Silver Bullet Page #5

BRADY:

I gotta split - see ya, Marty... Tammy.

EXT. THE CORNER OF MAIN AND WALNUT, A WIDER SHOT AFTERNOON

TAMMY and MARTY watch as BRADY zooms off toward home on his

bike.

MARTY pushes in a hand clutch and moves a small lever. He

bumps down over the curb and they cross the street side by

side, TAMMY on her bike, MARTY in his wheelchair.

EXT. MARTY AND TAMMY FROM THE FAR CURB, REVERSE

He pops up over the curbing with a bounce. He shoves in the

little hand clutch and revs the engine. Va-room!

MARTY:

Not bad, huh? My Uncle Al took off the

regular muffler and put on a Cherry Bomb.

TAMMY:

What's that?

MARTY:

Glasspack. He said he'd come over sometime

this summer and we'd soup up the engine...

but now I dunno. He's getting a divorce and

he's in the doghouse with my mother.

TAMMY:

For getting a divorce?

MARTY:

Well... it is his third.

EXT. A STREET ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN, WITH MARTY AND

TAMMY:

The other kids are gone; they are alone. The sidewalk has

ended and they roll slowly along the dirt verge of the road.

They look toward:

EXT. THE RANDOLPH HOUSE, MARTY AND TAMMY'S POV

The driveway is blocked off with a sawhorse bearing the

stenciled words POLICE INVESTIGATION. The yard is filled

with cop cars - HALLER'S constable car, plus a number of

state police vehicles. Uniformed men come and go.

We can see a large black wreath on the door.

EXT. MARTY AND TAMMY

TAMMY:

Thanks for coming with me, Marty- I was

scared to go past her house by myself.

MARTY (matter-of-fact)

Yeah... it is a little scary.

TAMMY:

I mean, I saw her. All the time.

TAMMY stops her bike. She's on the verge of tears.

TAMMY:

I used to see her every day, and she never

knew what was going to happen to her, and

neither did I! I mean I know how stupid

that sounds, but...

MARTY:

Hey, take it easy. I know how you feel.

He gets the Silver Bullet moving again, and she has to pedal

along to catch up.

EXT. THE STURMFULLER DRIVEWAY, WITH MARTY AND TAMMY

They stop at the end.

TAMMY:

There's something else scary.

MARTY:

What?

TAMMY (points)

That.

EXT. OLD GREENHOUSE, MARTY AND TAMMY'S POV

It stands a bit behind the house itself. A creepy place.

Many of the glass panes are broken; some of these - not many

- have been blocked with cardboard. The inside is a jungle

of plants that have run to riot. In the f.g. is a

mucky-looking garden patch where nothing much is growing.

EXT. MARTY AND TAMMY

She is quite deeply troubled.

TAMMY:

I've been hearing noises in there.

MARTY:

What kind of noises?

TAMMY:

Rattling. Rustling.

MARTY:

Rats...

TAMMY:

And my dad says it's kids. But it's not

rats and it's not kids. It's-

EXT. THE STURMFULLER HOUSE, WITH MILT

Oh my suds and body, here is the Great American Alcoholic

for sure - the rural version. MILT is wearing a suit of

pee-stained thermal underwear. He's wearing a baseball cap

with the word "Caterpillar" on the front and has a bottle of

beer in one hand (I'm pretty sure that his beer is Rheingold

the dry beer). With his other hand he is busily scratching

his crotch.

MILT:

Tammy, you get on in here and do some

dishes!

EXT. THE GREENHOUSE

Sinister...spooky.

TAMMY (voice)

I've got to go.

EXT. MARTY AND TAMMY

MARTY:

I'd go out and take a look myself, but I

think the Bullet'd get stuck in the garden.

It looks sorta greasy.

She smiles at him, bends over, and kisses him on the mouth.

MARTY is stunned... but happy.

TAMMY:

You would, wouldn't you?

MARTY (Joe Cool)

Sure. No sweat.

TAMMY:

Well, it's probably nothing. I'm just spooked

since... you know.

MARTY:

Yeah... but if you hear any more noises,

tell your father. Okay?

TAMMY:

Okay. Have you got enough gas to get home,

Marty?

MARTY (Startled)

Jeez!

EXT. THE WHEELCHAIR "DASHBOARD," MARTY'S POV

There's a gas gauge here, and the needle is almost on "E."

EXT. MARTY AND TAMMY

MARTY:

I'm always doing this! I gotta go, Tammy.

MILT (voice)

TAMMY!

TAMMY (calls)

Coming Daddy! (To MARTY) Bye... thanks

again for coming home with me.

She waves and goes biking down the driveway as MARTY motors

back onto the street and turns toward town.

EXT. TAMMY

She brings her bike to a stop by her father.

MILT:

'Bout time. Why you want to hang around

that cripple?

TAMMY:

I like him.

MILT:

Goddamn cripples always end up on welfare.

Ought to electrocute all of 'em. Balance

the f***ing budget.

Having delivered this pearl of wisdom, MILT goes inside, now

scratching his ass. TAMMY pauses a moment and looks toward

THE CAMERA, her face troubled and scared.

EXT. THE DESERTED GREENHOUSE, TAMMY'S VIEW

DISSOLVES TO:

EXT. MARTY

He's buzzing along toward downtown, which is still some

distance away - but at least he's made it back to the

sidewalk again.

MARTY (prayerfully)

Come on, baby-

He looks down at:

EXT. THE WHEELCHAIR GAS GAUGE, MARTY'S POV

Now the needle is lying all the way over on "E."

EXT. VIRGIL'S TEXACO LATE AFTERNOON

MARTY pulls in. The wheelchair motor starts to pop and lug

and misfire. The chair makes it to the first pump on the

island closest to the street and then stalls as VIRGIL CUTTS

comes over.

VIRGIL:

Well, Marty! I see you lucked out again!

MARTY:

Yep. Would you fill it up, please, Mr. Cutts?

VIRGIL:

Want me to check the oil?

MARTY:

Sure!

VIRGIL:

Wipe the windshield an check the driver's

bullshit level?

MARTY laughs; VIRGIL starts carefully pumping gas into the

Silver Bullet's small tank.

EXT. THE COSLAW HOUSE NIGHT

Overhead is the moon, three days past the full.

UNCLE AL (voice)

I'll see your Carlton Fiske and raise you

a George Brett... a Dave Kingman... and a

Rod Carew.

INT. THE KITCHEN DOORWAY, WITH NAN COSLAW NIGHT

She's wiping her hands with a dishtowel and looks like she

just bit into a lemon.

INT. THE DEN, WITH UNCLE AL AND MARTY NIGHT

UNCLE AL is the family's sheep of a darker color. He's

thirty, good-looking, raffish. He's also drunk. He's got

both whiskey and beer. An ashtray beside him overflows with

butts.

He and MARTY are playing draw poker for MARTY'S baseball

cards. Each has a pile in front of him.

MARTY really loves UNCLE AL... his eyes just glow when he

looks at him.

MARTY:

Okay, okay. I call.

He tosses in three baseball cards.

UNCLE AL:

Wait a minute, wait a minute!

He grabs one of MARTY'S cards, looks at it, and tosses it

back.

UNCLE AL:

Ralph Houk! You can't bet a manager!

Stone the crows!

MARTY:

Okay, okay. Dwight Evans.

UNCLE AL:

Piss on him. Piss on all the Red Sox.

He swallows whiskey and chases it with beer.

INT. THE DEN, A WIDER ANGLE

NAN comes briskly over. She's seen and heard enough. She

favors UNCLE AL with a glare and then looks protectively at

MARTY.

NAN:

Come on, Marty- bedtime.

She starts to wheel him away.

MARTY:

Mom-!

UNCLE AL:

Let the boy finish the game, Nan.

He means it, drunk or not. She reluctantly rolls MARTY back

to the table.

NAN:

Make it quick.

UNCLE AL lays down his hand.

UNCLE AL:

Three kings.

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