By the light of the moon

Mohawk , and Rocketship X-M among others.'
    'Shep, listen, let's get back to the scientist. You remember the
scientist got into a teleportation booth—'
    ' The Fly was remade as The Fly in 1986.'
    '—and there was a fly in the booth too—'
    'Running time of this remade version—'
    '—but the scientist didn't know—'
    '—is one hundred minutes.'
    '—it was there with him.'
    'Directed by Mr. David Cronenberg,' said Shepherd. 'Starring Mr.
Jeff Goldblum—'
    Standing down there beside her big motorcycle, Vonetta waved at
them.
    '—Miss Geena Davis, and Mr. John Getz.'
    Dylan didn't know whether or not he should wave at Vonetta. From
this distance, she couldn't possibly know who he and Shep were, but
if he gave her too much to work with, she might recognize him by
his body language.
    'Other films directed by Mr. David Cronenberg include The
Dead Zone , which was good, a scary but good movie, Shep liked The Dead Zone —'
    Vonetta might be able to see the suggestion of a third person on
the hilltop – Jilly – but she wouldn't be able to
discern enough of the gateway to understand the full strangeness of
the situation up here.
    '— The Brood and They Came from Within . Shep
didn't like those cause they were too bloody, they were full of
sloppy stuff. Shep doesn't ever want to see those again. None of
that stuff anymore. Not again. None of that stuff.'
    Deciding that to wave at the woman might be to encourage her to
come up the hill for a visit, Dylan pretended not to see her.
'Nobody is going to make you watch another Cronenberg movie,' he
assured his brother. 'I just want you to think about how the
scientist and the fly got all mixed up.'
    'Teleportation.'
    Apparently suspicious, Vonetta put on her helmet.
    'Teleportation!' Dylan agreed. 'Yes, that's exactly right. The
fly and the scientist teleported together, and they got mixed
up.'
    Still addressing the ground at his feet, Shepherd said, 'The
1986 remake was too icky,'
    'You're right, it was.'
    'Gooey scenes. Bloody scenes. Shep doesn't like gooey-bloody
scenes.'
    The housekeeper mounted her Harley once more.
    'The first version wasn't gooey-bloody,' Dylan reminded his
brother. 'But the important question is—'
    'Nine minutes in the shower is just right,' said Shepherd,
unexpectedly harking back to Dylan's critical tirade.
    'I suppose it is. Yes, I'm sure it is. Nine minutes. You're
absolutely right. Now—'
    'Nine minutes. One minute for each arm. One minute for each leg.
One minute—'
    Vonetta tried to fire up the Harley. The engine didn't
catch.
    '—for the head,' Shepherd continued. 'Two full minutes to
wash everything else. And two minutes to rinse.'
    'If we jump back to the motel together,' Dylan said, 'right now,
the two of us hand-in-hand, are we going to wind up like the fly
and the scientist?'
    Shep's next words were saturated with an unmistakable note of
wounded feelings: 'Shep doesn't eat crap.'
    Baffled, Dylan said, 'What?'
    When Vonetta keyed the ignition again, the Harley answered with
proud power.
    'Shep doesn't eat a narrow little list of crap like you said, a
narrow little list of crap. Shep eats food just like you.'
    'Of course you do, kiddo. I only meant—'
    'Crap is shit,' Shepherd reminded him.
    'I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of that.'
    Straddling the Harley, both feet still on the ground, Vonetta
gunned the throttle a few times, and the roar of the engine echoed
across the meadow, through the hills.
    'Poopoo, kaka, diaper dump—'
    Dylan almost cried out in frustration, but he swallowed hard,
and maintained his composure. 'Shep, listen, buddy, bro,
listen—'
    '—doodoo, cow pie, bulldoody, and all the rest as
previously listed.'
    'Exactly,' Dylan said with relief. 'As previously listed. You
did a good job previously. I remember them all. So are we going to
wind up like the fly and the scientist?'
    With his head bowed so far that his chin touched his chest, Shep
said, 'Do you hate me?'
    The question rocked Dylan. And not solely the question, but the
fact that Shepherd had spoken of himself in the first person
instead of the third. Not do you hate Shep , but do you hate me . He must feel deeply wounded.
    Behind the house, Vonetta turned the Harley out of the driveway
and rode across the backyard toward the meadow.
    Dylan knelt on one knee in front of Shep. 'I don't hate you,
Shep. I couldn't if I tried. I love you, and I'm scared for you,
and being scared just made me pissy.'
    Shep wouldn't look at his brother, but at least he