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The Shelter
Rod Serling
SYNOPSIS OF ACT ONE: On a summer evening, a birthday celebration is going on at Dr. Stockton‘s. Among those present are his neighbors: the Hendersons, the weiss‘s and the Harlowes. In the midst of it comes unexpectedly over the radio the announcement of the President of the United States declaring a state of emergency of for suspected enemy missiles approaching. The party breaks up and the neighbors hurry home.
However, shortly afterwards they return one after another to the stockton house for the simple reason that they want to survivewant to share with the Stocktons the bomb shelter which is the only one on their street.
ACT TWO
(abridged)
OUTSIDE STOCKTON HOME
HENDERSON: It‘ll land any minute. I just know it. It‘s going to land any minute
MRS. HENDERSON: (grabs hold of him) What are we going to do?
Throughout above and following dialogue, a portable radio carried by one of the children carries the following announcement:
ANNOUNCER‘S VOICE: This is Conelrad. This is Conelrad. We are still in a state of Yellow Alert. If you are a public official or government employee with an emergency assignment, or a civil defense worker, you should report to your post immediately. If you are a public official or government employee……
MRS. HARLOWE: Jerry, ask again.
HARLOWE: Don‘t waste you time. He won‘t let anyone in. He said he didn‘t have any room or supplies there and it‘s designed for three people.
MRS.HENDERSON: What‘ll we do?
HARLOWE: Maybe we ought to pick out just one basement and go to work on it. Poll all our stuff. Food, water, everything.
MRS.HARLOWE: It isn‘t fair. (she points toward Stockton house) He‘s down there in a bomb shelter completely safe. And our kids have to just wait around for a bomb to drop and
HENDERSON: Let‘s just go down into his basement and break down the door?
A chorus of voices greet this with assent.
As HENDERSON rushes through toward the basement entrance, HARLOWE overtakes him saying:
HARLOWE: Wait a minute, wait a minute. All of us couldn‘t fit in there. That would be crazy to even try.
WEISS: Why don‘t we draw lots? Pick out one family?
HARLOWE: What difference would it make? He won‘t let us in.
HENDERSON: We can all march down there and tell him he‘s got the whole street against him. We could do that.
HARLOWE: What good would that do? I keep telling you. Even if we were to break down the door, it couldn‘t accommodate all of us. We‘d just be killing everybody and for no reason.
MRS. HENDERSON: If it saves even one of these kids out hereI call that a reason.
The voice comes up again.
WEISS: Jerry, you know him better than nay of us. You‘re his best friend. Why don‘t you go down again? Try to talk to him. Pleased with him. Tell him to pick out one family Draw lots or something
HENDERSON: One family, meaning yours, Weiss, huh?
WEISS: (whirls around to him) Why not? I‘ve got a three-month-old infant
MRS. HENDERSON: What difference does that make? Is your baby‘s life any more precious than our kids?
WEISS: (shouting at her) I never said that. If you‘re going to start trying to argue about who deserves to live more than the next one
HENDERSON: Why don‘t you shut your mouth, Weiss? (with a wild, illogical anger) That‘s the way it is when the foreigners come over here. Aggressive, greedy, semi-Americans
WEISS: (his face goes white) Why you garbage-brained idiot you
MRS. HENDERSON: It still goes, Weiss! I bet you‘re at the bottom of the list
WEISS suddenly flings himself through the crowd toward the man and there‘s a brief, hand-to-hand fight between them broken up by HARLOWE who stands between them breathless.
HARLOWE: Keep it up, both of you. Just keep it up. We won‘t need a bomb. We can slaughter each other.
MRS.WEISS: (pleading) Marty, go down to Bill‘s shelter again. Ask him
WEISS: I‘ve already asked him. It wouldn‘t do any good.
One again the siren sounds and the people seem to move closer together, staring up toward the night sky. Off in the distance we see searchlights.
HARLOWE: Searchlights. It must be coming closer.
HENDERSON: (as he suddenly pushes HARLOWE aside and heads for the steps) I‘m going down there and get him to open up that door. I don‘t care what the rest of you think. That‘s the only thing left to do.
MAN # 1: He‘s right. Come on, let‘s do it.
INSIDE THE SHELTER
GRACE is holding tight to PAUL. STOCKTON stands close to the door listening to the noises from outside as they approach. There‘s a pounding on the shelter door that reverberates.