As MacReady heads inside, he hears a noise to the side of him. The sound of a clanking. He turns his attention. Metal against metal. Strange. MacReady listens.
Someone exits a helicopter and runs to the the building.
MACREADY: Blair? . . . . . Blair?
MacReady approaches the helicopter, picks up a flashlight and flicks it on. The door to the cockpit is slightly ajar. He opens it cautiously.
MacReady slips in. The sound of electrical popping, cracking, hissing. The controls have been mangled. Beaten with something heavy.
Bang!! MacReady, startled, turns. Like the sound of a gun. Coming from the main compound. He runs for the building entrance.
INT. COMPOUND HALLWAY: Confusion. Shouts. MacReady has joined the others. The men are on either side of the open radio room doorway. We can hear Blair ranting inside.
NORRIS: He's got a gun!
BLAIR: You understand me! Anyone interferes, I'll kill them!
Blair fires the gun in their direction. He continues to rant.
MACREADY: He smashed up some of the chopper pretty good. . . Childs, go see if he got to the tractor.
Childs is off.
RADIO ROOM: Windows lies on the floor, groaning. Blair has beat on him something fierce.
He wields a fire ax with the other hand and smashes down on the radio.
BLAIR: Nobody's getting in or out of here! Nobody! (crunch) . . . . You guys think I'm crazy? Well that's fine! Most of you don't know what's going on around here -- but I'm damn well sure some of you do!
Blair crunches the ax down once again, while keeping an eye on the door.
MACREADY: Christ.
Childs returns, out of breath..
CHILDS: He got most of the chopper and tractor. . . (looks at Clark) He's killed the rest of the dogs.
Child's news upsets Clark, he takes off for the kennel.
INT. COMPOUND HALLWAY: Garry shifts to another position, his gun pulled. MacReady is irritated by Garry's actions.
MACREADY: Wait a minute!
MacReady returns his attention to the matters at hand.
MACREADY: Childs, go around to the Map Room door. Talk to him.
Childs heads off.
MACREADY (to Norris): Get a table from the Lab.
Norris double-times down the hall.
RADIO ROOM: Blair brings the ax down hard on the radio equipment.
BLAIR: . . . You think that Thing wanted to be an animal? No dog can make it a 1000 miles to the coast. . . . You don't understand! That thing wanted to be us! . . . Till it gets out. . . . It could imitate everything on the face of the Earth!
Norris returns with a folding table. MacReady readies the table like a shield.
Childs is now at the Map Room entrance.
CHILDS (humoring): Okay Blair. Come on man, you don't want to hurt anybody.
Blair turns his attention to Childs, he drops the axe and pulls out his gun, fires multiple times. Childs ducks as bullets hit the wall near him.
BLAIR: I'LL KILL YOU!
Out of bullets, Blair throws the gun in Child's direction out of anger.
MacReady charges into the room with the table, Garry right behind him. Blair, wielding the axe again, drives it into the table. MacReady barrels into him, knocking him to the wall.
But Blair is strong for his age, he shoves MacReady off. Garry charges him, he too is thrown off by Blair.
Blair grabs a chair, swinging it at Fuchs who is tackling him, misses, smashes a glass cabinet.
The others dive in and pile on, MacReady pummels him twice with a right hand. They finally have him contained.
FUCHS: Good shot, MacReady.
Windows tries to stand, collapses back to the floor from dizziness.
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