DEMONS Written by @RAM48K 1. SCENE START EXT. OPEN FIELD - DAY A vast, desolate field under a bruised, cloudy sky. A drone SHOT moves in, following a figure—Henry, younger, fit but outmatched—running desperately. The CAMERA is slightly unsteady, like a nervous observer. He is being pursued by Andrew, larger and imposing, who is limping but steadily gaining. Andrew's shadow stretches long and ominous across the ground, nearly swallowing Henry's. The air is thick with a pre-storm stillness. HENRY stops abruptly at the edge of a dark, dense forest, panting heavily. The forest looms like a wall of teeth. CLOSE UP ON HENRY'S FACE Sweat and fear cling to his skin. His eyes dart back and forth, seeing no escape. A look of sheer, primal terror. CLOSE UP ON ANDREW He's not a monster, but the sheer malevolence in his eyes makes him so. He stumbles, a flicker of pain crossing his face before it's erased by a cruel, predatory grin. The voice that comes from him is not his own. ANDREW (layered, demonic voice) You shouldn't have come. HENRY What have you done to my friend?! ANDREW We have chosen this body for its power, but we are crowded. We. Want. You! Andrew lunges forward, his movements suddenly fluid and impossibly fast for a man his size. HENRY (screaming) No! Henry throws his hand out in a reflexive, defensive gesture. A raw, white energy explodes from his palm and hits Andrew square in the chest. Andrew is thrown backward, tumbling through the air like a ragdoll. He lands hard, and a thick, unnatural white mist curls off his body, dissipating into the heavy air. Henry stares at his hand in shock. It's red and steaming, as if burned. The ground around him seems to pulse with a faint, crimson light. VOICE (V.O.) You are powerful, child. Magic runs in your blood. Henry looks up, startled, as the voice echoes in his head. INT. FOREST - DAY Henry's attention is drawn to a figure leaning against a gnarled, ancient oak. The figure is cloaked, hood drawn low, their face obscured by shadow. HENRY (confused) Who are you? What did you do to Andrew? VOICE Oh no, child, that was all you. You have dispersed the demons, but now they yearn for a new host. HENRY What? Answer me! What did you do to Andrew? VOICE Do you feel it? The heat in your hand? That's the blood. The demons hunger for it. You have fed them a taste of something far sweeter than what they came for. HENRY But...Wait! You never told me, who are you? VOICE Who knows, child? Maybe I never existed. The figure fades, not vanishing, but becoming transparent, a ghost dissolving into the gloom of the trees. A faint, almost melodic whisper of wind where they stood. Henry turns back to Andrew's body one last time, a look of profound sorrow and dread on his face. Then, with a sudden, panicked surge of adrenaline, he bolts into the woods. SCENE END [PANEL 2] SCENE START EXT. WOODS - DAY 4. Henry sprints through the dense trees, branches whipping at his face and clothes. The CAMERA follows him, a jittery, panicked feeling to its movement. He glances over his shoulder, but the dark woods offer no solace, only shadows that seem to move just out of sight. Suddenly, a voice, muffled and distorted, whispers in the air around him. ANDREW'S VOICE (V.O.) (muffled) Wee aree commming. Henry's eyes are wide with fright. He sees a small, dilapidated shed, its door ajar, in a small clearing ahead. He dives inside, slamming the rickety door shut and huddling in a corner. The air in the shed is thick with the smell of mold and decay. He buries his head in his hands, trembling, and silent sobs wrack his body. The door begins to creak open slowly, revealing a sliver of oppressive gray light from outside. No one enters, but an unnatural, freezing wind, carrying the scent of rot and old metal, billows into the shed. HENRY No! The CAMERA ZOOMS in rapidly on Henry's terrified face, his eyes squeezed shut. The screen cuts to BLACK. After a beat of total silence, we cut to a STATIC SHOT of the shed wall. Henry's hunched shadow is cast on it by the dim light from the door. We hear the quiet, desperate SOUND of his sobs. The shadow begins to shudder violently, and we watch as two massive, jagged wings, like those of a demon or a scorched angel, tear themselves from his back and erupt into the light. The sobs become a quiet, rattling laugh. SCENE END
