Lord of Illusions Page #15

ON THE SANCTUM DOOR. Butterfield emerges. He is wearing

WHITE now.

BUTTERFIELD:

Do you wish him to be amongst us?

CULTISTS:

Yes...

BUTTERFIELD:

Will you come to him on your

knees?

CULTISTS:

Yes...

BUTTERFIELD:

Be ready.

Now we see that the Cultists have BOTTLES in their hands.

With looks of ecstatic fervour on their faces, they SMASH the

bottles to the ground at their bare feet. Then they pick up

MORE BOTTLES, and SMASH them, littering the ground with razor

sharp pieces of GLASS.

ON Butterfield, smiling. He steps back into the Sanctum.

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - SANCTUM - NIGHT

HIGH, WIDE SHOT of the room, as Butterfield approaches the

BODY of Nix. It lies on a table, surrounded by bowls of OIL.

Bandages, soaked in oil, are laid over its limbs. Beside its

head, Butterfield's INSTRUMENTS are laid out.

ON Dorothea, crouched in the corner of the room, terrified as

she watches Butterfield remove the multi- part MASK screwed

into Nix's face. He works with surgical precision.

DOROTHEA:

Listen. You've got everything you

want. You don't need me. ..

A piece of the mask comes away from the cheek. A subtle

POWER plucks at dust around the room, disturbing it minutely.

We CUT CLOSE to Dorothea's face throughout this sequence (on

occasion her eyeball fills the screen) as she sees these

signs of disturbance in the ether, growing in magnitude.

BUTTERFIELD:

No, but he will. After what you

did to him.

He pulls a piece of the mask from Nix's mouth.

BUTTERFIELD:

He'll want vengeance. Simple PS

that.

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - PASSAGEWAYS - NIGHT

The bottle-breaking has ceased. The Cultists stand,

breathless with anticipation.

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - SANCTUM - NIGHT

On Nix's emaciated mouth. The lips TWITCH.

On Dorothea. The DUST moves around her.

And Nix DRAWS BREATH.

On Butterfield, TEARS in his eyes.

BUTTERFIELD:

Oh my Lord. He's coming home...

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - PASSAGEWAY - NIGHT

The whisper runs through the congregation:

CULTISTS:

He's coming home... he/s coming

home...

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - SANCTUM - NIGHT

ON Dorothea, eyes wide.

DOROTHEA:

Christ in Heaven.

ON Nix, as his body starts to thirstily soak up the oils.

His withered flesh starts to REHYDRATE; his veins start to

THROB.

Butterfield is watching the process in amazement. Nix's HANDS

move up to his face, where the last portion of the mask is

still screwed over his eyes.

BUTTERFIELD:

He's with us...

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - PASSAGEWAY - NIGHT

CULTISTS:

He's with us... He's with us...

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - SANCTUM - NIGHT

Unnoticed by Butterfield, who has his eyes on Nix, Dorothea

gets to her feet and creeps away to the door. Very quiet

TRACK.

Suddenly, the snake-handling Cultist steps into view, snakes

coiled around his face and fingers!

DOROTHEA:

Oh God!

Butterfield looks up.

BUTTERFIELD:

Hold her!

On Nix, as he starts to pull at the mask on his face. It

comes away with a moist, WRENCHING SOUND. At last, we see

his eyes.

NIX'S P.O.V.

The candle-lights blaze, BLINDING his sensitive eyes.

NIX:

(fury to agony)

Aaarrrgh!

He gets up and flings himself around the room, knocking over

all the lights but two. Then he strikes Butterfield to the

ground, and slams his foot on Butterfield's neck, knocking

him unconscious. It's a terrifying, almost demoniacal

display of instant physical superiority. Throughout, he

literally ROARS in rage.

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - PASSAGEWAY - NIGHT

The Cultists SCREAM in sympathy, letting out years of

repressed frustration. Many of them are dancing on the

shards of glass now, crazed.

CUT TO:

EXT. DESERT NEAR NIX'S HOUSE - NIGHT

Harry's car is parked a quarter mile from Nix's house. He is

getting out. Swann stays put.

The SOUND of SCREAMING is carried towards them on the wind.

HARRY:

(spooked)

Jesus... what the hell's going on

in there?

SWANN:

At a guess... they just resurrected

him.

HARRY:

F***.

Harry starts towards the house. After a beat, Swann gets out

of the car and follows.

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - SANCTUM- - NIGHT

On Butterfield, as Nix removes his foot. Butterfield is out

for the count.

On Nix, as he stops screaming. His face is grotesquely

disfigured by the mask, the flesh stained and corrupted.

The SCREAMING of the Cultists is dying away.

NIX:

Children...

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - PASSAGEWAY - NIGHT

The Cultists all face the Sanctum door, awaiting instruction.

NIX:

Will you suffer to come unto me?

One by one, the Cultists fall to their knees. We never see

flesh pierced by broken glass. But we HEAR IT, and see the

agony on the Cultist's faces. They start to sob.

Then, Nix appears in the doorway, mostly hidden by shadow.

NIX:

I've come back to share the wisdom

of the grave. Will you hear it?

CULTISTS:

Yes... yes...

NIX:

Follow me then.

He steps out of the doorway. The Cultists let out sobs of

adoration. Nix locks at Dorothea.

NIX:

Do I know you, child?

He reaches for her. Pulls her close to his body. Dorothea

keeps her self-possession; but only just.

NIX:

Oh yes... I do, don't I? No gun

this time, child?

(a beat)

Where's Swann?

DOROTHEA:

I don't know where he is.

Nix picks her up, so that her feet are inches off the ground.

NIX:

He'll come. We've got unfinished

business, he and I.

Then he carries her down the passageway to the Meditation

Room, walking on the glass, apparently indifferent to the

wounds he's receiving.

The Cultists follow.

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - MEDITATION ROOM - NIGHT

Nix strides into the middle of the room.

NIX:

(whispered to Dorothea)

Something terrible's going to

happen. But if you hold on to me,

very tight, you may live a little

longer.

The Cultists enter the room, knees and hands BLOODY.

NIX:

(to Cultists)

Are you ready for my wisdom?

CULTISTS:

Tell us... tell us...

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - SANCTUM - NIGHT

Harry pushes open the window, and climbs in. Swann follows.

He is frozen by the memory of what happened here.

ON SWANN, as the TRACK fills with eerie ECHOES of that

terrible event. Nix's SCREAMS. The GUN-SHOTS. The sound of

the SCREWS GRINDING into Nix's flesh.

SWANN:

(in terrified awe)

This is where we killed him.

HARRY:

(looking at table)

You didn't try hard enough.

SWANN:

I can't... I can't go any

further...

Harry nods, and gently detaches his arm from Swann's panicked

grip. He crosses to the door.

Suddenly. Butterfield reaches out of the darkness, and

catches hold of Harry's leg. throwing him to the ground.

He has one of the INSTRUMENTS in his hand. He STABS at

Harry, striking the ground between Harry's legs.

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - MEDITATION ROOM - NIGHT

NIX:

Here is my wisdom.

He stamps on the ground. CRACKS spread from his foot in all

directions. ON THE CULTISTS, amazed by this manifestation of

power.

BARBARA:

Show us. Puritan.

NORMAN:

Yes, show us!

ALL:

Show us! Show us!

With a ROAR, a PIT four or five feet across opens up beneath

Nix and Dorothea. Nix HOVERS over it. It's utterly dark;

perhaps bottomless.

Dorothea SCREAMS!

INT. NIX'S HOUSE - SANCTUM- - NIGHT

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