(melancholy music)
(electricity zapping)
♪ How did this find a way out of you ♪
♪ They're still holding less subtle ♪
♪ And very insane ♪
♪ Anything at all ♪
♪ Someone willed on you ♪
♪ And other than someone else now ♪
♪ And trust I won't break ♪
♪ Anyone at all ♪
♪ Wished it pulled on through ♪
♪ Bickering, humoring soft ♪
♪ Screaming in envy ♪
♪ Soldered and faltered in you ♪
♪ Silvered insidious ones ♪
♪ Tricking in frenzy ♪
♪ Pushed and pulled on through ♪
♪ I'm gonna take another one back to you ♪
♪ Trusting when I say ♪
♪ I'm gonna find another one next I wake ♪
♪ Pushed and pulled on through ♪
♪ I'm gonna take another one back to you ♪
♪ Trusting when I say ♪
♪ I'm gonna find another one next I wake ♪
♪ Pulling closer to you ♪
♪ Blurring and holding me close ♪
♪ Treading and standing ♪
♪ Buried it down to the roots ♪
♪ Shielded from all that's gone ♪
♪ Working before me ♪
♪ Pushed and pulled on through ♪
♪ I'm gonna take another one back to you ♪
♪ Trusting when I say ♪
♪ I'm gonna find another one next I wake ♪
(electricity zapping)
(chimes tinkling)
(ominous music)
- What the fuck are you doing on my porch, mister?
- Oh, Jesus Christ.
- My wife asked you a question.
- Oh, shit, Mr. Manson. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry for the foul language, Mr. Manson,
and I'm sorry for using the Lord's name in vain, OK?
- I call bullshit.
- Would you mind lowering the guns?
Maybe one of the guns?
- [Mrs. Manson] Well, get to it.
- Get to what? - The meters, buddy.
Isn't that what you came here to do?
"Gotta read those meters."
- And then you can get the fuckity-fuck-fuck outta here.
- Yes, ma'am.
- You putting that 5G in our meters?
You're taking a mighty long time.
- There we go.
All done.
- [Mrs. Manson] Good.
- Painless.
- It don't have to be. I can make it painful.
- Now, get off my porch, mister.
- Of course. You have a wonderful afternoon, ma'am.
- Why would I do that?
- It's a beautiful day, that's all. Enjoy your afternoon.
- Don't you tell me what to do.
- What's there to enjoy about it?
- The grass is green.
The air is fresh.
The sky is blue.
- What did you say?
- Uh, I don't know.
The grass is green.
- Nah, that part about the sky.
What did you say about the sky?
- The sky's blue.
- Yeah, that.
- It's a beautiful day, that's all.
- The sky isn't blue.
It's purple, you fucking pervert!
- Yeah, you fucking pervert, it's purple!
Like she said, purple!
- Now, who the hell is this?
- Axl, the delivery guy.
- We ain't expecting no deliveries.
- Well, you never are, but you get one almost every day.
Lower the gun, Mr. Manson.
I don't wanna get shot with rock salt again.
I don't think you wanna go to jail again.
- Rock salt, my ass!
There's a 12-gauge slug in this gun.
You ever seen what a 12-gauge slug can do to a squirrel?
(upbeat music)
- Dispatch, I don't know what's going on here,
but it's a mess.
(suspenseful music) (electricity sizzling)
(electricity zapping)
- Hey, McNeil, you there? Over.
Hey, McNeil, this is Dave in Dispatch, copy?
- Copy, Dispatch.
This is McNeil. Go ahead.
- Hey, buddy, looks like we're getting some reports
of a blown transformer over there on 5th Street.
You in the area?
- Affirmative.
I'm here and the transformer is out.
It kinda blew up on me.
- Blew up?
What was that, Trace?
Well, say again. I didn't copy that.
- I'm gonna close my eyes for a bit.
- Hey, listen, Trace, I got emergency crews on the way.
Hang in there, buddy.
I need you to talk to me, though.
Come on. Let me hear you.
- I'm just gonna take a little nap.
- [Dave] Do not close your eyes on me. Do not fall asleep.
Emergency crews will be there any moment.
(glitchy music)
- Trace.
Trace, wake up.
You've had a shock.
- Am I dead?
- No. You're going to be fine.
- Rose, is that you?
- Of course it is.
I'm here for you.
I'll always be right here.
We're bound together.
- That smell.
You smell so...
- A rose by any other name...
- Would smell as sweet.
(Rose speaks in Latin)
- Rose?
(glitchy music)
Huh.
(upbeat rock music)
(ominous music)
- [Quinn] Hello. Yoo-hoo!
- Come in!
- There's the man with the magic ball.
Hey.
Oh.
Christ.
You look awful. What happened?
- I'm sorry I didn't show up last night.
- I mean, that's an understatement.
You had more gutter balls than hit pins.
- What are you talking about?
- I mean, you went 10 frames and scored an eight.
A goddamn eight.
I didn't even know that was possible.
- But I wasn't there.
- Yeah, no shit, Sherlock.
You were definitely somewhere else.
- I mean, I physically wasn't there.
- Are you fucking with me?
- I don't know what happened.
I just wasn't there.
- That's disgusting. What is that?
- Spider bite.
- Jesus.
Well, what bit you? A black widow?
- No, I got all these brown house spiders
all over the place.
- Oh! Really?
Dude, that's disgusting. You need to get an exterminator.
- No, no, no.
I can't kill any of them. Rose doesn't want me to.
- Oh, oh.
The stripper with the heart of gold
doesn't want you to kill bugs?
I mean, imagine that.
- It's not like that, OK?
- You know what? Let's just stay on track here.
You really don't remember anything about last night?
- I...
No.
What happened?
- I bowled
a 264, man.
It was the greatest game of my life.
It was because of you.
- I was there?
- There? I couldn't have done it otherwise.
You let me touch it.
- Touch what?
- Are you fucking with me, Trace?
- Fucking with you?
The last thing I remember is getting electrocuted at work
and then waking up on my bed.
- OK, look, you're not making any sense.
But for the record, you did let me touch it.
- Touch what, Quinn? What did I let you touch?
- That thing in your bag.
The Electric Rose.
Man, that ball is incredible.
- No, no, don't! Hands off!
I don't remember anything about last night.
- Well, you owe me 108 bucks.
- I don't know you anything. You're making shit up now.
- You really don't remember?
- No.
- Oh, I mean, I guess it was weird.
- Please tell me what happened last night.
- Just stop, OK?
Stay still. You're making me nervous.
OK? Just take a deep breath.
You were late, but you showed up.
You were wearing a hospital gown.
Said that you got hurt at work, but that you were OK.
You weren't wearing any shoes.
Your feet were as filthy as pig shit.
You know, the strangest thing was
you had your bowling ball bag.
So you must have walked home from the hospital,
grabbed your bag, and then walked to the bowling alley.
- That is strange.
- Your ass was hanging out, OK?
So I got you a pair of pants and a shirt at the alley,
I rented your shoes, and I paid for the game.
- You bought me these?
- Yes, yes.
And that is why you owe me $108.
- I'll get it to you today.
- Thank you.
- I was electrocuted.
- I know.
You couldn't be around anything metal at the alley.
Your body was filled with electricity.
You fried the pinball machine
and made the lights in our lanes flicker.
You made a poor old man's pacemaker stop.
Your body was fully charged, my friend.
- Seems fine now.
- Good. But I didn't come here to reminisce about old times.
I need that cash, so can you pay up?
- My phone is dead. Complete brick.
- (scoffs) You must've zapped that, too.
Do you have cash in-
- Hey, give me that.
- Here's 40.
- Well, you're short. Don't fuck me.
- I'll send you the rest as soon as I get my phone working.
- You could just loan it to me.
Just one day, and we'd be square.
- Loan what?
- Your ball. The Electric Rose.
- No. Nobody touches her.
I can't believe I let you bowl with her last night.
- I gotta go.
But if I don't have that cash by the end of my shift,
I'm coming for her.
- You'll get your money.
- I'd rather touch your ball.
- Go!
Leave!
I need to get my head straight.
- Ah, fuck you.
- Thanks.
(brooding music)
- Yesterday's outage left nearly 10,000 people without power
and wreaked havoc throughout the city.
A faulty transformer is believed
to have been the cause of the disturbance.
(ominous music)
(light clicking)
(zombies growling)
(glitchy music)
(brooding music)
- I'm sorry about last night.
Yesterday was a weird day.
- Well, we're here now. I have made dinner.
- Aren't you having wine?
- No, I have a special cocktail.
- Is that human blood?
- No. I have to go to New Orleans for the real thing.
- Why New Orleans?
- There are others like me.
- Vampires?
- Sanguinarians. A whole community of us.
- And they drink human blood?
- They have donors. Friendlies.
But this will do for now.
- What is it?
- Animal blood.
- Really? Like a pig?
- Or bovine.
- (chuckles) OK.
Hmm. This is so delicious.
I love my steak rare,
but restaurants usually won't cook it like this.
You know, they're too damn worried about food poisoning.
- Well, if you like your steak bloody,
maybe you're secretly one of us.
Here, try it.
- Uh, no,
but thanks.
- This is great. I'm glad we're able to together.
I'll be dancing the next six nights,
and I won't have a break.
- Wow, busy.
You know, I could come watch you dance sometime.
(Rose laughs)
- You couldn't afford it.
Anyway, my dancing isn't exactly your style.
Ew, gross, what the fuck is that on your hand?
- [Trace] Oh, nothing. It's just a spider bite.
- A spider bite?
What is going on, Trace?
- I didn't wanna kill any of the spiders
after you said I shouldn't.
- (laughs) Well, I didn't mean you should keep them
in your fucking house and let them bite you.
Catch and release, my friend.
- I'm trying. It's not that easy.
There's a infestation under the floorboards, or something.
- It's karma, little bitch.
(ominous music)
Trace, I have something I wanna tell you.
- Oh. This sounds serious.
- It is.
I wanna move to New Orleans.
- I already know that.
- I am moving to New Orleans.
- Oh, OK, well,
that is big news.
- I've been saving.
The Community of Others are ready for me.
- This is a major life decision, Rose.
- One I'm ready to make.
This paycheck or the next. I'm ready.
- Wow.
I don't know what to say.
- You should come with me.
- I mean, that sounds great,
but I don't know what I'd do for work.
- A meter's a meter.
They have electricity in New Orleans, too, asshole.
- Maybe so.
- You could be my donor.
- I don't know about that.
- Think about it.
It might not be so bad.
(ominous music)
(glitchy music)
- What's happening to me.
- There is nothing to eat in this refrigerator.
You need to go to the store, man.
- Yeah, it's been a few days.
- Oh, thanks for the money, by the way.
- I pay what's owed.
- But you didn't owe me anything.
- What about last night at the bowling alley?
- We didn't go bowling last night.
- You didn't buy me clothes at the alley?
- No, man. I didn't even see you last night.
- Must've been a dream.
It was so visceral.
- Hospital-grade morphine. Very powerful.
- We really didn't go bowling?
- No.
- [Trace] You didn't buy me clothes?
- No.
- I didn't let you use the Electric Rose?
- I think you'd sooner let me fondle the balls in your sack
before that ball in your bag.
- My mind is a mess.
- Well, you did get electrocuted.
How powerful was that transformer that shocked you?
- About 12,000 volts.
- That sounds like a lot.
- It is. 50 volts is enough to kill you.
- Shouldn't you be dead?
- I was.
- Whoa. No shit.
- Doctor said the initial shock killed me
and the secondary shock restarted my heart.
- What the fuck, man.
You have transcended, my brother.
You've been to the other side.
You're like that '80s rocker. The guy from Def Leppard.
- Rick Allen?
- [Quinn] I knew you'd know who I was talking about.
- Rick Allen lost an arm. He didn't die, dude.
- [Quinn] No, no, no. The other guy.
- You mean Motley Crue, not Def Leppard.
- No, no, no, that's the drummer with the big dick.
- Tommy Lee? - Yeah.
He's not dead. He's just got a big schlong.
- It was Nikki Sixx.
- But who's that?
- The bass player for Motley Crue,
Nikki Sixx, overdosed on heroin.
He was declared dead.
- I don't know about that.
- Two shots of adrenaline brought him back to life.
- [Quinn] Are you sure?
- He wrote a song about it, dude.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember that song.
That's the guy.
Man.
Electricity was your heroin,
and adrenaline killed you and brought you back.
What was it like?
Did you see a tunnel?
Dead relatives? A white light?
- I don't know.
Just lots of colors.
Colorful, flashing lights.
(glitchy music)
- You OK?
- Yeah, yeah. I keep getting flashes.
- Just...
(electricity zapping)
- Hey, hey, what are you doing?
- You're electric. I can feel the static coming from you.
(electricity zapping) (upbeat rock music)
Whoa. Did you do that?
- I don't know, but it keeps happening.
- Can you make it happen?
Can you control it like a freaking superhero?
- What do you mean?
- Just try the hand thing.
(electricity zapping)
- You feel anything?
(electricity zapping)
- I can't.
- Well, you know what?
Just keep at it.
You know, you need to harness that shit.
You want some of this?
- Since when do you get high?
What happened to healthy body, healthy mind?
- You are not normal, my friend.
I've been getting high since I was 15.
- I didn't know that.
- Dude, that out-of-body experience of yours
must've triggered like some early-onset Alzheimer's.
You've been getting high with me.
- Good God.
Good God.
(Trace moans)
(electricity zapping)
(glitchy music)
(people screaming)
(tranquil music)
- Hey.
Hey, kid
Kid.
- Yes, sir?
- I ain't no goddamn sir.
Don't think I've ever been called sir in my life.
- I don't remember the last time anyone called me kid,
so I guess that makes us pretty much even.
- Even, my ass. That'd make you my equal.
You ain't my equal, kid.
- I suppose I never will be, sir.
Are we just trading insults here
or did you have something you wanted to say?
- Can I sit?
- Sure.
- Buy a guy a cup of coffee?
- Have some peanuts.
- I will. I love these peanuts.
I know what you did.
- You know what I did?
- Yeah, I do. I've been watching you.
- Is that so?
- It is.
- Then fill me in because my mind is kind of a blank lately.
- How do know you're not some weirdo serial killer
who wants to drug and rape and kill me?
- You're not my type.
- I'm not? What kinda rapist are you?
- I'm not.
- Serial killer?
- No. You know, you invite yourself to sit down.
You can leave any time.
- Oh, so you're just a weirdo, then.
- You got me.
- I know your type.
- Enlighten me.
- I already told you. I've been watching you.
- Who's the weirdo?
- I don't know. Who's the rapist?
- I'm not a rapist.
- Serial killer?
- Nice talk. I'm leaving.
- Hey, hey.
I know it was you that left a sandwich.
Left it on the bench next to me while I was sleeping.
Thank you.
- It was a burger, not a sandwich.
- It was delicious. Thank you.
- You're welcome.
See, if I was a serial killer,
it would've been poisoned and you'd be dead.
- Now, I'm not your type anyway.
- Definitely not.
I help where I can.
Must be tough being homeless.
- I'm not homeless. I'm a transient.
I live my life in transition.
What do you got for me today?
- OK. That's the way it is now, huh?
- Oh, you entitled, selfish prick. I know you got something.
- I don't, actually. Not today.
- What about that? What's in the bag.
- That's my Electric Rose.
- What the hell's an elect'ic rose?
- It's my bowling ball.
- Let me have it. - No!
- Let me look at it, then.
- No.
- What are you hiding in there? At least let me look.
- No. Stay there, stay back.
- But I'm starving.
- Starving?
Can't eat a bowling ball. Here.
Time for me to go.
- Fuck you.
- You're a mean one, aren't you?
- Hey, look at me, you fucker.
- Nope. I know what you're doing.
- I'm waving goodbye.
- No, you're not.
- Just look.
- I don't need to see that. Bye.
(man laughing)
(ominous music)
(zombies growling)
(Trace gasps)
(Trace groans)
- Hey, boyo, boyo.
(whistles) Come on, come back, come back.
Hey, come on now.
Look at you.
You're back in the real world.
- Dad?
- You know, I thought I'd lost you there,
as you're sitting there staring with that glassy-eyed stare
like you'd just seen some buxom blonde angel
over my shoulder.
- Not exactly.
What are you doing here?
- Haven't you heard one thing that I've said?
- I, uh...
You're dead.
- Now, now, son, son, come on.
I mean, I know our relationship
hasn't been wine and roses all the time,
but I was thinking that maybe now
it was getting better since Mum passed.
- Mom's dead?
- Oh for God's sake. What the fuck are you, a moron?
I mean, did you get concussion as well?
That accident, what, did you burn out your memory,
shit everything to hell?
(electricity zaps) - Oh! Ow!
- Are you here?
Are you with me? - What?
(electricity zaps) Ow!
Christ, stop hitting me!
- Stop being an asshole.
- Look, I didn't do anything.
- You zapped me.
- Yeah, when you slapped me.
- Yeah, I can feel the electricity coming off your body.
You think you really should be going work today?
- Probably not, but I have to do something.
- Tell me, boyo.
Did you, um,
really die?
- I, uh,
guess I did.
- Well, do you think that it's really safe
to be driving, then?
- I'm not sure.
(both yelling) (electricity zapping)
- Damn!
Shit, that was like 110 volts.
- It's just static.
- I can feel it. I can feel it.
You know,
the closer I get,
the larger,
the bigger the surge.
(electricity zapping) (both yelling)
Look, do you, do you,
do you control that?
- No. - Ah.
I think you need a lawyer. This is a huge lawsuit.
- No, no, no, no. I need to be normal.
That's what I need.
- You ain't never gonna be normal, boyo.
But this accident, oh, this accident. (laughs)
We are gonna be rich, my son, rich.
- Well, I don't want that.
- You know, we got to document this.
Keep a record.
My phone doesn't work.
That is definitely more than static electricity.
You, my boy, owe me a new bone.
- Hey, you touched me.
- I don't give a fuck! You fucked up my phone!
(ominous music)
- Hey, why are you giving me the evil eye?
- The devil is in this house.
- Dad, Dad,
I don't understand.
- Your mother would want you to go to church.
That's what she'd want you to do.
- (scoffs) Church?
Which one?
- Your mother would want you to go to a Catholic church?
You know, likes St. John's,
oh, I don't know what his bloody is.
The one that's next to the house.
- There's a Lutheran church near here.
- Oh, for God's sake, who cares?
I don't think that Jesus
gives a fuck about the denomination.
The devil is in the detail.
- What does that mean?
- When you, uh,
figure this shit out, give me a call.
- But you're dead.
(upbeat music)
Hey, Rose. Rose, let me in.
Come on, I wanna talk.
- Oh, shut the fuck up! Give me a minute!
- Rose, you there?
Rose!
- It's too early for this. - Come on, let me in.
I wanna hang out.
Can I come in?
- Yeah.
Tea?
- Please.
- How do you take it?
- Uh, no cream, no sugar.
No blood.
- You look dressed for work.
I thought you were taking a few days off.
- I was. I am.
- That is from "Giselle."
I was the lead.
- [Trace] Hmm. Do you miss it?
- Miss it? Why would I miss something I still do?
- You still ballet dance?
- Huh.
Dancer.
I never said ballet dancer.
- Oh, uh,
yeah, I know.
Right.
- Do you think I'm a stripper?
- Uh, no.
No.
- Trace.
- A dancer in LA. Yes, I thought you were a stripper.
- You misogynistic shithead!
- [Trace] I'm sorry.
- Well?
- Well, what?
(kettle whistling)
(soft, brooding music)
- What do you want, Trace?
You have never come by without letting me know first.
You've never pounded on my door like that.
You're acting like some kind of deranged ex-boyfriend.
- I'm off-kilter and out of sync right now.
- That's obvious.
- But I had a moment of clarity.
A vision.
- And?
- I wanna move to New Orleans with you.
- That is a vision.
- I could be your donor.
- These are big steps.
- Steps I'm ready to take, Rose.
Take my blood.
- I appreciate this, Trace.
I really do.
It would be a great sacrifice.
- A sacrifice I'm willing to make.
- I'm not sure I am.
Not yet.
- What do you mean?
I thought you were moving to New Orleans
to be with the Community of Others,
to have a donor, to be part of something unique.
- I am prepared to do that.
Not sure I'm ready for human blood.
- You're ready, Rose. We both are.
- OK, you don't just bite people and drink their blood.
- You don't?
- No.
There's a ritual.
A ceremony.
And then blood is extracted to avoid infections.
- This is much more complicated than I realized.
- Being my donor is not a one-time event.
It's a commitment, like marriage.
- I can commit, Rose.
- It's not necessarily physical.
- Not necessarily?
- It wouldn't make us lovers.
- Oh, I know, I know.
- We would be bound to one another
for life.
- I can handle that.
- It is a commitment to serve one another.
It is mutual.
- How would you, uh,
serve me?
- Well, I'm sure we can come up with something that is
mutually agreeable.
- What's this process,
this ritual?
- I need to do a little research first.
- I hope we don't have to,
you know, kill a chicken, or anything?
- No.
No, no.
Well, not a chicken.
- But we have to kill something?
Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
What do we have to kill?
- Maybe a pig or a cow?
But maybe not. There might be way around that.
- I hope so.
What happens next?
(ominous music)
- Well, we have a fire.
Do a little dancing.
Maybe some chanting.
And I read from the Book of the Others.
- And?
- I mean, what do you do to me?
Is it gonna hurt?
- I take a ceremonial blade,
cut your hand,
squeeze a little blood into the fire, and then
drink from the open wound.
- It's gonna hurt a lot.
Can I be drunk?
- No, no alcohol.
- Huh. That's too bad.
- But maybe we can eat some mushrooms.
- Oh, OK.
That works.
Maybe smoke up a pig, like a real Hawaiian Luau?
Is that it?
Then we're done?
No, there's something more?
OK, what is it?
- Well, the bond will be complete,
but there is one more optional step,
one that will bind us for life.
- Whatever it takes, Rose, I'll accept it.
If I need to kill a chicken, I'll kill a chicken.
- We need to make love.
- What?
(ominous music)
But I thought you said we wouldn't be lovers.
- The ritual must be all consuming.
Emotionally, spiritually,
chemically, and physically.
It would just be this once.
- I'm OK with that.
- Forever.
- Works for me.
- I will bleed you.
I will need you
for life.
- My life is yours.
- I can accept that.
- Me too.
(glitchy music)
(brooding music)
- Trace, you there? Let me guess, we lost you again?
- I was someplace else for a moment.
- Who were you with? Anyone interesting?
- The devil, I think.
- Why are people always talking about the devil?
What is it about this gift
that brings out the assholes in the world?
- Next it'll be Jesus.
- How did this start with you?
- I went out for a walk. Went under a streetlight.
I could feel the light warm my entire body.
Then I was somewhere else.
Life's never be the same.
- It was after a car accident for me.
- Start? No, that's funny, that's a good one.
Now, see, I have been SLIding my entire life.
I actually vividly recall SLIding
from still inside the womb, OK?
That's how long I've been doing this.
I'm gonna tell you this right now,
and I'm gonna tell you this one time.
If you find a way out,
you better let us know.
And if not,
I swear to God,
I will find you.
OK?
(glitchy music)
(upbeat rock music)
(pins clattering)
- Yeah! Woo-hoo, strike!
- What's up your butt?
- It's Rose. She hasn't returned any of my messages.
- The woman who thinks she's a vampire?
The one who wants to drink your blood
and cut you with a knife?
She isn't returning your messages. That one?
- I'm worried about her.
- [Quinn] The stripper?
- Dancer.
- Dancer? That one?
- Yeah, that one.
- Not bad. Almost cracked 200.
- Nice game. Another?
- Sure.
Let me ask you something.
- Uh-oh. I feel judgment coming.
- Maybe a little.
Are you a stalker?
- What?
What do you mean?
No.
- Are you stalking a stripper?
- No, of course not.
- Are you sure about that?
- Yeah, I'm sure.
- New Orleans, blood rituals, animal sacrifices.
Just sounds to me like you're stalking her.
- It's not like that.
- Well, then how is it?
I've never met her,
and she's not returning any of your messages.
- You've met Rose many times.
- No, I haven't.
- We've all hung out.
- This accident of yours, this electrocution,
has caused some serious damage, my friend.
- I won't argue that.
I don't think I wanna play another game.
- Fine.
Are you gonna put your ball in your bag?
- No, my bag's dirty.
- You're getting weirder and weirder.
You're sliding between worlds, man.
- What does that mean?
- I've been on the Google,
and I know what's happening to you.
- I'm not up for this now.
- No, we need to have this conversation.
If not now, soon.
OK?
- Fine.
- And put your ball in your bag!
- No!
- Oh boy.
(ominous music)
- You got nothing for me?
(glitchy music)
(fire crackling) (bird tweeting)
(chimes tinkling)
It's really warm under here.
- It's part of the ritual.
- Do I have to wear it the entire time?
- Unless you wanna kill a live pig.
- Fine.
(Rose speaks in Latin)
- Hold it here. This might hurt.
- I'm ready.
(Rose speaks in Latin)
(Trace winces)
- Hold it there.
Let it bleed.
(Rose speaks in Latin)
Now we complete the ritual.
(glitchy music)
(ominous music) (zombies growling)
(soft, brooding music)
- Man, sometimes
this stuff
just won't come off.
Hey, you startled me. Shit.
You're not the pastor.
- No, definitely not me.
- You see Dermudy? He just walked through this way.
- Who?
- Father Dermudy.
This is a church. He's the pastor for the parish.
You didn't see him walk by here?
- No, I haven't seen anyone. Just you.
- Just me, really?
Nobody notices me. Huh.
How'd you get in here?
Come on, man, the door's locked.
- I, uh, walked in, I guess.
- So what brings you here?
Redemption or a good time?
- What do you mean?
- [Handyman] Well, if you watch the news,
you'd think these places are nothing but a big party
pushing out wafers and wine.
- No, I'm not here for good time.
- Redemption, then?
- No, no. I'm just here.
- OK.
Well, the confessional's closed. Black mold.
And services are on hold. The wine went sour.
- Hard luck.
- Catholic?
- [Trace] Not a good one.
- I'm not sure there is anymore.
- Dark days, my friend.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
I wouldn't walk up on that sanctuary.
- [Trace] I know the rules. I won't.
- I'm not talking about rules, asshole.
Floorboards. They're rotten.
And it won't be safe until I replace them.
- Sounds like a lot of work.
- It is.
This whole place I need to rebuild,
starting from the foundation up.
Just bullshit.
Just pastoral, cosmetic bullshit.
- Pomp and circumstance.
- [Handyman] You got that right.
- I wonder if he'd be disappointed with the world today.
(choir singing)
- I don't have to wonder.
I know he would.
He is.
- You have firsthand knowledge of this?
- (laughs) I certainly do.
- I bet.
- So you say you're a bad Catholic. Why is that?
- Non-practicing, with no parish, no affiliation.
- You still believe, then?
- I guess I'm agnostic.
I don't know what I can't know.
- Well, that's the world today.
Either you're agnostic, a atheist,
or a zealot, or an asshole.
Come on.
So you planning on staying for a while?
- No, not at all. Just passing through.
- So.
What if I were to tell you
I was Jesus Christ,
would you believe me?
- You said the wine was sour?
- It is.
- Then, no, I wouldn't believe you.
- What if I said I were the devil?
- Well, bring on the fire and brimstone, then.
- That already exists right here on Earth.
- Yeah, I guess sin has its rewards.
- Indeed it does.
People are so caught up in the second coming,
they don't realize maybe
he's come here a dozen times or more,
maybe a hundred times, you know?
- You know, that wouldn't surprise me.
- Yeah? - Not at all.
- Go on. Why is that?
- Everyone's expecting the hand of God
to extend from the sky and deliver his progeny
in a bright ball of angelic lights.
- Preach it, brother. Go on, that's right.
- But that's not his style.
- No. - No, no, no.
He'd be a peasant, a pauper, a nobody,
a witch burned at the stake for heresy,
a slave beaten to death for blasphemy.
- Dark days indeed.
Back to work.
Lock the door on your way out.
- I'm sorry, but the church is closed for repairs.
Who are you?
- Me?
I'm nobody. Just a carpenter.
- And you are?
- Just another lost soul.
- Well,
sometimes we all need a little guidance.
(ominous music)
- I just had a hot date with your toilet.
Don't worry, I didn't get anything on the ceiling this time.
Oh, looks like you went shopping, huh?
- Pretty much got all your favorites.
- Right on, man.
- Tell me what you needed to tell me.
You were doing research.
- Yeah, yeah, on the Google.
- It's just Google. No "the."
- Well, I was on the Google and I figured it out.
- Figured what out?
- What's going on with your brain.
Why you're all fucked in the head.
Yeah, it's a good idea, have a seat,
'cause this gets real deep, like Marianas Trench deep.
Oh, and you're gonna want one of these, too.
You got a rose there.
- Huh.
Yeah, I found it on the sidewalk outside this morning.
- Shouldn't you put it in some water?
Won't it wilt otherwise?
- It's already dead. That's prolonging the inevitable.
Now, that tell me about my head.
- Maybe we should get high first.
- Oh, that's right. You get hight now.
- That is one possibility. One potential outcome.
Yes, I get high.
- What are you saying?
Your lips moved and I heard words,
but it didn't make any sense.
- Listen, we live in an infinite universe,
OK, with infinite possibilities.
Every choice, every decision,
every movement is a possibility
with an unlimited number of outcomes.
- I think I'm following you.
- Yeah, every outcome has its own universe
with a new set of infinite possibilities
and unlimited outcomes,
each playing out
every single choice we ever make.
- If you and I are walking
and we turned right instead of left,
that's one possibility.
- Yes, and we create a new universe
with every choice we make.
- Then, there's an entire parallel universe
where we turn left instead of right.
- There are infinite universes
where we turned left instead of right.
- There are infinite worlds
where this conversation never even happened.
- Exactly.
You still haven't put your ball back in your bag?
- That's one possibility.
And in a parallel world I did.
- And I wish this conversation never happened in this world.
- Hey, you know how Rose always says she's a dancer?
- You mean a stripper? Yeah.
- But she always says dancer.
- Yeah, a stripper. So what?
- She's a fucking ballerina, dude.
- Not a stripper?
- No, ballet, like "Nutcracker" and shit.
- Oh. I mean, this is Los Angeles.
I just assume when someone says dancer, they mean stripper.
- Me too. I guess she's really good.
"Talented and graceful." That's what the reviews say anyway.
- Oh, isn't she a little, you know, mature to be a dancer?
I mean, don't they stop dancing when they're like 25?
- I think so.
It's getting tougher to compete with the younger dancers.
- See? Just like a stripper.
- That's why she wants to go to New Orleans, I think.
You know, to get out of the LA scene.
- Yeah. I mean, I get that.
You know, in the multiverse,
another universe has her stripping. (laughs)
- Infinite possibilities.
- I wouldn't mind seeing that world.
You still haven't heard from her, huh?
- Nah.
This is a tough town.
- Smashes dreams. Crushes ambition.
- A rose is too gentle,
too beautiful,
too delicate.
Why is this happening to me?
- This is happening to all of us.
- I could accept that the universe is infinite,
with infinite multiverses,
and that my life is being lived out on infinite timelines.
- Acceptance is the first step.
- But why do I seem to be bouncing
back and forth on different timelines?
- You're a SLIder, man.
You're slipping in and out of the multiverse.
- A SLIder?
Is that a real thing?
- You know, I think that 12,000-volt shock
created some kind of imbalance
between you and the multiverse.
- But what's a SLIder?
- It StreetLight Interference. S-L-I.
That's when people first notice it.
Streetlights inexplicably turn on or off,
and you SLIde from one world to another.
That's when people first experience it.
- I don't wanna SLIde anymore. How do I stop this?
- Oh, maybe you don't.
You know, or maybe you just need to figure out
which timeline this version of you needs to stay on.
Where did it all start?
You figure that out and maybe you can stop.
- [Trace] Or maybe it'll just stop on its own at some point.
- I wouldn't count on that.
(ominous music)
Can I ask you something, Trace?
- Sure.
- What's in the bag?
- Don't you already know?
- I think so.
But maybe you should tell me anyway.
- Maybe you should just look.
- Are you sure about that?
- It really surprised me when I looked.
But I have a feeling it won't surprise you at all.
Not this version of you, anyway.
- Rose was simply too delicate for this world.
- But you already knew that, didn't you?
- Can you SLIde when you want? Can you do it at will?
- I don't know.
- Maybe you should try.
(ominous music)
(machines beeping)
- Look at that. He's awake.
- What happened?
- You passed out at a restaurant.
- I don't remember.
What about him?
- You know him? You two were brought in together.
- Yes.
No.
Not really.
I've seen him around.
- Well, you fainted, and he was having a seizure.
- A seizure?
- He has a level-6 nut allergy.
- Will he be OK?
- Only time will tell.
(ominous music)
- Anaphylactic shock is a bitch.
You shouldn't have given me those peanuts.
- Satan?
- Please, call me Luke.
- That's kind of strange.
- Stranger than talking to the devil
in a hospital in Long Beach?
- Long Beach? God, this has to be a dream.
- Nope. Real life.
Breathe.
Take a deep breath.
Good.
Do it again.
Let the calm overcome you.
You should feel relaxed now.
- Is this hell?
- It's Long Beach.
- Right.
- Peace, that's what I feel.
- Me too.
- Good. Now we can talk.
You wanted to see me?
- I did?
- You wouldn't be here otherwise.
- I wasn't looking for you.
- And yet, here you are.
- I was electrocuted recently. Am I dead?
- No, you're very much alive.
- Well, what does the devil want with me, then.
- I want nothing unless something is owed.
There are two reasons why people come to me.
Either they're going to do something
or they've already done it.
And this meeting is a consequence of those actions.
What do you desire, Trace McNeil. What have you done?
- Nothing.
- We can't base a relationship on lies.
It's impossible to deceive me.
What's happening?
- I'm SLIding. That's what Quinn calls it.
- SLIding?
Ever since the electrocution,
I've been unbalanced, off-kilter.
I go in and out of consciousness.
Lights flash, I fade away,
and things are different when I wake up.
- That sounds very troubling.
And how does your friend Quinn explain this phenomenon?
- He thinks I'm slipping between parallel universes,
experiencing moments of infinite possibilities and outcomes
in my own personal multiverse.
- Quinn is a very ambitious thinker.
- Maybe. I don't know.
Is he right? Do you know?
- This is a very complex and layered existence,
but there are not infinite possibilities,
choices, or outcomes.
There are moments that define each and every soul,
significant choices that separate fate from free will.
When this happens, your spirit could exist
on two or three planes,
experiencing the consequences of each choice simultaneously.
- I kind of understand.
- For some, this only occurs
a handful of times throughout their life.
For others, it's a constant, and they live in turmoil.
The subconscious is powerful.
It knows the choices, and every outcome.
- I have lived a mostly impartial existence.
What consequences have led me here?
- Your spirit may travel the multiverse,
but you only have one soul.
Sooner or later those consequences will play themselves out,
and you'll be whole again,
but the outcome will always be the same.
- When two roads diverge, if I take the road less traveled,
it will not make any difference.
Is that what I'm to understand?
- No difference. None at all. (laughs)
- But if the outcome is ordained, my fate has been decided.
- Fate? No.
Fate is a product of free will.
What brought you to the fork in the road in the first place?
- My own decisions.
- Exactly. Free will determines fate.
They exist together. It's not one or the other.
You're in a hospital.
There are plenty of ways
to let free will determine your fate.
Look around. Find something sharp.
- I wanna go home.
I wanna be back in my universe,
my existence, my solitary world.
- And yet, here you are.
Do you believe in fate?
- I suppose.
- And free will?
- Two roads diverge.
I could SLIde out of here or I could stay.
Two paths.
- And you can choose either.
- But there could only be one final outcome.
- Only one.
- The path I have always been on.
The one true timeline I have always been living.
This isn't me.
This isn't my true path.
(ominous music)
(glitchy music)
- New Orleans, here we come.
(chimes tinkling)
- They're not ready for us.
- I'll be right back. I have to use the ladies room.
- This is everything
I ever wanted,
right here,
right now,
But it's wrong.
(glitchy music)
- Oh, it's you.
- Don't eat those!
No, this isn't right either.
(glitchy music)
(man laughing)
No, no, no.
I'm so sorry.
I guess this is really me.
This is who I am.
And these are the things I've done.
No, no, no.
This isn't right either.
(glitchy music)
This is it.
This feels right.
Now, where am I?
I remember now.
This is my reality.
(zombies growling)
Oh shit!
- The streets of Los Angeles are apocalyptic.
This looks like a stolen scene from a horror movie.
But this is not science fiction. This is our reality.
It all began shortly after a surge of electricity
shocked the Southland yesterday morning,
first a few isolated cases, and then everywhere.
But make no mistake,
the dead have risen.
(upbeat music)
♪ Watch it gunning, running, high and low from the scene ♪
♪ And walk the other way ♪
♪ Farther than one street ♪
♪ I don't really wanna know why they never long to leave ♪
♪ Strapping on a tape while the same song breaks ♪
♪ And I say, don't go out in that cold ♪
♪ The sun don't sing ♪
♪ Look around, it's fine now ♪
♪ Fools start closing in, breathe ♪
♪ Don't go out in that cold ♪
♪ The sun don't sing ♪
♪ Feeling like a slow ride, low tide, evergreen sea ♪
♪ Best have undone ♪
♪ Oblivious shun ♪
♪ The fortunate one ♪
♪ Stubborn rock done ♪
♪ Evade her strange love ♪
♪ The poisonous one ♪
♪ Shiny daughter, walk along the rusted bunker, very deep ♪
♪ And pulling on its rims while the same song breaks ♪
♪ And I say, don't go out in that cold ♪
♪ The sun don't sing ♪
♪ Look around inside now ♪
♪ Fools start closing in, breathe ♪
♪ Don't go out in that cold ♪
♪ The sun don't sing ♪
♪ Feeling like a slow ride, low tide, evergreen sea ♪
♪ Best have undone ♪
♪ Oblivious shun ♪
♪ The fortune one ♪
♪ The stubborn rock done ♪
♪ Evade her strange love ♪
♪ The poisonous one ♪
♪ Best have undone ♪
♪ Oblivious shun ♪
♪ Don't go out in that cold ♪
♪ The sun don't sing ♪
♪ Look around inside now ♪
♪ Fools start closing in, breathe ♪
♪ Don't go out in that cold ♪
♪ The sun don't sing ♪
♪ Feeling like a slow ride, low tide, evergreen sea ♪
♪ Don't go out in that cold ♪
♪ The sun don't sing ♪
♪ Look around inside now ♪
♪ Fools start closing in, breathe ♪
♪ Don't go out in that cold ♪
♪ The sun don't sing ♪
♪ Feeling like a slow ride, low tide, evergreen sea ♪