"Smile." "I'm just looking for a sense." "And what kind of a sense are you looking for?" " A sense of when." " When what?" " You know what." " Oh, you mean the wedding?" "I'm just looking for a season, honey, because if it's spring, then..." "Mom, we're figuring it out." "Fine, fine." "I withdraw." "Here you go, ladies." "Oh, I'm so sorry, but I ordered this without the walnuts." " Oh, of course." " Thank you." " Let me take care of that." " Thank you." " I did say no walnuts?" " You sure did, yeah." "Let me pay for the wedding." "You are relentless." " Look who's talking." " I'm not relentless." "Megan, you're the most relentless person I've ever known." "When you have a cause, there's no stopping you." "I can't let you pay." "Why not?" "I treat you all the time." " I treated you to those boots." " What boots?" "Those boots that you saw at Bergdorf's." "I didn't have my wallet and I said I would pay you back." "Well, that was March." "This is October." "Megan, no." "Forget it." "Please, no." "Do you remember how much they were?" " Megan, forget it." " I think it was 400." "No, honey, I don't want your money." " I insist." " Fine, fine." "What's today?" "October what?" "The 13th." "But 13 is unlucky." "Date it tomorrow." "October 14." "Thank you for the loan." "So once I deposit this, you'll let me pay for the wedding?" "Oh, I just thought of something that I have to tell you." "I really have to pee." "Is it gonna take a while?" "A minute or two." "Fine." "Go, go, go." " But don't let me forget." " I'll be right back." "And ladies don't say pee." "That's better." "Hey, now that is some pretty nifty singing." "Give yourselves a hand." "All right." "Hey, folks, thanks for coming out to visit us." "Please forgive us as we're a little rough around the edges right now." "We've only been up and running for a couple of months." "On your left as you get off, there'll be golf carts and audio tours." "And please make sure we see those wristbands at all times." "Now, the park closes at sundown." "So if you ain't on that last bus, we're gonna come hunt you down." "Welcome to Miracle." "Come on!" "We're not doing the audio tour." "Oh, hell, yes, we are." "It's pretty common for folks to get confused about where you've come to visit today, so let's clear it up." "The moment you cross the bridge, you enter the town of Jarden." "Miracle is the national park that surrounds and protects that town from those who would corrupt its exceptional properties." "Historic site number seven." "Some say the earthquakes that occur in Jarden are a result of man-made fracking and wastewater disposal in nearby towns." "But this crack in the street wasn't caused by a quake." "It was the result of a gas explosion in the sewage system on October the 14 that sent manhole covers flying a few blocks over." "Instead of repairing the damage, the town has left it as a reminder." "_" "Historic site number 13." "This is Cecilia's place." "It turns out that the gown she tried on that afternoon wasn't even her cup of tea." "Then when she heard what happened around the world on October the 14, she bought it immediately." "And to this day, Cecilia still wears that dress for a few hours just in case." "Y'all want a picture?" "Oh, we're good." "Thank you." "Let's go." "Let's go." "Nice dress." "There's no number." "Why are you stopping?" "There's a man in there who can help me." "Jesus, Meg." "Another psychic?" "I've heard amazing things about him." "This is why we took a road trip to Texas, this guy?" "He's only been doing readings for a few weeks and they say that he's the real deal." "I want you to find what you're looking for, I do." "How's this guy gonna be any different from any of the others?" "Because this place is different." "It's special." "And he's from here." "So... she died the day before the Departure?" "Uh-huh." "Oh." "Honey, I'm really sorry." "It was two years ago." "I'm okay." "People say I'm lucky." "How's that?" "That I know what happened to her, where she went." "Wow." "You lose your mama and the very next day nobody gives a shit about her or you because they think the world is ending." "Lucky." "Please, have a seat." "Make yourself comfortable, please." "You need my handprint?" "No, that is for people who want to know their future." "You don't want to do that." "I brought one of her sweaters." "Chilly?" "No, I..." "I just..." "I mean, the others wanted something that belonged to her." "Well, Miss Abbott," "I don't need anything from her." "But..." "I need something from you." "Just chew that." "It's safe." "Don't swallow it." "Here, just spit it here." "In your hand?" "Yeah, in my hand." "Mm..." "What do you want to know?" "You can just ask her?" "You can ask me." "What do you want to know?" "She was gonna tell me something just before I got up from the table to go to the bathroom." "I want to know what it was, what she was gonna tell me." "You know, people on their deathbeds, they have a chance to put their last words together, make them count." "Say something profound, poetic." "But usually when folk don't know that they're about to die, they... well, no disrespect to your mother or anything, Miss Abbott, they say a lot of stupid shit." "What do you mean?" "I can tell you what you want, but I've been doing this long enough to know that no matter what I say, you're gonna be disappointed because it's not gonna fix what's broke inside." "Bullshit." "Sorry?" "You don't know." "You're not fucking real." "I'm gonna be disappointed because whatever it is that you're about to tell me" " is fucking bullshit." " Walnuts." "What?" "Your mother sent her salad back because she asked for no walnuts." "She was very polite about it, though." "Are you sure you want to know?" "Tell me." "Well?" "He wasn't the real deal." "All right, folks, five minutes." "We've got five minutes till the first bus gets here." "Want a baby carrot?" "What?" "You can't cry while you eat them." "It's impossible." "Thanks." "Folks, please make sure your vendor number is clear and visible at your stalls." "Is it working?" "Shit." "I would tell you a joke, but I don't know any." "All right, folks, two minutes." "We have two minutes till the first bus." "Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Broken pencil." "Broken pencil who?" "Never mind." "It's pointless." "I'm Evie." "Meg." "I'm sorry you didn't find whatever you were looking for here." "No one ever does." "Who was that?" "She gave me some carrots." "Let's get out of here." "Let's go ahead forward, folks." "We'll be leaving in two minutes." "Two minutes." "Hey, no!" "Let me go!" "What did we do?" "Let us out!" "_" "_" "What about the bus?" "If you want to have a conversation, let's just have a conversation." "We thought we had an understanding after the incident with the dogs." "But a school bus, Megan?" "We don't target children." "Why not?" "Nobody got hurt." "For the same reason we don't allow them to live in our houses." "The authorities would overreact." "We stone each other to death, but we're afraid of the authorities?" "Please, can you explain that to me?" "Explanations are useless." "Don't give me that mysterious bullshit." "That's what you say to them." "I've been inside for almost a year now and I need to know." " Need to know what?" " Why we're not fucking stepping it up." "They're forgetting." "And if I'm supposed to be a living reminder, it's not enough for me to stand outside of their fucking houses staring at them until they start screaming in my face." "Why do I have to just stand there when I can put my cigarette out in their fucking eye?" "That's a reminder." "Violence is weakness." "You're wrong." "And I'm not the only one that feels that way." "Are you contacting the heads of other houses again, Megan?" "Why would I be doing that?" "There are rumors you're planning your own action on October 14." "I'm not authorized to plan my own action." "Just like you're not trying to purchase plastic explosives?" "That's ridiculous." "It is ridiculous, Megan." "So I take it you and your house will be present at the Heroes Day celebration in Dobbs Ferry?" "Absolutely." "We've been painting our signs all week." "You will be in Dobbs Ferry with your members and you will carry out the action." "Mm-hmm." "I need to hear you say it." "You can count on me." "Can we, Megan?" "Because we counted on you to handle this." "We lost 10 members from New Rochelle last week." "Apparently he's hugging their pain away." "I wanted to do what he could do." "I wanted to be something." "So I said yes." "And he wrapped his arms around me and I felt everything I was, everything I would be." "I felt it get born and die over and over again." "I had been afraid to use it." "Afraid of..." "Afraid of what it meant." "Of what came next." "But I knew I couldn't let you hurt anymore, not if I can take it away." "I'm not afraid anymore." "So... who wants a hug?" "_" " Hello." " Hi." " What's your name?" " Kristin." "Do you want me to take your pain away, Kristin?" "Thank you." "Hi." "What's your name?" "It's Meg, right?" "Do you want me to take your pain away, Meg?" "I can do this for real." "Hey." "Did you forget about Paramus?" "I had 30 people there waiting to see you." "I tried to call you." "You didn't pick up." "I had to give their donations back." " Donations?" " What?" "You mean their money?" "You had to give their money back." "Well, we're gonna need money if we're ever gonna get the permanent space." " We don't need a permanent space." " Yes, we do, Tommy." "It's been a month and renting out these halls is very expensive." "I don't want their money and I don't want to build a fucking church." "When they pay us, that is their commitment to change, okay?" "If it were free, it wouldn't work." " We're helping people." " We?" "I'm the one up here lying." "You're not lying." "We stole it, Mom." "You said that if we took Wayne's story and used it, people would believe in us the way they believed in him." "Well, they're getting better." "Isn't that what matters?" "It works!" "It doesn't work on me." "Did something happen?" "Yeah." "Something happened." "Your book didn't work out, so you figured... you figured you would pimp out your own fucking son so that you wouldn't have to run people over anymore." "So that you didn't have to feel bad about leaving your whole fucking family." "I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry." "Tommy, I'm so sorry." "Tommy." "Tommy, please." "I'm sorry." "Stay." "Hey, everybody!" "Remember me?" "I was here a month ago trying to recruit you." "I just wanted you to come get better with some great group therapy from my mommy." "You!" "You." "I tried to recruit you." "You looked so sad." "Then you blew your fucking whistle at me." "You blew the whistle and they came and put me in a fucking van that brought me to Meg." "Hmm?" "Meg." "You know Meg?" "You know Meg?" "You know Meg, huh?" "You know her?" "Where's your whistle?" "Where's your whistle?" "!" "Where's your fucking whistle?" "Where is it?" "Blow your fucking whistle!" "Blow the whistle that brings Meg." "Where is she?" "Where the fuck is Meg?" "What do you want?" "You said you could do it for real." "Do what?" "Take my pain away." "Why don't you just hug yourself?" "Please." "I'll do anything." "I just want to be a part of this." "You don't understand this." "You're not looking for this." "You're looking for a family." "If I wanted a fucking family, I'd move to Texas." "What?" "Texas." "They moved there, my dad and my sister." "Where in Texas?" "Miracle." "Jarden." "What?" "The town is Jarden." "Miracle is the national park that surrounds and protects it from those who would corrupt its exceptional properties." "I just so happen to be headed there myself." "My phone's in the glove compartment." "Get it for me." "Yeah?" "How many?" "Yeah, okay." "Good." "I'm gonna need to see the bridge myself." "No, no, alone." "I'll be there in the morning." "This is hard, huh?" "Not knowing what's gonna happen." "You must be curious about what I'm gonna do when we get to Texas." "Are you, Tom?" "'Cause it's pretty fucking amazing what I'm gonna do." "Why'd you fuck me?" "I know why you poured gasoline on me." "I know why you threatened me, to try to send a message to my mom." "But why did you fuck me?" "Oh, look." "A honky-tonk." "You wanna go dancing, Tom?" "Thank you." "Mmm." "Your turn." "If you're not gonna drink..." "Now we're talking." "So who's the blonde?" "What?" "Both your parents have dark hair." "You know my dad?" "The former chief." "Nice guy." "Yeah, he's not my biological father." " But he raised you, right?" " Yeah." "Yeah, he and my mother got together when I was four." " He adopted me." " Oh, yeah?" "My dad died when I was a baby." "Then my mom got remarried to this guy Elliot." "He wanted us to be an official family." "I was really young, but I remember going down to the courthouse and everything." "The judge gave me a lollipop." "Good old Elliot." "He left my mom a year later and I never saw him again." "Can we get two more?" " Please?" " You got it." " Thank you." " Yeah." "So where's your mom now?" "She's in space." "What?" "When she died, we had her cremated and we shot her ashes into space." "Seriously?" "She didn't like the idea of being in a box, you know, in the ground." "And she was really into astrology." "There's this company and they do it." "Costs $12,000." "Seems reasonable, right?" "What's happening right now?" "This feels nice, right?" "Yeah." "It feels nice." "To get you pregnant." "What?" "I wanted to get you pregnant." "That's why I fucked you, Tom." "Nice to see you again." "Open the chain." "Just fucking tell me." "Somebody got on the property." "Come on." "Just let me go." "I didn't do anything." "There's a bike trail about a mid the property." "Guess he decided to go off it." "Where'd you find him?" "Right outside the barn." "Did he see?" "Yeah, we think so." "What?" "What did I see?" "I didn't see anything." "I don't know even know what you're talking about." "We can just keep him here until tomorrow." "Once it's over, it won't matter anymore." "Stone him." "What does that... what did she say?" "What does that mean?" "Hey!" "Wait, guys!" "Please, just let me go!" "Please!" "Just let me go!" "Hey." "What are you doing?" "I was following you." "I don't want you to follow me." "You wanted to come here, and you're here." "And now we're done." "So what am I supposed to do?" "Make yourself useful." "Let me go!" "Please, let me go!" "Come on!" "I didn't do anything!" " No!" "I didn't fucking do anything!" "Please!" "Stop!" "I'll do anything!" "You don't have to do this!" "Please!" "No!" "Let me go!" "Please!" "Please!" "No!" "Come on!" "_" "_" "Megan?" "My God, what are you doing here?" "It's Matt." "Matt Jamison from Mapleton." "Oh, yeah." "The priest." " You're talking." "Mm-hmm." "So you left them, the Remnant?" "I sure did." "Good for you." "So Kevin and Nora have been taking care of Mary and I'm immensely grateful for that." "So the rangers just won't let you in?" "Their rules are very particular." "Well, that doesn't seem fair." "No, it doesn't." "I can't get over it." "What?" "Well, seeing you here in Texas." "What?" "It's pretty amazing, don't you think?" "Not really." "I mean, if we were just anywhere, it would be a coincidence, but we're here in Miracle." "I think we both came here for the same reason." "What reason is that?" "Because this place is safe." "Now that you've left the Remnant." "Exactly." "It was really hard to get away, you know, because they're everywhere." "But I started to think to myself, there must be somewhere that the Guilty Remnant wouldn't work, you know?" "Wouldn't work?" "Right, because in order to get someone to join them, that person needs be in pain." "And the people on the other side of that bridge," "Matt, they were spared." "They're just not suffering like the rest of us are." "You know, Megan," "I don't think you're being entirely honest with me." "You think I'd lie to a priest?" "Today is the anniversary, isn't it?" "Of the Departure?" "No, I believe that's tomorrow." "Not the Departure." "Your mother's death." "You do remember attacking me in Mapleton?" "I was outside your house handing out fliers with your mother's photo on them." "I know it was cruel." "I'm sorry for digging into your life like that, but I was doing everything I could to make you feel again." "I had forgotten that." "Well, then I apologize for being your living reminder." "Can I ask you something?" "Sure." "What you waiting for?" "I'm sorry?" "You and all these people out here, you're so close." "It's right there." "Just over the bridge." "You want it, but you're not doing anything to get it." "So what are you waiting for?" "You want me to tell you?" "Yes." "You're waiting for me." "Who are you?" "_"