"It's hard to believe I was a kid here." "This town looks a lot different." "How did it get this way?" "I don't know, but it turns my stomach to look at this place." "It's painful to remember, but maybe that's why I need to walk these streets one last time." "The story of the summer I unwillingly grew up..." "Philip!" "Hey, Philip!" "The summer I learned to hate..." " What's wrong?" " Who's that?" "A summer set in motion by one man." "Hey, Philip, you don't know him." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Did you want a drag?" "My name is Eli Cottonmouth." "You folks sure have a beautiful little town here." "I'd like to show you something if you'd let me." "This way." ""Beautiful little town. "" "This Eli Cottonmouth, he was one of those snake-oil salesmen." "He was the Music Man." "Whoa." "But it wasn't "76 Trombones"" "or a cure-all ointment that day." "Eli's specialty was model building." "I can't possibly tell you the way this single model captured everyone's imaginations in a way that was almost magic." "Eli Cottonmouth was dangerous because he was a man who could show you places you've never been." "As we all wandered around this tiny carnival," "Eli kept silent." "He let everyone who wanted to have their fair share of look-see." "Then taking his cue, he simply said:" "You folks sure have a beautiful little town here." "May I have a show of hands, please?" "Unanimous." "And so it came to pass that Eli Cottonmouth was going to stay around for a while, and the town was going to have a new centerpiece for the town's highly-anticipated bisesquicentennial celebration." "That's 250 years in a tiny model, a model I've never even seen." "Up until then, the only thing I ever lost sleep over were childish daydreams and the Two-Legged Alligator Man." "This summer was gonna be different." "Foul ball!" " Hey." " You did such a good job." "Dude, if you turn around right now, you can see Camille." " That's my babysitter." " But you like her." " She likes your brother." " Brock?" "Nah." "She's looking at him right now." " Nah." " What's up, fellas?" " Hey, Pastor Salem." " How's it going?" " Good." " All right, man." "Great game." " Thank you." " Talk to you soon." "See all you guys." " You guys ready to scoot?" " Yep." "Well, howdy, boys." "How was the game?" "Good." "We won." "Brock said he'd buy us milkshakes if we did." "Oh!" "No, I said I'd buy the milkshakes if we lost, but whatever." "Well, that's real nice of you, Brock." "So what'll you have?" "I'll have a double chocolate with plenty of whipped cream, please." "I'll have double vanilla, plenty of strawberry syrup." "Smart move." "Go ahead, get whatever you want, man." "My treat." " Um..." " Here you go." " Thanks." "Mint chocolate chip..." " Mint chocolate chip..." " caramel topping..." " caramel topping... sprinkles, and whipped cream, please." "Comin' right up." "Thanks." "Hey, guys, wait up." " I'm spending the night at Jackson's." " Does Mom know?" " Yeah, she said I could." " Awesome." "Hey, Jackson, I need you to take care of my brother tonight..." "What are you doing?" "Come on, buddy, let's go." "Come on, let's go." " I'll race you." " Let's race." "Hey, Camille." "Camille?" "Camille?" "Hey, Jackson, Philip." "Dinner will be ready in a couple of minutes, okay?" "What are we having?" "Yeah, it was fun!" "Hey, shorty, it's not too loud." "I know." " You know I like to feel it." " I know." " What did she fix?" " I really don't know." "Smells, uh..." "creative." "Jackson." "Sorry." ""... one must remember that men do not physically live past this life." "In order to protect the later generations, man must equip his youth with the knowledge from his own experiences, and to not impose its errors too rigidly on its youth." "Man must pass on the aggregated knowledge to his next generation with the reminder... "" " Same old same old." " "... there is much more to learn than what has been gathered from his own experiences... "" "Have you ever heard the one about the Two-Legged Alligator Man?" " I don't think so." " How long have you been in this town?" " It's only the scariest thing ever." " Tell me." "50 years ago, there was an old witch." "She lived just outside of the town, right next to the water in an old shack." "She laid eggs, but mostly she laid eggs for food." "But then one day one of the eggs rolled off the pile and into the water." "The witch didn't notice it until one year later, when the full-grown Two-Legged Alligator Man returned and ate her!" "Okay, Marty, you've just eaten a witch now, all right?" "But it's not enough, is it?" "No, you're still hungry." "Hungry for what?" "Linda, show him what he's hungry for!" "It's magnificent!" "Keep it inside, though." "Keep it inside." " Hey, Marty?" " What?" "Over there, on the island!" " Very frightening, isn't it?" " Cripes, it's him!" "Are we rolling on this?" "Is it true?" "Yes, I believe he's out there somewhere." "Maybe in some way he's protecting our shore, dedicated to the fine people of this town." "I believe it." "Maybe that makes it real." "Total poppycock." "Is that a band?" "I think I..." "yeah, I heard of them." "A band." "Everybody else thinks so." "Some people say he roams the streets late at night, looking for..." "What was that?" "looking for food..." "going from house to house looking for kids who sneak out at night." " Like us." " Like us." "I told you he was taking picture earlier." "He's weird." " Yeah." "Let's follow him." " Okay." "Seems like I'm the center of attention even in the middle of the night." " We didn't mean to." " Yeah, we didn't know" " you were out here taking pictures." " You didn't know?" "What are you doing?" "I'm taking pictures for visual reference." "I'm building a model." " I heard about that." " Did you hear about it?" "You know, they make smaller cameras than that." "Yeah, they do." "I know." "It's just that I like to do my own development." "I see it sort of as a process, you know?" "This old thing just feels good in my hands." "Want to try it?" " Look at this." " How would you boys" " like to do me a favor?" " What?" "Well, the people in this town must think I'm pretty strange." "They keep looking at me like I got three eyes," "Which I don't." "You know, I think somebody who was good at sneaking around could probably take a lot better pictures than me." "I need pictures of details, details." "You know about details, right?" "Details?" " Details, like..." " Yeah." "This model that I am gonna make is gonna be the spitting image." "And what I would do is I would make sure that you" " had film whenever you wanted it." " Okay." "I just want you to keep taking pictures... people, places, and things." " Okay." " Think you can figure out how it works?" "Let me show you something." "Let me show you how it works." "Jeez, Phil, careful." "You almost dropped it." "Here, take it." "It's heavy." "What should we take pictures of tomorrow?" "I don't know." "Everything." "It was our first spadeful of dirt in a summer of searching for buried treasure." "Eli had us wide-eyed, you know?" "And when you first have a camera in your hands, everything in the world looks as though it should be photographed." " Gotta get home to Dad." " We got one picture left." "Save it." "I'll see you tomorrow morning." "Okay." "Later." "Bye, Philip!" " Hey, Mom." " Hey, you." "We got this great camera from Eli Cottonmouth." "The stranger?" "That model guy?" "He's weird." "Yeah." "We got one picture left." "Okay..." "Turn around." "Smile." "Come on." "It's time to go inside." "That's my house." "Oh, yeah." "One day you boys are gonna know what it's like to die." "It is certain." "Don't forget that." "Do you think he was saying he's going to kill us if we don't take better pictures?" "I really don't." "Okay." "Man..." "Death." "Yeah." "I mean, do you think it'll hurt?" "I guess that depends." "Fire." "Burning I think would suck." "It's the smoke that gets you." " Shut up." "It's the fire." " No, I saw this thing on TV." "Drowning." "Man, one time I had this dream..." "Yeah, you told me." "Brain cancer." " My aunt..." " Then what?" "What do you mean?" "What happens next... the second after?" "What happens?" "You boys sure are quiet." "Got some pie in the fridge." "No." "I don't think we're hungry, thanks." "We should get your dad a dog." "I don't think he likes animals." "A chihuahua puppy's for sale." "Chihuahuas are gross." "What are you reading?" "Classifieds." "Here's my favorite:" "The Personals." ""SWF seeking disappointment." "Prove me wrong. "" "Wow!" "Okay, this one's good." ""Unrepentant clog-wearer" " seeking same. "" " What's a clog?" "This one sounds like a five-year-old." ""Sitting alone on my swing set seeking a push. "" "Yeah, I'm not sure that's legal." "Philip." "I don't know why it bothered me so much." "I guess I always knew deep down that my father liked to fool around." "But my mom, she was a rock in my mind." "It never occurred to me that she would want to be with a man who wasn't my dad." "Need a push?" "Hi." "Oh, God." "Charles, um, I..." "May..." "You look good." "Rose?" "May..." "And this is how my mom began an illicit affair with my dad." "Let's play Uno." "No." "Let's try to find the R/C car Dad took away last week." "No." "Man, um, pirates?" "No." "I bet I can hold my breath longer than you." "Go!" "Philip?" "Are you still holding it?" "'Cause I'm done." "No." "I got it!" "This is it!" "Here it is!" "I know totally!" " What?" " Let's sneak out and take a picture of the Two-Legged Alligator Man!" "Eli will be impressed." "Come on." "He says we're gonna die anyway." "Why don't we go out with a bang, you know?" "Maybe." "Look along the water." "He'll come out soon enough." "You hear that?" "Who are they?" "Shhh." "How are you this evening, General?" "Move along, boys." "Why, you gonna call the police on us?" "He ain't got no phone." "Figure to smoke-signal the cops, then?" "You know that gun ain't loaded." "I can't believe you did that!" "You shouldn't have done that, Gramps." "Yeah, we're just having a little fun." "You didn't get any pictures of this?" "No." "It was fast." "Well, I'm sure the General's fine." "From what I've heard he's got a world war and three bullet holes behind him." "He'll be fine." "Wasn't your fault." "Cigar?" "You want to see a magic trick?" "What's inside?" "I don't know." "Go on." "Close your eyes." "Count to three." "Can we open our eyes yet?" "Shh." "One, two, three." "You know, the days aren't getting any longer with all these curious little kittens." "What can I do for you, little kitten?" "I just stopped by to make sure everything's going all right, that you got all the supplies you need, space... oh!" "Temperature all right in there?" "Everything is as well as can be expected." " Can I see it?" " No." "The bisesquicentennial's only in a month or so." "You are working in there, right?" "Not at the moment." "Hint." "I got it." "Well, look, the real reason I stopped by was to invite you to poker night tonight." "Just a bunch of chums, you know, nothing big." "We figure you'd be good company." "Well, that I would." "But we'll see." "As you know, I've still got lots of work to do." "Yeah, well, if you change your mind and are able to do it, we meet down there at that old fishing shack down there, down by the water." "Doc lets us use it." "Nothing fancy, you know." "I appreciate the invite." "Okey-dokey!" "8:00 PM, all right?" "See you around!" "Howdy, boys!" "I didn't see anyone when I came in." "Well, come on in." " Have a seat." " Thank you." "We'll count you in here." "Deal 'em, huh?" "I won!" " All right, you ready to go, buddy?" " Aw, Brock, one more?" "I said I'd only play one game." "Mom's actually cooking dinner." "We gotta go." "You've got a few minutes." "Why don't you stay?" "I really can't." "You know, um..." "You want to play a few more games?" " Yeah." " Okay." "Let's go." "New game." "Well, dealing those cards out, boy?" "Yeah, dealing you in, Frank." " How you doing, moneybags?" " I'm out again." "Well... five pesos!" "I fold." "I'm out." "I'll see it... and raise you 10." "Hmm." "I'll raise it 10." "See it." "Speaking of which, when are we gonna see that finished product of yours, Eli?" "When the devil races motorboats." "Is that for sure?" "So what kind of cards are you hiding, Eli?" "Come on, Frank." "You gonna let him get away with that?" "Make him show us." "Show us those cards there, Eli." "Two pair." "Oh!" "Beats my deuces." "Certainly does." "What about a quarter-inch sprocket?" "Well, I guess I could order you one." "Flange lubricant, 12-grade?" "What kind of stores are you used to shopping in?" "So that's a no." "Hello." " Can we talk to you for a minute, Eli?" " Sure." "What are you doing, Eli?" " I'm picking up supplies." " For what?" " What do you mean?" " There's nothing there, Eli." "We peeked into that little space of yours." "Obviously this is a concern." "The town has provided you with a stipend for your needs." "What are you doing with our money, Eli?" "Well, it ain't nothing he's buying in here, I'll be truthful with you." "You know, I think he's making stuff up." "You peeked?" "Eli." "Deal's off." "Now, just a minute, Eli." "I've done my work on every continent." "I've done my art for kings and queens." "I don't need to break my back for a bunch of petty, paranoid accusations" " coming at me..." " No no no." "Wait a minute." " You're making me feel really funny..." " No one's accusing you of anything." "We're concerned." "The town's anniversary festival is coming up." "Yeah, we've allocated quite a bit of our budget toward this." "Hmm hmm hm." "You're gonna get your money's won'th." " Good." " But no one sees anything, not even a sliver of a fraction of a glimpse until it's unveiled." "You understand?" "Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "Do you understand?" "I will not see this town deceived and taken advantage of." "Do you understand me?" "Fair enough, Pastor, fair enough." "Of course that caused quite a stir." "Everyone had heard the gossip by the end of the day, either from Frank or the writing on the wall... literally." "Jackson and I were now the insiders, the only ones in the whole town who had contact with Eli." "Eli, it's me, Philip." "And we thought nothing of it." "Philip." "Hey." "What's that?" "It's a note from Eli." ""Don't let anyone think low of you because you are young." "Be their ideal." "Timothy. "" "Who's Timothy?" "In first Corinthians 15, it says now, if Christ has preached that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?" "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and so is your faith." "It's real short." "Keep looking." "Moreover, we are even bound to be false witnesses of God because we testify against God that he raised Christ." "I'm sorry, but I just don't trust him." "And if Christ has not been raised..." "What's that stranger doing here anyway?" "What's he building?" "What I really want to know is what is he doing with those two boys." "Mm hmm." "Here it is." ""Don't let anyone look down at you because you are young." "Be their ideal. " First Timothy 4:11." "If I have to rely on my own actions to get onto heaven, I'm a goner." "That day in church, amidst the whispers and the stares," "Jackson and I began to realize that Eli was beginning to change the way the town looked at us, and for the first time, changing the way we looked at the town." "Overall, it was a strange Sunday, because for me it just kind of became the Sunday that Camille disappeared." "Whoa." " Hey, guys." " You look fancy." "I have a date." "Whoa." "With who?" " Your brother." " Nasty!" " A real date?" " Yeah, a real date." "Cripes." "Philip, do you have the green?" "What do you need green for?" "Because Jesus loved the little aliens too, don't you think?" "I do." "I really do." " Here you go." " Thanks." "You're not reading it right." " I'm sorry, it's just..." " Speak up." " It's just that..." " What?" "What?" "It's just that you need a degree or something to pronounce half of these words." "I'm sorry." "So, back to it?" "If you got nothing better to do." "I got a little bit of time." "I'll finish." ""The catalyst of nucular fusion prevents... " what?" ""Nuclear. "" "Nuclear." "Don't bother finishing if..." "This is first-grade stuff." "I can't get this if you can't say the words." "What's gotten into you tonight?" "Just say the words aloud and I'll make sense out of it!" "Well, maybe we should just call it a night." "Whatever." "Yeah." "Right." "Run along." "Go on." "Don't you talk to me like that, Mr. Patch." "You know, I'm doing a nice thing." "You don't pay me to read to you, you know." "So what are you doing, then, huh?" "Why are you so hateful tonight?" "Why are you wasting all your time with that little..." "Just... oh, God." "Just go on your date." "Go on your little date." "Go!" " You have no right to treat me..." " Go on your little date!" "We'll resume all of this tomorrow!" "Has Camille ever stormed out like that?" "Not really, but my dad can be tough sometimes." "Why is he so upset tonight?" " It's Sunday." " So?" "You never really hang out Sunday nights." "Some can be better than others." "He misses my mom." "The hymnal he puts between me and him in church... it's where Mom used to sit." "He likes the old movies 'cause they remind him of her." "It reminds me too." "I think he died on Sunday too." "What happened to her?" " It was a car accident." " I know, but how..." "I don't know." "He never told you anything?" "It was the General." " The guy who..." " Yeah." "He was driving the other car." "So yeah, I can't really feel too bad about him getting beat up." "My old house." "I didn't spend much time at my house that summer." "I'd camp out at Jackson's most of the time." "That's what summers are for." "But for everyone there's a time when you return home and it just doesn't feel like home anymore." "Maybe you've been gone a day, week, years, but it just doesn't feel like home." "Brock?" "Hey, Brock, your coach called..." "Philip Walden steps up to the plate, gets ready, and he swings!" "Oh, strike one!" "Okay, he gets set." "Swings again..." "Why'd you have to go and do that?" "You shouldn't have done that." "We're just having a little fun..." "Phil." "Hey, what's up, man?" "Brock?" "Yeah, what do you want?" "Brock, how did you get this?" "The bat?" "Dad gave it to me when I was, like, two or something." "Do you want it?" "If you want it, it's yours." "Brock, I was there." "What are you talking about?" "Jackson and I saw the whole thing." "What, a game or something?" "This is the bat!" "You beat the General with this bat!" "Right?" " It's not my fault." " Brock, don't lie to me." "The General came at us with a shotgun." " Don't lie to me." " He was gonna kill us." "He broke Chip's car and he had a shotgun and he was going to kill..." "Phil, look at me." "Phil, he was gonna kill us." "He was going to kill us." "Besides, you know what he did to Jackson's family." "Keep this between us, Phil." " Here you go." " Phil." " Hey, Jackson." " Hey." "I've been looking for you." " Nobody can find Camille." " What?" "Her mom said she hasn't been home in days, and she never came over the other night." " Maybe she just..." " No." "She left a note at church." " She did?" " Yeah." "So she came to see you last night, gave you the note?" "No, I found the note by the altar." " It's hers." " Pastor, we don't know that." "Yeah, we do." " It could be a forgery." " It's not." "I'll be damned if I'm gonna tell her mother until I know this is something." "Lem, she does clerical work here sometimes." "I can go to the office and get you a sample of her handwriting right now." ""Pastor Salem, I've made a decision and I know you'll listen." "I've been thinking about where my life is going, where the life of my child will go, and the thing is I think I need to start over. "" "She was pregnant?" "You're sure?" "Yeah." "She told me." ""No one needs to know." "This is my last chance to live a normal life before I have to take on this huge responsibility, so I'm starting over." "It's the beginning of a new life." "I will be the mother God wants me to be." "Thank you for everything, Camille. "" " When?" " In the last week." "She had just found out." "She see Doc about it?" "Not to my knowledge." "She didn't want anybody to know." " She say who the father was?" " No." "She never told me, and, um," " I never asked." " Sorry, Pastor." "Jackson, there's something I need to tell you about my brother." "Pastor Salem." " Hey, Lem." " Hey." "I wonder if we could trouble you to borrow that ladder of yours." " Frank's just about gave way." " Yeah, no problem." " Having a little problem there?" " Yeah, wouldn't you know it, thorns coming up in the garden just before the big to-do." "Oh yeah, those crows drop those seeds in the worst places." "Yeah, they do." "Um, listen, Pastor." "I've been talking with Camille's mom." "Naturally she's in a real tizzy about this whole deal, looking for someone to blame." "So if there's anything you know..." "I told you, Lem." "She didn't tell me where she was going." "The last thing she would have wanted is for her name..." "She didn't want to wear the red letter, Lem, not in the midst of all this celebration." "Yeah." "I guess you're right." "Yeah, I'll wait until things simmer down a little bit." "But once this celebration is over... something." "You know, she's even trying to blame that Eli Cottonmouth." "Well, it's easy to point fingers at the stranger, don't you think?" "Hmm." "Yes it is." "What do you suppose he's up to in there?" "Who knows?" "I guess we'll find out soon enough." "Yeah, I guess we will." "I'll see you tonight, Pastor." "I'm gonna help myself to that ladder." "Absolutely." "It's around back." "It's a mighty pretty church you got here." "I like churches... old churches where the air is heavy with God." "Well, this one is pretty old." "They say you can't judge a book by its cover, can you, Pastor?" "What are you doing?" "Digging." "These buildings tell me stories, and I guess that's why I do what I do." "And what is that, exactly?" "Intimidate people?" "Who are you trying to impress?" "There's no royalty here." "Why did you choose this town?" "As I recall, this town chose me." "God, after all, spoke through the hands of a modest carpenter." "Philip." "Philip, stop." " Phil..." " Let me go!" "Philip listen..." " where are you taking that?" " Sheriff Baker." "No no no no no." "No, listen." "Just listen to me for a second." " The General is..." " Where's Camille?" " Camille?" "What does Camille..." " She was supposed to meet you." " And then she disappeared!" " Whoa whoa." "Are you saying that you think I did something..." "Brock, what did you do to her?" " She never showed." " Brock, come on." "She never showed up, man." "Phil, I don't know what you think I am..." "You did it once." "She was supposed to meet you." "She was excited and dressed up and going to meet you." "And no one ever saw her again!" "She never showed up, man." "She stood me up." "I have no id..." "look at me!" "I have no idea what happened to Camille." "People are saying that she ran away or something." "Philip, I'm your brother, yeah?" "Philly." "Say something." "Okay, it's all done." "Can I go now?" "Hang on there, sport." "Dad, I told Philip I was going to meet him." "Yeah, okay." "I just need you to do something first." "Dad." "Jackson, Camille is not around and I need you to pick up the slack." "Okay, what?" "There's a box on the kitchen counter." "What is it?" " It's a care package for the General." " What?" "Why?" "Well, he got beat up pretty bad." " It's the right thing to do." " No." "What was that?" "No, I won't do it." "He got what he deserved and now he has to live with it." "Jackson, don't say things like that." "Look, son, sit down a second." "Let me tell you something." "You know when I started to go blind?" "Yeah, it was after the accident." " No." " What do you mean?" "I was losing my eyesight a little bit before then." "I was having these spells, and uh, and sort of like tunneling around the edges." "I didn't tell anybody." "I figured if I didn't talk about it, it wasn't really happening." "The accident... it wasn't the General's fault." "It was my fault." " What were you doing?" " Jackson..." "No, what were you doing driving the car if you couldn't see?" " It came in spells." " I don't care." "Jackson, don't you hate me." "I hate myself enough." " Good." " This is about the General." "He didn't do anything to us." "And now he needs our help." "Deliver this package yourself." "You stand in front of him and tell him what you just told me." " You killed her!" " Hey!" "Everything is on you!" "Jackson, what are you doing?" "You destroy everything you touch." "So I'm making sure you can't touch me." "Jackson!" " Hey." " Hey." "The story of that summer... the knowledge was always there." "Eli just had to hand us the fruit." "And you saw what you needed to see." "One, two, three..." "What is it that boys have in their hearts that lets them see things men can't?" "When did they lose it?" "This town and I..." "we were young, just boys in those days." "But boys grow up." "Do you think he exists?" "I don't know." "I like to think he does." "But if you listen to everyone else they'll say he's just a story." "I thought that's what it was," " to keep us kids in at night." " Yeah." "Two-Legged Alligator Man is real." "Jackson." "We'll get a picture of him one day." "Close your eyes, count to three." "One two three!" "Jackson!" "Come on, Jackson." "Jackson!" "Jackson!" "And just like that, the world was meaningless, a gift from Eli." "Because as I watched my best friend die, the town was here, all caught up in the excitement of that model." "Has anyone here seen Eli?" "I don't think so." "I haven't seen him." "Well, folks, I know you all have been looking forward to this, the chance to see our little paradise immortalized." "Now some may call it vanity, but I say we got quite a bit to be proud of." "Yes, sir." "We got us a mighty pretty town, a mighty pretty town indeed, folks." "So, without further ado..." "He was just a petty con man with a sense of humor." "Beautiful little town, right?" "No no, Pastor." "It's Eli." "We'll get him for this," "I promise you." "It's all right." "No." "No." "He's right." "It's us." "It's us." "God bless him for showing us." "It's us." "It's me." "It's me!" "She was my love." "She was my sin." "Cursed is the ground because of you." "It will produce thistles and thorns because of you!" "Oh, Jesus!" "Take me." "Take me!" "His model... it's a mirror that only reflects the darkest parts of yourself." "Paradise can't exist with the knowledge of sin, and Eli threw it in our faces." "This was no Eden." "How could we live with each other now?" "Yeah, it's just a model, but I can barely stand to look at it." "Because if I look too hard," "I can see myself, empty." "Hello, Philip." "Hi." "Can I get you something?" "No, I..." "I was..." "I saw the sign, and I just..." "Oh, hon, I am so sorry about Jackson." "Why are you still here?" "Well, this is my home." "There's no one here, Miss Rockwell." "There's no power... here, anywhere in the town, so I don't know how you're doing this whole thing with the light..." "It's all a little impossible." " Hey." " Hey." "Double vanilla milkshake, extra strawberry syrup?" "Yep." "I used to like those." "What happened?" "I guess I grew up." "What do you do?" "I work for the power authority now." "You know, we're gonna flood this town." "They're flooding it?" "Yep." "In 24 hours this will all be underwater." "The Two-Legged Alligator Man's gonna like that just fine." "Do you believe in him now?" "It's taken a while, but I came back to try and make sense of it all." "To be honest with you, I think I'm still just as confused." "And?" "L..." "I don't know." "You've lived in this town your whole life, and it was beautiful." "But that's not the real world." "The real word will eat you, like the Two-Legged Alligator Man." "Isn't that what Eli wanted to tell us?" "It's easy to believe in things in a place like this." "But the world out there... doesn't make it so easy, does it?" "Maybe that's why you have to... believe in things." "You may be onto something there, kiddo." "But I don't know what happened to that part of me." "Maybe I can come with you this time." "Yeah." "Yeah, let's do that." "There you are." "You were right, Jackson!"