FicWad

The Simpson family stands in front of their apartment
building, stunned by the chaos. There are fires all over the
city. They can hear sirens and screaming, but it is all
disjointed, and the sky is streaked with green.

A few neighbors are gathered outside as well, including
PHILIP JOHNSON (37), a tall drawn man with a mustache.

ANGELA
What happened?

MR. JOHNSON
It sounds like solar flares have
knocked out power and satellites.

JANE
Did that start fires too?

MR. JOHNSON
Maybe some, but some people might
just have started using candles
when the lights went out.

One woman's voice can be heard screaming, but the source is
not clear.

VOICE
It's the end of the world!

MR. JOHNSON
Oh, I'd forgotten about the Mayan
thing.

HAROLD
That's just a story.

MR. JOHNSON
Yeah, but it's going to make the
panic worse.

Mr. Johnson is taking things in stride, but Mrs. Simpson is
feeling fear.

ANGELA
Do you think there will be looting?

MR. JOHNSON
Can't rule it out. We're kind of on
the edge of town, so we may be a
little sheltered from it. I wish I
had a gun though.

HAROLD
We should go back inside.

JANE
Wait, did they say anything about
getting power back up?

MR. JOHNSON
They just said city crews were
being called, but with power and
satellites down, nothing's going to
happen very fast. I wouldn't be
surprised if we see the National
Guard called up.

HAROLD
Come on. Let's go inside.

The Simpsons go back into their apartment, subdued.

HAROLD (CONT'D)
I think we better just put the game
away.

Harold sits down heavily in his chair.

JANE
Dad, are you all right?

Jane turns the flashlight into Mr. Simpson's face, and
notices that his skin is going gray.

HAROLD
I'm just tired.

JANE
No you're not. Mom, get the
nitroglycerin quick!

Mrs. Simpson hurries and gets a pill bottle, bringing a glass
of water as well.

HAROLD
It's really nothing.

But he does take the pill.

JANE
We need to get you to the hospital.

HAROLD
Their power's out too.

JANE
The hospital will have backup
generators and electricity might be
just what you need.

HAROLD
No! I will not have you two out
there in this! We don't even know
that we could make it there safely.

Mr. Simpson is surprisingly vehement considering his growing
weakness, but this does not comfort his wife and daughter.

JANE
Dad, you could die.

ANGELA
Please don't be stubborn about
this.

HAROLD
It's too dangerous. I've made up my
mind.

Angela kneels down beside Harold and starts to cry.

ANGELA
Please-

He doesn't let her finish, but he does take a more gentle
tone.

HAROLD
Sweetheart, I don't even think we
could make it to the hill, let
alone up it. You heard the traffic
out there.

JANE
Maybe I can call for help.

HAROLD
They'll be overloaded.

Jane picks up the phone, but is surprised to not hear a dial
tone.

JANE
The land line's out too.

ANGELA
What's going on?

HAROLD
A lot of the switches and things
would be electric. We're just going
to have to ride it out.

His breathing is getting more labored.

ANGELA
At least lie down.

HAROLD
No, this is good.

Harold moves the chair into reclined position and closes his
eyes.

Angela and Jane exchange worried glasses.

JANE
(whispering)
There has to be something we can
do.

ANGELA
He's right about making it to the
hospital. Maybe if we were closer.

HAROLD
I can hear you.

JANE
Dad, isn't there something we can
do for you?

Harold pats the arm of the chair.

HAROLD
Just come be with me.

Jane goes over and kneels by the side of his chair.

HAROLD (CONT'D)
You can get a chair.

JANE
I'm good.

Angela does pull up a chair on the other side, and takes
Harold's hand.

HAROLD
I just need to rest a bit if you
don't mind. Just for a few minutes.

Harold's words are peaceful, but his breathing is worse.

They wait together in the darkness.

Harold draws one last shuddering breath, and then he is gone.

JANE
Dad? Dad!

Harold is unresponsive. Jane begins to shake him.

JANE (CONT'D)
Mom!

Angela comes over and pulls Jane away gently.

ANGELA
It's okay.

JANE
No it's not!

ANGELA
Jane, there's nothing we can do.

Jane starts to turn numb, but Angela holds her daughter, and
they let their grief be felt.



INT. LIVING ROOM

Jane and her mother are sitting alone. It is Christmas Eve.

Jane is restless. She keeps looking at her phone.

ANGELA
What is it?

JANE
It's nothing. I was supposed to
call Gerard and open his gift, and
now...

Jane's voice trails off as she gazes wistfully at her phone.
It beeps and then her look turns to horror.

JANE (CONT'D)
No!

ANGELA
What's the matter?

JANE
The battery's dying.

ANGELA
You can't use it anyway.

JANE
All my pictures of him are on this
phone!

ANGELA
We'll get the power back.

JANE
Really? When? When is any of this
ever going to be right again?

Jane bursts into tears and sinks to the floor.

JANE (CONT'D)
I'm sorry.

Angela moves over to the couch. Sitting down on it, she puts
her arms around Jane, still on the floor, and speaks gently.

ANGELA
Jane, do you really think you could
ever forget what he looks like?

JANE
No! I don't know. It feels like
everything is slipping away, and I
can't stop it.

Jane turns at looks at Angela, looking very young.

JANE (CONT'D)
Mom, I don't think I can do this.

ANGELA
We'll have to do it together.

Angela goes over to the tree and brings a small package over.

ANGELA (CONT'D)
Open it.

JANE
He wanted to listen.

ANGELA
He'll understand.

Jane opens it and finds a leather trifold, like a wallet.
Opening it up, there is a picture of the Simpson family on
the left, the White family on the right, and Jane and Gerard
in the middle.

JANE
It's perfect! Oh, thank God.

Jane is still crying, but it is less frantic.

ANGELA
He called me to ask for our
picture. It was nice talking to
him. I thought he was very sweet.

Jane clutches the gift to her chest, her breathing evening
out.

JANE
He is, Mom. He is.

Jane takes a deep breath.

JANE (CONT'D)
I need to go outside for a while.

She has been the calm one all night, but at this Angela is
worried.

ANGELA
It's so dark and cold right now.

JANE
I know. I won't stay long. I just
need a minute alone.

Angela nods and Jane gets up and steps out the front door,
and out of the building.

There are no longer fires visible in the city, but there is
smoke from farther away, and there are still no lights. It
would seem that the world could not possibly be more dark.

Still holding on tight to her Christmas gift, Jane looks into
the sky and closes her eyes.

JANE (CONT'D)
Thank you. Please don't let this be
the end.



INT. MEDICAL TENT

It is now February, 2013.

A parking garage has been converted into a medical facility
to treat the many victims of a flu outbreak.

Walls have been created via canvases, and portable heaters
brought in and fueled by kerosene. Lights are hung where
possible, but it is clearly not the best of conditions.

Rows and rows of cots are set up, each one containing a
person suffering from flu.

Jane is working among the cots, helping patients to drink and
eat.

Jane herself looks healthy, but tired. She is wearing jeans
with a scrub top, and gloves and a surgical mask.

Jane checks her watch and looks around, concerned.

Jane walks into a small curtained area, where other
volunteers are changing out of their scrub tops. There are
three others there:

SHAWN BAKER (35) is tall and wiry with light blonde hair.

MAC DUTTON (35) is tall, muscular, and black. He keeps his
head shaved.

VICKI CARPENTER (28) is short and kind of chubby, with curly
red hair, blue eyes, and freckles.

BAKER
We thought you decided to stay.

JANE
Usually someone relieves me before
I go. Has anyone seen Kenji?

DUTTON
I heard she got sick.

JANE
Flu?

DUTTON
I doubt it, or she should have
gotten it sooner.

CARPENTER
They've got other things coming up
now.

JANE
What things?

CARPENTER
I've been hearing all kinds of
crazy rumors: cholera, diphtheria-

BAKER
What? No plague?

CARPENTER
It's just what I've heard.

JANE
That's horrible.

DUTTON
Sanitation's probably fallen off. A
lot. What do you expect?

JANE
I expect us to not turn into a
third world country.

CARPENTER
The point is, our immune systems
may be better than most, but we're
still mortal. Eat, get some rest,
do what you need to do.

JANE
Yeah. I guess so.

Jane takes another look at the rows of cots. The scene scares
her now in a way that it didn't before.



INT. SIMPSON HOME, BATTERY CITY

Jane and Angela are eating at the table.

A kerosene lamp provides light, and through the sliding door
a hibachi is visible on the deck. Power is still out.

JANE
Where did you get the chicken?

ANGELA
The Bettencourts. I gave them some
of the oranges you brought last
time. You don't mind, do you?

JANE
I'm glad everyone's sharing. That's
your doing, I think.

ANGELA
I can't take credit for that.
Everyone is coming together.

JANE
Getting them together on Christmas
is what started it, and that was
you. I'm really proud of you.

Angela smiles and looks down.

ANGELA
I mainly did that to distract you.

JANE
As long as it was good for
something.

ANGELA
Have you heard anything?

Jane shakes her head.

JANE
With so many people sick, I'm not
sure that anyone's even thinking
about phones. I guess things have
to calm down first.

ANGELA
Isn't it slowing down at all?

JANE
It's getting worse. They have new
diseases popping up. Bad ones.

Jane pauses, working up the courage to say what she needs to
say.

JANE (CONT'D)
I think I need to quit coming home.

ANGELA
What? You can't!

JANE
It feels like this is the only
peaceful spot in the city, and I'm
scared that I'm going to drag
something back with me and ruin it.

ANGELA
I hate you being gone at all, and
now you want to stay gone?

JANE
I know, and I don't even want to
think about how much I'll miss you,
but Mom, I will not be able to live
with myself if I get you sick.

ANGELA
But Jane-

JANE
You're all I have left. I can't
risk you.

ANGELA
Is there something you're not
telling me?

Jane hesitates, but admits it.

JANE
One of the other volunteers got
sick.

ANGELA
No! You have to-

JANE
I don't know any details. I don't
even know if it's serious.

ANGELA
But it could be.

Jane shrugs, knowing it sounds awful, but sure that she is
right.

JANE
It reminds me that I am working
around some really nasty stuff, and
that I might be tracking it back
here.

ANGELA
So far we're all fine.

JANE
Let's keep it that way. It's only
weekends anyway. Maybe not very
many more if we're lucky.

ANGELA
I don't like this.

JANE
Neither do I. I'm just trying to be
responsible. Do the right thing.

ANGELA
Don't blame that on me.

JANE
Still true though. I just need to
know that you're safe.

Angela nods in resignation.



INT. SIMPSON HOME

It is early Monday morning, and still dark out.

Jane, in jeans and a pastel blouse, is getting ready to go
back to the tents.

ANGELA
I really wish you were going to say
'See you next week.'

JANE
But I'm not.

ANGELA
And I can't ask you to give up
helping.

JANE
Nope.

ANGELA
You didn't get that stubbornness
from me.

JANE
If you say so. Dad might argue.

Mentioning him brings a pang, but Jane puts on a biker jacket
and zips it up, resolute.

ANGELA
At least the jacket's working out.

Now Jane smiles.

JANE
I really love it.

ANGELA
It was a little expensive, but we
really wanted Christmas to be
special, in case...

Angela pauses. Everything she had worried about would have
been so much better than this.

JANE
It's perfect. You and Dad did a
good job.

Angela hugs Jane tightly.

JANE (CONT'D)
I feel like a poser wearing it on a
Vespa.

ANGELA
But you look so cute in it!

JANE
That's what the Hell's Angels go
for.

ANGELA
Just stay healthy.

JANE
You too. I need you, even if I show
it by being difficult.

Angela rolls her eyes at "difficult".

ANGELA
I'm not sure how much credit to
take, but I could not be prouder of
you, or love you more.

Jane gives her mother a final squeeze.

JANE
I've got to go.

ANGELA
I know. Be safe.

Jane hurries out, putting on her helmet and mounting her
Vespa.

As Jane rides towards the center of the city she stops at one
intersection, and finds herself overwhelmed by the emptiness.

There is no light other than the glow of her headlight. Even
the traffic lights are dark. There is no sound, except for
the idling motor. There is no sign of another life.

Just as Jane feels like she will need to scream or die, she
hears a rustling in some papers near a grate. A rat appears
and stares at her, eyes eerily glowing red.

For someone who has been fighting disease so hard, a rat
should be a bad sign, but it is oddly comforting.

JANE
It's okay. I won't hurt you.

The rat slinks through the grate, and Jane is left alone, but
the spell is broken, and she can move on.



INT. MEDICAL TENT

Time goes on. The occupants of the cots move in and move out,
most of them leaving dead.

Jane continues to work.

The number of volunteers begins to shrink, making the work
harder, and more discouraging.

At the end of one particularly exhausting day, Jane leaves
her shift. Baker and Dutton are in the changing area, along
with a new one.

NATALIA REYES (21) has reddish-brown hair cut just past her
chin. She is average height, but strongly built, and has the
air of someone who can handle herself.

Jane sits down and does not move, too tired to even take off
her scrubs.

BAKER
Long day?

JANE
Is there any other kind around
here?

BAKER
At least I got some variety. I got
to set up the new area.

JANE
What new area?

BAKER
Some apartment complex on the South
side is dying in droves. I don't
know why they bothered bringing
them in, but they wanted them
quarantined.

This is news to Jane, and it is vaguely discomforting.

JANE
Where on the South side?

BAKER
I don't know. Quarantine's over
there.

Baker shrugs and points.

Jane takes off running, and finds the new area.

Several new patients are on cots, groaning.

Jane rushes in, searching the rows. Every face is familiar.
One is her mother.

JANE
(whispering)
No!

Jane kneels down at Angela's side, and takes her hand.

Angela's breath is rasping, and her eyes are glazed over. Her
skin is chalky white.

JANE (CONT'D)
You weren't supposed to get sick.

Angela's eyes almost focus, but not quite.

ANGELA
Jane...

JANE
Mom? Do you know I'm here?

ANGELA
Jane...

It is impossible to tell if there is any recognition or if it
is merely delirium.

JANE
Please don't leave me alone. I need
you.

Angela's breathing gets worse, and then stops.

Jane initially refuses to believe that this has happened, but
the truth sinks in and she hugs her mother, sobbing.

JANE (CONT'D)
No!



EXT. ROOF OF THE PARKING GARAGE, DUSK.

Jane is standing by the edge, looking down at the city. The
despair has been replaced by nothingness. At least, she is
trying not to feel.

HILLARD (55) approaches. A soft, flabby man, short and
balding, he is in charge of the facility.

Hillard goes near Jane and absentmindedly lights a cigarette.

HILLARD
This won't last forever.

JANE
It's already gone on too long.
There's nothing left.

Hillard nods. After hesitating a while, he tries again.

HILLARD
I've been asked to recommend some
people for advanced medical
training, like what they do for the
hospital corpsman. I don't know if
you'd be interested, but I said
they should take you.

Some signs of life start to return to Jane.

JANE
No, that would be good.

HILLARD
Good. It won't be until things
clear up around here a little.
They're estimating about a month.

Something about that does not sound right.

JANE
How can they say that? We're still
swamped.

The question seems to make Hillard uncomfortable.

HILLARD
Well, it's just a guess, but the
rate of new cases is slowing down,
and we know how long the infection
lasts.

JANE
But new diseases keep coming up.

HILLARD
Yes, but not with the same rate of
contagion. I meant that it won't be
sooner than a month. If we need to
wait longer, we will. Obviously we
don't know.

Jane nods, leaving her confusion to return to her grief.

Hillard nods and hurries away.



INT. BUNKER

2019

The Bunker was built by some survivalists, and apparently
abandoned. It has now been co-opted by the rebels. The
entrance leads to one large room, with four smaller rooms
opening off the sides.

In one of these smaller rooms, Gerard is stretched out
unconscious on a gurney.

Jane is checking his vitals while Mikey watches, sitting
nearby on a regular cot.

JANE
How's your shoulder?

Reminded, Mikey rubs it.

MIKEY
I'll live. Will Gee?

JANE
I think so.

MIKEY
You can't tell?

JANE
I can tell he's going to get
infected.

Mikey is alarmed, but Jane keeps talking before he can
protest.

JANE (CONT'D)
I've been looking for some way to
prevent it, and I can't, but two
days from now he is still holding
his own, and I'll do everything I
can for him. You know that.

Jane goes over and sits next to Mikey on the bed.

MIKEY
I know. Brings back memories,
doesn't it?

Jane nods distantly, then shakes herself and smiles at Mikey.

JANE
It reminds me of that time you came
to visit and he got sick. He felt
so bad about that.

MIKEY
I didn't. Instead of hanging with
my brother I was being escorted
around campus by a sophisticated-

JANE
Sophisticated?

MIKEY
Yes, to the teenager from podunk
Farmville, the twenty-year old
college student from the big city
seemed very glamorous.

JANE
Thank you.

MIKEY
And everywhere I turned there were
more girls. And books. There were
books too.

JANE
I think I remember that.

MIKEY
After that, nothing was keeping me
out of college. You know, except
for this.

JANE
I'm sorry you didn't get your
chance.

MIKEY
It's not like either of you got to
finish.

They are silent for a moment, each with their own memories.

JANE
What was it like afterwards? I
mean, I know what happened in the
city, but you could never get any
news from anywhere else.

Mikey thinks about it.

MIKEY
At first it wasn't really that bad.
It's the country. Everybody had
gardens and flashlights and all
that stuff, so things stayed pretty
normal, except for Gee sulking all
the time over you.

Mikey nudges Jane at this, and she smiles sadly.

JANE
Sorry about that.

MIKEY
It's not your fault. It just never
got any better. They never opened
the high schools. They just started
having the lower grades again a
year before Grace started
kindergarten.
They diverted the water to fight
the fires, but it never came back
after the fires were out, so no one
could farm or garden anymore. There
were no jobs. They never let anyone
get out of town. There were
curfews. There were crackdowns. It
was suffocating.

JANE
I think when they saw the
opportunity to seize power, they
didn't really have a plan for how
to maintain it.

MIKEY
If you were young there was nothing
to do but get in trouble or sign on
with SCARECROW.

JANE
So you got into trouble?

MIKEY
A little.

Jane squeezes Mikey's hand.

JANE
I was so ready to have you for a
brother.

MIKEY
Now you've got three.

JANE
It's my lucky day. I'm going to go
check on the others. Call me if
anything changes.

Jane kisses Mikey on the cheek and leaves.

Mikey settles back on the bed and thinks.



INT. WHITE HOME

It is June 2013, in the middle of the night.

Gerard is in his bedroom sleeping.

He is dreaming that he is back on the hill that night.

Jane leaves, and the feeling of panic comes, just like
before, but as Gerard tries to call to her, no words come
out.

MRS. WHITE
Gerard!

Gerard's eyes open.

Seeing his mother, Gerard sits up, worried.

GERARD
What's wrong?

MRS. WHITE
The baby's coming.

GERARD
Is Cathy okay?

MRS. WHITE
You need to go get the midwife.

Gerard pulls on some clothes and heads for the door.

Mikey appears.

MIKEY
I'll go with you.

Gerard shrugs and they head out.

CUT TO:



INT. WHITE LIVING ROOM

A little bit of morning light is starting to stream in.

Mikey, Gerard, and Mr. White sit around, nervous.

A cry emerges from the bedroom.

Mrs. White comes in excitedly.

MRS. WHITE
She's here!

GERARD
She?

Mrs. White goes over and hugs Mr. White.

MRS. WHITE
We have a granddaughter.

The MIDWIFE exits the bedroom next.

MIDWIFE
A very healthy granddaughter and
niece.

MR. WHITE
Thank you so much. We've been
worried...

MIDWIFE
Even I wish we could have had an
ultrasound at some point, but it
all worked out.

Gerard walks to the bedroom door and peeks in.

Don is beaming down at a bundle wrapped in blankets. He
kisses Cathy's head.

Cathy looks up and sees Gerard. She looks so exhausted, and
so radiant.

CATHY
Are you ready to meet Grace?

Gerard comes closer, spellbound.

Don holds INFANT GRACE out to Gerard, who hesitates.

DON
It's okay.

Gerard takes his niece, looks down, and falls in love. He
kisses her forehead.

GERARD
I will always be here for you
Grace.

Mikey watches from the doorway.



INT. WHITE HOME

September 2013.

Gerard is rocking Grace on the couch.

Mikey is watching. Sometimes he looks like he wants to say
something, but Gerard's focus is completely on Grace.

Don and Cathy come in, looking upset.

CATHY
Are Mom and Dad here?

MIKEY
What's wrong?

Mr. and Mrs. White comes from the kitchen.

MRS. WHITE
What is it?

DON
They're blockading the town.

GERARD
What do you mean?

DON
You know how they've been
discouraging people from leaving? I
guess it's not enough.

MIKEY
How can they do that?

CATHY
They're putting up gates with armed
guards. I don't think we'll ever
get to go home now.

Mrs. White walks over and puts her arm around her daughter.

MRS. WHITE
We love having you here. All of
you.

Mrs. White includes Don in her hug as well.

DON
And we're grateful you've let us
stay, but it's a small house for
seven people, and I'd like to start
working again.

MR. WHITE
Everyone would like that.

MIKEY
How can they say whether people can
leave town or not? It's a free
country.

CATHY
They're saying it's only temporary,
until things have settled down.

DON
I see what they're building, and it
doesn't look temporary to me.

Cathy goes over and takes Grace from Gerard.

CATHY
Thanks for watching her.

GERARD
Any time.

MIKEY
Gee, do you want to go look?

GERARD
No, thanks.

MRS. WHITE
You should get some fresh air.

Gerard shrugs and goes to his room.

MIKEY
Well I'm still going.

MR. WHITE
Be careful. Don't get too close.

Mikey nods and leaves.



EXT. GREENVALE, NEAR ROAD OUT OF TOWN

Where the road has previously led to the interstate, there is
now a large gate being built, with an arm that drops down,
and guard booths.

18 year old Ray and 16 year old Frank are already there
watching.

Mikey walks up.

MIKEY
Hey.

FRANK
Hey.

RAY
I think I've seen you around.

MIKEY
Maybe.

FRANK
Do you think they'll ever let
people out?

MIKEY
I think if I want out they're not
going to be able to keep me in.

Ray and Frank look at Mikey, sizing him up.

RAY
I'm Ray. This is Frank.

MIKEY
Mikey.

RAY
Good to meet you man. We'll
remember to check with you if we
ever want to leave.



EXT. WHITE HOME

September 2013.

Mikey is sitting on the porch, watching Gerard push Grace in
an infant swing.

Mrs. White comes out and sits next to Mikey.

MRS. WHITE
He's good with her, isn't he?

MIKEY
She's all he cares about.

MRS. WHITE
You know that's not true.

Mikey looks away. He is surprised by his own bitterness.

MRS. WHITE (CONT'D)
It's not the first time he's gone
crazy over a baby. He was the same
way with you.

MIKEY
You mean any time he wasn't with me
he was moping in his room?

Mrs. White smiles gently and puts an arm around Mikey.

MRS. WHITE
No. He just lit up around you. He
was always telling you stories and
drawing you pictures and lifting
you up to show you things.

Mikey smiles a little at this, and looks at Gerard again.

MIKEY
Really?

MRS. WHITE
Yes. And he would make up songs and
sing them for you. That's one thing
he doesn't do with Grace. I haven't
heard him sing in a long time.

MIKEY
I don't remember any of that.

MRS. WHITE
But when you got older, don't you
remember him taking you places and
doing things with you?

MIKEY
Yeah. He was pretty good.

MRS. WHITE
He wanted you in on everything. I
was always having to tell him that
you weren't ready for action
figures yet, or sword fighting, but
if I told him it wasn't safe for
you, he wouldn't try again. It's
hard for a five-year old to be
patient, but he was.

MIKEY
And now I need to be patient with
him.

MRS. WHITE
I'd like that.

Mrs. White gets up and kisses Mikey on the top of the head.

MRS. WHITE (CONT'D)
You two have been each other's best
friends for so long, I'd hate to
see you lose that.

Mrs. White goes inside.



INT. WHITE HOME

November 2013

Mrs. White and Cathy are stacking clothes.

Mikey and Gerard each come out with a few more.

MRS. WHITE
Is that everything?

MIKEY
I'm surprised I found these. I
don't have much left.

CATHY
No one does. I can't believe we've
been able to keep Grace dressed.

MRS. WHITE
We've only been able to do it
because other people have given us
clothes. That's why we really need
to help here. Now you boys take
these down to the high school.

Gerard and Mikey pick up the clothing stacks and leave the
house.



EXT. GREENVALE, BETWEEN WHITE HOME AND HIGH SCHOOL

MIKEY
I wonder how long they'll be
staying at the high school.

GERARD
I don't know. I heard some families
have people moving in with them. We
don't really have room.

MIKEY
No. It's just, some of these
clothes are from when Grace was
just born. If there are kids that
age there...

GERARD
I really don't know.

MIKEY
At least you've said something.

Gerard smiles a little.

GERARD
I know I haven't been much fun.

MIKEY
There's no one to talk to.

GERARD
There's everyone else.

MIKEY
It's not the same. Does it really
help being alone?

GERARD
It's..it just all presses down on
me, what everyone else is feeling.
I know it sounds dumb.

MIKEY
No, you've always been sensitive. I
remember that. And now everyone's
unhappy.

GERARD
They're scared. They're angry, and
worried, and they're hopeless. I
was already feeling that way on my
own, and with everyone else it's
too much.

MIKEY
Except for Grace.

GERARD
She doesn't have any bad memories.
She doesn't miss anything. Keep her
warm and dry and fed, and she's
good.

MIKEY
So what we really need is more
babies. I'll get right on that.

Now Gerard actually laughs. It's been a long time since that
happened, and Mikey looks up, hopeful and pleased.

GERARD
Great idea, Casanova. "But Mom, I
was just doing it for Gee!"
Besides, what if they were all
colicky?

MIKEY
Grace is a really happy baby.

GERARD
She is. And she needs things I can
actually do. I'm useless for anyone
else now.

MIKEY
That's not true. Today you're
helping out refugees.

GERARD
I'm carrying clothes.

MIKEY
And I'm happy, now that we're
talking.

Gerard pauses to consider that, and finds some satisfaction.

GERARD
Good.

It feels so good in that moment, and Mikey wants to give
something back.

MIKEY
You know, I liked Jane too. We all
did.

Gerard's voice becomes clipped, but he is still answering at
this point.

GERARD
I know.

MIKEY
You're going to see her again. Once
things settle down-

GERARD
(sharply)
Look, I cannot talk about that,
okay?

Mikey hadn't realized how he was pressing his luck.

MIKEY
I'm sorry. I didn't mean-

GERARD
It's fine. I just can't go there.

MIKEY
But we can talk about other things,
right?

All the animation drains out of Gerard.

GERARD
Yeah, sure. Just not now.

Gerard and a devastated Mikey walk on in silence.

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
/]
[/from The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats