*my hamGoth life* (3:2)

EPISODE 2: Awaken

[JANELLE sits at her desk in ROOT, grading papers. Her eyelids begin to droop, her head lolls, and she falls asleep, cheek resting on the desk.

Suddenly, Janelle is standing on the third floor of ROOT. Confused as to how she got there, JANELLE opens the first door on her right, leading into the Buffy classroom… or so she thinks.

Behind the door is an animation of the CHAPEL. A girl (KIM) walks up the isle, to where several women stand on the platform, cloaked and holding candles. One woman (ROSE) stands ahead of the rest.] 

Kim: [awkwardly] Uhm, hey guys.

Rose: Welcome, Kimberly. And congratulations on your acceptance to Special K. Ours is a very exclusive group. And our talents are [giving a mischievous smirk]… quite unique.

Kim: Yeah! I mean you guys sounded great in your concert, that’s why I-

Rose: [scoffs, tone changes suddenly to that of a stereotypical valley girl] Don’t be such a noob! We do a lot more than just sing, okay? [clears her throat, regains her composure] Believe me when I say, Kimberly, that you will never regret your decision to join our ranks. Not for as long as you live… and you will live a very long time.

[Kim looks on, eyebrows raised, looking concerned for the girl’s sanity]

Rose: Special K has been an organization since before the time Hamilton was a coed college. It began simply as a singing group, to allow the young women of Kirkland College who could not participate in the choir an opportunity to sing.

Kim: But I’m guessing it’s become a lot more than that now?

Rose: [valley girl returns] Uhm, Duh? Why else would we be standing here in white dresses and black cloaks? Don’t be a cray betch. [again softens into an elegant femme fatale] When Kirkland and Hamilton became one, many of the young women were not pleased with the decision. Kirkland was a place where women could be themselves! But more importantly, it was a place where they could be themselves as women, and did not need to assume traits of men to achieve greatness. But Hamilton was a place of conservative traditions. The Kirkland girls knew they would never be recognized as equals to their fellow male students, and all wanted some kind of guarantee that they could have power over the men, the power they deserved for being women and breaking the sexist mold that had bound women for centuries. It was only the girls of Special K who were able to carry out this plan. [Building the intensity] They entered into a sacred pact, one locked away in forbidden books for hundreds of years. A pact that would ensure their power over men for not only their time at Hamilton, but for eternity.

Kim: What pact?

Rose: [ceases pacing] Immortality. We pray on the men of this college, seducing them on the weekends, and then absorb their life forces and make them our own. [brief valley girl interjection] Why do you think we our parties are like so much more popular than the other groups’? [shakes it off] In this way we ensure that we will live on, as beautiful and powerful as ever, and they will falter and fade, and eventually cease to live once we no longer have a purpose for them. Thus, the women of this, a seemingly innocent a cappella group, will forever have power over the men of one of the finest institutions in the nation.

Kim: [shrugging] Well, I’ve never been much of a feminist… but I can’t lie [gives a grin suggesting she’s accepted her new lifestyle]… I’m very intrigued.  

[JANELLE shuts this door, shakes her head, and shrugs. She turns and opens a second door, behind which is THE GLEN.

                  [Cara and Ambrus walk away from the huge mass of dancing people.  Ambrus leads Cara towards the dark and silent Kirkland Glen. Ambrus grimaces as he pulls on her arm. Cara has very little attention span and keeps walking off in random directions.]

Card Cara: Hey. I’m Cara. Isn’t this awesome?

            [Ambrus leads her on at a quicker pace.]

Card Ambrus: This way.

                 [it is too fast for Cara who in an effort to keep up, kicks a rock straight at Ambrus’s leg.]

Card Cara: Oops! Sorry!

                   What’s you name?

Card Ambrus: Ambrus.

[Cara tries to get closer to Ambrus, but he attempts to keep her at arm’s length. She ignores him and snuggles close. He frowns.]

Card Cara: Wow, it sounds really really really old.

Card Ambrus: It was my father’s name.

Card Cara: Oh…what’s that smell

            [Cara lifts her nose and sniffs loudly around herself. She sticks her nose towards Ambrus.]

Card Cara: Eew. It smells really gross, whatever it is.

                   I’m bored. Let’s go to Diner B!!

[Cara stops dead in the path. She lifts her foot up and looks expectantly at Ambrus.]

Card Cara: My feet hurt.

            [Ambrus turns around and looks confused]

Card Ambrus: What do you want from me?                

Card Cara: But my feet hurt!

                   And something still smells really funky.

            [Cara pouts and crosses her arms. Ambrus looks off into the blackness, looking thoughtful]

Card Ambrus: I love it. It is so peaceful.

Card Cara: Well that’s weird.

        SHIT! What was that?

                  [A black shape flies in front of Cara’s face, beating its wings against her. Cara jumps forward into Ambrus. He pushes her off. He does not look at her, but instead looks into the woods. She throws her shoe at him to get his attention.]

Card Ambrus: What it wrong with you?

             It was just a bat.

Card Cara: What’s wrong with me? What is wrong with ME?

        YOU want to leave the party. And I’m the weird one!?

                  [Ambrus again pulls Cara’s hand, but she stands still, stubbornly refusing to move. Her face is red and she stares Ambrus right in the face. She pushes him back.]

Cara: That wasn’t a bat. [she looks around]

          Ambrus…What’s wrong with your skin?

           It looks like it’s falling…off.

[JANELLE, looking rather alarmed by what she has seen, shuts this door forcefully and walks quickly to the bathroom. Behind this door are the SQUASH COURTS, where several people are fencing.

LAUREN and AMELIA are standing at the edge of a strip talking to a group of new freshmen fencers. They are watching a bout take place on the strip between the MASKED MAN and another fencer.

Fencers salute each other, one masked, the other with his helmet off. They stand in en guarde position and prepare to fight]

DIRECTOR: Center’s here, fencers ready…

JAKE: Ready.

[MASKED MAN nods]

DIRECTOR: Fence!

 [In the background, we see the MASKED MAN easily beating his opponent. The lights dim except for a yellowish hue around the fencers and an amber spotlight on the storyteller and her audience. The theme song from “Sleepy Hollow” swells up in the background]

LAUREN: Damn, I think he gets better and better every time he fences. He’s killing Ben with those binds!

AMELIA: He can’t be beat, it’s insane.

FRESHMEN: Who is he?

AMELIA: Him? He’s…well, we don’t know his name…

LAUREN: We call him the “Masked Man”…secretly of course. He never takes his mask off. The captains joke that he’s headless or something, silly stuff, you know? He gives us the wiggins, but we keep him on the team because he is so great at the sport.

[The masked fencer slashes at his opponent and the opponent jumps back. They all turn to look as they hear swords begin clashing louder and louder. The opponent makes a daring slash at the throat of the MASKED MAN, knocking his helmet to the ground. His body stands there and turns to “look” at the empty mask lying on the ground. The freshman screams, the DIRECTOR faints, and LAUREN and AMELIA turn to each other]

AMELIA: I guess he isn’t as good as we thought, I mean I have heard of disarming an opponent, but dis-heading them?

[The headless body runs from the strip and flees the building]

LAUREN: What should we do? Go after him?

AMELIA: We don’t even know what he is! What if he’s a murderer?

LAUREN: I don’t think he is…wouldn’t he have killed us all by now? I think we should go after him…what do we have to lose?

AMELIA: …Alright, let’s do it! But I swear, if he chops off my head to use in place of his own, I am blaming it on you!

[The two pick up sabres and leave the room to pursue the MASKED MAN. The scene moves outside, where people are screaming at the headless body running across campus. The girls chase him until they knock him to the ground and hold the swords towards him]

LAUREN: Who are you! [She jabs him with the sabre]

AMELIA: [to Lauren] Can he talk…?

MASKED MAN: Wait [cough] wait! Please, don’t hit me anymore!

AMELIA: He can talk! [She slaps him with the blade] Who are you and what do you want with the fencers?

MASKED MAN: Ouch! [he unzips the jacket to reveal his head, curled up over his body]

LAUREN and AMELIA: Matt?! We thought you didn’t fence! We thought you just came to dinner and didn’t know how to fence!

MASKED MAN: Well, I didn’t want you to know it was me, I wanted you to think I was some phantom, that way, when he died…

AMELIA: When who died?

MASKED MAN: Jake, I thought if I could make his death look like a fencing accident, they wouldn’t blame it on the real me, and I could live happily ever after with Liz. I couldn’t think of any other way to get her.

LAUREN: Wait, so all of this…for a girl?

MASKED MAN: I mean…yea? C’mon, can you blame me?

[LAUREN and AMELIA look at each other, and then beat Matt with swords.

JANELLE slams this door shut. Looking truly worried now, she jogs across the landing and down the stairs. As she runs, the stairs transform into those leading down to the basement of LIST.]

ANNIE and JAKE stand in the music library. They look at a picture of a young professor labeled “Mrs. Hartfield, 1982”.]

ANNIE: That’s her. [Scrunches up her nose in mock disgust] God! I can’t believe people wore their hair like that… and look at those shoes! 

JAKE: [Ignores Annie’s comments about fashion.] So you’re trying to tell me that the ghost of a vocal professor is haunting the bathroom?

ANNIE: [Rolls her eyes] I didn’t say she was haunting the bathroom specifically… that’s just where I saw her.

JAKE: Why would she even be here?

ANNIE: [Puts the picture back down on the counter] I don’t know. Let’s find out.

[They both leave the music library and begin walking towards List 106.]

[As they get closer, the lights seem to dim. The air gets so cold their breath can be seen.]

JAKE: Woah! Do you see that? [he points towards the stairwell.]

[A shadow crouching on the stairs darts into the bathroom.]

ANNIE: Should we follow it?

JAKE: Totes. 

[Camera zooms in on the face of the fire-breathing dragon painted on the wall while Jake and Annie walk into the bathroom.]

[Cut to Annie and Jake in the women’s bathroom]

ANNIE: [clutching Jake’s upper-arm] Look!

[One by one, the faucets turn on, the hot water causes steam to form on the mirror. Letters begin to appear.]

JAKE: [reading from the mirror] “Here.”

ANNIE: What do you think it means?

[The lights flicker off. When they flicker back on there’s a woman standing behind the two. Her reflection can be seen in the mirror. Annie and Jake yelp and run out of the bathroom. The lights flicker off then on again and the ghost is gone. The camera begins to zoom in on the word ‘here.’ It goes through the mirror, and reveals a skeleton stuffed in the wall. 

Exhausted, terrified, alarmed, JANELLE falls back heavily into a sitting position on the bottom step in ROOT. She stands once more, slightly out of breath, and opens the nearest door across the landing.

As this door opens, the scene changes to DUFFY, XANDRA, and WILLIE opening the doors into ELS.

Theme Music: low background of 28 Theme from 28 Days Later]

DUFFY [walking through the doors of ELS]: What a beautiful night for an

initiation dance meeting. Party. Thing.

XANDRA: I was under the impression that this was more of a dance shindig.

WILLIE: Yeah. The society is too big for this to be called a meeting. But too

small for the usage of hootenanny. I agree with Xandra.

[THEY ENTER THE SUNPORCH. ON THE TABLE IS A NOTE THAT READS: “INITIATES, PLEASE PROCEED TO SADOVE CATACOMBS,”IN CREEPY, JAGGED HANDWRITING.]

DUFFY [obliviously]: Catacombs? I didn’t realize this building had catacombs.

XANDRA: I think they mean the basement.

DUFFY: Oh. Right. Well, lets go then.

[THEY HESITANTLY GO DOWN TO THE BASEMENT. THE FIRST STRAINS OF LADY GAGA’S BORN THIS WAY ARE HEARD. ]

DUFFY: Ooh! My song.

WILLIE [skeptically]: Born this Way?

DUFFY: I thought it was appropriate. This is my rebirth as an ELS member and all, so what better song choice to commemorate that?

WILLIE [deadpan]: I chose the Thong Song.

XANDRA [guiltily]: Party in the USA, for me. I have a weakness for Miley Cyrus.

[THEY LOOK AROUND, WEIRDED OUT BY THE SITUATION.]

XANDRA: Well, this is kind of...super creepy.

WILLIE: It’s supposed to be, it’s a basement...I wonder if there are snacks.

DUFFY: No, I agree with Xandra. This is kind of sketch. Where is everyone?

[THEY GO FARTHER INTO THE BASEMENT. THE ELS MEMBERS ARE STANDING STILL TOWARDS THE BACK OF THE ROOM, HALF IN DARKNESS.]

DUFFY: Oh, there they are. Hey guys!

[THE MEMBERS ARE SILENT FOR A MOMENT. THEN SUDDENLY THEY BEGIN TO LAUGH AND DANCE MANIACALLY. WILLIE AND XANDRA EXCHANGE AN ODD GLANCE.]

XANDRA [whispering to Buffy]: Am I the only one who’s got a wiggins?

DUFFY: Nope.

[THEY HESITANTLY BEGIN TO DANCE WITH EVERYONE ELSE. BUT AS BORN THIS WAY ENDS, THEY REALIZE THAT THEY CANNOT STOP. THEY STRUGGLE TO CONTAIN THEIR MOVEMENT.]

WILLIE: What’s happening to us!? I can’t stop!

DUFFY: Me neither!

[BORN THIS WAY ENDS, REVEALING THE CREEPY SONG THAT HAD BEEN PLAYING UNDERNEATH, SOME SORT OF OMINIOUS CHANTING MUSIC – EVER DARK’S IN PARTING SORROW. SOMETHING DARK SEEMS TO SEPARATE FROM THE SHADOWS.]

XANDRA: I knew this was a bad idea, Duffy! I have too many extracurriculars as it is!

ELS LEADER: Quiet. Don’t you realize whose presence you are in? Behold, the reanimation of Ralph Waldo Emerson!

[OR,RATHER, RALPH WALDO EMERSON’S ZOMBIE-DEMON.]

ELS LEADER: In exchange for our wealth and prosperity, we must spread Emerson’s philosophy and indoctrinate the world! The moment has come: join…or die.

DUFFY [CONFUSED, TO WILLIE]: …Who’s this Ralph Waldo Emerson guy?

WILLIE [SHRUGGING]: Dunno. I just joined for the free t-shirt.

[JANELLE slams this door shut and runs down the last set of stairs. Looking from left to right, she finally makes it back to her office door. With a sigh of relief, she pulls the door open, only to find she is once more in the Chapel.

A girl walks in wearing a white dress, and is barefoot. As she steps past the threshold, dramatic organ music sounds (Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D minor), and low lights flicker on to reveal twelve girls standing at the back of the chapel. All are wearing black.]

AMANDA: [Beckons to her] “Welcome, Katherine. You have been Chosen. Tonight, you will become the newest member of Special K.

CHELSEA: “As you know, we’re the oldest all female a cappella group on this campus, dating back to the beginning days of Kirkland College. However, we’re actually much older than that.”

ZOE: “We’ve existed for centuries disguising ourselves as a musical group, luring victims with song.”

LEAH: “Ugh. You guys are making me feel old. History is so… dry.”

EMILY: [Seductively, stroking the girl’s cheek and neck] “We’d kill to have you in the group. Don’t blush. We’ve heard your voice and we’ve seen the way you watch us. That’s why we chose you.”

KIMBERLY: [Sweetly] “It’s a huge honor to be asked. Girls have spilled blood because we wouldn’t take them. [Smirks] We only ask one thing of you in exchange. It’s no big deal. In order to be one of us, you give us your life.”

MALLORY: [Laughs] “What? You must have noticed that we’re different: the skin, the teeth, and the youth. No facelift could work this kind of magic. In order to stay beautiful forever, you have to be immortal.”

KERKIRA: [Softly, Comfortingly] “Don’t worry. It won’t hurt... much” [Strokes girl’s hair]

ANNIE: “We’ll sing to you while it happens. The world will just fade away.”

SARAH S: “First, you must drink our blood from the sacred cup. Girls.”

[Each member cuts her wrists with a plastic fork, and pours a few drops of blood into a paper cup from Commons Dining Hall. The cup is passed to the girl who hesitantly drinks it while all the members watch her. When the girl finishes drinking, the member standing next to her takes the cup.]

ELIZABETH: [Softly] “Now, close your eyes. Don’t be afraid. Relax. This is the best part.”

[They all move towards the young girl, and begin to feed. Slowly the young girl sinks to the ground with the group still feeding. The white dress shows spreading stains of red. The song, “Killing Me Softly” plays in the background.

[JANELLE jolts awake, again seated at her desk in her office, panting and looking utterly terrified.]

ANNELISE: [off camera] Uhm… professor?

[JANELLE looks up, suddenly realizing she is not alone.

ANNELISE, LAUREN, KATHERINE, LISA, AMELIA, and KIM (eating a hot dog) all stand in the doorway, looking concerned and quite wigged.]

[Cut to black, Buffy theme plays]

written & performed by Katherine Delasalle, Annelise Driscoll,
Kim Hughes, Lisa Labate, 
Lauren Lanzotti, and Amelia Root

guest appearances by Janelle Schwartz, The Hamilton Fencing Team,

Special K, and assorted others