"There's so much blood here." "Damn it, still not enough light." "I turned them all up as high as they'll go." "Never mind." "Frannie, wipe my forehead off." "I'm sweating like a pig." "Okay?" "Glen, give me the scissors." "Can you see it, East Texas?" "That's his appendix, right there." "No, the small one." "What, Dayna, what?" "You don't need to." "What do you mean?" "We're almost there." "He's dead, Stu." "Please... cover him up." ""l am the resurrection, and the life." ""Whosoever believeth in me..." ""shall not perish."" "There's more, I suppose, but I don't remember it." "It worked for me, Judge." "Amen." "Good morning, Mr. Lauder." "Where the hell is everybody?" "Dayna's still asleep." "I don't know where Fran is." "I think Stu went fishing." "Off catching lunch in the Big Two-Hearted River." "Figures." "I beg pardon?" "Oh, nothing." "The Judge and I thought we'd take a little ride into town and go CB shopping." "Want to come?" "I'll pass." "Just as you like." "Hi." "Still thinking about Mark?" "It's not just that." "I had a dream about the scary one last night." "It was by far the worst one yet." "There were all these crosses on Highway 15." "Yeah, made out of barn beams and telephone poles, right?" "With people hanging off of them." "You, too?" "Yeah." "And Dayna and Glen." "Judge Farris." "Okay if I sit down?" "Yeah, of course." "I dreamed about him the night Mark died." "Last night I drew the old lady." "That one's much better." "Yeah, a whole lot better." "She was on a porch, but not the same one as before." "I think she and the first bunch have finally made it to Boulder." "I know they have." "She said:" ""You got to move them along faster still, Stuart." ""One day off's all you get." ""Mind you, keep picking up strays along the way."" "It's so weird." "How can we all be having the same dream like this?" "I don't know." "You know, Glen's got some sleeping pills... in his little traveling pharmacy." "You want me to ask him to give you one?" "Thank you, but no." "You sure?" "Get a good night's rest before we have to hit the road again." "I can't." "Why not?" "I'm afraid it'll hurt the baby." "Have you told Harold?" "When are you due?" "January." "We have something to tell you." "I don't know really how to say it." "I think I have a pretty good idea." "Congratulations." "Fran thought you might be a little...." "Jealous?" "Angry?" "Something like that, yeah." "Well, jealous, yeah." "Angry?" "It's life." "I've got something to tell you." "I couldn't say it up until now." "I love you, Frannie." "Thank you, Harold." "And I believe I owe you an apology." "That's all right." "Still friends, right, guys?" "Of course." "Yes." "Good deal." "You need any help with that?" "No, everything's under control." "You're sure, now?" "Perfectly under control." "My life for you!" "Cibola." "Seven in one." "My life for you." "How are you feeling, man?" "I'm okay." "Who are you?" "This here's Lloyd Henreid." "He ain't bad for a slice of Wonder Bread." "I'm the Rat Man." "Bold, black, beautiful." "Pleased to meet you, Trash." "How do you know people back home used to call me that?" "You gotta do something about that talking-in-your-sleep thing." "Listen..." "I didn't know your exact sizes, but these ought to be okay." "Am I going somewhere?" "Yeah, Flagg wants to see you." "My life for him." "Yes." "My life for him!" "Dude's crazy." "Like we're not?" "Get dressed." "The Trashcan Man." "How good it is to see you." "My life for you." "I don't think it will come to that." "There's work for you in the desert, Trash." "Great work, if you want it." "Anything." "My life for you." "I love you." "I know." "I know you do." "And I'm going to fulfill all your dreams, Trash." "Come, let's talk about your future." "Mother Abagail, I dreamed about you." "I know you did." "Come on up here." "Just you and your man to start with." "You're with child, little girl." "How did you know that?" "How do, Stuart?" "Welcome to Boulder." "Pleased to meet you." "How do you know my name?" "You're all welcome here." "Come on in and let us visit a spell." "Seems there were more here before." "Harold's gone." "Well, come on in." "I made some lemonade." "Very pleased to see you." "I'm here." "I came to you." ""The bride cometh to the bridegroom as a flame to the wick of a lamp."" "Is that the Bible?" "Danielle Steel, I think." "Who cares?" "My love." "You okay, ma'am?" "Of course I am." "Why?" "You were having a bad dream." "Must have been a real wowser, by the sound." "Was it about him?" "The walking dude?" "I don't remember." "We're making real good time." "They must have cleared the road all the way from Julesburg." "How long till we get there?" "Two hours." "Three at the most." "Two hours." "Three at the most." "Look, you can see the mountains." "Summer's almost gone." "Can't believe it." "How the time flies when you're having fun." "Right, East Texas?" "Big day today." "How so?" "The power station." "Oh, yeah." "I can't believe you forgot that." "I didn't forget it." "I blocked it out." "The plague took the people, but it couldn't take the gadgets." "No, they're all still out there." "Everything from electric can openers to cobalt bombs... just waiting for someone to come along and pick them up." "And the scavenger hunt starts today." "Oh, hell, Professor... what's so bad about putting the rocks back in people's scotch?" "It's the old way." "And the old way was a death trip." "That's a little heavy, don't you think?" "Do you?" "There's an old woman down there who might tell you different, East Texas." "If she'd talk about this end of it at all, that is." "What's the problem?" "I don't know if there is one." "But I know I'm very concerned about the way things are going." "She wants a mass meeting... except she says it's really God who wants the meeting." "We say, "Fine, you're fine, Mother, God's fine, too."" "And then we go back to tinkering with the power station... trying to recreate the world... that damn near choked the human race to death." "What's wrong with this picture?" "Take a look at that." "You're all welcome here." "Come on, now!" "Come on up and say howdy." "Go to her." "You're real." "You're really real." "No, get up." "I ain't no God, and I ain't going to be no golden calf, either." "Dave Zellman." "Rouses Point, New York." "I dreamed of you, Mother Abagail." "I'm so glad to have you come." "I'm Marcy Halloran, Mother Abagail." "From Cleveland." "I dreamed of you, too." "She's so gray, Stu." "Who?" "I know her." "Hold it." "Who's this woman who comes?" "Go to her." "My name is Nadine Cross." "Mayhap it is, mayhap it ain't." "I'm from New York." "Mayhap you are" "Mayhap I ain't." "I won't keep you long." "You look so tired." "Of course, anyone your age is bound to tire easily, isn't that so?" "Mother Abagail." "Hello, Joe." "What do you know?" "What the hell...." "Leave me alone." "Hello, Nadine." "You gonna leave again without saying goodbye?" "I said I had my reasons, that I didn't want to answer questions." "I still don't, so just leave me alone." "I'm ready, Brad." "All battery power is up and running." "Listen up, folks." "We're about ready to go for it here." "It might not be such a bad idea to keep the nearest exit in mind." "Okay, sweetheart, let's let them up." "I'm scared." "I'm a little scared myself." "Green board!" "I've got green across!" "All right!" "Ladies and gentlemen, we are back!" "There was something in that woman this morning." "Was it him?" "I don't know, Lord." "She passed on by so quick." "No, that ain't it... and I'm too old to be... making excuses to the God of my understanding." "I have sinned in complacency... and sinned in pride... sitting back in my rocker like a queen... and letting them come to me." "Letting them do everything but bow down before me." "Oh, my Lord, what am I to do?" "Show me how to go, Lord." "I'm listening." "This ain 't on the...." "I guess we're all gonna have to get used to this again." "What I started to say was..." "I wonder if maybe we couldn 't start by singing the national anthem." "Thy will be done, Lord." "I'm pretty nervous up here, so I hope you all bear with me." "We will, Stu." "I'm on this." "I'll make this as painless as possible... so we can all get out ofhere and ha ve a beer." "First off..." "I'd like you to meet the man who got the juice on again." "Brad Kitchner, stand up, take a bow." "Okay, next thing is this so-called Free Zone Committee." "The names came from Mother Abagail." "Where is Mother Abagail?" "I haven't seen her all day." "This is still America..." "I'm sure she's around someplace." "...and I guess whatever starts with her still has to end with us." "That means a vote." "First, though, I'd like you to meet the folks you'll be voting on." "I'm one of them." "Stu Redman, from Arnette, Texas." "Next is Nick Andros, originally from Ridley, Pennsylvania... and Ralph Brentner from Okie City." "Miss Frances Goldsmith from Ogunquit, Maine." "Stand up, Frannie." "Let them see how pretty you look with your dress on." "Brad Kitchner's good friend Susan Stern from Tacoma, Washington." "Mr. Glen Bateman from Woodsville, New Hampshire... and Larry Underwood from New York City." "Did you see where Lucy and Joe went?" "Maybe she took him to the bathroom." "If any of you other folks have any other ideas...." "Mr. Chairman." "Chair recognizes Harold Lauder." "I move that we accept Mother Abagail's Free Zone Committee... in toto... if they'll all serve, that is." "Brilliant." "Utterly brilliant." "Judge, can we do that?" "You're damn right you can." "And I for one think it's a damn good idea." "Folks, it's been moved and seconded... that we accept the entire committee as listed on the agenda." "I guess I ought to ask if there's anybody on the list who wants to step down." "A voice vote will do just fine." "Those in favor of accepting the committee as it stands?" "Those in favor of accepting the committee as it stands?" "Aye!" "Opposed?" "The committee is so adopted." "Oh, no." "She can't." "There ought to be a "turning off" committee." "Ha ving the power back on is great... but you must realize people didn 't get up out of their sickbeds... and turn off all their appliances before they died." "She's gone!" "Mother Abagail!" "She's gone." "What is it?" "What happened?" ""l must be gone a bit now." ""I've sinned and presumed to know the mind of God." ""l must try to find my place in his work again."" "She's scribbled a reference at the bottom." "Proverbs 1 1 :3." ""When pride cometh, then cometh shame:" "but with the lowly is wisdom."" "All right, what now?" ""This doesn't change much, if anything." ""We dreamed of Mother Abagail and she was real." ""That makes it a pretty sure bet that the other guy is real, too." ""We have to find out all we can about him." ""We have to find out all we can about him." ""That probably means sending spies west."" "Spies?" ""It's a nasty thing to think about, but we will do what we have to do." ""Flagg is our business right now..." ""and we'll have to trust Mother Abagail to her God."" "Our friend in the cowboy boots and jean jacket... isn't going to just sit over there on his side of the Rockies... playing mumblety-peg, you know." "If he's planning to come east and attack us..." "Or nuke us." "...we ought to know about it." "All right." "Let's talk about Flagg." "How do we look into his part of the world?" "Damn kid." "Messing my guitar." "Honey?" "Yeah, go inside, baby." "I have to talk to you, Larry." "Yeah, come on inside." "No, out here." "Please." "Is she the woman that came out of New York with you?" "Yeah." "Go inside, baby." "I'll handle this." "What are you doing here, Nadine?" "Messing up your happy home." "Maybe I came to say I'm sorry." "I'm so sorry... for the way I left you... and then for the way I said hello." "I was just so surprised to see you." "Yeah, fine." "Apology accepted." "That was easy, wasn't it?" "Is she nice?" "Lucy." "She's the best." "Good." "I'm glad for you." "I made a mistake when I left you." "I know that now." "The way it was tonight at the meeting... the love and the light...." "I want to stay here, Larry." "Make love to me and I can stay here." "I don't know what you're talking about." "Doesn't matter." "Make love to me, Larry." "Make love to me and everything will be all right... and we'll take care of each other." "You come here and you look right through my wife." "Your wife." "Yeah, that's right, my wife." "Don't you understand?" "It's too late." "Do you understand that?" "Yes, I suppose I do." "You work it out, Nadine." "Did you come back for your things?" "Don't." "She's gone." "I don't know what she wanted, but she's gone now." "I love you, Lucy." "Just work it out." "You are so wise, Larry." "Very, very wise." "Now go to Harold, but remember who you really belong to." "Chow." "Bring it on." "Consider it brung." "You're the perfect American male, Stu." "We get the power back and you decide to barbecue." "Now soon as they bring back pork rinds and Monday Night Football..." "I'm gonna be in redneck heaven." "Nick's proposal is that we send at least three people west to Las Vegas... which we all seem to feel is this Flagg's base of operations." "The purpose is to try and find out what Flagg's plans are for us." "Anybody want to kick it around a little bit?" "We haven't been elected one whole day yet... and already we've managed to reinvent the ClA." "Who needs Monday Night Football?" "What the hell else we gonna do?" "All he needs is one guy to target some Scud missile with an A-bomb on it." "If he's got one, what then?" "If he's got one, what then?" "Somebody will have to try and stop him from using it." "I want to be one of the three." "That's commendable, but I'm afraid it's out of the question." "Why?" "Because we don't know if any of our scouts will make it back." "Meanwhile, we seven have the not inconsiderable job... of getting the Free Zone on a paying basis." "That's the job you took last night." "You may not like it, but that doesn't change it." "Oh, my God, I'm a politician." "This isn't Colorado: it's hell." "If that's the way we play, I nominate Judge Farris." "That old man?" "You must be nuts." "Now wait a minute." "He is old, but he's sharp." "He's not in bad health either." "I don't think Flagg would suspect we'd send an old fellow like the Judge." "If I can't go, what about asking Dayna?" "That's a good idea." "Wait." "I'm not being serious here." "You better get serious." "I can't believe we're doing this." "If you didn't want to get your hands dirty, you should have stayed off the committee." "We're probably sending people off to get killed." "Yeah, that's right." "Making decisions like that... is what being in charge is all about." "Either grow up and do it or get out." "You're awful cute when you get angry, Stu." "Okay, all right." "So who's the third goat?" "Scout?" "You got any ideas?" "Nick here has got an idea." "It's a dilly." "Ten, nine... eight." "You're getting drowsy, Tom." "Drowsy, that's right." "Laws, yes." "Seven." "Drowsier still." "Soon you'll be fast asleep." "Six, five, four... three, two, one." "Are you asleep, Tom?" "Yes, Tom's asleep." "Can you hear me, Tom?" "Yeah, I hear you, Stu." "Nick's here with me." "Fran, Larry, Ralph, Sue, Glen, all here with me." "All my friends, laws, yes." "We need you to do something, Tom." "It's for the Free Zone." "It's dangerous." "It's him, isn't it?" "Yeah, Tommy, it is." "The hard case, the walking dude." "He can call the rats." "He can see all across the long miles." "But he's afraid of us." "Are you the same Tom that Nick met in Oklahoma?" "Yes." "No." "I'm God's Tom." "We want you to go west, Tommy." "Can you do that?" "West." "Yes, Tom knows west." "It's where the sun goes down." "We need you to keep your eyes open." "Wide open." "We want you to look at the airfields... and see if people are getting planes ready to fly... or maybe missiles." "Do you know what missiles are, Tom?" "Rockets." "Yes, that's right." "We want you to see if people are being trained." "Like soldiers?" "Yeah." "But most important... we want you to listen." "Listen to what people say about Flagg... and about the Free Zone here in Boulder." "We need to know what Flagg means to do about the Free Zone." "If he means to...." "That's right, Tom." "You got it." "Can you do all that, Tommy?" "Look." "Listen." "Yes." "I'll be afraid, but I can do that." "Look... and then you come back here to Boulder... when the moon is full." "Do you understand?" "Yes." "M-O-O-N spells "moon."" "Come back and tell... unless they catch me." "If anyone asks questions why you came, this is what you'll say:" "They drove you out of the Free Zone..." "Drove me out.... ...because you were feeble-minded." "Feeble-minded, laws, yes." "And you might have a woman... and that woman might have idiot children." "Idiot children like Tom." "Go ahead, finish." "Don't leave him out there." "Tell it back to me, Tommy." "What will you say if they ask you questions?" "You drove me out because you were afraid..." "I might have a woman... and fill her belly up with a retard like me." "When you come back here... you'll walk at night and sleep in the day." "Walk at night." "Sleep in the day." "But someone might see you anyway." "If it's one person that sees you, kill him." "Kill him?" "If it's more than one, you run." "Come back when the moon is full." "Not the half moon, not the fingernail moon." "Walk at night, sleep in the day." "Don't let anybody see me." "Go ahead, Stu, wake him up." "Please wake him up." "Would you like to see an elephant?" "Did I do all right?" "Did I stand on my head like before?" "No, Tom... you did some even better tricks this time." "History teaches us that when the Great Plague hits... those who don't die alone usually die in church." "So, we may find nothing in this one, but if we do... try to think of the bodies as cordwood." "lt'll make it easier." "Cordwood." "Come on in." "It is your house after all, isn't it?" "Who the hell are you?" "I'm Nadine Cross." "I saw you at the meeting the other night... and I believe you saw me, too." "What are you doing in my house?" "And how did you get in here?" "And what's that smell?" "Supper." "The rest of the Q and A will have to wait until it's on the table." "I put two jugs of wash water on the back stoop... and, frankly, you could use it." "What have you been doing?" "Stuff I'd rather not talk about, if it's all the same to you." "Don't even think about leaving." "Absolutely not." "Tinned beef, I'm afraid." "Hardly the choice of French chefs, but...." "lt was wonderful." "Thank you." "The supermarket is full of deer." "Did you know that?" "Now that the produce is gone, they're sticking mainly to the cereal section." "To friendship." "Are we going to be friends, Nadine?" "Very good friends." "You're planning on going west, aren't you?" "To him?" "What would put a crazy idea like that in your head?" "I got lots of crazy ideas." "Just wait and see." "You're a virgin, aren't you?" "It's all right." "I am, too." "You?" "Me." "And I'm gonna stay that way... because it's for someone else to change it." "Who?" "Don't be dense, Harold." "But we can still do things." "Things you wouldn't believe." "Everything but that one thing, and it's such a little thing, really." "How would you know?" "Pull Tab A, Harold, and shut up." "To new acquaintances." "And absent friends." "The disappearance of the old woman might just be for the best." "People should be free to judge for themselves... what the lights in the sky are... or if God sometimes does speak in the thunder." "Do you think she's dead?" "No." "She should be, but I don't think she's done yet." "Or done with us." "Look, Judge." "I wanted to talk to you." "There's no need to twist yourself into knots, Larry." "I know why I'm here, and I accept." "How do you know that?" "If someone on the committee's been leaking information" "Nobody's been leaking anything." "At least, not to me." "I merely asked myself what my first priority would be... if I were in your shoes." "The answer, of course, is information." "That means spies." "We like to call them scouts." "Okay, scouts, by all means." "And each of we scouts... is to be ignorant of the others... in case of capture or torture." "If you don't think you can make it, you just say so." "'Cause you're not gonna be much good to anyone..." "lying dead of a heart attack beside some ranch road in New Mexico." "I'll leave tomorrow... in that four-wheel drive of mine." "North to Wyoming, then due west." "I'll be cold." "I'll be lonely." "My bowels will not work properly." "But also, I will be clever." "I suppose you will." "Did you enjoy that, Harold?" "Yes." "But it couldn't have done much for you." "Au contraire." "You know, it looks like blood." "Guess that's why they use it in Communion services." "Drink up, Harold." "How did you get into my house?" "He told me there would be a key under the stoop, and there was." "Aren't you going to drink your wine?" "Flagg told you how to get into my house?" "Yes." "He also said you have reason to hate them." "All of them." "It's the woman, isn't it?" "You loved her." "But that didn't stop Redman, did it?" "She was mine." "And the committee." "That old woman left me off, and she let that hick Brentner on." "I'm surprised she didn't let his feeb friend on as well." "There's someone in the west... who will never take what's yours." "And he's waiting for us." "I know." "I know he is." "Then drink your wine." "Guess this is it, Tommy." "You all right?" "Time to go and see the elephant." "That's right." "Travel at night." "Sleep in the day." "Come back when the moon is full." "Tell what I saw." "That's right, Tommy." "Nice of Ralph to loan you his hat." "He said to take good care of it... and give it back to him when I come home." "That's just what I'm gonna do." "Wish you were going with me, old pal." "I wouldn't be so scared." "Thanks, Nick." "I always forget stuff like that." "I hate being retarded." "Bye." "See you later, alligator." "After a while, crocodile!" "Relax, Miss Goldsmith." "Okay, please call me Fran." "Have you gained any weight?" "Just 5 pounds or so." "Is he going to be all right?" "He or she is going to be just fine." "Really?" "I want to see you as soon as you're dressed." "Okay, thank you." "You are so lucky." "Brad and I are already trying." "How lucky I am remains to be seen, doesn't it?" "The flu." "Who says it's gone?" "Who knows if our babies are going to be immune?" "You're a card, Hawk." "Yeah, a wild card." "Do it, Harold." "Go for it." "Were you dreaming?" "They'll be having regular meetings, won't they?" "I mean, they'll have to." "In fact, they probably already started." "Who?" "Their committee, Nadine." "I don't know." "I guess." "There's dynamite in the city storage shed." "Tons of it." "He told me." "He showed me." "What are you talking about?" "A surprise." "A big loud one." "Probably not next week, but soon." "You look so tasty." "So juicy." "Do I?" "Yes." "Come here." "All runways clear." "That's a good morning's work." "What I'd like is a nice nap." "Yeah, right." "How come the big guy wanted the runway cleared, anyway?" "You want to have a nice life in Vegas, Richie?" "Good working conditions, retirement benefits?" "Sure." "Then don't ask why Flagg does things." "That's the best idea, believe me." "Hey, Moose." "Stick this cooler in the back of the truck." "Sure." "And get the toolkit out of the cab and take it into the hangar office." "You bet." "M-O-O-N, that spells "toolkit."" "Oh, God." "Easy, watch the wing." "Watch it, Trash." "I am, Carl, it's okay." "Careful, Trash, that's a bomb." "We want you to look at the airfields... and see ifpeople are getting planes ready to fly... or maybe missiles." "I told you to put the toolbox in the office... not be in here snooping around." "I just heard something." "I don't want to hear your retarded excuses." "Now get the hell out of here." "Everything all right, Barry?" "Yeah, fine." "What the hell are you doing?" "Don't screw with my disco, Nadine." "ls everything all right?" "No." "If I had dropped this... you'd be washing my guts out of your pretty white hair... for the next two weeks." "I'm sorry." "Let me make a suggestion, my little disco queen." "Take a walk." "A walk?" "Yes, a walk." "Because, you see, I have no idea how old this stuff is." "I do know that old dynamite sweats pure nitroglycerine." "So, take a walk." "And if you hear a very loud bang... that'll probably be me going to that great disco inferno in the sky." "All right, if you're sure." "Yes, buzz." "Make like a library and book." "Hello?" "Fran?" "Anyone home?" "What?" "We're damned." "Yes, I know." "Larry, come on." "Okay, order." "Yeah, I'd like to call this meeting to order." "Grammy Abagail!" "Oh, my God, it's her." "She's come back." "Harold, it's" "Nadine, here." "Use this." "It's perfectly accurate." "All right, but" "Just tell me when it's 9:15." "Until then, keep your yap shut." "It's going to look beautiful from up here." "The law committee held four meetings last week... and will hold two meetings this week... in order to finalize the regulations and procedures..." "to establish a new governing council." "Fran..." "The meetings are going very slow...." "..." "Stuart, Nick, Ralph." "What the hell?" "Listen, we have to get out of here." "Right now." "Ralph, what is it?" "He's right." "Something's wrong." "It's in the closet." "Nick, don't do it!" "No!" "Go!" "We gotta go!" "Do it, Harold!" "This is Harold Lauder." "I do this ofmy own free will." "Help!" "Help me!" "Am I dead?" "No, child." "You ain't dead." "Then why am I here?" "You're here to do God's will, child, just like everyone else." "God didn't bring you together to make a committee or Free Zone." "He brought you together to send some of you further." "It's Stuart who must lead, now that Nick's gone." "Lead?" "Lead where?" "Why, west, little girl." "You're not to go." "Only these four:" "Stuart, Ralph, Larry, and Glen." "You'll bide" "No, Stuart's not going anywhere." "He's gonna stay with me when I have my baby." "Neither one of us is gonna have any more to do with your killer God." "The devil's imp has called his bride... to put her with child." "Will he let your child live, little girl?" "Father, mother, wife, husband... set against them, the Prince of High Places." "I have sinned in pride." "So have you all." "That's past now." "It's time now... to give over your will... to the will of God." "It's time to make your stand." "Wake up, honey." "Did I lose the baby?" "No." "The baby's okay." "My back." "The doctor says it's whiplash." "You won't be running the 100-yard dash for a few months... but I think you'll be all right to move." "Try to sit up." "Nick's dead." "How'd you know?" "She told me." "Who else died?" "We can talk about that later." "No, who else?" "Chad Norris." "Al Bundell." "Angie Terminello." "Dick Ellis." "Susan Stern." "Twenty or so wounded." "Who did it?" "It looks like Harold Lauder and that Cross woman." "Where are they?" "Are they gone?" "Yeah." "Send them out." "All but those... that are left of your committee." "All right, 10 minutes." "No more." "Come on, people, if you're not part of the committee, out." "Let's go." "Stay." "This concerns you and Fran... as much as these men... who have to go into the wilderness." "What do you mean, "into the wilderness"?" "This is God's will, given me... as I wandered into my own wilderness." "Draw close around me." "Tell us, Mother." "You four men are to go west... to take no food or water... but to go this very day... in the clothes you now wear." "You are to go on foot." "I'm in the way of knowing one will fall by the way..." "I'm in the way of knowing one will fall by the way... but I don't know which it will be." "I'm in the way of knowing the others will be taken... before this Flagg... who isn't a man... but a creature from beyond the world." "I don't know if you will defeat him." "I only know God wants you to go... and with God's help... you will stand and be true." "What if we say no?" "What?" "Come on." "Your will is as free as that... of Eve in the garden, child." "Go where ye list." "That's always been God's way." "But this is what God wants of you." "Be true." "Stand." "It is finished." "White magic... that's all that's left." "Stuart, please say no." "Please." "I think if one of us says no... then maybe we all die." "Take care of yourself." "I love you... you know." "Swear to me that you'll come back." "Come on, God can't run all of it." "Swear to me you'll come back." "I swear to try." "That's not good enough." "Thanks." "We have to go." "Tell me you love me." "You know I do." "But I need to hear you say it." "I love you." "I love you." "All right, Kojak." "Come on, boy." "Time to go." "Come on, Kojak, let's go." "Please, God... if you're there, please take care of them." "English" "Are you all right, Stu?" "It's not me." "I think it's Harold." "Something has happened to him." "Nadine!" "Help me!" "You said it yourself, Harold." "We're damned." "You can't just leave me!" "You can't leave me!" "My ribs are broken." "My leg." "Come back!" "If you go out on me, Bobby Terry...." "Gin!" "Doodlebug!" "Post nine, ifyou can hear me, come on back." "That's Henreid!" "I know it is." "I'm right here, Mr. Henreid." "But we haven't seen anything yet, not a single vehicle." "Keep your eyes open." "And remember what I told you." "Don't mark him." "Right." "I mean, copy." "Just remember it." "We want all the people over there to know exactly who they're looking at." "So stay alert." "Roger that!" "If black powder were brains, that guy couldn't blow his nose." "Lloyd?" "Are you coming back?" "I thought you were going to sleep." "I might need a sleeping pill." "Call me "the doctor."" "You're the one that threw them." "You should have to pick them up." "You're just a sausage brain, you know that?" "You're just a sore loser." "That was him!" "Come on." "He's getting away!" "Remember." "In the guts." "He wants his head." "When I hit him with this, won't be nothing left but the head." "Stay right there." "And get that lettuce cutter out of sight." "Okay, here we go." "Dassn't mark his head." "You wouldn't shoot an unarmed man, would you, old-timer?" "Were you back in Copperfield?" "We seen you go by." "Dave Roberts." "Oh, God!" "You bastard!" "I got him dead on, Dave!" "I killed his ass, Dave." "You're in a heap of trouble, son." "I told you not to mark him." "All right, shut the hell up." "This is Lloyd, come on back." "The Judge is a wash." "What?" "A wash!" "A wash." "A total washout!" "Do you copy, you idiot?" "Yeah, I copy." "It's time to take their Number Two." "You know who it is?" "I've known all along, actually." "Listen to me, Lloyd." "Listen to me very carefully, soldier." "Wake up!" "Come here." "Get dressed, you lying, spying bitch." "Forget about the bathroom." "Do it here." "Yeah, do it here." "You have seen me naked for the last time in your short, miserable life." "I am going in there, and if you even try and stop me..." "I will do my very best to give you a sex-change operation." "Excuse me." "Let her go." "If she tries to lock the door, break it down." "You do know that I faked it every time, don't you, Lloyd?" "What the hell are you laughing at?" "I wasn't over here risking my life... and sleeping with you, Lloyd, for fun." "and sleeping with you, Lloyd, for fun." "Do you people know what your tin god is up to?" "What is it that you think they're doing out there at Indian Springs?" "If you're not out in 30 seconds... you can give your sermon to Flagg in your panties." "Yes!" "He says "frog," you jump." "Isn't that the way it goes?" "He's the biggest and the strongest, ma'am." "You're wrong." "And you're a fool." "Come on." "I've got her, R.F." "R.F. How perfect." "Send her in, please." "Dayna." "Hi, come in." "You expected Charles Manson at the very least, didn't you?" "I don't know what I expected." "Poor Lloyd had a very bitter experience in Phoenix not long ago." "It marked him." "Sit down, Dayna." "What happened to the chairs?" "I had them taken out." "Liars sit in chairs, you know." "Truth-tellers just sort of hunker down." "Your friends in Boulder sent you to spy out the land." "True?" "I suppose." "You... the Judge... and someone else." "I can't quite see this third person." "Sometimes, usually, in fact, I can figure these things out for myself." "I'm one of those lucky people with a little psychic twinkle." "But every time I try to see this third spy... all I can see... is the moon." "M-O-O-N, that spells "moon."" "Does that mean anything to you, Dayna?" "Not a thing." "What about the Judge?" "Never mind the Judge." "Now pay attention, dear." "I am disposed to give you your things..." "I am disposed to give you your things... and send you back to your friends in Boulder." "And when you get back, I'd simply like you to tell them for me... that we are just trying to get on our feet again, as they are... that we mean them no harm." "Then what's Carl Hough and that weirdo Trashcan Man doing at Indian Springs?" "Are you planning to turn the missiles stockpiled there... into New Age water fountains or something?" "Never mind the Trashcan Man." "Let it go, dear." "There's no reason to hang on to this spy business." "Your old black witch is dead." "Your people are in confusion." "If there was ever any reason for your being here, it's gone." "Mother Abagail is not dead." "I'm afraid she is." "I don't believe it!" "She died in a coma." "Without saying a word." "That's it, dear." "You mean I can just go?" "There is one more thing." "What's that?" "The moon man, dear." "Who is he?" "I don't know." "I think you do." "No, really, I don't know." "I didn't even know about the Judge... until I heard Lloyd talking about him with some guy in Idaho." "That makes perfect sense." "But all the same, you do know." "You know and you'll tell me." "Do you understand?" "Why don't you know?" "Why don't you know already?" "I don't know." "Tell me, you bitch!" "Tell me." "Eat this!" "Oh, my dear." "You'll tell me what I want to know." "Before I'm through with you, you'll beg to tell me." "Come back when the moon is full." "When the moon is full." "M-O-O-N spells "moon."" "Watch out, would you?" "The feeb." "What is it, Stu?" "It's Harold." "He's dead." "I don't know how I know or why, but he's dead." "He blew his own head off." "Gun oil." "My mouth's full of the taste." "May God have mercy on his poor excuse for a soul." "Hey, Trash!" "What'd old lady Semple say when you torched her pension check?" "People who play with fire wet the bed." "Leave me alone." "Shut up about old lady Semple and leave me alone!" "Keep him away from me!" "Gonna stick you in the nuthatch up in Terre Haute, Trash." "Stick you in the nuthatch and give you a few thousand shock treatments." "Hey, Trash!" "I've been looking for you everywhere." "Damn firebug." "I don't trust him." "Wait a minute." "Wait just one damn minute." "Wait just one damn minute." "Oh, my God, no!" "Leave me alone!" "I couldn't help it!" "I'm so sorry!" "Nadine." "Over here." "Over here, my love." "That's right." "This way." "Randall?" "Is that you?" "I've been waiting so long." "The waiting's over." "No." "It's too late to say no, dear." "Much too late." "Oh, God, no!" "Bet you haven't been in this good a shape since childhood." "About 100 years ago, right?" "There's a perfectly good reason for this little stroll, you know." "And Mother Abagail knew it when she sent us out the way she did... with just the clothes on our backs." "Our bellies are empty." "More importantly, our heads are empty." "Hell, mine was pretty empty to begin with." "I'm serious." "We're out here in the middle of the Great American Nowhere... minus all the baggage we used to carry everyplace we went." "She wanted us cleaned out, empty." "Ready to be filled up again by some new thing." "Maybe a great thing." "Almost certainly the last thing." "Come on, Kojak." "Fetch, boy." "Go on, go get it." "Go!" "Welcome to Las Vegas, ma'am." "So if the feeb's important... you make sure that he knows it was me who told you." "Me." "I got it." "Don't worry." "Lloyd." "Good to see you." "I thought we might see you last night." "You know how it is with newlyweds." "We haven't managed to pick Trash up." "We're searching the desert west of Indian Springs." "It's big country, might take a while." "He'll come back in on his own eventually." "When he does, I want him put away." "But mercifully." "I doubt if you can understand this... but I felt a certain kinship for that boy." "I don't want him to suffer." "Fine." "I just thought" "Tell him!" "Such a rude child." "Come, dear." "It might be important." "This girl thinks she saw somebody" "Later." "Come up this afternoon." "1 :00 should be fine." "In the meantime...." "She's crazy about me, Lloyd." "She can't get enough." "Wave a bye-bye." "We are dead... and this is hell." "You promised me you were gonna tell him." "Shut up." "Shut the hell up!" "Can you get that, sweetie pie?" "Guess not." "Lloyd." "Come in." "I don't believe I've introduced my wife to you by name." "I'd like you to meet Lloyd Henreid, my number-one soldier." "Pleased to meet you." "Oh, no." "Shake hands, kids." "Shake it, Nadine." "That's nice." "You can put it down now, my love." "My wife is indisposed." "She also has a bun in the old oven." "Perhaps the two are related." "Care to gargle a little firewater, Lloyd?" "A libation to little Randy, Jr." "Yeah, I'll have a gin and tonic." "The drink of champions." "Make it two." "You can sit down now, my love." "I'm sorry, my dear." "The Surgeon General says that pregnant women shouldn't drink." "Or did, before he died of the flu." "Right, Lloyd?" "There are four men on their way here from Boulder... strolling right up Route 73 for some mad reason... known only to themselves and their dead witch." "I want them bagged and I want them brought here." "Send out Barry Dorgan." "A dozen good men." "You want me to have some crosses made?" "I think something slightly more inventive may be in order here." "The natives seem restless, you know." "What about that skinny little bat-faced girl downstairs?" "What's her itch?" "She thinks she spotted their third spy night before last." "Says she saw him in Kansas... in the company of a young deaf-mute male." "I don't know, but this deaf-mute sure sounds like the one on their...." "What?" "What did I do?" "You let me go upstairs without telling me?" "I could pop your neck like a tick." "Maybe I should!" "I tried to tell." "You cut me off." "I hate this thing." "Look at this." "How's that drink, Lloyd?" "lt looks great." "It's all over the wall." "I gotta tell you something, Lloyd." "For a guy who almost turned his cellmate into canapes..." "you've got a yard of guts, you know that?" "Thank you." "Doesn't he, Nadine?" "She says yes." "This guy that the girl with the big hair thinks she saw...." "What's his name?" "Tom Cullen." "Probably doesn't matter much." "Still." "Send out 100 men." "Put Russ Dorr in charge." "Maybe they'll get lucky and stumble across him." "What about Trash?" "What do you want me to do about him?" "Just remember... when he comes in, it's to be quick and painless." "Listen, R.F., is everything all right?" "Fine as fiddlesticks." "Why do you ask?" "Some of the folks are a little bit worried." "I'm a little bit worried myself, to tell you the truth." "That's all." "Everything's fine, Lloyd." "Everything will continue to be fine as long as you remember who's the boss... and who's got the power." "Right?" "Right." "They're coming for you, you know." "The old woman sent them before she died." "Get your ass back in here." "Everything you've made here is falling apart." "They're saying a simple retarded boy outwitted Randall Flagg." "They're saying Judge Farris got away from your men in Idaho." "He's as dead as Judas Iscariot." "They're asking questions about Dayna, too." "It's all slipping through your fingers." "And they're whispering, Randy." "I can see them, leaving their posts in the dead of night." "And your eye can't see them." "And when they come here..." "Stu... and Ralph... and Glen... and...." "When they get here... your time will end, and I'll be watching." "I'll be watching from hell, with your baby in my arms." "Come back in, Nadine." "I'll give you everything you could ever want." "Can you give me Larry again?" "Your seed is cold." "You lie!" "No!" "It doesn't matter." "No backing out now." "I'm staying right here." "Do you hear me?" "Right here." "The fire." "The big fire." "My life for you!" "So why'd you get me out here, Whit?" "Walls have ears?" "So?" "Me and some of the others are cutting loose." "Man, I must be crazy telling you this." "It's all right." "Cutting loose where?" "South America." "Near Rio." "Jenny's been there, and she says it's nice." "Fresh water, fresh fruit, ocean air... and just plain folks." "Ones who want to forget they ever hooked up... with His Infernal Majesty." "So what do you say?" "Me?" "I'm sticking." "Why?" "It's going bad here." "Can't you feel it?" "Maybe." "But he saved me from starving to death." "And that's not even the main thing." "He changed me, you know?" "And he trusted me." "So, yeah, I'm sticking." "Man, you're nuts." "You're probably right." "I thought there'd be whores." "I haven't seen any whores." "The man don't even want you to have a drink." "And dope?" "Forget about it." "I've been thinking." "I might not go back to Vegas at all." "Mexico ain't but 300 miles in that direction." "Mexico ain't but 300 miles in that direction." "What was that?" "Just a deer." "They're all over." "Maybe we should go look." "Go ahead." "Why should I be out there wandering around in the dark... maybe break my leg for that freak in cowboy boots?" "You ought to watch it, Rich." "The man has a way of hearing things..." "and seeing things." "Flagg don't scare me." "Billy, toss me another one." "I gotta sit out here...." "M-O-O-N... that spells "moon."" "Someone ought to call the Utah State Highway Department about this." "Must've been a flash flood." "Damn mess." "Think you can make it, Glen?" "I think so." "What do you think, Kojak?" "Won't any of us do better than that." "Here goes." "Go for it, Professor!" "Shoot that curl!" "All right!" "Come on, guys!" "Look out, boy." "Come on, Stu!" "Piece of cake." "Yeah, maybe." "We were just lucky." "It felt to me like if you put one foot wrong, the whole embankment would go." "This side's not any better." "Okay, so who's first now?" "Okay, so who's first now?" "I'll go." "You guys wait till I'm all the way up." "Be careful." "Piece of cake." "There he goes." "He's all right." "You see." "I told you." "Piece of cake." "Oh, my God!" "Easy." "Easy." "It's not my head." "It's my...." "Just don't move." "My leg." "Just stay calm, Stu." "I'm okay." "Go ahead." "There." "It's done." "That's a good way to kill yourself, Bateman." "Where'd you get the soda?" "Tour bus..." "about a quarter of a mile west of here." "Thanks." "They had beer, too." "But I didn't want you taking these with alcohol." "I brought them with me for my arthritis." "Down the hatch." "Ralph and I will go next time, Glen." "Stay here with Stu and rest up." "Go where?" "We've got to make you a stretcher." "Get you out of here." "Hole up someplace." "Green River would be best." "No, Larry." "I'm not going." "What are you talking about?" "I'm saying no." "No trip to Green River." "No stretcher." "It's against the rules of the game." "This is no game, Stu." "Stu's right, Larry." "Mother Abagail said one of us would fall by the way." "What does that mean?" "What are you saying?" "You're a college professor, for God's sakes." "Not anymore." "In case you hadn't noticed, school is out." "I thought he was your friend!" "Of course he's my friend." "But that doesn't matter now." "It's God's plan." "Shut up about God." "I'm sick of hearing about God." "This whole trip was based on the idea... that Mother Abagail knew what she was talking about." "That's right." "It's not right!" "This isn't God's will or God's plan." "It's a washout and you've got a broken leg, Stu!" "I'm not gonna leave you here." "Larry, listen." "What?" "Listen." "When we came on this trip, we put our lives... in the hands of Mother Abagail's God." "Now that hasn't changed." "If he wants me to eat, he'll send food." "If he wants me to drink... he'll send rain." "That's his business." "Yours is to go against Flagg." "Now, you got to do that." "You got to go without me." "Do you know how crazy that sounds?" "Do you know how totally damn crazy that sounds?" "Thanks." "More than three or four would probably be fatal." "Do you know that?" "Yeah." "I suppose so." "Goodbye, Stu." "It's been good knowing you." "If we ever get back this way...." "If you do." "In the meantime, let's just leave it at "so long." Okay?" "Kojak!" "Come on, boy." "Go on, boy." "You better come back and get him." "Mother also used to say, "All things serve the will of God."" "Maybe that goes for big, dumb dogs, too." "Take good care of him, East Texas!" "Good dog, Kojak." "That's a good boy." "You want this?" "I guess it's about that time, isn't it?" "I'm getting worse, boy." "Looks like I'm gonna die of the flu after all." "That's pretty funny when you think about it." "Here, boy." "You go on." "I lost my appetite." "Go on." "I miss you, Frannie." "I miss you." "So." "Here it is." ""l will fear no evil."" "Let's go!" "Hold your fire." "Flagg wants them taken alive." "Halt!" "Right where you are." "Halt, he said." "How're you doing?" "Where's Stuart Redman?" "He met with a slight accident on the way here, Mr...." "He's Paul Burlson, my first deputy." "I'm Barry Dorgan, Chief of Vegas Security." "What kind of an accident?" "He stubbed his toe." "Mr. Drogan, Chief Dragon, Capt. Droogan, whatever you want to call yourself..." "Mr. Drogan, Chief Dragon, Capt. Droogan, whatever you want to call yourself... why don't we get on with this?" "All right." "By virtue of the power vested in me, smart-ass..." "you're under arrest." "ln whose name?" "You know who I speak for." "Then why don't you say it?" "Or I'll say it for you." "He calls himself Randall Flagg... but who he really is, is an apostate of hell." "You got that on your little clipboard there, Mr. Burlson?" "I wonder if you men might give me your Social Security numbers." "All right, I want them split up." "Take laughing boy and the old man and put them in the back of my car." "Take Farmer John, put him in the back of yours, Ace." "Come on!" "Relax." "You don't need those." "That's why we came here." "We've got a message for your little tin god." "Tin god?" "Man, that's funny." "I spent 22 years on the Santa Monica PD." "I know what happens when guys like you end up running the show." "We haven't got a single addict in Vegas." "Can your people say the same?" "Even a man of your apparently limited intelligence... should be able to see that your experiences... with a few battered babies and drug abusers... doesn't justify your embrace of a monster." "That's great." "Very good." "You get the Rodney King Humanitarian Award for the day." "It's almost over for them now, Larry." "Can you feel it?" "I can feel it." "Never mind the cuffs." "Just get them in the cars." "Now." "Move!" "You're quite a piece of work, Mr. Cockroach." "We could take a lesson from you... especially in light of recent events." "I have an idea that I'll be gone... come this time tomorrow... but you'll still be trucking, won't you?" "Running your little roach errands." "It's a wrap on the roach." "Randall Flagg." "And not half the bogeyman we expected." "I'd like you to meet my associate, Mr. Lloyd Henreid." "Lloyd, meet Mr. Glen Bateman." "Pleased to meet you." "How's that arthritis, Glen?" "May I call you Glen?" "It looks painful." "I could fix that." "Would you like me to?" "No more swollen, screaming joints for the rest of your life." "All you have to do is ask." "What a deal." "Just ask." "Ask me to relieve your pain." "It's not so bad, really." "As for the rest of my life, how long might that be, anyway?" "Six hours?" "Twelve?" "Actually, I've decided to let you go." "Really?" "Marvelous." "Of course, I couldn't go without my friends." "Of course not." "No, you'll all go together." "Tomorrow morning." "Tonight, if you prefer." "Once again, all you have to do is ask." "Only, for a favor of this magnitude..." "I really think you ought to do it on your knees." "Stop it." "Stop laughing at me." "Sorry." "It's just that we made such a business of you... and it turns out you're nothing more than another cockroach... scurrying around, running little roach errands." "Shoot him." "What?" "You heard me." "Shoot him, you idiot!" "He's an old man." "Can't you do anything right?" "He's standing right in front of you!" "If you really feel you must shoot somebody..." "I suggest Flagg." "His world is crumbling, and we both know it." "I think we also both know he can do a lot of damage on his way down." "You could change that." "Shoot one of us, anyway." "I'm the one who got you out of jail when you were starving." "It was guys like him who put you in... and let the superflu loose in the first place, for that matter." "But you choose, Lloyd." "He lies, Mr. Henreid." "You know that, don't you?" "He told me more truth than anyone else in my whole lousy life." "It's all right, Mr. Henreid... you don't know any better." "Shut up, you mouthy old bastard!" "Think they just...." "Yeah, I do." ""Our Father, who art in heaven..." ""hallowed be thy name." ""Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth...."" ""Behold, a pale horse..." ""and him who rode upon it was Death."" "You must see what's coming, Stuart... and take back such news as will never be forgotten." "Now wake up." "Wake up!" "I can't." "I can't, Mother." "I got to get up there." "Stu!" "Take my hand." "Take hold of my hand." "Tommy?" "My leg." "How...." "I was way east of here and Nick told me I had to double back." "He can talk in my dreams, Stu." "Isn't that the limit?" "He can talk in my dreams, Stu." "Isn't that the limit?" "Yeah, Tommy, that's the limit." "Are you sick?" "Boy, you sound sick." "Laws, yes." "It's the flu, Tommy." "Ain't that a bitch?" "I got to get you inside somewhere." "No, not yet." "Why not, Stu?" "I don't know... but I think we're gonna find out soon, though." "We'll just wait here." "So why did you have to kill Glen?" "He tried to escape." "You know... one of these days you're gonna get shot trying to escape, Dorgan." "You, too, Ratty." "Yep." "One less Rat Man in the world." "Shut up that honky voodoo!" "Don't be an ass!" "What is that?" "You gonna see soon enough." "Kill!" "Move on!" "Get out, gray meat." "Disco is dead!" "Kill them!" "Kill them both!" "Hadn't you better stop them?" "Only Flagg can do that." "Unless he shows, they'll take them if they want them." "Here you go, gray meat." "Play us a little traveling music." "Where you going, you gonna be traveling, I guarantee." "Back off!" "Keep back, damn it." "Keep back." "Move out of the way." "If they move in any closer, blow a few heads off." "Hey, ain't you famous?" "Now I'm famous, too." "Hold on!" "I'm trying." "Tie them up." "Do a good job." "If I can just think about my mother...." "Put the cuffs on!" "Do you think that scares me, Dorgan?" "At this point, a shot in the head looks pretty good to me." "Don't make this harder than it has to be." "You think I could do that?" "Tell me something, Chief." "They teach you this one in Santa Monica PD?" "You propose nothing in the sight of God." ""l will fear no evil."" "Listen to me!" "All of you!" "I don't expect you to stop this... but you better remember what you see here tonight!" "Because the next time it may be your turn to die this way." "Finished, Mr. Underwood?" "You're the one who's finished." "I take that as a yes." ""l, Randall Flagg, do hereby state that these-- "" "Why don't you tell them your real name?" ""...do hereby state that these men are the insurrectionists..." ""responsible for the destruction of our unarmed scout planes at Indian Springs..." ""and for the murder of Carl Hough." ""For these crimes, they are sentenced to death by dismemberment." ""lt is the duty of each of you to witness this punishment. "" "However, those of you with small children are excused." "Take it, Barry." "Hey, you people." "This ain't how Americans act." "We got to stop this." "Whitney." "You should have kept still." "I would have let you go." "Why would I want to keep a jellyfish like you around, anyway?" "Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "my lips are sealed, " doesn 't it, Whitney?" "The fire for you." "The big one for you!" "It's a bomb." "He's got a bomb!" "Get him out of here, Lloyd." "I brought it for you." "For you!" "Get him!" "My life for you." "Trash?" "That you, Lloyd?" "I can't see very well." "My eyes, they're all funny." "It's me, Trashy." "What do you have there?" "The big one." "The fire." "The A-bomb." "The fire for you!" "Listen to me, Trash." "You have to get that away." "It's dangerous." "Come back." "Come back, you cowards." "Shoot him, Lloyd." "Kill the crazy bastard." "The promise has been kept as God has willed it." "Amen." "Larry." "Do you see it?" "The hand of God." "Get it away!" "The fire." "Amazing Grace." "You've done good, boys." "Come on home." "Take us home." ""l saw a pale horse..." ""and a pale rider upon it..." ""and the name of the horse was Pestilence..." ""and the name of the rider was Death."" "What was it, Stu?" "It's the end of Las Vegas." "And the end of Randall Flagg... if God is good." "What about Glen and Larry?" "What about Ralph?" "You ready, Tom?" "Okay." "Please, God, just a little help." "Okay." "Let's give it a try." "Okay." "Hop in." "Come on." "Okay." "Here goes." "Is it gonna be okay, Stu?" "Is it gonna be okay?" "Yeah, I think maybe we just caught us a break." "This'll make you feel better, Stu." "It's peanut butter and jelly." "M-O-O-N, that spells "peanut butter and jelly."" "My momma always made it for me when I was feeling poorly." "Always perked me up." "Please eat, Stu." "You gotta eat." "If you don't eat, you'll die." "I'll be alone, Stu." "You gotta eat for me." "Please, Stu." "Don't die." "Tom." "Is it really you?" "Stu said you were dead." "Stu's very sick, you know." "I know." "He's got the flu." "I tried to feed him like my momma used to... but he wouldn't eat." "I'm scared, Nick." "It's all right." "I know what to do." "Come on, Tom." "This'll make you better." "Laws, yes." "How'd you know to get this stuff, Tommy?" "Nick told me." "In my dreams, he can talk." "Did I ever tell you that?" "Yeah, I think you did." "Tommy, what's wrong?" "I can't remember what Nick looked like anymore." "He was the best friend I ever had." "Gave me a bike." "He was always good to me." "I can't remember him anymore." "I'm so stupid." "I can't remember nothing." "There's a lot of important stuff you didn't forget." "I'm still alive." "I wouldn't be if it wasn't for you." "We really going home, Stu?" "Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz?" "You bet." "We're going home." "This is nuts, you know." "Won't be anybody else in here this winter." "It is winter." "It's early, but it is here." "Now be careful." "lt could be Stu or it could be" "Hell, it could be anybody!" "Who is it there?" "You guys identify yourselves or we're gonna shoot." "It's them!" "Man, I don't believe it." "What happened to your leg, Stu?" "I broke it." "Never mind." "We're frozen." "Let's get in the truck." "Then I want you to take me home to see Frannie." "What?" "Come on." "What's wrong?" "What is it?" "I don't exactly know how to tell you this, Stu...." "What?" "What is it?" "Well, it's the baby." "It's come early, and it's got the flu." "Is this a dream?" "No, darling." "It's no dream." "I can't believe...." "So now I'm just waiting for it to be over." "Then maybe you and I can think about starting all over again." "But George says that there's no way of knowing... if any of the babies are gonna be immune." "Let's not think about that now, Frannie." "I can't help it." "I have this big black hole in the middle of me." "I can't help thinking, what did we all do this for?" "Why?" "You propose nothing in the sight of God." "For now, there's us at least, you know?" "I know." "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you." "How glad all of us are." "Hey, Doc." "The baby's dead, isn't it?" "No." "Quite the opposite." "I believe the crisis has passed." "You mean... she's going to be all right?" "Yes." "I think the baby's going to live." "It was a tough battle... and a lot of the Year One babies may not do as well as this one." "But when both parents are immune... we will see the last of Captain Trips." "It's a miracle." "Yes, indeed." "You've got a beautiful daughter, Fran." "You take good care of her." "I will." "We will." "Hi." "We can come back later" "No." "You're limping." "I hear you're pregnant." "Yeah." "Lucy, Larry...." "No, I know." "I know what happened." "I'm sure that when the end came... they met it on their feet." "That's what they were sent out there to do, wasn't it?" "To stand?" "I reckon it was." "He's gone... but I'll have his baby." "Maybe it's not all I wanted or all I dreamed of having... but it'll have to be enough." "Don't cry." "She's gonna be just fine." "She's so beautiful." "No, I'm not crying for her." "It's all the others, all those empty cradles." "Peek, baby!" "I know, honey, they're looking at the baby." "Ain 't you beautiful?" "Just as gorgeous as dawn in Eden." "Do you think people can change?" "Do you think that's possible?" "I don't know." "I really don't know." "Maybe she does." "English"