Hide 'N Seek
Teaser
Story by Drew and CN Winters
Written by Drew and CN Winters
Directed by Drew and CN Winters
Produced by CN Winters and Susan Carr
Edited by Angie Wilson
Sounds by CSR
Art Direction by Robert Kidman
Artists – Robert Kidman, Zahir al Daoud, Isis, Mattxxx and Humaira
Fade in:
Fade out:
Fade in:
Darkness
"Yo?" Faith's voice echoed in the darkness. "Anybody there?" Her groan of pain sounded as she could be heard sliding herself into a seated position. "What the hell did I have to drink last night?" she muttered.
"Faith? Is that you?"
"Heli?" Faith replied.
"Yes," Heli's voice sounded labored.
"Can you see anything?" Faith asked.
"No, it's too dark," Heli replied.
"Okay, just sit tight then, I'll see if I can find my way to you," Faith said. She grunted slightly. "Woah."
"Are you okay?" Heli asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Bit of a head rush," Faith replied dismissively. "Guess I stood up too fast." The gentle patter of flesh against wet stone could be heard. "Ugh, floor's damp or something. Feels like rock or concrete. Whoever brought us here left me barefoot."
"Me too," Heli replied. "Don't suppose they left you with a flashlight or something, did they?"
There was a long pause before Faith spoke. "I just realized that you prob'ly can't see me shakin' my head, can you?"
"So that's a no?" Heli asked.
"That's a no," Faith confirmed. "Okay, are you close to a wall?"
"Yes," Heli replied. "It feels like stone as well."
"Okay, don't move. I'm gonna try to find another wall and see if I can work my way around to you," Faith told her. "Keep talkin'," she added. "That'll give me a direction."
The gentle slapping of Faith's feet against the wet floor again echoed through the room until suddenly cut off with a soft thump, followed by a much louder thud, as if approximately a hundred pounds of meat had been slammed to the floor. The latter was followed by a painful groan from Faith.
"Faith?"
"I'm fine," Faith's voice now came from the floor. "I found a wall."
"You think anyone else is here?"
Cut to:
Int.
Council Cafeteria – Morning
Willow pulled her robe more tightly around her body as she padded her way down the stairs to the cafeteria.
"Hey, Andrew," she said as she walked towards the kitchen counter, "have you seen Ro?"
"Ro?" Andrew asked. "No, not since last night. Why?"
Willow rubbed her temples. "No reason, really. I just woke up this morning and she was gone."
Andrew smiled wryly. "I know what you mean, I haven't seen Tracey since I woke up either, but Tracey does that every once in a while when she has time on the radio."
"Yeah, Ro does that occasionally too." Willow paused. "Only usually more with the research than radio."
"Oh!" he exclaimed making Willow grab her temple and wince. "Before I forget, Buffy called this morning. Her and Dawn made it safe and they're going to work as we speak…or so she said. I think they'll spend more time working on their tans than actual 'work'."
Willow grinned. "Yeah, that hard duty of helping set up the Caribbean Bureau. Poor them."
"Buffy swears it's business," he said.
"And why did Dawn have to go?" Willow countered.
Andrew paused as if he might say something but stopped himself. Instead he just shrugged and said, "Well, she has no excuse I guess…But Buffy said that she thought Dawn could use a break and made her go."
Willow grinned and poured a cup of coffee. "I can't say much. We all got a vacation not long ago. Dawn's entitled too, I guess…If you see Ro can you ask her to page me?"
"Sure but have you checked the library?" Andrew asked. "If I was looking for Ro, that's the first place I'd look."
"Not yet," Willow admitted. "You're the first person I came to. I figure you know the comings and goings of just about everybody around here," she winced again. "And I was wondering if you might have an aspirin or two under the counter."
"Headache?"
"Oh, yeah," Willow replied, pressing the heels of her palms against her eyes.
Andrew rummaged under the counter for a moment before he produced a bottle of pills, pushing it across the counter to Willow.
"Thanks," Willow told him.
Cut to:
Int.
Darkness
"Ouch!" Heli yelped.
"Sorry," Faith replied, "didn't realize you were right there."
"Any idea where we are?"
"No clue. I mean, they can't have carried two unconscious people that far, can they?" Faith's voice sounded uncertain.
"I don't know," Heli said, "but whoever brought us in here got us in somehow, so there has to be a way out, right?"
"Makes sense," Faith said, "but that doesn't worry me nearly as much as that vest you're wearin'."
"Yeah, what is it?" Heli asked.
"I got an idea, but you probably won't like it," Faith replied tightly. "They slapped one on me too."
"So take it off," Heli said.
"I got a feelin' that's a bad, bad idea," Faith replied.
Cut to:
Int.
Council Library – Morning
"Ro?" Willow called gently. "Are you in here?"
She softly stepped around one of the tables, glancing between the stacks of books.
"Ro?" she called again. "Sweetie?"
She stopped in front of a table, looking down quizzically as she did so. A single, plain white envelope lay atop the table. Willow's name had been printed upon it in large, childlike letters. She took a tentative step towards it, as if afraid the envelope would transform into a poisonous snake and attack her. Her fingers trembled slightly as she lifted if from the table, then turned it over a few times in her hands.
Finally, her hands shaking uncontrollably, she tore the envelope open.
A key fell from the torn envelope, clattering to the top of the table. Willow picked it up, her eyes scanning it for a moment before she again turned her attention to the envelope in her hand. She reached inside, pulling a single sheet of unlined paper out. Her eyes scanned the text for a moment before they widened in shock, and she raced from the room.
Cut to:
Int.
Council Computer Room – Morning
Willow darted into the room, the note still clenched in her hand.
"Ro?" she called out. Only the loud hum of the large banks of computers responded.
She stepped tentatively into the room. On the computer nearest to her was a single post-it note, which read, "hit any key to continue."
She gingerly reached down, her finger trembling as she pressed the "Enter" key.
Cut to:
Int.
Darkness
Heli and Faith both recoiled, bringing their hands to their eyes as the room was suddenly flooded with harsh white light.
Cut to:
Int.
Council Computer Room
The image that appeared on the screen before Willow was a black-and-white video, as if taken from one of the council's security cameras. It showed a nondescript room, approximately ten feet squared with bland, stone walls. Four human shapes could be seen in the room. Two were prone: one lying face-down in one corner, the other curled on her side. The third was being held in a half-seated position by the fourth who was kneeling at her side.
"Oh my goddess," Willow whispered. Her fingers traced over the two conscious figures, "Faith, Heli." She shifted her attention to the two unconscious figures. "Vi," her voice caught, "…Ro."
She glanced around the room. Each computer screen showed a similar scene. Some showed rooms, others long hallways, others showed doorways or intricate mechanisms; but on each screen, the walls were the same nondescript stone.
"They're in a maze," she realized.
As she spoke, a small digital timer appeared in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. It showed two hours.
And it started counting down.
Cut to:
Int.
Room
In the center of Faith's chest an LED timer lit up, showing two hours, and began to tick down.
"Oh man," Faith whispered, looking down at Heli's vest. "I think things just got a lot worse."
Fade Out
End of Teaser
Act One
Starring:
Alicia Silverstone as Heli, Lacey Chabert as Skye Talisker, Elijah Wood as Jeff Lindquist, and Norika Fujiwara as Mia
Black Screen
Fade in:
Fade out:
Fade in:
Int.
Room
Faith gently but frantically shook Rowena by the shoulders. "C'mon, Blondie, wake up. We need your brain working here."
"Mmm, Will, just five more minutes, 'kay?" Rowena murmured sleepily.
"Wrong Hottie," Faith said tightly.
Rowena's eyes snapped opened. "Faith? What are you doing in my…" She paused as her eyes focused on the room around her. "Where are we?" she asked, suddenly alert.
"Good question," Faith replied.
Cut to:
Int.
Computer Room
Willow's knuckles whitened as she gripped the edges of the monitor. Her breathing came in short gasps, and her body shook as she stared at the computer screen.
"Willow, what's going…" Xander drew up short as he stepped into the computer room. He quickly glanced around the room, his eyes darting over the dozens of computer screens. "What is this?" he asked quietly.
Willow said nothing. Instead, she stepped aside, giving Xander an unimpeded view of the screen in front of her.
"Is that…?"
Willow nodded. "Faith, Ro, Heli…" She paused, bracing herself, "…and Vi."
On the screen, Vi and Rowena were just rising from the ground.
"This is a joke, right? Another Halloween prank? I mean, that can't be Vi, can it?" Xander's voice shook slightly. "I mean, I just saw her last night. She stayed at my place."
"I was holding Ro, and it looks like they grabbed her, too."
"But this is a hoax, right?" Xander said hesitantly. "Halloween as usual…"
Willow closed her eyes. Her breathing was fast and shallow.
"It is, right?" Xander asked again, quietly.
"Get Robin," Willow said softly. "Have him check last night's tapes. We have two hours, and the clock's already ticking."
Cut to:
Int.
Room
"God, I've got a headache," Rowena muttered. "How long were we out?"
"I don't know. All I do know is that we've got less than two hours to find our way out, or they'll be picking us up with a sponge," Faith replied tightly.
For the first time, Rowena's eyes drifted down to the timer in the center of Faith's chest, and her eyes widened. She glanced down at her own chest, breathing in sharply. She automatically reached for the clasp on the front of the vest.
Faith's hand darted towards Rowena's wrist, halting its progress. "Think about it, Ro, and look around. Whoever did this was smart enough to figure out how to sneak us away without anyone noticing. You don't think they'd hand us a bomb we could just take off, do you?"
"Then even if we get out of here, what good'll it do us? I don't know anyone who can defuse a bomb; definitely not someone we can find in two hours." A slight note of panic began to creep into Rowena's voice. She took a few deep breaths, trying desperately to steady herself, then she looked at the timer on Faith's chest more closely, then again at her own.
"What?" Faith asked.
Rowena ran her thumb over a small protrusion on the bottom edge of the timer. She began pointing at hers and then Faith's. "A keyhole," she said softly. "It's like the ignition on a car." Her eyes widened. "Someone has a key."
Cut to:
Int.
Computer Room
On the screen the four figures were frantically searching their bodies, digging through their pockets, and patting their clothing down.
Willow again opened the envelope in her hand and shook it, inverted, over the counter in front of her. The key fell out, clattering heavily onto the wooden counter.
"Oh god," she whispered.
Cut to:
Int.
Elsewhere in the Stone Room
"Guys?" Vi was kneeling next to the heavy metal door centered in one of the walls of the room. "Any idea what you make of this?"
"What is it?" Rowena and Faith stalked over to kneel beside her, looking at the door.
In childlike block letters, someone had carved seven words into the metal of the door.
Cut to:
Int.
Computer Room
Willow leaned close to the screen, squinting.
"How far are you willing to go?" she read quietly.
Cut to:
Int.
Room
"What does it mean?" Vi asked.
Rowena frowned. "It means we're being tested."
"What does that mean?" Heli asked.
"It's a game," Faith elaborated. "A sick, twisted, sadistic game."
"So…games have rules, right?" Heli asked. "There has to be a way to win this."
"Yeah. There's a way out of here," Faith said. "But I guarantee that whoever the sicko is who set this up, he's watching us right now, and he ain't gonna make it easy on us."
Heli looked up, her eyebrows arched as she scanned the corners of the room. "Camera, back corner of the room," she announced.
The other three women followed her gaze. A small camera hung from the low ceiling, completely unhidden from view. Faith clenched her jaw. "This bastard likes to watch, huh? Let's see what he thinks of this."
"Faith, we don't have time for this," Vi said sharply.
"This'll only take a second," Faith replied as she strode over the corner of the room, and ripped the camera free of the wall. In a sudden flash of anger, she hurled the camera at the concrete floor.
Cut to:
Int.
Computer Room
"Dammit, Faith!" Willow yelled as the computer screen in front of her turned to static.
Cut to:
Int.
Room
Heli arched her eyebrows at Faith's outburst. "Feel better now?"
"I know, I know," Faith said quietly, "I shouldn't have done that. I'm just so…"
"That's okay, Faith," Rowena said. "Stay mad."
Vi blinked at the blonde. "Say what?"
"Right now, I'd rather have an angry Faith with me than a calm one," Rowena replied. "Whatever's on the other side of that door, I've got a feeling it's not going to be daylight so it's gonna take every ounce of strength we have to get through it. Whatever you've got, wherever you need to draw it from, find it, 'cause there's no way I'm getting blown to kingdom come."
"Um, not to point out the obvious or anything," Heli pointed out, "but we've got to get out of this room first."
Rowena took a step forward, twisting the doorknob.
"Oh boy," Rowena sighed. "That was really dumb."
"Locked?" Faith asked.
"Unlocked," Rowena said as she still held on to the knob.
"But unlocked is good, right?" Vi replied.
"Everyone stand back," Rowena told them. "We've got bombs strapped to us so that means the door might be triggered too."
Vi and Heli both went to the far corner of the room but Faith didn't move.
"Faith, get over-," Rowena began.
"Nah, Blondie. I got your back so give it a push."
Rowena paused a moment longer and took a deep breath. Rowena gave it a shove, they both jumped backward. The door swung open to reveal a second room and little else. Rowena and Faith both released the breath they were holding.
"That worked out okay I guess," Rowena replied. "But from here out we need to think before we do anything."
"Okay, does that make anyone else nervous?" Heli asked. "That they didn't even bother locking us in?"
Rowena carefully stepped through the doorframe and reached around the door, feeling the knob.
"It locks from the outside," she pointed out. "They could have locked us in if they wanted to."
"So why didn't they?" Vi asked.
"'Cause they are playin' a game with us," Faith replied. "They lock the door an' there's no way we'll get out of here before the timer runs out."
"So," Heli said, "we're dealing with a polite psychopath now?"
Cut to:
Int.
Computer Room
"I'm only asking this once, Andrew," Willow said, her voice hard, as Xander stood behind her. "Did you have anything to do with this?"
"What?" Andrew asked, confused.
"We have four council members trapped, so I need to know, right now. Do any spells? Play any pranks?" Willow's voice hardened further.
"Willow, I don't know what you're talking about, and that's the truth," Andrew held up his hands in surrender.
Willow stood up and began to move toward Andrew but Xander put a hand on her shoulder.