"Containment breach!" "We've had a major containment breach!" "Oh, my God." "The security system appears to be malfunctioning!" "Seal the base, Campion!" "If the main gate's still open, shut it!" "Yes, sir." "People are dying like flies down here!" "Use the manual gate override, Campion!" "Do it now, do it now!" "Sally." "Baby Lavon." "Campion!" "This is a Code Red!" "We've lost one of the bugs!" "Repeat, we have lost one of the bugs!" "You have to close the gate!" "Sally!" "Charlie?" "We gotta get out of here." "What's going on?" "You know what." "Get the baby stuff, let's go!" "Oh, my God!" "Come on!" "Let's go!" "l'm coming!" "Let's go!" "Come on!" "Give me the baby!" "All right, let's go." "Slow down, Charlie." "Charlie, slow down!" "Charlie, you'll get us all killed!" "Sorry, baby." "Blackout!" "And now, here is the host ofBlackout, Bob Goen." "Coming up next, we got Kathi Kamen Goldmark..." "America 's new country sweetheart." "Sure wish she was my sweetheart." "Why don't you listen to me, old man?" "Been listening to you more than 20 years now, ain't I?" "All that wisdom and I ain't rich yet." "Yeah, well, if you learned some simple economics." "Old man Vic thinks simple economics... is some new breed of Irishman." "Ain't you ignorant!" "Licking the glue off the back of them food stamps... has finally done something to your brain." "Well, I got to feed your daughter, don't I?" "Shut off the pumps." "Look at him, Stu." "You don't think he did that to his face falling out of the car, do you?" "I doubt it." "Just take it easy now." "Calm down." "Hap!" "Phone rescue services in Braintree now." "Hurry up!" "Go on!" "Just take it easy, friend." "It's gonna be all right." "Just lie still now. lt's all right." "It's gonna be all right." "Ambulance will be here in 10 minutes." "My wife and my baby are sick." "They need help." "Help my wife and my baby." "They're sick, they need help!" "Okay, mister, they're fine." "You just want to sit right there." "The ambulance is on its way." "We didn't get out in time after all." "You just try to rest yourself, okay?" "Just take it easy now." "Gate malfunctioned, otherwise we would've died in the compound." "Project Blue." "Get his head over to the side, Stu." "He's gonna choke." "Get your head down." "Come on." "Like I told you!" "I ain't got time to throw a line over that dog's head!" "You mind me now!" "What's he got?" "You got any idea?" "Maybe it's food poisoning." "He's got California plates here." "Maybe he got some bad chow at a roadside stand or something." "I hope you're right." "I seen cholera back in '58 down near Nogales." "This is what it looks like." "Sally and the baby, they were sick since Salt Lake City... but I felt fine until this morning." "Are you sure Sally and my baby are okay?" "There was a man with us some of the time." "He was a dark man." "I was looking through the rear-view mirror... and I'd see him just sitting there grinning at me." "I thought I could outrun him... but you can't outrun the dark man." "Not now." "Hilly, put this on the wall." "Come." "General Starkey, sir!" "Close the door and drop the bull, Len." "Yes, sir." "It killed them in a hurry down there." "Telemetry suggests even the ones who got their respirators on... died within 12 minutes." "The rest of them were gone in five." "You believe that?" "Do I have a choice?" "No." "Apparently none of us do." "It's nothing but a souped-up version of the flu." "Herbert Denninger of the National Disease Control Center... the Pentagon's bright boy of the week, says once we find Campion... we'll know if it's actually going to jump to the outside." "He says it might mutate, but that won't help the people that catch it." "Listen, I have what might be something-- -lt'll just take them longer to die, that's all." "Most people are gonna think they've got the plain old non-lethal flu... right up to the very end." "And that's the biggest break we've had so far." "All because a gate malfunctioned, and some glorified TV repairman... got his family and ran for the hills." "I'd like to get him and string him up by" "We found him." "We located Campion." "He crash-landed at a gas station on the outskirts... of a one-stoplight town in east Texas." "He made it halfway across the country?" "How'd he do that?" "l don't know." "The important thing is, right now, we've got a shot at containing this." "ls he dead or alive?" "He's dead." "Denninger says this stuff has a communicability level... of over 99%." "Do you understand what that means?" "Any chance we had of containing it went by the boards... when Campion bought his first takeout hamburger." "We can't think that way, Billy." "Yeah, you're right." "Of course you are." "What about the rest of his family?" "They're dead, sir." "Contact with townspeople was minimal." "That doesn't matter." "We gotta shut that town down, lock it up... dig a moat around it." "That operation's already on the launching pad, sir." "What kind of coverage you come up with?" "Anthrax." "New strain." "Yeah, it's a new one, all right." "It's real new." "It's very good at its job, too." "Too good." "lt's bad, General, but it could be worse." "How's that?" "What's the name of this town?" "Arnette." "Arnette, Texas." "Cold got you down?" "Chills, fever?" "Sounds like you need a buddy!" "Flu Buddy!" "Fast-acting Flu Buddy, available at pharmacies everywhere." "Flu Buddy!" "And now let's get back to the Lone Star matinee movie." "State Patrol, Hap." "Looks like your cousin Joe-Bob." "Hey, Joe-Bob." "Want me to fill her up for you?" "No, sir, I come by on other business." "Was that old geezer here last night when that guy took out your pumps?" "Vic?" "He's here just about every night." "Maybe he ought to hear this, too." "Hear what?" "There's strangers crawling all over Braintree." "Supposed to be U.S. Health Service guys... but they came in a C-5A transport plane, and they look like regular Army to me." "Then there's been three more big transport planes... land over Starland in Arkansas since noon." "It was cholera. I knew it was." "I don't know nothing about that." "I'll tell you one thing, though." "If the Feds are thinking about a quarantine... then you might have a little bit more to worry about than cholera." "I just thought you ought to know what's stirring in the weeds, Hap." "If any of them other boys from last night come by... you ought to pass the word along to them." "Just don't mention my name." "You ought take care of that, old-timer." "Them summer colds are the worst." "What if it ain't a cold?" "What if I got whatever he had?" "That guy last night?" "It's probably just the sniffles, that's all." "Maybe I ought to close up the station for the rest of the day." "Call the others and see how they're feeling." "Might not be a bad idea." "Dang!" "This is Unit 16 to base." "I'm seeing a lot of Army traffic on State 17... westbound in the direction of Arnette." "You heard anything about that?" "Bye." "Please advise if you've been anywhere near Arnette today." "Bye." "Negative, base." "I've been over by the Arkansas state line all day." "Well, that's fine then." "Suggest you let the Army mind their business... and you mind yours, Unit 16." "Bye." "You don't have to be so grouchy about it, Cynthia !" "Unit 16, over and out." "All right, let's move it out." "Come on, toss it!" "Shoot it!" "Hold it right there, now!" "I can't leave my store." "Hey, what right have you got to push me around?" "Stuart Richard Redman, sir." "He was at the station." "Sounds like you're having a busy day." "Dr. Herbert Denninger, Mr. Redman." "Will you come with us?" "You want to get your hand off my arm, hoss?" "He was in direct contact with Campion." "Put him in the truck. lf he resists...." "l ain't gonna resist." "Country don't mean dumb." "I ain't going!" "I ain't!" "Get your hands off her!" "Stay where you are, Mr. Redman." "That's none of your affair." "Stu, what's happening?" "They want to take us to Vermont!" "Mr. Redman, I insist you get into the truck right now, or...." "Or what?" "You'll shoot me?" "That don't scare me much, hoss." "If we got what that guy Campion had, we're dead already." "Right?" "Well, our flying time today will be three hours and forty minutes... and Uncle Sam is buying all the drinks." "What the hell's wrong with us?" "ls it cholera?" "Absolutely not." "You'll be getting all the details...." "When?" "Shortly after you land." "I ain't been this scared since the Mekong Delta in '69." "No, that ain't true." "I never been this scared." "It's just the ones that was there when Campion croaked, ain't it?" "Us, our families, the people we been around since." "Right now, yeah." "What do you mean, right now?" "Okay, people, saddle up." "Let's go!" "You're on Uncle Sam's time now." "Move it." "Move them out!" "Arnette's been cancelled." "Serious?" "What do you think?" "I don't know." "I think we're in big trouble." "And now, by request from Bay Ridge..." "Larry Underwood and Baby Can You Dig Your Man." "Well, baby, can you?" "Ma !" "You look beautiful." "Aren't you glad to see me?" "Should I be, Larry?" "Well, I can be happy for the both of us if I have to be." "Come on inside, Larry, before the neighbors get an eyeful." "So you know the record cracked the top 50?" "You heard it, right?" "Of course I have." "You sound black." "That brown sound sure do get around!" "Right." "So I'm in L.A... and all of a sudden, everyone's my friend." "And everyone's got a "can't miss" deal." "So I had to get out of there for a little while." "Take a little time off." "How's your back, Ma?" "Pains me some, but I got my pills." "What kind of trouble are you in, Larry?" "Maybe I overspent my advance a little." "I didn't know the record company was gonna be so cheap." "It's no big deal... except I borrowed a little money." "And not from any bank, or you wouldn't be here, right?" "Are the leg-breakers any different on the West Coast than they are here?" "Do they give you a Perrier and Valium before they start hurting you?" "You're just like your father." "l'm not just like Pop!" "You sound pissed off." "l am pissed off, Ma !" "Good." "It's good to know that there's still a real person in there someplace." "How deep a hole are you in?" "And don't lie." "I've seen your car." "About $40,000." "Jesus wept." "But the record's number 21 this week, Ma, with a bullet." "The album hasn't hit the Hot 100 yet, but it will." "$40,000 is nothing." "Nothing." "I'm not gonna let them make me a one-hit wonder, either." "Your son's here to stick around." "I'm going to be famous, Ma." "Even better, I'm going to be rich." "The bed's still in your old room." "I'll make it up, but then I have to go to work." "l'm gonna be late as it is." "All right." "Thanks." "Thanks, Ma." "Welcome home, Larry." "This is interesting." "Now watch this." "It's so damn quick." "The only two left from the gas station are Bruett and Redman, correct?" "Yes." "Bruett's critical and sinking fast... which leaves only Redman, who's not even sick." "Now how in God's name is that possible?" "I don't know, but we're going to find out." "We have to find out." "And soon." "We will." "In other news..." "U.S. Government health officials claim there's nothing strange... in their decision to quarantine a small east Texas town... where a new strain of what's believed to be swine flu... has got half the population in bed... and the other half down with the sniffles." "At the Vermont Center...." "Hello, Mr. Goldsmith!" "Hello, Harold!" "ls Fran around?" "She's in the kitchen, I think." "Hi, Fran." "Hi, Harold." "Thanks, Daddy." "Don't mention it, sweetheart." "l brought you something." "You did?" "is that you?" "Of course, Everleafis just a small literary magazine." "Small but prestigious." "And they only pay in contributors' copies." "Look, Daddy, we know a published writer." "How about that!" "My poem is called "The Crushed Rose." l marked it for you." "I actually sent in three, but, of course, their space is very limited." "Harold, I'm going to read this just as soon as I get a chance." "Thanks." "In the meantime, congratulations." "Thank you." "I had another reason for stopping by, as well." "I was wondering if you would care to accompany me... to the Redwood Cinema this Friday in Boothbay." "They're having a Bergman festival." "I've always found Cries and Whispers to be especially moving." "You see, Amy and I already decided to go to an R.E.M. concert in Portland." "Sorry." "Well, maybe some other time." "I'm sure you'll find somebody to go with." "You know, maybe somebody even your own age." "I mean...." "I didn't mean that." "Hey, no, don't worry about it." "It's okay. I understand, really." "l hope you enjoy the poem..." "l will-- ...and the rest of the magazine." "Why don't you stay and have some iced tea or something?" "No, thanks. I'm actually in sort of a hurry." "I really handled that great, didn't I?" "Considering that Harold Lauder's had a crush on you since he was 9 years old... yeah, I think you did okay." "Let me see that." ""l have stridden the fuming way Of sun-hammered tracks" ""And savage hobo jungles"" "Stop!" "Frannie?" "Are you okay?" "Yeah." "I'm the object of a young poet's unrequited love." "What else could a girl want?" "You and Jess haven't had a fight?" "I haven't seen much of him this summer." "Actually, Jess and I have decided to spend some time apart." "It's like that, is it?" "Yeah, just like that." "Come here." "Give your old man a hug." "What about you?" "How are you doing?" "l'm fine." "I woke up this morning missing your mother, so I came out here." "After seven years... there's a lot of places in the house where she ain't... but this ain't one of them." "Sometimes when I'm out here yanking weeds, I can almost see her." "I love you, Daddy." "I love you, too." "Although I've resigned myself to losing you to Harold Lauder someday." "No!" "You okay?" "And how are you today, Mr. Redman?" "We're just going to do a few routine tests." "lf l could have your arm...." "No, I won't be doing any more tests." "It's just your blood pressure." "Doctor's orders." "No, I want to talk to a doctor." "I want to talk to a doctor in person." "I'm sure that you'll be talking to a doctor very soon." "Yeah, I'm sure I will, too." "No more tests!" "l'm sick of it!" "Mr." "Redman, if" "I think you'd better get in there, don't you?" "Say, if it isn't the man with the little clipboard and the armed escort." "No, we don't shake hands here." "Just a precaution." "A precaution." "Patty Greer says you've given her quite a bit of trouble." "She's quite upset." "That makes two of us." "Being hijacked by some government sons of bitches in space suits... does that to me every time." "If you don't want to see me rip a hole in that... before you can get out of here, you better give me a little information." "You tell me why I'm not sick." "Mr." "Redman, I hardly think...." "Talk to me, damn it!" "l'm sorry, but you...." "Mr. Redman, be reasonable." "Just get out of here, you little weasel." "You send me someone who'll give me some answers." "I don't think you quite appreciate your position." "You're wrong about that." "I do." "Go on." "Get out." "Here he comes." "We won't really hurt him, will we, Ray?" "Quiet down." "Get him !" "What the hell are you waiting for?" "Next time I yell, friend, you're gonna pay attention." "I guarantee it." "Hold him !" "Hold the sucker!" "Hold him. I'm gonna mess him up." "How come he don't say nothing?" "By the time I finish with him, he'll be singing..." "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." "Sucker almost ruined my favorite shirt." "I'm gonna mess him up." "Stop it, Ray!" "You're killing him !" "Ray, car!" "No!" "Heads up, sucker!" "I can hear!" "I can talk!" "I can hear." "I can talk." "I know, Nick." "Praise God." "How did you know my name?" "Come to me in a dream, I reckon." "is this a dream?" "Mayhap it is, and mayhap it ain't." "Who are you, ma'am?" "Abagail Freemantle." "But folks around these parts just call me Mother Abagail." "I'm 106 years old and I still make my own bread." "I been living right here in Hemingford Home, Nebraska, all my life." "You come see me, Nick." "You and all your friends." "You got to hurry, though." "There's a storm coming." "His storm." "Some people have even taken to wearing protection on the streets." "Why are you wearing this mask, sir?" "l don't know." "Just feel safer." "Okay." "Thank you." "The folks at the Atlanta Disease Control Center told me... that these masks wouldn't stop '"a flu germ with a hangover. '"" "Gin." "So I guess we can thank our lucky stars... that this outbreak of superflu is just another urban...." "l don't know about all those people down in Texas... but you sure sound like you got a dose of the flu, Johnny." "You better let me take a listen." "Forget that." "Come on." "You know how hot it makes me when you take your shirt off." "When I was a boy, we caught ourselves a mountain lion back up in the hills." "We shot it and dragged it back to town." "What was left of that critter when we got home... was the sorriest-looking sight I've ever seen." "You're the second sorriest, boy." "I'm gonna get somebody to take his shirt off before I go home tonight." "It's okay, son. I'm a doctor." "I'm also the guy who damn near ran you over." "You got a name, babalugah?" "What the hell?" "It means that he's deaf and dumb." "That hurt?" "If you're deaf and dumb... how the hell am I gonna to find out what happened to you tonight?" "Can you read lips, babalugah?" "Thank God for small favors." "Tell me this... would you know the three boys that jobbed you if you seen them again?" "What?" "One of them had a ring like that?" "Man!" "That's a fraternity ring, my silent friend." "And the only two people around here who have them... are our esteemed sheriff and Ray Booth, our town bad boy." "The Sheriff here married Ray's baby sister." "Janey's gonna just love this." "Welcome to Shoyo, Mr. Andros." "It's a veritable hotbed of Southern hospitality." "Get away from me." "I don't know how many different ways I can say this." "This so-called superflu does not exist." "Then what is it?" "Why is everybody talking about it?" "I don't know why everybody's talking about it... or where the rumors are coming from." "It must be a figment of the press's imagination." "I don't know why I'm here answering questions." "I don't have the answers because there's no such thing...." "Good afternoon, Mr. Redman." "My name is Deitz." "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine." "Meet Geraldo." "Geraldo?" "Now, the virus your fellow townspeople contracted... passes easily from human to guinea pig and vice versa, presumably." "But Geraldo has been breathing your air via convector for the last three days... and Geraldo is fine and frisky, as you see." "I'd call that rather comforting, wouldn't you?" "l see you're not taking any chances." "That's not in my contract." "However, it does appear... that there's absolutely nothing wrong with you, Mr. Redman... or may I call you Stu?" "Just don't call me Geraldo." "I like that." "Now look here, Stu... let's try to get through this as painlessly as possible, what do you say?" "Okay, here's number one:" "The testing schedule we began earlier this week is going to resume... with your cooperation or without it." "We got a hell of a mess on our hands here, thanks to that imbecile Campion." "So I don't want you to get the idea you're a volunteer." "You've been drafted." "What about the folks I came in with?" "From Arnette?" "All dead." "Which is why we can't afford to" "What did you do?" "What did you people do?" "Stu, please." "No!" "Stand clear!" "All right, now you listen up... I'm not responsible for you being here... or for the dead people in your hometown." "Neither is Denninger, or the nurses who come in to take your blood pressure." "Then who is?" "No one." "Everyone." "God." "Who knows." "All you have to do is resign yourself to a few more pokes and pricks." "What if I...." "Evacuate!" "Deitz, calm down." "I was just faking." "Why?" "Why would you do a thing like that?" "You talk about this thing in here like you were outside of it." "I just wanted you to get a little taste of what it's like on the inside." "How do you like it?" "You stupid son of a bitch." "Get the hell out of here." "Don't forget your damn guinea pig." "Reports of the supposedly lethal flu epidemic continue to spread." "Many downtown shopping areas in southern Florida... are virtually empty this morning... and the flu rumor actually seems to be gaining credence... despite statements from health officials in Atlanta and Vermont." "In Vermont, Dr. Herbert Denninger said, '"Let me put it in five simple words." "'"Captain Trips does not exist. '"" "How's the sexiest bartender in L.A.?" "Larry?" "is that you?" "Larry?" "is that you?" "Yeah, Arlene, listen." "Yeah, Arlene, listen." "Yeah, Arlene, listen." "You better get this first." "Wayne Stukey called." "He said your album's going up nine spots this week... your single's third on the Billboards and you're number one on VH1 ." "Sounds to me like you might just be king of the world." "What's it sound like to you?" "Victory!" "Arlene, I love you!" "Don't I wish." "Listen, I'm gonna try and get... the afternoon flight back." "So you put on your sexiest number." "I'm gonna take you out to dinner." "Then I'll take you out dancing, then maybe I'll just take you." "You might want to consider delaying your trip back a few days." "Why?" "What's the problem?" "Things are weird." "People are really scared about this Captain Trips thing." "Yeah, radio here says it's just bull." "The radio here says the hospitals are filling up with sick people... and some of them are dying." "What, people are dying of the flu?" "There's a lot of soldiers around." "Suddenly L.A. is a really creepy place to be, Larry." "Maybe I'll stick around New York a couple of days then." "Just don't forget what you promised when you get back." "Dinner, dancing, and all the paparazzi I can smile at." "Yeah, you got it." "Bye." "Bye." "Sorry. I'm sorry, man." "The Rat Man forgive you this time." "Bring out your dead!" "He's coming for you, Larry!" "The man with no face." "Bring out your dead!" "Turn that up." "Give me that." "It's a dead soldier." "Dead company." "All-star bowling." "Come on, Poke!" "You know what time it is?" "What time is it?" "Time to make a cash withdrawal!" "l heard that." "And if anybody, I mean anybody, says anything... or does anything to stop us...." "We're gonna Pokerize them." "That's right." "Damn straight." "lf we're gonna do this, do it fast." "l know what you mean, jellybean." "All right!" "Hold still and won't nobody get hurt." "That's all, folks!" "Look out, Poke!" "You see it, Lloyd?" "That old bugger tried to shoot me!" "Hold it!" "Hands up!" "Deputy Sheriff Owen Kinsolving, officers." "Coming out." "Who's he?" "What's he doing there?" "You got this coming out the door." "That's enough!" "That's enough, Owen!" "Bull crap!" "Pop Jones..." "Betty Diamond, both dead." "It ain't never gonna be enough." "We have a rather large problem in Wyoming, sir." "What large problem is that, Len?" "A news team got out of Pine Bluff with some potentially damaging videotape, sir." "Flu victims?" "Body dumps?" "A little of both." "And our ops, I'm told." "We can't have that." "No, sir, I know." "Showing footage like that would not be in the national interest." "Absolutely not, sir." "Do we know where these newspeople, these rabble-rousers are now?" "Yes, sir, we do." "Get that videotape, Len." "Any means necessary." "Make it a priority." "Yes, sir." "Any means necessary." "Everybody out of the van!" "Mike, you getting all this?" "l don't like the way this looks." "Be careful." "Come on!" "Out right now!" "Let's go!" "You'll have to surrender the camera that gentleman's holding... and any tape you may have already shot." "Can you tell us why, Major?" "You don't seem to understand the situation here." "Martial law has been declared." "We don't have to put up with you and your pinko friends anymore!" "Are you getting all this?" "Can we have a comment" "Get him !" "Get the driver!" "Stop!" "ln the car!" "No!" "Cut the power!" "Come." "Thank you." "It looks like our problem in Wyoming has been solved." "It doesn't change the basic fact that our goose is pretty well cooked." ""Things fall apart The center does not hold"" "A man named Yeats said that." "I didn't understand that poem in college, Len." "But I must be getting smarter in my old age... because I understand it now." "And one other line from that poem:" ""What rough beast" ""lts hour come round at last" ""Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?"" "I think that beast might be on its way, Len." "What do you think?" "is that Hungarian goulash?" "I don't know. lt might be, sir." "Yeats was right." "Things fall apart." "Who died and made you God?" "You don't think we're gonna eat that, do you, dummy?" "You could have poisoned it, you blue-eyed pretty boy." "I'm gonna mess up your hair, pretty boy!" "I'm gonna ride you like a lame bronc." "You're mine, sucker!" "Sorry, guy. I can't." "Sick." "We're not gonna eat it, dummy." "None of us!" "We're on a hunger strike." "I'm awful hungry, Ray." "You son of a...." "Hey, dummy, you want a drink?" "I'm on a hunger strike." "I'm on a hunger strike until you let me out of here!" "Now you come on over here 'cause I'm not done with you yet." "Has there been much of that foolishness?" "Sorry." "John and his wife are dead." "A lot of people in Shoyo are dead... and a lot more are going to die." "In fact, you and I may be the last two healthy people in western Arkansas." "What's he talking about?" "Shut up!" "Our government is still denying everything... but the radio says the hospitals are filling up... and the Army's burning bodies in waste treatment facilities." "The ultimate recycling program." "Doc, you gotta let me out of here." "They're both sick." "Keeping me in here with them is cruel and unusual punishment." "I've got a little cabin up in the hills." "I'm gonna try to wait this out." "And so I was thinking...." "My responsibility as a doctor?" "Don't make me laugh." "I took an oath to treat my patients, not die with them." "You could come with me if you want." "John got sick and made you responsible for them?" "Yeah." "But that doesn't mean you can't let them out now that he's gone." "Ray, if he lets you out, are you gonna mess with him?" "No, I swear." "Me neither." "They'll leave you alone." "I got something for you, mutie." "Been saving it up, you might say." "Things have changed, Ray." "You might do well to remember that." "You might see me again, mutie." "So, what do you say?" "Wanna come upcountry with me?" "God, you're nuts." "He's as good as dead." "Water, please." "Thirsty...." "Although city and government spokespersons vehemently deny it... reliable sources report to News Radio... that troops opened fire earlier today... on unarmed pedestrians attempting to flee New York... by way of the Lincoln Tunnel." "As many as 60 persons may have been killed, with hundreds wounded." "Although travel to some of the outer boroughs is still possible..." "News Radio advises you to stay off the streets." "Mom?" "I'm so hot." "You're gonna be fine." "Let's just put you to bed." "Larry, go find your father." "He's in the bar." "He's in the bar with that photographer." "Okay, Ma." "Take a little sip of this." "Okay, Mom." "Just take a little baby swallow." "Okay, there you go." "Larry, watch out for him." "The dark man." "Coming for you." "What did you say, Ma?" "How can a hospital phone be busy?" "Get back, sit back." "Okay." "You're gonna be fine." "Everything's gonna be okay." "You're gonna be okay." "Bring out your dead!" "He's coming!" "Oh, God." "No!" "You were right, Billy." "The center doesn't hold." "It sure doesn't." "How's it going, mutie?" "What's shaking?" "You're gonna be in hell for 30 seconds before you even know you're dead." "None of this happened till you came along." "I'm gonna kill you, mutie!" "Bring out your dead!" "The monster's coming." "He's coming." "Bring out your dead!" "Here you go, Dad." "Here's some toast and some Jewish penicillin for you." "Chicken soup to the great unwashed." "That looks good, darling." "How are you feeling?" "Better, quite a bit." "I think I might be beating it." "That's good, because I still can't reach Dr. Albertson... and the Rent-a-Doc in Wells is not picking up the phone." "I just keep getting a recording." "You know, this flu is everywhere." "It's really scary." "You look okay." "l feel okay." "Great, in fact." "Turn on the radio, will you?" "It's time for Rae Flowers." "Not that sarcastic little woman." "l like her." "Hello there." "This is Rae Flowers on Speak Your Piece." "I guess this morning there's only one topic of conversation." "You can call it the superflu or by its West Coast name, Captain Trips... but it means the same thing either way." "There have been horror stories about the Army clamping down on everything...." "The Army?" "Just be patient with me, and remember I'm running the show all by myself." "Everyone else called in sick." "The numbers are the same as always, though: 555-TALK and 555-CHAT." "So let's go." "Hello there, this is Rae Flowers and it's time to speak your piece." "I'm calling from Portsmouth, Rae." "What's your name, Portsmouth?" "Leonora." "Listen, Rae... I want everyone to know that there are soldiers burning bodies... across the state line in Kittery." "Also, my little girl died this morning." "I guess she's with Jesus now." "l'm sorry as hell, Leonora." "l think the soldiers did it." "I think they made a bug that's killing people." "That wouldn't be very American, would it?" "No, I guess not." "Of course, that's never stopped the real patriots among us, has it?" "You try to hang in there." "l'm trying, Rae... but have you ever smelled bodies on fire?" "l can't say that I have." "lt's awful, Rae. lt's just...." "You just try to hang in there, hon." "This is Rae Flowers." "You're on the air and it's time to speak your piece." "First of all, I just want to tell you that I love your show." "You say you saw these Gls gunning down unarmed civilians?" "Open in the name of the United States government." "Portland, it looks like the Marines have landed..." "and they don't look too happy." "This is a joke, right?" "This has got to be a joke." "l really don't think so, Frannie." "Hi there, you're on the air." "Rae, you all right?" "To tell you the truth, it doesn't look good right now." "Several soldiers have just broken in to the studio." "They're fully armed... and they're dressed in some kind of protective clothing." "They're wearing respirators on their faces...." "Shut it down!" "Bluto, you ever heard of a little number called freedom of speech?" "Bill of Rights?" "Any of that ring a bell?" "Folks, I've been ordered by my uninvited fascist guests to shut down..." "and I've refused." "All right, that's enough!" "Oh, my God!" "Daddy, what's happening?" "I don't know, honey." "He's closer now!" "The hard case!" "The dark man!" "He's coming!" "Rub-a-dub-dub." "Thanks for the grub." "He's here!" "The monster's here!" "The dark man's here!" "Hello there, East Texas." "What kept you?" "I was lost in the corn." "Then I heard the guitar." "It sounds so sweet." "I ain't been able to make a decent F-chord in 20 years... but thank you kindly." "Who are you?" "Where is this?" "I'm Abagail Freemantle, and this is Hemingford Home." "Those folks who've got you won't leave you to live much longer." "You know that, don't you?" "I reckon maybe I do." "The beast is loose in the streets of Bethlehem." "The rats are in the corn." "l don't follow you, ma'am." "Ma'am?" "Where are you?" "Folks round these parts just call me Mother Abagail, East Texas." "Well, how are we feeling?" "Fine." "Always fine." "Just think, all the tests we ran on you... and we never found a single immunity vector." "Not one." "I'm curious." "How would you explain it?" "Have you been touched by God?" "What have you got behind your back?" "l see." "Do you?" "l think I do, yeah." "l wonder." "Where's your buddy Denninger?" "He's dead." "They're all dead." "Everyone except for me and thee." "And you're here to take care of me?" "is that it?" "Hole in one." "Why?" "Because I've decided a piece of chicken-fried crap like you... doesn't deserve to live." "Not with so many good men dying." "Those good men caused this mess." "Come down and eat chicken with me, beautiful. lt's so dark." "You come and see me, Stu." "You and all your friends." "We got to get started." "Time's short." "Abagail Freemantle." "Hemingford Home." "You come see me." "You and all your friends."