Grotesquerie

Lord Jesus Christ. The elements are gonna melt.

Tonight on Channel 4, a true crime event series.

The sand is literally on fire, is what I'm trying to say.

- Not just homes, not just trees or... -

- - Hey, kid. What happened to you?

I got hit.

It was an accident.

Was it?

We can help you.

...may have affected the weather...

I know a place up ahead. A motel.

Please. I need to clean up.

Crime is up. Murders are up. War is up.

What's your name?

It's Andrea.

Get out of the way.

...and the cop's not too happy...

This place looks like it was built

for some good old-fashioned fornicatin', don't it?

That's Nick's car parked over there.

- I know him. - Nick?

He... He works here. He's okay.

Andrea, listen.

Someone beat you, and beat you badly.

Really, I don't need anything.

Thank you.

You're kind.

You should stay here until the fires are out.

You'll be safe here.

Should she be alone?

- She's not a baby in a basket. -

You heard the girl. She doesn't want a sitter, so...

Dear Lord. What is happening?

I feel like everything is tilted,

like some kind of hallucinogen is in that smoke.

Well... ...maybe there is some kind of hallucinogen in the smoke.

Look at the fuckin' pool.

Should we keep going?

Where?

This is the safest place for us to be tonight.

Come on.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

- Hello, ladies. - Hey.

Need a room? We have plenty.

Fire drove out all the tourists.

I feel like this fire is never gonna go out.

They always go out.

Head on in. I'll be right there.

Come on.

This part of the world, we get it all.

Fires, floods, locusts.

All of it.

But a couple of times a year,

when the wildflowers bloom

and the birds migrate and the butterflies stop here,

it's heaven.

Though it can seem like hell.

Why is the pool that color?

Uh, it's the, uh... the ash from the fire.

It has copper in it,

and, uh, copper will turn pools purple if they have a lot of chlorine.

They interact, those chemicals.

- I mean, that's... that's what Nick says. -

He's kind of our everything guy around here.

Anyways, don't go in it.

It's acidic.

The color reminds me of this cocktail I used to have

at this bar called The Five Spot.

- The, um... - Aviation.

Yeah, doesn't it?

Gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur and crème de violette.

I'll meet you at the room.

- Okay. - I was a... I was a barback in Amarillo.

Mm-hmm.

I wanna talk to you for a second.

Listen, just a little tip.

Next time, put some lipstick on that before you put the concealer.

The red neutralizes the green.

What green?

Somebody did that to you?

A man? A boyfriend?

- Nick? - Nick? No, no.

He's... He's okay.

I mean, he's... he's Nick. But he's... he's not a bad guy.

Okay. Is he... Is he here?

Are you afraid?

We can protect you. I can get you somewhere.

Don't concern yourself.

Not any concern of yours, is it?

I'm fine.

It's fine. Really.

- Okay. - Can I interest you in a souvenir?

- We make our own snow globes. - No, you cannot.

This girl in here is being beaten too.

She was using makeup to cover up a black eye.

W-We got two abused women running around here.

Let's find Andrea.

Did you tell her you're a cop?

No. There's only so much you can do.

I mean, you can't force people to leave.

I've seen it so many times in my career, you know?

Andrea, you okay?

The women that stay end up dead.

- I'm coming in, okay? - You cannot get involved

unless they ask for help.

That's a fact.

Andrea, we just wanna make sure you're okay.

Oh, my God.

I knew we shouldn't have left her alone.

You trying to say this is my fault?

Do not look at me like that.

I pulled over. I picked the girl up.

What did you want me to do? Put her on a fucking leash?

Y'all just saw a bloody girl run through here with no reaction, huh?

Look at this.

Afternoon, ladies.

Yes, it is.

Look, I gotta get out of this fucking smoke.

I got a migraine.

- - My eyes hurt so bad I can't even see.

I hate it here.

Something is so off about this place.

Yes, it is.

You think we're safe here?

Safe? Very.

There's only ash raining down

and bloody women running all around the place.

But sure, we are so safe.

- -

Please guide us with your precious wisdom.

You drop a contact lens or something?

You're welcome to join me.

- You don't even have to say anything. -

No, I'd just feel silly.

So what? Feel silly.

I dare you.

Fuck off. Read the room.

I'm not gonna hold your hand while you write a letter to Santa.

I understand this a reflex for you,

a reaction to stress... to be sharp...

but this is how I deal with stress.

You can't speak to me that way.

You are absolutely right.

It is how I deal with stress.

I get sharp.

I mean, I have done it for 35 years of my career.

And that's how I survived, okay?

So you don't get to tell me how to be 'cause... mm-mmm... you are not my partner.

Actually, I am your partner.

Today.

In this, I am.

Does anything around this fucking place work?

This is now the fourth day of civil unrest,

as clashes between protesters and the National Guard only escal...

Most Christians haven't read it.

They've never read it through from Genesis...

This fucking asshole.

...raging fire that has engulfed

- more than 20,000 acres. - Jesus.

Another one in a thousand...

Less than five...

We're not even safe in our own communities anymore

- because people don't take it seriously. - It is the same goddamned thing

on every channel.

- Where's my phone? -

That man at the gas station had the right idea.

What? Dig fire lines?

We should clear away the brush, the debris from the side of the building.

Lord knows Nick ain't gonna do it.

It only takes one ember to catch the wind, to blow our way.

- You wanna give me a hand? - I do not.

I wanna take a shower.

For Christ's sake.

I am, uh, so sorry I couldn't get back to you.

I'm in the middle of nowhere, and the reception here is shit.

Um...

There are really bad wildfires. You heard about it?

We are right in the middle of it.

Lois, I wonder if you've given

any more thought to our conversation.

What conversation is that?

- The one we had a couple of weeks ago. -

Shit.

Remind me.

The resources at our facility.

Like I said, we can't just keep somebody on life support in perpetuity.

I can't legally make any changes to Marshall's status

- without you giving the go-ahead. -

But we do need these beds.

If I didn't know any better,

I'd think you were telling me to end my husband's flatlined.

Lois, I think there's somebody out there.

- -

What the fuck?

You came in my lane!

- -

This is America. We speak English in America.

I'm coming!