URBAN LEGEND EXT. ROAD - NIGHT - RAINING The only vehicle on the road is a land rover. It turns a corner. INT. LAND ROVER MICHELLE MANCINI, a college student at Pendleton University listens to the radio. Michelle has black, short cropped hair. SASHA (from radio) You're listening to "Under the covers" with Sasha, on WZAB, the voice of Pendleton University. We're still talking to? JANE Jane. Sophomore. Hi. EXT. ROAD The land rover continues down the road. SASHA (voice-over) So, you've been stealing your roommate's birth control pills? JANE (voice-over) Borrowing, okay? She never noticed before because I've been replacing them with baby aspirin. SASHA (voice-over) With what? JANE (voice-over) Baby aspirin. Looks exactly the same. Anyways, now she's pregnant and has to leave school. INT. LAND ROVER JANE (cont'd) And how the hell am I going to get a new roommate this late in the semester? Michelle reaches into the back seat. EXT. ROAD A car comes at Michelle's car. INT. LAND ROVER Michelle reaches for a tape when she hears the car honk its horn! Michelle grabs the steering wheel and swerves out of the way. MICHELLE Oh my God. SASHA Next caller. Michelle puts in a tape. SINGER When I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of tears-- MICHELLE (singing along) Turn around. Every now and then I get a little bit nervous that all the best years have gone by, turn around. Every now and then I get a little bit terrified but then I see the look in your eyes. Turn around, bright eyes. Every now and then I fall apart. Turn around, bright eyes. EXT. ROAD Michelle's land rover passes a brightly lit, crowded gas station. MICHELLE (voice-over) Every now and then I fall apart. And I need you now tonight. More than ever. And if you'll only hold onto me tight, we'll be holding on forever. EXT. ROAD The land rover speeds by. INT. LAND ROVER The rain starts to come pouring down again. MICHELLE Oh no. She turns on the windshield wipers. She hears a beeping sign and looks down. The pointer is on the E. MICHELLE Oh shit. She looks out the window and spots a small gas station. MICHELLE Please make it. EXT. ROAD/GAS STATION CLOSE ON: a sign that reads "B & B Gas." As the land rover pulls into a pump, it rolls over a cord that activates the service bell. Michelle waits for somebody to come. When nobody does, she honks the horn three times. She looks around and sees a lot of junk cars everywhere. She honks the horn again. Michelle turns away from her window and looks straight ahead. Suddenly, the GAS STATION ATTENDANT bangs against the window. Michelle gasps. The attendant has long hair and talks slowly and stutters a lot. Michelle is frightened by him. ATTENDANT R-r run out of gas? Michelle reaches into her purse and pulls out a credit card. She rolls down the window a crack and sticks it out. MICHELLE Yeah. Fill it up. The attendant takes the credit card. He moves over to a pump. MICHELLE Freak show. The attendant grabs the hose and unscrews her gas tank. He sticks the hose into the tank. He looks into her backseat. The attendant starts heading back to the gas station. He looks back at Michelle and starts to run. Michelle waits while her car fills up. CLOSE ON: the numbers on the pump as they roll by. Michelle looks out her window, then at the gas station. CLOSE ON: the numbers as they continue to climb higher and higher. The attendant comes running out of the gas station and over to Michelle's land rover. ATTENDANT M-m-m miss, c-could you come inside for a m-minute? MICHELLE Is there a problem? The attendant holds up her credit card. ATTENDANT Credit c-card c-company's on the ph-phone. They wanna sp-speak with you. MICHELLE Okay. Hold on a minute. The attendant backs away. MICHELLE Shit. She grabs a can of pepper spray and puts it inside her jacket. She throws on her jacket and gets out of the land rover. EXT. GAS STATION She pulls out her automatic door lock and presses a button. All the doors lock with a beep. She jogs into the gas station. INT. GAS STATION Michelle looks around while the attendant closes and locks the door. Michelle heads over for the phone. She picks it up. MICHELLE Hello? All she hears is a busy signal. The attendant moves toward her and grabs her. MICHELLE No! Don't touch me! She pushes him away and runs over to the door. She pushes on it but it won't open. The attendant grabs her. MICHELLE Let me go! She grabs her pepper spray and sprays him full in the face. He falls to the ground, moaning. Michelle runs over to the phone and throws it through the window. She runs over to the window. The attendant starts to get to his feet. Michelle climbs onto the window. MICHELLE No! She falls out backward through the smashed window. EXT. GAS STATION MICHELLE No! The attendant stands up. ATTENDANT No! Stop! Michelle runs for her car. She tries to unlock it with her automatic door lock. The car alarm goes off. The attendant has made it to the door, unlocks it, and throws it open. ATTENDANT Stop! Michelle runs over to her car and pulls open the door. She gets in and slams the door shut. The attendant slams his hands down on the hood. ATTENDANT Stop! Michelle puts her foot down and the car goes forward, knocking the attendant down. He stands up, watching as the land rover speeds away. ATTENDANT S-Somebody's in the backseat! His words send chills through the night. EXT. ROAD The land rover speeds away. We hear the tape playing. INT. LAND ROVER Michelle is crying. There are lighting blasts that light up the backseat. Suddenly, a dark form appears, rising from the back seat. With another lightning blast we see a double-headed axe in the shape's hands. MICHELLE (singing, crying) I get a little bit worried. Turn around, bright eyes. She looks into her rear view mirror. She gasps and turns around, right as the shape swings the axe. It connects with her neck. EXT. LAND ROVER The axe comes breaking through the window, shattering it. Blood flies out the window, mixing with the rain. The axe slowly fades from view. FADE TO: EXT. PENDLETON UNIVERSITY - NIGHT - LATER A STUDENT walks up a long flight of stairs, heading for a huge dorm. The camera pans over to a window on the third floor of a building. This is the radio station. SASHA You're "Under the covers" with Sasha on WZAB, the voice of Pendleton University. INT. RADIO STATION/SASHA'S ROOM A room with a table in the middle. Mikes surround it. SASHA, a girl with blond hair, stands next to the table. SASHA Caller? WOMAN Hello? Sasha waves to her PRODUCER, who is in the room adjacent to the one she's in. SASHA I'm right here. The producer holds up a card with the word "Felicia" on it. Sasha peers through the rectangular window dividing the two rooms. SASHA Felicia. What can I help you with? FELICIA Well, it's kind of embarrassing. SASHA Spit it out, Felicia. FELICIA That's the problem. I mean, I didn't. Sasha sits down in a chair and starts caressing a mike. SASHA Ah. Had a little frat boy protein shake, did ya? FELICIA I feel so sick. I mean, I can feel them swimming inside me. Should I get my stomach pumped or something? Sasha makes the universal sign of craziness. SASHA Felicia, the only thing you need to get pumped is the air out of your head. The producer nods his head in agreement. SASHA (cont'd) First, let me congratulate you on your choice of sexual activity, because the world is not ready for you to reproduce. Second, did you know that ingestion of major bodily fluids is a safe sex no-no? FELICIA Really? SASHA Really. My suggestion is that you down a couple of shots of Pepto, and next time get away from the volcano before it erupts. CUT TO: INT. STUDENT UNION - SAME TIME A large, spacious room where students come to relax. SASHA (voice-over) That wraps up another night. This is Sasha, signing off for WZAB. NATALIE SIMON, a cute girl with long, flowing red hair, grabs two cup of coffee and heads toward two couches, each facing each other. NATALIE (grinning) Parker, how does Sasha come up with that stuff? Pan down to PARKER, a guy with brown hair. He's laying down on the couch, reading a magazine. PARKER Devours every issue of Cosmo. Calls it her bible. Natalie sits on the other couch. She hands her cup of coffee to BRENDA, Natalie's best friend. Brenda has curly brown hair. CUT TO: PAUL, a handsome guy with brown hair as he walks over to the bar. He holds a newspaper in his hand. Brenda grabs Natalie's knee to get her attention. Natalie looks over and sees Paul. From the look on Brenda's face, we can tell she is attracted to him. BRENDA So, Parker, finish your story about Stanley Hall. Parker sits up. He throws the magazine on the table in between the two couches. PARKER Right. So this guy, a professor here twenty five years ago. BRENDA What did he teach? PARKER I don't know. Physics or some shit. Paul, over at the bar, answers Brenda's question. PAUL Abnormal psychology. You know, if you wanna tell the story right. Parker is obviously mad that he was interrupted. PARKER Not the point of the story, paperboy! But fine, abnormal psych it is. Any who, this guy, he just flips out. Goes completely berserk, grabs a hunting knife... Parker grabs a knife off of the table. PARKER (cont'd) Strolls into Stanley Hall, and bangs on every door. Parker bangs on the table for effect. PARKER And every student who answered their door... Paul pays the man at the bar and slowly walks away, eyeing Parker. PARKER (cont'd) He takes the knife and he cuts their throat, ear to ear. Yeah. Does away with an entire floor before finally stabbing himself straight through the heart! Oh! Parker pretends to stab himself in the heart. PARKER (cont'd) And thus, the annual Omega Sigma Phi bash. Parker falls back onto the couch. Brenda is disgusted. BRENDA You have a party to commemorate a massacre? PARKER You betcha. Paul walks over and sets his bag down. PAUL Parker, let me get this straight. When this happened twenty five years ago, you were a.... sophomore? Paul sits down in a chair next to the two couches. PARKER That's funny. PAUL Well, it's the same bullshit story you hear on every campus in the Northeast. NATALIE Thank you. I mean, where's the proof? PARKER You see, Pendleton knew damn well that enrollment would suffer permanently. So, in cahoots with the national news media and other powerful sources-- PAUL Like Lee Harvey Oswald? Or was it Jack Ruby? No, no. I know who it was. It was that F.B.I. guy who used to prance around in women's clothing. He was the guy who covered it all up, huh? Paul's pager BEEPS. He checks it. PAUL Oop! That's the newsroom. I gotta go. Got a life. Paul stands up and grabs his bag. PARKER Hey, Paul? PAUL Yeah. PARKER If there's another E. Coli crisis in the cafeteria, I want you to have the biggest, juiciest burger on me. He hands Paul a wad of cash. Paul takes it out and starts to walk away. PAUL I'd love to. That article almost won me the student Pulitzer. BRENDA Bye, Paul. PARKER (mockingly) "Bye, Paul." Know what his problem is? He can't stand any big story without his byline on it. Parker stands up and leaves. BRENDA He is such a babe. She turns to face Natalie. BRENDA All right, did it seem like he was giving me the eye? NATALIE Uh, it was probably the mirror behind us. They both turn and look at the mirror behind them. BRENDA Oh, damn. Should I ask him out anyway? She giggles. EXT. STANLEY HALL A gigantic, boarded up dorm. It's very run-down, considering nobody has lived in it for over twenty five years. Brenda and Natalie walk toward it, conversing. BRENDA Okay, if Parker's story is true, and all those kids were murdered here, then why haven't they torn down Stanley Hall? NATALIE Because the story's not true. It's just a legend. BRENDA If it's just a legend, then what's the problem? NATALIE I won't encourage this. BRENDA Come on, Natalie. Cut me a little slack. This is half the reason I transferred here. Brenda is overcome with an urge for danger. She claps her hands together. BRENDA What exactly happens when I say "Bloody Mary" five times? NATALIE The person standing next to you wonders how you got into college in the first place. Come on! BRENDA You're scared, Natalie! NATALIE Yeah, right! BRENDA Then come on and let's do this. Come on! Brenda grabs hold of Natalie's arm and they both race toward Stanley Hall's arched entryway. BRENDA Time to raise the dead! NATALIE I can't believe this. They race up the steps and stop in front of the boarded up door. There is a small, square hole in the board. NATALIE Okay. Okay. Brenda starts to recite the words while Natalie looks on with amusement. BRENDA Bloody Mary. They share a look and giggle. VIEW from behind them. BRENDA Bloody Mary. VIEW of their front. BRENDA Bloody Mary. CLOSE ON: The small hole in the boards. BRENDA (o.s.) Bloody Mary. CLOSE ON: Natalie and Brenda. BRENDA Bloody-- NATALIE (quickly) Bloody Mary. Brenda looks at Natalie and sighs. There's no response from the undead. NATALIE Fine, no answer. Maybe they're screening. BRENDA God. Suddenly, a male voice is heard. Soft, but rising in sound. The voice is SCREAMING! It's coming from the hole in the board! More and more screams emanate from the hole. Brenda and Natalie start to back away from the door. BRENDA Let's go Natalie. NATALIE Yeah. They continue to back away slowly from the screams of pain and agony. CLOSE ON: The hole as more screams emit from it. CUT TO: Brenda and Natalie as they back up into... DAMON BROOKS! They scream and turn to face Damon, who holds a flashlight. He has bleached blond hair. DAMON You called? NATALIE She was trying to summon the dead, Damon, not frat boys with badly grown facial hair. Brenda laughs while Damon rubs the few hairs on his chin. DAMON It took me a month to grow this. BRENDA Is this what you do with your free time, Damon? Hang out here alone in the dark waiting to scare people like a total freak? DAMON Only when I see two losers standing in front of this old relic trying to summon the dead. Anyhow, I'll see you two in class tomorrow. Damon walks down the steps and heads away from them. BRENDA (calling out) Unfortunately! NATALIE See ya. They begin to walk down the steps. BRENDA Jerk. Brenda looks at Natalie and giggles. NATALIE God. You know, he was half way normal before pledge week. EXT. NATALIE'S DORM - LATER Natalie walks through the arched passageway leading to the door of her dorm. Her footsteps echo in the tiny space. INT. NATALIE'S DORM/DORM HALL Natalie closes the door and turns around, only to bump into THE JANITOR! She gasps. The janitor just looks at her, no expression showing on his face. He just holds his mop. NATALIE Sorry. She walks past him. He continues to mop as Natalie makes her way through the giant hall to her dorm room. CLOSE ON: Natalie's door. Her hand comes into view holding a key. She puts it in the lock and turns. There's a SNAP! as the door unlocks. She starts to open the door. INT. NATALIE AND TOSH'S DORM ROOM CLOSE ON: The door. Natalie opens it to the sound of rock music. She closes the door and turns on the light. CLOSE ON: TOSH, Natalie's Goth roommate, and Tosh's BOYFRIEND, who, at the moment, is on top of her, naked. Tosh is pissed off by the intrusion. TOSH Shut off the fucking light! CUT TO: Natalie. NATALIE Sorry. She flips the switch down. The room goes dark. INT. NATALIE AND TOSH'S DORM ROOM - LATER Tosh and her boyfriend are all over each other, moans of pleasure coming from Tosh. We PAN over to Natalie, lying in her bed, listening to her headphones. But the music does little to block out the sounds of Tosh and her boyfriend. She sighs as the moaning continues. EXT. PENDLETON COLLEGE - MORNING The sun has just begun to rise as students wake and head for their morning classes. The camera slowly pans over to an old, Victorian style building. It's about five or six stories high, with a tower on one side. PROFESSOR (o.c.) Last week we discussed folklore as a gauge for the values of the society that created them. INT. LECTURE HALL Professor WILLIAM WEXLER, a nerdish man in his late forties, early fifties, stands in front of a large group of students, discussing urban legends. CUT TO: Damon. He sighs, bored with the class. CUT TO: Wexler. He stands on a giant stage, a desk cluttered with papers behind him. WEXLER Today, today, we get more specific. CUT TO: Natalie and Brenda, watching Wexler. Parker sits behind them, eating. Damon sits next to Parker. CUT BACK TO: Wexler. He uses a control to activate a slide projector that is stationed at the very back of the large auditorium. The image of a woman sitting on a couch with a phone in her hand appears on the wall behind Wexler. On closer inspection, we see a man standing on the dark steps, a cell phone in hand. It is a very threatening picture. WEXLER A baby sitter receives menacing phone calls. And upon investigating them, she realizes that they are originating from an upstairs bedroom, the very room where she's left the children under her care to sleep. Wexler presses the button and the image changes to a close up of the man. WEXLER Now, who's heard this before? Hmm? Most of the students raise their hands. CUT TO: Brenda and Natalie. BRENDA Well, that really happened to a girl in my hometown. WEXLER (chuckling) Oh, yes, I'm sure it did. I'm sure most of you grew up thinking this happened to girls in, in all your hometowns, but it didn't. BRENDA (to Natalie) It did. WEXLER (cont'd) You see, the baby sitter and the man upstairs is what we call an urban legend. Parker nods his head while Wexler talks. WEXLER (cont'd) Contemporary folklore passed on as a true story. There are variations of this one going back to the 1960's, all of them containing the same cultural admonition: Young women, mind your children well, or harm will come your way. Wexler stops, building up the tension. But then, his watch alarm begins beeping musically. He glances at it. WEXLER (to class) Oh. Excuse me. It continues to beep and Brenda laughs. Wexler turns to face her. Natalie is trying to control her laughter, but Brenda is laughing hysterically. WEXLER Something funny you might care to share with the rest of us? BRENDA (through laughs) No, I was just saying, like, the cultural admonition is don't babysit? The class laughs at this. Wexler doesn't find it funny at all. WEXLER Why don't you, uh, come up here, and uh, volunteer for my little experiment, hmm? DAMON Yeah, that's a great idea. Brenda hesitates, making Wexler angry. WEXLER Now, young lady! BRENDA Coming. She gets up and starts to walk to the stage. Damon calls after her in a very Austin Powers like voice. DAMON Yeah, baby, yeah. WEXLER Don't worry, you'll probably survive. When Brenda gets up on the stage, Wexler tosses her a bag of candy. WEXLER Had those before? BRENDA Yeah, they're Pop Rocks. They crackle in your mouth. WEXLER Eat some. BRENDA Okay. Brenda opens the bag and pours some of the Pop Rocks in her mouth. CUT TO: Natalie, watching intently. CUT BACK TO: Brenda and Wexler. Brenda is chewing on the candy, which makes a crackling sound. Wexler picks a coke off his desk and opens it. He holds it out to her. WEXLER Thirsty? Brenda shakes her head and backs away, frightened. WEXLER What's wrong? Something you might have heard about mixing Pop Rocks and soda? CUT TO: Natalie, grinning. She's heard this story before. CUT BACK TO: Brenda and Wexler. BRENDA Well, supposedly, your stomach and intestines, everything bursts. WEXLER Really? Anyone you know die this way? Brenda nods. BRENDA Mikey. From the cereal commercial. "Give it to Mikey. He'll eat anything." WEXLER Oh. He picks up the control and hits a button. The picture changes to show a young boy eating cereal. WEXLER You mean him? CUT TO: Parker. PARKER (mockingly) Mikey likes it. The class laughs. CUT BACK TO: Brenda and Wexler. He gives Parker a disgusted look. BRENDA Yeah. He hits a button and the picture changes to an adult man grinning. WEXLER What if I told you that this is Mikey, alive and well, and working as an ad executive in New York City? Would you drink some then? Brenda looks at the picture, then at Wexler, not knowing if she should do it. She doesn't want her insides to burst. Brenda sighs. From way in the back, Damon stands up and raises his hand. DAMON I'll do it. Parker points at Damon as he makes his way up to the stage. Parker leans forward while Natalie's jaw drops, amazed. Damon walks up to the stage and grabs a bag of Pop Rocks from off the desk. He opens it and pours some into his mouth. DAMON Oh, yeah. Wexler hands him the coke. WEXLER Your soda. Damon holds the soda up for the class to see, then drinks it. Nothing happens. WEXLER Voila. Still alive. CUT TO: Parker and Natalie. They smile, relieved. CUT BACK TO: Wexler, Brenda, and Damon. WEXLER As I said, this story is nothing but an urban legend. Damon looks like he's about to throw up. He puts his arm on Wexler's shoulder for support. Spit begins to come out of his mouth. CUT TO: Natalie and Parker. They're relived faces turn to horror as they watch Damon suffer. CUT TO: The stage. Damon begins to fall to the ground, still clutching Wexler's shoulder. Brenda is starting to freak out. WEXLER (exasperated) Brooks. Damon falls down, and begins to roll down the steps. Brenda screams and some students stand up to get a better view. BRENDA Professor! Wexler just walks over to his desk and watches. Damon lays on the ground, clutching his stomach. Moans of pain escape his lips. PARKER He's gonna explode! Brenda SCREAMS! PARKER Someone call 9-1-1! He turns to another STUDENT. PARKER (cont'd) Go! The student turns and runs. More colored spit and vomit pour from Damon's mouth. Students begin to stand up, afraid. Natalie has an expression of pure terror on her face. Then, all of a sudden, Damon stops. He doesn't move. His eyes close. All the students expect to see him explode, but then... His eyes open and he grins. Damon looks at Brenda and chuckles. DAMON Ahh. Brenda throws the bag of Pop Rocks at Damon. Natalie sighs and Parker throws his hands up, grinning. WEXLER Thank you for your help, Mr. Brooks. PARKER Brilliant. He's brilliant. EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS - LATER - AFTERNOON Brenda and Natalie are walking, Brenda holding a bottle of water. BRENDA Oh, he is such a moron. NATALIE Yeah, but who fell for it? Brenda laughs at her own stupidity. Up ahead, REESE, the African American campus cop, is grabbing newspapers from all the students. Dean ADAMS looks on. Dean Adams is in his fifties with a very sour look and cold demeanor. BRENDA Hey, what's going on? Reese grabs a newspaper from a student. REESE Excuse me, young man. Can't read these. FEMALE STUDENT She had just left campus. MALE STUDENT A sophomore. Natalie goes over to a stand and grabs a newspaper. She unfolds it. CLOSE ON: The front page. It has a picture of Michelle Mancini and the words "Lunatic on Campus?" NORMAL VIEW BRENDA She went to Pendleton? I knew I should've gone to N.Y.U. Paul comes up behind them. PAUL Tragic, huh? They turn and Brenda immediately brightens up. BRENDA Hi, Paul. PAUL Hi. NATALIE Is this true? PAUL I certainly hope so. Otherwise I'm gonna have one hell of a retraction on my hands. His gaze wanders over to where Dean Adams and Reese are collecting all the newspapers. PAUL Hey! He rushes over to them. PAUL What do you think you're doing? You can't come and take every copy here. DEAN ADAMS You're the one who wrote this inflammatory piece of rubbish. PAUL Actually, the factious quotes about being deeply shocked and heartsick, are yours, Dean Adams. DEAN ADAMS Let me tell you something, young man. The only lunatic on this campus is you. PAUL I'm flattered. He holds up a recorder. PAUL (cont'd) Can I quote you on that? Dean Adams simply walks away. Reese steps toward Paul. REESE I have a quote for you. U.S. News and World Report named Pendleton the safest university in this country. You best believe that I intend to keep it that way. Reese follows Dean Adams. PAUL Thank you, Reese. I'll be sure to stick that in the special school safety edition! Natalie and Brenda start to walk away. NATALIE Let's get out of here. Paul stops them. PAUL Hold on a second. How about some interviews? You know, "students react to the tragedy on campus?" BRENDA (more than willing) Okay. I am saddened and moved by the sudden-- NATALIE (interrupting) This was someone's life. Did you even spend one minute thinking about that? PAUL No, I didn't. But because of my story, 3,500 students will. I think that's enough to help me sleep at night. NATALIE Come on, let's go. She grabs Brenda's arm and starts to lead her away. BRENDA Natalie, what-- Natalie throws the paper in the trash can. NEWSCASTER (voice-over) The decapitated body of 20 year old.. INT. STUDENT UNION - LATER CLOSE ON: A T.V. A NEWSCASTER stands in front of the gas station where Michelle Mancini was killed. NEWSCASTER (cont'd) Pendleton student Michelle Mancini was found in her car. Police suspect the assailant was probably hiding in the backseat. CUT TO: Parker and Sasha, sitting next to each other, listening. CLOSE ON: The T.V. NEWSCASTER In the meanwhile, the search continues for Michael McDonnell, the proprietor of the gas station where she was last seen. CUT TO: Natalie, watching with interest. CLOSE ON: The T.V. NEWSCASTER (cont'd) Police are asking anyone with any information to his whereabouts, to contact them immediately. CUT TO: Damon. He takes a sip of his coffee. CLOSE ON: The T.V. NEWSCASTER (cont'd) This is David McAree, reporting live. CUT TO: Parker, Damon, Brenda, Natalie, and Sasha. PARKER How horrible. + SASHA Someone told me she was listening to my show when it happened. My voice was probably the last thing she heard. Can you imagine? Brenda leans forward, scared. BRENDA You guys, what if there is a lunatic on campus? DAMON It's fine with me, I'm hitting the half-pipe at Killington this weekend. BRENDA Did anybody know her? She roomed in Daly. PARKER No. SASHA No. Brenda looks over at Natalie. She's far off, distant. BRENDA Hello? Space cadet? She snaps her fingers in front of Natalie's face. Natalie comes out of it. NATALIE Oh, no. I didn't know her. Brenda nods. DAMON Actually, I did know her. SASHA You did? DAMON Yeah. And I'll miss her too, cause she gave great head. Sasha and Parker burst out laughing. DAMON You get it? She gave great head? PARKER That's good. Brenda rolls her eyes. EXT. DORM - EVENING The sun is starting to set. INT. NATALIE AND TOSH'S DORM ROOM Tosh is on the Internet, listening to some music and smoking a cigarette. The door opens and Natalie walks in. She closes the door. Tosh looks at her then back at the computer. She rolls her eyes. NATALIE Hey, Tosh. Sorry about last night. TOSH Yeah? Don't let it happen again. Natalie bends down, and sees a bottle of pills on the floor. She bends down and picks it up. CLOSE ON: The bottle. The word "Lithium" is on it in big, bold letters. NORMAL VIEW Natalie walks over to Tosh and hands her the bottle. NATALIE Here. You dropped these. Tosh takes the pills, and sets them down. Natalie walks over to the phone and picks it up. She gets the busy signal. NATALIE Uh, Tosh, excuse me? Tosh smiles, and presses a few buttons on the keyboard. She turns the music off. She stands up, furious. TOSH It's my phone line too. Tosh storms out of the room, slamming the door shut. Natalie sets the phone down on the hook. She presses a few numbers and the answering machine comes on. BRENDA (voice-over) Hey, it's Brenda. You seemed kinda weird this afternoon. You okay, hon? Call me. Natalie walks over to the closet and takes off her jacket. The machine beeps. MOM Natalie, it's Mom. Sweetie, I'm just calling to make sure you're okay. Isn't it horrible about Michelle? Please call. Okay? Love you. Natalie grins and reaches up to a shelf in the closet. Stuck between two boxes is a year book. Natalie grabs it and pulls it out. The answering machine beeps a few times. Natalie walks over to her bed and sits down. She opens the year book and starts flipping through the pages. She stops when she comes to a picture of the Spirit Squad. We see Natalie standing next to another girl. On closer inspection, we see that it is Michelle Mancini. Natalie looks over at the other page. There's a closeup of Natalie and Michelle. Under the picture are the words: Team Captains: Michelle Mancini and Natalie Simon. Natalie is quiet, remembering the yells they used to do. The voices of the Spirit Squad can be heard shouting. This is very hard for Natalie. Suddenly, there's a knock at the door and Damon enters. DAMON Hey. I was in the neighborhood, thought I would drop by, see if you want to come to the house. Parker said he's gonna pierce Hootie's nose. Natalie is still very quiet. When she speaks, it has a sad tone. NATALIE Hootie's a dog. DAMON That's no reason why he can't be hip. NATALIE No, that's okay, Damon. DAMON What's up, Natalie? You all right? NATALIE Yeah, I'm fine. DAMON Look, we don't have to go hang out with a bunch of drunken frat boys. We can go some place and talk. Natalie doesn't know if she wants to. NATALIE Mmmm. DAMON I really don't want this to get out around campus, but I can actually be a good listener once in a while. Natalie smiles. Damon kinda nods his head and smiles. DAMON Okay? NATALIE Okay. EXT. DORM - NIGHT Damon jogs around his car to the drivers side. He opens the door and climbs inside. INT. DAMON'S CAR Damon turns to face Natalie. DAMON Want something to warm you up? NATALIE Sure. Damon grabs a coke and opens it. He hands it to Natalie. NATALIE Thanks. Damon turns the key, and the car sputters. Damon turns to Natalie, embarrassed. DAMON It's a slight process. He turns the key again. The car continues to sputter. Damon chuckles weakly. He hits the dashboard, and the car starts. The song from "Dawson's Creek" begins playing over the radio. SONG I don't wanna wait-- DAMON Oh God. He quickly turns the radio off. Natalie smiles. EXT. DORM The car takes off, still sputtering. EXT. WOODS/CLEARING - LATER - NIGHT Damon's car is parked in the middle of a clearing. DAMON (o.s) So you and Michelle were friends then? NATALIE (o.s.) Yeah. DAMON (o.s.) What happened? NATALIE (o.s.) I'd really rather not talk about her anymore. INT. CAR - NIGHT DAMON That's completely understandable. If you don't want to open up, that's fine. A moment of silence. DAMON But I want you to know that I know what exactly you're going through. NATALIE You do? DAMON Sure. I lost somebody close to me. Uh-- This is hard for Damon. He's never opened up to anybody before. DAMON (cont'd) My girlfriend. She's uh-- Well, she's dead. And, uh... NATALIE (sympathetic) Oh, I'm so sorry. DAMON No, it's okay. She was sick for a while. She had a, a syndrome. And after that, I was afraid to get close to anybody for a long time. Natalie nods. DAMON (cont'd) But then it hit me. Why am I being so selfish? Natalie shrugs. DAMON (cont'd) I still have so much love left inside of me to give. NATALIE You do? DAMON Yeah, and Natalie, you're in need of loving. NATALIE I am? DAMON Yeah! You're lonely, you're repressed, aching to break loose! Those are the types of problems only a man can fix. NATALIE And I suppose you're that man. DAMON Well, you know it. He chuckles. He leans toward Natalie, about to kiss her. Natalie pushes him away. NATALIE Nice try, Damon. That was a fairly good impersonation of a human being. DAMON I understand you're afraid. But you don't have to be afraid anymore, Natalie. You don't have to be afraid to love. He leans toward her, and she punches him right in the face. NATALIE Start the car right now! DAMON Okay, that hurt. You know, I'm just trying to help you out here. You don't have to act like such a bitch! NATALIE Believe me, it's no act. DAMON You sure you don't want to think this over, 'cause I'm all about healing, Natalie. NATALIE One black eye or two, Damon. You decide. DAMON (chuckles) All right, fine. I'm gonna take a piss. I'll be right back. He opens the door and steps outside, slamming the door behind him. NATALIE Pig. EXT. WOODS/CLEARING - NIGHT Damon races off into the woods. INT. CAR Natalie has turned on the radio. She pulls down the sun visor and checks her hair. EXT. WOODS Damon unzips his pants and begins urinating. EXT. CLEARING We see Natalie through the windshield. INT. CAR Natalie puts the sun visor back up. She sighs. EXT. WOODS Damon finishes urinating. He zips up his pants. Suddenly, THE KILLER JUMPS UP BEHIND HIM and throws a rope around his throat! INT. CAR Natalie looks around, bored. EXT. WOODS The killer throws Damon to the ground, the rope still around his neck. INT. CAR Natalie looks at her watch. NATALIE Okay. She smiles. EXT. WOODS The killer beats Damon's head into the ground. INT. CAR Natalie looks out into the woods. EXT. CLEARING Natalie steps out of the car. NATALIE (shouting) Damon! Shake it and lets go! A noise behind her! Natalie looks behind her to see... NOTHING! Natalie turns back and is face to face with THE KILLER! Natalie screams and runs around the car to the drivers side. She opens the door and climbs inside. INT. CAR Natalie locks the door and begins rolling up the window. The killer pounds on the window, then moves to the back. Natalie turns the key, and the car sputters. All the warning signals flash. NATALIE Come on, come on, come on. EXT. CLEARING The killer throws a rope over the hitch. INT. CAR NATALIE Damon! Suddenly, there's a pounding on the roof, like somebody's walking on it. Natalie screams, and continues to try to get the car started. The pounding stops, but in its place is a scratching noise. NATALIE Damon! EXT. CAR The camera slowly pans up to show Damon hanging from a tree, his legs barely touching the roof of the car. His hands are on the noose, trying to loosen its grip. He can barely breathe. DAMON (weakly) Natalie, don't start the car. He coughs, his feet swinging, the tips of them touching the roof. DAMON (weakly) Don't start the car. INT. CAR Natalie peers out of the windshield, trying to see what is making the sound. Suddenly, the killer's face slams into the windshield, making Natalie scream. She hits the dashboard a few times, and the car starts. She puts it in drive and presses down on the gas pedal. EXT. CAR The car speeds forward. The rope spins around the tree, dragging Damon high into the air. He flails wildly, his oxygen slowly escaping him. The car comes to a stop, the rope pulling taut. The killer flies off the roof and lands on the ground. CLOSE ON: Damon's dead body as it slowly sways in the wind. INT. CAR Natalie looks through the windshield. NATALIE'S POV The killer stands up. We see him clearly for the first time. He wears a black, hooded parka and black pants. The hood is drawn tight, making it impossible to see into. NORMAL VIEW Natalie presses down on the gas pedal, trying to get the car loose. EXT. /INT. CAR The tires are flinging mud into the air. The rope is pulled taut. This car isn't going anywhere. The killer walks over to the car and onto the hood. He raises his leg and smashes it into the windshield. Natalie screams and her foot lets go of the gas. The killer kicks the windshield again, making the windshield spiderweb. Natalie screams and puts the car into reverse. She presses her foot down on the pedal and the car flies backward, and the killer flies off the hood, landing with a thump. As the car speeds backwards, the rope loosens and Damon's dead body begins to plummet toward the earth. The car suddenly rams into the tree. Natalie hears the sound of the rope spinning around the tree, and peers up through the windshield. Suddenly, Damon's body plummets right into the windshield, breaking it. His head is only mere inches from Natalie. Natalie screams and throws open the door. She climbs out. Natalie looks around, but doesn't see the killer. She stands up and runs. INT. CAMPUS SECURITY OFFICE CLOSE ON: The T.V. A woman(Pam Greer) points a gun at a man. She begins talking. Reese recites the words with her. REESE This is the end of your rotten life, you mother fucking dope pusher. NORMAL VIEW Reese has her gun out. There's a shot on the T.V., and Reese pretends to fire her gun. CLOSE ON: The T.V. The woman walks over to another dope pusher, gun in hand. NORMAL VIEW Reese again recites the words along with the T.V. REESE It was easy for him, 'cause he didn't believe it was coming. But it ain't gonna be easy for you, 'cause you better believe it's coming. There's a gunshot, and Reese mimics it. Suddenly, the door opens and Natalie runs in. Reese quickly puts her gun away. REESE Girl, what's wrong with you? NATALIE They killed him. Somebody killed him. Reese's jaw drops, shocked and stunned. EXT. BRIDGE - NIGHT A long bridge. Below it is nothing but blue water. Reese's cop car is on the bridge, lights flashing. NATALIE (o.s.) It's right past this bridge. EXT. WOODS/CLEARING It's clear. The car is gone, Damon's body is gone, the killer is gone. Everything is gone. Reese's cop car pulls to a stop in the middle of the clearing. REESE (o.s) I don't see nothin. Are you sure this is it? Reese and Natalie both get out of the car. Reese holds a flashlight. NATALIE I don't get it. The car was-- REESE Here, huh? You don't mind me asking, what the hell are you on? NATALIE Nothing! The car was right here! Reese bends down and picks up an empty beer can. REESE Right here? NATALIE Reese, I saw his body. I touched it. It's probably the same person who killed Michelle Mancini. REESE That's impossible, baby. The police arrested that gas station attendant this afternoon. Natalie shakes her head, not knowing what to say. INT. STUDENT UNION - NEXT DAY Parker and Sasha sit next to each other on one couch, Brenda on the other. Natalie sits in the chair. PARKER It was a mannequin, Natalie. Damon uses it all the time to scare pledges during hazing. He also has this life size blow up doll. You probably don't want to know about that. NATALIE It wasn't a mannequin, Parker. Damon was dead. PARKER Come on, Nat! Damon is the best practical joker on this campus, all right. He once convinced a freshman he was the middle Hanson brother just so he could get laid. BRENDA Okay, Parker, shouldn't he be here enjoying his handiwork? PARKER Weekend snow boarding trip. Some last fling bachelor party with high school buddies. Come on! Natalie doesn't buy it. She knows Damon is dead. PARKER Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute. Scratching on the roof of a car. It's just like that urban legend. Brenda smiles. NATALIE What are you talking about? PARKER Come on, Natalie. Wexler talks about it every semester in class. You know, a guy and a girl parked out in the woods, making out. BRENDA You made out with him? Natalie shoots her a look. Brenda only smiles mischievously. PARKER The guy steps out of the car, and the girl starts hearing scratching noises on the roof. It's her dead boyfriend hung from a tree. Damon's in the class! He knew the myth. He must've planned the whole thing out. Guy thought it was the only way a girl would ever say he was "hung." Conniving bastard. Sasha laughs and Parker snuggles up to her. He is about to kiss her when Natalie interrupts. NATALIE Wait a second. Isn't there a legend about a guy with an axe hiding in the backseat of a woman's car? SASHA Hello? My mom still checks the backseat before getting into a car. NATALIE That's how Michelle Mancini died. BRENDA Oh my God. SASHA What are you trying to say, Natalie? NATALIE It's like someone out there is taking all these stories and making them reality. Sasha smiles and Parker stands up. He walks over to Natalie. PARKER Well, my big question is, what is he gonna do next? Maybe put spider eggs in bubble gum. Maybe ram a gerbil up a celebrity's ass? Sasha laughs. PARKER (cont'd) Come on, Nat! Give Damon a call at the Killington. You'll see he's there. INT. NATALIE AND TOSH'S DORM ROOM - LATER Natalie enters. Loud heavy rock music is blaring from the speakers. Tosh smokes a cigarette, apparently in a chat room. Natalie approaches Tosh. NATALIE Tosh, do you mind if I use-- Tosh spins around, angry. TOSH What!? Natalie pauses, looking at Tosh's angry face. She decides not to cause an unnecessary fight. NATALIE Never mind. EXT. CAMPUS - LATER Natalie is at a phone booth, talking to a woman who works at the Killington. WOMAN (from phone) Yeah, there was a blond guy that arrived with that group this morning. A bachelor party or something? NATALIE Damon Brooks, specifically. Can you tell me if he checked in? WOMAN Oh, I can't tell you that. The cabin's not in his name and it's not on his credit card. I'd be happy to take a message, but I can't guarantee he'll come by and pick it up. So, whatever you want-- Natalie hangs the phone up. That idea didn't work. EXT. LIBRARY - LATER Natalie walks up the stone steps to the large, old library. The sun has set and it's getting dark... INT. LIBRARY Natalie walks by row after row of books. She finds the row she needs and starts to look for the book. Suddenly, she hears footsteps. Natalie turns, and when she does, a figure walks by the camera. Natalie looks around. NATALIE Hello? She sighs, and goes back to looking when she hears a rustling sound. Natalie stops. There's indistinct whispering somewhere in the library. Then a noise like a chair being pushed back. NATALIE Someone there? No response. Natalie just shrugs it off and continues her search. She finds what she's been looking for. She pulls it off the shelf. CLOSE ON: The book. The title is: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF URBAN LEGENDS." NORMAL VIEW Natalie presses the book against her chest, so that no one can see the title. She heads out of the aisle. Suddenly, a noise behind her. Natalie turns, and in that instance she bumps into... SASHA! Natalie gasps. Sasha laughs. She also has a book. She holds it out to Natalie. SASHA Hey, Nat. Look what I found. NATALIE What? Sasha opens the book to a page. It has illustrations of people in weird sexual positions. SASHA (re:the book) An early edition of Kama Sutra....with illustrations. Think Parker will get into it? NATALIE Does he have a choice? SASHA No. They're both giggling like little school girls. Sasha notices Natalie's book. SASHA What's that? NATALIE Um... She reluctantly shows the book to Sasha. SASHA Nat, don't tell me you still believe-- NATALIE I don't know. INT. LIBRARY - LATER Natalie and Sasha sit a table, looking at the Urban Legend book. Natalie flips through the book, Sasha looking on. Natalie doesn't see anything of interest until she sees one picture. CLOSE ON: The book. There's a picture of a woman sprawled out on a bed, her wrists slit. The words "Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the lights" written on the wall in the woman's blood. NORMAL VIEW Natalie glances at it a moment longer, then turns the page. She comes to what she's been looking for. CLOSE ON: The book. It shows a man hanging from a tree by his feet, his arms raking the roof of the car. The girlfriend is in the car, a frightened expression on his face. NATALIE (o.s) This is it. NORMAL VIEW The picture is really disturbing Natalie. Sasha glances at the book, then Natalie. She turns a few pages. She comes to another picture. CLOSE ON: The picture. It shows two cars on a road. One has its lights off, and the other one seems to be flashing their high beams. NORMAL VIEW SASHA This is definitely not a myth. NATALIE What? SASHA (re:the picture) The gang high beam initiation. It happens all the time. Gang members drive around at night with their headlights off. And when someone goes to flash them their high-beams to warn 'em, they kill 'em. That's why I never warn anybody about anything when I drive. A pause. The picture seems to upset Natalie. SASHA Anyway, I gotta go. I've got some homework. They laugh at this. They know exactly what Sasha's homework will be. NATALIE Okay. See ya. Sasha stands up. SASHA Bye. Natalie continues to look at the book while Sasha leaves. INT. NATALIE AND TOSH'S DORM ROOM CLOSE ON: The computer screen. Tosh is in a Goth chat room. She types:Goth guys on campus looking to hook up... I-M me. CLOSE ON: Tosh, still smoking a cigarette. She waits for a reply. She doesn't have to wait long. CLOSE ON: The screen. A response comes. The response is:We're on similar dark paths. CLOSE ON: Tosh. She blows smoke into the air. She begins typing. CLOSE ON: The computer screen. Tosh tpes:What U into? The response is:Lithium. CLOSE ON: Tosh. She smiles, obviously finding a guy she can relate to. CLOSE ON: The computer screen. Tosh types:My type of guy. INT. LIBRARY Natalie pulls the sign out sheet out of the front page of the book. The last entry is...Damon Brooks. Natalie puts the card down. Maybe she is paranoid. Maybe it was Damon playing a trick on her. Maybe... INT. NATALIE AND TOSH'S DORM ROOM CLOSE ON: Tosh's fingers as she types. Her fingernails are painted black. CLOSE ON: The screen. Tosh has typed:Where U at? CLOSE ON: Tosh, a sexy look in her eyes. She is obviously smitten by this man. CLOSE ON: The computer screen. The response:Close. CLOSE ON: Tosh. She begins to type. CLOSE ON: The computer screen. Tosh has written:tease. CLOSE ON: Tosh. She smiles and begins typing. CLOSE ON: The computer screen. Tosh is typing:Gonna get ready. Tell me what room U R in. CLOSE ON: Tosh. She picks up her black purse. She stands up. She glances back at the screen before heading for the door. INT. HALLWAY Tosh opens the door and steps outside. She closes the door behind her. EXT. LIBRARY Natalie walks down the stone steps. INT. BATHROOM Tosh sets her purse down by the sink and opens it. She pulls out her black lipstick. She takes the cap off and starts applying the lipstick. EXT. CAMPUS Natalie walks down the sidewalk, heading for her dorm. INT. BATHROOM Tosh closes her purse, grabs it, and leaves the bathroom. EXT. NATALIE'S DORM Natalie walks through the arched passageway to her dorm. INT. NATALIE AND TOSH'S DORM ROOM Tosh enters the room, closing the door behind her. She walks over to the computer and sits down. She looks at the screen, confused. CLOSE ON: The computer screen. Underneath Tosh's question is the word:Yours. NORMAL VIEW Tosh is bewildered by this. Before she has a chance to do anything, a hand wraps around her mouth! Tosh tries to scream. The killer throws Tosh onto the bed and gets on top of her. With one hand covering her mouth and the other strangling her, Tosh tries to scream out. She gets the killer's hand off her mouth and screams before the killer clamps his hand over her mouth again. INT. HALLWAY Natalie walks down the hall to her room. A GIRL passes by her. GIRL Sounds like Elvira's raising more than the dead in there. NATALIE Thanks for the warning. She stops in front of her door. CUT TO: INT. NATALIE AND TOSH'S DORM ROOM The killer has both hands on Tosh's neck. She screams. CUT TO: INT. HALLWAY Natalie puts the key in the door. CUT TO: INT. NATALIE AND TOSH'S DORM ROOM The killer grabs the computer cord and pulls it out of the electrical outlet. The computer goes off, leaving the room in darkness. The door starts to open. TOSH N- Natalie! The killer clamps his hand on Tosh's mouth. Natalie enters the room and closes the door. She goes to turn on the light. Tosh watches expectantly for Natalie to turn on the light, revealing the killer. Natalie suddenly stops, remembering the last time she walked in on Tosh. NATALIE Sorry. Not looking. She covers her face and walks over to her bed. Tosh continues to groan and moan, trying to fight off the killer. It does look like they're having sex. Natalie chuckles in disgust. Tosh fights, but her oxygen is slowly being drained from her. She gasps. Natalie climbs into bed, Tosh's groans still audible. Natalie grabs her headphones and puts them on. She turns it on. She turns up the volume to drown out Tosh's moans. Tosh still struggles feebly with the killer, but it's too late. Her body goes still, and her eyes roll up into her head. The killer lets Tosh's head fall onto the pillow. He shakes her to make sure she's dead, then gets off her. Natalie lies in bed, sleeping. The killer's shadow passes over her... FADE OUT FADE IN INT. NATALIE AND TOSH'S DORM ROOM - NEXT DAY - MORNING Natalie's alarm goes off. She slowly opens her eyes. Her headphones lay on the pillow beside her. Natalie sighs, not wanting to get up. She rolls over, facing Tosh. She sits up abruptly. Tosh's black comforter has been pulled up over her face. A puddle of black blood is on the floor next to Tosh's bed. Her hand is sticking out of the cover, blood all over it. Natalie slowly walks over to Tosh's bed. She reaches out and pulls back the comforter to reveal... TOSH'S WRISTS HAVE BEEN SLIT! Natalie screams and backs up. She puts her hands over her mouth. She slowly turns around to see that something has been written on the wall in Tosh's blood. "Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the lights?" Natalie screams. FLASH! INT. DORM HALL - LATER Two PARAMEDICS push in a stretcher. A GIRL and her FRIEND stand next to the door. GIRL Hey, better check her pulse. She's looked like that for years. The paramedics roll their eyes and push the stretcher toward Natalie's dorm room. Paul watches them go, a pen and pad in hand. Brenda comes down the stairs and walks over to Paul. BRENDA Hey, Paul. PAUL Hey. How is she? He looks over at Natalie, who's being questioned by Dean Adams and Reese. BRENDA I don't know. I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet. PAUL All right. See you later. Paul walks off down the hall toward Natalie's dorm. CUT TO: Dean Adams, Reese, and Natalie. Natalie and Dean Adams sit in chairs, while Reese stands. Natalie takes a sip of her coffee. DEAN ADAMS Natalie, we know this is hard for you. But we need to know why, if you heard moaning, you didn't turn on the light? NATALIE I had walked in on Tosh having sex before. It wasn't something I cared to see again. REESE So you never actually saw somebody in the room? NATALIE I sensed that -- REESE No no. Honey, did you see anybody in the room? NATALIE No. DEAN ADAMS Natalie, did you know Tosh was manic depressive? In his hand he holds the bottle of Lithium pills. NATALIE She painted half the room black. I had a pretty good idea. REESE There are no signs of foul play. No forced entry. NATALIE What are you saying? DEAN ADAMS It appears to be tragic suicide. NATALIE No. Tosh didn't kill herself. There was someone else in that room. I mean, "Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the lights?" for Christ's sake? DEAN ADAMS A very morbid suicide note. Dean Adams stands up and hands the bottle of Lithium pills to Reese. They walk away. Natalie looks over at Brenda. Natalie stands up and starts to walk over to her. Brenda meets her half way. BRENDA Honey, I am so sorry. Are you okay? They embrace. Brenda suddenly realizes the stupidity of her question. BRENDA (cont'd) Of course not. Stupid question. Who would've thought she would do something like that. I mean, she's weird and all-- Natalie's gaze goes beyond Brenda. Brenda turns and sees the two paramedics pushing the stretcher. A white cloth covers Tosh's body, but there are blood stains where her wrists were slit. Natalie is clearly shaken. Brenda tries to comfort her. BRENDA Okay, Natalie, you want to go somewhere and talk? Natalie shakes her head. NATALIE No. I just wanna be alone right now. She heads away, leaving Brenda there to stare after her. She sighs and walks away. EXT. CAMPUS Natalie walks on a sidewalk, an arched ceiling hovering above her. She stops and leans back against a column. In the background, Paul sees her and starts to walk that way. Natalie closes her eyes. Paul walks over to her. PAUL Hey. Natalie opens her eyes. NATALIE Hey. PAUL Look, I know this is a bad time for you. But I gotta ask you a couple of questions. Natalie anticipated this. She starts to walk away. Paul follows her. NATALIE Paul, no. I'm not doing any interviews. PAUL Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I don't want to talk about Tosh, okay. He starts to pull a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. PAUL (cont'd) I just wanted to know if you could tell me a little about this. He holds it out to Natalie. It's a copy of the yearbook page that Natalie was looking at the other day. Natalie stops walking. NATALIE How did you get that? PAUL I contacted Michelle's high school. Your high school. He puts the paper back into his pocket. PAUL Natalie, why didn't you tell me you knew her? NATALIE So you can exploit her death more than you are now? Natalie begins walking again. Paul again follows her. PAUL Hey. I'm just doing my job, okay. What am I supposed to do, turn my back on a murder...or a suicide? NATALIE It wasn't a suicide, Paul. PAUL What are you talking about? NATALIE She was murdered. She was murdered just like Michelle, just like Damon. This is the first Paul has heard about Damon being murdered. PAUL Damon? Tears well up in Natalie's eyes, and she leans against a column, trying to hide her tears from Paul. PAUL Hey. I don't know what's going on here, but if you like, we can go someplace and talk...off the record. INT. PENDLETON NEWSROOM/PAUL'S OFFICE - LATER The camera slowly pans over to Paul and Natalie. There are two desks in the office. The office is small, and very messy. A bulletin board rests above the other desk. Paul sits in a chair, trying to digest what Natalie just told him. He sighs. NATALIE You don't believe me either. PAUL It's not that. It's just... the idea of an urban legend serial killer, it's a stretch. NATALIE But don't you think it's possible? PAUL Yeah, it's possible. He gets up, walks over to the other desk. PAUL (cont'd) But maybe, uh, maybe the gas station attendant killed Michelle. Maybe Damon's snowboarding. And maybe Tosh just killed herself. NATALIE Okay. PAUL If it is true, why like this? Why now? Natalie looks behind Paul, at the bulletin board. NATALIE Tonight's the 25th anniversary. Paul looks at the bulletin board. There's a flyer for the Omega Sigma Phi bash. PAUL What's that got to do with anything? NATALIE The Stanley Hall Massacre. PAUL I told you that story is not true. NATALIE Are you sure? INT. RECORD ROOM/STAIRWAY - LATER Paul and Natalie walk up winding stairs into the record room. PAUL All right, if there's any truth to Stanley Hall, it'd be in here. Paul stops at a shelf with yearbooks on it. He starts to look through them. Natalie smiles. NATALIE So this is where you research all your lurid articles. PAUL Reality is lurid, all right? I'm just the messenger. He looks at a stack of yearbooks. PAUL '71, '72, '74... Huh. That's weird. '73's not here. Out on the stairwell, the janitor begins to mop. The mop slams against the sides of the stairs. Paul and Natalie walk out of the record room. PAUL Hey, how long you've been working here? JANITOR Too damn long. PAUL Know anything about Stanley Hall? The janitor stops, looks up at them. JANITOR I don't know what you're talking about. He goes back to mopping. NATALIE Did anybody die there? The janitor stops mopping and starts to descend the steps. NATALIE Please. We really need to know. The janitor stops, considering. He looks up at them again. JANITOR Talk to Wexler. INT. COLLEGE BUILDING/OUTSIDE WEXLER'S OFFICE Natalie knocks on the door. Nothing. She turns to Paul. NATALIE It's his office hours. He should be here. PAUL Watch out for a second. He moves over to the door. He pulls out a credit card and puts it in the small crack in the door. After a few seconds, the door opens. Paul turns to Natalie. PAUL Would you look at that. He goes inside. Natalie can't believe Paul did that. She walks inside and closes the door. INT. WEXLER'S OFFICE Wexler's office is large. Masks and other figurines adorn the room. Paul is at Wexler's desk, looking at all the papers sprawled out on it. Natalie walks over to him. NATALIE So, they teach you this in class? PAUL I dropped journalism ethics early in the semester. It wasn't helping my G.P.A. He opens the drawer and starts going through it. Natalie sees three doors across the room. She walks over to them. She opens the first one. Inside is nothing but books. She closes the door and walks over to the second one. She opens the door. Again, nothing but books. Natalie goes to the third door. It has no door knob. She pushes it open and comes face to face with... THE KILLER! She gasps and backs up. Paul looks up, but sighs. It's only a parka hanging on a rack. Natalie steps inside, eyeing the parka warily. Inside the closet is a shelf with books, a stuffed fox, along with other creepy things. Natalie's eyes wander down to the ground. She sees an axe resting against a shelf. NATALIE Paul! Paul walks around the desk and into the closet. He sees the axe. PAUL Oh, shit. EXT. WEXLER'S OFFICE Wexler unlocks the door and opens it. INT. WEXLER'S OFFICE Paul quickly and quietly closes the door. They hear footsteps in the room. They both tense up, hoping that Wexler won't look in the closet. They hear a door open, then close. Silence. They both sigh, relieved. Paul opens the door and sticks his head out, searching the room. NATALIE Is he gone? PAUL Yeah. They step out of the closet. PAUL Whew. Natalie grabs the door to the bookcase and closes it, revealing... WEXLER! Natalie gasps. WEXLER Something I can help you with? INT. DEAN ADAM'S OFFICE - LATER Natalie and Paul sit in front of Dean Adams's desk, while Reese and Wexler stand behind them. DEAN ADAMS You two break into a professor's office, then have the audacity to accuse him of murder? NATALIE We found the axe. WEXLER That is a prop I use in my folklore class. How can you even suggest that I had anything to do with that girl's death? PAUL Why don't you tell us about the Stanley Hall Massacre? Wexler immediately turns to look at him. Dean Adams's expression changes to mild surprise and horror. He's obviously covering something up. DEAN ADAMS Professor Wexler, Reese, may I have a word alone with them? Reese and Wexler walk out of his office. Natalie knows something's about to happen. DEAN ADAMS Natalie, after out talk this morning, I decided to look at your personal file. He picks up a manilla folder off the desk and opens it. He looks at it then sets it back on his desk. DEAN ADAMS (cont'd) Probation for reckless endangerment? NATALIE It was only for a year. I'd already been accepted here. DEAN ADAMS Which was lucky, since we don't usually accept students with a criminal record. Paul looks away from Natalie, feeling betrayed. DEAN ADAMS As for you young man, you're off the paper effective immediately. PAUL No, no, no, you can't do that. Read the charter. The dean can't dictate editorial policy. DEAN ADAMS I didn't fire you. Your editor did. We spoke on the phone an hour ago. Have a good weekend. He leans back in his chair. EXT. COLLEGE BUILDING Natalie throws open the door and starts down the steps, Paul right behind her. PAUL What was all that about? Reckless endangerment? We're not exactly talking about running a stop sign here, are we, Natalie? NATALIE I really don't want to talk about it! PAUL Oh, okay. What do you want to talk about? My career options without a body of writing samples? Because, for your information, Natalie, they're kinda limited! NATALIE It was in high school, Paul! It's over! PAUL Look, does this have something to do with Michelle Mancini? Natalie doesn't answer him. PAUL Hey, I just want to know what's going on here... 'cause I don't know if I buy it anymore. I don't know if I ever bought it. Paul walks off without another word being said. INT. SWIMMING POOL AREA/GYM - LATER Brenda, wearing only a bathing suit and swim cap, stands by the pool. She jumps in and starts swimming. EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS Natalie walks toward the gym. INT. SWIMMING POOL AREA/GYM Brenda continues to swim. EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS Natalie starts to walk up the steps to the gym. WEATHER WOMAN (voice-over) It's gonna be a wet one out there tonight. INT. SWIMMING POOL AREA/GYM Brenda continues to swim. WEATHER WOMAN (voice-over) The storm is expected to bring four inches of rain... INT. ROOM OVERLOOKING POOL Natalie walks into the room. A T.V. is on. The weather woman continues to broadcast the news. WEATHER WOMAN and 30-mile per hour wind throughout most of New England. Local authorities are advising everyone to stay inside. If you do have to go outside, make sure you grab a slicker. Natalie goes over to the window and watches Brenda swim. Brenda reaches the other side of the pool, and shoves off of the wall, headed in the other direction. A figure appears at one of the doors to the pool. The door opens and Natalie sees THE KILLER! Natalie gasps and starts banging on the window. NATALIE Brenda! Brenda continues to swim, unaware of the killer walking beside the pool. Natalie runs over to one of the doors, tries to push it open but can't. She runs over to the other door, but it's also locked. She runs back over to the window and pounds on it. NATALIE Brenda! Brenda has almost reached the end of the pool, right where the killer is standing. The killer starts to unzip his coat. Brenda reaches the end of the pool and starts to pull herself up. Natalie looks around for something, anything, and sees a chair. She grabs it and smashes it against the window. Brenda looks up at Natalie, who sees that the person in the parka is not the killer, just a WOMAN. Brenda exchanges glances with the woman. INT. LOCKER ROOM Brenda, fully dressed. walks alongside Natalie. BRENDA Natalie, nothing is going to happen to me. Why do you keep doing this to yourself? Look at you. You gotta stop this. Brenda walks over to her locker while Natalie sits down on a bench. NATALIE I knew Michelle Mancini. This stops Brenda. She turns to Natalie. NATALIE We went to high school together. Brenda closes her locker. NATALIE We haven't spoken in two years. Brenda walks over to Natalie and sits next to her. BRENDA Why? FLASH! Natalie is having a flashback. We are in her car. Michelle is driving. NATALIE We were in my car one night. Michelle was driving. FLASH! Back to the present. NATALIE (cont'd) The story about the gang high beam initiation was going around. FLASH! We are back in Natalie's car. Natalie and Michelle are talking. NATALIE (cont'd) Michelle wanted to play a practical joke. FLASH! Back to Brenda and Natalie. NATALIE (cont'd) So she turned off the head lights and waited for the first car to pass by and flash us. FLASH! A car drives down the road. It flashes Michelle and Natalie. In the car, Michelle goes ecstatic. NATALIE (cont'd) When somebody finally did, she made a U-turn and started chasing him. Natalie's car makes a U-turn on the road and follows the other car, flashing the high beams. NATALIE (cont'd) Flashing her high beams, laughing. The man in the other car tries to look through his rear view mirror, but the lights blind him. NATALIE (cont'd) I was laughing too, at first... FLASH! Back to Brenda and Natalie. NATALIE (cont'd) But then we started going really fast. FLASH! Natalie's car speeds down the road, flashing its lights. FLASH! Natalie continues her story, pained. NATALIE (cont'd) I wanted to tell her to stop... FLASH! Natalie sits in her car, not saying anything. NATALIE (cont'd) But I just sat there. The man in the other car continues to look in the rear view mirror, blinded. He is obviously frightened. NATALIE (cont'd) Then the other car lost control and veered off the road. In Natalie's car, Natalie and Michelle sit stoned face, not wanting to believe what they just saw. FLASH! Natalie is almost to tears, remembering that night. NATALIE (cont'd) He- he- He was our age. FLASH! Police are everywhere. We see the man laying on the ground, his head cracked open. NATALIE (cont'd) By the time the police got there, he was dead. We pan over to Michelle and Natalie. Michelle is talking with a police officer, while Natalie stands there, stone faced. Her hands are pressed to the sides of her head. NATALIE (cont'd) The courts were lenient with us. We only got probation. FLASH! A few tears stream down Natalie's face. NATALIE (cont'd) I was never able to forgive her for what she did. I guess I wasn't able to forgive myself for not doing more to stop it. BRENDA Oh my God. How awful...for everyone. Natalie nods. NATALIE Yeah. INT. CORRIDOR - LATER Natalie and Brenda walk down the corridor, heading outside. NATALIE I don't know. Maybe I should go home for a few weeks. BRENDA Natalie, come on. You need to relax, have some fun, and come to the party, okay? Please? NATALIE Okay. Promise you won't leave me alone? BRENDA I promise. Unless, of course, I hook up with some cute, blue eyed journalist. Then you might have to fend for yourself. They both giggle. INT. PAUL'S OFFICE - LATER - NIGHT Paul goes through his desk, packing. He throws some folders into a box. The janitor appears, unnoticed by Paul. He opens his drawer, and pulls out a folder. Underneath is a newspaper. It has a picture of a young William Wexler, with a headline that reads "Sole survivor William Wexler." Paul is intrigued and takes it out. He unfolds it and reads the top headline. "Massacre at Stanley Hall." Over to the side is a picture of Stanley Hall. The janitor starts to leave. Paul looks up and sees him leave. Paul silently thanks him. He knows what he has to do. INT. PARKING GARAGE - LATER Dean Adams walks to his car. Most of the place is dark, and Dean Adams's car is one of the few left. Dean Adams presses a button on his automatic door lock. His car beeps, unlocking. Dean Adams is about to open his car. He stops, and looks into his backseat. DEAN ADAMS'S POV His back seat is empty. NORMAL VIEW Dean Adams shakes his head, and goes to open his car door again. Suddenly, a hand grabs his shoulder! He spins around to see... REESE! He gasps, frightened. DEAN ADAMS Don't do that. REESE Sorry, Dean. A little jumpy? DEAN ADAMS (lying) No, not at all. He thinks of some excuse to explain his behavior. DEAN ADAMS (cont'd) Just...thinking. Reese nods. REESE Me too. It wouldn't be a bad idea to add on a few extra guards this weekend. Just in case. DEAN ADAMS In case what? REESE After the suicide and what happened to that Mancini girl-- Now I'm having trouble locating a boy named Damon Brooks. He's been missing for some days now. DEAN ADAMS Missing? He's not missing. It's the weekend. He's probably shacked up in some motel with a girl. Or a guy, farm animal, whatever. Reese gives him a look. DEAN ADAMS Weren't you ever eighteen? REESE Not that kind of eighteen. DEAN ADAMS My point is, I don't want you overreacting. Don't contact any one without my permission. Reese nods. DEAN ADAMS (cont'd) No parents, no police. Is that understood? Reese nods. REESE Understood. Good night, sir. Dean Adams smiles and turns back to his car. Reese mouths the words "ass hole" and turns and walks away. Dean Adams looks at the back seat again, but shakes his head. Nobody could've snuck into his car. Suddenly, there's a clinking noise in the background. Dean Adams spins around, horrified. He looks around, but it's too dark. He can't see anything. Suddenly, a knife appears from under his car and slices his ankles! Dean Adams screams and drops to the ground. He looks at his ankles and sees blood pouring out from them. He gasps and starts to crawl away from the car. The killer crawls out from under the car and stands up. Dean Adams crawls past the front of his car. The killer walks over to his car and opens the door. He reaches inside and flicks a button. FLASH! The lights come on. Dean Adams stops crawling and looks behind him. The killer pulls a lever marked with a "P." The car starts to roll forward. The killer walks along side it. Dean Adams continues to crawl, panting. The car gets closer, closer. The killer's footsteps echo throughout the garage. Dean Adams stops when he comes to the tire spikes in the pavement. He turns around and screams. The car is on top of him. It pushes him down, right onto the tire spikes. The car's tires blow out as they roll past. The car smashes the small beam in half. The car rolls past Dean Adams's bloody body. The killer turns and starts to walk away. The camera focuses on Dean Adam's hand. It moves slightly, then stays still. The camera pans up to a sign that says: "Severe Tire Damage." EXT. OMEGA SIGMA PHI FRAT HOUSE - LATER - ESTABLISHING SHOT - NIGHT A very large frat house. Four, five stories high with about maybe over fifty rooms. People head toward the house. PEOPLE (chanting; o.s.) Hootie! Hootie! Hootie! Hootie! INT. OMEGA SIGMA PHI FRAT HOUSE The chanting continues while music blares from a speaker. People are dressed in a wide variety of costumes. Most of them are dressed like dead people. The camera pans over to Parker, holding his dog HOOTIE in his hands. A funnel is in his mouth, and a man is pouring beer into it. PARKER There you go! There you go! That's my boy! That's my boy! Hootie has downed the entire can of beer. The crowd bursts into applause and cheering. Parker kisses Hootie. CUT TO: The D.J. at the control board. He starts to play the song "Roller Coaster." Sasha stands by the speaker, clearly not having fun. A NERDY GUY walks over to her. NERDY GUY Listen. Listen. A scream comes from the speaker, all apart of the song. NERDY GUY That scream? That's an actual cry for help by a girl being murdered. Sasha doesn't care, but she goes along with it. SASHA You're kidding me. NERDY GUY (chuckles) No. That's why it sounds so real because it was lifted off a 9-1-1 tape. SASHA That's great. NERDY GUY Yeah. Woah. Sasha walks away. CUT TO: Natalie, just entering the house. She looks around, clearly uncomfortable by all the people. Brenda comes running up. BRENDA Hey, Miss Thing! NATALIE Hey. They hug. BRENDA You made it! Hootie runs past them, the funnel clutched in his mouth. NATALIE And already I'm starting to regret it. BRENDA I'm going to go get something to drink. Want anything? NATALIE A beer. BRENDA Okay. Be right back! She moves into the crowd. PAUL (o.s.) Stanley Hall's not a legend. Natalie spins around to see Paul. PAUL (cont'd) And there's one survivor that night. He holds up the newspaper. INT. SECOND STORY - LATER Paul and Natalie sit by the railing of the stairs, talking. PAUL It makes perfect sense. Pendleton covered up Stanley Hall. And Wexler, so long as he keeps his mouth shut, gets a job for life. NATALIE Why would he do it? PAUL It eats at him. And every year around this time, he goes a little wacko. This year...off the charts. NATALIE Then we have to call the police before it happens again. PAUL I already tried. Dean Adams beat me to it. They said he warned 'em to expect prank calls tonight. Even gave 'em our names. For a few seconds, they say nothing. Natalie is on the verge of losing it. PAUL Look. What he is about to say is obviously hard. PAUL I'm sorry I doubted you before. Natalie loses it. She begins to cry. PAUL What? NATALIE What is he trying to do to me? Paul doesn't know what to say. He's dumbfounded. Natalie continues to cry. NATALIE I'm so scared. Paul takes Natalie's head in his hands. PAUL Hey, listen to me. Nothing is going to happen to you, okay? I promise. He leans toward her, and they kiss. A long, passionate kiss. Too long. Brenda comes walking down the hall, two glasses of beer in her hands. She sees them kissing, and turns angry. BRENDA You don't waste anytime, do you, Natalie? The kiss is broken. Natalie looks up at Brenda, who is pissed. NATALIE Brenda-- BRENDA Here. It's light. She shoves Natalie's beer into her hand then storms off. Paul has no idea what's going on. NATALIE Oh, shit. PAUL What was all that about? NATALIE I screwed up. She stands up and leaves. EXT. OMEGA SIGMA PHI FRAT HOUSE - PORCH - NIGHT Brenda comes out of the house and walks over to the steps. She sits down and begins to cry. INT. COLLEGE BUILDING - LATER Reese walks down the flight of steps, flashlight in hand. She starts down the hallway when she bumps into... THE JANITOR! She gasps. REESE Jesus! You trying to give me a heart attack here! JANITOR (deadpan) Boo. REESE The building's off-limits after 10:00. The janitor starts to descend the stairs. REESE A good night to you too. Suddenly, she hears glass breaking. Reese immediately tenses up. She reaches into her holster and pulls out her gun. She slowly makes her way down the hall. She stops at the corner, pointing her flashlight and her gun. She walks down the hall, slowly and carefully. The door to Wexler's office is open. She points her gun and flashlight into the opening. REESE Hello? Reese makes her way into the room. INT. WEXLER'S OFFICE Reese looks around. The whole office has been trashed. Papers are strewn everywhere, books are thrown about, his masks are knocked down. Reese walks over to the closet. She goes inside. Reese checks every corner of the closet. The flashlight's beam comes to rest upon the shelf where the axe had been resting. The axe is gone! Reese begins to back out. Suddenly, she slips and falls to the ground. We see that she has slipped in a large puddle of blood! REESE Ow. Oh. She looks at all the blood. REESE What? CUT TO: INT. OMEGA SIGMA PHI FRAT HOUSE - LATER Paul runs over to Parker, who is over by the D.J. PAUL Hey, Parker, let me talk to you for a second. They move away from the D.J. and the radio control board. PAUL Look, you might want to end this party a little early. PARKER What? PAUL Natalie was right all along. PARKER Say no more. Everybody, listen up! Paul tries to stop Parker, but he shrugs him off. PARKER No, no, no. Listen! Turn the music down. The D.J. turns the volume down. PARKER Paul here, he thinks we should end the party early. The crowd does not agree, and they mumble their protest. Sasha watches, wondering what Parker is doing. PARKER (to crowd) No, no, no, no. (to Paul) Tell everybody why. Why they should go home. PAUL There's a killer on campus. Everybody laughs. PARKER And let me guess. This killer's offing people based on urban legends. PAUL Yeah, that's right. PARKER Well, I have a legend you may or may not of heard of, Paul. You see, this mediocre Woodward and Bernstein wanna be realizes: "Shit! I'm gonna graduate in a couple of weeks and write gardening tips for Martha Stewart's living!" The crowd laughs. PARKER Unless-- Hang on. Unless I get a really hot story. You know, something that really flies. I got it. I got it. I'll take advantage of my homicidal instincts and start killing people in a trendy, attention getting, cover story kinda way. Basing them on... urban legends. Paul looks almost guilty, then: PAUL Why don't you have another drink. Parker grabs Paul's arm. PARKER Paul, maybe your the one that should leave and let everybody else have a good time! Right! Whoo! The crowd erupts in cheers and Parker runs over to a guy, who pours a small bottle of beer into his mouth. Paul walks over to Natalie, who witnessed the whole thing. PAUL You stay here. I'm gonna go get some help. NATALIE Okay. CUT TO: Parker and Sasha. SASHA Parker, why do you always have to be such a jerk? PARKER I was just messing around. SASHA Look, I'm gonna go to the radio station, okay? PARKER Hey, hey. Who's my girl? Who's my girl? Sasha blows him a kiss. PARKER That's my girl! EXT. OMEGA SIGMA PHI FRAT HOUSE - NIGHT Sasha comes running out of the house, the rain soaking her. She runs over to a car and climbs inside. A FRIEND sits behind the wheel. SASHA Let's go. INT. OMEGA SIGMA PHI FRAT HOUSE/KITCHEN Parker walks into the kitchen, finishing a beer. The phone rings. Parker answers it. PARKER Hello? There's no response. PARKER Hello? MAN'S VOICE You're gonna die tonight. PARKER Oh, really? He flips the phone over and looks at the built in caller I.D. It says: "Damon Brooks." Parker puts the phone back to his ear. PARKER Let's see. The call's coming from inside the house. Could it be... an urban legend? Am I right? Hello? Don't get shy on me all of a sudden, fuck face. INT. OMEGA SIGMA PHI LIVING ROOM Parker pushes his way through the streamers dangling from the ceiling above the door to the kitchen. PARKER This is the one about the baby-sitter, right? She's getting those scary, harassing phone calls. Parker begins to climb up the stairs. PARKER (cont'd) And when she traces them back, they're coming from inside the house! Parker is now on the second floor. A few PEOPLE walk by him. PARKER (cont'd) But, asswipe, aren't you forgetting something? I'm not baby sitting any kids. MAN'S VOICE Wrong legend. This is the one about the old lady who dries her wet dog in the microwave. FLASH CUT TO: The microwave. CUT BACK TO: Parker. He throws the phone down and races down the steps. He runs past the partygoers and into the... INT. KITCHEN The light in the microwave goes off and it beeps. Parker stands there, not knowing what to do. He doesn't want to open it, but it's just some creep messing with him, right? He grabs the door handle and throws it open to reveal... THE SPLATTERED REMAINS OF HOOTIE! Parker gasps, sickened. PARKER Fuck! Fucking sick motherfucker! Hootie! Fuck! He races out of the kitchen. He runs down a hallway. PARKER Wanna fuck with me! He races into a... INT. BATHROOM Parker runs into the small bathroom and over to the cigarette filled toilet. He bends over it, wanting to vomit. Suddenly, the killer enters the bathroom and pushes Parker's head into the toilet. INT. BATHROOM - LATER Parker wakes up, but can't move. His hands have been tied around the toilet. A line of blood is on his face. He struggles against his bonds when the killer suddenly appears. Parker struggles, but the killer grabs a funnel and shoves it down Parker's throat. He gags, trying to spit it out. The killer grabs a bag of Pop Rocks and tears it open. He pours it into the funnel, and down into Parker's mouth. The killer then reaches over to the sink and grabs a bottle of Drano. He pours it into the funnel. Parker gags and convulses. The tunnel overflows, but the killer continues to pour. The killer drops the bottle and takes the funnel out of Parker's mouth. He tosses it into the sink and walks out of the bathroom, leaving Parker's dead corpse tied to the toilet. INT. CAMPUS SECURITY OFFICE - LATER - NIGHT Reese is on the phone with a 9-1-1 operator. WOMAN Are you sure it's blood? REESE Yes, I'm sure it's blood! I'm covered in it! WOMAN Due to the storm, all units are presently responding to calls. A unit has been notified. REESE You know what chaps my hide? The way you pledged an oath to serve and protect, and then you don't give a rat's ass when something really does happen. WOMAN Hold please. Reese has had enough. The police can't help. She hangs up the phone. REESE (whispering) I'll do it myself. INT. OMEGA SIGMA PHI FRAT HOUSE Natalie sits on a couch. She picks up the phone in front of her and dials a number. PAUL (voice-over) This is Paul. Leave a message. Natalie hangs the phone up. Where could he be? On the radio, Sasha is talking to a couple that is experiencing some sex problems. SASHA (from speaker) Let me get this straight. INT. RADIO STATION/SASHA'S RADIO ROOM We can barely see the producer in his booth. He's reading a magazine. SASHA (cont'd) You guys tried out a new sexual position and now you're stuck. WOMAN I'm not stuck, he is. MAN Relax and stop clinching. Sasha smiles. WOMAN I saw this happen to dogs. It is so humiliating. In the background, the killer approaches the producer from behind. SASHA All right you guys, this is what you're gonna do. Okay? In the background, the killer wraps his hand around the producer. We see that the killer holds a knife in his hand. He is prepared to stab the producer. The booth goes dark. With a flash of lightning, we the killer throwing the producer's body to the ground. The line clicks and Sasha can't hear the couple anymore. SASHA Hello? She turns toward the booth, but it's completely dark. With a puzzled look, she gets up and walks over to the window and peers inside. Lightning flashes and Sasha sees the killer inches from her face. The only thing protecting her is the glass. Sasha screams and backs away as the killer lifts the axe and swings it through the window, sending glass flying everywhere. INT. FRAT HOUSE Natalie hears Sasha screaming over the radio and turns to face the speaker. INT. RADIO STATION/SASHA'S RADIO ROOM Sasha runs over to the door while the killer breaks more of the window with his axe. Sasha screams and opens the door. She crawls outside and slams it shut. The killer starts to go through the window. INT. FRAT HOUSE SASHA (over speaker) Help me! Somebody help me! Natalie runs over to the radio control board and turns up the volume, amplifying Sasha's cries for help. INT. RADIO STATION HALLWAY Sasha runs down the hallway, constantly looking behind her. INT. FRAT HOUSE NATALIE Something's happening! The nerdy guy comes over. NERDY GUY No. She's doing a performance art piece to commemorate the massacre. INT. RADIO STATION HALLWAY Sasha runs down the hallway. Up ahead is a corner. Suddenly, THE KILLER COMES AROUND THE CORNER AND SWINGS HIS AXE! Sasha falls to the floor and the axe hits the wall. Sasha gets up off the floor and runs back the way she came. The killer gets the axe free of the wall and chases after her. Sasha comes to a door and throws it open. She runs inside and slams the door shut. The killer grabs the handle and starts to shake it, trying to open the door. Sasha has a hold of the handle, preventing the killer from opening the door. She quickly locks it. She looks out the window in the door, staring at the killer. INT. FRAT HOUSE Natalie sits on the couch and picks up a phone. INT. RADIO STATION Sasha stares at the killer only for a second, then takes off running. INT. FRAT HOUSE Natalie starts to dial a number. SASHA (from speaker) My God! Help me! Please! Natalie gets a busy signal and throws the phone down. Nerdy guy listens to Sasha's screams for help. NERDY GUY She's good. I got chills. EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS It's pouring rain. Natalie runs down the sidewalk, heading for the radio station. INT. RADIO STATION The whole front hall is one big open area. Translucent, winding stairs lead to each different level. There are no doors or anything. It's all open. No place to hide... Sasha runs down the hall, but stops suddenly. She leans against the wall. CLOSE ON: Sasha's face. She looks around, trying to see the killer. She doesn't see anybody. WIDE OF: The stairs. Sasha runs down the hall and comes to the stairs. She starts to run down them. She runs past the first platform, then down onto the second where she bumps into THE KILLER! The killer pushes her against the railing of pipes. They struggle, Sasha trying to punch the killer. She screams as the killer fights with her. Sasha feebly slaps the killer on the chest, but it has no effect on him. Suddenly, he throws her over the railing. Sasha screams. She grabs onto the edge of the platform, hanging on for dear life. The killer bends down and picks up his axe. Sasha screams again and again, tears streaming down her face. SASHA Somebody, please help! Help! Oh, God, somebody help! Help! The killer looks down at her, enjoying this. The killer pulls the axe back, then swings downward. Sasha screams and lets go. The axe hits right where Sasha's hands were. Sasha falls and hits another platform. Her legs absorb most of the impact, and she falls to the ground. She slowly crawls to the railing and picks herself up. She looks up toward the killer. SASHA'S POV The killer is walking down the platform, headed right for her. NORMAL VIEW Sasha starts down the stairs. WIDE OF: The whole staircase. Sasha is almost to the bottom, while the killer is still up at the top. Sasha gets off the stairs and runs over to the elevator. CLOSE ON: The killer's feet as he climbs down more stairs. CUT TO: Sasha, as she pushes the elevator button. She looks behind her. CLOSE ON: The killer's feet. CUT TO: Sasha. The elevator dings and the doors slide open. Sasha goes inside. The killer reaches the bottom of the steps and comes toward Sasha. She screams and presses 3 on the panel. She continues to press it as the killer comes closer, and closer. The killer reaches the elevator right as the doors begin to close. He swings his axe, and Sasha screams. The doors close and the axe slams into the doors. CLOSE ON: The floor numbers. We are on two then three. The elevator comes to a stop. Sasha is crying, wishing the elevator doors would open. INT. MAIN HALL CLOSE ON: The killer's feet as he starts to ascend the steps. INT. ELEVATOR/HALLWAY The elevator doors open and Sasha leaves, half running half walking. She is constantly looking behind her. When she doesn't see the killer she backs up against a wall. EXT. COLLEGE CAMPUS Natalie is still running, soaking wet as the rain continues to pour. INT. RADIO STATION HALLWAY Sasha sinks to the floor. EXT. ROAD Reese's cop car comes swerving down the road, sirens blaring. INT. COP CAR Reese turns on the radio. SASHA (over radio; sobbing) Please help me. Reese is shocked. INT. RADIO STATION HALLWAY Sasha continues to sob. INT. COP CAR Reese listens to Sasha sob with horror. INT. RADIO STATION HALLWAY CLOSE ON: Two double doors. Suddenly, they're kicked open and the killer enters the hallway, axe in hand. INT. SASHA'S RADIO ROOM Sasha opens the door and crawls into the room. She locks the door. Sasha crawls over to the window, and, using the ledge, pulls herself up. She looks out the window. SASHA'S POV Natalie comes running into the main hall. NORMAL VIEW Sasha begins to beat on the window. SASHA Natalie! INT. MAIN HALL Natalie runs into the main hall. SASHA (o.s.) Natalie! Natalie looks up and sees Sasha pounding on the window. SASHA Natalie, help me! CLOSE ON: Sasha, as she continues to pound on the window. INT. SASHA'S RADIO ROOM BANG! Sasha looks behind her and sees the killer enter the room from the producer's booth. She sinks to the floor, defeated. INT. MAIN HALL Natalie sees the killer enter the room. NATALIE No! INT. SASHA'S RADIO ROOM The killer approaches Sasha, axe in hand. SASHA Please. I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die. The killer raises the axe. INT. MAIN HALL Natalie cries out. NATALIE No! CLOSE ON: The killer brings the axe down, cutting into Sasha. The killer raises the axe and brings it down again. CLOSE ON: Natalie. She screams. NATALIE No! CLOSE ON: The killer. He raises the axe and brings it down for one final, lethal blow. Sasha is no more. The killer turns to face Natalie. A deadly silence. Then he raises his hand and waves. INT. MAIN HALL Natalie stares only a second, then takes off running. CLOSE ON: The killer. He turns and leaves the room. EXT. RADIO STATION Natalie comes running out of the radio station. She runs down the steps. INT. DORM Natalie races into the dorm and over to Paul's door. She pounds on it. NATALIE Paul! No answer. He's not there. She turns to leave and sees Paul entering the dorm. NATALIE Paul! Sasha's dead! I just saw the killer! PAUL All right. Where did this happen? NATALIE The radio station. PAUL Jesus. Come on. They start walking toward Paul's dorm room. PAUL (cont'd) Why did you leave? I thought I told you to stay at the house. They reach his door. Paul gets his keys and starts fumbling with them. PAUL Shit. He finds the right key and puts it in the lock. His hands are shaking. He turns the key and unlocks his door. INT. PAUL'S DORM ROOM Paul grabs the phone off the charger and walks over to his bed. NATALIE Where were you? PAUL Running all over campus trying to find help. The dean is gone. I can't find Reese anywhere. Paul puts the phone to his ear. After a second, he lowers it. PAUL It's dead. He walks over to the charger and puts the phone back on it. He goes back over to his bed. PAUL Goddamn storm. He turns to Natalie. PAUL We're gonna get the hell outta here. Get off campus and find some help. He turns his back on Natalie to grab his jacket. In that instance, Natalie grabs the phone and puts it to her ear. Paul turns around and Natalie puts the phone down. PAUL What were you doing? NATALIE I was just making sure the-- PAUL Nat, I told you the phones were dead. He sees the suspicion in her eyes, the silent accusation. PAUL Natalie, I'm on your side. Okay? Let's get outta here. EXT. DORM - NIGHT The storm is raging. Natalie and Paul push open the doors and start running down the steps. PAUL We'll go into town. We'll find a phone that works. Suddenly, Brenda jumps out in front of them. Natalie screams. BRENDA What's going on? I heard Sasha on the radio and-- NATALIE She's dead. BRENDA Oh my God. Are you sure? PAUL C'mon, we're outta here. Paul grabs Brenda's arm and all three of them begin running. BRENDA What? INT. RADIO STATION/MAIN HALL We look up at the room where Sasha was killed. REESE (o.s.) Hello? INT. SASHA'S RADIO ROOM The woman Sasha was talking to before the killer attacked can be heard, her words repeating over and over. WOMAN I'm not stuck, he is. I'm not stuck, he is. The words keep repeating. The door to the producer's booth opens and Reese comes in. She gasps when she sees Sasha's mutilated body. She gasps, horrified. She turns and runs out of the room. EXT. CAMPUS Reese's cop car drives along the road, lights and sirens on. INT. COP CAR Reese talks on the phone. She is talking to Dean Adams's answering machine. REESE Dean Adams? This is Reese. Nothing. REESE Hello? Are you there? Well, you have my number. Use it. She hangs up the phone. EXT. ROAD The cop car speeds along. EXT. ROAD/PAUL'S CAR Paul's car drives along the road, headed away from the campus. INT. PAUL'S CAR Paul drives, stone faced. Natalie sits in the passenger seat, while Brenda sits in the back. Nobody speaks. There is a long silence. Paul concentrates on driving, trying to see out the window. NATALIE Hey, do you smell something? PAUL (sniffs) No. Brenda looks out the window. BRENDA Hey, maybe we should stop over there at that gas station. See if the phones work. PAUL Okay. Fine. He doesn't seem to like that idea, but he goes along with it. EXT. GAS STATION Paul's car pulls into the gas station. It parks near a pump. PAUL Be right back. NATALIE Okay. Paul opens his door and steps outside. He shuts the door and jogs over to the gas station. INT. PAUL'S CAR Brenda sniffs the air. BRENDA It does reek in here. NATALIE Yeah. Natalie rolls down her window. BRENDA Natalie, I'm sorry that I acted like such a jerk about you and Paul. You two like each other, and you should be together. Natalie smiles, and they hug. Suddenly, they hear Wexler's musical watch start to beep. They pull apart, confused. Brenda glances to the back of Paul's car, then back at Natalie. EXT. GAS STATION They both open their doors and step outside. Slowly, they make their way to the back of Paul's trunk. Brenda starts to open it. The stench comes out full blown, and they both back away, coughing. Brenda grabs the trunk and flings it open to reveal... WEXLER'S MUTILATED BODY! They both gasp and back up. They glance at each other, then at Paul, who stares back at them from the gas station, phone pressed up against his ear. He watches them, confused. BRENDA Like I said, he's all yours. They start to back away from the car, then they turn and run. They run across the street and into the forest. Paul throws the phone down and runs out of the gas station. He runs across the street and down the hill into the forest. PAUL Natalie! Natalie and Brenda run side by side, pushing branches out of their way. BRENDA Where are we going? NATALIE Back to campus. Paul chases them, trying to catch up. Natalie climbs over a small hill, pushing branches out of her way. Brenda almost slips, grabbing on to Natalie for support. They continue to run. Paul runs as fast as he can, trying to find Natalie and Brenda in the forest. PAUL Natalie! Brenda and Natalie continue to run, faster and faster. Suddenly, Brenda slips and falls down. She cries out, but Natalie doesn't hear her. Natalie continues to run, overcome by panic. She runs out of the forest. It isn't until she's surrounded by tall weeds that she realizes that Brenda's missing. NATALIE Brenda! Suddenly, a shriek from Brenda echoes around her. NATALIE Brenda! The next voice she hears is not Brenda's but Paul's. PAUL (o.s.) Natalie! This spurs Natalie into motion. She races ahead, heedless of the branches and weeds slapping at her. She pushes everything out of her way, fear driving her. She breaks from all the trees and weeds. She sees a road up ahead. She makes a mad dash for it. She makes it to the road. She climbs over the guard rail and runs into the middle of the road. A truck stops. Inside is the janitor. NATALIE Stop, stop! The janitor rolls down his window. JANITOR What's wrong? NATALIE Someone's after me. JANITOR Get in. Natalie makes her way to the other side of the truck and opens the door and climbs in. INT. TRUCK Natalie closes the door and sits back. The janitor puts his foot on the gas and the truck starts moving. JANITOR You okay? NATALIE No. JANITOR Got a coat right there. Natalie turns in her seat to grab the coat, but stops. It's the same coat the killer wore! She looks up at the janitor, horrified. She doesn't know if he's the killer, but she doesn't want to stick around and find out. JANITOR Ain't gonna bite ya. Natalie backs away, pressing herself against the door. NATALIE Okay, just let me out right here. JANITOR What? Natalie grabs the handle and starts jerking it, but it won't open. She continues to try, grunting from the effort. JANITOR What are you doing? Natalie turns to the janitor, frightened. NATALIE Please, just let me out. JANITOR (matter of factly) Door won't open from the inside. Natalie stares, scared. She's trapped inside a small truck with someone who could be a killer. She continues to try to open the door, wanting to desperately get out. JANITOR Stop that! When Natalie continues, he grabs her. JANITOR What's wrong with ya? Natalie looks around desperately, wanting to escape. The janitor looks out the front windshield. So does Natalie. NATALIE'S POV Paul's car appears, lights off. NORMAL VIEW The janitor reaches for a button. JANITOR Idiot kids. NATALIE NO! The janitor pushes the button. EXT. ROAD The truck's lights flash. The two cars pass right by each other. INT. TRUCK Natalie looks out the back windshield. NATALIE'S POV The car makes a swift U-turn. It starts chasing Natalie and the janitor. NORMAL VIEW NATALIE It's him. The janitor looks out the back windshield. JANITOR'S POV Sure enough, it's the killer. The lights on Paul's truck start to flash. NORMAL VIEW Natalie goes hysterical. NATALIE Keep going! Keep going! Come on! EXT. ROAD Paul's car gets dangerously close, its lights flashing. INT. TRUCK NATALIE Keep going! Faster! EXT. ROAD The two cars come to a bend. Paul's car gets right alongside the janitor's. Natalie looks out the window and sees the killer staring at her. He suddenly grabs his wheel and rams right into the truck. The truck swerves to the side. Another bend is coming up. Right as they start to turn, the killer smashes his car into the truck. Natalie and the janitor scream as the truck flies off the road, into the air. The truck hits the ground, hard. It rolls down a hill before coming to a stop. INT. TRUCK Natalie looks over at the janitor. Huge gashes are on his head. He doesn't move. He's dead. Natalie rolls down the window. She reaches out with her arm and opens the truck's door. EXT. FOREST Natalie climbs out of the truck and heads for the forest. She turns and looks behind her, trying to see if the killer's chasing her. She turns and runs down a dirt path. INT. CAMPUS SECURITY STATION Reese pushes open the doors and walks over to her desk. She opens a drawer and pulls out a case. She lays it on the desk and opens it. Inside is a very big, very formidable gun. Reese picks up the gun and the clip. She looks over at a poster of Pam Greer, and nods. She slams the clip into the gun. EXT. CAMPUS - LATER Natalie runs out of the forest and across the street. She comes to a tall, rectangular intercom booth. She pushes the button. It buzzes. NATALIE Hello? Anybody there? She presses the button again. NATALIE Hello? Can anybody hear me? Hello? BRENDA (o.s.) Somebody help me! Natalie is stunned. She looks into the distance. There stands Stanley Hall, a light illuminating from one room. BRENDA (o.s.) Oh, God! Natalie looks up at the window. Brenda SCREAMS! Natalie starts running toward Stanley Hall, intent on saving her friend. BRENDA (o.s.) Somebody help me! Natalie runs over to a window. She looks around. She spots some wood piled up. She climbs onto it and lifts herself up. INT. STANLEY HALL Rats chew on pieces of wood and other assorted junk. They scatter suddenly when Natalie climbs through the window. She crouches and begins to walk, not wanting to touch anything. BRENDA (o.s.) Somebody help me! He's going to kill me! Natalie stands up and walks out of the room. INT. MAIN ROOM Natalie enters the main hall, looking around carefully, trying to determine where Brenda's screams are coming from. BRENDA (o.s.) Please! Her cries for help are coming from up stairs. Natalie makes her way over to the stairs. BRENDA (o.s.) Please, somebody help me! Natalie begins to climb the stairs. She holds onto the railing for support. She makes it to the first platform. She begins to ascend the final steps. She stops when she hears Brenda sobbing. BRENDA (o.s.) Please don't. Natalie climbs the rest of the stairs and starts to walk down the hall. The door to room 202 is slightly open. Natalie pushes it open and walks inside. INT. ROOM 202 A small room with two beds. Suddenly, the door slams close and Brenda screams. Natalie whips around to the door and grabs the knob, trying to open it. No luck. She looks around, spots a door and runs over there. She grabs the knob and opens it. A barrel falls out of the closet, Parker's lifeless body tumbling out of the barrel! Natalie screams and backs away. She backs into the bed. Suddenly, she stops. She looks down and sees that a hand is sticking out from the covers. Natalie doesn't move. She reaches out slowly for the covers. She grabs it and pulls it back to reveal... DEAN ADAMS'S BLOODY CORPSE! Natalie screams and runs toward the only door left. She throws it open and screams when Damon's body flies out at her. He's hanging from the ceiling, a noose around his neck. His face is still flecked with blood. Various types of chains hang from the ceiling. Natalie pushes past Damon's body and into the small hallway. She comes to a door and pushes it open. INT. ROOM It's the room Natalie saw when she was buzzing for help. There are candles everywhere. The room is very dreary. Natalie walks into the room. She starts to look around. She gasps when she sees the bed in the center of the room. On the bed is... BRENDA! Her body is motionless. Natalie begins to sob. She sinks to the floor by the bed. She sobs uncontrollably. Nothing matters any more. Her friends are dead. One of them might be the killer. Her whole world has been shattered. She's so lost in thought that she doesn't notice Brenda rise up from the bed. Natalie senses something and she turns just when Brenda punches her right in the face. Natalie falls to the floor, unconscious. Brenda slowly smiles. FADE OUT FADE IN INT. ROOM NATALIE'S POV Brenda enters the room, wearing the parka. She comes toward Natalie and bends down. She rips the hood back. BRENDA Gotcha! She begins to unzip the parka. NORMAL VIEW Natalie is tied to the bed, duck tape over her mouth. BRENDA I must say Natalie, you have proven your friendship to me. Coming all the way out here to rescue me...without even a little pepper spray to defend yourself. Very endearing. Natalie mumbles something. BRENDA Excuse me? I'm sorry, but I can't understand a thing you're saying, doll. Natalie mumbles something again. BRENDA (chuckling) Now, if I remove the gag, you've got to promise me that you won't scream. Lord knows I got enough of that with Sasha. She waves to Natalie. Brenda laughs and tears the gag off. NATALIE You're fucking crazy! Brenda laughs. She gets up off the bed and walks over to the foot of the bed. BRENDA I prefer the term "eccentric." But yeah, I guess you could say I'm a little nutty. NATALIE Why? BRENDA (mimicking) Why? Why? (shouts) Why? You still haven't figured it out, have you? Well, lucky for you, Miss Thing, I have a visual aid! Brenda storms over to a table and grabs a remote to the projector. She hits the button. A picture appears on the wall. It shows Brenda wearing a bathing suit, standing next to a guy. Brenda walks over to Natalie. BRENDA There I am, Natalie, with my boyfriend. The love of my life. She grabs Natalie's head and pulls it close to her. BRENDA (cont'd) Have you found the love of your life yet, Natalie? Of course not. She shoves Natalie's head back onto the bed. BRENDA Too self involved to bother. Pic ring any bells, Nat? The picture changes to show an article from a newspaper. There's a picture of Brenda's boyfriend. The headline reads: "Teen killed in apparent gang initiation." It's the man Natalie and Michelle killed! NATALIE Oh my God. BRENDA Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding! His name was David Evans. Brenda walks over and stands in front of the picture. BRENDA The one you and your friends decided to have a little fun with that night! You know, David and I were going to get married that summer, right after graduation. Tears begin to well up in Brenda's eyes. She tries to stop them. BRENDA He didn't have enough money to buy me a ring yet, so he got me this instead. She grabs the necklace and holds it. Her face turns angry, and she rips the necklace off her neck. BRENDA The night you took him away from me! She throws the necklace to the ground. NATALIE Brenda, I wasn't-- BRENDA You weren't driving, but it was your car! And you were there, Natalie! She takes in a lungful of air, calming down. She moves over to Natalie's side. BRENDA Now, didn't you tell me you were having a little difficulty... forgiving yourself? Well, I thought, as a friend, I could help you out in that department. She laughs insanely. Then, her demeanor gets cold. BRENDA Payback's a bitch, isn't it, Natalie? NATALIE Brenda, please, you need to get help. BRENDA I have already tried therapy! She walks around to the front of the bed and sticks her head in between two of the bars on the metal headboard. BRENDA Obviously, it did me no good, Natalie. And I must say, I am kind of enjoying all of this. Playing with your pretty little head. She shakes the bars, then moves away from the bed. BRENDA You used an urban legend to kill my boyfriend, Natalie. And now-- NATALIE What are you going to do? BRENDA Oh, just my favorite U.L. She stands next to a table with a cloth covering it. She grabs the cloth and jerks it off, revealing two metal trays filled with medical equipment. Scalpels, knives, scissors... BRENDA The kidney heist. She grabs a scalpel off of a tray and whistles. She turns toward Natalie and waves the scalpel in front of her face. BRENDA You do know this one, don't you, Natalie? A guy gets picked up by a woman at a bar. She takes him back to her hotel room. She fixes him a drink. Boom! He's knocked out. When he wakes up, he's in a bathtub full of ice and he realizes that one of his kidneys has been removed! Supposedly they sell them on the black market. I don't think it's ever actually happened, though. Until tonight. She smiles wickedly. INT. COP CAR The gun sits beside Reese, who has her eyes on the road, looking for anyone suspicious. EXT. STANLEY HALL The cop car comes to a stop on the road beside Stanley Hall. INT. COP CAR Reese stares at Stanley Hall. REESE'S POV She looks at the light coming from the room near the top of Stanley Hall. INT. STANLEY HALL/ROOM Natalie struggles against her ropes. NATALIE You'll never get away with this. BRENDA Natalie, of course I will. I've got the perfect murderer in the trunk of Paul's car. Wexler! NATALIE You're sick. BRENDA Professor does away with his students and then kills himself in the same manner as the course he teaches. It's beautiful. It's so fucking clean, isn't it! Well, enough chat, Nat! Now, I am sorry, but I don't have any anesthesia. I guess you'll just have to bite down real hard on that gag and hope that you go into shock soon enough. NATALIE (crying) Please don't do this. BRENDA Oh. Don't you want to be an urban legend? All your friends are now. Brenda grabs the gag and goes to put it on Natalie's mouth. When Brenda's hand comes into reach, Natalie bites down on it. Brenda jerks her hand back quickly. BRENDA Ouch! Stupid bitch! Brenda slaps Natalie across the face. Natalie begins to cry. BRENDA I am really going to enjoy watching you bleed to death. She puts the gag onto Natalie's mouth. BRENDA Now, is this the kidney? She stabs the scalpel into Natalie's exposed abdomen. Natalie cries out in pain. Her scream is muffled by the gag. BRENDA Or is that the liver? I was always such a dope in anatomy. Well, who cares, right? First organ I see, I'm just gonna grab it. She stabs the scalpel back into the first wound she made, and begins slicing Natalie's stomach open. Natalie screams in agony, the pain so excruciating. Suddenly, Reese appears in the doorway, gun held out in front of her. REESE Drop the weapon! Brenda turns around in apparent disgust. BRENDA Oh, great. Rent-a-cop to the rescue? Brenda pulls the scalpel out of Natalie and drops it. Reese walks toward her, and Brenda stands up. REESE Hands up! Get against the wall, you looney, psycho bitch! Brenda backs up toward the wall. Reese, with the gun still pointed at Brenda, bends down to Natalie and begins untying her. REESE It's all right, sugar. Everything's gonna be okay. Reese finishes untying one of Natalie's hands and moves toward Brenda. REESE Move it! Move it! Brenda backs up and turns to face the boarded up window. Reese begins checking her for weapons while Natalie starts untying her other arm. REESE Don't you move. Reese reaches into her pockets for her handcuffs. Suddenly, a knife appears in Brenda's hand and she screams. She spins around and slashes Reese across the chest. Reese goes down, dropping the gun and handcuffs. Reese falls to the ground. Natalie has gotten her other hand free and begins working on her feet. Brenda screams and jumps down on top of Reese. They struggle, both reaching out for the gun. They roll across the floor, screaming. Natalie has one of her legs free. She works quickly while Reese has Brenda occupied. Reese's hand grazes the butt of the gun, but Brenda jerks it back. She reaches out and grabs it. Before Reese can try and grab it away from her, Brenda shoots her point blank. Natalie has finished untying herself and jumps off the bed. She begins racing for the door but Brenda stands up, pointing the gun at her. BRENDA Don't you fucking move! Natalie stops in her tracks. BRENDA Shit. Bullet through the head. Not exactly an urban legend, but in the essence of time-- NATALIE It's not going to bring him back, Brenda. None of this-- BRENDA I know that, Natalie! But it will bring a devastated little Paul right into my arms. I'll have him, and he'll have his Pulitzer. What did you think, Natalie? That I was gonna let you take two men outta my life? Suddenly, they hear applause. They both turn to see... PAUL enter the room! PAUL Very well done. He walks into the room and stands beside Natalie. PAUL I couldn't have planned it better myself. BRENDA Really? PAUL Oh, yeah. I thought I was screwed after Natalie here fucked it up for me with the dean. But this. This is just what I need. A few things though, okay? BRENDA I'm listening. PAUL Well, I need some details for my articles. You know, about how Wexler did each one. Details only you could give me. BRENDA It would be great for your career. And we'd be so fuckin' hot together, Paul. PAUL And I'd be very grateful. So why don't you give me the gun? I'll take care of the rest. A long silence. Brenda smiles. BRENDA You're cute, Paul. She raises the gun and points it at Paul. BRENDA But you're not that fucking cute! She begins pointing the gun at Paul, then Natalie. BRENDA So, which one of you do I kill first? Eenie, meenie, miney-- She points the gun straight at Natalie. Suddenly, a gun shot is heard. But it wasn't Brenda's gun. It was Reese firing the gun she had hidden. Brenda drops the gun and clutches her wounded arm. REESE Moe! Reese collapses back onto the floor. Natalie bends down and picks up the gun. She aims it at Brenda. BRENDA What, are you going to shoot me, Natalie? Huh? What kind of friend are you? Natalie grips the gun tightly, determined. Brenda screams, and Natalie fires. The bullet rips into Brenda, sending her flying backwards. She crashes through the boarded up window. EXT. STANLEY HALL Brenda begins to fall. INT. STANLEY HALL/ROOM Natalie stares, stunned that she pulled the trigger and that Brenda actually flew through the window. EXT. STANLEY HALL Brenda continues to fall. She plummets to the ground. INT. STANLEY HALL/ROOM Natalie continues staring, breathing hard. PAUL Natalie, give me the gun. He takes the gun out of her hand. PAUL Come here. He embraces her, not wanting to let her go. PAUL Are you okay? NATALIE (crying) No. Before Paul can respond, Reese starts coughing. Paul lets go of Natalie and bends down toward Reese. PAUL Reese. Natalie bends down beside Paul. REESE Thought I'd have to wait to be a cop before a bullet'd ever hit me. PAUL Stay down. We're gonna go get help. REESE All right. Quick. Paul and Natalie stand up and leave the room. Reese groans in pain. EXT. ROAD - LATER - NIGHT - RAINING Paul's car is the only one on the road. NATALIE (o.s.) Do you think Reese will be all right? PAUL (o.s.) Reese is gonna be fine. Paramedics are on their way. INT. PAUL'S CAR After a moments silence, Natalie speaks. NATALIE This will become a legend, too, you know. It'll change a little from person to person, of course. Brenda'll become a guy, and you'll become a cop. And I'll probably end up in an insane asylum. PAUL If this is an urban legend-- In the backseat, an axe cones into view. PAUL (cont'd) At what point do we get to the twist? Brenda rises into view, fire burning in her eyes. She gets prepared to swing the axe. Paul looks into his rearview mirror and gasps. He grabs Natalie and pushes her head down. He ducks too, barely avoiding the axe as it swings inches above their heads, smashing into the door. EXT. ROAD The car swerves to the side of the road. INT. CAR Brenda swings the axe and hits Paul in the head with the flat side of it. He groans. EXT. ROAD The car swerves again. INT. CAR Brenda has grabbed Natalie and thrown her into the backseat. She presses the axe against Natalie's throat, trying to strangle her. Natalie has a grip on the axe, trying to push it away from her throat. Brenda is screaming wildly. PAUL Natalie! He reaches back and grabs Brenda's hair, pulling her toward him. EXT. ROAD The car continues to swerve left and right. INT. CAR Brenda jerks her head, and Paul loses his grip. Brenda's head falls back against the seat. Paul looks out his windshield, sees a bridge coming up. Brenda head-butts Natalie, sending her flying into the floorboard between the two front seats. Paul looks down at Natalie, then back at the road. EXT. ROAD/BRIDGE The car roars onto the bridge. INT. CAR Brenda raises the axe and prepares to hit Natalie with the shaft. Paul jerks the wheel. EXT. BRIDGE The car rams into one of the side rails, sending sparks flying. INT. CAR Brenda falls against the door. She rights herself and prepares to strike Natalie with the axe. Brenda screams in insanity. Natalie screams and puts her hand in front of her face. Paul jerks the wheel. EXT. BRIDGE The car rams into a side railing. Brenda comes flying through the window, screaming. She falls past the railing and toward the frigid waters below. She lands with a splash. INT. CAR Paul helps Natalie out of the floorboard and into her seat. He stares out the broken windshield. He puts his hand on his head, the pain from where Brenda hit him with the axe still there. EXT. BRIDGE Natalie opens her door and climbs outside. Paul crawls over the seat and gets out of the car. He jogs over to the railing and looks down at the river. PAUL'S POV Brenda's body floats in the river. The currents slowly move it downstream. NORMAL VIEW Paul turns to Natalie, and they hug. It's a long hug. They don't let each other go, afraid that the other one might die. In the distance sirens can be heard. Natalie and Paul ignore them, wrapped in each other's loving arms. FADE TO: INT. ASHTON STUDENT UNION - DAY - ??? DAYS LATER CLOSE ON: A roaring fireplace. BLAKE (o.s.) The river was such a mess because of the storm, it washed away the body. The thing of it is, they never found a body. It wasn't there. NORMAL VIEW BLAKE, a cute looking guy, sits on a couch next to DORKY GUY and TRENDY GIRL. Sitting on the other couch is JENNY, HIPPIE GUY, and a woman we can't see. His friends break out laughing. TRENDY GIRL Oh, bullshit. BLAKE It's true. It happened right here at Ashton. I swear to God. HIPPIE GUY Man, that is the stupid story you hear at every campus in the northeast. TRENDY GIRL Exactly. I mean, where's your proof? BLAKE Were you even listening? It all keeps getting covered up. Think about it. Who would enroll at Murder "U?" DORKY GUY Yeah, and you know what? Natalie, she's my old roommate's cousin. JENNY And Brenda's the girl in that Noxzema commercial. Trendy girl laughs. BLAKE Does anybody here believe me? TRENDY GIRL Not a chance, no. JENNY No, Blake. The woman who we can't see raises her hand. WOMAN I believe you. BLAKE Thank you. The camera pans over to the woman. The woman is...BRENDA! She looks a little different, with more make-up and different style clothes, but it is her. BRENDA But you didn't tell it right. BLAKE I didn't? BRENDA (chuckles) Not at all. She leans forward. BRENDA (cont'd) Okay, listen up, guys, 'cause this is how the story... really goes. She smiles. CUT TO BLACK END CREDITS CAST PAUL Jared Leto NATALIE Alicia Witt BRENDA Rebecca Gayheart PARKER Michael Rosenbaum SASHA Tara Reid REESE Loretta Devine DAMON Joshua Jackson DEAN ADAMS John Neville PROFESSOR WEXLER Robert Englund MICHELLE MANCINI Natasha Gregson Wagner JANITOR Julian Richings TOSH Danielle Harris ATTENDANT Brad Dourif DAVID EVANS Vince Corrazza NERDY GUY Balazs Koos BLAKE Danny Comden JENNY Nancy McAlear TRENDY GIRL Danielle Brett HIPPIE GUY Shawn Mathieson DORKY GUY Cle Benett