Red cliffs meet turquoise water under stark blue skies.
A gull shrieks at the silence.
Back from the sea, a cave gapes open.
Yirran (16, lean indigenous youth) watches MARWEN (60s,
weathered elder) painting.
Suddenly, Yirran tenses.
Stands, heads for the cave entrance.
He squints in harsh sunlight and faces mirror calm sea.
Gulls swoop, cicadas drone.
He listens, disturbed.
YIRRAN
(whispers)
Something...
He turns back.
A sharp HISS stops him.
A THUNDERCLAP follows.
He drops flat, stares toward the sea.
A light grows rapidly from the horizon.
Fast. Bigger. Bigger still.
The light hovers over the beach, settles above a rocky bluff
directly in front of Yirran.
White fire streams from its underside, melting the rock.
2.
A rock pool shimmers.
Trees rustle and flatten.
Stones skitter across the dirt.
He rushed back into the cave.
YIRRAN (CONT'D)
(desperate)
Marwen!
MARWEN
(not looking up, chuckles)
You sound like a squawking gull.
You'll waken the dead. Calm down.
I'm finished now.
YIRRAN
(breathless, terrified)
Outside... a thing... light... with
fire...
Marwen places the fossils into a dilly bag, hitches it across
his shoulder.
Shuffles to the entrance.
Yirran follows.
As they step out, the air turns to static.
The hair on Yirran’s neck stands straight up.
The light isn’t just bright; it’s heavy.
It pins them to the red earth like insects under a thumb.
Shadows shift.
Man and boy try to run but are held fast.
An energy moves Marwen with a violent twist.
He kicks and writhes, mouth open in a silent scream.
Yirran blinks, stares the place Maren stood seconds ago.
3.
Molten lava remains, spitting as it hits the sea.
Normal sounds return—gulls, cicadas, waves.
Yirran dashes back into the cave.
He sits hard against the wall, staring.
Suddenly, he stands and rekindles the fire.
Finds paint, mixes it with saliva.
Begins brushing on the the wall beside Marwen's painting.
Blood from his hands merges with paint.
He hesitates.
Then, his hand trembles as he scratches a jagged "V".
He lumbers outside, gathers rocks.
Panting as he builds.
Yirran fixes the final stone.
Through the last remaining chink of light, we see his eye—
wide, bloodshot, reflecting the dying embers of his fire.
Then—Darkness.
SUPER: "PRESENT DAY - OUTSIDE CACTUS LOOP, ARNHEM LAND,
NORTHERN AUSTRALIA"
Same red rocks, now weathered by 10,000 years.
The ancient cave entrance gapes.
DANNY MARSHALL (16, chubby, determined)
Riding a rusty mountain bike, Danny skids to a halt outside
the cave.
He gets off and stands, looking at the entrance like it
wasn't there a moment ago.
He looks back to see his friend Juba jog in, breathing
heavily from his run.
4.
JUBA (16, wiry, wise Aboriginal youth)
JUBA
(hands on his knees as he
catches his breath)
What are you staring at? Seen a
ghost?
DANNY
Feels different. Like something's
waking up.
The both stand a while.
A small twister hurries by.
Dust plasters them.
JUBA
'bout time. I've heard stories.
DANNY
Let's get the gear outta
the cooler.
JUBA
Yeah. Tide's almost up.
Juba takes off.
DANNY
Hang on!
Danny huffs after him, catches up, slaps Juba's head as he
lumbers past.
JUBA
(laughing, easily passing
Danny)
Race ya!
They sprint toward an outcrop of rock.
Lines are cast.
shoulder-to-shoulder they sit.
JUBA (CONT'D)
Know what? This melted-lookin'rock
we're sitting on is the oldest in
the world.)
JUBA (CONT'D)
Older than the world, actually.
5.
DANNY
How can it be older than the world?
That's just plain dumb.
Baitfish jumps in unison. A tern slaps the water. They watch
in contented silence.
JUBA
Probably a meteorite. Came here
from outer space. That's what I
heard from my uncle Feelgood.
DANNY
Cripes. He'd know. He's older than
the world and all the planets put
together. Must be at least forty.
Imagine being that old?
JUBA
(tiny smirk)
Yeah. That'd be about right. Hey,
you asked Kirsty out yet?
DANNY
(Looks daggers)
Shut up, will ya?
JUBA
(gently slaps Danny on the
back of his head)
Bruce will beat you to it, and he's
thick as a plank.
DANNY
(mumbling)
She's up herself anyway. I got
better things to do. Like this.
JUBA
That's the truth.
Danny yanks his line. A fish flashes through clear water.
JUBA (CONT'D)
(excited)
Got yourself a bloody beauty!
Danny lands the fish, unhooks it and hands it to Juba to kill
and clean.
DANNY
We're sleeping at the cave tonight.
6.
JUBA
Yup. Gonna cook this little beauty
and have a feast. How's your old
lady?
DANNY
(shrugs)
She's doing okay. Mopes around a
lot. Bugger all anyone can do about
it.
JUBA
(arm punches Danny)
Listen, Danny. I ain't got a dad
either. And you've got me, okay?
DANNY
(to the sea)
What, like a dad?
JUBA
(huffs)
You know what I mean. Dork.
DANNY
Don't like thinking about all that
shit. You know. How he croaked.
JUBA
Topping yourself takes a lot of
spunk, Danny.
DANNY
Try telling that to an empty chair.
He was a bloody coward. Leaving me
and mum like that. I hate him.
They wait in silence as the sun drops over the horizon.
JUBA
Look at that moon. Gonna be a big
one tonight.
The boys stay quiet for a while.
Danny has his eyes downcast as he harbours a frown.
Directly ahead of where they sit, the sky appears to split
open.
Mouth agape, Juba looks up.
Danny hasn't noticed.
7.
The presence, shrouded in a light mist, hovers nearby.
The air shimmers like heat haze.
As Juba studies it, reality bends inward, creating a lens
effect.
Its surface ripples between states: liquid mercury,
crystalline facets, something that might be living tissue.
It doesn't have edges - it has suggestions of edges.
It is deathly silent.
Juba nudges Danny with his elbow.
JUBA (CONT'D)
Danny, I want you to slowly look
ahead. And don't panic, ok?
Danny quickly lifts his head and there in front of them, not
twenty meters away is the alien presence.
In one rapid movement, Danny gets up and runs to the cave
entrance.
He hides and peers out.
Juba just sits there as the strangeness dissipates.
DANNY
(whispers)
Far out!
JUBA
(looking back, lauging)
That was no aeroplane.
DANNY
(from cave entrance)
What do we do now chief?
JUBA
We don't tell anyone. You got that?
This is sacred business.
DANNY
Sacred my arse. I'm gonna tell
everyone.
8.
— ①
EXT. ANCIENT COASTLINE - DAY
Red cliffs meet turquoise water under stark blue skies.
A gull shrieks at the silence.
Back from the sea, a cave gapes open.
INT. DEEP CAVE - DAY
Yirran (16, lean indigenous youth) watches MARWEN (60s,
weathered elder) painting.
Suddenly, Yirran tenses.
Stands, heads for the cave entrance.
EXT. CAVE ENTRANCE - CONTINUOUS
He squints in harsh sunlight and faces mirror calm sea.
Gulls swoop, cicadas drone.
He listens, disturbed.
YIRRAN
(whispers)
Something...
He turns back.
A sharp HISS stops him.
A THUNDERCLAP follows.
He drops flat, stares toward the sea.
A light grows rapidly from the horizon.
Fast. Bigger. Bigger still.
The light hovers over the beach, settles above a rocky bluff
directly in front of Yirran.
White fire streams from its underside, melting the rock.
2.
A rock pool shimmers.
Trees rustle and flatten.
Stones skitter across the dirt.
He rushed back into the cave.
YIRRAN (CONT'D)
(desperate)
Marwen!
INT. DEEP CAVE - CONTINUOUS
MARWEN
(not looking up, chuckles)
You sound like a squawking gull.
You'll waken the dead. Calm down.
I'm finished now.
YIRRAN
(breathless, terrified)
Outside... a thing... light... with
fire...
Marwen places the fossils into a dilly bag, hitches it across
his shoulder.
Shuffles to the entrance.
Yirran follows.
EXT. CAVE ENTRANCE - CONTINUOUS
As they step out, the air turns to static.
The hair on Yirran’s neck stands straight up.
The light isn’t just bright; it’s heavy.
It pins them to the red earth like insects under a thumb.
Shadows shift.
Man and boy try to run but are held fast.
An energy moves Marwen with a violent twist.
He kicks and writhes, mouth open in a silent scream.
Yirran blinks, stares the place Maren stood seconds ago.
3.
Molten lava remains, spitting as it hits the sea.
Normal sounds return—gulls, cicadas, waves.
Yirran dashes back into the cave.
INT. DEEP CAVE - NIGHT
He sits hard against the wall, staring.
Suddenly, he stands and rekindles the fire.
Finds paint, mixes it with saliva.
Begins brushing on the the wall beside Marwen's painting.
Blood from his hands merges with paint.
He hesitates.
Then, his hand trembles as he scratches a jagged "V".
He lumbers outside, gathers rocks.
Panting as he builds.
Yirran fixes the final stone.
Through the last remaining chink of light, we see his eye—
wide, bloodshot, reflecting the dying embers of his fire.
Then—Darkness.
SUPER: "PRESENT DAY - OUTSIDE CACTUS LOOP, ARNHEM LAND,
NORTHERN AUSTRALIA"
EXT. DIGGERS CAVE AREA - DAY
Same red rocks, now weathered by 10,000 years.
The ancient cave entrance gapes.
DANNY MARSHALL (16, chubby, determined)
Riding a rusty mountain bike, Danny skids to a halt outside
the cave.
He gets off and stands, looking at the entrance like it
wasn't there a moment ago.
He looks back to see his friend Juba jog in, breathing
heavily from his run.
4.
JUBA (16, wiry, wise Aboriginal youth)
JUBA
(hands on his knees as he
catches his breath)
What are you staring at? Seen a
ghost?
DANNY
Feels different. Like something's
waking up.
The both stand a while.
A small twister hurries by.
Dust plasters them.
JUBA
'bout time. I've heard stories.
DANNY
Let's get the gear outta
the cooler.
JUBA
Yeah. Tide's almost up.
Juba takes off.
DANNY
Hang on!
Danny huffs after him, catches up, slaps Juba's head as he
lumbers past.
JUBA
(laughing, easily passing
Danny)
Race ya!
They sprint toward an outcrop of rock.
Lines are cast.
shoulder-to-shoulder they sit.
JUBA (CONT'D)
Know what? This melted-lookin'rock
we're sitting on is the oldest in
the world.)
JUBA (CONT'D)
Older than the world, actually.
5.
DANNY
How can it be older than the world?
That's just plain dumb.
Baitfish jumps in unison. A tern slaps the water. They watch
in contented silence.
JUBA
Probably a meteorite. Came here
from outer space. That's what I
heard from my uncle Feelgood.
DANNY
Cripes. He'd know. He's older than
the world and all the planets put
together. Must be at least forty.
Imagine being that old?
JUBA
(tiny smirk)
Yeah. That'd be about right. Hey,
you asked Kirsty out yet?
DANNY
(Looks daggers)
Shut up, will ya?
JUBA
(gently slaps Danny on the
back of his head)
Bruce will beat you to it, and he's
thick as a plank.
DANNY
(mumbling)
She's up herself anyway. I got
better things to do. Like this.
JUBA
That's the truth.
Danny yanks his line. A fish flashes through clear water.
JUBA (CONT'D)
(excited)
Got yourself a bloody beauty!
Danny lands the fish, unhooks it and hands it to Juba to kill
and clean.
DANNY
We're sleeping at the cave tonight.
6.
JUBA
Yup. Gonna cook this little beauty
and have a feast. How's your old
lady?
DANNY
(shrugs)
She's doing okay. Mopes around a
lot. Bugger all anyone can do about
it.
JUBA
(arm punches Danny)
Listen, Danny. I ain't got a dad
either. And you've got me, okay?
DANNY
(to the sea)
What, like a dad?
JUBA
(huffs)
You know what I mean. Dork.
DANNY
Don't like thinking about all that
shit. You know. How he croaked.
JUBA
Topping yourself takes a lot of
spunk, Danny.
DANNY
Try telling that to an empty chair.
He was a bloody coward. Leaving me
and mum like that. I hate him.
They wait in silence as the sun drops over the horizon.
JUBA
Look at that moon. Gonna be a big
one tonight.
The boys stay quiet for a while.
Danny has his eyes downcast as he harbours a frown.
Directly ahead of where they sit, the sky appears to split
open.
Mouth agape, Juba looks up.
Danny hasn't noticed.
7.
The presence, shrouded in a light mist, hovers nearby.
The air shimmers like heat haze.
As Juba studies it, reality bends inward, creating a lens
effect.
Its surface ripples between states: liquid mercury,
crystalline facets, something that might be living tissue.
It doesn't have edges - it has suggestions of edges.
It is deathly silent.
Juba nudges Danny with his elbow.
JUBA (CONT'D)
Danny, I want you to slowly look
ahead. And don't panic, ok?
Danny quickly lifts his head and there in front of them, not
twenty meters away is the alien presence.
In one rapid movement, Danny gets up and runs to the cave
entrance.
He hides and peers out.
Juba just sits there as the strangeness dissipates.
DANNY
(whispers)
Far out!
JUBA
(looking back, lauging)
That was no aeroplane.
DANNY
(from cave entrance)
What do we do now chief?
JUBA
We don't tell anyone. You got that?
This is sacred business.
DANNY
Sacred my arse. I'm gonna tell
everyone.
8.