touchable - Buffy the Vampire Slayer S2 (on hold)

the dark age - p1

THIRD PERSON POV

Sunnydale High School at night. A man in a suit with a briefcase walks past a school building at a brisk, determined pace. He stops for a moment and looks around. Behind him to his left a door opens and a school custodian comes out with a trashcan. 

"Can i help you?" the custodian asks the man. 

"Rupert Giles! I need to see him!" the man exclaims. 

"Mr Giles, uh, he's our librarian. Next building over, first door on your left." the custodian instructs and the man nods, rushing off without a word of thanks. "You're welcome." he says sarcastically before dumping the trash. 

The suited man continues at his brisk case, and finds the outside door to the library. He continues towards it, but stops in his tracks when he hears a twig behind being crushed. When he turns to look, he hears a moan but sees nothing, so he checks the other way again. Behind him he hears breathing and turns back again, and sees a woman in the shadows. 

"Oh, God!" he exclaims. Slowly she walks into the light, dead and rotting, her eyes flash yellow briefly. "Diedre?" 

"Philip." she calls, making Philip quickly back up. He doesn't see the curb behind him so he trips and falls, dropping the briefcase. Quickly he scrambles to hit feet and runs to the library door. He pounds on it and yanks at the doorknob, but its locked. 

"Help! Help! Somebody, please!" he calls, banging on the door. Diedre slowly advances on him. "God, no! Help!" 

Inside Buffy and Camila are doing step aerobics to a techno beat. Giles in sitting at the table, with his hands to his ears, not relishing the music. 

"Must we have this noise during your calisthenics?" he asks loudly over the music. 

"It's not noise! It's music!" Buffy calls back and Camila nods her head in time with the beats. 

"I know music. Music has notes. This is noise!" He yells back and Camila shakes her head, laughter rolling over her lips. 

"We're areobicising! We must have a beat!" she laughs, continuing to dance around. 

"Wonderful. You work on your muscle tone while my brain dribbles out of my ears." Giles mutters under his breathe - none of them aware Philip was still banging on the door. 

"Help! Help! Please!" he calls out as Diedre continues to advance on him. "Help me! Somebody, please!" Diedre has finally closed the gap and Philip turns to face her with horror in his eyes. She puts her hands up to the door on either side of him to prevent his escape. He begins to tremble with fear as she moves her hands onto his neck and begins to choke him. 

Inside, Buffy and Camila have finished their aerobics. Camila strolls to the table and turns off her boom box. 

"Ahh! Very good. And the rest is silence." Giles mutters, happy the noise had ceased. In the dark night, Philip falls from Diedre's grip, dead. A moment later, Diedre collapses beside him. After she hits the pavement she disintegrates into a puddle of slime. The puddle spreads out and absorbs into Philip. 

*

Flames filled the tv screen, and deafening seventies punk music plays as various images overlap in a stylized way. Beside the tv, a needle jabs an ominous, symbolic tattoo on someone's arm. A man, dressed in seventies style clothes with reflecting sunglasses on, smiles down at the body he was tattooing. 

"Time to go to sleep." he mutters, his English accent thick. The flames on the screen burn brighter. Six hands join in the center of a circle, above a symbol painted on the floor - the same as the tattoo. The same guy is now possessed and his face thrashes back and forth. Through the blurs a demon can be seen; blue skin, rotted and pocked flesh, ridges in his forehead.