Épisode Sur les dents S01E01 - Moonlight Saison 1

Dans sa banque réfrigérée baignée d’une lumière tamisée qui lui sert de lit, un vampire, Mick Saint-John, rêve d’une interview qu’il serait en train de donner à la télévision.

Très à l’aise, il répond avec humour aux questions du genre : « quel effet cela fait-il d’être un vampire ? » il avoue qu’il n’aime pas, puis à « Vous buvez du sang ? » il répond « pourquoi, vous m’en offrez ? » plus sérieusement il explique qu’il a un dealer qui le fournit en sang car il ne mord personne, que l’ail ne le repousse pas, l’eau bénite le mouille, il craint la lumière du jour et une fois pour toutes : il ne se transforme pas en chauve-souris. ! Un vampire est immortel ; toutefois un lance-flammes pourrait éliminer un vampire (un pieu en bois le paralyse seulement) ou en perdant la tête au sens propre. Certains vampires, comme lui, se sont fixés des frontières et des règles. Il ne chasse aucun humain sauf les criminels et pour ce faire il est devenu détective privé en utilisant les pouvoirs spéciaux que possèdent les vampires.

Il se réveille, se sentant seul en revenant à la réalité, avec pour tout petit déjeuner une intra-veineuse de sang réfrigéré.

Il se souvient de la première affaire qu’il a eu à résoudre : alors que sa vie d’humain venait de s’arrêter à 30 ans, une jeune mère est venue lui demander de l’aide pour retrouver sa fillette qui venait d’être enlevée. Aujourd’hui, il a 90 ans mais en paraît toujours 30.

Beth Turner, journaliste chez Buzzwire, termine un reportage diffusé sur le web, concernant le meurtre d’une étudiante de l’université Hearst. Beth veut prendre une photo du corps avant de partir et essaie d’obtenir des informations auprès du lieutenant Carl qui reste discret. Elle traverse, pieds nus, le bassin qui la sépare du lieu de l’assassinat. Mick, plus loin, l’observe en pensant qu’à 2 h du matin l’eau doit être glaciale.

Beth réussit à prendre une photo et remarque deux blessures sanguinolentes sur le cou de la victime. En imaginant un titre accrocheur : « Meurtre sur Melrose » ou « Une étudiante de Southland tuée » ou mieux quelque chose avec vampire dedans, elle s’approche de Mick qui lui paraît familier. Il lui répond qu’il doit avoir un visage commun et lui dit qu’il est détective privé. Elle lui propose comme titre de son futur article « un vampire secoue L.A. » ; il lui réplique bien sur que les vampires n’existent pas. Elle se retourne, il en profite pour disparaître.

Le lendemain, Beth et son cameraman cherchent la voiture de l’étudiante dans le parking près du lieu du crime. Ils la trouvent grâce au permis de stationnement de son université, apposé sur le pare-brise. Ils découvrent à l’intérieur un pendentif en forme de chauve souris, les ailes déployées. Beth en prend la photo. Dans les locaux de Buzzwire, Beth est félicitée car son histoire de vampire a attiré une forte audience. Le rédacteur en chef lui demande de continuer dans cette voie.

Grâce au permis de stationnement Beth a pu obtenir l’adresse de la victime, elle décide de s’y rendre.

Dans une très luxueuse maison, Mick rend visite à son ami Josef, vampire de 430 ans qui n’en paraît que 30, faisant office de dirigeant de la communauté « vampires ». Josef se montre contrarié de la publicité faite autour de ce meurtre  qui menace leur secret. Il demande à tous de se montrer extrêmement vigilants, à l’âge de l’identification digitale, des tests ADN et de la cartographie génome. Mick l’assure de s’occuper de ce problème.

Il se rend à la morgue où le médecin légiste, Guillermo, vampire également, lui fournit informations et sang. Mick, comme tout vampire qui se respecte, possède un odorat très fin. Sur le corps de la victime, Kelly Foster, il ne relève aucune odeur de ses semblables et remarque que les carotides ont été sectionnées. Guillermo lui signale que la jeune fille a été vidée de son sang, mais les marques qu’elle porte au cou n’ont pas été faites par une morsure. Mick et Guillermo arrivent à la même conclusion : son cou a été transpercé par quelque chose.

Mick roule au volant de sa décapotable dans Los Angeles, il fait nuit et il se souvient de cette première affaire qu’il a acceptée il y a 22 ans et qui a changé sa vie pour toujours. C’était en 1985 une jeune femme est entrée dans son bureau pour lui demander de l’aide : sa petite fille avait été enlevée. Mick se sent rattrapé par son passé. Grâce aux sens qu’il a pu acquérir avec son passage à l’état de vampire, il peut sentir l’empreinte laissée par un autre vampire et la trace des sensations éprouvées par les humains. Dans la chambre de la petite fille, il a pu percevoir la peur qu’elle a ressentie lorsqu’elle a été enlevée par un vampire femelle.

Revenant à l’affaire présente, il décide de se rendre à l’appartement de l’étudiante assassinée. Beth Turner ayant eu la même idée, il la surprend en train de crocheter la porte d’entrée. Il lui rappelle que, détective privé, il enquête sur ce meurtre. Ils trouvent un pendentif en forme de chauve souris aux ailes déployées. Beth lui montre la photo du même pendentif, prise dans la voiture de la victime, représentant l’insigne d’un ancien culte du sang dans l’antiquité égyptienne. Elle évoque l'intervention d'un éventuel vampire pendant que Mick trouve dans le pendentif une petite capsule de sang. Il profite de sa faculté à se déplacer très rapidement pour à nouveau disparaître pendant que Beth reçoit un appel téléphonique sur son portable.

A l’enterrement de la jeune étudiante, Beth aperçoit Mick et le rejoint en lui reprochant de l’avoir abandonnée une deuxième fois au cours d’une conversation. Beth lui indique Christian Ellis, le professeur de l’étudiante en anthropologie sociale, entouré d’étudiants de son programme de mythologie antique, porteurs d’une rose noire chacun. Beth lui réclame la capsule de sang qu’il a subtilisée chez Kelly Foster. Pendant qu’il la lui remet en l’informant qu’il s’agit du sang de Christian Ellis, une étudiante, Chloé, agresse le professeur. Son assistant le protège et éloigne Chloé.

Beth propose à Mick d’enquêter sur cette affaire ensemble, lui s’occupant du professeur, elle de son agresseur. Mick s’éloigne au volant de sa voiture en lui répondant qu’il travaille seul. Beth se rend au fast-food dans lequel Chloé est serveuse, pour l’interroger. Elle accuse le professeur d’être un gourou et d’avoir fait un lavage de cerveau à Kelly avec toutes ses inepties littéraires sur les vampires, le sexe et les désirs sombres. Il dirige un groupe d’étude sur les vampires avec le cliché habituel des cultes : chants, bougies, boire du sang … Christian se prend pour un vampire et beaucoup de filles le croit. Il a beaucoup de disciples. Chloé avoue qu’elle en était une et qu’elle avait convaincu Kelly de rejoindre le groupe. Elle avait regretté ce geste en voyant Kelly folle de Christian, nourrie de toutes ces stupidités. Elle quitte Beth en lui affirmant qu’elle n’est pas responsable de la mort de Kelly.

Quand il est devenu vampire tous les sens de Mick ont été exacerbés. Cette nuit, en planque dans sa voiture devant l’immeuble de Christian, capable de lire le passé, d’entrevoir le futur, il entend la conversation de Christian et de sa femme. Elle souhaite avoir une conversation avec lui mais il a un cours et doit partir. Dès que la voiture de Christian a disparu, Mick sonne à sa porte et interroge sa femme au sujet de l’étudiante retrouvée morte. Elle lui parle de son mari qui était auparavant un académicien sérieux, il possède une maîtrise en anthropologie mythologique. Il affirme qu’il est un vampire pour séduire ses étudiantes, jeunes et impressionnables, dans les sous-sols de Chandler Hall. Kelly Foster a été mordue dans le cou et son mari est le seul vampire qu’elle connaisse.

Beth assiste au cours de Christian Ellis qui le termine par sa vérité : «nous sommes tous des vampires.». Beth se présente au professeur comme une étudiante transférée d’une autre université. Elle lui parle de son livre «la mythologie de l’obscurité» dans lequel elle a trouvé intéressant que le vampire y soit montré comme métaphore du désir. Elle lui demande l’autorisation d’assister à ses cours mais souhaiterait rattraper son retard. Il lui propose de faire partie du groupe d’étude qu’il anime et lui présente son assistant Daniel pour obtenir tous les renseignements.

Du haut d’un building, Mick regarde la ville endormie en songeant qu’elle abrite un tueur en cavale que Josef lui a demandé de traquer pour sauvegarder leur secret.

Au même moment, Chloé, en train de fermer le fast-food où elle travaille, se fait assassiner par un individu masqué.

Dans son bureau, Mick reçoit la visite de Beth qui confirme que le sang contenu dans la capsule est bien celui du professeur Ellis. Elle lui apprend qu’elle a assisté à son cours et qu’elle a réussi à s’introduire dans son groupe d’étude. Il lui demande d’être prudente et au moment de se retirer elle ressent à nouveau l’impression de connaître Mick depuis longtemps. Il ferme la porte sur elle et le passé revient le hanter : lors de cette nuit il y a 22 ans il a suivi la trace de la petite fille enlevée et s’est retrouvé face à face avec la femme qui a fait de lui un monstre : Coraline. Son ex-femme a l’air heureuse de lui présenter la petite fille qui fait d’eux une «famille»….

Beth se prépare à participer au groupe d’étude pendant que son assistant lui pose un micro. Elle est conduite par Daniel dans le sous-sol où se tient le cours, entouré de statuettes étranges et de bougies. Le cours se termine et Beth reste seule avec le professeur. Au cours d’un rituel où chacun doit mettre la main sur le cœur de l’autre, le professeur sent le micro. S’ensuit une bataille et Beth réussit à s’enfuir. Dehors, Daniel l’intercepte et l’endort avec une piqûre.

Mick se rend au fast-food et trouve Chloé, morte, sur le sol. Craignant pour la sécurité de Beth, il se précipite au rendez-vous du groupe d’étude et arrive au moment où Daniel enlève Beth dans sa voiture. Provoquant un accident, il la sauve. A demi inconsciente, elle a vu le combat entre Daniel et Mick au cours duquel ce dernier a été poignardé. Un vampire est immortel et Daniel le paie de sa vie.

Portant Beth dans ses bras, Mick repense à cette fameuse nuit il y a 22 ans où il a voulu empêcher son ex-femme, Coraline, de faire du mal à la petite fille qu’elle avait enlevée. Cette dernière, serrée dans un coin assiste apeurée à la terrifiante bataille des deux vampires. Mick a du mal à maîtriser Coraline, vampire plus ancienne que lui et entraînée à ces engagements, mais il arrive à la paralyser en lui enfonçant un pieu en bois dans le cœur. Il emmène la petite fille et en partant met le feu à la maison de Coraline ; il assiste à la fureur de Coraline, prise au milieu des flammes.

En serrant Beth dans ses bras, il se souvient que la dernière fois qu’il la portait ainsi, elle n’était encore qu’une enfant apeurée. Depuis il a veillé sur elle de loin au cas où elle aurait besoin de lui, comme cette nuit.

Beth revient à elle chez Mick, elle se souvient qu’il l’a déjà sauvée, petite. Mick lui répond qu’elle a reçu un coup sur la tête ; elle évoque le coup de couteau, il répond que Daniel a seulement essayé de le poignarder, qu’elle doit se reposer et lui propose de la ramener chez elle.

Il songe que depuis 60 ans il refuse un contact avec les humains car il ne supporterait pas le sentiment d’être un monstre à leurs yeux ; cependant Beth reconnaissante se serre dans ses bras où elle se sent en sécurité et il répond à son étreinte.

 

FADE IN:

OVER BLACK-- WE HEAR a smoke-shredded VOICE in the dark...

MICK (V.O.) Before Coraline, I thought I'd been in love, but I was wrong...

MACRO SHOT-- SLOW-MO A MATCH LIGHTS in darkness and a WOMAN'S FACE IS ILLUMINATED...

CLOSE ON: CORALINE -- She's lovely-- midnight black hair worn in a 40's style, blue eyes like welder's torches and red licorace-whip lips.

INT. WESTERN AVENUE JAZZ CLUB (1947) - NIGHT

We pull back to find we are in a quintessential smoky, forties jazz dive.

SUPER: Los Angeles. Western Avenue. 1947.

ON STAGE-- A JAZZ BAND PLAYS. THE TRUMPET PLAYER-- darkly handsome with a wise-guy grin-- plays a soulful SOLO, eyes closed. Meet MICK ST. JOHN, late 20's.

Sensing something, Mick's eyes open, and immediately LOCK with CORALINE'S. They stare for a long moment and then Coraline smiles as if sharing a secret. Mick smiles right back.

MICK (V.O.) The passion I'd felt for other women was a ghost emotion compared to what I'd feel for her...

INT. WESTERN AVENUE JAZZ CLUB (1947) - LATER

The club is closing up. A BARTENDER mops down the bar. A LONE PIANO PLAYER improvises a dreamy tune.

ALONE on the DANCE FLOOR, with eyes only for each other, Mick and Coraline dance a breath apart...

MICK So where's your fella?

CORALINE Who says I've got one?

MICK A girl like you always has one.

CORALINE (smiles playfully) So what if I do? What if he's a great big jealous Marine and he's waiting for me right now. Then what?

MICK I'd tell him to keep on waiting...

She smiles. He pulls her close.

EXT. MULHOLLAND DRIVE - NIGHT

Mick and Coraline sit in his CONVERTIBLE looking out at the TWINKLING LIGHTS of forties LOS ANGELES. Coraline wears a white Orchid in her hair.

Mick puts an arm around her and looks into her eyes...

MICK ...Marry me.

Initially she seems pleased, but her smile turns enigmatic as she peers back at him.

CORALINE Are you sure this is what you want? You have to be sure.

MICK I'm sure.

They kiss.

INT. HOTEL ROOM (1947) - NIGHT

The door opens and Mick carries his bride, still in her white dress, across the threshold. He lays her down on the bed.

IN A SERIES OF QUICK CUTS WE SEE--

- Coraline, tearing at his clothes.

- They make violent, passionate love.

- Mick opens his eyes to see her straddling him. She smiles down at him and he smiles back.

- As Coraline begins to climax, her lovely lips part. Mick's smile fades as her FANGS DISTEND, and she MOVES IN A RUSH for his throat... He struggles, but she is too fast, too strong--

CORALINE (whispers in his ear) Till death do us part...

As her TEETH SINK HOME we... SMASH CUT TO BLACK SCREEN.

IME CAPSULE - 1985

RAPID CUTS OF IMAGES and VIDEO of the times. WE SEE-- Regan... Gorbachev... "Miami Vice" main titles... Pete Rose breaks Ty Cobb's record... L.A. Times Headline: ANOTHER CHILD ABDUCTED...

Over a PANORAMIC SHOT of L.A. at night --

SUPER: Los Angeles. 1985.

EXT. TWO-STORY SHERMAN OAKS HOUSE (1985) - NIGHT

A modest, two-story traditional home on a quiet Sherman Oaks street... MOVING CLOSER, the CAMERA ABRUPTLY LEAPS to a SECOND STORY WINDOW.

We are now peering into a FIVE-YEAR OLD GIRL'S BEDROOM. The adorable, LITTLE BLOND GIRL lies under a pink comforter as her MOTHER read her a bedtime story. The child's eyes begin to droop and soon she is asleep. Her Mother kisses her tenderly, turns off the light, and exits

INT. LITTLE GIRL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

We MOVE IN on the little girl, fast asleep CREEPING CLOSER... closer... Sleepy-eyed, the child sits up in bed. She peers into the darkness and sees a FEMALE FIGURE backlit against the window.

LITTLE GIRL Mommy?

We RUSH at the child with supernatural speed. A GNARLED HAND CLAMPS DOWN over the Little Girl's mouth as she is lifted out of her bed and pulled from the room.

EXT. HOLLYWOOD FREEWAY - TWILIGHT

A BLOOD-RED SUN SINKS over Hollywood and the Hollywood Freeway...

INT. MICK ST. JOHN'S HOLLYWOOD APARTMENT/OFFICE (1985) - TWILIGHT

A PAIR OF EYES OPEN in darkness. Pulling back we see the lid of a DEEP-FREEZE OPEN. Frost-bitten air escapes. Mick, looking no different than he did in 1947, climbs out and brushes at the film of frost that covers him.

MICK (V.O.) You don't have to like what you are just because it's what you are, but you do have to come to terms with it...

As he crosses the room we see that he has FANGS. He goes to the refrigerator and takes out a vial of BLOOD. At his DESK he fills a hypodermic needle. On his desk we see a framed black and white photograph of Mick with his BAND.

MICK (V.O.) That's why I take my blood with a needle and why I have rules about who I kill...

As he injects himself WE SEE his FANGS RECEDE. His EYES fill with blood the color of midnight.

MICK (V.O.) No women. No children. No innocents... Because of what I am, I have abillities others don't. I can't change it, but at least I can use it to do some good...

He closes his eyes and INHALES. In a RUSH OF IMAGES WE SEE--

- Coraline's sensuous RED LIPS as they draw on a cigarette.

- Her long slender neck.

- Midnight black hair spilling over a pillow.

- Mick and Coraline make violent love in a tangle of sheets.

MICK (V.O.) I hadn't seen her in years, but I'd know that scent anywhere...Orchids and death... Her scent... Coraline...

CLOSE ON: Mick's HAUNTED EYES as he snaps out of his reverie.

INT. MICK'S MERCEDES - TWILIGHT (PROCESS)

CLOSE ON MICK behind the wheel, fedora pulled low, as the SETTING SUN is reflected in his sunglasses.

MICK (V.O.) I did some asking around and found out that Coraline had been living the high life in a villa up in Bel Air...

EXT. THE SIDE OF A BEL AIR ROAD - TWILIGHT

Mick parks on the shoulder and goes to the TRUNK of his car.

FROM INSIDE THE TRUNK WE WATCH as Mick loads silver bullets into a chrome .357 and screws on a SILENCER. This done, he grabs several wooden stakes and a can of lighter fluid and slams the trunk SHUT on us.

EXT. BEL AIR MANSION - NIGHT

Mick scales an IVY COVERED wall and cautiously makes his way up the densely wooded hillside. Ahead, we see a HUGE, UNIFORMED GUARD with a DOBERMAN on a leash.

MICK (V.O.) Dealing with vampires is no easy thing. First, you have to know one when you see one...

MICK'S POV: The DOG GLOWS BRIGHT RED, but the VAMPIRE GUARD is a dead spot because of his near complete lack of body heat.

MICK (V.O.) Infrared vision is good for that, because vampires don't give off body heat.

Hearing something, the Vampire Guard turns and sees Mick.

VAMPIRE GUARD Sic him, boy!

As the DOG CHARGES, Mick looks deep into the snarling animal's eyes and employs HIS HYPNOTIC GAZE.

MICK Sit.

Giving a meek whimper, the Doberman halts and sits obdiently.

MICK (V.O.) The hypnotic gaze comes in handy too. But it only works on the living.

Pissed off, the Vampire Guard now TRANSFORMS into full VAMPIRE FORM... The Guard's FANGS GROW. His JAW UNHINGES. His EYES FILL WITH BLOOD...

MICK (V.O.) The real trick comes in knowing how to destroy a vampire. Silver bullets'll hurt a vampire, but they won't destroy him.

MICK (V.O.) Wooden stakes are effective too-- They'll paralyze a vampire, but they won't destroy him either-- it takes fire to do that.

The helpless Vampire Guard can only watch as Mick douses him with LIGHTER FLUID and scratches a match.

MICK I don't dance.

Mick tosses the match and... WHOOSH!

With the Vampire burning behind him, Mick gives the dog a friendly pat and continues on without looking back.

INT. BEL AIR MANSION (UPSTAIRS BEDROOM) - NIGHT

Inside he finds CORALINE cluthcing the LITTLE GIRL he has been searching for.

In MICK'S EYES we see that she still loves Coraline and hates himself for it. Coraline gives Mick a sweet smile...

CORALINE Mick, what a surprise. Just in time for dinner...

HER FANGS DISTEND and she BENDS OVER THE CHILD TO FEED...

SMASH CUT TO BLACK:

EXT. NEW YORK CITY SKYLINE (2007) - TWILIGHT

SUPER: NEW YORK CITY. PRESENT DAY.

The SETTING SUN ingites a FIERY SKY over present day NEW YORK CITY.

MICK (V.O.) Nightfall comes with an ache...

NEW YORK STREETS - MEAT-PACKING DISTRICT - NIGHT

The camera MOVES through the fashionable downdown meat-packing district to a FIVE-STORY LOFT BUILDING. We move over a BALCONY and through a wall of windows... As we roam around the loft, the NIGHTLY NEWS DRONES on the TV...

INT. MICK'S LOFT -- NIGHT

We FIND Mick, eyes half-closed, seated in an antique leather chair as he compulsively flicks open and fires up a ZIPPO LIGHTER. He has been a vampire now for sixty years. It has taken its toll. Having lived for so long out of the light, without the touch of another, he is sliding ever closer to the abyss. He is in a bad place.

MICK (V.O.) What do you do when both living and dying mean nothing? When each new night only makes you more aware of the emptiness of your unending existence...

CLOSE ON: THE FLAME-- Mick runs his FINGERS trhough it as if testing the water.

Mick snaps the lighter closed, leans forward, and turns the VOLUME UP as an attractive blond female reporter, BETH TURNER, fills the TV SCREEN--

BETH (ON TV SCREEN) ...The body was found late this afternoon by sanitation workers in a dumpster in an alley off Eighteenth Street. Forensics are still on the scene-- police have yet to identify the young woman. This is Beth Turner in Chelsea...

Leaving the TV on, Mick gets up from his chair and abruptly leaves.

Betha and her two-person crew are packing up. Beth is a stringer-- a freelance TV field reporter-- for Rapid Reponse News Service. She travels around the city in a remote van in constant communication with her dispatcher, searching for breaking stories-- crime, politics, human interest. Her stories are then sold to local TV stations.

INT. UPPER EASTSIDE TOWNHOUSE (LIBRARY) - NIGHT

WE HEAR MICK'S VOICE as we PAN AROUND an opulent LIBRARY-- The room is filled with Picassos and Matisses and Moroccan bound first editions.

MICK (O.S.) Josef, you're tapped into everything in this town. Could you look into it for me?

Seated by a fire, Mick is having cognac and a cigar with JOSEF KONSTANTIN, one of his few confidants. A mysterious figure, Josef is an ancient vampire of European descent. For many years he has been the patriarch of one of the wealthiest and most powerful vampire sects in New York.

MICK (gazing into the fire) I don't know... I don't know what I believe in anymore...

For a moment Mick seems lost in the flames.

JOSEF (follows his gaze) Yes, I understand-- life seems pointless, existence bleak... Immortality isn't what you expected... Perhaps you've even entertained thoughts of ending it all...

Mick looks up in surpirse and we see the truth of Josef's words in MICK'S EYES. Josef smiles knowingly.

JOSEF These thoughts, they are not uncommon for vampires approaching the century mark... I went through something similar myself. (leaning forward) It will pass-- as all things do with time, trust me.

From Mick's expression we can see that Josef's insights have hit a nerve. Josef gives his friend an encouraging pat on the arm and rises to refill Mick's cognac.

JOSEF The challenge for our kind is to continually find new reasons to live.

MICK And what are you living for after all this time?

JOSEF The best reason of all, my friend. (raises his snifter) Love...

Josef reaches out and warmly clinks snifters with Mick.

INT. A BURNING HALLWAY - NIGHT

In her nightgown, Beth Turner finds herself trapped in a HALLWAY ABLAZE. Everywhere she turns, she is blocked by a WALL OF FLAMES! As the FLAMES MOVE IN ON HER...

INT. BETH'S APARTMENT (BEDROOM) - NIGHT

BETH STARTS AWAKE in bed. Wide-awake now, Beth climbs out of bed and goes out onto her balcony.

At the edge of the excavation WE FIND Beth talking to her Detective friend, Carl.

BETH I just want to know if you think they're related, Carl.

CARL Beth, I can't talk to you right now. Not with all these cameras around. Call me later.

Carl moves off as BETH'S CAMERAMAN signals to her.

BETH'S CAMERAMAN We're all set up. You ready?

As she heads toward her Cameraman, Beth NOTICES MICK standing in the crowd.

BETH (to Cameraman) Hold on.

INT. MICK'S LOFT - TWILIGHT

Mick goes to the refrigerator and retrieves a VIAL OF BLOOD and a HYPODERMIC. He carries them to his desk, fills the needle, and JAMS it home. As he depresses the plunger and his EYES FILL with BLOOD we--

FLASHBACK-- 1947

INT. HOTEL ROOM (1947) - NIGHT

Pale rays of early morning sunlight slip past the blinds. ON THE BLOOD-STAINED BED, MICK JOLTS TO LIFE like a patient brought back with a defibrillator. Still in her bloody dress, Coraline leans over him on the bed.

CORALINE Welcome back.

Mick PUSHES Coraline away. Her MOUTH AND CHIN are coated with his DRIED BLOOD. Hand clamped to his neck, Mick jumps off the wedding bed and moves into the small

INT. HOTEL ROOM BATHROOM (1947)

where he flicks on the light.

What Mick sees in the mirror horrifies him. His neck and chest are smeared with blood. As he inspects the TWO DEEP PUNCTURE MARKS in his neck, Coraline appears in the doorway behind him.

MICK (shell-shocked) What have you done?

Coraline wipes the blood from her mouth with the white sleeve of her wedding gown. Losing it, Mick turns to her.

MICK What have you done to me?

CORALINE We made a vow that we'd be together forever. Now we can be... I did this for us...

Mick stands speechless as he struggles to comprehend what he sees in the mirror...

CORALINE There aren't any rules for us, anymore.

MICK No... No...

CORALINE Don't be afraid. You're something greater, now...

MICK (terrified) What?? Damnit, tell me! WHAT?!

Coraline moves up behind Mick.

CORALINE You're immortal...

Coraline puts her lips to his ear.

CORALINE (whispers) I made you immortal.

Enraged, Mick turns and pins her up against the bathroom wall.

MICK No!

Mick grabs her FACE and FORCES HER to LOOK into the MIRROR where WE SEE what Mick sees for the first time-- the REFLECTIONS of both he and Coraline are frighteningly WARPED AND DISTORTED.

MICK You made me a monster!

Mick turns back to the mirror and SMASHES it with HIS BLOODY FIST.

Mick reluctantly steps aide and allows her to enter.

MICK (shuts the door) What can I do for you, Ms. Turner?

Despite the surface tension, there is a palpable attraction between them that they both pretend to ignore.

BETH I made some calls. No one hired you to work this case.

BETH If you won't be a subject will you at least be a source...? We could help each other...

MICK I can do that.

Beth hesitates for a moment not quite ready to leave...

MICK (uneasy) Well, okay...

Mick leans across her to open the door. In that moment of proximity, time seems to stop.

The air CRACKLES with electricity-- and both of them find themselves powerfully drawn to each other... Stunned by the intensity of the moment, they simply stare.

BETH (gestures to the hall) I should be--

MICK Yeah...

Using all of his will-power, Mick opens the door. Speechless, Beth exits. As he closes the door behind her, we can see the turmoil in Mick's normally impassive eyes.

EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET - NIGHT

Mick walks down a Chelsea side street. As he passes THE ALLEY ENTRANCE to a small JAZZ CLUB, the haunting strains of a horn solo stop him and fill him with memories... But the mood is broken when he spots A PACK of young, attractive, flamboyantly dressed Goth-chic REVELERS moving down the opposite side of the street.

MICK'S INFRARED NIGHT VISION POV: WE DISCOVER THEY ARE VAMPIRES appearing as ASHEN SILHOUETTES among the LIVING PEDESTRIANS on the sidewalk.

NORMAL POV: Recognizing Mick as well, the group of young vampires laugh at him as they move past and disappear around the corner.

MALE VOICE (O.C.) Can I give you a lift?

Mick turns to see his friend Josef Konstantin framed in the open window of a sleek black LIMO. Mick nods and climbs in.

INT. JOSEF'S LIMO (MOVING) - NIGHT

From a GLASS DROPPER, Josef places TWO DROPLETS of DARK BLOOD into a snifter of Cognac, and hands it to Mick.

JOSEF (eyeing him critically) How are you doing? You had me worried after our talk the other night...

MICK I shouldn't have said anything.

JOSEF Of course you should have. This is what friends do. They talk.

Mick nods.

MICK People are paying to watch these girls get slaughtered?

Josef nods.

MICK Who? Do you know?

Josef shakes his head "no" and gives Mick a sardonic smile.

JOSEF And they call us monsters. (beat) Well, I'm off to the opera... Salome... There's an extra seat in my box...

MICK Thanks, but I'm more of a jazz kind of guy. (signals to the driver) I'll get out here.

The car pulls over. Mick starts to climb out, but Josef clasps his hand.

JOSEF (gravely) Be careful, my friend, these are dangerous times. Even for us...

MICK (nods) Yeah...

ON JOSEF as he watches Mick exit the car.

INT. A BURNING HALLWAY --

Beth flees the BURNING ROOM we saw in the previous dream and enters a HALLWAY. She looks back and SEES a FIERY FIGURE as it emerges through a curtain of FLAMES. Frozen like a deer in headlights, Beth can only watch as the FIGURE SCREAMS in rage and agony and REACHES OUT FOR HER.

INT. BETH'S APARTMENT (BEDROOM) - NIGHT

ALONE IN HER BED, Beth STARTS AWAKE with a GASP. WE CAN HEAR HER HEART POUNDING as she sits up coveered in a COLD SWEAT.

CARL (nods) That's the theory. With that stuff in them, those girls could have watched themselves get dismembered and not complained.

BETH My God...

CARL (unfazed) Well, thanks for lunch.

Carl waves with his pizza slice, and gets into his car. Having lost her appetite, Beth drops the remainder of her slice into a nearby trash can as Carl PULLS AWAY.

INT. APARTMENT BUILDING - HALLWAY - NIGHT

Mick stands in the SHADOWS OF AN ALCOVE in an apartment hallway. CLOSE ON: His EYES which appear sad but resolved.

DOWN THE HALL a BELL CHIMES and a set of ELEVATOR DOORS OPEN. Carrying some groceries, Beth comes around the corner and walks down the hallway to her apartment.

At the door of her apartment, she fumbles for her keys and they fall to the floor. She bends to pick them up and SEES A PAIR OF SHOE-CLAD FEET BESIDE HER! She jumps back startled, to find Mick standing there.

MICK Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you.

She opens the door. They stand there a moment... Beth finds herself torn between her attraction to Mick and the unmistakable sense of danger that surrounds him.

BETH ...Would you like to come in?

MICK I wasn't planning on staying...

BETH It's silly for us to stand out here. Come in.

Mick nods and steps inside.

In many ways it is a classic New York career woman's apartment-- a blend of Pottery Barn and funky thrift store pieces.

BETH (O.C. FROM THE KITCHEN) Red or white?

MICK Red.

Beth enters with two glasses of red wine and hands one to Mick who drinks.

BETH So, I found out the last victim was seen at a club called Griffin's the night she disappeared. Thought I'd go down there tomorrow.

Mick just nods.

BETH How 'bout you? What've you got?

MICK Nothing.

BETH You didn't find out anything?

MICK That's not why I came.

BETH Oh? Then why?

She gives him a puzzled look and now WE HEAR...

MICK (V.O.) To erase your memory. To make you forget you ever met me... Forget I exist...

Mick looks deeply into Beth's lovely blue eyes and uses his gaze on her.

MICK Beth, listen to me--

A glazed, dreamy look comes into her eyes. Glass of wine in hand, she stand there... Waiting...

MICK (V.O.) This is no good. None of it. It can't go anywhere...

Unable to resist, Mick reaches out and gently, lovingly touches her face...

MICK Are you listening?

BETH (far, far away) Yes...

CLOSE ON: Mick's tortured expression... His jaw clenches as he wages an internal war between what he wants and what he fears... He can't do it. He withdraws his hand.

ON BETH-- the glazed look still in her eyes.

MICK (V.O.) I know it's what I ought to do. Need to do. But somehow I can't bring myself to do it...

THE DOOR SLAMS. A stunned look on her face, Beth BLINKS as if coming out of a trance. She looks around to find--

MICK IS GONE-- the GLASS OF WINE on the coffee table the only sign he was ever there.

BETH Mick...?

INT. MICK'S LOFT - AFTERNOON

CLOSE ON: MICK'S ANSWERING MACHINE-- We hear Beth's VOICE OVER as the CAMERA ROAMS around the darkened apartment... We see his old trumpet, the black-and-white photo of Mick with his band, a shelf of eclectic books (History, the Occult, Hemingway...), and souvenirs from his travels around the world.

INT. GRIFFIN'S CLUB - NIGHT

Mick enters the trendy downtown club, TECHNO MUSIC blasts. Using his INFRARED NIGHT VISION he SCANS THE CROWD-- Everyone in here is human.

MICK (V.O.) I smell Beth-- her fear. It hangs in the air like stale smoke. It permeates everything...

WE MOVE IN ON: MICK, eyes still closed-- HIS EYES snap open. There is a danger in them we haven't seen before.

MICK (V.O.) And it makes me angry...

INT. CLUB - STORAGE ROOM

where the CLUB MANAGER is taking inventory of his liquor stock. As Mick and Victor come through, the Second Bouncer strides up from behind and claps a hand down hard on Mick's shoulder.

SECOND BOUNCER This guy giving you trouble, Vic?

VICTOR (in pain) He's looking for the girl.

Before the Second Bouncer can respond, Mick DRIVES HIS ELBOW BACK into the guy's NOSE, breaking it-- the big man falls to his knees, clutching his bloody face. IN THE SAME MOVEMENT, Mick now DRIVES HIS FIST FORWARD into Victor's JAW, shattering it. Teeth fly as Victor drops to the floor.

It's chaos, everyone in the kitchen SCATTERS except for the CLUB MANAGER who stands frozen a moment. Seeing Mick coming toward him he DARTS down a STAIRWAY to the basement. Mick goes after him.

FLASHBACK-- 1985

CLOSE ON: FIVE-YEAR OLD BETH TURNER'S EYES as they OPEN to SEE MICK standing in the bedroom doorway...

MICK Let her go.

INT. BEL AIR MANSION (BEDROOM) - LOS ANGELES - (1985) - NIGHT

We are back in the BEL AIR MANSION... Coraline cradles Young Beth, fangs distended ready to feed. With a mischievous smile, Coraline slowly dips her head toward the little girl's neck.

MICK (raises his gun) Coraline, let her go.

CORALINE (shakes her head in regret) We could've been so good together, and you ruined it with all your silly rules. (beat) When are you going to realize they're just food to us...?

MICK I'm not gonna let you hurt that child.

CORALINE You sure this is what you want?

MICK (cocks gun) I'm sure.

Coraline tosses Beth aside, and with blinding speed, moves for Mick.

YOUNG BETH'S POV: Coraline ATTACKS Mick. Before the child's eyes, both Mick and Coraline TRANSFORM into FULL-BLOWN VAMPIRES-- Their JAWS UNHINGE. Their EYES fill with blood. It is truly terrifying. (This is the first time we see Mick in full vampire form.)

Coraline triumphantly SINKS HER TEETH into Mick's neck and begins to drain him.

As he WEAKENS, Mick grows pale and returns to HUMAN FORM. Realizing he has been defeated, he turns to give Young Beth an apologetic look, and--

HE SEES THE LITTLE GIRL NUDGING THE PISTOL INTO HIS REACH

IN RAPID CUTS --

- Mick GRABS THE GUN and PUMPS six silver bullets into Coraline. She HOWLS in pain.

- Mick pushes Coraline's writhing form off of him.

Weakened, Mick lifts Coraline into his arms. They lock EYES. A momentary look of hope passes over Coraline's FACE-- the hope that Mick still loves her and will relent. But her HOPE DIES when she sees the hard resolve in his EYES.

Not unmoved, Mick bends and gently places Coraline into the FLAMES...

The LIGHT OF THE FIRE illuminates the FEAR in CORALINE'S EYES as her GOWN IGNITES. They share one last look and then...

Exhausted, Mick scoops Young Beth into his arms and carries her from the room...

INT. UPSTAIRS HALLWAY --

Mick closes the door behind them... As they move down the darkened hall, Young Beth looks back over Mick's shoulder--

YOUNG BETH'S POV: THE BEDROOM DOOR BLOWS OPEN.

Mick wheels around TO SEE Coraline standing in the doorway, enveloped in FLAMES.

Still beautiful within the flames, Coraline glares at Mick and Young Beth with a look of hatred and betrayal. She begins to move toward them and as she REACHES OUT for them...

ALL AT ONCE, Coraline and the HALLWAY EXPLODE in a FIREBALL!

SCREAMING and CONTORTING CORALINE COLLAPSES and is CONSUMED.

AND MICK, who hasn't been truly touched by anyone in 60 years-- who is not afraid of anything-- suddenly finds himself terrified. Terrified that this girl who saved his life, who helped him eradicate the greatest evil in his life, who has been his touchstone-- his beacon-- his only link to humanity and goodness... will be repulsed by him.

MICK (V.O.) Sixty years is a long time to live in darkness... A long time to deny yourself the touch of another... But you do it. You do it because you just can't bear the thought of seeing yourself as a monster in someone else's eyes...

Fearful, utterly exposed now, Mick smiles sadly...

MICK This was a mistake...

As he turns away, Beth stands... She comes up behind him and takes his HAND...

BETH No.

SHE DRAWS MICK TO HER in an embrace of gratitude and acceptance...

Uncertain, he stands stiffly for a moment, and then... He puts his arms around her... Holding her close, Mick St. John has the look of a man who has just been saved.

 

(source Moonlightguide.net)