My Top Five Artists

I thought today I’d take a little time to honor some important artists… ones that have influenced me strongly in some way. Men who I’d like to have dinner with, whose talent I’d like to have, whose paths I’d like to follow. Thanks for showing the way, gentlemen, even if I fail in following your precedents as closely as I’d like…

1. Clive Barker – Clive is the artist all artists should want to be like. He’s done it all, and every step of the way he’s had a devoted following who has backed him and bought into his twisted/true visions. The appeal of his art stretches across all strata of people: men, women, young, old, white, black, straight, gay… and from what I’ve seen the three times I’ve met him in person, he’s a gracious man who takes nothing for granted and gets out there and talks to people because he genuinely wants to hear what they have to say, and find out how his work has drawn them all together.

Clive started as a playwright in his native Liverpool, England, and his friends in the theater troupe they created (“Dog Company”) have stuck with him until the present. He wrote short stories between plays, and got noticed by the publishing community, ushering the gothic horror story garishly into 80s with The Books of Blood. Then he moved to Los Angeles and started making movies as well, getting the Hellraiser and Candyman franchises on their way – although he would disown then when they fell prey to that other unfortunate byproduct of the 80’s… the horror movie sequel machine.

Instead, Clive started working on novels… huge, sprawling masterworks of imagination like Weaveworld, Imajica and the two books (so far) of The Art. Something I like about the tales of people like Lovecraft and Stephen King is how there are themes, places and characters that overlap, but I also admire how Clive can create entirely separate, whole universes with completely different mythologies. He seems to have no limit to his imagination; he renewed a multimillion dollar publishing contract just by giving the *titles* of his next four books, for crying out loud.

Right now he’s working on one of the most ambitious projects of his life, The Abarat Quartet (which I now hear has expanded into five books), in which a girl named Candy Quackenbush finds herself traveling through a mystical world, and each book is illustrated with hundreds of original paintings Clive created as he found his way into the story. Amazing. Clive lives and breathes art, and can only hope that someday I’ll have a life that will afford me the same luxury.

2. Carl Sagan – Carl was the ultimate scientist, a man who was open to all possibilities -– as long as it was scientifically provable -– and brought ideas to the masses in a personal, organic fashion and valued the need for science to be presented in plain English. People who had never taken a science course in their lives could listen to Carl (for example, on his many appearances on The Tonight Show) and understand what he was trying to explain. That’s the rarest talent for a scientist, who necessarily lose themselves in the tiny details of one particular field. Carl loved it all, and while he was sometimes criticized as a dilettante, that encompassing love translated into the way he spoke to people.

His passion for science reached me when I was only 8 years old, when he starred in his PBS series Cosmos. I remember watching it on 13 consecutive Sunday nights in the summer of 1980, completely enraptured in the thoughts and ideas he put forward about astronomy, math, history, biology, physics, time travel, space travel… all of it rooted in real theory. Carl showed me that the Universe is an infinitely beautiful, infinitely delicate balancing act between order and chaos, and we have a privileged vantage point because we get to see and understand so much of it.

Carl also gave me an important credo I still live by -– “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”. My mind is open enough that I would *love* to believe in alien life and paranormal phenomena, and I absolutely will if it can be proven. In a world where we can create everyday wonders by manipulating atoms and energy, there shouldn’t be anything we can’t potrentially examine and understand.

While there are wonders out there that we can’t possibly understand, he believed that we *will*, one day. I can’t think of a better tribute to him than the fact that I believe it too.

3. Stephen King – In 1985, I read the opening novella of King’s story collection Skeleton Crew. It was called “The Mist”, and affected me like nothing I had ever read before. By the time I finished reading it, I was horrified and sad, thoroughly creeped out and completely unable to stop reading. And I’m still going, over twenty years and tens of thousands of pages later.

What makes King’s style so readable to me? No one can get inside a character’s head the way Steve can. His characters are so *real*… their voices are like ours, full of their own internal shorthand thoughts, the little in-jokes we have with ourselves, and it makes it that much more resonant when those characters run smack into The Unknown. And they do… whether it’s a huge mass of tentacles out in the mist, or a shape-shifting creature that lives in the sewers and takes the forms of your worst fears, or a particularly vicious ghost that dwells in forgotten hotel room.

And then there are the tantalizing crossovers… most of them revolve around his epic seven-book (soon to be eight-book) series The Dark Tower, which is a cross between Spaghetti Westerns and modern fantasy, where Roland, the last of a line of knight-like “gunslingers”, undergoes a mythic quest across times and worlds to save the Dark Tower (which is really the linchpin of all creation) from being destroyed by The Crimson King, an act which would not only result in the collapse of Roland’s universe, but the collapse of all possible Universes, including worlds where many of King’s other books have taken place. There are at least 3 other novels of his that are basically Dark Tower books, only not in name, and the main villain turns up in other guises in even more. It’s all one big Universe, and all things are connected. That’s yet another way that King’s literature is like life.

4. Orson Welles – The first thing I remember seeing Orson do was a narrating job for a TV special about the treasures of Tutankhamen’s tomb back in the ‘70s. I just remember being amazed by this imposing guy with a cool salt-and-pepper beard wandering around a museum exhibit and talking about the pharaoh’s treasures in a deep, ominous voice. I didn’t know that what I was watching was the sad, lackluster end of a artistic career that started out as one of the most promising anyone had seen before or since.

When I first knew him, Orson was a narrator of TV specials and commercials, and a frequent guest on the Tonight Show who could do a magic tricks and weave tales of old Hollywood better than anyone else could. From there, I started learning more about him, about how he started out as a wunderkind of the theater, working with John Houseman to produce amazing Broadway spectacles such as the “voodoo Macbeth”, done with an entirely black cast from Harlem. He moved into radio, not only being the star of many classic shows like “The Shadow”, but creating his own Mercury Theater Playhouse that brought stories of classic literature to radio life (the most famous, of course, being his fake-documentary version of War of the Worlds that frightened a nation one Halloween). Then he went straight into film, and co-wrote, directed and starred in Citizen Kane, one of the most enduring and technically dazzling debut films ever made.

Everything he touched, it seemed, turned to gold. He could do no wrong… and then it all fell apart, almost as quickly as it began. His films, although still amazing, never had the popularity they deserved, and he didn’t help the situation by wandering off to other projects before seeing the previous one through, and as a result we are left with half-baked “studio cuts” of could-have-been classics like The Magnificent Ambersons, Touch of Evil, and Mr. Arkadin. He finally ended up as I saw him in my childhood, overweight and tired, frustrated at how he had to take bottom-of-the-barrel roles to pay his bills and finance the occasional film that he could scrape together.

I think I identify with folks who have more than a few choices of things they can focus their talent – it’s hard to stick to one thing when your creativity is pulling you in several directions at once. Orson seems to be a living cautionary tale about this very thing, what can happen to you if you don’t settle down and choose a path. I also admire the way he dove into everything he did… he lived his life large before that phrase was even coined. He burned through fortunes, ate huge meals, married movie stars like Rita Hayworth, and really *lived*. Unfortunately, for all his accomplishment, his life ended up as a mostly-failed experiment, less than everything he could have been.

I think it’s just as valuable as lesson to learn from than those who succeeded.

5. David Lynch – You’d never know what David Lynch’s art is like from looking at him. He’s an Eagle Scout from Missoula, Montana, whose biggest vice is coffee and cigarettes, and who always fastens the buttons on his shirts all the way up to the top. You’d never know the stories that come from the depths of his mind just by looking at him. But the contents of that mind are summed up in the first minute of Blue Velvet, where a man watering his front yard suddenly has a stroke and falls over onto his perfectly manicured suburban lawn. The camera draws in close to him, then drifts underground near where he lies. There are countless ants there in terrible close-up, their feet and mandibles clicking, the sound growing deafening as things get darker and darker…

Lynch’s entire career has been built around this notion, that there is darkness and madness beneath the normal life that we try to lead. So many of his films and TV projects (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, Lost Highway, Wild at Heart, Mulholland Drive) deal with the peeling back of normal life to expose what’s really going on behind the scenes, and it’s never a pretty picture.

I’ve always been the kind of person who loves the idea of huge, overarching plots where everything means something, and Lynch’s is the closest I’ve ever come to seeing exactly that. Granted, it doesn’t always work out that way, but the beauty of a Lynch film is that you *feel* that everything is following some sort of dream-logic, even as the most bizarre things are happening.

What Lynch has shown me is that you don’t have to be a rebellious nihilist to tell stories that are full of sex, violence, and madness. David doesn’t even *swear* as far as I know, but he created Frank Booth, the most venomous, foulmouthed character to come out of 80’s cinema. And he also is a fascinating example of how you should follow your creative instinct, no matter where it leads. He’s notoriously vague about what his films *mean* -- he has never done a DVD commentary, and doesn’t even like his films to be split into “chapters” because he thinks movies are spells that you should experience all the way through in one sitting -– and to tell the truth, I don’t even know if *he’s* aware of he’s doing. A typical quote about how he makes a movie is something like: “A film is all about mood, and you just try to maintain that mood.” Still, he follows his muse faithfully, and never questions it, and I truly admire that.

SYZYGY - 17

INT. RAVEN’S MAZE

At first it looks as if Raven has stepped into a forest. Trees stretch off in infinite rows in all directions, their branches and leaves forming the low canopy of the ceiling. She steps straight ahead cautiously, until her outstretched hand comes into contact with glass, slightly distorting the view in front of her. It now becomes apparent that the trees cover the junctions between the mirrors, so it is almost impossible to tell where they are.

Raven turns right, finds that way blocked, too. She turns to the left and finds the true passage.

INT. JAKE’S MAZE

Somewhere else in the maze, Jake stands over his wife. He has covered her mouth with tape, and is binding her wrists and ankles behind her, so she is kneeling on the floor. His head snaps up to the sound of cautious footsteps on the wooden floor.

JAKE

I can hear you, Raven!

No response.

JAKE

I assume you found my gun. The only

thing that I ask is that you leave

yours, as well. I would like to hear

it, please.

No response. A few more footsteps.

JAKE

I should let you know that I have

planted several explosive devices

in this maze.

A pause. The sound of a gun being dropped on the floor.

JAKE

Good.

INT. RAVEN’S MAZE

Raven silently picks up her gun and sticks it into her belt in back. She continues feeling her way through the maze, which still looks empty in all directions.

INT. JAKE’S MAZE

Jake is leaving Kara behind him, moving toward the center of the maze stealthily.

JAKE

It’s getting lighter, isn’t it,

Raven? I think I’ll give you until

sunrise to solve the maze. When the

sun appears, that’s it. It’s all

over. I’ll be forced to make some

light of my own, and I think you

can guess what that means.

INT. RAVEN’S MAZE

Raven bumps into another mirror, then breaks her silence.

RAVEN

You’ve got to give me more time!

JAKE

(far away)

I’ve given you plenty of time. When

the night is gone, so are both of

you!

RAVEN

God dammit! Come out here! Fight

me like a man!

JAKE

(far away)

Always underestimating, aren’t you?

First we have things to discuss, a

debt to repay. Did you ever think

that maybe Kara isn’t the whole reason

I followed you all these miles?

RAVEN

Okay. I give up. What was the reason?

JAKE

(far away)

It was you. I look at you, and I

see the second-best servant of chaos

there is.

She stops. Jake is standing twenty feet in front of her. Something catches her eye. She turns to the left, and he’s there too. She turns right, and he’s also there. She keeps turning her head from one to the other, trying to discern which is real.

JAKE

Have you ever thought about what it

would be like to feel as fearless

as when you carried out those first

missions for Big Ed? When you felt

like nothing could hurt you? And it

never did. Until you clouded your

actions with your feelings for my

little carousel pony out there. I

want you, Raven. I want you to work

with me. People have made this world

too ordered. I am the Cleanser, the

one to scrape the world clean and

prepare it for the next order. And

I want you to help me.

Raven draws her gun. She points it at one of the Jakes, then the others. He laughs a little.

JAKE

I see we know each other too well.

Always the liars, aren’t we? It’s

something I’ve come to love about

you.

RAVEN

I just know better than to trust

a sick fuck like you, that’s all.

Jake draws his gun too. All three barrels simultaneously point at her.

JAKE

Well played.

RAVEN

So why did you bring me in here?

We could have handled this outside.

JAKE

Do you like the park? One of my old

victory grounds that I had imported

especially for you. New England, 1929.

A bolt came loose on the Ferris

wheel, sending twenty-four people

crashing down into the crowd that

was waiting to get on the carousel.

The sheer madness of it! You would

have enjoyed it.

RAVEN

Who the hell are you?

JAKE

Who do you think I am?

RAVEN

Jake Brennan.

JAKE

What? Oh, Raven, you disappoint me.

I though you all people would under-

stand. What if I told you that the

devil doesn’t exist? Would you believe

me?

Raven is silent.

JAKE

Or how about God? You still believe

in God, don’t you, Raven?

Still no answer. Just the pointing gun.

JAKE

Hedging your bets. That’s very

human of you. But well played. The

answer is that neither of them are

real. We all know the basic elements

of the universe. Chaos and order.

And the two of us were doing fine,

weren’t we? Always in balance, always

in check. But then you had to go and

multiply. Until there were millions

of you running around, creating your

societies and languages and technol-

ogies… Well, I’m sick of it! It’s my

turn now!

RAVEN

All I know is that you’re trying to

kill a woman and I’m trying to stop

you.

JAKE

Because she’s yours, right?

RAVEN

Not any more.

JAKE

So noble… Go ahead. Take the shot.

One in three.

Raven swings her gun to the Jake in front of her and fires. The figure disappears as the mirror shatters. The remaining Jake’s fire, and a puff of blood explodes from Raven’s right shin. She cries out and falls, landing on her back. She fires a shot at the figure on the left, shattering another mirror. She throws her hands above her head and tilts her head back to fire at the remaining Jake, but he’s disappeared into the darkness.

RAVEN

Shit.

INT. TOM’S MAZE

Tom creeps along in the near-dark, knife held out in front of him. He calls out.

TOM

Raven?

RAVEN

(far away, in pain)

Tom, get out of here!

TOM

Raven, are you okay?

RAVEN

I’m all right. Just get the hell out!

Tom presses on. He turns a corner and finds Kara bound on the floor in front of him. He hastily cuts the tape. She stands and he carefully pulls the tape off her mouth. She winces, then turns away from him as he starts cutting the tape at her wrists.

KARA

(whispering)

He’s got bombs with him. He planted

them somewhere back there.

TOM

(whispering)

Just get out. I’m going after Raven.

KARA

I’m sorry for all this, Tom. I’ll

be waiting.

Tom hugs her, then turns and rushes further into the maze. She watches him go, then slowly starts retracing her steps toward the exit.

INT. JAKE’S MAZE

Jake is down on his haunches, opening his knapsack and taking out a remote control device. He watches himself in the mirror as he does this.

JAKE

Raven?

INT. RAVEN’S MAZE

Limping nearby, she hears him. She’s leaning against a mirror, propped up against her own reflection.

JAKE

(teasing)

It’s getting light out there…

RAVEN

Fuck you! If you’re going to blow

the place, then do it!

JAKE

Last chance, Raven. It would be so

beautiful, you and I, together, killing

and maiming as we tear through this

world… of course, I’ll do it without

you if I have to.

EXT. AMUSEMENT PARK - DAWN

Kara sits behind the wheel of Raven’s car. Eyeball stands just outside the window.

EYEBALL

Are you sure you want to do this?

KARA

Stop talking, or I’ll lose my nerve.

If he sees the light, he’ll kill them

all.

She floors the accelerator, points the car straight for the entryway to the maze. For a moment, the carousel, the car, and the maze door are all in an EXACT LINE.

INT. RAVEN’S MAZE

All of a sudden, Raven hears the sound of a car, followed by the splintering of wood and crash of glass. The light that has been growing from the front door of the maze goes out as it collapses. Raven starts laughing and cheering loudly.

EXT. MIRROR MAZE - DAWN

Eyeball throws a few beams aside to help Kara, shaken but uninjured, climb out the window the car, the front half of which is buried in debris.

INT. JAKE’S MAZE

JAKE

Very clever. But I’m afraid the

deal still stands. It’s apparent

that you refuse to acknowledge your

true calling, so I’ll be leaving

you now. Goodbye, Miss Airheart…

I’m sure I’ll be seeing you again!

He turns to grab the detonator from his pack, but Tom is standing there, ready to attack with the knife. Jake raises his gun.

TOM

You’re not going anywhere.

JAKE

You’ve come back to save the woman

you’ve betrayed?

TOM

I didn’t betray anyone. I saved an

innocent life.

JAKE

No one is innocent.

RAVEN

Don’t listen to him, Tom! You don’t

have to be forgiven for anything.

She’s standing about ten feet away, behind Jake, aiming her gun at him.

TOM

Then that’s all I need to hear.

JAKE

You fire, I fire, Raven. We all fire.

Simple.

RAVEN

Why don’t you just hit the button

and end it now?

JAKE

I brought you here to see you suffer,

and I will see you suffer.

Jake fires at Tom, who manages to jump out of the way just in time. Jake shoots his own reflection. As Tom dives, Raven takes a shot at Jake, hitting him in the shoulder. He drops the bomb remote, then turns to fire at Raven. The two nearly empty their guns at each other, the mirrors behind and to the sides of them cracking and falling apart, to expose other mirrors…

They both slump to the floor. Tom, who has managed to stay out of the way, steps into the horrible silence and sees the two bodies, Jake face down, Raven leaning back against one of the trees. He moves forward, glass crunching under his shoes, and realizes that the faint, rhythmic whistling he’s hearing is actually Raven’s breathing, wind from a hole punched in one of her lungs. He rushes over to her, kneels in the glass.

TOM

Oh God… Raven? Can you hear me?

She nods slightly, blood running from her mouth.

RAVEN

(faintly)

Got him.

TOM

Yeah. You got him.

She smiles weakly.

TOM

Raven, I’ve got to get you some

help, baby. You… you don’t look

too good.

RAVEN

Am I going to be all right?

TOM

I’m going to send Kara and the Kid

for help, and then I swear to God,

I’ll come right back and wait with

you—

RAVEN

No… I mean, will I be okay?… Did I

save more than I destroyed?

TOM

Baby, I don’t know what you…

She starts to fade. He grabs her shoulders, pulls her upright.

TOM

Yes! Yes you did. Um…

He glances at Jake’s body.

TOM

Jake, or whatever he was, would

have just kept on killing, right?

We weren’t going to be the last. So

you saved a lot of people, Raven.

A lot.

RAVEN

Yes… thank you, Tom.

TOM

Please, baby, will you hold on

until I get back? Can you do that?

She nods, smiles.

RAVEN

Hurry back, okay? I’m cold…

TOM

Okay. I love you.

He kisses her lightly, some of the blood staining his lips.

RAVEN

I love you too, Tom. Hurry.

He runs off. She closes her eyes.

She hears a noise. She looks over at Jake, finds that he is slowly rolling over, crunching the broken glass under him. Raven painfully raises her gun, still in her hand, and pulls the trigger. It clicks: empty.

She puts it down, watches as Jake finds his gun and starts working with it weakly. He’s loading one more bullet from his pocket into the chamber. His hands are wet with his blood, but manages to complete the task. He sits up and points it at Raven.

JAKE

Come to me…

She looks at him blankly, then lifts her hand. The bomb remote is in it. Jake pauses, utter rage overcoming his features. Raven in a final act of defiance, leans over to her own reflection in the mirror next to her. She looks deeply into her own eyes, and slowly kisses her reflection. Jake howls inhumanly, starts to pull the trigger. Raven pushes the remote button and all is lost in a tremendous explosion. The infinite forest is swallowed by and infinite fire, enveloping it like a flash flood.

EXT. MIRROR MAZE - DAWN

Fire blasts out of the front door of the Maze, knocking down Tom, who is standing nearby with Eyeball and Kara. The hot wind flattens them as the structure collapses. Then everything goes silent.

Tom gets to his knees and sees all that is left: burning piles of wood floating on pools of glowing molten glass. He stares into the crater numbly as Kara and Eyeball come up behind him. Kara puts her hand on his shoulder.

TOM

No… no, this isn’t right…

She rubs his shoulder as he starts to cry.

KARA

I never even got to see what she

looked like.

EYEBALL

(softly)

She was beautiful.

They stare into the fire, which is already beginning to dim.

EXT. KARA’S CAR - MORNING

The three of them walk toward the car slowly. They stand still for a few seconds, watching the first light at the horizon fill the sky.

TOM

She asked me about her soul.

EYEBALL

Hm?

TOM

If she saved more than she destroyed,

something like that. I told her she

did.

Eyeball smiles a little.

EYEBALL

I think you were right.

TOM

Why did she ask me that?

Eyeball sits up on the hood of the car, lies back against the windshield.

EYEBALL

Come on, I’ll tell you.

KARA

What are you doing?

EYEBALL

Looking at the stars. I think there

might be a new one out this morning.

They join him, lying back on the hood. Up in the sky, there are still many stars out, fading as the sun wipes them away, although it’s impossible to tell if the sky is fuller than it was before.

FADE OUT

ROLL CREDITS

THE END

SYZYGY - 16

EXT. AMUSEMENT PARK - PRE-DAWN

Tom watches them disappear into the building. He keeps rocking back and forth, trying to work his hands free, but finally slumps forward, defeated.

INT. RAVEN’S CAR - PRE-DAWN

Eyeball is still driving. Raven is awake and holding the locator, watching it intently. The readout changes from 0.2 to 0.3.

RAVEN

Yeah, you’re right. It was that dirt

road.

EXT. RAVEN’S CAR - PRE-DAWN

Eyeball pulls over onto the should, then hangs a U-turn, heading up the dirt road they just passed. After a few moments they see Kara’s car.

INT. RAVEN’S CAR - PRE-DAWN

EYEBALL

Did they ditch it? Maybe they went

into the hills on foot.

RAVEN

They would have done that days ago

if they were still running. They

know we’re catching up.

They coast up to the top of the hill, passing under the TOPHETH sign. The amusement park spreads out before them.

EYEBALL

Wow.

The car pushes slowly through the high grass toward the carousel.

RAVEN

This shouldn’t be here. It’s not

right. Like an old battlefield.

EXT. CAROUSEL - PRE-DAWN

Tom is watching the car get closer, closes his eyes as it stops about thirty feet away.

TOM

Please, please, please…

The doors open. Raven gets out. She starts striding toward Tom through the long grass. Eyeball trails her. Tom just stares. She hops up onto the carousel, comes right over to him, and he tries to get as far away as possible, almost falling off the horse. She stops right next to him.

RAVEN

Explain.

TOM

(all at once)

I knew her in high school. I knew

you were going to kill her no matter

what I did, so I bolted. I’m sorry.

Raven thinks this over, then lunges. She throws her arms around him.

RAVEN

I’m sorry, Tom. I’ve been away for

so long. Please forgive me.

TOM

(stunned)

It… it’s okay…

She pulls back. Tom is genuinely astonished and confused.

TOM

So, you’re not going to kill her?

RAVEN

No. I’m already free. Kiss.

She surprises him with a deep, passionate kiss unlike any he’s had for a long time. When they finish, Tom looks into her eyes.

TOM

It’s really you. You’re back.

RAVEN

I was never really gone. Just lost.

They kiss again, and then she starts cutting the tape around his wrists.

TOM

(over her shoulder)

How are you, Mr. Eyeball Kid?

EYEBALL

Not too bad, considering I’m wanted

for murder.

The tape snaps and Tom hops down off the horse, rubbing his wrists.

TOM

Jake’s here.

RAVEN

I know. How did I know that?

TOM

He’s got Kara. He took her in there.

He points toward the “Mystifying Mirror Maze”, now starting to turn orange in the pre-dawn light. Raven draws her gun.

RAVEN

Let’s go.

They walk toward the maze, following the trail left by Jake and Kara in the tall grass. They walk side by side, Raven between and slightly ahead of the two men.

EXT. MIRROR MAZE - PRE-DAWN

The three of them walk up the steps leading to the entrance platform.

RAVEN

Looks like Big Ed’s going to get

that showdown after all.

EYEBALL

And we’ve only got one gun.

RAVEN

Kid… I just want to thank you for…

whatever it was you did for me.

Bringing me back from the dead, I

guess.

She kisses him on the cheek.

EYEBALL

Sure. Anytime.

Raven turns to her husband, hands him her knife.

RAVEN

Ready?

He nods. She draws her gun.

RAVEN

I’ll take the front, you take the

exit, okay?

TOM

Sure. You know, I’d almost forgotten
what a good kisser you are.

RAVEN

Well, I guess I’ll just have to keep

reminding you.

Tom smiles at her and takes off toward the exit.

RAVEN

(to Eyeball)

I’d ask you to come along, but we’re

out of guns. And you’ve done so much

already.

EYEBALL

It’s okay. I’ll keep watch out here.

RAVEN

I guess you should leave this to the

professional.

EYEBALL

If you need me…

Raven gives him a thumbs-up. He returns it, and she steps up to the archway. The sun will be rising very soon. She sees something just inside the entryway. It’s Jake’s gun. She checks the chamber, finds it empty, and tosses it to Eyeball. She steps inside.

SYZYGY - 15

EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT

Still lying across Tom’s lap, Kara shudders.

TOM

(reading)

“The town clock struck seven. The

echoes of the great chime wandered

in the unlit halls of the library.

An autumn leaf, very crisp, fell

somewhere in the dark. But it was

only the page of a book, turning.”

Kara closes her eyes, snuggles deeper into Tom’s jacket, pulling it around her.

KARA

Thank you, Tom…

EXT. ROAD - NIGHT

Raven sits by the side of the road, great wracking sobs purging the tears she should have shed all these months. Eyeball sits beside her, rubbing her shoulders and occasionally looking up at the moon, as it gradually moves out from under the earth’s shadow. Raven turns her anguished eyes up to it, and as she sees that it’s coming back white, her tears turn to those of gratitude and joy.

INT. KARA’S CAR - PRE-DAWN

Kara drives while Tom sleeps in the passenger seat. They’ve finally reentered hilly, green country. Tom’s eyes open, and he looks at her, smiling. She looks over at him and returns the smile.

KARA

I’ve had enough. How about you?

TOM

Yes. I was just about to ask.

KARA

Right here.

She slows down and turns up a deserted-looking dirt road, which runs up the side of a hill. They follow it a short way, then pull over. They get out. Kara leans against the fender and crosses her arms, looking off toward the east.

KARA

Tom…

TOM

Hey, what’s that?

He points past her, up to the top of the hill, where the road leads. At the crest of the hill, standing against the lightening sky, stands an arch over the road, with an old wooden sign at its apex. The weathered lettering reads: TOPHETH.

KARA

Some kind of signpost?

TOM

The sunrise will be even better from

up there. Come on.

They walk up to the plateau on which the sign stands. As they reach the crest, a long plain opens up ahead of them.

EXT. ANCIENT AMUSEMENT PARK - PRE-DAWN

Tom and Kara find themselves facing the midway of what must have been, in its day, a traveling amusement park. Clapboard buildings line either side of a long expanse of ground, and at the far end can be seen a near-mint condition carousel, which looks as if it were just missed by the wreck of a collapsed Ferris wheel, lying on its side behind it.

The plain is covered with thigh-high grass. The signs on the buildings are barely readable, garish side-show drawings in sun-faded colors.

TOM

Would you look at that?

KARA

How long do you think it’s been here?

They instinctively run to the carousel and hop onto two of the horses. The old structure groans with the weight but holds. They sit side by side facing east, where the sun will be rising within minutes.

TOM

I’m glad I finally got to know you,

Kara.

KARA

Me too.

TOM

But… after we get all this straight-

ened out…

KARA

I know. That’s what I was going to

say. I’m not going to expect anything

from you that isn’t rightfully mine.

I guess I never should have. But…

it kind of hurts anyway. Been one

hell of a first date, huh?

TOM

You’ll be all right. I’m not going

to leave you stranded out here. We’ll

work something out.

KARA

I know, but you’ve just been so great.

Maybe it’s all been a big mistake, and—

She breaks off mid-sentence. Her eyes go wide as something causes the carousel to creak and she stares at something behind Tom.

TOM

What? What’s wrong?

The muzzle of a gun comes up, the shadow of the person holding falling across him. The barrel presses against his neck. He freezes.

TOM

Whoa. Hold on. I can explain this.

She’s an old friend of mine. I knew

you were going to kill her no matter

what I said, so I…

JAKE

So you decided to kidnap her.

KARA

Jake, don’t… please.

JAKE

(to Tom)

Give me any reason why I shouldn’t

take you right now.

KARA

He saved my life.

JAKE

He stole you and ran. He’s no hero.

Look at him…

He’s getting angry. The barrel presses deeper into Tom’s neck.

JAKE

I would love to kill you.

KARA

Jake, I’ll do what you want. Leave

him here. Raven will be here any

minute. You think she’s going to

let him live after what he did?

JAKE

And exactly what did he do, Kara?

KARA

Leave him here and I’ll tell you

everything.

Jake thinks it over, then tosses Kara a small roll of duct tape from one of his pockets.

JAKE

(to Tom)

First the main course, then dessert.

Grab the pole, please.

Tom leans forward and grasps the pole coming out of the horse’s back.

JAKE

Hurry, Kara. Raven’s very close,

and we have things to do before

she gets here.

Kara tapes Tom’s wrists to the pole.

KARA

Tom, I’m so sorry.

JAKE

Don’t be. He took you away against

your will.

KARA

Instead of being killed by the

woman you hired!

JAKE

Come on. Let’s find a place to sit

and figure out the truth behind all

of this.

(quietly, leaning close to Tom)

Do you have any idea how much pain

your wife has caused? The people who

have died? It’s almost tine to con-

gratulate her. One way or another

she’s going to pay for it all.

Jake takes Kara’s hand and leads her away.

TOM

You’re not going to get away, Jake!

Raven’s coming after you now! If you

hurt either of them I’ll…!

He grits his teeth and howls in frustration, thrashing back and forth.

EXT. MIRROR MAZE

Kara keeps looking back over her shoulder at Tom, watching him try to break free. Jake leads her to the entrance of what a large wooden sign over the entrance proclaims as “The Mystifyng Mirrror Maze”. The front of the building is painted to resemble a dark forest. On the other front corner of the building, also facing the midway, is the exit. As they step up onto the entry platform, Kara speaks.

KARA

What’s going on, Jake? How did you

find us?

JAKE

It’s more like you finally found me.

He guides her into the maze, then rips off a piece of tape and follows her menacingly.

SYZYGY - 14

INT. RAVEN’S CAR - NIGHT

Raven awakens with a start. Eyeball doesn’t notice.

RAVEN

What time is it?

EYEBALL

(checking his watch)

About eleven-thirty. Why?

RAVEN

Pull over.

EYEBALL

Why?

RAVEN

Just do it.

Eyeball pulls over to the shoulder. Raven gets out of the car and walks around to the front, stepping up on the hood. She sits down so that her back is up against the windshield.

RAVEN

Come on out!

EYEBALL

What are you doing?

EXT. RAVEN’S CAR - DESERT - NIGHT

Eyeball opens his door and gets out.

EYEBALL

We’ve got people to catch, remember?

RAVEN

What are you in such a hurry for?

Eyeball walks around to the front of the car.

EYEBALL

Because I want this to be over. I’m

sick of driving around in the wastelands

with you.

RAVEN

Well, I love you too. Now get up here

or I’ll blow your face off.

Eyeball sighs and climbs up. They sit silently for a moment.

EYEBALL

What are we looking for?

RAVEN

(pointing up)

That.

Eyeball looks directly up ahead of them and sees the moon. One edge of it is covered by a massive shadow making its way across the face.

EYEBALL

Wow…

RAVEN

Isn’t that something? I bet you didn’t

even know this was going to happen

tonight.

EYEBALL

No, I didn’t.

RAVEN

Here. Lie back or you’ll strain your

neck.

They lie back side-by-side on the roof of the car, watching the earth’s shadow slowly eat the moon.

RAVEN

It’s a syzygy.

EYEBALL

A what?

RAVEN

A syzygy. A conjunction. An eclipse.

My grandmother used to tell me that

when things suddenly become aligned,

it’s an opportunity for great change.

Sun, moon, earth.

EYEBALL

My grandfather said that stars are

the spirits of those who have died

before us, lights to help us find

our way home. They’re the ones who

left the world better than they found

it. But the ones who didn’t, and

destroyed more than they created,

those people go into the ground, and

their unresolved anger keeps the

earth warm, makes the fires rise.

That’s how they repay their debt, by

helping the living to survive and

making the plants grow.

RAVEN

The balance between good and evil.

EYEBALL

Right. Both inevitable, both necessary.

But it’s up to us to try… there’s some-

thing I feel I should tell you.

RAVEN

What’s that?

EYEBALL

My job wasn’t to witness the hit.

There wasn’t supposed to be a hit.

RAVEN

What do you mean?

EYEBALL

Right before you came into the bar,

I was on the phone with Jake, telling

him to come down there and stop you.

RAVEN

Big Ed’s idea.

Eyeball nods.

EYEBALL

You ever stop to wonder why there’s

all this turbulence inside the Organ-

ization?

RAVEN

That’s what crime families do. They

kill each other off.

EYEBALL

They’re fighting over you, Raven.

She turns and stares at him.

EYEBALL

You and Jake. They’re strongly divided

on who will be what they call “the

vessel”.

RAVEN

Vessel? Vessel for what?

EYEBALL

That’s what I can’t figure out. They

make money as a crime syndicate, but

it seems like they’re really trying

to find a certain person, someone

who can… I don’t know. From what

I’ve heard, it’s like they believe

there’s some kind of manifestation

of chaos that is coming, and one

of you will be its vessel.

RAVEN

Bullshit.

INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT

JAKE

So you’re not going to help me then?

SHARON

No. I won’t. You can’t win this time.

JAKE

I told you. I always win, and time is

all it takes.

Jake lets go of her hand, turns and walks away. She stares at her fingers. The nails of that hand have all turned black.

INT. RESTAURANT - LOBBY - NIGHT

Jake walks quickly through the lobby. People waiting part for him without noticing him. As he reaches the door, he looks up at Sidney the parrot, who is returning his gaze quizzically. Jake cups his hand to his mouth, leans in, and whispers something in Sidney’s ear. Then he’s out the door like a cold wind.

Sharon comes running through the crowd. She almost runs past Sidney, but something in the bird’s eyes makes her stop. They stare at each other for a second, then Sidney slowly opens his beak.

SIDNEY

(is a deep, horrible voice, subtitled)

Moloch…

Her eyes fly wide in horror. Sidney’s beak closes. She throws open the front door and runs out onto the front walk.

INT. JAKE’S CAR - NIGHT

Jake drives away, tossing something out the window toward the base of the obelisk as he speeds away.

EXT. MIDDLE OF NOWHERE - NIGHT

The moon, fully eclipsed above the horizon, is blood red. A small pop comes from the base of the Middle of Nowhere obelisk. It shudders, the lights wink out, and then it tilts like a falling tree directly toward the front door of the restaurant, where Sharon is standing. She dashes back in a fraction of a second before the top ten feet of it obliterates the front of the building.

INT. HOTEL BATHROOM - NIGHT

Tom leans against the bathroom sink, his back to the mirror. The lights are out, his face in his hands. Suddenly a wide beam of red light comes in the window, falling across his shoulders. He notices the change of light and looks out the window. The moon is glowing a deep red. He turns, letting the light fall across him. He looks at himself in the mirror, meeting his own gaze with new strength.

INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

The bathroom door opens. Tom comes out, moving with purpose. Kara is sitting provocatively on the edge of the bed, waiting for him. He walks right by her, to the chair he has laid his jacket across. He picks it up and hands it to her.

TOM

Here. You’ll need this.

KARA

Why?

He helps her to her feet, puts his hands on her shoulders and stares deeply into her eyes.

TOM

I’m going to do what I always dreamed

about doing.

She smiles, puts on the jacket hurriedly. He takes her hand and leads her toward the door.

KARA

Tom!

He opens the door and leads her out into the reddened night.

EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT

He leads her across the parking lot to a lone tree that stands near the road. The moon-shadows through the branches look like cracks across the ground.

KARA

What are you doing?

Tom suddenly reaches into the jacket, and Kara looks confused when his hands comes out holding the weather-beaten copy of Something Wicked This Way Comes.

TOM

Let’s get comfortable.

They sit down under the tree. He leans back against the trunk, Kara lies with her head in his lap, looking up at the moon.

TOM

(reading)

“First of all, it was October, a

rare months for boys. Not that all

months aren’t rare. But there be

bad and good, as the pirates say. Take

September, a bad month. School begins…”

As he reads, Kara closes her eyes and smiles.

EXT. RAVEN’S CAR - DESERT - NIGHT

Eyeball and Raven are still watching the Earth’s shadow move across the moon.

EYEBALL

I’m not going to let you do it.

I won’t let you kill Kara.

RAVEN

Because you think I might be this

“vessel”?

EYEBALL

Yes. You haven’t heard them talk

about it! It’s like there’s a real

being who’s waiting to take over the

soul of whoever is the best vehicle

for chaos! For Jake, it has something

to do with his family history. He

must have been bred for it, or some-

thing. But you! You chose this path

That’s what makes you so powerful.

And order has to be restored.

Eyeball jumps down onto the ground, looks out into the desert.

RAVEN

What?

EYEBALL

(over his shoulder)

I can see it now. You and me. We’re

the destroyers. We belong here in

the desert.

Raven jumps down off the car after him.

RAVEN

What the hell do you even know about

me? I didn’t choose anything! You

think I wanted to end up this way?

I had to kill to survive!

EYEBALL

It doesn’t matter why. It only matters

that you did.

Raven growls in frustration and shoves the barrel of her gun into his face. Eyeball raises his hands and backs up against the car, genuinely afraid.

EYEBALL

(softly, carefully)

And what happens if you kill me,

Raven? Will that set you free?

Raven stops, realizes what she’s doing, and slowly lowers her gun. Eyeball slumps back against the car. The two look at each other, but Raven’s eyes are sill completely blank. This enrages him, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his own gun, shoving it up against her left eye. She falls to her knees, as if asking him to do it.

EYEBALL

There! Feel that! Feel anything! I

should do it! You’re already dead!

Suddenly, the moon above them, totally eclipsed, turns a deep shade of red, exactly the same as that night long ago when Raven lost part of herself. Raven looks at him, and his gun, his eye, and the red moon directly behind him all come into an EXACT LINE.

RAVEN

I’m not dead. I’m still here… just…

Her eyes open wide and roll like a frightened horse.

INT. ALLEY - NIGHT

Covered in blood and lying across the hood of a white car, Raven’s eyes flicker open, see the moon dripping and red above her. A shadow suddenly swipes across it.

EXT. ROAD - NIGHT

Suddenly, something snaps. Raven drops her face into her twitching hands. Eyeball lowers his gun, and her shaking suddenly stops. When she look up again, her eyes register real, painful emotion. She stands and runs off to the side of the road, where she is violently sick over the guardrail. Eyeball does not watch her. Instead, he stares at the gun in his hand, and angrily hurls it over the car and into the desert.

SYZYGY - 13

INT. RAVEN’S CAR - NIGHT

Eyeball is driving while Raven tries to curl up on the passenger seat. He looks at the dashboard. It reads 64.3. Raven covers herself with her jacket and falls asleep quickly. She enters a nightmare…

INT. CAR - NIGHT

Raven is in the front seat of the red car she drove on the night of her last hit. The upholstery and interior is red as well. It’s not until she starts moving that she realizes that everything is coated in blood. She begins to panic, trying to get the liquid off her hands, but only manages to cover herself with it.

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

Raven gets out of the car, frantic. She keeps trying to wipe herself off, but the blood is gone. She stands on a deserted street. The pavement is wet, reflecting the streetlights.

On the far side of the street is a large black building, all glass and steel, a giant obelisk that reflects the clouds off its sheer face. From out of nowhere, a group of three semi trucks drive by between her and the building. As they pass, they become Chinese dragons, their headlights turning into burning eyes. Whispered warnings fill the air.

They pass, and the street is quiet again. A single set of revolving doors at the base of the building turns in the wind. Raven crosses the street and steps through them.

INT. BUILDING - LOBBY - NIGHT

The light in the lobby is dim and distant. From high above, we can see that the floor tiles create a giant infinity sign, rendered in black and white. Raven doesn’t notice and heads for the elevators. From out of the shadows steps a woman, about Raven’s age, with dark hair and a pale face. She wears a black trenchcoat that almost reaches the floor. She is TONYA.

RAVEN

Tonya?

They embrace.

RAVEN

I’ve missed you so much.

She pulls back to get a look at her friend, who just smiles and walks to the elevator. It opens. Raven rushes to catch up with her.

INT. ELEVATOR

As Raven enters, Tonya stands by the control panel.

RAVEN

What’s going on? Why are we here?

TONYA

(pointing up)

I work for him now.

RAVEN

Who?

Tonya doesn’t answer, just leans over and pushes a button on the panel. Raven notices a strange lump on Tonya’s back, as if she’s wearing a backpack under her coat. In no time they’re on the top floor. The doors open, and Tonya gestures through the doors. Raven strides into the room beyond, followed closely by Tonya.

INT. GODFREY’S OFFICE - NIGHT

The women enter Godfrey’s office. Outside the huge window, a night cityscape glows. Instead of Godfrey sitting in his chair, however, it’s Jake.

JAKE

Raven! My favorite employee!

RAVEN

(feeling some deja vu)

No… I don’t work for you anymore…

I’ve paid my debt. I’m here to resign.

JAKE

Paid the debt? I don’t think so.

RAVEN

Twenty kills at three thousand apiece.

That’s all I owe.

JAKE

That’s all the money you owe. But

your soul… now that’s a different

story.

RAVEN

No! I had no choice!

JAKE

Wrong! Your life or your victims’!

One life or twenty! Your debt is

far from paid!

Raven draws her gun slowly. Jake doesn’t move.

TONYA

Raven, stop!

Raven fires repeatedly at Jake. Tonya falls to her knees, face in her hands, wings bursting through the back of her trenchcoat. Jake’s body convulses, blinding white light erupting from each hole Raven puts in him…

INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

The clock on the bedside table reads 11:27. Kara is lying across the bed on her stomach, remote in hand, channel surfing. Her hair is wet, and she’s wearing one of the hotel’s bathrobes. Tom is looking at himself in the vanity mirror.

TOM

Are you ready to go now?

KARA

(not looking at him)

Tom, can’t we just stay here for

a little while? I’m so tired…

TOM

You can sleep in the car. We’re losing

ground fast.

KARA

Would you sit with me? Just for a

second?

TOM

Look, we stopped so you could shower.

Now we’ve got to get going.

KARA

Just a second. Please.

He concedes reluctantly. Their attention focuses on the screen, where Kara has found a rerun of the Newlywed Game.

KARA

Could you rub my shoulders? I think

I’ve got a kink in my neck from all

the driving.

TOM

(almost refuses, then…)

Okay. Just for a minute. When the

show’s over, we’re going, all right?

KARA

Sure.

Tom scoots over next to her, and begins rubbing her shoulders tentatively. They keep watching the TV. Tom realizes that Kara’s shoulders are trembling. She’s crying softly. He opens his mouth to say something, closes it again when he can’t find the words.

KARA

What are we doing, Tom? Where are we

going?

TOM

I don’t know. Maybe we can find another

car when we hit the coast.

KARA

And then what? When can we stop?

TOM

I don’t think we can. I know Raven

won’t.

There’s a long pause as they watch the happy couples on the screen.

KARA

I tried calling Jake while you were

outside. The recording said the number

was no longer in service.

TOM

Maybe he had it disconnected.

KARA

I don’t know… I don’t think I could

have said anything if he did answer.

God…

(buries her face in her hands)

Tom?

TOM

Hm?

KARA

I want you to make love to me.

TOM

Kara… don’t.

He gets up, and she rolls over onto her back, looking up at him, tears in her eyes.

KARA

What was all that you told me in

the car? You saved my life back

there because you wanted me.

TOM

I didn’t mean it like that.

KARA

I’m your goddess, you said.

TOM

You don’t have to do this.

KARA

I want to. Can’t you tell? I need to.

TOM

Need to what?

KARA

(reaching for him)

I need you to want me. I need you

to care about me.

TOM

Can’t I care about you without sleeping

with you?

Kara gets up off the bed, starts moving toward Tom, who backs away.

KARA

I want to be close to you. As close

as I possibly can. Aren’t you tired

of fighting it?

TOM

Kara, stop… not like this…

She backs him up against the vanity next to the bathroom door. She places one hand on his chest, pushing him back a little. She keeps advancing even as tears spill down her cheeks. She moves forward and presses up against him, kissing his lips slowly. He can’t help but respond, kissing her back with equal passion. She pulls away long enough to say:

KARA

Show me what you always wanted to

do but couldn’t. Please, Tom…

Her hands unbutton his shirt, exposing his chest. She leans forward, starts kissing him there. She begins working her way downward… and he sidesteps her, ducking into the bathroom, closing and locking the door before she can regain her balance. She begins pounding on the door.

KARA

Damn it, Tom! Come back out here!

Please!

TOM

(from behind the door)

Just give me a second, okay? Go lie

on the bed and wait just one second.

She does as he says, smiling. She knows she’s winning.

KARA

I promise you won’t be disappointed.