGHT KLINE That’s--that’s quite the, ah, story, isn’t? Jerry stares at her with dead, humorless eyes. KLINE (cont’d) I suppose story is the wrong word. (beat) I honestly don’t know what to say Jerry, I really don’t. JERRY You’ve always known what I am, why are you so surprised? KLINE We’ve never talked about this. In thirty years. I always assumed I would find a scientific reason for you being what you are... JERRY I can’t lose her again. KLINE You don’t think--? JERRY Why not? I am a vampire for christ’s sake! Why can she be reincarnated in Kerry? I think the realm of possibilities has just expanded, don’t you? Kline is at a loss for words. JERRY (cont’d) I have to find her and protect her this time. KLINE Jerry...how do I say this? (beat) I don’t think you are what you think you are--at least not entirely. JERRY Excuse me? KLINE Do you remember when I told you your nails and hair don’t grow? He nods. KLINE (cont’d) I took that nail you bit off and I tested it. Really tested it. Not like all the other times where the samples disappeared as if they were never there. This one was real. I tested your hair too. And I can tell you this- the results were extraordinary but they were real. (beat) Whatever you were before, you’re becoming human again, slowly. Now Jerry is speechless. KLINE (cont’d) Do you understand? JERRY I-I don’t have time for this...I have to find Kerry... I-- SUDDENLY JERRY SPASMS AND SCREAMS, CLAWING AT HIS SKULL! KLINE JERRY! SASHA (telepathically) HAVE YOU MISSED ME? Jerry falls to his knees, groaning, trying to drive the intruder from his mind. SASHA (cont’d) I AM SURE YOU HAVE MISSED YOUR LITTLE KERRY. Kline kneels beside him, frantically trying to help.
Copyright © 2001 Robin Taylor |