The Beast Within

Thank you.

Another 2 miles, he says.

The road to Jackson is just before the Nioba sign, on the right.

Ahh!

Still love me?

What'll you offer?

Come here.

Oh, shit!

You said it was before the sign, right.

Well, hang on.

You all right?

Want me to help?

No.

I gotta go back to that gas station for a tow.

Lock up anyway

I will.

I won't be long, now.

Thor.

Stay close. Go on. Go on out! Go on, now!

Thor!

Oh!

Caroline!

Caroline!

Caroline!

Oh, god, Thor.

Oh, god, Caroline.

Ohh...

Mac!

Oh, my god.

Help me. Get her over there.

Come on, hurry.

Your boy is sicker than we know.

The IV's are the only thing sustaining him as it is.

We're going to have to supplement that

with a full complement of life-support systems,

If we're going to have any chance to sustain him.

"Sustaining." "Chance."

I don't want my son sustained.

And I don't want any chances. I want him cured.

Eli.

There's gotta be something you can do.

A month ago, he was a healthy,

perfectly all right, happy kid.

There's a chemical imbalance,

an occult malignancy in his system.

What kind of medicine are you practicing here, doctor?

What we have is a pituitary gland.

That has gone crazy, out of control.

It's causing much too rapid rate of growth.

No matter what nourishment we give him,

it just isn't enough.

Now, I thought it might be genetic, inherited.

But metabolic tests that we did on both of you.

Show that you're normal as pie.

So unless there's something we don't know,

unless there's something left out of the picture...

Eli.

No.

No. No.

Eli, please.

Atlanta or maybe Houston...

First thing we gotta do

is get him the hell out of here.

And someplace where they know what they're talking about.

We can't just wish it away.

We can't just go on pretending it never happened.

17 years ago,

I was attacked.

And nothing's ever gonna change that fact.

He...

He is my son.

He is my own son and nobody else's.

Oh yes, he is your son.

You love him and he loves you.

And whatever we find out won't change that.

But Michael is dying.

We can't afford not to find out who was responsible.

You heard what Dr. Odom said:

"Something more to go on."

Well, that man, his background.

His medical records, may be that something more.

No! No!

No.

No.

No!

No!

Aah!

No!

No... Aah!

You're leaving.

No, sweetheart.

Yes, you are. You're leaving me.

I'm just going with daddy for a little while.

Just where we think we can do you best.

We'll be right back, darling.

We'll be right here.

But I'm afraid.

I'm dying.

I don't want to be left alone.

Nobody,

daddy,

Dr. Odom or me,

is ever gonna let that happen to you

I'll see you real soon, now.

You okay?

I'm fine.

Well, the fog is rolling in.

Well...

Looks peaceful enough.

There's the courthouse.

Hi.

Well, hi there, yourself.

Um... I'd like to get some information.

Honey, you've come to the right place

I'm just a fount.

Yes, ma'am. May I help you

I'd like to look through your back issues, if I could.

Oh, why?

I'm from Jackson, the extension school.

Is that a fact

I'm writing a book on crime in rural America.

This isn't Jackson. This isn't even Shreveport.

There's no crime around here,

excepting an occasional barn burning.

You know, strictly local stuff to be exact.

That's exactly what I'm looking for.

Something to give me a feel of the area.

Well, the morgue's in the back if you gotta feel out the area.

You only got a few minutes. It's near lunchtime.

And I don't have anybody to mind the office.

And I'm not putting anybody on.

You help yourself, you hear?

Judge, mayor,

and sometime that pig-Headed son of a bitch.

What can I do for you?

The clerk outside, Mrs. Gumfrey,

Said you might be able to help me with an assault that

happened here about

17 years ago.

What kind of assault?

- Rape. - Rape...

Maybe...

it wasn't described that way.

I'm interested in any possible

act of violence,

Any...

memorable behavior.

I'm sorry, I can't help you... mister?

MacCleary,

Eli MacCleary.

Well, I hope you won't hold

the peaceableness of our little Nioba

against you, just the same.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

It's lunchtime.

Almost.

Hey, Missy, I said it was lunch.

Coming.

Eli!

I know. I know.

But she ripped out that whole front page,

All about Lionel and...

Who's that with her?

Well, if you was to give me odds,

I'd say it was her husband.

You didn't tell him anything?

All right.

Oh lord, I better get a hold of Dexter and Horace.

We don't want them forgetting themselves.

We're real sorry, ma'am.

That's why it's a small town.

Yeah, we'll look into it.

Thank you for calling.

Excuse me, uh...

Sheriff Brand?

Pool, Bill Pool.

Sheriff Brand retired in '65.

Well, could you tell us where we can find him?

He passed on in '69.

You're just a tad late.

We were hoping that sheriff Brand could tell us about

Lionel Curwin's murder.

I was deputy when it happened.

We're researching a book,

Crime in small town America.

What you wanna know?

- Everything. - Everything.

First off, Lionel Curwin was a son of a bitch,

If you'll pardon my French, ma'am.

Everybody was praying he'd give out.

But nobody was praying for the way he finally did.

What do you mean?

I mean he was ripped to pieces.

Parts of him was eaten, what parts was recognizable.

What did it to him?

A wild animal?

A kind of animal that'll tear a man to pieces.

And then try to set fire to his house?

Then who?