Something Beneath Page #5

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all through the system, all in communication

with one another. That explains your

plumbing problem.

Yeah. This is remarkable. How big is this

thing gonna get? I have no idea. It might encompass the

entire mountain range. Maybe all of

North America. This could be the largest

creature on Earth! Well, then we'd

better find out. If we're gonna

fight this thing, we have to know what

we're up against. [groans] This is why I never

leave the lab. Why is it that human beings

always default to warfare. And you, a priest! This thing is killing

people, Connelly. Well, we can

communicate with it, we can find out

what it wants! I know what it wants. It wants us dead. Oh, that's so clich. Word to the wise,

my darlings. If you're going to

drink in the morning, make sure it's

clear beverages only. Vodka, gin, hmm. What else is clear? Water. [heavy breathing] [crash] [heavy breathing] Ah! Oh! Look, don't tell me

to call maintenance. I did call maintenance.

There is no one in maintenance. Oh, oh, yeah?

Well, you're fired. Mr. Symes?

What do you want? The problems

that we're having with the plumbing

might be part of a larger issue

that may be dangerous. Dangerous? Where did

you get that from? Walter Connelly,

the biologist. He's been studying the

underground ecosystem. Connelly!

That nutcase? He's been trying to shut

us down since day one. That man was put on

Earth to irritate me. Listen, if we

don't act fast, these guests are going to

start to evacuate themselves. Get Reggie down in

that damn sewer. I've already

told him twice. And if you can't do that,

you're fired! No, no,

you listen to me. No, I'm afraid you

don't understand. No, I'm afraid-- [squish] Oh, damn it! [phone clatters] Aimee, what's wrong? What isn't wrong? Eugene is dead.

Mikaela's dead. Symes keeps calling

every five minutes asking, "Where's Reggie?" You leave me here alone.

It's okay. I don't know how

to make conversation with Nobel Prize

winning physicists. And now, the toilets

are blocked up and I don't

know what to do. It's okay.

I'm here now. Now tell me,

where was Reggie the last anyone

heard from him? The sewer. The sewer. He actually went

into the sewer? Yeah. Him and Hank both. Symes said that

they better find out what's blocking up

the drains or else. This can't go

on any longer. Call the staff. We're evacuating

the facility. Evacuating?

Yes. Symes will have kittens. Screw that tight-ass

little bootlick. Something bad is

going on around here. And whatever it is,

it's getting worse. Now, get everyone out now! What do you want me

to say to them? Tell them we're closed

for repairs. Tell them the conference

is cancelled, and tell them to follow you

because you're leaving, too. I'm not going anywhere

if you're not. Aimee, I need you gone. Please, for me. [gurgling] [gurgling] Okay. Not for nothing, boss, But Reggie and Hank

went down the sewer, they never came back. I'm just saying is all. That's exactly why

we're going in. That's disgusting.

Don't touch it! I don't know what it is, but it's killing people. Whatever is happening

up there, it's connected

to something down here. Okay, let's get it

before it gets us. [click] What was that? Combustible gases. The place is probably

full of this stuff. Come on. Good. Check that end. [gun c*cks] [banging, clattering

in distance] You. It is you. I knew it was you. Symes... what are you doing

down here? Me? You're the one sabotaging

my grand opening. [laughs] Who did you sell

me out to, huh? Careful, sir. Oh, here's your buddy. I never wanted to

hire you, you know. Once a crooked cop,

always a crooked cop. Put down the gun, sir. But you came cheap. It's always about

the bottom line, right? Symes, there's

something down here and it got Reggie. That lazy bastard, he's just hiding out

somewhere. I'm warning you! Jack, are you afraid? What? Are you afraid, Jack? [body thuds] He was-- He was

gonna kill you. It's all right, kid. You couldn't help it. Thanks. Come on. Kid! [explosion]

Kid, come on! [explosion] Tony, hurry up! [footsteps approaching] [explosion] [explosion] Boss! Tony? [screams, grunts in distance] Kid? [grunts] [explosion] [explosion] [explosion] Ah, kid. [footsteps approaching]

[explosion] Stop or I'll shoot! Relax. It's just

a rent-a-cop. Jackson, it's all

right, it's us.

Put the gun down! Put the light down! Testy. I don't bite...

yet, gee. Are you okay? Don't worry about me. I can take care

of myself. But you're down

here alone? No, I came down with Tony. He's dead.

What? Symes is dead, too. How the hell did

you get down here? Oh, everything's connected

to everything down here. The padre and I came down

a transverse back that way, she caught up with us. Scared the living Jes--

Sorry, Father-- Scared the living crap

out of me, I tell you what. Who is this lunatic? Chief of Police Deadmarsh,

Meet Dr. Connelly. He's been studying the new

life form that's taken hold down here in the sewer.

Does he know

his new life form's already killed four people? Actually, it's five. I warned the developers

that this new drainage system runs right down her throat. Her? What?

What, it's a female? I like to think

of it that way.

Oh, great! He's got a crush

on the thing! Hey, it's a massive fluid,

multi-celled entity, whose separate parts

can move independently, or reticulate into

a single network. What's not to love? We think it emits an organic

hallucinogen of some kind. Even a drop of this

black slime on your skin, and a chemical gets

in your bloodstream and creates

a violent psychosis. Think octopus,

think skunk, think-- Think rationally! [explosion] Eugene died of

an asthma attack. Exactly. The chemical elicits

our deepest fears and manifest them. In Eugene's case, he was afraid of choking up

at the podium. He externalized that fear

by choking to death. And I saw myself being

attacked by my worst fear-- a wolf-dog. But you didn't die. Doug-- Father Middleton,

he got to me in time. So, Mikaela saw something

in her mirror that-- that frightened her badly

and-- and what? Symes was a victim

of his own paranoia? Each of them touched

the creature, or were touched by it. I know.

I can't wait to publish! Dial it back, doc. First, let's see if we

can get out of here alive. More importantly,

see if we can find a way to stop this creature

from killing again. I've been down here-- [explosion]

...whoa, dozens of times. There's a transverse pipe about a quarter mile along that leads out

to the water tank. [explosion] Look out!

[screams] [explosion]

Oh, my God. Thanks. Yeah. [explosion] Oh, crap. You don't want

to see this. Don't want to see what? [screams] [screams] Reggie. Reggie. I am the resurrection and

the life, sayeth the Lord. He that believeth in me

though he were dead, yet shall he live.

Amen. Amen. What good does that

mumbo jumbo do Reggie now? Maybe nothing.

Maybe it's for us. It's the mumbo jumbo,

the old words,

they connect us. Much like the woods

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