YEAR – 2021ISLE CALIGO – OUTSKIRTS OF MOUNT VELIS [8:45 AM]
(The sky hung heavy with gray clouds, the early morning light struggling to pierce the mist that crawled along the treetops. Lucas and his father stood frozen near the trail where the body had been.)
LUCAS - (quietly) But… it was right here. You saw it too, right?
FATHER - (tense) I saw it. But I also know this island… and how fast it swallows truth.
OFFICER 1 - (skeptical) Mr. Midnite, are you sure you didn't just see an animal?
FATHER - (stiff) The chest was caved in clean. No animal did that.
(The officers exchanged glances. The second one pulled out his radio. Static. No signal here either.)
OFFICER 2 - (to his partner) We log this as a report. No body, no crime.
(The two officers walked back toward their jeep. Lucas stayed behind, staring into the woods.)
LUCAS - (to himself) What the hell did I bring back?
ISLE CALIGO – EASTERN VILLAGE [9:15 AM]
(Meanwhile, a cozy wooden home sat at the edge of a fog-draped ridge. Inside, an old man, GERRARD, leaned back in his chair, drinking stale coffee, the microwave humming beside him.)
(The microwave suddenly beeped erratically. The lights in the kitchen dimmed. Gerrard frowned.)
GERRARD - (muttering) Power's been clean for weeks. Don't start now.
(He stood and walked toward the microwave. The digital screen flickered—normal at first, then scrambled into foreign symbols. Static buzzed from its speaker, louder and louder.)
GERRARD - (alarmed) What the—
(The microwave door snapped open, a blinding flash bursting from inside. Gerrard screamed, staggering back—but the pulse hit him first.)
(His body convulsed violently as a sharp, invisible force exploded outward. The kitchen lights shattered. Gerrard's chest blistered, imploded—a silent, brutal vacuum force caving it inward. His body slumped, lifeless.)
(The screen on the microwave blinked twice—77EH—before fading to black.)
ISLE CALIGO – FOREST RIDGE [9:25 AM]
(Back in the woods, Lucas, his father, and Officer Delgo combed the area.)
LUCAS - (looking up) What is this path?
FATHER - (low) One your great-grandfather built. It leads up the ridge. Used to say it watched the mountain.
OFFICER 1 - (joking) Trees got eyes now?
FATHER - (dead serious) On this island? Maybe.
(They moved deeper into the thicket. Fog thickened. The air felt like static—like something was listening.)
LUCAS - (pausing) Wait… did you hear that?
(Something rustled up ahead—too heavy for a bird. A low, scraping click-click-click followed.)
(The three stopped. The sound stopped too.)
FATHER - (whispers) Don't move.
(Suddenly, from deep in the forest, the sound of metal scraping stone echoed. A dark silhouette shifted between the trees—briefly humanoid, then not.)
LUCAS - (terrified) What was that?!
OFFICER 1 - (draws pistol) I don't know, but we're not chasing it.
(A cold wind passed. Then—his phone buzzed.)
(The officer checked it. "EMERGENCY SIGNAL - RESIDENCE 3KM EAST. POWER ANOMALY.")
OFFICER 1 - (reading) Someone's place just blew out. Looks like a power surge.
FATHER - (grimly) Not just a surge. We should get back.
ISLE CALIGO – GERRARD'S HOUSE [10:00 AM]
(The officers arrived to find the house dark. The door creaked open with a push. Smoke clung to the walls. The kitchen was scorched.)
OFFICER 1 - (muted gasp) Oh god...
(Gerrard's body lay slumped near the microwave, chest cratered inward—unnaturally clean. No fire. No blood. Just a smell of burnt air and silence.)
(The microwave blinked one last time. Then: blank.)
ISLE CALIGO – LATER THAT DAY [11:00 AM]
(Lucas sat on the hood of their truck, staring out into the distance. His father paced behind him, phone still trying to find signal.)
LUCAS - (quietly) First the key… then the body… now this. What did Grandfather hide?
FATHER - (firm) Something he shouldn't have built. Something no one should've found again.
(Lucas glanced down at his palm—faint redness still where the key had been held too long.)
LUCAS - (to himself) Then why does it feel like it's waking up again?