BRIGHT

Written by

Max Landis

8/13/15

red and blue lights flash in the dark

rushing down streets you recognize

a glimpse of magic, just a spark

the monsters are familiar

but the castles are amiss

you've been here before

but not quite

like this

For JRR Tolkien and David Ayer, who bring worlds to life.
INT. ALVINS’ HOUSE - BEDROOM - AFTERNOON

Scott ALVINS, early 30s, lays shirtless in bed, scowling in

defiance at the golden midday sun shining through the blinds.

Alvins is plain but handsome. His buzzcut is short. He

feels like a cop, not quite as fresh as he was at one point.
He’s a thoughtful man, if perhaps not a genius.

The bedroom is barren, dirty clothes on the floor, white

stucco walls. Cheap housing. He sits up, shaking away the
sleep, deep in thought.

WE FLASH TO

EXT. CITY STREET - DAY - FLASHBACK

A gunshot. And then Alvins races into view, sprinting full

out in his LAPD uniform, chasing a figure running up the
sidewalk ahead of him, in a red sweatshirt.

ALVINS
Stop! Stop now!

The figure sprints on, out of reach, and Alvins gives chase.
A buzzing noise builds until...

BACK TO:

Alvins, sitting on his bed, turns and stares at his alarm

clock, whirring impotently at nothing. He leans over and
turns it off.

INT. ALVINS’ HOUSE - KITCHEN

Alvins, still shirtless in his sweatpants, heads out into the

house; the way we follow is loose, a little shaky. Feels
real, almost like a doc.

Entering the kitchen he sees SHERRI, early 30s, at the sink,

looking through the dishes. She’s pretty; maybe not as hot
as she used to be. She has that air of entitlement; things
should’ve been easier for her.

At least, according to Sherri.

She notices him, speaks without looking up.

SHERRI
There’s a fairy in the bird feeder
again.
 2.

Alvins sighs; the tension between them is palpable. He

doesn’t speak, instead getting a bowl, a carton of cereal,
some milk from the fridge-

SHERRI (CONT’D)
I bet it’s the same fuckin’ one,
too, isn’t it. Cause you didn’t
kill it last time.

Alvins steels himself as he prepares his cereal; his tone

immediately counters her aggression, mellow and even.

He’s been through her shit for a long time.

ALVINS
I thought you were out looking for
a job-

SHERRI
Oh of course. Of course you’d
bring that up-

ALVINS
I’m not “bringing it up,” I just
thought you were looking for a job
today, that’s what you said you-

SHERRI
Okay for your information, I had an
interview this morning.

ALVINS SHERRI
Okay that’s g- I don’t need you to tell me
it’s good, and I didn’t
fuckin’ get it.

ALVINS
Why do you say th-

SHERRI
Cause the woman was a snotty bitch,
I could tell.

ALVINS
Okay.

SHERRI
You’re so fuckin condescending, you
know that? Sophie’s staying at
mom’s tonight, so you gotta give
her a ride. And get the fuckin’
fairy. Kill it this time.
 3.

EXT. ALVINS’ HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER

Still shirtless, but now holding a broom Alvins heads out

into the sunlight of Hyde Park, South Central Los Angeles,
his suburban neighborhood more urban than sub.

Chicano rap tinkles through the air as he heads around the

side of his house. We immediately see the source; two low
riders are parked at his neighbor’s house, a group of Latino
dudes, sagging in white socks, shout to him as he passes.

MIGUEL
Hey, good afternoon officer.

They salute. Alvins laughs, saluting back, but doesn’t slow

down, on a mission.

ALVINS
Good afternoon, Miguel.

MIGUEL
Were was you, were you sleeping all
day, Officer?

ALVINS
In there smoking blunts, homes.

The guys all laugh, as Alvins heads to the back of his house.

MIGUEL
Yo you got a fairy in your bird
feeder, dude.

ALVINS
I know.

Alvins approaches the bird feeder slowly. A dead pigeon lays

on the ground nearby, badly burnt. Alvins stops and thinks,
raising the broom.

He jabs the bird feeder, and the fairy bursts out, screeching
at him; a skinny, sparrow-sized hybrid of lemur and insect,
it hisses like vermin.

MIGUEL
Whoa! Ring the bell ding ding!

Alvins takes a poke at it with the broom, and if flings a

handful of sparks at him!

ALVINS
Ah! Fuck!
 4.

The guys on the low-riders erupt into laughter, but Alvins

ignores them, focusing on the hissing fairy. He fakes left,
then lunges, swatting it off the bird feeder.

It hits the ground hard, and hisses, helpless, injured.

MIGUEL
Oh, whoa dude, police brutality!
Call the uh- call his lawyer, dude!

The guys laugh again, but Alvins takes it more seriously,

advancing slowly, clearly pitying the fairy- it throws sparks
again- he swats it down, and is sprayed by purple blood.

This gets the expected eruption from the onlookers.

INT. ALVINS’ HOUSE - BEDROOM

We watch Alvins get ready for work; he showers off the blood,
shaves, puts on his uniform, checks his gun, his taser, his
mace...It’s all verite, feels almost like a doc.

He sighs, staring at himself in the mirror and again we

FLASH TO:

Alvins chasing the red sweatshirt.

ALVINS
MIKE! MIKE! CATCH HIM, CA-

Alvins stumbles and falls

BACK TO:

He shakes his head, wiping his face.

INT. ALVINS’ HOUSE - KITCHEN

Alvins comes out, performing exactly the same ritual we saw

before; milk, cereal, bowl and...Yep, there it is. His bowl
of forgotten, soggy cereal.

He sighs, setting down the cereal, and picking up a banana.

INT. ALVINS’ HOUSE - SOPHIA’S BEDROOM - SHORTLY THEREAFTER

Alvins is laying on the bed, eating the banana, as SOPHIA,

his young daughter, is packing her backpack.
 5.

ALVINS
You’re only gonna be at Grandma’s
one night, you don’t need to bring
everything.

SOPHIA
Yeah but you never know.

Alvins laughs.

ALVINS
How was school?

SOPHIA
Are you in trouble?

ALVINS
What? I asked how school was-

SOPHIA
Mom says you’re in trouble for
something Mike did is that true?

Alvins sits up, trying to formulate a response.

SOPHIA (CONT’D)
Sylvia at school says that orcs are
stupid, like they’re born stupid.
Did Mike do something stupid and-

Alvins speaks carefully.

ALVINS
Orcs aren’t stupid. They’re just-
they’re different than us. All the
races are different than us, maybe,
but they’re people too, you know,
everybody’s just trying to get
along and be happy-

SOPHIA
Can elves really talk to dragons?

ALVINS
Not unless they go to the zoo, babe-
even then probably chomp chomp-

SOPHIA
Kayla says-

ALVINS
Yo, you gotta stop listening to
Kayla. Kayla sounds like trouble.
 6.

SOPHIA
No she isn’t!

ALVINS
You just meet people, you treat
them how they treat you. You make
your own decisions based on what
you see, right? Don’t let people
tell how to feel about stuff.

There’s a noise from outside, a loud THUNK! Alvins reacts,

quickly getting up.

EXT. ALVINS’ HOUSE

Alvins exits the house, and immediately sees an LAPD Squad

Car clumsily driven up, onto the sidewalk, parked as though
by a drunk driver, one wheel in the lawn.

ALVINS
Oh come the fuck on!

Mike JAKOBY, early 30s, an orc, stands up from the driver’s

side. Like most orcs, Jakoby has green skin, orange eyes, a
bald head and slightly animalistic facial features.

Jakoby is generally friendly faced and easy going, and right

now he’s clearly embarrassed, gently on the defensive.

JAKOBY
Yeah sorry, not- not perfect-

ALVINS
What are you doing? What are you
doing here, man-

ALVINS (CONT’D) JAKOBY

You’re on the fucking curb, The car is fine, look, I’m
it’s not fine, what if you sorry, I was trying to be
scraped the fucking car- helpful, man, gimme a break
here-

SOPHIA
Hi Mike!

Sophia’s come out by the front door.

JAKOBY
Hey Sophia, what’s up rockstar?

SOPHIA
We were packing for grandma’s.
 7.

JAKOBY
That’s cool.

ALVINS
Will you shut up, bro? We’re
dealing with this right now.

SOPHIA
Don’t tell Mike to shut up, he’s a
person too!

JAKOBY
You got an enlightened kid, Scott.

Alvins groans, looking at the front of the car.

EXT. LOS ANGELES CITY STREETS - SHORTLY THEREAFTER

They’re driving. Sophia’s in the back seat, listening to her

headphones. Jakoby’s looking out the window, but Alvins is
quietly seething.

JAKOBY
What?

ALVINS
You’re fuckin stupid you know that?

JAKOBY
Oh c’mon-

ALVINS
No you are, you’re stupid, you know
you’re not supposed to be driving,
orcs aren’t supposed to drive-

JAKOBY
Yeah, okay mom.

ALVINS
You can’t do that shit. What if
they notice the damage to the car,
what then?

JAKOBY
Look man I can drive if I want.

ALVINS
No you can’t, cause you clearly
WANT, but you still can’t drive.

JAKOBY
I can drive fine, dude.
 8.

There’s a beat of silence. What Alvins really wants to talk

about bubbles agonizingly to the surface.

ALVINS
Did you let that kid go?

JAKOBY
What? No, of course not.

There’s a beat. Alvins can’t hold it in.

ALVINS
Did you let that kid go? I know he
was clan-blood-

JAKOBY
I don’t give a shit about clan-
blood. I don’t. I’m not gonna let
go of a perp because he’s green,
Scott, c’mon.

Alvins is quiet.

ALVINS
You better lie better than that if
they put you on the stand, man.

JAKOBY
I’m not lying.

There’s a beat. Alvins looks at him evenly.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
I’m not.

EXT. SHERRI’S MOTHER’S HOUSE - SHORTLY THEREAFTER

Alvins is hugging Sophia goodbye. SHERRI’S MOTHER, 50s,

looks on, while Jakoby hangs back by the car. Alvins notices
that Sophia is crying.

ALVINS
Hey, Sophia, don’t cry, don’t cry.

SOPHIA
Don’t get fired, don’t be stupid.

ALVINS
What? Where are you getting that?
 9.

SOPHIA
Mommy says you’re being stupid and
you’re going to get fired and no
one will support the family and we
won’t have anything to eat.

Alvins can barely contain his anger.

ALVINS
Well you can’t listen to mommy when
she- Mommy doesn’t know what she’s
talking about.

SOPHIA
You’re lying.

ALVINS
No I’m not, I’m not lying. Mommy
just gets-

SOPHIA
You’re lying! You’re lying!

Sophia, crying, runs up towards the house.

Alvins watches her go, frustrated, coming back to the car.

They talk over the hood, Jakoby being gentle.

JAKOBY
Remind me why Sherri isn’t watching
her, tonight?

ALVINS
She’s uh- she’s got a date.

JAKOBY
Bro why are you still letting her
live with you?

ALVINS
Ask me this everyday, same answer-

JAKOBY
Sophia isn’t your daughter.

ALVINS
She is, though.

JAKOBY
I don’t know how to be on your side
when you’re not on your side.

ALVINS
Ain’t that a bitch? C’mon.
 10.

They roll out.

EXT. WATTS POLICE STATION - SHORTLY THEREAFTER

The police station is in a somewhat shitty neighborhood. A

black SUV pulls up out front, and two figures step out, both
in black suits, looking sharp.

They’re FBI. You can smell it. The shorter of them is a

human, standard DC look, squared away features; this is
MONTEHUGH.

The taller figure is lithe, striking, dark skin with

beautiful teal eyes. Like most elves, his features are
nearly human, if perhaps slightly stretched, and maybe too
perfect...barring of course, his pointed ears.

This is BIGGS.

MONTEHUGH
I’m telling you, this is a wild
goose chase, Biggs. We’re gonna be
chasing our tails all night.

Biggs looks around, as though surveying this new territory.

BIGGS
We’ll see.

INT. WATTS POLICE STATION - MOMENTS LATER

Your typical low income neighborhood police station; lobby,

booking, bullpen, you’ve seen it before, if you’re lucky in a
movie, unlucky: real life.

The two FBI agents check in at the front desk. They don’t
notice Jakoby, nervously watching them through the glass in
the bull-pen.

INT. WATTS POLICE STATION - LOCKER ROOM

Alvins comes in, looking around. Guys are changing, half

dressed, talking back and forth.

ALVINS
Hey, any of you seen my partner?

WALLER, 40s, a heavy set bulldog of a man, laughs thickly.

 11.

WALLER
Didn’t you two homos just get in
like ten minutes ago?

ALVINS
He wanders.

POLLARD, late 30s, with the cold, sharklike demeanor of a

beat cop who’d rather be elsewhere, mutters under his breath.

POLLARD
That’s cause you don’t have a
partner, you have a pet.

BROWN, 20s, with a fratboy excitability, joins in, louder.

BROWN
Fuckin’ big, green police animal.
Arf arf.

POLLARD
Yeah maybe if you kept it on a
leash you wouldn’t lose it, right?

They laugh in that stupid, self congratulatory way racists

always do. Alvins plays it off, used to it.

ALVINS
Can I say, fuck you both, though?

POLLARD
Write a blog about it.

WALLER
(ominously)
Once for the Dark Lord, always for
the Dark Lord.

ALVINS
It is remarkable to me that dumb
asses like you can't remember your
wife's fuckin birthday but you can
still hold beef against a whole
race of people for some shit that
happened thousands of years ago.

POLLARD
“Race of people,” right.

There’s a loud banging from them, as CHING, 30s, with a

serious, intelligent demeanor, knocks on the lockers.

CHING
Muster up, night-brief in five.
 12.

INT. WATTS POLICE STATION - BRIEFING ROOM

All the police we’ve met file in, many already seated, some
remaining standing. The vibe is hasty, frank and informal.

Alvins spots Jakoby, and goes and sits with him, Jakoby
immediately leaning over conspiratorially, speaking in a
hushed tone. Again, we feel like a fly on the wall; more doc
than cinema.

JAKOBY
I saw FBI comin’ in, setting up
shop. Had an elf with them and
everything...You don’t think that’s
for us, right?

ALVINS
What? Hell no, stop being
paranoid.

JAKOBY
Right, man, yeah. This’ll be easy,
like you said. I’m just in my head-

ALVINS
I didn’t say this would be easy.

JAKOBY
Right but we got this though, it’s
all good.

Alvins’ response is cut off by CAPTAIN PEREZ, 50s, up at the

front of the room, drumming on the wall for everyone’s
attention. He speaks up.

CAPTAIN PEREZ
Hello third shift, and welcome to
the latest episode of “We Are All
Fucked,” starring you.

This gets some mock cheers and real laughs from the boys.

CAPTAIN PEREZ (CONT’D)

The hiring freeze continues, and
the budget cuts continue right the
fuck along with it. We are
understaffed, you know that, I know
that, we don’t have enough hands.
We’ve got a new class of rookies
coming in one week, but until then,
overtime is all the time. And
tonight, that means we are spread
thin as Royce’s comb-over.
 13.

One of the officers, Royce, laughs.

CAPTAIN PEREZ (CONT’D)

That means- boys, listen up- that
means think twice on engaging, with
anyone, any incident, because we’re
trying to cover three times our
normal area. Back-up will be in
short supply, so call in to area
cars before you call in to
dispatch. Got that?

Affirmative response.

CAPTAIN PEREZ (CONT’D)

It’s forecasted that this heat is
going to last into the night.
Temperature by midnight is expected
to still be up around ninety
degrees Fahrenheit. That makes
this the hottest night of the year,
and we all know what that means,
boiling point in the kennel. Every
idiot in this godforsaken city is
feeling like tonight is his night.
Your job, as always, is to ruin the
evening for the bad guys.

This gets a positive, serious response.

CAPTAIN PEREZ (CONT’D)

Okay, stay sharp out there.

Everyone starts to get up, but then Perez flags down Jakoby
and Alvins.

CAPTAIN PEREZ (CONT’D)

Jakoby, Alvins. A word.

INT. WATTS POLICE STATION - PEREZ’S OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER

Jakoby and Alvins are settling down across from Perez, who
spends a moment just looking at them evenly.

CAPTAIN PEREZ
So one week ago, there was an
incident. I have the uh- I have
the reports, here, pretty basic,
makes you both look like idiots,
but people are thinking maybe
there’s something more here.
 14.

JAKOBY
Bullshit.

CAPTAIN PEREZ
Okay. That’s understandable. But
maybe you run me through it one
more time, yeah?

As they talk, we see BRIEF FLASHES of what they describe.

ALVINS
We arrived outside the 7-11 on
Market and Jefferson after the
silent alarm was triggered
expecting a robbery in progress, no
siren, no lights. Upon
disembarking the vehicle, myself
and Officer Jakoby came under fire
from inside the store, shattering
the front windows of the
establishment, forcing us both to
seek cover. Upon exiting cover the
subject was seen fleeing on foot.

Yep, you guessed it: this is the incident that Alvins has
been flashing back to this whole time. Him, on foot, chasing
a red sweatshirt.

CAPTAIN PEREZ
Describe the subject.

ALVINS
Subject was a young male Orc in a
red sweatshirt, grassy complexion,
possibly teens, possibly early
twenties. Didn’t get a good look.

CAPTAIN PEREZ
Go on. What happened next?

ALVINS
We pursued-

CAPTAIN PEREZ
I want to hear it from Mike, if you
don’t mind.

Jakoby doesn’t miss a beat.

JAKOBY
We pursued subject on foot, up
Market, and then around an alley
headed east.
(MORE)
 15.

JAKOBY (CONT'D)
At this point Officer Alvins
injured his ankle, and I continued
the pursuit solo, cornering the
perp in a dead end.

Captain Perez nods.

CAPTAIN PEREZ
What happened in the dead end?

We see a flash: Jakoby having cornered the young orc in the

red sweatshirt, gun out, yelling.

JAKOBY
The perp charged me, knocked me
back, giving him time to climb up
onto a fire escape. He broke a
window, headed into the building,
and I lost him, and returned to
assist Officer Alvins.

Captain Perez stays quiet a moment, and then draws out a file
photograph from an envelope on his desk. It’s of a fire
escape ladder, in a dead end alley.

CAPTAIN PEREZ
We had the boys measure the
distance. That’s ten feet. That’s
a ten foot vertical jump.

JAKOBY
Subject was nearly six feet tall;
technically it was only about a
four foot jump.

Captain Perez takes a beat.

CAPTAIN PEREZ
Listen, Mike, I like you. I think
you’re a good cop. I’m not just
saying that. So I want you to
think, here: you didn’t let this
kid go because he was clan-blood.
I know the orc clans are-

JAKOBY
Sir, with all due respect, I am not
blooded. I struggle every day of
my life to separate myself from
this antiquated, ignorant ass view
of orcs. We are not all clan
affiliated. I was never blooded,
my parents were never blooded, I
have my teeth filed.
(MORE)
 16.

JAKOBY (CONT'D)
I don’t owe some two bit thug ass
greenie shit, sir.

Captain Perez considers this.

CAPTAIN PEREZ
So your final word is this guy had
a four foot vertical.

JAKOBY
Perp was light on his feet, sir.

Captain Perez shrugs.

CAPTAIN PEREZ
Okay, you’re dismissed. Good luck
out there.

They both get up, but as they go out the door, Perez stops
Alvins, speaking quietly but frankly.

CAPTAIN PEREZ (CONT’D)

Alvins, hang back.

ALVINS
I don’t have anything to add to-

CAPTAIN PEREZ
That’s not what this is about.

Alvins falters, confused, scared.

CAPTAIN PEREZ (CONT’D)

You’re being taken out of
consideration for Detective.

Alvins reaction is immediate; he goes from fine to near tears

instantaneously, almost begging.

ALVINS
No, no, c’mon, don’t do that-

CAPTAIN PEREZ
I can’t promote an officer under
investigation, you know that-

ALVINS
Listen please please don’t do this,
okay, please don’t do this, I need
that job, I just- oh god, please-

CAPTAIN PEREZ
What’s going on?
 17.

Alvins tries to recover.

CAPTAIN PEREZ (CONT’D)

You’re not still living with Sherri-
supporting that kid-

ALVINS
It’s not about that. It’s not
about that. I just need to- shit-
I mean I need the money but I need
to feel like I’m moving towards
something, here. I can’t just...I
can’t keep doing the same thing,
I’m like trapped here. I’m- I need
that job-

CAPTAIN PEREZ
There’s a way.

Perez glances meaningfully out at Jakoby. Alvins is quiet.

CAPTAIN PEREZ (CONT’D)

I know you and Mike have been
together since day one. I know
there’s a connection there. But
it’s time to cut the cord. They’re
gonna hang you both on this one.
Fuck detective, you’ll be lucky if
you’re still on the force at all.
You’ll be fucking blessed if they
don’t sue you.
(long beat)
...Do you think Jakoby let that kid
go? If you do, just...just...

Alvins is silent. Captain Perez sighs.

CAPTAIN PEREZ (CONT’D)

I’m keeping you two active tonight.
Try to keep a low profile, okay?
I’ll see what I can do.
(beat)
Maybe we split you two up, it’ll
look better in the inquest.

Alvins doesn’t know how to react, but then nods.

EXT. LOS ANGELES CITY STREETS - SHORTLY THEREAFTER

Alvins and Jakoby cruise in their cruiser. Alvins is again

lost in thought. Jakoby, not so much.
 18.

JAKOBY
See? I told you bro: easy.

ALVINS
How was that easy?

JAKOBY
I mean- humans, man, you can
read’em sometimes. Like you guys
got little tells when everything’s
gonna be okay.

ALVINS
Like what’s a little tell?

JAKOBY
Like you make this face:

Jakoby makes a bizarre face. Alvins can’t help himself and

immediately starts chuckling.

ALVINS
What face is that, that’s not a
face-

JAKOBY
It’s a normal face that humans make-

ALVINS
Show me another human face.

Jakoby make a bizarre pouting expression.

JAKOBY
This is when a human sees he’s not
gonna get a pancake.

Alvins starts laughing.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
It’s good, right?

ALVINS
I don’t know, it’s true, we do love
pancakes, though.

Alvins hits the radio. It’s “Tell All The People” by The
Doors.

As the boys laugh, we roll over the 101 freeway, headed into
CRENSHAW. The sun is hanging a little lower in the sky,
giving everything an orangey look.

WE SEE
 19.

Brief, beautifully shot images from their patrol in the

orange late afternoon light.

Some of it is familiar: Kids playing in a fountain. Homeless

people walking up the street. Prostitutes. A mom walking
her kid home from the market.

Some of it less so: A tough looking group of Orcs. An ogre

helping his human companion load a car onto a tow truck. A
lizard man sitting silently on his porch, watching them pass.
A dwarf woman hurries along with her groceries, walking a
small dog.

Life in the proletariat. Most of them are unemployed, some

scratching it out in fast food or drugstore retail, still
others taking transit jobs to work in the warehouses east of
the city.

Crenshaw is as Crenshaw was as Crenshaw never has been.

WE SEE THEM

Go about their jobs in Crenshaw. They answer complaints at

low rent housing, issue traffic tickets, help a drunk,
homeless giant get up from where he’s blocking traffic...

You know: cop stuff. Until we

SLAM TO

A bearded homeless man, shirtless, dirty and emaciated,

standing on the roof of a house, screaming his head off.

HOMELESS MAN
A great cloud is coming, a great
black cloud of fire! The Dark Lord
grows closer every day! We may
have forgotten about magic, but
magic has not forgotten about us!

EXT. STREET CORNER - CONTINUOUS

Alvins and Jakoby’s cruiser has pulled up alongside a

Sheriff’s Department car, parked outside the little
ramshackle house.

Alvins and Jakoby approach the Sheriff’s deputy, RAMIREZ,

with sharp, intelligent features, who’s staring up at the
ranting man, expressionless.

HOMELESS MAN
THE DARK LORD’S EYES ARE OPENING!
THEY ARE OPENING!
 20.

ALVINS
Oh great, one of these, huh?

RAMIREZ
Yeah, he’s been pretty unresponsive
about coming down. Looks like a
waiting game.

JAKOBY
High or crazy?

RAMIREZ
Unclear.

HOMELESS MAN
YOU!

The homeless man points directly at Jakoby.

HOMELESS MAN (CONT’D)

Two thousand years ago we fought
him with swords and arrows! Now he
rises again, we will fight with
bullets and bombs! An army of all
9 races fought to give you the
world you take for granted now!
Remember the old ways before
darkness comes again! The clock is
ticking! The minute hand moves
towards damnation!

The cops, kind of in a daze watching him, snap themselves out

of it. Alvins looks to Ramirez.

ALVINS
You got this Ramirez?

RAMIREZ
I mean, yeah, sure. I get off
shift in an hour, we don’t get him
down by then, that’s tough titty
for whoever cleans him up.

A call comes in on the squad car radio.

ALVINS
That’s us. Good luck.

RAMIREZ
Keep your eyes open tonight. Gangs
out in force. Principes De Sangre
are on the prowl. Fogteeth, too.
 21.

ALVINS
Got it.

JAKOBY
Watch out for the Dark Lord, dude.

RAMIREZ
Perp is nine feet tall, burning red
eyes, black armor, holding a
flaming ax, got it.

Jakoby and Alvins laugh as they get into their car.

ALVINS
(into the mic)
Ten one dispatch, what’s up.

DISPATCH (RADIO)
Suspicious noises, activity at 3441
Abrams Street.

ALVINS
Okay, we got it. En route.

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - SHORTLY THEREAFTER

Alvins and Jakoby’s cruiser pulls onto the low income street,
moving slowly. Jakoby clocks a Latino teenager, sitting up
the block on a porch, watching them.

JAKOBY
Spotter. There.

ALVINS
Hiii buddy. How old do you think
he is, fifteen?

JAKOBY
If that. This is it, on the right.

They pull up to the house. It looks run down, two stories,

overgrown yard filled with garbage.

ALVINS
Hooboy.
(into mic)
Officers arriving on scene, 3441
Abrams.

There’s silence from the radio. Alvins sighs, but Jakoby is

just staring at the house.
 22.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
What, what’s up? What do you see?

JAKOBY
Nothin. What’s dispatch say?

ALVINS
Nothing.

They sigh, and climb out of the car, headed towards the
house, again eyeing the spotter across the street.

JAKOBY
Why they always got kids doing the
dirty work out here?

ALVINS
Start’em young. Principes De
Sangre initiate at twelve, bro.

They head through the gate, walking up towards the house.

JAKOBY
Sucks. Even Orc clans wait till
you’re fifteen before you get
blooded.

ALVINS
Different strokes.

JAKOBY
I don’t see it, man, must be a
California thing.

ALVINS
(laughing)
That’s so you man. That’s your
catchphrase.

JAKOBY
I don’t have a catchphrase-

ALVINS
You do though, everything you don’t
agree with it’s like, “must be a
California thing.”

JAKOBY
I’m just trying to soften the blow
cause you got a lot of problems.

ALVINS
Yeah, well I-
 23.

SHOTGUN FIRE ERUPTS FROM THE FRONT WINDOW OF THE HOUSE!

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Fuck me! Holy shit-

Both men scramble to cover in the garbage in the front yard.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Shit go, go!

Alvins and Jakoby run back to their car- the windshield is

SHATTERED by a blast from the window as both of them take
cover, drawing their guns! Alvins pulls the mic to him.

JAKOBY
Oh, what the fuck man, this is bad,
this is bad-

ALVINS
Any nearby units, 3441 Abrams, 11-
99, 11-99, Code Three, Officer
needs help, 245 shooting at
officers with a-
(gunfire)
Fuck! Shit! Shotgun, fuck!

The rear window above them shatters, spraying them with

safety glass!

JAKOBY
Holy fuck! Holy shit!

ALVINS
On three we return, yeah?

There’s another blast, impacting the hood. Jakoby signals to

Alvins silently; 1, 2, 3-

Both stand, keeping close, returning fire into the darkened

window, before diving back to cover. They wait. Silence.
Then, suddenly, a burst of static!

DISPATCH
245 confirmed, local units on
route, hang tight. Do you require
medical assistance?

Jakoby and Alvins are silent, breathing hard.

ALVINS JAKOBY
You okay? Yeah. Okay, okay. You okay?

DISPATCH (CONT’D)
Do you require m-
 24.

Alvins shuts off his radio. Very slowly, he signals to

Jakoby: “sneak a peek.” Jakoby sneaks a peek.

An arm is hanging out of the window. Blood is dripping off

it. It’s motionless. Jakoby shakes his head.

There’s a noise from inside the house. It sounds like a

child crying. Alvins and Jakoby exchange a look.

JAKOBY
Child in danger?

ALVINS
We have to wait for...Fuck. Okay
go low go low go, front door.

Jakoby nods, and the two of them tentatively exit cover, guns
out, strafing quickly towards the house. Alvins clocks blood
dripping down from the sill of the shooter’s window.

INT. 3441 ABRAMS - SECONDS LATER

The house is dark, pitch black- the door is kicked open,

Alvins coming in, flashlight raised, Jakoby close behind.

ALVINS
LAPD! LAPD, weapons down, hands
behind your heads!

Silence from the house. Alvins signals to Jakoby to move

further in, and they do. The house is dark; the late
afternoon sunlight creeps through the windows, playing
through the dust in the air.

They move forward, slowly, carefully, into the gloomy

darkness of the ratty furniture and exposed wiring.

JAKOBY
I smell blood.

ALVINS
Eyes open. Bullet holes in the
walls. LAPD! SHOW YOURSELVES!

JAKOBY
Body.

Legs are sticking out of the door frame into the kitchen...
They advance and...

ALVINS
Wh...oh shit. What is that, what
is that bro?
 25.

The entire top half of the dead man has been BLASTED INTO
ASH, leaving a massive print on the wall; from the waist up,
he is a blackened, charred, skeleton.

Alvins stares at it, blinking, trying to snap himself out of

shock. Jakoby isn’t doing as well.

JAKOBY
Look. Shit dude, look.

Alvins looks, to see that part of the back of the house has
been BLOWN OFF, as though a bomb went off, out into the back
yard.

A orc who’s been half turned to stone, his other half

gruesomely dead, lays on the ground, a pistol dropped next to
him, and another dead man, blown in half, is in the kitchen.

The two cops stare in awe.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
Wh- what the fuck happened here?

Alvins raises his comm.

ALVINS
Be advised. Possible Bright on
scene, Bright premises, possible
Magic User, awaiting confirmation.

The mic immediately blares with multiple different voices;

this clearly draws a big reaction. Alvins turns it off, just
in time to hear...

...a noise.

Both men startle, and then...They push back into the dark
house, moving towards the room from which they were shot at.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Door’s open.

JAKOBY
Got it.

Jakoby gently touches the slightly open door, which drifts

open, revealing the room inside.

INT. 3441 ABRAMS - SHOOTER’S ROOM - CONTINUOUS

The shooter lays sprawled against the window, breathing

shallow, his gun dropped. He’s bloody from his injuries,
laying still.
 26.

ALVINS
Do not move. Do not move.

Alvins advances on him and kicks the gun away, checking the
man’s injuries.

JAKOBY
Is he staying or going dude?

ALVINS
Hey can you hear me? Can you hear
me, man, can you-

The man is muttering something under his breath.

JAKOBY
What’s he saying? Is that Elvish?

DYING MAN
T’rein...Oter...T’lias o’ter...

Suddenly a figure bursts up from hiding, scrambling towards

the door-

ALVINS
SHIT GRAB HER GRAB HER-

The figure rushes out of the room, Jakoby in pursuit-

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - CONTINUOUS

The figure bursts out the front door at a full run with
Jakoby in hot pursuit-

Jakoby dives and tackles the figure, knocking it to the

ground. We see:

It’s a young Elf girl, screaming, frantically struggling,

clutching something to her chest- she snaps at Jakoby-

JAKOBY
Fuck, she’s trying to bite me-

Alvins rushes out to offer assistance in restraining the kid,

who’s trying to keep something away from them.

ALVINS
What’s she got? What’s she
holding!?

Alvins and Jakoby pin the girl down- AND AN ARC OF PURPLE
ELECTRICITY BLASTS UP AND STRIKES THE TELEPHONE WIRES ABOVE
THEM, LIGHTING THEM ON FIRE!
 27.

Jakoby and Alvins jump back, drawing their guns as the little
kid cowers, something clattering to the pavement next to him.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Shit! ....SHIT!

Both cops stare in shock at the object on the pavement. A

reedy white piece of wood, with a black handle and gold
detailing.

The gang spotter, across the street, has watched this entire
incident, wide-eyed. He turns and runs off up the street, at
full speed.

Jakoby and Alvins stare down at the piece of wood.

JAKOBY
Is that...that’s not...is that a...

Yes. It’s a wand.

INT. 3441 ABRAMS - KITCHEN - LATER

The lights flicker on, turned on by Pollard, the imposing

dick cop from earlier. Nearby, is his bulldog partner,
Waller, is sitting down in a chair at the kitchen table.

Alvins leans against the wall nearby. On the table, lays the
wand, lit in the dingy yellow glow. Somewhere outside, a dog
is barking.

Officer Ching from earlier, enters.

CHING
There’s blood on the back porch.
Smells weird, like gasoline.

ALVINS
Gasoline? Jesus christ, what
bleeds gasoline, what’s that mean?

Pollard, Ching and Waller are all quiet, tense.

POLLARD
You said the elf kid...used the
wand?

ALVINS
The kid’s not a bright. The wand
just...went off, or something.
 28.

POLLARD
Okay. So that makes the missing
perp the bright, right? Comes in
here, picks a fight he can’t win,
these guys in the house go back and
forth, the bright runs and forgets
his wand.

CHING
What is the kid saying happened?

ALVINS
The kid isn’t saying anything,
she’s scared shitless. Plus she
doesn’t speak English, only Elvish.
No IDs on any of the dead orcs,
either...They might be her parents,
maybe illegals-

WALLER
Leave that shit to the detectives.

They’re all quiet.

CHING
You ever seen a wand in person?

ALVINS
Sure...yeah. A broken one, in the
Smithsonian.

POLLARD
(long beat)
So what....What are we gonna do
about this?

Everyone’s quiet. Ching and Waller exchange a look.

ALVINS
...What do you mean? We bag the
wand and turn it in, I mean, when’s
CSI get here-

WALLER
I didn’t call in CSI, Pollard, did
you call in CSI?

POLLARD
Nope.

Alvins looks at them, beginning to clock that something is

wrong, and then glances at the door, trying to play it cool.
 29.

ALVINS
What are we talking about here,
guys. C’mon. Ching?

Ching’s silent.

POLLARD
Units are spread thin as hell
tonight. Last thing dispatch knows
was we had the situation under
control. You didn’t call it in.
No wand on the log, Alvins. So the
wand was never here.
(beat)
We’re taking the wand.

Alvins falters, trying to decide whether or not to play cool.

ALVINS
What the fuck are you even saying,
you don’t know how to use a wand-

POLLARD
I know people who know things.

ALVINS
Come the fuck on, this isn’t
happening, this is a joke...

There’s a long beat.

POLLARD
That’s magic. On the table.
That’s whatever you want it to be.
You want a million bucks, you got
it. You want a new life, you want
a bigger dick, whatever you want-

ALVINS
This is a fucking joke, you can’t
steal a wand, that’s...that’s...

CHING
Precinct’s fucked. Two pay cuts,
another one coming-

WALLER
No one’s coming, Alvins.

CHING
Waller, back off. Listen, Scott,
you needs this just as much as us,
right? More, right?
 30.

ALVINS
It’s a wand, Ching-

CHING
Don’t you need money? Aren’t you
supporting that little girl?
How’re you gonna keep that going,
man. You’re under investigation
right now, everyone knows you got
taken out of consideration for
detective because of your partner.

Alvins is quiet for a long time, his eyes bouncing around in

his head, clearly thinking.

ALVINS
What about the kid? I mean...The
kid will-

WALLER
Ain’t gonna be no kid.

ALVINS
...What?

Everyone’s silent.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
You’re saying- what’re you saying
we’re gonna murder a kid?

CHING
Listen-

ALVINS
That’s what you’re saying. Say it
out loud, you’re gonna murder a kid-

POLLARD
We’re not gonna do it. There’s
someone on the way. They’ll take
care of it.

Alvins paces, eyes wide, trying to stay calm.

ALVINS
I won’t let that happen, Jakoby
won’t let that happen, Jakoby’s out
there comforting that kid right now-

WALLER
Both of them gotta go.
 31.

ALVINS
What? What the fuck? You are
talking about killing a kid and a
cop am I going fucking crazy right
now, I’m going fucking crazy-

Alvins tries to leave the room, and Pollard puts an arm in

his way, blocking the doorway.

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - SUNSET - CONTINUOUS

Ching, and Pollard and Waller’s cruisers are parked up on the

sidewalk, lights on, sirens off.

The little elf girl sits on the hood of Alvins and Jakoby’s
cruiser, purple eyes staring through long white blond hair
hanging down over pale skin.

She’s wrapped in a blanket, and Jakoby is comforting her, in

halting, imperfect Elvish.

JAKOBY (SUBTITLE)
We are going to get you out of here
soon. It will be all right.

The girl just cries; she’s clearly traumatized. Jakoby looks

around the street; it’s mostly dark, quiet, but he can feel
eyes on him from the windows of the dirty little houses.

JAKOBY (SUBTITLE) (CONT’D)

We will keep you safe. Are you
ready to tell me your name?

The little girl speaks quietly, through tears.

TIKKA (SUBTITLE)
Tikka. My name is Tikka.
(beat)
We have to get out of here before
she comes back.

JAKOBY (SUBTITLE)
What? Before who comes back?
Before who comes back, buddy?

Tikka has again descended into sobs.

INT. 3441 ABRAMS - CONTINUOUS

The situation inside has worsened, with Alvins pacing,

sweating, back and forth back and forth.
 32.

Waller watches him, his face unreadable, while Ching looks

nervous, and Pollard is starting to look angry.

ALVINS
This isn’t happening, this isn’t
fucking happening, this is a dream
man, this is a bad dream-

WALLER
He’s spinning.

CHING
No, he’s okay, he’s gonna be okay.
He’s gonna catch up to it.

ALVINS
I’m not gonna catch up to shit,
this is stupid, let me the fuck-
YOU DON’T FUCKING KNOW MAGIC!

Alvins shoves Pollard back, and Pollard just laughs, as Ching

immediately gets in between them.

CHING
Whoa. Easy. Easy.

POLLARD
Can I reframe this? Let me
reframe: do you want your little
girl to not have a father, AND
Jakoby dies? Or just Jakoby to
die? Because you’re living in
fuckin fantasy land if you think
you’re walking away, here-

ALVINS
-You’re fucking threatening me?-

WALLER
Yeah you’re catching up real quick
now, real quick-

POLLARD
Who means more to you, your little
girl or your monster? You want her
to get the call that you’re dead in
some crackhouse? The orc dies
either way. This wand is not going
on the books. End of story.

There’s a silence that hangs. We can hear the flies buzzing.

The whine of the old light bulbs and bad wiring.
 33.

WALLER
Gotta be your gun. The kid got
your gun away from you. She got
your gun away from you, shot Jakoby
in the street. We can stage it up
but that’s what happened. The kid
was the bright. The kid got away.
The kid disappeared.

ALVINS
No...come on...

POLLARD
We can fix it so it looks right.
There’s people coming who’ll know
how to fix it, this can work out
good for you, idiot.

CHING
Jakoby fucked you over, you know
he’s lying, man, this is your last
shot to save yourself-

WALLER
You or him. Enough bullshit.

POLLARD
You make this happen, you want to
fucking get through this you use
your fucking brain.

ALVINS
Fuck! Shit!

CHING
You are not making this decision,
okay? The situation is making this
decision. You don’t have to
agonize about this shit, it’s just
the way it worked out.

Alvins stares down, trying to think, frustrated, and we see

him slowly realize there’s no way out.

WALLER
Perfect storm, bro. It’s a perfect
storm.

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - SECONDS LATER

Alvins bursts out of the front door, walking with purpose

towards Jakoby, sweating, shaking his head. Jakoby moves to
greet him, nervously looking up the street.
 34.

JAKOBY
Hey man, where’s back-up? Where’s
CSI? I think that spotter saw the
wand, dude, and the kid is saying
something about getting out of here
before someone “comes back,” I-

Jakoby notices that Alvins is having trouble facing him,

shaking his head, rubbing his face.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
What...what’s going on?

ALVINS
(long beat)
Did you lie on the report?

JAKOBY
...What?

ALVINS JAKOBY
Did you lie on the report, What the fuck are you talking
did you let that kid go cause about?
he was clan blood.

ALVINS
Did you lie? Did you let a fucking
perp go? A perp who shot at cops?
Did you do that?

JAKOBY
What the fuck are you doing right
now, what is this-

ALVINS
Tell me whether you fucking
lied, you did didn’t you, you
let the kid go, cause he was
clan blood-
JAKOBY
Why are you doing this right
now, man, why are you-

Alvins shoves Jakoby, who snarls. Over by the house, Ching,

Waller and Pollard exit, coming out into the front yard,
watching from a distance.

Waller holds the wand. Ching and Pollard flank him.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
What is this, what is going on-

ALVINS
Tell me now!

JAKOBY
Don’t do that- don’t touch me-
 35.

ALVINS
You fucked me, you fucked us both,
you stupid green shit-

Alvins shoves him again, and Jakoby bristles and growls at

him, suddenly menacing, a pissed off doberman, frightening
and animalistic.

Alvins gets further in his face, pressing foreheads with him.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
You fucked my fucking life, you
know that, you fucked my fucking
life up for some fucking thug kid-

JAKOBY
Fuck you, fuck off-

Jakoby’s snarling has taken a dangerous turn. He doesn’t

notice that Alvins unhook his pistol in the holster.

ALVINS
You fucked my last chance you
fucking pigface piece of shit-

JAKOBY
(snapping)
Yeah I did, okay, I let him go, is
that what you fucking wanted to
hear?

ALVINS
I knew it, I fucking KNEW it you
lying sack of shit, blood is
thicker than water-

JAKOBY
It wasn’t about that, I don’t give
a shit about clan-blood! It was
the wrong kid.

ALVINS
(faltering)
W-...What?

JAKOBY
When we came out the store, he
started running cause he saw us but
he was just scared- the real perp
went the opposite direction, but by
the time I realized it was too
late. They both had red
sweatshirts, YOU CHASED THE WRONG
GUY.
(MORE)
 36.

JAKOBY (CONT'D)
They’ll see it in the inquest, when
they pull the surveillance video
from the 7-11! I knew you were on
thin ice and if we bagged the wrong
kid you’d look bad- this shit gets
out it’s a million hits on Youtube,
world’s dumbest cops! Shit, I was
trying to protect you! I didn’t
think this was all gonna fuckin’-
stack up on top of us!

Jakoby shakes his head, trying to calm himself down.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
And you know what, fuck you for
making me tell you that, now, FUCK
YOU SCOTT.

There’s a beat, Alvins staring at Jakoby in dead silence. A

weirdly dead look of calm passes over Alvins’ face.

ALVINS
(quietly)
I need you to stay calm, okay?

JAKOBY
What?

Pollard steps forward.

POLLARD
Time’s up, Alvins. Do it.

JAKOBY
What is he-

It happens so quick you can’t catch your breath:

Alvins draws his gun, firing five shots, cowboy shoot out
style BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG-

Into Pollard, Ching and Waller! HOLY SHIT!

They fall, and Tikka jerks back, screaming.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
Wha- what the fuck-

Jakoby blinks, staring at Alvins in shock and then quick-

draws his own pistol, aiming at Alvins!

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
DROP IT! DROP IT NOW, ON THE
GROUND, ON THE GROUND-
 37.

Alvins tosses his gun as Tikka recoils, screaming and wailing

in fear. Alvins slowly drops to his knees.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
(to Tikka)
Tikka you stay there, stay right
there don’t move!
(to himself)
What the fuck, what the fuck-

ALVINS
Listen to me, Mike, I need you to-

JAKOBY
Shut up, hands on your head!

Alvins complies and Jakoby pushes him down, knee into his
back, to the ground, kicking his gun away from Alvins as he
quickly cuffs him.

ALVINS JAKOBY
Listen to me bro, please- Shut up-

ALVINS JAKOBY
No man, you gotta listen- Shut up!

ALVINS
Stop telling me to shut up, just
fucking listen to me!

JAKOBY
SHUT UP!

Jakoby roughly shoves Alvins into the back seat of the

cruiser, slamming the door.

ALVINS
Jakoby, you gotten listen to me
here, MIKE! MIKE! Come on!

Jakoby grabs Tikka and walks her around to the front of the
car, putting her in the front passenger side.

JAKOBY (SUBTITLE)
Stay here, don’t move.

Jakoby jogs up to the front lawn; Ching and Waller are

motionless, but Pollard has rolled over, and is crawling
towards the house, leaving a trail of blood.

Jakoby rushes to him, turning him over, sitting him up.

 38.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
Hey Pollard, shit man, hang on, I’m
gonna get you help, okay? Keep
pressure on this, keep pressure.

Pollard, dazed, stares up at him. Jakoby checks Ching, and

then Waller. Both dead.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
Fuck, fuck! Shit!

Jakoby heads back to the car, noticing the wand; after a

moment, he grabs it, heading back to the car. He opens the
door, and sticks the wand in under the shotgun rack.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
(into Mic)
Dispatch dispatch, this is a
priority one, we have multiple
officers down, multiple subjects in
custody, and we-

ALVINS
Mike! Hey Mike! Eyes open! Eyes
open! Look!

Jakoby initially ignores Alvins, but then notices what Alvins

is trying to draw his attention to:

Seven young Latino men, either wearing long, baggy white T-

shirts or shirtless and covered in tattoos, have formed a
phalanx, across the entire street.

Jakoby stares at them, trying to process. The young spotter

we saw earlier is visible behind them. Everything’s cast in
a faint yellowy orange light from the setting sun; the menace
is palpable.

SALINAS, clearly in charge, speaks; his voice is friendly,

but dripping with poison.

SALINAS
Hey ese. Hi. Buenos noche.

JAKOBY
Sir, you and your friends need to
stop advancing, and back up right
now for me, this is an active crime
scene, it’s-

SALINAS
Why, uh, why the police shooting
each other, homes?
 39.

JAKOBY
Sir you and your friends need to
back up, right now

The Príncipes de Sangre begin slowly moving to loosely

encircle them. Jakoby looks over to Pollard, but now the
Principes are closing in.

SALINAS
Another question here, um, bitch,
is it true, escuché un rumor that
there might be a wand around here.

ALVINS
We have to get out of here, now.
Mike, we have to-

JAKOBY
(whispering)
Shut up, just shut up.

SALINAS
And I thought, “me parece una
locura,” right? That’s crazy.
There’s no wand, right?
(smiles)
But then we walk up on cops
shooting cops, that’s some serious
shit, so-

Jakoby, noting how close they’re gotten, turns and gets into
the car, behind the wheel, slamming his door closed.

JAKOBY
(to Tikka)
Tikka, listen, we’re gonna be fine,
stay calm.

They have completely surrounded the car. Salinas leans down

into the window, and taps it, clocking the wand.

SALINAS
Hey, sir, excuse me sir, is that
the wand right there? Cause we’d
appreciate it if you could give
that to us, man.

JAKOBY
(into mic)
We have multiple aggressive
subjects on scene, back-up urgently
requested-
 40.

ALVINS
We have to go, Jakoby, DRIVE!

JAKOBY
We can’t leave Pollard!

ALVINS
He wanted me to kill you Mike, you
need to-

THE WINDOW NEXT TO JAKOBY’S FACE SHATTERS AS IT’S HIT WITH A

CROWBAR! The Principes begin TRASHING THE CAR, attacking it
from all sides. The car was already fucked up, now it’s
getting totally destroyed.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
They’re gonna kill us! Go! GO!

Jakoby starts the car and slams on the gas, triggering the
lights and sirens. The Principes who’d been standing on the
car topple off and they go swerving-

UP THE STREET

But Jakoby, who’s already a bad driver, is hampered by his

panicked state and shattered windshield, swerving wildly-
right, left, right-

Tikka is screaming in fear, Jakoby breathing hard- Alvins

leans right up to the glass.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Slow down man, slow down, you gotta-

The wand has started to glow as Jakoby presses the gas.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Mike! Snap out of it! You gotta-

The wand SUDDENLY FLOATS INTO THE AIR, YANKING BACKWARDS-

THE CAR PLOWS INTO...NOTHING, THE FRONT OF THE CRUISER

COMPACTING LIKE IT JUST HIT AN INVISIBLE BRICK WALL.

And then, silence. In the car, the wand stops glowing.

The cruiser sits in the middle of the street, surrounded by a

cloud of debris.

Night has begun to fall over South LA.

 41.

INT. WATTS POLICE STATION - SIDE OFFICE

Biggs, the FBI elf we saw earlier, sits with his feet up on a
desk in an empty office, bouncing a ball against the wall.
They’re clearly freshly moved in, and not staying long.

He sighs, and checks his cell phone, when Montehugh, his

human partner, leans in.

MONTEHUGH
We might have something.

Biggs perks up, and raises his eyebrows: “Go on.”

MONTEHUGH (CONT’D)
There were some weird inter-car
calls; emergency, possible
homicide, officers down, but the in
feed to dispatch was so
disorganized we’re not sure what-

BIGGS
Why’s that our guy?

MONTEHUGH
We got an inter-officer all channel
communication said there was a
possible bright on prem-

Biggs sits up, interested.

BIGGS
We have an address?

MONTEHUGH
Yeah. It’s at the house-

Before he can finish, Biggs has sprung to his feet, moving

quickly, efficiently.

BIGGS
Get your jacket.

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - TWILIGHT - CONTINUOUS

The soft blue white of early night is settling onto south Los
Angeles, stray cats wander, and all else is still. Almost.
Pollard has dragged himself up onto the porch, in agony, and
is fumblingly trying to dial his iPhone.

The touch screen isn’t working, smeared with too much blood.
 42.

Footsteps slowly approach; a car has pulled up out front, and

someone has gotten out, walking slowly, deliberately, towards
Pollard, stepping over the bodies of Ching and Waller.

Pollard looks up, confused, and sees GIBSON standing in the

front yard.

GIBSON’s age is indeterminate; could be anywhere from late

twenties to mid forties. Her gender, too, is also barely
noticeable; her hair is cropped short, she wears androgynous
clothes...

Her face has a seemingly permanent look of worry and concern,

that’s reflected slightly in her voice. Everything she does
is weighted with thought, meaning and intent, down to the
smallest, imperceptible movement.

There’s something...odd about her. She feels like a shark.

Behind her, by the car, are PARSONS, a big guy with a rifle,
and DENVER, smaller, with an earpiece in.

Gibson notices Alvins gun, laying on the sidewalk where he

tossed it. She walks calmly over, putting on gloves, and
then reaches down and gingerly picks it up.

Pollard, who’s been listening to her move around, forces

himself up.

POLLARD
G...Gibson?

GIBSON
Look at this mess. Parsons,
Denver. Let’s get him inside.

INT. 3441 ABRAMS - KITCHEN - MOMENTS LATER

Parsons and Denver gently set Pollard down in a seat at the

kitchen table, across from Gibson. He groans in pain. She
looks at him silently for a time.

GIBSON
You going to be all right?

POLLARD
(in agony)
What? F- Fuck no, I’m...help me.

Gibson looks to Parsons.

GIBSON
Call an ambulance.
 43.

Parsons nods, heading back outside.

GIBSON (CONT’D)
(beat)
Where’s the wand?

POLLARD
They took it...they took
it...fuckers shot me!...

GIBSON
Describe it.

POLLARD GIBSON
Wh...what? The wand.

POLLARD
S’white...gold...black handle...

GIBSON
“They” who took it being the first
responder cops, yeah?

POLLARD
That’s...that’s right...Gang...
chased them off...

GIBSON
A gang chased them off? Humans?
Did they know about the wand?

Pollard just groans. Gibson sits, contemplating, then:

GIBSON (CONT’D)
Huh. Okay. So it might be with
the gang...might be with the cops.

Gibson looks to Denver.

GIBSON (CONT’D)
Any chatter? Responding back-up
units, dispatch activity, anything
like that?

Denver gives a tiny shake of his head. Gibson sits thinking,

as Pollard bleeds onto the floor, drip...drip...drip...

GIBSON (CONT’D)
They left in their car. Is there a
unit tracker in your cruiser?

POLLARD
Yes.
 44.

GIBSON
Okay. We’ll find him that way.
We’ll get this back in order.

She shows Pollard Alvins’ gun.

GIBSON (CONT’D)
Is this the gun he shot you with?

POLLARD
Yes.

Gibson shoots Pollard in the head.

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - MOMENTS LATER

Gibson exits, straightening herself, passing Parsons, who is

dragging Ching and Waller’s bodies behind the garbage on the
front lawn, as she heads across the street to the house where
Jakoby saw someone in the window earlier.

She knocks on the door. There’s a rustle from inside, and we

can hear muted voices.

GIBSON
(loudly)
LAPD Detective, open up.

She takes out an LAPD badge and holds it up to the peephole.

More muted voices, and then, after a beat...

The door opens a crack, still chained, revealing an ELDERLY

MAN peering out.

GIBSON (CONT’D)
Can I ask a few questions? More
units are going to be here soon, I
don’t want them to bother you too
and keep you up all night.

Hushed discussion from inside, and then they open the door.

INT. ELDERLY COUPLE’S HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER

The house is covered in pictures, dust, memorabilia. It’s

clear they don’t go out much. Gibson has come in, taking out
a note pad, as the ELDERLY MAN and ELDERLY WOMAN talk.

GIBSON
They were shooting at each other?
 45.

ELDERLY MAN
That’s right.

ELDERLY WOMAN
We’ve lived here for thirty years,
we’ve never seen anything like
that.

ELDERLY MAN
The officers ran, but it was the
orc driving-

GIBSON
The orc was the one who shot the
other cops?

ELDERLY MAN
No, that was the white man- the
other one, he did it and the orc
cuffed him-

GIBSON
The orc cuffed him?

ELDERLY WOMAN
That’s right. He seemed surprised
by it- he seemed very-

GIBSON
Huh. And this purple light you saw-

ELDERLY WOMAN
It was only for a second. Like a
big flash!

Gibson stands quietly, thinking.

ELDERLY MAN
We called earlier when we’d heard
the banging from in the house, we
don’t- we don’t like to get
involved in things like this, but
we just thought- you know someone
might be in danger. But then when
it all went wrong with the cops-
killing the other police officers
we called again, we tried, but 911
put us on hold.

GIBSON
Yeah, it happens that way. Is
there anyone else in the house?
 46.

ELDERLY MAN
No, our grandson is staying at his-

Gibson raises Alvins’ gun and shoots the elderly couple dead.

This person is not a police officer. There’s blood in the

air...and the animals have come out to hunt.

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - MOMENTS LATER

Gibson closes the door to the elderly couple’s house, and

walks briskly back to where Parsons is hosing the blood off
the front walkway of 3441 Abrams.

Denver has pulled the two police cruisers off the road, into
the driveway, and shut off their lights, and is in the
process of pulling a trap over them.

Both men look to her.

GIBSON
They didn’t get far. Keep your ear
to the radio. Hey, Denver, cover
our car, we’ll roll in a cruiser,
pull the tracker.
(beat)
Let’s start looking.

EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - TWILIGHT

Alvins’ and Jakoby’s squad cruiser sits wrecked in the middle

of the street. Up at the intersection, a few Principes jog
up, clearly looking around, and then spot the cruiser.

One of them starts to run towards it, but Salinas catches him
by the collar, stopping him.

SALINAS
Espera me, espera me.

He reaches into his belt line, and draws out an uzi. He

takes a beat, aiming carefully, and then opens fire on the
wrecked car, punching dozens of holes through the already
destroyed vehicle.

SALINAS (CONT’D)
Okay, go, go.

They advance on the wreck...only to find it empty.

SALINAS (CONT’D)
SHIT! FUCK!
 47.

Salinas peers in, touching the divider window between the

front and back seat. His fingers come away wet.

SALINAS (CONT’D)
Blood. BLOOD!

He holds up his hand to the other Principes. Dogs are

barking. Lights are on in houses. But no one is coming out.

PRINCIPE LIEUTENANT
Salinas man, we gotta get the fuck
out of here, man-

SALINAS (SUBTITLE)
If more police were coming they’d
be here by now. They got no car,
no way out, and they’re bleeding.
They ain’t gonna call an uber.
(English)
It’s the wild west tonight, ese.

PRINCIPE THUG
So what do we do?

SALINAS
Call more guys, call in everybody
you can. They’re dirty fuckin
cops, they’re still here, they
can’t get far. We find them before
anyone else. Go. ORALE! ORALE!

The Principes all start taking out their cell phones,

spreading out in groups of two, dialing.

Salinas steps up onto the hood of the cop car, and smashes
the police-light bar with his baseball bat.

EXT. ALLEY BETWEEN APARTMENTS - CONTINUOUS

As Salinas wales on the car, we move to reveal Tikka, being

held tightly by Jakoby, a hand over her mouth, both of them
crouched behind a dumpster.

In Jakoby’s other hand, he holds the shotgun from the squad

car’s shotgun rack. Alvins lays on the ground next to them,
cuffed, a bloody cut on his forehead from the crash.

The wand is tucked into Jakoby’s belt. Jakoby peeks out

around, at where Salinas is getting off the car, headed up
the street.

ALVINS JAKOBY
Do not do anything. Shut up man.
 48.

ALVINS JAKOBY
Seriously don’t- I’m not going to do shit,
shut up.

Salinas heads off up the street. Jakoby sits up, thinking,

and then starts at a noise, clearly nervous; his kind, teddy-
bear personality is not built for this level of intensity.

ALVINS
Uncuff me bro. Uncuff me-

JAKOBY
Hell no, shut up dude-

Jakoby talks to Tikka, who looks at him with pleading eyes.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
Are you okay? Stay quiet, we’re
gonna figure it out. What the fuck
did the car hit!?

ALVINS
It’s the wand, man, it has to be;
some kind of binding spell, stops
it from getting too far away from
its owner- listen, Mike you have to
uncuff me, there’s blood in my
eyes, man-

JAKOBY
Get up. Come on. Tikka, stay
behind me.

Jakoby roughly pulls Alvins to his feet, dragging him as they

head the other way down the alley between the houses, to...

EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - CONTINUOUS - NIGHT

Another low rent, torn up street in the hood. Several street

lights are burnt out. We can feel the heat in the air.

ALVINS
We got to get off the street Mike.
We go into a house or something-

JAKOBY
(whispering)
Stop fucking talking!

There’s noise from up the street: Principes are coming, but

still four blocks away.
 49.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
Shit...

The Principes see them, shouting out, and starting to run

towards them-

ALVINS
Fuck!

Alvins pulls away, rushing up a front yard to a little ruddy

house, where, cuffed, where he crashes into the garage door,
before stomping the padlock that latches it shut.

Jakoby is frozen to the spot, watching, as Alvins leans

against the metal, using his body weight to slowly slide up
the garage door.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Come on! Come on, now!

Alvins drops and crawls under the garage door.

JAKOBY
Hey! Stop! Damn it Scott-

Tikka breaks free of Jakoby, and rushes to follow Alvins

under the garage door.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
What, seriously!? Fuck!

Jakoby reconsiders confronting the Principes, and turns,

running and rushing under the garage door into

INT. GARAGE - CONTINUOUS

The garage is cluttered and dusty, claustrophobic, used for

storage and filled with junk. Jakoby rolls in, and pulls
closed the door, before standing and pulling the cord of the
light, casting the room in a disgusting yellow haze.

Alvins, blood all over his face from the cut on his forehead,
is leaning heavily against a stack of junk. Tikka cowers in
the corner.

ALVINS
(yell-whispering)
You uncuff me RIGHT FUCKIN’ NOW
MIKE, I swear to god I’m gonna lose
my shit.

Jakoby paces back and forth, nervous, shaking his head. The
two of them go back and forth in hushed tones.
 50.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
If you have ever trusted me, I need
you to trust me right now-

JAKOBY
What is going on, man, this is too
much- you killed Ching, dude, why,
why-

ALVINS
I will explain, I can explain but
you gotta take these cuffs-

Tikka holds a finger to her lips.

TIKKA
Shhhhh.

Both men go quiet, listening. Outside, they can hear

approaching voices. Jakoby goes immediately to Alvins and
uncuffs him, handing him his pistol.

Alvins shoves Tikka back from the door, as Jakoby yanks the
chain, turning off the light. They crouch, next to the door,
silent, Jakoby with the shotgun, Alvins with the pistol.

They whisper back and forth.

JAKOBY
Fuck, man, the lock.

ALVINS
What?

JAKOBY
The lock’s on the ground out there.

Voices approach outside. Closer.

Alvins repeatedly has to wipe his face, blinking blood out of

his eyes, trying to stay ready. He’s clearly woozy from the
hit to the head during the crash. This is bad.

They wait. They wait.

The voices pass. They fade.

Jakoby lets out a shuddery exhale.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
Give me the gun.
 51.

Alvins just stares at him for a moment...then hands it over.

FLASH IN ON:

The light bulb in the garage turns back on, moments later.

Alvins is sitting against the wall, as Jakoby is cleaning the

cut on his forehead from the crash. Tikka stands in the
corner, drawing pictures in the dust on an old mirror.

Alvins is shaky, slightly hyperventilating.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
Stay still, bro.

ALVINS
I’m shaking, my fucking heart is
racing, jesus christ-

JAKOBY
Just finish what you were saying.

ALVINS
They just turned, man- they were
like wolves, like fuckin animals-

JAKOBY
When you came out there, you had a
look in your eye. Like you hated
me. Like I don’t know what.

He finishes putting the bandage on Alvins’ forehead.

ALVINS
Mike...what the fuck are we gonna
do, man. What the fuck are we
gonna do-

JAKOBY
Did you really...did you really
believe I let that kid go cause he
was an orc?

Alvins recovers from his mini breakdown.

ALVINS
I don’t know. I don’t know what I
thought. I don’t know-
 52.

JAKOBY
I can’t believe that shit man. You
know “real” orcs don’t give me any
respect, you know I ain’t blooded
so they treat me like I’m nothing,
since I was little kid. Shit dude
you’re the only motherfucker who I
get any respect from and you just
shot a bunch of fuckin’ cops.

ALVINS
That was me respecting you.

Jakoby stares at him for a moment, then laughs darkly,

shaking his head. This situation: fucked.

JAKOBY
So what do we do? Who do we call?

ALVINS
Can’t call the station, man.

JAKOBY
Well then general dispatch, get a
ride out of here on an ambulance or
a fire truck-

ALVINS
Get a ride where. Three dead cops,
my gun, we are not in a good spot
here bro. Plus the wand will stop
us, just like it did the car-

JAKOBY
Then we leave the wand-

ALVINS
Leave the wand? Even if they don’t
have a bright, dude, you took
history class. In the wrong hands,
dude, that’s anarchy. That’s
bodies on the streets. That’s all
of LA on fire, bro.

JAKOBY
I...shit. Bro you need to say
something positive right now.

ALVINS
...Can’t lie, you look pretty bad
ass with the shotgun.

Jakoby laughs.
 53.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Shit, Rodriguez. We call
Rodriguez, if he’s still on duty,
maybe he can-

Tikka speaks up, startling them both.

TIKKA (SUBTITLE)
They hurt her but not enough. She
will come looking for her wand. We
must go.

ALVINS
What’d she say?

JAKOBY (SUBTITLE)
(ignoring Alvins)
Who will come looking?

She points at the wand in Jakoby’s belt, silently, and then:

TIKKA (SUBTITLE)
(whispered)
The witch.

ALVINS
(off Jakoby’s reaction)
...what...what’d she say?

There’s a noise from outside. All of them look to the door.

There’s a beat of silence, and then another noise.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Shit GO GO-

All of them scramble to the door into the house, Jakoby

pulling Tikka.

EXT. GARAGE HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Ten Principes have gathered, all armed, outside the house,

Salinas out front, listening.

PRINCIPE THUG
This is-

SALINAS
Shh. Shh man.

Salinas bends down and picks up the lock, glancing at it and

tossing it aside, before peering at the house. He gestures
to the other Principes to start surrounding it.
 54.

INT. GARAGE HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Alvins and Jakoby are moving slowly, silently, through the

dark house, keeping Tikka between them, when they are
startled by a LATINO SINGLE MOM, 30s, in her pajamas.

She speaks in a choked, sobbing whisper.

SINGLE MOM
Por favor, no me hagas daño, por
favor no me hagas daño-

ALVINS
We’re not gonna hurt you, stay
quiet, get quiet right now-

In the next room, her baby starts crying. Alvins and Jakoby
exchange a look, Tikka perking up in fear.

ALVINS (SUBTITLE) (CONT’D)

Go in there, quiet the baby.

The single mom gasps in response. They hear a noise from

outside, and move away from the windows, following her. The
baby is screaming louder and louder.

Jakoby stops the woman from going into the room, and reaches
in carefully, gently dragging the crib away from the
shuddered window, towards the door.

The woman grabs up the baby, as it screams even louder.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Shut your fucking baby up right
now, shut that fucking baby up
right now-

SINGLE MOM
Lo siento, lo siento-

The baby crying is intensifying, louder and louder. Alvins

speaks in a desperate whisper.

ALVINS
Don’t fucking apologize, shut that
fucking baby up right now, SHUT IT
UP RIGHT NOW-

The mother frantically shushes the baby; it’s not working.

Jakoby looks to Alvins, frantic, and then Alvins, out of pure
instinct, pushes the woman to the ground.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Stay low, don’t m-
 55.

THE PRINCIPES OPEN FIRE ON THE HOUSE, the windows shattering-

Jakoby and Alvins duck down, Jakoby sheltering Tikka-

ALVINS (CONT’D)
No cover, just go go go-

As bullets strike around them, Alvins and Jakoby make a break

for the back door- Jakoby bursts through to-

EXT. GARAGE HOUSE - BACKYARD - CONTINUOUS

Jakoby bursts out into the backyard, knocking the door nearly
off the hinges just as a Principe emerges from the side of
the house, firing at near point blank range-

He misses twice- Jakoby fires the shotgun, blasting down the

Principe- Alvins emerges, pulling Tikka, to see Jakoby
staring in shock at the body-

ALVINS
MIKE COME ON COME ON!

Alvins pulls Jakoby, snapping him out of it, and the three of
them rush through the back gate out into the

ALLEY

Behind the house, and now we can hear Principes yelling,

Alvins turns to see two of them exiting the fence and fires
once, sending both of them scrambling back to cover-

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Get Tikka, get Tikka-

Jakoby scoops up Tikka as they rush out onto

EXT. ANOTHER SUBURBAN STREET - CONTINUOUS

But we can already hear the Principes rushing to follow them.

Up the street, we can see cars parked out front of a house
party.

We can hear the thumping bass, see people hanging out in

front; it’s a summer party, to escape the heat; girls are
being hosed down in bikinis, drinking, having a good time.

ALVINS
There, go go!

They run, Jakoby carrying Tikka- Tikka, begins screaming,

seeing the Principes emerge from the alley behind them, all
sprinting, like cheetahs closing in on the Serengheti.
 56.

There’s two gunshots, and Alvins turns to try to return fire,

but is IMMEDIATELY SPUN BY A BULLET IMPACTING HIS LEFT ARM.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
AGH FUCK! FUCK!

He staggers badly, but doesn’t stop running.

JAKOBY
Scott!?

ALVINS
KEEP GOING!

The people at the house party are looking up now, confused:

we can see now, they’re mostly orcs. They don’t look pleased
to see the cops-

But then a Principe bullet strikes the front porch, and

several of them draw guns, yelling expletives and firing at
the Principes-

Alvins and Jakoby run straight past them, into-

INT. FOGTEETH HOUSEPARTY - NIGHT

There are a few humans, but it’s mainly orcs in here,

claustrophobic, dark, and too loud. As they push through
people, they end up in a crowded living room, filled with
people dancing-

But Alvins’ arm is slick with blood, and he accidentally

smears it all over a girl, who screams; she can barely be
heard over the music, but people are noticing-

The orcs begin to roughly shove Alvins around- he’s stumbling-

Jakoby sees one of them draw a knife- Jakoby covers Tikka’s
eyes with his hand-

DRAWS OUT HIS PEPPER SPRAY AND SPRAYS THE ENTIRE ROOM. TOTAL
CHAOS ERUPTS FOR A MOMENT BEFORE-

EXT. FOGTEETH HOUSEPARTY - BACK OF THE HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER

Jakoby, dragging a nearly blinded, bloodied Alvins and a

screaming Tikka, comes crashing out a side door of the house,
looks left, looks right, and then pulls them both away...

Running off down another alley, into the night.

Catch your breath.

 57.

EXT. SQUAD CAR WRECK - NIGHT

Gibson, Denver and Parsons stand in silence looking at the

wreck of Jakoby and Alvins squad car. Gibsons circles the
car, gazing at it silently.

She looks in a few different directions, before looking to

the alley, and then stops, noticing something on the ground,
heading that direction:

Footprints. In black, iridescent blood, like gasoline.

GIBSON
Mmh.

PARSONS
What do you make of that?

GIBSON
The bright. Looking for the wand.

PARSONS
...This change anything?

GIBSON
Well, it means we’re not the
biggest shark in the water. So we
have to be the smartest.
(starts back to car)
Keep your ear locked to the radio.
There will be a mistake.

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - NIGHT

Biggs and Montehugh’s car pulls up to the house, to see a

police cruiser already parked there. Biggs gets out, to see
BROWN (remember him, the other douche bag cop from the
station?) already there, talking on his cell phone.

He quickly hangs up as Biggs approaches.

BIGGS
What’s the deal here?

BROWN
Sir this is LAPD business, we have
an active crime scene-

BIGGS
(flashing badge)
FBI, Magic Division, a little birdy
told us there was a bright on scene-
 58.

BROWN
Well- I- uh, yes, look, but it’s
all fucked, man-

BIGGS
Clarify “fucked” for me Lieutenant?

BROWN
Well there was some sort of
altercation with the responding
officers, we got three officers
dead, two missing, and it looks
like there was some kind of
situation across the street, too.
Someone tried to clean up the crime
scene, squad cars in the driveway
with dead bodies in them, plus they-

BIGGS
Where’s the bright come into this?

BROWN
The four bodies from the original
call- they’re all dead, all crazy
magicked the fuck up-

BIGGS
Shit. Shit!

Biggs takes off running across the street, all the way up the
block to where an old, fucked up van is parked. He touches
the back door-

And the door DROPS OFF, clattering to the ground. Inside are
two OBLITERATED BODIES, one blasted apart into what looks
like red spider-webs, the other shattered like glass.

It’s clear immediately from the equipment; this van was an

FBI listening post. Brown catches up to him.

BROWN
H- holy shit-

BIGGS
Montehugh! We have agents down!
Call it in, now, but keep it quiet!

BROWN
W- Why would ya’ll be watching this
dump in the middle of nowhere?

Biggs starts back towards the car, Brown following him.

 59.

BIGGS
This house held members of the
Shield Of Light, an extremist group
convinced of the return of the Dark
Lord and the coming of a second age
of magic.

BROWN
But- I mean, they’re just nuts,
right? They’re just crazy.

BIGGS
Yeah. They’re just crazy...Until
someone kills four of them and two
FBI agents with a wand. Then: I’m
not so sure.

Biggs walks from Brown to Montehugh, who’s on his cell by

their SUV. Brown shrinks back towards his car.

BIGGS (CONT’D)
When’s the soonest we could get a
helicopter here?

MONTEHUGH
LAPD, in the air in fifteen minutes-

BIGGS
Not LAPD. One of ours.

MONTEHUGH BIGGS
With no active Fed business? Shit.
Gonna be a stretch.

BIGGS (CONT’D)
We can’t call in back-up from the
locals when the locals are this
involved. Some dirty ass Rampart
ass shit is going down out here.
(looks around)
I’ll check the house. Pull the
recordings from the van, and call
California Central, see if we can
get some kind of strike team here.

MONTEHUGH
You know that’s a long shot.

BIGGS
There’s a wand on the streets. All
bets are off.
 60.

Biggs heads towards the house, as over by his cruiser, Brown

is doing something at the side of his car. We see that he
has Pollard’s bloody, discarded cell phone.

He tosses it onto the seat, pushes his jacket over the phone
to hide it, and then carefully talks on his own cell.

BROWN
Hey, we have problems here. Big
problems. Who’s down to help out?

INT. SHERRI’S MOTHER’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Alvins’ daughter Sophia lays under a blanket, in lap light,

drawing a picture with crayons. Her grandmother enters,
seeing her.

SHERRI’S MOTHER
Sophia? I thought you were asleep.

SOPHIA
I’m sorry, I was just making a
picture for my dad.

SHERRI’S MOTHER
Okay, lights out baby, sleep tight.

SOPHIA
Okay grandma.

She finishes the picture. It’s a crude picture of Alvins and

Jakoby and Sophia. It reads “DADDY SORRY I WAS MEAN TO YOU I
LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND EVERYTHING WILL BE OK.”

She turns and clicks off the light.

EXT. GAS STATION - ROUND BACK - NIGHT

Drips and splatters of blood lead us around to the back of

the gas station, where Alvins sits slumped against the wall,
bandaging his own arm.

Tikka is sitting against the wall next to him, asleep.

INT. GAS STATION STORE - CONTINUOUS

Jakoby is getting water bottles. He goes to the front, where

the Clerk is, and puts down the bottles. After a beat, he
sees a candy bar, and gets that, too.

He pays, and then notices the clerk is staring.

 61.

CLERK
Are you a real cop?

Jakoby falters, and then squints at the clerk with contempt

and leaves.

CLERK (CONT’D)
Hey man, no offense! No green cops
round here!

EXT. GAS STATION - ROUND BACK - NIGHT

Jakoby approaches Alvins, giving him a water bottle, and

squatting down next to him.

JAKOBY
Rodriguez says he’s almost here.
He sounds pissed off.

ALVINS
Poor Rodriguez.

Jakoby notices Tikka’s conked out.

JAKOBY
How the fuck is she sleeping?

ALVINS
Adrenaline. She’s wiped out. She
just shut right down. Used to
happen to Sophia all the time.

JAKOBY
...Your arm okay?

ALVINS
My arm is fucked.

JAKOBY
Can you move it?

ALVINS
I can move it.

Jakoby and Alvins “cheers” with their waters.

JAKOBY
Running into the party, man, I
don’t know about that. That was
bad. That was bad shit-

ALVINS
Did you see another option?
 62.

Jakoby shakes his head.

JAKOBY
Hey, Alvins...You don’t think...I
mean you remember what we were
talking about right before all this
shit started?

Alvins is quiet.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
That old bum...Like you don’t think
there’s a chance we’re...in a
prophecy right now-

ALVINS
It was just a coincidence. Shit
happens. Shit is happening.
(long beat)
Why’d you choose me dude?

JAKOBY
What?

ALVINS
I always wanted to know. Why’d you
choose me as your partner. You
were the only orc in the academy
came out to our precinct, why was I
the guy?

JAKOBY
...I dunno man. Cause you’re the
real deal. You’re like- you know,
you’re that guy, you’re the guy on
the poster. You’re a good cop.
(laughs, shaking his head)
You know that’s how you get blooded
as an orc, you do an act of great
bravery. Well the way I saw it,
you were like...You’re a blooded
human. You’re like who I wanna be.

ALVINS
Then why did you lie to me, man?
About the kid. Why did you lie?

JAKOBY
...I don’t know. I don’t know, I
lied, and then- you humans,
everything’s so fucking definite
with you, you say something and
then it’s law, and you can’t take
it back. I just...I got confused.
 63.

ALVINS
We make it through the night: clue
me in next time, dumb ass.

JAKOBY
I’m sorry. You’re right.

ALVINS
Hey you think-

There’s the whoop of a siren round front, rousing Tikka.

Rodriguez’s Sheriff’s Department car is pulling in.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Shit, that’s him, help me up.

They go around

TO THE FRONT

Where Rodriguez is getting out of his car, hand on his gun

already. Both Alvins and Jakoby falter, moving protectively
in front of Tikka.

RODRIGUEZ
Whoa stop right there. Stop right
there. Gun down.

Jakoby puts his shotgun on the ground.

ALVINS
Not you too, man.

RODRIGUEZ
“Not me too” what? I have shit on
the radio going back and forth, FBI
call signs, I got word that SWAT is
being deployed-

JAKOBY
What? SWAT?

RODRIGUEZ
(intense)
Yeah fuckin’ SWAT. They say
there’s two cops on the run, would
you two know anything about that?

Jakoby and Alvins falter, anxious.

RODRIGUEZ (CONT’D)
You guys ready to tell me what the
fuck is going on out here tonight?
 64.

Jakoby breathes a sigh of relief.

ALVINS
We got a wand with us. It was at
the crime scene with this kid.
Everything went fucked, officers
turned on us and...

RODRIGUEZ
Show me the wand.

Alvins looks to Jakoby. Jakoby shakes his head no, but

Alvins draws it out of the back of Jakoby’s belt.

RODRIGUEZ (CONT’D)
Fuck me. Holy shit.

He turns, heading back towards his car.

ALVINS
Hey Rodriguez- don’t- don’t call it
in man, talk to us, don’t call it
in to the Sheriff’s Department or
the Precinct, man-

RODRIGUEZ
You think I’m stupid, I’m going
straight to the state department.

He speaks on his radio through his driver’s side window.

RODRIGUEZ (CONT’D)
Yeah, I have them confirmed here,
they’re surrendering with one
witness, pull my car’s tracker.

RADIO (O.S.)
Do you require police escort-

RODRIGUEZ
No, repeat, do not further involve
LAPD, keep off their channels. We
need State Troopers or Department
of Magic.

RADIO
Did you say DOM-

RODRIGUEZ
Yes, confirmed. We need witness
protection, we need artifact
transpo...Get people here now, we
need an ambulance too.
 65.

RADIO
Confirmed, en route.

Alvins sighs, nearly collapsing onto Jakoby, who lets out a

single sob-like noise of relief. Rodriguez heads back
towards them.

RODRIGUEZ
Ya’ll better start giving me a
statement, right now. You know I’m
gonna have to cuff you before back
up gets here.

ALVINS
No, I don’t know that. Don’t.
Don’t put us in that situation.

RODRIGUEZ
Don’t put you- Scott, Mike, a green
cop at least three dead humans, it
doesn’t look good-

ALVINS
The fuck is that supposed to mean-

RODRIGUEZ
I’m not being a prick, I’m being
real with you. This is reality
right now. It’s bad. You’re-
you’re in a bad spot.

JAKOBY
We need time, man, we gotta get
this shit straight- I mean you only
just called it in-

RODRIGUEZ
No, I called it in on the way here,
Scott. You need to accept that
there’s no way you’re going to-

RODRIGUEZ’S CHEST EXPLODES IN A MIST OF BLOOD AND HIS BODY

FALLS FORWARD ONTO JAKOBY, WHO STAGGERS BACK, TRIPPING ON HIS
OWN FEET AND FALLING TO THE PAVEMENT-

Oh FUCK Gibson is WALKING TOWARDS THEM from the darkness of

the street, holding a pistol with a dual-drum clip-

ALVINS
No, no no!
 66.

Alvins pushes Tikka backwards, towards the store, and Jakoby

scrambles to pick up his shotgun, but Gibson fires again,
bullets plinking all around him, and he scrambles into the
store after Alvins, his gun left behind.

Gibson, for her part, stops short, eyeing the security

cameras. She stays just outside their range, and signals to
Parsons, who goes around the side of gas station.

Gibson raises her rapid-fire pistol, and UNLOADS INTO THE

FRONT OF THE GAS STATION STORE.

INT. GAS STATION STORE - CONTINUOUS

Jakoby and Alvins hug the floor, both of them laying on top
of Tikka protectively as bullets shatter the windows and
decimate the snack shelves, showering them with nuts and
candies and potato chips.

Gibson’s continued fire also annihilates the wall-coolers

behind them, exploding sodas, a rainbow of sugar water
splashing down onto the two men.

The two of them slowly crawl forward with Tikka. The

shooting stops, and the clerk starts to stand up from behind
the counter, holding a revolver-

JAKOBY
No, stay dow-

He’s immediately shot through the window behind him by

Parsons, his blood splattering onto the inside of his glass
vendor box. Parsons has taken up a sniper position across
the lot, perpendicular to Gibson.

Alvins nods towards the back door, and Jakoby shakily nods
back. There’s silence, just the sound of leaking soda.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
Do we go?

Alvins just nods. They get up- running low- and into the
back room, without incident.

INT. GAS STATION - BACK ROOM - CONTINUOUS

There’s a door and window. Jakoby goes to the door but

Alvins catches him, shaking his head, and turns back to the
front of the store, peeking through the door towards where
they just were.
 67.

He catches the slightest glimpse of Gibson, headed around the

back, and then checks and sees Parsons is gone too.

ALVINS
You ready to run? Make for the
other side of the street. Don’t
look back. Tikka? You got that?

Tikka looks up, and nods once. Jakoby looks to Alvins, nods.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Ok go.

They take off sprinting just as the door to the back room is
blasted in with gun fire! They rush outside to

EXT. GAS STATION - CONTINUOUS

Tikka barely able to keep up, and OH SHIT DENVER APPEARS

ALREADY FIRING AN UZI- Jakoby picks up his dropped shotgun
and fires once, the blast flooring Denver-

The trio is able to run off into the darkness on the other
side of the street just as Gibson and Parsons run back to the
front, careful not to step into line of the cameras...

...Where Denver lays, in a pool of his own blood.

DENVER
Fuck! FUCK! HELP ME! Fuck!

Parsons looks to Gibson, who’s scoping out the location of

the cameras.

PARSONS
What do we-

She holds up a hand as Denver continues to scream. She

beckons Denver, holding out her hands, a good twenty feet
away from him.

GIBSON
Crawl.

Denver stares at her in horror, then clocks the cameras, and

nods. We abruptly understand his logic: she could just kill
him and leave him there.

For Gibson, crawling is kindness. Denver screams in pain,

and starts to drag himself towards his compatriots.
 68.

EXT. FREEWAY UNDERPASS - NIGHT

Alvins, Jakoby and Tikka run, out of breath, Jakoby not

noticing the sudden glow of the wand on his belt- he’s YANKED
BACKWARDS, landing hard on his back, the wand falling free:

They went too far, too fast, again triggering the wand’s
binding spell to its owner...whoever or whatever that is.

Tikka screams, falling onto Jakoby, and Alvins turns, rushing

back, falling down to his knees to help his partner.

ALVINS
Mike, you okay? Shit, you gotta
get up, dude, you gotta-

A jeep pulls up onto the sidewalk next to them. Alvins tries

to get up, but a second jeep pulls up behind him.

Fogteeth orcs begin to get out, howling and barking amongst

each other. We recognize them from the party. Shit.

Tikka quietly picks up the wand, as Alvins rises, his good

arm raised plaintively.

FOGTEETH LEADER (SUBTITLE)

You think it’s funny to wreck our
party, blue-pig?

ALVINS
Just- just please listen for one-

The orcs hurl him to the ground, and begin to pummel him and
Jakoby as Tikka screams in fear!

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - NIGHT

Biggs is sitting in the van, alongside the two magicked

corpses. He’s got a laptop hooked up to one of the blasted
computer systems, and is uploading.

Montehugh knocks on the door.

MONTEHUGH
How’s it going in there?

BIGGS
I’m pulling all the recordings from
the house; so far I’ve got tonight
and yesterday, but it’s pretty
badly damaged, taking a long time
to parse it through the program.
 69.

MONTEHUGH
We should try to pull directly from
the wireless in the house, maybe-
wait what the fuck is this?

Biggs gets out of the van to see what Montehugh is talking

about, stepping out to the street where he immediately sees a
SWAT Van pulling up.

Biggs and Montehugh rapidly approach Brown, who’s greeting

the disembarking SWAT officers; there’s only about four, and
they wear different uniforms, not matching.

BIGGS
What? Hey, what the hell? What
the hell is this?

BROWN
I have to call them, we have to
secure the house-

BIGGS
I specifically told you not to call
in any more back up, I specifically
told you to-

SWAT OFFICER
Lower your voice sir.

BIGGS
What? What the fuck did he just
say to me?

BROWN
This is LAPD jurisdiction, we’re in
charge of this situa-

BIGGS
LAPD Jurisdic- I’m FBI, the United
States are my jurisdiction, send
these men back to whatever garage
sale they bought their uniforms at-

SWAT OFFICER
Stop yelling buddy. Calm down
buddy.

Biggs jaws in disbelief, looking back at Montehugh. Biggs

turns, and goes to Montehugh.

MONTEHUGH
This is fucked. They’re off duty.
What do we-
 70.

BIGGS
(quietly)
We pull the hard drives from the
house and we get the fuck out of
here. Meet up with support, come
back guns blazing if we have to.

Biggs turns and makes a bee-line for the house, but a SWAT
guys gets in his way.

BIGGS (CONT’D)
What is this new shit?

SWAT OFFICER
House is under LAPD protection.

BIGGS
Get the fuck out of my way-

The SWAT officer pushes him back. Biggs stares at him,

frozen to the spot, glancing back at Montehugh. The moment
hangs in time.

BIGGS (CONT’D)
(long beat, then calmly)
What...What is your plan, here?
You know I’m an elf, right? You
know I can hear your heart rates
speeding up. I can smell your
sweat.

BROWN
Yeah?
(beat)
Can you dodge a bullet?

BIGGS
(beat)
Montehugh get dow-

Brown and the SWAT officers open fire as Biggs and Montehugh
try to draw their guns- Montehugh falls dead, but Biggs flips
backwards repeatedly, weaving and spinning as bullets hit all
around him-

He reaches the cars on the other side of the street,

SPRINTING down towards the van-

He scrambles to the back as bullets punch through the

windshield, grabbing his laptop- which is struck by a bullet,
splitting the screen-
 71.

He takes off out the van, running at full speed up the

street, panting in ragged, terrified breaths, the laptop
clutched under his arms!

Brown and the SWAT guys take a few shots, and the SWAT guys
move to follow, but Brown shouts back.

BROWN
No, no! We stay here, stay here.
He wanted something in the house.
Maybe it’s the wand, who knows what
they got in there. No one’s
coming. Let’s tear this place
apart.

INT. FOGTEETH ABANDONED HOUSE - NIGHT

The windows are boarded, there furniture is torn to shit;

it’s a crack-house. The room is crowded with Fogteeth Orcs
of various shapes and sizes, all dressed in gang colors of
black and orange.

Kneeling between them on the floor are Jakoby and Alvins,

their heads wrapped in dirty towels. Tikka is shoved down on
the floor between them, crying silently.

A big, frighteningly pale green Orc kneels in front of

Jakoby. He smiles.

FOGTEETH LEADER
You know I didn’t grow up here. I
grew up in Miami. Great orc
communities out there, strong orc
communities. We’d have block
parties, with dwarves, humans, it
was fun. I’m not some militant. I
wasn’t a thug. I was a bus driver.
Then I move to LA. City of Angels,
right. I see these kids, I see how
I’ve gotta change. I see how
broken this system you got out here
is. And so I adapt, I change. No
money, I don’t care. No future, I
don’t care. I change to fit the
situation. I have a gun now. But
I still want to give back to the
community. So every month I throw
a big house-party, whole
neighborhood’s invited, with one
rule: no guns, no fights. No guns
no fights. We had three years of
these house parties, man.
(MORE)
 72.

FOGTEETH LEADER (CONT'D)

And wouldn’t you know it, on the
hottest night of the summer, who’s
the first one to bring guns and
fights up into the house party: the
mo-ther-fu-ckin’ police.

He sighs, looking down.

FOGTEETH LEADER (CONT’D)

Unblooded orc cop. Go figure.
Probably grew up with humans.
Never had a claw raised for him in
his life, never did shit. Big old
teddy bear, huh. “Sweet guy.” All
your buddies so happy to say that
they have an “orc friend.”
(smiles)
Here’s your opportunity to give
back:

He speaks in orkish, suddenly animalistic, a low snarl.

FOGTEETH LEADER (SUBTITLE) (CONT’D)

Where is the wand?

Jakoby is silent, breathing hard. The Fogteeth leader nods

to his subordinates, who begin WHIPPING JAKOBY AND ALVINS
WITH STEEL CHAINS, both of them shrinking into the fetal
position, their screaming muffled through their towels.

Tikka shrieks in panic and fear, her whole body shaking

convulsively, and the Fogteeth leader kneels in front of her,
suddenly grabbing her by the face.

FOGTEETH LEADER (SUBTITLE) (CONT’D)

Where is the wand?

There’s a beat, Tikka’s eyes wide and crazed with fear,

staring at him. After a moment, Tikka speaks in shaky
English.

TIKKA
There is no wand.

The Fogteeth leader stares at Tikka, then nods to Jakoby, who

is pulled up to his knees, his towel pulled off.

He grabs Jakoby’s face, inspecting his teeth.

FOGTEETH LEADER
Roundtooth. Worthless, false orc.
Unblooded coward.
 73.

The orcs around them murmur in agreement, but Jakoby isn’t

paying attention.

FOGTEETH LEADER (CONT’D)

Where is the wand?

Jakoby is blankly staring at Tikka, blinking through his pain

and confusion. The Fogteeth Leader PUNCHES HIM IN THE FACE,
and then grabs him by the ear.

FOGTEETH LEADER (CONT’D)

Where is the wand?

JAKOBY
Th- There is no wand.

The Fogteeth Leader nods, understanding, takes out a pocket

knife, unfolds it, and slashes Alvins’ left leg. Alvins
screams through his towel.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
Don’t-

FOGTEETH LEADER
Where is the wand?

JAKOBY
There is no wand!

The Fogteeth Leader nods, turns and stabs Jakoby in the

shoulder- Jakoby screams in pain as he’s pushed back and the
Fogteeth leader begins twisting the knife-

FOGTEETH LEADER
The Principes wanted you for the
wand. Now where is the wand.
Where is the wand.

JAKOBY
(agony)
There is no wand! There- AGH!

Alvins has managed to shake his towel loose.

ALVINS
There is no wand. There never was
a fuckin wand they mistook- they
fuckin didn’t see anything, they’re
blowing smoke up your-

A Fogteeth grunt PUNCHES HIM in his gunshot arm, and Alvins

collapses, screaming. The Fogteeth leader pulls his knife
out of Jakoby, who sinks low, and grabs Tikka by the hair.
 74.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Hey let her go- there is no wand-

He’s WHIPPED WITH A CHAIN, screaming in pain.

JAKOBY
We’re police officers! You can’t
do th-

An orc kicks Jakoby down, and repeatedly stomps his head into
the floor face first, breaking his nose.

Both of the cops lay defeated, gasping in pain. The Fogtooth

leader holds Tikka out, pressing the knife to her throat.

FOGTEETH LEADER
I’ll cover you with her hot blood.
Where is the wand?

The cops just moan in pain.

JAKOBY
There...there is no-

The Fogteeth Leader wrenches Tikka’s tiny, fragile arm. She

cries out in pain.

ALVINS
I DON’T KNOW! I DON’T KNOW WHERE
THE WAND IS, I DON’T FUCKING KNOW!

The Fogteeth Leader stares down at them, then nods to his

subordinates, and they’re picked up and dragged down a
hallway to

INT. FOGTEETH ABANDONED HOUSE - PIT ROOM - CONTINUOUS

The floor of this room is missing, either destroyed or

unfinished, revealing a big pit down into the darkness of the
basement level.

They’re dragged so that their heads are pushed over the edge
of the hole, and they see that, at the bottom of the hole,
are chunks of dried bloody...something...

Two orcs stand over them, guns to their heads, as orcs

surround the edges of the hole. The Fogteeth leader makes
Tikka watch.

FOGTEETH LEADER
Watch your friends.
 75.

Alvins shakes his head, fighting back tears. He can’t help

it; he starts sobbing.

ALVINS
I’M SORRY! Sophia I’m sorry! I’m
sorry! I’m sorry Sophia please
forgive me!

The orcs laugh. Jakoby is silent.

FOGTEETH LEADER
Where is the wand?

There’s a beat. Both men are silent. Tikka sobs.

JAKOBY
There is no fucking wand, stupid.

The Fogteeth leader stares at them, and then:

FOGTEETH LEADER
Kill them.

Alvins squeezes his eyes shut.

FOGTEETH THUG (SUBTITLE)

Wait.

The young thug orc holding a gun on Alvins has spoken up.
All the orcs are looking at him.

FOGTEETH THUG (CONT’D)

Turn over.

Alvins slowly turns over.

FOGTEETH THUG (CONT’D)

You too.

Jakoby turns, his nose swollen and bleeding into his eyes.

FOGTEETH LEADER (SUBTITLE)

What are you doing?

FOGTEETH THUG (SUBTITLE)

Father I am sorry, I know these
men. I know these men.

All of the orcs wait expectantly.

FOGTEETH THUG (CONT’D)

I was going to school when someone
lit up the 7-11. This guy came out
and tried to chase me.
(MORE)
 76.

FOGTEETH THUG (CONT’D)

They cornered me and he saw I was
the wrong guy. He let me go.

He speaks in low orkish.

FOGTEETH THUG (SUBTITLE) (CONT’D)

I owe him an honor debt. We cannot
kill them.

FOGTEETH LEADER (SUBTITLE)

You’d have us let them go, after
they mock us.

FOGTEETH THUG (SUBTITLE)

Maybe there really is no wand.

The dad and son stare at each other. The father nods, and
goes down, kneeling over Jakoby.

FOGTEETH LEADER
What did you call me? “Stupid?”

He pulls him up and punches him in the face, and then stands,
and begins stomping him repeatedly, all over his body-

The Young Thug Orc cringes.

FOGTEETH LEADER (SUBTITLE) (CONT’D)

False orc! Unblooded coward!
Pinkskin!

He stomps and stomps as Tikka watches, shuddering in horror.

EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - NIGHT

Alvins and Jakoby are dumped out of the back of a truck.

They’re both truly beaten to shit at this point; Jakoby is a
swollen mess. Tikka is pushed out as well.

Jakoby’s police belt and gun are thrown out, hitting his
prone body hard, and then the truck screeches off into the
night. Alvins crawls, limping badly, to Jakoby.

ALVINS
Mike? Mike? Can you hear me?

JAKOBY
(tiny voice, wheezing)
......my leg’s broken....i’m
done...I can’t breathe...
 77.

ALVINS
FUCK! SHIT! Well...I’m not gonna
leave you here, so- fuck...

Jakoby is clearly fading; the beating broke some things

inside him. Alvins tries to drag him out of the middle of
the street, but he can’t move him, Jakoby’s too big and
Alvins is too weak.

He gives up, collapsing, screaming at the dark houses as he

clutches Jakoby in his arms.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
SOMEBODY HELP! SOMEBODY HELP US!
PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP US!
PLEASE...somebody... Please...

Tikka slowly approaches. Alvins notices her, and is startled

when Tikka flicks her wrist, THE WAND APPEARING FROM NOWHERE
IN HER HAND.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
...Holy shit. You’re a bright.
You’re a fucking bright, you had
the wand the whole time...

Tikka speaks quietly, nervously.

TIKKA (SUBTITLE)
My job was to learn magic to keep a
wand safe. The Dark Lord will
return and I am meant to fight him.
I have no wand of my own; a witch
came to kill me, but left hers
behind.

ALVINS
-I don’t understand you. I don’t
know what you’re saying, I’m sorry-

TIKKA (SUBTITLE)
I can’t fix him. Not all the way.

ALVINS
I don’t know what that means, I
don’t know what you’re saying-

TIKKA
(broken English)
If I use this...she comes.

ALVINS
Can you help him? Please help him.
 78.

Tikka sees the open desperation in Alvins’ face, and motions

for him to get back. He does. Tikka points the wand at
Jakoby, gingerly, and whispers:

TIKKA
Mendovia.

A beautiful, rippling pulse of...Let’s call it “energy”

drifts off the wand, passing over Jakoby’s limp form, and
instantaneously, we can hear the clicks and snaps of his body
repairing itself.

ALVINS
Oh holy shit. Oh wow.

Jakoby suddenly sits up, turning over, spitting out blood and
gasping in air, and Alvins immediately rushes, gingerly
trying to help him, but Jakoby pushes him away.

Instead, Alvins embraces Tikka, who is bleeding slightly from

the ear, and looks exhausted; Alvins notices. Tikka sinks
low, and Alvins holds her.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
You okay? You gonna be okay? Holy
shit, Mike! MIKE!

JAKOBY
Tonight just...just keeps gettin’
better and better.

Alvins laughs in anguish, and rests his hand on his partner’s

back as they both struggle to get their breath...and we

FLASH TO:

An ALLEYWAY somewhere nearby, where we rapidly follow gloppy

footprints of black, shiny blood...to dragging, bare feet
which shuffle and twitch...following them up a veiny woman’s
body in a ratty dress...

For a moment we can hear Tikka’s voice, echoing as though

from a distance. “Mendovia.”

The head whips around, stringy black hair on a patchy scalp

over two sunken, bloodshot pink eyes which shine out of a
face cast in darkness.

THE WITCH
....Mine...
 79.

EXT. SUBURBAN STREET - NIGHT

Denver sits in the back of Gibson’s car. He’s holding a

blood-soaked towel over his chest wound. He’s breathing low,
slow, heavy.

In the front seats, Parsons is smoking a cigarette, while

Gibson is tuning their police scanner, making a series of
whining, spooky radio interference noises.

PARSONS
We don’t hear anything. What if
they left the...

Gibson silences him with stare, which she holds for a full
ten seconds. Parsons nods; Gibson goes back to the radio.

We hear faint chatter. Gibson listens.

DENVER
What are they saying?

GIBSON
SWAT code. On private channels.
They’re locking down the house.

PARSONS
SWAT, we didn’t hear a SWAT
dispatch go out did we-

GIBSON
(flatly)
No. At the house. Using private
channels. They’re off duty.
(beat)
Maybe they found something. Maybe
the officers came back.

There’s a long beat, and then Gibson gets out, going around
to the back of the car, and opens the trunk. She stares down
into it, then reaches in and pulls out a case.

She unbuckles it, looking up at Parsons as he gets out, then

reaches into the case and draws out an assault rifle.

PARSONS
What’s our limit here, Gibson.

Gibson just stares at him. He nods.

 80.

INT. CALIFORNIA STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICE - NIGHT

GORDON Vance, early 40s, is playing video games in his

office. On the couch, playing against him, is a Lizardman.

GORDON VANCE
You’re going down this time Louis.

LIZARDMAN LOUIS
Whatever.

GORDON VANCE
I swear to god, it’s over.

LIZARDMAN LOUIS
Keep talking.

Gordon’s cell phone starts ringing on his desk a few feet

away. He’s way too focused to notice.

EXT. ABANDONED BUILDING - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS

Biggs stands outside the building, under a streetlight, next

to some homeless men, who he eyes warily. In one hand he
holds his cell, clutching the damaged laptop.

The homeless people are watching him. His phone goes to

voice mail.

BIGGS
Shit. Pick up Gordon, come on-

HOMELESS DWARF
Hey. Hey. Is that broken?

The homeless dwarf has approached from the other side of him.
He’s indicating the laptop.

Biggs ignores him, calling again. Voice-mail. Biggs shakes

in frustration and anger.

HOMELESS DWARF (CONT’D)

I can use that, for parts. Give
that to me. I can trade you.

BIGGS
No, sorry.

Biggs calls one more time. In the office, Gordon throws down
his remote in frustration, noticing the phone.
 81.

GORDON VANCE
Shit. Louis, I’m gonna take this,
then I’m gonna whip your ass.

The lizardman makes a jerking off motion. We cut back and

forth between them.

GORDON VANCE (CONT’D)

Vance.

BIGGS
GORDON, OH THANK CHRIST- oh my god,
thank you, thank you-

GORDON VANCE
Are you drunk, what time is it over
there-

BIGGS GORDON VANCE

I’m not in DC, I’m in LA- What? You’re- you’re what-

BIGGS
The lead we got, on the illegals,
the Shield of The Light, the witch,
Montehugh and I chased it out here-

GORDON VANCE
We said that was a dead lead. The
Shield of Light are crackpots, plus
we had the house covered, so why-

BIGGS
The men watching the house are
dead, Gordon. The witch was HERE,
exactly where I thought she’d be,
she killed them.

GORDON VANCE BIGGS

...What, how could you- Because I’m there, now, in
Crenshaw-

Gordon stands up from his couch, hurrying over to his desk,

signalling to Lizardman Louis, who sits up as well, tapping
his cell phone into the conversation.

LIZARDMAN LOUIS
Biggs, this is Louis Lapaglia,
what’s going on out there?

BIGGS
Agent Montehugh is dead, as well as
at least three LAPD officers.
(MORE)
 82.

BIGGS (CONT'D)
Good word on a wand missing on the
street and- and we have a bright on
scene, we have dirty cops and a
fucking- a fucking rogue SWAT team-

GORDON VANCE
Biggs slow down, man, just slow-

The homeless dwarf grabs the laptop, ripping it away from

Biggs, who instantly lowers the phone, drawing his gun.

BIGGS
(beat)
Give me that back.

HOMELESS DWARF
You- you- no-

BIGGS
Please. Please give me that back.

The homeless dwarf is terrified...but then suddenly hurls the

laptop to the ground, smashing it to pieces, and then takes
off running away.

Biggs sinks to his knees, touching the shattered laptop.

BIGGS (CONT’D)
That was the evidence...That...

GORDON VANCE
Biggs. Biggs. Neldor. Come on
man, you hear me. What do you
need, you need a tank I will give
you a fucking tank. Just talk to
me. Talk to me.

Biggs raises the phone, shaking in his hand, near tears.

BIGGS
Help me. Please help me. Help me.

EXT. NEAR USED CAR DEALERSHIP - NIGHT

Tikka walks out front, slowly, as Alvins, heavily supporting

Jakoby, slowly follow her. They’re headed towards a car
dealership, its bright streetlights shining out into the
darkness.

Tikka is clearly terrified, flinching, looking around,

clearly waiting for something.
 83.

ALVINS
Come on man, I thought he fixed
you, almost there.

Jakoby, despite being slightly healed, is still clearly in

very bad shape, talking through layers of pain and
exhaustion.

JAKOBY
That kid, man. The orc kid. The
red sweatshirt.

ALVINS
I know.

JAKOBY
He was there. What are the odds of
that. What are the fucking odds,
it’s impossible.

ALVINS
It was unlikely, yeah-

JAKOBY
It was impossible.

Alvins just shakes his head, straining to support Jakoby.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
This is a prophecy. The
coincidence. It’s too big, we’re-
it’s in a prophecy- we’re just the
little people man, the people they
don’t write about. This is like
the old days of the heroes doin-
epic shit man- like Jirak-

ALVINS
Just stay awake, keep talking.

There’s the roar of an engine from somewhere nearby.

JAKOBY
Jirak was an Orc King, you know
Jirak, in the age of magic-

ALVINS
Sure, right, keep talking.
 84.

JAKOBY
Jirak was unblooded- he was an
unblooded farmer king- but when he
found out the Dark Lord was going
to destroy the world he raised a
sword against him-

ALVINS
That’s right, Mike.

People are watching them, moving in the shadows.

JAKOBY
He fulfilled the great prophecy and
the armies of orcs turned on the
Dark Lord, uniting the races. And
all the orcs raised blades to him,
he was blooded right there-
(beat)
That’s what this is- that’s what
we’re in, a prophecy- this all
means something- it’s all important-

ALVINS
It’s not a prophecy, bro. It’s
just one bad fuckin’ night and it’s
almost over. C’mon, almost
there....

They walk into the light of the

EXT. USED CAR LOT - NIGHT

Brightly lit, cars in all directions. A woman works in the

office, late at night, clearly after lock up. A HOTTEST
NIGHT OF THE SUMMER SALE sign has been taken down.

ALVINS
Almost there, almost...

Alvins leaves Jakoby leaning against a car with Tikka, and

goes and beats on the glass of the office.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
LAPD, OPEN THIS DOOR NOW. OPEN
THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW.

Tikka notices a flickering light, and pulls at Jakoby’s pant

leg, wide eyed.

TIKKA (SUBTITLE)
(whispered)
She’s coming. She’s coming.
 85.

As Alvins continues beating on the glass, woman in the office

stares at him, standing up, scared.

ALVINS
Open this door. Open this door.

There’s a whistle from behind him. Alvins stops dead.

SALINAS (O.S.)
Hola. Hello.

Alvins and Jakoby look around. The Principes De Sangre have

taken up covering positions all around the lot.

They’re surrounded. It’s over.

SALINAS (CONT’D)
It’s me. Surprise. Hot out
tonight, huh? We been trying to
find you for a while. The buddy
patrol. Lethal Weapon, ey?

A long, empty beat. You can feel the sweat in the air.

SALINAS (CONT’D)
So....Let’s talk about this, right?
How about: Both of you die, but
the little one lives. Is that
good? Does that work?

Jakoby stares at Alvins, Alvins stares at Jakoby. Tikka

suddenly steps forward.

SALINAS (CONT’D)
Whoa. Smart kid. You going to
give me that wand? That makes this
whole thing a lot more friendly.

Tikka holds out the wand. The big lights in the lot flicker,
and several of them go out. Tikka flinches, looking around.

TIKKA
No...No...

Salinas perks up.

SALINAS
...Why’s the wand glowing, homes?

Alvins and Jakoby look down at Tikka, who’s holding the wand
out, staring at it in horror. It’s glowing, heat distortions
rippling around it. We’ve seen this before...
 86.

TIKKA (SUBTITLE)
She’s here.

Alvins and Jakoby look at each other.

SALINAS
Alright enough of this shit, boys,
run’em down. Kill these two dumb
motherfuckers.

There’s a beat of silence.

Salinas looks to where his men were. A splatter of blood

here. A torn piece of flesh there. They’re all gone.

SALINAS (CONT’D)
What the f-

A pallid, veiny hand reaches around his neck from behind, and
RIPS OUT HIS THROAT. Salinas falls gargling his own blood,
facedown on the asphalt.

And there she is.

JAKOBY
(terrified, shaking voice)
....Oh fuck what is that.

ALVINS
(eyes wide)
...It’s a witch.

Yes, it is. The original owner of the wand has come back for
her property, and she is terrifying.

Stringy black hair, missing in patches, falls around a sickly

wrinkled white face, that seems tremendously old and
misshapen, forced onto a young, lithe body. We can see the
shotgun wound from her initial fight at the house.

There’s a weird, long beat. It’s not even clear if the witch
is aware of them; her body sways gently in the night breeze.

JAKOBY
What do we...what do we do?

Alvins takes a deep, shuddery breath, and then moves to block

Tikka with Jakoby.

ALVINS
(long beat)
P- perp is assuming an aggressive
stance towards responding officers.
 87.

Alvins and Jakoby, both barely able to stand, square off

against the witch. Jakoby unhooks his billy club, and Alvins
flicks out his extendable baton.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Ma’m. I am placing you under
arrest by authority of the Los
Angeles Police Department. Turn
around, go down to your knees, and
place your hands behind your head.

The witch hisses. Jakoby speaks, joking, but shuddery.

JAKOBY
She seems noncompliant.

ALVINS
I’m getting that too.

There’s a beat.

JAKOBY
(whispering, shaky)
Are we about to die, bro? Are
finally gonna die?

ALVINS
(beat)
...If that’s what it takes. You
with me?

We see that Jakoby is crying. Alvins is crying too. The

witch hisses again angrily, exposing blackened gums.

JAKOBY
Yeah man, I’m with you.

Tikka steps between them, raising the wand.

ALVINS JAKOBY
Whoa- What the-

TIKKA
(screaming)
TALIOS!

A BLAST OF FIRE ERUPTS FROM THE WAND TOWARDS THE WITCH- she
swats it away like an errant tennis ball and then makes a
yanking motion-

Tikka is yanked forward, up into the air- the wand being

pulled towards the witch- Jakoby and Alvins grab her-
 88.

ALVINS
The wand- the wand the wand the-

Both men grab the wand, and they’re immediately forced to

hold on as tight as they can- they’re jerked forward a few
steps before they recover, Tikka falling aside-

JAKOBY
Shit, aghhhh holy shit!

ALVINS
She gets it we’re dead, she gets
it, it’s over!

Both of them hold tight to the wand, bracing themselves as

the witch beckons it towards her; their shoes begins to slide
on the pavement, like they’re playing tug of war-

Both of them sweating as blood drips down off Alvins’ injured

arm, splattering on the asphalt- Jakoby’s badly beaten body
creaks and he groans in pain-

Their hands are wrapped so tightly around the wand as it

pulls against them that blood is oozing from their palms,
leaks out over their knuckles.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Don’t let go. Let go and we’re
both dead, DON’T LET GO!

FUCK! THEY ARE FUCKED!

Tikka screams in fear, again and again- Jakoby roars weakly

at the witch, blood streaming down his face-

The witch laughs as they’re dragged closer and closer- Alvins

lets one hand off the wand, going down to his hip-

He pivots his tazer in its holster- and fires blind from the
hip- the taze cables hit the witch in the neck and her body
goes RIGID as the tazer clicks ten thousand volts into her-

The wand, no longer being pulled, overbalances both men-

Alvins crashes to the ground, but Jakoby quick-draws his
pistol and rapidly empties his entire clip into the witch,
black blood splattering in all directions!

ALVINS (CONT’D)
KILL HER MIKE KILL HER!

Several of his shots missed and struck cars behind her- their
alarms scream out into the night-
 89.

The witch staggers back as Jakoby fumblingly reloads his

pistol- HOLY SHIT SHE’S STILL ALIVE- she raises her hand
again, dazed, shrieking, summoning the wand-

JAKOBY
The wand, the wand-

But Alvins, still on the ground, GRABS IT leading to him

being brutally dragged across the pavement of the lot towards
her- but Jakoby’s reloaded-

BLAM BLAM BLAM! This time two of them hit her in the head.

The witch falls, dead, in a pool of gasoline black blood.

Jakoby stumbles and falls against a car, its alarm going off.
Alvins lays motionless. Jakoby, fading in and out of
consciousness, looks up to see that Tikka is gone.

Jakoby lays there in the symphony of car alarms. He reaches

out pathetically towards Alvins...then gives up.

Alvins flops over. His clothes are torn, as is his flesh; he

has road-rash over half his body, leaving him looking like
he’s been smeared with runny, leaky raspberry jam.

It’s horrifying. He raises the wand in his hand, staring at

it, then looks over at the dead witch, then to Jakoby.

ALVINS
Where’s Tikka?

Jakoby looks around, frantic, realizing that Tikka is gone.

JAKOBY
Why would she run? Where would she
go? Fuck!

Alvins, in pain, pulls himself up against a car, wincing.

ALVINS
She’s just a kid. Only one place
she’s going. He’s going home.

The silence hangs. Jakoby speaks quietly.

JAKOBY
We could leave. The binding
spell’s off the wand if she’s dead,
right? I mean dead cops or not, we
gotta go to a hospital man. We
could get out of here.
 90.

ALVINS
(beat)
Yeah. But we’re not gonna.
(beat)
You know you give me credit, say
I’m the “good cop.”

Alvins spits blood, wiping more blood away from his

increasingly pallid face.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
But that’s not it, it’s not from
something inside me. I mean...My
dad ran out on me. My little
girl’s dad ran out on her.
Everywhere you look people are
giving up and running away.
(beat)
Someone’s gotta do it, man.
Someone’s gotta be the good guy.

There’s a pause, then Jakoby nods. After a moment, both men

begin again to drag themselves to their feet, one last time.

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - NIGHT

The night is quiet. It’s revealed to us slowly. One dead

SWAT officer. Then another. And another. Their body armor
torn apart by hollow point bullets. Another. And another.

The entire street has been shot up. It’s carnage. The SWAT
team is entirely dead, shot to pieces.

Officer Brown is crawling to his car, dying, when he faintly

sees two figures approaching. It’s Alvins and Jakoby,
walking like zombies from out of the darkness.

BROWN
Y- y- you...

He tries to draw his pistol, and Alvins, with his one good
arm, easily takes it away. Jakoby and Alvins watch in total
silence as Brown dies.

Alvins nods to Jakoby to pick up a SWAT shotgun, and then

there’s a noise from the house.

Alvins nods to Jakoby to go around the side, as he himself

limps up the front stairs. As Jakoby goes around the side,
we see something he doesn’t:

Parsons, holding a rifle, slowly creeping after him.

 91.

INT. 3441 ABRAMS

Alvins moves very slowly through the house, gun raised. He

moves through the living room, not noticing Denver on the
couch, who’s now pale, motionless, in a pool of his own
blood.

Denver blinks once. Still alive. Barely.

There’s a noise from the kitchen. Alvins heads that way. We

see Gibson very slowly making her way in the same direction.

OUTSIDE

Jakoby quietly around the side of the house. Parsons moves

through the front yard, silently, behind Jakoby.

INSIDE

Tikka sees Alvins from where she’s hiding in the kitchen,

though Alvins doesn’t see her. Shit. Tikka tries to get his
attention, not realizing that Gibson has now entered the
kitchen as well...

Denver, on the couch, stirs, seizing the moment.

DENVER
Gibson!

Alvins turns and fires two shots into Denver, killing him.

Gibson spots Alvins. Alvins spots Gibson.

Alvins stands and fires twice, hitting Gibson once in the

side of the face. Gibson is already returning fire; two
bullets strike Alvins in the chest. Both of them fall.

Tikka screams and emerges from hiding, rushing to Alvins-

Gibson shoots Tikka in the back, sending her crashing to the
kitchen floor.

Tikka screams and writhes in pain on the linoleum, and Alvins

screams in anger and raises his gun at Gibson, but Gibson
keeps her gun trained on Tikka.

GIBSON
Don’t.

Jakoby pops around the hole in the wall of the kitchen,

aiming the shotgun at Gibson-

ALVINS
Wait wait wait! Mike wait!
 92.

Jakoby sees the state of Alvins, who’s now laying in a pool

of his own blood. Gibson, her face half covered in blood,
slowly pushes herself to her feet, keeping her gun on the
downed Tikka.

JAKOBY
She just shot a fucking kid Scott-

ALVINS
Yeah and she’ll do it again.

Gibson clocks Parsons through the kitchen window, moving

around to flank Jakoby.

GIBSON
Drop your gun.

Alvins stares at her; she’s still being covered by Jakoby,

so...he tosses his gun away.

GIBSON (CONT’D)
Get up. Go to the table.

Alvins, in excruciating pain and covered in his own blood,

drags himself slowly up the wall.

ALVINS
You’re fucking crazy. You’re a f-
fucking animal.

Gibson just stares at him.

GIBSON
Please. Sit down. Take a moment.
Think about what you’re doing.

Alvins, realizing she has the drop on him completely, slowly

sinks into his chair.

GIBSON (CONT’D)
Where is the w-

ALVINS
What the fuck are you?

Gibson stares at him in silence.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Who sent you here?

GIBSON
(after a long beat)
I represent a larger interest.
(MORE)
 93.

GIBSON (CONT'D)
Your friend Officer Pollard called
that larger interest. Before you
murdered him. It was a mistake on
his part. That much I’d hope is
clear at this point.
(beat)
You’re going to give me that wand
now, Officer Alvins.

ALVINS
And then what.

GIBSON
(long beat)
I’m going to kill you, and your
partner Officer Jakoby. I’m going
to walk out of this house.

ALVINS
Right.

There’s a very long beat. Jakoby clocks Parsons sneaking up

on him, but there’s nothing he can do. The tension builds,
when suddenly-

There’s the noise of sirens, screeching brakes out front!

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - CONTINUOUS

A huge group of Black SUVs is pulling up, blue and green

lights flashing from their dashboards and lightbars. Men
begin disembarking, all in bullet proof vests, armed with sub
machine guns.

Biggs emerges from cover, rapidly approaching. Gordon Vance,

now wearing a bullet proof vest, approaches him.

GORDON
Agent Biggs-

BIGGS
Surround the house. You see anyone
with a gun, kill them.

INT. 3441 ABRAMS - KITCHEN - CONTINUOUS

Alvins sits in silence. We can hear the sirens outside, and

all the men deploying. Gibson blinks, fidgeting, holding her
gun on Tikka, but wavering.

ALVINS
So. Do you have a new plan.
 94.

Gibson does nothing. She’s sweating now. Tikka moans in

pain on the floor.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
The second she lowers that gun even
an inch you kill her Mike.

Jakoby nods; Gibson glances at him, but when she looks back:

Alvins has slid the wand entirely out of his shirt sleeve.
He’s holding it, pointing it at Gibson. Gibson stares at
him, her eyes only widening very slightly before she drops
back into her emotionless placidity.

GIBSON
Interesting.

ALVINS
Jakoby, get Tikka out of here-

GIBSON
No. No. You don’t move.

Jakoby, still aiming his gun at Gibson, slowly moves through

the kitchen, towards Tikka.

GIBSON (CONT’D)
You don’t fucking move. Don’t move
another fucking inch.

Parsons retrains his gun on Jakoby. Jakoby keeps his gun

straight at Gibson, stopping. The gun shakes in his hands.

ALVINS
Mike. It’s okay. Get Tikka.

PARSONS
Don’t you fucking move.

JAKOBY ALVINS
What are you doing, Scott- It’s gonna be okay.

GIBSON
Listen to your orc-

JAKOBY
What are you doing-

ALVINS
It’s gonna be okay.
(beat, shaky)
It’s like you said. It’s a
prophecy. It’s all a prophecy.
 95.

JAKOBY
...You really believe that?

ALVINS
...No. So I need you to believe it
for me.
(beat)
Get Tikka out of here.

Jakoby, keeping his gun on Gibson, slowly goes all the way to
Tikka, helping her up.

Gibson’s face flinches in small spasms as she grows angrier

and angrier, barely able to contain herself.

GIBSON
You’re either born a bright or you
study for years. Are you a bright?
No. Do you even know any spells?
No. Try to use that wand and it
will kill you. Reconsider.
Reconsider what you’re doing.

ALVINS
Shut up.

GIBSON
You’re going to die in here.
There’s no way out. Give me the
wand, there’s still-

ALVINS
Don’t push me. Mike cover Tikka.

PARSONS GIBSON
Gibson what do I do. Don’t do anything.

JAKOBY
-Scott-

GIBSON
You’ve got no way out of here, just
like me, you-

ALVINS
DON’T FUCKING PUSH ME

GIBSON
It’s over. It’s hopeless.

ALVINS
SHUT THE FUCK UP!
 96.

There’s a dead beat of silence. Gibson takes her gun off

Tikka to aim at Alvins WHO SPRINGS TO HIS FEET AND SCREAMS-

ALVINS (CONT’D)
TALIOS!

THE FUCKING ROOM EXPLODES INTO LIGHT. The wand BLOWS APART
INTO A FOUNTAIN OF FIRE, VIOLENTLY LAUNCHING ALVINS BACKWARDS
INTO THE WALL, a LIQUID INFERNO splashing in all directions,
BLOWING APART GIBSON INTO A SCREAMING, FLAMING SKELETON-

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - CONTINUOUS

LIGHT AND FIRE EXPLODE THROUGH THE WINDOWS of the house, and
the SWAT teams fall back in shock! Biggs doesn’t move at
all, even as the wind blows back his clothes.

INT. 3441 ABRAMS - CONTINUOUS

THE KITCHEN LOOKS LIKE LITERAL HELL, everything engulfed in

fire- Jakoby sees Parsons, dazed, taking aim-

Jakoby fires, the spray of bullets knocking Parsons back into

the flames-

JAKOBY
Scott! Scott where are you!?

No response. Tikka’s unconscious on the floor. Jakoby lifts

her, and staggers towards the door-

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - CONTINUOUS

Jakoby, carrying Tikka, stumbles out of the house towards the

line of FBI.

FBI TASKFORCE MEMBER

ORC!

The FBI trooper OPENS FIRE.....but Biggs shoves his gun down
just in time, as Jakoby stumbles out the front gate.

BIGGS
Christ- help the kid!

He’s surrounded, collapsing. Tikka is immediately taken away

from him, rushed to the paramedics. Jakoby is clearly dazed,
barely able to stand, but immediately tries to get up, headed
back towards the house.
 97.

We see the Fogteeth, the homeless people...everyone we’ve

encountered on our trip through the night.

Biggs stops him, blocking his way.

BIGGS (CONT’D)
Whoa, stop- stop- we got you, it’s
safe now-

JAKOBY
You don’t understand, there’s a
prophecy- this is all part of
something bigger, it has to be-

BIGGS
Calm down. HEY. Calm down-

Biggs blocks Jakoby as he tries to get back to the house,

which is a complete inferno at this point. Jakoby looks
around, dazed; people have finally come out of their homes.

People are drifting in to watch the house burn down.

JAKOBY
No...Please listen, listen to me-
it’s...it’s a prophecy, you
can’t..he did it, he saved me and
the girl, he can’t...you can’t
just...it’s p- prophecy...

BIGGS
You need medical attention.

JAKOBY
That’s my best friend! That’s my
best friend, let me in there! Let
me through damn it! SCOTT! HEY
SCOTT! That’s my best friend!

Jakoby collapses onto the street, Biggs still blocking him,

trying to keep him seated.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
(quieter)
...That’s my best friend. Please.
That’s my best friend....

BIGGS
You gotta stay down, okay? The
house is on fire. It’s over.

Jakoby stares at the house, and shudders in anguish,

beginning to break down into tears.
 98.

BIGGS (CONT’D)
Breathe. You need to breathe.

JAKOBY
That’s- You’re an elf, you can hear
in there. Tell me he’s dead. Tell
me he’s really dead.

Biggs turns and looks back at the house, focusing; he

falters, and Jakoby sees it.

JAKOBY (CONT’D)
What did you hear?

BIGGS
(beat)
He’s dead.

Jakoby stares at him, searching his face, and then:

JAKOBY
You’re lying!

Jakoby shoves Biggs off him, making a beeline towards the

burning house, stumbling from his injuries.

BIGGS
Whoa! Shit, shit! That’s our only
witness, FUCK!

INT. 3441 ABRAMS - CONTINUOUS

Jakoby enters, still limping badly from his earlier beating,

coughing and choking on smoke, into the inside of the
collapsing house, things falling all around him.

He searches fruitlessly for Alvins, but everything’s just

fire, disorienting and too bright- he’s being cooked alive!

A section of wall collapses, revealing Alvins, laying dead

still in a corner. Jakoby staggers to him, grabbing him up
in his arms and then...

EXT. 3441 ABRAMS - CONTINUOUS

Jakoby and Alvins come crashing through the window they were
originally shot at through in the beginning of our story,
slamming to the ground as more of the house collapses.

The crowd gasps, loudly yelling and cheering.

 99.

BIGGS
Holy shit.

Jakoby drags Alvins across the front lawn, finally collapsing

next to him. Alvins looks...dead.

JAKOBY
Hey! You’re out, you’re out of
there, I got you. I got you,
you’re okay, you’re okay right?
Breathe. Breathe! ...C’mon Scott
say something, say-

Alvins is looking off into the distance. He weakly points.

ALVINS
Mike...Look.

Jakoby looks up to see the Fogteeth, standing behind the

police line. All of the orcs watched Jakoby’s rescue. He
stares at them, uncomprehending.

Their leader steps forward, draws out a knife, and cuts his
own palm, and then raises his clawed hand high. As he does
so, all of the orcs raise their hands behind him.

Mike Jakoby, watching this, is overcome with emotion,

starting to cry.

JAKOBY
Hey, Scott, we’re gonna be okay.
Everything’s...Scott? Scott?

Alvins is done.

FADE TO WHITE.

CLOSE ON: Something brown. Unclear what. A vortex of some

kind. A spiral.

SLOWLY REVEAL: It’s hair. We’re looking at someone’s hair.

We can hear faint beeping. We’re in a POV shot of hair. OK.

INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY

Scott Alvins slowly realizes he’s in a hospital bed, with

someone else’s hair next to his face. It’s Sophia. She’s
crawled into the hospital bed with him.

He’s heavily bandaged, pale, hooked up to several different

machines, barely conscious. Everything’s blurry and
confusing; he’s clearly dazed.
 100.

A nurse by the side of the bed finishes checking his chart,

and heads out the door.

In the moment the door is open, he catches a glimpse of a man

in all black holding an assault rifle: national guard. On a
muted TV mounted near the ceiling, CNN is playing:

CHAOS IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES - Helicopter footage of

the burning house. File photographs of himself, Jakoby, then
photographs of Pollard, Ching, Waller...

He tries to sit up, but there’s a clink; he sees that one of

his hands is handcuffed to the hospital bed’s railing. He
laughs to himself; he’s so injured he can barely move.

He looks down at Sophia, who stirs, fast asleep, and for a

moment, buries his face in her hair, tears streaming down his
face. He didn’t believe he’d get this moment.

He turns, and sees Jakoby, bruised and heavily bandaged,

looking at him from a chair next to the bed. Alvins speaks,
his voice a throaty croak.

ALVINS
Hey.

Jakoby smiles.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Am I under arrest.

JAKOBY
Not officially. Not yet anyway.
We’re “detained indefinitely.” FBI
boys took Tikka.

ALVINS
Is it...morning...

JAKOBY
Afternoon. On Wednesday. You were
out for two days. I fought for
them to let her in here.

ALVINS
(barely a whisper)
Thank you.

Jakoby is quiet, heavy with emotion. Alvins nods, smiling.

ALVINS (CONT’D)
Hey Mike. We’re alive.
 101.

JAKOBY
Yeah man.

ALVINS
Hey Mike, you did it.

JAKOBY
Yeah man, holy shit.

Jakoby and Alvins both laugh, weakly, and Jakoby leans

forward, hugging him, pressing their foreheads together.

INT. FBI BUILDING - SAFE CELL

It’s a windowless protective cell; we’re viewing it through a

two way mirror. Tikka sits, with her shoulder bandaged, on a
bed, where she’s being talked to by two doctors.

Gordon Vance is looking in at her from the other side of the

two way mirror, thinking.

INT. CALIFORNIA STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICE - SHORTLY THEREAFTER

Gordon Vance is at his desk, talking to a TECH who’s showing

him the destroyed lap top, when Biggs enters.

GORDON VANCE
Christ, did you even sleep? I
thought you were supposed to be on
administrative leave.

BIGGS
My job isn’t done til we know what
happened in that house. How’s the
girl, did you-

GORDON VANCE
She’s not saying anything. Said
she’d speak to “the two heroes” and
no one else, hasn’t spoken since.
And you know how elves are.

BIGGS
I know how elves are.

GORDON VANCE
Hey man, no offense.

BIGGS
None taken.

There’s a beat.
 102.

BIGGS (CONT’D)
If we could clear Alvins and
Jakoby, we could use them.

GORDON VANCE
Right, but we can’t. You’d need a
smoking gun. Hell, we have a
smoking gun, what you’d need is an
alibi, some kind of legal
justification and that’s not gonna
happen, Biggs. Those guys are in a
bureaucratic catch 22, they’re
gonna be bounced from custody to
custody until someone decides they
need a scapegoat. I mean, they’re
cop killers, and no matter what
they say on record it’s just their
word against dead bodies. They’re
going away for a long time.

BIGGS
Strikes me as bullshit. They won’t
even let me talk to my own
witnesses.

GORDON VANCE
They’re not witnesses, they’re
suspects. We have NOTHING to clear
them. Why would you trust them?
Plus Lorraine Gibson and her boys
cleaned up the crime scene, and
then the goddamn house got
incinerated, so CSI wouldn’t even
know where to start.

Biggs looks down, staring at his shoes, frustrated.

BIGGS
What about the surveillance?

GORDON VANCE
Bad news there, too.

He looks to the tech, who sits up.

TECH
The hard drive was damaged. We
lost months and months of data;
pretty much no usable audio from
the entire operation.

BIGGS
What do you mean “pretty much.”
 103.

TECH
Well I mean we got some garbled
stuff night of, but it’s from
later, nothing from the case, the
witch isn’t on there, the subjects
aren’t on there-

BIGGS
When can I hear it?

TECH
The whole thing, clean? A month,
maybe two. It’s only a snippet of
conversation; I don’t even
recognize the voices on the tape.
Might’ve been on TV, a computer-

BIGGS
(long beat)
Play it.

TECH
It’s not done filtering; we got
about two minutes on either side of
this, and it’s distorted as-

BIGGS
Play it.

There’s a beat, and then the tech sighs, annoyed. The

recording starts up. It’s distorted, barely audible.

POLLARD (RECORDING)
-Let me reframe: do you want your
little girl to not have a father,
AND Jakoby dies? Or just Jakoby to
die? Because you’re living in
fuckin fantasy land if you think
you’re walking away, here-

ALVINS (RECORDING)
-You’re fucking threatening me?-

WALLER (RECORDING)
Yeah you’re catching up real quick
now, real quick-

POLLARD (RECORDING)
Who means more to you, your little
girl or your monster? You want her
to get the call that you’re dead in
some crackhouse? The orc dies
either way. This wand is not going
on the books. End of story.
 104.

Biggs slowly sits up, his eyes wide.

SLAM TO BLACK.

THE END.