Dark Was the Night Page #4

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Hey, you're losing me, boss.

Ron Jenkins' missing horse.

We thought Ron

left the gate open.

Yeah.

I no longer

think that's right.

'Kay.

The claw marks.

First I thought it

was coincidence,

or part of a

well-thought-out prank.

Deep cuts on the

tree in the forest.

I mean, it meant nothing

to me at the time.

Just now, that dead

deer on the road...

It had four razor sharp

cuts right through its body.

Same ones?

Same size.

Those stories you heard...

I'm not saying that they're

all accurate, but...

I think we might be dealing

with something that's

not easily explained.

A few years ago I saw on TV,

they caught this giant fish

off the coast of

Taiwan or somewhere.

They thought that this

thing had been extinct

for like, millions of years.

Then, barn, there it is.

Right under our

noses the whole time.

Swimming around in the ocean.

So what I'm saying is, maybe...

Maybe this thing that

we're looking for,

maybe it's always been here.

And we're just now noticing it.

So why now?

Oh.

Sheriff Paul Shields.

You boys any closer

to finding out

what's running

around in them woods?

You know, I don't

normally see you in this,

this fine establishment.

'Course, I see your

deputy in here enough to

lower my confidence.

- Can I hit him?

- No.

Everyone around here trusts you.

I can't figure out why.

Man can't even protect

his own family.

Now, can I hit him?

I'm still deciding.

Jim:
You boys

have a good evening.

We got the utmost faith in ya.

(Jim laughs)

Jim:
Go get me a beer, dude!

Paul:
Let's go.

(branches rustle violently)

I think it was a bear.

That fast?

Shh.

(creature snarls)

(branches rustle)

(creature snarls)

-(gunshot bangs)

-(man yells)

You know, it's kinda

funny you never asked me.

What you shoulda asked

me in our interview.

You know, why a

guy from New York

would come out here to

basically the middle of nowhere.

You got shot, Donny.

Paul:
That's reason enough

for me.

I know what it's like, to uh...

Have people always telling

you that it wasn't your fault.

I don't need to

know anything else.

Donny:
Do you ever pray?

I mean, I never used to pray.

But...

When I was on that gurney,

and they told me that

my father died...

You know, things had been

going so well for me.

I was moving up in the force,

I had a nice girl.

Ever since then,

I've been asking God why.

But, uh, now I think

maybe I know why.

Maybe I wasn't where

I was supposed to be.

(Paul sighs)

Is this where you're

supposed to be, Donny?

Paul:
Is this where God

told you to be?

We all have a purpose.

Ours is to protect people.

Maybe there's somebody here

I'm supposed to protect.

There you go.

Or maybe you're

supposed to protect me.

(engine shuts off)

(twig snaps)

(branches rustle)

(eerie clicking)

(child's muffled

laughter echoes)

Tim?

Please! It's after me.

It's in the woods, behind me.

Please!

(man pants for breath)

We'd been hunting

for a few hours.

Hunter:
Hadn't seen anything.

And then we came upon something.

And we started tracking it.

It had to be a deer.

We thought somehow it just

wandered right past us.

Then what happened?

It was fast, so fast.

Hunter:
It got Manny, first.

Then Ryan,

he was screaming in pain.

Did you see it?

I don't know what I saw.

We'll start searching for 'em.

Hunter:
Don't bother.

They're already dead.

Paul:
Assuming that there

is some sort of animal

in these woods that's

never been discovered,

how could that be possible?

How could it go

unnoticed for so long?

Donny:
I don't know.

What if it's like

your prehistoric fish

that we talked about?

Maybe it's adapted

to its environment.

Maybe it's learned how to hide.

What if it's smart enough

to know that we're a threat?

Huh?

To know to avoid us,

till it has no choice.

That'd be a very

dangerous animal.

(cell phone rings)

-(engine dies)

- Earl:
'Bout time.

It's this way, fellas.

(leaves rustle)

Donny:
Oh, no.

How the...

Earl:
Yeah.

No animal I know of

kills like that.

Any tracks?

No.

It's too cold,

the ground's too hard.

You boys get outta

these woods right now.

What? Why?

Come on, Paul, it's the last

two weeks of huntin' season.

Whatever did this is

still in those trees.

Yeah, that's

exactly why I wanna--

We're gonna handle this, Jim.

Paul:
You understand?

No one from town's

allowed into these woods.

We make sure everyone is in

their house before nightfall.

Okay, Sheriff.

You got that, Jim?

Paul:
I understand

what you're saying.

No, I do, but what

I'm telling you

is that people have been

attacked and killed

in our woods.

Paul:
Two dozen men armed

enough to get a handle

on this in 24 hours,

that's what you're saying?

I have your word?

- Yeah. Yeah, you too.

-(phone beeps)

Donny:
The coroner's gonna have

a hell of a time getting

those bodies down.

Yeah.

What'd the Rangers say?

24 hours.

Paul:
At least most people

left 'cause of the storm.

We'll be fine in town.

We'll make do.

Yeah.

Radio:
With no

sign of letting up,

the storm system continues

to pound the local area.

The Ranger Service

encourages those

in the storm's path

to stay indoors.

Record number of

evacuees from Smith,

Maiden's Wood, Knobb's

Run and Tanner,

have flooded the southern

parts of the state.

Currently, local

passes, roadways,

and even sections

of the state highway

remain dosed until

further notice.

For more updates on

the storm, stay tuned.

Hey, it's me.

Um, I just wanted to thank

you for taking Adam tonight.

Susan". (phone) He was scared

with the storm,

and all that's been going on.

Being with you

makes him feel safe.

I love you.

(knocking)

Donny:
Hey,

finished my rounds.

Most of the town evacuated.

- Paul:
Good.

- Donny:
What's going on?

Paul:
I'm gonna

show you something.

I put a call into the

Sheriff up in Tanner,

when I heard the news said

the wildlife migration

affected them, as well.

Paul:
He sent me this.

Two weeks ago, a crew of loggers

went missing just

outside of Tanner.

I think that the logging

it forced the animal

south towards us.

All these years,

it's been able to live

in these remote

parts of the forest.

There's a police report for

two missing cattle in Tanner.

And then two days later,

yours truly.

-(bridle tag jingles)

- Number 88.

Ron Jenkins' missing horse.

So the foresting, it just

flushed it out right towards us.

And there's...

There's no more

forest to the south.

- So it's trapped.

- Paul:
It's threatened.

I think it's fighting

for territory.

Sit down.

(knocking at door)

Get caught up on this stuff.

(knocking at door)

Yeah.

I keep a camera

out in the woods,

so I can keep track of

the larger bucks at night.

It has an infrared sensor.

Records any movement

when it's triggered.

What are we looking for, Jim?

You'll know it

when you see it.

Whoa.

That was it.

It coulda been a deer.

Yeah, that's what I figured.

Till I looked at the footage.

I looked closer,

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