WOLVES. Written by. Victor Alonso Berbel. Draft 5

WOLVES Written by Victor Alonso Berbel Draft 5 University of Southern California 546 - Production III - Fiction April 2017

546 SCRIPT - "WOLVES" - DRAFT 5 - PAGE 1 EXT. CENTRAL CITY HIGH SCHOOL - ENTRANCE - DAY KIDS, just kids... Or maybe not anymore. A group of thirteenyear-old boys gather near the entrance of Central City High School. They CHAT and LAUGH LOUDLY, enjoying the bliss of youth under the hot Los Angeles sun. At the corner of the street, a RED TOYOTA HIGHLANDER stops with the warning lights on., 42, behind the steering wheel, frequently looks to her cell phone., 14, is sitting in the passenger seat: a middleclass kid with perfectly combed blond hair. He tries to exit the car but the door is LOCKED. Mom, the door! Wait a second. Marshall stops trying. (CONT D) I ll try to pick you up after soccer practice, OK? Try? You have the night shift again? No, but I might finish late. You ve got your phone? Yeah. He takes his PHONE out and checks his texts. (CONT D) But don t call me, please, it s embarrassing. Embarrassing? Marshall tries again to open the door. Mom! Class starts in three minutes.

546 SCRIPT - "WOLVES" - DRAFT 5 - PAGE 2 Liz s phone starts ringing and she unlocks the door. Wait for me after practice. Unless you re too embarrassed to have your mother pick you up-- Marshall runs toward the group of kids waiting at the door. Liz answers the phone, eyes still on Marshall. She drives off. (CONT D) (at the phone) Fontana-- INT. FIRE STATION - LOCKER ROOM - RAMPART DISTRICT - DAY Liz closes the door of the locker, revealing she s wearing a BRIGHT YELLOW JACKET and a HELMET: she s not just Liz anymore. As one bugle on Liz s helmet reveals, she s the Lieutenant of the company. She looks the part. A LOUD ALARM suddenly goes off at the fire station. INT. FIRE STATION - RAMPART DISTRICT - DAY Mark, 30, is relieved to see his boss. He s putting on a harness. MARK Lieutenant Fontana. There s a kid on Vermont who s about to-- I get it, I just need a harness. Let s go, let s just GO. They all get inside the fire truck as they switch on a SIREN. INT. EMERGENCY STAIRCASE - APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY The group of firefighters run up the emergency staircase of an old building in a spiral of hurry and concern. They maintain a disciplined pace, their STEPS rhythmically REVERBERATING all over the building. Liz leads the pack, hand signaling emergency exits and silent instructions to the team as she runs.

546 SCRIPT - "WOLVES" - DRAFT 5 - PAGE 3 They don t talk. Every second counts. EXT. ROOFTOP - APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY A metal door swings open: Liz and her company burst onto the rooftop. Squinting in the sunlight, she methodically looks around her for the reason she s there. Not here-- Not there-- There it is. A TEENAGE BOY (14), standing dangerously close to the edge of the rooftop. He s looking straight at her. As soon as they make visual contact the boy looks back to the road. Five-stories, sixty feet below him, Vermont Avenue ROARS with activity. More firefighter SIRENS wail in the distance. It s high. It s very high. Liz cautiously approaches the boy. Hey there! I m slowly going to move towards you. Is that OK? The boy avoids looking at her. BOY Do whatever you want. But don t touch me. Liz signals to the other three firefighters to keep their distance. Her harness is tied to two of them, who carefully release the rope as she moves forward. (to the boy) I m Lieutenant Liz Fontana. What s your name? The boy stays silent. Liz keeps moving towards the edge, looking back to her company and reassuring them that everything s OK. Mark radios to someone else, inaudibly. Liz reaches the edge and stands ten feet away.

546 SCRIPT - "WOLVES" - DRAFT 5 - PAGE 4 BOY Stop right there, don t move any closer. He looks fragile, as if a gust of wind could blow him over. His hair is very short. Can you tell me your name? Adam. BOY Liz smiles broadly: she s breaking through. Adam-- why don t we sit down? Liz slowly sits down, rather far from the edge. After a brief hesitation, Adam imitates her, but he sits with his feet hanging over the edge of the building. (CONT D) (to herself) Oh, come on. Liz shuffles to the edge of the building, so her feet are hanging as well. Mark and the other two firefighters look at her, inquisitive. Liz nods her head: she s OK. (CONT D) Adam, do you know what this means? (pointing at her helmet) This means I m here to help. Why don t you tell me why you re here? Adam gazes at the skyscrapers of Downtown LA standing on the horizon. (CONT D) Look Adam, I understand. I have a kid, he s your age. I get it. I hated being a teenager. The HOWLING WIND fills the silence. Liz signals to her crew again: she s alright. Adam trembles subtly. I thought it might be you.

546 SCRIPT - "WOLVES" - DRAFT 5 - PAGE 5 Adam, have we met before? Do you know my son? The firefighters tug on the rope twice, signaling to Liz. She looks back in silence and nods, confirming she s OK. You don t remember me. Most people at Central City find me easily forgettable too. Central City, in Rampart? My son goes there. I know. Adam turns completely toward Liz, revealing a nasty bruise on the left side of his face, with a few stitches near the eye. He THROWS a cell phone at Liz, who almost loses balance to catch it in the air. (CONT D) Look at it. Look. Liz looks at him, worried, and then at the screen as we hear the rough sound of a home-made VIDEO. FLASHBACK SEQUENCE: INT. CENTRAL CITY HIGH SCHOOL - LOCKER ROOM - DAY Teenagers wearing GREEN and WHITE uniforms are recording a video with a cell phone. Those who where laughing in the first page, remember? Not so innocent now. The group of kids corner a shirtless and extremely vulnerable Adam. One of them stands out. He uses deodorant spray and a lighter to scare Adam. FIRE erupts from the can. The bully is blonde: it s Marshall. Adam starts crying, scared to death, as the cell phone keeps recording. BACK TO PRESENT:

546 SCRIPT - "WOLVES" - DRAFT 5 - PAGE 6 EXT. ROOFTOP - APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY After a few seconds of the video, Liz averts her eyes: it s brutal. The son of the firefighter. That s not my son. I know it s not him. It can t be. I had to cut all my hair because half of it was burnt off. But he wasn t there to record that. Liz looks back to the firefighters, but they re busy securing the equipment on the rooftop. They didn t see the video. (CONT D) Now drop the phone. What? Drop it! Drop it or I ll jump. Liz throws it away into the void. It s so high we don t even hear the phone crashing against the ground. (CONT D) There s only one other copy of that video. And you know who has it. He stands up purposefully, facing Liz completely. (standing up as well) Wait, wait! I can help-- Stand back. He takes a few steps further from Liz. (CONT D) Stand back! Please, listen to me, please-- I m not my son.

546 SCRIPT - "WOLVES" - DRAFT 5 - PAGE 7 You re all a pack of wolves. A pack of wolves who protect each other no matter how miserable it makes everyone else. Adam-- You ve raised a wolf. Adam, I-- Why does no one stop him? It s enough. I ve had enough. Liz feels the danger and for an instant looks back at her fellow firefighters, considering warning them but ultimately not saying anything. She looks back at Adam. He steps into the void. Liz drops to her knees, breathing deeply. MARK (from the distance) Fuck, fuck! The firefighters run toward the edge and quickly bring Liz back to the safe area of the rooftop. Liz falls to the ground, breathing deeply, clearly altered. MARK (CONT D) Lieutenant, you OK? Liz? Liz keeps breathing, hyperventilating and staring into the void with tears in her eyes. (to herself) I didn t have a choice. I didn t have a choice. The SIRENS become LOUDER as the PARAMEDICS and the POLICE get to the scene. Two fellow firefighters help Liz stand up, and they carry her towards the door.

546 SCRIPT - "WOLVES" - DRAFT 5 - PAGE 8 INT. EMERGENCY STAIRCASE - APARTMENT BUILDING - DAY This time the team of firefighters goes down the stairs. Liz walks between two of her partners, completely devastated. The SIRENS become LOUDER, as the company disappears toward the end of the spiral staircase. INT. EMERGENCY STAIRCASE - APARTMENT BUILDING - LATER Only a few policemen remain at the scene. They re ready to go: the case is almost closed. Liz is sitting at the bottom steps with her helmet at her side. DETECTIVE RAMIREZ (48), a weathered officer from the LAPD, is interrogating her. DETECTIVE RAMIREZ It s been a long evening, I know. But I still need to go through this, Liz. I know, Pablo. I understand. Ramirez sits down next to Liz and kindly pats her shoulder. DETECTIVE RAMIREZ So? Any ideas? Do you know why he did it? Liz breathes deeply. She stops for a beat. She s going to say something. I-- DETECTIVE RAMIREZ Anything would help. I really-- Liz grabs her hair, subtly shaking her head. She s choosing a side right now. (CONT D) I really don t. (reassured) I don t know. Detective Ramirez closes his notepad, as he stands up and lends Liz a hand to help her stand as well.

546 SCRIPT - "WOLVES" - DRAFT 5 - PAGE 9 They leave, walking next to each other like old friends, but Liz is leaving something behind her-- On the last step, her HELMET. EXT. CENTRAL CITY HIGH SCHOOL - SOCCER FIELD - NIGHT The red Highlander stops in front of the entrance of the empty soccer field. Marshall, wearing a WHITE and GREEN uniform, runs towards the car: he was the only kid left. He tries to open the door, but it s LOCKED. Liz waits for a second while her son is trying to open the door. He knocks on the window, impatient. She waits for a beat. Does she have to let this boy in her car? She unlocks it at last. Marshall enters and puts his phone on the dash. Liz stares at it. What took you so long? Liz waits for him to put on his seat belt and locks the doors again. Marshall kisses her on the cheek. Liz takes a moment to reply, not looking directly at him. Work, you know. I was thinking about what you said before. I don t think I ll ever be embarrassed when you pick me up. Liz grips the steering wheel. (CONT D) You re my mom, after all. Liz turns on the engine and starts driving slowly. Their red car gets lost in the distance. They drive off under a full moon. TITLE CARD ON BLACK: WOLVES. CUT TO: THE END