Monolith

Sandra discovers from Jessa that Carl is having an affair. Realizing the betrayal, she decides to divert her path away from his parents and head toward Los Angeles instead. She continues driving the Monolith car with her two-year-old son David, hoping the change of course will bring a fresh start.

Lilith, the car’s AI, urges an off-road route to avoid danger. To calm herself, Sandra lights a cigarette, but Lilith triggers the car’s smoke alarm in the process. In the ensuing chaos, the Monolith collides with a wild deer, heightening the peril.

David grabs the Monolith app on Sandra’s phone and accidentally locks the car from the inside. He drops the phone under the seat, preventing Sandra from re-entering. With no help nearby, she is forced to endure the escalating danger with her son.

Sandra searches for help at a nearby electric charging station but finds no one around. With no aid in sight, she climbs onto the car roof to rest and protect David through the night. The isolation and desert heat test her resolve to survive.

After a night filled with nightmares, Sandra begins to wander the desert near the Monolith in search of water or rescue. She moves cautiously, keeping David close as the landscape offers little relief. The long trek compounds the sense of isolation and danger.

Sandra finds an abandoned plane at a deserted airport and uses liquor from the minibar to form a crude distress signal by burning tires. She then discovers a stream of water, providing a much-needed, if temporary, lifeline. The scene marks a rare glimmer of hope amid the desolation.

Back at the Monolith, Sandra finds David in danger as the car’s air conditions fail and he struggles to breathe. She tries to open the doors, but the car remains sealed. In a moment of desperation, she attempts to start a small fire with gasoline and branches, triggering the smoke alarm and forcing her to extinguish it with water.

A hungry coyote attacks the Monolith and Sandra’s efforts, but she manages to drive the creature away. She remains determined to access the car doors and free David, resisting despair as the threat looms large.

After another night of tension, David is unconscious and the coyote returns. The beast bites Sandra’s ankle as she fights to protect him. The Monolith begins to move down the hill, and she braces against a nearby stone to stop the descent.

Remembering a Wiley E. Coyote-like cartoon she saw at a gas station, Sandra decides to push the car away from the edge. She uses the wrench to break a rock and intimidates the coyote, forcing it to retreat as the Monolith slides. The car’s doors finally open, and she manages to reach David with renewed hope.

With the danger behind them, Sandra reluctantly relies on Lilith and reactivates the off-road mode to pull themselves out from the precarious hole. They scramble toward safety, the car providing transit back to civilization.

They reach a hospital, and David wakes up to address his mother for the first time, saying 'Mother.' The moment marks a poignant relief after the harrowing ordeal and signals near-improvement in his condition.