Katie? Are you listening to me?
Yeah, Mom... I'm listening.
Doesn't seem like it... Or are you enjoying the scenery?
Scenery.
Good! See... This trip WAS a good idea.
We could have afforded a cruise and you go for the riverboat two states over...
What?
I didn't even want to come on this ride...
The doctors thought it would be good for the both of us, not just you.
Whatever.
...Fine. I'm going back to our cabin to catch a nap before lunch. Come and wake me, okay?
...
Too many people...
I'm sorry?
Far to many people on here, right?
Ah... I guess so.
I'm talking from a structural standpoint. This thing was made for around 100 people. How many are on here? Double that and more.
Right...
Sorry. I've spent a lot of my time on one or another of these... You get to know something about it.
I guess so...
So... Figured out why you're really here?
Yep.
Really? That was quick. We've barely set off...
My Mom thinks I'm crazy.
...Ah.
Don't worry. I know I am, but I'm in control.
You don't look crazy to me...
Really?
Yeah. Momma was crazy. Beat me and my brothers with the end of a rifle until we managed to get away.
Post-natal depression?!
Yeah... Nate was the youngest, he really tipped her over, never knew who his Pappy was.
No... Forget it. I'm sorry to hear that.
No worries, Miss. It was a long time ago.
I am crazy...
No... How?
I had a freak-out at school. Tried jumping off of the roof.
Oh my. Terrible.
Hence the doctors and all the therapy, jus-
You're not crazy. We all have a "Freak-out" once in a while... All it takes is one bad day...
Did you ever have something like that?
Sure.
What happened?
I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours...
No way. I don't even know you!
Charlie. Charlie Parker.
...Katie.
Now we know each other. C'mon, miss. Let me hear it.
It's silly...
Nah... I promise not to tell a soul.
...It was everything around that time... But one thing sent me over the edge...
Boys?
...Kinda predictable, huh.
Sure, but what isn't in life, especially high school. ...Watch out!
*SWOOP! WOOSH!*
Aah! Crows!
Hettie! Mimi! Stop that! ...Sorry, they're my girls, they get jealous.
...
See? They're down on the rails. No harm, no foul.
Alright. It's odd... I've always liked crows. Just so ...neat, and smart. Jet black geniuses.
Don't let them know that, they're attention seekers at heart...
Heh.
So... Who was he?
Darrell... He was smart, funny, smoking hot... But he never noticed me...
Hm. And try as you might he never did?
That's the one... I was in love... Or obsessed... I never figured it out... I was failing all of my classes because I couldn't sleep... or think straight... Sometimes, I couldn't eat...
And all of that boiled over...
Yeah... It was silly... We were the only two in the hall... And he asked me who I was... I just... I couldn't take it...
...You ever stop and think maybe he just managed to see you, and wanted to know you better?
Yeah... But who'd want to know me?
I would. You're a smart kid.
Thanks, Charlie... So... What was your bad day?
Heh... I work on this boat...
Sorry! Am I stopping you from working?!
Nah. I have a good crew alongside me... Not like the old days... Bunch of deadbeats... One day, I just decided I didn't want to do it any more... Left the river...
And?
I couldn't make it... I ended up coming back here another way... I felt everything... Heartbreak, loneliness, shame... the whole fucking spectrum... My boss was good enough to let me back...
It's hard on the outside...
Sure is... But now I enjoy being the captain...
I'm glad... I'm not happy.
You gotta be! You're free from that world, at least for a while... No leaving anything behind.
Heh. A holiday purist.
Certainly. A working man too. Always have to get them to where they need to be.
I wish I had that simple life... But then I'd miss technology. I couldn't be Amish.
Heh... Where are you headed?
No idea... Mom says she thinks as far as the river goes...
No! You can't go that far...
I know! It's the ocean out there! She's so fucking dense...
You're pretty close to your stop now... earlier than schedule.
...Sometimes...
What?
Right now... I just want to jump in the river...
You can't.
I'll show you! ...Here! Stood on the rails looking down, it's a clear river...
It's only clear 'cause you can't see it for what it is yet...
What?
You wonder how it was so convenient, how your Momma got these tickets?
...No? I assumed Doctor Gatz got them for us...
Us? You're the crazy one, so you say...
Well someone had to come with me...
True. But not quite... Do you even remember coming down from the roof?
...No, that day was such a blur...
You got down the hard way. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Below us is the Lethe river... The river of concealment and forgetfulness.
...Charlie?
You're bound for the next town over, and it's river, Acheron, the river of pain... Reserved for suicides. The middle town of the seventh stop.
Your face...
Sorry... I'm really sorry... I was there till the boss came back for me... Too many people on these boats now... So much death...
No...
Your Momma... She's gone, fourth stop, while we were talking. Bound for the Colosseum... She couldn't take living without you, but loved the money more... Heart attack, too sudden...
...Is this?
Oh... Too soon. Your stop is here, Katie... There's your party... Ol' Bully Bicks... He'll treat you right as you can be... Being a tree...
Charlie?
I'm sorry... Too many people to deliver... I can't stop to say goodbye... Maybe I'll come back for you, one day... as the boss did for me... He did it for Demi, why couldn't I do it for...
...
Oh... Gone... into the bushes...
...
Too many people now... Just another face... Who was she again? I can never remember them all...
...
No matter... C'mon, girls... Off we go to the end of the river...
On to Pandemonium...
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