"What do you make of this?" "What is it?" "Clive thinks he's found a volcanic pipe." "Elementary geology, pal." "There are no volcanoes around here." "Ergo no volcanic pipes, and therefore no diamonds." "I don't think I've found a pipe." "I think there's something on this readout that looks like a pipe." "It's weird." " Where is it?" " About six, seven kliks that way." "Jesus!" "Have you seen anything like this?" "It'sjust a bloody lump of sandstone." "Maybe some kind of pressure dome." "It's weird, though." "Well, let's take some samples and get going." "Hey, guys, come and have a look over here." "Emergency." "Temperature drop." "What's happening?" "System failure on the Antarctica module." "It's not responding." "Primary feed valve's iced up." "I'm gonna activate the bypass." "You work on re-routing the secondary." "Come on, Mel, they've got less than a minute." "Zack!" "Where the hell are you?" "We're right here, Barb." "Hang in there." "Mel, find the glitch." "We flight tested this situation a thousand times." "What's happening?" "Terry's starting to hypotherm out here!" "Any second now." "Mel?" "I can't find it!" " It's forty degrees below outside!" " Sequence analyzer to override." " It's not designed for this matrix." " I know, just do it." " The whole system could shut down." " Mel, I know." "Just do it." "He's going into shock!" "Just do it!" "It's stabilizing, Zack." "Temperature's rising." "Sorry about that, guys." "Won't happen again." "For the money, the sooner we replace them with druids, the better." "You're all heart, Doc." "Good work, guys." "There's a site call-out for a systems analyst." "You're it, Zack." "Shit!" "This cannot be happening." "Listen, I've got ajackhammer running through my head... and I think I left my tongue somewhere over the Atlantic." "I don't suppose..." "What's that?" "Tylenol!" "Cool." "Extra strong." "Hi." "You look like shit." "It's nice to meet you too." "No, I..." "Welcome to hell." "Hi." "I'm Doctor Zack Straker." "I'm making a site call at C camp." "Apparently I'm supposed to clear security here." " Hi." " Passport, please." "That water system, was that your bright idea?" "Yeah, I designed it." "So you're the oke who's got everyone drinking each other's piss?" "It's recycled." "The water's distilled." "It's more pure than the snowmelt from the Himalayas." "You won't catch me drinking it." "Jesus!" "Fatty Nghuza works up at C camp." "Enough said." "You okay?" "Hot, hot, hot." "An alarm went off down on the south side." "Another snake in the electric fence." "Look at this." "Big one, too." "I need to see your case." "That's kinda personal." "Call me an optimist." " What's this?" " It's Charlie." "He's cute." "It's a prototype." "It's a subterranean analyzer." "What does it do?" "Well, it sees through rock strata and... it can find water up to a hundred feet deep." "I can do that with a fucking twig, mate." "I hope he lasts longer than the last one." "If you'd like to fill that out." "Mikki?" "Is this what you're looking for?" "Give it to her." "Well, fuck you and the horse you rode in on, pal." "He's one bone-headed son of a bitch!" "Could have handled it myself, Karl." "I'm sure you could have." "Some prospector have managed to get themselves lost." "I guess it's your lucky day." "Thanks." "Why, exactly?" "The truck's taking emergency fuel up to the Zone... and we pick up the prospectors en route." "How long will it take?" "About sixteen hours if we go straight through." "All depends on how long it takes to find them." "Is there a problem?" "Baby, there's no problem when old Kurt's around." "So what you doing then?" "Listen, I do the technical shit... you drive." "Okay?" " You riding with us?" " Yeah." "First time in the desert, I want to see it up close." "You'll get that all right, my friend." "What's with all the fire power?" "Last month, one of our trucks was hijacked by rebels." "Shot up the fuel tanker... wiped out the driver." "Not a pretty sight." "Rebels, huh?" "They're after the diamonds." "You'll only frighten the poor baby." "All aboard!" "How much more of this is there?" "From here on in, pal... nothing but sand and rock for another thousand kilometers." "Jesus!" "Who ever heard of prospectors getting lost, huh?" "Hey, Magda?" "Which truck did they say was missing?" "Harvey Slater's outfit." "Clive is on that truck." "Got it, Magda." "To your right." "About four o'clock." "Ja, that's them." "Hang on tight, here we go." "Is it Clive?" "Yep." "And I think that's what's left of Paul." "You ever done a murder investigation?" " So what we do?" " Call in the police." "They've only been dead for... six, seven hours, but look at the state of them." "Yep." " D'you know who's missing?" " Probably Harvey." "If I catch the fucker, he's dead." "You can't think Harvey did this?" "I see two bodies." "One missing." "Until I speak with Harvey, he's it." "Hey!" "Karl!" "Over here!" "Titus has got something." "Okay, Harvey." "We've got you now, boy!" "I don't understand." "What?" "When we started... there were two feet." "But now there's four here." "These tracks go on for bloody miles." "It's bizarre." "What are they?" "Kurt." "Go get Magda to bring the truck." "They'll pick us up." "Don't." "Sorry." "A religious thing, huh?" "No, not my religion." "They'rejust a warning." "Let's get out of here." "Let's get out of here." "Now." "Come on, Magda." "He's running!" "There's not much left." "I've never seen anything like it." " Any sign of a struggle?" " Not that I can see." "Listen..." "I think Harvey Slater's on the run." "Get me some experts up here." "A forensics, or something." "Roger." "But it'll take a couple of days to organize." "So get up to C camp for further instructions." "Negative." "I'm gonna find Harvey first." "If the wind come up, his tracks will be gone by tomorrow." "To the left there, Magda, over that dune." "Now what?" "Are you gonna tell me he ran thirty or forty kliks... then died, then got eaten clean, all in about nine hours?" " I'm not telling you anything." " Maybe you're confused." " Maybe you think these are footprints." " Please." "Please." "It's impossible." "It's the wrong body, guys." "Harvey's back there somewhere." "Didn't Harvey Slater have a motorbike crash a couple of years back?" " Stuffed up his leg real bad?" " He had a limp." "He had a plate." " How are you doing, Harvey?" " This cannot be Harvey fucking Slater!" "This is a dead end." "We have to retrace our steps." "The guys at basejust said we've gotta stop playing detective." "We've got to get this fuel up to C camp." "There's a killer out there, Magda." "If we move up north now, we will never catch him." "It's not our call, Karl." "Well, you do what you want." " I'm going after him." " It'll be dark in an hour." "We're here for the night." "There's a site call-out for a systems analyst." "I don't do fieldwork." "I like the outfit, by the way." "It's natty." "Michaela." "But everybody calls me Mikki." "I don't understand." "When we started... there were two feet." "But now there's four here." " Tokolosh." " A religious thing?" "Not my religion." "It's just a warning." "It's just a warning." "So cool." "Hey, surfer boy!" "You almost gave me a heart attack." "Did you see me out there?" " You should try that." " Maybe some other time." "Like in the morning." "Oh, shit, I'm keeping everyone up!" "Well, you and Charlie." "Damn thing's been beeping all night." "It still needs some work." "It's freezing!" "That's the desert for you." "Too hot during the day and... well, it's... too cold at night." "Relax, townie." "Body warmth." "Stay close, stay warm." "First rule of survival out here." "I think I could learn to like this body warmth kind of thing." "In some countries... we'd be considered engaged by now." "God... people still get engaged?" "Round here, we don't get much beyond the screwing stage." "I..." "Relax." "Are you and Karl..." "We... had a brief thing." "Past tense, huh?" "And you?" "My work keeps me pretty busy." "I design extreme survival systems." "Would you two shut up out there?" "I'm gonna head back in." "I think I'll stay out here for a while." "Well, don't freeze, all right?" "Wake up!" "Wake up, people!" "There's something out there!" " What?" " Karl, I'm serious, man." " There is something out there." " Oh, come on!" "We're in the middle of the desert." "Whatever it is you're smoking or drinking, either stop it... or share it out, all right?" "I'm not kidding." "It was as big as a goddamn grizzly bear!" "This is Africa." "There are no bears!" "I know that, Karl!" "It wasn't a tiger or a rhino or a gorilla either." "What's your problem, then?" "My problem is that Bigfoot nearly cashed my check!" "What!" "Oh, great." "Sleep it off." "What are we supposed to do?" "The bones are gone." "What are you talking about?" "Okay, what's the game?" "You'd better tell me right now." "You think this is a game?" "What did you do with the bones?" "You listen to me, pal." "There is some very weird shit going on out here." "What I just saw... you think it's impossible?" " But I just fucking saw it." " You explain that, then." "I'm a scientist." "I find facts, I collect data..." " and I derive conclusions." " So, start fucking deriving!" "What's going on?" "I have no idea." " Yet." " That's great." "So much for science." "It's a Tokolosh." "What is that?" "Tokolosh?" "You know sometimes bad shit happens?" "Here it doesn'tjust happen." "A Tokolosh does it." "You walk into a door, a Tokolosh caused it." "You bang your thumb with a hammer." "Tokolosh!" "A fucking asteroid wipes out the planet." "Tokolosh." "Karl... you are starting to piss me off." "It's bullshit, Titus." "With a capital bull!" " Have you ever heard of Esikhulu?" " What's that?" "The Sandmother." "She was the first." "And she will be the last." "She takes what belongs to her." "The animals." "The people." "And she drinks the life from their bones." "And this way she lives forever." "Brother fights against brother." "Father turns against son." "She breaks people... apart." "Come on, people." "Let's move it out." "Over here." "Guys." "Got it." "Footprints go up the side of the dune." "Karl?" "Karl?" " What?" " Over here." "Now we go and catch this son of a bitch." "Let's go!" "Come on, Magda." "We're moving." "Twenty minutes." "Then we can go." " Now!" " It's dark, Karl." "So bloody what?" "How are you gonna follow footsteps in the dark?" "With your torch?" "Jesus, Magda!" "We're trying to catch a multiple murderer." "Give us a break, man!" "This isn't my call, Karl." "And when we can see what we're following, then we go." "Until then, this baby stays put." "Do you want to radio it in?" "Does anybody want to radio in and tell the folks back home... how we've got it all under control?" "Just over the dune." "Magda, kill the engine." "Come on." "Mikki?" "Titus." "There!" "Son of a..." "What the fuck is that?" "We've got him." "Give me that." "D'you hit him?" "What happened?" "I heard a gunshot." "Nothing." "Just a pile of bones." " Harvey." " It's the same bones." " What happened, Karl?" " I don't fucking know, Titus!" "You catch him?" "What the hell is this place?" "Are you okay?" "Fine." "You?" "No, I'm not okay." "I'm about as far away from okay as possible." "Stop bloody whining." " This is way beyond my frame reference." " You should speak to ol' Titus, then." "To him it's all meat and potatoes." "I'm warning you, man." "Don't push me." "It can't have gone far." "Get this bloody heap going." "Check the ammo." "You know what it is, don't you?" "When I was a young man... one of our shepherd boys wandered off." "And a few hours later, his skull was found... picked clean." "Bones that walk." "And flesh that disappears." "You call it whatever you want." "We call it Esikhulu." "Come on, Magda." "Let's move." "He's running again." " Out!" "Everyone out!" " Clear!" "What was that all about?" " Kurt, fix this crap!" " Well, the battery's okay." "But half the insulation's gone from the wiring." "So, can you fix it?" "Give me a week and a full workshop, no problem." "Somebody better get on the field radio and let the mine know... that we need some help." "Calling Eland Mine, this is Echo Zero Three, are you reading?" "Calling Eland Mine." "Anyone out there?" "This is Echo Zero Three, is anybody reading this?" "The damn thing's broken." "I'm gonna try an emergency beacon." "It's about damn time." "Hey, come back!" " Come back!" " He's seen us." "Don't panic, china." "They'll send a rescue truck for us in a couple of days, okay?" " Yeah?" "How do you know?" " We might look like clowns... but believe it or not, we actually know what we're doing." "All right, but we're out here for two days." " This is an emergency." " Why?" "We've got supplies." "They send a truck, we get a tan." "It's better than working." "Magda, what have you got in here?" "Shop said I was a fool, thought I'd never use it." "K-rations." "Tastes like crud, but it's better than nothing." "Are you gonna wear that?" "It's gonna be cold tonight." " I'm gonna find a rock." " Mikki, go with Magda." "Who suddenly made you the boss?" "It's either Mikki or me." "Nobody does anything by themselves anymore." "We already have three dead bodies." "Jesus, it stinks in here!" "Titus." "Your watch, buddy." "Seen anything?" "Kurt." "Kurt?" "Shit!" "Karl!" "Karl!" "It's got Kurt!" "Karl!" "Come here!" "What is that?" "It's okay." "Get him up off the ground." "Get him in the truck!" " Karl, get out of there!" " Pull him." "Help me get him back to the truck." " Oh my God!" " Move it!" "They're still coming!" "Enough shooting." "Plan B." " Karl, what the hell are you doing?" " Torch them!" " I've got to reload." " I'm not gonna end up like Kurt... and the others." "There's a thousand litres of fuel, Karl." "You're gonna take us all with you." "Oh God!" " I walk through the valley..." " Pray hard, sweetheart." "Sometimes... praying just isn't enough." "No, wait." "Look!" "They're turning away." "See anything?" "Nothing." "That should steady him." "He's losing a lot of blood." "He's in shock." "We've got to get him to a hospital." "Soon." "What else have you got?" "In that first-aid kit?" "I'm gonna go pour out more fuel." "Move." "Now!" "What the hell are you doing?" "It's turning away." "Let it go!" "Enough." "If you two want to behave like arseholes, that's fine by me... but right now, if we don't work together, we're finished." "If I see any more of this crap..." "Are we clear?" "Well... shooting it wasn't working." "So what are you gonna do?" "Reason it to death?" "Buy us some time." "There's a system at work here, Karl." " Methodology." " You tell that to Kurt and Titus." " We've got to get him help, fast." " The prospector truck has a radio." "That'll take a good two days." "At first light, we move out." "You want to carry him forty kliks across the desert?" "That's gonna help?" " What else can we do?" " She will... tear you apart." "Leave Titus with me." "I can medicate him..." " and pray." " Oh, enough mumbo-jumbo." "I say we all go." "We don't have a choice." "Who's we, Karl?" "I have a choice." "I'm staying." "There's enough fuel in this thing to wipe out anything that might come back." "Leave Titus with me." "His chances are better if he stays here." "That's one hell of a choice, babe." "You were ready to roast us all back there." "You leave that whisky alone and you start bloody thinking clearly!" "The Sandmother." " She is searching for her children." " Take it easy, man." "Not now, Titus." "Karl." "That thing." "If it is searching..." "I've never seen anything like it before." "Maybe he's right." "It's changing and... it's evolving right in front of our eyes." "The Sandmother." "She takes what belongs to her." "Then she drains the life from their bones." "She breaks people..." "apart." "Come on." "Where is it?" "I'm getting a reading from somewhere there." "That's great." "That thing of yours is useless." "Can't even find the water that we're supposed to find." "It doesn'tjust find water." "It also analyses if it's safe or not... by determining its acidity." "Right now I'm getting a reading that's right off the scale." "From what?" "Ants." "Formic acid." "Ants have formic acid." "It's what they use to kill their prey." "It's one of the most powerful acids there is." "Ants!" "Look." "What the hell is that?" "Sandstorm." "Take cover." " Where?" " Move it!" "There's sand everywhere." " Are we all okay?" " Where's the fuel?" "Thejerrycan." "It's almost empty." "Charlie..." "It's fucked." "So, my friend... are we." " How much further?" " We could go right past it." "He's right." "Let's stop here for the night and carry on in the morning." "The prospector's truck can't be far." "We should rest for the night." "Well... this is about as bad place as any." "This gasoline should keep it away." "That's the end of it." "You know... this petrol will evaporate soon." "Yeah." "What's that sound?" " It's the sound of the desert." " What?" "It's when... the grains of sand roll against each other." "They create this..." "vibrating moan." "What causes the grains of sand to roll against each other?" "Normally the wind." "There is no wind." "My God!" "Magda!" "It got Magda." "What the fuck is that?" "Ants." "Listen." "Radio." "That's the prospector's truck." "It must bejust over that dune." "Lucky the radio still works." "Johan will be here soon." "Take a look at this." "Karl." "Give me your flashlight." " What is it?" " I don't know for sure, but... it looks like some kind of nursery." "A nursery?" "For what?" "The queen." "What?" "That creature." "Esikhulu." "It's ants." "The ants on Titus... they were solid, man, like flesh." "That's it!" "They just want the bones." "It gives them structure like a skeleton." "When you shot up the sleeping bag, we smashed up the bones." "So then it needed one of us." "But why?" "Survival." "Her home's been busted up." "She can't go anywhere alone." "Give her a set of bones... she can go everywhere." "Ants?" "That's impossible." "Why?" "They've been here since before the dinosaurs." "Millions of years." "It's like Titus said." "Esikhulu." "In the heart of the colony... lies the queen." "Karl?" "Get out of the hole." "Drop your gun." "Now!" "Mikki, drop your gun now." "You're under arrest." "Move." "Down on your knees." "Don't be stupid, Johan." "We don't have time for this." "Shut up!" "They sent me to sort out this mess." "Where are the others?" " They're all dead." " Back up there." "Who's dead?" "The prospectors." "Magda, Titus, Kurt..." " Magda, dead?" "Bullshit!" " Listen to us, Johan." "Why?" "You're supposed to be at C camp." "And now you people are all here." " And half you crew's dead." " No one killed anyone." "Don't you see?" " It's Esikhulu." " Jesus!" "You people are bloody crazy." "I know what happened here." "The prospectors found a diamond pipe and they probably grabbed some stones." "You think we stole the diamonds?" "Fucking a, pal." "And now I got the whole lot of you." "You're gonna sit for a long time." "Nice try, sweetheart." "Now, get across there with your boyfriend before I get really cross." " You always were a pig, Johan." " Was that your secret weapon, Karl?" "You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that." "Get in the bloody truck!" " Fuck you!" " Move!" "Maybe when we get back to the fuel truck... he'll see what we're talking about and let us go." "This idiot's been itching to take me down." "If he finds what's left of Titus and Magda... he'll use that against us." "Look and learn, my friend." "Look and learn." "Karl!" "Stop!" "He'll come around soon." "He'll be okay." " Now let's get out of here." " Not yet." "We're going after it." "Are you crazy?" "This is our chance." "Mikki, this thing is too unique." "We can'tjust walk away from it." " This thing is a fucking killer!" " Exactly." "And right now, it's between us... and C camp." "Now, it's looking for a nest." "Some place it can..." " Start a new colony." " Right." "The old Evangeline Mine." "That's right." "This time we level the playing field." "Gently, gently." "Nitroglycerin." " Hey, what about me?" " You?" " You can eat shit and die." " You're under arrest for murder!" "Does it look like I'm under arrest?" "I'll get you for this, Karl." "I swear!" "Shit!" "Just point and shoot." "All right." "It could be anywhere." "We're never gonna see it." "Guys." "It's a generator." "Forget it." "This place has been out of use for ages." "It's still got compression." "Let me see your knife." "You're wasting time, man." "All right, smart ass." "Now, let's get down to business." "We have to go low." "The nest'll be buried." "Watch your step, guys." "There it is!" "Mikki." "You want to play hard to get, do you?" " Karl!" " What?" " We should stick together." " Stop!" "Get down!" "It wants you to go in there." "Let it comes to us!" "No!" "We must finish it now!" "Karl!" "Karl, get out of there!" "Get out of there!" "Here!" "You okay?" "Not bad for a city boy." " It's got me by the leg!" " Hang on." " Oh God!" " We got you." "Karl!" "Hang on!" "Get out, it's gonna blow." "It's starting to collapse!" "It's the queen." "Mikki, look!" "It's like a giant brain." "The central intelligence." "The walls are moving!" "Mikki..." "This is the controlling organism." "Then let's kill the bitch and get out of here!" "Kill it!" "Do it now!" " I can't." " We've got to get out of here." "Kill it!" "Kill it!" "Come on!" "Run!" "It's through here." "Are you okay?" "I've been better." "It's all right." "It's over." "Come on." "Oh my God!" "Johan!" "What?" "Well... they've isolated that place so well... there's nothing that can get through." "You know..." "I think I could get into this fieldwork stuff." "Does that mean... you'll be moving round more?" "Yeah." "I mean, there's plenty of time later to think about settling down." "Amen to that." "There's a big world out there." "Wouldn't want to paint it." "Here." "You should have this." "Maybe we should get..." " the spares for the mine." " Yeah." "Come." "Okay, let's put this in the back of the taxi." "Are you sure you won't come?" "I'm not ready to go back." "They still need me up at the C camp." "Fatty Nghuza." "Take care of yourself, surfer boy." "Esikhulu."