[dreamy, uneasy music playing]
[gentle birdsong]
[man on radio] It's been 132 days since the government fell.
Supply chains are all but broken.
They're calling this "the Crumble."
We'll keep broadcasting as long as we can,
or until the lights fade out in the studio.
[faint fussing]
We'll be here with you riding this out hopefully to its end.
Here's a tune from the heartlands...
[baby shrieking]
["God Bless This Guitar" by Patsy Maples playing]
[narrator] Rosie Zhang never wanted children.
[plaintive country-western song playing]
[narrator] She wanted to be an artist.
But life... got in the way.
[baby crying]
♪ I've lived the life of a poor girl ♪
♪ And though I've been happy that way ♪
♪ I'd have felt like a queen If only I had... ♪
[narrator] When she felt those first little kicks,
she made a choice.
She'd give up everything... to be a mother.
[baby cooing, fussing]
[song continues faintly in distance]
"Once upon a time, the three little pigs built three little houses,
but the Big Bad..."
[baby coos]
But the Big Nice Wolf wouldn't allow it,
because those three pigs were bullies,
and the Wolf, well, he just wanted to make the village a nicer place to live.
[vehicle approaching]
[vehicle door opens]
[narrator] But that was about to change forever.
[Mrs. Zhang] Rosie!
Daddy's dead!
[babies continue fussing]
[exhales shakily]
I see you're still doing your art.
Your sister misses you, you know.
[babies crying out]
Is that them?
They sound hungry.
I'm running low on formula.
All the supermarkets are empty.
I had to fight someone for the last two cans.
Well, I should be going.
I just thought you should know about your father.
[mewling, crying continue faintly]
Can I come back?
He loved you so much,
but what you did to him when you got pregnant--
It was a mistake.
It happens.
Not in our family.
The fact that your children came out the way they did
just made everything worse.
Well, it happened to everybody.
It doesn't matter.
I'm sorry, Mother, but I can't do this alone anymore.
I'm ready to come back home.
I need my family again.
How many are there?
Four.
Would you like to see?
[fussing, yawning]
[babies fussing, yipping]
[sniffing]
This is Bruno.
It's what you've always wanted.
A baby boy.
[fraught, emotional music playing]
[Mrs. Zhang chuckling]
- [snarls] - Oh!
- [babies crying] - Oh, he didn't mean it.
They just like to chew everything.
[harsh, foreboding music building]
Pack your things.
Your sister will be so glad to see you.
Thank you so much.
I promise I won't let you down again.
Leave the onesies.
Well, what are they going to wear?
Muzzles.
[delicate, distressing music playing]
[distressing music intensifies]
[narrator] Rosie Zhang always wanted a normal life.
But her mother...
got in the way.
[Ven] They stole my goddamn van.
The doctor, he... he had an accent. British or something.
And they got a pig one with them,
and a real aggro chick.
The big guy said they were headed to the coast.
Nag's Reef, I think.
Do you live here alone?
Yeah.
My wife and boy...
The Sick took 'em last year.
So, uh...
what's the reward for calling in the deer kid?
[suspenseful music playing]
Your family gets to live.
[clicks]
[pack snarling]
No, no!
- [pack snarling] - [Ven screaming]
[Ven] God!
No, please!
[sounds of struggle continue]
[Rosie] They're on the move. Nag's Reef.
[music swells, trails off]
[pensive, uneasy music playing]
Who's "Zang"?
I believe it's "Zhang."
And you met her already. During Abbot's summit at the zoo.
That scary lady?
- Mmm. - She makes Abbot look small-time, Gus.
And right now she's the last warlord standing.
After Texas fell, there was a war to control the Southern territories,
and her family came out on top.
[Jepp] Now they run everything.
Dairy, agriculture, fuel.
[Dr. Singh] Don't forget childbirth.
Childbirth?
She started a maternity ranch.
She brings in expectant mothers from all over the country.
Abbot knew all about it.
I don't wanna know what she does with 'em.
She's trying to restart human birth.
[pensive music continues]
So, why does she want Gus?
Because I'm the first.
Whatever's inside me started everything,
hybrids and the Sick.
And Zhang must think you're the key to getting what she wants.
I wonder who gave her that idea.
But Gus isn't the cure, right?
That's right. At least not in the traditional medical sense.
Oh my God, not this again.
You can't say shit like that and expect it to make sense.
The days of hoping serums and antigens might save us are long gone.
But Zhang is right about something.
Gus is the key to fixing everything.
And what does this all have to do with the cave?
I believe that's where Captain Thacker found what he was looking for.
Whatever he did in that cave caused the Sick.
That's why we have to get you back there, so...
- So you can undo it. - No, you can't put that on him.
You don't understand. If we don't get Gus to that cave,
every human on Earth will be dead
in a matter of weeks, if not days.
Including the people in this car.
[shrill, discomforting whirring]
And it will allow stem cell extraction on a living specimen.
I do have to warn you,
whatever you use this on
won't survive the procedure.
Show me how it works.
Willow, get over here a sec.
[tense, strained music playing]
Come on.
Turn around.
[Willow grunts]
Ma'am?
Go on now.
Want to position the tip here.
[Mrs. Zhang] Between the vertebrae.
[man] Right, yeah.
[ominous music swelling]
And then?
Well, you wanna make sure you go straight in, not at an angle.
How deep?
All the way.
[ominous music building]
- [drill whirring] - [Willow whimpers]
[whirring continues]
[suspenseful music intensifying]
[music halts]
[Mrs. Zhang] Excellent.
This will work perfectly.
Go on now, we're done.
[restrained, shaky breathing]
Small price to pay, don't you think?
- [wind whipping] - [metallic grinding]
[indistinct chatter]
[Siana] All right, everybody listen up.
We got a problem.
Gertrude Miller, you probably know her as Birdie, is missing.
Found her snow machine on the pass,
along with a fella no one's seen before and won't again
because, well, he's dead.
Let's pray the same can't be said for her.
I'd like to put together a search party.
Reason I called you all here is I'm looking for volunteers.
[Walt] Too bad she's not here.
She loves looking for shit that no one can find.
[scattered laughter]
[man] Yeah. That's right.
Listen, I...
I get she might have come off a little obsessive to some of us, but--
Someone said she was going back.
She was headed to Juneau to look for a trawler or something.
- Probably looking for that cave. - [bartender] There's no damn cave.
It's made up. Always was.
None of that explains the dead fella.
Now, I don't have any proof, but it is my belief that...
[fabric rustling]
It is our belief that she's still out there,
and as we know, there's a lot of "out there" out there.
[man] Yeah.
[somber, withdrawn music playing]
Milton, how about you?
Look, I'd love to help out, Siana.
You know how it is right now. We've got ourselves to look after.
- Who's the dead guy? - [Walt] I wanna know.
- The hell he come from? - How'd anyone make it this far?
We are supposed to be cut off from everyone.
- [chatter] - We don't need more trouble.
She would've looked for you.
[chatter halts]
No matter how dark it was or how cold it got.
[Milton] Easy for you to say.
You're half fox.
She's also half human, Milton,
which is more than some of us here, apparently.
Now, we got three days before the sun goes down
and we're living in shadow till the spring.
I know we got our own concerns to take care of,
but if she's out there on her own...
she's not gonna make it that long.
[slow, bleak music playing]
[scoffs]
[man] Siana.
I'll get the Hägglund warmed up.
Thanks, Odell.
Hey.
Anybody ever tell you you're a good man?
Just you, Si.
[tense music building]
[woman] This will be the Whale Song's final voyage.
- I repeat... - Turn that up.
...if you're hearing this message, it's not too late.
The Whale Song sets sail from Nag's Reef today for the final time.
- One-way trip. Mainland not safe. - Holy shit, that's it.
We're setting sail to the Canadian coast.
- First come, first served. Godspeed. - Buckle up, Gus.
- You're getting on that boat. - I repeat, Whale Song's final voyage.
["Boadicea" by Enya playing]
[rich, mysterious synth music playing]
[singer vocalizing]
[squawks]
[vocalizing continues]
[sniffing]
Do you smell that?
Salt.
The ocean.
We need to hurry. If that really is the last boat,
everybody in the Pacific Northwest will be trying to get on that ship.
[song trails off]
- [Jepp] Okay, come on. Let's go. - [Wendy] Okay. Hurry!
[Gus] Let's go!
I'd make myself a little less visible, Gus.
You're on a wanted poster.
Do you really believe him? That humans only have a few days left?
Can we afford not to believe him?
What do you think about that cave stuff?
He's just saying what Gus wants to hear.
I trust Gus, and I know his mom exists because I talked to her,
but I don't trust this guy for a second.
He can't get on that boat.
[bright, wondrous music playing]
Wow.
Where the hell is it?
[Dr. Singh] They left.
It left without us.
[Becky] Campfires. They were just here.
It's okay. We'll find another boat.
- There is no other boat, Gus. - But there has to be something.
- Did destiny tell you that too? - Will you back off?
Let's get back on the interstate. Try to reach British Columbia--
Were you not listening earlier? We don't have that kind of time!
What are you suggesting? We swim there?
Stop it!
Look, it would take months for us to get there in that van.
Even if we take every safe precaution, we'd all be gone by then.
[dog barking]
You guys looking for the Whale Song?
You just missed her.
So the boat, when did it leave?
About an hour ago.
- How do we get to it? - Can't, it's gone.
Don't try swimming either. You'll just wash back up.
[Jepp] So you actually saw it leave?
Even if you somehow found a way out there,
and that's a gigantic if,
that boat's packed to the brim.
It can't fit anyone else, let alone all of you.
See what they left behind?
Everyone and their brother was scrambling to get on that thing, man.
Wasn't cute.
What's your name?
Coral.
Coral, I'm Gus.
My friends and I are on a very important mission to a place called Alaska.
All of our lives depend on it, even yours.
So please, can you help us?
We really need to get on that boat.
[sighs heavily]
Follow me.
[Coral whistling]
[dog barking]
[Coral whistling]
- [Wendy] Do you live here? - [Coral] Uh, yes. Well, no.
I'm in kind of a nomadic phase.
Used to travel up the coast
working with a volunteer group of people who gave a shit,
but we fell apart at some point, went our separate ways.
[Becky] Volunteering for what?
"Keep the oceans clean."
[Coral] We gave up after the Crumble.
[Gus] How come?
[Coral] Turned out
the best way to keep our ocean clean
was to get rid of all the people.
Anyway, I was just leaving,
so you're welcome to it
if this whole ship thing doesn't work out.
Why would you want to leave?
California's got some legendary waves this time of year.
Figured if the world's coming to an end,
it's my last chance to go ride some.
That should do it.
Curls.
Take over here. Gonna need some oomph to reach that ship.
[crank grinding]
[radio squawks]
Whale Song, come in.
[static crackles]
Do you read me?
Got a few stragglers, hoping you saved a few seats.
[static crackling]
Do you read me?
Whale Song, do you copy?
- I dunno what to tell you. - Give me that.
Keep going. Keep going.
Whale Song, do you copy?
We got a healthy kid that needs to get on that boat.
This is life-and-death shit.
[static crackling]
Do you read?
- Whale Song, do you read? - Wait.
What is that?
[plucky, mysterious music playing]
Look!
It's a boat.
This thing's not making it 20 feet, let alone Alaska.
We just need it to float long enough to reach the Whale Song.
- Told you we'd find another boat. - Not much of a boat, kid.
- We can fix it. - This is a disaster waiting to happen.
Not as much of a disaster as us waiting here like sitting ducks.
You don't think surfer girl will hand Gus over to Zhang and her people
the moment they arrive?
- Now, wait a minute-- - Hey, whoa.
Let's let Gus decide.
Right? It's his journey, his mother.
He should be the one to choose.
Let's get to work.
[Wendy] One problem.
How are we all gonna fit?
["White Winter Hymnal" by Fleet Foxes playing]
♪ I was following the ♪
[upbeat, quirky chamber pop music continues]
I got some.
♪ I was following the pack All swaddled in their coats ♪
♪ With scarves of red Tied 'round their throats ♪
♪ To keep their little heads From fallin' in the snow ♪
♪ And I turned 'round and there you go ♪
♪ And, Michael, you would fall ♪
♪ And turn the white snow Red as strawberries in the summertime ♪
[Jepp grunting]
[puffing]
[Wendy giggling]
[Jepp] Let's get this thing down to the water.
♪ With scarves of red Tied 'round their throats ♪
♪ To keep their little heads From fallin' in the snow ♪
[dog grouses]
♪ And I turned 'round and there you go ♪
♪ And, Michael, you would fall ♪
♪ And turn the white snow ♪
♪ Red as strawberries in the summertime ♪
[dog whines]
[song trailing off]
Don't look at me like that.
They're not gonna make it, you idiot.
[dog whines]
[Coral scoffs]
Fine. You win.
I'll try again.
[Wendy] I wish the others were here to see this.
Earl, Bobby.
I just can't stop thinking about them, Gus.
Just think of all the stories you'll be able to tell them one day.
I just can't believe we're going to leave this all behind.
It will all be here when we get back.
So will they.
I promise.
I just hope you and I won't be the only ones left to enjoy it.
[dark, ominous music playing]
You any good with that thing, or just like playing with it?
You sound like your mother.
Don't... say that.
I know how to handle myself.
[pack snarling, yipping]
- They all right back there? - [Rosie] They're a pack.
They need to fight it out sometimes.
They need to know who the alpha is.
Whatever happened to their baby daddy? What was his name?
Doesn't matter.
My mother made very sure he wouldn't come around anymore.
You better pray to God we find a way to fix your baby before he turns.
[menacing music playing]
Ginger is not cut out for that life.
Why'd you ever decide to come back?
I don't know.
Maybe I thought I needed a pack too.
[Coral over radio] Whale Song, do you read?
You've got a group left behind here at Nag's Reef.
I hate to say it, but I think they might be worth turning around for.
See if you can send a signal on that thing.
Nag's Reef, come in.
[truck accelerating]
[both grunt]
If he can't get that motor going,
this ain't going anywhere.
Even if we do get this thing to work, Wendy's right. We'll never fit everyone.
[subdued, somber music playing]
He can't get on this boat.
You know he's thinking the same about us right now.
What would Gus say if we ditched him?
Gus can't say anything if he's floating at the bottom of the ocean
because we tried to bring everyone.
The only problem is, what do we do with him?
That's up to you.
You're three times his size.
I've seen you eat snacks bigger than him.
You want me to take him out right here? In front of the kids?
You do whatever it takes,
to protect Gus.
[engine sputtering]
[Dr. Singh] Hey!
- Hey! - [engine purring]
I did it!
Yeah!
I'll keep the kids away.
[distressing music building]
[Becky] Hey, guys.
The boat's almost ready. Let's look for any last supplies.
Ready for this?
Mm-hmm.
You know you can talk to me about anything, right?
I know.
[Wendy] They left so much behind.
[sweet, poignant music playing]
[Wendy] Duct tape.
Mom used to say this could fix anything.
Give me your antler.
[gentle, wondrous music playing]
[Gus] Thank you.
I just want you to know that whatever happens,
I believe in you.
[low, mournful music playing]
[tense music playing]
I'm not gonna get left behind.
I see the way you both look at me.
But let me tell you something with absolute certainty, Mr. Jepperd.
I will make it onto this boat.
Why do you care about this so much?
Why do I care about not going extinct?
It's not about that. It's about you.
Why do you care?
Because I've given up too much not to.
You have no idea how much I've gambled to be here,
and I'm not about to give it all up.
Since when did you have a say?
[gasps mockingly]
[wry chuckle]
This is because someone other than you is deciding what's best for Gus, isn't it?
He's a lab rat to you.
Don't act like you give a shit about that kid.
He saw the ocean for the first time today.
You're asking him to save a world he hasn't even seen.
You know you can't protect him forever, don't you?
[tense, uneasy music playing]
What makes you so sure you'll even make it to Alaska?
Hmm?
I didn't tell you everything about my dream.
In my vision of the cave,
you were nowhere to be seen.
Gus was all alone.
Except for me.
[bleak, distressing music playing]
[music trails off]
[Coral] Oh!
Do you mind if I fill these?
Go right ahead.
Thanks.
[Coral] I can't believe you guys got that skiff up and running.
Are you really leaving all this?
Oh, yeah, if my car can make it.
Take our van.
It'll fit all your stuff, and Sarge will be more comfortable.
Thanks, Piglet.
Looks like you got your own ride to catch.
Yeah.
Is that your brother?
Before the Crumble.
I hadn't talked to him in a while.
We were never really that close,
but I didn't even know the idiot got a puppy
till I got home and found the two of them there.
My brother was already dead.
I don't know how long.
Sarge was starving, but he refused to leave my brother's side.
[delicate, poignant music playing]
[Becky] Wendy! Come on, let's go!
You're sisters, aren't you?
Reminds me of me when I was that age.
Feisty.
Always fighting for something.
Word of advice?
Appreciate what you got while you still got it.
Come on.
- [Sarge barks] - [Coral whistles]
- Come on. - [Sarge yips]
[Sarge barking playfully]
Come on.
[van door opening, closing]
[engine turning over]
[van pulling away]
Wendy, come on. We gotta hurry, the boat's ready to go.
Do you still want to go, Wendy?
[static crackles]
Whale Song, is that you? Whale Song, do you copy?
[pack snarling in background]
[Rosie] Do not let them leave.
[pack howling]
Shit!
[ominous music building]
[pack baying over radio]
Jepperd!
They're coming!
[menacing music playing]
Gus! Jepperd!
[sniffing]
[vehicle approaching]
Wolves.
[Becky] Stay down.
[pack snarling]
[suspenseful music intensifies]
[Gus flinches]
- Gus! - They're shooting at us!
- Get in the boat! Move! - Come on, push!
[whispers] What do we do?
Careful, we need him alive.
Just bring him down.
[panicked panting]
[gunshot]
[suspenseful music intensifies]
[gunfire continues]
- [Dr. Singh] Push! - Come on! [Jepp grunts]
[Gus panting]
- Come on! - Come on, keep pushing.
- Come on! Get down. - Come on.
[menacing music continues]
[Rosie] Come on.
- [gunshot] - [Jepp grunting]
[engine revs]
No! We can't leave without them!
No! No! No!
No!
[Gus breathing tremulously]
[wrenching music playing]
[wind rushing]
[desperately] No! No!
[suspenseful music resumes]
[music trails off]
[pack yipping]
Sorry, Rosie. I--
I thought you could handle yourself.
[cell phone ringing]
[delicate chiming in distance]
["Mouthful of Grass" by Free playing]
[spare, aching folk music playing]
Leave us, Tex.
You can take the truck back home.
What are you gonna do?
Me and the boys are gonna stay a while.
They'll be fine.
[narrator] It takes bravery to leave behind everything you know.
[singer vocalizing]
[engine sputtering, wheezing]
[determined sigh]
I'm really sorry.
Don't be.
I know we don't really know each other yet,
but trust me.
I know how hard it is to leave the people you care about behind.
Now come on.
Let's go find your family.
[faint growling]
[growling intensifies]
[suspenseful music playing]
[Becky grunting]
Run, Wendy!
Go, Wendy. Hide!
[snarling]
[weak whimper]
[hoarse gasping]
[bitter, somber music playing]
- [Becky panting] - [throaty gurgling]
[whimpering shallowly]
[gun cocks]
What did you do to him?
Hi. Hi.
It's okay, baby. Mama's here, okay? Mama's here.
[howls echoing]
[Rosie] Yeah, that's it. Okay. We're almost there. We're almost there.
[narrator] There are two parts to every sacrifice.
[somber, ponderous music playing]
The pain of giving up what you love...
and what's waiting for you on the other side.
[bell ringing faintly]
There it is.
Oh my God.
[soaring, hopeful music swells]
[music trailing off]
[bleak, atmospheric outro music playing]
[music stops]