Weapons (2025) Movie Script
This is a true story.
It happened right here in my town two
years ago.
A lot of people die in really strange
ways in this story, but you won't find it in
the news because the police and town
officials were embarrassed they couldn't solve
it and covered everything up.
But if you ask anyone here, they'll all
tell you the same thing that I'm going to
tell you now.
This story starts in my school.
Maybrook Elementary is for kindergarten
through fifth grade.
So this one Wednesday was a normal day
for the whole school.
And they had a new teacher.
Her name was Justine Gandy.
And on this day, she was going to her
classroom just like every morning.
But today was different.
Today, none of her kids were there.
Every other class at that school had all
their kids.
Even the other third grade class Mrs.
Belt taught was full.
But Mrs. Gandy's room was totally empty.
Well, not totally.
There was one boy.
His name was Alex Lilly. He was the only
kid in a class of 18 who came to school
that day. He was the only one there
because the night before, at 2:17 AM, every
other kid woke up, got out of bed, went
downstairs, opened the front door, walked
across the yard, and into the darkness.
And they never returned.
Be careful now, take every word as my
surrender.
The pain that often mingles
Be careful now. Take your worries while
weeping at the seat of
All the parents and people at the school
were really sad and upset.
The police could tell that the kids left
at 2:17.
Because, like, half the houses had alarms
that went off when they walked outside.
Some of the kids were even videoed by
houses with cameras.
But the cameras only showed the kids
walking into the darkness.
They didn't show where they went after
that.
.
.
.
.
The police talked to Alex a lot.
They asked him why his classmates did
what they did, but he said he didn't know.
They asked him if there was a plan, but
he said he hadn't heard of one.
They asked him if there was a TV show
where someone ran away like that,
But he said he hadn't seen one.
They also talked to Miss Candy a lot, but
she didn't know anything and couldn't
help them.
For almost a month, they kept the school
closed for their big investigation.
But after a while, they had to reopen it
so the kids who hadn't disappeared could
learn again.
One night before they did, they had a big
meeting at school.
There were a lot of counselors and people
like that to help everyone figure out how
to feel and be sad together, I guess.
This is where the story really begins.
What's important is that we don't judge
our grief.
We might experience emotions we don't
like.
Emotions besides sadness.
We need to make sure that we allow
ourselves to feel emotions like anger.
Anger is a very healthy part of the grief
cycle.
It can be especially powerful in
instances of abandonment.
Now, there are often times that we have...
Do you know that means especially
powerful in instances of abandonment?
Are you saying that we should be upset
with Matthew for what happened to him?
I'm saying it would be abnormal.
Because I'll tell you right now that you
may call what happened abandonment, but I
don't. I don't see it like that.
I see something that doesn't make any
sense at all.
I'm talking about 17 kids in one
classroom.
What happened in that classroom?
Why just her classroom? Why only hers?
Look, I'm picking up a lot of emotion,
and that's fine.
So you forgive me if I'm not particularly
interested in hearing any more from you.
I want to hear from Justine Candy.
She's here.
I want to know exactly what she was doing
in there.
I, first, I just want to say how very
sorry I am for all of what's happened.
I know there's nothing I can say to make
this better.
The truth is, I want an answer just as
bad as all of you.
I love those kids.
And, I, I know, I know, I know, it's,
it's, it's not.
You'll be locked up until she tells us
what happened.
Okay, now that tunnel thing is really not
called for.
I'm serious.
Mrs. Gandy is here as an affected member
of this community.
And she is really.
You're either negligent or complicit.
Where are our children?
That's enough.
That's enough.
He needs to give us some space, please.
It's been a long, long night.
We need to get some sleep.
Wake up tomorrow with clear hands.
Do you have anyone you can swim to?
Then I recommend you going straight home.
This feels like...
Excuse me, ma'am.
I'm saving up for a bus ticket to see my
brother.
Do you need to change?
Yeah, I'm sorry.
Sorry.
Hello? Who is this?
You better watch your back, because
tonight's the night.
Excuse me, miss. I'm saving up for a bus
ticket to see my brother. Do you have any
change?
I'm sorry.
Okay, thank you.
Anything user does, ZipStream follows.
Stream flies around 35 miles.
ZipStream, still alive?
Yes?
Oh
Oh, you're gonna keep your health
insurance and if you don't mind me saying
there's a lot of mental health
specialists on the plan some of them are i uh i just
need to work you know i just need to fill
my days with uh yeah i i need to work so
justine the scene last night was just
proof that we have a lot of emotional parents
here for now i think it's best if you
keep some distance from this place until
folks find time to sort themselves out
How's Alex? Is he doing well? He's in Mrs.
Bill's class, and we've been advised
that the best thing we can do for him is
keep him on a routine, keep his life as
normal as possible. I would like to speak
with him. We've had this conversation
before, that's out of the question. Well,
I would feel so much better if I could
just speak with him. That's the problem.
You'd feel so much better. He's been
scrutinized by the press, he's had
investigators ransack his house, he's been
traumatized. Let's try and put Alex first.
Yes, if you're implying that I don't
care about Alex or the students, the
issue isn't you caring and not caring. The
issue here is you have a pattern in which
you overstep professional lines. Oh my
god, here we go. You know I do not. You
know it's not appropriate to hug students.
Oh, I hugged a crying little boy, lock me
up. You know, driving students home isn't
professional. She missed the bus, she
lived. It's not appropriate. I know all of
this comes from the fact that you care. I
know that you are the threat to these
kids, but you have to realize you aren't
a parent, you're a teacher. There's a
difference, and for that reason, no, you
cannot talk to Alex, Lily. It's just we're
the only ones left.
You, you, you.
No, no, no, no.
Yeah, that's really on there, huh?
Yeah, I've been receiving threatening
phone calls as well.
Yeah? Do you think the caller might be
responsible for this?
I don't know. Maybe, maybe not.
Yeah, well, whoever it was, best we can
do is file a report.
Probably kids did this if you ask me.
I mean, hell, I used to do stuff like
this when I was in school.
You know, teepee houses, ding-dong ditch.
Which, I never rode a witch in a car
before, but a buddy of mine smeared some of
his own.
Hey.
Can you hug?
Yeah.
Yeah, of course we can hug.
Jesus.
What happened to your hand there?
Oh, it's just a stupid work accident
thing.
Wait, drink?
Sure.
Tony?
Tony?
Yeah, he'll be here.
That's fine.
Not in a rush.
Wow, so I didn't expect you to come.
I'm glad you texted.
I, you know, I've been thinking about you
a lot, and I wanted a call, but I didn't
know if that would make things worse, or
I don't know worse.
Yeah, well, I'm not some little delicate
flower that would wilt if I saw your name
hop up on my phone.
I know that, but I'm not saying.
Tony, my friend wants a drink.
Hi.
Hi.
Yeah, go ahead.
How we doing?
How we doing?
Hi, um, I'll get a Coke.
A Coke?
Yep.
Okay, fine.
Whatever.
So what's going on?
How are you?
Oh, everybody thinks I'm a witch.
I don't think that's true.
Go look at my car.
I hope you didn't drive here.
Why do you hope that, Amy?
I hope you didn't drive here, because...
Wait.
Don't be an asshole, Paul.
I'm not being an asshole.
Well, I'm not being an asshole.
I'm concerned about you.
No, I don't...
You know what?
I don't need...
I don't need your fucking concern.
Okay?
I'm not drunk.
Okay.
Got it.
I'm sorry.
So what?
Somebody vandalized your car?
They wrote witch across it.
So yes, for your information, everybody
thinks you're...
I'm a witch.
So yes.
One Coke.
Thank you.
Can I give you a little tough love? No,
just some thoughts from somebody who knows
you very well. Is that okay? Yeah. Try to
get out of your own head. People aren't
all thinking about you right now, okay?
The whole town isn't aimed at you. I think
you might actually be wrong about that.
You have a tendency to get a little woe is
me, wow, a little wow. And one thing I
know has never helped is this.
What is this? What a lonely drinking pity
party. I'm not lonely, you're here.
You know what I mean, okay?
And I can't stay.
Does Donna know you're here?
No.
Really?
Really.
We're not, you know, happening right now.
Wow.
It's not a big deal.
Mm-hmm.
You're ridiculous.
Look at you.
You're beaming.
Come on.
Have one real drink.
Justine, no.
Come on.
Justine.
Please.
No.
Stop, sweetie.
You haven't changed a bit.
What do you got going on today?
Work.
Working all day till late.
Okay, I believe you.
Jesus.
What?
Don't worry.
I'm not going to be, like, spam texting
you all day and night.
Where did my last thing?
Justine, I'm just saying I'm working.
That's it.
How's work?
It's fine.
It's whatever.
Wow.
I hope that sounds a general vibe over
there.
What does that mean?
Well, there's 17 missing children out
there, and I like to think the people in
charge of finding them aren't, like, oh,
whatever about their jobs.
First of all, I'm not a detective.
I don't know if you know that.
Second of all, I'm hungover as shit.
I didn't realize I was getting...
I didn't realize I was getting grilled on
the investigation no no i'm not i'm not
trying to grill i'm just wondering if i
need to solve this thing myself we're on it
you're on it yep okay well what a load
off you're on it right now you really need
to take it easy no one's slacking don't
let yourself get all justine about it just
leave the investigating to the
investigators it was great to see you you too
Suck my dick.
I explicitly told you not to interact
with Alex. Well, technically I didn't
interact with him. You followed him home.
You rang his doorbell repeatedly.
That spied through a window.
Can we just focus on the fact that that
house is bizarre?
Justine, if I wasn't clear with you
before it, let me do so now.
I want you to leave him alone.
Okay, why were his windows taped up?
Doesn't that seem strange to you?
Probably because nosy people take it upon
themselves to walk up and peek through
them.
Are you kidding?
I'm gonna do you the courtesy for getting
this phone call ever took place.
You fucked him donna you fucked him no no
no i i i didn't fuck him i didn't fuck
him i know you did no he luciano well now
we got off to a rocky start with then
jacuzzi but still you have made me
What are you doing?
Alex, hi. How are you?
I just wanted to say hi, because I've
been thinking about you a lot, and I wanted
to make sure you're okay.
I'm okay.
Yeah, because I know it's been a really
hard time for me, and I can't even imagine
how it's been...
I have to go.
Hey, hang on, please. I just want to make
sure that everything's all right.
Don't follow me!
Hello, it's Miss Gandy. I'd like to talk
to you.
I'm going to work.
They call you all morning, boss.
Yeah, I had a snag on the way over.
How are things looking?
Little bit chaotic this morning.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Mark went to pick up the siding, but
didn't have it, because the order wasn't
placed.
Shit.
God damn it.
All right, I'm sorry about that.
Yeah, we have the owner coming Friday for
a walkthrough, and we're still going to
have to open framing.
It's on me.
It's my bad.
And then I showed up, and I saw that
Alvin painted a door with the paint you
ordered, and...
Yeah?
The one that is green is red.
What?
God damn it. Wait a minute. Did they send
the wrong...
Check the order. We ordered it.
And they sent what we asked for, but what
we asked for was the wrong...
All right, I messed up. I'll take it back.
Get the right one.
Mr. Graff, yeah, we follow up on every
one of these schools, so I can assure you
that as we speak, we have officers
aggressively pursuing every lead that comes
through this station. So what about the
feds? They got nothing new there. There
continues to be a very healthy
information exchange, so I can tell you with full
confidence that they are also pursuing
every lead aggressively.
What's happening with the canine units? I
haven't heard about any canine reports in
a long time. That's because they don't
report to you, Mr. Graff. I can understand
your passion, and I don't mind having
these conversations with you because, God
forbid, if it was my child, I'd be
demanding answers too. But I need you to trust
that what we're doing is She's still not
talking, huh?
She knows.
I disagree with that.
You're aggressively following up on every
lead, and yet she's just out there
walking around free as a bird.
Have you done any looking into her
whatsoever?
Extensively, yes, we have.
So you know about her past, huh?
Because I've done some digging, and I've
found out a lot.
She had a DUI two years ago.
Did you not see that?
She was let go from her last school that
she taught at for inappropriate behavior.
Did you not see that one either?
With a member of the faculty.
She's a troubled person, is she not?
What is it you think that she knows?
What do you think it is that she's not
telling us because those kids walked out of
those homes, no one pulled them out.
No one forced them.
I don't see anything whatsoever that
points to that woman.
What do you see that I don't?
I see something that...
I don't understand at all. We're talking
about 17 kids in one classroom, and none
of them talked about it. We have how many
parents here, and none of us saw it
coming. I want to know what happened in
that classroom, why just her classroom, why?
Children just gonna leave? That's enough.
Everybody needs to give us some space,
please. Please, let's all get a good
night's sleep, wake up with clear heads.
Excuse me, I'm saving up from my brother.
He didn't change on you at all.
Matthew, wait.
Matthew.
Matthew, where are you?
Where did you go?
Talk to me!
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry that I wasn't able to say, that
I wasn't able, wanted to say it so many
times.
I really do want to say it all the time
because I feel it all the time.
I love you so much.
What the fuck?
Where's the house?
Hi. Hello. How are you? I'm Archer Graff.
Yeah, I know who you are. Oh, good. I
know we haven't spoken before directly.
We've seen each other at a lot of the same.
How are you, Archer? I'm good. I'm real
good. I'm, you know, all things considered,
just soldiering on.
We have to, don't we? We do. Listen, I'm
sorry to surprise you at home like this in
the middle of the day, but I don't know
if you know, but we got some footage of
Matthew leaving the house on our ring cam
thing here. And I think you folks had the
same, same situation with Bailey?
Yeah, that's right.
All right. Well, I'm sure you showed
yours to the police just like I did. I
wondered if you would mind letting me
take a look at it. I don't need a copy or
anything.
I'm not comfortable with that.
Okay, I understand.
Gary, Archer Graf, how are you doing?
Fine.
Matthew's dad.
Yeah, of course.
How's it going?
I have a strange question I need to ask
you.
It's kind of hard to watch this.
Wait, go back to where she steps on the
sidewalk.
Okay.
Right there.
What do you see?
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Sorry.
Come on.
What am I looking at?
Hey, I want to talk to you.
I don't think we have anything to say to
each other.
Yeah, I think you have a lot to say.
You and everyone else in this city,
believe me, the message is loud and clear.
I'm the problem. Got it.
You know what? I think that's the first
honest thing I've heard you say.
You are the problem.
What, you want to get in my face? You
want to threaten me?
Nobody's threatening you right now.
You're a part of me with the wrong tree,
okay?
This whole victim persona that you're
taking on might have the police...
Stop thinking yourself.
We and I are going to have a conversation,
right?
Hey!
Stay down.
The hotel's good, though?
It's fine.
Yeah.
Not the Ritz, but I'm not...
Yeah.
Well, it's only for six nights, right?
I don't have to be here for the big wrap-
up shindig, so I get to leave on Thursday.
Isn't that great?
Yeah, it's good.
Because I'm supposed to ovulate Friday,
so we can get to Target this month.
Nice.
Okay.
Yeah.
Good.
I thought you'd like that.
Oh, will you tell my dad when you see him
today that since I'll be back for the
weekend, we can make their anniversary
lunch thing?
Yeah, I'll let him know.
He'll pass.
You about to start your shift?
Yep.
You gonna hit a meeting afterwards?
Um, I wasn't planning on it.
Don't you think you should?
Uh, if I have time, I'll hit one.
Oh, especially when you're going to be
spending stretches alone.
I think it's important you go to lunch.
Aren't you going to drink?
I feel fine.
If I don't feel well, I'll go to a
meeting.
What's wrong, dear?
Okay.
I have to go now.
Don't forget to tell Dad about this.
Yeah.
Love you.
Love you too.
Jesus.
Hey, Ed.
Hey, buddy.
Donna's back on Friday, so we can have
lunch with you guys on Sunday.
Why is she coming back early?
I guess they're letting her go, so she
wanted me to let you know we're in.
Okay, sounds good.
Anniversary lunch?
Yep.
That was nice.
Well, congratulations.
No, thanks.
A lot of years.
You calling me old?
No.
No, sir.
No, no, no.
Why would you call me old?
No, I wasn't saying that.
I'm giving you shit.
Well, just starting my shift here.
Roger that.
Next Monday will mark 30 days since 17
grade school children have disappeared from
McCarran County.
Community members have issued a $50,000
reward for any information leading to their
recovery.
Any suspicious individual activity should
be reported.
Stop right there, police.
Taser!
Dude, please stop, stop, stop, stop.
Shut up.
Oh, please, I worked there, man.
I just lost my keys.
Please!
I lost my teeth, please!
You okay?
Yes, officer, I'm okay.
All right, we went down pretty hard there.
You good?
Officer, I'm okay. Just please call my
warehouse.
You can look the number up online. My
phone isn't working right now.
Have too tight hands, okay?
It's okay, officer.
Let's walk back to the car.
One, two, three!
Hey, what's your name, sir?
James.
James, okay. Stand right here for me,
James.
You got any weapons on you?
No.
No?
How about drugs? You holding?
No, sir.
Anything in your pockets might poke me
when I put my hands in there, James?
No, sir, I do not.
You sure? I don't want to get poked by
anything.
I have nothing, sir.
Okay, James. Hold still for me.
You shouldn't run from the police, sir.
Ah! What the hell!
What's wrong, sir?
I don't know.
No, no, no, no.
I'm not.
Okay. Up. Up. Get up.
Hey. Can you hear me?
James, are you with me?
What the hell?
You're gonna hit me, man.
Here's what's gonna happen now.
I'm gonna take these cuffs off you, okay?
I'm gonna get in my car in a second and
drive away.
But are you listening to me?
I don't want to see you here again, okay?
The way I see it, I did you wrong. You
did me wrong.
Let's just call it a day.
But if I see you out here again, it's
gonna be a different story.
Yes? Yes?
I mean it.
Okay. Consider yourself warned.
Now, let's get up.
I'm gonna take these cuffs off you.
One, two.
Somebody needs to just tell this guy his
kid is not the only kid missing.
There's 17 kids.
All of...
Got the...
Got the...
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
What?
Okay, listen, as long as this isn't
reported, that footage is going to sit in a
drive somewhere and it's going to get
recorded over in about a month.
And if that fucking citizen doesn't come
back here in a month and file a complaint,
this could all go away.
But if they do, Paul, you're going to be
in some serious hot water.
Did you get that hand checked out?
Hey!
Can we hug?
Yeah, of course we can hug. Jesus.
Hello, hey, where have you been? You're
home. I am. Someone got sick and they sent
everyone on my team.
Son of a bitch.
Hey!
What did I tell you? Huh?
What did I tell you?
What did I...
Fucker!
This is fucking bullshit.
This shit.
Please, please, please, please.
Right here, right here, right here.
Goddamn fuck!
Please, please, please.
Fuck.
Come on, goddammit, fucking go.
Yes.
Goddammit.
Oh, fucking shit.
Oh, new phone.
That's me, dude.
Um, dude, I got a job yesterday.
Yeah, thank you, man.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Yeah, um, so I just, like, a little teeny
tiny problem because I just, I can't
start to have, like, new shoes and, you
know, a whole outfit because, you know,
like I said, it's fancy.
And, um...
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
No, wait, wait, this is a good thing.
I got a job and I'm freaking, I'm doing
the thing.
So, you know, we can start chilling again.
Of course, I'm going to pay mom back, but
I can't do that until I get the, you know,
money to get the clothes so that I can
do the job so that I can pay mom back.
Hello?
You fucking bitch.
Hey, man, I feel like I wasn't
communicating very well how important it is that I
get just, like, a little bit of money so
that I can get the clothes for the job, so
that I can get the job, obviously.
So please call me back so I can
communicate that better.
Thanks, buddy. Love you.
Hell yeah.
Why do you know what? This is good.
These are good. These are good. Look,
this is worth, like, 50 bucks.
No.
Please, dude, please.
You did me wrong.
We're going to call it a day.
But if I see you out here again,
But if I see you out here again, it's
going to be a different story.
Yeah?
Okay?
Consider yourself warned.
Get the fuck off.
God, God, God, me.
Willow.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, um, you good?
Sorry! Fuck! Sorry! Sorry!
Fuck! Fuck!
Fuck!
Fuck!
Fuck!
Please! Please!
Fuck!
20, 40, 60, 80, 100.
Hey!
I'm calling about the fifty thousand
dollar reward for information about the
missing kids because I know where they
are. Uh, I mean, I'm pretty sure. All of
them, I don't look like a bunch of them.
They're all standing in the basement of
this house, just like standing there, and
um, yeah, I don't know. They're just like
in the basement, standing all still and
shit, and there's like, fucking two wackos
over there, and it's just like fucked up.
Um, but so how's this, how's this going
to work though? How do I get the money?
No, I'm not, I'm completely serious. I mean,
I can show you, like, I'll show you. Um,
but I just, I really don't want to come
in so because like someone could someone
come meet me somewhere with the cash
because like I just really don't like
police stations, you know? I uh, these kind
of freak me out. I'm uh, I'm phobic.
What'd I tell you, huh?
What'd I tell you?
What'd I tell you?
I'm a big cop and I'm...
You're okay.
You're okay.
You're okay. That wasn't real.
That wasn't real.
You're okay. That wasn't real. That
wasn't real. It's okay.
You stopped me!
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was an accident,
it was an accident, I'm sorry.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait, I don't know who those kids
are.
That fucking wild is coming to the stage.
You're a fucking line.
No, no, no, I'm not, I promise, I promise,
I know where they are, I promise.
Where?
At a house, not far in the basement.
What the fuck is, what house?
I can show you, man, it's really, really,
really close.
Oh, fuck me.
Do you have AIDS?
Huh?
AIDS, asshole. Do you have AIDS?
Uh...
Uh, I don't think so.
Hepatitis? Shit like that?
I mean, shit, not that I know of.
That one, the dark one, right there at
the end of the block.
Um, excuse me, sir. Um, I don't wanna be
rude, but, like...
How do I know you aren't gonna try and,
like, take that reward for yourself?
Sure.
Sir?
Officer!
What the fuck?!
You fk out of here, god dammit!
Thank you.
Hey, yo, you son?
This is crazy, bro.
Hey, get off me, pal.
Get the fuck off me.
Get the fuck off me.
Hey, fuck, help me.
Help me.
Someone, please help me.
I'm telling you, Marcus, I've seen it
myself.
There's something very, very wrong going
on inside of that house.
If you don't believe me, just go there
yourself.
Justine, stop. Here's the bottom line.
Alex has been traumatized enough by the
events of the last two months, as I'm sure
you have.
Marcus.
That's why I'm going to do you the
courtesy of forgetting that this phone call ever
took place.
If a child's welfare is questioned by law,
you have to refer it to CPS by law.
Are you really going to take it, though?
Is this the corner you're going to put me
in?
Just go make the house call, Marcus. Just
do that.
I'm not authorized to just make house
calls.
But you're a mandatory reporter. You have
to.
Okay, here's what I'll do. I'll invite
these parents to come in, have a talk with
me.
We'll have a face-to-face at the school.
Is that acceptable to you?
Yes, thank you. I would really appreciate
that.
Okay, then. You're welcome. Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
You
Your two o'clock is here.
That's fine.
Well, send them in, please, Marge.
This way, ma'am.
Principal Miller and Gladys.
Yes. Hi. Hi. Come on in.
Have a seat, please.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you, Marge.
Thank you for coming in. I know you guys
have had a lot of attention lately, not
all of it could possibly be one. I'm
happy to come by, it's fine. Okay, forgive me.
We have not met, is that right?
No, I don't think so. Okay, phew, because
I was relatively certain I'd remember. I
know I've met Alex's father before. I'm
Alex's aunt, and his mom is my baby sister.
Okay, so you're not his legal guardian?
Well, no, that would be his parents. Okay,
well, forgive me, Gladys, but
unfortunately, I need to speak with his parents. Oh,
well, I hate to say it, but his parents
have been feeling unwell as of late, and
I'm staying with them to help take care
of Alex. Oh, that's serious. Oh, no, no,
it's not serious, nothing terminal, it's
just a touch of concern. A touch of
consumption?
Yeah.
You know what?
I'm embarrassed to say.
I guess I don't really know what that
means.
I thought it was something settlers got
on the Oregon Trail.
What is it?
Tuberculosis?
You know what?
They are doing just fine, but they need
to stay home.
I had hoped to speak to them in person
because this is awkward, but a concerned
individual has lodged a welfare complaint,
and unfortunately I need to make contact
with the child's legal guardian.
It's something that's not really
negotiable.
I need to speak with the parents in
person.
Oh, dear.
I could come over to the house if that
would make it easier.
I'm just trying to avoid involving CPS,
but frankly I'm not convinced that anything
is wrong.
Who made the complaint?
I'm not at liberty to say.
Okay.
Well, this is very upsetting.
It is now that all free will has been
lost.
The ant moves into the direction of mind,
separate from its own.
Here, the ant initiates its death grip.
There we go.
As the parasitic cordyceps continue to
feed off its body...
That's disgusting.
Fungal fruiting occurs next.
Large blooms that serve to spread more
spores.
One that will find more ants.
Oh.
Thank god you're home. I'm so sorry to
disturb you on a Saturday. Oh, will you
please, please forgive me? Just sitting
down, the bus didn't pick me up where it
was scheduled to, and I had realized far
too late that I was standing on the wrong
corner. And by the time I put that
together, oh, I'd missed it entirely, so I had
to walk all the way across town to get
here. Well, I'm so sorry to I am sorry to
tell you this, sweetie, but I am on the
verge of collapse, oh.
Could I please have some water? I'm
afraid that's of course you can have some water.
Oh, thank you so much. My name is Gladys.
It's so nice to meet you.
Oh, I absolutely love this house! Look, a
giraffe and a green Chinese that's
original in there, I bet it is. Oh, I
just love this kitchen.
Clean, white cabinets.
How I'm envious of that.
Now, listen.
I know that it's inconvenient, but I
really needed to speak to you about our
conversation yesterday.
Marcus, get her a glass.
A bowl, please.
A bowl?
Yes, a bowl.
It's a peculiarity of mine.
I don't even try to rationalize it
anymore.
A bowl of water.
Okay.
Thank you.
I wanted you to know that I talked to
Alex's father, who's very ill, as I said.
But the good news is, he's more than
happy to come in Monday, sit down with you,
and clear everything up.
Now, I appreciate that, but it really
isn't necessary.
So, there's no need to contact the
authorities, right?
That's, uh, sure, I guess not.
I mean, you haven't contacted them yet,
right?
Gladys, I'm really going to have to
insist that you are...
Thank you.
Is that my ribbon?
You haven't contacted them, right?
No, I haven't.
What is this?
Oh, my God!
Whoops!
Look what I did.
Oh, my goodness.
Why did you do that?
Well, it was an accident, of course.
Wow, that's really bleeding.
Terry, get alcohol quickly.
Oh, no, no, no.
That's nonsense.
Could you get me a rag, dear?
I think she cut my hair.
I'm calling 911.
Marcus, I think she cut my hair.
Marcus, what did she do?
Marcus?
Oh, no.
What the fuck, man?
Oh, my God.
Stop thinking of yourself.
You and I are going to have a...
Stay down.
Hey.
No.
Come on, you miss it, you sick.
Are you okay?
Yeah, I think so.
I'm just, uh, scraped up.
You?
The same.
I want to thank you.
No, I do, so thank you.
Sure.
I mean, what else could I do?
I was out of control.
The last time I talked to him, he was
fine.
He really was.
I've never seen anything like that in my
life.
I have.
What are you talking about?
The way he was running.
I've seen that before.
Can I show you something?
Their little girl ran the same way
Matthew did.
Same posture, same exact way.
Just like Mark.
I just ran after you today.
He was weaponized, like a heat-seeking
missile just locked onto you.
So here, look at this.
This is my house.
This is Bailey Kramer's house.
Now, if you assume they were heading in a
straight line at just some target of
theirs, and you assume they both had the
same target, those lines intersect
somewhere around here.
Oh, my God.
So there must be something about this
area.
Alex.
What?
Alex Lilly lives in this house.
Who else can think of an example of a
parasite?
Anyone?
Lisa?
A tapeworm.
A tapeworm.
Very good.
That's a rose one, right?
It lives in your intestines and it eats
your food.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
What's up, Axe Man?
Talk to me, Axe Man.
How was school today?
Good.
Good?
Good? Kiss any supermodels?
No.
No. No.
All right.
Well, tonight's the night, pal.
Your mom's Aunt Gladys has come, remember?
Why do we have to have her live at our
house?
Because it's like we talked about.
She's sick, and she doesn't have anywhere
else to go.
But I didn't even know her, though.
I hear you, bud. I don't know her either.
To be honest, I'm not sure your mom knows
her that well, but she's family.
Family's important.
Family's important. We gotta help each
other.
Hey, I found a kid.
Hey, the men have returned.
Hi.
Hi.
Whoa, hey. Good day at school?
Yeah.
Okay, good.
I would really like to get this house
cleaned up before your Aunt Gladys gets here.
So do me a favor, get your room cleaned
up before you start your homework.
He's not coming to my room, is she?
I'd really like a clean house. That
includes your room.
So, let's go.
I know, it's horrible cleaning up after
yourself.
I'm just saying, she looks really bad.
I don't know if that's the place for...
Yeah, well, it's either here or out on
the street, Stephen.
Well, you know, this ain't a hospice
place.
I know that.
We're not equipped for this kind of thing.
We haven't seen this woman in 15 years.
She didn't show up to our wedding.
Look, my mom would do this for her, so
I'm going to do this for her.
Okay?
I could really use your support if at any
point you feel like...
Alex, honey, what are you doing?
I'm hungry.
Oh, you're hungry.
Okay, all right.
Go downstairs, eat up, and then go brush
your teeth, okay?
It's almost 7:30.
And be quiet back there.
Your Aunt Gladys is sleeping.
How long is she going to stay with us?
Hard to say, pal.
It doesn't look like she's getting much
better.
So she's going to stay with us forever?
No.
I don't think she'll be here longer than
a month.
I always talk, but I wasn't.
My entire table was...
Alrighty, man.
Alrighty.
I'll pick you up at two, okay?
See ya.
See ya.
Love you.
Love ya.
That's time. Pencils down.
Matthew!
What? You said pencils down?
Matthew, outside now.
Alex, are you okay?
I'm fine.
Matthew, let's go. Get your bag.
That's a joke. Oh my god.
I'm so cute.
I'm so cute.
That's what you said.
Yeah.
You missed a ride, son?
I'm okay.
Sure?
I'm so cute.
Mom? Dad? Where were you?
Hey, X-Man. How was school?
What's wrong?
Alex?
Oh, welcome home.
How are you, sweetie?
Let me take a look at you.
Oh, you know, I haven't seen you since
you were a little teeny baby.
What's wrong with my parents?
Oh, nothing, sweetheart. They're just
fine.
Mom?
Hey, how was school?
You see, I told you she's just fine.
Don't worry.
Alex?
Now, don't be rude.
Why don't you sit down at the table,
because I'm making dinner.
I should have asked you, but you weren't
here, so I thought mac and cheese...
Alex, that's it.
I want you to go upstairs.
Wash your face, brush your teeth, and
then it's bedtime.
No dinner for you.
I'm not kidding, young man.
Go.
Come, sit.
Alex, sit.
Don't worry about your parents.
They're just resting.
Now, before you go to school today, I
want you to promise that you will not tell a
living soul that I am here or that your
parents are resting like they are.
Now, before you go to school today, I
want you to promise that you will not tell a
living soul that I am here
Do you hear me, Alex?
Watch.
Are you watching?
Now, when I tell you that you are not to
speak about me or your parents to anyone,
you understand what can happen if you
break your promise.
Now, when I tell you that you are not to
speak about me or your parents to anyone,
you understand what can happen if you
break your promise. I can make your parents
hurt themselves.
I can make them hurt each other.
I can make them eat each other if I want
to.
Do I want to, Alex?
Do you believe me?
Promise you will not talk about me to
another human being.
Say it.
I promise.
Because I'll know, Alex.
I promise.
Go to school, hit the bus.
No talking today.
Good boy.
You'll need to feed your parents.
There's soup in the cabinet.
Tomorrow you'll get some more.
Come here, sweetie.
I'm very sick, Alex.
Would you like some water?
Well, water won't help me.
I'm too sick for water.
I have been for a very long time.
What will make you better?
Well, I was hoping your mom and dad would
make me feel better, but it doesn't seem
to be turning out so good.
Would you like to go to a hospital?
Hospital won't fix me.
But maybe you could, though.
You could help.
How?
Will at school bring an object from each
of your classmates home to me?
That might work.
How will that make you better?
It might be just what I need.
And if you got better, you'd go back home?
If I got better, I'd go back home.
What are you doing in here? Um, I didn't
feel like playing and I forgot something.
Oh, hey, hey, hey. Are you okay? Yeah.
Yeah. You've been awful quiet lately,
quieter than usual. How are you doing?
I'm okay. I just forgot something. It's okay.
Alex, you know, if you ever want to talk
to someone, you can always talk to me. Do
you know that? Yeah. You can talk to me
about anything you want. I don't want to go
back now.
Okay, go play.
What are you doing?
Hmm.
Hmm.
Hmm.
Steven here suffered a stroke a little
while back so he's unable to speak and I'm
taking care of the family for the time
being I'm glad you both are here
Alex how you doing pal I'm okay now we're
gonna ask you some questions about what
happened at school okay tomorrow people
will come here and they will search this
house
And we have to be ready.
Good to see you again.
Good to see you too.
We just wanted to come by the house for a
few minutes today and look around, see
the environment that Alex has been living
in.
And just give a few minutes.
Okay.
Oh, thank you.
Hey Alex, how are you doing today?
It was a little quiet today, right?
Yeah, I see you.
Thank you.
Hello?
Pack your things, Alex. We're leaving
tomorrow.
Don't step over the salt.
The cops are here. What do you think that
means?
I don't know.
Do we not? Do we come back?
Maybe we not.
And say what? What are we going to
explain?
Yeah, I don't know.
Here we go. What is this?
That's Paul.
You know him?
Yeah.
Hello?
Paul?
Paul, what are you doing back there?
Wait.
Ah!
Paul, stop.
Oh, God.
Oh, God.
Snicky sloth Snicky sloth Snicky sloth
Snicky sloth
Matthew, Matthew, no, Matthew, no.
Matthew, come on.
Matthew!
Who?
That's good, just like that.
Matthew?
Look what they did to the yard!
Jeremy, there's glass everywhere!
Find her shoe!
Oh my god!
Oh my god!
Oh my god!
Matthew, I found you.
Alex's parents are still being fed soup
somewhere, but not by him.
He moved to another town and lives with a
different aunt.
I heard that one is a nice lady.
All of the kids from his class got
reunited with their parents.
Some of them even started talking again
this year.
It happened right here in my town two
years ago.
A lot of people die in really strange
ways in this story, but you won't find it in
the news because the police and town
officials were embarrassed they couldn't solve
it and covered everything up.
But if you ask anyone here, they'll all
tell you the same thing that I'm going to
tell you now.
This story starts in my school.
Maybrook Elementary is for kindergarten
through fifth grade.
So this one Wednesday was a normal day
for the whole school.
And they had a new teacher.
Her name was Justine Gandy.
And on this day, she was going to her
classroom just like every morning.
But today was different.
Today, none of her kids were there.
Every other class at that school had all
their kids.
Even the other third grade class Mrs.
Belt taught was full.
But Mrs. Gandy's room was totally empty.
Well, not totally.
There was one boy.
His name was Alex Lilly. He was the only
kid in a class of 18 who came to school
that day. He was the only one there
because the night before, at 2:17 AM, every
other kid woke up, got out of bed, went
downstairs, opened the front door, walked
across the yard, and into the darkness.
And they never returned.
Be careful now, take every word as my
surrender.
The pain that often mingles
Be careful now. Take your worries while
weeping at the seat of
All the parents and people at the school
were really sad and upset.
The police could tell that the kids left
at 2:17.
Because, like, half the houses had alarms
that went off when they walked outside.
Some of the kids were even videoed by
houses with cameras.
But the cameras only showed the kids
walking into the darkness.
They didn't show where they went after
that.
.
.
.
.
The police talked to Alex a lot.
They asked him why his classmates did
what they did, but he said he didn't know.
They asked him if there was a plan, but
he said he hadn't heard of one.
They asked him if there was a TV show
where someone ran away like that,
But he said he hadn't seen one.
They also talked to Miss Candy a lot, but
she didn't know anything and couldn't
help them.
For almost a month, they kept the school
closed for their big investigation.
But after a while, they had to reopen it
so the kids who hadn't disappeared could
learn again.
One night before they did, they had a big
meeting at school.
There were a lot of counselors and people
like that to help everyone figure out how
to feel and be sad together, I guess.
This is where the story really begins.
What's important is that we don't judge
our grief.
We might experience emotions we don't
like.
Emotions besides sadness.
We need to make sure that we allow
ourselves to feel emotions like anger.
Anger is a very healthy part of the grief
cycle.
It can be especially powerful in
instances of abandonment.
Now, there are often times that we have...
Do you know that means especially
powerful in instances of abandonment?
Are you saying that we should be upset
with Matthew for what happened to him?
I'm saying it would be abnormal.
Because I'll tell you right now that you
may call what happened abandonment, but I
don't. I don't see it like that.
I see something that doesn't make any
sense at all.
I'm talking about 17 kids in one
classroom.
What happened in that classroom?
Why just her classroom? Why only hers?
Look, I'm picking up a lot of emotion,
and that's fine.
So you forgive me if I'm not particularly
interested in hearing any more from you.
I want to hear from Justine Candy.
She's here.
I want to know exactly what she was doing
in there.
I, first, I just want to say how very
sorry I am for all of what's happened.
I know there's nothing I can say to make
this better.
The truth is, I want an answer just as
bad as all of you.
I love those kids.
And, I, I know, I know, I know, it's,
it's, it's not.
You'll be locked up until she tells us
what happened.
Okay, now that tunnel thing is really not
called for.
I'm serious.
Mrs. Gandy is here as an affected member
of this community.
And she is really.
You're either negligent or complicit.
Where are our children?
That's enough.
That's enough.
He needs to give us some space, please.
It's been a long, long night.
We need to get some sleep.
Wake up tomorrow with clear hands.
Do you have anyone you can swim to?
Then I recommend you going straight home.
This feels like...
Excuse me, ma'am.
I'm saving up for a bus ticket to see my
brother.
Do you need to change?
Yeah, I'm sorry.
Sorry.
Hello? Who is this?
You better watch your back, because
tonight's the night.
Excuse me, miss. I'm saving up for a bus
ticket to see my brother. Do you have any
change?
I'm sorry.
Okay, thank you.
Anything user does, ZipStream follows.
Stream flies around 35 miles.
ZipStream, still alive?
Yes?
Oh
Oh, you're gonna keep your health
insurance and if you don't mind me saying
there's a lot of mental health
specialists on the plan some of them are i uh i just
need to work you know i just need to fill
my days with uh yeah i i need to work so
justine the scene last night was just
proof that we have a lot of emotional parents
here for now i think it's best if you
keep some distance from this place until
folks find time to sort themselves out
How's Alex? Is he doing well? He's in Mrs.
Bill's class, and we've been advised
that the best thing we can do for him is
keep him on a routine, keep his life as
normal as possible. I would like to speak
with him. We've had this conversation
before, that's out of the question. Well,
I would feel so much better if I could
just speak with him. That's the problem.
You'd feel so much better. He's been
scrutinized by the press, he's had
investigators ransack his house, he's been
traumatized. Let's try and put Alex first.
Yes, if you're implying that I don't
care about Alex or the students, the
issue isn't you caring and not caring. The
issue here is you have a pattern in which
you overstep professional lines. Oh my
god, here we go. You know I do not. You
know it's not appropriate to hug students.
Oh, I hugged a crying little boy, lock me
up. You know, driving students home isn't
professional. She missed the bus, she
lived. It's not appropriate. I know all of
this comes from the fact that you care. I
know that you are the threat to these
kids, but you have to realize you aren't
a parent, you're a teacher. There's a
difference, and for that reason, no, you
cannot talk to Alex, Lily. It's just we're
the only ones left.
You, you, you.
No, no, no, no.
Yeah, that's really on there, huh?
Yeah, I've been receiving threatening
phone calls as well.
Yeah? Do you think the caller might be
responsible for this?
I don't know. Maybe, maybe not.
Yeah, well, whoever it was, best we can
do is file a report.
Probably kids did this if you ask me.
I mean, hell, I used to do stuff like
this when I was in school.
You know, teepee houses, ding-dong ditch.
Which, I never rode a witch in a car
before, but a buddy of mine smeared some of
his own.
Hey.
Can you hug?
Yeah.
Yeah, of course we can hug.
Jesus.
What happened to your hand there?
Oh, it's just a stupid work accident
thing.
Wait, drink?
Sure.
Tony?
Tony?
Yeah, he'll be here.
That's fine.
Not in a rush.
Wow, so I didn't expect you to come.
I'm glad you texted.
I, you know, I've been thinking about you
a lot, and I wanted a call, but I didn't
know if that would make things worse, or
I don't know worse.
Yeah, well, I'm not some little delicate
flower that would wilt if I saw your name
hop up on my phone.
I know that, but I'm not saying.
Tony, my friend wants a drink.
Hi.
Hi.
Yeah, go ahead.
How we doing?
How we doing?
Hi, um, I'll get a Coke.
A Coke?
Yep.
Okay, fine.
Whatever.
So what's going on?
How are you?
Oh, everybody thinks I'm a witch.
I don't think that's true.
Go look at my car.
I hope you didn't drive here.
Why do you hope that, Amy?
I hope you didn't drive here, because...
Wait.
Don't be an asshole, Paul.
I'm not being an asshole.
Well, I'm not being an asshole.
I'm concerned about you.
No, I don't...
You know what?
I don't need...
I don't need your fucking concern.
Okay?
I'm not drunk.
Okay.
Got it.
I'm sorry.
So what?
Somebody vandalized your car?
They wrote witch across it.
So yes, for your information, everybody
thinks you're...
I'm a witch.
So yes.
One Coke.
Thank you.
Can I give you a little tough love? No,
just some thoughts from somebody who knows
you very well. Is that okay? Yeah. Try to
get out of your own head. People aren't
all thinking about you right now, okay?
The whole town isn't aimed at you. I think
you might actually be wrong about that.
You have a tendency to get a little woe is
me, wow, a little wow. And one thing I
know has never helped is this.
What is this? What a lonely drinking pity
party. I'm not lonely, you're here.
You know what I mean, okay?
And I can't stay.
Does Donna know you're here?
No.
Really?
Really.
We're not, you know, happening right now.
Wow.
It's not a big deal.
Mm-hmm.
You're ridiculous.
Look at you.
You're beaming.
Come on.
Have one real drink.
Justine, no.
Come on.
Justine.
Please.
No.
Stop, sweetie.
You haven't changed a bit.
What do you got going on today?
Work.
Working all day till late.
Okay, I believe you.
Jesus.
What?
Don't worry.
I'm not going to be, like, spam texting
you all day and night.
Where did my last thing?
Justine, I'm just saying I'm working.
That's it.
How's work?
It's fine.
It's whatever.
Wow.
I hope that sounds a general vibe over
there.
What does that mean?
Well, there's 17 missing children out
there, and I like to think the people in
charge of finding them aren't, like, oh,
whatever about their jobs.
First of all, I'm not a detective.
I don't know if you know that.
Second of all, I'm hungover as shit.
I didn't realize I was getting...
I didn't realize I was getting grilled on
the investigation no no i'm not i'm not
trying to grill i'm just wondering if i
need to solve this thing myself we're on it
you're on it yep okay well what a load
off you're on it right now you really need
to take it easy no one's slacking don't
let yourself get all justine about it just
leave the investigating to the
investigators it was great to see you you too
Suck my dick.
I explicitly told you not to interact
with Alex. Well, technically I didn't
interact with him. You followed him home.
You rang his doorbell repeatedly.
That spied through a window.
Can we just focus on the fact that that
house is bizarre?
Justine, if I wasn't clear with you
before it, let me do so now.
I want you to leave him alone.
Okay, why were his windows taped up?
Doesn't that seem strange to you?
Probably because nosy people take it upon
themselves to walk up and peek through
them.
Are you kidding?
I'm gonna do you the courtesy for getting
this phone call ever took place.
You fucked him donna you fucked him no no
no i i i didn't fuck him i didn't fuck
him i know you did no he luciano well now
we got off to a rocky start with then
jacuzzi but still you have made me
What are you doing?
Alex, hi. How are you?
I just wanted to say hi, because I've
been thinking about you a lot, and I wanted
to make sure you're okay.
I'm okay.
Yeah, because I know it's been a really
hard time for me, and I can't even imagine
how it's been...
I have to go.
Hey, hang on, please. I just want to make
sure that everything's all right.
Don't follow me!
Hello, it's Miss Gandy. I'd like to talk
to you.
I'm going to work.
They call you all morning, boss.
Yeah, I had a snag on the way over.
How are things looking?
Little bit chaotic this morning.
Yeah?
Yeah.
Mark went to pick up the siding, but
didn't have it, because the order wasn't
placed.
Shit.
God damn it.
All right, I'm sorry about that.
Yeah, we have the owner coming Friday for
a walkthrough, and we're still going to
have to open framing.
It's on me.
It's my bad.
And then I showed up, and I saw that
Alvin painted a door with the paint you
ordered, and...
Yeah?
The one that is green is red.
What?
God damn it. Wait a minute. Did they send
the wrong...
Check the order. We ordered it.
And they sent what we asked for, but what
we asked for was the wrong...
All right, I messed up. I'll take it back.
Get the right one.
Mr. Graff, yeah, we follow up on every
one of these schools, so I can assure you
that as we speak, we have officers
aggressively pursuing every lead that comes
through this station. So what about the
feds? They got nothing new there. There
continues to be a very healthy
information exchange, so I can tell you with full
confidence that they are also pursuing
every lead aggressively.
What's happening with the canine units? I
haven't heard about any canine reports in
a long time. That's because they don't
report to you, Mr. Graff. I can understand
your passion, and I don't mind having
these conversations with you because, God
forbid, if it was my child, I'd be
demanding answers too. But I need you to trust
that what we're doing is She's still not
talking, huh?
She knows.
I disagree with that.
You're aggressively following up on every
lead, and yet she's just out there
walking around free as a bird.
Have you done any looking into her
whatsoever?
Extensively, yes, we have.
So you know about her past, huh?
Because I've done some digging, and I've
found out a lot.
She had a DUI two years ago.
Did you not see that?
She was let go from her last school that
she taught at for inappropriate behavior.
Did you not see that one either?
With a member of the faculty.
She's a troubled person, is she not?
What is it you think that she knows?
What do you think it is that she's not
telling us because those kids walked out of
those homes, no one pulled them out.
No one forced them.
I don't see anything whatsoever that
points to that woman.
What do you see that I don't?
I see something that...
I don't understand at all. We're talking
about 17 kids in one classroom, and none
of them talked about it. We have how many
parents here, and none of us saw it
coming. I want to know what happened in
that classroom, why just her classroom, why?
Children just gonna leave? That's enough.
Everybody needs to give us some space,
please. Please, let's all get a good
night's sleep, wake up with clear heads.
Excuse me, I'm saving up from my brother.
He didn't change on you at all.
Matthew, wait.
Matthew.
Matthew, where are you?
Where did you go?
Talk to me!
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry that I wasn't able to say, that
I wasn't able, wanted to say it so many
times.
I really do want to say it all the time
because I feel it all the time.
I love you so much.
What the fuck?
Where's the house?
Hi. Hello. How are you? I'm Archer Graff.
Yeah, I know who you are. Oh, good. I
know we haven't spoken before directly.
We've seen each other at a lot of the same.
How are you, Archer? I'm good. I'm real
good. I'm, you know, all things considered,
just soldiering on.
We have to, don't we? We do. Listen, I'm
sorry to surprise you at home like this in
the middle of the day, but I don't know
if you know, but we got some footage of
Matthew leaving the house on our ring cam
thing here. And I think you folks had the
same, same situation with Bailey?
Yeah, that's right.
All right. Well, I'm sure you showed
yours to the police just like I did. I
wondered if you would mind letting me
take a look at it. I don't need a copy or
anything.
I'm not comfortable with that.
Okay, I understand.
Gary, Archer Graf, how are you doing?
Fine.
Matthew's dad.
Yeah, of course.
How's it going?
I have a strange question I need to ask
you.
It's kind of hard to watch this.
Wait, go back to where she steps on the
sidewalk.
Okay.
Right there.
What do you see?
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
Sorry.
Come on.
What am I looking at?
Hey, I want to talk to you.
I don't think we have anything to say to
each other.
Yeah, I think you have a lot to say.
You and everyone else in this city,
believe me, the message is loud and clear.
I'm the problem. Got it.
You know what? I think that's the first
honest thing I've heard you say.
You are the problem.
What, you want to get in my face? You
want to threaten me?
Nobody's threatening you right now.
You're a part of me with the wrong tree,
okay?
This whole victim persona that you're
taking on might have the police...
Stop thinking yourself.
We and I are going to have a conversation,
right?
Hey!
Stay down.
The hotel's good, though?
It's fine.
Yeah.
Not the Ritz, but I'm not...
Yeah.
Well, it's only for six nights, right?
I don't have to be here for the big wrap-
up shindig, so I get to leave on Thursday.
Isn't that great?
Yeah, it's good.
Because I'm supposed to ovulate Friday,
so we can get to Target this month.
Nice.
Okay.
Yeah.
Good.
I thought you'd like that.
Oh, will you tell my dad when you see him
today that since I'll be back for the
weekend, we can make their anniversary
lunch thing?
Yeah, I'll let him know.
He'll pass.
You about to start your shift?
Yep.
You gonna hit a meeting afterwards?
Um, I wasn't planning on it.
Don't you think you should?
Uh, if I have time, I'll hit one.
Oh, especially when you're going to be
spending stretches alone.
I think it's important you go to lunch.
Aren't you going to drink?
I feel fine.
If I don't feel well, I'll go to a
meeting.
What's wrong, dear?
Okay.
I have to go now.
Don't forget to tell Dad about this.
Yeah.
Love you.
Love you too.
Jesus.
Hey, Ed.
Hey, buddy.
Donna's back on Friday, so we can have
lunch with you guys on Sunday.
Why is she coming back early?
I guess they're letting her go, so she
wanted me to let you know we're in.
Okay, sounds good.
Anniversary lunch?
Yep.
That was nice.
Well, congratulations.
No, thanks.
A lot of years.
You calling me old?
No.
No, sir.
No, no, no.
Why would you call me old?
No, I wasn't saying that.
I'm giving you shit.
Well, just starting my shift here.
Roger that.
Next Monday will mark 30 days since 17
grade school children have disappeared from
McCarran County.
Community members have issued a $50,000
reward for any information leading to their
recovery.
Any suspicious individual activity should
be reported.
Stop right there, police.
Taser!
Dude, please stop, stop, stop, stop.
Shut up.
Oh, please, I worked there, man.
I just lost my keys.
Please!
I lost my teeth, please!
You okay?
Yes, officer, I'm okay.
All right, we went down pretty hard there.
You good?
Officer, I'm okay. Just please call my
warehouse.
You can look the number up online. My
phone isn't working right now.
Have too tight hands, okay?
It's okay, officer.
Let's walk back to the car.
One, two, three!
Hey, what's your name, sir?
James.
James, okay. Stand right here for me,
James.
You got any weapons on you?
No.
No?
How about drugs? You holding?
No, sir.
Anything in your pockets might poke me
when I put my hands in there, James?
No, sir, I do not.
You sure? I don't want to get poked by
anything.
I have nothing, sir.
Okay, James. Hold still for me.
You shouldn't run from the police, sir.
Ah! What the hell!
What's wrong, sir?
I don't know.
No, no, no, no.
I'm not.
Okay. Up. Up. Get up.
Hey. Can you hear me?
James, are you with me?
What the hell?
You're gonna hit me, man.
Here's what's gonna happen now.
I'm gonna take these cuffs off you, okay?
I'm gonna get in my car in a second and
drive away.
But are you listening to me?
I don't want to see you here again, okay?
The way I see it, I did you wrong. You
did me wrong.
Let's just call it a day.
But if I see you out here again, it's
gonna be a different story.
Yes? Yes?
I mean it.
Okay. Consider yourself warned.
Now, let's get up.
I'm gonna take these cuffs off you.
One, two.
Somebody needs to just tell this guy his
kid is not the only kid missing.
There's 17 kids.
All of...
Got the...
Got the...
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
What?
Okay, listen, as long as this isn't
reported, that footage is going to sit in a
drive somewhere and it's going to get
recorded over in about a month.
And if that fucking citizen doesn't come
back here in a month and file a complaint,
this could all go away.
But if they do, Paul, you're going to be
in some serious hot water.
Did you get that hand checked out?
Hey!
Can we hug?
Yeah, of course we can hug. Jesus.
Hello, hey, where have you been? You're
home. I am. Someone got sick and they sent
everyone on my team.
Son of a bitch.
Hey!
What did I tell you? Huh?
What did I tell you?
What did I...
Fucker!
This is fucking bullshit.
This shit.
Please, please, please, please.
Right here, right here, right here.
Goddamn fuck!
Please, please, please.
Fuck.
Come on, goddammit, fucking go.
Yes.
Goddammit.
Oh, fucking shit.
Oh, new phone.
That's me, dude.
Um, dude, I got a job yesterday.
Yeah, thank you, man.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Yeah, um, so I just, like, a little teeny
tiny problem because I just, I can't
start to have, like, new shoes and, you
know, a whole outfit because, you know,
like I said, it's fancy.
And, um...
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
No, wait, wait, this is a good thing.
I got a job and I'm freaking, I'm doing
the thing.
So, you know, we can start chilling again.
Of course, I'm going to pay mom back, but
I can't do that until I get the, you know,
money to get the clothes so that I can
do the job so that I can pay mom back.
Hello?
You fucking bitch.
Hey, man, I feel like I wasn't
communicating very well how important it is that I
get just, like, a little bit of money so
that I can get the clothes for the job, so
that I can get the job, obviously.
So please call me back so I can
communicate that better.
Thanks, buddy. Love you.
Hell yeah.
Why do you know what? This is good.
These are good. These are good. Look,
this is worth, like, 50 bucks.
No.
Please, dude, please.
You did me wrong.
We're going to call it a day.
But if I see you out here again,
But if I see you out here again, it's
going to be a different story.
Yeah?
Okay?
Consider yourself warned.
Get the fuck off.
God, God, God, me.
Willow.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, um, you good?
Sorry! Fuck! Sorry! Sorry!
Fuck! Fuck!
Fuck!
Fuck!
Fuck!
Please! Please!
Fuck!
20, 40, 60, 80, 100.
Hey!
I'm calling about the fifty thousand
dollar reward for information about the
missing kids because I know where they
are. Uh, I mean, I'm pretty sure. All of
them, I don't look like a bunch of them.
They're all standing in the basement of
this house, just like standing there, and
um, yeah, I don't know. They're just like
in the basement, standing all still and
shit, and there's like, fucking two wackos
over there, and it's just like fucked up.
Um, but so how's this, how's this going
to work though? How do I get the money?
No, I'm not, I'm completely serious. I mean,
I can show you, like, I'll show you. Um,
but I just, I really don't want to come
in so because like someone could someone
come meet me somewhere with the cash
because like I just really don't like
police stations, you know? I uh, these kind
of freak me out. I'm uh, I'm phobic.
What'd I tell you, huh?
What'd I tell you?
What'd I tell you?
I'm a big cop and I'm...
You're okay.
You're okay.
You're okay. That wasn't real.
That wasn't real.
You're okay. That wasn't real. That
wasn't real. It's okay.
You stopped me!
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was an accident,
it was an accident, I'm sorry.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait, I don't know who those kids
are.
That fucking wild is coming to the stage.
You're a fucking line.
No, no, no, I'm not, I promise, I promise,
I know where they are, I promise.
Where?
At a house, not far in the basement.
What the fuck is, what house?
I can show you, man, it's really, really,
really close.
Oh, fuck me.
Do you have AIDS?
Huh?
AIDS, asshole. Do you have AIDS?
Uh...
Uh, I don't think so.
Hepatitis? Shit like that?
I mean, shit, not that I know of.
That one, the dark one, right there at
the end of the block.
Um, excuse me, sir. Um, I don't wanna be
rude, but, like...
How do I know you aren't gonna try and,
like, take that reward for yourself?
Sure.
Sir?
Officer!
What the fuck?!
You fk out of here, god dammit!
Thank you.
Hey, yo, you son?
This is crazy, bro.
Hey, get off me, pal.
Get the fuck off me.
Get the fuck off me.
Hey, fuck, help me.
Help me.
Someone, please help me.
I'm telling you, Marcus, I've seen it
myself.
There's something very, very wrong going
on inside of that house.
If you don't believe me, just go there
yourself.
Justine, stop. Here's the bottom line.
Alex has been traumatized enough by the
events of the last two months, as I'm sure
you have.
Marcus.
That's why I'm going to do you the
courtesy of forgetting that this phone call ever
took place.
If a child's welfare is questioned by law,
you have to refer it to CPS by law.
Are you really going to take it, though?
Is this the corner you're going to put me
in?
Just go make the house call, Marcus. Just
do that.
I'm not authorized to just make house
calls.
But you're a mandatory reporter. You have
to.
Okay, here's what I'll do. I'll invite
these parents to come in, have a talk with
me.
We'll have a face-to-face at the school.
Is that acceptable to you?
Yes, thank you. I would really appreciate
that.
Okay, then. You're welcome. Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
You
Your two o'clock is here.
That's fine.
Well, send them in, please, Marge.
This way, ma'am.
Principal Miller and Gladys.
Yes. Hi. Hi. Come on in.
Have a seat, please.
Oh, thank you.
Thank you, Marge.
Thank you for coming in. I know you guys
have had a lot of attention lately, not
all of it could possibly be one. I'm
happy to come by, it's fine. Okay, forgive me.
We have not met, is that right?
No, I don't think so. Okay, phew, because
I was relatively certain I'd remember. I
know I've met Alex's father before. I'm
Alex's aunt, and his mom is my baby sister.
Okay, so you're not his legal guardian?
Well, no, that would be his parents. Okay,
well, forgive me, Gladys, but
unfortunately, I need to speak with his parents. Oh,
well, I hate to say it, but his parents
have been feeling unwell as of late, and
I'm staying with them to help take care
of Alex. Oh, that's serious. Oh, no, no,
it's not serious, nothing terminal, it's
just a touch of concern. A touch of
consumption?
Yeah.
You know what?
I'm embarrassed to say.
I guess I don't really know what that
means.
I thought it was something settlers got
on the Oregon Trail.
What is it?
Tuberculosis?
You know what?
They are doing just fine, but they need
to stay home.
I had hoped to speak to them in person
because this is awkward, but a concerned
individual has lodged a welfare complaint,
and unfortunately I need to make contact
with the child's legal guardian.
It's something that's not really
negotiable.
I need to speak with the parents in
person.
Oh, dear.
I could come over to the house if that
would make it easier.
I'm just trying to avoid involving CPS,
but frankly I'm not convinced that anything
is wrong.
Who made the complaint?
I'm not at liberty to say.
Okay.
Well, this is very upsetting.
It is now that all free will has been
lost.
The ant moves into the direction of mind,
separate from its own.
Here, the ant initiates its death grip.
There we go.
As the parasitic cordyceps continue to
feed off its body...
That's disgusting.
Fungal fruiting occurs next.
Large blooms that serve to spread more
spores.
One that will find more ants.
Oh.
Thank god you're home. I'm so sorry to
disturb you on a Saturday. Oh, will you
please, please forgive me? Just sitting
down, the bus didn't pick me up where it
was scheduled to, and I had realized far
too late that I was standing on the wrong
corner. And by the time I put that
together, oh, I'd missed it entirely, so I had
to walk all the way across town to get
here. Well, I'm so sorry to I am sorry to
tell you this, sweetie, but I am on the
verge of collapse, oh.
Could I please have some water? I'm
afraid that's of course you can have some water.
Oh, thank you so much. My name is Gladys.
It's so nice to meet you.
Oh, I absolutely love this house! Look, a
giraffe and a green Chinese that's
original in there, I bet it is. Oh, I
just love this kitchen.
Clean, white cabinets.
How I'm envious of that.
Now, listen.
I know that it's inconvenient, but I
really needed to speak to you about our
conversation yesterday.
Marcus, get her a glass.
A bowl, please.
A bowl?
Yes, a bowl.
It's a peculiarity of mine.
I don't even try to rationalize it
anymore.
A bowl of water.
Okay.
Thank you.
I wanted you to know that I talked to
Alex's father, who's very ill, as I said.
But the good news is, he's more than
happy to come in Monday, sit down with you,
and clear everything up.
Now, I appreciate that, but it really
isn't necessary.
So, there's no need to contact the
authorities, right?
That's, uh, sure, I guess not.
I mean, you haven't contacted them yet,
right?
Gladys, I'm really going to have to
insist that you are...
Thank you.
Is that my ribbon?
You haven't contacted them, right?
No, I haven't.
What is this?
Oh, my God!
Whoops!
Look what I did.
Oh, my goodness.
Why did you do that?
Well, it was an accident, of course.
Wow, that's really bleeding.
Terry, get alcohol quickly.
Oh, no, no, no.
That's nonsense.
Could you get me a rag, dear?
I think she cut my hair.
I'm calling 911.
Marcus, I think she cut my hair.
Marcus, what did she do?
Marcus?
Oh, no.
What the fuck, man?
Oh, my God.
Stop thinking of yourself.
You and I are going to have a...
Stay down.
Hey.
No.
Come on, you miss it, you sick.
Are you okay?
Yeah, I think so.
I'm just, uh, scraped up.
You?
The same.
I want to thank you.
No, I do, so thank you.
Sure.
I mean, what else could I do?
I was out of control.
The last time I talked to him, he was
fine.
He really was.
I've never seen anything like that in my
life.
I have.
What are you talking about?
The way he was running.
I've seen that before.
Can I show you something?
Their little girl ran the same way
Matthew did.
Same posture, same exact way.
Just like Mark.
I just ran after you today.
He was weaponized, like a heat-seeking
missile just locked onto you.
So here, look at this.
This is my house.
This is Bailey Kramer's house.
Now, if you assume they were heading in a
straight line at just some target of
theirs, and you assume they both had the
same target, those lines intersect
somewhere around here.
Oh, my God.
So there must be something about this
area.
Alex.
What?
Alex Lilly lives in this house.
Who else can think of an example of a
parasite?
Anyone?
Lisa?
A tapeworm.
A tapeworm.
Very good.
That's a rose one, right?
It lives in your intestines and it eats
your food.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
Stop it.
What's up, Axe Man?
Talk to me, Axe Man.
How was school today?
Good.
Good?
Good? Kiss any supermodels?
No.
No. No.
All right.
Well, tonight's the night, pal.
Your mom's Aunt Gladys has come, remember?
Why do we have to have her live at our
house?
Because it's like we talked about.
She's sick, and she doesn't have anywhere
else to go.
But I didn't even know her, though.
I hear you, bud. I don't know her either.
To be honest, I'm not sure your mom knows
her that well, but she's family.
Family's important.
Family's important. We gotta help each
other.
Hey, I found a kid.
Hey, the men have returned.
Hi.
Hi.
Whoa, hey. Good day at school?
Yeah.
Okay, good.
I would really like to get this house
cleaned up before your Aunt Gladys gets here.
So do me a favor, get your room cleaned
up before you start your homework.
He's not coming to my room, is she?
I'd really like a clean house. That
includes your room.
So, let's go.
I know, it's horrible cleaning up after
yourself.
I'm just saying, she looks really bad.
I don't know if that's the place for...
Yeah, well, it's either here or out on
the street, Stephen.
Well, you know, this ain't a hospice
place.
I know that.
We're not equipped for this kind of thing.
We haven't seen this woman in 15 years.
She didn't show up to our wedding.
Look, my mom would do this for her, so
I'm going to do this for her.
Okay?
I could really use your support if at any
point you feel like...
Alex, honey, what are you doing?
I'm hungry.
Oh, you're hungry.
Okay, all right.
Go downstairs, eat up, and then go brush
your teeth, okay?
It's almost 7:30.
And be quiet back there.
Your Aunt Gladys is sleeping.
How long is she going to stay with us?
Hard to say, pal.
It doesn't look like she's getting much
better.
So she's going to stay with us forever?
No.
I don't think she'll be here longer than
a month.
I always talk, but I wasn't.
My entire table was...
Alrighty, man.
Alrighty.
I'll pick you up at two, okay?
See ya.
See ya.
Love you.
Love ya.
That's time. Pencils down.
Matthew!
What? You said pencils down?
Matthew, outside now.
Alex, are you okay?
I'm fine.
Matthew, let's go. Get your bag.
That's a joke. Oh my god.
I'm so cute.
I'm so cute.
That's what you said.
Yeah.
You missed a ride, son?
I'm okay.
Sure?
I'm so cute.
Mom? Dad? Where were you?
Hey, X-Man. How was school?
What's wrong?
Alex?
Oh, welcome home.
How are you, sweetie?
Let me take a look at you.
Oh, you know, I haven't seen you since
you were a little teeny baby.
What's wrong with my parents?
Oh, nothing, sweetheart. They're just
fine.
Mom?
Hey, how was school?
You see, I told you she's just fine.
Don't worry.
Alex?
Now, don't be rude.
Why don't you sit down at the table,
because I'm making dinner.
I should have asked you, but you weren't
here, so I thought mac and cheese...
Alex, that's it.
I want you to go upstairs.
Wash your face, brush your teeth, and
then it's bedtime.
No dinner for you.
I'm not kidding, young man.
Go.
Come, sit.
Alex, sit.
Don't worry about your parents.
They're just resting.
Now, before you go to school today, I
want you to promise that you will not tell a
living soul that I am here or that your
parents are resting like they are.
Now, before you go to school today, I
want you to promise that you will not tell a
living soul that I am here
Do you hear me, Alex?
Watch.
Are you watching?
Now, when I tell you that you are not to
speak about me or your parents to anyone,
you understand what can happen if you
break your promise.
Now, when I tell you that you are not to
speak about me or your parents to anyone,
you understand what can happen if you
break your promise. I can make your parents
hurt themselves.
I can make them hurt each other.
I can make them eat each other if I want
to.
Do I want to, Alex?
Do you believe me?
Promise you will not talk about me to
another human being.
Say it.
I promise.
Because I'll know, Alex.
I promise.
Go to school, hit the bus.
No talking today.
Good boy.
You'll need to feed your parents.
There's soup in the cabinet.
Tomorrow you'll get some more.
Come here, sweetie.
I'm very sick, Alex.
Would you like some water?
Well, water won't help me.
I'm too sick for water.
I have been for a very long time.
What will make you better?
Well, I was hoping your mom and dad would
make me feel better, but it doesn't seem
to be turning out so good.
Would you like to go to a hospital?
Hospital won't fix me.
But maybe you could, though.
You could help.
How?
Will at school bring an object from each
of your classmates home to me?
That might work.
How will that make you better?
It might be just what I need.
And if you got better, you'd go back home?
If I got better, I'd go back home.
What are you doing in here? Um, I didn't
feel like playing and I forgot something.
Oh, hey, hey, hey. Are you okay? Yeah.
Yeah. You've been awful quiet lately,
quieter than usual. How are you doing?
I'm okay. I just forgot something. It's okay.
Alex, you know, if you ever want to talk
to someone, you can always talk to me. Do
you know that? Yeah. You can talk to me
about anything you want. I don't want to go
back now.
Okay, go play.
What are you doing?
Hmm.
Hmm.
Hmm.
Steven here suffered a stroke a little
while back so he's unable to speak and I'm
taking care of the family for the time
being I'm glad you both are here
Alex how you doing pal I'm okay now we're
gonna ask you some questions about what
happened at school okay tomorrow people
will come here and they will search this
house
And we have to be ready.
Good to see you again.
Good to see you too.
We just wanted to come by the house for a
few minutes today and look around, see
the environment that Alex has been living
in.
And just give a few minutes.
Okay.
Oh, thank you.
Hey Alex, how are you doing today?
It was a little quiet today, right?
Yeah, I see you.
Thank you.
Hello?
Pack your things, Alex. We're leaving
tomorrow.
Don't step over the salt.
The cops are here. What do you think that
means?
I don't know.
Do we not? Do we come back?
Maybe we not.
And say what? What are we going to
explain?
Yeah, I don't know.
Here we go. What is this?
That's Paul.
You know him?
Yeah.
Hello?
Paul?
Paul, what are you doing back there?
Wait.
Ah!
Paul, stop.
Oh, God.
Oh, God.
Snicky sloth Snicky sloth Snicky sloth
Snicky sloth
Matthew, Matthew, no, Matthew, no.
Matthew, come on.
Matthew!
Who?
That's good, just like that.
Matthew?
Look what they did to the yard!
Jeremy, there's glass everywhere!
Find her shoe!
Oh my god!
Oh my god!
Oh my god!
Matthew, I found you.
Alex's parents are still being fed soup
somewhere, but not by him.
He moved to another town and lives with a
different aunt.
I heard that one is a nice lady.
All of the kids from his class got
reunited with their parents.
Some of them even started talking again
this year.