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Strange and Violent, Part 1 (airdate Jan. 12, 2005)

Strange and Violent Part 1 (February 2, 2005) Written by: Masquerade

Teaser

ESTABLISHING - AERIAL SHOT - LOS ANGELES AT NIGHT

We PAN over the CITY - a blanket of darkness filigreed by red and gold in motion. Streets and freeways are carved out by the lights of the insect-sized cars crawling along them. Sky-scraper buildings are brought into relief by their randomly glowing windows. The eastern mountains are dark mounds against the sky, faintly twinkling.

CONNOR (VOICE-OVER)
I see the images of past, too. But it's--
It's not someone else's life.
It's mine.
As Connor speaks, we hear, faint in the background, the sound of someone PANTING WITH EFFORT. The breathing is ragged, strained.

CONNOR (V.O.)
It's like...I'm watching a movie.
Like it happened to someone else.
Our view - the panorama of Los Angeles at night. The panting continues, growing louder, as if the person is approaching at a run.

CONNOR (V.O.)
But I know it didn't.
Closer.

CONNOR (V.O.)
I try not to think about it, but sometimes--
especially being back here in L.A.--
I can feel the way it felt.
Los Angeles, and....
FADE INTO -

EXT. AN ARID, ROCKY LANDSCAPE SET AGAINST A BLOOD-RED SKY - TWILIGHT

A dry, forbidding alien world of cragged ROCK FACES and gnarled red TREES.

CONNOR (V.O.)
...Quortoth.
Over a hill comes a TEENAGED CONNOR in tanned animal hides. He's dragging himself along, head down-turned, barely able to walk. He stumbles on a stone and stops, panting heavily.

CLOSE-UP on his face as he raises his head and gasps. Under his disheveled bangs, we can see that the skin of his face is abnormally PALE AND CRACKED. He starts forward again, his expression dazed but determined.

BLACK OUT.

END OF TEASER

---

Opening Credits

The theme song plays as we see images of


CONNOR REILLY walking to classes, killing a vampire

starring

Vincent Kartheiser
FAITH THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, fighting in the SLAYER TRAINING ROOM with Connor

Eliza Dushku
and REPORTER AIDEN WALSH, pulling his CAMERA away from his face.

and

Sean Maher

Act One

with special guest stars

Navi Rawat
Griff Rhys-Jones
Keith Szarabajka

---

EXT. LOS ANGELES COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY - LATE AFTERNOON - ESTABLISHING

INT. HIGH SECURITY WARD

ANGLE ON a DOOR with a small window that leads into the WARD. Next to it is the nurses' station, a secured desk area set behind glass.

REVERSE ANGLE - Watching the door are TWO DOCTORS, a man and a woman, both with white coats and badges. They speak low and urgently, their heads tilted close.

MAN
Mona, I want to reiterate what a bad idea this is.

WOMAN
You've already made your objections, Edward,
and the board overruled you.
She's shown almost no signs of violence in six months.
And I've waited nearly half that time to get this
Observation approved.

MAN
She's shown no signs of violence because
she's clinically depressed.
She's already tried to kill herself once.

WOMAN
That was self-mutilation, not a suicide attempt,
and of course she's depressed. With her increased
lucidity, she looks around herself and what does
she see?
(she waves at the ward door)
An institution--patients, doctors, orderlies.
I want to show her there's a life outside these walls.
Give her something to work for. And while I'm at it,
assess how she interacts with people from outside
the institutional setting.

MAN
So why not do it here, where she's comfortable?
Why take her over to USC Med?

WOMAN
Because the only ward in this facility with
high enough security is no longer safe, is it?

MAN
(frowning)
You mean the mysterious "monster-man" the
patients say is attacking them.

WOMAN
I don't know why they're saying that, either.
But it's clear that there's a patient on the ward
who is out of control, and until we identify
who it is, I won't allow any visitors onto the--
A WARNING BUZZ sounds.

REVERSE ANGLE - a LIGHT above the ward door flashes RED. The DOOR OPENS. A burly male orderly steps through. Behind him is a TEENAGED GIRL with brown hair past her shoulders. And behind her, another orderly, just as large as the first.

PULL BACK until we're seeing them from a vantage point behind the doctors.

MAN
So...these people you're taking her to see.
I gathered from your proposal they're as
strong as her.

WOMAN
Apparently. They belong to the organization
that's sponsoring her hospitalization.
The girl raises her head.

ZOOM SLOWLY IN ON - DANA THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.

She looks better than the last time we saw her--her hair is combed, her eyes focused. She wears a standard hospital issue white blouse and pants. But as we CLOSE IN on her, we see that her shoulders are slumped, and that her face is tired and expressionless.


EXT. CONNOR'S APARTMENT BUILDING - LATE AFTERNOON - ESTABLISHING

INT. CONNOR'S LIVING ROOM

CONNOR
I guess you guys are living like prisoners
up there, aren't you?
Connor is standing by his armchair dressed to go out in jeans, sneakers, and his tan jacket over a polo shirt. He grips the telephone, his expression pensive and guilt-ridden.

CLOSE-UP on the receiver. We hear COLLEEN REILLY'S voice on the other end of the line.

COLLEEN
This isn't about that, Connor. We would have
had to take safety precautions regardless.
It's the fact that you didn't tell us that this
vampire was after you in the first place.
Connor frowns.

COLLEEN (cont.)
And it's just a symptom of a larger problem.
Something has been bothering you since last
Spring, and I know it has to do with
those...abilities of yours.
But you won't talk to a therapist, you won't
talk to us....
She is quiet for a moment. Connor stares forward anxiously. Then he opens his mouth to speak, his lips twitching as if trying to find words.

COLLEEN
You owe your father an explanation, Connor.
For all of it.

CONNOR
I know.
He glances at his watch.

CONNOR (cont.)
Mom, I have to go. I promised my friend Faith
I'd do a favor for her.
I'll--I'll call you later this week, O.K.?
He pauses, his expression pained.

CONNOR
Love you, Mom.
Slowly, Connor hangs up the phone. He stares out the window at the waning light of afternoon.


EXT. FRANKLIN AVENUE - HOLLYWOOD - LATE AFTERNOON

A busy commercial street on the cusp of the prestigious Hollywood Hills.

ANGLE - the south side of the street, looking west. Traffic whizzes by in both directions. To the north, we can see the rising hills, dotted with homes. Into the frame headed west-bound drives a WHITE VAN with the a medical logo and the acronym "LACMHF" painted on the side. Behind it several cars down is an older green CHEVY IMPALA.

INT. FAITH'S IMPALA

ANGLE - looking back from the front of the car. FAITH is behind the wheel. Connor sits beside her, his arms crossed, staring out the passenger side window. In the back seat are three other Slayers--Tushka, Michelle, and Misha. As Faith drives, we see her snatch intermittent glances at Connor. Finally, she frowns.

FAITH
How's your dad?
Connor looks at her, then looks forward.

CONNOR
Better. Not one hundred percent, but he was
able to start the new semester at work.
They drive in awkward silence again for a moment. Then -

FAITH
What did you tell them?

CONNOR
My parents?
(looking down)
The truth. That some crazy vampire went all
stalker on me because of my powers.

FAITH
(gripping the steering wheel)
Is that the truth?
Connor is silent.

FAITH
(frowning knowingly)
But not the whole truth.
She inhales deep, then tilts her head towards Connor, her eyes still on the road.

FAITH
(lowering her voice)
Look, I brought you along on this gig 'cause
the doc wants to see how Dana reacts to a guy.
But just so we're clear, Connor?
Connor finally looks at her.

FAITH (cont.)
I don't really trust you much right now.
Connor looks away and down, then unfolds his arms and clasps his hands together in his lap.

Faith glances towards the back.

FAITH
You guys all clear on what we're supposed to
do when we get there?
Any more questions about this girl?
Tushka rests her hand on the back of Faith's seat.

TUSHKA
This Walter Kindel guy that tortured her when
she was little. He's in prison, right?

FAITH
Actually, he died. Six years ago.
Tushka nods and sits back.

Faith turns her attention forward again without another glance at Connor. Suddenly, we hear the bird-like twitter of a CELL PHONE. Faith yanks a SILVER PHONE out of her back pocket, brings it around, and starts stabbing at the buttons with her thumb.

FAITH
(eyes jumping to the road)
Damned cells. Why I thought it would be a
great idea to--
She makes a connection and brings the phone up to her ear.

FAITH
Hey.

EXT. FRANKLIN AVENUE - LATE AFTERNOON

Faith's car continues west following the VAN, which we ZOOM IN ON.

INT. MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY VAN

Dana sits slumped on a bench along one interior wall, her body jerking and swaying as the van accelerates and slows and changes lanes. Her ankles and wrists are bound in soft restraints. The two burly orderlies are seated on either side of her, TRANQUILIZER GUNS on their belts. She gazes around irritably, each jostling SHAKE of the van making her increasingly agitated. Finally, she lifts her arms and starts TUGGING on the polyurethane straps at her wrists, grunting. The orderly to her left looks at her and reaches for his gun.

ORDERLY LEFT
Hey, whoa. Let's calm down now, Dana.

ORDERLY RIGHT
Doc doesn't want her tranqed, man.

ORDERLY LEFT
The doctor is crazy.
Suddenly, Dana HEAVES HERSELF AT HIM.

DANA
Uggh!
Orderly Left SAILS BACK and HITS the rear door of the van.

ORDERLY LEFT
Shit! Shoot her!
Orderly Right rises, bent over at the waist, and raises his tranq gun.

CLOSE-UP on Dana's feet. She SNAPS her leg restraints, then KICKS THE GUN OUT OF HIS HAND.

With another guttural grunt, she stands and THROWS HERSELF AGAINST THE SIDE OF THE VAN.

EXT. VAN - LATE AFTERNOON

The van SWERVES sharply.

CUT TO - the driver, grappling the steering wheel. Seated beside him is the FEMALE DOCTOR.

INT. FAITH'S IMPALA

Faith's POV - looking out the front window from just behind the front seat. We see the VAN pull up to the curb near an intersection. Its brakes SQUEAL.

INT. VAN

Orderly Right stands off against Dana. Her hair hangs in her face. She smiles at him malevolently, then reaches down, eyes still on him, and pulls a KNIFE out from inside her sock.

CLOSE-UP on the weapon. It's an ordinary TABLE KNIFE, sharpened to a FINE EDGE.

Dana's POV - the orderly eyes the knife nervously.

ORDERLY RIGHT
How the hell did you get....
(raising his hands)
O.K., Dana. It's me, Jerry. You know me.
You know I'm not some demon from one of
your dreams.
Then the orderly GAPES with frightened astonishment, as if he is seeing something much stranger than a knife-wielding mental patient.

JERRY
What the hell!?
The KNIFE plunges into his gut.

EXT. FRANKLIN AVENUE - LATE AFTERNOON

Faith's Impala pulls up behind the van. She leaps out of the car.

CLOSE-UP ON the BACK DOORS of the van. The handles jiggle. Then the doors SHUDDER as something kicks at them from the other side. Another kick. And another. The door BURSTS OPEN and SLAMS BACK HARD.

A MAN emerges from the back of the van. He's dressed in an orderly's uniform, but he is not one of them. He's older--in his early forties--with slightly balding brown hair and a bit of a belly. As he peers out at the street, we ZOOM IN on his face. It is MOTTLED AND GRAY. He steps out onto the asphalt.

FAITH
(to the man)
Hey, what hap--
With a grunt, the man BACKHANDS Faith across the face, KNOCKING her into the van. He stares at her for a beat. She stares back, eyes wide. Then he bolts to the sidewalk and starts up the hilly cross street.

Just then, the driver appears at the back of the van, the doctor on his heels. He glances at Faith, then peers inside.

DRIVER
(panicked)
Where is she?
His POV - we see the ORDERLIES lying on the floor of the van. But no DANA.

The driver whirls around and scans the street. Faith and the doctor look with him.

PANNING - traffic buzzes by, horns honk. The Slayers stand beside Faith's Impala. A POLICE CAR pulls up behind it.

The doctor immediately shoots towards the police car, passing Connor on his way over to the van.

CONNOR
(to Faith, with concern)
Are you O.K.?
He glances inside the van. His brow wrinkles. He turns his head slowly in the direction the strange man ran off to.

FAITH
I don't know what the fuck--
Connor sets a hand on her shoulder.

CONNOR
The hill.
Connor takes off up the cross street, running.

Faith frowns after him. Then her attention is drawn to -

TWO POLICE OFFICERS approaching with the DOCTOR. One of the officers glances around nervously.

POLICE OFFICER ONE
So what you're saying is, there's a criminally
insane whacko loose.

DOCTOR
She is not--

POLICE OFFICER TWO
If she heads into Griffith Park,
I don't see how we're going to find her.
Those hills stretch for miles.

POLICE OFFICER ONE
Call the park rangers. Alert them to the
situation. We'll canvas the Hill neighborhoods.

FAITH
(mumbled)
Shit.
Faith squeezes past them and returns to her car.

FAITH
(to the other Slayers)
They think she's run up into the hills.
Most of those houses have security systems,
so that'll buy us some time.
They get back into the car.

MISHA
Where'd Connor go?
Faith's gaze turns in the direction Connor disappeared.

FAITH
Following his nose.
I hope.

EXT. GRIFFITH PARK - HOLLYWOOD HILLS - TWILIGHT

LOW AERIAL SHOT PANNING over the steep, meandering, semi-rustic residential streets of the Hollywood Hills, dotted with the homes of the rich and famous.

At the top edge of the subdivision is a LOCKED METAL GATE almost hidden by a thicket of trees. Connor leaps up and scales it with ease, then runs across an empty gravel parking lot surrounded by a red-banked curb. He steps over a low barred gate and starts up a DUSTY SLOPING TRAIL. The area around him is thick with oak trees, wild sage grass, and manzanita bushes.

Finally, he comes to a FORK in the trail. Sprawled on the ground there is a WOMAN in hiking clothes. With a worried expression, Connor kneels beside her and hesitantly checks her pulse. He exhales with relief, then rises, his lips compressed. He lifts his head, breathing in the air, then takes the left hand trail and continues up the hill.

A moment later, he slows and STOPS. We see a look of curious discomfort on his face.

REVERSE ANGLE - a sheered pale rock face towers over him. In the center of the rock face is a TUNNEL.

QUICK-FLASH to -

A red and jagged rock face split by a long, narrow FISSURE.

Connor starts forward into the cave.

INT. CAVE - GRIFFITH PARK/MOUNT HOLLYWOOD - TWILIGHT

The interior of the cave is dim and round. We can see three more CAVE OPENINGS about fifty feet away leading out to the other side of the hill. Seated on the ground against a stretch of gray rock wall is DANA. Her feet are bare, her pant legs cuffed high. Her shirt is large and baggy. She is hunched into herself, her knees up, rocking back and forth.

BLACK OUT.

END OF ACT ONE

Act Two

INT. CAVE - MOUNT HOLLYWOOD - CONTINUOUS

Connor steps towards Dana, his feet scuffing over gravel.

CONNOR
Hi.
His voice ECHOES against the cave wall. He glances up briefly.

CONNOR
My name's Connor.
I'm--I'm not going to hurt you.

DANA
(quietly)
He's here.

CONNOR
Who is?

DANA
He always comes back.

CONNOR
(puzzled)
Dana...there are people looking for you.
People who want to help you.
We should go find them.
Dana stares up at him as if finally noticing he's there. Connor steps closer.

Immediately, she LEAPS UP onto to all fours and SCUTTLES over to the opposite wall of the cave. She kneels on the ground there and starts to draw in the dust. As she does, we hear her MUTTERING in a foreign language, low and guttural. She works furiously for a moment, then stands up and starts pacing restlessly beside her drawing.

Connor walks over to see what she's drawn, his hands in his pants pockets.

His POV - the drawing is stylized in thick dust lines, but recognizable as a DEMON'S HEAD, horns pointing up, nostrils flaring, eyes narrowly malevolent. Then he notices another drawing in the dust, a stick figure of a GIRL HOLDING A SWORD.

CONNOR
You like to draw?
She doesn't answer.

CONNOR
I--I draw, too.
(he chuckles)
I'm not very good yet.
(pause)
But it helps, doesn't it?
Dana paces.

CONNOR
(shrugging)
Well, it helps me. I draw...when things
are bothering me.
He glances around the cave, his expression uneasy.

CONNOR (cont.)
When I have images I can't get out of my head.
QUICK-FLASH to - a cave interior - flickering flames dance over red rock.

ANGLE ON DANA. She falls to her knees and SLAMS her hand over the dust, obliterating her drawing. Then she rises, staring at Connor.

DANA
He does things that hurt.
(beat)
I kill things that hurt.
She steps towards him. Connor backs away.

DANA
I--
She stares at him with confusion. Then she turns and BOLTS out the far entrance.

Connor stands looking after her for a moment, then takes a deep breath and follows.


EXT. RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD - TWILIGHT

Faith's Impala winds the curving drives of the Hollywood Hills.

INT. FAITH'S IMPALA

Misha is seated in the passenger seat, her eyes focused vigilantly on the passing houses. Faith is on the phone.

FAITH
It was the weirdest damned thing.
We hear a crackle of static.


EXT. KERCKHOFF HALL - UCLA CAMPUS - TWILIGHT - ESTABLISHING

INT. OFFICES OF THE DAILY BRUIN NEWSPAPER

Aiden is sitting at his desk, eyes on his computer. He pulls the phone away from his ear for a second as it crackles. Then -

AIDEN
You're sure it looked like the other "zombie"
you saw in the graveyard back in December?
As they converse, we CUT BETWEEN Aiden and Faith.

FAITH
Sure as hell looked like it.
Tell me we've got some way to bury these
things.

AIDEN
Well, I've correlated the police reports and
the reports from the Slayers' patrols, and as
far as I can tell, all of the "zombies" have come
from that one graveyard.

FAITH
And?

AIDEN
And what?

FAITH
How do we kill them? Re-kill them?

AIDEN
I don't know yet. I'm working on it.

FAITH
Yeah, well, do that. 'Cause this whole thing
is getting seriously messed up, and I want to
do something about it, pronto.
INT. OFFICES OF THE DAILY BRUIN - TWILIGHT

Aiden sets the receiver down in its cradle and stares at it with frustration.

AIDEN
Put your money where your mouth is, Aiden.
He picks up the phone again.

AIDEN
Let's see what our friendly neighborhood
Wiccans have dug up.

EXT. MOUNT HOLLYWOOD - TWILIGHT

Dana mounts a STEEP, NARROW TRAIL, her face at one moment shadowed by overhanging trees, the next eerily OVERLIT AND YELLOW as she passes under the safety lamps dotting the trail. To her left is the rise of the hill; to her right is a steep cliff dropping off into a rocky, brush-covered canyon. Beyond that we can see the TWINKLING LIGHTS of Los Angeles.

Connor follows her, climbing.

CONNOR
"He." You mean...the guy that took you.

DANA
Not strong enough. He does things that hurt.
You can't get away.

CONNOR
But you did get away. Somehow.
You were able to escape him.
Dana shakes her head.

DANA
I can't hurt him. I try, I--

CONNOR
(confused)
That was a long time ago. He's dead.
Dana stops and WHIRLS AROUND AT HIM. Her face distorts with anger.

DANA
Strong. Not a little girl anymore.
She HURLS HERSELF AT HIM.

Connor throws up an arm to block her. Then he steps back and PUSHES HER AWAY. Dana stumbles up the narrow trail.

CLOSE-UP on Dana. Her eyes narrow suspiciously. Her lips curl in a feral scowl.

DANA
Demon.
Connor's eyes widen. He raises his hands.

CONNOR
No. No, I'm just--
Lightening fast, she turns, reaches for a BRANCH off a tree, and SNAPS IT OFF. She circles around and approaches Connor slowly.

DANA
Heart...and head.
Stab the heart, cut off the head.
Connor backs up, his feet slipping over the gravel. His eyes are wide.

CONNOR
(panicked)
I'm not a vampire, O.K.?
Dana continues forward, muttering in a foreign tongue again. Then she LUNGES AT HIM, raising her STAKE high. Connor holds his ground and scrabbles for the stake. With a grunt, he twists Dana to one side and steps back reflexively in the opposite direction. Dana is on him again in a second. Connor blocks her thrust, then -

Steps back into NOTHINGNESS.

PULL BACK TO - Connor, FLAILING BACKWARDS OVER THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF.

And Dana, stumbling after him.

Connor LANDS HARD on the steep slope and TUMBLES several more feet over harsh gravel before the ground levels out into a small outcropping. We hear Dana hit the ground behind him with a GRUNT. She CRIES OUT. Connor sits up and twists around, wiping gravel from his face.

Dana is crouched on the slope, clutching her ankle and wincing.

CONNOR
Are you--
Dana looks up and LEAPS TOWARDS HIM. Then immediately CRIES OUT again and crumples to the ground.

Connor gazes at her for a moment, his lips compressed, then scoots over, raising a hesitant hand. Dana's eyes rise, shooting daggers through him. She thrashes out at him, her hands flailing. Connor grabs her wrist and yanks her palm up against his CHEST.

CONNOR
Feel that? It's my heartbeat, O.K.?
I'm human.
Dana stares at her hand on his chest. Then she looks up into his eyes.

Connor's POV - a GIRL, long dark hair framing her confused, dust-smudged face.

Connor's eyes dip away.

CONNOR
I'm just...strong, like you.
(his eyes rise)
O.K.?
Dana pulls her hand away and stares down at it. Then she slides away from him, reaching again for her ankle. Connor turns around and looks up at the cliff wall.

PAN UP. It's steep and covered in loose gravel. The top is nearly twenty-five feet above them. He looks back over at Dana -

Who isn't climbing anything any time soon.

He exhales.

CONNOR
I'm sorry, I--I shouldn't have said anything.
Dana is silent for a long moment. Finally -

DANA
It was a basement. Needles and hands.
No escaping.
Connor nods. He gazes at her for a moment longer. Slowly, she huddles up into herself. Connor politely turns his attention to their new stretch of real estate.

His POV - the DRY, BRUSH-COVERED CANYON stretched out below them, glowing softly under the orange and reds of the setting sun.

In the distance, we hear a MOURNFUL HOWL.

CLOSE-UP on Connor's pensive face.

Then FADE INTO -


EXT. AN ARID, ROCKY LANDSCAPE SET AGAINST A BLOOD-RED SKY - DAY (FLASHBACK)

PAN OVER the dry and lifeless ground. A dinosaur-like BIRD flies low across it, shrieking, blending into the blur of rising heat. In the distance, we hear intermittent screams and howls. A creature that resembles a reptilian hyena prowls into the frame, lifting its head as it catches a scent in the air.

Over this scene, we hear the PEAL OF A CHILD'S LAUGHTER.

CUT TO - a scraggly-haired, smudge-faced BOY of three dressed in animal hides. He's gazing upward, following the progress of the DEMON-BIRD above his head. He starts to follow it, arms raised wide like wings, his attention shifting between the broiling sky and the hard, uneven ground.

His scrawny legs stumble and he falls forward onto his hands. He rights himself quickly without a cry or a whimper and looks up again, but -

ANGLE - SKY - the demon-bird is gone.

In the space of a heartbeat, it no longer matters, because the boy's attention is now on a SHINY SILVER STONE on the ground. He kneels down to look at it.

PAN BACK across the rock face behind the boy until we reach a long vertical fissure. It is just wide enough for adult man to squeeze through sideways. We HOLD on the fissure for a beat, then CUT TO -

INT. A CAVE - DAY

A STONE WALL above dusty earth. The rugged red rock appears almost fluid in flickering torch-light. We PAN ACROSS the LARGE, CAVERNOUS SPACE, and as we do, we can see that someone has made it into their home. There are hemp-mat beds covered in animal skins, and a campfire/hearth in a circle of stones. Metal tools and dead animal carcasses hang suspended from a wooden beam hammered into the ceiling.

Finally, our PAN ends at a MIDDLE-AGED MAN with long brown hair, standing scraping the beard from his face with a roughly-forged shard of metal. He dips the shard in a bowl of water sitting on a rock ledge and swishes it around.

MAN
Steven.
Silence. The man turns around.

REVERSE ANGLE - the LENGTH OF THE CAVE. There is no one else in sight.

The man's brow wrinkles.

MAN
Steven?
He sets down the shard and starts across the room, looking around.

MAN
(voice rising with concern)
Steven!
Quickly, he turns and runs over to a wooden shelf built high into the wall. On it lie a variety of metal weapons and implements--a hammer, a pick, a small ax. The man grabs the AX and charges to the mouth of the cave.

ANGLE ON the long vertical FISSURE. From this side, we can see that it is blocked off by a net of hemp ROPE latched all the way down the side of the rock. The man screams through it.

MAN
Steven!?
We hear GIGGLING outside.

The man grabs the net, unhooking it from the rock face with scrabbling fingers. As he reaches the bottom, we see that the net is RIPPED AND FRAYED. The net falls open. The man squeezes through the cave opening.

EXT. CAVE ENTRANCE - DAY

The man emerges from the cave, looking around. His gaze quickly settles on -

STEVEN, who is crouched over something on the ground.

Nearby, we hear a LOW, MENACING GROWL. The boy looks up and stiffens.

MAN
(angrily)
Steven!
REVERSE ANGLE on the man. He RUSHES over to the boy, who starts to turn.

CUT TO - Steven's POV, close to the ground. His angry father swoops down on him, ax dangling from one hand. He grabs him up with his free arm. Steven WAILS.

The man stands and pivots, clutching the boy close. From over the man's shoulder, we see Steven's tear-stained face. He sobs and gasps.

The man quickly carries the boy back over the cave. His face is a clash of emotions--worry, fear, anger, relief, weariness. He sets the boy down at the cave opening and nudges him forward. Steven kneels down and crawls through the opening, still whimpering. The man squeezes in behind him and relatches the net.

INT. CAVE - DAY

Then he turns on the boy, who breaks out in a fresh, fearful wail. When he speaks, the man's voice is low and gravely, with a British tinge -

MAN
(with hushed anger)
I don't know how you got out, but you must
never do that again. Never! Do you hear me?
Steven nods, his lips quivering.

The man kneels down on one knee before him.

MAN
There are many things that you will need
to learn to survive here, Steven,
and I will teach them to you.
When the time comes.
The man holds the ax out, gripping its neck up close to the blade. Steven draws back at the sight of it.

MAN
The day you can pick up this ax, that's the
day I'll train you to use it.
Then you can go outside.
Steven nods vigorously, sniffling.

The man sets the ax on the ground, his expression intense yet oddly detached. Then he reaches out one hand awkwardly and grasps Steven's shoulder. He tugs him forward. Steven lurches towards the man a step, gazing at him hesitantly. Then he raises his arms. The man brings his other arm around Steven's back and slowly draws him close.

ANGLE ON - Steven's thin arms clutching the man's back, tight, then -

CLOSE-UP of the MAN'S FACE. His cool, distant gaze dips down towards the boy's tawny head. We see CONFUSION flicker on his face for a beat, then his look slowly softens.

Finally, he pulls away and pushes the unkempt bangs out of Steven's eyes. There is no smile on his stone-cut face.

Steven stares back at him, expressionless but visibly calmer. Then his attention drifts down to the ax. Slowly, he bends his knees and stoops over it. The man watches patiently. Steven wraps his little hand around the end of ax handle and lifts it an inch off the ground. It slips from his fingers and falls back down in the dust.

MAN
There, you see?
Weapons and hunting outside are for men.
Steven continues to stare at the ax. With a determined expression, he reaches down again, grabbing at the ax further up the neck. He PICKS IT UP with one hand. The blade DIPS precariously. Quickly, Steven's other hand shoots out and rights the blade. Then he releases his other hand and holds the ax high. His tiny hand trembles. He smiles up brightly at the man, pleased with himself.

CUT TO the man, who stares back at this, his expression troubled.

Steven's smile falters.

STEVEN
See...what I can....
The man stands up quickly and turns away.

Steven's eyes fill with bewilderment.

STEVEN
Daddy?
Finally, the deep gravely voice murmurs -

MAN (O.S.)
You really are your father's son, aren't you?
Steven's face twitches briefly with confusion.

Then his eyes sink down to the ground.

CLOSE-UP on the AX. The tiny hand loosens its grip. The ax falls to the dusty floor with a thud.

BLACK OUT.

END OF ACT TWO

Part 2 (click here)