FADE IN:
EXT. ATLANTIC OCEAN - NIGHT
Looks like the TITANIC cruising at 30 knots.
CLOSE ON BOW
It’s the QUEEN MARY.
SUPER: September 1, 1939
INT. QUEEN MARY - THROUGH DOORWAY - FIRST CLASS DINING - NIGHT
DEP. SECURITY OFFICER CARLETON GAYE (37, white), patrols, headed toward
the doorway. An all-American, A.J. Squared Away.
A hint of the obscene Cunard luxury he’s leaving behind. Floor-toceiling
columns. A crystal inlaid dome. Behind him, BOB HOPE (36) mans
the capacitor, a spoof on The Big Broadcast of 1938.
BOB HOPE
(singing)
Thanks for the memory of faults
that you forgave, of rainbows on a
wave, and stockings in the basin
when a fellow...
Gaye stops at an empty table by the doorway. Tips his hat to PATRONS at
the next table. They’re nervous. He sees it in their eyes.
The song kicks up a wave of off-key SCAT SINGING, CHITTER before SHIP
SWAY takes the room to a startled silence. Gaye sidesteps, goes on.
BOB HOPE
...some folks slept on the floor, some in
the corridor, but mine was more exclusive.
My room had Gents above the door...
CHITTER and LAUGHTER once again.
CLOSE ON TABLE: PLACE CARDS
VISCOUNT CLAUDIUS FALLON OF WALES, VISCOUNTESS AGNETHA FALLON OF WALES.
Gaye tucks the cards in his uniform. He’s got a ways to go.
INT. TOURIST KITCHEN
Gaye strides chop-chop through the doorway. Dodges COOKS and SERVERS. He
catches a SERVICE LIFT with SERVER and a covered tea cart.
GAYE
Going up?
Server lifts the drape, revealing three rows of life jackets.
SERVER
Lifeboat stations, sir.
They ride up one level and Gaye’s off again, a sharp left portside.
INT. TOURIST CLASS ACCOMMODATIONS - CORRIDOR
Gaye drills past DECK HANDS rigging blackout curtains over windows.
EXT. ATLANTIC OCEAN - NIGHT
A GERMAN U-BOAT with its snub-nosed bow prowls the ocean depths. Its
conning with the Running Red Devil emblem glides past.
INT. QUEEN MARY - NIGHT
Gaye clips by GENTS HAIRDRESSING, packed with PATRONS. Left at a double
stairwell, right into a long corridor. Rounds the bulwark, stops short.
EXT. FEMALE ISOLATION WARD - THROUGH THE DOORWAY
A solid glance tells all: VISCOUNT CLAUDIUS FALLON (7, white), sobs in
the folds of his sister’s Bonnie Jean frock, arms pinned around her.
VISCOUNTESS AGNETHA FALLON (9, white) has surely met with a fatal
slip and fall, the raised bruises as black as her hair braids.
DR. DEWEY LANGSTON (36, white), darts past an ATTENDING NURSE to meet
Gaye. He’s a tense, wiry Brit with greying ginger buzzed to the scalp.
LANGSTON
Let’s chat out here.
Langston steps through the doorway. Gaye follows.
RECESS - ROPE STORAGE
Langston fishes out a pack of cigs.
LANGSTON
Smoke?
He tilts the pack toward Gaye, paperboard quivering. Gaye declines.
GAYE
Obliged.
Langston lights up, leans against the bulkhead. Bridges his forehead.
LANGSTON
Feck me, what a cockup.
GAYE
How’s that?
LANGSTON
I bodged it.
Langston glances back toward the ward.
LANGSTON
Poor sod, in there blubbing his eyes out.
I thought I could give him a little more
privacy with her up here.
Checks his watch.
LANGSTON
Dear God, it’s been three hours already.
We’ll a fair bit of pong in there shortly
if I don’t get cracking.
Gaye studies Langston. He doesn’t know yet, does he?
GAYE
Germany invaded the north coast of Poland.
Langston’s eyes widen. Drops his gasper.
LANGSTON
You’re fibbing me.
Gaye idly regards the smoldering stub on the hull.
2.
GAYE
Before dawn.
Langston fetches the stub and puts it out.
LANGSTON
Bloody Jerries. Are they close by?
GAYE
We diverted course.
LANGSTON
And where have I been? Well, here, I suppose.
He lights up another.
LANGSTON
Ah, well. We’re in a wrench either way.
So here’s it. We admitted her viscountess
yesterday at fifteen hundred. Fever,
dyspnea, sick as a parrot. She’s been
head down the loo since they boarded.
GAYE
I see.
LANGSTON
Gave her scopolamine, three hours’ fluids,
pulled her off at twenty-twenty. Temp
normal, good skin turgor, no ecchymosis.
Not like she’s looking now, anyway.
Gaye glances through the doorway at the girl’s disfigured face.
GAYE
All right.
LANGSTON
She took a late dinner, and I discharged
her to bedrest in her stateroom.
GAYE
Okay.
LANGSTON
Nurse Eddy, first shift, mentioned she
saw the two of ‘em taking a cuppa on the
promenade at oh-nine-hundred. Not a parka
or a cap between ‘em, mind you. Legging
it around the sundeck.
GAYE
All’s wet with the bed rest.
LANGSTON
Hell’s to yes, and then they alert crew she’s
feeling a bit ropey, and she goes into cardiac
arrest right then and there.
GAYE
On deck?
LANGSTON
Outer deck, in front of God and the rest.
Langston takes a long drag.
LANGSTON
How did he think they would manage all alone?
No carer, no mum.
3.
GAYE
Cardiff is probably locked down.
LANGSTON
I know, I know. Commander Fallon pigeoned a
letter my way too. But I’m telling you mate,
I’m buggered. Now I have to ring him up and
say what, exactly?
GAYE
You reviewed their medicals?
LANGSTON
That I did. Somewise I didn’t sort
her out, though. They’ve both got
it, and it’s rare. We’ve no setup
to deal with such as that.
Langston groans.
LANGSTON
Gor blimey, what if I lose the lad as
well? These are nobs, mate. Mark my word,
I’ll get my cards for this.
THROUGH DOORWAY
Gaye watches Claudius gingerly cup his dead sister’s discolored face.
O.C. LANGSTON/TOMMY (PRE-LAP)
Did you get a look at those shiners on her?
INT. U-HAUL MOVING VAN - MOVING - PRESENT DAY
TOMMY LUCAS (9, white) reads aloud to his mom, JUNE LUCAS (35, white).
Dark stuff. June, driving, glances down at the tablet as he scrolls.
CLOSE ON GRAPHIC
Philly’s Argosy. A cityscape over black with pulp fiction mustard
yellows, neon greens, and candy-apple reds. Underneath: “Bad Blood: The
Case of Claudius Fallon,” by Miles Cochran.
JUNE
Gas, snacks, and drive, or would you like
to stop and eat in a restaurant?
Tommy raises his nose in thought.
TOMMY
Gas and snacks. There’s two more episodes
after this.
June’s good for it, however a break from this fare may come.
JUNE
Gas and snacks it is.
(beat)
Gateway Arch on your right. Remember it?
Tommy lowers his clip-on sunglasses and raises a cling shade on his
window. The van treks past St. Louis’s iconic monument.
TOMMY
(smiling)
Way cool.
JUNE
Would you like to ride to the top sometime?
4.
TOMMY
Did you know it’s earthquake proof? It
can sway up to eighteen inches in either
direction and withstand winds up to one
hundred fifty miles an hour.
JUNE
(chuckling)
And that makes me feel so much better somehow.
TOMMY
No biggie. I’m not scared of it.
He flips up his clip-ons, blue eyes sparkling. Flashes an all-canines
grin--his, extra long. His black shag shimmers in the sunlight.
JUNE
Better drop that shade again.
He does so, back on his tablet.
TOMMY
What do you think was wrong with her?
Traffic ahead. June signals.
JUNE
Hold that thought--
TOMMY
I think she had the same cancer as me.
JUNE
(back on task)
No, Tommy. You have PNH.
TOMMY
(scrolling)
But--I think I saw something in here about
paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria...
How it rolls off his tongue. June smiles. Her little bookworm.
JUNE
Probably not. Not back then.
June mentally props up to answer some difficult questions.
JUNE
This was nineteen thirty-nine, right?
TOMMY
Yuppers.
JUNE
We’ve come a long way with treating
leukemia since.
Tommy swipes up on his tablet.
TOMMY
What’s ecchymosis?
JUNE
Bruising.
TOMMY
The shiners.
5.
JUNE
Yes. One of her symptoms.
TOMMY
Like me.
JUNE
If you miss one of your infusions, yes.
TOMMY
(reading)
Gnarly.
JUNE
Who wrote this?
TOMMY
Some old fart named Miles Cochran.
How rude. June cuts her eyes at Tommy.
JUNE
Tommy.
TOMMY
(showing his tablet)
See?
CLOSE ON HEADSHOT
Cochran’s a fifty-something blow-hard with jowls doubled into dewlaps.
Not the loveable Pillsbury Doughboy.
JUNE
(wincing)
Maybe not his best angle.
TOMMY
No-duh.
JUNE
She might’ve had something called mixed
lineage leukemia. Or Li-Fraumeni
syndrome. Her brother, as well.
TOMMY
What’s Li-Fraumeni?
JUNE
A mutation that allows cells to divide
abnormally. It causes a wide range of
cancers. With all kinds of weird stuff.
TOMMY
Like the pissed-mortem bruising?
JUNE
Postmortem. Occurring after death.
Tommy checks his tablet.
TOMMY
Oh, right. The doctor was pissed.
JUNE
He was in a tough spot. The way she died
was--well, off.
Tommy breaks into a cloak-and-dagger grin.
6.
TOMMY
Like she really had something else all along?
JUNE
Is this a spoiler alert?
TOMMY
Her illness really came from a family curse.
They were sick vampires. Like me.
JUNE
Tommy. We’ve been over this before.
Tommy’s busy on his tablet again.
TOMMY
I know, I know.
EXT. U-HAUL MOVING VAN - MOVING - DAY
The moving van takes the next access road off I-44. It’s a Venture
Across America and Canada Supergraphics fifteen-footer showcasing the
Manson impact crater. Iowa plates.
TOMMY (O.C.)
Chillax on the fangs because they’re
not a real-deal thingy, I got it.
A pregnant pause.
INT. U-HAUL MOVING VAN - MOVING - DAY
TOMMY
Want me to read to you some more?
June gooses him. He giggles.
JUNE
I’m really at your mercy, aren’t I?
TOMMY
Yep, we’re just getting started.
EXT. QUEEN MARY FEMALE ISOLATION WARD - NIGHT
LANGSTON
We need to get her to cold storage until
I can sort this out.
GAYE
What about the boy?
LANGSTON
All yours, Gaye. You got a way with the
ankle-biters.
Not what Gaye wants to take on. Langston takes a long drag on his cig.
LANGSTON
Next pint’s on me.
Gaye hesitates before stepping through the doorway.
INT. FEMALE ISOLATION WARD - NIGHT
Claudius looks like he hasn’t changed his clothes or combed his curlywild
black hair in days. He wears a sailor shirt and tweed trousers.
7.
CLAUDIUS
(whispering)
In manus tuas, Domine...in vita sive mors...
Gaye turns back to Langston.
GAYE
You get what he’s saying?
LANGSTON
Bits and bobs. My first-year Latin’s
pretty dim. Super, subter, vomito.
Something about her hands, I think.
CLAUDIUS
(sobbing)
Oh, Anya...
Gaye steps forward.
GAYE
Viscount Fallon.
A bit too loud. The attending nurse takes a step back.
Claudius turns, snot and tears dribbling over his lips. His red-rimmed
lids and black eyes scream pain.
Gaye takes a knee and removes his hat, gaze on the floor.
GAYE
Lieutenant Commander Carleton Gaye at
your service.
Without breaking his stare, Claudius slumps against the berth. His
shuddering gasp fogs the air between them. Gaye sees that. Gaye collects
himself, about to speak--when the boy raises his head and soundlessly
chitters like a hungry feral cat.
GAYE
We--need to move her viscountess. You can
come with her, by all means.
Not what Langston wanted him to say. Gaye, zeroed in on Claudius,
ignores Langston. The boy pulls a note from his britches, holds it out.
GAYE
For me?
More spellbinding observation. Gaye glances at the envelope. It’s
addressed to him somehow. He breaks the seal.
JULES FALLON (V.O.)
Dear Officer Gaye...by now you are likely
midway to the States, and aware that
Claudius cannot be allowed to return. I
have taken the liberty of posting a sum
of seventeen hundred US dollars to your
father’s shoe factory in Hoboken in
exchange for your help.
(beat)
Your transport is stowed on F Deck
Forward, and in it you will find a Fisk
Case for Agnetha’s burial. The lad must
report to Baker Cure-for-Cancer Hospital
in Eureka Springs at once. I trust you
will drive him there. He has further
instructions for his sister’s interment
Stateside, as she also cannot return to
Cardiff at this time.
(beat)
When Claudius grows hungry, he must
consume blue-rare meat.
8.
Considering his illness, this is best.
(beat)
It seems war is upon us once more. If we
survive it, I will send for the lad in due
time. Would you so kindly visit him when
you are nearby? I fear that he will recover
only to live alone in this world. I shall
remain forever in your debt.
(beat)
Cordially, Commander Jules Fallon.
Gaye looks up at Claudius, still staring a hole through him.
GAYE
Viscount, I have your father’s orders to
transport you and your sister to Baker
Hospital after we dock. I understand he
has made special arrangements for both of
you on F Deck Forward.
Langston looks like he’s about to shit a brick.
LANGSTON
(muttering to himself)
He better be fecking kidding me--
GAYE
It’s my duty to take you to F Deck immediately.
EXT. ARCHWAY QUICK MART - PRESENT DAY
A one-off convenience store with a gaudy neon arch, just off the
interstate. The U-Haul rolls up to the gas pump.
INT. ARCHWAY QUICK MART
CHELSEA DUMONT (17, black, hair in cornrows), HUMS and stocks a
countertop food warmer. June and Tommy approach the door.
Chelsea takes in the moving van and June’s height. The starch-white kid
tricked out in a big-bucks, satin-lined vampire cape. Under a Chicago
Bulls bomber jacket. Can’t see any eyes behind those Ray-B’s, either.
Mom’s nondescript by comparison: slim in her skinny jeans, sweatshirt,
and a high, black ponytail. Her eyes are blue.
Both wear N-95’s. Chelsea straightens. Ain’t no trouble.
CHELSEA
(brightly)
Welcome to Archway.
June’s eyes crinkle into a smile. Tommy runs straight for the candy
counter. Chelsea continues her busywork. June gets fountain sodas. Tommy
raids the candy aisle.
CHELSEA
Shopping baskets over there.
The boy turns--only his head. Creepy. Chelsea swallows.
CHELSEA
Right behind you.
Mom (mask down) sips her coffee and glances his way. She’s pretty.
JUNE
Looks like you’re going to need one.
Tommy’s stash of candy is kangarooed in his Bulls jacket. He stares at
Chelsea a few seconds longer before crab-walking his way toward the
stand. Aimlessly dumps his load into the top basket.
9.
Chelsea snickers and turns aside. Thank my lucky stars for busywork. A
NOISE. June’s already at the counter with coffee and a red cherry ICEE.
CHELSEA
What else can I get for you?
June browses the countertop food warming unit.
JUNE
Is the pizza as good as it looks?
CHELSEA
Why I subscribe to every dieting app
there is, yes ma’am.
June chuckles. Chelsea’s heavy in the hips but not obese.
JUNE
They’ve got pepperoni, Tommy. See? It’s red.
Odd. Chelsea conceals her nerves with an all-business grin.
CHELSEA
Will that be one, or two?
JUNE
Two, please.
Chelsea ladles the slices into takeout boxes while Tommy wags an
overstuffed shopping basket toward the counter. June hoists the loot on
the countertop. Chelsea grabs a scanner.
CHELSEA
Let’s see.
(beat)
You like your candy, don’t you?
TOMMY
I eat only red things.
And Mom lets him get away with that?
CHELSEA
Maybe top this off with a red apple?
Tommy groans.
JUNE
That’s a great idea. Where are they?
CHELSEA
Just behind you, on Aisle Two.
Chelsea tries to ignore Tommy’s glare while she HUMS, scans, and bags
enough Red Food Dye #40 to rot out anybody’s tongue.
TOMMY
That’s from Dark Shadows.
Tommy flips up his clip-ons, blue eyes fixed on Chelsea.
CHELSEA
I take it you’ll be back here in January
to see Jack Darrow, huh?
TOMMY
He’s coming to Fan Expo?
CHELSEA
Got the email this morning. How cool is that?
