Dark Quests (Three Screenplays) Read online

  DARK QUESTS

  Three Screenplays

  JUDAS SILVER

  LOST EDEN

  MERLIN’S TOMB

  by

  J.R. Rain

  Acclaim for the novels of J.R. Rain:

  “Be prepared to lose sleep!”

  —James Rollins, international bestselling author of The Eye of God

  “I love this!”

  —Piers Anthony, bestselling author of Xanth

  “Dark Horse is the best book I’ve read in a long time!”

  —Gemma Halliday, award-winning author of Spying in High Heels

  Other Books by J.R. Rain

  STANDALONE NOVELS

  The Lost Ark

  Elvis Has Not Left the Building

  The Grail Quest

  The Body Departed

  Silent Echo

  Winter Wind

  VAMPIRE FOR HIRE

  Moon Dance

  Vampire Moon

  American Vampire

  Moon Child

  Christmas Moon (novella)

  Vampire Dawn

  Vampire Games

  Moon Island

  Moon River

  Vampire Sun

  Moon Dragon

  Moon Shadow

  SAMANTHA MOON

  SHORT STORIES

  Teeth

  Vampire Nights

  Vampires Blues

  Vampire Dreams

  Halloween Moon

  Vampire Gold

  Blue Moon

  Dark Side of the Moon

  JIM KNIGHTHORSE

  Dark Horse

  The Mummy Case

  Hail Mary

  Clean Slate

  Easy Rider (short story)

  Night Run

  THE WITCHES SERIES

  The Witch and the Gentleman

  The Witch and the Englishman

  The Witch and the Huntsman

  The Witch and the Wolfman

  THE SPINOZA TRILOGY

  The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo

  The Vampire Who Played Dead

  The Vampire in the Iron Mask

  THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

  Bound By Blood

  SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS

  The Bleeder and Other Stories

  Vampire Rain and Other Stories

  The Santa Call and Other Stories

  Black Rain: 15 Dark Tales

  Blood Rain: 15 Dark Tales

  SHORT STORY SINGLES

  The Bleeder

  Co-Authored Books

  COLLABORATIONS

  Cursed (with Scott Nicholson)

  Ghost College (with Scott Nicholson)

  The Vampire Club (with Scott Nicholson)

  Dragon Assassin (with Piers Anthony)

  Dolfin Tayle (with Piers Anthony)

  Jack and the Giants (with Piers Anthony)

  Judas Silver (with Elizabeth Basque)

  Lost Eden (with Elizabeth Basque)

  Glimmer (with Eve Paludan)

  The Black Fang Betrayal (with Multiple Authors)

  The Indestructibles (with Rod Kierkegaard)

  THE OPEN HEART SERIES

  with Rod Kierkegaard

  The Dead Detective

  Ghosts of Christmas Present (short story)

  NICK CAINE ADVENTURES

  with Aiden James

  Temple of the Jaguar

  Treasure of the Deep

  Pyramid of the Gods

  THE ALADDIN TRILOGY

  with Piers Anthony

  Aladdin Relighted

  Aladdin Sins Bad

  Aladdin and the Flying Dutchman

  THE WALKING PLAGUE TRILOGY

  with Elizabeth Basque

  Zombie Patrol

  Zombie Rage

  Zombie Mountain

  THE SPIDER TRILOGY

  with Scott Nicholson and H.T. Night

  Bad Blood

  Spider Web

  Spider Bite

  THE PSI TRILOGY

  with A.K. Alexander

  Hear No Evil

  See No Evil

  Speak No Evil

  Dark Quests: Three Screenplays

  Published by J.R. Rain

  Copyright © 2010 by J.R. Rain

  Ebook Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Dedication

  To Lili...a sweet friend.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Author’s Note

  Reading Screenplays

  Judas Silver

  Lost Eden

  Merlin’s Tomb

  Reading Sample

  About the Author

  Author’s Note:

  J.R. Rain here. Although I’m primarily known for my mystery novels and contemporary fantasy novels, I’ve done other writing, too. In particular, screenwriting. Yes indeed, before I ever conceived of Jim Knighthorse or Samantha Moon, I was writing movies for Hollywood.

  Or trying to.

  Yes, I worked hard with various agents, managers and studios, but nothing really came of it, other than many life lessons learned. Hard lessons. Tough lessons. Frustrating lessons. Sigh.

  Anyway, what did come of it were these three screenplays. So, not all was lost, and I can at least look back to the late 90s/early 2000s with some fondness. After all, Judas Silver and Lost Eden were nearly made into movies.

  Nearly.

  Now, they are ebooks.

  Life is interesting.

  Enjoy!

  Reading Screenplays

  Reading a screenplay can take some getting used to. For instance, dialogue in a screenplay is found directly beneath a character’s capitalized name, and all changes of scenery are clearly delineated for the director and actors. Anyway, I’m confident that after a few pages, you’ll comfortably get into the flow of reading a script. I do hope you enjoy the ride.

  A screenplay abbreviation primer:

  INT = Interior

  EXT = Exterior

  V.O. = Voice Over

  O.S. = Off Screen

  POV = A Character’s Point of View

  A BEAT = A slight pause in the dialogue or action

  TIGHT SHOT/WIDE SHOT or any kind of shot = Camera shot suggestions

  JUDAS SILVER

  Copyright © 2010 by J.R. Rain

  All rights reserved.

  Acknowledgment

  A special thank you once again to Sandy!

  Judas Silver

  FADE IN:

  TITLE SEQUENCE

  A Roman silver coin rotates slowly in mid-air...now the single coin explodes into thirty identical coins. They flash across the screen, darting in and out, swirling like thirty silver butterflies on crack. Now the coins finally converge together and spin in a silver vortex of energy. This vortex pulsates with a malevolent force, as if somehow sentient, alive.

  END TITLE SEQUENCE

  Superimposed across the dark screen are the words: “JERUSALEM - AD.”

  EXT. GETHSEMANE – NIGHT

  Judas Iscariot steps from the shadows and approaches a man dressed in white robes. The man is Jesus Christ. Judas moves quickly and embraces Him. The embrace is “The Signal”. Immediately, armed Centurions step out of the shadows and seize the Son of God.

  EXT. HILLSIDE – DAY

  Two crosses have already been erected. We watch as Christ is gruesomely hammered onto a third. The cross is then lifted into place, as Christ cries out, suspended by the nails. The three crosses now dominate the crowded hillside, as a crazed, frenetic crowd watches the macabre scene. Roman soldiers stand guard. From far away, hidden from the crowd, peering around the trunk of a twisted tree,
is a grief-stricken and tormented Judas Iscariot. Judas, wracked with guilt, pulls at his hair and stumbles away.

  INT. JEWISH TEMPLE – DAY

  The gilded doors are thrown wide open. Judas appears in the door, wild-eyed. He rips a leather pouch from his hip—and throws the contents across the marbled floor. Thirty silver coins roll in every direction...

  EXT. ROCKY SLOPES OVERLOOKING THE DEAD SEA – NIGHT

  Judas fastens a rope around the branch of a tree. The branch itself hangs out over a rocky cliff, which drops straight down into the churning black sea, alive with glowing whitecaps. Judas tightens the noose around his neck. He pauses, looks down to the sea below. Finally, he leaps off the cliff, and out into space...

  The rope snaps taught. Judas’s eyes bulge. He kicks once, twice, then swings silently. The water far below him crashes into the rocky cliff.

  INT. HOTEL – NIGHT

  Superimposed across the screen are the words: “LIMERICK, IRELAND”

  Our hero is working his way through the Hotel Shea’s darkened corridors. Dashing and handsome, hair jauntily disheveled. This is Trey Jordan, art thief and relic hunter, wanted in many countries and high on the FBI’s Top Ten list.

  The Hotel Shea looks nothing like a hotel. In fact, it looks closer to Dracula’s castle than anything. And if there was a maid service, they should be fired. The place is dirty and dusty and creepy as hell. Especially at night.

  Trey holds a flashlight out before him. Light and shadows crawl along the ancient wood floors and along the decrepit stone walls. Cobwebs hang everywhere. Rats and mice scurry from the encroaching light. Trey brushes a clinging spiderweb from his face. A fat, black spider scrambles over the web and disappears in a dark nook. Trey shudders.

  A gorgeous blond steps from the shadows behind him, dressed in khakis. As she slides past, she plants a big, wet kiss on his lips, which irritates Trey since he’s in ‘business mode’. Her name is Karen Brown, fellow thief. She speaks in a crisp British accent.

  KAREN

  I’ve always had a fascination with black widows.

  First they seduce their mate, and then they devour

  them. Poetic justice, wouldn’t you say?

  She grins and pats Trey’s smooth-shaven face, and continues forward. Trey stares after her.

  TREY

  (to himself)

  Whatever you say, you crazy bitch.

  He follows her down a narrow hallway that’s lined in thick carpet. Floorboards creak beneath them. Loud snoring comes through some of the heavy closed doors. Just two thieves creeping around in the dead of night.

  Miraculously, the ancient building has been updated with an elevator, which dings to life at the end of the hallway. As it opens, drunken laughter erupts from within. Trey and Karen click off their flashlights simultaneously and slink back into the shadowy recess of a doorway. As they do so, a giggling couple, fawning all over each other, stumble by.

  The couple continues down the hallway, hang a left down a side corridor and disappear, their laughter trailing behind them. When the coast is clear, Trey motions for Karen to follow him. A short while later, he leads the way down a spiraling flight of stone stairs.

  INT. BASEMENT – NIGHT

  Trey stops before a door that says: “Kitchen.”

  TREY

  This is it.

  He tries the handle. Locked.

  KAREN

  I don’t suppose you have a key?

  TREY

  Always.

  He lifts his foot and drives the heal of his boot hard into the lock. Something cracks. He does it again, and again, and soon the damaged door swings open.

  KAREN

  Smooth. I thought world-class thieves picked locks.

  TREY

  Only in the movies. This is how we really do it.

  INT. HOTEL KITCHEN – NIGHT

  Trey leads the way into the darkened kitchen, scanning the room with his flashlight. It’s a big hotel kitchen. Massive stove, pots and pans hanging from the ceiling. And rats. Everywhere. Trey absently shoos them away. One such rat is holding a half-eaten muffin. It stops, devours the muffin defiantly in front of them, then dashes off with the others into a tiny hole in the wall. Karen looks sickened, pale.

  KAREN

  Remind me to make an anonymous call to

  the county health inspector.

  Trey grins, unfazed, and carefully removes a tattered, ancient map from his shirt pocket, shines his flashlight down on it.

  CAMERA TIGHT on the map, which, in fact, appears to be an ancient blueprint of the hotel they’re in. Trey looks from the map to a massive, industrial-sized refrigerator sitting in the far corner.

  TREY

  Behind there.

  KAREN

  Of course. Why wouldn’t it be behind the

  biggest refrigerator?

  TREY

  Quit your bitching and help me.

  Together they eventually manage to push aside the fridge. Once done, Trey shines his light on the decrepit brick wall behind. Trey studies it, shrugs, then lifts his foot and kicks the wall in. The bricks promptly crumble in a hail of dust. Together, the two thieves remove some excess bricks, and soon a dark archway starts to take form in the wall. Without hesitation, Trey is the first through the entrance. Reluctantly, Karen follows behind.

  INT. DARK CHAMBER – NIGHT

  They enter what appears to be a sort of storeroom, lined with heavy stone shelves and strange, rectangular boxes. Trey moves over to one of the long boxes, and uses his hand to wipe away centuries-old dust...revealing a brass nameplate.

  CAMERA TIGHT on the nameplate. It reads: “Martin O’Connell – May He Rest In Peace”

  The long boxes are, in fact, caskets. Ancient caskets. Trey frowns and steps deeper into the room, holding his torch out before him. More caskets materialize out of the darkness. In fact, they’re everywhere. Some stacked on others, some on shelves, some even broken open. Grinning skeletons dressed in tattered clothing stare back at us. Some caskets have simply turned to dust, and whole skeletons lay in bony heaps. Rats scuttle before the light, dashing through dark eye sockets and empty rib cages.

  Trey’s stony face, illuminated by the flickering torch, reveals nothing. He boldly walks deeper into what we now realize is a sort of forgotten mausoleum. Karen stays close behind him, clearly unnerved by the human remains.

  INT. ANOTHER ROOM

  The next room, another long hallway, appears more promising. The caskets are lined up neater, and most are made of stone. Sarcophagi. Trey moves over to the first one, examines it, brushing away the dust at the name plate. He continues doing this, moving down the row, as Karen works the opposite side of the narrow room. Trey comes across one sarcophagus in particular. It’s made of pure white alabaster that seems to radiate white light. He quickly brushes the brass nameplate clean, which reads: “HERE LIES ST. PATRICK, WHO BROUGHT THE WORD OF GOD TO THE UNBELIEVERS”

  Trey motions Karen over. She reads the name plate in the light of the flickering torch and looks up at Trey, clearly pleased.

  KAREN

  Is this it?

  TREY

  Only one way to know for sure.

  Together they remove the heavy lid and lean it on the floor. Trey holds his torch over the now-open burial box. Inside is a skeleton wreathed in leathery skin. Lying across its chest, held in place by bony fingers, is a gnarled wooden staff.

  TREY

  The Staff of St. Patrick.

  KAREN

  It’s just a stupid stick.

  TREY

  A very valuable stick.

  KAREN

  Ten million bucks for a stupid tree branch.

  TREY

  You know what they say:

  a fool and his money...

  KAREN

  So who’s the fool this time?

  TREY

  An Italian multi-nationalist billionaire and

  collector of arcane artifacts. Too wealthy to

  know what
to do with his money.

  Karen reaches into the sarcophagus to grab hold of the Staff, but Trey suddenly grabs her wrist, stopping her.

  TREY

  Careful. According to legend, only those

  pious and humble can touch it.

  KAREN

  Well, someone has to take it.

  TREY

  Unfortunately I’m too good of a thief

  to be humble.

  KAREN

  And I’m about as pious as Howard Stern.

  Trey has another idea. He reaches inside his jacket and removes a pair of rubber latex gloves, tools of the trade for a thief. He holds them up, pleased with himself.

  KAREN

  We’ll see if you’re still smiling in a

  few minutes.

  TREY

  Thanks for the vote of confidence.

  The master thief pulls on the gloves, snapping them in place. He takes a deep breath and reaches down for the Staff...