13 REFLECTIONS: THE CHAMBER OF SOULS Episode 1 Season 2

Written by

Craig Lew

FADE IN:

INT. MIRROR WORLD - NIGHT

ZOMBIE DUNGEON AMBIENCE

LOW WIND

DEEP BREATHS

GASP

CHARLES (V.O.)

I stepped though the Jell-O like

surface of the mirror and found

myself in a chilling eternal night.

A nightmarish landscape of

limitless dimensions. A thick

ground fog came up to my knees and

made it difficult to breathe.

Nothing was familiar and it took me

a few moments to steady myself.

Then I saw it a short distance away

above my head and knew I was surely

not somewhere over the rainbow.

TENSE MUSIC

CHARLES (V.O.)

A 13 foot tall demon with the skin

of a crocodile, horns of a ram, and

teeth like needles, perched atop a

floating outcrop of charred

granite. His massive chin rested in

his clawed hand. His yellow snake

eyes scanned his otherworldly

domain before locking with mine.

This is the story of how I first

met the Demon King of the mirror

world.

DEMON

Welcome.

CHARLES (V.O.)

Its voice was so deep and

penetrating that the marrow in my

bones vibrated. Did it really speak

or was it all in my mind?

DEMON

What brings you here to me?

CHARLES

I... I...

GAG. CHOKE. COUGH.

CHARLES (V.O.)

Speaking in his realm was like

making sounds submerged in a dark

lake. He made a casual wave at me

with two clawed fingers.

MAGIC WHOOSH

DEMON

This should help. Try again.

CHARLES

I... I’m looking for my daughter.

DEMON

Your daughter?

CHARLES

Yes, Freya. She’s only ten years

old and not well.

DEMON

Not well?

CHARLES

She has a condition. A heart

defect.

DEMON

A defect? I can cure her just as

easily as you now can speak.

CHARLES

You’d do this for me?

DEMON

I don’t know. Who are you?

CHARLES

I’m Charles. Charles Puck.

DEMON

Oh. I already know your name

Charles. My question was “Who ARE

you?”

CHARLES

At that instant I couldn’t

understand his meaning.

CHARLES (CONT'D)

I’m just a regular man. A father. A

husband. I dabble painting with

water colors. I work as a

bookkeeper for Taylor and Edwards

company.

DEMON

Bookkeeper?

CHARLES

I keep their accounts. Track of all

the sales transactions, you know?

Money in, expenses paid out. That

sort of thing.

DEMON

Accounts. Hmmm. I also keep

accounts.

CHARLES

Do you really?

CHARLES (V.O.)

It’s wasn’t apparent to me what

type of accounts a demon would need

to keep. There were no businesses

or buildings of any sort around.

DEMON

Come with me. I shall show you.

CHARLES

He floated down to my level without

effort. For being of great height

and stature he made no sound when

his feet touched down. I followed

him through the ground fog. We

seemed to fly instead of walk.

WHOOSHES

CHARLES (CONT'D)

Every step seemed to bring us a

thousand paces forward. Soon

strange shapes rose out of the

ground fog. A landscape of surreal

objects from Salvador Dahli’s

nightmares. Some where broken

mirrors of huge size. Others were

broken monoliths.

WIND

DEMON

Here we are. Welcome to my humble

abode.

CHARLES (V.O.)

Its lips curled as if to smirk, if

a demon could smirk.

DEMON CHUCKLE

CHARLES (V.O.)

Humble abode? It was a massive

castle of gray stone blocks each

the size of a truck. Black

gargoyles shaped like winged hell

hounds perched on the top of the

battlement. They were carved from

dark marble but I swear I saw one

flap its wings.

CROW CAW

WING FLAP

CHARLES (V.O.)

The castle was set upon a huge

mound of river rocks. Or that is

what I thought at first. As we

climbed up the steep walk, I could

see they were not rocks at

all...they were charred skulls most

were human, some were animals,

dogs, goats, cows but a few were of

skulls of creatures unknown to me.

We crossed the draw bridge and

passed beyond the walls. Heavy iron

gates slowly fell behind us.

Looking about the courtyard, I

wondered if the castle walls were

to keep tress-passers out or to

keep prisoners in?

HEAVY DOORS OPEN.

AMBIENCE CHANGES TO LARGE HALL.

CHARLES (V.O.)

We entered the great hall. It was

like a Roman cathedral with gothic

arches and thick pillars but no

pews or candles or confessionals.

The ground fog gave way to reveal

red marble floors that strongly

looked like flowing blood.

CHARLES (V.O.) (CONT'D)

The demon’s thunderous footfalls

suddenly echoed.

THUMPING FOOTSTEPS

CHARLES (V.O.)

A large throne of gold perched at

the end of the hall. I expected the

demon to go and sit in it but the

demon turned away to the right and

pointed at a narrow stairway that

curled down.

ECHO FOOTSTEPS

CHARLES (V.O.)

We reached the bottom and came to

large metal doors crossed with

thick chain and a steel lock. The

demon raised a finger and the lock

fell open.

LOCK UNCLICKS

CHAINS RATTLE

CHARLES (V.O.)

It waved its hand and the chains

swept themselves aside. The demon

grabbed a key from the chain around

his neck. It was a thick gold

square key with odd shaped

indentions. He inserted it into a

hole in the door.

KEY INSERT

KEY UNLOCKS

GEARS TURN

HEAVY METAL DOORS OPEN

AIRLOCK HISS

CHARLES (V.O.)

Two massive metal doors parted.

Putrid stench escaped from the room

beyond.

GAG

CHOKE

COUGH

GROAN

CHARLES (V.O.)

The demon motioned for me to enter,

I took a deep breath fearing it

would be my last.

THUMPING FOOTSTEPS

CHARLES (V.O.)

The room inside was lined with

shelves set into the walls. On each

shelf was a large mason jar that

glowed a different color.

CHARLES

What is this place?

DEMON

This is my most cherished space in

my entire kingdom. Welcome to my

chamber of souls.

MUSIC

CHARLES (V.O.)

I took a step closer to the glowing

jars. They pulsed with soft light

and something fluttered inside. I

thought butterflies or birds but my

stomach turned when I saw that in

each glowing jar...

HEART BEATS

CHARLES

Those are hearts.

DEMON

The heart is just a shell. Those

are souls.

CHARLES

Souls?

DEMON

Yes, but these are old and stale

not very valuable.

CHARLES

Valuable? Souls have different

values?

DEMON

Of course. Souls have weight. “I

come to you with a heavy heart.”

Souls have temperature, “She’s a

cold hearted bitch.” or “A hot

blooded warrior.” But most amazing

of all things, souls have magic.

Some souls are more magical than

others. Come let me show you.

CHARLES (V.O.)

The demon led me to what I thought

would be the end of the room but as

it turned I discovered this chamber

of souls was not a room at all. It

was a labyrinth.

THUMPING FOOTSTEPS

CHARLES (V.O.)

Each turn led to a larger space all

lit by glowing jars of souls. Some

rooms were purple, some blue, some

were bright red. The demon made a

turn down steep narrow stairs. I

stepped into a huge cavernous room

with walls that seemed to flow with

colors of the rainbow.

ANGELIC MUSIC

DEMON

These are the rarest of souls, the

most magical, my most collectable.

CHARLES

You collect souls?

DEMON

Indeed. I am the Demon King of the

Mirror World. Collecting souls is

my passion.

CHARLES (VO)

A sinister smile floated across the

demon kings lips. Its needle like

teeth glimmered in the multicolored

light. Its yellow eyes moved from

jar to jar as if assessing each

jar’s beauty. I never considered if

demons experienced joy. Was I the

first to witness a it or were there

others prior to me that never made

it out alive to tell anyone?

DEMON

Do you see the sparkle, the

effervescence, the richness of

color? Does the bouquet hint at a

meadow in the morning light, or a

pine forest, or freshly wrapped

tobacco?

CHARLES (V.O.)

I must admit that these jars did

sparkle rather than glow. The

colors were alive, they fluttered

and danced with each beat of the

heart.

ENCHANTING MUSIC

BUTTERFLY WINGS

MUTED MEWS

CHARLES (V.O.)

I hadn’t noticed that this area

smelled much sweeter than the

previous rooms. I could breath

easier. Was it my imagination that

with each breath my heart felt less

dread, less anxious, less fear?

CHARLES

Why do I feel lighter?

DEMON

It’s the souls. It’s their quality.

These souls are like rare jewels,

aged fine wine, or triple cream

cheese. These are souls of great

magic. Just being in their presence

lifts your spirits.

CHARLES

I see that and feel it. But what

makes these souls so different than

the others?

DEMON

These are the souls of remarkable

individuals. Take this one for

instance.

CHARLES (V.O.)

The demon king pointed at a small

gold and orange jar. The heart

inside was small and delicate.

DEMON

This belonged to a child.

CHARLES (V.O.)

My heart began to pound. Was this

the heart of my Freya?

DEMON

Soniya was the eldest daughter of

five and at her tender age of ten

years she was forced to care for

her other siblings when her mother

was killed by terrorists. This

young child marched her siblings

through battle field after battle

field.

MACHINE GUN FIRE

EXPLOSIONS

KIDS SCREAM

RUNNING

WALKING

HUSHING

DEMON (CONT'D)

They hid during the day and moved

in the evening until it was too

dark to see.

FIGHTING

GRUNTS

DEMON (CONT'D)

She fought off three militia men

but they were eventually captured.

While in their prison she learned

the myth of the mirrors. She was

able to face two mirrors to create

endless reflections.

MAGIC MIRROR WHOOSH

GIRL COUNTING

DEMON (CONT'D)

She touched the 13th reflection to

open a portal and helped her

siblings escape certain death.

CHARLES

How did she die?

DEMON

Die? Her soul lives on.

CHARLES

Allow me to rephrase. How did her

soul come to be here on your shelf?

DEMON

Ah. That. She and I had a chat and

came to an arrangement.

CHARLES

Arrangement? What sort of

arrangement?

DEMON

I’d save her and her siblings. I’d

help her find a safe place and a

way to pay for all of their needs.

CHARLES

What sin did she have to commit for

you?

DEMON

Sin? Oh nothing of the sort. She

merely had to tell others of the

mirror myth. It was that simple.

CHARLES

Spread the gospel so to speak? What

other ways of worship did she have

to perform? What other tithing was

required?

DEMON

Tithing. That’s a good way to look

at it. Yes, there was some of that.

But alas once her life began to

prosper she decided to step away

from our arrangement.

CHARLES

You haven’t answered my question.

DEMON

Maybe not in the fashion you would

like.

CHARLES

What happened to her?

DEMON

She repaid me.

CHARLES

With her soul?

DEMON CHUCKLE

CHARLES (VO) (CONT'D)

His only reply was a smirk and a

shrug of his massive shoulders.

Somehow... in some sinister

fashion, he took that young girl’s

life.

DEMON

So tell me about your Freya. What

condition is plaguing her?

CHARLES

Her heart, two chambers didn’t

fully develop.

DEMON

Terrible thing. And yet she’s made

it to ten years.

CHARLES

It appears to have effected

development in other areas. Her

speech, movement, and her mind.

DEMON

So not just a heart defect.

CHARLES

You said you could heal her.

DEMON

What you want is not a healing. You

want perfection.

CHARLES

I want what every parent wants.

DEMON

A perfect child is a rather big

ask.

CHARLES

Are you saying it is beyond you?

DEMON

No. Not exactly. My skills are

unmatched. I am more than able but

I’m yet to be inspired to act.

CHARLES

What inspiration do you need?

DEMON

Well, I could be moved to act if we

could...

CHARLES

Come to some arrangement?

Demon chuckles then his laugh grows bigger.

CHARLES (V.O.)

This is how I first met the Demon

King of the Mirror World. This is

where my spiral down begins. This

is where I make my mark in the

Chamber of Souls.

ANNOUNCER

This has been 13 Reflections: The

Chamber of Souls Episode 1