sib1x01 Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.
[previous | bottom] ACT TWO
FADE IN:
20 INT. CHRIS' DIGS. NIGHT. 20
Chris bursts into his room, one hand pressed to the wound on
his neck, dark red lifeblood running from it down his shirt
as he uses his free hand to sweep papers out of the way,
clearing the desk and searching for one book in particular.
He rapidly flips through the pages, wincing with pain, before
flopping into the chair.
TWIST (V.O.)
Not an ideal end to the evening,
huh?
CHRIS (V.O.)
I didn't know what was happening to
me, but I knew I didn't have a
moment to waste. I quickly searched
for every healing spell, protective
charm, magical defence against
curses, hexes; anything that I
thought would help.
Chris starts to mutter an incantation under his breath, and a
blue GLOW emanates from his hand resting on the book, up
along his arm and to his wounded neck, before fading away
again.
Undeterred, he leafs through the book and starts again.
CHRIS (V.O.) (cont'd)
I could feel something changing
inside me, some awful darkness
trying to grab hold of my soul, and
all I knew was that I had to stop
it somehow. I must have been
working for hours, and eventually I
passed out.
21 INT. CHRIS' DIGS. MORNING. 21
We dissolve to see Chris slumped, asleep, across his desk,
papers, scrolls and books fluttering in the breeze creeping
in through the window. He stirs and sits up, stiff from the
awkward sleep, one hand checking his neck.
The wound is still there, but has healed to two ugly red
patches, with tiny criss-cross patterns of red veins
stretching out in a web pattern beneath his skin.
Chris gets shakily to his feet, staggering over to the
window. Bright sunlight shines in from outside, and Chris
puts a hand over his eyes, wincing.
CHRIS (V.O.)
The words of the stranger in the
park came rushing back to me,
something about ghouls and
infections, and something 'not
being enough.' I had no idea what
he meant, and I couldn't explain my
wounds either.
TWIST (V.O.)
And it never occurred to you that
you might've become, you know, a
vampire? Jeez, don't you watch
movies at all?
22 EXT. OUTSIDE CHRIS' BUILDING. MORNING. 22
Chris walks out of his apartment block and into the sunshine,
a pair of dark sunglasses on and a coat pulled tightly around
him despite the obvious warmth.
TWIST (V.O.)
How did you feel? I heard it's a
little different for everyone.
CHRIS (V.O.)
Cold. Like every last drop of heat
had been drained out of my body,
and I would never be warm again.
And the sunlight hurt my eyes more
than I'd ever felt before, so I did
what I could to stay out of it
while I went back to the park for
some answers.
23 EXT. PARK. MORNING. 23
A COUPLE strolls around. Chris waits for them to leave. He
kneels down at the scene of the attack, when a man's voice
startles him.
MAN (O.S.)
I knew you'd come back…
Chris jumps to his feet and spins round.
Standing in the shade of one of the park's huge oak trees is
the man who came to Chris' aid last night, a smirk on his
face. He's tall and pale with short, neat black hair and an
expensive black suit on.
CHRIS
Who are you? And… and what exactly
happened to me last night?
SANCTUS
My name is Sanctus. And what
happened was that you were saved
from a terrible fate by a gift that
I tried to give to you.
CHRIS
Gift? All I remember is…
He drifts off, then looks at one of Sanctus's arms with
wonder, confusion, fear. Sanctus pulls his sleeve up. Chris
sees the bite marks just below the veins on Sanctus' wrist.
Sanctus walks away. Chris follows.
24 EXT. PARK – SUBWAY ENTRANCE. MORNING. 24
Shaded inside the entrance to a subway tunnel beneath the
park, Sanctus waits patiently as Chris appears at the
entrance. Sanctus starts to walk down into the tunnel, and
after a moment's hesitation Chris follows.
SANCTUS
The creature that attacked you last
night was a poryphrian, or as they
are more commonly known, a
'vampire.' Its aim was to drink
your lifeblood to continue its own
filthy existence.
CHRIS
Vampires? There's no such…
Chris stops himself, starting to realise that an open mind
would be a good asset at this point.
SANCTUS
Good, you're catching up! I could
tell you were smart. What I'm going
to tell you will seem impossible,
but you should listen well.
CHRIS
Okay then, let's see if I
understand this. A vampire attacked
me, and you must have disturbed it
before it was done, or I'd be dead.
So… thanks.
SANCTUS
You're welcome.
CHRIS
So why did I…
Chris hesitates, and Sanctus smiles, laying a comradely hand
on his shoulder.
SANCTUS
Why did you surrender yourself and
drink the blood I offered you?
Because the moment you were bitten,
you became infected. I wish there
was a more elegant word for it, but
that's the net result. Your blood
now carries, among other things, a
severe iron deficiency that will
require you to drink human or
animal blood.
Sanctus pauses, looking Chris up and down.
CHRIS
What?
SANCTUS
You're familiar with magic, yes?
CHRIS
Since I was a child.
SANCTUS
Keeping up a family tradition?
CHRIS
My mother was a white witch. She
died when I was ten.
SANCTUS
Ah, I'm sorry. I should have
remembered.
CHRIS
Remembered?
SANCTUS
When you drank from me, we shared
more than just blood - we shared
some of each other's lives.
Histories, experiences, skills and
talents. I received many visions of
your life thus far, and I'm glad to
say you confirmed my beliefs about
you.
CHRIS
You've been watching me?
SANCTUS
For many years. I wanted to offer
you the Gift because I believed you
were the right sort of character to
use it for the greater good.
However, it seems things did not go
to plan…
CHRIS
Alright, start all this again. I'm…
having a hard time taking any of
this in. What are you trying to
say? You've said that I'm infected,
that I need to drink blood, that
we've undergone some kind of
transfusion of information… am I
going to turn into one of those
vampire things?
SANCTUS
In all likelihood, no. Poryphrians
are the lowest breed of vampire.
Scavengers, pack hunters, easily
led by the more strong-willed among
us. You and I are made from purer
blood. When you broke away from me
last night, I was only partway
through the ritual for transforming
you into one of us. It seems that
your knowledge of magic has helped
you thus far…
CHRIS
When I got back to my home I cast
every protective spell I could on
myself… What did you do to me?
Sanctus steps closer, looking into Chris' eyes with a proud
smile on his face.
SANCTUS
I wanted to make you stronger,
faster, more powerful than you
could ever imagine, but instead…
instead I've created something new,
something not quite a man, yet not
quite a beast. Somewhere in
between.
CHRIS
I don't understand…
SANCTUS
I'm afraid I don't fully understand
it myself, I can't think of a time
when this has happened before, but
that's not important now. Chris,
you would have died if I had not
stepped in to help you, remember
that.
CHRIS
Listen, leave the cryptic babble to
one side for a second! I want to
know what I've become!
Sanctus smiles again, nods, and walks away. Chris blinks in
surprise and then takes a step after him, his hand
outstretched. Sanctus snaps around impossibly fast, his long
finger-nailed hand lashing toward Chris' throat.
Chris dodges, moving faster than Sanctus, grabs him by his
throat and lifts him off his feet. He slams Sanctus against
the subway wall. Sanctus laughs.
SANCTUS
Well! I think the test of your
reflexes indicates all is well…
Chris GRUNTS – and we pull back to see that Sanctus has drawn
a dagger from his belt and plunged it deep into Chris' gut.
He TWISTS it once, and Chris coughs, blood running from his
mouth. Sanctus lets him fall, watches him writhe in pain for
a moment, then kneels beside him.
SANCTUS
Now… did that hurt?
CHRIS
(incredulous)
Did that… you bloody bastard! Of
course that hurt!
SANCTUS
Then ask yourself, 'if I've been
stabbed, why aren't I dead?'
Sanctus grins, and Chris stops writhing. With a bewildered
look, he reaches his hands slowly down towards his shirt and
lifts…
The knife wound is already starting to close up, Chris' pale
white flesh knitting itself together, quickly leaving just a
red bruise and a trail of blood.
Chris jumps to his feet, scrabbling backwards in alarm and
falling on his ass again as Sanctus laughs. Chris looks in
disbelief from his chest to Sanctus.
SANCTUS
Good! You heal like we do. Well, I
must say, you've got the best of
both worlds at the moment,
Christopher.
CHRIS
(frantic)
What have you done to me?!?
SANCTUS
I told you, I saved you. You'd be
dead on that park floor by now if
not for me. I've given you a second
life, a chance to continue your
work! You should be thanking me,
Chris.
CHRIS
Change me back!
SANCTUS
What?
CHRIS
Change me back! You said you were
the one who did this to me, change
me back! Make me human again!
SANCTUS
I'm afraid I can't. The Change is a
one way journey. If it were that
easy, there'd be far fewer of us.
Chris' hands cover his face – he starts to sob.
SANCTUS (cont'd)
I wish this had all taken place
under more favourable
circumstances, but c'est la vie. Be
careful, Chris. They may come back
for you.
Chris doesn't hear him, continuing to sob into his hands.
When he looks up, Sanctus is gone. Chris frantically looks up
and down the tunnel, but he's nowhere in sight.
TWIST (V.O.)
Wow. Now that is a harsh thing to
happen. What did you do next?
CHRIS (V.O.)
What would you have done? I'd just
found out that I'd been as good as
killed the night before, and that
suddenly I'd been reborn as some
kind of mutant… it was all too
much. I headed for the nearest
tower…
25 EXT. UNIVERSITY – ROOFTOP. MORNING. 25
Chris shoves open an access door and staggers out onto the
rooftop of one of the nearby university buildings, scattering
a pack of birds as he heads for the edge.
We look over Chris' shoulder, down into the courtyard of the
university a long, long way below. Chris stands for several
moments, breathing heavily, his eyes closed.
TWIST (V.O.)
Oh my God! You didn't jump, did
you? I mean, you knew the fall
wouldn't have killed you, right?
CHRIS (V.O.)
For a moment, I hoped it would. I
thought if some part of me was
still human, maybe I could kill it
and free myself of whatever
existence I'd been forced into. But
as I stood there, a new sensation
came over me, something I couldn't
explain.
Chris opens his eyes, taking a deep breath and looking around
as though seeing the world for the first time.
CHRIS (V.O.) (cont'd)
I don't know where it came from,
but it was almost like… duty.
Purpose. Like Sanctus had passed on
some kind of mission to me,
something I had to fulfil before my
time was over. And the longer I
stood there, the stronger that
desire became.
Chris turns and slowly steps down off the roof, his
expression starting to change from one of desperation to one
of quiet acceptance and peace.
TWIST (V.O.)
I guess that's what you'd call an
epiphany, huh! I always did wonder
what one of those was. So what
next?
CHRIS (V.O.)
From that high point, no pun
intended, I quickly learned about
the darker side of what I had
become. When night fell, something
new crept into me. Hunger.
26 EXT. CITY STREET. NIGHT. 26
Stephanie and another nurse walk down a street lined with
houses, the last of the night shift. One breaks away to head
for her house, and they wave goodbyes as they part.
Hiding in the bushes across the street, Chris watches
Stephanie the same way his attacker had the night before.
Stephanie keeps walking, pausing as a gust of wind shivers
through the bushes opposite her. She stops under a
streetlight to reach for a cigarette.
She's fumbling with the lighter and doesn't hear the
footsteps running towards her until it's too late – and
CRASH! Chris leaps onto her and the two of them are thrown to
the ground.
She SCREAMS as Chris, his eyes blood red and his fangs
exposed as he snarls down at his prey, pins her to the floor.
She struggles to get free, but it's no good, he's too strong,
and he lunges down towards her, sinking his fangs into her
neck. From another SCREAM, we:
BLACK OUT:
27 EXT. CITY STREET. NIGHT. 27
We fade up to see Stephanie lies still on the ground. Her
wide eyes stare ahead. Dead. A trail of dried blood leads
from the ugly wound on her neck. Chris can't take his eyes
from it. There is blood on his chin and tears on his cheeks.
He huddles in the doorway and sobs.
CHRIS (V.O.)
The first person I killed was
somebody I knew. A nurse I worked
with, Stephanie Jones. Charming
girl, always ready with a smile and
a pleasure to be around. And now
she was dead. She was dead so that
I could stay alive one night
longer.
TWIST (V.O.)
First one's always a bitch.
CHRIS (V.O.)
Sanctus came back one week later.
28 INT. CHRIS' DIGS. NIGHT. 28
We're inside Chris' room as the front door slowly CREAKS
open, revealing Sanctus in the doorway.
He cautiously steps inside, looking around for any sign of
Chris. The TV is on as he enters the main room, and curtains
flap in the breeze through the open window.
Sanctus tuts and steps over to close it, when BAM! A wooden
chair is smashed over the back of his head, and he drops to
the floor. In an instant, Chris, wild-eyed and unshaven, pins
him by the neck to the ground, an improvised wooden stake in
one hand.
CHRIS
You sick freak! You've turned me
into… into a killer!
SANCTUS
Chris, every one of us is a killer,
that's what mankind is!
CHRIS
For you, maybe, but not for me!
Chris drags Sanctus to his feet and THROWS him against the
apartment wall, quickly back with the neck hold and the stake
to keep the vampire still.
SANCTUS
What are you-
CHRIS
Quiet! Just stay quiet! I may not
know too much about vampires but
I'm pretty sure that this will kill
you…
He pushes the stake a little into Sanctus' chest, and the
vampire GASPS with pain.
CHRIS (cont'd)
Tell me why I shouldn't do it. Tell
me what right you have to live when
hundreds, maybe thousands of people
have died just to keep you here!
SANCTUS
I can't! I don't have an excuse, or
a reason! It's just something we
have to live with, every single
day!
The answer surprises Chris, and he steps back, releasing the
stake which Sanctus pulls out from his chest with some
effort. He sighs and straightens his clothes.
SANCTUS (cont'd)
I'm sorry you had to find out about
the other side to your new life
that way. I would have stayed with
you when we first met, but you
didn't seem in a very receptive
mood…
Chris slumps down onto the sofa, the fight leaving him.
Sanctus lays a sympathetic hand on Chris' shoulder.
SANCTUS (cont'd)
I see now that I made an error. For
what it's worth, I'm sorry.
CHRIS
Sorry isn't going to bring her
back…
SANCTUS
Chris, listen to me very carefully.
You will kill again. However,
unlike others of our kind, you have
the luxury of being able to choose
your targets. You'll learn to
control your lust for blood, to be
able to survive without it, but for
now you need to feed, or you will
grow weak, and eventually enter a
coma from which you will never wake
again.
CHRIS
(shakes head sadly)
I can't do it… if this is what I am
now, then I can't do it.
He snatches the stake up and offers it to Sanctus.
CHRIS (cont'd)
Finish what you started. I've got
no right to live now that she's
dead.
Sanctus tuts again and swats the stake away.
SANCTUS
There are other ways, other
sources. Modern medical science has
these wonderful things called blood
banks, I'm sure a doctor like
yourself will have heard of them!
Chris looks up, intrigued, and Sanctus grins.
SANCTUS (cont'd)
I'm not as bad as you may think,
Chris. And there are others like
me. Many more. You'll find them one
day. The fact that you were made
from my blood means that you'll
feel the same way too. Have you
felt it yet?
CHRIS
Felt what?
SANCTUS
The feeling of… of righteousness,
one could say.
That there's more to all of this, there's something higher to
aim for. It's the reason I chose you, the one task I wanted
to entrust to you.
Chris drops his head again, but Sanctus lifts it up to make
eye contact. He whispers to Chris.
SANCTUS (cont'd)
There is a cure…
Chris' eyes widen, and we:
BLACK OUT:
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
FADE IN:
29 EXT. TIBET – MOUNTAIN PASS. DAY. 29
TITLE OVER – Tibet, 1977
Chris walks through a wall of snow, wrapped warmly and
carrying a large backpack. It is a treacherous pass.
TWIST (V.O.)
Woah, woah, woah, back up! You
can't just skip three years on me
after a cliffhanger like that! What
happened to the dead girl? What
went on between you and Sanctus?
CHRIS (V.O.)
I'm not going to sit here all night
and recount every little thing that
I did between then and now! You
wanted a brief history, that's what
I'm giving you. The details come
later.
Chris continues walking as the voice over carries on, heading
for a large monastery up ahead.
TWIST (V.O.)
So, what, there's a cure? For being
a vampire? That's new…
CHRIS (V.O.)
I'll get to that. Right now, we're
at the start of my many years of
training. Sanctus and I had parted
ways two years ago, and I'd been
using the time since then to
develop my new abilities to their
limits, through whatever means I
could find.
30 EXT. TIBET – OUTSIDE MONASTERY. DAY. 30
Chris walks up the steps to the front gates of the monastery,
pushing them open so that he can walk inside.
CHRIS (V.O.)
The monks of the Budokan monastery
in Eastern Tibet were excellent
teachers…
A beat, then Chris runs back out through the doors, an
angry pack of orange-robed BUDDHISTS in pursuit. They shout
angrily, armed with staffs and flaming torches.
CHRIS (V.O.) (cont'd)
… once they'd overcome initial
misgivings about what I was.
31 INT. TIBET – MONASTERY COURTYARD. DAY. 31
Chris stands opposite an ELDER, and they bow to each other.
Other MONKS line the courtyard. The elder places his wizened
hands on Chris's temples and closes his eyes. Chris JOLTS as
though receiving an electric shock.
CHRIS (V.O.)
There were many other places I
trained over the next twenty years,
but that was the first. And best.
The monk opens his eyes and smiles, holding his hands out for
Chris to shake. There is a ripple of applause from the
assembled monks as Chris does so.
32 EXT. TIBET – HILLTOP. SUNSET. 32
Silhouetted against the red sky and yellow setting sun, Chris
shadowboxes through his kata movements alongside two other
figures, Seventies kung fu movie style.
33 EXT. TIBET – MONASTERY STEPS. DAY. 33
A long chain of hopefuls, scrawny, shaven-headed teenagers,
jog up and down the hundreds of stone steps leading up to the
front of the temple, water buckets in their hands. They stop
and stare in amazement as Chris, stripped to the waist and
carrying four full buckets, jogs past all of them with a look
of raw determination.
34 INT. TIBET – MONASTERY INNER SANCTUM. DAY. 34
Chris, dressed in plain orange robes, kneels before three
ELDERLY MONKS, who offer him a ceremonial tea bowl. Chris
bows his head and drinks, passing the bowl back.
ELDERLY MONK #1
Many men have faltered where you
have succeeded, many have taken
example in your strength and
fortitude.
ELDERLY MONK #2
Your training is complete now,
there is nothing more we can teach
you.
ELDERLY MONK #3
We only ask one thing – to know the
nature of your quest.
To what end will you use the skills
you have learned here?
CHRIS
I seek redemption. I wish to find a
way to cleanse my soul of all
impurity, and to restore my
humanity.
ELDERLY MONK #1
Do you seek this cure for yourself?
CHRIS
There is one other, the one who set
me this task. One day, we shall
meet again and I only hope I have
succeeded by then.
ELDERLY MONK #3
May Buddha always smile on you.
CHRIS (V.O.)
And I had a death on my conscience
that I needed to make amends for.
TWIST (V.O.)
But this is years later! You must
have had to feed since then, right?
CHRIS (V.O.)
Guilt is an excellent appetite
suppresser. Like Sanctus said,
there were other ways to get by.
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