THE COMING by Katrina Rodriguez - mypeoplepc.com

50.

ABRAHAM
And I said unto the elder, these
are they who came out of great
tribulation, and have washed their
robes and made them white with the
blood of the lamb.

LARA
It’s a test. We’re all being
tested. The strong will survive and
the weak will perish.

CELESTE
Or receive the mark.

She stares at Chase.

LARA
Triple sixes. Those who give in to
evil will bear a mark, just as the
servants of God will. Except one
mark condemns while the other
saves.

Celeste grows increasingly harsh and insistent.

CELESTE
Can you even imagine what it’s like
to die of starvation? To waste away
to nothing! To watch your children
screaming in agony because their
stomachs are eating away at
themselves!

Abraham grabs Celeste by the shoulder.

ABRAHAM
Take a breath Celeste.

She quivers, stares into Abraham’s eyes for a moment. She
takes a few strained breaths and then stares back at Chase
expectantly.

ABRAHAM
It’s easy to see why some prefer
the thought of eternal life, no
matter what the cost. Never dying,
never growing old.

51.

CHASE
Enough all right! I’ve heard
enough. There’s no choice.

LARA
You really believe that? You think
there would be so many if everybody
fought them?

CHASE
They take who they want, whenever
they want.

Lara shakes her head, a serious look on her face.

LARA
No, Chase. Some just don’t have the
will to fight... or starve to
death.

CHASE
I’ve killed hundreds of the blood
suckers, and I haven’t seen any
mark. Not one. What about that
little detail?

LARA
That’s because you can’t see it
with your eyes closed, but it is
there.

ABRAHAM
And while we stand here doing
nothing, they get stronger and
stronger.

He stares Chase down.

CHASE
Look, I might be a little messed up
right now. No... no... I am screwed
up. Matter of fact, the only thing
I’m sure of is I’m gonna kill as
many of them as I can find, before
they kill me.

He stares at them, sighs deeply.

Abraham grabs Lara by the arm, pushes her toward Chase.

52.

CHASE
I already told you...

ABRAHAM
You’re dead without her, and even
if you make it, you won’t find ‘em
in time.

Chase rolls his eyes.

CHASE
Oh God. Here we go.

Lara looks angry and disappointed.

Chase steps toward her, reaches out to touch her shoulder,
but changes his mind, pulls back his hand.

Tears stream down her face. She turns, trots out of the room.

EXT. CHURCH - CONTINUOUS

Chase steps outside. He spots Seth’s small flashlight on the
ground. It’s covered with dried blood. He picks it up, and
tucks it into his shirt pocket.

Seth’s body is nowhere to be seen.

EXT. PAOLA KANSAS - DAYS LATER - MIDDAY

Just beyond the city limits sign, Chase sits on a bench
outside of a deserted mechanic shop. One boot is off. He
inspects huge blisters on his foot.

Suddenly, a bright orange basketball bounces into the street.
It rolls within ten yards of him.

The noise seems deafening in the ghostly quiet of the
afternoon.

JUSTIN (17), ducks behind the corner of a small alleyway and
disappears.

Chase slips on his shoe, shoves his backpack and shotgun into
a hole in the mechanic shop’s door, then chases after Justin.

53.

EXT. ALLEY - CONTINUOUS

CHASE
Hey kid! Come out. I’m not gonna
hurt you.

Chase looks behind garbage cans and pulls on doors.

CHASE
I have food!

There’s a door just behind Chase and to his left. It slowly
creaks open.

He walks cautiously toward it and pulls the pistol out of his
side holster. He hides the gun behind his back then stands to
the side of the door.

DOORWAY - CONTINUOUS

Chase flings his body straight forward, gun raised. He ends
up face to face with a pistol barrel that looks big enough to
fit a golf ball in.

He tilts his head to see who’s bearing down on him.

He gets a good look at Justin, slim, dark eyes, dark oily
hair badly in need of a trim and a wash, jeans, T-shirt.

Behind Justin, the windows are boarded up. Furniture is
missing legs, and what remains is scattered about the room.

A barbecue pit, made from a fifty gallon drum, sits near the
window and has piping running from it, through a hole in one
of the boarded up windows.

CHASE
Now what?

His voice is low and trembling.

JUSTIN
Depends. What is it you want here?

Justin sounds far tougher than he looks. He grips the pistol
tighter.

CHASE
For starters you can stop shoving
that thing in my face.

54.

Justin tips his chin at Chase.

JUSTIN
You first.

Chase lowers his pistol.

A few moments tick by as Justin still holds his pistol on
Chase’s face. Justin’s arm trembles. Sweat rolls down his
nose.

Justin releases the hammer slowly and carefully, then lowers
the gun.

Chase takes a few steps inside the --

APARTMENT

He looks around and DALE (40), a tall, dark haired man with
broad shoulders, enters the room from a hallway.

He stands in a small kitchen area.

DALE
Who the fuck are you?

Chase blows out a ragged breath and adjusts his eye patch. He
notices his arm wound is leaking blood through the bandages.

Dale and Justin stare stoically at Chase.

CHASE
I’ve got food...

Dale steps closer to Chase and crosses his arms over his
massive chest. The silence is thick as molasses. He eyeballs
Chase’s weapons.

Chase tosses his pistol onto an old, worn out chair as a show
of trust.

CHASE
Just wanna talk. That’s all.

Dale moves to a wall next to a decrepit sink. He sizes Chase
up.

DALE
I’m Dale and that’s my son Justin.

55.

He leans down and opens a dingy curtain underneath the sink,
to reveal only a dozen or so cans of food.

DALE
We’ve been doing all right so far.
But, if you’re offering, we’re
accepting.

Chase nods.

LATER...

They sit around a makeshift table - a large spool that once
held industrial wire.

CHASE
I met some folks on the way here.
They claim we’re seeing the signs
of the last days - Revelations.

DALE
I’m not much on religion - used to
be.

Dale stares down at his massive hands, as if he’s ashamed.

DALE
But it damn sure can’t get worse
than it already is.

CHASE
The people I was telling you about -
there’s a girl, claims to be
psychic.

Dale rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

CHASE
I know, I thought it was horse shit
too - always have. I’m still having
trouble letting it sink in, but
I’m telling you...

(sighs)
I saw them - the blood suckers -
rip a baby out of the mother.
Sliced her open. This girl from the
church, she knew all about it. Says
she saw it.

56.

Dale and Justin stare at him, brows furrowed, then glance at
each other.

DALE
You know, if wasn’t for all the
shit that’s been happening, I’d say
you were off a couple of bubbles,
and send you packing.

Chase smirks.

CHASE
Oh it gets better. She says the
baby’s not dead - she’s some kind
of sacrifice.

JUSTIN
Sacrifice? Fuck. It ain’t better
late than never. It’s the same God
damned thing.

Dale smacks Justin hard in the back of the head.

DALE
Watch that mouth boy.

JUSTIN
Hey.. Shit!

Dale smacks him in the back of the head again, and Justin
just leers at him.

DALE
But a sacrifice for what exactly?

Their voices trail off.

INT. LIVING ROOM - MORNING

Sunlight seeps through cracks in the boarded up windows.

Dale pulls pistol ammo from the inside of the spool, flipped
over and hollow in the center. He hands some to Justin.

EXT. STREET - EARLY MORNING

Chase, Justin, and Dale head down the road out of Paola. Dale
carries a duffel bag over his shoulder.

57.

EXT. CITY OF BONNER SPRINGS - LATER

A tennis ball rolls around on a court inside a high fence.

Clothes hang haphazardly on a clothesline.

A rusty tricycle lies on its side in a driveway, the front
wheel spinning.

The three vampire slayers soon pass a sign that reads: BONNER
SPRINGS.

A curtain from a nearby, small, white, wood frame house
opens, then closes quickly.

Chase points to the window.

CHASE
You see that?

Dale and Justin squint through the haze and nod. They all
head for the house.

EXT. HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Chase bangs hard on the front door, while Dale and Justin
peek through the windows. The door opens slightly, and the
barrel of a rifle slips through the crack.

Chase takes a sudden step back, raises his hands.

CHASE
Whoa! We just want to talk.

The face is of a VERY OLD WOMAN. She looks strikingly like a
witch from a child’s Halloween story book.

Dale and Justin close in on the door of the house, to back
Chase up if needed.

OLD HAG
Go away! There’s no food! There’s
nothing here for you! Now go! Get
on outta here, before I put a hole
in ya’!

She shoves the gun barrel further through the door, nearly
poking Chase with it. She looks determined, and dead serious.

58.

CHASE
Wait... please. Just wait a minute.
Are there any men here?

OLD LADY
Dead. They’re all dead. And even
if’n they wasn’t you wouldn’t get
em. Now ‘git, I said!

She tilts the gun up and fires just over their heads. They
duck and take off running. She yells after them.

OLD LADY
That’s it! Run - hide if you know
what’s good for you!

She cackles like a witch.

JUSTIN
Crazy old bitch.

DALE
Well, let’s think about that.
Hmmm... She’s in there and we’re
out here.

JUSTIN
What the fuck are you trying to do
man? Get us killed?

Dale shoots Justin a look of warning for bad language.

Chase stops in the middle of the street.

CHASE
No. I’m trying to not get us
killed. You think the three of us
are enough? See, I’ve been up close
and personal with ‘em for a couple
of years now. The three of us? It’s
the blind leadin’ the blind.

(touches the patch on his
eye. )

We’re just a damn joke.

Dale and Justin look deflated and overwhelmed.

Chase sighs.

CHASE
We need a miracle.

59.

EXT. CITY PARK - EARLY EVENING

The three road weary, would-be vampire slayers stop for a
quick meal. They sit on the ground. It’s not dangerously dark
yet.

Chase takes three cans out of his pack and tosses Dale and
Justin one each.

As usual, the trees in the park are sickly looking. The play
equipment is rusty.

They toss a canteen between the three of them. Dale pours
water into a shiny silver cup. Justin devours his food like
it’s the last he’ll ever eat.

Chase stares into space, deep in thought.

DALE
We oughtta get going, huh?

Dale tosses his empty can of food toward Chase to get his
attention. It lands just in front of his foot.

Chase looks up slowly. His face is a mixture of stress
tangled with a touch of anger.

DALE
How ‘bout it Chase?

CHASE
You know what? We’re it - on our
own. So, don’t ask me what we’re
doing... where we’re going. I don’t
fucking have a plan, and I don’t
know what’s gonna happen.

He turns his back to Dale and Justin. The two exchange
uncertain glances.

Dale stares at Chase’s back for a moment, unsure of what to
say.

DALE
Hey, you need some help pullin’
that stick outta your ass?

Chase turns around to shoot Dale a look of resentment. After
a few moments, he starts laughing. Dale and Justin join in
briefly.

60.

O.S. Branches crack under heavy footsteps.

They turn in every direction, searching for the source.

Chase swallows hard, takes a deep breath to calm himself.

CHASE
Probably just a dog or something.

Chase eats with the fork of a survival knife. He tilts his
head up between bites.

Suddenly, he sees the reflection of one of the vampire
creatures in Dale’s shiny, metal, cup.

It appears behind Chase. Justin gasps. Dale drops the cup and
scrambles for his gun.

Another creature attacks.

Chase draws back the fork of the survival knife, still in his
hand, and stabs the closest creature in the eye. He whips out
his sword.

The other creature comes to the aide of the first one, and
Chase slices its head off with his sword.

A green oozing substance pours from the first creature’s eye
socket. It reaches up with both hands and jerks the fork’s
tines from its eye.

It wails an angry, animalistic scream and then lunges toward
Justin, knocks him down.

Dale reaches for his shotgun. He picks it up and rolls over
onto his back.

He draws a bead on the creature and fires. The shot strikes
the creature in the shoulder.

It stumbles backward, grins fiendishly. It stands erect,
ready to attack again.

It grabs Dale by the throat, lifts him off the ground. His
feet dangle in the air.

Chase runs over, slices the creature in the stomach. It
releases Dale, and he falls to the ground.

The creature slumps over, clutches its abdominal wound. Then
it leaps into the air, grabs Chase by the shoulders.

61.

It leans in to take a bite. Its teeth are just a fraction of
an inch from Chase’s neck.

Chase presses his hand into the creature’s chin and struggles
with all his strength. He pushes the creature’s face to the
side, and slightly away from him.

A swooshing sound ripples through the air. An arrow impales
it’s eyeball. It plops to the ground, dead.

Lara stands there, crossbow in her hand. Her hair blows in
the wind so that it half covers her face.

Chase gathers himself, grabs Lara by the shoulders hard. Then
he softens his grip.

CHASE
I told you not to follow!

Lara pushes away from him and shakes her head in defeat.

LARA
I didn’t have to follow. And you
don’t tell me what to do.

She turns and steps away from him, looks back over her
shoulder. She smirks.

LARA
You’re welcome.

O.S. Gravel stirs nearby.

Lara looks into the darkening sky. The sun begins to set
rapidly again.

Dale and Justin notice it too so they quickly pick up their
supplies and weapons from the ground.

DALE
Well, there’s something you don’t
see every day.

(sighs deeply)
Even the heavens themselves have
turned against us.

Lara looks the sky, deep in thought.

62.

LARA
Behold, the LORD maketh the earth
empty, and maketh it waste, and
turneth it upside down.

The men eyeball her curiously.

LARA
Old Testament. Isaiah 24. We need
to get out of the open.

O.S. Faint growling in the distance.

CHASE
We gotta move. Now!

They run after Lara. When they catch up, all of them rush
down the street. They’re lost, confused, no idea where to go.

Lara stops and closes her eyes for a second.

DALE
What the hell are you doing?

CHASE

SHHH.

Justin and Dale glance at each other, confused why they’re
following her.

DOWN A SIDE STREET

A hospital waits in the distance.

EXT. HOSPITAL DOORS - NIGHT

There is a thick chain and lock on the double metal doors.

Chase reaches out and tugs on them. He places his foot on one
of the doors and yanks on the other.

CHASE
God Dammit!

He pauses, frantically looks around.

CHASE
Back up.

They comply. Chase fires at the lock with his shotgun. No
luck. He fires at it again. This time the lock falls apart.

63.

Chase and Justin struggle with the long, heavy, chain,
wrapped around horizontal “push” bars.

Dale squints his eyes, suddenly opens them wider as he sees a
couple of creatures heading toward them.

DALE
Hurry! Shit! They’re coming!

LARA
(apprehensive)
Chase?
(panicked)
Chase!

She starts helping with the chains. They get the doors open
just in time to slip inside.

EXT. HOSPITAL DOORS - CONTINUOUS

The creatures shriek and growl as the doors are slammed in
their faces. Their nails screech against the metal.

INT. HOSPITAL - CONTINUOUS

In a nearby corner, sits an old broom and mop.

Lara instinctively grabs them, hands them to Chase.

LARA

Here.

Chase shoves them through the bars.

For a few more moments, the creatures push on the doors, then
silence, except for the heavy breathing of the four slayers.

They stare at the doors, then apprehensively at each other.

CHASE
Dale and Justin, this is Lara.
She’s the one I told you about.

They all nod to each other.

DALE
Better check the other doors.

He turns one direction, followed by Justin.

64.

Chase and Lara take the opposite side of the hospital.

INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDORS - NIGHT

Lara and Chase both pull on doors in silence for a few
moments. He stops to wipe the sweat from his face with his
shirt tail.

CHASE
I thought I made it crystal clear
to you... You don’t need to be
here.

Lara is twenty feet or so away from him. She slowly walks in
his direction.

LARA
You can’t begin to understand how
much I need to be here. And you’d
all be dead by now if it wasn’t for
me.

Chase stares stoically at her, sighs like he couldn’t
possibly care less.

Lara glares hatefully at him, clinches her teeth.

LARA
Oh, just forget it.

Chase grabs her by the arm as she turns away from him. She
tries to pull away, but he forces a kiss on her.

Dale and Justin walk up in the middle of their kiss. They
stop abruptly, surprised by the scene.

JUSTIN
Uhhh... hello! We’re about to be
ripped apart here, just in case you
didn’t notice. There’s a bunch of
fanged things out there that wanna
eat us!

He sounds like a whining child.

Lara’s embarrassed, glances at the ground.

Dale raises an eyebrow at Chase.

65.

DALE
East side’s all locked up.

CHASE
Yeah. Good here too. We’ll be all
right for a while.

INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDORS - NIGHT

They walk down the hallways. Signs hang from the ceiling,
along their way. Arrows point the way to x-ray, cafeteria,
pharmacy, and the chapel.

Lara’s eyes linger on the chapel sign.

LARA
That’s us.

She follows the direction of its arrow.

Dale mumbles to himself.

DALE
Good thing somebody knows what the
hell’s going on.

INT. HOSPITAL CHAPEL - MOMENTS LATER

A small room. Tall candles sit on a wooden table, along with
a large ceramic cross. There are four rows of pews and a
couple of stray chairs.

Justin is the last one through the door. He takes a deep
breath and lets it out, as he closes the door, then reaches
for the knob to lock it.

Chase digs a box of matches out of his pack and he and Lara
light the candles.

JUSTIN
Uhhhh... There’s no lock.

Dale grabs one of the chairs and shoves it under the knob.

LARA
They won’t try to come in here.

Dale and Justin look at each other - a “she’s nutso” glance.

66.

They retreat to a back pew to rest.

CHASE
This is a really bad idea.

LARA
Look... I came because I can help.
I can take care of myself.

CHASE
I saw that, but really... I don’t
need anybody around with a death
wish. And you’ve got one.

LARA
It just burns you up that a woman
had to rescue you doesn’t it?

CHASE
Rescue me?

He scoffs.

LARA
That’s right. That’s twice now.

Chase ignores her, lays down on a pew. She stares after him
for a few seconds then hisses at the air in disgust.

She grabs one of the candles and picks up Dale’s pistol from
the pew he’s sitting on as she walks by.

Dale wrinkles his brows at her, but doesn’t protest.

Lara goes over to the chair in front of the doorknob and
tosses it to the side rambunctiously.

Chase doesn’t follow immediately. In a few seconds, he sighs
and looks disgusted with himself.

INT. HALLWAY - MOMENTS LATER

Chase enters the hallway, with Lara a good distance in front
of him. He pauses, lights a cigarette, then picks up his pace
to catch up with her.

She turns a corner and Chase loses sight of her for a moment,
then there’s a quick glimpse of her as she ducks inside a
doorway of the --

67.

HOSPITAL PHARMACY

It’s fairly dark, only the light of the candle which sits on
a counter adjacent to the door.

As Chase enters, he hears a pistol hammer cock. There’s a gun
pointed at the back of his head.

He slowly glances over his shoulder, not at all surprised by
who’s holding the gun on him. He turns away from her, and
takes a slow, leisurely drag from his cigarette.

CHASE
You made your point, all right?

Lara releases the hammer and casually saunters over to place
the gun on the counter, next to the candle.

LARA
Take your shirt off.

Chase sits on the dusty, padded hospital table and slowly
peels off his shirt. The cigarette hangs from the corner of
his mouth.

The shirt gets stuck to the wound on his arm and he winces.

Lara opens a cabinet and takes out a bottle of alcohol. She
pours it on his shirt to loosen the encrusted material from
the wound.

Chase sucks in a quick breath through his teeth, and
whistles.

CHASE
Damn... That burns, you know.

LARA
This is all I could find. Don’t be
such a puss.

She squeezes his arm to keep it still.

CHASE
You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?

LARA
Yes. And the more you move, the
longer I get to torture you. Just
hold still.

68.

She says the last part through clinched teeth, then grins a
“Polly Perfect” grin.

Chase continues to puff away at his cigarette, while Lara
fans a hand at the smoke.

LARA
You called me Gina.

CHASE

What?

LARA
When I woke you in the church. You
called me Gina.

Chase takes a puff on his cigarette and slowly lets the smoke
out, staring down at the floor.

CHASE
Oh... Yeah, my wife. I still dream
about her a lot. She was the first
one we lost in Independence.

Lara looks very sullen.

LARA
Sorry. I shouldn’t have...

Chase shakes his head.

CHASE
It was a while ago. Seems like a
lifetime. We were expecting our
first baby.

LARA
Oh God, Chase.

Lara stares into his eyes for a moment, then goes back to
peeling away his shirt from the wound.

She goes get more supplies, but the cabinet is locked. She
grabs the gun, breaks the glass open with the butt of it.
It’s nearly empty, with just a few bottles of this and that.
She fumbles around, eyeballs the labels.

She pulls out one of the bottles of pills, hands a couple to
Chase. He swallows them dry.

69.

LARA
Those’ll kick in, in a few minutes.

She stands within arm’s reach of Chase.

CHASE
You think Abe might be right...
this is the last plague?

Lara pauses for a few minutes, thinking.

LARA
Let me ask you something. If this
isn’t the greatest evil - the last
sign... well how much worse than
this do you think it could get?

Chase’s eyes roam over her body. The outline of her breasts
is clear through her thin shirt. His gaze lingers at her
chest.

CHASE
I know I don’t wanna find out.

She puts a finger under his chin to force his eyes up. She
smirks.

Chase reaches out and pulls Lara to him. Their faces are
inches apart.

A couple of seconds pass and they kiss. Lara makes a weak
attempt to pull away, but he only grips her tighter.

The kisses become heated, soft and passionate.

Chase slips off of the table to stand. He drops his cigarette
to smolder on the floor.

INT. HOSPITAL CHAPEL - SAME

Dale and Justin are still in the pew. Justin lays with one
arm over his eyes.

DALE
I gotta take a leak.

Justin stirs but is clearly asleep.

Dale grabs Justin’s pistol and leaves the chapel.

70.

INT. HOSPITAL PHARMACY - NIGHT
Lara suddenly has a confused, distressed, look on her face.

PSYCHIC VISION
INT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY
Two creatures attack Dale, throw him against the wall, beat
and claw him. Then one of them bites him.

END PSYCHIC VISION

INT. HOSPITAL PHARMACY - NIGHT
Lara suddenly gasps.

LARA
Oh God!

CHASE
What’s wrong? What is it?
Lara heads for the door in a run.

LARA
Dale! Hurry! God; please let me be
wrong this time!
Chase pulls the small flashlight from his pocket, and grabs
the pistol.

INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS
O.S. A shot and a scream ring out.
Chase and Lara flee in the direction of the noise, then come
across Justin who runs in that direction as well. He carries
a large flashlight.

JUSTIN
Dad... Daddy!
As they round a corner, they can see Dale being dragged down
the hallway and out the door.

71.

Justin runs toward his father, and the creatures. A trail of
blood leads up to Justin’s pistol lying on the floor.

Justin races past Chase and Lara and picks up the gun. He
screams in anger and desperation and fires a shot at the
creatures.

CHASE
No! They’ll just come back for one
of us!

JUSTIN
Then let ‘em fuckin’ come!

He sobs pitiful, child-like sobs.

CHASE
It’s too late!

LARA
I’m sorry, Justin. He’s gone. He’s
gone!

Justin drops the flashlight. He falls to his knees, takes
handfuls of his hair and pulls at it as though he intends to
pull it out by the roots. He rocks back and forth in dismay.

He slides back against a wall, pulls his knees in close to
his chest, hangs his head and sobs.

Lara tries to console him, by stroking his hair.

JUSTIN
Get away from me!

He bats at her hand roughly, then shoves her away. He cries
harder.

Chase and Lara glance at each other, concern covering their
faces.

EXT. HOSPITAL - MORNING

The hospital lies in the distant background, as the three
that remain begin the last leg of their journey. The wind
blows hard. They’re covered in a veil of dust.

Chase pulls a bandana from his pocket and gives it to Lara.
He and Justin cover their mouths and noses with their shirt
collars.

72.

They all cough, as they fight to keep their lungs from
filling with dirt.

EXT. STREET, NEAR SERVICE STATION - MIDDAY

The threesome happen upon some abandoned vehicles. The dust
storm has quieted.

One of the trucks looks old and abused, but it is the only
one with all of its tires.

Chase takes off in a moderate trot toward the truck.

Justin looks up for a second, then stares at the ground in
front of his feet. His face reveals the depression and
remorse at the loss of his father.

Chase reaches the truck, and runs his hands over the tires -
nearly bald of tread, as Lara and Justin approach.

CHASE
Slick as owl shit.

He moves to the driver’s side door, and hops inside.

INT. TRUCK CAB

He looks around for a key, finds it inside the ashtray. As he
inserts the key, he closes his eyes, mumbles to himself.

CHASE
Please crank.

He turns the key only to hear a TICK... TICK.

Chase pops the hood and then gets out, slamming the door.
Lara and Justin move nearer to the hood of the truck.

The battery cable connectors are corroded.

Chase takes out his knife and loosens them. He scrapes the
inside of one with the knife.

Justin does the same with the other one.

They replace and tighten them.

Lara plops down on the hood of another old vehicle nearby.
She watches in silence.

73.

Chase tries to start the truck, while Justin hovers over the
engine. There’s still just the ticking noise.

CHASE
Start! Come on... start!

He beats on the steering wheel with his fists then slumps
forward with his head on the wheel.

He sits like that for a moment, then gets a second wind and
becomes more determined than ever. He survey the area.

Nearby is a metal pipe on the ground. He picks it up then
goes over to an air machine at the gas station, cuts a piece
of hose and grabs a dented old gas can.

Justin and Lara watch intently, looking at each other and
then back to Chase.

Chase tosses the hose and gas can in the back of the truck
and then immediately goes over to the engine.

He bangs on the starter several times with the pipe. He turns
to Justin, wipes sweat from his forehead.

CHASE

Pray.

Justin gets into the truck and turns the key. A couple of
TICKS, then the engine coughs a few times and cranks.

Lara springs from the hood of the nearby vehicle. Justin
steps out of the truck, and all of them cheer and hoot for a
few moments. Lara and Chase share a brief hug.

Justin gives them a ”go to hell” look.

He starts to get back in the truck, and slams the duffel bag
(the one Dale had been carrying until his capture) into
Chase, knocks him slightly off balance.

Chase recovers and grabs the bag, then spins Justin around so
that their faces are only inches apart.

CHASE
Hey we’re all sorry you lost your
Dad. You know? We really are.

Justin leers at him and clinches his teeth together.

He turns to Lara.

74.

JUSTIN
He told us all about you. So why
didn’t you know? Explain that to
me.

LARA
I did. Not soon enough. God, I wish
I had.

JUSTIN
Yeah, well maybe if you two had
paid more attention to the shit
we’re in.

LARA
It’s not my fault. I tried...

JUSTIN
Bull shit.

Chase steps in between the two of them.

CHASE
Dale thought it was safe. It was
his mistake. His alone. And this
isn’t gonna help anybody.

Chase stares them both down.

Lightening flashes in the distance.

Justin scoffs. He gets in the driver’s side of the truck.
Chase pauses for a moment, eyeballs him, then goes to the
passenger side.

INT. TRUCK - NIGHT

As they drive, Chase stares out of the side window. Justin
keeps his eyes trained on the road straight in front of him.
He shows no emotion, no weariness.

Lara falls asleep, her head against Chase’s shoulder.

Lighting strikes ahead of them and rain beats down on the
truck.

75.

Justin can’t see two feet in front of them. He nearly hits a
car, rusty and inoperable, in the middle of the road. He
slams on the brakes, veers off the road.

They slide in the mud for a good distance, and finally come
to a stop.

Chase and Lara wake up startled. They all peer through the
rain soaked windshield.

Lara recognizes the first three letters on the city sign,
from her vision.

It reads: MANHATTAN, KANSAS

Just then, a creature screeches and shows its face in
Justin’s window. He slams on the gas, but the creature holds
onto the side mirror.

It slams its fist through the window and grabs at Justin’s
shirt, scrapes his flesh on his neck, near the collar bone.

Lara screams.

The creature’s face looms close. Chase frantically tries to
shove bullets into his pistol, but it’s a bumpy ride and he
drops many of them on the floor.

Justin groans in pain as the creature’s nails tear deeper
into his skin.

Chase finally manages to load a couple of rounds into the
gun. He fires.

The bullet enters the creature’s skull at the center of the
forehead. Its head jerks backward, but otherwise it’s
unaffected.

Lara notices Chase’s knife on the dash of the truck. She
grabs it and stabs the creature in the arm. It howls but
doesn’t release Justin.

Its horrible red eyes turn on Lara. She raises the knife to
try again.

Chase pushes her back against the seat and fires another
round, into the creature’s eye.

It releases Justin, flops onto the road.

76.

JUSTIN
Son of a bitch!

Justin looks at the gas gauge - too near “E” then at the cut
on his collar bone.

CHASE
Look Out!

Another COUPLE OF CREATURES stand in the road.

Justin swerves, but it’s too late. He plows them over and one
manages to hang onto the hood.

The one hanging on is still recognizable. It’s the VAMPIRE
VERSION OF DALE.

Justin swerves purposefully now, and starts to lose control
of the truck. Other creatures seem to materialize in front of
them.

They attack the truck, trying to tip it over. Two tires are
off of the ground, and the three slayers all lean over to
keep the truck from tipping.

The rain slows to a drizzle. The tip of the sun peeks over
the horizon.

The creatures release the truck, and the two wheels fall hard
onto the ground. They retreat as quickly as possible, to
escape the sun.

The slayers rest for a few moments trying to calm down.

Vampire Dale pounces on top of the hood of the truck and
growls.

Lara, Justin and Chase scream and generally freak out.

Vampire Dale’s flesh smokes, bubbles and melts away. He looks
to the sun and wails, then dwindles to a smoldering pile of
ash.

The slayers’ screams turn to whimpers. Tears stream down
Justin’s cheeks.

EXT. ROADSIDE - MORNING

They’ve stopped alongside the road momentarily. Chase leans
against the truck, has a smoke.

77.

In a few moments, Lara notices steam coming from the hood.
After a few moments, it billows out in large clouds.

Chase throws down his cigarette, and goes into the cab of the
truck to pop the hood.

More smoke and steam billow out of the engine.

He steps back, waves his hand to clear the steam cloud out of
his way.

He looks at Justin and Lara.

CHASE
Radiator’s shot. We’re gonna have
to hoof it.

JUSTIN
Walk? Where? Do we even know where
we’re going?

He stares at Lara.

LARA
There’s a big metal building. We
can’t be far - just gonna have to
keep looking.

Justin looks at her like she’s nuts.

JUSTIN
Do you know how big this city is?
It could take days.

CHASE
Then I guess we’d better get
started, huh?

JUSTIN
God! We should just give up! My
dad’s dead. The truck’s screwed.

Justin takes off by himself, kicking rocks and cursing.

Chase goes to the bed of the truck and takes out the hose and
the gas can, that he’d found earlier.

He inserts the hose in the gas tank opening, sucks on it for
several seconds to spiphon some gas out.

78.

Finally, the gas comes spewing through the hose and into his
mouth. He gags and nearly throws up.

Chase turns to follow after Justin, but notices Lara isn’t
following.

CHASE
What is it?

Lara looks at Justin, only eighty yards or so ahead of them.

LARA
He should stay here. If he comes
with us he’s not gonna make it.

Chase stares down the road at Justin.

CHASE
Shit... You wanna tell him he has
to stay behind?

Lara sighs, a defeated look on her face.

Chase hands Lara the gas can then trots to catch up with
Justin.

Justin glances at him, then stares straight ahead.

CHASE
Listen I was thinking. I’ve got...
family back in Independence. I’ll
need somebody to let him know what
happened... you know, if I can’t do
it myself.

JUSTIN

Yeah.

Chase stares into Justin’s eyes for a moment, and then looks
away sheepishly at the ground.

JUSTIN
Oh I get it. Like hell I’m sitting
this one out. My father’s gone.
That don’t mean you get the job.
I’ll be damned if I’m staying
behind.

Chase breathes a deep sigh of aggravation and throws his
hands up. He turns toward Lara, then back to Justin.

79.

CHASE
I’d trust her with my life in a
second. She says you’re a dead man
if you go.

Justin stares at him in silence, a look of determination on
his face.

The threesome search the city. There are weathered and
abandoned buildings and houses. A train sits idly, rusting on
the tracks.

EXT. RAILROAD TRACKS - DAY

They sit on the tracks - a break from their walking, and a
moment to share some water. They pass the canteen between
them.

LARA
It’s getting late.

Chase glances at his watch.

CHASE
Five twenty-five.

Lara looks to the sky as a sudden breeze rustles. A few dark
clouds hover overhead. She stands and walks to the road.

Chase and Justin toss their food cans onto the ground and
follow after her.

Down one street...

... then another.

Suddenly Lara stops at a crossroads. She stands very still
for a few seconds.

Justin whispers to Chase.

JUSTIN
You starting to feel like maybe
we’re lost?

Lara, several feet ahead of them, shouldn’t be able to hear.

LARA
You know a lot of it’s just gut
instinct.

80.

Chase and Justin glance at each other.

JUSTIN
This is bull shit Chase. It’d be a
lot faster if we split up.

CHASE
No. We stay together and we watch
each other’s backs.

His voice is harsh, determined.

Lara stops suddenly.

There is a large METAL BUILDING...

Tarnished, rusty, shattered windows, sheets of metal peeled
back in some areas.

Lara rubs her arms as though she’s caught a chill, and heads
toward the building.

INT. METAL BUILDING - MOMENTS LATER

Chase steps inside first. It’s dim but not dark. He shines
the mini-flashlight that once belonged to Seth.

A dome shaped cage sits in the center of this huge building.
It’s made of the same material as a hurricane fence. A single
gate is the entrance to the dome.

Another small hatch can be seen at the top of the dome. A
shabby wooden table rests in the center of the cage (their
makeshift altar).

Chase shines his flashlight toward the dome. There are many
of the familiar mounds of dirt the creatures use as resting
places.

Near the dome, sit a few bottles of oxygen, with breathing
masks hung from the nozzles (once used by the fighters, in
need of oxygen to continue with the blood sport matches).

Chase kneels and reaches through a crack in the bottom of the
entrance gate. He grabs a handful of the substance on the
ground, rubs it between his fingers and then sniffs it.

CHASE
Thank you.

81.

He looks toward the ceiling, almost in a whisper, as though
speaking to God. He turns to face Lara and Justin.

CHASE
Mostly Sawdust.

He stands and reaches out to open the gate.

JUSTIN
I’ll do it. My dad deserves a
little retribution.

He grabs Chase’s forearm. Lightning strikes outside,
illuminating their faces. Justin lowers his voice to a hoarse
whisper.

JUSTIN
I need this.

Chase turns to Lara as if to get her opinion. She shakes her
head no, and Chase pauses for a second.

He eyeballs Justin and finally holds the gas can out to him,
but doesn’t release it.

CHASE
Around the perimeter, and in
between the mounds. Don’t screw
around. Get in and get out.

JUSTIN
I got it. Alright?

Justin looks down, tugs on the can one last time and Chase
releases it.

Justin opens the gate and steps inside the dome.

INT. DOME CAGE

He pours a ring around the perimeter, walks softly, but
expediently.

Lara looks toward the high bleachers, gasps, and covers her
mouth with one hand to silence herself.

Chase turns to see what has alarmed her.

Ben sits in the bleachers, dirty and dishevelled. He rocks
back and forth holding some sort of cloth in his arms.

82.

Justin has also heard Lara’s gasp, and moves to the side of
the cage. He squints to see what they’re looking at, then at
Chase.

Chase quickly motions for Justin to continue.

Chase and Lara head toward Ben. He slowly comes more into
focus as they draw closer.

Suddenly a tiny arm pops out from the material the man is
holding - a blanket. The arm belongs to a baby.

Chase turns to Lara, a shocked look on his face.

CHASE
Oh my God.

Lara’s face is covered in stress, as she glances from Chase
to Ben and the baby.

AT THE TOP OF THE BLEACHERS

Ben doesn’t look up, even though he must surely hear Lara and
Chase approaching. He sings to the baby, choppy and weary.

BEN
Hush little baby. Don’t say a word.
Daddy’s gonna buy you a mocking
bird. And if that mocking bird
don’t sing...

Chase reaches out, touches Ben on the shoulder.

Ben is startled. He jerks away from Chase’s touch, stares at
him and Lara with a wild eyed, crazed look.

BEN
I’ve been feeding her. They told me
to feed her.

A bottle falls out and rolls between the cracks in the
bleachers.

Chase glances at Lara, puzzled.

Ben stares at Chase for a few seconds, then trains his eyes
back on the baby.

83.

BEN
We got away once. It was a bad
thing to do.

(to the baby)
Right baby girl? Yeah, Daddy’s
little angel.

CHASE
It’s okay. We’re gonna get you
outta here.

Ben stares at Chase with wild eyes.

BEN
I tried before. They make you
sorry.

The blanket slips, and reveals his hand. One of his fingers
is a nub, not wrapped in any sort of bandage, and it is very
nasty, crusty and bloody.

He holds the baby out to Lara. She looks perplexed. She hangs
her bow over her arm and takes the child anyway.

BEN
You’ll take care of her?

He grins, a crazy looking sideways smile, his eyes wild. He
takes a few steps back and then suddenly plunges from the
high bleachers.

CHASE

Noooo!

Ben's body makes a sickening THUD, then he lies motionless -
clearly dead, arms and legs twisted beneath him.

JUSTIN
Oh shit!

Justin is in the center of the cage. Creatures begin to
sprout from the ground. They come upright in one swift
motion.

CHASE
Get out! Justin get out!

Chase runs toward the cage.

84.

Lara flees to a long counter at the opposite side of the
building. Signs for food and drinks hang precariously above
the counter, which was once a concession stand.

She crouches behind the counter and begins to pray the Lord’s
prayer.

LARA
Our father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done on Earth as
it is in heaven...

The baby whimpers as Lara tries to quiet her.

INT. CAGE

The giant Monarch suddenly appears behind Justin. Its huge
hand grabs at Justin’s chest, long nails bury deep into his
chest.

The Monarch is more than a foot taller than Justin. It has
long stringy hair, pale skin, fangs jutting from its lips,
and a very prominent marking on its forehead of the number of
the beast (666).

Justin screams in agony and twists to be free of the
Monarch’s grasp.

As the other creatures begin to form circles inside circles
around him, his face grows pale and he suddenly becomes still
as a corpse, frozen with fear.

There are many, many of the creatures. The cage seems barely
able to hold them all.

The Monarch growls, as large, ugly, bat-like wings spread out
behind him. He then flies into the air, several feet above
the rest.

Droplets of blood fall from Justin’s wound and the crowd of
vampires begin drinking it and rubbing it over themselves in
delight. Justin groans in agony.

CHASE
Let him go! You don’t need him!
Come on you fucker it’s me who
killed so many of you!