Silver Bullet Page #18

They are now running beside a river- the Auger River, in

fact.

EXT. THE BULLET'S GAS GAUGE

Now the needle is actually past "E."

EXT. MARTY

MARTY:

Come on, baby... come on...

His face registers hope as he sees:

EXT. ROADSIDE SIGN, MARTY'S POV

AUGER RIVER COVERED BRIDGE 2000 FEET AHEAD AUTOMOBILES

PROHIBITED!

EXT. MARTY, IN THE BULLET

He twists the throttle as far as it will turn- he's going

for broke. The coupe chases him- and now the Silver Bullet's

motor COUGHS.

EXT. THE BRIDGE, MARTY'S POV

It's pretty ramshackle. A big orange sign beside it reads:

BRIDGE UNSAFE! TRUCKS AND AUTOS ABSOLUTELY PROHIBITED!

EXT. THE SILVER BULLET

MARTY brakes, hits the shoulder of the road, and somehow

makes the turn. We see him holding on for dear life as the

Silver Bullet bounces and jounces down the dirt road to the

mouth of the covered bridge.

EXT. LOWE'S COUPE

It overshoots the right turn MARTY just took, screeches to a

halt, backs up, and turns onto the lane.

EXT. THE SILVER BULLET

It bounces up the incline to the bridge, MOTOR COUGHING AND

SPLUTTERING.

EXT. THE COUPE

It comes to a sliding, dirt-digging stop.

INT. LOWE, BEHIND THE WHEEL

His face is so full of frustrated hate that it has become

the face of a gargoyle.

EXT. THE SIGN PROHIBITING MOTOR TRAFFIC, LOWE'S POV

EXT./INT. THE COVERED BRIDGE, WITH THE BULLET

It's dim and spooky in here. Cracks between the boards of

the side walls allow dusty fingers of daylight to shine

through. More light rays up from the cracks in the floor.

The floorboards are warped and uneven; MARTY'S wheelchair

sways drunkenly from side to side. The total inside passage

is about seventy feet.

About halfway across, the Silver Bullet coughs its last

cough and splutters its last splutter. It rolls along

silently, going on its dying momentum.

EXT. THE FAR END OF THE BRIDGE, MARTY'S POV

Drawing closer. We hear the SOUNDS of boards rumbling under

the Silver Bullet's tires and the Auger River beneath.

EXT. MARTY, REVERSE

Rolling ever more slowly, the Silver Bullet approaches THE

CAMERA... and stops. MARTY is covered with sweat. His hair

is in a wild tangle. He's panting. He looks at:

EXT. THE LANE LEADING AWAY FROM THE BRIDGE, MARTY'S POV

This is an extremely rustic lane. Pretty, but hardly the

sort of place in which one would want to find oneself when

one has a part-time werewolf and a full-time homicidal

maniac close behind.

EXT. MARTY, AT THE MOUTH OF THE BRIDGE

LOWE (soft voice)

Marty...

MARTY'S head whips around.

EXT. THE FAR END OF THE BRIDGE, MARTY'S POV

We see a brilliant square of light. In it stands LOWE'S

silhouette. The silhouette begins to move. SOUND of

footfalls on the loose floorboards of the covered bridge.

INT. LOWE'S SHOES

Sensible black Oxfords.

LOWE:

I'm very sorry about this. I don't know if

you believe that or not, but it's true. I

would never willingly hurt a child. You

should have left me alone, Marty.

SOUND of footfalls resumes.

EXT. MARTY

He's nearly paralyzed with terror- even if he wasn't, he

wouldn't get far in a powerless Silver Bullet.

INT. LOWE, IN THE SHADOWS

LOWE (soft; soothing)

I can't kill myself, Marty. You see, our

religion teaches that suicide is the

greatest sin a man or a woman can commit.

Stella Randolph was going to commit suicide;

if she had done so, she would be burning in

hell right now. By killing her I took her

physical life but saved her life eternal.

You see, Marty? You see how all things serve

the will and the mind of God? You see, you

meddling little sh*t!

He begins to walk forward again.

EXT. LOWE, MARTY'S POV

He's halfway across the bridge now, walking slowly, not

hurrying.

LOWE:

You're going to have a terrible accident,

Marty. You're going to fall into the river.

SOUND:
TRACTOR ENGINE. LOWE stops, alert to possible danger.

EXT. MARTY

TRACTOR SOUND IS LOUDER.

MARTY'S face fills with hope. He looks from LOWE toward:

EXT. THE LANE, MARTY'S POV

THE TRACTOR SOUND gets louder still, and here comes ELMER

ZINNEMAN on a John Deere. The tractor is hauling a manure

spreader which is mostly empty.

EXT. MARTY

MARTY (waving madly)

Mr. Zinneman! Mr. Zinneman!

INT. THE COVERED BRIDGE, WITH LOWE

He draws back a little, and his face is sharp with animal

cunning- inside his head he's running a four-minute mile.

Stay and try to bluff it out, or beat it?

EXT. ELMER AND MARTY

ELMER draws the tractor up close to MARTY and swings it

around. MARTY looks back at:

INT. THE COVERED BRIDGE, MARTY'S POV

Empty.

SOUND OF A CAR STARTING, FAINT.

EXT. MARTY AND ELMER

MARTY looks back at ELMER.

MARTY:

I ran out of gas.

ELMER:

Spooky in there, ennit?

MARTY (with feeling)

It sure is!

He looks back once more toward:

EXT./INT. THE COVERED BRIDGE, MARTY'S POV

Brooding, shadowy. CAMERA HOLDS AND WE

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. THE COSLAW BACKYARD DAY

MARTY is talking to UNCLE AL. JANE is behind them, knocking

croquet balls through the wickets on the back lawn.

MARTY is looking at his Uncle anxiously as JANE strolls

over.

UNCLE AL:

Well... it's a lot easier to swallow

without the hair and the foaming jaws.

Also, I checked on the otic solution.

It was counter brand. No prescription

needed.

MARTY:

I told you!

UNCLE AL:

Shut up, dear boy- no gloating allowed.

JANE (sits down)

Did you talk to the constable?

UNCLE AL:

After Marty called me with his latest

Thrilling Tale of Wonder, I did. (Pause)

He's had no poison-pen complaints lodged

at all.

MARTY:

I told you!

JANE:

Shut up, Marty.

UNCLE AL (reluctantly)

There's something else.

MARTYJANE:

What is it?What other thing?

UNCLE AL:

I probably shouldn't tell you- you're

both hysterical on the subject. I'm

starting to feel like a guy handing

out free Arthur Murray coupons to

victims of the dancing sickness.

MARTY:

Uncle Al, if you don't tell me-

He makes strangling gestures.

UNCLE AL (reluctant)

I went out to that rest area.

MARTY (triumph)

You found the tracer?

UNCLE AL:

No... but I found some blood, smeared on

a tree trunk in that grove.

MARTY:

There! You see!

UNCLE AL:

It could have been anything, Marty.

MARTY:

What about Father Lowe chasing me in his

car and trying to run me down? You don't

think that was a dream, do you?

UNCLE AL:

No.

UNCLE AL comes over to JANE'S side of the Silver Bullet. He

looks down at:

EXT. THE FRAME OF THE BULLET

There's a scrape and a dent where LOWE'S coupe dented it.

There is also a fleck of paint.

EXT. UNCLE AL AND JANE, CU

UNCLE AL:

Lowe's car-?

JANE:

Blue. This blue.

UNCLE AL:

Jesus.

EXT. THE NIGHT SKY, WITH THE MOON

Three-quarters full.

THE CAMERA PANS DOWN to the Tarker's Mills town hall. UNCLE

AL'S sports car is parked out front.

INT. THE CONSTABLE'S OFFICE, WITH HALLER AND UNCLE AL

HALLER is behind his desk, rocked back in his chair, hands

laced together behind his head. He's looking at UNCLE AL.

There's a silence that draws out for quite some time. In it,

UNCLE AL becomes steadily more uncomfortable.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes