sib2x03 Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.
[previous | bottom] ACT TWO
FADE IN:
13 INT. MANOR - STUDY - DAY. 13
Chris readies himself as the creature leaps towards him, but
its brute force knocks him off his feet, and the creature
pushes away from Chris to land neatly back on its feet, as
Chris hurtles backwards and lands painfully against a tall
bookshelf.
Manon races for the door, but the creature cuts him off,
LUNGING for him with a swipe of its claws. Manon manages to
duck back, the creature's claws raking a deep furrow into the
door, but Manon loses his footing and hits the deck.
The creature looms over him, snarling - but Chris leaps into
frame, tackling the beast and shoving it away from Manon.
Manon gets to his feet as Chris struggles with the creature,
trying to restrain its flailing arms.
CHRIS
(yells; to Manon)
Get Twist and the others!
Manon nods, throws the door open and races off towards the
conservatory, leaving Chris to his fight.
The creature GRUNTS with exertion as it plants both hands on
Chris' chest and THROWS him backwards.
As Chris SLAMS into the wall, knocking two sets of shelves
and their contents off the wall and all over him, we cut to:
14 INT. MANOR - CONSERVATORY - DAY. 14
Twist is merrily piling up her third plate of food as a red
faced Manon barrels into the room.
JULIE
Monsieur Manon?
MANON
(panting)
Chris... needs some 'elp!
Julie glances at Danyael then springs to her feet, the two of
them following Manon back out of the conservatory.
Twist looks from them to her plate and back, then puts the
plate down with a sigh.
TWIST
And it was all going so well...
She hops out of her chair, grabs her backpack from the floor
and races back out of the conservatory, as we cut back to:
15 INT. MANOR - STUDY - DAY. 15
The creature has Chris by the throat with one hand, and is
using the other to punch him as Manon and the others burst
into the room.
Chris gasps as he takes another hit, before shouting across
to the rest of the team.
CHRIS
Twist! My sword!
Danyael and Julie rush over and grab the beast, trying to
wrench it away from Chris, as Twist fumbles inside her
backpack, drawing out Chris' katana.
TWIST
Heads up!
She throws it towards him just as Danyael and Julie manage to
drag the creature away from Chris.
Chris deftly catches his katana and SWINGS for the beast, but
it swats the sword away with one of its claws, ELBOWING
Danyael with its other arm and dropping him to the floor.
Chris raises his sword again but takes a swift KICK to the
chest. He staggers backwards, giving the creature time to
bound over to Manon's desk.
Before Chris can recover, the creature snatches up the cloth
wrapped brass component and bounds back towards the window.
Twist runs after it, but it's across the room and back out
through the empty window frame before she can get to it.
The room catches its breath. Julie helps a woozy Danyael back
to his feet as Twist turns to Chris, shrugging
apologetically.
TWIST (cont'd)
Sorry, Chris.
CHRIS
It's alright, you did your best.
Chris turns to Manon, pointing at him with his katana.
CHRIS (cont'd)
We need to talk.
A guilty looking Manon nods his head, before we cut to:
16 INT. MANOR - LIBRARY - DAY. 16
The team are assembled round one of several long reading
tables in the spacious, well-stocked two-floored library,
waiting as Manon unfurls a map of the grounds across the
tabletop before them.
MANON
We discovered the rift 'ere,
several months ago.
He points to a spot at the far end of his grounds, close to
the neighbouring swamplands.
MANON (cont'd)
I 'ad some property developers out
there, looking for somewhere
suitable to build a small pool
house or something similar, when
one of them managed to accidentally
fall down an abandoned well shaft.
TWIST
How do you 'accidentally' do
something like that?
CHRIS
A fault line, I'm guessing. Did he
say the ground just gave way
beneath him, by any chance?
MANON
(nods)
Exactement.
CHRIS
Whoever covered over the well
didn't do a very good job. Happens
a lot more than you'd like it to.
JULIE
So what did your men find down
there?
MANON
Many things. Some valuable and
pleasantly well received, others...
less so.
Manon steps away from the table for a moment, returning with
a thick leather book which he lays by the map, leafing
through it as he continues speaking.
MANON (cont'd)
At first, all we found was what
appeared to be the foundations and
basement level of the previous
'ouse that lay on these grounds.
CHRIS
Any idea how long ago?
MANON
Non. Best guess so far is about
fifty years. That's not important -
within these levels, we found a
treasure cove of all manner of
objects. Books, paintings,
sculptures, some with obvious
mystical significance.
TWIST
An Aladdin's cave of the
underworld, right?
CHRIS
And I'm guessing you also unearthed
a nest of more creatures like the
one that attacked us?
Manon nods, finding what he was looking for in the book and
turning it to the others. The worn page shows an illustration
of the creature Chris fought in the study.
CHRIS (cont'd)
(nods)
I thought I recognised it. It's a
vinnlan, subterranean-dwelling
creature with a highly-developed
hoarding instinct.
MANON
They seemed to 'ave made their 'ome
there many years earlier. There are
tunnels leading back out into the
swampland that they 'ave been using
to get in and out. They didn't take
too kindly to the removal of the
items from the underground rooms,
and 'ave been trying to steal back
everything we took.
CHRIS
Well, there's obviously a reason
for that.
JULIE
Peace of mind?
CHRIS
No, I'm thinking more like they
understand the power of these
objects, and they're concerned that
moving them could lead to bad
things.
DANYAEL
'Bad things' with a capital 'b' and
't,' right?
Chris look answers Danyael's question, as Chris turns to
Manon.
CHRIS
You said there were several items
taken from that underground lair.
Would you care to show me?
Manon nods, and as he SNAPS the book shut, we cut to:
17 INT. MANOR - TROPHY ROOM - DAY. 17
We're inside a more secure part of the house, looking at a
thick iron door as the BEEP of an electronic lock sounds from
the other side.
The iron door opens with a HISS of pressurised air and slowly
swings open, allowing Manon to step through and lead the
others inside.
The room holds glass-covered cabinets and displays that show
off a wealth of arcane objects - golden masks, weapons, stone
tablets, parchments. Twist and Chris share a knowing look as
they step inside that Manon notices.
MANON
Is something the matter?
CHRIS
Not really, it's just-
TWIST
The last time we saw a collection
like this, the guy behind it was an
evil warlock who was trying to open
a gateway into the netherworld.
(folds arms)
That's all.
Manon chuckles as Twist fixes him with an accusing stare.
MANON
My interest is purely as a
collector. I know little of the
world of magics and witchcraft.
TWIST
Yeah. That's what he said. At
first.
CHRIS
(scolds)
Twist!
TWIST
What? You act all pally now, but
just you watch, turn your back for
five seconds and bang! We're on an
operating table, having our kidneys
taken out to be made part of some
freaky-ass living mural.
Twist notices Julie's horrified look, and shrugs.
TWIST (cont'd)
True story.
CHRIS
Can we get back to business,
please?
Chris paces around the room, noticing the CCTV cameras
watching him and the large alarm system box by the door.
MANON
If those vinnlans, or whatever you
just called them got into 'ere, the
results would be disastrous.
TWIST
(narrows eyes)
I thought you said you didn't know
what any of these things were for?
MANON
I don't. But there are people
paying me a lot of money to take
them that do, and I can't afford to
lose my merchandise!
Twist HUFFS at Manon's mercenary spirit and marches over to
Chris, speaking quietly to him so Manon can't eavesdrop.
TWIST
So what's going on here? Is this
guy evil or what?
Chris is deep in thought, studying the closest cabinet,
squinting as he tries to decipher the writings on the two
stone tablets inside.
TWIST (cont'd)
(nudges him)
Ground Control to Major Tom?
CHRIS
(distracted)
Hmm?
TWIST
I asked if this Manon guy is cool,
or if he's a bad guy and I can kick
his ass yet.
CHRIS
(shakes head)
He doesn't know what he has here.
If he did, he'd have this under
even more security.
TWIST
(gulps)
Now that doesn't sound good...
CHRIS
Trust me. Keep quiet and let me
handle this.
Chris turns back round and walks towards Manon.
CHRIS (cont'd)
I think you'd better show us where
the entrance to these underground
levels are, monsieur.
MANON
Is there a problem?
CHRIS
Not yet. But there will be, if we
don't get down there and sort this
mess out.
Manon frowns, looking somewhat concerned, as we cut to:
18 EXT. MANOR - REAR GROUNDS - DAY. 18
Chris leads Manon and Julie across the neatly-trimmed back
garden of the manor, heading towards the edge of a thick
patch of trees that leads out onto the swamp beyond.
Julie glances round to see Twist and Danyael doing their best
to follow them, forced by the sun overhead to stick to the
shadows.
Manon notices the two vampires, frowns as he watches them for
a moment, and then turns to Chris.
MANON
Your two associates, they're-
CHRIS
Vampires, yes.
Chris registers Manon's look of concern.
CHRIS (cont'd)
Don't worry, they're harmless.
(beat)
As far as you're concerned, anyway.
Manon nods, but doesn't look too convinced as he leads Chris
and Julie in through the treeline.
We hang back to pick up Twist and Danyael, as they finally
make it to the edge of the trees the long way round.
DANYAEL
I don't trust this guy.
TWIST
Me either, but Chris says he knows
what's what, so I'm gonna play
along for now. But he looks at me
funny even once, I'm gonna teach
him how to play the tuba with his
ass cheeks.
Danyael pauses, throwing a puzzled look at Twist.
DANYAEL
That made no sense.
TWIST
(beat)
Shut up.
She steps into the patch of trees, and into:
19 EXT. REAR GROUNDS - WOODED AREA - DAY. 19
Twist and Danyael join the others, looking down over a
literal hole in the ground. Helpful plastic barricades mark
out the jagged tear in the ground, with pitch blackness
beyond it. A ladder heading down has been helpfully bolted to
the inside of the hole itself.
TWIST
Down there?
MANON
I'm afraid so. I 'ave plenty of
torches if you need them.
CHRIS
We'll be fine.
Julie clears her throat to get Chris' attention, and he
silently curses, realising his omission.
CHRIS (cont'd)
Well, we will need one, at least.
Manon grins at Julie, who rolls her eyes as we cut to:
20 INT. UNDERGROUND NETWORK - DAY. 20
Julie leads the way, shining her torch through the darkness
to reveal what used to be a long, wide corridor of a house of
some kind. Planks and scaffolding are helping the walls and
ceiling stay in place as the group make their way through the
gloom.
JULIE
So what happened to this old house?
Did it just sink into the ground or
something?
CHRIS
Given our proximity to the swamp,
that's very likely.
TWIST
And given the stinky bayou smell,
I'd say it's very likely.
DANYAEL
What are we looking for down here?
CHRIS
More artefacts like the one Manon
kept in that locked room. If I'm
right...
Chris trails off. Julie waits a beat, then nudges him.
JULIE
(prompts)
'If I'm right...'
CHRIS
(blinks)
Sorry?
TWIST
Alright, what is with you? That's
the second time you've spaced out
in the last half an hour.
Mind explaining to those of us
without access to your inner
monologue what the N'Sync is going
on around here?
Chris looks at Twist, then takes Julie's torch from her hands
and shines it towards a part of the wall further down the
corridor.
CHRIS
That.
Following the beam, we see that part of the wall has fallen
away, and poking out through the soil is some kind of stone
archway, covered with symbols and indecipherable lettering.
TWIST
Oh.
The team start to head towards it, but Twist pauses as they
do - from her perspective, the archway is GLOWING with a
faint white light, but it fades away as quickly as it came.
Danyael nudges her, and she blinks, snapping out of her
trance.
DANYAEL
You okay? You zoned out for a
second there.
Twist glances at him, then hurries past him to catch up to
Chris, leaving the puzzled Danyael behind.
TWIST
Chris, we can't go in there.
CHRIS
Why on Earth not?
TWIST
We just can't okay? I've got a bad
feeling about it, and-
JULIE
Can I get a little light over here?
Chris shines the torch along the archway as Julie tries to
make out the lettering. Danyael lights a cigarette, keeping
his lighter flame on to give the team a little more light to
work with.
Twist watches them helplessly, knowing nothing she says is
going to make them walk away - short of the truth behind what
she just saw. And that's not an option.
CHRIS
Any ideas what that says?
JULIE
I'm not sure...
She takes the torch from Chris and steps closer to it,
resting her hand against the sandy-coloured stone.
JULIE (cont'd)
It's definitely very old, but it
doesn't look like any human dialect
I've ever seen.
TWIST
More monsters, then?
JULIE
Could be. See this part here?
(points)
That's a universal set of symbols
in any language.
DANYAEL
What does it mean?
JULIE
Those are the symbols for
'opening,' and 'evil.'
DANYAEL
An evil opening?
TWIST
Jessica Simpson's mouth?
CHRIS
A portal.
JULIE
Yup, and I'm getting the idea it's
not a good one.
TWIST
Great. So, what, Manon's managed to
unearth a Stargate that leads
straight to Evil Central?
CHRIS
Only one way to find out.
Chris draws his katana and nods to Julie. She steps through
the archway, the others falling in behind her.
We stay in the corridor, watching from a distance away as
Twist and Danyael disappear through the arch - before three
more of the vinnlans step out of the shadows, GROWLING
menacingly at this intrusion into their home.
The closest takes a step towards the archway, baring its
fangs, before we cut to:
21 INT. UNDERGROUND NETWORK - CHAMBER - DAY. 21
The team are the only point of light in what appears to be a
huge, darkened chamber.
TWIST
(calls out)
Danyael is gay!
The echoed 'Danyael is gay!' rings out around the room, and
Twist cackles with laughter as Danyael glares at her.
DANYAEL
Not funny.
TWIST
(shoves him)
Ah, lighten up.
No sooner has she said that, than with a loud CLICK, a pair
of glowing spheres blare into bright yellow light either side
of the team.
Julie shields her eyes, but Chris manages to see what's going
on - the two dirt-caked half-spheres are set into the sides
of what appears to be a stone bridge, starting at the
entrance to the archway and stretching off into the distance.
DANYAEL
Woah! What did you do?
TWIST
I didn't do anything! Chris?
Chris narrows his eyes and raises his sword.
CHRIS
Get ready, everyone.
JULIE
For what? There's nothing-
There is another CLICK, and the next two spheres in line
along the bridge flicker to life. Then the next. Then the
next, and so on with increasing speed until the entire room
is filled with soft yellow light.
A large building that appears to be some kind of ruined
temple waits at the far end of the bridge - but between the
team and that are lots and lots of the vinnlan creatures,
spread across the bridge itself and the floor of the chamber
several fete below.
They start to rouse themselves, grunting and hissing at the
sudden light, but as a horde of glittering eyes fall on Chris
and the others, the team realise they're in trouble.
JULIE (cont'd)
Uh... this isn't good, is it?
CHRIS
No, I'm afraid it isn't.
Twist SLAPS her forehead loudly in despair.
TWIST
I knew I shoulda stayed in that
garage!
As the closest pack of vinnlans starts to rush towards the
team, we quickly:
BLACK OUT:
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
FADE IN:
22 INT. UNDERGROUND NETWORK - CHAMBER - DAY. 22
Chris is straight into the thick of things as the first group
of vinnlans charge him, his katana flashing left and right to
fend off the creature's claws.
JULIE
Twist! Weapons!
Twist nods, digging through her backpack and quickly passing
out a sword each for Danyael and Julie, finally dropping the
bag to reveal Duggan, her trusty baseball bat.
Twist grins as she sizes up a vinnlan climbing up over the
edge of the bridge towards her.
TWIST
Batter up!
THWACK! She clocks the creature across its jaw and sends it
shrieking back down to the chamber floor.
Julie and Danyael fight back as best they can, but it's Chris
doing the most damage as he cuts a swathe through the
vinnlans, backing up his sword attacks with BLASTS of blue
magical energy, bowling the creatures over and knocking
several back over the bridge.
JULIE
There's too many of them!
CHRIS
Fall back!
Julie starts to back up, but SHOUTS in alarm as more vinnlans
surge through the archway towards her.
She finds herself back to back with Twist, the two girls
surrounded by an increasing pack of the snarling monsters.
JULIE
Any ideas?
TWIST
(grits teeth)
I'm gonna go with 'hit' and then
'run.' In that order.
Twist YELLS as she charges forward, barging into the vinnlans
attacking her, her bat CRACKING off skulls left and right as
she swings.
Danyael is knocked to the ground by one vinnlan, its heavy
claws raking across his chest. He drops his sword and cries
out in pain as it pins him to the ground.
JULIE
Danyael!
Julie is distracted for a moment - and is grabbed by two of
the creatures. Kicking and struggling against them, she's
helpless as another stalks up to her, HISSING.
Chris is still knee deep in the beasts, stuck halfway across
the bridge and too far away to help.
Twist kicks one vinnlan over the edge of the bridge, then
spins round to SLAM her bat into another, but she's downed by
three strikes in quick succession from three more vinnlans,
and soon she's pinned down and defenceless just like Danyael
and Julie.
Chris finally spots that the rest of the team are in trouble,
but the moment's hesitation is enough for his katana to be
knocked out of his hands, and a particularly large and
fearsome vinnlan to get close enough to wrap its hands round
his throat, lifting Chris off the ground.
VINNLAN
Thieves!
CHRIS
(struggling)
We're... not...
VINNLAN
Raiders! Steal what must be kept!
CHRIS
No... you don't...
VINNLAN
Silence!
POW! It SLAPS him and sends Chris flying back through the
air, landing heavily on his back several feet away.
The vinnlans scatter and give Chris some room as he pushes
himself to his feet, allowing the larger vinnlan to walk
slowly up to him. Chris defiantly stands his ground.
CHRIS
We're not here to steal anything.
VINNLAN
Lies! All humans come here to take
what is not theirs, to steal what
must be kept!
CHRIS
(frowns)
What do you mean, 'what must be
kept'?
The vinnlan makes a low growling noise of displeasure, and
Chris' eyes flick to the rest of the team - the vinnlans
restraining Twist and the others seem to be waiting for the
larger vinnlan to make the next move. Chris eyes the bulky
creature cautiously as it circles him.
CHRIS (cont'd)
I can assure you, we mean you no
harm.
TWIST
(yells over)
Yeah, all that kicking just then?
Purely self defense.
VINNLAN
(to Twist)
Quiet!
TWIST
What? You guys started it!
CHRIS
(snaps)
Twist! Not the time.
(to Vinnlan)
I think you need to explain to me
what's going on down here. You said
humans have been taking things from
you. What 'things,' exactly?
The vinnlan narrows its eyes, looking Chris up and down as
though deciding whether to trust him. Chris raises his hands
slowly to show he's not a threat.
CHRIS (cont'd)
I'm unarmed. I'm not going to
attack you. Tell me what's been
taken and what its significance is,
and maybe we can help one another.
The vinnlan stares back at him for a beat, then nods once. It
flicks its head round to its comrades pinning Twist and the
others down, and makes a series of brief CLICKS to
communicate with them.
The vinnlans obediently release the team, and Twist pouts as
she smooths herself back down and retrieves her bat, pointing
at the nearest vinnlan.
TWIST
You're lucky he's a good
negotiator. One more second, and
pow! I'd have got you.
The vinnlans exchange confused looks, as we cut over to:
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Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.