02x04 - AVA

[bunniefuu]

[insects chirping]

[twig snapping]

MAN: [as figures]
"Did you hear that?"

"I heard it, that was not

an American avocet."

"No, that's no bird.
That's the sound of evil.

I recognize it anywhere."

[distant howling]

"I think I just
peed my pants."

[beeping]

"Turn it off,
he's gonna hear it."

"I'm sorry, my mom put

this device that goes off
when it feels wetness."

"Quiet, he's gonna hear us."

"Turn it off."
"Turn that thing off."

"If you don't shut up,
he's gonna find us.

"I got away once
and I do not plan on

getting captured again."

"Wait, didn't he get you
on the subway?"

"I... I can't remember.

Do you guys remember
what he did to you?"

"It was all so horrible,
but I can't really

remember any of it."

"Oh, yes."
"There's no memory."

"That's what it was
like for me..."

[overlapping shouting]

[distant howling]
[all gasping]

"Wh... what is that?"

"Oh, no."

"I told you to shut up."

"I... is it him?"

"In the name of the Father,
and the Son,

and the Holy Ghost."

"Oh, God."

[screaming]

[eerie theme music]

♪

[camera beeps]

[sighs]

Kind of a weird one today,
I'll say.

This guy hired me
to help him make some kind of

fundraising video for
his non profit,

and told me to meet him
at the animal sanctuary.

Uh...

yeah, but hey,

I call the sh*thole
I live in a home,

so who am I to judge what
constitutes an animal sanctuary?

I ain't PETA, right?

[sighs] Whatever.

Maybe I'll stumble upon
sh**ting the next Tiger King

and I will get rich
in this b*tch.

[distant saw whirring]

Uh...

-Hi.
-f*ck!

Fresh vegetables?

Sorry about that.

-No, I'm sorry.
-Here, have a snack.

They're organic and vegan,

and most importantly, raw.

Oh, I'm good, thanks.

This whole thing
we've gotten into,

k*lling animals,

and cooking them?

It's... it's just...

We shouldn't be
cooking these either.

Why shouldn't we be cooking
the vegetables?

I don't know.

I just know it's not nice.

Cooking.

That's not a nice thing to do...

to anything.

I'm so grateful to you.

The animals are grateful too.

They've been through
so much already.

We're gonna need
to raise a lot of money

to get them healthy again.

And it wouldn't be possible
without your fundraising video.

[mouthing]

Now, before we go in,

I need to ask...

no, I need to demand

your utmost prudence and respect

while filming the animals.

One wrong move

can set them off

and they can really freak out.

There's a lot of hidden trauma.

We're barely scratching
the surf...

I need to know
if I can trust you.

Yeah, yeah, of course.

The animals can sense
your intentions.

You you can trust me.

Oh...

Thank you so much.

Yeah.

[exhales]

Is this some kind
of a joke or...

Oh, I know, right?

No.

There are those who seek to harm

the sweetest and most
defenseless among us.

As if for sport.

No, Ava, this is no joke.

Come, meet everyone.

Come closer. Come on.

That's right.

You have to get very, very close

if you want to hear them.

"Hi, I'm Aaron.

"I'm a large sweetie
with big tootsies,

"mommy issues, and a pure heart.

"I gave my trust
to the Big Bad One,

and he abused it."

"I'm Elliot,
and it's the same with me.

"I can't even remember
what happened

or what the Big Bad One
even looks like."

AVA: The Big Bad One?

"Yes, and shh,
Keep your voice down.

He's still out there."

Can you describe
what he looks like or...

"No, I can't remember."

"But I know he's
the personification

"of all evil.

"He's always out there, lurking.

"We can't move forwards,
we can't move backwards.

We're just stuck here
in the sanctuary."

Maybe we should take a break.

Digging up the past
like this is difficult...

for the animals.

What the...

-Ava?
-[gasps]

I made lunch for us.

It's vegan.

I'll be right there.

[door closes]
Holy sh*t.

Holy sh*t.

Documentary gold.

Shout out to my dad
for pushing me

to get that psychology minor.

'Cause it's coming in handy.

'Cause, like, at first
I thought it was like,

some kind of vegan,

save the animals
bullshit, right?

But this...

This is bigger than that.

Is he using the animals
as, like, avatars?

Or puppets to try to work
through some traumatic,

-repressed memory of his...
-MAN: Ava, lunchies!

Okay!

Sorry. I'm so excited.

This is like Tiger King,

but with abuse.

So if you could be any animal,

what would you be?

Good question.

My whole life,
I've loved wolves,

but lately, something's changed.

Maybe a cat.

Interesting.

Many lives, resilient.

Do you feel like maybe you
can relate to that?

Like, maybe you've overcome
something bad in your past?

I'm sorry, uh,
did you say something?

I, um...

So, um, where do you
find the animals?

Unfortunately, they're not
very hard to come by.

They've mostly been beaten,

left for dead,
and in some cases,

in danger of being...

Of being what?

C...

Cooked.

-Cooked?
-Yes, cooked.

Can you imagine?

[kicks cabinet]

-Uh, what was that?
-What was what?

Just then, it seems like you
went away for a few seconds.

So how long do you think

it will take you to edit
the video

once you're done
interviewing all the animals?

Oh, it shouldn't take too long,

but I don't know, I just...

I just want to keep talking
to you about the animals...

You shouldn't be
interviewing me, Ava.

This is about the animals.

You should be
interviewing the animals.

Of course, of course.

And we'll definitely
get there, I guess...

No! The animals come first!

Their trauma comes first!
[screaming]

Okay, um, okay.

I'm so sorry.

No, I...

-Oh, I'm sorry.
-No, no, no.

Uh, you know, maybe

we just take a break, you know?

Um, could I smoke in here?

Yeah, okay, okay.

[screaming]

Fire! No cook!

No cook!

[screaming]

[thud]

David?

David?

AVA: Let's take
a little look around.

Stinks in here.

What is that f*cking smell?

[chuckles]
Yeah, f*ck that.

-There you are.
-[gasps] Hey.

Sorry, um...

Are... are you okay?

Why do you keep asking me that?

Well, that was...

It was just quite a moment
we had back there.

You mean us having
lunch together

and then me doing the dishes?

Wait, you're saying
you don't remember?

Never mind.

Um, so I...

I found this.

Do you make these?

It's okay.

[both gasping]

[sputtering]

We should get outside
and continue interviewing

the animals before
it gets... dark.

Yeah, um, but David,

um, the animals you make

are so lifelike.

How do you know which ones
are real and which ones aren't?

Does it really matter?

No...

No! Oh, no!

No, no, no, no, no!

Aaron! My favorite!

No...

Oh, God, he escaped!
He escaped!

-Who?
-The Big Bad One.

He's out, we have to.

We have to protect the animals.

We have to hide them.

Quick, quick.

It's not safe. It's not safe.

-David...
-It's not safe...

[both grunting]

-Oh, no, no.
-Protect them!

-Don't get up there.
-Oh, gosh.

-W... It's not safe.
-Careful...

It's not safe.

No, cook. No, cook!

No cook! No!

David...

[David babbling]

-I'll hide you.
-I'll hide you...

Look, David, it's okay!

I found the Big Bad One,
and he doesn't have his ax.

Look, it's okay!

[screams] No!

He can't hurt you now!

Just... just tell me
what happened.

Tell me what the Big Bad One
did to that poor little cat.

-Please tell me...
-I can't fight it!

I gotta hide him...

[panting]

-You can do it.
-Just tell me.

-[muffled]
-I can't! I can't!

-You can! You can!
-I can't! I can't!

Just tell me what you remember.

Anything! Tell me!

[choking]

Don't swallow! No!

[heavy breathing]

David...

David, you're okay.

Where... where are you
right now?

A bad place...

-The bad place?
-Okay, that's good.

That's good.
What do you see?

-I can... I see something.
-I see something.

-What do you see?
-I see...

I see a...

A purse?

What?

A pink purse,

with green wings.

Ava! Ava!
I'm breaking through.

I'm breaking through!

-Uh, what is happening?
-Shh!

What is this place?

I don't know.

I think this might be
the bad place.

I think this
is where it happened.

-What is "it"?
-I don't know!

Ava, please, let me concentrate.

[Ava sighs]

Wait a minute...

Ava, will you please be quiet?

Gosh!

Gotta figure out
what this place is.

It's right there.

Just...

I can't...

-David...
-What?

That's it.

That's the name of the...

How did you...
How did you know that?

AVA: That's so crazy, I was
literally there just last week.

[chuckles]

Ava?

Yeah?

Why are you still
filming me right now?

Oh, because you wanted me

to make a video for the animals.

Yeah, but we're not at
the animal sanctuary anymore.

And I'm not an animal.
I'm a human being

going through something
very personal right now.

Right, right, but you said

that if you were an animal,
you would be a cat.

And we have to save
that cat, right?

Ava...

do you even care about me?

I... of course...

[tires screech]
What are you doing?

I'll be right back.

Gas?

Yeah.

What do you need gas for?

I don't know.

-Come on, David.
-You can do this.

David, you can do this.
This is our chance...

This is your chance.

You got this.

Oh, boy. It's coming.

Okay.

It's here.

Fran's Pub.

I was having a few beers
after work,

talking to some nice girls.

That's when I saw him
for the first time.

-Go on.
-He asked me why

I was talking to his b*tches.

I remember he called them
his b*tches.

And I don't like violence.

I'm a pacifist,
so I got up and I left.

He followed me out the door.

He said, "Hey, buddy."

I made the mistake
of turning around...

Yeah, then he beat me

to within an inch of my life.

And...

And then he went...
he went to his truck.

Ava, he... he went
to his truck.

Right, and...

The red gas, right.

That's when he got the gas.

Yes, a... and he
emptied it out,

and he dumped the contents
on top of my head.

And he took three steps back
and he reached into his pocket,

and he pulled out
a book of matches.

-No cook.
-That's right, Eva.

No cook.

He didn't light me on fire then.

He left me here,
broken and shivering.

I mean, in some ways, I wish he
had just finished it right then

'cause I've been a shell
of a being ever since...

Oh, my God, that's right.
I can't move forward.

I can't move backward.
I'm stuck in the sanctuary.

[whispers] Like the animals!

But, David,
you can put it all past you.

Like, you're free now.

David...

-You're right, Ava!
-We can end it all!

Right here, right now.

Give me your matches.

-David.
-Ava, matches.

-No cook, David.
-Yes, cook, Ava!

-No, no, no.
-Don't you remember?

Raw, uncooked food.

-I was just saying that!
-Give me the matches.

-I will not!
-Remember, you're a cat.

You have nine lives.
You can...

Oh, my God,
can we please just cook me

-and get this over with?
-I will not!

I can't do this anymore.

I can't! I can't...

[sobbing]

David, you did it.

You did it.
You uncovered your trauma.

You're free.
You're free now.

We're free, bud.

Okay...

Okay...

David, David, you're okay.

It's over.

You're right.

I'm okay!

[laughter]

Are you okay?

-Me?
-Yeah, you.

Um, yeah, I'm fine, why?

Well, when you hugged me,
you got gas all over yourself.

[laughs] I was just
so caught up in the moment,

I guess I didn't even
think about it.

You probably should've
thought about it.

Huh?

I realize you were focused on
helping me heal my trauma,

and also on finding
the right camera angle

for your documentary.

That... that's not
what I was thinking...

-Hey, it's cool.
-That's your hustle.

It's all good.

But you forgot two
very important things, Ava.

First, the gasoline.

And second...

your matches, Ava.

-Wait, how did you...
-How did you...

[fire roars]
[Ava screaming]

Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
No! No! No!

Oh, my God! Help! Help me!

[screaming]

[eerie theme music]

♪