which we can see through the gap
174
f
STORM OF THE CENTURY 175
in the makeshift draw curtains. The KIDS are all sleeping, now, and a few adults have turned in, as well.
There's a TV against one wall of the activity area. About forty people are gathered around it, some sitting on the floor, some in folding wooden Bingo chairs, some standing at the back. The TV is broadcasting a FUZZY PICTURE that shows the weatherman from WVII, the Bangor ABC affiliate. Standing beside the TV and turning the rabbit ears this way and that, hoping for a better picture (pretty much a lost cause, I'm afraid) is LUCIEN FOURNIER, a good-looking man of about thirty in a reindeer sweater. He's one of JACK CARVER'S gay-bashing buddies.
WEATHER GUY
At this time the storm is continuing to build, with the greatest concentrations of snow in the coastal and central areas. We here at Channel Seven find the numbers almost impossible to believe, but Machias is already reporting a fresh foot and a half . . . this is without the drift factor, remember, and zero visibility. No traffic is on the roads, (laughs) Hey, what roads, right? Conditions in Bangor are nearly as bad, with power outages reported all up and down the grid. Brewer is entirely dark, and in Southwest Harbor, a church steeple has reportedly blown over. It's bad out there, and we haven't seen the peak of the storm yet. This is one you'll be telling your grandchildren about . . . and they probably won't believe you. Every now and then I have to look out the newsroom window to believe it myself.
Standing near the back of the crowd, peering around the other standees, is URSULA GODSOE. MOLLY taps her on the shoulder, and URSULA turns to her, unsmiling.
MOLLY
(nods toward the TV) What're they saying?
URSULA
Howl and blast followed by blast and howl. Such condition to continue through tomorrow and into tomorrow night, when things are finally supposed to start quieting down.
176 STEPHEN KING
Power's out from Kittery to Millinocket. Coastal communities are cut off. Us island guys . . . forget it.
She looks really dreadful. MOLLY sees it; she reacts with sympathy and some curiosity, as well.
MOLLY
What's wrong?
URSULA I don't know. I've just got a feeling. A really bad one.
MOLLY
Well, who wouldn't? Martha Clarendon murdered . . . Lloyd Wishman kills himself . . . the Storm of the Century right over our heads . . . who wouldn't?
URSULA I think it's more than that.
87 EXTERIOR: ANGLE ON THE SUPPLY SHED NIGHT.
For a moment or two the doorway is empty, and then CAT steps slowly into it and stops. Her eyes are wide and blank. On the strip of visible skin between the top of her scarf and the bottom of her hat, we can see SMALL STIPPLES OF BLOOD on her cheeks. They look almost like freckles. In one hand she still holds the cane. The wolf's head is once more CAKED WITH BLOOD.
THE CAMERA BEGINS TO MOVE IN as some comprehension of what she's done flickers in CAT'S eyes. She looks down at the cane and drops it.
88 EXTERIOR: THE CANE, FROM CAT'S POINT OF VIEW.
It lies just outside the doorway in the snow, leering up at her. The silver wolfs eyes are full of blood.
89 EXTERIOR: RESUME CAT, IN THE SUPPLY SHED DOORWAY NIGHT.
She raises her gloved hands to her cheeks. Then, perhaps feeling something, she takes them away and looks at them. Her face is still blank, drugged-looking . . . she's in a state of shock.
STORM OF THE CENTURY 177
90 INTERIOR: THE BASEMENT, FEATURES MOLLY AND URSULA.
URSULA looks around to see if they're being overheard. They're not, but she leads MOLLY toward a relatively deserted area near the foot of the stairs anyway, just to be safe. MOLLY looks at her, concerned and worried. Outside, the WIND HOWLS BIG. The women, on the other hand, are very small.
URSULA
When I get these feelings, I trust them. Over the years, I've learned to trust them. I ... Molly, I think something's happened to Peter.
MOLLY
(instant concern) Why? Has anyone come back from the store? Has Mike
URSULA
No one's come in from that end of town since eight o'clock, but Mike's okay.
She sees MOLLY isn't convinced, and smiles a little bitterly.
URSULA
Nothing psychic about that part of it I've picked up a couple of broken transmissions on the radio. Once it was Hatch; once I'm pretty sure it was Mike.
MOLLY Saying what? Talking to who?
URSULA
With the antennas blown down, it's impossible to tell,