"Wake up." "Man, what the hell you go do that for?" "The place we're heading, I could use an extra set of eyes." "Oh, man," "I was just having some bomb-ass sex, too." "Don't let me stop you." "You don't have dreams like this every day, man." "At least I don't." "Well, hell, I know you don't." "Boy, she was like the ladies in one of those paintings, botticello or somethin'." "All white linen and rose petals, and both of us just floatin', dress all hiked up." "I never figured you for an art lover." "Oh, there's a lot you don't know about me, Jeremiah." "What the hell you doing?" "We're about out of gas." "Come on, man." "This pump has been sucked drier than me and my dream." "I appreciate the visual reference." "Why don't you have them check the oil while you at it?" "Oh, what, I guess you want to get us a couple of nice cold cokes first, is that it?" "Actually," "I was thinking of somethin' a little more unleaded." "What the hell?" "ś" "Well, I'll be damned." "Courtesy of our friends at the Mountain." "It looks like they left us something else, too." "Marching orders." "All right, so who's this holcomb cat we're looking for?" "Oh, some guy up here in slag harbor." "He might be able to connect us to farralon." "Who the hell is farralon?" "According to Simon's notes, this farralon, he may know if the big death's coming back or not, maybe even how to stop it if it does." "I don't know, man." "Here we are working for a place old girl Theo called the end of the world, trying to stop the end of the world." "You ever think somebody's just messing with our heads?" "'Cause I am goddamn sure of it." "Look like you could use some help." "It's my wife." "She needs a doctor, bad." "All right, we'll give you a hand." "Come on." "Can't be more than 2 or 3 more Miles." "These legs can't go another 2 Miles, at least not today." "Ok." "All right." "Let's take a break." "You'll be fine." "I'm telling you, Reese," "I got a good feeling about this slag harbor." "Yeah, I heard that one before." "Listen, if half of what they say is true, these people haven't seen anything like you in a very long time." "Mmm, ah, yeah, mama, the Davenport brothers are going to take that shithole by storm." "Jake, I don't know if I can do it again." "What are you talking about?" "You got the brains, you got the hands, and need I remind you, little brother, you got the bag." "Come on." "Dear dad, it's been 15 years since the big death wiped out everyone over the age of innocence..." "The end of your world, the beginning of mine." "Hey, kid, is there a doctor around here?" "One just blew in." "A couple of blocks down, the old butcher shop." "Yeah, thanks." "You heard it right." "The doctor is in the house." "Reese Davenport, m.D., certified, bona fide, emulsified." "Guaranteed to cure what ails you, t.B., v.D., s.T.D.S," "I.O.U.S." "E-even your good old-fashioned crotch-rot." "Whatever it is, Dr. "d" is here to make it right." "He's got cures for diseases they don't have names for." "We're talking hematoma..." "I don't know what happened." "He was fine, and then about a week ago, he stopped eating." "It's not serious, is it?" "Well, I'm, uh..." "He's badly dehydrated." "You need to get some food and water into him." "He's not going to, um..." "Tell me he's gonna be ok." "Look, I, uh, want you to give him these 3 times a day, and boil the water before he drinks it." "3 times, boil the water, and... and then he'll be all right?" "Yeah, I..." "I'm sure he'll be all right." "Ok, thanks." "Yeah, you'll feel great." "...Genuflections, vivisections, outpatient surgery while you wait." "That's right, my man, we'll cure that gangrene, and it won't cost you an arm and a leg, you know what I'm saying?" "All right, one line, no pushing." "Have your barter goods in hand." "Everyone'll be served." "Sir, sir, please, come to the back of the line..." "This woman needs your help now." "Oh, why didn't you say so?" "Come on in." "The doctor's waitin'." "There you go." "You see, no job too large, no job too small." "We'll fix your bones, we'll kick your Jones." "We'll do it all." "You see this girl in here, pregnant girl, we took her right in." "All right," "I, uh, I want you to take these antibiotics until they're all gone, all right?" "You gotta help us, doc." "She's been this way for 2 days now." "Ok, slide her on up here." "Ah, when's she due?" "I thought maybe you'd know." "Right." "She does look pretty close." "Um, any bleeding?" "I don't think so." "She's burning up with fever, though." "Can you do anything for her?" "N-not unless you give me some room." "What do you think it is?" "Outside, both of you." "Ok, all right, you got me." "How about a small can of food for the runt?" "'Kay?" "Yeah, yes." "I hope that doctor knows what he's doing." "Yeah, we'll see." "Yeah." "What're you doing?" "I'm bonding." "Yeah, well, I can see that." "Don't tell me it's yours." "Oh, man, it was love at first sight." "Now, check it." "He's too small to eat much, right?" "And we don't have to worry about housebreaking, 'cause we don't have a house." "A dog?" "Oh, man, you are so perceptive." "Excuse me." "Are you the doctor?" "Oh, no, that'd be my brother Reese." "Come to the back of the line, if you don't mind." "No, I-it's not for me." "It's for my boyfriend, Jimmy holcomb." "Well, then, why don't you ask him to stand in the back of the line?" "That's just it." "He's out of town for a day or so." "I just wa..." "I wanna make sure that the doctor's still gonna be here when he gets back." "Well, that depends." "Medical services are in pretty high demand these days." "I don't have to tell you that." "Please, listen." "I know he's gonna be back in a day or so." "He never should've left." "He's..." "He's really sick." "I'm sure the doctor will be here." "Besides, he's got to help this guy's wife deliver a happy, healthy baby." "Isn't that right?" "Yeah, well, we could, uh, probably, uh, do..." "Excuse us." "I may have business with your boyfriend." "Oh, yeah?" "When do you expect him back?" "Wish I knew for sure." "Maybe tomorrow." "What is this about?" "We have a friend in common, a man named Simon." "I don't think I know him, but Jimmy keeps a lot of things to himself." "I'm sadie." "Oh, um, Jeremiah." "Um, this is William." "His, uh, wife's due to have a baby any day." "She's got a really high fever." "I was just wondering if you know of any place around here that they might be able to stay?" "Well, our crib is just over the rails." "We've been squatting there for 2 years, and nobody bothers us." "You're welcome to stay there." "Thanks." "You have no idea how much we appreciate that." "No problem." "Don't let her die, dad." "Don't let her die." "How is she, doc?" "Well, uh, we gotta concentrate on, uh, getting the fever down." "How, you give her aspirin?" "No, I..." "I didn't want to increase the, uh, chance of, uh, bleeding." "No, a-acetaminophen, antibiotics." "Aha, you hear that?" "Your wife's gonna be right as rain." "Who's the doctor here, you or your brother?" "He's the doctor." "I'm just the brains of the outfit." "Y-you're going to have to keep a close eye on her, ok?" "W-what is it?" "What has she got?" "Well, I, uh, I ruled out something called preeclampsia." "Blood pressure's ok." "I'm thinking group "b" strep, you know, I-it's a bacterial infection." "Oh, man." "Jesus." "Um, I think we got... got to her in time." "Yeah, uh, if you want to gather her up, she's right here." "Hey, Jake." "That girl you met, sadie?" "She's offered to put William and his wife up at her place." "My partner and I, we're gonna camp there, too." "I suggest you and your brother join us." "Well, that may or may not suit our plans." "Well, you know, I'm not too concerned about your plans, 'cause you promised her you'd be there when her boyfriend got back, and this guy's wife is not out of the woods yet." "You'll get paid." "You got my word on it." "Oh, I've got your word on it." "Well, that changes everything." "Oh, man, I gotta admit, this is one smart-ass dog." "I've never seen a dog this smart." "It already knows its own name." "What's its name?" "Dog." "Come on." "Come on, dog." "William?" "I'm right here." "Where... where are we?" "We're in slag harbor." "The baby?" "The baby's fine." "Hey." "Hey." "Paula, this is sadie." "It's her house." "Sort of, till someone says it's not." "That's so cool, but I don't think I can eat." "Hey, you listen to me, girl." "You need your strength." "You're eating for two now." "Besides, Jimmy says my cooking sucks less every day." "Ok." "Your brother doesn't seem too sociable." "Jake?" "He's all right." "You know what they say about the eldest." "Always gotta be protective." "I'm hungry." "Iknow." "Me ,too." "I'm really hungry." "You're always hungry." "Get me something." "Jeremiah, I really want oneofthose." "You got something to trade?" "Look, all I got is this." "Jake!" "Meat's ready." "So, uh, Reese, how does one become a doctor these days, anyway?" "There sure as hell aren't any medical schools." "Yeah, that's for damn sure." "So how did you learn?" "My dad..." "My dad was something." "Yeah." "Oh yeah, real one of a kind." "Yeah, he, uh, he had a practice in a town of about 8,000 just outside of Reno." "You know, his patients worshipped him." "Everybody did." "He could do anything with that bag." "The bag belonged to your father?" "Yeah." "Yeah, see, uh, it's the only thing I got to remember him by, that and the lessons." "So he taught you?" "No, nothing formal." "You know, I'd go out on calls with him." "I got to see it all, you know, babies being born, people being pulled from wrecks, limbs being amputated." "Ah, he pulled people back from the edge," "I don't know how many times." "No offense, Reese, but being a kid and watching your father isn't exactly my idea of how one learns to be a doctor." "You don't have to take that shit from him." "Well, for all I know, you might be a really great doctor, it's just, people are desperate." "You know, when they get sick, they don't have anywhere to turn." "Yeah, and they're lucky to have a guy like Reese here to see 'em through it." "The antibiotics you got in that bag..." "Gotta be, what, 15 years old?" "Look, I get supplies where I can." "I make do, all right?" "Y-you want to know whether I take care of people?" "Damn right I do." "You tell him, Reese." "Look, there's a guy upstairs who is trusting his wife and his unborn baby's life to your hands." "You ok with that?" "Fuck, yeah." "I didn't ask you, shithead, I asked him." "Yeah." "That's all I needed to hear." "You're the doctor, aren't you?" "Yeah." "What's the problem?" "Nothin', it's just, I never met a real doctor." "See that?" "Everywhere we go, the man's a rock star." "Yeah, well, now you met one." "Hey, you think..." "I know you're real busy and all, but do you think I could watch you doctoring some time?" "No." "No, I don't think that's a good idea." "Well, I wouldn't get in the way or anything, it's just..." "Look, I got my hands full doing what I do, all right?" "I..." "I don't need to be teaching anybody." "Well, I was hoping that one day I could..." "Look, you heard what I said, now beat it." "Jeremiah, please?" "So what am I supposed to do about it?" "Jer..." "Willyoushutthe hellup?" "Justgo,getout ofmyface!" "Look, buddy, this is all I got." "My mom paid a lot of money for this." "I'mtryingto runabusiness here,man." "You bring me something else, maybeI canhelpyou out ." "Hey, you!" "Somebody stop that kid." "Damn it!" "No!" "Jeremiah!" "Hey, uh-uh, uh-uh." "No, no, no." "As soon as those two are asleep, we're gonna blow the hell out of here." "What about that pregnant girl?" "I think I can help her." "I don't wanna take any chances, ok?" "There's lots of big-titted towns like this." "All we gotta do is milk 'em, one at a time." "Kurdy, wake up." "Come on, man, we gotta go." "The doctor has checked out." "Man, you gotta go." "I'm sleeping." "Oh, come on, kurdy." "I need your help on this one." "How would you like it if I busted up your dreams every time it just started getting good?" "I don't feel right leaving her like that." "Something went wrong, trust me, we'd get blamed for it." "Dad wouldn't have bailed like that." "Hey, that's bullshit, and you know it." "He wrote the book on selfishness." "Hey, get off the bikes." "Take it easy, man." "Don't get your panties in a bunch." "Get off the fucking bikes." "Ok, whatever you say." "Oh, what's this?" "No, no, no, you can't take it." "Give me the goddamn bag." "No, you can't take it." "Give me the goddamn bag." "Nice doin' business with you." "What the hell happened to you two?" "We were out for a Sunday drive." "What the hell does it look like happened?" "Get in." "The back." "What goes around comes around, I guess." "What's that supposed to mean?" "It means you walked away from some people who needed you here." "You know, what you can't seem to get through that thick skull of yours is that they ain't alone." "My brother's got a lot of people who couldn't survive without him." "Yeah, starting with you, I guess." "Fuck off." "Hey, would you mind taking a look at Paula?" "Her fever's kicked in again." "Yeah, he'll be right there." "I don't know what you expect me to do, but I lost my bag, and I can't do anything without it." "Yeah, well, I'm not too sure you could do anything with it, but that is not the point, is it?" "What is your point?" "Whatever half-assed kind of doctor you've learned how to be, you are the only hope that these people have." "Now, you take away that hope, you step on their trust, you do that," "you can't even call yourself a human being, much less a doctor." "Yeah, I know." "Hey, would you happen to have any scraps?" "This damn dog seems to have doubled its weight in a day." "I'm sure I can find something." "Thanks." "You know, one day I was out on the streets, and I saw these sadistic idiots using puppies as target practice." "They'd let 'em out one by one, and then they'd bet on who could get the first kill-shot off." "That's horrible." "Yeah, well, the worst part is I didn't say anything." "Maybe they would have shot you." "Yeah, well, that's why I got this little bugger," "Not that it makes much difference for those other dogs." "Oh, I think he knows you rescued him." "You're worried about your boyfriend, aren't you?" "If those marauders are still out there, he might not make it home." "You know why your boyfriend was called out of town?" "He had to meet a man." "About what?" "I'd be guessing." "So guess." "A lot of people out there..." "Promising miracles." "I think Jimmy's hoping for one." "Well, I may be doing a little guessing of my own, but this miracle man, he wouldn't happen to be farralon, would he?" "Like I told your friend," "Jimmy has a lot of secrets." "You mind if we take a look around, if we can check his papers and go through his things, whatever?" "Yeah, yeah." "Thanks." "What do you think, doc?" "Well, fever's back." "Yeah, tell me something I don't know." "She needs medicine." "Well, then give her some, damn it." "My bag was stolen, along with everything in it." "Listen, you do something for her." "You're a doctor, aren't you?" "I'm a guy with a doctor's bag." "That's the truth." "Now I'm not even that." "You son of a bitch!" "You cannot just let her die." "You do something." "I-I'm sorry, I can't." "Anything?" "Nothin', man." "Find what you're looking for?" "Not yet." "You guys got that car." "Maybe you could go out, bring Jimmy home." "What are the odds we could even find him?" "Belmond's only 8 Miles." "He's got a banged-up moped." "Only one road he could take to get back." "He was wearing an old pea coat." "You know, there's only a few hours of daylight left." "Yeah." "For all I know, that may be more time than Jimmy has." "I'll take this one." "All right, homey, you are coming with me." "What do you mean, I'm coming with you?" "We're going to see if we can find this holcomb cat." "There's plenty of patients right here in town." "I really don't see any reason to go hunting any down." "Don't you ever get tired of shoveling that?" "Kurdy, you pass any water along the way, throw him in." "He smells like he could use it." "What the hell are you doing?" "Well," "I'm fresh out of painkillers." "This rotgut'll have to do." "What about your patient?" "She's better off without me." "Give me that." "How did things get so twisted up?" "You know, it's like the, uh, whole world just fell to its knees one day, just..." "Just curled up and died." "Nothing's alive, it's just... just twitching like it is." "You really think that bag is what makes you a doctor?" "Heck!" "Sure... sure made it easier to pretend." "W-what about all those years you spent watching your father?" "Didn't they mean anything?" "Oh, yeah, damn right they did." "I learned the, uh, fine art of how to be a son of a bitch up close." "I thought you worshipped him." "Yeah, right." "You know what he was?" "He was a cold, heartless man who was so wrapped up in his work that he didn't bother to notice that he had a family that loved him." "Or at least tried to." "If he was so cold and heartless, why'd he let you hang around at all, learn the trade?" "Because he could make like he was a good father, when all he was was a good-for-nothing prick." "So you're just down here following in his footsteps, is that it?" "Touche." "You think you got the corner on self-pity?" "'Cause we've all been abandoned, everybody kicked in the gut, pissed on, left for dead." "Whole goddamn world's an orphanage, and yet you're whining, 'cause your dad was just spending way too much time at work." "Fuck you." "Anybody I know would kill to have any kind of dad, just so long as they showed up once in a while." "All right, all right, all right, already." "I don..." "I don't need any more of this shit." "Mmm," "You do need it." "You need this shit, Reese, more than you know." "You need someone to remind you that in this raked-over, stripped down, skeleton of a place that they used to call a fucking civilization, there is one thing left, one thing." "That's the light, the one that burns in... in the deepest, darkest parts of your soul, my soul." "And you, my fucked-up friend, you got more light than just about anybody." "Because you can keep other people's lights burning, you got the power to save lives." "That's a goddamn precious thing." "I had a brother once, too." "I'm sorry." "Not as sorry as I am." "A man must feel real important tooling around in something like this, huh?" "Yep, king of the world." "Yeah." "Yeah, Reese and me, we'll have wheels someday." "Guess you've got big plans for your little brother, huh?" "I've got news for you." "He needs me." "Without me, he'd be pissing it away, right and left." "Oh, yeah, probably saving lives in the free clinic somewhere." "It's enough to make you retch, ain't it?" "Yeah, you guys got it all figured out, don't you?" "No, not all, but it's pretty obvious when a man's given up his freedom." "Freedom?" "What the fuck is that?" "Freedom?" "What?" "Freedom to starve to death in the street?" "Freedom to get the shit kicked out of you by some... some lowlifes whose brains don't even fill the bowls of their crack pipes?" "No." "What, so you make sure his talents don't go to waste, that it?" "Reese wouldn't last 5 minutes on the street without me." "You ask him." "He needs me." "Yeah, that's one thing about a ball and chain." "It's real easy to feel attached." "Pea coat." "Oh, that's gotta be him." "Shit." "Jimmy?" "Who..." "Don't worry about that right now." "Are you ok?" "Compared to what?" "I thought you had a moped or something." "They took it." "They were on a couple of bikes." "I thought they were gonna kill me." "Our bikes, that's them." "It's got to be the same bastards that whaled on Reese and me." "Which way'd they go?" "East." "Look, we gotta get this man back to slag." "We get that bag back, and then maybe Reese can help him." "All right, help me with him." "All right, come on." "We gotta get this baby out." "Why?" "What're you saying?" "It... it's not gonna survive this fever." "Well, how you gonna do it?" "Well, if... if I had my bag, I could give her ergot." "I, uh..." "I could induce labor." "You don't have your damn bag." "Yeah." "It's not about the bag, Reese." "It was never the bag." "Ok, I, uh, I could do a cesarean, but the only thing I..." "I got is acupuncture to cut the pain." "Well, is that gonna work?" "Well, it's not perfect, but it's all we got." "Just, uh, just give me the word." "Hey, you still wanna see me work?" "You know it." "I, uh, I need some stuff." "I need you to go into town and get me exactly what I ask for, all right?" "Well, I don't got anything to trade." "Uh, I know..." "Sadie's got some things." "I know she's got some cans." "All right." "Well, then, just tell me what you need." "Ok, uh, I need pins, straight pins, needles, clean ones." "Um, uh, a razor, straight-edge, whatever." "Uh, fishing hooks, uh, fishing line, n-nylon line, all right, wire cutters." "Wire cutters, what else?" "Not a damn med in there you can get dirged on." "Shit." "I guess you're the man with no gun, are you?" "Huh?" "Hold this." "All right, this should be fun." "No!" "Why the hell not?" "He ain't worth the bullet." "Now grab the bag." "I couldn't find any single-edge blades, but I got some of this old electrical tape so we could fix them up like they were." "How'd I do?" "You did good." "You did real good." "Keep holding her." "Can you hear me?" "Ok." "I, uh, I need you to tell me if you can feel this, all right?" "All right?" "Feel that?" "Not really." "Ok." "Ok, that's good." "Now, uh, this is gonna hurt." "I'm not gonna pretend it's not, ok, but this is what we have to do to save the baby." "Stay... stay here." "Calm her down." "Stay." "Breathe, breathe." "Good." "We're halfway there." "We're halfway there." "Breathe." "You're all right." "Breathe." "Breathe, baby." "Ok, ok, ok, Tanner, give me... give me the fishing line." "Ok, like we talked about, get ready for that, all right?" "Ha!" "Ok." "Ok." "Ok, you got a boy." "Ok, ok." "Hi." "Hi." "Hey, hey, go get Reese." "Tell him..." "Tell him Jimmy's back." "Oh!" "Shit." "Uh..." "From what I can tell, there's, uh, fluid in the lungs." "I could try to drain it, but, uh, it's bad." "It's real bad." "No." "Won't make any difference." "I know it." "The tumors are everywhere." "I'm dying." "I can feel it." "Jimmy, please, we gotta try." "This doctor, he can work miracles." "No." "No, I, uh, I can't." "I just wanna rest here with sadie." "Sadie," "I hate to do this, but I've got to ask him a couple of questions." "It could save many lives." "Jimmy, now, I found the papers in the office." "I know why you were meeting Simon." "Simon, Simon." "They're working on a vaccine, aren't they?" "I was one of the Guinea pigs." "It's what gave me the tumors." "Now, why would they need a vaccine for the virus that caused the big death, unless somebody really believed it was coming back?" "Enclave on the willamette." "Farralon can contain it." "He needs my blood." "I was on my way to bring him a sample." "They ambushed me before we could rendezvous." "Where?" "Where on the willamette?" "How do I find him?" "Farralon..." "He's beautiful." "Of course he's beautiful." "He came out of me, didn't he?" "Shh." "Sadie, um..." "I'm sorry about Jimmy, but his death will mean something." "Thanks for bringing him home." "I think he'll be much better off with you." "Oh, a-a-are you sure?" "Yeah." "Come on, Jake." "Let's go." "We've got some work to do." "Thanks, guys." "Wehadasample ofJimmy'sblood." "Now all we had to do wasfindfarralon, the man who might hold the key to the world's survival." "Something you always used tosay,dad, and I never understood it, notuntilnow." "That the hardest thing of all is to be whoyouweremeanttobe ."