Love Walks In

#### The Library

* Starscream in human form holds Jessie "JD" Davis in the air, "Human designation, Casey Mitchell, you're coming with me."
* Scarlet Blake kicks him in the shin. It feels much like she has kicked a cinderblock and he pays her no mind.
* JD tries to get loose. Starscream inspects him, "Strange that you would choose a form even tinier than the rest of these meat sacks, Wheeljack. You look more like a Bumblebee."

#### Flashback: Edgar Allen Poe Middle School Athletic Field

* The echoes of "Bumblebee" take Scarlet back to the past, to the day she learned that she made the Edgar Allen Poe Middle School football team - the only girl in the state to make it to this level. But she hasn't heard that news yet.
* Kids are practicing soccer, and cheerleaders are working on a pyramid. Jeff Bartlett (this is his last day alive) is talking to Mr. Derry. The football team is in the middle of two-a-days: organized team drills every morning and cardio in the afternoon.
* Scarlet has checked out a stopwatch, and is finishing her workout when a boy approaches. He's got a sunbleached-blonde crew-cut, he's pretty small, wearing a karate kid t-shirt and shorts.
	+ B: Excuse me, is there any way you could time me? My watch is hard to read. I'm trying to get in shape. I figure speed is my best bet. My buddy is really strong, so I figure I can help out the most if I'm quick.
	+ S: Uh, sure. You can use mine if you want.
	+ B: Oh, that would be great!
	+ B: My friends call me Bee, Bee Seville.
	+ S: Hey Bee, nice to meet you. I'm Scarlet.
	+ B: Uh, I know.
	+ S: My last name is Blake, so kindof a "b".
	+ B: Uh. ok. Yeah. Um. Ok so, um. I'm gonna just do a like a regular um 40 yards. I'm gonna run 40 yards. Um I counted it out. I got 40 yard. And um. I'm gonna run it.
* They arrange to time Bee's run. But as Bee walks away they hear "Hey Dweebs, wanna make this interesting?" It's Tom Hoffman, the starting quarterback for the game, and Brian Lars, middle linebacker and defensive captain. They bet that they can beat them in a relay race. "Loser leaves the track for good."
* Bee is much faster than Scarlet would have guessed. 10-15 yards into the race, Brian sees his speed, and goes to body check him. But Bee doesn't fall - he's redirected into the grass and then returns back to the track - still apace with Brian. When Brian is still a good 4 feet away from Tom, Tom starts running. Bee tags in Scarlet and she chases after Tom. Tom swerves into Scarlet's lane to block her. But Tom trips over his own feet and hits the ground hard. Scarlet makes it to the finish line and Bee punches a fist up into the air, "yes! yes! yes!"
* Bee and Scarlet are congratulating one another, when Bee looks over toward the cheerleaders and he's no longer happy. He stares at the Mayor and Mr. Derry. There are a group of parents near them, and all the parents are wearing sunglasses. They're paying more attention to the Mayor and Mr. Derry than to the kids on the field.
* Scarlet's brother is running towards her, fist in the air and cheering.
	+ B: "They look like us, but they aren't. Wheeljack told me they don't like water. If ... if you see the eyes remember that they really don't like water. Thanks for the race!"
	+ S: "What? Yeah, no problem ..."
* Scarlet's brother wraps his arms around her, and lifts her up, as he arrives. "You did it, Scar, you did it! You made the team!"
* When Scarlet looks around, Bee is gone.
* Scarlet earns 3 successes "Of Ravens and Bumblebees"

#### The Library

* Scarlet hops back on her foot, and seeing a fire extinguisher, aims it at Starscream's eyes.
* JD kicks him in the stomach, while Derrick "Ricky" Lewis attempts to pull him away.
* Heather Jones looks around to see if she can find anything to help, but instead spots Gremlin-langoliers hiding in the shadows. She pulls out her itty bitty booklight and shines it on them. They scream and knock over the bookshelf.
* JD's backpack tears and he falls away from Starscream, leaving Starscream standing there with two straps.
* The fire extinguisher blasts Starscream's sunglasses off, and he screams out "Pathetic Fools!" He steps back and is clipped by the falling bookcase. He begins to right himself.
* As the kids turn to run, Scarlet slips on some of the fluid from the fire extinguisher and twists her ankle.
* Hannah Casper arrives on the scene holding a bat. "You leave these kids alone, or I swear the devil himself will weep when he sees what I've done with you."
* Scarlet throws the fire extinguisher canister at Starscream and turns to leave.
* Heather doesn't want to leave Hannah behind so she looks again to see if there's anything that they can do to ensure that Hannah comes along with them. She sees another bookcase poised to collapse on Starscream, and she throws the phone book at it, tipping the bookcase over.
* JD runs down the stairs, while Ricky runs back to help Scarlet leave.
* Starscream is pinned under the bookcase. Hanna swings at his head with her bat. "That's not Casey Mitchell, you idiot!"
* "Go, go.." Hanna tells the kids to go. Heather gives her a hug and says, "Come with us!" Hannah assures them that she's following as well.
* On her way out, Hanna grabs her purse, all the missing posters off the bulletin board, and she takes the crystal from the window.
* As the kids exit, the snow has begun to fall.

* It's around 5PM.
* They kids race away and decide to head toward The Maplehurst Mall. It's not far away, and it is completely packed. They park their bikes and enter.

#### Maplehurst Mall

* As they enter, the holiday music is replaced by "Love Walks In" by Van Halen.
* In the Center Court of the mall, is Van Halen's tree, with four clock faces set into the trunk. Beneath the great tree is Santa's Toy Shop, and they see Van Halen there as an elf. Van Halen runs forward and gives them all a hug. Looking directly at Ricky she says, "You Stayed Ready."
* JD asks what she's doing here, and VH replies that when she moved her tree, they asked her to be an elf and she agreed.
	+ JD: "Why couldn't you just tell us tho."
	+ VH: "I didn't want anybody else to hear."
	+ S: "We looked for you. We went back to your tree, and we couldn't find you."
	+ VH: "They found my tree where I had it."
	+ S: "Who? Like the red-eyed guy?"
	+ VH: "The Walker. I don't know who he sent."
	+ H is quite upset: "Is it Randall Flagg? Or Pennywise?"
* JD grabs Heather's hand and squeezes.
	+ VH seeing that: "Great idea!"
* She grabs Ricky's hand. Ricky grab's Scarlets hand, and then Heather grabs the other. With VH leading the way, they all begin to move through the mall.
* VH leads them into Camelot music and waves hello to the Brad Miller working at the cash register. He greets her as "Vanessa". She escorts them into Listening Room #2 of Camelot Music, which is decorated with a poster of David Lee Roth and Van Halen.
* They tell her about their experiences with Starscream.
	+ VH: "I have some things to tell you. I wish I could have told you before but I didn't know where everyone had gone and I lost Veronica and I didn't want to put any of you in danger but then I realized it was time. I was sent here to ready the field. We thought Garrett couldn't be reached until the veil dropped but we were wrong. We believed that none could make it here unless called and then it required magic greater than any we have ever known to cross the veil.
	+ H: The veil? What? I've heard...
	+ VH: The veil, it's what separates my world from your world. Your world from all the worlds. It's not so much a veil as it is...
* VH looks at JD's backpack.
	+ VH: Like that. Only inside is this place, and outside is everything else. Does that make sense?
	+ JD: Kinda but how come other people like Randall and Pennywise and whatever that thing was at the library ... why can they get through this veil more than the good guys.
	+ VH: We don't know. They have help. I think it's that Loop place.
	+ JD: Okay. Do you know where Casey is? Do you know where any of the people who are missing are?
	+ S: Or Rob? Optimus wants us to find him.
	+ VH nods and reaches for JD's backpack. Then uses it to demonstrate Garrett inside the veil/backpack and everything else outside. "If we're in here ... then all the others ... they're out here somewhere."
	+ H: On purpose? Did they get taken?
	+ VH: It's more complicated than that. They have a purpose. Like you all.
	+ JD: And what's that?
	+ VH: Well, we don't know how the others are getting here. The Walker has seemed to be ahead of us, but he doesn't know everything.
	+ H: Randall Flag?
	+ VH: No. He who walks between the rows. He knows that Garrett's the Nexus. He knows that it's ... (holding the backpack again) this is the hub from which the other world's revolve. We're center court!
	+ R: Is that why you're all coming here?
	+ H: You said that we had a purpose?
	+ VH: Yeah. A great battle is coming between all that is good and The Row Walker. The Walker has marshalled forces of his own but, they're selfish and maniacal. They can't work together. They don't want to share a throne. Flagg, Arkeville, Megatron, The False. The Walker brought them all here, but he did so clumsily. Now they have gone rogue with their own pursuits of power. You must help me, my friends. You must fulfill your purpose.
	+ H: What do we do? What can we do?
	+ VH: You must help me, my friends. We're going to bring back the Autobots, and we're going to drop the veil.

## Characters

* Starscream
* Jeff Bartlett
* Mr. Derry
* Bee Seville
* Tom Hoffman
* Brian Lars
* Hannah Casper
* Van Halen
* Brad Miller
* Veronica Kirkshaw
* The Walker
* Randall Flagg
* Dr. Arkeville
* Megatron
* The False

## Locations

* The Library
* Edgar Allen Poe Middle School
* The Maplehurst Mall
* The Loop

## Lexicon

* Keystones
* Gremlin-langoliers
* Autobots