Originally broadcasted 9/21/04

Fade In:
Int.
Watchers Council – Willow‘s Apartment – Night

A black and white 1950’s horror flick played on the large screen television. A woman with blonde, curly hair walked backward with a petrified look on her face in time with the eerie music. 

“Now this is where she falls down,” Xander said, pointing at the screen.

Promptly, the woman on the screen tripped over something and fell on her backside.

“Cue the guy in the fake-looking rubber suit,” he added, and put some popcorn in his mouth.

Again, as expected, out came the monster in a ridiculous-looking costume that resembled papier mâché more than rubber. It loomed over the scared woman, who began to scream as it grabbed her.

“Here comes the cut away, riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight now!” Xander turned proudly to where Willow sat holding a bowl, absently putting popcorn in her mouth.

“Ya always ruin it for me by telling me what’s gonna happen,” she teased. She tossed a piece of corn at him as the two sat alone on the sofa in his apartment.

“Well, I just try to warn you so you don’t get too scared,” Xander said, picking the popcorn off his chest and popping it in his mouth. Casually, he put his arm around Willow over the back of the sofa. “You gotta admit, everyone loves the monster mayhem cliché.”

“Xander?” Willow asked, giving a nod to his arm.

“What? I’m not allowed to snuggle up with my best bud when she looks like she could use a hug? You do realize that in order to lead a happy life everyone needs at least ten physical contacts a day.”

“You wanna get physical?”

“Yeah, lemme hear your body talk, Baby,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows and causing Willow to chuckle. “No, not that kind of physical. The ten touches can be anything – a pat on the back, a stroke on the arm, a quick squeeze on the knee. I just think we’ve both been a little deprived lately.”

“And how do you know all this? Some pick-up idea in a men’s magazine?”

Xander shook his head. “Nope. Skye, actually.”

“Figures,” Willow snorted.

Xander smiled again. “She wasn’t helping me pick up women. I was helping her study one of her psycho chapters.”

“Psych, not psycho,” Willow corrected.

“Whatever. Point is, for people to feel well adjusted and happy they need human contact. And since we both qualify as human and could use a little TLC, I figured, what the hey! But if it bothers you Will…”

Willow grinned and rested her head on Xander’s shoulder as she put her hand on his knee. In response, he kissed the crown of her head and tightened his hold on her shoulder.

“Oooh! Commercial’s over! Back to the action!” he said excitedly.

Cut To:
Ext.
Alley – Same Time

A demon backhanded a shadowy figure, who fell to the ground. As its dark shape loomed closer the person began to scurry away on their hands and knees. Large and bulky, the creature stalked nearer, but its victim managed to jump up and take off into a run.

The figure ran around a corner, face hidden in shadows, and peeked around the side of a building to see if the demon still followed. A voice suddenly echoed down from the fire escape above.

“I guess this is proof the freaks come out at night,” a vampire called down toward the scared individual, who was shaking and breathing hard.

With grace and a total lack of fear, the vampire jumped from the steel cage suspended against the building and landed on both feet. He grabbed the trembling person by the jacket lapel and whipped her around.

“Where’s our promised land, huh, Bonnie?” the vampire taunted.

Bonnie, battered and bruised, pushed him away and began to stumble backward, looking desperately for a means of escape as she moved.

“You’ve got nowhere to go now. Just like my friends in that damn hole. Where’s the big payoff? Where’s our free rein of this city?”

“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way,” she said, her voice shaking.

“Instead of us dining on the best people of the world, more and more watchers and slayers infest this city. So if I can’t have the best, I guess it’s back to settling for scum.”

He shoved Bonnie to the ground and she crashed against a tower of crates next to a dumpster. Garbage and debris settled around her. Before she could get back on her feet the vampire descended upon her. But at the last moment, she grabbed a piece of a broken crate and shoved the wood deep in his heart. He looked down for an instant.

“Damn,” he sighed, before exploding into dust.

Bonnie coughed as she got to her feet, only to see the demon that was first chasing her had finally caught up. She vaulted over the debris, running to the main street. She looked left and then right and spotted two taxis parked in front of Gund Arena across the street. One cab was running with the door open, the driver chit-chatting with the other driver parked in front of him.

Wasting no time, Bonnie raced to the car and hopped inside before the driver noticed. Upon hearing the tires squeal, the cabby turned and gave chase.

“Hey!” he yelled as Bonnie sped away. “Call the cops!” he ordered his friend, who immediately grabbed the radio microphone from his dashboard.

Cut To:
Int.
Taxi Cab – Same Time

Bonnie did a U-turn. cutting off traffic and headed back down the alley toward the demon. Once the creature was in her sights, she stomped on the gas. The demon looked around for a place to escape in the narrowing opening.

“Not so tough now, are you?” Bonnie remarked.

Bonnie gripped the steering wheel and closed her eyes as the cab slammed into the demon.

The taxi shook at the impact and lifted to one side as Bonnie rolled over the demon in the stolen car. She quickly reopened her eyes after the impact to find it was no longer in her line of sight. She slammed on the brakes before sliding back into the main street, barely avoiding side-swiping the traffic there. With the car idling and giving an eerie echo off the alley walls, she began looking in the rear and side-view mirrors, but saw nothing.

She released a heavy sigh. A moment later, suddenly the demon popped up next to her, shattering the driver’s side window.

Bonnie screamed.

Black Out

 

 

End of Teaser