FADE IN:
SCENE: INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
The warehouse is
dark, barely lit by street lights filtering through broken windows. Broken
beams, debris on fire, and smoke fill the room.
Dark shapes are
littered among the debris across the floor.
We MOVE TOWARDS
the far side, dodging broken furniture and dead bodies. Some bodies, that are
humanoid in shape, but not human at all, are slowly deflating/crumbling till
all that is left are piles of dirt and ash.
BACKGROUND MUSIC
STARTS: A soft lullaby (possibly The Piano Guys- Eye of the Tiger)
Ext. The Moore’s Childhood
Home, Back Yard - Midmorning.
FLASHBACK
DEREK, age 6, is
running around with ALEXANDER, age 10. They are both dressed up in costumes:
Derek is wearing a firefighter helmet and one of his uncle’s FD t-shirts and
Alexander is wearing a generic mask and cape.
UNCLE GUS, a man
in his early to mid-thirties, fit and in a matching FD t-shirt, COMES INTO
VIEW, chasing the kids. They run away from him, occasionally turning to “shoot”
the monster chasing them.
On the porch, in
the background, are MR. and MRS. MOORE, both in their forties, drinking coffee.
DEREK (V.O.)
When I was a kid
I wanted to be a fireman. My uncle Gus was a firefighter. I had thought he was
the coolest person ever. I had wanted to save people like him one day.
INT. WAREHOUSE -
CONTINUIOUS
There is
movement caught in the street/moonlight. We GET CLOSER.
PAN down to show
two men, one lying face down on top of adult DEREK, dark haired, not really
handsome, who is face up, looking dead.
INT. MOORE’S HOUSE,
UPSTAIRS HALLWAY - EARLY MORNING
A sleepy Derek,
in cute pjs, opens a door down the hallway. He comes out, carrying a stuffed
animal, rubbing his eyes. As he walks down the hallway, his footsteps also slow
down and he brings the teddy bear up to hug it.
Before Derek can
get all the way down the hallway a DOOR BEHIND HIM OPENS and Alexander pulls
Derek into his room. The door shuts quickly.
INT. ALEXANDER’S ROOM -
EARLY MORNING
Alexander is
holding one hand against Derek’s mouth while holding a finger to his own mouth.
Something
outside draws their attention, causing the boys to look up/back towards the
door.
Alexander pulls
Derek away from the door and into the closest. They huddle down in there, with
Alexander protectively covering Derek’s ears.
Another sound
causes Alexander to flinch. Tears start to fall down his face.
INT. WAREHOUSE -
CONTINUIOUS
Derek twitches,
then inhales sharply, his eyes popping open.
MUSIC STOPS.
DEREK
If I had known
where life would take me, and how I would be “saving people”, I would have
wanted to be a plumber like my dad. Saving people is overrated. Screw the world. I want to live.
SCENE: EXT. CLUB OLYMPUS -
MID AFTERNOON
Across the
street is Club Olympus: an old building, as such can be found in Hollywood.
There is… something off about the building: it seems darker than the
surrounding buildings.
There are Happy
New Years signs on the street posts and the buildings surrounding the club, but
nothing on the club except for a large “Closed” sign.
There are
pedestrians walking by quickly: it is chilly and no one wants to dawdle. When
they pass the club entrance, they seem to shiver extra hard. Some of them pull
their coats closer around them.
As we watch a
nondescript, slightly older model, generic sedan pulls up to a parking meter
and turns off the engine.
CUT TO:
CLOSE UP on the
car.
A plain
sneaker/converse foot steps out of the car.
PULL BACK to see
Derek step out of car, dressed in jeans and a peacoat. He quickly steps to the
sidewalk. Once there he stares up at the building for a long time.
DEREK
Crap
Derek sighs. He
pulls out his phone and scrolls through the numbers. He hesitates for a moment,
then presses the call button.
Derek goes back
to studying the building as he listens to the ring tone.
OPERATOR (O.S.)
The person you
are trying to reach is not avail—
Derek ends the
called, annoyed.
Derek is about
to put the phone away when another person comes to mind. He is even more
reluctant to call this person.
The phone rings,
but he doesn’t put it to his ear. After a long time, the person on the other
lines picks up.
SCENE: EXT. GRIFFITH
OBSERVATORY - MID AFTERNOON
There are a few
people, tourists mostly, walking around the observatory. We CLOSE IN on HERBERT
sitting on the west wall facing the Hollywood Sign, calmly eating a bag of
chips. He is a clean-cut All-American college grad student: tall, fit, nicely
styled golden brown hair and nice clothes.
From his pocket
comes a cheerful tune. Herbert quickly pulls out his phone. He deflates a bit
when he sees DEREK on the caller ID. After a long moment of contemplation,
Herbert reluctantly accepts the call.
INTERCUT PHONE
CALL:
HERBERT
What can I do
for you, Derek?
EXT. CLUB OLYMPUS -
CONTINUOUS
Derek puts the
phone to his ear reluctantly.
DEREK
Hey Herbert. I
was wondering if you were with Iggy.
Herbert eats
another chip.
DEREK
(impatiently)
Are you still
there?
HERBERT
Yep.
DEREK
Look, I wouldn’t
be calling you if it wasn’t important. But I need to talk to Iggy. Now, if
possible.
HERBERT
Yeah. I
understood what you wanted the first time. I just wasn’t sure how to tell you
Izzy isn’t here.
DEREK
Then where is
she?
HERBERT
I am not her
social calendar.
DEREK
Who uses the
phrase “social calendar”?
HERBERT
I know lots of
people who do. Maybe if you hung out with more educated people, you would know
people who use that phrase too.
DEREK
(reigns in
anger)
Look. Do you
know where Iggy is or not?
HERBERT
Since I don’t
know anyone by that name, I can’t help you.
Derek takes a
deep breath and tries again.
DEREK
Look, you over
educated, dictionary carrying—
HERBERT
(interrupting)
I don’t know
where Izzy is. She isn’t here. As in, she isn’t even in the state. She left a
couple of days ago and just started driving east. I think she is in New Mexico.
DEREK
(beat. What?!)
She just packed
up her life and left? Like, left left? Not coming back left?
(beat)
Is she moving
back to Florida?
Herbert laughs,
but not out of humor. He contemplates the contents of the chip bag.
HERBERT
She just back
from being home. It didn’t go so well.
(beat)
Is there
something I can help you with?
Derek looks back
up at the club sign.
DEREK
Yeah. You can.
Do you remember Club Olympus?
HERBERT
That was the
club with the Bacchanal demon.
DEREK
Apparently. I’ve
got a case and my only lead is this club.
HERBERT
Izzy killed that
demon a month ago. Right after she kicked you out of her life.
Herbert smugly
eats another chip.
DEREK
Do you happen to
know what happened to the survivors? Wait. Wasn’t your girlfriend one of the
demon’s minions?
Herbert almost
chokes on his chip.
HERBERT
Raquel. And she
has been my ex-girlfriend for months now.
DEREK
(Under his
breath)
Could’ve fooled
me.
(Louder)
Do you have her
number?
HERBERT
I have her old
number. Do you want that?
Derek looks back
up at the club sign.
DEREK
I think I’m
going to need it.
HERBERT
(beat)
I think I can do
you one better than Raquel. Let me make some calls. Are you in LA now?
DEREK
I’m standing in
front of the club.
HERBERT
Why did you wait
till you were at the club before calling?
DEREK
Because I didn’t
make the connection till I was standing in front of the building. I wasn’t
paying attention to the name of the club that night. You and Iggy just dragged
me along for the ride.
HERBERT
You volunteered
because you didn’t think Izzy and I could handle it on our own. Which, we did.
DEREK
But you didn’t
handle it that night, did you?
HERBERT
Let me make some
calls and I will get back to you.
Herbert hangs up
abruptly.
Derek stares
down at his phone. He sneers at it before putting it back in his jacket pocket.
Derek stares up
at the building. He shivers and adjusts his shoulders as if there is an itch
between them. He surveys his surroundings.
Nothing seems
out of place.
Derek warily
gives up trying to figure out what is tripping his senses and goes back to his
car to wait.
INT. DEREK’S CAR - MID
AFTERNOON
Derek’s car is
mostly clean. There is a pile of papers on the seat next to him as well as a
bag full of junk food and snacks.
Derek sits in
the driver’s seat, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He pulls out a
folder from the papers on the seat. He opens it.
Derek mindlessly
grabs a snack sized bag of chips, same brand but different flavor from
Herbert’s. He opens it and munches on some ships as he reviews the file.
We LOOK OVER HIS
SHOULDER. Inside, on the left is a picture of a girl, young, late teens/early
twenties, smiling. She has a pretty smile and looks full of life. She is
wearing a SUNFLOWER NECKLACE.
On the right
side of the folder is a missing person flyer, with a different picture, but she
is still wearing the sunflower necklace. We see her NAME: SUMMER LANGE. AGE:
19. MISSING SINCE NOVEMBER 14TH.
DEREK (V.O.)
Demons are real.
I had spent my late teens and early twenties hunting them down. I had walked
away from the demon hunting life four years ago.
Derek finishes
the chips then throws the empty bag back into the snack bag. He closes the file
and throws it back onto the seat next to him.
Derek leans
down/over to look at the club again through the window.
DEREK (V.O.)
Now I just
ignored them. Like a sane person. But this case was looking like something from
that world.
Derek’s phone
goes off. He looks at the phone. The words WONDER BREAD flashes across the
screen. He puts the phone on speaker.
DEREK
Did you get
ahold of Iggy?
HERBERT (O.S.)
No. But I have
two survivors of the Bacchanal demon who are willing to meet with you. Can you
meet us in Korea Town in an hour?
DEREK
I can try. Send
me an address.
Herbert hangs up
without saying goodbye.
DEREK
No goodbye?
Sheesh. I honestly don’t understand what Iggy sees in you.
Derek waits to
get the address. He puts it into the maps, then puts his phone in the holder so
he can see where he is going. He starts the cars and starts to drive.
SCENE: EXT. CLUB OLYMPUS -
CONTINUIOUS
As we watch the
car pull away, a single pedestrian crosses into view. It is an elderly
gentleman, excessively wrapped up in a long trench coat, a long fluffy scarf,
and a fedora style hat pulled low so we can’t see his eyes.
ZOOM IN to see
him pause in front of club.
THE DEMON
adjusts his scarf and we see that his hands are strange. His skin has a pinkish
tint and is scaly like a fish. His nails are thick and pointed. Not quite
claws, but close enough.
We PAN UP to
look at his face. He is staring up at the club. We can’t see his eyes, since
the hat is shadowing his face, unnaturally.
The demon
chuckles, and smiles. We can see the hint of sharper than normal teeth. He tips
his hat and dips his head. He turns and continues on his way.
