SCENE 3 — SUNDAY, 11:00 AM
INT. RENTAL CAR — HIGHWAY 2
POV: EZRA

🎵 It’s funny how it’s the little things in life that mean the most.
Not where you live, what you drive, or the price tag on your clothes
There’s no dollar sign on a peace of mind
This I’ve come to know
So if you agree, have a drink with me
Raise your glasses for a toast 🎵

“Do we really have to listen to this?”

Ezra snapped out of a daydream. “Oh — uh. No. Yeah, we can just turn it off. We’re almost there.”

Esther flicked the radio off and sank back into the passenger seat, satisfied.

Issa was still locked in her phone.

Ezra had been thinking about the gas station they’d left about an hour back, outside of town. The poor town at the foot of the mountain where he’d grown up. A high schooler’s hangout, back in the day, where the guys would post up to smoke. The bright yellow awning he remembered had faded out to a color like jaundiced skin.

It’s wild the things that stick in your memory after so long, he thought. He wasn’t even the same person he was when he left. He wondered if anyone would recognize him.

A she then, I guess.

The thought came to him with dry humor. Being born female had always been the height of humor, he thought. A real divine comedy. The only female thing about him was his body, and that, well — that had always been quite the thing with people, hadn’t it. Couldn’t leave his little fucking girl body alone now, could they?

The car was quiet for a minute as it rumbled along the mountain road. Issa’s nails faintly clicked on her screen behind him.

Finally, Esther shifted, stretching her arms.

“How’s your mom?”

She kept her gaze out the window as she asked.

“Good, I think. It’ll be my first time seeing her in a minute, but she’s doing fine.” Ezra replied. “I think she went down to Florida for a while last summer with her new husband, to check out senior living. I’m excited to catch up.”

That last part wasn’t entirely true.

“That’s nice.”

She hadn’t said a sentence longer than three words to him the whole drive.

She looked in the rearview mirror. “How’s work back there?”

Issa didn’t look up. “Fine. Just cleaning up other people’s messes.” She said flatly. She was too focused for pleasantries.

Esther chuckled and elbowed Ezra. “Don’t we know it. Busy bee-ssa.” She spat the joke to the backseat.

Ezra feigned a smile. Issa didn’t acknowledge it.

He glanced sideways at Esther. Voluminous black hair cascading over her petite shoulders like black honey, the sun catching the bare patch above the neckline of her blouse, making her skin shine like her flesh was made of diamonds. Shimmering moisturizer, he thought. He knew all too well how out of her way she went to look so effortlessly, naturally feminine. What it really cost her.

The trees to the left of the road opened up briefly to reveal a new development under construction. Homes? He couldn’t quite tell — it all looked like a jumble of plywood. The plastic wrap on the fence bore a large geometric logo with SDS in the center.

Sanderson Development Solutions.

He hadn’t heard that name in a minute. He would’ve preferred not to.

His best-boy eye clocked the roof joists exposed above the builder’s wrap. He thought of a sound stage in Seattle a couple of years back, a set whose joists hadn’t been properly spaced because someone was rushing, cutting corners. A lot of people had gotten hurt. Nobody was happy.

“Wow, all the way out here?” Esther quipped. “I never got how people could live so far away from everything. It’d drive me crazy.” She briefly eyed Ezra while his head was turned to the buildings.

“Yeah, it was pretty wild,” he said, clearing his throat. “I dunno how I did it.”

“Well, you’re back, and you’re a big girl now. I’m sure it’ll be a good week, right Iss’?”

She turned back to Issa with a big toothy smile then continued:

“I’m so glad we could all make it. It’s been too long since we got the band back together.”

Ezra’s lips pursed.

It wasn’t the first time Esther had still referred to him as a girl on this trip. They’d worked flights together back before he’d transitioned and become great friends. He was glad they were back together, but it felt different now.

He was going to say something when Issa’s phone rang.

“Sorry, I’ve gotta take this. Yes? No, I —”

Ezra sighed under his breath. Maybe it was just easier to let it go. Not start anything.

The two in front fell once again into silence. He was thankful.

CUT TO:
EXT. BIG MOUNTAIN RESORT — DRIVE

The road eventually passed a large stone sign as it led onto the grounds. BIG MOUNTAIN SKI LODGE & RESORT was affixed to it in polished brass lettering, partly dusted with snow, lit from below.

Beyond, the forest opened to the complex.

Big Mountain earned its name. A massive building with a rocky foundation and rustic wooden architecture. Balconies and walkways encircled its upper floors as it stretched out from the central plaza. A helicopter perched atop the end of the east wing. A plume of smoke rose from a great stone chimney. The top of the ski hill loomed over the lodge, and the mountains encircled the valley.

It looked far too grand to be out in the middle of nowhere. It didn’t belong.

Ezra pulled the car up through the circular entry drive. Valets and bellhops were attending to several other arriving parties in businesswear, wheeling carts of luggage through the huge wooden doors to the lobby.

“Damn, it’s pretty hopping.”

“Yeah, what’s the deal with that?” Esther asked.

A valet greeted them as they exited the car.

“Thanks — can I ask what’s going on?” Ezra gestured broadly at the commotion.

“Of course. There’s a conference this upcoming weekend. Most of the attendees are staying throughout the week. You’re not here for that?” The valet cocked an eyebrow.

“Oh, uh — no. But no problem. We’re glad to be here.”

“Of course. We’ll get your bags loaded while you go get checked in. Have a nice stay, sir.”

Ezra couldn’t help but notice the valet’s small pause before the final word. But he was pleased nonetheless.

Esther came around from the other side of the car.

“I’m sorry, girls. I didn’t see that when I was making the booking. I think it’ll be fine though, right?”

“No worries,” Ezra said. “I’m just excited to shower.” That part was true at least.

“True, you’ve got that new manly-man smell to take care of” Esther said with a wink.

“Ha ha,” Ezra responded dryly, “you really got me there.” His mother’s mocking voice ‘girls don’t smell’ was ringing in his ears, he turned to hide the creeping shame. “Let’s go in, shall we?”

He led the way to the lodge.

CUT TO:
INT. BIG MOUNTAIN RESORT — LOBBY → DINING ROOM

“Wow, look at this place!” Esther exclaimed. “This is even better than that one place we stayed up in New York, remember?”

“Yeah, wow.” Issa briefly looked up from her phone to take it in.

Ezra looked around. He would’ve been more impressed by the glitz of the place if he wasn’t paying so much attention to the other guests. Everywhere he looked he caught glances and side-eye from the well-to-do conference-goers. He remembered how everyone looked at one another in small towns like this, but he never felt this out of place here before.

As Esther was checking them in, he clocked a woman crossing the room at speed, clipboard in hand, footfalls echoing hard against the stone floor. She had the same energy as the line producers he’d worked with back in Seattle. Tight, fast, all surface composure. He read her as someone who handled people for a living. Probably the manager.

A brunette behind the concierge desk briefly stared daggers at him, her mouth a flat line. Then she looked away, her smile professional again.

Yeesh. Women like that.

“Here’s your key!” Esther interrupted his thought, still smiling, then feigned his earlier statement back to him, dropping her voice a little: “Shall we?”

“Yeah, I’ll meet you guys upstairs. I think I might grab a bite to eat.”

Esther shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She and Issa set off to the elevators.

Ezra wandered toward the fireplace, following signage to the dining room. The view shone out to the edge of the ski hill, and the outside of a massive auditorium could be seen around the bend as the building angled west, a two story wall of windows that reflected the sun. The dining room was busy — people at the bar, guests grabbing small plates from a buffet at the back.

The place felt oddly fresh. He thought he remembered reading that the place opened about ten years ago now, but over the food smell the lodge carried a distinct scent. He recalled how his mom’s trailer smelled after they had to get the carpet replaced when he was a kid.

Ezra sighed. He hoped at least that this trip could help him and the girls reconnect.

Suddenly, a familiar laugh pierced through the noise and all thoughts left his head.

Every hair on him stood on end. His head whipped around the room. His eyes fell on a man near the bar. Tall. Brown hair.

Ezra’s blood went cold.

Garrett Sanderson.

Their eyes briefly locked. Garrett squinted at him, then started to smile.

Ezra turned on a dime and hurriedly made his way back to the elevators.

His entire body was on fire. Sweat was breaking out on his skin. He felt like ice was melting in his brain. He breathed through his nose and tried to keep his composure. Nausea rose in his chest. His limbs felt numb. Memories were trying to break through the surface of his mind.

A dark room. A laugh. A smell.

No.

He locked his mind down with an iron grip. He stared hard around the elevator as it rose to the third floor, noticing details of the room and working to feel present in his body.

CUT TO:
INT. BIG MOUNTAIN RESORT — EZRA’S ROOM — BATHROOM

It wasn’t until he was on the other side of the locked door, standing in front of the bathroom mirror looking at himself, that he was really able to breathe again.

He looked. And looked. And looked at himself. The man he was now. He touched the stubble on his chin. Took a deep breath, in, then out.

This wasn’t going to be the week he hoped for.

SUNDAY, 9:00AM (SEVEN DAYS BEFORE THE AVALANCHE)
EXT. BIG MOUNTAIN RESORT — VERANDA
POV: PATTY

Patty took a deep breath. Cold mountain air filled her lungs as she stood on the upper veranda. The valley below was quiet. The road wound all the way down through the forest to the foot of the mountain, a treacherous switchback that was clear and dry, today anyway. The sun was shining and snow showers loosened from the pines in a gentle breeze. A bluebird day. Great natural light, perfect clarity. Any DP’s dream.

Not that I’d want a film crew tromping through this place, she thought, leaning forward to press the loose railing back into its bracket. It held. For now.

She’d been manager of Big Mountain for almost ten years, and spent many hours out here. When she’d left Hollywood she hadn’t imagined she’d ever miss it for the splendor of Big Sky Country, but it wasn’t as if she’d had much choice. The money was frankly too good to pass up, and her deadweight husband hadn’t put up much fuss over moving to a proverbial castle he’d never have to keep up himself. Here, at least, she was queen in her hive. As long as she kept her bees busy.

Her eyes fell to the road. Three dark shapes against the snow were weaving their way up. The Sanderson motorcade. Exactly three cars — one for David and his driver, one for the wife and kids, one for the luggage.

She sighed.

Just another week.

She removed a small compact from her cardigan pocket, popped a long white pill out of it and onto her tongue, and swallowed it dry. She cleared her throat and straightened her back as the motorcade rounded the last bend.

She turned to go inside. The sliding door slid halfway and stuck on its own track.

Goddammit.

She made a quick note on the back page of her clipboard, where there were already several lines of them.

“Kathryn! It’s time.” She barked across the hall, closing the door behind her.

Her daughter was twirling her bleach-blonde hair at the end of the hall, tapping her foot.

“Yes, mother.”

Short. Demure. Forcibly so. Patty didn’t buy it, but it would do.

They made their way to the elevator and set off down to greet their guests of honor.

CUT TO:
INT. BIG MOUNTAIN RESORT — LOBBY

“Showtime everyone! Places!”

Patty stood at attention at the front of the lobby as her crew scurried around her. It was a grand open hall — polished granite floor, several stories high, the upper balconies held aloft by wooden pillars. A large fireplace dominated the central foyer opposite the front doors, enclosed with leather couches and seats. The very picture of rugged American opulence. The smell of firewood mingled with a hint of fresh paint, Patty noticed with annoyance.

Behind Patty stood two bellhops — a young woman with wavy auburn hair, and a tall, darker-skinned boy with a neatly trimmed mat of black curls. They shot each other a coy look while Patty’s eyes were fixed on the parking lot outside.

Rolling into the porte-cochère came the motorcade — three black Hummers, loud, boxy things, the newest model. They came to a stop. Suited men opened the doors for their passengers. A man emerged from the first, the man Patty was dreading, though you wouldn’t think it to look at him. David Sanderson — pale, well-groomed, not altogether too tall or broad, in a finely tailored grey suit, with a head of receding hair – stepping out like a king from his carriage.

“David!” Patty exclaimed as he made for the doors. “So pleased to see you. I know you will find everything exactly to your liking.”

He acknowledged her in passing, already breezing by her. She kept pace.

“The week is planned in ironclad order, and if you need anything, I have an army of waitstaff at your disposal—”

“As long as the bar is stocked, you’re doing great.” he said over his shoulder.

She fumed. She could see the condescension through the back of his head.

“Yes, Mr. Sanderson.” She said, through a clenched-tooth smile. Her temples throbbed. She slammed her eyes shut for a single beat. Behind her, his eyes were already on the lobby. He grinned to himself.

He never misses a chance to ogle his own handiwork, does he?

Behind David came his family. Stacy — the stepford wife — dour as ever, her blonde bob exactly the same as every time Patty had ever seen her. She took her husband’s arm with her head down. Then came the children, Garrett and Maddison.

Patty followed David into the lodge where her daughter was still waiting.

“You’ve met her of course, David, but this is my daughter Kathryn. Kathryn, this is Mr. and Mrs. Sanderson.”

“A pleasure to meet you both.” Kathryn gently shook David’s hand in a curtsy. He flashed her a habitual smile. Always the businessman.

Patty motioned to the man beside them.

“And this is Garrett, Mr. Sanderson’s son.”

Kathryn straightened with a knowing look, pushing her chest slightly forward as she greeted him.

Garrett was taller than his father, with broad shoulders and slicked brown hair. He had looked bored coming out of the car, but he perked up upon the introduction — like a lion just given a fresh hunk of meat.

“Damn, she’s cute.” He shook Kathryn’s hand a little too hard. Smirked. “Nice to meet you, Katie.”

Patty’s grip on her clipboard tightened. She hated when people called her daughter that. She would hate getting used to it even more, if all this went to plan.

Garrett turned to his father, smiling, and shot Patty a look from the corner of his eye.

“You didn’t tell me the MILF had a mini-me.”

David didn’t react. Patty refused to either.

“Kathryn will show you to your rooms — you’ll find everything to your liking, but let Tayler or Lucas know if you need anything while you’re getting settled and we’ll see it done. Please, enjoy your stay.”

She handed Kathryn the three room keys and gestured as the two bellhops wheeled luggage past them to the elevators. The family followed. Maddison trailed behind in a tartan shawl over wool skirts, dark round shades, AirPods in, having said nothing to anyone.

Patty rubbed her temple as soon as they were out of sight.

Just another week.

She stepped back out onto the porte-cochère as the motorcade sequestered themselves away to the parking lot. Overhead, she heard the rumble of a helicopter, and turned to watch as it set down on the helipad at the far end of the lodge complex. The motors slowed. A man with an unmistakable cattleman hat ducked out — her brother Beau.

A smile — a real one this time — crossed her face. She waved. He tipped his hat to her. Then, after a half-beat, he blew her a kiss. She caught it and pressed it against her heart.

He was really the only one she would do anything for.

The helicopter blades stopped spinning, and Beau ducked into the penthouse with his bag.

Patty looked back down the mountain. Another car making its way up. White this time, a shiny white Escalade with silver trim.

This must be the influencer.

“Welcome to Big Mountain Resort!” Patty said, hand extended toward the blonde woman exiting the flashy white vehicle. “You must be Emily. Very recognizable from your content.”

Emily was blonde, like Patty, with a bright red lip and floral tattoos peeking out from under her puffy jacket’s sleeve. A petite golden band set with rhinestones fit snugly in her septum.

“Yes! Hiyee! I’m, like, so freaking happy to be here. The family has been talking about this for months, we are just so excited, can’t wait to get started. I’ve already been vlogging on the way up, and we are off to a greeeeat start! Isn’t that right, kids?”

She turned to her children, phone in hand, filming. They saw the camera and, like trained monkeys, started smiling and shouting their excitement.

Emily swung the camera around and landed square on Patty.

Patty held her hand up in front of her face. “Oh, no no. Not me.”

Emily dropped the phone sheepishly. “Oh, sorry, my bad! No worries, copy that!” Smiling at Patty with a little too much tooth.

“Shall we get you up to your room? We’ll get your luggage.” Patty snapped at a couple of bellhops and pointed to the back of the vehicle. They snapped into action.

Emily’s smile froze.

“Did you say… did you say room? Not rooms? Like, plural?” A nervous pitch edged into her voice.

“Room, yes. One of our best suites. Two king beds with an in-room kitchen, right on the veranda. Beautiful view. Will that be a problem?”

Patty let a little venom seep into her smile. She was not about to have this upstart complaining about her lodgings at moment zero.

Emily caught on quickly. She had that going for her, at least.

“Oh — yes, no, no problem. Completely fine. That will be perfect for us.” Color was rising in her neck despite herself.

“Well then, this way.” Patty smiled as big as ever. She gestured the family in. Emily plastered her own smile back on. “Come on kids! Here we go! Wahoo!” She led them through the doors. Her husband followed behind with the boy in his arm, oblivious.

Patty loosened the button of her blouse closed tight around her neck, rubbing the warm skin there for a moment. She watched the rest of the rank-and-file guests check in as she stood smiling and waving people through the doors.

Just another week.

CUT TO:
INT. BIG MOUNTAIN RESORT — LOBBY, A FEW HOURS LATER

Patty swallowed another pill discreetly as she stood behind the desk. Early afternoon. Check-ins had moved through smoothly, businesspeople and their families coming in waves as the lodge filled. She was done greeting guests personally and could let the staff handle the rest of the routine.

Not that she was ever off the clock on this godforsaken rock.

She looked up as a trio arrived. They stuck out because it was two women and a — well, one of those people. A Pat. A woman who thought she was a man. She had always hated how close that was to her name. Why she hated being called Patty. But no one would use her full name. Patty had always stuck.

She looked at her — him, I guess, she scoffed. Hair cut short, brown on the sides, a bleach-blond faux-hawk. Masculine clothing. She’d probably have to refer to it as he, lest she cause some kind of scene. These people and their ‘gender diversity’. Jesus Christ, get over yourself.

Her thought was interrupted by a bellhop.

“Mrs. Patty, sorry to interrupt. The guest in 214 said an outlet sparked when she plugged in her phone. Can we get someone to look at it?”

Patty groaned and rubbed her eyes, then returned to her static smile.

“Yes, thank you Steve.” She made another note at the back of her clipboard.

She looked out toward the back of the lobby and spotted an unmistakable silhouette of curly hair and bohemian fabric.

“Goddammit.” She hadn’t meant to say it aloud.

She half-ran to her. Anna was trying to get a guest’s attention.

“Anna darling! Hi! What are you doing at check-in? Don’t the horses need you, or something?” Patty started ushering the woman back the other way.

“I’ve been telling you! The energies are all off, completely imbalanced. And the birds! Not following their patterns at all. Strange! All very strange, you must listen.”

This woman and her fucking yapping. Patty mostly tuned her out. She put an arm around Anna’s shoulder, firmly turning her back toward the path down to the stables.

“Well, that’s why we have you! Isn’t it!” she said, saccharine. “You help keep everything in balance with your spells and what have you, and that’s just great.” She finished, patting Anna on the shoulder. “Now you just stay out of check-in. So much commotion. Just go home and rest. Everything will be fine.”

Anna looked back at Patty with big eyes as she turned to go. But she nodded, turned, and went.

Patty sighed with relief. God I cannot have that crazy woman near these guests. She pinched the bridge of her nose.

The gentle cacophony of voices and glassware from the bar pulled at her as she crossed the lobby. She looked over.

She could see Kathryn talking to Garrett with a smile. Good girl, she thought. She was doing exactly what Patty told her to.

She craned her neck, and saw David Sanderson leaning over and saying something quietly in Emily’s ear nearby.

Emily had on something cute and slutty, looked the real Instagram princess. She let out a laugh Patty could hear from all the way across the foyer.

Fantastic. A common whore.

She wondered if David would rope this one into some subservience too. She almost wished it on her. It would serve the woman right, trying so hard like that.

It’s not like she could be replaced.

At least, that’s what she told herself.

CUT TO:
INT. BIG MOUNTAIN RESORT — MANAGER’S OFFICE, LATER THAT EVENING

The sun was starting to go down by the time the last of the guests had checked in. Patty closed the massive oak cathedral doors at the head of the foyer, shutting out the last of the golden hour.

She made her way to her office.

She closed the door behind her, leaned her back against the wood, and let her eyes close.

She slid down. Knees bent. Her body sagged into a crouch on the carpet against the door.

Here I am. Alone going out of the world, like I was alone coming into it. Like Mother always said.

Alone is all we are. It’s just the way things are.

After a long moment, she stood, straightened her blouse, and reopened the door perfectly composed.

Just another week.

SATURDAY, 3:14 PM
INT. BIG MOUNTAIN RESORT — CONFERENCE HALL
POV: TAYLER

Sunlight crashed through the massive bay of windows, bouncing perfectly off the bald spot on the back of an old man’s head. Tayler was standing at the back of the room, staring. A quiet moment had lulled her into reflection during her last shift of a long, long week. Her brain was trying to tell her something as she stood transfixed, but it eluded her in her daydream.

A noise from far away outside. She turned to look, shielding her eyes from the glare of the cathedral windows. The slopes outside were starkly empty — everyone at the resort was in this room, waiting for the keynote speaker. Fresh powder blanketed the mountain, blinding white and perfectly still in the crisp afternoon air. It was nothing. She thought, turning her back to the ski hill.

She looked down at the tray of hors d’oeuvres in her hands. Seventeen left. She’d been counting all week — them and the people. Who’d been served, who was left. It had quickly become a habit. She straightened, tucked a loose auburn hair behind her ear, and looked up to resume her rounds.

She realized that something was off. The echo of business chatter and performed sincerity had slowed to a low whisper. It was eerily quiet.

She looked around. A man seated close to her, his head nodded back at a strange angle. He lightly jerked, like he was dreaming. The three men next to him were the same. Down the way against the refreshment table, a woman was slumped over, her blonde hair dipping into the smudge of cocktail sauce on the plate in front of her. She was rubbing her eyes in a stupor as she shifted her weight. Something was definitely wrong. Tayler quickly scanned the room for Lucas.

His brown eyes met hers from across the room, over by the podium. Relief flooded through her. Whatever was happening, it hadn’t happened to him. She mouthed silently: “What’s going on?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know”. He looked to the table in front of him. The gears turned. He picked up a glass and motioned around the room with his chin, wide-eyed.

The punch cups. Thirty, forty, sixty — too many to count, each near an unconscious attendee.

She looked down at her own cup, untouched, tucked behind the table leg. She never drank anything a rich person handed her. She looked at the punch bowl. Drained nearly to the bottom.

On a second glance, the woman slumped against the table was Patty. She hadn’t noticed it was her at first. She was wearing a soft cloth dress, furry hide boots, and her hair was down, nothing like the usual uptight, dressed-to-the-nines, boss-bitch she was used to. She was dressed like Anna. Patty would never. Why was she even drinking the punch anyway?

She was still rubbing her eyes and shifting around. Maybe I can get some answers. Tayler moved toward her, but just as she did, Patty’s body went fully limp and she crumpled to the floor, hard.

Tayler’s stomach dropped through her knees.

Oh, fuck.

Just then, a commotion in the hall outside caught her attention. Anna burst into the room, hair wild and drenched in sweat, eyes crazed. She slammed her palm against the fire alarm by the door. Mechanical horns immediately began to wail through the hall.

“Avalanche!” Her voice was already hoarse and struggling to be heard over the klaxons. “There’s an avalanche! Get away from the windows!“

She looked around in a panic, frantically shaking the shoulders of the unconscious — not quite realizing what she was seeing. Almost no one began to move. Scattered screams filled the room as the few, still lucid people reacted to the alarm.

Tayler threw her tray aside and started running across the room toward Lucas, past all the unconscious people. She waded through tables and panicked attendees, most half-asleep and delirious, falling out of their chairs and struggling to make their limbs work.

Just shy of the podium where Lucas had been, she tripped on a corner of carpet not properly secured, catching herself on a man passed out next to her. When she looked up, she saw Lucas just ahead. He was frozen with his phone in his hand, staring past her, out through the wall of windows.

A noise louder than the fire alarm was growing behind her. A far-off roar. Like rushing water.

She looked.

A torrent of snow was crashing down the slope. A wall of white death heading straight for the lodge. It would hit them any second.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck. Adrenaline pumped through her as she turned, jumped from a chair to a tabletop, and sprinted over the banquet tables to close the distance.

Lucas knelt in front of the speaker’s podium directly opposite the windows, phone to his ear, speaking fast — Portuguese, fast — tears streaming down his face, spit flying from his lips as they moved. He was begging. Pleading. Praying. His eyes never left the avalanche, his free hand wrung at the golden cross chain around his neck.

Tayler put on speed. She cleared the last table and jumped to the floor. She was almost to him.

Almost.

When out of nowhere a half-naked, blood-soaked David Sanderson burst into the conference room. Tayler flew smack into him and stumbled backward. Their eyes met — his were pinprick pupils, bloodshot with psychotic rage.

Her body went numb. She could only stare. He was naked from the waist down, his freshly pressed undershirt covered in blood. A single gold molar caught the light as he panted with his mouth agape.

He grabbed her by the neck, lifting her clean off the ground. He roared as her face began to turn blue.

The roar of the avalanche behind her, louder than ever, overwhelmed his.

CUT TO:
INT. BIG MOUNTAIN RESORT — CONFERENCE HALL — OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM, SECONDS PRIOR
POV: ANNA

“Avalanche! I told you! Get out, everyone out!”

Anna was still screaming hoarsely as she tried to rouse people. She didn’t understand why so few were running. She looked more closely at the seated people not moving. Their eyes were closed, bodies slumped, drinks spilling in their laps and dropped by their sides.

Dead? she thought, horrified. Please, please don’t be dead.

She felt under the nose of someone passed out in a chair near her with shaky fingers. Breath - shallow, but there. Thank goodness. She moved on, frantically pushing deeper into the room.

I need to find her.

She saw one family — the Californians — trying to get away. The wife and children were out cold. The husband was trying to shoulder his wife and grab a kid under each arm, fumbling.

She stepped over another husband and wife laid out on the floor, aimlessly grasping at each other. She wished she could help these people. But she’d done what she could by pulling the alarm. Now, she needed to find her daughter. Laika had been so strange the last couple of days. So much stranger than usual. The knot in Anna’s stomach was clenching harder than it ever had. Dread she couldn’t ignore. Where was she?

Screeching and curses coming from the hallway outside the conference room distracted her. Two bodies came tumbling into the room in a tussle, grabbing and swinging at each other as they screamed. The man was pulling at the woman’s dark black hair. She was pulling at his short, bleach-blond tuft. Anna recognized them — the flight attendant friends. The third one stood back for a moment, horrified, watching them fight before making a run for safety.

She continued, searching through the chaos of the trashed conference room. She saw a woman in a black mini dress cowering in the corner, sobbing with hands over her ears.

Then, she saw movement on the other side of the room. A writhing black shape.

Laika?

She rushed toward the cathedral windows. The sight on the other side of the glass stopped her in her tracks. She could hear it now — the roar of the crashing snow over the wail of the fire alarm. The avalanche rushed toward them. Mother Nature’s majesty and wrath. They were sitting ducks. Anna trembled, thinking to herself, you reap what you sow.

The movement under the windows intensified, she came back to herself. Laika? she thought again, moving toward the shifting black mass.

From a distance, it looked like a creature. A lithe, dark, jittering thing atop a man whose clothes were torn from his body. The man she recognized instantly — from the posters that had been up all week announcing him as the conference’s musical guest.

Duke Burley.

Something was on him. Moving.

Why was it moving like that?

What was it doing?

As she got closer the roar outside crescendoed in her ears. The plywood frame rattled and shook. She crossed the last few feet of carpet and immediately realized what the creature was – realized what she was seeing.

It dawned on her. She screamed, reaching out to stop it —

Then — nothing.