Episode 18: ‘The Watchers’
Written by: Tom Greene and W.M. Whitehead
Directed by: Lyndon Chubbuck
Tressa is escorting two vacationers, with very heavy country accents,on a fishing trip. They seem to be pleasant, making wholesome &friendly small talk. Tressa asks one of them what they are looking for and he says that the other, Orvis, wants Catfish. They all get into the boat. Tressa assures them that she'll take them to the best spots. Lamar, the one talking to Tressa says he'll cut the bait. They have an assortment: Liver, sausage etc. They ask her advice on what's best. As Lamar cuts the liver he accidentally slices his finger off, revealing a tangle of circuitry and greenish yellow fluid instead of blood. Tressa screams. Lamar lifts his cap to reveal a microchip in his forehead. He's sorry Tressa had to see this, and looks menacing.
Orvis is holding Tressa under the water. Lamar tells her not to struggle so much. They're trying to make it look like a swimming accident. The water bubbles and Swampy comes to the rescue, throwing Orvis into the water. Lamar attacks and Swampy rips it's arm off. It is a cyborg of some type. Swampy then helps the barely conscious Tressa up and carries her off.
At the complex, Graham is surveying work on various skeletal cybernetic components. Dr. Arcane is seated at a bench addressing the heads of the two cyborgs from earlier. He calmly patronises them that their prime directive was to scan the area without attracting attention. The cyborg explains what happened, using it's programmed accent and dialogue type. Arcane barely understands, angrily telling them to `Speak English, for God's sake!' Arcane turns to Graham and orders him to repair them and get them back into the field. He can't afford to waste any more time. He adds that he wants Graham to tone down their `redneck gibberish'. He `will not be remembered for creating the cyborg hillbillies!' Graham explains that he thought they'd blend in better. Arcane tells him to shut up and look at a monitor. It shows the cargo ship explosion from `birthmarks'. He says that there shouldn't have been any survivors. Graham reminds him that General Sunderland was unhappy at not being told about the baby being washed ashore. That's why he's cut off funding for Arcane's newest project. Arcane says that the General over-reacted; that the baby was an immature and incomplete experiment with no scientific value whatsoever. He sounds frustrated. Graham reiterates that Sunderland wanted no evidence of Dr. Woodrue's work on synthetic DNA discovered. He knows where the baby is, but is afraid that there may be more mature specimens out there. Arcane's furious with this, losing his temper completely. He shouts that he's `a scientist, NOT the General's public relations man!' The cyborg head butts in suggesting that this isn't the case or he wouldn't have needed to build them. Arcane rants at the cyborg, telling it not to talk back to him. He reminds it that it's prime function is to look for mature survivors. It agrees, saying that that's what they were doing. They were onto something interesting before being detoured. It adds `when we do find it.....' and Arcane continues it's speech, picking up a weapon fondly and describing it, admiringly. He says it's a stiletto siphon. He presses a button on it and a long metal tube is extended. Arcane explains (to himself, but for the benefit of the viewer) that it's capable of extracting every ounce of fluid from it's prey; and since the human body is 80% fluid, it will drain them to death. He shows the cyborg a bar coded laser tattoo and tells it to scan the code. It's looking for an adult specimen with this tattoo on it's leg.
At the Kipp house, we see the same tattoo on Abigail's leg. She is talking to Tressa, who is in bed, still trembling and scared. Dr. Hollister is there. He's called Beaumont and they're investigating. He's given Tressa a sedative and she should sleep soon. Tressa's not so sure. She can't get the events out of her mind. Every time she closes her eyes she still sees the severed finger. She remembers nothing else of the incident, though (how fortuitous for Swampy!) Hollister says he'll look in on her in the morning. They all hear a noise outside and Abigail goes to the window to investigate. She smiles. It's only Will who's helping out. Hollister leaves the room. Outside, Will is struggling with a laundry basket when Abigail greets him. He is mumbling to her because, not having any hands free, his is holding an envelope in his mouth. She takes it, asking what it is. Will replies that it's a birthday card for Tressa's Goddaughter that he was going to mail for her. Abigail is amazed. She's never seen anything like this before and thinks it's a lovely idea. Will seems surprised, assuming that everyone has birthdays. Abigail tells him that she's never had one. She'd heard of them, and parties, but never had one. Dr. Hollister leaves the house and joins them. Will tells him that they are going to have a birthday party for Abigail and Hollister naturally asks when it is. Abigail doesn't know, telling him it's hard to explain. Hollister understands, saying that it
happens when children are adopted, or records lost etc. He says that's why they have the `unbirthday party'. Hollister adds that he thinks it will be good for Tressa too. Abigail loves the idea and is very happy. Suddenly, though, she shivers and looks in pain. They seem concerned for her and she says she suddenly felt cold; `like something had taken the warmth out of her.'
The cyborgs are walking down the middle of a road when a police car stops in front of them. The officer gets out and asks to see their ID. Without warning, one cyborg injects him with the siphon, and the officer quickly falls to the ground. They then just casually walk on. Behind them, on the road, is the officer: A dehydrated husk of a corpse.
Tressa is feeling much better and the party preparations are under way. Abigail is eager to see the cake and keeps opening the oven, despite Tressa telling her not to. She wants to help but they won't let her since it's her party. She thinks they're having all the fun though, preparing it. They shut her up by giving her some eggs to beat. They hear a knock at the front door. Will goes to answer it. Abigail suddenly seizes up in pain again, and drops the bowl of eggs that she is holding. Outside on the doorstep there's a man who greets Will pleasantly. It's Orvis. In the kitchen (sensing, rather than
seeing) Abigail cries; `it's them! Don't let them in!' Tressa's confused and Abigail shouts to Will to close the door and lock it. She feels her tattoo instinctively. Will does as she says, but Orvis pushes it's hand straight through the door. Will grabs the scared Abigail and asks who they are. She says that they're like the watchers at the Government House. She thought they were all destroyed in the explosion. Will thinks they built some new ones. Abigail goes upstairs to lock the window in Tressa's room. Tressa is hysterical. She remembers the cyborg from the boat. Will locks the kitchen door and gives the hysterical Tressa a frying pan, telling her to smash it's head in if it comes through the door. Abigail locks the window
and turns around. Orvis is in the room with her. She defends herself by smashing a vase onto it's head, then running from the room. She runs down the stairs, shouting for Will to get out of here. Lamar's hand forces it's way up through the stairs, grabbing her leg. Will kicks it loose and runs upstairs to take the other one on. He tries punching it in the chest, without success. Will is beginning to think this isn't a good idea. They fight, and Will is thrown through the upstairs window, out onto the porch roof, then falls off to the ground. He's a little stunned. Abigail calls to him, but the cyborg is behind her. She screams, then Tressa joins the fray; still half-mad, but now with anger rather than fear. Abigail runs whilst Tressa brains it with the frying pan, screaming at it in fury. She then comes to her senses and also decides to run, before it gets up again.
Outside, Will is on the ground. Abigail goes to him, concerned. He asks her what a `Watcher' is. She explains they're only after her.
If she goes, they'll leave Will and Tressa alone. The cyborg exits the upstairs window onto the porch roof, then casually jumps down to the ground. The other comes out of the front door. They meet up, look triumphant, and advance menacingly. Despite Will crying `No!', Abigail runs away. The cyborgs follow, leaving Will and Tressa. Abigail makes it to a boat and starts the engine, setting off into the swamp. Behind her the cyborgs are following. They wade into the water after her, submerging beneath it.
At the complex, Arcane isn't happy. He calls Graham over, telling him it's a disgusting sight. Graham doesn't know what he's referring to. Arcane just replies `sloth, indolence.' His workers in the project pits are doing nothing. Graham says that if it's the Muphylon Project he's referring to, it's the one that Sunderland has halted until he's satisfied that there's no more of Dr. Woodrue's specimens out there. Arcane says the project can't be idle a moment longer. He says to Graham that he assured him that the cyborgs were on the hunt. Graham says they are; telemetry readings show that they have located a tattoo. Arcane's pleased again, and wants to know and wants to know where they are; but Graham explains that the readings aren't sophisticated enough to show that. They only know when they are on the scent and have killed. Arcane accepts this well enough, but is disappointed that `the swamp mole' (commenting back to `silent screams') negated their visual components. He always enjoyed watching the final agony. As an afterthought, as he leaves, he tells Graham that the worker at alpha 17 is especially lazy; and wants him rewarding with some particularly bad health benefits.
Abigail gets out of the boat and continues into the swamp on foot. She sits down to take a rest. She knows Tressa and Will are going to be safe now; but suddenly, the cyborg pops up beside her from where it was hiding in the undergrowth. She screams and runs, stumbles, then gets up again and continues running. She can hear Swampy's voice telling her not to be afraid. She's confused and afraid and tells him to leave her alone. He assures her he's Will's friend. He's going to lead her to safety. He talks cryptically about the shortest way to the light means going through the dark. She doesn't understand, but trusts him. She goes into the pond, and disappears suddenly beneath the surface. Elsewhere, she reappears in a mysterious cave, and climbs out. She wonders where she is.: it's beautiful, like a place she read about. She wonders if it's his home. He answers that it's a secret part of it. She thanks him, but wonders how long she'll have to hide here. She'd miss Will and Tressa. She tells him about the
birthday party they were making for her; and asks him if he has a birthday. There is no answer. She calls to him, but there is no reply.
One of the cyborgs climbs ashore in the cave. Abigail sees it, screams and runs away. The other is waiting. She now thinks it is a trick, and that the voice was the cyborg's. She throws a rock at it. It just laughs as the rock bounces off. She tries to run away, but the other cyborg hits her, knocking her into the water. The two cyborgs stand at the water's edge together, looking for signs of Abigail. They hear Swampy's voice telling them there's nothing for them here. They don't seem convinced and advance on Swampy, starting to siphon him. Elsewhere in the swamp, Abigail surfaces, coughing out water, and crawls ashore where Will greets and holds her. Back in the cave, the cyborgs aren't having an easy job of it. Swampy seems to have an inexhaustible supply of fluid. They have to disengage the siphons, but they can't pull them out. Swampy is holding them in. There is too much fluid. Swampy adds that it isn't just the volume. It's tree fluid; corrosive to their systems. They're only built for human fluid. They start to emit a yellowish fluid from their ears and mouths; then they shut down. Swampy mocks them in their dialogue.At the complex, Arcane is testing the remains of the cyborgs. He picks up a device and looks unsure. He asks Graham if he's certain the transponder recorded a confirmed kill on the specimen. Graham merely says that General Sunderland was pleased; and that seems good enough for Arcane. He wistfully wishes, gazing into the face of the skeletal cyborg; that if only he could have been those eyes and seen the kill. The cyborg appears to develop a temporary malfunction and spurts fluid into Arcane's face, reverting to it's redneck language. Arcane just blinks in resigned surprise.
At the Kipp's birthday party, Abigail is making another wish. Will jokes that she can only have one, but she says it's an unbirthday party. She closes her eyes and wishes that she hopes a special friend finds his birthday someday.
Swampy submerges into the waters uttering the words: "Birthdays never meant anything to me before, but now it's the things I can't have anymore that seem so important."