Wolf Candy

WOLF CANDY Synopsis by Richard Stringham dickwritesweird@gmail.com On a rainy night, businessman Harvey Haskell receives a call from a frantic Marsha Garland, who is searching for her missing husband, Rand. Harvey reveals that Rand no longer works for him and that he stole his service van. However, the van shows up at the property with no one behind the wheel. Harvey attempts to inspect the van, but is then viciously attacked by a dark, furry figure. Next day — Teenager Scarlett Burrows goes for a jog in her neighborhood, pushing herself to her limit. After returning home, she catches her neighbor, Marsha, crying on the front porch and goes over to console her. The two women bond over their reclusive natures and inability to escape the confines of their homes and inner worlds. Suddenly, Marsha's raucous husband Rand Garland emerges and forces her inside. He warns Scarlett not to meddle in his business, and to keep to herself — or else. After a long night of writing and cleaning up after her drunk father, Scarlett’s friend, Louie Dowager, reminds her of their movie date. Meanwhile, next door … Rand is locked in his bathroom — snorting blow while Marsha tries to have a talk. Frustrated by her incessant nagging, Rand transforms into a werewolf and kills Marsha. But not before Scarlett hears the screaming from her front porch. As she goes to investigate, Louie shows up, prompting Scarlett not to be late for the drive-in. But as they drive off into the night, werewolf Rand is unleashed and hungry for his next victim — Scarlett. On the way to the movies, Scarlett and Louie stop by the local convenience store to see her friend, Birdy Baumgardner. After Scarlett tells Birdy where they're headed, Birdy reveals that Scarlett's ex, Derek Junkersfeld, will also be at the movies with their other friend, Tia Caraway. Meanwhile while Louie is pumping gas, he’s confronted by Deputy Keyes, who sizes him up and warns him not to be running around with an old friend, Jesse. After Louie and Scarlett take off, Birdy is left all alone, sweeping the storefront. She hears a strange noise and creeps around the side of the building, only to be accosted by Rand, who is now hot on Scarlett’s trail. She refuses to disclose where Scarlett was headed, pushing Rand to attack her. Birdy sprays him with mace and escapes back into the store. At this point, Rand unleashes the werewolf within him again. He breaks into Birdy's car, drives into the storefront, and crushes Birdy behind the counter. Later at the drive-in — Scarlett spots Derek and confronts him about their breakup and the fact that he's now dating her best friend, Tia. Her past traumas come up in the argument — notably the car wreck that caused permanent nerve damage for Scarlett and killed her mother. Out of anger, Scarlett shoves Derek. And although Louie tries to stick up for her — he ends up getting into a fight with Derek. Deputy Keyes catches them in the action and warns Louie to stay out of trouble. Derek, riled up from all the drama, storms into a bathroom and snorts a line of coke — only to be attacked by werewolf Rand. Deputy Keyes investigates the noise, but only finds Derek’s cocaine. Scarlett and Louie head to a park to cool off, where Louie reveals a dark secret about why Deputy Keyes has been riding him lately. Louie and his former friend Jesse were accused of sexually assaulting Deputy Keyes' sister. Keyes has had a hatred for Louie ever since that seems to follow him everywhere — literally. As Scarlett and Louie head back to the van, Deputy Keyes plants the cocaine he found at the drive-in inside Louie’s van and arrests Louie for possession of narcotics. Unable to control his urges, werewolf Rand bursts onto the scene and snorts some of the cocaine wielded by Keyes. As Scarlett runs towards the van, the Wolf throws Louie across the parking lot. Keyes then tries to shoot the Wolf, but gets attacked and maimed instead. Scarlett finds no keys in the ignition of the van, so she creeps towards Louie to snag his keys. But as the Wolf charges towards her, she heads towards the deputy's car instead. Scarlett shoots the Wolf with the deputy’s gun and floors the car right into him. As she drives away and almost wrecks, she sees Louie's van barreling down after her, driven by the Wolf. The cars slam into each other, but Scarlett manages to survive and escape. Scarlett cuts her foot as she attempts to find a hiding spot. The beast follows her, knowing she is injured and weak. Scarlett escapes to a nearby water tower and sees the Wolf right behind her. Her legs are giving out on her, but she climbs like hell, pushing herself to the top. The Wolf, catching up, grabs Scarlett’s foot mid-climb and dangles her upside-down. Suddenly, Scarlett yanks out her trusty writing pen and stabs Rand right in the throat, causing them both to fall from the tower. Rand croaks right next to Scarlett on the ground as she watches and faints. Recovering from the accident — Scarlett sits in her backyard days later, talking to Louie, who seems to have survived. He urges Scarlett to keep her imagination alive, no matter who tries to take it away from her. Sadly, it is then revealed that Louie is most certainly dead — just a figment of Scarlett’s imagination and a distant memory. And when her alcoholic father comes outside to console her, Scarlett burns her manuscript, realizing she must now live with all the pain from her past and learn to embrace her trauma. And as far as her story goes … Scarlett now accepts the fact she can start a whole new one — A new life.