Unit Seven

          Several neighbors hope to find safety in the only bomb shelter on their street when an announcement comes over the radio that enemy missiles are approaching. Can it shelter  all of them? Does its owner let them in? Here is the story…

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 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 survive – want 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 your 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. Pool 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. HENDERRSON         If it saves even one of these kids out here —I call 
                    that a reason.

The voice comes up again.

WEISS                       Jerry, you know him better than any of us. You’re 
                  his best friend. Why don’t you go down again? Try 
                  to talk to him. Plead 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                   ( leading) Marty, go down to Bill’s shelter again. 
                     Ask him—    

WEISS                        I’ve already asked him. It wouldn’t so any good.

Once 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.

HENDWESON         (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.

                            OUTSIDE THE SHELTER   

HENDERSON                  Bill? Bill Stockton? You’re got a bunch of your
                   neighbors out here who want to stay alive. Now you
                   can open the door and talk to us and figure out 
                   with us how many can come in there. Or else you can
                   just keep doing what you’re doing – and we’ll fight
                   our way in there.

HARLOWE appears and pushes his way through the group and goes over to the shelter door.

HARLOWE                     Bill. This is Jerry. They mean business out here.

STOCKTON’S VOICE            And I mean business in here. I’ve already told you,
                     Jerry. You’re wasting your time. You’re wasting 
                     precious time that could be used for something 
                     else … like figuring out how you can survive.

MAN # 1                     Why don’t we get a big, heavy log to break the door
                   down?

HENDERSON                 We could go over to Bennett Avenue. Phil Kline has some
                  giant logs in his basement. I’ve seen them. Let’s 
                  get one. And we’ll just tell Kline to keep his mouth 
                  shut as to why we want it.

WEISS                      Let’s get hold of ourselves. Let’s stop and think
                  for a minute—

HENDERSON                (turning to face WEISS) Nobody cares what you think. 
                  You or your kind. I thought made that clear upstairs.
                  I think the first order of business is to get you out
                 of here.                           

With this he strikes out, smashing his fist into WEISS’s face in a blow so unexpected and so wild that WEISS, totally unprepared, is knocked against the wall. His wife screams and, still holding the baby, rushes to him. There’s a commotion as several men try to grab the neighbor and HARLOWE is immediately at WEISS’s side trying to help him to his feet. Once again the sirens blast.

HENDERSON                (shouts over the noise and commotion) Come on, let’s get

                            something to smash this door down.

They start out of the cellar toward the steps.

                             INSIDE THE SHELTER

STOCKTON slowly turns to face his wife. The angry screaming cries of the people ring in their ears even as they depart.

GRACE ( looks up ) Bill? Who were those people?

STOCKON ( turning to stare toward the door) “Those people? ” Those are our
               neighbors, Grace. Our friends. The people we’ve lived with 
               and alongside for twenty years. (then in a  different fixed
               expression and in a different tone) Come on, Paul. Let’s 
               put stuff up against this door. Everything we can.

The man and boy then start to pile up a barricade, using furniture, the generator, books, any movable object they can get their hands on.

                        OUTSIDE OF THE SHELTER

The mob marches down the street carrying a large heavy log that is perhaps fifteen feet long. Their own shouts mix with the sound of the intermittent siren and with the voice of the announcer on the Conelrad station

ANNOUNCERR’S VOICE           We’ve been asked to once again remind the 
                       population that they are to remain calm, stay 
                       off the streets. This is urgent. Please remain 
                      off the streets. Everything possible is being done
                      in the way of protection. But the military and 
                      important civil defense vehicles must have the 
                      streets clear. So you’re once again reminded to 
                     remain off the  streets. Remain off the streets.

The minute the mob gathers before the STOCKTON house, they smash into it, carrying the giant log. They move down the cellar steps. As the log smashes into the shelter door, the siren goes up louder and more piercing and it is at this moment that we see both WEISS and HARLOWE join the men on the heavy log to lend their support to it.

                             INSIDE THE SHELTER

SOCKTON and PAUL lean against it as it starts to give under the weight, under the pressure. The air is filled with angry shouts, the intermittent siren, the cries of women and children.

                     INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE SHELTER

And it all reaches one vast pitch just as the door is forced open. PAUL and STOCKTON are pushed back into the shelter and just at this moment the lights go on in the basement. The siren also reaches its top and then suddenly goes off and there is absolute dead silence for a long moment. Then from the portable radio in the corner comes

ANNOUNCERR’S VOICE       This is Conelrad. This is Conelrad. Remain tuned for
                   an important message. Remain tuned for an important
                 message. (a pause) The President of the United States has
                just announced that the previously unidentified objects
           have  now been definitely identified as being satellites. Repeat.
              There are no enemy missiles approaching. Repeat, there
               are no enemy missiles approaching. The objects have been
             identified as satellites. They are harmless and we are in no
              danger. Repeat. We are in no danger. The state of emergency
             has officially been called off. We are in no danger. Repeat.
               There is no enemy attack. There is no enemy attack.

MRS. WEISS       (her eyes closed and crying softly) Thank God. Oh, thank God.

WEISS           (in a whisper, his face bruised and blood clotted) Amen to that.

HENDERSON      Hey, Marty…Marty…I went crazy. You understand that,
            don’t you? I just went crazy. I didn’t mean all the things I
              said.(he wets his lips, his voice shaking ) We were all of us…we
            were so scared…so confused. (he holds out his hands in a
            gesture) Well, it’s no wonder really, is it? I mean …well,
                   you can understand why we blew our tops a little

There’s a murmur of voices, a few half-hearted nods, but they’re all still in a state of shock.

HARLOWE          I don’t think Marty’s going to hold it against you. (then
               turning to STOCKTON) I just hope Bill won’t hold this—
           (he points to the wreckage around him) against us. We’ll pay
           for the damage, Bill. We’ll take up a collection right away.

As STOCKTON walks past them across the cellar and up toward the stairs, all eyes are on him and there’s an absolute dead silence.

WEISS                (his voice shaky and nervous) We could…we could have a
              block party or something tomorrow night. A big celebration.
              I think we deserve one now.

He looks around smiling at the others, a nervous smile born of a carry-over of fear and the realization that something has taken hold of all of them now.

Something deadening in its effect and disquieting beyound words.

STOCKTON takes a step up on the stairs then stops and turns back toward them. His face is expressionless.

HARLOWE          (with phony laughter desperately trying to relieve situation)
              Block party’s not a bad idea. (looking around at the others)
             Anything to get back to normal.

STOCKTON         (looks from face to face and slowly shakes his head) Normal? 
            (a pause) I don’t know. I don’t know what “ normal ” is.
             I   thought I did, but I don’t any more.

HARLOWE         I told you we’d pay for the damages—

STOCKTON          (stares at him ) The damages? (he nods) I wonder if we
              realize just what those damages are? (he looks from face
              to face again) Maybe the worst of them was finding out
              just what we’re like when we’re normal. The kind of people
             we are. Just underneath the surface. I mean all of us. A lot of
             naked animals who attach such great importance to staying
             alive that they claw their neighbors to death just for the
             privilege. (he leans against the stairway wall, suddenly
           desperately tired, very softly as he turns away from them)We were
           spared a bomb tonight…but I wonder if we weren’t destroyed even
          without it. He continues up the steps.

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