act 3

Fade In:

Int.

Council Kitchen – Morning

With a spring in her step, Rowena pushed open the kitchen door and was immediately greeted by the delicious aroma of freshly brewed coffee and the soft sound of sizzling sausage links. Stopping at the counter, she scanned the dining area until she spotted Buffy, who was sitting at a table near the window next to a very animated Andrew.

Rowena strolled over to the unlikely pair and stood a few feet away so as to not intrude on the conversation. Buffy looked utterly miserable as she listened to Andrew speak.

“…so then Tracey turned to me and said, ‘Andrew.'” He paused for dramatic effect. “‘We’re out of pita bread.'” He looked hopeful at Buffy. “I just don’t understand it. Is there some hidden meaning? Should I talk to Tracey?”

“You know, Andrew, I’m not really sure I’m the best person to ask here,” Buffy answered, as she poked a half-eaten piece of toast with her fork. She glanced over in time to see his face fall. “Maybe you should try not to read too much into…”

“But what if it’s really important?” he loudly countered, causing Buffy to jump to attention, knocking over her empty coffee cup in the process.

“Hey guys,” Rowena said, making her presence known. She gave Buffy a sympathetic smile.

“Morning, Ro,” Andrew muttered, as Rowena took a seat opposite Buffy. He quickly turned his attention back to the slayer-turned-watcher. “Do you think that maybe I should make Tracey a sandwich?”

Buffy stared at him with an expression somewhere between confusion and disbelief.

Rowena quickly stepped in. “You know, I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation, and if you and Tracey had a fight over…um…pita bread, well, you can always order more.” She righted Buffy’s toppled coffee cup. “I mean, it’s not like we don’t have the funds to…” Rowena trailed off as she saw Andrew frown.

“We already have plenty in the pantry,” he answered. Suddenly his face lit up. “Wait! Do you think it has anything to do with the giant dancing lobster?”

Buffy sighed and rubbed her forehead. Rowena now looked truly confused.

“Andrew, just because I’ve had prophetic dreams in the past,” Buffy said, putting particular emphasis on the last word, “doesn’t mean I can interpret your dreams now.”

“But don’t you have, like, slayer intuition?” he replied. “A sixth sense for this kind of thing?”

Buffy slumped down on the table and moaned.

“You know, Andrew, Kennedy once told me she was really good at interpreting dreams,” Rowena said, pointing out the doorway to a nearby table in the dining hall, where Kennedy and Faith sat enjoying a leisurely breakfast. “And Faith, too. I bet they’d have loads of insight for you.”

Andrew looked from Rowena to Buffy, who was now nodding in agreement. “Yeah, okay.” He stood up and began to leave. “Maybe they can explain the singing dental floss.”

Once he was a safe distance away, Buffy turned to Rowena and said, “Do I have the power to give you a raise, because, if so, I hope you like money?”

Rowena laughed. “Well, you do, but I don’t need a raise.” She took a moment to consider the idea, but then shook her head. “Nah.”

Buffy sighed as she pushed her breakfast plate aside and pulled her green handbook in front of her. “So much for catching up on some reading this morning.” She began tapping the front of the book absent-mindedly. “How’s it going?”

Rowena eyed the book. “Actually, I was going to ask you the same thing. I came by to see if you wanted to go over anything. I realize it’s a lot of stuff to digest.”

“Really? I didn’t notice,” Buffy said sarcastically. “But really, that would actually be great.” She pulled out a planner and began flipping pages. “I have a conference call at eleven, but I’m free after lunch if you’re not busy. How’s three o’clock sound?”

“That’s fine,” Rowena answered, quite bemused by Buffy’s planner. She stood up. “Well, I better head off, it’s almost ten.”

“Actually, if you don’t mind, I was hoping you could sit in on the meeting,” Buffy said, as she collected her binder and planner, “and maybe the next few after that. Just till I get up to speed with all this watcher-y stuff you and Giles were so good at.”

“Sure, I’d be happy to,” Rowena replied as they headed towards the door. “Let me just swing by Robin’s office real quick. I want to check to see if he was able to type the bones that Kennedy brought back last night.”

“You got it,” Buffy answered, pushing through the kitchen doors to the dining hall. They soon passed the table where a very disgruntled Faith and Kennedy sat listening to Andrew yammer on. “Hey, do you know any good lunch places?” Buffy asked, ignoring her fellow slayers.

“Didn’t you just eat breakfast?” Rowena asked, also oblivious to Faith and Kennedy’s plight.

“Once a slayer, always a slayer,” Buffy replied. “I could go for some ribs.”

Cut To:

Int.

Watchers Council – Dawn’s Room – Moments Later

Dawn had four sticks of incense placed around her, as if to represent the four points of the compass – located north, east, south and west of her body. She finished lighting the last one and closed her eyes.

Sitting cross-legged, she rested her wrists on her knees and softly began to chant something unintelligible.

Cut To:

Int.

Watchers Council – Conference Room – Morning

Humming happily to herself, Willow began highlighting a passage of handwritten text in a thin composition notebook. She looked up as the doors to the conference room swung open, with Rowena and Buffy entering in their wake. Willow allowed herself to smile at the pair of blondes, who were sharing an apparently humorous conversation.

“Hey guys,” Willow said cheerfully, as the duo took seats at the head of the table.

“Morning, Will,” Buffy replied. She began moving papers around in preparation for the meeting.

Rowena, now aware of Willow’s presence, immediately stopped laughing and said “Hi!” a little too enthusiastically. She added an awkward wave, for good measure.

Willow couldn’t help but chuckle at her former girlfriend. She glanced from Rowena to Buffy. “What were you two laughing about?”

Buffy looked up from her papers. “Ro was just telling me about the time you went to a barbecue restaurant with Giles.” She turned to Rowena. “What was it called?”

“Dante’s BBQ Inferno,” Rowena answered, her tone a bit calmer.

“Oh!” Willow began to laugh. “I remember. We went there for dinner one night and Giles called the waitress ‘sir’.” She was now laughing so hard it was difficult to speak. “And…then the waitress spilled Xander’s beer all over him.” Buffy and Rowena were both now laughing hysterically. Willow attempted to continue the story, “Xander…being suave in front of Vi…but he smelled like a brewery…” At this point she completely lost her composure and buried her head in her arms.

After several moments, when the last fit of giggles had come and gone, Buffy, wiping a tear from her eye, began, “Ro and I were talking about heading over there for lunch.”

“Oh that’s nice,” Willow said, looking down at her notebook. “Have a good time.”

Rowena shot Buffy a pleading look. “Will, why don’t you join us?” Buffy continued. “The more the merrier, right?”

Willow looked up. “I don’t want to intrude?”

Rowena nodded furiously. “No, come!”

“Well, okay.” Willow smiled.

Almost immediately, Buffy sighed audibly. “Darn it,” she said unconvincingly. “I just remembered that I promised Faith I’d meet her for lunch today.” She dropped her hands to the table in a dramatic fashion. “And I think we all know how she can get.” Another audible sigh. “You know, why don’t you two just go without me?”

Rowena stared at Buffy in disbelief.

“Well, that’s fine with me if it’s okay with you, Ro,” Willow said.

“I…uh,” Rowena’s eyes turned from Buffy to Willow and then back again. “Yeah, that’s good.”

“Great, that’s settled then,” Buffy said happily. “Have a good –”

Before Buffy could finish her sentence, the doors to the conference room shot open and Kennedy raced in. She quickly closed the doors and hastily fiddled with the lock. Satisfied that the door would not open, Kennedy turned to see the shocked expressions of Buffy, Rowena and Willow.

“Andrew,” she said, as if that was explanation enough. “Somehow he got the idea in his head that I could interpret dreams.”

Simultaneously, Buffy said, “You don’t say,” while Rowena added, “How odd.” They exchanged a guilty look as Kennedy took a seat opposite Willow.

“Well, since we’re all here,” Buffy said, quickly picking up the gavel, “why don’t we get started?” With two bangs, she brought the meeting to order. “Does the Coven have anything new to report?”

“Yes,” Willow said, pulling a sheet of paper from her notebook. “A few weeks ago, a jar of shredded snakeskin disappeared from the Coven storage room. I figured it was probably just misplaced, until this morning when I did an inventory.” She looked down at her paper. “We’re also missing three packets of crystalis powder and four lilac-scented candles.”

“What are those things used for?” Buffy asked, as she made a note on a blank sheet of paper in front of her. “Anything dangerous?”

“Not really. The snakeskin and crystalis are used mainly for locator spells, but separately I can think of twenty or thirty spells,” Willow answered.

“Okay. It’s probably one of the students,” Buffy said, finishing her note. “Willow, since it’s your department, I’ll let you handle it how you like, but I also think it might be a good idea to lecture all the Coven members on taking Council supplies without permission.” She turned to Rowena. “Ro, have Robin speak with the junior watchers as well? And Kennedy…”

“You really think a slayer would have taken something from the Coven?” Kennedy asked defensively, cutting Buffy off.

“Probably not,” Buffy responded diplomatically, “but just in case.” Buffy paused. After several seconds, Kennedy begrudgingly nodded and Buffy continued. “Does the Slayers Division have anything to report?”

“Nothing new,” Kennedy said quickly, still sounding annoyed.

“Okay then, that leaves the watchers. Ro, do you still have Robin’s report?” Buffy asked.

“Yes,” Rowena said, pulling it out of the folder in front of her. “Would you like me to…?”

“Go right ahead,” Buffy replied. “Report away.”

Rowena glanced down at the page. “We’ve been examining the bones that Kennedy’s team brought back last night. Based on size and shape, we’ve determined that they most likely came from six or seven separate demons of the same species.”

“Do you know what species?” Willow asked.

Rowena shook her head. “We’re still working on getting a type.” She paused. “There was also one human bone in the sample. A rib. Dr. Miller has already confirmed that it came from the man that Heli found.”

“Kennedy, how soon can you have a team organized to clean out the nest?” Buffy asked.

“Within the hour,” Kennedy answered, perking up.

“You’re going to kill them right away?” Willow said with a frown. “Shouldn’t we wait till the type comes back?”

“Normally, yes. But I’d rather not, given what we seem to be dealing with,” Buffy answered. “I don’t want to risk any more humans getting killed because we waited.”

“So that’s a go, then?” the dark-haired slayer queried.

“That’s a go,” Buffy replied.

“Faith?” Kennedy asked hopefully.

Buffy nodded, but gave no verbal reply. She paused for a moment and then went on. “Okay, one final matter I wanted to go over before we get out of here.” Everyone eyed her curiously. “The Black Ops slayers.”

Willow flinched. Rowena’s jaw dropped. And Kennedy let out a deep breath before glancing between Willow and Rowena, as if she expected them to leap out of their seats and begin arguing.

Buffy continued, “I know you’ve already voted on this issue, but since it’s been a point of debate recently, I thought it might be a good idea to bring it up again and see if we could talk it out. Ro?”

Rowena, trying not to look at Willow, took a deep breath and began, “We need them. They are the most effective unit we have for dealing with the human element that the rest of our slayers aren’t trained to handle. And I think they’ve proven themselves. They’ve rescued both me and Willow.”

Willow scoffed.

“Will, I take it you have a rebuttal?” Buffy observed.

“Yes.” Willow tried to speak with some measure of calm. “Regardless of whether they’re effective or not, they’ve killed innocent people. And the stress of it was too much for Mia…she left. So the longer we allow them to operate, the more they’ll keep killing people.” She paused. “Slayers shouldn’t kill humans, period.”

“Kennedy?” Buffy said, turning to the dark-haired slayer. “Your thoughts?”

Kennedy sighed. “I agree with Ro. Mia didn’t think she could cut it, but it was more about losing members she was close to…Plus,” she added reluctantly, “there were issues with me, too, I think. It wasn’t as simple as I think Will believes it was. Besides, we need a team to handle human issues.”

“Here we go again,” Willow muttered.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Rowena piped in. “We’re discussing.”

“You know, this is exactly –” Willow’s comments died as Buffy spoke up.

“Woah. Down girls.” The room fell silent for a moment. “Now,” Buffy began again, “most of these girls were found in that gang Faith came across, right?” Buffy asked. The members around the table nodded. “They weren’t formally trained as slayers, like Kennedy, correct?”

“Neither were you, Buffy,” Willow mentioned.

“True,” Buffy conceded. “But when I did get called, I was the only slayer around then. And the council did have a goon squad in place.”

“They’re not a goon squad,” Rowena added.

“If the shoe fits,” Willow muttered.

“Why do you do that?” Rowena asked.

“What?” Willow asked, shrugging her shoulders. “Have an opinion?”

Rowena leaned her elbow on the table and raised her finger. “The snide comments –”

Buffy banged the gavel. “Enough, ladies,” she said, raising her voice. “Sheesh!”

Kennedy grinned and looked over at Buffy. “You really know how to open a can of worms, dontcha?” she teased.

Buffy returned the grin and shook her head in disbelief. She then leaned back in her chair and thought for a moment.

“Okay, well, I’m just spitballin’ here,” Buffy began, “and chances are you considered it, but…has anyone asked them what they want? The actual squad members, that is?” The room was silent. “You know? Whether they want to continue in Black Ops or be formally trained as slayers?” Again, more silence. “So that’s a ‘not,’ I take it?”

Rowena and Willow exchanged a thoughtful look and then began to grin slightly.

Kennedy laughed from her seat across the table. “No, these two big brains didn’t think of the obvious. That solution’s too damn easy.”

“Okay, then,” Buffy said. “I move that we discuss the matter with each Black Ops member individually. Anyone who wants to stay on as black ops…” Willow looked ready to protest, but Buffy held up a hand to stop her. “…and has a good standing record with the Council, can do so. But anyone else who feels that killing is too much, like Mia did, can request enrollment in the slayer program.” Buffy allowed a moment for them to think it over before saying anything further. Then she asked, “All in favor?”

In unison Kennedy and Buffy said, “Aye.”

“Will?” Buffy asked when she said nothing. “Does no aye mean nay?”

Willow shook her head. “It doesn’t feel right. I’m still worried some of the girls might get trigger happy. And I…” Willow trailed off and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to end up holding any dead secretaries,” she finished, as if holding back a whimper.

Rowena looked genuinely pained. “How about this?” she began, making Willow look in her direction. “We enlist the support of retired personnel to train with them on a regular basis. I know that we had the Navy Seals instructor, Sgt. Zim, but he might not have been the right fit. I’m thinking we bring in more help – Navy Seals, Green Berets, S.W.A.T., people like that. We can even set up an area for training scenarios.”

“Oh,” Kennedy said, catching on, “you mean like at police academies, where the little cardboard robbers and schoolgirls pop up and you have to shoot them? Well, not the schoolgirls, but you know what I mean.”

“Exactly,” Rowena replied. “What do you think, Will? If we gave the girls more expert training on a regular basis would that make you feel better? I can’t promise accidents won’t happen but it will certainly help cut them down to a minimum.”

Willow seemed to consider it. “I vote aye, as long as we go with Ro’s plan,” she eventually answered. The witch looked at Rowena with a small grin of thanks.

“Alright then, motion passes,” Buffy said happily. Rowena and Willow exchanged another smile. “Well, that’s all I have for now,” Buffy added, picking up the gavel. “Session adjourned…” She caught herself before she brought down the gavel and glanced over at Rowena, who was stifling a giggle. “I know, I know.” Buffy raised the gavel once more. “Meeting adjourned.” Two bangs echoed through the large room.

Cut To:

Int.

Watchers Council – Dawn’s Room – Same Time

Dawn sat in a trance-like state, remaining perfectly still, but then she swayed slightly to one side.

Flash to:

Ext.

Celestial Plain – Same Time

Dawn’s body swayed as she looked around her surroundings. She blinked a few times as she got her footing. Slowly, a grin came to her face.

“I made it,” she said, as she looked at the people walking around her. “I really did it.” The sea of people seemed endless ,and suddenly Dawn got a worried look. “Now how do I find her?” she wondered out loud.

She looked down to see a circle glowing around her feet. Carefully, she took a step forward and the circle evaporated. When she looked up again, the entire area looked like a large, but clean and well-maintained, city. Slowly, she began to walk through the masses.

What looked like stores and restaurants lined the streets, but one in particular caught her eye. Above the door hung a sign that read Anya’s Café. Curiously, Dawn made her way across the street and walked inside.

A few people were sitting around eating some food as Dawn slowly walked inside. She saw an unfamiliar woman standing behind the counter. No one seemed to notice or care about her presence as she made her way to the counter.

Dawn walked over and asked the woman, “Are you Anya, by chance?”

“Who’s asking?” the dark-haired woman replied.

“Oh, I’m Dawn. Dawn Summers.”

“Dawnie?” the young witch heard a familiar voice say. Dawn turned and began to smile. “Is it really you?” Anya asked, making her way over and giving Dawn a hug. “Oh no,” she said sadly as she pulled away. “It’s really you, isn’t it?”

“Oh, I’m not dead,” Dawn answered quickly. “Not yet, anyway. I’m here looking for someone. My girlfriend, Skye Talisker? Have you seen her?”

“I’m not sure what she looks like,” Anya replied. “I’ve been kinda outta the loop for a while now.”

“Duh. Of course you wouldn’t know her,” Dawn said to herself. “Long story short, she got vamped and I’m looking for her soul. If I can bring it back –”

“You can restore her soul without having to curse her,” Anya finished.

Dawn did a double take. “Uh, yeah, actually. That’s exactly what I have planned.”

Everyone in the café stopped what they were doing and looked over at the women. Anya herself looked apprehensive, but turned to the patrons. “Eat your food,” she ordered them as she took Dawn aside. “I don’t know about that,” she began. “That’s…That would be a very bad idea.”

“Skye shouldn’t be dead and she needs her soul. One way or another, I’m going to find it.”

“Good luck, sister,” Anya told her. “Do you know how many people are here, just waiting to get to the next level – either up or down?” she added. “Talk about needles in haystacks.”

“I need your help and if you won’t help me then I’ll find someone who will. There’s a ton of prospects. Maybe…my mom –”

“She’s ascended,” Anya replied.

Dawn paused and thought for a moment. “Okay, Tara then.”

“She’s ascended.”

“Amanda or Cassie,” Dawn answered.

“Both ascended.”

Dawn rubbed her temple. “Why haven’t you ascended yet?”

“Good question,” Anya replied. “After eleven hundred years and a not-so-stellar track record, but dying while saving the world…well, I think they’re deadlocked on a verdict. But that’s okay. It’s not bad here. It’s not great. I mean I don’t even get any joy out of running this shop.”

“But you love selling stuff,” Dawn answered. “Remember, capitalism dance and all that?”

Anya motioned to the counter and they watched a man order something. The dark-haired woman turned around, grabbing a tray. The food magically appeared and she handed it over. With a polite nod, he left and traveled to one of the tables.

“I don’t even get to take any money,” Anya whined. “Don’t get me wrong,” she added quickly. “It’s better than being in a furnace, pushing a rock uphill for all eternity.”

“Let me see if I have this correct,” Dawn said. “The only gripe you have about being here is you can’t make cash?”

“When you put it that way, it sounds dumb,” Anya replied. “So yeah, there’s a little bit of torment – at least for me – but other than that this isn’t a bad life, or afterlife, or whatever you want to call it.”

“But what about the gang? Don’t you miss them, even a little?”

Anya shook her head. “No, I don’t have heartache here. I know they’re okay and I know if they all died tomorrow, they’d be okay too. It’s freeing, actually.”

Dawn sat down in a chair at the table next to them. “Well, regardless, I came all this way. I need to see Skye. I need…answers.”

Anya watched Dawn for a moment and then took a seat across from her. “I can’t help send this Skye person back, but I do know of a place you might be able to look. Saying this will probably ruin my chances to ascend, but…I’ll take you there.”

Dawn began to grin. “Thank you,” she said sincerely.

“Don’t,” Anya answered. “We haven’t found her yet, and truth is, we might not.”

Fade To:

Int.

Sewer Demon Nest – Afternoon

With a loud clang, Kennedy kicked open the metal grate that blocked the entrance to the Strieaufix demon nest. She charged through the hole and immediately engaged the nearest barely-conscious demon.

Behind her, Faith climbed through the opening, followed closely by Vi and a group of six other slayers, all with weapons raised.

Fade To:

Int.

Watchers Council – Buffy’s Office – Afternoon

“Come in,” Buffy called from her desk. She looked up to see Rowena enter. “Hey, right on time.”

“I ran into Kennedy on the way up,” Rowena said as she crossed the room and took the seat facing Buffy’s desk. “She told me to tell you that ‘the Kleenex are history’.” Rowena paused. “Her words, not mine. I assume she was referring to the Strieaufix demons.”

“Well, that’s good,” Buffy replied. “Any word on the bone typing?”

“Not yet, but I let Robin know we’d be here all afternoon, so if they find something, he’ll call up,” Rowena answered. “So, are you ready for some book learnin’?”

Buffy pouted. “Do I hafta?” She frowned down at the green binder on her desk. “Oh, how was your lunch?”

Rowena blushed. “You’re just trying to change the subject.”

“True, but since I’m your boss, you still have to answer,” Buffy countered with a mischievous grin on her face.

“It was very good,” Rowena answered. “I guess now I owe you one.”

“After that rescue from Andrew this morning, I’d say we’re even,” Buffy replied. She eyed the green binder once more. “Sigh.”

Rowena smiled. “Well, look at it this way. If spending a few hours reading Council procedure is the worst part of your day, then you must be doing a good job.”

“I guess that’s true,” Buffy said in a less depressed tone. “We settled the Black Ops issue, took out a demon nest and no one died today. Life is good.”

Fade To:

Ext.

Cleveland City Street – Night

“Okay, got it,” Kennedy said as she closed her cell phone and stuffed it back in her pocket. Behind her Vi, Sarah, and Marly all looked on seriously. “That was Faith. Brell just stopped by the council. He heard something about an attack at an apartment complex on Fulton.”

“That’s just two blocks from where we took out the nest today,” Vi said, sounding a bit worried. “You don’t think we missed any of them, do you?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” Kennedy replied. “Come on. If we book, we might be able to beat the cops” Her words were cut off by the sound of police sirens filling the street.

All four slayers backpedaled to the sidewalk, making room for three police cruisers and an ambulance to race past them in the direction of Fulton Road.

Kennedy exchanged a worried look with Vi, then said, “Let’s go.”

Cut To:

Ext.

Fulton Road – Moments Later

Kennedy’s jaw dropped as her team rounded the corner onto Fulton Road, where no less than eight police cars, three ambulances and a pair of CSI vans completely blocked all access to an apartment building. Slowly, the four slayers approached the scene, joining a group of onlookers that had gathered in front of a police barrier.

Stopping at the front of the barrier, Kennedy scanned the chaos. At least twenty uniformed police officers patrolled the area, while various crime scene investigators and paramedics walked in and out of the apartment building’s front entrance carrying medical and investigative equipment. Kennedy leaned over to Vi and whispered, “I’m going in. Why don’t you make some noise?”

Vi nodded and pulled Sarah and Marly through the crowd of people toward one of the uniformed cops guarding the barrier. Kennedy watched as Vi whispered something to Sarah and Marly. Suddenly all three of them began shouting at the cop.

“Ginny Weasley of the Plain Dealer!” Vi yelled at a very surprised member of Cleveland’s finest. “Could you tell us what’s going on?”

“I…uh…I’m not supposed to comment,” the cop said, putting up his hands. “Now please –”

“Is this another police cover up?” Marly shouted, playing along.

“What does the Mayor have to say about this?” Sarah added, holding up an imaginary microphone.

Kennedy grinned as the officer closest to her turned his head to watch the distraction. She quickly slipped under the barrier and sped past the oblivious guard on her way toward the apartment building. She spotted a group of EMTs and quickly sped up to join them.

Kennedy paused for a moment as she climbed the front steps and got a good look at the front door. The surface of the painted wood was covered with deep slash marks and the doorknob had been ripped off completely.

She entered the building.

Cut To:

Int.

Fulton Apartments Hallway – Moments Later

The walls of the interior, like the building’s front door, were slashed and, in some places, stained with bloody hand prints. Kennedy followed the paramedics down the hall, but stopped at the entrance of the first apartment when she spotted the unmistakable form of a body covered with a sheet.

Inside the room, a detective was pacing back and forth, examining yet more slash marks left by the killer, on everything from the furniture to the wallpaper. He looked up and saw her watching. They locked eyes for a moment before she turned away.

Quickly Kennedy moved out of the doorway and down the hall, passing several other apartments on the way, all of which looked to be in the same condition as the first. At the end of the hall, she froze as a second detective came barreling down a set of stairs. She quickly busied herself by examining a smear of blood on the closest wall. He passed without noticing her and moved toward the front of the building. Kennedy turned slowly and watched as he entered the first apartment.

Wasting no more time, Kennedy followed him at a safe distance, stopping just outside the doorway of the room where the detectives stood. She listened carefully as one of them spoke. “It’s the same upstairs. CSI counted thirty-two bodies.” Kennedy put her hand over her mouth briefly.

“Any survivors?” The second man asked.

“One,” his partner replied. “A little girl. She was hiding in a closet.”

“Did she see who did this?”

“She said…” The man paused. “She said they were monsters.”

Kennedy sped off towards the front door.

Black Out

 

End of Act Three