The Family Fang Page #7

coveted Golden Quill Award.

His second novel,

"The Underground" was,

befitting a second novel,

a more complex

and divisive book.

That's fair.

[laughs]

He's going to talk

to us today

about the creative process.

Baxter, take it away.

Okay.

Do they want to do

just questions?

I can... let me present...

I'll present to you

the how I work.

I'll tell you how I write.

I write by computer.

I do it all on computer.

And...

and I...

I chew gum.

I find that very helpful.

Maybe you could speak

in more general terms.

You know, like what drives you

to put pen to paper.

A little more general,

generally?

- A little more general terms?

- Yeah.

Good, good.

Let's see.

Sometimes I get horrible

thoughts in my head.

You guys ever get horrible

thoughts in your head?

You know, I can't

get them out,

so it helps me

to write them down.

Uh, when I was a kid I thought

a lot about this one...

I mean, I thought about

what would happen

if my parents died.

And, um...

and I couldn't

get it out of my head.

Can't. Couldn't.

Can't. And...

and you don't want

to think about it.

But if you do

get stuck with it,

I suggest you write it down.

That's what I did.

I've...

well, my sister and I

don't have relatives.

So in my story, we get...

we get taken to an orphanage.

And this orphanage

is run by this woman.

And she mistreats

all these kids.

She's very harsh to them.

And my sister and I,

we... we put up with...

with all the...

the harsh treatment for months.

And then we figure out

a way to escape.

One night,

under cover of darkness,

we go through this

incinerator chute.

We get out the bottom

of the chute,

and we scoot off

across this field of beets.

I had it as a field of beets.

Anyway, so this is

a field of beets.

And we're running across it

and running across.

We're looking over our shoulder,

and all is good.

We make it,

we get to the other side,

and there's this

peaceful forest.

And we go into this forest.

And it's...

We think that all the hardship

is behind us.

But then suddenly a sack

goes over our heads.

And we're taken away into

this underground, like, lair.

And there's all these other

kidnapped kids in there.

And another chapter of misery

would kind of start from there.

I don't have that part yet.

But... anyway.

Anybody ever have

terrible thoughts like that?

- I do.

- Do you.

All the time.

Just write them down.

It's helpful for me,

at least.

You know, if I can't get it

out of my head, I just...

I write them down.

Even if they're super weird,

I can control them

and I can... I can...

I can just... you know,

I can control my world,

you know, with writing.

That's what writing is

for me.

Just...

[sighs]

You have five new messages.

First new message.

Hi, this is

Anne Amotta from...

[answering machine beeps]

- Second new message.

This is WMAC in Albany.

We were hoping to schedule

an interview in regards...

[answering machine beeps]

- Third new message.

Hey, this is Eddie Sanchez...

- Fourth new message.

[answering machine beeps]

Hey, this is Sheriff Hale.

I said I'd call when

the blood results came back.

I'm afraid that the blood

at the scene

does match your dad's

DNA profile.

So it is real,

which obviously

none of us wanted.

But it does mean that we have

a serious situation here.

So we'll need to dig a bit

deeper into the investigation,

as we discussed.

I'd appreciate a call back.

Thank you.

[answering machine beeps]

That doesn't mean anything.

Caleb's done crazier things

than draw his own blood.

You know that.

Good night.

[dramatic music]

Baxter!

I think I found something!

You were wrong.

You were wrong when you said

that they didn't have

any friends.

You forgot about Hobart.

Who's that?

- Hobart Waxman.

Their mentor.

If they told anyone

about their disappearance,

they would have told Hobart.

Can we talk

about this tomorrow?

Because I'm right

in the middle of this.

- The middle of what?

- I'm writing my book. I just...

I've thought of something

really good, and I'm...

- Oh, wow.

That's exciting.

I'm excited about it.

So, what are we going

to do about Hobart?

He's got to be dead,

or pretty close to it.

Then we'd better

find him soon.

- Annie...

- Come on.

- I'm... no, I don't want...

- No, no, no.

Don't do this to me.

Don't make me do it by myself.

You promised. You promised that

we'd help each other.

The first year

I was in Hobart's class,

we went to see a piece

by the artist Chris Burdon,

whose work Hobart

did not care for.

- Chris Burdon's a hack.

A complete and utter fraud.

So we're at

Burdon's gallery,

and he tell us he's going

to be shot today.

Sure enough, an assistant

pulls out a gun and shoots him

in the arm.

I was shocked.

I thought it was thrilling.

And I made the mistake

of saying so in class.

So Hobart turns on me

and he says...

It's horseshit!

Art should never happen

in a controlled environment.

That's not art.

I don't know what it is.

Taxidermy.

I mean, who the hell cares

if you let somebody

come and shoot you

in a goddamn galley?

There's no danger.

There's no... no surprise.

No, it needs to take place

in the world,

around people who just

don't know that it's art.

That's the way

it has to be.

He was so

disappointed in me.

I had to make it

up to him somehow.

Caleb and I were dating,

and he asked me

if I could run a camera.

So we hunkered down

in a classroom

on the fifth floor

of the History Building

with a window that overlooked

the courtyard.

And we waited for Hobart

to pass by.

Honey'd sweet apples

They're rotting away

Millions of people

Never start in the race

There's stuff

on our plates

That has not been alive

Someone pays full price

For my cheap flight life

Sunshine

He shot me

with a crossbow.

- [laughing]

I... I shot him

with a crossbow.

He almost used a rifle.

And thank God you didn't.

No, he knew it was

going to happen.

He just didn't know when.

There was a card

in my pocket

that said I'd been

wounded by a friend.

There was chaos,

screaming, blood,

silence.

I remember lying there

thinking,

"This is so beautiful."

He... he refused

to give them my name.

Whoa!

[both laugh]

- He's a good guy.

- Yeah, he's all right.

Hobart.

- Hobart.

- You fat f***.

- [laughs]

Sunshine

We all see

The same sky

Wow.

It doesn't look like

there's anybody here.

So, what now?

Even better.

Let's find an open door,

search the house.

- Hang on.

What are you talking about?

- Come on, let's split up.

Quick!

- We're just going to break in?

- Yeah.

- Annie...

- Come on.

[knob jiggles]

[knob jiggles]

- Don't move, honey!

- Oh!

I'll put a hole

in your boyfriend.

He's got a gun.

Take it easy, Hobart.

You... you know us.

Annie. Annie Fang.

Holy sh*t.

Is this Baxter?

- Yeah. Baxter.

Baxter Fang.

[laughs]

I'll be damned!

So can you take the gun

out of my back now, please?

Oh, hell,

I don't have a gun.

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