Buffy, the Vampire Slayer
by
Joss Whedon
FADE IN:
EXT. MEDIEVAL VILLAGE - JUST BEFORE SUNSET
We see an Italian village at the height of the plague. Funeral
processions, decrepit houses with their windows boarded up...
the stench of death all around.
TITLE: EUROPE. THE DARK AGES
Through the filth a KNIGHT walks his horse. He is weary but
not so dingy as his surrounding; a stranger in these parts.
He comes to an inn, where a boy takes his horse round back.
He enters the inn.
INT. INN - SAME TIME
The inn is dark and almost empty. A couple of patrons drink
silently at tables. Behind the bar stands a slovenly BARMAID,
dark-haired and lazy. She scratches at her shoulder, on which
we see a birthmark. The knight approaches the bar, throws
money down.
KNIGHT
A tankard of ale, wench.
The barmaid pours him a cup of ale. He drinks deep, stands a
moment.
KNIGHT
(continuing)
Some plague we're having, huh?
CUT TO:
INT. INN - UPSTAIRS HALL/BEDROOM - NIGHT
The barmaid leads the knight, by candlelight, upstairs to his
room. The door opens inward. The knight stands in the doorway,
places a hand on the barmaid's hip. She pauses a moment, then
breaks free of his grasp, starts down the hall. He laughs a
bit, resignedly, and closes the door.
A VAMPIRE stands behind it. Not two feet from the knight,
grinning at him. His eyes are skull-hollow and dancing in his
head, his bloody smile full with teeth. His skin is gray, and
peeling. The knight turns slowly and sees him.
KNIGHT
Oh, my god...
The vampire licks his lips.
He is on the knight in a second, pushing him backwards into
the middle of the small room. The knight struggles but is no
match for the vampire, who buries his face in the knight's
neck. The knight screams.
ANGLE ON DOOR
It suddenly flies open, the lock shattered.
The vampire turns like a frightened animal. In the doorway
stands the barmaid, a SLAYER. In her hand is a wooden stake.
The vampire drops the knight, who crabs backwards into a corner.
The Slayer and the vampire come at each other. The Slayer
spins and kicks; the vampire flies back. Snarling, he comes
back at the slayer. They struggle; he slips free and is out
the door.
For a moment, the Slayer remains still, crouched on the floor.
The knight watches her. She seems to be making a decision --
perhaps even knows what is going to happen.
She runs at the window.
CUT TO:
EXT. IN FRONT OF THE INN - SAME TIME
The vampire comes running out the front door. Before he is a
few feet from the front of the inn, the Slayer SMASHES through
the upstairs window and lands on him. They both hit the ground,
and she plants the stake right in his heart.
After a moment, we hear a voice:
AMILYN (O.S.)
The lord giveth, and the lord taketh
away. Ashes, ashes...
She looks up.
AMILYN
(continuing)
... All fall down
There are ten or more vampires walking slowly toward her in
the otherwise deserted street. At the front, maybe ten feet
away, is AMILYN.
Amilyn is a grinning jackal, a servant to the Vampire-King.
His garb is a rotted approximation of a courtier's livery. He
ambles toward the Slayer, giggling, as she stands.
Behind her is LOTHOS, the Vampire-King. His skin is deep white,
and smooth. He wears a long coat -- his dress is not of any
era. He is practically upon her before he speaks.
LOTHOS
You must forgive Amilyn. He tends
to drool before supper.
She turns. He smiles, almost lovingly.
SLAYER
Lothos...
LOTHOS
You people will never learn.
She swings at him but he grabs her arm. Amilyn laughs
obnoxiously. Lothos grabs the back of the Slayer's head, brings
her to him in a loving embrace.
LOTHOS
(continuing)
We can't be stopped. This is our
world now.
He pulls her head back swiftly, snapping her spine as her head
hits the back of her legs. Lightning flashes.
CUT TO:
INT. ENGLISH CASTLE - NIGHT
Lightning flashes outside the window. It is torrenting rain.
An old MAN speaks to a hysterical GIRL of sixteen or so. They
are both obviously noble of birth.
GIRL
I can't!
MAN
You know you must. There is only
one. Now you are that one. It is
time.
GIRL
Why? Why me?
MAN
She has died. You are the next to
be called. Why do you think you
were sent to me? Trained as you
were? You bear the mark.
He pulls aside her blouse to reveal a birthmark on her shoulder,
identical to the barmaid's.
MAN
(continuing)
The mark of the Coven.
GIRL
I don't understand.
MAN
Ever since Adam and Eve first left
the garden, he followed: the serpent.
Satan. He sends his legion in the
shape of men, to feed on us, to
breed his Hell on our earth. They
are a plague upon us.
The man unravels a satchel of cloth. From it he pulls an
elaborately carved wooden stake.
MAN
(continuing)
But as long as there have been
vampire, there has been the Coven;
the line of Slayers. Ones with the
strength and the skill to kill them,
to find them where they gather and
stop the swell of their numbers.
One dies, the next is called.
GIRL
I'm just a girl.
MAN
You are much more.
He hands her the stake. She feels the fit.
MAN
(continuing)
One dies, the next is called...
As she grips the stake more tightly, an awareness and sense of
power sees to fill her. She lifts the stake over her head.
CLOSEUP - A HAND
The hand is lifted high, but it is not the girl's. It holds
not a stake, but a pom-pom.
EXT. HEMERY HIGH FOOTBALL FIELD - WIDER SHOT - DAY
Opening CREDITS OVER:
A football game in progress. The stands are pretty full, the
crowd enthusiastic. The hemery football stadium is just that;
a real stadium, not just makeshift stands on grass.
On the sidelines are the Hemery cheerleaders, led by BUFFY.
She is blonde (in nature as in name), pretty, and very
gracefully athletic. She obviously enjoys what she is doing,
and she's good at it.
With her on the squad are JENNIFER and NICOLE, two of her best
friends. Beside them the COACH, yelling at the players. The
scoreboard reads HEMERY VS. SETON.
On the field are JEFFREY, wide receiver (and Buffy's boyfriend),
ANDY, quarterback, and GRUELLER, the huge left tackle.
Buffy and the crowd wince as Andy is sacked for a nine-yard
loss.
COACH
Come on, do the play! The one
where... the one from the book!
Where you make it go forward!
The players huddle.
ANDY
All right, guys, come on!
He hits Grueller's helmet.
ANDY
(continuing)
Grueller! Fill that hole! They
were all over me! Okay. Let's run
twenty-two. Grueller, close the
pocket, watch out for thirty-five.
Thompson, run the post, right, wide
out. Jeffrey, go up the middle and
run around like a chicken.
They clap and break. As they line up, Jeffrey looks over at
Buffy. She smiles at him. He winks, very suave.
BUFFY AND CHEERLEADERS
Jeffrey! Jeffrey!
He's our man!
If he can't do it
We don't want it!
On the hike, Andy drops back and looks for a receiver. Jeffrey
runs in circles like an idiot (and not unlike a chicken), waving
his arms until Andy sails him the ball and he breaks for a
touchdown.
The crowd goes wild -- particularly Buffy, who does an
impressive standing backflip. Nicole looks at her, impressed.
Buffy smiles at her, giddy.
COACH
(looking around)
Is that good? Was that a good thing?
CUT TO:
INT. THE MALL - AFTERNOON
The mall is typically busy. Buffy, Nicole, Jennifer and
KIMBERLY can bee seen making their way through it. They are
all dressed very similarly: bright colors, a lot of white and
pink. Not trashy, but mainstream and uninspired. Esprit.
All of them carry shopping bags; they've done a good days work.
TITLE: CALIFORNIA. THE LITE AGES
The girls pass by stores, vaguely window shopping.
BUFFY
Mr. Howard is so heinous. He's
always giving me a hard time. I
get a C-plus on the test and he
tells me, 'You have no sense of
history.' I have no sense of
history? He wears a brown tie.
NICOLE
You got a C-plus? I can't believe
I cheated off you.
BUFFY
Excuse me for not knowing about El
Salvador. Like I'm ever going to
Spain anyway. Ooh!
A dress on a rack outside a store has caught her eye. She
takes it and holds it in front of her.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Mmmm. Wouldn't I look just edible
and nutritious in this?
Kimberly and Jennifer catch up to them.
KIMBERLY
Guys, what's the sitch? I'm bored.
BUFFY
(modeling the dress for
Kimberly))
What do you think?
KIMBERLY
Please. It's so '91.
GIRL
Oh.
Buffy puts it back.
KIMBERLY
What are we doing?
BUFFY
Why don't we see a movie?
KIMBERLY
Well, where?
JENNIFER
Omniplex?
NICOLE
Nee sitch. No way.
BUFFY
No THX.
NICOLE
They don't even have Dolby.
KIMBERLY
Beverly Center.
BUFFY
Please. They show previews for
foreign movies.
NICOLE
AMC?
KIMBERLY/BUFFY
Bogus corn!
KIMBERLY
Totally stale. And the ushers are
like, the acne patrol. We're
thinking Pavilion. Sitch?
BUFFY
Sounds toasty. We're going Pavilion.
JENNIFER
Excellent.
BUFFY
What's playing there?
A stranger, walking the other way, bumps into Buffy, doesn't
stop. A man of about fifty, he is dressed shabbily, in a
wrinkled black suit and a black shirt. He somewhat resembles
a priest.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Excuse much! Not rude or anything.
KIMBERLY
(calling back)
Nice ensemble!
NICOLE
What a homeless.
The girls continue walking. The man stops, turns to stare
after them. His look is intense, slightly worried, his face
somewhat haggard. Intelligence shines through his eyes. He
holds himself stiffly, arms close to him, almost as if he
expected something to strike at him.
This is MERRICK. He pulls a picture out of his coat pocket,
looks at it. Looks at them.
INT. MOVIE THEATER - DAY
The film is in progress. This has no effect on the girls,
however, as they continue to talk ceaselessly. They all have
diet sodas.
NICOLE
(to Buffy)
So, is Jeffrey really spending the
night at your house?
BUFFY
That's the plan.
NICOLE
Good enough!
JENNIFER
Your parents are always going away
for the weekend. You're so lucky.
BUFFY
(maybe not)
Yeah, I guess.
JENNIFER
My mom doesn't go anywhere. She
even does the shopping network.
I'm gonna die a virgin.
KIMBERLY
What did Jeffrey's dad say?
BUFFY
'Just remember you're in training,
son'
NICOLE
Oh, God.
KIMBERLY
He is so bald.
Seated a few rows behind the girls are PIKE and BENNY. The
are fairly punked out, (and not currently attending high
school). Pike is long and lean, has short hair spiked and a
taste for long coats and black. Benny is somewhat stockier,
opts for a shaved head and suspenders. Doc Martins for both.
Benny is clearly the more belligerent of the two -- when Pike
speaks, it's with surprising wit and reserve. Sometimes.
PIKE
Will you guys shut up, please?
BUFFY
It could happen.
Pike and Benny throw popcorn at her.
PIKE
Booo!
BENNY
Suck!
PIKE
Wrong answer! No prize.
NICOLE
God! Take a chill lozenge.
KIMBERLY
Like we don't have rights too?
BUFFY
Ignore them.
BENNY
I can't believe these people. We
paid money to see this.
PIKE
No, we didn't.
BENNY
Oh, yeah. But I still want to know
what happens.
BUFFY
Everyone get horribly killed except
the blonde girl in the nightie, who
finally kills the monster with a
machete but it's not really dead.
The boys stare at her.
JENNIFER
Oh, my God. Is that true?
BUFFY
Probably. What movie is this?
CUT TO:
ANGLE - THE MOON
Fat and yellow, behind the clouds. We hear a long HOWL.
EXT. THE MOVIE THEATER - NIGHT
Jeffrey pulls into the parking lot in his BMW convertible.
Grueller, howling, sits in the back behind Jeffrey and Andy.
They park and hop out, head toward the entrance.
GRUELLER
Look at that moon! It's huge!
Come on, guys, we gotta do something
tonight. Party.
ANDY
You know, if you would spend more
time at home sleeping, you would
spend less time on the field,
sucking.
JEFFREY
You were a bone out there today.
Anyway, I'm booked. Gonna spend
some quality time with the little
woman.
ANDY AND GRUELLER
(coughing it into their
hands)
Pussy-whipped. Pussy-whipped.
JEFFREY
You guys are pathetic.
GRUELLER
Later for you, then. I'm blowing.
Andy, you coming?
ANDY
No, I'll hitch a ride with Jeffrey.
GRUELLER
Okay. Later.
ANDY
Headbutt!
Andy and Grueller bring their foreheads together with
painstaking slowness, grimacing, and barely tap heads.
ANDY
(continuing)
Later.
Grueller walks off, head through a park.
At the same time, Pike and Benny emerge from the theater.
They pass Andy and Jeffrey and the two pairs circle each other,
almost growling, eyes locked, before pike and Benny turn and
walk off, not quite in the direction Grueller took. Buffy,
Kimberly, Jennifer and Nicole come out right after. Buffy
heads straight for Jeffrey and they kiss massively.
BUFFY
Nice game.
ANDY
Jeffrey, I don't mean to sound sexist
or anything, but can I borrow her?
BUFFY
Andy!
JEFFREY
No way. You'd get her dirty.
(off her look)
He would, honey. He's an animal.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE PARK - SAME TIME
Grueller walks through the trees, enters an enclosed clearing
of grass. He hears something, stops. Maybe his name, maybe
just the BUSHES RUSTLING. He looks about him, hesitantly.
Starts forward, stops again.
GRUELLER
Yo! Who is that? Don't mess with
me man, I'll rip your head off.
Nothing.
GRUELLER
(continuing)
Come on, come out here. Let's see
what you got.
RUSTLING. No one.
GRUELLER
(continuing)
Forget this.
He turns on his heel, ready to drop all show and bolt. WALLY
BESSEL is right behind him.
Wally is a ninth grader, small, nerdy, and recently undead.
In marked contrast to the older vampire in the prologue, Wally
is freshly undead. He still has fat on his face; in fact, he
looks almost normal from afar. But his inhuman eyes and his
uncommon pallor mark him as a vampire. And the way he speaks
is unearthly. Hollow, almost detached; repeating phrases
sometimes almost as though he had never heard them before.
He smiles at Grueller.
GRUELLER
(continuing)
Bessel! What are you doing here?
WALLY
Hi, Grueller.
GRUELLER
What are you grinning at? You think
I was scared?
WALLY
Could be.
GRUELLER
You think so?
WALLY
Could be.
Grueller grabs Wally by his shirt collar and readily hoists
his small body up, Wally's feet dangling two feet off the
ground.
GRUELLER
Listen, you little worm. I could
beat your head to a pulp for you,
just like I did last year, you got
that? You got that?
WALLY
(repeating)
Got that.
GRUELLER
Good.
He lets Wally go. Wally remains two feet in the air.
Grueller's eyes go wide.
GRUELLER
(continuing)
What the...
Wally smiles even more broadly, quietly hissing. He has long
fangs, made somehow more grotesque by the fact that he also
has braces.
Wally's hands vise onto Grueller's head, lightning quick.
Grueller screams.
ANGLE - PIKE AND BENNY
Crossing a street, turning and listening.
ANGLE - JEFFREY'S CAR
Speeding by, everyone packed into it. Andy howls back at
Grueller, mistaking his intent. He settles back. The girls
are looking at him.
ANDY
It's um... you had to be there.
In the front seat next to Jeffrey, Buffy winces slightly.
JEFFREY
You okay?
BUFFY
I... yeah, I'm okay. I'm fine.
ANGLE - THE FULL MOON
CUT TO:
INT. BUFFY'S LIVING ROOM - ANGLE ON TV - NIGHT
We see another full moon, this one on the TV screen. "Dracula"
is on, Lugosi's original.
The lights are off in the living room as Jeffrey enters from
the kitchen, sits down on the couch holding a bag of munchies.
Buffy is still in the kitchen, making corn. Jeffrey flicks
the remote, changes channels.
ANGLE - THE TV
The movie is replaced by the local news, in mid-broadcast. A
NEWSCASTER sits at his deck, a super of a teenage girl behind
him.
NEWSCASTER
-- The fourth such disappearance in
less than two months. The sheriff
was not available for comment, but
a police spokesman issued a
statement, saying that the situation
is not out of hand...
CUT TO:
INT. KITCHEN - SAME TIME
Buffy's FATHER walks purposefully into the kitchen holding a
suitcase that he plops by the front door. He crosses out again
as Buffy's MOM crosses in, also with luggage.
BUFFY'S DAD
We're gonna be late. I knew it.
BUFFY'S MOM
(to Buffy, but not looking
at her)
Now, we'll be back on Sunday,
number's on the fridge, don't drive
the Jaguar and tell Consuela my
underwear does not go in the
dishwasher.
She's already out again by the end of this, as dad comes back
in.
BUFFY'S DAD
Have fun be good stay away from the
Jag.
BUFFY
I know.
And he's out the back, mom entering on his heels.
BUFFY'S MOM
Well, that's everything. Kiss noise.
She actually makes a kiss noise at her daughter.
BUFFY
'Bye.
Buffy's mom heads out the door as Buffy heads into the living
room.
INT. LIVING ROOM - SAME TIME
BUFFY'S MOM
(calling out)
Bye-bye, Bobby!
JEFFREY
Bye!
(to Buffy)
They think my name's Bobby?
BUFFY
Well... it's possible they think my
name's Bobby.
JEFFREY
Real 'quality-timers,' Hugh.
BUFFY
Something like that.
JEFFREY
Hey, it works for me. If they want
to leave you alone in the house,
all helpless and vulnerable...
Buffy sits, squints disapprovingly at the screen. She has a
bag of microwave lite popcorn and is spraying diet butter
substitute on it.
BUFFY
What show is this?
JEFFREY
It's the news, Buffy.
BUFFY
Oh. Who's in it?
(off his look)
I know what it is. It's what's on
instead of the movie.
JEFFREY
I just want to see the basketball
scores. It's important.
BUFFY
(over a handful of popcorn)
Mmmnkay.
Jeffrey leans in toward her.
JEFFREY
Of course, there are... other
considerations...
He starts kissing her about the face and neck. She leans
submissively back on the couch as he works his way on top of
her. He gives her a long kiss on the mouth, then works over
to her ear. As he is burrowing about in there, Buffy sneaks
another handful of popcorn into her mouth.
She leans back, by accident, on the remote.
ANGLE - THE TV
"Dracula" reappears.
CUT TO:
INT. 18TH CENTURY CHINESE WHOREHOUSE - NIGHT
Not, by any stretch, an upscale joint. Dark, cramped, and
scummy. A young Chinese Whore sits on a bed, wearing little
enough that we can see the telltale birthmark on her shoulder.
A repulsive British SAILOR is dressing, his business finished.
Looking disgusted, he throws his payment on the bed. For some
reason, the bed is littered with popcorn.
SAILOR
You never touched my heart.
He leaves. Alone, the Girl hears a NOISE in the dark corner,
a wet RUSTLING. Slowly she gets up to see. Approaches...
It is a pool of blood. She stares at it, terrified. A hand
reaches out of it.
She runs out into the hall, but it leads nowhere but a dead
end. Standing there, waiting for her, is Lothos. He smiles
at her and we see she is now Buffy.
LOTHOS
Soon.
CUT TO:
INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - EARLY MORNING
Buffy is thrashing in bed. Jeffrey is holding her by the
shoulders and shaking her.
JEFFREY
Buffy! Hey, what's the sitch?!?
Wake up!
She wakes, grasping, her eyes melting into focus on Jeffrey's
face.
BUFFY
Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Oh, wow.
JEFFREY
You were having a nightmare.
He settles back down, his arms around her, and almost instantly
begins to fall asleep again.
JEFFREY
(continuing)
What'd you dream about?
BUFFY
Nothing.
JEFFREY
Come on, what was it?
BUFFY
Nothing. It was just a dream.
CUT TO:
INT. LOTHOS' CHAMBER - SAME TIME
Dark, cavernous -- walls hewn from rock, lit torches clamped
to them. Cold stone floor and in the foreground, a dark pool
of blood. A HUM, possibly a chant, fills the air.
A figure steps up to the pool, his back to the CAMERA, and
kneels before it. He holds his hand over the surface of the
blood. As he speaks, his voice an urgent hiss, we TRACK AROUND
him, see that it is Amilyn.
AMILYN
You have brought us here, and we
thrive. We thrive. You will awake
in a new world. Just as I promised,
untold splendor, rubies dripping
from our lips. Just as we said.
CLOSEUP - AMILYN'S HAND
A hand shoots out of the pool and grabs Amilyn's. Amilyn leans
over and fervently kisses it.
AMILYN
(continuing)
Soon...
CUT TO:
EXT. SCHOOL YARD - DAY
Buffy sits with Nicole, Jennifer, Kimberly and CASSANDRA.
Cassandra is not quite in the same league as the other girls --
for one thing, she studies. She's not as glamorous, nor a
vacuous.
BUFFY
The environment.
They consider this a moment.
NICOLE
The homelesses?
KIMBERLY
Oh, please.
JENNIFER
Are there any good sicknesses that
aren't too depressing?
BUFFY
Guys. The environment. I'm telling
you, it's totally key. The earth
is in terrible shape, we could al
die, and besides, Sting's doing it.
KIMBERLY
I thought he was doing Indians.
Jeffrey and Andy arrive, sit. Jeffrey straddles Buffy from
behind, wrapping his arms around her. She snuggles in his
grasp.
JEFFREY
Hey there.
BUFFY
Hi.
JENNIFER
(shyly)
Hi, Jeffrey.
ANDY
Whatchya guys doing?
NICOLE
The winter dance. We need to come
up with a theme.
JEFFREY
The senior dance? How about...
'Our Friend, the Beer?'
ANDY
'Putting Out for Fun and Profit'...
possible thought...
KIMBERLY
Try new Clue-flakes.
BUFFY
It has to be, like a socially
conscious theme.
CASSANDRA
(reading from a memo)
'One that reflects the students'
growing awareness of and involvement
in the world around them.'
JEFFREY|ANDY
Downer.
BUFFY
I still say the environment. That's
my suggestion.
CASSANDRA
It is a pretty crucial subject.
BUFFY
See, Cassandra likes it. Cassandra's
my friend.
ANDY
I like it. Can I be your friend?
JEFFREY
Stay away from my thang.
(to Buffy)
Sorry, honey. 'Thing.'
NICOLE
Environment. That's cool with me.
KIMBERLY
Okay.
CASSANDRA
So, what are the most immediate
threats to the world environment
right now?
Cassandra has paper and pen, is poised to make a list of
suggestions. The other all look at each other uncomfortably.
Cassandra obviously knows the answer, but regards her friends
silently, waiting to see what the come up with.
JEFFREY
Well, um... litter?
ANDY
Litter, yeah!
Everyone but Cassandra is impressed by this.
JEFFREY
(to Cassandra)
Write that down.
JENNIFER
Okay, what else?
NICOLE
Forest fires?
ANDY
Communism?
BUFFY
Bugs.
CASSANDRA
(helpfully)
Okay, guys, how about the ozone
layer?
KIMBERLY
Oh, yeah!
NICOLE
Right!
BUFFY
We gotta get rid of that! That's
right.
GARY MURRAY, a well meaning but pompous little administrator,
come up to the kids. He's kind of like Charlie Brown: you
always say his whole name.
GARY MURRAY
I don't suppose you kids heard the
first bell, did you? The first
bell was saying, 'Start going to
class, it's time to go to class.'
In about thirty seconds the second
bell is going to be saying, 'Already
be in class.'
JEFFREY
We're having a very important
discussion here.
GARY MURRAY
Why do I have trouble believing
you?
JEFFREY
Something from your childhood, maybe?
GARY MURRAY
Button it, Kramer. Classes are
starting. Be there or beware.
Gary Murray walks off.
ANDY
Man has a complex.
BUFFY
He's got a... What do you call it?
A Napoleonic Code.
JENNIFER
It's 'cause he's so tiny.
ANDY
Yes, but what he lacks in height he
makes up in shortness.
They get up and start heading to class.
KIMBERLY
Let's meet tonight, okay?
BUFFY
Where?
KIMBERLY
Cafe Blase.
NICOLE
Cool. We can figure decorations
and stuff.
BUFFY
Cassandra, you gotta come, too.
CASSANDRA
Can't. History report. The Normans
and the Saxons.
BUFFY
Bogutude. Blow it off.
CASSANDRA
I really can't. Besides, it's pretty
interesting.
BUFFY
(not harshly)
You're weird and I'm afraid of you.
Seriously, Cassandra, there's a lot
cooler things you could be doing
than your homework.
CASSANDRA
Like what?
BUFFY
Like my homework.
Buffy smiles, trots off.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE CITY - NIGHT
We see SHOTS of the deserted city at night. It's a small,
upscale town. Suburban streets, businesses, and a few more
depressed areas, boarded up houses. No one is out. TREES
RUSTLE, shadows flicker, but the curling mist is the only
visible presence.
CUT TO:
INT. CAFE BLASE - NIGHT
A classic faux-Fifties L.A. diner. Pictures of Frankie and
Annette, bright lights, those same tired Fifties standards
playing on the JUKEBOX. Buffy, Kimberly, Jennifer and Nicole
are sitting at the end of the counter, at the corner.
KIMBERLY
I don't see why we have to invite
everyone.
BUFFY
Kimberly, it's the senior dance.
NICOLE
If we don't invite all the seniors
we can't use the school funds, you
know that.
KIMBERLY
Can't they make exceptions? Maryanne
Heinel? She's such a scud. Can't
we have a Maryanne clause?
NICOLE
Well, look who's here.
GIRLS' POV
Pike and Benny have entered the diner, quite drunk. As they
pass the jukebox, Benny gives it a kick and the music stops.
A few people look up, annoyed, as they approach the counter.
WAITRESS
Hey!
BENNY
The Fifties are over.
PIKE
(earnestly)
We have to learn to let go.
WAITRESS
Don't give me any trouble, okay?
PIKE
No trouble. We just want to eat.
They sit next to Buffy and begin pooling their money on the
counter. It comes to about $2.50, heavy with pennies.
PIKE
(continuing)
Come on, come on, fork up the scub.
BENNY
That's it, man. That's the whole
story.
PIKE
We're looking at a dog, possible
coffee...
He digs and produces a quarter from his pocket.
PIKE
(continuing)
It's coffee.
BENNY
Amazing!
KIMBERLY
(to the other girls)
Smell of booze much.
NICOLE
Nice much.
PIKE
(to the waitress)
Can we have a hot dog, please, medium
rare, and a cup of joe?
BUFFY
You guys are thrashed.
JENNIFER
(to Buffy)
What are you talking to them for?
BENNY
(to Buffy)
What did you say?
PIKE
Yeah, we're drunk. We're the Drunks.
What's your name?
BUFFY
Buffy.
BENNY
Figures.
PIKE
Do people ever call you 'Buffy the
Buffalo?' I'm just wondering.
Buffy gives him a look.
PIKE
(continuing)
The don't. You kind of wish they
would, though.
KIMBERLY
Wit-tay.
PIKE
I'm sorry. I'm Pike. This is Benny.
KIMBERLY
Pike isn't a name. It's a fish.
PIKE
Hey, wait a minute...
BENNY
You're the guys from the movie!
PIKE
(good naturedly)
We hate you guys!
The girls all make sad noises, real sarcastic.
PIKE
(continuing)
You guys were way rude. It was
shocking.
NICOLE
You just snuck in anyway.
PIKE
So you have to ruin the movie for
us? You know, other people have
feelings, too.
KIMBERLY
I am so sure.
The waitress brings the hot do. Benny takes it out of the bun
and holds it over his crotch, phallus-like.
BENNY
Hey, Buffy, you hungry? I got
something for you...
The other girls look down and shriek. Buffy looks at Benny,
looks at him in the eye.
ANGLE - BUFFY'S HAND
It closes silently around the knife at her place.
Buffy is still looking at Benny, she seems to be hypnotizing
him, and maybe even herself. The NOISE in the diner seems to
FADE AWAY for a moment. Buffy shifts slightly, almost a twitch,
and the spell is broken. The SOUND RETURNS, Buffy looks away,
letting go of the knife exactly where it was.
Benny looks down. His hot dog has been sliced neatly down to
about an inch. He is shocked.
BENNY
(continuing)
Hey! She wasted my dog!
PIKE
(smiling)
Bummer metaphor.
Buffy looks off, a little surprised herself.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - NIGHT
Pike and Benny have left the diner and are walking down the
street. Pike produces a bottle of Mezcal from his coat pocket
and takes a swig, hand it to Benny. They continue to pass it
back and forth.
BENNY
Rich bitches. They're a plague.
They've gotta be stopped.
PIKE
You didn't like them.
BENNY
They're all the same! They're so
stuck up, they're just... they're
not even human. I hate them.
PIKE
Would you sleep with them?
BENNY
Yes. Definitely. Definitely.
Please, God.
PIKE
Well, there it is, isn't it? You
don't even like them, and you'd
sleep with them. What's that all
about?
BENNY
I got a news flash, man, another
shot of this and I'll have sex with
you.
PIKE
Oh, yeah, and then you'll never
call me.
They continue walking. A shadowy figure appears behind them,
following.
CUT TO:
INT. DINER - NIGHT
The girls have all finished their sundaes.
NICOLE
Come one, that was so weird.
BUFFY
(uncomfortable)
What, it's not weird. I just cut
the stupid hot dog in half.
KIMBERLY
I can't believe they still ate it.
JENNIFER
(to Buffy)
Where'd you learn how to do that?
BUFFY
I didn't learn... I just... it's
not a big deal.
KIMBERLY
Buffy, I'm gonna tell Jeffrey you
were playing with another man's
Hebrew National.
BUFFY
(annoyed)
Get a boob job.
NICOLE
It's like when we took gymnastics
in eighth grade.
Buffy makes a face. She doesn't want to hear this story. We
HOLD on her as Nicole tells it.
JENNIFER
What happened?
NICOLE
Buffy was on the uneven parallels --
she was really good; coach said she
could have been in the Olympics --
but she was doing a routine,
spinning, and the beam broke.
JENNIFER
You're kidding.
NICOLE
Snapped. Buffy was, you know, on
the upswing, and I swear to God she
went across the room. Perm over
heels.
JENNIFER
Oh, my God! Ouch! No wonder you
quit.
NICOLE
Well, that's the thing. She landed
on her feet. Didn't even sprain a
toe. And I go up to her and she
turns and looks at me and she's
like this --
She makes a hyper-intense face. The others laugh.
NICOLE
(continuing)
-- like she's gonna kill me.
BUFFY
I was just scared is all.
NICOLE
No. It was mondo bizarro.
KIMBERLY
Buffy, the ape-woman.
NICOLE
Seriously, Buffy. That look was
way twisted. What were you thinking
about?
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - NIGHT
Perhaps in answer, we see the same shadowy figure moving behind
Pike and Benny as they continue to walk home. They're really
bombed now. They are somewhere in the hills now, and they
come to the edge of a steep incline overlooking the valley. A
waist-high concrete wall is built into the side of the earth.
They stand below a thick, green tree.
PIKE
I'll have it running in a week.
It's be beauty. It just needs new
shocks, you know, break pads, an
engine, and some wheels. It'll be
totally cherry.
Pike finishes the bottle, eats the worm, and chucks the BOTTLE
over the side. There is a moment before they hear it SHATTER.
BENNY
When you get your car together,
man, let's bail.
PIKE
You think? Split?
BENNY
Utterly. Let's bail this town.
It's getting... I don't know. Let's
go somewhere where there aren't any
rich bitches.
PIKE
Our own world, where we could live
and grow beans. Hundreds of beans.
Benny wavers, catches hold of Pike.
BENNY
I think I'm gonna ralf.
He leans over the side of the wall, hangs his head down.
PIKE
Don't worry, Benny. I'm here for
you.
Pike falls over backwards.
PIKE
(continuing)
I'm here for you, Ralf.
Pike passes out.
CLOSEUP - BENNY
Still waiting to throw up. The figure approaches slowly from
behind him. The figure is a few feet away from him when a
hand shoots down from above and grabs Benny's face.
ANGLE - IN THE TREE
Amilyn sits on a low branch, pulls Benny up to face him. Amilyn
has changed his manner of dress drastically. He wears a
motorcycle jacket and sunglasses. His hair is punked out.
Benny is in shock, as Amilyn holds him easily by his shirt
collar.
AMILYN
You wanna go for a ride?
Amilyn leans back -- all the way back, falling back out of the
tree and pulling Benny with him. We see them fall out past
the wall just as the shadowy figure reaches it.
It is Merrick, the man from the mall. He runs to the side of
the wall, looks over. The two are already lost in the dark
mist. Merrick turns around, looks about him. He digs in his
pockets, pulls out a cross and a stake, holds them tightly.
While digging he pulls out an old, stained picture, lays it on
the railing. Stake and cross in hand, he stands by Pike looking
out at the night.
ANGLE - THE PICTURE
It is a ten year old girl about to blow out the candles on her
birthday cake. The cake reads, "Happy Birthday, Buffy".
CUT TO:
EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD - AFTERNOON
Buffy, Nicole and Jennifer and another cheerleader are
practicing.
JENNIFER
What was the step after... The one
from Thursday. I never learned it
right, I don't think.
Buffy shows her. They do it together for a minute.
BUFFY
That is so cool.
NICOLE
Thank you very much.
BUFFY
Nobody is even gonna look at the
game.
JENNIFER
Hey, I was thinking, for the dance,
what about a big sign that says
'Don't Tread On Me'. You know, and
a picture of the earth.
BUFFY
Don't tread on the earth?
NICOLE
I don't get it.
BUFFY
How do you not tread on the earth?
I mean, you kind of have to.
JENNIFER
I never thought of that.
NICOLE
I gotta bail. You coming?
BUFFY
You guys blow. I'm waiting on
Cassandra. She's gonna help me
with my history.
NICOLE
Cassandra's really smart.
BUFFY
Yeah... She's okay, though.
NICOLE
I guess.
JEFFREY
Are you going out with Jeffrey
tonight?
BUFFY
Jealous?
Jennifer laughs, uncomfortably.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Don't worry, Jennifer. Someday
your prince will come.
NICOLE
Yeah, just make sure you do first.
Let's go, guys.
BUFFY
B'bye.
The other girls leave. Buffy is alone on the empty field.
She looks around her. She starts doing a routine, tentatively.
Then she runs toward the middle of the field and jumps, flies
into an extraordinary series of gymnastic flips and cartwheels.
She rolls into one final flip, a huge one, and lands, a perfect
ten, about three inches from Merrick.
She screams in surprise, steps back.
BUFFY
(continuing)
God, where the hell did you come
from? You scared me to death.
MERRICK
I'm sorry. That was impressive.
The... tumbling.
His accent is clipped -- British.
BUFFY
What? Oh. I used to do gymnastics.
Are you looking for someone?
MERRICK
I'm looking for you, actually.
BUFFY
Am I in trouble or something?
MERRICK
Not at all. My name is Merrick. I
was sent to find you some time ago.
I should have found you much sooner
but there were... complications.
You should have been taught,
prepared.
BUFFY
What are you talking about?
MERRICK
I've searched the entire world for
you, Buffy.
BUFFY
Why?
MERRICK
To bring you... your birthright.
BUFFY
My birthright? You mean, like a
trust fund?
Merrick looks at her.
BUFFY
(continuing)
I had a trust fund my great-
grandfather, or maybe it was an
inheritance, 'cause he's dead, and
I spent it on shoes.
MERRICK
You must come with me. It's much
too late already. You must come
with me to the graveyard.
BUFFY
Wait a minute. My birthright is in
the graveyard? Later not.
MERRICK
Wait!
BUFFY
You're one of those skanky old men
that, like, attack girls and stuff.
Forget you. My, um, my boyfriend
is gonna be here in about thirty
seconds, and he's way testy.
MERRICK
You don't understand. You have
been chosen.
BUFFY
Chosen to go to the graveyard? Why
don't you just take the first runner
up, okay?
MERRICK
You must believe me. You must come
with me while there's still time.
BUFFY
Time to do what?
MERRICK
To stop the killing. To stop the
vampires.
BUFFY
Let me get this straight. You're
like, this greasy bum, and I have
to go to the graveyard with you
'cause I'm chosen, and there's
vampires.
MERRICK
Yes.
BUFFY
Does Elvis talk to you? Tell you
to do things? Do you see spots?
MERRICK
I don't have time for your prattling.
I have proof. You bear the mark.
He steps forward and pulls the neck of Buffy's shirt aside,
revealing her shoulder.
MERRICK
(continuing)
The mark of the Coven! The --
where's the mark?
There is no birthmark on her shoulder. He looks at the other
one.
MERRICK
(continuing)
The mark of the -- wait a minute.
Buffy pushes his hand off her.
BUFFY
You mean that big hairy mole? Excuse
me: eeyuu. I had it removed.
And, like, knowing about my big old
mole isn't proof of anything except
that it's way past medication time.
She starts to walk away.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Just stay away from me, okay?
MERRICK
Did you ever dream that you were
someone else?
Buffy stops. This obviously registers with her.
BUFFY
Everybody does.
MERRICK
In the past. A girl. Maybe... A
Magyar peasant. An Indian princess.
A slave.
The last one hits the mark.
BUFFY
I was a slave.
MERRICK
In Virginia.
BUFFY
I don't know. It was... There was
a big gram or something. And there's
one, I'm like a prostitute...
MERRICK
China.
BUFFY
Oh, my God. I never told anybody
about this. I remember the one
about the peasant, too. God, there's
a bunch. Is this, like channeling
or something.
Merrick rolls his eyes.
BUFFY
(continuing)
I had a dream once where I was...
There was like, knights in it, and
I worked in this bar. And I... was
fighting. I'm always fighting.
And there's a guy... He's not always
there, but he's horrible, all white,
and he's always... trying to kill
me.
MERRICK
Lothos.
The name has an obvious effect on the girl.
BUFFY
How do you know all this?
MERRICK
I have to show you.
CUT TO:
ANGLE - THE SUN
Thick and orange, sinking beyond the hills.
EXT. GRAVEYARD - SUNSET
Merrick leads Buffy, searching for a particular grave.
BUFFY
I can't believe I'm doing this. I
can't believe I'm in a graveyard
with a strange man hunting for
vampires on a school night.
MERRICK
Why didn't you ever tell anybody
about your dreams?
BUFFY
Oh, yeah, tell everyone I'm crazy.
Beauty ida.
Buffy stops, winces slightly.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Ow.
MERRICK
Cramps?
BUFFY
None of your business. God.
MERRICK
This is it.
Buffy is standing on a freshly dug grave. The headstone reads:
"ROBERT BERMAN, 1972 - 1990. GOD IS AT HIS HEELS".
MERRICK
(continuing)
Robert Berman was killed three days
ago. The body was found in the
bushes out by the canal. Extensive
tissue damage -- tearing -- at the
neck and shoulders. Coroner thinks
it's a dog. You sit her.
He points out a plot of ground about eight feet from the foot
of the grave. Buffy sits and leans against another stone.
Merrick reaches into his jacket, pulls out a stake and a cross,
hands the cross to Buffy.
BUFFY
Wait a minute.
MERRICK
Just for protection. You won't
have to do anything. I just need
you to watch.
BUFFY
All right. What do we do now?
MERRICK
We wait for Robert to wake up.
Merrick goes over to the other headstone, crouches by it.
BUFFY
Do you have any gum?
ANGLE - SUNSET
The last red glimmer disappears behind the hills.
CUT TO:
EXT. OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL - SAME TIME
Cassandra stands waiting for Buffy. The sun is down, darkness
increasing. She looks at her watch and gives up, heads for
her car. Her key in the door, she hears a RUSTLING behind
her. Looks slowly around.
CUT TO:
EXT. GRAVEYARD - SAME TIME
Buffy sits fidgeting. Playing with her fingernails. Merrick
stays in the position, listening.
A low, almost inaudible MOAN come from under the ground. Buffy
sits up straight, holds the cross to her. The MOAN becomes
louder, almost a scream. The SOUND is followed by the SOUND
of FINGERS SCRAPPING wood -- of WOOD SPLINTERING -- of digging.
The moaning continues, becoming eerier, somewhat more
articulate.
Buffy and Merrick wait.
ANGLE - THE GRAVE
Finally, fingers break through the ground and hold stiff in
the open air. The moan becomes a triumphant HISS. The fingers
clutch at the ground.
ROBERT BERMAN pops halfway out of his grave like a jack-in-the-
box, his face dirty and dead-white. He sees Buffy in front of
him, and he bobs toward her with a crazy grin, stretching as
to a mother's tit.
Merrick drops down behind Robert and grabs him, raising the
stake. Buffy watches, immobilized.
A pair of arms shoot up from the ground right under Buffy.
They grab her and pull her to the ground. Next to her face,
the face of another vampire, a YOUNG WOMAN, emerges grinning
from the crumbling earth.
Buffy screams lustily, and struggles to break free.
Merrick is momentarily distracted by this, and Robert throws
him off, and pulls himself out of the grave. Merrick falls to
the ground, and his stake goes flying.
Buffy pulls herself out of the girl's grasp, starts running
away, but the girl grabs her. Buffy remembers the cross in
her hand, spins and holds it to the vampire's forehead. It
burns and the lady lets go, screaming and falling to the ground.
BUFFY
'Bye now.
Buffy runs.
ANGLE - MERRICK AND ROBERT
They are struggling, several feet away. Robert grabs Merrick
by the shoulders and picks him up, preparing to bite him. A
stake suddenly pops out of his chest, planted in his back by
Buffy. He falls and dies.
MERRICK
Where's the other one?
BUFFY
She --
It leaps at her, screaming. She throws it off, as Merrick
produces another stake and throws it to her. Buffy sticks it
in the vampire's heart. She dies, screaming, her face still
smoking, blood spurting onto Buffy.
Buffy looks at herself. At the blood.
CUT TO:
EXT. FRONT OF BUFFY'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Merrick walks Buffy to the door. She is silent, slow.
MERRICK
Go to school tomorrow. Try to act
normal. Don't let anyone know what's
happening. This is important.
When the vampires find out who you
are... you won't be hunting them
anymore.
BUFFY
All right.
He hands her a piece of paper.
MERRICK
Meet me at this address after school.
BUFFY
I have cheerleading squad.
MERRICK
Skip it.
Buffy nods. Merrick starts back down the path.
BUFFY
Merrick.
Merrick stops.
BUFFY
(continuing)
They can't come in, right? Unless
you invite them. Is that true?
MERRICK
It's true.
Merrick moves on. Buffy goes inside.
CUT TO:
INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE - FOYER - SAME TIME
Buffy shuts the door, turns to go up to her room. She is
startled by someone standing in her path. She almost screams.
It's her mother. She stands, arm akimbo, looking very
confrontational. Buffy looks a sight, and stands uncomfortably
in front of her mother for a moment.
BUFFY'S MOM
Do you know what time it is?
BUFFY
Uum... around ten?
Mom taps her watch, annoyed.
BUFFY'S MOM
I knew this thing was slow.
She crosses out of the room.
BUFFY'S MOM
(continuing)
You pay a fortune for something...
(calls out)
Honey, come on, we're gonna be late.
Her mother gone, Buffy lets out a small sigh -- of relief or
frustration, it is not clear. She heads upstairs.
CUT TO:
INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE - BATHROOM - NIGHT
Buffy stands at the sink, washing her shirt. She tries to get
the blood off with fierce intensity. She is near tears.
CUT TO:
INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT
She sits in the middle of the bed in her pajamas, the blankets
pooled around her. She cannot sleep. Finally, she lies back
on the pillow.
Lothos is beside her.
CUT TO:
INT. SCHOOL HALL - DAY
Buffy walks through the hall slowly, obviously the worse for
last night's wear. Gary Murray comes up next to her, looking
at his watch pointedly: she's late for class. He moves on.
Jeffrey, going the other way, stops next to her.
JEFFREY
Hey, baby, how ya doing? You look
beat.
BUFFY
I do? I guess I do.
JEFFREY
Where were you last night? I called
your house like four times.
BUFFY
I went to sleep. I think I have
the flu or something.
Jeffrey backs away from her.
JEFFREY
I can't get sick. You know --
training and all. I'm gonna be
late.
BUFFY
'Bye.
Jeffrey moves off to class. Buffy walks on a bit. She bumps
into Nicole.
NICOLE
Hey, Buffers. You look thrashed.
BUFFY
Thanks.
NICOLE
You and Cassandra get anything done
last night?
Buffy looks confused for a moment, then remembers.
BUFFY
Oh. No. She never showed.
CUT TO:
INT. LOTHOS' CAVE - CLOSEUP OF CASSANDRA'S FACE
She is waking up, obviously from being knocked out. She blinks
stupidly, looks around. She is lying by a pool of what looks
to be dark water in a large cave. Torches burn around her.
She tries to get up and finds it difficult. She pulls herself
up to the side of the pool and splashes water on her face.
It's blood.
She starts, staring with growing horror at her hands. She
does not even see the figure rise from the pool at first.
It's Lothos. He wears no shirt, only white trousers and boots,
the style maybe Nineteenth Century. No blood seems to touch
him as he rises. He looks at Cassandra with an almost sleepy
lust.
LOTHOS
I find it restorative, sleeping in
the life-blood of so many. To feel
their souls coursing about me.
CASSANDRA
What's happening? What do you want?
LOTHOS
(smiling)
So very much.
CASSANDRA
My parents have money...
LOTHOS
Yes, I'm sure they do. This place
is everything you said it was,
Amilyn.
Cassandra turns. Amilyn stands behind her, grinning. He
hisses, bares his fangs at Cassandra.
CASSANDRA
What... are you?
LOTHOS
Are we so strange? So alien to
you? I've seen this culture, the
wealth, the greed, the waste...
it's truly heartwarming. The perfect
place to spread my empire. Honestly,
Eastern Europe was so dead, the
Communists just drained the blood
out of the place. It's livened up
a bit in the past few years, but
it's nothing compared to this....
this Mecca of consumption. The
city of Angels.
He steps right up to her.
LOTHOS
(continuing)
What are we? We are man, perfected.
We exist to consume.
On the world "to consume" we see Amilyn mouthing the words
with Lothos, his eyes to the ceiling. He's heard this a hundred
times.
AMILYN
So? Do we change this one, or do
we just drain her?
Cassandra pulls her gold card out of her wallet.
CASSANDRA
Here, look. My gold card. It's
your. I'll never report it.
Amilyn snatches it from her, looks it over.
LOTHOS
She has a certain quality, this
one...
Amilyn bites the card.
AMILYN
I don't think this is gold.
LOTHOS
Not as single-minded as the others,
not as sybaritic. Almost thoughtful.
She's useless.
CASSANDRA
No, wait. I can be dumb. Really.
Or mean, or whatever. I can learn.
I'm useful.
LOTHOS
Really?
CASSANDRA
Swear to God.
He rips out her throat, tearing at it with his teeth as blood
gushes around their faces and she wriggle, twists, dies. He
hurls her into the door and wipes blood from his mouth.
LOTHOS
I wish you wouldn't mention him...
Slowly Cassandra slides down the wall, her eyes glazing over.
As she descends we see, stenciled on the wall, "Hemery High
School. Maintenance Only."
CUT TO:
INT. WAREHOUSE - AFTERNOON
Grey, dusty and long since abandoned. Sunlight pours in through
the large windows, practically caked with dust. Old crates
are stacked here and there, bits of manikins leaning on one or
two. Merrick sits on a crate, reading the newspaper.
Buffy enters hesitantly, puts down her bookbag next to a pile
of Merrick's stuff, including a rolled-up sleeping bag. This
is definitely not her turf. She runs her finger along a crate,
picks up a world of dust. She holds up her finger at Merrick.
BUFFY
Fire the help. No kidding.
Merrick looks up at her.
MERRICK
It's not pretty, but it does suit
our purposes.
BUFFY
Our purposes.
She repeats it not with attitude, but a dull wonder at her
connection with this strange man. She crosses to him.
BUFFY
(continuing)
What, um... What do we do?
MERRICK
There's a great deal I have to show
you, I'm not even sure where to
start There's so little time.
BUFFY
Why do you keep saying that?
MERRICK
Do you know what a Vampire-King is?
BUFFY
A Vampire-King? You mean like
Dracula?
MERRICK
Oh, yes. And the man from your
dreams. Lothos.
BUFFY
Oh, him.
MERRICK
Yes. They travel about, usually
with one or two of their followers
to lay the groundwork. The vampires
find a community and they feed on
it, make it their own. You were
difficult to trace, and I think the
process has gone a lot further than
I'd anticipated. Usually this goads
a community into some kind of
paranoid frenzy. But for some
reason, nobody here seems to be
paying any attention.
BUFFY
(not paying attention)
What?
MERRICK
(annoyed)
We'll cover it later.
BUFFY
I still don't get how they happened
to come to my town. I mean, was I
born here because... because they
were coming here? That Lothos guy,
and his buddies?
MERRICK
In a way, yes. Your fate is
inexorably connected to them.
BUFFY
Great. First I have a birthright,
now I've got a fate. Hey, do I
have to take notes on this?
MERRICK
(put down his paper)
We're going to have the work hard.
You'll need some excuse for staying
out. For your parents.
Buffy laughs.
BUFFY
Not a pressing issue.
MERRICK
I tell you, the best thing I can do
right now is find out more about
you. What your strengths are, your
likes... Everything. What's your
best subject?
BUFFY
Uh... gym.
MERRICK
Yes, you used to do gymnastics.
But you stopped. Why?
BUFFY
Well, everybody says... it's just
kind of dorky. I mean, have you
ever seen a gymnast's legs? They're
like --
(indicating huge)
-- the mighty oak. It's not a look.
MERRICK
But you enjoyed it, yes?
BUFFY
Well... I do cheerleading now.
It's way cooler.
MERRICK
Cheerleading. For... sporting
events, yes?
BUFFY
Sporting events, yeah.
MERRICK
All right. Why don't you show me a
cheer?
BUFFY
Here?
MERRICK
Yes, yes. It would be interesting.
A nice cheer.
BUFFY
Okay.
Buffy starts, a bit awkwardly, doing a cheer.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Who we gonna beat?
MERRICK
(pathetically following her
motion)
Who we gonna beat?
BUFFY
(stops)
No -- you don't have to --
MERRICK
Oh. I thought... you lead me --
BUFFY
No. You don't do anything. I do
it.
MERRICK
Oh. Good.
She starts again.
BUFFY
Who we gonna beat?
Who do we defeat?
Who will we be pulverizing
Into cream of wheat?
Gradually, Buffy gets more into the cheer. The steps become
more complicated as she repeats the verse.
CLOSEUP - MERRICK'S HAND
We see a knife slip out of Merrick's sleeve. He palms it,
hands behind his back.
In the middle of her routine, he hurls it at her. She catches
it, reflexively, inches from her face. Stops dead. Then bursts
into tears. Merrick is thrown off by this reaction.
BUFFY
Oh, what the hell is wrong with
you? You threw a knife at my head!
MERRICK
I had to test you.
BUFFY
But you threw a knife at my head!
MERRICK
And you caught it! Only the chosen
one could have done that.
BUFFY
I don't want to be the chosen one,
okay? I don't want to spend the
rest of my life chasing after
vampires! I just want to graduate
from high school, go to Europe,
marry Charlie Sheen and die. It
may not sound too exciting to a
sconehead like you, but I think
it's swell. And then you come
along... and... and then I'm a
member of the hairy mole club, so
you throw things at me!
She is coming at him now. He begins to back up.
MERRICK
It was necessary.
BUFFY
(realizing)
Last night. You knew I was sitting
on a fresh grave, didn't you?
MERRICK
I don't think you understand the
full implications of --
Buffy punches him in the face. He goes flying a good ways,
lands on his back. His nose bleed merrily. Buffy stops.
BUFFY
Oh. Sorry.
MERRICK
(getting up)
Don't you see what's happening?
You're changing. You've got powers
you've only just begun to tap.
Physical, mental prowess you've
never dreamed of.
(pulling a handkerchief out
of his pocket)
God, this hurts. I've administered
a few shocks to your system to start
the adrenaline working. I'm sorry
I have to take so many shortcuts in
the training process.
BUFFY
Put your head back.
MERRICK
Two days ago, would you have even
hit me? Let alone so powerfully?
BUFFY
No... I guess I would have gotten
Jeffrey to hit you.
MERRICK
Exactly. You're changing. You're
becoming something extraordinarily
powerful.
Buffy looks at the knife in her hand. The MUSIC COMES UP and
we...
CUT TO:
A SERIES OF IMAGES AND INTERCUT SCENES
Buffy's period of training. Over the difficult course of it,
she is obviously becoming more self-possessed, more at ease.
Her style of dress loosens a bit: a little punkier. Stops
dying her hair blonde and her roots start showing. Accumulates
a few more holes in her ears.
EXT. THE WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
Buffy doing a series of gymnastic flips, swinging on vines,
etc.
CUT TO:
EXT. SCHOOL - DAY
Buffy arriving late for class.
CUT TO:
INT. BRENTANO'S - DAY
Buffy charging some books: Lawson's Treatis on Demonology,
Psychological Interpretations of Vampirism, The Book of the
Dead, and The Complete Garlic Cookbook.
CUT TO:
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
Merrick sits on a crate, reading the obituaries and circling
certain entries.
Buffy stands on her head, sweating with concentration. The
CAMERA TILTS up to reveal her feet. Between the toes of one
is a nail brush, with which she is very carefully painting her
toenails.
CUT TO:
INT. MELROSE CLOTHING STORE ("ROCK STAR") - NIGHT
Amilyn and a few of the old-world vampires are on a spree,
trying on various leather jackets. As they cavort, the CAMERA
TRACKS behind the counter, where we find the clerk, bloody and
dead, slumped on the floor.
CUT TO:
EXT. SCHOOL - DAY
Buffy kissing Jeffrey goodbye after school. A long, lingering
kiss, during which she pulls away, anxious to get going. She
starts off, comes back and plants a big ol' on his lips one
last time before splitting.
CUT TO:
EXT. MINIATURE GOLF COURSE - AFTERNOON
Merrick and Buffy are playing. Merrick tees off, shoots
horribly.
BUFFY
(as announcer)
Ooh, another embarrassment for the
teabag, while the chosen one is
still well under par.
MERRICK
Your turn.
Buffy positions herself.
BUFFY
What about bats? Do they turn into
bats?
MERRICK
No. No bats, no flying. They...
float, occasionally. Not really
flying.
BUFFY
Toasty. Were there ever any, like,
famous vampires?
MERRICK
Oh, several. Lucretia Borgia, Joseph
Mengele, Franklin Pangborn... are
any of those names familiar?
BUFFY
If I say 'no' does that make me a
bad person?
MERRICK
Good Lord. What do you study in
history?
BUFFY
My nails.
She gives a little 'isn't that funny' kind of laugh. He doesn't
respond.
MERRICK
All right. You've heard of the
emperor Caligula, perhaps? Or Jack
the Ripper?
BUFFY
They were vampires?
MERRICK
Same one.
BUFFY
Oh.
She considers this a moment. Tees off: another hole in one.
CUT TO:
EXT. WAREHOUSE (LATER)
Buffy and Merrick sparring, working their way in between the
"trees." She is his superior in speed and strength, but he
easily trips her up. She glares at him from the ground.
CUT TO:
INT. SCHOOL - DAY
Buffy late again. Gary Murray watches her from the hall,
shaking his head.
CUT TO:
EXT. ROADSIDE - EVENING
Two college-age guys stand hitchhiking. A red convertible
pulls up, with a beautiful blonde behind the wheel. The guys
look at each other -- all right! They can't see her teeth, or
the look in her eye.
CUT TO:
INT. CHURCH - AFTERNOON
Buffy walks in, looks around. She approaches a PRIEST.
BUFFY
Excuse me...
PRIEST
Yes, my child? Is something
troubling you?
BUFFY
Well, sort of.
PRIEST
Well, maybe I can help.
BUFFY
Yeah. Um... Could you bless these?
She holds up a six-pack of Perrier.
CUT TO:
INT. LOTHOS' CAVE - NIGHT
We see the entire cave, the still pool of blood, the torches
lit. At the far end sits Lothos. In his arms is the body of
a dead girl. Blood stains her neck and yet the image is poetic,
reminiscent of Michelangelo's "Pieta". They are both perfectly
still, her draped across his lap, he with his eyes far far
away. The silence holds.
Lothos belches massively.
CUT TO:
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
Merrick is lecturing Buffy. Buffy is sitting, doodling in an
open notebook, "uh-huh"ing and obviously not paying attention.
MERRICK
... Lothos was probably born in the
eleventh or twelfth century; he's
been difficult to trace. His power
has increased with age. It will be
a long while before you are ready
to face him. We'll be lucky if we
can get him to leave the area, to
lie low for awhile. That will
scatter the rest of them. Lothos
is...
He looks at Buffy, who is staring down at her notebook.
MERRICK
(continuing)
... is extremely powerful, but he
is still a vampire, and vulnerable
to the same...
He looks at her. Is she listening?
MERRICK
(continuing)
Daylight is still his enemy. The
stake can still find his heart.
Is she?
MERRICK
(continuing)
I have huge antlers growing out of
my buttocks.
Nope. No reaction, just another "Uh-huh."
ANGLE - BUFFY'S NOTEBOOK
Merrick slams a stake right through the middle of it. Buffy
screams, jumps back a good two feet and lands on her butt.
BUFFY
(angry)
What!?!
MERRICK
Try to pay attention.
CUT TO:
INT. WAREHOUSE - LATE LATE NIGHT
Merrick talking. Buffy drinking coffee, trying hard to stay
awake. Listening.
CUT TO:
INT. SCHOOL - DAY
Buffy in class, taking a test. Nicole leaning over, trying to
cheat off her when she falls forward onto the desk, asleep.
CUT TO:
INT. SCHOOL HALL - DAY
Buffy being ushered into Gary Murray's office.
CUT TO:
INT. GARY MURRAY'S OFFICE - DAY
Buffy sits in his chair. Gary moves about his desk, sitting
behind it, leaning on it, talking to her. A FLY BUZZES
annoyingly about his head.
GARY MURRAY
Well, I think we can safely say
that something's going on with you,
Buffy. Now, there's nothing to be
nervous about; you're not in any
trouble. I just hoped maybe we
could talk. Don't think of me as
Gary Murray, administrator. Think
of me as Gary Murray, party guy!
Happening dude who can talk to the
young. Me and you. It's open...
Tell me. It's drugs, isn't it?
CUT TO:
EXT. FOREST - AFTERNOON
Buffy stands under a tree, blindfolded. Merrick stands a ways
apart, watching. Buffy stands very still, neck craned, waiting.
Silently, a leaf falls. It wafts gently down. Buffy hurls a
knife at it with easy precision.
ANGLE - ANOTHER TREE
The knife stick deep into the trunk, the leaf perfectly pinned.
Merrick looks at it. Buffy smiles, knowing she has hit the
target. Blindfold still on, she turns toward Merrick and walks
into a branch, falls heavily backwards.
CUT TO:
INT. GARY MURRAY'S OFFICE - DAY
The same session, continuing. Buffy still sits, expressionless,
in the chair. The FLY still BUZZES.
GARY MURRAY
Hey, there's nothing to be afraid
of! I know where you're coming
from. Believe me. I'll tell you
the truth. I've had my drug
experiences, too. I did a lot -- I
did some acid in the Sixties. Well,
the late Seventies, actually. It
was at a Doobie Brother's concert.
CUT TO:
INT. THE MALL - DAY
Buffy at the mall with Kimberly, Nicole and Jennifer. For the
first time, we really see how she stands out against her
friends. She is wearing much more functional, cool garb, and
less makeup, while they still sport the same dainty shit from
the beginning.
They stop to look at some dresses. Something in the next store
catches Buffy's eye; she wanders off.
CUT TO:
INT. GARY MURRAY'S OFFICE - SAME TIME
Gary Murray is crouching on his desk. Buffy still sits. The
FLY still BUZZES.
As Gary talks, Buffy picks up a push pin from the table beside
her, holds it.
GARY MURRAY
... and I could see the music flowing
into me, it was bright red and
electric, and I felt like a big
toaster, and I thought, maybe I am
a toaster, we're all molecules, and
my friend Melissa, her head looked
like a big party balloon, and that
scared me, I started to freak out...
Buffy surreptitiously puts the push pin in her mouth.
CUT TO:
INT. THE MALL - DAY
The other girls are moving on from the dress shop, notice Buffy
is not with them. They spot her in the next shop, urge her to
come on. Buffy puts back the chain saw she was looking at,
follows them.
CUT TO:
INT. GARY MURRAY'S OFFICE - DAY
Buffy hasn't moved, or opened her mouth. The FLY BUZZES on.
Gary Murray now sits behind his desk.
GARY MURRAY
I guess you're surprised. Well,
you know, there's more to most people
than meets the eye. Everybody's
got a secret. I just want you to
know that you can always share your
secrets with me. What you say in
this office, it will stay in this
office. I'm your pal.
Buffy smiles at Gary. As he looks away for a second, Buffy
spits out the push pin. The BUZZING STOPS.
CUT TO:
INT. WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
Buffy sparring with Merrick again. She holds a stake. This
time she ends up pinning him, the stake at his solar plexus.
He moves the point to where his heart would be.
CUT TO:
INT. PIKE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
The room is a shambles. Outside the first floor window, it is
dark night. "Help Yourself" by the Posies blasts from Pike's
STEREO. Pike lies on his bed.
Through the window we see Benny approach, slowly fading up to
the pane. He's floating, really. (He's a vampire.) He scrapes
his fingers on the glass.
BENNY
Pike...
Pike sits up, turns down the music. He goes to the window,
begins to try to open it. It's stuck.
PIKE
Benny, man, where you been? You
bailed on me, I passed out, man, I
almost did a Jimi Hendrix!
BENNY
Let me in.
PIKE
Hey, I'm trying, but this window is
burnt --
Pike gets a good look at Benny for the first time.
BENNY
Invite me in, Pike.
PIKE
Wait a minute. What's wrong with
you, man?
BENNY
I'm fine.
PIKE
You look like shit, Benny.
Benny grins, presses his slimy forehead against the glass.
BENNY
I... feel.... pretty.
PIKE
No offense, man, but I think you're
on something nasty. Why don't you
just go and cool out and I'll see
you in the morning or something.
BENNY
The sun! It burns! It burns!
He laughs at his impression, brown spittle caking the window.
BENNY
(continuing)
Let me in, Pike! I'm hungry!
PIKE
Get away from here.
BENNY
I'm hungry.
PIKE
I mean it.
Benny smiles, moves suddenly out of sight. Pike looks at the
window for a second, then bolts out of his room. He runs to
the front door, frantically hooks the chain. Benny appears at
the door's little window, banging and scraping the glass.
BENNY
I'm hungry! I'm hungry! I'm hungry!
Pike backs away.
CUT TO:
EXT. DESERTED STREET - NIGHT
Buffy walks slowly down the street, trying to appear nonchalant,
but looking about her a lot.
BUFFY
Sure is cold. What a dark night.
Nice night for a walk.
She whistles some, keeps walking.
BUFFY
(continuing)
'Feelings, la la la la feelings'...
Boy, I'm helpless.
She passes an alley and there is a RUSTLING amid the garbage
cans. She moves slowly down the alley toward the noise. She
is about halfway down when a rat scurries out from the cans
and down a drain.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Yeucch.
Behind her, another SOUND. She turns slowly. At the entrance
to the alley stands a vampire. They stare at each other, some
thirty feet away.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Hello...
She moves back a step. The vampire takes a step.
BUFFY
(continuing)
What do you want?
It floats rapidly at her, hissing. Buffy looks about her
frantically, trapped. It hits her at top speed and she
instantly rolls onto her back, flipping it and hurling it
against the wall at the end of the alley. As it hits, Buffy,
still rolling, produces a stake from her jacket and throws it
directly at its heart. The stake punctures the startled
creature's chest. Before he can so much as grab it, Buffy
throws a roundhouse kick, driving the stake all the way home
with her foot. The vampire screams, sinks to the ground.
Buffy turns, triumphant.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Toaster-caked him!
CLOSEUP - A STOPWATCH
A hand stops it. It is Merrick, who steps into the alley and
stares at Buffy.
CUT TO:
EXT. OUTSIDE THE WAREHOUSE - NIGHT
The two exit Merrick's car, an old Dodge Dart. As they talk,
they make their way into the warehouse. Buffy looks out for
trouble while Merrick unlocks the door. This is obviously
their routine.
MERRICK
He was slow. Very simple. They
won't all be that easy.
BUFFY
Fine.
MERRICK
And the alley was a mistake. Never
corner yourself like that. If they'd
come at you in force you'd be dead
now. One vampire is a lot easier
to kill then ten.
BUFFY
Does the world 'Duhh' mean anything
to you?
MERRICK
You felt a little sick, didn't you?
The cramps.
They enter the warehouse.
CUT TO:
INT. THE WAREHOUSE - SAME TIME
They unload their stuff as they argue.
BUFFY
Nice conversationalist! Yeah, I
felt 'em a little, but I ain't due
for two weeks since you're so excited
about the subject.
MERRICK
It's natural. A reaction to their
presence, to the... unnaturalness
of it. It's part of how you are
able to track them.
BUFFY
Oh, wonderful. My secret weapon is -
PMS. That's just great. Thanks
for telling me.
MERRICK
You'll get used to it. I'm more
worried about your tactical mistakes.
BUFFY
You are such a wet.
MERRICK
A what?
BUFFY
A wet! Didn't I just kill that
vampire? I think I did. I didn't
see you killing any vampires. You
were too busy playing 'Beat the
Clock'.
MERRICK
Don't start with me again.
BUFFY
Aren't I, like the chosen one? The
one and only? The Grand High Poobah
and doesn't that mean you have to
be nice to me? Like, ever?
MERRICK
Buffy...
BUFFY
And why are you always wearing black?
It's so down. It's totally not
your color. I don't think you have
a color.
MERRICK
What do you want? Encouragement?
(in bad American accent)
'Gosh, Buffy, you're so special, I
just want to give you a great big
hug, oh I'm just having a warm
fuzzy.'
BUFFY
Oh, fuck you!
Merrick turns on her.
MERRICK
Do you know how many girls I've
trained to be Slayers? Five. Five
properly prepared girls, girls who
faced their responsibilities, who
worked hard to become women overnight --
harder than you've ever worked in
your life -- and I saw them ripped
apart. Do you want to live? Do
you?
BUFFY
I...
MERRICK
What did you think, that being able
to jump about and hit people makes
you a Slayer?
Buffy looks at him a bit.
BUFFY
Five?
MERRICK
Five.
BUFFY
So, basically, I've got the life
expectancy of a zit, right?
MERRICK
Not if you're careful.
BUFFY
How can you keep doing this?
MERRICK
It's what I was raised to do. There
aren't many of us left, the Watchers.
BUFFY
Watchers?
MERRICK
There's a small village in Hampshire,
near Stonehenge...
(sees she doesn't know it)
... near a bunch of big rocks.
That's where I was born. My father
taught me about the training, about
finding the Slayers, reading the
signs. There's a small cluster of
us, a few families, really... most
of the neighboring villagers think
we're just a bunch of harmless old
loonies. I thought so myself for a
time, when I was younger...
(stops himself)
I'm sorry. I'm not supposed to...
I shouldn't go on like this.
BUFFY
I wish you would.
MERRICK
It isn't important.
BUFFY
I'm curious, is all.
MERRICK
Buffy, don't... don't start thinking
of me as your friend. It interferes
with the work, and it...
BUFFY
And it makes it worse when I die,
right?
Silence.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Well, you know, I'm not gonna kick
so easy. I've got a few things the
other girls didn't have.
MERRICK
As for example, what?
BUFFY
Well... there's my keen fashion
sense, for one.
MERRICK
Vampires of the world, beware.
BUFFY
(impressed)
Merrick. You made a joke. Are you
okay, I mean, do you want to lie
down? I know it hurts the first
time.
In spite of himself, Merrick smiles.
CUT TO:
INT. SCHOOL HALL - DAY
Buffy, Nicole, Kimberly, and Jennifer are walking down the
hall.
JENNIFER
So they found Cassandra's body out
by the railway tunnels. Nobody's
saying anything, but they think she
was involved in something, like,
illegal or something. Like dealing.
KIMBERLY
Well, I hope so.
JENNIFER
Probably was. What do you suppose
she was doing out there.
BUFFY
Dying.
JENNIFER
Eeyuu.
Coming from the opposite direction are Jeffrey, Andy and some
of the other football players. They're suited up and heading
for the gym.
ANDY
... And they're having some memorial
service or something tomorrow. You
going?
JEFFREY
I don't know. Coach said I had to
work on my 'ab's.'
ANDY
Coach knows what abs are?
They pass Buffy. Andy stops and grabs her from behind.
ANDY
(continuing)
Got to get some!
Unthinkingly, Buffy flips Andy over and pins him against a
locker.
ANDY
(continuing)
Whoa! Whoa! I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I don't actually need any right
now.
JEFFREY
(to Buffy)
What's with you?
BUFFY
Don't grab me, okay?
ANDY
Absolutely. I see now the error of
my mistake.
JEFFREY
Yeah, keep your mitts off my thang.
I'll pop you one.
(to Buffy)
Did he scare you?
Jeffrey puts his arm around Buffy but she shakes it off.
BUFFY
I can take care of myself, Jeffrey.
JEFFREY
So I noticed.
Buffy goes off by herself. Jeffrey watches her.
JEFFREY
(continuing)
Nice to feel needed.
ANDY
Let's move out!
JEFFREY
(rallying)
Yes!
The lads move off. We see Nicole, Kimberly and Jennifer, who
have been watching the whole exchange. Nicole and Kimberly
are obviously disdainful of Buffy's behavior. Jennifer is
feeling sorry for Jeffrey. Boy does she want him.
CUT TO:
INT. CLOTHING STORE - DAY
A mod, brightly lit store. A little hipper than your usual
mall fare, but not Melrose either. Bright colors reign. Buffy
is standing by a dressing stall, inspecting her fingernails,
talking to Merrick as he changes inside.
BUFFY
I mean, most of the time Jeffrey's
really sweet, but sometimes he gets
kind of... 'Me-Tarzan'ish, you know
what I mean? Lately it bugs me, I
guess.
(no response)
Merrick? Are you still breathing?
MERRICK (O.S.)
(from inside)
I can't work this.
BUFFY
We call them zippers. They're not
supposed to be a challenge.
MERRICK
But it's in the back. Why are we
wasting time with this, anyway?
BUFFY
Because you clash, Merrick. You
clash with everything. I mean you
might as well go around with a sign,
'Slayers trained her.' Honestly,
you look like something out of...
Pasadena.
MERRICK
My clothes have always been perfectly
serviceable.
BUFFY
Well, you're on my turf now. You're
just gonna have to trust me.
Merrick comes out of the booth. He wears multi-colored
parachute pants and an equally loud T-shirt. Buffy looks at
him -- he looks at himself.
MERRICK
I want to die.
BUFFY
(doesn't like it either)
Okay. The important thing is not
to panic.
CUT TO:
EXT. ZEPH'S AUTO REPAIR - LATE AFTERNOON
Pike is hurriedly working on a part in the hood of his beat-up
Dodge, which is filled with all his belongings. ZEPH stands
watching him. Zeph is about forty-five, greasy, good-natured.
Pike works for him.
PIKE
You said you'd have the part by
two! Christ, it's almost dark.
Pike finishes, slams the hood. He picks up a battered guitar
case and stuffs it into the car, shuts the door.
ZEPH
What nasty bug crawled up your bungus
and where the hell are you going?
PIKE
I'm leaving, man. I'm bailing town.
This place has gotten way too hairy.
ZEPH
Where am I gonna find another
mechanic stupid enough to work for
my money?
PIKE
Hey, have you seen Benny lately?
ZEPH
No... You want me to give him a
message?
PIKE
You should think about leaving,
too, man. Sell this place...
Something's going on here. I don't
know. Something real weird.
Pike gets in the car. It sputter, starts.
ZEPH
Ah, you'll be coming back.
PIKE
I don't think so.
ZEPH
All right. Take care of yourself.
PIKE
I am.
ZEPH
Hey. What should I do if I see
Benny?
PIKE
Run.
Pike peels out. Zeph watches him go.
ZEPH
That's my guitar...
ANGLE - THE SUN
burning down.
CUT TO:
INT. PIKE'S CAR - NIGHT
On the edge of town. The car has stalled at an intersection.
Pike is hunched over the wheel, his head down as he listens to
the rasping ENGINE.
PIKE
Come on, come on. Don't leave me,
baby. Come on, breathe.
Amilyn appears in the street in front of the car. Pike finally
hears the SCRAPING OF HIS FEET as he approaches the car. Pike
straightens up slowly, and as the rear view mirror comes INTO
THE FRAME, we see there are two more behind him. They are
both high-school age, fresh like Bessel and Benny. They all
approach, slowly.
Pike waits for a second, his hand on the key.
PIKE
(continuing)
This is for the money, baby. Make
me proud.
He turns the key again and the car ROARS to life. The
headlights trap the hungry scowl of the vampires as Pike pops
the car in reverse, smashing into the back two vampires. They
both go flying, hurt but not killed.
ANGLE - INSIDE THE CAR
Pike races at Amilyn, but he leaps up as Pike reaches him, and
Pike hears a THUD as Amilyn lands on the roof of his car.
Pike continues to bullet down the street as a hand suddenly
punches through the roof, grabbing at him. He fights off the
hand and tries to control the speeding car.
It can't be done: he goes off the road and into a park. The
car careens along.
ANGLE - ON TOP OF THE CAR
Amilyn ride it, laughing.
ANGLE - INSIDE THE CAR
Pike spots a tree with a low branch and heads for it. Still
fighting, he aims at the branch. It gets closer.
ANGLE - ON TOP OF THE CAR
Amilyn looks up.
ANGLE - INSIDE THE CAR
They pass under the branch and we hear a TEARING THUD. The
arm stiffens and falls into Pike's lap.
The car hits another tree dead on. Pike slams into the steering
wheel. The guitar case flies right through the windshield and
lands on the grass.
Pike pulls himself slowly from the car. He is bleeding, but
not badly. Just shaken. He hears a low, seething WAIL from a
few yards back and turns around. Amilyn is getting shakily to
his feet.
PIKE
Oh, give me a break.
Amilyn hisses at him, then turns and races away, snarling,
clutching what's left of his arm.
One of the other vampires nears him. Pike tries to run and
his knees buckle. He lands on them right next to the guitar
case. As the vampire nears, he pulls the guitar out of the
case and swings it, hitting the vampire in the head. He hits
him again. The vampire bats away the guitar and grabs Pike.
Brings his face to Pike's as Pike squirms.
A blasting kick in the head from Buffy. The vampire is flung
to one side, falls. He starts up at Buffy and she nails him
with a stake. Pike stares at her. She pulls a walkie-talkie
from her pocket.
BUFFY
(into walkie-talkie)
I'm on the east side, near the
playground... all right.
She puts the walkie-talkie back.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Hi.
PIKE
Hi there.
BUFFY
Is that your car?
PIKE
It was. I think it's pretty much
ready for the --
The last vampire hits Pike from behind. Without missing a
beat, Buffy picks up the guitar and snaps the neck off. She
and the vampire meet in the middle -- the creature barely moves
before she buries the guitar neck in its chest. It falls.
Merrick runs up. He is wearing black jeans and a windbreaker.
He is more modern than he was before, but subtly. He sees the
decaying bodies, one with a guitar sticking out of its chest.
MERRICK
Interesting.
BUFFY
I kind of had to improvise.
(to Pike)
Sorry about your guitar.
PIKE
That's okay. Umm, listen, I'm
not.... I have to fall down now.
Pike's eyes glaze over slightly as he collapses into Buffy's
arms.
CUT TO:
INT. BOILER ROOM - CLOSEUP ON AMILYN - NIGHT
Thrashing about the room in hysterics, screaming and snarling,
banging his one fist on the boiler tank. It booms hollowly.
Lothos grabs him, throws him up against the wall.
LOTHOS
What's wrong with you!?!
AMILYN
My arm! He took my fucking arm!
LOTHOS
Shut up! You let him have it!
Lothos lets Amilyn go. Amilyn still fumes, quietly.
LOTHOS
(continuing)
You reckless imbecile. This place
is ours for the taking and you let
yourself... twelve hundred years
old and you act like a child.
AMILYN
I had him in my grasp.
LOTHOS
Cheer up. You may still.
Only Lothos smiles at the joke. Amilyn raises his stump, looks
at it. The tattered end of his jacket covers the grossness of
it, but it still isn't good.
AMILYN
(forlornly)
I look horrible.
LOTHOS
The other two -- the new ones.
Where are they?
AMILYN
I don't know. But the boy, he
couldn't kill them.
LOTHOS
(thoughtfully)
No... Not a boy...
(gathers himself)
Find out if they're dead. And do
something about that arm. Honestly,
I don't know how you made it through
the Crusades.
He turns toward his chamber.
LOTHOS
(continuing)
Let me know about our little
recruits. I'll be in my chamber...
On his way through the door he passes a box on an oil drum.
He plucks a large kitten out of it.
LOTHOS
(continuing)
... having a snack.
CUT TO:
INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Buffy and Pike walk in, Pike still a bit unsteady on his feet.
BUFFY
How are you doing?
PIKE
Oh, I'm good. I'm good. Kind of
miss my knees, though.
BUFFY
You want some water or something?
PIKE
Water. Okay.
They move into the kitchen.
PIKE
(continuing)
Do you do this kind of thing a lot?
I mean, is this like a hobby?
BUFFY
Not exactly.
PIKE
They were vampires, weren't they?
BUFFY
Yeah.
PIKE
God! Unbelievable. Vampires.
Buffy hands Pike the water and they move back into the living
room. Pike curls up in an armchair by the window. Buffy begins
stripping off her bloody clothes, leaving on a tank-top and
jeans.
BUFFY
You had a car full of stuff. Were
you leaving?
PIKE
Yeah, I was bailing. I have a
friend, and he's really... well,
he's really vampire, I guess. Bad
scene.
BUFFY
Well, stay here tonight.
PIKE
Thanks. Tomorrow morning, I'm on a
bus. I'm gone.
BUFFY
Where are you gonna go?
PIKE
Well, I've always wanted to see
Oxnard.
As Buffy strips down to her tank top, she notices a gash on
her arm. It's not bleeding much any more, but it's fairly
impressive. Pike jumps up to help as she pats it down with
her shirt.
PIKE
(continuing)
Hey, jeez are you okay? You need a
hand?
BUFFY
It's nothing. It doesn't hurt.
Pike looks at her a moment as she wraps her shirt around it.
PIKE
(almost awed)
Who are you?
Buffy doesn't look up. The questions seems to upset her a
great deal. She even fights back tears.
PIKE
(continuing)
I'm sorry, I just mean... well you
seemed like such a flake. But, in
a good way! I can just keep talking
till you strike me dead, or...
Buffy smiles at this, though still upset. She sits down.
BUFFY
Things are kind of confusing.
PIKE
I'll back that up.
BUFFY
Three weeks ago all I thought about
was... well, I didn't actually think
about anything. I definitely didn't
expect this.
PIKE
I know. My guidance counselor never
mentioned anything about vampires.
'Prison' came up a few times, but
nothing about undead.
BUFFY
It's weird. I went back to my old
grade school once, to the playground --
I used to hang out there all the
time, playing on the swings and
stuff... I went back and it was so
tiny, the whole place. I couldn't
even fit on the swings. Everything
just looked so small.
(collects herself)
I'm sorry. I'm babbling.
PIKE
No, you're not.
But she stands anyway, head to the stairs.
BUFFY
I'm kinda beat. You can stay in my
mom's room if you want.
PIKE
I think I'll just hang out here.
Make sure the sun comes up and
everything.
BUFFY
You sure?
PIKE
Oh, I'll be fine. Got my chair,
got my window, I'm great.
BUFFY
Mmkay.
She starts up the stairs.
PIKE
Hey, Buffy...
BUFFY
Yeah?
PIKE
You know, you saved my life. And I
just wanted to say... I forgive you
for talking during the movie.
Almost.
She gives him a look, heads upstairs. He watches her go, looks
out the window.
CUT TO:
EXT. BUS TERMINAL
A bus is pulling out. We see Pike through the window, looking
comtemplative. He watches the terminal disappear.
PIKE'S POV
The streets move by. On one there is a Police Officer talking
to a hysterical Man. Next to them is a body, covered by a
sheet.
CUT TO:
EXT. OUTSIDE SCHOOL - MORNING
Buffy and Merrick are walking along the path to the steps of
the main building, arguing. Merrick is wearing casual
California gear, but again, very subdued.
MERRICK
There isn't time.
BUFFY
Make time, okay? You're the one
who told me to act normal. I've
missed three practices already. If
I'm not there for the Barber game
tomorrow everyone's gonna talk.
MERRICK
Another distraction. It's not right.
BUFFY
Why because it's not my fate? It's
not in the Book-of-All-
Knowledgefullness that I'm gonna be
cheerleading at the Barber game?
MERRICK
Sooner or later you're going to
have to accept it. Your fate.
BUFFY
I'm pretty much learning not to
accept anything anymore. Come on,
Merrick. Football. Afterwards we
can kill and kill until there is
nothing left.
MERRICK
All right.
BUFFY
Toasty. You should come; it's gonna
be a great game.
MERRICK
Oh, I'll be there all right. I'm
not letting you out of my sight.
Not till you're ready.
BUFFY
Try and be inconspicuous, okay?
Act like a fan.
MERRICK
(being a fan)
Football is my life.
BUFFY
You're learning. Slowly, incredibly
slowly, but you're learning.
She turns to go.
MERRICK
None of the other girls ever gave
me this much trouble.
BUFFY
And where are they now?
She smiles at him and runs up the steps, where Jeffrey is
waiting for her. He looks at the departing figure of Merrick.
JEFFREY
So that's your tutor, huh? What is
he, like, your boyfriend now?
BUFFY
Jeffrey. Projectile vomit.
They enter the building together.
CUT TO:
EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD - NIGHT
Right before the game. The scoreboard reads "Hemery vs Barber".
Fans fill the stands. We see Buffy with the other cheerleaders.
She's really into it, enjoying herself as they all rally the
crowd.
We see Merrick taking a seat. He is wearing another new outfit --
a letterman jacket and baseball cap. He has binoculars around
his neck. He takes his seat amidst the teens. Real
inconspicuous.
CUT TO:
INT. LOCKER ROOM - SAME TIME
The coach is giving players his pep talk.
COACH
Some people say winning is a state
of mind. Can't win out there if
you don't win --
(point to his head)
-- in here. I say, winning isn't a
state of mind. I say winning is
having more points. And how do we
get point? By putting the thing,
the ball over the.. in the place.
AMILYN
End zone.
COACH
Right. So I don't care about your
minds. Maybe you're tired. Maybe
you're worried about your grades.
Maybe you dog just died or you've
suddenly found that you're attracted
to other men. I don't care! 'Cause
we're a team. And there only on
thing that matters to a team. What
that?
TEAM
Winning!
COACH
And how do we win?
TEAM
By putting the thing in the place!!
COACH
So let's go!!
TEAM
Yeahh!!!!
They run out, full of fire. The coach turns to one player,
whose face we cannot see.
COACH
There you are! You missed practice
again. You're benched till the
fourth, um, the fourth part. Now
get out there.
Coach heads out. The player turns around, smiles after him.
It's Grueller.
CUT TO:
INT. STADIUM TUNNEL - SAME TIME
The players run out toward the field, yelling. The last of
them is Grueller. He floats behind them slowly, grinning and
speaking in a passionless voice, again as if he were repeating
words phonetically.
GRUELLER
Go team. Rah. Go team go.
CUT TO:
EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD (LATER)
Fourth quarter. The scoreboard read "Hemery: 17, Barber: 21".
Fifty seconds left.
CHEERLEADERS
Two! Four! Six! Eight!
Who do we emasculate!
Barber! Barber! Yay!!
On the sidelines, a player hobbles out and coach pushes Grueller
in. He passes Buffy and she winces slightly. It messes up
the routine and Nicole practically falls over her.
NICOLE
Buffy, Jesus! You know these steps.
BUFFY
Sorry.
Buffy starts cheering again as the players huddle.
ANGLE - MERRICK
He is watching Buffy through his binoculars. A TEEN nudges
him.
TEEN
Hey, can I borrow your binoculars,
man?
MERRICK
(without looking around)
No.
TEEN
You're checking out the cheerleaders.
All right. Buffy, man.
Merrick does turn.
MERRICK
What about her?
TEEN
Everybody knows about her, man.
MERRICK
Knows what about her?
The teen leans closer.
TEEN
She's had sex.
He nods at Merrick; "You know what I mean". Merrick turns
back.
MERRICK
I'm on the wrong bloody side.
ANGLE - THE FIELD
The players are lined up. Grueller, at left tackle, smiles at
the player facing him, growls. The player looks worried.
ANDY
Twenty-three! Thirty-two! Hike!
The players scramble as Andy hands off. The carrier gets a
few yards. When the pileup on the line of scrimmage peels
apart, the player that had been facing Grueller is unconscious.
As he is carted off the field, Grueller gleefully trots back
to the huddle.
ANGLE - BUFFY
Watching the game, a little perplexed.
ANGLE - THE STANDS
Merrick watches Buffy.
ANGLE - THE SIDELINES
The coach yells at the players.
COACH
Come on! Do the thing! Where you...
go towards the guy! Come one!
Throw the thing!
ANGLE - GRUELLER
Smiling, listening to Andy call the play.
ANGLE - ANOTHER SECTION IN THE STANDS
Kimberly sits, complaining to no one in particular.
KIMBERLY
What are they doing? The clock's
running out!
(shouts)
Throw the ball!
She sits back, turns to her neighbor.
KIMBERLY
Are they so brain-dead?
Her neighbor smiles at her. He is a vampire, and he speaks in
the same monotone that Grueller used. He waves a pennant.
VAMPIRE FAN
Rah.
ANGLE - THE FIELD
The players are lined up again. Grueller is drooling. The
other team is really worried about him now.
The snap. Andy drops back and lobs it to Jeffrey. Jeffrey is
way open. He catches it easily, looks behind him as he runs.
Barber players are rushing at him. And Grueller is coming at
him too, throwing other players right and left.
Jeffrey looks a little worried. He bolts down field, toward
the end zone, Grueller on his heels.
ANGLE - BUFFY
She sees something is definitely wrong.
BUFFY
Jeffrey...
In a flash, she races onto the field.
NICOLE
Buffy!
JENNIFER
What is she...
ANGLE - MERRICK
He stands, his eyes following Buffy.
ANGLE - KIMBERLY
She also see Buffy.
KIMBERLY
Oh, wow. She's really lost it.
VAMPIRE FAN
Party hearty.
Everybody rises to their feet and cheers as Jeffrey makes it
to the end zone.
ANGLE - THE CLOCK
Two, one, zero.
ANGLE - THE FIELD
Grueller hits Jeffrey a second before he is enveloped by other
players. Grueller, hungry with bloodlust, is confused by the
exultant crowd, snarling at people.
Buffy races for the crowd. She sees Jeffrey is all right.
Grueller makes his way out of the throng and up into the stands
even as everyone else is rushing onto the field.
Jeffrey is triumphant. He sees Buffy running for him and raises
his arms. She passes him right by and continues after Grueller,
heads up the stands. He looks after her, confused, before he
is swamped again.
ANGLE - MERRICK
He tries to make his way through the crowd.
ANGLE - TOP OF THE STANDS
Grueller reaches them and leaps over the back. Buffy sees
him, runs up and without hesitation, dives off herself.
The stands reach some thirty feet off the ground. Buffy sails
down like a diver, grabs a branch about halfway down. She
swings like a gymnast and the branch snaps. Still holding the
broken branch, she completes a perfect flip and lands on her
feet.
The vampire fan is on the ground behind her, come for her and
without stopping or even turning she twirls the branch and
sinks the broken end in his heart.
She looks around for Grueller. He is booking out, already
several yards away..
Merrick appears at the top of the stands just in time to see
Buffy take off after Grueller.
MERRICK
Wait!
BUFFY
(calls as she runs)
He knows who I am!
She continues to race after Grueller.
ANGLE - MERRICK
Running back down the stands, making his way through the
dispersing crowd to the nearest exit.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - SAME TIME
Buffy is still following, but she can't keep up. She spot a
BIKER tooling along the street on a Harley. She comes up to
the side of the road and tentatively sticks her thumb out.
The biker smiles, stops in front of her.
ANGLE - THE BIKE
Ground level, behind the bike, we see its engine revving, smoke
puffing from twin pipes.
BIKER
Hey, babe. You want to get some
real power between your legs?
Buffy looks at the biker a moment.
ANGLE - THE BIKE
The same angle as before, ground level. Suddenly the biker's
body lands in front of CAMERA
CLOSEUP - WHEEL
spinning
CLOSEUP - HAND
revving the engine.
Buffy takes off at top speed.
BIKER
Dyke! You're a dyke! I'm telling
the world!
CUT TO:
EXT. CONSTRUCTION SITE (MOMENTS LATER)
A RUSTLING in the trees signifies Grueller's flight. Seconds
late, Buffy roars into view behind him. She navigates the
streets with less ease than determination.
Her eyes follow him off the road and she steers the bike on a
violently bumpy and erratic course through the site. She
finally hits a pile of bricks and is thrown headlong from the
bike. She hits the ground hard; she rolls into it but has
trouble getting up.
BUFFY'S POV
Grueller's smiling face appears over her.
GRUELLER
Fall down go boom have to see the
nurse.
BUFFY (O.S.)
Grueller, God, what did they do
you?
He brings his face right next to hers. His voice is no longer
passionless; it boils up from hell.
GRUELLER
They killed me.
RESUME SCENE
He grabs her and hauls her up.
BUFFY
No kidding.
She head-butts him with enormous force, sending him staggering
back. Before he can recover, she dives for a pile of discarded
lumber, chooses a nasty shard of wood.
She turns on Grueller, who is smiling again. There are two
more Vampires approaching her, surrounding her.
GRUELLER
The Master walks tonight. This is
his kingdom, now.
They rush her. She takes one on as the second hits her,
knocking her over. They all three swarm over her, meeting her
kicks with raking claws. The two hold her in front of Grueller.
GRUELLER
(continuing)
You know, Buffy, I've always wanted
you.
He smiles again and leans toward her neck.
The stake that pops out through his chest is as much a surprise
to him as it is to Buffy. He falls backward, shocked and dead.
Behind him stands Pike.
One of the other vampires stupidly goes after Pike, who runs
away. Buffy instantly flips the other one over onto Grueller,
impaling him as well.
Pike runs more or less in a circle, yelling, the vampire at
his heels.
PIKE
I didn't mean it! I didn't mean
it!
Wooden shard in hand, Buffy sprints toward them, jumps into a
series of flips. She lands with her legs around the vampire's
shoulders, plants the stake in its heart as they topple onto
Pike.
For a moment, Pike and Buffy lie on top of each other, breathing
hard. Then they get up awkwardly, embarrassed by their
touching, (and by their slight arousal).
BUFFY
I didn't expect to see you.
PIKE
I know.
BUFFY
Why'd you come back?
PIKE
I don't know. I kind of thought I
ought to be here. You know, this
isn't exactly the kind of thing you
can run away from.
BUFFY
Thanks.
PIKE
Besides, Oxnard sucks.
They start out of the site.
PIKE
(continuing)
Listen, I... I really do want to
help. I mean, these guys are dag
nasty, and somewhere my best friend
is out there, and I'd like to, I
don't know. Even the score. Do
some damage. I'm good with damage.
ANGLE - KIMBERLY'S CAR
She drives by, see Buffy with Pike. It's an eyebrow-raiser,
but she keeps driving.
BUFFY
Pike, I don't think you're up to
this.
PIKE
I think I could help. You gonna
tell me you don't need help?
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - SAME TIME
Merrick runs up to the street where Buffy took the Harley. He
has shed the raccoon coat. The biker is still there, standing
in the road trying to thumb a ride.
MERRICK
Did you see a girl come by here?
BIKER
You don't mean, like, a cheerleader?
MERRICK
Yes.
BIKER
Yeah, I saw her. Bitch took my
wheels.
MERRICK
Wheels?
BIKER
My bike! She's a lesbian, too.
She told me.
MERRICK
Which way did she go?
BIKER
Down there.
He points. The CAMERA PANS with Merrick as he takes a step in
that direction, leaving the biker behind (and momentarily OUT
OF FRAME).
MERRICK
Idiot girl. Can't watch over her.
How long ago did --
The CAMERA PAN back with Merrick as he turns to the biker, but
in his place stands Lothos. Not five feet from Merrick.
MERRICK
Oh, my God.
ANGLE - THE BIKER
On his knees, Lothos' hand firmly locked around his throat.
He cannot move or breathe.
Merrick and Lothos look at each other a moment.
LOTHOS
It's a beautiful night. I have
never understood the human tendency
to equate darkness with emptiness.
To me the black is so thick with
life, like soil... like blood.
Darkness writhes under my eye.
He looks at the night. Merrick slowly reaches for a gun stuck
in the back of his pants as Lothos continues.
LOTHOS
(continuing)
I know who you are. She's out her,
as well, isn't she? Another Slayer.
Who is it this time? What offering
have you brought me?
EXT. ANOTHER STREET - ANGLE ON BUFFY - SAME TIME
She is crouching on the ground, holding her stomach and gritting
her teeth.
PIKE
Buffy? What's wrong?
BUFFY
Oh, God. It's him. I think it's
him.
PIKE
Who?
BUFFY
(not answering)
Merrick...
Buffy ups and runs in the direction of the noise. Calls back
to Pike.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Stay here.
She runs out of sight.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - ANGLE ON THE BIKER - SAME TIME
Lothos lets him go and he falls, dead.
LOTHOS
It doesn't really matter. The names,
the faces, they all melt together.
After a time, there really is no
difference. One more pathetic bitch,
begging for me to suck on her clotted
heart.
MERRICK
This one may surprise you.
CLOSEUP - THE GUN
Merrick holds it firm behind his back, finger on the trigger.
LOTHOS
I rather doubt it, if she was raised
here.
He laughs. He doesn't appear to have noticed the gun, but:
LOTHOS
(continuing)
Where is she? I can't wait to meet
her. Do you think she's ready to
face me? Or perhaps you can stop
me with that gun.
MERRICK
Perhaps.
Merrick looks out at the trees nearby.
MERRICK'S POV
Buffy appears, far away, between the trees.
Merrick looks at Lothos, afraid he will notice.
ANGLE - BUFFY
Approaching, stopping some twenty yards away. She looks about
her for a weapon.
LOTHOS
Look at you. You pathetic thing.
So small, so full of fury. After
you've served me for a hundred years,
I think you'll have a little more
perspective.
MERRICK
I don't think so.
Lothos rushes suddenly at Merrick, hissing, his feet just off
the ground. Merrick steps back, whips out the GUN, and SHOOTS
himself without hesitation in the head.
Buffy's eyes go wide.
Lothos growls, holding Merrick's spurting corpse.
A small, involuntary noise escapes Buffy.
CLOSEUP - LOTHOS
Even twenty yards away, he hears. He spins and stares, starest
at CAMERA. Listening.
Buffy walks slowly, silently backward, fading back into the
dark, terrified and shocked.
Lothos turns back and looks at Merrick dead in his hands.
Disgusted, he lets him drop.
LOTHOS
Fool.
He looks at the blood on his fingers. After a moment, he tastes
it.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET (LATER)
Pike is standing by the trees where Buffy stood before, looking
out into the street.
PIKE'S POV
The same angle as Buffy's, before. Now Lothos is gone. Buffy
is kneeling quietly by Merrick, holding his head in her lap.
CUT TO:
EXT. A WOOD - JUST BEFORE DAWN
Through the dark mist Buffy appears, carrying Merrick's body
in her arms. She is alone. She does not stop.
CUT TO:
EXT. GRAVEYARD - MORNING
On the outskirts of the graveyard, Buffy finishes filling in
Merrick's grave under an old tree. She is still wearing her
cheerleader outfit, now caked with dirt. She stands at the
foot of the grave, tries to think of a prayer.
BUFFY
Ummm, our Father, Who art in Heaven,
duhmm... hallowed be Thy name.
Uhh, kingdom come, daily break, I
don't know. I don't even know if
you're religious. You probably
are. But you're dead, you know.
You're just totally dead. and...
She sits heavily on his grave.
BUFFY
(continuing)
... and I don't know what to do.
You were the one who... I don't
know if the training was over. I
don't even know if I passed. You're
so stupid! How could you be so
stupid? What am I supposed to do
without you? You son of a bitch!
She stops, looks down for a moment.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Amen.
CUT TO:
INT. ZEPH'S AUTO REPAIR - DAY
Pike is at work on a contraption. Built out of scraps and
parts, it is the beginnings of a cartridge-load crossbow.
Zeph watches, behind him.
ZEPH
Hah, I'd knew you'd be back. Didn't
I say you'd be back? Ha, ha, ha!
You're sitting in your old car saying
'Nope, I'm never coming back.'
Hee, Hee! Like you got anywhere to
go. 'I'm never coming back' But I
knew you would. Birds got to return
to the nest sooner or later. That's
what I said. Just like I told you...
Pike pays no attention to this babbling monologue. Over the
course of it he takes a slim, handmade wooden shaft, slightly
thicker than an arrow, and rubs it with garlic. He places it
in the crossbow, take aim in front of him. He fires into the
tire of a truck. The tire pops flat. Zeph cracks up.
ZEPH
(continuing)
Hah! Shot the damn tire, dumbass,
didn't even look, just going around
shooting things, popped it flat, ya
bonehead.
Pike, still not listening, continues to work.
CUT TO:
INT. GYM - DAY
We see a banner stretched across the central beam of the
ceiling. It reads "THE EARTH IS OUR HOME". A half dozen
inflatable globes dangle from the ceiling. Nicole and Kimberly
are stetting up the drinks table, unloading and stacking
hundreds of styrofoam cups. Jennifer crosses by them, carrying
an armful of plastic wrappings and containers.
JENNIFER
I got all the plastic stuff. What
should I do with it?
KIMBERLY
("you idiot")
Throw it out.
Jennifer crosses out as the two resume their conversation.
NICOLE
I really was way way too too.
KIMBERLY
Oh, please! When she ran onto the
field in the middle of the game?
Was that the most out-of-it thing
ever, or did I blink?
NICOLE
I'm, like, yelling at her, 'What
are you doing?' And she's going
'Jeffrey, Jeffrey!' Way mental.
They laugh. Jennifer is the first to see Buffy walk in, looking
cleaned-up but still ragged. They stop laughing.
JENNIFER
Hi, Buffy.
BUFFY
Hi, guys.
KIMBERLY
You were supposed to be here at
three.
BUFFY
I forgot.
KIMBERLY
Buffy, what is your sitch? You're
acting like The Thing From Another
Tax-Bracket; it's too weird.
BUFFY
Look, a lot's been going on. That's
what I wanted to tell you guys about.
I need to tell you. You see... a
while ago, I met this guy --
KIMBERLY
Oh my God you're having an affair.
NICOLE
Cool!
JENNIFER
Does Jeffrey know?
BUFFY
It's not that at all. This is an
old guy, he's like fifty.
KIMBERLY/NICOLE
Eeyuu.
BUFFY
No, no. Listen. Haven't you guys
noticed how weird things have gotten
around here? Like, people
disappearing, people turning up
dead...
NICOLE
What are you talking about?
KIMBERLY
Weird? You mean like you hanging
out with that homeless, Poke? I
saw you last night after the game.
BUFFY
Pike.
NICOLE
You're having a fling with him?
JENNIFER
He doesn't look fifty.
BUFFY
Guys. Guys! Reality pulled out of
her five minutes ago.
KIMBERLY
Oh, thank you very much.
NICOLE
Like you've got a grip.
KIMBERLY
You're so out of it. You've blown
off cheerleading, you've blown off
dance committee --
BUFFY
Excuse me for having something
important to do.
KIMBERLY
This isn't important? The earth is
our home.
BUFFY
Kimberly, it's a dance. It's a
stupid dance with a bunch of stupid
kids that I see every stupid day.
NICOLE
So, we're stupid now?
KIMBERLY
You know, just because you're having
full-on wiggans doesn't mean you
have to drag us into it. This isn't
just any dance. It happens ot be
the last dance of our last year.
NICOLE
Except for Prom.
KIMBERLY
Right.
JENNIFER
And Spring Fling.
KIMBERLY
Okay.
NICOLE
And the January Semi-formal --
KIMBERLY
Okay! Look, Buffy. You want to
play house with the unwashed masses,
that's fine. But personally, I
think you ought to spend a little
time prioritizing. I really do.
BUFFY
Listen to you. What language are
you speaking?
KIMBERLY
Get out of my facial.
She storms out.
NICOLE
Well, I guess you got what you came
for.
BUFFY
Nicole...
NICOLE
Later for it.
She also leaves, with Jennifer. Buffy stands alone in the
room, small amidst the streamers.
CUT TO:
INT. BUFFY'S KITCHEN - EVENING
Buffy stands at the sink, rinsing a glass for way too long,
staring. Her mother breezes THROUGH THE FRAME.
BUFFY'S MOM
Dinner's in the fridge, stay away
from the Jag, we'll be back by
twelve.
She stops, seems to notice something about Buffy.
BUFFY'S MOM
(continuing)
Buffy, honey?
BUFFY
(wanting to talk)
Yeah?
BUFFY'S MOM
Have you gained a few pounds? Maybe
it's that outfit...
BUFFY
Maybe.
BUFFY'S MOM
What's Bobby gonna say?
BUFFY
I don't know, Mom; I've never met
Bobby.
BUFFY'S MOM
(laughs)
Aren't we the chatty ones. Kiss
noise.
And she's out. Buffy looks at her clothes, herself.
CUT TO:
EXT. MALL PARKING LOT - NIGHT
Pike drives slowly between the cars. He sees Buffy walking
toward the mall. He pulls up by her, parks. Gets out of the
car.
PIKE
Buffy, hey, I've been looking all
over for you.
Buffy doesn't stop. He paces her.
PIKE
(continuing)
I been working on some stuff for
you. What'cha doing?
BUFFY
I'm going shopping. Don't try to
stop me.
PIKE
Cool. I could actually use a couple
of Allen wrenches. What do you
need?
BUFFY
A dress.
PIKE
Dress, huh? What for?
BUFFY
For the dance.
PIKE
Come again?
BUFFY
I'm going to the senior dance.
PIKE
(charades)
Second word... sound like 'dance'.
She stops.
BUFFY
I'm going to the dance.
PIKE
What for?
BUFFY
In order to dance and to drink punch
and to be with my friends.
Comprende?
PIKE
I don't believe this. The world's
under attack by the legions of the
undead and you're going to a mixer?
BUFFY
It's not a mixer. It's the senior
dance. And it's important. You
wouldn't understand.
PIKE
You got that right. I thought you
wanted to kill vampires.
BUFFY
I don't want to kill anybody, and I
don't want to talk about it anymore.
PIKE
Listen, I know you're bummed about
your friend, and I'm really sorry...
BUFFY
(offhand, almost disdainful)
He did what he was supposed to.
PIKE
But, Buffy, you're the guy, the
chosen guy.
BUFFY
Right. I'm the chosen one. And I
choose to be shopping.
PIKE
I should have known.
Buffy raises her fist at him; he starts back, involuntarily.
BUFFY
Leave me alone.
PIKE
Benny was right. You guys are all
exactly the same.
Buffy walks away, leaving Pike alone.
PIKE
(continuing; calls after
her)
I'm not disappointed, I'm just angry.
As Pike walks off, the camera TILTS UP the lamp post behind
them. Benny is perched upon it.
BUFFY
Buffy? Buffy?
CUT TO:
INT. BOILER ROOM - NIGHT
Vampires are gathered around. Lothos stands with Benny. Benny
is beaming.
LOTHOS
Buffy...
Lothos laughs, long and hard.
CUT TO:
INT. THE MALL - NIGHT
Buffy looks at dresses, most of them fairly tight and fairly
out there. She holds one in front of her, looks in a mirror.
CUT TO:
INT. ZEPH'S AUTO REPAIR - ANOTHER NIGHT
Pike sits, fiddling with his crossbow. Looks out the window,
discontented. Laid out next to him we see wooden shafts,
garlic, and a cross.
CUT TO:
INT. BUFFY'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT
Buffy lays her dress on the bed. We cannot see exactly what
it looks like.
She stuffs some blood-stained clothes into a duffel bag along
with some stakes. She tosses the bag in the closet.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE GYM - PROM NIGHT
Dozens of limos pull up. Kids pour inside.
CUT TO:
INT. THE GYM - NIGHT
The party is underway. Streamers everywhere, tables by the
windows. Couples dance, a D.J spins the tunes. There is a
setup in one corner for taking prom pictures. The kids are
all very elegant and hip. Every shade of black is represented.
ANGLE - PUNCH BOWL
Nicole and Kimberly stand by the punch bowl, chatting. They
are both wearing slinky little black dresses.
ANGLE - THE DOOR
There are two: at one end, leading to the house (it's closed)
and one leading outside. Gary Murray stands by the outside
door, on guard, as students enter. He is looking disdainfully
at Andy and holding a flask he has confiscated.
ANDY
Well, it came with the tux.
Buffy enters the gym. She is wearing a long white strapless
gown. It is lovely, but very conservative for this crowd.
Over her shoulder is a purse that goes with the dress. She
enters hesitantly, looking around her for Jeffrey. She passes
Andy, who is moving away from Gary Murray.
ANDY
Buffy! Looking tasty.
BUFFY
Thanks. Have you seen Jeffrey?
But Andy has moved on. Buffy works her way through the crowd
to the punch bowl, sees Nicole and Kimberly. They stop
whispering real quick.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Hi, guys.
NICOLE
Hi.
BUFFY
Have you guys seen Jeffrey? The
limo never showed, I thought he
might be here.
Nicole and Kimberly look at each other significantly.
NICOLE
I haven't seen him tonight.
BUFFY
Oh.
She picks up a glass of punch.
BUFFY
(continuing)
I'm glad you guys are here. It's
good to see you.
KIMBERLY
(miss sarcasm)
Yeah, whoops I came.
BUFFY
(tries again)
You look way pretty, Kim.
KIMBERLY
I know. I like your little outfit.
NICOLE
It's amazing what you can do with a
parachute and some starch.
KIMBERLY
As long as there's room for three
in it. What, didn't you bring your
new friends?
Buffy is startled by this attack. Nicole giggles.
BUFFY
I guess you guys are mad at me.
I'm sorry. I've been really --
Jeffrey suddenly appears between them. Jennifer is on his
arm.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Jeffrey! There you are. I --
She stops, as everybody assesses the situation. Buffy is
shocked, doing a slow fade to hurt. Jeffrey is uncomfortable.
Jennifer is apoplectic with embarrassment. Kimberly is in
serious giggle, Nicole a bit more restrained, checking it out.
JEFFREY
Buffy, what are you doing here?
BUFFY
I thought we were meeting here.
JEFFREY
I'm here with Jenny.
-- who is practically hyperventilating, pulling at his arm
like a dog on a leash.
BUFFY
I don't understand.
JEFFREY
Oh, come on, Buffy. You know what's
going on. It's not working out at
all. I've got to move on. I mean,
I've got needs, too. I told you
about all this.
BUFFY
No, you didn't. When?
JEFFREY
Didn't you get my message?
BUFFY
You broke up with my machine?
JEFFREY
You weren't home. Like always.
BUFFY
You left me a message?
JEFFREY
I'm out of here. Jenny.
At the mention of her name Jenny jumps, and in her haste to
get away, she bumps into Buffy's arm, spilling bright red punch
on Buffy's chest. She flees, Jeffrey in tow. They leave the
gym. Kimberly finds it all pretty funny. Nicole is silent.
Buffy turns away, toward the wall. A soft BALLAD come on over
the SPEAKERS. Tears are forming in Buffy's eyes, as she wipes
futilely at her dress. Finally she turns, looks toward the
door.
BUFFY'S POV
Pike is there, walking in on his own. He wears a leather jacket
and baggy old tux pants, accented by chains, earring and unlaced
Doc Martins. He looks great.
He walks directly toward Buffy, and does turn a few heads.
PIKE
I crashed your party.
BUFFY
Pretty shallow of you.
PIKE
That's me.
BUFFY
I'm glad you came.
PIKE
Yeah, you look like you're having a
swell time.
Pike picks up a glass of punch as he notices the stain on
Buffy's dress. He looks about him a bit, then without
hesitation dumps some punch on his lapel, matching stains.
Buffy smiles at him.
PIKE
(continuing)
Will I get the shit kicked out of
me if I ask you to dance?
BUFFY
I don't actually think Jeffrey's
gonna notice.
They begin slow dancing, not too close.
PIKE
Yeah, well, you're the one I'm afraid
of.
They dance for a while, closer and closer.
PIKE
(continuing; gee-whizzically)
You know, you're not like the other
girls.
Buffy pulls him closer, holds him, whispers almost weakly in
his ear.
BUFFY
Yes, I am.
We see couples dancing, kissing... Gary Murray watching them.
ANGLE - KIMBERLY
Sitting by the window with her bovine date, she watches Buffy
dance disdainfully.
KIMBERLY
I can't believe it.
The window SHATTERS by her head, a vampire's hand reaching for
her. She screams, starts back.
Other windows shatter, vampires appearing all around. A couple
of students run for the inner door but it is locked shut from
the other side.
Gradually the party stops as everybody becomes aware of the
situation. They vaguely herd to the middle of the room.
ANGLE - BUFFY AND PIKE
Looking around, assessing the situation.
ANGLE - OUTER DOOR
A STUDENT runs staggering in, blood spurting from his neck.
BLOODY STUDENT
They're out there! They're vampires!
God, help me!
He falls to the ground, a few feet in front of the doorway.
Nobody moves for a second. Then one of the students starts
toward the body.
BUFFY
Don't go near the door.
Buffy does instead, checking the lifeless body and listening
as a number of figures begin to lumber toward the door through
the mist.
Buffy steps back as three 17-year-old vampire come to the door.
1ST VAMPIRE
It's party time.
BUFFY
Don't worry! They can't come in
here. They can't come in unless
they're invited.
KIMBERLY
I already invited them.
Everyone looks at her.
KIMBERLY
(continuing; defensively)
They're seniors!
Pike reaches into an inner pocket and pulls out a number of
small stakes he has made, hands them to Buffy. She opens her
purse.
ANGLE - INSIDE THE PURSE
Cosmetics, hair spray, etc. She fits the stakes in.
BUFFY
The first thing we should --
1ST VAMPIRE
Buffy... You wanna dance?
PIKE
(to Buffy)
Looks like you're busted.
2ND VAMPIRE
We want her! We want Buffy. Send
her out.
1ST VAMPIRE
Or we come in.
They fade back, almost out of sight. Pike looks out the window.
More are gathering.
GARY MURRAY
All right, everybody stay calm.
(to Buffy)
What's going on?
PIKE
Looks bad, Buffy.
SENIOR GIRL
Send her out.
BUFFY
What?
KIMBERLY
They'll kill us! She's the one
they're mad at.
SENIOR BOY
Yeah! Send her out!
GARY MURRAY
Everybody be quiet!
ANDY
What, are you kidding? They'll
kill her!
KIMBERLY
They'll kill us!
PIKE
(moving toward Kimberly,
fist raised)
You want some punch?
GARY MURRAY
I got detention slips here, I'm not
afraid to use them...
But other students have picked up the cry, are clamoring to
sacrifice Buffy. Pike crosses to his bag, sitting by the door.
Two guys move toward Buffy, Andy intervenes. Pike steps in
front of Buffy, holding his custom made cartridge-load crossbow.
Trains it on the others. They quiet down.
PIKE
There's gotta be a back way out of
here, or something.
Buffy looks at the partygoers. Her friends. They stare back
at her, scared, angry. She looks out the door. Back at her
friends.
BUFFY
I'm going out the front.
PIKE
Are you nuts, Buffy? There's a
hundred of them out there. They'll
rip us apart.
BUFFY
You're staying here.
(before he can speak)
Some of them might not come after
me. If they don't this place is
gonna turn into a total stain.
PIKE
You say that like it's a bad thing.
ANDY
Buffy, this is crazy. What do these
guys want?
BUFFY
Andy, start breaking up some chairs.
You'll need weapons.
Andy looks at her a moment, moves off. Buffy goes to Pike's
bag, starts pulling out stakes.
BUFFY
(continuing)
Good thing one of us was prepared.
PIKE
Buffy, there's no way you're going
out there alone.
Buffy stands up. She kisses Pike very hard on the lips.
BUFFY
Don't piss me off.
She kneels down, begins to rip the hem of her dress.
CUT TO:
EXT. OUTSIDE THE GYM - NIGHT
We see the doorway to the gym. A mist has risen around the
entire house, swirling about the feet of the undead who stand
clustered about it. Some have keen and eager expressions,
some vacant, half-conscious with bloodlust. They wait.
A figure appears in the doorway, walking slowly out. Buffy.
Her torn dress now comes to just above her knees. She wears
Pike's leather jacket over it. She wears her purse strapped
across her chest under the jacket. In one hand she holds his
crossbow; in her other hand is a cross. As she steps further
away from the doorway, the vampires slowly begin to close around
her.
The door shuts behind her.
CUT TO:
INT. THE GYM - SAME TIME
Kimberly and some of the others are anxiously barricading the
door. Pike looks out the window after Buffy.
PIKE
(to himself)
Come on, move.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE GYM - SAME TIME
The vampires move closer and closer. They circle her. She
waits, apprehensive. When they are about eight feet from her
she whips out a bottle of Perrier. She sprays it all around,
searing the inner circle. Screaming, they clutch their faces.
CUT TO:
INT. THE GYM - SAME TIME
PIKE
Yes!
Others are watching as well. Andy comes up with some chair-
made stakes, hands some to Pike.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE GYM - SAME TIME
Buffy is defending herself in an astounding blur of gymnastics
and martial arts. Leaping, throwing kicks, punches, and the
odd stake, she manages to scatter them enough to make a run
for it.
CUT TO:
INT. THE GYM - SAME TIME
Everyone is watching through the windows as the vampires follow
after Buffy.
KIMBERLY
It's okay! I think they're going
after her!
CUT TO:
EXT. THE GYM - SAME TIME
Almost as if it heard that, one of the vampires turns toward
the gym, grinning hugely. It and at least half the others
turn back toward the easy pickings inside.
CUT TO:
INT. THE GYM - SAME TIME
PIKE
(to Kimberly)
I'll bet you feel stupid.
GARY MURRAY
Let's get away from these windows!
Find something to cover them with.
Students start mobilizing.
PIKE
Bring round the table.
NICOLE
There's nails and stuff we used to
put everything up.
PIKE
Get 'em.
Andy and some others drag a table forward. Pike helps hoist
it up against the window. He looks one last time outside,
then covers it up.
CUT TO:
EXT. CAMPUS LAWN - SAME TIME
Buffy runs. She heads toward the nearby cluster of school
buildings. Close behind are the undead. She passes a line of
parked cars.
ANGLE - CAR
Jeffrey and Jennifer are in the back of his parked BMW, making
heated, clumsy love. We can see them through the window.
JENNIFER
Oh, yes! Yes!
JEFFREY
Oh, baby!
JENNIFER
Make me a woman! Yes! Make me a
woman!
As they are spouting this nonsense, Buffy zooms IN and OUT OF
the FRAME behind the car. After a second she walks back INTO
the FRAME, staring at the two of them.
BUFFY
(pissed)
That was quick!
(looking up)
Oops!
She books out again, the horde on her heels.
CUT TO:
INT. JEFFREY'S CAR - SAME TIME
Jeffrey looks up and out the window.
JEFFREY
Buffy?
JENNIFER
(whining)
Jeffrey!
JEFFREY'S POV
Vampires swarm about the car in pursuit of Buffy.
Jeffrey goes wide-eyed at the sight. Starts climbing off
Jennifer and into the driver's seat.
JEFFREY
(terrified)
Well, I'm done. Are you done?
JENNIFER
No --
JEFFREY
Okay, let's go.
JENNIFER
But --
CUT TO:
EXT. THE CAR - SAME TIME
The car roars off.
CUT TO:
INT. THE GYM - SAME TIME
Windows and the boards covering them begin to smash inward. A
student pounding in nails is caught, pulled out the window. A
vampire crawling in is spiked by Pike. Another makes it in
and is smashed on the head repeatedly by Andy. It staggers,
smilingly, and turns toward him.
PIKE
The heart! Stab them in the heart!
Andy manages to shove the two-by-four in its heart just as it
gets its fingers around his throat.
Kimberly screams. One of them has hold of her, starts pulling
her out the window. Nicole runs to her, starts pulling the
vampire's hands off her. Suddenly, the vampire grabs Nicole
instead. Off balance, she is almost out the window before
Kimberly can react, and all Kim can do is scream. Andy and
Pike make it to the window too late; Nicole is pulled out, and
they swarm over her.
CUT TO:
INT. TUNNELS - SAME TIME
A vampire catches up to Buffy. She shoots the last crossbow
shaft at it. Shucks the bow away as another reaches her. She
wrestles with it, fights it off but doesn't kill it. Moves on
as more approach.
CUT TO:
INT. THE GYM - SAME TIME
Students are still holding most of them at the windows. One
or two have gotten in.
ANGLE - THE RECORD PLAYER
A junior vampire has snuck behind it and is going through the
records. He stops, finding one he likes, and starts to put it
on. MUSIC: "Teen Angel". It wafts over the carnage in the
gym, lending it a surreal and dreamy quality.
Hearing the music, another vampire grabs Kimberly and starts
dancing with her. She screams a lot.
It's about to plant one on her neck when Pike stabs it in the
back. Pike turns from the dying vampire and is face to face
with Benny.
Pike is frozen for a moment.
CUT TO:
EXT. OUTSIDE SCHOOL BUILDING - SAME TIME
Buffy approaches the nearest building to the gym. The vampires
are several feet behind her, some twenty of them.
The door is locked. She smashes it in with her shoulder.
Runs inside.
A few vampires are about to follow Buffy into the building
when a hand is suddenly raised before them, stopping the.
Slowly they start fading back.
It is Amilyn. He smiles at the other vampires, and raises his
fingers to his lips.
Shhhh....
CUT TO:
INT. THE GYM - CLOSEUP ON A TABLE - SAME TIME
Pike is slammed down onto it, Benny's face inches from his.
"Teen Angel" has been replaced by some hard rock.
BENNY
Isn't this great, Pike? Isn't it
great? Finally got those bitches
on the run.
He hoists Pike up and backhands him in the jaw, sends him flying
against a wall. Pike shakes his head as Benny comes at him
again, no longer smiling.
BENNY
(continuing)
Of course I'm angry! I leave you
alone for five minutes, and look
who you're hanging out with!
He turns suddenly and grabs a girl, yells in her face.
BENNY
(continuing)
I don't want girls with good taste;
I want a girl that tastes good!
She faints and he drops her, turns back to Pike. Pike is
getting shakily to his feet. Blood trickles down his forehead.
BENNY
(continuing)
I was gonna change you, man. I was
gonna give you life! Do you know
what that means?
ANGLE - ANOTHER WINDOW
Gary Murray, yelling orders at student, holding a board against
a window as vampires pound on it. The exposed part of the
window above him shatters, raining glass on his head.
ANGLE - THE PHOTO SETUP
A vampire is clutching a helpless girl as another vampire takes
their picture with an Instamatic. He expresses confusion and
dismay when his image does not come out in the photo.
ANGLE - PIKE AND BENNY
Pike is backing away from Benny, who is approaching him. Pike
passes an overturned table, the stubs of its broken legs
sticking up at the ceiling.
BENNY
Never die. Never get kicked around,
never get busted.
Benny grabs him with hateful force. His fingers dig into Pike's
arms enough to draw blood.
BENNY
(continuing)
It means never having to say you're
sorry! And you blow it all off for
that slut?! What about my needs?!
Pike suddenly grabs Benny, holds him tightly in a brotherly
embrace. Benny is thrown slightly by this.
Still holding him, Pike pitches onto the table, driving the
leg-shard through Benny's back. Pike still holds Benny as he
twitches and screams, dying. Finally, he lets go, gets up.
He looks a little dazed, a little lost. A window shattering
far behind him pulls his eyes back into focus, and he goes to
help.
ANGLE - KIMBERLY
Sitting by a wall, tiny and silent amid the carnage.
CUT TO:
INT. HALL - SAME TIME
Buffy moves quickly along, crouching near a window and peering
out. Nothing. She looks about her, waiting for an attack.
She checks her purse.
ANGLE - BUFFY'S PURSE
Cosmetics and hair spray. A small cross. No stakes left.
Muttering under her breath, she moves swiftly into a classroom.
CUT TO:
INT. CLASSROOM - SAME TIME
Still moving cautiously, she heads for the window and pulls
down the shade. She crouches behind the teacher's desk and
pulls the chair down to her, laying it on its side.
BENNY
(cattily, to herself)
'Ooh, make me a woman, Jeffrey...
oh, Jeffrey, you're so atheletical...
I love you...'
She slams her elbow down on the chair leg -- very controlled,
efficient motion -- and snaps it off. Looks around to see if
anyone is around to hear as she picks up the leg, now a weapon.
She goes softly to the door, peers cautiously out.
CLOSEUP - BUFFY
Looking out. Amilyn's face appears right next to her, also
looking out.
AMILYN
All clear?
Buffy screams, turns, and Amilyn decks her, sends her flying
back into the classroom. The stake flies out of her hand. It
lands on a desk by the window.
Buffy does not land nearly as well, crashing into a pile of
desks and twisting her leg badly. Amilyn laughs repulsively,
advancing.
AMILYN
Pleased to meet you! Won't you
guess my --
(kicks her hard)
-- name?
BUFFY
(defiantly, through the
pain)
It wouldn't be 'Dick,' would it?
He kicks her again.
BUFFY
(continuing)
'Lefty'?
AMILYN
You're a fool, bloodbag. Die a
fool and go to hell!
He grabs her by the neck with his one arm and pins her against
the wall in the corner. She reaches for the stake but it is
just out of reach. He is squeezing the life out of her, his
face inches from hers.
AMILYN
(continuing)
The chosen one. You're just another
bloodbag -- not even fit to die for
the Master. When will you ever
learn?
Buffy looks about for succor.
ANGLE - THE WINDOW SHADE
Buffy eyes the bottom of the shade, the pull dangling aimlessly.
BUFFY
(with difficulty)
I do know... one thing...
AMILYN
What?
BUFFY
I know... what time sunrise is.
She pulls down hard on the shade pull and lets go.
AMILYN
No!
He turns in horror, letting go of Buffy, trying to catch the
shade. The instant he releases her, Buffy grabs the stake and
in one swift motion, buries it in Amilyn's back.
The shade goes up, flapping loudly as it spins. It is still
pitch black out. Amilyn stare, wide-eyed and silent, at the
night as he dies.
BUFFY
It's in about four hours, Dick.
Amilyn spins, dying rage in his eyes. He grabs her. His
strength is formidable even as his body begins to smoke.
Suddenly screaming, he forces her over suddenly with such power
that the two of them go crashing through the floorboards.
CUT TO:
INT. LOTHOS' CHAMBER - SAME TIME
The two of them fall through the ceiling directly into the
blood pool.
Amilyn's body surfaces first, now just a husk.
Buffy pops up from the waist-deep blood, soaked and wounded.
She stays a moment, breathing hard. Suddenly her eyes go wide.
BUFFY
Oh, god, no... not yet...
Lothos rises from the pool, smiling. Buffy is clearly paralyzed
by fear.
LOTHOS
I knew you'd come.
He moves toward her.
LOTHOS
(continuing)
You knew it, too, didn't you? All
your life, dreaming... waiting to
feed me.
Buffy is suddenly galvanized into action. She throws a few
punches at Lothos, but he takes them without flinching. She
grabs at the stake in what remains of Amilyn's chest. Lightning
quick, Lothos closes his hand around her and squeezes till the
stake splinters and she screams with pain. He knocks her back
on her ass.
She starts moving backward, away from him, but it is hard enough
for her to make her way through the thick gore. Lothos
contemplates Amilyn's corpse, and his face darkens.
LOTHOS
(continuing)
Ah, my fool is dead. He was
careless, always. Still, I'll pull
out your tongue for that.
(coming toward her)
Don't you understand? I've killed
you a dozen times. Your life is
not a blink of my eye, not a single
breath. I have lived in the shadows,
in the pulsing filth behind men's
eyes. A thousand years, and more.
I have conversed with the worms
that fed on my corpse and I have
bathed in the blood of emperors.
BUFFY
(breaking the spell)
Have you ever thrown up in the front
row of a Richard Marx concert?
LOTHOS
What?
And she is up, turning to run. He is thrown momentarily by
her insolence.
CUT TO:
INT. LOTHOS' CHAMBER - THE BOILER ROOM - SAME TIME
But he is on her the moment she emerges from the chamber,
grabbing her by the hair and throwing her to the ground.
LOTHOS
You waste time. That is a sin.
He kneels over her prostrate body. She is reaching frantically
into her purse. He runs his hand along her body, a gesture
both lustful and disdainful.
LOTHOS
(continuing)
You're even weaker than the others.
BUFFY
I think you've forgotten something.
She pulls out a small cross, holds it in front of him. He
snarls at it, then grabs it, his hand around her. The cross
bursts into flame. He holds her hand onto it.
LOTHOS
This? This is you only weapon?
Your puny faith?
BUFFY
No...
With her other hand, Buffy holds up her hair spray.
BUFFY
(continuing)
... my keen fashion sense.
She squeezes it at him, the spray catching fire form the cross
and whooshes a jet of flame right into his face. He screams,
letting her go and backing up. Hey, his head is on fire!
Buffy turns and hobbles away.
CUT TO:
INT. LOTHOS' CHAMBER - SAME TIME
Lothos stumbles about, head all aflame, till he finally pitches
into the pool.
CUT TO:
INT. LOTHOS' CHAMBER - HALL - SAME TIME
Buffy comes out of the boiler room and hobbles along, moving
as fast as she can.
BUFFY
This is the suckiest party I have
ever been to. It's not even a
contest.
She reaches a locked door that says "Gymnasium -- Authorized
Personnel Only". Puts her shoulder to it.
CUT TO:
INT. LOTHOS' CHAMBER - CLOSEUP ON LOTHOS - SAME TIME
As he pulls himself out of the pool, we are treated to a good
look at his new head. It is charred and torn almost beyond
recognition. It is so inhuman looking, that we are almost
surprised when it screams!
CUT TO:
INT. LOTHOS' CHAMBER - HALL - SAME TIME
The SCREAM fills the hall. Buffy is still working on the heavy
metal door. She turns, wide-eyed, at the SOUND.
BUFFY
Oops.
CUT TO:
INT. LOTHOS' CHAMBER - LOTHOS' POV - SAME TIME
We TRACK rapidly through the cave, through the boiler room,
the hall. We're moving much too fast to be running.
CUT TO:
INT. GYM - SAME TIME
Buffy pulls herself up through a trap door in the corner.
Everything stops. For a moment there is silence.
Buffy gets shakily up.
KIMBERLY
Don't let her in! Don't let her
in!
Pike and the others see her. Pike and Andy run to her to help.
KIMBERLY
(continuing)
They'll kill us! Get her out!
Gary Murray stops in front of Kimberly, takes her face in his
hand and lightly pops the back of her head against the wall.
Cross-eyed, she slides back down into comatic silence.
PIKE
Are you okay?
BUFFY
Get away from me!
She pushes them away. Lothos crashes through the trap door
behind her, ugly and crazed. He picks her up, floating a good
two feet off the ground.
LOTHOS
You bitch!
He hurls her the length of the room. She hits a locker, which
opens, spilling out someone's notebook. The binder falls open,
inside it is a plastic pen case with pens and pencils within.
Buffy looks, by this time, like shit. She props herself up as
best she can, looks about her. There is nothing wooden, nothing
sharp, within reach.
LOTHOS
(continuing)
You would challenge me?
Andy charges Lothos from behind. Pike tries to stop him, but
is too late, as Lothos grabs him by the face without even
looking at him.
LOTHOS
(continuing; to Buffy)
I'll rip the flesh from your stinking
bones!
Squeeze Andy's head until we hear something crack. Lets him
drop. Looks around at the cowed students.
LOTHOS
(continuing)
I am a God! A God!
BUFFY
I am so sure.
Lothos roars. Furious, he charges Buffy, his feet just skimming
the ground, racing toward her, violently fast, upon her...
She spins, on her feet in a flash, one quick motion. She
thrusts her palm forward and stops him, cold, like Superman
stopping a train, palm at his chest.
Silence. Buffy looks directly into his eyes, the mad rictus
of his face.
Lothos stops, almost wide-eyed, as he looks down at his chest.
Sticking out of the middle of his chest is a small eraser, and
a #2.
He steps back, staring at Buffy. The expression on his horrible
face seems to have changed to one almost of respect. Her look
is unfathomable.
Lothos smiles, graciously.
LOTHOS
It doesn't... hurt... as much as I
had imagined.
He falls gently to the ground. He's dust before he hits it.
Silence. One by one the vampires, stricken, slip out into the
night.
ANGLE - PIKE
Kneeling by Andy's body. He gets up, and walks toward what's
left of Lothos, warily keeping his eye on the spot. In the
background we see Gary Murray, running out after a vampire.
GARY MURRAY
Just a minute, you! I'm not finished
with you!
Pike kneels by the pile of dust with a pencil in it.
Everybody is looking at Buffy. She stares back at the students
who cast her out. Turns and walks out. Pike follows her.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. THE SCHOOL - EARLY MORNING
We see the direct aftermath; the gym, police cars, people
helping the wounded. Over this is the voice of a reporter.
REPORTER (V.O.)
The death toll now reaches twelve
and a half in the tragedy of Hemery
High School. It was at the Senior
Prom five days ago that the school
was beset by a roving gang of crack-
crazed gunmen. Survivors say some
two hundred of the ruffians laid
the school gym under a kind of siege,
claiming several lives in the
process. Said one administrator,
'Things here will never be the same.'
CUT TO:
EXT. CAMPUS - DAY
Students walk, holding their books talking.
CUT TO:
INT. THE CLASSROOMS - DAY
Students passing notes, yawning, falling asleep.
CUT TO:
INT. THE MALL - DAY
Students window shopping, sucking on slurpies, laughing.
DISSOLVE TO:
ANGLE - A POOL
SHOT FROM ABOVE, the blue water FILLING THE SCREEN. Kimberly
dives gracefully into it, comes up on the other side.
EXT. KIMBERLY'S BACKYARD - DAY
Kim climbs out and joins Jeffrey, Jennifer and a boy and girl
we don't know. They are all in bathing gear, with fluorescent
zinc on their noses.
JENNIFER
She was even crazier after that. I
mean it, you wouldn't even have
recognized her.
KIMBERLY
Buffy?
Jennifer nods. Kimberly wrinkles her nose in distaste.
JENNIFER
She didn't even hardly talk to anyone
in school. All year. She didn't
even go to the prom.
JEFFREY
I heard she got straight A's.
Jennifer glares at him.
JEFFREY
(continuing)
That's what I heard.
KIMBERLY
The worst is, her parents -- this
is true -- her parents were gonna
send her to the Bahamas for
graduation, and she refused. True
story. She said she didn't want to
go. It is to vomit.
BOY
Well, where is she now?
CUT TO:
EXT. A COURTYARD - LATE EVENING
Buffy and Pike are walking up the elaborate stone drive toward
us. We can't really tell where they are, but there are trees,
hills in the background.
Buffy leads the way. She is confident, at ease. She wears a
large old sports jacket, a baseball cap pulled backward. Skirt
and sneakers. Casual, cool, but disarming. She carries a
knapsack.
PIKE
I didn't say it was a bad idea, I
just said the timing was off. We
could maybe wait till later.
BUFFY
Don't be such a fraidy-cat.
PIKE
Who's afraid? Besides me, I mean.
BUFFY
We've come all this way. We just
have to check it out. I got a hunch.
PIKE
You're the boss, boss. I just
thought maybe we should wait.
Buffy stops at a large, elaborately carved door. She turns to
Pike.
BUFFY
Trust me.
ANGLE - DOOR KNOCKER
Buffy grabs the large metal knocker, ringed through a gargoyle's
mouth.
And on the boom of the knocker, we see:
WIDER ANGLE - THE CASTLE
The castle. Archetypal, turreted, terrifying. Standing lonely
on the craggy hill, drenched in the light of the rising moon.
BLACK OUT.
THE END
