*

*


INT. CLOSET - LATER


Kerry sits, eyes vaguely open, and looks away from Ethan, thinking.

The classical music tape ends in the background suddenly, to which Kerry has a small reaction.

Her stomach growls, and she puts her hands around her torso.  She glances up in Ethan’s direction, with a nervous look.


KERRY
          He'll be so hungry. . .


She shakes her head and looks up at the door handle.  She looks back at Ethan, then back up at the door and sets her jaw.  She stands.


KERRY (CONT’D)
          I should end it.  Now.  Just. . .put a stop to it all. . .


Kerry brings her foot back to kick open the door — but hesitates.  Her face, her determined expression, flickers.  She tries to resist, but closes her eyes, makes a fist, opens her palm and makes a fist again.  She's unable to resist looking back at Ethan, who remains motionless and sleeping against the wall.  She jerks her face away, and pulls her foot back further.

But then drops it.  She sighs as she sinks back down to the floor.  She places a hand over her eyes in exasperation.  She brings it down soon after, and looks at Ethan curiously, confusedly.


KERRY (CONT’D)
          How can I do this?  How can I let him live?


She continues to stare at Ethan for a moment, speculatively almost.  Then she gets up, and crawls over to him, looking at him closely.

She makes to move the few strands of black hair in his eyes away from his face.  She sighs as she admits it.


KERRY (CONT’D)
          Because he let me . . . and my family . . . Regina wouldn't have done that  -


She pulls her hand back and sits back against her side of the closet.


KERRY (CONT’D)
          Why did you, Ethan?  Why did you let me live?


INT. CLOSET — NIGHT


Kerry snoozes.

Ethan groans. Kerry stirs slightly and looks at her watch.


FULL SHOT — WRISTWATCH


It reads 4:35 PM.


INT. CLOSET — CONTINUOUS


Kerry looks up at Ethan.


KERRY
          Hi.


ETHAN
          I assumed you’d change your mind.


KERRY
          I told you I’d watch over you.


Temporary silence; Kerry stares at Ethan as he sits up, getting comfortable, his skin obviously giving him some grief.


KERRY (CONT’D)
          Will you recover?


ETHAN
          Much slower than any other type of injury. Slower even than it would take a human to heal, but . . . eventually.
          (a beat)
          Thank you.


KERRY
          Now that you’re awake, I’m going to go home.  My father doesn't even know yet whether I'm alive.


Both she and Ethan stand up.


KERRY (CONT’D)
          But before I do, there's one matter left to clear up — why didn't you tell me they were all right? You knew how frantic I was.  You knew!


ETHAN
          I also knew that you wouldn't help me unless you thought your family was still in danger.


KERRY
          Didn't you think of how crazy it would make me to see it right there in the paper and realize you'd known and hidden it from me?


ETHAN
          (closes his eyes and nods slowly)
          He had a newspaper. . . I overlooked that possibility. I assumed Marsala would tell you, and that you'd think he was lying.  I never stopped to think what would happen if he had proof.


KERRY
          Unbelievable.  Not, 'I was wrong to lie,' but, 'I was wrong to get caught.'  How would you have felt if the situation had been reversed?  If it was someone you loved? If I knew Regina was safe when you thought she was dead —


ETHAN
          First of all, Regina and I were not lovers —


He reaches to move a strand of hair our of her face.


KERRY
          No.  First of all, that's not the point. Second of all —


She brings her fist back and punches his arm as hard as she can. Ethan looks surprised, but doesn't protest.


KERRY (CONT’D)
          — can't you say two sentences without lying?  Every time Regina's name comes up, you get all crazy.  And you have the nerve to tell me you weren't lovers?  And third of all —


She turns her back on him and crosses her arms.


KERRY (CONT’D)
          — I don't really care if you were lovers or not.


ETHAN
          Kerry . . . we were both vampires, sharing for a time the same small town.  We were temporary companions of the night.  Never lovers in any sense of the word.  But I thought I'd led them to her.  I thought I'd done something, and they'd found me out, and followed me, and killed her because of me.  I thought it was my fault.


Kerry is taken aback slightly.  She turns around to face him.


KERRY
          You were blaming himself for what happened to her . . . for what Marsala did. . .


Ethan nods.

She looks into his eyes.

Silence hangs between them for a few moments before he leans in and kisses her, lightly; barely more than brushing his lips against hers before he pulls back and just looks at her again.
Then he kisses her again, more fervently and she kisses him back. . .


ETHAN (V.O.)
          Sometimes after one of a pair of lovers is bitten, the other may choose to join them.


Kerry opens her eyes suddenly, still kissing him.

She pulls back, placing her palm flat against his chest, looking away from his face.


KERRY
          Ethan —


He takes a step back, waiting.  She looks up at him, her face set, but sad.  As she speaks, her gaze wanders away from him.


KERRY (CONT’D)
          I — I don't have all the information.  You might think I'm being terribly naïve, which I probably am, but I don't want you to  think that I'm implying any sort of criticism of anybody who may or may not have been in the same situation, even though every situation is different —


ETHAN
         Kerry.


As she looks up to meet his eyes, he raises his eyebrows at her.

She takes a deep breath.


KERRY (CONT’D)
          What I'm trying to say is that I don't intend to become a vampire.
          (a beat)
          In case the question ever came up.


ETHAN
          Then why did you help me?


KERRY
          Because. . .
          (she turns away, tears in her eyes)
          . . . I'm indebted to you.


A Montage begins to run:A Montage begins to run:


CUT TO:


INT. LAUNDROMAT - NIGHT


Ethan looks up at Kerry from the floor, gagged, his hands tied behind his back, his face pale, eyes wide below the huge bruise on his forehead.


CUT TO:


EXT. NOLAND HOUSE — NIGHT


Ethan leans down and gently kisses her on the cheek.


CUT TO:


INT. LIVING ROOM — NIGHT


Ethan stands, looking at the living room wall, and the huge red letters plastered to it.

Slowly, he turns around to look at her evenly.


CUT TO:


INT. OFFICE — NIGHT


Ethan holds Kerry pressed against the wall; he looks directly into her eyes, as if searching, for a few moments.

He sighs, heavily, then, finally, steps back and lets her go, nodding.


CUT TO:


EXT. BERGEN SWAMP — NIGHT


Ethan stands next to Regina’s body.  He looks down at the ground and closes his eyes, his fierceness melting away.  He rests a hand against his temple.  His hand shakes slightly.


CUT TO:


INT. MARSALA’S LIVING ROOM — NIGHT


Ethan holds Marsala against the wall.

He slowly turns around to look at Kerry, suddenly just the slightest bit confused and worried.

A look of shock and almost terror on his face, releases Marsala fiercely as he lunges toward Kerry.


CUT TO:


INT. MARSALA’S LIVING ROOM — NIGHT


Marsala advances on Kerry — Ethan tries to get up, but his right leg buckles under him.

Marsala whirls around and shoots Ethan  in the leg again. Ethan drops heavily to the floor.


CUT TO:


INT. MARSALA’S LIVING ROOM — NIGHT


He lies on the floor; Kerry holds the gun in her hand.

He looks at her, calm; his mouth form the words: “It's all right.”


CUT TO:


INT. CLOSET — NIGHT


Kerry stares at Ethan.  Overwhelmed, her eyes fill up, her chin beginning to tremble.She suddenly turns around and Ethan caresses her face until she suddenly throws her arms around him and sobs into his chest and shoulder. He rests his chin on her head and hugs her, gently, rocking her back and forth in a comforting movement.

After only a few moments, she pulls away from him.


KERRY (CONT’D)
          If you aren't going to kill me, then I need to know what to tell the police; what do I claim happened?


ETHAN
          (sighs)
          Your father didn't come to pick you up.  So you accepted a ride from Ethan Bryne, a customer at the store with whom you'd talked before, got along, and were just generally acquainted.


KERRY
          Do I like him?


ETHAN
          (smiles)
          Not really, but you were desperate for a ride.  As you walked out to her car, a man whom you did not recognize, who will turn out to be George Marsala, came out of nowhere.  He had a gun, and threatened to shoot unless Ethan drove where he was told, which was here, Marsala's home.  Marsala put you in the laundry room in the basement, moving something heavy in front of the door do that you couldn't get out. You yelled for help, but nobody heard you. After a long time-you had the impression it was the next night-Marsala came to get you out. You demanded to know where Ethan was, but all Marsala could do was talk about Satan and vampires.


KERRY
          In favor or against?


ETHAN
          In favor of Satan, against Vampires.  He raved about burning out all vampire blood, including yours.  He grabbed you and you managed to push him away — he stumbled and tripped over his kit, falling down the stairs.  You figured that he would be more furious than ever so you ran into the library and jammed the desk chair under the doorknob, certain he’d come banging on the door any moment.  You waited and waited until you fell asleep.  Then, the next night, you couldn’t stand it anymore and went out to peek down the stairs.  When you saw him in the same position, you realized he’d been dead all along.  Because of the ordeal, you weren’t thinking strait and walked home.  Which will give me time to — ah — arrange things here.


KERRY
          What about Ethan Bryne?


ETHAN
          Never to be seen again, I'm afraid.


KERRY
          Are you really going to let me go?


ETHAN
          How can you ask that?


Kerry turns, and opens the door to the closet.


INT. BEDROOM — NIGHT


Ethan follows her, but he doesn't go with Kerry past the closet doorway.  The door to the room is only partially open from when it was banged open earlier.  Ethan calls out to her before she can open it all the way.


ETHAN
          Would you ever change your mind?


Kerry stops, and turns to look at him.  She studies his face and concedes that he's serious.  She looks away again, thinking, considering.

She looks back up at Ethan, her head tipped slightly to one side.


KERRY
          Would you ever change yours?


ETHAN
          It would be nice not having to be looking over my shoulder all the time...and to see your hair in the sunlight.


He glances away, a little embarrassed.


ETHAN (CONT’D)
          Good-bye, Kerry. In the future, be careful whom you rescue.


KERRY
          Good-bye Ethan.


ETHAN
          (with French pronunciation)
          Michel.


KERRY
          Good-bye Michel.


And with last smiles from both of them, Kerry walks back out of the room, and down the hall, and out of the house.


FADE OUT.


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fin