НАЗВАНИЕ: Nomadland (2020)
ГОД: 2020
СЦЕНАРИСТ: Chloé Zhao
ИСТОЧНИК: ScriptSlug (PDF) — https://www.scriptslug.com/script/nomadland-2020
URL: https://assets.scriptslug.com/live/pdf/scripts/nomadland-2020.pdf
СКАЧАНО: 2026-10-12 11:50
ПРИМЕЧАНИЕ: текст чужой, для личного изучения. Не распространять. Не исполнять.
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                           NOMADLAND



                           Written by


                           Chloé Zhao




               Based on the book by Jessica Bruder




January 12, 2019
Music. Title sequence:

Archival black and white photos of Empire -- One of America’s
longest running mine and company towns in the Black Rock
desert of Northern Nevada.

The factory. Workers. Meetings in board rooms. White piles of
gypsum against black mountains.

Families playing at the pool. People leaving church. Grand
opening of a grocery store. Faces smiling. Children playing
in the yard of a grammar school. A community flourishing.

Proud townsfolk posing outside the factory. Young lovers
getting married. A man mowing his lawn. A young woman
standing in front of her house, looking at the camera.

She is FERN.

Title sequence ends.

The sound of heavy wind...


EXT. EMPIRE - STORAGE - EVENING

The metal storage door rises, revealing Fern, now in her
sixties, and the snowy landscape behind her.

She digs through dusty boxes and trunks, scanning for lucky
items to bring with her. A stack of plates with autumn leaf
patterns and a rusty camping lamp make the cut.

She loads them into “Vanguard”, a white Ford cargo van, rusty
and muddy, parked in the snow.

Fern keeps searching when she pulls out a man’s blue work
coat that’s too big for her. She holds it to her face like an
old friend and breathes it in. Holding back tears.

Later, she pays storage fee to GAY, seventies, the storage
owner and an old-timer. They give each other a hug.

                    GAY
          You take care of yourself out
          there.


EXT. ROAD - NORTHERN NEVADA - EVENING

Vanguard travels across an endless, frostbitten landscape.
                                                            2.


EXT. ROAD SIDE - LATER

Fern, shivering, squats at the side of the icy road,
urinating, while looking for incoming cars.


INT. ROAD - NORTHERN NEVADA - DUSK

Highway stretches out under a dark and cloudy sky.

Fern drives, gently singing a Christmas carol.

                    FERN
              (Singing)
          What Child is this who, laid to
          rest/ On Mary's lap is sleeping?
          Whom Angels greet with anthems
          sweet/ While shepherds watch are
          keeping?


EXT. DESERT ROSE RV PARK - OFFICE - SAME NIGHT

Vanguard pulls up in front of a small building covered in
snow and icicles. A large sign reads ‘DESERT ROSE’.


INT. DESERT ROSE RV PARK - OFFICE - NIGHT

PATTY, a chatty manager in her sixties, looks for Fern’s
reservation. A little nervous, Fern waits.

                    PATTY
          No. I don’t see your reservation.

                    FERN
          Are you sure? I’m on the Amazon
          CamperForce list.

                    PATTY
          Ooooh, Amazon. I see. Hold on.

                       FERN
          Try McD...

                    PATTY
          There you are!

Fern is relived. It’s been a long night.
                                                            3.


EXT. DESERT ROSE RV PARK - NIGHT

Vanguard pulls into a spot. The engine rattles to a
standstill and the lights turn off.


INT. VANGUARD - MOMENTS LATER

Fern closes the curtain dividing the drivers seat and the
back of the van. She turns on a small desk lamp and reveals
the warm and cozy DIY interior -- her home on wheels.

A pot of mac and cheese bubbles on a portable stove. Fern
adds a can of stewed tomato and seasons it.

She pours it onto the “autumn leaf” plate she brought from
storage and eats, staring blankly out of the dark window.

She does dishes with a spray bottle and carefully wipes every
one clean and stores them away.

She uses her five gallon bucket and cat litter for a pee.

She goes to bed. A red Santa light glows beside her.


EXT.   AMAZON WAREHOUSE - NEXT MORNING

The giant Amazon sign looms above.

Fern approaches briskly in the morning chill.


INT. AMAZON WAREHOUSE - SECURITY LINE - MORNING

Fern lines up with SEASONAL WORKERS. Faces of all types, some
tired and others excited.

Fern sees a someone she knows - AL, a man in his fifties. She
nods and he nods back.

                     AL
           Seems like more every year.


INT. AMAZON WAREHOUSE - DAY

The sound in the massive factory is bone rattling.

Futuristic looking machineries and the shelves stretching all
the way to the towering ceiling.

Fern marches down long corridors, pushing a “stower” cart.
                                                            4.


She talks to herself as she matches items and packs boxes.

She works with LINDA MAY, sixty-five with long gray hair,
wearing an orange blazer that reads “Ambassador, Ask Me.”

Linda is warm and helpful. The kind of friend you want to
have on the road.


EXT. AMAZON WAREHOUSE - BACK - DAY

The towering warehouse stands alone in the open desert. Large
delivery trucks are lined up against the building.

Fern lights a cigarette and hands Linda May one.

                     LINDA MAY
          I quit.

                     FERN
          What?!

                    LINDA MAY
          I know. Forty-three years. Wasn’t
          as hard as I thought.

                    FERN
          I salute you, Linda May.

                    LINDA MAY
          Well, I had to. Doctor said I have
          macular degeneration in my right
          eye.

                     FERN
          Oh shit.

                    LINDA MAY
          Could’ve been worse.

                    FERN
          What can you do?

                    LINDA MAY
          Eat healthier, exercise. Definitely
          no smoking.

Fern quickly puts her cigarette out.

                    LINDA MAY (CONT'D)
          Oh, I was enjoying that.
                                                            5.


                     FERN
               (fans the air)
           No, no.

                     LINDA MAY
           I think I found land, Fern.

                     FERN
           Really?! Where?

                     LINDA MAY
           Douglas, Arizona. Right on the
           Mexico border. It’s four acres in
           the desert. And I just put down the
           deposit.

                     FERN
           Nice!

                     LINDA MAY
           Yeah. Real nice. Well, I haven’t
           actually seen the land in person
           but the pictures on Craigslist
           looked real nice.

                      FERN
               (worried)
           Linda May!

                     LINDA MAY
           Fern! I’m taking a leap of faith!
           It’s now or never!

                     FERN
               (thinking)
           Valid point. The other day I looked
           in the mirror and I saw my mother.

                     LINDA MAY
               (laughs)
           Exactly. I look into the mirror and
           I see my grandmother.


EXT.   DESERT ROSE RV PARK - LATER

Fern walks down a muddy path carrying oversized laundry.


INT. DESERT ROSE RV PARK - LAUNDRY - SAME EVENING

Fern and Linda May share a box of detergent.

They get competitive doing a jigsaw puzzle while waiting.
                                                         6.


I/E. DESERT ROSE RV PARK - VANGUARD - SAME EVENING

Fern shows off Vanguard to Linda May who is folding laundry.

                    FERN
          I put these drawers under the bed.
          They pull out from both sides. Now
          I can get my stuff from inside and
          outside.

                    LINDA MAY
          Very smart. Where’s your bucket?
          And the carbon detector? Mr. Buddy
          heater?

                    FERN
          Here. Here. And my bucket and cat
          litter is right here. I made a
          curtain to cover it.

                    LINDA MAY
          I should do that. I have to hurry
          and hide my bucket whenever people
          are visiting.

                    FERN
          Oh, look. This is my husband’s old
          fishing box. I made a little
          stopper and when it opens...
              (opens it)
          It becomes a surface to work on.

                    LINDA MAY
          Counter space is everything.

                    FERN
              (takes out the dishes)
          And I got my nice dishes that my
          Dad gave me. He collected these
          from yard sales and when I
          graduated from high school he gave
          me the whole set.

                       LINDA MAY
          Beautiful.

                    FERN
          It’s called “autumn leaf”. I don’t
          have that many pieces left though.

                    LINDA MAY
          Have you named your van yet?
                                                            7.


                       FERN
          Vanguard.

                    LINDA MAY
          Ooooh. That’s strong.

                       FERN
          She is.


INT. AMAZON WAREHOUSE - DAYS LATER

Fern works, taking her job so seriously it’s almost comical.


EXT. FERNLEY - EVENING

Snow is falling. Time has passed. Fern drives.


INT. SPORTS STORE - LATER

Christmas music plays through the store speakers. Fern is
passed out on a weightlifting bench. Her foot slips. She
almost falls and wakes up.

                       VOICE
          Fern! Hi!

Fern quickly gets up and sees BRANDY, mid-forties, walks over
with a full shopping cart. Her young daughters AUDREY and
MACKENZIE trail behind her.

                    FERN
          Hi... Hi Brandy.

                    BRANDY
          Hey girls. It’s Mrs. M!

                    DAUGHTERS
          Hi, Mrs. M.

Fern and Brandy hug.

                    BRANDY
          How have you been?

                    FERN
          Good. Real good.

                    BRANDY
          You’re working at Amazon again?
                                                       8.


                     FERN
          Yep.

                    BRANDY
          How is it? You like it?

                    FERN
          Yes. Great money.

                    BRANDY
          You still doing the... van thing?

                    FERN
          Yes. I’m parked at Desert Rose RV
          Park.

                    BRANDY
          We just drove by there today.
          Didn’t we, girls -- ?

                    FERN
          How’s your mom?

                    BRANDY
          Good. Real good. She misses you.
          You know...
              (leans in, quietly)
          You can stay with us. I mean at
          least while you’re working around
          here. We’re worried about you.

                     FERN
          Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.
          Thank you.

                    BRANDY
          OK... You let us know if you change
          your mind, yeah?

                    FERN
          I promise. Merry Christmas.

                    BRANDY
          Merry Christmas, Fern. Take care!

They hug again. Brandy walks away with Audrey, while
Mackenzie lingers.

                    MACKENZIE
          Hey, Mrs. M... we went to Burning
          Man for field trip this year.

                     FERN
          Finally!
                                                   9.


                    MACKENZIE
          Right?! Well, we went before it
          started. They gave us ice cream and
          we got to write our names and a
          message on a piece of wood, and
          they put the wood on top of that
          big temple thing they built and
          then they burn it on the last day.

                    FERN
          Nice. What did you write on yours?

                    MACKENZIE
          I wrote that I wish we still lived
          in Empire and all my friends that
          moved away are all moving back.

Fern smiles at Mackenzie’s innocent hopefulness.

                    FERN
          You like your new school?

                     MACKENZIE
          It’s OK.

                    FERN
          I bet you’re still the smartest
          kid.

                    MACKENZIE
          Yeh, kinda.

                    FERN
          You remember anything we worked on
          when I tutored you?

                     MACKENZIE
          Uh, yes...
              (thinking hard)
          Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and
          tomorrow/ And all our yesterdays
          have lighted fools/ The way to
          dusty death/ Out, out, brief
          candle!

Moved, Fern shakes Mackenzie’s hand.

                    FERN
          That’s really good. Thank you.

                     MACKENZIE
          My mom said you’re homeless. Is
          that true?
                                                         10.


Fern is caught off guard, but quickly recovers.

                    FERN
          No... I’m not homeless. I’m just...
          houseless. Not the same thing,
          right?

                    MACKENZIE
          No.

                    FERN
          It’s nice to see you, Mackenzie.

                    MACKENZIE
          Yeah. Ok. Bye, Mrs. M.

Fern watches Mackenzie walking back to her family. She
finally relaxes from the encounter.


EXT. DESERT ROSE RV PARK - SQUEEZE INN - NIGHT

Linda May’s home -- a small, pale-yellow, 10-foot-long
fiberglass trailer she calls the ‘Squeeze Inn’.

She has neatly decorated her “front yard” with Christmas
lights and plastic pink flamingos that glows in the dark.


INT. SQUEEZE INN - SAME

The space is cramped but homey -- Colorful fabrics. Pink and
blue donut shaped pillows. Red plastic flowers hanging from
the ceiling. Pictures and postcards on the fridge door.

Fern knits, listening intently as Linda recounts the events
that lead her to a life on the road.

                    LINDA MAY
          Before I moved into Squeeze Inn, I
          lived in a 30 FT trailer. This was
          2008. The money was running out and
          I was getting behind on paying for
          the trailer and the rent on the
          land and I still had no water or
          electricity... I couldn’t find
          work. I was... I’ve never been
          suicidal. But, I had some liquor in
          my trailer. I just thought, oh I
          will just drink all this booze,
          turn on the gas and pass out, and
          if I come to, I will light a
          cigarette and blow us all up.
                    (MORE)
                                                        11.

                    LINDA MAY (CONT'D)
          Then I looked at my two little
          trusting dogs, my cocker spaniel
          and little toy poodle and I just
          couldn’t do that to them and then I
          thought... well, I couldn’t do that
          to me either!

Fern shakes her head, eyes wide.

                    LINDA MAY (CONT'D)
          I was getting close to sixty-two at
          the time and I went online to look
          at my social security benefit. It
          said five hundred and fifty
          dollars. Fern, I worked my whole
          life. I worked since I was twelve
          years old. Raised two daughters.
          Now I’ve only got five hundred and
          fifty dollars a month to live with.
          I couldn’t believe it. That’s when
          I heard about Bob Wells and Cheap
          RV Living. On his website, he has
          two budgets laid out. One for 500 a
          month and one for 1000. I could
          live in an RV, travel and not have
          to work for the rest of my life.

Later, the small space is steamed up with Linda May’s
cooking. Fern sips on hot cider, watching a youtube video of
Bob Wells. He wears glasses and has long white hair.

                    BOB WELLS ON SCREEN
          The RTR is a bootcamp for beginner
          nomads. Once a year, we come
          together as a tribe --

                    FERN
              (looks up)
          Bob Wells looks just like Santa
          Claus.

                    LINDA MAY
          Everyone says that.

                    FERN
          What does RTR stand for?

                    LINDA MAY
          Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. It’s in
          Quartzsite, Arizona, in the desert
          on BLM land. I’ll draw you a map.
          You won’t have reception out there.
                                                           12.


                    FERN
          I don’t think I will go.

                    LINDA MAY
          You should! The “Big Tent” is
          happening in town at the same time.
          It’s a RV show, biggest in the
          country. You can sign up for jobs.

                    FERN
          What kind of jobs?

                    LINDA MAY
          Seasonal. All kinds. Camp hosting
          for National Parks, Adventureland,
          working concessions at spring
          training games in Texas, beet
          harvest in Nebraska.

                    FERN
          Beet harvest.

                     LINDA MAY
          Not the small red ones. The big
          white sugar beets. I’ve done it
          twice now.

                    FERN
          Um... No... I’m gonna stay around
          here. I know the area.

                    LINDA MAY
          I’ll draw you a map anyway.


INT. AMAZON WAREHOUSE - WEEKS LATER

Everyone works double-speed during holiday shopping season.

The warehouse begins to look bigger and the workers smaller.


EXT. AMAZON WAREHOUSE - NIGHT A WEEK LATER

Fern smokes alone. DOUG, a coworker, walks by shivering.

                    DOUG
          Happy holidays Fern. See you next
          year.

                    FERN
          You too, Doug.
                                                        13.


INT. DESERT ROSE RV PARK - VANGUARD - NEW YEAR EVE

The blue flame of a Mr. Buddy heater glows in the corner. The
sound of fireworks in the distance.

Fern makes a treat for herself -- bread with hot milk and
sugar. She adjusts her Happy New Year headband.

2012, another year arrives.


EXT. DESERT ROSE RV PARK - VANGUARD - MORNING A WEEK LATER

Fern cleans thick snow off of Vanguard when she sees a DOG
sniffing near her things.


INT. OFFICE - MOMENTS LATER

                    PATTY
          Carl had a stroke!

                    FERN
          Is he dead?

                     PATTY
          No! No. But his daughter took him
          back east.

                    FERN
          They didn’t take the dog?!

                    PATTY
          They didn’t take the dog. Do you
          want to keep him? His name is
          Scout.

                    FERN
          No. I can’t. I don’t have space.

                    PATTY
          He’s a good guard dog. You know...
          it’s not safe for a woman to be out
          there all alone.

                    FERN
          I’ve got nothing people want.

                     PATTY
          Oooh... I’m sorry.
              (beat)
          You’re checking out tomorrow right?
                                                        14.


                    FERN
          Yeah... I finished at Amazon last
          week. How much is it now?

                    PATTY
          Let’s see, Amazon paid for your
          parking spot until this Thursday.
          Afterwards, it’s thirty-three a
          night and nine-fifty a month.

                    FERN
          What about a discount if I don’t
          use the electrical and dump? I just
          got my van.

                    PATTY
          No sorry. We’re set up for RVs. If
          you live in a van, why not just go
          somewhere warmer?

                    FERN
          I’m trying to find a job around
          here.

                    PATTY
          Oh. Ok. Good luck with that.

                    FERN
          Aright, Patty. Bye.

                    PATTY
          So long, Fern. See you next year.

Fern steps out into the cold roar of traffic outside. Scout
still waits. Fern pets him awkwardly and goes on her way.


INT. FALLON - JOB CENTER - DAY

Fern sits at a desk opposite a JOB CENTER RECRUITER and puts
on her best smile.

                    FERN
          I went to college. I studied
          English and Theater. I have skills
          in the service industry. I was a
          waiter while I was in school. I
          also have secretarial skills. One
          summer I answered fan letters for
          ACDC. My husband worked at the USG
          Empire mine and I worked for their
          HR department for a few years, then
          I stopped working because of... an
          illness in the family.
                                                         15.


                    RECRUITER
          Didn’t the Empire mine shut down?

                    FERN
          Yeah. Last year. We all moved out.

Before the recruiter can say anything, Fern continues.

                    FERN (CONT'D)
          I also did a lot of part time jobs.
          I tutored, I cashiered at the
          Empire store and I also worked at
          the Black Rock Information Center
          in Gerlach during Burning Man every
          year. Have you been to Burning Man?

                    RECRUITER
          No, but my son goes every year --

                    FERN
          Ah! So you know, people have all
          kinds of questions. I took care of
          it all. I just worked at Amazon
          during the holidays. I’m also very
          handy and I have my own tools.

                    RECRUITER
          That’s... all very good. But you’re
          not specialized in anything?

A moment. Fern shakes her head.

                    RECRUITER (CONT'D)
          Have you looked into early
          retirement?

                    FERN
          I don’t want to retire! I... don’t
          think I can get by on the benefits
          anyway. I need work. I like work.

                    RECRUITER
          I understand but the jobs we have
          require special trainings, and
          frankly they won’t be available
          until the weather gets better.


EXT. FOX PEAK GAS STATION - NIGHT

Blizzard at night fall. Vanguard pulls into the gas station.
                                                           16.


EXT. FOX PEAK GAS STATION - VANGUARD - LATER

Fern is wearing two hats and gloves as she shakes off a rug.

RACHEL, the gas station manager, approaches.

                    RACHEL
          Hello, ma’am. I’m Rachel, I’m the
          manager here at Fox Peak --

                    FERN
          -- I asked and someone told me I
          can park here overnight.

                    RACHEL
          Yes, you’re fine. But you know the
          temperature’s gonna drop. It gets
          really cold at night. Real cold.

                    FERN
          I have a really good sleeping bag.

                    RACHEL
          I don’t want to overstep my
          boundaries here, but there is a
          church down by Seven-Eleven. A
          Baptist church and they do have
          open bed --

                    FERN
          I’m gonna be good! Thank you.


INT. FOX PEAK GAS STATION - VANGUARD - SAME NIGHT

Fern wraps herself in layers of blankets and sleeping bags.
She shivers hard, unable to get warm.


EXT. FOX PEAK GAS STATION - NEXT MORNING

The ground is frozen. Fern smokes by vanguard.

Lights start to turn on in the suburban homes beyond the
highway. A freight train rattles across.

It’s time to move on.


INT. VANGUARD ON HIGHWAY - DAWN

Headlights illuminate the dark road ahead.
                                                           17.


Fern drives. Ahead of her, the first light of dawn
illuminates a new landscape.


EXT. ROAD IN DESERT - MORNING

Vanguard heads south on the warm low desert drenched in sun.
It passes sleepy towns, corky billboards and hitchhikers.


EXT. QUARTZSITE, ARIZONA - EVENING

Fern drives through the bustling town of Quartzsite -- a
strange and wild oasis in the desert.

ELDERLY RETIREES, DREADLOCKED TEENS, MOTORCYCLE GANGS, ROCK
HUNTERS, TOURISTS. Cars and trucks towing all kinds of
shelters. Mostly dusty. Traffic crawls. No one is in a hurry.


I/E. VANGUARD ON UNPAVED ROAD IN THE DESERT - EVENING

Vanguard travels on a bumpy road towards the middle of
nowhere.

Fern looks at a hand-drawn map, unsure until she spots a
yellow DIY sign in the distance that reads ‘RTR’.

She goes further, finds another sign, and makes a sharp turn
deeper into the desert.


EXT. RTR - EVENING

Fern spots a cluster of 50 vehicles in the distance. Mostly
vans, old trailers, campers, some tents and a school bus.

She parks and climbs out of Vanguard, pulling on the
oversized blue work jacket she took out of the storage.

She finds Linda May in A GROUP OF NOMADS. Linda is so happy
to see Fern. She points at the MAN speaking in the front.

                    LINDA MAY
          That’s Bob Wells.

Bob has a deep voice and speaks with confidence.

                    BOB WELLS
          We not only accept the tyranny of
          the dollar. We embrace it. We
          gladly live by it our whole lives.
          I think of the analogy as like a
          work horse.
                    (MORE)
                                                        18.

                    BOB WELLS (CONT'D)
          The work horse that is willing to
          work itself to death and then be
          put out to pasture. That’s what
          happened to so many of us in 2008.
          If society is throwing us away and
          putting us out to pasture, we work
          horses have to gather together and
          take care of each other, and that
          is what this is all about.

Fern smiles. She’s in the right place.

                    BOB WELLS (CONT'D)
          The way I see it -- The Titanic is
          sinking and economic times are
          changing. My goal is to get the
          life boats out and get as many
          people into the lifeboats as I can.


EXT. RTR - DUSK

Steaming hot chili is served and shared with all from two
large pots, similar to the old-fashioned hobo stew.

Fern and Linda May wait eagerly in line.

Fern is offered some vegan stew by DAVE, sixties, kind eyes.

                    FERN
          What’s that?

                    DAVE
          This is vegan.

                    FERN
          No thanks, I’m a carnivore.

SWANKIE, seventies, wades forward, hungry and eager for her
serving. She is sharp and energetic, with one arm in a sling.

                    SWANKIE
          I’m a carnivore too!


EXT. RTR - CAMPFIRE - LATER THAT NIGHT

Logs glow on the fire. A small group of nomads gather and
share their stories of what lead to a life on the road.

BRYCE, sixties, a stern face, holds a small dog.
                                                          19.


                    BRYCE
          I’m a Vietnam vet and I got PTSD. I
          really can’t handle loud noises,
          big crowds, fireworks. Bob helped
          me. I got a pickup truck and
          camper. I can live out here. And be
          at peace.

DENI, fifties, wearing a red beanie and feather earrings.

                    DENI
          I had finally convinced my grandpa,
          my poppa and my momma that we
          should take off in an RV and see
          the country. But then both of them
          were told they had cancer and they
          died three weeks apart. I began
          watching Bob Wells videos on van
          dwelling. Then I bought my van
          Paint, because ‘she takes me where
          I ain’t’. And started my healing
          journey two years ago.

MERLE, sixties, blue eyes glistening in the fire light.

                     MERLE
          I worked for corporate America for
          twenty years. My friend Bill worked
          for the same company and he had
          liver failure. A week before he was
          about to retire, HR called him, in
          hospice, and said ‘let’s talk about
          your retirement!’ He died ten days
          later... having never taken that
          sailboat he bought out of his
          driveway. He missed out on
          everything. He told me before he
          died ‘just don’t waste any time,
          Merle. Don’t waste any time.’ So I
          retired as soon as I could. I
          didn’t want my sailboat to be in my
          driveway when I died.
              (beat)
          And it’s not. My sailboat is out
          here in the desert.


EXT. RTR - CAMP - DAWN

Saguaro cactus silhouetted against the Arizona morning sky.

Bob Wells and Fern sit on the edge of the camp talking.
                                                           20.


                    BOB WELLS
          I can’t imagine what you’re going
          through. The loss of your husband.
          The loss of your whole town and
          friends. That kind of loss is never
          easy.

Fern forces a smile.

                     BOB WELLS (CONT'D)
          I wish I had an easy answer for
          you, but I think you’ve come to the
          right place to find an answer. I
          think that connecting to nature and
          to a real true community and tribe
          will make a difference for you.
              (beat)
          I hope so.


EXT. RTR - CAMP - LATER

Fern takes a long walk through the camp. People going
through their morning routines, cleaning, washing, cooking, a
few gathered by the bonfire.

                    LINDA MAY
          Hey Fern! Come join us.

                    FERN
          No. I’m just gonna take a little
          walk. Be right back.

Fern watches as OLD-TIMERS help a NEWCOMER installing his
solar panels. A MAN is giving free hair cuts. A SMALL GROUP
is doing Tai-Chi together. A ROLL OF ATV speed by.


EXT. RTR - MAIN CAMP - MORNING

Bob Wells teaches in front of a crowd. Fern takes notes.

                    BOB WELLS
          A lot of folks ask me: ‘Bob, I want
          to live this lifestyle, but I work
          in the city. What do I do about the
          dreaded ‘knock on the door’. So I
          created what I call the Ten
          Commandments of Stealth Parking.

FOREST, a younger man, teaches an “All About Tires” seminar.
Fern is trying to plug a tire.
                                                         21.


                    FOREST
          That’s it. You gotta make the hole
          bigger.

The WOMEN in the audience laugh delightedly at accidental
innuendos. Fern blushes.

SUANNE, sixties, funny, enthusiastically teaches hygiene on
the road.

                    SUANNE
          I love this lifestyle. Freedom,
          beauty and connection with the
          earth. But there is a tradeoff --
          you gotta learn to take care of
          your own shit!

Everyone laughs. Suanne takes out a stack of three buckets.

                    SUANNA
              (displays a medium bucket)
          Most of us use a five-gallon
          bucket. Most of us are in vans or
          something larger. I’m in a Prius...
              (displays a small bucket)
          So I use a two-gallon bucket. And
          If you have bad knees...
              (displays a large bucket)
          You can use a seven-gallon bucket!
          Look, it’s like Goldilocks and the
          Three Bears!


EXT. RTR - CAMP - FREE PILE - NEXT MORNING

The ‘Free Pile’ -- a blue tarp cluttered with various items.
People take what they need and leave what they don’t.

Fern tries to decide between a blue or red can opener.

                    DAVE
              (leans over)
          You should take this one. That
          one’s kinda funky.

                    FERN
          These yours?

                    DAVE
          Yep. There’s a black hole in every
          van. One time I had seven of these
          can openers.

Fern considers Dave’s observations.
                                                        22.


                    FERN
          Doesn’t happen to me.

                      DAVE
          Really.

                    FERN
          I know exactly where everything is.

Fern hands Dave one of the pot holders she made.

                    FERN (CONT'D)
          Trade you for a pot holder. I make
          them.

                    DAVE
          Thanks. First year?

                      FERN
          Yep. You?

                    DAVE
          Been coming here every year. I’m
          what you would call a ‘FOB’ --
          Friend of Bob’s. You read his book?

                    FERN
          It’s my bible.
              (picks up a tray)
          Nice.

                    DAVE
              (pretends to reach for it)
          It is nice.

                    FERN
              (laughs)
          No, no. It’s coming home with me.
              (walks away)
          See ya.

                    DAVE
              (waves)
          See you around.


EXT. QUARTZSITE - RV SHOW - NEXT DAY

The largest RV show in the country. Hundreds of venders, RV
displays, seasonal job recruiters, food stalls.

Fern, Linda May and Swankie munch on corn dogs and sign up
for seasonal jobs. The ladies are having a great time.
                                                        23.


EXT. RV SHOW - LATER

They walk by a lot full of luxurious RVs, towering over them.

                    SWANKIE
          They are HUGE!

                    FERN
          Like dinosaurs.

                    LINDA MAY
          Do you know how much money is
          sitting right here?


INT. GIANT RV - SAME

Wide eyed, they enter a brightly-lit fancy RV. They look in
wonder at the leather sofas, marble kitchen counter, polished
wood cabinets and flat-screen TVs. Fern opens a cupboards.

                    FERN
          Washer and dryer!

                    LINDA MAY
          Now that’s real nice.


EXT. RTR - NIGHT

Fern signs her name on a small “van” made of cardboard boxes,
covered with signatures and messages.

The van is burned in a bonfire while the tribe of nomads
gather with food and drinks and sing their version of “On the
Road Again” -- “Burn the Van again”.

                    NOMADS
          In our vans again / Just can't wait
          to get in our vans again / The life
          we love is in the desert with our
          friends / And we can't wait to get
          in our vans again.

          In our vans again / Goin places
          most haven't been / Goin places we
          may never go again/ And we can't
          wait to get in our vans again.

          Rubber tramps again / Like a band
          of gypsies we go down to Quartzsite
          We'll see Bob again / We'll share
          our tales at campfires in the night
          time / Warm fire time
                    (MORE)
                                                        24.

                    NOMADS (CONT'D)

          Burn that van again / Just can't
          wait to burn up that van again / It
          marks the end of our stay here in
          Quartzsite town / But next year
          we'll be coming back again / And we
          can't wait to get in our vans again


INT. QUARTZSITE YACHT CLUB - SAME NIGHT

Colorful disco lights flicker across smiling faces. The
SINGER in a cowboy hat plays on a small stage in the corner.

Fern, Linda May, Swankie and more WOMEN line dance together.
Fern is drunk and having a great time.

Later. Dave approaches Fern when she is sitting alone. He
asks her to dance. She hesitates but accepts.

They dance to an old cowboy song.


EXT. RTR - NEXT MORNING

The RTR has come to an end. Fern walks passed a line of vans
and RVs pulling out of the campsite, like an old fashioned
wagon train, heading on to greener pastures.

She waves, sad to see them go.


EXT. DESERT - VANGUARD - MORNING A MONTH LATER

The desert is empty now. And it’s getting hot.

Vanguard is parked by a cluster of cactus. Music rattles from
a radio. Laundry drying on the line.

Fern finishes screwing a new panel to the back door,
impressed by her handy work.

She looks to the distance -- Swankie, the only other camper
in miles, is hoisting a pirate flag up by her van.


INT. LAUNDROMAT AND MALL - DAY

Fern reads while waiting for her laundry.

She inspects the bulletin board for local jobs. She tears off
a contact number.
                                                        25.


EXT.   QUARTZSITE - TROCK - DAYS LATER

Fern is at her new job, dragging a small cart in a sea of
gems and rocks, sorting, cleaning and stashing them.

NOODLE and ROXY, two travelers in their early twenties, are
trying to sell the jewelry they made.

                     FERN
           Hey Ron! Can you come here for a
           second? These guys have some really
           nice stuff.

RON, skin like an iguana, emerges from his office/RV.

                     FERN (CONT'D)
           This is Noodle, Roxy. This is Ron.

                      NOODLE
           Hey Ron. Just trying to make some
           gas money.

                     RON
           Not sure we need new products --

                     FERN
           Yeah, but these are much nicer than
           what we have going on here. Look at
           the details. Look, Ron, look!

Fern holds one up to her neck to demonstrate, clearly trying
to help the youngsters out.

Later, Fern takes a smoke break. She sees a colorfully-
painted school bus parked in the open desert. Noodle, Roxy
and a group of YOUNG TRAVELLERS gather around a smoldering
fire with their dogs. One of them is playing the banjo.

Fern tries not to stare and looks away.

                     VOICE
           Hello, ma’am.

Fern looks back and sees DEREK, one of the travelers in his
early twenties, approaches her. He is straight out of a Walt
Whitman novel, wearing suspenders and a misshapen cowboy hat.

                      DEREK
           Would you by chance have an extra
           cigarette?

                     FERN
           Yeah sure. Need a light?
                                                        26.


Fern lights Derek’s cigarette and notices that his hands and
forearms are covered in tattoos. The inked words on his
knuckles read “RAIL FARE”.

                    FERN (CONT'D)
              (offers him the lighter)
          Need it?

                    DEREK
          Why sure. Thank you. I’m Derek.

                    FERN
          Fern.

                    DEREK
          Fern. Well, it’s nice to meet you.
          I’ll be seeing you.

Derek walks away. Fern watches him go, concerned to see those
so young out here on the road.


EXT. DESERT - NEXT MORNING

Thunder. Darkening sky. A storm is approaching.

Vanguard’s front tire is flat. Frustrated, Fern kicks it.


EXT. SWANKIE’S VAN - LATER

The pirate flag is still up. Fern hesitates and knocks on the
door. No one answers at first, she knocks again.

                    SWANKIE
          What? I’m busy!

                    FERN
          Sorry! Swankie, it’s Fern! Can I
          talk to you?

Swankie opens the door, squinting. Eye mask on her forehead.

                    SWANKIE
          Didn’t you see the flag? That means
          do not disturb -- !

                    FERN
          -- I know. I need a ride into town.

                    SWANKIE
          Why?
                                                        27.


                    FERN
          I blew my tire.

                    SWANKIE
          You blew your tire.

                    FERN
          Yeah.

                    SWANKIE
          Go change it!

                    FERN
          I don’t have a spare.

                    SWANKIE
          You don’t have a spare.
              (stares)
          You’re out here in the boondocks
          and you don’t have a spare?!


EXT. QUARTZSITE - GARAGE - DAY

Vanguard is being worked on by a YOUNG MECHANIC. Swankie is
lecturing Fern who tries to listen patiently.

                    SWANKIE
          You need to take this lifestyle
          seriously. This is not a holiday.
          You can die out here. You know
          that? You can die out here. I don’t
          want you to die.

                    FERN
          I really appreciate it, Swankie.

                    SWANKIE
          You’re welcome. You can pay me
          back.

Fern raises her eyebrows.

                    SWANKIE (CONT'D)
          See, I’m going on an important trip
          and I got a lot of getting ready to
          do. I can’t get things done fast
          enough, with my arm. I can’t lift
          it, look, hey, look.
              (tries to lift her arm
               dramatically)
          Ouch! See? I can’t --
                                                           28.


                       FERN
          Ok! Yes --

                    SWANKIE
          Good. I really appreciate it.


EXT. SWANKIE'S VAN - DAY

Swankie shows Fern how to touch up the paint on her van.

                    SWANKIE
          I’m going to leave you the rest of
          my paint. You need to touch up your
          van. It’s looking kinda...ratty.

                    FERN
          What? No. She just needs a wash.

                    SWANKIE
          Oh, she needs more than a wash.
          Take my paint.

Fern looks over at Vanguard, offended.

Later, Fern is hard at work polishing the paint.

                    SWANKIE (O.S.) (CONT'D)
          Ha! Fern, come look at this!

Fern wipes her hand and peaks into the van.

Swankie sits at her small desk next to piles of VHS tapes.

                    SWANKIE (CONT'D)
          I’m digitizing home videos --
          Watch! Watch!

The old laptop display a video of her skydiving with her SON
from twenty years ago. The image is fuzzy but Fern can still
make out Swankie, laughing as she jumps out of the airplane.

                    SWANKIE (CONT'D)
          Off we go. To the blue yonder.
          That’s me and my son Doug. I
          surprised him for his 30th
          birthday. Look! He’s gonna grab me
          mid-air and kisses me!

On screen -- Two tiny figures falling through the sky
together. One gives the other a kiss.

                    SWANKIE (CONT'D)
          Ha! Did you see that!?
                                                           29.


Swankie laughs like a child watching it. Another moment
passes. She shrugs.

                    SWANKIE (CONT'D)
          I used to like him. That was before
          he turned so goddamn boring.


EXT. VANGUARD - NEXT MORNING

Fern brushes her teeth, gargles and spits into a dry bush.

She inspects Vanguard. It’s more rusty than she thought.

                    FERN
              (groans)
          Ratty...


INT. VANGUARD - LATER

Fern practices playing a flute. She is out of tune.

Suddenly she’s got a bad stomach and needs the toilet. She
pulls out her five gallon bucket and does a number two.

The smell is overwhelming. Fern scrambles for toilet paper
while trying to turn on the ceiling fan...

A KNOCK on the door.

                    SWANKIE (O.S.)
          Hello. It’s me!

                    FERN
          What?! I’m indisposed!


EXT. SWANKIE’S VAN - MOMENTS LATER

Swankie’s stuff, everything she owns, are laid out in front
of her van and trailer.

                    SWANKIE
          When did I buy all this crap?

                    FERN
              (organizing)
          Well, it adds up. I got mine in
          storage.

                    SWANKIE
          I hate storage. I put an ad on
          Quartzsite Chatters.
                    (MORE)
                                                   30.

                    SWANKIE (CONT'D)
          I hope people come. I hate to throw
          things away...

Fern picks up a green lawn chair and admires it.

                    FERN
          Why are you giving everything away?

                    SWANKIE
          You like that chair?

                       FERN
          I love it.

                    SWANKIE
          Take it. It’s yours. Check these
          out.

Swankie shows off her rock collections.

                    SWANKIE (CONT'D)
          These are coming with me.

                    FERN
          You found all these?

                    SWANKIE
          Oh yeah. My eyes are always on the
          ground wherever I went. This one is
          fossilized pinewood. This one is
          jasper from around here. This one,
          the red, white and blue, is...

Swankie suddenly has a dizzy spell.

                    FERN
          What’s wrong? Swankie?

Swankie can barely stand. Fern holds her up.

                    FERN (CONT'D)
          Come and sit down.

Swankie sits down and holds her head in pain.

                     SWANKIE
          My head hurts really bad and I’m
          nauseated.

                    FERN
          Here, drink.

Fern brings water and looks on with concern.
                                                        31.


INT. SWANKIE’S VAN - LATER

Swankie is sleeping on her platform bed.

Fern is digitizing the home videos for her. She watches fuzzy
footage of Swankie dressed as a carpenter’s wife working at
the Living History Museum.

Swankie wakes and pushes herself up.

                    FERN
          Are you alright?

She coughs violently and takes a handful of pills.

                       SWANKIE
          I guess...

                    FERN
              (carefully)
          Are you sure? Swankie?

Swankie hesitates.

                    FERN (CONT'D)
          What’s this trip about?

                    SWANKIE
          ...I have cancer.

Fern takes a deep breath.

                    SWANKIE (CONT'D)
          I had it a while back. They removed
          it from my lung. But it came back.
          Small cell carcinoma. They told me
          its spread to my brain and they’ve
          only given me seven or eight months
          to live. Something like that. I
          didn’t get the lucky gene. No, sir.

                    FERN
          I’m so sorry, Swankie.

                    SWANKIE
          I’m gonna take my trip. Gonna go
          back to Alaska. I’ve had some good
          memories there kayaking. I have
          this book called Final Exit by Dr.
          Kevorkian, some people call him
          ‘Doctor Death’. It shows you
          various ways to end your life if
          you need to. It’s kinda like a
          recipe.
                    (MORE)
                                                        32.

                     SWANKIE (CONT'D)
           I have it if I have to fall back on
           it for some ideas, but I’m not
           going to spend any more time
           indoors in a hospital. No thanks.

Swankie looks down. Lost in a thought for a moment.

Fern watches her, speechless.

                     SWANKIE (CONT'D)
           I’m gonna be seventy-five this year
           and I think I’ve had a pretty good
           life. I’ve seen some really neat
           things kayaking all over the
           country... A moose family on a
           river in Idaho. Big white pelicans
           landing just six feet over my kayak
           on a lake in Colorado. Or... coming
           round a bend of a cliff and finding
           hundreds and hundreds of swallow
           nests on the wall of the cliff. And
           the swallows flying all around,
           reflecting in the water so it looks
           like I’m flying with the swallows.
           And little babies are hatching out.
           Egg shells are falling out of the
           nest and landing on the water right
           next to me, these little white
           shells. And... it was just so
           awesome, Fern! I felt I had done
           enough. My life was complete. I
           felt like if I were to die right
           then, it would be OK. How many
           people can say that?

Fern smiles. Not many.


EXT - DESERT - EVENING

Swankie shows Fern how to rock hunt under the orange sky.

                     SWANKIE (V.O.)
           Maybe when I die, my friends will
           throw a rock in a fire in
           remembrance of me.


EXT.   SWANKIE’S VAN - NEXT DAY

Fern helps PEOPLE loading up Swankie’s things into their cars
and ATVs.
                                                           33.


Swankie shows a MAN how to use her tools that he picked up.
She explain the origin of her doll collection to TWO WOMEN.

She sees A WOMAN walking away with an old music box.

                    SWANKIE
          My grandmother gave me that. Take
          good care of it.

She watches that woman driving away.

By the evening, almost everything is gone.


I/E. VANGUARD - SAME NIGHT

Fern is sleepless. She looks out through the curtains.

Swankie is getting her kayak ready under a camping lamp.

Fern closes the curtain and takes out a metal box with a few
random items and photos.

She looks through them -- Some are from her younger years:
Fern dressed up with her parents. Fern and her sister DOLLY,
smiling into camera. Fern acting in a play.

Then, a photo of Beau, her husband, in his younger years. She
traces her finger over the black and white photo.

She smiles at it. Her eyes are wet.


EXT. SWANKIE’S VAN - NEXT MORNING

A cloudy and breezy morning. Fern is shaving Swankie’s head.
Swankie sits in a chair, a towel wrapped around her neck.

                    FERN
          Can I tell you something, Swankie?

                    SWANKIE
          What?

                     FERN
          I keep thinking a lot about my
          husband Beau. Did I ever tell you
          about him?

                    SWANKIE
          No. Bo, like b,o?
                                                           34.


                    FERN
          No, B,e,a,u. It’s a nickname. It
          means boyfriend. My mom called him,
          “your beau”, and it stuck.
          Anyway... When it got real bad at
          the end, they had him in the
          hospital with the morphine drips. I
          would sit there at night and I
          would want to put my thumb down on
          that morphine drip just a little
          longer... so I could let him go.

Swankie considers Fern’s confession.

                    FERN (CONT'D)
          Maybe I should’ve tried harder, you
          know, so he could’ve have gone
          sooner without all that pain...

                     SWANKIE
          Maybe he didn’t want that. Maybe he
          was trying to stay with you for as
          long as he could.
              (beat)
          I’m sure you took good care of him,
          Fern.

                    FERN
          I did.

Fern smiles a little and keeps on cutting Swankie’s hair.

When it’s over, Swankie covers her now clean-shaven head with
an overly colorful floral hat.

                    SWANKIE
          Do you like my hat? I bought it for
          two dollars. You think people will
          stop calling me “sir” if I wear it?

                    FERN
              (smiles)
          Maybe.

                    SWANKIE
          One last favor?

                    FERN
          What?

Swankie goes back into her van and comes out with a box.
                                                         35.


                     SWANKIE
           These are all the home videos. All
           digitized. I’ll give you my son’s
           address and you can bring this to
           him. He lives in Yuma.

                     FERN
           Why wouldn’t you go yourself?

                     SWANKIE
           I got no time for it.

                     FERN
           But... What should I tell him?

                     SWANKIE
           Nothing about any of this. I want
           to be left alone. So nothing. Just
           tell him it’s from me and he can do
           whatever he wants with them.

Before Fern can protest, Swankie climbs into her van, the
floral hat on her head and her arm still in the sling.

                     SWANKIE (CONT'D)
           Take care, Fern! See you down the
           road!

Swankie waves and drives away.

Fern stands there for a long time, watching the white van
rattle towards the horizon.


INT.   OASIS BOOK STORE - NIGHT.

PAUL WINER, seventy five, the famed Quartzsite Naked
Bookseller, wears a top hat and sings a Boogie woogie.

Fern sits with a small local audience, listening.

                     PAUL WINER
           Hey, hey, now how about a drink?
           How about a toast to our friends?
           Not the friends you see every day,
           no. Instead we’re gonna drink to
           the friends who had to go away. I
           bet you know just who I mean -- the
           friends who had to depart, the
           friends in our hearts.
               (Singing)
           You hear the blues, in my boogie,
           can you see the blood in my beer?
                     (MORE)
                                                        36.

                    PAUL WINER (CONT'D)
          Just help me laugh at pain, help me
          smile away the tears.

Paul hits the last note on the piano and laughs.


EXT. DESERT SUBURB - SECURITY GATE - DAY

A sprawling desert suburb development.

Vanguard pulls up to the security gate. No one is around.


EXT. DESERT SUBURB - DAY

Fern walks along the identical houses holding Swankie’s box.

She finds the right house and rings the doorbell.


EXT. DOUG’S HOUSE - SAME

DOUG, Swankie’s son, mid-forties, wearing a baseball cap,
opens the door.

                    DOUG
          Yes?

                    FERN
          Hi. My name’s Fern. I’m... I know
          your mother, Swankie.

                    DOUG
          Ok?

                    FERN
          I’m just here to drop off some
          things she wanted you to have.

                    DOUG
          And, where is she?

                    FERN
          She’s gone... to Alaska! To kayak.

                    DOUG
              (sighs)
          And, what’s in the box?

                    FERN
          I’m not sure. Uh... Some home
          videos. Digitized. One of them is
          from your 30th birthday skydiving --
                                                         37.


                    DOUG
          Just leave it there.

Fern looks down at the spot Doug is pointing, next to the
hose and muddy shoes.

                    FERN
          There?

                    DOUG
          Look. I don’t know what my mother
          has told you. But she’ll do
          anything to get out of coming to
          see her family.

Doug closes the door on Fern.

Fern hesitates for a moment, then puts the box down.

As she walks away, she looks back -- a life reduced to a box
of memories discarded on a family porch.


EXT. ROADS IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS - TIME PASSING

The road goes on.

Beyond the desert is the red canyons and green mountains. The
Black Hills and the Great Plains...

Fern, now in a light summer dress, walks around an abandoned
western town in South Dakota.

She drives through the dramatic rock formation in Needles
Highway and watches buffalos in Custer State Park.

She swims in the streams of Cascade Falls at dusk. Her naked
body floats in the glistening water.

At sunset, the golden outlines of the badlands pass by in the
window of Vanguard. Fern has arrived at her destination -- a
campground in the Badlands National Park.

Vanguard is parked at a spot that reads “Camp Host”. Fern
sits in Swankie’s green chair, smokes a cigarette, surrounded
by families enjoying their summer vacation.


INT. CEDER PASS CAMPGROUND - NIGHT

Large moths hover around a fluorescent bulb.   Fern cuts her
hair at the sink.
                                                        38.


EXT. VANGUARD - NEXT MORNING

Fern irons her camp host t-shirt outside her van.

She does her morning stretches, eats oatmeal, makes instant
coffee and pours it into a green thermo.


EXT. CEDER PASS CAMPGROUND - MORNING

Fern walks around the campground, excited about her new job,
offering coffee to campers.

She approaches a rusty Dodge van.

                    FERN
          Hello! Coffee?

A man pops out from behind the van. It’s Dave, dressed in the
National Park volunteer uniform.

                    DAVE
          Oh, Oh hi...

                    FERN
          Hello. Coffee?

                    DAVE
          I... know you.

                    FERN
          Yes. I have your can opener.

                    DAVE
          That’s right.

                       FERN
          Dave.

                    DAVE
          Fern. So, you’re working here?

                    FERN
          Yup. First year. With Linda May.
          You know her.

                    DAVE
          I sure do...

                       FERN
          ...Coffee?

                    DAVE
          Yes, yes, just...
                                                          39.


Dave quickly gets a camping mug. Fern pours him some coffee.
He drops the lid clumsily.

                     FERN
              (hurries away)
          It’s just black, so, if you want
          anything else... OK, bye. I’m your
          camp host!


EXT. CEDER PASS CAMPGROUND - DAY

Linda May shows Fern the ropes of camp hosting. Fern follows
Linda around while pushing a yellow mopping station.


INT. CAMPGROUND BATHROOM - DAY

The ladies clean dirty sinks and hairy shower stalls. The
toilets are the worst, but Fern is dedicated.


EXT. CEDER PASS CAMPGROUND - EVENING

Fern and Linda May drive a golf cart around, welcoming the
fun and fresh air.

They stop at a campsite to pick up trash. Fern finds a pair
of men’s underwear left behind. She picks it up and chases
Linda May with it.

                    VOICE
          Excuse me. Are you the camp host?

Fern and Linda stop messing around and sees VICTOR, a tough
looking man walking up to them.

                    FERN
          Yes. Yes. We are.
              (puts the underwear in a
               trash bag)
          I’d shake your hand but you
          wouldn’t want to.

                    VICTOR
          Right. Sorry to bother you but the
          power is out. I think the whole
          grid is down. I’m trying to set up
          for my daughter’s birthday.

Fern is at the grid station and flips all the switches.

                       FERN
          Is it on?!
                                                        40.


                    VICTOR
          Yup! Thank you!

Fern and Linda May join the birthday party. Linda May is
chatting with Victor’s family and making balloons for the
kids. Fern is a little awkward and eats a slice of the
rainbow colored birthday cake by herself as the sun sets.


EXT. BADLANDS NP - VISITOR CENTER - MORNING FEW DAYS LATER

Fern and Linda May walk towards the visitor center.


INT. VISITOR CENTER - DAY

Fern puts her face very close to a taxidermy rattlesnake in
the display glass case. Linda fixes her hair.

                    LINDA MAY
          We are here for the tour.

                    TOUR GUIDE
          Welcome! The tour is in fifteen
          minutes. You can wait right here.
          Here is a map...

While the tour guide explains away, Fern notices Dave behind
the counter, answering questions for TWO YOUNG FEMALE
TRAVELERS, drawing on a large map for them.


EXT. BADLANDS NP - DOOR TRAIL - EVENING

Dave guides the tour, explaining the formation of the
Badlands.

                    DAVE
          About seventy-five million years
          ago a shallow sea covered the Great
          Plains region. Eventually the
          continental plates shifted, causing
          the land under the sea to rise and
          the water to retreat. During this
          time the Badlands looked nothing
          like it does today...

The ‘Door Trail’ is like another planet. Fern wanders away
from the group.

She walks between colorful rocks, along dry washes, deeper
into the rock formations. She picks up sandy rocks of
different sizes and shapes and inspects them.
                                                          41.


A while later. She finds herself on low ground. She looks
around for a moment -- The trail has disappeared.

She turns around and walks back towards the direction she
came from. But soon she finds herself in the same spot.
Everything looks the same.

She starts to panic and tries to find a way to higher ground.

A LOUD whistle.

She looks up and sees Dave’s tiny figure in the far distance.
Relieved, she waves.

                    DAVE (CONT'D)
          Found anything interesting?

                    FERN
          Rocks!

Fern climbs back onto the trail. Before she rejoins the group
she looks back at Dave, who is still on the cliff, having a
moment on his own watching the dusky sky.


EXT. HORSESHOE BAR - WEEKS LATER

Time passed. Fern and Linda May have become friends with Dave
and GREG, the bartender of a local cowboy bar.

They take shots of tequila together.

                    FERN
          To the Earthship!

                    DAVE/LINDA/GREG
          To the Earthship!

Linda shows off her land on her phone’s cracked screen.

                    LINDA MAY
          See that there? See the sand?
          That’s a good sign. It’s buildable.

                    GREG
          What’s that thing?

                    LINDA MAY
          That’s a prickly pear. You can make
          jam from it. Jelly, cactus candy.

                    DAVE
          Wine. Got any neighbors?
                                                        42.


                    LINDA MAY
          Closest neighbor is two miles away.

                    DAVE
          Exactly where you want them.

                      LINDA MAY
          Exactly.

                    GREG
          You’re gonna build this thing
          yourself?

                    LINDA MAY
          Oh yeah. I’m been in construction
          most of my life. I’ve never got to
          build my own house. This Earthship
          will be something I’m proud to
          leave for grandchildren.

Linda and Fern exchange a smile.

                    LINDA MAY (CONT'D)
          It’ll be there for generations.
          Outlive us all.


EXT. CEDER PASS CAMPGROUND - EVENING

Linda May’s trailer is hooked up and ready to go. She and
Fern embrace for a long time.

                    LINDA MAY
          I’m not gonna see you for a while.

                      FERN
          I know...

                    LINDA MAY
          You come and see me. You come and
          stay as long as you like, whenever
          you like.

                    FERN
          Thank you, Linda May.

                    LINDA MAY
          Thank you. You have given me so
          much.

Linda drives away. A group of KIDS waving at her as she pulls
out of the campsite.
                                                        43.


Fern watches, it’s always bittersweet to see your friend move
on to the next chapter of their life.

The tiny yellow trailer disappears into the pale badlands.


INT. VANGUARD - NIGHT

Fern can’t sleep. She tosses and turns. She fishes for her
tobacco but it’s out.


EXT. DAVE’S VAN - MOMENTS LATER

Fern walks up to Dave’s van with a camping lamp and finds
Dave reading on his platform bed. His back doors are open.

                    FERN
          Hi.

                    DAVE
          Hey!

                    FERN
          Can I bum a cigarette? I ran out.

                    DAVE
          Oh. I don’t have any.

                    FERN
          Really?

                    DAVE
          I don’t really smoke. I was just
          being polite at the bar. People
          keep giving them to me because they
          think I look like a smoker --

                    FERN
          So you don’t have any.

                    DAVE
          Do I look like a smoker?

                    FERN
              (walks away)
          I’m going up to Wall.

                    DAVE
          It’s too late to drive through the
          park!

                    FERN (O.S.)
          Yep!
                                                        44.


INT. FERN’S VAN IN BADLANDS - NIGHT

Fern drives through the park. The pale and sharp walls of the
badlands look more menacing at night. She hums.


EXT. WALL - GAS STATION - NIGHT

Fern rolls a cigarette. She smokes and watches the lights of
Rapid City in the distance.


EXT. VANGUARD - NEXT DAY

Fern is tidying up and she finds ants! Frustrated, she pulls
everything out to be cleaned.

                    DAVE
              (walks by)
          What’s going on?

                    FERN
          Ants! I got ants!

                    DAVE
          Oh, ants. They’re alright --

                     FERN
          They’re not alright, Dave! They are
          in my food!
              (beat)
          What?

                    DAVE
          I... got you these.

Dave hands her some sticks in a plastic bag.

                    FERN
          What are they?

                    DAVE
          I think it’s better if you don’t
          drive through the park at night,
          just for cigarettes. So, I got you
          these licorice sticks --

                    FERN
          I can’t smoke licorice sticks.

                    DAVE
          I know... But you can chew them. It
          helps with the urge --
                                                           45.


                    FERN
          I’m not gonna quit smoking, Dave.

                    DAVE
          I know... But you should try these.
          They are good for digestion too.

Fern keeps her cool and takes them from him.

                    FERN
          ...Fine. Thanks.

She fakes a smile and carries on. Dave tries to help her with
the box she is carrying. She dodges.

                      FERN (CONT'D)
          I got it.

He picks up another box.

                    DAVE
          Where do you want these -- ?

The bottom falls out. A stack of plates SHATTER.

                      DAVE (CONT'D)
          Oh.

Fern freezes when she realizes they are the “autumn-leaf”
plates from her dad.

                    DAVE (CONT'D)
          I’m sorry. I --

                    FERN
              (explodes)
          Go over there!

                      DAVE
          Fern --

                    FERN
          Go! Stay over there!

                    DAVE
          You don’t have to shout. I’m going.

Dave drops the box and walks away, frustration in his voice.

Fern regrets shouting right away, but her mind is on the
broken plates. She carefully picks them up.
                                                           46.


INT. VANGUARD - NIGHT

Fern glues the pieces back together. She manages to save one.
She looks at it for a moment, relieved.


EXT. CAMPGROUND BATHROOM - DAYS LATER

Without her friends, the work is becoming more lonesome.

Fern mops the floor and cleans vomit from a toilet seat.


EXT.   CEDAR PASS CAMPGROUND - LATER

Fern lights a cigarette whilst driving the golf cart. It’s
windy and her hair is a mess.

Fern sits with GRANDMA, a camper in her late seventies, thick
rimmed glasses, two rings on each finger. She is giving words
of wisdom while Fern listens politely.

                     GRANDMA
           You are one of those lucky people
           who is from the Unites States.

                     FERN
           Yes ma’am. The U.S. Of A.

                     GRANDMA
           And you can travel anywhere. And
           they sometimes call you ‘nomads’ or
           ‘people who don’t have a home’. I
           see that you have this ring. Are
           you married?

                     FERN
           I am. But my husband died.

                     GRANDMA
           That ring is a circle and it never
           ends. That means that your love
           never ends. His love for you never
           ends. And you may not be able to
           take it off if you tried.

                     FERN
           I don’t think I could.


EXT. BADLANDS - CAMPGROUND - MORNING WEEKS LATER

Storm in the badlands. Summer is coming to an end.
                                                         47.


EXT. VANGUARD - DAY

Fern boils canned soup on the camping stove.


INT. DAVE'S VAN - LATER

Fern pours the soup into a bowl.

Dave has a fever and is bed bound.

                    FERN
          You need to eat something. I made
          soup.

                    DAVE
          Thanks. I don’t think I can.

The thermometer in his mouth beeps. Fern looks at it.

                    FERN
          Still over a hundred!

                     DAVE
          Fever’s good. It burns the bad
          stuff off.

                    FERN
          It’s been burning for a couple of
          days, Dave!

                    DAVE
          I’m fine. I’ll eat some of that...

Fern hands Dave the soup. He stares at it for a while.

                    FERN
          You can’t eat it, can you?

                    DAVE
          My stomach hurts. It’s probably a
          bug.

                    FERN
          A bug, or it could be something
          serious.

                    DAVE
          Yeah. It could be.

                      FERN
          Really?!
                                                          48.


                    DAVE
          Yeah...


EXT. RAPID CITY HOSPITAL - NIGHT

Fern smokes outside, watching people coming in and out.


INT. RAPID CITY HOSPITAL - HALLWAY - NIGHT

Fern sits by herself in the empty hallway.


INT. RAPID CITY HOSPITAL - FRONT DESK - NIGHT

                     NURSE MATT
          He has a case of diverticulitis,
          which is an inflammation of his
          intestines. They did a laparoscopic
          surgery --

                    FERN
          He had surgery?!

                    NURSE MATT
          It’s standard. He can leave and be
          back at work in a week. Would you
          like to see him?

                    FERN
          ...No. It’s ok. Bye.


EXT. ROAD ON PLAINS - SAME NIGHT

Fern drives. Eyes heavy, exhausted. She sees a gas station
and pulls over and goes to sleep.


I/E. VANGUARD OUTSIDE GAS STATION - NEXT MORNING

Fern eats a breakfast sandwich. She sees the pack of licorice
sticks Dave left her by the van door.

She tries one and hates it.


INT. GROCERY STORE ON PLAINS - SAME DAY

Fern carefully checks the prices and the expiration dates.
                                                        49.


INT. RAPID CITY HOSPITAL - ROOM - SAME DAY

Fern puts a few food items on the table. Dave lies in bed,
looking much healthier.

                    DAVE
          Woo. Cup of noodles.

                    FERN
          It’s great when you’re sick. And...
          Juice box. Animal crackers. Jello.
          And this.

She hands him a can of mackerel.

                    DAVE
          That’s my favorite.

                    FERN
          I know.

                    DAVE
              (moved)
          Thanks, Fern.

                    FERN
          See you back at work. Two more
          weeks left.

                    DAVE
          Where’re you going afterwards?

                    FERN
          Beet harvest in Nebraska.

                    DAVE
          That doesn’t start until October.

                    FERN
          What about you?

                    DAVE
          I’m starting at Wall Drug. It’s
          kind of fun, as far as retail goes.
          I can see if they have an opening.

                    FERN
          For me?

                    DAVE
          Yes.

                    FERN
          Why?
                                                          50.


                    DAVE
          Good pay. Great parking. People are
          nice... And, I don’t think you
          should leave yet --

                    FERN
          Get better. Bye.

Fern waves and leaves without an answer.


INT. WALL DRUG - TWO WEEKS LATER

Fern is dressed in the green Wall Drug uniform, complete with
a green paper hat. She works in the busy dining hall boxing
donuts. Dave walks by with a huge tray of donuts.

                      DAVE
          Doing OK?

                    FERN
          Good, good, good!

The large restaurant is covered wall to wall in western
memorabilia and native American art work and gifts.
International exchange programs brought workers from
Philippines, Jamaica, Taiwan, and Slovakia. Fern works
amongst them and makes small talk.

Fern is assembling the famous hot roast beef sandwich at the
counter. Another WORKER rushes her to pick up the pace.

In the kitchen Dave is making large baskets of fries.

After hours, Fern and Dave play a duck shooting game in the
arcade. Fern helps Dave to pick out a new hunting knife.


EXT. REPTILE GARDEN - DAYS LATER

Fern follows Dave around the famed reptile garden. Dave
dressed up a bit, wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

At first Fern keeps her distance with a straight face. But
that ends when she sees TANK, a giant, 100 year old tortoise.

                    FERN
          Oh my god. Look at him!!

Fern pets Tank with two YOUNG KIDS. Dave talks about what he
knows about Tank as if they are long time friends.

TERRY, the reptile specialist, wraps a large yellow python
around Fern’s neck. KIDS are gathered around them.
                                                        51.


                     FERN (CONT'D)
           No, I don't like it. Keep its head
           away from me!

Later, Fern’s level of bewilderment skyrockets when they
watch Terry feeding Maniac, the 1,350 pound crocodile, the
largest in North America.

Dave tries to keep his cool, but is very happy with himself
that Fern is having a great time.


EXT. WALL - DISPERSED CAMPING - EVENING

Dave is making dinner. Sausages and corn on the cob.

Fern is making a salad.

They eat together on the cliff of a breathtaking overview. A
silent comfort between them. It works.


EXT.   WALL DRUG - DUSK

Fern and Dave walk towards the famed 80ft Wall Drug dinosaur,
enclosed in metal fences and stands on a strip of barren land
next to the highway.

Fern smiles at Dave. He takes a picture of her on his phone.


EXT. CEDAR PASS CAMPGROUND - SAME NIGHT

Fern and Dave join BRAD, fifties, a cowboy astronomer, for a
planets demonstration under a starry night. CAMPERS coming
together carrying lamps of different sizes and shapes.

                     BRAD
           That’s planet Vega in the mid-
           northern latitudes. Two thousand
           light years away. It takes twenty-
           four years for it’s light to get
           here to earth. If Vega dies tonight
           and goes dark, we can still see its
           light for the next twenty-four
           years. How about that?

Fern, looks up at the sky, wondering what’s beyond the world
she knows.

                     BRAD (CONT'D)
           The telescope is set up on Jupiter.
           The largest planet in our solar
           system.
                                                           52.


Fern looks through the telescope at Jupiter with a childlike
enthusiasm and wonder.

                    BRAD (CONT'D)
          Stars blow up and they shoot plasma
          and atoms out into space. They
          sometimes land on earth, nourish
          the soil and become part of you.
          So hold out your right hand...

The group all hold out their hands.

                    BRAD (CONT'D)
          ...and look at a star. Because
          there are atoms from stars that
          blew up eons ago that landed on
          this planet and now they’re in your
          hand.


INT. WALL DRUG RESTAURANT - EVENING A WEEK LATER

Fern is cleaning up.

JAMES, a man in his early thirties, glances around the
restaurant.

                    FERN
          Hi. Sorry, we’re closed.

                    JAMES
          I’m looking for Dave. I’m his son,
          James.

                    FERN
          He’s in the kitchen....

                       JAMES
          That way?

                    FERN
          Just around the corner.

Fern watches James go. Dave never talked about his son.


INT. WALL DRUG - MOMENTS LATER

Fern tries to eavesdrop by the kitchen window, but their
voices are muffled by the fans.

James is talking most of the time. Dave’s body language is
stiff as he makes a burger.
                                                        53.


Later, while Fern mops the dining room floor, James walks in
with a tray of burger and fries.

                    FERN
          Sit there. I just cleaned it.

                    JAMES
              (sits down)
          I’ve been through here, what,
          twice?
              (looks around the room)
          This place is so weird. Who would
          wanna live here?

                    FERN
              (keeps cleaning)
          I can think of worse places.

                    JAMES
              (shakes ketchup)
          I guess so... You wanna know the
          best way to get to know a place?

                    FERN
          What is it?

                    JAMES
          AA meetings.

                       FERN
          ...Really?

                    JAMES
          Back then when I was with the band,
          I had to travel a lot. Man, I tell
          you, you don’t really get to know a
          place until you show up at their AA
          meetings.

                    FERN
          You been to one around here?

                    JAMES
          Yeah. In Rapid City. Man. So weird.

                       FERN
          How come?

                    JAMES
          Not in a bad way. You know? It’s
          like... every AA meeting I’ve been
          to around this whole fucking
          country. People are all the same.
                    (MORE)
                                                        54.

                    JAMES (CONT'D)
          We all got the same fucking
          problems. The same shit to deal
          with. Isn’t that nice to know?

Fern gives James a closer look. He looks like his father.

                    FERN
          How’s the burger?

                     JAMES
          It’s OK.

                    FERN
          Good cook, your Dad.

                    JAMES
          It’s not that hard to make a
          burger.

                    FERN
          Oooh. Harsh.

They exchange a smile.


INT. KITCHEN - LATER THAT NIGHT

Dave shows Fern a photo on his flip-phone: James and a young
WOMAN together. She is pregnant.

                    DAVE
          That’s his wife Emily. She’s about
          to have a baby.

                    FERN
          You’re going to be a grandfather!
          When’s she due?

                    DAVE
          In two weeks. James’s on his way
          back home now... He wants me to go
          back with him.

                    FERN
          You should go.

Dave thinks for a moment. Then he goes over to the greasy
grill and starts to scrub it.

Fern waits, quietly tearing the lettuce in her hands.
                                                           55.


                    DAVE
          I was... He doesn’t like that I
          wasn’t around much when he was
          young. Which is, obviously, my
          fault. And when he got older, I
          tried to be around, but I guess I
          just forgot how to be a dad.
          Anyway, I wasn’t very good at it.
          We are ok now. I’m just not sure if
          he really wants me to be there.

                    FERN
          Oh, I think he does.

                    DAVE
          Yeah?

                    FERN
          Don’t think about it too much,
          Dave. Just go. Be a grandfather.

Fern finishes tearing the bag of lettuce and walks over to
the over-sized fridge.

Dave looks back at Fern who is trying to stuff the large
lettuce bag into the fridge that’s clearly too full.

                    DAVE
          Do you want to come with me?

                    FERN
          Where?

Fern gives up trying to make the bag fit. She turns to Dave.

                    DAVE
          Maybe not if you don’t want to.

                    FERN
          I can visit sometime.

                    DAVE
          Yeah. Great.

Fern looks down at the bag of lettuce she’s holding, not sure
what to do with it or what else to say.


I/E. VANGUARD - NEXT MORNING

Fern is awake. She can hear Dave packing up his van and
walking over. A knock on the door. She ignores it.
                                                           56.


Through the gap of the curtain, Dave waits a moment, then
puts something on the ground and leaves.

Moments later, Fern opens the door, just in time to see
Dave’s van pulling onto the highway in the distance. The
trail of dust it left behind slowly settles.

Fern finds a rock by her footstool. It’s smooth with holes --
the kind you find on the beach. And a note from Dave - ‘If
you visit, there’s plenty more of these’.

The wind is strong. Fern sits for a moment, then holds up the
rock and looks through the hole at the boundless badlands...


INT. WALL DRUG - EVENING DAYS LATER

Fern cleans the greasy grill.

She climbs on top of a large Jackalope statue and pretends to
be a rodeo cowboy.

She plays duck shooting game in the empty arcade.

She takes a selfie with a plastic model of Mount Rushmore.


EXT. VANGUARD - EVENING

Fern makes canned sardine on toast.

She watches a group of COWBOYS drinking beers by a pickup in
the distance. One of them sings a song on the guitar.


EXT. WALL DRUG - NIGHTS LATER

Street lights pass overhead. Summer tourist season is over.
Most of the stores are shut.

Fern walks down the empty street. Her shadow gets longer as
she disappears into the night.


EXT. WESTERN SUGAR - NEBRASKA - WEEKS LATER

Cold wind blows across the dusty plains. It’s late autumn in
Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

The barren landscape of Western Sugar, filled with beet
fields, beet piles and trucks. Large sugar beets tumble onto
a conveyor belt. The sound is deafening.
                                                        57.


Fern is wearing a hard hat, safety vest and goggles as she
shovels beets and signals incoming trucks.


EXT. DOWNTOWN SCOTTSBLUFF - NEXT MORNING

Fern does laundry.

She eats at a Mexican restaurant, a FAMILY sitting at the
other end is giving the father his birthday celebration.


EXT. WESTERN SUGAR - DAYS LATER

The work and weather is harsh and Fern looks exhausted. But
she keeps going with pride in her hard work.

She sits in the door of her van, warming herself up sipping a
bowl of cup noodles. She looks on, the open lot is dotted
with vehicles -- occupied by migrant workers like herself.


EXT. SCOTTSBLUFF - NIGHT DAYS LATER

Fern walks by the historic Midwest theater. THREE CHATTY
FRIENDS are standing outside waiting. Colorful posters of
“The Avengers” in the window.

Fern checks out the window displays of a closed bridal shop.

She gives a cigarette to a HOMELESS MAN.


EXT. WESTERN SUGAR - NIGHT WEEKS LATER

Piles of beets falling from the piler into the convertible
bell. Dust, steam, Fern working. Time passing.

After a night of hard work, MIGRANT WORKERS gather around a
burn barrel to stay warm.

Fern watches them from afar. A GROUP OF MEN are talking about
football. A COUPLE are arguing.


INT. VANGUARD - MORNING

The sound of a loud truck wakes Fern up. She tries to go back
to sleep. Her phone beeps.

She gets a video message. It’s from Swankie.
                                                           58.


Fern watches it -- Swankie films from her kayak underneath a
cliff populated with swallows. The migratory birds fly around
her and she picks up a small egg shell from the water.

Fern can’t help but to smile.

                    FERN
          You made it, Swankie.


INT. SCOTTSBLUFF - SHOWER - MORNING

Fern scrubs dirt off of her hair and nails. She looks at
herself in the mirror.

Time to move on again.


EXT. SCOTTSBLUFF - STRIP MALL - VANGUARD - NIGHT

Snow is falling. Vanguard is parked in the empty parking lot.


INT. VANGUARD - NIGHT

Fern is enjoying some friend chicken beside her Mr. Buddy
heater. She hears a tiny noise, looks up and sees a MAN
looking in from the gap of the curtain.

She freaks out and pulls the curtain shut, almost choking on
her chicken.

LOUD knocks.

                    MAN (O.S.)
          You can’t sleep here! There’s no
          overnight parking!

                     FERN
          Ok! Sorry! I’m leaving! I’m
          leaving...

Fern scrambles to get ready to leave.


EXT. ROAD ON PLAINS - EVENING

Fern drives. The plains turn flatter and colder. It’s harvest
time. Tractors and field workers in the distance...


INT. FUR TRADE MUSEUM - DAY

Fern walks down rows and rows of pioneer artifacts.
                                                           59.


She watches an igloo being built in “Nanook of the North”.

She buys a beaver pelt.


EXT. VANGUARD OUTSIDE FUR TRADE MUSEUM - DAY

Fern hangs the beaver pelt above her bed. Happy with it.

She puts the key in the ignition and starts the van. Silence.

                    FERN
          Oh no. No. No...

She tries again and again, nothing. It’s dead.


INT. GARAGE - NIGHT

Fern waits impatiently in the garage.

KEN THE CAR DOCTOR, fifties, a nervous but sympathetic man,
pulls parts out of the hood. The noises make Fern nervous.

Later, Ken hands her the estimate behind the counter, while
his son JERMEY surfs the internet next to him.

                    KEN
          This is what you’re looking at.
          Parts and labor twenty three
          hundred dollars with tax.

                      FERN
          Yikes.

Fern looks mortified.

                    JEREMY
          I just looked up the value on your
          van. A 2004 E150. With that high
          milage, you’re at best looking at
          five thousand dollars.

                    KEN
          So I would recommend taking that
          money and putting it towards
          another vehicle instead --

                     FERN
               (distressed)
          No, well, I can’t do that! I can’t
          do that! See... I spent a lot of
          time and money building the inside
          out.
                     (MORE)
                                                           60.

                    FERN (CONT'D)
          A lot of people don’t understand
          the value of that, but it’s not
          something you can just... I live in
          there. It’s my home.


EXT. GARAGE - NIGHT

Fern paces frantically whilst on the phone.

                    FERN
          I’m going back to Amazon in a
          couple of weeks and I can pay you
          back with my first pay check.

She takes a deep breath and tries to listen to the response.

                     FERN (CONT'D)
          I can’t! I don’t have a car... no I
          don’t want to take the bus.
              (beat)
          Why? You think I’m being difficult?
          I think you’re being a bitch!

Fern hangs up and lights a cigarette.

Later, Ken finds Fern ironing a yellow shirt in her van.

                    KEN
          I’m about to lock up...

                    FERN
          Almost done.

                    KEN
              (peaks in)
          It is a very nice van, ma’am.

                    FERN
          Thanks... Mind if I keep it here?
          I’m going to my sister’s tomorrow
          to get the money. Can you make sure
          she’s safe?

                    KEN
          I got a few cars parked behind you
          in the same situation. It’ll be
          safe.

After Ken leaves, Fern looks around -- she is surrounded by
broken down vehicles, waiting for their owners’ return.
                                                           61.


EXT. WESTERN TERMINAL - MORNING

Fern shivers in line, chowing down a hot dog. She is careful
so it doesn’t get onto the nicely ironed yellow shirt.


INT. BUS ON ROAD - DAY

Rows of suburban houses flash by.

Fern looks out of the window. A GROUP OF CHINESE TOURISTS are
chatting behind her.


EXT. DOLLY’S HOUSE - EVENING

A nice suburban home outside Denver.

Fern walks up to the front porch. She presses the door bell.
No one answers. She presses it over and over again.

DOLLY, Fern’s sister, swings the door open.

                    DOLLY
          Hi Fern. That door bell works.

                    FERN
          Well, I couldn’t hear it.

They give each other a stiff hug.

                    DOLLY
          Woah. You cut your hair.

                    FERN
          Yep. What? What Dolly?

                       DOLLY
          Nothing --

                    FERN
          Oh my god! I haven’t even stepped
          into the door yet --

                    DOLLY
          Come on in!


INT. DOLLY'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAY

Dolly peels vegetables at the counter crowded by dishes.

Fern eats a cookie from the tray. Not great. She forces it
down and takes out the beaver pelt.
                                                62.


                    FERN
          I bought you a gift.

                    DOLLY
          What is it?

                    FERN
          It’s a beaver pelt.

                    DOLLY
          What am I supposed to do with a
          beaver pelt?

                     FERN
          It’s decorative. Put it up
          somewhere.

                    DOLLY
          Can you make your four egg cake for
          me? George has some friends over.

                    FERN
          Are you going to tell them I made
          it, or that you did?

Dolly ignores her.

                    FERN (CONT'D)
          I’ll make the cake. But then I have
          to leave.

                    DOLLY
          No. I want you to stay the night.

                    FERN
          I can’t. I gotta get back.

                    DOLLY
          Get back where?

                    FERN
          To the garage to pick up my van!

                    DOLLY
          It’s just a van! It’ll be there.
          You can’t just stay for one night?

                    FERN
          Dolly! You know what...?
              (calms herself)
          Why do you have to make me come all
          the way here to lend me money? Why?
                                                        63.


                    DOLLY
          Because I want to make sure my
          sister’s still alive.

                    FERN
          Why wouldn’t I be?

                    DOLLY
          You never visit. When I tried to
          call you, you never answer.

                    FERN
          I never have gas money or signal.

The banter reaches a dead end. They stay quiet for a moment.

                    FERN (CONT'D)
          Do you even have enough eggs?


EXT. DOLLY'S HOUSE - GARDEN - EVENING

Burgers sizzle on the barbecue.

                    FERN
          Got my famous four egg cake.

George, Dolly’s husband is on barbecue duty.

                    FERN (CONT'D)
          Dolly talked me into it. Where do
          you want it?

                    GEORGE
          Right there is fine.

Fern inspects the burgers.

                    FERN
          I want that one.

                    GEORGE
          It’s got your name on it.

Fern pours another drink of tequila on the rocks, which is
helping with her talkative mood. Dolly introduces Fern to
George’s coworker JIM and PAM.

                    DOLLY
          This is my sister, Fern.

                    JIM
          Hi Fern, I’m Jim. This is my wife
          Pam.
                                                           64.


                    DOLLY
          Jim has been working with George
          for a long time.

                    JIM
          George actually sold us our first
          house before I got into real
          estate. I’ve learned everything
          from him --

                    FERN
          Did Dolly ever tell you how they
          met?

                    JIM
          No...

Dolly laughs nervously.

                    FERN
          I introduced Dolly to George, but I
          knew George from way before. Long
          story. You see, my sister’s a
          flirt, Pam, she’d flirt with a
          rock. So I took her out and I said
          ‘Listen, George is a really good
          friend of mine. I don’t want you to
          mess this up. If you’re not serious
          about him, don’t mess with him’ --

                    DOLLY
          And I didn’t ‘mess it up’ --

                    FERN
          How many years have you been
          together?

                    DOLLY
          Thirty plus.

                    JIM
          Worked out pretty good.

                    DOLLY
          I was able to take care of things
          myself after that ‘introduction’ --

                    FERN
          You’re welcome.

Later, everyone digs into Fern’s cake and starts to talk
about real estate. George is optimistic.
                                                65.


                    GEORGE
          It’s been a good year. We’ve got
          more home sales and new
          constructions. The stakeholders are
          seriously talking about mortgage-
          debt forgiveness.

Fern snorts. She is tipsy.

                    GEORGE (CONT'D)
          I think when we look back, we’re
          gonna say, yes we hit the bottom
          back in 2008. It was bad. But 2012
          is the year that things are finally
          looking up again.

                    FERN
          I don’t want to disagree with you,
          but I really do.

                    GEORGE
          I’m just saying its finally getting
          better. Jim?

                    JIM
          We’ve got the numbers.

                    FERN
          Yeah. The numbers. The numbers. But
          how long do you think it lasts
          before it crashes again? And what
          if this time you can’t get back up?
          What if you lose everything? I’ve
          met plenty of people like that. I
          think it’s strange that you
          encourage people to use their life
          savings, to get in debt, just to
          buy houses they can’t afford!

                    GEORGE
          Come on Fern. That’s a very limited
          view on what we do --

                    FERN
          Is it limited, George?

                    GEORGE
          We help people build homes. So they
          can start a family, have children,
          take care of their parents. I mean,
          we can’t all just chuck everything
          and hit the road --
                                                    66.


                    FERN
          Is that what you think I did?! I
          chucked everything and hit the
          road?!

Fern’s outburst brought on uncomfortable silence.

                    DOLLY
          ...That’s not fair, George.

                    GEORGE
          Right. I’m sorry.

More silence.

                    JIM
          I... think... What George is trying
          to say is that... We can’t all do
          what you do. I think the way you
          live is exciting and brave. And
          frankly I’m jealous. But we can’t
          all take the plunge, right? What
          kind of society would that be?

Fern swallows her words with more tequila.

                    JIM (CONT'D)
          Also I don’t think we should ignore
          the problem of homelessness. My
          mother was homeless when she was a
          teenager. It’s a serious problem --

                    FERN
          I’m not homeless.

Fern looks up at Jim, firmly.

                    FERN (CONT'D)
          I am houseless. Not homeless. There
          is a difference.

                    DOLLY
          There is.
              (tries to defuse the
               situation)
          I mean if you think about it, what
          the nomads are doing is not that
          different than what the pioneers
          did, right? They went west in their
          wagons, living on the road. Fern is
          a part of the American tradition. I
          think it’s great!

Fern forces a smile and goes back to her cake.
                                                           67.


EXT. DOLLY'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT

Fern sits on the edge of the bed, knitting a pot holder.
Dolly walks in and sits down next to her.

                    DOLLY
          Here you go.

She hands Fern an envelope. Fern looks into it and finds the
cash needed for Vanguard’s repair. She’s relieved.

                    FERN
          Thanks, Dol. You know I’ll pay you
          back right? I will.

                    DOLLY
          I know.

Fern puts the money away. Dolly hesitates.

                    DOLLY (CONT'D)
          Wes is getting married.

                    FERN
          Who?

                    DOLLY
          Our cousin Wes?

                    FERN
          Oh! Good for him.

                    DOLLY
          Everyone is going back to Gibson
          for the wedding. You should come
          too. People ask about you.

                    FERN
              (sarcastic)
          Tell them the usual -- I live in a
          van and have no money for gas.

                    DOLLY
          You know what? I tell people how
          great you’re doing. I tell them
          you’re traveling all over the
          country, having a great time.

                    FERN
          It’s not like that. It’s not some
          great adventure. I just don’t want
          to be comfortable anymore. I want
          to take a risk and try something
          different... What?
                                                          68.


Dolly is smiling to herself.

                    DOLLY
          Oh Fern, that’s what you always
          want. It’s always what’s out there
          that’s more interesting. You left
          home as soon as you could. You
          married Beau when you only knew him
          for a few months. And you dropped
          everything and moved to the middle
          of nowhere with him. Even after
          Beau passed away, you still stayed
          in Empire. I just don’t get it. You
          could’ve left, did something with
          you life, or met someone --

                    FERN
          This is why I don’t want to come
          here.

Dolly knows she has hit a nerve. She softens.

                    DOLLY
          I’ve never said this to you before.
          Maybe I should have... You’ve
          always been the eccentric one
          growing up. People thought you were
          weird, but really, you were just
          braver and more honest than any of
          us. You can see me, when I try to
          hide from everyone. Sometimes you
          see me before I see myself. I
          needed you in my life... And you’re
          my sister. I would’ve loved to have
          you around all these years. You
          left a big hole by leaving.

Fern fights back tears and guilt.


EXT. DOLLY'S HOUSE - NEXT MORNING

Fern smokes on the curb.

Dolly comes out and hands her a packed lunch. They hug.

Fern walks away. She looks back for a moment, hesitates, but
keeps on going.


EXT. GARAGE - EVENING

Fern climbs into the driver’s seat of Vanguard and starts the
engine. It runs good. Ken closes the hood and walks over.
                                                           69.


                    KEN
          She’s ready to go. I threw in an
          oil change and rotated your tires.

                    FERN
          Thank you so much.

                    KEN
          Where’re you headed?

                     FERN
              (beat)
          I don’t know.

                    KEN
          Well, good luck to you.

Ken walks away. Fern sits there for a moment longer. Slowly,
she gives the steering wheel a hug.


EXT. ROADS - TIME PASSING

Fern travels south, taking her time, wandering, camping,
sleeping at truck stops and parking lots.

She drives through the Sandhills, mountains, canyons, back in
the desert.


INT. NEEDLES, CALIFORNIA - VANGUARD - MORNING

Fern is making PBJ sandwich. A knock on the door.

                    VOICE
          Police. Open the door.


EXT. NEEDLES - RESIDENTIAL STREET - VANGUARD - MORNING

Vanguard is parked on a nice residential neighborhood.

Fern is all smiles while OFFICER STEVE runs her ID. She
notices a WOMAN taking her trash out and glancing over at
them. From the look on her face, it won’t surprise Fern that
it was this woman that called the police.

                    OFFICER STEVE
          Are you living in your vehicle?

                    FERN
          Only part-time.
                                                          70.


                    OFFICER STEVE
          You know there is no camping
          allowed on residential streets in
          the city limit.

                    FERN
          Yes! I was just traveling through.
          I took a nap and overslept.

                    OFFICER STEVE
              (doesn’t believe her)
          If you need a place. Out in the
          county you can do whatever you
          want. Just keep driving until you
          hit dirt.

Officer Steve gives Fern’s ID another look.

                    OFFICER STEVE (CONT'D)
          You look familiar.

                    FERN
          People say that about me.

                    OFFICER STEVE
              (hands her the ID)
          Aright, Frances. You take care.

                    FERN
          Thank you, officer, bye.

Fern watches Officer Steve leave and waves. As soon as he is
out of sight, she scrambles back into her van.


EXT. NEEDLES - RURAL AREA - EVENING

An abandoned open space next to the busy highway.

Fern sits outside the van, knitting while eating a sandwich.
She notices a young man sitting under a mesa oak by a fire.

She is concerned at the sight of the young traveller, packs
up the other half of the sandwich and walks towards him.

The young man is warming up a can of beans on the fire.

                    FERN
          Hi, want a sandwich?

She recognizes him -- Derek, the tattooed young traveller she
met in Quartzsite.
                                                        71.


                    DEREK
          I think I’ve met you before.

                    FERN
          Yes, I’m Fern. I was working at T-
          Rock in Quartzsite.

                    DEREK
          You let Noodle sell his jewelry
          there, didn’t ya?

                      FERN
          Yep.

                    DEREK
          Would you like a beer?

                    FERN
          Ok. I’ll trade you for a sandwich.

                      DEREK
          Right on.

They make the exchange.

                    DEREK (CONT'D)
          It’s cold. You should sit down by
          the fire.

                    FERN
              (considers)
          Ok. Why not.

She sits down. It’s nice and warm.

                     DEREK
          You gave me a lighter back in
          quartzite.

                    FERN
          You still have it?

                    DEREK
          No, that’s long gone but I do have
          this for ya.

Derek takes out a silver lighter cover, with a brown stone
incased in it. He offers it to Fern.

                    DEREK (CONT'D)
          I want you to have it.
                                     72.


          FERN
    (takes it)
...Thanks. It’s really beautiful.
What’s that stone?

          DEREK
That right there is dinosaur bone.

          FERN
Really?

          DEREK
Really. But I only know what they
tell me.

          FERN
Where’s the bus? And your friends?

          DEREK
The bus? Oh, the bus. They went
down to New Orleans.

          FERN
I thought you all traveled
together.

          DEREK
No... Noodle, Roxy and all of them
you saw with the bus, they come to
Quartzsite every winter to buy
gemstones and then they sell them
during their travels for the rest
of the year.

          FERN
You don’t do that?

          DEREK
No, ma’am. You gotta be a people
person to sell anything. I like
helping out on ranches, working
with animals.

          FERN
And travel.

          DEREK
And travel.

          FERN
You always been like this?
                                                73.


                    DEREK
          I suppose... Ever since I was
          little. I never liked what other
          kids my age did, playing video
          games and stuff like that. I always
          just walked the railroad tracks.
          Once I pass all the trees and
          forests, I can see it going all the
          way to the horizon. And I couldn’t
          help it. As soon as I was old
          enough, I started to jump trains. I
          like the west. I like being able to
          see the horizon.

Derek lights a cigarette. Fern watches him.

                    FERN
          ...How old are you?

                    DEREK
          Twenty-one years.

                    FERN
          That’s... Impressive. Where are
          your mom and dad?

                    DEREK
          Back home in Wisconsin.

                    FERN
          Think they worry about you?

Derek avoids the question.

                    FERN (CONT'D)
          You don’t get lonely? Got a
          girlfriend anywhere?

                     DEREK
          Well, to be truthful, there is one.
          She lives up near Lake Superior
          Small farm. She’s happy with her
          life there. I’m happy with mine.
              (beat)
          I write letters to her.

                    FERN
          Smart man. Letters are good.

                    DEREK
          But I can’t write about anything I
          reckon she’d care about.
                                                           74.


                    FERN
          You ever try poems?

                    DEREK
          Can’t say I have. I don’t think I
          know one. Do you know any?

                    FERN
          How about one I used for my wedding
          vows when I was not much older than
          you?

                    DEREK
          Right on. Mind if I hear it?

                     FERN
          Aright. Lets see if I can remember
          it...
              (beat)
          ’Shall I compare thee to a summer’s
          day? Thou art more lovely and more
          temperate/ Rough winds do shake the
          darling buds of May/ And summer’s
          lease hath all too short a date/
          Sometime too hot the eye of heaven
          shines.


EXT. NEEDLES - RURAL AREA - NEXT MORNING

The early morning of city lights in the distance.

Fern watches Derek as he walks away towards the highway.

                    FERN (V.O.)
          And often is his gold complexion
          dimm'd/ And every fair from fair
          sometime declines, By chance or
          nature’s changing course undimm'd.

Inside Vanguard, Fern opens a binder of old slides. She looks
at them through a viewer. A faint light illuminates past
memories -- Images of Fern as a little girl. Her parents and
her sister. Family life, summer trips, holidays meals...

                    FERN (V.O.)
          But thy eternal summer shall not
          fade/ Nor lose possession of that
          fair thou ow’st/ Nor shall death
          brag thou wander’st in his shade/
          When in eternal lines to time thou
          grow’st/ So long as men can breathe
          or eyes can see/ So long lives
          this, and this gives life to thee.
                                                           75.


EXT. REDWOODS, CALIFORNIA - MORNING

The redwoods of northern California.

Fern looks up, mesmerized by these ancient giants -- the
tallest living beings on the Earth.


EXT. CALFORNIA COAST - LATER

Vanguard weaves along coastal roads. The Pacific Ocean
suddenly appears.

The sun a golden orb bursting through sea mist.


EXT. DAVE’S HOUSE - MORNING DAYS LATER

Fern pulls into the well-kept homestead with a beautiful
ranch house surrounded by trees.

                      FERN
          Woah.

She gets out of the van, taking with her a nicely-ironed blue
jean dress on a hanger and a box of chocolate.

Dave’s van is parked by the bushes. One of the tires is flat.
Fern peeks inside. It looks unused and empty.

She walks towards the front door.

                      VOICE
          Fern!

Dave comes out in a hurry.

                    DAVE
          You made it!

                      FERN
          Yeah. Hi!

Dave shows her in through the gate and introduces her to his
daughter-in-law EMILY, who is working in the garden.

                    DAVE
          This is my daughter-in-law Emily.

                    FERN
          Hi! Here --
                                                        76.


                    EMILY
              (takes the chocolate)
          Oh, thanks. So nice to finally meet
          you. We’ve heard so much about you.


INT. DAVE'S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM/KITCHEN - DAY

Fern walks into the living room and is immediately surrounded
with Dave’s family and friends.

                    DAVE
          Hey everyone, this is Fern.

                    VOICES
          Hi Fern! Hello! Welcome!

Everyone makes small talk with her. There’s a special effort
to make her feel welcome, until the new BABY begins to cry.


INT. DAVE’S HOUSE - GUEST BEDROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Fern recovers for a moment in solitude. She sits on the large
bed, in a room that feels abnormally spacious.


INT. DAVE’S HOUSE - BABY ROOM - LATER

The sound of chatting and cooking in the kitchen.

Fern folds baby laundry, while Dave entertains the baby. He
is good with him.

                    FERN
          You’ve got a flat.

                    DAVE
          Huh?

                    FERN
          Your van. One of your tires is
          flat, Dave.

                    DAVE
          Oh. Ok. I haven’t noticed.

                    FERN
          Because you’re staying?

                    DAVE
          Yeah...
                                                77.


                    FERN
          Good.

                    DAVE
          I never expected to. Never thought
          I’d spend another night under a
          roof, but... It was getting pretty
          lonely out there.

                    FERN
          You had friends.

                    DAVE
          Yeah...

                    FERN
          What about Bob? You’ve known him
          for years. And your friends at RTR?

                    DAVE
          Yeah... But every time I say “bye”
          to them, I don’t know If I’m going
          to see them again. And most of the
          time, I never see them again. It’s
          fine at first... but, a decade of
          that is something else.

Fern knows he is right. She has felt it too.

                    FERN
          Well, it’s really nice here.

                    DAVE
          Yeah. It’s not bad... you can stay.

                    FERN
          Great. Thanks. I gotta do laundry.

                    DAVE
              (smiles)
          Yes. Laundry.

                    FERN
          And a bath.

                    DAVE
          I meant staying longer, Fern. They
          have a guest house.

Fern gives Dave a look.

                    DAVE (CONT'D)
          I’m serious.
                                                        78.


                     FERN
           What do they think about that?

                     DAVE
           I asked them already.

Unexpected, Fern stays quiet.

                     DAVE (CONT'D)
           I like you. You’re a really good
           person. You get along with people,
           for the most part and... I like
           being around you.

Fern didn’t expect Dave’s directness and honesty. She still
doesn’t know what to say.

                     DAVE (CONT'D)
           We should drive to the beach
           tomorrow if the weather is good.
               (to the baby)
           What do you think? We should take
           her to the beach, yeah? Yeah...


INT. DAVE'S HOUSE - DINING ROOM - EVENING

A knife carves through a perfectly cooked turkey.

The family and friends are gathered having dinner together.
The mood is jovial. They pass around the food. Fern helps
James with his plate. Dave taps his glass.

                     DAVE
           I just want to say a little welcome
           to Fern. To the new one and the old
           ones too and everyone in between.
           So welcome Fern.

They clink glasses.

                     FERN
           Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Fern chows down the delicious food. She looks around and
considers the option of a second chance at a family life.


EXT.   DAVE'S HOUSE - PORCH - LATER

Fern stands on the porch to have a cigarette. Emily comes out
to join her.
                                                79.


                    EMILY
          Could I have one of those?

                    FERN
          Yeah, sure. They’re roll-ups.

                    EMILY
          That’s OK. I’m trying to quit, with
          the baby and all. But...

She lights it and takes a drag, satisfied.

                    FERN
          I’ve given up trying. My friend
          Linda May quit over night after
          forty-three years. How about that?

They share a laugh.

                    EMILY
          I’m really glad you’re here. Dave
          talks about you a lot.

                      FERN
          Yeah?

                    EMILY
          He really likes you.

                    FERN
          Yeah?
              (changes subject)
          You have a nice garden.

                    EMILY
          It looks a lot better in the
          summer. Did you have a garden?

                    FERN
          No. But we had a really great lawn.

                    EMILY
          Was that hard to do? Empire’s in
          the desert, right? I like that
          name, Empire.

                    FERN
          When I first went there I couldn’t
          believe how green the whole town
          was. Everyone’s got green lawns.
          Stupid to waste that much water I
          guess. We even had a public pool
          and a golf course.
                                                          80.


                    EMILY
          Like an oasis.

                    FERN
          It was.

Fern looks towards the dark tree lines in the distance.

                     FERN (CONT'D)
          Our house was right on the edge of
          the town. The backyard looked out
          at this huge open space. It’s just
          desert, desert, all the way to the
          mountains.
              (beat)
          There was nothing in our way.


INT. DAVE'S HOUSE - BATHROOM - NIGHT

Fern takes a bath. Bliss. Like it’s the first time in years.


INT. DAVE’S HOUSE - STAIRS - LATER

Fern carries her laundry down the stairs. She hears music and
looks into the study --

Dave and James are playing the piano together. A simple
melody in beautiful synchronicity -- something father and son
had played together many times in the past

Fern watches them. She is moved at first, smiling gently.
Then, something restless stirs inside of her. She suddenly
feels a little short of breath.


INT. DAVE'S HOUSE - GUEST ROOM - THAT NIGHT

Fern lies in bed, unable to sleep. She stares at the ceiling.
It feels too tall.

She gets up and walks out of the dark room.


EXT. DAVE’S HOUSE - NIGHT

Fern walks out of the house and runs to Vanguard.

She climbs in, closes the door and lies under the covers.

She touches the ceiling. A moment. She closes her eyes.
                                                           81.


EXT. DAVE’S HOUSE - NEXT MORNING

Dark clouds on the horizon. A storm is approaching.

Fern stands outside Vanguard and smokes a cigarette.

She looks up at Dave’s house. It’s beautiful and tranquil.


INT. DAVE'S HOUSE - LIVING/DINING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER

Everyone is still asleep. The house is quiet.

Fern looks at the family photos of different generations on
the wall. She recognizes a younger Dave with an infant James.

She sits down at the empty dining room table and looks
around. Silence.

A moment passes, Fern gets up, quietly straightens the wooden
chair and walks away.


EXT. ROAD IN TOWN - SAME MORNING

Large rain drops on windshield.

Fern drives through the quiet town lashed with wind and rain.


EXT. OCEAN - SAME MORNING

Fern walks around the cliff in the heavy wind and rain. She
takes off her hat and lets the rain wash down her face.

A bird soars on the gale. Alone, fragile, but free.


EXT. AMAZON WAREHOUSE - MORNING A WEEK LATER

Fern lines up waiting with SEASONAL WORKERS. Same as the
previous year, she looks around and notices AL again.

He nods at her and she nods back.

                    AL
          Seems like more every year.


INT. AMAZON WAREHOUSE - DAY

Fern works at the packaging station. She is now wearing the
orange blazer that reads “Ambassador, Ask Me.”
                                                           82.


She curiously studies one of her new co-workers -- a high-
tech DELIVERY ROBOT on the floor.


EXT. DESERT ROSE RV PARK - EVENING DAYS LATER

Fern does laundry and solves a jigsaw puzzle alone.


EXT. AMAZON WAREHOUSE - EVENING A MONTH LATER

Fern smokes in the cold air as she facetimes with Linda May.

Doug walks by her, shivering.

                     DOUG
           See you next year, Fern. Happy
           holidays.

                     FERN
           You too, Doug.


EXT. DESERT ROSE RV PARK - VANGUARD - NEW YEAR EVE

Fern sits on the footstep of Vanguard and lights a sparkler.

She smiles watching and adjusts her Happy New Year headband.

2013, another year arrives.


INT.   VANGUARD - EVENING A WEEK LATER

Familiar desert landscapes and sunsets flash by the window as
Fern arrives back in Quartzsite, Arizona.


EXT.   DESERT - EVENING

Fern, with her head down, hikes the desert, looking for a
rock. She finally picks up one and feels its rough edges.

She looks back --

The Rubber Tramp Rendezvous camp is in the distance. It has
grown in size since last year.


EXT.   RTR - CAMPFIRE - NIGHT

A group of NOMADS gathered around a campfire to remember
Swankie. One by one they toss a stone into the fire.
                                                        83.


Bob Wells walks to the fire and looks down into the flames.

                     BOB WELLS
           So long, Swankie. See you down the
           road.

He tosses a rock into the flames.

Fern stands next and tosses another rock. The embers rise up
into the night sky, disappearing amongst the stars.


EXT.   DESERT - NEXT DAWN

The first light of the morning sky.

Fern and Bob Wells sit together beside his van.

                      FERN
           I’ve been thinking a lot in the
           past year about why I didn’t just
           leave Empire when my husband Beau
           died. I could’ve left and started a
           new life sooner. But... I think I
           somehow made up my mind that if I
           just packed up and left, it would
           be as if Beau never existed. You
           see... Beau never knew his parents
           and we never had kids. But he loved
           Empire. He loved being there. He
           loved his work. Everybody loved
           him. So I stayed. Same town, same
           house. It’s like my dad used to say
           ‘what’s remembered, lives’.
               (beat)
           I might’ve spent too much of my
           life just... remembering. Know what
           I mean, Bob?

                     BOB WELLS
           I can relate... I rarely talk about
           my son, but he took his own life
           five years ago... Like you, I think
           I’ve made up my mind that I’m going
           to be his rememberer. I carry him
           everywhere I go. I realized I could
           honor him by helping people. It
           gives me a reason to go through the
           day. Some days thats all I’ve got.

They share an understanding smile.
                                                           84.


                     BOB WELLS (CONT'D)
          Out here there’s a lot of people
          our age carrying grief and loss
          with them. Most of them don’t get
          over it, and that’s OK. That’s OK.
              (beat)
          One of the things I love most about
          this life is that there’s no final
          goodbye. I’ve met hundreds of
          people out here and we don’t ever
          say a final goodbye. We just say
          ‘I’ll see you down the road’. And I
          do. Whether it’s a month or a year
          or sometimes years, I see them
          again. I can look down the road and
          I feel certain in my heart that
          I’ll see my son again. You’ll see
          Beau again and you can remember
          your life together then.

Fern smiles through her tears. She cherishes Bob’s words.
They’re a gift.


EXT. ROAD - DESERT IN NORTHERN NEVADA - EVENING

Vanguard travels through a vast landscape. Gradually, the
familiar snowy high desert near Empire comes into view.


INT. VANGUARD - EVENING

Fern drives, approaching the blue gates of the storage unit.


EXT. EMPIRE - STORAGE UNIT - EVENING

Gay, the storage unit owner, and his grandson NICK, load
everything from Fern’s unit into a pick-up.

                    NICK
          Is that all, Mrs. M?

                    FERN
          That’s it, Nick. Thank you. You got
          taller.

                    NICK
          Yeah? Well, thanks. See ya, Mrs. M.

Fern gives Gay her final payment.
                                                           85.


                    GAY
          Sure you don’t want to keep any of
          it?

Fern looks over at the possessions from her past. They look
foreign to her now.

                    FERN
          No. I won’t miss any of it. Yard
          sale?

                    GAY
          Sure. But it’s hard these days.
          Those Burners, they have money now.
          They don’t stop here to scavenge
          anymore. They’ve got their big rigs
          flew in from San Francisco and all
          over the place.

                    FERN
          Really.

                    GAY
          Yeah. Time has changed.


EXT. EMPIRE - FACTORY - EVENING

Fern walks towards the factory. She runs into ALBERT and
BERNIE, the mine’s last caretaker and his wife.

Albert opens the factory door for Fern.

                    ALBERT
          I’m the last employee. Kind of. I
          just go around and make sure things
          aren’t vandalized. And make sure
          the llamas are alright.

                    FERN
          Llamas?

                    ALBERT
          Well, the company got some goats to
          keep the lawn weeds down. But the
          coyotes came and started to get the
          goats. So, they got two llamas to
          keep the coyotes away. But the
          coyotes got the goats anyway. Now
          those llamas are out of work. They
          just live here now.
                                                           86.


INT. EMPIRE MINE - FACTORY - EVENING

Albert wipes off the dust on a red button on a control panel.

He recounts the last day at the factory. His voice lingers as
Fern walks around the empty factory.

                     ALBERT
          It was around two o’clock. All the
          workers were in here. And when it
          was time, I pushed the button.
          Everything just came to a halt. It
          was quiet in here. Too quiet. The
          last thing you want to hear in a
          factory is silence.
              (beat)
          I thought of Beau on that day. I
          wish he was here. We would’ve asked
          him to stop the production line. It
          was an honor to be able to do that.
          The longest running mine in America
          and he was one of our best. And he
          was a good friend too.


EXT. EMPIRE - EVENING

Two llamas are wandering the empty street between rows of
abandoned houses, munching on lawn weeds.

Fern walks past carefully not to disturb them.

She passes by the old baseball field, school, church, golf
course. All frozen in time.


I/E. EMPIRE - FERN’S HOUSE - EVENING

Fern stands in front of her old house for a moment, the small
red mailbox is covered in rust.

She walks through the empty house, stepping over broken floor
tiles and tumbleweeds, onto the backyard where she shared
happy memories with the man she loved. The rosebushes she
planted are still there, withered.

Fern is unable to move, not forward nor back. She allows
herself, for a moment longer, to be lost in time.

Then she walks on, leaving the yard behind, passing the fence
door, towards the endless desert lies beyond, stretching all
the way to the horizon.

                                           FADE TO BLACK.
