Bloodrunners

EXT. EERIE WOODS - NIGHT

Arms encircling Jason and Yami while Artemis hugs his waist, Rori teleports the teens out of the compound to where he's parked his sleek black Mercedes CLS Coupe, the headlights left on. He's parked at a safe remove from the asylum, tucked at the end of a rutted dirt road amongst the trees.

RORI

Now-

JASON

What about Merrick?

RORI

As I was about to inquire... I don't
suppose any of you've laid eyes on him
since all this began, have you?

Artemis forlornly shakes her head.

YAMI

The last time I saw him, we were in
our motel room. Jason and Artemis fell
asleep within minutes, Merrick had
been complaining of a smell, and
then... (a troubled furrow creases his
brow, peering into nothingness for a moment
before his gaze crawls back up to Rori) Nothing.

RORI

Then I'd imagine you were gassed.
Something tailored for the capture of
half-breeds. (glances at Artemis and
Jason) Which explains why the two of
you succumbed so quickly. (mutters to
himself with a scowl, rubbing a hand
in vexation over his face) Hunters,
then. Thrice-damned hunters and
whoever's been funding them.

JASON

Ror, we can't leave without Merrick. I
am not leaving him back there while
they're doing only god knows what to
him.

Rori closes the distance, gently taking Jason's face in his hands, smoothing the backs of his fingers down his cheek, as Rori bows his head nearer to Jason's own, his voice softening. Jason dips his head, eyes shut, caramel fingers even darker against the snow-white flesh of Rori's wrists.

RORI

Nor am I, my love. I promise. I will
find him and bring him back alive. But
I can't hear him, which means
whoever's holding him hostage has
drugged him, and drugged him with
something strong. Which,
unfortunately, means I'll have to
conduct my search the old-fashioned
way.

Jason's expression betrays his lingering concern, and Rori tilts his chin up for Jason to meet his pale green eyes.

RORI

I promise you, I will find him. In the
meantime, stay strong. Watch the
others. Keep each other safe, and
warm. I'll be back as soon as I can.

Jason nods, mute, and Rori pulls him close, kissing the crown of his head before abruptly disappearing, leaving Jason, Yami, and Artemis behind, alone in the dark, with nothing more than the headlights for company.

JASON

(murmurs to the night)
Be safe, Ror...

INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

Merrick and Lament watch Rori re-enter the compound, destroying anything that gets in his way with ease. Merrick finds himself overwhelmed by the solace that Rori's mere presence in the building brings. Certain, now, that everything will be all right. However, he's beaten, bruised, and bloody, an eye swelling shut in the mask of pain that is his face.

LAMENT

Pity. I was rather looking forward to
seeing his reaction to the bodies of
your little 'family'. But while that
game has come to its end...

Lament removes a heavily engineered steel collar with wires from one of the drawers of his desk and holds it up to the light from the monitors to regard it with a smile.

LAMENT

Another is about to begin.

MERRICK

(panicking and wrenching himself weakly against his bonds)
No. No! Leave him alone, you fucker!

Using his telekinesis, hands delicately gesturing while framing the idea of the device, Lament maneuvers it out of the heavily fortified room, and follows its path on the monitors. It takes time, but Merrick can only watch, too drugged, beaten and numb with dread to even try distracting Lament.

A vicious smile grows on Lament's face as he positions the collar on the same screen with Rori. He waits until another of his "pets" has engaged Rori, distracting him long enough for Lament to sneak the collar into place, where Rori cannot see it. Merrick's chest is heaving with panicked breaths.

LAMENT

(quietly)
Sweet dreams, Daddy.

Lament's hands launch into motion, attaching the collar around Rori's neck. With the hasty flip of a switch, an explosive electrical charge erupts, making the lights in the room as well as the monitors flicker... and Rori violently spasms before he crumples like a doll whose strings have been cut.

MERRICK

(horrified)
No!

Lament chuckles contentedly, and sends one of the hunters out to collect Rori and bring him back to the fortress-like control room. Lament wanders over to a shadowy corner of the vast room and rolls a surgical tray towards a steel slab bolted to the floor, with industrial straps attached, eagerly arranging various tools of torture.

LAMENT

And now for the main course...

Once Rori is delivered, still unconscious, Merrick is desperate to try and wake him up, but Rori is unresponsive.

MERRICK

Ror, wake up! C'mon, wake up you
snarky motherfucker-!

Lament briskly stalks over and viciously backhands Merrick again before grabbing his face so hard his nails begin to draw blood, expression twisted in a hideous hybrid of a snarl and a smile.

LAMENT

You can cry and sob all you like,
little bastard. Daddy can't hear you
now. There were enough volts in that
shock to rupture his heart in his
chest and fry his brain in his skull.

Lament shoves Merrick away, leaving him to swing on his hook as Lament returns to what he was doing. In an effort to mask his very real concern as Lament hauls his father's limp body onto the table, Merrick tries to recall his earlier bravado.

MERRICK

You're even more delusional than I
thought if you think that's gonna stop him.

Lament finishes positioning Rori on the table, straps him down with the meticulous care anyone might exercise with a particularly dangerous animal, and sets up a second IV pole.

This one has several bags - some marked with the symbols for radioactive and biohazardous material that will damage Rori's cells faster than they can heal themselves - hooked up to one line, which Lament carefully inserts into a vein in Rori's arm.

LAMENT

(while working)
Oh no, quite to the contrary, actually.

Once he's finished, he begins to rearrange his wicked array of tools that could be used for torture. Scalpels, bone saws, pliers... He holds a blade up to the light and admires its shine.

LAMENT

'Twas never my intention to kill him.
Not yet, anyways. (wanders over and
trails the tip of the blade along
Rori's jaw) No, I have every intention
of ensuring that we have all the time
in the world. (returns the blade to
the tray) Crippled, but cognizant
enough to feel every last second of it.

Lament pauses, thoughtfully tapping a scalpel against his lips as he considers Rori, before his slit red and green eyes slide over to Merrick.

LAMENT

Although, now that I have him, I
suppose that means I really no longer
have any need for you. Which begs the
question: What do I do with you? (a
mad smile grows on his lips) Perhaps
I'll skin you alive while he watches.

EXT. EERIE WOODS BY RORI'S CAR - NIGHT

Outside, waiting anxiously with Yami and Artemis, Jason begins fearing the worst when Rori and Merrick fail to reappear. Jason checks the time on the phone Rori left behind before staring fretfully into the forest.

JASON

He's been gone too long. They
should've been back by now.

YAMI

(blows on his furled hands before
rubbing them together)
Give him time, Jason. He said he'd
have to conduct his search manually,
did he not? Whatever that place was,
it's certainly no small cabin with a
few mere nooks and crannies to check in.

JASON

(troubled)
No, something's not right, I can feel
it in my gut.

YAMI

(mumbling)
Your gut is suicidal.

Jason peers hard into the forest for a moment longer before he wheels away and snatches up a flashlight left in the front seat.

JASON

Fuck it. I can't wait anymore. I'm
going back to look for them.

ARTEMIS

Jason, no!

Artemis latches herself onto his arm, and Yami hooks a hand in Jason's other elbow as he passes by. Jason tries to wrench himself free, temper and desperation flaring, but the teens hold fast.

JASON

F- Get off me! I'm not leaving them in
there!

In an exceedingly rare display of aggression, Yami seizes a fistful of Jason's shirt and forces Jason to look at him, his ashen face white in the illumination of the headlights and his slit scarlet eyes hard, catching the harsh light like rubies.

YAMI

Even if you could find your way back,
what do you suppose you can do, hm?
One muse in a hell hole teeming with
monsters straight out of some madman's
worst nightmares. What can you do, hm?
Sing them to death? You'll get lost,
Jason. You always do, and Rori may not
even realize you're there until it's
too late, making his job that much
harder. If you go back, you'll only
make things worse.

ARTEMIS

(face pressed against his arm as
she hugs it tight, her voice choked and wavery)
He's right, Jace. I mean, I don't like
it any more than you do, but... Rori
knows what he's doing. If anyone can
get Merrick out of there, it's him. We have –
to stay – and wait for him!

Jason silently and unhappily acknowledges the truth behind their words and reluctantly sags against them, terrified that neither Rori nor Merrick will come back, and their makeshift family - the thing he values most in the entirety of the world - will fall apart.

INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

Rori's regained awareness, choking back a scream behind bloody, gritted teeth as Lament continues to take his wrath out on him via excruciating methods of torture. The vampire's bared skin is a mottled patchwork of unhealed lacerations, switch-welts, burns, and raw muscle where the skin has been stripped away. Between the constant stream of radioactive and biohazardous materials swimming through his veins and an excessive dose of narcotics, Rori is too weak and impaired to fight back.

Despite the rocky nature of Merrick's relationship with his father, Merrick can't stand watching Lament torture him - knowing full and well how many will suffer and grieve if Lament decides to kill Rori. Each scream evokes a wince, each maniacal cackle while Lament torments him leaves Merrick sick at heart.

While Lament is distracted, however, Merrick decides he's the only chance they've got. Rori, for once, is utterly and completely helpless. And now that Lament has his target, now that he's lost himself in his pain and rage and is focused in all of his entirety on taking his pain out on Rori, he's not watching Merrick.

He clenches his eyes shut, committing nothing less than his all to the effort of telekinetically dragging the IV out of Rori's arm - millimeter by painstaking millimeter - so Rori can heal himself. He refuses to let this psychotic bastard murder the man who's become a friend and father-figure to many more than Merrick alone.

LAMENT

(lost in his own madness)
Can you feel my pain now, Father? Can
you feel what you've done to me!?

Lament is working his way towards vital organs. Time is running out. Merrick nearly blacks out from the strain of pushing his mind through the smothering leaden veil of the drugs, blood trickling down from his nose before it begins oozing out from his clenched lids... but with one last desperate yank, Merrick succeeds. Utterly and completely exhausted, he slumps limply from his hook, allowing his wrists to bear the entirety of his weight as he fades in and out of consciousness. Rori, his handsome face mauled and covered in gore, manages a pained sidelong glance at Merrick, his voice weak as he chokes on his own blood.

RORI

My... son...

Lament rips a knife free of Rori's abdomen and thrusts his hand in, seizing Rori's organs in his fist, insane with rage. Rori's body goes rigid, tendons standing out taut in his neck as he locks a scream behind his sharp teeth.

LAMENT

I'm your son, and you left me - a
child, nothing more than a babe - to
the mercy of monsters! They murdered
me over and over and over again
because of you! Where was this love
of yours then!? You could have saved me,
you could have butchered them all with
scarce more than a blink of your eye,
but you left me there, with those humans
and their hate!

Pretending that he's still helpless, even as Lament continues to assault him in a sadistic frenzy, Rori bides his time until he's recovered somewhat from the concoction of drugs, and growing stronger. His breathing is ragged as Lament momentarily relents to switch to another method of torture, his head lolling on his neck.

RORI

For... give... me...

LAMENT

(outraged)
Forgive-

Lament whirls on him in a rage, placing his throat right into Rori's clawed, clutching hand. Rori's expression is demonic as he snarls.

RORI

If you think me so monstrous, allow
me to show just how monstrous I
can be.

Even as Rori lifts him high into the air, red swirling into his eyes to dominate their usual frosty green, Rori flings his spare hand out towards the mobilizing hunters. He snatches his hand into a fist and twists, and the five hunters from the bar are crushed, bones breaking, bodies contorting in grotesque, unnatural fashions as they collapse to the floor to die. Rori's eyes never leave Lament's, even as his wayward son stares down at him in terror, choking and kicking, clawing at the hand from which he's suspended.

RORI

Lesson number one: no one touches my family.

Rori slams his speared hand up under Lament's rib cage, ripping out his heart before he snaps Lament's neck without ceremony, and lets his body drop into a lifeless heap on the ground. He sneers down at him as the light fades from Lament's half-breed eyes, and then crushes his heart in his fist, blood gushing through his fingers, before dropping the pulped mass of muscle to the floor. He snaps his fingers, and a flame gutters to life on Lament's body before consuming his entire form. Rori stares down at him, fire reflecting in pitiless red eyes, screams from Lament's past echoing in his ears.

RORI

(murmurs impassively)
Burn the witch.

Only then does he hunch in on himself, still suffering from the radiation poisoning and the wounds Lament inflicted upon him, clutching at his oozing abdomen in obvious pain.

He hobbles over to Merrick, gently pulls the IV from his arm, and strokes a bloody finger over the wound to help it heal. Rori eases Merrick's beaten body down from the meat hook, only for Merrick to immediately collapse. Rori catches him, his voice soft and reassuring.

RORI

I have you. It's all right, I have you now...

Ignoring his own wounds, Rori gingerly gathers up an unconscious Merrick into his arms and, limping, carries him out of the compound. He kills everything in his way, setting fires to the building with mere snaps of his fingers as he goes, ensuring that nothing of Lament's legacy is left intact.

EXT. EERIE WOODS BY RORI'S CAR – NIGHT

Jason is leaning against the hood of the car, wrapped in a blanket and gnawing restlessly on his thumbnail when Rori limps into the light, covered in blood from wounds that are closing or have already healed, with Merrick hobbling weakly alongside him. Jason's grim expression lights up a fleeting instant before he rushes over to trap Rori in an embrace, burying his face into his neck. The action jars Merrick away, sending him staggering against a tree while he pins Jason with a tetchy scowl.

JASON

You're all right. Oh my god, you're
both all right...

RORI

(weak smile)
I do believe I made the whole thing a
promise, did I not?

Yami and Artemis slowly rouse themselves from the back of the car, but when they realize what all the fuss was about, Yami can only cling to the car's door for support, choking back a knot of relief. Artemis races over and jumps up to wrap her arms around Rori's neck. Jason manages a thick little chuckle as he's forced away from Rori and looks over to Merrick with watering eyes and a tremulous smile.

RORI

You know, you lot really ought to be
thanking Merrick. I would suspect he's
the only reason I was able to make it
out with both of us more or less
intact.

Jason tears his mismatched eyes away from Rori and turns them to Merrick once more.

MERRICK

(wide-eyed with alarm)
Don't you even think about-

Jason hugs him.

MERRICK

Look, it was nothing, okay, so just-
(wincing as Jason's embrace tightens)
Ow, fuck, Jason, ease off, would ya?

Merrick gingerly pushes Jason away.

MERRICK

And just... stay over there, okay? You
smell like a fucking slaughter house
that hasn't been cleaned in a year.

JASON

(gives a choked little laugh as he
rubs the heel of his palm over
his brown eye)
Look, Merrick... I just wanted to say
I'm sorry. For everything.

Merrick is caught off-guard by this unexpected apology, and as he stares dumbfounded at Jason, Jason sheepishly hunches his shoulders, head bowed, as he rubs at the back of his neck, eyes downcast, and his expression gloomy.

JASON

I should've listened to you. I
should've trusted you when you were
trying to warn us. I mean-

Realizing where this is going, Merrick dismissively bats the apology away with a rude sound.

MERRICK

(grumbling)
I don't blame you for not listenin'.
Half the shit I've done...? I wouldn't
believe me either. But, uh... Look, no
hard feelings or anything. (awkwardly)
An' sorry about your car.

JASON

(soft, crooked smile)
No hard feelings.

YAMI

(calls over to them from the car)
Let's get the flying multicolored fuck
out of here, shall we?

Rori and the teens stare flabbergasted at Yami's choice of words before a chuckle runs through the group, and everyone, save Merrick, begins to trickle towards the car. Artemis falters before hurrying back to give Merrick an awkwardly-tolerated hug.

ARTEMIS

(murmuring in Merrick's ear)
That'll do, pig. That'll do.

She pulls away, smiles brightly at his perplexed frown, and then hustles back to the car. Merrick hangs back, consumed by his thoughts, before he calls out to Rori.

MERRICK

Hey! Fuckhead!

Rori, as well as Jason, pause and glance back. When Jason sees that he's not the one Merrick was calling for, he touches Rori's arm with a minute smile and continues on his way to the car. Rori curiously cocks his head at Merrick.

Merrick's not sure if he should thank Rori for taking care of the other three, as well as – or especially for – coming back for Merrick himself, or apologize for all of the shit he's put Rori through since his arrival at Rori's Manor. All the insults, all the blame... He sees now, after his encounter with Lament, just how wrong he's been all of these years, and how easily he could have turned into the same kind of monster. Rori, reading his thoughts, saves him the trouble of trying to vocalize these feelings and allows a small, tired smile to curl on the edges of his lips.

RORI

I know.

Overcome by a sudden surge of emotion and appreciation, Merrick awkwardly clears his throat and follows Rori back to the car. He needles Rori over his shortcomings during the experience with superficial scorn, more comfortable on such familiar territory.

MERRICK

So what the fuck happened back there?
I thought you were supposed to be the
big bad Red King, y'know? Untouchable,
unstoppable... All that macho
bullshit. And that fucking nancy-ass
lunatic takes you down with a shock collar?
I've seen dogs tougher than you!

Rori lets slip a carefully restrained, long-suffering sigh.

RORI

(dryly)
One more word and I'm putting you back
in that burning building where you belong.

THE END

So, like it? Hate it? Wish it would spontaneously combust? Leave me a review and tell me all about it. C'mon, I wanna know everything!

Well. Finally done this one. Took way longer to revamp the ending than I thought it would, and it's still pretty cringey because I was still trying to stay relatively close to the original, but… eh. It's done at least. Like I said, this is the first screenplay of sorts that I've ever written, and it was written for a class assignment, so hopefully it's not too… Iunno. Weird? Gross?

… Actually, scratch that. I know it's weird and classmates definitely thought it was gross. But, you know. I hope everyone enjoyed it, at any rate! Happy New Year!