Dog Hunting

8/14/2019 Dog Hunting

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DOG HUNTING

BY MATTHEW LAMB

The screen is black. We hear the heavy sound of dry leavesrustling under feet. A crow caws in the distance, and abreeze shakes the trees of the thick pine woods. The feet

stop moving, the wind settles and there is stillness.

NARRATOR (V.O.)As always, a single tear brims myeye just as I squeeze the trigger.

EXT WOODS MORNING

Open to WILL bundled in winter clothing trying to steady asmall rifle which is too big for his size. He squints to lineup his sights and we see a single tear welling in the cornerof his eye. GRANDPA stands behind the young boy and loads ashell into his breached shotgun and closes it quietly. He

points the shotgun up into the trees and speaks softly butfirmly to the young WILL.

GRANDPAJust shoot up into the nest, andwhen he runs out, I'll pop him.

WILL swallows hard and concentrates on his aim. The tearbreaks on his cheek and with a sharp snap the rifle fires.WILL quickly wipes away the tear with the back of his sleeveand to cover says,

WILL

I must've got somethin' in my eye.

From the squirrels nest high in the trees there is onlystillness. Then a leaf breaks free from the nest and fallsslowly down through limbs and branches. WILL and GRANDPAwatch as the leaf falls and lands softly in its kind on theground. GRANDPA lowers his shotgun.

GRANDPAWell fiddle. I guess he ran awaywhen we weren't looking.

GRANDPA turns to leave as he breaches his shotgun and carries

it cradled over his arm. WILL follows his elder and checksthe safety on his smaller rifle.

GRANDPADid you put yer safety on?

WILLYessir.

From a few yards away, FREDDIE approaches quickly through thewoods with his gun ready and a big grin.



FREDDIEDid ya git somethin, did ya gitsomethin?

GRANDPANaw Freddie, that was a perty smartsquirrel.

FREDDIE drops his rifle to the side in disappointment.

FREDDIEI bet Will just missed it.

WILL is defensive.

WILLI did not. It sneaked off.

GRANDPA does not have time for arguments.

GRANDPACome on boys, let's see if we canfind those silly dogs.

FREDDIEI heard'em go down along the creeka minute or two ago.

GRANDPAWell come on then, let's go on downto the creek an get'em.

The three hunters walk away down a hill to the creek. WILL

walks in the back as FREDDIE points the way to the creek.WILL stops and looks back over his shoulder to the nest,which is still not moving and then turns back to the otherswalking away with a big smile. They exit down a hill.

The woods are still and in the distance a chain-saw can beheard faintly, and the sound of the dogs yelping and fading.From the squirrels nest there is a sudden jerking, then it isstill. Then drops of blood mount and drop from beneath thenest.

FADE TO:

INT BEDROOM DARK

WILL and FREDDIE sleep soundly piled under heaps of blanketsin the dark room. The door opens easily and GRANDPA sneaksinside. He turns on the lamp beside the bed. The boys do notstir. Grandpa goes to the foot of the bed and turns backlayers of blankets to expose the boy's feet. The boys try tostifle giggles as they peak down at their feet acting likethey are still asleep.

NARRATOR (V.O.)



Every few weeks, on a Friday night,me and my brother would get thechance to spend the night with ourGrandparents and go hunting onSaturday morning.

GRANDPA grabs the toes of each of the boy's feet, playfullytwisting and bending them. The boys kick and giggle squirming

beneath the heavy blankets.

GRANDPAUp and Adam. Come on, now git up.Feet on the deck soldiers. Up andAdam, let's go. Move it, move it.

GRANDMA appears at the door with rollers in her hair andscolds GRANDPA.

GRANDMAOh, good Lord Ed, let,em alone.

GRANDPA stops until GRANDMA passes then twists a few moretoes until WILL and FREDDIE slip out from the covers and racefor the bathroom. FREDDIE wins and shuts the door in WILL'Sface.

CUT TO:

INT KITCHEN DARK

GRANDMA is cooking a large breakfast in her robe and hairrollers. Will and FREDDIE are dressed and join GRANDPA at thetable. GRANDMA crosses with a big steaming plate of biscuitsand puts them on the table and sits down.

NARRATOR (V.O.)Grandma would also get up early andfix us a large country breakfastwith her famous "cat head"biscuits.

FREDDIE reaches for a biscuit but GRANDMA slaps his hand awayas GRANDPA bows his head to pray. They all lower their headswith WILL giggling at FREDDIE who holds his spanked hand inhis other hand and sticks his tongue out at WILL.

CUT TO:

EXT PORCH DARK

GRANDPA and FREDDIE are leaving the house with the rifles asGRANDMA zips WILL into a very thick parka which is stuffedwith other layers of clothes leaving WILL hardly able to bendhis arms. She raises his hood and faces the overly dressedboy out the door as he runs awkwardly to catch up withGRANDPA and FREDDIE.

NARRATOR (V.O.)



After breakfast we were bundled inwarmth beyond recognition. Andleaving the house before thesunrise.

CUT TO:

EXT DOG PEN DARK

GRANDPA, WILL, and FREDDIE walk up to the dim dog pen.

NARRATOR (V.O.)Before leaving we would go out tothe dog pens and load up thehunting dogs.

The six beagle dogs sleep huddled together as on of themwakes and looks up sleepily to the hunters.

NARRATOR (V.O.)That was not always as easy as it

sounds but...

We see the three guys picking up each of the sleepy andreluctant dogs and carry them in their arms to the back ofthe small pickup.

NARRATOR (V.O.)...finally: Dixie, Trixie, Peanut,Roscoe, Laverne, and of course,Shirley are loaded and we are readyto go.

The dogs are loaded and the guys load themselves into the cab

of the truck.

FREDDIEShotgun!

FREDDIE beats WILL to the door and opens it motioning WILL totake his place in the middle. WILL mopes and crawls in thetruck.

WILLNo fair, you always get shotgun.

CUT TO:

INT TRUCK DARK

FREDDIE has a bag of bottles of Coke, and packs of crackers.WILL is in the middle seat changing the dial on the AM radio.GRANDPA looks at his watch and looks through the windshieldand outside to the horizon.

GRANDPAThe sun should start wakin' up in aminute or two.



WILL continues changing the station

NARRATOR (V.O.)The advantage of sitting in themiddle was the access to the radioknobs. And the trip to my AuntBessie's house and property was

only a few miles out in thecountryside from my Grandfather'ssmall community.

The radio station lands on a country music station. GRANDPAputs out his hand and stops WILL from changing the station.

GRANDPAThat's a good one there, Will. Justlet that one play.

GRANDPA turns up the volume and begins to sing along with thelonesome cowboy on the radio.

CUT TO:

EXT AUNT BESSIE'S HOUSE DAYBREAK

The truck pulls into the driveway of the small country houseand GRANDPA, WILL, and FREDDIE exit and begin unloading thedogs from the bed.

NARRATOR (V.O.)The ride seemed to wake the dogsup. Because when we arrived theyhad much more energy.

Each dog is put on a leash and set on the ground. GRANDPAhandles the more energetic dogs as WILL and FREDDIE carry theguns and supplies.

NARRATOR (V.O.)We tried to be quiet, so would notwake up our aunt. But that neverreally worked.

One of the dogs picks up the smell of a chipmunk in the yardand starts yelping. GRANDPA tries to calm the dog who ispulling on the leash trying to follow the scent of the

chipmunk..

GRANDPASHUSSHH! Peanut! Shsh.

GRANDPA takes control of the dogs and pulls off away from thehouse. As they walk away from the house, a light in the backroom appears dimly behind curtains. The curtain draws backrevealing the faint figure of a very old woman's face.

NARRATOR (V.O.)



We took the dogs out across thefields and away from any houses..

They remain quiet as they lead the dogs and enter into thewoods. The sun is rising and there is a heavy frost steaminga low fog on the ground.

CUT TO:

EXT MEADOW MORNING

WILL, GRANDPA, AND FREDDIE lead the dogs into a pretty meadowthat is divided down the center with a giant tower supportingseveral humming and spitting high voltage lines.

NARRATOR (V.O.)The old widow had a couple ofhundred acres of thick pine coveredhills with a slow wandering creek,wildflower meadows, and a gianthumming network of towering power

lines.

As they enter into the field the dogs become restless andbegin yelping and barking. They bury their noses into theground and tug at their leashes.

WILLI think the power lines are scarin'em.

GRANDPANo, that's the rabbits they'resmellin. Let' em go boys. Let these

hounds off their leashes.

WILL and FREDDIE free the dogs from their leashes each one ata time. GRANDPA, with his freeing hands, begins loading hisshotgun as he speaks loudly and clearly.

GRANDPANow ya'll just watch the dogs.Neither one of you shoot your gunsunless I tell you to. Just keepyour eyes on the dogs.

The dogs have torn into the field, under and through the

thick grass and evergreen shrubs. Now rabbits begin to appearin with the dogs. The boys point at them while GRANDPA raiseshis shotgun.

A big grey cottontail leaps along down a little knoll insight and GRANDPA takes his sight on the rabbit.

WILLWatch peanut Grandpa.

Suddenly the beagle, PEANUT, runs behind the rabbit blocking



the shot. GRANDPA lowers his gun.

GRANDPAThat was good watching out Will.You just keep a watchin'em.

FREDDIEOver there, look!

FREDDIE points to another rabbit, black as coal and nice andfat. He is frozen in fright and in plain view a few yardsaway.

The dogs have gone further into the underbrush and out ofrange of the shotguns path. GRANDPA raises his rifle andBOOM! The rabbit is blown into the bush and the dogs startyelping and crying as if each of them had been shot.

FREDDIEDid you shoot the dogs Grandpa?

GRANDPANaw, i didn't shoot em.

And then, under his breath.

GRANDPABut I ought to.

FREDDIE starts whistling for the dogs, who are just a fadingband of yelps as they run into the woods. WILL and GRANDPAwalk over to the bush were the twitching rabbit lies bleedingunder the edge of the trembling brush.

GRANDPAWell Will, we need to put it out ofit's misery.

WILL looks at GRANDPA for a moment, then raises the gun tohis shoulder, pointing it at the frightened rabbit.

GRANDPAThere you go, take off the safety.

WILL loosens the safety latch. The rabbits eyes are black andstill but it is twitching its legs and breathing in sharpraspy coughs.

GRANDPAGo ahead Will, it's suffering, putit out of it's misery.

WILL begins to tremble and a tear mounts on his eye.

Suddenly the rabbit is popped in the head from behind byFREDDIE who has come up beside the others casually, with hisrifle on his hip. WILL and GRANDPA are startled andirritated.



FREDDIEWere you goin to shoot him or justlook at em.

WILLI was goin to, you didnt give me achance.

GRANDPAI told you not to shoot unless Isaid.

GRANDPA is irritated as he opens a cotton sack and picks upthe stone dead rabbit by his feet. He drops the rabbit intothe bag and cinches it closed with a string. WILL and FREDDIEremain quiet as they watch.

GRANDPAI guess we better go find themdogs. Freddie, you go down towards

the left, and me and Will are goinup along the hill. We will meet youdown near the creek. That'sprobably where they will beanyways.

FREDDIE looks a little scolded as he splits away from GRANDPAand WILL and heads into the woods to the left. The othersexit to the right.

FADE TO:

EXT HILLSIDE DAY

WILL and GRANDPA walk along hillside near the top with theskies behind them. They are in a thicket of tall pines andsquirrels have nests overhead.

NARRATOR (V.O.)And Grandpa was right. The dogsalways ended up at the fork wherethe creek runs along the ridgeline. They were pinched off by thecreek and too afraid to cross it,so they sat and waited for theirrescue.

GRANDPA points up into the trees at the squirrels and pointsout a squirrel to WILL.

FADE TO:

EXT CREEK SIDE DAY

FREDDIE walks by the creek side quietly. He puts his ear tothe ground like a native brave. He looks for broken branchesand disrupted divots in the pine straw.



sees a piece of a reptilian tail sticking out from under therock.

WILLLooks like you cornered a lizardgirl. Do you want to get it?

WILL reaches his hand under the side of the rock to grab the

end of the tail sticking out, but it moves under the rock.

WILL looks back to see that GRANDPA and FREDDIE have a handleon the other dogs. He kneels down by the rock and puts a handunder each side. The rock is large but he can lift it andflips it over.

When he flips the rock there is a terrible hissing a floppingin the shallow water. The dog yelps and runs as a huge blackmoccasin slithers from the muddy puddle under the rock andtowards WILL who has fallen flat on his but.

WILL screams for help as the snakes pushes him back sliding

on his bottom pushing with his feet. GRANDPA comes over witha handful of the dogs which go crazy at the site of thesnake.

GRANDPAWill it's ok. Just stop and bestill.

WILL is too afraid to stop. FREDDIE comes along side with hisrifle ready, the snake is ready to strike.

GRANDPANo Freddie, let me.

The snake lunges. FREDDIE fires and hits the snake in midstrike sending it down into the mud. The dogs remaining freerun away yelping. WILL stands up filthy with mud and runsover to GRANDPA and hugs him still frightened. FREDDIE walksover to prod at the dead snake.

GRANDPAIt's all right Will. You don't haveto be a hunter if you don't wantto. You an carry the sack ofrabbits.

WILL (SNIFFELING)But we only have one rabbit.

FREDDIE approaches with the snakes body hanging limp over theend of his rifle.

FREDDIEWe have a snake too.

FREDDIE taunts WILL with the snake who retreats to behindGRANDPA.



GRANDPAThat's enough Freddie. Just put itin the bag.

GRANDPA opens the bag and FREDDIE drops in the snake. Hecinches the bag and offers it to WILL who hesitates thentakes the bag timidly.

FREDDIEDon't worry Will, it's dead.

WILL looks a little relieved and the three MEN walk away tohunt for the missing dogs.

NARRATOR (V.O.)So Grandpa had a duty as he saw tomake his offspring strong. Strongenough to fight, strong enough tokill if necessary.

The camera pans up into the trees over head and holds still.

NARRATOR (V.O.)But what I think he hoped we wouldlearn, in the stillness of thosetree as our dogs scurried away fromour gunfire. Beyond being strongenough to fight, there is beingstrong enough to not.

FADE TO BLACK.

Dog Hunting

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