Jeremiah (2002–2004): Season 1, Episode 5 - To Sail Beyond the Stars - full transcript

Hi, dad, it's me.

It's been a bit over 15 years

since the world ended.

I'm still following the trail
left by Simon's notes.

Looking for information

about what might
have happened,

and about a bunch of guys
called burners

who seem to be
setting the world on fire

for no reason anybody can see.

Along the way,

i met this girl.



You would've liked her.

This is how the story ended.

We have to save God
from the end of the world.

I don't wanna die!

I know very few people
have cars anymore,

and I know we gotta keep
a low profile,

but you ever stop
to think about

how big this sucker is?

And how many branches
it takes to hide it?

And they got thorns
and stuff all over.

Look at that.
I got splinters.

You missed a spot.

I'm not done yet.

I guess you're right.



I missed a spot after all.

Dear dad,

it's been 15 years

since the big death wiped out

everyone over the
age of innocence...

The end of your world,

the beginning of mine.

Hey... you guys goin'
to the festival?

It's goin'
to be cool, man.

Hey, you guys
got any spare food, man?

See, me and my buddies, we're
taking up a collection,

'cause I got this friend,
man. He's real sick.

He hasn't eaten
for a long time, man,

so anything
you could spare...

Fuck off.

Fine.

Great.
Screw you, too.

Goddamn,
leave a motherfucker alone.

Like I can support
every loser in the world

who can't
take care of himself.

Sure.

See, that's your deal.

You always
gettin' involved

in other
people's problems,

and draggin' me
in with you.

This time,
it ain't happenin'.

Anything that happens
to anybody else,

it's not our problem.

Well, whatever you say.

Help me.

Please?

Well?

Well, what?

Aren't you gonna
go help?

No.

But she's pregnant.

So?

It's not
my problem, man.

It's like you said,
you know,

I should've listened to you
a long time ago,

not that
you ever made any sense.

No, no, you're a helper.
That's what you do.

Not today.

Fine, I'll do it.

You ok?

I haven't eaten in 3 days,

and I'm gonna have a baby,

and I've never
had a baby before,

and I don't know
what I'm doing.

Look,
you're gonna be ok.

People have been
having babies since...

Well, since forever.

I'm just so ashamed
to be doing this.

You hold onto this.

But don't let anybody
see you with it,

or they'll take it
from you, ok?

And your baby's
gonna be fine.

There's a whole new world
comin',

you'll see.

Well?

I didn't help, ok?

I just told her
to stop botherin' people

with that beggin' and shit.

Right.

It's not right, man.

You know?

It's just not right.

Yeah, I know.

This the place?

Looks like it.

Come on.

Hot damn.

Are these real?

Oh, yeah.
Yeah, those are real.

I started collecting them after
the government went down.

Figured it'd be cool
to live in a place,

you know,
surrounded by $100 bills.

So many that you could
paper the walls with 'em.

You know that money
isn't worth anything anymore?

It's just paper.

Yeah... now.

But I keep hearin'
the government's

comin' back one of these days.

When it does, I'm gonna be
one rich son of a bitch.

Well, you're never
goin' to fit this wall

in one of those
automated tellers, dude.

Yeah, I... I know.
I... I'll work that out.

So, uh, who are you guys?

I'm Jeremiah.
This is kurdy.

Hey.

Are you Eddie?

Yeah, yeah.

You guys here
for the festival?

No, no, uh...

We heard about you
from Simon,

and we're here
to see the wall.

Ah, right, right.
Yeah, yeah.

Come on, this way.

So, uh, how is Simon?

I haven't seen him
in a while.

He's dead.

Oh.

Guess I can
take his pin down, then.

Simon.

Simon.

So what is this wall, anyway?

This is everything.

This is everybody.

See, we got no more phones,

you know,
we got no radios,

no television, no nothing.

But there's still, like,

people looking
for each other.

So I came up
with this idea.

People tell me their name,
where they're from,

they get to put a pin
in the map.

Now, it tells anybody
who might be lookin' for them

where they are,
where they're goin'.

It's like
a... a caveman version

of what the Internet
used to be,

back when we still
had electricity.

One can of food,

that gets you
6 months on the map.

$100 bill,
that gets you a year.

'Cause I... I've still got,
like, a lot of spots to fill.

W-why a pool hall?

Well, people like
to come here, you know.

I never run out of supplies.

People like to talk
while they shoot pool, too.

So I let 'em shoot for free.

It's a good way of
findin' out what's

going on in the world, you know.

I collect information,
stories, all kinds of stuff.

Yeah, that's why we're here.

Uh, according to Simon's logs,

you've been trackin' some guys
called the burners?

Yeah...

I don't talk
about the burners,

not during working hours.

I, uh, I'll tell you what.

Not many people
hang around here after dark.

Why don't you
come back then?

Well, I was just gonna s...

Ok? I mean it.

You talk about the devil,
he shall appear.

You talk about the burners,
they shall fry your ass,
brother.

Ok.
Yeah.

All right, so now what?

I don't know.

Wait around
till dark, I guess.

Yeah, great.

You know what I miss most
from before?

Hmm?
Air conditioning.

Really?

Man, and being able to
turn on the faucet
to get water.

Yeah.

Toilet paper.

Oh, yes, toilet paper.

And necco wafers.

You remember necco wafers?

Oh, yeah.
You know, rolls of candy,

hard as hell, but sweet.

Keep 'em
in your pocket,

they'd never melt
or anything.

And they had all these different

flavors, but the best one was...

Chocolate.

Chocolate, you damn straight.

What was the flavor
of those gray ones?

Nobody ever knew.

They were good,
though.

Well, that killed about,
what, 2 minutes?

Yeah, about that.

It's a long damn way
till dark, man.

I know it.

Well,
I'll tell you what.

I'm going to
check around town,
see what's goin' on.

Why don't you see
what you can find to eat?

Meet me back here
around sunset.

Done and done.

Necco wafers.

Hey, come back here!

Oh, shit!

I'm gonna kick your ass!

Hey, did you see where
that little bitch went?

No. What'd she do?

We've been trackin' gas
and savin' it for months.

We're gonna take it
to another town
and sell it.

She broke in
and stole some of it.

Come on, man,
where'd she go?

Look, she went that way.

But you can get her
if you go around
the corner, cut her off.

Ok, here's my theory.

Everything we have,
we got from someone else.

We... we found it
in an abandoned store,

somebody gave it to us.

But nothing belongs
to anybody,

not anymore.

The only thing we own

is what's in our skin,
you know?

I don't know why
you want the gas.

You're probably gonna
sell it in trade,

just the same as them.

I hope you know
what you're doin'.

It's an easy way
to get killed.

See you.

So you gotta understand, I... I
hear all kinds of stories.

I mean, I hear some
really weird shit, right,

like stories, myths,
rumors, everything,

a dozen new religions
starting up.

See, what I think,
I think people thought

the end of the world really
was the end of the world,
you know?

And you shouldn't
have to worry about
piddly shit anymore.

Either there's this
great cloud of

paradise or there's
this fiery pit.

And you shouldn't
have to go scrounge around
for tuna fish.

Eddie, the map?

Right.

Anyway,
the point is,

the first time
I heard about
the burners,

I... I figured it was, it was just
another one of those stories,

till I started keeping
track of it, right?

And that's when it got
pretty serious. I...

That's when
Simon got interested.

He wanted to know
more about them.

Here it is.

Check this out.

I put a dot

for every time that
the burners were seen.

Supposedly, they travel
in groups of 4 or 5.

Where these guys go,
death follows.

They'll burn down city blocks,

houses here and there,
sometimes whole towns.

One day it's there,
next day, ashes to ashes,
fucked to fuck.

Anybody know why?

No.

There's rumors.

You know, some people say
that it's a bunch of guys

trying to get rid
of some infection

left over from the big death,

or it's the first troops
from one of those
overseas countries,

or that it's a bunch
of freaks from

Canada just out for a good time.

But you know what?

Nobody noticed
the important thing.

Nobody could notice this,

because nobody was
trackin' it.

Hmm.

That's why I'm smart, huh?

That's why
I gotta be careful.

Well, I... I've got
stories of burners
in Detroit, Milwaukee,

D.C., New York, Syracuse.

You know, they all line up.

Same number of guys,
same setup,

but just,
like, a day or 2 apart.

It's a coordinated program
of burning.

Got it in one.

Which means they're
either moving

really fast from
state to state...

Right,
a-and we got no planes,

we got no trains,
not much in the way of cars.

Yeah, or they're coordinating
different groups.

Right.

Which means
they've got radios,

or somethin'
to communicate
over a long distance.

Either way, it means
somebody has got

their stuff together
in a big way,

and they're using it
to burn down
what's left of the world.

We don't even know why.

Great.

Hey, I wasn't, uh,
gonna say anything,

but, uh, well,
there's this guy,

he's seen the burners
with his own eyes.

Simon was gonna meet him
next time he came to town.

He... he's probably here
for the festival
tomorrow night.

I could, you know,
check around,

see if he's interested.

Yeah, do that.
Thanks.

Right.

Man ought to wear
a sign around his neck:

Raised by mice.

Look, I found a spot
to get somethin' to eat.

You wanna roll?

Nah, I got
somethin' to do.

I'll check you out later.

You sure?

They got
baby back ribs, man.

Oh, man, those are not
baby backs.

What?

Have you seen any dogs
since we've been here?

Way to ruin
a man's dining pleasure,
Jeremiah.

Bon appetit.

Thank you very much.

You know, just because
you're unhappy,

you want everybody else
to be unhappy.

Hey.

Hi.

Yeah, I... I just wanted you
to know that, uh,

that I'm not gonna
give your gas back.

Well, that's ok.

We have enough.

You're welcome.

No, I didn't say thanks.

Fact is,
I think we're even.

How do you figure?

Well,

that's some car
you got tucked away
up there.

I've never seen one
like that before.

I could've told the others.

There are just
the two of you.

There's a lot
of us out here,

but I didn't.

Thanks.

Oh, you're welcome.

I mean,

not that
I would've told anyway.

Most of the guys
around here, they're...

They're creeps,

and, uh, I'm not a thief.

What does it matter
what I think?

It just does,
that's all.

I just wanted you to know

that I'm not a thief.

I'm not like them.

But you took the gas.

Yeah.

But I didn't take the gas
to sell it, ok?

That's the difference.

So, what, you just, um,

you like the smell of it
or somethin'? Is that it?

Something.
But you did right by me,

and that doesn't happen
a lot,

so I just thought...

I don't know.

You're welcome.

What's your name?

Claire.

Jeremiah.

That's a good name.

Hey! Hey!

You figure somebody did this
'cause he talked to us?

Maybe.

You think he got a hold
of that guy before he died?

Maybe.

You got anything else to say
besides maybe?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Well, you know,

a guy could set himself up
quite a little place here.

You've got people
comin' in and out
all the time.

I can't believe you.

Look, I'm just sayin',
before somebody else
comes in here,

we may want to think about...

Now that Eddie's dead,

I'm layin' claim
to this place.

Does anybody want
to fight about it?

Ahem.

Like I always say,

he who hesitates gets fucked.

You gonna
get rid of this?

Yeah.

It's the least we can do.

Come on, give me a hand.

You know, you always
end up buryin'

an awful lot of people,
Jeremiah.

You ever think
about that, huh?

You ever think about

how many people around you
just up and die?

Whole world's
a funeral, kurdy.

Thanks for cheerin' me up.
Coming through, watch out.

So now
what do we do?

I don't know.

You know, kurdy,
I just...

I don't know,
we've come all this way,

get a guy killed,

have nothin'
to show for it.

I don't know about you,

but I wanna stay
for the festival.

We ain't got
shit else to do

but go back
to thunder Mountain,

and that spot ain't exactly
party central,

you know what I'm sayin'?

Yeah.

Besides, it's been a long time

since I've seen a good party.

We could use one.

Hell, you could use one.

So what do you say?

ś

And the world ended
because God was thrown down,

and God used to protect us,

but now it's everything
he can do

just to look out for himself.

The devil's on the warpath.

With one swipe,
he took out half the world,

so we'd better be
real careful,

because the next swipe
will take everybody,

and God wishes
he could help us,

but he can't.

So it's up to us now.

We can't be feeling sorry
for ourselves,

because there's too much
at stake.

We have to save God
from the end of the world.

We survive, and God lives.

So don't feel bad
for where we are,

because we're fighting,

fighting for the soul
of the world!

There's nothing good
on t.V. Anymore.

ś

Hey, you ok?

The baby, it's coming.

Are you sure?

Yeah, I think so.

Let me help.

Oh, God, I'm gonna die!

I don't wanna die!

You're not gonna die, ok.
It just feels like it.

I've never done this before.
I'm scared.

I have.
Oh, God.

Let me help.
Come on, come on.

Oh, fuck. Oh, shit.

Oh, fuck!

Push, just push.

I can't.

Push! You can!
You can!

No.
You can.
Come on, now.

Fuck you!

I bring you mysteries
and revelations, Jeremiah.

What are you doin' here?

You know,
I-if they see you...

Who'd see this
and think of me?

It's just that everybody
around me dies.

Show me somebody
who doesn't.

Come with me.

You live here?

For now. I kind of go
from place to place,

up and down the coast
lookin' for gas.

But this is the last one
for a while.

For a while?
What do you mean?

Come on.
I want to show you somethin'.

I promised you
revelations, remember?

Revelations.

It's a book in the Bible

about the end of the world,

the last book in the Bible.

Yeah,

we've gone on past
the end of that book,
somehow,

so I guess we're gonna
have to start
writin' new chapters,

and maybe this is
what that's all about.

So what do you think?

All this gas.

10 years' worth,
right here.

What're you...

Come on.

Oh, man!

This is why

I saved all the gas.

I can't even imagine

what all that would buy
in trade.

But I'm not
gonna sell it.

I'm gonna use it.

Even set up
a hand generator

to keep
the battery charged.

This is the last
working boat

on this side
of the country.

Hell, for all I know,

it could be the last boat
like this in the world.

With the gas and the sails
to go where I want.

And where is that?

Beyond the horizon,

beyond the edge
of the sea,

beyond the stars,

to see what's there,

who's left
on the other side
of the world.

At least it's there
for a good reason.

Not many folks
with blood on their hands
can say that.

My name's William.

Eddie said
you were lookin' for me.

I only have 2 things
that belonged to my folks.

That boat is one of them.

My mom,

she was always kind of
frightened of the water.

She didn't trust it.

My dad and I,
we used to go sailing a lot.

You know, I used to...

I used to look out
over the horizon and wonder

what was over there,

where... where the sea
just kind of falls away
into mystery.

He promised me
that one of these days

we were gonna sail
past that horizon,

past the edge of the world.

So what happened?

Well, we never made it.

And now?

Now, between
the sails and the gas,

I finally got just enough

to make it.

I'm goin', Jeremiah.

I guess I just wanted
somebody to know.

Somebody who wouldn't
laugh at me.

I don't think you're the kind
who'd laugh at me.

No, it's ok.

I know a thing or 2
about promises.

What you're doing,
sailin' across the world,

aren't you afraid?

No. I've taught myself

how to read the charts.

I've gone over the routes,

like, a thousand times
in my mind

until I could just...
I can see 'em in my sleep.

I know how many days
I need to sail.

I know how long
to run my engine.

Piece of cake.

And I will be
the first person

to see
what's on the other side.

Maybe they came back faster.

Maybe the big death
didn't hit as hard over there,

and they're just waiting

to see if someone's alive

before helping us out.

And maybe
you step out of that boat

and find that
nobody survived.

Maybe.

But at least I'll know.

I will be the only person
who knows.

Think about that, Jeremiah.

And at least
one person here

will know that I went.

And whenever

you look out at the horizon,
I...

I'll know
you'll be thinking of me.

That must be what it's like
to live forever.

Well, then...

Here's to livin' forever.

So, I was just on my way back
into lucasville

when I saw the burners
comin' down the road.

It's like, one minute
they weren't there,

and then they were.

I jumped out of the way
before they could see me.

They were dressed in these,
like, silver outfits,

and had these, like,
backpacks on.

Hold on.

Here.

I drew a picture.

You can have it.

I don't want it anymore.
It'll probably get me killed.

What's this?

I don't know.

Some sort of symbol
a couple of 'em were wearin'.

I was layin'
in the high grass,

layin' low
so they wouldn't see me.

When they passed,

I could hear 'em makin'
this noise.

Creeped me out, man.

Anyway, I followed 'em,

wonderin' what
this was about.

I... I heard some folks in town
had gotten sick, but that's all.

I didn't think
it was important or anything,

but when we got there...

What?

They burned it, man.

They burned all of it:

Men, women, kids,

cats, dogs,

hope, love, fear.

They burned it all down
so fast,

nobody got out.

Nobody.

So you want anything else?

Anything at all?

Like I said, um...

I'm goin' tomorrow,

and I just
don't wanna be alone tonight.

I followed them back
the way they came

as far as I could.

Then they entered these woods
on the edge of town.

By the time I got there,

they had just gone.

Did you leave
that back door open
when we came in?

No.

That's what I was afraid of.

Oh, man,
this is gonna hurt.

Go!

Wait.

Claire, what is it?

It's nothing.

It's nothing.

Make love to me, Jeremiah.

Make love to me so hard,

you love the ghosts
and the bad memories
right out of my head.

We've lost him.

Don't worry.

If he's gone,
we still got one more.

Our source thinks
he knows where he went.

Let's go.

It's clear.

Good.

Thanks. I gotta go.

Sounds like
they're after Jeremiah.

Those men?
Yeah?

They had guns.

I know.

And flashlights.
I know.

And flashlights
have batteries.

I mean,
some people got guns,

and some people
have flashlights,

and some people
have batteries.

These guys had all 3.

I know.

Been nice knowin' you.

I'm tired of this
runnin' around
and chasin' shit.

I say we end this
right now.

You ok?

Mmm-hmm.

You sure?

You kind of
startled me there
for a minute.

I thought, you know,

you might wanna
talk about it.

Well, um,

ok.

Well,

you remember
when I told you

my dad and I
used to go sailing together?

Well,
he wanted to take me out
just one last time.

We were gonna
live our dream.

We were gonna
keep the promise
we made to each other.

It was gonna be beautiful.

He was everything to me,
Jeremiah.

He was so sick,

and I asked him

if mom was gonna
come with us,

and he said, no,
she'd meet us later.

But I know now

she was already dead.
He just couldn't say it.

We'd just been out
for one day,

and I remember...

I remember the water,

the water was so calm.

There was no wind at all,

so we were waiting
for the wind to come up,

and he...

He went downstairs.

Said he just needed
to take a rest

and then we'd keep going.

And so I waited,

I waited, like, an hour...

And I waited another hour.

I so was afraid.

I was so afraid

being above deck,

afraid to go below.

Finally, I had to
do something, so...

It's just so unfair.

I mean...
We promised each other

we would go together.

How can I go if he's...

If he's dead?

I just...

Why did he
take me out there

if he knew
he was dying?

Maybe, he wanted you to keep
lookin' at the horizon,

you know, past what was
goin' on in the world.

It's what
he wanted for you.

Come on!

Shells. I need shells.

Oh, shit!

What do they want?

Me. Look, I'm gonna go draw their fire.
Take this.

Stop!

Get in! Get in!

Are you ok?

Yeah, I'm fine.
Good timing.

What's she doin'?

Who's that?

What are you doin'?

Claire, you've got to
get out of here!

Please, Jeremiah,
you've got to help me.

I can't let this go.

What the hell
are you doin', man?

Just take this stuff,
give it to her.

Here, take this.
Here, here.

What is this stuff,
anyway?

Gasoline!
What!

Go!

Man!

What are you doin'
with all this gasoline?

That's it.

Go! Come on.

Not much left.

No.

Not much.

I was hopin'
to find somethin'

that would tell us
who they were,

where they came from.

What you
got there?

I don't know.

What's it say?

V.S.-41417.

V.S.-41563.

V.S.

Valhalla sector?

Could be,

or it could stand
for "very stupid."

Roll these other 2,
see what you can find on 'em.

I'll be back.

How's she doing?

No damage I could find,

but another few minutes...

Thanks.

And thank kurdy for me.

I'll do that.

Good.

So, you, uh,
got enough for the trip?

Yeah.

Yeah, I think so.

So...

I guess it's time to go.

You could come with me.

See what's out there...

Beyond the horizon,

between what's known
and not known.

I can't.

I got promises of my own
to keep, you know.

I want to find out
what happened with my dad.

Besides,

there's a whole
new country being

born on this side of the ocean.

I think maybe
I'd like to see that.

Well,

when you see the water,

when you look out to the
horizon, will you think of me?

Always.

I'd better go.

Yeah.

Good luck.

Is she gone?

Yeah.

Think she'll make it?

I think if anybody can,

she can.

She said to thank you
for helpin' her out.

Yeah?

Yeah.

That's nice.

Yeah, it's not so bad
sometimes, is it,

gettin' involved
in other people's problems?

No, it's worse.

I get shot at, burned,

people chasin' me,
babies being born,

and ain't none of it
worth it.

We are not doin' this anymore,
are we, Jeremiah?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Hi, dad, it's me.