fallenidols


	Fallen Idols Characters Vlad- A seventeen-year-old boy who purposely acts divergent from everyone else about him, for he does not care what they think and desires immortality. To obtain this, he drinks the blood of his victims after he kills them, to avenge the death of his brother, Dally. He used to be in love with Dally, but now, he's becoming obsessed with his best friend, Jesse. After Dally's death, he started his plan of taking revenge to obtain his supposed immortality, with followers, but he is the only one who kills, for he feels no other apparent emotions other than revenge, hopelessness, and obsession. Since his brother's death, he lost all interest in school, and ignores his hygiene as well. Because of this, his grades are low and he cuts classes habitually, while meandering around in a sulky, saturnine mood. His hair has become too long and tangled, and he has gained significant weight. While he wanders in life, killing for revenge and lusting after Jesse, he dresses from the neck down in black. To achieve his goals, nothing seems to be standing in his way, besides for his mother, who insists that he is bizarre in behavior, depressed, and crazy, and forces him to attend sessions with a psychiatrist to change his behavior and cope with Dally's death. Despite Vlad does not do well in school, he is disingenuous with others, but blatantly curses at them in his contempt. Around others besides for his friends, he acts explosive and volatile, but with his friends, he is solemn, or neutral with them. Jesse- Vlad's best friend, who is similar in appearance and manner, but does not kill. However, he is unaware, at first, that Vlad loves him. He is a follower of Vlad, and takes part in all of the rituals. He also has a lacklustered approach to school, and does not care about his grades. His mother, however, worries about his behavior and thinks that he should not be seeing Vlad as often. Around his mother, he seems sulky and secretive about what he does outside of his home. He is thought to have psychological problems, but remains in denial about them. He, too, also dresses in black, but plainly, caring about how he looks. He is interested in few things, such as heavy metal music and Vlad's proposal of immortality. Around his mother, he is explosive, although around Vlad, he is quite stable and eventually becomes obsessed with Vlad as well. Damien- another seventeen-year-old friend of Jesse and Vlad who believes in his immortality. He is talk and lanky, but pale with acne and long greasy black hair. He happens to be a chain smoker and is constantly craving a cigarette. In school, he is a poor student, but passes, despite his latency. However, he does not seem like an intellectual or crafty to any degree, and instead, he acts as a turncoat. He lurks around with his friends, but does not seem sharp or dull. Around others, he tries to blend in, in contrast to his explosive friends, and his self image seems to depend upon his craving for cigarettes. Kid- another seventeen-year-old friend of Vlad and Jesse, but he, however, is short and boyish, and talks with a slight stutter. He computer hacks, and enjoys destruction, although by his diffident manner, he does not seem to be suspected of such things. He is not noticed, for being small and quiet, but believes in Vlad's proposal of immortality and revenge, which keeps him in spirits. Jesse's mother- a conservative woman who is concerned about her son's behavior. She thinks that he spends too much time with Vlad, his best friend, whom she thinks is crazy. She wants her son to change because of his behavior and failing grades, but he is indignant. She forces him into therapy, since she wants him to change. Vlad's mother- a women who is also concerned about her son by his behavior and grades, but continues to fight with him constantly. Whenever he curses at him, she curses back. Since she came from Russia several years ago, she speaks with a slight accent, although she tried to Americanize herself and her family. She also forces her son into therapy, because Vlad can't get over the death of his brother. She does not like to be reminded of the death of her son, although she admits that it was tragic. Psychiatrist 1- The psychiatrist who is trying to help Vlad. She seems unnaturally calm, and seems to humor Vlad. She carries a notebook, and tries to act concerned, but only takes notes. Towards her patients, she does not feel compassion. Psychiatrist 2- The psychiatrist that is trying to help Jesse. He seems a bit jovial, and optimistic, and only becomes stern when he is severely concerned. Jesse is an enigma to him, and thinks that he has problems because of his relationship with Vlad. Act I Scene 1 (The evening at Jesse's house, in the living room that includes a sofa, a coffee table with a phone on top, and a television, the epitome of a ponderous, mundanely furnished room. JESSE sits on the sofa, at center stage, his MOTHER entering from center stage left, in a cross mood.) JESSE Mom, can I go over to Vlad's? MOTHER No, not now, not today. You go over there everyday for hours. Stay home for once. JESSE There's nothing to do here. MOTHER (Reprimanding) Obviously. All you ever do is sit around all day, listening to that sacrilegious heavy metal music. Do something different, for once. Why don't you call someone besides for Vlad and invite him over? JESSE No. (Groans). I don't feel like it. MOTHER If all you ever do is sulk around all day, I'm not surprised that you don't have any friends. JESSE I do so have friends, Mom. Why do you think I'm going over Vlad's? MOTHER That kid is as weird as his name. I don't want you going over there. He's a very bad influence on you. JESSE Says who? MOTHER Everyone! Even his own mother said he tried to slit his own wrists! JESSE His mother's full of crap. MOTHER Jesse! Watch you mouth, young man. JESSE (In rebuttal) If I could see it, I'd watch it. Anyway, he has reasons. His brother was molested, then hung from a tree with his throat slashed. MOTHER (Gasps) Don't tell me that! Vlad's making that up, anyway. JESSE No he isn't. MOTHER Does it really matter? That kid should be in a nut house under close supervision. You shouldn't go over there as often, or else you're going to start acting like him! He's becoming a bad influence on you, Jesse. I can see it. JESSE You're the one being a bad influence now. MOTHER Well, you're still not going. Dinner's almost ready, anyway. JESSE I'll eat dinner at Vlad's. MOTHER (In exclamation) How many times must I say it? You're not going over there tonight. (Emphatically) Especially tonight. JESSE (Groans.) Why? What now? MOTHER Your history teacher called and he says you're failing, cutting classes, and refusing to do your work. JESSE I don't refuse; I just don't do it. MOTHER So? You're still failing. Go and do your homework. Do something good for yourself for a change. JESSE I'll do my homework at Vlad's. MOTHER I want to see you do your homework here. JESSE Forget it. I'm going to Vlad's. MOTHER Must you be so belligerent? JESSE No, but, Mom, this is getting ridiculous. I just want to go over to his house; that's all. MOTHER You come back smelling like cigarettes, you never, ever go there again. JESSE Mom, I don't smoke; it's Damien. MOTHER His mother doesn't say so. JESSE She's full of crap, too. Damien says she lives in the clouds. MOTHER Jesse- (JESSE stands abruptly from the sofa.) JESSE I'm going. (JESSE starts heading towards center stage right, for the door. MOTHER stalks after him.) MOTHER No you're- JESSE Yes I am! Leave me alone, old crone. (JESSE sulks off stage, with his hands shoved in his pockets. MOTHER retreats back into center stage.) MOTHER (Sighs). For all of my understanding as his parent, that boy still puzzles me. (Pause). My kid's up to something, hanging out with that nut. (Pause). And, I know they're both crazy. (MOTHER picks up and dials phone on coffee table. Lights out.) Scene 2 (A dark, damp basement, cluttered with various broken chairs and boxes. DAMIEN and KID are sitting, center stage, in a circle. DAMIEN is smoking as KID looks nervously around the room.) DAMIEN (Whispering) What's taking Jesse and Vlad so long? KID Jesse's not here yet, um, I think. Vlad's out front looking for him. (Pause). I really hate it here, sometimes. Gives me the creeps. I never know what's lurking in the darkness or- or what's behind any of those boxes. Maybe their ghosts. Ever think of that, Damien? DAMIEN (Becomes irked) No. Where's the blood? KID Vlad has it in some bowl. D-d you know whom he killed this time? DAMIEN I'm not so sure. I think it's one of the bastards that killed Dally. Vlad said it served the bastard right for killing his brother. KID P-probably did. He was so- so upset from that. And, his mom's being a bitch about it, t-too. DAMIEN What'd she say? KID Something about Vlad needing to grow up or... or something real mean like that. Pissed Vlad off even more. (The cigarette burns out. DAMIEN becomes irked.) DAMIEN Shit. Kid, do you have a lighter on you? KID N-no. I g-got it confiscated this morning. DAMIEN Crap. Oh well. Jesse might have one. KID Maybe. If his mother didn't find it first. DAMIEN Crap. I really want a cigarette, now. I'm dying here. And blood. I want blood. And ice cream. Lots of ice cream. Man, I'm craving. KID (Laughs). I can tell. DAMIEN Damn. What's taking Vlad and Jesse so long? KID I buh-bet Jesse's mom is is yelling at him for failing all those subjects. DAMIEN (Sarcastically) You should talk. KID I stole the mail and blocked the phones. I might e-even hack into-to the computer system. Change my GPA to a five-point-zero. (Laughs). I could be valedictorian then. DAMIEN (Sarcastically.) Haha. And go to jail just like your brother. KID My brother was a moron who couldn't operate a calculator. He stole, and that's why he's there. DAMIEN You hack, and that's why you'll end up there. KID Buh-but anyway, no one's going to find out. So, how 'bout you? DAMIEN I'm barely passing, but I've cut with Jesse and Vlad about ten times. That's what is lowering my grades, but it was worth it. (Pause, then groans.) I need a cigarette... now! KID Ca-calm down, Damien. Vlad's gonna be down soon. (JESSE enters from upstage right, then sits in the circle.) DAMIEN Hey, Jesse. Do you have a lighter on you? JESSE (Panting and wheezing) No, 'fraid not. Sorry I'm late. Whoa... it's freezing out. Cold as hell and the snow's falling like sugar on to the ground. My mom's really mad at me again. She hates Vlad and thinks he's a bad influence on me. KID (Sarcastically) Oh no! What ever shall I do to make my son a conservative again? Maybe the church will influence him! JESSE Influence, my ass! She doesn't know Vlad. DAMIEN (Sarcastically) Oh! My son's going to dress in black and kill people. Dear God, help me. (Laughs). KID (Laughs). What parents don't know. DAMIEN Parents only know their own shit, and that's that. My father thinks I'm becoming a transvestite 'cause I grew my hair. And once- only once- did I use my sister's mascara. Heck, I can't help it if we both have black hair. JESSE (Mumbling morosely) She even thinks Vlad belongs in a nut house. DAMIEN What a moron! Wait 'til she sees how we'll have eternal life and immortality when they're all moribund. JESSE Damien, they won't believe it. Trust me, parents are morons and nothing beyond. KID They... They're so full of sh-shit. DAMIEN (Impatiently) Doesn't anyone have a lighter on them? I'm dying. (DAMIEN fakes keeling over on the floor with his hand over his heart.) DAMIEN I'm the boy who dies 'cause he didn't have enough cigarettes. KID And money to buy them with. (VLAD enters solemnly from stage right, carrying a bowl holding a dark liquid.) VLAD Good evening all, my immortal brothers for eternity. JESSE (Solemnly and seriously) Hail, Vlad, Prince of Many Visages. VLAD Ave, Jesse of Thornless Roses. DAMIEN Hail, my eternal sibling. VLAD Hail, Damien, the Dark Prince of Eternity. KID Ave, Vlad of Many Visages. VLAD Ave, Morbid Treachery. (VLAD sits in the center of the circle, placing the bowl in front of him.) VLAD Dally did not die in vain. (VLAD bathes his hands in the bowl.) VLAD For my eternity as the Prince of Many Visages, I shall avenge the death of my beloved brother. I will bathe my filth away in their blood, for they used Dally and deprived him of the only life that he knew. He is only immortal in death, thirteen forever. Bathe in the blood, my brothers. We are bound together by the invisible daggers that link us in a chain at our hearts, by our eternal youth and longevity. I am Vlad, the Prince of Many Visages. Live long, my brothers. We have struck our revenge on another trivial blemish of a being. (VLAD takes a drink from the bowl.) VLAD To life, to eternity, to lust, and unbound clandestine freedom. ALL To life, to eternity, to lust, and unbound clandestine freedom. VLAD Drink the blood, my brothers. Drink up, and gain more years. (The bowl is passed around, and everyone takes a drink, respectively.) VLAD What shall stop us? Hinder our paths? Break the indestructible lines that bind us together? ALL Nothing! VLAD Yes, nothing shall break us, and nothing ever will. Behind each of our hands is a sharp, metallic dagger, ready to be drawn at any moment. To protect myself and my brothers, I will draw it, and I will see red waterfalls cascading over the white, barren landscape. ALL I will draw it, and I will see red waterfalls cascading over the white, barren landscape. VLAD And, not once will I feel the remorse. They are mere mortals who are out to destroy us. But, the duel is inevitable and so is the outcome. (Emphatically) I will not have someone unwillingly slit my wrists when I can slit my own with my own dagger. ALL I will not have someone unwillingly slit my wrists when I can slit my own with my own dagger. VLAD I am here to defend to the end; to seek revenge on all that sought to destroy me. This is my mission, and it is never complete. A bush roses, thorns removed, will never kill; it will only make my gaze at it in all of its beauty and wonder. But, I am not a rose for I am not innocuous and beautiful. If someone tears and plucks my petals, I will bite back ferociously. I will not let injustice happen to my brothers again- there's already too much in this world. Thus, tonight, my brothers, the dearest souls to me, drink away. Life is young, and death seems far. Avette. ALL Avette. (The somber mood is broken by a short pause of silence.) DAMIEN Doesn't anyone have a lighter? (VLAD turns towards DAMIEN, and tosses him a lighter, but remains stoic in position.) VLAD Here. Smoke up, Damien. (Lights out.) Scene 3 (Vlad's living room- a room similar to Jesse's, but has more furnishings to add interest to the room. VLAD'S MOTHER is pacing back and forth, downstage center. VLAD enters in his usual moody, disconsolate slouch from upstage right.) MOTHER (Crossly) And where have you been? VLAD (Nonchalantly) Out. (VLAD proceeds to walk past her, but is stopped in his tracks.) MOTHER Doing what? You smell filthy, like you died. VLAD (Morosely) I was at Damien's house. MOTHER Smoking and pissing yourself? VLAD Just leave me alone. MOTHER What? Don't talk back to me. VLAD You asked me a goddamn question, and I answered it. MOTHER Here's another 'goddamn question': why the hell are you failing at school? VLAD (Groans). Leave me alone, I said. MOTHER Listen. I get some progress letter in the mail, and you're failing most of your classes. It says you cut class constantly, and that you don't care! Hell, you didn't even pass gym. VLAD The boys laugh at me in the locker room, Ma. I can't take it. They push me up against the cold doors, throw shit at me, and call me 'faggot' and stuff. You don't get it. MOTHER Why shouldn't they? You smell like shit, your hair's a mess, and you can't even shave yourself right without cutting yourself. VLAD Do you think I'm that stupid? Don't you know I purposely do stuff like that? MOTHER Look at you! You've gained thirty pounds. I'm not surprised that they don't start throwing diet pills at you. VLAD Ma, it's no big deal. MOTHER This isn't even a 'deal'. How come you're so lazy? VLAD I don't know. J-just leave me alone. MOTHER What the heck happened to you? You didn't use to be this way. VLAD I was never a certain way- this way that you want. MOTHER Yeah, but you weren't like this. After Dally died, I swear, you caused me more grief than his death. VLAD (Yelling) Shut up! Shut up! MOTHER Vladislav! Calm down, goddamnit! VLAD (Voice quivering) You don't even care that he died! You- you... you just don't understand. (VLAD's voice trails off, and begins to cry, his face buried in his hands.) MOTHER I don't understand what? (VLAD doesn't answer and continues to cry harder.) MOTHER Stop crying! You're a seventeen-year-old man! You're father'll think you're a pansy. VLAD He's full of shit. Shit! You just don't get it. Dally was my brother, and I saw him killed. I was held down as Dally was molested, then slain. MOTHER That's sick! Don't say dirty stuff like that. VLAD But he was! He was! And, he was only thirteen; his voice barely changed. And, they killed him- right in front of my own eyes. MOTHER Vlad, you just have to deal with it. VLAD I can't! He... he was... he was like my best friend, but my brother, too. Why was he killed? Huh? Why? MOTHER (Softens voice). Vlad, I just don't know. VLAD You don't know what he meant to me. I... I just can't get over it. MOTHER You're going to have to. You just can't keep up like this. VLAD (Indignantly) I don't see a point. MOTHER What'll happen to you? No one will hire a fat guy dressed in black like a criminal. VLAD Ma, I just can't get over it, you know that. I saw him killed and we both were helpless. And, no one found the bastards out, either. I... I want to line them up and shoot them, one by one. MOTHER Don't say things like that; they frighten me. VLAD I don't believe it. MOTHER You better. I'm sending you to a shrink tomorrow. We can't take it anymore, Vlad. VLAD (Defensively) Who's 'we'? MOTHER This family. I'm beside myself. Your sister is embarrassed about how you act in school; she tells me the kids are afraid of you. And your father- he think you're committing yourself to be a homosexual. He curses you at night, and calls you a fag. VLAD He is so full of shit! He doesn't know a damn thing. Why the hell should he care? MOTHER He just wants you to save some face. VLAD Why the hell can't he leave me alone? MOTHER Well, we don't know what's going on. VLAD Does it matter? MOTHER My, god, yes! You're turning into a joke! VLAD (Mumbles) Shut the fuck up, will you? MOTHER What did you say, Vladislav? VLAD Nothing. Just leave me alone. Go away and cook something. MOTHER (Gasps). That's it, Vlad, that's it. VLAD What's it? MOTHER I've had it! You're insulting, disgusting, and downright embarrassing to this family. To ask you to save some face is to ask the impossible! VLAD Go to hell. MOTHER You think I'm not being serious about the psychiatrist? VLAD (Exclaims) Why the fuck do I have to see a shrink? What do you think I am, a nut case? MOTHER You certainly aren't normal. You're going 'cause I think you need to get on the ball. VLAD What do you expect m to do? I can't help it. Am I supposed to forget Dally's existence? MOTHER I didn't say that- VLAD That's bull shit, Ma. MOTHER I can see it in you, Vlad. It's help to deal with his stuff. VLAD That's a load of crap. You think I'm crazy, don't you? MOTHER Vlad, I'm not saying that. VLAD Then what are you saying? That's shit and you know it. MOTHER (Impatiently) That's it! Your mouth is something else, too. Go upstairs. VLAD Hell no. MOTHER Now. VLAD And I said, hell no! MOTHER Go up now, and don't come down until I say so. VLAD You're so full of shit. (VLAD heads upstage left.) VLAD I don't want to be around you, anyway. (VLAD and MOTHER exit in opposite directions. Lights out.) Scene 4 (VLAD lays on a couch, stage center. PSYCHIATRIST 1 sits on a chair adjacent to him, poised with a notebook.) PSYCHIATRIST 1 Good morning, Vladislav. VLAD (Abruptly) Call me Vlad, goddamnit. It's a Russian name. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Oh. Are you Russian? VLAD (Contemptuously) No. I'm immortal. PSYCHIATRIST 1 (Intrigued) Really? How so? VLAD I'm planning to live forever. I don't believe anyone not deserving death should die. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Really? Why do you believe this, Vlad? VLAD My brother, Dally, didn't deserve to die, but he was murdered. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Do you want to tell me about this? VLAD No. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Why not? I'm here to help you with issues like that. VLAD 'Cause I know that's why my mother's sending me here. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Vlad, I want you to tell me. VLAD Yeah, so you can write it down in your little notebook, and then, call me crazy. Isn't it? PSYCHIATRIST 1 I don't see it in that way. I'm curious, but why don't you want to tell me? VLAD This couch is uncomfortable. It's like I'm laying on wood. On the floor, like some rejected dog. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Please stay on the subject. VLAD I don't want to. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Why not? VLAD I don't want to do anything. I don't want to be here, I don't want to be at home, I don't want to be at school. I don't want to be anywhere; especially here. I... I just want to be with Dally and Jesse. Yeah, Jesse's nice. He's alive, fortunately. I trust him like a clock. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Well, Vlad, you're here, so you might as well tell me what's wrong. VLAD What has my mother told you? PSYCHIATRIST 1 Your mother informed me- she's quite concerned, actually- that you're failing school, you've gained thirty pounds, you're never home, and you're always moody. VLAD And it's right in your handy notebook of secrets, huh? Strictly confidential, I don't believe it. Why should either of you care? She's just paying you for the hour of bull shitting with me. PSYCHIATRIST 1 I wouldn't say that. VLAD (Exclamation) Then, what you would you call it, then? PSYCHIATRIST 1 Your mother also said that you have a problem of self-loathing and properly expressing yourself. VLAD She's always saying stuff like that. PSYCHIATRIST 1 She said you have a harsh attitude, you swear too much, and all you do is wear black and refuse to bathe. VLAD I don't know you, so why do I have to talk to you? I can't trust you- you'll let out all of my secrets if I tell them to you. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Vladislav, you know that everything in here is confidential. VLAD Call me Vlad, and I don't believe that. Not a word. PSYCHIATRIST 1 We won't get anywhere if you don't talk. VLAD This room- look at it. It's hideous and cold. (VLAD pulls coat over shoulders, and starts shivering.) VLAD What do you do? Leave the windows open all night? PSYCHIATRIST 1 Your mother is certainly right. You can't stay on task with anything, and you're secretive. Why don't you want to talk to me? VLAD I told you that I don't trust you. Hell, I don't even know who you are. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Maybe we can start there. Tell me something about you, and then, I'll tell you something about me. How's that? VLAD I don't buy it. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Why not? I'm only here to help you, Vlad. You know that. VLAD I don't buy that, either. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Then, what do you 'buy', Vlad? VLAD Whatever I want to buy, but that doesn't imply that I shoplift. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Well, why don't you buy this? It's tangible. VLAD That's crap. I don't want this. I even told you that I don't want to be here. PSYCHIATRIST 1 (Humoring) Fine, then. Where do you want to be? VLAD With my friend, Jesse, or with... with Dally. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Okay, so tell me about Dally or Jesse. What're they like? VLAD (In recognition, as if he's looking into the past.) Dally's my brother- his real name's Dallas. He was born in Dallas, Texas, that's why. (Pause). We used to be best friends. I can remember playing outdoors- the rain, sun, or snow. I remember running through the heavy, pouring rain, becoming soaked, my clothes drenched, when we used to live in Dallas before I was ten, in an apartment. The school we went to, not that many kids knew Russian. We spoke Russian at home then, before my father and his brothers wanted us to be 'Americanized'. But, Dally, he didn't know English that well, and the kids used to tease him 'cause of his accent, although both of us were born here. Weird, isn't it? But, I was three years older, and I ended up teaching him English to even speak it better than his classmates. Then, we moved here and it was practically the same story. Righteously disgusting, in my opinion. We used to be so, so close here. I could even hug and kiss Dally and he wouldn't mind. As brothers, we were affectionate as hell. My younger sister, by one year, she used to get so jealous. We used to play together without her, but now we had a house. You can never forget running up those steps of our old building when we were hyped up. But, then those kids started saying that we were gay- calling us a bunch of fruits and faggots to our faces. They even told their mothers that told our parents. But, I didn't want Dally to realize the hateful connotation of the term they were calling us. We still kissed and hugged and stuff, but I hated what the other kids said about us. It was some real mean shit. But, somehow, these guys, kids that I thought seemed familiar, followed us at this playground near the high school. I think I might have been teaching Dally to appropriately smoke a cigarette. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Smoking? Don't you know that's bad for you? VLAD No crap. They... They held him down, and grabbed me and pushed me up against a fence. One of them grabbed him, pushed him to the ground, and then, molested him. (Begins to cry). Then.. they.. well, Dally was screaming, but no one was around. No kids, no adults, no nothing. One of them put a waded white shirt in his mouth, then slit his throat with a glistening Swiss army knife. The heat... That heat was unbearable, and I remember that metal chain fence digging into my flesh and sweat pouring like a waterfall down my face. But, they wouldn't let me go, and I was already too weak. The red blood poured down Dally's pale flesh, but he was silent, as if he couldn't even react to the shirt in his mouth. A... A tree was near by... They hung him, half-naked from one of the branches. The tree was dead and gray, and so was Dally. His head was hung, and his flesh and clothes were soaked with blood. Then, they pushed me around, pushing me into the rocky, abrasive pavement, calling me Vlad the fag and pansy-assed lil' girl 'cause I couldn't fight back. I was too depressed- beyond depression and all known sadness, like a weight sinking to the bottom of the dark ocean. I-I just gave up. (VLAD stops speaking, but continues to cry. PSYCHIATRIST 1 writes furiously. VLAD notices and becomes angry.) VLAD (Snarling) What the hell are you writing about me? PSYCHIATRIST 1 (Surprisingly placid) Just a few notes, that's all. VLAD (Explodes) That's all? That's fucking all? You think I'm a lunatic! Don't you? After I just told you that. Your soul must be made of ice. Absolutely impermeable ice. PSYCHIATRIST 1 No, I just think you need to find a better solution to dealing with your problems. VLAD Well, what are you going to do? Lock me up in a nut house and put me under close supervision? Are you going to inject me with mind-numbing drugs to make me happy and oblivious? Are you going to force me to watch degenerating films about this 'perfect' way I'm supposed to be? PSYCHIATRIST 1 No, Vlad. I'm just going to talk to your mother for a few minutes about you. She's in the waiting room. I think I can be of some help. VLAD I don't believe it. (PSYCHIATRIST 1 starts writing again.) VLAD You're diagnosing me as a psycho or a schizo, aren't you? Aren't you? PSYCHIATRIST 1 I didn't say anything, Vlad. I don't think you'd fall into one of those categories. VLAD That's crap. (VLAD stand up, and tries to take PSYCHIATRIST 1's notebook away, but does not succeed.) PSYCHIATRIST 1 What do you think you're doing? Sit back down! VLAD No! Stop observing me! I'm not a scientific experiment! (VLAD grapples for notebook, and grabs it away.) PSYCHIATRIST 1 Give me that book now, Vladislav! VLAD Hell no, bitch! You're full of shit, just like everyone else. PSYCHIATRIST 1 (Humors and gives in). That's it. Keep it. I'm going to get your mother. (PSYCHIATRIST 1 stands.) VLAD No! No! (VLAD runs in front of PSYCHIATRIST 1.) VLAD You're such a deceiver! You deceived me, admit it, you liar! PSYCHIATRIST 1 I think you have more issues than your mother mentioned. VLAD Yeah, well, maybe she's right. (VLAD runs off stage with notebook, upstage right. PSYCHIATRIST 1 follows. Lights out.) Scene 5 (JESSE and VLAD are in the basement, the same as scene 2. The boxes are lines in a row, and the lights are still dimmed. JESSE sits backwards on a chair, while VLAD paces around the room.) JESSE You wanted to meet me here? VLAD Yeah. I just want to stay far away from home as possible. JESSE Yeah, so do I. My parents have been down my throat for two days 'cause of my grades. VLAD I know. My mother sent me to a shrink. A real bitch of one, too. JESSE Why? VLAD She thinks I'm crazy or something like that, and the shrink agrees with her, too. JESSE That's awful. I'm serious. VLAD I just don't understand it. She's upset that I'm still upset over Dally's death. JESSE What does a shrink do, exactly? VLAD They take notes on you, as if you're an experiment. And, you're lying on this chair, and she tries talking to you, at first, as if nothing is wrong, although she knows it. I started yelling at her. Why does she even need to take notes about me, anyway? If she gives me electric shock therapy or puts me in a cage without food, I'll seek revenge on her and everyone that put me in there. JESSE They're old, and I bet their blood isn't so good. VLAD Probably not. They're full of shit, anyway. (Pause). Everyone's so full of shit. JESSE Tell me about it. I think my mom is planning on sending me to a shrink, too. VLAD (In a concerned, but warning tone) Don't tell them anything, not a word. They'll end up using it against you. JESSE I won't say anything. I'll try not to. (JESSE stands from the chair, and shoves his hands in his pockets.) JESSE I just hate when she does stuff like this. I just don't know what she wants me to be, even if I don't want to be that way, anyway. VLAD Oh, they don't know anything about us. We'll live forever. They'll see. JESSE I swear, it's like she thinks I'm some monster that she is trying to reform into this person that is impossible to connect with. He's just so off to me. VLAD All parents do. Mine sure as hell do. JESSE But, she hates you, too! Two nights ago, she told me that she thought you were a bad influence. VLAD Isn't your mother full of crap as well? JESSE Oh, I don't know. Why the hell does she have to say stuff like that? She's- oh, fuck it. VLAD Yeah, I know- I know way too well. (JESSE lugubriously sits back down on the chair.) VLAD (In an aside) So, he's going through the same things as I am, but Jesse's taking it way too seriously. In a sense, I almost feel sorry for him, as if I should be protecting him from all of these innate horrors of diverging. Man, I just hope he doesn't cry; this isn't that serious. Just put on your makeup and humor them, Jesse, then spit it right back at them. Just don't talk, I told him. Don't say a damn word. Don't cry, either, or else, they're think you're even more messed up. They aren't even worth your time. He really shouldn't get so hung up over this; his mother's a conservative crone, anyway. She wants Jesse, I know, to become this ideal, mature man, and stolid with his emotions. She wants him to cut his hair and change his clothes to something more staid, yet dignified so people don't approach her and ask "Is that your son or daughter? My son told me Jesse's a bit incompetent of being like the other boys." Goddamn bitch. Why the hell does she want to change my friend? He's fragile, like me, and a bit aloof, but I like him this way. He's one of the few things in this inept world that I like- no, that I love. He's something that I can attach myself to, something I desire, and something I want to assimilate into me. I want to gaze into those dark eyes of his, and become lost in their black catacombs. No torches, no other obnoxious people screaming because they're hopelessly lost, only me. But, no matter, I'll be with him; permanently lost inside of him, discovering new mysteries at every turn. If only... No, I couldn't do that. He's so vulnerable. If only I could protect him, make him more than immortal. If this could be an eternity, I'd be in bliss. Me, him, the darkness, and without a threat of this silly apocalypse the asinine mortals- and morals, I should say- dread. (VLAD comes closer to JESSE.) VLAD No, not now. Not yet. JESSE What is it? VLAD I don't know. I was thinking. Do you ever want to seriously go back home? JESSE I should. Well, we should. Curfew and all. VLAD Does any of that matter? Eventually, those laws will change. JESSE Yes, eventually, but what will happen? Our parents will call the police. VLAD Let them. They don't know of this place. To them, this is the basement of an abandoned warehouse that no sane person would venture into. (Mockingly) No one sane would be in there; it's so obvious. JESSE I'll think about it. VLAD (Aside) "I'll think about it"? I guess he will, then. Heck, I know that I am not going home tonight. I just want to stay here forever, away from the lights and the banal socialization activities. Just the two of us. Jesse and I, alone in this room. Watching his every indiscreet move as we sleep. Seeing those elegant eyelashes reveal their intense chambers of tortuous rapture in the morning. Maybe there won't be a morning. An eternal evening for us to spend in euphoria. Be still, Vlad, be calm. But, wait- this train is out of control on its tracks. JESSE I just don't know right now. VLAD Aren't you going to be seeing a shrink soon? What if it's tomorrow? JESSE I don't know when. I just don't want to go. (VLAD moves closer to JESSE again.) VLAD (Aside) Don't worry, I'll protect you. I'll make you immune to all the pain and bigots of the world. (To JESSE) Maybe we could spend the night here, what do you think? JESSE I should probably be getting home. It's late. I-I'll- never mind. VLAD Never mind what? JESSE Just never mind. I'm not in the mood to go home, anyway. VLAD (Hesitating) Have you ever considered running away, Jesse? JESSE Sometimes, why? VLAD Oh, I was just curious, that's all. JESSE Oh. VLAD I've considered it before, and I was thinking- JESSE What? VLAD I was thinking that maybe you and me could run away together, like in the movies, from all of this crap. JESSE (Lacklusteredly) Maybe. VLAD What do you mean, 'maybe'? Don't you just want to leave this shit behind? JESSE I do, it's just, where are we going to go? VLAD (Excited) We'll live here, seeking revenge eternally, like vampires in our ominous lair. We won't have to go to school or obey hackneyed parents or anything. What do you say? JESSE Vlad, I just don't know. VLAD Stay with me, Jesse. Please don't ever leave me. JESSE Vlad, c'mon, I won't. VLAD Don't leave me out to die; don't let them seek their revenge on me. Oh, Jesse, just please stay with me forever in this world- our realm- where we reign supreme. Brothers of revenge, the Siamese twins purposely chained at the heart. We'll pulse as one as we conquer. JESSE Vlad, I said that I don't know just yet. VLAD Jesse, do you want to spend your whole afternoon being psychoanalyzed by some complaining whore who is going to tell your parents that you're crazy no matter what? All she wants is your money- she's literally a prostitute! Hell, she really doesn't want to help you. Why do you need all of that maddening stress? That's all she's giving you. You'll lay awake at night, wondering, "Am I really crazy or is this just my imagination?" Heck, you won't even trust yourself anymore. Leave it all behind, Jesse. We can run away from this mockery together! JESSE Vlad, I told you that I need to think about it. I'm not going to be impulsive about this. (VLAD approaches JESSE and kisses him on the cheek.) JESSE Now, that was impulsive. VLAD Oh, I know, I know, but maybe impulsivity is good, in a sense. JESSE You're talking nonsense. VLAD Jesse, I love you. JESSE Huh? (Aside) What the heck is he doing? First, he's telling me to run away with him, then he's kissing me. I just don't get that. His eyes, vortexes to an unknown universe that I don't want to enter, are gazing into me, trying to hypnotize me into his alluring spell. They're boring into me, like knifes piercing into my skin. He's standing over me, waiting for me to react, but I can't. I'm scared of the fact that he's so impulsive. Anything he can do right now is arbitrary, and I won't know until he's done. For all I know, Vlad can be drunk, and this "I love you" could be from the alcohol taking strong hold of him. Then again, on a whim, Vlad could be sincere. Sincere about what? Why is he telling me this suddenly? Perhaps he really does love me and I am just oblivious to it. VLAD I told you, I love you. JESSE Vlad, I know what you said. VLAD Don't you believe me? Don't you think I'm being sincere? JESSE Vlad, I honestly don't know. (VLAD kisses JESSE again.) VLAD How many times do I need to kiss you until I can prove my point? JESSE I don't know. VLAD Jesse, this isn't a joke; I'm serious. JESSE And I'm about to piss me pants with fright. VLAD Do I have to kiss you until your face is red and sore because I am so candid? JESSE Seriously, Vlad, I don't know what you're trying to do. VLAD What do you mean? I just want you to stay here with me for eternity (VLAD embraces JESSE. JESSE seems surprised and tense.) VLAD Please. Just say you will. JESSE You're a boy of contradictions, Vlad. VLAD What's clashing? I love you, Jesse. I love every inch of you. Assimilate yourself with me and we'll become immortal beings, avenging all that desires to destroy us. JESSE Possibly tomorrow. (JESSE tries to break from VLAD's grasp, but does not succeed.) VLAD (Disappointed) Tomorrow? Why not today? JESSE I'll start my eternity with you tomorrow, how about that? Either way, it's still an eternity and we'll be bound together indefinitely. VLAD I think I can deal with that, but why? JESSE I-I just want to get some stuff, that's all. VLAD But what about that shrink? JESSE I'll deal with the bastard there. I'm not going to say anything. I promise that I won't. They won't find out anything. I won't even utter a word. And tomorrow, I'll flee that desolate, decrepit existence, and come here. VLAD Yes! Bound by the blood, the sword, and revenge. We will seek it, Jesse. We will seek it and succeed. JESSE Conquer all at our mercy. We are repugnant to the assimilation of mundane society, but assimilate ourselves into one. VLAD A conjunction! A confluence! An indestructible wall! (Pause). Now do you think I'm sincere? JESSE (Hesitates, looks away). Yes. (Mumbles) Yes, you are sincere. (VLAD kisses JESSE again.) VLAD Now you can appreciate that. JESSE (Seems uncertain) Yes, I can. Truly. (Hesitates again). Do you really? VLAD What? Love you? (JESSE nods.) VLAD What do you think? Do you think that this perverse infatuation of immortality has some reward besides for eternal youth? (JESSE nods.) VLAD If I am to spend and eternity with one, don't you think that I should feel, at least, a bit insatiable? JESSE I agree. VLAD You're possibly the reason why I might be slightly satiable. But, it is for an eternity, and addiction will always proliferate. And, I'll crave more and more until I implode into my desires. This- this whole existence is like an addiction; there's never, never enough to be satisfied with. JESSE And more things that hinder our desires. VLAD But, soon, they will be gone. We'll be the only ones left. How's that proposal for immortality? JESSE I buy it. VLAD And what's not to buy? Everything will be shunned from the extroverted and free for our introspection. Beautiful, isn't it? JESSE Gorgeous, Vlad, simply wonderful. I want to soak it up like a sponge, and never let it leave me. I want to feel it deep down inside my belly, like a heaviness from our consumption of ambrosia. VLAD Purge the impurities, or for that matter, let them take their own time. The streets will be ours, Jesse. So will the rippling rivers, the winds that howl melancholy ballads, and the boundless skies. I want to bite into it, taste the sweet juice on my tongue, and refuse to swallow. And, we won't have to swallow. We can savor this forever in our delight, until we choose to discard it. JESSE Vlad, I don't think I want to discard that freedom. I'm sick of these confining shackles. I've been pressed down against the floor for so long that I'm bleeding and crying with hopelessness. VLAD Don't worry. Our escape to ecstasy is soon. In a few days, we'll be here, and we'll fade into obscurity from them until we rise from our darkness. JESSE We're not going to perish, you and me. We'll be like stones welded together. VLAD But it's the magnetism that keeps us from resistance. It's only natural. JESSE But, for tonight, I've got to return to that synthetic, oblivious realm. VLAD One spark, and they've disappeared. JESSE I have some unfinished things to do, but don't worry. Tomorrow, as everyone closes their eyes, I will return, slipping through the dark shadows, through the cold suspicions beneath the false sky of security. I will return here, never to leave or fade away into their shunned shadows and dark corners of dreaded mysteries and morbid dislikes. VLAD If that is the case, then I will only have to wait until then. It's the mere blink of my eyelash, but I will soon open my eyes again, gaze around, and you will be here, again, but permanently. JESSE It's only transitory, then. The lifestyle of a charlatan will dissipate. Nothing. Nothing will be left. VLAD Nothing, absolutely nothing. Their mannequin faces will soon be smashed. JESSE I already see you carrying the sledgehammer of destruction. VLAD Of implosion, of the destruction of extroversion. JESSE I will return. VLAD And I will be here in my sedentary position, saturnine in my ways, but a conflagration nevertheless. JESSE We'll burn this place up. VLAD Goodbye, my love. JESSE Adoration and destruction are forever ours. (JESSE exits, upstage right. VLAD remains on stage. Lights out.) Scene 6 (JESSE sits on a chair, center stage, with an another chair beside him. PSYCHIATRIST 2 enters from downstage right.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 Good morning. You must be Jesse. (PSYCHIATRIST 2 outstretches hand.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 So, how are you today? JESSE (Blunt, but morose) Fine. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Oh, well, that's good to know. I wouldn't want us to start our session on the wrong foot. (JESSE doesn't respond, and looks down at the floor.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 So, I understand that your mother sent you here for some help. Am I not right? (JESSE nods in response.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 Well, then, for starters, why not telling me a bit about yourself. I would love to hear about you. JESSE (Mumbles) No. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Why not? JESSE Go away, I'm fine. Leave me alone. PSYCHIATRIST 2 (Tone of seriousness) Son, I don't want to start off like this. Just tell me about some of the things you do or you like to do. JESSE I go to school. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Oh, okay, so what's your favorite subject? JESSE Don't take notes on me. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Excuse me? JESSE In your notebook. Don't take notes on me. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Jesse, this is my job. I've been assigned to help you deal with your problems. JESSE Fine. What has my mother told you? PSYCHIATRIST 2 Well, Jesse, your mother is concerned that you are failing in school- JESSE See? I told you I don't have a favorite subject. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Son, let me finish. She's worried about your behavior because you're acting moody and you dress in black, and that this friend of yours- Val, I think- has a bad influence n you. JESSE His name's Vlad, and he's in love with me. PSYCHIATRIST 2 (Surprised) Oh. Oh my. Are you aware about your relationship with this boy? JESSE Yes. Of course I am. We're friends. PSYCHIATRIST 2 But don't you realize that in some faiths, homosexuality is considered to be a sin? JESSE Yes, but I don't follow those faiths. And, Vlad still loves me; I love him, too. PSYCHIATRIST 2 You seem quite stubborn in your ways. Do you think this is the cause of your- in your mother's words- "moody" behavior? JESSE I don't know what you're talking about. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Jesse, these sessions are to help you find the root of your problems, and solve them in an appropriate way. JESSE My root? The root of my problems is the fact that I was born into this world, sir, and there's no chance that I'm leaving it any time soon. PSYCHIATRIST 2 But, back to your friend. Your mother is quite concerned about your behavior because of this boy. Do you think he has any influence, positive or negative, on you, from your perspective? JESSE Vlad is my sanity, Vlad is what keeps me motivated from succumbing into society's pit of self-loathing. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Have you had problems with your self-esteem before you met this boy? JESSE Ask my mother, she'll give you a better answer. PSYCHIATRIST 2 But, I'm asking about you, Jesse, about yourself. What do you think? JESSE Right now, I want to be with my Prince of Many Visages. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Prince? Who is he? Please tell me more. JESSE (Placidly) No, no more. This is the end. Finis. This chapter is done. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Your session has only begun- JESSE And I am slowly leaving, disconnecting myself from the scene, only to humor you and your banal questions. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Young man, this is serious. JESSE The doors have shut permanently. (JESSE looks away, resting his chin in his hands.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 I'm going to get your mother. Maybe she can help you out of this ridiculous stupor. (PSYCHIATRIST 2 exits, downstage right. JESSE remains in his position, looking like he is about to cry. Lights out.) Scene 7 (JESSE is back at his house. JESSE enters from center stage right, carrying a note. JESSE stops center stage, in front of the sofa, about to place the note on it.) JESSE (Talking to himself) I am honestly sick, candidly nauseous. What a better way to leave after a fiasco with a psychiatrist? Jesse, the disappearing mental invalid is about to perform his famous coup: dissipating violently into thin air, like an evaporating liquid. And my mother, outside, to all of her friends will say, (mockingly) "Well, we just didn't know what to do with Jesse. We just didn't know how to control him." And all of her friends and neighbors will sigh and shake their heads at what an atrocity and disappointment I have become, and for her, who can't seem to deal with her unruly son. (Mocking) "He just should've stayed away from that troubled Vlad. It's that awful boy's fault, I tell you." Perhaps it is, or perhaps it isn't. All I know is that he kissed me with sincerity, and I fell into his hypnotizing spell. I am one with my Prince of Many Visages. My Prince wants to take me away with him. Away he shall take me. At his side, I shall remain, until we are forced apart. This is the end of this chapter, and a new one is about to begin. No more psychoanalysis of Jesse. Jesse will not be your troubled boy anymore! (Pause). I'm sick of being your troubled boy, watching all of you shake your heads in shame at me. I won't be your boy, anymore. As I wave my magic wand, I will disappear into nothing. (JESSE waves his hands in the air, like he is performing a grandiose magic trick.) JESSE Farewell, my lacklustered audience. This performer has left the stage forever; my Prince is waiting. Scene 8 (VLAD is sleeping downstage center, amidst a pile of blankets. JESSE enters from center stage right, creeping into the basement quietly. Boxes and chairs are scattered, and the lights are dim.) JESSE (Breathes a sigh of relief). I'm here, finally. (JESSE notices that VLAD is sleeping.) JESSE Vlad? (VLAD does not answer.) JESSE Vlad, are you up? I'm here. (VLAD doesn't wake up. JESSE walks over to VLAD, and shakes him slightly to wake him up.) JESSE Vlad, it's Jesse. I'm here. VLAD (Awakens, and sits up.) Jesse! I'm so relieved that you're here. Are you okay? Do they know? JESSE I'm fine, Vlad. Still a bit nervous after lurking through the streets. VLAD But, do they know you're here? JESSE No. I left a note, saying that I was going to be sleeping at your house for the night. VLAD Good, great. Did anyone see you? JESSE Who do you mean? VLAD You know who I mean. Those that are trying to destroy us. JESSE I made sure that I didn't see any. That's why it took me a while to get here. I probably walked down every deserted alley between here and my house. I even hid behind a dumpster for fifteen minutes to play it safe. VLAD Who'd you see? JESSE I was afraid that these people might be following me. VLAD But, did you know who they were? JESSE Possibly, but it was still too dark out to clearly tell. Only their voices seemed vaguely familiar. VLAD Oh. It's dark out? Well, I guess that makes some sort of sense. JESSE What have you been doing here, all day? VLAD Reading, sleeping, reading more. Contemplating, cogitating. JESSE What have you been thinking about? VLAD Oh, a lot of things. Mostly about what causes people to hate and kill, though. JESSE But you- VLAD I know. I have seen many at the tip of my sword, and bludgeoned them to their death. But, I'm seeking my revenge. I can't forget that day, feeling absolutely helpless as my brother faced his death. Why, I keep asking myself. Why? JESSE I don't know. VLAD Jesse, you don't have to know. You don't need to know. I want to find this evil and fight it. All those times I was beaten up? And, for what? What, exactly? Was it because they thought I was 'weird' or a 'queer', in their words? I don't even know. They despised me, and pushed me around as the object of their mockery. But, as I watched their eyes, a chill shot up my spine, almost like a revelation. They were glossy, hard, and black, with no trace of compassion inside of them. And, thus, I couldn't help but be submissive, falling into their traps. They'd surround me, calling me "Vlad, the fag" and "freak", or any other name they knew could hurt me. I just couldn't take it, anymore, Jesse. I've turned into a monster. But, I can't forget what they did; I just can't. JESSE You don't have to forget. It wasn't your fault. VLAD But, Jesse! You're not the one holding the dagger, about to plunge it into their throats. (Pause). But, it's nice to see the tables turned, once in a while. Never forget what you did, for it will come back eventually as a vicious slap across your face. I guess I might be that slap of reality. JESSE Maybe. VLAD Perhaps I am, but I am not mortal like them. I am not going to die, and I will not be satisfied with anything. No one's going to push me down again, and no one that I love, as well. I can't bear to see a friend of mine, thrown into subordination, and stepped on. I'll make sure that you don't end up on the other end of the sword, about to get your throat slashed. JESSE My Prince of Many Visages- VLAD And my brother of Thornless Roses. We've got a whole eternity ahead of us! Just you wait. No one's going to hurt us, again. Never, ever again. As my incumbent duty, as your brother, I am going to protect you. JESSE And I will protect you as well. VLAD I will not have someone slit my wrists, when I can slice mine with my own dagger. JESSE But, I will drink their blood in defeat. VLAD Yes, victory is the best tranquilizer. I see impossible boundaries needing to be reached, but we're going to touch them. JESSE Full of victory. VLAD Replete with it. My love, I knew I could capture you into my spell. JESSE You've definitely captured me, and you're holding me in awe. VLAD You know, I couldn't help it. I honestly couldn't. Tomorrow, let's pick this up again. I'm starting to become tired. JESSE So am I. After the ceremony? VLAD Maybe before. The ceremony's in the evening. JESSE Yes, let's then. VLAD Just lay down beside me. This night is going to be a cold one, I heard. (JESSE lays down on the floor. VLAD passes him a blanket.) VLAD Here, you'll need it. (JESSE falls asleep. Lights out.) Act II Scene 1 (JESSE'S MOTHER invites VLAD'S MOTHER over her house for a chat about the boys. VLAD'S MOTHER enters from center stage right, knocking on the door. JESSE'S MOTHER goes to answer it.) VLAD'S MOTHER Hello? JESSE'S MOTHER (Congenially) Hi! Come on it! (VLAD'S MOTHER enters, sits down on sofa without taking her coat off.) JESSE'S MOTHER Don't you want to take your coat off? VLAD'S MOTHER No, I'm in a hurry. Can we make this short? JESSE'S MOTHER Sure. Where do you have to run to? VLAD'S MOTHER I need to be at work in a half-hour. (Sternly) Why do you want to talk about Vlad? JESSE'S MOTHER I'm just concerned that- VLAD'S MOTHER (Groans) What did he do now? Did he set fire to something or kiss one of your boys? JESSE'S MOTHER No, no. I was just wondering, but did Vlad come home last night? VLAD'S MOTHER Not that I can think of. He told me that he was coming over here. JESSE'S MOTHER I hate to say this, but Vlad didn't come here. Jesse left sometime last night, and never returned. Now, it's noon, and I haven't seen a sign of him. (Picks up Jesse's note from the table.) JESSE'S MOTHER See? He even left a note. (JESSE'S MOTHER reads the note outloud.) JESSE'S MOTHER Mom- I'm sleeping over at Vlad's. I'll see you in them morning. VLAD'S MOTHER (Impatiently) You know how boys are- JESSE'S MOTHER Jesse should be home by now! VLAD'S MOTHER I don't know, but maybe he ran off with Vlad. I bet they're up at the mall with the rest of the kids. JESSE'S MOTHER But Jesse and Vlad aren't like most kids. Just look at them! I feel like I've got a vampire for a son, sometimes. VLAD'S MOTHER I know that, but I also know that Vlad can't stay two days away from home without food. He's penniless and he can't cook. I know Vlad'll be back. JESSE'S MOTHER What if they're not? VLAD'S MOTHER They're going to be okay, I'm sure of it. (VLAD'S MOTHER glances at her watch.) VLAD'S MOTHER I've really got to go, now. JESSE'S MOTHER But who else would know where they've went? VLAD'S MOTHER I honestly don't know. (VLAD'S MOTHER cogitates for a second.) VLAD'S MOTHER That boy- oh the one with that long, real greasy black hair- oh, what's his name? JESSE'S MOTHER I'm not sure. Do you mean Damien? VLAD'S MOTHER Yes! That's it. That kid that smokes a lot. I bet that kid would know. And the short one that hangs with him, too. JESSE'S MOTHER Do you know their phone numbers? VLAD'S MOTHER Vlad never calls anyone. They'd be in the phone book. JESSE'S MOTHER Thank you so much- VLAD'S MOTHER What? You're actually going to call the kid? JESSE'S MOTHER Yes! I've got to know where Jesse is. VLAD'S MOTHER (Tepidly) He's going to turn up with Vlad, eventually. I'm sure of it. Positive. Look, I've really- JESSE'S MOTHER Can you just wait one more moment? I need to ask you another question. VLAD'S MOTHER (Groans) How long will it take? JESSE'S MOTHER It'll be short, real short. VLAD'S MOTHER Fine. (Sighs). JESSE'S MOTHER Okay, well, has Vlad done this before? VLAD'S MOTHER No. Not that I can think of. Look, he's been acting weird lately, since my other son, Dallas, died. I don't know what to expect from him, anymore. Anything on a whim, I guess. JESSE'S MOTHER (Disappointed) Oh, what if he doesn't return? VLAD'S MOTHER (With certainty) Vlad'll be back. JESSE'S MOTHER But what if-? VLAD'S MOTHER I've got a job waiting. Talk to me later. (VLAD'S MOTHER starts to exit.) JESSE'S MOTHER But- (VLAD'S MOTHER exits. JESSE'S MOTHER finds a phone book, and starts leafing through it. Lights out.) Scene 2 (KID, DAMIEN, and JESSE are sitting in a circle before the ceremony. DAMIEN and JESSE are smoking.) KID (To Jesse) So, you and Vlad are living here, huh? JESSE Yeah, it's pretty good. No parents, no school, and all of this space to ourselves. DAMIEN So that's why I haven't seen either of you in school for the past couple of days. What have you guys been doing, exactly? JESSE Not much. Sleeping, reading, exploring, destroying. The usual. DAMIEN Euphoria, huh? KID Muh-maybe a utopia. JESSE I wouldn't call it anything besides for an escape from misery and torture. I guess out of sheer passion. KID (Confused) F-for what? DAMIEN (Joking) For thwarting the city's cigarette supply. JESSE No. Just passion for each other possibly, or for a fantasy. I swear, he is so intoxicating. DAMIEN Who? Vlad? JESSE Yeah, that's why I'm here. I can righteously say that I love him. I'm literally lost in his spell. KID But, I wouldn't want to live here. J-just think of all of the gh-ghosts from all of the d-d-dead people. Just th-think about it, Jesse. Doesn't it send sh-shivers up your spine? JESSE No. KID It does to me. I l-look that th-that dark corner, by that b-box (points upstage right) and I w-wonder if someone is curled up in that box, crying, be-because that have been muh-mur-murdered. I really wonder that. And the dr-draft. All of that cold air c-coming in here, like the br-breath or the smoke of some disconsolate, disobedient being, smoking up their ci-cigarettes at up is disgust. Don't you just wonder if that is a buh-bit ironic? JESSE I'm not thinking of it in that way. KID Well, wh-which way? This room- it's like an excuse for a slaughter house. It's our excuse for saying that we can kill our tormentors. It's our excuse for denying that we are the blood-thirsty rejects of society, and instead, we pretend to be blood-craving vampires. I-I don't w-want to play dress-up anymore. We've got to leave this land of make-believe travesty. DAMIEN Okay, Morbid Treachery, surrender your sword. KID (Surprised) What? DAMIEN Hand over your immortality and leave. You heard me. (DAMIEN takes a long drawl on his cigarette.) KID Well, wh-what gives? DAMIEN If you want to stop this plan, if you what to become a mortal again, fine. Get out. JESSE Lay off him, Damien. That's for Vlad to decide. KID I-I'm sorry, buh-but I d-don't want to live in a p-pit of corpses. The smell of old blood, decaying bodies, and their lost, angry souls, wandering around, drifting in circles. I'd kill myself if I had to deal with that insanity, wondering if a knife is going to stab me in the back of my neck at any moment. JESSE I honestly don't mind it. Heck, what's my other option? The torture of scrutinizing psychiatrists, school, and parents? KID Yeah, but- JESSE Listen, Kid, my mother and Vlad's mother- they're sending us to shrinks that have absolutely no respect for us. We are literally going insane because our parents think we are so messed up. As for myself, I don't want to be sitting in some room on a couch, talking bull shit with some arrogant charlatan for an hour, that doesn't know- or care to know- anything about me, other than that I am supposedly a nut case. And, Vlad loves me, and I love him, as well. That makes up for the fact that this isn't the best of places to live for the time being. But, I'd rather be with him than anyone. Running away with him just enhances that. DAMIEN (To Kid) See? You're not the one living here. KID Oh- JESSE To me, it just doesn't matter. We could be homeless or in a torture chamber, sharp spikes about to pierce our bellies, but as long as Vlad's with me, I know I am safe; I can accept what I need to. DAMIEN (Mocking) Jesse's got a bodyguard. JESSE It's not like that. He's... He's my friend and beyond. It's trust, and because of that, we're bonded together, like Siamese twins of emotions. DAMIEN You know, that is a creepy thought, but better him than anyone else. JESSE (Defensively) Why? What's wrong with Vlad? DAMIEN Oh, nothing, it's just that- you know what's been going on about him. JESSE No, I don't. KID Damien, you know those are lies. Hell, have you heard some of the things those cursory assholes say about you? (Sardonic and mocking) "Damien jerks off in the street." "Damien kills animals and eats their hearts for fun." "You know what I heard? Damien tried to kill himself." DAMIEN Shut up! Just please shut the fuck up! KID Well, don't do the same thing, or else, you're as much of a self-loather as they are superficial telephone wires passing gossip, like electric signals. JESSE I-I just don't care what they have to say. They're all so full of shit, anyway. (VLAD enters solemnly from stage right, carrying a bowl holding a dark liquid. Everyone quiets in the serenity of the start of the ceremony.) VLAD Good evening all, my immortal brothers for eternity. JESSE (Solemnly and seriously) Hail, Vlad, Prince of Many Visages. VLAD Ave, Jesse of Thornless Roses. DAMIEN Ave, my eternal sibling. VLAD Hail, Damien, the Dark Prince of Eternity. KID Ave, Vlad of Many Visages. VLAD Ave, Morbid Treachery. (VLAD sits in the center of the circle, placing the bowl in front of him.) VLAD Dally did not die in vain, and neither shall any of us. Mortality is at our past. (VLAD bathes his hands in the bowl.) VLAD For my eternity as Vlad, the Prince of Many Visages, I vow to avenge the death of my brother, or any of my brothers, if they are deprived of life. I shall take my sword, hold it above my head, and shout, for I will not make myself invisible. What has been my gift, I shall take and treasure, for only an elite obtain this. In all of the betrayal of reality, the disconnection proves to be the most valuable of all reasons. (VLAD takes a drink from the bowl.) VLAD To life, to eternity, to lust, and unbound clandestine freedom. ALL To life, to eternity, to lust, and unbound clandestine freedom. VLAD Drink the blood, my brothers. Drink for your immortality. (The bowl is passed around, and everyone takes a drink, respectively.) VLAD What shall stop us? Hinder our paths? Break the indestructible lines that bind us together? ALL Nothing! VLAD Yes, nothing shall break us, and nothing ever will. Behind each of our hands is a sharp, metallic dagger, ready to be drawn at any moment. To protect myself and my brothers, I will draw it, and I will see red waterfalls cascading over the white, barren landscape. ALL I will draw it, and I will see red waterfalls cascading over the white, barren landscape. VLAD And, not once will I feel the remorse. They are mere mortals who are out to destroy us. But, the duel is inevitable and so is the outcome. (Emphatically) I will not have someone unwillingly slit my wrists when I can slit my own with my own dagger. ALL I will not have someone unwillingly slit my wrists when I can slit my own with my own dagger. VLAD I am here to defend to the end; to seek revenge on all that sought to destroy me. This is my mission, and it is never complete. A bush roses, thorns removed, will never kill; it will only make my gaze at it in all of its beauty and wonder. But, I am not a rose for I am not innocuous and beautiful. If someone tears and plucks my petals, I will bite back ferociously. I will not let injustice happen to my brothers again- there's already too much in this world. Thus, tonight, my brothers, the dearest souls to me, drink away. Life is young, and death seems far. Avette. ALL Avette. (Everyone grabs the wrists of their neighbor, heads bowed, to form a circle.) VLAD Today is the day all torture shall cease. All vituperative weapons shall perish. We shall reign as the beings of immortality. The Dark Prince of Eternity, Morbid Treachery, Thornless Roses, and the Prince of Many Visages are one. If any of us dares to break the link that bonds us now and eternally, make they suffer for their longevity. May death be a far-off concept as they wither and scream in the pits of pain. The bondage is stronger than any metal, thicker than any blood, and unable to be perished. My brothers, rise. (Everyone stand.) VLAD Welcome to our long-sought after kingdom. (Lights out.) Scene 3 (JESSE'S MOTHER is at home, DAMIEN and KID at center stage right, both irked, arrive at her house. They knock at the door.) MOTHER I'm coming! I'm coming! (MOTHER opens door. DAMIEN and KID sulk into the room, stopping only a few feet away from the door.) MOTHER Oh, I'm so glad the both of you are here. DAMIEN (Mumbling coldly) What is it? MOTHER Here boys, why don't you sit down? (MOTHER indicates sofa. DAMIEN and KID insist on standing.) DAMIEN No. What is it, ma'am? MOTHER Boys, just make yourselves comfortable. I need to talk to you, and it's not going to be short by any means. Just sit down, okay? Do you want anything to drink? KID I'll have a Coke. DAMIEN (Scowls at Kid.) No, thank you. (MOTHER exits, DAMIEN and KID sit on the sofa.) DAMIEN (Whispering harshly) What's that for? You're trying to get on her 'good' side! KID Geez, I was just thirsty. DAMIEN That's bull. Just remember not to tell her about- you know. KID Yes, I do. I'll be quiet. DAMIEN Let me do most of the talking, okay? You just nod, all right? KID (Mumbles) Fine. DAMIEN Good. Jesse's sofa is real comfy. Just lets you assimilate into it. (MOTHER enters, carrying a glass. Hands it to KID.) MOTHER Here you go. DAMIEN So, what is it you want to talk about? I'm all ears and mouths. MOTHER Oh, well, it's about Jesse. Both of you are friends with him, right? (KID nods.) DAMIEN Yeah. (DAMIEN seems pleased, and smiles surreptitiously at KID.) MOTHER Then you'll be able to tell me thing about him. DAMIEN Like I said, ma'am, I'm all ears and mouths. MOTHER Well, that's great! This'll be helpful to me. What I need to know is, have you seen Jesse over the last two days? DAMIEN Hmmm... (DAMIEN thinks in a cliched pose, making up a false answer.) DAMIEN Well, I have seen him this week. I don't clearly remember seeing him on which days. MOTHER Oh, then- DAMIEN But, ma'am, since I see Jesse a lot, I really never keep track. He's A-okay. I can assure you. (KID nods in agreement.) MOTHER Hmm, than, I don't know if you know where he is, as in do you know if he is living somewhere else? DAMIEN Well, I can't give you a straight answer. I always thought after school and after we hung out at Vlad's, he came straight home to do his homework. But, if that is the case, I am sincere that I don't know. MOTHER (To KID) How about you? Have you seen Jesse? (KID takes a sip from his drink, then shrugs.) DAMIEN Neither of us have seen him. I'm being candid. MOTHER (Exclaims suddenly) Vlad! Have you seen Vlad? DAMIEN Who hasn't? Everyone has seen Vlad. Oh, ma'am, I can assure that I have seen way, way, way too much of Vlad. I see him more than my own family. MOTHER (Disappointed) Oh, but why wasn't Jesse with him? They're always together. He spends more time over there than here. (MOTHER sees note on coffee table, and hands it to DAMIEN.) MOTHER See? He left me this. (DAMIEN reads note.) DAMIEN If I were a detective, then this note would point directly to Vlad's house. Jesse's probably there, eating supper right now. MOTHER Have either of them been acting weird? DAMIEN Define 'weird'. (MOTHER realizes her mistake, but then realizes she's trapped.) MOTHER Um... well... ah, you know- different. A way that seems not usual, like Jesse's not being Jesse. DAMIEN The thing is, Jesse is always Jesse, so that's kind of hard, y'know? MOTHER No, Damien, I don't. Has he dressed differently? Talked weird? Refused to eat? Combed his hair differently? I'm sorry, but this really perplexes me. DAMIEN No, I don't think so. Jesse still wears black, and he doesn't speak a lot, or when he speaks, he's quiet. He's still eating, and his part still goes through the center of his scalp. MOTHER Oh, never mind. (Pause, then is suddenly distraught) I-I don't need any more help. DAMIEN So, can we leave? MOTHER Yes, just please get out of my house. DAMIEN Oh, if that is the case, then we'll be off. Good day to you, ma'am. MOTHER (Crudely) Yeah, yeah, yeah, just get out. (KID hesitates by finishing his drink.) MOTHER (Yells) Get out! Now! (KID drops glass, runs out of room.) DAMIEN (Insincerely) I hoped we could've been of some help. MOTHER Listen, you ungrateful ingrate, you did nothing but waste my time. DAMIEN Hey, don't blame me. You're the one that invited us over. MOTHER You sat here, gave me shit, and took pride in it. How dare you! My son has psychological problems, and you're letting him wander around the city, alone, where he'll probably get shot! Some friend you are, you bastard! DAMIEN Hey, I- MOTHER Did you hear me? No buts whatsoever! Do you know how fragile and malleable Jesse is? All of you are under the influence of that psychopath, Vlad Stanislavsky! He's warping your minds, so that you think everything is okay. But, it's not! Jesse's probably dead by now! DAMIEN (Insincerely) I can assure you that Jesse- as well as Vlad- is fine. MOTHER That is one load of crap! DAMIEN No, I'm serious. MOTHER Okay, Satan-worshipper, where is my son? DAMIEN (Uneasily) He's... well... MOTHER Where the fuck is he? (MOTHER grabs Damien's shoulders, shaking him as she yells.) MOTHER Tell me, tell me, you liar! Where the hell is my son? DAMIEN Jesus Christ, ma'am! Will you stop shaking me? (MOTHER stops shaking DAMIEN.) MOTHER (Angrily, with clenched teeth) What do you really know about Jesse? DAMIEN Are you positive that you want to hear this? MOTHER My god! Yes! Now! DAMIEN Fine. (Grumbles) He's in a vacant basement, downtown, French-kissing Vlad. MOTHER What? You're making that up! DAMIEN No, I'm not. They're, like, infatuated with each other. MOTHER You liar! Don't try to tell me that my son is a fag! DAMIEN But, I'm not. That's where he is, and that's what he's doing. I'm only being honest. MOTHER You fool. DAMIEN I'm your clown, I'm your joker, I'm your red-hot reality-poker. MOTHER (Sarcastically) Funny. Now get out of my house. DAMIEN You asked for it. (DAMIEN exits. MOTHER paces around room hectically.) MOTHER (Exclaims) Shit! Now, which basement downtown? Those liars. (MOTHER slumps down on sofa, cries. Lights out.) Scene 4 (JESSE and VLAD are in the basement at night. VLAD is embracing JESSE, who is feeling depressed and slightly tired.) VLAD Another victim, another ceremony. JESSE More blood for the cause of immortality. VLAD Yes, my love. More years toward our goal for eternity. (VLAD kisses JESSE. JESSE treats it indifferently.) VLAD How many times should I tell you about our plans? JESSE Infinite, Vlad, infinitesimal amounts of times. VLAD The world is going to be our sidewalk, Jesse. Just you wait for that day when we can roam the streets, arm in arm, and breathe the unpolluted air. No one will care, for we will be the only ones to witness it. JESSE What a beautiful day. VLAD I don't have to look far to find something beautiful. (VLAD kisses JESSE again.) VLAD You know that I love you, don't you? You don't need to be so sad. I can't help but become addicted in my infatuation. JESSE There doesn't need to be an answer. VLAD I don't want you to answer; I know. I feel the passion, the burning desire. It nestles warmly inside of me, burning in its pleasure. (JESSE doesn't seem to be paying attention, and VLAD senses it.) VLAD You're tired, aren't you? JESSE Yeah. VLAD Then I suppose that is the final thought of this tortuous day. I think it's best if both of us get some sleep. JESSE Excellent idea. (VLAD grabs a blanket from the floor, gives another to JESSE.) VLAD Here. There's always tomorrow. (JESSE lays on the ground. VLAD lays beside him.) VLAD Good night. Sleep well. (VLAD kisses Jesse.) JESSE Good night, Vlad. (Lights go out, and VLAD goes offstage. Thee lights change to a reddish color, in Jesse's dream. JESSE awakes to realize that VLAD is not beside him. PSYCHIATRIST 2 enters.) JESSE (Defensively) What are you doing here? PSYCHIATRIST 2 You might as well ask yourself that, son. Why do you think you're here? JESSE I'm here with Vlad to keep away from meddlesome hypocrites like yourself. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Really? How interesting. JESSE (Mocking)Too bad you don't have a notebook to scribble stuff about me in. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Oh, that's no worry. I can remember all of it. Ah, so where were we? Ah, yes, about Vlad again. You know it's a sin to be a homosexual, Jesse. I'm deeply concerned about you. Your behavior is not safe around him. JESSE (Groans) Will you please shut up and leave me alone? PSYCHIATRIST 2 Kissing other boys is not normal, Jesse. JESSE (Sarcastically) Boo hoo, I'm antisocial. Does it matter? PSYCHIATRIST 2 We'll see about that once your mother arrives. She's coming into our session today to chat. We're both worried about you. JESSE I seriously doubt that. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Why, here she comes now. (MOTHER enters. VLAD follows with a noose around his neck.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 I'll be back. I just need to get my notebook. (PSYCHIATRIST 2 exits.) MOTHER Well, well, well. So we meet again, Jesse, after six months of hiding. JESSE (Quivering) Go away. MOTHER Don't you want to know why your friend is my prisoner? JESSE No. MOTHER He's not supposed to be near you, and I'm punishing him for turning you queer. Boys are not supposed to kiss boys; that's a freak thing to do. I am ashamed of you for becoming so weak. I ought to have you in the noose as well. (PSYCHIATRIST 2 enters with five large notebooks.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 So, where were we? MOTHER My son needs to be changed. I hate him. PSYCHIATRIST 2 That's interesting. MOTHER He deserves electric shocks. What shall we do, doctor? The old shackles, eh? PSYCHIATRIST 2 No, no. That is too benign. I'm thinking blatant torture will work. Like lying over a bed of spikes or drowning. MOTHER (Reprimanding Jesse) See? This is all of the havoc you've caused, you freak. (MOTHER slaps JESSE.) MOTHER I hope you're happy. Swear upon your masculinity that you will be normal and that you will never see Vlad again. Swear upon your stomach, for if you don't, I won't feed you. Swear on your heart, or else I'll lynch Mr. Psychopath here, and tear your's out. JESSE No! I can't! (PSYCHIATRIST 2 writes vigorously in a notebook. He then throws it to MOTHER's feet, and she picks it up to read.) MOTHER Now, look at all of this trash! Antisocial, schizophrenic, psychopathic, stubborn, depressed, and an ardent homosexual. An all-out failure. Can you even spell failure, Jesse? You start with an F and end with an E. Spell it Jesse, or else I slit his wrists. JESSE (Mumbles in pain) F-A- MOTHER I can't hear you. Get down on your knees and say it. (JESSE refuses to get on his knees.) JESSE No! (MOTHER jabs a finger at his chest.) MOTHER I hope you die, you ungrateful bastard. You kissed Vlad, you pervert. You kissed him and you liked it, too. JESSE So what? PSYCHIATRIST 2 Jesse, sexual confusion seems to be the root, here. Now, why don't you tell us what's wrong? JESSE Nothing is fucking wrong. MOTHER Watch your mouth, faggot, before I disown you. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Well, Jesse, son, you're sweating profusely and yelling at your mother. No normal person acts like that. JESSE This room is excruciatingly hot. Can't you feel it? It's like I'm trapped in a furnace with no way out. MOTHER What are you talking about? I'm freezing. Where's your coat? You'll get even more sick than you already are. JESSE Mom, it's- JESSE Don't you dare call me "mother", you freak! I did not raise you for you to betray me. (PSYCHIATRIST 2 writes more.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 Jesse, tell me, why have you succumbed to betraying your mother, your own flesh and blood? JESSE I'm not betraying- MOTHER You little liar. I will lynch Vlad if you don't tell the truth. JESSE But- MOTHER You heard me. Now get on your knees and pray that you want to be cured from this disease. If you don't, Jesse, it'll kill you. Vlad's already injected it into you. (VLAD runs to JESSE, grabbing his hands.) VLAD Don't listen to them. You know that I love you, don't you? MOTHER Get back in your place, you mongrel. Your days of lucky torture are numbered. VLAD No! Do you really think your words mean anything of trivial significance to me? MOTHER They better, or else your hands and heart are mine. Your body is for the dogs. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Ah, we have a new visitor. So, stranger, why don't you introduce yourself? VLAD I am- MOTHER You are nothing! Hideously nothing! VLAD (Solemnly) I am Vlad, the Prince of Many Visages, and I am trapped. (VLAD starts crying.) VLAD You just don't get it, do you? PSYCHIATRIST 2 What disease infects you, Vlad? VLAD Nothing- MOTHER He's a fuckin' pervert. He kissed my son, and now look at him. Look at both the freaks. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Are you aware of yourself? VLAD I told you that I love Jesse, deeper than any desire. (Emphatically) Why don't you understand? PSYCHIATRIST 2 That is not normal behavior for a boy your age. VLAD (Explodes) Do you even know how old I am? How old I'll be? I am immortal, you fool! PSYCHIATRIST 2 Pardon? MOTHER To the straight jackets! VLAD I'll live forever; age doesn't matter. You're such an ignorant fool, practicing your bull shit science to keep your Porsche and mansion. You do nothing! Nothing! Nothing, but upset my infatuation, pushing him farther into introversion. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. MOTHER That's it, we're leaving. I've had enough of your obnoxious behavior. (PSYCHIATRIST 2 throws another notebook at JESSE.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 See? I'm done diagnosing you. I can't wait for next week's session! JESSE (Reading notebook slowly) Schizophrenic, depressed, displays homosexual tendencies, antisocial- PSYCHIATRIST 2 And that's just the tip of the iceberg, Jesse. Just you wait and see the ward. They'll have you on sedatives in no time. JESSE (Confused and nervous) Ward? VLAD What the hell do you think you're doing, charlatan? MOTHER I'm not spending money on a useless faggot. Send him to a work farm! He's got to become a man. PSYCHIATRIST 2 (Pedantically) Isn't it on the page? I'm sending you to the state hospital for specialized treatment. You obviously can't function here, Jesse. JESSE But I'm not a machine! MOTHER Tick, tick, tick. Yes you are. VLAD You aren't sending him there! MOTHER and PSYCHIATRIST 2 Oh yes we are! And you, too! PSYCHIATRIST 2 I've already diagnosed you, Vlad, as being somewhat of a psychopath and a pedophile. The hospital is going to be giving you shocks once you arrive. Doesn't it sound fun? MOTHER Let's get going. I'm ecstatic. VLAD What the- MOTHER You heard the doctor. VLAD Bite me, you whore. MOTHER We're going to the next psychiatric ward. Get your rear in gear. VLAD No! MOTHER Jesse, get your coat, or else, I'll stigmatize you. Now! (VLAD kisses JESSE on both hands.) VLAD (Sudden) We're not going to be all right. I hate to tell you- JESSE You said that we couldn't die! You told me we'd live forever. Brothers. Siamese twins of the emotions! We'd be together for an eternity, with no one else! MOTHER See? I told you he was bad for you. PSYCHIATRIST 2 A compulsive liar, among many other things. MOTHER We need electric shocks! We need rubbing alcohol and rusted nails! (VLAD tries to break lose from the noose, but he is unsuccessful.) VLAD Get me out of here, Jesse. (Gasping) Help me! We've got to leave. (JESSE puts his hands over his face.) JESSE I'm a powerless fool. VLAD Can't you just help me? MOTHER Will the two of you quiet down? (PSYCHIATRIST 2 takes a needle from his pocket, and injects VLAD with it.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 A little sedative won't hurt. (VLAD becomes silent and still, standing like a mannequin.) MOTHER (To Jesse) You, quiet, too. Or else, I'll give you a sedative. JESSE No! MOTHER You heard me, Jesse. JESSE (Screaming) No! (PSYCHIATRIST 2 takes another needle, and heads toward Jesse.) JESSE (Screaming) Get the hell away from me! MOTHER Get back here, Jesse. JESSE No! Leave me alone! All of you! Just get away from me! (MOTHER and PSYCHIATRIST 2 start to head after JESSE, but the lights become dark. JESSE has awakened from his dream, and everyone is offstage. VLAD is back beside him, sleeping. JESSE suddenly awakens, shaken from his dream.) JESSE What the- (JESSE looks around the room in silence.) JESSE (Whispering) What the hell just happened? (JESSE look around for VLAD.) JESSE Vlad, are you up? Please, please wake up. (JESSE shakes VLAD until he is awake.) JESSE Are you up? Vlad? Wake up. Oh, please, pretty please wake up. VLAD I'm up. What is it? JESSE We're still going to live forever, aren't we? VLAD Yeah, why? JESSE I just had this freaky dream, and you told me it was a lie. And we were about to be taken to a mental hospital, too. My mother- she became demented because you kissed me. Oh, it was awful, just horrible. It just makes me sick. (JESSE starts crying from his fear.) VLAD Are you okay? JESSE No, I'm not. I'm honestly frightened, and the dream still pulses through me. I still feel like I'm there. (JESSE starts feeling around Vlad's neck.) JESSE But, it's not. You had a noose on. VLAD A noose? JESSE Yeah, and my mother threatened to kill you unless I said I was a failure. VLAD Shit. You obviously know that's not true, right? JESSE (Glumly) Yeah- VLAD That's good. (VLAD stares at JESSE for a few moments. JESSE is inadvertently quivering.) VLAD Shit. You're shaking like an earthquake or something. This dream really messed you up, didn't it? (JESSE nods.) JESSE It's freezing in here, too. I-I'm just glad it's over. (JESSE begins to breathe heavily. VLAD studies JESSE more.) VLAD Jesse, you're sweating like a rainstorm; you're obviously not okay. JESSE I told you I wasn't, but it's cold. Like an icebox in here. VLAD Just calm down, think about something else, like food or something. JESSE We haven't had anything substantial in four days. VLAD Blood. JESSE That's not enough. I-I'll just go to sleep. VLAD If you want, I'll try to get you something in the morning. JESSE Sure. Sounds great. Look, we can discuss it then, all right? I'm really tired. VLAD Okay, then. Well, good night. (JESSE does not reply, and lays back down. Lights out.) Scene 5 (JESSE'S MOTHER is awake in the middle of the night, pacing back and forth in her living room, frantically thinking about Jesse's whereabouts.) MOTHER Why are you freaking out? Jesse has to turn up eventually. What is the police call? Oh, Jesse already has a bad school record, and I don't want him to get into a criminal act. What if he's there, with Vlad, sitting in one of those cold jail cells? That would be terrible. I've really been a bad parent. But, why do I say that? I haven't fostered his motivations, and I want him to stay away from that Vlad creep. Maybe we'll transfer schools, move to a different city, and change everything. I just can't take this anxiety anymore. How do I know he's not dead? Which basement downtown? How do I know if that Damien bastard told the truth? They're all a bunch of satanic deceivers who need a reality check. Perhaps I should start searching downtown. Where downtown, though? Damien gave me no clue. What if Jesse is with a prostitute or a drug dealer? I wish I had given him more common sense. Stay away from weird-looking people, is what I should've told him. Then, he would never have met that monster. I'm keeping him home once I find him, and I'm making him do school work. That is, if I find him. Oh, god, why this? A vacant basement? Where's a vacant building? In the dangerous part of town where all of the hoodlums and pimps work, that's where! I can't believe he's there! I must find him, despite the cold, the snow, and the hour. I will not be a neglectful parent! (MOTHER walks off, center stage right, slamming the door behind her.) Scene 6 (VLAD and JESSE wake up. JESSE is feeling sick and shaking. He has an intense headache and stomach pains, and refuses to sit up, or take the blankets off.) VLAD Dreadful morning, isn't it? A perfect day for infatuation and scaring the crap out of others. (JESSE doesn't answer.) VLAD A perfect day for taking revenge, stealing their cars after, drinking their blood, and making out on an aloof cliff once night falls. How about that, Jesse? (JESSE still does not answer.) VLAD Jesse? JESSE (Groans) I'm cold. (JESSE grabs the blankets from VLAD.) VLAD (Concerned) Are you still scared from last night? JESSE I don't know. I think I threw up all over myself. VLAD Now? JESSE No, during the night. My shirt smells sour, like old grapefruits, and I'm freezing. VLAD Jesse, come up from under the blankets. JESSE I can't; I'm feeling sick. My skin is ice. VLAD Won't you sit up? JESSE My head feels like a lead anvil. VLAD Too bad we don't have aspirin. JESSE I don't think I need it. VLAD You just contradicted yourself. JESSE (Groans) I really don't want to get up. VLAD Do you want me to feel your forehead? JESSE I can feel my own. VLAD Not if you don't sit up. JESSE Fine. (JESSE sits up from the floor, keeping the blankets still wrapped around his shoulders. His hair is tousled, and a pained expression is upon his face.) JESSE I'm up. There. (VLAD puts a hand to Jesse's forehead.) VLAD (Concerned) You're still sweating from last night. JESSE I just got up from being under the covers. VLAD You were like this last night after you woke up from that dream, weren't you? JESSE Yeah- VLAD Are you sure you don't want me to get you any food or a painkiller? JESSE I'll be fine. VLAD Look at you! You're definitely not fine. Hell, you look like you just rose from the dead, in a figurative sense. JESSE I'm not dead. VLAD It's figurative, I said; you don't have to be. JESSE Look, I'm fine; I really don't need anything right now. VLAD Jesse, you're not fine. You should have something, even if its water. JESSE I don't need it. VLAD Yes, you do. JESSE You don't have- VLAD Yes I do. Just stay here until I'm back, okay? I'll get some painkillers and some stuff for us to eat. How's that sound? JESSE You can do it if you want, but- VLAD Great. Just stay here. I'll be back in a little while. (VLAD exits upstage right. JESSE lays back down, pulling the covers over his head.) Scene 7 (VLAD is wandering in the street, as he heads for he store, wondering what he will buy once he arrives there.) VLAD Five bucks, and that's it, that's all I own. I didn't even earn these damn five bucks; I stole them from my father. What a fool I am to have planned this. Jesse's sick, we're hungry, and, now, all of this will backfire as we go crashing into the dead end. Four days of independence, and we now realize, indeed, that we are the incompetent lab rats of our tyrannical parents. What else more is there? I've gone off into the deep end. And, all I have is give dollars and the onyx clothes on my back. Nothing, and more nothing. I kill, but there is no blood on my hands. I will not die, and I will not have anyone else terminate me, unless I do it myself. When I am at the tip of my own sword, staring myself into my own eyes, then that should be my fate. But, I do not see my own eyes, and, therefore, I will continue to strive in my immortality. Soon, I will have nothing but these clothes and a sick lover. Whatever food I can buy with this paltry sum will be consumed. Pills, perhaps, and water. Maybe a few other items. How much does a bottle of aspirin cost, anyway? I don't even know. (JESSE'S MOTHER enters from downstage, then stops in her tracks with shock as soon as she sees VLAD, who is still slowly walking across the stage.) VLAD And, why didn't I steal a red Corvette this morning? Is it the enrapturing color or the exhilarating thrill of usurping someone else's possession? Or, perhaps, I imagined the royal purple sky, speckled with diamond stars, as Jesse and I gazed up at it in this magical car, after making love to him for a few hours. And, I would've made love to him, for I can't control my desires, my driving insatiability. Gazing at him, my pale prince of Thornless Roses, I fall into my own spell. But, the pulchritude is only the coating. With his insides exposed, his heart is on his sleeve, and I want to protect him, even more so than Dally. Perhaps Jesse is what I wanted out of Dally, only that Dally was my brother, a true kin connected by familial blood. They're so innocuous, but I couldn't convince Dally of his immortality; he believed in death, believing in the fact that he had to die eventually. And, Dally did die, and I witnessed it. A few minutes of screaming and suffocating, and he was nothing more than a limp mannequin, hanging from a dead tree in a rusted playground. But Jesse- Jesse knows and believes he'll live with me forever. Dally didn't deserve to die, but he was eventually willing to face it. Jesse believes and follows me, hand in hand, in our quest. He does not believe in termination and he drank the blood of our conquest for revenge, avenging all that killed Dally for illegitimate reasons. There are no legitimate reasons, and that's why we reign supreme. There are no apologies. Once you face the Prince of Many Visages in the darkness, I am going to swallow you whole. (MOTHER approaches VLAD from behind.) MOTHER What did you do to Jesse, you freak? (VLAD turns around in shock.) VLAD Huh? (Realizes that JESSE'S MOTHER is furious, and he tries to run away, but she grabs his shirt collar.) MOTHER (In an icy tone) You know what I mean. Now, take me to Jesse, or else I'll turn both of you into the police. How's that? VLAD Why don't you let me go first? MOTHER No, because you'll run back to your basement and screw around with Jesse some more. Further more, if I return home, I'll have the police searching this area, in every vacant building. They'll eventually find you. I'm not as dumb as you or Jesse think I am, Vlad. VLAD Now I can see why Jesse wanted to come with me. MOTHER No, Vlad. You lured him into your trap and tricked him into being like you: a freak, a faggot, and a failure. I always told Jesse to stay away from you; your mother wholly agrees. VLAD My mother doesn't even know where I am, whore. Now let me go. MOTHER (Defensively) What did you call me, you bastard? VLAD A whore. You're an ardent prostitute to the psychiatric charlatans of bull shit science. MOTHER Listen, my son needs help; lots of it, and you're not contributing. He's strangely apathetic, and it's most from your doings. VLAD What do you know that I do? Do you even know who I am? I am Vlad, the Prince of Many Visages. I shall live forever with my brothers, until we reign supreme. No one besides for ourselves can destroy us. MOTHER Listen, you and Jesse can play make-believe when you return home, but this is serious. Don't make something up; you sound like a buffoon already. VLAD Are you not taking me seriously? MOTHER How can I think a teenager who declares his immortality is in his right mind? VLAD You'll see, once you're moribund on your death bed. MOTHER I have a long way before that, hon. Now, where the hell is my son? VLAD (In rebuttal) Sorry, but hide-and-seek time is over. You've found me, so go home. MOTHER Take me to your basement, Vlad, this 'secret' hideout I found out about, where you transformed Jesse into a queer. VLAD I didn't transform Jesse into anything. MOTHER Yeah, well, from what I heard, you kissed him; a lot. VLAD From who? MOTHER Damien. VLAD (Mumbles) Shit- MOTHER Yeah, "shit" is right. Shit is what I am saying now, too. Now, can you trust your "brothers"? You truly scare me, Vladislav Stanislavsky. I'm honestly surprised that you haven't been locked up in a psychiatric ward with other nut cases like yourself. Believing in immortality. Ha. VLAD Don't be surprised if I soon charge you with harassment. MOTHER (Hushed, sharp whisper) Who the hell do you think you are? Do you think you can just warp innocent peoples minds for the fun of it? VLAD Listen, ma'am, I am out of focus to you. My goal is not to augment and destroy; it is to live for eternity, to rule this destitute wasteland once all of its useless, irksome inhabitants have vanished. MOTHER (Rolling eyes.) Take me to Jesse, now! VLAD I don't trust you. All you're going to do is insist that he's crazy, that he's messed up because he's not some zealous conservative, and, then, you're going to try to "fix" him. Madam, I hate to tell you this, but, in my eyes, Jesse does not need to be fixed. MOTHER I don't know what the- VLAD Yes, you do; I know you do. Why do you think we've tried to escape? Two and two always equal four. MOTHER I'm being serious, Vladislav. If you don't take me to your hideout to see my son right now, then, I am going to call the police on you. I know you don't like the sound of that. VLAD I don't care. MOTHER Oh, you really should. You'll be easy to find, like a drop of red blood on a white sheet. VLAD I am remaining stoic in my stance; I am the wall you cannot push down; I am the sheet you glass you cannot cut through; I am impermeable. I am Vlad, the Prince of Many Visages, and you cannot crack my crown. MOTHER Do you see that pay phone over there? (MOTHER points to downstage left.) VLAD No. MOTHER Listen, smart-ass, if you don't start moving, I am going to call the police from that phone. I have been up for the past forty-eight hours, searching for my fragile son; and, you, of all people, are not going to disappoint me. VLAD (Mocking) So close, yet so far. MOTHER That is it. (MOTHER grabs VLAD, and starts heading downstage left. VLAD breaks from her grip, and starts running in the opposite direction[upstage left], but MOTHER seizes him, holding his arms behind his back.) MOTHER You're not that invincible. (Mocking) Even a middle-aged woman can stop you, Prince of Visages. (VLAD opens his mouth, but MOTHER interrupts him.) MOTHER Don't even give me any of that immortality crappola. I've seized you, and we'll stand here all day until you comply. Your crown was not that hard to break. Now, listen up, you inept freak, unless you take me to Jesse, I will call your own mother. (Pause). You wouldn't want me to do that, would you? (VLAD does not answer.) MOTHER Get moving, Vlad. (VLAD does not heed.) MOTHER (Brusquely) Get your ass moving, now! (VLAD solemnly walks upstage right, with his hands still behind his back, and MOTHER following.) Scene 8 (JESSE is in the basement, sleeping below a pile of blankets. He is feeling worse than before, and does not feel like standing up. VLAD and MOTHER enter from upstage right; VLAD still has his hands behind his back.) VLAD See? I told you. MOTHER Told me what? You've practically destroyed Jesse. VLAD You are so full of shit. MOTHER Excuse me? VLAD I said you are so full of shit. Now you see him. Isn't this what you wanted? MOTHER (Brusquely) Jesse! Get up! We're going home. (JESSE does not move.) VLAD He's asleep, you idiot. (MOTHER releases VLAD, walks over to JESSE until she stands above him. JESSE is still asleep.) MOTHER Jesse, wake up. We're going home. (JESSE still doesn't wake up.) MOTHER C'mon. You're not fooling me. VLAD He's sick. Why don't you go home, and leave us alone. MOTHER Why don't you shut up? Vlad, you'll have no more negative influence on my son, anymore. VLAD I didn't have any in the first place. MOTHER From now on, you're not going to see each other anymore. This is it. VLAD You know, you are an extremely melodramatic person. By the assertion of my sword, you are rendered powerless and limited in your control. MOTHER (Sarcastically) You're starting to frighten me. VLAD (Sarcastically) Good god! I'm not a conservative, submissive fool. Why don't you just hang me or burn me at the stake? MOTHER You made my son a fag! And, you still think superior of yourself. You should be submissive for all of the ways you've sinned. VLAD Oh no! I kiss boys; so shoot me, zealot. (JESSE slowly wakes up amidst the arguing.) MOTHER You are a pervert as well as a self-glorifying hedonist! I'll see that your mother has you locked up. VLAD And I'll see your throat at the tip of my sword. I've bludgeoned many, and I'll destroy more. MOTHER You live in this- this fantasy world, and you've sucked my son into it. Is masturbation your god? Is complete defiance your code of ethics? Your own mother thinks you're a psychopath! Have you no morality? VLAD (Sneers) My morality- no one needs to tell me what to do! Perhaps you don't see the impermeable fort you've built around yourself. Perfection is to be mocked, but you're not laughing. You actually take the whole dogma seriously! This provincial lie has consumed your perception; admit that, you wiseacre. MOTHER As soon as we leave, I'm telling your mother what you've done, said- VLAD (Rebukes) What are you going to tell her? That I'm messed up? That I'm a homosexual? She knows all of that already! MOTHER Fine, then. I'll tell her of the manipulation tactics you've used to disturb my son. You've lied, you've deceived, and you've enthralled him into your hodgepodge. VLAD What you don't know won't hurt you. (JESSE becomes fully awake, sits up, and realizes MOTHER is there.) JESSE (Confused) Mom? MOTHER (Reprimanding) So this is where you've been for the past four days- being a love slave to a psychopath. JESSE It's not what you think. MOTHER Well, what is it? JESSE I-I-(Trails off in his speech.) MOTHER You what? Believe in this faker? JESSE (Sighs) No. MOTHER Stand up, Jesse. We're leaving. JESSE How-? MOTHER Nothing, nothing. You've really puzzled me, this time. I just don't understand all of this erratic behavior. VLAD Yeah, yeah, cut the crap, old crone. Reform school is right around the corner, is what you meant to say. MOTHER And so are shock treatments for you. JESSE (In recognition of his dream) Shock treatments? (Nervously) But, I didn't do anything! MOTHER Not you, fairy. They're for this freak-of-nature. (MOTHER points to VLAD.) JESSE No- MOTHER What? JESSE You're going to kill him. You've hidden the noose. MOTHER (Confused) What noose? JESSE Then, you're going to give him sedatives until he's stiff. I'll be next- VLAD No, Jesse, this isn't- MOTHER (Interrupting) You shut up! VLAD Goddamnit! I'm not your dog! (To JESSE) That was only a dream- JESSE You're not a pedophile- MOTHER Huh? No, he's a psychopath. He's been lying to you, Jesse. I say, let's abandon the bastard. JESSE So it's- VLAD No! MOTHER Why do you believe a social misfit? The bastard wants material friends, because no one loves him! He's hypnotized you, and you've been following him on a leash. He's a liar, a cheat, and a deceiver! JESSE (Confused) It's not-? MOTHER (Reprimanding) He kissed you, and you liked it, didn't you? (JESSE does not answer.) MOTHER Didn't you? (JESSE still does not answer.) MOTHER Answer me, Jesse. (JESSE tepidly nods, then covers his face in shame. Silence between the three.) MOTHER Get up, now! (JESSE slowly stands to his feet, VLAD looks away from everyone, cowering in his own shame.) MOTHER Tomorrow morning, we'll see the psychiatrist, Jesse; you're not going to behave this way, anymore. (MOTHER grabs JESSE and VLAD by their wrists, and storms off the stage with them.) Act III Scene 1 (VLAD and JESSE are sitting on Jesse's sofa, while his MOTHER paces back and forth across the stage in her fury as she reprimands them for running away. VLAD is waiting for his mother to arrive. JESSE seems reticent to speak and he is in a saturnine mood.) MOTHER Both of you have absolutely no sense in your heads- running away like that! What do you think you could do? Survive with no money? Ha! And, what about school? You've now missed four days of it, and, from what I've heard, Vlad, your grades are shamelessly awful as well. VLAD (Coldly) That is none of your business. MOTHER And, for what? So both of you could go off into some delapitated building to kiss? That just turns my stomach! No normal boys do that. VLAD Perhaps, for the uptienth time, you've realized that we are not like anyone else. MOTHER Don't you dare give me any of that immortality crap again. VLAD You'll see, oh moribund one, once you're dying, and we're still in control. MOTHER And still messed up and effeminate as hell. VLAD What do you have against two boys- or two girls, for that matter- kissing? I bet you experimented with your neighbor's daughter. MOTHER (In exclamation) It's disgusting and perverted! It's incredibly kinky, like you're molesting someone. VLAD Okay, so, in other words, to summarize this, you're saying I molested Jesse, even though we are only friends? (To JESSE) Now, did I molest you? JESSE (Mumbles) No. MOTHER Jesse, do you even know what molestation is? JESSE It wasn't; I-I don't feel weird about it. MOTHER (To Jesse) So you're a pervert, too! JESSE (Slowing speaking, as if each word is painful to say) I am not- MOTHER Then, what are you? Don't you realize the connotation of a scenario in which you kiss a guy- and especially this freak (indicates VLAD) of all people. (VLAD blatantly checks his watch.) VLAD What time did my mother say she was arriving? MOTHER She didn't say. VLAD In that case, I'm leaving. (VLAD kisses JESSE on the cheek, then stands up. MOTHER is aghast.) MOTHER Oh no you're not! You're sitting right here until she comes here to pick you up. You're not going to run off again. VLAD And you're going to make me? MOTHER You leave, I call the police and tell them to look for a seventeen-year-old androgynous male, slightly chubby, dressed in black, with long blackish-brown hair. Now, what do you think? (VLAD sits back down.) VLAD I'm not going to play games with you. MOTHER Games or no games, after today, you and Jesse aren't going to see each other. JESSE What? Why? MOTHER Look what he's doing to you. Don't you want to shape up? (JESSE doesn't answer. VLAD'S MOTHER stands off stage right, knocking on the door. MOTHER opens it, and VLAD'S MOTHER steps inside, without speaking to her.) VLAD'S MOTHER (Abruptly) Where is he? (VLAD'S MOTHER notices VLAD on the sofa.) VLAD'S MOTHER Where have you been? VLAD (Nonchalantly) Out. VLAD'S MOTHER (Explosively) No crap! Why? Why do you do this to me? You disappear for a time, then you return. Don't you think I'm actually wondering where you are? VLAD You're another whore to the head-shrinking industry. MOTHER (Turning to VLAD'S MOTHER) I want you to keep that heathen away from my son. He is a disgrace, and been trying to corrupt Jesse. VLAD (To MOTHER) Keep your mouth shut, old crone, and stop assuming the posturing. You have absolutely no idea as to what I do or I supposedly did! MOTHER Listen to him! He abducted my son, practically molested him, and turned my son into a queer. I want you to keep him a good distance away from my property. VLAD'S MOTHER What do expect me to do? I can't control what goes on outside of my house! MOTHER Your "son" needs to be locked up. It's bad enough he looks like some walking corpse. The kid can't function properly; he kisses boys and thinks it's all right. Well, let me tell you something. If I find that freak near Jesse again, I will lock him up myself. (VLAD pretends to slice his throat with his finger, three times.) VLAD One, two, three. Watch your blood flow into me. Watch me thrive while you die. Threaten me again, and I'll bludgeon you to your death! (MOTHER gasps in horror.) VLAD'S MOTHER (Mortified) I should tape your mouth shut! Get up, we're leaving. (VLAD hesitates.) VLAD'S MOTHER Vladislav, stand up, now! (VLAD leans over to JESSE, kissing him on his cheek again.) VLAD Goodbye, my love. VLAD'S MOTHER (Even more mortified) You're embarrassing me! We're going, so get up! (VLAD'S MOTHER pulls VLAD up from the sofa, then storms out of the house with him. Silence between JESSE and his MOTHER for a few moments.) MOTHER So, it's true, isn't it? JESSE (Coldly) Is what true? MOTHER I think you know what I mean. JESSE No, I'm afraid I don't. MOTHER Don't play oblivious, Jesse; it's your behavior. JESSE Well, what about my behavior, exactly? MOTHER You're not like anyone else, and I mean that in general terms. This has really puzzled me- the fact that you ran off with some psychopathic freak, so he could kiss you. And, the scary part about that is, you actually enjoyed it. This frightens me, Jesse; it truly does. JESSE What do you expect me to do? MOTHER Anything but! Just listen to the sound of it: "Vlad kissed Jesse, and he enjoyed it." You liked it, Jesse. You really liked it, didn't you? JESSE (Mumbles, staring at the floor) I did. MOTHER This really, really disturbs me. Why can't you be like any other boy? Get crushes on girls, work on cars with your father, play sports, or at least, watch them. Normal boys do not become infatuated with their friends, until the point of lust. JESSE You don't seem to comprehend this. MOTHER I don't! I'm feeling sick, and your behavior isn't making it any better. Just the thought of your lips touching his, your tongues, and the notion that you both were aroused by such illicit behavior. Don't you feel the least bit perverted? Don't you feel some degree of shame? JESSE No, because despite everything you've said about him, he loved me. MOTHER Don't you get it? He only wanted your body for you to pleasure him. Don't you know what he did to his brother before he died? I am honestly surprised he did not rape you. JESSE He wouldn't have raped me! MOTHER Because you wouldn't have refused! JESSE That is none of your goddamn business! MOTHER Y'know, that's it, and I've had it. Tomorrow, you're going back to the psychiatrist. We'll see what he has to say about your "habit". Kissing boys- my god- what has this life come to? Your grades are a mess, and skipping school for four days is no help. And, just look at you- all dressed in black like some vampire and filthy. (Pause) I'm forbidding you from seeing him. JESSE No- MOTHER Yes- yes you are. From now on, you're staying at home. JESSE I thought you were worried about my grades. MOTHER I'll call the school for your assignments, and you'll do them here, until the year is over. If that pervert calls, I'm hanging up the phone. JESSE My grades will get worse if I'm not in school. MOTHER Fine, I'll teach you. If you're in school, you'll cut class, goof off, and now, screw around with your boyfriend. JESSE He's not my boyfriend! We're only- MOTHER No ordinary friends kiss each other- especially boys. You're supposed to be kissing girls, and hanging around with boys- and not in some deserted basement in a bad part of town, performing Satanic rituals. JESSE We never did that. MOTHER Well, what did you do? Participate in a heretical, hedonistic ritual to live forever? That's absolutely ridiculous! Everyone must die eventually, Jesse. JESSE We weren't. MOTHER Jesse, you played your games of make-believe, fairies, and eternal youth, but this is reality. Do you really think that some kid who has immortality set in his mind is sane- to say the least- and good for you? JESSE That doesn't matter. MOTHER (Sarcastically) Absolutely not! Look at the monster he's made you into! JESSE He didn't make me into anything. We- he- MOTHER He what? JESSE He loved me, and I knew his sincerity; I could sense it in him. It was absolutely electrifying. MOTHER But look at all of the crap he's done! JESSE I know what he did. He gave me a sense of companionship, and he didn't make me feel like I was some freak. I even think he appreciated me for the nothing I am. MOTHER (Annoyed) Oh, Jesse, please- JESSE It's true. Why do you think we tried to run away? He didn't trick me or anything, and I didn't follow him on a leash. MOTHER I honestly don't understand this, but that doesn't matter. We'll see what the psychiatrist has to say. No matter what, Vlad is bad medicine, and I need to protect you from him. (Pause) I think the both of us need the sanity. (MOTHER exits, upstage right; lights out.) Scene 2 (JESSE is sitting on a couch in the office of PSYCHIATRIST 2. PSYCHIATRIST 2 enters from upstage left.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 Good morning, Jesse. (JESSE does not respond.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 How are you, today? (JESSE still does not answer.) PSYCHIATRIST 2 Jesse? JESSE (Voice shaking) I-I don't feel like talking today. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Why not? JESSE (Morosely) I don't feel like talking any day. PSYCHIATRIST 2 You must talk some time. What have you done this morning? JESSE I woke up, then listened to Metallica's "Welcome Home(Sanitarium)". PSYCHIATRIST 2 Oh. Who is Metallica? (JESSE rolls his eyes in annoyance.) JESSE A heavy metal band. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Do you like heavy metal? JESSE Yeah. (Pause). A lot. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Is there any particular reason why? JESSE I don't know. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Does it have any particular meaning to you? JESSE Yeah, I guess it does. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Could you explain? JESSE That song- it is poignant to me. Vlad and I- that song is- that song describes the fact that we're not crazy. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Who's this Vlad? JESSE I've told you- he was my best friend. "Was" in the fact that I'm not allowed to see him anymore. PSYCHIATRIST 2 What did he do? JESSE Nothing- nothing at all. He was infatuated with me, but, supposedly, he wasn't supposed to be. PSYCHIATRIST 2 (Concerned) Is this Vlad male or female? JESSE (Exploding) I've already told you about him! PSYCHIATRIST 2 (Surprised) Him? JESSE Yes, a he who was infatuated with me, and now, I'm not allowed to see him. PSYCHIATRIST 2 An obsession or an infatuation is not considered to be sound behavior, especially over another person. Did he stalk you? Show up inexpectidly at your house at odd hours in the night? JESSE No! This was not a voyeurism! I ran away with him; I actually wanted to be with him. Perhaps- (Sighs). PSYCHIATRIST 2 Perhaps what, Jesse? JESSE No, I know there is no "perhaps". I knew that he appreciated me, cared for me, and loved me. Why can't anyone understand that? How come he is branded as a psychopath? PSYCHIATRIST 2 Jesse, this relationship you had with this boy, did you enjoy it? JESSE (Hesitating) I did- yes- yes, I did. He kissed me with sincerity, and I knew it. He was sincere, candid, and... and he promised me happiness. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Aren't you happy, already? JESSE I really don't know. I feel as if part of me has been ripped out. There's this void inside of me, and I'm standing in the desolate middle, screaming, but I don't think anyone can hear me. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Could you describe this "void" for me? What does it feel like to be there? (PSYCHIATRIST 2 becomes poised to write, but JESSE does not notice.) JESSE I'm filled with stones. Stones- heavy metal pebbles that are weighing me, and my insides, down. I'm standing alone in a blank space that can be as a cubicle or as large as the barren Arctic landscape during the winter. And, no body, no soul for miles, lightyears, is around. I'm standing, arms outstretched, calling out to someone, but there is no one to call to. It's as if everyone has been removed, transplanted away from me, as I'm allowed to wallow in their pain and depression, creating my own field of melancholy. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Did you feel this way before? JESSE (Confused) Before when? Before I wasn't allowed to see Vlad anymore? PSYCHIATRIST 2 Yes. JESSE I discovered my void yesterday as I saw my Prince of Many Visages pulled through the door, and told that I was never to see him again. He promised me happiness, a world that would only be me and him together. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Jesse, why can't you provide your own happiness? JESSE My happiness has left me, and I don't want to live in a cliche. PSYCHIATRIST 2 But, you're not. Son, you'd eventually be separated from this boy. JESSE I finally felt I could feel something, other than apathy, but, then my sense of feelings and cognizance of emotions was severed. He said that we were one, that we were attached at the heart. Maybe that's what is missing from me. PSYCHIATRIST 2 What's missing? JESSE Maybe my heart- perhaps that is my "void". Maybe my heart is what has been torn out of me. I still can feel, but maybe part of the spectrum has been truncated. PSYCHIATRIST 2 A spectrum of what? JESSE A spectrum of my emotions. I can cry, I can become angry, but I seemingly can't feel happy; I can experience the joy or ebullience and effervescence over something or someone. PSYCHIATRIST 2 And all of this happened in one day? JESSE No. A day is like living in slow-motion. This only took a fraction of a second. One second I felt him beside me in a conjunction, the next, I was only a mannequin with the function of blinking eyes. PSYCHIATRIST 2 (Quizzically) Isn't that a bit extreme? JESSE How long does it take for a door to slam shut? PSYCHIATRIST 2 Why? JESSE That's how long it took; it was officially over. PSYCHIATRIST 2 What was? JESSE You know- the connection; everything was severed. His eyes left mine, and I was all alone. I could even hear the wind howling in my own ears. That wind- he- it- was crying. PSYCHIATRIST 2 In a metaphorical sense, yes it was, but lets stop the metaphors, Jesse. What was crying in a literal sense? JESSE (Monotonously) No one. PSYCHIATRIST 2 No one? What about Vlad or you? JESSE I don't know if he was or not. I wasn't- I couldn't- it wasn't allowed. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Not allowed? JESSE Well, supposedly, "real men" aren't supposed to cry. I had to be a man, even if it felt false. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Why can't you be yourself? Be Jesse for a few seconds? JESSE (Rebuking) Because Jesse does not feel like functioning properly. Jesse is lost in his void, and no one cares to help him. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Why do you think you're here at this session? JESSE My mother's paying you to bull shit with me. I know you'll be giving me sedatives soon, and telling my mother that I'm psychopathic and schizophrenic. PSYCHIATRIST 2 You're not at that stage, Jesse. JESSE I-I had this premonition, and you were going to send me to the state hospital. PSYCHIATRIST 2 (Confused) I was or you were? JESSE No, no. You and my mother thought that I was so messed up that you were going to send Vlad and me to the state hospital. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Vlad? JESSE (Angrily) I just told you about him! You called him a pedophile and a psychopath. PSYCHIATRIST 2 I'm sorry, Jesse, but I don't have the faintest idea as to what you're talking about. JESSE (In exclamation) My dream! My premonition! You told me and my mom that I was psychotic, schizophrenic, antisocial, and I had homosexual tendencies. My mother threatened to kill Vlad unless I said I was a failure! (JESSE starts to cry, holding his head in his hands.) JESSE A noose was around his neck and he was upset. He told me he loved me, then you diagnosed him as a pedophile and a psychopath and gave him sedatives. He stood like a mannequin, then you headed after me with the needle! PSYCHIATRIST 2 Needle? Was this some kind of night mare? JESSE Beyond- beyond all of that. PSYCHIATRIST 2 (Concerned) Have you had other night mares like this? JESSE I wouldn't consider it to be that. PSYCHIATRIST 2 Then what would you consider it to be, son? PSYCHIATRIST 2 It's a premonition. PSYCHIATRIST 2 (Irked) Jesse, I'm not going to be giving you sedatives- JESSE Yes you are! If not now, then later! PSYCHIATRIST 2 Why do you think I'm going to do that? Don't you think there's a purpose for being here? Why do you think that I'm plotting against you? JESSE All of you! You think I'm a psycho, don't you? You just think I'm some freak that you've been humoring for the past half hour. All I am is notes, notes, notes. Notes upon a yellow page scrawled in indolent hand writing. Not even a face; just some mockery to you and everyone. I am your failure, your nothing to converse about with my mother, telling her that I am hopeless. I am nothing but your monster! Snarling, biting, glaring at you with yellow eyes. Gnashing teeth, tearing it apart, ripping everything in half. The incompetent destroyer. That's all I am to you and to everyone! Everyone, except for Vlad. Vlad was my prince, and he's probably the only one whose ever appreciated me for what I am, even if I am a failure. You say I am nothing? You think of me as an inept freak? Take a look at your own fuckin' self; look at this room and cry. Watch me slit my wrists, and live as you die. This freak shall become nothing. (Bluntly) I am going home. (JESSE heads off upstage left. PSYCHIATRIST 2 pursues him a few seconds later, with no results.) Scene 3 (VLAD'S MOTHER is sitting upon a sofa, in her house, reading a magazine. VLAD is offstage right, and loud sounds of shattering and crashing are suddenly heard. VLAD'S MOTHER is startled, and she drops her magazine and abruptly jumps off the sofa in shock.) VLAD'S MOTHER (Voice shaking nervously) Vlad, is that you? (VLAD does not answer.) VLAD'S MOTHER (More firmly) Vladislav, what are you doing? (VLAD does not answer.) VLAD'S MOTHER What did you just break? Vlad? (VLAD still does not answer.) VLAD'S MOTHER (Exclamation) Vladislav Stanislavsky! Get out here right now! (VLAD does not respond. VLAD'S MOTHER stalks off stage right. Offstage, she screams, then after a few seconds, drags VLAD, who has cut his arms with a mirror, to center stage. His sleeves are rolled up, revealing the cuts, and he is belligerently trying to break from his mother's grasp, but does not succeed.) VLAD'S MOTHER (Talking rapidly) I can't believe you are doing this to yourself. Why? Is this for no apparent reason, or are you seriously trying to kill yourself? I do not know what to expect from you, these days, Vlad. Look at this! You break a mirror and then dig the fragments into your skin. What do you think you are? VLAD (Dragged out) I... am... immortal. VLAD'S MOTHER Vlad, please don't give me any of that crap. What are you trying to do? Push us over the edge? I could take your remorse to Dallas, and I was damned depressed, but I did not try to commit suicide! This is the third time; you're eventually going to fall, yourself. VLAD (Tersely) You took me away from Jesse. VLAD'S MOTHER What was I supposed to do? His mother was hysterical. And, you left for four days; we were worried sick. I know that woman doesn't like you, but I'm the one that gets to hear it, not you. She doesn't want you to be around Jesse, and I'm sick and tired of listening to her rant on about how bad you are for him. VLAD But I'm not. VLAD'S MOTHER How am I supposed to know that? I know you're not like everyone else, Vlad, and I mean that in general terms. I honestly don't care what you do outside of this house, but she doesn't want you kissing Jesse. What am I supposed to do? VLAD (Vehemently) No one really cares. I loved Jesse; I truly did, in every way. We- we were going to live forever, and- VLAD'S MOTHER Vlad, I'm sick of that, too! This immortality crap. Why do you pretend such things? You're almost an adult, but you still act like a child. Your father hates this, too. He hates how you're different, even to the point of cursing you. To him you're a lazy, fat failure and a faggot. I can't help what he says about you, but I really don't like this. VLAD (Intentionally going off on a tangent) Dally and, now, Jesse. Who am I to trust? VLAD'S MOTHER Get your act together, and maybe you might have a few more friends. VLAD (Rebuttal) I don't need superficial friends so I can say I have some. A collection of friends; (sarcastically) that is just wonderful. VLAD'S MOTHER You can't flip out every time you're told "no". It's a part of maturity, and you have to deal with stuff like that. Instead, you break my mirror and try to kill yourself! VLAD I can't die; I am the immortal Prince of Many Visages. Why do you doubt me? VLAD'S MOTHER Vlad, think logic and maturity, for once. How am I supposed to believe you? You've got to grow up; be a man, at least. VLAD You don't understand! Jesse was my sanity, and now, he's gone. How do I know he's not dead? He was the only think I've loved since Dally died, and now, he's been taken away from me, too. VLAD'S MOTHER (Groaning) Vlad, you've got to- VLAD (Interrupting) I've got to what? Grow up? Have you ever had a vital part taken out of you? Do you know what it's like to hold someone in your arms, and be replete with passion, not out of sympathy, but empathy? Have you ever looked into someone's eyes, and became totally fixated from the realization that you wouldn't want to be in any other place? And, so what if I am a homosexual. Jesse meant everything to me. That's why I needed to escape. VLAD'S MOTHER (Faltering) I can... I can take that. But killing yourself? That's- VLAD (Exploding) I was not trying to kill myself! VLAD'S MOTHER Then what do you call this? Your arms are cut, the mirror is broken, and you're a mess. VLAD But I'm immortal! VLAD'S MOTHER (Exclaims) I can't take this anymore! (VLAD'S MOTHER grabs one of VLAD's arms, examining it.) VLAD'S MOTHER And look at this! You can't even cut yourself right; you're barely bleeding; mostly scratches, you fool. VLAD I am not trying to kill myself! VLAD'S MOTHER Oh yeah? Then what the heck are you trying to do? You're just trying to drive me absolutely crazy! (VLAD holds his head in his hands, as if he is very upset.) VLAD You just don't understand- VLAD'S MOTHER (Sharply) What don't I understand, Vladislav? (VLAD turns, to start heading off stage right.) VLAD Maybe I ought to kill myself, anyway. VLAD'S MOTHER Don't you dare start! You're already an embarrassment to us and yourself. VLAD Why is it always me versus them? The only person that was ever on my side was Jesse. VLAD'S MOTHER It's not good to become infatuated with someone. You'll wind up embarrassing yourself when you find out that he's not as obsessed as you are. VLAD Embarrassment, embarrassment! That's all I am to you and everyone, aren't I? Wasn't that shrink supposed to be helping me? VLAD'S MOTHER Well, you're not wanting to be helped! VLAD Maybe you and everyone wants me to die. Me versus them, and I'm standing on a cliff. How ironic. (VLAD'S MOTHER grabs VLAD's arm.) VLAD'S MOTHER Don't you ever think about going into that bathroom again, Vladislav. We're going to the psychiatrist, whether you like it or not. (VLAD breaks loose, and runs toward stage left.) VLAD'S MOTHER Get back here, you ingrate! You can't act like a nut case, trying to kill yourself, and expect no one to do anything. (VLAD'S MOTHER grabs VLAD's shirt collar.) VLAD'S MOTHER Come on, Vladislav. I honestly cannot stand living like this any longer. (VLAD'S MOTHER exits with VLAD, stage left.) Scene 4 (VLAD and VLAD'S MOTHER are in Psychiatrist 1's office. PSYCHIATRIST 1 sits on a chair, and they sit adjacent to him on a couch. VLAD has just recently flipped out, and his mother is beside herself in frustration.) PSYCHIATRIST 1 Good morning, Mrs. Stanislavsky. How are you? VLAD'S MOTHER (Exploding) I can't take this anymore! I am going insane. My son is turning into a monster. Before we got here, he tried to slit his wrists. VLAD (Defensively) I did not! I can't die; I am the immortal Vlad of Many Visages. VLAD'S MOTHER See? See what he's saying? No sane person would say such things! PSYCHIATRIST 1 (Placidly) Well, what seems to be the problem? VLAD'S MOTHER Can't you just see it? I don't even think he's my son anymore. I could take the weight gain, the bad grades, and the infatuations with his friend, Jesse, but not this! Vlad is absolutely whacked out of his mind! PSYCHIATRIST 1 Can you explicate about what happened this morning? VLAD Nothing happened. VLAD'S MOTHER See? He's even denying it! VLAD It was yesterday. PSYCHIATRIST 1 Yesterday? Why don't you start from the beginning? VLAD'S MOTHER He broke the bathroom mirror and started cutting himself with the shards. VLAD (Defensively) Not true! Not true! You took me away from Jesse! VLAD'S MOTHER His mother's been complaining that you're being a bad influence on him! VLAD What the fuck does she know? Huh? What does she know? She is not inside of me; she does not know my desires. She does not know how much I love him. VLAD'S MOTHER You ran away for four days! Don't you think I am the least bit concerned? She calls me up, all frantic, wondering where Jesse is. What the hell am I supposed to do? Not care? VLAD I wanted to protect him, and now he's vulnerable- left open and bleeding on the operating table. I was infatuated- PSYCHIATRIST 1 (Interrupting) Hold on- please calm down. VLAD'S MOTHER How can I calm down? He tried to kill himself this morning! PSYCHIATRIST 1 What went on during this past week? VLAD Nothing! VLAD'S MOTHER Nothing? Don't lie, you ingrate! (To PSYCHIATRIST 1) My son is driving us crazy; everything is done on a whim, then he disappears. Since my son, Dallas, died, he's been doing this. No hygiene, a weight gain, and now, he ran off with his friend, Jesse, for four days. I can't keep him in school; I can't keep him on task. This morning was the third time, to my knowledge, that he's tried to commit suicide. I just don't know what to do any more. VLAD No one fuckin' understands. First, it's Dally, and now, Jesse. Everyone I actually loved is being stolen away from me. I've never had friends, and the few people I trusted were either killed or else, I was taken away from them. What can you make of that? You can't tell me everything's going to be all right, because it's not going to be. How am I supposed to react after a life as a failure, only to learn that I am not deemed worthy of any companions? PSYCHIATRIST 1 We are going to be here to find ways that you are worthy, Vladislav. VLAD (Exploding) Do not call me Vladislav! VLAD'S MOTHER See? He's denying his own name and culture! VLAD I am Vlad, the Prince of Many Visages. I have seen many at the tip of my sword, and I have bludgeoned them all. To immortality, for no one will slit my wrists for me; I will use my own dagger when the time has come. Only when I stare into my own eyes will my demise be inevitable. But, if I can't see my own reflection, why back down? I've killed for revenge, for my brothers, and for immortality. I am the indestructible force, the invincible knight. No one, not even you can stop me! (VLAD stands on the couch, holding his arms outstretched to the ceiling.) VLAD Take away everything- sword, attire, blood, hair- but I will always be the Prince of Many Visages. I am the deceiver, the romancer, the insatiable lover. I am the vault of histrionics. I carry the sword, and I'll drink the blood, thank you. One's crying, the other laughing, and another in a fit of splenetic rage. Fuse the eyes to the ears to the cheeks to the chin, and you'll have Vlad, the immortal being. (VLAD draws a dagger from his belt.) VLAD No one can crack my crown. No one. (VLAD'S MOTHER starts screaming, and jumps off the couch. She falls onto the floor in a hysterical fit.) VLAD'S MOTHER This is just too much; too, too, too much. I can't take it anymore- I just can't. He's making me sick! (VLAD jumps off the couch, dagger in hand, and lunges toward PSYCHIATRIST 1, who grabs his arm holding the dagger. VLAD tries to break free.) VLAD (Haughty) What do you think you're doing, wench? Don't you know that I am invincible? PSYCHIATRIST 1 You attempt to kill me, Vladislav, we'll send you to the state hospital. Do you understand? Your perception of reality is tenuous, at best, and this violent attitude fits many descriptions of mental illnesses. If you attempt to harm me or your mother in any other way, the next stop is the psychiatric ward at the local hospital. Understand? (VLAD grapples with PSYCHIATRIST 1 over knife, lunging for her in an attempt to stab her.) VLAD Eyes, blood-shot red, replete with corpulent vermilion veins of terror. The scream escaping parched lips, through a tongue tied in tortuous knots. Glistening blade, catching the light and scattering it like a beacon against the dark walls. I wish to see the red waterfalls cascade over the landscape; I desire it with a dire passion. Prepare to meet your demise; see your open grave. Prepare to fall supine, prone into your own death. You've attempted to topple me, but I am too much to handle. What, charlatan, is there to run to? You're prone into the end. (VLAD jabs at the air, aiming for PSYCHIATRIST 1's shoulder, but misses, and accidentally drops the knife. PSYCHIATRIST 1 grabs him, and pins him to the floor. VLAD'S MOTHER is still crying hysterically on the floor.) PSYCHIATRIST 1 (Low, icy tone) Listen, Vlad, we're going to get into my car, understand? And, we're going to drive you the next two blocks to the hospital. They'll give you sedatives, and we'll see how you do in the next twenty-four hours. Until then, you are to remain silent, understand? VLAD (Frustrated) Let me go! Get the hell off of me! PSYCHIATRIST 1 No, Vlad, I- (VLAD'S MOTHER crawls toward VLAD on the floor and rolls up his shirt sleeve to reveal dark, reddish-brown marks across his arm.) VLAD'S MOTHER (Still crying) See? I told you! Do not listen to him! My son is not in his right mind. He's not! He's gone absolutely crazy, damnit. I just want to throw up in disgust, and- PSYCHIATRIST 1 (Interrupting) Mrs. Stanislavsky, calm down- VLAD'S MOTHER How can I? The kid carries knifes and romances boys. I can't stand this- PSYCHIATRIST 1 (Calm) Listen, I'm taking Vlad to the hospital down the street; they'll be able to keep an eye on him- it's for your sanity and his safety. Understand? VLAD'S MOTHER But he's just going to lash out again! PSYCHIATRIST 1 No. He doesn't have the knife, and all I need you to do is to keep him in line in my car, until we're at the hospital. If he flips out there, they'll give him some sedatives. VLAD'S MOTHER But- PSYCHIATRIST 1 No. Just pick yourself up, Mrs. Stanislavsky. VLAD'S MOTHER My son is a raving psycho- PSYCHIATRIST 1 He hasn't been diagnosed, but it's for his and your benefit if we go. VLAD (Belligerently) You're not taking me anywhere! PSYCHIATRIST 1 (Firmly) Yes we are, now stand up. (VLAD refuses to stand.) VLAD'S MOTHER I'll get him up. (VLAD'S MOTHER pulls VLAD off of the floor into a standing position. She holds both of his hands behind his back.) VLAD'S MOTHER How do you think I got him here? PSYCHIATRIST 1 Let's go outside; the ride to the hospital is only a couple of minutes. (VLAD does not resist or say anything. He complies as VLAD'S MOTHER and PSYCHIATRIST 1 exit with him, upstage left.) Scene 5 (Downstage right is JESSE is at home, lying on his back on the couch, talking to himself. Downstage left is a full-length erect mirror and a cot. VLAD is laying on the cot, and a knife is below on the floor that he stole earlier. Spotlights are on both sets, but the rest of the stage is dark.) JESSE Sick and alone and sick and alone. And, for the first time, I can feel. Five senses and a half to compensate for the weak, inept, dormant ones. Taste, touch, sight, scent, and feelings- a sensation that passes and traverses across a sensory void. Present, absent, and for once, I miss someone. VLAD Thief, I am the thief of clandestine proportions. They stole me, tried to suppress me, but I'm biting back. I am not one, but three- a trinity of secrets, destruction, and nefarious intentions. I am Vlad of Many Visages, and no one will stop me. JESSE You said we were chained at the heart- the Siamese twins of emotion. I was your lover, your infatuation that made you satiable. And perhaps- perhaps I didn't respond appropriately. You had to prove why, to prove your sincerity. Kiss me one million times and tell me of our plans. What were we going to do? How was it going to be? VLAD I wanted to live forever, and perhaps, that was impossible. My brother did not die in vain, and I did not want to be terminated by the opposition, the nemesis out to destroy us. And Jesse, Damien, and Morbid Treachery- I wanted us to live forever. Now Damien has surrendered his sword as a turncoat and Jesse's been taken away from me. What is there to suffice? Oh, Jesse, I wanted us to rule, together, once all of those inept mortals dissipated. Now they have captured me, and threaten to suppress me as well. Chain me down, lock me up, shut me away, but they'll never be able to suppress my desires, the insatiability for what I lust that is even more invincible than what I am. JESSE And, why did I believe Vlad's proposal for immortality? I am the same substance that he killed- flesh, plasma, and delicate organ tissue. Yet, he pierced them with his sword and spared me as his object of lust. Indeed, I did fall for him and his proposal, enjoying every minute of it. And now, I feel the loss, the fact that part of me has been torn out. I can cry, scream, and fill up the walls, but I will always be sedentary on this couch, until my prince arrives again. VLAD Maybe it was a lie- I am also the deceiver. Perhaps the opposition would eventually overpower me, throwing me to the sharpened site of the sword. I once thought I could be immortal, and now, the realization has dawned upon me. What enlightenment do I seek? The fact that I am not invincible to myself? Vladislav stands in the path of Vlad to make another advancement. And, they'll cancel each other out like positive and negative forces and collide at zero. Zero is where we meet, and the daggers slash both hearts. (VLAD grabs the dagger from under the bed. He stands, and faces the mirror, pointing the dagger to his reflection in the glass.) VLAD Surrender your sword, oh worthless one. Surrender your immortality. They've chained you down in straight jackets, forcing you to become one of them. Perhaps it worked, for you are slowing losing what you are worth- absolutely nothing. What was one in none, and what was two is strewn across a barren field that has not been touched for eons. Do your magic, Vlad; save yourself and save Jesse. But, that is impossible. Here I am, standing, seeing my own hideous reflection. Dirty, corpulent, noisome, and downright a disgrace. Eye to eye, I see myself- laughing, crying and mocking. Vlad has met Vladislav, and only a transient duel is necessary in which neither side will succeed. (Talking to the mirror) Good morning, Vladislav, you look lovely today. What is your secret in your narcissistic composure? I know you hate me; I hate myself, too. I can't excuse what is inevitable. Farewell. (VLAD stabs himself in the heart with the dagger. He falls to the floor, grabbing at it first with his hands, but the surrenders in a supping position of outstretched arms. The dagger falls from his hands, onto the floor in the process.) JESSE (Murmuring) Crawling around in my void, and looking for the voice that is not laughing. Looking for a mouth that is nor smirking, and eyes that do not spurn me. And, he is gone. I am all alone in a blank space with nothing to color, no voice to scream, and no eyes to cry. What is the use? I am nothing, and nothing alone. He promised me that we would live forever. But, what is the use? We're lost- left behind in our own oceans of melancholy to swim and to eventually drown. What is the purpose of trying? I am trapped in this cage, boxed into invisible limits. Where is the reason for survival? If my source has been taken away, what is there to live from? (Pause). There is nothing; all reasons for survival are eventually revealed as a placebo for a false sense of perseverance. (JESSE stands, and walks over to Vlad's body.) JESSE And, in this juxtaposition of life and death, the dichotomy reveals nothing. The strong die and the weak survive. Dead, dead- that's all you are in your frozen mannequin position. Couldn't even die in dignity. They pulled the straight jacket around you, and you succumbed. Yet, I believed you- yes, every word. I adored the sincerity, your enrapturing words, and the escape. But, eternity was not inevitable and we will not rule over this destitute world. No, Vlad, I will suffer the consequences for this vivified, transient period. Ave, Prince of Many Visages. I surrender my sword. (JESSE walks back to the sofa, then collapses onto the ground. Lights go out on VLAD. KID stands offstage right, knocking on the door.) JESSE (Groans) Come in. KID (Offstage) The d-door isn't open. JESSE (Irked) Kid, is that you? KID Ye-yes. Can I-I come in? JESSE Go away; leave me alone. KID J-Jesse, c-c'mon. This is important. JESSE I'm sick and I'm trying to sleep. KID (Impatiently) Jesse, g-get up an-and open the da-damn door! JESSE (Moaning) I can't get up. (MOTHER enters from stage left.) MOTHER (Concerned) Jesse, what's wrong? JESSE (Groaning) Nothing, Mom. MOTHER Then why are you laying on the floor? JESSE I just feel like it. KID Jesse, c'mon. I-I need to talk. MOTHER Who's at the door? JESSE Nobody. (KID knocks at the door again.) MOTHER (Impatiently) Jesse, who's at the door? JESSE I don't feel like talking to anyone. MOTHER You know, it's rude to leave someone outside, in the snow and all. They're freezing, and you're in here, lying on the floor. JESSE Mom, I'm just not in the mood to talk to anyone today. I just want to be left alone. MOTHER You've got to get out of this stupor and get on with your life. JESSE If I ever had one. KID Jesse, what's wrong? MOTHER I'm coming, I'm coming! (MOTHER rushes to the door, opens it, and KID walks in. MOTHER closes the door.) MOTHER I'll leave you two boys alone, all right? (MOTHER realizes that JESSE is still lying on the floor.) MOTHER (In a low tone) Jesse, get up. (JESSE stands, then sits back down on the sofa. KID sits next to him. MOTHER exits stage left.) JESSE What do you want? I am not going back to school, and I'm never going out. I'm just going to sit here, sedentary on this sofa, all day, watching bland television. I am now the prince of sedentary melancholia. KID Um, I-I was just wondering what was going on, since, uh, you know, Vlad was pu-put away. JESSE I haven't seen him. I've been here, at home, doing nothing, but sulking around. Where's Damien? KID I d-don't know. I haven't seen much of him. He told on Vlad. You know that, r-right? JESSE (Monotonously) No, I didn't, but that doesn't seem to matter. A whole life of nothing is ahead of me, anyway. KID But, don't you- JESSE (Interrupting) No, I don't. I have surrendered my sword and I accept the fact that I am not immortal as he said. KID So it means that this whole thing was- JESSE What? A game? KID Not ex-exactly. I-I can't pin-point it, but surprisingly, I d-don't feel deceived. JESSE Then what do you feel? KID I have absolutely no clue. JESSE For a split second, I felt Sorrow, but it's apathy that is pervasive now. KID What is there is expect? JESSE An end. KID The finale is over. I, Morbid Treachery, surrender my sword in the name of the fallen Prince of Many Visages. JESSE I've always wondered what immortality could do for us. (Pause). Absolutely nothing. KID Nothing? JESSE Nothing. KID And the blood? JESSE Was the grape juice of humans. (KID stands, heading for the door.) KID Ave. JESSE And, in the finale, if a climax ends up being anticlimactic, there's still more territory to be traversed. (KID exits.) JESSE An end. KID The finale is over. I, Morbid Treachery, surrender my sword in the name of the fallen Prince of Many Visages. JESSE I�ve always wondered what immortality could do for us. (Pause). Absolutely nothing. KID Nothing? JESSE Nothing. KID And the blood? JESSE Was the grape juice of humans. (KID stands, heading for the door.) KID Ave. JESSE And, in the finale, if a climax ends up being anticlimactic, there�s still more territory to be traversed. (KID exits.)

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws