Joel comes home late after a difficult day at work. His daughter Sarah is still awake and gives him a gift of a new watch to replace his broken one. They joke around but Joel seems stressed. Later that night, Joel's brother Tommy calls sounding worried but the line cuts out. Sarah can't find Joel and turns on the TV to see a news report of riots that seem connected to a nationwide pandemic, with victims showing increased aggression.

1. [Setting: Texas. Joel walks into his house late at night, on the phone.]
Joel: Tommy, I-...Tommy. Tommy, listen to me. He's the contractor, okay? I
can't lose this job. I understand... Let's talk about this in the
morning, okay? We'll talk about it in the morning. Alright, goodnight.
[He turns on the light, waking his daughter on the couch.]
Sarah: Hey.
Joel: Scoot.
Sarah: Fun day at work, huh?
Joel: What are you still doing up? It's late.
Sarah: Oh crud. What time is it?
Joel: It's way past your bedtime.
Sarah: But it's still today.
Joel: Honey, please not right now. I do not have the energy for this.
[She gets out a small gift box from nearby.]
Sarah: Here.
Joel: What's this?
Sarah: Your birthday.
[He opens it.]
Sarah: You kept complaining about your broken watch... So I figured, you know.
You like it?
Joel: Honey, this is...
Sarah: What?
Joel: It's nice, but I-...I think it's stuck. It's not...
Sarah: What? No, no, no, no.
[She sees he's just kidding her.]
Sarah: Oh, ha, ha.
Joel: Where did you get the money for this?
Sarah: Drugs. I sell hardcore drugs.
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2. Joel: Oh, good. You can start helping out with the mortgage then.
Sarah: Stsh - yeah, you wish.
[Joel watches TV for awhile, then carries Sarah to bed.]
Joel: Goodnight, baby girl.
[Later that night, the phone rings. Sarah answers.]
Sarah: Hello?
Tommy: Sarah, honey, I need you to get your daddy on the phone.
Sarah: Uncle Tommy, what time is it?
Tommy: I need to talk to your dad now. There's some--
[The line goes dead.]
Sarah: Uncle Tommy? Hello?
[She hangs up.]
Sarah: What was that all about? Dad? Daddy? You in here?
[She walks into his empty bedroom. A TV report is on.]
Reporter: It appears that what we initially reported as riots seem to be
somehow connected to the nationwide pandemic.
Sarah: Where the heck are you?
Reporter: We've received reports that victims afflicted with the infection
show signs of increased aggression and--
Sarah: That's nearby.
[In the report's background, a cop talks to his unit.]
Cop: There's a gas leak. Hey -- move!
Reporter: There's some commotion coming from beh--
Cop: Get out of here!
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