"THE BOOK of ELI" "Nice." "Nice, nice, nice." "You hungry?" "You know, you gotta come get it." "Don't play hard to get." "You'll like it." "It's cat." "There you go." "I don't know what..." "Leave room for breakfast." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Please." "Don't hurt me." "Here, take anything you want." "You want some food?" "Take it." " I'm not gonna hurt you." " Yeah?" "That's what the last guy said." "Could..." "Could you help me?" "The wheel came off." "I can't fix it." "Maybe if I..." "If I could, but I can't." "You know, the only good thing about no soap is that you can smell hijackers a mile off." "I am impressed!" "This man smelled us from 30 feet away!" "Damn!" "What's that say about our hygiene?" "What you got there in that pack?" "What pack?" "He got a gun." "Shit, it ain't loaded." "They never are." "Ain't that right, old man?" "Open the pack and tip it out on the road, nice and slow." "Can't do that." "Take off the fucking pack and put it on the ground." "Or die!" "Are you listening to me?" "I am now." " Good." " You listening to me?" "Good." "Put that hand on me again, you won't get it back." "Do you believe this fucking guy?" "All right, you wanna do it the hard way." "How'd you do that?" "He just cut my hand off!" "What are you standing around for?" "Kiss him!" "What did he say?" "He's in shock." "I think he meant "Kill him."" "I can't feel my hand." "My hand." "I told you, you weren't gonna get that back." "Yeah, you did." "Who are you?" "Where's your water?" "They don't have none." "They were gonna take yours." "And then eat you." "It's true." "It's in the cart." "You're not taking it?" " Where are you going?" " West." " Can I come with you?" " No." "But..." "We'll find shelter for tonight." "My legs still hurt." "God." "No!" "No!" " Nice shot!" " Mike!" "No!" " No!" " We got her." "Honey?" "Come here!" "No, no." " Please, don't." "Please, God, no!" " Stay on the path." " Stop!" " Hey, guys." "Stay on the path." "It's not your concern." "No!" "Come on!" "Stay on the path." "It's not your concern." "Stay on the path." "It's not your concern." " I don't know you." " I know, I'm not from around here." "No shit you're not from around here." " All right, I don't want any trouble." " Oh, yeah." "I'm just a customer." "Okay?" "I'm sorry, I gotta see the hands." "I'm not one of them." "I'm gonna take something out of my pack." " Take your finger off the trigger." " Yeah." "Sweet!" "That's a Fathom 900, man." "Is it?" "I haven't seen one of those since the '90s." "I got it back east." " Still work?" " Yeah." "Just need it charged." "Can you do that for me?" "Give me a..." "I got cables." "I don't need the cables." "I can put a trickle charger on it, for you." "Good." "I mean, if you got the coin." "Yes, sir." "Yes, I do." "I got something..." " Okay." " It's American-made." "Oh, yeah." "I got a whole bunch of these." "Do you?" "How about ChapStick?" "You got any ChapStick?" "No ChapStick, no." "I got cat oil." "Fresh cat oil." " No, no." " It's good, it's good for the..." " No." " Works the same way." "What about toys?" "You got any toys?" "No, I don't play..." "Oh, I got..." "We do chicken right." "Finger lickin' good." "All right, all right." "All right, now this, with these." "Absolutely, those are yours." "Give me a couple of hours." "Charge it up for you." "You can wait over there across the street, at the Orpheum." "No, I'll wait here." " Bar is about ready to open." " I'll wait here." "You don't trust me, do you?" " I'll wait here." " All right." "Carnegie." "One of the road crews just pulled into town." "They've got something for you." "Books?" "Whole bag of them." "Tell them I wanna see them right now." " Stay." " No problem." "Come on, let's go." "We did good." "The one you want, it ain't there?" "No." "I just don't understand." "That's a shitload of books." "You don't have to understand." "I understand." "Leave that to me and we can be friends." "I have faith in you." "You'll find it." "Wait." "I got..." "this, too." "Now, this is a treat." "That's shampoo." "Go get slammed." "Get some pussy." "Everything on me, as much as you and your boys can stand." "Then go back on the road." "And we'll get you your book." "Of that I have no doubt." "You're sending guys out who can't even read to look for one book." "No wonder, they never find anything." "I use the tools I have at hand." "Unless you'd like to go with them?" "What about these?" "Burn them." "This place across the street, they got any water?" "Yeah, if you can pay for it." "Here." "Smell this." "One of the road crews found it." "Who knows?" "It may be the last shampoo on the planet." "And it's yours." "Did they find your book?" "No." "Outlander?" "Let me see." " All right, what'll it be?" " Water." "That's the good stuff." "I've gotta eat into my own ration to sell it, so it don't come cheap." "Right." "Get you maybe halfway." "Solara!" "Take this and get it filled." "Wait." "You need this." "Can you please move?" "Thank you." "That was my cat." "Fine specimen." "I saw you knock him off the bar." "No." "I kind of shooed him, I didn't really knock him." "You raised your hand at him." "Won't happen again, I promise you." "Hey, Martz, how about another drink?" "That cat's been coming in here for two years." "It's got more right to be here than you." "I don't want any trouble." "Well, that's too bad, 'cause you got..." "I know who you are." "Murderer of innocent travelers on the road." "You are gonna be held to account for the things you've done, do you know that?" "Do you?" "It's okay." "I'm gonna grab my things and I'm gonna walk out of here." " All right." " All right, brother?" ""Cursed be the ground for our sake." ""Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth" ""for us." ""For out of the ground, we were taken." "For the dust, we are." ""And to the dust, we shall return."" "Stop!" "Please." "Redridge!" "Redridge." "And who are you?" "Nobody." "I doubt that." "The men you killed in my bar, now, they were nobody." " But you, now." " He ain't got the shakes." " He ain't one of them." " Good." "This is a civilized town." "We don't eat humans." "We don't see too many people from before." "Not anymore." " Do you read?" " Every day." "All right." "Well, good for you." "Me, too." "You know, it's funny." "As old as we are, people like you and me, we're the future." "What do you want with me?" "Straight to the point!" "I like that!" "I like that." "You're not just educated." "I never saw anyone handle themselves the way you did." "I don't know where you learned it, but I sure as hell could use it." "This little town, just the beginning." "I'm about to expand." "I need expert help." "I could use someone like you." "Thank you, but I'm really not interested." "People who work for me live better than any walker ever dreamed." "Ask Redridge here." "Ask the boys, anyone." "Real beds, hot food, women." "Clean water." "You could do a lot worse, my friend." "Thank you, but I got somewhere I need to be." "Where?" "West." "There is nothing west." "I've been told different." "By who?" "Tell you what." "Stay the night." "Try a little local hospitality, see how you like it." "We'll talk again in the morning." "Word of advice, Walker." "It's not a choice." "It's always a choice." "There'll be someone outside your room all night if you need anything." "I don't need anything." "You never know." "This is for you." "It's some..." "water for washing and some food." "Little special reserve, too, compliments of the house." "I need you to take this or say something so I can find you." " Thank you." " You're welcome." " Can I get you anything else?" " No, I'm fine." "Thank you." "Did you get blinded in the war or by the sun after?" "I was born this way." "Probably I'm lucky, because I was already used to being like this by the time it happened." "Right, well, thank you for the food." "You're welcome." "I like your perfume." "It's just shampoo, but thank you." "Good night." "I don't think he's gonna change his mind by the morning." "He's not gonna stay." "He's different than the others." "You're not gonna be able to make him do what you want him to do." "Who said anything about me?" "I'll send Solara." "You can't do that." "It's about time I got better use out of her." "Don't." "Please." "Please, don't." "Please." "Please." "Please!" "Can I come in?" "Give me a minute." "Somebody already came with food and water." "I got everything I need." "Are you sure about that?" "It's really bright in here." "I'm Solara." "Right." "You filled my canteen downstairs." "Yeah." "You're the walker, right?" "Right." "If you're worried about paying, it's on the house." "Paying for what?" "Why don't you take a seat?" "No." "No, I can't go." "I can't." "If I do, he'll hurt my mom." " Who?" " Carnegie." "He's your father?" "No." "No, but we belong to him just the same." "Look, I'll sleep on the floor." "Tomorrow you can tell him you had a good time." "I promise you I will be no trouble." "Please?" "Knight to bishop four." "Your move." "So, how old are you?" "Excuse me?" "I haven't really seen too many people your age come through here before." "Well, it's been... 30 winters since the flash." "I really don't remember." "Do you remember what it was like?" "I mean, in the world before." "Well, what was it like?" "People had more than they needed." "We had no idea what was precious, what wasn't." "We threw away things people kill each other for now." "Really?" "You have a book." " Can I see it?" " No, you cannot." " I just, I just wanna look at it." " No." "I said no." "Listen, I can't even read!" "Come on, please, let me just see it." "What is with you?" "It is just a book!" "It's not just a book." " What do you mean, not just a book?" " Look." "No more questions about the book, OK ?" "No more questions." "All right?" "I got a question for you, since you're here." "Maybe I'll answer it and maybe I won't." "Where do you get your water?" "Can't tell you that." " You can't tell me or you don't know?" " Oh, I know." "But if you're not talking about the book," "I'm not talking about the water." "You're something else, you know." "All right, another question for you." "Right." "You hungry?" "There's a lot of food there, more than I can eat." "Tell you what." "We can share it, you know, like... old people used to." "Wait a minute, wait a minute." "Wait." "Sit." "Sit." "This'll be for you." "Give me your hands." "What are you doing?" "Trust me." "Give me your hands." "Close your eyes." "Dear Lord, we thank you for this meal." "We thank you for a warm bed and a roof over our head on cold nights such as this." "It's been too long." "Is this from your book?" "Don't interrupt." "Close your eyes." "We thank you for the gift of companionship in hard times like these." "Amen." "Now we eat?" "Now we eat." "Good morning, Solara." "How was your night?" "Did you sleep well?" "I did like you said." "Of course you did what I said." "But did it work?" "Is he staying?" "We didn't do much talking." "Solara, honey, eat something." "Mom, give me your hand." "Close your eyes." "Mom, trust me." "Dear Lord." "We thank you for our food." "Thank you for my mother." "Thank you for the roof over our heads and our new friends." "And..." "Well, I guess that's all for now." "Amen." "That's the word you're looking for." "Amen." "That's how you stop." "You said you didn't talk much." "But did he do any reading?" " I asked you a question." " Bill, don't." "You." "Shut your mouth." "Stop!" "You're hurting your mother, Solara." "He said he read every day." "Did he?" "Stop it!" "Your mother would like you to tell me." "I don't know!" "Yes, okay!" "Yes, yes, he was reading." " What kind of book was he reading?" " I don't know!" " I don't know!" "An old leather one!" " And?" "I don't know, it had some kind of thing on the front of it!" " Show me." " I need you to let her go!" "Show me!" "Redridge!" "Shit!" "He was here the whole night." "Where is he?" "I don't..." "I don't..." " I wanna make sure that you know..." " I understand." "... there's no acid in there." "That's swamp water." "It doesn't matter." "Just take these off." "Take them off." " All right." "Let me just..." " Take them off." " Hey!" " All right." "You got it, coming off." " Thank you." " Coming off." "You can tell them I made you do it?" "All right." " Say it." " You made me do it." "Is that thing loaded?" "I don't think it's loaded." "One way to find out." "Look, I need that book." "I mean, I want the book and you, but if you make me choose, I'll kill you, I'll take the book." "Why?" "Why do you want it?" "I grew up with it." "I know its power." "And if you read it, then so do you." "That's why they burned them all after the war." "Just staying alive is an act of faith." "Building this town is an even bigger act of faith, but they don't understand that, none of them." "And I don't have the right words to help them, but the book does." "Now, I admit that I've had to do things, many, many things, that I hate, to build this." "I confess that." "But if we have that book," "I wouldn't have to." "Now imagine." "Imagine how different, how righteous this little world could be if we had the right words for our faith." "The people would truly understand why they're here and what they're doing and they wouldn't need any of the uglier motivations." "Not right to keep that book hidden away." "It's meant to be shared with others." "It's meant to be spread." "Isn't that what you want?" "With all of my heart and soul." "I always believed that" "I'd find a place where this book belonged, where it was... needed." "But I haven't found it yet." "I love this guy." "I love this guy." "Shoot him, please." "What are you standing around for?" "Take him out, God damn it!" "Take him out!" "I don't like being followed." "I wanna come with you!" "No, you don't." "I hate it here." "Then change it." "My mother thinks I'll be safer with you." "I'll take you to where we get our water." "You can have all that you can carry." "I mean, all that we can carry." "Carnegie knows about two more springs up north." "He says he's gonna build more towns." "How'd he know about this one?" "He'd been here when he was young." "In the world before." "I guess, everyone else who knew about it died." "We really better hurry." "I think I left my glasses inside." "Take a look for me." "I'll look out here." "What are you doing?" "You are such a liar!" "I'm not a liar." "You said I could come with you if you got your water!" "I didn't say that." "You said that." "Besides, the road's no place for you." "It's much worse than you think." "Goodbye, Solara." "It's nice knowing you, I mean that." "Fuck you!" "Have you washed your filthy fucking hands?" "Twice." "With your soap." "Put a crew together." "We're going after him." "For a fucking book." "It's not a fucking book!" "It's a weapon!" "A weapon aimed right at the hearts and minds of the weak and the desperate!" "It will give us control of them!" "If we wanna rule more than one small fucking town, we have to have it!" "People will come from all over, they'll do exactly what I tell them if the words are from the book." "It's happened before, and it'll happen again." "All we need is that book." "Then I want Solara." "Are you bargaining with me?" "Is this a deal we're making here?" "We lost a lot of men." "You need me more than ever." "Now, you say that book's worth the trouble." "I believe you, but I want Solara for it." "Why not?" "Why not?" "Let's get the fuck out of here." "Stay on the path." "It's not your concern." "Stay on the path." "It's not your concern." "Which way are we headed?" "West." "Hello?" "Can anyone help me?" "Hello?" "Is anybody there?" "Are you okay?" "Yes." "I'm fine." "You go along." "I'll be okay." " No, no, here, let me just help you." " No, really, please." "I'm fine." "Really." "I need a man to help, not you." "You just go along." " It's okay, it'll just take a minute." " No!" "It's fine." "Please." "Help!" "Help!" "Get off me!" "Thank you!" "Over there." "What's wrong?" "You hear that?" "Hear what?" "Don't move." "Don't move." "Here." "Take the wire off of that." "Spool it up." " What is that?" " Dinner." "It's like he's protected somehow, like there's nothing that can touch him." "He's just a fucking man." "You put a bullet in him, he'll go down like any other." "Still warm." "No more than a few hours dead." "He can't be far." "Son of a bitch!" "Solara." "Are you sure you still want her?" "It's gonna be dark soon." "We can't track them at night, they'll see us coming." "We could drive right past them and never know it." "He's right." "They're on foot, tired." "They'll have to sleep." "We'll make up the ground tomorrow." "We'll have them before morning's out." "That better be a guarantee." "Do you really read the same book every day?" "Without fail." "Will you read some to me?" "Please?" ""The Lord is my shepherd." ""I shall not want." ""He makes me to lie down in green pastures." ""Leads me beside the still waters." ""He restores my soul." ""He leadeth me in the path of righteousness, for his name's sake." ""Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death" ""I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."" " That's beautiful." " You like that?" " Did you write that?" " Yes, I did." "Really?" "No, no." "No." "No, that was around a long time before you and I got here, that's for sure." "What did you mean when you said it's not just any book?" "It's the only one." "Really?" "After the war, people made it their business to find and destroy any that the fires didn't get already." "Some people said this was the reason for the war in the first place." "Anyway, it's the only one that survived." "How'd you get it?" "They said that the war tore a hole in the sky, you've probably heard the stories." "Tore a hole in the sky, sun came down and burned everything." "Everything and everybody." "You were lucky to hole up and hide in a place like this or underground." "Most people weren't lucky." "So, a year later, we started coming out, and people wandered around." "I, not knowing what I was gonna do, trying to find a place to survive." "One day, I heard a voice." "It's hard to explain, but it was like it..." "Like it was coming from inside of me." "But I could hear it as clear as I can hear you talking to me now." "What did this voice say?" "It led me to a place where I found the book buried under some rubble." "The voice told me to carry the book out west." "Told me that a path would be laid out for me, that I'd be led to a place where the book was safe." "Told me that I'd be protected against anyone or anything that stood in my path." "I've been walking ever since." "You did all that because a voice in your head told you to?" "Yes, I did." "I know what I heard." "I know what I hear." "I know I'm not crazy." "And I know I would've never made it without help." " What's that?" " One question too many." "Go to bed, we got an early start in the morning." "What are you doing?" " Sorry, I thought you were sleeping." " I wasn't sleeping." "What are you doing?" "I just wanted to see the book." "Nobody touches it but me, you understand me?" "Do you understand me?" " Yes, I understand." " Good." "Go to sleep." "You said you don't know how to read anyway." "It's no use to you." "So teach me." "Hold up." "Hold up!" "Stop!" "You know, you say you've been walking for 30 years, right?" "Right." "Have you ever thought that maybe you were lost?" "Nope." "How do you know that you're walking in the right direction?" ""We walk by faith, not by sight."" "What does that mean?" "It means that you know something, even if you don't know something." "That doesn't make any sense." "Doesn't have to make sense, it's faith." "It's faith." "It's the flower of light in the field of darkness that's giving me the strength to carry on." "You understand?" "Is that from your book?" "No, it's Johnny Cash Live at Folsom Prison." "What?" " Do you think anyone lives there?" " I don't know." "Maybe there's water." "Stay behind me." "This is weird." "Who are you?" "We're travelers, that's all." "Don't mean any harm." "No trespassing!" "Haven't you read the sign?" "We're very sorry." "I didn't see it." "What's your business?" " We were just..." " No business!" "Just..." "We're very sorry, and if you let us, we'll be on our way." "George, look at them." "One of them is just a girl." "It's an old story, I've heard it a hundred times before." "We get so few visitors these days." "George is suspicious of everybody." "I'm Martha." "Would you care for some tea?" "How about some music?" "It's so soothing." "George!" "How do you like it?" "It's nice." "Please." " Is that good?" " Good, good." "That's..." "Taste is rich." "It's amazing that you two have survived out here all by yourselves." "Well, now, George is something of a handyman." "He did a lot of work on this place, making it safe." "We may be old, but we're resilient." "We've known more than a few who've tried to take this place from us." " Haven't we, George?" " Yes, we have." " Right." " I wanna show you something." "Come on." "George, no!" "Not now!" "Come on!" " Are these..." " Graves?" "Sure." "Be uncivilized not to bury them." "Besides, it's good for the soil." "Come on back inside." "I think I might be able to rustle you up some sandwiches." "Thank you, thank you very much." " We gotta go now." " They killed all these people." "They didn't just kill them, they ate them." " Her hands were shaking." " Too much human meat." "Let's go." "I found some meat." "I hope you're hungry." "Nope." "No, thank you." "Well, we..." "We gotta be going." " So soon?" " Yeah, I'm afraid so." " Are you sure you won't stay?" " I'm sure, I'm very sure." "Put the gun down." "Solara, you take this." "Open the door for us, please." " Solara, say thank you for the tea." " Thank you for the tea." "Thank you so much for the tea." "Go back inside." "George, what's wrong?" "Whole company of armed degenerates, that's what's wrong!" "And they led them straight to us." " I just set out the good china." " Fuck the china!" "Have you got any more weapons?" "Weapons?" "I'll show you some weapons." " Can you shoot a gun?" " Of course." "Come on, come on!" "We know you're in there!" "Come on out and nobody needs to get hurt!" "I'll make it easy!" "Send out Solara with the book!" " What are we gonna do?" " I know what the fuck I'm doing!" " Wait." " That's all I want, the book and the girl!" "They ain't coming out." "Shit!" "Get down!" "Everybody, get down!" "Hey!" "You know that voice you heard?" "Did it say anything about this?" "We'll get out alive, both of us!" "What about us?" "Didn't mention you!" "Cease fire!" "Martha?" "Martha?" "Martha!" "Martha!" " Martha." " Go in on the side!" "Over on the side!" "You bastards!" " The side of the house!" " You fucking bastards!" " Hold your fire!" "Hold your fire!" " What are they doing?" "Nothing good." "Where's the book?" "Check his pack." "It ain't here." "This is your last chance." "You give it up or I swear I'll bury you out here." "Son of a bitch." "Let's try this again." " Carnegie!" " What?" "Now, where's the book?" "Give him the book, please." "Don't tell him." "It's in the house, back of the TV." "Go check the TV!" "The what?" "You're fucking shitting me." "You, go!" "Go!" "Ask, and you shall receive." "God is good, is he not?" "All the time." "Not all the time." "No!" "No!" "You see?" "What did I tell you?" "He's just a man." "No!" "Leave him alone!" "Please, stop!" "Where's your protection now?" "Pray for me." "I mean it." "No!" "Shit!" "Go back!" "Come on!" "Come on!" "We barely got enough fuel to make it back." "You wanna go after her?" "No." " Where are you going?" " I'm going west." "Gotta go west." "Here." "I'm sorry." "For what?" " This." "This is all my fault." " No, it's not." "No, it is." "If I didn't come with you, none of this would've happened." "It's not your fault." "I did what I had to do." "I didn't think anything could make you give up that book." "I thought it was too important." "All the years I've been carrying it and reading it every day." "I got so caught up with keeping it safe," "I forgot to..." "live by what I learned from it." "And what's that?" "Just..." "Do for others more than you do for yourself." "That's what I got from it, anyway." "You smell that?" " What?" " In the air?" "Salt?" "We're getting close to the ocean." "That's it." "Get the Engineer!" "That's far enough!" "What's your business here?" "My name is Eli!" "I have a King James Bible in my possession." "Remain where you are!" "Don't attempt to make any sudden moves, or you will be fired upon!" "Be careful with it." "Be careful." "Careful with it." "They're clean." "We've been doing this for a long time now." " Feels like a museum." " No, it's much more than that." "This is where we're going to start again." "We've got a printing press." "It'll be operational quite soon." "We're going to teach people about the world they lost." "Help them start to rebuild it." "I mean, look." "Shakespeare." "Britannica, missing only a few volumes." "There's a whole series of beautiful Mozart and Wagner records in still very pristine condition." "But never a Bible." "Well, not until now." "Well, may I ask what condition it's in?" "It's beat up, but it will do the job." " Do you think I could see it?" " Yes, you may." " That's it." "It's open." " You there?" "Do you have anything to write on?" "Could you get us some writing paper, please?" "And a lot of it." "A whole lot of it." "It can't be." "It..." "It's impossible!" "It can't be!" "Pay close attention and write down" "everything I say exactly as I say it." ""The first book of Moses." ""Called Genesis." ""Chapter one," ""verse one." ""In the beginning," ""God created the heavens" ""and the earth." ""Verse two." ""And the earth was..." ""without form" ""and void." ""And darkness" ""was upon the face of the deep." ""And the Spirit of God" ""was hovering" ""over the face of the waters." ""Verse three." ""And God said," ""'Let there be light.'" ""And there was light."" "Where is Solara?" "Out there." "Her choice." "I tried to bring her back." "She refused." "What did you do when she refused?" " Read it." " What did you do to my daughter?" " Read it!" " What did you do to my daughter?" "You can start anytime." "I'm sorry." "It's been so long, I don't remember." " You have to." " I have to?" "Really?" "No, no, no, no." "You have to." "Please." "Your leg." "It doesn't hurt anymore." "I can smell it." "You worked so hard for that book." "You sacrificed so much, so many men." "More than you could spare." "Now all those people who were too scared to even say your name, they're downstairs, tearing up the bar right now." "Did you know that?" "And there's no one there to stop them." "And you're feverish." "I can't imagine what it must feel like to have what you want so close and it might as well be a million miles away." "Stop it!" "Are you leaving me?" "Claudia?" "Claudia!" "Claudia!" "Get away!" "Get away!" "It's mine!" "Dear Lord, thank you for giving me the strength and the conviction to complete the task you entrusted to me." "Thank you for guiding me, straight and true, through the many obstacles in my path," "and for keeping me resolute when all around seemed lost." "Thank you for your protection and for your many signs along the way." "Thank you for any good that I may have done." "I'm so sorry about the bad." "You don't have to leave, you know." "You're very welcome to stay here." " You'll be perfectly safe." " Thank you, but this is something that I have to do." "Where will you go?" "Home." "Thank you for the friend I made." "Please watch over her as you've watched over me." "Thank you for finally allowing me to rest." "I'm so very tired, but I go now to my rest, at peace," "knowing that I have done right with my time on this earth." "I fought the good fight." "I finished the race." "I kept the faith." "Correction:" "Lafaboune"