Blade Page #18

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Quinn and Mercury pick their way through Blade's discarded gear.

Quinn picks up the punching dagger, admiring it.

Frost turns to Mercury, who's been holding Blade's scabbarded sword.

FROST:

Let's see this sword of his.

Mercury draws the sword, handing it to Frost. He sights down the

length of it, testing its weight. With a flick of his wrist, he

lashes out, slashing Blade's cheek open.

FROST:

Still quite sharp, I see.

Blade feebly struggles to rise. Frost clubs him on the back of the

neck with the sword pommel. Blade crumples. Karen tries to pull free,

but Quinn holds her tight.

KAREN:

Blade --

FROST:

You're wasting your breath, woman. He

can't hear you now. It's the Thirst,

you see? It already has him in its

grip.

Frost reaches down, dragging Blade's head up by his hair. Karen

watches on as Frost continues to taunt him.

FROST:

How long has it been since you had

your serum? Twelve hours? More? You

must be quite thirsty by now.

He crouches down so he's eye to eye with Blade.

FROST:

What does it feel like? Is your blood

on fire? Are you burning up inside?

Give in to the Thirst, Blade. Embrace

your true nature.

Blade shivers, grits his teeth, it's like he's going through heroin

withdrawal.

BLADE:

-- go to hell --

Frost smiles, his eyes burning with an infernal glow.

FROST:

I've got news for you, Blade. We're

already here.

Frost turns to the others, motioning.

FROST:

Take him to the sanctuary. It's time

he was bled.

The other vampires retreat, dragging Blade along with them. Karen is

left alone with Frost and Quinn.

FROST:

I'd let you watch the proceedings,

Doctor, but I'm afraid that privilege

is reserved for members of my own

race. Don't worry, though, I've made

alternate arrangements for you.

Frost motions and Quinn drags Karen towards --

THE MOUTH OF A PIT

some forty feet deep, its lichen-encrusted stone walls worn smooth

over time. As Frost gestures to the yawning darkness beneath them,

Quinn forces Karen towards the edge.

FROST:

We call this the Bone Pit. It's where

we keep our mistakes, the ones who

couldn't successfully make the

transition from human to vampire.

Frost reaches out, caressing Karen's neck, puncturing the soft flesh

beneath her chin with a razored fingernail.

FROST:

They'll feed on anything, given the

chance -- animals, corpses, even other

vampires.

Frost nods. Karen struggles against Quinn, but it's no good. In a

manner of seconds, she's falling --

INT. BONE PIT - NIGHT

-- making a decidedly rough landing on a heap of bones far below. She

GROANS, taking stock of her battered body.

UP ABOVE,

Deacon watches from the lip of the pit, amused.

FROST:

Of course, a strapping young woman

like yourself -- well I think you just

might be considered finger food.

And with that, he's gone, stepping away from the pit.

INT. TEMPLE OF NIGHT - BLEEDING CHAMBER - NIGHT

We are in a small, elevated antechamber which is situated above the

main vampire sanctuary.

BLADE,

now weakened to the point of collapse, is being lashed to a rack-like

device by iron chains.

Mercury and her cohorts move efficiently, quickly securing him. When

they are through, the rack is hoisted up into the air via a series of

winch-driven chains.

With every turn of the winch crank, the chains are drawn tighter,

causing Blade to CRY OUT, until at last, he is suspended in mid-air,

spread-eagle.

FROST:

approaches, still carrying Blade's sword.

FROST:

It's been a long road, hasn't it? Such

a pity Whistler led you so far astray.

Frost c*cks his head to the side, studying Blade's face.

FROST:

I don't blame you, though. I want you

to know that. Even after all you've

done. I understand, Blade, I really

do. It's the human side of you which

has corrupted your reasoning, made you

weak. But we'll take care of that,

won't we?

Blade struggles to lift his head, forcing himself to match Frost's

gaze, shaking with hatred.

BLADE:

I'd kill myself -- before I turned

into something like you.

Frost just smiles and shakes his head.

FROST:

No you wouldn't. I'm going to bleed

you dry, Blade. All the poison that

makes you human.

(drawing closer)

When the Tide comes, you'll be begging

me put you through the Change.

Frost lifts up Blade's sword, methodically slitting Blade's wrists

one by one. He makes the cuts lengthwise, opening up the cephalic and

basilic veins with surgical precision.

Blood wells up from the fresh wounds, running down Blade's forearms,

collecting in a cistern beneath his feet.

Frost watches the steady, inexorable process, then nods, satisfied.

He looks to the others who are gathered behind him, watching on with

silent reverence.

FROST:

It's done. We should ready ourselves

for the ritual of invocation.

Frost leads Mercury, Quinn, and the others from the sanctuary.

Blade struggles futilely against his bonds, crying out in

frustration, his body eventually sagging from exhaustion.

VANESSA (O.S.)

There's no use fighting us, Jason.

Blade looks up, focusing now on --

VANESSA,

who has remained behind. Blade stares at her. As terrible as his

physical torment is, his mother's betrayal is infinitely worse.

BLADE:

How could you be a part of this?

VANESSA:

These are my people now. I'm one of

them.

BLADE:

You don't have to be.

VANESSA:

You don't understand. I've killed,

I've hunted, and I've enjoyed it.

She draws closer, caressing her son's face. There's just a hint of

creepy eroticism in her action, a dash of incest.

VANESSA:

I wish you could see the world as I

do. Deacon opened my eyes. There's no

turning back from that.

BLADE:

I don't believe that.

VANESSA:

You will. Time is on our side. Sooner

or later, the Thirst always wins.

Vanessa turns away now. Blade cries after her --

BLADE:

Mother!

Vanessa pauses, looking back, smiling cruelly.

VANESSA:

Your mother died the night you

were born.

And with that, she's gone, melting into the shadows.

CUT TO:

INT. THE BONE PIT - NIGHT

Karen rises, wary, taking in her shadowed surroundings.

HEAPS OF HUMAN BONES

are piled against the pit walls -- skulls, rib-cages, femurs, tibias

-- all picked clean of flesh. Some of the skulls have large, canine-

like fangs -- the remnants, no doubt, of long-deceased vampires.

Suddenly we hear a WHISPER of sorts, the soft CLINKING of bone

fragments grinding together --

Karen spins, trying to place the source of the sound. Then she hears

the SOUND again. Behind her now, closer.

REVENANT (O.S.)

Karennnnn --

Karen looks up with a growing sense of dread.

A FACE:

emerges from the darkness. Pallid, cadaverous, shedding its

desiccated flesh. Lidless eyes like black marbles slick with

Vaseline. A mouth like a raw wound.

REVENANT:

Karreennnnnn. I never thought I'd see

you againnnnn.

Karen backs away, realizing who she's standing before.

KAREN:

Curtis?!

What used to be Curtis SNARLS, knocking Karen back into the drift-

pile of bones. It pins her to the ground, kneeling above her,

gurgling through its gutted trachea.

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