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Jessica Forever (2018)
We're in a time
when many orphans populate the Earth. These boys live alone, on the outskirts of towns and villages. They don't hesitate to steal or kill to meet their needs. The world wants them dead. The Special Forces seek to eliminate them, killing the orphans one by one. One lone young woman stands up for them. Her mission is to protect them and save them from certain death. Her name is Jessica. I'm Jessica. What's your name? Kevin. My name is Trsor. My name is Sasha. Dimitri. My name is Maxime. My name is Raiden. Kevin. That's a rock. When I was little, I had one that helped me. I hope it will help you too. My name is Leopard. I'm Michael. My name is Magic. Lucas. Julien. By loving them, Jessica managed to save many orphans, and calm their violence. The boys often wonder why she doesn't blame them for their crimes. They know the Special Forces are after them, and live each day as though it were their last. Jessica is a miracle for every one of them. And though she has never forced any of them to stay with her, not a single one would dream of leaving the family she created. Why would I come with you? Because you have nowhere else to go. Because with us, you'll be safe. There's nothing left for us outside. I should be the one asking you. Why wouldn't you come with us? A few hours later, Kevin joined our group. He was beautiful in the bullet-proof vest. He tried in vain to hide his emotions. We could see he wanted to cry. The others felt the same. But they'd rather have died than shed a tear. I advise you to try them all. You'll know which one is right for you. You can still have a knife too. My specialty is the Katana. I also have a Glock 26, and sometimes I carry an ARX160. If we're attacked, our swords and knives won't get us far. The two most important things to Jessica are training time and naptime. Why can't we sleep when we want to? It's important. We get to know each other this way. All warriors nap together. I scratch myself in my sleep. I don't know I'm doing it. If I don't wear these, I get blood everywhere. What's his name again? Leopard. And him? That's Dimitri. Go on. Try to get some rest. Never ask questions. Be stupid. Be mean. Be a monster. Slit throats. Get headshots. Kill. Just kill. Do it clean. Do it dirty. No regrets. Be bloody and be happy. Breathe. Calm down. We're here for you. Don't worry. It'll be alright. Sometimes, we just need someone to tell us it's ok. Breathe. Calm down. When one of them was afraid, she'd take him in her arms and say, "We're not humans, you know. We're comets." One day Raiden replied, "But comets don't hide. They light up the sky. They scream to the world, 'Look at me. I'm about to disappear. But right now, I'm dazzling you.'" It'll be alright. With you, I no longer feel like slitting throats. Before, if I didn't plunge my knife into a body every two days, I didn't feel right. And even though I sometimes killed for food, most often, I killed for pleasure. This is my first-ever family. Now, living alone seems impossible. I'm growing every day. I'm glad to be here. I've never felt better. I was having a dream. I can't remember it now. It'll come back. Tomorrow is Jessica's birthday. Any ideas for a gift? We could get her a cake. A cake is a good idea. Strawberry would be even better. Ok for strawberry cake. Who's going? I'd like to go. I'll come with you. Lucas, coming with us? Yes. If Jessica looks for us tomorrow, make an excuse. Otherwise it won't be a surprise. Shame we don't know her age. She never wants to say. I think she's older than us, but looks young. Looking at her, I'd say she's 25. I bet she forgot it's today. Do you think they'll become wild? Took you forever. We went to the vacant lot. Jessica! JESSICA WE LOVE YOU JESSICA WE LOVE YOU Can we get our favorite cereal here? Don't worry. If not, we'll go get some. Don't you feel bad that Kevin's dead? I didn't know him well. Tonight we sleep outside. We'll take turns keeping watch. There might be creatures on the prowl. How do you want our new house to be? I just want it to protect us. I imagine our new house very white, with black or brown shutters. I imagine the walls painted white, to rest our eyes. I imagine a big garage, that we could turn into a workshop to make anything we want. I see green grass. Wild grass, not lawn. In summer, yellow and purple flowers will bloom everywhere. I imagine a swimming pool lighting up the night. I found my room! I haven't even started looking yet. It's gonna be good. It's so beautiful. We're orphans! Our birthright is to take everything. All that has been denied us. We'll invade your homes and slit your throats in you sleep. We'll watch football games on your big screen TVs. We'll eat your ice cream. We'll empty your wine cellars and loot your closets. We'll dress like princes, our teeth capped in gold. We'll put your dogs in the tigers' cages. We have no rights. So we take everything. We'll knock down your statues. We'll burn your buildings. Because our love is like a comet. Our love is a Kalashnikov with endless bullets. Pump-action shotguns will grow on our palm trees. Bullets will grow on our cherry trees. We'll never fall in love. Jessica? Yes. We secured the house like you told us. It's so beautiful. There's a gorgeous chandelier. You're going to love it. When do you arrive? Ok. Yes, we're being careful. I'm going for ice cream. Be right back. I made a list of things I want. Get what you want too. - What flavor ice cream do you want? - Anything. New here? I've never seen you. Yeah. When did you arrive? Yesterday. - What're you doing? - Nothing. They're here! Was the trip alright? Yes. What're you looking for, Trsor? My pillow. I can't find it. I can't sleep without it. Good night, Magic. Good night, Trsor. Good night, Maxime. Good night, Sasha. Good night, Leopard. Good night, Dimitri. Good night, Raiden. Good night, Julien. Good night, Michael. Good night, Lucas. Good night, my children. Here you will find a way to be happy again. That's my promise to you. And even if death tracks us down like prey, we mustn't fear it. For we will always be together. I didn't do it on purpose. Julien. That was our prettiest thing. It was for Jessica. You shouldn't have broken it. Michael, please. Calm down. Calm down. The fresh air will do us good. Don't consider it punishment. I was pissed off that Julien broke the chandelier, too. I thought it was pretty too. He didn't do it on purpose. Like Raiden with our old flat screen. He didn't blow it up on purpose. I think Julien's hurting. He's feeling fragile. You should go see him tonight. Come on in! Andrea died at 16. She was found dead in bed with a bullet in her head. She is Lucas' little sister. Hi. Got any water? Thanks, I was so thirsty. Aren't you hot in your hoodie? Why don't you wear a swimsuit? I didn't plan on swimming. I brought no sunscreen. Why are you laughing? You're funny there, in your hoodie. My name's Camille. You're ok. You just got a mouthful. Is he ok? Yes, he's fine. Let us be. Hi. Hi. How was the beach? I didn't swim. And Lucas got a mouthful. He freaked me out. He went under, then came out of the water all white. He was choking. I'm sorry about earlier. It was stupid. Never mind. - Who put this on? So beautiful. - Julien. Cuts through me. Kevin, we didn't have time to bury you. We didn't even have time to cry. Since you've been gone, I think of you all the time. Everywhere. In everything I see, everything I hear. I'd like to talk to the others about it, but I don't know how. Please don't blame us. We never learned to say goodbye. We'll continue our life without you. But I'll never forget you. The ones pointing down go like this. The ones pointing up go like this. And the roses in between. Raiden? Can I come in? Come in. Everything alright? You? Not coming to eat? I'll come. What's on your mind? Nothing. Actually... there is. I was wondering... Now that we each have our own room, will we still nap together? Of course. Great news. Jessica? I don't know if you remember. Before, I felt good. I was never afraid. I could destroy anyone who looked at me the wrong way. I believed bullets couldn't hurt us at all. That if someone shot at us, at worst, we'd get a little scratch. A little hole. Before, whenever we moved, I was the happiest boy alive. Now I'm scared of everything. We're all scared, Raiden. We're all the same. We have to help each other, stay together. Bad things don't last forever. We have to stop them from lasting. Bad things don't last forever. We have to stop them from lasting. Bad things don't last forever. We have to stop them from lasting. Nothing for me? Nothing for you. Let's go for a walk. There's music outside. Are you ok? I'm fine. Hi. You're everywhere. Are you a friend of Chris? Who's Chris? The guy throwing the party. This is his house. I don't know him. We heard music so we came to check it out. Hi, I'm Ilyess. He's Marc. That's Paul. We saw you on the beach. Are you new here? Yeah. You've got big muscles. Got a coach? I do it on my own. The machines are easy. It's hard at first, then easy. I'd like to be like you. Tell me something about you. If you don't know what to say, start with your name. Michael. Michael? It suits you. I thought your name was Gabriel. Gabriel? I was sure that was your name. But Michael's great. Your smile is awesome. K... as in "Kilimanjaro"... And 1000... You're even prettier at night. ...like the number. As though night, aware of your beauty, decided to turn out every light but you. That's my internet handle. It's me. Lucas. It's me. I'm here. You're ok. Come. Where were you? With that slut? You're an asshole, Lucas. A piece of shit. You should be tied up. It was your idea. I didn't want to go. You should've been with me. This island sucks anyway. I didn't want to go. Listen to me, Lucas. Don't say anything to the others. If they ask, tell them you and Michael were play-fighting, and it got out of control. Ok? Good morning. Thanks. We're going to the river later, wanna come? No thanks. Michael: Sorry about last night. We were really scared. I'm writing you a letter. Can I give it to you tomorrow? Ok. You're really weird. You didn't want to go with the others? No. I wanted to stay with you. You're sweet. Hello, Lucas. Your sister's been looking for you. She wants to know if she can come see you. Should I tell her yes, or no? You can tell her yes. I've been expecting you. Are you hungry? Want something to drink? Know how to play? Of course. Come. Why are you here? You're so dumb. I wanted to see you again. You were on my mind, that's all. If I'm bothering you, I'll go. Are the people you live with your new family? Yes. They seem cool. I was afraid you'd be alone so long, you'd forget how to talk, how to smile. I was afraid you'd turn into a monster. But you're the same as before. Andrea? Yes? Did it hurt when I shot you? No. I couldn't get to sleep that night. I saw you enter the room. I thought you'd come to kiss me goodnight, as usual. When I saw you, I closed my eyes, eagerly awaiting your kiss. When you fired, I had no time to be scared. Camille, I'm writing you this letter because I'm in love with you. For that reason, I want you to know who I really am. I wish I could teleport you into my head so you could visit my memories. It'd be easier, but it's impossible. I have to tell you who I really am, because the way you look at me proves you don't know. When you look at me, it's like a gift. I don't want to lie to you. I don't want to take advantage of you. Just know that every awful thing you can imagine, I have done. Every heinous crime you can imagine, the worst atrocities, the most barbaric of acts, your worst nightmares, I have done. If I'd met you before, I could've killed you. My heart screams to tell you the truth. I was a monster. When I'm with you, I want to be someone else. But I can't make it all disappear. I'm not sure you can look at me the same way now. I'll understand if you never want to see me again. I won't blame you. Michael. How many are in your group? Eleven of us. That's a big family. You can have football matches. Will you stay here? I hope so. I hope this'll be the one. What I'm about to say is strange. Sometimes I feel like the island is alive. That it protects those who live here. You know? Like a shield. We'll live on the back of a whale, in a waterproof cabin big enough so we can invite 7 or 8 friends. We'll eat lots of good things. We'll stop off at various islands to go dancing, take new drugs... try out new sports. One of us will become a champion of something. We'll take everything we lack. Raiden... Raiden. Let me sleep. I wanted to believe you, Jessica. Believe it was possible to leave the horror behind. But what good did all the love do? We'll never be anything but monsters. Jessica! Jessica... Raiden! After Raiden's murders, the locals called the Special Forces. Jessica and the boys were calm. They didn't blame Raiden. Together, they decided to stop running and confront their destiny. We came in this way. Here... is the library. Here... is the computer room. And here... is the biology room. I knew I shouldn't help them, but my heart told me to. They'd chosen to fight, and in so choosing, they knew they would die. And yet they were not afraid. They were all at peace. They'd carried this death inside them for a long time. See you again soon, Camille. I'm sorry, Andrea. I'm sorry. They said there was nothing good in you. Nothing worth saving. They said everything was bad. I didn't want to believe that. The times we spent together were the best times of my life. You are my greatest victory. I don't regret a thing. Never forget our legend. The magic hours and the comforting words. Tag our love everywhere. Scream it from every roof in every city on Earth. Let our love become a flag. |
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