[EXT. DARK FOREST ROAD – NIGHT]
The rain slams against the car roof in heavy sheets.
Inside, Harriet can't sit still — her thoughts spiraling.
HARRIET (V.O.)
"How are Fred and Vance connected?
And what do they have to do with me... and my parents?"
Her head pounds. She clutches the seat, trembling.
LIAM (glancing over, worried)
"Harriet? Are you okay?"
Suddenly, Harriet shouts, voice sharp:
HARRIET
"Stop the car!"
Liam slams the brakes. The car skids slightly on the muddy road.
Harriet turns to him, eyes wild.
HARRIET
(voice shaking)
"Liam... do you know about my parents' death?
Were they... were they really murdered?"
Liam looks down — guilty, grim.
LIAM (softly)
"...Yes. Your parents didn't die a normal death.
They were murdered.
And there are still people... tracing you."
Harriet's heart plummets.
HARRIET (stammering)
"Then... Fred... Fred knew my parents?
He knew me before all this?"
Her mind reels.
HARRIET (V.O.)
"Fred knew how they died...?
No... no, he can't die at Vance's hands.
I need answers. I need the truth!"
Without another thought, Harriet yanks open the car door and jumps into the rain.
LIAM
"Harriet! No—!"
He brakes hard, calling after her, but Harriet is already sprinting — back toward the mansion.
---
[EXT. ABANDONED MANSION – NIGHT]
Lightning splits the sky as Harriet stumbles back into the broken ruins.
Fred is there — kneeling, blood pouring from a gash in his side.
Mr. Vance turns lazily, spotting her.
MR. VANCE (mocking)
"Well, well... look who came back.
Our little princess."
The men around him laugh cruelly.
Fred's eyes widen in horror when he sees Harriet.
FRED (furious)
"What are you doing?!
Didn't you see Liam?! Get back!"
Harriet ignores him — runs up — grabs Fred by the collar, desperate, sobbing.
HARRIET
"Tell me!
How did my parents die?!
Please!"
Fred grits his teeth, voice low and furious:
FRED
"This is not the damn time for this!"
The thugs around Vance laugh louder.
One filthy man sneers, swaggering closer.
PERVERT THUG
"Come here, babe.
I'll tell you all about your sugar mommy and daddy."
Harriet snaps.
She storms toward him — and SLAPS him hard across the face.
HARRIET (screaming)
"Don't you EVER disrespect my parents!"
The man growls and raises his hand to strike her.
Fred moves like a bolt of lightning — kicking the thug straight in the chest. The man crashes to the floor, moaning.
Fred turns to Harriet, panting.
FRED
(urgent)
"Are you okay?!"
Suddenly another thug lunges at them with a knife.
Harriet screams.
Fred grabs her and yanks her tight against his chest, shielding her with his own body.
The knife slashes across his arm — blood splashes out.
Harriet gasps — her hand flying to Fred's bleeding arm.
The thug smirks at the sight.
PERVERT THUG (mocking)
"What a couple!
Hey, you two ever done anything yet?"
The others roar with laughter.
Fury darkens Fred's face.
Without hesitation, he punches the thug straight in the nose — then sweeps his leg out, knocking him flat on the ground.
Lightning crashes overhead.
Vance cocks his gun and points it directly at Fred.
MR. VANCE (cold)
"Enough playing around.
Hand over the girl.
And maybe I'll let you crawl away alive."
Fred wipes blood from his mouth and straightens up — dangerous and calm.
FRED (dark, steady)
"If you want her...
you'll have to kill me first."
Fred raises his own gun, aiming straight at Vance.
Thunder shakes the heavens.
They stand off — gun to gun — rain pouring around them.
---
[EXT. ABANDONED MANSION – NIGHT – CONTINUOUS]
The thunder rolls across the sky like a war drum.
Fred and Vance stare each other down — guns drawn, rain cascading over them.
Harriet clutches Fred's soaked shirt from behind, heart pounding in terror and awe.
MR. VANCE (mocking smile)
"You think you can take all of us, Freddy boy?"
Fred's eyes are cold, steady.
FRED (growling)
"I don't need to take all of you.
Just you."
Vance's smirk twitches — an unspoken signal.
Suddenly — chaos erupts.
Gunfire CRACKS through the rain.
Fred shoves Harriet behind a crumbling pillar.
FRED
"Stay down! Don't move!"
Fred ducks, fires two clean shots — two of Vance's men drop instantly.
Harriet gasps, clutching her chest — the world spinning.
Another man charges Fred with a metal pipe.
Fred dodges — slamming the man's face into the pillar with a sickening crunch.
Vance fires wildly — a bullet grazing Fred's side — but Fred doesn't even flinch.
MR. VANCE (furious)
"You're a dead man, Fred!"
Harriet peeks from behind the pillar — sees Vance raising his gun directly at Fred's head.
Without thinking, she screams:
HARRIET
"FRED!!"
Fred twists just in time — the bullet slicing his shoulder instead of his skull.
He staggers — but lifts his gun again with bloodied hands.
More thugs pour into the hall.
Harriet's mind races.
HARRIET (V.O.)
"I can't just hide! I can't lose him!
Not before I know the truth — not before I save him!"
Gritting her teeth, Harriet grabs a fallen metal rod from the ground.
A thug lunges toward Fred from behind — Harriet rushes forward and strikes the thug hard across the back.
The man crumples with a grunt.
Fred sees her — eyes flashing with fury and fear.
FRED (hoarse)
"Stay back, dammit!"
But Harriet stands her ground — breathing hard, soaked and shaking — but unyielding.
Another thug aims at her — Fred fires without hesitation, taking him down.
Suddenly — the screech of tires.
Headlights flood the hall — a black car crashes through the rotting doors.
LIAM bursts out, armed with a shotgun.
LIAM (yelling)
"Get away from them!"
The thugs hesitate — momentarily thrown off.
Fred takes the opening — tackling Vance to the ground.
They wrestle in the mud and blood — the gun skidding across the floor.
Fred slams his fist into Vance's face — once, twice — brutal, desperate.
Vance snarls — kicking Fred off and scrambling for the gun.
Fred, wounded and panting, reaches Harriet — grabs her hand tightly.
FRED (desperate whisper)
"Listen to me.
If I say run — you RUN. Don't look back.
Promise me."
Harriet's lip trembles — but she nods.
Suddenly, a gunshot rings out.
Fred stiffens.
Harriet's scream pierces the night.
---
[EXT. ABANDONED MANSION – NIGHT – CONTINUOUS]
The world slows.
Rain freezes midair.
Fred stumbles back — blood blooming across his side again.
Harriet (screaming)
"FRED!!"
She catches him before he falls.
Fred clutches her arms — pain blazing in his dark eyes — but he forces a tight, bitter smile.
Fred (hoarse)
"Not... your fault."
Another shot — Liam fires back, hitting one of Vance's men squarely in the chest.
Liam (yelling)
"GO! MOVE!"
Fred tries to push Harriet behind him — but his strength is fading fast.
Vance, bloodied and furious, staggers up — gun raised — aiming straight at Harriet now.
Mr. Vance (snarling)
"Enough games.
Goodbye, princess."
Fred, with the last of his strength, throws himself in front of her —
BANG.
Fred gasps — the bullet tearing through his shoulder — shielding Harriet completely.
Harriet shrieks — tears pouring down her face.
Harriet (sobbing)
"FRED!! NO!!"
Liam sprints toward them — firing rapid shots — forcing Vance and his men to scatter into the shadows.
Vance curses, retreating.
Mr. Vance (furious)
"This isn't over, girl!
I'll come back for you both!"
They disappear into the rainy darkness.
Silence falls — broken only by Harriet's ragged sobs.
She cradles Fred against her, his blood staining her hands, his face pale.
Harriet (desperate whisper)
"Stay with me. Please, Fred, stay with me..."
Fred's fingers brush her cheek, smearing blood across her skin.
Fred (weak smile)
"You're... strong...
Just like... your parents..."
Harriet's heart nearly stops.
Harriet (gasping)
"You... you knew them...?"
Fred tries to nod — but his eyelids are fluttering shut.
Liam kneels beside them, urgent.
Liam (grim)
"We have to get him out of here. NOW."
Harriet clutches Fred tighter, her face set.
Harriet (V.O.)
"I won't lose him.
I won't lose the only chance to find the truth."
Together, Harriet and Liam lift Fred's limp body — dragging him toward the car as thunder and lightning crash around them.
In the distance, somewhere deep in the ruins —
Vance watches.
His eyes cold.
His next move already forming.
---
[EXT. LIAM'S SAFEHOUSE – LATER THAT NIGHT]
Harriet kneels by a battered couch where Fred lies unconscious — his face ghostly pale.
She grips his hand tightly, refusing to let go.
Bandages cover his wounds, but blood still seeps through.
Liam paces nearby, phone pressed to his ear.
Liam (grim)
"Yeah. It's bad.
Prepare the backup plan.
She's the key now."
Harriet overhears — her stomach twisting.
Harriet (V.O.)
"The key...?
What am I the key to?"
Lightning flashes again outside the broken window.
The storm isn't over.
And neither is the nightmare.
---
TO BE CONTINUED...
***