The Grandson thought about it for a minute
and then asked His Grandfather :
"Which wolf wins?"
The Old Cherokee simply replied,
"The one you feed."
COUNT DRACULA :
I am afraid I do not possess such a thing.
HARKER :
You don't have any mirrors?
COUNT DRACULA :
SIGHS:
Baubles of Vanity.
What is The Purpose of a Mirror?
Hm?
One will find no Enlightenment in
One's Own Gaze.
GLASS TINKLES
HARKER :
Agh!
COUNT DRACULA :
HISSES
Are you all right, Mr Harker?
HARKER :
Oh, I'm fine. It's, er... It's a scratch.
COUNT DRACULA :
Please be careful.
We cannot return you in any way damaged
to your beautiful Mina.
HARKER :
It's nothing. It's ju...
Did I mention Mina?
COUNT DRACULA :
I think you spoke of her beauty at dinner.
HARKER :
Oh, um...
I don't recall that.
COUNT DRACULA :
Perhaps it was the wine.
HARKER :
No, I barely drank.
HARKER LAUGHS
COUNT DRACULA :
My sympathies.
Please attend to your hand.
HARKER :
It's really fine. It's...
It's nothing.
COUNT DRACULA :
Blood is not nothing!
Blood... is lives.
Van Helsing :
"Lives"?
You are quite certain he did not say
"Blood is Life"?
He said
"Blood is Lives"?
HARKER :
He... He did.
Yes.
PENCIL SCRATCHES
It struck me as odd.
Van Helsing :
But there were other oddnesses
that preoccupied you?
HARKER :
How could he know My Thoughts?
I never mentioned Mina at dinner.
I'm certain of it.
Van Helsing :
A Dog can sniff stories
on the slightest breeze, while We
are blind in The Wind.
HARKER :
He could smell My Thoughts in the air?
Van Helsing :
No, Mr Harker.
That would be ridiculous.
But perhaps in Your Blood.
Perhaps stories flow in our veins,
if you know how to read them.
Blood is Lives...
COUNT DRACULA :
You will not see me till tomorrow evening.
I have... several appointments.
Till then, please treat
My Home as your own.
I bid you goodnight.
HARKER :
Good n...
DOOR CREAKS
HIGH-PITCHED SCRAPING
SCRAPING CONTINUES
GASPS
WIND WHISTLES
WIND HOWLS
HARKER :
Is someone...? Agh!
GASPS
Hello?
Hello?
WOLVES HOWL
Van Helsing :
So there was another Guest in The Castle?
Perhaps also A Prisoner?
HARKER:
I didn't realise I was
A Prisoner, at the time.
Van Helsing :
That night, then?
HARKER :
I slept.
Van Helsing :
You dreamed.
HARKER :
I woke early.
Van Helsing :
No, wait. Wait.
You dreamed.
After a day of such
Incident and Colour,
how could you not..?
Was it Mina you dreamed of...?
You longed for her.
HARKER :
One longs for
The Solace of Home.
VAN HELSING :
One longs, certainly.
Tell me more about Your Dream.
HARKER :
It is private.
SISTER AGATHA:
Your ache for her.
You were together
in Your Dream.
HARKER :
I-I don't...
This is not...
SISTER AGATHA:
There is no Shame in it.
Dreams are a haven where
We sin without Consequence.
Believe me, I know.
Some mornings,
I can hardly look
Sister Rosa in the face.
HARKER :
What you asked before, if I'd...
Van Helsing :
If you'd ever had sexual intercourse
with Count Dracula.
HARKER :
Mm. Why did you ask that?
Van Helsing :
Clearly, you have been
contaminated with something.
Any contact you've had
with Count Dracula,
sexual or otherwise,
is therefore relevant.
BREATHES UNSTEADILY
Van Helsing :
Continue.
"Help us."
Van Helsing :
So it struck you as Strange, of course.
HARKER :
Well, clearly, there was someone
trapped in The Castle.
Van Helsing :
No. No. The Writing.
"Help Us."
HARKER :
It was upside down.
Van Helsing :
Well, yes, of course, because whoever wrote it
was obliged to hang that way.
But even that extraordinary physical feat
is surely not The Point of Interest.
HARKER :
Then what is?
Van Helsing :
What is remarkable, Mr Harker,
what is convenient,
is that The Words were in English.
HARKER :
Oh...
I didn't think of that.
Van Helsing :
Of course not.
You are An English...man --
A combination of presumptions
beyond compare.
Proceed.
HARKER :
Well, I knew I had the day to myself,
so I determined to find the room above mine
and see if anyone required my assistance.
Van Helsing :
Tell me, how did you feel?
HARKER:
Different. Older.
Van Helsing :
But very curious.
HARKER :
At least I knew I was not alone.
The Count hadn't been
exaggerating about His Castle.
Hello?
Whatever way I turned,
it never took me
where I expected.
Every door I opened,
led to two more
a-and then three.
Every step I took,
I made The Wrong Choice.
I was lost in
The Architect's Labyrinth.
Agh!
Ahh!
I wasted most of the day...
...until I found myself too tired to go on.
WOLVES HOWL
CORK POPS
COUNT DRACULA :
Hmm? Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you.
I think you've been working too hard.
HARKER :
Mm... Count...
COUNT DRACULA :
Please - relax.
Have a glass of wine.
HARKER :
Your voice... You sound different.
COUNT DRACULA :
I've been working on my English.
Ah... Do you approve?
HARKER :
It's almost perfect.
COUNT DRACULA :
The Credit is all Yours.
Your presence has invigorated me.
Fresh Blood.
Help us.
Hello?
GIGGLES
Hello?
HARKER :
Hello? Excuse me?
Please! I-I intend you no harm.
However fleeting the sight,
surely this was proof
that I wasn't going mad?
WIND HOWLS
THUNDER RUMBLES
HARKER :
Count Dracula.
Are we alone in this castle?
COUNT DRACULA :
Yes.
Except for the servants, of course.
HARKER :
I never see any servants.
COUNT DRACULA :
They aren't here at night.
HARKER :
I don't see them in the daytime...either.
In fact, apart from The Driver...
...I haven't seen anyone working here at all.
DRACULA CHUCKLES
COUNT DRACULA :
Ah, yes --
The Driver.
HARKER :
What I'm asking is, aside from yourself...
..is there anyone living in this castle?
COUNT DRACULA :
No. Jonathan...
...there's no-one living here.
Van Helsing :
So after sundown each day,
Dracula appeared
stronger and younger...
..while the opposite
was true for you.
BELL CHIMES
Did you understand what
was happening to you?
THUD AND BIRD FLUTTERS
PIGEONS COO OUTSIDE
HARKER :
No. Not then.
I thought I was sick. Just...sick.
Van Helsing :
Turn your head to the side.
Why?
SISTER AGATHA:
Show me.
You have been very strong, Mr Harker.
In your circumstances,
I don't think I could have been half so brave.
HARKER :
I wasn't brave.
In what way was I brave?
Van Helsing :
You were trapped
in that place,
you were afraid,
and yet you spent your days
searching The Castle
because you thought
someone needed your help.
HARKER :
Well, my help had been requested. It...
It would have been difficult to refuse that.
Van Helsing :
Difficult?
HARKER :
Unacceptable.
Van Helsing :
So your search continued.
Tell us.
PANTS
HARKER :
My every exploration led me
deeper and deeper into
The Labyrinth.
Eventually, I made a remarkable discovery.
STRAINS
HARKER :
What had become of these people?
Were they my predecessors?
GRUNTS
SQUEAKS
FLIES SWARM AND BUZZ
GROANS
LOW GURGLING
GURGLING CONTINUES
GASPS
EXCLAIMS
GURGLING INTENSIFIES
SQUELCHING
HARKER GASPS
SQUELCHING
Omoara ma!
HARKER GASPS
SCREAMS
GASPS
Omoara ma...
SCREAMS
HARKER PANTS
WHEEZING:
Omoara ma...
BONES CRUNCH
Omoara ma!
BONES CRUNCH
GASPS WHEEZILY
GASPS
ALL:
Omoara ma!
Omoara ma!
HARKER SHRIEKS AND GASPS
SHOUTING ECHOES
GASPS
SHOUTING FADES
BAT SQUEAKS AND HE GASPS
GASPS
SCREAMS
GROWLS
HARKER SCREAMS
BELL CHIMES
HARKER :
It's all I remember.
I fear I may have passed out.
Van Helsing :
Quite understandable.
"Omoara ma."
Do you know what that is?
HARKER :
It sounded like a curse.
Van Helsing :
It's Romanian.
It means "Kill Me".
HARKER :
They looked dead already.
Dead and Walking.
Van Helsing :
Undead.
HARKER :
Tell me.
Van Helsing :
There is A Contagion, a Corruption,
passing through This World
from one sufferer to The Next.
For those unfortunate to fall victim to it,
Life becomes incurable.
They lose The Divine
Ability to DIE.
As their bodies rot,
their Consciousness persists.
Even as Dust, their pain goes on.
It is a secret every gravedigger keeps.
There are those among us destined
to scratch at our coffin lids for all Eternity.
If you work among The Dead,
it's not Death you fear.
It's The Alternative.
HARKER :
Is there any salvation for such creatures?
Van Helsing :
I Don't Know.
HARKER :
Have Faith!
Van Helsing :
Faith is a sleeping draught
for Children and Simpletons.
What we must have is a plan.
HARKER :
Dracula's one of them, isn't he?
Van Helsing :
Undead?
Undead certainly but, from your account,
I think he is much more complicated.
GASPS
GROANS SOFTLY
COUNT DRACULA :
Johnny.
There you are.
Thought we'd lost you.
HARKER :
Hmm... What am I doing here?
COUNT DRACULA :
I found you downstairs, asleep on the floor.
I could be wrong, but I think
you were having a nightmare.
You do look rather pale.
HARKER :
You said you didn't drink.
COUNT DRACULA :
....Wine.
Now... CLEARS HIS THROAT: ..listen.
I need you to do something.
Set yourself down. There you go.
That's the ticket.
Now, take this --
I need you to write three letters.
BABY CRIES
HARKER :
What was that?
COUNT DRACULA :
That's nothing.
HARKER :
Sounded like a baby.
COUNT DRACULA :
LAUGHS:
No, no, no. There's no baby.
Now, Johnny, Johnny...concentrate.
Three letters.
HARKER :
No-one calls me Johnny.
COUNT DRACULA :
No-one?
HARKER :
No-one.
COUNT DRACULA :
Company for you while you work.
HARKER :
Who is she?
COUNT DRACULA :
Don't you recognise her?
HARKER :
Why would I?
COUNT DRACULA :
I took it from your room.
It's Mina.
Your Fiancee.
Mina Murray.
RETCHES
HARKER :
How can I not recognise her face?
COUNT DRACULA :
Well, you do look rather... drained.
HARKER :
You look young.
COUNT DRACULA :
And I owe it all to you. Thanks.
Now, it's almost time for you to go.
So, three letters, all to Mina --
The first saying you have
nearly finished your work here
and will be leaving within the week.
The second saying that
you have now completed your work
and will be leaving the following day.
And the third saying you have now
left the castle and have arrived safely in...
What shall we say?
...Bistritz, hm?
I will send the letters at the appropriate times.
I'll forward the last one to Bistritz
so it can be sent from there.
HARKER :
Wh-why... Why would I...
Why would I do that?
COUNT DRACULA :
So that Mina will know that
You're Coming Home.
HARKER :
But why would I write the letters in advance?
COUNT DRACULA :
Because the post here is very erratic.
It's a precaution.
HARKER :
For whom? If...
If something were to happen to me
and those letters had already been sent...
COUNT DRACULA :
Then Mina wouldn't think to come
looking for you here.
Do you want her to come here?
BABY CRIES
HARKER :
That's a baby.
I can hear it crying.
COUNT DRACULA :
There is no baby!
Write the letters
or
don't write the letters.
It's up to you.
I'm only thinking about Mina.
SOBS
COUNT DRACULA :
Now, if you don't mind. Things to do.
See you tomorrow evening.
Leave the letters on the table.
HARKER :
The dates! The dates!
The dates for the letters...
How should I date them?
COUNT DRACULA :
Well, let's see. Er...
The 12th for the first.
For the second, the 19th.
And for the third...
Um...
KICKS CRATE
What shall we say?
29th?
29th?
As good a day as any, Johnny.
Goodnight.
BABY CRIES
HARKER :
What if I leave?
What if I leave this place right now?
COUNT DRACULA :
No-one is stopping you.
HARKER :
I don't have the strength.
COUNT DRACULA :
No. I know.
It's not your fault, Johnny.
You mustn't blame yourself.
BABY CRIES
HARKER :
Agh!
Please...
Please, please!
The baby!
COUNT DRACULA :
SING-SONG:
Johnny, there is no baby.
BABY CRIES
HARKER :
I knew in that moment
that I had A Choice.
I'd been told the span of my life,
the limit of my existence - the 29th.
Now, I could stay here,
dying piece by piece,
till I found myself
nailed into one of
those boxes.
Van Helsing :
Or...?
Or I could kill Count Dracula.
Van Helsing :
Not an easy task in the circumstances.
HARKER :
No, but I had certain
advantages.
Van Helsing :
I should be fascinated
to know what they were.
HARKER :
I was enfeebled and trapped...
Van Helsing :
Well, indeed.
HARKER :
..so Dracula did not consider me a threat.
Van Helsing :
That's True, yes.
But, on the negative side,
You were enfeebled and trapped.
HARKER :
I had a potential ally.
One who could climb the castle walls.
Van Helsing :
One you couldn't even find?
HARKER :
That was because I was looking
for the wrong thing --
I should have
been looking
for a map.
Van Helsing :
Of The Castle?
But there wasn't one.
HARKER :
That's what Dracula believed.
But, in telling me that,
he'd also told me
where to find it.
Van Helsing :
What did he say?
HARKER :
I told you.
Van Helsing :
I missed it.
HARKER :
You did.
Van Helsing :
Then you're much quicker than me.
HARKER :
I'm not quick.
I've always been slow.
But the thing is,
when you're slow,
You know you need
to pay attention.
It's the clever ones
who never listen.
You've read all this.
Already. In my account.
Van Helsing :
It's vague in certain crucial regards.
Continue, please.
HARKER :
It occurred to me that night
that Dracula said more
than he intended.
And more than he knew.
As he was a Creature of The Night,
I had to wait until morning to test my theory.
GASPS
The Count said there was no map,
but Petruvio was An Artist,
and artists always wish to be understood.
The Castle was a monument
to The Architect's lost love
and The Sunlight
to which he would never return.
And what else is sunlight...
..but the face of one's beloved?
The Path to The Sunlight.
It was clear from The Castle Maps
that Petruvio had created
within His Design
a System of Shortcuts
through The Maze.
Hidden passages,
possibly unknown
even to Dracula himself.
How many times had I
looked at that picture
and not seen it?
Petruvio's Wife was The Sunlight...
..and he stood guard at The Door.
STRAINS
STONES RUMBLE
WIND WHISTLES
SQUEAKING
SQUEAKING CONTINUES
CLAWS SCRATCH
FLIES BUZZ
SCREAMS
GASPS
GASPS
SQUEAKING
CLATTERING
BRIDE OF DRACULA :
He doesn't know I can get out of The Box --
Don't tell him.
HARKER :
I won't.
BRIDE OF DRACULA :
Are you His Friend now?
HARKER :
No. I, er...
I-I.. I work for him.
I'm a Lawyer.
From England.
BRIDE OF DRACULA :
I think he's made you His Friend.
HARKER :
Why?
BRIDE OF DRACULA :
What's England?
HARKER :
It's where I'm from.
You know it.
You're...speaking English.
BRIDE OF DRACULA :
I learnt it.
SHE LAUGHS
HARKER :
How?
BRIDE OF DRACULA :
It tasted fun.
HARKER :
Tasted?
BRIDE OF DRACULA :
Once you are The Count's Friend,
all languages are the same.
I'm hungry.
HARKER :
Was it you at The Window?
You left The Message?
BRIDE OF DRACULA :
I smelt you.
HARKER :
You're Trapped Here.
BRIDE OF DRACULA :
You're trapped too.
HARKER :
I want to Help You.
BRIDE OF DRACULA :
Tell him I'm hungry!
He only gives me scraps.
Tiny little things.
Tell him I finished the last one.
I finished it really quickly.
I'm hungry! Agh!
SHE GROWLS
HARKER :
Look at it! Look at it!
It is The Sign of The Cross.
The Symbol of Our Lord.
BRIDE OF DRACULA :
I know.
It's pretty.
SCREAMS ECHO
VAN HELSING :
You assumed, I suppose,
that The Cross would
ward off Evil.
HARKER :
Why are you smiling?
VAN HELSING :
Your Faith.
I think it's touching.
HARKER :
What happened to yours?
VAN HELSING :
I have looked for God
everywhere in This World
and never found Him.
HARKER :
Then Why are You Here?
VAN HELSING :
Like many Women of My Age,
I'm trapped in a Loveless Marriage,
maintaining appearances
for The Sake of A Roof Over My Head.
Now then, we proceed to
your miraculous escape
from Castle Dracula,
about which you have been
so vague.
KNOCKS
HARKER :
Somebody! Please, help!
GASPS
STRAINS
BABY GURGLES
BABY CRIES
CRIES
HARKER PANTS
CRIES
GROANS
WHEEZES
COUNT DRACULA :
Johnny, This is interesting.
I've never seen it work
with A Baby before. Never.
I think I might keep it on for a while.
I hope this doesn't mean that I'm getting sentimental.
HARKER :
Why did you kill her?
COUNT DRACULA :
Who?
Oh. Um...
Because I wanted to see
if she would die, I suppose.
Johnny, don't give me that look.
You were A Child once.
You know The Feeling.
Didn't you break your toys apart
to see how they worked?
HARKER :
You're a Monster.
COUNT DRACULA :
And you're a Lawyer!
Nobody's Perfect.
Ah, a stake through The Heart.
You see, sometimes The Legends are right.
This is not one you can test too often, though.
I only ever have three brides at a time.
"Brides"?
COUNT DRACULA :
Brides, yes. I think that's The Right Word for it.
You see, um...
CLEARS HIS THROAT
....I am trying to reproduce...
CRATE OPENS
Oh!
SQUISHING
..which, frankly, can be a bit of a challenge
when there is only One of You.
Agh!
COUNT DRACULA :
Oh, Johnny. You're just about Done, aren't you?
She was a thirsty little thing,
and to think that she was going to keep you in That Box
all to herself!
Are you going to kill me?
COUNT DRACULA :
Of course I'm going to kill you.
Why does Death always come as such a shock to mortals?
You took everything from me.
Of course I did.
You are the high road
that leads me to England.
HARKER:
Why? Why England?
COUNT DRACULA :
Ah.
The People.
All those sophisticated and intelligent people.
As I've been trying to tell everyone for centuries --
You are What You Eat.
HARKER WHIMPERS
WIND WHISTLES
Now...
...if you don't mind, I need you to do one last thing for me.
I haven't seen her in hundreds of years.
Describe her to me.
WEAKLY:
Who?
COUNT DRACULA :
I've had artists paint her,
and poets capture her in words,
and Mozart wrote such a pretty little tune, I-I...
CLEARS HIS THROAT:
..I really should have spared him, but....
What does a lawyer see?
Johnny, in my memory, she sets behind the second-highest peak at this time of year, and she's quite red.
Is she red, Johnny?
Look for yourself.
COUNT DRACULA :
But that will burn me to dust.
Good.
COUNT DRACULA :
Fair Enough.
Absolutely Fair Enough.
Will you put me in a box?
COUNT DRACULA :
Keep your eyes on The Sun, Johnny.
It'll be the last time you see Her.
There is a box waiting for you, in case you walk, yes,
but most people I feed off just die.
So you'll probably be fine.
Don't you see?
An End is a blessing.
Dying gives you size.
It's The Mountaintop from which
Your Whole Life is at last visible.
From Beginning to End.
Death completes you.
