Dear June,
I've been thinkin' about My Dad a lot lately. Maybe it's bein' away from you, my heart, my everything, that my thoughts now drift to family.
Because, Truth be told, My Family wasn't together nearly as long as I would've liked. I suppose I could say the same thing now.
Even though he wasn't always around, he still imparted things to me, things I carry to this day. There's one thing he told me that I carry particularly close. He said, "John, people deserve to Live in A World where they know which way is up, but they can't know that until someone helps 'em know it."
That's why he became A Cop.
Same reason I did.
When Ginny tasked me with stepping back into that role, I had my reservations. You more than anyone could understand why, given how things played out the last time I wore a badge.
But this feels different.
Life here is not as I imagined. People give up some freedoms to live behind these walls, but, by and large, I'm startin' to believe it might just be worth the cost.
Haven't lost a soul on these grounds since before I arrived. 268 days, last I heard. There's comfort in knowin' that I play a part in that.
It's not The World My Dad dreamed of, but people do know which way is Up here.
I hope one day soon you'll be able to see that for yourself.
If we play our cards right, perhaps one day we can be together here.
Sheriff John Dorrie :
Why you makin' this easy for her? You know she's not gonna take mercy on you.
Janis :
It's okay. I don't have anyone left.
Tom's gone... Cameron.
There's nothing more for me.
But there is for you.
There's a loose floorboard under the bed in Cameron's place.
We hid a few extra cans of gas we've been siphoning off from the generators.
There's a spare key to a dirt bike Cameron hid seven miles north past mile marker 68.
Sheriff John Dorrie :
No.
Janis :
Take it. Find June. Get outta here. This place is rotten.
It spoils everything it touches, sooner or later.
Sheriff John Dorrie :
Listen, there...
there's gotta be somethin' we can do. Don't you give up on me yet.
Janis :
[SIGHS]
Come on, kid. I'm not.
I'm setting us free.
Sheriff John Dorrie :
I-I'm not just talkin' about...
about your life.
I'm talkin' about The Truth.
It's okay, John. Let me go.
[CRICKETS CHIRPING] - [KNOCK ON DOOR] - [INHALES SHARPLY]
Sheriff John Dorrie :
Yeah?
[DOOR CREAKS]
Thought you might need some company.
Sheriff John Dorrie :
I guess you heard about Janis.
She's set to be executed at daybreak.
[SIGHS]
I just spoke to her as her officially-sanctioned spiritual advisor.
She's a brave woman
facing a cowardly act.
Sheriff John Dorrie :
You know, um...
I always been one to follow the rules.
Maybe 'cause the rules always made sense to me.
But, ooh...
You thinkin' of runnin' away?
Sheriff John Dorrie :
Janis wants me to.
She says, "Find June and get the hell outta here."
[SIGHS DEEPLY]
But I ain't gonna do it.
What are you gonna do?
Sheriff John Dorrie :
I'm gonna get Janis out.
There's only a few rangers
on tonight during the shift change.
My Dad... he had a case,
when I was just knee high.
Women were goin' missin' in the Houston area.
Bodies showin' up miles away.
The term didn't exist then, but I suppose the fella doin' it is what we'd call a serial killer.
Detectives found him livin' on this compound
out in the desert with a bunch of people he brainwashed
into thinkin' he was The Second Comin' or somethin'.
Really, he was just some two-bit mortician
spoutin' on about death and new beginnings,
just... just a bunch of nonsense
dressed up to sound profound.
Well, they asked the local police force,
My Dad included, to search that place.
Everybody knew this guy was guilty.
They couldn't pin any of the murders directly to him,
at least not with anything that would stick in court.
Then, my dad found somethin',
a purse belongin' to one of the missin' women,
squirrelled away in the back of that guy's closet.
That was enough to put that sumbitch away for the rest of his life.
Sounds like your father was a hero.
Sheriff John Dorrie :
He planted that purse.
He knew this man was guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt?
Sheriff John Dorrie :
Yes, sir.
He broke The Rules to set things right
so that people could feel like they were
livin' in A World where they knew which way was up.
The people that knew what My Dad had done,
his friends on The Force, you know,
they were happy to get a dangerous guy off the street,
save the women he mighta hurt,
that he woulda hurt….
but they never looked at him the same way again.
It was like they weren't certain
they could trust anything he did now.
Marriage to my mama fell apart.
He moved up North.
He started drinkin'.
[SIGHING]
God. He did the right thing,
and it cost him.
It cost him somethin' hard.
This is gonna cost you something,
and you seem to know that.
[SIGHING]
Yeah. Yeah. I ain't worried about me.
And I... and I trust Ginny
not to hurt June,
'cause she needs people
who know Medicine.
But I... [SIGHS]
I know I'll never see her again.
And when My Dad disappeared,
that was hard on my mama.
That was hard on me.
But he had to do what he did.
I-I... It's who he was.
And I... I know...
there's people alive today
who probably wouldn't have been.
He chose Life, even if it cost him
the one he was living.
Sheriff John Dorrie :
Yeah. That's the choice I'm makin'.
John, [INHALES DEEPLY]
we can find another way.
I can talk to her, buy more time.
Sheriff John Dorrie :
Th... There's none to buy.
So, Rabbi...
I want... I want you to make sure
June gets this letter so she knows
why I had to...
Thank you.
Who knows, John?
You may yet see her again.
Sheriff John Dorrie :
Well... Hey, let's hope so.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[STIFLED SOBS]
[CRYING]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING IN DISTANCE]
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