Dr. Ethan Cole, a tall man with tired eyes and an air of cautious hope, grips the steering wheel with white knuckles. Beside him, Maya Cole, his wife, gazes out the window, her expression unreadable. In the backseat, their daughter Ruby Cole slouches, headphones blaring, eyes darting between her parents and the unfamiliar landscape. "It hasn't changed much, has it?" "Maybe that's not a good thing," she replies, her voice soft enough for only him to hear.

Ethan kneels beside a lethargic heifer, inspecting her eyes while the farmer, Tom Briggs, lingers nearby, arms crossed. Syringe wrappers and muddy footprints catch his attention near the barn door. "You think it's just a bug? Or something else?" "I'll need to run some tests. Have you noticed anything strange lately?" "Strange? Only that you came back after all these years," Tom mutters, glancing away.

"I don't understand why we had to move here! Nobody wants us here!" "We needed a fresh start, Ruby. For all of us." "Dad's not telling us everything. He never does."

Ethan stands on the porch, rain soaking through his shirt, as Sheriff Linda Hayes, a sharp-eyed woman with a weathered badge, approaches him. Ruby clings to the doorway, her eyes wide. "Mr. Cole, can you account for your whereabouts last night? Your wife has been reported missing." "She was home. We... we argued, but she was here when I went to bed." "That's not what some of your neighbors are saying."

Reporter Ben Foster, with a camera and a notepad, corners Ethan near the pool table. "The town remembers, Dr. Cole. You were the last one seen with Emily Barnes. Now your wife is gone. Care to comment?" "I'm not that person. I need to find my wife. I need people to believe me."

"I have to do this myself," he whispers, glancing back toward the dim glow of town lights. Determination flashes in his eyes despite exhaustion. A battered collar lies half-buried in the mud, initials scratched on the metal tag—a clue, or perhaps a warning, as the secrets of Willow Creek begin to unravel.