Wrath of Night Chapter 1

There weren't always dragons in the Valley.

Los Angeles, California. Spring of 2022.

EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

The demon's eyes flicker blood red, as he raises the gun and fires.

Three shots through the chest and ADAM is dead. His immortal spirit rises up to heaven. Just then an angel's hand force pushes his soul back to Earth.

INT. BEDROOM - SAME NIGHT

JAMES wakes up as the shots go off.

"Adam!" James cries out. He fumbles for his phone on the night stand, "Siri, what time is it?"

James's phone chimes, and the answer comes.

"It is one forty five a.m.," Siri's voice responds.

"Call Adam!" James commands.

"Calling Adam." Siri responds.

The phone call goes straight to voicemail.

"This is Adam Tyler. You know what to do," Adam's voicemail message prompts.

James turns on the lamp, illuminating his face. He speaks into his phone, "Adam, it's your brother. Call me back!"

PAN across to a PICTURE FRAME. Two brothers, James and Adam Tyler. Both flashing broad smiles. You can sense the bond.

James gets out of bed. He reaches for something beside him. It is a CANE. He taps it gently around him to locate his surroundings. He is blind.

James makes his way downstairs to the kitchen. He opens the refrigerator and takes a drink of milk straight from the carton. Suddenly he drops the milk, and clutches his head.

James sees a barrage of images. Religious symbols, intermittent with his view of the kitchen. He raises his hand to his face. He can see.

Flashes of the shooting. The gun firing. Adam falling to the ground.

"No," James pleads for his brother.

He stumbles towards the door, grabs his keys, and leaves the house.

EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS

James walks down the sidewalk, and speaks to himself, "Adam. No, please, no."

He is hit with more images. Angel wings, a gateway, a crowd of demons chanting. James clutches his head. His sight begins to flutter. Blackness and the street landscape interspliced.

James collides with a man walking a dog. DOGWALKER says, "Hey kid, you okay?"

His dog barks loudly at James, which causes James to recoil and stumble off the curb, into the street.

James only sees the flash of headlights for a moment. Brakes squeal.

Bang.

James is struck hard enough to bump his head off the pavement.

James lies unconscious in the road. CAR DRIVER steps out of his vehicle and yells, "Somebody call an ambulance!"

INT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT

James is in the psych ward. He claims he can see demons. He is being checked out by a DOCTOR. James is heavily sedated.

The doctor asks, "Can you hear me, James?"

James nods. James's mother ANNE sits beside James during the evaluation.

The doctor continues, "James, your pupils are non-responsive to light."

James responds, "Something has happened. I can see again. But the things I see are terrible."

Anne tries to interject, "Honey."

James continues, "Okay no, not right now. It comes and goes. Why won't anyone let me see Adam? Where is he?"

The doctor speaks to James's mother, "The toxicology screen came back negative, but we would like to know what your son was doing wandering the streets, in the middle of the night."

James scoffs, "Nobody believes me."

The doctor attempts to ease James's concern, "Now James, calm down. That's not true."

James glances at the security guards that walk into the room. GUARD 1 is normal. GUARD 2 is a demon. Only James can see his true form. Guard 2 has burnt flesh, and his eyes glow an eerie red.

James jumps, "What the hell?!"

The doctor and Anne look confused. Anne questions James, "Jamie, what's wrong?"

James leaps to his feet and backs towards the exit. He blurts out, "Something's wrong. Get them away from me!"

James slams the doors, and runs through the ward. The two guards give chase, along with the doctor and James's mom.

The doctor sees a uniformed police officer. He signals him over.

"Officer, please restrain that young man," requests the doctor.

James continues to run. He bursts through another set of doors and enters the emergency response wing. Eventually he lands in a hallway with no exit. The police officer and two guards approach slowly.

"Can't you see him? He's some kind of monster," says James.

The first guard looks confused, "See who?"

The second guard, Guard 2 -- who is actually a demon named KRILLAN, snaps the neck of the police officer in one motion, while grabbing his firearm. He replies to Guard 1 in one word, "Me."

Krillan shoots Guard #1 in the head, and raises the pistol to James.

Krillan speaks to James, "I thought your kind were all gone."

James cowers, lowering himself against the wall.

Krillan continues, "We can't have you around — not when we're so close." He points the weapon directly towards James, and is about the pull the trigger. Then suddenly, he is hit with a huge blast of energy. Krillan goes flying through the wall.

The source of the blast is standing several feet away. Still holding his hands extended outward is KINCAID — a 6-foot tall, 30-something, rugged, trench coat-wearing, magic-wielding badass. His auburn hair wisps across his face.

Kincaid looks at James, "James, get up! I've got to get you out of here. There isn't much time. Ugly is down, but he's not out."

"Who are you?" James asks.

"My name is Alex Kincaid," says Kincaid. "I'm here to help you."