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BLADE TRINITY
by David S. Goyer
Over darkness a WOMAN'S VOICE speaks to us.
ABIGAIL (V.0.)
Italo Calvino once said that myth is the
hidden part of every story, the buried
part, the region that is still unexplored
because there are as yet no words to
enable us to get there.
(beat)
But I was there for the end. I took part
in it. And I think my words can help shed
light on what happened. My name is
Abigail. This is our story.
FADE IN:
EXT. IRAQI DESERT - DAWN
Harsh sunlight beats down over a bleak, unforgiving stretch of
rocky desert. Amidst this desolation rise the ruins of an
ancient Sumerian ziggurat, a massive stepped pyramid of mud
brick that was once the center of the city known as Ur.
SUPER TITLE: SOUTHEASTERN IRAQ, DHI QAR PROVINCE
SIX MONTHS AGO
AN EMACIATED SHEEP HERDER
kneels by the ziggurat, tending to a ragged band of sheep. He
is conducting the first of his daily prayers, listening to a
religious broadcast from Baghdad on a tinny RADIO.
Presently, we hear HELICOPTERS. The sheepherder looks up --
TWO ANERICAN RAH-66 COMANCHE HELICOPTERS
approach from the East. They touch down near the base of the
ziggurat, rotors stirring up clouds of dust.
FOUR FIGURES
disembark, their bodies covered in desert camo-gear. They
wear helmets with polarized face-plates and are armed to the
teeth. To the sheepherder they might as well be aliens.
One of the figures turns to the East. We can see the rising
sun reflected in the face-plate of his helmet -- and a hint of
a skull-like under-mask/respirator beneath the face-plate. He
raises a gloved hand, gives the "finger" to the new day.
Another figure (a woman) waves a hand, urging them onward.
They mount the central steps of the ziggurat.
INT. ZIGGURAT - SHRINE - DAY
The shrine is empty. The woman activates a wearable computing
device, calling up a schematic of the ziggurat.
She kneels, studying the floor. In the corner of the room she
identifies a particular brick and presses it. We hear hidden
COUNTER-WEIGHTS shifting and the floor opens up --
-- revealing a stone stairway leading down.
INT. ZIGGURAT - STAIRWAY - DAY
Dark. Sepulchral. Spooky. The figures descend into --
INT. ZIGGURAT - BURIAL VAULT - DAY
-- an empty room with an earthen floor. The sunlight from
above barely penetrates down here. One of the figures takes
out a battery--powered lantern, turning it on, illuminating --
-- walls covered with CUNEIFORM WRITING. The male figure who
flipped off the sun speaks via radio headset.
MALE FIGURE
That's great. We've got dick.
(turning to the others)
Is there any reason we had to embark on
this cluster-fuck during the day?
The woman removes her helmet. This is DANICA TALOS. A
vampire. Intense, appearing to be in her 30s. Possessing a
regal air. She wears a silver crucifix around her neck.
DANICA
Night-time's too tricky, Grimwood. You
know that.
One by one, the others remove their helmets. All vampires:
GRIMWOOD (30s), a hulking vampire with an imposing physique
and an even more imposing set of surgical steel teeth/fangs.
ASHER (4Os), a natural-born leader with easygoing charisma.
WOLFE (30s), quiet and deliberative. Right now he's readying
a portable ground-penetrating radar unit.
Grimwood studies the writing on the walls.
GRIMWOOD
What is this chicken-scratch?
DANICA
Cuneiform. Dates back about four
thousand years.
GRIMWOOD
So why here?
DANICA
Because this was the cradle of
civilization. He would've been
comfortable here.
ASHER
I don't know, Dan. Seems like another
dead-end.
WOLFE
I'm not so sure --
Wolfe looks at his unit, excited. The others gather round.
WOLFE
There's something beneath us.
ON WOLFE'S RADAR UNIT
We see a cross-section image of the soil and subsurface
features beneath them. SOMETHING has been buried down there.
ASHER
Is that a body --?
Wolfe makes a few adjustments on the unit. The image resolves
further. It's definitely a BODY. Then, we hear the low
RUMBLING of more hidden counter-weights and --
A SLAB OF STONE
slides down from above the stairs, sealing off the vault.
GRIMWOOD
What the fuck --?!
Grimwood pounds his fist against the stone. It's solid. He
tries to find a hand-hold, tries to shoulder it open in some
way, but the barrier is unmovable. They're trapped.
ASHER
Radio back-up. See if they can open it
from the other --
WOLFE (0.S.)
Guys?
Wolfe points at the ground. A tiny depression has formed,
with sand funneling into it.
Wolfe sets his radar unit down and kneels before the hole.
The grains of sand are falling faster now, the depression
gradually widening. Curious, Wolfe leans closer --
A CLAWED, ARMORED HAND
suddenly EXPLODES upward from the ground. It latches onto
Wolfe's neck. dragging him down head-first!
Wolfe THRASHES, his head still buried beneath the sand. He
knocks over the lantern, which FLICKERS, shorting out.
Asher rushes to Wolfe's side. Then Grimwood. They grab Wolfe
by the shoulders, SCREAMING, trying to pull him back.
Asher is KICKED by Wolfe's thrashing legs. He flies upward,
hits the ceiling, falls back onto the ground, stunned --
Danica joins Grimwood. Abruptly, they wrest Wolfe free --
headless. BLOOD erupts from the sand. Then --
A HELLISH CREATURE
unearths itself, ROARING. It's difficult to make out in the
flickering light. But what we do see is terrifying. Spiked,
demonic armor, clutching a sword. An elongated, helmeted face
with a blood-splattered set of hinged fangs -- hinting at an
inhuman physiognomy within. The hinged jaws open, coming at
us. And just as the lantern goes out for good we --
SUPER TITLE: BLADE III
CUT TO:
INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Danica moves down a modern architectural corridor lined in
glass and steel. VAMPIRE SOLDIERS stand ready nearby,
outfitted in body armor, clutching automatic rifles.
AT THE END OF THE CORRIDOR
Asher, Grirnwood, and another vampire, HENDRIX are gathered by
a titanium door outfitted with a biometric security system.
Danica joins them, studying a VIDEO MONITOR which offers a
darkened view of the interior of the vault. We can just make
out a FIGURE sitting there in the shadows.
DANICA
What's he been doing?
ASHER
Nothing. Just sitting there since we
brought him here.
HENDRIX
(nervously)
Do you think we've got enough security?
DANICA
Hendrix, if he wanted to out of there -
there isn't an army in the world that
could keep us safe. We didn't capture
him. He allowed us to take him in. You
understand?
(nodding to the door)
Now open up.
The others look at her like she's insane. Nevertheless,
Danica places her hand on the biometric scanner. Hendrix keys
in a series of commands on a nearby computer console. The
vault doors open with a HUM, allowing Danica into --
AN AIRLOCK-STYLE VESTIBULE
She steps inside. The vault closes behind her. We hear
BLOWERS as the air is cycled. A SECOND SET OF DOORS open --
INT. VAMPIRE SAFE HOUSE - CELL - NIGHT
Danica steps into a nearly pitch-black "clean room". We hear
BREATHING. Despite her calm demeanor, she's frightened.
From the darkness, SOMEONE SPEAKS -- a voice low and rumbling,
laced with an ominous gravity.
VOICE (O.S.)
Why have you woken me?
DANICA
Your people need you, Sire.
She kneels, bowing her head.
VOICE (0.S.)
(mocking)
"My people". You think I'm your messiah?
Your Savior?
We hear MOVEMENT. A pair of RED EYES pierce the gloom -- and
God help us, even though he remains partially shadowed, this
guy has to be the scariest mother-fucker we've ever seen.
VOICE
What makes you think I wanted to be
brought back?
A hand emerges from the darkness, armored. Danica wants to
bolt. Instead, she fights to keep herself from flinching as a
taloned finger brushes her throat.
DANICA
Times have changed. Science has made
great strides. Your blood, the sacrament
you provide -- it can set us free now.
VOICE
I see. And the one I killed earlier? He
was vampire?
(off her nod)
You must forgive me. It had been
centuries since I last fed.
DANICA
I understand.
VOICE
Then offer yourself to me, child --
(lifting her chin)
-- and let me quench my thirst again.
INT. VAMPIRE SAFE HOUSE - CORRIDOR - NIGHT
WHOOSH! The vault doors open and Danica stumbles out, all but
falling into Asher's arms. She's bone-white and there are
fresh BITE MARKS on her throat, BLOOD staining her shirt.
ASKER
Danica! Are you alright --?!
She nods, shaking, struggling to recompose herself.
DANICA
Let him out -- he wants to see what's
become of his world.
CUT TO:
A VIDEO MONITOR
LARRY KING launching into the intro of his show.
LARRY
Tonight, Dr. Edgar Vance, forensic
psychiatrist and author of the New York
Times best seller "Human Health: The Whole
Being Breakthrough". Also with us is
Martin Vreede, Chief of Police. They're
here for an hour and they'll take your
calls. Next on Larry King Live.
INT. LARRY KING LIVE - STUDIO - NIGHT
Taping is underway. Larry King sits at his desk opposite
EDGAR VANCE (40s), a smooth-talking pundit with a magnetic
demeanor and movie star good looks. CHIEF MARTIN VREEDE (50s,
square-jawed), joins via remote feed.
LARRY
Dr. Vance -- you're a psychiatrist and a
biochemist, isn't that right?
VANCE
Yes. I've long believed that in order to
achieve true health, we have to reconcile
the body and the mind. Of course that
also requires letting go of a lot of our
old notions and superstitions, which is
what my work is all about.
LARRY
Let's talk about that. How do you account
for the fascination with things that go
bump in the night? Movies, books,
videogames -- seems like we can't get
enough of our boogeymen?
Vance leans forward, skillfully playing to the cameras.
VANCE
Monsters provide a means for us to
transfer our more primal and darker urges
into something external. In the case of
vampires, you're dealing with taboo issues
like predatory rage and sexual sadism.
These are scary subjects for people to own
up to.
LARRY
So we pass the buck to someone else?
VANCE
Exactly. Historically, people suffering
from medical conditions have always been
our psychological scapegoats. In the
Middle Ages schizophrenia was often
attributed to demonic possession.
LARRY
And vampires?
VANCE
Well, there's a hereditary blood disease
known as porphyria that has symptoms
remarkably similar to the classic vampiric
traits. People suffering from this
disease are anemic, they become sensitive
to sunlight, they can't tolerate garlic --
LARRY
Which is too bad, since my doctor tells me
that's good for the heart.
(turning to Chief Vreede)
Chief Vreede? What's your take on all the
recent rumors we've been hearing about
vampires?
VREEDE
The only vampires I'm worried about are
the ones passing the bar exam.
(laughing)
Seriously, if vampires existed, don't you
think we'd be on to them by now? The
truth is, our streets have never been
safer. Homicides, assaults -- violent
crime is down across the board. If people
want to be concerned, they should focus on
criminals like Blade.
LARRY
Now who's this? Tell me about him.
VREEDE
He's a sociopath we've been pursuing.
VANCE
Blade is a very disturbed individual.
Even the name he's chosen for himself is
troubling. According to witnesses, he
operates under the belief that a vast
conspiracy of vampires live amongst us.
You have to look at the psychiatric
underpinnings here. What does a person
like Blade really want?
Odds are, he's really trying to work out
some kind of inner trauma. He thinks he's
slaying monsters, but he's really trying
to murder aspects of himself.
The sound of GUNFIRE pre-laps over from the next scene as we --
CUT TO:
EXT. MACHINE SHOP/PARKING LOT - NIGHT
-- a MASSIVE EXPLOSION ripping through an industrial building.
Banks of windows BLOW OUTWARDS, FIRE ROlLS, brick walls
CRUMBLE, raining debris everywhere.
A SCREAMING, BURNING MAN
goes tumbling into the night air. Buoyed by the explosion,
his body flies upward, trailing fire like a human comet.
MORE MEN (VAMPIRES) race out, some of them on fire.
CLOSER
as a FORMIDABLE FIGURE resolves out of the swirling flames.
It's Blade, striding towards us in slow-motion, body bristling
with weapons, the exaggerated sounds of his FOOTFALLS ringing
out like drums of doom.
He looks like the God of War. WHOOSH! We ramp back up to
real-time. Then faster as --
-- a TRIO OF VAMPIRE LOW-LIFES (STONE, GEDGE, and CAMPBELL)
run for their lives towards their vehicles. TWO MODIFIED
STREET RACING CARS are pulling out; a Mustang and an Eagle
Talon. Gedge is climbing into the Talon even as it starts to
move, pulling the door shut. At the same time --
-- Stone and Campbell climb atop two stretched and lowered
hardtail chopper cycles. Blade starts forward, drawing two of
his custom MACH pistols, but --
-- the Mustang comes SCREAMING IN REVERSE TOWARDS him!
Blade makes a SUPER-HUMAN LEAP over the speeding car.
Momentarily upside down, he FIRES through the windshield and
engine block as he flips. Within the car, the vampires ASH.
The Mustang EXPLODES. flipping over and --
-- Blade, now facing frontward again, continues to FIRE as he
lands, aiming at --
THE TALON AND THE CHOPPERS,
which haul ass out of the parking lot, swerving into the
traffic on the street beyond.
Blade KEEPS FIRING until he's out of bullets. Then --
ELLINGSON (O.S.)
No more bullets, Blade? Guess it's time
for you to fall down and go boom.
FOUR STRANDED VAMPIRES,
from the conflagration, their clothes still smoking, surround
Blade. Call them EMOND, DOH, DENLINGER, and ELLINGSON.
Blade holsters his MACH pistols. Then reaches for a wicked
looking CHAIN-KNIFE strapped to his thigh. The knife has a
button on either side of the hilt. As Ellingson RUSHES him --
-- Blade triggers the first button. ZZZING! The knife-blade
ejects from the hilt, trailing outward six feet on a razored
chain. The blade penetrates Ellingson's chest. He GASPS as
he starts to ASH. But before his disintegration is complete --
-- Blade hits the second button. The knife-blade retracts,
the razored chain WHIRRING back into the knife-hilt. Blade
SPINS, triggers the first button again --
The knife-blade FLIES OUT, the razored chain whipping around
Denlinger's throat. Blade tugs. The razor chain cuts through
Denlinoer's neck, decapitates him. As he ASHES --
-- Blade triggers the knife again. As it ejects, he whirls it
over his head, making a sound like a BULL-ROARER.
Blade drops low, swinging the razored chain. The chain slices
through Emond's legs. Emond's amputated legs ASH, the rest of
him tumbling onto the asphalt. He SCREAMS.
Blade retracts the knife-blade, whirls, THRUSTS it through
Doh's abdomen. who was coming up from behind. As Doh ASHES,
Blade returns to Emond, finishing him off --
-- and Blade is on the move again, RUSHING after the vampires
who escaped.
EXT. STREET - OVERPASS - NIGHT
The bike-riding vamps cut across traffic, then SCREAM down an
on-ramp to a busy street below.
BACK TO BLADE,
sprinting from the parking lot to the sidewalk. He touches a
hand to his ear. We SEE a tiny receiver tucked within.
BLADE
Whistler! I'm on the Stonebridge
overpass at Clemons --
WHISTLER'S VOICE
Got it! Heading eastbound, I'm just
beneath you --
Blade dodges past a HONKING car, stepping onto and over the
trunk, then leaps atop the safety rail of the overpass as --
A BIG-RIG CAB
hauling a semi-trailer THUNDERS beneath the overpass, sounding
its AIR HORN. It has safety cables running along the
perimeter of the trailer roof, like an aircraft carrier.
WHISTLER'S VOICE
-- GO!!!
EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT
Blade LAUNCHES HIMSELF into the air. He lands atop the semi,
then tumbles, nearly slipping off the edge as he --
-- snags one of the safety cables atop the trailer! He
dangles above the asphalt then SWINGS himself into the open
back of the trailer. We HOLD for a beat, then hear the
THUNDERCLAP of a high-performance ENGINE turning over as --
BLADE'S MATTE-BLACK DODGE CHARGER
ROCKETS out of the back of the trailer, sailing right over a
car that was tail-gating the semi, heading into three lanes of
on-coming traffic at fifty miles an hour!
Blade hits the brakes, sending the battle-scarred muscle car
into a spin, clipping other vehicles in the process.
INT. BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT
As cars continue to brake and COLLIDE around him, Blade puts
the pedal to the metal once again. The Charger accelerates,
tachometer red-lining as Blade pulls alongside the cab of the
big-rig, catching a glimpse of --
WHISTLER BEHIND THE WHEEL
Whistler grins, gives Blade a little salute and --
-- Blade reaches between the seats, ACTIVATING the newly
installed nitrous oxide fuel-injection system.
EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT
Hyper-speed. The Charger jets forward as the NOS nitrous
system boosts the car's speed by another 300 HP, leaving any
and everything in its dust. In seconds, it has caught up to --
STONE AND CAMPBELL
They draw TEC-9s, FIRING back at Blade. The bullet-proof
windshield holds as do the kevlar body panels protecting the
engine -- but the rounds chew the shit out of the bodywork.
INT. BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT
Blade gives his car another jolt of nitrous. The Charger
SURGES FORWARD as Stone and Campbell fall back, veering to
either side. Now Blade is ahead of them. He checks their
position in his rear-view mirror, then stands on the brakes --
EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT
The Charger drops from a hundred to fifty in a heart beat,
causing Stone and Campbell to rear-end Blade.
The vamps are ejected over the handle bars of their bikes like
crash-test dummies. Stone SMASHES through Blade's back
windshield, continuing into the front seat--
-- while Campbell tumbles over Blade's roof and across his
hood, somehow managing to cling to one of the windshield
wipers at the last minute.
INT. BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT
Blade clutches the wheel. He's got a HOWLING vampire in the
front seat, upside down, covered in windshield fragments and
another perched on his hood, obscuring his vision.
Stone tries to right himself, clawing at Blade. Blade
struggles, keeping one hand on the wheel while he --
-- reaches for a shotgun secured between the seats. He
FIRES. As the vampire ASHES, Blade hits a button on the dash.
The passenger door opens, spills Stone onto the road --
EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT
-- right into the path of an oncoming bus! WHAM! Stone is
ground to paste and --
INT. TOUR BUS - NIGHT
TOURISTS, mostly elderly. The passengers are jolted in their
seats as the wheels of the bus KA-THUMP over Stone's remains --
OLD WOMAN
I hope that wasn't a dog.
INT. BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT
-- and we're back in Blade's Charger as Campbell continues to
HAMMER away at the windshield. The windshield spiderwebs.
Campbell manages to get a clawed hand through --
Blade swings his shotgun over, shoving it in Campbell's
snarling mouth. He pulls the trigger --
BOOM! Campbell's CINDER-REMAINS blow over the cracked
windshield. Blade hits the wipers, spritzes window cleaner -
but the mess turns to ashen sludge. making the view worse!
EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT
The Talor is up ahead, weaving in and out of traffic.
Fighting to see, Blade accelerates, gaining ground --
The VAMPIRE DRIVER leans out of his own wihdow, looking back
at Blade, FIRING an AUTOMATIC PISTOL --
INT. BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT
Blade's windshield, already weakened by Campbell, SHATTERS,
blowing glass fragments all over him. Undaunted, Blade calmly
reaches for his dash, hitting a button labeled "UV".
EXT. BUSY STREET/BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT
Roof-mounted UV DAYLIGHTS come on, bathing the car ahead and
(more importantly) the vampire driver with UV LIGHT!
The vampire at the wheel SHRIEKS, ASHES, leaving the car
driverless. Gedge tries to lean over and take the wheel --
INT. BLADE'S CHARGER - NIGHT
BURNING REMAINS blow back at us. Then the view clears and --
EXT. BUSY STREET - NIGHT
-- Blade SLAMS his charger into the Talon. The cars briefly
lock, grinding SPARKS. Then they disengage. Blade jerks his
steering wheel, gives the Talon ANOTHER SLAM.
The Talon hits the curb, riding halfway up onto a sidewalk,
PLOWING DOWN newspaper vending machines and table-top displays
piled with cheap wares, then a phone booth, a food cart.
PEDESTRIANS duck for cover and --
-- the Talon gets some serious air, ROLLING onto its side as
it comes back to earth.
EXT. INTERSECTION - NIGHT
--WK-KRUNCH-- the wreck skids to a stop against a streetlight.
The streetlight CREAKS, CRASHES DOWN on the wreck. BYSTANDERS
gather, murmuring amongst themselves --
Gedge drags his bleeding body from the wrecked Talon. He
staggers to his feet, clutching a pistol, limps away --
BLADE'S CHARGER
pulls up. Blade climbs out, shotgun in hand. The shotgun has
an under-mounted stake launcher. Blade FIRES at --
-- Gedge. The stake hits him in the back. KNOCKING him onto
the street. Bystanders SCREAM, falling back, taking cover --
Blade approaches, puzzled. Gedge is still alive, LAUGHING.
He looks at Blade, eyes crazed, flashing his fangs.
BLADE
Staked you with silver. Why aren't you
ash?
Gedge coughs blood, struggles to speak:
GEDGE
Why aren't you smarter? Not a vampire,
dumbshit -- set your sorry ass up --
Gedge tugs at his fangs. They're fake, PROSTHETIC. Gedge is
looking past Blade. Blade turns, looking up --
A ROOFTOP ABOVE
Danica is perched there. She backs into the shadows. But
Blade doesn't have time to investigate because --
-- POLICE SIRENS are drawing near. Blade retreats to his
charger. He GUNS it, speeding away as we --
CUT TO:
EXT. BLADE AND WHISTLER'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT
Blade's Charger pulls up to a boat house at the water's edge.
Blade climbs out, disappears inside.
WHISTLER (O.S.)
What the fuck happened tonight?
INT. BLADE AND WHISTLER'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT
New digs. Built into the decaying boat house, retrofitted for
Blade's combat needs. Blade is taking off his body armor,
tossing weapons onto a work table. He's frustrated.
BLADE
How should I know? He was human.
Whistler reaches for a bottle of whiskey, takes a sip.
WHISTLER
You've been getting careless, Blade. You
kill a vampire, they ash, don't leave any
proof of their existence. But something
like this, a human corpse, it's messy --
(shaking his head)
-- you better hope nobody IDed you.
CUT TO:
INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - DANICA'S QUARTERS - NIGHT
CLOSE ON a digital video tape being slipped into a player.
PULL BACK to reveal Danica sitting before a monitor.
ON THE MONITOR WE SEE
Footage of Blade confronting Gedge, filmed from a high-angle.
Danica smiles and we --
CUT TO:
EXT. FBI REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS - DAY
Establishing.
SUPER TITLE: FBI REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS
WOMAN'S VOICE
It was horrible. The one car crashed, and
then the guy in the coat was shooting the
other guy --
INT. FBI REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS - OFFICE - DAY
CLOSE ON a TV screen. We are watching a news feed. A
REPORTER interviews a WOMAN at the intersection where Blade
executed Gedge. Now the reporter turns to the camera.
REPORTER
(on-screen)
That was just a taste of the mayhem that
occurred during tonight's brazen shoot-out
that left at least four people dead. Now
apparently an anonymous citizen captured
the whole event on video --
The IMAGE FREEZES. We hear the clatter of KEYBOARD KEYS as we
pan over to an adjacent computer monitor where a series of
VIDEO CAPTURES of the event flash by us in slide-show mode.
AGENT RAY CUMBLERLAND studies the screen. Ray is a career
agent. Dedicated and dogged to the point of annoyance,
utterly humorless. His office is cramped and institutional,
devoid of any personal touches. It's also overflowing with
files, photographs, and charts concerning Blade and Whistler.
A BULLETIN BOARD
features numerous surveillance photos of Blade and Whistler in
action, along with various news clippings and two WANTED
POSTERS ("UNLAWFUL FLIGHT TO AVOID PROSECUTION - MURDER,
AGGRAVATED KIDNAPPING, ARMED VIOLENCE"). Most of the photos
are blurry and indistinct -- akin to snaps taken of Bigfoot.
HALE (O.S.)
Ray! Heard we've got a lead!
WILSON HALE (20s), Ray's subordinate, rushes in, excited. Ray
stands, ripping down a photo of Blade and Whistler.
CUMBERLAND
Book us a flight, Hale. Time to take
these cowboys down.
CUT TO:
WHISTLER (0.S.)
Pack of Reds and some matches.
CUT TO:
INT. CONVENIENCE STORE - DAY
Whistler is buying a pack of cigarettes when he notices --
A BLACK AND WHITE TABLOID
on display nearby. The cover story features a BLURRY PHOTO of
Blade's recent melee with the vampires.
Whistler picks up the tabloid, studying it. Next to the photo
is an ARTIST'S SKETCH OF BLADE. The headline reads: "GUN
TOTING PSYCHOPATH CAPTURED ON FILM!"
Whistler nods to the CASHIER, hands over some more cash.
WHISTLER
I'll take this too.
EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE - DAY
Whistler exits the store, perusing the tabloid as he walks.
We hear the WHIR of a camera's HIGH-SPEED MOTOR DRIVE and --
A SERIES OF DIGITAL SHOTS
capture Whistler as he moves down the sidewalk.
ANGLE ON AN FBI AGENT
perched on a nearby roof, taking surveillance photos.
FBI AGENT
Subject is heading West.
WHIP-PAN to a parked CAR, Cumberland and Hale seated within.
CUMBERLAND
Got him.
Cumberland starts the car, starts following Whistler.
WHISTLER (0.S.)
Congratulations. You're famous. Just
what we needed.
INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - DAY
CLOSE ON the tabloid as Whistler slaps it down on a workbench.
WIDEN to include Whistler and Blade.
WHISTLER
Somebody screwed us. Your face is all
over the papers, the television. Media's
eating it up.
BLADE
Like I care?
WHISTLER
You should. Something like this --
(gesturing to the tabloid)
-- taking out a human, even one working
for the vampires -- far as the rest of the
world's concerned, you're public enemy
number one.
BLADE
Didn't realize this was a popularity
contest.
Whistler shakes his head, frustrated.
WHISTLER
Damnit, Blade, don't you see what's
happening?! The fuckers are finally
getting smart. They're waging a goddamn
PR campaign. Now it's not just vampires
we have to worry about, we're gonna have
to take on the rest of the world too.
(beat, adamant)
They've got us on the run. These last few
months we've barely been staying ahead of
the curve.
BLADE
You worry too much, old man.
WHISTLER
I've been doing this since before you were
born, Blade. The moment you stop
worrying, you're dead.
Then Whistler's face softens for a moment.
WHISTLER
Since the day I found you, you've been
like a son to me. I taught you everything
I know.
(beat)
But I'm tired. You understand?
EXT. INNER CITY STREET - NIGHT
It's rush hour and the streets are choked with traffic.
PEOPLE mill past on the crowded sidewalk.
We move from face to face, capturing brief portraits of
working-class desperation -- an OVERWEIGHT GUY, a PAIR OF
HOMELESS TEENAGERS, an ASIAN VENDOR, a STREETWALKER.
VOICE (O.S)
How about that one?
SECOND VOICE (O.S.)
No fatties. They taste like Cheetos.
THIRD VOICE (O.S.)
What about that shrunken apple-head
beeyatch-a-saurus over there?
VOICE (O.S.)
Fucking blow me, man!
We hear LAUGHTER and we WHIP-PAN over to a grimy office
building, ZIPPING UP the face of it to --
A ROOFTOP PARKING STRUCTURE
A SKATE-PUNK (SQUID) gets some air, flipping his board up into
a nice Ollie backside grab, then scoots over to --
-- THREE MORE PUNKS perched on a concrete ledge, watching the
people below them. They are: PROOF, FLICK and DINGO. All in
their teens, sporting copious piercings and tattoos. Flick
wears a ratty T-shirt from "The Lost Boys" movie.
DINGO
C'mon, just pick one.
PROOF
Once you buy a prize, it's yours and
yours to keep.
They keep looking. Then, Flick suddenly points, excited --
FLICK
Got it, got it! Baby on board!
ANGLE ON A MOUSY WOMAN (ABIGAIL)
moving below, her figure camouflaged beneath layers of
clothing. She's in her 20s, lugging a NEWBORN in a BabyBjorn
carrier that's strapped to her chest, clutching a bag of
groceries in either hand. She looks a little haggard.
As we watch, she reaches an elevated rail station entrance.
BACK TO THE SKATE-PUNKS
Dingo nods and smiles approvingly.
DINGO
Looks like we got ourselves a combo meal.
EXT. ELEVATED RAIL STATION - VARIOUS - NIGHT
A series of shots as Abigail makes her way into the station,
passing a few other PEOPLE here and there.
INT. ELEVATED RAIL PLATFORM - NIGHT
A depressing, dimly lit, partially open-air station. Abigail
moves out onto the platform, which is now deserted. She
glances around, a bit nervous, and finally sits on a bench.
Beat. Just the wind MOANING in the tunnels, across the
platform. Then we hear a RUSTLING SOUND --
Abigail looks right, sees nothing. We hear ANOTHER SOUND,
this time from the left --
Abigail looks up, briefly glimpsing a FIGURE ducking behind a
concrete pillar.
Unnerved, she stands, moving a protective hand over her baby.
She backs up a few steps, trying to look around the pillar --
-- but no one is there. Then a SHADOW MOVES behind her. She
SENSES it, spinning --
-- but again, she seems to be alone. Thoroughly frightened
now, Abigail scoops up her grocery bags, turns to exit and --
-- slams right into Dingo and Proof! She GASPS.
DINGO
Hey, pretty lady.
PROOF
Sophisticated mama.
Dingo and Proof reveal their fangs. Abigail SCREAMS, runs --
-- right into the arms of Flick and Squid! They grab her,
RIPPING the BabyBjorn carrier from her chest, SHOVING her back
at Dingo and Proof.
In seconds, Dingo and Proof have Abigail on the floor.
They're tearing away at her clothing, LAUGHING.
DINGO
Scream if this hurts, chica!
ON FLICK,
removing the BABY from its carrier. He holds the baby up -
only it's not a baby. It's a DOLL with the words "FUCK YOU!"
written on its chest. Flick is briefly confused --
-- and then the baby doll EXPLODES, covering Flick's face with
a cloud of GARLIC GAS!
Flick recoils, retching, wiping at his burning face --
FLICK
--aghhk -- it's fucking garlic!
ON DINGO AND PROOF,
looking back, alarmed. Then Abigail pulls her knee to her
chest. A SILVER SPIKE springs out from the toe of her boot.
She KICKS UP, imbedding the spike up through the underside of
Proof's chin. Proof ASHES.
Before Dingo has a chance to act, Abigail gets him in a
leglock, FLIPPING him back onto his ass.
ABIGAIL
jumps to her feet, shedding her coat and hat. Long tresses of
hair spill around her shoulders. She's not mousy at all. In
fact, she's beautiful. And cut like an Olympic athlete. And
equipped with a walking arsenal of weapons.
Dingo SNARLS -- CRUNCH! Abigail plants her heel in his face,
SMASHING IN his nose. She does a cartwheel, KICKS him again.
Follows that with flurry of PUNCHES. He goes down as --
-- Flick and Squid come charging! Squid gets her in a CHOKE
HOLD. She FLIPS him over her shoulder, KICKING him in the
nuts as he lands. He curls up, GROANING --
Abigail turns back to Flick, ELBOWING him in the throat --
-- then returns to Squid, ejecting a SILVER THROWING KNIFE
from a spring-loaded, automated dispenser strapped to her
wrist. She POPs the knife through Squid's chest. He ASHES --
FOLLOWING ABIGAIL
as she reaches behind her, removing a CRESCENT-SHAPED DEVICE
secured to her back. She holds the crescent in the center,
the curve pointing away from her, gives it a twist and --
CHINKT! The device extends from either end, telescoping
outward into a three-foot long metal arc. Connecting the two
ends of the arc is a powerful, BUZZING UV LASER.
Abigail LASHES OUT, lopping off Flick's arm. His arm falls,
ASHING. Abigail swings the arc around, pushing it forward
through Flick's mid-section like a cheese cutter --
Flick literally falls apart, his upper torso sliding from his
trunk, ASHING in the foreground, his burning particles falling
away to reveal Abigail in the background --
Dingo scrambles to his feet, running for his life.
Abigail gives her UV arc a twist. It retracts. She secures
it behind her back once again, unholsters a strange-looking
"bloop" GUN with a large barrel. She FIRES --
A rapidly-expanding spherule of ANTI-PERSONNEL FOAM splatters
against Dingo's legs, hardening instantly, tripping him up --
Dingo goes down again. He panics, trying to scrape the gunk
off his legs, manages to get one of his hands stuck to the
hardening mess in the process -- like a mouse in a glue-trap.
Abigail calmly approaches. She stands over Dingo, staring
down at him with a look of cruel indifference. She holsters
her bloop gun, withdraws another SILVER STAKE --
ABIGAIL
Scream if this hurts, chica.
-- and SLAMS the stake into his chest.
WIDEN OUT
Abigail turns, surveying her work. The ashen remains of the
vampires are popping and crackling like campfire embers. In
thirty-seven seconds she's managed to eliminate them all.
A train approaches, pulls into the station. PASSENGERS
disembark, flood the platform. They tramp all over the ashes
of the vampires, completely unaware of the recent slaughter.
Abigail walks against the stream of traffic, boards the train.
She is the sole passenger as the train pulls away.
INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - WHISTLER'S ROOM - NIGHT
Whistler sits on a cot, contemplating the tarnished wedding
ring on his hand. He slowly spins it around his finger.
INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BLADE'S ROOM - NIGHT
Blade sits before a small Buddhist shrine, meditating.
Incense burns. His sword rests in a ceremonial holder. Near
silence punctuated by the intermittent ocean swell outside.
CLOSE ON BLADE'S FACE
We hear the SOUNDS OF VIOLENCE -- ECHOING SCREAMS, GUNSHOTS.
These are Blade's thoughts. The inner demons he is constantly
trying to tame. The sounds CRESCENDO and --
-- Blade opens his eyes. He listens. Something is wrong.
INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT
Blade creeps into the outer room, sword drawn.
NOISE behind him, turns to see --
WHISTLER
standing in the shadows, clutching a handgun.
WHISTLER
What is it?
BLADE
What you've been worrying about.
They listen. Just the sound of the ocean swell. Then --
A WINDOW SHATTERS
TWO ARMORED SWAT AGENTS lower in on rappelling lines.
TWO MORE AGENTS
CRASH through a bank of windows on either side, swinging in.
They FIRE cannisters of TEAR GAS. As Blade moves to engage
them, Whistler RUSHES into the heart of the armory --
A reinforced door EXPLODES inward. MORE AGENTS storm inside.
FROM THE WATER,
a military Zodiac (inflatable boat) roars up one of the wooden
boat ramps, laden with gun-toting AGENTS. They jump out,
fanning all over the boat house.
He hears a
AGENT
On the floor! ON THE FLOOR!
Whistler FIRES at them, then makes a run for it. The agents
RETURN FIRE, but Whistler ducks behind a concrete pillar --
EXT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT
Cop cruisers, unmarked cars, and SWAT trucks sweep in, SIRENS
blaring, disgorging a small army of POLICE and FBI AGENTS.
POLICE BOATS are pulling up to the dock.
AGENTS CUMBERLAND AND HALE
emerge from an unmarked, wearing bullet-proof vests,
brandishing firearms. Cumberland barks orders into a radio.
CUMBERLAND
Lock it down! Keep them contained!
On the rooftops above, various SWAT SNIPERS take position.
INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT
Blade BRAWLS with a half-dozen agents, sending them flying in
all directions. He grabs one agent, HEAD-BUTTS him, THROWS
him into the path of two others --
Then he reaches for another, THROWING him THROUGH a window at
the rear, out into the river which runs below --
ON WHISTLER
as he moves with increased urgency. The armory is filling up
with tear gas. Coughing and half-blind, he hurries to a bank
of computers, types in a series of commands --
THE VARIOUS COMPUTER MONITORS
around him synch up, showing the same protocol message:
Data protection routine enabled
-- Server 1 protection enabled...
-- Server 2 protection enabled...
In response, a rack of network storage equipment and removable
hard drives EXPLODES. Then a second rack of equipment
EXPLODES as well.
EXT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT
From their vantage point below, Cumberland and the others can
hear the explosions. Cumberland is on his radio, SHOUTING:
CUMBERLAN D
What's going on in there?
AGENT'S VOICE
(over radio)
Some kind of self-destruct program!
They're fragging their hard drives!
INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT
Whistler keeps moving. An agent gets a clear shot at him,
FIRES -- Whistler is hit in the chest.
Blade SEES Whistler take the hit, but he's cut off from the
old man, being swarmed by agents --
BLADE
WHISTLER!
Whistler staggers, keeps moving. He makes it to another bank
of computers, launches the same protocol.
ON MORE MONITORS
Erasing information, purging themselves. We see commands:
-- Workstation 1 protection enabled
-- Workstation 2 protection enabled
With each successive command, the workstations themselves
begin self-destructing, EXPLODING one after another.
Another agent gets a bead on Whistler, FIRING a round into
Whistler's thigh. Whistler SCREAMS --
ON BLADE,
in anguish as he sees his mentor being slaughtered. Then two
agents are RUSHING HIM, tackling Blade. As one they fall
backwards, into another bank of windows --
EXT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT
CRASH! The three of them come FLYING DOWN in a spray of
glass, landing atop one of the police cruisers below. The
roof buckles under their weight, windows SHATTERING --
CUMBERLAND
Take him down!
An FBI AGENT raises a CODA net gun atop his shoulder, taking
aim. BA-BANG! Four projectiles expand out from the barrel,
carrying a STEEL NET which has been strung between them.
The netting hits Blade, wrapping around him, restricting his
movements. Immediately, a small army of agents DIVE on top of
him, PUMMELING AWAY, trying to beat him into submission --
INT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT
On the verge of losing consciousness, Whistler props himself
against a piece of machinery. He's bleeding, been shot to
hell. One of his hands is closed, clutching something.
Agents warily close in around him, guns raised.
AGENT
Move a finger and you're dead.
WHISTLER
(flipping them off)
How 'bout this one?
Whistler lets his other hand uncurl. He's got a REMOTE in his
palm, with a tiny digital timer counting-down.
AGENT #2
He's got something in his--
00:03. 00:02. 00:01. The timer reaches zero.
A SERIES OF EXPLOSIONS
rock the workshop, knocking the agents back.
EXT. BLADE'S REFUGE - BOAT HOUSE - NIGHT
CLOUDS OF FIRE and FLAMING DEBRIS MUSHROOM OUTWARD, catching
all unawares, sweeping them up off their feet with a hurricane
force. In the midst of the conflagration --
-- Blade briefly manages to tear free of his captors --
BLADE
WHISTLER!!!
-- but the wall of FIRE and LIGHT is rushing onward, sweeping
up everything in its path, turning the world to white.
INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT
FADE IN. We are CLOSE ON Blade's perspiration-beaded face.
His eyelids flutter as he slowly regains consciousness.
CUMBERLAND (O.S.)
Rise and shine, sleepyhead.
PULL BACK. We are in a room with a one-way mirrored window.
Blade sits, hands cuffed behind him, BRIGHT LIGHTS shining
down on him. He looks disoriented, battered. Very weak.
Cumberland and Hale are sitting across from Blade.
BLADE
Who --?
CUMBERLAND
Special Agents Ray Cumberland and Wilson
Hale, FBI. We've been tracking you for a
long time.
BLADE
Whistler --
HALE
Dead. Just like all of your victims.
Blade shuts his eyes -- as if he could just wish them away.
CUMBERLAND
How many people have you killed? Thirty?
Forty? A hundred?
BLADE
Those were familiars -- people who worked
for them --
CUMBERLAND
And by "them" you mean vampires, right?
I suppose next you'll be telling us that
Bigfoot's in on the conspiracy too? So
what kills these bloodsu~kers, tough guy?
Maybe you can give us some pointers.
(counting on his ringers)
You can stake 'em, right? Then there's
sunlight -- what about crosses, Wilson?
Do those still work?
HALE
I don't know, Ray. What if a vampire's
Jewish?
CUMBERLAND
That's a good point. And does garlic work
on a Hindu vampire? Or do you need
saffron or something?
Hale laughs. Cumberland shakes his head, his smile fading.
CUMBERLAND
You can keep doing your song and dance as
long as you want, Blade, but it's not
going to play. You're a stone-cold
killer. And you're sick as fuck.
VANCE (O.S.)
Let's leave the diagnosis to the
professionals.
ANGLE ON DR. EDGAR VANCE,
standing in the doorway. He's the man we saw on Larry King.
He takes a seat by Blade, sets a leather case on a table.
VANCE
Hello, Blade. My name is Doctor Vance.
I'm with the Department of Mental Health.
I've been charged with conducting a
psychiatric evaluation of you.
(to Cumberland and Hale)
Gentleman, would you mind giving us a few
moments alone?
Cumberland nods. They rise, exiting the room. Vance smiles,
trying to project a sympathetic air.
VANCE
I imagine this must be very frightening
for you. But I want you to know that I'm
here to help. In order to do that,
however, I need to ask you some questions.
(beat)
Now. Can you tell me what day it is?
Blade just stares daggers at Vance.
VANCE
What about the President? Do you know
who's in the White House at the moment?
BLADE
An ass-hole.
VANCE
(sighing)
Alright then, let's talk about vampires --
what can you tell me about that?
INT. POLICE STATION - OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
On the other side of the mirror, Cumberland and Hale have
joined Chief Vreede. We hear Blade and Vance via speakers:
BLADE
There's nothing to tell. They exist.
VANCE
And are you one of them?
INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT
Vance sits forward, drawing closer.
VANCE
What about blood? When you drink it, do
you find yourself sexually aroused?
Blade just glares at Vance.
VANCE
You see, it strikes me that this business
of vampirism has strong connotations of
sexual confusion. Bodily fluids being
exchanged, that sort of thing. You have
to ask where that comes from. I'm
wondering, for instance, what your
relationship was like with your mother.
Were the two of you close?
Blade glares. If he escapes, he's going to kill this guy.
INT. POLICE STATION - OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
Dr. Vance steps into the observation room, joining Chief
Vreede, Cumberland, and Hale.
VREEDE
What's your assessment, Doctor?
VANCE
He's psychotic, with paranoid features,
possessing dangerous levels of sociopathy.
He's exhibiting disorganized behavior. He
obviously doesn't have a properly formed
conscience --
(spreading his hands)
For his safety and the public's, I'm
recommending that he be transferred to
County Psychiatric for further treatment.
CUMBERLAND
That's unacceptable. This man's wanted in
connection with a laundry list of federal
crimes. I need him on a plane to the
Detention Center in Washington tonight.
VANCE
Agent Cumberland, that man is in no
condition to undergo prosecution.
Cumberland and Hale look to Vreede with disbelief.
HALE
Chief, we've got a federal arrest warrant
here that clearly supersedes --
VREEDE
I don't care about your warrant. We're in
my jurisdiction now. You've got an issue
with that, you take it up with the local
magistrate.
Dr. Vance shrugs as if to say he's sorry.
VANCE
I'm sorry, gentlemen, but the call has
already been made. A team from the
hospital should be here momentarily to
oversee the transfer.
INT. POLICE STATION - ENTRY WAY - NIGHT
Asher, Danica, and Grimwood enter, followed by FOUR VAMPIRES
dressed as orderlies. The orderlies carry a straightjacket,
various restraints, and a collapsible transport gurney.
Danica approaches the DESK SERGEANT, flashing a hospital ID.
DANICA
Hi. We're here to transfer a patient to
County General?
INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT
Vance enters once more. He opens the leather case on the
table, removing a syringe and an ampule of fluid.
VANCE
(speaking softly now)
Just a little something to keep you
compliant. The normal dose is two, maybe
three hundred milligrams. But for a
strapping young hybrid like yourself --
Vance pokes the needle of the syringe into the ampule.
VANCE
-- I think we'll kick it up to a couple
thousand.
Vance reaches for Blade's arm. Blade struggles, tries to pull
back, but Vance manages to inject him nonetheless.
VANCE
There. That wasn't so bad, was it?
(smiling)
You're weak, aren't you? In need of your
serum. Who would've guessed a mere human
like myself could overpower you?
BLADE
(realizing)
You're with them -- a familiar --
VANCE
Going on five years now.
Vance extends his arm, pulling back his shirt cuff a little to
reveal a VAMPIRE GLYPH tattooed on the underside of his wrist.
Then he pulls his cuff back down, smiles at Blade.
VANCE
It's the end-game, Blade. All their plans
are finally coming to fruition. So just
sit back and enjoy the show.
Blade looks to the one-way mirror, SCREAMS.
BLADE
He's one of them! Damnit, he's working
for them!
Vance looks to the one-way mirror as well and shrugs as if to
say -- "The man's deranged. What can I do?"
INT. POLICE STATION - OBSERVATION ROOM - NIGHT
On the other side of the glass, Blade looks like a raging
lunatic. Vance enters. He extends his hand to Vreede.
They shake. As they do so, we SEE a vampire GLYPH on the
inside of Vreede's wrist as well. Another familiar.
INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT
Blade stares at his own reflection in the mirror. He blinks,
trying to focus -- but the drug is starting to kick in.
INT. POLICE STATION - HALLWAY - NIGHT
An elevator door opens. Asher, Danica, and Grimwood exit,
followed by the orderlies who are now wheeling the gurney. As
they move down the corridor, they pass --
-- Cumberland and Hale, who are chasing down Chief Vreede.
CUMBERLAND
Just hold it right there --
Danica shoves Cumberland aside, hard, keeps moving past him.
Cumberland looks to Hale. Something isn't right about this.
INT. POLICE STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM - NIGHT
Blade struggles, in the full throes of the drug now.
BLADE'S POV
His vision is blurring, various objects in the room leaving
trails as he shifts his head from side to side and --
ASHER, DANICA, AND GRIMWOOD
enter, followed by two of the orderlies. Despite his
incapacitation, Blade attempts to rise. Danica plants her
heel in his chest, shoving him back down.
DANICA
Easy, lover. You're not going anywhere.
She draws closer, enjoying herself.
DANICA
We moved the humans around like, pawns,
Blade. Used them to flush you out.
Blade tries to LUNGE from his chair at her and -- WHACK!
Grimwood punches Blade across the jaw. A brutal blow.
GRIMWOOD
Don't worry, Captain Sunshine. Soon as we
get you out of here, you'll get a chance
to play.
Danica motions to the two vampire orderlies. They step
forward with the straight-jacket, start to put it on Blade.
Blade THRASHES madly. Asher LAUGHS, enjoying this.
DANICA
Don't make this any harder than it has to
be. You're all alone, Blade. No one can
help you now.
BA-BOOM! The one-way mirror SHATTERS, exploding outward in a
shower of SLOW-MOTION GLASS FRAGMENTS, carrying with it --
-- a BODY, one of the vampire mental health flunkies --
ASHING in mid-air as he sails into the room! Seconds later --
A MAN
VAULTS through the blown-out window, simultaneously drawing
two high-tech electronic pistols.
Meet HANNIBAL KING (30s), an audacious vampire hunter with an
irrepressible grin. Slapped to his chest is a "Hello, my name
is" sticker with the words "FUCK YOU" written where the name
should be.
KING
Why'd the Polish vampire starve to death?
Danica spins, enraged, recognizing King instantly --
KING
He kept biting his own lip.
DANICA
King!
The lights go out. Immediately, backup lights come on,
followed by FIRE ALARMS. In the ensuing confusion ~ both
pistols at Asher, who drops, allowing one of the vampire
orderlies behind him to take the hit.
THE VAMPIRE ORDERLY ASHES
But unlike Blade's victims, he disintegrates from the inside
out. (The reason is King's signature bullets -- SUN DOGS,
explosive rounds that give off concentrated UV light.)
King whips around, FIRING at --
-- Danica, who LEAPS behind the table. She quickly upends it,
using it as a shield, FLINGING it at King.
ON BLADE
He shifts his weight, throwing himself and the chair he's
sitting on to the floor. Then he KICKS OUT AND UP --
-- connecting with Grimwood's mid-section, sending him FLYING
BACKWARDS -- straight through the wall into the next room!
King holsters one of his pistols and hauls Blade up. At the
same time, he FIRES on Asher again, missing him --
KING
Let's FLY, kemosabe!
King drags Blade to the door --
INT. POLICE STATION - HALLWAY - NIGHT
-- into the neighboring corridor. Cumberland and Hale SEE
them. They reach for their weapons --
CUMBERLAND
He's getting away!
King FIRES into the room behind him, then pulls a GRENADE
secured to a bandolier and tosses it through the doorway --
An EXPLOSION rocks the interrogation room, filling the
corridor with smoke, knocking Cumberland and Hale back.
King turns his attention to Blade's handcuffs, FIRING between
them, freeing Blade's hands. Blade collapses against the
wall. He's shaking, close to passing out.
KING
Don't die on me, you undead motherfucker!
King drags Blade up. They continue down the corridor to --
ABIGAIL, THE FEMALE VAMPIRE HUNTER
we met earlier. She's engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a
half-dozen UNIFORMED OFFICERS. Three of them are already
down. In seconds, she finishes off the other three.
KING
Whistler! We need that serum NOW!
Whistler? Abigail spins, dispatching the last officer with a
kick to the mid-section while tossing a PNEUMATIC INJECTOR at
King. He snatches it, places it in Blade's hands.
Blade injects himself in the neck. Moments later, he's
reenergized. He looks to King, clear-eyed.
KING
Hey Blacula, you ready to shake and bake?
Blade responds by PUNCHING King across the jaw.
BLADE
Call me that again and I'll give you
fucking brain damage.
King massages his jaw, tossing Blade a pistol even as --
-- Grimwood rounds the corner, hungry for blood, TWO MORE
VAMPIRE ORDERLIES behind him.
Blade FIRES round after round of EXPLOSIVE BULLETS, causing
Grimwood and the others to fall back. Blade and King move,
joining Abigail. MORE SMOKE, darkness, only the emergency
lights to illuminate the station.
UP AHEAD,
a group of POLICEMEN spill from a stairwell, armed with bullet
proof vests. They OPEN FIRE --
Blade, King, and Abigail retreat into an alcove. They're
pinned down between the vampires and a group of policemen.
KING
We're pinned down!
(to Blade)
Can't you do something?!
BLADE
I can't shoot around corners!
ABIGAIL
I can.
As King and Blade lay down COVER FIRE, Abigail reaches behind
her, withdrawing a device that's been secured there. She
gives it a SNAP and it springs open, taking the shape of a --
FUTURISTIC COMPOUND BOW
Crafted from aluminum, its limbs imbedded in key positions
with vibration-dampening modules, this bow is capable of
firing an arrow upwards of 300 feet-per-second.
Abigail withdraws a SILVER ARROW with a time-delay explosive
tip from her quiver, nocks it in her bow and takes aim at --
A FIRE EXTINGUISHER
mounted at the end of the corridor. She lets her arrow fly --
MOVING WITH THE ARROW
as it banks off the side of the fire extinguisher, continuing
down the side corridor where it embeds itself in --
-- the shoulder of one of the vampires! The vampire SCREAMS,
grabbing the shaft, ripping it out. Then we --
MACRO-ZOOM ON THE ARROW HEAD
A tiny "egg-timer" dial on the arrowhead spins. It CLICKS in
place, a RED LED comes on, and --
-- the arrowhead EXPLODES, catching all three vampires with
the full force of a UV BLAST. Grimwood ducks away from the
blast as the other two vampires ASH --
BLADE, KING, AND ABIGAIL
come racing out of the alcove. They reach a stairwell. Blade
RIPS a steel door clear off its hinges, tossing it down the
stairwell at a phalanx of COP REINFORCEMENTS who are charging
up the stairs. The cops go down like ten-pins.
Blade and company have an opening. But as they charge
downward --
BLADE
(as King and Abigail
freeze)
My sword. They still have it.
KING
(apoplectic)
Are you insane?! We're practically home
free! We can't go hunting for your
fucking butter-knife now!
But Blade is already heading back the way they came and --
KING
Hey! HEY!!! COME BACK HERE!!! This is
supposed to be a rescue!
-- Abigail grabs King's shoulder, pulling him to the stairs.
ABIGAIL
Forget it, King. Let's move.
POLICE STATION - NIGHT
King and Abigail rush outside. The station is gated. FLASHING
POLICE CARS are surging through the mouth of the gate.
They're trapped. Then --
CRASH!
A window on the third floor of the station EXPLODES OUTWARD.
Blade drops three stories, landing before King and Abigail in
a cat-like crouch. With his sword in his hand. He looks at
King, grins, flips him off.
BLADE
Now we can go.
KING
(nudging Abigail)
Is he epic or what?
The police close in around them, pinning the trio down with
FIREPOWER. Yet King and Abigail seem unconcerned because --
HEADLIGHTS
are washing over them. A beefed-up, 70s Land Cruiser is
SCREAMING up the street. The Cruiser jumps onto the sidewalk,
SMASHES right through the gated wall. SCREECHES to a stop
between our trio and the police cars.
A DRIVER (DEX)
leans out his window, gives a little wave as the rear doors
pop open. Gruff and compact, he looks like a prize-fighter.
DEX
My name is Dex. And I'll be saving your
ass this evening.
Blade, King, and Abigail scramble into the back of the Land
Cruiser. Dex reverses, backing out the way he came.
The police from the squad cars are FIRING, but the Land
Cruiser is armored and the bullets harmlessly SPARK off.
INT. LAND CRUISER - NIGHT
In the backseat, Abigail looks through the rear windshield --
ABIGAIL'S POV
Grimwood is running after them, actually gaining on the Land
Cruiser. Chewing up the asphalt like a cheetah.
EXT. LAND CRUISER - NIGHT
Abigail leans out the rear window, nocking a non-UV arrow in
her bow. She takes aim at Grimwood, lets the arrow fly --
SHUNKT! The arrow sinks into Grimwood's eye. He goes down,
his somersaulting figure quickly receding into the background
as the Land Cruiser speeds away.
INT. LAND CRUISER - NIGHT
Safe for the moment, King basks in the adrenaline rush of a
battle well fought. Meanwhile, Dex is on a cell phone.
DEX
We have him. We'll be there soon.
KING
(to Blade)
So my entrance back there -- what do you
think? Too flashy? Right on the money?
King unhuckles his combat harness, revealing a bullet-proof
vest bereath it that's been riddled with imbedded slugs.
BLADE
Who are you people?
KING
My name's Hannibal King. I'm a hunter,
like you.
(re: Abigail)
And this little hellion is Abigail
Whistler.
Abigail just stares back at Blade, silently appraising him.
KING
That's right, Blade. You're not hearing
things. She's Whistler's daughter. You
see, Abby, Dex, myself -- we're all part
of Whistler's "contingency plan".
King reaches into an inner pocket, pulls out a pack of gum.
He selects a stick, offers one to Blade.
KING
Juicyfruit?
EXT. CITY STREETS - NIGHT
The Land Cruiser rockets away, disappearing into the night.
EXT. LUNA PARK - NIGHT
The Land Cruiser moves across an abandoned lot towards the
weed-choked ruins of an old amusement park. We pass by the
skeletal remains of a roller-coaster, a tilt-a-whirl, the
vandalized and wood-rotted remnants of a carousel.
Finally, the Land Cruiser turns towards a motorized loading
door in the side of a large warehouse and disappears inside.
INT. WAREHOUSE/GARAGE - NIGHT
As the door grinds closed, the Land Cruiser stops. King and
Abigail lead Blade through the darkness. In the gloom we see
a half-dozen vehicles in various stages of being retrofitted
with armored panels and weaponry, etc. SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS
mounted above track their progress.
BLADE
I thought the vampires murdered
Whistler's family.
ABIGAIL
They did. I'm the product of an earlier
fling of my Dad's, born out of wedlock.
After the murders happened, he kept me
hidden. He wanted me safe. Away from all
of this --
(gesturing around them)
-- but I guess hunting just runs in our
blood.
As King and Abigail lead Blade towards a stairway, Blade
catches sight of --
A LITTLE GIRL (5)
peering down at him from atop one of the rafters. As soon as
he spots her, she ducks into the shadows.
They reach the stairway. AUTOMATED GUNS mounted on swivel
arms lock on them with infra-red targeting beams.
ABIGAIL
When I came of age, I tracked my Dad
down, told him I wanted in.
(beat, shrugging)
Been doing it ever since.
INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT
We enter a sprawling industrial facility that is equal parts
mechanics shop, firing range, and laboratory. We glimpse a
virtual arsenal of new weaponry and medical equipment,
including DNA sequencers, microfuges, and electroporaters.
The new equipment fights for space alongside the old -
mountains of mothballed parts from the park's broken thrill
rides. Here and there we see the oversized fiberglass head of
a grinning fun-house creature or the mildewed torso of a
fortune-telling mannequin, frozen in its upended booth.
KING
Welcome to the honeycomb hideout.
BLADE
(looking around)
How do you bankroll this place?
KING
Internet porn. See, we're using cock
suckers to pay for the blood-suckers.
(off Blade's look)
Joke. Come on, man. This isn't some
piddly little hoopty-ass operation, Blade.
We take our jobs very seriously.
UP AHEAD,
TWO OTHERS pause in their work as King approaches. Dex falls
in behind them.
HEDGES (20s) is an engineer, always lost in his own world.
SOMMERFIELD (30s) is a frail-looking geneticist. She's also
blind, operating her computers via a voice-synthesis program
and Braille keyboard.
KING
You met Dex. This is Hedges, Sommerfield--
King gestures to them in turn. They're all refugees in one
way or another, sharing a common guardedness, their lives
having been shattered by the vampires.
KING
(nodding back)
The runt you saw earlier is Sommerfield's
daughter, Zoe. We call ourselves the
Nightstalkers.
BLADE
You sound like rejects from a Saturday
morning cartoon.
KING
We were gonna call ourselves the Super
Friends, but that was taken.
Abigail rids herself of her weapons -- bow, arrows, silver
stakes and knives. She hands her compound bow to Hedges.
ABIGAIL
Tiller needs adjustment.
HEDGES
I'll run it through the bow press.
Blade examines some of the equipment being developed.
BLADE
How many of you are there total?
KING
Enough. We operate in sleeper cells.
When one goes down, a new cell activates
to pick up the slack. Consider us your
reinforcements.
BLADE
Sorry. Never been much of a team player.
SOMMERFIELD
I don't think you understand, Blade.
Whistler meant for us to help you. When
he died, he activated an emergency
protocol. All his knowledge --
She gestures to the computer equipment around her.
SOMMERFIELD
--was transferred to our servers here.
BLADE
And what makes you think you know so much
about killing vampires?
King reaches for his collar, pulling it down to reveal a
telltale mass of scar tissue in the shape of a BITE MARK.
KING
Well for starters, I used to be one.
(in a sinister tone)
Do I pass the audition?
CUT TO:
EXT. PHOENIX TOWERS - NIGHT
We soar through the night sky, diving down towards a cluster
of gleaming, high-tech spires. As we isolate a penthouse
apartment atop one of them we hear an ANGRY SCREAM.
DANICA (O.S.)
Fucking Hannibal King!
INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - PENTHOUSE - NIGHT
An impressively decorated loft bespeaking of money, power, and
a certain perverse esthetic. Danica slams her fist straight
through the wall, then spins around, enraged.
Asher and Grimwood are there too, their wounds being treated
by Hendrix and a VAMPIRE TECHNICIAN. At tie moment, they're
trying to remove the arrow protruding from Grimwood's eye.
An enormous ROTTWEILER sits nearby, attentively watching. A
TRIO OF GUARDS flinch with every act of violence. Danica is
strong. Clearly, no one wants to get in her way.
DANICA
I should've ripped his ripped his
bleeding heart out when I had the chance!
(pointing at Asher)
And don't you dare tell me "I told you
so"!
Asher raises his hands as if to say "no harm, no foul".
Danica continues her tantrum, SMASHING a statue apart,
SHATTERING a heavy glass tabletop. Finally, she gives it a
rest, collapsing into a chair, shoulders sagging.
ASHER
You through remodeling?
DANICA
Blow me.
ASHER
Face it, Dan. We got caught with our
pants down. We underestimated the
Nightstalkers.
GRIMWOOD
Pants down?! They practically fucking
ass-raped us!
Grimwood GRUNTS in pain as the arrow is removed. Asher
broaches a more serious subject.
ASHER
Has he been told yet?
VOICE (O.S.)
About your failure?
A MAN (30s) enters the room. The same being we glimpsed in
the vault. He has a haunting gaze and a commanding presence.
We will learn who he is momentarily. But for now, it's enough
to know that everyone in the room pays him deference.
MAN
Yes, I've been told.
He places a hand on Danica's shoulder. She tenses.
MAN
Perhaps it's time I entered the fray.
CUT TO:
INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT
CLOSE ON King buttoning his collar back up. Blade, Abigail,
and Sommerfield are gathered around him.
KING
You know the kind of woman that just
screams trouble? You see her and every
warning bell in your brain starts going
off but you still ask for her number?
Well that's all I ever hook up with. But
this betty blew 'em all away in the
shitstorm sweepstakes.
King reaches out to a keyboard, calling up a piece of
surveillance footage on a nearby monitor. The footage
features Asher and Danica and Grimwood. It's been slowed to a
near standstill and now advances frame by frame.
KING
Her name's Danica Talos. You met her
earlier. The man on her left is Asher,
her brother.
King types a command. The image ZOOMS IN, tracking Grimwood.
KING
The neanderthal behind them is Jarko
Grimwood.
King freezes the footage on Danica's grainy, pixelated face.
KING
I picked Danica up in a bar, had a one
night stand with her -- then spent the
next five years playing step-and-fetch-it
as her little vampire cabana boy.
(beat)
Eventually Abigail found me. Sommerfield
here managed to treat me with a cure. Now
I kill them.
(beat)
That's called turning a frown upside
down.
ABIGAIL
We need to pool our resources, Blade.
BLADE
Why?
ABIGAIL
Because He's come back.
King tosses a TOMB OF DRACULA comic book over to Blade. Blade
glances at the cover, then looks at them, incredulous.
BLADE
You gotta be kidding me.
KING
He's real, Blade. Dig beneath all the
movies and myths. All the layers of
bullshit that've cluttered our culture for
the last five hundred years and eventually
you'll strike the truth.
BLADE
(incredulous)
So the movies are true?
KING
(shaking his head)
The movies are just a comforting
fairytale compared to the real deal.
There's no happy ending with this guy.
Peter Cushing isn't going to run in at the
last second and save the day with a cross
and some holy water.
(re: the comicbook)
See, good old Brain Stoker, he wrote a
nice yarn. But the events he described in
1897 were only a tiny piece of the mosaic.
The rea1 Dracula's origin goes back much
earlier than that.
BLADE
How early?
ABIGAIL
Try six or seven thousand years.
Off Blade's astonished look we --
CUT TO:
EXT. MESOPOTAMIA - NIGHT
FLASH! We see the man we met earlier (DRACULA/DRAKE) on the
banks of the river Euphrates, striding towards us, engaged in
fierce battle with UBAIDIAN SOLDIERS. He's clutching the same
sword we saw in the ziggurat, clad in the same armor.
KING (V.0.)
Dracula's only one of the names he's gone
by. Now they call him Drake. If you
believe the legends, he was born in
ancient Sumeria.
As Drake SLASHES his sword downward we CUT BACK TO --
INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT
-- King continuing his story. As the hunter's monologue
progresses we will INTERCUT with Drake's own progression
through history. Brief, violent FLASHBACKS.
(NOTE: The backgrounds surrounding Drake will be
expressionistic, digital composites, constantly shifting. The
focus of the flashes is Drake himself, fighting a shadowy
horde, his attire continually evolving through time.)
KING
Nobody really knows the specifics of his
origin. But we do know this: he was the
first of his kind. The patriarch of the
hominus nocturna.
EXT. EGYPTIAN DESERT - NIGHT
FLASH! We are in Egypt now, circa 1650 BC. Drake wages war
against the HYKSOS. He is closer to the camera. And will
continue to move closer with each successive flashback.
KING (V.0.)
Every single vampire -- every single
monster that's walked the earth since then
-- owes their existence to Him.
INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT
Back to King, holding court before Blade and Abigail.
KING
He's like the Patient Zero of evil. The
original Serpent in the Garden of Eden.
And just like the Great White shark, he's
never had to evolve. This guy was born
perfect. Scour the history books --
EXT. THRACE - NIGHT
FLASH! The Peloponnesian War, Southern Thrace, circa 405 BC.
We see Dracula battling ATHENIANS. Even closer now, his face
spattered with blood. At the same time, the SOUNDTRACK is
gradually swelling, expanding in complexity and volume.
KING (V.0.)
-- read between the lines --
EXT. HUNGARIA - NIGHT
FLASH! 5th century AD, battling the GOTHS. With every swipe
of his sword, we WIPE FORWARD into the future.
KING (V.0.)
-- you'll find countless references to
Him. Always mentioned, never named.
EXT. EUROPE - NIGHT
FLASH! 8th century AD, the reign of Charlemagne. Battling
the VIKINGS. The FLASHBACKS come faster now, assaulting us
with ever-increasing rapidity.
Drake continues striding forward while the rest of the world
evolves around him, centuries whizzing by via computer
generated time-lapse photography.
KING (V.0.)
He's been there --
EXT. VARIOUS - NIGHT
FLASH! 12th century AD, the time of the Crusades. The
violence intensifies.
KING (V.0.)
-- moving behind the scenes --
FLASH! 17th century France, the time of Louis the XIV. The
pace becomes breathless.
KING (V.0.)
-- cutting a bloody path through the Ages
until suddenly --
FLASH! 18th century Russia, the time of Peter the Great. The
soundtrack is THUNDEROUS. Drake has become a bloody blur of
bestial rage and unfettered horror and --
KING (V.0.)
-- just like that --
INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT
-- King SNAPS his fingers. We are back in the present.
KING
-- he up and disappeared. About a century
ago the trail went cold. Then we heard a
rumor. The vampires were searching for
him -- trying to find the place where he'd
retreated. According to our information,
they found him in Iraq about six months
ago.
(beat)
And he was pissed.
EXT. DOWNTOWN COMMERCIAL DISTRICT - NIGHT
Grime. Neon. Near-silence as the cacophonous soundtrack
recedes into the background, replaced by the steady drone of
inner-city TRAFFIC.
ON DRAKE,
viewed through a long-lens, clad in modern, casual attire,
striding in SLOW-MOTION down a PEDESTRIAN-CHOKED sidewalk.
Slower. A HEARTBEAT. The pulse of the people. And over
this, intruding, the Doppler effect WAILING of an approaching
car as it rushes past us in a SCREEN WIPE until we are --
OUTSIDE A GOTH STORE
Drake studies a window display. Halloween merchandise.
Costumes and monster masks and -- VAMPIRE NOVELTIES. We see
vampire lunchboxes, Dracula plush dolls, plastic fangs, key
chains. Even Dracula bobbleheads.
Drake stands in stark contrast to the mass-marketed caricature
on display before him.
INT. GOTH STORE - NIGHT
Drake enters. The store is crowded with low-end junky goods
that might appeal to tourists visiting Hollywood Boulevard.
A pallid, Goth-guy CASHIER sits behind a counter, eating from
a takeout container. He's wafer thin, with a detached
attitude. A snot. Further back is a sultry GOTH VIXEN.
Behind them, on a TV, a cartoon is playing. An animated
vampire cavorts -- "LITTLE BIT" (like the Hot Stuff devil from
Ritchie Rich comicbooks)
DRAKE
In the window -- you sell vampire
merchandise?
Goth Guy looks up, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Doesn't
want to engage with Drake at all.
GOTH GUY
Uh, yeah -- look around, we might have a
few things.
He and the Goth Vixen have a snicker at Drake's expense. Then
she tries to be a little more helpful.
GOTH VIXEN
We've got Dracula lunchboxes. Did you
see those? And there're bobbleheads, Pez
dispensers. We've got just about
anything --
(selecting a vampire-
shaped vibrator, playful)
-- even vampire vibrators.
As Drake looks around, what he sees matches his ascending
rage. Costumes, candles, vampire Christmas ornaments.
Posters from different films -- Nosferatu, Lugosi, Lee -- then
Love at First Bite and The Little Vampire.
GOTH VIXEN
Here, check this out --
She reaches into a case, pulling out a soft-drink. The label
reads: "DRA-COLA" and has a stylized vampire on it.
GOTH VIXEN
"Dracola". Makes you want to cry,
doesn't it?
Drake just stares at the can. His mind seems to have
retreated elsewhere. Back through the ages.
GOTH VIXEN
Was there something special you needed?
Drake doesn't respond. A kind of melancholy has settled over
him. He's an outsider now. The world has moved on.
GOTH-GUY
Hey, guy, she's talking to you.
Drake looks up as Goth Guy pours a bowl of Count Chocula.
EXT. GOTH STORE - NIGHT
CRASH! Goth Guy comes flying through the display window, his
trajectory taking his body clear across the street and into
the display window of the store opposite us.
INT. GOTH STORE - NIGHT
Goth Vixen SCREAMS. Drake LASHES out. hauling her over the
counter. He sinks his teeth into her throat, drinking her
blood with wild abandon. He consumes it so quickly that his
skin flushes BRIGHT RED.
Then Drake tears his head away, lifting his face upward as he
flings the girl aside, unleashing an ear-splitting ROAR. And
for a brief moment, the bones of his face seem to shift, once
again hinting at another shape Drake might take.
EXT. THE CITY - VARIOUS
DRAKE's ROAR echoes through the canyons of downtown.
CUT TO:
EXT. LUNA PARK - NIGHT/DAY
Time-lapse. The sun rises over the decrepit amusement park.
INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - ARMORY - DAWN
Sunlight slices down through skylights, bathing Blade, King,
Abigail, and Sommerfield in its warmth. Zoe has joined them.
She's still cautious and shy, but she's also curious.
BLADE
Why wake up Drake now?
ABIGAIL
That's what we've been trying to figure
out.
KING
When I was under the fang there used to be
talk about some kind of vampire 'Final
Solution'. But I could never figure out
why they'd want to destroy their food
source. I mean, seems stupid, right?
They've always had plans for the human
race. Seems likely that whatever they're
cooking up, Drake's return is a part of
it.
Blade nods, pensive.
KING (CONT'D)
Let's face it, Blade -- we're fighting a
losing battle.
So we kill a few hundred of them a year.
Big deal. There are thousands of them out
there. Maybe tens of th'usands. We need
a new tactic.
BLADE
Like what?
SOMMERFIELD
A biological weapon.
Sommerfield moves to her Braille keyboard, types.
ON A NEARBY MONITOR
we SEE a real-time magnified view of a virus replicating.
SOMMERFIELD (CONT' D)
For the last year I've been~working with
synthesized DNA in order to create an
artificial virus targeted specifically at
vampires. We're calling it DayStar.
KING
Think about it, Blade. We could wipe
them all out in a single move.
BLADE
So what's been holding you back?
SOMMERFIELD
(sighing)
We've tried it on a number of captive
subjects. We've got the disease vector
worked out fine -- it's easily
transmittable. But the lethality in
vampires is still spotty.
ABIGAIL
Bottom line is, we need a better DNA
sample to work with.
(beat)
We need Dracula's blood.
SOMMERFIELD
Vampire DNA is a hodge-podge of different
genes, mixed in with all sorts of useless
junk DNA. Because Dracula's the
progenitor of the vampire race, his DNA is
still pure. It hasn't been diluted by a
hundred generations of selective mutation.
It still has all the necessary cellular
compounds for the virus to code to. We
get his blood, we can boost Daystar's
viral efficacy to a hundred percent.
KING
So. You want to join our club? Can we
sign you up for a Nightstalkers secret
decoder ring?
CUT TO:
EXT. PHOENIX TOWERS - DAY
Establishing. The Sun at it's zenith
INT. PHOENIX TOWERS - DRAKE'S QUARTERS - DAY
A darkened room, relatively austere. The only source of light
are a series of small, slitted skylights in the ceiling above.
From these skylights, narrow, blinding white shafts of
sunlight knife downward to penetrate the gloom.
DRAKE
sits in a chair, his body partially illuminated by one of the
sunlight shafts, his face turned upward into its brilliance.
FOOTSTEPS. Drake opens his eyes, SEES Danica hovering in the
darkness, just on the edge of a shaft of light.
DRAKE
This world sickens me. The humans have
soiled it with their filth.
DANICA
We can raze their cities to the ground.
We can bring the old world back.
Drake just stares at her, not convinced.
DRAKE
Come closer.
DANICA
(re: light)
I can't.
DRAKE
And do you know why?
(off Danica's silence)
Once, all of my kind could brave the day.
We were true predators. The world was
ours. And then, somewhere along the way,
the purity of our bloodline became
diluted. Polluted with human DNA.
DANICA
That's impossible --
DRAKE
Is it?
Drake stands, drawing close to Danica. He grips her wrist --
DRAKE
You are bastard children. No longer as
pure as you pride yourselves on being.
-- and pulls her hand towards one of the sunlight shafts. To
her credit, Danica keeps staring at Drake. She'll be damned
if she will give him the satisfaction of seeing her break.
Drake pulls her hand closer to the light -- to the very edge.
And the tips of Danica's fingers begin to burn. She winces,
clearly in agony --
-- and Drake releases her hand. She cradles it against her
chest, blinking away tears that have welled up in her eyes.
DRAKE
My people. How far you have fallen.
Drake reaches out, brushes a tear from Danica's cheek, then
turns and walks away -- through the alternating shafts of
sunlight and darkness.
CUT TO:
INT. NIGHTSTALKERS HEADQUARTERS - ARMORY - DAY
Blade, King, and Abigail stand before a table where an
assortment of weaponry and ammunition has been laid out on
display. Hedges is there too, assisting them. Zoe watches.
HEDGES
We've got a wide assortment of ass-
kickery for your viewing pleasure --
(hefting a pistol)
Electronic pistol. Comes with a built-in
fingerprint security system. Fires a
three-shot burst in 1/500th of a second.
Bullets can also be triggered remotely.
King tosses Blade a bullet. He studies it -- it's more
complex than a standard round.
BLADE
Explosive rounds?
KING
But with a concentrated burst of UV light
instead of your standard hollow-points. I
call 'em sun dogs.
(to Hedges)
Hedges -- super-size me, baby!
Hedges tosses King one of the four-barreled firearms. On the
stock is an irreverent decal of the mud-flap girl silhouette.
KING
This little mamacita -- a modified
version of the Army's Objective
Individual Combat Weapon. Pick your
poison -- stakes, sun dogs, heat-seeking
mini-rockets. Whatever gets you hard,
this puppy will pump out.
(gesturing to Blade's
sword, sarcastic)
Of course it doesn't have the range of a
sword but --
Next, Hedges shows Blade the CRESCENT-SHAPED DEVICE that
Abigail used. He gives the device a twist and --
HEDGES
We call this the UV arc --
CHINKT! The device extends from either end, telescoping
outward. Connecting the tips is a concentrated UV LASER.
HEDGES
You hold the arc in the center, curved
away from you. Connecting the tips is a
powerful UV laser beam. Because of its
high focus, the laser cuts through vampire
flesh like a knife through butter.
KING
We're still trying to sort out fact from
fiction when it comes to Dracula. Turning
into mist? Kinda doubt it. But general
shape-shifting? Maybe.
HEDGES
(off Blade's look)
Not into a bat or a wolf or anything like
that. But another human, someone with the
same approximate body mass -- given enough
practice it might be possible.
BLADE
How?
HEDGES
He wouldn't have a traditional skeletal
structure. Probably something more like a
snake, with thousands of tiny bones in the
place of a normal array. Commensurate
with this would be an exquisite control of
electrical potential across his tissues,
resulting in an ability to effectively
change shape at will --
KING
(raising his hand)
Question. Have you ever been laid,
Hedges?
CUT TO:
INT. WAREHOUSE/GARAGE - DAY
Blade, King, and Abigail, newly suited up for war, moving
towards the Land Cruiser.
BLADE
Time to apply some pressure. The weak
link in the vampire chain of command has
always been their familiars. Vampires
can't go out in the day, so they get
humans to do their dirty work for them
Blood-running, safe house maintenance,
whatever --
(climbing in the Cruiser)
We bleed the wanna-be vampires, they'll
lead us to the real thing.
Blade starts the ENGINE.
INT. LAND CRUISER - DAY
Blade looks to Abigail, who sits in the back. She has a
laptop on her knees and is assembling an MP3 playlist.
KING
She's making playlists. Likes to listen
to MP3s when she hunts. Her own internal
soundtrack, you know? Dark-core, trip
hop, whatever kids these days are
listening to. Me? I'm more of a Kenny G
fan.
Finished, Abigail slips her earbuds into her ears, turns on
her portable MP3 player. MUSIC CUE. The smoking bassline of
Jurassic 5's 'A Day At The Races' kicks in as --
EXT. CITY STREETS - VARIOUS - DAY
-- Blade, King, and Abigail cruise the streets in a jagged
fast-forward montage.
EXT. SEEDY BAR - DAY
The Land Cruiser jumps the curb, SCREECHING to a stop in front
of a scuzzy bar. Amidst a wall covered with graffiti and
flyers we see a vampire glyph.
INT. SEEDY BAR - DAY
BANG! Blade KICKS open the door. A couple of LOW-LIFES take
notice. Blade moves around the bar, opening a refrigerator -
we see packs of REFRIGERATED BLOOD inside.
One of the low-lifes takes off running, back past the
bathroom, shouldering a door at the rear --
EXT. SEEDY BAR - REAR ENTRANCE - DAY
-- STUMBLING right into Abigail's arms. She trips him up,
swinging him around, pinning an arm behind him. She pulls the
back of his collar down, sees a VAMPIRE GLYPH --
We can't hear what the familiar is saying, but he's squealing,
raising his hands in a "please don't hit me anymore" manner.
EXT. CITY STREETS - VARIOUS - DAY
The Land Cruiser rockets down the streets.
EXT. VAMPIRE SAFE HOUSES - VARIOUS - DAY
In quick succession we see a half-dozen underworld dives --
-- a pool hall --
-- an internet cafe --
-- an electronics repair shop --
All are fronts for vampire operations, featuring back rooms
with refrigerated blood and high-tech coffin-like beds where
the vampires can safely sleep through the day unmolested.
In each new location, Blade, King, and Abigail resort to
oldfashioned strong-arm tactics:
-- Blade HEAD-BUTTS a familiar.
-- King PUNCHES a familiar across the jaw.
-- Abigail KICKS a familiar in the stomach.
Cut to a flurry of EXTREME CLOSE-UPS of VAMPIRE GLYPHS being
exposed on the backs of familiar's necks, one after another --
THEN A MONTAGE OF FACES
as familiars have their heads cainfully SMASHED against --
-- walls --
-- car hoods --
-- pool tables --
-- into windows and doors and garbage cans.
The bullying moves come faster, the shots becoming more and
more abstract until --
EXT. CITY ROOFTOP - DAY
-- WHAM! Blade tosses HOOP, a skinny familiar, off a roof.
It's a four story drop. Hoop falls, SCREAMING -- but then
jerks to a stop about twenty feet down, dangling upside down.
We see now that Hoop has rope tied around one of Hoop's
ankles. And Blade is clutching the other end of the rope.
Blade hauls Hoop back up -- but still keeps him dangling
upside down. King and Abigail look on.
BLADE
Want another spin, ass-hole? Eventually,
your head's gonna pop off.
HOOP
Shit! Oh Jesus, please, please --
BLADE
Who's your handler?
HOOP
I don't know his name, I swear I --
Blade prepares to drop Hoop again --
-- but a CELL PHONE in Hoop's jacket RINGS. Blade fishes it
out. The screen reads: EDGAR VANCE, 555-5631.
EXT. CITY STREET - DAY
Dr. Vance, the psychiatrist who gave Blade the mental
evaluation, is cruising in his Pacific Blue XKB convertible
Jaguar. He's wearing sunglasses, talking on his cell phone.
VANCE
This is Dr. Vance. Did someone page me?
EXT. CITY ROOFTOP - DAY
Blade ends the call, then looks to Hoop, smiling cruelly.
Blade lets Hoop drop. The familiar PLUNGES four stories,
SCREAMING. Lands dead-center in a Goodwill box below.
CUT TO:
EXT. VANCE INSTITUTE FOR WHOLE BEING - DAY
A high-tech office complex surrounded by meticulously-groomed
grounds. A sign with a swanky "VANCE INSTITUTE" logo zooms.
Blade, King, and Abigail approach, taking note of Vance's
Jaguar (complete with vanity plate), parked in front.
KING
Hey, Blade -- why didn't the vampire bite
Mick Jagger?
(off Blade's look)
Cause you can't get blood from a Stone.
As Blade walks off --
KING (CONT'D)
Hey, they can't all be gems!
INT. VANCE INSTITUTE FOR WHOLE BEING - LOBBY - DAY
The trio enter, drawing stares from a number of PATIENTS
gathered in a reception area. Nearby is a large display with
Vance's grinning face. Beneath it, text reads:
EDGAR VANCE, M.D.
PRESIDENT, VANCE INSTITUTE FOR WHOLE BEING
Nearby is a bank of monitors showing a snazzy video featuring
a BEAUTIFUL YOUNG COUPLE marvelling at a sunrise.
NARRATOR
(on monitors)
Regain control of your life. Wake to a
new dawn. At the Vance Institute for
Whole Being we believe in an integrated
approach to human health.
The image cuts to Vance himself, poised on the edge of his
desk, smiling. As Blade and company move through the
institute, the video plays counterpoint to their progress.
VANCE
I'm Dr. Vance. Welcome to our facility.
As a member of the medical profession I
want to assure you that I will do
everything in my power ro provide you with
the care and compassion that you deserve.
Past the RECEPTION DESK are the elevators with more monitors
showing the video greeting. As Blade, King, and Abigail
approach, TWO SECURITY GUARDS move to intercept them.
SECURITY GUARD
Excuse me, can I help y--
CRACK! Blade effortlessly tosses the guards aside, sending
them CRASHING into the nearest monitors.
INT. VANCE INSTITUTE - HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
The trio continue. A DOCTOR steps out of a doorway. King
PUNCHES him in the face. We see another video monitor.
VANCE
What does it mean to be human? Since the
dawn of creation our ancestors have asked
ourselves that question.
They round the corner --
INT. VANCE INSTITUTE - SECOND HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS
-- nearly colliding with TWO MORE SECURITY GUARDS. Blade
takes them both out. There's another video monitor.
VANCE
The modern world today is filled with
countless challenges. In every direction
we look, toxic stressors are impacting
upon our happiness. We think we're
healthy, but the truth is, our immune
systems are engaged in a life or death
struggle to maintain our well being.
INT. VANCE INSTITUTE - OUTER OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Blade, King, and Abigail storm in. An EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT is
moving to stop them.
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
I'm sorry but you can't --
Abigail KICKS out the man's knee, then slices her hand into
his windpipe, silencing him.
VANCE
Now, I'd like to take a moment to exolain
how a series of remarkable new
breakthroughs can immeasurably improve the
quality of your life
Blade aims his shotgun at the door leading to Vance's office.
He FIRES at the keycard lock, KICKS down the door --
INT. VANCE INSTITUTE - VANCE'S OFFICE - DAY
-- startling Dr. Vance himself, who is rising up from behind
his desk. Vance is wiping his mouth, not dressed like a
doctor would normally be. But we hardly notice this as --
VANCE
What --?
BLADE
Payback, Vance.
-- Blade aims his shotgun at Vance's head. Vance just
smiles, seemingly unconcerned as --
-- Abigail circles around the other side, getting a view
behind Vance's desk where --
VANCE'S BODY
lies on the floor. His throat has been ripped out. And this
body is dressed like a doctor.
King puts it together first, reaching for a silver stake even
as we hear the sound of POPPING CARTILAGE coming from beneath
the Vance double's flesh --
KING
Jesus, it's him! It's Drake!
The Vance double jumps atop the desk and swats the muzzle of
Blade's shotgun aside, re-directing the BLAST, which SHATTERS
a glass window. Then he KICKS Blade in the chest, KNOCKING
him clear across the office as --
-- King advances. The Vance double's face WARPS, the bones
in his head shifting around. He reaches for King, SLAMS him
onto the desk, TWISTS the stake from King's hand and brutally
SHOVING it into King's rib cage, pinning him to the desk top.
Then the Vance double whirls around to engage Abigail -- only
we see that it's Drake now, having taken Vance's shape.
DRAKE
BACK-HANDS Abigail across the face, a teeth-jarring blow.
She spins, falling --
-- and Drake is moving like a hurricane, LEAPING through the
window that was shattered by Blade's shotgun blast.
BLADE
gives chase. He looks out the window, SEES Drake landing on
the ground, some three stories below.
EXT. VANCE INSTITUTE - REAR ENTRANCE - ALLEY - DAY
Drake runs with inhuman speed. He effortlessly scales a chain
link fence, then BARRELS straight through a wooden barricade,
sailing over a trash dumpster. Seconds later, Blade follows,
catching sight of Drake rushing out into --
EXT. STREET MARKET - VARIOUS - DAY
-- a crowded urban market. What unfolds is a foot-chase at
super-human velocity. Vampire and hunter are moving at least
twenty miles an hour, BATTERING ASIDE various pedestrians,
SMASHING through and over stalls of merchandise.
EXT. BUSY STREET - DAY
Drake emerges onto the sidewalk of a busy street, four lanes
of rush-hour traffic WHIZZING PAST.
Abruptly, Drake cuts into the traffic, LEAPING atop the hood
of an oncoming car. The car's HORN sounds, brakes SQUEAL.
BLADE FOLLOWS,
jumping onto the hood of another car. More
HORNS sound.
In this manner. Drake and Blade race across the flowing
traffic itself. using the hoods and roofs of the cars like
moving stepping stones.
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET
Drake mounts the steps of an older apartment building,
THUNDERS his way through the main entrance --
INT. OLDER BUILDING - STAIRWELL/CORRIDOR - DAY
Blade is on Drake like a shadow. We're internal now, the
sound of Blade's LABORED BREATH moving to the foreground of
the soundscape.
Chaos. A BARKING DOG darting from a doorway. Up ahead, an
OLD MAN has been knocked over. An insane dash up two flights
of stairs, then down a corridor, passing MORE TENANTS.
Somewhere, a WOMAN SCREAMS. We hear GLASS BREAKING and --
WOMAN
My baby
-- there's another open door --
INT. OLDER BUILDING - APARTMENT - DAY
-- Blade tears into an apartment, p