"[indistinct chatter over car radio]" "[car radio chatter continues]" "[horns honking]" " [boy] Mom, Mom!" "That lady..." " [horn honks] [mother] She's fine." "See?" "She's okay." "[brakes screeching]" " [boy] She's going to the other side." " [mother] No, no." "God!" "Don't!" "Oh..." " Don't look!" " [boy whispers] She let go." "[monitor beeps steadily]" "[Alice] Blink twice if you can hear me." " How long have I been out?" " Three days." "Did I flatline?" "No, sweetheart." "You're gonna be all right." "Are you sure?" "Did you read the ambulance record?" "I did not, but it's in your chart." "You have severe hypothermia and you're in shock." "If you didn't hit feet first, you would have smashed up your insides like hitting concrete." "You got lucky." "What's your name?" "Do you have family in the area?" "We need to contact them ASAP." " Do you want these..." " [gasps]" "No, no, no, don't touch." "No touching." "Okay." "No touching." "Can you tell me... how you got those scars?" "[sighs, stammers] At least tell me your name." "Who are you?" "I'm Alice, honey." "I'm a nurse at St. Louis Hospital." "What's your name?" "I'm the OA." " [cell phone ringing] - [Nancy] Really?" "That's funny." " Uh, Ron..." " [cell phone continues ringing]" "My cell is ringing." "Just..." "hold on a second." "[softly] Eat before it gets cold." "[Erica on cell phone] Hello?" "Hello?" "Oh, uh, Erica, I'm just talking to my brother." " Can I..." " Nancy, you gotta get on YouTube." " Okay?" "Can you do that?" " Yeah, of course I know YouTube." " [loud, indistinct TV chatter]" " What..." "Well, what makes you think that?" " Uh..." " [computer beeps]" "[Erica] Okay, I sent you an email with a link." " Nance?" " [keys clacking]" " [horns honking in video] - [Erica] You got it?" "[phone clatters]" "Abel!" " [boy] Mom, Mom!" " [mother] She's fine." " [Nancy] Abel!" " [mother] She's okay." " [boy] She's going to the other side." " [mother] Oh..." "Don't look!" " As her legal guardian..." " Yeah, I understand." "I understand." "I talked to the hospital lawyers." "She simply isn't responding to the name you gave." " Well, we know what she looks like." " [scoffs]" "I should warn you, she's in a very fractured mental state." "Agitated." "Kept trying to get to the computers in the ICU." "If she is, in fact, who you think she is, you should know... she has very unusual scarring on her back." "The nurse said it's difficult to look at." "She won't talk to anyone, including the police, about what happened." "It's our professional opinion that she be committed to in-patient care." "[stammers] Excuse me." "Excuse me." "Can we just see our daughter, please?" "Who are these people?" "[Nancy breathing heavily]" " [breath trembling]" " Mom?" "Prairie?" "Prairie?" "Prairie?" "[crying gently]" "I don't understand." "She's our daughter, Prairie, but she's never seen us before." "Seven years ago, when she went missing... she was blind." " Is this it?" " [Nancy] It is." "You're home." "All these cars..." "I guess someone's having a party." "Oh, dear God." "How did they..." " [people clamoring] - [Abel] Well, let's get inside." "[Nancy] I should reverse." "[Abel] You can't..." "You can't reverse now." "Don't worry, sweetheart, they're... they're just happy..." " [Abel] Back up, please." "Back off." " ...that you're home safe." "[Abel] Thank you." "Back out of the way." "[reporter] You might remember when Prairie Johnson disappeared" " seven years ago..." " Give us some room, please." "[reporter] ...she was blind." "Now reportedly she can see." "They're already calling her the Michigan Miracle." " Oh, here she is." "Prairie!" "Prairie!" " [clamoring]" "We're so... we're so happy you're home." "Let us see your face." "Prairie, Prairie, is it..." "is it true you can see?" "Prairie, how did this happen?" "[woman] Welcome home, Prairie!" "That is not your name." " Prairie is not your name." " [Abel] Back off." "Thank you." "Over here, take a right." "[reporter] We're so happy you're home safe." "[Abel] Step coming up." "Step." "[reporter] Let us see your eyes, Prairie." " Prairie, who took you?" " Nancy?" " [breathing heavily] - [clamoring continues outside]" "[reporter] Abel, do you think it was a miracle?" "[Abel] Yes, it's true, our daughter can now see." "[chatter outside continues]" "[Nancy] We found out yesterday." " [Abel] Thank you!" " [chuckles softly]" "[exhales sharply]" "[Masters] I was on the task force that led the investigation when you went missing." "I... am very, very glad to meet you." "Thank you." "So, we're just gonna ask you some questions and you do the best you can, okay?" "So, do you remember any of the events that led up to your disappearance?" "I remember everything." "Specifically, do you remember the night that you disappeared?" "I didn't disappear." "I was present for all of it." "All seven years, three months, 11 days." "[Masters sighs]" "[stuttering] Sorry..." "[Masters] No, no, no, you're okay." "Maybe it would be better if we try to work this backwards." "Let's start with the bridge." "Do you remember how you got there?" "I walked, um, for a long time." "Maybe... maybe days from..." "I don't know where." "Nowhere." "[stammers] Until I got to a road and I tried to get a ride." "And finally an old woman in a dusty car picked me up." "What was her name?" "Where was this?" "She..." "She brought me to a place." "There were a lot of people there." "All..." "All of them were lost." "A shelter?" "Uh, I don't know." "Did you tell them who you were, or where you'd been, or that you wanted to go home?" "I told them that I needed to leave, so they let me go." "And I just kept walking." "[sighs] Trying to... get back." "Home?" "To where you'd been held captive?" "But I knew that they were gone." "The other captives?" "When..." "When you say gone, do you mean dead?" "Um..." "Is that why you attempted to end your life at the bridge?" " That's not what I was doing." " [Hornby] But you jumped." "I was trying to get back to them to..." "I was trying to get help in order..." "You could've called the police from the shelter." "They could've helped." "[stammering] That wouldn't..." "That wouldn't have helped." "Okay, we're just trying to follow." "So, they're not dead?" "We all died more times than I can count." "I think that's enough for now." "Your daughter's still immersed in her experience, which is normal." "It's just best if we try again in a week or so." "[Hornby] If she were the perpetrator, we could push it." "[Masters] But you can't make a victim talk." "[sighs]" "Homer." "[computer chimes] [automated voice] Welcome to OS Ten." " Voiceover is on." " [lowers volume]" "Launch Safari." "You are not connected to the Internet." "[sighs]" " [keys clacking] - [automated voice] Finder menu." "The selected AirPort network "Johnson" requires a password." "Password." ""Prairie" failure to authenticate." "[OA] Password, password." "Where is it?" "Where is it?" "[recorder beeps] [young Prairie speaking Russian over tape]" "[Abel over tape] She's sleeping." " She's been doing this for a couple of..." " [beeps]" "[gasps]" "Can't sleep either?" "I bet..." "I bet no one's around outside now." " Hmm?" " Mmm-hmm." "[Nancy stammering] I know that these things take time, and there's no rush... but I really need to know something." "How can you see?" "[stammering] Can you tell me?" "No." "I can't." "Do you remember when they were building these?" "It was gonna be the new Crestwood." "Crestwood View." "Then they ran out of money to finish." "Always gives me a weird feeling." "How'd all this stuff get way back here?" "[Steve grunting]" "[laughing] Wait, wait." "Watch this." "[Jesse laughing] Sick." "[Steve] Whoa!" "Yo, it's her." "[Jesse] Shit, dude." "I think that's Prairie Johnson." " [rap music playing] - [both panting]" "[moaning]" "[Steve moans softly]" "[exhales sharply]" " I don't think I can cum again." " Oh." "I think I bit my lip." "[sighs] You get blood on my dick?" "No, asshole." "You like that video Jesse made?" " Yeah, the stunts are cool." " [music stops]" "You got skills." "Whoa!" "How did you guys film the blind girl?" " She's not blind anymore." " That's insane." " Remember when she went missing?" " [scoffs] Yeah." "We weren't allowed to go outside for, like, three years." "Hey, don't go yet." "It's early." "Let's watch some stuff in bed." "Steve, you have a really nice body and you smell good, but this isn't a thing." "[Steve] It's chill." "There's someone else I'm into anyway, too." "Who are you into?" "This guy in chorus." "You wouldn't know him." "Chorus?" "Aren't they all, like, gay?" "Steve, I don't have to tell you shit and you don't have to tell me shit, okay?" "Let's just let fucking be fucking." "[Jaye sighs]" "[door opens, closes] [retreating footsteps]" "[downstairs door opens, closes]" "[inhales sharply]" " [exhales sharply] - [footsteps approaching]" "Why is there a hole in my wall?" " Steve?" " Yeah." "[sighs] That teacher, what was her name, Broderick-Allen?" "She emailed." "She used the word "bully."" "Sounds like you haven't been keeping your promises to me." "Fix it." "[OA] Do you remember the night we pretended we were in real beds and we described them to each other?" "[chuckles lightly]" "I'm in a real bed... but I haven't slept a single night apart from you." "I'm scared, Homer." "There are moments when I think I made you up." "That's why I need to see you." "To be sure you're real." "I didn't leave you behind." "I would never." "I am coming for you." " [knocking on door] - [gasps]" "[Nancy] Good morning, sweetheart." "Good morning." "You said you'd get me the password for the Wi-Fi." "About that..." "Uh..." ""Phone and Internet use should be monitored."" "It's..." "It's for your own safety." "It's from the hospital in St. Louis." "Um, they go on with, "Doors should remain open at all times."" "I think that's excessive." "Why don't we just go with not locking doors?" "All right, honey?" "[reporter on TV] Of those, more than 200,000 are abducted by family members." "Only an estimated 115 are the victims of kidnapping cases like Elizabeth Smart's." "Can this girl go back to being a normal human being, or is there always a part of your experiences... [indistinct chattering]" "[OA] Hey." "Hey..." "Do you have Wi-Fi?" "Uh... there's, uh, there's no electricity here." "But you live in the neighborhood." "Could I get your password?" "Our Internet's down." "It's important." "[sighs] I don't know." "Maybe ask upstairs." "[Buck] I can't skip hormones week to week." " I'm counting on you, Steve." " [Steve] This is business." "[Steve] All right, don't waste my time." "There's a ton of people who'll buy this shit if you don't." "You want it or not?" "[Buck] Give me the Demerol, instead." "[dog growling]" "What the fuck?" "Who said you could come into this house and film me?" " It's not on." "I'm not recording." " No, like fuck it's not." "[dog barking]" "You're Prairie Johnson, aren't you?" "I'm the OA." "What kind of a name is that?" "[breathing heavily] I need Internet." "Will you give me your password, or the password for one of the houses next door to me?" "[scoffs] What's this look like to you, a Starbucks?" "Not my problem." "Get out." "[barking]" " Give me a password and I'll go." " No, I don't owe you shit, bitch." "Now leave or you're dog food." " Give me my camera." " This is my camera now." "Tax for your interruption." "Yo, I don't need news vans and cops all over this neighborhood." "I'm warning you." "[breathing heavily]" " Attack!" " [barking]" " [dog snarling] - [grunting]" "Aah!" "[grunts]" "Stop, stop!" " [snarling] - [OA screaming]" "Don't you dare, Buck!" "[Buck whimpers] Oh, my God." " [dog yelps]" " What the fuck?" " Don't bite my dog!" " [dog whimpering] [shushing] You're good." "You're okay." "[panting]" "[Buck] Wait." "How did you get your sight?" "[Steve] Come on, boy." "Yo, Axel, come on." "Come on." "Crazy fuck." "[sighs]" "You can't just disappear like that, Prairie." "You scared us." "Please don't call me that." "What am I supposed to do?" "[stammers] Help me a little." "You..." "You won't talk to the FBI... but you... you won't talk to me either." "I... [stammers] I read about trauma online." "I know that..." "It would help if you would let me go online." "To find Homer?" "You watched my video?" "Well, to try to help you." "[sighs]" " Are you hearing voices again?" " I'm not hearing anything!" "[OA sighing heavily]" "When you were a little girl first learning how to cane... you got too confident too fast." "You decided to run." "You smacked into the edge of a wall and split your forehead open." "Do you remember that?" "I..." "I know that you're not my flesh and blood... but when that happened..." "I knew that you were my daughter." "Because I felt it." "I felt like I got hit by that wall, too." "It's what I feel like now." "This is strange... for both of us." " [stammering] You've got these..." " [gasps]" " [exhales]" " But you're... you're not a stranger." "Mom, please." "It's not that I don't want to tell you." "I want to..." "It's that it would hurt me to hurt you." "And it would hurt you." "Just give me some time." "[indistinct chatter]" "Watch it." "Come on." "Hey." "He's not worth it." "[choir singing] ♪ Come along ♪" "♪ Swears she knew it Now she swears it's gone ♪" "♪ She lies and says She's in love with him ♪" "♪ Can't find a better man ♪" "♪ She dreams in color She dreams in red ♪" "♪ Can't find a better man ♪" "♪ She lies and says She's in love with him ♪" "[Steve] Yo, dude!" "Stop!" "Man, I heard you singing in there." "Like... whoa!" "Hey, you and your mom just moved into Crestwood, right?" "What's your name?" "Miles." " I gotta run." " Man, what are you gonna do with that?" "You could be, like, famous." "I don't really want to talk to you." "What?" "[sighs] You made fun of one of my friends for being gay, and now you hear me sing and it's, like, all good?" " It's not like American Idol, like..." " Uh-huh." " Not in a mean way, but..." " I get it." "Relax, man." "Hey, Miles?" "[grunts, coughs] [gasping]" "[OA] I feel something forming." "Not a plan, but... a feeling." "I met this boy and I think he has something to do with it." "I keep trying to imagine you at his age." "Sixteen, seventeen." "[thudding]" "[Steve] Please." " [grunting] - [objects clattering] [chuckles] What you up to, crazy?" "Looks weird in here." "[closes window]" "I got a mobile router." "Just hook it up to your laptop, bam, it's connected, and paid for." " Oh, my God." " [chuckles] You want me to set it up?" "Yeah. [chuckles]" "So, uh, I was thinking... have you ever seen Strangers on a Train?" "No." "Basically, it's like, if people don't know you're connected... then they can't figure out the crimes you do for each other." "Thought I'd help you out and you could help me out." "I do need help." "Good." " You gonna plug that in?" " Oh." "[chuckles] You're crazy." "All right." "Where's your mouse?" " You use this." " [typing]" " And then, right here..." " All right, yeah." " Enter." " I got it." "I got it." "[automated voice] Launch Safari." "Search YouTube." " A-S-H-E-V." " [chuckles] [loud banging on video]" "So, that's the trouble we need to get me out of." "[man] Move, move, move." "My dad wants to send me to Asheville to get, like... straightened out." "No one really goes there voluntarily, if you know what I mean." " [mother] Gentle." " [boy] Mom!" " [mother] Don't hurt him." "I'm sorry." " [boy] Mom!" "Mama!" "[man] Keep it going, man." "Go, go, go." "[mother] Don't hurt him, please." " [boy] Mom!" " [OA] I'll help you." "But I have conditions." "I need five people." "And I need them to be strong like you are, and flexible and brave." "And I need to use the abandoned house as a meeting place." " Sure." "Whatever you want." " And no touching." "I don't like to be touched." "[scoffs] No touching." "No big deal." "[zips backpack]" "You'll really do all that?" "Well, Strangers on a Train." "That's the idea." "But you gotta keep your end first." "Okay." " So, what happened?" " Nothing." "Doesn't matter." "She said she likes some guy in chorus." "[scoffs] Come on." "Well, it's okay." "You don't want to go there until your invisible self is more developed anyway." "What?" "You know, your..." "longings, the desires you don't tell anyone about." "[scoffs] I was just starting to think you were okay, but you blew it." "You spend a lot of time on the visible you." "It's impressive." "But she probably thinks the invisible you is missing." "I have desires." "I work hard." "I'm not gonna learn Chinese tomorrow and be, like, a CEO or some shit." "But I want stuff." "Like what?" "[stammering] You know, to be somebody." "I have ambitions." "I'm gonna be a trainer to celebrities." "I'll have my own show, my own line of equipment." "Me and Jesse have a YouTube channel already." "That's stuff on the outside, though." "What about the stuff on the inside?" "Who the fuck asked you, crazy?" "You're a grown-up who still lives at your parents' and tried to kill yourself." "[announcer] Attention, shoppers." "Take advantage of our home sale." "You can save 40-50% off..." "[Steve] Let's just say this girl was worried about my invisible side..." "Which she's not, 'cause she just likes to fuck." "But say she was..." "How do I, like, show her I got it?" "Ugh!" "Yo, be gentle with that shit, OA." "Maybe try closing your eyes." "Just more often or..." "Being blind was powerful." "It made me listen." "[sighs] And it made people underestimate me." "[mouths] Boring." "[OA] Yeah." "It's boring... at first." "[breathing heavily]" "[gasps]" "You gotta do a grown-up hairdo." "[chuckles softly]" "[chuckles]" "Oh, hey, don't I know you?" "Yeah. [chuckles]" "I'm a parent." "[chuckles]" "[Broderick-Allen] I'm sorry." "I have a meeting." "Uh, I think I am your meeting." "I'm expecting Mr. Winchell." "We've been speaking." "I'm, uh, Steve's stepmother." "Oh, of course." "Have a seat." "Well, I'm not calling this meeting to blame you or your husband." "I'm calling this meeting to let you know that your son, your husband's son, has become such a problem that I'm asking the school board for his immediate expulsion." "Oh, um... [clears throat]" "Could you explain the problem?" "I think it should be obvious from my probation letter, but if I must..." "I'm here to teach the kids that want to learn, the kids that have a desire to better themselves." "And if a disruptive, violent, and frankly, terrible student causes me problems, that's fine." "I can handle that." "But when he costs the hardworking students their right to an education, that's when I say no more." "I think he has real psychological issues." "Well, it's not really a measure of mental health to be well-adjusted" " in a society that's very sick." " [chuckles lightly]" "That's a very clever bumper sticker, Mrs. Winchell, but I'm going to remove your son from this school." "[softly] Right." "What was your first reason?" "I'm sorry?" "Why did you become a teacher?" " This isn't about me." " But it is." "It's about you and Steve, and the play, cast of two, setting, classroom, over many dimensions through time." "I don't follow." "Maybe Steve can't learn because you lost track of your reason." " Oh, God, this is ridiculous." " Betty..." "Maybe I can help you remember." "You lost someone." "Someone important to you." "I lost someone important to me, too." " Who'd you lose?" " My patience if you don't stop." "Was it your first love?" "Or a parent?" "Someone you loved young?" "A sibling?" "Look, you want to talk turkey?" "Your sociopath of a son punched a kid in the throat." "The victim didn't report it because he feared reprisal." "That boy has a lacerated trachea and is unable to sing at Nationals." "So, I don't give a crap where the violence comes from and why." "I don't want it in my school." "No, you're right." "Sorry, you're right." "You're right." "This dimension is crumbling to violence and pettiness and greed, and Steve is sensitive enough to feel it and he's angry." "He's angry and he's lost." "And in order to find him, you'd have to teach yourself again, and you decided somewhere along the way that you were done learning." "It's... it's too painful to stay open." "Well, I think we all face the same hopelessness, Mrs. Winchell." "It's what we decide to do with it." "You're right." "So what are you gonna do?" "If you want to do your job, expel the bully." "Focus on the kid who sings like an angel even though he doesn't need you." "If you want to be a teacher, teach Steve." "He's the boy you can help become a man." "He's the one you lost." "He's your first reason." "I didn't catch your first name, Mrs. Winchell." "I'm the OA." " [school bell rings] - [indistinct conversations]" "[Broderick-Allen] Okay, a show of hands... [music playing]" "A story of a shocking miracle emerged from Jefferson City today." "Last fall, Pershing College's star quarterback was expected to bring Missouri the championship title until a near fatal accident on the field left him paralyzed and locked in a coma." "[man] He ain't moving'." "[news anchor] And as they held hands around their son's dying body, a miracle happened." "He woke up." "[reporter] You had what they call a near-death experience?" "Yeah, I flatlined, uh, after the accident, at the hospital." "[reporter] So, you know what it's like to die?" "[Homer] Um..." "Yes, I..." "I guess I do." "Um..." "But I'm back now." "[all chuckle softly]" "And I'm not..." "I'm not leaving the championship game on a stretcher this year." " [man] Atta boy." " I'm leaving with that ring." "[exhales sharply] [whispers] Homer..." "Homer, where are you?" "[sobbing]" "[sniffling]" "[knock on door] [knocking continues]" "[Nancy] Prairie, there's an important phone call for you." "I can't talk right now." "I think you should." "It's the FBI." "Hello?" "[Steve exhales] That was like the Spanish Inquisition." "Um, would you mind if I talked on my own?" " Of course." " Thank you." "Thanks." "It was like Invaders of the Body Snatchers." "Broderick-Allen is a different person." "Listen, I need five people, and I need them tonight." "We have to get started because it's gonna take some time." "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "Chill." "What are you talking about?" "Strangers on the Train." "You owe me." "They need to be strong and they need to be flexible like you are." " Why?" "What for?" " I didn't ask you questions, did I?" "No, you were cool." "Midnight, at the abandoned house." "And everybody needs to leave their front door open." "That's important." "I always forget how crazy you are." "Nobody is doing that." " That's how you get your shit stolen." " Steve..." "Look, I've got something going tonight, all right?" "And with the router, I..." "I think we're pretty even." "Steve, you punched a kid in the throat." "You didn't tell me that." "Look, I'm at the end of a rope I should've fallen off of a long time ago." "And I need to help someone." "It's a long shot, but you're strong, that's why I chose you." "I chose you, crazy." "You sure about that?" "Midnight." "Five people." "You gave me your word." "All right." "Yeah, don't have a panic attack." "Um, Mr. Winchell?" " Yes, yes, Mrs..." " Uh, Broderick-Allen." "Yes." "Nice to see you." "Yeah, I wouldn't have stopped you," "I don't like to talk to parents unless it's in the classroom, but I wanted to tell you, I think she's a unique woman." "And I think she's gonna turn Steve's life around." "And I want you to know I'm committed to help." "That girl, his girlfriend?" "No, no." "Uh, your, your new wife." " His what?" " The new Mrs. Winchell." " I'm Mrs. Winchell." " [chuckles softly] [both chuckle]" "[Mrs. Winchell] Nancy, Abel, it's the Winchells." "Now's not the best time." "Prairie's taking a nap." "Oh, I bet she is." "Uh..." " We need to talk, Nancy." " Oh, come in." "[Mrs. Winchell] Children should not be exposed to someone capable of identity theft." "[Nancy] Prairie suffered a very traumatic experience..." "[Mr. Winchell] And we've been with you every step of the way." "But if she's coercing our kids..." "Your son is 17, not seven." "And it was his parent-teachers' conference." "[Mr. Winchell] Steve?" "I already told you at home." "[Mr. Winchell] Tell us again." "She wanted Internet." "And she just came up with the idea." "Said it was a fair trade for a router." "It's no big deal." "She was looking for someone named Homer." " [scoffs] - [Abel] We've been neighbors for years." "You were here for Prairie's homecoming." "Makes no sense your coming over here slinging accusations." "[Mr. Winchell] And we have nothing but admiration for you and Nancy... [camera beeps]" "I need help." "What she's doing is disturbing." "She's a grown woman pursuing a boy." "She is not thinking like an adult." "You're in denial, Nancy." "What if this becomes sexual?" " That's a crime." " Are you kidding me?" "First, I have a girlfriend." "And second, this is about just... just friends." "She doesn't have any friends and I'm being a friend." "That's it." "All this sick weird shit's coming from your brains." " [Mr. Winchell] Jesus, Steven..." " She impersonated me." "Because I asked her to." "'Cause I wanted someone on my fucking side for once." "And guess what?" "It actually helped." "Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on." "You did say, Abel, the doctors in St. Louis recommended that she be committed." "[sighs]" "You... you talked about that?" "[Abel] They were wrong." "But if the doctors are saying she needs serious help..." "She needs to be home... with us." "And not to be attacked by people who lack compassion and... and understanding." "Oh, we understand what it's like to struggle with a child." "[scoffs]" "We're sending Steve away to get the help he needs." "Until then, keep her away from him." "[whirring]" "Please don't take the camera." "Prairie, I know it's hard, but it's for the best." "We..." "We should have followed the hospital guidelines from the beginning to keep you safe." "What am I supposed to do?" "ID parents?" "She's disturbed." "Do you know how I know?" "Those eyes." "Besides that, she lies." "Oh." "Okay, sure." "Yeah, see you tomorrow." "[sighs]" "[OA] I need help." "I need to... [laptop chimes]" "[OA] I need help." "I need to cross a border that's hard to define." "Maybe you know what I'm talking about?" "Or you don't, but... you feel it." "Because you've felt other borders, like youth and adulthood, maybe." "I can't change your fate..." "but I can help you meet it." "We begin our journey to the border tonight." "Midnight." "The unfinished house at the edge of Crestwood View." "Don't come unless you leave your front door open." "You have to invite me in." "[TV playing indistinctly]" "Michelle, you hungry?" "You want me to warm up the spaghetti?" "No, I'm just grabbing my textbook from downstairs." "I'm fine." "[Mr. Vu] Okay." "[wind blowing]" "[automated voice] 12:20 AM." "[sighs]" "[Steve chuckles] Hey, you wanna drink a 40?" "[Jaye] Hey, deadbeat." "Hey yourself." " Heard you punched Miles Brekov." " From who?" "Did you do that because of me?" "[chuckles] You really think the world revolves around you, don't you?" "Hey, I'm not the one drinking alone with my dog." "Oh, please tell me, Jaye, what should I be doing, huh?" "Whoever you did it for, it's gonna get you kicked out of school." " [scoffs]" " Was that the plan all along?" "Self-destruct?" "You really like to kick a guy when he's down." "Come on, get in." "Chris is having a thing." "Oh, come on, buddy." "[car beeping]" "Why didn't you want to be my girlfriend?" "You're drunk." "Oh, come on." "Look, I'm leaving anyway." "You said you like how I smell." "I wanna get good at sex." " [scoffs]" " This has been practice." "One day I will fall in love, and when that happens, I'll be ready." " That's messed up." " You're an asshole." "I see you looking at yourself when we're having sex." "This isn't just about me for you, either." "[scoffs]" "What?" "Fucking invisible self." "How many of those have you had?" "Look, I'll spend the night tonight, okay?" "If you don't want to be alone?" "Yo, this is my house." "Pull over." "[panting]" "You're right." "I am an asshole." "Yo, keep the 40!" "Bye!" "[footsteps approaching] [panting]" "Hey, don't turn the lights out on us, crazy." "[Steve] Look, my parents flipped." "I'm getting Asheville." "It could be tonight, it could be next week." " I'm here anyway, right?" " [OA] Right." "But I can't." "Oh, come on, OA." "Don't hold a grudge." "I need at least five." "I told you." " We are five." " [OA] Not including me." "Look, just include yourself and let's get going already." "Okay, what exactly is it that we're doing here?" "I need to... go somewhere, and I think that you can help me get there." "But I'll need to leave something important behind," " and it only works if there are five." " [scoffs]" "Yo, I'm tired of all this shit, OA." "I'm... [footsteps approaching]" "[Broderick-Allen] Huh." "I left my door open." "[exhales]" "[OA] I'm gonna tell you my story from the beginning." "And there will come a point when you'll see why you're here... what you might do together, how you could help people that you'll never meet." "But you have to pretend to trust me until you actually do." "I want you to close your eyes." "I want you to imagine everything I tell you as if you're there yourself." "As if you're with me." "As if you are me." "Close them." "I imagine with my eyes open." "[OA] Okay." "Could you close them for me then?" "[OA exhales deeply]" "I was born in Russia, in 1987." "[scoffs] What?" "Come on." "My father was a very wealthy man." "He ran a mining company." "He took precious metals out of the ground." "We were always being watched, because he'd made so much money so quickly." "And at that time, if you had that kind of money, you paid some of it to the Voi." "We lived in a secret enclave just outside Moscow with many of the other recent rich." "And the snow was seven feet high, but you could still make out many big houses behind big gates lost in the white." "You asked me how I got my sight." "The better story is how I lost it in the first place." "I was not born blind." "I remember the bright colored domes of Saint Basil's Cathedral, the gray waters of the Moskva River." "[violin playing soft, bright melody]" "Our town was built on the fall." "Each house was a new fortune." "There was the man who drilled oil, the man who dug coal, the man who made cable." "I grew up with the sons and daughters of these oligarchs." "[thunder rumbling]" "My mother died in childbirth." "It was just my father and I in a big, lonely house." "I suffered from things then." "Dreams." "They had smells in them and sounds that were sharper than life." "[muffled shrieking]" "In one of them, I'm trapped in an aquarium," " and I can't breathe, I can't get out." " [child shouts] Nina!" "[gasps, panting]" "Papa." "Papa!" "Papa!" "Nina. [speaking Russian]" "Papa!" "[Azarov speaking Russian] [shushing]" "_ [shushing]" "_" "_" "_" "_ [shushing]" "_" "_" "_" "[Azarov grunts]" "[grunting] [ice cracking]" "Nina." "_" "_" "_" "[taking deep breaths]" "[gasping] [shivering]" "[shuddering]" "[OA in English] My father taught me about bravery that day." "That night, it was so cold, one of our horses froze to death." "But the dreams of the aquarium never came back." "Months passed." "My nose didn't bleed once." "[speaking Russian]" "I had started school now." "All the kids in the neighborhood were picked up on a special bus." "I was always first." "I felt something in the pit of my stomach... like the eggs were sitting there stuck, unbroken." "I felt like I wanted to get off that bus." "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" " [crashing] - [screaming] [all screaming]" "[screaming]" "[muffled screaming] [screaming continues]" "[muffled screaming]" "_" "_" "_ [girl] Nina!" "Nina!" "[OA in English] We were a message, see?" "From the Voi to our parents." "And the message said, "You are powerful businessmen to be sure, but you are not all-powerful."" "The youngest sons and daughters of every Russian scion was on that bus that day." "They all died." "Every single one of them." "Including me." "I couldn't tell if I was inside the earth or above it." "Why was the dark so dazzling?" "[Khatun whispering] Nina." "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "_" "[Azarov shouting in Russian]" "[coughing] Papa." "[crying] [both whimpering] [both panting]" "[shuddering] [whispers in Russian]" "[OA in English] I could feel his cheek against mine." "It was cold." "And I could hear his breath." "And though my eyes were wide open... it was black." "I said, "Papa..."" "_" "[in English] "I can't see anything at all.""