"You unlock this door with the key of imagination." "Beyond it is another dimension- a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind." "You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas." "You've just crossed over into the twilight zone." "Mr. Smith- what's your present course and speed?" "Setting on course 2-6-0 degrees through." "Speed, 10 knots, sir." "Come right to new course 2-7-0 and navigate turns for 15 knots." "Aye, aye, sir." "Come right to new course 2-7-0." "Aye, sir." "Coming right to new course, 2-7-0." "All engines ahead standard indicate 1-2-6, turns for 15 knots." "Aye, sir." "All engines ahead standard." "1-2-6 turns for 15 knots." "Engine room answers." "All engines ahead standard, 1-2-6 turns for 15 knots, sir." "Very well." "Steady on new course 2-7-0, sir." "Very well." "Damage report, sir, on the motor whale boat." "Let's hear it." "It's completely filled with water." "It took a licking in that storm." "It was a corker of a swell, sir." "I'm aware of the storm, mr." "Marmer." "I'm also aware of the swell, and i'm aware that that boat was not properly secured for heavy weather." "Yes, sir." "Tell the chief boatswain's mate i want to see him in my cabin." "Aye, aye, sir." "On the double!" "Chief boatswain's mate bell reporting as ordered, sir." "At ease, chief." "That shouldn't be too difficult for you, should it?" "Sir?" "The state of being at ease." "You're the champion of the fleet, when it comes to being at ease, bell." "I don't understand, sir." "You're the chief boatswain's mate." "You run the deck division, handle the boat's rigging in and out, supervise the heavy equipment and eight or ten other cardinal duties you're responsible for, not the least of which, chief boatswain's mate bell," "is the proper securing of the whale boat!" "Now, last night, we had a bad swell." "That boat should've been rigged in." "Instead it was left swung out, and as a result, she's 80% damaged and filled up like a pool." "Where were you?" "Begging the captain's pardon, i... don't beg my pardon!" "Just tell me, in a brief explanatory way, why you couldn't handle the initiatives of a chief boatswain's mate, and why the efficiency of this ship suffered." "We had nine hours' warning of that storm, bell." "This ship should've been 100% prepared." "Instead it wasn't, and i want to know why!" "I did the best i could, sir." "I... i haven't been feeling up to par." "Well, did you report to sick bay?" "No, sir, i didn't report to, um... to, uh, to sick bay, sir." "Now, look, chief, i'm not in business to pistol-whip my crew." "I want a tight ship, that's true- but i happen to care very much if one of my sailors has a problem and can't function because of it." "You've rated 4-0 all the way down the line for as long as you've served on this ship." "Suddenly, in the last three days, you've stowed away your seamanship in the trunk and come up with some dumbhead boners i wouldn't expect from a 17-year-old boot." "Bell, what is the problem?" "There is a problem, then." "No, sir, no problem, sir." "I... i'll watch it in the future, sir." "All right." "We'll leave it that way, then." "If you want to bend my ear, you know where my cabin is." "Aye, sir." "Chief?" "Hey, chief, you all right?" "You okay, chief?" "You look a little woozy there." "Yeah." "Yeah, i'm okay." "Sir, contact bearing 2-8-0." "1,100 yards." "Echo quality is sharp." "Evaluate as possible submarine but not moving." "Plotting dead in the water." "D.i.w.?" "Ship to listen." "Sounds like... sounds like hammering or something, sir." "Bridge, sonar." "Bridge on." "I have sonar contact bearing 2-8-0 degrees true range 1,100 yards." "Sounds like a metal object." "Bearing clear." "What kind of object, sonar?" "We can't tell, sir." "From its appearance on the scope, it's some kind of large object." "It could be a submarine." "Bridge, aye." "Sonar puts a contact, captain." "2-8-0, 1,100 yards." "Evaluation, a possible submarine." "Possible submarine?" "Stay on course." "I want to check the scope." "Incident 100 miles off the coast of guadalcanal." "Time, the present." "The united states naval destroyer on what has been a most uneventful cruise." "In a moment, they're going to send a man down 30 fathoms and check on a noisemaker- someone or something tapping on metal." "You may or may not read the results in a naval report because captain beecham and his crew have just set a course that will lead this ship and everyone on it into the twilight zone." "How long have you been in contact?" "About three minutes, sir." "It's a funny one." "Sure sounds like tapping on metal." "That's what i think, sir." "Bridge, change course to 0-3-0 and reduce speed to five knots." "Bridge, aye." "Try making contact by underwater telephone." "I've already tried." "No response, sir." "It stopped now." "But sonar still has a contact." "Stay on it." "I'll be on the bridge." "Steady on course, 0-3-0." "All engines ahead, one-third, 5-0 rpms for five knots, sir." "Very well." "We're directly over the object." "All engines stop." "Aye, sir." "All engines stop." "All engines stop, sir." "Very well." "Do you hear it, sir?" "Hold it." "I want dead quiet." "Ain't that a kick in the head." "What do you suppose it is?" "Ghosts, man, ghosts." "What do you think it is, chief?" "I never heard anything like that before." "Stow it!" "Let's keep it quiet down there." "You okay, now, chief?" "Yes." "I'm okay." "You blacked out up on the deck, chief." "I'm all right." "Yeah, now, i think you better lie flat for a little while." "I'll be all right." "Yeah, i wouldn't doubt it, chief, but... right now you look like a class-a shipwreck." "We still stopped?" "Yeah, we're still stopped." "We're all curious about what's making that noise." "What's the trouble, chief, hmm?" "Oh, boy." "Oh, boy, that's a funny feeling." "What kind of feeling?" "I, uh... i can't describe it." "What do you suppose that is down there?" "Don't you worry about it, whatever it is." "Just get some rest." "Mr. Smith?" "Captain?" "I want you to stay grafted to me, lieutenant." "I may have to be turning in a report that'll stick me on a garbage barge." "Or in the navy hospital." "I want 15 witnesses at my hearing and all on my side." "Could be a sub, sir, and we could be hearing it." "It's only about 30 fathoms." "Sure, it could be a sub, mister." "That's probably what it is." "But what about this sub- has it got two arms and a fist?" "Somebody's making that noise down that." "Lieutenant, do we have a diver onboard?" "Yes, sir- mcclure, first division." "Have him report up here on the double." "We'll send him down there and have him knock on the door." "And then what, sir?" "We'll see who invites him in!" "Boatswain's mate mcclure reporting, sir." "You're the diver, right?" "Right, sir." "Here's the picture." "We've got something below us, mcclure." "We don't know what it is." "It's metal, the size of a sub hull." "Get your equipment and go down there." "Stay in touch with us from the moment you hit the water till the moment you reach it." "Is that understood?" "Yes, sir." "Whatever the object is, there's somebody inside, or at least something that's making a noise." "When you get down there, listen to the sound very closely." "We may be getting it distorted up here." "Aye, aye, sir- i understand." "Hop to it." "Aye, sir." "It's wild." "That it is, lieutenant." "But if it isn't a sub, sir, what is it?" "Maybe it's a spanish galleon with a treasure chest and a loose lid that's off its hinges." "Or maybe it's... maybe it's just our imagination." "Diver going over the starboard side." "Bridge." "This is the captain." "I hear you loud and clear." "Keep talking, mcclure." "It's a sub, sir." "No question about that." "Have you reached her, mcclure?" "I'm standing alongside." "I don't hear anything, though." "Mcclure." "Her bow is buried about 15 feet into the bottom." "I can't read any identification." "It's covered up." "On the side of the conning tower." "Can you read a number there?" "No, sir, there's been damage there." "The number's been obliterated." "Do you hear that, mcclure?" "Yes, sir, i do." "She's coming from amidships." "I'm moving toward there now." "Yes, sir, that's where it's coming from." "Tap on the hull and see if you get a response." "Was that you, mcclure?" "Yes, sir." "No response, sir." "I don't hear anything anymore." "There should be three hatches." "One on the bow, one on the conning tower, and one on the stern." "Is the ship upright?" "She's upright, sir, at about a 30-degree angle." "Climb up on her deck and check the hatches." "See if you can open them." "The mar hatch is buried, sir." "I can't get through to that." "I'll check on the one over the conning tower." "Mcclure, what's the condition?" "The conning tower hatch is all bent, sir." "I can't move the wheel." "This whole deck appears to have been scraped." "Wait a minute." "Hatch on the stern the same way, sir." "I can't turn her." "Whoever she is, sir, she must've really caught it." "Say it again, mcclure." "She must've what?" "Caught it, sir." "The whole deck is pockmarked with shell damage- machine gun damage, too." "Was that you, mcclure?" "No, sir." "It's coming from inside the hull." "Answer right away." "Answer right now." "This is wild." "There is somebody inside." "Can you pinpoint the sound, mcclure?" "Can you tell precisely where it's coming from?" "I think... i think it's... wait a minute." "Yes, sir." "Directly amidships." "Just below the tower." "Call sonar." "Try to telephone again." "Sonar, bridge." "Try your underwater telephone again." "Roger." "Unknown station, this is lady." "Over." "Unknown station, this is lady." "Over." "Bridge, sonar." "No response, sir, on the phone." "No more contact, sir." "Stay as long as you can and then come up when you're ready." "Aye, aye, sir." "Get the com officer- i want a message." ""Action to com seventh fleet." ""Info to cinc pac fleet." "Appraise him of situation."" "Get on it." "Radio, bridge." "Radio, aye." "Captain wants a message." "Action to com seventh fleet." "Info cinc pac fleet." "Have located sunken sub." "Position, latitude 0-9-3-0-0-0 south." "Longitude 1-6-0-4-8-0-0 east." "Request confirm location of all known sinkings this area." "Will remain this area until further advised." "Precedence, operational immediate." "Radio, aye." "Any ideas, captain?" "Oh, an even dozen." "Only every one of them nullifies the one ahead of it." "If it's one of our subs, we would have a report." "Even if it's somebody else's, why haven't they gone out the torpedo tubes?" "There's another common denominator." "That sub was hit by shellfire." "Whatever action took place must've happened within a period of hours or no one would still be alive." "But there's been no action or we'd have seen it or heard it." "Now, put all that together and it spells nothing." "Mcclure is on his way back up, sir." "Have him report to the sonar shack." "That's where i'll be." "Yes, sir." "How do you feel now, chief?" "You had a pretty good sleep." "Um... what's new from down below?" "Nothing much." "Scuttlebutt is were going to try and take her in tow." "Hey, doc." "Yeah, chief." "Um... i was just wondering about something." "Go ahead, chief." "This feeling of mine, i... what kind of feeling, chief?" "I can't... i... i get this feeling... i can't stay in one place." "I got to get up and go out." "This crazy feeling that i'm... that you're what, chief?" "That somebody is ordering me someplace, is pulling me someplace." "And if i didn't stay put, if i didn't fight it, i'd go up on deck, and i'd never come back." "Huh?" "Pretty... sound pretty nuts?" "Don't you worry about what it sounds like." "Chief, i think maybe you better stay down here with me a little while." "Come on, now." "Everything's going to be all right." "Just take it easy and get a little sleep." "There is somebody inside her, sir." "I'll lay odds on that." "What about the sub itself?" "Could you judge her length?" "Oh, i'd guess her to be 300 feet, sir, with a 25-foot beam." "She sounds like one of ours." "She looks like one of ours." "There were ballast tanks and flooding ports on the underside." "She's moving, sir." "That was the other thing, captain." "She wasn't stuck in tight." "Deep, yes, but not tight." "She seemed to be swaying when i was down there." "Are you cold, mcclure?" "I've been warmer, sir." "And you will be again, but now you'll get colder." "Get some coffee, and go back down." "Check her bow." "She may have pulled herself loose, and you can read the number." "Sonar, bridge." "Sonar, aye." "Radio report from com seventh fleet reports no sinkings of any kind." "Authorizes us to remain on scene and operate at own discretion for salvage and rescue." "Roger." "No sinkings?" "All right." "Mcclure, if you can get me a number off her hull, we may be able to sleep tonight." "Aye, sir." "If they're in there and alive and can't use the torpedo tubes, how do we get them out?" "Bridge, this is mcclure." "Go ahead, mcclure." "This is the captain." "She's pulled herself out, sir." "Here's your number, captain." "7-1-4." "7-1-4?" "She's one of ours." "Come on up here, mcclure, and get yourself a broiled steak on me." "Get that book with the hull numbers." "7-1-4." "7-1... here it is, 7-1-4." ""Commissioned december, 1941." ""Sunk in action" ""first battle of the solomons, august 7, 1942."" "August 7, 1942." "Well, that was 20 years ago." "Captain beecham, who's down there?" "Who's inside that sub?" "Somebody who dies damn hard." "Twilight zonewill continue after station identification." "Who is it?" "Uh, chief matthews, sir." "Come on in, doc." "Stand easy, chief." "Oh, thank you, captain." "What is it?" "Captain, i'd like to talk to you about one of the men." "Sure, sit down." "Thank you, sir." "Go ahead." "What do you know about chief bell?" "I know his rating and his service record." "What else am i supposed to know?" "He's down in sick bay." "I know that- what's the trouble?" "It's an illusion or a psychosis or whatever." "I don't know." "That's a little out of my line, captain." "I do know, though, that he needs help- psychiatric help." "I'm sorry to hear that, doc." "Funny." "Captain?" "Funny about some men." "Bell, for instance..." "21 years navy." "Served in everything from a scow to a carrier and all of a sudden he cracks up like a dinghy in a storm." "I never figured a man like bell would crack up." "Would you, doc?" "I can't say, captain." "But as for cracking up, that's what he's doing." "He has a look about him i can't describe but it's not a look you see very often." "Usually it's an hour after a battle when the eyes face outward but you know they're really looking inside." "Well, that's what he looks like- like a man who's just been picked up off a raft full of dead men." "That's what he looks like, captain." "All right." "Keep him down there." "When we put back to port, i'll recommend hospitalization for him and some examinations." "Thanks for coming in, doc." "Aye, aye, captain." "Quiet, huh?" "Yeah." "Yeah, it's too quiet." "How long has it been now?" "About three hours." "Is he going to send mcclure down there again?" "Beats me." "All i know is, there's a boiler tender second who's making book in the crew's quarters that that thing below us is a sea monster with three heads, and we're all living on borrowed time." "Captain." "I don't know what scares me more:" "When they pound or when they shut up." "I don't know what scaresmemore:" "A 20-year-old sub with somebody alive inside or what the commander of the pacific fleet will say when i tell him there's a 20-year-old sub with somebody alive inside." "Coffee, captain?" "Please." "Furthermore, i've got a chief boatswain's mate who has something eating at him." "Bell?" "Mm-hmm, bell." "What made him black out?" "Well, that's part of the problem." "Could be he's dredging up a couple of memories." "What do you mean, memories?" "Well, this is world war ii revisited for him." "He was picked up here after a sinking." "A sinking?" "Sit down, marmer." "That's the way i hear it." "He was on a ship that was hit- the only survivor." "They pulled him out of the water." "He had a pretty rough time." "Maybe he is dredging up memories." "Here we go again." "I'll be in the sonar shack." "Still coming from down below, captain?" "Yeah." "How's the patient?" "Well, he's asleep." "I'm just going to get some coffee." "Well, you keep me posted, will you?" "Aye, aye, sir." "What's the matter, chief, what happened?" "I was looking in the mirror, and i saw faces that... they were staring at me." "They were pointing at me." "Now, i know this sounds crazy, but they were there." "It was as if they were ordering me into the mirror, pulling me in... doc?" "You, uh, see me in the mirror?" "Huh?" "Yeah, i see you." "Now, i see you just fine, chief." "Now, you remember that, huh?" "I see you fine." "Now, nobody is ordering you anywhere, and you're not going anyplace." "We're going to whip this, i promise you." "We're going to whip this!" "It's some equipment down there." "Something loose that's swinging back and forth, hitting the bulkhead." "It's possible." "It's the only explanation." "A 20-year-old sub in the deep six since the war?" "Well, whoever it is, whatever it is, it's losing steam." "I wouldn't make book on this, but i've got a hunch that if we don't get inside, and i mean quick, we're going to miss the boat." "So we go down again." "Like you told the o.d., we knock on the door." "We don't knock on the door this time." "Now we kick the door open!" "If you break in that way, it's a sure bet the pressure will kill whatever's alive down there." "Then we do it the one other way we've got." "Send a message to com sub pac." "Tell them we're going to need a sub rescue ship here." "Tell them to report to scene for rescue attempt." "Airlock chamber, huh?" "That's all we've got left." "Get on it right away, will you?" "I'll be on the bridge." "Radio, sonar." "To com sub pac, emergency precedence." "Where are you going, chief?" "Doc, who's outside?" "What?" "Who's outside in the passageway?" "There's nobody out there who shouldn't be." "Let me tell you something, chief." "You can talk yourself into any kind of nightmare you want." "You just have to let the gates down a bit, and that stuff seeps in." "Only there's nobody blowing it from the other side." "It's you, yourself." "Now, there's nobody out there." "Nobody at all." "Now, who did you think was out there?" "I don't know." "You're wound up tight, chief, and i think you're doing most of this to yourself, because there's nothing out there on that passageway except a long stretch of deck and steel." "Nothing else." "You want to take a look?" "Doc, what's happening to me?" "Doc, no, please tell me what's happening to me." "You've got to grab hold of yourself." "You're going to talk yourself into a straightjacket." "You're going to build so many nightmares into that brain of yours... the same feeling?" "It's the same thing." "It's just as if somebody out there was waiting for me." "Just as if something out there's pulling me." "Hey, doc?" "What, chief?" "Doc, i'm scared to open the door." "Well, then don't." "I told you there's nobody out there." "Doc, i'm scared to open this door, but i got to." "Oh, my dear god in heaven." "Did you see them, doc?" "Did you see them?" "Men... men looking at me." "They were... they were wet, they were dripping wet, and they were not alive!" "No, i didn't see anything, chief." "Neither did you." "Now, did you hear me?" "You didn't see a thing." "Not a bloody worshipping thing." "All you saw was what your scare-brain told you to see." "That's all that it was." "What you talked yourself into wanting to see!" "Seaweed." "That about does it, mcclure." "Go down, and see if you can get another response." "It'll be a great help to the sub rescue outfit if you can confirm a specific location." "How will they get in, sir?" "Through the forward torpedo compartment of the stern." "They'll have to blow each of the six other compartments between them before they can enter any part." "Well, what if i don't get an answer?" "We haven't heard from them in almost a half hour." "If you can't get an answer, come on back up." "The a.s.r. Team will pick it up from here." "No survivors then, sir- is that what it'll mean?" "That's what it'll mean- no survivors." "Okay, mcclure, hop to it." "Aye, sir." "I've reached the sub, sir." "The next noise you hear, that'll be me." "Go ahead, pound away." "What about it, mcclure, any response?" "No response, sir." "No response anywhere." "Keep trying a few minutes." "Yes, sir." "Mcclure?" "I've found something." "Wait a minute." "It's a pair of dog tags." "What about response, mcclure?" "Can you hear anything?" "No, sir, i don't hear a thing." "Well, give them a few more minutes, and then come on back up." "Yes, sir." "No soap, i guess." "No soap." "That frosts, that really frosts." "To get so close to those poor devils and then... that sub rescue ship is due here about 0300." "Keep your eye peeled." "I'm going aft." "Aye, sir." "This is what i found, sir." "Thanks, mcclure, good job." "Go get yourself some coffee." "But i will need you one more time." "When the a.s.r. Team gets here, you'll have to go down with them as pathfinder, give them all the help they need." "Excuse me, sir, but... well, you better look at those tags." "They're yours, aren't they?" "Mcclure found them on the deck of the sub down there." "When did you lose them, boats?" "That was a... long time ago, sir." "When?" "Um... oh, uh... 20... 20 years ago, sir." "20 years ago." "Sit down, boats." "Go ahead, sit down." "Go on." "I was, uh aboard ship, sir." "What ship?" "Submarine." "Sir, that... that one down below us, that... that was my boat." "What's making the noise down there, boats?" "Do you know?" "What's it all about?" "We were on the surface." "It... it was night." "I was, uh... i was a signalman then." "I was supposed to put an infrared filter on the, uh on the, uh, signal light, otherwise, the japs would have seen us." "They would have seen the light." "They would have found us." "I understand." "I don't know... i don't know what happened." "I, uh... l-i dropped the, uh, signal light." "The infrared filter fell off." "They were waiting for us out there, the jap destroyers." "They saw our light." "They let us have it." "They straddled us with their first salvo." "The, uh, captain took the sub down, but it was too late." "They unloaded depth charges." "That sub wasn't ever going to be able to come up again." "What about you, boats?" "I got flung over the side when that first salvo hit." "Mm-hmm." "And, uh... all the time i i was in the water there, i could, i could... you could what?" "I could, uh... i could hear the, uh... i could hear the, um... i could hear the voices of our guys." "They were, uh... they were screaming!" "All right, boats!" "Boats, sit down!" "All right, all right now." "I know what it was." "This thing has been bugging me." "I know, i know what it is." "All right, what is it?" "I got out, see?" "One guy in our whole crew- i got out." "Oh, i got picked up later by one of our destroyers." "I got out." "You understand that, captain?" "I... i sunk that sub, right?" "I was responsible." "Yes." "I got out." "I want you to listen to me now." "Yeah, that's what this thing... this thing... see, them guys... them guys down there in that sub, they know i'm up here." "Bell, i want you to hear me out now." "Yeah, that's what this thing has been, see?" "I should be down there with them." "Now, bell... i should be down in that sub." "I should be dead." "Bell!" "See?" "And all this noise, see- this pounding, this clanging- that's them guys down there." "They're calling muster on me." "Bell, i want you to hear me out now." "Bell, bell, i want you to hear me out!" "Bell!" "Captain, shh!" "Shh!" "Bell, i want you to quiet down and hear me out and listen to a little logic now and a little reason." "Bell, listen to me!" "Now you listen to me." "They're calling muster on me." "Bell, listen to me!" "Just listen to a little logic, a little reason!" "One man does not sink a sub, and one lousy circumstance does not decide a battle, and one case of sudden fear does not add up to a coward." "You've been taking a dirty rap for 20 years." "You've slept with it, you've hung it around your neck, you've let it dig deep down inside and tear you to pieces." "Let me tell you something, bell." "It's not deserved, it's not right." "It's a dead weight guilt that you've blown way out of proportion to the facts." "And do you know what the facts are, bell?" "The facts are that that sub was dead in the water and surrounded by enemy craft." "That was a crew that was doomed, do you understand that?" "A frightened sailor didn't destroy that ship or kill off that crew." "Bell!" "You've got to understand." "A war did!" "A set of circumstances did!" "Now, bell, you've got to believe me." "All you should put in your seabag is a regret, not a guilt." "Do you understand, bell?" "Not a guilt!" "By your leave, sir." "They're calling muster on me." "Bell!" "They're calling muster on me!" "They're calling muster on me!" "Man overboard, starboard side!" "Man overboard, starboard side." "Pass the word, man overboard, starboard side." "We've been searching for ten hours, sir." "It's no use." "We can't find the body." "The rescue team ought to be in that sub by now." "Yeah." "You got in." "Yes, sir." "It was a wreck inside, sir." "Nobody had a chance." "Nobody?" "Nobody, sir." "The periscope shears had been cut in half, and one whole section was just hanging there swinging back and forth." "That was making the noise then." "Thatwasmaking the noise, wasn't it?" "I guess so, sir." "But... but what?" "There were eight men in the control room." "Eight men, or what was left of them, and... one of them... one of them had a hammer in his hand." "Mcclure... let's just say that that's part of the story you tell your grandchildren, that you make up yourself." "Tell them anything you like." "Aye, sir." "Funny thing, how long it takes some men to die or to find any peace at all." "Sometimes i think that's the worst thing there is about war- not just what it does to the bodies... but what it does to the minds." "So rest in peace, chief bell." "I think it's your due now." "Small naval engagement, the month of april, 1963." "Not to be found in any historical annals." "Look for this one filed under "h" for "haunting"" "in the twilight zone." "Next ontwilight zone, a marvelously exciting excursion into a very strange place called "valley of the shadow."" "It comes from the probing mind of mr." "Charles beaumont, and whether you're a science fiction buff, a fantasy lover or just needful of some escape, this one should fill most of your requirements." "I thought you told me my car was going to be repaired." "Please sit down." "I don't want to sit down." "I want to know why nothing's been done to my car." "Why it's just sitting out there." "Primarily because you won't be needing it anymore." "Oh, no?" "Well, why?" "Because you are never going to leave peaceful valley." "Wait a minute." "Yeah, i think i got this thing figured out." "Oh?" "Well, sure." "Peaceful valley is a town full of lunatics, and you guys head the list." "Now what do you mean i'm not ever going to be able to leave here?" "'Cause, mr." "Redfield, you stumbled upon the best kept secret in the world."