Transcript for “Voodoo Queen”
Episode 2x12
Originally Aired:  02/10/01  
Writer:  Guy Mullally
Director:  Colin Budds
Transcribed by Carol Murdock for "TWIZ TV.COM" - www.twiztv.com
Feedback:  murdockcarol@twiztv.com 

[Scene:  The jungle – Roxton is hunting with a spear.  He hears a sound from not too far away.  A young woman conceals herself behind a tree.  Roxton puts the spear down and picks up his rifle.  Two Trogs attack Roxton.  Roxton runs off when two more Trogs appear.  Roxton shoots at the Trogs and hits two of them.  Roxton takes cover behind some rocks.]

Roxton:  Oh boy.  [The Trogs are no longer chasing him]  I wonder what got them so worked up.  [The young woman steps out into the open, then suddenly runs off]  Oh no, you’re not getting away this time.  [Roxton runs after her.]  Hey, come back.

**** Begin Intro****

At the dawn of the last century 

A band of explorers searched for a prehistoric world 

Driven by ambition

Secret desires

A thirst for adventure

And seeking the ultimate story

They are befriended by an untamed beauty

Stranded in a strange and savage land

Each day is a desperate search for a way out - of the Lost World

****End Intro****

[Scene:  Nighttime the jungle – Roxton is still searching for the woman.  Jungle drums can be heard in the distance.]

Roxton:  Where the hell are you taking me woman?

[The woman steps from behind a tree.]

Danielle:  Who are you?

Roxton:  Who am I…who are you?

Danielle:  Why are you following me?

Roxton:  Why were you watching me?

Danielle:  You’re a very handsome man.

Roxton:  You don’t leave too much to be desired in the looks department yourself.   

Danielle:  What more do we need to … know about each other, huh?  [She snaps his suspender.]

Roxton:  I’m sure I’ll think of something.

Danielle:  Your heart, it’s pounding.  [She runs her hand over his heart.]

Roxton:  Yes, well under the circumstances I would think that completely normal, wouldn’t you?

Danielle:  A normal man, how perfect.  How desirable.  

Roxton:  So what’s the hurry?  [They kiss]  The drums have stopped beating.

Danielle:  Are you afraid of me?

Roxton:  Oh no, I’m not afraid of you.

Danielle:  Then take me now.

[They kiss and slowly head for the ground.]

[Scene:  Morning the jungle – Danielle is sitting by a tree while Roxton sleeps nearby in his shirt and long johns.  She takes a button from Roxton’s hat to finish off the eyes of a Voodoo Doll she created.  Roxton wakes up.]

Roxton:  Where am I?

Danielle:  Exactly where you were last night.  [Roxton notices his lack of clothing and runs behind a tree for cover.]  Any complaints? 

[She playfully keeps his pants from him.]

Roxton:  Yeah, I’m starving. [She returns his pants]  You live near here?

Danielle:  I used to.

Roxton:  Is it still too soon to ask who you are?

Danielle:  Are names really that important?

[They kiss.  Trogs watch from a distance then move off.]

[Scene:  The jungle – The rest of the group are looking for Roxton.]

Marguerite:  He’s probably in the arms of some jungle princess blissfully unaware that we are even looking for him.

Veronica:  Why do you always think the worst of him?

Marguerite:  Because I’m speaking from experience.

Malone:  We should be able to pick up his trail from the river where I found his spear.

Challenger:  He could be investigating those drums we heard last night.

Veronica:  My parents used to call them Voodoo drums.

Malone:  As in shrunken heads and dolls with pins in them?

Marguerite:  Let’s not get too carried away.

Challenger:  Marguerite, he could be in serious trouble.

Veronica:  Then again he could be in the arms of some jungle princess.

[Roxton and Danielle walk toward the group.]

Marguerite:  Oh, I rest my case.

Roxton:  Hello there, where are you all going?

Malone:  To look for you.

Marguerite:  Obviously our concern was premature as usual.

Roxton:  Danielle this is Marguerite Krux, Ned Malone, Professor George Challenger, Veronica this is Danielle.

Danielle:  Nice to meet you all.

Marguerite:  So, where did Roxton find you?

Roxton:  Running for her life in the jungle.

Veronica:  Running from what?

Roxton:  Trogs, they overran Danielle’s village; butchered everyone they could get their hands on.

Danielle:  Hundreds of Trogs, I’ve never seen so many.

Malone:  Like some sort of army?

Danielle:  That’s what the drums are about.  The Trogs are massing…organizing.

Challenger:  That’s something nobody ever thought they were capable of doing. 

Danielle:  It’s terrifying.

Roxton:  Yes, I can vouch for that.  I was chased by some pretty determined characters myself.

Marguerite:  Organized savages, it’s just what we need.

Veronica:  Those drums are Voodoo drums.

Danielle:  I don’t know about that.  All I know is what I saw in my village.  For two weeks I’ve been running for my life.

Challenger:  You poor child. You must be exhausted.

Malone:  It’s a miracle you survived.

[Marguerite and Veronica raise their eyebrows at the men’s empathy.]

Roxton:  And Danielle needs a place to stay; this way.

[Roxton leads Danielle toward the treehouse.]

[Scene:  The treehouse – Roxton is eager to make sure Danielle is comfortable by bringing her extra pillows.  Marguerite is sitting at the table looking on with interest.]

Roxton:  Here you go; anything else you need, just let me know.  

Danielle:  This is perfect.

Marguerite:  For a woman who’s been running for her life for two weeks she looks very well put together, don’t you think?

Veronica:  You’d think she’d be a little more upset about what happened to her village.

Roxton:  Thank you both for letting her stay.

Marguerite:  Do you believe her story?

Roxton:  I have no reason to doubt her; I told you about the Trogs that came after me.

Veronica:  How far away is her village?

Roxton:  A couple of days.

Veronica:  Hmmm, I wonder where exactly?

Marguerite:  Just before you arrived, I was actually commenting on your talent for finding damsels in distress.

Roxton:  It must be my noble disposition.

Marguerite:  Is that what you call it?  Are you sure she’s going to be safe out there all by herself?

Roxton:  All she has to do is call.

Marguerite:  I’m sure she will.

Roxton:  You know Marguerite, if I didn’t know you any better I would say you were jealous.

Marguerite:  Jealous?  

Roxton:  Ah hum.

Marguerite:  No, no, amazed…no, astounded at how easily some men, especially you it seems, can be manipulated. 

[She gets up and walks away]

[Scene: Danielle walks down to Challenger’s laboratory.]

Danielle:  What an amazing place.

Challenger:  Yes, quite incredible; especially when you consider where it is.  

Danielle:  A temple of sorts?

Challenger:  A laboratory [Danielle secretly snatches Challenger’s quill from his desk] a place for scientific investigation, a place to broaden our understanding of the outside world and how it works.  

Danielle:  It sounds very much like a place of worship and you seem very devoted.  In my village the Papalwa the high priest was a man of great vision and he always had a beard.

Challenger:  A high priest?  Oh, no, no, that will never do.  Perhaps I should shave it off to avoid confusion.  

Danielle:  No, it makes you look rugged and well seasoned.

Challenger:  Like a good steak?

Danielle:  Or a man of great experience.  I’m sorry I’m disturbing you. I didn’t mean to.

[Scene:  The base of the treehouse.  Malone is making repairs on the electric fence.  Danielle secretly pulls a button from his shirt lying nearby.  She hands Malone his canteen.]

Danielle:  Here.

Malone:  Hi, thanks.

Danielle:  I was watching you work.

Malone:  Nothing like good honest work to keep you fit.

Danielle:  Very fit, I would say.

Malone:  Are all the women in your village as charming and beautiful as you?

Danielle:  Growing up in my village I was considered very ugly.

Malone:  What?

Danielle:  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[Danielle leaves; Malone puts his shirt on and notices the button missing.]

[Scene:  The treehouse – Danielle is going through Veronica’s jewelry box.  Veronica walks in; Danielle closes the box hastily and picks up a small photograph.]

Veronica:  What are you doing?

Danielle:  Oh I’m sorry, I just noticed this photograph.  Are these your parents?

Veronica:  Yes, my parents…my room…my treehouse.  You’re a guest in my home; please act like one.

Danielle:  I’m sorry, I meant no disrespect.

[Scene:  The treehouse common room.  Marguerite is cleaning a gun while Veronica stands by the balcony.]

Marguerite:  Did she take anything?

Veronica:  No, not from my jewelry box, but a small comb that I leave by my nightstand is missing.

Marguerite:  Coincidence?

Veronica:  Challenger would say there is no such thing.

Marguerite:  If he was thinking straight.  Do you have any idea what she is up to?

Veronica:  Not yet.  Where is she now?

Marguerite:  Off somewhere with Roxton.

Veronica:  What is it with men and women like her?

Marguerite:  Three parts lust, two parts fantasy; cuts off oxygen to the brain.

[Scene:  The base of the treehouse.  Roxton is sharpening an axe on a whetstone.]

Danielle:  Your friends are very nice, especially Challenger and Malone.

Roxton:  Veronica and Marguerite will come around, once you get to know them.  Should be sharp enough.  [Roxton turns around and doesn’t see Danielle.]  Let’s not start this again.

[Danielle is hiding behind a tree.] 

Danielle:  I’m over here.

Roxton:  Well don’t stop talking.  I do like the sound of your voice.

Danielle:  Is that all you like?

Roxton:  It’s on the list.

Danielle:  What else is … on the list?

Roxton:  Oh I don’t know, the way you play games with me.

[Danielle is playing with the Voodoo doll of Roxton.]

Danielle:  Some women are like that.   

Roxton:  Yes, so I’m discovering.

Danielle:  [To herself] And some are even worse.  [Danielle twists the Voodoo doll’s leg and Roxton falls to the ground.  He looks up and Danielle is standing over him.]

Roxton:  Well once again I have stumbled upon you. 

Danielle:  Man at my feet.

[Roxton reaches up his hand.  Danielle grabs it and he pulls her down to his level.]

Roxton:  A woman worthy of my adoration.

[They kiss]

[Scene:  The treehouse – Danielle is in Marguerite’s room and has Marguerite’s silk robe draped around her.  She looks at her reflection in the mirror.]

Marguerite:  What are you doing?

Danielle:  Just dreaming of how things might have been.

Marguerite:  Did you ever dream to ask before you just help yourself to my personal belongings?

Danielle:  It’s so beautiful; it belongs to you?

Marguerite:  Don’t play this game with me, sweetheart.  I’ve been there and back.

Danielle:  I don’t understand.  

Marguerite:  No, I think you do.  You’re not here for free room and board; you want something else.

Danielle:  My people were slaughtered.

Marguerite:  Yes and that’s all very sad, but I don’t believe you.

Danielle:  John Roxton is an exceptional man.

Marguerite:  You think I’m jealous?

Danielle:  Oh, he’d be a prize for any woman.

Marguerite:  You know, in the civilized world there is a name for a woman like you.  

Danielle:  You’re in love with him.

Marguerite:  The only thing that is yet to be determined is the price that John will be paying for your services.  [Danielle tries to slap Marguerite but Marguerite grabs her arm.]  Whatever my feelings for John, I am not going to stand by and let a cheap little tramp like you make a fool of him.

[Danielle walks away and we see she has taken Marguerite’s ring.] 

[Scene:  Nighttime the jungle – Danielle is kneeling beside a fire.]

Danielle:  Spirits of the dead, spirits of the dark.  Arise!  [The fire blazes high and shows the image of a Trog.]

Danielle:  Awake!

[Trogs and natives are following her commands as if in a trance.  They go into the jungle.]

[Scene:  The treehouse]

Veronica:  It’s time for her to go.

Roxton:  Danielle is running for her life, Veronica.

Marguerite:  You’re right and I know a way off the plateau. She is lying.

Roxton:  How do you know?

Malone:  If we kick her out of here, where is she supposed to go?

Veronica:  Back to wherever she came from.

Challenger:  A woman alone in the jungle.

Marguerite:  She found Roxton; she can find another Romeo.

[Danielle comes up in the elevator.]

Challenger:  Well, who’s going to tell her?

Marguerite:  I will, gladly.

Danielle: It looks like it’s time to say goodbye.  I can see it in your faces.

Roxton:  No, we haven’t made that decision yet.

Marguerite:  Yes we have.

Danielle:  It’s alright; I don’t want to be the source of any conflict.

Marguerite:  No, I bet you don’t. 

Danielle:  The drums are quiet tonight.  Maybe the Trogs are giving up and moving on.  I’ll leave first thing in the morning and go back to my village.  Maybe there’ll be other survivors.

Roxton:  I won’t let you go alone.

Danielle:  It’ll be alright John; you’ve done more than enough…you all have.  [Danielle leaves the others and walks to her room.  She pulls out the things she stole from them.]  I have you all [She pulls out the Voodoo doll.] and Roxton to love and honor me.

[Fade Out]

[Scene:  Morning the treehouse.]

Malone:  I’ll go with you.

Challenger:  We both will.

Roxton:  Don’t worry, first sign of trouble we’ll turn back.

Challenger:  Make sure you do, who knows what those Troglodytes might be up to.

 Roxton:  We’ll be fine.  [To Danielle]  Are you ready?

Danielle:  You really don’t need to do this, you know.

Roxton:  Do you think I’ll let you get away that easily? [He gives a backward glance toward Marguerite and Veronica sitting silently at the table.]

[Scene:  The trail to Danielle’s village.]

Roxton:  You could be right about the Trogs; maybe they have given up.

Danielle:  Maybe they’re just afraid of you.

Roxton:  Most people are.

Danielle:  I’m not going to let you return to your friends.  I’m going to keep you all to myself.

[Danielle and Roxton are taking a rest.  Danielle is laying out all her stolen trinkets.]

Roxton:  That’s quite a collection you have there.

Danielle:  Relics from the people of my village.

Roxton:  Relics, you mean like personal effects?

Danielle:  Yes, with them I will pray for the salvation of my people.

Roxton:  Pray?  What, now?

Danielle:  In my religion it doesn’t matter when or where we worship; as long as we call on the spirits to join us.  They guide us and help us celebrate the pleasures of life.  

Roxton:  Sounds like my kind of religion.

Danielle:  Maybe it is.

Roxton:  Well don’t let me keep you from your prayers.   

[Danielle looks through her sack and can’t find the Voodoo doll.]

[Scene:  The treehouse.]

Challenger:  This business with the Troglodytes perplexes me.

Malone:  Maybe we should go after ‘em.  

Challenger:  The Troglodytes have always lived in small mobile groups.  And now they’re organizing into a large social unit.

Veronica:  If you can believe anything that woman says.

Challenger:  It seems to indicate some sort of evolutionary development.

Veronica:  Evolution?

[Marguerite enters with the Voodoo doll in hand.]

Marguerite:  How about fear and superstition.

Malone:  Is that what I think it is?

Marguerite:  A Voodoo doll.

Veronica:  Kinda looks like Roxton.

Marguerite:  It’s not particularly flattering but she got the blank expression right.

Malone:  This means that Danielle is some sort of Voodoo Priestess.

Challenger:  Oh nonsense, this black magic is hocus-pocus.

Veronica:  It could explain Roxton’s sudden devotion.

Marguerite:  Maybe.

Challenger:  Marguerite, surely you of all people don’t believe in this.  The Voodoo doll has no real power.      

[Scene:  The jungle - Danielle mixes a potion inserting the items she took from the explorers.]

Danielle:  In sickness and in health you will succumb to me.

[Scene:  The treehouse]

Malone:  They’ve got a three hour head start.  I think…. [Malone’s stomach churns and gurgles; he stumbles].

Veronica:  Ned?  Are you alright? 

Malone:  Must have been the fruit.  I think I’m gonna be sick.

[Veronica goes to run after Ned but her stomach churns too.]

Veronica:  I don’t feel so good either.  Maybe the fruit wasn’t quite ripe.

[Veronica races toward the balcony to throw up.]

Challenger:  I ate that fruit as well.

Marguerite:  I’m glad to say I didn’t.  [Challenger’s stomach churns.]  Et tu Brute.

Challenger:  Looks like it got us all, excuse me.

Marguerite:  Oh…looks like I’m the lucky one.  [Marguerite’s stomach churns.]  Why me?

[Nighttime – Marguerite, Veronica, Challenger and Malone are suffering the aftereffects of being sick.  Voodoo drums can be heard in the distance.]

Marguerite:  Well I didn’t eat any of the fruit, so it can’t be that that made us sick.

Challenger:  It wasn’t black magic either.

Malone:  How do you explain it?

Challenger:  Well it could be a germ or a virus in something we all consumed - water for instance.

Veronica:  What about the drums?  When Danielle was here they stopped but as soon as she left they started up again.

Malone:  I’ve heard some pretty wild things about Voodoo:  Human sacrifice, Cannibalism, Dead people coming back to life.  

Challenger:  I’ve read that book too, Malone.  You can’t believe everything that Spencer St. John writes.

Marguerite:  Be quiet George.  What else did he write?

Malone:  All kinds of things.  Voodoo dolls can be used to control or hurt your enemies.  Good and evil sprits can take possession of your body.  Wait a minute…a Voodoo Priest or Priestess, it can inflict injury using personal objects stolen from their victims.

Veronica:  Like my missing comb.

Malone:  And the button off my shirt.  Are you missing anything?

Marguerite:  A ring - worthless cosmetic junk. 

Challenger:  My quill, so that’s where it went.

Malone:  Danielle is the one who made us sick.

Challenger:  That’s impossible.

Veronica:  If that’s true she’s trying to keep us here so we can’t go after Roxton.

Marguerite:  Then we’ll try again at first light.

[Scene:  Morning the jungle]

Roxton:  How did you sleep?

Danielle:  Like a baby.  

Roxton:  The drums didn’t keep you awake?

Danielle:  I must have been too exhausted from the long walk. 

Roxton:  What are you making?

Danielle:  Nothing really, I just like to weave.

Roxton:  Always twisting and turning huh?

Danielle:  Just trying to keep your attention.

Roxton:  Oh no chance of losing that.  I’ll go and get some more firewood.

[When Roxton walks away Danielle pulls out her weaving.  She has made a small replica of the treehouse.  She squeezes down on the top of the replica.]

[Scene:  The treehouse.]

Malone:  Hurry up, you guys!

Marguerite:  We’re coming!

Veronica:  Ned! Look out!

[A piece of the roof comes crashing down on Malone.]

[Scene:  The jungle – Roxton comes back carrying more firewood.]

Roxton:  This should keep the fire going. [Danielle hides the replica.]

[Scene:  The treehouse.]

Marguerite:  How bad is he? 

Challenger:  He’s got a nasty bruise but it could have been a lot worse.

Marguerite:  Any more doubts about that woman’s power?

[Scene:  Danielle’s village]

Roxton:  So this is your village. Looks deserted.

Danielle:  There’s a part of my story I haven’t told you yet.

Roxton:  Oh and which part is that?

Danielle:  It’s true the Trogs attacked my village but it happened twenty years ago.

Roxton:  Twenty years ago?

Danielle:  I was only a child not even four years old.  The Trogs killed my parents and everyone else in the village - everyone except me.

Roxton:  And why not you?

Danielle:  I was too quick; I got away.

Roxton:  Well, how did you survive?

Danielle:  Very well as you will see.

Roxton:  Is this some sort of a trap I’m walking into?

Danielle:  What makes you think that?

Roxton:  Oh it’s happened once or twice before.

Danielle:  You should be more careful.

Roxton:  So where’s everyone hiding?  Is it because of the heat?  Is that what’s going on?

[Danielle claps her hands, summoning the Trogs and Zombies.]

Danielle:  These are my people and I am their queen.

[Fade Out]

[Scene:  The treehouse.  Malone is lying down.]

Malone:  The sooner we find Roxton, the better.

Challenger:  On that we all agree but you’re in no condition to go anywhere right now.  In fact, you’re damn lucky to be able to talk considering what hit you.

Malone:  Just another coincidence?  It just happened to break when I walked underneath it?

Challenger:  It could have been age, stress.

Veronica:  Or Danielle’s black magic.

Malone:  And now the drums in the middle of the afternoon.

Marguerite: Why is that?

[A man’s screams can be heard from below the treehouse.]

Veronica:  We’ve got company.

[They walk to the balcony and see Trogs and Zombies mindlessly walking into the electric fence.]

Challenger:  What kind of bizarre behavior is this?

Malone:  Zombies

Challenger:  This is insane.

Marguerite:  We’re trapped.

[Scene: Danielle’s village.]

Roxton:  Time for the whole story.

Danielle:  After the Trogs slaughtered everyone in my village, I ran away.

Roxton:  Yes you told me - it was twenty years ago and you were less than four years old.

Danielle:  A family of Trogs found me and raised me as their own.  As I grew up it was only natural that I would become their leader.

Roxton:  The curse of your superior intelligence.

Danielle:  The Trogs are simple creatures.  They’re afraid of me, they adore me, they’ll do anything I ask.  My mission is to unite the Trogs in peace and coexistence with all other tribes on the Plateau.  

Roxton:  Peace…coexistence?  Is that why you sent them - to try and kill me?

Danielle:  You’ve killed many Trogs.  Up until now you’ve been their mortal enemy.  

Roxton:  Why did you lie to me, and to my friends?      

Danielle:  People are afraid of the Trogs.    I thought you and your friends would treat me as an enemy, maybe even try to kill me, if I told you the truth.

Roxton:  What other secrets are you hiding?

Danielle:  My feelings for you haven’t changed.  This is my world.  I want you to be a part of it.

[Scene:  The treehouse.  The Trogs and Zombies are below.]

Marguerite:  Doesn’t look like our friends are in any hurry to leave.

Challenger:  Then we’ll drive them out.

Veronica:  I found it.  [Finding a book on the shelf]  Voodoo on the Plateau 1895.

Challenger:  Twenty five years ago.

Veronica:  That’s just a few years after my parents came here.

Malone:  Your father says they found a small village where they attended a number of Voodoo ceremonies.  [Citing from the book] The people seemed friendly enough though their belief in spirit and demonic possession is quite foreign and at times disturbing to us.    The most offensive thing about these people is their belief in slavery.  Drugged by the Voodoo Priestess they’re known as Zombies or the Living Dead.

Marguerite:  The damage done by the drug is permanent and irreversible and Zombies are forever bound in servitude to the Priestess who created them.

Veronica:  So, if Danielle is a Voodoo Priestess, then those are her Zombies.

Malone:  April 1900 Voodoo Village wiped out by Zombies.  Stories abound that salt inadvertently added to the Zombies’ food turned them into ferocious bloodthirsty savages bent on vengeance against their masters.  Everybody slaughtered.       

Marguerite:  Everybody except Danielle.

Malone:  What are we going to do about Roxton?

Challenger:  He must be on his way back by now.

Marguerite:  Do you really think that witch is going to let him go?  Once she’s finished taunting him she going to kill him.

Veronica:  Or turn him into one of those.

Challenger:  It would be quite easy I suppose.  All she’d have to do is drug his food or his drink.

[Scene:  Danielle’s village]

Roxton:  Look likes it going to be quite a celebration.

Danielle:  A wild and dangerous night of eating, drinking, dancing and sex.

Roxton:  Some sort of ritual, I presume?

Danielle:  My people have learned a lot but they’re still savages.

Roxton:  You know, I wonder how it is that all your people are so loyal to you.

Danielle:  I’m a superior being, they recognize and respond to that.

Roxton:  Yes. Well as much as I’d like to stay and witness this wild event.  I think I have to be getting back to my friends.  Prior commitments, you know how it is.  Perhaps we’ll meet again.

Danielle:  I’m disappointed; I thought you wanted us to last?

Roxton:  Well. absence makes the heart grow fonder. 

Danielle:  You’re running away.

Roxton:  With your permission, I’m leaving.

Danielle:  Go.  [Danielle claps her hands.]  If you can.

[Trogs step in Roxton way.]

Roxton:  Oh, so now I’m going to have to shoot my way out of here; is that it?

Danielle:  You’ll run out of bullets long before that happens.  

Roxton: Then I’ll just have to take you with me.

Danielle:  Touch me and they’ll tear you to pieces.

Roxton:  Let’s go.

[The Trogs attack and Roxton tries to fight them off but there are too many of them and they beat him into submission..  The Trogs throw Roxton into a cage setting a bowl filled with water at his feet.]

Danielle:  I’d rather keep you as a friend and lover, but I’ll turn you into an adoring fan like the rest of them if I have to.

Roxton:  I’ll never grovel at your feet.

Danielle:  Ah, but you will.  Breaking your spirit will be easy.

[Scene:  The treehouse – Marguerite is reading the book and she comes to a realization.]

Marguerite: [to herself] The Voodoo doll.  [to the others] The Voodoo doll!

Challenger:  What?

[Marguerite grabs the Voodoo Doll off the desk.]

Veronica:  If we can’t get to Roxton maybe we can use Danielle’s black magic against her.

Challenger:  That sounds a bit ridiculous.

Malone:  It’s worth a try.

Veronica:  You have to stop him from eating or drinking.

Marguerite:  How do you work one of these things?

Veronica:  Don’t ask me.

[Marguerite twists the arm of the Voodoo doll – cut to Roxton whose arm contorts behind his back.]

Roxton:  What the hell?

[Marguerite twists the leg of the Voodoo doll – cut to Roxton whose leg flares out sending the bowl of water flying out of the cage.  Roxton leans down to try and drink some of the water which spilled in the cage.  Marguerite twists the head of the Voodoo doll - cut to Roxton whose head twists back and forth.  He cries out in agony.]

Marguerite:  I wonder if that did any good.

[Marguerite throws the Voodoo doll on the cot – cut to Roxton who slams into the side of the cage.]

Danielle:  More water!  You should be more careful.  I could just leave you out here to bake.           

[The bowl is filled with water.  Roxton leans down to drink; he hesitates. He sees the look on Danielle’s face and realizes that there is something wrong with the water.]

Danielle:  Sooner or later you’ll drink.

[Roxton backs away from the bowl.]

[Fade Out]

[Scene:  The treehouse.  Malone looks over the balcony and sees the Zombies have left.]

Malone:  They’re gone. They’re gone!

Veronica:  Did they just get bored or were they setting an ambush?

Challenger:  Don’t think they’re smart enough for that.

Malone:  One way to find out.

[Danielle’s village]

Danielle:  Another beautiful day - a little warmer than yesterday I think.  [Roxton kicks the water bowl]  How long can you suffer?  One little drink will quench your thirst forever.

Roxton:  If I agree to be your friend and lover?

Danielle:  Now that I know how you really feel, how can I ever trust you?  Fill his bowl!

[Danielle is in her hut; she is mixing a potion]

Danielle:  Smoke will blind you and smoke will make you mine. 

[Scene:  The jungle – Malone, Veronica, Challenger and Marguerite are on the trail to Danielle’s village.]

Challenger:  Smoke.

Malone:  Where’s it coming from?

Veronica:  I don’t see a fire.

Challenger:  There must be a fire; where else would the smoke come from?

Marguerite:  Voodoo Priestess.  

[The group is attacked by the Zombies in fancy dress and skull-painted faces..  Marguerite and Veronica are carried away.]

Malone:  They’ve taken the women!

Challenger:  They must be heading for the village.

Malone:  This clothing suggests some sort of sacrifice.

Challenger:  The cult of the living dead. 

[Scene:  Danielle’s village – Danielle walks over to an unconscious Roxton in the cage.  She sees the bowl is empty.  She takes a hot poker and brands his arm.  Roxton doesn’t flinch.  Danielle hands the poker to a Trog.]

Danielle:  Find me when he wakes up.

[Veronica and Marguerite are brought into the village.]

Danielle:  Your beautiful friends are here.  Tonight your first task as my new slave will be to slaughter them.

[Scene:  The jungle – Challenger has his hair in a ponytail and is taking white sap from a tree and smearing it on his face.  Challenger and Malone are disguising themselves like the Zombies who attacked them.]

Challenger:  It may not be paint, but it will do in a pinch.

Malone:  I feel like a kid dressing up for Halloween.

Challenger:  This deathly cult may be the only thing that keeps us alive.

Malone:  Yeah.  All we have to do is walk into the village and spike the drinks; ready when you are.

Challenger:  You’ve got the salt?

Malone:  Yeah, crushed and ready to go.

[Scene:  Danielle’s village – Veronica and Marguerite are bound.  Roxton is standing near them in a trance.]

Marguerite:  Roxton, tell me you didn’t drink the damn water.  

Veronica:  If he did the damage is permanent.

[Challenger and Malone enter the village. The Zombies are dancing to the beat of the drums.]

Challenger:  There they are.

Malone:  At least they’re all still alive.

Challenger:  Where’s the Priestess?

Malone:  I don’t know.

[They see a cauldron filled with water.] 

Challenger:  This is obviously the drink stand.

[Challenger and Malone pour salt into the drinking water.]

Challenger:  No, no, not too much. We don’t want to make it undrinkable.

[A masked Zombie fills his cup from the pool of water and passes it to the other Zombies.]

Malone:  That doesn’t seem to be a problem.

[They pour the rest of the salt in the drinking water.]

Marguerite:  Roxton, if you can hear me just nod your head….drool….anything.

[Danielle comes forward.]

Danielle:  Tonight is a celebration of my power.  One day I will rule over all who live upon this great Plateau.  And I will slaughter all who stand in my way.

Malone [aside to Challenger]:  Do you think any of these people understand what she’s saying?

Danielle:  I will bathe in your blood.

Marguerite:  You’re out of your mind.

Danielle:  The savages will fall at my feet.  They will die if I ask them to.

Veronica:  What then?  You’ll have no one left to tell you how great you are.

Danielle:  Tonight when my dance is over, your lives will end.  [Danielle walks over to Roxton and kisses him.]  Such a waste.  On your knees.  Do you understand what must be done?

Malone:  I don’t think we’re gonna have time to wait for the salt.

Challenger:  It doesn’t seem to be having any effect at all.

[Danielle and the Zombies do their dance.  She grabs a machete and taunts Marguerite and Veronica with it.  She gives the machete to Roxton.]

Danielle:  Kill them!

Marguerite:  For God’s sake, Roxton.

[Roxton takes the sword.  Malone shouts “No!” and fires his gun in the air.]

Veronica:  Roxton, no!

[Roxton starts fighting the Zombies.  He cuts the ties holding Marguerite and Veronica.]

Danielle:  Stop, don’t you let them get away.

[The Zombies become violent and turn on Danielle.]

Challenger:  The salt is certainly working.

Danielle:  Roxton don’t leave me!

Roxton:  No!  I can’t let her die like this.

Danielle:  Roxton I love you!

Roxton: No! [He struggles to free himself from the grasp of Challenger and Malone.]

Veronica:  There’s nothing you can do!

Challenger:  It’s the monster turning on the master.

Malone:  The queen is dead; long live the savages.

[Epilogue]

[Scene:  The treehouse – Marguerite is bandaging Roxton’s arm.]

Roxton:  Ouch!  Marguerite.

Marguerite:  Hold still! 

Roxton:  She must have cast some sort of Voodoo spell on me right from the very beginning.

Marguerite:  Nice try.  You were totally infatuated with the little tramp.

Malone:  Still if he hadn’t convinced her that he really was a Zombie neither you nor Veronica would be alive today.

Veronica:  That red hot poker must have really hurt.

Roxton: Oh yes, well Danielle made one fatal error.  She gave me a chance to outsmart her.  I knew it was my only chance.

Challenger:  I’m not sure any of us could have done the same.

Malone:  And to be observant enough not to drink the water; that was brilliant.

Marguerite:  How did you figure that out?

Roxton:  I can’t really explain it. For some reason when I went to pick up the water bowl my body got all twisted into knots.

Marguerite:  You’re kidding?  Where’s the Voodoo doll?

Veronica:  I don’t know.

Roxton:  Doll?  [Marguerite and Veronica begin looking for the Voodoo doll.]  What are you talking about?

Marguerite:  We saved you from drinking the water with her Voodoo doll.

Roxton:  I don’t believe that.

Marguerite:  I can’t believe we lost it.

Veronica:  It’s got to be around here somewhere.

[Malone joins the search.]

Marguerite:  I don’t believe it’s missing.

[Challenger pulls out the Voodoo doll and hands it to Roxton.]

Challenger:  You better take custody of this.

Roxton:  I’ll keep it… with Marguerite’s ring.

[End of Episode]