by J. R. Rain
Those around him stare with amazement and attraction and also something else...loathing. Women see him as utterly irresistible, attracted to the bad boy. Men stare openly.
Of course, these people do not realize the Devil is in their midst. All they see is an utterly enigmatic, magnetic, fascinating-looking man walking among them.
The Devil ignores them all. He strides purposefully forward, head and shoulders taller than anyone else around. There’s a hint of a sneer on his lips. Those around him gape openly. Women fan themselves. Some look on with horror, perhaps sensing the evil contained within. The Devil wears black gloves and combat boots. Hair flows wildly behind him. Tattoos on the back of his hands and along his neck. He wears two gold hoop earrings. A satanic star swings from a black leather necklace.
(I’m thinking that if the reader looks close enough, they can find hidden images of ghouls and demons along the city street. These are the Devil’s minions, who follow him wherever he goes. Nothing overt, just subtle. Almost like a Where’s Waldo. And not too many of them either. Just a thought.)
CAPTION (top of page): One day, the Devil came to town.
PAGE TWO
Panel 1
Aerial shot of a typical decrepit three-story office building. We’re now in Brooklyn. Bums lounge around outside. Someone is pushing a shopping cart. Paper and other debris drift across broken sidewalks and potholed streets. We see, on the top floor, the silhouette of a man in front of a window splashed with yellow light. He appears to be sitting behind a desk, working. Outside, above the cityscape, the sun is setting.
Jagged balloon in the corner of the panel. The writing in the balloon is small and tight, as if someone is whispering. A single word appears in the balloon. The word is: No....
Panel 2
Now we are inside the building. We find ourselves in a barren hallway with torn carpet and even a rat or two scurrying across the decrepit floor. Doors line the hallway. At the far end of the corridor is another door with a pebbled glass window. There’s writing on the glass. Behind, off camera, we hear a DING, which signals an elevator door opening. Someone is coming.
Another jagged balloon comes from behind the pebbled glass of the door. Another single word: No....
Panels 3 & 4
Smaller panel that shows a light bulb flickering, and then finally BLOWS out.
Panel 5
Tight on the pebbled glass door. We see that there’s writing on the glass. The writing says: Powers & Sons Investigations. One or two letters are missing from the word Investigations.
Another jagged balloon coming from behind the door. The writing is bigger in this balloon. Whoever is speaking is no longer whispering: No!!
Panel 6
The camera continues moving through the door. And now we are TIGHT on a pair of WIDE OPEN eyes. The eyes are bloodshot. Pupils tiny pinpricks. Sweat pours down the forehead and over the bridge of the nose. Traces of dark hair stray into the shot. Most important, we see the circular remains of scar tissue over the right eye. The scar is the size of a nickel, and it’s an old bullet wound. At the moment, the puckered edges of the wound are red and inflamed. This is Jim Powers, Private Investigator, our hero.
A balloon from Jim, as he screams the word: NOOOOOO!!!!
PAGE THREE
Panel 1
Jim is sitting behind his cluttered desk. He throws back his head and pulls at his hair, kicking his chair away from the desk. Something horrible is clearly happening to him. Indeed, Jim is now in the middle of a massive epileptic seizure.
JIM (screaming, voice filled with fear and horror): AAAAAGGH!
Caption: The seizures are a result of a bullet buried deep within his brain.
Panel 2
We are back in the hallway, just outside Jim’s office door. From this point of view, we can see the elevator at the far end of the corridor. And striding purposefully down the hallway is a man, although we can’t see who it is yet since the hallway light bulbs are blowing out in the man’s wake.
Still, whoever he is, he’s tall and wearing a trenchcoat. In the ambient glow, we can see his perfectly white teeth and the whites of his eyes.
Jim is still having his seizure, still screaming off camera as the man approaches.
JIM: Aaaaaaaaargh!!!
Caption: Three years ago to this day, private investigator Jim Powers was shot three times in the head by the spouse of a disgruntled client.
Panel 3
We’re still outside Jim’s office, in the hallway. And now, for the first time, the tall man steps out of the shadows.
It is, of course, the Devil. Satan. In all his haunting glory. Beautiful and wicked. Dashing and demonic. We see a tattoo on his neck. A serpent, breathing real fire. Above Satan, the single dusty light bulb exlodes.
Off camera, Jim is panting hard, finally coming out of his seizure.
Caption: Deemed too dangerous to remove, the bullet, like the seizures, is now a permanent and defining fixture of Jim’s life.
Panel 4
Completely spent, Powers is behind his desk, hands hanging down to the ground, sweat dripping from his exhausted body.
JIM (to himself, sardonically): I hate when that happens.
Panel 5
Above his desk, his single light bulb suddenly flickers. Jim casts his weary gaze up to the flickering bulb.
Panel 6
He next opens a bottle of whiskey and takes a long, guzzling swig of the hard stuff. It is clear that this is Jim’s way of dealing with the seizures. And perhaps even the psychological wound of being shot.
PAGE FOUR
Panel 1
This panel should be offset in the upper left corner. Jim sees the silhouette of a man outside his door. Jim strikes a match and lifts it to a cigarette dangling from his lower lip. The flickering flame reveals his weary and sweating face. At the same time, Jim opens his desk drawer and hides the whiskey.
JIM (weakly): It’s open.
Panel 2
This should be a larger panel, perhaps two-thirds of the page. A wide shot from just over Jim’s shoulder toward his office door, enough so that we can still see some of his profile. The door swings open. Standing in the doorway, in full color and brilliance, is the Prince of Darkness himself, striking a confident pose, cocky as hell, a shit-eating grin on his face. We see that the serpent tattoo on his neck has now moved to the other side of his neck, still spitting fire. The Devil’s long blond hair hangs loosely over his shoulders. Muscular, amazingly handsome. Even dashing. But his eyes are pure evil.
Jim Powers stares in wide-eyed, open-mouthed wonder. His cigarette falls from his mouth.
Panel 3
Small panel. This panel is actually a reflection in the dark eyes of Lucifer, showing his clear concentration of not only Jim, but of the match still burning in his hands. There’s a hint of a smile on the Devil’s face. In the reflection, Jim suddenly shakes his hand, having burnt his fingers on the match.
JIM: Ouch.
LUCIFER: Careful, you don’t want to burn yourself.
JIM: Too late. How can I help you?
Panel 4
Tight on Lucifer’s face, but we get the full effect here, every inch of his amazing beauty. (Remember: Lucifer was once the most beautiful angel in Heaven.)
LUCIFER: I have a job for you, Mr. Powers.
PAGE FIVE
Panel 1
Jim stares transfixed at this incredibly strange and beautiful man who now graces his office doorway. And the Devil, of course, stares back. A sort of staring contest goes on for the next two panels. No dialogue.
Panel 2
The Devil is staring back at Jim, the corners of his lips rising slowly in a half smile. Again, no dialogue. Close angle on the Devil’s face.
(What’s happening here is that Jim is no dummy. Indeed, one of his endearing traits we’ll see is that he is one hell of a tough detective with good instincts. Jim is silently puzzling out this highly unusual situation.)
Panel 3
&
nbsp; Jim finally shrugs and motions to one of his client chairs sitting in front of his desk.
JIM: So let’s talk. Have a seat.
Panel 4
The Devil slips off his trenchcoat and hangs it on a coat rack near the door.
Panel 5
Shot of the Devil easing down on the simple wooden chair. The angle is from behind the Prince of Darkness, revealing Jim watching the Devil closely.
JIM: Hmm....
LUCIFER: Hmm, what?
JIM: That chair usually creaks.
LUCIFER (grinning): Maybe I’m not really here.
Panel 6
Tight shot of the dragon on Lucifer’s neck having now crawled down his muscular forearms. The dragon rears up and spits actual fire.
Panel 7
Just Jim’s eyes, as he witnesses the dragon tattoo spitting fire. His eyes are wide with horror, his pupils shrinking to tiny pinpricks. The dragon’s tiny belch of fire reflects in Jim’s pupils.
PAGE SIX
Panel 1
Jim calmly reaches inside his desk drawer. We see him reach for two items: a gun and a bottle of whiskey.
Panel 2
A side angle. Jim casually slips the gun into his coat pocket. His hand is low, a movement which is meant to go unseen by the Devil.
Panel 3
Jim drops the whiskey in the wastebasket.
Panel 4
Jim stands and grabs his coat.
JIM: I think I will be leaving now.
LUCIFER: Is there something wrong?
JIM: Very much so.
LUCIFER: What?
Panel 5
Jim moves past the Devil and toward the door, pulling on his trenchcoat.
JIM: Your tattoo moved, for starters. Worse, it spit fire. Hell, I can even still smell the smoke. I’m hallucinating again, obviously. That happens to me sometimes after a particularly bad seizure. Sometimes I see things, bad things.
Panel 6
Jim exits his office and is now standing alone in the elevator, as the doors slide shut.
Panel 7
Thin, blood-red lips suddenly appear next to Jim’s ear. Jim jumps, startled. Lucifer has somehow appeared in the elevator next to him.
LUCIFER: Do you ever see fire, Jim?
JIM (sweating): Yes.
LUCIFER: Do you see your father burning, Jim?
Panel 8
Cut to a small panel. We see a silhouette of a tortured man huddled in the fetal position, burning, burning.
JIM: Yes....
PAGE SEVEN
Panel 1
Big panel. Jim and Lucifer are outside now, walking together on the sidewalk. Above—and all around—we see demonic-shaped shadows flitting about—all unseen by Jim.
Jim is walking briskly, head down, hands tucked into his jacket. Lucifer is with him stride for stride. Lucifer is perhaps an inch or two taller. Jim is a big guy in his own right.
JIM (to himself): They are just hallucinations, conjured up by my damaged brain, brought on by the seizures. You don’t exist. The images don’t exist.
LUCIFER: And what if you’re wrong, Jim?
JIM: You are not real. None of this is real. Figments of my imagination, all created by the bullet in my brain.
Panel 2
Behind Jim we see a creature swooping from above. Wicked-looking, claws extended, it’s coming fast and low for Jim. The troubled P.I. is completely unaware of the swiftly approaching winged creature.
LUCIFER: Believe what you want, Jim. Either way, I have a job for you to do.
Panel 3
WOOSH! In a blink, Jim is snatched off the ground by massive black talons. Lifted into the air.
Panel 4
He’s carried off into the night. New York City glitters below. Jim hangs feebly.
JIM: This isn’t happening. [New bubble] I think I need a drink.
Panel 5
The creature deposits Jim rather rudely on the roof of a sky-scraper.
Panel 6
Jim tumbles, rolling, and comes to a stop in front of a pair of shiny combat boots.
Panel 7
Jim looks up into the face of Satan.
JIM: You’re not a hallucination.
LUCIFER: No.
JIM: Then who are you?
PAGE EIGHT
Panel 1
Jim is now looking over the edge of the building. We see what he sees: a massive drop-off, the street far below.
LUCIFER (out of frame): You know who I am.
JIM: I’ve seen you in my hallucinations. Standing over my father.
LUCIFER (out of frame): Yes.
Panel 2
A shot from above looking down. We see a swirling vortex of demons in the sky...through the vortex, we see Jim standing near the ledge of the building. Satan is standing next to him, arms crossed, leaning casually against the roof access door.
LUCIFER: And where do you think your father is in your hallucinations, Jim?
JIM (nodding): He’s in Hell.
LUCIFER: Very good! Now, then, who do you think I am?
Panel 3
Close up of Jim as realization dawns on him.
JIM: I-I don’t....
LUCIFER: Sure you do, Jim. You know in your heart. You knew it the moment I stepped into your office.
Panel 4
JIM (nodding, setting his jaw): You’re the Devil.
LUCIFER: Now, now...that’s not a very nice thing to call someone.
Panel 5
Lucifer, laughing, reaches out and pushes Jim over the ledge. The private investigator tumbles through the air, screaming.
JIM: Ahhhhhh!
Panel 6
The same black-winged creature swoops out of the dark sky and catches him. They fly off into the night.
PAGE NINE
Panel 1
Jim is dropped down into an outdoor patio chair just outside a busy restaurant. To the diners around him, Jim appears to have appeared out of thin air. They gape at him openly.
Panel 2
Jim looks sheepishly at those around him.
JIM: Um, hi.
Panel 3
A big crowd has gathered on the sidewalk just outside the restaurant. People are pointing, talking excitedly. Jim turns and looks as random snatches of dialogue reach his ears:
Voice #1: Who is he?
Voice #2: I dunno, but he looks like an actor
Voice #3: Or a rock star.
Voice #4: I want his autograph.
Voice #5: Hell, girl. I want more than his autograph!
Panel 4
Lucifer, we see, is at the center of the crowd. He pushes his way through the crowd and sits in front of Jim.
LUCIFER: Have you ordered, Jim? I feel like a steak. Raw.
JIM: I’m not hungry.
LUCIFER: Now, now, you’re going to need your strength.
Panel 5
A waiter comes by and takes their order. Meanwhile, the crowd continues to gawk at Lucifer. (No dialogue in this panel.)
Panel 6
The waiter is gone. Jim sits up in his chair.
JIM: What can you possibly want with me?
LUCIFER: I’ve heard you’re the best at what you do.
JIM: And I’ve heard you’re the Father of Lies.
Panel 7
Lucifer throws back his head and laughs deeply. On the sidewalk beyond, we see that he’s still attracting a sizable crowd.
PAGE TEN
Panel 1
Wide shot on a very busy street. This street is happening. Hookers on one corner, drug deals on another. Lots of traffic. Hell, we even see that there has recently been an accident; two people are busy exchanging information, their cars piled up, steam hissing from the engines.
A busy street corner. Lots of people. A vibrant hub of human activity. And through it all, we see the hidden demons. Flying, lurking, hiding throughout the busy street corner.
LUCIFER: Yes, that does seem to be a popular name for me.
JIM: So I’m thinkin
g you might be full of shit.
Panel 2
Lucifer stops laughing and leans across the table. We see again just how beautiful he is.