For a dramatic, atmospheric start — like the cold open of a prestige TV series.
EXT. NEW ENGLAND COASTLINE — DAWN
A pale sun rises over a dead world.
Waves crash against jagged rocks, carrying the smell of salt and rot.
The wind whispers through the skeletal remains of pine trees.
CUT TO:
A FOREST CLEARING
Three figures stand among the trees — exhausted, bruised, breathing hard.
Behind them, smoke rises from the direction of Newhaven.
The distant moans of the infected echo like ghosts.
One of the survivors clutches a torn backpack.
Another wipes blood — not theirs — from their hands.
The third stares east, toward the faint outline of a town on the horizon.
VOICEOVER (calm, weary):
“Newhaven’s gone. The horde took it in minutes.
If anyone made it out… they went east.
Toward New England.”
CUT TO:
EXT. ABANDONED TOWN HALL — DAY
A sign swings in the wind:
WELCOME TO NEW ENGLAND — A NICE PLACE TO LIVE
The streets are empty.
Doors hang open.
Something moves in the shadows — slow, deliberate, wrong.
VOICEOVER:
“The virus doesn’t kill everyone the same way.
Some lose themselves.
Some become… dangerous.”
CUT TO:
INT. HARDWARE STORE — DARK
Tools hang in perfect rows.
A faint metallic smell lingers.
A pair of pale eyes watches from the darkness.
VOICEOVER:
“Your job is simple.
Find the survivors.
Figure out who’s still human…
and who’s pretending.”
CUT TO BLACK.
TITLE CARD:
ASHEN VALE