Killer Loop

Part One

Scene One

Scene opens with a chaotic chase through the woods; a man and a woman are running through a dark forest. Something is crashing through the trees behind them

MAN: We're almost there! I can see the gates now!

The couple unknowingly stumble off the edge of a cliff, tumbling down the edge until they crash at the bottom. The WOMAN twists her ankle with a painful shriek

MAN: We've gotta keep going. Get up we have to—(Looks down and sees her ankle)

WOMAN: (Sobbing hysterically as MAN slowly backs away) Don't leave me here, please. Help me up. (MAN shakes his head as he backs away before running towards the gate)

WOMAN: DON'T FUCKING LEAVE ME!

A large shadow looms over her. She turns her head to see a hulking man in mask and tattered overalls standing over her, axe raised above his head. Her shrill scream is cut shortly after.

***

Scene jumps to Temptation, the pleasure district of Babylon III. Detective SAWANO walks down the street. On either side of him there are neon signs for drugs, alcohol, and prostitutes. He lights a cigarette as he turns a corner into an alley way, paying no mind to the group of men standing to his left. The men follow behind him shortly after he bends the corner. SAWANO, either oblivious or uncaring, finds what he is looking for: a well-dressed man reading a newspaper under the neon lights

SAWANO: You're not an easy man to find.

WELL-DRESSED MAN: Easy enough if you're here. You got the money? (SAWANO tosses him a roll of credits. As he counts it) Awful shame what happened to that missing couple, don't you think?

SAWANO: Last I heard they came to check out Temptation. No one's heard from them since.

WELL-DRESSED MAN: Tourists, always trying to find the big thrill wherever they go.  Word around Temptation is they were invited to the Killer Loop. At first they were only spectators, but you know how that usually goes.

SAWANO: Who sent the invite?

WELL-DRESSED MAN: Come on, Detective. You know that's not how it works.

SAWANO grabs him by the collar before hearing a sound behind him. He turns around right into an incoming fist. The punch sends him to the floor, and before he can recover another blow lands. Then another.

WELL-DRESSED MAN: Awful shame it had to come to this. (Fixes his suit as he walks away) Take care of the detective, will you boys?

Scene Two

Scene changes to what appears to be a warehouse repurposed into the set of a game show. Seats encompass the floor like a small scale coliseum, each packed with loud cheering fans. Holographic screens show a man being eaten alive by a pack of zombies from different angles.

LADY OHTA, the scantily-clad game hostess appears from behind a curtain on-stage. The crowd goes wild

LADY OHTA: How are you doing ladies and gentlemen? (The crowd roars in response) You've enjoyed the pleasures of Temptation, from the booze to the drugs to the sex. But there's nothing more thrilling, more sensual, more visceral, than the Killer Loop!

LADY OHTA's voice plays as the scene cuts to another part of the facility where contestants being placed in stasis containers, their vitals displayed on-screen to be monitored by men in white sterilized gear.