Say Goodbye to America/ Scatter 4

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Matt: Where’s my arm? Why are you all looking at me funny?

Elizabeth, Dimitri and Phillip exchange glances before Elizabeth pipes up

Elizabeth: You’re in my office right now, Matthew. You had an… accident. We had to remove your arm

Matt: So… what you’re saying is, I’m an amputee now, right? I have a neat scar to show off? >breathes in deeply< I’m alright with that. Chicks dig scars. Just you watch. Next time a party is thrown, I’m gonna get a lot of questions asked of me. “Does it hurt?”, “Were you brave?”, “Did you kill that goddamned biter?”. Just you watch

Phillip: I hear you man. Keeping up the good attitude, like that

Phillip motions for a fist bump, which Matt stares at for a second and then decides to bump Phillip’s fist

Matt: I do have one question though. Can I have another shirt, this one is stained in blood

Jenny and Todd walk over to the Doc’s office together, still talking about the community

Todd: So… how long do you think it’ll take me to become acclimated to Apex? A week? Two?

Jenny: It all depends on when you decide you are part of our community. I’m thinking of throwing a little get together tonight.

Todd: You think there’s enough time to tell enough people?

Jenny: We still have 7 hours of daylight left, I’m sure the word will spread by then. I think you will meet some new and interesting people by the end of the night

Before Todd can make a witty retort, a young man, appearing to be in his late twenties, wearing a black Alice in Chains with faded cargo shorts and thin, red glasses and Brooks brand shoes runs up to the pair

Man: Miss Hanson. Miss Hanson

Jenny: What is it, Eric?

Eric: I can’t live in the same house as Luka. I just can not. He’s a nut job. Keeping me up all night with his conspiracy theories about the government knowing about some viral attack by the Ruskies or the Gooks. He won’t listen to reason. I’m asking that you put me in another house. Hell, I don’t care if you give me a roommate, I just need to be away from Luka

Eric finishes his rant and tries to catch his breath. He looks up at Jenny with his hands on his knees, then bends over and attempts to catch his breath again.

Jenny: Ok, I’ll talk to Nathan, see if he wants to switch from Bentley and Dimitri’s house to Luka’s house. Eric, why don’t you stay with our two new members? Todd and Phillip. You can move into one of the vacant houses. I’ll talk to Nathan at the party tonight

Eric: Party?

Jenny: Oh, yes, spread the word. I’m hosting a big gathering tonight at my place in honor of our three new members, and in the morning we will hold a service for Frank. I’ll talk to Tracy and get the supplies we need for the party. Now, you go ahead, and pack your things. You can have the yellow house next to the West’s

Eric nods and walks off to gather his belongings and move out, leaving Todd and Jenny standing in the street

Jenny: >sucks in a deep breath< Yeah, Luka’s a bit of a goofball, and klutz. But he was here before most of us, and he’s not that dangerous, so there was no reason to kick him out

The pair continue walking and run into a woman, maybe mid twenties, wearing a skirt that doesn’t leave much to the imagination and a Twenty One Pilots t-shirt, walking towards the doctor’s office

Jenny: Morning Olivia

Olivia: Good morning to you too, Jenny. Who’s the bearded guy?

Todd: Todd. Todd Andrews. Just made my way in this morning with my friend Phillip

Jenny: Where are you off to today, Olivia?

Olivia: Checking up on my brother. I hear he had a little accident on the run last night

Todd: Yep. Be advised, there are less parts of him now than when he left

Olivia gives Todd a puzzled look and runs into the doctor’s office

Olivia: Oh my. Matt, what happened?

Matt: Just a little bite, no big deal. Todd cut it off for me so I don’t turn

Todd: >walks in< What did I do now?

Olivia gives Todd an angry look

Olivia:  You took his arm off?!

Before Todd can respond, Olivia gives the big man a hug

Olivia: Thank you

Todd: It was just a guess. Had I been wrong, he’d be one of the damned right now

Jenny: Do you think you’ll be ready to move and converse tonight?

Matt: Why do you ask?

Jenny: We need to have a little party. For Todd, for Phillip, and for Dimitri. In the morning, we’ll hold a service for Frank. Spread the word. Tonight at 9pm. ‘Til whenever we feel like going home

Phillip: Just one question miss….uh

Jenny: Jenny

Phillip: Just one question, Jenny. Will there be any sort of alcohol at this party? Even if it’s a little amount?

Jenny chuckles a bit at the question

Jenny: Yes, of course there will be Phillip. Don’t worry, I take care of my people. I always do

>Clang Clang Clang Clang<

A man stands in front of a gated fence, 100 miles away from Apex, North Carolina, clanging his gun against its rusty iron bars. Behind him are a group of eight people, each holding a weapon of some sort. Whether it be a quiet melee weapon or a balls-to-the-wall Assault Rifle, each person is well trained with whatever weapon they pick up. A second man walks up to the one banging the gate

Man: Leo, I don’t think there’s anything in there. If there was, they would be walking through the open door any second

Leo: >stops banging his gun< They could be taking their sweet ass time to get out here, Gary. I’ll give it another, seven seconds, then we can go in

Gary: What do you think we’ll find in there? Anything useful? Food? I’m getting kind of pec---

Leo: Seven seconds is up. We’re moving out. Niklas, Meredith, you’re on guard duty. Carl, take point. Otis, take rear. Gary, Judy, Dex with me

Carl walks through the open doorway, looks to his left, then his right. He motions for the other five to enter the building. Ten minutes later, they walk out of the building

Carl: Literally, nothing in there. What a waste of time

Otis: We still have a few days worth left of food and water. I say we move down the road a bit, see where it takes us

Dex: I second that

Leo: Alright, pack it up. We go another six miles or so, see what we can find

Leo: Mer, hit the brakes

The pickup truck in the front of the convoy hits the brakes on front of a Target store

Leo: Jackpot

The crew hops out of their cars and makes their way to the parking lot

Leo:  Okay, no need for anyone to stand guard. Everyone go in, get some carts, find what you can, we’ll meet back here in an hour

Niklas raises his hand

Leo: If you don’t have a watch, Niklas, stick with Judy

Niklas puts his hand down

Leo walks in first and grabs a cart and immediately heads towards the shoe section. Ever since he was a young boy, he had a fascination with shoes. His most recent pair, only eighteen days old, had been covered in so much blood, he needed some new ones. Dressed in faded jeans and a blood-stained sleeveless tee, the big, muscular man, looked for a pair of Nike Cortez, hopefully ones with a blue stripe, his favorite color

 

Niklas and Judy walk down the aisles looking for batteries and other electronic devices to keep the kids occupied that wouldn’t make too much noise and wouldn’t use a lot of battery power. Niklas, a boy of 19, wore his favorite tee shirt, a Star Wars shirt with his favorite character, Boba Fett. He was and always will be, a nerd. Pushing back his semi-thick glasses, he looks at Judy, a woman of 46, ex-wife of Rick, back in Apex, and a mother of two, also back in Apex. She’s out looking for wine

 

Meredith and Otis head towards the dry foods section. Otis is always on guard, and that didn’t change here

Meredith: For god sake Otis, you don’t need your gun out right now. We’re fine

Otis:  Always watching out. Always looking

Otis had been homeless on the streets when the apocalypse hit. He had been in the Persian Gulf war, and had seen some shit. Soon after he got back, he was diagnosed with PTSD and lost everything he ever had. The only thing that kept the 41 year old man content was his love of running. He ran every day, even as a hobo

Meredith: How do you feel about store brand cereal?

Otis: Depends. Is it a knock-off Lucky Charms?

Meredith: Yes

Otis: You know me well

Meredith was a woman of 38. Having been through several breakups, two divorces and in the middle of the third when the apocalypse hit, she had trouble trusting most men. At 27, she was raped and beaten by her first husband to the point of miscarriage. However, she felt a strange connection with Otis, and was always happy to be near him. Somehow, she knew he felt similar, despite his mangy appearance

 

Carl walked down the aisles looking for a board game, or perhaps some legos. At 26 years of age, he never grew out of his game/building phase. However, after his secret was revealed to the town against his will, nobody seemed to care. They all had their own crazy quirks and secret love of other toys or games or some other thing from their childhood. Every three or four days, Matt, Bentley, Niklas and Carl gather in Bentley’s house and build the biggest legos or play the longest games

Carl: Ooh, Death Star lego set. The guys will love this

Reading the play features and description, he sees movement out of the corner of his eye. The employee only door moves slightly. Carl always wanted to see what goes on in the employee only door. He put the set in his carriage and walked towards the door. Opening it and looking left, he found nothing. However, when he turned right, he froze in terror. The boy of 26 was frightened to find a half-eaten young girl, maybe 16 or 17 years of age. Reading her name tag, her name was Kim. Carl walked up to the girl and took out his knife intent to put the girl down. He thought of his own little sister, and hesitated to drive the knife in. KIm slowly opened her eyes and, upon seeing the bare leg underneath the khaki shorts, drove her teeth into the small amount of fat on the side of Carl’s thigh. He took a couple of seconds to recognize what was happening before letting out a yell

Ted finishes taking his shower and is only able to put on his pants before a knock comes on the door. To his surprise, he finds a girl holding some fresh new clothes from the run he just returned from

Woman: I brought these for you and Phillip. I figured you might need some new clothes, get out of the blood-stained clothes you have now

Todd: Thank you….. Uh….

Tess: Tess. I run the laundromat. Also get to use it for free.

She chuckles to herself. Todd nods his head and smiles

Todd: Thank you, Tess

Tess: Are you going to the party tonight?

Todd: I think I have too. Phillip and I will be there, fashionably late

Tess gives him a puzzled look

Todd: Ten minutes in

Tess: Ah. Well, I’ll see you then

She turns and walks down his steps and towards her house. Todd closes the door

Leo knows immediately whose yell it is. He runs towards the sound of it

Leo: Carl! Carl!

Meredith and Otis hear Leo’s screaming and run toward the sound of his voice. Along the way, they find Niklas and Judy, and later Gary and eventually Dex. They stop behind Leo, in the employee only door

Dex: Shit man

The seven look upon Carl. He stabbed the undead Kim to death a good thirteen times. He lies next to where she once did. Judy hears shuffling behind them

Judy: Guys, we have company

The other six turn around and look upon a large amount of biters converging on their location

Leo: Gary, Meredith, help Carl. The rest of you, pick a brain, and shoot it

The other five fire bullets into the skulls of the dead as Gary and Meredith tend to Carl

Meredith: Carl, okay hang in there, we’ll figure something out. We’ll figure something out

Carl: >weakly< We both know there’s nothing to do. Just do me two things. Keep gathering supplies, grab my cart full of stuff and bring it back. Help yourselves, help those back home. >chokes on his own blood and coughs a bit up< and you make sure. Promise me. I don’t come back. Put me down

Dex fires the last bullet to put down the last biter and turns to look at his fallen compadre.

Carl: Leo… it’s been………. A wonder...ful trip. A great couple of months. Niklas…. Keep building, keep on. Judy, Otis…….thank you for teaching me to shoot better. Will somebody put me the fuck down already? I’m not good with goodbyes

Gary: Are you sure you’re ready?

Carl: >breathes in deeply< fuck yeah. I’m going home

He closes his eyes and waits

Leo: I’ll do it

Otis: I won’t let you Leo

Leo: He was like a son to me. I should do it

Otis:  He was a son to all of us. He was a brother to us too. But you loved him more than any of us did. He respected you like the father he didn’t have. But you… can’t put him down. I’ll do it

Leo, looking defeated, knows he can’t put down Carl. He hands his pistol over to Otis and waits

He doesn’t have to wait long

Meredith:  He wanted us to keep going. Keep gathering

Todd and Phillip are walking down the street towards Jenny’s house

Phillip: Do we seriously have to go ?

Todd: It’s for us and Dimitri, she said so herself. Plus, you can get some beer for free

Phillip: Okay, you talked me into it. But when I drink three, cut me off

The two walk up to the door and stand there for a few seconds

Phillip: You gotta knock on the door, genius

He opens the screen door and knocks three times on the wooden one. It is opened by Jenny

Jenny: Hey guys, welcome in. Have some appetizers, have some beer, maybe some soda. Come. In

The town walk awkwardly in, Todd having to duck to get inside

Jenny: Todd, have you met Tracy? Or Nathan?

Todd: I have not. Name’s Todd, how are you?

Nathan: I’m good

Tracy: I’m fine

Jenny: Phillip, have you met Kendall yet?

Phillip: I have not

Phillip introduces himself to Kendall and her boyfriend Bentley, who are talking to Luka about what foods they miss most

Kendall: Coffee rolls from Dunkin Donuts, just saying

Bentley:  I miss Clam Chowder. Never found a better clam chowder than up on the coast of Maine

Luka: It’s all about Milk for me. I had a glass with every meal. If we find cows, we’re gonna need to find out how to milk one

Phillip: I miss Pork Rinds. Sure, they weren’t good for you, but I still enjoyed them

Todd: So, Nathan, Tracy, what is it you did before the apocalypse?

Nathan: I owned a record store with my brother. Not too far from here. Called Rory and Nathan’s Record store. Not a very creative name

Tracy: Elementary School teacher. Wasn’t a huge fan of all my kids, but I still wonder what happened to them. You?

Todd: In between jobs. I actually worked as

Matt: Todd! How the heck are you?

Todd: Ah, Matt, good to see you on your feet.

Matt walks up to Todd with a girl’s shoulders under his arm

Matt: No biter can take down Matthew Joseph Graham. But I still have to see the doc at 10:30. I’m not feeling sick, not feeling woozy, I thank you. Your quick thinking is why I’m here today

He flashes a smile

Matt: By the way, this is Lindsay Meyer, my girlfriend

Dimitri: Jenny, I’m not feeling the whole party thing. I’m not a fan of crowds

Jenny: Oh, live a little Dimitri. We won’t be having one for a while so, be happy while you can. Here, have a beer

She hands Dimitri a Coors light from her fridge. He takes it from her and pops the can and drinks it quickly

Phillip: Hey doc, how’s it hanging?

Elizabeth: I’m doing alright. More worried about Matt’s condition than my own so… that’s taking control now

Phillip looks down at is beer and looks back at her. He holds his drink out to her

Phillip: Here, have a sip of my beer

She gives him a puzzled look

Phillip: Please. It will help me have less tonight, so it’ll be good for us both

She takes the beer from his hands and takes a sip. She nods with content

Eric: So we’re housemates now, Todd. Any quirks I should know before hand

Todd: I sleepwalk

Eric looks surprised to hear this

Todd: >smirking<I’m only kidding

Garrett: Todd, you’re moving in with Eric and Luka?

Eric: No, I moved out of Luka’s house and I’m bunking with Todd and Phillip in the house next to the West’s

Jack: We’ve got new neighbors?

Tim: I think we do

Fish: You know, I heard Hannah’s moving in that house now, too. Big house, too. Four bed, three bath. You guys are set. Plus, Hannah’s hot so, you got that, too

Hannah, hearing her name, walks over the the guys

Hannah: Why’d I hear my name?

Tim: Todd, Phillip and Eric are moving into the same house as you, next to ours

Hannah: Do you guys snore?

Todd: No, Phillip and I don’t

Eric: Nor me

She joins in the conversation about the living conditions

Elizabeth:  Well, I should probably head back to the office. I’m expecting Matt at 10:30

She looks over at him, seeing him making out with Lindsay

Elizabeth: He might be a little late

Phillip: Mind if I tag along? Can’t be around beer I can’t have

Elizabeth: Who said you can’t?

Phillip: I asked Todd to stop me at three. Can’t stop myself unless there is none near me

Elizabeth: Alright, come along then

The pair walk out the front door towards the doc’s office

Phillip: Quite the setup you have here. I’m guessing this is also your house

Elizabeth: You’d be right. I’m always on the clock though. Never get a day off

Phillip: I thought there weren’t that many injuries in this town

Elizabeth: I’m either with patients or reading up on my textbooks to become a full fledged doctor. Never know what kinds of combinations might show up randomly, requiring your attention. The thing I fear most is not being able to help them. Hell, I have trouble helping myself, it’s easy not being able to help others

Phillip: You have to believe in yourself. You have to believe in something greater. You have to believe you are in control of the situation

Elizabeth: Where’d you hear that?

Phillip: AA

She gives him a puzzled look

Phillip: I can still drink. I just can’t go overboard. Three is limit. I can control myself at three

They look at each other in silence for a bit, then down at their drinks. Matt and Lindsay walk up to the doc’s office about fifteen minutes late and opens the door

Matt: Hey doc I---

He stops when he sees the Doc and Phillip making out in Elizabeth’s “waiting room.”  Matt backs out of the door and closes it softly and looks at lindsay

Matt: I’ll come back later

Credits
Daniel Day Lewis as Todd Andrews

Edward Norton as Phillip James

Wayne Brady as Aaron Meyer

David Henrie as Garrett Smith

Rachel McAdams as Jenny Hanson

James McAvoy as Timothy West

Chris Pine as Ryan "Fish" West

Rachel Bilson as Elizabeth Hill

Nicholas Hoult as Matt Graham

Anna Camp as Hannah Johnson