The Ice Cream Truck Still Comes Every Night. Don't Go Outside. — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Your brother's running for the door.
2. 0:01He's seven and he's got a dollar in his
3. 0:03fist. Outside, the ice cream truck is
4. 0:06playing and everybody on your street is
5. 0:08walking behind it. You catch him at the
6. 0:10knob. You drag him down to the floor.
7. 0:12You slap the lamp off.
8. 0:14>> It's Mr. Pete. It's the ice cream.
9. 0:17>> You clamp a hand over his mouth. Through
10. 0:19the window, the truck rolls past at
11. 0:21[music] walking speed. Its menu glows
12. 0:23pink and blue. The music box plays the
13. 0:25same happy song it played every summer
14. 0:28of your life. Behind it, they come. The
15. 0:30mailman, the twins from the corner
16. 0:32house, Mrs. Kemp from next door, still
17. 0:35in her bathrobe, 300 of them, shuffling
18. 0:37after the music like kids after a
19. 0:39parade. Mrs. Kemp stops right at your
20. 0:42window. Her face is an inch from the
21. 0:44glass. Her eyes slide across the dark
22. 0:47room, across you. Under your hand, Leo
23. 0:50stops breathing. The song changes. She
24. 0:53turns and follows it down the street.
25. 0:55That's night 30 of the outbreak. Every
26. 0:57night at 9:00, the ice cream truck
27. 0:59comes. Every night, it pulls the dead
28. 1:02off your street and in 30 nights, nobody
29. 1:04has seen who's driving. Taped inside
30. 1:07your window is a card. One came under
31. 1:09every door on Linden Street on day two.
32. 1:11Five rules in black marker. Rule one,
33. 1:14when you hear the music, lights off.
34. 1:17Your card has a sixth rule in pencil, in
35. 1:20different handwriting. If the music
36. 1:22doesn't come, it's your turn. You still
37. 1:24don't know what that means. Rule two,
38. 1:26don't come out. Not for ice cream, not
39. 1:29for me. Mr. Delgado across the street
40. 1:31has the same card. Tonight, he doesn't
41. 1:33care. His daughter, Rosa, has a fever
42. 1:36that won't break. He runs out into the
43. 1:38road, waving both arms at the truck.
44. 1:41>> Hey, stop. Please, stop.
45. 1:44>> The truck doesn't stop. It can't.
46. 1:46[music] Mr. Pete taught you why the
47. 1:47summer you rode along with him. In New
48. 1:49York, ice cream trucks are only allowed
49. 1:51to play their music while they're
50. 1:53moving. Park and the music has to go
51. 1:55off. Pete drove in New York for 20
52. 1:57years. He never broke that rule once and
53. 2:00the dead have learned it. When the music
54. 2:02stops, the truck has stopped, so they
55. 2:04stop, too, and look for the next loudest
56. 2:06thing. Tonight, the next loudest thing
57. 2:09is Mr. Delgado. 30 of them peel off the
58. 2:12back of the parade. He makes it to his
59. 2:13porch. The door won't open. He locked it
60. 2:16behind himself. Mrs. Delgado yank it
61. 2:18open from inside. They drag him in by
62. 2:21his shirt. Six gray hands come in after
63. 2:23him. She slams the door on them again
64. 2:26and again until they let go.
65. 2:28The music never slowed down. Pete kept
66. 2:30driving. That's the deal on Linden
67. 2:32Street. He takes them away. Nobody comes
68. 2:34[music] out. Not for ice cream, not for
69. 2:36help, not for him.
70. 2:38>> Is Mr. Pete okay?
71. 2:40>> You don't know. In 30 nights, the cab
72. 2:42has been dark every time. No headlights,
73. 2:45no face at the window, only the menu
74. 2:47glowing and the music. Some nights, you
75. 2:50wonder if anyone is in there at all.
76. 2:52Rule four, count the songs. The music
77. 2:54box holds eight. You've counted them
78. 2:56every night for a month. Eight songs is
79. 2:59eight streets. Linden, fifth, the
80. 3:02school, Mill Road, out past the water
81. 3:04tower. By the eighth song, the music is
82. 3:06a whisper somewhere past the edge of
83. 3:08town. When the eighth song fades,
84. 3:11they're gone till morning. That's the
85. 3:13safe part of the night. Some nights, you
86. 3:15watch from the roof with Mom's old
87. 3:17binoculars. The parade winds through
88. 3:19town like a long gray river, past the
89. 3:21school, down Mill Road. Every street
90. 3:24goes dark and empty behind it. Once, a
91. 3:26porch light came on over on fifth. You
92. 3:28watched 40 of them peel off toward it.
93. 3:31It never came on again. It's been you
94. 3:33and Leo since day one. Mom was on a
95. 3:35night shift across town. The phones went
96. 3:37out before she could call. At first
97. 3:39light, you and Leo go out the back. So
98. 3:42does every house on Linden Street.
99. 3:43Buckets, pots, kids with milk jugs.
100. 3:46Nobody talks. The creek is two backyards
101. 3:49over. You fill everything you've got.
102. 3:51Then, you boil it on the grill, a
103. 3:53rolling boil for a full 60 seconds. You
104. 3:56learned that the hard way in week one.
105. 3:58Leo counts to 60 out loud. He's good at
106. 4:01counting now. By noon, they start coming
107. 4:03back, one at a time, down the middle of
108. 4:06the road, like they forgot something.
109. 4:07Mrs. Kemp is always first, always to
110. 4:10your window. Today, she's early. You're
111. 4:13still in the backyard with two full
112. 4:15buckets when she comes around the side
113. 4:16of the house. You can't run with the
114. 4:19water. You can't drop it, either. So,
115. 4:21you stand still. She stops at the fence.
116. 4:23Her head turns toward the creek, toward
117. 4:25the sound of it. You walk backward to
118. 4:27the door, one step every time the water
119. 4:30splashes. On night 31, the music comes
120. 4:33at 9:00, like always. Song one, Linden
121. 4:36Street, lights off, Leo under a blanket.
122. 4:38Then, in the middle of the chorus, the
123. 4:40music stops, right outside your house.
124. 4:45300 of them stop with it, on your lawn,
125. 4:47in your driveway, along your porch rail.
126. 4:50Every one of them stops and listens.
127. 4:53Rule three, if the music stops outside
128. 4:55your house, get in the bathtub. Stay
129. 4:57there until it starts again. A bathroom
130. 5:00has no windows, nothing for a face at
131. 5:02the glass to see. You carry Leo down the
132. 5:05hall in the dark. You both fit in the
133. 5:07tub if he lies on your chest. Then, you
134. 5:10wait. The house creaks. Something tries
135. 5:12the back door, twice. The handle turns
136. 5:14all the way and stops at the lock. Leo's
137. 5:17been fighting a cold all week. His nose
138. 5:20starts to run. You pinch it shut and
139. 5:22hold him while he shakes, swallowing a
140. 5:24sneeze. It never comes.
141. 5:26>> Why did he stop?
142. 5:28>> You don't know. In 30 nights, Pete has
143. 5:30never stopped, not once. Something drags
144. 5:34along the outside wall, slow, room by
145. 5:37room, toward the bathroom. Then, it's
146. 5:39right there, on the other side of the
147. 5:41tile. You hear its forehead settle
148. 5:43against the wall and rest there. An hour
149. 5:46goes by like that. Then, out in the
150. 5:48street, the engine turns over. The music
151. 5:50starts again, mid-song, right where it
152. 5:53stopped. The thing on the other side of
153. 5:55the wall pushes off and goes. They all
154. 5:58go. You listen to them drain down Linden
155. 6:00Street like water down a sink. Rule
156. 6:02five, never open your door before the
157. 6:05last song. So, you count eight, then you
158. 6:08open the front door. There's a box on
159. 6:09your step and one of them is still on
160. 6:11your porch sitting on the swing. It's
161. 6:14facing the street. You hook the box with
162. 6:16a broom handle and drag it in slowly.
163. 6:18The swing creaks. The head doesn't turn.
164. 6:21It's one of Pete's freezer boxes, frost
165. 6:24still on the cardboard. Inside, there's
166. 6:26a tub of Rocky Road, no nuts, Leo's
167. 6:28order, every Saturday since he could
168. 6:30talk. Pete told you once how it stays
169. 6:33frozen. His freezer has cold plates. You
170. 6:35plug them in overnight and they hold the
171. 6:37cold for about half a day. For a month,
172. 6:39somewhere, Pete has been running the
173. 6:41truck's generator every afternoon to
174. 6:44keep ice cream frozen for nobody. Under
175. 6:47the tub, there's a note in pencil, the
176. 6:49same handwriting as rule six.
177. 6:51>> Still me, kid. Got bit tonight on Mill
178. 6:54Road. I stopped so I could say goodbye
179. 6:56properly. The truck's in the school lot.
180. 6:58Keys are in it. You know the route
181. 6:59better than I do. Rule six.
182. 7:01>> You go over it three times. Leo eats the
183. 7:04Rocky Road with a spoon on the kitchen
184. 7:06floor in the dark. There's one more
185. 7:09thing in the box, a bottle of kids fever
186. 7:11medicine with a sticky note in pencil
187. 7:13for Rosa D. At first light, you take it
188. 7:16across. The dead are already drifting
189. 7:18back. You cross Linden Street low
190. 7:21between parked cars. A man in a suit
191. 7:23comes around the mailbox. You lie flat
192. 7:25under Mr. Delgado's pickup while his
193. 7:27shoes scuff past your face. Then, you're
194. 7:30at the Delgado's door. It opens an inch.
195. 7:32Mrs. Delgado's hand takes the [music]
196. 7:34bottle and squeezes yours. You think
197. 7:37about the summer you were 12. Pete let
198. 7:39you ride along every Saturday. You
199. 7:41worked the music switch. You learned all
200. 7:43eight songs. He said you were the only
201. 7:45kid in town who knew when to turn it
202. 7:47off.
203. 7:47>> We stop, it stops, kid. That's the law.
204. 7:50>> He picked you on day two. That's why
205. 7:52your card has six rules. Tomorrow night
206. 7:55at 9:00, the music won't come.
207. 7:599:00, Linden Street is silent. Nobody's
208. 8:02lights are on. Up and down the street,
209. 8:04people stand at at dark windows waiting
210. 8:06for a song that doesn't come. 9:15, the
211. 8:10dead don't drift away. They don't have
212. 8:12anywhere to be. Mrs. Kemp stands at your
213. 8:14window. Then, she puts both hands flat
214. 8:17on the glass. Across the street, the
215. 8:19Delgados' porch light flickers on by
216. 8:21mistake. 40 of them turn to it at once.
217. 8:24Fists hit the Delgados' front door, then
218. 8:26the windows. If the music doesn't come,
219. 8:29it's your turn. The school is four
220. 8:31blocks away. The street is full.
221. 8:34>> I know a way, through the backyards.
222. 8:36>> 7-year-olds know every hole in every
223. 8:38fence on Linden Street. Leo goes first,
224. 8:41through a hedge, under a trampoline,
225. 8:43across the Petersons' empty pool. In the
226. 8:46Hendersons' yard, a man in gardening
227. 8:48gloves is pulling at the shed door. He
228. 8:50turns as you pass. You shove Leo over
229. 8:52the fence just as he grabs your hood.
230. 8:54The hoodie rips. You drop over the other
231. 8:56side. The school lot. Under the
232. 8:58basketball hoop, the truck sits with its
233. 9:01menu dark. Its cab door hangs open.
234. 9:03Nobody is in the seat. Pete's paper hat
235. 9:06is on the dashboard. He didn't want to
236. 9:08be in the driver's seat when it
237. 9:09happened. So, he walked away. You've
238. 9:12never driven anything. You don't have
239. 9:13to. An automatic in drive rolls forward
240. 9:16on its own, with your foot off the gas.
241. 9:18Slowly. That's all the speed Pete ever
242. 9:20used. You turn the key. Leo climbs onto
243. 9:23Pete's stool by the music switch. You
244. 9:25shift into drive and lift your foot off
245. 9:27the brake. The truck creeps out of the
246. 9:29lot. Leo flips the switch. Song one
247. 9:32comes out of the speakers so loud you
248. 9:34both jump. Linden Street turns toward
249. 9:37it, all of it. They come out of the
250. 9:39yards and off the porches. Mrs. Kemp
251. 9:41lets go of your window. 300 of them fall
252. 9:44in behind you, like kids after a parade.
253. 9:46At the lot gate, Mrs. Ortiz, the
254. 9:48crossing guard, steps out in front of
255. 9:50the truck. Gray, orange vest, her stop
256. 9:53sign still in her hand. You can't stop.
257. 9:55Stop, and the music stops, and 300 heads
258. 9:59turn to the only thing left on the
259. 10:00street, [music] the truck with you in
260. 10:02it. You keep your foot off the brake.
261. 10:05[screaming] Her sign scrapes down the
262. 10:06windshield. She slides away along the
263. 10:08side of the truck. The music never
264. 10:10misses a note. Leo is singing along
265. 10:13under his breath. He knows every word.
266. 10:15He always did. A gray hand slaps the
267. 10:18serving window, then another. Two of
268. 10:20them are climbing the back step. Leo
269. 10:22doesn't let go of the switch. Song four,
270. 10:25Mill Road. Song six, Past the Water
271. 10:27Tower. Song seven, Out Past the Edge of
272. 10:30Town. To the county fairgrounds, [music]
273. 10:32where Pete took them every night. The
274. 10:34gate is open. They follow the music in.
275. 10:36Song eight, You Make One Slow Lap of the
276. 10:39Empty Racetrack and roll out the far
277. 10:41gate. Leo jumps down and drags it shut
278. 10:44behind you. Then, you turn the music
279. 10:46off. Behind the gate, 300 faces stop and
280. 10:50listen and stand there in the dark. One
281. 10:52of them is wearing a paper apron that
282. 10:54says, Pete. He's at the front, by the
283. 10:56gate, facing the truck, waiting for the
284. 10:59next song. You drive home with the
285. 11:01headlights off and the music off. For
286. 11:03the first time in 32 nights, there's
287. 11:05nobody on Linden Street. Pete's paper
288. 11:07hat rides home on the dashboard. The
289. 11:10next morning, Rosa Delgado's fever
290. 11:12breaks. You write new cards, five rules
291. 11:15in black marker, one for every door. On
292. 11:18Leo's, you add a sixth [music] in
293. 11:19pencil. Every night at 9:00 now, the ice
294. 11:22cream truck comes down Linden Street.
295. 11:24The dead follow it out of town. In the
296. 11:26dark windows, kids watch it go by. They
297. 11:29know the rules. When you hear the music,
298. 11:31turn your lights off. It's me.
299. 11:34>> [music]
300. 11:39[music]