Nine Miles Down

Central Sahara, North Africa

Base to Mobile 4

Base to Mobile 4

Jack, are you there?

- Still in traffic, Kat. - What's your location?

ETA in... about under an hour.

Is there any luck?. You heard any news from them?

No one for the past 72 hours

- There's no time, move faster. - Don't worry, Kat.

- sure does not become any problem. - You be careful.

You call for help when something goes wrong.

- And you fallback safe. - We will, God bless you, Kathy.

Hello?

Hello?

GNE security here..

Anybody home?

Hello?

GNE security.

Open the door. It's a help.

They drew markings right into the jackal...

writing blood on the walls.

You're fucking kidding me What does it say?

I don't know it's in Arabic. but it's nothing to get into talk about.

25 people vanished, leaving blood and bullet holes...

- So when do we have hump? - Kat, I'll be fine.

there are some other buildings I could check out but not in this

and it's gonna be dark soon. Who's on graveyard?

Alex.

- Tell him I'm checking again at 2100. - You bet.

and inform Caswell. Over and out.

,,Emal Duwayce?

Professor Borman, would you mind sharing with us, what is attracting you and your team...

... to research one of the remotest location in the Sahara?

It's not the Sahara that say, is attracting me.

- ... but what lies far beneath it. - What is it that you're hoping to find?

Genaueres should reveal more at the press conference later this afternoon...

... that seismographic data has revealed a fast geological anomaly..

... deep within the Earth's crust.

Welcome...

I expect you're wondering why I've summoned you this day.

Come in, yes you don't be shy..

There are plenty of seats here at front.

I'll start again..

I've summoned you here today to announce our groundbreaking objective.

To drill deeper than ever before human history.

to unlock the mysteries hidden deep below the Earth's surface.

Jebel Afra is one of the remotest areas in Sahara...

... and also the location of a former natural gas exploration site.

Seismographic data recently detected a massive underground cavity opened 9 miles down .

Now that new techniques make it viable to dig deeper, a much bigger crew...

... are put together in a team of international researchers...

and local workers to lease the site and resume drilling.

Some team members are looking to find

... new independent vehicled life forms.

perhaps extremophiles such as hepothermials.

9 Miles Down!

...but you can trust all colleagues in the Institute

I don't think it's the Isolation Room

they were all experienced to fieldwork, as they used to have. No, no.

This is different...

There are bizarre expeculations and soul searching about the ethics of what we're doing.

there were only local drilling, that, I could understand.

There were supertitious Berbes, who talked of having disturbed some spiritual realm.

But it's affected us all, I mean...

Dr. lvanov and I are engaged in long and heated discussions...

... about the meaning of good and evil. It's bizarre.

Oh, God.

Hello...?

- Anybody here...? - Mobile 4.

Mobile 4...

- Morning, Kat. - Any development?

- I'm just checking something out... - Checking what?

Jack?

- Seems I may have some company. - Jack, what is it?

I'll get back to you.

You gotta be kidding me.

Morning.

- It's about fucking time! - What?

- Let me get change then we can go. - Wait, wait, wait, wait, who are you?

- What's been going on here? - It's a long story.

The sooner we get out of here, the better.

- Are you alone? - Not anymore.

Hello lady?

Look ahh...

I don't know how long you're gonna pee, but I need some answers.

And who are you? Where is everyone?

One question at a time. I'm Dr. Jenny Christianson. ,,J.C.

I'm a research colleague of Professor Borman.

- What do I call you? - Jack... It's Thomas Jackman.

- Poeple call me Jack. - Please to meet you, Jack.

Yeah, likewise.

So they've sent you here, to rescue me? That's wonderful.

Late, but wonderful.

I'm looking forward spending tonight in the best hotel in a really big town...

... with lots of people and noise.

I'll throw you in all the details on the way. It's a long trip.

Why don't you start now?

What do you know so far?

Oh, no one has heard anything from you since Sunday.

- What do you know of our work here? - Just let me ask a question.

- Who are you exactly? - I already told you my name...

Thomas Jackman. Yes, I know.

but by whose authority, are you here questioning me?

- GNE Security. - Yeah, this is a private project.

The company you leased asked for us to check up on you.

So...

Well, the first thing you wanna know: is that our project leader Professor Borman, is dead.

Dead?

He was shot.

By Doctor Ivanov, our chief geologist. in a bit of rage.

How close was Ivanov to Borman, when he shot him?

5 maybe 10 meters...

I wasn't there. Does it matter?

Dr. Varga. a Hungarian researcher.

- Apparently a heart attack. - Would you forget about this one?

Look, Jack, I don't wanna be a hiccup in your investigation...

... but if you don't mind we really need to leave, as in now.

Yes, well that might be the case, but...

... I'm gonna have to call in for some instructions first.

We're gonna need a place. Something weird is going on here.

Hold it there... Linda, get me Caswell. The situation's escalated.

so what now, Jack? Protocol is that you abandon the crime scene.

I know that. Tell it to the doctor she's off to pack her things.

She seems pretty clean to leave.

- She? - Didn't I mention...

- Dr. Christianson's a woman - No, you didn't Jack.

- What is she like? - She's pushy or should I say, suspicious.

- Much like yourself. - Well, you left out stunningly attractive.

Just get the authorities out here will you.

Jack, Caswell here. You and your doctor have to sit tight.

All available resources are being allocated, to search in for the missing crew.

I want you there in case, some of them starts to wander back in.

Yes sir, this is a suspected homicide, the need to bring up further investigation.

All the more reason to stay put.

Police will send a chopper the moment one's available.

You're safe where you are today. You copy?

Yes, sir.

Hey, are you sure it was murder?

Looks like she was hiding to me. We'll know if it matches with the evidence.

I'll take a second look and get back to you. Over and out.

I'm all packed.

- You ready? - Sorry, what?

To rotate out of here... as in leave.

You said, Varga died of a heart attack?

That was the opinion of our IMO, Dr. Williams.

All I know is they found him lying dead on the floor of his quarters.

Can we go now?

You want to be back on an empty stomach.

- Jack, do be honest, I think... - Great, coz I'm starving.

I took a wild guess.

- Black, no sugar? - I drink tea, actually.

- You're not married. - My wife past away six years ago.

Oh, God, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry.

What about you? You have anybody back home?

You mean like a husband?

I mean like somebody, who might be worried about you.

- Are you interrogating me? - Just curious.

- What, you a cop? - Used to be.

What's out there?

But I'd stay away from there if I were you.

So why the change of scene? Doesn't it ever get to you?

I love the space.

Well, scale and isolation can bring out the strangest things in people.

- Excuse me? - Doesn't it ever get to a city boy like you?

Tell me about the project.

Well about six days ago, just under 47,000 feet, the driller broke to the top of the cavity.

- It was great. - And?

The truth is we know very little about what lies before the outer crust.

even on average, it's only 15 miles thick.

If the world were an apple, that would be thinner than a skin.

Nobody's ever seen below it. Let alone taking samples of it.

Takes at least five minutes to reach the bottom.

You won't hear anything of that depth.

and when the wind blew...

... the driller sends a noise, that was like the howling of demons...

- What? The SouthWest Wind? - Yeah. Hidden superstitions.

Like all the garbage, they scroll in the dorm walls.

- Do you know what it says? - I don't have to.

- Are you okay? - Yes, I'm just a little dizzy.

- Why did they write it? - I don't know.

Seem more like a ritual than a celebration.

Why weren't you in the video?

Who do you think took the video?

And you went to have their photos.

Oh God, Jack. Are you okay?

One moment, let me help you.

Put your arm around me.

There've been a lot of strange accidents lately.

Here, lie down. I'm gonna go get you some ice.

The sooner we can get out of here the better.

Jack?

God, you looked like you've seen a ghost.

Come on, come lie back down. It's okay.

Jack...

Do believe in the supernatural?

No. Why?

- Did you see something? - No. No.

It's just, there's so many things we can't explain...

... and I just thought I'll get a scientific opinion.

The way believing the supernatural doesn't explain anything.