Dark Was the Night Page #2

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- Priest:
Very odd, animals

acting up the same night as

this little incident, yes?

Yes. Yes, it is.

Seen a fair amount of

Susan in church, lately.

I haven't seen you in some time.

Priest:
There is no weakness

in mourning, Paul.

Accidents happen.

Turning to something

outside ourselves,

every once in awhile?

That just shows wisdom

in knowing where

to find strength.

The church and I are

here when you need us.

Thank you, Father.

Priest:
Oh, and, uh...

People may seem a little

nervous, right now.

But they'll follow you

to the ends of the earth.

Just let them know

you're leading them

in the right direction.

Thanks.

(phone rings in the distance)

(phone rings in the distance)

ls everyone all right?

What's going on, Sheriff?

I'm trying to figure that out.

My dad's got some pretty

crazy ideas about it.

Yeah, for once that old

nut bag might be right.

I bet it's got

something to do with

those stories my

grandpa used to tell me.

About something

living in those woods.

It doesn't.

Well, what are we

supposed to do about it?

You don't have to do

anything, all right, we're...

We're working on it.

Jim:
Oh, is that right?

Then tell me, why aren't

you out there right now

hunting that thing down?

'Cause it pays to think

before you act, Jim.

Claire:
Well, what

if it comes back?

There is no "it", okay?

There is no "it".

Forest Department

said this morning

that there's no animal

that leaves tracks

like the ones that we found.

Okay, so that

tells me that we're

dealing with a

creative prankster

who's heard all the

great ghost stories

that our buddy Jim,

here, has heard.

Well, maybe it's that

new deputy of yours.

Hm?

Jim:
City guy,

thinkin' it's funny

to stir things up?

That's enough.

Sheriff!

How's it going, Sheriff?

Oh, she's going, Earl. You?

Good.

You been out in

the woods, lately?

Into the trees?

Yeah.

Donny and I went pretty

deep this morning.

It's deer season.

But in the last

week I haven't seen

so much as one deer within

five miles of this town.

Never seen nothing like it.

All the animals just

up and vanished.

Huh.

What do you think would

cause something like that?

It's hard to say.

But...

an animal senses a threat,

they tend not to hang around.

A threat.

So you think an

animal left those tracks?

They don't look like any

animal tracks I've ever seen.

You take it easy, now, Sheriff.

Remember, we're all

still prayin' for ya.

Thanks.

- Susan:
Hey.

- Paul:
Hey.

Susan:
Thanks for

taking him, tonight,

I forgot I volunteered

at the church.

No problem.

I took him to the park today.

The kids there were

saying it's the devil,

all this stuff going on.

Did it scare him?

Yeah.

It's been six months, Paul.

I need to know where you are.

Susan:
Because it's not fair.

It's not fair to us, and

it's not fair to Adam.

Where are you?

I don't know.

I'll get him, it'll

be just a minute.

-(low hum)

-(car tires crunch on dirt)

Adam:
Stop!

What?

There's something out there.

Enough.

Last night was one

thing, buddy, but--

Dad, look! Look!

Adam:
Did you see it?

You stay here.

Lock the doors.

(doors lock)

(branches rustle)

Hey...

(dramatic music)

(wood creaks)

Come out, now, before you get

yourself into more trouble!

(metal jingles)

(metal tags jingle)

Paul:
Adam...

Adam!

Adam!

(breathes shakily)

Adam!

Adam!

Adam!

Adam:
Dad?

Are you hurt?

I heard something outside

the car and I got scared.

I'm never gonna let

anything happen to you.

Do you understand that?

(sighs)

- Earl:
Here you go.

- Bar Patron:
Thanks, Earl.

You drinking to remember,

or are you drinking to forget?

I'll take another

and see where it leads.

How's it going

with Sheriff Sheilds?

He's a good man.

Yeah.

So how you likin' it?

The town, not my booze,

I know my booze is good.

It's different.

- Good kinda different.

- Hmm.

Lot of excitement,

tracks in the snow.

Hmm.

How much you know

about this place?

And them woods?

Yeah, my grandma, she

was full blood Shawnee.

Used to tell stories passed down

by our people for generations.

Oh, yeah? Stories?

Mmhmm, about them woods.

And what lived out there.

The spirits that

roamed in the trees.

See they, they say when

the white man came here,

he didn't respect the land,

or the spirits.

So they came after 'em.

Men, women, the children.

Do you, uh...

Do you believe the stories?

Well, when I was young,

there was a boy went

missing up in them woods.

They searched.

When they found him, his

body was 30 feet up a tree.

So let's just say,

I believe it enough to

keep my door locked.

You be careful, now, Deputy.

Wouldn't wanna

find you up a tree.

Claire:
Hey, Earl.

Earl:
Hello, ladies.

What'll it be?

(Claire gives order quietly)

I'm a little confused

as to why we're here.

When children

pick up a new word,

they tend to say it constantly.

It only gets worse

when they learn

we don't want them

to say that word.

Did Adam say

something offensive?

Mr. and Mrs. Shields...

Pecker?

(laughs)

- Paul:
We're sorry.

- Susan:
Sorry.

About a week ago Adam

called another child a pecker,

and since then all the

children have been saying it.

- We can't get them to stop.

-(Susan and Paul laugh)

But as I can see,

apparently, some people don't

view this as quite the

serious matter that it is.

We do, we do, I...

We're sorry, we'll talk to him.

It won't happen again.

There is one other thing.

What's that?

When he refers to Tim,

he always seems to

use the present tense.

Teacher:
"Tim is, Tim can."

ls there something

wrong with that?

Teacher:
Referring to

someone who is deceased

in such a way just

seems unhealthy.

I don't see how

that's a problem.

More times than not,

when parents separate

it's the children that get--

Tim is his brother.

My child can refer

to his brother

however the hell he chooses.

Teacher:
I beg your pard--

Susan:
And you are not gonna

tell us how to raise our son.

Do you understand me?

Mrs. Shields, I--

Do you understand me?

(sobs)

Donny:
Hey.

I called you, before.

Is everything all right?

Yeah.

I was just calling to check in.

I was...

It's none of my business.

-(rumble)

-(birds tweeting agitatedly)

You hear that?

(rumble grows)

What the hell is going on?

(wings flap rapidly)

Thank you.

I've never seen

anything like that.

Earl Everheart...

He came up to me the other day.

He said all the wildlife's gone.

Paul:
Those birds were leaving.

It's closer to spring

than fall, they...

They're supposed

to be flying north.

And they were going south.

Did he mention

any of his theories

about what he thinks

might be going on?

I was at his bar last night,

he had some pretty crazy ideas.

Those are just stories, Donny.

Paul:
And people have

been telling them

around here for a long time.

Earl was just

having fun with you.

But what if they're not?

Donny:
What if there's something

wrong about these woods?

He said something about

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