EXT. WAREHOUSE

JACQUELINE, DUSTIN, and HARLEY stand outside the warehouse.

HARLEY: So what can a wulver do?

She counts on her claws.

JACQUELINE (WULVER FORM): I know they can spit hellfire, turn into shadowy smoke, levitate, and possess people.

Harley crosses his arms, putting a hand to his chin in thought.

HARLEY: Ok, great, how do we test for that?

JACQUELINE (WULVER FORM): Uh… 

HARLEY: Try spitting fire?

Dustin steps up.

DUSTIN: You want to go for the most d-dangerous one first?

HARLEY: Could try possession. Dustin, you volunteer, right?

DUSTIN: Absolutely not!

HARLEY: (points to Jacqueline) Hellfire it is!

Jacqueline stands holding herself, eyes closed.

HARLEY: Uh, Jacks?

JACQUELINE (WULVER FORM): It’s like there’s a heat bundled up inside of me. If I let it get strong enough, I shift. Same thing when I pull it back.

Jacqueline’s muscles tense; Dustin and Harley step back. 

Jacqueline shifts back to human form in a mess of black-and-maroon flame and falls to the ground. She sits up, rubbing her arm.

JACQUELINE: (pained) Ah! That’s not what I wanted… 

Dustin and Harley flinch at the sudden shape-shifting display.

DUSTIN: O-obviously. Are you ok?

JACQUELINE: Sure, just give me a sec.

A moment of focus, and she shifts back to wulver form.

JACQUELINE (WULVER FORM): There we go.

HARLEY: You really can just flip it on and off, huh?

Jacqueline stands up and holds her head dizzily.

JACQUELINE (WULVER FORM): Uh-huh. It hurts and makes me dizzy, though, so I’d rather not just bounce back and forth like that. Anyway, let’s try that again… 

— — Jacqueline tries to spit hellfire through various ways of huffing and puffing, but nothing happens…

— — Jacqueline pushes her paws and head against a chain link fence, attempting to phase though in a smokey veil. This doesn’t work either…

— — Jacqueline climbs a tree and jumps out, but she ends up belly flopping to the ground.

— — She drags her claws down a tree like a cat on a scratching post.

JACQUELINE (WULVER FORM): Ahh! Why is this so hard? I figured out how to SHAPE-SHIFT easier than this!

Harley steps up beside her, hesitating before putting a hand on her furry shoulder.

HARLEY: Hey, I’m sure it’ll come naturally at some point. Maybe your body is still getting used to all this?

JACQUELINE (WULVER FORM): (sighing) I know, I’m just frustrated… 

In awe, Harley looks at the inches-deep claw marks along the length of the tree.

HARLEY: No kidding?

Dustin walks up, looking at his phone.

DUSTIN: Hey, guys, we should probably call it a d-day. I need to get at least a little homework done tonight.

JACQUELINE (WULVER FORM): Yeah, I think I’m done “practicing,” if you could even call it that… 

HARLEY: Hey, don’t beat yourself up. You’ve gotten better at walking, at least. 

She rolls her eyes, giving a frustrated groan. Jacqueline shifts back to human form, trips, and rebalances.

DUSTIN: God, it’s like my b-brain has to restart every time I see you d-do that.

They grab their backpacks and walk to their bikes.

HARLEY: Same. It’s trippy, like what I’m seeing isn’t real, but I know it is.

They unlock their bikes.

JACQUELINE: How do you think I feel? You’re not the one changing species!

They ride away from the warehouse.

EXT. ROAD - LATER

OFFICER MUDWIN—helmet off—speeds an armored UEA vehicle down the road, frantic. He stammers into the radio receiver.

OFFICER MUDWIN: No, I can’t “hold my position”! Did ya hear me? I said the dang thing’s chasin’ me! 

INT. UEA OFFICE: CALL CENTER

A CALL DISPATCHER sits in a chair looking at a computer screen, typing various things. He speaks into his headset.

CALL DISPATCHER: Alright, can you tell me what direction you took after pinging the sighting’s location?

OFFICER MUDWIN (THROUGH HEADSET): N-north! I’m headin’ northbound, just past the old industrial district!

EXT. ROAD

OFFICER MUDWIN glances in the rearview mirror, only to do a double take. Whatever he was expecting to be there isn’t.

CALL DISPATCHER (THROUGH RADIO): Ok, I’m going to redirect the field containment team in your direction…

Officer Mudwin turns back to the road in front of him. A TAN WULVER with a white striped tail and rump, pale green claws, and glowing red eyes rockets head-on toward the vehicle.

CALL DISPATCHER (THROUGH RADIO): …but it’s going to take a few—

OFFICER MUDWIN: Oh, SUGAR!

Officer Mudwin jerks the steering wheel. The vehicle swerves and spins out, hitting the tree line off the road. 

EXT. ROAD - SAME

HARLEY, JACQUELINE, and DUSTIN ride their bikes down the natural path beside the road.

HARLEY: Dude, you can’t just put water in the oil tank!

DUSTIN: Well, how are you supposed to clean it then?

JACQUELINE: (laughing) Not like that, you’ll ruin the car.

HARLEY: Thank you!

Jacqueline stops abruptly and looks back down the path.

Harley and Dustin stop.

HARLEY: Jacks? What’s up?

JACQUELINE: Don’t you hear that?

Dustin shrugs.

DUSTIN: It’s just wind.

JACQUELINE: Something’s getting closer.

DUSTIN: Nobody uses the roads way out here anymore.

TIRES SQUEAL!

The sound of a car CRASHING follows.

The teens flinch before looking at each other. 

Harley heads in the direction of the crash first, then Jacqueline. Reluctant, Dustin lags behind.

EXT. ROAD: CRASH SITE

JACQUELINE, HARLEY, and DUSTIN dismount their bikes as they creep forward, looking through the tree line at the road.

They come across the crashed UEA vehicle, OFFICER MUDWIN visible through the broken glass. He shoots at the TAN WULVER from inside the vehicle.

DUSTIN: Holy crap.

HARLEY: A wulver?

DUSTIN: During the d-day too? It’s not even twilight.

HARLEY: Jacks, you gotta help that guy. That wulver’s gonna kill him!

JACQUELINE: He’s the scouter who almost shot me yesterday.

Dustin quirks his head, twisting his face in concern.

DUSTIN: Shot you?!

JACQUELINE: When I was a wulver, he shot at me. I fell in the creek. I changed back, then he took me home.

HARLEY: So he saved you!

JACQUELINE: Did you miss the whole ALMOST SHOT ME part?

HARLEY: You were a wulver, right? How was he supposed to know you’re also a teenage girl?!

She crosses her arms.

JACQUELINE: Fair point. But, I wanna see what it does. I doubt it’s gonna kill him. The one that attacked me didn’t.

The tan wulver strikes the driver’s side window, breaking it. Officer Mudwin is knocked out. The wulver drills its teeth deep into his shoulder, then pulls his unconscious form out through the window.

Jacqueline cringes.

HARLEY: Jacqueline, it is going to kill him!

She looks at the scene anxiously, contemplating.

JACQUELINE: (sighing) Alright, alright, I’ll try to talk to it.

Jacqueline pulls her knife out of her backpack. She puts it in Dustin’s hands.

JACQUELINE: Here, I can’t hold this as a wulver. Take it just in case.

Dustin eagerly accepts the knife.

HARLEY: Why does he get a knife?

JACQUELINE: Because he’s smaller than you. Suck it up.

DUSTIN: Is this iron blight?

JACQUELINE: It is. 

DUSTIN: Thank god.

Jacqueline shifts to her wulver form and creeps closer to the crash site.

Harley pulls Dustin off to the side.

DUSTIN: What ar—

HARLEY: —When Jacqueline distracts the wulver, WE are gonna get that guy out of there.

DUSTIN: Oh, we are, are we?

Harley moves forward, readying himself.

DUSTIN: Oh… we are.

With a sigh, Dustin follows Harley’s lead.

— — Jacqueline hides behind a tree, struggling in the large form. She looks over to the tan wulver, now dragging the officer by the back of his jacket toward the tree line behind the vehicle.

She looks back to Harley, who gives her a cheesy thumbs-up. Jacqueline rolls her eyes and turns back to the tan wulver.

With a deep breath, she walks clumsily from cover up to the wulver. It stops dragging the man, watching her.

JACQUELINE (WULVER FORM): Uh… What are you up to?

The tan wulver stands defensively in front of the fallen officer. Its back fur puffing up, tail whipping back and forth. 

Snarling and hissing, it speaks in an unintelligible language.

Jacqueline’s ears droop.

JACQUELINE (WULVER FORM): What?

The wulver opens its mouth, green vapor pouring out. Its ribs glow green through tan fur. 

Jacqueline’s ears jut straight up.

JACQUELINE (WULVER FORM): Oh!

BOOM!

Jacqueline jumps away as the wulver launches a powerful green blast of hellfire. 

The force of the blast knocks her down.

She attempts to get up. The wulver pounces on her. She begins to panic.

The wulver flips her over by her shoulder. She pushes it back with her arms, struggling to free herself. The wulver opens its mouth, green vapor and glowing ribs signaling another blast.

Bright grey eyes open wide, she struggles harder. 

She accidentally strikes the wulver with her tail in the back of its head. It flinches violently, swallowing back the blast. Jacqueline is free.

On her feet, she staggers awkwardly into the tree line.

The furious slashing of the tan wulver’s burning green claws comes within inches of Jacqueline’s snout and chest. 

Startled, she weaves in and out around the trees, burning wood flying at every strike. Green embers sprinkle the debris.

BOOM!

A second green blast of hellfire launches through the forest. It hits the ground to the side of Jacqueline, just missing her.

The force blows her into a tree. Wind knocked out, she folds into herself, hitting the ground with a wheeze.

She dizzily looks up. The wulver stops in front of her and looks off somewhere. Her eyes follow its gaze to see Dustin and Harley dragging the officer away. With a snort, the wulver steps to go after the boys. 

Jacqueline bites down on the wulver’s foot. 

It HOWLS in pain and falls to the ground. 

The wulver kicks Jacqueline off with its free foot. It charges at the boys.

Jacqueline shakes off the blow, pulls herself up, and pursues the wulver.

The wulver grabs a large smoldering tree branch and throws it back at Jacqueline. She braces for impact, guarding with her forearms.

But it never hits… 

Jacqueline watches as her forearms and chest turn to pitch-black smoke, and the branch goes…

Right.

Through.

Her.

It bounces and rolls on the ground behind her.

The air absent from her lungs, she bends over, gasping for breath, patting her chest and arms, confirming her solidity. 

She looks back at the branch in disbelief.

DUSTIN (O.S.): Jacqueline!

Jacqueline snaps to attention at Dustin’s call.