Elevation (2024) Movie Script
1
REPORTER: The sinkholes
appeared with no warning
-in every country in the world.
-REPORTER 2: Complete chaos
at this hour on the streets of
every major city on the planet.
REPORTER 3: They're exploding
from the ground.
It seems like, with no warning,
they're exploding
-from the ground.
-REPORTER 4: Scientists say
the creatures that emerged
from the sinkholes
may have been hibernating
for thousands of years.
REPORTER 5: Their bullets
merely hinder the creatures
but don't stop them.
REPORTER 6: Many nations
have called in the military.
REPORTER 7: ...thousands dead,
no end in sight.
REPORTER 8: People who live
at high altitudes are reporting
that they've seen the Reapers
stop cold at 8,000 feet.
MAN:
This is Nederland, Colorado.
Most of our town is destroyed,
but everything above 8,000 feet
is completely untouched.
REPORTER 9: Global lifeline
appears to be 8,000 feet.
Authorities are
urging survivors
to stay above that elevation.
MAN 2: 8,000 feet is
the global lifeline.
If you can get to high ground,
go there now.
-(birds chirping)
-(animal bellowing)
(footfalls approaching)
(rocks clatter)
(kids chattering playfully)
(sighs)
(rocks clatter)
(gasps)
(wings fluttering,
birds cawing)
(chittering nearby)
(galloping footfalls)
(galloping footfalls continue)
-(Reaper growls)
-(grunts)
-(footfalls retreating)
-(panting)
(tree branches snapping)
(birds cawing)
(panting continues)
(indistinct chatter)
(dog barking)
MAN (outside):
Hey, Hunter.
Everything okay?
Hunter?
I just... just wanted
to see other people.
And you said most of the
monsters are sleeping again.
You're on oxygen every night.
What if your lungs seized up
when you were running away?
I'm sorry, Dad.
I can't lose you.
I can't.
I need you to understand that.
(rustling)
(exhales quietly)
(gunshot)
-(deer groans)
-(thud)
-(chuckles) This one's heavy.
-Yeah.
KATIE:
Hold on.
-You got it?
-(grunting): Yeah.
KATIE (sighs): Hey,
what happened this morning?
WILL: He went across The Line
to get a better view
of the Red Rock settlement.
Well, he's the only kid
up here.
He's lonely.
He's alive.
Some of us need more
than that, Will.
I mean, we may be safe up here,
but this mountaintop is
like a prison to him.
He didn't just go there
to see Red Rock.
(fire crackling)
WILL (voice-over):
The Line crosses
Elba Fire Road near there.
It's the last place
he saw his mother.
(takes deep breath)
(wind chimes clinking)
(typing)
(stops typing)
(resumes typing)
(high-pitched, sustained tone)
(computer beeps)
-(bell dings)
-(tone stops)
MAN (inside):
Crow's Nest Refuge reports
they sent a party of five
below The Line
to forage for essentials.
Nobody's come back so far,
but they're still
holding out hope.
They asked us to send somebody
out to the pinnacle
to look for any signs
they're still out there.
WOMAN:
What road did they take?
MAN: Sugarloaf Run
in the upper valley.
(bird screeching in distance)
(insects chirping)
(gunshot outside)
(drops razor on table)
(fire crackling)
WILL (voice-over):
I get it.
You trust Nina.
But this is a suicide mission.
It's not your job
to save the world.
(gasps)
-(panting)
-(machine whirring and beeping)
-(Hunter coughing, gasping)
-Okay, buddy.
I'm here. I'm here.
Take it easy.
All right. Deep breaths.
-(whirring and beeping stop)
-(oxygen flowing)
-Nice and easy. Deep breaths.
-(breathing deeply)
Deep breaths.
Nice and easy.
There you go.
Nice and easy.
Oh, I love you, man.
(sighs)
(inhales sharply)
(sighs)
So, the hay
keeps the potato warm
as it grows out of the ground.
When it gets cold,
you put the hay over it,
keep the frost off the ground,
keep the potato warm.
All right?
Now, it's about timing,
all right?
When you let it go...
You have to let it go
at the right moment.
Let go of the string.
There you go.
WILL (voice-over):
It's Hunter's birthday.
Mm. And you want my last box
of mac and cheese?
I have these to trade.
It's not much, but...
It's enough.
HUNTER (voice-over):
No way!
-How'd you get this?
-WILL: Come on.
You know
I got connections, man.
Happy birthday.
Dad, why don't you use
the radio anymore?
Oh. We have flags to signal the
other refuges if we need to.
But it's not the same
as talking to them.
It's hard enough
to make enough electricity
for the things
we absolutely need,
like your machine.
Especially in the winter,
with the days being so short.
You're gonna leave, aren't you?
(Will sighs)
That was your last filter.
We need more.
You get sick again...
Then I won't get sick.
No, it doesn't work like that.
When?
I'm going to be okay.
(wind blowing)
I got 'em from Charlie.
I'm pretty sure
he's trying to sleep with me.
He's 80.
Well,
after three years up here,
I'm considering it.
Where's Hunter?
Sleeping.
It's Friday night, you know.
Is it?
Mm-hmm.
If this was before,
what would you be doing?
I'd probably be at the 19th
hole with my father-in-law.
(Katie chuckling)
I'm sorry, I never pictured you
as the country club type, Will.
-(both laughing)
-I wasn't.
But Tara's family loved it.
I hated it.
And now I miss it.
(gunshot)
Goddamn it.
(Katie chuckles softly)
(machine whirring and beeping)
(Hunter gasping)
We're out of filters, so
I'm-a have to give you a shot.
(insects chirping)
(knocking)
(door opens)
Hello, Nina.
How are you?
How's the drinking?
Keeps me from killing myself.
How's yours?
Keeps me from killing you.
I'm leaving tomorrow.
For Boulder.
Well, that's probably the last
thing I expected you to say.
I don't have a choice.
You'll die.
They can't be killed.
You believed that,
you wouldn't still have
this pirate flag on your wall.
I found a safe way there.
There is no safe way.
I know every map.
Every route. Two days' walk.
Impossible to stay
above The Line the whole time.
Hunter's machine.
The last filter burnt out.
The hospital in Boulder
will have a crate of 'em.
But if I don't go, Hunter dies.
The place was probably looted.
No one had time to loot.
You're gonna have to go
below The Line
at least a dozen times.
You can't survive a dozen
encounters with those things.
You survived.
That was luck.
Luck is not a strategy.
Luck won't help you.
You're the only person
who fought them and lived.
You've studied them for years.
-That'll help me.
-So what? "Do me a favor, Nina.
Let's go. Let's die together."
But last year, you thought
you found a way to kill them
if you could get back
to your old lab.
That's why Tara went with you.
I have a way to Boulder.
It's mapped out. We only go
below The Line twice.
Twice?
That's not possible.
It is.
Calway Mine.
It goes through the mountain.
A mine?
A fucking mine, Will?
That's your plan?
That's a death trap
by definition.
My company did a big job there.
I walked every inch.
I know those tunnels.
You don't know anything.
You're desperate.
Desperate people get killed.
8:00 a.m.
Cathedral Point Overlook.
Who says I'm going?
Everything you've done up here
since day one says that.
Shooting at that goddamn
Reaper scale every night.
All you think about
is killing one of these things,
and you need something
from down there to do it.
You owe me this much.
For Tara.
Will.
Boulder is 2,000 feet
below The Line.
Even if you make it there,
they'll be there waiting
for you.
It only takes one of them.
I know.
(door creaks open)
(door closes)
(soft clinking)
(clicking)
(clicking)
TARA (voice-over, whispering):
Nina.
Nina, it's getting closer.
(man shouting indistinctly
in voice-over)
-TARA: Nina!
-(thump)
-MAN: It's coming this way!
-MAN 2: Stay to the right!
TARA: I can't hold my breath
any longer.
-MAN: Shoot! Shoot!
-(rapid gunfire)
(man yells)
-TARA: No, please.
-MAN 2: We're going down!
-MAN 3: Oh, God! Oh, God!
-TARA: Please.
(screaming)
TARA:
I-I can't...
(Tara wailing)
(Reaper chittering)
-(men screaming)
-(Reaper snarling)
-(slashing)
-(Tara screams)
-Thanks.
-HANNAH: No problem.
WILL:
I have to go tomorrow.
He's got four days,
five at the most.
HANNAH:
I'll stay here with him.
TIM:
Changed the zero to 200 yards,
so you'll be able to engage 'em
from further out.
Oh.
AP rounds.
These are from
my own personal stash.
Slow 'em down a bit more
than a regular 556.
Good luck out there.
-Thanks.
-(door opens)
(door closes)
Were you planning
on telling me?
Huh?
You just gonna run off
and get yourself killed
without saying a word,
like Tara?
(Will scoffs softly)
I'm sorry.
That was uncalled for.
Yeah, it was.
-Hey, Tim?
-TIM: Yeah.
My gear?
WILL:
Katie, what are you doing?
-KATIE: Going with you.
-WILL: No, you're not.
Not asking permission, Will.
You can't go out there alone.
You need a partner
to watch your back.
Right. Nina's going with me.
Oh, I'm definitely going now.
(sighs)
The town needs you up here.
And I need to see
what's down there.
Why? What's the point?
We're rats on a sinking ship,
and we need to find a way off.
No, we don't.
We can survive up here forever.
-Everyone except Hunter.
-(scoffs)
I don't want to live
like this forever, Will.
And we both know
Hunter doesn't, either.
Well, it's not his decision
to make.
Not at eight years old.
We're gonna have to fight them
eventually, Will.
It might as well be today.
(door opens)
-(sighs softly)
-(door closes)
We don't need your help.
You don't need anyone's help,
do you, Nina?
You ever seen one
coming for you?
Up close.
Not just a flickering light
in the distance.
The way they tear people apart.
Bullets bounce off them
like nothing.
Unless you hit them
square in the face,
and even then, it just gives
you a few seconds to run.
We're gonna die out there.
But you first.
I won't be gone long.
That's what Mom said.
I'm coming back.
Promise.
WILL (voice-over):
We hit Alta Vista Ski Area,
we might even use the ski lift.
KATIE:
With what power?
WILL:
They have backup generators.
KATIE:
Which won't work
after sitting idle
for 992 days.
WILL: If the batteries aren't
drained, I'll get it running.
(bird calling)
KATIE:
So, what's in Boulder, Nina?
My old lab.
I thought you were
a professor at Caltech.
Researcher.
Can't teach kids.
They're too stupid.
Caltech students
are too dumb for you?
So what's that make us, then?
Not Caltech students, Katie.
(sighs)
You could be nice.
At least try.
What's wrong
with not giving a shit?
KATIE:
How do we know there isn't one
hibernating down there?
NINA:
I'm not picking anything up.
WILL: I guess that's not
a compass, is it?
No.
Did you find a way
to track 'em?
Uh, bioelectromagnetism.
They generate
their own magnetic fields.
Stronger than ours.
Stronger than any animal
on Earth.
When they're within
a half mile,
the needle is drawn to them.
KATIE: So, it's two miles
to the ski area?
One mile if we cut
through the forest.
Nina, you're the expert.
Any idea why they don't go
above 8,000 feet?
Mostly, I'm just hoping
they don't change their minds.
Anything on that?
Nothing yet.
It's quiet for now.
Might be something
we could use.
All right.
Still clear on the tracker.
Needle moves, you say so.
WILL:
Got some ammo here.
-A few flares.
-(metallic clunk)
Jackpot.
-Huh?
-You know how to use that?
It's designed
for an 18-year-old
just out of basic training.
I'm pretty sure
I can figure it out.
No need.
-So you've done this before?
-I'm from Texas, Will.
Well, I'm from Louisiana.
It doesn't mean
my dad taught me
how to use a grenade launcher.
Nina! How's it going?
-Nina, can we please go?
-Will you two just shut up?
I'm looking at a Reaper scale.
(scoffs)
If she wants to stay,
just let her.
Just let her.
We don't need her anyway.
Actually, you do. Unlike you,
I'm not dead weight.
-Um, fuck you, Nina.
-(chuckles)
We both know who
you're trying to fuck, Katie,
-and it's not me.
-(Katie scoffs)
It's your best friend's
husband.
You know what?
Who you got killed.
Do you remember that? (grunts)
Shit. Stop it.
(grunts)
KATIE:
You bitch.
(laughs)
I don't like you, Nina.
I never have.
I don't blame you, Katie.
I'm fine. I'm fine.
(horses neighing)
Where'd they all come from?
Three years without us.
(neighing continues)
(animals bellowing)
Hold up. I need a minute.
Top of the mountain's
8,000 feet.
Ten, 15-minute hike,
we're safe.
Or I can try to get
the chairlift working.
We'd have to be
faster than that.
They're here.
(branches snapping)
(Reaper chittering)
Down there.
Run!
We'll never
make it to The Line.
-KATIE: We have to!
-It's too far!
We have to try the lift.
KATIE:
What if the battery's dead?
She's right!
(Reaper screeching in distance)
-Cover me!
-Okay.
(Reaper chittering)
(panting softly)
(branch snaps)
(Reaper bellowing)
Come on, Will.
-Come on, baby. Come on.
-(button clicking)
(snarling)
(faint chittering)
(distant bellowing)
(heavy footfalls thudding)
Oh, shit. Come on.
(panting)
(branches rustling)
(heavy footfalls thudding)
Fuck.
-(Reaper screeching)
-(Katie grunts)
Come on, come on.
(grunts)
(grenade whizzing through air)
(roars)
-(motor starts)
-Hit the switch!
(machinery whirring)
(Will grunts)
(gunfire)
(screeching)
Seventy-eight hundred feet.
(gunfire continues)
(screeches)
(Nina yelps)
You have to jump!
NINA:
Come on, Katie!
WILL:
Go, go, go! Jump!
NINA:
Come on!
(gasping)
(clicks empty)
Shit, I'm out.
(screeching)
-Don't let go!
-I got you. I promise.
We're almost there.
-(clangs)
-(yelps)
NINA:
Hang on!
Eight thousand!
We made it.
We made it. We made it.
(grunts)
(Will yells)
WILL:
Run! Run! Run!
(galloping footfalls)
(screeching)
WILL:
Come on, Katie!
(chittering)
(hissing)
(all breathing heavily)
(screeching fades in distance)
Y'all okay?
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
(Will sighs)
(insects chirping,
animal howling)
(glasses clinking)
18-year-old, single malt.
Those grenades did nothing.
To one more night alive.
(exhales)
It is different.
Seeing them up close.
(sniffles)
We're not meant to share
the planet with those things.
Maybe the Jesus freaks
were right.
Maybe the Reapers are
judgment for mankind's sins.
For eating God's apple,
then clear-cutting
the Garden of Eden
with the knowledge it gave us.
I don't buy that.
So what do you buy?
KATIE: They're Earth's
new apex predators.
And we're prey.
So how do we
take our place back?
They came out of nowhere,
all at once.
No one's had a chance
to study them.
You study something
long enough,
you can figure out
how to kill it.
If it doesn't kill you first.
A lot more of us are gonna die.
But one day,
we're gonna beat them.
Three years, day and night,
researching them.
Something had to stand out.
What they did when they
first came out of the ground.
Which was?
Wipe out 95% of the world's
population in a month.
They didn't stop
to eat or sleep.
They just didn't stop.
I don't follow.
Predators kill to eat.
The Reapers kill to kill.
And they only killed us.
It's like it's all they wanted,
was just to get rid of us.
I don't think there's
some master plan, Nina.
Simply what you said.
They're predators
and we're prey.
I didn't say that. Katie did.
So what are you saying?
Nothing. It's just a question.
But I want an answer.
TARA (voice-over):
What if Nina's right?
What if she has found
a way to kill those things?
WILL (voice-over):
I don't believe her.
-Why not?
-She wants it too badly.
-What does that mean?
-You know what I mean.
If anyone could
figure it out, it's her.
She's a physicist.
Yeah, with a Messiah complex.
Baby, that's all physicists.
They make a living
unlocking God's secrets.
I get it. You trust her.
But this is a suicide mission.
It's not your job
to save the world.
-What is my job?
-To stay alive.
You would have said something
different when we first met.
That's before you almost died
in childbirth
and we had a one-pound infant
clinging to life in the NICU.
This is for Hunter.
No, it's not.
Not for Nina.
This is about her wanting to be
the first person
to kill a Reaper.
And she'll die to do it.
She's not suicidal, Will.
She's after immortality.
Why can't you see that?
She doesn't have a family.
She's never had a family.
She ca--
It's just a matter of time
before he runs out of filters.
That's a year from now,
at least.
And the Reapers will
still be down there.
So what's the difference?
Another year together.
(voice-over):
That's the difference.
(sighs)
NINA: When we come out,
it'll be close to dark.
Can't hit the city at night.
WILL: There's a ranger station
on the other side.
We can stay there
until daybreak.
What's the plan in there?
This is level nine.
The ladder will take us down
to level eight.
We take eight
across the mountain, 2.2 miles.
We exit at 8,023 feet,
on the other side,
12 miles west of Boulder.
Anything below level eight
is under The Line.
We exit at 8,023 feet?
That's right.
How exact is that?
Very.
How do you know these tunnels
are perfectly straight?
That they don't bow
somewhere in the middle?
That would take us
below The Line.
Or did you not think
about that?
-Oh, you son of a bitch.
-Easy.
We're going below The Line,
aren't we?
-Will?
-For how long?
231 yards.
(laughs) What?
Both ends of the tunnel are
above 8,000 feet, so...
So, nothing! These tunnels
are not hermetically sealed.
How do you know
there aren't any fissures
that lead to the lower levels
of the mine?
You should have told us this
before we left the refuge.
It's 231 yards.
And besides,
your tracker will tell us
if one of them is
within a half a mile.
-No, it won't.
-It just did.
Above ground.
It's not gonna work
under a mile of rock.
It's 45 seconds.
Why are you so worried?
They come from
underground, Will.
They're built for it.
We're not.
They can see in the dark.
They detect the smallest amount
of CO2, which we exhale
and will build up
pretty fucking fast
inside a fucking mine.
Fuck.
You swear a lot.
-Fuck you, Katie.
-(laughs, sniffles)
-That's good.
-(sighs) Let's go.
(bats chirping)
(water dripping)
(sighs)
What's wrong?
See my earlier comment
about the tracker
not working
underneath a mountain.
No.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
No! No!
(grunting)
(panting)
KATIE:
It's welded shut?
What now?
Climb down to level seven.
That's below The Line, Will.
-Yeah.
-For how long?
About a thousand yards.
A thousand yards?
That's ten football fields.
I mean,
how-how steep are these cliffs
that we're trying to avoid?
They're impassable.
So either we climb down
or we go back.
And I'm not going back.
Either of you guys afraid
of heights?
No, I'm afraid of monsters.
-(bat screeches)
-(Katie gasps)
-(squeaking)
-(panting)
-(Nina sighs)
-(Katie panting)
(Katie clears throat, sniffles)
So, what do we do
when we get to the bottom?
-We just start sprinting?
-No, we can't sprint across.
We'll just exhaust ourselves
and make too much noise.
Worse than that--
we'll quadruple our CO2 output,
which they can track
from a mile away.
That's what that light is
at the end of
the tentacles.
They track us
like giant mosquitoes.
Great. (sighs)
So, slow and steady.
-Are we ready?
-No.
Just need a minute
to ponder my own death.
You're funnier than I realized.
Thanks.
You're smarter than I realized.
So, where were you
when they showed up?
(groans)
Well, the night
before the Reapers appeared...
(sniffles)
...my boyfriend and I
had gotten into an argument.
And he took a swing at me
and broke my nose.
-What?
-Yeah.
What'd you do?
I hit him with a frying pan
and stole his car
and drove it to Nederland.
That's fair.
(sighs) Anyway, next morning,
I heard everything happening
over the radio,
so I just went straight up
the fire road till the end
and found the refuge.
-Life's a bitch sometimes.
-Yep.
And then giant murder bugs
hatch from the ground,
and it's amazing how quick
nostalgia sets in.
(sighs) You should be
a motivational speaker.
Can we get down this ladder,
please?
(splashing)
This way.
(rustling)
(bats squeaking)
Hey. Hey, hey, hey.
I think there's
something back there.
NINA:
I don't see anything.
KATIE:
I heard something.
-Or maybe I'm just being crazy.
-Wait.
-Cover your light.
-What?
Please do it.
Is that...?
-(Reaper chittering)
-WILL: Move!
(panting)
-Duck!
-(grenade whizzing)
-(explosion)
-(Will grunts)
(Reaper hissing)
(all panting)
(Reaper growling)
(Reaper chittering)
WILL:
Go, go, go, go!
Oh, shit.
Will! Will! In here!
It ends.
WILL:
Go, go, go!
Will, it's a dead end. Shit.
Over here! Come on!
(grunts)
Turn off your headlamps.
They can still track us
through the CO2.
-So what do we do?
-(quietly): Don't breathe.
(Reaper chittering)
(trilling)
(trilling continues)
(trilling continues)
(Reaper growling softly)
(Reaper bleating)
(gasping, panting)
(Reaper bellowing)
-There's a way out!
-Go, go, go!
Go, go, go, go, go!
(trilling)
-WILL: Hurry!
-(grunts)
-(Katie whimpers)
-WILL: Go!
(grunting)
(Reaper growling)
(gasps) Will!
Will, Will, Will, come on.
Come on.
-Come on!
-Come on, run!
NINA:
Katie, wait for us! Katie!
KATIE:
There's an exit!
-WILL: Katie!
-(Reaper chittering)
NINA:
Katie!
(chittering continues)
(whooshing)
(grunts)
(groaning, gasping)
(screams, grunts)
Katie, no!
(groaning)
Will!
(screaming)
No.
(whimpers)
(grunting)
-She's gone.
-(Nina whimpering)
She's gone.
(crying):
Oh, my God.
It led right back into
the tunnel we came through.
(panting)
What was she thinking?
-(Reaper chittering)
-(heavy footfalls)
It's coming back.
What's that?
What?
(Reaper chittering)
Oh, my God. It's a ladder.
Will, come on!
(heavy, lumbering footfalls)
(Reaper screeching)
(Nina panting)
(Reaper screeching)
(creaking)
(both panting)
(Nina whimpers)
Katie.
(Nina whimpers)
You still believe in God?
I'm stubborn.
What'd you ask for?
Revenge.
(Nina sniffles, cries)
(bleating nearby)
(bleating continues)
(bleating)
Looks okay.
You think it'll start?
If there's a fresh battery
inside.
Tires are kind of ratty,
but it'll do.
(grunts)
(door bangs open)
(cabinet door squeaks shut)
(sighs)
(insects chirping)
I must have made
a thousand boxes of this stuff.
Every night,
Tara would ask Hunter
what did he want for dinner,
and every night--
mac and cheese.
It's the casein,
the milk protein in cheese.
It's like an opioid,
as addictive as morphine.
(scoffs)
Sorry.
I really liked Tara.
Seems like that was the
last person you liked, Nina.
Katie grew on me.
Guess I got her killed, too.
I should have never
brought us in those mines.
Would have been easier
scaling the mountain
with no equipment.
NINA: You want to make
her death matter?
Don't feel guilt.
Feel anger.
I don't feel anything anymore.
That's too bad.
Anger's a terrible thing
to waste.
You would know.
(laughs) So would you.
-I don't hate you, Nina.
-(scoffs)
Yeah, you do.
I would.
What's in your old lab?
Periclase.
Cubic version
of magnesium oxide.
Okay.
The Reapers' scales--
they're impenetrable.
I think it's because
they're electrically charged.
A defense mechanism, I think.
You think?
If I'm right,
a projectile, a bullet,
bonded with periclase,
it hits them,
and theoretically,
it creates a momentary
million-volt differential,
and boom.
Uncontrollable
internal combustion.
A magic bullet?
That's what you've been
working on all this time?
Literally a magic bullet?
It's not magic. It's science.
-It's a guess.
-It's a hypothesis.
With a healthy dose
of wishful thinking.
Tara believed me.
Tara would believe anything
she thought could save Hunter.
You knew that,
talked her into going
and got them all killed.
My wife, our friends.
I told her not to go.
I told her
listening to you was suicide.
And yet, here you are.
With me,
standing on that same ledge.
-(animals bellowing)
-(bird screeching)
Here we go.
(horses neighing)
(horses neighing)
(neighing)
(grunts)
(door bangs open)
Jesus.
Fifth floor.
This way.
(footfalls continue
ascending stairs)
(Nina gasps softly)
(Nina sighs)
Don't look.
I have to.
(wind whistling)
Where are they?
There should be cases
of 'em in here.
(distant squeak, creaking)
-Was that...?
-Can't tell.
Nothing on the tracker.
Where else could they be?
Uh, the OR.
(distant clattering)
That's one, no question.
(distant clattering)
WILL (whispering):
Here.
(footfalls, clattering nearby)
-Come on, Will, we got to go.
-I know.
(clattering continues)
Shit. It's close.
I'm looking. I'm looking.
I got 'em!
All right, come on.
Come on, come on, come on!
Okay.
(grunting)
(Reaper bellowing)
(grunting and groaning)
(Nina screams)
(Reaper screeching)
WILL:
Come on.
(grunts)
(Reaper squealing)
Jesus fucking Christ!
(Reaper screeches)
(Reaper screeching)
Holy fuck!
(whimpering)
-(grunting)
-(Reaper squealing)
Go. Go.
Here! In here.
-Now we're trapped.
-No, we're not.
(gas hissing)
(clattering)
Stairs.
-What are you doing?
-I'm right behind you.
-(panting)
-(creaking)
(Reaper chittering)
(roaring)
-(electrical crackling)
-(liquid dripping)
(grunts)
(panting)
(grunts)
I thought I told you to run.
And I didn't listen.
Is it dead?
It's not moving.
Yeah, but...
Right. We should
get the hell out of here.
NINA:
The lab is close.
-There's no time.
-I still need periclase.
-The magnesium oxide.
-I have Hunter to think about.
This is about more
than just your son.
There's no such thing
as more than my son.
How much time
did you just buy yourself?
Six months? A year? Then you're
right back here again.
Or we can prove
that they can be killed,
and when we fly that flag
over the refuge,
everyone else stuck on those
mountaintops will know it.
The whole world will come
and fight with us.
The odds may be stacked
against us, but I'm with Katie.
We can't live like this
forever.
Sooner or later,
we have to fight them.
But I need your help.
I can't do this alone.
Shit.
Let's go.
(engine starts)
(tires squealing,
engine revving)
(door opens)
(panting)
Scale.
(bag unzipping)
Nothing on the tracker.
I'm gonna need five minutes.
I'll keep watch.
NINA:
Thank God.
(glass clinking)
(liquid pouring)
I never knew you had a family.
Well, I did.
You never said a word.
No.
Let's let this dry,
see what happens.
Gonna take a few minutes.
Figured you might want this.
I was here when it happened.
It was a Saturday, but...
but my team was close
to a breakthrough,
using cobalt to increase
the electron flow in batteries.
Makes 'em
three times more efficient.
That's what I was thinking
about when the world ended.
Batteries.
Billy, my seven-year-old,
had a soccer game that day.
You ever seen kids that age
play soccer?
How they all just converge
on the ball at once?
(crying): The worst part is,
I chose not to go to that game.
(clears throat, sniffles)
(clears throat) My husband had
been traveling for two weeks,
and he came back.
I was...
I was tired of being a mom.
But there's nothing
you could have done.
I could have held him
in my arms one last time.
I'm sure you've had
the same thought about Tara.
I never should have
encouraged her to come with me.
I was overconfident.
I thought I'd figured out a way
to hold them off,
and I was wrong.
If it's any consolation,
I hate myself more
than you could possibly
hate me.
I only blame you because it's
easier than blaming myself.
I knew she was going to go,
even after I tried to stop her.
And I let it happen.
You can't blame yourself.
Neither of us can.
What's the point?
All right.
(Nina sighs)
You tried, Nina.
You did everything you could.
Go home, Will.
(sniffles) Go save your son.
He's running out of time.
-What about you?
-I'm gonna stay.
There are other things
I can try.
Look, I'm not leaving you here.
We're in this together.
And you got me here.
But it didn't work,
and I'm not leaving
until it does
or until they kill me first.
-Nina...
-Look,
my car is still
in the lot outside.
If I get this right, I won't
need your help to get back.
I'll be on the road
right behind you.
If I don't...
there's no point
in you dying here with me.
Go.
Go be with Hunter.
(sighs)
(engine revving,
tires squealing)
(gun cocks)
(gasps softly)
-(clattering nearby)
-(gasps)
(heavy footfalls approaching)
(gun cocks)
(Reaper roaring)
(tire pops, squeals)
(insects chirping)
(Reaper chittering)
(metallic creaking)
(chittering continues)
(grunts softly)
(Reaper chittering)
Oh, shit. Oh, shit!
(grunting)
(panting, grunting)
(Reaper chittering)
(grunting)
(yells)
(Reaper chittering)
Shit.
(grunting)
(Reaper screeching)
(bird cawing)
(Reaper screeches, roars)
(grunting)
(panting)
(Reaper chittering)
(grunting and panting continue)
(Reaper chittering)
(Reaper growls, screeches)
-Oh, shit.
-(Reaper screeches)
(panting)
Oh, shit. (yells)
(squealing)
(chitters, squeals)
(whimpers)
-(growling)
-(gun cocks)
-(Will grunts)
-(Reaper screeches)
(explosive whooshing)
(panting)
(Reapers screeching)
(explosive whooshing)
(growls, roars)
(bullets whizzing)
-(explosive whooshing)
-(Reaper squeals)
(groans)
(Will panting)
Son of a bitch. (chuckles)
(electrical crackling)
They're machines.
They hunt us,
but they don't eat us.
They don't sleep.
They don't breathe.
They don't go an inch
above 8,000 feet.
That's not a living creature.
That's programming.
By who?
Good shot.
Thanks.
WILL:
Why 8,000 feet?
NINA:
I have no idea.
(Will sighs)
WILL:
Is your car still running?
NINA:
Radiator blew half a mile back.
God, it felt amazing
to kill those fuckers.
WILL: Going to feel even better
when you raise that pirate flag
and tell the world
we have a way to beat 'em.
Dad!
(laughing)
Told you I was coming back.
I missed you so much.
Come on.
WOMAN:
Oh, you see it? They did it!
(bell clanging)
(radio crackling)
MAN (over radio):
Crow's Nest, this is Red Rock.
Are you seeing
what we're seeing?
WOMAN (over radio):
We have line of sight...
MAN 2 (over radio):
Yes. Confirmed.
-We have clear line of sight.
-MAN 3: Copy that. This is...
WILL (over radio):
This is Lost Gulch Refuge.
(voice-over):
Three years ago,
the world we knew
disappeared overnight.
We lost our homes,
our communities
and most of the people
we loved.
We still don't know why
above 8,000 feet we were safe.
But we don't have to play
by those rules anymore.
The Reapers tried
to take our planet.
They thought we'd die up here
in these mountains.
Well, we're still here.
Sooner or later,
we had to fight them.
Might as well be today.
-(rapid gunfire)
-(Reaper squeals)
(explosive whooshing)
-(people hollering)
-(heavy gunfire)
(music fades)
REPORTER: The sinkholes
appeared with no warning
-in every country in the world.
-REPORTER 2: Complete chaos
at this hour on the streets of
every major city on the planet.
REPORTER 3: They're exploding
from the ground.
It seems like, with no warning,
they're exploding
-from the ground.
-REPORTER 4: Scientists say
the creatures that emerged
from the sinkholes
may have been hibernating
for thousands of years.
REPORTER 5: Their bullets
merely hinder the creatures
but don't stop them.
REPORTER 6: Many nations
have called in the military.
REPORTER 7: ...thousands dead,
no end in sight.
REPORTER 8: People who live
at high altitudes are reporting
that they've seen the Reapers
stop cold at 8,000 feet.
MAN:
This is Nederland, Colorado.
Most of our town is destroyed,
but everything above 8,000 feet
is completely untouched.
REPORTER 9: Global lifeline
appears to be 8,000 feet.
Authorities are
urging survivors
to stay above that elevation.
MAN 2: 8,000 feet is
the global lifeline.
If you can get to high ground,
go there now.
-(birds chirping)
-(animal bellowing)
(footfalls approaching)
(rocks clatter)
(kids chattering playfully)
(sighs)
(rocks clatter)
(gasps)
(wings fluttering,
birds cawing)
(chittering nearby)
(galloping footfalls)
(galloping footfalls continue)
-(Reaper growls)
-(grunts)
-(footfalls retreating)
-(panting)
(tree branches snapping)
(birds cawing)
(panting continues)
(indistinct chatter)
(dog barking)
MAN (outside):
Hey, Hunter.
Everything okay?
Hunter?
I just... just wanted
to see other people.
And you said most of the
monsters are sleeping again.
You're on oxygen every night.
What if your lungs seized up
when you were running away?
I'm sorry, Dad.
I can't lose you.
I can't.
I need you to understand that.
(rustling)
(exhales quietly)
(gunshot)
-(deer groans)
-(thud)
-(chuckles) This one's heavy.
-Yeah.
KATIE:
Hold on.
-You got it?
-(grunting): Yeah.
KATIE (sighs): Hey,
what happened this morning?
WILL: He went across The Line
to get a better view
of the Red Rock settlement.
Well, he's the only kid
up here.
He's lonely.
He's alive.
Some of us need more
than that, Will.
I mean, we may be safe up here,
but this mountaintop is
like a prison to him.
He didn't just go there
to see Red Rock.
(fire crackling)
WILL (voice-over):
The Line crosses
Elba Fire Road near there.
It's the last place
he saw his mother.
(takes deep breath)
(wind chimes clinking)
(typing)
(stops typing)
(resumes typing)
(high-pitched, sustained tone)
(computer beeps)
-(bell dings)
-(tone stops)
MAN (inside):
Crow's Nest Refuge reports
they sent a party of five
below The Line
to forage for essentials.
Nobody's come back so far,
but they're still
holding out hope.
They asked us to send somebody
out to the pinnacle
to look for any signs
they're still out there.
WOMAN:
What road did they take?
MAN: Sugarloaf Run
in the upper valley.
(bird screeching in distance)
(insects chirping)
(gunshot outside)
(drops razor on table)
(fire crackling)
WILL (voice-over):
I get it.
You trust Nina.
But this is a suicide mission.
It's not your job
to save the world.
(gasps)
-(panting)
-(machine whirring and beeping)
-(Hunter coughing, gasping)
-Okay, buddy.
I'm here. I'm here.
Take it easy.
All right. Deep breaths.
-(whirring and beeping stop)
-(oxygen flowing)
-Nice and easy. Deep breaths.
-(breathing deeply)
Deep breaths.
Nice and easy.
There you go.
Nice and easy.
Oh, I love you, man.
(sighs)
(inhales sharply)
(sighs)
So, the hay
keeps the potato warm
as it grows out of the ground.
When it gets cold,
you put the hay over it,
keep the frost off the ground,
keep the potato warm.
All right?
Now, it's about timing,
all right?
When you let it go...
You have to let it go
at the right moment.
Let go of the string.
There you go.
WILL (voice-over):
It's Hunter's birthday.
Mm. And you want my last box
of mac and cheese?
I have these to trade.
It's not much, but...
It's enough.
HUNTER (voice-over):
No way!
-How'd you get this?
-WILL: Come on.
You know
I got connections, man.
Happy birthday.
Dad, why don't you use
the radio anymore?
Oh. We have flags to signal the
other refuges if we need to.
But it's not the same
as talking to them.
It's hard enough
to make enough electricity
for the things
we absolutely need,
like your machine.
Especially in the winter,
with the days being so short.
You're gonna leave, aren't you?
(Will sighs)
That was your last filter.
We need more.
You get sick again...
Then I won't get sick.
No, it doesn't work like that.
When?
I'm going to be okay.
(wind blowing)
I got 'em from Charlie.
I'm pretty sure
he's trying to sleep with me.
He's 80.
Well,
after three years up here,
I'm considering it.
Where's Hunter?
Sleeping.
It's Friday night, you know.
Is it?
Mm-hmm.
If this was before,
what would you be doing?
I'd probably be at the 19th
hole with my father-in-law.
(Katie chuckling)
I'm sorry, I never pictured you
as the country club type, Will.
-(both laughing)
-I wasn't.
But Tara's family loved it.
I hated it.
And now I miss it.
(gunshot)
Goddamn it.
(Katie chuckles softly)
(machine whirring and beeping)
(Hunter gasping)
We're out of filters, so
I'm-a have to give you a shot.
(insects chirping)
(knocking)
(door opens)
Hello, Nina.
How are you?
How's the drinking?
Keeps me from killing myself.
How's yours?
Keeps me from killing you.
I'm leaving tomorrow.
For Boulder.
Well, that's probably the last
thing I expected you to say.
I don't have a choice.
You'll die.
They can't be killed.
You believed that,
you wouldn't still have
this pirate flag on your wall.
I found a safe way there.
There is no safe way.
I know every map.
Every route. Two days' walk.
Impossible to stay
above The Line the whole time.
Hunter's machine.
The last filter burnt out.
The hospital in Boulder
will have a crate of 'em.
But if I don't go, Hunter dies.
The place was probably looted.
No one had time to loot.
You're gonna have to go
below The Line
at least a dozen times.
You can't survive a dozen
encounters with those things.
You survived.
That was luck.
Luck is not a strategy.
Luck won't help you.
You're the only person
who fought them and lived.
You've studied them for years.
-That'll help me.
-So what? "Do me a favor, Nina.
Let's go. Let's die together."
But last year, you thought
you found a way to kill them
if you could get back
to your old lab.
That's why Tara went with you.
I have a way to Boulder.
It's mapped out. We only go
below The Line twice.
Twice?
That's not possible.
It is.
Calway Mine.
It goes through the mountain.
A mine?
A fucking mine, Will?
That's your plan?
That's a death trap
by definition.
My company did a big job there.
I walked every inch.
I know those tunnels.
You don't know anything.
You're desperate.
Desperate people get killed.
8:00 a.m.
Cathedral Point Overlook.
Who says I'm going?
Everything you've done up here
since day one says that.
Shooting at that goddamn
Reaper scale every night.
All you think about
is killing one of these things,
and you need something
from down there to do it.
You owe me this much.
For Tara.
Will.
Boulder is 2,000 feet
below The Line.
Even if you make it there,
they'll be there waiting
for you.
It only takes one of them.
I know.
(door creaks open)
(door closes)
(soft clinking)
(clicking)
(clicking)
TARA (voice-over, whispering):
Nina.
Nina, it's getting closer.
(man shouting indistinctly
in voice-over)
-TARA: Nina!
-(thump)
-MAN: It's coming this way!
-MAN 2: Stay to the right!
TARA: I can't hold my breath
any longer.
-MAN: Shoot! Shoot!
-(rapid gunfire)
(man yells)
-TARA: No, please.
-MAN 2: We're going down!
-MAN 3: Oh, God! Oh, God!
-TARA: Please.
(screaming)
TARA:
I-I can't...
(Tara wailing)
(Reaper chittering)
-(men screaming)
-(Reaper snarling)
-(slashing)
-(Tara screams)
-Thanks.
-HANNAH: No problem.
WILL:
I have to go tomorrow.
He's got four days,
five at the most.
HANNAH:
I'll stay here with him.
TIM:
Changed the zero to 200 yards,
so you'll be able to engage 'em
from further out.
Oh.
AP rounds.
These are from
my own personal stash.
Slow 'em down a bit more
than a regular 556.
Good luck out there.
-Thanks.
-(door opens)
(door closes)
Were you planning
on telling me?
Huh?
You just gonna run off
and get yourself killed
without saying a word,
like Tara?
(Will scoffs softly)
I'm sorry.
That was uncalled for.
Yeah, it was.
-Hey, Tim?
-TIM: Yeah.
My gear?
WILL:
Katie, what are you doing?
-KATIE: Going with you.
-WILL: No, you're not.
Not asking permission, Will.
You can't go out there alone.
You need a partner
to watch your back.
Right. Nina's going with me.
Oh, I'm definitely going now.
(sighs)
The town needs you up here.
And I need to see
what's down there.
Why? What's the point?
We're rats on a sinking ship,
and we need to find a way off.
No, we don't.
We can survive up here forever.
-Everyone except Hunter.
-(scoffs)
I don't want to live
like this forever, Will.
And we both know
Hunter doesn't, either.
Well, it's not his decision
to make.
Not at eight years old.
We're gonna have to fight them
eventually, Will.
It might as well be today.
(door opens)
-(sighs softly)
-(door closes)
We don't need your help.
You don't need anyone's help,
do you, Nina?
You ever seen one
coming for you?
Up close.
Not just a flickering light
in the distance.
The way they tear people apart.
Bullets bounce off them
like nothing.
Unless you hit them
square in the face,
and even then, it just gives
you a few seconds to run.
We're gonna die out there.
But you first.
I won't be gone long.
That's what Mom said.
I'm coming back.
Promise.
WILL (voice-over):
We hit Alta Vista Ski Area,
we might even use the ski lift.
KATIE:
With what power?
WILL:
They have backup generators.
KATIE:
Which won't work
after sitting idle
for 992 days.
WILL: If the batteries aren't
drained, I'll get it running.
(bird calling)
KATIE:
So, what's in Boulder, Nina?
My old lab.
I thought you were
a professor at Caltech.
Researcher.
Can't teach kids.
They're too stupid.
Caltech students
are too dumb for you?
So what's that make us, then?
Not Caltech students, Katie.
(sighs)
You could be nice.
At least try.
What's wrong
with not giving a shit?
KATIE:
How do we know there isn't one
hibernating down there?
NINA:
I'm not picking anything up.
WILL: I guess that's not
a compass, is it?
No.
Did you find a way
to track 'em?
Uh, bioelectromagnetism.
They generate
their own magnetic fields.
Stronger than ours.
Stronger than any animal
on Earth.
When they're within
a half mile,
the needle is drawn to them.
KATIE: So, it's two miles
to the ski area?
One mile if we cut
through the forest.
Nina, you're the expert.
Any idea why they don't go
above 8,000 feet?
Mostly, I'm just hoping
they don't change their minds.
Anything on that?
Nothing yet.
It's quiet for now.
Might be something
we could use.
All right.
Still clear on the tracker.
Needle moves, you say so.
WILL:
Got some ammo here.
-A few flares.
-(metallic clunk)
Jackpot.
-Huh?
-You know how to use that?
It's designed
for an 18-year-old
just out of basic training.
I'm pretty sure
I can figure it out.
No need.
-So you've done this before?
-I'm from Texas, Will.
Well, I'm from Louisiana.
It doesn't mean
my dad taught me
how to use a grenade launcher.
Nina! How's it going?
-Nina, can we please go?
-Will you two just shut up?
I'm looking at a Reaper scale.
(scoffs)
If she wants to stay,
just let her.
Just let her.
We don't need her anyway.
Actually, you do. Unlike you,
I'm not dead weight.
-Um, fuck you, Nina.
-(chuckles)
We both know who
you're trying to fuck, Katie,
-and it's not me.
-(Katie scoffs)
It's your best friend's
husband.
You know what?
Who you got killed.
Do you remember that? (grunts)
Shit. Stop it.
(grunts)
KATIE:
You bitch.
(laughs)
I don't like you, Nina.
I never have.
I don't blame you, Katie.
I'm fine. I'm fine.
(horses neighing)
Where'd they all come from?
Three years without us.
(neighing continues)
(animals bellowing)
Hold up. I need a minute.
Top of the mountain's
8,000 feet.
Ten, 15-minute hike,
we're safe.
Or I can try to get
the chairlift working.
We'd have to be
faster than that.
They're here.
(branches snapping)
(Reaper chittering)
Down there.
Run!
We'll never
make it to The Line.
-KATIE: We have to!
-It's too far!
We have to try the lift.
KATIE:
What if the battery's dead?
She's right!
(Reaper screeching in distance)
-Cover me!
-Okay.
(Reaper chittering)
(panting softly)
(branch snaps)
(Reaper bellowing)
Come on, Will.
-Come on, baby. Come on.
-(button clicking)
(snarling)
(faint chittering)
(distant bellowing)
(heavy footfalls thudding)
Oh, shit. Come on.
(panting)
(branches rustling)
(heavy footfalls thudding)
Fuck.
-(Reaper screeching)
-(Katie grunts)
Come on, come on.
(grunts)
(grenade whizzing through air)
(roars)
-(motor starts)
-Hit the switch!
(machinery whirring)
(Will grunts)
(gunfire)
(screeching)
Seventy-eight hundred feet.
(gunfire continues)
(screeches)
(Nina yelps)
You have to jump!
NINA:
Come on, Katie!
WILL:
Go, go, go! Jump!
NINA:
Come on!
(gasping)
(clicks empty)
Shit, I'm out.
(screeching)
-Don't let go!
-I got you. I promise.
We're almost there.
-(clangs)
-(yelps)
NINA:
Hang on!
Eight thousand!
We made it.
We made it. We made it.
(grunts)
(Will yells)
WILL:
Run! Run! Run!
(galloping footfalls)
(screeching)
WILL:
Come on, Katie!
(chittering)
(hissing)
(all breathing heavily)
(screeching fades in distance)
Y'all okay?
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
(Will sighs)
(insects chirping,
animal howling)
(glasses clinking)
18-year-old, single malt.
Those grenades did nothing.
To one more night alive.
(exhales)
It is different.
Seeing them up close.
(sniffles)
We're not meant to share
the planet with those things.
Maybe the Jesus freaks
were right.
Maybe the Reapers are
judgment for mankind's sins.
For eating God's apple,
then clear-cutting
the Garden of Eden
with the knowledge it gave us.
I don't buy that.
So what do you buy?
KATIE: They're Earth's
new apex predators.
And we're prey.
So how do we
take our place back?
They came out of nowhere,
all at once.
No one's had a chance
to study them.
You study something
long enough,
you can figure out
how to kill it.
If it doesn't kill you first.
A lot more of us are gonna die.
But one day,
we're gonna beat them.
Three years, day and night,
researching them.
Something had to stand out.
What they did when they
first came out of the ground.
Which was?
Wipe out 95% of the world's
population in a month.
They didn't stop
to eat or sleep.
They just didn't stop.
I don't follow.
Predators kill to eat.
The Reapers kill to kill.
And they only killed us.
It's like it's all they wanted,
was just to get rid of us.
I don't think there's
some master plan, Nina.
Simply what you said.
They're predators
and we're prey.
I didn't say that. Katie did.
So what are you saying?
Nothing. It's just a question.
But I want an answer.
TARA (voice-over):
What if Nina's right?
What if she has found
a way to kill those things?
WILL (voice-over):
I don't believe her.
-Why not?
-She wants it too badly.
-What does that mean?
-You know what I mean.
If anyone could
figure it out, it's her.
She's a physicist.
Yeah, with a Messiah complex.
Baby, that's all physicists.
They make a living
unlocking God's secrets.
I get it. You trust her.
But this is a suicide mission.
It's not your job
to save the world.
-What is my job?
-To stay alive.
You would have said something
different when we first met.
That's before you almost died
in childbirth
and we had a one-pound infant
clinging to life in the NICU.
This is for Hunter.
No, it's not.
Not for Nina.
This is about her wanting to be
the first person
to kill a Reaper.
And she'll die to do it.
She's not suicidal, Will.
She's after immortality.
Why can't you see that?
She doesn't have a family.
She's never had a family.
She ca--
It's just a matter of time
before he runs out of filters.
That's a year from now,
at least.
And the Reapers will
still be down there.
So what's the difference?
Another year together.
(voice-over):
That's the difference.
(sighs)
NINA: When we come out,
it'll be close to dark.
Can't hit the city at night.
WILL: There's a ranger station
on the other side.
We can stay there
until daybreak.
What's the plan in there?
This is level nine.
The ladder will take us down
to level eight.
We take eight
across the mountain, 2.2 miles.
We exit at 8,023 feet,
on the other side,
12 miles west of Boulder.
Anything below level eight
is under The Line.
We exit at 8,023 feet?
That's right.
How exact is that?
Very.
How do you know these tunnels
are perfectly straight?
That they don't bow
somewhere in the middle?
That would take us
below The Line.
Or did you not think
about that?
-Oh, you son of a bitch.
-Easy.
We're going below The Line,
aren't we?
-Will?
-For how long?
231 yards.
(laughs) What?
Both ends of the tunnel are
above 8,000 feet, so...
So, nothing! These tunnels
are not hermetically sealed.
How do you know
there aren't any fissures
that lead to the lower levels
of the mine?
You should have told us this
before we left the refuge.
It's 231 yards.
And besides,
your tracker will tell us
if one of them is
within a half a mile.
-No, it won't.
-It just did.
Above ground.
It's not gonna work
under a mile of rock.
It's 45 seconds.
Why are you so worried?
They come from
underground, Will.
They're built for it.
We're not.
They can see in the dark.
They detect the smallest amount
of CO2, which we exhale
and will build up
pretty fucking fast
inside a fucking mine.
Fuck.
You swear a lot.
-Fuck you, Katie.
-(laughs, sniffles)
-That's good.
-(sighs) Let's go.
(bats chirping)
(water dripping)
(sighs)
What's wrong?
See my earlier comment
about the tracker
not working
underneath a mountain.
No.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
No! No!
(grunting)
(panting)
KATIE:
It's welded shut?
What now?
Climb down to level seven.
That's below The Line, Will.
-Yeah.
-For how long?
About a thousand yards.
A thousand yards?
That's ten football fields.
I mean,
how-how steep are these cliffs
that we're trying to avoid?
They're impassable.
So either we climb down
or we go back.
And I'm not going back.
Either of you guys afraid
of heights?
No, I'm afraid of monsters.
-(bat screeches)
-(Katie gasps)
-(squeaking)
-(panting)
-(Nina sighs)
-(Katie panting)
(Katie clears throat, sniffles)
So, what do we do
when we get to the bottom?
-We just start sprinting?
-No, we can't sprint across.
We'll just exhaust ourselves
and make too much noise.
Worse than that--
we'll quadruple our CO2 output,
which they can track
from a mile away.
That's what that light is
at the end of
the tentacles.
They track us
like giant mosquitoes.
Great. (sighs)
So, slow and steady.
-Are we ready?
-No.
Just need a minute
to ponder my own death.
You're funnier than I realized.
Thanks.
You're smarter than I realized.
So, where were you
when they showed up?
(groans)
Well, the night
before the Reapers appeared...
(sniffles)
...my boyfriend and I
had gotten into an argument.
And he took a swing at me
and broke my nose.
-What?
-Yeah.
What'd you do?
I hit him with a frying pan
and stole his car
and drove it to Nederland.
That's fair.
(sighs) Anyway, next morning,
I heard everything happening
over the radio,
so I just went straight up
the fire road till the end
and found the refuge.
-Life's a bitch sometimes.
-Yep.
And then giant murder bugs
hatch from the ground,
and it's amazing how quick
nostalgia sets in.
(sighs) You should be
a motivational speaker.
Can we get down this ladder,
please?
(splashing)
This way.
(rustling)
(bats squeaking)
Hey. Hey, hey, hey.
I think there's
something back there.
NINA:
I don't see anything.
KATIE:
I heard something.
-Or maybe I'm just being crazy.
-Wait.
-Cover your light.
-What?
Please do it.
Is that...?
-(Reaper chittering)
-WILL: Move!
(panting)
-Duck!
-(grenade whizzing)
-(explosion)
-(Will grunts)
(Reaper hissing)
(all panting)
(Reaper growling)
(Reaper chittering)
WILL:
Go, go, go, go!
Oh, shit.
Will! Will! In here!
It ends.
WILL:
Go, go, go!
Will, it's a dead end. Shit.
Over here! Come on!
(grunts)
Turn off your headlamps.
They can still track us
through the CO2.
-So what do we do?
-(quietly): Don't breathe.
(Reaper chittering)
(trilling)
(trilling continues)
(trilling continues)
(Reaper growling softly)
(Reaper bleating)
(gasping, panting)
(Reaper bellowing)
-There's a way out!
-Go, go, go!
Go, go, go, go, go!
(trilling)
-WILL: Hurry!
-(grunts)
-(Katie whimpers)
-WILL: Go!
(grunting)
(Reaper growling)
(gasps) Will!
Will, Will, Will, come on.
Come on.
-Come on!
-Come on, run!
NINA:
Katie, wait for us! Katie!
KATIE:
There's an exit!
-WILL: Katie!
-(Reaper chittering)
NINA:
Katie!
(chittering continues)
(whooshing)
(grunts)
(groaning, gasping)
(screams, grunts)
Katie, no!
(groaning)
Will!
(screaming)
No.
(whimpers)
(grunting)
-She's gone.
-(Nina whimpering)
She's gone.
(crying):
Oh, my God.
It led right back into
the tunnel we came through.
(panting)
What was she thinking?
-(Reaper chittering)
-(heavy footfalls)
It's coming back.
What's that?
What?
(Reaper chittering)
Oh, my God. It's a ladder.
Will, come on!
(heavy, lumbering footfalls)
(Reaper screeching)
(Nina panting)
(Reaper screeching)
(creaking)
(both panting)
(Nina whimpers)
Katie.
(Nina whimpers)
You still believe in God?
I'm stubborn.
What'd you ask for?
Revenge.
(Nina sniffles, cries)
(bleating nearby)
(bleating continues)
(bleating)
Looks okay.
You think it'll start?
If there's a fresh battery
inside.
Tires are kind of ratty,
but it'll do.
(grunts)
(door bangs open)
(cabinet door squeaks shut)
(sighs)
(insects chirping)
I must have made
a thousand boxes of this stuff.
Every night,
Tara would ask Hunter
what did he want for dinner,
and every night--
mac and cheese.
It's the casein,
the milk protein in cheese.
It's like an opioid,
as addictive as morphine.
(scoffs)
Sorry.
I really liked Tara.
Seems like that was the
last person you liked, Nina.
Katie grew on me.
Guess I got her killed, too.
I should have never
brought us in those mines.
Would have been easier
scaling the mountain
with no equipment.
NINA: You want to make
her death matter?
Don't feel guilt.
Feel anger.
I don't feel anything anymore.
That's too bad.
Anger's a terrible thing
to waste.
You would know.
(laughs) So would you.
-I don't hate you, Nina.
-(scoffs)
Yeah, you do.
I would.
What's in your old lab?
Periclase.
Cubic version
of magnesium oxide.
Okay.
The Reapers' scales--
they're impenetrable.
I think it's because
they're electrically charged.
A defense mechanism, I think.
You think?
If I'm right,
a projectile, a bullet,
bonded with periclase,
it hits them,
and theoretically,
it creates a momentary
million-volt differential,
and boom.
Uncontrollable
internal combustion.
A magic bullet?
That's what you've been
working on all this time?
Literally a magic bullet?
It's not magic. It's science.
-It's a guess.
-It's a hypothesis.
With a healthy dose
of wishful thinking.
Tara believed me.
Tara would believe anything
she thought could save Hunter.
You knew that,
talked her into going
and got them all killed.
My wife, our friends.
I told her not to go.
I told her
listening to you was suicide.
And yet, here you are.
With me,
standing on that same ledge.
-(animals bellowing)
-(bird screeching)
Here we go.
(horses neighing)
(horses neighing)
(neighing)
(grunts)
(door bangs open)
Jesus.
Fifth floor.
This way.
(footfalls continue
ascending stairs)
(Nina gasps softly)
(Nina sighs)
Don't look.
I have to.
(wind whistling)
Where are they?
There should be cases
of 'em in here.
(distant squeak, creaking)
-Was that...?
-Can't tell.
Nothing on the tracker.
Where else could they be?
Uh, the OR.
(distant clattering)
That's one, no question.
(distant clattering)
WILL (whispering):
Here.
(footfalls, clattering nearby)
-Come on, Will, we got to go.
-I know.
(clattering continues)
Shit. It's close.
I'm looking. I'm looking.
I got 'em!
All right, come on.
Come on, come on, come on!
Okay.
(grunting)
(Reaper bellowing)
(grunting and groaning)
(Nina screams)
(Reaper screeching)
WILL:
Come on.
(grunts)
(Reaper squealing)
Jesus fucking Christ!
(Reaper screeches)
(Reaper screeching)
Holy fuck!
(whimpering)
-(grunting)
-(Reaper squealing)
Go. Go.
Here! In here.
-Now we're trapped.
-No, we're not.
(gas hissing)
(clattering)
Stairs.
-What are you doing?
-I'm right behind you.
-(panting)
-(creaking)
(Reaper chittering)
(roaring)
-(electrical crackling)
-(liquid dripping)
(grunts)
(panting)
(grunts)
I thought I told you to run.
And I didn't listen.
Is it dead?
It's not moving.
Yeah, but...
Right. We should
get the hell out of here.
NINA:
The lab is close.
-There's no time.
-I still need periclase.
-The magnesium oxide.
-I have Hunter to think about.
This is about more
than just your son.
There's no such thing
as more than my son.
How much time
did you just buy yourself?
Six months? A year? Then you're
right back here again.
Or we can prove
that they can be killed,
and when we fly that flag
over the refuge,
everyone else stuck on those
mountaintops will know it.
The whole world will come
and fight with us.
The odds may be stacked
against us, but I'm with Katie.
We can't live like this
forever.
Sooner or later,
we have to fight them.
But I need your help.
I can't do this alone.
Shit.
Let's go.
(engine starts)
(tires squealing,
engine revving)
(door opens)
(panting)
Scale.
(bag unzipping)
Nothing on the tracker.
I'm gonna need five minutes.
I'll keep watch.
NINA:
Thank God.
(glass clinking)
(liquid pouring)
I never knew you had a family.
Well, I did.
You never said a word.
No.
Let's let this dry,
see what happens.
Gonna take a few minutes.
Figured you might want this.
I was here when it happened.
It was a Saturday, but...
but my team was close
to a breakthrough,
using cobalt to increase
the electron flow in batteries.
Makes 'em
three times more efficient.
That's what I was thinking
about when the world ended.
Batteries.
Billy, my seven-year-old,
had a soccer game that day.
You ever seen kids that age
play soccer?
How they all just converge
on the ball at once?
(crying): The worst part is,
I chose not to go to that game.
(clears throat, sniffles)
(clears throat) My husband had
been traveling for two weeks,
and he came back.
I was...
I was tired of being a mom.
But there's nothing
you could have done.
I could have held him
in my arms one last time.
I'm sure you've had
the same thought about Tara.
I never should have
encouraged her to come with me.
I was overconfident.
I thought I'd figured out a way
to hold them off,
and I was wrong.
If it's any consolation,
I hate myself more
than you could possibly
hate me.
I only blame you because it's
easier than blaming myself.
I knew she was going to go,
even after I tried to stop her.
And I let it happen.
You can't blame yourself.
Neither of us can.
What's the point?
All right.
(Nina sighs)
You tried, Nina.
You did everything you could.
Go home, Will.
(sniffles) Go save your son.
He's running out of time.
-What about you?
-I'm gonna stay.
There are other things
I can try.
Look, I'm not leaving you here.
We're in this together.
And you got me here.
But it didn't work,
and I'm not leaving
until it does
or until they kill me first.
-Nina...
-Look,
my car is still
in the lot outside.
If I get this right, I won't
need your help to get back.
I'll be on the road
right behind you.
If I don't...
there's no point
in you dying here with me.
Go.
Go be with Hunter.
(sighs)
(engine revving,
tires squealing)
(gun cocks)
(gasps softly)
-(clattering nearby)
-(gasps)
(heavy footfalls approaching)
(gun cocks)
(Reaper roaring)
(tire pops, squeals)
(insects chirping)
(Reaper chittering)
(metallic creaking)
(chittering continues)
(grunts softly)
(Reaper chittering)
Oh, shit. Oh, shit!
(grunting)
(panting, grunting)
(Reaper chittering)
(grunting)
(yells)
(Reaper chittering)
Shit.
(grunting)
(Reaper screeching)
(bird cawing)
(Reaper screeches, roars)
(grunting)
(panting)
(Reaper chittering)
(grunting and panting continue)
(Reaper chittering)
(Reaper growls, screeches)
-Oh, shit.
-(Reaper screeches)
(panting)
Oh, shit. (yells)
(squealing)
(chitters, squeals)
(whimpers)
-(growling)
-(gun cocks)
-(Will grunts)
-(Reaper screeches)
(explosive whooshing)
(panting)
(Reapers screeching)
(explosive whooshing)
(growls, roars)
(bullets whizzing)
-(explosive whooshing)
-(Reaper squeals)
(groans)
(Will panting)
Son of a bitch. (chuckles)
(electrical crackling)
They're machines.
They hunt us,
but they don't eat us.
They don't sleep.
They don't breathe.
They don't go an inch
above 8,000 feet.
That's not a living creature.
That's programming.
By who?
Good shot.
Thanks.
WILL:
Why 8,000 feet?
NINA:
I have no idea.
(Will sighs)
WILL:
Is your car still running?
NINA:
Radiator blew half a mile back.
God, it felt amazing
to kill those fuckers.
WILL: Going to feel even better
when you raise that pirate flag
and tell the world
we have a way to beat 'em.
Dad!
(laughing)
Told you I was coming back.
I missed you so much.
Come on.
WOMAN:
Oh, you see it? They did it!
(bell clanging)
(radio crackling)
MAN (over radio):
Crow's Nest, this is Red Rock.
Are you seeing
what we're seeing?
WOMAN (over radio):
We have line of sight...
MAN 2 (over radio):
Yes. Confirmed.
-We have clear line of sight.
-MAN 3: Copy that. This is...
WILL (over radio):
This is Lost Gulch Refuge.
(voice-over):
Three years ago,
the world we knew
disappeared overnight.
We lost our homes,
our communities
and most of the people
we loved.
We still don't know why
above 8,000 feet we were safe.
But we don't have to play
by those rules anymore.
The Reapers tried
to take our planet.
They thought we'd die up here
in these mountains.
Well, we're still here.
Sooner or later,
we had to fight them.
Might as well be today.
-(rapid gunfire)
-(Reaper squeals)
(explosive whooshing)
-(people hollering)
-(heavy gunfire)
(music fades)