Ev Hillman and David Brown

Ev Hillman and David Brown are bound by a grandfather’s determination to find his missing grandson. Ev’s search moves from private conviction to a public effort to uncover what is happening in the woods, while the possibility that David is trapped inside the buried spacecraft exposes the terrible limits of what Ev can know or rescue.

The missing grandson and Ev’s conviction

David’s disappearance is not merely one mystery among the town’s strange events for Ev: it is the reason he keeps searching. When Ev tells Butch Dugan that he has no proof, he nevertheless insists that something is in the woods and that he will find it. His aim is twofold—to bring Dugan with him and make the truth public, and, if possible, to get David back. Even if recovering David proves impossible, Ev argues, they must try to stop whatever is happening before it is too late.

That resolve persists despite the disbelief Ev encounters. Ev recalls that both a reporter and nurses had thought him out of his mind. Rather than retreat from a claim he cannot substantiate, he turns the lack of proof into a reason to seek direct evidence: he wants to photograph what is in the woods and enlist Dugan in confronting it. The search for David and the attempt to protect the town are therefore inseparable in Ev’s purpose.

A grandfather’s care for Hilly

Ev’s concern extends to David’s brother, Hilly. In a note left beside Hilly’s bed, Ev says he may not see him for a while, reassures him that he believes Hilly will recover from his bad period, and offers to help. He explicitly tells Hilly that David’s disappearance was not his fault and affirms his love for him. The message shows Ev trying to protect Hilly from guilt even as Ev himself remains consumed by uncertainty about David.

The note ends with the simple signature “Gramp,” but its hopeful promise is undercut by the outcome: Ev never sees Hilly again. His written assurance that he hopes to return to Hilly’s side becomes a final expression of affection whose intended reunion does not occur.

The ship and the limits of the search

When Ev sees the buried ship, his first thought is still David. He wonders whether the boy might be inside, imprisoned in corridors and passages made for no human shape. The thought immediately becomes a recognition of the danger: if David were there, Ev reasons, he would already have starved or died of thirst. The possibility of finding the ship therefore does not resolve the disappearance; it sharpens Ev’s awareness that the object of his search may be beyond saving.

Ev puts his small camera in his pocket, returns to Dugan, and picks up a flare gun. Before the two can decide what to do next, Ev notices a group of townspeople among the trees, some armed. The discovery brings his effort to expose what is happening into direct contact with the transformed community around him. His search for David has led him to the source of the danger, but the scene leaves the rescue unresolved and confronts him with a new threat.