sib1x11
Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.
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TEASER
FADE IN:
1 INT. MALKUTH'S LAIR. NIGHT. 1
We fade up to see the back of a squatting figure, who is
sitting in front of something that is giving off a ghostly
white light.
The figure's arms are up, and from the dim light we can see
the rest of the inside of the lair - piles of books, old
boxes, robed flunkies standing around - before the camera
starts to pan round towards the figure's front.
We soon see what is giving off the light - a glowing white
SPHERE, smoky tendrils of energy flowing off it as though it
was ice cold, with the figure's hands hovering over it as it
floats in mid-air.
This is NIENHAUS, with pale grey skin and ridges running
along his bald head, and he is conjuring up something nasty
using the sphere. Dramatic, eerie music starts to build to a
crescendo as the camera comes to a stop before him, his eyes
closed and his lips moving as he mutters incantations to him.
The music builds to a crescendo as the sphere glows ever
brighter, until:
MALKUTH (O.S.)
Is it ready yet?
Nienhaus' left eye flicks open as MALKUTH leans his head into
frame, peering down at the sphere.
MALKUTH (cont'd)
I mean, it's very pretty, with all
the glowing and everything, but
when is it going to actually do
something?
NIENHAUS
These things take time.
MALKUTH
(tetchy)
Yes, yes, I know that, but I feel
like I've been sitting here staring
at this thing for hours!
(to nearby flunky)
How long have we been here, anyway?
FLUNKY
Twenty minutes, my lord.
A beat. Malkuth starts to lean back, out of frame.
MALKUTH
Fine. Just hurry it along, would
you? I have things to be getting on
with.
Nienhaus closes his eyes and goes back to his incantations.
He speaks in a low, booming voice.
NIENHAUS
Bring me the vessel.
Two flunkies bring across a large, clear Egyptian styled urn
and set it on a table in front of Nienhaus. He nods to them
and they bow and step away respectfully.
As we watch, Nienhaus moves his hands and gestures towards
the urn, and smoky white essences from the orb float away and
into its open neck, soon filling the transparent urn with
glowing light.
Nienhaus claps his hands, and with a gout of FLAME, the orb
turns a dark red. He makes the same gesture with his hands
and directs energies from the flaming sphere into the urn.
We watch the fiery energies as they flow across through the
air, spilling into the urn and mixing with the white essences
inside, the mix soon turning the same bloody red as the
sphere as the two swirl and absorb one another.
MALKUTH
Excellent! Great work!
NIENHAUS
There is one more step.
MALKUTH
Ah… I was hoping you'd forgotten.
Nienhaus raises an eyebrow at Malkuth, who sighs and
unbuttons the expensive silk shirt he is wearing to expose
his chest. Nienhaus raises a hand towards him and mutters
another incantation.
With a YELP, Malkuth watches as a thin sliver of black energy
is slowly drawn from his chest like a line of thread.
Nienhaus grabs one end of the light and pulls it free of
Malkuth's chest.
The sliver is dropped into the urn by Nienhaus, mixing in
with the other two swirls of energy, before an ornate crystal
stopper is passed to Nienhaus and he uses it to seal the urn.
Hands behind his back, he turns to Malkuth.
NIENHAUS
It is done.
MALKUTH
(grinning)
Fantastic. Stung a bit when you
took that out, but the end
justifies the means, as I say!
Nienhaus does not show any emotion as Malkuth starts to rub
his hands together gleefully.
MALKUTH (cont'd)
Let's see how you cope with this…
2 INT. CHICAGO - HOTEL. NIGHT. 2
We're with CHRIS, asleep in bed and sweating heavily before
he suddenly jolts up with a start.
We see that he's sat inside a small hotel room, TWIST on the
second bed a few feet away and DANYAEL in a sleeping bag on
the floor. The curtains are closed, but Chris gets up, rubs
his face and walks over to the windows, drawing them across
and letting the moonlight outside glow down
He coughs a few times and frowns, feeling off colour but not
knowing why. He goes and sits back down on the bed, rubbing
his chest as though he had heartburn before lying back down
and closing his eyes.
BLACK OUT:
END OF TEASER
ACT ONE
FADE IN:
3 INT. CHICAGO - HOTEL. MORNING. 3
INSERT OVER – Chicago.
We fade up on the hotel room, sunlight up outside but the
curtains drawn tightly against it as Twist stirs and groans,
sitting up and rubbing her tired eyes.
TWIST
(yawns)
Still can't get used to this
'following the sun' stuff… Hey,
Chris? You awake?
Chris, the covers drawn tightly over his head, doesn't move,
so Twist steps out of bed. She's wearing a long t-shirt with
a grinning anime character on it and a pair of shorts as she
stumbles into the bathroom to freshen up.
Danyael yawns, scratches his head lazily and locates his
beanie, pulling it on. Twist emerges from the bathroom,
brushing her teeth, and frowns as she sees Chris still hasn't
moved. She kicks the end of his bed.
TWIST (cont'd)
Hey, Rip Van Winkle! Shake a leg or
something.
(beat)
Chris?
Toothbrush still in her mouth, Twist leans over the covers
and slowly pulls them back.
As Chris is revealed beneath the covers, he looks like death
served cold - his skin is clammy with sweat and his long
black hair is stuck to his face. His eyes are closed but his
whole body is tense, as though fighting off some invisible
opponent.
Twist looks a little worried, and slaps Chris lightly round
the face a few times to wake him up.
TWIST (cont'd)
Chris? Chris! Hey, are you okay?
Danyael looks down on Chris as he GROANS and stirs at last,
and the two vampires jump back as Chris weakly pushes himself
upright in the bed.
CHRIS
I feel really, really rough...
TWIST
Yeah, gotta say, chief, you look
like crap as well.
CHRIS
And as always, your sympathy
overwhelms me, Twist.
Twist just smiles at him and heads back into the bathroom as
Chris tries to stretch out, feeling like he's been asleep for
years.
TWIST (O.S.)
Maybe you just need something to
eat? If you know what I mean…
CHRIS
(gets out of bed)
I'm not hungry. And neither are
you. No blood for you on my watch!
Twist pouts as Danyael stands and stretches.
DANYAEL
Well, we've still got a few hours
before we're supposed to be at that
woman's house to bust those ghosts
she was complaining about.
TWIST (O.S.)
Spook's got a point there.
CHRIS
'Spook'?
DANYAEL
(rolls eyes)
It's her new nickname for me.
Chris stands up, looking a little shaky on his feet as he
grabs a black shirt and pulls it on.
TWIST
And anyway, why are we up so damn
early? I didn't even know this time
of day existed…
CHRIS
Remember, we have some supplies to
pick up first, and I want to get
Danyael used to how to move about
in daylight. You've had plenty of
practice at it, Twist, but
Danyael's new to this business of
ours, so needs all the time he can
get. Right?
Danyael manages a weak smile but looks like he's not
relishing the idea. He starts rummaging around inside his bag
as Chris wanders over to the window.
Chris looks faint for a moment and leans one hand against the
wall for support, pressing the other one against his chest as
if struggling to breathe.
We start to hear distant whispering VOICES, rising in volume,
calling Chris' name and also saying other things we can't
quite make out. Chris starts to grimace as the volume of the
voices rise, until:
TWIST (O.S.)
What do you reckon, Nine Inch Nails
top or the little Emily Strange
one?
Chris turns round to see that Twist is holding up two shirts -
one black, one red, trying to decide between them. Chris
shakes his head to try and focus his thoughts before pointing
to the red top.
CHRIS
That one. Whichever. Come on, let's
get moving.
TWIST
You sound just like my dad
sometimes, you know?
CHRIS
I wouldn't know. Was he as patient
with you as I am?
TWIST
Heck no, I'm amazed you put up with
me sometimes!
Chris nods, appreciating her point. He grabs his jacket and
the car keys from the bedside table as Twist disappears into
the bathroom to change.
4 EXT. STREET OUTSIDE HOTEL. MORNING. 4
The black Ford pulls into frame, engine purring as it
manoeuvres into the shadow cast by the side of the hotel
against the rising sun, and as it parks up Twist and Danyael
scoot out from the hotel entrance, quickly hopping into the
van.
5 INT. BLACK FORD. MORNING. 5
Twist and Danyael shuffle into their seats, Twist putting on
a pair of designer sunglasses.
CHRIS
Well now, don't you just look like
Audrey Hepburn!
TWIST
(mock aloofness; waves
hand)
Quiet, driver, take us away.
Chris drops the Ford into gear and drives away.
6 INT. APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM. MORNING. 6
We cut to a modestly furnished apartment block, and a young
blonde woman, BRIDGET, pacing up and down and wringing her
hands. She's in her mid-twenties, well dressed and seems to
be some kind of mid-level executive given her clothes and
general demeanour.
The half of the apartment that she has her back to seems
normal for a moment, before we notice objects moving of their
own accord in the background - chairs, vases, piles of
magazines - just shuffling round slightly.
Bridget stops her pacing for a moment and looks round slowly,
aware that something untoward is going on around her. She
looks up and sees the clock on the wall going backwards, its
hand spinning round at impossible speeds.
BRIDGET
(pleading)
No… no! Why are you doing this?
Why? I don't know what you want!
As if to answer, a terrifically loud KNOCKING starts to sound
from the back wall, then the two side walls, then the
ceiling, as whatever presence is moving the furniture around
starts banging its drums to get some more attention.
The desperate girl sinks to her knees, arms wrapped tightly
around her head to try and block out the deafening racket as
she screams back at it.
BRIDGET (cont'd)
(frantic)
Stop it, stop it! Stop it!!
Suddenly, everything is silent except for a quiet RAPPING at
the apartment door. Bridget slowly where the sound is coming
from and heads for the door.
The door opens a tiny way and Bridget's face peeks out.
Standing in the foreground is Chris, who removes his hat and
nods a greeting at her.
CHRIS
Hello, Miss Chambers, is it?
BRIDGET
Yes… are you… are you Chris?
CHRIS
That's me. These are my associates,
Twist and Danyael.
Peering out from behind the door, we see Twist who waves back
and tries to smile diplomatically.
She leans back and whispers to Danyael.
TWIST
See, you're an associate now, don't
you feel special?
DANYAEL
I feel something alright…
We're looking back out with Bridget as Twist and Danyael
snigger at his joke, before Twist tries to hide her laughter
when she notices Bridget looking at them.
CHRIS
I know we're a little late, but we
were gathering some supplies, ready
for what needs to be done. May we
come in?
Bridget unhooks the safety chain and opens the door, allowing
the trio inside.
Chris scans round the apartment, laying the heavy leather
satchel bag he's carrying down on the coffee table as Twist
and Danyael start to nose around.
Twist skirts round the outside of one of the open windows,
carefully avoiding the sunlight.
TWIST
(indicating window)
Uh, Chris?
CHRIS
Hmm? Oh, right…
(to Bridget)
Could we close the curtains in
here, please? It's ah… better for
the, uh, spirits.
BRIDGET
Oh, yes, yes of course.
She draws the curtains, nodding at Twist as she passes who
smiles back pleasantly.
TWIST
(sotto voice)
Nice cover, Chris.
BRIDGET
So… you're here because of Aaron,
right? The Hungarian guy?
CHRIS
Hungarian?
(grins)
Yes, he is a little… exotic. I take
it you've not met him, then?
BRIDGET
No, I… when I found out I had my…
my problem with the apartment, I
started asking my friends if they
knew anyone who could help, and
someone put me in touch with him.
CHRIS
He's good like that.
Danyael whispers to Twist.
DANYAEL
Who's this 'Aaron'?
TWIST
Nice guy. Keeps fixing us up with
jobs like this to get us some cash,
so I can shop!
Bridget watches as Chris starts to unpack some strange
looking equipment from the satchel, setting it up on the
table - a small gas stove with a metal pot on top of it, what
looks like an antique clock with red wires sticking out of
it, and a selection of crystals.
BRIDGET
So is all this… normal? I mean,
what's been happening here.
CHRIS
(setting things up)
You'd be surprised how often it
goes on. Lots of people die in big
apartment blocks like this, and
they're often quite angry about it.
Young or old, sane or crazy, when
they pass over, their spirits often
stick around to try and get a
little payback on the world, and
they'll stay around the area where
they died. If you looked into the
history of this room, I'll bet
you'd find someone passed away here
some time ago, and that'll be who
we're dealing with today.
Twist reaches a finger out to push a small wire sculpture
experimentally, but as she touches it, it starts to move,
TINKLING loudly. She whips round and tries to look innocent
as Chris glares at her.
TWIST
Sorry.
(to Bridget)
They hate that. The ghosts.
Chris goes back to his tools as Twist pokes her head into the
kitchen.
TWIST (cont'd)
(off kitchen)
Oh my God…
CHRIS
What? What is it?
TWIST
Would ya look at all the junk food
in here?
(holds up half-eaten
packet of Twinkies)
You know, these things will do you
no favours in the long run.
BRIDGET
Do you mind? I've had enough
Ghostbusters jokes to last me a
lifetime since this started…
TWIST
Right, right, sorry…
(spots guitar leaning
against wall)
Oh, cool!
Twist heads for the expensive-looking acoustic guitar leaning
against the wall and scoops it up before Bridget can say
anything.
TWIST (cont'd)
Check it out!
(bad Bowie impression)
Ziggy played… gee-tar!
She (badly) strums the opening chords to David Bowie's 'Ziggy
Stardust.' She looks up at Chris with an expectant smile, but
when she sees his frown she quickly puts the guitar back
down.
BRIDGET
(starting to get
suspicious)
Do you do this sort of thing often?
CHRIS
Ghosts, not so much. But we help
people with troubles all the time.
(throws a look at Twist)
More often than expected, now I
think about it…
Twist beams innocently as Chris turns on the stove and pours
a little boiling water into it from a thermos, adding some
herbs from sealed plastic bags. Twist mimes smoking a joint
at Danyael, who stifles a chuckle.
BRIDGET
What's that?
CHRIS
(stands; closes eyes)
A little something to help our
friend here make an appearance.
Vapour starts to drift up from the pot, and within moments a
thick cloud of smoke forms overhead. Chris coughs a few
times, and grimaces as though in pain. He manages to recover,
wiping a sheen of sweat from his brow as Bridget marvels at
the smoke overhead.
BRIDGET
Hey, how come that isn't setting
off the smoke detectors?
CHRIS
It isn't ordinary smoke. Cover your
ears, this never happens quietly.
BRIDGET
Huh?
As if on cue, we hear a loud SCREAM, and the whole apartment
seems to shake. Twist and Danyael grab hold of the back of
the sofa as paintings shake off the walls and ornaments
rattle clean off the shelves.
BRIDGET
Oh, no… quickly! Do something!
Chris holds up a finger, eyes still closed as he cocks his
head to one side, listening for something.
CHRIS
Wait a minute…
More rattling - the room seems about ready to shake itself to
pieces when Chris suddenly lunges into the bag and lifts out
a clear plastic box with a thick metal grille on top. He
holds his hand over it.
CHRIS
(dramatically)
Leave this place!
With a loud BANG, there is a flash of white light, and the
apartment's GHOST materialises in front of him. A spectral
creature looking like a spindly old man for its upper body,
and a ragged white sheet for its lower half, trailing away
and billowing in some ghostly breeze.
It SCREAMS again, reaching long, taloned fingers out towards
Bridget, who screams and starts to cower back. Twist leaps
between her and the ghost defiantly.
TWIST
Don't even think about it!
With a final loud SNAP, the ghost starts to screech as it is
sucked backwards, towards the glass box which is glowing
brightly. Within moments, the apartment has returned to
normal as the ghost disappears into the box.
Chris slams the lid closed and fastens it down, and then
holds the box out with a satisfied smile to Bridget, who
recoils away from it. Chris chuckles.
CHRIS
It's alright, it can't get out.
Bridget peers at the box - inside is a rapidly moving swirl
of white light, like steam rising from an iceberg.
BRIDGET
Is… is that it?
CHRIS
I've sealed the little bugger in
here, there's no way he's getting
out unless that lid's opened again.
Would you like to keep it?
BRIDGET
What?
CHRIS
It'd make an excellent nightlight,
and the batteries would never need
changing either!
BRIDGET
Oh, God, no! Just get it out of
here!
CHRIS
Fair enough.
TWIST
(lays an arm round
Bridget)
Now then, lady, as I'm sure you can
appreciate, we'd like nothing
better than to perform vital
community service such as this out
of the goodness of our hearts, but
these are difficult times for the
good guys…
DANYAEL
Which would include us three.
Bridget looks from Twist to Danyael and then sighs, running
her hands through her hair.
BRIDGET
How much do I owe you?
CHRIS
(suddenly unsteady)
Twist, I don't-
TWIST
Ssh! I'm handling it. You go put
your box thingy away.
(to Bridget)
I'm glad you understand. Mr. Azbeth
left us an outline of the costs for
today's exercise, and-
DANYAEL
(looking off camera)
Uh, Twist?
TWIST
Not now!
(to Bridget)
I mean, there's travel expenses,
parts and labour, the price of
herbs is skyrocketing at the
moment, and-
DANYAEL
(more urgent)
Twist!
TWIST
(irritated)
What?
Danyael points, and Twist follows.
Chris is swaying side to side, sweating profusely, clutching
the box tightly, a faraway look on his face.
TWIST (cont'd)
(concerned)
Chris?
CHRIS
(child-like)
No, no, I can't… they'll all know!
(giggles)
I can't do that! It's… it's
naughty! What will people think?
(listens to an imaginary
voice)
Alright then… but just this once!
Twist and Danyael throw a worried look at each other before
Twist walks over to him.
TWIST
Uh, Chris? Not wanting to interrupt
the conversation you're having with
Harvey, but… do you wanna pass me
the box?
Chris' fingers are scarping across the lid of the box, the
spirit inside racing about frantically.
CHRIS
He wants to go home… he is home…
but no, no, that isn't right!
TWIST
(firmly)
Chris! Stop wigging out and give me
the damn box!
She reaches for it but Chris steps back, his fingers poised
to open the latches and release the ghost.
CHRIS
Time to go… time to go home again!
TWIST
Alright, that's it!
Twist rears back and punches Chris square in the face.
Everything goes black, and we hear a muffled thud as Chris
hits the deck.
BRIDGET (O.S.)
So… does that normally happen?
TWIST (O.S.)
Eh, first time for everything…
BLACK OUT:
END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO
FADE IN:
7 INT. HOTEL ROOM - CHICAGO. AFTERNOON. 7
We fade up through Chris' eyes, the world gradually swimming
into focus. We're back in the team's hotel room as Twist gets
up and heads over to us.
TWIST
You ok?
CHRIS
(rubbing head)
I think so… what on earth happened?
TWIST
You don't remember?
CHRIS
No, I don't. What time is it?
DANYAEL
It's just after three.
CHRIS
Dear me, I have been out a while…
TWIST
Yeah, but it's Tuesday.
CHRIS
I've been out for over a day?
TWIST
Dead to the world. Figuratively
speaking. You went all 'The
Shining' on us when we were doing
our ghostbuster thing yesterday,
and I had to lay you out to stop
you releasing this nasty lookin'
ghost back into that nicely wealthy
girl's apartment!
Chris rubs his jaw thoughtfully and nods.
CHRIS
That explains why my teeth feel a
little looser, at least…
TWIST
(grins)
Hey, we have our agreement,
remember?
CHRIS
Yes, yes, we do.
DANYAEL
Agreement?
TWIST
Yeah, if one of us goes bad, the
other has carte blanche to take
them out before they hurt anybody.
When you live on the knife edge of
good and evil like we do, all it
takes is one slip and you can find
yourself falling back into the
shadows.
CHRIS
That was oddly poetic, Twist!
TWIST
You think? Thanks! I stole it from
this song I like.
DANYAEL
What do you think happened?
Chris sips the water then sets the glass down, a thoughtful
look on his face.
CHRIS
I have a suspicious feeling that
I've been cursed.
TWIST
Cursed? You? By who?
CHRIS
('as if you didn't know')
Three guesses. The first two not
only don't count, they earn you a
slap.
TWIST
(snaps fingers)
Malkuth!
CHRIS
I'll bet my hat on it. I started
feeling strange not long after we
got to Chicago, and then yesterday…
you say I went off the rails?
TWIST
('understatement!')
Off the rails?
You went rolling down the hill in
flames and almost flattened Richard
Kimble!
CHRIS
Right then. I'd better call in
someone who can help.
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Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.