The Scars of Our Hands (2025) Movie Script
[crackling sounds]
[crackling sounds]
[Kay gasping]
[birds chirping]
[sniffling]
[sighing]
[frantic string music]
[gasping]
[distorted] Ready, smart guy?
Do it! Go!
[Kay panting]
Ow! Oh, God!
[birds chirping]
[sign buzzing]
[Kay] Everything's good?
Yeah, no,
that was, uh, super helpful.
Yeah, no, nice room.
Get it to myself.
Yeah, that's what they said.
Yeah, no, good group of guys.
Got along.
Getting along.
Yeah, we're getting along.
Yeah, no, I think I'll, uh,
I think I'll stay for a while.
No, not yet. Still looking.
Yeah, not in
an employee's market.
I'm sure that's what it is.
Hey, look, um, I'm actually
running out of gate money.
I was wondering if there was
any way I could get some more,
if there was
a program or something.
I...
What do you mean?
I'm staying at the halfway
house like you told me.
They called you?
Okay, look, they started it.
Yes, there was an incident.
I told them to back off. I...
And I... Yes,
of course there was fire.
You know
the therapy doesn't help.
Okay, and... No,
it's not just a matter of time.
I've been at this over a decade,
and I am still not even...
They told me if I left,
they wouldn't press charges.
Okay, okay.
Yes, I'll figure it out.
[unsettling music]
[horn honking]
[insects chirping]
[door opening]
[bell ringing]
Hi, just a room for the night.
Well, that'll be 33.
[coins dropping]
I've got, uh, 30, 32... 79.
You'll need $33.
I'll sweep the floors.
Hold on.
[door opening]
The lobby, the two hallways,
and then room five.
Great. Great, thanks.
[eerie guitar music]
[ice rattling]
[gasping]
[inhaling]
[phone ringing]
Hello.
[clicking]
[gasping]
[hissing]
So, you don't have
any barista-ing experience,
but that's fine.
We can train you.
Great.
And you have
a really good look too.
Like, like a little grungy,
kind of gritty, kind of punk.
You know, you'll
match the vibe really well.
Yeah, that's, no,
that's what I was going for.
Yeah, but you're not trying.
You know, like that's,
that's why it works.
- Right.
- Yeah.
We're the only beacon of
personality in this hick town,
so we can use all
the help we can get.
So it says on your application
your only reference is
an Officer Shanti, Shanti?
- Shanti.
- Shanti Tyson.
Is that like, like police?
Are you at all associated
with the police force?
Well...
Not like,
no, not like, yeah, no.
Cool. Cool, no,
I didn't think so.
I didn't think so at all.
The total opposite, actually.
I was incarcerated.
Oh.
Oh?
No, sorry, um...
It's fine. It's fine. Uh...
Do you just mind
telling me, like, what for?
Arson. 12 years.
Okay.
Look, I'm not gonna...
That's not gonna
be a problem, is it?
No. No.
It's... it's, like, so fine.
So fine. Um...
You know, like obviously we,
we think the prison system
is like, ugh, you know,
but the position is,
like, a little more managerial,
so we're probably gonna
have to go with someone with
a little more experience.
What happened to training me?
I just think like for me,
like that's
the direction we're gonna go.
For you?
What about for me?
I just, um, look, obviously
we stand with you in solidarity.
Solidar... What does that mean?
I mean, I thought
I wasn't getting
the job because
I wasn't managerial.
That's part of it.
Yeah, that is part of it.
Why do I have to be
managerial to pour coffee?
Sir, I don't want
to upset you in any way.
Look, I'm not...
Never mind.
Have a good day.
[fast-paced, tense music]
[man]
Long time no see, Kay.
Oh, shit.
Well, that's a hell of a start.
But you've done worse.
Arthur.
Mind if I share the alley?
Free country.
Speaking of which,
how's life been
treating you on the outside?
Uh, couldn't tell you yet.
I'm not sure
why you'd care, though.
Last time I checked,
you stopped writing.
Well, you never responded,
so after a while,
I was just wasting stamps.
You look good.
Oh, he's a comedian now.
Fine, you look terrible.
What do you want?
Mom was asking about you.
Why is Mom not here?
What's this about?
Specter's at it again.
He burned down
a barn a few days ago.
And you think I helped him?
No, actually, Kay,
I need you to help me.
Wow. Wow.
Haven't spoken in years,
and the first thing
you do is ask a favor?
- Just hear me out.
- Why?
I need you, Kay.
Throw on your siren.
Do it yourself.
Got your little badge now, yeah?
Yeah, so
you did read my letters.
It's sheriff now, actually.
Where's your gun?
And your horse.
I don't want to scare Specter.
I know he's gone off
somewhere in the mountains,
but I don't know where,
so just was thinking
you could point me
in the right direction.
You should
have been the comedian.
Wish I had the chance.
You weren't released
for good behavior.
[Kay] Obviously.
You know,
I bet there were a few guards
in there who weren't
your biggest fans.
Those guards
tell their superiors,
who tell the feds, who tell me.
Suddenly, you got
a lot of eyes on your back.
What are you getting at?
Specter goes on another spree.
Guess who gets pulled back
- in for questioning?
- Arthur?
Guess whose parole is
in jeopardy?
Guess who shares
a history of serial arson,
was arrested with
the culprit previously,
and has plenty
of shared motivation
for scorching
the town that betrayed him?
Are you threatening me?
Careful.
I'm offering you an alibi.
Accompany me until we catch
Specter, or he strikes again.
You're in the clear either way.
Look, I'm sure there's
a lot of people who would
love nothing more than
to see you sitting
on the sad side of their desk.
I'm saving
you a lot of headache.
I've learned to deal with
the headache after 12 years.
Then I'm offering
you a second chance.
Help me put this to rest.
We catch Specter,
he goes away for life.
And you get a new one.
Come on, Kay.
I see your bag.
I know you don't
have a job or a... a home.
Do this for me, and I can
help you get back on your feet.
I could pull some strings
and you could be looking at
35 an hour with benefits,
just like that.
Arthur, despite what
you think, I'm doing fine.
It may not look it, but I am.
And you should know most of
all that looks can be deceiving,
because after all,
you look like a cop,
but in reality,
you're a sniveling little weasel
with a gold star
that can get fucked.
Me or the star?
You with your star.
[sign buzzing]
[faint rumbling music]
Come on.
[metal jingling]
What's up, Kay?
[grunting]
Found you, bitch.
Look, Tony,
you don't gotta do this.
- Yeah, you fucked up my boy.
- He started it.
Yeah, he'd be here to
finish too,
if his face didn't look
like burnt leather.
Big fucking
improvement if you ask me.
Cut the shit.
You like fire?
Good.
Let's bring him to the bonfire.
[tense orchestral music]
Hey, yo, Tony.
Brought his own straps.
Perfect.
[grunting]
[faint fighting sounds]
[gunshot]
I wanna see hands!
I said hands, now!
We're not going back to jail.
Final warning, if you don't
stop, I will open fire.
Yeah, but on who?
[gun clicking]
Shit.
We have enough gasoline
for the two of you.
[roaring]
Get the gun!
Where is the gun?
I'm working on it.
You are a terrible cop.
Stop being so dramatic.
You're doing fine.
[man screaming]
I'm not doing fine.
[Tony] Yeah? Come on!
I'm gonna kill you
one way or another.
The way I see it, killing
a freak like you's a service.
- [gunshot]
- Oh, shit.
You okay?
Yeah. Yeah, no,
I'm enjoying myself, actually.
[both groaning]
So, who were they?
Those were my friends
from the halfway house.
Huh. Don't suppose
you know their names.
Thought you were
gonna protect me?
Nah, I thought
I'd start a book club.
Kay, I might not be
around next time to help.
I know.
I could be, though.
I could even move you to where
these guys would never find you.
My offer still stands, Kay.
Just one favor.
Just the one.
And you'll get me out of here.
- Scout's honor.
- Far away from you.
I might as well be in China.
'Kay, I was hoping for the moon.
Or hell.
Okay, well, beggars
can't be choosers.
How do I know I can trust you?
We're brothers.
Yeah, not by blood, not by bond.
Not good enough.
Bit harsh.
- How about Mom?
- Don't swear on Mom.
I'm not. I swore to her.
So, if you can't trust my word
to you, trust my word to Mom.
She made me promise
to look out for you.
This is the best offer that's
coming along for you right now.
[sighing]
Congratulations. You just moved
from potential criminal
to private consultant.
So, I'm getting paid?
No. No, no, no.
You always start pro bono.
Come on.
Pro bono my ass.
So, you have
no idea where Specter's at?
Nope.
That's what you're here for,
brother of mine.
Don't get too comfortable.
Sorry. Call me a romantic.
Yeah. The romantic sheriff.
Yeah, let's
not get too comfortable.
To find Specter,
I need to know how he thinks.
And where he would have gone.
Well, he never lets anything go,
and he always
finishes what he starts.
The mill?
Think he's there?
As much as I hate that thought,
yeah, I'd put money on it.
Well, you're about
to hate it even more.
Yeah, why's that?
That road's been closed
for years from a rock slide,
which means three days
on foot with me.
I told you where he's at.
That's the deal.
No, the deal is you help me find
him, and then I hold up my end.
Unless you want to wait here for
your friends to show up again?
Come on, it'll be like
a backpacking trip,
just like when we were kids.
[Kay]
I said don't get too comfy!
[gentle guitar music]
[birds chirping]
So, do you have anything
you want to do now
that you're out?
Nope.
Okay, I just assumed
that after all this time
you would have
thought of something.
No, I mean
no to this conversation.
Well, this, uh, this one time
I was volunteering
- with the Cub Scouts...
- Is this necessary?
Yeah, look,
if you don't have anything
to say, then I'm gonna
have to pick up the slack.
We, um, we took the kids
to the Greenhorn
after their tour
of the police station,
and I'm getting orders
from everyone,
and this
one little guy points at
a picture on the menu of,
uh, Rocky Mountain Oysters,
and I'm not thinking,
so I just order them for him,
and he just starts
chowing down, like,
this kid is absolutely
loving them,
and he asks me what they are,
and I didn't really
see a reason to lie,
so I said, "Well, they're
actually bull testicles,"
and he says,
"Well, what are those?"
And I said,
"They're kind of like, um,
like cow meatballs,"
and this kid, I swear to God,
runs over to his mom,
who's at the table next to us,
she was chaperoning that day,
and he looks at her,
and with the most
serious face he says,
"We need to have spaghetti and
testicles every single night."
And this lady just looks
at me with this glare that says,
you know, you better
explain yourself.
So, I muster up the courage and
I walk over to her and I say,
"I guess testicles
taste pretty good?"
And she doesn't skip a beat
and just winks at me and says,
"Well, Sheriff,
you ought to know."
Turns out it was not
the kid's mom, it was his aunt,
and apparently I didn't
embarrass myself too badly,
because when I asked her
to get a beer with me,
she... she actually said yes,
and then we were off.
You know, I...
I didn't think it was possible
for two people to
fall in love that fast, but...
But that's what we did,
and we were married before
the year was out.
Just to...
To have someone like that,
you know, someone that special,
just
sometimes doesn't make
any sense to me, like, I get...
I get confused how
she could love me,
but she does,
and every day we wake up,
she smiles at me
brighter than the day before.
I don't think that I would ever
be happy without those looks.
Sorry.
I just get a little choked up
with those moments
that matter, you know?
I don't know.
I'm sorry, Kay.
Look, let's
just not talk about it.
Okay, but you
shouldn't feel like...
You're not my therapist, Arthur.
You're young, man.
You have a lot
of life ahead of you.
What about the life behind me?
I can't just pick up
where I left off at 18,
and I'm certainly
not where I need to be now.
I missed all that.
I missed being young,
being promising,
falling in love.
That's what prison is.
It's a 12-year reminder
of the life
that went on without me.
Kay...
Hey, let's just
talk about this, okay?
I don't want to talk about it.
I don't need to talk about it,
about this, about anything.
- But Kay...
- No more talking!
Okay.
- The other day
- Come on.
- I'm not talking, I'm singing.
- You're making noise.
Okay, well I can either
talk to you or sing to myself.
Fine.
The other day, I saw a bear
I saw a bear
A great big bear
A great big bear
- A way up there
- I'm not singing.
- I didn't ask you to.
- Yeah, but you...
You need to stop
talking right now
because I'm singing, okay?
The other day I saw a bear
A great big bear
a way up there
I looked at him
I looked at him
- He looked at me
- He looked at me
- I sized him up
- I sized him up
- He sized up me
- He sized up me
I looked at him,
he looked at me
I sized him up,
he sized up me
- God, this is stupid.
- Yes, it is.
[birds chirping]
[crackling]
Kay?
Kay!
[grunting]
No!
- Kay!
- [Kay yelling]
Kay! Kay! Kay! I got you.
Settle down.
Settle down. It's...
What the hell is going on?
I'm okay, all right?
What is happening right now?
Kay! What the hell was that?
- Nothing.
- Nothing.
You just bashed me in the face
and you're trying to
light yourself on fire.
- I'm fine.
- Obviously not.
I don't want to talk about it.
Well, we're going to.
[panting]
Kay, just tell me.
I don't know when it started.
I don't like fire.
Really? Because it seems
like you kind of love it.
I just feel like I...
Is that why
your hands are bandaged?
Yeah.
Sometimes it's bad.
Sometimes it's less bad.
I just try to stay away,
just in case.
Then, who lit the fire?
Kay, who lit the fire?
You know who.
Okay, he's been following us.
I saw him at the park.
What?
Why didn't
you tell me this before?
It doesn't matter.
Okay? We're not going
to find him out here.
He's not going to be found
if he doesn't want to be found.
- Kay, he got arrested.
- Because of me.
Okay? He would have been
long gone if it wasn't for me.
I... Maybe I let something slip.
I took too long.
And last thing I remember,
he was bolting out of the room,
and I was alone and then
I wasn't alone,
and then some cop is bashing
me over the head,
and it's all over.
That's the last time
I saw fire before... this.
I'm sorry, Kay.
Yeah, me too.
I think you're still
seeing that fire.
- Arthur...
- You are.
And maybe you're
just trying to put it out now.
You know
that I have a daughter now?
I'm still getting over
the fact that you have a wife.
Yeah.
A lot can happen in 12 years.
The little one, Charlotte.
She loves these.
Prairie flax.
She carries them with her
wherever she goes.
She'll go screaming
off the trail, into the bush,
at the sight of them.
So, I try to pick them up
wherever I can
to bring them home to her.
And then
I started to like 'em too.
They remind me
of her and her mother.
It grounds me.
Maybe it'll help ground you too.
Thanks.
You should try to get some rest.
Arthur.
You didn't have to grab me
back there.
I would've snapped out of that.
After roasting your hands?
Happened anyway.
Would've saved you some trouble.
I'll take the trouble.
You rest up.
We got a long day tomorrow.
Lot of ground to cover.
[gentle guitar music]
[insects chirping]
[unsettling music]
[gasping]
[leaves crunching]
Long time no see, Kay.
- Specter?
- Yeah.
It's me, bud.
What the hell is going on?
What are you doing?
I'm thinking it's time
we put the band back together.
I'm not an arsonist anymore.
You might've enjoyed your 12
years in jail, but I didn't.
What about Arthur?
What about him?
He's a little too
boy scout for my taste.
- Should I take care of him?
- You touch him...
Whoa, whoa, whoa, cowboy.
Not too close.
Neat little trick
you picked up there.
Leave Arthur out of this.
He has done nothing to you.
Is that so?
I'd be careful of
that brotherly love, Kay.
He might not be as
boy scout as you think.
What are you talking about?
I've missed you.
- Specter!
- I'd never lie to you.
- Specter!
- Shh, shh, shh.
Let's not wake dear brother.
At least not yet.
Why are you here?
Trip down memory lane, maybe?
Now, I don't know
how cushy your jail was,
but the one I was
transferred to had a library.
Oh!
It was filled with the best
collection of classic novels
and articles a con could lay his
gasoline-soaked hands on.
One day, as I'm skipping
through some of the classics,
I stumble across some
old newspaper articles.
The Crestridge Gazette.
And these went back.
Back to your junior year
championship win,
your victory lap
as homecoming king,
and the first student ever
from Crestridge High to
get accepted to MIT.
Man, these were good reads.
But like all good stories,
it took a turn, didn't it?
- Specter?
- No, no, no. Let me finish,
because the next one
is my favorite.
"Local high school hero arrested
on serial arson charges."
Town betrayed, father disgraced.
You love your father, don't you?
Don't talk about him.
Loved. Sorry, loved.
And he loved you. He did.
Don't assume otherwise.
A man's heart
can't break that much
- if it isn't filled with love.
- Stop talking!
But when it broke,
it broke for good.
He lost a son.
Thankfully, he had another.
A less flashy, less fun son,
but whose rather lackluster
future was still intact.
A live mule is
better than a dead horse.
When he died,
how much did you lose
to Arthur in the inheritance?
Your dad's farm was big.
A couple million?
A couple dozen million?
Eh. Oh well.
At least it's safe with Arthur.
Safe to rot away year
after year,
as he runs around town
playing hero cop.
The hero
you were supposed to be.
Shut up.
Safe with old Arthur.
Well, not that safe.
His barn did go up
like a pile of newspapers.
His barn?
Went up like all
your dreams in those newspapers.
What are you saying?
The man had relations with
his wife Eve,
and she conceived
and bore Kay saying,
"I have produced a man
with the help of the Lord."
Next, she adopted
his brother Arthur.
Kay became keeper of flocks,
while Arthur a tiller of soil.
In the course of time,
Arthur brought offerings
to the Lord from the dirt.
While Kay, for his part, brought
his best firstling of his flock.
[ominous music]
The Lord looked in favor
on Kay and his offerings,
but on Arthur and his dirt,
he did not.
[distorted] Let's go.
Arthur greatly resented
this and was crestfallen.
And he said to his brother Kay,
let us go into the field.
And when they were in the field,
Arthur raised his hand
and killed his brother Kay.
No!
[Arthur] Kay? Kay!
Food for thought.
[Arthur] Kay!
Kay, are you all right? Hey.
- He said...
- Who, Specter?
- You.
- Was it Specter, Kay?
God, we could have had him.
You should have woken me up.
It was you the whole time.
What are you talking about?
That night. That night,
you called the cops.
You hit me.
You got me arrested.
Kay, just calm down.
Specter can't be trusted.
Don't listen
to anything he said.
Arthur, please.
- Kay, listen to me...
- Tell me!
The night you got arrested,
I found gas-soaked rags
in the garage.
We drove diesel.
You told Mom you were
going to the Greenhorn,
but I saw
your tire tracks in the mud.
You went left, not right.
Everything fell together.
Your distance with Mom and Dad.
Your distance with me.
Your ego.
You started
hanging out with Specter,
but he never even
came up the driveway.
- So, I... I called the cops.
- Jesus.
I knew they weren't
going to get there in time.
Kay, kids used
to go to that mill.
What if
they got caught in the fire?
I had to go.
You don't think
I would have checked?
I burned down some empty
building because it was fun.
- I am not a murderer.
- Well, Specter could have been.
Oh. No, no, no, no, no.
This is about me, not Specter.
You knew I was
the town's favorite.
Dad's favorite. You weren't.
You weren't anything, Arthur.
You couldn't even do a pull-up.
Look at you.
And you wanted to join,
what, the Marines?
No, you wanted what I had.
But you couldn't
get that yourself,
so you settled for a lie.
- And you took it from me.
- I did not.
You took my future
and the inheritance.
I never thought about the money.
I was just doing what was right.
Oh-ho, doing what is right?
Don't give me that bullshit.
You didn't want
to do what was right.
You just wanted to
look like the good guy.
That is ridiculous.
You just wanted to
look like the good guy,
and you always have.
You know how I know that?
- How, Kay?
- Because a good guy
would not have lied
to the brother
he sent to
jail for 12 fucking years!
Specter is
going to hurt my family!
I'm sorry, Kay. I am.
I lied to you for 12 years, and,
yes, I kept lying, but I had to.
Specter found out
about my involvement,
so when he got out,
he burned down the farm.
Dad's farm.
And he also left a note.
He said that if
I didn't meet him at the mill,
he was going to find
my family and make them burn.
And that if I got
any other police involved,
he would make them burn.
If I tried to
get away with them,
he would make them burn,
I couldn't risk that.
I knew what he was capable of.
If you knew where to find him,
why'd you bother with me?
I was afraid
that if he got to you first,
maybe he could use you
to hurt my family.
Or that even that
you might join him,
I had to get to you first.
So, I'm a loose end.
I'm just a threat.
Of course not.
You're my brother.
No. I'm a liability.
Please, Kay, you have to
understand, they are my family.
- They're my life.
- What about my life?
What about me being your family?
If I wasn't
connected to any of this,
you wouldn't have given
a shit if you ever saw me again.
That's not true!
Stop lying!
All you do is lie
to get what you want.
- You're using me.
- Please, Kay.
I'm not
going to be used anymore!
[ominous music]
Abel became a keeper of flocks,
and Cain a tiller of the soil.
In the course of time,
Cain brought an offering
to the Lord from the fruit
of the soil,
while Abel brought his best
firstling from his flock.
The Lord looked with favor
on Abel and his offering,
but on Cain and his offering,
he did not.
Cain greatly resented this
and was crestfallen,
and said to his brother Abel,
let us go into the field.
When they were in the field,
Cain attacked
his brother Abel,
and killed him.
Fight back!
I'm not going to fight you.
Why? You guys don't fight?
You're my brother.
I'm not going
to fight my brother.
You're not my brother.
You killed
your brother 12 years ago.
That's not true.
There's still good in you.
You still have a future...
Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!
You have no idea
what my life is like.
You know what else?
If I don't kill you,
I hope Specter does.
I hope he burns you down,
your life,
and your whole family with you.
Listen to me very closely.
I will not
fight you for my sake,
but if there is even
a sliver of a chance
that you could hurt my family,
I will blow you away.
I wasn't jealous.
I was proud of you.
I didn't need
to be a hero because
you were already my hero.
I don't care
about the money, I...
I just care about my family.
And that includes you.
But I can't keep fighting you.
I was wrong about you.
You're not trying
to put the fire out.
You're still trying
to control it.
[exhales]
[panting]
[exhales]
God damn it!
[shouting]
God damn it!
[breathing heavily]
You got a problem?
Take it out on the dirt.
What?
Hit the dirt.
You're scaring the fish.
Oh.
Sorry.
Eh, it's probably
too late for this hole now.
Come on. You can pay me back
by helping me chop some wood.
I'm sorry?
You spooked the fish.
You gotta make up for it.
- Now come on.
- Look, hey...
- I'm sorry, but I...
- [chuckles]
You sure do apologize a lot
for someone who's not eager
to make things right.
Now, if not
well, I'll have no choice
but to keep this.
I just threw that out.
Then, you don't mind
if I keep it.
I have supper as well, but only
for those who want to work.
[Kay] Fuck!
[breathing heavily]
That didn't sound good.
Hey, take a break, man.
Hope you like berries.
[Kay exhales]
What happened to your hands?
I burned 'em.
[man] They hurt?
Right now?
Any time.
Yeah, all the time.
What's your name, kid?
Kay.
I'm Joe.
Thanks for the berries, Joe.
You bet.
[birds chirping]
Hold on a minute.
Come over here.
Give me that.
Let's have a look at this.
[Kay exhales]
- [Kay groans softly]
- I'm sorry. Sorry.
[Kay exhales]
[Joe] Ooh!
Gnarly.
All right. Put 'em in.
Put 'em in. It's all right.
[Kay exhales]
I got this from my auntie.
- It's never failed me before.
- Oh, that feels amazing.
Just keep them
in there a little,
and you'll feel right as rain.
Uh
what's all this for?
It's what you do for
homeless bums, right?
You help 'em out.
I'm not a homeless bum.
I am.
And you're helping me out.
You can do me one more kindness
by telling me why
you were hell-bent on
scaring off every fish
in a five-mile radius.
Joe, with all due respect...
Um, and, really, thank you
for the...
For the berries
and whatever this is, but
you brought me here
to chop wood.
Not to get to know me.
Well,
pile's right over there, then.
[gasps]
[laughing]
How did...
I don't know. Ask my auntie.
Try 'em out.
No! No!
[unsettling music]
Arthur! [Shouts]
[Kay grunting]
Hey! You stay there, okay?
What are you,
some kind of junkie?
Anti-junkie?
It's just a fuckin' joint!
- What, you afraid of weed?
- I'm afraid of fire.
Well, you said a name,
and it ain't yours.
- Who's Arthur?
- No one.
Well, it doesn't
sound like no one.
- It's no one!
- Hey!
I'm the one that just
got jumped, all right?
- Who's Arthur?
- My brother!
[panting]
Hey. Easy.
[sighs]
Hey, I'm sorry, man.
When some random stranger
jumps me in the woods,
I tend to get a little anxious.
So, what's Arthur's game?
I... You gonna get mad
at me if I
really don't feel like
talking about it?
You can feel whatever you want.
But you're gonna tell me.
It's a long story.
Make it short.
Okay, I... was arrested,
and I recently
found out that my brother
is the one that put me there.
Did he frame you?
No. I did it.
Oh.
Then you deserved to be in jail.
How much time did you do?
12 years.
When are you gonna get out?
[chuckles]
I am out.
[scoffs] Oh, no, you're not.
What are you talking about?
You're living in your
own personal prison, man.
Okay, I don't need
some dusty-ass hippie
telling me
how screwed my life is.
All right?
You didn't deserve that.
What?
You didn't deserve
to lose that much of your life.
There's still some
more berries over here.
And I promise I will
try to limit my, uh,
dusty "hippie mantras," man.
Come on, sit down.
Look, you've had, what,
12 not-so-great years?
Seems to me you could have
60 much better ones to go.
But that's not gonna happen if
you hold your hurts so precious.
It happened.
Past tense, man.
Leave it in the past.
Did you roll out
of a tie-dye Volkswagen bus
- and get lost here?
- [chuckling]
Nope,
just out of my mom's hooter
and out onto
this big blue marble.
Yeah, it's not that simple, Joe.
[Joe]
Yes, it is.
Easy? No.
Simple? Yeah.
Now, I'm gonna go back inside
and have another big hit
of that wonderful joint.
Now, if you're smart,
you'll come and join me.
But if you're even smarter,
you're gonna head that way
and go find your brother.
[sighs]
Wrong way.
You came from that way.
That's where your brother's at.
Look...
I just need to think
about some things.
No, no, no, you do not
need to think about things.
And I can tell that's something
that you're not very good at.
And I'm gonna try and help you.
You trust me?
Not really.
You got anything to lose?
Not much.
Sit down.
No fire, please.
It's all right.
Cover your eyes if you have to.
You know, in a past life,
I used to be an alchemist.
My auntie helped me with that.
And this.
It's all right. It's all right.
Breathe in slowly.
Breathe it in. That's it.
- That's it. That's it.
- [Kay coughing]
- That's it. That's it.
- [Kay panting]
Is this supposed
to show me something?
Nothing that
you don't already know.
Just give you
the opportunity to face it.
Face it?
You're on the precipice, man.
You just need a little push.
Doesn't make any sense.
You get into any trouble
think of the flower.
[low, unsettling music]
[gasps, pants]
Joe? Joe!
- What the hell?
- [high-pitched ringing]
[grunts]
- [groans]
- [ringing fades]
[breathing heavily]
Hey, are you okay?
It's you.
Do we... do we know each other?
No, no. Sorry, um...
I just woke up here
and I'm a little confused.
All my stuff is gone.
What happened to your hands?
Uh, I burned them.
But they were, um...
There was this old man.
Did he have a white tent?
Yeah. Why? Do you know Joe?
[sighs] God, I'm so sorry. Um
park ranger came by this morning
and said there was this old guy
going around talking to people
and then, uh
well, drugging them.
Oh.
Are you all right?
Do you need any help?
This is just my luck.
Honestly, I mean, you're lucky
he didn't take a kidney.
Wow. [Chuckles]
- Bedside manners.
- Sorry. [Laughs]
Just, you know,
helps take the edge off.
I'm Kate.
- You've got to be kidding.
- What?
My name's Kay.
Oh. Wow. Kay.
That's, uh... that's weird.
Not bad weird. Just, you know...
Regular weird?
Regular weird.
Hey, so, uh, this whole thing's
kind of freaking me out,
so I was actually gonna
go back to my campsite
and pack up and then
head into town, and, um
company might be nice.
We just met.
Yeah, no, if you...
If you'd rather
stay in the woods with
the crazy guy around.
No, sorry, that would be great.
Thanks for the soap.
Yeah.
- Figured you might want it.
- It was nice.
Never used, uh,
lavender pine sap.
- Pretty neat.
- Neat?
[laughs]
Wow, I was a little
nervous about you at first,
but you're 100 years old.
Yeah,
it feels like it sometimes.
Well, it doesn't look like it.
So, what are you doing out here?
Oh, I was, uh
hiking with my brother.
There's two of you? Damn.
Where's he at?
Um, we got in a fight.
About what?
- It's, um...
- Not that it's any
of my business, it's just,
you know, tall, mysterious man
wanders into the woods,
uses my soap,
I kind of wanna know
a little bit more about him.
Okay. Um...
What do you wanna know?
Why don't you start
from the beginning?
I was arrested.
For what?
Arson.
That makes me feel better.
Yeah,
not the best first impression.
No, I'm serious, it does.
Never heard that before.
Well, it could be murder.
- Fair enough.
- Unless...
Dumb kid, not Dahmer.
Fair enough.
I, uh... I just found out that
my brother is the one
who got me arrested.
Hence the fight.
Yeah. Got bad.
I left, and
he left, and he's out there,
and I don't know what to do.
He's in some trouble, and he...
Forget him.
What?
Did he get himself
into this trouble?
Yeah.
Well,
then he can get himself out.
You don't owe anything
to anyone, especially family.
My dad kicked me out
when I was young.
I was just a girl, and
he took away everything from me.
And I grew up,
and I realized
I'd been living my life
based off of his expectations
instead of my own,
and I had just
wasted all these years
trying to reconcile
and to make it right.
But that's a lie.
Other people
won't make you happy.
You have to live for yourself.
I don't belong to anyone.
Neither do you.
Maybe not.
Maybe you should
take care of yourself first.
Maybe I should.
Maybe we could travel together.
Even if just for
the next few miles.
- You don't even know me.
- So?
I knew my dad pretty well
and he still let me down.
Sounds like you know
your brother pretty well.
- Apparently not.
- No, you did.
And maybe you were
right about him.
It doesn't matter.
He's gone.
You're living for yourself now.
You're free.
Free to hitchhike
with some random girl
that I just met
after waking up in a forest?
Free to do whatever you want.
Plus, I think I'm more
than just some random girl.
[tender music]
What?
- I, um...
- Hey!
Hey, hey.
Let it just be us.
No one else. Hm?
Yeah.
[music turns dark]
[Kay gasps, pants]
I'm sorry, I just...
My brother might need me.
I need to go.
Hey, hey, hey.
That's not your problem, okay?
Whose problem is it, huh?
It's your brother's.
So who has to face
the consequences?
He does.
Because who was
in the wrong to begin with?
He was. So he deserves
to bear this alone.
Then so would I. I have to go...
You're only gonna waste
your time if you go back there.
Just
stay with me.
I'm not gonna let anyone
take advantage of you.
That's what he wants to do.
He wants to use you
to solve his problems.
- But what if...
- Just stop thinking
and do what
you wanna do for once.
Just
don't worry about tomorrow.
We're young and free now.
Forget tomorrow.
Forget everyone else out there.
Just think of us.
Let everything else burn.
[intense instrumental]
[gasping]
[music intensifies]
[Kay grunting]
You think that he's
gonna help you if you help him?
You've spent the last 12 years
rotting in a cell
while he prospered off
of what was yours.
You deserve so much more.
What are you?
I'm the best part of you.
Don't you like me?
Look at me.
[deeper voice] Look at me!
[slow, uneasy drumbeat]
[music intensifies]
Boo.
- [sizzling]
- [screaming]
- [breathing heavily]
- [flames crackling]
[fire roaring]
What's the golden rule, Kay?
Do unto yourself
before you do unto others.
Listen to me.
[slow-mo screaming]
[uneasy, reversed instrumental]
[breathing heavily]
[breathing rapidly]
You don't like that?
Neither do I.
Here.
- I'll help.
- [bones cracking]
[enigmatic instrumental]
Having trouble?
I can help with that too.
[bones crackling]
[music intensifies and warps]
[screaming]
[music quiets]
[guttural chanting]
[fire crackling]
[breathing heavily]
He took everything from you.
Your money.
Your life. Your future!
You were someone once.
And you can be again.
Stay with me and I'll give you
everything you've ever wanted.
If you lose me, there's nothing.
Maybe there's something more.
Maybe you need me.
No.
Without me, you're nothing.
I've been nothing for 12 years.
What are you gonna do with that?
What? No! No!
[music intensifies]
No!
No!
[screaming]
[screaming continues]
[screaming continues]
[screaming fades]
Ah! What...
[screaming]
What the...
You're real?
Yep.
I was dreaming?
What did you see?
I have no idea.
That'll happen
from time to time.
I need to find Arthur.
Whatever you did, thank you.
I didn't show you anything
that you didn't already know.
Now go.
Sorry about your chair.
- It's okay.
- First time vision guy.
- I got it. Go.
- Okay. Thank you!
[fast-paced fiddle music]
[breathing heavily]
[music fades]
[grunting]
[breathing heavily]
You can have mine
if you need it.
Long time no see.
Arthur, I'm so sorry. I...
You're back.
You're back.
I thought I lost you,
but you came back.
It's the right thing to do.
There he is.
What?
I've been waiting to see
that Kay for over 12 years now.
Yeah, well,
it feels pretty good.
I'm sorry, Kay. I never
wanted any of this for you.
- It's okay.
- No, it's not.
The night that they took
you away,
I hoped that
you would get off easy, but
there was a part of me...
That was angry.
That was happy.
You always had
everything going for you.
And I felt like
you threw all of that away.
Everything
that I had ever wanted.
I thought that you deserved
what was coming to you, like...
Like the scales
were finally being balanced.
I was jealous.
And then, it got so quiet.
And Dad stopped talking.
And in the silence at night,
all I could hear was Mom crying.
They missed you, Kay.
I missed you so much.
I wish that
I could go back, and
just talk to you as who I am now
and tell you how much
you mean to me.
[soft instrumental]
I'm here now.
I'm your brother.
I'm not going anywhere.
I was wrong about you, Kay.
You are trying
to put the fire out.
Let's put it out then.
[soft instrumental]
[Kay] What happened to this
place?
[Specter] Ironic, isn't it?
Specter?
We tried to burn down this place
so many years ago, and failed
only to have it crumble
under its own weight
without anyone touching it.
Entropy.
There's no crime.
Just the acceleration of
the inevitable.
We don't need a lecture,
Specter. What do you want?
You can either align with nature
or run against it, Arthur.
I'm just trying to
help it along its course.
What are you talking about?
You know, Kay
honestly, I'm surprised
that you're even here.
You see,
I'm only after your brother.
I thought by bringing up
a little family domestic
would have been enough
to keep you away from us, but...
I guess
you are just as sentimental
and worthless
as you were before.
Oh, well.
Fate, I suppose.
He'll just go down like
the rest of them,
kicking and screaming
in the fire.
Enough, Specter!
[Specter]
You can't stop me, Arthur.
No more than
you can stop nature.
If I don't get to you
or your family,
what's to stop disease?
Or the dulling
of your wife's love?
Or that little girl of yours
falling in with the wrong crowd
and ending up just like
your brother?
Stop! Don't you dare!
[Specter] Speaking of
your brother, what about him?
I know you two had your little
hug-it-out moment,
but band-aids
don't fix broken bones.
What's to stop him from
finishing what I've started?
I'm not that person
anymore, Specter.
Are you sure?
Have you asked brother dearest
what he's planning on doing
with that inheritance?
I know it's nice to make up
and shake hands,
but I'm not so sure there'll be
money in those palms.
I don't care about the money.
Not yet.
[sing-song] I said to them
why don't you run?
He's too afraid
to use his gun.
This is pointless.
We need to draw him out.
I'll do it.
- What?
- I'll do it.
I'll go out there.
I'll lure him out.
No, you're unarmed.
He doesn't care about me.
He wants you.
- I'll be fine.
- I'm not gonna let you put
- yourself in danger like that.
- Arthur.
Let me do this for you.
For your family.
I need to do this.
Okay.
Nothing's gonna happen to you.
I have your back.
I know.
[soft instrumental]
[tense instrumental]
Specter!
I wanna talk.
[Specter]
Oh, my little buddy.
I really do feel bad
what happened to you.
You didn't deserve
that much time.
I don't wanna talk about me.
[Specter]
Why not?
You've weaseled yourself
into the situation,
so I might as well give you
the spotlight
before I deal with your brother.
What are you gonna do to him?
[Specter] You're wasting
your time on stage, Kay.
The light in
the back of the house
will come on eventually,
and when it does
you might not wanna be here.
You gonna kill him?
Kill me instead.
[Specter]
No can do.
Your brother beat me to it.
Or do you not remember
Shepard State Pen?
He didn't do that to me.
I did.
And I got what I deserved.
We both did.
Speak for yourself, buddy.
That's the difference
between you and me.
You're not in it.
You weren't then,
and you certainly aren't now.
You're more Boy Scout
than your brother.
[Kay]
He's a good man.
You're not gonna hurt him
or his family.
[Specter] Wow,
you've come around quick.
But you're just as much of
a fool as your brother
if you think I can be stopped.
I'm inevitable.
I will kill Arthur,
and when I'm done with him,
I will move on to his family,
and I don't care that
he won't be around to see it,
'cause it's not about revenge.
It's about completion.
Old Arthur's kidding himself,
crawling around wherever he is.
He's right about
one thing, though.
You are pretty as bait.
[breathing shakily]
[inhaling deeply]
[exhaling]
You see,
the real difference between us
is casual versus career.
I thought in the beginning
you wanted to commit,
but I see now that
you were only in it for the fun.
Not for the long haul
for 12 years like me.
No, you see, for me,
as soon as Sin said,
bide your time, I was in.
I stepped into the long game.
Entropy.
Ride the wave,
or get crushed by it.
I've always wanted to do this.
No!
[tense instrumental]
[sound muted]
[soulful instrumental]
[muted gunshots]
[Arthur]
Hey, Kay. Hey.
Kay. Kay.
Oh, God, I'm so sorry, Kay.
Kay, listen to me.
I'm gonna get
you out of here, okay?
I'm gonna get you out of here.
I'm not gonna let you die.
You're not gonna die.
You understand me?
You're gonna live.
You're gonna live.
You're gonna meet my family.
Kay, please?
[Arthur] The building crumbles
and a brother dies.
I win. [Laughing weakly]
No matter what, I win.
You didn't win anything!
Are you sure?
I see a tear on your face.
There's no tears on mine.
I am glorious.
Brighter than the sun.
While you sit there, pathetic.
Wasting away
in ill-founded grief.
It doesn't matter.
60 years from now or today,
it's all the same.
I know that.
I win.
He's wrong. Kay?
Hey, hey.
Hey, stay with me. Stay with me.
- 'M gonna get you out of here.
- Hey, hey, hey...
Just be here with me.
I can't let you die.
I took away half of your life.
I can't let
you lose the rest of it.
Specter was right.
No, he's not.
He's not right.
I have lived.
I've lived more
than I ever could have.
Listen, I can see it now.
Time can work backwards.
All those years I spent alone,
all those years wasted
those years mean something now.
My whole life
means something now.
I've never been happier
in my entire life.
You're safe.
Your family's safe.
I found what I was looking for.
What?
Peace.
Hey, hey.
He looked at me.
[chuckling]
[sobbing]
He looked at me.
I looked at him.
I looked at him.
[exhaling shakily]
Kay.
Kay.
[sobbing]
[soft, peaceful instrumental]
[insects chirping]
Baby Kayla took
her first steps the other day.
Charlotte was pretty jealous
of the attention.
But I'm sure
she'll grow out of that
once the two of them can
start running around together.
I wish you could have met them.
I still...
feel regret sometimes.
I wanted to give you
so much more.
I wanted you to meet them.
They're here because of you.
Thank you.
Thank you for being my brother.
You have fun.
I can tell you're happy now.
[crackling sounds]
[Kay gasping]
[birds chirping]
[sniffling]
[sighing]
[frantic string music]
[gasping]
[distorted] Ready, smart guy?
Do it! Go!
[Kay panting]
Ow! Oh, God!
[birds chirping]
[sign buzzing]
[Kay] Everything's good?
Yeah, no,
that was, uh, super helpful.
Yeah, no, nice room.
Get it to myself.
Yeah, that's what they said.
Yeah, no, good group of guys.
Got along.
Getting along.
Yeah, we're getting along.
Yeah, no, I think I'll, uh,
I think I'll stay for a while.
No, not yet. Still looking.
Yeah, not in
an employee's market.
I'm sure that's what it is.
Hey, look, um, I'm actually
running out of gate money.
I was wondering if there was
any way I could get some more,
if there was
a program or something.
I...
What do you mean?
I'm staying at the halfway
house like you told me.
They called you?
Okay, look, they started it.
Yes, there was an incident.
I told them to back off. I...
And I... Yes,
of course there was fire.
You know
the therapy doesn't help.
Okay, and... No,
it's not just a matter of time.
I've been at this over a decade,
and I am still not even...
They told me if I left,
they wouldn't press charges.
Okay, okay.
Yes, I'll figure it out.
[unsettling music]
[horn honking]
[insects chirping]
[door opening]
[bell ringing]
Hi, just a room for the night.
Well, that'll be 33.
[coins dropping]
I've got, uh, 30, 32... 79.
You'll need $33.
I'll sweep the floors.
Hold on.
[door opening]
The lobby, the two hallways,
and then room five.
Great. Great, thanks.
[eerie guitar music]
[ice rattling]
[gasping]
[inhaling]
[phone ringing]
Hello.
[clicking]
[gasping]
[hissing]
So, you don't have
any barista-ing experience,
but that's fine.
We can train you.
Great.
And you have
a really good look too.
Like, like a little grungy,
kind of gritty, kind of punk.
You know, you'll
match the vibe really well.
Yeah, that's, no,
that's what I was going for.
Yeah, but you're not trying.
You know, like that's,
that's why it works.
- Right.
- Yeah.
We're the only beacon of
personality in this hick town,
so we can use all
the help we can get.
So it says on your application
your only reference is
an Officer Shanti, Shanti?
- Shanti.
- Shanti Tyson.
Is that like, like police?
Are you at all associated
with the police force?
Well...
Not like,
no, not like, yeah, no.
Cool. Cool, no,
I didn't think so.
I didn't think so at all.
The total opposite, actually.
I was incarcerated.
Oh.
Oh?
No, sorry, um...
It's fine. It's fine. Uh...
Do you just mind
telling me, like, what for?
Arson. 12 years.
Okay.
Look, I'm not gonna...
That's not gonna
be a problem, is it?
No. No.
It's... it's, like, so fine.
So fine. Um...
You know, like obviously we,
we think the prison system
is like, ugh, you know,
but the position is,
like, a little more managerial,
so we're probably gonna
have to go with someone with
a little more experience.
What happened to training me?
I just think like for me,
like that's
the direction we're gonna go.
For you?
What about for me?
I just, um, look, obviously
we stand with you in solidarity.
Solidar... What does that mean?
I mean, I thought
I wasn't getting
the job because
I wasn't managerial.
That's part of it.
Yeah, that is part of it.
Why do I have to be
managerial to pour coffee?
Sir, I don't want
to upset you in any way.
Look, I'm not...
Never mind.
Have a good day.
[fast-paced, tense music]
[man]
Long time no see, Kay.
Oh, shit.
Well, that's a hell of a start.
But you've done worse.
Arthur.
Mind if I share the alley?
Free country.
Speaking of which,
how's life been
treating you on the outside?
Uh, couldn't tell you yet.
I'm not sure
why you'd care, though.
Last time I checked,
you stopped writing.
Well, you never responded,
so after a while,
I was just wasting stamps.
You look good.
Oh, he's a comedian now.
Fine, you look terrible.
What do you want?
Mom was asking about you.
Why is Mom not here?
What's this about?
Specter's at it again.
He burned down
a barn a few days ago.
And you think I helped him?
No, actually, Kay,
I need you to help me.
Wow. Wow.
Haven't spoken in years,
and the first thing
you do is ask a favor?
- Just hear me out.
- Why?
I need you, Kay.
Throw on your siren.
Do it yourself.
Got your little badge now, yeah?
Yeah, so
you did read my letters.
It's sheriff now, actually.
Where's your gun?
And your horse.
I don't want to scare Specter.
I know he's gone off
somewhere in the mountains,
but I don't know where,
so just was thinking
you could point me
in the right direction.
You should
have been the comedian.
Wish I had the chance.
You weren't released
for good behavior.
[Kay] Obviously.
You know,
I bet there were a few guards
in there who weren't
your biggest fans.
Those guards
tell their superiors,
who tell the feds, who tell me.
Suddenly, you got
a lot of eyes on your back.
What are you getting at?
Specter goes on another spree.
Guess who gets pulled back
- in for questioning?
- Arthur?
Guess whose parole is
in jeopardy?
Guess who shares
a history of serial arson,
was arrested with
the culprit previously,
and has plenty
of shared motivation
for scorching
the town that betrayed him?
Are you threatening me?
Careful.
I'm offering you an alibi.
Accompany me until we catch
Specter, or he strikes again.
You're in the clear either way.
Look, I'm sure there's
a lot of people who would
love nothing more than
to see you sitting
on the sad side of their desk.
I'm saving
you a lot of headache.
I've learned to deal with
the headache after 12 years.
Then I'm offering
you a second chance.
Help me put this to rest.
We catch Specter,
he goes away for life.
And you get a new one.
Come on, Kay.
I see your bag.
I know you don't
have a job or a... a home.
Do this for me, and I can
help you get back on your feet.
I could pull some strings
and you could be looking at
35 an hour with benefits,
just like that.
Arthur, despite what
you think, I'm doing fine.
It may not look it, but I am.
And you should know most of
all that looks can be deceiving,
because after all,
you look like a cop,
but in reality,
you're a sniveling little weasel
with a gold star
that can get fucked.
Me or the star?
You with your star.
[sign buzzing]
[faint rumbling music]
Come on.
[metal jingling]
What's up, Kay?
[grunting]
Found you, bitch.
Look, Tony,
you don't gotta do this.
- Yeah, you fucked up my boy.
- He started it.
Yeah, he'd be here to
finish too,
if his face didn't look
like burnt leather.
Big fucking
improvement if you ask me.
Cut the shit.
You like fire?
Good.
Let's bring him to the bonfire.
[tense orchestral music]
Hey, yo, Tony.
Brought his own straps.
Perfect.
[grunting]
[faint fighting sounds]
[gunshot]
I wanna see hands!
I said hands, now!
We're not going back to jail.
Final warning, if you don't
stop, I will open fire.
Yeah, but on who?
[gun clicking]
Shit.
We have enough gasoline
for the two of you.
[roaring]
Get the gun!
Where is the gun?
I'm working on it.
You are a terrible cop.
Stop being so dramatic.
You're doing fine.
[man screaming]
I'm not doing fine.
[Tony] Yeah? Come on!
I'm gonna kill you
one way or another.
The way I see it, killing
a freak like you's a service.
- [gunshot]
- Oh, shit.
You okay?
Yeah. Yeah, no,
I'm enjoying myself, actually.
[both groaning]
So, who were they?
Those were my friends
from the halfway house.
Huh. Don't suppose
you know their names.
Thought you were
gonna protect me?
Nah, I thought
I'd start a book club.
Kay, I might not be
around next time to help.
I know.
I could be, though.
I could even move you to where
these guys would never find you.
My offer still stands, Kay.
Just one favor.
Just the one.
And you'll get me out of here.
- Scout's honor.
- Far away from you.
I might as well be in China.
'Kay, I was hoping for the moon.
Or hell.
Okay, well, beggars
can't be choosers.
How do I know I can trust you?
We're brothers.
Yeah, not by blood, not by bond.
Not good enough.
Bit harsh.
- How about Mom?
- Don't swear on Mom.
I'm not. I swore to her.
So, if you can't trust my word
to you, trust my word to Mom.
She made me promise
to look out for you.
This is the best offer that's
coming along for you right now.
[sighing]
Congratulations. You just moved
from potential criminal
to private consultant.
So, I'm getting paid?
No. No, no, no.
You always start pro bono.
Come on.
Pro bono my ass.
So, you have
no idea where Specter's at?
Nope.
That's what you're here for,
brother of mine.
Don't get too comfortable.
Sorry. Call me a romantic.
Yeah. The romantic sheriff.
Yeah, let's
not get too comfortable.
To find Specter,
I need to know how he thinks.
And where he would have gone.
Well, he never lets anything go,
and he always
finishes what he starts.
The mill?
Think he's there?
As much as I hate that thought,
yeah, I'd put money on it.
Well, you're about
to hate it even more.
Yeah, why's that?
That road's been closed
for years from a rock slide,
which means three days
on foot with me.
I told you where he's at.
That's the deal.
No, the deal is you help me find
him, and then I hold up my end.
Unless you want to wait here for
your friends to show up again?
Come on, it'll be like
a backpacking trip,
just like when we were kids.
[Kay]
I said don't get too comfy!
[gentle guitar music]
[birds chirping]
So, do you have anything
you want to do now
that you're out?
Nope.
Okay, I just assumed
that after all this time
you would have
thought of something.
No, I mean
no to this conversation.
Well, this, uh, this one time
I was volunteering
- with the Cub Scouts...
- Is this necessary?
Yeah, look,
if you don't have anything
to say, then I'm gonna
have to pick up the slack.
We, um, we took the kids
to the Greenhorn
after their tour
of the police station,
and I'm getting orders
from everyone,
and this
one little guy points at
a picture on the menu of,
uh, Rocky Mountain Oysters,
and I'm not thinking,
so I just order them for him,
and he just starts
chowing down, like,
this kid is absolutely
loving them,
and he asks me what they are,
and I didn't really
see a reason to lie,
so I said, "Well, they're
actually bull testicles,"
and he says,
"Well, what are those?"
And I said,
"They're kind of like, um,
like cow meatballs,"
and this kid, I swear to God,
runs over to his mom,
who's at the table next to us,
she was chaperoning that day,
and he looks at her,
and with the most
serious face he says,
"We need to have spaghetti and
testicles every single night."
And this lady just looks
at me with this glare that says,
you know, you better
explain yourself.
So, I muster up the courage and
I walk over to her and I say,
"I guess testicles
taste pretty good?"
And she doesn't skip a beat
and just winks at me and says,
"Well, Sheriff,
you ought to know."
Turns out it was not
the kid's mom, it was his aunt,
and apparently I didn't
embarrass myself too badly,
because when I asked her
to get a beer with me,
she... she actually said yes,
and then we were off.
You know, I...
I didn't think it was possible
for two people to
fall in love that fast, but...
But that's what we did,
and we were married before
the year was out.
Just to...
To have someone like that,
you know, someone that special,
just
sometimes doesn't make
any sense to me, like, I get...
I get confused how
she could love me,
but she does,
and every day we wake up,
she smiles at me
brighter than the day before.
I don't think that I would ever
be happy without those looks.
Sorry.
I just get a little choked up
with those moments
that matter, you know?
I don't know.
I'm sorry, Kay.
Look, let's
just not talk about it.
Okay, but you
shouldn't feel like...
You're not my therapist, Arthur.
You're young, man.
You have a lot
of life ahead of you.
What about the life behind me?
I can't just pick up
where I left off at 18,
and I'm certainly
not where I need to be now.
I missed all that.
I missed being young,
being promising,
falling in love.
That's what prison is.
It's a 12-year reminder
of the life
that went on without me.
Kay...
Hey, let's just
talk about this, okay?
I don't want to talk about it.
I don't need to talk about it,
about this, about anything.
- But Kay...
- No more talking!
Okay.
- The other day
- Come on.
- I'm not talking, I'm singing.
- You're making noise.
Okay, well I can either
talk to you or sing to myself.
Fine.
The other day, I saw a bear
I saw a bear
A great big bear
A great big bear
- A way up there
- I'm not singing.
- I didn't ask you to.
- Yeah, but you...
You need to stop
talking right now
because I'm singing, okay?
The other day I saw a bear
A great big bear
a way up there
I looked at him
I looked at him
- He looked at me
- He looked at me
- I sized him up
- I sized him up
- He sized up me
- He sized up me
I looked at him,
he looked at me
I sized him up,
he sized up me
- God, this is stupid.
- Yes, it is.
[birds chirping]
[crackling]
Kay?
Kay!
[grunting]
No!
- Kay!
- [Kay yelling]
Kay! Kay! Kay! I got you.
Settle down.
Settle down. It's...
What the hell is going on?
I'm okay, all right?
What is happening right now?
Kay! What the hell was that?
- Nothing.
- Nothing.
You just bashed me in the face
and you're trying to
light yourself on fire.
- I'm fine.
- Obviously not.
I don't want to talk about it.
Well, we're going to.
[panting]
Kay, just tell me.
I don't know when it started.
I don't like fire.
Really? Because it seems
like you kind of love it.
I just feel like I...
Is that why
your hands are bandaged?
Yeah.
Sometimes it's bad.
Sometimes it's less bad.
I just try to stay away,
just in case.
Then, who lit the fire?
Kay, who lit the fire?
You know who.
Okay, he's been following us.
I saw him at the park.
What?
Why didn't
you tell me this before?
It doesn't matter.
Okay? We're not going
to find him out here.
He's not going to be found
if he doesn't want to be found.
- Kay, he got arrested.
- Because of me.
Okay? He would have been
long gone if it wasn't for me.
I... Maybe I let something slip.
I took too long.
And last thing I remember,
he was bolting out of the room,
and I was alone and then
I wasn't alone,
and then some cop is bashing
me over the head,
and it's all over.
That's the last time
I saw fire before... this.
I'm sorry, Kay.
Yeah, me too.
I think you're still
seeing that fire.
- Arthur...
- You are.
And maybe you're
just trying to put it out now.
You know
that I have a daughter now?
I'm still getting over
the fact that you have a wife.
Yeah.
A lot can happen in 12 years.
The little one, Charlotte.
She loves these.
Prairie flax.
She carries them with her
wherever she goes.
She'll go screaming
off the trail, into the bush,
at the sight of them.
So, I try to pick them up
wherever I can
to bring them home to her.
And then
I started to like 'em too.
They remind me
of her and her mother.
It grounds me.
Maybe it'll help ground you too.
Thanks.
You should try to get some rest.
Arthur.
You didn't have to grab me
back there.
I would've snapped out of that.
After roasting your hands?
Happened anyway.
Would've saved you some trouble.
I'll take the trouble.
You rest up.
We got a long day tomorrow.
Lot of ground to cover.
[gentle guitar music]
[insects chirping]
[unsettling music]
[gasping]
[leaves crunching]
Long time no see, Kay.
- Specter?
- Yeah.
It's me, bud.
What the hell is going on?
What are you doing?
I'm thinking it's time
we put the band back together.
I'm not an arsonist anymore.
You might've enjoyed your 12
years in jail, but I didn't.
What about Arthur?
What about him?
He's a little too
boy scout for my taste.
- Should I take care of him?
- You touch him...
Whoa, whoa, whoa, cowboy.
Not too close.
Neat little trick
you picked up there.
Leave Arthur out of this.
He has done nothing to you.
Is that so?
I'd be careful of
that brotherly love, Kay.
He might not be as
boy scout as you think.
What are you talking about?
I've missed you.
- Specter!
- I'd never lie to you.
- Specter!
- Shh, shh, shh.
Let's not wake dear brother.
At least not yet.
Why are you here?
Trip down memory lane, maybe?
Now, I don't know
how cushy your jail was,
but the one I was
transferred to had a library.
Oh!
It was filled with the best
collection of classic novels
and articles a con could lay his
gasoline-soaked hands on.
One day, as I'm skipping
through some of the classics,
I stumble across some
old newspaper articles.
The Crestridge Gazette.
And these went back.
Back to your junior year
championship win,
your victory lap
as homecoming king,
and the first student ever
from Crestridge High to
get accepted to MIT.
Man, these were good reads.
But like all good stories,
it took a turn, didn't it?
- Specter?
- No, no, no. Let me finish,
because the next one
is my favorite.
"Local high school hero arrested
on serial arson charges."
Town betrayed, father disgraced.
You love your father, don't you?
Don't talk about him.
Loved. Sorry, loved.
And he loved you. He did.
Don't assume otherwise.
A man's heart
can't break that much
- if it isn't filled with love.
- Stop talking!
But when it broke,
it broke for good.
He lost a son.
Thankfully, he had another.
A less flashy, less fun son,
but whose rather lackluster
future was still intact.
A live mule is
better than a dead horse.
When he died,
how much did you lose
to Arthur in the inheritance?
Your dad's farm was big.
A couple million?
A couple dozen million?
Eh. Oh well.
At least it's safe with Arthur.
Safe to rot away year
after year,
as he runs around town
playing hero cop.
The hero
you were supposed to be.
Shut up.
Safe with old Arthur.
Well, not that safe.
His barn did go up
like a pile of newspapers.
His barn?
Went up like all
your dreams in those newspapers.
What are you saying?
The man had relations with
his wife Eve,
and she conceived
and bore Kay saying,
"I have produced a man
with the help of the Lord."
Next, she adopted
his brother Arthur.
Kay became keeper of flocks,
while Arthur a tiller of soil.
In the course of time,
Arthur brought offerings
to the Lord from the dirt.
While Kay, for his part, brought
his best firstling of his flock.
[ominous music]
The Lord looked in favor
on Kay and his offerings,
but on Arthur and his dirt,
he did not.
[distorted] Let's go.
Arthur greatly resented
this and was crestfallen.
And he said to his brother Kay,
let us go into the field.
And when they were in the field,
Arthur raised his hand
and killed his brother Kay.
No!
[Arthur] Kay? Kay!
Food for thought.
[Arthur] Kay!
Kay, are you all right? Hey.
- He said...
- Who, Specter?
- You.
- Was it Specter, Kay?
God, we could have had him.
You should have woken me up.
It was you the whole time.
What are you talking about?
That night. That night,
you called the cops.
You hit me.
You got me arrested.
Kay, just calm down.
Specter can't be trusted.
Don't listen
to anything he said.
Arthur, please.
- Kay, listen to me...
- Tell me!
The night you got arrested,
I found gas-soaked rags
in the garage.
We drove diesel.
You told Mom you were
going to the Greenhorn,
but I saw
your tire tracks in the mud.
You went left, not right.
Everything fell together.
Your distance with Mom and Dad.
Your distance with me.
Your ego.
You started
hanging out with Specter,
but he never even
came up the driveway.
- So, I... I called the cops.
- Jesus.
I knew they weren't
going to get there in time.
Kay, kids used
to go to that mill.
What if
they got caught in the fire?
I had to go.
You don't think
I would have checked?
I burned down some empty
building because it was fun.
- I am not a murderer.
- Well, Specter could have been.
Oh. No, no, no, no, no.
This is about me, not Specter.
You knew I was
the town's favorite.
Dad's favorite. You weren't.
You weren't anything, Arthur.
You couldn't even do a pull-up.
Look at you.
And you wanted to join,
what, the Marines?
No, you wanted what I had.
But you couldn't
get that yourself,
so you settled for a lie.
- And you took it from me.
- I did not.
You took my future
and the inheritance.
I never thought about the money.
I was just doing what was right.
Oh-ho, doing what is right?
Don't give me that bullshit.
You didn't want
to do what was right.
You just wanted to
look like the good guy.
That is ridiculous.
You just wanted to
look like the good guy,
and you always have.
You know how I know that?
- How, Kay?
- Because a good guy
would not have lied
to the brother
he sent to
jail for 12 fucking years!
Specter is
going to hurt my family!
I'm sorry, Kay. I am.
I lied to you for 12 years, and,
yes, I kept lying, but I had to.
Specter found out
about my involvement,
so when he got out,
he burned down the farm.
Dad's farm.
And he also left a note.
He said that if
I didn't meet him at the mill,
he was going to find
my family and make them burn.
And that if I got
any other police involved,
he would make them burn.
If I tried to
get away with them,
he would make them burn,
I couldn't risk that.
I knew what he was capable of.
If you knew where to find him,
why'd you bother with me?
I was afraid
that if he got to you first,
maybe he could use you
to hurt my family.
Or that even that
you might join him,
I had to get to you first.
So, I'm a loose end.
I'm just a threat.
Of course not.
You're my brother.
No. I'm a liability.
Please, Kay, you have to
understand, they are my family.
- They're my life.
- What about my life?
What about me being your family?
If I wasn't
connected to any of this,
you wouldn't have given
a shit if you ever saw me again.
That's not true!
Stop lying!
All you do is lie
to get what you want.
- You're using me.
- Please, Kay.
I'm not
going to be used anymore!
[ominous music]
Abel became a keeper of flocks,
and Cain a tiller of the soil.
In the course of time,
Cain brought an offering
to the Lord from the fruit
of the soil,
while Abel brought his best
firstling from his flock.
The Lord looked with favor
on Abel and his offering,
but on Cain and his offering,
he did not.
Cain greatly resented this
and was crestfallen,
and said to his brother Abel,
let us go into the field.
When they were in the field,
Cain attacked
his brother Abel,
and killed him.
Fight back!
I'm not going to fight you.
Why? You guys don't fight?
You're my brother.
I'm not going
to fight my brother.
You're not my brother.
You killed
your brother 12 years ago.
That's not true.
There's still good in you.
You still have a future...
Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!
You have no idea
what my life is like.
You know what else?
If I don't kill you,
I hope Specter does.
I hope he burns you down,
your life,
and your whole family with you.
Listen to me very closely.
I will not
fight you for my sake,
but if there is even
a sliver of a chance
that you could hurt my family,
I will blow you away.
I wasn't jealous.
I was proud of you.
I didn't need
to be a hero because
you were already my hero.
I don't care
about the money, I...
I just care about my family.
And that includes you.
But I can't keep fighting you.
I was wrong about you.
You're not trying
to put the fire out.
You're still trying
to control it.
[exhales]
[panting]
[exhales]
God damn it!
[shouting]
God damn it!
[breathing heavily]
You got a problem?
Take it out on the dirt.
What?
Hit the dirt.
You're scaring the fish.
Oh.
Sorry.
Eh, it's probably
too late for this hole now.
Come on. You can pay me back
by helping me chop some wood.
I'm sorry?
You spooked the fish.
You gotta make up for it.
- Now come on.
- Look, hey...
- I'm sorry, but I...
- [chuckles]
You sure do apologize a lot
for someone who's not eager
to make things right.
Now, if not
well, I'll have no choice
but to keep this.
I just threw that out.
Then, you don't mind
if I keep it.
I have supper as well, but only
for those who want to work.
[Kay] Fuck!
[breathing heavily]
That didn't sound good.
Hey, take a break, man.
Hope you like berries.
[Kay exhales]
What happened to your hands?
I burned 'em.
[man] They hurt?
Right now?
Any time.
Yeah, all the time.
What's your name, kid?
Kay.
I'm Joe.
Thanks for the berries, Joe.
You bet.
[birds chirping]
Hold on a minute.
Come over here.
Give me that.
Let's have a look at this.
[Kay exhales]
- [Kay groans softly]
- I'm sorry. Sorry.
[Kay exhales]
[Joe] Ooh!
Gnarly.
All right. Put 'em in.
Put 'em in. It's all right.
[Kay exhales]
I got this from my auntie.
- It's never failed me before.
- Oh, that feels amazing.
Just keep them
in there a little,
and you'll feel right as rain.
Uh
what's all this for?
It's what you do for
homeless bums, right?
You help 'em out.
I'm not a homeless bum.
I am.
And you're helping me out.
You can do me one more kindness
by telling me why
you were hell-bent on
scaring off every fish
in a five-mile radius.
Joe, with all due respect...
Um, and, really, thank you
for the...
For the berries
and whatever this is, but
you brought me here
to chop wood.
Not to get to know me.
Well,
pile's right over there, then.
[gasps]
[laughing]
How did...
I don't know. Ask my auntie.
Try 'em out.
No! No!
[unsettling music]
Arthur! [Shouts]
[Kay grunting]
Hey! You stay there, okay?
What are you,
some kind of junkie?
Anti-junkie?
It's just a fuckin' joint!
- What, you afraid of weed?
- I'm afraid of fire.
Well, you said a name,
and it ain't yours.
- Who's Arthur?
- No one.
Well, it doesn't
sound like no one.
- It's no one!
- Hey!
I'm the one that just
got jumped, all right?
- Who's Arthur?
- My brother!
[panting]
Hey. Easy.
[sighs]
Hey, I'm sorry, man.
When some random stranger
jumps me in the woods,
I tend to get a little anxious.
So, what's Arthur's game?
I... You gonna get mad
at me if I
really don't feel like
talking about it?
You can feel whatever you want.
But you're gonna tell me.
It's a long story.
Make it short.
Okay, I... was arrested,
and I recently
found out that my brother
is the one that put me there.
Did he frame you?
No. I did it.
Oh.
Then you deserved to be in jail.
How much time did you do?
12 years.
When are you gonna get out?
[chuckles]
I am out.
[scoffs] Oh, no, you're not.
What are you talking about?
You're living in your
own personal prison, man.
Okay, I don't need
some dusty-ass hippie
telling me
how screwed my life is.
All right?
You didn't deserve that.
What?
You didn't deserve
to lose that much of your life.
There's still some
more berries over here.
And I promise I will
try to limit my, uh,
dusty "hippie mantras," man.
Come on, sit down.
Look, you've had, what,
12 not-so-great years?
Seems to me you could have
60 much better ones to go.
But that's not gonna happen if
you hold your hurts so precious.
It happened.
Past tense, man.
Leave it in the past.
Did you roll out
of a tie-dye Volkswagen bus
- and get lost here?
- [chuckling]
Nope,
just out of my mom's hooter
and out onto
this big blue marble.
Yeah, it's not that simple, Joe.
[Joe]
Yes, it is.
Easy? No.
Simple? Yeah.
Now, I'm gonna go back inside
and have another big hit
of that wonderful joint.
Now, if you're smart,
you'll come and join me.
But if you're even smarter,
you're gonna head that way
and go find your brother.
[sighs]
Wrong way.
You came from that way.
That's where your brother's at.
Look...
I just need to think
about some things.
No, no, no, you do not
need to think about things.
And I can tell that's something
that you're not very good at.
And I'm gonna try and help you.
You trust me?
Not really.
You got anything to lose?
Not much.
Sit down.
No fire, please.
It's all right.
Cover your eyes if you have to.
You know, in a past life,
I used to be an alchemist.
My auntie helped me with that.
And this.
It's all right. It's all right.
Breathe in slowly.
Breathe it in. That's it.
- That's it. That's it.
- [Kay coughing]
- That's it. That's it.
- [Kay panting]
Is this supposed
to show me something?
Nothing that
you don't already know.
Just give you
the opportunity to face it.
Face it?
You're on the precipice, man.
You just need a little push.
Doesn't make any sense.
You get into any trouble
think of the flower.
[low, unsettling music]
[gasps, pants]
Joe? Joe!
- What the hell?
- [high-pitched ringing]
[grunts]
- [groans]
- [ringing fades]
[breathing heavily]
Hey, are you okay?
It's you.
Do we... do we know each other?
No, no. Sorry, um...
I just woke up here
and I'm a little confused.
All my stuff is gone.
What happened to your hands?
Uh, I burned them.
But they were, um...
There was this old man.
Did he have a white tent?
Yeah. Why? Do you know Joe?
[sighs] God, I'm so sorry. Um
park ranger came by this morning
and said there was this old guy
going around talking to people
and then, uh
well, drugging them.
Oh.
Are you all right?
Do you need any help?
This is just my luck.
Honestly, I mean, you're lucky
he didn't take a kidney.
Wow. [Chuckles]
- Bedside manners.
- Sorry. [Laughs]
Just, you know,
helps take the edge off.
I'm Kate.
- You've got to be kidding.
- What?
My name's Kay.
Oh. Wow. Kay.
That's, uh... that's weird.
Not bad weird. Just, you know...
Regular weird?
Regular weird.
Hey, so, uh, this whole thing's
kind of freaking me out,
so I was actually gonna
go back to my campsite
and pack up and then
head into town, and, um
company might be nice.
We just met.
Yeah, no, if you...
If you'd rather
stay in the woods with
the crazy guy around.
No, sorry, that would be great.
Thanks for the soap.
Yeah.
- Figured you might want it.
- It was nice.
Never used, uh,
lavender pine sap.
- Pretty neat.
- Neat?
[laughs]
Wow, I was a little
nervous about you at first,
but you're 100 years old.
Yeah,
it feels like it sometimes.
Well, it doesn't look like it.
So, what are you doing out here?
Oh, I was, uh
hiking with my brother.
There's two of you? Damn.
Where's he at?
Um, we got in a fight.
About what?
- It's, um...
- Not that it's any
of my business, it's just,
you know, tall, mysterious man
wanders into the woods,
uses my soap,
I kind of wanna know
a little bit more about him.
Okay. Um...
What do you wanna know?
Why don't you start
from the beginning?
I was arrested.
For what?
Arson.
That makes me feel better.
Yeah,
not the best first impression.
No, I'm serious, it does.
Never heard that before.
Well, it could be murder.
- Fair enough.
- Unless...
Dumb kid, not Dahmer.
Fair enough.
I, uh... I just found out that
my brother is the one
who got me arrested.
Hence the fight.
Yeah. Got bad.
I left, and
he left, and he's out there,
and I don't know what to do.
He's in some trouble, and he...
Forget him.
What?
Did he get himself
into this trouble?
Yeah.
Well,
then he can get himself out.
You don't owe anything
to anyone, especially family.
My dad kicked me out
when I was young.
I was just a girl, and
he took away everything from me.
And I grew up,
and I realized
I'd been living my life
based off of his expectations
instead of my own,
and I had just
wasted all these years
trying to reconcile
and to make it right.
But that's a lie.
Other people
won't make you happy.
You have to live for yourself.
I don't belong to anyone.
Neither do you.
Maybe not.
Maybe you should
take care of yourself first.
Maybe I should.
Maybe we could travel together.
Even if just for
the next few miles.
- You don't even know me.
- So?
I knew my dad pretty well
and he still let me down.
Sounds like you know
your brother pretty well.
- Apparently not.
- No, you did.
And maybe you were
right about him.
It doesn't matter.
He's gone.
You're living for yourself now.
You're free.
Free to hitchhike
with some random girl
that I just met
after waking up in a forest?
Free to do whatever you want.
Plus, I think I'm more
than just some random girl.
[tender music]
What?
- I, um...
- Hey!
Hey, hey.
Let it just be us.
No one else. Hm?
Yeah.
[music turns dark]
[Kay gasps, pants]
I'm sorry, I just...
My brother might need me.
I need to go.
Hey, hey, hey.
That's not your problem, okay?
Whose problem is it, huh?
It's your brother's.
So who has to face
the consequences?
He does.
Because who was
in the wrong to begin with?
He was. So he deserves
to bear this alone.
Then so would I. I have to go...
You're only gonna waste
your time if you go back there.
Just
stay with me.
I'm not gonna let anyone
take advantage of you.
That's what he wants to do.
He wants to use you
to solve his problems.
- But what if...
- Just stop thinking
and do what
you wanna do for once.
Just
don't worry about tomorrow.
We're young and free now.
Forget tomorrow.
Forget everyone else out there.
Just think of us.
Let everything else burn.
[intense instrumental]
[gasping]
[music intensifies]
[Kay grunting]
You think that he's
gonna help you if you help him?
You've spent the last 12 years
rotting in a cell
while he prospered off
of what was yours.
You deserve so much more.
What are you?
I'm the best part of you.
Don't you like me?
Look at me.
[deeper voice] Look at me!
[slow, uneasy drumbeat]
[music intensifies]
Boo.
- [sizzling]
- [screaming]
- [breathing heavily]
- [flames crackling]
[fire roaring]
What's the golden rule, Kay?
Do unto yourself
before you do unto others.
Listen to me.
[slow-mo screaming]
[uneasy, reversed instrumental]
[breathing heavily]
[breathing rapidly]
You don't like that?
Neither do I.
Here.
- I'll help.
- [bones cracking]
[enigmatic instrumental]
Having trouble?
I can help with that too.
[bones crackling]
[music intensifies and warps]
[screaming]
[music quiets]
[guttural chanting]
[fire crackling]
[breathing heavily]
He took everything from you.
Your money.
Your life. Your future!
You were someone once.
And you can be again.
Stay with me and I'll give you
everything you've ever wanted.
If you lose me, there's nothing.
Maybe there's something more.
Maybe you need me.
No.
Without me, you're nothing.
I've been nothing for 12 years.
What are you gonna do with that?
What? No! No!
[music intensifies]
No!
No!
[screaming]
[screaming continues]
[screaming continues]
[screaming fades]
Ah! What...
[screaming]
What the...
You're real?
Yep.
I was dreaming?
What did you see?
I have no idea.
That'll happen
from time to time.
I need to find Arthur.
Whatever you did, thank you.
I didn't show you anything
that you didn't already know.
Now go.
Sorry about your chair.
- It's okay.
- First time vision guy.
- I got it. Go.
- Okay. Thank you!
[fast-paced fiddle music]
[breathing heavily]
[music fades]
[grunting]
[breathing heavily]
You can have mine
if you need it.
Long time no see.
Arthur, I'm so sorry. I...
You're back.
You're back.
I thought I lost you,
but you came back.
It's the right thing to do.
There he is.
What?
I've been waiting to see
that Kay for over 12 years now.
Yeah, well,
it feels pretty good.
I'm sorry, Kay. I never
wanted any of this for you.
- It's okay.
- No, it's not.
The night that they took
you away,
I hoped that
you would get off easy, but
there was a part of me...
That was angry.
That was happy.
You always had
everything going for you.
And I felt like
you threw all of that away.
Everything
that I had ever wanted.
I thought that you deserved
what was coming to you, like...
Like the scales
were finally being balanced.
I was jealous.
And then, it got so quiet.
And Dad stopped talking.
And in the silence at night,
all I could hear was Mom crying.
They missed you, Kay.
I missed you so much.
I wish that
I could go back, and
just talk to you as who I am now
and tell you how much
you mean to me.
[soft instrumental]
I'm here now.
I'm your brother.
I'm not going anywhere.
I was wrong about you, Kay.
You are trying
to put the fire out.
Let's put it out then.
[soft instrumental]
[Kay] What happened to this
place?
[Specter] Ironic, isn't it?
Specter?
We tried to burn down this place
so many years ago, and failed
only to have it crumble
under its own weight
without anyone touching it.
Entropy.
There's no crime.
Just the acceleration of
the inevitable.
We don't need a lecture,
Specter. What do you want?
You can either align with nature
or run against it, Arthur.
I'm just trying to
help it along its course.
What are you talking about?
You know, Kay
honestly, I'm surprised
that you're even here.
You see,
I'm only after your brother.
I thought by bringing up
a little family domestic
would have been enough
to keep you away from us, but...
I guess
you are just as sentimental
and worthless
as you were before.
Oh, well.
Fate, I suppose.
He'll just go down like
the rest of them,
kicking and screaming
in the fire.
Enough, Specter!
[Specter]
You can't stop me, Arthur.
No more than
you can stop nature.
If I don't get to you
or your family,
what's to stop disease?
Or the dulling
of your wife's love?
Or that little girl of yours
falling in with the wrong crowd
and ending up just like
your brother?
Stop! Don't you dare!
[Specter] Speaking of
your brother, what about him?
I know you two had your little
hug-it-out moment,
but band-aids
don't fix broken bones.
What's to stop him from
finishing what I've started?
I'm not that person
anymore, Specter.
Are you sure?
Have you asked brother dearest
what he's planning on doing
with that inheritance?
I know it's nice to make up
and shake hands,
but I'm not so sure there'll be
money in those palms.
I don't care about the money.
Not yet.
[sing-song] I said to them
why don't you run?
He's too afraid
to use his gun.
This is pointless.
We need to draw him out.
I'll do it.
- What?
- I'll do it.
I'll go out there.
I'll lure him out.
No, you're unarmed.
He doesn't care about me.
He wants you.
- I'll be fine.
- I'm not gonna let you put
- yourself in danger like that.
- Arthur.
Let me do this for you.
For your family.
I need to do this.
Okay.
Nothing's gonna happen to you.
I have your back.
I know.
[soft instrumental]
[tense instrumental]
Specter!
I wanna talk.
[Specter]
Oh, my little buddy.
I really do feel bad
what happened to you.
You didn't deserve
that much time.
I don't wanna talk about me.
[Specter]
Why not?
You've weaseled yourself
into the situation,
so I might as well give you
the spotlight
before I deal with your brother.
What are you gonna do to him?
[Specter] You're wasting
your time on stage, Kay.
The light in
the back of the house
will come on eventually,
and when it does
you might not wanna be here.
You gonna kill him?
Kill me instead.
[Specter]
No can do.
Your brother beat me to it.
Or do you not remember
Shepard State Pen?
He didn't do that to me.
I did.
And I got what I deserved.
We both did.
Speak for yourself, buddy.
That's the difference
between you and me.
You're not in it.
You weren't then,
and you certainly aren't now.
You're more Boy Scout
than your brother.
[Kay]
He's a good man.
You're not gonna hurt him
or his family.
[Specter] Wow,
you've come around quick.
But you're just as much of
a fool as your brother
if you think I can be stopped.
I'm inevitable.
I will kill Arthur,
and when I'm done with him,
I will move on to his family,
and I don't care that
he won't be around to see it,
'cause it's not about revenge.
It's about completion.
Old Arthur's kidding himself,
crawling around wherever he is.
He's right about
one thing, though.
You are pretty as bait.
[breathing shakily]
[inhaling deeply]
[exhaling]
You see,
the real difference between us
is casual versus career.
I thought in the beginning
you wanted to commit,
but I see now that
you were only in it for the fun.
Not for the long haul
for 12 years like me.
No, you see, for me,
as soon as Sin said,
bide your time, I was in.
I stepped into the long game.
Entropy.
Ride the wave,
or get crushed by it.
I've always wanted to do this.
No!
[tense instrumental]
[sound muted]
[soulful instrumental]
[muted gunshots]
[Arthur]
Hey, Kay. Hey.
Kay. Kay.
Oh, God, I'm so sorry, Kay.
Kay, listen to me.
I'm gonna get
you out of here, okay?
I'm gonna get you out of here.
I'm not gonna let you die.
You're not gonna die.
You understand me?
You're gonna live.
You're gonna live.
You're gonna meet my family.
Kay, please?
[Arthur] The building crumbles
and a brother dies.
I win. [Laughing weakly]
No matter what, I win.
You didn't win anything!
Are you sure?
I see a tear on your face.
There's no tears on mine.
I am glorious.
Brighter than the sun.
While you sit there, pathetic.
Wasting away
in ill-founded grief.
It doesn't matter.
60 years from now or today,
it's all the same.
I know that.
I win.
He's wrong. Kay?
Hey, hey.
Hey, stay with me. Stay with me.
- 'M gonna get you out of here.
- Hey, hey, hey...
Just be here with me.
I can't let you die.
I took away half of your life.
I can't let
you lose the rest of it.
Specter was right.
No, he's not.
He's not right.
I have lived.
I've lived more
than I ever could have.
Listen, I can see it now.
Time can work backwards.
All those years I spent alone,
all those years wasted
those years mean something now.
My whole life
means something now.
I've never been happier
in my entire life.
You're safe.
Your family's safe.
I found what I was looking for.
What?
Peace.
Hey, hey.
He looked at me.
[chuckling]
[sobbing]
He looked at me.
I looked at him.
I looked at him.
[exhaling shakily]
Kay.
Kay.
[sobbing]
[soft, peaceful instrumental]
[insects chirping]
Baby Kayla took
her first steps the other day.
Charlotte was pretty jealous
of the attention.
But I'm sure
she'll grow out of that
once the two of them can
start running around together.
I wish you could have met them.
I still...
feel regret sometimes.
I wanted to give you
so much more.
I wanted you to meet them.
They're here because of you.
Thank you.
Thank you for being my brother.
You have fun.
I can tell you're happy now.