Janella Fern Sreaves.
Florine?
Sure never expected to see you here again.
What's it been, 15 years?
I need to find Billy.
I called the Family Services office looking for him.
They gave me the run around.
You know where he is?
I ain't seen Billy in a long time.
You might get wet tonight.
Heavy dew on the grass outside your new home.
Sure-fire predictor of rain.
It's not my home.
It is now.
Your daddy lived a hard life.
Paid for it in the end.
Don't you even think about openin' this door
after dark if you ain't expecting company.
I did used to live here.
Like when you were 10.
I know how to take care of myself.
You got a gun in that bag?
I don't believe in guns.
Well how'd they feel about that in the Marines?
Army.
No guns.
I've no plans to ever use one again.
Then at least get yourself a dog.
This woman on the bus told me that
copperheads are thick this year.
The woods ain't your problem.
She's a living, breathing thing.
You show her some respect, she'll take care of you.
Now these people around here,
they don't play by the same rules.
Who?
You know where Billy is, don't you?
I can help him.
Last I heard he was floppin' down
in the woods in one of them tin boxes.
I'll come back tomorrow
and take you to town, get you some food.
Where are you hidin' the hooch these days?
Jim William Sreaves was a devoted father and husband.
I'm sure that he greets his maker with open arms
and that he is welcome into heaven
where his wife awaits him.
Let us pray.
Father, we just pray in Jesus' name,
grace and peace into this family understanding.
What the hell you want?
I'm looking for Billy Sreaves.
Try county lockup.
Now get the fuck outta here.
How you boys holding up?
Hi there. - Hm?
What can I get you?
Jack and ginger, please.
Yeah.
You don't look like a bar tender.
What's your main gig, hm?
Let me guess.
Construction?
Demolition?
All right, so you took one look at me
and you said now there's a man
that destroys shit for a living.
You look like you work outside.
I help people.
People who need a handout, people who need a leg up.
Some need a slap in the face.
It usually takes me about one minute
to figure out who needs what.
So what do you suppose I need?
You need coffee as bad as I need coffee?
You in the military?
Couple tours.
Got processed out.
So what next?
Now I'm trying to get to county lockup.
You want to check yourself in for stealing my heart?
It's too far to walk.
I could drive you in my truck if you want to.
Let's go.
- Well I'll wait for you. - I'm good.
Hey.
You want to do this again?
See ya, Mike.
That's what you get for goin' after one of them
instead of a husky church girl.
I'm lookin' for my brother, William Sreaves, Billy.
He's 22.
William Sreaves? - Yes, sir.
Drugs, assault, stealin'.
Not here now, he'll be back before long.
Do you have an address for him?
1054 Dominion.
- We have to go. - No, we're not.
Daddy said to stay here.
I'm going. - Shut the door.
Don't leave the car. Billy, I'm gonna get help.
- No, don't go. - He's not coming back.
So come with me. No, don't leave.
We'll come back.
What do you want?
Who in the hell are you?
You some of Sreaves' kin?
I'm his daughter, what do you want?
I'm gonna burn this sucker and do the county a favor.
Why in the hell would you do that?
Fire's the only way to get rid of a demon.
Your Jim had a mean streak, foot wide.
I don't need to have him back around here.
Well I'm staying here for a little while,
so I'd appreciate it if you didn't burn it down.
Lookin' for a dog?
Yeah.
I don't really know how to choose one though.
What do you need it for?
Protection.
From the living or the dead?
The living.
Quiet!
Which one of you can protect this woman?
Speak now.
There's your great protector.
What's his name?
I call it Cujo, but it'll answer to shit-eating
fucker as long as you feed it regular.
Daddy.
Mm!
You can come inside, but just for a minute.
Ain't exactly Little House on the Prairie, is it?
You found your brother yet?
No.
Maybe he don't wanna be found.
Billy just doesn't know I'm here.
You'd be surprised how word gets around.
Well I know he'd come to see me if he did.
You lookin' for closure?
Are you my therapist?
Suppose not.
You know that old hillbilly up the road?
Fig Karl?
He's a Karl?
I thought they were all dead.
He's one of the last.
That man's just on loan from the penitentiary.
Likes to burn down empty houses,
strips the copper out first.
Is he dangerous?
Oh, hi. - Oh good Lord.
Is this the dog you got for protection?
I like him.
These are the Ozark's woods, child.
You need to get yourself a man.
Look, I haven't asked for your advice, all right?
Not once.
Can you just...
Leave, please?
It's bad luck to ask a person to leave
before they've finished eatin'.
I'm doin' you a favor by stayin'.
Dog?
Dog, dog!
Get back here!
Shit.
Hello?
Hi there.
What are you doin' out here?
Do you have a name?
Cecil.
Hi, Cecil.
Do you want to come over here to me?
Do you want me to come to you?
Cecil, where's your family?
You out here all by yourself?
You hungry?
Do you want to come with me and get some food?
It's okay, come on.
Say, where'd you get that boy?
This your place?
It was my dad's, but he's gone.
Gone where?
He passed away.
Howler get him?
Howler's not real.
Yes he is.
Unless the Howler poured the booze down my Daddy's throat.
He did it to himself.
So it's your place now?
I'm not stayin' very long.
Cecil, where's your family?
What happened?
Cecil, how long you been in those woods?
Do you know where your home is?
Don't got no home.
Yeah, I found a boy and I need somebody to get out here.
Tomorrow?
So what am I supposed to do with this kid?
All right.
Thank you for letting me stay.
You're welcome.
Found a couple things, think they might fit.
Thank you. - Goodnight.
Hey.
Caught us breakfast.
What am I supposed to do with those?
I'll show you.
Have you ever gone to school?
I would like to.
Do you know how to read?
No, ma'am.
Well there's gonna be somebody
that's gonna come by the house today.
To take me away?
They're gonna wanna ask you a bunch of stuff
about your parents and where you come from
and your parents' names.
Do you know any of that?
Bad idea to tell people too much about yourself.
Causes trouble.
I know which berries are poisonous.
I know how to cut down wood.
I can help you here.
Well I'm not stayin'.
Mike Rivers with Social Services.
So this is your other job?
You're a social worker?
I told you, I help people.
Who's this? - That is Cecil.
Howdy.
Hey, Cecil.
How is it you came to live out here
in these woods all by yourself?
Let me get a picture of you right quick.
Prefer not to, sir.
Why don't you just smile?
Give me a good lookin' smile.
Now.
It's just a picture.
We'll talk inside for a minute.
Hold onto that for me, will you?
I didn't think you'd ever call again.
Look, we had a fun time.
Let's just leave it at that, okay?
I guess I should say goodbye to him.
Any idea what happens to that little boy
if I take him with me now?
Temporary foster care.
10 other kids, screaming, crying, crowded.
Then three days later, whole new set of parents.
New set of rules and punishments.
You sound like you got some experience with that.
Yeah, in at 11, out on my 18th birthday.
That's where you want Cecil to go?
Look, I'm not here to take care of a messed up kid.
I'm here to find my brother.
A kid like that's calling me sir, calling you ma'am,
let's just pack him a pink lunchbox and see if he makes it.
He'll be okay.
That kid's a survivor.
Is that what you were, you were a survivor?
I am now.
You could give that boy a good
life for a couple days, it ain't gonna kill you.
No, absolutely not.
No. - Why?
Because I'm unfit.
I disagree.
Well I am, I can't even take care of a dog.
Took off after one day.
But you brought that little boy out of the woods
and into your home.
And the fact of that alone qualifies
you to lead a Sunday sermon in this town.
Why don't you just let me straighten out who his kin are?
That boy must've come from someplace.
Be good little man, I'll be back soon.
You're havin' a cigarette?
Yes, I'm having a cigarette.
You like to smoke?
Yup.
Don't it burn when the smoke goes down inside of you?
Cecil, can I just get a minute, please?
You not hungry?
Not really feeling good.
Maybe you got a ghost.
You ought to burn your daddy's dress shirts.
And if that don't work,
I'll catch you a rattler and give you a bit to eat.
I don't believe in ghosts.
Hey Paul, it's Mike.
Need to file a report on a missing person,
a young male, Caucasian, probably nine or 10 years old.
He's been out in the woods by himself for a while.
He belongs to somebody.
But he's good manners,
somebody straightened him out more than once.
What do you say, Miss Fran?
Oh, hey Mike.
How are you?
Y'all seen a boy about nine or 10 years old
come through here, blonde haired kid?
Nah. - No.
I got a picture of him.
Oh thank you, man. - Yes, sir.
I thought I had a picture of him.
Where'd you go, little man?
Cecil?
What are you doin'?
Do you believe in monsters coming out of the forest?
No.
Go back to bed, please.
Thanks for giving me a ride.
Well now, who's this fine young gentleman?
This is Cecil.
Cecil what?
Who's your people?
He doesn't like to answer questions about himself.
Come on, get in.
I tell you to get a dog, you get an overgrown rodent.
I tell you to get a man, you get a 60 pounder.
This is it?
If you want some guy in a white coat
and a fancy diploma, that's 30 miles up the road.
Hello. - Hello.
You're a Sreaves.
How could you tell?
It's in the eyes.
Shame about your folks.
Drugs sure have a way of hollowin' people out.
So, what you got brewin'?
I got really bad headaches and I can't sleep
and I'm just really congested.
Well when did all this start up?
Um...
Night before last.
Eatin' anything unusual?
No.
Probably got a virus.
You got time to rest?
No, I've recently took in a kid, a little boy.
I don't even know how long I'm gonna have him for.
You took in a boy?
From where?
Found him in the woods.
And you started to get sick after you brought him home?
That night.
Who's your Lord and Creator?
Where'd you come from, boy?
What was that about?
Old stories around these parts.
Some lies, many true.
You've got to take that boy
back to the forest, Miss Sreaves.
Take him back and leave him where you found him.
What are you saying?
There are some sicknesses that medicine just cannot cure.
What's the diagnosis?
He said it's a virus.
Have you ever heard the word tatterdemalion?
What is it?
Well now, that's an old one.
Tatterdemalion.
Story goes that little boy was banished to the trees.
Can't come out unless somebody carries him across.
He'll make you love him.
The whole time stealin' your health, life, years ahead.
They say that's how he stays young forever.
And you believe that?
This place is built on stories.
Some of 'em true, most of 'em horseshit.
Folk tales come from necessity.
Kids like me was gettin' lost in the woods,
so they made up the Howler.
You know, they tell kids stories
to scare 'em into stayin' out of trouble.
It works, too.
Yeah, but why would anybody
need a story about a tatterdemalion?
Now Cecil, I know you ain't gonna sit at my table
without washing that dog off your hands.
No, ma'am.
Can somebody please help me with this?
I'll go help him.
Hello?
Can you just stop, please?
Hey, you want to play a game with me?
What is it?
It's a game where you have to think of somebody
and I have to ask you questions
till I can figure out who it is.
Yes or no questions.
Okay.
All right.
So you need to think of somebody really special to you.
Got one. - Okay.
Is it a boy?
It's a girl?
Is it a little girl?
It's a woman?
Is it your mom?
What's her name?
You said it had to be yes or no questions.
What's her name, Cecil?
Where is she?
Hey, come back here!
You can't lie to me, okay?
Hey, that's not how it works.
All right, tell me where your mom is.
Where is she, where's your mom?
Tell me, where is she?
Mama died when the baby came out!
They both died!
What was she like?
She used to sing old songs to me.
Why were you living in the woods, Cecil?
Can't tell you. - Why not?
Because you don't believe in monsters.
No, I don't.
I do.
Know them to be a fact.
Where you goin'?
I'm goin' out.
How long are you gonna be gone?
Not even an hour.
Why can't I go?
Because it's not kid stuff, all right?
I don't want you to go.
Well, I'm goin'.
So you just need to stay inside
and don't let anyone in the house, okay?
Just stay inside and lock the door.
Thank you so much, thank you.
Another drink, please.
Woo!
Yeah!
Thank you, sorry.
Hey beautiful.
Hello.
How 'bout you come outside with me?
No thanks, I'm good here.
All right.
Get up, get up!
Get off of me! - Get up!
- Get off of me! - Get the fuck up!
- Fuck off me! - This family shit, all right?
- You piece of shit! - Get out here.
Where you think you're goin', huh?
Where you think you're goin'?
Whatcha gonna do? - Get off!
You're fuckin' crazy.
Nothing's changed, has it, Janella?
Billy?
What are you doing?
You come around here, askin' about me like
there's some kind of family reunion planned?
- Why are you so angry? - After what you did?
What did I do?
You ripped our family apart!
No, I did not, I was a kid.
No, you were a fuckin' rat.
You quit askin' after me.
I don't want nothin' to do with you.
I don't want you in my life.
Go back to wherever the fuck you come from.
Hey!
Step off.
This is not your quarrel.
Anytime an asshole hits a woman, that's my quarrel.
Now step off.
A woman?
No, no, no, this is a soldier.
Can't you tell?
I don't want nothin' to do with you.
And fuck you!
I'll be seein' you around, it's a small town.
No! - All right.
Easy, now.
Oh, okay.
Okay, get it all out.
I expected him to be fucked up.
Why the fuck's he mad at me?
He should be mad at our fucking dad.
A kid like that's always angry at the wrong person.
Stop, stop.
You want me to stick around?
No.
Could've handled it myself.
Why do you drink booze?
'Cause it helps me feel better.
Do you feel better today?
You shouldn't do it no more.
Ah!
We should get you a toy.
What for?
For playing, having fun.
What did you play with when you were a kid?
I loved bubbles.
I liked to see how far they could get before they pop.
The best ones...
When they just kept goin' and goin' till
you couldn't see 'em anymore.
Like maybe they were still goin' somewhere.
- Bubbles sound good. - All right.
Come on!
Cecil!
Stop!
God.
Stop.
I want to stay with you forever.
You can't.
Why not?
'Cause you deserve better.
I found some clothes that might fit him a little better.
You feelin' okay?
You found his family yet?
I went out in the woods the other day
and I found this fort and I'm pretty sure
that he's been stayin' in that thing.
Did you find anything in it?
Just found this magazine, and it was like real ancient,
but I made out this address on the front, Old Hickock Road.
Have you ever heard of that?
I looked on some maps but I couldn't find it anywhere.
Mm, nothin'.
Well I mean, there's a thousand dirt paths in this county.
They all got different names
and then every generation, the name changes.
Hey Cecil, my boy.
Yes, sir?
Miss Sreaves being good to you?
Yes, sir. - Mm-hm.
Looks like she's feeding you.
Yes, sir.
You can stay and eat with us.
Mm.
That sounds like an invitation to dinner.
It'd be bad luck to pass that up.
Hey Cecil.
You didn't happen to delete that picture
I took of you off my phone the other day, did you?
Dangerous to have your image gathered away from your body.
So how can nobody know who this kid is?
Last summer I found a family living
in a refrigerator box in the deep, deep woods.
Three kids, two, three and six.
And none of 'em had ever seen electricity before.
So a kid like that, no birth certificate,
no school, no medical records,
just gotta dig deeper, you gotta look deeper.
Now he didn't come out of nowhere.
Like you heard that stuff he was sayin' about
gathering his image away from his body?
Yeah?
I mean, that's old time stuff.
Like I haven't heard anything like that since
I was a little kid and even then I didn't hear it
except for when I was way off in the hills somewhere.
The old timers preachin' the old ways.
What if he's dangerous?
I think you could take him.
I'm serious.
Like this, he talks about stuff, like weird stuff.
Like what?
Like he talks about monsters coming out of the woods.
Yeah, welcome to the Ozarks, Miss Sreaves.
No, I'm telling you this kid needs help.
Like real medical help,
like therapists and assessments and all that.
Is that what you needed?
Or did you just need somebody to love you?
You don't know a damn thing about me.
I'll give you two more days and then you take him.
What are you doing?
Cecil!
Cecil.
Why don't you want me?
There's more to it, Cecil.
You want to be all alone?
Sometimes it seems easier.
Why?
Because then I don't have to worry
about anybody else's feelings but my own.
I don't have to worry about anybody hurting me
and I don't have to worry about hurting anybody else.
I don't wanna go back.
Where is your home, Cecil?
I step in there and you'll never see me again.
Is that what you want?
I just want your family to know that you're okay.
I don't have any family anymore.
I told you that!
Hey, what are you doing?
Be careful!
You want me to go?
Tell me to go.
I just want you to tell me who you are.
I've already told you.
But tell me something else.
Tell me how old you are.
What does it matter how old I am?
Okay, come down, let's go back inside.
You want me to stay or go?
Come down.
Say it.
Just please stay.
Goodnight.
Hey, I didn't get a chance
to a proper introduction the other day.
Fig Karl.
You've been warned about me, have you, huh?
What is it with you and fire?
Keeps things pure.
This demon lives in this old snag.
Try to burn it out once a week.
Keeps him at bay.
The dead's been known to gather 'round Paw Paw trees.
For reasons unknown.
What do you know about the tatterdemalion?
If you've got that damn thing in your house,
you need to bring him back down here in the woods
where he belongs and be done with him tonight.
What do you know about it?
He's gonna ask you to take his hand
and gonna walk right into your life.
He can't come out of the woods alone.
He can't cross over.
A Tatterdemalion has got to abide by that.
He's gonna be sweet as pie,
and you're gonna start seein' changes.
What kind of changes?
Your pretty hair's gonna turn white.
It's just gonna get sick,
you just gonna keep gettin' sicker.
Then you just ain't gonna wake up.
Then he's gonna come back down here in the woods
and he'll be stronger with your life than he was before.
We got an old sayin' around here.
If it ain't your kin, don't let him in.
Have you actually seen a tatterdemalion?
I ain't never seen Australia either,
but that don't mean it ain't there.
You need a lil' proof?
Yeah.
You take these three nails,
you bang 'em into your front door
in the shape of a triangle.
And what's that prove?
A tatterdemalion's a demon, and a demon's a witch.
There ain't no witch can enter
when they see this in shape of a triangle.
No ghost, no demon.
Nothing on this earth.
You best be gettin' on back home now, it's gonna rain.
Flint rock up in the high country
were sweating on my way here.
You know how many times I've about busted my ass.
Dickens of a rain comin'.
Back to hell with you.
Who's that?
Hey, you go back inside right now.
Somebody should've burned this place down a long time ago.
What happened to you?
Their names are goin' on the list.
They'll know soon.
The old man had a gun.
Pistol, six shots, I want it.
You don't want a gun.
Don't tell me what I want.
You know, my...
My last day on active duty,
I spent holding the hand of this young kid
who's about your age from Arkansas.
Took a bullet right to the belly.
And I held his hand and he told me about this girl
that he was gonna marry when he got home.
And then he bled out on evac.
Why should I care about that?
'Cause ever since then the only thing that
I can think about is getting back here and seeing you.
You think you're just gonna
come back here and fix everything?
You're the one who broke it all to start with.
You wanna talk about bad memories?
We can be here all fuckin' day.
Nine years.
Nine years I bounced from one fuckin' dump to another.
I know.
No, you don't.
Get off of me.
Billy.
You're my brother, please...
Don't you touch me.
Billy, stop... - Get off of me!
Don't touch her!
And what, big man?
What are you gonna do?
I'll hurt you.
Is he yours?
I found him in the woods, he didn't have a family.
Why do you care about this waste of skin and bones, boy?
I need her.
You shouldn't have come back here.
Maybe not.
You know, it could've been a lot worse.
I'm surprised it wasn't.
He saw Cecil and then ran off.
Now you listen to me.
You need to stop worrying about your brother.
You won't break through.
The boy you knew is gone.
Why...
Why didn't you...
Why didn't you keep us?
You were mama's best friend.
You could've kept us together.
Do you think you was the only one with problems?
My Red, he had a real taste for drinkin' and beatin' on me.
He would've been real nasty to kids.
Besides, I...
I didn't wanna sacrifice my own life
for somebody else's kids.
What the hell is that?
What is this?
Hey, what is this?
Why'd you put this on me?
What the hell is this?
It's a madstone.
Was this supposed to hurt me, Cecil?
Give it back, it's special.
Give it back, it's special!
No!
Hey.
Did you see how far that one went?
Cecil, I need you to do something for me.
Yes, ma'am.
I want you to go inside and get me a glass of water.
You thirsty?
Real bad.
Everything okay?
What's wrong? Who put those nails there?
Who did it?
I did.
Why'd you put the goddamn nails in the door?
Because I need to know what you are!
You think that I can't see that my hair's goin' gray?
You think that I don't see that I'm sick?
What are you?
You shouldn't have done that.
So that's what you think's goin' on?
Yeah.
I got an uncle that uh,
he wears his clothes inside out
anytime he goes to a funeral.
You know, if he drops a dish rag on the floor,
he won't open the door for a week.
And he swears that he's laid hundreds of ghosts
to their graves with a stone because they
were spellin' him from the great, black beyond...
Okay, so what's your point?
He thinks that the tatterdemalion's a bunch
of backwoods hooey.
Really?
He was using this.
Pushing it onto my face while I was asleep.
I think it's part of how he does his thing.
You don't see many of these.
So you know what that is?
You find 'em sometimes
in a deer's stomach lining, but they're rare.
Mountain people say that they have healing powers.
It's okay.
You got scared and you tried to find another way out of it.
No, you should never have left him here with me.
I thought I saw a connection between you and that boy.
Well I guess you were wrong.
No, I wasn't wrong.
You come in here out of nowhere,
you're all alone, and that boy walks out of the woods
with very similar circumstances to you.
As if you two were always just
spinnin' towards each other, bonded.
Just take him away.
If you still care, I heard your brother's staying
down at the end of County Road.
Hi.
I'm looking for my brother.
Who's your brother?
His name's Billy Sreaves.
You know him?
He ain't here.
Where is he?
Billy don't check in with me.
Well I just wanna say goodbye to him.
Why?
Because he's my brother, I told you.
He ain't your brother.
He ain't anybody's anything.
He's Billy.
You live here with him?
This shithole look like anybody lives in it?
Just lay my head here when I need to.
Me, and the others.
How old are you?
Hey.
Stays out by the river when it's hot like this.
He'll be by himself.
Thank you.
You shouldn't be here right now.
Just came to say goodbye.
You better cut that out, I'm...
I sleep here!
Do you remember anything about what happened that night?
We were drivin', remember?
We were in the middle of some dirt road.
Middle of nowhere.
And they'd been to their dealers.
And the car broke down.
Daddy said that you know, I'm gonna go get help.
"Y'all stay in here, don't you move."
"Don't you leave this care, you hear me?"
We waited there, and waited there,
and waited there and he never came back.
And then mom passed out.
I decided to go get help.
You were always so eager to please him,
that you did whatever he said.
But I tried.
I tried to get you to come with me.
And you wouldn't, you didn't budge.
I don't remember it that way.
I remember you left me.
I didn't mean to leave you.
I'm sorry.
You know, she woke up after you left
and she just started smokin' and smokin'.
Then she started shakin' and throwin' up.
Begging me to help her.
So I held her real tight, mm-hm.
And she just kept shakin'.
And I was so small, she shook the both of us.
And then she didn't shake no more.
I actually thought for a lot of years
I was gonna run away and I was gonna find you
and we were gonna find our happiness together.
Yeah, whatever that is.
You know what?
I want you to...
Have this key.
Take the house, 'cause I don't want it.
What about that boy?
I know what he was.
And what was he?
Don't act like you don't know.
I saw the way you ran off right when you saw him.
No, I didn't run from him.
I ran from what he stirred up inside of me.
That kid's a tatterdemalion.
No, that's a bullshit story made up so folks
can justify not taking care of kids like me.
I'm sick.
You of all people should know better than that.
I've been sick since the day he got here.
And my hair's turnin' white.
White.
I used to visit our daddy now and then.
You know, he hated this time of year.
When these Paw Paw's are bloomin'.
Terrible allergic.
Said it felt like they were stealin' his breath.
Four walls and a roof ain't gonna fix what's wrong with me.
Somebody should take that place and make a home of it.
Start new.
Billy, you don't have to stay here.
Well you can move on and go save somebody worth savin'.
Get outta here!
I'm not gonna ask you again, you better go now!
Go!
Get it, get it, get it!
Get it, get it, get it, get it, get it!
Stop it!
You know what they say about you?
You go stay in that room.
Hello.
Excuse me, sir.
Afternoon. - Good afternoon.
The lady inside told me that you've lived around
these parts for a real long time
and that you remember different things?
Less and less everyday.
Have you ever heard of Old Hickock Road?
Old Hickock Road.
I haven't heard it called that in a long time.
Do you know where it is?
I reckon so.
But it won't be easy to get there.
You gotta cross the river.
Hello?
103 dispatch, I have a 50 to 55 year old male
that has overdosed on his own batch.
If you would please send EMS
to our location, Old Hickock Road.
Over.
It's Cecil Fillmont.
Fillmont?
So you found out who his family is?
I made a horrible mistake.
Can we go get him, please?
Please?
Hey, we came to get Cecil.
On who's authority?
Right there.
I spoke to the juvenile judge about an hour ago.
Made a strong recommendation that
he be released in her custody.
Hey.
Y'all know where Cecil is?
I still want my stipend, he was here two nights.
Cecil?
Cecil.
Cecil, I'm so sorry.
I know you were trying to help me with this.
Cecil.
Cecil Fillmont.
How'd you know that?
Because I found your house.
And I know what it was like for you there.
He was right to punish me.
No, he wasn't.
I talked about our family business.
He gave me one week outside.
It was wrong to do that.
He told me if I ran off,
if I talked about what he did to me,
the Howler'd come.
He'll come for me.
- I'm not gonna let him. - He'll come for me.
I'm not gonna let him.
When Daddy chained me up,
I heard him howling in the trees.
Nobody can stop him.
I'm gonna protect you from now on, okay?
Close your eyes.
You know what a killdeer is?
Mm-mm.
It's a tiny bird that makes its nest in precarious places.
Yet every year I get a few eggs out on the driveway,
I try to steer clear of 'em, but if you get too close,
the mama killdeer, she starts squawkin'
and then she'll lead you away from the babies,
all the while she's fakin' an injury to her wing
so that you'll choose her over her babies.
It's that ultimate sacrifice
for a baby she ain't even seen yet.
I think that everybody's got that instinct in 'em.
Just gotta wake it up.
I don't think these people like me.
Yes, they do.
You belong here.
I want to leave.
No, we don't have to leave.
Help!
Cecil?
Help! - Cecil!
Let me go!
Help, put me down!
I know what you are.
You go back there and you'll kill her.
Cecil!
Hey!
Where's Cecil?
You know what, I warned you about that thing.
You oughta be thanking me...
What did you do to him, you son of a bitch!
Tell you right now, you let that demon in your head.
Where is he?
Tell me!
Man, I'm helping you by not sayin'!
Tell me where he is right now
or I'm gonna blow your head off.
I dragged him back down in the woods where he belongs.
Where? Where?
East, that way.
Cecil!
Cecil?
Cecil, you have to come back with me now.
I'll never stop looking for you.
Cecil.
Are you okay?
You're safe now.
Are you hurt?
I can't go back with you, Fern.
Cecil.
Please.
My daddy told me I killed my mama.
They told me what I am at the foster home.
They all believed it.
It must be true.
It's not true.
Are you still sick?
No, I'm not sick anymore, okay?
Those were all just terrible stories.
You thought I was a demon.
Other people think I am.
My mama and daddy both died.
Cecil.
I think there's something really wrong with me.
I'll go away, far away from here.
Keep you safe.
It's the Howler, run, he only wants me!
What, what's wrong?
It's okay, it's okay, it's okay.
Shh, shh.
I see him.
I see him, I'm gonna get him, okay?
Stay there.
Fern!
Cecil.
It's okay, he's gone now.
Forever, okay?
You don't have to be scared anymore.
Okay?
It's okay, you're mine now.
I love you.
Come on, it's all over, okay?