OPEN ON: EXT. OUTER SPACE Outer space. A marvel to witness first person, something that less than 10% of the world’s population will ever see. It is stunning, leaving one entranced. We see in the middle distance the PLANET EARTH. It is a sparkling jewel, floating weightlessly in the vast blackness of outer space, dominating its little corner of the Galaxy. PUSH IN on the blue orb, its size growing exponentially as we approach. Over this prolonged trip toward the planet runs the MAIN TITLE As the titles come to an end, we FADE TO: INT. APARTMENT BUILDING (APARTMENT 3C) - NIGHT We see a MAN walk past his window (it is raining quite hard outside) carrying a cellular phone in his hand. He is pacing back and forth, nervous. MAN (muffled) I don’t give a damn. This is more important, so just get him! Now! The man continues to pace, waiting for a reply. As he does so, we begin to MOVE AWAY from him, focusing on the room itself. We see a relatively normal-looking apartment - that is, what we can see of the apartment in almost no light. There is a hint of something wet in the middle of the floor. A trail leads from the wet spot to the window, and it continues outside. At the window, under the exterior street lights, it glints like blood, but we can’t be sure. Below the window lies a mess of red-stained ropes. RESUME - MAN MAN At last! Where are you? (beat) Of course this is important. Do you really think I would phone you otherwise? (beat) It’s about Miko, yes... she’s here and she’s found us. (beat) What do you think I’ve done about it? I used her the same as the others. (beat) No, I happen to think it was a bloody good idea, actually. Just... just give me until morning before you clean this up. I need time to get out of here without leaving any traces of my involvement. (beat) Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then. The man hangs the phone up and walks towards the other room. FADE TO BLACK. EXT. STREET - MORNING OPEN WITH a few establishing shots of this urban street as it wakes up in the early morning. Despite the distant sunrise, much of the street remains cast in shadow, tall apartment buildings surrounding it on either side. Concrete monstrosities, they give the area a drab, lifeless appearance. ANGLE ON two pedestrians walking down the middle of this dead street, their shoes clashing against the asphalt, wet from the previous night’s rainfall, ECHOING between the walls around them. The pedestrians, we will soon discover, are MARCUS DARMOC and PATRICIA (PAT) O’NEIL. They are talking to one another as they go. DARMOC Hideous what they’ve done to this place. PAT Oh? DARMOC Absolutely. Before they sat these buildings up, most of this area used to be rural land. PAT The high cost of urbanization, I suppose. Pat’s eyes scan the buildings quickly. PAT (cont’d) But surely that must have been decades ago. DARMOC Some of us don’t quickly forget. Pat, puzzled by the remark, glances at Darmoc. Caught out, he gives her a knowing smile, and she quickly joins in. PAT The things I could do to you given a chance, Marcus. DARMOC But would you? PAT Of course not. But a girl can dream, can’t she? After all, you can be truly infuriating at times. DARMOC I was sure that’s what you were... (trails off) ...paying me for. Darmoc stares into the distance, distracted from his lovely companion. His stride begins to increase, legs pumping rapidly. He is suddenly jogging. Pat, puzzled, simply follow on and tries to match his pace. Darmoc stops at an alley between two towering buildings. He looks in at the gap, but we do not. Instead, all we see are hints of what looks to be blood splashed against the wall of one of the buildings. Darmoc looks at the blood, sees that it forms a slight trail. He begins to follow it. Pat catches up, looks in the alleyway. She is HORRIFIED by what she sees. DARMOC (focused on blood) I wouldn’t look in there if I were you, not if you wish to keep your breakfast down. But it’s too late. Pat turns away, resting her back against the wall opposite the one Darmoc is examining. She puts her hands on her knees, supporting her torso, and breaths deeply. Darmoc, meanwhile, has followed the blood trail as far as he can. He looks up and sees that it leads up to a window on the third floor of the building. He continues around to the entrance. He reads a plaque on the wall -- OMEGA APARTMENT COMPLEX Walking back into the alleyway, Darmoc looks to Pat. DARMOC Are you alright, Pat? PAT I’ll survive. Darmoc looks at Pat, eyes concerned. PAT (cont’d) What is it? DARMOC (points up at window) It looks like the bodies came from up there. Pat walks over to Darmoc, sees the blood trail. PAT Impossible. DARMOC Why do you say that? Why dismiss the obvious? PAT Because it’s equally obvious that the bodies would’ve been dropped past the wall, not slid down it. DARMOC Look down. Pat does... and sees nothing. DARMOC Had the assailant simply dropped the bodies, they would’ve left rather a large mess of blood right where we’re standing, don’t you think? PAT But why bother to slide them down the wall? That must have been awfully time- consuming. DARMOC I honestly don’t know. Such a price tends to come with not being a serial killer. Maybe the assailant wanted to get the bodies out of his or her apartment quietly. PAT And leave this mess behind? DARMOC Again, how should I know? PAT (considers) Another puzzle. Look around you -- it rained last night. Quite heavily. DARMOC So this happened recently for the blood to still be here. Pat touches some of the blood on the wall, rubs it between her fingers. PAT No. This blood’s been coated with the rain. DARMOC That can’t be -- it hasn’t congealed yet. The walls would’ve been washed clean by the water. PAT But they haven’t been. Maybe that’s why the assailant left the stains -- he or she suspected they’d wash away. Darmoc just stands there, completely disbelieving. PAT (cont’d) Examine it for yourself if you don’t believe me. He does. He stares for a long moment, then crosses his arms over his chest. DARMOC You’re right. Either this blood’s been chemically altered or -- PAT Or it’s not blood as we know it. (beat) Do you think the blood on those bodies has the same properties? DARMOC There’s one way to find out... and whilst you do, I think I’ll have a look at the apartment up there. While Pat heads over to the mess of bodies, Darmoc starts again for the entrance. He tries the door, expecting it to be locked, but it opens easily. Slightly puzzled, he remains undeterred and heads in. CUT TO: INT. APARTMENT BUILDING (STAIRS) - MORNING Darmoc makes his way up the interior stairway. We follow him as he passes the door to level two, then level three. He enters this door. CUT TO: EXT. STREET - MORNING From a distance, we see Pat kneeling over the bodies and taking a closer look at the blood. Suddenly, we hear distant police SIRENS. Pat looks up, but when they begin to fade, she ignores them. CUT TO: INT. APARTMENT BUILDING (HALL) - MORNING Darmoc stands in front of apartment 3C. He tries the handle and it is also unlocked. He pushes it open. INT. APARTMENT BUILDING (APARTMENT 3C) - MORNING Darmoc walks in, looks around. Inside, he sees exactly what we saw in the opening scene, except that the sunlight now reveals that the blood trail from the window leads to a large pool of blood in the middle of the room - still wet. Darmoc walks over to the window. He kneels down, picks up the ropes. He looks at them, thinking. CUT TO: EXT. STREET - MORNING Pat continues examining the bodies as before. Suddenly, we hear the SIRENS again, but this time they’re coming a lot closer very fast. An unmarked police vehicle pulls up to the scene, its tires grinding on the wet asphalt. Pat looks up and around at it, smiles. She gets to her feet and starts to walk towards it. One plain clothed police officer, PROCTOR, emerges from the car and points his gun at Pat. Pat doesn’t seem to notice. PAT I’m so glad you’ve arrived. There’s an awful mess of bodies here. From the car emerges a man in a gray suit. He is DETECTIVE MALLORY. His features are rugged, but handsome. He walks in a cool, even fashion. As he nears pat, he flashes his badge. MALLORY Good morning, ma’am. Mallory - Criminal Investigations. He walks a little nearer Pat, puts away his badge. PAT You’re a detective? MALLORY That’s right. PAT I’m so relieved. My friend and I found a terrible mess of bodies in this alleyway not five minutes ago... (realization hits) You knew about this? MALLORY We got a report from a passing jogger. (beat, changes subject) You said you arrived here with a friend? Where might he be? PAT He’s up in the apartment, searching for answers. Mallory nods at Proctor, who then enters the building. Pat sees this. PAT Where’s he going? MALLORY To get your friend. He’s probably gone and interfered with the crime scene. PAT You’re not going to arrest him, are you? MALLORY I’m afraid so... (beat) And you as well. PAT What?! Look, when my friend and I saw the blood, we noticed something odd about it, so we took it upon ourselves to look into the matter further. We were only trying to help. MALLORY Be that as it may, there are certain laws to adhere to. Proctor comes out of the building, bringing a handcuffed Darmoc out with him. Pat sees the cuffs. PAT What is this? PROCTOR (to Mallory) He has blood all over his pants. I also found him sifting through a pile of bloody, discarded rope. Mallory stares for a moment, recognition sweeping over him. MALLORY Marcus Darmoc? DARMOC Sergeant Mallory. How splendid to see you again. I only wish we could have reacquainted ourselves under happier circumstance. MALLORY On that note I have to agree with you, Marcus. (beat) But I’m afraid I have no choice but to arrest you on suspicion of murder. PAT How dare you?! MALLORY I’m sorry, but the evidence is rather damning. And, of course, it means I have to charge you with conspiracy to murder. PAT This is an outrage! DARMOC This isn’t helping matters, Pat. Just let it slide... We’ll soon have this sorted out. Mallory pulls a set of handcuff and begins to shackle Pat. MALLORY You’d be wise to listen to Marcus. Let’s not make this any more complicated than it has to be. As the cops start to escort our two heros into the car, Darmoc begins to lose his balance. He falls away from the cop who is leading him and drops forward to the ground. MARCUS’ POV Everything is askew as he looks up and sees a concerned Pat looming over him. She screams something at Mallory, but there is no audio. We hear only the sound of DARMOC HEART, beating slowly. Mallory is motioning for Proctor to help him lift Darmoc from the ground. But before they do, we FADE TO BLACK.