 Justin
is sitting in a pew, bent over with
his hands on his head. Iris approaches
and asks what's wrong. Justin hands
her the letter. She tells her brother
that they should speak with Norman,
but Justin responds, "Norman
was the messenger." Iris asks
Justin to consider returning to
First Methodist, but Justin says
that he won't ignore God's will.
JUSTIN:
"Did you know that there's
a boy here who's mother abandoned
him in a restroom of a five-and-dime?"
IRIS: "No, but--"
JUSTIN: "Or that Polly Anne's
father sold her to some men for
one dollar? No. No, of course
not. Who wants to dwell on things
like that? We never consider the
little ones."
Justin rants:
Children in textile mills, fingers
torn up by machinery. Boys in mines,
sifting coal, old men by nine. Boys
and girls selling themselves, some
kept in cages. Babies bought and
raised as livestock. Iris trembles,
terrified. Justin quotes Matthew
18:6, and screams, "They must
open their eyes! They must open
their mouths and drown!"
Apollonia's
trailer. The carnies are huddled
inside. Jonesy bursts in, letting
in a big gust of wind and dust.
He asks if they've seen Sofie. Nobody
has. Gecko inquires about getting
to shelter. "When Management
says so," replies Jonesy; Jolene
returns from upstairs and finds
a figurine lying smashed on the
floor. "Wind," Samson
lies. He observes that she and Osgood
spent forty-five minutes upstairs,
and advises her to cut out the pillow
talk to increase profit. He pulls
out a sawbuck and suggest they find
out how fast she can do Osgood again.
Insulted, Jolene refuses. Samson
offers ten bucks. Jolene tells Samson
to keep his money. She'll do Osgood
again for free; Back at the cabin,
Ben is slumped against the wall,
miserable.
BEN:
"I don't have to use it."
LODZ: "Don't be absurd. It's
a gift! I gave up my eyes for
a fraction of what you possess!
You must let me help you, boy.
Babylon will be upon us soon."
BEN: "I don't care."
LODZ: "The very land the
town stands on is poison. It swallows
men. It will swallow you too,
if you're not prepared. But I
can teach you. ..."
BEN: "I'll take my chances."
Sofie and
Harlan are on top of a blanket on
the floor, having sex. Harlan is
moaning and carried away. Sofie
isn't all that into it. Harlan rolls
off her and Sofie wipes tears from
her eyes. She dresses quietly. Outside,
the weather has returned to normal.
Then, Harlan seems pained by the
sudden realization of what they
did. "It's okay," mutters
Sofie. "It was the storm.";
Jolene opens her front door, to
let Samson out. He hands her money
"for the statue." Jolene
tells him, if he's ever in the area
again, not to come back; Jonesy
reassures Dora Mae that Apollonia
will be all right. Felix says she's
lucky. Things could have been worse;
Osgood escorts Samson back to the
carnival. Osgood's grinning like
a fool. He proclaims Jolene a "real
wingdinger." Samson tells him
to shut up.
 Samson's
trailer. A sign that says "Management--Keep
Out." Jonesy knocks on the
door, inquiring if Management is
all right. No answer from within.
Jonesy looks around to make sure
no one is watching, then removes
a set of keys from his pocket. He
unlocks the padlock hanging on the
trailer door and steps inside. Jonesy
looks around, asking "Everything
okay? You all right in there?"
He gathers his nerve and pulls back
Management's curtains. It's a shelf.
And it's empty; Ben pulls the truck
into the carnival grounds and gets
out. Lila approaches. She asks Lodz
if he got what he wanted from the
kid. Lodz answers in the affirmative
and tells Lila there is work to
be done; Sofie is inside her trailer.
Apollonia lies still, encrusted
with dust, mud around her mouth.
Sofie apologizes. She didn't know
he was married; Samson greets Jonesy,
asking if everything's fine. "Just
fine. Right as rain." Jonesy
stamps off angrily.
Mintern.
Iris walks into Justin's bedroom.
She puts her hand on his forehead
and he wakes up. She informs him
that there's been a fire at the
ministry; The blackened remains
of Chin's. Justin moves into what
was the front doorway of his ministry,
now an open space of black cinders.
JUSTIN:
"My God. Where are the children?"
Iris turns
her head in the direction of a tarp,
on the ground in front of the ministry.
Justin walks past the smoking debris.
He looks down and sees, sticking
out from under the tarp, the burnt
and bloody legs of one of the children.
He staggers to his knees, throws
his head back, and howls in anguish.
Around them, people stand around,
surveying the damage. Policemen
mill about. A photographer starts
documenting the wreckage. Justin
continues to rock with grief in
front of the tarp, in Iris's embrace.
The building continues to smolder....
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