Lonely In Your Nightmare, 3.16

[Dean5339]

[Dean5339]

TEASER

FADE IN:
EXT. FLORIDA SWAMP LANDS - NIGHT

DATE: 2003...

The swamp lands stretch out for miles and miles. The thick trees cover the area. Fresh mildew is everywhere. A young woman walks through the swamp lands, carefully and cautiously. A darkened figure darts past the screen.

Suddenly the young woman turns to face the creature. This is KATE RYDER at twenty-three years old.



She draws in closer to the creature. She equips her gun and shines her flashlight around. Nothing.

Bubbles form in the depths below, then vanish without a trace. Kate carefully studies the water, unable to get a good look. Suddenly, the creature LEAPS from behind her. Kate loses her balance and falls into the swamp.

Kate resurfaces, reaches in to retrieve her gun and flash light. She points the light around. It’s quiet. All that can be heard are the crickets chirping in the night sky. A figure catches her attention. The creature’s on the run.

Kate stands quickly, pats herself down and runs after it. She passes in between the multitude of trees, but loses sight of the monster. She notices a slimmer figure passing through the trees, slowly and calculating.

Kate advances on the figure. All that can be seen is his back. Kate aims her gun.

KATE
Freeze!

The figure stops, he turns to face Kate, revealing none other than DEAN WINCHESTER.



At twenty four years old, his characteristics show no signs of the classic Dean Winchester- rather a troubled young man.

DEAN
Freeze? What are you a cop? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be wandering around these swamp lands at night?

KATE
I’m hunting.

DEAN
Excuse me?

KATE
(brushing him off)
I know what I’m doing. The name’s Kate Ryder.

Kate extends her hand. Dean studies her, almost afraid of the contact. He hesitantly takes her hand.

DEAN
Nick Taylor. Now if you wouldn’t mind, I have a job to do.

Dean brushes past her, clearly sending his message. Kate doesn’t give up.

KATE
So do I.

DEAN
No thanks, I work alone.

Kate watches on as Dean disappears into the distance.

Dean stands behind a tree, he leans against it, closes his eyes and exhales. He wants to go back, but there’s something holding him back. Suddenly, he hears the sound of a gun going off and a body hitting the water!

At a distance, Kate fights against the LIZARD MAN, it’s skin resembling that of a crocodile -- but it’s useless. Her gun’s been knocked out of her hands rendering her defenseless as she tries to fight back.

BANG! A shot rings out and strikes the Lizard Man. Kate scrambles back. The creature’s body plummets to the murky depths below. Kate glances up to spot Dean, breathless, and holding onto the smoking gun.

END OF TEASER

ACT ONE

EXT. FLORIDA SWAMP LANDS - LATER

Dean and Kate trek through the swamp lands. Dean casually glances over at her, almost as cautious as around the Lizard Man.

KATE
So, how long have you been hunting?

DEAN
Why do you want to know?

KATE
Okay, sorry for asking.

DEAN
I mean, what’s it matter anyway? My life has no significance to you.

KATE
I was just interested.

DEAN
Yeah? Well, don’t be. I’m not that interesting. Trust me.

Dean and Kate reach a clearing in the swamp land. Dean walks over to the bushes and pulls out his MOTORCYCLE. A backpack is looped around it.

KATE
Nice ride.

Dean’s eyes dart over to her, just wanting her to be quiet.

KATE (CONT’D)
Back there, you came back to save me, why?

DEAN
Who said I came back for you?



KATE
Just a hunch.

DEAN
I came back for it.

Kate takes out a card and holds it out to Dean.

DEAN (CONT’D)
What’s this?

KATE
Just take it.

Dean hesitantly takes it.

KATE (CONT’D)
I work with a couple of guys, we’re hunters. We track everything out there and hunt it down.

DEAN
Sorry, don’t do well with others.

Dean tries to give her back the card but she refuses. Dean shrugs and slips the number into his pocket.

KATE
Just think about it.

DEAN
There’s no point.

Dean jumps onto the motorcycle and drives off. Kate watches him go.

EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT

Dean pulls into the hotel and swerves the motorcycle to a stop in the parking lot.

INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

Pitch black. Dean enters, light shines into the room. Dean turns the lights on to reveal a vacant hotel room. He tosses his backpack down on the bed and takes a seat. He stares off into the void.

Dean takes the card out of his pocket. He twirls it around as he studies it, afraid of taking the chance. He slides the card back into his pocket and takes out his cell phone.

EXT. FOREST CLEARING - NIGHT

Dean and Kate walk through the clearing. Up ahead, an RV gradually comes into focus. "SCARED" Three Days Grace blares from the inside. Dean slows his pace, wanting to turn back.

KATE
You’ll fit right in.

DEAN
Famous last words.

KATE
What?

DEAN
I never fit in anywhere.

KATE
Not anymore.

A slight hint of a smile from Dean. Kate notices. They enter the RV.

INT. HUNTER’S RV - CONTINUOUS

The inside is technologically decked out with state of the art computer systems. There’s bunk beds built into the back walls of the RV. Posters of monsters and rock bands cover the walls.

JEFF MILLER, twenty four years old, lays in the back listening to the music while flipping through a Batman comic book.

MICHAEL MILLER, twenty-five, sits at the computer console looking into a case. He hears the door open and shut.



He spins around to spot Dean. Dean draws into himself, eyes darting around the RV. Michael takes note of Dean’s trepidation.

KATE
Michael, this is Nick Taylor.

Dean exhales, noticing all eyes on him.

DEAN
Actually, it’s Dean. Dean Winchester.

Kate’s taken aback, but shrugs it off. Michael extends his hand, Dean nervously takes it.

MICHAEL
I’m Michael Miller, that’s my brother Jeff.

Michael motions to Jeff. Jeff nods towards them.

MICHAEL (CONT’D)
We heard that you saved Kate. We could do with another hunter in our pack.

Michael smiles, Dean weakly smiles back. He makes his move for the door.

DEAN
Well, it was nice meeting you guys.

Dean sneaks out. Michael regards Kate curiously. Kate follows him out.

EXT. FOREST CLEARING - CONTINUOUS

Dean starts off into the forest. Kate comes up behind him.



KATE
Leaving already?

DEAN
In my experience, things never work out.

KATE
Never work, or never give it a chance?

DEAN
Listen, it’s better this way.

KATE
At least give it a shot.

DEAN
Why?

KATE
Why are you so afraid?

DEAN
I’m not like everyone else.

KATE
Neither are we.

Dean regards Kate, for a brief second we can see the scared child within him trembling. Kate reaches out her hand.

KATE (CONT’D)
Come on, please.

Dean takes her hand. She guides him back towards the RV.

INT. HUNTER’S RV - MOMENTS LATER

Dean enters and sulks past Michael, he takes a seat on a back bunk opposite Jeff. Michael watches. Kate approaches him.

MICHAEL
He might be dangerous.

KATE
He’s just lost.

MICHAEL
I don’t know about this Kate, what makes you think we can trust him?

KATE
Just call it a hunch. Inside he’s a good guy. He’s just scared.

Dean checks out the comic cover. Jeff glances over at him.

DEAN
Batman, huh?

JEFF
Yeah.



Jeff cracks a grin, Dean weakly smiles back. Kate and Michael watch on.

KATE
Just give it time.

Dean glances over at them. Kate looks away pretending to not have been watching.

EXT. HUNTER’S RV - NIGHT

Dean, Kate, Michael and Jeff crowd around a camp fire.

MICHAEL
So, how’d you get involved in all this?

DEAN
It’s a long story.

JEFF
We have all night.

Dean exhales.

DEAN
When I was four, my mother was killed by a demon. From there, things just escalated.

JEFF
Our parents were also killed.

Dean looks over at Michael, he nods. Then at Kate, she nods.

MICHAEL
Been looking for it ever since.

KATE
My mother died from cancer when I was really young.

MICHAEL
Jeff and I hopped around from place to place, wherever we could hide out for the night.

DEAN
Why?

MICHAEL
Had no one left we could turn to. If we went into child services--

JEFF
They could have split us apart.

MICHAEL
Would have made easy targets.

Dean nods, understandingly.

DEAN
I can get that... family, it’s a real-- my brother’s away at college. Kind of cut off communication from everybody. But, who can blame him? I’m a freak and my Dad more or less kicked him out the door. I am proud of him though, even if he’ll never know it.

MICHAEL
You still hunt with your old man?

DEAN
Stopped a while ago. Started living on my own.

MICHAEL
Alone?

Dean nods.

MICHAEL (CONT’D)
Why?

DEAN
I’m a little messed up. I still don’t think I can trust anyone. I was always seen as a freak. The anger I’ve had over all of these years, feeling like an animal locked in it’s cage... I didn’t grow up like everyone else.

JEFF
None of us did, man. I mean, unless you call living in a mall for about a month normal.

Dean cracks a grin.

JEFF (CONT’D)
We know what no one else will know. That there’s a whole other world out there hiding in the darkness. And due to that we’re special, unique. The same rules don’t apply to us. We’ll never truly fit in. But, you know what? I’m happy to say I took the red pill over the blue.

MICHAEL
It’s true, you know. This job can get to you if you let it. But you beat it by always holding strong, by not giving up.

Dean glances over at Kate who nods. Dean genuinely smiles, finally feeling like he belongs.

INT. HUNTER’S RV - NIGHT

Jeff and Dean sit in the back corner. They browse through Jeff’s comic books. Dean casually glances up towards Kate from time to time.



JEFF
You like her, don’t you?

DEAN
Hmm?

JEFF
Kate, you like her, I can see it in the way you look at her.

DEAN
It’s nothing.

JEFF
Come on man, who do you think you’re fooling?

DEAN
It’s not the right time.

JEFF
What are you talking about?

DEAN
I’m kinda on the rebound.

JEFF
What happened?

DEAN
Met this really hot girl back in Missouri. We were going steady. Thought she was the one, you know? But, then she started to pry into my life. I told her what I did, and once she found out she kinda --

JEFF
Freaked?

DEAN
Yeah.

JEFF
Who can blame them, with what they’ve been brought up to believe? Those who hear voices are crazy. Those who see things - they really didn’t. All of this denial in their lives, it’s sickening... but, you know, Kate’s not like that.

DEAN
I know, it’s just--

Jeff nods in understanding. They continue to flip through the pages.

Kate and Michael hunch over a computer screen. Michael brings up various reports.

MICHAEL
I’ve been running a search, and lo and behold reports kept on flooding in about a killer in Maryland who chops off the tires of cars with an axe, strands its victim and the bodies turn up a little ways away from the car gnarled to death.

KATE
You think?

MICHAEL
I have no idea, but I seriously think we may be dealing with the Goat Man.

Off a grotesque drawing depicting the Goat Man--

[irisheyes]

Wow!

[Dean5339]

EXT. WOODS - NIGHT

An old, beat up car sits parked in a clearing. Inside we see a couple kissing.

INT. CAR - NIGHT

JOHN and SALLY are making out, kissing passionately and ripping at each other's clothes. Both are young, good looking teenagers. Sally pauses for breath.

SALLY
Won’t your parents be wondering where we are?

JOHN
Nah. They’re out of town this weekend.

BANG!!! Suddenly, their car is jolted from behind. A horrendous racket starts up all around them. Something is banging on the car.

JOHN
(scared)
What is that?

He pulls away from Sally and starts the engine.

JOHN
Must be some animal.

Suddenly, something jumps on the hood of the car. In the dark we can see nothing but a muscular pair of animal-like legs. Then a head leans down to peer through the windshield at the teenagers. It is the head of a man … but something is not quite right. The man has the ears of a goat and devil red eyes. He grins, his teeth are sharp and canine-like. He reaches to either side of the windshield. His arms are muscular and hairy, the top half of his body is quite man-like. His legs are the legs of a goat – it's the legendary GOAT MAN!

Sally SCREAMS. John revs the engine. The car clunks forward but is having difficulty. John engages the gear but his clutch seems to be stuck.

EXT. CAR - NIGHT

The Goat Man jumps off the hood of the car and picks something off the ground – an axe. He chops at the wheels of the car. The tires explode one by one. Sally clings to John as the Goat Man raises the axe above the car and then swings towards the car window!

CUT TO BLACK

EXT. WOODS - DAY

Dean, Kate and Michael walk slowly through the woods, all armed and cautious. Dean pauses then splits from the group on a sharp angle. Kate and Michael exchange a glance, then follow.

KATE
Dean, what is it?

Dean comes into a clearing. The ground is scuffed and marked with tire tracks and boot marks.

DEAN
It was here. The police must have taken care of the car and the bodies.

MICHAEL
The police messed everything up. We don’t even know the details about what happened.

DEAN
I can track it.

Dean begins to methodically search the clearing, slowly wandering over the churned up earth.

DEAN
They were in a small car – a manual. Looks like the driver panicked, forgot to engage the gear when he tried to take off.

MICHAEL
(scoffs)
Yeah, and you can tell how?

Dean glares at him.



DEAN
My dad was in the military. Taught me everything he knows – including how to track pretty much everything.

Dean continues scouring the ground as he talks.

DEAN
Me and my brother … we would play hide and seek when we were younger. Not the normal kid’s hide and seek, though. My dad would show us how to track each other, how to cover our trail and tell the story of the hiding or escaping person.

MICHAEL
(relating)
Me and my brother … we learned that on our own.

The two exchange a glance, a bit of sympathy for each other passing between them of a normal childhood lost – then they are back to work. Dean bends and picks up a small piece of rubber.

DEAN
Looks like it chopped off the tires.

He holds the piece of rubber up to the light, examining its edges.

MICHAEL
Probably did it to slow them down.

KATE
Or just for the terror effect. This guy is fast. That’s why the police can’t catch him. No human would be able to outrun him. He didn’t need to chop their tires to slow them down. He just needed enough time to get to them.

Dean looks around the forest.

DEAN
Then what? What’s his motive?

MICHAEL
It depends on what side of the legend you believe. Some say the goat man is a failed experiment. He preys on young people, jealous of their good looks because of what was done to him. Other stories say he has an MO. He finds people alone in their car off the side of the road … easy to jump on and ambush. Whatever it is, nobody’s been able to catch him. Hunters know that he works in this area but he hasn’t been as active in the past several years as he has been lately.

DEAN
Looks like he hacked these kids up good.

Dean points to a tree. Blood is splashed against the trunk above their heads. They look around and see more trees surrounding the clearing with blood on nearly all of them.



KATE
My God …

DEAN
(looking around the edge of the clearing)
He left the bodies and went this way.

MICHAEL
I’ll call Jeff. Get him to the morgue and see if he can find out anything before the reporters get there. We don’t want to be getting our details from the newspaper in the morning.

Dean walks off into the woods, following a trail only he can see. Kate follows with Michael close behind.

DEAN
He wasn’t trying to hide his trail.

KATE
Maybe he was. Just didn’t do it well enough.

DEAN
No … I think he wanted us to follow it.

The trio step cautiously through the forest, alert to every sound.

POV UNKNOWN

From behind the trees and bushes, we see something is watching the hunters. It follows them, keeping out of sight.

POV AERIAL

We look down on the trio of hunters and then come down to their level behind them as they come upon a shallow stream. Dean searches the banks then steps across the stream on the rocks jutting above its surface. He walks along the banks in both directions for a short ways then stops, looking back across the stream at Kate and Michael.

DEAN
This is going to be a problem.

KATE
What?

DEAN
We lost the trail. Classic.

He shakes his head then comes back across the stream.

DEAN
He was playing us.

MICHAEL
You lost the trail.

DEAN
(glares)
It’s impossible to track anything through water. My guess is that he made for the stream and then went either upstream or downstream, following the water to hide his trail.

KATE
How do we know where he went?

DEAN
It will be a lot of work.

MICHAEL
Frankly speaking, patience isn’t something that I’m good at.

DEAN
We need to work quickly.

KATE
(to Michael)
Dean and I will search the stream. You go and check on Jeff. See if you guys can find anything else to help.

MICHAEL
Perfect.

Michael disappears through the trees.

DEAN
(awkward)
Ok then …

CUT TO:
EXT. CITY MORGUE - DAY

INT. MORGUE - DAY

Jeff is in a suit with pen and notebook in hand. JOHN PETERSON, a morgue worker in a lab coat, walks with him down a narrow hallway.

JOHN
They were a mess. Pieces, really. We still aren’t sure if we’ve separated him from her yet.

John opens the door at the end of the hallway. Jeff reacts to a strong SMELL. It isn’t pleasant!

JOHN
Yeah, sorry about that. Hope you have a strong stomach.

John pulls open one of the small steel doors lining the room and pulls out a tray covered in bloody body parts.



JEFF
They were hacked to pieces...

JOHN
Police think it was an axe.

John picks up a severed hand and shows him the jagged, splintered edge of bone sticking out where the wrist would have been. Jeff pulls out a digital camera a takes a few pictures.

JOHN
Are you going to show that in the paper?

JEFF
I’m just the reporter. You’ll have to ask the editor.

JOHN
We haven’t done a full analysis yet but it looks like they might have still been alive when whoever this guy was started hacking them up.

JEFF
Ouch …

JOHN
Here’s the funny thing, though.

He digs through the body parts to pull out a man's hand that is clenched in a fist. Jeff looks closer as John turns the hand around. It's clutching a fistful of fur. Jeff snaps another photo.

JEFF
What's that?

John puts the hand down and goes to a table in the middle of the room. A microscope is set up and he shows him over to the device, picking up a small glass slide.

JOHN
It’s goat hair.

JEFF
(pretending to act surprised)
Huh. Goat hair? What do you think that means?

JOHN
No idea. Unless they had a pet goat that they were petting when they were attacked. I mean … come on. This is far out, isn’t it? You think this is something they can put on that X-Files thing? The Killer Goat.

Jeff rolls his eyes when John isn't looking.

JEFF
Thanks, John. I think we have enough for our story.

Jeff EXITS the room, followed closely by John.

JOHN
Seriously, though. This is freaky! This should be on some crime scene investigation show! We’ve had three bodies come in before these guys and none of them had goat hair! This has to be a serious lead!

Jeff hurries OUT of the building, shutting the main door in John’s face.

JEFF
Weirdo.

He pulls out his CELL PHONE.

JEFF
Hey Michael. We know for sure it's the Goat Man. Can’t doubt it now. One of those guys managed to get a fistful of fur before he got hacked into pieces. Guy who's examining him doesn't know anything. He's just freaked out by it.

MICHAEL (V.O.)
Something about this doesn’t feel right.

JEFF
You're telling me.

OFF ON JEFF...

[Dean5339]

EXT. WOODS - DAY

Dean and Kate walk next to the stream, traversing the rocks on the banks as Dean scans for tracks.

KATE
You’re good, you know.

DEAN
What do you mean?

KATE
I mean the tracking and all that. You know what you’re doing. That will keep you alive in a world like ours.

Dean stops abruptly.

DEAN
You know, I don’t even know why I’m doing this.

KATE
What?

DEAN
I work alone. This … this doesn’t feel right.

KATE
What about your dad? You said he was a hunter.

DEAN
Yeah. That’s different. He would prefer to hunt alone – so I’ve just had to deal with it.

KATE
What about your brother?

DEAN
My brother’s as normal as you can get.
(beat)
The kid’s bright. Going to Stanford for law. Totally different from the rest of the family. Guess he gets it from my mom.

KATE
What does he know about this … you know, the hunting and everything?

Dean slowly starts walking again, scanning the ground as he talks.



DEAN
He knows everything. He was just a baby when my mom was killed. My dad started hunting pretty soon after that so he’s pretty much spent his whole life in this bizarre world.

KATE
And yet he isn’t hunting?

DEAN
No. He never was. But what really sent him off the deep end was when he was twelve, he saw my Dad and I roasting this corpse of a werewolf over a pyre. My first hunt. He totally freaked. He couldn't understand why we were doing what we're doing. He didn't see the monster, he only saw the man. From there on things just got worse, he went all geek-whiz and applied to Stanford. He never really liked the whole hunting thing.

KATE
Who can blame him.

DEAN
(nods)
There are days when I wish I didn’t know what I know.

KATE
(softly)
I think we all have those days.

Suddenly, Dean stops, looking straight ahead.

DEAN
We’re back on the trail.

Kate comes up beside him, looking around. In front of them we see an old stone bridge crossing the stream.

KATE
Something about this seems familiar.

INT. RV - DAY

Jeff is sitting at his laptop with Michael hovering over him.

ON LAPTOP SCREEN Pictures that Jeff took, at the morgue, flash across the screen.

JEFF
It was so disgusting, man.

MICHAEL
Glad I wasn’t there.

JEFF
Look at this.

He PANS IN on the picture of the hand clutching the fistful of fur. Closer until we are looking at the fingernails.

JEFF
He’s got blood under his fingernails. You think he injured the Goat Man? Scraped some fur off and gouged him up good?

MICHAEL
It’s hard to tell. There’s a lot of blood on the hand in the first place.

JEFF
If he did pull a chunk out of the thing it might help us in tracking him.

MICHAEL
I doubt he’s that injured.

JEFF
Well, we’ll know we have the right Goat Man if he’s got a bald patch somewhere.

Michael’s cell phone RINGS. He answers it.

MICHAEL
Michael speaking.

KATE (V.O.)
Michael, it’s Kate. This might be a little more complicated than we thought.

MICHAEL
What’s up?

KATE
Are you with Jeff?

MICHAEL
Yeah.

KATE
Get him to look up the Three Billy Goats Gruff story.

MICHAEL
What?

KATE
Just do it.

MICHAEL
(to Jeff)
She wants you to look up the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

JEFF
Huh?

MICHAEL
Just do it.

Jeff types into the laptop, waits a moment, then reads:

JEFF
It’s a fairy tale. We all knew that, right?

MICHAEL
Just keep reading. Kate, I’m putting Jeff on.

Michael hands the phone to Jeff.



JEFF
Uh … it’s Norwegian, one of Anderson’s fairy tales. A troll lives under a bridge crossing a stream and eats all who travel across the bridge. Three goats try to cross the bridge. When the first goat tries to cross, the troll comes out to eat him but the goat tells him he has a bigger, fatter brother coming so the troll lets him go. The second goat tells him the same thing. The troll is a greedy guy and decides to wait for the last goat – but this goat is too big and strong for him and ends up knocking the troll into the stream and kills him. The moral of the story is to be happy with what you have in the troll’s case, or some interpret it as a mind over matter story.

Michael takes the phone back.

MICHAEL
What does this have to do with our Goat Man? Is he the big strong goat that killed the troll?

EXT. WOODS - STREAM - DAY

Kate and Dean are listening to Michael on speakerphone.

DEAN
All legends are partly true. It doesn’t mean they’re all true. I’m not one hundred percent sure yet, but I think we may have a link between that Norwegian fairy tale and our Goat Man.

MICHAEL (V.O)
Why is that?

KATE
Let’s just say we’ve got a bridge over a stream with lots of evidence.

PAN BACK to reveal Dean and Kate standing under the bridge looking at the stones under the surface of the water. On a closer look, we can see human bones mixed in with the rocks.

INT. RV - NIGHT

Jeff is lounging on his bunk with his laptop and Michael is reading a newspaper in a chair opposite. There is a knock on the door. Kate steps in, followed by Dean.

MICHAEL
I’m guessing you didn’t find it.

DEAN
(shakes head)
It’s good at hiding its trail. We went downstream about three miles before we found the bridge. After that … nothing.

KATE
We need to look at some maps. Find out how big this stream is. If it stretches for twenty miles in either direction we’re going to have to get a bigger search going on.

JEFF
We should be able to narrow it down since the murders all seem to happen in roughly the same area.

MICHAEL
We’ve been doing some work while you’ve been gone.

Michael picks up a sheaf of papers from the table and hands it to Kate. On it is a sketched map of a forested area, a jagged stream cuts through the middle. Coordinate points align the highly detailed, yet rough sketch.

JEFF
Organized all the data we have. You know what would really help?

Jeff jumps off the bunk to join the small group looking at the map.

DEAN
What?

JEFF
A clearly detailed digital map, anyone who invents that must be a genius. Anyways, I plotted out a ten mile radius of where the Goat-ees were killed.

DEAN
Goatees?

JEFF
You know … the guys murdered by the Goat Man.

Kate and Michael exchange a humored glance.

JEFF
Anyway. There have been murders going on in this area for the past thirty or forty odd years. It just hasn’t hit the hunter radar until lately because it was listed in the papers as a rapist who went after young couples and then chopped them up afterwards.

KATE
A rapist?

MICHAEL
Well … nothing’s been proven. It’s just what the police assumed. Back then, that was what they thought a secretive murderer did to women. But they couldn’t explain the boyfriends.

JEFF
Most of the murders we found that seem to fit with the Goat Man’s profile were couples – usually young teenagers. All chopped to pieces. At least … all the ones that were found. Some of the cases we uncovered were missing persons. The car was found, hacked up a bit, tires slashed, blood enough to prove that the missing people were dead, but no bodies.

KATE
They must be the ones we found under the bridge.



Kate pulls out her cell phone and ejects the memory card. She hands it to Jeff who plugs it in to the computer. Images flash across the screen of the bones in the water under the bridge.

JEFF
Shoot, man. How come nobody ever found these guys?

KATE
It was in an extremely overgrown area. Doesn’t look like anybody has used that bridge in years. There’s no road leading to or away from the bridge. My guess is that it was a dirt road and over the years the forest took over.

MICHAEL
Any sign of the Goat Man?

DEAN
I don’t think he’s living there.

JEFF
But what about the Three Billy Goats Gruff?

DEAN
True life doesn’t always play out like the stories.

KATE
Probably some form of the fairy tale came out because he ambushed people under the bridge.

MICHAEL
The fairy tale is over a hundred years old, though. Does that mean this guy is that old?

DEAN
It could mean there’s more than one Goat Man.

KATE
We need to go back, but this time we need manpower. Dean and I searching on our own is going to take too long.

MICHAEL
Then let’s go.

EXT. WOODS - NIGHT

Dean, Kate, Michael and Jeff walk together through the woods, armed and looking every bit a pack of hunters. Dean leads the way, feeling more confident.

MICHAEL
You know, I’ve been thinking. This thing goes after couples it seems.

JEFF
Yeah, so?

MICHAEL
So maybe we should bait it.

KATE
How?

MICHAEL
We make a couple.

KATE
(amused)
And the plan is … ?

MICHAEL
I think you and Dean should split. We follow you from behind. Act, you know, couply. If the Goat Man shows up, we finish him.

DEAN
Why not Kate and one of you?

JEFF
Dude! She’s like our sister! You’re the only good candidate. Obvious choice, man.

Jeff winks at Dean and flashes a grin. Dean's still skeptical about the proposition.

DEAN
I don’t think that’s a good idea. We need to stay together. We hunt it down.

KATE
But we aren’t just hunters. We’re hunters with brains. Come on, I’ve done this before.

DEAN
What, been bait?

KATE
You have to have the stronger ones be the bait just in case the guys, who are supposed to do something about it, end up messing up.

MICHAEL
Hey!

JEFF
(to Michael)
That was a total diss, man.

MICHAEL
It wasn’t our fault we didn’t get there in time!

KATE
Whatever. Let’s go, Dean.

Kate grabs Dean by the elbow and propels him forward. As they separate from the others, Kate links her arm through Dean’s. Dean pulls back, startled.

DEAN
What are you doing?

KATE
We need to give it some motivation.

DEAN
What?

KATE
(sighs)
To use Michael's words, we need to act couply.

DEAN
I need that arm to fight.

KATE
What? You can’t fight one handed? I’ll let go if something comes up. Don’t worry.

Dean reluctantly gives in.

POV UNKNOWN

Something watches them saunter through the trees. It follows, then a stick breaks under it’s foot.

CLOSE ON Dean and Kate as they react to the sound.

KATE
What was that?

DEAN
Act normal. Just keep walking. Listen.

The pair walks slowly, arms linked, but hands on the triggers of their rifles, eyes alert.

KATE
I have to ask you something.

DEAN
What?

KATE
Will you stay with us when this hunt is over?

Dean remains silent, he doesn't know. Suddenly, we hear a SWOOSH of air. Dean and Kate dive to the ground as a giant axe swings through the air above their heads.

Dean and Kate separate and roll, coming up to their feet at the same time. The GOAT MAN stands before them in the dark shadows of a tree, tossing the axe expertly from one hand to the other. He hisses angrily.



DEAN
Run!!!

[Dean5339]

EXT. WOODS - NIGHT

Dean and Kate are racing through the thick underbrush. They emerge from the forest and stumble upon the stream. They stop and turn, raising their guns.

The Goat Man bursts out in front of them, brandishing his axe. Kate and Dean fire. The Goat Man staggers but does not stop. With a roar like a lion, he screams and charges towards Dean.

Dean meets him head on, grabbing the axe. They struggle over the weapon. Kate aims her rifle at the struggling pair but hesitates, afraid of shooting Dean. She shouts over her shoulder.

KATE
Michael! Jeff!

MICHAEL (O.S. far away)
Kate!

The Goat Man slams Dean up against a tree, the axe handle is shoved under the young hunter’s chin. Dean chokes and struggles, gasping for air. Kate comes in with the rifle, but the Goat Man KICKS her and she falls to the ground, stunned. Dean is slowly choking to death, his eyes rolling back in his head.

Suddenly, there is a gunshot and the Goat Man jerks, eyes wide in disbelief. He looks down to see blood running down his chest. Dean grins as the Goat Man’s grip on the axe slackens. PAN DOWN to reveal Dean’s revolver pointed to the Goat Man’s heart. The Goat Man staggers and falls, dead.

At that moment, Jeff and Michael burst through the trees. Dean slides to the ground, coughing for air. Kate struggles to her feet.

JEFF
Dude, I always miss everything!

MICHAEL
What happened?

KATE
(to Dean)
You killed it!

DEAN
No kidding.

MICHAEL
So he dies like a mortal man.

DEAN
Bullet to the heart. That’s all it took.

JEFF
As easy as that?

DEAN
I don’t think it was as easy as that.

He pushes himself to his feet and pokes around the dead Goat Man’s body.



DEAN
Either these things have regenerative powers and can grow their hair back really quickly, or we have more than one Goat Man on our hands.

KATE
What?

JEFF
The handful of fur. He isn’t missing any, is he?

DEAN
He’s clean. No patches.

KATE
More than one of these guys? Where do they come from?

MICHAEL
Some legends say that the Goat Man came from a failed experiment, remember?

JEFF
So there could be dozens!

DEAN
If there were that many of them I think we would have heard more about it. I think there’s one more.

KATE
Where would it be though?

DEAN
There has to be something we missed.
(To Jeff)
Are you sure you checked out everything?

JEFF
Well, everything online... why?

DEAN
The legends date back years, the internets good - but it ain't that good.

MICHAEL
What are you trying to say?

DEAN
We do things the right way, the old fashioned way - the way my Dad taught me.

Michael and Jeff are both puzzled.

INT. LIBRARY - ARCHIVES - NIGHT

The group wanders through the library holding flash lights.

KATE
You sure the alarms won't go off?

DEAN
This is a public library, not a place someone would typically want to steal from.

MICHAEL
This is going to take forever.

DEAN
Maybe, but it's reliable.

Dean spots what he was looking for - a Microfiche.

DEAN
Jeff, I'm betting you know how to use of those right?

JEFF
It's ancient, but without a doubt.

DEAN
Good.

LATER:

Jeff scrolls through the articles on the microfiche. Michael budges past Jeff, he slides back a couple of articles: SPLICING HAS PROMISING FUTURE.

MICHAEL
Article dates back to the 1800s.

KATE
What's it say?

MICHAEL
"Sir Griffin Ackles, head of the genealogy department at the Maryland Research Facility of Hyattsville has recently cracked the long lost DNA code. Splicing together multiple test subjects ranging from rabbits, frogs and rats. Sir Griffin looks forward to eventually testing the machine with live human test subjects."

DEAN
The Maryland Research Facility?

Michael scrolls through. He spots another article...

MICHAEL
Research Facility shut down after fatal laboratory accident, Griffin's body was never found.

Jeff backs away, his mind rushing with thoughts.

JEFF
No, it can't be -

MICHAEL
What?

JEFF
Color me a comic-book nerd, but they allow no human test subjects, there's an accident in the laboratory and then Griffin's body never turns up... is anyone else sensing a disturbed Doctor Connors here or is just me?

MICHAEL
Wait, what?

Dean grins, falling in line.

DEAN
Night of the Lizard right?

JEFF
Yeah, yeah.

Kate and Michael share a look of confusion.

KATE
What's Night of the Lizard?

JEFF
It was this episode in a Spider-Man 90s television series, about a mad doctor who tested the formula on himself. It pretty much turned him into a human lizard.

DEAN
Then, rather than looking for a cure - he started mutating people. Trying to start a new master race of Lizard Men.

KATE
So let me get this straight, what you're saying is that Griffin is the Goat Man?

JEFF
One of them, yeah, definitely the first and God knows how many other experiment's he's done over the years.

MICHAEL
How do we find him?

Dean and Jeff share a look, thinking along the same wavelengths.

JEFF
We have to travel to the island of Doctor Moreau.

CLOSE ON the black and white photograph of the research facility.

EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

The hunters trek through the forest. Dean leads the way.

JEFF
Are you sure this is the right way?

DEAN
Positive.

Dean moves the shrubbery aside and steps out into the clearing to spot an OLD ABANDONED RESEARCH FACILITY. It's in a state of extreme decay.

JEFF
So, who wants to be first to enter into Doctor Frankensteins mad laboratory?

They approach. Dean opens the door, they enter.

INT. ABANDONED RESEARCH FACILITY - MAIN - NIGHT

Inside nature has taken effect. Moss spreads along the entire terrain. A thick fog bank sweeps the ground. Blood is smeared against the wall. Signs of decayed corpses. Tarantula-fliers hover around a skeleton. The hunters react in disgust.

JEFF
Great, just fantastic.

MICHAEL
Jeff, cool it, try to be serious here for once.

JEFF
Come on man, it's a defense mechanism. Without a little bit of humor, I seriously don't think I'd be able to handle.

Dean moves further into the lab. He spots a sleeping dog, he approaches. Suddenly the dog wakes, GROWLS and CHARGES at him.

DEAN
Nice dog.

Dean slowly backs up. The hunters draw in. As the dog emerges from the fog it's revealed that a cat is attached to it's back. Both are feral.

JEFF
That definitely brings back memories of Nickelodeon, just a little more twisted and benign.

Dean quickly pulls his gun and fires. BANG! The hunters are taken aback. Dean shrugs it off.

DEAN
It would have killed us. Come on.



WSSH! An axe slices right past Dean's head. It whams into the back wall. Dean narrows his eyes. He takes off running.

KATE
Dean, wait...

The hunters charge after him.

INT. ABANDONED RESEARCH FACILITY - HALLS - NIGHT

Dean runs through. The lights in the rotting halls blink on and off. The door bolts shut behind him. Dean notices, he quickly approaches it. He bangs against it.

INTER-CUT WITH:
INT. ABANDONED RESEARCH FACILITY - MAIN - NIGHT

The hunters bang on the other side.

KATE
Open it.

DEAN
I can't, it's stuck!

Kate exhales, she looks over at Michael and Jeff.

MICHAEL
We have to find another way around.

They move out.

INT. ABANDONED RESEARCH FACILITY - LABORATORY - NIGHT

Blood stains cover the walls. Technological mechanisms are everywhere, beyond state of the art. Corpses of failed experiments cover the ground. Dean surveys the area, he equips his gun.

CRASH! The Goat Man leaps out of the observation room, smashing through the glass, and tackles Dean to the ground. The gun goes off and the bullet misses. The Goat Man’s eyes look back and forth.

KATE (O.S.)
He has to be around here somewhere.

JEFF (O.S.)
I think I found something.

The Goat Man charges towards the back. Dean stands and dusts himself off. The Goat Man whirls to face him.

DEAN
I'm not going to let you kill them.

The Goat Man stalks towards Dean, coming clearly into the light.



GOAT MAN
I've been following you. I've been following all of you. You. You are not one of them. You are like me.

DEAN
I'm nothing like you.

GOAT MAN
We are both lonely. Trapped in an unending nightmare. But, we've grown accustomed to it. We know that the rest of the world will never see us as one of their own. You don't care if they die. You don't care if anyone dies.

DEAN
You know nothing about me.

GOAT MAN
All you care about is killing me.

The Goat Man hefts up his axe. A door opens. Dean turns to spot Kate and the others. The Goat Man grins. He throws his axe through the air. Dean leaps in front of the axe and TACKLES Kate to the ground. Jeff and Michael quickly step aside. The axe falls to the ground.

Dean exhales, he looks into Kate's eyes for an awkward silence. The Goat Man CHARGES towards Jeff and Michael. He knocks them out. Dean bolts up, helps Kate to her feet. The Goat Man seizes his axe. Dean doesn't notice.

DEAN
Are you alright?

KATE
Watch out!

Dean spins around to notice the Goat Man. The Goat Man flings the axe towards Kate's feet. WSSH! It cuts into her leg. Kate screams in agony. The Goat Man grins, then runs.

KATE
Go, don't worry about me...

Kate hands Dean her gun. He hesitates, takes the gun, turns and follows the Goat Man out.

EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

The Goat Man peers around a tree watching Dean walk through the forest.

DEAN
You’re not going to get away with this. Your time’s up. Show yourself!!!

Dean continues to walk through the forest. He hears rustling in the bushes behind him. He quickly turns around and aims his gun towards the bushes. He grins.

DEAN
Found you.

The Goat Man CHARGES towards Dean. He's too fast. They collide against the ground. The gun flies out of Dean's hands.

DEAN
Man!

The Goat Man grins.

GOAT MAN
You live alone, you die alone.

The Goat Man goes in for the kill.

KATE
Get away from him, now!!!

The Goat Man glances back towards Kate, bearing it’s fangs. It rushes towards her and LEAPS through the air. BANG!!! BANG!!! BANG!!! Kate fires the gun. The Goat Man is struck three times and collapses to the ground bleeding to death, unable to move.

MUSIC CUE: "SO FAR AWAY" STAIND

Kate rushes over to Dean.



KATE
Hey, are you alright?

Dean looks into her eyes, surprised.

DEAN
Why'd you come back to save me?

KATE
Why wouldn't I?

Dean doesn't know how to respond, he holds back his emotions and smiles. A cloud of smoke and fire rises in the air. Dean bolts up.

DEAN
What was that?

KATE
Michael and Jeff just sent whatever remained of Griffin's experiments to a long deserved grave.

DEAN
(Sarcastic)
That was the last one right?

Kate smiles, wipes her back and laughs.

KATE
God, I hope so.

Dean smiles. They look into each other's eyes for a beat. Caught in the moment.

DEAN
Yeah, me too.

Whatever moment they could have had is put to a stop by Michael and Jeff.

JEFF
Looks like the Goat Man is history.

DEAN
One for the books, too bad there was no U.S. Science Weekly to cover it.

Jeff smiles. Dean slowly gets up. The hunters walk off, fading into the distance. Dean wraps his arm around Kate.

EXT. HUNTER'S RV - DAWN

Dean stands outside of the RV alone. The sun is slowly coming up, with remaining traces of a full moon.



Kate leaves the RV and wraps her arms around him. Dean stares up at the moon.

DEAN
Thanks.

KATE
For what?

DEAN
Making me feel like I belong.

KATE
You do belong.

These words have a strong emotional impact, Dean exhales and looks away.

KATE
But...

DEAN
I don't know if I can stay, my life - I'm always on the move.

KATE
Us too.

Dean fights the resistance inside. He closes his eyes, lowers his head and nods.

DEAN
I'll stay. For as long as I can, I'll stay.

Dean and Kate share a smile. Jeff leaves the RV.

JEFF
Hey, hope I'm not interrupting - but we just found a Chupacabra up in Mexico.

KATE
Just give us a moment.

Jeff walks back in. Dean scans the area, he turns around.

DEAN
Come on.

Dean and Kate near the RV, onwards to the better life...

RAPID BLACK & WHITE FLASH CUTS REVEAL:

- The Hunters celebrating at a bar
- The Hunters tracking through an abandoned asylum
- Dean and Kate kissing for the first time on a stake-out
- Michael dealing out a deck of cars and raising his beer glass
- Dean and Jeff retrieving guns from a trunk
- A wolf snarling, fangs baring
- Michael repeatedly punching Dean

INT. BLACKMOORE HOTEL - ROOM - DAY/RAINING - PRESENT

Dean's fast asleep. Rain crashes the cold pavement outside. He jolts out of bed startled. He turns around to spot Sam staring into the mirror. REFLECTED SAM distorts and wickedly grins.

DEAN
How long was I out?

Sam turns to face Dean, he closes the laptop.

SAM
A while, get some good rest?

Dean fakes a smile.

DEAN
You could say that...

Sam exhales, looks away. Dean gets out of bed.

EXT. PERDITION HOTEL - DAY/RAINING

The Impala rests in the parking lot. Across the street Michael Miller watches on, eyes piercing. Ready to strike...

TO BE CONTINUED

[Dean5339]

NEXT WEEK



SCENE PREVIEW:

INT. UNDERGROUND CAVERN - DEAN’S CELL - NIGHT

Dean stirs awake. He moves back against the cavern walls. Wipes the sweat away from his forehead. He stares forward to see Peter Stubbe looking down on him. Stubbe clutches onto the medallion. Dean bolts up.

DEAN
Where am I?

PETER
This belonged to my son.

Dean eyes the Medallion. Peter closes his fist around it.

PETER (CONT’D)
You killed him. Then your father viciously slaughtered everyone in my clan. By the time I got there I found everyone I ever loved dead. You took my family away from me.

DEAN
What are you going to do? Kill me?

PETER
No. You’d like that too much. The process is already underway.

DEAN
Process? What process?

PETER
Can you feel it coursing through your veins? The hunger, the animal breaking free from it’s cage.

DEAN
No...

PETER
I know how everything about us makes your blood boil. But soon, you’re going to be one of us.

Dean scowls, he charges at the caged bars.

DEAN
You sick son of a bitch!

Dean’s held back, his feet are CHAINED to the cave wall.

PETER
You’re going to feel what it’s like to take another man’s life. You’re going to feel what it’s like to become the very thing you hate.

DEAN
When I get out, I swear to god, I’ll kill you.

PETER
No. You’ll kill them and then they’ll kill you. The hunter becomes the hunted. The perfect ending for the perfect tragedy. That’s the best you deserve.

Peter leaves. Dean leans against the wall. He tries to catch his breath as his world falls apart around him. He slides down and withers in agony as he blacks out...

[Sam Winchester Fan]

Great Story.................