Equinox Page #3

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for his death.

It was an accident.

The way he ran from us --

He did it himself. Now, it's not exac --

Where you goin'?

He's gone!

This is the place.

If he got up,

there would have been footprints.

It's as though he just... disappeared.

Yeah.

If anyone else were here,

we would have seen them, wouldn't we?

I think so.

Those footprints are our own.

Dave, a minute ago

Dr. Watermann was lying here dead.

And now he's gone.

Flesh, bones, blood -- all are gone.

If he really was dead.

Sulfuric acid.

Can you smell the sulfur?

Yeah, but what does that mean?

He burned up in a bed of sulfur?

Lose something?

- [ Horse Snorts ]

- Uh, hi there.

- Say, have you seen Dr. Watermann?

- No, I'm afraid not.

Thought we agreed

he was back in town.

- Well, he was just here --

- Uh, he was just here yesterday when he phoned.

We wondered

if you'd seen him since then.

No. If he were around here,

I think I'd know it.

- Did you have your picnic yet?

- Yeah. Back there.

I'd like to ask you to leave the area

like you found it, if you will.

People camp and picnic around here,

and they sometimes leave an awful mess.

- Yes, sir. We cleaned up.

- You'd never know we were there.

By the way, in a cave

back up that way...

we ran into some weird old character

and a book, and it has this --

Yeah, he was a weird old character

right out of a book, like he said.

- He gave us quite a scare at first.

- [ Sighs ] That cave. I should have warned you.

That place is really dangerous.

You shouldn't go in there.

Well, we're about ready to leave anyway.

Well, there were some footprints --

really big, like nothing you ever saw before.

Like a monster or something.

''Monster.''

Well, there used to be a few brown bears

around here, maybe an occasional mountain lion...

but I'm afraid

we're fresh out of monsters.

It was probably

that crazy old man's idea of a joke.

Maybe I'll just look in on your friend.

[ Clicks Tongue ]

[ Asmodeus ]

See you later.

[Jim ]

Right.

Oh, I forgot to ask him

about the castle.

What are you gonna do now?

I just wanna think about it

for a minute.

Listen, if those guys start yakking

with Dr. Watermann or somebody...

we could still be here

this time tomorrow.

I think we oughta find them.

Well, they might come back a different way

and we could miss them.

I'll stay here, if you wanna

go ahead and find them.

Okay, you hold the fort.

I'll bring them right back... by the ears.

Okay, okay, I can understand

not telling him about Dr. Watermann.

But why shouldn't I

have mentioned the book?

It may be an important find.

I just don't think we should advertise it.

But what's a ranger going to do

with an old book?

Jim, I don't know!

I just wanna try and figure out

this Dr. Watermann thing.

Well, the girls are going to be frantic,

and I think we ought to get back to them.

All right. Let's go.

Hey, listen, man, this thing

is getting pretty far out.

You think Dr. Watermann

was sick or anything?

I don't know of any chronic condition

Dr. Watermann might have had...

that could have put him in a catatonic coma

like that to make him appear dead.

That kind of stuff

is out of my league.

I wouldn't know a catatonic coma

if it bit me.

Have you thought of anybody back in town

you could talk to? Do you know who his doctor is?

No, but if we don't find him ourselves, we'll

have to tell the police, and they'll do all that.

[ Whinnies ]

Oh, Mr. Asmodeus.

You startled me.

What are you doing?

[ David ]

Susan.!

Susan?

- Susan, are you all right?

- Oh, David.

- Yes, I'm fine.

- What happened?

I don't know.

I-I-I guess I just fell.

Here.

You'd better sit down.

- What's this?

- Oh, my cross.

I guess I've broken the chain.

I'm all right, really.

Susan, something's happened,

something really strange.

We were chasing Dr. Watermann,

and he fell, and we thought he was dead.

We were gonna go back to town and call

the police, but I just couldn't leave him there.

So we went back, and he was gone.

- Gone? But --

- I-I don't know.

I don't have a single theory.

I've never known him to do anything strange,

like the way he took that book and ran.

Could be brain damage

or a mental disorder of some kind.

Or, uh, maybe he was in that house

when it was wrecked.

That's the only thing that could explain

his behavior--some mental aberration.

He might even be suffering from--

- Here's Dr. Watermann's name.!

- What?

I found this piece of paper in the book

with his name on it.

Well, what does it say?

Wow, listen to this.

It's Dr. Watermann, all right.

It's his notes about this book.

''Translation goes along smoothly...

''then completely bogs down

as the book indiscriminately changes languages.

''I believe tests will prove the book

to be a thousand years old.

''Not as old as the Dead Sea Scrolls,

and evidently from the opposite camp.

[ David Continues Reading ]

''Absorbed in the difficult task of translation...

''I was at first unaware of the meaning

of this rare and unique text.

''It seems to be a veritable bible of evil...

''or witchcraft or demonism...

''as it was practiced

in a remote area of the Persian Gulf...

''where the book was found.

[ David Continues Reading ]

''From the time I first laid hands on the book...

''I heard nothing but rumors

and vague warnings of its danger...

''all from the superstitious

people of the area.

''Quite different than

anything else I have seen...

''it approaches the subject

very methodically as an absolute...

''as though its doctrines

were widely practiced in its era and place.

[ No Audible Dialogue ]

''I have also found

the philosophy of the book...

''to be fascinating...

''considering its ancient origin.

''The forces of good and evil coexist...

''throughout the universe

and in the minds of men.

''The object of each force...

''and its practitioners...

''is to lessen or cancel,

as much as possible...

''the effectiveness

of the opposite force.

''The adept demonologist

held a position ofhigh honor.

''The practice of evil and destruction...

''is put forward

as a joy and reward in itself.

''The practitioners of evil

who compiled this book...

''used symbols to counteract

the effectiveness of good.

''Many combinations of symbols

for both forces are listed...

''however, as the practitioner

needed certain symbols of good...

''to protect himself...

''from the demons

he brought forth and created...

''manipulation of these symbols...

''is treated exactly like

the science of chemistry.

''This element changes that one.

''One symbol is a catalyst,

another is an agent or a counteractant.

''Strangely enough,

in the list of symbols for good...

''are some very familiar ones.

''The cross and the double-triangled

Star of David, if made of certain metals...

''are among them.

Hmm.

''In actual practice, of course...

''the science of demonology,

as outlined in the book...

''is much more complicated

than I have indicated here --

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