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Path of Blood (2018)
We need to purge this movement
of darkness, of Steve. How? We tell everyone. The end is gonna be in Bali. Who told you about Bali? I saw it. What if you came to work for me? I want you on the team when I run for Governor. I'm getting you out of here. Come on. Look, II can't. What is wrong with you? Don't We have to cut off ties and end the trip to Bali. You won't get better unless you leave this place. If you don't get better, I can't love you. Eddie, I believe in you. I believe in this movement. I would destroy everything I worked so fucking hard to put behind me! Steve needs to be written out of Revelation. The Movement won't survive. They are not here for Steve. They are here for me. No, I can't let you do that. I won't let you do that. I have lived without you, Light, for so long, without your love, without your warmth, but I beg you now come back to me. Come back to me. Give me strength. Give me conviction. Light that was taken from me... Or left me to suffer alone... That has given me hope... And reason. Come back to me now. Come back to me. Let me do right by you now. Thank you for everything. We've been preparing for so long. I can't believe it's finally almost here. Well, you've done amazing. Are you going to Bali with him? I'd come just to Bali is no longer happening. Yeah, um... we're no longer gonna open a center there. The trip has been canceled. Did I just hear you say that Eddie won't be going to Bali? But isn't that where your mother had the vision? I thought that that's why we were here, to celebrate and plan. We just heard that Bali isn't happening? The Movement's upcoming trip... has been temporarily... canceled. But that's where you saw it happen. Tell us what this means. Does this mean we have to keep waiting? You said it would happen in our lifetime. We're the ones to build the new world. Lilith... assure them, as you always assure me. The Movement will grow. The son will die. And the cleanse... the cleanse will come. How is he? He misses you. I put his Sophie in here, diapers. He ate about an hour ago, so he should be good till 11:00. Hey! You got something at the compound tonight? Revelation. What's that? Uh, actually, you know what? Uh, don't tell me. Um, just put him in day care when you have to go, and I'll pick him up after work. Okay. How's the job? Good. Good. How are you? Hanging in. You know I didn't want to leave you, but... No II can't just keep going... No, no, no, no And going and never getting No, II get it. II get it. I know. I know. Hey, look, ccome on the merrygoround with us. I'm late for work. Come on. Just one ride. It'll be fun. Fun? Yeah. Nothing in my life is fun right now. I live in a Holiday Inn. My heart is broken. And I actually like my job, and I'm going to be late, and I I don't want to get reeled back into you. I promise, you won't. I want you to be happy, Mary. I reallyI really do. Look, come on. Come on, come on, come on. Hello, sir. Uh, three three tickets, please. Thank you. Here, oh, let me take your bag. Oh, my God, this thing weighs a ton. Come on, come on. Okay. Look, look, look, look. Yeah. I'm going to tell the membership at Revelation... everything. People will have a lot of questions. You're the only one who can say what happened on Huayna Picchu, whether Steve saw a Ladder... or not. Are you kidding me? This is bullshit. This is utter and total crap. It's not, Mom. Steve was one of my closest friends. More than a friend he was family. You know, I didn't want it to be true either. I'm going. Let's go, let's go. Who have you become? This is why you put me in France... No, Felicia. So you could put together this story. This isn't a story. I saw him climb The Ladder. I tried to climb after. Yeah, that's what you've told us. I will not let you be abused like this, Felicia. Let's go. I know what happened, and I'm the only one left who can defend against these lies, and I will do that. Your word is the only one that doesn't fit. This is for you. This is selfserving. I started this. I found Lilith. I discovered The Hypoxian Cleanse And that. Allegations that Steve abused Cal? Steve was the only father that boy ever had. No, we are not naming names. I just hope he's in on this, because if you're using him for your smear You know what? That's enough. This is painful for all of us. It's why I couldn't see Summer in the play. It is why I left The Movement. And none of us wants to believe that this is true, but it is, and the sooner that we accept it, we can move forward as a community. The community will see through this. Look, I promised... a Ladder to Enlightenment that is illuminated... Let's go. By Transparency. And that is what I intend to give. This will backfire. You'll lose everyone. All right... buses are gonna be here at 4:00 to pick us up, take us to the compound. What's this Revelation thing about? I am as in the dark as you guys. All I know is my dad said it's important. He wants us all to be there, and he's gonna tell us something. Uh, I have plans tonight. Cancel them. It's probably about the rumors. Everybody saw Cal in that TV show. He killed it. That doesn't mean that people don't believe that article. Do you think we're shutting down? Of course not. Because I heard Eddie disappeared again. Okay, guys, here's the deal my dad is The Guardian of The Light. He says to be somewhere, we go. Unless any of you happen to commune directly with The Light? Jeremy? Cassie? You guys need... Revelation more than anybody else. If you guys aren't there tonight, don't bother coming back here tomorrow. See you on the bus. Yes? Who is it? Hey. Uh, you got a minute? Not really. So, um... Gede, he decided to pull out of setting us up in Bali. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you? I killed it. Why? Because of your mother? Eddie, I'm really mad at you, but I also don't want you dead. You still believe in her. I don't know what I believe in, but I just know that I didn't want to take any chances. Um... look, Vera, I'm... I'm sorry... about what happened with us. Yeah. Meme too. Are you still a Meyerist? I'm thankful to The Meyerist Movement for helping me get out of a very dangerous cult that is my mother. Why don't you come back to work with us... as a Meyerist or as a secular person? Why would I do that? Because I am sure you're trying to figure out what you are going to do next, and you liked working with us. Plus, The Movement is going to need you. Why? Whywhy would The Movement need me? I am planning to reveal everything that I've learned about your mother and Steve about who he was, what he stole, how he abused, and then I am going to start over. You want my... last piece of professional advice? Don't do it. Well, it's... going to happen, tonight at Revelation. Why can't Revelation be about acknowledging how far everyone's come, optimism and future? Just let the past stay in the past. Because Steve needs to be purged. Steve chose you, Eddie. No, he chose me to erase him. This is not going to erase him. This is all anyone will ever talk about. Then why don't you help me make sure that that is not the case? Vera... help me rebuild. Thank you for meeting me here. Of course. What is it? Andand why here? I know you're afraid, Lilith. I'm not. You are. And I wanted to offer myself. Offer yourself? When my wife was killed, there seemed little to live for but the hope you gave me of a better world. You've been so good to me. Everything I've seen over the years has come to be true. II don't understand what it means when someone alters the future like Vera has. I I don'tI don't know what happens next. Maybe it wasn't Bali. Maybe Bali doesn't matter. In your vision, could you see who it was that shot him? No. Why not me, then? Do you even know how to use a gun? You aren't the one to do it. Your cancer's not getting better. The last MRI shows it's now in your liver and lungs. There are so many ways to fight it, and we will do that, but we can't lose you before the end. We can't do it without you. I'm supposed to speak at this EcoFaith Initiative tomorrow. It's a faithbased environmental group. I don't know how those two things aren't contradictory. But if we can get the wackos on board with some of the science around climate change, I'm for it. I'm sorry, did I offend you with the, uh, "wackos" thing? No, you didn't. So I'm boring you. Great. Can't even keep your attention. How am I gonna win over this group of treehugging Christians who probably already think I'm an unrepentant sinner? You're nothing of the sort. You're just a flawed human being like the rest of us, seeking redemption. We all are. Hmm. You okay? I don't want to talk about my personal life. Okay. But I didn't ask. I will help you talk to the Green Christians. I'm all over it. You know, I'm just going through, um... My life is, uh, changing Fuck. You know what? It is it's so stuffy in here. Could we get some air? Yeah, sorry, they sealed those off a while ago. I think they thought I was gonna jump. Or maybe someone from my staff. Hey, you know what? I got an idea. Come with me. Here, take your coat. Wow. Right? Not bad as far as fresh air goes. I mean... it's not a remote island in the Caribbean, but it's an island... slightly more populated. I didn't take you for a guy that went up on the roof. Little "head in the clouds," don't you think? Hey, I have my moments of contemplation and perspective. And I come up here to daydrink. Away from prying eyes. I left himCal or I don't know, we're separated. It's all very confusing. But, um... at least I'll have more time, I guess, to focus. I'm sorry. Oh... Um, I want Can I... I'll take a hug. I consent to a hug. Uh, you'll be okay. Can I do something truly awful? I think so. I haven't smoked in two years, and I bought a cigarette off a homeless person this morning, and I really want to smoke it. Well, smoke! Environment be damned! What's that? Is everything okay? III have to go... Back to the compound. Okay. Can I help in any way? I need a car. Okay. She's been sitting like that for hours, just staring out the window. Did anything happen after I left this morning? After you destroyed us? No. She's been like that since we came home. Felicia? Should I call a doctor? Just give me a minute. She's gone into some kind of shock. Is there something... Whatever it is, we will get through it, I promise you, but you need to tell me. What are you doing, Sarah? We need to finish this. We were doing 7R. Yes. Reflective. Everything is revealed. 115... Concentrate. You must be able to recite it backwards and forwards. 115... 94, 76, 54, 32, 12, 15... 7. Forward. Free yourself of delusions. 7, 15, 12, 32, 54, 76, 94, 115. 115, 94, 76, 54, 32... He told us that he struggled... That he was ill. He said he had unnatural thoughts that haunted him. Thoughts about children? Thoughts about Cal? I didn't know about Cal specifically. Oh, God. We tried to reconcile, to make sense of why The Light would choose someone so laden with Transgress to be our messenger. Silas was there? Silas knew, too. Then we understood. The Light was testing us. It was testing our faith. We worked with him. We wouldn't give up until we had cured him. You didn't cure him. We didn't know what we know now about that sort of thing. We thought we could make him well. We thought The Light would make him well. We thought it had. I didn't know that he had acted on it. I didn't know. Hello? Is Cal there at Revelation? Can you see him? Uh, no, II haven't gone yet. He's gonna kill himself, and Eddie's not answering his phone. Why would you say that? He wrote a fucking note "In a place where they won't find the body, and it will seem like I've disappeared." He doesn't want me to deal oror Forest. III need you to help me, please. Please help me. Hey. Glad you made it. I hear he's gonna say something epic tonight. Let'slet's hope so. We're gonna be forced to face ourselves, really face ourselves. That's what Eddie Lane gives us. Hey. Hey. It's almost time. Yeah. We would have been in Bali tonight. It might have been your last night on Earth. We'll never know. Don't do this. Vera... I know. I know you think I am crazy for believing my mother, but I do. She is a force of anger and revenge, and that is real and very powerful. But you, Eddie, you'reyou're hope, and the world needs hope right now. Please don't destroy this. Hey, thank you. You know, I want to I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight. For those of you who've been with us a long time, I'm sure you're wondering what Revelation is and where it came from. Well, that's the nature of a Revelation. It strikes without warning. It breaks the way we see the world entirely. Well, that's what we are going to do tonight. We as a community who seek Truth, we are going to acknowledge the past and cleanse the wrongs. Some things have come to light about Dr. Steven Meyer, things that will be difficult to reconcile. But at the end of all this, I ask you to trust that I was chosen for a reason. Even though the man who chose me... may have failed you, I will not. Together, we'll face our demons and reconcile the past. What are you doing here? Mary called me. She said you wanted to kill yourself in a place that no one would find you, and this is the first place that I thought of. She's very upset, Cal. It'd be better for her in the long run, and Forest. Why? Sarah... You have to talk to me. I'm not talking to you about this. You need to go. Why would it be better for Mary to lose you? I should be in the ground. I killed someone, and I could do it again, believe me. I thought about, uh, killing you and Eddie. But you didn't... God, just And you wouldn't. Get out of here, Sarah. No, Forest, he needs you. II'm asking you to go. No, Cal. Let me do this the way I want. That's all I ask. Your son needs his father. I'm not a fucking father, Sarah! Yes, you are. I've seen you. Whatwhat, carrying him around? Feeding him? Anyone can do that. No, that's not true. God, you have no idea! No idea! I don't. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to I know you suffer, but I also know how good you are. Iuh, I'm sick. Uh, alcoholic salesman... No. And it'll catch to them. It already has. No, I don't believe you. I have known you since I was a child. You didn't know me. I was already ruined. No, I didn't know what was happening, that's true, but II knew you. Just go, Sarah. I wanted to be around you. II loved you. Yeah, and look what I did to you. Anything that I did, I did to myself. Plpleaseplease stop this. I need this. I called you earlier this year. I was in... a ton of pain, and you were the only one I could ask for help. Yeah, because I was the only one fucked up enough to understand. Maybe. What's so bad about that, huh? What's so bad about having the capacity to understand someone else who is so steeped in selfloathing? I don't know... what it is for someone to take my innocence, to destroy every sense... of normalcy, of how you get over that, of how you have any sense of how to make a life. But I do know that the ugliness that you feel inside of you, it's not you. It is me, Sarah. It's them. Your mom... your dad, Steve... It is me. It is not you. I justI just want to get over it. I just want I want to be over it. I need to be over it. - This isn't the way, okay? - This isn't the way. Not this way. I just need to be over it. Not this way. We have uncovered... some early diaries of Steve's... Diaries that were written long before his climb on Huayna Picchu. Now, these journals, they had another writer. This writer was the first person to have the vision of The Ladder. Does this mean the Jackson Neill article is real? No, the Jackson Neill article was filled with halftruths with the intent to harm, okay? What I am telling you now is everything you need to know to be the strongest, most powerful version of The Light. The first vision of The Ladder was had by Lilith Assan back in 1973. That was a year before Steve made his climb. Now, that led me down a path of investigation into Dr. Meyer's life. Does this mean this Lilith woman is the true prophet of The Light? No. No. I am the prophet... The son. I am... the one. Mom? Cal. No! Hey! Cal! Gaby... I still believe there's a reason for all this. I do. I have no choice. There has to be, even for Steve. Of course there's a reason. Why'd she do it? She was a very ill woman... Who had a lot of damage through her life. Did she want her to die? No. She wanted Daddy to die? Yes. Vera saved your life? Yes. She saved my life. Will other people try and shoot at us? Hey... I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that nobody ever shoots at us again. Okay? Because of the contracts we had your people sign, you are safe from most of these lawsuits, but I will take you through them so you understand what's on the table. Lawsuits... We were just shot at a week ago. Someone very close to us just died. Who the fuck is filing lawsuits? Parents of Novices, Rodrigo and Smith. All right, they'rethey're they'rethey're done. Out, okay? Fuck them and their parents. And there are two active Meyerists who are suing for emotional distress, but both signed the waiver. Can I sue them back? Well, you can sue anyone. I mean I want to take on the IRS, okay? I want religious status. No more fucking cult. Mr. Lane, you've just been through a huge trauma. I would advise any client who has gone through what you've gone through to just take a few weeks to Few weeks to what? Grieve. Right. What are you, my therapist? Or are you my fucking lawyer? As your lawyer, I'm not sure this is the right time to take on the IRS. The Jackson Neill article is still fresh. His book will be out in the spring, and there was a shooting at your campus that is in every paper. And we are going to double... triple our membership by next year. Threats will rise, and I have to protect them. First step is getting religious recognition. If you don't want to go against the IRS, then I am sure I can find another lawyer who will. I'm your lawyer. And as for Jackson Neill's forthcoming book... kill it. I read Vera's mother hated the religion. They're threatened by us. What else was Eddie going to say at Revelation? Steve wasn't the first to climb The Ladder. A woman climbed it before him. II don't think his actual words at this point are as important. Why? Of course they are. My parents think we're all gonna get killed. My parents are suing. Vera just died for this religion... because she loved The Light more than herself, and that threatened her mother so much that she tried to kill my dad. So it's a little hard for me to hear you guys talk about going home and suing. I've lost a lot this year... My grandfather, my... But this, this loss... It makes me want to fight back. And I think that's what my dad was talking about at Revelation... That we should have the courage to look into the stories that our fathers tell us and not just take them as fact, but develop our own ideas, our own perspectives and strive for authenticity andand not just I know a guy that didn't have the courage to do that... not at first, at any rate... 'Cause'cause it can be a terrifying thing to do. But he's glad he did, 'cause... if he didn't... it would've killed him. Well, there you have it. If you want to go home... Go home. You might be happier there. But you might find that it's not... your home anymore. But if you're here... Be here. Let us honor Vera Stephens by being as dedicated to The Movement as she was. Hey. Thank you for coming. Fuck you. Five minutes. Uhuh, well, let me, um You want some tea? No, you begged me to come over. I'm really mad. Uh, you have every right You know, you scared the shit out of me. I'm so sorry. And I went there, and I thought that you were dead, but it was Vera, and I saw her face. And it was awful. I'm sosoI'm so sorry. I'm here for Forest, so just tell me what you needed to say in person and not over the phone. No, it's well, it's not that I it couldn't be said on the phone. I just, um... I just wanted you to look at me while I said it. I'm looking. Say it. I'm sorry... Mary. I'm so sorry. What if you do it again? Do I have to live in fear? Yeah You know, it's the worst No. No, I won't. Your word is shit. I know. But I'm gonna get help, real help. I'm gonna start to do the work. I'mI'm gonna try to... deal with the fact that I was sexually abused for a decade. But are you gonna stay with the Meyerists? For now, yeah. Why? Um... Um Uhum, hard to explain, but, um... I'll try, because you're asking. Um... It's like I Iphysically, I can't walk away Mentally, you can't walk away. Yeah, maybe. But, for whatever reason, I can't, not yet, at any rate. I think about leaving with you, and I want that, but... In the picture I see of myself, I'm... II'mI'm this shell of a person. It's Florida all over again. I have no purpose. I... I... I work in a coffee shop. But it's more than that. It's this place that ruined me... But it also saved me... And... it's home. And honestly... I love it. II love... The people who need me, who want to be well. I love... the message of The Light. I love the whole idea of it. So I can't... walk away. Not yet. You might never be able to. I might not. But I... I think I can be the man you love again. You still are. No, but... But really worthy of you. I want to be. Thanks for meeting me. I couldn't bear to face you earlier at the compound. There's nothing you could've done. I could've listened. I could've left Lilith in that fucking hospital! I'm just as much to blame as you are, Eddie. You know, I found Lilith, and I begged you to see her. She was already in our lives. She was the one who sent Vera to us, who I begged to take her job back, by the way. She shouldn't have even been there. She wanted to be there. She wanted to help you, Eddie. No, she didn't want me to dig up shit. She wanted to move forward, let the past be the past. That's not how it works. The Truth is the only way to move forward. Okay, then tell me... Do you feel anything? Any Light? Why are you asking me this? Because I promised you that if we did this that everything would be real again. Is it? We're not finished. I don't know. You found Cal. Sarah, you saved his life. You don't you don't feel anything? I don't know. Is that why you asked me to meet you? To find out if I believe again? No, I asked you to meet me because... I need you. Whatever I do next, I want you there. I hounded you. I doubted you, and I almost got you killed. No, you didn't almost get me killed. But I don't know what I would've done... all right, if I if I came home and And I lost you. Hey, hey, hey... Then don't. Don't lose me. Stand by me. Okay? Whatever I do next... Because I know who I become without you. She's ready to transition. Whenever you're ready. I remembered, uh... being a child with her. The summer that Vera was with us, it was too complicated for Steve to find the time for me. And, um... that month, he was uh, he was like a real father to me. I wanted to tell her that. Shall we begin the prayer? As the owl protects The Garden, we offer these wings to Vera to carry her home... to be her guide. We believe in The Light. We believe that Vera Stephens is Light, for all this was revealed... To Ste To Steven Meyer. For all of this was revealed... to me... When I was struck by The Light. Therefore, we invite Vera to leave her earthly form, for in ending, we begin, and in sorrow, we rejoice... And in darkness... There is Light. Lilith? We're burying your child today. Goodbye. Don't be sad. Our daughter had to die. She sacrificed herself for The Truth. I'm sorry that I stole it from you. I wanted the end to come The Cleanse. We would never have been able to shed ourselves of the suffering and wickedness on our own, as much as I tried. I wanted your vision of the new world, and I knew we wouldn't grow the way we needed with you at the helm. I won't thank you. Now it will grow greater than we ever imagined. Greater than we ever imagined. And the end will come. And the end will come. Today we stand as a community... bound together by a painful reality... that there is darkness in this world... a darkness intent on destroying the forces of peace, tolerance, and hope. Why? Where does this anger and damage come from? Is it our fathers? Our mothers? I don't know. But I can promise to fight it. I can promise to make sure nothing like this ever happens again... by cleansing our past and removing the rot. In light of everything, I think it's time that we sever this relationship. It was real. I saw it. I tried to climb Thank you for your service, Felicia. My son. Yeah? The Embrace? That was Steve's thing. Um, and I'm Forest's father, and I'm his only father. And building a fortress of protection around us. So that we can meet each other today... Fresh... dedicated to what The Light wants from us now. Because even though today feels bleak... Even though we are overwhelmed by grief, it will lift. The sky will brighten, and we will grow stronger than ever. The state will recognize us as a religion, and our message will be spoken throughout this world. And I make a promise to you to govern against the forces that threaten this great city. Today we must declare war on the forces that are stealing our children's souls. We will not let their threats silence our belief. Vera died so that it would be so. She sacrificed herself... for us... for you, for me. She had a dream of a garden right here. Help me build it. Stand next to me tomorrow... |
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