AUSTEN: Well, what's up, Martin?
MARTIN (smirking): What's up, Austen? You want to kill me, huh? But let me tell you something—you can't. Vampires like me... we're built different. Powerful. Eternal. Your kind—werewolves—will always be under our shadow.
AUSTEN (gritting his teeth): That pride of yours will be your downfall. I've waited for this moment for years. Tonight, you die.
JAMES (watching from the shadows): And I'm just here... watching my own fate twist into madness. I want to kill, but something in me still resists. (pauses) Maybe I can still choose.
AUSTEN (to James): Wake up. Come, help me.
(JAMES, torn, steps forward. He helps Austen prepare by cutting meat from a captured victim. Austen devours it alongside a bowl of milk, his transformation slowly intensifying.)
JAMES (whispering to himself): If I free Martin... maybe that's the real chance for survival.
(JAMES sprints toward Martin, who's tied up. With a sharp blade, he cuts through the ropes. MARTIN slowly rises, his eyes burning.)
AUSTEN (furious): I knew it!
(He fires a silver shot toward Martin, but Martin evades, free now.)
MARTIN: You won't kill me. Not tonight. And since James saved me, I will return the favor. He may have doubts, but he's still human enough to deserve a second chance.
AUSTEN: Then fight me, vampire. No powers. Hand to hand. The rule of the old moon.
MARTIN: I didn't come to fight you. But if you insist—let's end this.
(The two clash. They run toward each other at blinding speed. Austen swings, but Martin ducks, slicing across Austen's ribs. Blood sprays, but Austen doesn't flinch.)
AUSTEN: I'll eat your flesh tonight.
MARTIN: You'll have to kill me first. And let me guess, your guards downstairs? They've already been slaughtered.
(AUSTEN hesitates.)
MARTIN: George and Dr. Fredrick cleared the path. Your house is no longer protected.
(They trade blows. Martin uses every bit of his speed and precision, weaving two soaked knives into a towel, creating a whip-like weapon. Austen breaks through it with brute strength, slamming Martin into the wall.)
AUSTEN: Enough with your cheap tricks, vampire.
MARTIN (grinning despite the blood): What's the fun without tricks?
(Austen punches Martin four times in the stomach. Martin groans, severely injured, but manages a slash across Austen's thigh.)
MARTIN: Pain... reminds me I'm alive.
(Austen charges. Martin ducks, grabs a knife, and stabs Austen in the hand. Austen screams, his claws twitching. Blood pours down his arm.)
AUSTEN: You bastard.
MARTIN: Today, you fall. And your reign ends here.
(Martin blinds Austen in one eye with a well-aimed stab.)
AUSTEN (howling): AARGHH!
MARTIN: You said your guards were strong? They're dead.
(Cut to: George slitting the throats of Austen's elite bodyguards. Dr. Fredrick takes out another wave with poison gas—until one final soldier stabs Fredrick fatally in the chest.)
FREDRICK (falling): I did... what I had to.
(George avenges him instantly, slicing down the last attacker. He then hurries toward Martin's location.)
MARTIN: I hope that clears things up for you, Austen. You've lost. And you're bleeding out.
(Austen falls to his knees, one eye gone, vision blurring. The full moon fades behind the clouds.)
Martin : guess it's your end
Austin died
Martin smiles
---
[INT. NIGHT – WOLF FOREST – BLEEDING MOON SKY]
Martin, bloodied but upright, carries James in his arms. The cold air howls as a pack of real wolves begin to emerge from the mist—sharp eyes, low growls, wild fur glistening under the moonlight.
James (half-conscious): "Wolves...? They're real…"
Martin slowly turns his head, his face bloodied yet smiling. The wolves pause. One by one, they lower their heads. They recognize him. Alpha. Predator. One of them.
James, eyes fluttering, watches Martin's eyes glow faintly red. In those glowing eyes, he sees a reflection—himself.
Then…
[SMASH CUT – HOSPITAL ROOM – MORNING]
James wakes up, gasping. Sweat covers his face. Bandaged, bruised, and confused, he looks around. He's alive.
Machines beep. Monitors blink. Light cuts through the curtains.
James (whispers): "I'm alive…?"
As he sits up, flashes return—faint memories, scattered images. And one word… Martin's voice, echoing in his head.
> Martin (voice): "One day… I will eat you."
James clenches his teeth.
James: "No… I won't let you…"
He looks down. On the bedside table is a letter, neatly folded with a blood-red wax seal.
He opens it slowly.
---
[LETTER – MARTIN'S HANDWRITING]
> Dear James,
> You're alive. Impressive. You're more interesting than I thought. I know that fire in your eyes — revenge, doubt, chaos. But I won't be around to greet it... not yet.
> I've taken what's left of Austin's wealth. He was a shadow to the President… now he hangs like a trophy. Power is nothing without direction. And you, James — you're still finding yours.
> But remember this:
> The next time we meet...
> I will eat you.
> — M.
---
[CUT TO – CITY BRIDGE – NIGHT]
Lucas stands over a tall bridge looking down at a suspended corpse — Austen, the "President's Shadow," now just a forgotten puppet, hanged in silence.
Lucas: "So it ends like this… the one who ruled from the dark now dangles in it."
He lights a cigarette, eyes scanning the city skyline, cold wind brushing his coat.
Lucas (to himself): "But Martin's still out there… and James… you're not the same anymore."
[FADE OUT]
> To be continued…