"Now I lay me down to sleep," "I pray the Lord my soul to keep." "If I should die before I wake," "I pray the Lord my soul to take." "Before tonight's murder, there has been no clue as to who this killer might be." "But now the Riverton Ripper and the knife he uses have been caught by a high-definition security camera." " Any day, now." " Police say that the killer is a Caucasian male in his mid-to-late 30s." "It's too dark to see his face but the quality of the image has allowed forensic technicians to zoom in and enhance it enough to make out the word "Vengeance"" "etched on the blade of the Ripper's weapon." "No one was in the area at the time..." "That's beautiful, Abel." "And Leah's going to love that house." "Shameless distraction device." "Come to bed." "The news is too scary for me to watch alone." "Okay, Sarah, I'll be up soon." "We consulted local psychiatrist Dr. William Blake." "Oh, shit!" "Here's what he had to say." "The identity of a killer of this sort may well not even be known to himself." "He could be anywhere and anyone leading a normal life, so far as he knows, and never dream for an instant that, every so often, he turns into a monster." "What is this?" "Twenty-one-year-old Penny Anderson, a graduate student at Boston University..." "Somebody!" "...studying for a Ph. D. in psychology." "Help me!" "No!" "The victim's funeral will be held tomorrow at..." "Dear God, tell me this is a dream." "ABEL - What's with the knife, Abel?" "What's with the blood?" "It's really crazy stuff." "It's not my knife, James!" "I don't know what's with it." "I think someone has broken in." "No one has broken in." "Come on, Penny." "Please, Abel." "Blake said it could happen." "A one in a million chance, he said." "What if it did?" "He said to call him, 24/7." "Abel, listen." "Call him now." "You've got to call Dr. Blake." "Please put down the knife." "Call the doctor." "God will help you." "Call Dr. Blake, and I kill your family." "Sorry, sorry, I just need a hug." "That knife is so scary, you know?" "What knife?" "The Ripper's." "They've got it on tape." "Don't do something stupid, Abel." "Here's the deal." "Just look the other way when I kill and your family stays alive." "Turn me in, and you'll live alone in a house of blood." "Hello?" "Abel, this is Dr. Blake." "Is everything okay?" "No, no, no." "Everything is not okay." "I found something." "What did you find?" "A knife." "Under my bench." "And not just any knife." "The one on TV." "The Ripper's knife." "I swear before God, Dr. Blake, I didn't know." "But the second that I went to call you there was somebody, and he said don't call you, or else..." "Or else?" "What?" "Or else he would kill Sarah." "And Leah." "And the others, too." "Abel, I'll be there in 10 minutes." "I want you to tell Sarah to take Leah, and drive to her sister's." "I haven't told her about this part of my life." "But you swore to me you would." "That's part of the agreement." "Just get here before it's too late!" "Abel, have Sarah drive to May's house, with Leah." "May is working nights and Sarah is sound asleep." "I can't just wake her up." "You have to!" "Abel?" "You there?" "Abel?" "No!" "No!" "What the hell are you looking at?" "Break the door down." "I won't let you do this!" "I won't!" "Open the door." "Abel!" "I won't..." "Abel!" "Police, open up!" "Mr. Plenkov, open up." "Abel, open the door!" "Plenkov!" "Open up!" "Kick it in, Bobby." "Get up those stairs now!" "Which room?" "On the right?" "Mr. Plenkov!" "Mr. Plenkov!" "Freeze!" "Shit!" "Bobby, check him!" "Check him!" "Hey, sweetie." "Hey, sweetie, come here." "Come here." "What's your name?" "No pulse, Frank." "What's your name, huh?" "I'll check the woman." "No, no, no, no, look at me." "You're okay, all right?" "You're okay." "Get away from me." "Bobby." "Yeah?" "Get her downstairs." "Hey, sweetheart, here we go." "I got you." "You're going to be fine." "Get in here." "Cover us." "He's dead." "So is Elvis." "You never know." "You have an epi?" "We got it." "The mother is dead, too." "Way dead." "You missed the kid, you fuck." "I'll get them all next time." "Son of a bitch!" "Epinephrine kicks ass!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Let's get the gurney, Gus." "Abel, I'll get you to a hospital." "Abel?" "You piece of shit." "He's not a monster." "What do you call him, then?" "I call him mentally ill." "Thank you for stopping me." "Abel." "Forgive me." "He's talking to you." "Please!" "Would it hurt you to be human?" "Just once?" "We'll let God sort it out." "Thank you." "No, Abel!" "Abel, talk to me." "Abel's not here." "This is for you, you cunt!" "That's for shut the fuck up." "How's Mrs. King doing?" "Baby is two months premature." "Dr. Carrie says he's blind, too." "Seven births in one hour, all premature." "What's going on here?" "Anarchy!" "What else you got?" "We got a cop, Frank Paterson, who took two in the vest." "And?" "And we got a perp." "Go on." "Mid-30s, white male, under constraint and critical." "Took multiple gunshots and stab wounds." "EEG flat." "Oh, and are you ready for this?" "We think he's the Ripper." "What?" "Family guy." "Killed the wife, tried to kill his kid." "You got a name?" "Plenkov." "Abel Plenkov." "May, you copy?" "May?" "He said he'd get them all next time." "What do you think he meant?" "Maybe he was talking about his other personalities." "My family is from Haiti." "And down there they don't say that someone like him has multiple personalities." "What do they say he has?" "Multiple souls." "What's the difference?" "Personalities die when the patient dies." "Souls live on." "It's all just superstition, I suppose." "Could you hand me my jacket, please?" "It's cold as hell in here." "Thanks." "Is this your evidence bag?" "Get that fucker under control!" "Shit!" "Frank!" "I can't believe you fucking guys!" "You're supposed to be watching him!" " You all right?" "You good?" " Fuck you!" " You're all right." "Let me see." " Get out of my way." " Where the hell is Plenkov?" " Let me see!" "Shit." "Fix that!" "Call for backup!" "I got Plenkov!" "Fuck!" "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten," "11, 12!" "The lights out!" "Midnight!" "All right!" "This is it!" "Let the day begin!" "As you all know," "Ripper Day marks two things." "One of them bad, one of them good." "The good part is, it's the birthday of seven of us here born 16 years ago tonight." "Jerome King." "Hey, Jerome." "Alex Dunkelman." "Jay Chan, with a new Ripper puppet tonight." "Bug Hellerman..." "Hellerman?" "It's about time!" "Better late than never, I suppose." "Where you been?" "Sleeping." "It's okay, Bug takes a little longer because he's a little slower, I guess." "Moving on to Penelope Bryte over there, by the ambulance, who, incidentally, knows God." "They speak daily." "And to the beautiful and gorgeous Brittany Cunningham." "And last, but, of course, not least..." "Brandon O'Neil!" "Yes, sir!" "Thank you, thank you, thank you very much." "Pleasure." "Now, it's time for the bad part, people." "We of the Riverton Seven have had to share our birthday with a monster, the serial killer Abel Plenkov, who died at midnight the day we were born." "It's the Ripper." "Legend has it that we, the Riverton Seven, are the mirrors of Abel Plenkov's personalities." "The ones that turned the Ripper in." "And that the Ripper still wants revenge." "So Abel Plenkov is dead, but his ghost isn't." "No, it lurks underneath the old railroad bridge." "You've seen it." "It sleeps in the river." "It roams the darkest corners of the woods just waiting for the next Ripper Day to come around." "Because, on that day, our birthday, tonight, the devil has told him that he can take his revenge." "But he can only come out of the river at this spot." "And every year, since we have been able, one of us Riverton Seven has volunteered to drive him back into the river where he belongs." "And tonight is no exception." "And I, personally, have chosen to volunteer..." " Brandon?" " No!" "...to volunteer Bug Hellerman, that is." "It's your turn, Bug." "All the rest of us have done it." "We will now summon the Ripper from the river." "If he appears yet again, then Bug must slay him, or we'll all die." "Can you do it, Bug?" "Save us!" "Let's call him up!" "If you can hear me, Ripper, make yourself known!" "Make yourself known!" "Make yourself known!" "Make yourself known!" "Make yourself known!" "Make yourself known!" "Fear ye, Ripper!" "Fear ye the Ripper!" "Shut up!" " What did I do?" " Bug is freaking out." "Fear ye the Ripper!" "Oh, my God." "What is that?" "It's coming from the woods." " Whoa!" "Nice, Jay." " Damn right." "Come on, Bug, it's just a puppet." "Knock it over." "Fear ye the Ripper!" "Come on, you can take him, Bug!" "Get in there, you pussy!" "Look at how scared he is!" " Push him over." " Down on your knees, Bug!" "Slay that beastie, Bug." "Damn, that is a big mother." "Bug, come on!" "Get him!" "What are you doing?" "I can't do this!" "But you must, or we'll die!" "Come on, Bug." "Just knock him down!" "That's all you have to do." "This is the police." "Disperse immediately!" "Cops!" "You're in violation of the Riverton midnight curfew!" "Return to your homes immediately or your parents will face prosecution." "Bug, run!" "Police brutality!" "You want brutality?" "I'll show you brutality!" "God damn it!" "Watch the tree, Jerome." "Sorry, Bug, sorry." "You're good?" "He's still alive." "It's okay." "Grab my hand." "I'm blind, Bug." "Not you." "You good?" "Who's this?" "It's not cool." "Why the hell are there cops here?" "Jerome, big log." "Big log." "Get down." "What the fuck was that?" "Why did they stop us?" "Go home!" "Ripper Day has been officially canceled." "Just better sit and wait." "Why so glum, chum?" "I failed." "Because you couldn't kill him?" "Now we're all going to die, and it's my fault." "No!" "That's bullshit Brandon made up." "If he was so worried about it, he should have killed it himself." "That puppet was scary." "Thanks." "And the coat was creepy." "You added some moss and grass and shit, right?" "Yeah, man, he lived under the river for like 16 years." "He's primeval, baby!" "If he rode in an ambulance on the way to the hospital, how did he get the coat and everything?" "In my version, the day after Plenkov supposedly drowned his house was burglarized, right?" "And he took the boots, the coat, his whole outfit." "Why would a burglar just take clothes?" "A burglar wouldn't, Bug." "But Plenkov would, if he was still alive!" "Exactly!" "The Ripper's alive?" "Could be." "I thought you said he was just a ghost." "No, he's dead." "No." "Not necessarily." "They never found his body." "And nobody really knew him or his wife very well." "They were new to Riverton." "Yeah." "And, Plenkov could look completely different after 16 years!" "Like, cosmetic surgery, hair transplants, Weight Watchers." "And he could have changed his name." "Snuck back into Riverton to get his revenge this year." "He could be Principal Pratt!" "Shut the fuck up!" "I got to get home, guys." "Wait, are you guys set for tomorrow?" " For what?" " The buzzard thing or whatever." "Condor." "Yeah, we made a sock puppet." "A sock puppet?" "You'll put your class to sleep!" "A good show-and-tell needs shock-and-awe!" "It's my fault." "I was too scared about tonight to think about it." "Listen, Bug." "I'm scared of the Ripper, too." "You are?" "I got to cross that bridge twice a day." "I do what my grandma taught me." "Spit in the river, and he won't come after me." "That works?" "Yeah, for 16 years." "See you, guys!" "See you." "I got to go." "We should go, too." "Quint is going to kill me if he catches me out this late." "I don't know about this new curfew." "We should've let them kill him first." "Kill who?" "Plenkov." "The Ripper." "Very creative." "That's why every kid in Riverton has Ripper nightmares and the adults have memorial services." "It's time to move on!" "Leave the past behind." "Come on." "Let's get out of here." "I'm glad they're getting rid of it." "Rid of what?" "That damn ambulance." "Pratt, the new principal at the high school convinced the chamber of commerce it was bad for tourism." "What?" "No, no, no!" "It's a memorial." "That's why it's still here." "Tourism, Bob." "Tourism is where everything is going." ""Let's go to Riverton, honey," ""where that crazy fucker killed seven people and his wife."" "Not." "What the hell?" "Fear ye the Ripper!" "I spit in the river!" "I spit in the river!" "Bug!" "Alex!" "No!" "Please, no!" "What just happened?" "You better be in bed." "I'll kick your punk ass if you ain't!" "If you fuck with me, you'll be sorry!" "Shithead!" "Fear ye the Ripper." "The California Condors are magnificent birds." "They can fly 15,000 feet high, cruise at 55 miles per hour and cover 150 miles in a single day." "And they're so big, they're often mistaken for small airplanes on radar." "I mean..." "I mean, they're huge." "That's amazing." "You're listening to The Birding Hour, and the guest tonight is Dr. Richard Cooper, national expert on the California Condor and author of the bestselling book, Keeper of the Souls." "Please, Dr. Cooper, this is fascinating." "Tell us some more." "They've been pulled back from the brink of extinction a bit." "They're hanging in there." "The California Condor has always captured the imagination." "A Native American medicine man once said," ""It's true that the condor literally eats death." ""But the great bird is not sickened by this." ""No, it has a secret." ""It keeps the souls of all the fallen creatures it consumes." ""And they are its treasure and its protection." ""And with each soul it takes in and shelters it grows larger and wiser." ""Too large and wise to ever succumb to death itself."" "Well, we all know that the California Condor was near extinction." "It's so nice to hear that they have a fighting chance now." "Oh, they are surviving with the help of some terrific people." "And they have some very interesting ways of defending themselves, too." "Really?" "Could you share some of those?" "Not on the radio." "And please watch over the missionaries, our soldiers in foreign lands, the President, Mom and Dad, and especially the seven of us, this day." "Is this the year?" "It feels like it." "I know you can't tell me, but please keep Bug safe." "In Jesus' name, amen." "Penelope!" "It's getting late." "I'm coming!" "It's getting late." "Thank you." "Message received." "Crows, 10." "Snot-nosed kids, zip." "Hey!" "Ass-wipe!" "Get your little butt to school before I put my boot up it!" "Let's go!" "Now!" "Can you step back a little bit, Quint?" "What's the matter?" "Don't you trust me?" "Of course I trust you." "Don't trust anyone, you dumb shit." "Thanks, Quint." "Felt good." "Anytime!" "I know you want me, Brittany." "Speaking." "I've got today's assignment, Brandon." "Got paper and pen?" "Of course I do." "Bug Hellerman, three." "Bug?" "Alex Dunkelman, eight." "I need it done this morning." "Alex gets an eight?" "You have a problem with that?" "No, it's just that it's pretty high on Fang's punitive scale." "Usually, giving an eight to the son of a felon comes with a bonus, is all." "Don't say something stupid, Brandon." "Nothing big." "A blowjob would do." "How about I have my dog bite it off and bury it in my backyard?" "How big is your backyard?" "Good morning, Riverton." "It's hour 7 of Ripper Day 16." "And we're talking with Betty O'Neil, mother of Riverton star quarterback, Brandon O'Neil and head of the group, Citizens for a Saner Riverton." "Mrs. O'Neil, why ban Ripper Day?" "It's just kids having fun, isn't it?" "No, it's not kids having fun." "It's kids having nightmares, seeing the Ripper everywhere." "Kids..." "Jumpy this morning, aren't we?" "Where is the sock puppet?" "Where did you come from?" "Your window, where else?" "Is Brandon damaged, do you think?" "Of course Brandon isn't..." "What the fuck is that?" "Sock puppet." "On steroids?" "Kind of." "Kind of?" "Only you wear it this time." "What?" "Excuse me?" "Like Jay said, "Shock and awe."" "Thought Edgar was a home crow." "Raven." "He's a guard." "He watches over you, you know?" "You're still spooked by last night, right?" "We were all watching the river and he came from the woods." "That's scary." "Now, that's Jay's whole thing." "Never do what they expect." "And now we got Edgar up there to keep him away." "So..." "You can have him if you want, after tonight." "Edgar." "Seriously?" "Yeah." "It's your birthday." "Well, thanks." "I should get you a present." "How about a weekend in Las Vegas with Brittany Cunningham?" "Brittany doesn't know I'm alive." "She's gonna, after two days and two nights of star-studded shows and high-stakes gambling." "Oh, yeah." "Or I could just help you with that." "Yeah, that's just as good." "It's heavy." "It's all the fluids." "Fluids?" "The Lord is my shepherd." "I shall not want." "He leadeth me beside the still waters." "He restoreth my soul." "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," "I will fear no evil, for thou art with me." "Thou anointest my head with oil." "My cup runneth over." "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me through all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." "Amen." "I know you're there, Lord." "And I know you're here." " Hello?" " You like it?" "Yeah, it's great." "Thanks, Mom." "I scotch-taped your number to it." "And mine, and 9-1-1." "Happy birthday, Bug." "I love you." "Love you, too." "How do..." "Do I close it?" "Hit the red button." "Boom, done." "Small!" "That bad?" "No, that's good." "Jerome." "Uh-oh." "Get, Dunkelman." "Catch you later, Jerome." "What did I do now?" "See you, Jerome." "It's what you're not going to do, which is hang out with them." "Why not?" "It's bad luck, is "why not."" "Especially on Ripper Day." "You should totally come some year, Fang." "It was wild!" "Like, Brandon set Bug up to fight the monster, which was huge, by the way." "And Bug, he was so scared." "Brandon didn't set Bug up." "I did." "Do you know how to steam open an envelope so it doesn't show?" "Put it in the freezer for an hour." "It opens itself and reseals perfectly." "This is to Bug." "Oh, really?" "Here they come." "Hold up, boys." "What do you got there?" "Happy birthday, insect." "Clueless as usual." "Go." "Mr. Kaiser, sixth period biology." "It'll be there." "Thanks, Jose." "So, you want to come over tonight?" "We could burn the house down with my stepfather in it." "Ha, ha, ha!" "He give you anything for your birthday?" "Yeah, a hematoma." "Made it himself, too." "Oh!" "Behold, Bug, what light in yonder window breaks." "She is so beautiful." "She's hot for you, too." "You should go over there and talk to her." "Excuse me, Officer Ramirez." "Maria told me you know all about baseball." "Mmm-hmm." "Uh-oh." "What do you want to know?" "Distraction maneuver." "Run!" "Bug." "This is a three." "Dunkelman, this is an eight." "That's the way the cookie crumbles." "Dunkelman, stay away from the Fang Zone." "And you, you stay away from him." "Thanks, Brandon." "Felt good." "Ass-wipe." "Not as good as your mother felt last night, though." "Just bought yourself a 20." "Brandon O'Neil." "Do not bring the wrath of Jehovah down upon you." "Your sins are already a stench in the nostrils of an angry God." "Like knocking up Melanie Pratt, who's only 15 and the principal's daughter." "What?" "Melanie's pregnant?" "She's in my prayer group." "Duh!" "What men will do to you in prison is nothing compared to what demons will do to you in Hell." "On beds of fire." "Through all eternity." "I'm going to get you for this, Penelope." "If you do, God will get you, Brandon, and it won't be pretty." "When you least expect it, Dunkelman." "Hi, Bug!" "Hi." "Happy birthday!" "Thanks, Penelope." "Same to you." "Did you get my note?" "Note?" "I left it in your mailbox." "No." "It doesn't matter." "What?" "Pray for our souls, Bug." "He's coming." "Jesus?" "We should be so lucky." "Don't forget me." "Rise up and gird your loins, Alex." "The end is near." "Why is Penelope always saying weird stuff like that?" "Parallel universe, baby." "I don't understand her, sometimes." "I mean, the way she said that." "Pray for our souls, Bug." "He's coming." "What if she meant the Ripper?" "I'm scared." "We're 16, Bug." "Like it or not, we're men now." "I don't feel like a man." "No man does." "That's why you got to fake it." "Fake being a man to be a man?" "That's the way it works." "So, you can't run." "You have to face your fear like a man." "Even though I'm not a man?" "Because you're not a man." "Listen, the better you fake it, the better man you are." "Just fake it?" "Well, fake it good." "Like, if you're scared, act like you don't give a shit." "Or if somebody hurts you, say, "Thank you very much." "That felt wonderful."" "Thanks, Brandon." "I can't raise my arm." "Feels good." "Yeah, there you go." "That all you got, Brandon?" "I mean, I feel downright cheated." "I'm amazed that you're getting this so quick." "It's tricky stuff." "I was faking that I did." "You were?" "Completely." "Yeah, but you were faking it good." "I was?" "Abso-fucking-lutely." "You now have permission to shave." "As you know, class, we're nearing the end of our reports on living creatures." "Dogs, fish, honeybees." "We had an especially nice one from Brittany Cunningham last session on the butterflies of our state." "Today's presentation will be by Adam Hellerman and Alex Dunkelman." "Are you boys ready?" " Boys?" " Bug, come on." "While we're young." "Get up!" "I believe this is yours." ""Back from the Brink." By Adam Hellerman and Alex Dunkelman." "Dumbfuckelman." "Brandon." "Our subject today is about a bird." "You having another one of your migraines, Adam?" "Shock and awe!" "Adam!" "Our subject today is the largest bird in North America." "Unchanged since the Pleistocene Epoch and only recently rescued from extinction." "I present to you" "Gymnogyps californianus." "Anus." "Brandon, second warning." "The California Condor." "Good Lord." "Are you ready?" "Fly, now!" "His wingspan is 10 feet wide." "His body, more than four feet high." "He can weigh as much as 350 parrots." "As for soaring, he can glide effortlessly for days until he finds his food, which is carrion." "A dead, stinking body crawling with maggots is ice-cream to him." "Bug." "Just showmanship, Mr. Kaiser." "The facts are correct." "A California Condor can consume the carcass of a cow in one day." "Bullshit." "And if anyone tries to harm it, if anyone even so much as touches one of its feathers, just one..." "What are you going to do?" "Going to bite me, asshole?" "Uh-uh." "The bird will vomit copiously on its tormentor." "And if that doesn't work, the great bird has another defense, too." "Bottle two, Alex!" "What the hell is that?" "And that is why no one should ever screw with the California Condor." "Thank you, Brandon." "That felt so good." "Alex and I would like to thank you all for your kind attention." "Hall pass." "Go!" "That was so wrong!" "Didn't mean to scare you." "You okay?" "Yeah." "Bug, that was amazing." "Oh, my God, that suit was genius." "I felt like Mothra." "How'd you come up with that?" "I don't know." "Have a good puke?" "Couldn't." "Try the finger thing?" "Nothing." "Bummer." "We should get out of here." "Brandon's really mad now, I guess." "You don't know the half of it." "Brandon is way past mad." "He's been humiliated twice in two hours in front of Brittany." "He's approaching nuclear." "But he's not the one we got to worry about." "He's not?" "No, it's Fang." "Brandon only does what she tells him to do." "The fish stinks from the head." "Why would Fang want to hurt us?" "You?" "I don't know." "Me, I got caught outside the girls' bathroom between 2:00 and 2:30." "That's when Fang and her crew talk business." "Anybody caught in the Fang Zone during that half hour is treated like a spy." "Just because you were out there doesn't mean you were spying." "I was spying." "There's a revolution going on here." "Fang must fall!" "Fang, fall?" "Like the mob." "We need to get something on her so incriminating that she has to leave us common folk alone." "If only we had some sort of listening device." "Hello?" "Condor?" "Crow." "Fang and her crew arrive in the bathroom in three minutes." "Everyone else clears out five before." "That means we have a window of two minutes, starting now." "Window?" "To get your phone in there." "In the girls' bathroom?" "I'm sure Brittany is going to be there, as well, talking about you." "We could gather that kind of intelligence, also." "Talking about me?" "Yeah, yeah." "You amazed her back there in biology, Bug." "She saw a new man standing there, fascinated, powerful, daring." "Get your phone in there." "You're going to hear it with your own ears." "But now, you only got a minute, 45." "What if there's somebody in there?" "No, no." "I got that covered." "I'm sorry." "Sorry, sorry." "Wrong bathroom, Jerome!" "Yours is down the hall, around the corner." "Did I scare anyone else?" "No one else is in there, but it's a Fang Zone in 30 seconds." " Let's go!" "Come on, hurry up." " I am!" "Clear." "Can you hear me?" "Ten seconds!" "Go!" "Come on, come on, come on." "Brittany, window, Chandelle, door, Maria, you've got five." "Go." "The sophomores have paid another year's protection for their bikes." "And the answers to next week's organic chemistry test are selling briskly." "Bottom line, $2,000 in the bank." "We got her." "Good numbers." "Speaking of numbers, apparently this morning there was a problem with Brandon giving the punitives?" "A three and an eight, I believe." "The numbers were administered properly and on schedule, however, before Brandon could leave the area," "Penelope Bryte came out of nowhere and told him he was going to hell." "Brandon would enjoy hell." "Kick some ass, take names." "There something you're not telling me?" "Well, Maria's dad was there." "I thought I told you to distract him with the baseball stuff." "I did, but Penelope's yelling got your father looking straight at us." "Maybe Penelope needs a 10." "A 10?" "A 10?" "What's her story, anyway?" "She's obsessed with Bug." "Girls find him attractive." "Do you?" "What?" "Find Bug attractive." "No, of course not." "Sorry." "He's a lunatic, Brittany." "A brain-bomb waiting to go off." "His only real friend is Dunkelman, and Dunkelman just uses him as his monkey." "He's been in and out institutions half his life." "Bug has killed people." "Killed people?" "Monkey?" "Wake up and smell the Starbucks." "You're right." "He's pathetic." "Brandon's the one for you, Brit." "He's a diamond." "In the rough, I'll admit but a diamond just the same." "By comparison, Bug is a lump of coal." "Trust me on this." "Okay?" "Okay, Fang." "Good girl." "Bug, don't run away." "Stop it." "Bug, say, "Thanks, Fang, that felt great."" "I'd be lying." "That's the point." "Thanks, Fang." "That felt great." "That felt fucking great." "That's a bad word." "Be bad." "It makes things good." "Everything's backwards with you." "Just fake you're bad." "Thanks, Fang." "That felt fucking great." "That felt fucking great." "Good." "But you do have to do one more thing." "I can't handle another fucking thing, okay?" "You've got to get your phone back." "Are you fucking kidding me?" "I'm not fucking kidding you." "They're going to find it, they're going to trace it they're going to call your mom." "She's going to have to come in and get humiliated by Principal Pratt." "No fucking way!" "Way." "And enough with the "fucks" now." "You say "fuck."" "You're not me, okay?" "You're not me, okay?" "Stop it." "Stop it." "Bug?" "Bug?" "Bug." "Bug." "Boo!" "Cut it out." "Cut it out." "Bug." "Bug!" "Bug." "Bug!" "Bug!" "Bug!" "What just happened?" "Nothing." "Do you think I'm a monkey, Alex?" "Have you killed people, Bug?" "Not that I can remember." "Well, I can't remember buying you bananas either." "I'll be right back." "Keep it down in there." "Bug?" "Where are you?" "What's taking you so long?" "Bug?" "Bug, someone's coming." "Alex, what are you doing here?" "Hi, Brittany." "Brittany, why are you going back into the bathroom?" " I forgot my purse." " None of your business." "Incoming!" "Hello?" "Please say this is a nightmare." "Please say this is a nightmare." "Anyone in there?" "Hello?" "Who locked this?" "He probably just fell in." "Accidents happen." "If Jeanne-Baptiste is down there, we're not talking accident." "I could fucking feel it coming." "Yeah." "You couldn't feel shit." "No, I could." "Give me a minute, all right?" " Hey, Frank." " Hey." "He's been dead at least 12 hours." "What the hell hit him, Jeanne?" "Two miles of this, for starters." "Any knife wounds?" "Nothing obvious." "Could take an autopsy to know for sure." "Come on." "What?" "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?" "What are you thinking?" "Probably there was alcohol last night." "Might have gotten tipsy on his way home." " Kid's in my 12-step." " Sorry." "Well, we'll know quick enough." "The autopsy will tell us if there's any alcohol levels in the blood or any water in the lungs." "And I'll check for a knife wound." "I will." "Sixteenth anniversary." "One and six is seven." "We didn't let them kill him last night, first time." "And it was Bug's turn." "It's kind of funny." "I get scientific in 16 years and you go voodoo on me." "What did your grandmother say?" "What?" "Did she tell you not to worry if somebody you thought was dead just might come back alive?" "If he was evil enough?" "Call me when you know something, yeah?" "Okay." "Connecticut Condor?" "Turkey Vulture." "You find Jay?" "No, weird." "He always answers." "I saw him." "Where?" "In the boys' bathroom mirror." "He was in the river, I think." "He tried to say something, but..." "Bug, it's best not to think about your nightmares today." "It wasn't a nightmare." "Whatever it was." "Look, all seven of us are on edge today." "Seeing the Ripper in all sorts of weird places." "It's like Brandon said, the way the cookie crumbles." "For us." "Just for today." "You're a condor." "You eat death for breakfast, remember that." "Where you going?" "Call me after Pratt." "Pervert." "I'm sorry I screamed." "I don't blame you." "You should get out more, Bug." "Shop." "It's what I do when I'm scared." "You're scared?" "Angry, is what I meant to say." "Stay safe." "Don't let the Ripper get you." "Payback time!" "Think twice, jockstrap!" "You know what Fang would do if she knew you were moonlighting." "Yeah, well, nobody's looking." "But somebody's listening, Sasquatch." "Think about it." "I tell Chandelle, she tells Fang." "We all know how Fang doesn't like you off your little leash." "She'll mark you." "Put you in the river with concrete flippers." "That's actually just peachy, you know." "I'll let Ripper get you two." "You know, Bug, a lot of people have seen him already today." "It's not even dark." "Must be scary living in a house with no father to protect you." "You know, I bet if you look up "rectum" in the dictionary they would have a picture of Brandon there." "You don't know fear, Bug." "You puked on Brandon O'Neil." "You're a hero of the revolution." "Hey, Penelope." "Hey, Jerome." "What was it this time?" "You're wearing those squeaky shoes again." "You can really hear that?" "Got to go." "See you." "See you." "Hey." "Hey." "So, I heard you're seeing Principal Pratt?" "In 15 minutes." "They called my mom at work." "I'm doomed." "We're all doomed, Bug." "It's the human condition." "The next life's the thing to focus on." "It's Melanie Pratt." "She wants me to pray with her." "You want to come?" "I'll be with Father Pratt." "Right." "Well, God hears you, wherever you are." "If things get too hot, just turn on the prayer-conditioning." "Bug, it's best not to think about your nightmares today." "I've got to cross that bridge twice a day." "Shop." "That's what I do when I'm scared." "You don't know what fear is, Bug." "You puked in Brandon O'Neil's face." "I mean, you're a hero of the revolution." "Must be pretty scary sleeping in a house" " no father to protect you." " Cops!" "If things get too hot, just turn up the prayer-conditioning." "Fear ye the Ripper!" "Lord, this is a sin not of hate but of love." "So please remember, you put the apple and the happy little snake together in one small garden, so, you know things can happen now and then." "And just wrap your arms around Melanie and let her know that, no matter what, you're there for her and love her to pieces." "Amen." "Thanks, Penelope." "Now you." "I'm so ashamed." "Don't be." "It's a baby, not a bomb." "Lord, it might as well be a bomb." "I mean, I feel so guilty." "But you know how Brandon is." ""Please, please, pretty please."" "But I still should have said no." "He said it would make me feel special." "It hasn't." "It's made me feel fat and stupid." "My father will be the laughingstock." "My mother will probably die." "My little sister Amy, she'll join a cult or something." "Who is that?" "Melanie!" "Melanie, run!" "Melanie?" "Die now." "If I should die before I wake..." "Adam?" "...I pray the Lord our souls to take." "Adam?" "Adam, Principal Pratt asked you a question." "The end is near." "Did you know your daughter's pregnant?" "What?" "She's in my prayer group." "Duh." "Bug!" "I'm sorry." "I'm not myself, Mom." "Mr. Pratt, what was the question?" "It's not important." "You can go now, Adam." "And take your creature with you." "Your mom and I are going to chat for a while." "We'll speak at home, Bug." "Straight home." "All right." "I'm so sorry." "I don't think he got much sleep last night." "Yes, Ripper Night." "It's an outrage that it's lasted this long." "And for a sensitive child like Adam, it can be especially dangerous." "I was checking Adam's file and it's remarkable, not so much for what's in it, but for what's not." "Pardon?" "I've been a principal here for six months and I can find no medical files for him, except his vaccination records, of course, which are the one thing he absolutely must have in order to attend school here." "Bug has no medical issues, really." "If he did, we'd have no way of knowing, would we?" "I'm his mother, I would." "Well, that's right." "You're a nurse at Riverton Community." "Head Nurse, OBIGYN." "Uh-huh." "Are Adam's records there?" "Adam has never been hospitalized." "Has Adam ever been tested?" "Neurologically, I mean." "Neurologically?" "Why would he be?" "Well, since I've been principal here, he's awakened twice in study hall screaming." "He's got chronic migraines." "He's claustrophobic." "Claustrophobic?" "Last year," "I was told, a friend put him in an empty locker just for fun and he was so hysterical he had to be sent home." "Brandon O'Neil is no friend." "He's a bully who never gets more than slap on the wrist." "I'm talking about Adam here, Ms. Hellerman." "He has serious issues." "And today he terrorized a classroom with this monstrous bird that he built." "It vomited on them." "And worse, he's obsessed with this California buzzard." "Not a hummingbird, not a robin, not an American eagle, but a bird that eats dead things." "California Condor." "Whatever." "It eats dead things." "Native Americans considered it sacred." "It cleans the earth to make room for new life." "Maybe they understood something we don't." "I want you to listen to me very carefully." "Tomorrow, I am sending Adam for psychological testing to a state facility in Boston." "You what?" "For Adam's safety and the safety of the normal students in this school." "It is my responsibility, and it is my legal right to do so." "Brandon's the one for you, Brit." "He's a diamond." "A diamond in the rough, I admit, but a diamond just the same." "Compared to him, Bug's a lump of coal." "I know." "Church in two hours." "I'll be there." "I'll be home in two shakes." "Bye." "Hey, Brittany!" "Training for the marathon, Brandon?" "Yeah." "You know, I got to keep in shape." "You're in great shape." "You got time for that oral?" "You're like a crotch dog." "You know, the kind that stick their nose in your crotch when you're not looking?" "It's like a handshake, really." "My father had a crotch dog." "Mom had it put out of its misery." "Misery is what I'm talking about." "Come on, Brittany, I went the extra mile for you today." "I could've gotten expelled for that eight." "Plus, I got shit on twice." "Once by a Jesus freak, once by a fucking buzzard." "Condor." "It's just got me tense." "Start a hobby." "This is my hobby." "Besides, it's my birthday." "It's all of our birthdays." "I know, but I need it." "And I want it." "It should make you feel special." "Come on." "Fang thinks we're a good match." "Fang doesn't run my private life." "Does she know that?" "Because I could bring her up to speed." "You threatening me?" "I'm begging you." "In the woods." "You hate the woods." "It's spring." "I'm feeling romantic." "Count to 60." "You tricking me?" "I got a temper." "You're not the only one." "Sixty seconds." "Fifty." "Forty-two." "Thirty." "Fifteen." "Three." "Hey, Brittany!" "Hey, you fucking bitch!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Wait!" "Hey, Brittany!" "Where did you go?" "Brittany!" "Brittany!" "Penelope?" "Penelope." "Now you're going to get it." " Hello?" " Just because she embarrassed you in front of me, you killed her?" "You are going to burn in hell." "What?" "Better start running the other way, Brandon." "I've called the police." "What?" "No, no." "Brittany, Brittany." "Don't!" "Don't!" "Brittany, Brittany, Brittany!" "Please don't get me arrested, all right?" "I knocked up Principal Pratt's daughter." "He'll have me murdered in my cell." "Hey, do you understand what I'm saying?" "Brittany, look, I know you're there." "I can hear you walking." "Just..." "I understand that you don't want to talk." "I probably disgust you." "It's okay, I disgust myself, sometimes." "I know I'm a pig." "I can't help it." "No!" "Pigs are nicer." "Actually, I'm just what you said." "I'm a fucking crotch dog." "I'm sorry." "It's too late to be sorry." "Who is this?" "Someone from your past." "You wouldn't remember." "Put Brittany on, please." "She's not here." "Well, where is she?" "Where you're going to go." "I'm going to go to the church." "No, you're not." "What do you mean, "No, I'm not?"" "Think hotter." "Miami?" "Try hell!" "Anybody you want to say goodbye to?" "My unborn child." "Fuck your fucking unborn child." "Now, where did I leave your bitch?" "What?" "Whose phone?" "Oh, my God." "This is Riverton 9-1-1." "Please hold." "All our circuits are busy." "We will get to your call as soon as we can." "Be home, Bug Hellerman." "Okay, 10:00 a.m., Boston Psychiatric Clinic." "I got to go." "Oh." "Wow!" "I'm sorry I'm so late." "You should be." "Have a seat." "You're too big to spank." "Okay." "Sweater." "Did you fall?" "I was burying a friend." "My condor." "Brandon ruined it." "I gave it a decent burial." "You gave me a start." "Why, you think I killed somebody?" "No, of course not." "Make a wish." "Do you want to know what I wished for?" "No." "I wished that I could take back what I did today and make you proud of me instead." "I was trying to get my phone back, the one you gave me, and unfortunately, I fell into the toilet." "My phone fell into Brittany Cunningham's bag and I didn't have a chance to get it out." "What was your phone doing in the girls' bathroom in the first place?" "We were trying to gather some information about something." "Don't tell me." "You and Alex?" "I wanted to know what Brittany thought of me." "Brittany Cunningham?" "She's a little sophisticated for you, isn't she?" "I like her." "So did you find out what she thinks of you?" "She thinks he's a retard like everyone else." "Do not use that word in this house!" "It's okay." "Just because Leah says mean things, doesn't make them so." "What if they are so?" "What?" "They are." "Watch your nuts, little squirrel." "Leah told Brittany that I had been in institutions." "That I had killed people." "Have I?" "Leah will say anything." "You don't have the most supportive sister in the world." "Who are you calling?" "Your phone." "Mom!" "Come on, Mom." "No, please." "Hey." "Hey." "Penelope Bryte." "Done with a knife, just like the others." "Oh, fuck." "Hey, Frank!" "Keeps going to voicemail." "She's with Brandon." "How did you know that?" "I just do." "Time for presents." "Well, this is a first." "I don't give gifts just to give them, May." "Gifts should mean something." "Happy sweet 16th." "What is it?" "Open it." "I don't understand." "Bug!" "Huh?" "Go to your room, now!" "What did I do?" "Just go!" "What?" "No, leave that thing here." "Leah gave it to me, so I guess it's mine." "How could you?" "Somebody's got to bust his cherry." "I'm sorry to hit you." "But you deserve it." "Your friends are calling, May." "They want you at the church so you can all lie to each other again." "You know?" "How God works in mysterious ways and how everything works out for the good if you just keep repeating the lies." "Like, "The Ripper's dead, he's not coming back."" "Would it kill you to look at things positively just once, Leah?" "You're scared of being human." "You get your friends to do your dirty work." "You're still in high school at 19 because you're too chicken-shit to get on with your life." "You hide behind what should be dead and buried." "Like you hide behind me and Bug?" "And my mother?" "No, I did what I did to save Bug from what you've become." "And because my sister had more heart and courage on any given day than you have had in your whole miserable life!" "Fuck you, May." "Hi." "Fuck you, too!" "Leah." "Thanks, Leah." "That felt good." "Why do you hate me?" "I've never done anything to you." "You've ruined my life!" "That's what you've done, you little shit!" "Why?" "Why?" "I will tell you why, maggot." "From the moment you were born everything went to shit for me!" "You were the miracle baby, and I was the painful reminder!" "You got to live in this dream and I got stuck in a fucking nightmare!" "I am sick to death of your innocence!" "It is an insult to me!" "Why am I innocent?" "You are so clueless, it is stunning!" "Tell me." "Do you know who your father was?" "May said that he loved us very much." "But who was he?" "I don't know." "He died in a car crash." "On the way to the hospital to be with May when she was having you, right?" "Yeah." "What a sad, yet beautiful story." "Have you ever asked yourself why May doesn't ever talk about him?" "Or why there isn't a single fucking picture of him around the house?" "Maybe it's too painful." "Do you know who Abel Plenkov was?" "The Riverton Ripper?" "Besides that?" "No." "Take a look in the mirror, Bug." "Remember how much I loved you, Leah." "Leah, unlock the door for Daddy." "Leah, don't!" "Don't listen to him!" "Get out of my way!" "Now you're going to get it!" "Leah!" "Leah." "Freeze!" "Open the door, you little bitch!" "Get over here." "We got a live fetus." "Open the door for Daddy!" "You did good, Mama." "We'll take good care of your boy." "Leah?" "Go away." "Open the door, Leah." "Do you want to die?" "Get out of my room!" "Fuck!" "There." "We're even." "Where did you get that?" "There's a revolution going on, Fang." "Hi." "Hi." "Hello?" "Is Leah okay?" "Leah's fine." "Are you?" "You look..." "I know you're not my mother." "Bug, I'm so sorry." "I never meant..." "I hope you know something, too." "What?" "That you are my mom." "That one you're stuck with, like it or not." "Fang, you still there?" "Are you still there?" "Are you okay?" "Maria just called." "They found Jay Chan in the river this morning." "No!" "Penelope Bryte near the old ambulance." "Brandon and Brittany in the woods nearby." "I was a total shit to her today, and she's dead." "How can that be?" "You know how that can be, May." "Our father is still alive." "Let's wait to see what really happened." "What's really happening, May, he's killing his way through the Riverton Seven." "He'll get Jerome, and Dunkelman, and then he'll come for us." "No." "We'll go to the church and be with the others." "I'll go to church with you, May." "But this is the last time." "And I'm sorry, but I had to tell him." "I'll get the car and be out front." "Get Bug, okay?" "Bug." "Leah?" "Ready?" "Fuck." "I figured you'd come." "Really?" "Have you heard?" "I've heard." "I've heard a lot." "Oh?" "The Riverton Ripper, Abel Plenkov?" "Yeah?" "He was my father." "That I know." "You do?" "The parents of all the seven know." "I think I'm the only kid." "My mother told me the day she died." "Why didn't anyone tell me?" "Sorry, we thought you were too..." "I don't know." "Innocent?" "I guess." "Well, I'm not anymore." "Yeah." "I can see that." "Who beat you up?" "Fang." "Figures." "Penelope sent me a letter." "A love letter?" "No." "She wrote to warn me that he'd be coming back for us." "My father." "She had a source." "Oh, yeah." "She say anything else?" "She said that there are two ways that he can come from." "One, if he survived 16 years ago, then he'll come back as Abel Plenkov." "Dad." "Option two?" "Option two is he did die and his soul" "went into one of the seven kids who were born the night he died." "Hopped the nearest bus." "In this version, he's one of us killing all the rest." "Attack from the unexpected direction." "Yeah." "There's not many of us left to be unexpected, though." "You, me and Jerome." "Jerome's not a very good candidate." "Mmm-mmm." "So, you or me." "That's option two." "Well, I like option one better." "Makes more sense." "The Ripper who was stabbed and shot had a little fender-bender, ended up in the river, no biggie." "He patched himself up with stuff from the ambulance." "Survives on acorns and crawfish for 16 years." "So he just crawled out of the river in a rotting overcoat to take his revenge." "I'll just call the cops and tell them to keep an eye out for the Unabomber's evil twin." "Or not." "What's that?" "The biggest knife I could find in the kitchen." "Bug..." "What would you say if I told you I was going to kill you, Alex?" "I'd say you weren't." "Why not?" "Because you're my best friend." "You're Bug." "Now you ask me." "You don't think I could kill somebody?" "No." "You'd be wrong, Bug." "Dead wrong." "You killed Penelope and Jay?" "And the others?" "Of course not." "I killed my stepfather." "You killed Quint?" "He was drunk." "He hit me." "For the first time in my life, I hit him back." "Fell down the steps and broke his stupid neck." "Alex, it's okay, okay?" "No, it's not okay!" "What I did..." "It's not okay for everybody to be killing each other all the time!" "You don't want something to drink?" "You got rat poison?" "No, we just ran out of rat poison." "I'm going to go get you water." "What is this?" "Alex, I'll be right..." "Ripper?" "Son of a bitch!" "Drop the knife, Bug." "Now." "Kick it over to me." "I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else." "Get your hands up." "Up." "Walk slow." "Why are you pointing that at me?" "That is far enough." "Why?" "Your phone was found next to Brittany Cunningham's body." "It fell into her purse at school." "That was an accident." "You can ask my mom." "Your mom is why I have to arrest you, Bug." "Mom!" "Easy!" "Stay there." "I was there when they cut you out of your mother, Bug." "You were the one thing that made the whole bloody mess bearable." "A fucking..." "Miracle?" "Yes!" "Something bright in the dark." "And ever since, for all of us that were there, Bug, that's what you've been." "Fuck." "How could you do this?" "I didn't." "Hold out your hands, son." "Where's my sister?" "Why don't you tell me?" "It's time." "They never should've cut you out of your dead mother." "What happened to your wings, angel?" "Fucking piece of shit!" "Where is the knife?" "Shut the fuck up." "Shut up." "Come out, come out, wherever you are." "Eww." "It's not as bad as it looks." "How did you get away?" "I was already in the car." "I came inside just to see where May was, and I found her dead." "I knew that fucker would come for us." "Maybe he's gone." "No, no, no." "Let's go." "I think we should..." "Die!" "Die!" "Die!" "I saved you for last!" "Fuck!" "Leah, call the cops." "Son of a bitch!" "Hey." "Leah, I need you to get the lights on." "Get out of the house, get to the neighbors and call the cops." "You think you can do that for me?" "What are you going to do?" "I'm going to give that fucker a 10." "Make it a 20." "Ripper?" "Shit!" "Jerome!" "Jerome, stop it!" "Jerome!" "Hey, hey!" "Hey!" "Hey." "Jerome." "Jerome." "The Ripper's up here, Bug." "Watch out." "It's okay, Jerome." "He's gone, all right?" "What are you doing here?" "You're supposed to be at the church." "Alex called me." "He said all three of us should be together." "Watch each other's backs." "I was halfway through the window when the Ripper stabbed me." "How did he get up here?" "He must have come up the rope like I did." "I passed out on the roof, and then I came to and I heard fighting." "Was that you?" "Him and me." "Yeah, it was." "He was kicking my ass, too." "I tried calling the cops but I knocked over something, and then I heard him coming for me, so I ducked for the closet." "You saved my life, Jerome." "I did?" "Yeah, he was going to kill me, and then you distracted him." "Good." "Dude, it's going to be okay." "Help is coming, all right?" "You fought the Ripper, Bug." "You're a hero, like I told you." "I'm not a hero, Jerome." "I'm just..." "Jerome?" "Jerome?" "What the fuck happened to you?" "What happened to Jerome?" "He's dead." "The Ripper got him." "A lot's happened since you've been gone, Alex." "Where did you disappear to?" "I saw Paterson pulling up outside." "I ran." "I hid in the woods." "Then I heard gunshots, so I came back." "I was afraid he shot you or something." "Where is he, anyway?" "Downstairs." "He's dead." "What?" "What happened?" "The Ripper happened." "He killed Mom, too." "May?" "I can't believe this." "You went to get me a glass of water and now your mom, Paterson, and Jerome are dead?" "Where were you?" "I ran into Penelope." "Penelope is dead, Bug." "I saw her in the bathroom mirror." "She brought me Ripper's knife, and she made me take it." "Then I heard something downstairs and I went to come check on you, and you were gone." "Paterson wasn't after you." "He was after me." "He thought that I killed Brittany and my Mom." "It was the Ripper." "And where is the Ripper now?" "I guess he got away out my window." "Or went out Leah's." "Hers is open, too." "And he tried to stab me to death with his..." "Stab you with what?" "With his knife." "I thought you had his knife." "I did, but..." "Did you kill them, Bug?" "What?" "No, I..." "I didn't kill anybody." "Not that you remember." "Bug, I got to tell you something." "And don't get upset." "What?" "My mom told me this." "Your father was first diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 16." "Just like you are now." "What are you saying?" "It's hereditary." "Plus, you were in your dead Mom forever." "Oxygen deprivation." "It can make you crazy, too." "Maybe all this stuff you've been describing didn't happen exactly the way you're saying it did." "You think I'm crazy?" "No, I don't know what I think." "But I'm not walking away." "I've stuck by you through everything." "Through nightmares and migraines, hell, puking vultures when everybody else was calling you a ticking time bomb." "So, if you're not innocent anymore, that's okay." "I mean, I killed my stepfather tonight." "I'm no angel, either." "I'm not innocent anymore, Alex." "Not with all of them inside me now." "What?" "With who inside you?" "The rest of the Riverton Seven." "Even Jerome." "All their souls are with me now." "Bug, maybe you should sit down and take a few deep breaths." "You think I'm crazy?" "I'm actually a lot smarter than I was yesterday." "Let me ask you a question." "Why is there blood on your left ear?" "What?" "The top." "Hey!" "Almost like you were hit with a vase or something." "Brandon told me to look for that." "Bug, you are officially bat-shit nuts." "I scraped it climbing up the roof." "Come on, let's get real, here." "Jay says that Ripper's getup was a costume for sure." "Oh, and Brittany has run a timeline." "You would've had enough time to kill Mom and put the knife in the bathroom sink while I was hiding under the bed and Leah was outside in the car." "And if Jerome came through the window when I was in the bathroom getting you water, you would've had time to stab him, and go downstairs and kill Paterson." "You might have tried to kill me, too." " Fuck." " But if you'd heard Jerome upstairs, you would've had to get up there before he called the cops." "I could've killed you off earlier, remember?" "Bug, you've watched one too many Law and Order reruns." "Besides, I'm a little guy." "You could beat me up in, like, 10 seconds." "Unless you had the bad soul in you." "And then you would fight like you were possessed." "Can't fucking believe you." "You're Adam Plenkov!" "The son of a mass murderer!" "Everybody in your house, and all your friends, except me, have been murdered." "If there's a bad soul here, you have it." "And you got it from your father." "Maybe you have been in institutions." "Maybe you have killed people, just in your last life." "But you're too stupid and blind to see that." "Maybe they'll find your Ripper costume buried along with your stupid condor outfit." "And they will come for you with torches." "What?" "I didn't bury any Ripper costume with my condor." "Somebody did." "You son of a..." "Evil doesn't forget betrayal, Plenkov." "You and the other sick Dr. Blake got me and then ran away like cowards." "Jumped into the first babies you could hide in." "So I saved you for last." "And I'll kill you now, or you can say yes to a deal." "What deal?" "Same one I offered your father, 16 years ago today." "Say yes, and you live." "Say no, and I'll cut your throat." "Say yes to what?" "To my happy ending of Riverton's fairytale." "There was no Ripper." "Just one of the Riverton Seven that was a little crazy, dressed up like the Ripper, killed your mom, and Paterson, and four of his birth-mates before we finally stopped him." "One of the Riverton Seven?" "The one of the seven with the bad soul." " The Ripper's soul." " Jerome?" "Great twist, huh?" "Everybody will think you were the killer but it turns out the attack came from a totally unexpected direction." "You'd lay all this on Jerome?" "He won't mind." "He's dead." "You and me will be Main-Street heroes helping each other forge a new beginning." "Recovering from our tragic losses." "Friends to the end." "What do you say?" "Deal?" "You're pathetic." "I don't even think you're Alex." "I don't know who you are." "I'm the one that's going to kill you if you don't say yes." "And then I'll say you did it." "And I'll be the hero all by myself." "Leah saw the whole fight." "She'll vouch for me." "Leah doesn't live through the night." "That's part of the deal, too." "Whoever or whatever you are, get out of Alex." "And go back to hell, where you came from." "I mean it." "Okay." "But I'll take you with me." "I thought that guy would never leave." "Alex." "Where is the biggest knife in the kitchen?" "Where it needs to be." "Condor?" "Crow." "It's all right, Bug." "Feels great." "Feels fucking great." "Fucking great." "Fly now." "I know you're up there." "And I know we're down here." "Police!" "Police!" "Open the door!" "Open up!" "Open the door!" "Open the door now!" "I am the condor." "The Keeper of the Souls." "I eat death for breakfast." "I live in a house of blood and I accept that." "Break it down!" "That's all a man can do." "I was ready to be arrested that night." "I wasn't ready for what happened instead." "Leah had told them everything, and I was celebrated as a hero." "Don't worry about it, man." "They're on your side." "Alex Dunkelman killed his stepfather, a cop, a mother and five of the Riverton Seven." "Your sister's right over there." "And I alone had stopped him from killing more." "I didn't feel like a hero at all." "But if it makes Riverton feel safe at night," "I'll fake that I'm their hero." "And I'll fake it good." "Alex wouldn't have it any other way."