[theme music]
[distant chatter]
I'll be back! I'm free!
[screaming]
No!
[laughing]
[birds chirping]
[coach blows whistle]
Chris, you're not nervous, are ya?
Come on, it's not like you've never raced me before.
Never lost to me before.
Rule number one, never let 'em see you sweat.
(coach) Runners to your mark, set..
[gunshot]
[instrumental music]
[panting]
[eerie music]
(female #1) Chris, run faster, faster.
(young Chris) Mom?
(mom) Win for me, Chris.
(young Chris) I'm trying, mom. I'm trying.
[panting]
(young Chris) I can't. I can't.
I can't.
Yes! Yes!
[panting]
[blows]
[instrumental music]
[distant giggling]
[indistinct chattering]
[instrumental music]
(young Chris) I'm sorry, mom, I tried.
I really did.
Sorry.
Yeah.
Well, sorry just doesn't cut it.
[inhales] It's been hard lately.
Since your mom died.
You can't compete with a ghost, Chris.
You think I don't understand?
She may have been your mom, but she was my friend.
Through school, the games..
...marriage, divorce...and you.
God, how she wanted you.
More than any trophy or medal.
I thought for sure her running days were over.
But, no. She fought her way back.
And it taught me that you can inherit talent
but not guts.
- You're off the team. - What?
You don't wanna win, Chris. You don't need it enough.
And you will never be a winner until you
stop looking over your shoulder.
No..
[blows]
[eerie music]
If Chris is gonna win one for the ripper..
[laughing] ...she'll need a little killer instinct.
[laughing]
[school bell ringing]
[indistinct chattering]
[upbeat music]
[music continues]
Too big a book, too nice a day.
[blows]
(Chris) 'Cutting class again, Mr. Morris?'
Uh-oh, don't tell my girlfriend.
She's a jock, she'll beat the crap of me.
[laughing] Cut it out.
You got the bod, I got the brains, I can live with that.
How's my track star?
[instrumental music]
Chris, it was just one race.
No. Was the first of many.
[sighs] Today is the beginning of the end.
Come on, Chris, you never quit.
What's the problem?
Coach says I don't wanna win.
[scoffs] Yeah, sure.
I mean, you won't even let me beat you at a game of Scrabble.
Look, all I know is, last year I could've beat Nickie
in a pair of concrete keds.
This year I'm about as quick
as, uh, bill through Congress.
[chuckles]
It's not funny.
Ah, Chris
cut yourself some slack.
You have to be a droid not to lose it after your mom died.
Look, I'm not gonna hide behind that lame excuse.
I'm supposed to be a champion.
Why?
Because she was?
No!
[exhales]
She wanted me to be.
What do you want?
Chris, you could still run win medals like she did
win races like she did..
...but like it or not, you're gonna have to still
face the question, "What do<TO
David..
[sighs] ...it's not that simple.
Yes, it is.
Look at me.
I mean, I know what I want.
I want this.
[giggling]
- I want this. - Mm.
I want this.
[giggles]
Man's gotta know his priorities.
That's right.
It's time you know yours.
There's no law saying
you have to take over the family business.
[music continues]
(Chris) Coach.
Why are you suited up?
I told you this team's only got room for--
Winners. I know.
[sighs]
I'm ready.
(Wilson) Go on, take it.
It was your mom's.
She gave it to me when she stopped running.
Before every race she'd just stare at it
visualizing the whole race
She'd actually see herself running
and winning.
And it worked for her every time.
I think she'd want you to have it now.
- Thank you. - You're welcome.
[grunts]
[blows]
[heavy breathing]
[chime music]
[eerie music]
I'm a bullet.
I'm a missile.
I'm a rocket to the moon.
[grunts]
[instrumental music]
[swishing]
Hey, wake up.
We don't wanna miss out on any of that
creamy chipped crap, do we?
[chuckling]
Has someone been giving you gifts behind my back?
No.
It's a good luck charm.
Yeah, with the food around here, we're gonna need it.
Well, if it isn't Wonder Woman.
We gotta make sure you get all of your vitamins
'to keep that body goin'.'
Just ignore him.
Hey, Chris, how about demonstratin'
a few of them squat thrust?
I got just the place.
Hon, just tell him what you want.
I think I know what she wants.
I would like a sandwich, please.
Mmm, head cheese..
...my favorite.
Don't you ever put your filthy fingers on me again!
Hoo-hoo.
Don't you ever touch her.
Ooh, tough guy.
Scum.
[soft chime music]
[eerie music]
[dramatic music]
Oh! God!
No!
[Chris screaming]
David!
[screaming]
[instrumental music]
[birds chirping]
Hey, David!
Hey, Nick.
Chris is looking pretty good, huh?
Yeah, well, you better be careful.
Last guy who touched her lost a bunch of fingers.
- Is Jay here yet? - He's around somewhere.
He's always around somewhere.
[sighs]
Your shoe's untied.
Don't you have enough trophies already?
Ooh, I like guys who play hard to get.
(David) 'Yeah, well, I'm not playing hard to get.'
- Oh? - Just unavailable.
Nobody ever has to know.
- Hey, guys! - Hey!
Uh, practice, uh, went a little longer than I figured
but I gotta get ready for karate class.
Little one on one with David.
[chuckles]
I, uh, didn't miss anything, did I?
No, nothing.
I'm up next.
One for luck.
I don't need luck.
Go get 'em!
God, man, look at those glutes.
You know I've got such a case of the horns right now
but it's strictly hands of until the finals.
What?
Oh, while she's in training.
I mean, Coach Wilson gave strict orders.
It's for her and Chris.
Dude, you're getting ripped off.
- Really? - 'Yeah.'
[chime music]
- Yes! - Not bad, Ryan, not bad.
Worry beads? You'll need 'em.
You ready?
Okay, you're up.
[indistinct chattering]
I'm a bullet, I'm a missile.
I'm a rocket to the moon.
[gunshot]
[chime music]
[grunts]
[instrumental music]
Yeah! Ha ha ha!
[chuckles]
Yeah!
Oh!
Nickie!
One cannot begin to understand
the events that actually led to the Civil War
without some glimmering of comprehension of the economy.
I set a new school record, do you believe it?
'Yeah, it was just practice day that I flew.'
I wish my mom was here to see it.
(teacher) 'Christina!'
'Since you know enough about our subject'
to ignore this lesson
would you like to explain it to the class, hmm?
Don't they pay you for that?
[chuckles]
Alright, Mr. Morris..
...you can join Christina in writing a 500-word essay
on the Emancipation Proclamation
'due on my desk in the morning.'
- There goes practice. - Dweeb.
Would you care to share that with the class?
No, I'm cool.
Cool.
As I was saying..
[chime music] ...in 1863
the South was for all purposes
a one-crop economy. And that crop was?
Anyone?
Cotton.
[coughing] Excuse me.
[coughs]
Yeah, but cotton was..
[coughing]
[students laughing]
[coughing continues]
[laughing continues]
[groaning]
[groans]
[laughing]
Somebody get some help!
[indistinct chattering]
'Are you okay?'
(David) 'This is stupid.'
I don't understand why you're so hung up on Birdwell.
He choked.
I did it.
Give me a break.
I was thinking about it just before it happened.
I was picturing it in my mind exactly what it..
David, it's not the first time it happened!
The same thing happened to Marvin!
Come on, you couldn't have anything to do with that.
I did!
How?
[scoffs] The crystal.
Come on, Chris, give me a break.
David, I'm serious.
It makes things happen!
First Birdwell..
...then Marvin..
...and then me.
When I was running at the track today.
You don't really believe that, do you?
- David, it's all becau-- - Chris!
You set that record because you ran a great race. Period.
[sighs]
Hey, I found out why your mom had to quit
right at the top of her career.
[sighs]
You interested?
Not particularly.
She got knocked up with you.
[chuckles]
[indistinct chatter]
[sighs]
[chime music]
Hey, somebody stop this thing!
[groans]
Chris, you feeling alright?
Yeah, I was just thinking.
[dramatic music]
[theme music]
[instrumental music]
[indistinct chattering]
David!
- It's gone! - Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down!
- What, what? - The crystal, the crystal.
I lost it. I don't know what I'm gonna do.
Can you go out to win the race?
- No. - Yeah.
Not for your mom and not for<i
Especially not for that damn crystal.
- God, you don't understand-- - No, I do understand!
Go out there and win this race for yourself. Okay?
- Ugh! - Hey!
[sighs]
Just kicking around round the corner.
Right. Just remember to keep your head down.
- Alright. - Alright?
(man on loudspeaker) 'Chris Gordon, Nickie Ryan'
'to your marks, please.'
'Here we go. Alright!'
- 'Yeah, yeah, nice work.' - 'Alright!'
[crowd cheering] 'Go, go, go!'
Feeling good?
- Like a winner. - A-ha! That's music to my ears.
Go to it!
Hey, Chris, what do you say we make a little side bet, huh?
Winner take all.
The race...the trophy..
...and David.
Trust me, he won't mind.
'On your marks...get, set..'
- 'Show her!' - 'Oh.'
[gunshot]
[crowd cheering]
Run, run, run! Yeah!
[grunts]
[cheering] Whoa! Yeah! Go!
[intense music]
[crowd cheering]
Yeah! Go, Chris! Whoa!
[chime music]
[screaming]
Chris!
- 'Oh, no!' - 'Oh, oh!'
- 'Ah, oh! - 'Oh, Chris!'
- 'Chris!' - 'Somebody get a doctor.'
- 'Get a doctor!' - 'Get a doctor, please.'
- 'Somebody, oh my..' - 'Come on.'
- 'Chris!' - 'Do something!'
[indistinct chatter]
- Chris! Chris, you okay? - Where is it?
- Over here. - Somebody call the doctor.
- No, no, no! - Chris, Chris, Chris?
'Don't anybody touch her.'
'Oh, somebody call a doctor.'
'It looks like she's got a broken neck.'
- 'Stay back, stay back.' - 'Everyone stay back.'
Somebody call for help.
- Is she okay? - The paramedic's over here.
Come on, stand back, everybody. Just stay back.
- Move back. - Stay back.
I'm gonna get, I'm gonna get some help.
We'll be right back.
[chime music]
The killer victory.
The agony...of dead meat.
[laughs]
[laughing]
[theme music]
[dramatic music]
[gunshot]
(Chris) David!
- It's gone! - Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down!
- What, what? - The crystal! The crystal.
I lost it. I don't know what I'm gonna do.
[dramatic music]
[gunshot]
[intense music]
Chris!
[intense music]
[echoing] Chris! Chris! Chris! Chris!
Chris!
[crickets creaking]
[wind howling]
[instrumental music]
[exhales heavily]
I love you, David.
Chris?
I came to say goodbye.
Goodbye?
Don't leave me.
Don't go away,please. This is not fair.
Nickie doesn't play fair.
Nickie?
What does Nickie have to d with this?
She did this to me.
She made me fall.
What?
Help me.
Make her pay.
Please. Help me.
Promise?
Promise me.
I promise.
(priest) 'Chris Gordon died
doing what she loved most.'
Running.
It was her greatest joy
and anyone who ever saw Chris race
'knew that when she was running'
'was when she was the most alive.'
'And even though she lost that last race..'
'...those of us who loved her'
should take comfort in knowing that
she won the ultimate race
to the kingdom of heaven.
And when Chris enters the gates of heaven
free at last from her worldly..
What the hell is she doing here?
I just came to pay my respect.
Jay, take her home.
'And without the Earth's gravity..'
David, you're not being fair.
'Yeah? Well, now we're even.'
'...competition on her young shoulders'
'she will not have to be content'
to merely race like the wind
she will be racing with the wind.
[intense music] Not stained with sin
like the blasphemer and fornicator
who stands among us now.
Chris Gordon's murderer, Nickie Ryan!
'In a way, Chris was a saint.'
'She struggled and sacrificed as all saints must.'
And it was that spirit
that in those final moment of her life
that ultimately triumphed.
For it is that spirit
that made Chris not only a winner on the track
but a champion in her life as well.
May she rest in peace.
[woman sobbing]
You take care.
[somber music]
[wind howling]
[birds chirping]
[intense music]
[eerie music]
Game ain't over
till the fat lady..
...dies.
[Freddy Krueger laughing]
All clear.
[instrumental music]
[footsteps approaching]
It's hard to believe she's gone, isn't it?
Is it?
Look, I know it's only been a week
and I know you're still hurting, but.
...whenever something really awful happens to me
it always helps if I reach way down inside
and try to find something good to wring out the pain.
Hm.
I mean, I know this must sound pretty lam
but it works for me.
You know, after the way you treated me
at the funeral, David..
...I cried all the way home.
Ask Jay.
David, come on.
Ever since we were kids, all the other kids
we grew up with at Springwood are gone.
We're all we've got left.
Not much, is it?
Ready position.
[exhales] Attention.
Salute.
'Fighting stances.'
Ready position.
Attention. Salute.
Face each other. Ready position.
Attention.
'Salute. Fighting stances.'
Turn! Fighting stance.
Begin.
[both grunting]
Break! Begin!
[both grunting]
Break.
Fighting stance. Position.
'Ready?'
Fighting stance.
Ready.
Begin.
[both grunting]
'Begin.'
[both grunting]
[groaning]
You kill my girlfriend
I kill your boyfriend.
[dramatic music]
Works for me.
[punching]
[gasps]
[instrumental music]
[indistinct chatter]
[instrumental music]
You're not into this, are you?
- You know, just hold me, okay? - Yeah.
Let's just sit here for a while.
Hey, I've got no complaints.
Jay, have you ever seen things?
Seen things?
Yeah. I've seen a lot of things.
But I've never seen anything as beautiful as you.
No, come on! I'm serious.
Are you okay?
[sighs]
I'm telling you, I'm losing it, Jay.
I'm seeing these really horrible things in my mind
and it's really scaring me.
Look, baby, your mind can't hurt you.
You know what it is? It's-it's because of Chris
I mean, it hit us all pretty hard, but..
You gotta put it behind you. You gotta move on.
It's not letting me move on.
- Oh, forget it. - No.
I mean, these things I see
they're just so real and I--
Shh, shh, shh.
Just be in the here, in the now.
You're making it pretty hard not to.
It's my pleasure.
Don't ever leave me.
Let anything happen, okay?
I'm not going anywhere.
I'm here for you.
[indistinct chattering]
David?
Look, just leave me alone.
What?
Look, I'm telling you for the last time
I didn't do anything. So stop blaming me.
I'm not blaming you for anything.
Yes, you are, for what happened to Chris!
No, I'm not!
It's what you did to her when she was alive
is what I couldn't stand.
Hey, on the field we were competitors.
Off the field we were fine.
Oh, yeah?
Is that why you came on to me the other day?
David, I'm sorry.
I really am, but I can't help the way I feel about you.
It's not me.
Never was.
You couldn't stand seeing Chris win...at anything.
As for Jay, he's my friend
I don't screw over my friends.
Hey, I love Jay.
But he doesn't understand what I'm going through right now.
'Look, maybe one night you could come over to my house'
'and we could just sit and talk.'
I mean, we both could use somebody right now.
Why don't you use Jay?
[engine revving]
(Nickie) 'Okay, I'll see you tomorrow.'
[car door shuts]
[engine revving]
Yes.
If we can make any sort of contribution
to the, uh..
[indistinct chattering]
Well, Nickie, come here, dear.
We were expecting you earlier.
Nickie, you remember Mrs. Hayes?
'She's been generous enough'
'to make a recommendation for you'
'towards the university.'
[dramatic music]
[chuckles]
Uh, excuse me.
[chuckles]
She's been so busy.
She hasn't had enough sleep, you know, the poor dear.
[door shuts]
Now, just what the hell was that all about?
Dad, what is she doing here?
That is the mayor's wife's problem, not yours.
Now, you get back in there and apologize!
- No, dad. - Nicole, right--
[screams] No, dad!
[eerie music]
What are you doing?
What's wrong with you?
[instrumental music]
[grunts]
Look, I wanna know, Nicole, a-are you on drugs or something?
PCP, LSD, steroids?
Hey, you jocks always take it, don't you?
Because it makes you bigge and faster and stronger.
[door opens]
- Darling, there you are. - Yeah, she's on drugs.
[sighs] Come on, dear, the guests are waiting.
The roast is ready, I need you to carve.
She came after me with a knife.
Uh, she's crazy from these hormones.
We'll discuss this in the morning.
Yeah, well, then morning maybe too late.
By then she maybe our son.
[door closes]
[theme music]
[instrumental music]
[wind howling]
(Chris) 'Nickie.'
Nickie.
[screaming]
'Nickie..'
Darling, your father and I were just wondering
if perhaps...you needed a rest.
You've been working so very hard
what with school, and, uh, your track mates.
And boys.
And, uh, we have always encouraged you
to do your very best.
[scoffs] Encouraged?
As in pushed and then threatened a-and manipulated?
Look, everything we've done, we've done for you.
And it hasn't been cheap, you know.
Shoes, coaches, doctor bills. I have a box full of receipts.
I can show them to you.
(Daniel) 'These trophies should have our names on them.'
Those trophies are mine.
They're mine!
You aren't the only one who had to pay for 'em.
I am the one that had to work for 'em and sweat for 'em.
Sprained ankles a-and blown out knees
just so that you would love me.
So you'd be proud of me.
(Daniel) 'How can you say that about your mother and me?'
'How can you say we don't care?'
'Nicole, I'm talking to you.'
What the hell are you doing here?
[instrumental music]
Just leave me alone.
We are proud of you. We do love you.
'We defy you to name one single thing'
'that we haven't done for you.'
Just get outta here!
Nickie, what is wrong with you?
'Here you go.'
[indistinct chatter]
I'm a bullet, I'm a missile, I'm a rocket to the moon!
Bullet! Missile! Rocket!
[panting]
- 'Bullet! Missile! Rocket!' - Nickie, get off that.
No way, the race isn't over yet.
'Bullet! Missile! Rocket!'
What are you trying to do, kill yourself?
You know, I need to get yo to a doctor.
- No! - Just to check you out.
- No! - Alright, alright, alright.
I'll drive you home.
Okay?
No.
No, I-I can walk home.
[murmuring]
[sighs]
[panting]
[chime music]
[intense music]
(Chris) 'Nickie.'
[panting]
[instrumental music]
David?
Oh, thank God, it's you.
Who were you expecting?
Uh, I don't know, but a-after the way you acted
I wasn't expecting you.
I had to come.
I made a promise.
Wait, you didn't tell Jay about this, did you?
I mean, this isn't some kind of a loyalty thing, is it?
I made a promise to make you pay.
For what?
For making Chris fall...and die.
I didn't make her fall, I swear.
And nobody could've seen..
She knew.
But she's dead.
She told me.
This belongs to Chris.
She wants it back.
This is mine.
It's mine!
[screams] I am a winner.
Oh, oh.
'Jay, Jay?'
(Daniel) 'Nickie?'
'You don't have a boy in there, do you?'
[whispers] Jay?
(Nickie) 'Jay? Jay?'
As Nickie Ryan will tell you..
...even dead jocks can make a comeback.
Mmm!
[theme music]