Chapter 3 – "It Watches"
> Location: The Town's Center – Next Morning
The sky above the town was dull gray—no sun, no wind, no birds.
Elena hadn't slept.
Neither had Kieran.
And neither dared say why.
Ten strangers had arrived here for different reasons.
But none of them could leave.
---
INT. CAFE – 9:12 AM
The town café was still functioning. The lights flickered occasionally, but the power held—for now.
Five of them sat at a table: Elena, Kieran, Zoe, Malik, and Clara.
They didn't eat. They didn't touch the coffee.
> "Has anyone else… seen something?"
Zoe asked it like a child trying not to cry.
No one answered.
Malik tapped his knuckles on the table.
Three slow knocks.
Then stopped.
> "I heard a voice in my bathroom," he said. "It said my name. Over and over. But it wasn't mine."
Kieran met Elena's eyes across the table.
She nodded, just once.
---
INT. POLICE STATION – SAME TIME
The small station was empty—no officers, no files, no calls coming in.
Clara wandered through the hall, drawn to a bulletin board covered in dust.
Old photos.
Missing people.
Some faces were scratched out.
Others…
Others looked familiar.
She reached up, brushing her finger across one.
It was Elena.
Same eyes. Same hair.
But the photo was dated 2017.
She stared in confusion.
Elena was standing just across the street.
Wasn't she?
---
EXT. TOWN CENTER – LATER
Outside, Jacob sat alone near the fountain, drawing shapes in the dirt.
A spiral.
A hand.
An eye.
He didn't look up when Zoe approached.
> "Did you sleep?" she asked.
> "No. I watched the wall all night."
> "The wall?"
He pointed to the end of the street, where an old brick wall stood.
> "It blinked," he said calmly.
"Twice."
---
INT. ELENA'S HOUSE – THAT NIGHT
Back home, Elena placed the recorder inside a drawer and taped it shut.
Then she taped the drawer.
Just in case.
She moved to the mirror.
Tried to breathe.
She looked at herself.
Then stopped.
Her reflection didn't blink.
Not once.