Thanks to everybody who has read and reviewed so far. I really appreciate it. :)
Sorry about the delays, will try to have the next chapter up quicker.
INT.THE LAIR - NIGHT
Night has just fallen. The light entering the prison has that dusky thickness when it is difficult for human eyes to see and focus. The kind of light that hides things, but nothing is hidden from the two sitting there. Blade has always had this sharp night vision and Meg is really experiencing it for the first time as her turning is almost finished.
She is trembling on the floor, shaking with a need that she won't allow herself to feel but can't stop from overwhelming her. The burns are still fresh and oozing, she can't heal when she won't feed.
Blade is squatting next to her in a black t-shirt and pants. His tattoos crawling up from underneath the clothing.
BLADE
It's
blood but freely given.
MEG
I
don't want it.
BLADE
Don't
make me force you.
(There
is the tiniest bit of tenderness in his voice.)
Without
blood you won't heal.
Whistler's voice echoes in from the outside of the room.
WHISTLER
(O.S.)
We've
got company! Patrol heading through! Power's going out!
Now.
The faint lights of the lair switch off. Now the dusk has given way to twilight. Immediately Blade and Meg's eyes light up with a eerie shine.
BLADE
We
can save you, but not if you die before Karen makes
the
cure. Drink.
He holds out the bag again. This time Meg reaches for it slowly. Her eyes turn up to his and they both recoil from the confrontation. The truth about what they are is still too raw for both of them.
MEG
(Drinks
and then pauses.)
I
never told you why. Why I hunt them.
BLADE
You
don't owe me.
MEG
Have
you ever been in love?
He doesn't answer.
MEG(cont.)
I
was once. Until he told me the truth about what he was.
He
offered to save me…(Her voice grows quiet.)
…give
me eternal life with him. There was just one
little
catch.
BLADE
You
said no.
MEG
Just
before I staked him and just after he'd shown
me
how he fed.
The bag turns round and round in her hands as she debates the hypocrisy of it all.
BLADE
So
you didn't love him.
MEG
Even
more frightening…I did.
A flashlight's timid light pierces the gloom, from outside. The patrol that Whistler spoke of. They both watch it pass across the ceiling and then fade away.
MEG
(cont.)
You're
telling me the truth? About a cure?
BLADE
You'd
be ash otherwise.
MEG
But
why did you do it? Why save me? You fight this thirst
everyday.
Why risk yourself for me? Blade? (Silence.)
Why
would chance yourself for a complete stranger?
BLADE
It
wasn't vampires that killed you. I did.
She doesn't even flinch.
MEG
There
aren't any guarantees in this kind of work.
You
didn't owe me anything. You still don't.
BLADE
Whistler
says its my human side showing through. Drink.
Meg drinks deeply and empties the bag. He has another one ready. Her face is starting to heal, new skin crawling over the old.
MEG
And
if she can't find a cure…
BLADE
Don't
worry. You'll be ash.
(A
beat.)
Until
then, I'll let you out if you promise to play nicely.
And
you only feed on what I give you.
Meg smiles faintly and nods.
MEG
You'd
trust me.
BLADE
Hell,
no. But I'll use you. Let you keep doing what
you've
been doing. Fighting them.
MEG
Is
that how it works?
BLADE
Until
the day you die.
INT.THE LAIR - NIGHT
The lights have come back on. Whistler is angry, mostly because Blade and Meg are standing in front of him.
WHISTLER
We
can't afford the risk.
BLADE
It's
my risk, old man.
WHISTLER
And
you won't live too long if you keep trusting
random
fuckers like this.
Meg bristles angrily.
MEG
I
still believe the same things I did two days ago.
I
hope to god you can cure me, if not, you both
know
what I want. Ash…
WHISTLER
You…
MEG
(Interrupts.)
I'm
not finished. Until then, I can fight them. I
want
to fight them. I may not have your kill
count,
but I've taken a fair number of them to
their
graves.
BLADE
Feisty,
isn't she?
Whistler scowls angrily.
WHISTLER
We
can't trust her.
BLADE
And
they won't be expecting her.
WHISTLER
A
plant?
BLADE
She'll
be able to move among them.
WHISTLER
After
what happened last time?
Whistler shoves a rifle across the table angrily. Lightning fast, almost as fast as Blade, Meg reaches out and stops it. He glares at her then turns and clomps away from them, his disapproval marred slightly by the heavy limp in his leg.
Meg turns to Blade, she never meant to come between them.
MEG
Are
you going to tell him?
BLADE
He
doesn't need to know.
She turns her eyes to his: amber reflecting amber.
MEG
He
should know.
BLADE
He'll
get over it. Let's go hunting.
(He
pauses and looks at her torn and bloody clothes.)
You'll
need to change first.
EXT.OUTSIDE WHISTLER'S VAN - NIGHT
Blade is dressed in all black. Tactical vest and pants, lightweight black shirt, katana on his back, and various assorted other fun toys to kill vampires with. His omnipresent sunglasses are already in place.
Meg is also in black but less so. She is wearing black pants tucked into knee-high boots with a grey silk shirt under a black corset. Fashionable enough to fit in with the haute coutre of vampire dress. Although it doesn't look it, her clothes are all woven cloth, not as functional as Blade's but a pretty good. She's hunted in them before.
She also looks unarmed except for the tiny glint of silver in one boot.
WHISTLER
Are
you even armed?
MEG
Doesn't
do me much good if they can see it.
He reaches into the van and pulls out a small earpiece and button like transponder that he clips into the top of her shirt.
WHISTLER
You
speak normally and we'll hear every word. You'll also
be
able to hear us. I've boosted the exterior noise dampening
so
ambient noise should filter out.
MEG
So,
number of exits and suck-heads.
BLADE
For
the first run. Yes.
WHISTLER
No
silly heroics.
MEG
Yeah,
well you remember to watch the UV in there.
BLADE
I
thought you didn't care.
Meg turns to him, adjusting the earpiece in her ear. She has clipped her hair back into a long braided tail so that it won't get in the way.
MEG
Just
hopeful for a cure.
(She
grimaces at him lightly.)
And
because I'd rather drink a beer than that
swill you keep
giving me.
WHISTLER
Hmmph.
MEG
(Snaps.)
Lighten
up, old man.
Blade almost chuckles, but not really. Whistler doesn't take it so well.
WHISTLER
This
isn't a game, dammit.
Her smile fades.
WHISTLER
(cont.)
We're
doing serious things here. Things I've spent my whole
life
doing. It's not a fucking joke.
She doesn't back down, not an inch. And maybe it's at the instant that Whistler starts to realize how much like Blade she is becoming and it frightens him a little bit. She gets right up in his face, so close he can see the sharp edges of her fangs beneath her lips.
MEG
No,
it's not a fucking joke. But it's better than the alternative.
WHISTLER
The
alternative?
MEG
Forgetting
that I'm human.
INT.VAMPIRE CLUB - NIGHT
Blade is alone in the center of the club. He walks slowly between the dancers as no one has recognized him yet. The club is pumping to the hardcore techno that vampires seem to prefer, he never finds them at classical concerts anyway.
He reaches the center and looks up at the huge disco ball suspended above the floor.
BLADE
Meg?
MEG
(O.S. filter)
Yeah,
Blade.
BLADE
You
might want to find cover.
Her voice is a dim "Fuck!" as he removes the UV light from his harness and points it upward. The rays reflect off the ball and turn the club into a charnal house of burning vamps and ash.
The club is chaos with vampires running and screaming in every direction. The light is doing more damage than he could ever do alone when a vampire finally gets the right idea and shoots the disco ball off the ceiling. Immediately the club descends back into the half darkness of strobe lights.
MEG
(O.S. filter)
You're
a real fucking bastard.
BLADE
(Grins
darkly.)
Time to come out and play.
Vampires, some half-burned and covered in weeping sores, attack. Blade spins among them, his fighting a liquid mix of brutality and beauty. He is so fast and they are so plentiful that ash and fire burst around him like organic fireworks.
Although Meg and Whistler are also fighting, Blade is always the one to watch. He is the ultimate vampire killer. Every movement efficient and ruthless.
It doesn't take as long as they thought to clear the club. The UV demoralized or damaged most of the vampires inside.
Ten minutes later, Meg plants her boot on top of the last living vamp as Blade readies himself to make a final blow.
VAMPIRE
Wait!
BLADE
Isn't
that what they all say?
VAMPIRE
You
asshole. When He comes back it won't be so
fucking
funny.
BLADE
Who?
VAMPIRE
I
think I'll just let you find out.
Meg leans into her foot, putting her weight onto the vamp's ribs which crack under the stress.
MEG
What
are you talking about?
VAMPIRE
Nothing.
I don't know anything.
Blade adds his weight to Meg's.
BLADE
That's
not what you said a moment ago.
VAMPIRE
Ah,
bull shit! Fuck me!
Meg looks at Blade and shrugs as she starts to lean further onto the vamp.
VAMPIRE
(cont.)
(To
Meg.)
You're
one of us. How could you?
She snarls and plants downward. The vamp screams.
MEG
I'm
not even close.
She is ready to stomp again when the vampire thrusts himself up as hard as he can. Blade's katana, already so close, pierces his heart and ashes him.
VAMPIRE
Go
west, fuckwad. You'll see when He
fucking
kills you. Fuckwad!
As he collapses into nothingness Blade and Meg stand silently and watch the remains disappear.
BLADE
Was
that supposed to be funny?
MEG
I
don't know. West.
BLADE
It's
the second time I've heard it.
MEG
Then
maybe you should listen.
He nods solemnly.
BLADE
After
the cure arrives. They're not going anywhere.
He sweeps away from Meg who smiles sadly but in gracious relief.
INT. THE LAIR - NIGHT
Two weeks later.
Blade comes in from the street, driving the Charger. He parks and sees Whistler waiting for him. The old man looks happier than he's been in days.
As Blade approaches him he sees why. A small Styrofoam packing box is on the workbench. A set of two vials inside.
WHISTLER
Karen
came through.
(He
hands it to Blade.)
Do
you want some help with it?
BLADE
I'll
do it.
The vial rolls between his fingers as he examines it. The fluid inside is clear, so simple and clear and utterly innocuous.
WHISTLER
Blade.
I understand what you're going through.
What
you see when you look at her. (A pause.)
A
way to continue your line. I know this is a hard
life
– no room for anything – no room for a family.
(Blade
gives him a funny look.) I know that Nyssa
affected
you more than you want to admit.
BLADE
You're
about twenty years too late for this talk.
WHISTLER
I
saw her eyes. (Blade pauses.) She's becoming
like
you. Hell, she's even getting your blasted
sense
of humor. That doesn't change things.
She's
still a vampire.
BLADE
I
know exactly what she is.
WHISTLER
I
just want to be certain that you're going to use that cure.
And
I wouldn't have questioned your judgment before…
BLADE
Walk
very carefully, old man.
WHISTLER
We've
been together too long to speak anything
but
plainly. Right now, she is the enemy.
BLADE
(Interrupts.)
Stop.
There is tense anger between them. A new anger that wasn't there before.
WHISTLER
Maybe
you'd better remind yourself of the
differences
between friends and enemies.
Blade bristles as he slides the vaccine into his pocket. His sunglasses are still in place and there is no real evidence of his feelings except the slight warning note in his voice.
BLADE
It's
funny how those lines start to blur.
He starts up the stairs towards Meg's room, or prison, that she uses when he's not around.
WHISTER
Can
you do it?
Blade keeps walking, perhaps we notice that his hands are unusually tense on the handrail.
BLADE
You
worry about the west coast.
I'll
worry about her.