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.
I can hear you, Raven!
No response.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Or how about God? You still believe
in God, don’t you, Raven?
Still no answer. Just the pointing gun.
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.
Shit.
INT. TOM’S MAZE
Tom creeps along in the near-dark, knife held out in front of him. He calls out.
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.
(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.
Raven?
INT. RAVEN’S MAZE
Limping nearby, she hears him. She’s leaning against a mirror, propped up against her own reflection.
(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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Oh God… Raven? Can you hear me?
She nods slightly, blood running from her mouth.
(faintly)
Got him.
TOM
Yeah. You got him.
She smiles weakly.
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.
Yes! Yes you did. Um…
He glances at Jake’s body.
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.
Hurry back, okay? I’m cold…
TOM
Okay. I love you.
He kisses her lightly, some of the blood staining his lips.
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.
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.
No… no, this isn’t right…
She rubs his shoulder as he starts to cry.
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.
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.
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.
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
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