"It wouldn't take much:" "A couple of crap tables, make a roulette wheel out of a lazy Susan, a couple of decks of cards." "They gotta have cards." "So a casino in thunder Mountain?" "Hell, they got everything else." "Somehow, I don't see Marcus warming to it." "Yeah, well, what does Marcus know?" "The whole population of people down there are bored shitless." "Why don't you just open up a brothel while you're at it?" "Now you're thinkin'." "Where'd you say we're goin' again?" "A town called Mayfair." "Oh, right, it was on Simon's list." "It's just the name of a town." "I don't see that as much of a clue, if you ask me." "Well, Marcus says check it out." "You got a problem, take it up with him." "Kurdy's casino." "Is there something here I'm missin'?" "I never said giddyap." "Excuse me?" "I rode one of these when I was about 4." "I never said giddyap." "I was afraid if I did, the horse would just jump right up off its spring and take off running, and I'd never see my mom and dad again." "Well, somebody said it." "We all rode that pony." "You smell that?" "Fuck me." "This is some bad mojo, man." "This is some kool-aid sippin', mass-suicide type shit." "I don't think it was suicide." "Look at these people." "Some of 'em have their wrists tied." "It smells like almonds." "I ain't never heard of almonds killing nobody, man." "No, not almonds..." "But cyanide will." "You think they were poisoned?" "Poisoned, gassed." "Looks like somebody took out the whole town." "What does it say?" ""Never let this happen again."" "Dear dad, it's been 15 years since the big death wipedouteveryone overtheageofinnocence..." "The end of your world, the beginning of mine." "Maybe coming' here wasn't such a bad idea after all." "Somethin' about this place I like already." "Let me guess, the scenery?" "Bingo, baby." "I don't know." "There's something kind of weird about it." "I just can't put my finger on what it is." "Nicky!" "Honey, it's ok." "Just try and lift up, baby." "Just..." "Isn't she gonna help him up?" "Mommy, help me." "Help." "Here, honey, grab hold, grab hold." "Oh, this is fucked up." "You can do it, baby." "I know you can." "Hey!" "Let me give you a hand." "No!" "Stay back." "Look, I understand tough love, woman, but..." "You can't touch him." "Why, has he got something?" "No, and I'd like to keep it that way." "What, I look like I got cooties?" "Well, you pick him up." "You're his mother, aren't you?" "It's all right, honey." "Ow." "Thattaboy." "Go get your bike." "Unless you have business here," "I suggest you move on." "My name is stenn." "I'm Jeremiah." "This is kurdy." "What's up?" "Ok." "I guess we can forget about the welcome wagon." "Don't take offense." "Those are the ways here." "No one must touch." "Why is that?" "Those are the ways here." "Isn't that what they call a circular argument?" "I got another name for it." "Let me get this straight." "Nobody around here is allowed to touch anybody?" "Those are the ways here." "Hey, was I talkin' to you?" "What about all these kids running around?" "What's that, immaculate conception?" "Their parents are guardians, except for those who gave birth before the decree came down." "And when was that?" "5, almost 6 years." "So those young ladies, for example..." "Never been touched?" "Never." "Which means they're..." "As the driven snow." "Well, ain't that a kick in the head?" "You got a problem if we stay a day or 2?" "You'll have to go through decontamination." "Decontamination?" "Ow!" "This shit burns, man!" "The price of purity." "Suck it up." "Oh, ok, ok, ok, ok, I'm done already." "Oh, I'm done!" "Oh." "Hand me a towel, will you?" "Oh, Jesus." "Oh!" "I'm 16 years old." "You're not my father." "You have no right." "I have every right." "You'd be dead if we hadn't taken you in." "Karin and I are in love." "I'm sure you think you are." "Ok, look, if you don't want us to live together here, we could bail right now." "And what, hmm?" "Risk contamination?" "Real smart." "Well, those guys who came into town today, they look healthy enough." "The seeds of destruction often lie dormant." "Oh, man, what is the big deal with 2 people moving in together?" "At your age, it's dangerous." "Yeah, right." "Hormones course through you." "They can overcome your judgment." "Yeah, like we couldn't sneak off and do it anytime we goddamn wanted." "What did you say?" "Nothin'." "Stenn hears talk like that, and you will be in deep shit." "Wow." "You mean the shit actually gets deeper?" "It's so not happening." "I could tell." "He's 10 years older than I am, and he thinks he owns me." "Let me make you something to eat." "Hey, mister." "I'm just wondering, are you guys hungry?" "Yeah, this is pretty good." "What do you call it?" "Food." "Catchy name." "So where are you two from?" "Someplace where touching isn't a crime." "You don't seem the worse for it." "Why would we?" "What do you know about the town of Mayfair?" "Town 5 Miles east." "I have friends there, but it's been awhile." "Well, I hope for their sake they left." "Why?" "Everyone in Mayfair is dead." "They were poisoned." "My God." "That's nuts." "Almonds, to be precise." "Either of you have any idea who might do something like that?" "All I know is, it's the start of the forbidden zone." "Now, who decides that?" "Town elders." "What is forbidden?" "Touching." "They touch there." "Not anymore, they don't." "As if I need another reason to blow this place." "I've had it, I swear." "Well, what's stopping you?" "I was only 3 when the death hit, and Angus found me wandering around, half-starved, and he was only a kid himself." "You feel like you owe him." "Kill that noise, man." "You got these cats tellin' you how to live your life, what you can and can't touch." "I don't care what he did for you, if I was you, I'd tell him to bite it and swallow hard." "You know what I'm sayin'?" "Guess you don't." "Neal!" "What are they doing here?" "They hadn't eaten." "I invited them." "This is still my house." "Nobody takes anything without my permission." "Whoa, whoa, relax." "We didn't take anything." "The kid offered to feed us." "You never quit, do you?" "It's all right, Neal." "He's... he's right." "We shouldn't have imposed." "Come on." "Don't come back." "Thanks for the hospitality." "So far we've got nothing solid to connect these 2 towns." "Whoever slaughtered those people in Mayfair didn't show a lot of mercy." "There'snotalot ofmercy in new hope, by the sound of it." "These people have taken puritanism to a whole other level." "Can you say "whacked"?" "Keep pushing." "Simon was there for a reason." "Marcus, are you all right?" "Touch of the flu, I think." "Better save the battery." "You should go to the infirmary." "You still don't trust them, do you?" "Me?" "I find trust something of a narcotic." "In small doses, it's relatively harmless, you just don't wanna mainline it." "Well, maybe that's my problem." "Marcus, you ok?" "Where are they taking that man?" "Can't say." "You can't or you won't?" "Offenders get taken away." "That's all I know." "So what was his offense?" "Could have been any number of things." "Yeah, like holding his wife's hand?" "Who are you to question what goes on here, huh?" "Unless I'm wrong," "I'm not the only one who thinks it's a little crazy." "Look, we're all alive here." "The big death hasn't returned." ""May this house be safe from tigers."" "Sorry?" "A holy man once put a blessing on a house in the city." "He said, "may your house be safe from tigers."" "A couple of years later, this guy's neighbor hears it and laughs." "He says, "you know what?" "There are no tigers in this city."" "The guy says, "yeah, of course." "It must be working."" "What do you know about what happened in the town of Mayfair?" "I..." "I shouldn't even be talkin' to you." "I could tell you stories that'd make your hair curly." "My hair's already curly." "Well, I'm sure I could straighten it." "I'm listening." "When was the last time you let a man touch you?" "I'm not sure." "Well, it couldn't have been very memorable." "How long since you've touched a woman?" "Too long." "Much too long." "Was it worth risking your life for?" "Not having sex'll do you in a lot faster than having it." "Who told you that?" "Abstinence, man, it's the number 2 killer in the world." "And what's number one?" "Believin' liars." "What is happening to me here?" "Hey, Marcus..." "Do not be afraid." "I am here to ease your burden." "I don't understand." "Wait..." "What are you?" "I'm losin' it here." "God help me." "I've taken the liberty of providing copies of Dr. gerris' findings regarding Marcus' condition." "He says that once the anti-inflammatories kick in, the fever should reduce, but what's causing it is still an open question." "Perhaps you can explain why a special session of the council had to be convened." "For the simple reason that there's no clear line of succession should the unthinkable happen." "Sorry, Lee, but don't you think you're jumping the gun just a bit?" "Better to discuss it now than in the heat of a crisis." "Appreciate you guys helping us out." "There's nothing wrong with a little hard work." "Isn't that what you always say, kurdy?" "Actually, it's "no good deed goes unpunished."" "You didn't bring us out here today to work on the barn, did you, Vernon?" "You asked me about those people in Mayfair, right?" "Yeah." "Can I have a word with you, Vernon?" "Yeah, sure." "Idle hands and all that, right, guys?" "Yeah, whatever." "Drink?" "You're new." "Yeah." "I'm elayna." "Hi, elayna." "I'm Jeremiah." "No one around here will help me." "Will you, Jeremiah?" "All depends." "What are we talking about here?" "My mom..." "Help me find my mom." "Her name's Naomi." "They took her away around last harvest." "Who took her?" "The elders." "Why?" "I mean, what'd she do?" "I got sick." "She held me, and somebody saw us." "Do you have any idea where they might have taken her?" "No, but she's close." "I can feel it." "Mommy always fixes my clothes." "Move along, child." "There are thirsty people here." "You're my last chance, Jeremiah." "4-4." "Still split." "It may be better not to press the issue, Lee." "On the contrary." "As long as Marcus is in the throes of an undiagnosed illness, we're a ship without a rudder and on a collision course." "And only you can steer us to safety, is that the idea?" "I have Marcus' trust." "I would think that would be enough." "And if control is turned over to you, what happens when Marcus recovers?" "Obviously, he resumes his role." "Assuming you're willing to relinquish the reins of power." "What are you worried about, Erin?" "The only reason the Mountain has survived this long is because of Marcus' unswerving vision." "What happens up top, what happens in the world outside these walls, could well hang in the balance." "What's the matter?" "You think I'll subvert Marcus' agenda?" "I don't know, Lee." "I don't think any of us know, and until we do," "I think we ought to err on the side of caution." "You sure about this?" "Aren't you?" "Come on." "Ok." "Wait." "Are you ok?" "Let me catch my breath." "Are you scared?" "You?" "A little." "Well, at least we're out of that hellhole." "Neal, what if they're right?" "They're not, and even if they were, you heard what kurdy said." "It's our lives." "Oh, God." "See?" "We're still here." "You wouldn't listen." "You just wouldn't listen." "Get up." "Neal deveraux, karin Lewis, you are charged with violation of the decree enacted by the committee for moral sanctity." "Marcus..." "You're not real." "This can't be real." "Yoursickness isa fearof themind." "You are afraid to leave them, asyouwereleft." "I know the loneliness." "Every orphan knows it." "The great night approaches, but do not be afraid." "When your darkness comes, youwillbe forgiven." "Wait." "Don't go." "Don't... don't... don't go." "The little girl who brought me water, her mother." "Her name is Naomi." "You've gotta know her." "Yeah, I know her." "What happened to her?" "You think it's just physical separation they enforce here, huh?" "What do you mean?" "You don't know what it's like, ok?" "You've been here for what, 2 days?" "I know people are disappearing..." "And people are dying, for what?" "Some screwed-up paranoia a-about touching?" "This isn't about touching, Vernon." "It's about stripping away everything that makes you a human being." "It's about puttin' the fear of God in you." "They took Naomi, just like they took that man you saw yesterday, just like they took all the rest." "What happened in Mayfair?" "They rebelled." "Against the rules about touching?" "They made sex lawful again." "Well, sure." "Legalize sex, next thing you know, people start smiling." "And for that they were murdered?" "If not, it would've spread." "What?" "What would've spread, the disease?" "The thirst for freedom." "Who's responsible?" "I asked you a question!" "Who killed those people?" "Vernon," "I think you better come with me." "You son of a bitch." "You know what they're doing, don't you?" "Don't you?" "Tell me!" "Are you crazy?" "Do you know what they're gonna do to you?" "I don't give a damn." "Take him away." "Get goin'." "No!" "Get the girl!" "Get her out of here!" "Not the kind of accommodations you were expecting?" "I'll let you know after I've seen the room service menu." "You think you have resolve." "You don't know the meaning of resolve, but over time, you'll learn." "I have no doubt about that." "The little girl's mother..." "Hey!" "Which one?" "Don't you think you've caused enough trouble?" "Naomi." "Naomi?" "What?" "How do you know my name?" "Your daughter elayna told me." "I don't have a daughter." "I talked to her." "I saw her." "Go to hell." "They told her that you were dead, but she didn't believe them." "Yeah, I might as well be." "Don't give up on her." "She didn't give up on you." "For all I know, you're one of them." "Well, I'm not one of them." "My name's Jeremiah." "What do you want from me?" "I don't want anything." "It's for elayna." "You have no idea what it's like..." "Not being able to talk to her, to comfort her." "It's worse than anything they could do to me." "That... that's why you've got to help me get these bastards." "It hurts too much to hope." "Can't you understand that?" "Please, just leave me the hell alone." "Her jacket was torn." "She said that you always mend her clothes." "I guess you won't be there to mend 'em anymore." "She's not sick, is she?" "Is she getting enough to eat?" "She looks fine." "She's... strong." "I think I see where she gets it." "Angus, please." "You can't do this." "You say you're my father, for God's sake, help me." "You broke the covenant." "You're no longer my son." "Dad." "Dad!" "Look at me." "You have been found guilty of violating the supreme decree." "The sentence to be carried out by the committee for moral sanctity." "May God have mercy on your soul." "Any last words?" "Well, I got a couple." "Who the fuck do you think you are?" "Get the hell out of here." "Turn the boy loose first." "This is not your concern." "You have no standing here." "You plan on harmin' a hair on that boy's head, you gotta come through me." "Have it your way." "What, you got big sticks, so you don't have to get all touchy-feely when you start whaling on somebody?" "I don't mind." "It's just that fighting's a contact sport." "We call it banging knuckles, smacking jaws." "It's all good." "Flesh to flesh, belly to belly." "You gotta love it, baby." "Only my knife likes touching even more than I do." "Sticks and stones may break my bones..." "But I know they're gonna break yours." "Look out!" "Where's the child?" "Find her!" "How are you feeling?" "How do I look?" "Like hell." "Well, that should answer your question." "I brought you some soup." "Oh, I don't think I could keep it down." "You need to get your strength." "What for, when I've got you here?" "Come here, come here." "What?" "Just making sure that you're real." "Never mind." "Let me ask you something, Marcus." "How did a man who created all this manage to be such a lousy judge of character?" "You're talking about Lee." "While you were burning up with fever, he came very close to taking over the Mountain." "Would that have been so bad?" "You know that it would be." "This place, this movement, shouldn't belong to any one person." "Then certainly not Lee chen." "You saw to that, I'm sure." "What makes you so sure?" "Oh, I don't know." "I'm a lousy judge of character, remember?" "Thank you, Erin." "You know, for a while there, when I was swimming in the deep end, and I realized this could be it," "I was terrified." "I don't think I've ever seen you scared." "It occurred to me, I'm only a few years younger than my father was when he died, when a million people a day were dying." "When we were kids, death was about growing old." "Now..." "The scary thing is not the end." "The scary thing is seeing it coming." "Who was responsible for the bloodbath in Mayfair?" "If you've been in new hope more than 5 minutes, you've met them." "Stenn?" "He's the leader, yeah, but all the elders would have had to have agreed." "It's hard to imagine superstition would drive them to kill." "It's not about superstition." "Then what the hell's it about?" "It's an experiment." "It's crazy, I know, but that's what new hope is, what Mayfair was..." "An experiment to find out how the virus was transmitted." "If it was airborne and came back, there'd be no chance, but if it came by way of touch..." "If they're crazy enough to wipe out the entire town of Mayfair for condoning sex, why take prisoners?" "W-why not just kill all these people?" "We're examined every day." "They take blood." "More data for the experiment." "I guess we're the contaminated group." "When do they take the blood?" "I see we've got a new guest." "Roll up your sleeve." "Oh, you don't want my blood, doc." "Shut up." "Squeeze your fist." "You ever heard of flesh-eating bacteria?" "It's nasty shit." "I thought they made it up, until they told me that it was swimming around in my bloodstream." "Oh, speaking of which," "I've got this hole in the back of my left thigh, doesn't want to seem to heal up." "Think you could take a look at that for me when you get a chance?" "I mean, I wouldn't worry about it, with the gloves and all." "Yeah?" "Do something, asshole." "Uh-uh." "One move, I poke this needle in, and your bloodstream is just full of that shit." "Now, doc, what do you say you have your friend over there unlock that lady and the rest of these people?" "You get my point?" "Do it." "Do it!" "Now." "I'm sorry to say one of our shining lights has fallen from grace." "Angus' son Neal has run away, and Vernon has been exiled along with the newcomers for his treasonous collaboration." "The good news is we remain vigilant, we remain pure," "and the holy decree continues to keep us strong." "Elayna, baby!" "Mommy!" "I'm here, sweetheart." "Stop them." "You heard the man." "Can't you see a crime is being committed?" "A mother just hugged her little girl." "If that isn't a capital offense, I don't know what is." "You mock us, Naomi, but the decree is all we have." "It's what holds our community together." "Really?" "Because I thought it was fear." "I thought it was ignorance." "You think if you spread your lies with enough conviction, people will believe you?" "Well, it's worked for you, hasn't it?" "If you don't believe me, ask your neighbors." "The decree is just an excuse, so they have Guinea pigs for their medical experiment." "They figured you were all so scared of the big death returning that you'd believe about anything." "I can see that they were right." "It's that kind of talk that encouraged my son to run away." "Why don't you tell them what really happened?" "Arrest that man!" "What's going on?" "Your son never had a chance to run away, 'cause you and your murdering buddies stoned him to death." "No!" "Oh, you murdered him!" "Oh, oh, my God!" "That's a damn lie." "There's your killer." "No, he's not!" "You threw rocks at him." "You hurt him till he stopped moving." "Is it true?" "Citizens of new hope," "I implore you, trust in the truth." "Oh, I'm with you there, stenn, but let's just clarify what the truth really is." "48 hours ago, kurdy and I were in the town of Mayfair." "Some of you may have friends there, maybe relatives." "Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but they're all dead now." "They were poisoned by stenn and his committee for moral sanctity." "That's enough!" "Take these heretics away." "Now!" "They're not heretics, stenn." "They're not sheep, either." "These are people, people with hearts." "They have heads." "You know what?" "They have hands." "You know, we could all end this nightmare right now just by holding hands." "The experiment would be ruined, wouldn't it?" "Who'll take my hand?" "Stop it." "No, you... you don't know what you're doing." "You're gonna die, all of you." "Don't you see that?" "A touch is all it takes." "This is insane." "Stop." "In the name of God, I command you." "Stenn..." "It's over." "Your stranglehold, the experiment, it's done." "And now you're gonna pay for it." "Ijustkeepthinking about how angry youwouldhavebeen,dad,  to see knowledge turnedupsidedown, to see science so perverted." "These people believed inwhattheyweretold , until they figured out theironlyshotatsalvation was believing in themselves."