BEND by Anthony M. Dionisio U.S. Pending
[email protected] FADE IN: INT. ABANDONED APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT PETROVIK SIDOROV, 30, fierce silver eyes, races up a stairwell, slips on trash -- lands on his ass. Slow to rise, reaches for his left shoulder blade, feels a fresh PUNCTURE WOUND, recoils from the pain, exits into a -- LONG CORRIDOR Leaky ceiling, boarded up apartment doors, garbage and graffiti everywhere. He sees a BUSTED WINDOW at the end of the moonlit hallway, sprints for it... AT THE WINDOW -- spots a rusty fire escape. Petrovik hops onto the window sill, hand grips the frame, leans out... WHACK A throwing dagger practically severs his right MIDDLE finger -- sticks into the wood. Blood sprays, DIGIT dangles momentarily, then falls to the floor -- a Soviet-emblem RUBY RING still attached to the knuckle... EXT. ABANDONED APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT TOP FLOOR FIRE ESCAPE -- TENTH FLOOR Petrovik crashes onto a steel LANDING, tightly clutches his finger stump -- HOWLS like a wounded lion. Rights himself, painfully climbs up ladder rungs -- finds himself on... THE ROOF He scans... small vents, not big enough for hiding, hobbles aimlessly, sees a -- ROOF TOP DOOR -- decides to run for it... Swings open the door, unexpectedly collides with -- TERRY CONRAD, 25, techie-type, slightly over-weight -- wears a blue and red baseball jacket. Professional camera and press credentials dangle from around his neck. 2. TERRY Sorry, my bad. A startled Petrovik grabs USHERS and then PUSHES Terry off the roof -- tangled together, both upend and disappear... LOOKING OVER THE PARAPET -- Both men scream. Petrovik falls ten stories, smashes onto a pile of debris -- bounces straight up before soft-landing.