Weapons (2025)

[bunniefuu]

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 as*h*le, Paul.

I'm not being an as*h*le.

Well, I'm not being an as*h*le.

I'm concerned about you.

No, I don't...

You know what?

I don't need...

I don't need your f*cking 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 sh*t.

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 d*ck.

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 f*cked him donna you f*cked him no no

no i i i didn't f*ck him i didn't f*ck

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.

sh*t.

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 f*ck?

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 sh*t.

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 f*cking 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 b*tch.

Hey!

What did I tell you? Huh?

What did I tell you?

What did I...

f*ck!

This is f*cking bullshit.

This sh*t.

Please, please, please, please.

Right here, right here, right here.

g*dd*mn f*ck!

Please, please, please.

f*ck.

Come on, goddammit, f*cking go.

Yes.

Goddammit.

Oh, f*cking sh*t.

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 f*cking b*tch.

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 f*ck off.

God, God, God, me.

Willow.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, um, you good?

Sorry! f*ck! Sorry! Sorry!

f*ck! f*ck!

f*ck!

f*ck!

f*ck!

Please! Please!

f*ck!

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

sh*t, and there's like, f*cking two wackos

over there, and it's just like f*cked 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 f*cking wild is coming to the stage.

You're a f*cking 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 f*ck is, what house?

I can show you, man, it's really, really,

really close.

Oh, f*ck me.

Do you have A*DS?

Huh?

A*DS, as*h*le. Do you have A*DS?

Uh...

Uh, I don't think so.

Hepatitis? sh*t like that?

I mean, sh*t, 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 f*ck?!

You fk out of here, god dammit!

Thank you.

Hey, yo, you son?

This is crazy, bro.

Hey, get off me, pal.

Get the f*ck off me.

Get the f*ck off me.

Hey, f*ck, 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 f*ck, 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

m*ssile 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.