The Crow: City of Angels Page #2

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at the wrong time.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Curve FIRES a gun into Ashe's back. As Ashe

crumples...

CURVE:

Dump 'em. Let's get this cluster-f*** on the road.

CURVE:

motions to Kali and Spider Monkey. Together, the three of them

heave Ashe and Danny into the ocean.

CURVE:

Bon voyage, shitheads.

EXT. OCEAN DEPTHS - NIGHT

Ashe and Danny sink down into the murky underworld, taking their

place amongst a thousand other deep-sixed dreams.

ASHE'S POV

falling further and further away from the light of the surface

world. Bit by bit, Ashe's struggles subside. All we hear now

is an ever-slowing HEARTBEAT. Darkness begins to close in around

us, womblike, peaceful...

...AND OUT OF THE DARKNESS,

something takes shape - a CROW. Winging its way from Ashe's dream-like

death up through watery depths into a smog-bound cityscape...

EXT. CITY OF ANGELS - NIGHT

The Crow flies over a bridge with spans the Styx - the city's

polluted, man-made river.

THE CROW:

rides the thermals above an urban sprawl riven by fires, floods,

and earthquakes. Smog hangs in the air like an army of ever-present

ghosts. We pass over a roof where someone has painted a smart-ass

welcome mat for the benefit of anyone flying overhead - "GO BACK".

Nevertheless, we continue on.

SARAH (V.O.)

They say that time cancels pain. I don't know about that. Eight

years ago I lost two of my best friends. Two thousand miles later

I find I'm still living in the past...

THE CROW:

sweeps down into man-made caverns of pigeon-sh*t concrete and

grimy glass. Through the bird's eyes we glimpse the city's silent

HOMELESS. Automobile hulks littering the streets like insect

husks. The shifting searchlights of police helicopters...

WE PASS OVER SARAH'S ROOFTOP

The Crow circles downward...

SARAH (V.O.)

Every night when I close my eyes the dreams come. That's how

the dead talk to us, I guess. In the dark, when our souls are

off wandering...

INT. SARAH'S LOFT - NIGHT

The Crow lands next to an open window. It perches on the edge,

looking into the loft.

SARAH (V.O.)

I just wish I understood what they were telling me.

CROW'S POV (ANAMORPHIC)

SARAH, early 20s, lies asleep in bed. She stirs, troubled by

uneasy dreams, rolls over, opens her eyes...

INT. SARAH'S LOFT, SLEEPING AREA - NIGHT

As Sarah rises the Crow flits away like yesterday's memory. Sarah's

not sure whether or not she dreamed the bird. GABRIEL, the cat

Sarah inherited from Eric and Shelly, is perched on the end of

the bed.

SARAH:

Hey, Gabriel...

Sarah gives the cat an obligatory behind-the-ear scratch, then

climbs from bed, making her way across the loft.

SARAH'S ARTIST LOFT

is furnished in thrift-store treasures. The loft has an earthy

warmth to it, in stark contrast to the urban decay outside -

an island amidst a sea of unrest, dominated by an arching half-circle

window through which Sarah can view the local wildlife on the

streets below.

ON SARAH'S CANVASSES

Turbulent oils reminiscent of history's brooding symbolist painters.

Give Sarah's childhood inspiration, the subject matter is no

real surprise.

CAMERA ISOLATES a work-in-progress. The painting depicts a woman

resembling Sarah being cradled in the arms of her pale-faced

lover, surrounded by a sea of watchful dead.

SARAH:

reaches the shower, strips off her clothes. Her back and upper

arms are decorated with graceful tattoo work - a pair of black

angel wings sweeping over her shoulder blades. She's got a ring

in her navel, another in a nipple...

In short, the skate-waif we knew back in Detroit has matured

quite a bit since that fateful Devil's Night. Sarah shuts here

eyes, turns her face up into the spray. For a brief second we

see a flash of...

EXT. DOCKS, COMMERCIAL WATERFRONT - NIGHT

Ashe's death. Plunging into the icy waters, down into darkness.

Just as suddenly we are back in...

INT. SARAH'S LOFT - NIGHT

Sarah's eyes snap open. She holds a hand out to the shower wall,

takes a moment to collect herself.

Troubled, Sarah climbs from the shower, shrugs on some clothes.

Among her accourterments is a necklace featuring a silver ankh,

the symbol of eternity.

As Sarah sites in front of her vanity we catch sight of the irony

mask that used to hang by Shelly's mirror. Next to the mask is

a...

TARNISHED WEDDING RING

Once Shelly's. There's an inscription inside - "FOREVER".

Sarah fingers the ring a moment, glancing at the irony mask.

Lots of memories. Lots of ghosts.

Gabriel creeps up, MEOWING forlornly.

SARAH:

(WISTFULLY)

Me too.

She threads the ring onto her necklace, letting it fall next

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