Episode 15 - Sacrifice
SACRIFICE
TEASER
INT. DAWN'S SCHOOL/HALL - DAY (DAY ONE)
ANGLE ON : A BANNER ON A WALL
which reads 'Getting to Know You! Parent and Teacher
Day.'
We TILT down from the banner to reveal a large
congregation of parents, teachers and students,
mingling with each other. We PAN over to a table
serving drinks and snacks. Standing in front of the
table all by herself is a somewhat nervous Buffy.
She's in a black top and shiny red leather pants.
We see Buffy looking nervously around the room.
REVERSE ANGLE : DAWN AND FRIENDS
From Buffy's POV, we see Dawn having a ball, chatting
with her friends.
Again, from Buffy's POV, we PAN over to a group of
adults and teachers on the other side of the room,
chatting with each other.
ANGLE : BUFFY
looking very out of place.
A group of teenagers walk by and check Buffy out.
Buffy smiles. They giggle and scamper away.
A group of adults take a look over at Buffy,
appraising her and having little secretive talks.
Buffy takes a look down at her attire.
BUFFY
(quietly to herself)
What was I thinking?
Buffy turns around and faces the snack table. She
grabs a peanut brittle from a plate and bites in.
Crunch. She takes a few furtive looks around and
carefully spits it out into her hand. She takes a look
around to see where she could dispose of the evidence
but finding nothing suitable, leaves it concealed in
the palm of her hand.
She grabs a plastic cup and fills it with some
steaming brown liquid from a large jug. She takes a
sip and instantly makes a disgusted face.
BUFFY
Okay, not coffee.
She puts down the cup on the table. She looks around
and picks up a small plastic container from a bowl.
BUFFY
Oh! Some not milk to go with the not
coffee.
A well-dressed woman comes over to Buffy.
A MOM
Hello there.
Buffy spins around, just a little startled.
BUFFY
Oh! Hi!
A MOM
So, a group of us were wondering.
Are you a new teacher here?
BUFFY
(little nervous)
Teacher? God No! I'd be the last
person you'd want behind the wheel
when it comes to steering these kids
into the future. Wouldn't even pass
the theory.
A MOM
It's just that, well, you seem too
young to be a parent and too old to
be a student.
BUFFY
I'm here with my sister. She goes
here. I think she's around
somewhere, hanging with her friends.
An exchange of polite smiles. An awkward, silent beat.
A MOM
So.. I like what you're wearing.
It's very.. eye-catching.
BUFFY
(looking down at her garb)
Really? I mean, you don't think it's
too 'ZZ Top' rock chick?
A MOM
ZZ who?
BUFFY
(embarrassed)
No one.
A MOM
So, can you believe some of the
parents are objecting to the choice
for this year's school play?
BUFFY
(I have no idea what you
are talking about)
Yeah. What's up with that?
A MOM
I mean, 'Our Town' is a perfectly
good choice..
(leaning in for a
conspiring whisper)
and just between you and me, I think
my Mary-Anne's going to make the
perfect Emily.
BUFFY
(nervous babble)
Hey, I'm good with it. So long as
'Our Town's not gonna be about 'our'
town, cause, you know, that would
kinda turn it into a creature
feature. Though, I suspect it would
sell more.. um.. tickets..
Buffy laughs nervously. The Mom stares at Buffy
strangely. Buffy looks very uncomfortable, then spots
something off-screen.
BUFFY
Oh! Here's Dawn!
Buffy reaches off-screen and yanks Dawn into screen,
not gently.
DAWN
Ow.
BUFFY
(to the Mom)
This is my sister Dawn. Dawn, this
is.. um..
A MOM
(to Dawn)
Call me Ginger.
DAWN
(to the Mom)
Hey.
A MOM
(looking at Dawn, then
handling her like a doll)
Well, just look at you.
(to Buffy)
Why she's to die for.
Buffy smiles. Dawn rolls her eyes, not enjoying the
moment.
A MOM
(to Dawn)
Who made you so adorable?
DAWN
(flatly)
That would be the monks.
BUFFY
Dawn!
(to the Mom)
She's kidding.
Mom nods, a polite smile but clearly confused. A man
enters the scene and joins the woman by her side.
A MOM
(to the man)
Oh! John. I want you to meet Dawn
and.. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your
name.
BUFFY
Buffy.
Woman laughs.
A MOM
No, seriously.
BUFFY
Buffy.
A MOM
Oh.
(recomposes herself)
That's a lovely name.
A DAD
(sticking his hand out to
shake hands)
Glad to meet you Buffy.
Buffy looks at his hand, then at her closed hand. She
smiles, opens her hand to reveal the piece of peanut
brittle in it.
BUFFY
(smiling embarrassingly to
the parents)
Peanut brittle.
She puts the piece of peanut brittle in her mouth and
swallows it whole, rather painfully. She then quickly
wipes her hand on her pants and shakes the Dad's hand.
Both parents now look at Buffy strangely.
A MOM
John's an accountant at Waldring and
Markhams. I work in real estate. In
fact, I've sold most of the houses
around this area. What do you do
Buffy?
BUFFY
It's kinda hard to describe.
(takes a look at Dawn.. no
help there)
I guess.. animal control?
The parents share a look.
A MOM
(looking off-screen)
Oh! I see Erin! Come John, we have
to go talk to her.
(to Buffy and Dawn)
It was nice to meet you two.
The Mom drags the Dad off-screen.
BUFFY
(faux calling out)
So, we'll do lunch sometime?
Buffy turns back to Dawn, gives her a hard stare.
DAWN
Sorry. She was treating me like I
was four years old. Who do I look
like? Pippi Longstocking?
BUFFY
Yeah, cause you're so mature.
DAWN
Hey. What about you? Dragging me in
like that. What, do I have like
'Conversational Buffer Zone' stamped
on my forehead?
BUFFY
Sorry. My bad. It's just that, I'm
kinda stuck in a generational
nowhereland here. I can't sit at the
kids or the grown-up's table. I
mean, all my sly eighties MTV
references are lost on everyone in
this room.
DAWN
You shouldn't feel wiggy. I mean,
you're like.. the slayer.
BUFFY
See. That's it! I'm good in slayer
world but this is like the real
world.. and I totally suck in it.
There's nothing to kill here but
time.. and maybe whoever made the
coffee.
DAWN
You really didn't have to come, you
know. I mean, I know there's more
important stuff going on at the
moment. Oodles of evil?.. We could
leave.
BUFFY
(smiling, appreciating the
sentiment)
We'll give it a few more minutes.
Who knows? Maybe some big, hairy
monster will burst in, craving for
some extra Ginger in his meal.
Anyway, this is part of your life,
you know? Your regular life. I wanna
make things normal for you, at least
as normal as things can be living on
the Hellmouth.
Dawn smiles appreciatively. The sisters share a
moment.
DAWN
Normal's over-rated, you know?
BUFFY
No, it really isn't.
EXT. ALLEYWAY - NIGHT
A quiet scene. A dark, empty alleyway.
SUBTITLE : LONDON
We PAN over to a brick wall (adorned with posters and
graffiti) and then TILT down to a cat, lounging
nearby. The cat senses something, looks up and hisses.
The cat scampers away as a pair of feet suddenly land
into frame, jumping down from the wall, followed by a
second pair of feet.
We TILT up to see a man and a woman, both fairly
young. Their faces are panicked.
MAN
(looking to his right;
British accent)
This Way! Go! Go!
The two start running again. The woman looks behind
her to see..
REVERSE ANGLE :
We see, in the alleyway, dark silhouetted figures
leaping down from the wall. We see numerous little red
dots, like little red eyes, pointed over towards the
fleeing couple. The lights begin to bob up and down as
they start rushing towards them.
The man and a woman reach a chain-link fence and both
expertly climb over. The two are fast and athletic but
their pursuers are equally so. The two run into..
EXT. TRAIN YARD - NIGHT
A large open area to cross before the main building
and the stationary trains in the distance. A small
shed stands halfway between the fence and the trains.
We TRACK the two as they run past the train tracks,
heading towards the shed. They duck behind the shed,
taking cover. The man peers behind the shed to look.
REVERSE ANGLE :
A row of dark figures, spread out; their red eyes
peering into the darkness.
MAN
(whispering)
They're coming.
WOMAN
(also in a British accent)
We have to get the information to
Sunnydale. They have to know.
The figures get closer to the shed. The man takes a
look around. He sees a large building up ahead.
MAN
When I take off, you run towards
that building.
WOMAN
No!
MAN
There should be people just beyond.
They won't follow you there.
WOMAN
No! They'll kill you.
MAN
Just do it.
With that, the man takes off, away from the building.
We see some of the dark figures chase him. The woman
pauses for a moment, before starting to run towards
the building.
She turns to look behind her while running.
REVERSE ANGLE : THE MAN
off in the distance, being chased by the dark figures
with their red eyes. Suddenly, the man falls, without
a sound. He remains motionless on the ground. Three
figures converge on him.
The woman stops in her tracks and gasps, looking at
her fallen comrade.
REVERSE ANGLE :
The three figures turn to look at where the sound came
from. Three red lights pointed directly at her.
The woman starts to run again, as fast as she can. The
main building is close now.
ANGLE : THE CHASING PACK
A group of around six figures, their red eyes bobbing
up and down in a line.
ANGLE : WOMAN
as we TRACK her as she runs, striding out and
breathing hard. She looks ahead.
REVERSE ANGLE:
From her POV, we see a street just past the building,
with cars rumbling by.
Suddenly, we hear a whistling sound as something flies
through the air. She goes to the ground in pain. She
turns to look at her leg which is now bleeding. She
tries to drag herself further but it is no use.
Six figures converge on her; red eyes staring.
ANGLE : WOMAN
on the ground, holding on to her injured leg. We see
six red dots tracing her body. She looks up.
REVERSE ANGLE:
looking up from her POV, we see one of the figures
approach closer. We see it is a human. He is carrying
a gun with a red laser sight. He is dressed all in
black with a black ski mask and infra-red goggles.
CLOSE ON : MAN'S FACE
as he removes his goggles. The man looks at her with
his blue eyes.
WOMAN
You'll never win.
The man slowly raises his gun.
ANGLE : WOMAN
as a solitary red dot moves up her face to her
forehead. She continues to stare unflinchingly at the
man in the ski mask. Her eyes move down.
REVERSE ANGLE: MAN IN SKI MASK
from her POV as we move down from his eyes, down his
face to his neck where a solitary bright object can be
seen. A silver cross around his neck.
We hear the quiet sound of a gunshot through a
silencer as we..
BLACKOUT
END OF TEASER
CONTINUE TO ACT ONE