from The Wolves
by Paul Dellevigne
We enter into this section of the script as a group of people trapped in a bar are trying to wrap their heads around what is happening outside, even while one of their own may die or transform at any moment, all while her wife sits by her side.
INT. BAR—NIGHT
Steven (the bartender), Pete, and Jim are in the process of tying Amy to a chair tucked back in the dry storage area of the bar. Christine is next to her while they go about their business, holding her hand and quietly hoping that she bleeds to death. Another patron, Don, has turned into a werewolf and is trapped in the basement.
CHRISTINE
I’m right here, baby. I’m gonna stay right here.
AMY
(struggling to speak, trembling and sobbing)
I… don’t… want… to… turn…
CHRISTINE
I know baby. I’m right here. It’s gonna be okay.
STEVEN
(standing up from tying the girl down)
All right, that should hold if anything happens. Now let’s try to figure out what we’re doing here.
Jim steps out from the dry storage area, followed by Pete. Christine stays with Amy.
JIM
Weapons would probably be a good idea.
PETE
(looking around)
Um… anybody have any silver?
STEVEN
(staring at Pete)
I don’t think we’ll be able to forge any bullets at this point.
(to the crowd)
Is anyone in here armed? I know that question would normally get you thrown out, but we could really use something here.
Pretty much no one in the bar is armed.
STEVEN
(looking around)
All right, then, we’ll use the tables. Let’s flip them over and start breaking them down.
Everyone looks around at each other for a moment, then stands up and turns their tables over and starts kicking at the legs.
JIM
(to Steven and Pete)
Is this really going to help? I mean I know there isn’t a chance in hell of us having silver bullets here, but wooden stakes are vampires—I don’t think they’ll help us out too much here.
STEVEN
Right. Vampire mythology. See, here’s the thing. Vampires, werewolves, zombies, the mummy, for fuck’s sake Frankenstein’s fucking monster??? They don’t exist!!! They’re supposed to be stories! They’re supposed to be myth! Yet lo and fucking behold, there goes Don, OUR FRIEND! And he literally goes from man to fucking wolf in a matter of seconds!
JIM
(philosophically)
BUT THAT’S MY POINT! HE IS A WEREWOLF! THEY DO EXIST! THERE’S ONE IN THE FUCKING BASEMENT!
Steven backs off for a moment, so Jim slows down.
JIM
We’ve seen it happen. It obviously is not a myth. So personally I don’t see how big wooden sticks are going to help us against something that has, historically, only been killed with silver!
Steven looks at Amy for a moment, then turns his gaze back at Jim.
STEVEN
Here’s the trick. I’ve seen The Wolf Man, I’ve seen an American Werewolf in London. I’ve seen The Howling. Christ, I’ve even seen that piece of shit Wolf with Jack Nicholson. Have you seen ’em?
JIM
(keeping eye to eye with Steven)
Yeah, I’ve seen them. Your point?
STEVEN
My point is that in all of those movies, in all of your “mythology,” anyone who has been hurt by a wolf but survived turns into a wolf, but it’s never happened the same day.
Everyone, even Jim, realizes that he is right. The rules have already been broken, so they may possibly be broken further.
STEVEN
Anyway, even if a wooden stake to the heart doesn’t kill one, it should at least slow them down long enough to give us an escape plan.
PETE
Speaking of which, does anyone have an escape plan?
JIM
Escape plan? I think we’re pretty good right where we are.
PETE
Really? You think we’re okay here?
JIM
The back door opens out and is barricaded. The front door opens in but has a jukebox in front of it, so unless they go back to Steven's idea of them developing opposable thumbs, we’re okay there. Honestly, I think that staying in the bar is the safest plan we have.
While this conversation is going on, everyone else is still in the process of breaking down every table into weaponry.
PETE
(to Steven)
Listen, will you come here for a moment?
Pete motions towards the kitchen. Steven shrugs and follows Pete into the kitchen.
Jim and Sarah follow.
PETE
Here’s the thing. Let’s be honest, you are all assuming that she is going to die before she turns. What if that doesn’t happen?
JIM
I don’t get where you’re going. We’ve got her tied down.
PETE
Right, but is that going to work? Let’s be realistic here, Don damn near broke through the trap door with his head. If she turns, if she stays alive long enough to turn, there’s no way those ties will hold her. We can’t put her in the basement, because the moment we open that door Don is coming out with a vengeance.
SARAH
So what, exactly, do you propose we do?
PETE
(to Steven)
Are you sure there isn't anything in this kitchen that could get hot enough to melt silver?
STEVEN
No. Look around! There’s a grill and a microwave. Do you think anything in this tiny-ass kitchen could get hot enough to melt silver? Besides, we don't need it! Everyone needs to get over the whole silver thing!
PETE
Well, how the hell else do you kill werewolves?
JIM
Steven does have a point. Think about it: from movie to movie it’s all a clusterfuck.
STEVEN
The werewolf in An American Werewolf In London was just shot to death. They weren’t silver bullets.
SARAH
And in Silver Bullet, it didn’t even matter if it was a full moon, he just turned whenever he wanted.
JIM
Not that it should count, but the wolves in Underworld turn at will, too.
PETE
(annoyed)
Okay, okay, enough! I get it, the rules have gone out the window. But here’s the thing: If she turns, she’ll be able to break those ties, and we have nowhere to put another wolf.
SARAH
So, do you actually have a plan, or are you just making sure we all know how this could all turn to shit.
PETE
Worse comes to worse, I live around the corner.
Everyone looks disappointed by this.
PETE
(sensing everyone’s displeasure)
No, no, listen. The stakes are a good idea, you’re right. I mean, how many of them could there be between here and 23rd and South?
JIM
Too many. We heard them howling.
STEVEN
I think Jim’s right. There’s no way we walk out that door. It’d be suicide.
PETE
But what if something goes wrong in here?
STEVEN
(angry)
Nothing is going to go wrong, okay? We're safe in here. Now let’s get back to the task at hand!
Pete, Jim, and Sarah all feel just a little bit of shame for having basically forgotten all about the tied-up girl.
PETE
(frustrated)
Fine. Give me a fucking piece of table.
The four of them walk out of the kitchen and go about helping everyone else break legs off of tables.
JIM
(to Steven)
Do you guys have a butcher knife or anything that could help hone down the ends of these legs?
Steven goes back into the kitchen and rummages around. He comes out with one large knife. He tests the blade with his thumb, and realizes that it is not sharp enough for the job at hand.
STEVEN
(holding up the knife)
We’ve got one good knife, and I don’t think it’s that good.
PETE
(table leg in hand)
Let’s test it out.
Pete braces the table leg on the bar and under his left arm. With his right hand he tries to shear away part of the varnished table leg. The knife gets about a centimeter in, then gets stuck.
PETE
(turning to Steven)
Yeah, this could be tricky.
Pete tries to shimmy the blade further along, scraping it against the wood, it starts to cut through a little deeper, but then the blade snaps.
PETE
Shit.
STEVEN
There goes our only ready-made weapon.
SARAH
(yelling out to the crowd)
Doesn’t anyone have a decent knife? A hunting knife? A fucking Swiss Army knife for Christ’s sake?
Everyone in the bar just sort of stands there staring at her. Then, suddenly, a bike messenger in the crowd snaps out of his stare.
BIKE MESSENGER
Wait! I think I have something.
He runs to his messenger bag by the wall and starts rummaging through it. It takes him a while, but eventually he comes up with a medium-sized pocket knife. He runs over to Sarah and Pete.
BIKE MESSENGER
Will this work?
Pete struggles to pull the remnants of the kitchen knife out of the leg of the table. Once he does, he goes to whittling with the pocket knife. Surprisingly, it does a much better job.
PETE
All right, that should work, but it’s going to take some time.
(addressing the crowd)
Look, it’s going to have to be one at a time since we just have the one knife. Let’s line up.
(Pete thinks for a quick second)
Hold up. We don’t have time to worry about women and children first or any of that shit. Here’s the deal—as close as you are to me now, that’s the line. Just merge as you come in.
All of a sudden, there is something wrong in the room. Despite the constant sense of fear, uncertainty, and anxiety that has plagued the entire bar since this whole ordeal started, everyone has been shocked into compliance. But with this newest directive, there’s now a clear sense of unrest.
Those closest to Amy are not happy.
MAN 1
Wait a minute, what about us? We’re the ones closest to it!
CHRISTINE
It? Did you just call her 'it'?
WOMAN
If she turns into one of those, there is no way I don’t get a spear!
AMY
(sobbing)
(to Christine)
I don’t want to hurt anyone.
CHRISTINE
(to the crowd)
She’s not a monster!
MAN 2
Not yet!
For the first time since they tied her up, Christine leaves the side of her injured girlfriend. She runs up to MAN 1 and grabs him by the collar.
CHRISTINE
SHE’S NOT A FUCKING MONSTER!!!!
YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP OR I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF!!!
Pete storms towards the two of them with the pocket knife raised up.
PETE
(angry and frustrated)
SHUT UP, EVERYONE!!!
(to Christine)
LET HIM GO!
Christine turns to stare at Pete for a second, but doesn’t let go.
Pete gets right up in Christine's face.
PETE
Let him go. This isn’t helping anyone.
Christine stares Pete down for a moment, then loosens her grip on the man, who falls backwards into his friend.
PETE
(motioning to Amy)
Stay with her.
Christine goes back to her sobbing, bleeding girlfriend.
PETE
(to Man 1)
Are you a fucking idiot?
MAN 1
(shoving Pete away from him)
Don’t you start with me! You people brought these things here! You know she’s going to become one of them! What the fuck do you think we can fucking do?
PETE
(trying to stay calm)
I think we can use our FUCKING HEADS!! Now CALM THE FUCK DOWN!
Pete surveys the crowd.
He stares long and hard at Man 1.
PETE
We’re not idiots. We’re not abandoning anyone to anything! As soon as the first person is armed, they come right back here, to the end of the line, just in case.
Man 1 glances down to the floor, realizing that his panic was unwarranted.
PETE
(to Man 1)
Look at me.
Man 1 doesn’t.
PETE
LOOK AT ME!
Man 1 does.
PETE
Until anything happens, she is an injured woman. Got that? She is nothing to be feared right up until the point where she is something to be feared. Okay?
Man 1 nods.
Everyone gets in line.
Calm finally starts to sink in, with the exception of Amy who is still sobbing, but that should be expected from someone who is bleeding profusely and could possibly turn into a werewolf at any moment.
PETE
Besides, we seem to be good for at least a little while.
Suddenly, as if on cue, the Don-Wolf slams against the trap door.
The loudness of the impact startles the entire room and makes Amy shriek.
Pete runs to the other end of the bar and starts whittling.
Paul Dellevigne studied film at Temple University before getting caught up in bureaucracy and the service industry. He fronted Philadelphia band The Sinners for 10 years and was a contributor to bizarre Christmas band The Hot Buttered Elves for multiple decades. He is now old.