SCENE 6: THE SHERIFF’S HOUSE
Overview shot of the darkened town. We see that it is a very small town, with a population of 1500 people, at most. Only one desert road runs through the town, and we see headlights approaching from the distance.
All is shuttered and closed down. All the lights are dimmed, except for the very few streetlights in the town. All is silent.
Cut to interior of the teenagers’ car. Here, inside the car, the wailing and confusion of the traumatized teenagers is a jarring contrast to the silence outside.
They drive up to the house of the town sheriff (the town is so small that he operates out of his own house, closing up at midnight – he is the only police force in the town).
Squealing of tires as the car screeches to a stop, and the wailing teenagers come piling out of the car, screaming for the sheriff. Two of the eight teenagers run up to his porch and pound on his front door, while the other six beat on various windows.
The porch light comes on, and the sheriff comes to the front door wearing pajamas, and obviously only half-awake.
Sheriff: “What is it, now? What’s all this ruckus about?”
All the teenagers at once: “We don’t know!” “Things!” “Out down Route One!” “Lotsa them!” “Things!” “Like cactus!” “They wrecked Jesse’s car! “Look!” “We’re bleeding!” “They tried to kill us!”
Sheriff: (Looks from one panicked teenager to the other, taking everything in with a measured manner.)
Sheriff’s Wife (Mattie): (appearing at the door – she is a matronly, middle-aged woman with a kind face) “What is all this? What is going on?”
The teenagers respond, again, all at once. “Things! “They tried to kill us!” “Look at Jesse!”
Mattie (examining the various wounds presented to her by Jesse and the others): “Oh, dear, oh dear! You have got yourselves all cut up! Better come in and let me set to patching you all. You first, Jesse.”
Jesse: “Thank y’ ma’am. Thank y' ver' much.”
Sheriff: “Maybe you better put on a pot of coffee for us. Looks to be a night, I’m thinkin’”
Mattie (Leading Jesse and the others into a comfortable living room, and sitting them down on various chairs and the couch): “I’ll be doing that right away.”
Cut to Scene – Sheriff’s wife patching up the teenagers. The sheriff has donned his sheriff’s uniform and quizzes them about what happened.
Sheriff: “Now settle down. Settle down all of you. And just tell me what happened.”
The teenagers explain again.
Sheriff: “You didn’t go an’ wreck your car, did you Jesse? Out there racin’ in the desert?”
Jesse: “No, sir!” He displays several long cactus needles sticking out of his chest and arms.
Sheriff: “You coulda got those, landing in a cactus patch after you spun out.”
Jesse: “But I didn’t, sir. I didn’t”
All the teenagers, in unison: “He didn’t!”
Sheriff: (Heaving a heavy sigh while lighting his pipe) “Well I s’pose I better go on down and take a look. Route One, you tell me?”