Boys in the Trees Page #2

Fine, but we're going now. Alright? Move it.

- But aren't we gonna say hello first?

- Hurry it up, d*ckhead.

Hey. Notice where we are?

A bridge?

Not just any bridge.

The bridge over Cocytus.

Where the veils are thin...

...and once we cross,

we leave the mortal realm.

Once we cross, we leave the mortal realm.

And enter the world of enchantment,

where we see things as they really are.

Where dreams are true.

Stories too.

I miss that game.

Everything was simpler then.

- And boring.

- "Boring"?

We saw zombies and ghosts and werewolves.

- I was never bored.

- It was just a stupid game.

It was kids, trying to spook each other

with a bunch of fairy tales...

...and chickenshit dares.

Well, let's play again.

- We're not kids anymore.

- We're not grown-ups either.

Not yet. And besides...

...I have something to show you.

Believe me, there's nothing you could

show me that I'd possibly give a sh*t about.

You sure about that?

Your head still hurt?

Excruciating.

This thing that you wanted to show me,

it'd better blow my mind, alright?

It's a promise.

This is just for tonight. Don't think

'cause we're talking, we're friends.

I wouldn't dream of it.

And remember the rules.

Game isn't over till we get home.

No wimping out midway through. I know.

Ready to cross?

You're on.

'Tis the night...

...the night of the grave's delight.

Hey.

Short cut.

It rained last week.

I'm not going in some deathtrap drain.

Come on. This is Cocytus.

It's more than a drain. It's a passageway.

It could lead us anywhere.

Where's your sense of adventure?

Where's your common sense?

I don't want to go in there.

Scared? Scared certain death lurks within?

It's not death I'm scared of.

Jeannie was scared.

Is this part of the game?

Haven't you heard the stories?

Once there was...

...and once there was not.

A girl called Jeannie

who was afraid of the dark.

She played Cocytus too with her older sister.

In her fantasy, they were princesses

living in a castle far, far away.

Two dreamers, united against the world...

...waiting for their lives to begin.

And one day, the knights came.

But they weren't valiant or brave.

And though they were pretty,

the girls weren't wise.

For wolves may lurk...

...in any guise.

She didn't want to be left behind,

so she followed.

But the distance between them

grew and grew...

...until she could barely

see her sister anymore.

While Jeannie was afraid of the dark...

...she was more scared of being left behind.

Katherine!

But Jeannie didn't know

that there are some dark places...

...one should never walk alone.

For tunnels can be longer than they appear.

Katherine!

And there are things in this world

we don't read about in the storybooks.

Not everyone can survive the dark.

Did she die?

Can't have a good story without a dead body.

Now she's just another lonely ghost

haunting these tunnels.

The saddest part...

...she doesn't even know she's dead.

Ghosts, huh?

Suppose you believe in the tooth fairy too.

Light a match.

Only when she sees light

does she realize she's dead.

And her scream will stay with you

till the day you die.

- You're trippin'.

- Light it.

- You're retarded.

- You're scared.

Least I'm not the only one.

Be ready.

Yeah, Kurt Cobain.

You don't know who Kurt Cobain is?

No.

Hey!

Who wants to go hunting?

Miss Susie had a steamboat.

The steamboat had a bell.

Miss Susie went to heaven.

The steamboat went to hell.

I wish you'd go away.

We taking High Street or Cotham?

I'm not falling for your sh*t again.

Yeah, I am.

Suppose you want to walk

on the other side of the street.

This place doesn't scare me anymore.

Yeah, right.

You used to wet yourself

when we passed Boo Radley's.

His name is Edward.

It's open.

I'm not going inside.

You have to. We're playing Cocytus.

When exactly did someone shove a straw

up your arse and suck out all the fun?

Fine.

Hey. Can I borrow your board for a second?

- Guess you'd better go get it.

- F***!

- This is where it happened.

- What? Let me out.

Poor Edward. He was only ten years old.

I'm gonna kick you really hard in the face.

Edward's dreams were so big.

They were like universes unfolding forever.

In Edward's world, a paper plane...

...could be a turbojet...

...fighting the forces of darkness.

The trees were allies,

hiding you in their branches.

And Edward ruled it all from his island base.

And then, one summer's day,

Edward made a promise...

...here in the presence

of the masters of the universe...

...the sea monkeys and the galactic army.

He swore an oath to follow his dreams...

...no matter how ridiculous...

...to explore the shadows,

no matter how scary.

And his vow was heard.

You absolute muppet!

When you're a kid, you want to explore

and see what's hiding in the shadows...

...even if it scares the sh*t out of you.

You'll cross the bridge over Cocytus.

But...

...as people grow older,

they lose that wonder.

Scary things aren't fun anymore, just scary.

So they shut them out.

The dreams he once promised

to live were stored away in boxes...

...stored away for another day...

...and the days passed,

and the dreams were quickly forgotten.

But...

...abandon your dreams and they can become...

...resentful.

And as poor Edward let life's

little compromises accumulate...

...the gap between who he was

and who he wanted to be...

...grew larger.

And as his dreams turned to darklings...

...the sparkle faded from his eyes.

Now he sits there...

...in front of the TV, late into the night...

...with the volume turned way up.

And he knows that one day,

he'll have to pay the price...

...for breaking his promise

and abandoning his dreams.

And that price...

...is why I don't ever...

...want to grow up.

Sh*t! Get off!

Do you expect me to believe that?

Sometimes you have to pull back a piece

of reality when it gets in the way.

I think you're full of sh*t.

Take a look in the window.

You look in it.

I'm not the one that doesn't believe.

It's, what...

...twenty meters?

Then I'll let you out.

Trick or treat!

Sh*t!

Why the f*** did you do that?

- Come on. It was funny.

- You know I hate being scared.

No, I don't.

The Corey I knew loved being scared.

Halloween was his favorite day of the year.

His head was full of dreams

he was gonna live.

What happened to you?

It's called survival.

Law of the jungle.

Survival.

You clearly don't have a concussion.

Find your own way home, right?

Okay, truce.

I'll stop trying to freak you out if...

...you stop running away for once.

I'll even make it up to you.

How?

School?

Best years of our lives.

You have a funny way

of making it up to people.

Chuck us your board.

What about security?

Is there anything you're not scared of?

I didn't say I was scared.

I just have a cautionary nature.

Boom.

See? Easy as.

You know, most people

aren't really scared of heights.

At least... not of falling.

What are they scared of, then?

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