To Betty Anne, a dejected Gary recounts his approach to Sam: she shares his attraction, but has too much going on just now for closer fraternisation. With the others, Sam returns with firewood. Tonight, her story concerns illusion and deception. Something familiar might sometimes reveal an unexpected secret. Such surprises may delight, fascinate - or horrify. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight society, she calls this story "The Tale of the Night Shift."
In the United Hospital's basement, Felix searches for a missing shipment. From a distance, young Margot brightly calls his name, and offers to show him something. Felix follows her round a corner - and is faced with the snarling fanged maw of a pale green, deathly gaunt, white-haired, red-eyed vampire.
Amanada knocks on the open door of an otherwise empty ward. A weary voice calls from the bed. Amanda recognises schoolmate Colin - in for a tonsillectomy.
In the corridor, Nurse Laurette is called from behind by a solitary young girl. Laurette asks what room she’s in. With a laugh, the girl runs off.
Laurette follows into an empty ward. She approaches a toilet curtain, and pulls it back - to find no one there. Behind her, the hissing Vampire closes in.
Alone in a bath ward, Amanda folds towels. From behind, Colin approaches. He reports broken-legged young Bud to have vanished about an hour ago. So as not to get Bud in trouble, they look for him themselves. Down a darkened, a door opens. They hide in a storage cupboard.
In the cupboard, Amanda senses something beneath her shoe. In the gloom, across the floor, they see a cluster of dark red streaks. Amanda pulls the light switch. On the floor are small, transparent pouches, each layered inside with red - blood storage bags.
Amanda shows one of the bags to Nurse Hantin, who receives the find in a drained, subdued trance. She picks up the phone to call security. As Amanda leaves, the nurse lowers the phone. On the side of her neck, amidst an angry red bruise, are two small puncture marks.
Bud, Colin tells Amanda, still isn’t back. In light of the boy’s request to see the morgue, they decide to try there.
In the bright, sterile chamber, they find no sign of the boy. On the autopsy table, a white sheet covers a human-shaped object. Colin decides to have a look. On the table, icily pale, with two small puncture wounds in his neck, is Felix.
They pass Jack, who dreamily claims Felix to be just fine. On a stairwell, the two are slowly pursued - by Felix. He grins, bearing a set of fangs. He tries to bite Amanda. Collin pulls him off. What is Felix's problem? The one who made him like this, says Felix, has been feeding on everyone - just enough to keep them in a subservient trance. Felix, however, was the first - his attacker, having drank too much, inadvertently infected him. Not sure how long he can resist.
Through the basement, Amanda and Colin follow Felix. In a corner, propped against a far wall, is a black coffin.
From the dinghy hallway behind them calls the voice of Margot. Her airy smile twists into a vicious leer. Her youthful complexion fades to deathly green, her skin grows taut, and her eyes flash blood-red. In place of Margot looms an ancient, blood-sucking predator. He sweeps down on Felix. Unable to help him, Amanda and Colin run for dear life, while Felix screams...
Colin suggests he distract the Vampire, while Amanda drag the coffin into the incinerator. Doubtful of her ability to move the coffin, she insists they trade roles - Amanda will distract the Vampire, while Colin moves the coffin.
Past the security guards, Amanda breaks into a run, and leaps into an elevator - while Margot takes the stairs.
In the basement, Colin pulls open the incinerator; carefully wrestles the coffin to the floor, and starts to drag it to the incinerator. Behind the corner peeks Felix, whose eyes now blaze red.
On the roof of the hospital, through the night air, Amanda hastily clambers between air ducts - and runs into the path of Margot, who passes a brief wall, and emerges as the Vampire.
In the basement, a deathly pale, snarling, red-eyed Felix pins Colin to the wall. They struggle.
Having fled to the edge of the roof, Amanda overlooks the distant, cityscape. Several yards behind her stands the Vampire.
In the basement, Colin tries to get through to the feral Felix. With a pained groan, Felix staggers back.
On the roof, the Vampire lifts Amanda off her feet, and dangles her over the drop. He lifts her back over the ledge, and decides on the old-fashioned way. He opens his mouth wide…
...Together, Felix and Colin shove the coffin into the flames of the incinerator.
With his fangs inches from Amanda’s neck, the Vampire jerks back his head. The corpse-like head suddenly ignites into a fountain of flame.
As more flames engulf his body, he screams and staggers. Amanda shields her eyes from the blaze. The frantic Vampire leaps over the edge of the building.
Amanda returns to an empty ward. With a merry yell, Bud, in his wheelchair, speeds into view. Nurse Laurette quickly follows. A similarly restored Nurse Hantin wonders if she scared off the new girl.
Amanda and Colin share a hug of relief - everyone’s back to normal, with no apparent memory of their ordeal. Jack then storms into view, and has a brief, stern word with Felix - whose eyes are no longer red. Colin asks Amanda if there’s any chance of a second date…
Sam closes to a hearty word of appreciation from Betty Anne and Kiki. Gary self-consciously takes his leave. Sam asks him to wait. Tucker, Stig and Kiki impudently insinuate. With a grin, Betty Anne ushers them away. Alone by the fire, Sam concedes, to a stunned Gary, that maybe they have possibilities. For now, they watch the fire...
This episode provides examples of:
- Adults Are Useless: Played for Horror. The Vampire has discreetly bent nearly the entire population of a hospital to his insidious will. Three young protagonists, out of sheer, terrified desperation, must find a way to defeat the fiend.
- Assimilation Plot: Via non-fatally feeding on hospital staff and patients, the Vampire ensnares them in a subservient trance.
- Attack Its Weak Point: While Amanda creates a diversion, Colin and Felix feed the Vampire’s coffin into the incinerator.
- Badass Longcoat: Rather fittingly, the Vampire’s long black coat evokes a cloak.
- Darker and Edgier: This episode offers a rather more graphic depiction of vampirism: we see the temporarily undead corpse of a victim, and the stains of ravenously emptied blood bags. In contrast to the reservedly genial Brauns, or the silent, semi-spectral Nosferatu, this Vampire is leeringly frank about his habits.
- Deadpan Snarker: Colin shows a grimly dry sense of humour.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Downplayed; while quite civil about it, Amanda grows weary of Colin’s playful, amorous advances - although their shared ordeal rather lightens her reserve.
- Everybody's Dead, Dave: Or rather undead; most of the occupants of the hospital have been partially infected with vampirism.
- Faux Affably Evil: Both as Margot and in its undead form, the Vampire is airily genial - and sadistically frank about its appetites.
- Heroic Willpower: With great difficulty, Felix barely manages to suppress his vampirism.
- Hidden in Plain Sight: As Margot, the Vampire notes the benefits of operating out of a hospital full of patients and having complete control over the staff.
- "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Cornered by vampire Felix, Colin appeals to his humanity by mention of Amanda’s mortal danger.
- I Owe You My Life: Back to normal, Felix thanks Amanda and Colin for saving him.
- It Amused Me: The Vampire maintains a proper cover and clearly thinks ahead, but when pursuing Amanda, he gladly indulges in pure sadism and savagery just for the fun of it.Vampire: [dangling Amanda over the ledge] I should drop you and then lick up what's left!
- Jump Scare: The Vampire, both in undead and Margot form, seems fond of unexpectedly popping up.
- Knight of Cerebus: While this show has a wealth of macabre, often murderous fiends, the Vampire, for sheer extent of in-story murderous viciousness, is on a par with the the Corpse.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Once the Vampire is finished, the various people that were under his control don't remember what happened. The lone exception is Felix, due to having been turned.
- The Matchmaker: Betty Anne nurtures Gary’s designs on Sam.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Unlike the later victims, the Vampire was a little too eager in feeding off Felix, which led to him going full vampire. This gives Amanda and Colin a much needed ally later on, what with everyone else still human but under the Vampire's control.
- Our Vampires Are Different: The Vampire claims his kind only need to feed every fifty years or so. He can also take on alternative human forms.
- Psychotic Smirk: In Margot form, the Vampire, with an easy smile, announces its intentions.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: A symptom of full vampirism.
- Sadist: Dangling someone over a building to relish their screams of abject terror is pretty sadistic.
- Scenery Dissonance: The starkly contemporary, secure setting of a hospital strongly emphasises the horror of the supernatural threat.
- Shout-Out: Red-eyed, snarling Felix recalls the Hammer Horror breed of vampire.
- Slasher Smile: The Vampire sports an openly vicious leer.
- Suddenly Shouting: Felix, struggling to suppress his vampirism, is, on Colin’s doubt of the supernatural condition, driven to a brief, violent outburst.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: The Vampire reverts between its undead form and that of teenage girl Margot.
- We Need a Distraction: Amanda keeps the Vampire focused on her, allowing Colin and the vampirized Felix to destroy his coffin.
