The Bone Temple
In 2002, at the terrifying start of the Rage Virus outbreak, a young boy named Jimmy escapes his home in the remote Scottish Highlands after his family is ruthlessly slaughtered by the infected. Desperate for safety, he takes refuge in a nearby church, where he is reunited with his uninfected father—the village vicar. Viewing the plague as divine punishment and the harbinger of apocalypse, the vicar descends into fanaticism. He presses a crucifix into Jimmy’s hands, urging his son to run, then sacrifices himself to the infected horde. His act of selflessness grants Jimmy a chance to survive.
Fast forward twenty-eight years, to 2030—twenty-eight years after a second wave of the virus. While continental Europe has eradicated the infection, the British Isles remain under indefinite quarantine. On the island of Lindisfarne, connected to the mainland by a fortified tidal causeway, a fragile community of survivors struggles to endure. Among them are Jamie, a rugged scavenger; his ailing wife Isla, afflicted by a mysterious illness; and their twelve-year-old son, Spike.
As part of a traditional rite of passage, Jamie takes Spike to the mainland to hunt. During their trip, they encounter a pack of infected, led by a formidable Alpha—a mutated, highly intelligent, and powerful strain. Seeking shelter, they hide in an abandoned cottage and notice a distant bonfire raging. When they return, Spike learns that the fire was lit by Dr. Ian Kelson, a reclusive survivor feared by locals. Rumors swirl that Kelson conducts eerie, ritualistic body-burning ceremonies.
Disillusioned after discovering his father's infidelity, Spike secretly returns to the mainland with his mother, hoping Kelson might find a cure for Isla. Meanwhile, Erik Sundqvist, a Swedish NATO soldier, is stranded after his patrol boat sinks. His unit is quickly overrun by infected, leaving Erik as the sole survivor. He eventually encounters Spike and Isla, rescuing them from an ambush and joining their quest for Kelson.
Their journey takes a dark turn when they come across a pregnant infected woman giving birth—an infant seemingly uninfected. Erik kills the mother and prepares to eliminate the baby, but an Alpha appears, decapitating him and pursuing Spike and Isla. Salvation arrives in the form of Kelson, who tranquilizes the Alpha with a morphine-laced blowdart and leads the survivors to his grotesque sanctuary—a temple built from the bleached bones of the dead. Kelson carefully cleans Erik’s skull, adding it to his grim reliquary.
Kelson then reveals the truth about Isla’s health: she is terminally ill with cancer. At her request, he administers a peaceful death with morphine. Her skull, lovingly prepared, is handed to Spike, who places it atop the bone temple as a final tribute.
After another deadly encounter with the Alpha, Spike and Kelson manage to escape. Spike returns alone to Lindisfarne, leaving the orphaned infant—whom he names Isla—at the village gate with a note for Jamie. The note explains the child’s origin and vows he will return when the time is right. Jamie, frantic to reunite with his son, rushes to the causeway, but the rising tide cuts him off, stranded on the island.
Twenty-eight days later, now wandering alone on the mainland, Spike is ambushed by infected. At death’s door, he is rescued by a fanatical cult led by a mysterious figure who calls himself Sir Jimmy—bearing the very crucifix that his father gave him at the outbreak’s onset
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