World War-Z

Most people don’t believe something can happen until it already has. 

That’s not stupidity or weakness, that’s just human nature.

“And this is where I directly benefited from the unique circumstances of our precarious security. In October of 1973, when the Arab sneak attack almost drove us into the Mediterranean, we had all the intelligence in front of us, all the warning signs, and we had simply “dropped the ball.” We never considered the possibility of an all-out, coordinated, conventional assault from several nations, certainly not on our holiest of holidays. Call it stagnation, call it rigidity, call it an unforgivable herd mentality. 

Imagine a group of people all staring at writing on a wall, everyone congratulating one another on reading the words correctly. 

But behind that group is a mirror whose image shows the writing’s true message. No one looks at the mirror. 

No one thinks it’s necessary. Well, after almost allowing the Arabs to finish what Hitler started, we realized that not only was that mirror image necessary, but it must forever be our national policy. 

From 1973 onward, if nine intelligence analysts came to the same conclusion, it was the duty of the tenth to disagree. No matter how unlikely or far-fetched a possibility might be, one must always dig deeper. If a neighbor’s nuclear power plant might be used to make weapons-grade plutonium, you dig; if a dictator was rumored to be building a cannon so big it could fire anthrax shells across whole countries, you dig; and if there was even the slightest chance that dead bodies were being reanimated as ravenous killing machines, you dig and dig until you strike the absolute truth.”

But didn’t the plague originate in China? 

It did, as well as did one of the greatest single Maskirovkas in the history of modern espionage. I’m sorry? It was deception, a fake out. 

The PRC knew they were already our numberone surveillance target. They knew they could never hide the existence of their nationwide “Health and Safety” sweeps. They realized that the best way to mask what they were doing was to hide it in plain sight. Instead of lying about the sweeps themselves, they just lied about what they were sweeping for. 

The dissident crackdown? 

Bigger, the whole Taiwan Strait incident: the victory of the Taiwan National Independence Party, the assassination of the PRC defense minister, the buildup, the war threats, the demonstrations and subsequent crackdowns were all engineered by the Ministry of State Security and all of it was to divert the world’s eye from the real danger growing within China. 

And it worked! Every shred of intel we had on the PRC, the sudden disappearances, the mass executions, the curfews, the reserve call-ups— everything could easily be explained as standard ChiCom procedure. 

In fact, it worked so well, we were so convinced that World War III was about to break out in the Taiwan Strait, that we diverted other intel assets from countries where undead outbreaks were just starting to unfold. The Chinese were that good. And we were that bad. It wasn’t the Agency’s finest hour. We were still reeling from the purges . . . 

You mean the reforms? 

No, I mean the purges, because that’s what they were. When Joe Stalin either shot or imprisoned his best military commanders, he wasn’t doing half as much damage to his national security as what that administration did to us with their “reforms.” 

The last brushfire war was a debacle and guess who took the fall. We’d been ordered to justify a political agenda, then when that agenda became a political liability, those who’d originally given the order now stood back with the crowd and pointed the finger at us. 

“Who told us we should go to war in the first place? Who mixed us up in all this mess? The CIA!” 

We couldn’t defend ourselves without violating national security. We had to just sit there and take it. And what was the result? Brain drain. Why stick around and be the victim of a political witch hunt when you could escape to the private sector: a fatter paycheck, decent hours, and maybe, just maybe, a little respect and appreciation by the people you work for. 

We lost a lot of good men and women, a lot of experience, initiative, and priceless analytical reasoning. All we were left with were the dregs, a bunch of brownnosing, myopic eunuchs. 

But that couldn’t have been everyone. 

No, of course not. There were some of us who stayed because we actually believed in what we were doing. We weren’t in this for money or working conditions, or even the occasional pat on the back. We were in this because we wanted to serve our country. We wanted to keep our people safe. But even with ideals like that there comes a point when you have to realize that the sum of all your blood, sweat, and tears will ultimately amount to zero. 

So you knew what was really happening. 

No . . .no . . .I couldn’t. There was no way to confirm 

. . . But you had suspicions. 

I had .. . doubts. 

Could you be more specific? 

No, I’m sorry. But I can say that I broached the subject a number of times to my coworkers. 

What happened? 

The answer was always the same, “Your funeral.” 

And was it? 

[Nods.] I spoke to . . . someone in a position of authority . . . just a fiveminute meeting, expressing some concerns. He thanked me for coming in and told me he’d look into it right away. The next day I received transfer orders: Buenos Aires, effective immediately. 

Did you ever hear of the Warmbrunn-Knight report? 

Sure now, but back then . . . the copy that was originally hand delivered by Paul Knight himself, the one marked “Eyes Only” for the director . . . it was found at the bottom of the desk of a clerk in the San Antonio field office of the FBI, three years after the Great Panic. It turned out to be academic because right after I was transferred, Israel went public with its statement of “Voluntary Quarantine.” Suddenly the time for advanced warning was over. 

The facts were out; it was now a question of who would believe them.

Do you understand economics? I mean big-time, prewar, global capitalism. Do you get how it worked? I don’t, and anyone who says they do is full of shit. There are no rules, no scientific absolutes. You win, you lose, it’s a total crapshoot. The only rule that ever made sense to me I learned from a history, not an economics, professor at Wharton. 

“Fear,” he used to say, “fear is the most valuable commodity in the universe.” That blew me away. 

“Turn on the TV,” he’d say. “What are you seeing? People selling their products? No. People selling the fear of you having to live without their products.” 

Fuckin’ A, was he right. Fear of aging, fear of loneliness, fear of poverty, fear of failure. Fear is the most basic emotion we have. Fear is primal. Fear sells. That was my mantra. “Fear sells.” 

When I first heard about the outbreaks, back when it was still called African rabies, I saw the opportunity of a lifetime. I’ll never forget that first report, the Cape Town outbreak, only ten minutes of actual reporting then a full hour of speculating about what would happen if the virus ever made it to America. God bless the news. I hit speed dial thirty seconds later. 

I met with some of my nearest and dearest. They’d all seen the same report. I was the first one to come up with a workable pitch: a vaccine, a real vaccine for rabies. Thank God there is no cure for rabies. A cure would make people buy it only if they thought they were infected. But a vaccine! That’s preventative! People will keep taking that as long as they’re afraid it’s out there! We had plenty of contacts in the biomed industry, with plenty more up on the Hill and Penn Ave. We could have a working proto in less than a month and a proposal written up within a couple of days. By the eighteenth hole, it was handshakes all around. 

What about the FDA? 

Please, are you serious? Back then the FDA was one of the most underfunded, mismanaged organizations in the country. I think they were still high-fiving over getting Red No. 2 out of M&Ms. Plus, this was one of the most business-friendly administrations in American history. J. P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller were getting wood from beyond the grave for this guy in the White House. His staff didn’t even bother to read our cost assessment report. I think they were already looking for a magic bullet. They railroaded it through the FDA in two months. Remember the speech the prez made before Congress, how it had been tested in Europe for some time and the only thing holding it up was our own “bloated bureaucracy”? 

Remember the whole thing about “people don’t need big government, they need big protection, and they need it big-time!” Jesus Christmas, I think half the country creamed their pants at that. How high did his approval rating go that night, 60 percent, 70? I just know that it jacked our IPO 389 percent on the first day! Suck on that, Baidu dot-com! 

And you didn’t know if it would work? 

We knew it would work against rabies, and that’s what they said it was, right, just some weird strain of jungle rabies. 

Who said that?

 You know, “they,” like, the UN or the . . . somebody. That’s what everyone ended up calling it, right, “African rabies.” 

Was it ever tested on an actual victim? 

Why? People used to take flu shots all the time, never knowing if it was for the right strain. Why was this any different? 

But the damage . . . 

Who thought it was going to go that far? You know how many disease scares there used to be. Jesus, you’d think the Black Death was sweeping the globe every three months or so . . . ebola, SARS, avian flu. You know how many people made money on those scares? Shit, I made my first million on useless antiradiation pills during the dirty bomb scares. 

But if someone discovered . . . 

Discovered what? We never lied, you understand? They told us it was rabies, so we made a vaccine for rabies. We said it had been tested in Europe, and the drugs it was based on had been tested in Europe. Technically, we never lied. Technically, we never did anything wrong. 

But if someone discovered that it wasn’t rabies . . . 

Who was going to blow the whistle? The medical profession? We made sure it was a prescription drug so doctors stood just as much to lose as us. Who else? The FDA who let it pass? The congressmen who all voted for its acceptance? The surgeon general? The White House? This was a win-win situation! Everyone got to be heroes, everyone got to make money. Six months after Phalanx hit the market, you started getting all these cheaper, knockoff brands, all solid sellers as well as the other ancillary stuff like home air purifiers. 

But the virus wasn’t airborne. 

It didn’t matter! It still had the same brand name! “From the Makers of . . .” All I had to say was “May Prevent Some Viral Infections.” That was it! Now I understand why it used to be illegal to shout fire in a crowded theater. People weren’t going to say “Hey, I don’t smell smoke, is there really a fire,” no, they say “Holy shit, there’s a fire! RUN!” [Laughs.] I made money on home purifiers, car purifiers; my biggest seller was this little doodad you wore around your neck when you got on a plane! I don’t know if it even filtered ragweed, but it sold. Things got so good, I started setting up these dummy companies, you know, with plans to build manufacturing facilities all over the country. 

The shares from these dumbos sold almost as much as the real stuff. It wasn’t even the idea of safety anymore, it was the idea of the idea of safety! 

Remember when we started to get our first cases here in the States, that guy in Florida who said he’d been bitten but survived because he was taking Phalanx? OH! 

[He stands, mimes the act of frantic fornication.] 

God freakin’ bless that dumbass, whoever he was. 

But that wasn’t because of Phalanx. Your drug didn’t protect people at all. 

It protected them from their fears. 

That’s all I was selling. Hell, because of Phalanx, the biomed sector started to recover, which, in turn, jump-started the stock market, which then gave the impression of a recovery, which then restored consumer confidence to stimulate an actual recovery! Phalanx hands down ended the recession! I . . . I ended the recession! 

And then? When the outbreaks became more serious, and the press finally reported that there was no wonder drug? 

Pre-fucking cisely! That’s the alpha cunt who should be shot, what’s her name, who first broke that story! Look what she did! Pulled the fuckin’ rug right out from under us all! She caused the spiral! She caused the Great Panic! 

And you take no personal responsibility? 

For what? For making a little fuckin’ cash . . . well, not a little [giggles]. All I did was what any of us are ever supposed to do. I chased my dream, and I got my slice. You wanna blame someone, blame whoever first called it rabies, or who knew it wasn’t rabies and gave us the green light anyway. 

Shit, you wanna blame someone, why not start with all the sheep who forked over their greenbacks without bothering to do a little responsible research. 

I never held a gun to their heads. They made the choice themselves. They’re the bad guys, not me. I never directly hurt anybody, and if anybody was too stupid to get themselves hurt, boo-fuckin-hoo. Of course . . . If there’s a hell . . . [giggles as he talks] . . . I don’t want to think about how many of those dumb shits might be waiting for me. I just hope they don’t want a refund.

“And hey, what about pushing Phalanx right through the FDA? 

But Phalanx didn’t work. 

Yeah, and do you know how long it would have taken to invent one that did? 

Look how much time and money had been put into cancer research, or AIDS. Do you want to be the man who tells the American people that he’s diverting funds from either one of those for some new disease that most people haven’t even heard of? Look at what we’ve put into research during and after the war, and we still don’t have a cure or a vaccine. 

We knew Phalanx was a placebo, and we were grateful for it. It calmed people down and let us do our job. 

What, you would have rather we told people the truth? That it wasn’t a new strain of rabies but a mysterious uber-plague that reanimated the dead? 

Can you imagine the panic that would have happened: the protest, the riots, the billions in damage to private property?

CALLING

“Well, you know, as men we’re taught not to not to feel pain and grief, as children. I remember seeing one of my boys, he was maybe about nine. He was hit in a basketball [game], maybe hit by the ball, and I saw him turn around and bend down and get control of his pain and his grief before he stood up again. 

That same boy would be so wonderful in being open to wounds and crying and so on when he was very small. But, you know, the culture had said to him, “You cannot give way to that, you must turn around and when you must turn around; you must have a face without pain or grief in it,” right?

So therefore, as a son of an alcoholic, I received that. I mean, when you’re in an alcoholic family, you’re hired to be cheerful. 

That’s one of your jobs. 

You’re appointed that way. 

One is hired to be a trickster, another I was hired to be cheerful, so that when anyone asked me about the family. 

I’d have to lie in a cheerful way and say, “Oh, it’s wonderful, yes, indeed, we have sheep, you know, and we have chickens, and everything’s wonderful.”

Well, then if you can deny something so fundamental as the deep grief in the whole family, you can deny anything. 

So then how can you write poetry, then, if you’re involved in that much denial? 

So the word denial was very helpful to me.

MOYERS: 

Did you resent your father? Did you feel -

BLY: 

No, I think that what happened was that as far as the grief goes, being appointed to be the cheerful one in the family, I would tend to follow a movement upward like this, hmm? 

More and more achievement, more and more and so on, hmm? 

That’s what you’d do. And finally you’d redeem the family’s name by doing this.

Single Points of Failure

Peterson: I know, for me, and I suppose it’s because I have somewhat of a depressive temperament. . . I mean one thing that staggers me on a consistent basis is the fact that anything ever works. 

Because it’s so •unlikely•, you know, to be in a situation where our electronic communications work, where our electric grid works. And it works all the time, it works one hundred percent of the time. 

And the reason for that is there are mostly Men out there who are breaking themselves into pieces, repairing this thing which just falls apart all the time.

Paglia: Absolutely. I said this in the Munk Debate in Toronto several years ago.

All these elitists and professors sneering at men. 

It’s MEN who are maintaining everything around us. This invisible army which feminists don’t notice. Nothing would work if it weren’t for the men.

Peterson: A professor is someone who’s standing on a hill surrounded by a wall, which is surrounded by another wall, which is surrounded by another wall - it’s walls all the way down - who stands up there and says ‘I’m brave and independent.’ 

It’s like, you’ve got this protected area that’s so unlikely - it’s so absolutely unlikely - and the fact that people aren’t on their knees in gratitude all the time for the fact that we have central heating and air conditioning and pure water and reliable food. . . It’s absolutely unbelievable.

Paglia: Yes, I mean people used to die. . . 

The water supply was contaminated with cholera for heaven’s sake.

People don’t understand. To have clean water, fresh milk, fresh orange juice. All of these things. These are marvels.

Peterson: And all of the time.

Paglia: All of the time. Western culture is heading - because we are so dependent on this invisible infrastructure - we’re heading for an absolute catastrophe when jihadists figure out how to paralyze the power grid. 

The entire culture will be chaotic. 

You’ll have mobs in the street within three days when suddenly the food supply is interrupted and there’s no way to communicate. 

That is the way Western culture is going to collapse.

And it won’t take MUCH.

Peterson: Single points of failure.

Paglia: Because we are so interconnected, and now we’re so dependent on communications and computers. . . I used to predict for years it’ll be an asteroid hitting the earth, and then we’ll have another ice age.

Peterson: Do you know how the solar flares work? This happens about once every century. So back about 1880 - I don’t remember the exact year - there was a significant enough solar flare. . . So that produces an electromagnetic pulse like a hydrogen bomb because the sun is a hydrogen bomb. An electromagnetic pulse will emerge from the sun and wave across the earth, and it produces huge spikes in electrical current along anything that’s electronic, and it will burn them out.

It lit telegraph operators on fire in the 1800s. One of those things took out the Quebec power grid in 1985 and knocked out the whole Northeast Corridor. So they figure those things are about one in a century event.

My brother-in-law, who’s a very smart guy. . . He designed the chip in the iPhone. We were talking about political issues the last time I went and saw him in San Francisco, and his notion was that ALL that the government should be doing right now is stress-testing our infrastructure the same way they stress-test the banks. 

Because we’re so full of these single points of failure.

And I think you’re absolutely right. 

Luckily we’ve been, what would you call, invaded by stupid terrorists instead of smart terrorists, because a smart terrorist could do an unbelievable amount of damage in a very short period of time. 

And it’s just God’s good graces that that hasn’t happened yet.

Paglia: What will happen is that it’s The Men. . . The Men will reconstruct civilisation while the women cower in the houses and have the men go out and do all the dirty

work. 

That’s what’s going to happen again. 

Only men will bring civilization back again.

Morgan’s Folk — Clan MoMo, The House of Morgan

Et non abscondam, sed 

numquid currere queunt. 

You Can Hide, But 

You Can’t Run.

JOHN DORIE :

(crickets chirping ) 

( fire crackling ) 

( rustling ) 

Someone there? 
I mean not one of The Past? 

( clears throat ) 

I haven't used My Voice in a while.

Uh, am I talkin' loud? I am.

Maybe, sir or madam, you are not there, 

but it is something to hear 

Your Voice after a bit.

Just saying words.

Platypus.

Pasta.

Potable.

Hmm.

If you are there, you can 

come out. We can sit.

Split a can of Pecos strawberries.

Have a little badinage, 

my mama used to say.

That's just a fancy word for chat.

It's been - I don't know maybe a year.

( clears throat ) 
I had a place where I was before.

I had a good metric ton of popcorn.

I've still got a lot.

I could make some.

I just read books.

I - I watched movies mostly.

But I read-- I read books now.

I got a few with me if you have 

a need for reading material.

( sighs ) 
Well since there is no one there 

hmm before I go quiet again for 

maybe another year I might as well 

tell you that I-- I did talk to someone.

She wasn't just someone.

She came to my door.

Just showed up.

I let her stay.

And we fell - We had 

feelings for each other.

One day we allowed it.

One day.

I just thought I'd say that.

'Cause I supposed I would 

see it when I said it.

And I did.

And that was nice.

There ain't been a lot of nice.

( growling )
( gunshot ) 
( thud ) So What's Your Story? 




( pounding on door ) 

Jesus: 

If you're gonna hit me with your stick, don't open the door.

Well, you know if you're gonna try.

( sighs ) 
Looks like you've settled in out here.

I thought maybe we could continue our acquaintance.

"Here" and "there" are just labels.

It's all one place.

You could do all this somewhere else.

Or well in the same place somewhere else.

( Morgan chuckles ) 

Come on.

The reason we fought is 'cause you wanted to protect people.

You care about people.

You should be with them.

( pounding on door ) 

Carol:

It's me.

Come back to The Kingdom.

You helped me.

You did.

Let me help you.

I don't want to tell you what to do.

( sighs ) 

But You Know Who I am 

and 

I Know Who You Are.

You belong with people who care about you.

( banging on door ) 

Rick :

Come on, Morgan! 

You can hide but you can't run.

Look, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you.

I wouldn't.

I was hurt.

( sighs ) 

You brought me in.

You didn't have to.

Morgan, you don't have a gunshot in your side, but you are hurt.

Come back with me.

Don't wait this time.

Don't waste one more second.

You're alive.

You're part of The World.

Look, I'm here now-- a lot of people are here now-- because you helped me.

Right at The Beginning.

That's not me anymore, Rick.

It is.

You'll end up with people one way or another.

You're connected.

It'll be a shout from outside that door.

Me askin' for help -- Maggie.

You're a part of The World already.

You'll find your way back to it, 'cause it will find its way back to you, so just come back.

( chuckles ) 

Well, like I said, you can hide but you can't run.

( door clanks, hinges creak ) 

( door closes ) ( bird squawks in distance ) 

RICK: 

Thanks for lettin' me in.

You don't have to be out here.

I came for you before.

( voices echo ) 

Don't wait this time.

Don't waste one more second.

You're alive.

Thanks for lettin' me in.

You can hide but you can't run.

You know what it is.

You know what it is.

MAN IN CAR : 
Take that shit home.

- Take it back! 

MORGAN :
I'm just trying to help.

Looked like you were on your own.

MAN IN CAR:
We're always on our own.

Shut the door.

JOHN DORRIE :
: I just thought I'd say that.

And I supposed I would see it when I said it.

- ( growling ) - ( man continues ) ( gunshot ) 


So what's your story? 

MORGAN :
I'm just passin' through.


 JOHN DORRIE :

Well, why don't you come on and sit a spell? 
I don't know how much you heard, but I-- 
It's been a while since I talked to someone.

I'm John.

John Dorie, like the fish.

But I-E, no Y.

MORGAN :
Morgan.

Morgan.

Are you hungry, Morgan? 'Cause I could cook you something.

I got beans and I got beans.

No, thank you.

Hey.

( wrapper crinkling ) It's tasty.

No.

Where you from? Back east.

- You walk? - I ran.

( chuckles ) Hey.

In your travels, did you, uh come across a woman carrying a pistol like this? Identical, in point of fact.

I've been looking for her for some time.

Not seen anybody like that.

I'm gonna go.

Wait-- Hey, there-- there's no sense in settin' out this time of night.

Why don't you take the back of the truck? I'll take the cab.

Or vice versa.

I think having a covered place to lay your head would give you some relief.

Having come as far as you have.

Yeah.

( Dorie snoring ) ( snoring continues ) ( cab door closes ) ( object strikes ) 

I got nobody to tell.

I don't know anybody here.

Don't wanna know anybody.

- ( gunshot ) - ( man groans ) - ( gun clicks ) - John: I got no beef with you gentlemen.

I'm just lookin' out for my friend.

Hey, thanks for givin' us a hand back there.

Al, is it? 

Althea, actually.

There's a candy for you.

Thank you.

John: Ho.

- You're quick.

- I am.

Well, easy there, cowboy.

- ( bag unzips ) - I didn't save you so I could kill you.

I just want to ask you a few questions.

- Questions? - Yeah.

What you've seen.

Who you've met.

Where you've been.

Where you're going.

JOHN DORRIE :
Why? 

It's for a story.

I'm a journalist.

You were alone at the cabin.

JOHN DORRIE :
Yeah.

- Before Lauren showed up? 


JOHN DORRIE :
Laura.

Right.

Sorry.

JOHN DORRIE :
Nope.

Nobody.

I talked to myself a lot.

But I had to quit.

Al: 
Why? 

JOHN DORRIE :
Because I started enjoying that conversation too much!

( chuckles ) 


What else can you tell me about Laura? 
In case we ever cross paths.

JOHN DORRIE :
Mm she enjoyed a Black Jack.

Card player.

JOHN DORRIE :
Taffy.

Licorice.

I never much cared for 'em before.

And now? 



JOHN DORRIE :
I don't mind 'em.

You think you'll find her? 


JOHN DORRIE :

I know I will.

How exactly did you get split up? 

JOHN DORRIE :
( inhales ) 
Um, I'm afraid that's not a very happy story.

Most aren't nowadays.

JOHN DORRIE :
Ours will be.

This one will be.

Once we find our way back to each other.

Was that? 




Great.

Thank you.

JOHN DORRIE :
Sure.

How about you? 
How long you been on the road? 



What does it matter? 
These questions-- There's no news stations left.

I saved you.

Noodles and effort.

You owe me.

No.

I don't need that.

I need your story.

Al: What brought you out here? You goin' somewhere? - Getting away from something-- - I didn't ask you to save me.

I'm gonna go.

Or are you saying I can't? 


John: 
 Hold up.

Hold up, friend.

Hey, you've been held at gunpoint with somebody, I think you earned the right to call him friend.

I don't want to answer any more questions.

I just want to be left be.

JOHN DORRIE :
Well, I just want to give you something.

OK? Clean socks.

Worth their weight in gold.

'Course, gold ain't worth much nowadays.

I seen the pair you was wearing 'round the campfire.

I think it's time for an upgrade.

Thanks.

Apologies about the corn.

Especially since they're for your feet.

You sure you're gonna be all right out there on your own? This World we're always on our own.

Wait.

Wait.

Thanks for the assist.

That guy-- that was a unique kind of asshole.

But I did not want to kill anybody today.

( grunting ) - Anyone know what that 51 means? - Al: Markers like that had been popping up around here the last few weeks, but never anyone around to ask but the dead.

The dead? I call 'em the passed.

Call 'em walkers where I'm from.

Look at that.

A piece of personal history.

You still owe me.

Then pull over.

Al:
 Your name? 

Morgan Jones.

Where do you come from? 


Atlanta and, um then Virginia.

How'd you get here? 

I ran.

Then I walked, drove walked again.

Were you part of a settlement in Virginia? 

A couple.

Can you tell me about them? 
( chuckles ) 
One of them was called Alexandria, 
and then there was a place called The Kingdom.

Actually had-- had a king.

A king? 


( laughs )
Even had a pet tiger.

( laughs ) 
( John chuckles ) 

All right, we're gonna have to sidebar that one.

These settlements, were they good places to live? 
They were safe places.

Good people inside.

I had been with some of them for a while.

It-- 

Al: 
What happened? 


There was a fight.

With another group.

It was a big, big group.

We won.

But you didn't stay.

I already left before I left.

I don't understand.

Did they do something? 
Or did you? 


I told you things, and that was the trade.

You told me you were with good people in Virginia, and then you left.

Why? Were you trying to get something? Get away from something? How about you tell me about you? Like, um, how'd you get this van? And why asking total strangers questions like this is so important to you.

Huh? - Look, I saved your ass.

- And we saved yours.

Well I want to thank you both for your help.

But I think it's time that I was going on my way.

- What about your leg? - No, I'm fine.

- Morgan.

- Man, I told you I'm fine.

Tell me one real thing, then we'll call it even.

Why'd you leave Virginia? ( sniffles ) I lose people and then I lose myself.

( staff thudding on ground )


JOHN DORRIE :

You were wrong what you said before about bein' on your own.

( sighs ) 
Here.

( groans )
 There you go.

OK? 


Thank you.

Morgan.

That walker-- I need to know.

All right.

Hey, hey! All right.

Wait, wait.

Wait.

All right.

Give it to me.

Come on.

All right.

Thank you.

( growling ) OK.

( growling ) ( taps ground with staff ) ( snarls ) ( inhales, exhales ) 


John: 
I'm glad we found you.

I'm just travelin' with you till this leg heals up.

And no more questions.

I'm not gonna stop asking you questions.

Especially about that tiger.

- No more answers, then.

- ( laughs ) Fair play.

Come on.

It's tasty.

Where we headed? 
Well, Al took me back to my truck, but it wouldn't start.

Now she's taking me to look for Laura.

In exchange for more of his story.

That's right.

That's right.

I don't know if I'll find her.

I don't.

I just don't think about it that far 'cause it don't do me no good.

But I recognize it as Truth.

Truth is something you can't get around.

No, you can't.

- There's somebody up ahead.

- What? John: Oh, come on.

( John grunts ) Thought you said there weren't a lot of people 'round these parts.

There aren't.

( air brakes hiss ) ( engine shuts off ) - Take this.

- Can't.

I don't kill.

( chuckles ) 
Come on, dude, you gotta answer some of my questions at some point.

I don't kill either.

At least I try not to.

Great moment for both of you to share this fact.