Storm of the Century (30 page)

FERD cups his hands around his mouth and hollers into the SHRIEKING WIND as loud as he can.

Angle Carver! Billy Timmons!

Any sign? Any at all?

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No! Wouldn’t I tell you? Keep blowin’ that thing!

HATCH continues to lay on the horn in long, measured beats. FERD peers anxiously into the snow, then turns and yanks open the door.

You watch and let me honk--your eyes’re better.

They change places.

(squinting into the snow)

George Kirby! Janie Kingsbury! Where are you guys?

FERD keeps blowing the horn in long, measured BLASTS.

5 INTERIOR: THE TOWN HALL’S MAKESHIFT DAY-CARE AREA--AFTERNOON.

SOUND, MUFFLED: THE HORN CONTINUES.

The KIDS have finished picking up and don’t really know what to do with themselves now. No one has noticed that RALPHIE ANDERSON isn’t among them. SANDRA has gotten CAT quieted down and now looks restless herself. CAT sees this and offers SANDRA a wan smile and a pat on the arm.

CAT

I’m okay. Go on up. Find your husband and little boy.

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But ... the kids . . .

CAT gets up and approaches them. SANDRA watches apprehensively. This is the young woman who beat her boyfriend to death not long ago.

CAT

Who wants to play Giant Step?

Yeah!

Me! Yayy, I do!

The kids start to line up, facing CAT. Only BUSTER CARVER lags.

Where’s my mommy?

I’ll just peek and see if she’s upstairs, shall I? Or your daddy?

Yes, please, Missus Beals.

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And send Don down! He always forgets to say “May I”!

The others laugh gleefully, including BUSTER.

(takes BUSTER’S arm)

Come on, you play next to me--we’ll be partners.

(starts, then stops)

Where’s Ralphie?

There’s a moment of nervousness as they all look around and realize RALPHIE isn’t there. CAT turns to SANDRA, an eyebrow raised in question.

He probably chased upstairs after Donnie, to see if he could get a doughnut, too. I’ll send them both down.

She goes upstairs. The other kids are satisfied with this explanation, except for PIPPA, who’s looking around with a frown.

He didn’t go upstairs with Donnie Beals ... at least I don’t think he did . . .

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UPTON BELL conies over, grinning like the amiable fool he is.

Who’s blowing that horn, Mr. Bell?

Someone tryin’ to call the snowbirds, I guess.

What’re snowbirds?

You never heard of snowbirds?

No ... no ... What are they? . . . Tell us!

(etc.)

Oh, big as refrigerators, they are, white as snow and tasty as the devil . . . but they only fly around when there’s a big blizzard. Only time there’s wind enough to give ‘em the lift. To them a horn’s just like a birdcall, but they’re cussed hard to catch, just the same. Can I play, too?

Yeah! Yeah, all right!

(etc.)

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PIPPA has been looking around for RALPHIE, but now she joins in, distracted from her concern by her delight at having a grown-up who’s willing to play the game with them.

CAT

Get right in line, Upton Bell. Just don’t be smart and don’t forget to say, “May I.” Now--here we go. Frank Bright, take two helicopter steps.

FRANK takes two steps forward, whirling around, flapping his arms and making HELICOPTER

SOUNDS.

You forgot to say, “May I”!

Grinning, shamefaced, FRANK goes back. THE CAMERA moves away from the game to the closed door marked CUSTODIAN.

6 INTERIOR: THE TOWN MEETING HALL--AFTERNOON. SOUND, MUFFLED: THE

HORN CONTINUES.

In the foreground we see MOLLY ANDERSON sitting beside JACK CARVER on one of those hard meeting benches, trying to soothe him. In the background, at the rear of the long room, is the buffet, where people are coming and going, getting coffee and snacks. Some look toward MOLLY and JACK, troubled and sympathetic, but not ROBBIE BEALS and his son, DON. They are eating doughnuts with a remarkable lack of concern. ROBBIE has coffee; DON is slurping a Coke.

I got to find her!

He makes an effort to rise, and MOLLY puts a hand on his arm, holding him where he is for the time being.

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You know what it’s like out there.

She could be wandering around, freezing to death in a whiteout fifty yards from the building!

And if you go out there, you’ll be lost, too. If they’re there, they’ll come to the horn. Same as in a fog, at sea. You know that.

I’ll go out spell Ferd.

Hatch said-

Alton Hatcher can’t tell me what to do--that’s my wife out there!

She can’t stop him this time, so she gets up with him. Behind them, SANDRA comes in from the town office area, looks around, spots her husband and son.

Go to the truck, then, but just to the truck. Don’t go wandering off on your own.

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But JACK can promise her no such thing. He’s totally distracted. MOLLY watches sadly as he goes up the aisle, then follows herself. SANDRA, meanwhile, is looking around. She doesn’t see MOLLY yet.

(to DON)

Where’s Ralphie?

DON

(munching his doughnut)

I dunno.

But didn’t he come upstairs with you?

MOLLY is in time to hear this and is of course immediately concerned.

DON

Nah, he ‘us pickin up with the rest of ‘em. Dad, can I have another doughnut?

(to SANDRA)

He’s not down there? What are you saying, that he’s not with the others?

(flustered)

I didn’t see . . . Cat started to cry . . . she dropped her cup and broke it ...
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You were supposed to be watching them!

SANDRA winces. She’s been married to ROBBIE for ten years and is used to being blamed when things go wrong.

(the usual bluster)

I hardly think that tone is-

(ignores him)

You were supposed to be watching them!

(she breaks for the stairs)

Ralphie! Ralphie!

7 EXTERIOR: THE ISLAND MARKET--AFTERNOON.

The men are clustered at the Sno-Cat, handing loaded cartons to MIKE, who stows them in the back. MIKE SHOUTS TO BE HEARD over the storm as the last box goes in.

One more trip! Sonny, you and Henry get the bread and rolls! Everything on the shelves! Kirk, you want to grab at least a hundred pounds of potatoes! I’ll get the milk! Let’s go--I want to get back as soon as we can!

They go single file into the cut in the drift, SONNY and HENRY BRIGHT first, followed by MIKE and
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KIRK. SONNY and HENRY go inside. MIKE is about to follow, then stops so suddenly that KIRK

just about runs into him.

What the hell?

MIKE has stopped at the mannequin set up on the porch--HATCH’S joke at ROBBIE BEALS’S

expense. The mannequin is now almost completely buried, and although the face is covered with wind-driven snow and the figure is still dressed in the lobsterman’s slicker, we can see it’s not the same figure.

MIKE brushes FROZEN SNOW away from the face. It’s MRS. KINGS-BURY. She’s frozen solid. KIRK stares in dismay as MIKE digs into the snow around the dummy’s neck and pulls out a new joke sign . . . only now the joke is on them. “GIVE ME WHAT I WANT AND I’LL GO AWAY,” it says.

The two men stare at each other in horror.

8 EXTERIOR: THE TOWN HALL--AFTERNOON.

SOUND OF HORN CONTINUES--EVEN, REGULAR BLASTS.

MOLLY (voice-over)

Ralphie! Ralphie!

9 INTERIOR: THE DAY-CARE AREA OF THE BASEMENT--AFTERNOON.

SOUND OF HORN, MUFFLED.

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MOLLY is frantic, looking everywhere for RALPHIE, who isn’t here. CAT and UPTON BELL have drawn together in fright. ROBBIE, DON, TESS MARCHANT, and TAVIA GODSOE are on the stairs. SALLY GODSOE sees her aunt and runs to her. The other children huddle, dismayed.

I said he didn’t go with Don-All the other adults are gathering--some from the seats around the now-useless TV, some from upstairs, some from the sleeping area. One is URSULA GODSOE, looking blasted with grief.

Oh, God, what now?

MOLLY ignores her. She goes to PIPPA, kneels in front of her, and grasps her gently by the arms. She peers into PIPPA’S frightened face.

Where was Ralphie when you saw him last, Pippa?

PIPPA thinks about it, then points to the area between the stairs and the wall. MOLLY looks in that direction, and sees the door marked CUSTODIAN. There is TOTAL SILENCE--except for the MUFFLED, REGULAR BLASTS OF THE HORN--as MOLLY goes toward that door, afraid of what she may find. She reaches for the knob but can’t bring herself to touch it, let alone turn it.

Ralphie? Ralphie, are you-RALPHIE (voice)

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Mommy? Mom?

Oh, boy, the relief. It’s as if somebody let the air out of everyone in the room, KIDS included. MOLLY’S reserves of strength are gone. She begins to cry as she tears the door open.

RALPHIE is standing there in the custodian’s closet, happy, excited, unhurt, and unaware there’s been any fuss about him. His expression turns to one of puzzlement as his mother sweeps him up into her arms. In the general excitement we may or may not notice that RALPHIE has a SMALL LEATHER BAG in one hand, the kind with a drawstring at the top.

Hey, Mom--wassup?

MOLLY What are you doing in there? You scared the life out of me!

The man was in there. He wanted to see me.

Man--?

The one Daddy arrested. Except I don’t think he’s a bad man, Mom, because-MOLLY sets RALPHIE down and sweeps him behind her so hard and fast that he almost falls over. UPTON grabs the kid and hands him to JONAS STANHOPE and ANDY ROBICHAUX, who have pushed their way to the front of the semicircle of watching adults. MOLLY takes two steps into the doorway of the custodian’s closet and looks at:

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10 INTERIOR: CUSTODIAN’S CLOSET, FROM MOLLY’S POINT OF VIEW.

There’s plenty of cleaning gear on the shelves, plus the usual complement of brooms, mops, extra fluorescent lightbars, and there’s no other exit. . . but there’s no man.

11 INTERIOR: RESUME MOLLY.

She starts to turn back to RALPHIE, then stops as something catches her eye. She goes into the closet, instead.

12 INTERIOR: THE CUSTODIAN’S CLOSET, WITH MOLLY.

In the far corner is a piece of GREEN PAPER. It’s a flyer for the Anderson’s Market, advertising this week’s specials. She picks it up and turns it over. Printed in red letters on the back is “GIVE ME

WHAT I WANT AND I’LL GO AWAY.”

ANDY ROBICHAUX has stepped into the closet. She hands him the flyer.

But what does he want?

ANDY can only shake his head. MOLLY leaves the closet.

13 INTERIOR: THE BASEMENT DAY-CARE AREA.

MOLLY goes to RALPHIE, who is standing with the other kids. They shrink back from him, thinking he’s in trouble. RALPHIE looks up at his mom, clutching the little drawstring bag and hoping like mad that he’s not in trouble.

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Where did he go, Ralphie? Where did the man go?

RALPHIE peers past her, into the closet.

I don’t know. He must have disappeared when I turned my back.

DON

(from the stairs)

There’s no door in there for a guy to go out of, dumbkins.

Shut up, Don Beals.

DON, unaccustomed to such real sharpness from MOLLY, shrinks back against his dad. ROBBIE

opens his mouth to say something reproving, then decides this might not be the best time.

MOLLY kneels in front of her son as she did in front of PIPPA and for the first time sees what he has--a finely made little bag of chamois leather.

What’s this, Ralphie?

It’s a present. He gave me a present. That’s why I don’t think he can be a bad man like on TV, because
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bad men don’t give kids presents.

MOLLY looks at the bag as if it might be a bomb, but she remains calm and soothing. She has to be. RALPHIE doesn’t know what the deal is here, but he can see the faces surrounding him and feel the atmosphere in the room. The poor kid is on the verge of tears.