|
|
Post by Publicist on Aug 9, 2019 9:59:20 GMT -5
SACRED BLOOD
MADISON CHAPELSeven Months Ago...
His blood… most precious… dampened the ground beneath him, staining it a dark-crimson. She would never forget this sight… NEVER!
A flutter of white distracted her from the horror before her. Wings of an angel...Anka, the one they called Hexx, or perhaps merely The Devil in disguise. Her heart trip-hammered in her chest as she watched the foul creature reach up and rip him down from the cross, his flesh torn anew.
She reached up to stop her…
“Ughhhh!”
She received a kick to the side for her trouble.
CRACK
Her ribs broke, but what was bone compared to the breaking of her heart? As he died, so would she. She would never forget this moment… NEVER!
The demon, wrapped in angelic form, carried his lifeless body away. She had lost him… again… forever. She was alone once more, almost…
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the flicker of a rusted blade. With a sudden wrenching blow she feels that cold steel plunging through her, and impaling her… sending her flying up onto the cross… leaving her hanging there awkwardly, her arms draped over the crossbeams.
“Hello, pretty-pretty.”
This new terror; this hideous floating beast regards her with greedy desire. It’s cold eyes both empty and filled with malevolence at the same time. He is a hell-spawned terror… one from which there would be no escape, but that was all well and good. Her desire to live was taken, born away on wretched wings. She could still hear them beating in the distance. She would never forget that sound…
NEVER!
The beast with the terrible eyes looked coldly into her wide pain-filled ones. She no longer saw the creature before her, and though the pain racked her to her very core, she did not give voice to it. She would not have her last words be anything other than his name. That of her true love, the one she had failed to save. Her mouth moved with a quiver, blood glistening on her lips as they mouthed the name of her beloved.
“B-Bran-don…”
She closed her eyes, as death took her, she would never live again…
Empire City General
Present Day...
“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!”
Detective Stacey Jordan sat bolt upright in the hospital bed, gasping for breath that seemed to elude her struggling lungs. She clawed at her throat, her chest, tore at her gown, as the world swirled around her in a haze. Suddenly it snapped back into focus as her lungs finally filled, almost to bursting.
The air exploded out of her in a rush, slamming her back down into the bed with such force that she was momentarily dazed. She lay there for a moment, her mind attempting to piece together the puzzle of how she came to be here…
The One God Church.
Brandon’s church.
He was dead… she remembered it… she remembered it all. Her eyes stung as tears erupted forth in a torrent, rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably. That winged bitch had killed him, taken him from her, and in so doing… killed her… had she not?
No…
Her mind rebounded again as she remembered even more. The flash of rusted metal, even as her hand moved absently to her abdomen. She felt the scar there… a hideous wound… now little more than a long indentation just underneath her ribcage... an old wound.
How long?
She sat up quickly, tearing open her gown and fully exposing herself as she looked down at the scar. It was stitched closed and healed over. A chill passed over her naked flesh and she shut her gown against it, but this chill ran all the way down to the bone.
HOW LONG?!!
She jumped, half fell out of the bed, tearing off the electrodes that were taped to her. The alarm bells rang from the monitors that were suddenly disconnected. She rushed to the window and tore aside the blinds, half ripping them down.
Empire City beckoned in all her nighttime splendor…
She stared into the darkness, in the hopes of deciphering the passage of time. How long had it been? How long since… since…
Her had slid down to the wound…
“Miss?”
She turned and looked into the eyes of the nurse who stood there staring at her. The woman’s face was filled with surprise, but there was no time to dwell on that. She rushed across the room and grabbed the startled woman by her shoulders. “WHAT DAY IS IT?!!”
The nurse was dumbfounded and had to search for the answer. “Wha…?” She was shaken and the answer slipped from her tongue. “It’s March… March 4th… you’ve been in a coma since…”
“…since September 25th…” She answered without being told.
The nurse nodded, with a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Bloody Monday… the day Fatha Brandon was taken from us… the day God called his angel back inta Heaven… and blood rained from the sky…” She closed her eyes and mouthed a silent prayer.
She let go of the woman’s shoulders and backed away from her. She was one of them… a One God believer… one of Brandon’s flock, converted into a lowly sheep by that winged, murdering bitch. Bile welled in her throat as she felt unclean. Just in the act of touching this woman, one who had been corrupted by the lies of a false angel… a demon witch… Satan’s whore. She wanted to be free of this place, needed to be away, desperately. “My clothes…? Where are my clothes?!”
The nurse opened her eyes, looking slightly ashamed for the way she had drifted off. She shook her head. “Ms. Jordan… ya can’t leave… not in ya condition! You’ve been comatose for five months… I mean… issa miracle that ya even able to move after being…” She paused for a moment, a sudden realization dawning on her. The woman fell to her knees. “MY GOD!! ISSA SIGN!! ISSA SIGN FROM HEAVEN!! HIS ANGEL IS RETURNING TO DELEIVER US!! SHE’S COMING BACK T'SAVE US!!”
She watched the woman groveling on the floor. Her disgust turned to pity, then pity turned to anger. For an instant she wished that she had her gun… she wished that she could fire a round into this woman’s skull and end her pathetic ramblings. She and the others like her were fools to believe in angels! They were fools to believe in the One God mythos… it was a lie… ALL OF IT!!
A sudden hiss arose from the air, the smell of burning flesh and Stacey screamed as she fell to her knees, clutching at her left arm as it burned before her very eyes. Her dark eyes widened as she watched the image now emblazoned on her forearm take shape… it was a spearhead… and one she had seen before… jutting from Brandon’s side… The Spear of Destiny!
The nursed watched in a mixture of fascination and shock. Her mouth moved silently, unable to give voice to the prayers that struggled to spill forth.
Even as the pain subsided and she stared at the wondrous sight, her eyes were drawn to her hands and feet…
“...blood…” The nurse whispered as she crawled towards her; eyes transfixed by the weeping wounds. She took Stacey’s hands and looked up into her eyes. “God has chosen you…”
Her heart skipped… trip-hammered… threatened to jump out of her chest. She had to be away from there, away from everything. Stacey ripped away from the nurse, scrambling to her feet as she bolted through the door… leaving the dumbfounded nurse in her wake.
IN AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
In the wake of the near destruction of The Agency at the hands of its duplicitous benefactor, Daria Knight, it had seemed that the shadowy covert operations division would never recover. Knight’s subversion had run deep, but after the woman’s disappearance The Agency had been revived under new leadership. Michelle Andretti had been installed as Director and her first official act had been to put Grace Sloane in charge. Slowly, steadily, the two had rebuilt The Agency, brick by brick. They had vowed to never allow another who didn’t have the best interests of Empire City at heart to ever have an opportunity to infiltrate its ranks ever again.
Sloane had worked hard to bring in new agents with the skills and connections to make The Agency even better than it had been. She had brought in the best of the best to fill their ranks, but no matter how good they seemed, none quite measured up to the one perspective recruit that had alluded her even before The Agency first toppled.
Soon, she would have a second chance to recruit her.
Grace frowned as she stared at the holographic images of Empire City’s most wanted meta criminals, Vixxxen and Reaver. With Sloane, things were rarely ever personal, but this case was different. Vixxxen and Reaver had been Daria Knight’s chief acolytes. Not only had they helped her subvert The Agency, but they had personally been responsible for the murder of a young recruit, she herself had brought in. During that same mission, she had hurled herself out of a plane at over 30,000 feet to prevent them from completing their own mission.
It was only by a strange trick of fate that she had survived, and she had spent nearly her every waking moment trying to find the two of them so she could put a bullet through their skull. She’d gotten close a few times, but they always slipped through her fingers like wisps of smoke.
“Grace! You aint gonna believe this shit!”
She turned as Michelle ran into her office. “We just got a call from a hysterical nurse over at Empire General. It looks like your girlfriend is awake.”
She blinked, then got out of her chair, staring in utter disbelief. “Jordan.”
When they had found the Police Detective in Madison Chapel on Bloody Monday, pinned to a cross with a giant scythe right through the middle of her, it seemed improbably that she would still be alive…and yet she was. Months had passed with no change in her condition and the next time she got a call, she expected it to be about her passing. It would have been a tragedy, especially after all she had done for the city that people would never even know about.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s so special about her, Grace? She’s not a meta. She doesn’t have powers…she’s just a normal.”
Grace nodded her head. “Yeah…she’s just a normal…” Grace thought back to the time when metas were overrunning the city, overwhelming the police and the military. They had been stopped cold by one person…a lone detective who risked her life without the slightest hesitation in one of the craziest gambles that she had ever seen. Only a few knew of her heroics that day and most would never ever know her name.
Stacey Jordan was special. If for no other reason than the fact that she was normal, and that never stopped her even once.
Grace got up and grabbed her coat, heading for the door. She stopped, turning back to Michelle as she asked. “What kind of flowers do you think say ‘Congrats on waking up out of your coma’? I don’t want her to think I’m being creepy.” Grace gave a crooked smile as she turned and headed out to see the detective; but Stacey Jordan was already long gone…
DOWNTOWN
The rest was a blur. How long had she run? How far had she run? She couldn’t guess. Her bloody feet carried her off into the cool night air… into a city she hadn’t seen in months.
She had been spared… snatched from the jaws of death… but why? For what purpose?
BOOM
Stacey was staggered as the thunder reverberated through her entire body. She turned her head and looked up into the heavens as another crack of thunder rolled across the sky that seemed to shake the very ground underneath the whole of Empire City, as it did on Bloody Monday. Stacey stumbled and fell to the ground, splashing down into a puddle.
"SHIT!"
In the distance, lightning streaked across the sky in all directions. All around the city, eyes turned skyward…all except two...
"...wha...what...WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Stacey stared at herself in the puddle and the face that was reflected back at her wasn't her own. Instead, it was the face of Hexx!
She blinked, wondering if it was a dream...a hallucination...something! The image rippled and distorted, but wasn't an illusion. She felt the rain hit her back, hot and smelling of sulfur.
She looked up, shielding her eyes as the rain picked up...
plop… plop… plop…
The rain that fell from the sky was as blood once more… was the war in Heaven over… or was it only just beginning?
CAST
In Order of Appearance
Stacey Jordan/Hexx … Kenzi Grey
Brandon Knight … Declan Watson
Revenant … Chris Andrew
Devout Nurse … Morgana Cassiano
Grace Sloane … Amy Jo Smyth
Vixxxen … Katie Tolson
Reaver … Melissa Reeves
Michelle Andretti … Delia Darling
_____________________________________________
Directed by … Kenzi Grey
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … Dark Goddess Productions
Executive Producer … Sarah Selena Grey-Lacklan
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure
|
|
|
|
Post by Publicist on Sept 1, 2019 22:30:10 GMT -5
 SEPARATING THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF…
The mighty blast of a trumpet signaled the counter attack as a legion of angels descended and struck from the skies above, pushing the demon hoard back. Yet, even as the tide was beginning to turn, another threat, unseen by all except a few, was taking shape.
A group of angels broke formation as they saw the harbinger of this war… one that was neither angel or demon… but now a seeming amalgamation of both. They raised their swords as they bore down on the hybrid and her splinter group of rank demons.
The clash was tremendous as blood spattered and the howls of battle ushered forth. This war was about to be brought to an abrupt end with the destruction of the war’s chief architect. The lead angel cut a swath through the demon horde as he descended and stood before the corrupted soul.
The angel raised his flaming blade and made ready for his final charge. “Your war ends here Anka! I know not how you managed to breech the veil and get past Raphael, but you and the rest of these unclean beasts will be sent back to the dark abyss from which you all came!!”
As the angel rushed in, Anka charged him as well, parrying his mighty downswing with her spear as she whirled around and drove the spearhead deeply into his midsection. The weapon pierced his armor as easily as it pierced his skin. As the warrior angel fell dying on the ground, she whispered in his ear. “…forgive me, brother…” As his life ebbed away, Anka turned to the rest of her demon hoard. “HOLD THEM, VICTORY IS AT HAND!!” She turned to her lieutenant. “Bring him…”
Her army clashed with the angelic defenders and it became apparent that the move was of a staling tactic than anything else. The demons fell like wheat before the reaper’s blade, but all the while the true danger was elsewhere.
Anka led the way to a battle-ravaged temple as the demon followed with their captive soul in tow. They entered the temple and stood before a pedestal with a scroll upon it.
The demon threw the man down on the floor and stood beside Anka.
The man looked up at the woman, as her gaze fell upon him, he found it hard to believe that she was the same angelic being that had appeared before him so many times before… renewing his hope… reviving his spirit. Now she was but a shade of her former self… not in appearance, for her beauty was not diminished… but something inside her, something damaged… fractured… corrupted.
The evidence of that corruption was all around them, blood stained the ground a deep crimson as ruin lay all around. Bodies, both angelic and that of demon spawn were scattered and heaped everywhere his eyes turned. Was this truly the End Times? He had no real knowledge of Heaven or what was happening, but there was a deep feeling of dread in him for this place and what she was attempting to do.
Brandon Knight turned to her and pleaded. “Anka! Stop this madness!! You don’t know what you’re doing… what you’ll unleash on the world!!”
A smile touched her blood-splattered lips as she knelt down next to him, her broad white wings folding away of their own accord, as they stood in stark contrast to scene of carnage that was all around them. She reached out and touched his cheek lightly. “Brandon…there is only one way to save them…only one way to purify his children…”
The demon grabbed Anka and turned her violently towards him. “SAVE?!! PURIFY?!! That was not the agreement Anka!! Revenant said…”
She raised her hand to stop him, flashing him a vicious and hateful gaze that caused him to hold his tongue. She returned her attention to Brandon and gestured towards a scroll as it lay before him, held shut by seven seals. It was apparent by the look on his face, that while he had no idea where he was, his knowledge of scripture left little doubt that he knew what this relic was. The scriptures, upon which being opened, would mark the Second Coming…signaling the apocalypse.
“Only the lamb may open it…for who now in all the world is more worthy of that name than you, Brandon?” Anka touched his arm, then helped him to his feet. “That is why I rescued you from The Veil…brought you here. You know what must be done.”
He looked at the demon thing at her side as it seemed conflicted, then he looked over at the book spoken of in Revelations. It contained secrets known only to God…and it tempted him greatly, for who would not want such knowledge for themselves. He steeled himself, shaking his head. It seemed a blasphemy to even consider himself to be worthy, not only of the book’s secrets, but of even being worthy to open the book itself. “Anka… I am not the one to open this book and loose what lay inside upon the world below…”
Her expression never wavered as she recited the verse that best illustrated her point. “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” Her long dark ringlets of hair fell before her face as she lowered her head to regard him more closely. “Open the seals Brandon…do what you know you must to save the wretched souls of God’s flock. This has all been foretold…”
The demon-thing at her side could no longer stay its tongue as it stood between Anka and Brandon, brandishing its weapon.
It grabbed Anka by her throat. “TRAITOROUS WHORE, REVENANT WILL NOT BE WELL PLEASED!!” The powerful creature lifted Anka, then slammed her to the ground as it stood over her. “THE SEALS ARE TO BE BROKEN, THE APOCOLYPSE UNLEASHED, AND THE SCROLL DESTROYED!”
In an instant, her wings seemed to erupt into red-hot flames as she reached out and grabbed the demon by its throat. Her eyes turned black as pitch as they jockeyed for position and her massive wings encased the two of them, glowing so white hot that Brandon was nearly blinded. The creature howled in pain before it burst out of the flaming cocoon. The demon howled in agony, its body burned and ruined. Anka rose to her feet, glaring down at the beast at her feet as she pinned it to the ground with her foot and raised the spear over its head.
“Do you not know that all things serve God in its own way? Even Revenant…” She drove the spearhead down into the beast, with a sickening sound. The demon’s body seemed to experience catastrophic internal damage as it sizzled and burst in a horrific display. Anka withdrew the spear from the lifeless husk, then turned back to Brandon and knelt down beside him. “This is God’s will. You see his power Brandon…He is on our side. Why else what He allow this to happen?” She put down the spear she held, once said to be stained with the blood of Christ, now stained with the blood of scores upon scores of angels…and now that of a demon. She reached out to touch the book, then withdrew her hand from it as she looked at him. “Open the book Brandon, for it is God’s will that the world come to an end and His flock be called home. It is the only way to save them…you know that I speak the truth.”
How long had he served God? How long had he done all that he could to prepare His children to return home? This was inevitable…wasn’t it? He looked at Anka, then back to the book…his soul was torn. In truth, would he not be doing them all a favor? Rescuing them from the veritable purgatory that they all lived in? So much pain, so much suffering, it could all be ended and in the end, did that not also serve the will of God?
Before he even knew what he’d do, he reached out with one trembling hand and touched the first seal. He had no idea what would happen, especially if he wasn’t ‘The Lamb’ as Anka had theorized. Would nothing happen at all…or would he sizzle and burst like the demon Anka had killed?
CRACK
The seal shattered at his touch and the first scripture was revealed to him. His own eyes seemed to fill with a dark pitch as he was suddenly filled with knowledge beyond reasoning.
“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder…”
BOOM
Outside the temple, the fighting suddenly ceased. Both angel and demon stopped and turned to look as the thunder echoed from one corner of the heavens to the other.
“And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer…”
BOOM
Anka watched as an apparition astride the white horse, turned to regard them, then galloped off…vanishing as it went. Brandon reached for and opened the second seal…
CRACK
“And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.”
Even as the second apparition galloped out of the temple, dissolving as it went, the forces of both light and dark both trembled. Brandon broke the third seal…
CRACK
“And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand…”
The apparition appeared.
“…and I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.”
BOOM
Brandon seemed consumed as his hands worked and he spoke the words that came to him through the opening of the seals.
“And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.”
BOOM
That apparition also galloped off and vanished. As the third horseman was loosed on the unsuspecting world, Brandon opened the fourth seal…
CRACK
“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”
Even as that apparition appeared, both angel and demon alike entered the temple. The Archangel Michael came forward, his sword drawn, as he regarded Anka with a fiery stare. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!! THIS IS NOT GOD’S WILL!! THE SEALS MUST NOT BE BROKEN!!”
Anka grabbed her spear and looked at Brandon. “DON’T LISTEN TO HIM BRANDON!! OPEN THE SEALS!!” She stared at Michael, her own eyes going pitch black once more. “Jealous wretch!! You know that man will replace your kind at God’s right hand. The time of angels and demons alike has come to an end…”
Michael glowered. “Anka… YOU’RE INSANE!!”
Her wings, already aflame, brightened as she rushed into the fray. Michael met her attack with a parry from his sword that sent a shower or sparks from both weapons, but the spear was mighty and drove him back. As the remaining angels started to rush forward, the demon hoard descended on them, attacking wildly. Anka struck a massive pillar and it collapsed the entire entranceway, sealing them all inside.
Michael fought on, but it was apparent that the spear made her far too powerful to be stopped alone. He was driven back, only his own skill preventing her from running him through as she had done to his brothers. Brandon watched on, his hand hovering above the fifth seal. His heart was torn…and yet he opened it…
CRACK
“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held…”
BOOM
“And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?’”
Brandon’s blood ran cold as he watched the tortured souls cry out for vengeance. Was this really the will of God? Was this really what He wanted? He reached for the sixth seal; the one that would trigger the great earthquake, turn the sun black, make the moon red as blood…then cause the stars to fall from the heavens. He hesitated…then slowly laid his hand on the scroll…
“NOOOOOO!!!” Michael cried out to Brandon, his attention shattered.
Anka seized the advantage, knocking away his sword and driving the spearhead high into the chest of the angel and forcing him to the floor. She turned to Brandon, with a wild look in her eyes. “DO IT BRANDON!! DO IT NOW!!”
Even as his hand lay upon the scroll, Brandon’s thoughts turned to Stacey Jordan. He could see her face before him as he sat there, preparing to break open the seal that would effectively begin the end of the world. Suddenly he was filled with shame, not for what he had done, but for the reason he desired to open the seals.
He had lost her twice before…the last time seemingly forever, but it didn’t have to be that way…did it? Just as he had been taken from her, could he not now bring her to him? Even as he destroyed the world around her…around everyone else. Slowly, he closed the fifth scroll, and souls at the foot at the alter vanished…
BOOM
“ARRRRRRRRGGHHHHHHH!” An inhuman roar escaped Anka as she turned to Brandon. “NOOOOO!! OPEN THE SEALS!! OPEN THEM!!”
The more she begged the more certain he became of his actions. He closed the fourth, and then the third…
BOOM
BOOM
Anka ripped the spear from Michael’s body and raised it menacingly as she flew towards Brandon. “YOU FOOL!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE?!!”
Brandon rolled closed the remaining two scrolls…
BOOM
BOOM
Brandon backed away as Anka advanced on him. She was in a murderous rage now and he was the only thing in her sights. Black tears streamed down her face as she kicked him down and knelt over him, choking him with one hand and holding the spear in the other…pointed menacingly above him. “All you had to do was open the final two seals to bring an end to pain and suffering on the world below THAT’S ALL YOU HAD TO DO!!!”
The fear in Brandon’s eyes faded along with the blackness that clouded them, giving birth to something else. “Anka…opening the seals won’t end your pain…it simply won’t.”
…
…
…
Finally, she scowled at him. “What do you know of pain Brandon? Compared to me, you have barely lived a moment!” She gestured around her. “THIS!! All of this…it isn’t only about me…but about all those who have suffered at the hands of a cruel and callous God!! I would end their pain…I would end their suffering! I would do what HE has failed to do, bring order to the chaos…separate the wheat from the chaff! I would do the GOOD work He has promised…then failed to do!!” She paused, as she seemed to waiver for a moment. She opened her mouth. “I…”
Brandon’s eyes widened as he watched Anka shutter as the point of a blade broke through her abdomen. The spear fell from her hand, missing Brandon’s face by inches as it clattered to the floor. Anka’s eyes dimmed as she slid off the blade and fell to the floor, struggling to keep all that was inside of her, from spilling out onto the floor.
Behind her, Michael struggled to keep his feet as he held a hand to the wound in his chest and raised his sword to finish her. “You…who were once blessed by our great Father…will now be relegated to the hell-fires of the abyss. GO FROM GOD, FOUL BEAST!!”
As the Archangel swung his sword, it clanged loudly against the floor… Anka was nowhere to be found.
Brandon blinked his eyes as he stared up at Michael. The angel’s head turned slightly upward, as if listening to a voice that only he could hear. Brandon scrambled to his feet, looking all around for any trace of Anka.
Finally Michael leveled his gaze at Brandon. A long low sigh escaped him. “It would appear that our Father’s patience…as well as his mercy is without limits.”
Brandon shook his head. “What do you mean?”
Michael sheathed his sword, took a step, then stumbled as his wounds made it difficult to keep his feet. He reached up and stripped the armor from his chest, revealing the ghastly wound the spear had done to his chest. He took a labored breath, then spoke again. “Anka will have her chance to do what she claimed she could do.”
Brandon stood there puzzled. “…and what was that?”
“Separate wheat from the chaff…the good from the wicked…” Michael grimaced with pain, then shook his head. He turned to Brandon. “I think she will find that task more difficult than she can possibly imagine…the both of them…”
Brandon blinked as he came to the Archangel’s aid. “Both?”
CAST
In Order of Appearance
Avenging Angel … Dean Smith
Anka/Hexx … Kenzi Grey
Demon Loyalist … Hector Ramos Jr.
Brandon Knight … Declan Watson
Archangel Michael … James Raven
_____________________________________________
Directed by … Kenzi Grey
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … Dark Goddess Productions
Executive Producer … Sarah Selena Grey-Lacklan
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure
|
|
|
|
Post by Publicist on Sept 8, 2019 17:17:10 GMT -5
THE KNOWLEDGE FOUNT...
OLYMPUS LOFTSDowntown, Empire City...Moonlight bathed her as she made her way back towards her apartment complex. The revelation that she had been in a months-long coma had been a shock…but what had happened afterwards, hardly seemed real. How was she wearing the face of her enemy, and yet…no one seemed to even notice? What she going insane? Had she suffered some sort of traumatic brain injury? That had to be it…that had to be the reason for all of this.
…blood raining from the sky…
She looked at her hands, still streaked and stained a deep crimson from the blood rain that still rained down in places all over Empire City. Perhaps that too was a trick of her imagination…or her ruined mind. Perhaps…but not likely.
Her face felt tight underneath the tears that had dried there. The burning in her limbs that should have suffered from crippling atrophy had long subsided, but her body was now racked with a new pain from a source she could not readily identify. Her body felt like it was in shambles and her mind was no better off. The events of tonight didn’t seem real and yet, her body sang to her in a way that left no doubt, it had all actually happened.
As Stacey half-staggered, half-shambled up the driveway to her apartment, she was struck by another revelation. She didn’t remember a single step of her journey since running out of the hospital and stopping in the alley when the first drops of rain had fallen. She didn’t know how long she had been on foot, but it was now the dead of night.
She walked to her apartment door and reached into her pocket for her keys. “FUCK!”
She was still in her torn hospital gown, half her front bare to the world, and by the feel of the cool night air…all of her backside. She looked at the window and considered breaking it, but thought the better of that plan. It would seem pretty idiotic to escape the hospital only to end up being sent right back there for slicing open her arm.
She turned and headed upstairs towards Ms. Markowitz’s apartment. Her landlord wouldn’t be happy to be awakened at this late hour, but then again, how happy would she herself be to have to sleep outdoors…half naked?
As she made her way towards the darkened apartment at the top of the stairs, a familiar voice called out from the shadows, startling her. “Lady J… is th-that y-you?”
Stacey turned. “Megan? Is that you?” She knew it was the young girl from apartment 12F before she bothered to ask the question. Megan was the only one who called her that. For the longest time she had thought that the connection had been her last name, substituting the letter ‘J’ in place of her name. It was only a few weeks before she had found herself skewered and soul-sucked by a demented demon that she found out the real reason Megan called her that. The girl had said that that ‘J’ stood for Justice. Megan knew that she was a police detective and had a rather noble vision of her, holding the balance of justice in her hands…keeping her and the rest of Empire City safe. It was a ridiculous notion, but one that touched her all the same. In a time when the entire police department was viewed as little more than cannon fodder for the metas that plagued the streets. The police had shed their dearest blood to keep the people safe…but if you weren’t wearing tights and talking like someone out of one of Shakespeare’s plays, no one gave a damn…save Megan Jefferies.
Stacey knelt down as Megan walked closer. The girl peered at her carefully, then ran into her arms. “IT’S YOU!! IT REALLY IS YOU!!”
Stacey was nearly knocked off balance as the young girl hit her at a gallop, throwing her arms around her. Stacey laughed. “Hey!! Why the death-grip girl?”
She sniffled as she looked at Stacey with huge, doe-like eyes. “You were gone for a long time…and then Daddy said you weren’t never gonna come back…”
Stacey sighed. “I’m back, and I’m not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere at all.” Stacey eyed her suspiciously. “Now that we have established that I’m not going anywhere…where in the heck do you think you’re going right now?” She looked around the darkened complex. “It has to be WELL past your bedtime little girl!”
As Megan looked away, Stacey felt something pass between them, but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it was. The girl shook her head. “I-I was just o-out… just trying to…to see if you were home yet!” She added as much conviction in her last statement as she could, though it was apparent to Stacey that it was a flimsy cover at best.
Stacey stood up and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah…at O-Dark-Thirty?!” She sneered. “Come on Kiddo…I’m taking you back home, I…”
“NO!!! DON’T!!”
The girl’s shrill cry made her flinch, or perhaps it was something else. In her mind’s eye…she could almost see it, but it evaporated like smoke, wafting off into the night breeze. Concern touched her brow as she knelt back down. “Megan, honey…is something wro…”
“Megan!! What are you doing out here?!!”
Stacey turned, but not before she was swept by another wave. This one almost made her sick to her stomach. She had to blink her eyes to clear her thoughts as she looked up into the eyes of Megan’s step-father.
The man’s eyes hardly lingered on Stacey longer than a moment before all of his attention was firmly fixated on the little girl beside her. He moved past Stacey and grabbed Megan by her arm, snatching the girl next to him. “WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT LEAVING THE HOUSE?!! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU?!!”
As she watched the scene, it became difficult for her to focus for a moment. A stab of pain, like an ice pick in the center of her forehead nearly made her cry out. She stood up on unsteady legs as she looked at the man. “Mr. J-Jefferies…Megan was jus…”
The man moved past Stacey, hardly looking at her as he spoke. “Miss, please don’t try to talk to me about raising my kid, when you can’t even cover yourself up when you walk outside!”
Stacey suddenly remembered the ripped hospital gown and moved quickly to hold it closed again, but the man wasn’t even looking in her direction. His eyes glared down at Megan…and hers were focused on Stacey. Again there was something that seemed to flicker there between them, if only for a moment. The girl looked away and it was gone. A second later she heard a door slam and everything rushed back into focus.
Stacey paused for a moment longer. There was the distinct feeling of being torn…torn between continuing upstairs and going to the Jefferies’ apartment and banging on the door until someone answered. It was curious…the strength of that pull was like nothing she had ever experienced before, and yet, it frightened her. What was wrong with her? Was she losing her marbles like she had theorized on her long walk from the hospital? After all that she had seen, who could blame her.
A gust of wind at her naked backside spurred her into action. She turned and headed upstairs to her landlord’s apartment. With some effort she was able to put her urges aside… at least for the moment…
EMPIRE CITY GENERAL HOSPITAL
Across Town...
Agent Sloane and Michelle Andretti walked out of Empire General Hospital completely dumbfounded. Only a few minutes after awaking from seven months in a coma, Stacey Jordan had just awakened and walked right out the front door, like nothing had happened. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Agent Sloane had been the one to find her with an enormous blade stuck right in the center of her body, pinning her to a cross like a macabre doll of some sorts. Stacey should have barely been able to move, assuming she could ever even walk again after the internal injuries she had suffered.
Of course, this was Empire City…and Empire City was filled with all kinds of weirdos with super powers. It was just that until now, Stacey Jordan had been just as human as anyone else…or so they all thought.
Sloane and Andretti headed to their car after interviewing the nurse that had seen Stacey leave. No doubt, she would head back to her apartment, and that is where the two of them would finally get to the bottom of what had happened to her on Bloody Sunday…and maybe what was happening throughout the city, now that she was awake…
_______________________________________
From across the street, a pair of familiar faces watched from the shadows, with intense interest and even more intense hatred.
“What do you think they're up to? Maybe they're done looking for us.”
Reaver leaned over from the passenger side seat of the car they had stolen from a kindly old woman who was presently the newest member of the ‘no longer breathing club’ a mere six city blocks away. She glared at the agents as they got into their own car and started to pull off. Her voice was laced with venom and loathing. “Pigs don’t never stop being bloody pigs! They may not be after the two of us right now Vixxxy, but they'll be…if you and I are stupid enough to leave ‘em breathing! No, we won’t be doing that Luv! We won't be letting 'em come for us when we can get them first!”
Vixxxen started up the car. “So, we keep following?”
“Yah…let’s follow those stupid slags." Reaver sat back in her seat, extending her long deadly claws. “Then…when the time is right…I’ll gut those piggies and you can barbeque them right good and proper mate! That cunt is gonna wish she’d died after falling outta that bleeding plane…I promise you that!”
Vixxxen smiled as glowing embers seemed to spark behind her dark irises. “You sure know how to treat a girl to a good time…”
The car pulled off, making a lazy U-turn as the two metas followed the agents at a cautious distance.
OLYMPUS LOFTS
Downtown, Empire City...
Stacey found herself back inside her apartment. Her meeting with Ms. Markowitz hadn’t been as awkward as she had thought it would be. The woman seemed genuinely happy to see her. She grabbed her and hugged her tight, all the while telling her how she had never given up hope that she would wake up out of her coma and come back home.
Even as she hugged her, Stacey got the strangest picture in her head of Ms. Markowitz rushing eagerly to her mailbox and grinning smugly as she cast a callous eye towards her empty apartment. Weird…
The sensation passed and Stacey didn’t dwell on it. She wanted to get into the shower and just stand there under the water until the world started to make sense to her. Empire City had changed in her absence, but for her it was as if it were still the day she had walked into Brandon’s church a few minutes too late to save him.
She felt the tears well up in her eyes again, even as a numbness evaded the rest of her body. She was going to break down again, and that was something that she didn’t want to go through right now.
She didn't bother to strip off her hospital gown as she climbed into the shower. As the water hit her she didn’t feel it…barely even heard it. Her mind was a million miles away…or at least a few months past…
The Church…
Church of The One God…
Brandon’s church…
She ran inside, hoping to save him from that winged bitch who called herself Hexx, the Angel of Empire City, but it was already too late. Brandon was nailed to a cross…and a spear was jammed in his side…
A GODDAMNED SPEAR!
Her eyes opened as they moved to her left forearm. There it was…etched in perfect detail, the spear that Hexx had used to kill Brandon…her Brandon. She couldn’t feel her legs anymore. She slid slowly down the wall of the shower and came to rest at the bottom of the cold tile floor.
Her body heaved, and though she didn’t feel the water dousing her from the showerhead, she felt the tears that cascaded down her reddened cheeks. They burned like twin rivers of fire…but they would never burn hot enough to make her forget…no…never that.
“AAAARRGGHH!!”
Stacey grimaced as her hands went to her stomach, then came away bloody, right where the scar from her encounter at the church was. The pain was slow in coming, as if it was from someplace far off in the distance… but coming… surely coming. Stacey moved to get up…she needed to call someone…she needed a doctor…
THE PAIN!
BOOM
The same thunder that had rocked the heavens just before Michael, the Archangel, ran his sword through the renegade angel, now rumbled over Empire City...connecting above and below. Anka's scream merged with the sky shattering thunder just as the blade pierced her back and tore completely through her.
Michael was denied the killing blow he yearned to deliver to the traitorous wretch that had nearly battered down the gates of Heaven and brought about the Apocalypse...the end of things. Their Father had intervened at the last moment. Just as Heaven and Earth merged in the sky splitting chaos, so to did Stacey Jordan and the being known as Hexx.
Stacey opened her mouth to scream, even as the blood gushed from her like a crimson fountain…
CAST
In Order of Appearance
Stacey Jordan … Kenzi Grey
Megan Jefferies … MacKenzie Osborne
Cyrus Jefferies … Jason Butler
Grace Sloane … Amy Jo Smyth
Michelle Andretti … Delia Darling
Vixxxen … Katie Tolson
Reaver … Melissa Reeves
Archangel Michael … James Raven
_____________________________________________
Directed by … Kenzi Grey
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … Dark Goddess Productions
Executive Producer … Sarah Selena Grey-Lacklan
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure
|
|
|
|
Post by Publicist on Sept 16, 2019 7:23:27 GMT -5
AN OBLIGATION TO THE PEOPLE...
OUTSIDE OLYMPUS LOFTSDowntown, Empire City...
Anka opened her eyes, but everything was a murky haze. Everything was a blur, yet her memory was as sharp as ever…
THE SWORD!!
SHE’D BEEN STABBED!!
She moved like lightning towards the first source of light that she saw…
CRASH
There was an explosion of shattered glass and splintered wood that cut at her exposed flesh, but the beat of her flaming wings seemed to warm and sooth the wounds…wounds that were already healing of their own accord. Her hands moved down to her abdomen, covered by a soaking wet sheer gown. She pulled it open and looked, but there was no blade there, nothing at all…not even a scar.
She turned her eyes towards the heavens, with a callous scowl on her face. “I don’t know why you spared me…again…but I…” She paused as she recalled her last few moments in Heaven, including her conversation with Brandon. She had given her grandiose speech about separating the righteous from the wicked…the wheat from the chaff. The glimmer of a smile touched her lips with this new realization. Her wings…now roaring flames, brightened with her mood.
She shouted into the sky. “YOU HAVE SENT ME HERE AS YOUR ACOLYTE!” She paused… “No… something more than that…” Her smile turned into a fiendish grin. “…I am your scythe! You have sent me here to light the way for the righteous…and burn away the wicked…”
Her dark eyes wandered over the skyline of the city she had not laid eyes on in many months. Empire City had changed, and the fact that she needed to know more about what changes had taken place, was not lost on her. The power to pass judgment required a certain amount of responsibility.
She streaked off into the night sky…
As the firey figure blazed off into the night sky, she did not do so unnoticed…
Several apartment’s over, a young girl ran to her window and looked out at the streaking figure, her mouth hanging open. Young eyes followed the trail of destruction right to the shattered window of her neighbor who had just returned home after a 7-month hospital stay.
Megan Jefferies whispered to herself as she turned her eyes back to the rapidly disappearing glow in the night sky; “Lady J?”
____________________________
From the street level, a pair of women walking towards the complex hear the explosion and rush to towards the action, guns drawn. Neither of them knew what to expect as they made their way to the apartment of the missing police detective, now sporting the world’s cheapest air conditioning system.
Michelle Andretti and Grace Sloane burst through the front door and made a quick sweep of the apartment, but found no sign of the missing police Detective. Michelle looked at the shattered shower with blood splattered over the tiles. She looked over at Grace; “You think metas got to her?”
Grace stood by the hole in the side of the apartment, peering out into the night as she answered; “Something…I don’t know, maybe.”
____________________________
Several blocks away, a stolen car squeals to a stop as keen eyes peer up into the night sky, catching a glimpse of Empire City’s newest former resident.
Reaver’s jaw tensed as her claws scored the dashboard. “Bloody fucking hell! The godsdamn birdie is back!”
Vixxxen turns and looks at Reaver; “So, are we still having roast pig?”
Reaver’s eyes never left the rapidly dimming light in the sky. “I’m thinking the bleeding pork can wait...”
Vixxxen smiled as she pointed the car in the direction of the angel and floored it. The car took off like a rocket as they chased after their new prey.
CAPITOL DISTRICT
Downtown, Empire City...
The burning flames of Anka’s wings trailed off and finally extinguished, returning to the soft white they once were. They beat silently at the air as they carried her just a few feet higher than the highest rooftops of the city buildings. Her eyes moved quickly over the landscape as she reacclimated herself to the city she had once vowed to decimate.
Times had certainly changed…
Suddenly she came to a stop and hovered in place as her eyes narrowed. There was a rather glaring change, and it stirred something deep within her. She angled down and lighted softly on the roof of a ‘One God’ Church…a church that seemed to be flourishing. This was something new for her. When she had left Empire City, the ‘One God’ faith was floundering as people clung to false gods…heathen metas. It seemed that the faith was now reviving itself.
She turned her eyes heavenward again, with a demented smile upon her lips. She pressed a hand to her bosom. “Brandon…do you see what I have done? DO YOU SEE THAT I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG?!! Your death accomplished more for these poor misguided people than anything you could have done in life!” She lifted off again. “I hope that you can see all of this! It’s wonderous Brandon…truly!”
She stretched out her wings and rode the currents of the wind, content to be carried along for the moment in the euphoria of her own chaotic delusion. In her threat to bring the end of all things, she had jumpstarted a renaissance of devotion. Churches seemed to be everywhere now and Empire City, once a haven for the wicked, was now in the midst of great spiritual change…a change that she had brought about; or so she told herself…until…
She came to an abrupt stop as she nearly flew headlong into a massive billboard with a picture of the new mayor of Empire City, Abby Aldis…
As she paused there, looking into the eyes of the blonde woman she had saved in front of Brandon’s church, the same woman she had entrusted Brandon’s mortal body with before all of Empire City. It seemed that Abby Aldis had parlayed that into a platform upon which she had managed to rise to dizzying heights.
A sick sort of jealousy rose in her, like bile seeping into the back of her throat. When she had ‘anointed’ Aldis, it had been with the intention that the few remaining faithful would flock to her and meet their fate together. Now, it seemed that the girl had parlayed that into something…greater. Her smiling face, stretched four-stories high, told a different story than she had intended.
Anka cocked her head to the side, her eyes turning black as she asked herself aloud; “Do you tend our Great Father’s flock or are you just a wolf in robes of the Shephard? We will see…won’t we Abby…”
Her wings beat at the air as she hovered before the massive billboard. Slowly, the realization that the rules of the game had now changed dawned on her. She had intended to enter Heaven and bring about the end of all things, both good and wicked… but now she was back in Empire City…to do the will of God. He had sent her back for a reason, to separate the wicked from the righteous…and this was her first test. She would confront this new Mayor and discern her true nature. If she was good…she would become a powerful ally, but if she was not…she’d burn…she’d burn in front of the entire city!
She had a responsibility…she had an obligation…
“We have much to talk about dear Mayor…the business of saving souls!” Her wings ignited as she turned towards Empire City’s seat of power. She would find the new Mayor and she find out if she was truly righteous or if she was wicked. If the scales said that she was good, Aldis would accept her new role and help her save the souls of the multitudes…but if she wasn’t…well…there would be no shortage of burnt corpses sent to Hell on this night…
CAPITOL SQUARE
Downtown, Empire City...
Sergeant Lockley tugged at the collar of her dress uniform, clearly unhappy with the fit. The irritation on her face was clear. “Why do I have to get all dressed up like some sort of asshole just to escort you to a meeting with the Mayor…” She caught herself and checked the disrespectful tone in her voice. “…Sir?”
Captain Lambert chuckled, unphased by the junior officer’s displeasure. “It’s tradition and protocol Lockley, we all had to do it. Besides, if you want to make Lieutenant, you could do worse than introducing yourself to the new Mayor.”
Lockley groaned, stilled tugging at the tight-fitting uniform. “So…you brought me here to kiss Aldis’ ass?”
Captain Lambert grinned as he answered, without looking at her; “Don’t look at it as ass kissing…it’s more like brown nosing.”
The two laughed as they walked up the stairs to the capitol building, but the calm was shattered as shouts from the guards warned them to get down. As they did, gunfire erupted from all around them. It was absolute chaos as they looked around in an attempt to find the source of the commotion.
Lockley drew her gun as she pointed it toward the sky. “WHAT IS THAT?!”
What appeared to be a streaking fireball shot through the air and pierced the side of the Capitol building’s upper floors. Lambert grabbed Lockley, pulling her out of the way, just as a deluge of glass and debris peppered the ground around them. Lambert looked at her, trying to make sure she was alright. “Sergeant?”
The look of exhilaration on her face told him she was fine…perhaps even more than just fine. She hastily unbuttoned the tight collar at her neck as she regained her feet, gun in hand. “Time to go brown nosing, Sir!”
Lockley ran to the doors of the Capitol with Lambert right behind her.
MAYOR’S OFFICE
Downtown, Empire City...
Anka settled to the floor amidst the chaos she herself had just caused with her overly dramatic entrance. Her broad flaming wings extinguished as they fanned out, giving her an angelic appearance…in stark contrast to her black eyes. Before her, an army of guards ran in with guns at the ready, screaming for her to get down. She ignored their command as she addressed them casually; “I’m here for the Mayor…and I don’t have an appointment.”
The guards all looked at one another, then opened fire…
CAST
In Order of Appearance
Anka … Kenzi Grey
Megan Jefferies … MacKenzie Osborne
Grace Sloane … Amy Jo Smyth
Michelle Andretti … Delia Darling
Reaver … Melissa Reeves
Vixxxen … Katie Tolson
Mayor Abby Aldis … Angelica Vaughn
Sergeant Marie Lockley … Ashley Marie Chase
Captain Layton Lambert … Wellington Leander IV
_____________________________________________
Directed by … Kenzi Grey
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … Dark Goddess Productions
Executive Producer … Sarah Selena Grey-Lacklan
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure
|
|
|
|
Post by Publicist on Sept 23, 2019 14:45:53 GMT -5
AN OBLIGATION TO THE PEOPLE... (Part 2) MAYOR’S OFFICEDowntown, Empire City... "MA’AM!! ARE YOU INJURED?!”
Mayor Aldis looked up at her aide, his voice was muffled and her office was in shambles around her. She had been preparing for a meeting with the head of the ECPD to address her campaign promises and how the police would best be used to implement good and lasting change…through faith, when an explosion had knocked her out of her chair. Papers swirled in the air along with debris, making it hard for her to see.
She reached out and took the man’s hand as he pulled her to her feet. She nearly fell back down as her legs shook like that of a newborn deer. “WH-WHAT’S HAPPENING?!”
“The building is under attack…it’s a meta!” The aide turned as he heard shouts from the lobby adjacent to her office. The powerfully built man unbuttoned his jacket and steeled himself. “Don’t worry…God is with us.”
In the lobby, a throng of armed guards trained their guns on the threat, but many slowly lowered their guns as the sight before them was a familiar one. They stood, slack-jawed as they faced the angelic being that had blasted through their aerial defenses and penetrated the very seat of power for Empire City. Her broad white wings folded away behind her. She was a beautiful vision, but her black eyes stood in stark contrast to her heaven-sent appearance.
The senior ranking guard spoke, hesitantly. "Errrr... Ma'am... that's far enough... you're trespassing."
The winged woman arched a single eyebrow as she regarded the man with a slight smirk. "Trespassing? Tell me, how does one trespass upon lands which our Father has given unto us all?"
The men looked at one another as quick whispered conversation took place between them. Most recognized her as ‘The Angel of Empire City’ but on this point, speculation varied. While the most devout of them saw her as divine, others who still clung to the old ways saw her as a threat. This divide had plagued the city for months and it now played itself out here.
Those who were devoted to the One God faith put down their weapons and dropped to their knees, the rest, kept their guns aimed. Hexx gave a slight smile, appreciating the reverence shown to her by most of the guards.
"I have come to confer with our Father's Keeper of The Faith; the woman you call Mayor Aldis…for a brighter tomorrow for all.” Anka smiled as she remembered the Mayor’s slogan from the billboard. “I would speak to her of her obligations. I only want to talk…"
The leader looked at his remaining forces, barely a quarter of them were still standing. He kept his gun trained on the ‘angel’ as he spoke in a much more assertive tone. "I'm going to need you to get on the floor and put your hands behind your head!"
Another guard, this one on his knees, looked up and whispered. "…Jake...that’s the angel, what are you doing..."
The man ignored the warning. "Cool it with that ‘One-God' bull-crap! This…THING, is threatening the mayor!"
Hexx's attention turned fully to the guard who had been addressed as Jake. Her voice was now edged with a hint of distain. "I find your blasphemous tone to be highly disconcerting...Jake. What would our Father say in the face of such disrespect?” Hexx eyed the others under his command. “I mean no harm…I only wish to converse with the mayor. I promise you…no harm will befall her…”
“Isn’t that the same speech you gave before you murdered Superius?”
All eyes turned as Captain Lambert and Sergeant Lockley rushed in, guns drawn. Those that still revered the fallen hero raised their guns anew. In the face of this, Hexx’s demeanor changed ever so slightly as she stiffened at the mention the former High Protector of the city…the man she blamed for killing her people. “Superius WAS the murderer! God knew his crimes and I was His judgment! I separated the wheat from the chaff.”
Lambert kept his gun aimed. “And what happens when you ‘judge’ our new mayor?”
Hexx lowered her tone to a deadly whisper, “…that will be for God’s law to decide…”
Lambert gestured to the rest of the men that still had their guns in hand, directing them to keep them on Hexx. “Sorry…that’s not the way the law works here. Now, do what the nice man asked…get on the ground…pretty please.”
Sergeant Lockley grimaced as she cut her eyes to her Captain. “…pretty please…”
Lambert shrugged, “…courtesy is sometimes contagious…”
This exchange seemed to annoy Hexx. “Do none of you value your immortal soul?"
Jake was tired of the stand off. "Save it sweetheart! Get your ass down to the floor first. After we get you cuffed, we can discuss my immortal soul!"
Hexx moved so quickly that the guard had no time to react. His weapon was knocked aside and he found himself held within an iron grip, from which he couldn't escape. The angel's eyes were deep dark pools in which he could feel himself starting to drown. As she stared at him, he knew that she meant to kill him...he just didn't know how.
Captain Lambert, Lockley, and the other guards yelled for her to put the man down, but no one had a shot. Hexx paid them no attention at all as she focused on the one called Jake. "BLASPHEMER! One such as you is not worthy of our Father's greatest gift!"
Jake screamed, as the angel's wings seemed to burst into flames, enveloping the two of them. The room was complete chaos, but everyone was powerless to stop what was about to happen. Jake Hansel’s skin bubbled and blackened from the heat and the angel’s wings folded over the two of them and his screams were drowned out as they both seemed to disappear.
“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Lockely screamed.
“LOOK SHARP!” Lambert yelled to the group, his gun turning everywhere his eyes went as he tried to find the threat.
Hexx appeared from thin air as the odor of burning flesh filled the room. Her blazing wings opened and all that remained of Jake Hansel was ashen embers that blew away as dust on the currents of the wind.
The woman's caramel skin was unmarred by even a trace amount of soot from what seemed a raging inferno. Her eyes were closed as she mouthed a silent prayer, her long dark locks framing her face.
Her eyes opened; “…unworthy…”
“Okay…screw courtesy!” Lambert opened up and the rest of the guards that had their guns fired as well.
Hexx’s wings came up like a shield, sending rounds bouncing off in all directions.
Again, she vanished only to reappear behind Captain Lambert, plucking him into the air as easily as a newborn child, his gun flying out of his hands.
“CAPTAIN!!” Lockley screamed, turning around as she aimed her gun.
Hexx held Lambert in a strangle hold, her arm around his neck as she whispered in his ear. “…don’t struggle..." Her wings burst into roaring flames. “…soon you will be with our Great Father…”
Before her wings could close, she was buffeted by a blow so thunderous that her head snapped back and she was sent cartwheeling back into the wall. Captain Lambert fell to the floor and Lockley dragged him to safety as a hail of bullets flew past.
Hexx managed to shield herself at the last moment, then roared as she spun around, sending an arc of blistering hot wind sending guards flying in all directions.
“FILTH! YOU DARE STAND AGAINST ME…YOU DARE STAND AGAINST GOD?!”
“You’re no god.”
Hexx turned as the mayor’s aid stood in the doorway. She assessed the man with her black eyes. “You are a heathen to pretend you know Him!”
The man ripped off his shirt, exposing a powerfully built frame covered in tattoos baring both scripture and religious icons. His voice was strong and sure, “I might not know Him, but I know His enemies...and I am looking at one of them right now!”
Hexx narrowed her eyes. The threat that issued forth was deadly serious. “Is that so? You are about to join them!”
Hexx moved so fast that the vacuum it left shattered the surroundings, but the man was ready for her. He threw up his hands and the tile floor and some of the support structure flew up, smashing into Hexx and knocking her off course. She tumbled to the floor, stunned by the move.
“FOUL CREATU-“
Before she could finish her sentence, he threw a punch and the wind seemed to rip into Hexx and blast her right in the face, sending her sliding across the floor. She rolled to her feet, stopping herself on her hands and knees. She attempted to stand, but the man stomped his foot and Hexx smashed headfirst in to the floor. She attempted to stand again, and the man stomped the floor over and over and each footfall pounded Hexx into the ruined floor.
“ENOUGH!!!”
Fury took her and she rose up as her wings beat furiously at the air, turning into gale force winds. The man struggled for a foothold, but he found himself tumbling backwards, then pinned to the wall. Hexx advanced, as everyone left in the room had to struggle to hold on to something to keep from being tossed around, or worse, blown out the hole in the side of the building.
“EVIL CREATURE!! I’LL BURN YOU WHERE YOU STAND!! I’LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!!”
The entire room was a swirling storm of heat, not unlike a roaring blast furnace. None would escape her fury…
“STOP!! PLEASE!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP!!”
The voice was lost in the hurricane force wind for those with normal hearing, but Hexx heard them and she abruptly stopped…not because of what was said, but who had said them. The burning wind abated as Abby Aldis held on to the doorframe, her blonde hair still whipping around her in a fury.
“Mayor Aldis, I've come to speak to you about your obligation to th-“
The Mayor’s aide roared as he threw up both legs and kicked. Though Hexx was several feet away, the impact hit her like a train and she was blown through the side of the building. He landed in a crouch as Abby ran to his side to check on him
“David…are you okay?” The man nodded, but his flesh was scorched and he was so hot that blisters had already began to form on his skin. She helped him to his feet, as best she could as others came to help her.
Lockley and Lambert ran to the new hole in the other side of the building, guns at the ready as they looked out into the night. The angel was gone…for now. Lockley whispered under her breath, “…I hate this fucking city…”
OUTSIDE
Vixxxen and Reaver watched in the distance as the capitol building was under siege. In their thirst for revenge, even they weren’t crazy enough to charge into the seat of power for all of Empire City. The place would be surrounded in minutes.
After several volleys of gunfire, the entire upper floor of the building brightened as if it were aflame. Just as suddenly, the side of the building blew open and the angel fell out. They both watched as she fell for several stories, her limp body twirling and drifting erratically on the wind caught by her billowing wings. Her wild spin took her outside the containment area where police were already arriving in force.
Before her body could smash unceremoniously into the pavement below, it landed in the bed of a garbage truck several blocks away, just as it finished loading and started to move off.
“Let’s finish that fuckin’ birdie off right proper!” Reaver scowled, her claws at the ready.
Vixxxen peeled out, hoping to catch up to the truck before the police did. This was their chance and they didn’t plan on missing it…
The garbage truck headed through the city streets; the driver blissfully unaware of the unexpected cargo he had just picked up as he hummed along to the music blasting from his headphones.
In the back of the truck, among the mounds of trash, a slender hand rose up and struggled for purchase, before finding the top edge of the truck's bed. Another hand soon joined as they struggled in concert to tug the woman's battered body from heaps of stinking trash. The wind whipped and blew her long hair around her head in wild tangles. She ran a single hand through it, to clear it from her face, revealing the eyes of a very frightened, confused, and half-naked Detective Stacey Jordan.
CAST
In Order of Appearance
David Reese (Side Effect) … Sebastian Stone
Mayor Abby Aldis … Angelica Vaughn
Capitol Guard Shift Leader … Billy Xane
Hexx/Stacey Jordan … Kenzi Grey
Capital Guard … Todd Gordan
Captain Layton Lambert … Wellington Leander IV
Sergeant Marie Lockley … Ashley Marie Chase
Reaver … Melissa Reeves
Vixxxen … Katie Tolson
Reaver … Melissa Reeves
Garbage Truck Driver … Melvin Johnston
_____________________________________________
Directed by … Kenzi Grey
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … Dark Goddess Productions
Executive Producer … Sarah Selena Grey-Lacklan
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure
|
|
|
|
Post by Publicist on Sept 30, 2019 22:59:23 GMT -5
NATURAL ORDER INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTDowntown, Empire City...Stacey was a frightened wreck as she clung to the inside of the garbage truck. She had no idea how she had come to be there or what would happen to her next. One moment, she had been in her shower...feeling the walls closing in on her...the next...here. She thought she might be going crazy…but in Empire City, crazy was the new normal…wasn’t it?
Mist shrouded the scene as the entire world seemed to fall away, pulling back to a pair of solemn figures watching events unfold, from on high…
HEAVEN
...
Brandon turned to Michael, his eyes pleading with the Archangel. “I have to go to her!! I have to make sure she’s alright! I… I…”
“Father… in case you’ve missed it… you are no longer among the living. Your time on earth is ended, and you are forbidden from interfering in their affairs.” He shrugged. “Besides… you have made a good accounting of yourself in the eyes of God and salvation has been given unto you.”
Brandon narrowed his eyes. “Salvation? What about HER salvation? What is even happening to her right now?!”
Michael folded his arms across his broad chest. “You are generous almost to a fault." He let out a sigh. “Our father has given her a second chance because he believes in her… even though she believes in nothing.”
Brandon frowned. “Then she is to be condemned like Anka, until she accepts or rejects God?”
A mournful look touched Michael’s face. “You still do not understand. Our Father does not demand obedience in such a way that you are punished for nonconformity. Human existence is about choice… and that is one of his greatest gifts. You choose to be good… you choose to be wicked… you choose to accept God… or you choose to reject Him. Either way, there is no malice in our Father’s heart… only sorrow when a soul becomes lost… or consumed by the enemy.”
“Stacey is a good person… there are millions of people down there like her… people who don’t deserve to burn in Hell solely because they don’t accept God!” Brandon’s face was tortured. “I can’t believe that… I WON’T BELIEVE IT!!”
Michael regarded Brandon in silence, then looked away as he listened, then slowly nodded. He reached out his hand to the priest. “Come child… our Father says that it is time that you see exactly what this is truly all about.”
Brandon hesitated for a moment. Was he really ready to know the answer? If it would help Stacey… he would see whatever he had to show. He took the angel’s hand and was immediately lifted up and away at a dizzying speed. He couldn’t tell up from down as they hurdled through the void. For a moment he thought that they were lost and it would never end, but to his relief, it did.
Brandon looked around, perplexed by what he saw. All around him was a misty shroud… and a mass of people moving about in confusion… most lost in thought and not truly seeing anything around them. Brandon felt a slight chill as he asked the question… but he thought that he already knew the answer. “Wha-what is this p-place?”
Michael sighed with empathy. “This is what you know it to be… this is Limbo… the place between Light and Dark. This is the depository for souls that cannot rise up into paradise, nor sink into damnation for the weight of their sins.”
Brandon looked around in awe. “H-how… how many?”
Michael shrugged. “I could give an exact figure… but suffice to say that there is one for every man, woman, and child that lives below. When the body passes on…that soul rises or sinks according to its grace. Until that time, they reside here.”
Brandon shook his head. “Awaiting judgment?”
“Awaiting collection meatsack.”
Brandon shivered as a familiar voice washed over him. He turned and just as he thought, The Revenant was there, the very creature that crucified him in his own church and then baited Anka into killing him. Brandon’s eyes went wide, looking from Revenant to Michael and back again. “WHAT IS HAPPENING?! WHY IS THAT THING HERE?!”
Revenant put his hand to his chest. “Father Knight…you have truly wounded me. I know…our history isn’t the best…that whole crucifying the Lamb thing, didn’t really work out…but…” He looked around, holding out his arms. “…HEAVEN…more or less, so…you’re welcome!”
Brandon was dumbfounded, unable to fathom this seemingly incestuous relationship between the Light and the Dark. “How…can you allow this…creature here?!”
Revenant gave an annoyed sigh, “That’s borderline racist! Besides, I’m not a THING or a CREATURE…I’m a Darkangel and the name is Damian.” He chuckled, his black eyes turning to Michael. “Are you going to educate him on the way things work in Limbo or should I?”
Michael sighed, turning to Brandon. “When the body ends, the soul is plucked from this garden. As I said, the weight of sin determines where they go…”
Damian gave a high-pitched whistle as he pointed up, then grinned cruelly as the pitch dulled and he pointed downward. Brandon shivered, looking back at Michael.
Michael cast an annoyed look at Damian, then continued on. “…Heaven or Hell, each according to the weight of sin in their appointed time when they pass on. This cycle has gone on since the beginning…until…"
“Until your Father started to tinker with the game.”
Michael paused, glaring at Damian. “Are you seriously going to keep interrupting?”
His black eyes rolled, “You COULD explain faster...or with a bit more flair.”
Brandon cut in, ignoring their snarky banter. “Anka…was the change.”
Michael gave a curt nod. “Anka…unbalanced things. When she was brought into being…blessed above all others for her sacrifice…it was…” Michael paused, struggling to find the right word. “…it was…”
“A MISTAKE! The word you’re looking for is MISTAKE!” Damian cut in, tired of the stalling.
Michael muttered under his breath, “…He doesn’t make mistakes…”
Damian roared with laughter at this notion, “First time for everything.” He took over, stepping between Brandon and Michael. “Anka isn’t part of the natural order. She's no longer human and she isn't an angel either. That is why she can walk in both worlds...infecting humans with her so-called 'grace' for centuries...making these metas. Remember the little trick when you got her blood on you and all of as sudden you were making the blind see and the crippled…not…crippled?” Damian laid a hand on Brandon’s shoulder. “You weren’t blessed…that was a case of divine VD.”
Brandon swatted Damian’s hand off of his shoulder. “This is a joke.”
Damian laughed, “Do you see anyone laughing?” He paused, forcing a serious look onto his face. “How about now? The bottom line is that Anka doesn’t abide by the House rules…she was a dirty play in a game she didn’t even know she was part of.”]
Brandon shook his head, “I’m so confused right now…”
Damian gave an exasperated sigh, then inspiration hit. “You were a policeman!” He rubbed his hands together as he prepared to explain in language Brandon could understand. “Think of this place as jail…all of these souls waiting for their chance to go before the judge and be set free…or sent to the electric chair. Do you understand?”
Brandon looked out over the fields, a veritable ocean of wandering spirits. “Yes…they are all waiting for their day in court.”
Damian clapped his hands, startling Brandon. “GOOD! This was the system going along and tipping back and forth as they were called before the judge in their own good time…you'd call it a court appearance, but we all know it better as mortal death.” Damian chuckled, but then his face fell. “Now…imagine what happens when SOMEONE messes with this natural order and those court cases start to come due ahead of time…before any real evidence can be gathered on their case.”
Brandon was quiet as he processed this. Michael and Damian stared at him. The archangel spoke first, whispering to Damian. “…he cannot fathom the plan…”
Damian waved him off, “…he’s a smart one, give him a moment…”
Brandon paced back and forth for a few moments more, then looked out over the vast ocean of souls. “With all those people getting pushed through the system, without evidence gathered on their cases…there’s probably some pretty bad eggs getting released back on the streets.”
Damian grinned. “BINGO, Clever boy…” He clapped his hands slowly as he walked over and stood beside Brandon, taking in a deep breath, broad black wings stretching out. “His dear old Dad let loose a wolf in the hen house and the game got tipped in His favor. So many souls sent up before their time by creatures operating OUTSIDE of natural order…before the weight of their sins could drag them down, where they truly belong. Heck of a good deal…at first. Tell me, what do you think happens when one of those free souls starts to get that itch for all the bad it missed out on?”
Michael added, “…or the good…”
“Yeah…literally no one complaining about the 2% of those…idiot.” Damian took a deep breath as he stretched out his arms, taking in the scene. "Heaven is a fucking ghetto because all of these metas aren’t playing by the rules. To be fair, some are good, but most are bad. That would be great for my side, except they are culling the humans before their souls get weighed down properly. The scales are unbalanced and it's all your Daddy's fault for trying to cheat my Mother's team. He created this mess when He made her, and now He's sending her back in and making it worse!"
Brandon shook his head. "I still don't understand all of this...but...I understand enough to know that YOU tried to use her to start the apocalypse! How does that make you any better?!"
Damian gave a heavy sigh. "It makes me the only one here with the balls to try to stop this game before everyone loses! Hell isn't collecting its due and Heaven is paying the price for it. Maybe...the end of all things wasn't the best solution, but at least I tried to do SOMETHING!"
Michael took his place beside them, his mighty wings fanning out behind him. "When Anka said she could separate the wheat from the chaff, Father sent her back to do just that! To deal with the creature’s upsetting the balance."
Damian screamed, “SHE’S ONE OF THEM, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!”
Brandon looked at him. "Stacey isn’t…why is she in all of this?" When Damian shrugged, he turned to Michael, hoping for an answer from him.
There was an uncomfortably long pause, then Damian spoke up. "He doesn't know."
"I KNOW!" Michael replied back angrily. He stood there a moment, then added. "...when He tells me...I WILL know..."
"I told you...he didn't know." Damian replied, then took a deep breath. "If there is one good thing to come out of all of this...at least Mother didn't take exception to your Father's meddling."
The three stood in muted silence for a long while considering all that had passed between them. Finally, Brandon asked the question that had been stewing in his mind since Damian had so casually mentioned it earlier. "Whose your mother?"
Both Micheal and Damian replied in unison; "You don't want to know..."
OLYMPUS LOFTS
Downtown, Empire City...Grace Sloane stood outside Stacey Jordan’s apartment, looking up at the shattered window, then down at the ground which was littered with debris. She shook her head as she tried to piece together what had happened to the ECPD Detective. The apartment owner, Ms. Markowitz had been no help, her main concern had been who was going to pay for all the damage.
“Excuse me…are you looking for Lady J?”
Megan had seen a lot…but she wasn’t sure how much to share just yet, especially if it got back to her father. She played her cards close to the vest. “Are you a cop too?”
Grace pause, as she tried to decide if saying no was a good or a bad idea. The truth was somewhere in the middle, so she ran with that. “Not exactly…but I’m a friend.” She could tell by the way the girl’s shoulders seemed to relax a bit that she had given the proper answer. “What did you see honey?”
Megan swallowed, then looked up into the night sky where she had seen a sight that had not graced Empire City in months…Hexx, the Angel of Empire City. “Well, I was…” Megan paused as she saw bright light in the distance, that seemed to blossom out of thin air, followed by an inhuman screech that made her blood run cold.EEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKK!Grace whirled around, drawing her gun as she shielded her eyes from the light. She watched as something seemed to pass through the light and fall to the ground in the distance. Her partner, Michelle Andretti ran out of the building, a wide-eyed look of fear on her face.“WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THAT?!” EEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKK!Grace peered into the distance as something massive moved in the darkness, upending a car with ease. Her eyes grew wide as she saw three more lights appear in the sky. She turned, grabbing Megan as she headed back into the apartment. “Nothing good! Let’s get inside!”
CAST
In Order of Appearance
Stacey Jordan … Kenzi Grey
Brandon Knight … Declan Watson
Archangel Michael … James Raven
Revenant/Damian … Sebastian Everett Bryce III
Grace Sloane … Amy Jo Smyth
Megan Jefferies … MacKenzie Osborne
Michelle Andretti … Delia Darling
_____________________________________________
Directed by … Kenzi Grey
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … Dark Goddess Productions
Executive Producer … Sarah Selena Grey-Lacklan
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure
|
|
|
|
Post by Publicist on Oct 7, 2019 4:48:00 GMT -5
TORN ASUNDER INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTDowntown...Stacey was oblivious to the chaos that was going on in the city, her world had been confined to the new surroundings she now found herself in. Her mind was a jumble and her stomach was tied in knots as she covered her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from vomiting at the stench of fresh garbage wafting all around her. Suddenly, the truck came to an abrupt stop, sending her smashing into the side of the half full bed.
She heard the screech of tires, followed by a tremendous crash. Shouts and the sounds of a struggle, causing her to duck her head in spite of the cover the truck’s bed provided. “…shit…shit…shit…” she whispered under her breath, her hands going to her side for her gun by instinct, but finding nothing but empty air. “…fuck…”
She pulled herself up and climbed to get over the edge so she could see out into the street below. The flashing hazard lights from a crashed car reflected off her dark eyes. The doors were wide open, but no one was there. She strained to pull herself up and out of the truck, her eyes going the strange marking in her forearm, evoking memories of the night she found Brandon with that very same spear piercing his side. Stacey’s jaw tightened, but this time her eyes didn’t burn with the welling of tears, only anger and loss. She didn’t believe in any of this ‘One-God’ nonsense…it had been responsible for killing him and she’d never accept that it was real…NEVER!
She dropped down to the pavement, landing awkwardly on her bare feet as she moved into a crouch. She pressed herself close to the side of the truck and made her way to the cab. The door hung open, but there was no driver...just blood...lots of blood. She ducked down again as she heard sounds in the distance that she couldn’t identify in the darkness.
She turned her attention to the wrecked car and made her way over, cautiously, but not cautiously enough as she was taken from behind, an arm around her throat as she was wrestled to the ground. She struggled, but before she could break free a bright flame erupted near her face, nearly blinding her. Her blood ran cold as a pair of familiar voices chimed in.
“That’s not the fuckin’ bird Vix! Where the fuck is she?!”
She was tossed into the side of the car, her face impacting the fender so hard that she saw stars and tasted copper in her mouth. She bounced off the pavement and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to Vixxxen and Reaver standing over her. Her vision blurred, but shifted back to sharp focus when the light glinted off the long claws of the woman with her eyes boring right into her.
“Wait…Vix…don’t we know this fuckin’ cunt?”
Stacey tried to back away as Vixxxen moved her flaming hand close to her, illuminating her face. She arched one of her brows and snorted. “This is that cop we had tied up in the park with the bomb strapped to her.”
Reaver squatted down, putting her claws to Stacey’s throat. “She's the same pig we tossed out the bloody hospital window?!”
“Maybe she’s not a pig…maybe she’s a cat and she’s got nine lives.” Vixxxen joked with a chuckle.
Reaver’s eyes were deadly serious, “Or maybe she’s only got seven left.” Reaver bared her teeth, “Unfortunately for her…I’ve got 10 claws and I'm going to use every last one of th-"
CRASH
All three of them whipped around, the tense moment shattered. They all scattered as the sound of gunfire followed next and a bloodcurdling scream.
BLAM… BLAM… BLAM… BLAM… BLAM
She instinctively ducked and rolled under the car for protection. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to pierced the darkness, then several more gunshots rang out.
BLAM… BLAM… BLAM
Muzzle flashes caught her eye, then suddenly stopped after another scream. Violent movement could be seen in the headlights, but not much more. She was unarmed and under threat, but officers were in trouble and she had an oath to uphold. Even under threat, half naked and scared to death, she couldn't stand by and allow anyone to be hurt with out trying to prevent it. Stacey gathered herself as she rolled to the other side of the car.
She glanced up into the dark sky, “Okay… I’ll tell you what… I’ll consider believing in you… if you send me down a bazooka… a rifle… a sling shot or something.” She waited a second, then smirked. “Yeah… thought so!” Stacey looked around for Vixxxen and Reaver, then made a run for the flashing lights in the hopes that she could do something…anything!
MAYOR’S OFFICE
Capitol District...
Mayor Aldis stood by, watching as her Aid, David Reese was treated for the burns he’d received while protecting her after the attack on her office by Hexx. She glanced to the side as Captain Lambert walked over, his formerly pristine white dress uniform, now soiled with dirt and blood.
“Captain, I don’t know how to thank you and your charge. Officer Lockley, I believe?” She asked, looking around for the Sergeant.
Lambert shook his head. “Lockley is getting the Special Weapons Assault Team together to hunt down Hexx.”
“Hunt down the angel?” The look on her face was conflicted. Yes, her entry had not been one that followed established protocol, but who were they to tell God anything at all? “Captain, perhaps sending SWAT after God’s chosen emissary isn’t the wisest idea. Obviously, what happened here was a misunderstanding.”
Lambert did his best to keep the surprised look off of his face. He found it hard to believe that she could see that ‘angel’ as anything other than what she was. “With all due respect, that thing murdered The Lord High Protector in ECPD Headquarters, killed several police officers, and nearly turned your man over there into a human bonfire! You ask me if I think it’s wise to go after it? Yeah…I think it’s prudent!”
Mayor Aldis looked at Lambert flatly, “You’re not a believer, are you Captain?”
Captain Lambert straightened. He had prepared for this question since she scheduled this meeting. It was customary for the new Mayor to meet with their cabinet before deciding who they would keep and who they would replace. Abby Aldis had campaigned on the powerful wave of One God sentiment that had washed over the city. She had gotten elected by promising the people that she would bring change…and he knew that change would start with her putting every non-One God follower out of office. “Madam Mayor, I-“
THOOM THOOM THOOM THOOM
Lambert turned, raising his gun, ready for Hexx if she tried to return for another shot at the Mayor. In an instant, David Reese was there, pulling the Mayor behind him. Though he was still injured, his powerful muscles rippled under his tattooed skin.
Brilliant flashes lit up the sky as the Capitol’s defense cannons opened up again for the second time tonight. Guards yelled as they prepared a defensive perimeter, screaming that the city was under attack. Lambert and Reese told the Mayor to stay where she was as they both ran to the shattered windows and looked out.
There were lights everywhere, some falling to earth and other’s seeming to belch forth flying horrors that buzzed across the night sky like enormous insects. The cannons had little trouble finding them, unlike Hexx, but they didn’t stay down. In fact, at least one of them managed to weather the hail of fire and home right in on the capitol building.
“INCOMING!” Lambert screamed as one of them headed right for them.
David Reese balled his fist, ready to meet his fate defending Empire City's savior...with his life if that is what God commanded...
OLYMPUS LOFTS
Residential District...
Cyrus Jefferies watched as the two strange women that had barged into his apartment with his daughter stared out of the windows with guns drawn. He had asked them, politely to get out, but they had ignored him completely. He pulled out his phone and immediately dialed the number for the police, but oddly he only got a busy signal. He angrily hung up and made his way over to Megan, grabbing her roughly by her arm, eliciting a yelp from her.
He pressed his fingers to his lips to silence her. “…what have you done? Does this have something to do with that woman I warned you to stay away from Megan…?”
Admittedly, it did, but Megan kept as much of that to herself as she could. Instead, she focused on the part of the story she knew would douse her father’s anger. “…Daddy…I saw the angel tonight…she came back and I saw her…” At first, she thought it was a miscalculation on her part as he squeezed her arm so hard that she thought he might break it...again, then his grip loosened.
“…you’re not lying to me child…are you…?” The look on his face was one of hopeful fanaticism.
Megan swallowed and nodded, hoping her father would calm down, especially in the face of all the chaos she’d seen outside. Unfortunately, things couldn’t have gone more wrong afterwards. Her father held on to her, pulling her away from the distracted Agent Sloane and Andretti as they made their way through the narrow hallways and rooms filled with his many paintings and sculptures all dedicated to the Angel of Empire City and The One God. He dragged her to the back door. Megan’s eyes grew wide as she realized what her father meant to do.
“WE CAN’T GO OUTSIDE!” She yelled, to get the attention of the two women and hopefully stop her father from getting them both killed. Her head snapped to the side as he backhanded her, nearly knocking her to the floor.
“…it’s a test…it’s a test of faith…” Her father hissed, yanking her back up.
She heard the footfalls and the yelling from the two women for them to stop, but her father opened the door and drug her outside and into the utter chaos of the night…
INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT
Downtown...
Instinct took over as Stacey ran towards the police vehicle, not knowing what she’d find. She saw the world in slow motion as she sprinted through the night. She could feel her heart beating hard inside her chest… threatening to shatter her breastbone. Her breath came in such short bursts that she thought she’d never catch it, but her focus stayed sharp. Before she could stop herself, she yelled out in a loud voice that even managed to shock her with its authority. “HALT!! EMPIRE CITY POLICE!!!”
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
The inhuman screech was as loud and shrill as a train engine and it stopped Stacey dead in her tracks, snapping her out of the zone she had put herself in and causing her heart to skip a beat. Her eyes searched the area instinctively, looking for the source of the sound. The movement abruptly stopped…
…silence…
…stillness…
Stacey took a tentative step forward, then froze once again as a shimmer caught her eye and for a moment she thought that she’d break out and run in the other direction. She could feel her mouth go dry, even as fear gripped her. Maybe it was instinct… or maybe it was something else altogether, but she knew that this was something worthy of the caution she had afforded it…that and more. She was walking into the unknown… she was going to her death… she felt it.
One step…
Two steps…
Three steps…
Death didn’t matter, she had been there and done that. She broke into a run, screaming at the top of her lungs. If she was going to buy it, she was glad that she was going to do it trying to uphold the law and save the lives of her fellow officers.
She rounded the side of the police car then immediately fell to her knees as she covered her mouth to keep from vomiting. The scene was one of sheer horror. Blood and gore was everywhere… severed limbs and mutilated bodies littered the ground.
Stacey scrambled backwards at a fast crawl. Stars exploded in front of her eyes as the back of her head slammed into the side of the car with a loud thud. Her eyes moved back and forth as she looked for the source of the carnage. She ignored the pain in her head for a second time tonight as instinct took over and she pulled her way up to her feet, pressing herself as close to the side of the vehicle as she could.
Whoever… WHATEVER… had done this was still around here and she was still all alone and unarmed. Or was she? She looked around, remembering the two metas with a talent for disappearing and reappearing at the most inconvenient times for her. They were gone…for now, and she counted that as a…blessing…of sorts. She rolled her eyes at the idea that in that moment she considered thanking the One God.
“…fuck off…”
She hit the ground at a roll as her eyes picked up the glint of cold blue steel. She scooped up the blood-spattered pistol, being both revolted by the slickness of it and heartened by its weight and the promise it whispered to her…that she now had a fighting chance. That promise suddenly seemed hollow as her eyes moved over what she could only guess was the bodies of her fallen comrades. Little good their pistols had done them.
Her eyes moved to the trunks of the two parked cruisers, both were still closed. Neither unit had a chance to break out the big guns in a chance to level the playing field…if it could be leveled.
Stacey crept slowly to the nearest vehicle as she glanced inside, her gun following her vision…clear, except for a bag of tactical gear. She slid into the front seat and reached for the radio, but it was totally FUBAR… fucked up beyond all recognition by what she could only guess was a stray bullet fired wildly at whatever had come for them. Her eyes moved to the center console and the keypad that was there.
She resisted the urge to cross her fingers in the hopes that ECPD hadn’t changed the master code that all detectives were privy to, for just such an emergency. She keyed in the code and her breath caught in her throat as the trunk unlocked and the tell-tell whirling noise of the high caliber weapons safe rotating up could be heard.
She waited for the noise to stop, cringing as the sound of the safe popping open filled the night. She swallowed hard as she gripped the pistol tighter and scanned the area. No movement, but she felt the breeze whipping past her and it reminded her of her clothing situation…the fact that she pretty much had none. She reached back and grabbed the bag and started putting on the items she found, even as she kept her gun aimed in the dark, turning at the slightest sound.
She was sure she looked a hot mess, but anything was better than running around in a torn hospital gown. She had to will herself to move… and even when she finally did it was painfully slow.
She scrambled to the back, clearing the way with her pistol as she went, turning her back on the trunk and the weapons safe reluctantly as she did. She resisted the urge to disregard her training and dive headlong into the trunk, grabbing what she could. She willed her thudding heart to slow as she continued to sweep the area and reach behind her with her free hand. Talented fingers found the buttons that would open the trunk and she hit them in sequence, opening it.
She kept her gun trained even as she used her free hand and quickly rummaged through it. When her fingers found what she was looking for, she couldn’t help the smirk that touched her lips. She muscled the heavy rifle out of the back and deftly brought it to bare as she tucked the pistol into her waistband. Her hand went back and came away with a bandolier filled with spare magazines that she strapped on.
Stacey was ready for anything… or as ready as she’d ever get for what came next. She might get taken, but it wouldn’t be by surprise… and that was a guaran-damn-tee…
Stacey screamed as that guarantee was shattered in the instant. She had been taken by surprise after all…and taken very badly…
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
CAST
In Order of Appearance
Stacey Jordan … Kenzi Grey
Reaver … Melissa Reeves
Vixxxen … Katie Tolson
Abby Aldis … Angelica Vaughn
Captain Layton Lambert … Wellington Leander IV
David Reese … Sebastian Stone
Cyrus Jefferies … Jason Butler
Megan Jefferies … MacKenzie Osborne
Grace Sloane … Amy Jo Smyth
Michelle Andretti … Delia Darling
_____________________________________________
Directed by … Kenzi Grey
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … Dark Goddess Productions
Executive Producer … Sarah Selena Grey-Lacklan
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure
|
|
|
|
Post by Publicist on Oct 14, 2019 11:18:48 GMT -5
THE REVENANT HEAVENFrom on High...Michael grabbed Damian, turning the darkangel roughly towards him as absolute fury shown in his eyes. “DAMIAN, STOP THIS MADNESS! THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO RESTORE BALANCE!”
Damian shrugged off the archangel’s powerful grip, his black wings bristling in response. “This is Mother’s doing! Do you think that either of us can reason with her after what YOUR FATHER did?!” He shook his head, wagging a finger at Michael. “This is as much HIS fault as anyone else’s!”
“BLASPHEMY!” Michael shouted, his hand going to the hilt of his sword as his powerful white wings opened behind him.
Damian cocked his head to the side, his black eyes glimmering. “This isn’t the hill you want to die on brother, I think you know better.”
Brandon stood staring down through the mist as panic took hold of the city he was once a part of. He ignored the posturing of the angelic beings squaring off behind him. He rubbed his hands together nervously. “Why can’t the two of you go there and do something? Warn the people…stop those…those creatures?!”
Michael answered, “Because we are forbidden to interfere directly in Natural Order.”
Brandon turned and looked at him flatly as he pointed at Damian. “Then how did this asshole manage to kill me and my sister?”
Michael whirled on Damian. “What is he talking about?!”
Damian held up his hands in innocence. “HEY! I didn’t kill you…Hexx did the deed…I just gave her a little…push.” He turned and pointed to the chaotic scene down below. “That is a result of your Father’s tampering with balance, so don’t try to put that on me!”
Brandon folded his arms. “And my sister?”
Michael folded his arms as well as the two of them cornered Damian on the matter. A sheepish grin touched the darkangel’s lips. “One little soul…a dirty one in fact! I didn’t kill her…per say…I merely sucked out her soul! I claimed that one personally for our side…it was only fair!” He looked at Brandon, “YOU SHOULD THANK ME! SHE’S THE ONE THAT WANTED YOU DEAD!”
Brandon replied, with just a bit of sarcasm. “…and yet, I’m still dead…”
Damian held out his hands, looking around. “Yeah…but like I said…Heaven!”
Michael brandished his sword this time, the blade bursting into flames. “I’LL CUT YOUR LYING HEAD FROM YOUR BODY!” He advanced on Damian, the darkangel holding up his hands. “You chastise my Father for violating the rules while you do the same! It was not her time; she may have still been redeemed!”
“SHE WAS ROTTEN TO THE CORE!” He glanced at Brandon, “You should know something…she never liked you! NEVER! She prayed that you’d be taken by Sudden Infant Death Syndrome!”
“I WAS OLDER THAN HER!”
Damian shrugged, “You act like that makes it better!”
Michael raised his sword, his voice thundering. “FOUL DEMON, I BANISH YOU FROM EXISTENCE FOR YOUR CRIMES!”
Brandon stepped between them, holding up his hands. “WAIT!! STOP….just…stop!” He looked at the two of them in turn. “You said that I can’t go back…but you also said it wasn’t my time…it wasn’t her time either. Isn’t that a loophole?” He looked back down towards the city. “I could go back…I could warn them…I could help…” Brandon held his tongue before he blurted out Stacey’s name, though he suspected they knew all the same.
Damian pointed at Brandon. “That’s a good idea! That’s a great FUCKING idea!” He looked at Michael, “Right? RIGHT!!”
Michael seemed unsure, but he lowered his sword all the same. “That…could restore balance for the two of you, but what does that do to solve all of this?”
“Maybe nothing…” Brandon chimed in, “…but, at least someone could tell them what is happening! I could…explain it to Hexx…get her to help! You two said it…she’s the start of this, so…maybe she can end it!”
“Show of hands…all in favor of not cutting off my head and going with meatsack's idea?” Damian raised his hand, then elbowed Brandon, prompting him to raise his hand as well…though he cut an evil glare at the darkangel. Damian winked and turned to Michael. “This could work.”
Michael stood there for a moment, stoic in his silence. After a moment, he nodded. “Send him back…but, be warned…the stain of your sister’s sins will be upon you. There is no guarantee that anyone will listen.”
Brandon nodded, “I can’t let that stop me. I have to try.”
Damian stepped behind Brandon, his large black wings folding over the two of them. “It’s decided then…”
The two of them were consumed in a blinding pillar of fire, and then gone in an instant with only the smell of brimstone in the air.
Michael took a deep breath, then looked to the heavens, “…and so, the Lamb goes to slaughter a second time…”
MAYOR’S OFFICE
Capitol District...
The winged horror that invaded the capitol building was a creature born of pure nightmares. The remaining guards opened fire, peppering it was rounds that knocked it back, but did little more than temporarily distract it from its true target. The beast turned its focus to David Reese as he stood in front of Mayor Aldis.
Captain Lambert yelled for him to get her out of harm’s way, but the creature bolted for the two of them, ignoring the police and fire from the guards. It was as if the beast had one thing on its mind, and one thing only.
Reese swung his arm in a wide arc and the wall exploded, sending the creature sprawling across the floor as it screamed in a mixture of pain and frustration.
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
Sharp claws scratched at the tile floor as it righted itself, still ignoring the bullets that struck it. It had its target and it wasn’t going to be deterred. It opened it’s maw, filled with razor sharp teeth and scrambled after Reese and Aldis.
He grabbed the Mayor and pulled her out of the room and into the narrow confines of the stairwell. The two of them tumbled down the first landing, even as the creature slammed into the narrow opening, mouth chomping, missing them by mere inches.
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
Aldis was pulled to her feet, obviously dazed from the tumble. Reese put her on his shoulders, turning and making a final pulling motion with his free hand as part of the ceiling collapsed down, crushing the terror that chased them underneath tons of rubble. He didn’t stop to see if it was dead, he did the only thing he knew would work for certain…he ran…
OLYMPUS LOFTS
Residential District...
Agent Sloane stood at the open door of the Jefferies’ apartment, staring off into the night as chaos seemed to reign. The sounds of screams and destruction filled the neighborhood, but darkness hid the worst of it from her. She steeled herself, gun in hand, as she started to charge out after the man who had dragged his daughter into the danger of the unknown.
Michelle Andretti grabbed her arm, stopping her. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?! You can’t go out there?! We don’t even know what the hell is going!”
Sloane pulled her friend’s arm away. “No one knows Michelle! But I'm not going to stand by while that little girl gets killed because of it! I have to do something!”
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
The two women froze as a massive beast charged out of the darkness, stopped short of the two of them…then sniffed at the air. Its mouth was filled with gore and its many eyes shone with unnatural light. It snorted, then turned and bounded off, back into the night, leaving Sloane and Andretti dumbfounded.
“…what the fuck…”
Sloane shook her head. “I don’t know…but I’m going to find out.” She charged into the night, gun at the ready.
Andretti gave a heavy sigh as she ran off behind her partner, sounding none too pleased about it. “…fuck me…”
INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT
Downtown...
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
Fear gripped her and she stood rooted to the spot as the massive creature’s roar shook her to her core. She had been caught off guard, probably like her dismembered comrades. She raised the powerful rifle she’d acquired from the trunk of the squad car, the weapon might not have done them any good, but it was all she had. At least, if she died, she would do so fighting to avenge them.
Inexplicably, the creature turned away from her, ignoring her completely as something else claimed its attention. Stacey turned, following its gaze as Vixxxen and Reaver stood watching. Reaver wiped blood from her claws…and it was at that moment she knew that the carnage here hadn’t been done by the creature.
The two women looked a one another and then back to the beast as they took a tentative step back.
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
The creature roared and charged…doing the one thing that it apparently was here to do…hunt metas…
KNIGHT ESTATE
Rome...
Daria’s eyes flew open and she shot up out of bed, clutching her chest as she struggled for air. She rolled over and fell out of bed, hitting the floor with a thud that sent stars exploding across her field of vision. She struggled as she felt hands on her, grabbing at her, holding her down. She had no idea what was happening.
“MISS KNIGHT! PLEASE! STOP, IT’S LOIS!”
Daria’s heart thundered in her chest, but she stopped her struggles as her vision cleared and focused on the familiar face of Lois Monroe, the personal assistant of Brandon’s sister. The beautiful blonde lowered her glasses as she looked at her employer.
“I KNEW YOU’D RECOVER! When they found you, half-dead in that alley…I knew you’d recover…I knew it!” She threw her arms around the woman, then helped her back into her bed. After getting her settled, Lois called for Daria’s doctor, informing the man that he needed to get to the estate on the double. He protested, claiming that it wasn’t safe to leave, but she would have none of it as she demanded his presence…assuring him that whatever it was that he was afraid of would pale in comparison to horrors she would visit on him.
Lois hung up the phone and sat down beside Daria, brushing the hair out of the woman’s face. “There’s some sort of attack…” She shook her head, “No one knows what’s happening.”
Daria stared at Lois, as she replied ominously; “…I know…”
Her eyes turned to a darkened corner of the room where Damian stood, unseen by mortal eyes. The darkangel grinned, winking at the dead priest that now inhabited the body of his traitorous sister…
CAST
In Order of Appearance
Michael … James Raven
Damian … Sebastian Everett-Bryce III
Brandon Knight … Declan "Ace" Watson
David Reese … Sebastian Stone
Abby Aldis … Angelica Vaughn
Captain Layton Lambert … Wellington Leander IV
Grace Sloane … Amy Jo Smyth
Michelle Andretti … Delia Darling
Stacey Jordan … Kenzi Grey
Reaver … Melissa Reeves
Vixxxen … Katie Tolson
Lois Monroe … Trixie
Daria Knight … Natasha Wilmslow
Damian … Sebastian Everett-Bryce III
_____________________________________________
Directed by … Kenzi Grey
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … Dark Goddess Productions
Executive Producer … Sarah Selena Grey-Lacklan
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure
|
|
|
|
Post by Publicist on Nov 2, 2019 6:48:51 GMT -5
RECKONING INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTDowntown...“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”Stacey covered her ears as the creature roared in it’s pursuit of Reaver and Vixxxen. The mammoth beast smashed into the side of one of the parked police cruisers, upending it and sending it flying like a child’s toy. Stacey stood there, rooted to the spot as she tried to make sense of what was happening. All around her, the city was in complete chaos…not to mention the question of how she had even wound up in the back of a garbage truck in the middle of downtown.
Screams jarred her back to her senses, and in an instant, her police instincts kicked in and she took off in a sprint, chasing the creature that had probably saved her from being torn to pieces and burned like the bodies that littered the ground. Reaver and Vixxxen were killers and they deserved whatever fate they got, but Stacey couldn’t stand by and do nothing. She swore to serve and to protect and that included everyone…even pieces of shit like those two.
Stacey followed the path of destruction that had been left; smashed cars, collapsed light poles, and the very concrete ripped from the ground. As she rounded the corner, she saw the two women trapped in an alleyway, the creature baring down on them. Vixxxen hurled fire at the beast, knocking it back, but her attacks had little, if no effect at all. Reaver bared her claws and leapt at the beast, but she was swatted from the air like a gnat.
“CAPRICE!” Vixxxen screamed, as she ran to her partner’s side, but that proved to be a terrible error on her part. The creature struck with deadly speed, catching Vixxxen by her leg and dragging her away, screaming. “AHHHHHHH!”
Reaver dived for her hand, but the beast pulled her into its mouth like a giant snake, swallowing her whole. The creature reared back, belching fire from his mouth as Reaver collapsed to her knees, a look of shock and anguish on her face. The creature swallowed, then reared back and roared as it focused on its next meal.
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
Reaver resigned herself to her fate as the beast struck…
BLAM
BLAM
BLAM
BLAM
The rifle recoiled in her hands and she watched as the sights dropped back down on the target’s head as she pulled the trigger again and again. The high caliber rounds hit with deadly accuracy, but it did little but knock the creature back, sending it tumbling over. Stacey ran and grabbed Reaver by her arm, but the stunned woman just sat there, eyes unblinking. The creature worked to get back up and Stacey turned and sent a round right into its face, putting it back down.
Stacey grabbed the shocked meta and started dragging her out of the alley. “MOVE YOUR ASS!!!” The woman staggered to her feet, moving like she was in a dream, feet stumbling over one another. Stacey could hear the beast behind them, finding its own footing.
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
Stacey’s feet skidded to a stop as a second creature appeared, this one with insect-like wings. The creature landed at the entrance to the alley, cutting off their escape as it stalked towards them.
Stacey raised her rifle to shoot it, but there was only a single round left. If her encounter with the first one has taught her anything, it was that one round was useless. She turned and found a more malleable target and fired her last round. The door lock exploded in a shower of splintered metal and wood. Stacey pulled Reaver into the building, just as the creatures converge, missing them both by inches.
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
Stacey looked back, her eyes growing wide as the creatures began scratching at the door frame, ripping through the wall in pursuit of them. “…you gotta be shitting me…” She pulled Reaver to the end of the narrow hallway, then into the stairwell as she began pulling her up.
Reaver snapped out of her trance, pulling Stacey back as tears streamed down her face. “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!!”
“I’M SAVING YOUR STUPID ASS!” Stacey fired back, yanking the woman up the stairs, just as the wall gave way and the two screaming creatures rumbled after them. Stacey pulled her up the stairs at breakneck speed, taking them two at a time. She didn’t know if they could follow them up the stairwell, but it was the only hope they had…
OLYMPUS LOFTS
Residential District...
Megan Jefferies was terrified. All around her was chaos and destruction. People screaming and running…creatures out of a nightmare attacking them, left and right. She screamed as a flying beast swooped out of the sky and snatched a woman up and flew off with her. The woman’s screams were abruptly cut off and she squeezed her eyes shut against what she knew had happened to her.
Her father gripped her hand tightly, looking down at her with glee in his eyes. “Megan, this is the One God’s will! You said it yourself…you saw the angel come back! This is the reckoning!”
Megan shook her head, “Those aren’t angels…they’re monsters!”
He struck her so hard that she saw stars and tasted warm copper in her mouth. She fell to the ground and he stood over her, his big barrel chest heaving up and down. Megan crawled away, her eyes wide with fear. Her father reached down and snatched her off the ground, his eyes filled with fury. “IT’S TALK LIKE THAT THAT GOT YOUR MOTHER SENT TO HELL! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT? DO YOU WANT TO GO TO HELL?! DO YOU?!!”
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
He whirled around as a creature bore down on the two of them. Megan screamed and tried to run away, but he held her out in front of him, shaking her. “THIS IS JUDGEMENT! IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE ONE GOD, YOU’LL BE SPARED HIS WRATH!!”
Megan kicked and fought, but his grip on her was too strong. The otherworldly creature stalked forward, it’s mouth a yawning chasm lined with razor sharp teeth that dripped with the gore of the victims it had already consumed. Its long tongue snaked out, licking the side of Megan’s face.
BLAM
BLAM
BLAM
BLAM
Gunfire rang out and the creature screamed and fell back, more out of surprise than hurt. Cyrus spun around, his face filled with shock. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”
Agent Andretti ran up to him, giving him a stiff right cross to the face that sent him down like a ton of bricks. Megan hit the ground, then ran into the waiting arms of Agent Sloane. She scooped her up backing away as Cyrus rose to his feet, his eyes filled with fury. He moved to run at Sloane, grabbing for Megan, but he got a pair of pistols aimed in his face.
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
Sloane and Andretti turned as a second creature, this one with wings, landed on a nearby rooftop. Cyrus saw his chance and took it, grabbing Andretti, ripping the gun from her hand, and shoving her hard into the side of the building. Agent Sloane turned…
“HEATHENS! GIVE ME BACK MY CHILD!” Cyrus opened fire…
BLAM
BLAM
BLAM
Sloane twisted, shielding Megan as all three rounds struck her in the back, sending her down. Before he could take advantage, Andretti kicked the gun out of his hand, then a spinning back fist sent him falling to the ground in a heap.
“EEEEEEERRRRRRKKKKKKKK!!!!”
Another roar spurred her into action and she ran to Sloane’s side, even as Megan tried to help the wounded agent to her feet. Sloane stumbled and nearly fell as Andretti caught her. She pulled her partner back towards the house, with Megan doing what she could to help. They ran, ignoring the chaos all around them. The screaming man was left in the darkness with the beasts that would surely be the end of him…
SECURE COMMAND BUNKER
Capitol District...
David Reese had done all he could to keep the Mayor safe, burying one of the attacking creatures under tons of rubble and guiding her down to the secure bunker of Empire City’s seat of power. The city’s brain-trust had gathered there; district leaders, military advisors, and ECPD’s police captain. They were all glued to monitors as reports flooded in about the attacks. No one knew where the creatures had come from…but intelligence was slowly trickling in and a pattern was emerging.
Mayor Aldis excused herself from the briefing table, her skin a bit more pale than normal. She approached David, her face lined with worry. “David…I…I…”
“You don’t have to tell me, I’ve seen it for myself.” He nodded his head toward the myriad of screens displaying the attacks. “Those things aren’t attacking at random…they’re attacking metas…like me.” His jaw tightened as he took a deep breath. “Perhaps…this is The One God’s will…to eliminate my kind.”
The Mayor glanced away, unable to meet his gaze. She had run her campaign on religious fervor, and the old ways of worshiping metas would come to an end. This had divided the city, but in the end, she had managed to win the election as people turned their backs on ‘supers.’ This turn of events only served to bolster her platform. “We cannot pretend to know His will.”
David answered, “You did.” This brought her gaze back up to meet his. He straightened his back, lifting his chin. “I pledged my loyalty to you because I believed that you were right and that you could help the city…you could end the fighting and the bloodshed. I thought that if people saw that you stood for everyone…humans and metas, that maybe we could find common ground.”
“You’ve done that David.” She answered, moving to put her hand on his arm, but it was intercepted before she could make contact.
“Sorry!” Captain Lambert caught her hand, pulling her away from him. He wore a look of apology on his own face. “Until we find out why these things are going after metas…we need to limit contact.”
David looked around the room, realizing that he was now the center of attention. His jaw tightened, but he nodded. “So…this is how it is now?”
“For now…” Lambert added. “You’ll be protected until we figure this out David…I promise you that.” Three heavily armed guards approached and the implication was clear. David would be in protective custody, regardless if he wanted to be or not.
The Mayor spoke up as David was escorted out of the bunker. “We will figure this out David…I swear! We will figure it out!”
David was led outside the bunker where he was greeted by several more guards. David, looking none too pleased, eyed the men. “So…let me guess, I get to go into some kind of confinement camp? After everything that I’ve done…nah.”
Before the men could react, David threw a punch down at the floor and all around him the concrete exploded upward, sending the men flying in all directions. He didn’t hesitate as he ran for the exit, even as sirens blared and emergency lights lit him up. He heard the sounds of guns cocking and men screaming for him to stop…but that was the last thing he intended to do. He had been imprisoned once, and it would never happen again.
He swung his fist at the blast door, once, twice, three times, knocking it off its hinges as he barreled through it and ran into the night.
He wasn’t safe…but he wasn’t a prisoner either, and that was all that mattered.
KNIGHT ESTATE
Rome...
Daria sat alongside Lois, who had her eyes glued on the news reports from Empire City. The worn and haggered face of Empire City news journalist, Sayor Stevenson highlighted the scenes of complete and utter devastation.
Lois watched on in muted terror as she wondered what was going on, but Daria knew full well…as did the dark angel that leaned against the large bookcase with a crooked grin and his black wings folding and unfolding behind him. He spoke, but only Daria could hear him; “Haven’t you rested on your ass long enough Father? It’s time to get you back in the game…isn’t it?”
Daria steeled herself, struggling to stand on legs that hadn’t moved in months. “Lois…come on…we have to go.”
Lois was up in a flash, helping her employer, though she wore a worried look on her face. “What?! Where are we going?! Not back to the city!”
Daria nodded, “Yes…that’s exactly where we are going! We have to warn people…we have to do something! We have to find Stacey...”
Lois stared at her, blinking her eyes. “Jordan...the policeman? Your brother’s girlfriend? She’s dead…”
Daria shook her head, “Lois…make sure the plane is fueled…we are leaving as soon as it’s ready to take off.”
Lois Monroe frowned, but she gave a grim nod as she helped Daria to her room. The pair passed Damian as he clapped his hands with a crooked smirk touching his lips. He whispered; “…better hurry…not sure how long it will be before Ms. Monroe’s statement comes true…”
Daria grimaced as she willed her body to move faster…
INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT
Downtown...
Stacey burst through the access door, dragging Reaver behind her as they stumbled out on the roof of the building. Both women’s eyes grew large as they saw the chaos all around the city. Reaver collapsed to her knees, pounding her fists into the ground.
“WHY DIDN’T YOU LET THAT THING EAT ME TOO?! WHY DIDN’T YOU LET IT?!!”
Stacey could only stand there shaking her head. “We don’t have time for this! We need to figure out what’s happening and then find a way to stop it!” She reached her hand down to help Reaver, but the woman snarled as she slapped her hand away. Stacey rolled her eyes, turning back to the city. “I didn’t save your life so you could throw it away! The city is being torn to pieces and we need every able-bodied person that we ha-“
The pain stopped her in midsentence and she looked down as four shiny claws stuck out from her chest. The rifle she held fell from her hand, clattering to the ground. Stacey fell, unable to speak.
Reaver stood over her, tears in her eyes. “THIS IS YOUR FAULT! THIS IS ALL YOUR BLOODY FAULT!” She spit on Stacey and ran off.
Stacey lay motionless, blood pouring from her wound and spurting out across the rooftop underneath her. She was dying, with nothing but the words of Reaver echoing in her head over and over;
“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!”
CAST
In Order of Appearance
Detective Stacey Jordan … Kenzi Grey
Vixxxen … Katie Tolson
Reaver … Melissa Reeves
Megan Jefferies … MacKenzie Osborne
Cyrus Jefferies … Jason Butler
Agent Michelle Andretti … Delia Darling
Agent Grace Sloane … Amy Jo Smyth
David Reese … Sebastian Stone
Mayor Abby Aldis … Angelica Vaughn
Captain Layton Lambert … Wellington Leander IV
Daria Knight … Natasha Wilmslow
Lois Monroe … Trixie
Sayor Stevenson … Steve Sayors
Damian … Sebastian Everett-Bryce III
_____________________________________________
Directed by … Kenzi Grey
Screenplay by … Ron B.
Produced by … Dark Goddess Productions
Executive Producer … Sarah Selena Grey-Lacklan
Casting by … Maleek Raheem
Music by … Guilty Pleasure
|
|
