A trail of mangled stalks sweep beneath them.
INT. LIVING ROOM - STEVE AND JEREMY'S HOUSE - DAY
Steve and Jeremy are sitting on a couch.
STEVE
(to a large wall screen)
Screen activate. Television on.
The screen activates.
Local news fills the space behind four other channels stacked square on top of one another in the right vertical quarter of the screen.
JUDITH BLAKELY is reporting beside a large, intricate web in a wooded area.
DR. LAURA SORENSON stands beside her.
Old man Hutchins is in the background.
JUDITH
...Thank you, Jim. As you can see, we're
standing beside this very large web that
was discovered by Mr. Clive Hutchins who
owns a nearby farm. Several cattle have
disappeared without a trace from Mr.
Hutchins property over the past few
years. Welcome.
OLD MAN HUTCHINS
Thank you.
JUDITH
This morning, Mr. Hutchins decided to
take a look in this small patch of woods
for any evidence of his missing cattle.
She begins rounding the web.
JUDITH (CONT’D)
That's when he discovered this large web.
What can you tell us about it, Doctor
Sorenson?
DR. SORENSON
To be honest, Judy, I've never seen
anything like it. The detail is
magnificent. I don't know of any arachnid
or insect species that produces such a
large dwelling.
(bending down)
Just look at how wide this opening is.
JUDITH
Could this explain the missing-
A Kek flares out from the opening.
It engulfs Dr. Sorenson. Pulls her inside.
Panic quickly follows.
The camera hits the ground. Scrambling feet fill the screen.
CAMERAMAN (O.C.)
Jesus Christ! Did you see that?
JUDITH (O.C.)
Someone help her!
STEVE
Holy crap!
JEREMY
What the hell was that?
STEVE
It looked like some kind of giant spider.
Those woods are like five miles from
here. I want this house sealed tight.
JEREMY
No argument here.
Steve and Jeremy secure the house.
Jeremy reels a little from the pill he took earlier.
JEREMY (CONT’D)
I need to check my email.
INT. JEREMY'S BEDROOM - DAY
Jeremy closes the door behind him.
He inserts the alien data crystal into his computer.
He opens a program named "ANOMALY SCAN." Scans the crystal.
The results indicate "1,950 DATA FRAGMENTS FOUND"
Jeremy copies all the fragments into a single file.
The data appears to be engineering schematics.
Steve knocks before poking his head in.
STEVE
You busy?
JEREMY
Just checking some email.
Jeremy quickly minimizes the display.
Steve sits on the bed.
STEVE
How would you like to take a trip to the
Kennedy Space Center?
JEREMY
I don't know. There's a lot of stuff I
need to get done.
STEVE
Dude, you need a vacation.
JEREMY
No I don't.
STEVE
When you're not following me around like
a lost puppy, you're locked away in here
on your computer. I'll make all the
arrangements and pay for everything.
Steve picks up a model spacecraft from Jeremy's night stand. He pretends to study it.
JEREMY
I'll admit, I always wanted to check out
Kennedy. I'll let you know by tomorrow.
Steve smiles and leaves the room.
INT. MILWAUKEE RAILCAR STATION - DAY
Dozens of monorails crisscross the station.
Long trains of RAILCARS are arriving, departing, and waiting.
Jeremy climbs into a railcar bound for Florida.
INT. RAILCAR - DAY
Jeremy takes a window seat.
PENNY, early thirties, professionally dressed, takes the seat beside him.
The train departs.
PENNY
Are you going to Florida for a visit or
is it home?
JEREMY
Visiting the Kennedy Space Center.
PENNY
Did you plan on touring MICROCORE, too?
JEREMY
Microcore offers tours?
PENNY
I've seen lots of tours come through. My
name is Penny. I work in the ASTEROID
CRUSHER shop at Microcore.
She dangles her hand in front of him.
Jeremy shakes it.
JEREMY
I'm Jeremy. I don't mean to be rude, but
I was hoping to catch a nap before we
cross into Florida.
PENNY
I understand. You get some sleep. I'll
wake you when we get close.
JEREMY
Thanks, Penny.
Jeremy retrieves a small pillbox from his pocket.
He nearly drops it into the tiny trash receptacle beside his seat but then reconsiders.
He shakes out the last three pills, and then drops the pillbox into the trash.
He takes the pills, then curls up in the seat and closes his eyes.
A small TV at the front of the railcar shows A SATELLITE TV NEWSCASTER reporting beside the excavated web in Wisconsin.
SATELLITE TV NEWSCASTER
The skeletons of at least three cattle
were found alongside the remains of Dr.
Laura Sorenson who was abducted by an
unknown animal earlier this week.
Forensic experts have identified several
distinct bite patterns on the bones,
indicating that more than one...
FADE TO BLACK.
INT. LIVING ROOM - SKYLAR'S HOUSE - DAY
Pitch black.
SKYLAR (O.C.)
Jeremy, you awake?
JEREMY'S POV: SKYLAR's mottled figure emerges from blackness.
It grows more defined through a sliver of vision.
Skylar is 26, muscular, with bright blond hair.
Penny is beside him.
JEREMY
Skylar, right?
SKYLAR
Yeah. You got totally wasted at my party
the other night. You've been sleeping on
my couch for the last two days.
JEREMY
Two days? I remember falling in a pool.
SKYLAR
You fell in the pool several times, and
then broke one of my lamps. Actually, I
was pretty impressed by the way you stood
up to me.
JEREMY
I feel like I got hit by a truck. Is my
present condition the result of you
beating the crap out of me?
SKYLAR
I didn't touch you. You beat yourself up
without anyone's help.
Skylar moves off, then returns with a large glass of water.
Jeremy accepts it. Guzzles it down.
JEREMY
Thanks.
SKYLAR
I'm on my way out. No offense, but I
expect you to be gone when I get back.
Penny can show you where the railcar
station is.
JEREMY
Thanks for letting me crash here. Sorry
for the inconvenience.
Skylar pulls his baseball cap down over his eyes, then exits with no response.
PENNY
Remember me?
JEREMY
Of course. Penny from Microcore.
PENNY
You were acting kind of weird after I
woke you on the train so I got off at
your stop to keep an eye on you; to keep
you out of trouble.
JEREMY
Didn't do a very good job, did you? Where
are we?