"THE AFTERMATH" "Pick up anything yet?" "No." "That really concerns me." "Everything checks out as operational." "Nothing's coming in." "It's got to be our malfunction." "Unless of course all 725 tracking stations worldwide just happen to be on the blitz at the same time." "Yea, well, do your best." "Keep trying." "Mathews, how long before reentry?" "It's not going to be long now Newman." "Everything still checks out okay." "It's not us." "What the devil's going on down there?" "That's just my luck." "I manage to stay coped up with you for over a year just for the privilege of returning home a hero." "Now, because some lousy radio malfunction...." "Would you please shut up, this is serious." "....we're gonna have to take this thing in by ourselves." "Well, that means losing the ship." "I haven't taken a vote yet but I have a sneaking suspicion that if it comes to deciding between losing the ship or our lives, you guys are gonna pick the ship." "Mathews," "I want you to aim us for a spot a few miles off the coast of Los Angeles." "I want a lot of people to see us coming down." "That way we're covered no matter what the problem is." "Let's just pray that we don't hit land." "What are you doing?" "I though you might like to work him at the camp for awhile." "No." "Put the women in the truck." "The guys...." "The usual." "Mathews, come in." "Our ship had made a trail on its reentry that could be seen for a radius of over 200 miles." "Yet no one came." "No boats." "No helicopters." "No sightseers." "No one." "I found myself a prisoner trapped on the shoreline by shear trusses hundreds of feet high." "I decided to try and climb my way out." "The steep sea cliffs were impossible to scale." "So I began to move parallel down the coastline in hopes of finding an easier way to the top." "By midday I came to a small beach clearing." "And on it, in the distance," "I thought I saw something." "I was in the middle of a nightmare." "With no way to wake up." "Whatever had killed these people it had done it so quickly" "that they had hardly been aware they were dying." "Among their belongings I found several things I felt might of use to me." "As I was beginning to leave" "I saw a small portable radio." "At last, I had a chance to communicate with the outside world for the first time since the beginning of our mission." "What's out there?" "There's nothing." "You'd think we'd at least see part of the lights." "I wish we'd made it to the top before the sun set." "Yeah." "I wonder if there are any wild animals around here." "Probably nothing dangerous." "Hey, wake up." "What is it?" "There's something out there." "God, what were they?" "I don't know." "We'd better get back and build up that fire." "Come on." "Newman." "Little was said between Mathews and I as we descended the mountain." "The rubble in the valley below was all that was left of what was once a great city." "It had finally happened." "The last great war which mankind had all but obliterated himself." "One thing puzzled us." "Everywhere we went... we saw no people... living or dead." "And we began to wonder:" "Were those hideous man-like creatures that attacked us the night before all that remained of the human race?" "On the edge of the city was a civil defense radio station." "I felt that there we might find the answers to many questions." "Mathews' leg had been injured during the crash." "So it would be necessary for me to make the ascent to the radio station by myself." "Night would be upon us shortly." "And it was very important that we find out more about what its shadows might hold before they fell upon us again." "The dead broadcaster's hand was firmly grasping the controls of a tape recorder." "I wondered what it was that was so important." "that a dying man would use his last breath to record it." "It's been 32 days since I was last outside." "For all I know there might not be anyone left out there to hear what I'm about to record." "In a matter of only a few days I've watched as the world was ripped apart and its people destroyed." "There's no more food, no more water, no more help." "Of the major cities of the world all have been either partially or completely destroyed." "Millions are dead from nuclear blast." "Millions more scarred, deranged by volatile new biological weapons and germ warfare." "Those who survived the initial blast are mindless, batted monsters." "They run in packs like wolves and feed themselves on anything they can find." "The thousands of corpses begin to disappear from the streets as they roamed and fed themselves." "When they were gone they began to attack small animals and children." "Anything." "The conflict has ended." "I, myself, am getting sicker and sicker each day." "I am no longer able to go about freely." "Soon I'll be unable to care for myself at all." "So if I must die" "I prefer to do it here quietly where they can't find me." "I wonder what he meant by: "they"." "What's that?" "It's a Geiger counter." "I got it from the radio station." "Does it work?" "Oh, yeah, it works." "There's nothing for it to pick up right now." "I'll hang on to it though, we might need it later." "I repeat..." "I'll broadcast on this frequency three times daily." "This is Newman in the city of Los Angeles signing off." "Mathews." "Yes?" "We never discussed this before but I'd like to before I go." "Go on." "Five years ago when Jenny and my son died" "I knew that no matter what else happened in the future nothing could ever be as horrible." "And even now, amidst of all that's happened it still holds true." "Look, pal, it's been no big secret to me." "You hated the world in general for a long time." "I understand why." "The world lost a lot of its charm." "We both grew up and we saw a lot of the things that made life beautiful change and become plastic." "You hated the plastic, I didn't." "It's that simple." "No, not quite." "Okay, here's the difference." "I'm hurting right now." "I can tell by looking at your face you love the way things turned out." "No more taxes." "No more red tape." "No more government." "No more ugly apartment buildings." "You've given me this speech a hundred times on how great it's gonna be when all this crumbles." "Well, it did come." "Only to me it's not great." "It's just scary." "I guess what I'm trying to say is" "I don't seem to be mourning in the same way as you." "Try not to think too much." "Take care." "Hi." "I'd be delighted to show you around, Mr. Newman." "We don't have many visitors nowadays, Chris and I, at least not the kind that we care to entertain.." "I know what you mean." "You just step this way." "The Egyptians had an amazing culture." "In many respects their lifestyle exceeded even that of the 20th century." "But then their technology grew to such an extent that it controlled them and in the end, like us, it swallowed them up." "All that remains now of that once glorious civilization just these few remnants." "Throughout history man developed many unique mechanical devices with which to destroy his fellow man." "That cannon for instance, ancient man felt that the bigger the weapon, the greater its potential for destruction." "We learned differently, didn't we?" "I wonder has it ever struck you strangely paradoxical in the end it was the smallest things that did us in, tiny little invisible particles we couldn't even see by the naked eye?" "Destroyed by atoms and germs." "What irony." "Well, man developed his technology and technology became a monster and destroyed him." "Twentieth century catastrophe." "At last." "Perhaps an apt expression, Mr. Newman." "I wonder if it will prove prophetic." "Perhaps this is the last century of man on Earth." "I wonder." "I hoped to prepare one final exhibit:" "Man's last decay." "But I don't know now." "I doubt there'll be time." "What do you mean?" "Well, you're an astronaut, Mr. Newman." "I suppose I don't have to tell you what that means." "No." "Oh, that's all right, you don't have to be secretive with our square little man there." "Chris and I have had numerous discussions about this recently." "I've been trying to prepare him for the time when I'm no longer here." "And it'll make my passing easier." "Don't worry, Mr. Clark." "I'll take real good care of him." "Are you all right?" "I will be in a minute, yes." "The pains have been coming rather regularly lately." "Perhaps it would help if you slept." "Yes." "Yes, I think a good long sleep is what I need." "I'll be saying goodbye now Chris." "Mr. Newman came along just at the right time." "Bye, Mr. Clark." "Goodbye, Mr. Newman." "We won't be seeing each other again before you leave." "I want to thank you for sharing your time with me." "Goodbye." "Chris." "Chris knew that he would never see the curator again." "He'd never known his parents and most of his life would be spent in loneliness." "Coming with me would be just another of dozen of changes he'd already experienced in his brief lifetime." "But I could tell by our conversation that he was very sensitive, and loving child." "I felt we would become good friends." "And so we did." "We need more gas, right?" "Right." "Then what are we gonna do?" "Oh, I thought we might look around and see if we can salvage a few things for the house." "What about this?" "What?" "What about this?" "I don't know." "Oh, what's the matter with me?" "Why this is a terrific find." "If we polish it up a bit it will be as good as new." "No matter what happens, you stay here until I get back." "Stop that." "Wait a minute." "Stop it." "Now answer me, why did you shoot at us?" "I was shooting at you, not the boy." "And you know why." "What do you mean?" "Don't torture me with this game." "Just take me to Cutter and get it over with." "Listen." "I heard that name before." "Whoever this Cutter is," "I'm not with him." "You're not gonna take me to him?" "My name's Newman." "The boy's name's Christopher." "What's your name?" "Sarah." "Tell me more about this Cutter." "He's...." "He's a monster." "He has a camp where he and his followers hold women and children prisoners." "Usually kills the men." "Children too when they get old enough to give him any resistance." "I have a girlfriend and her baby who are still there." "I managed to get away but I gotta keep moving all the time." "If I stay too long in one place, he'll find me." "I now he will." "Why don't you come with us?" "Chris and I will take care of you." "Newman!" "Sarah, the jeep!" "I'm sorry." "I've awakened you?" "No." "Really." "I couldn't sleep." "Are you feeling better?" "Yes." "This is the first time in over a year I've felt safe." "You look like a different person." "Well, good night." "Don't leave." "You okay?" "Yeah." "You have a bad dream or something?" "Yeah, I guess so." "It's okay, we all have nightmares sometimes." "I'll tell you what." "How about if I just stay up with you until you fall back to sleep?" "I'd like that." "Okay, scoot over." "I think I'll have a drink." "It will warm us up a bit." "All right." "I know." "Thunder scares me." "Don't you ever get afraid?" "I used to all the time." "You?" "Yeah." "Well, what happened?" "See, there was this bully." "He used to beat me up." "At least twice a week." "And know what happened?" "No." "One day I drew a line in the dirt and I decided that no matter what happened no one was going to cross it." "Who won?" "Well, nobody." "By the time it was over we were both so covered in blood you couldn't tell who was who." "Well, if nobody won what was the point?" "Well, I guess the point is that if you decide that you're willing to fight or die if necessary for what is right, then nobody can ever make you do anything you don't want to." "Nobody ever stepped over the line again?" "Only once." "Five years ago my wife and son died." "Car load of drunken kids crashed into the back of them when they were in a park at night." "The doctor in the emergency room wouldn't render aid to them until I got there to sign a release form." "And while all this was going on... they died." "What's that?" "A dinosaur." "My son gave it to me." "He used to say to me," "That way when he was gone and I missed him," "I would have to do is look at it." "I don't feel lonely anymore." "It's really nice." "I'll tell you what." "When you get bigger and when we part company if we should," "I'll give it to you." "And that way you can use it to remember me." "The way I used it all these years to remember him." "I like that." "God, I'm glad you guys came." "If we never heard your call for help on that radio we probably would have never stumbled onto you." "Now we're here." "We're gonna take real good care of you" "Several weeks passed." "I decided to teach Christopher how to handle a firearm." "He was amazing." "I've seen few adults handle weapons as carefully and without fear." "On the far targets he was fairly haphazard." "But on those of 25 feet or less he was amazingly accurate." "But what pleased me the most was his attitude." "He knew this was no game." "And that one day, his life, or the life of someone he loved, might very well depend on how well he learned his lessons now." "Boy, it's a big camp." "It'll be fortified on all four sides." "Here are where their weapons and ammunition are kept." "Here is where he keeps the women and children prisoner." "Cutter himself holds up at this side of the camp." "And the rest of his men, they're scattered all over the place." "Cutter's got a second in command." "I don't remember the guy's name" "Getman." "Do you really think just the three of us can bring this off?" "Well, it isn't going to be any picnic." "But once this laser starts firing, Cutter's gonna think Patton's army is crawling up his backside." "But it will have to be a surprise attack." "And everyone will have to be in absolute synchronization and this includes you too, Chris." "Let's go over this again." "Then after we've done it about 10 more times," "we make our move." "Where's the mother?" "Sarah said she was gonna be in here too." "You're not being very friendly." "If you don't care about yourself, think about that little girl." "I don't know." "Listen, I'm gonna try and find her." "Once the diversion starts you take the child and head for the jeep." "Okay." "I'll meet you there." "Let's go." "Party's over, Cutter." "Move over, let the girl get dressed." "I don't know who you are, but you just made a big mistake." "Well, it certainly won't be my first mistake." "But it maybe your last if you don't start moving." "Come on." "I want you to hurry." "We haven't got much time." "My baby." "She's safe." "There they are." "What happened to Mathews?" "he ripped his leg open again." "Yes?" "I'm scared." "I can't explain why," "I love you." "I never said that to you before." "I felt it for a long time." "I've never said it." "I want to in case... something should happen." "I never thought I'd feel this way again." "But I love you too." "Very much." "The following morning Chris and I made a final supply run into the city." "In a few hours we'd be leaving the fortress for a less dangerous region." "I knew that eventually we would have to deal with Cutter." "But first I wanted to make sure that Sarah, Helen and Laura." "were all safely out of his reach." "Sarah?" "Sarah?" "Sarah?" "What are you doing?" "I'm going after them." "There are too many of them." "You'll be killed too." "Maybe." "I've got to try." "Somebody's got to try." "I don't want to continue to live in a world where baby killers walk around unpunished." "It's got to be done, Chris." "No matter what the price." "You understand?" "I think I do." "I hope you do, son." "I hope you do." "You know, it's really a waste." "You're just throwing your life away." "You're gonna go down there and commit suicide." "It's not gonna bring them back." "You just wanna indulge in revenge, don't you?" "No, Mathews." "Not revenge." "Justice." "I wish I could have seen the look on his face when he walk in and found them all." "I still say we should have stuck around and killed him too." "We'll never see him again." "He and the kid are probably a couple hundred miles away from here by now." "Newman!" "I can't find him." "What do you mean you can't find him?" "He's one man." "You get him." "Why did you come?" "I just did." "Why don't you shoot me and get it over with." "Smile for me now, Getman." "This is for Helen." "This is for Mathews." "And this is for Sarah." "And this...." "This is for Laura." "Mathews went after you." "He found me." "Well, where is he?" "With Sarah." "That means he's dead?" "Yes." "What happens when you die?" "I don't know, son." "No one does." "It's sad to die." "No." "Death isn't sad." "We all have to die." "What's said is:" "Having to go on without someone you love." "Just as we have to go on now." "Of all his men, Cutter was the guiltiest." "Yet he had gone unpunished." "I wanted to make sure that Christopher was in a secure place." "And then I would return and find him." "If it took me the rest of my life." "Want a drink?" "Would you like one?" "Yeah." "Newman?" "I understand now." "What's that, son?" "What you meant about why all this is happening, drawing a line and everything." "Run." "No, I'm not leaving." "Run." "You should have killed me when you had the chance." "Somebody will get you, Cutter." "Maybe you?" "Maybe." "You missed." "Now it's my turn." "You underestimated me, Newman." "But I don't underestimate anybody." "Nice knowing you, Newman." "You can understand." "Newman, are you gonna die?" "I'm afraid so." "Newman, I don't want you to die." "Don't cry, son." "You'll be all right." "We had some good times together, haven't we?" "Yes." "I'll miss you." "Just remember... to keep drawing that line." "Just as you did today." "stand firmly by... and the world will be yours." "I love you, Chris." "I love you, Newman." "Newman, don't die." "Please don't die." "This is so I'll always remember." "As I began my walk down that long road leading to the future," "I couldn't possibly have realized at the time, how right Newman had been in the way he lived." "And the importance of the way he died." "Love, honor... and justice, were no longer just words to me." "I'll never be sure what death would hold." "But one thing I did know as long as I lived, Newman would continue to live also within me." "And regardless of how long or short my stay on Earth might be I'll never be alone again."