|
Through the Ashes (2019)
1
This little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine This little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine Let it shine Let it shine Let it shine This little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine This little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine Let it shine Let it shine Let it shine This little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine This little light of mine I'm gonna let it shine Let it shine Let it shine Let it shine This little light of mine Ah, the light, my salvation, the light! Could be 238 or gamma radiation. Either way, her brain is fried. Penn won't take her. Maybe he can use her for the harvest, though. You gonna be the one to escort her back? Let's just do this. I wanna get home before it gets dark. That there is poison! My name's Peeky. Peeky Joe, on account of I see everything. What the hell are you doing drinking that? I'm thirsty. Here. It's clean. What are you, what are you doing just walking around here? You're not contaminated, are you? Where are you from, anyway? 'Cause I know everyone around these parts, what's left of it, but I don't know you. I just... I used to live a few streets down. What happened? Excuse me? Was there a fire? A fire? How long you been hiding? I don't know. Months? I lost track of time. You been holding out underground? No, not holding out. They murdered her. What's that now? Those guys, they, they murdered her right on the street. Yeah, unfortunately that's common. You see, they've been killing off everybody that is affected by the blast. If you're healthy, like you and me, they take you in as slaves. She must have been crazy. You smell like shit. When was the last time you showered? Well come on, I know a place, fresh water. Hey, I thought you were gonna give me privacy. I'm sorry. I am sorry. Old habits die hard. They call me Peeky for a reason, sweet thing. You're welcome for the bar of soap, by the way. I only got one bar left. Hey. You really don't know nothing, do ya? Well they started hacking the conglomerates. Soon after that, they started breaking into the rich neighborhoods. They wouldn't stop until there was nothing left. They got too big in numbers. Who? They call themselves the Disciples. You've probably seen 'em walking around here. They got our town, and the next towns over. And who knows what else by now? Not enough power or signal strength to get the news around here anymore. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it spread across the country by now. What was wrong with the water? Contamination and radiation been running rampant. Our power plant went down a few weeks ago, went down in flames. Most of the survivors have been running around with a lot of problems with themselves. Just like the poor woman you saw earlier. Hell, I wouldn't even call 'em human anymore. I've seen some cases where skin's falling off, and mutatin'. It ain't a pretty sight. Why would they do this? Because they're just a bunch of poor, angry assholes trying to fight the system. If you ask me, this country needed a revolution, but this ain't no way to do it. You really don't know what the hell's going on around here, do ya? What the hell happened to you you got locked up for so long? It's okay, sweetheart. You can tell me. I left them. You left who? My husband and my two daughters. What do you mean you left 'em? Just up and ran off? No. But I might as well have. I was making dinner, waiting for Charles to get home. Isabelle was in the front room studying, and Desiree was out shopping. Hey Isabelle? I need to go to the basement for a few ingredients. Can you let your dad in? I saw him just pull up. Yeah no problem. What the? Stay down, Rockefeller! Anyone else in the house? No. There's money and jewelry upstairs in the master bedroom. Just take it and leave. I won't call the police. You think I want your money? What do you want then? What do I want? Well. If I didn't hesitate, who knows? Maybe I could have saved them. Maybe not. But at least I would've tried. Yeah sounds like the Disciples. Your house must have been one of the early firsts. That's what they started doing is either killing who was in them mansions or turning them into slaves. But who knows? Maybe they were able to get away. Or maybe they were killed. Possibly, but we don't know that for sure. Tell you what. Why don't you ride with me? You have a vehicle? No I didn't mean that. I meant why don't you trek with me on foot? You need protection, and I need company. I'll pass. Listen, I know a few places the Disciples congregate. And if your family's still alive, it's more than likely they're gonna be at one of these compounds, slaving away against their free will. If this is the case, I can help you get 'em back. I assume that you ain't got one of these. And that's too bad, because you're gonna need it if you're gonna be a hero. Now. Now I got a shit load of these things. I've been collecting them through the wreckage, bullets too. But I only got two hands. Now I can teach you how to use 'em. It ain't hard. Now I hate these son of a bitches just as much as you do, so let's work together, sweetie. My name is Sloan. Excuse me. Let's kill these motherfuckin' assholes, and get your family back together, Sloan. Everything's gonna be just fine. Now the first place I know about is a few miles up the road. Now we're gonna need to take 'em all out if we're gonna set up camp for the night. You okay with that? Yeah. Okay. You don't seem too confident. How's your aim with that thing? All right, I reckon I can spare a few minutes. Now you're gonna squeeze it with your finger. You're not gonna pull the trigger, just use the tip. Otherwise you're gonna shift to the left. You ever shot one of these before? I mean, my dad had one when I was little, but I wasn't allowed to touch it. All right then, this is gonna scare the shit out of you the first time. Whatever you do, don't drop it all right? Here. Now you're gonna line up your sights, take a deep breath, now squeeze. By golly, you're a natural! But it ain't gonna be that easy when you have flesh and blood in your eyeline. Now you just remember your family when doubt comes knocking on your door, you hear? Now let's practice on your reloads. You actually think my husband and kids are in this place? There's a good chance. See, the Disciples have all these shantytowns set up all over, where they manufacture goods, or food, or whatever. If your family isn't at this one, it's a good chance they'll be at the next. How many compounds exist like that? Well I've seen at least four with my own eyes. If you go further north, that's when you hit the main fortress. And that's where Red Penn lives. Who's Red Penn? Red Penn is the son of a bitch responsible for this hellhole. You can think of him as Charles Manson, or Jim Jones, or whatever. All these other pieces of shit are just swallowing the Kool-Aid. They call him Red Penn on account of he corrects the ills of society, like some teacher grading some dumb kid's mistakes on his homework. It's all childish if you ask me. We should be getting close now. We're lucky. Not many guards on today. Are you locked and loaded? Good. Peeky! Peeky that's my husband Charles! Goddamn it, keep your voice down! But he's right there, we can rescue him. We can't just run in there guns blazing with no plan! But what are they gonna do with him? Looks like just simple slave labor to me. Be thankful he's still alive. Stay here, don't move. Where'd you find this one, Peeky? Oh she's just trying to get home like everyone else in this world. Is she a nightingale? She sure looks it. What's a nightingale? Nightingale's just a term for rich folk, mostly the womens. Pure evil in the eyes of the peasant revolutionaries. Vengeance must be wrought, ain't that right Chopsticks? You stay here. It's okay. Why'd you bring her here, Peeky? I got no alliance to you or Penn anymore. We were just trying to get by. You know damn well that Penn will cut your fucking head off if he finds out you're here. Probably kill me too for not killing you myself. I ain't scared of Penn or any of you shitless bastards. That there woman is my guest, and we just came here to get her husband back. What, the soft-brain? That Frankenstein monster is about as useless as tits on a boar. If it weren't for his pure brawn to swing a hammer, probably put the poor son of a bitch out of his misery two weeks ago. What kind of radiation you think is up in that head of his? Oh, it's the worst kind. And it's about to get real bad soon. Well, I'd still like to bring him back. It'll make that lady awful happy. I'd give you some bullets to trade. This ain't negotiable, Peeky. You know that. Well, I appreciate you bringing in the skirt. She may have even saved your life today. You know what, you leave her here? And I'll let you go without notifying Penn. I don't think I can do that. Your loyalties lie here with us. Used to. Then I got no choice, but to put you down and take the bitch to the man upstairs. Turn around. Ah, ah! Son of a bitch! Charles! Come to me! I'm here! Sloan, where are you? Charles, Charles, Charles! Are you okay? Do you remember me? Of course I remember you. What have they done to you? What is wrong with him? Come on, we have to keep moving. It's radiation. I don't know which kind exactly, but I have seen this type before. The brain gets mushy, and starts deteriorating. You start losing recent memories, and reverts back to a child-like state. Is he gonna get better? I mean, can it be reversed? I'm afraid not. It's only gonna get worse. I'm surprised he still remembers your face. That may not last much longer. That's Orion, and the other one over there is the asteroid belt. Charles, Charles? Isabelle, Desiree. Can you tell me what happened that day? Oh I don't know, they just took me away. Desiree and Isabelle just ran off. I think they got away. You think or you know? They just ran off. That was the last time I saw them. Well can you describe the people, or can you remember any names? They called each other Red and Lyle. Red? Yes sir. I'm tired, I'm gonna get some sleep. I think it was Red Penn that broke into our house. Wouldn't surprise me. He's been pretty active in all this from the get go. Any luck in the leads on your girls? He doesn't remember anything. He thinks they got away. Hey what are you doing? Well I haven't seen a woman in months. Just thought you might like some attention is all. I'm all right. Come on, now. I saved your life. I'm even helping you find your family. I turned against my brothers in the process, and they're after me now too. My husband is right there. He can see us. Oh he don't know what the hell's going on. Probably won't never get them urges no more neither. Slim pickings out there in that wasteland, princess. So come on, what do you say? Some other time. You'll come around. I'll be appreciated one of these days, mark my words. Mom, how much longer do we have to wait here? I'm supposed to be back in the courthouse in 20 minutes to meet a new client. Desiree, your sister will be here any minute, and she has something important to tell us. Besides, it's not gonna kill you to clock in five minutes late. Time is money, all I'm saying. Desiree? Be nice. Let's go! Isabelle! Mom, Dad, sis. I said yes. Congratulations! Oh thanks. David, welcome to the family. It's about time. I love you. I love you too, Mom. How much are we looking at, Izzy? 10 dollars. You holding out on us? I swear to god. That's all we got. The rest of our provisions were taken up the road two weeks ago, by Disciples. Just kind of find it hard to believe that a man wearing a watch only has 10 dollars to his name. Here, take it, it's yours. Who the hell cares what time it is out here? I don't understand what you want from us. You have all of our money. Well shit. I can think of a few things. I beg of you, I'll do anything. And my wife? She'll do anything. Now what the hell would I want with you and your used up wife? But we have children! Shit, well so do I. Somewhere. They didn't scream. I like it when they scream. There'll be more, pumpkin. You said it was only gonna be a few more miles. Yeah we'll definitely hit it by nightfall. The man's name is Briggs, a mean old bastard, but no ties to the Disciples. They didn't want to mess with him. How do you know he's gonna be friendly with us? There ain't no telling, but I'm gonna try to bribe some information out of him. The man may be pure slime, but he has a strong pulse on this wasteland. If your daughters are still alive, he'll know something. Try some. Not bad. Let 'em cool down for a few minutes. I'm gonna grab us some beer. Gotcha, what's the matter? That's Isabelle, that's my daughter. I'll be goddamned! Isabelle! Shut your fucking mouth, mister! These folks are not ones to be trifled with. We gotta get her, we gotta get her now. Hold on there, missy. We can't just blindly run in there. That's trespassing. These inbred sons of bitches got more guns than the militia. So what do you propose? I'm gonna wander in there, like I'm lost. I'm gonna find Briggs, and I'll be real friendly to him. I'll be able to buy some time until... Sweetie, are you okay? Fuck off. Sweetie. What have they done to you? It's Mom, it's Mom. Have they brainwashed you? Look, it's your mom! If you don't leave, I'll tell them to kill you. All of you. Tell who? Now what in the name of Jesse James is going on back here? You find some new playthings, Izzy? Something like that. Where the hell did they come from? They're my parents. Hm. Hi Mom. Come on, let's eat. Isabelle, do you know where Desiree is? Please, Isabelle! Now that's enough, all right? If Izzy don't want to answer your questions, she don't have to. She's a grown woman out here. Izzy was saying you folks have money? Used to. What happened? Look around, what do you think? You know your mom's a real fucking bitch. She was a bitch before our house burnt down. What's your pop's deal? He a retard or something? I don't know. At least he tried to stick around. Where's your ring, Isabelle? I don't see you wearing your ring. I mean, do you even know what happened to David? I don't know. But I'm kind of off the market at the moment, Mom. Come on, come on Charles. That is not my daughter. She was a straight A student. She didn't swear. She was engaged to a CEO of a tech company, for Christ's sake. All that shit means nothing out here anymore. She's just trying to survive, like the rest of us. What'd she mean when she said you didn't stick around? Nothing. Why didn't you do anything? What? You just sit there all day! She's been brainwashed by some scum, and you just sit there and you don't do anything! You bastard! Hey, take it easy! Take it easy! It ain't his fault! I seen fellas eat their own fingers on account of radiation. He's doing all right, all things considered. Don't you remember anything? Don't you remember your daughter's face? Some of it. What, what else do you remember? I remember you locking yourself in the basement while all those thugs tried to kill us. A beautiful night, isn't it? Where's my daughter? Oh don't you worry about her. She's safely nestled, getting her beauty sleep. We're leaving tomorrow, with her. Now why you gotta be so rude? I've invited you all into my house as guests, provided food, shelter for you. What more do you want from me? So help me god, if she tries to hold onto you I'll rip her fucking arms off! Why don't you take a look that way? Now take a look over yonder. You scream, and that's all that's gonna hear you. A fucking black hole of nothing. All that matters is right here, and your daughter's happy. Let her live in that moment. I will kill you for her. Now you listen here, Mom. Izzy is now my property. She'll even say as such. Hell, we even talked about branding her, a tramp stamp right on that tight little ass of hers. Property of Briggs Incorporated. It's got a nice ring to it, don't you think? Now that you're part of the family, we're gonna set the ground rules right here. As long as you're breathing any air what's in 100 yards of my person, you will do as I say. I'm a family man by trade, and I treat my family like gold. You will never have to feel excluded, Mom. Don't do this. This is a bigger game than you know how to play. And I will win, every single time. Now go get some rest. Sweet dreams, Mom. We gotta kill him. As soon as the sun rises. I know. Almost got me a squirrel, Briggs. How many times I gotta tell you to use the goddamn shotgun, Carl. Oh, it makes Joshua nervous. I didn't want to have to unchain him. Jesus fucking Christ, Joshua's nervous 'cause he ain't pinched his daily shit yet. Why don't you unchain him and take him around the block a few times? The critters can wait. Yes sir. Goddamn. When you gonna take care of the parental units? What do you mean? Your mom's a goddamn battleax. She ain't ever gonna play nice. So why don't you go over there, say your last words to 'em so I can get to it. I don't like this negativity filling my workplace. With pleasure. That's my girl. Briggs is gonna kill you all. If you're lucky, maybe I can distract him for a minute while you run back in the same direction you came. Either way, you have to leave. For what it's worth, I'm sorry. It's too late for apologies, Sloan. Be grateful for the warning. You're coming with us. What does that piece of shit have to offer you? The next time some whore comes walking down the street, shaking her ass, he will toss you out. Frankly, I'm not too concerned with competition around here. I said my piece, feel free to take my advice, or don't. I'll give you a minute. We have to kill him now. I got about three handguns in here, loaded. How are you on ammunition? I need some more. Charles, you know how to shoot? No! Charles, you stay in here no matter what, do you understand me? Yes. What's the matter? Nothing. You tell 'em to leave? What'd they say? They're leaving. I wanted to ask you something. What is it? Come with me around the back. Got something to show you. Stole it from my dad's wallet. Briggs, no! Briggs! Goddamn! Izzy what the fuck was that? I didn't know they were armed! Intruders on the south side, Briggs is hit. Fuck it. Briggs! Over easy! Briggs! Damn it! Goddamn it. Fucking asshole. Give me another gun. One of you assholes give me a gun! Briggs! Son of a bitch. No baby, please don't die. Please don't kill him! I love you. She won't kill you, she won't kill you. She won't kill you. Don't die. No, no, ah! Well you see Izzy, I'm already dead. You just make sure you make this cunt's life miserable for as long as you can. No, you bitch! You fucking bitch! Charles, have you been hit? No. Come on. Stay there. No. Sloan, I'm home. She's in the basement, Dad. Stay down, Rockefeller! Get off of me! Anybody else in the house? No! There's money and jewelry upstairs. Just take it and leave. I won't call the police. You think I want your fucking money? Then what do you want then? Get off of me! Just take it and leave. We'll talk about this. What do I want? Get away from him! Shut the fuck up. Every time you write a check, every time you sip your morning cappuccino, every time you pay your fancy country club dues, I want you to see my face. I want you to remember that that little piece of shit you stepped on to get your plush corner office, well he's here to get what's rightfully his. I've never seen you in my life. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, shit, you're right, no you haven't. Would it matter if you did? I haven't seen you before today either, and this ain't personal. We just needed somewhere to start, and knowing the company you work for, seeing this lovely house and seeing how nice you people are dressed, I think this is as good a place as any to start. You get off him! Twinkie, quit that shit! I think we're gonna take her with us. Leave us alone! Hey Lyle, quit that piddly shit and throw the mark up. Wait, don't! Don't! The revolution has begun! What's going, Dad! Desiree, get out! Dad are you okay? Right, everybody calm the fuck down! Now what's your neighbor's name? Fuck you! Oh. No, don't! Good. Now. You ever had a gun like this pushed in your face before? You ever seen a gun up close and personal like this? I don't think so. Me? I picked up my first pistol when I was six years old. Shot my first pistol when I was 10. Hey, you know what my daddy's last words were, huh? He said boy, you better put that gun down. You don't think it's funny? Oh you city folk, oh no sense of humor. I'm getting depressed just looking at you. Now Lyle! Why don't you take that nice lady into the kitchen there, turn the gas on, and light this place up? We got four more houses on this street to hit before nightfall. Get off of her! Get off! Weeping Jesus Christ. Hey take your fucking paws off of her, Twinkie! You fucking animal. Take your paws off of her! Please don't hurt them. Shut the fuck up. Now, we ain't gonna kill any of you. We're gonna do something much worse. I want you to give me your phones, your fucking keys, your wallets, your Kindles, your fucking cappuccino cards, whatever you fucking got! Your wallet? For what? Shut the fuck up, just do it. Where's your fucking phone? Oh my goodness gracious where's your fucking phone? Fucking iPhone 10 is it? All right now. Ladies and gentlemen! Consider yourself liberated. You are free to go. Go where? Don't give a flying fuck. Don't go to the neighbors though. Don't get help. How are we gonna survive? Man shut the fuck up, hey Twinkie? Let her fucking go before I put a bullet between your fuckin' eyes. There's no houses for miles around here. I get kicked out of a dozen orphanages with nothing but the shirt on my back. I think you folks will be just fine. And if you're not, well, maybe it's for the best. What if we won't? Are you gonna kill all three of us? I got nothing better to do. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. Get up, get up! Dad! Tick tock, tick tock, why don't you leave that bag here? Tick tock. Tick tock. Tock, all right boys. Get the mattresses out of the bedroom and put 'em in the living area. We're gonna burn this place down. Let's fucking go! Where are we going? Anywhere. If you find a safe place to lodge, let me know. Shouldn't we be looking for Desiree? We don't know where she is, Charles. Isabelle won't tell us. I don't know where she is! And if I did, I wouldn't tell you. She ran off like a coward, just like Dad. Hey! Your dad is not a coward! You're right, he's not. That honor is reserved entirely for you! He didn't lock himself away while his family was being attacked, and almost murdered. You think I feel horrible? What was I supposed to do? There was three of them. It would've been lights out for me at the moment I went upstairs. Great excuse, Sloan. I hope that lets you sleep at night. Fuck you! Right back at you, you fucking bitch. Now I lay myself to sleep I pray the lord my soul to keep Charles, stop it. She's a grown woman. Just lay off of him. If he continues to act that way it's just gonna worsen. There is no recovering. He's fucked either way. Charles, where did she go? Where did she go? She ran off before the sun came up. Well did she say where, or when she's coming back? You gotta tell me these things, Charles. You know better. I'm sorry. Can we go now? It's cold in here. Yeah. I think I know where she went. What? Isabelle. Where, where did she go? She got into the car, and they drove off. A car? Why the fuck didn't you wake me up? It was far away. I think it was black and white. Did it sound like that? Howdy folks. Pick up any passengers today? You're my first, name's Warcry, on account of you can always hear me coming. I don't need to know your name. I'm just looking for someone. Well, cover more ground if you'd just get in. If you don't mind the noise, that is. Charles, is this is the car? Look, we don't have much to offer if you're okay with that. Hey not everybody out here is a fucking asshole. Get in. How many other cars are around here? Not many. Fuel's cherished more than solid gold around these parts. I shouldn't actually be driving out in the open like this. Who are you running from, Disciples? Isn't everyone? I caught one of 'em trying to siphon gas out of my tank yesterday. Had to put 'em down. Now they got extra reason to hunt me down. You armed? Look, I'm just saying. You gotta be ready for anything out here. You never know when somebody's gonna emerge. That's the car! Are you sure? I'm positive. Shit! That's Diamondhead. He ain't no cop, though. I don't see her in the car. Maybe in the trunk. They ain't gonna let no slave ride shotgun on the way to the fortress. If you got any ammo in that bag, now's the time to use it. My daughter may be in that car. Don't shoot at the trunk then, just get him off my ass! Ahh. Come on! What the hell is that? Shit. That's Skin and Juice. Their son's the one I caught yesterday trying to siphon my tank. Greetings and salutations, motherfuckers! Come on! Come on, you're fucking done! You're fucking done, Warcry! Nobody sleeps on Skin and Juice! Fucking civilians! Come on! Fuck! Honey? It jammed, it's fucking jammed, goddamnit! Goddamn it, reload motherfucker! He's still behind us. Get him off my ass! Ready, I think I can run it! What a lousy fucking day. Come on you son of a bitch! Ah, god. Fucking bitch. Just put me out of my fucking misery. Where is she? Pound dirt, you cunt and twat. Ahh! I don't know who the fuck you're talking about, but she's either tied up or dead. The Disciples run a tight ship. How far up the road is the fortress? I won't give you the slightest satisfaction. I'm coming, baby. Come on, yeah! Isabelle! Don't bother with me. I'm just gonna slow you down. Charles, how are you? Have you been hit? I don't think so. Come on, we gotta keep looking. You guys hungry? So you folks looking for a good time? No. But we appreciate the help. But look, we don't have any money, but maybe we can find something to trade. Well what are you offering? This tall glass of water for sale? No, he's a happily married man. Oh, ain't no such thing as institutions around here, hon. My name's Pretzel. This is Spoon. What do you call yourselves? Look, I'm not much in conversation. Let's just get where we're going. Let's go. You asked for it. Come on, Charles. Hi baby. What's wrong? Look, we're looking for the Disciples fortress. Man, y'all still got a ways to go. Why don't you two just spend the night here? Head out tomorrow morning. Where did you find them? Same place we found you, hitchhiking. But you safe though, girl. Hell, I got enough meat and pussy around here than I know what to do with. What business you got with the Disciples for anyway? Two common folk like you gonna fuck around and go up there and get killed, especially when you armed and whatnot. You're from the Alma suburbs, aren't you? Yeah, I think I used to see the two of you around there quite often. We used to live there. You're from Alma? You don't look like it. Neither do you. I used to have a plush job, comfy savings. You think I like living like this, like a fucking animal? It's something we've quickly grown accustomed to. I suggest the two of you toughen up real quick, or you're not gonna make it out of here alive. If you can't beat 'em, you gotta join 'em. The hell you keep looking at her for? I don't know, she looks familiar. Where'd you find her? The hell you care. I'm just curious. Well? We call her Pookie, because she's just as cute as a little teddy bear, but just as fucking useless. She usually deals with my soiled laundry, and Spoon has his way with her when he's in the mood. Enough about me, let's eat. You gotta treat 'em like animals, 'cause they are animals. You goddamn filthy dogs! You better savor that, let alone have some goddamn manners. There ain't that many hogs left around here. Hey! He hasn't eaten for two days. Why the hell do you keep looking at her? Yeah, maybe she used to be a nightingale, but now she's just a pile of trash. Is she contaminated? Spoon. Oh easy, darling! You look over there? Hey you take it easy, now. What you want with Pookie? Oh Spoon, don't you see the resemblance? Well you ain't taking her, regardless. What do you care? You called her worthless! Well maybe I like the decorations. Desiree, Desiree! It's your mother! Oh she's not gonna respond. We've hit her over the head so many times, she can't even hear no more. I swear to god, if you don't go over there and untie her, I will fucking break her arm in two! And a pig's ass! Honey, just put the gun down. She's a lot stronger than she looks. No, no, no! Oh ho, yes! Charles! Charles? Charles! She's dead. I see you. Let's go, Charles. Stop looking at her, I said let's go! Oh baby. Baby! Baby! Baby! Baby? Charles. Charles? Charles. Hey, hey hey, I don't have much left. What's your name? Heather. Is the fortress far? I'm headed there myself, actually. Only place with open food and water I know of. You don't look like a Disciple. They're just gonna chain you up. Better than being dead. You from Alma? Close, Brigadier. That was the first sip of water I've had in days. I haven't eaten in over a week now. Why are you headed there? Family business. What kind of radiation he got? Some forms are contagious. He's not contagious. I'm not taking any chances. Suit yourself. Wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm about to collapse if I continue on by myself. What do you have to offer us? I don't know what I can offer you, but you look like decent people. Are ya? Come on. Our daughter may be held prisoner there. If so, we're gonna have to take her by force. Do you know how to use a weapon? I'll be upfront with ya, I can't. We'll have to use you for some diversion. Whatever I can do to help. You know I was a secretary for 15 years, and then a stay a home mom for five. I've never even been camping before. So you're worthless, we get it. That's it, you can see it just past the trees, look. All right, I see three Disciples. There's probably more around back. How should we proceed? All right, just watch him. I'll be right back. Oh when will you be back? How long should we wait? Just stay here. I'm gonna go see if I can see Isabelle, then I'll be right back. Now mister, everything's gonna be all right. You must be so scared. You never told me your name. Oh sweet Jesus! Where do you come from? We were just walking down that road over yonder, and stopped to take a break. Anybody else with you? Is he contaminated? Charles! Shut her up. Take her to Penn. Charles, Charles, Charles. I'm sorry baby, I'm sorry. Where's Heather? Did Heather do this to you? Well howdy, strangers. What's a couple of nice folks like you doing all the way out here? We're just looking for food and water. What makes you think I'd give you anything, nightingale? Oh shit! He doesn't look too well. He destroyed our family! What'd he ever do to you? He did a lot of things, ma'am. Now me? I'm just finishing what I started. I wouldn't be much of a revolutionary now if I didn't, would I? That's right. Now I may not remember all of my actions, but I surely do remember my first. It's quite an honor, breaking into your home, terrorizing your lovely husband and daughters. I'm sorry you missed that. Oh wait, wait. Were you hiding in the house that day? Oh I bet you were, you were, weren't you? Well I gotta hand it to them, they didn't give you up or nothing, not even with death breathing down their necks. Well he's dead now. I did him a favor. He was gonna be dead in a few days, anyway. That there is stage four brain rot. I should know. I see it almost every day. Now we ain't gonna kill you, 'cause you're too strong. And the Disciples, well they love a strong woman by their side. And unlike your husband's company, we are an equal opportunities employer. I bet you learned from the experience, though. Living like me and my family did for decades. You can thank me later, ma'am. It does build character. Stop your lying, Twinkie! You fucking dumb cunt! You realize what you've done? I'm the closest thing to a god this country got left. I brought balance, you rich bitch. Oh you're dead now, honey. Goddamn it, ah! Damn it. Hey! Goddamn it. Get up. Is there anyone inside I should be worried about? Is my daughter inside? Who? My daughter. Her name is Isabelle. Can you even remember? Yeah, I remember. She's not inside, though. I don't know where she is. Look, I'm gonna need to see a doctor. Then you shouldn't have run. I'm gonna lose my leg if this shit gets infected. Do you know of a hospital around here? No, we burnt 'em all down. I tell you what, I'm gonna go inside that mansion and I'm gonna pack up everything I can carry, and then we're gonna go look for my daughter. Are you out of your fucking mind, lady? I can barely stand on my own two feet. Do you have a better idea? Yeah, we live like king and queens up in this posh pad. I mean, Penn's dead, his goons are dead. Ain't nobody gonna bother us. Yeah, you see that doesn't sit right with me. You're too goddamned ugly. So what are you gonna do? You just gonna go on some wild goose chase? Who knows where your fucking daughter is? Nothing better to do. |
|