The Cycle (2026) Movie Script
1
[Wind howling]
[Waves crashing]
-Uh, do you want anything else?
Lonnie's asking to cut the oven.
-Oh, geez, Frank. It's late.
I'm sorry.
I-I can get out of here.
Really.
-No. No, no.
Stay as long as you like.
I like having you here.
-Thanks.
-That's...38 special, right?
That's a service uniform
from, uh...
early '70s?
-Yeah.
It's a cold case
from the university archives.
Just helping them out.
-Mm.
You hitting the wall?
-Mnh. Not yet.
-Of course not.
I still don't know how you
can eat and look at that stuff.
-Yep. Yep.
Kind of weird, huh?
-I'll get you the refill.
-Thanks, Frank.
[Door opens and closes]
Okay.
This is Dr. Megan Garland,
forensic anthropologist,
Crichton Institute of Science.
It's case L02-10th,
February 12th, 2025.
So, the remains are male.
Uh, approximate age,
17 to 21 years.
There's skeletal asymmetry
that shows robust bone structure
and slightly larger
joint surfaces on the left arm,
especially the humerus
and wrist.
These are consistent markers
with left-hand dominance.
[Electricity crackling]
[Static hisses]
-Come on, Silver Lady,
take my word
I won't run out on you again
Believe me
Oh, I've seen the light
It's just one more night
without you
-And the personal effects --
they found a journal
in his backpack.
It's soaked in bodily fluids,
but some of it's still legible.
Looking for writing
characteristics
of a left-handed individual.
Let's see. Um...
"Things became clearer out here.
Just me and the trees."
Uh, something, something,
"I know who I am."
"I think you'd understand.
Maybe not.
Either way, I hope
that you're proud of me."
Huh.
[Plate scrapes]
-You want me to box that up?
-Um...
No, I'm not hungry anymore.
[Vehicle passing]
[Police radio chatter]
[Camera beeps]
[Camera shutter clicks]
[Footsteps]
[Camera beeps, shutter clicks]
[Camera beeps, shutter clicks]
[Footsteps departing]
[Radio chatter continues]
[Dog barking in distance]
[Birds chirping]
[Footsteps approaching]
[Siren wailing in distance]
-Ian.
[Police radio chatter]
-The father?
-Something else.
[Dog barking]
-[Exhales heavily]
[Barking intensifies]
[Dog barks]
-Our goal here
at the Body Farm
is to study decomposition
by recreating
every which way
you might find a body.
If what we learn helps officers
like you solve crimes faster,
then we've done our jobs.
So, we have some above ground,
like these in cages,
others in shallow water.
Some are buried --
if you'll follow me this way --
wrapped in plastic,
or stored in the trunk of a car.
[Doors close]
Now, in my career,
I've had to I.D. bodies
based off bits you
wouldn't even know were bone.
But now,
thanks to advanced technology
and the 3-D printer in our lab,
we can predict and extrapolate
an entire skull
based off of the fragment
of an eye socket
not much bigger
than your fingernail.
Now, I know that sounds
like magic,
but I assure you it isn't.
We hold ourselves
to a rigorous standard here.
It's actually pretty darn cool.
At its very basic level,
my job is about understanding
someone's life in reverse.
Now, every dead body
has secrets,
but they just don't speak
the way you and I do.
Just give me a minute.
What's up?
-Hey.
There's a police chief,
Ian Marks, here to see you.
-Okay.
-He says it's personal.
-Well, alright.
Can you take over for me?
-Yeah, sure.
How's it going?
-Tall one's a little queasy.
-Think he's ready
for the maggots?
-The maggots.
I'm gonna miss the maggots.
Have fun, you guys.
Hi. Hi.
Dr. Megan Garland.
So sorry to keep you waiting.
Oh, God, please move that.
[Chuckles]
-Alright.
-Make yourself comfortable.
As you can see, our funding
doesn't quite extend
to our office space.
So, how can I help you?
-Well, Dr. Garland, I --
-Oh, uh, "Meg."
Yeah. Really.
No need to be so formal.
-About a month ago,
we found three bodies at a house
on the coast of Lester Bay.
Two bodies were a mother
and her 6-year-old girl.
They were torn apart.
-Do you have any idea by what?
-No.
The third body --
it didn't quite belong.
So we ran its DNA.
And -- to be clear,
this is why I'm here today --
the third body...
is your father.
-Uh, may I?
-Please.
-Uh, is this him?
-Yeah.
I'm sorry.
-No. Don't be.
He left us when I was 4.
-Mm. I hate to hear that.
But something
has brought him back, and...
Well, I was hoping you might
come take a look for yourself.
-Oh, no, um -- No, I don't think
I'd be any help here.
-Oh.
Well, the truth is,
we're actually
at a bit of a loss here,
and we would really benefit
from your expertise.
-I appreciate that you drove all
the way out here, but I --
-I hear you.
It's just, you have insights
that we really do need.
-Okay, I can't help you
with this.
Uh, this man doesn't
mean anything to me.
[Door opens]
[Bird squawking]
[Door closes]
-Hey.
Uh, Ian wanted me
to give you this
in case you change your mind.
-Okay.
You can put it on the desk.
-What did you say to him?
-Told him to burn the body.
You got to be fucking
kidding me.
[Exhales heavily]
[Keypad beeping]
[Water running]
[Water shuts off]
[Crickets chirping]
[Video game beeping]
[Thunder crashing]
[Crickets chirping]
[Rain pounding]
[Door opens]
-[Breathing heavily]
[Door creaks]
[Footsteps]
[Glass shatters]
Oh, shit.
[Keypad beeping]
[Alarm blaring]
[Round chambers]
[Alarm continues]
[Thunder rumbling]
[Dial tone]
[Keypad beeps]
What's your emergency?
-[Echoing] Right now. The --
The Holcomb Baptist Church.
Behind that church...
Down at the end of the path,
just up into the parking lot.
He's -- He might --
He's bleeding bad.
No! Do not transfer me.
You don't un--
You don't understand.
You got to get there.
He's -- He's in really bad sh--
No!
[Fist pounds]
-[Exhales sharply]
-Meg.
Go back to bed, Meg.
-Glendon?
Stay on the phone with.
-It's coming for me.
[Thunder crashes]
-Is someone there with you?
I can't hear you.
-[Exhales heavily]
-[Gasping]
[Alarm blaring]
[Breathing heavily]
[Exhales sharply]
-You don't know
how you broke it?
-I don't know.
Maybe at the Ashford's house.
Can you fix it?
-Ian, the gold's worth
more than the parts.
-We're not scrapping
Grandpa's watch.
[Cellphone vibrating]
This is Ian.
Meg.
Of course.
No, no, no, it's not too late.
Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow.
-Great. See you soon.
[Exhales heavily]
[Birds chirping]
-Dr. Garland, I presume.
I'm Lieutenant Marks.
I'm, uh, sorry
for your family's loss.
-Oh, family's got nothing
to do with it.
Just here to look at a body.
-The chief is waiting for you
inside.
He tells me you're the best
at what you do.
-Oh, thanks.
You're, uh -- You're Ian's dad?
-Yeah, that I am.
Right this way.
-Hi.
-Meg, welcome.
-Hi.
-This is our coroner,
Joe Ratterman.
-Hi. Pleasure. Meg.
-Hello.
Right over here.
-Okay.
-Uh, Stacy Ashford, 37.
Uh, her daughter,
Rebecca Ashford, 6 years old.
What's left of the kid's
in the bin.
Cause of death on both,
severe hemorrhaging.
Bite and claw lacerations
consistent with
an animal attack.
Frankly, these two were eaten.
This one, though --
left untouched
by whatever attacked those two.
Peter Stump, 64,
found in the same location,
about 100 yards away
in the field out back.
No evidence of any connection
between the two parties,
and the decomposition shows
that Stump was dead
for quite a while
before the Ashfords
were even attacked.
-So, what are you thinking?
-Mm.
Predator comes out of the
woods, smells the dead body.
Maybe it's got cubs.
Ashfords are in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
-So, how does he fit
into that story?
-That we don't know.
Your mom filed
a missing-persons report in '91.
When we ran his DNA,
it led to your state profile.
That's about all we got.
-Any idea where he ran off to?
-What makes you think
I ever went looking?
How long have you had him?
-About four weeks.
-Don't smell formalin.
How are you keeping them
preserved?
-Go on.
-Didn't have to.
They've been like this since.
-What do you make of that?
-Well, it's unusual.
But, you know,
bodies decay differently
depending on the conditions.
Uh, may I?
[Gloves ruffling]
Alright.
Cause of death, asphyxiation.
The elongated neck
and the swelling in the feet
means that he was hanging
there for quite a while.
It's probably suicide, but you
can't rule out the possibility
that it was someone else.
-Okay. None of this is new.
-Ratterman, please.
-The mummified skin here
and here show impressions
of a carpet pattern,
which means he was in a late
stage of decay when he fell.
-Fell?
-If the noose broke.
Or if his neck stretched long
enough to slip out of the rope.
His body tissue was
probably seeping at that point.
Uh, you drop a wet towel
on the ground,
let it dry, it holds its shape.
All of this is to say
he died inside somewhere.
He decomposed
for approximately 30 days,
but I need to do a PMI
to be sure.
And only then did someone move
his body into that field.
Should I go on?
-Meg...
the state lab's
backed up for months.
Fish and wildlife's hunting for
God knows what out in the woods,
and I haven't the slightest idea
how this man's body
factors into any of it.
-I'd have to open him up again.
-Oh, absolutely not.
It's her fucking father, Ian.
-Hey.
You say he's not family?
-Go ahead.
-[Sighs]
Oh, come on.
[Papers thud]
-I'll handle Ratterman.
[Door opens]
He is a little rough
around the edges,
but just remember,
this is his home.
-Yeah.
[Footsteps departing]
-See what else you can find.
-Mm-hmm.
[Camera shutter clicks]
[Electricity humming]
[Camera beeps, shutter clicks]
[Clears throat] 8:45 p.m.,
March 13, 2025.
This is the second autopsy
of Peter Stump,
found on the morning
of February 15th.
For the purposes
of full transparency,
this is Dr. Megan Garland,
his biological daughter.
Subject has an identifying
tattoo on his left palm,
approximately 4 inches
in diameter.
[Camera beeps, shutter clicks]
There's a healed scar
on the upper right shoulder
at the base of the clavicle,
consistent with a gunshot wound.
Ribs appear to have been mended
and broken dozens of times,
if not more.
Initial evidence suggests
these wounds
were not self-inflicted.
-You think he was tortured?
-This was an initial
examination,
but he has electrical
and thermal burns
all over his hands.
There's serious trauma
on the joints.
I mean, these are
not post-mortem injuries.
This was done to him
when he was alive.
-Maybe he killed himself
before someone else could.
Anything about the tattoo?
-Uh, most of the ink
is towards the surface.
Linework is shoddy.
He's right-handed.
That he probably
gave to himself.
-One of my guys
is into this sort of stuff.
Thinks it might have
to do with some kind of
old religious symbol.
-Hmm.
Well, you'd need
corroborating evidence.
Where and how a body is found
can tell us as much
as the remains themselves.
Was there anything that
suggested ritualism at the site?
-No.
No.
But why don't I show you
where we found the body
in the morning?
-Mm, that'd be great.
[Exhales heavily] Yep.
Tracks look old.
Any chance there's still
an active electrical current?
-No, railroad's been
out of service
since the cannery closed.
-Huh.
-What's on your mind?
-Maggots.
Uh, Peter Stump's body should
have been covered in them.
We've had cases of dead power
line workers that come up clean.
Uh, insects won't go near
a static electric field.
-Well, it had been raining
for three days straight.
Ratterman said it would have
washed away the bugs.
-Yeah, I read his report.
[Vehicle approaching]
[Gearshift clicks]
I'd like to officially
be added to the case.
With your permission.
-Yeah. I would like that.
Yeah. I'll make a few calls.
-Great.
-You want to grab a bite,
talk through it?
-I mean, the insect succession
wasn't merely disrupted.
It was nonexistent.
So there's really no electrical
current by those train tracks,
and there's only
two explanations for why
there's no bugs in that body.
Either, one,
he died and decomposed frozen
or submerged in water,
which, according to the remains,
we know is not the case.
Or, two, he died
in a sealed environment
someplace that the flies
couldn't access,
they couldn't lay their eggs,
and therefore no larva.
But if that's the case,
then that body
had to have been placed
where you found it,
I mean, no more than --
[Sighs]
I mean, you're talking bacterial
and acidic decomp only.
Uh, most of the VOC's
already released.
Gas emissions
around day 25 would be...
Two or three.
[Pen clatters]
Goddamn it. I'm so sorry.
-What? I'm listening.
Seems like you're getting
somewhere.
-No, no, no, it's not that.
I just, um...
You know, if he had come
to my house or called me,
I could have dismissed him,
but...
God, he just had to come
back like this, didn't he?
Dead.
-It's the only way
you'd pay attention to him.
-Mm. [Chuckles]
[Breathes deeply]
You know, shutting him down
when he was alive
would have been my choice,
but now I'm --
Seeing things, seeing him,
I don't have a say.
-Our records show
your mom lives close.
How's she coping with all this?
-She's not.
I haven't told her yet.
I know. I know.
Look...
when he left,
he didn't just vanish.
He took everything, alright?
The car,
their entire life savings.
She lost the house.
She had to file for bankruptcy.
I mean, my mom didn't take jobs
out of interest.
She -- She took whatever paid
and clawed her way back out.
I mean, she erased him
from our lives,
and I don't blame her.
Anything that I know
I have pieced together
bit by bit over the years.
And now finding out that
he's been alive this whole time?
I just...
I don't know how
she's gonna receive that.
Shit, I'm sorry.
Uh, I should not
be telling you this.
That is very unprofessional.
-No, no.
Your openness isn't a knock
against your credentials.
If anything, it's --
it's a show of strength.
You know, my dad and my grandpa
always had issues.
My dad barely even let him
in the house.
But, uh, this one night --
I must have been, I think,
about 8 years old --
my grandpa sneaks in
the back door,
tiptoes through the house,
comes up the stairs,
and pulls me out of my bed
still in my pajamas,
puts me in the passenger seat
of his cruiser.
-Oh, my God. Another cop?
-Yeah. Yeah.
But at the time,
I barely knew what that meant.
I mean, I barely knew the man.
So, he takes me
on this ride-along,
and we're out all night.
Now, nothing crazy happens,
right?
But I'm -- I'm still --
I'm mesmerized.
The lights at night,
empty streets,
static on the radio.
Just hanging with my grandpa.
-[Chuckles]
-We get back
just before the sun comes up.
But before I get out,
he gives me his watch.
And he tells me,
"I hope you never think of me
the way your old man does."
Never told my dad about that
night or how I got the watch.
I guess some things
just get heavier
the longer we carry them.
I'll go see Ratterman tonight.
Maybe he missed something
about those maggots.
[Crickets chirping]
[Line ringing]
-Hi, hon.
-Listen, Mom, uh, I have
to talk to you about something.
It's about my father.
They found him.
-Alive?
-No, Mom.
-Oh.
-Well, um,
we don't know exactly,
but it happened
a couple of months ago.
Uh, it may be...
Well, probably suicide.
Mom?
[Sighs]
Look, I-I've been going
through his personal records.
And at least for the last
30 years, I can't find anything.
I mean, there's no tax filings.
There's no bank accounts.
There's no criminal records.
-Where are you, Meg?
-Uh, Lester Bay.
I'm helping the police.
I mean, I didn't want
to get involved,
but they just seemed
like they were in...
-You shouldn't.
Giving that man
an ounce of your time
is a mistake.
-Oh, no, no. I know, Mom.
I wasn't.
I just thought that --
-I can't talk about this
right now.
-Mom --
[Line disconnects]
[Footsteps]
[Creaking]
[Footsteps]
[Groaning]
-[Moans]
[Shrieks]
[Crickets chirping]
[Police radio chatter]
[EDM playing in distance]
-Ratterman!
[Whirring]
Goddamn it.
Joe!
[EDM playing in distance]
Ratterman!
[Knock on door]
For the last time, you can't
leave the furnace unattended.
Meg found something, Joe.
I gotta talk to you.
Coming in.
Ratterman?
[Clattering]
[Music continues]
[Clattering]
[Ominous music playing]
Joe?
[Wheezing]
Joe?
[Wheezing continues]
[Crackling]
[Gunshots]
[Breathing heavily]
[Door slams]
Dispatch, this is Ian,
south side of --
[Snarling]
[Screaming]
[Alarm blaring]
[Screaming intensifies]
[Police radio chatter]
[Siren wailing]
-Go ahead
and bring that hose down!
Let it out!
[Siren chirps]
[Indistinct conversations]
[Police radio chatter]
-Is there anything I can do?
-Peter Stump's body is ash.
You can go home.
-I can work with ash.
-Transitioning to salvage
and investigate.
Tell the fire marshal
that we're gonna be rolling.
We'll leave one engine behind.
[Monitor beeps]
[Labored breathing]
[Door opens]
[Door closes]
[Breathing continues]
[Knock on window]
-Move along!
[Engine starts]
[Birds chirping]
[3-D printer whirring]
-Skull print on M-08's about
done if you want to take a look.
-Uh, you can put it on my desk.
I'll look at it in the morning.
[Sighs]
[Pen scratching]
[Knock on door]
[Gasps]
Hey.
-Sorry.
Didn't mean to scare you.
-Oh, come on in.
That's okay.
-Hi.
-I just thought
you could use some company.
-[Chuckles]
[Voice breaking] Okay.
-Oh, hi.
-[Sobbing]
-You're okay.
-[Gasps]
-It's okay.
So, the guy's unaccounted for,
for 34 years?
He hangs himself somewhere,
and a few weeks later,
his body turns up in the mud
next to a double murder.
-Yep.
-Well, that's fucking weird.
-I know.
-Are these fractures?
-Like his head ruptured
from the inside out.
-This is why you've been
a mess at work.
You can't get away from this,
can you?
First thing you told me when
I started working for you was
that it's not about
how they died.
It's about how they lived.
-I'm so happy for you.
You're gonna be a great mom.
You know that?
-Thank you.
[Cellphone ringing]
-Hello?
-Yeah.
Hey, listen, I'm still
getting situated down here.
They got me in the station,
down in the basement.
But, uh, there's
no smoke inhalation on Ian.
Throat and lungs
came back clean.
-The fire didn't kill him.
Did you find anything else?
-Yeah.
Bite marks.
Like the others.
-Okay.
Ratterman, thanks.
[Insects chirping]
Yeah.
Checking on one of these.
[Computer beeps]
And get closer.
Shit, am I crazy?
-No.
You should go.
Yeah, I got things covered here.
You can go.
-Print that, please.
-Yeah, sure.
-Thank you.
[Printer whirring]
[Metal clicking]
[Door bangs]
-[Sniffles]
[Footsteps approaching]
-I asked where you were.
I-I didn't know.
I didn't want to do this here.
-What do you got?
[Bag unzips]
-This is a photo
I took of Rebecca Ashford
using fluorescence imaging.
it allows us to see bruising
that might not be visible
to the naked eye.
So, these are incisions.
These are contusions.
Now, I have triple-checked
my work,
but this bruising --
it shouldn't be there.
The incisions are bite marks
from something non-human.
But this...
is a sequence of human teeth.
-You're telling me
you think a person did this?
-[Sighs]
Look, I...
In 1949, 30 tribesmen
died in a village in Uganda.
The bodies
were terribly mutilated.
The villagers were convinced
that they were hunting
a crocodile, right?
But then six months later,
they find --
Shit.
Six months later, they find out
that it's a rival tribe
using weapons
made from the jawbones
of crocodiles.
Alright, their instincts
weren't wrong.
They just weren't looking at it
in the right way.
-We've had four victims,
none of which
could have an open casket,
and you're saying,
"It wasn't done by an animal.
This was done by a man."
-No, no, just --
just three of them.
-Excuse me?
-We only know the where and how
on three of them.
We have no idea
where Peter Stump died or --
or where he's been
since he disappeared.
Look, I wasn't entirely honest
with Ratterman
when I said I didn't go
looking for him.
I looked once,
but my mom just...
I think she knows something.
But she won't talk to me
about it, about him.
Maybe she'd talk to you.
[Water lapping]
[Vehicle approaching]
[Engine shuts off]
[Vehicle door opens]
-I-I already told my daughter
I want nothing to do with this.
[Vehicle door closes]
[Vehicle door opens]
[Vehicle door closes]
-Hi, Mom.
-Oh, Meg.
-Want a little tea?
-Oh, tea would be perfect.
That is awesome.
Thank you, sweetie.
[Liquid pouring]
Yeah.
[Liquid pouring]
[Birds chirping]
-Do you want the one
with the flower or you want --
-I'll take this one.
[Electricity zapping]
Thanks.
Is he gonna sit?
-You don't have to worry
about him.
[Switch clicks]
-You got that look
in your eyes.
[Stammers]
You got something to say,
just say it.
-I'm just trying to understand
what happened, Mom.
-Your father abandoned us.
That's what happened.
-I know. I know.
I know he's a bad guy,
I know he probably deserves it,
but that doesn't mean
I don't want to know.
-Look around you.
This is the life
that we created together.
Not the one
that he took from you.
I --
I can't tell you how much
I ached for him to come back.
But he didn't
because we meant nothing to him.
Goddamn it, Meg, I thought
we'd already gone through this.
You -- You come over here --
I haven't seen you for weeks --
with some guy
asking about your father.
Goddamn it.
Even in death,
he's fucking us up.
[Chair legs scrape]
-It's not fair.
I get it.
Losing family -- it's not fair.
-[Exhales sharply]
-But helping us remembering him
for just this one minute
will not betray what
you've done for your daughter.
-Mom, please.
Please.
-[Breathes deeply]
[Sniffles]
[Gasping lightly]
Pete and I [gasps]
met on the sea.
He was an engineer.
I was a geophysicist.
We worked together
on an oil rig.
[Stammers]
It wasn't unusual
for people to take off for...
weeks at a time.
So I didn't think
anything of it.
And then after he --
he disappeared,
these two cops showed up
and wanted to know
if a guy named Lou Bishop
worked with him.
Um, did he know him?
I never heard of the guy.
And they said
that they didn't know
if that had anything to do
with his walking out on us.
[Gasps lightly]
-And you never looked into it?
-No. No.
'Cause if he was involved
in anything criminal,
I wanted nothing
to do with that.
I-I had a little girl.
I-I...
I changed our names.
And I never said...
his name again, and that's
all there is to it, okay?
-All this time, you...
[Breathing heavily]
[Groans]
-[Breathes deeply]
-I didn't keep much from him,
but if there's anything,
it'll be in here.
Here.
[Thunder rumbling]
-She cares about you,
you know.
It's like that, uh,
fluorescent bruising.
Can't see it, but it's there.
-Dramatic enough
for a 13-year-old?
-Oh, yeah.
I imagine Ian had a few
of these tucked under his bed.
-Mm.
You guys weren't always close?
-My son wanted to be a cop
just like my old man.
I opposed. He resented.
And when Lily passed,
what he needed was, uh...
Hell, I don't know.
I don't know what he needed.
But I knew what he didn't need,
and that was a dad who said no.
So...
...I said yes.
-[Chuckles]
-And then I joined him.
You know,
I've been meaning to ask.
-Yeah?
-Don't you think this is
an awfully big coincidence,
with you, you know,
and your line of work?
[Thunder rumbling]
-No.
No such thing as coincidence.
[Sniffs]
You know, our --
our dog ran away
the night he left.
And a couple of weeks later,
I found her dead,
just decomposing
on the side of the road.
And I couldn't understand
why he would just leave us,
but that was just right there.
[Clears throat]
I don't know.
I guess I, um...
I had to choose between...
following what just disappears
in the wind
or what decays
right in front of you.
So, you know,
me doing what I do,
studying what's tangible,
that's not a coincidence.
It's a direct result
of what he started.
-So, this is Lou Bishop.
Photograph was taken in
his 20s, before the injuries.
Guy was a groundskeeper
at a church.
He was out walking the pastor's
dog in the middle of the night
when he got attacked
by something.
By the time the EMTs got to him,
his heart had stopped,
he was missing half a face.
Doctors said he had no brain
activity for a few minutes.
They revived him in the E.R.,
but, uh, he slipped into a coma
for about six weeks.
-Where?
-Two hours south,
in Holcomb County.
Then he wakes up to realize he's
paralyzed from the waist down
and they've amputated
his right arm.
-He had 127
reconstructive surgeries,
face and limb transplants
rejected by the body.
Hell, this guy wakes up
just to find he's looking like
Frankenstein.
-Frankenstein's monster.
They ever find what did it?
-Unsolved.
Only witness was the dog.
But get this --
the date he was attacked?
August 26, 1991.
-The day Peter Stump
went missing?
-Exactly.
So, if the thing
that attacked Lou Bishop in '91
is the same thing
that's doing it now,
then he's the only one
we know to survive it.
He moved to Lester Bay
a few years after the attack.
The guy is still alive.
[Engine starts]
[Metal creaking]
[Button clicks]
[Elevator whirring]
-Police.
[Knock on door]
Open up.
-Uh, can I help you?
-Uh, I hope so.
I'm looking for
a Mr. Lou Bishop.
He live here?
-Lou Bishop?
Um, no. Should I --
Should I know him?
-Well, it's the address
we have for him on file.
What's your name?
-Oh, uh, my -- my name
is Daniel Webb.
-Well, Daniel, do you mind
if we come inside and talk?
-[Exhales sharply]
Like I said, I --
I don't have anything else
to offer.
-Alright, well,
I have your number.
Now you have mine.
Give us a call
if that name rings a bell.
Thanks.
-He's lying.
-I'll call Holcomb County, see
if they got anything on Bishop.
[Button clicks, elevator whirs]
[Door closes]
[Indistinct speaking on TV]
-[Sighs]
[Labored breathing]
What do you want me to do?
-Holcomb County gave me
everything they had
on Lou Bishop.
This is the 911 call
the night he was found.
[Plastic clattering]
What's your emergency?
-You need to send
an ambulance right now
to the Holcomb Baptist Church.
There's a man down back there,
and he's dying,
right behind the church
on the trail
at the south end
by the parking lot.
-Okay, sir, stay with me
while I reroute your call
to the dispatcher in that
county.
-No! Do not transfer me!
You don't --
You don't understand.
You got to get there. He's --
He's in really bad sh--
-What's your name, sir?
-Mine?
-Yes.
Who am I speaking with?
-Uh...
Glendon Mathers.
-Okay, Glendon, do you know
how this man got injured?
-Dad?
-Meg.
Go back to bed, Meg.
-Glendon?
I can't hear you.
-It's coming for me.
[Thunder crashing]
-Stay on the phone with me.
Don't hang up.
Glendon, is someone there
with you?
[Dog barking]
-Uh, that's him on the tape.
That's Peter Stump.
-How do you know that?
-Because that's the night
that he left.
Uh, the little girl at the end
is me.
-Lenny, run the names
Glendon Mathers and Peter Stump
through the system,
see if we get any hits.
-[Breathing heavily]
[Static hissing]
[Knock on door]
-Call just came in.
There's another body.
We got multiple calls out
for a Glendon Mathers.
-Did you try the local
hospital records?
-10 in the surrounding counties.
There was a baby born
with that name
six years ago, but that's it.
Look, um,
don't take this the wrong way,
but I think your pops
was smarter
than you give him credit for.
He's avoided detection
for this long.
You know, he knows the ways
in which people
are gonna look for it.
When we came out west, my, uh --
my pops, he got all weird.
He got into that sovereign
citizen militia nonsense.
Moved us to a compound
out in the middle of nowhere.
So I know what it's like
to try and live off the grid.
You know, the one thing
you can't do without?
The goddamned post office.
[Siren wailing]
-Huh.
-Update on 10-54.
Possible suspect still on site.
Send all available units.
-Get back in your vehicle
and get out of here.
[Car doors open]
-Meg, stay in the car.
We got a body in the building.
Driver says he heard
something inside.
[Scraping]
[Dial tone]
[Scraping continues]
-10-4, Unit 51.
Do you need a second unit?
[Camera shutter clicks]
[Police radio chatter]
[Camera shutter clicks]
-Look, i-it's not
what it looks like.
That's the only explanation.
-You can go ahead and book it.
The blood on Stump's body
is gonna match the woman
over there.
-Suggesting what?
He's dead.
Someone else
had to move it there.
-She's right.
There had to be a third party.
Somebody planted it.
-Meg, could we be dealing
with something else here?
-[Scoffs]
Like what?
-I don't know -- like the tribe
thing, something else?
-I'm telling you,
this shit is witchcraft.
-Witchcraft?
That's your theory?
As a medical professional?
So then what does that make me?
Because I was born
from whatever the fuck
that is in there.
[Cellphone vibrating]
-How's it going?
-I need you to run
an age progression
on Peter Stump's skull.
The X-ray should
already be loaded in the system.
Just see what prints.
-Meg, what's wrong?
-[Exhales sharply]
Uh...
Just, uh, check if there's
any abnormalities, okay?
-Yeah, okay.
-Thanks, Katie.
-Yeah.
Talk to you later. Bye.
[Labored breathing]
[Monitor beeps]
-Excuse me.
Can I help you?
-What are you doing here?
-Uh, nothing.
I was just leaving, actually.
-Hey, wait. Uh -- Hey.
[Car door closes]
Marks. Hey.
Yeah, uh, that -- that guy
that we saw at Lou Bishop's,
he's parked at the --
the road at the back
of the property.
Get in your car now.
[Engine starts]
Hey. No, no, no.
Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Where are you going?
No. Get out of the car.
Get out of the car.
Hey!
[Tires screech]
What, are you gonna run me over?
Get out of the car!
[Siren wailing]
-Any units on scene redirect
to the back access road.
Possible suspect in a red van.
[Labored breathing]
-Look in the back.
-Meg? You alright?
-Yeah.
-Driver, show me your hands.
Show me your hands.
-There's, uh, someone
in the back of the car.
[Siren chirps]
-Who's in the back?
-My father's in the back.
[Knock on window]
-Police!
-Tell him to come out.
-I can't do that.
-Open it. Let's go.
-Okay.
-Let's go.
-Okay.
[Labored breathing]
[Monitor beeping]
[Grunts]
-He keeps looking at his watch.
[Door opens]
-Alright, so,
there's this private post center
down by the coast.
They rented a P.O. box
to a Glendon Matters.
Manager said he's been
a customer for years.
Couple weeks back,
they're closing up,
they smell something awful,
they go in the box,
they open up the package,
and it's a bag of rotting blood.
-Medical bags?
-Like for an I.V. with hoses
is what she said.
I don't know. You tell me.
But every P.O. box
requires a contract,
so I had them dig that up.
There's an address.
So, if Glendon Mathers
really is Peter Stump,
[scoffs] then he's been living
20 minutes down the road.
-Let's find out
what this guy knows.
He never mentioned
the name Peter Stump?
-No, I-I never heard of him.
-That's what you said
about your father,
and look where we are now.
-Yeah. Your point is?
-How about the name
Glendon Mathers?
-Yeah, that's the guy
that called 911
the night they found my dad.
We've been looking for that guy
for years.
You -- You know who that is?
-Did your dad have
any interaction with him
or any recollection of him?
Maybe a member of the church?
-I mean, you can go
and try and talk to him,
but he doesn't talk much
on account
that he's got a ventilator tube
down his throat.
You know, we pass notes
or eye contact.
We get by.
-Were you aware of this 911 call
that was made by a man
who reported your father's
injuries?
[Cellphone vibrating]
-Meg?
-Real quick.
What is the number
of the oil platform
you and Peter Stump worked on?
-It's K-2-1-8.
-That's it.
We have an address.
We're not sure if it's his,
but it's on shore,
directly across
from the same oil platform.
-What about the name of...
-Um...
-...the officer who...
-Thank you, Mom.
-Did he ever, uh, find out
what attacked him?
-I was a kid when it happened.
They, um --
They said it was an animal.
You know
that he was pronounced dead
at the scene
when they found him?
Coma.
Full blood transfusion.
In and out of surgeries
for years.
You know, I...
[Inhales deeply]
Sometimes I feel like asking
him if he felt it was worth it.
-Felt what was worth it?
-You know.
Surviving.
[Printer whirring]
-Hey.
-Yeah?
-Uh, listen, I -- I, uh --
I wanted to apologize
for how we left things.
Uh, Stump will be here
any second.
I'm gonna have his body
down the basement
if you want to come
and have a look.
-Okay.
[Indistinct speaking]
-Look, regardless, uh...
he, uh, -- he still
kept searching for it, alright?
He said he had these
recurring nightmares
ever since he was attacked.
Like -- Like, I don't know,
he was trapped in a cage
in a basement somewhere.
I-I don't know.
And then two months ago,
he said the dreams
were different, that...
he was out of the cage,
you know?
So, as I'm taking him
to the locations
that he's you know, seeing...
...all we had to do is
listen to your police scanner.
Okay. Okay. I know.
It sounds crazy.
I'm not saying
that I endorse any of this.
I'm just...
He's my dad, alright?
I'm -- I'm trying
to give him peace.
[Printer whirring]
[Door closes]
Listen, I-I've told you
everything.
And I'm sorry
that I lied to you at the door.
I apologize.
But are we being arrested?
Because if not,
I need to take my dad
and I need to leave now.
[Printer whirring]
Dad!
-Daniel --
-No. I'm getting my dad.
Dad!
-Daniel --
-You're letting them go?
They're fucking involved, Marks.
-I have to let them go.
-Wait, wait.
-Meg, stop.
I gotta let them go.
-What did this to you?
-[Groaning]
-What do you think attacked you?
-[Moaning]
[Electricity zapping]
[Monitor beeping rapidly]
[Growling]
-Hey, hey, hey, Dad, Dad, relax.
Don't -- Don't do this here.
Dad. Dad.
-[Gasps]
-Hey, hey, let her go.
Tell him to let her go!
Let her go!
-[Groaning]
-He needs me.
No, no, don't call an ambulance!
It's fine, alright?
This happens every full moon.
He's having a nightmare, okay?
He thinks he was attacked
by a werewolf, alright?
He thinks they're connected.
He sees what it sees.
Just -- I have this --
Dad, let go. Please.
-[Gasps]
-I'm right here. It's fine.
Hey, hey, hey, it's Daniel.
-[Groaning]
[Glass breaking]
[Snarling]
[Footsteps approaching]
[Metal clacking]
[Machinery whirring]
[Body thuds]
[Crackling]
-The fuck?
-[Snarls]
-[Screaming]
[Groaning]
[Screaming]
-[Snarling]
[Electricity zapping]
-[Screaming]
-[Growls]
-Somebody!
-[Growling]
-Somebody!
-[Snarling]
[Shrieks]
[Snarling]
[Whimpering]
-[Breathing heavily]
[Electricity zapping]
-[Snarling]
[Howls]
[Door opens]
[Electricity zapping]
-[Breathing heavily]
Ratterman?
[Footsteps approaching]
-[Screaming]
[Crunching]
-[Snarls]
[Gunshot]
-[Groaning]
[Flesh tearing]
-[Snarling]
-Three to three central.
[Rapid footsteps]
-[Snarls]
-[Screaming]
[Static crackling]
[Body thuds]
[Bones crunch]
[Electricity zaps]
-It's coming for me.
[Garbled speaking]
It's coming for me.
-[Screaming]
-[Snarling]
-[Breathing heavily]
[Static crackling]
-[Snarling]
[Howls]
[Electricity zapping]
-Anything comes through
this door, you shoot it.
-[Howling]
[Snarls]
[Gunshots]
[Snarls]
-[Screaming]
-[Growling]
[Howling]
[Gunshots]
[Round chambers]
[Gunshot]
[Snarling]
[Howls]
-[Groaning]
-You alright?
-It's my eyes.
-Meg. Meg?!
-[Breathing heavily]
-Lenny.
-[Groaning]
-We have multiple officers down.
[Speaking indistinctly]
Yeah, an animal, some --
-Alright, here, here.
-Some kind of wolf.
-Open your eyes.
You squeeze really hard, okay?
-We're on Gabe's road.
All of them.
I need all of them.
-[Groaning]
-Send everything you've got!
-Are you hurt?
-He was right.
He was right, like, uh --
He was right all along,
and I doubted him.
I'm -- I'm -- I'm sorry, Dad.
-You said that he --
he sees what it sees,
that they're --
they're tethered somehow.
-Y-Yes, uh, "an incomplete
transfer," alright?
Those are his words,
that he didn't, uh, become it,
but that it's still in him.
-Lou?
Lou, can you hear me?
I need your help.
Lou, I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry about my father,
about --
that I brought you here,
that I didn't believe you.
I'm sorry. Please.
I need your help.
Where is it going?
-Meg!
Meg?
-Home.
[Siren wailing in distance]
[Howling in distance]
-No, stand by with K-9 units
and set up a perimeter
along Route 18 and 20.
We're heading out
to look at a house
where we think it
might be headed.
-[Groaning]
-Just so, uh,
we're on the same page here,
there were no maggots
on the body
because they sensed
it wasn't dead,
which means
we're talking about a creature
that can survive dormant
inside its host.
-Transformation even
after death.
-As long as we're
on the same page.
[Siren wailing]
-Does that mean for me?
[Brakes squeal]
-Hey.
-You good with that?
[Round chambers]
-My mom taught me how.
I think she wanted me
to know what to do
if I ever saw him again.
-We know this thing's
gonna revert back, right?
Why don't we just wait?
Burn the corpse in the morning?
-How many more people die
before then?
Look, Peter Stump
kept it at bay for 30 years.
The answer to how he did
that's in that house.
-Alright. Fuck it.
[Groans]
-Let's go.
[Water lapping]
[Heavy breathing, grunting]
[Switch clicks]
-Uh, there's a generator
out back.
Let me see what I can do.
[Footsteps]
[Frogs croaking,
insects chirping]
[Engine starts]
[Electricity zapping]
[Beeping]
-Retinal scanner online.
[Static hissing]
[Tape whirring]
[Bat squeaks]
-Today is October 16, 1996.
I'm feeling pretty good today
because I've learned about...
-You hear that?
-...silver nitrate.
It was used a long time ago,
Old West,
late 1800s in mining towns.
So, I have managed
to refine this...
shave this down to a fine
particulate powder,
not unlike baking flour.
That fine.
And so I thought
I could use that...
...and apply it to my gums
because the gums
will absorb this stuff rapidly.
-Nautical maps.
What was he looking for down
in the ocean?
-You know, and so
I-I-I'm hopeful.
-Hey.
Look.
-You search through those.
We'll take another pass
through the house.
Let's go.
-Oh, there's hundreds of these.
How do I even...
[Static hisses]
-I shot myself in the leg
with a silver bullet.
Pew!
I, uh, shot myself
in the shoulder
twice with silver bullets.
The second one,
I just left lodged in there,
thinking
more time in there would --
Uh, it just caused infection.
And I think at this point...
...the cure for this curse...
is not silver.
So...
I feel like an idiot.
[Static hisses]
I've been trying to get more
information about Lou Bishop.
I did track down
some medical records.
As usual, dead end.
I want to know why his
transformation wasn't complete,
and my only guess is it was
the instant blood transfusion
that stopped it
from taking a hold.
It's the bugs. It's the smell.
It's the fucking
stinky putrescine.
I'm gonna lop it off,
make a little pile of it,
and put it in the garden.
Did you know human hair keeps
pests away out of your garden?
You know, this fucking shit
will keep you up.
Tossing and turning,
smelling and sticky,
and getting bit.
You always go to extremes, Pete.
Hair. [Giggles]
Last three months
after I transformed back,
the hair grows out
this fucking long,
the next day.
So, I guess I'm gonna have to do
this every month,
until...
Out with the silver.
Out with the hair.
Won't be long
before I have silver hair.
[Chuckles]
My God, I could tattoo that.
I am electrifying
the fucking cage
because I know
the motherfucker.
I'm having issues, though,
when I throw the switch.
It's blowing breakers
and blowing fuses.
But I will get it.
-Oh!
-[Laughing]
-We got nothing.
You?
-Tried everything.
Nothing worked.
Uh, this was a mistake.
We shouldn't have come here.
We have to go.
We have to go right now.
Marks, come on.
-Meg.
Look at this.
-Whatever.
I will watch it later.
Let's go!
-The date.
It's a month
before we found him.
Lenny, we're coming out.
Bring the car around.
Two minutes.
Lenny, you reading this?
-Oh, damn.
Oh.
[Groans]
Probably the last time you see
me sitting in this chair.
[Sighs]
It's the bones.
You know, it's the bones.
They ache horribly.
I feel it deep inside my teeth.
Sometimes, uh...
...my mind just travels away
for long periods of time.
It feels like I'm not part
of this broken and bruised body.
Well, it is.
I'm so fucking tired.
I think I'm all finished
with most things.
I just have one final option.
Oh, Joni.
I love you, baby.
I need you to know.
I hope you know.
I'm not a monster.
I did everything I could
to come back.
I did everything
I could to come back home.
I love you.
[Crying]
Meg!
[Sobs]
Oh, you're something else.
Oh.
I need you to know...
...I'm so proud of you.
I'm so, so, so, so proud
of you, baby.
I love you so much.
The hardest thing I ever did,
walk out that door that night.
Oh, my God, I can't.
Goodbye, Joni.
Goodbye, Meg.
You're safe now.
[Screaming]
-[Growling]
-It's coming for me.
-[Growls]
-Door unlocking.
Please stand clear.
-Come on, Silver Lady,
take my word
I won't run out on you again
Believe me
Oh, I've seen the light
It's just one more fight
without you
-I'm guessing that door's
not gonna hold till dawn.
We gotta find another way out.
We gotta move.
Three to three central,
this is Marks.
Three to three central,
this is Marks.
Anybody reading this?
[Door thuds]
[Beeping]
-Retinal scan failed.
Unverified identity.
Retinal scan failed.
Unverified identity.
Please step closer.
Retinal scan...
confirmed.
Welcome back, Peter.
-Fuck.
-[Snarls]
-[Howling]
-[Screaming]
[Gas hissing]
-[Breathing heavily]
-[Snarls]
-[Gasps]
-[Roars]
-[Screaming]
-[Screaming]
[Gasps]
-Meg.
You gotta let go of the bar.
You gotta let go of the bars.
-On three.
-Two. One.
-[Snarls]
[Electricity crackling]
[Stereo powers down]
[Footsteps approach]
-I was certain
that if I killed myself,
the werewolf would die as well.
Not so, Pete.
Wrong again.
A werewolf doesn't need
a living body to keep on living.
It's gonna run, Meg.
It's gonna run,
and it's gonna hide.
And it's gonna hide
until the next full moon.
And it's going to kill again.
You're gonna have to lure it
to you, Meg.
And whatever you do,
you must outlast it
until the sun comes up.
If you lose it,
this will never end.
[Wind rustling]
You hear that?
You hear it?
-[Gasping]
Dad.
[Gasping]
[Groaning]
[Wind rustling]
[Insects chirping]
[Panting]
[Twigs snap]
[Birds calling]
There you are.
Come on.
-[Snarls softly]
[Gun cocks]
-[Exhales sharply]
You stay. Stay. Stay. Stay.
Stay with me.
Right here.
Right here.
Okay.
-[Snarls]
-Okay. Okay.
-[Gasping]
[Snarls]
-That's it. That's it.
Okay.
That's it.
Just a little longer.
-[Snarls]
[Gunshot]
-[Groans]
-Aaah!
[Gunshot]
-[Roars]
-[Gasping]
[Thud]
-Aaah!
-[Roars]
-[Screaming]
[Scream echoes]
[Screaming continues]
[Snarling]
[Snarls]
[Snarls]
-Aaaah!
[Flesh tears]
-[Screams]
[Screams]
[Roars]
[Screaming]
-[Sobs]
-Lou Bishop.
There you are.
I know you better
than you know me.
These unfortunate circumstances.
I really just wanted you
to know everything.
-Oh, my gosh, more hair.
-I know.
He's nodding his head.
It's the best thing.
With our luck though,
he's...
-Any luck?
-Don't jinx me now.
-Hey!
Okay.
Friday, May 1st, 2026.
This is Dr. Megan Garland.
I have increased the Aconitum
concentration by 50%.
If that fails, then he'll be
imprisoned in his condition
for yet another month.
Until we try again.
Okay.
-[Screaming]
-I, um, I don't even know
why I'm recording this.
I-I guess I just need
to tell somebody.
Um, my name is Peter Stump.
It's August 26th, 1991...
...and I, uh,
I'm a senior engineer
on an oil platform off the coast
of Lester Bay.
Kilo 218.
Just over a month ago,
we finished a three-week stint
on the sea.
The crew and I have a few drinks
every time, the last day.
Uh, I've made a lot of drinks.
I got word that an unmarked
fishing boat docked
at the platform,
so we went down.
Well, it wasn't docked.
It had crashed.
I climbed down to see
if anyone was injured in there,
and the boat was falling,
and it was taking on water
pretty fast.
And, uh, everyone on board
was just flotsam --
dead.
There was a, um,
some kind of a cage.
And, uh, like I said,
I was a little inebriated,
you know,
and I-I saw something move
inside that cage,
and, um, and it clawed
at my arm,
and the guy said,
"They put me out right away.
And the boat went down fast,
and...
They cleaned me up,
and that was that.
And, you know, everybody just
went on with what
they were doing,
and I couldn't tell anybody
when I got back to shore,
uh, because I'd be fired.
And so would they.
And, uh...
And last night, out of nowhere,
the worst headache I've ever had
in my fucking life comes on.
And this, this, this, this pain
through my arms,
and though my --
through my legs.
And I-I-I pulled over
because I didn't know what
the fuck was happening to me.
It was...
I don't know how to say it.
It was like I was sharing...
my mind with something else.
I actually became something --
something primal,
like that thing on the boat.
And I don't know
what happened next,
but I woke up naked in the woods
behind a church.
And I was throwing up
someone else's blood.
And not far from me...
...was another man.
And he was mauled
and fighting for his life.
And I...
It was me, I knew it.
I did it.
So, I ran.
When we got home...
...the look
on my daughter's face,
my little girl...
God, what if I did this
to someone in my family?
I didn't even look.
I couldn't live with myself.
I said, oh, God.
What have I become?
[Wind howling]
[Waves crashing]
-Uh, do you want anything else?
Lonnie's asking to cut the oven.
-Oh, geez, Frank. It's late.
I'm sorry.
I-I can get out of here.
Really.
-No. No, no.
Stay as long as you like.
I like having you here.
-Thanks.
-That's...38 special, right?
That's a service uniform
from, uh...
early '70s?
-Yeah.
It's a cold case
from the university archives.
Just helping them out.
-Mm.
You hitting the wall?
-Mnh. Not yet.
-Of course not.
I still don't know how you
can eat and look at that stuff.
-Yep. Yep.
Kind of weird, huh?
-I'll get you the refill.
-Thanks, Frank.
[Door opens and closes]
Okay.
This is Dr. Megan Garland,
forensic anthropologist,
Crichton Institute of Science.
It's case L02-10th,
February 12th, 2025.
So, the remains are male.
Uh, approximate age,
17 to 21 years.
There's skeletal asymmetry
that shows robust bone structure
and slightly larger
joint surfaces on the left arm,
especially the humerus
and wrist.
These are consistent markers
with left-hand dominance.
[Electricity crackling]
[Static hisses]
-Come on, Silver Lady,
take my word
I won't run out on you again
Believe me
Oh, I've seen the light
It's just one more night
without you
-And the personal effects --
they found a journal
in his backpack.
It's soaked in bodily fluids,
but some of it's still legible.
Looking for writing
characteristics
of a left-handed individual.
Let's see. Um...
"Things became clearer out here.
Just me and the trees."
Uh, something, something,
"I know who I am."
"I think you'd understand.
Maybe not.
Either way, I hope
that you're proud of me."
Huh.
[Plate scrapes]
-You want me to box that up?
-Um...
No, I'm not hungry anymore.
[Vehicle passing]
[Police radio chatter]
[Camera beeps]
[Camera shutter clicks]
[Footsteps]
[Camera beeps, shutter clicks]
[Camera beeps, shutter clicks]
[Footsteps departing]
[Radio chatter continues]
[Dog barking in distance]
[Birds chirping]
[Footsteps approaching]
[Siren wailing in distance]
-Ian.
[Police radio chatter]
-The father?
-Something else.
[Dog barking]
-[Exhales heavily]
[Barking intensifies]
[Dog barks]
-Our goal here
at the Body Farm
is to study decomposition
by recreating
every which way
you might find a body.
If what we learn helps officers
like you solve crimes faster,
then we've done our jobs.
So, we have some above ground,
like these in cages,
others in shallow water.
Some are buried --
if you'll follow me this way --
wrapped in plastic,
or stored in the trunk of a car.
[Doors close]
Now, in my career,
I've had to I.D. bodies
based off bits you
wouldn't even know were bone.
But now,
thanks to advanced technology
and the 3-D printer in our lab,
we can predict and extrapolate
an entire skull
based off of the fragment
of an eye socket
not much bigger
than your fingernail.
Now, I know that sounds
like magic,
but I assure you it isn't.
We hold ourselves
to a rigorous standard here.
It's actually pretty darn cool.
At its very basic level,
my job is about understanding
someone's life in reverse.
Now, every dead body
has secrets,
but they just don't speak
the way you and I do.
Just give me a minute.
What's up?
-Hey.
There's a police chief,
Ian Marks, here to see you.
-Okay.
-He says it's personal.
-Well, alright.
Can you take over for me?
-Yeah, sure.
How's it going?
-Tall one's a little queasy.
-Think he's ready
for the maggots?
-The maggots.
I'm gonna miss the maggots.
Have fun, you guys.
Hi. Hi.
Dr. Megan Garland.
So sorry to keep you waiting.
Oh, God, please move that.
[Chuckles]
-Alright.
-Make yourself comfortable.
As you can see, our funding
doesn't quite extend
to our office space.
So, how can I help you?
-Well, Dr. Garland, I --
-Oh, uh, "Meg."
Yeah. Really.
No need to be so formal.
-About a month ago,
we found three bodies at a house
on the coast of Lester Bay.
Two bodies were a mother
and her 6-year-old girl.
They were torn apart.
-Do you have any idea by what?
-No.
The third body --
it didn't quite belong.
So we ran its DNA.
And -- to be clear,
this is why I'm here today --
the third body...
is your father.
-Uh, may I?
-Please.
-Uh, is this him?
-Yeah.
I'm sorry.
-No. Don't be.
He left us when I was 4.
-Mm. I hate to hear that.
But something
has brought him back, and...
Well, I was hoping you might
come take a look for yourself.
-Oh, no, um -- No, I don't think
I'd be any help here.
-Oh.
Well, the truth is,
we're actually
at a bit of a loss here,
and we would really benefit
from your expertise.
-I appreciate that you drove all
the way out here, but I --
-I hear you.
It's just, you have insights
that we really do need.
-Okay, I can't help you
with this.
Uh, this man doesn't
mean anything to me.
[Door opens]
[Bird squawking]
[Door closes]
-Hey.
Uh, Ian wanted me
to give you this
in case you change your mind.
-Okay.
You can put it on the desk.
-What did you say to him?
-Told him to burn the body.
You got to be fucking
kidding me.
[Exhales heavily]
[Keypad beeping]
[Water running]
[Water shuts off]
[Crickets chirping]
[Video game beeping]
[Thunder crashing]
[Crickets chirping]
[Rain pounding]
[Door opens]
-[Breathing heavily]
[Door creaks]
[Footsteps]
[Glass shatters]
Oh, shit.
[Keypad beeping]
[Alarm blaring]
[Round chambers]
[Alarm continues]
[Thunder rumbling]
[Dial tone]
[Keypad beeps]
What's your emergency?
-[Echoing] Right now. The --
The Holcomb Baptist Church.
Behind that church...
Down at the end of the path,
just up into the parking lot.
He's -- He might --
He's bleeding bad.
No! Do not transfer me.
You don't un--
You don't understand.
You got to get there.
He's -- He's in really bad sh--
No!
[Fist pounds]
-[Exhales sharply]
-Meg.
Go back to bed, Meg.
-Glendon?
Stay on the phone with.
-It's coming for me.
[Thunder crashes]
-Is someone there with you?
I can't hear you.
-[Exhales heavily]
-[Gasping]
[Alarm blaring]
[Breathing heavily]
[Exhales sharply]
-You don't know
how you broke it?
-I don't know.
Maybe at the Ashford's house.
Can you fix it?
-Ian, the gold's worth
more than the parts.
-We're not scrapping
Grandpa's watch.
[Cellphone vibrating]
This is Ian.
Meg.
Of course.
No, no, no, it's not too late.
Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow.
-Great. See you soon.
[Exhales heavily]
[Birds chirping]
-Dr. Garland, I presume.
I'm Lieutenant Marks.
I'm, uh, sorry
for your family's loss.
-Oh, family's got nothing
to do with it.
Just here to look at a body.
-The chief is waiting for you
inside.
He tells me you're the best
at what you do.
-Oh, thanks.
You're, uh -- You're Ian's dad?
-Yeah, that I am.
Right this way.
-Hi.
-Meg, welcome.
-Hi.
-This is our coroner,
Joe Ratterman.
-Hi. Pleasure. Meg.
-Hello.
Right over here.
-Okay.
-Uh, Stacy Ashford, 37.
Uh, her daughter,
Rebecca Ashford, 6 years old.
What's left of the kid's
in the bin.
Cause of death on both,
severe hemorrhaging.
Bite and claw lacerations
consistent with
an animal attack.
Frankly, these two were eaten.
This one, though --
left untouched
by whatever attacked those two.
Peter Stump, 64,
found in the same location,
about 100 yards away
in the field out back.
No evidence of any connection
between the two parties,
and the decomposition shows
that Stump was dead
for quite a while
before the Ashfords
were even attacked.
-So, what are you thinking?
-Mm.
Predator comes out of the
woods, smells the dead body.
Maybe it's got cubs.
Ashfords are in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
-So, how does he fit
into that story?
-That we don't know.
Your mom filed
a missing-persons report in '91.
When we ran his DNA,
it led to your state profile.
That's about all we got.
-Any idea where he ran off to?
-What makes you think
I ever went looking?
How long have you had him?
-About four weeks.
-Don't smell formalin.
How are you keeping them
preserved?
-Go on.
-Didn't have to.
They've been like this since.
-What do you make of that?
-Well, it's unusual.
But, you know,
bodies decay differently
depending on the conditions.
Uh, may I?
[Gloves ruffling]
Alright.
Cause of death, asphyxiation.
The elongated neck
and the swelling in the feet
means that he was hanging
there for quite a while.
It's probably suicide, but you
can't rule out the possibility
that it was someone else.
-Okay. None of this is new.
-Ratterman, please.
-The mummified skin here
and here show impressions
of a carpet pattern,
which means he was in a late
stage of decay when he fell.
-Fell?
-If the noose broke.
Or if his neck stretched long
enough to slip out of the rope.
His body tissue was
probably seeping at that point.
Uh, you drop a wet towel
on the ground,
let it dry, it holds its shape.
All of this is to say
he died inside somewhere.
He decomposed
for approximately 30 days,
but I need to do a PMI
to be sure.
And only then did someone move
his body into that field.
Should I go on?
-Meg...
the state lab's
backed up for months.
Fish and wildlife's hunting for
God knows what out in the woods,
and I haven't the slightest idea
how this man's body
factors into any of it.
-I'd have to open him up again.
-Oh, absolutely not.
It's her fucking father, Ian.
-Hey.
You say he's not family?
-Go ahead.
-[Sighs]
Oh, come on.
[Papers thud]
-I'll handle Ratterman.
[Door opens]
He is a little rough
around the edges,
but just remember,
this is his home.
-Yeah.
[Footsteps departing]
-See what else you can find.
-Mm-hmm.
[Camera shutter clicks]
[Electricity humming]
[Camera beeps, shutter clicks]
[Clears throat] 8:45 p.m.,
March 13, 2025.
This is the second autopsy
of Peter Stump,
found on the morning
of February 15th.
For the purposes
of full transparency,
this is Dr. Megan Garland,
his biological daughter.
Subject has an identifying
tattoo on his left palm,
approximately 4 inches
in diameter.
[Camera beeps, shutter clicks]
There's a healed scar
on the upper right shoulder
at the base of the clavicle,
consistent with a gunshot wound.
Ribs appear to have been mended
and broken dozens of times,
if not more.
Initial evidence suggests
these wounds
were not self-inflicted.
-You think he was tortured?
-This was an initial
examination,
but he has electrical
and thermal burns
all over his hands.
There's serious trauma
on the joints.
I mean, these are
not post-mortem injuries.
This was done to him
when he was alive.
-Maybe he killed himself
before someone else could.
Anything about the tattoo?
-Uh, most of the ink
is towards the surface.
Linework is shoddy.
He's right-handed.
That he probably
gave to himself.
-One of my guys
is into this sort of stuff.
Thinks it might have
to do with some kind of
old religious symbol.
-Hmm.
Well, you'd need
corroborating evidence.
Where and how a body is found
can tell us as much
as the remains themselves.
Was there anything that
suggested ritualism at the site?
-No.
No.
But why don't I show you
where we found the body
in the morning?
-Mm, that'd be great.
[Exhales heavily] Yep.
Tracks look old.
Any chance there's still
an active electrical current?
-No, railroad's been
out of service
since the cannery closed.
-Huh.
-What's on your mind?
-Maggots.
Uh, Peter Stump's body should
have been covered in them.
We've had cases of dead power
line workers that come up clean.
Uh, insects won't go near
a static electric field.
-Well, it had been raining
for three days straight.
Ratterman said it would have
washed away the bugs.
-Yeah, I read his report.
[Vehicle approaching]
[Gearshift clicks]
I'd like to officially
be added to the case.
With your permission.
-Yeah. I would like that.
Yeah. I'll make a few calls.
-Great.
-You want to grab a bite,
talk through it?
-I mean, the insect succession
wasn't merely disrupted.
It was nonexistent.
So there's really no electrical
current by those train tracks,
and there's only
two explanations for why
there's no bugs in that body.
Either, one,
he died and decomposed frozen
or submerged in water,
which, according to the remains,
we know is not the case.
Or, two, he died
in a sealed environment
someplace that the flies
couldn't access,
they couldn't lay their eggs,
and therefore no larva.
But if that's the case,
then that body
had to have been placed
where you found it,
I mean, no more than --
[Sighs]
I mean, you're talking bacterial
and acidic decomp only.
Uh, most of the VOC's
already released.
Gas emissions
around day 25 would be...
Two or three.
[Pen clatters]
Goddamn it. I'm so sorry.
-What? I'm listening.
Seems like you're getting
somewhere.
-No, no, no, it's not that.
I just, um...
You know, if he had come
to my house or called me,
I could have dismissed him,
but...
God, he just had to come
back like this, didn't he?
Dead.
-It's the only way
you'd pay attention to him.
-Mm. [Chuckles]
[Breathes deeply]
You know, shutting him down
when he was alive
would have been my choice,
but now I'm --
Seeing things, seeing him,
I don't have a say.
-Our records show
your mom lives close.
How's she coping with all this?
-She's not.
I haven't told her yet.
I know. I know.
Look...
when he left,
he didn't just vanish.
He took everything, alright?
The car,
their entire life savings.
She lost the house.
She had to file for bankruptcy.
I mean, my mom didn't take jobs
out of interest.
She -- She took whatever paid
and clawed her way back out.
I mean, she erased him
from our lives,
and I don't blame her.
Anything that I know
I have pieced together
bit by bit over the years.
And now finding out that
he's been alive this whole time?
I just...
I don't know how
she's gonna receive that.
Shit, I'm sorry.
Uh, I should not
be telling you this.
That is very unprofessional.
-No, no.
Your openness isn't a knock
against your credentials.
If anything, it's --
it's a show of strength.
You know, my dad and my grandpa
always had issues.
My dad barely even let him
in the house.
But, uh, this one night --
I must have been, I think,
about 8 years old --
my grandpa sneaks in
the back door,
tiptoes through the house,
comes up the stairs,
and pulls me out of my bed
still in my pajamas,
puts me in the passenger seat
of his cruiser.
-Oh, my God. Another cop?
-Yeah. Yeah.
But at the time,
I barely knew what that meant.
I mean, I barely knew the man.
So, he takes me
on this ride-along,
and we're out all night.
Now, nothing crazy happens,
right?
But I'm -- I'm still --
I'm mesmerized.
The lights at night,
empty streets,
static on the radio.
Just hanging with my grandpa.
-[Chuckles]
-We get back
just before the sun comes up.
But before I get out,
he gives me his watch.
And he tells me,
"I hope you never think of me
the way your old man does."
Never told my dad about that
night or how I got the watch.
I guess some things
just get heavier
the longer we carry them.
I'll go see Ratterman tonight.
Maybe he missed something
about those maggots.
[Crickets chirping]
[Line ringing]
-Hi, hon.
-Listen, Mom, uh, I have
to talk to you about something.
It's about my father.
They found him.
-Alive?
-No, Mom.
-Oh.
-Well, um,
we don't know exactly,
but it happened
a couple of months ago.
Uh, it may be...
Well, probably suicide.
Mom?
[Sighs]
Look, I-I've been going
through his personal records.
And at least for the last
30 years, I can't find anything.
I mean, there's no tax filings.
There's no bank accounts.
There's no criminal records.
-Where are you, Meg?
-Uh, Lester Bay.
I'm helping the police.
I mean, I didn't want
to get involved,
but they just seemed
like they were in...
-You shouldn't.
Giving that man
an ounce of your time
is a mistake.
-Oh, no, no. I know, Mom.
I wasn't.
I just thought that --
-I can't talk about this
right now.
-Mom --
[Line disconnects]
[Footsteps]
[Creaking]
[Footsteps]
[Groaning]
-[Moans]
[Shrieks]
[Crickets chirping]
[Police radio chatter]
[EDM playing in distance]
-Ratterman!
[Whirring]
Goddamn it.
Joe!
[EDM playing in distance]
Ratterman!
[Knock on door]
For the last time, you can't
leave the furnace unattended.
Meg found something, Joe.
I gotta talk to you.
Coming in.
Ratterman?
[Clattering]
[Music continues]
[Clattering]
[Ominous music playing]
Joe?
[Wheezing]
Joe?
[Wheezing continues]
[Crackling]
[Gunshots]
[Breathing heavily]
[Door slams]
Dispatch, this is Ian,
south side of --
[Snarling]
[Screaming]
[Alarm blaring]
[Screaming intensifies]
[Police radio chatter]
[Siren wailing]
-Go ahead
and bring that hose down!
Let it out!
[Siren chirps]
[Indistinct conversations]
[Police radio chatter]
-Is there anything I can do?
-Peter Stump's body is ash.
You can go home.
-I can work with ash.
-Transitioning to salvage
and investigate.
Tell the fire marshal
that we're gonna be rolling.
We'll leave one engine behind.
[Monitor beeps]
[Labored breathing]
[Door opens]
[Door closes]
[Breathing continues]
[Knock on window]
-Move along!
[Engine starts]
[Birds chirping]
[3-D printer whirring]
-Skull print on M-08's about
done if you want to take a look.
-Uh, you can put it on my desk.
I'll look at it in the morning.
[Sighs]
[Pen scratching]
[Knock on door]
[Gasps]
Hey.
-Sorry.
Didn't mean to scare you.
-Oh, come on in.
That's okay.
-Hi.
-I just thought
you could use some company.
-[Chuckles]
[Voice breaking] Okay.
-Oh, hi.
-[Sobbing]
-You're okay.
-[Gasps]
-It's okay.
So, the guy's unaccounted for,
for 34 years?
He hangs himself somewhere,
and a few weeks later,
his body turns up in the mud
next to a double murder.
-Yep.
-Well, that's fucking weird.
-I know.
-Are these fractures?
-Like his head ruptured
from the inside out.
-This is why you've been
a mess at work.
You can't get away from this,
can you?
First thing you told me when
I started working for you was
that it's not about
how they died.
It's about how they lived.
-I'm so happy for you.
You're gonna be a great mom.
You know that?
-Thank you.
[Cellphone ringing]
-Hello?
-Yeah.
Hey, listen, I'm still
getting situated down here.
They got me in the station,
down in the basement.
But, uh, there's
no smoke inhalation on Ian.
Throat and lungs
came back clean.
-The fire didn't kill him.
Did you find anything else?
-Yeah.
Bite marks.
Like the others.
-Okay.
Ratterman, thanks.
[Insects chirping]
Yeah.
Checking on one of these.
[Computer beeps]
And get closer.
Shit, am I crazy?
-No.
You should go.
Yeah, I got things covered here.
You can go.
-Print that, please.
-Yeah, sure.
-Thank you.
[Printer whirring]
[Metal clicking]
[Door bangs]
-[Sniffles]
[Footsteps approaching]
-I asked where you were.
I-I didn't know.
I didn't want to do this here.
-What do you got?
[Bag unzips]
-This is a photo
I took of Rebecca Ashford
using fluorescence imaging.
it allows us to see bruising
that might not be visible
to the naked eye.
So, these are incisions.
These are contusions.
Now, I have triple-checked
my work,
but this bruising --
it shouldn't be there.
The incisions are bite marks
from something non-human.
But this...
is a sequence of human teeth.
-You're telling me
you think a person did this?
-[Sighs]
Look, I...
In 1949, 30 tribesmen
died in a village in Uganda.
The bodies
were terribly mutilated.
The villagers were convinced
that they were hunting
a crocodile, right?
But then six months later,
they find --
Shit.
Six months later, they find out
that it's a rival tribe
using weapons
made from the jawbones
of crocodiles.
Alright, their instincts
weren't wrong.
They just weren't looking at it
in the right way.
-We've had four victims,
none of which
could have an open casket,
and you're saying,
"It wasn't done by an animal.
This was done by a man."
-No, no, just --
just three of them.
-Excuse me?
-We only know the where and how
on three of them.
We have no idea
where Peter Stump died or --
or where he's been
since he disappeared.
Look, I wasn't entirely honest
with Ratterman
when I said I didn't go
looking for him.
I looked once,
but my mom just...
I think she knows something.
But she won't talk to me
about it, about him.
Maybe she'd talk to you.
[Water lapping]
[Vehicle approaching]
[Engine shuts off]
[Vehicle door opens]
-I-I already told my daughter
I want nothing to do with this.
[Vehicle door closes]
[Vehicle door opens]
[Vehicle door closes]
-Hi, Mom.
-Oh, Meg.
-Want a little tea?
-Oh, tea would be perfect.
That is awesome.
Thank you, sweetie.
[Liquid pouring]
Yeah.
[Liquid pouring]
[Birds chirping]
-Do you want the one
with the flower or you want --
-I'll take this one.
[Electricity zapping]
Thanks.
Is he gonna sit?
-You don't have to worry
about him.
[Switch clicks]
-You got that look
in your eyes.
[Stammers]
You got something to say,
just say it.
-I'm just trying to understand
what happened, Mom.
-Your father abandoned us.
That's what happened.
-I know. I know.
I know he's a bad guy,
I know he probably deserves it,
but that doesn't mean
I don't want to know.
-Look around you.
This is the life
that we created together.
Not the one
that he took from you.
I --
I can't tell you how much
I ached for him to come back.
But he didn't
because we meant nothing to him.
Goddamn it, Meg, I thought
we'd already gone through this.
You -- You come over here --
I haven't seen you for weeks --
with some guy
asking about your father.
Goddamn it.
Even in death,
he's fucking us up.
[Chair legs scrape]
-It's not fair.
I get it.
Losing family -- it's not fair.
-[Exhales sharply]
-But helping us remembering him
for just this one minute
will not betray what
you've done for your daughter.
-Mom, please.
Please.
-[Breathes deeply]
[Sniffles]
[Gasping lightly]
Pete and I [gasps]
met on the sea.
He was an engineer.
I was a geophysicist.
We worked together
on an oil rig.
[Stammers]
It wasn't unusual
for people to take off for...
weeks at a time.
So I didn't think
anything of it.
And then after he --
he disappeared,
these two cops showed up
and wanted to know
if a guy named Lou Bishop
worked with him.
Um, did he know him?
I never heard of the guy.
And they said
that they didn't know
if that had anything to do
with his walking out on us.
[Gasps lightly]
-And you never looked into it?
-No. No.
'Cause if he was involved
in anything criminal,
I wanted nothing
to do with that.
I-I had a little girl.
I-I...
I changed our names.
And I never said...
his name again, and that's
all there is to it, okay?
-All this time, you...
[Breathing heavily]
[Groans]
-[Breathes deeply]
-I didn't keep much from him,
but if there's anything,
it'll be in here.
Here.
[Thunder rumbling]
-She cares about you,
you know.
It's like that, uh,
fluorescent bruising.
Can't see it, but it's there.
-Dramatic enough
for a 13-year-old?
-Oh, yeah.
I imagine Ian had a few
of these tucked under his bed.
-Mm.
You guys weren't always close?
-My son wanted to be a cop
just like my old man.
I opposed. He resented.
And when Lily passed,
what he needed was, uh...
Hell, I don't know.
I don't know what he needed.
But I knew what he didn't need,
and that was a dad who said no.
So...
...I said yes.
-[Chuckles]
-And then I joined him.
You know,
I've been meaning to ask.
-Yeah?
-Don't you think this is
an awfully big coincidence,
with you, you know,
and your line of work?
[Thunder rumbling]
-No.
No such thing as coincidence.
[Sniffs]
You know, our --
our dog ran away
the night he left.
And a couple of weeks later,
I found her dead,
just decomposing
on the side of the road.
And I couldn't understand
why he would just leave us,
but that was just right there.
[Clears throat]
I don't know.
I guess I, um...
I had to choose between...
following what just disappears
in the wind
or what decays
right in front of you.
So, you know,
me doing what I do,
studying what's tangible,
that's not a coincidence.
It's a direct result
of what he started.
-So, this is Lou Bishop.
Photograph was taken in
his 20s, before the injuries.
Guy was a groundskeeper
at a church.
He was out walking the pastor's
dog in the middle of the night
when he got attacked
by something.
By the time the EMTs got to him,
his heart had stopped,
he was missing half a face.
Doctors said he had no brain
activity for a few minutes.
They revived him in the E.R.,
but, uh, he slipped into a coma
for about six weeks.
-Where?
-Two hours south,
in Holcomb County.
Then he wakes up to realize he's
paralyzed from the waist down
and they've amputated
his right arm.
-He had 127
reconstructive surgeries,
face and limb transplants
rejected by the body.
Hell, this guy wakes up
just to find he's looking like
Frankenstein.
-Frankenstein's monster.
They ever find what did it?
-Unsolved.
Only witness was the dog.
But get this --
the date he was attacked?
August 26, 1991.
-The day Peter Stump
went missing?
-Exactly.
So, if the thing
that attacked Lou Bishop in '91
is the same thing
that's doing it now,
then he's the only one
we know to survive it.
He moved to Lester Bay
a few years after the attack.
The guy is still alive.
[Engine starts]
[Metal creaking]
[Button clicks]
[Elevator whirring]
-Police.
[Knock on door]
Open up.
-Uh, can I help you?
-Uh, I hope so.
I'm looking for
a Mr. Lou Bishop.
He live here?
-Lou Bishop?
Um, no. Should I --
Should I know him?
-Well, it's the address
we have for him on file.
What's your name?
-Oh, uh, my -- my name
is Daniel Webb.
-Well, Daniel, do you mind
if we come inside and talk?
-[Exhales sharply]
Like I said, I --
I don't have anything else
to offer.
-Alright, well,
I have your number.
Now you have mine.
Give us a call
if that name rings a bell.
Thanks.
-He's lying.
-I'll call Holcomb County, see
if they got anything on Bishop.
[Button clicks, elevator whirs]
[Door closes]
[Indistinct speaking on TV]
-[Sighs]
[Labored breathing]
What do you want me to do?
-Holcomb County gave me
everything they had
on Lou Bishop.
This is the 911 call
the night he was found.
[Plastic clattering]
What's your emergency?
-You need to send
an ambulance right now
to the Holcomb Baptist Church.
There's a man down back there,
and he's dying,
right behind the church
on the trail
at the south end
by the parking lot.
-Okay, sir, stay with me
while I reroute your call
to the dispatcher in that
county.
-No! Do not transfer me!
You don't --
You don't understand.
You got to get there. He's --
He's in really bad sh--
-What's your name, sir?
-Mine?
-Yes.
Who am I speaking with?
-Uh...
Glendon Mathers.
-Okay, Glendon, do you know
how this man got injured?
-Dad?
-Meg.
Go back to bed, Meg.
-Glendon?
I can't hear you.
-It's coming for me.
[Thunder crashing]
-Stay on the phone with me.
Don't hang up.
Glendon, is someone there
with you?
[Dog barking]
-Uh, that's him on the tape.
That's Peter Stump.
-How do you know that?
-Because that's the night
that he left.
Uh, the little girl at the end
is me.
-Lenny, run the names
Glendon Mathers and Peter Stump
through the system,
see if we get any hits.
-[Breathing heavily]
[Static hissing]
[Knock on door]
-Call just came in.
There's another body.
We got multiple calls out
for a Glendon Mathers.
-Did you try the local
hospital records?
-10 in the surrounding counties.
There was a baby born
with that name
six years ago, but that's it.
Look, um,
don't take this the wrong way,
but I think your pops
was smarter
than you give him credit for.
He's avoided detection
for this long.
You know, he knows the ways
in which people
are gonna look for it.
When we came out west, my, uh --
my pops, he got all weird.
He got into that sovereign
citizen militia nonsense.
Moved us to a compound
out in the middle of nowhere.
So I know what it's like
to try and live off the grid.
You know, the one thing
you can't do without?
The goddamned post office.
[Siren wailing]
-Huh.
-Update on 10-54.
Possible suspect still on site.
Send all available units.
-Get back in your vehicle
and get out of here.
[Car doors open]
-Meg, stay in the car.
We got a body in the building.
Driver says he heard
something inside.
[Scraping]
[Dial tone]
[Scraping continues]
-10-4, Unit 51.
Do you need a second unit?
[Camera shutter clicks]
[Police radio chatter]
[Camera shutter clicks]
-Look, i-it's not
what it looks like.
That's the only explanation.
-You can go ahead and book it.
The blood on Stump's body
is gonna match the woman
over there.
-Suggesting what?
He's dead.
Someone else
had to move it there.
-She's right.
There had to be a third party.
Somebody planted it.
-Meg, could we be dealing
with something else here?
-[Scoffs]
Like what?
-I don't know -- like the tribe
thing, something else?
-I'm telling you,
this shit is witchcraft.
-Witchcraft?
That's your theory?
As a medical professional?
So then what does that make me?
Because I was born
from whatever the fuck
that is in there.
[Cellphone vibrating]
-How's it going?
-I need you to run
an age progression
on Peter Stump's skull.
The X-ray should
already be loaded in the system.
Just see what prints.
-Meg, what's wrong?
-[Exhales sharply]
Uh...
Just, uh, check if there's
any abnormalities, okay?
-Yeah, okay.
-Thanks, Katie.
-Yeah.
Talk to you later. Bye.
[Labored breathing]
[Monitor beeps]
-Excuse me.
Can I help you?
-What are you doing here?
-Uh, nothing.
I was just leaving, actually.
-Hey, wait. Uh -- Hey.
[Car door closes]
Marks. Hey.
Yeah, uh, that -- that guy
that we saw at Lou Bishop's,
he's parked at the --
the road at the back
of the property.
Get in your car now.
[Engine starts]
Hey. No, no, no.
Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Where are you going?
No. Get out of the car.
Get out of the car.
Hey!
[Tires screech]
What, are you gonna run me over?
Get out of the car!
[Siren wailing]
-Any units on scene redirect
to the back access road.
Possible suspect in a red van.
[Labored breathing]
-Look in the back.
-Meg? You alright?
-Yeah.
-Driver, show me your hands.
Show me your hands.
-There's, uh, someone
in the back of the car.
[Siren chirps]
-Who's in the back?
-My father's in the back.
[Knock on window]
-Police!
-Tell him to come out.
-I can't do that.
-Open it. Let's go.
-Okay.
-Let's go.
-Okay.
[Labored breathing]
[Monitor beeping]
[Grunts]
-He keeps looking at his watch.
[Door opens]
-Alright, so,
there's this private post center
down by the coast.
They rented a P.O. box
to a Glendon Matters.
Manager said he's been
a customer for years.
Couple weeks back,
they're closing up,
they smell something awful,
they go in the box,
they open up the package,
and it's a bag of rotting blood.
-Medical bags?
-Like for an I.V. with hoses
is what she said.
I don't know. You tell me.
But every P.O. box
requires a contract,
so I had them dig that up.
There's an address.
So, if Glendon Mathers
really is Peter Stump,
[scoffs] then he's been living
20 minutes down the road.
-Let's find out
what this guy knows.
He never mentioned
the name Peter Stump?
-No, I-I never heard of him.
-That's what you said
about your father,
and look where we are now.
-Yeah. Your point is?
-How about the name
Glendon Mathers?
-Yeah, that's the guy
that called 911
the night they found my dad.
We've been looking for that guy
for years.
You -- You know who that is?
-Did your dad have
any interaction with him
or any recollection of him?
Maybe a member of the church?
-I mean, you can go
and try and talk to him,
but he doesn't talk much
on account
that he's got a ventilator tube
down his throat.
You know, we pass notes
or eye contact.
We get by.
-Were you aware of this 911 call
that was made by a man
who reported your father's
injuries?
[Cellphone vibrating]
-Meg?
-Real quick.
What is the number
of the oil platform
you and Peter Stump worked on?
-It's K-2-1-8.
-That's it.
We have an address.
We're not sure if it's his,
but it's on shore,
directly across
from the same oil platform.
-What about the name of...
-Um...
-...the officer who...
-Thank you, Mom.
-Did he ever, uh, find out
what attacked him?
-I was a kid when it happened.
They, um --
They said it was an animal.
You know
that he was pronounced dead
at the scene
when they found him?
Coma.
Full blood transfusion.
In and out of surgeries
for years.
You know, I...
[Inhales deeply]
Sometimes I feel like asking
him if he felt it was worth it.
-Felt what was worth it?
-You know.
Surviving.
[Printer whirring]
-Hey.
-Yeah?
-Uh, listen, I -- I, uh --
I wanted to apologize
for how we left things.
Uh, Stump will be here
any second.
I'm gonna have his body
down the basement
if you want to come
and have a look.
-Okay.
[Indistinct speaking]
-Look, regardless, uh...
he, uh, -- he still
kept searching for it, alright?
He said he had these
recurring nightmares
ever since he was attacked.
Like -- Like, I don't know,
he was trapped in a cage
in a basement somewhere.
I-I don't know.
And then two months ago,
he said the dreams
were different, that...
he was out of the cage,
you know?
So, as I'm taking him
to the locations
that he's you know, seeing...
...all we had to do is
listen to your police scanner.
Okay. Okay. I know.
It sounds crazy.
I'm not saying
that I endorse any of this.
I'm just...
He's my dad, alright?
I'm -- I'm trying
to give him peace.
[Printer whirring]
[Door closes]
Listen, I-I've told you
everything.
And I'm sorry
that I lied to you at the door.
I apologize.
But are we being arrested?
Because if not,
I need to take my dad
and I need to leave now.
[Printer whirring]
Dad!
-Daniel --
-No. I'm getting my dad.
Dad!
-Daniel --
-You're letting them go?
They're fucking involved, Marks.
-I have to let them go.
-Wait, wait.
-Meg, stop.
I gotta let them go.
-What did this to you?
-[Groaning]
-What do you think attacked you?
-[Moaning]
[Electricity zapping]
[Monitor beeping rapidly]
[Growling]
-Hey, hey, hey, Dad, Dad, relax.
Don't -- Don't do this here.
Dad. Dad.
-[Gasps]
-Hey, hey, let her go.
Tell him to let her go!
Let her go!
-[Groaning]
-He needs me.
No, no, don't call an ambulance!
It's fine, alright?
This happens every full moon.
He's having a nightmare, okay?
He thinks he was attacked
by a werewolf, alright?
He thinks they're connected.
He sees what it sees.
Just -- I have this --
Dad, let go. Please.
-[Gasps]
-I'm right here. It's fine.
Hey, hey, hey, it's Daniel.
-[Groaning]
[Glass breaking]
[Snarling]
[Footsteps approaching]
[Metal clacking]
[Machinery whirring]
[Body thuds]
[Crackling]
-The fuck?
-[Snarls]
-[Screaming]
[Groaning]
[Screaming]
-[Snarling]
[Electricity zapping]
-[Screaming]
-[Growls]
-Somebody!
-[Growling]
-Somebody!
-[Snarling]
[Shrieks]
[Snarling]
[Whimpering]
-[Breathing heavily]
[Electricity zapping]
-[Snarling]
[Howls]
[Door opens]
[Electricity zapping]
-[Breathing heavily]
Ratterman?
[Footsteps approaching]
-[Screaming]
[Crunching]
-[Snarls]
[Gunshot]
-[Groaning]
[Flesh tearing]
-[Snarling]
-Three to three central.
[Rapid footsteps]
-[Snarls]
-[Screaming]
[Static crackling]
[Body thuds]
[Bones crunch]
[Electricity zaps]
-It's coming for me.
[Garbled speaking]
It's coming for me.
-[Screaming]
-[Snarling]
-[Breathing heavily]
[Static crackling]
-[Snarling]
[Howls]
[Electricity zapping]
-Anything comes through
this door, you shoot it.
-[Howling]
[Snarls]
[Gunshots]
[Snarls]
-[Screaming]
-[Growling]
[Howling]
[Gunshots]
[Round chambers]
[Gunshot]
[Snarling]
[Howls]
-[Groaning]
-You alright?
-It's my eyes.
-Meg. Meg?!
-[Breathing heavily]
-Lenny.
-[Groaning]
-We have multiple officers down.
[Speaking indistinctly]
Yeah, an animal, some --
-Alright, here, here.
-Some kind of wolf.
-Open your eyes.
You squeeze really hard, okay?
-We're on Gabe's road.
All of them.
I need all of them.
-[Groaning]
-Send everything you've got!
-Are you hurt?
-He was right.
He was right, like, uh --
He was right all along,
and I doubted him.
I'm -- I'm -- I'm sorry, Dad.
-You said that he --
he sees what it sees,
that they're --
they're tethered somehow.
-Y-Yes, uh, "an incomplete
transfer," alright?
Those are his words,
that he didn't, uh, become it,
but that it's still in him.
-Lou?
Lou, can you hear me?
I need your help.
Lou, I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry about my father,
about --
that I brought you here,
that I didn't believe you.
I'm sorry. Please.
I need your help.
Where is it going?
-Meg!
Meg?
-Home.
[Siren wailing in distance]
[Howling in distance]
-No, stand by with K-9 units
and set up a perimeter
along Route 18 and 20.
We're heading out
to look at a house
where we think it
might be headed.
-[Groaning]
-Just so, uh,
we're on the same page here,
there were no maggots
on the body
because they sensed
it wasn't dead,
which means
we're talking about a creature
that can survive dormant
inside its host.
-Transformation even
after death.
-As long as we're
on the same page.
[Siren wailing]
-Does that mean for me?
[Brakes squeal]
-Hey.
-You good with that?
[Round chambers]
-My mom taught me how.
I think she wanted me
to know what to do
if I ever saw him again.
-We know this thing's
gonna revert back, right?
Why don't we just wait?
Burn the corpse in the morning?
-How many more people die
before then?
Look, Peter Stump
kept it at bay for 30 years.
The answer to how he did
that's in that house.
-Alright. Fuck it.
[Groans]
-Let's go.
[Water lapping]
[Heavy breathing, grunting]
[Switch clicks]
-Uh, there's a generator
out back.
Let me see what I can do.
[Footsteps]
[Frogs croaking,
insects chirping]
[Engine starts]
[Electricity zapping]
[Beeping]
-Retinal scanner online.
[Static hissing]
[Tape whirring]
[Bat squeaks]
-Today is October 16, 1996.
I'm feeling pretty good today
because I've learned about...
-You hear that?
-...silver nitrate.
It was used a long time ago,
Old West,
late 1800s in mining towns.
So, I have managed
to refine this...
shave this down to a fine
particulate powder,
not unlike baking flour.
That fine.
And so I thought
I could use that...
...and apply it to my gums
because the gums
will absorb this stuff rapidly.
-Nautical maps.
What was he looking for down
in the ocean?
-You know, and so
I-I-I'm hopeful.
-Hey.
Look.
-You search through those.
We'll take another pass
through the house.
Let's go.
-Oh, there's hundreds of these.
How do I even...
[Static hisses]
-I shot myself in the leg
with a silver bullet.
Pew!
I, uh, shot myself
in the shoulder
twice with silver bullets.
The second one,
I just left lodged in there,
thinking
more time in there would --
Uh, it just caused infection.
And I think at this point...
...the cure for this curse...
is not silver.
So...
I feel like an idiot.
[Static hisses]
I've been trying to get more
information about Lou Bishop.
I did track down
some medical records.
As usual, dead end.
I want to know why his
transformation wasn't complete,
and my only guess is it was
the instant blood transfusion
that stopped it
from taking a hold.
It's the bugs. It's the smell.
It's the fucking
stinky putrescine.
I'm gonna lop it off,
make a little pile of it,
and put it in the garden.
Did you know human hair keeps
pests away out of your garden?
You know, this fucking shit
will keep you up.
Tossing and turning,
smelling and sticky,
and getting bit.
You always go to extremes, Pete.
Hair. [Giggles]
Last three months
after I transformed back,
the hair grows out
this fucking long,
the next day.
So, I guess I'm gonna have to do
this every month,
until...
Out with the silver.
Out with the hair.
Won't be long
before I have silver hair.
[Chuckles]
My God, I could tattoo that.
I am electrifying
the fucking cage
because I know
the motherfucker.
I'm having issues, though,
when I throw the switch.
It's blowing breakers
and blowing fuses.
But I will get it.
-Oh!
-[Laughing]
-We got nothing.
You?
-Tried everything.
Nothing worked.
Uh, this was a mistake.
We shouldn't have come here.
We have to go.
We have to go right now.
Marks, come on.
-Meg.
Look at this.
-Whatever.
I will watch it later.
Let's go!
-The date.
It's a month
before we found him.
Lenny, we're coming out.
Bring the car around.
Two minutes.
Lenny, you reading this?
-Oh, damn.
Oh.
[Groans]
Probably the last time you see
me sitting in this chair.
[Sighs]
It's the bones.
You know, it's the bones.
They ache horribly.
I feel it deep inside my teeth.
Sometimes, uh...
...my mind just travels away
for long periods of time.
It feels like I'm not part
of this broken and bruised body.
Well, it is.
I'm so fucking tired.
I think I'm all finished
with most things.
I just have one final option.
Oh, Joni.
I love you, baby.
I need you to know.
I hope you know.
I'm not a monster.
I did everything I could
to come back.
I did everything
I could to come back home.
I love you.
[Crying]
Meg!
[Sobs]
Oh, you're something else.
Oh.
I need you to know...
...I'm so proud of you.
I'm so, so, so, so proud
of you, baby.
I love you so much.
The hardest thing I ever did,
walk out that door that night.
Oh, my God, I can't.
Goodbye, Joni.
Goodbye, Meg.
You're safe now.
[Screaming]
-[Growling]
-It's coming for me.
-[Growls]
-Door unlocking.
Please stand clear.
-Come on, Silver Lady,
take my word
I won't run out on you again
Believe me
Oh, I've seen the light
It's just one more fight
without you
-I'm guessing that door's
not gonna hold till dawn.
We gotta find another way out.
We gotta move.
Three to three central,
this is Marks.
Three to three central,
this is Marks.
Anybody reading this?
[Door thuds]
[Beeping]
-Retinal scan failed.
Unverified identity.
Retinal scan failed.
Unverified identity.
Please step closer.
Retinal scan...
confirmed.
Welcome back, Peter.
-Fuck.
-[Snarls]
-[Howling]
-[Screaming]
[Gas hissing]
-[Breathing heavily]
-[Snarls]
-[Gasps]
-[Roars]
-[Screaming]
-[Screaming]
[Gasps]
-Meg.
You gotta let go of the bar.
You gotta let go of the bars.
-On three.
-Two. One.
-[Snarls]
[Electricity crackling]
[Stereo powers down]
[Footsteps approach]
-I was certain
that if I killed myself,
the werewolf would die as well.
Not so, Pete.
Wrong again.
A werewolf doesn't need
a living body to keep on living.
It's gonna run, Meg.
It's gonna run,
and it's gonna hide.
And it's gonna hide
until the next full moon.
And it's going to kill again.
You're gonna have to lure it
to you, Meg.
And whatever you do,
you must outlast it
until the sun comes up.
If you lose it,
this will never end.
[Wind rustling]
You hear that?
You hear it?
-[Gasping]
Dad.
[Gasping]
[Groaning]
[Wind rustling]
[Insects chirping]
[Panting]
[Twigs snap]
[Birds calling]
There you are.
Come on.
-[Snarls softly]
[Gun cocks]
-[Exhales sharply]
You stay. Stay. Stay. Stay.
Stay with me.
Right here.
Right here.
Okay.
-[Snarls]
-Okay. Okay.
-[Gasping]
[Snarls]
-That's it. That's it.
Okay.
That's it.
Just a little longer.
-[Snarls]
[Gunshot]
-[Groans]
-Aaah!
[Gunshot]
-[Roars]
-[Gasping]
[Thud]
-Aaah!
-[Roars]
-[Screaming]
[Scream echoes]
[Screaming continues]
[Snarling]
[Snarls]
[Snarls]
-Aaaah!
[Flesh tears]
-[Screams]
[Screams]
[Roars]
[Screaming]
-[Sobs]
-Lou Bishop.
There you are.
I know you better
than you know me.
These unfortunate circumstances.
I really just wanted you
to know everything.
-Oh, my gosh, more hair.
-I know.
He's nodding his head.
It's the best thing.
With our luck though,
he's...
-Any luck?
-Don't jinx me now.
-Hey!
Okay.
Friday, May 1st, 2026.
This is Dr. Megan Garland.
I have increased the Aconitum
concentration by 50%.
If that fails, then he'll be
imprisoned in his condition
for yet another month.
Until we try again.
Okay.
-[Screaming]
-I, um, I don't even know
why I'm recording this.
I-I guess I just need
to tell somebody.
Um, my name is Peter Stump.
It's August 26th, 1991...
...and I, uh,
I'm a senior engineer
on an oil platform off the coast
of Lester Bay.
Kilo 218.
Just over a month ago,
we finished a three-week stint
on the sea.
The crew and I have a few drinks
every time, the last day.
Uh, I've made a lot of drinks.
I got word that an unmarked
fishing boat docked
at the platform,
so we went down.
Well, it wasn't docked.
It had crashed.
I climbed down to see
if anyone was injured in there,
and the boat was falling,
and it was taking on water
pretty fast.
And, uh, everyone on board
was just flotsam --
dead.
There was a, um,
some kind of a cage.
And, uh, like I said,
I was a little inebriated,
you know,
and I-I saw something move
inside that cage,
and, um, and it clawed
at my arm,
and the guy said,
"They put me out right away.
And the boat went down fast,
and...
They cleaned me up,
and that was that.
And, you know, everybody just
went on with what
they were doing,
and I couldn't tell anybody
when I got back to shore,
uh, because I'd be fired.
And so would they.
And, uh...
And last night, out of nowhere,
the worst headache I've ever had
in my fucking life comes on.
And this, this, this, this pain
through my arms,
and though my --
through my legs.
And I-I-I pulled over
because I didn't know what
the fuck was happening to me.
It was...
I don't know how to say it.
It was like I was sharing...
my mind with something else.
I actually became something --
something primal,
like that thing on the boat.
And I don't know
what happened next,
but I woke up naked in the woods
behind a church.
And I was throwing up
someone else's blood.
And not far from me...
...was another man.
And he was mauled
and fighting for his life.
And I...
It was me, I knew it.
I did it.
So, I ran.
When we got home...
...the look
on my daughter's face,
my little girl...
God, what if I did this
to someone in my family?
I didn't even look.
I couldn't live with myself.
I said, oh, God.
What have I become?