Thanks for choosing Adventure Car Hop. Drive safe.
Carla, can you watch my cars?
Go. I'll cover you.
Charlie.
I thought you were driving your clients in Kennebunkport.
A driver in their lives and a passenger in my own?
That's no way to spend a week, Jo.
Or a life.
I want to drive you...
...our children...
down the coast, on vacation, across the country for the summer...
Spend the holidays at the cabin in Colorado.
Every day will feel like Christmas, waking up next to you.
I see you, Jo. All of you.
I see our future.
I see us hitting the road right now and never looking back.
All you have to do...
...is say yes.
Charlie.
I...
Get in my car.
- I thought you wanted this. - I did.
Well, what changed?
I won't give you my hand until I've seen it.
You will, I told you that.
You say that you want me to be their mother,
but I've never met them.
You say that you're saving them, you're giving them a home,
but I've never seen it.
You will see Christmasland, the minute you say yes.
You didn't up and decide to quit driving today.
You haven't been driving for months. Not in Kennebunkport this week...
I was buying you a ring.
Not in Providence last week,
or New York last month, or Virginia the month before that.
Don't.
I was there. And you weren't.
You promised me you'd never spy on me.
And you promised me that you would never lie.
So tell me the truth.
What are you doing to those poor children?
I'm never going to see Christmasland...
...because then I would know.
What you're doing. Who you really are.
I'm their father.
I provide them with joy people only dream about
and I'm offering you the same thing because I love you.
You love this car.
You drive it away and you only ever come back to refill its tank.
Or is it the other way around?
Open the doors.
You want to know what changed, Charlie?
You.
You did.
Come on!
Damn it!
Jolene...
How would you describe your pain since you arrived at the hospital,
on a scale of one to ten?
- Ten. - Any blurred vision or migraines?
Just the occasional headache.
Have you experienced any hallucinations, auditory or visual?
No.
Have you suffered panic attacks or depression in the past 30 days?
None of those, no.
Have you had any suicidal thoughts or desires in the past year?
No.
Can you blink for me, Miss McQueen?
There's fluid that's built up behind your retina
and we see that a lot in cases of central serous retinopathy,
but I'd expect that you'd be experiencing
quite a bit more pain than you're feeling.
McQueens are tough.
Victoria,
I was hoping to start by having you answer a question for me.
Who is Charlie Manx?
Like I told the other doctors, I'm seeing things much more clearly now.
I believe the ophthalmologist came to a different conclusion, but...
I feel a lot better, thanks to her and everyone else who checked me out.
And school started up and I have a portfolio I have to finish.
There's really no need to waste anyone's time.
Why don't you want to tell me who he is?
I already told the police everything I know.
You know, sometimes when the pain gets to be too much,
people create a fictional reality to escape it.
So, who is Charlie Manx?
The man who put Maggie in hospital.
I should be holding her hand as she goes into surgery.
She has a team of doctors to help her and so do you.
Why is it so hard for you to accept help?
I don't...
Are you more accustomed to caring for yourself?
I'm not the one hurting here. Maggie is and she needs me.
I'm authorized under Massachusetts state law
to extend your stay by up to 90 days.
Those are the terms of your conditional voluntary commitment.
- That's what you signed up for. - No, I didn't sign up for this.
Did someone force you to commit yourself?
Oh, my God, no. That's not what I meant. Jesus.
But you did feel pressured into it? Is that right?
By who?
Your father?
I'm 18.
I signed it.
OK.
I think that's enough for now. Why don't you go on and...
Yeah.
I'm sorry, should I come back?
There. I'll only be a few more seconds.
The reception is crap in here, but... you hit the roommate jackpot, kid.
Lady hasn't said boo in ages.
Charlie...
Manx.
How do you know his name?
Did my friend Maggie come to see you?
Maggie, a girl with purple hair and Scrabble tile earrings?
Did Charlie Manx put you in here?
Are you a strong creative?
Do you know about Christmasland?
Can you get me there?
It's that time, ladies.
Name and date of birth?
Vic McQueen. Victoria.
May 21st, 1994.
No. The doctor didn't mention any medication to me.
He gave you 2mg of lorazepam,
and 25mg of Imitrex.
Bottoms up.
Failure to comply can extend your stay here.
Jolene knows the drill. She never gives me any problems.
Hello, Miss July.
It's Thursday. I've got your evening cocktail.
Come on, now, Miss July. You're usually up for a nightcap.
Is she a bad influence on you?
Come on, come on.
We can do this the other way.
Oh, no, she...
Did she take her pills?
Yeah, right after you left she took them.
Interfering with another patient's medication schedule
can extend your stay, too.
Well, they think I'm nuts, not an addict, so...
She took them. You're going to double-dose her.
She's a paranoid schizophrenic.
If she missed a dose it won't stay a secret long,
and you'll be the one sleeping next to her all night.
OK, then.
Lights out.
How did you sleep?
The meds you prescribed knocked me right out.
Your anxiety and pain have gone untreated up until now.
I think it should provide some welcome relief.
So I spoke to Miss Leigh's surgeon this morning.
They repaired her fractured kneecap and torn ACL,
along with her other injuries.
She's got a long road ahead but they expect a full recovery.
So you have no one to worry about.
And nowhere else you need to be.
Tell me about art school.
I don't know much about art.
I wish I did. However, even I can see you are talented.
Oh, my God...
Who is the man in the painting?
I just want to understand
why art school is so important to you.
Why? Because I'm good at it. And it's my way out of Haverhill.
Why do you need a way out of Haverhill?
It beats getting knocked up and married,
living my whole life in the same town,
working some crap job and then drinking myself to death.
Did your parents grow up in Haverhill?
They had you young. That can be hard on the parents.
And the child.
No harder than anyone else has it.
But art would make things easier?
It always made the world go quiet.
When things got noisy at home?
They fought. Yeah.
Did it ever get physical?
Nothing we talk about in here will ever be said outside this room.
OK?
Did it ever get physical?
Did your father hit your mother?
She was no saint either, trust me.
Was there something she could do to make her responsible
for your father's violence?
She was responsible for her. She slapped me around plenty.
Did your father ever hit you?
No. God, no, never.
Never.
It's not uncommon for a woman who has been victimized by her husband
to then victimize her children.
We're not victims.
We're not.
It hardly ever happened. Only after a bender.
Do you think alcohol excuses abuse?
It's a psych ward, Ma. You can't catch anything here.
People check into hospitals feeling great every day, Vicky,
and then they check out with pseudomonas.
OK, this should get you through.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Honestly, I don't know how you sleep in that room.
All that crap gave me the heebie jeebies.
Did Dad say anything?
No, it was just Tiffany there.
If he's not with her, where is he?
A bar, probably.
- That's his excuse? - Yeah.
You know you never need one to come home, right?
- Thanks for bringing this by, Ma. - Yep.
I can't be late.
The boss hates it when his girls are late.
You need something in there?
I need my skates or I can't get to work.
OK.
Get my skates and we can leave.
Ready? OK.
One, two, three...
Can this get us into Christmasland?
Hurry up or we'll be late.
How fast do you need to go?
Fast.
Appreciate the jailbreak, kid.
- Where are we? - The dark tunnels.
Stop here.
This is your knife?
Wasn't always.
Is, now.
I didn't know you could have more. I thought my dirt bike was it.
I thought the same after Charlie stole my skates,
left me bedridden, hopeless...
That chair found me and got me moving again,
until I was too weak to get it up to speed.
You travel along the Shorter Way?
My bridge. Yeah.
Did Maggie tell you that?
We're all magicians with different tricks.
What's yours?
It helps me find lost things.
Lost children?
It couldn't find my friend after Manx took her to Christmasland.
I was hoping maybe with your help you could get me inside.
There's something you should see.
Every one of them is in Christmasland.
I've been tracking Charlie since the '50s.
Not one of these kids has been seen since.
There's got to be a way in.
Sure, in the trunk of his Wraith.
You don't want to take that ride.
There isn't a strong creative in the entire world of thought
who has seen Christmasland besides Manx.
Not even me.
Your friend is gone. I'm sorry.
I know how hard that is to hear.
Is one of them yours?
Come with me.
You never told me what yours is.
Your magic trick.
Up for a ride?
Jolene.
Damn!
I know you're there, Jolene.
I can smell you, you dirty little whore.
Oh, my God.
Give it a minute.
That was... God... I've never felt so...
Free?
I bet you feel the same on your bridge, don't you?
Yeah.
I tell you, kid, it never gets old.
But Manx did.
Right in front of me, after you destroyed his car.
Just the engine.
Best I could do.
Should slow him down for a bit.
If you want to stop Charlie,
you have to destroy the Wraith.
OK.
Well, when we get back,
we can find it together.
Me, you, Maggie...
My fight's long over.
He won.
- Every time, he won. - No.
And I'm tired.
But I couldn't rest...
...until I knew someone could pick up the fight.
- Now I do. - No, I couldn't even save Haley.
Then you save the next one.
You're powerful enough, Vic.
You just met me. You haven't even seen what I can do.
He visited me.
I haven't seen him in years.
And there he was...
...standing in my room, asking me if I knew...
the Shorter Way.
I don't need to see what you can do.
I saw it in Charlie's eyes.
He fears you.
When you get back, tell the doctors what they need to hear.
They'll let you go with some pills, tell you they'll help.
They won't.
They'll dull your mind and your knife.
You need to keep at full strength
to take on Charlie.
You're not coming back?
I never had kids.
I always thought I would.
There was a time when I thought Charlie would be their father.
I knew him before.
He was handsome, charming,
sweet, even.
But every strong creative pays a price.
And Charlie paid the steepest price of all.
His soul.
Deep down, I knew it.
What he was.
I didn't want to see it, because...
I loved him.
That was my excuse.
Kill him.
For me...
...for them...
...for Haley...
...for the next one.
Or the cycle will go on forever.
I've thought about your question, Doctor, and why I didn't answer it.
My question about your father?
Your first question - who is Charlie Manx?
I knew the answer when you asked it,
but I wasn't ready to say it out loud, to face the reality.
But I am, now, I think.
The truth is, Charlie Manx isn't a real man.
He doesn't drive a real car or live in the real world.
He lives in Christmasland.
A figment of imagination, just like my bridge.
When I felt lost I would imagine it and it would appear...
...and when I went over,
I felt different than I'd ever felt in my life.
Like I... left reality behind, and had been transported to a world
where anything you can imagine is possible.
A world of thought.
Right. Like... when you paint?
That was his face in my print.
Not the face of the man I saw at the bus station,
but the face of the real Charlie Manx, a soulless monster.
I believed I was the only one with the power to stop him.
I believed I needed to find a way into Christmasland,
so I could kill Charlie Manx and save them all.
I wasn't going to stop until I did it, no matter the cost.
That was my reality.
But the truth is, all I've been trying to do is escape my reality.
Where Hayley is gone, and isn't coming back.
Where Maggie was run over and nearly died,
where I don't have the power to save anyone.
You know, watching...
...watching the people I love in pain got to be too much,
so I just...
I created a fictional reality to escape it.
Just like you said.
But if you knew what you said was fiction,
why didn't you tell the police the truth three days ago?
I didn't know it was the truth three days ago.
But I do now, thanks to you.
So if it's alright with you...
I'd like to go back to school and finish my portfolio.
You know...
I'll sign your release. Under two conditions.
You fill a prescription for lorazepam,
and you remove yourself from your current living situation.
I need to be certain I'm releasing you
into a safe environment.
You are.
I told you, he never hit me. It's safe.
But it's my job to look out for your emotional health
as well as physical, Miss McQueen.
I know where I can stay.
Can I go?
Victoria, listen to me.
There's nothing you can do to save your father, either.
Am I free to go?
OK, here we go. Slow.
Nice and take it easy. Here you go.
I got her.
You'll need to sign your discharge papers before you go.
- Careful, careful. - Sorry.
I wanted to be here but they wouldn't let me out.
I told you they would think you were crazy. You didn't listen.
Well, neither did you.
I ditched you for a reason. He said come alone.
- You should have listened. - Yeah, and let you have all the fun?
By the time I got to you, you were...
And I didn't... I didn't know if...
I'm still here.
Mostly.
We're going to kill him.
For what he did to you, to Daniel, to Haley... and I know how.
I was roomed with Jolene.
The old woman you met. Her inscape took us someplace.
All we have to do is destroy the Wraith. I saw it, Maggie.
- He got old... - Destroy the Wraith?
Look at me, Vic.
Six pins holding my knee together. It hurts just to breathe.
And that car ran me down on its own.
If you think you can destroy it you need to check yourself back in.
OK, ask your bag, then.
If you don't believe me, ask it whether we can kill Manx.
I'm not asking the bag another thing. The last answer nearly killed me.
Maggie...
I never should have even dragged you into this mess.
I came to you. Remember? And you came here for Daniel.
You cannot... You can't just give up on him now.
I saw him.
While I was on the ground, bleeding, Daniel was looking down at me.
His teeth were like razors.
And blood was pouring out of his mouth.
Next thing, I was waking up in recovery,
and it wasn't the anesthesia, it was the Wraith.
When that car hit me, it showed him to me,
and it wasn't a nightmare.
It was real.
And you've seen it, too.
With Haley.
- We can save them. - They are gone.
They're not coming back.
Manx will keep taking children unless someone tries to stop him.
Jolene tried.
Take your meds, finish your portfolio, go to college.
That's all you need to do.
But I need to go home.
See you around, Brat.