The Werewolf

A disheveled man in a suit drifts along Mountaincrest's main street on a chilly winter night. He enters a local bar and insists he does not know who he is or where he came from. The encounter plants a seed of unease as the town reads his amnesia as bad omens.

After leaving the bar, Joe Mitchell confronts the stranger and demands money, sparking a fight in an alley. Ma Everett glimpses four legs sticking out onto the sidewalk and hears a snarling sound, while two of the legs go limp. A figure steps from the alley into the darkness, leaving the fate of Joe uncertain.

Sheriff Jack Haines carries Joe's body to Dr. Jonas Gilchrist and nurse Amy Standish. Gilchrist notes wounds that look animalistic, while Ma Everett's description of a 'thing' lingers in the air. Jack forms a posse to pursue the mysterious attacker.

Jack brings Deputy Ben Clovey to Gilchrist's office, where Ben recounts an encounter with a creature that is not fully human or animal. He describes something with hair and paw-like movements, leaving the team uneasy. Jack declares it a werewolf, and Gilchrist and Amy cautiously concur.

The disheveled man arrives at Gilchrist's office after a car crash and cannot recall his identity or past. He insists he killed Joe and resists the sedative Amy administers. In a panic, he bolts from the room, and Amy immediately phones the sheriff.

Doctors Morgan Chambers and Emery Forrest discuss treating the amnesiac, admitting they had injected him with an irradiated wolf serum. They believe the serum could allow a selected minority to survive a coming nuclear catastrophe, with lycanthropy as an unintended side effect. Helen Marsh and her son Chris identify the man as Duncan Marsh, prompting the doctors to move toward Mountaincrest to avoid blame.

Fearing liability, Chambers and Forrest head toward Mountaincrest to manage Duncan directly, intending to neutralize him and avoid public blame. Their urgency adds pressure to an already tense situation as the town braces for what Duncan may become.

Forrest corners Duncan in a mineshaft, and Duncan pleads for his life. He then transforms into the werewolf and attacks Forrest, who is unable to contain him. Chambers fires to drive the creature off, buying a temporary window for retreat.

Amy convinces Jack to try to take Duncan alive and volunteers to aid with first aid. Jack reluctantly agrees, allowing Helen and Chris to join the effort along with Ben. The small party moves out into the night, aware that danger lurks in every shadow.

Helen uses Jack's megaphone to reach Duncan, who approaches in human form. He embraces Helen and Chris but warns Amy to take them away, fearing another turn that could harm them. The moment is fragile, tinted with hope and dread alike.

Duncan is placed in a jail cell to be contained and observed, a temporary peace that masks the deeper fear surrounding him. The town holds its breath, waiting to see if a cure or a tragic end will come first. The uneasy calm is thick with what-ifs.

Chambers and Forrest force their way into the jail and attempt to inject Duncan with a deadly serum. He changes into the werewolf, kills the doctors, and escapes back into the woods. The backfire of their plan darkens the already fragile night.

The werewolf staggers onto a bridge and is shot dead by the posse. As the creature dies, it reverts to Duncan, ending the immediate threat but leaving the consequences of the experiment unresolved. The town is left to reckon with what it has unleashed.