Dark Heaven

EXT. Night. Outside a pub in a city street. It has been snowing, and has settled deep on the streets. The year is 1843. From within comes the sound of laughter and merrymaking. The street is dark, lit only by the moon, and empty; everyone is sheltering from the cold.
As the door to the pub opens, a warm glow fills the street and the sound of laughter increases. Momentarily the street becomes a friendlier place as a MAN steps out, bidding farewell to his friends inside and laughing at their jokes as he departs. He is in period costume; a top hat, cloak and cane. As he closes the door, he is still smiling, but the street becomes the cold and dark
place it was before.
He walks down the street, his breath hanging in the air, but the drink has warmed him sufficiently. He passes an alley, and pauses, as he hears a moan coming from within the dark recess. A moan of despair and terrible pain. The MAN looks into the alley, but it is too dark to make anything out. He calls into the alley, a note of anxiety in his voice:

      MAN: I say, is there someone in there?

The moan comes again, sounding more desperate. The MAN begins to walk into the darkness, taking uncertain steps.

      MAN: Are you alright in there?

As his eyes adjust to the dark, he sees a figure, a TRAMP, curled on the floor. He is dressed in rags, with a filthy cloak pulled up over his head, so his face is unseen. The moaning becomes more pathetic. There is something almost inhuman about it. The MAN leans in close to him, his face revealing his disgust at the smell
emanating from the TRAMP.

      MAN: Can I help you?

      TRAMP: (In an Eastern European accent, his face still unseen) Perhaps you can…

In a flurry of fluid motion, the tramp is on his feet, his left
hand grasped around the MAN’s throat. The MAN is lifted off the ground as the TRAMP raises him above his head. The cloak falls from the TRAMP, and his face is revealed: his dark hair is long and matted, absolutely filthy. He has a beard, also filthy, with what appear to be chunks of meat entwined in the hair, with dried blood clotted in as well. The TRAMP’s face is covered in boils and sores; he appears to be on death’s door…
But his eyes are full of life. The irises are an icy, unnatural blue, like an Arctic wolf. His teeth are black, but all are needle sharp (Not just the canines, but all of them). His fingers end in thick, black, bear like claws, which dig into the MAN’s skin: small drops of blood well up, but nothing life threatening.

      MAN: (Choking) Dear God… help me!

      TRAMP: God? (Laughs maliciously) God didn’t help me, my friend, as you can see! What gives you the arrogance to think he’ll come to the aid of a worm like you?

The laugh dies, and the TRAMP’s face becomes hard. As he holds the MAN high, he looks into his face, almost sadly… almost, as though he remembers an emotion he hasn’t felt for such a long time.

      TRAMP: You know, there was a time when I was sorry I had to do this… But I’ve come too far to feel anything for you, my new friend. And your sacrifice to ensure my survival is the most important thing you shall ever do!

The MAN’s face is now full of fear as he realises he is about to die. Still holding the MAN in the air, the TRAMP flexes his fingers of his right hand, and the claws seem to elongate. He pulls his hand back and swings upwards, so that the claws pierce the MAN’s throat, and drive up into his jaw. A shower of blood dribbles from the wound, down the TRAMP’s arm, and spurts all over his face and body, and into his mouth. The blood has an unusual effect on the TRAMP/VAMPIRE; his skin starts to smoke, but there is no stain left by the blood. It is almost as if it is absorbed straight into his body. The boils begin to vanish, leaving unblemished white skin. The VAMPIRE’s hair and beard becomes smooth, sleek and shiny, the rotted meat and clotted blood falling away to the ground. The teeth turn from black to a bright white, and almost become sharper. His eyes remain the same blue white colour…
As the VAMPIRE throws the corpse to the ground, tearing the rest of the throat out, WILLIAM walks past the alley. He is a tall handsome figure, well dressed with a cane, in his late 30’s, but with an air of misery about him, as though something terrible has happened to him recently. He sees the VAMPIRE throw the body of the MAN to the ground. A look of horror flashes across his face as he sees the VAMPIRE devouring the flesh of the MAN’s throat. He starts to walk into the alley, raising his cane.

      WILLIAM: What are you doing?!

The VAMPIRE turns to face WILLIAM, blood dribbling down his face,
but slowly being absorbed into his skin. WILLIAM pauses for a
moment in shock. He looks at the mutilated corpse.

      WILLIAM: Dear God! (Turning to face the VAMPIRE, his face showing his absolute fury and disgust) What have you done?!

He continues to advance on the VAMPIRE. He swings the cane at the VAMPIRE, who grabs it and wrenches it from his grip and throws it against the wall, where it snaps in two. WILLIAM, unshaken by the VAMPIRE’s speed, proceeds to punch the vampire in the face. A tooth is dislodged and flies from his mouth where, owing to it’s sharpness, embeds itself into a wall. The VAMPIRE spits out a mouthful of blood onto the ground, which smokes and dissolves, turning the snow to steam. He turns to face WILLIAM, standing to his full height, with a malicious grin. WILLIAM can see, in the gap where he knocked out the tooth, a new one regrowing rapidly. WILLIAM’s face is full of shock and fear: he hadn’t realised what he was getting himself into. But, after a moment, he rushes at the VAMPIRE, who sidesteps. WILLIAM stops short of the wall, and turns on his heel.

      VAMPIRE: A worthy adversary at last! It has been far too long since I’ve fought an opponent with such spirit!

The VAMPIRE grabs WILLIAM around the throat and hurls him with superhuman strength into the wall. He falls to the floor, and remains there, too weak and shocked to stand.

      VAMPIRE: But I’m afraid I shall have to cut this dance short, I have far more important tasks to perform this night. But your soul shall aid my flight from this miserable place.

The VAMPIRE leaps into the air, flying towards WILLIAM, as though gravity has no effect on the VAMPIRE. As he gets closer, WILLIAM raises his arm, and the broken cane in his hand, which he grasped as he landed from being thrown, pierces the VAMPIRE’s chest. The VAMPIRE emits an unearthly howl as his blood spurts from the wound. Some of it splatters against the wall, where it smokes and dissolves, but leaves no mark at all. However, some of it gets on WILLIAM’s face, where it smokes. But, instead of simply vanishing, it makes his skin glow, softly at first, but getting brighter steadily. At first, WILLIAM doesn’t notice; he looks in horror at what he has done to the VAMPIRE, who is writhing on the ground in agony, grabbing the cane and trying to pull it from his chest, but to no avail.

      VAMPIRE: No! It’s too soon! I have so much work left undone! Unless… this was what was meant to be…

Suddenly, he notices the glow coming from WILLIAM’s skin, and smiles, despite the pain.

      VAMPIRE: So, another to take my place. And the one that killed me! How appropriate.

He crawls over to WILLIAM, and pulls him close.

      VAMPIRE: Listen to me William… I know you now, we share minds. It happens at the time of death and rebirth. You now have the strength to save them… Stop… the dark…

But before the VAMPIRE can explain any more, he gives another unearthly howl of pain. His eyes open wide, as he suddenly flies into the air and hangs there, suspended for several seconds. Suddenly, with violent force, he falls, and the cane drives its full force into the ground, pinning the VAMPIRE to the earth. He lets out a gasp of pain, spiting blood out of his mouth, and dies. The strange white tint in his eyes disappear; they become a dark brown colour, but are human once again.
WILLIAM has watched all this, still hunched against the wall, shocked. The glow of his skin begins to intensify, and he only just begins to notice. Suddenly, bright white light erupts from his eyes, and the pain is so strong that WILLIAM screams like he’s never screamed before. His whole body glows, and the scream becomes as unholy as the VAMPIRE’s. Suddenly, the light withdraws into his body, and he lies in the alley, crouched against the wall, out of breath. When he recovers, he first notices that the VAMPIRE’s body has gone, leaving no trace, but the broken cane is still embedded in the ground. Snow starts to fall from the sky.
WILLIAM stands, shakily, and stumbles against the wall. When he steadies himself, he first notices how his fingers now end in thick black claws. He examines his hands more closely, as if unbelieving that they are real. He begins to panic, and runs from the alley, back into the street. No-one is around. He runs to a building and peers into a dark window. He sees he’s eyes: they are the same as the VAMPIRE’s, the same whitish blue tint to them. His teeth have changed too, the same needle points that devoured the MAN. WILLIAM looks at the reflection in fear, and then a look of rage comes over him. He begins to snarl, and smashes the glass in the window, the shards smoking slightly as they catch his skin and draw blood. However, when he looks at his hand again, there is not a single cut, and the blood is reabsorbed back into his skin. The rage in him intensifies, and he turns to the heavens, and emits a howl full of anger that has no business on Earth…