TELEVISION
(filtered)
We would also like to remind the public that tonight is a full moon.

FADE IN:

A television screen with an image of a news anchor.

TELEVISION

(continuing)

It is strongly advised that you stay indoors. It is clear with some cloudy periods, so it's likely that the moon will be in full view throughout the night.

Pull away from television to show...
INT. APARTMENT DAY
This room is dull and dingy, the blackish-brown paint flaking off the walls a bit. Some mismatched easy chairs are sporadically arranged throughout the room. A half-empty bottle of scotch sits on the old television.
The television fades away slowly as the camera pulls away and moves into the next room, a shabby kitchen.
TELEVISION
(fading out)
As well, I would like to remind any person who might undergo werewolf transformation tonight that according to the Lycanthrope Criminal Act, any felonies or misdemeanors committed under a state of werewolf psychosis will--
CAUBEN is sitting at a table in the kitchen, rubbing a large red welt on his right shoulder with his middle and index fingers. The Venetian blinds are open ajar. The last red rays of sunlight peering through the blinds dimly illuminate the room.
CAUBEN
It's tender...
Cauben gets up, pulls his shirt back over his shoulder, enters the other room and turns off the television.

CAUBEN (V.O.)
It was around 26 days ago that it happened to me. I knew about it, but I didn't think they would bother me. They could control themselves, I figured.
Cauben slumps in one of the chairs and scratches the left armrest compulsively, which is frayed and threadbare.
CAUBEN (V.O.)
I don't think I even saw it. I just felt a huge gnash in my shoulder and passed out from the pain. People usually never are able to see them. They hit and run.
Cauben re-enters the kitchen and peeks through the Venetian blinds. A red streak of light appears across his eyes and begins to fade away. The sun is setting. Stars are beginning to come out higher up on the horizon.
CAUBEN (V.O.)
Is it that they don't want to get caught, or they don't want to have to look into the face of their freshest victim and see how they've propagated this? Maybe it's simply instinct... no, can't be that... their instinct is to kill and feed.
Cauben rolls the blinds shut, moves toward the door, and exits.
INT. HALLWAY DAY
Cauben closes the door behind him into a plain hallway. A shaded light hangs over each of the doors along the left side of the hall and a large window at the end, the stretched-out sunset lighting the hall with a dreary orange light. Cauben glances down each end of the hallway without letting go of the doorknob.
CAUBEN (V.O.)
I went through a real smear of emotions since then. I was afraid at first, obviously. Don't tell me you wouldn't be.
Cauben slowly slips his hand off the doorknob and starts to walk towards the right end of the hall, towards...

INT. STAIRWELL DAY
Cauben slowly walks down the dark stairs, gradually gaining speed as he descends.
CAUBEN (V.O.)
After the initial shock, I became confused. I've always believed fate is a crock, because if it weren't, then everything would seem a lot easier to figure out.
Cauben gets off the bottom of the stairwell and enters...
INT. LOBBY DAY
The receding sunset lights the fairly large room with a dim orange. Cauben walks across the lobby to the glass doors at the exit.
CAUBEN (V.O.)
Angry, ashamed, pathetic, reclusive, painful, neurotic, hopeless, temperamental, aggressive... it's a lot for a guy to go through in such a short period.
Cauben pulls open one of the glass doors to...
EXT. APARTMENT DAY
The last light of the day languishes and fades away on the empty sidewalk. Cauben stands on the top step of the apartment and stares out above the apartment building on the other side of the street, watching the sun's light recede behind it.
CAUBEN (V.O.)
But as this day got closer, my dread started to alleviate. I even began to look forward to this night. What strength I may now possess.
Cauben slowly starts to proceed down the stone steps of the apartment building onto the sidewalk. The streetlights are starting to turn on along the street.

CAUBEN (V.O.)
Now what is the last emotion I'm feeling before this is going to happen? I guess I'm feeling... accepting. I'm about to turn into a monster, but I really think that this could be... different, to say the very least about it.
Cauben steps into the middle of the street and looks towards the sky to his right. The moon is starting to peek over the buildings against the far distance. Cauben turns around to face the east.
He closes his eyes, outstretches his arms and slowly raises his face towards the rising moon.
The pure white moonlight begins to travel up Cauben's body. He begins to cringe in pain. His right shoulder starts to twitch and his fingers curl up slightly.
After a few seconds, Cauben opens his eyes slightly, and then bolts them open in shock. His pupils begin to shrink and his iris is starting to expand, the whites of his eyes are turning black.
Cauben is beginning to transform into a werewolf. The transformation is very irregular and sporadic. His skin is beginning to darken slightly.
His muscles are bursting out from inside him. His legs are starting to lengthen into the hind legs of a canine. His shoes split open by his now-paw like feet with claws growing out of the toes.
His tailbone breaks out of his pants and lengthens under his skin and develops joints, creating a tail. Brown and gray hair starts to grow out of the tail and envelope it in bushy fur.
Ribs are bursting out powerfully from inside Cauben's chest, one by one up his torso. The buttons on his shirt start to pop out and the seams start to tear.
Cauben's arms, still outstretched but trembling, start to bulge and lengthen erratically. Stark blue veins pulsate and expand under the taut skin, actively shuddering from the immense volumes of blood pumping through them.
Hiss fingers are at full extension. His hands start to expand in size, and his fingers become more bony and elongated. His fingernails sink into his skin then grow out from the tips of his fingers, become thicker and more conical, like claws.
Midway through his transformation, patches of thick brown hair grow out of random parts of his skin very quickly until they eventually cover his body. His fur is brown and smooth, but slightly matted.
On Cauben's face is a grimace of intense pain. His eyes are clenched very tightly. The lower half of Cauben's face starts to extend irregularly into a snout, his nose becoming flatter and wider, and his nostrils becoming more flared. His teeth are starting to lengthen and sharpen into fangs.
Cauben's ears extend into pointy wolf ears and his hair is becoming longer and curlier. Patches of fur start to grow out of his face, soon covering it entirely.
Cauben makes a loud, strident noise that sounds something in between a loud screech of pain and agony and a raspy wolf's howl. He keels over onto the street.
FADE OUT
FADE IN:
EXT. APARTMENT NIGHT
A discolored view of the apartment steps at street level. A hoarse, low-pitched panting is heard in the foreground, with many sounds in the background such as wind blowing, dogs barking, streetlights humming. This is a first-person view of Cauben.
A furry hand with thick inch-long claws appears on the right, pressing against the pavement. With a deep grunt, the viewpoint rises to a height of around seven feet, turning left to face the end of the street.
Cauben looks slowly around the space in front of him, then looks down at his hands. After staring at them for a few seconds, he rubs the claws on his thumb and index finger on his right hand together.
Cauben then starts to rub the fur on his left arm with his right hand. He curls a lock of fur around his forefinger and pulls it away, snarling the fur slightly.
INTERCUT WITH:
Third-person shot of Cauben, in colour and with the background noises faded. Cauben examines his new body, and waves his tail back and forth experimentally.
Cauben tries to walk forward, but stumbles. He's not used to his new legs. He then attempts to speak, but his words come out as a deep-throated growling. This is werewolf language.
CAUBEN
(in Werewolf)
Sweet.