sib3x06
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                                       TEASER

               FADE IN:

         1     INT. HOSPITAL WARD - NIGHT                               1

               A quiet ward, lights down low as a solitary young NURSE
               strolls along, pausing to check the occasional chart.

               TITLE OVER: Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Centre, Carson
               City, Nevada.

               The nurse arrives back at her station, settling down in her
               chair and taking out a magazine. She flips to the back - and
               finds the crossword filled in already. 

               With a SIGH, she shuts it again and glances at her watch -
               another one of those nights.

               She hears something SCRAPE off screen, and her head snaps
               round. Squinting, she peers down the ward, but can't see
               anything moving.

               Shrugging it off, she leans back in her chair and reaches for
               her bag, fishing out a dog-eared novel and leafing through to
               her place, when she hears something SCRAPE again.

               This time she stands, and with a frown peers down into the
               darkness of the ward beyond.

               ANGLE ON: WARD

               PUSH IN slowly on the gloom spread over the rest of the ward,
               over beds occupied by sleeping patients, as we cut to:

         2     INT. HOSPITAL WARD - CORRIDOR - NEXT                     2

               The nurse pokes her head out of the ward and into a long
               corridor, checking either way for the source of the noise.

               Hearing the SCRAPING again, sounding like somebody dragging a
               chair along the floor, she decides to go and investigate.

               She paces slowly down the corridor, rubbing her arms as she
               suddenly goes cold, shivering a little.

               She glances over her shoulder, but there's still no-one in
               sight. Turning back, she heads on.

         3     INT. HOSPITAL WARD - T-JUNCTION - NEXT                   3

               Rounding a corner, she hears the SCRAPE again, very close by
               this time, and she visibly tenses up. 

               Glancing round, she spots a BROOM leaning against the door to
               a store room, and she instinctively grabs it.

               Taking a few meek steps forward, clutching the broom tightly,
               she calls out:

                                   NURSE
                         Hello? Who's there?
                             (beat)
                         Hello?

               SCRAPE again, this time just up ahead - whatever's making
               that noise, it's about to round a corner in front of her!

               The nurse rears back, raising the broom and getting ready to
               defend herself, as a SHADOW falls on the opposite wall...

               ... and as something starts to step round the corner, the
               Nurse suddenly YELLS to surprise it!

               The JANITOR jumps a mile, TRIPPING over his mop and bucket
               and clattering to the floor!

                                   JANITOR
                         Yow! What in the...

               The Nurse grimaces, wincing as the cleaner hits the floor
               with a painful THUD, his mp3 player headphones popping out of
               his ears.

                                   JANITOR (cont'd)
                         What the hell are you doing?

                                   NURSE
                         Sorry! Sorry, I'm so sorry...

               She reaches down to pull him to his feet, the janitor now
               dripping wet from the murky water splashed over his clothes.

                                   JANITOR
                             (off spilt water)
                         Ah, woulda look at this mess?

                                   NURSE
                             (winces again)
                         Sorry. I heard noises, I thought-

                                   JANITOR
                         Lemme guess. New here?

                                   NURSE
                             (nods)
                         First night shift.

                                   JANITOR
                         Word to the wise, lady. Hospitals
                         make noises. Well, technically, the
                         patients make noises.
                         The staff just haveta train
                         themselves not to hear 'em.

               To back up his point, the janitor pops his headphones back
               in.

                                   JANITOR (cont'd)
                         Any way they can.

               With a last scowl, the janitor rights his bucket, gathers his
               mop and starts on his way again.

               The nurse turns to leave - but when she hears the SCRAPE
               again, she spins round:

               It's the janitor's bucket, scraping as he kicks it along the
               floor. With a relieved chuckle at her own nerves, the nurse
               heads back to the ward.

         4     INT. HOSPITAL WARD - NEXT                                4

               Returning to her station, the nurse glances over the sleeping
               people in the beds - and we can now see that they're all
               PREGNANT WOMEN, just waiting for the big day.

               She takes a seat, retrieving her novel and preparing to dive
               back in:

               And somebody SCREAMS!

               She nearly falls out of her seat, scrambling back to her feet
               and racing towards one of the beds as the WOMAN in it
               continues to SCREAM at the top of her lungs.

               This wakes up plenty of the other patients, who shift round
               to watch as the nurse reaches the woman's side.

                                   NURSE
                         Ma'am? What is it? What's wrong?

                                   WOMAN
                             (breathless)
                         It... it was trying to kill my
                         baby! It wanted to hurt me, wanted
                         to hurt us both...

               One hand protectively clutching her stomach, the near
               hysterical woman rocks back and forth as the nurse presses a
               hand to her forehead.

                                   NURSE
                         It's alright, you're safe. You're
                         at the medical centre. You're fine.

               The woman looks up at her with wide, fearful eyes.

                                   NURSE (cont'd)
                             (reassuring)
                         It was just a bad dream.

               The woman nods, still spooked as the nurse gently helps
               settle her back down.

               She glances round at the other beds, seeing that the other
               women are losing interest and trying to get back to sleep.

               ANGLE FROM FLOOR:

               We watch as the nurse leaves the scared woman and heads back
               to her desk...

               ... as a drop of BLOOD falls from the sheets of the next bed
               along and SPLASHES on the floor before us.

               ON SCENE:

               The nurse is halfway back to her bed when somebody else
               SCREAMS, and with a resigned sigh she turns round:

               But this time, she sees several woman are all up and
               shouting, pointing at one of the beds - which the nurse sees,
               to her horror, is soaked with BLOOD!

               She races over, reaching the bed and throwing back the sheets
               as more women cry out in alarm:

               And the mutilated BODY of one of the patients lies spread out
               before her.

               Some women SCREAM, some VOMIT, some CRY OUT and try to
               clamber out of their beds, but the nurse just stands frozen
               to the spot, staring with wide eyes at the grisly scene
               before her.

               The woman's body has been SPLIT OPEN across her belly, her
               limbs twisted and broken.

               The nurse's gaze is drawn to the wall just above the dead
               woman's bed...

               ... where the number '1' has been daubed on the wall in the
               victim's own blood!

                                                             BLACK OUT:



                                    END OF TEASER
                                       ACT ONE

               FADE IN:

         5     EXT. CONVENIENCE STORE CAR PARK - NIGHT                  5

               The BLACK VAN is parked at the far end of a car park outside
               a 7-11, with the occasional car SLOSHING past on the road
               alongside in the falling rain.

         6     INT. CONVENIENCE STORE - NEXT                            6

               TWIST is browsing the shelves, grabbing various sugary snack
               foods and tossing them into a basket held by the waiting
               DIEGO.

               Diego takes a bag of jelly sweets out and peers at them,
               bemused.

                                   DIEGO
                         Explain to me again why you wanted
                         to get more of these... things?

                                   TWIST
                         I told you, sweet tooth.

                                   DIEGO
                         And yet, you do not need to eat.

                                   TWIST
                         I'm a complicated girl.

                                   DIEGO
                         So I'm discovering.

               Twist tosses yet more candy into the basket, and Diego looks
               up over the shelves to see DANYAEL stocking up on booze.

                                   TWIST (O.S.)
                         Diego?

                                   DIEGO
                         Hmm?

               He turns back to see Twist staring at him with a raised
               eyebrow.

                                   DIEGO (cont'd)
                         What?

                                   TWIST
                         I hope you're not thinking about
                         asking Danyael any more questions
                         about... stuff.

                                   DIEGO
                         Don't worry, I think I already know
                         what his answer would be.

                                   TWIST
                         Good. Because talking about stuff
                         only leads to more... stuff. And
                         before you know it, everybody's
                         talking about stuff, and everyone
                         knows everyone else's stuff, and
                         more... stuff happens.
                             (beat)
                         You get me?

                                   DIEGO
                         Only very occasionally.

                                   TWIST
                         Near enough.
                             (nods toward counter)
                         Let's go.

               She steers towards the counter, passing SYREN, who seems
               entranced by the aroma wafting off a self-service hot dog
               dispenser.

                                   TWIST (cont'd)
                         You okay there, diva?

                                   SYREN
                         This smell, I've... I've never
                         known anything like it. What kind
                         of animal are they cooking here?

                                   TWIST
                         Depends which state you're in.

               Twist heads on to the counter, nodding for Diego to start
               unloading the basket full of goodies. The bored SALES CLERK
               starts running the items through the register as Danyael
               joins them. Diego reacts at the haul of booze Danyael has
               collected.

                                   DIEGO
                         You can't possibly drink all that,
                         Danyael!

                                   DANYAEL
                         Not all at once, no. This is gonna
                         last me at least a couple of-

                                   DIEGO
                         Weeks?

                                   DANYAEL
                         Days.

               Diego shakes his head disapprovingly.

                                   TWIST
                         Never mind him. He's all Zen when
                         it comes to luxuries.

                                   DIEGO
                         I just don't understand the
                         obsession you two seem to have with
                         polluting your bodies.

                                   TWIST
                         Because we know we can get away
                         with it.

               Twist hands over a wad of one-dollar notes to pay for her
               stash, which the clerk SIGHS at exasperatedly before
               laboriously starting to count them out.

               Danyael sets down his basket with a series of CLINKS, and as
               Twist tears open a packet of gummi bears he a handful for
               himself.

                                   DANYAEL
                         Besides, who the hell else is going
                         to take care of our needs? Maybe
                         you ought to try letting your hair
                         down once in a while?

                                   DIEGO
                         My hair is fine just the way it is.

               Twist rolls her eyes, still chewing as she collects her bags
               and heads for the automatic doors, and we cut to:

         7     INT. BLACK VAN - NEXT                                    7

               JULIE is asleep in the driver's seat, dozing as rain washes
               down across the windows.

               PUSH IN on Julie as she starts to shift restlessly, her brow
               creasing - she's having some kind of bad dream.

               Her head moves round for a few more beats, whatever dream
               she's having getting worse:

               And a KNOCK-KNOCK on the van's window wakes her up with a
               jolt!

                                   JULIE
                         Chris! No!!

               She blinks, startled, and looks round to see a soaking wet
               Twist frantically gesturing for her to open the door.

               Rubbing her eyes, Julie leans across and opens the passenger
               door, letting Twist clamber in as the others pile into the
               back of the van.

                                   TWIST
                         Man! It's coming down like the Last
                         Flood arrived early out there!

               She SHAKES herself dry, trying to wring her hair out.

                                   TWIST (cont'd)
                         Were you asleep?

                                   JULIE
                         No, no, just... just dozing.

               Still waking herself up, Julie rubs her eyes again as Twist
               gets started on her second bag of candy, picking up a Walkman
               sized object on the dashboard.

                                   TWIST
                         What's this?

                                   JULIE
                             (snatches it back)
                         Fragile, is what it is.

                                   TWIST
                         Jeez, I was only asking!

                                   JULIE
                             (sighs)
                         Sorry. Didn't mean to snap. It's an
                         EMF receiver. 
                             (off Twist's look)
                         Electromagnetic frequencies. It's
                         something I've been working on to
                         help us locate sources of magical
                         energy, kind of like tuning in a
                         radio station.

                                   TWIST
                         Huh. Cool. Does it work?

                                   JULIE
                             (beat)
                         Not yet.

               Julie's cell phone RINGS, and it takes her a moment to locate
               it and fish it out of her pocket.

                                   JULIE (cont'd)
                             (into phone)
                         Hello?
                             (listens)
                         Jane! How are you doing?
                         Yeah, it's been, what, six years?
                         How are you?
                             (listens)
                         A reporter? That bad, huh?
                             (laughs)
                         Sorry. Couldn't resist.

               Julie listens to the other side of the call, her smile fading
               at what she hears. She turns to glance at the others.

                                   JULIE (cont'd)
                         Uh, yeah, yeah, we could probably
                         get there in a few hours, I don't
                         think we're too far away.
                             (listens)
                         Okay, right. See you soon.

               She hangs up, tucking her phone away and starting the van.

                                   JULIE (cont'd)
                         That was Jane Nouvelles, old friend
                         of mine from back when I was still
                         living in Chicago. Says she needs
                         my help with something.

                                   TWIST
                         And by 'my' help, you mean 'our'
                         help, right?

               Julie shoots her a look to say yes, that's what she means.

                                   TWIST (cont'd)
                         So where are we headed?

                                   JULIE
                         Carson City.

               Julie drops the van into gear and pulls away, and we cut to:

         8     EXT. CARSON CITY - NIGHT                                 8

               With the STORM still rumbling overhead and pelting the city
               below with rain, a quick bird's eye view of downtown Carson
               City before we cut to:

         9     EXT. CARSON TAHOE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTRE - NIGHT        9

               The front entrance to the hospital is a hive of activity - as
               well as the standard traffic of ambulances and vehicles,
               there are several POLICE CARS parked up here.

               The van is parked across the street, with Julie and Danyael
               sheltering beneath umbrellas as they head towards a woman
               waiting on the corner, also holding an umbrella.

                                   JULIE
                         Still hanging around on street
                         corners at three am?

                                   WOMAN
                             (without turning round)
                         Takes one to know one.

               She turns to face them as they walk up, and Julie greets her
               with a smile - this is JANE. A glamorous-looking black woman
               with long, curly hair, she leans forward to embrace Julie.

                                   JANE
                         Good to see you again, Kingston.

                                   JULIE
                         You too, Nouvelles. This is my
                         friend, Danyael.

               Jane offers her hand, and Danyael shakes it.

                                   JANE
                         One of the vampires, right?

               Danyael and Julie exchange a surprised look.

                                   JANE (cont'd)
                         I'm a reporter, remember?

                                   DANYAEL
                         Yeah, but...

                                   JANE
                         Don't take it personal. I just did
                         a little checking up on Jules
                         before I called her. Wanted to make
                         sure she was the right girl for the
                         job.

                                   JULIE
                         Seeing as I'm standing here, I'm
                         guessing I am.

                                   JANE
                         You wanna go somewhere out of the
                         rain so I can fill you in on what's
                         going on?

               Julie motions for Jane to lead the way, and we cut to:

        10     INT. DINER - NIGHT                                      10

               In a cafe across the street from the Medical Centre, Twist,
               Diego and Syren are in the background ordering drinks as
               Danyael and Julie sit at a table with Jane.

               She pushes a crime scene photograph discretely across the
               table, and Julie peers at it.

                                   JULIE
                         How'd you get this?
                             (off Jane's look)
                         Right, never mind.

                                   DANYAEL
                         Yikes. Looks like whatever did this
                         wanted to make sure it left an
                         impression.

                                   JANE
                         It also butchered a healthy, twenty
                         eight year old woman in the middle
                         of a prenatal ward without making a
                         sound.

                                   JULIE
                         Angry spirit?

                                   JANE
                         Could be. That's less my area of
                         expertise.

                                   JULIE
                         Come on, Jane, we've both seen
                         enough together to know what kinds
                         of things are hiding out there.

                                   DANYAEL
                         You have?

                                   JULIE
                         Jane got swept up in my big crusade
                         to learn more about the paranormal
                         when we were working together.

                                   JANE
                         Used to be a nurse at Cook County.

                                   JULIE
                         She got jumped by a vampire one
                         night, I saved her, and ever since
                         then we've been on the same road.

                                   JANE
                         Not exactly. You're the one roaming
                         the country taking out the bad
                         guys. I just write the news.

                                   JULIE
                         Jane also helps out people like us
                         when they pass through town,
                         keeping them in the loop and doing
                         some freelance researching on the
                         side.

                                   DANYAEL
                         A regular Veronica Mars of the
                         supernatural, huh? That why you
                         left the hospital?

                                   JANE
                         That, and... other stuff.

               They pause as Twist and the others return, distributing
               coffees and drinks across the table and sitting down. Twist,
               naturally, has herself a slice of lime pie.

                                   TWIST
                         So! What are we here to kill, and
                         how many tentacles does it have?
                             (off Jane's look)
                         There's always tentacles.

               Twist sips her drink as Jane glances round, making sure
               nobody's listening before leaning closer.

                                   JANE
                         Earlier this evening, some time
                         around eight o'clock, a girl named
                         Kelly Parker was found murdered in
                         her hospital bed. She'd been
                         cracked open like a walnut, half
                         the bones in her body broken... and
                         her unborn baby ripped straight out
                         of her.

               Danyael COUGHS, spraying foam over Twist, who scowls.

                                   SYREN
                             (pales)
                         What would do that?

                                   DIEGO
                         Plenty of creatures consider human
                         infants a delicacy. In fact, the
                         younger, the better.

               Twist glances down at the slice of pie before her - then s
               pushes it away.

                                   JANE
                         All we've got so far is this.

               She points to the photo again, tapping her finger on the
               number painted on the wall.

                                   JANE (cont'd)
                         Don't know the significance yet,
                         but I'm hoping this doesn't mean
                         she was the first of many.

                                   DIEGO
                         Not while we're here.

                                   JANE
                             (raises eyebrow)
                         Handsome and focused?

                                   TWIST
                         And taken.

               Jane chuckles, taking out her notepad and scribbling down
               some details.

                                   JANE
                         Here's my cell and home phone, and
                         the number for some guys I know who
                         help me out with this kind of
                         thing.

                                   JULIE
                         Anyone we know?

                                   JANE
                         Doubt it. They're kind of low-key.

               Jane drains the last of her drink and gathers up her bag.

                                   JULIE
                         Off already?

                                   JANE
                         I'm gonna try and get back into the
                         hospital ward again.

                                   SYREN
                         To look for more clues?

                                   JANE
                             (nods)
                         There's got to be something that'll
                         help us work out what's behind this
                         in there. Something the regular
                         police wouldn't know to look for.

               Julie looks out the diner's windows as an AMBULANCE roars
               past, siren blaring.

                                   JULIE
                         Actually...
                             (turns to others)
                         ... I think I have a plan.

               She grins, and we cut to:

        11     INT. MEDICAL CENTRE - MORGUE - NIGHT                    11

               BOOM. The swing doors to the morgue are pushed open by an
               ORDERLY, wheeling in a gurney. A BODY in a zip-up white bag
               lies on the gurney, and the orderly is followed by a second,
               pushing another gurney.

               They approach the MORGUE ATTENDANT, a chubby middle-aged guy,
               who peers at the approaching orderlies over his glasses.

                                   ATTENDANT
                         I wasn't expecting anyone down
                         here.

                                   ORDERLY
                         These two just came in. Students,
                         found dead in their digs from
                         carbon monoxide poisoning. DOA.

                                   ATTENDANT
                         Hmm. That's one faulty heater they
                         won't have to worry about any
                         more...

               The Orderly passes over a clipboard with the paperwork, and
               as the Attendant peers down it, he approaches the first body
               bag, UNZIPPING it.

               He pulls the flaps back to reveal Twist, her eyes closed and
               looking to all the world like a standard dead body.

               The Attendant heads to the second and unzips it to show
               Danyael, playing possum as well.

                                   ATTENDANT (cont'd)
                         Who signed for this?

               He scans down the clipboard, reading:

                                   ATTENDANT (cont'd)
                         A Doctor... Isobel Stevens? Never
                         heard of her.

                                   ORDERLY
                         Someone in a white coat points to
                         the gurneys, says to bring 'em down
                         here, then that's what I do. They
                         don't pay me enough to ask
                         questions.

               The Attendant doesn't look too happy about the intrusion, but
               with a nod dismisses the two orderlies. He heads back into
               his office, closing the door behind him.

               A beat - and then Twist slowly rises from the gurney,
               checking round to make sure she's not being observed.

                                   TWIST
                         Psst! Spook! Wake up!

                                   DANYAEL
                             (still lying down)
                         I'm not asleep.

               Twist swings her legs round and hops off the gurney, NUDGING
               him to get him moving.

                                   TWIST
                         Same diff. C'mon, let's go before
                         that morgue guy comes back.

               Twist heads for the exit, poking her head out into the
               corridor to check the coast is clear as Danyael disentangles
               himself from his body bag.

        12     INT. MEDICAL CENTRE - CORRIDOR - NEXT                   12

               Leaving the morgue behind, the two make tracks for the main
               part of the hospital, pausing as they reach a stack of
               SIGNPOSTS, each one pointing towards a different department.

                                   TWIST
                         What do you reckon?

                                   DANYAEL
                         I'll take security. May be able to
                         find some CCTV feeds of the attack.

                                   TWIST
                         Won't the cops have those?

                                   DANYAEL
                         Maybe, hopefully there's a backup.

                                   TWIST
                         Ah, good thinking, Batman! I'll
                         head for the ward and take a sniff
                         around.

               The two split up and head their separate ways, and we cut to:

        13     INT. MEDICAL CENTRE - MORGUE - NEXT                     13

               The Attendant heads back out of his office, clipboard in hand
               as he sips a cup of coffee with the other - and then he
               freezes.

               His coffee slips from his hand and SMASHES on the floor as he
               stares, dumbfounded, at the two vacant gurneys, and from his
               look of shock we cut to:
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