by Tyler Moody
by Tyler Moody
TEASER
FADE IN:
INT. FRANK'S DINER - NIGHT
Busy. Frantic. MIKE is trying to put on a jacket, but he's
gone about it too fast and is rather stuck. JAMIE sits at the
bar, a stack of school books in front of him, watching Mike's
situation with great interest.
FRANK emerges from the back of the diner, loading his
SHOTGUN.
FRANK
The hell's wrong with you?
MIKE
I'm having trouble.
VI runs down the stairs, dressed for a fight in comfortable,
utilitarian clothing.
VI
Let's go.
FRANK
Ladybird is stuck in her coat.
Vi rolls her eyes. Crossing the diner to Mike, she grabs his
jacket, helping him slide his arms in.
MIKE
Thank you, Patterson.
VI
Patterson?
MIKE
'S a butler name.
VI
I've never met any butler named
Patterson.
MIKE
How many butlers have you met?
She says nothing.
MIKE (CONT'D)
(beat)
I rest my case.
Vi turns as TAMSIN comes down the stairs, pinning her hair
back. TYLER is right behind her.
TYLER
I wanna go.
No one seems to hear Tyler.
VI
Tamsin, have you ever met any
butlers named Patterson?
TAMSIN
What, just because I'm British I'm
supposed to know butlers?
TYLER
Can I go?
Tyler still gets no response. Tamsin crosses over to Jamie
and gives him a quick kiss on the forehead.
VI
Mike just said --
TYLER
I wanna go!
FRANK
(shouting)
Hey! Everybody! Shut up!
They all do, turning to Frank. He's put his gun on the
counter to tie his boot. Now he grabs it.
FRANK (CONT'D)
We're going to kill demons now. We
can talk about butlers later. Or
never. I'd prefer never. Now let's
go!
(under his breath)
God, I wish Billie was here.
Frank exits.
Shocked into silence, the team proceeds to follow their
leader to the door. Tyler stops Mike before he leaves as the
others exit.
TYLER
Why can't I go? Callie's out of
town and I'm bored.
MIKE
Sorry, dude. It's not my call, it's
Frank's. And he says you're not
equipped to handle this sort of
thing.
TYLER
But I've fought stuff before!
MIKE
Kind of.
Tyler scowls.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Hey, man. It's not your fault.
You're just a regular guy. A Joe
Schmo. Not a commando with sweet
ass ninja moves or a stunningly
handsome warlock like myself.
Tyler frowns. From outside, Frank's SUV HONKS.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Hang out when I get back?
TYLER
(unenthusiastically)
Yeah.
Mike extends his fist. Tyler looks at it, rolls his eyes.
Another louder, more impatient HONK from outside. They fist
bump and Mike leaves.
Tyler SIGHS, sitting down at the bar beside Jamie. He looks
at Jamie's books. Hoping to be helpful, he leans in.
TYLER (CONT'D)
Need some help there, J? What ya
studying?
JAMIE
Trigonometry. We're finding the
sine and cosine based on the value
of the hypotenuse.
Tyler looks at the boy blankly for a beat.
TYLER
Hmm.
With that, Tyler pulls a paperback out of his back pocket and
begins reading. Jamie shrugs and returns his work as we:
CUT TO:
EXT. HEAVEN'S GATE PARK - LATER
MID-FIGHT.
A HUGE RED HUMANOID DEMON stands in the middle of the park,
surrounded by the team. It swings its massive FIST at Vi, who
FLIPS back out of the way.
Mike's hands are coated in GOLD ENERGY-- he's prepping
something big.
FLETCHER kneels next to a PRONE Frank.
FLETCHER
You okay?
FRANK
(winded)
Just fine...
Fletcher helps Frank sit up.
FRANK (CONT'D)
Where's my gun?
FLETCHER
(points)
It's over there. Well. A lot of
it's over there.
Frank looks in the direction Fletcher's pointing. From HIS
POV, we can see FRAGMENTS of his beloved gun, scattered
across the ground.
FRANK
Damn.
Meanwhile, Mike's spell is finished. With some GARBLED LATIN,
he releases the energy in his hands, a GOLDEN FLASH of power
striking the demon, knocking it down. The demon ROLLS across
the grass, finally coming to rest against a thick tree trunk,
sprawled out.
Slowly, cautiously, Tamsin approaches the demon. After
NUDGING it with the tip of her shoe, she turns to the team.
TAMSIN
It's dead. I don't know what that
was, Mike, but it was fairly
awesome.
MIKE
I do try.
Fletcher pulls Frank up. The leader goes over to the shards
of his gun, distraught.
FRANK
Oh, come on. There are some lines
not even demons should cross.
The Watcher puts his hand on Frank's shoulder
FLETCHER
It'll be alright. Tomorrow we'll go
to the store and buy you a new
substitute penis.
FRANK
Promise?
Fletcher SMILES, but the ROAR OF A DEMON has him back in
fight mode instantly.
Standing at the dead body of its brother, behind Tamsin, is
ANOTHER RED DEMON. It and the dead one are identical, and
this unfortunately includes its awesome strength. With a
backhanded SLAP, it sends Tamsin FLYING across the park. Vi
manages to catch her, but both women hit the ground hard.
Mike RAPID-FIRES energy bolts at the demon, clearly hurting
it.
Frank grabs a piece of gun off the ground and hurls it,
hitting the demon in the eye.
FRANK (CONT'D)
Vengeance!
The demon HOWLS, turns, and RUNS. Mike continues zapping it
until it's out of sight.
Panting, Vi and Tamsin regroup with the guys.
VI
(to Mike)
It got away from you there.
MIKE
Hey, I said I try. I didn't say I
succeed.
Frank feels at his waist.
FRANK
(gruff)
Where's the tracker.
All eyes look around. Fletcher spots something.
FLETCHER
(pointing)
There. In a few more pieces than
your gun.
FRANK
God dammit!
FLETCHER
We need to get back to base. Mike
can use the sphere to track down
our runner.
FRANK
(to the others)
You heard the man! Let's go! Let's
go!
He turns sharply and heads back to the car. Mike throws a
sarcastic SALUTE at his back.
TAMSIN
What's his problem?
FLETCHER
The demon broke his gun.
Tamsin winces.
CUT TO:
INT. FRANK'S DINER - NIGHT
Tyler is still reading. Jamie has left.
TYLER
Oh, Simon Greene. So cliche, but so
much fun.
Suddenly the door to the diner BURSTS OPEN to the familiar
sound of BELLS. The rest of the gang enters, moving quickly
towards the back.
TYLER (CONT'D)
(jumping up)
How'd it go?
VI
Coulda gone better. One got away.
Gonna go track it down.
Tyler puts his book on the table and follows them.
TYLER
Can I help?
FLETCHER
I really don't see how.
Tyler stops short, the door to the kitchen swinging closed in
his face.
TYLER
(sighs)
Awesome.
He sits back down at the table, picking up his book.
CUT TO:
INT. COMMAND CENTER - CONTINUOUS
The team gathers around the swirling silver SPHERE. Everyone
but Mike and Fletcher takes a station at a computer console.
Fletcher grabs his small laptop, while Mike himself discards
his jacket and rolls up his sleeves. Slowly reaching out,
Mike takes the sphere in his hands.
A BRIGHT FLASH, and we're OUTSIDE, near a LAKE. The Demon is
there.
WE FLASH BACK to the Command Center. Mike's face is screwed
up in concentration.
MIKE
Almost got him....
SUPERIMPOSED over this scene, now, is an image of the demon.
It seems to be able to sense what's going on. Its eyes glow
RED.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Guys! Guys! I think it can see
us...
FRANK
What? How?
(to Fletcher)
How?
FLETCHER
I have no idea!
The red in the demon's eyes begin to leak out, no longer
contained in the sockets.
MIKE
Holy-- it's doing something!
Something... "red"!
As RED BOLTS crackle out of the sphere into the Command
Center, Fletcher cries out.
FLETCHER
It must be using some sort of magic
energy to... to overload the
sphere! A feedback loop!
VI
That sounds bad!
The red bolts come FASTER AND STRONGER, and a HEAVY WIND
forms, ex nihilo, LOUD AND FAST. Everyone has to shout over
it now.
FLETCHER
If we can't stop it, the Sphere
could blow!
MIKE
How do I stop it?!
FLETCHER
Slowly pull back your connection
with the demon. Very carefully
disengage!
MIKE
Okay, I'm gonna try--
THE LARGEST BOLT YET strikes the Sphere and is redirected,
hitting Mike right in the chest! He's blown back, away from
the sphere.
And that's all it takes. The sudden severing of the
connection pushes the Sphere over the edge, and with a HIGH
WHINE, it begins to rotate FASTER AND FASTER, whips of energy
snapping off harder and quicker and brighter and more
powerful until finally, with an earsplitting CRACK, the
sphere EXPLODES!
WHITE OUT.
END OF TEASER
ACT ONE
FADE IN:
EXT. HEAVEN'S GATE PARK - NIGHT
The park is abandoned. Empty. Except... there's a shape lying
on the ground. We PUSH IN on the shape, and it rolls over.
It's Mike, beat up and unconscious.
He wakes up, GROANING. With the back of his hand, he wipes at
his face.
MIKE
What the ass damn hell...
He pushes himself up on one hand, WINCING at a pain in his
arm. Managing to stand, he checks his pockets.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Wallet... check.
On the ground he spots his jacket. When he picks it up, he
realizes it's been BURNED AND TORN, making about a half
jacket. A vest, really.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Good, because, you know, jackets in
January are really an extravagance.
He tosses the jacket back onto the ground and proceeds
towards the park entrance.
CUT TO:
EXT. EDGE OF PARK - MOMENTS LATER
Mike walks, tired and in pain.
MIKE
I hate the Sphere, I hate demons, I
hate Fletcher, I hate Frank, I
hate...
But he steps on something METAL and stops.
Mike crouches down to see what he's stepped on. It's a
RECTANGULAR PIECE OF METAL, but it's covered in BLACK ASH. He
wipes the layers of ash away to reveal that it's a SIGN.
At one point, it said: "Welcome to HEAVEN'S GATE!" But
between then and now, someone crossed out the "HEAVEN" with
spray paint and painted above it, "HELL." Welcome to HELL'S
GATE.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Well, yeah.
He drops the sign. Dusting off his hands, he continues
walking into the city.
The surrounding buildings are BURNED OUT, abandoned, empty.
The glass in all the windows is broken. The streets are
strewn with RUBBLE and TRASH, marked with CRATERS and SCORCH
MARKS. What's more, it's totally quiet. SILENT. No one is
out. No cars on the road.
Mike is all alone.
MIKE (CONT'D)
What the Hell...
A QUICK FLASH: The sphere exploding.
Mike's eyes open wide.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Oh my God! I blew up the city!
Before the horror of this thought can grip him, the
CLATTERING of feet against metal catch his attention. Even
such a small sound is enough to pierce the silence and
solitude of this scene.
Then a louder and, to Mike, more familiar sound. A SCREAM.
Without thought, Mike runs off in the direction of the
scream.
CUT TO:
EXT. HELL'S GATE - ALLEY - NIGHT
A small group of people - TWO MEN and THREE WOMEN - are
cornered in the alley. Desperately, they try to find
something to defend themselves with, but there's nothing.
From the other end of the alley, a pack of DEMONIC DOGS
approach. These dogs resemble Dobermans, but they aren't. For
one thing, they each have TWO HEADS. MULTIPLE ROWS OF TEETH
fill their twin mouths, their black saliva drips onto the
ground where it sizzles and smokes. Purple eyes, sunk low in
their sockets, take in every detail of their prey.
The four dogs are so wide that they can't stand together in
the alley. They have to go two-by-two.
GIRL #1
Oh my God!
GIRL #2
What are we gonna do?
One of the demon dogs GROWLS, knees bending. It's preparing
to leap.
GUY #1
Everyone, get behind me.
This guy - the biggest of the five - pushes forward,
shielding his friends with his body. Heroic. Futile.
The dog LEAPS, a ball of teeth and claws and fur. When it's a
scant inch away from Guy #1, a BLUE BOLT strikes it right in
the belly, sparking and sending it hurtling into an alley
wall.
The terrified teenagers - and the demons - turn around to the
other end of the alley. There stands Mike, hands glowing blue
and spread apart at the level of his hips, the last of the
sun's rays silhouetting him in the entrance.
MIKE
Oh yeah. Just in the nick of time.
For a moment, no one moves. They're too shocked at the
interruption.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Hey? You guys wanna flee the scary
rabid demons?
The teens run towards Mike. The dogs move to follow, but Mike
unloads more of his magic bolts, knocking them back, stunning
them. When the teens reach him, he turns to run with them.
GUY #1
Who are you?
MIKE
I am Mike, and I will be your hero
this evening.
GIRL #1
Where did you come from?
MIKE
That's a pretty good story but I
can't remember the part in the
middle.
GIRL #1
What?
MIKE
I -- it's -- never mind, just keep
running.
A deep BARK from behind the group speeds them on. Mike looks
over his shoulder -- the dogs have regrouped and given chase,
closing in on their human prey. Mike whirls around, fists
curled, ready for action.
The group Mike's trying to rescue LEG IT, leaving him alone
to face them down.
Two of the dogs LEAP into the air.
Mike's fists are suddenly wrapped in GOLDEN WIRE. He PUNCHES
the two dogs and they FLY BACK, arching across, falling in
the street, not moving.
The other two dogs JUMP TOO, and Mike misses them!
One BITES Mike's arm, pulling him down. The other jumps on
Mike's chest and starts CLAWING at him.
BOOM!
Before the dog can do much damage, it's BLOWN AWAY by a
powerful gun blast. Another BOOM, and the second dog follows.
Mike looks up.
THREE HEAVILY-ARMED DEMON HUNTERS stand across the street.
--MAX (24), a lean man with shaggy blonde hair. He's pointing
a gun at where the dogs used to be.
--TIFFANY (20), a young black girl with a knife in one hand a
and a revolver in the other.
--COLE (37), a big man with a sword on his belt and a shotgun
in his hands.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Now that's pretty cool.
The demon hunters approach Mike, scanning the surroundings
for anything dangerous.
MAX
You okay, man?
Mike starts to get up, wiping at his scratches.
MIKE
Nothing I haven't dealt with
before.
TIFFANY
We know the feeling.
MIKE
Where did you guys come from? I've
never seen you --
COLE
Can we "hi-hello" later? We need to
get out of here before Sheba shows
up.
MIKE
Who's Sheba?
A LOUD, HIGH ROAR.
Cole looks around, raising his shotgun, terrified.
COLE
We don't get our asses out of here,
you're gonna find out.
MAX
All right, we'll get back to base.
Uh... new guy, you --
MIKE
Mike.
MAX
Okay. Mike. Follow Tiff. Tiffany,
you're behind me, Cole, watch our
backs.
The four of them set off down the street.
EXT. HELL'S GATE - ALLEY - NIGHT
The group walks into a dead-end alley. Cole and Tiffany take
the entrance, guns pointed outward. Max crouches down on the
alley floor.
Mike looks around, confused.
MIKE
Is this your base? 'Cause, don't
get me wrong, thanks for saving me,
but I'm not exactly impressed.
MAX
Quiet.
Max traces the ground with a finger, MUTTERING under his
breath in an ancient language.
The ground begins to SHAKE.
A DEEP FISSURE splits the alley where Max is tracing. It CUTS
THE ALLEY IN HALF, splitting the ground, until finally AN
UNDERGROUND STAIRWAY is visible.
MIKE
(beat)
I'm a little impressed.
MAX
Let's get downstairs.
CUT TO:
INT. UNDERGROUND STAIRS - NIGHT
Max, Tiffany, Mike, and Cole proceed down the long, dark
staircase, illuminated only by torches.
MIKE
This is amazing.
COLE
Necessity's the mother of stuff.
MIKE
Eloquently put.
(to Max)
How long has this thing been down
here?
MAX
Oh, I'd say... about eight years?
MIKE
How the Hell did I not know about
this?
MAX
Don't exactly go around bragging
about it. If word got around...
He trails off, like his meaning should be obvious. Mike
doesn't think it's obvious.
MIKE
If word got around what?
Cole leans in.
COLE
You stupid or something? They'd
find us, that's what?
MIKE
But who are they? Will someone tell
me what's going on, please?
They've reached the end of the stairs.
Mike comes to a DEAD STOP as he sees where the stairs have
led them.
It's a HUGE NETWORK OF CAVES.
Lights have been strung up all through the caves. LOADS AND
LOADS OF PEOPLE mingle about in the caves, talking, nodding.
They're dressed in rough clothing, functional instead of
stylish.
MIKE (CONT'D)
An underground city. No way.
COLE
(to Max)
Better take him to the leader, so
no one shoots him for being
unfamiliar.
MIKE
I'm sorry, shoot? Someone's going
to shoot me? Why? Why? Why?
TIFFANY
You could be a vampire, or a
shifter, or a ghoul, or a
skinwalker, or really any number of
terrible, awful things.
(beat)
Or people just won't want to share
their food.
MIKE
Gotta love Objectivism.
Max motions to Mike.
MAX
Let's go.
CUT TO:
INT. CAVE TUNNEL - NIGHT
Max and Mike walk the long tunnel. Besides them, it's empty.
MIKE
Where are we going?
MAX
To see the leader. He'll give you a
badge so you can stay here without
any... hostility.
Mike notices for the first time the ORANGE PENTAGRAM knitted
onto Max's coat. The badge he was speaking of?
MIKE
So who is "the leader"?
MAX
The guy who brought us all
together. He built this place,
taught us how to fight. He's kind
of a legend.
CUT TO:
INT. THE LEADER'S CHAMBERS - NIGHT
There's rough furniture in the room, which is just a dug-out
in the cave. A couple of beat up book shelves filled with
paperbacks and books on demons rest against the walls.
Tunnels lead out of the main room to smaller ones, deeper in
the complex. Max guides Mike to a chair near a table.
MAX
Have a seat, I'll find him.
As Mike sits, Max disappears into a back tunnel.
Mike looks around the room, uncomfortable, a bit scared. He's
tense -- ready to jump at any moment, all wire and reflex.
After a long, silent moment, there's a voice behind him:
THE LEADER (O.S.)
Who do we have here?
Mike turns to look behind him.
MIKE
I'm -- what?
REVERSE ANGLE TO REVEAL THE LEADER -- better known as Tyler!
An older Tyler, with a thick beard and old eyes. He's lost
his adorable chub and replaced it with sheer hard muscle. He
stands at the opening of a tunnel, his arms folded. Gone are
the Tyler Nerd T-Shirts. He wears functional clothing, very
much like Frank.
MIKE (CONT'D)
T-- Tyler?
Mike stands up, the chair SLOWLY TIPPING OVER behind him.
Tyler's jaw drops. After a beat, he rushes forward and GRABS
MIKE IN A DEEP HUG, lifting Mike off his feet.
TYLER
Mike? I mean... really Mike?
MIKE
Yeah, dude, it's me.
(beat)
What happened to you? Where'd you
get...
He squeezes Tyler's arm with one hand and rubs Tyler's chin
with the other.
MIKE (CONT'D)
...man-parts?
Tyler slaps Mike's hands away, smiling.
TYLER
Wow. I can't believe you're -- you
haven't changed.
MIKE
What are you talking about?
TYLER
Where'd you come from?
MIKE
The park... outside. There were a
buncha dogs, and I had to manage
that, then some people who looked
like Frank might have some family
we don't know about led me down
here.
(beat)
I think one of them had a sword...
TYLER
I don't -- after all this time...
MIKE
All what time? Tyler, you saw me,
like, tonight.
He rubs the back of his head.
MIKE (CONT'D)
Maybe. I don't know, everything
went really blurry for a while.
TYLER
Tonight? Mike, when do you think it
is?
MIKE
It's January, right?
TYLER
It's March.
Mike puts both his hands on his head, shocked.
MIKE
Where the Hell did I go for two
months?!
TYLER
Months? No.
MIKE
What do you mean?
Tyler steps towards Mike, and says, in his gentlest voice:
TYLER
Mike. You've been gone for ten
years. It's March... 2020.
Off Mike's terrified face:
BLACKOUT.
END OF ACT ONE
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