Title: The Young, the Brave and the Beautiful
Author: Fontana777
Email: xj74us[at]yahoo[dot]com
Website: http://www.geocities.com//xj74us/
Rating: R
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me.
HIGHWAY. JEEP. NIGHT.
The four slayers and Paris speed down the dark highway. Lane is at the wheel. Buffy sits next to her.
They continue to tear down the highway.
NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY. NIGHT.
Sentries are on duty at the main gate. Suddenly, Lane and the girls come tearing up the drive leading to the gate.
The sentries open fire with their sidearms. The girls duck in the jeep as bullets fly all around them. Lane barrels through the main gate, sending it crashing to the ground. She then swings hard to her left, roaring past a helipad, and then races for the armory, which is housed in a two story brick building. Alarms are going off everywhere.
Lane crashes the jeep through the garage door of the armory, right into the munitions room.
Outside the munitions room, a cluster of guardsmen have gathered, and let loose with sustained gunfire.
Buffy grabs a couple of M16s and she and Rory take cover next to the opening Lane punched through the garage door with the jeep.
Buffy pops a clip in the M16 and hands it to Rory.
Rory dashes over to the other side of the opening. They both crouch low and return fire on the guardsmen. A fierce gun battle erupts.
Meanwhile, Faith, Lane and Paris grab as many weapons as they can. They load up with M16s, machine pistols, a 40mm grenade launcher, a 7.62 mm chain gun, and a TOW missile launcher.
Lane, Faith, and Paris hop in the jeep.
Rory and Buffy run back for the jeep as bullets dance all around them. They dive in. Lane turns the jeep around and tears back out through the garage door opening.
The jeep takes multiple hits as they head for the main gate. A cluster of guardsmen are crouching behind a Humvee, and let loose with a barrage of automatic rifle fire. Faith grabs the grenade launcher and fires a grenade at them. She deliberately aims high, and the grenade sails over their heads, and strikes a 500 gallon fuel tank a hundred yards behind them. The guardsmen dive for cover as the fuel tank explodes in a huge fireball, sending flames hundreds of feet into the night air.
Lane roars past the main gate and they hightail it out of there and hit the highway.
HIGHWAY. JEEP. NIGHT.
Lane is at the wheel. Buffy sits next to her. They race down the highway at a high rate of speed, heading north.
Faith grabs the TOW missile launcher and holds it in her hands.
Unbeknownst to the girls, Kirk is only a few miles to the south of them, heading in the opposite direction. He sees the fireball from the fuel tank fire. He senses instinctively that somehow the girls are involved. He turns around and heads for the armory.
NATIONAL GUARD ARMORY. NIGHT.
Kirk converts from the whirlwind to his normal state. He walks up to what's left of the main gate. He can see the grounds of the armory are in chaos, with guardsmen running around, and the fuel tank burning out of control.
On the helipad are two Cobra helicopter gunships. Kirk walks up to one. A soldier sees him and yells -
Kirk continues to walk towards the gunship. The soldier opens fire with his M16. The bullets bounce right off of Kirk! He fires a thunderbolt at the soldier - WHAM! The soldier is knocked back twenty feet through the air, and lands hard on the ground, unconscious. Another soldier comes running up, M16 blazing away. Kirk fires a thunderbolt at him too. He strikes him square in the chest. The second soldier is killed instantly.
Kirk gets into the Cobra and starts the engine. He takes off, flying north.
COBRA GUNSHIP. NIGHT.
Kirk flies along at a high rate of speed. He scans the highway below for any sign of the girls. The gunship bristles with its full complement of advanced weaponry, including 8 Hellfire missiles, 30mm cannon, and twin 2.75-inch rocket launchers.
HIGHWAY. JEEP. NIGHT.
Lane continues to race down the highway.
They continue north towards Hartford. Meanwhile, in the Cobra, Kirk spots them as they speed along. He's about a mile to the south of them. He closes in fast, then opens fire with the gunship's 2.75-inch rocket launchers. The girls are startled as rocket fire erupts all around them!
Lane floors the accelerator. She roars down the dark highway. As the rocket fire continues to rain down, she takes evasive maneuvers, swerving from one lane to the next, in a desperate attempt to keep Kirk off balance.
Kirk responds by firing a Hellfire missile at the jeep.
The girls have no time to react. Fortunately for them, the Hellfire veers off course. It strikes a minivan a couple hundred yards up the highway. The minivan is packed with a vacationing family. Flaming pieces of metal, blood and body parts rain down on the girls as they race past the burning wreckage of the minivan. They continue to race north.
Rory starts to lose it.
They trade places.
In the back of the jeep, Buffy and Faith rush to set up the TOW missile launcher.
Buffy aims and fires. Kirk is startled to see a TOW missile shooting upwards and homing in on him. He shoots off a barrage of flares. The flares cause Buffy to loose her targeting, and the missile veers off course.
Kirk, angered, responds by firing off a devastating volley of four Hellfire missiles!
Faith, Buffy and Lane leap from the speeding jeep and land on the grassy area abutting the highway. Rory grabs Paris, and together they prepare to jump. They each have a foot on the passenger side door frame as the first Hellfire missile strikes the jeep. They feel the searing heat of the explosion at their backs as they soar through the air and land on the ground. Rory uses her body to cushion Paris' fall.
The second Hellfire strikes a tractor trailer a quarter mile up the highway, heading in the opposite direction. It explodes in flames. The momentum of the flaming wreckage sends it careening down the highway for several hundred yards, until it finally comes to a rest. The driver is killed instantly.
The third and fourth Hellfires veer off into the woods and explode.
Meanwhile, Paris looks up and sees that Rory's blouse is on fire.
Paris dives on top of Rory and tries to put the fire out. It takes her a few seconds, but she is finally able to smother it.
Up above, Kirk sees that the girls are very much alive. He unleashes the gunship's 30mm cannon.
They run for the adjoining woods as bullets dance all around them. Suddenly, oh God no - No! Lane is struck in the chest. She falls in a broken heap to the ground.
Rory races back to Lane. Paris starts to but is held back by Faith.
Faith grabs Paris by the arm, and they continue on towards the woods. They reach the woods and disappear into the cluster of trees.
Buffy comes running up to Rory. Buffy is aghast as she sees the mangled shreds of flesh that was once Lane's chest. She must have taken three or four bullets hits at least.
Rory cradles Lane in her arms. Lane struggles to breathe.
Lane dies in Rory's arms.
Rory refuses to budge, her eyes filled with tears, as she continues to hold the lifeless Lane in her arms.
Kirk lets loose another volley from the cannon. A shower of bullets land all around them.
Rory kisses Lane a final time on the forehead. She then takes the backpack off of Lane containing the Grail. She straps it on her own back. Rory then looks up at the sky at Kirk and yells -
Beside herself, Rory grabs the 7.62 mm chain gun, which had been thrown clear from the jeep. She runs with it to the middle of the highway.
Rory is oblivious to Buffy. She aims the barrel of the chain gun up at the gunship. She then lets out a heartrending scream - aiiiiiieeeeeeeeeee!!! A primeval scream. A scream to raise the dead.
Rory opens fire on Kirk with the chain gun. Kirk responds by returning fire with his 30mm cannon. The two trade fire for what seems an eternity, although it lasts only a few seconds. Rory stands there, in the middle of the highway, completely exposed, as the bullets from the cannon blister all around her.
Finally, Rory hits paydirt. She strikes the Cobra's fuselage with multiple hits. Smoke pours from the fuselage. Kirk is unable to maintain control of the gunship, and it spirals downward toward the highway. The Cobra crashes in a huge fireball about a quarter mile up the highway.
Rory stares at the flaming wreckage. Her hardened face has a look of grim satisfaction, as if a certain measure of justice had been done for Lane. Buffy walks up.
Rory throws the chain gun down and they head for the woods. Right at the edge of the woods Rory turns back to look one last time at the burning wreckage of the helicopter. She stops dead in her tracks. A chill runs down her spine. She sees the gunship's canopy -or rather, what's left of it - suddenly open. Kirk steps out of the flaming debris. He looks unharmed!
Buffy turns and sees what Rory sees. Buffy also sees that now Kirk is heading straight for them.
They start running. They wind their way through the dense woods. Rory chants to herself -
They quickly catch up with Faith and Paris.
All four of them pick up their pace. As they continue to race through the woods, suddenly Faith and Paris, who are in front, feel the earth collapse beneath them. They fall into a hole in the ground. But it's so dark neither Buffy or Rory realize what has happened. When they reach the hole they too fall in. It's a good twenty foot drop down.
CAVE. NIGHT.
The four girls have fallen into a cave. They hit the ground hard. It takes them a few seconds to gather their bearings.
Up above, Kirk approaches the hole. But in the darkness, he doesn't see it. He walks past it, and continues on in his search for them. The four girls can hear his footsteps fading in the distance.
Buffy sits down and reclines against a rock face, exhausted.
Paris glances across at Rory. The moonlight filtering through the hole provides just enough light for them to see. And Paris sees that Rory is carrying the Grail.
Paris embraces her wife, comforting her.
Paris brushes the tears from Rory's eyes. She, Rory and Faith sit in a circle around Buffy. All four girls look deadbeat.
Rory takes off her backpack and starts unzipping some of the side pockets. Finally she finds something.
Rory tosses each of them a bar.
Rory looks like she is ready to explode.
Paris kisses her on the lips and wraps her arms around her. Faith stands up.
Faith takes off down one of the cave's dark passageways. A minute later she returns, dripping wet.
Paris rises and joins Faith, and they disappear down the passageway. Buffy rises and sits next to Rory.
Rory grabs one of the soy bars and starts chowing down.
Rory takes off the necklace around her neck. Attached to the necklace is a ring. She unfastens the ring and hands it to Buffy.
Buffy stares at the ring, her face hard and implacable.
Buffy needs time to absorb what Rory has just said. What a shocker!
Buffy starts to laugh - nervously.
Rory pauses for a second, trying to gauge Buffy's reaction.
Buffy stares down at the engagement ring.
Buffy continues to look at the ring, reflecting. Paris and Faith walk up.
Rory takes Paris by the hand.
They leave.
Faith curdles up across from Buffy. Buffy rises and sits down next to Faith. Faith raises an eyebrow.
Faith stares into Buffy's eyes. She then focuses downward, to her nose then her lips. Faith cracks a half smile. She has the look of a woman who knows their whole lives have been leading up to this moment.
Faith wraps her arms around Buffy. The warmth of their bodies together sends a shock through both of them.
Faith does so. A lone tear streams down Buffy's cheek. Faith wipes the tear away. She gently caresses Buffy's cheek.
Buffy clutches the engagement ring tightly in her fist.
Buffy stares into Faith's eyes. She moves her head forward, her lips almost touching Faith's lips. Faith closes her eyes, ready to receive Buffy.
Buffy moves still closer, ready to kiss her. Their lips are just a hair's breadth apart. Just as they are about to kiss, a deep rumble roars through the cave. Dirt from the ceiling streams down. Buffy and Faith break apart. Buffy tucks the engagement ring in her pants pocket.
Paris and Rory come running up.
WOODS. NIGHT.
Kirk stands on the outer edge of the woods. He faces the woods. To his back is a subdivision of homes on the outskirts of Hartford.
Kirk fires a thunderbolt into the woods, and still another, and another. The ground shakes.
Kirk scans the woods, and seeing no sign of the girls, he turns around, facing the subdivision.
Kirk rears back both his hands and - SWOOSH! - fires two massive energy balls into the subdivision. The energy balls land and explode - BOOM! BOOM! Two square blocks of the subdivision go up in flames. The entire night sky lights up.
BACK IN THE CAVE,
the explosions from the energy balls cause the ground to shake violently.
They run up to the opening. Buffy grabs Faith, and they leap up through the opening and land in the woods. Rory grabs Paris, and leaps up through the opening. They land safely in the woods above.
Even through the dense trees, they can see the orange glow of innumerable fires in the distance.
They race towards the fires. Within minutes, they clear the woods and stand on a hill overlooking the subdivision. They stare, unbelieving.
They race down the hill to the subdivision.
MEANWHILE,
on one of the streets of the subdivision, Kirk walks along slowly, pleased with his handy work. All around him conflagrations rage. He stops in his tracks. He turns to his right and looks up and sees in one of the burning houses a young girl, not more than twelve, trapped in her second story bedroom as fire rages all around her.
The girl takes a chair and breaks the bedroom window. She dives out, and lands on the roof. She rolls down the roof, sails through the air, and lands hard on the ground. Part of her nightgown is on fire. She sees Kirk and calls out to him for help. Kirk doesn't move a muscle.
She rolls on the grass trying to put the fire out, but it continues to grow in intensity. Finally, her nightgown bursts completely in flames. The girl is engulfed in fire. Her heartrending screams fill the air. She somehow manages to stagger to within three feet of Kirk. She burns to death at his feet.
Kirk kneels down next to her. He pokes at the burnt flesh.
Kirk spits at the charred corpse in contempt. He rises. He waves his right hand in front of him, summoning a cloud of smoke. In the cloud appears an image of the city of Hartford, and its population of tens of thousands. Then there appears the metropolis of New York, with its vast teeming millions. Then an image of the globe itself: billions of people, from all races and cultures. Kirk stares at the globe, an unquenchable hatred in his eye.