Parallel (2024)

[bunniefuu]

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?

Vanessa?

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 d*ed 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, f*ck.

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 d*ed.

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?

-sh*t. 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 k*ll me.

So, I sh*t 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

sh**t 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 d*ed.

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 d*ed 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 sh*t.

-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 sh**t!

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 g*n now.

I'm not going to hurt you.

So close. Not her.

Not who?

You. My you.

My wife.

You really can

lower the g*n 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 sh*t,

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.

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 k*ll myself.

You... you tried

to commit su1c1de?

No. No.

Oh.

Yeah.

Let's get you home.

If I'm not back in an hour,

leave.

You need to take the g*n.

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?

Alex?

Room 1111?

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.

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 k*ll... I k*lled you.

I k*lled you.

You, you, you... you came home

and you had a b*llet wound

in your leg

and you were saying,

you were saying

that someone was trying

to k*ll you

and that you had to sh**t 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 sh**t me.

And she's the one

who sh*t 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 f*cking 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

f*cking 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.

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 g*n down.

-She's not my wife.

-Put it down.

I k*lled 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, okay?

It's gonna be alright.

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 sh*t, 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 k*ll '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.

k*ll or be k*lled.

It's that simple.

I'm not a m*rder*r.

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?