My, my mom used to say, uh, dead birds meant
the closing of one chapter and the beginning of a new one.
It tastes like cement.
- Come on, man. - Even with the blackberries?
I hand-picked them.
- I don't but, man. - It tastes like fruity cement.
What about you, Vanessa?
Vanessa?
Everything okay?
I'm fine.
You still wanna go?
Go where?
She wants to go hiking.
Did you all hear that loud noise last night?
Sounded like something exploded.
- Sound? - No, I didn't hear anything. You?
Probably just some thunder. It rained last night.
They shut the facility down out there.
They shut it down?
Yeah. People were saying
there were some weird experiments going on.
People or Pop?
All we know is that some people went missing,
and one day the facility was just shut down.
The forest was reclaimed as a preservation.
Man loved his conspiracy theories.
All right, there's nothing more to it.
We don't need to talk about them anymore.
Why not? You never wanna talk about him.
Why should I be compelled to talk about a man
who just disappeared on his family? Why?
-I'm telling you. -Right.
He was searching for something.
Searching for what?
I don't know.
Hey, all of it's in his journal.
Screw that journal.
Have you even read it?
Uh, no.
He said he lost it in the forest one day.
He went crazy, that's it.
He lost his mind.
Or maybe he was just lost.
Still know how to use this thing?
-Better than you. -All right, smartass.
Look, you know there's bears out there.
Mountain lions have been seen out there too, so eyes up.
Hey, I, uh, I really think that I should go with you.
I'll be fine. Just need a little time alone.
Y'all still thinking about moving out here,
selling the house?
Yeah, yeah, we talked about it.
And we're not selling our home.
We haven't decided yet.
I have, and we're not selling.
Well, you guys know
you can always take your lake house off my hands.
Obe would have loved to live out here.
There's no reception out there, so...
I'm sorry.
Vanessa?
Come on, Van-- Vanessa.
I told Martel to never mention his name.
He, de didn't mean to, you know that.
-He was just trying to help. -Help how?
By selling away what little memories
-we have left of him? -By helping us move on.
Forward, forward. Just helping us move forward.
You wish it was me?
What?
Hmm?
Do you wish it was me who died that day?
How could you say that?
I forgave you a long time ago.
I just, I don't want to lose you too.
I'll be back in an hour.
Should she be on her own out there?
No. I know when she needs space.
Oh, fuck.
It's been going two hours.
Hey, Vanessa, you okay?
Vanessa.
Sweetie, can you hear me?
Vanessa?
Babe?
Vanessa, can you hear me?
Ca--
Hey, babe, what happened?
I saw a bear.
You saw a bear?
Hey, can we talk?
Hey.
What, what, what was,
what happened out there?
I saw a bear.
It wasn't a bear, Vanessa.
You looked terrified.
It was the same look you had when Obe died.
Okay, no, Alex, no.
Look, I, I, I love you.
I promise that no matter what, I will always be by your side.
But why do you insist on blocking me out?
I'm not blocking you out.
You act like life can just go on,
like we can have a normal life, and we can't.
It was, it was an accident.
Sweetie, it was an accident.
You didn't see the other car coming.
How many times do we have to go through this?
Can you please leave?
Why don't you see yourself and me?
Can you just, I can't talk about this right now.
Can you please leave?
Leave.
(PILLS
Oh.
Yeah, you keep swinging like that, she'll throw your back out.
You wish your swing was this pretty.
Hmm.
When's the last time you picked up a club?
When's the last time we went golfing?
It's been about three years.
That's the last time I picked up a club.
Hey, you, you want to swing?
Nah, nah. Just came out for some air.
Y'all good?
Talk to me.
What's going on inside that head of yours?
I... I lost a son.
And now I'm losing my wife.
It's only been a year.
It's gonna take some time.
We barely speak.
Separate dinners most nights.
I spend more time on my couch than in our bed.
I can't even remember the last time I seen her smile.
I, I, I thought I had the answers.
If we just kept it together and went through therapy,
we could just, we could push through.
You're going through a lot right now.
You gotta be patient with her.
You gotta be patient with yourself.
I'm trying.
I miss him.
Every second of every day.
-He was my world. -Hey, hey, come here.
I miss him too.
What would Obe say if he was here right now?
Come on, man, say it.
I'm tough.
And I'm bright.
I got muscles.
I got might.
And even when I'm afraid...
everything will be all right.
It will be all right.
Get down. Let's go honey. Be patient. Watch the ball.
Yeah! Good job, Obe. Go, go, go.
You got this.
That was a good day.
Uh, uh, Martel, Martel's grilling
and just wanted you to know in case you wanna come join us.
Pop loved this song.
Yeah.
-You made it. -Yeah.
Hey.
Didn't feel like being alone tonight.
Dinner is served.
Hopefully it's better than the oatmeal this morning.
Remember the first-time pops brought us
fishing out here?
How could I forget? You almost drowned.
Mm-hmm. Well, did I tell you the story?
No?
Um, I was, uh, I was nine years old.
Then I snagged a salmon so big
that it actually pulled me into the river.
I was trying to tell you how to hold your line.
I was holding the line.
I just I slipped on a rock. I fell in.
Pops had to jump in and save me. It was crazy.
My whole perception of life changed after that.
Really? How so?
Created a complex.
A need to never feel out of control ever again.
Then somehow, I started drinking two bottles of whiskey
just to get through the day.
And we know how that went.
Now I identified one of the biggest lies
I've ever told myself.
And what was that?
That I'm in control.
You figure something out. You got help.
I guess.
We humans, you know, we are in constant stages
of evolution.
Forever changing.
Even when we're not conscious of it.
At any given moment, we are presented
with an infinite amount of possibilities
with an infinite amount of results.
You know, to get it right every time,
you know, it's impossible.
Then you realize that you've never fully
been in control.
Never have been.
Never will be.
That's an interesting perspective.
Well, I'm not following.
What I'm saying is that there are certain things in life
that we cannot control because the decision's
already been made for us.
We are exactly where we need to be.
No mistakes, just lessons learned.
Adapting is complicated.
Where-- where are you going?
I'm... I'm not hungry anymore.
Van look, I'll help you out with that.
-Don't. -Whoa, hey, hey, hey, hey.
-You all right? You okay? -Shit. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Go take care of that, man. We'll clean this up.
Yeah.
It's getting cold. You should, uh...
No.
No, you should go ahead inside.
I got this. I'll take care of it.
I got it
You're drinking?
It's been a long day.
So, what was all that?
Bullshit?
You know, sometimes I, uh,
I just like to pour a glass, smell it.
Cheers.
Your hand.
What about it?
The burn.
It wasn't as bad as we thought.
I'm gonna go take a walk.
Everything okay?
What's wrong?
Vanessa?
V?
What?
Oh.
Is everything okay?
I woke up. You were gone.
Where'd you go?
I think I found something.
What did you find?
There's something wrong with this place.
What do you mean?
It's the forest.
I kept walking around and ending up back
at the exact same spot.
It's easy to get lost.
I wasn't lost, Alex.
No matter what direction I went in,
I always ended up back at this tree.
So, you were walking in circles?
No. I tied a scarf around the tree.
And when I came back around, it was gone.
And I even did marks on the trees.
And when I came back around again, they were gone too.
Are you sure you weren't just lost?
No. It's not possible.
It's like I was in some kind of loop.
Didn't your dad say they did experiments
around here?
And he was crazy. You're sounding just like him.
I'm trying to tell you that this place is strange.
There's something not right here.
What do you want me to say?
I want you to say you believe me.
-Vanessa. -I saw myself out in the forest.
It wasn't a bear.
It was me.
Or somebody who looked just like me.
And she tried to kill me.
So, I shot back at her.
Vanessa, you're not making any sense.
I saw my own eyes staring back at me.
So in the forest,
you were in some strange time loop
where you saw yourself shoot at you?
Yes.
It's getting worse.
I mean, weird dreams is one thing, but this?
I called Dr. Harvey.
He knew today would be hard for you.
Said the anniversary of Obe's death.
Don't say his name.
You have to say his name.
Okay? It's been a year since Obe died.
Why do you keep punishing me?
We've already been through this.
I just want to know how long it's gonna go on. Hmm?
I tried therapy, giving you your space.
I've apologized a million times.
You don't think I hate myself?
What are you talking?
Just say it. Just say it.
You wish I died that day.
Hm?
Yeah.
I took our son from you,
and you wish I was lying in his place.
You still blame me for his death.
That other guy was driving. He was driving the car.
He ran the light. That guy, not me.
I didn't see the car coming.
You weren't driving.
I was driving, not you.
Oh, so now you were driving. Now, you were driving.
Really, seriously, stop it with this shit.
-I drove the car. -Vanessa.
I was driving. You weren't even there.
I'm dead inside.
The guilt that I wake up with every day.
I was driving, and I turned my head for just a second.
What are you talking about?
We've been through this. We've been through this.
Vanessa!
I love you, but you need help.
Call Dr. Harvey.
And take your pills.
Please.
You're not Alex.
What?
What's going on?
I heard yelling. Y'all good?
You hurt your right hand. Not your left.
Is she having another episode?
Vanessa, what are you doing?
We need to talk.
Vanessa!
You need help.
Get back here, Vanessa!
Get back here! Vanessa!
Who's there?
Stop or I'll shoot!
Come down slowly.
Slowly.
Alex?
You following me?
I'm not. We never met.
Whatever Alex you were with is not me.
I'm from a different world, another space and time,
if that makes sense.
You feel like you're going crazy, right?
Yeah, I know. I've been there.
You can lower the gun now. I'm not going to hurt you.
So close. Not her.
Not who?
You. My you.
My wife.
You really can lower the gun now.
We need to get out of here.
And go where?
I know this doesn't make any sense, but I can help you.
I can.
I'm not asking you to trust me, but I need you to.
You need me to trust you for what?
Just trust me.
Coming.
Well, go ahead, make yourself at home.
You smoke?
I do.
Every version of us is just slightly different
in each space.
Anything from a haircut to a mold, scar,
cigarette.
No.
Yeah, maybe it's a sign I should quit.
My Vanessa hated that I smoked.
What are these spaces?
Fragmented versions of the world
in which you belong.
But we can move between these worlds?
Between them, in them.
I've lost count of how many times
I've been through these worlds.
It's become overwhelming.
So, we're just stuck
in some conspiracy theory time loop?
A more accurate name would be multiverse theory.
So how does this work?
Honestly, I don't really know.
But I have some thoughts.
You see here?
This is your original space.
And you think of the walls, the squares,
like a ripple in time.
Now these areas are where the spaces meet.
Now the place that we met, we call that the nucleus.
That's where the ripples are held together.
Once you cross over, you're in another space
with another version of you.
The paradox is that we can't coexist in a space
that's already occupied by another version of ourselves.
None of this makes sense.
We have multiple worlds,
and yet we can move between the worlds,
but we're stuck.
For now.
I haven't worked out the whole time loop thing yet.
How do you know all of this?
Well, it's kind of my job.
I'm a physicist.
I study particle physics, dark matter, cosmic rays,
you know, fun stuff.
I gotta ask.
What am I like in your world?
You're kind.
-Sweet. -Hmm.
Very, very patient.
Hard worker.
And you were an amazing father.
What do I do for a living?
You're a math teacher.
It's honest work.
What?
I just, I always used to tell my Alex
that he should work a little harder for his PhD.
Oh, and he would have spent too much time away from you.
I think he made the right choice.
What am I like?
You're my rock.
Everything I could have asked for in a life.
When my Vanessa left me, we, uh,
we never got back on track.
The loss of Obe was just.
Don't say his name. Please.
She couldn't say his name either.
Thought it would just, you know, help her move on,
but,
just took a deeper dive into depression.
Came out here to get away from it all.
Then she started seeing strange things, that, uh,
there are people like her walking around.
You know, I always held on to the hope
that I'd see her again one day, but every time I did,
you all had pieces of her, but you weren't my Vanessa.
I'm not giving up, though.
Not giving up till I find her.
I have one more question.
Yeah?
Is there a chance he's alive?
I searched for him, too.
Every space I've been to,
he's either dead or he never existed.
Maybe you haven't looked hard enough.
You know, I may be able to get you back
to your original space.
It's a long shot,
but I've never had anyone else to test my theory.
What is it?
Fishing wire.
I've been collecting it.
See, if you hold on to one end,
and I take the other end
into the forest with me, hopefully when I return,
I can get back to the exact same spot
that I left.
I think I could help us find our original space,
but we're gonna need some more wire.
I know a shortcut in the woods.
What are you doing?
Just looking for fishing wire.
For what?
Fishing.
You hate fishing.
It was my idea.
You said you'd leave me alone.
Why would we do that?
You never remember.
Remember what?
I'm sorry.
I'm so, I'm so sorry.
Hey, hey, talk to me.
I'm here for you.
No, but you're not.
You're not.
What do you mean?
I buried the both of you.
What happened?
I just left a party.
You guys called saying you needed a ride
from the airport,
that you needed me to pick you up, and I did.
We stopped at a red light,
and the truck came out of nowhere.
So, you didn't cause the accident?
No, no, but I shouldn't have been driving.
You were pregnant. Eight months.
It wasn't your fault.
I know.
I try to tell myself that,
but the pain, it doesn't go away.
I miss you guys so much.
Just, I know you're not real.
Just stop haunting me.
Every time you show up,
it makes it harder for me to move on.
So please, just don't come back.
Be kind to yourself.
Is he still looking at us?
Yep.
We can't go where we came in.
I know.
We won't get in the space we left.
Weird idea. It's crazy.
You really think this is gonna work?
Yeah, I hope so.
How will I know you're you if...
if you make it?
Room 1111, bed 8.
We spent three months in that room.
After you woke up, we never left our boy's side.
He was a fighter, just like you.
Room 1111, bed 8.
I know.
First time you crossed spaces,
how'd you know?
- No, no, no, no, no, no. - Hey, stop!
No!
No. Hey. Come on.
Martel.
Ma... Martel.
Martel.
Dad was right.
I followed them to that strange tree.
Once I passed the gate, they were gone.
I've been lost ever since.
What about you?
I tried to kill myself.
You... you tried to commit suicide?
No. No.
Oh.
Yeah.
Let's get you home.
If I'm not back in an hour, leave.
You need to take the gun.
No, in case she comes back, you might need to use it.
All right.
I'm sorry. I'm... I'm... I'm sorry.
I just miss you I just miss... I just miss you.
Her. I miss her.
Okay.
Be careful.
I will.
Alex?
Room 1111?
Bed eight.
I was gonna leave.
What was that like?
I saw us as a family.
He was there?
No.
It was you, me, Martel.
We were happy.
And then you saw me.
What did I do?
Well, you fainted. And Martel saw me, so I ran.
Did he follow you?
No.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
I think I figured out how it works.
Based on navigation, I think we can use this space
as our starting point.
Well, how do we keep from going into a space
that we've already been in?
We blow the tree.
What do you mean?
You've been collecting more than just fishing wire.
Yeah.
I've been stocking up every time I go into a space.
A loud noise from the forest.
Yeah.
Nothing's ever going to be the same, is it?
Nope.
That doesn't scare you?
Anything is better than this.
I keep replaying that day over and over again.
I keep thinking about the things I did wrong.
There--
There's no way out of it.
The accident was going to happen.
There's nothing I could have ever done.
There's nothing I could have done to change.
Stop.
I miss you.
No, you don't.
You miss your wife.
And I can't replace her any more than you can replace my husband.
And I know he's still out there, and I need to find him.
What if you don't?
It's not an option.
Room 1111.
1111.
What are you doing?
Room 1111.
What?
Room 1111.
I don't know what you're talking about.
You went into the woods.
You disappeared.
We searched everywhere for you.
Then-- and--
Alex, where's Martel?
He's in the storage shed.
How's his hand?
It's healing.
Right or left hand?
It's right hand.
It's okay.
I'm okay. I'm here.
I think... I think we can find him.
-Who? -Our son.
-Our son-- Vanessa. -Alex, the spaces are real.
We just have to keep crossing until we can find--
Vanessa.
Where did she come from?
- I don't... I don't know. - She woke me up in the bar.
She was saying something about room 1111.
-1111? What's that? -I don't know. I don't know.
-I have no idea what's going on. -All right, all right.
We... we got to calm down, okay? All right?
We just got to think about this.
Think about what? Look at her.
That's not my Vanessa. She can't be.
Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey, hey.
No, no, we don't want to do that, okay?
-You don't want to do that. -She's not Vanessa.
That is not Vanessa.
-Stop moving. -Hey, hey, hey.
Let's just talk to her.
Let's hear her out.
Yeah, I got you.
Just-- it's okay.
Hey! Hey!
Who are you?
-Vanessa, I'm your wife. -My wife is dead.
No, I'm right here in front of you.
-I'm alive. -No, no.
-What? What? -You can't be.
What are you talking about?
What happened?
I kill... I killed you.
I killed you.
You, you, you... you came home
and you had a bullet wound in your leg
and you were saying, you were saying
that someone was trying to kill you
and that you had to shoot her to protect all of us.
No, no, no. You don't understand, Alex.
It's the other spaces. They're real.
-No. -No, no. I saw.
I saw her in the woods and she tried to shoot me.
And she's the one who shot at me.
I didn't tell you because I didn't know how.
-You're dead. -No.
-You're dead. -I'm right here.
I know it doesn't make any sense, but it is.
I know I moved through the...
through the... through the spaces.
Your, your dad. He figured it all out.
Shut up! Shut up!
He's a fucking lunatic.
All he cared about was chasing ghosts.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, listen.
She is here. Okay, she is alive.
She is talking to us,
but somehow she is lying over there dead, okay?
Now, now, now, Pops, he said every universe
that has an equal possibility of existing is somewhere else.
It's all right. They, they, they--
Somewhere else. Somewhere else.
He was talking about universes that are light years away,
not in your own fucking backyard.
How can you believe in something that does not exist?
Faith. Okay? Faith.
Sometimes that is all we got.
Faith didn't save my son.
I'm sorry.
And I know you're hurting.
You're not my wife.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, hey.
Hey, hey, stop. Put the gun down.
-She's not my wife. -Put it down.
I killed my wife.
- Alex. - Hey.
Martel.
Hey. Hey. Okay.
Alex.
It's okay. Just breathe. Breathe.
- Martel. - Breathe.
Alex. Alex.
- I'm afraid. - Alex.
It's gonna be alright, okay?
It's gonna be alright.
Alex.
Wake up.
Hey, get up. Get up.
Alex!
I don't know who you are.
Or where you came from?
I just know you don't belong in this world anymore.
Oh shit, what are you doing?
Oh, good lord.
Oh!
That was fine.
Room 1111.
Bed Eight.
Where the hell have you been?
Well, when I got to that other space,
Martel and Alex, they were freaking out.
They were talking about you tried to kill 'em.
When I got back, you were already gone.
Something bad happened there.
That was my original space.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
I've lost everyone that I loved.
I'm sorry.
I'm guessing you found your space.
I did.
Now, you're gonna blow the gate?
I am.
How is it?
Does his wife believe you?
Less of me, the better.
I suggest you do the same.
You find a space, you take it.
Protect it.
I spoke to them. They never even knew.
You can't just take another person's life like that.
I'm not. It's mine.
You want to keep walking through these spaces,
praying to find someone you'll never see again?
Fearing the next space you walk in
will be the one to take your life?
You said it yourself. You can't go back.
You've lost everyone you love.
You want to be happy, right?
It's easy.
Not like you.
What if you find your original Obe?
Vanessa, you are gonna find a space
that you'll never want to leave.
But you think the other version of you
is just gonna welcome you with open arms?
You must be out of your damn mind.
Kill or be killed. It's that simple.
I'm not a murderer.
Tough choices have to be made, Vanessa.
I didn't think that I could sign the DNR,
but I did.
He wasn't improving, he was suffering.
You were suffering. I just wanted it to end.
No, you had no right.
He was my son. I had every right.
He could have made it!
And that's exactly why she left your ass.
Here.
You'll need this more than me.
There will be a time when you need to make a choice.
Choose wisely.
I'm closing the space now.
All right.
You should get going. I set the timer for 45 minutes.
That should give you enough time to find another space.
And remember, whatever you do, just pull the trigger.
Don't move!
Turn around.
I couldn't believe my eyes, but.
Okay, I can explain.
But it's complicated.
Oh, I know. Multiverse theory.
I didn't think it was real, but here you are.
Yeah. Yeah, I'm real.
And I know you're scared, but I can help you.
Shut up!
You don't have to do this.
Yes, I do!
He said we can't exist in the same space.
Yes, he's right.
But you can let me go.
I can just keep walking away,
and you can go back to your life.
Go back to what?
My life ended the day my husband pulled the plug on my son.
You're his wife.
What did you say?
- He's... he's looking for you. - Your Alex.
He's still at the gate. He hasn't blown it yet.
I'm not going to go back to him after what he did.
He took my baby away from me.
You and me, we're the same.
I lost my son, too.
Then I'm sorry.
My mom used to say that, dead bird meant
the closing of one chapter in your life
and the beginning of a new one.
Maybe this is a sign.
Yeah?
Of what?
A new beginning.
Hey, you hungry?
Mm-hmm.
Go on make me some food then.
I'm playing. I'm playing.
Hey.
Don't stay out here too long.
You know I love you, right?
Yeah. I... I do.
And you can tell me anything?
I know.
Okay.
I tried to wake you when we got back.
Yeah, I was really tired.
How long was I out?
You slept for 13 hours.
Vanessa, you're finally up.
Hey.
I thought we were going to have to call 9-1-1.
You sleep like a rock.
You good?
Yeah. Better than good.
How's your hand?
It's not as bad as we thought.
-You want to go for a hike? -No.
No.
No, just want to relax.
All right.
After that maybe we can get a little quality alone time.
Oh, God. Come on, man.
-I'm going to get breakfast. -What? It's fine.
Come on, man. Stop!
I don't need to know all that.
I'm going to go get dressed.
Let me go help this fool in the kitchen.
He don't know what he's doing.
Mommy?
Obe?