- Thank you. - You're welcome.
Where you headed?
Home.
Yeah, me, too. Where's-where's "home" for you?
Um... Pearl.
No shit, you live in Pearl?
- Well, yeah. - I live in Pearl.
- Really? - Yeah, yeah, I'm on Cannon Avenue.
You live on Cannon? I live on Cannon!
Come on, what house?
Oh... I'm...
Sorry, that's... rude.
- You don't have to tell me where you live. - No, it's... it's fine.
- I live in 318. - I'm 310.
Oh, yeah.
Hmm.
W-what do you do for living?
- I'm a nurse. - Oh, wow.
I'm-I'm-I'm Freddy, by the way.
Ana.
What do you do?
I'm a, um... projectionist...
by day, artist by night.
Projectionist? At the theatre in town?
- Ah, si. - Oh, what kind of art do you do?
Um, comics... mainly.
Like... for kids?
N... n... not exactly, ep-ep, here! Let me, I'll... show you.
I'll get this.
Here we go.
Just a minute. Let me... show you.
Oh.
- Oh, thanks. - Sorry.
This is, uh... something I'm... working on.
It's good.
Hey... um...
Hold on...
Uhh...
- What are you doing? - Wait just one... one second.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's it!
Wow!
- I'm just gonna... - Oh, yeah. No. Right, completely.
- Thank you. - Yeah, yeah.
Uh, you know... we should get together sometime, since we live so close.
Yeah... maybe.
- Just a coffee. - Maybe.
Tea? Milkshake?
Rootbeer float? Eggnog?
Yoohoo? Bobotie?
Maybe, OK?
- You're married? - No.
- Engaged? - No.
- You're a nun! - Noooo!
I'm...
- I'm just gonna write for a minute, if that's OK. - Oh, please, please, by all means, write.
You writing about me in there?
Once upon a time there was a pleasant place, called Maryland.
Mary Land.
Excuse me, Mary Land.
And in this land, there lived a knight...
Damn it!
Hello?
Hello?!
Jen?!
Hello?
Hello?!
Anyone?
...talk to you later, ma'am.
Hello?!
Is anybody home?!
Who are you?!
Ana?
Are you alright?
Give me a minute.
I can't tell you how good it is to see someone else.
- Freddy, right? - Yeah.
- What the hell's going on? - I don't know. I've been
out searching the town. I haven't found anybody.
Me, too.
- Can you turn down the music? - Oh, yeah!
Sorry, the silence was driving me crazy.
- So, have you been able to find... - What...
- Sorry, you got it. - No, you first.
- Did you find anything? - Uh-uh.
I-I thought about going to the police station.
- Right. - Yeah.
It's a good idea.
Hello!
Oh, my God!
What?
Nothing.
Do you know what you're doing?
No, not really.
Is anyone there? We're broadcasting from Pearl. Can anyone hear me?
Can anyone hear me?
- Just, keep holding that and talk. - W-where are you going?
Hello?
- Is anybody there? - Are you holding the button down?
Yes!
Hello?
- It's weird. - It's not working?
Not only is it not working, I can't even get a frequency.
My TV was just static-y.
What's that for?
Never hurts to be prepared.
Do you know how to use that thing?
You kiddin'?
If there's two of us, there might be more, right?
Yeah, they're probably holed up in a mall somewhere, Romero style.
What the hell?
What is that?
Drive!
- It's moving. - What?
Get in the car.
Come on.
Oh, my God!
This place hasn't been here since I was a kid.
Right, it's the old diner.
Oh, my God!
Excuse me.
- Excuse me? - Excuse me?
- Hello? - Hello? Sir? Miss?
- Hi. - Hello?
Hello.
Hello!
Yeah, I don't think they can hear you.
Hey. Hi.
Hello. Hi.
Hey, I'm...
Hi, hi! Um... hi, hello-hello!
Hello?
Oh, this is one of the only places in town that hasn't changed much over the years.
Maybe that's why I like it so much.
How's it coming?
I hope you don't mind blood.
Ah, you know I have a strong stomach.
Can you take a little break?
I have something for you.
That was my mother's.
She gave it to me before she died.
But it's yours.
Not anymore. Happy birthday!
Thanks, Aunt Lu.
Looks better on you, anyway.
...moving along at about 17 mph. It is still...
- I remember this. - ...the exact extent of damage...
What happened?
Freddy, I was...
I was sitting right here, it was me...
I was 11 years old.
Tell me... what you remember after the bus?
I woke up in my bed. I went to work.
I thought I was late.
I was in my studio. I had...
fallen asleep there the night before,
only I woke up with a full beard.
Like you hadn't shaved in months?
Me, too. Not the beard...
Yeah, yeah, I got it.
Maybe there was an evacuation.
Because of a virus that causes radical hair growth?
Besides, I mean...
we'd be able to tell if people left in a hurry.
So what are you saying?
Well, it's something else.
It's moving about .08 miles per hour.
That's about 5 miles to the center of town.
That means it'll...
take roughly... 64 or 65 hours to get there.
That's less than three days.
Let's get out of here, before it gets too close to the car.
I think it's affecting the battery or something.
Are you really gonna wear that?
What?
It's already getting dark.
It's blocking the sun.
I mean, there's gotta be a way out.
- Underground, maybe. - It's not like we have
- a subway system. - But we have a sewer system.
All those miles outside of town?
Yeah, well, we need to stock up on supplies, just in case.
Listen, Freddy.
How do you con... consider what if we're...
- What? Dead? - Yeah.
- Oh, it crossed my mind. - And?
Well, it's a possibility.
Yeah, but I'm not convinced that's it.
I mean... it could be somehing else, you know, like...
an alternate dimension, or...
a parallel universe.
You're serious?
Well, it's a possibility.
OK, then don't you think it's strange that there are no other signs of life?
I haven't seen one bird in the sky. I haven't even seen a bug.
Yeah, trust me...
I've noticed.
Jeez!
What?
I need to show you something.
I-I think this is some kind of recording.
Yeah, it looks it's recording now.
Rewind.
What do you do about this?
Well, technically there has been much progress.
And the latest EEG shows pretty low voltage activity,
some diffuse metamorphic delta activity.
- Wha-what does that mean? - I don't know, rewind it again.
...metamorphic delta activity. What worries me are the...
fevers and electrolyte balances...
The prognosis?
Well, I don't really see any other options here.
We're dedicating room and staff to a situation, that...
quite honestly, is a closed door.
- Look, check that bag, will you? - Yeah.
This isn't somebody's room.
OK. Let's give it a few more days, say until, Thursday?
March 17th? Yeah, that works for me.
This is the family DOF.
They're talking about someone's brain.
Sounds like they're about to take 'em off life support.
It's a shame.
I hate it for her...
OK, last chance to wake up, Ana.
Holy shit!
If someone's in a coma, in this hospital,
- where would their room be? - What?
Where would their room be?
- Alright, what does it say? - What?
Would you just check the damn heart monitor for me?
You know, you don't have to be such an asshole!
Well, I wouldn't have to be, if you'd just snap out of it.
It's 120 beats.
- What does that mean? - It's high.
- How's your heart rate? - Why?
- Just check it. - It's racing, OK?
OK.
Sit down.
Come on, sit down. I've got a crazy idea.
OK.
- Just breathe. - Oh, come on!
Just... try to calm down.
Do you know what you're saying, here?
- You think... - Unconscious.
- No, this is impossible. - Maybe it is, maybe it is't.
Where the hell are you going?
- What are you looking for? - My room.
- What do you think? - No.
Come on.
No, this can't be happening.
You-you understand that this can't be happening, right?
Well... it is happening, isn't it?
God, how do you so easily... and besides, it is not March 14th.
Maybe it is.
That would mean that the bus was two months ago, Freddy.
Yeah, and maybe that's why we woke up looking like wookies.
But if this isn't real, I mean that's what you're saying, right?
- That this isn't real. - Now, I don't know what's real and what's not!
But the voices we heard, were coming from your room, that room, right?
A-and it seems to be recording constantly, like it's live.
Maybe we've been out for two months.
So why did we wake up today?
What happened to the last eight weeks?
Listen to me. If what they said about you is true...
- and it really is March 14th, then we've got... - Three days.
Then darkness.
That's why the darkness is moving towards us.
In three days, everything will be gone.
How do we get out?
I think we've gotta go through it.
Have you forgotten, that when we get too close to this stuff, we start to feel sick?
And the-and the battery in my car starts to die.
More things are gonna happen, if we stay in there too long.
Yeah, well, if you've got a better idea, I'm all ears.
Just...
- just stay close to me, OK? - Oh, I'm sure you'd like that.
What's that supposed to mean?
Well, you were obviously hitting on me on the bus. And not too subtly, by the way.
Well, that's before I realized you were a complete spaz.
I'm already feeling sick, Freddy. Let's go back!
Wait one!
Wait.
OK, hold on!
I've seen this before.
Oh, holy shit!
Maybe I'll get lucky.
Don't count on it.
One down, five thousand to go.
I seriously don't feel well, Freddy.
OK, I know that doesn't mean anything to you.
Yeah, yeah, I feel it too, just... just give me a minute.
Where do you think this chain leads?
- You're pale. - Nicest thing you've said to me all day.
I-I think we'd better get out of here.
- What is that? - Come on!
Come on!
Give me the keys.
Give me the keys!
Give me the damn...
- You couldn't have just handed me the keys? - I'm sorry.
What the hell was that?
Where are you going?
Just wish me luck.
Oh, my God!
Oh, my God! Freddy!
Alright! Shit!
Come on!
Yes!
OK, OK!
Oh, my God!
Yeah, well...
I think that one's already been taken care of.
Come on, you need to hurry up.
- Where are we going? - Well, we know the roads are blocked,
but we haven't tried the water yet.
That doesn't seem likely, at this point, does it?
- That's a great attitude. - I'm sorry.
I just discovered that I'm in a coma,
and I might be dead in three days.
And-and now there's some kind of large creature, and not to mention I'm sharing
my... my mind, or-or soul, with a...
With a what?
Comic book geek?
I was gonna say, "stranger."
Come on.
- What are you doing? - This's where I grew up.
The river's back there.
It hasn't looked like this in years.
- Phil. - Is that your dad?
No, my stepdad.
Hey, Bud.
Listen, your mom... asked me to, um...
well, to... to talk to you about what happened at school today.
Nothing happened.
- You got in a fight. - So?
They say you stole somebody's lunch money.
It's not true.
Well, listen, I believe you... but, uh... your mom...
you know, she's... she's losing patience with you, Freddy.
You know, after what happened a few weeks ago and now this.
She just wants to ship me off somewhere.
Well, if you're not careful, she's gonna stop threatening, and actually go through with it.
So why don't you do something about it?
Look... she wanted to keep you grounded all day.
I talked her into letting you go to the carnival.
- How'd you do that? - Don't worry about it.
Now, I got something for you. I know you're really not into this kind of thing, but...
it's a Major League ball, it's the real deal.
Thought maybe we could go, you know, hit a few.
Um... yeah... maybe later.
I'm just trying trying to finish something right now.
Yeah, no worries, no... no problem. We'll just, um... take a rain check.
Listen, just stay out of trouble, OK?
All I cared about was comics.
They were my escape, I...
I guess they still are.
What kind of comic books did you like?
My favorite were the horror comics.
You know... supernatural tales of the paranormal and other-worldly.
All the "cliffhangers".
Aren't "cliffhangers"... sorta cruel.
In my opinion... there's nothing like a good, "to be continued."
"To be continued" is just another way of saying, "it's not over yet." That's the beauty of it.
When I was a kid... I wanted to be a playwright.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
I wrote these horrible plays, I mean horrible.
And every play I read, I used to pretend it was one I had written.
I would critique my...
impressive vocabulary...
my genius plot twists.
I've... I've never told anyone. Ah, it's stupid.
No, it's not.
- Why'd you stop? - I wasn't any good.
That's what they used to tell me.
So why'd you keep going?
Because I loved it.
And I discovered that...
some people are just assholes.
How can they pull your life support? I thought that was against the law?
Not if you make out a living will.
Why would you do that?
My aunt raised me. She was...
basically my mom...
Anyway, there, there was an accident, and she spent the last year of her life...
wasting away, in a hospital bed, unconscious.
I never wanted that to happen to me.
I'm sorry.
You believe we have... spirits...
and souls?
You said "soul" earlier, that we were either sharing, our...
- minds or our souls? - Oh... I don't know.
I always wondered if they, go...
exploring, when we sleep, our souls?
Maybe that's what dreams are.
- I don't think we should split up. - I agree.
You know, you can tell a lot about a person from their bedroom?
The last thing I need, right now, is for you to analyze me.
OK... let's hear it.
Well...
you're very neat... maybe to a fault.
And the way you've got... the little boxes all organized, over there, by the wall?
Weirdo?
I see you...
with a copy of "Beowulf" for a little light bedtime reading.
You sleep alone... always on the same side of the bed.
But you keep a pillow, on the other side,
like it's holding out for someone.
You know you're not alone, Ana.
This is the one you were drawing in your room.
Yeah!
- This looks just like the door. - And what if it is it?
- Huh? - Well, uh...
look...
- the keys, candle. - OK, if none of this is real,
why can't we just imagine ourselves out of here?
Well, try it! I have!
But it doesn't make sense, any of it.
Except, u-unless it is real.
This place... it could exist in some alternate dimension...
some spiritual dimension, maybe.
I mean, it's obviously a copy of the other town.
One that we live in, but that doesn't mean it isn't real, right?
I mean, how do you define real?
I don't know.
August 23, 1992.
- That day, in the diner, with my aunt, it was... - The same day.
What else did you do that day?
Freddy!
Wanna play a game?
- Sure. - OK.
How about this one? It looks fun.
Three shots, please.
Let's see what you can do with this.
- Don't miss, Freddy. - Don't!
- Don't miss, Freddy. - Butthead.
I heard that!
And she's off.
Hey, I want you to get one of the police guns.
Just play for one thing and one thing only.
- That Spiderman comic. - That comic crap's for losers.
Nice shot.
For that, I'm gonna get you one of those Teddy Bears.
If you can hit anything.
Maybe I would, if you two'd stop breaking my concentration.
What do you say we go ride the ferris wheel?
And then, we go and start on this play of yours.
- Deal! - OK.
- Aunt Lu, are you OK? - Yeah.
Yeah, I'm fine.
Sure?
Yes, it's-it's OK..
Just getting old, I guess.
You wanna go again?
- No, I can do it. - Doesn't matter.
He can't aim for crap!
Come eat it.
Hey, hey, come on, work it out.
Then what do you guys say...
we go have some real fun.
I bet Freddy here, has never even been to a real haunted house.
- Of course I have. - Oh, yeah?
- Why don't you prove it? - Lead the way.
I guess we just missed each other.
Hey, what is it?
That was the day it happened.
After we got home.
The day what happened?
My aunt and I, we used to perform my plays together, in the living room.
We had these costumes and props.
We took it so seriously.
Well, I did, anyway.
I would pretend there was a... full house, and a...
a big cheering crowd, in the dark.
And Aunt Lu would always play along.
She was weak... but she did it for me.
And in return, I killed her.
It was my fault.
I set the candles out, and they were too close.
And it...
it was my fault, Freddy.
Hey, hey...
Whatever happened, it sounds like it was an accident.
It wasn an accident that happened because of me.
It's unfolding in the order of the day, Freddy,
and I don't wanna go back to that moment.
OK, just tell me exactly what happened.
This way!
Quick, get under the desk!
What are you doing?
It has the key.
- I think I got him. - You think you killed it?
Not even close.
The journey was long and hard.
But the knight kept going, because he wanted to make the King proud,
and kill the monster.
OK, highway 10.
That's where the door is, and the chain anchor.
That would mean the chain is roughly...
- Freddy. - half a mile long.
OK. Here's the radius that it can roam,
and we're away, here.
So we're safe.
Freddy... I think I may know what that thing is.
Enter the monster, a big gross creature, that eats people.
How old were you when you wrote this?
- I told you it was bad. - OK, so...
the door from my comic, the monster from your play.
I mean, tell me you know how to kill this thing. You wrote the story.
Well, in the story, a knight kills it, but as it so happens, we're plumb out of knights, here.
Yeah, well, we can't get through the door, until we have the key.
And I suppose you have a brilliant plan of how we're gonna get it?
Are you sure you know how to do this?
Yeah, I was kind of a pyro in high school.
OK, we need to make this fast.
What do you think's gonna happen if we don't get out?
I mean, you didn't sign a living will, so you could be OK, either way.
Listen.
Wish me luck.
Oh, shit!
You're a terrible shot! Give me this!
Freddy.
Freddy, I-I think this is just the steaks.
- Oh, shit! - What?
We have to get to the car.
Damn it!
- What're we gonna do? - You try it again!
- It's just... Freddy, it's dead! - Just try it!
Maybe if we just stay here.
I have a basement.
This whole house'll be gone in a couple hours.
Let's go.
Come on.
You wouldn't believe... how strong this stuff is.
I used to rappel off the roof with it.
I can't stop them from shaking.
OK.
Come here, go, come on.
I haven't been in here in a long time.
I still come sometimes, just to sit.
That must be seventeenth.
You know, I never asked you where you were coming from, on the bus.
I was on vacation.
- All by yourself? - Mm-hm.
It wasn't so bad.
Yeah, I guess we're both hermits.
What's your reason?
- Same as yours, I suppose. - What, projection?
I'm sorry I tried to blow you off, on the bus.
Well, I just asked you out for a cup of coffee. I guess I got more than I bargained for.
Let's say, if we don't make it out of here...
I just want you to know...
- You OK? - Oh, it hurts.
- Oh... - OK, alright.
Come on, come on...
OK.
Take it easy.
Where are you going?
I'm not gonna let you die, Ana.
So don't follow me.
No!
No.
No!
Once upon a time there was a pleasant place, called Maryland.
- Mary Land. - Excuse me, Mary Land.
And in this land, there lived a knight...
His boss was the king, a fat man with a big beard, named Lord Donbury.
Is it true this place is haunted?
You bet it is. It was a hospital in the Civil War.
They say the ghosts of all the people that died...
still roam the halls.
After three and a half weeks of travelling, he finally came to the monster's secret cave.
That's me.
What are you gonna do?
See those windchimes on the front porch? I'm gonna hit 'em.
Bull crap, you cannot hit that from here.
Watch me.
I have come to cut off your head.
That's not a very good roar!
Much better! Now you will feel my blade,
foul beast!
OK, let's go with South.
Holy crap! Did you do that?
Freddy, come on.
I'm sorry.
I-I didn't know.
Freddy, come here. Come on. Don't leave me, Freddy.
It was wrong... this is right where...
- it was here... - It's OK.
It's... this is, this is...
this is why... why we're here.
No, no, Freddy.
Freddy, please... please don't go.
I'm not afraid of you.
Come... come on.
Ana!
Hello.
Where's Freddy?
Can I help you?
I'm looking for Freddy.
Um... I'm his caretaker.
Come on in.
- Let me know if you need anything. - Thank you.
- Freddy. - Hi.
God... I was at the hospital.
I was so scared.
You were on-you were on the bus, right?
Freddy...
don't you remember?
I remember we... we had a good talk.
He doesn't remember anything.
Nothing but being on the bus.
That, he seems to remember, clearly.
This may sound crazy, but...
I was with him, in my coma. We were...
we were here, in this town, only we weren't.
I don't know, I...
He's been having, um... vivid dreams, but he only remembers... fragments...
pictures.
I'd like to stay with him.
How do you know Freddy, anyway?
We grew up down the street from each other.
I don't remember doing any of those.
They're great.
Did we meet each other before the bus?
In a way.
Because I feel like I know you from somewhere else.
This is me. See?
You remember?
Almost.