sister's curse

opening

TEASER

OVER BLACK

AMERICA, MOUNTAIN REGION, 1703

ext. mountain clearing—night

With moonlight as his only guidance a soldier arrives at a clearing where he hears some sort of chant. Careful not to be discovered and fearing aboriginal retribution he crawls silently through the underbrush.

He detects a dozen figures circled around a flat-topped stone where a young girl, mere adolescent, is tied and covered in something thick and black. In the background we see a large cave mouth as dark as hell itself.

We ZOOM on his eyes understanding his recognition of the black liquid (blood). The women's song gets louder and his body suddenly ignites in pain. He struggles to keep silent.

We DRIFT TO THE CAVE ENTRANCE where a strange violet light glows and softly reveals a horned shape. The monster steps into the moonlight an unearthly shriek rips through the mountain. The figure hovers to the altar and his form expands—his darkness engulfs the adolescent. Her screams stop abruptly. Without any apparent limb the entity tears the young woman's throat and her blood rushes everywhere.

We ZOOM on the disgusted face of the man hiding, hurting. From his POV, we see the other women collect the spraying blood with baskets and drink from them.

Horrified he tries to move away but the pain is excruciating. He wiggles and stumbles around falling and cutting himself on the sharp rocks until he faints.

In and out of consciousness he feels someone pulling him along the ground in complete silence.

Int. hut – day

He wakes to a blurry vision of a woman tending to him. His arms and legs are covered in black and he startles up to fight the evil he thinks she's putting on him.

Woman

Shhh!

She gestures to show it is earth nothing more.

The man sits up cautiously. He's dizzy from exhaustion. He looks around. He's in a hut with a centre pillar, with baskets and dried herbs hanging or stacked here and there. She moves away from him to get a bowl of water. Her ankle is tied to a leather cord bonded to the centre pillar. How did he get here? If she wasn't the one that dragged him out of the woods last night, then who? Fearing he's now the tribes' prisoner, he pushes off the blankets but his weakened body will not allow that much exertion. The female points and gestures to the entrance, the plants and finally the bowls she used to treat him. She touches his hands, removing the cracked earth and showing him the already healing skin.

O.S.Noise from outside.

The woman reacts quickly to something happening outside the hut. She crammed him under a bench and hides him with loose blankets and empty baskets.

Through the open weave (man POV)

An elder woman enters and speaks harshly and throws something on the ground. He doesn't understand. She cowers under the words of the matriarch and although her eyes fill to the brim she doesn't let her tears soil her face. She bends her head in submission. Disgust deforms the old lady's wrinkled mouth.

The man comes out of hiding and sees she's clenching one of the ties that bonded the young girl to the altar. Where they related? The horrifying events crisp his handsome face. Ignorant of what is happening in these mountains his fear pushes him to reject the kindness and protection offered. He recoils from her. He resumes his attempt to escape in spite of the pain and dizziness. She holds his shoulder when he waivers under the strain. Trusting him with her anguish, she allows her sorrow to drip from her almond eyes. The sight of her vulnerability, the realness she shows him dissipates his flight instinct. Something deeper than empathy stirs in him. He opens his arms to her regardless of the danger. Instantly the ache that had been resonating in his body, since the chanting began, is magically relieved only it's not the only effect it has on him. He can't resist kissing her, touching her in a passionate embrace. She responds equally enthralled, unable to quench her own hunger.

Cut to:

Int. – hut – snowy night months later

The soldier enters the tent covered in snow. He comes only during new moons, darkest nights of the forest. He used a hidden trail she had drawn for him that allowing to travel undiscovered.

He walks towards her a smile on his face. They hadn't seen each other since last fall and his first contact is for her protruding stomach. She's pariah with her people, marked by her parents at birth so she wouldn't end up as a ritual sacrifice. She's still alive only for her talent with healing herbs. With little to no human interaction and the large heavy clothing she wears, she was able to hide her condition. Of course, the matriarch wasn't fooled. She assumed a tribe's men probably did it and because of her status, no one thought the better of it.

She had suffered day and night since his last visit but tonight she was leaving with him. She was taking her unborn child away from this nightmare.

Intercut

ext. ABORIGINAL camp, night

The elder sees the soldier enter the hut. She whistles and tribal men come out of hiding. She gestures with her head and they move towards the tent.

We DRIFT OUTSIDE towards the altar stone and the cave, both of them fighting against their captors. She's made to kneel in front of the altar facing the cave. The man is tied to the ceremonial stone.

The luminous shape comes quickly and angrily. He stands before the pregnant woman and talks in her native tongue.

O.s. woman chanting

The soldier growls and screams in pain as soon as the chanting begins.

The figure points at the man on the stone and at her bulging abdomen.

ENTITY (Subtitles)

Is this the spawn of this man?

She screams as the figure approaches her.

SOLDIER (Screaming)

No leave them alone. Kill me! Take me!

The figure comes over to him and with long shadowy finger slashes his cheek. He licks the blood from the wound with a lizard like tongue. He recoils. The blood is powerful and his light flickers. It moves back towards the woman and growls.

He cuts his wrist and forces her to drink the black liquid. A massive pulse of purple light explodes around the clearing. The tribe is thrown to the ground unconscious, the entity dissipates and the woman goes into labour. Through the pain she manages to unbind her frantic lover. Quickly, too quickly the child is born, a beautiful baby boy, with blond hair and blue eyes.

ZOOM ON the emotion of the newly formed family (Man kissing his son's head and mother tearfully holding her baby to her chest).

But before she can feed her infant, we REFOCUS to see the tribes' men waking and getting up slowly. They look around seeing the others gaining their balance. Finally, they register the woman and child, they are ready to kill them. She pushes the newborn into his father's arms as she stands. Before the soldier could react, she is bolts towards their attackers. She is cut down easily.

He takes his son and runs.

He runs until he reaches the army's encampment through tearful eyes and burning lungs.

END OF TEASER