Episode: 1.05
Air date: May 2, 2003
Cast Members: Desi Stark, Doug, and JD 

We opened the Episode with a "Previously, on Buffy," where we highlighted elements from the earlier Episodes:

• The scene in Episode 1.02 inside the Home Depot where Youth #1 is killed in the brawl
• Father Sullivan, looking over the books of demons with JD’s painting at his elbow, in Episode 1.03
• Ernesto shattering the case in the Lehigh Valley Mall
• Then cut to the enrobed gang members gathered round the Isis box on the concrete casting in Episode 1.04

Teaser

Interior shot of a middle-class kitchen. A working mother is preparing breakfast while her husband frenetically moves through the room.

Husband: Honey, have you seen my keys?

Wife: (as she walks over to a stack of mail on the kitchen counter) Brendan! Time to get up for school! (She plucks a set of keys from among the envelopes and hands them to the Husband.)

Husband: Thanks. Anything going on tonight?

Wife: We’re playing cards with the Ramirezes. Remember to tell Brendan not to stuff his face with candy. Just because they give Marco that stuff…

Husband: I’ll remind him. It’s hard when his best friend can do something he’s not allowed to do. (kisses her, grabs a slice of toast and heads for the door.) Gotta run.

The husband exits. The Wife removes a steaming bowl of oatmeal from the microwave as she shouts—

Wife: Brendan! Get up! You’re going to be late!

There’s a muffled reply from off-camera.

Cut to the interior of what is obviously a child’s bedroom. The camera is looking at the bedroom door. The door opens and the wife is standing there. She’s very unhappy.

Wife: Brendan!

The Wife looks at a point below the camera. Her eyes grow large as we hear another muffled response from within the room but off-camera. A hand enters the frame from below. At least, it looks like what used to be a hand, probably of a very young child. But now it’s a misshapen and asymmetrical mound of flesh, covered with tumors and extra skin. It’s reaching toward the Wife as if pleading. The off-camera muffled sound becomes a whimper.

The Wife puts her hand to her mouth.

Cut to exterior shot of the house. There’s a voice-over of the Wife’s scream.

Cut to black. Roll theme song and title sequence.

The Rest of the Episode (in outline form)

Act 1: Elsewhere that Day

• Desi, Doug, and JD are in gym class in William Allen High School.
  • Today's activity will be volleyball. The team captains are Bill (a generally laid-back and nondescript guy) and Jason. Jason, you may recall from Episode 1.01, is the leader of a bunch of ganger wanna-bes who has it in for Doug.
  • We open with the age-old ordeal, the bane of the nonathletic: the Picking of the Teams.
    • As usual, the big and/or popular kids get picked first. Jason chooses Desi surprisingly early in the picks.
    • The selection process is shown in a series of cuts rather than continuous footage. With each cut, the groups behind the captains grow, while the Unchosen (containing JD, Doug, and several Extras) steadily shrinks.
    • There are four people left when Bill selects JD. That leaves Doug and two guys who look dangerously frail.
    • In hushed tones, Jason discusses merits and flaws of the remaining draft pool with his teammates. Jason eventually selects one of the frail guys.
    • Bill is left to choose between Doug and the last frail guy. Bill chooses Doug, so Jason gets the last frail guy. Jason says harshly to his teammates, "It coulda been worse."
  • The game begins
    • At one point, Bill is backing up for the ball while JD is moving forward for it. Bill steps on JD's foot as he backs up and, not having expected this, trips and falls. The ball hits the floor between Bill and JD. "Score!" shouts Jason and his crew. Desi, ever the optimist, shouts, "Good effort! Good effort!" Jason, his teammates, and even JD glare at Desi.
    • As he gets up, Bill snaps to JD, "Call it next time if you have the ball."
    • Doug is oddly relieved by this. He knows that for the remainder of the game, JD will be the target of any barbs. And indeed she is -- especially when she refuses for the remainder of the game to move even slightly from her assigned spot. Bill glares at JD several times for this, but says nothing.
    • There are several shots throughout the game of Desi hitting the ball in slow motion, or of Desi helping a teammate to his feet after a fall or a dive.
    • There's also one shot of Doug hitting the ball all the way to the opposite wall, far out of bounds, and shouting, "Yes! Home run!"
  • In the locker room after the game, JD's pager goes off. She doesn't recognize the number, but she knows by the exchange that it's in Easton, a few miles east of Allentown.
    • JD calls the number. A familiar voice answers, "Crayola Security." It's Kevin. He paged Jewel (as he calls JD) to invite her to his office's softball game this evening. He won't be playing because he'll get there a little late, but he thought she might enjoy getting together outdoors. Softball isn't exactly JD's idea of fun, but she accepts. They make arrangements about when and where to meet. Kevin suggests that Jewel bring her friends, if she'd like.
    • After the call, JD talks with Desi and Doug. She invites them to come with her to the softball game. Desi enthusiastically accepts; Doug reluctantly agrees to come along.
    • JD asks Desi or Doug if they know any good reporters. Doug says his father probably knows one or two.
  • After school, the Cast Members meet at Yocco's, the Hot Dog King, to bring each other up to speed on what happened to them last Episode.
    • Desi tells that she and Doug stumbled across a ritual at a concrete casting facility while they were out looking for the Fly Lady. They interrupted the ritual. Doug got captured and Desi killed Lobster Guy. She observed that there was no flash of light at the moment of Lobster Guy's death, like there was at the climax of the fight in the Home Depot in Episode 1.02. 
    • Doug relates that he was held prisoner in the Lobos' "crack house," which was on the same block as the bomb scare that night. He claims he was well on his way to escaping when Desi showed up and speeded the process along.
    • JD says she heard that Kitten had been kidnapped by Lobos, but managed to get away. Kitten is a Carmina and the girl who Desi unwittingly rescued at the ritual. JD says nothing about the bomb in the truck or her involvement with that.
    • Desi chastises JD and Doug for putting themselves in harm's way that night. In their defense (?), JD and Doug say that they're getting used to the smell and feel of being in a hospital. Besides, they like the Jell-O. And the flowers.
  • Cut to Fountain Park along Martin Luther King Blvd, the location of the softball game.
    • JD, Desi, and Doug arrive. The softball game is in progress. Kevin isn't there yet.
    • It's a beautiful day for a game. The attendees are mostly employees of Aegis Security. They seem to fall into two groups: younger and in shape, and older and quite out of shape. Although most of the people on the field are in the former category while the members of the latter category are in the stands, they don't seem to be playing an intensely competitive game. This is more an exercise of camaraderie.
    • They're also not all that good. Doug feigns support. "Yea. Woo. Go, team."
    • A casual but well-dressed gentleman approaches the Cast Members. It's James Schuler. As he reaches the group, Desi (who doesn't see him) is excited by a good hit. She jumps up and spills her popcorn all over him. He steps back and brushes himself off, but his smile never fades. He greets the Cast Members warmly and is introduced to Doug.
    • Cut to a woman nearby who's walking her dog in the park. When she notices no one is watching, she unhooks the dog's leash, picks up a stick, and begins playing fetch with the dog. Cut back to the Cast Members.
    • Mr. Schuler and the Cast Members exchange pleasantries. Kevin pulls up and gets out of his car. He sees the Cast Members and begins approaching, beaming enthusiastically as he does so.
    • Cut back to the woman and her dog. She throws the stick. The dog chases it and disappears into the wooded area that borders the park. Cut back to the Cast Members.
    • Kevin joins Mr. Schuler and the Cast Members. Kevin greets them all. When the jovial mood is broken by a remark from Doug, Mr. Schuler excuses himself.
    • Cut back to the woman, who is still standing by the woods, waiting for her dog to come out. "Max!" she calls. "Max!" No dog. Cut back to the Cast Members.
    • Desi offers Kevin some of her popcorn. Within moments, small talk about the popcorn turns into a passionate conversation between Kevin and Desi about Yocco's hot dogs. Unnoticed, Doug and JD walk off, down toward the creek. Mr. Schuler, expressionless, watches Doug and JD walk away before he looks back toward Kevin and Desi.
    • Cut back to the woman. "Max!" Finally, Max comes bounding out of the bushes with a stick in his mouth. He runs up to the woman. She takes the stick from him. She straightens into a close-up and then freezes. As she raises the stick into the frame, we see that it's pale and has a gentle curve to it. It's not a stick after all. It appears to be a large rib. She immediately drops it. She raises her head and looks toward the woods that Max came from. Slowly, she begins to approach the woods. Cut back to Desi and Kevin.
    • Desi and Kevin talk about Allen High's upcoming prom , while JD tries to caution Doug about developing any kind of fascination or admiration for the Carmines or their gang lifestyle. The scene is interrupted by a woman's scream from off-camera.
  • The heroes run for the source of the scream.
    • Kevin starts off in the lead, but Desi quickly passes him.
    • Desi, JD, and Doug find Max's owner, standing in the woods and pointing at something on the ground. The "something" seems at first to be a pile of discarded clothing. But it has a bit more mass, more "shape" to it, than empty clothing would.
    • On closer inspection, there's a body in the clothing. A corpse that is little more than skin and bones. The abdominal cavity has been torn open and some of the lower ribs have been shattered. In the side of the head is a gaping hole.
    • Desi comforts the woman, whose name is Debbie. JD recognizes that the corpse is wearing Lobo paraphernalia. The unnatural character of this execution, and of many of the Lobo goings-on lately, concerns JD.
    • Kevin and some of the other employees of Aegis Security arrive on the scene. Kevin lets out an "Oh my God." Then he collects himself and says firmly, "Crime scene, people! You know the drill! Set up a perimeter, people! Touch nothing if you can avoid it. If you must touch something, remember what it is so you can report it accurately." To another employee: "Jim, call the police on your cell phone." Aegis employees rapidly begin to comply as Kevin reports the situation to Mr. Schuler, who has just caught up to the crowd. Mr. Schuler begins comforting Debbie, quite effectively.
    • Doug and JD don't want to stick around to wait for the police. They make an excuse to "fetch something from the car -- we'll be right back." As they exit, Doug says to JD, deliberately within earshot of Kevin, "Hey, just for the hell of it, do you want to go to the prom?" JD, too stunned to reply, merely nods her head as she struggles to comprehend Doug's question. When they walk out of frame, Kevin is left in the shot, looking directly at them. His expression is unreadable.
    • Mr. Schuler expresses his regret to Desi that she had to see such a horrible thing. "Young people lose their innocence so quickly these days. To see things like this accelerates that process. It saddens me. If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know." Desi thanks Mr. Schuler for his concern and for his offer.
    • Later, after the police have arrived and are in the process of loading the body into the body bag, Desi can't help but look. And she notices something. During the lifting process, Desi can briefly see into the gaping wound on this side of the head -- clear through the head. There's apparently a hole of similar size on the opposite side of the head. And nothing between the holes to block the view.
  • JD heads to the Carmines' headquarters.
    • It has occurred to her that the corpse looked vaguely familiar. Somewhat like a Lobo named Lupito.
    • Doug comes along, but is prevented from entering the house by the Carmines. He stays on the porch, with a Carmín named Spyder and a few other Carmines to "keep him company," while JD goes to talk to Ghost and, in a separate conversation, Ice and Nina.
    • To Ice and Nina, JD describes the body she found and her thoughts that it might have been Lupito. She theorizes that it's something unnatural. Ice looks confused, but Nina looks uncomfortable and breaks eye contact with JD. The question on everyone's mind is, "Is the dead Lobo a good thing or a bad portent?" Ice also emphasizes privately to JD that she mustn't let anyone know that she and Ice set out to stop Coyote on the night of the bomb incident, because Coyote would have both of them killed.
    • When JD tells Ghost about the dead Lobo, someone suggests that anyone who killed a Lobo might be an ally. JD encourages the Carmines to pay attention to what they hear on the police scanner, and Ghost tells the Carmines to keep their ears open for someone willing to join them against the Lobos.
    • As JD emerges from the Carmines' house, she finds Doug vainly trying to ingratiate himself with Spyder by animatedly describing some of his favorite Warner Brothers cartoons. Spyder just stares at Doug, but Doug seems to think that he and Spyder are "connecting" when JD enters the scene. JD and Doug head out.
  • Desi visits Father Sullivan
    • Father Sullivan shows Desi an old book with a pen and ink drawing of something that looks just like Squid Face. He compares it to JD's painting that she left him. Father Sullivan asks Desi if they have a match. She confirms they do.
    • He says it's an Uaak demon. He explains that when the angels who followed Lucifer fell from Grace, they had already been organized into different choirs. Each choir became a different type of demon. Uaak demons are used as thugs by sorcerers.
    • Desi describes the Lobster Demon she fought at the concrete casting facility. Father Sullivan glances over at the large stack of books he's been poring over and says he thinks he came across something like that while he was looking for Squid Face, but he'd have to go back through the stack to find the reference again.
    • Father Sullivan points out that according to his research, some demons can assume human form to blend into society. He says the Uaak demons cannot do this. This discovery raises questions that need to be answered. Desi describes the other demon they saw -- they saw the one with the teeth in his hand, who our audience knows as Ernesto. Desi says he's been feeding.
    • Father Sullivan looks through his stack of books and comes across the picture of Lobster Guy. It too turns out to be a thuggish demon. But this one can assume human form. Still, that doesn't explain how Squid Face could be walking around Allentown and no one noticed. Desi suggests maybe a sorcerer cast a spell on the demon to make it appear human. Father Sullivan sighs and says, "Oh, that's whole different set of books... Well, I know what I'll be doing this weekend."
    • Desi suggests that Father Sullivan find an entry describing the teeth-in-hand demon.
    • Father Sullivan declares that he will do some additional research and, based on his findings, he'll tell Desi how they should proceed.
  • Doug heads for band practice downtown
    • On his way, he sees a guy a little younger than he is, spread up against a police car. An officer is patting him down. He's not wearing any obvious gang insignia, but he's got that cocky "I'm too cool for this" look on his face. The kid is about to say something -- probably snide, by his facial expression -- when the cop grabs the kid's head and slams it against the car. The cop then shoves the kid into the car.
    • Doug gets to band practice without further incident. The band practice consists primarily of auditions for a bass player. The guitarist they select is a girl. Her playing fits in well with the band's style. She's also heavily pierced. Her name is Tiffany, but she goes by "Hacksaw."
  • Cut to a scene in the basement basement of the Lobo house
    • Assembled are Squid Face (Diego), Lucas, the three thugs from the concrete casting facility, and Fly Lady. Ernesto is chewing them out.

      Ernesto: I can't believe what I've heard! What a bunch of idiots you are! (to the goons) You stood there while Slasher was beaten to death! You let a brother Lobo die and then ran from his killer! (to Squid Face) You left Slasher's body behind! (to Lucas) And then you let the prisoner get away! You're all a disgrace to the Lobos.

      They all look down.

      Squid Face: At least we can still use the site. It wasn't…(glances at the thugs) …you know. Messed up.

      Ernesto: I guess that depends on your definition of "messed up." We won't be able to use it, at least not anytime soon. A murder was committed there. It's a crime scene! Even after the cops are done with it, the owner's insurance company will at a minimum make them step up security. It may be months before we can get back there, if ever. (beat) You've all really screwed up. Do any of you have ideas for salvaging the situation?

      Lucas (Youth #4): (After a moment, he brightens slightly) I still have his wallet. (pause) We can find his house and take him out.

      Ernesto: (taking the wallet) It doesn't work that way, Lucas. (looks through the wallet. Sees a picture.) This guy again! I'll take care of this. We can't let him get away with killing Slasher.

      The thugs look at each other, confused.

      Ernesto: What? You didn't expect me to give you the job of settling the score for Slasher's death, did you? After you let this guy kill him?

      Thug #1: Ernesto, who are you talkin' about? Slasher wasn't killed by no guy. A girl broke his neck.

      Ernesto: (beat) What?

      Thug #2: Word! She fought like a demon!

      Lucas and Diego both look at Ernesto. He says nothing, but gives them a warning glance.

      Ernesto: Have you ever seen the woman before?

      Thug #1: Not a woman. A girl. Maybe 16, 17? She was all Jackie Chan, flyin' and kickin' like she was possessed!

      After a moment, it hits Squid Face. His knees buckle and he sits down hard.

      Squid Face: Oh, no….!

      Ernesto: Shut up.

      Squid Face: I heard she was in California! Maybe she--

      Ernesto: Shut up!

      Lucas: The Home Depot! She must have been the chick in the Home Depot!

      Diego moans quietly while the thugs express agreement.

      Ernesto: SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU! (beat, then to Lucas) You told me you were attacked by a dozen Carmines in the Home Depot.

      Lucas: I… there was a lot going on! You try doing math when you're fighting for your life.

      Ernesto: That does it! This has to end. We have to find her.

      Fly Lady: I may be able to help with that. No guarantees.

      Ernesto: It's worth a try. (looking down at Doug's wallet) That'll give us another way. We'll work out the details later. Upstairs, everyone. Go.

      All but Ernesto go upstairs. When he's alone, Ernesto takes out his cell phone and makes a call.

      Male Voice: Yes?

      Ernesto: We do have a problem. And this time, I do mean "we."
      

Act 2: Moving Right Along

• JD visits Coyote in the hospital
  • There's a sign on the door of Coyote's room saying "Visits are limited to 10 minutes."
  • JD enters. Inside, things look discouraging. Coyote is heavily bandaged. A tube snakes out from under his blanket, draining a bloody fluid from his body. Other tubes convey IV fluids into his body. One eye is bandaged; the other is badly swollen and, to all appearances, may not even be openable. For this reason, JD can't even tell if Coyote is awake.
  • JD takes his hand and says, in Spanish, "It's me, JD. I just stopped in to see how you're doing." In response, Coyote murmurs incoherently. JD concludes that he's heavily sedated. She leaves. 
  • On her way out, JD is almost bowled over by a woman with dark hair and a man immediately behind her. (These are not the man and woman from the Teaser.) They're upset and they're carrying a large bundle that clearly contains a child. JD's first thought is that there's been some kind of accident. The woman has been crying copiously, although there's no sign of blood on the blanket that enwraps the child. The woman screams for a doctor to see her baby.
  • That's when JD catches sight of the hand hanging down from the bundle. It's a horribly misshapen mass of flesh, vaguely reminiscent of the Elephant Man. The hospital staff attempt to calm the woman down while directing her to the emergency room.
  • In Spanish, JD points out to the husband where the emergency room is. The husband clearly comprehends. He grabs the wife and, making no attempt to reason with her, guides her in the direction that JD has indicated. As the woman turns, JD catches a glimpse of something through a small opening in the blanket -- a fearful eye within a mound of flesh.
  • By the discussion between the parents as JD accompanies them to the emergency room, JD concludes that the child was perfectly fine when he came home from school this afternoon. She gets the impression that they mean "perfectly fine" in the sense of "not deformed." He went to bed after dinner. He woke a few hours later like this.
  • During the admission process, JD overhears the couples' address. The mother and child are whisked to an examination area and the curtain is drawn to enclose the examination table completely. However, JD can see the silhouettes of the people behind the curtain. Watching their silhouettes, JD sees the doctor approach the bundled child. The doctor takes away the blanket and he immediately takes a step back. The silhouette of the thing -- child, JD has to remind herself that it's a child -- on the table is not even recognizable as that of a person. It's too... asymmetrical. JD hears a strange whimper come from behind the curtain.
  • As the husband talks to the admissions nurse, JD overhears that the family's last name is Ramirez. He describes to the nurse his son's condition. Normally, the details of the patient's condition are not of concern to the admitting nurse; her job is to gather insurance information, billing addresses, and so forth. But there is clearly a look of recognition on the nurse's face. As Mr. Ramirez speaks, the nurse subtly glances over at another stack of papers on the counter. She then nods to herself in confirmation, as if to say, "Yes, this sounds like the same thing those other folks reported."
  • JD picks up off the floor a stuffed toy monkey that the child dropped when he was hurried into the examination area. She turns it over to the husband. As JD does this, she catches a glance at the paper that the admissions nurse was just looking at -- the one that seems to describe an admission with a similar malady. She gets the last name of the people (Thompson) and their home address. JD recognizes that the Thompsons live in the same neighborhood as the Ramirezes. JD says good-bye and leaves the hospital. She's headed to the church to light candles for Coyote, the Ramirezes, and the Thompsons.
• Cut to Doug, who's having a talk with his father
  • Doug starts asking his father about the important contacts he's acquired. He particularly wants to know if his father knows anyone who works for the local newspaper. Doug's father immediately spouts a few names, some of which are followed by epithets such as "hack" and "moron." When Doug clarifies that he's wondering about good investigative reporters, his father mentions Elliot Grossman and Tim Darragh as "not being too bad." Doug then walks away.
  • Doug pages JD and gives her the names of the reporters. JD then asks Doug to bring a blank video tape to school tomorrow. Doug says no problem.
  • Doug then asks JD about the prom. Following that interchange, JD tells Doug about the scene at the hospital with the deformed child. She sums it up with, "I'm telling you, this is not natural." Doug offers to hack into the hospital computer system to find out what additional information they can gather.
• Cut to Desi at home.
  • Desi's phone rings. It's Kevin Troxell. They briefly discuss the events from earlier today at the softball-game-turned-crime-scene, and then Kevin abruptly says, "Would you go to your prom with me? Or... I guess, actually... I would be going with you, because it's your prom. It's not my prom." After a long stretch of speechlessness, followed by a "yes!" gesture, Desi says, "Great. It'll be a lot of fun!" They utter jovial goodbyes and Desi hangs up.
  • We cut briefly to Kevin's face. Before he has even hung up the phone, his smile has faded, replaced by a very pensive look. 
• Cut back to Doug on his computer.
  • He hacks into the hospital records. He finds that two kids have been admitted to the hospital with the symptoms that JD described: Brendan Thompson and Marco Ramirez. Both developed their deformities over a matter of hours. Each child woke up in his current state, Brendan this morning and Marco this evening. The symptoms are rapid benign tumors and epithelial growth -- in essence, rapid tissue growth across the child's entire body. The nearest diseases that they compare it to is Proteus Syndrome or neurofibromatosis. But both of those diseases take decades to progress to the point that Marco and Brendan are displaying.
  • At this point, the hospital is treating only the children's major symptoms and attempting to keep them comfortable.
  • The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (whose official abbreviation, inexplicably, is still "the CDC," despite the addition of the word "Prevention" to the name several years ago) has been notified as a precaution, even though neither Proteus Syndrome nor neurofibromatosis is infectious. Neither family has a history of either disease, nor has this new pathology ever appeared in either family before.
  • Checking the records of other hospitals reveals no other admissions of persons with this same condition.
• Cut to the interior of a hospital room. 
  • A man in a white lab coat is walking toward a door that has a window of frosted glass in it. He opens the door and turns off the lights in the room . As he does this, we clearly see on the frosted window the word "MORGUE." He leaves the room and closes and locks the door securely. Through the frosted glass, we see his silhouette exit to the right.
  • Seconds later, two silhouettes appear on the frosted glass, having entered from the left. One is nondescript, but appears male. The other is unarguably female. The male silhouette reaches toward the doorknob. The lock on the wooden door suddenly bursts inward. The door opens and into the darkened room step Ernesto and Angelina Jolie. 
  • Ernesto approaches a book on the desk in the room. He skims through the book while Angelina inhales deeply, taking in the scent of the morgue. "Twenty-seven B," Ernesto reads. They approach vault 27B and open it. A corpse, covered by a sheet, is in here. Angelina pulls up the sheet, in such a way that we can't see the body, inhales rapturously, and says, "This will do nicely." She replaces the sheet over the corpse.
  • Ernesto removes the corpse, still covered by the sheet, from its vault. Ernesto, carrying the corpse, and Angelina exit the room.

Act 3: The Next Day

• At school:
  • Desi tells JD that Kevin asked her to the prom. Desi suggests she and JD shop for their dresses together. Maybe they could get a limo together. Desi's very excited, and becomes more so when she discovers that JD's date for the prom is Doug. 
  • Doug joins them at their lockers and all three talk about their plans for the prom. When they head to class, the last one to leave her locker is JD. As JD steps away from her locker, behind her we see Firefly (from the Teaser of  Episode 1.03) casually leaning against the lockers. She's surreptitiously comparing the Cast Members to the photo on Doug's ID. Satisfied, she slips Doug's ID into her pocket and exits the building.
  • Over lunch, the Cast Members overhear a conversation among students at the next table. "Can you believe those guys were gonna blow up an entire city block! What scum! I can't believe that people like that live in Allentown!"
  • Desi tells JD and Doug about her meeting with Father Sullivan. She also relates the condition of the body that was found near the park in Act 1, specifically, that she believes the wounds in the skull were caused by the Lobo with the mouths in his hands. (The Cast Members still have not learned Ernesto's name.)  That's when she notices that Doug is wearing the tooth that was found in the alley in Episode 1.02 on a chain around his neck. She says Doug has to take it off for the prom. Doug replies that he just has to find a tux that matches.
  • Conversation turns to the malady affecting Marco Ramirez and Brendan Thompson. JD and Doug relay what they know about the kids' condition.
  • Later in computer class, JD makes up a business card for one of the local investigative reporters.
• Cut to later that day, with Father Sullivan
  • Desi, JD, and Doug are at one end of a huge, carved table. Father Sullivan is at the other end. The Cast Members describe to him the affliction that has befallen Marco and Brendan. The Father doesn't recognize the malady as any curse he recognizes. Desi reasons that now that they know what kind of demon Squid Face was , and since that kind of demon can't assume human form, perhaps a sorcerer cast a spell to make him look human. Maybe the same sorcerer is responsible for the kids' disease. Father Sullivan says he'll check his books again.
  • They also tell Father Sullivan about the new demon, Fly Lady.
  • Father Sullivan explains that under normal circumstances, he would turn information about "criminal elements" over to the police and have them handle it. But Allentown's Finest are not prepared to handle gangs of demons. This is a matter of celestial goings-on, not of temporal affairs. As a result, Father Sullivan feels that he must be the primary agent to address these matters. Until such time as he has enough information to take action, he encourages the Cast Members to gather as much data as they can. The Cast Members decide to visit the neighborhood where the Ramirezes and the Thompsons live.
  • On the way out of the church, Doug dips his finger in the font and drips a drop of holy water onto the tooth on the chain around his neck. It doesn't seem to do anything. Doug mutters, "TV lets me down again."
• Cut to the Thompsons' neighborhood.
  • Just as the Cast Members arrive here, an ambulance passes them, lights and siren going, as it races in the direction of Lehigh Valley Hospital at 17th and Chew.
  • JD and the other Cast Members approach the Ramirez home. As JD steps up to the door to knock on it, the door opens. Out steps Mr. Ramirez with an overnight bag. He stops when he sees the Cast Members; then he recognizes JD. He smiles weakly. When JD asks about his son's condition, he says there's been no change. And there have been two more children who have been stricken -- one earlier today, and another just moments ago. He says the last, a little girl whom Marco has spoken of, lives about four blocks away. Doug observes that this neighborhood is not near the turf of either the Lobos or the Carmines.
  • JD decides to break into the Ramirez house to look for clues about the disease.   She spends a Drama Point for a Plot Twist to find a window that isn't locked.
  • Meanwhile, Desi strikes up a conversation with some of the neighbor kids who are playing outside. A little boy named Ramón says that Brendan, Marco, Sarah, and Mary Ann all have "the lumps." Ramón says their teacher will be so unhappy. Desi asks if they all have the same teacher. Ramón says they do; it's Mrs. Keppel, at Central Elementary. Ramón says Mrs. Keppel lives nearby and offers to take the Cast Members to her  house. They accept the invitation.
  • Ramón takes the Cast Members to Mrs. Keppel's house. "She's very old," Ramón explains. He rings the doorbell. It's answered by a woman who's about 35 years old. "Hi, Mrs. Keppel! This is Desi, and Doug, and JD." She replies with, "Hello, Ramón." She invites the Cast Members in.
  • Discussion with Mrs. Keppel indicates that she's aware of the children's illness, but has been given only vague details. She's also surprised and upset to hear that there's been a fourth case. When she can't come up with a common bond among the children who have displayed the condition (other than that they're all in her class of 35 children), she offers to let the Cast Members see the classroom. "Maybe I've been looking at everything so much every day that I don't see things anymore." She explains that Mr. Keppel won't be back for an hour. The school is only two blocks away; she can show them around the classroom and be back within that time. The Cast Members see nothing out of the ordinary in the Keppel house, so they agree to go to the classroom. All the way over to the school, Mrs. Keppel shares her concerns about the children and her fears that the neighborhood may be quarantined because she's heard the government has been notified. By the time they reach the school, she's worked herself into quite a tizzy as she unlocks the doors and lets them all in.
  • Her classroom looks like a normal elementary-school classroom. The Cast Members are struck by how small everything is -- the desks would entrap a person of the Cast Members' size. And the walls are so... busy. They're covered with brightly-colored paperboard animals, large letters of the alphabets, posters of students' families made with crayon on construction paper, butterflies crafted from paper plates... There's just so much that catches the eye that it's very difficult to pick out any single detail. Mrs. Keppel shows them around the room with no visible reservation. No one notices anything that's terribly unusual.
  • Except for JD, that is. On the windowsill are 35 Dixie cups. Each cup has some kind of plant growing out of it. They're all marigolds, it turns out. Each Dixie cup bears a masking-tape label with the name of a pupil. Four of the marigolds are in bloom. By the size of the unopened buds on all the other plants, the others will be soon to follow. What catches JD's attention is the names on the cups that hold marigolds that have flowered: Marco, Brendan, Sarah, and Mary Ann. On closer inspection, the blossoms are kind of moist. And sort of... fleshy. On an even closer look, hanging from one of the petals of an opened flower is a teeny, tiny droplet of some sort of thick fluid.
  • Mrs. Keppel notices Desi looking at the flowers. "That's our springtime project. Every year, I have the class grow marigolds." JD asks, "Really? Where did you get them?" Mrs. Keppel replies, "The Home Depot in Whitehall donated those. They had some kind of a clean-up operation a few weeks ago and they were going to throw them out. I asked if they'd give them to me instead." Doug asks if she has any more of the seeds. She shows them an unopened packet of marigold seeds from her desk drawer. The outside of the packet bears a brownish stain that looks remarkably like blood. Desi asks for the packet; Mrs. Keppel gives it to her. "I'm surprised that they bloomed at all, considering that whatever was spilled on the packet seems to have soaked through to the inside. But it doesn't seem to have affected the seeds, whatever it was. In fact, marigolds don't normally bloom until June. These are turning out to be... robust."
  • Doug notes that Joshua's and Emily's marigolds seem to have the largest unopened buds and are therefore probably next to bloom. Meanwhile, JD surreptitiously unlocks one of the windows from the inside. The Cast Members then indicate that they're ready to leave. Mrs. Keppel thanks the Cast Members for their interest and sees them out.
  • The Cast Members part company with Mrs. Keppel. They circle around the school and gather outside the window they unlocked. They find a box and plan to take all of the marigolds to Father Sullivan. JD climbs in the window to begin handing the marigolds out to Doug and Desi. Since they don't know what will happen to a child if they damage the marigold with the child's name on it, they plan to be veeeery careful.
  • But not careful enough. At one point, as JD is reaching for one of the marigolds, she notices a tiny droplet of something on her hand. As she looks at it, the droplet soaks into her skin. Immediately, JD can see something start to move under her skin where the droplet penetrated. Before her eyes, a lump of tissue rises beneath her skin, and now the flesh surrounding the lump begins to wriggle.
  • JD struggles to keep calm. She removes a vial of holy water from her pack and pours it on the growing lesion. It burns! But it also makes the writhing under her skin become more energetic. The deformity is spreading! Desi climbs in through the window to help. As she looks on, JD's entire hand is distorting, growing lumpy and disfigured -- and the atrocity continues to spread to the adjacent areas. Desi loses her cool as she thinks she can hear JD's flesh growing and rearranging. Doug stays calm and gets the group moving again. The Cast Members head off to Father Sullivan at St. Catherine's of Siena, with the marigolds.
• Cut to an interior shot of St. Catherine's
  • As the Cast Members enter the nave, we can hear the sound of JD's sleeve tearing. Her entire arm is swelling, transforming, distorting. They burst in on Father Sullivan, who is in his reading chamber, looking through his old books. They show JD's creeping deformity to Father Sullivan, while JD declares, "I have the lumps!"
  • Desi explains how the seeds of the marigolds were tainted with the blood of the demon that was killed in the Home Depot. Father Sullivan explains that now they finally have something to go on. To the books! JD shouts, "Read fast!"
  • Cut to the mandatory research scene. Old books are spread all over the large, carved table as the characters page through them. The camera circles slowly but continuously around the table. As each character comes into frame, she shouts a relevant fact she just discovered: "Here's something about transmitting demon characteristics through blood...!" "I found a paragraph that says preparations of marigolds have been traditionally used to speed healing of wounds and to promote tissue growth...!" "Here's something about undoing curses: 'Fighting Sympathetic Magic with Sympathetic Magic'...!" "Ooo! This looks like a recipe for a potion...!" "Did anyone know that marigold blossoms exude a fluid when they open, and it's prized for closing open wounds?" et cetera. 
  • The characters piece together that the fluid from a fresh marigold blossom, affected by demon blood, is what causes the disease. To cure it, they must make a potion (or serum, if you prefer a less mystical term) from the marigolds themselves. The books provide the formula for the potion. The assistance of a priest is required, but that's not an obstacle here.
  • Cut to a montage scene of mortars being pestled, smelly stuff being burned, Gregorian chants reverberating in the background (which suddenly start to skip -- Father Sullivan looks up and says, "I've been meaning to get a new needle for some time now."). The scene ends with Father Sullivan holding up a bubbling decanter of liquid.
  • By this point, JD is a terror to behold. Tumors are erupting from JD's affected hand, arm, and even as far from the infection site as her lower face. Part of her mouth is swollen up. She can even feel the flesh inside of her mouth is beginning to warp and twist. Father Sullivan pours some of the potion into a Dixie cup and gives it to JD. She drinks it. The taste is vile and makes her gag. Nothing seems to happen. She can feel her flesh is still moving of its own accord.
  • Then, about a minute later, the wriggling of her flesh slows. Then it stops.  
  • But then the undulations of JD's flesh start anew. And this time, they're even stronger and more visible than they were before! To JD, it feels as if something is crawling over her skin, while at the same time, invisible fingers are brutally gouging and pinching at the flesh below her skin. Despite this horrifying development, the Cast Members hold their ground and resist the urge to flee into the night.
  • As Desi and JD watch, the flesh of JD's lower face slows its undulations and begins to settle down. Rather than settle back into the monstrous tumors that have begun to cover JD's jaw-line, JD's face settles back into its natural lines and curves. The tumors are shrinking and disappearing before the Cast Members' eyes. The potion works.
  • Father Sullivan says, "A small amount of fluid probably seeps out of the bud just before it blooms. It would be easy for a child to get some of it on his skin and never notice it. Such a small quantity of fluid would probably explain why the transformation took several hours for the children, but progressed much faster for JD, since she was exposed to a larger amount."
• Cut to an interior shot of a darkened closet
  • The closet door opens, illuminating white and colored uniforms, folded and stacked neatly on shelves. Doug reaches into the closet, grabs one of the colored uniforms, and unfolds it in front of his person. It's a candy-striper uniform. He takes it from the closet and closes the door.
  • Late at night, a candy-striper pushes a cart down the hospital corridor. A nurse passes by; the candy-striper avoids making eye contact with the nurse. As the candy-striper turns the cart and enters a patient's room, we see that it is Desi. The cart bears four Dixie cups. 
  • As Desi approaches one of the beds, she quietly pulls aside the curtain that has been drawn around it. The camera doesn't linger on that shot, so that we never see the child behind the curtain. Rather, as the curtain is being pulled, we cut to a close-up of Desi's face.  She looks down, presumably at the child, and stops. She is motionless for several seconds. Then a single tear rolls down her left cheek. As it drips from her cheek, she finally turns to her cart and takes a cup from it. Desi hands the cup to the child, saying reassuringly, "This will help. It's kind of scary, but I need you to be brave. You can get better."
  • Cut to Desi heading toward the hospital elevators. There are no cups remaining on her cart. She pushes the call button. While she waits for the elevator, from somewhere down the corridor, we hear a child yell, "Mommy! Mommy!" A woman emerges sleepily from the visitor lounge and runs past Desi toward the sound of the voice. She dashes into one of the patient's rooms. We cut to a close-up of her face as she kneels down to the figure on the bed and says, "It's alright, baby; it's--" Her face freezes for instant, then breaks into an incredulous smile as she begins to weep. "Oh! Nurse!" Between tears, she lets out a small laugh. "Nurse!"
  • Cut to the corridor outside the room. As a nurse runs across the corridor to enter the room, in the far background, we see Desi in the elevator just as the doors close.
  • Cut to Desi, JD, and Doug in the lobby of the hospital. Desi hands the candy-striper uniform to Doug.
• Cut to an exterior shot of the Ramirez' house the next morning
  • Mrs. Ramirez opens the door. Marco, a perfectly normal-looking eight-year-old boy, comes running out. He stops on the porch. A friend of his age comes running up. Marco shouts, "Hi, Brendan! I had the lumps!" As Mrs. Ramirez steps outside to walk Marco and Brendan to school, Brendan says excitedly, "So did I!" The three of them exit the scene. Cut to black. Roll end credits.