[ Radio Chatter, Faint ]
[ Siren Wailing In Distance ]
[ Sniffs, Clears Throat ]
We found a body.
Her throat was slit from ear to ear.
Imagine she bled out pretty quickly after that.
But her killer didn't stop there. He--
Well, the pictures speak for themselves.
Not very pretty anymore. I know.
What does any of this have to do with me?
Something. Nothing.
That's what I'm here trying to figure out.
You recognize that man?
No.
No? Are you sure?
Yes.
Yes, you're sure, or yes, you recognize the man in the photo?
Am I in trouble?
Maybe I should, um, have a lawyer?
Right now, you and I, we're just having a friendly conversation.
No one else is here.
You tell me you want an attorney, that's your right.
But see, you lawyer up, and, uh, that makes me start to think...
that you got something to hide.
You got something to hide, Gemma?
So I ask again:
do you recognize this man?
It's Henry. Dr. Henry Moorehouse.
Resident brain over at Baxter Pharm for quite a few years...
before they had to let him go for--
Well, it looks like "unspecified mental health issues."
I still don't understand what any of this has to--
Tell me about your involvement with Moorehouse.
You two were close.
That a question?
See, along with Miss Sullivan,
I've got a half a dozen bodies laying in the morgue,
all with similar CODs that all somehow keep connecting back to Moorehouse.
Only, when we finally track the son of a bitch down,
someone's already gone and burned the place to the ground.
The tech lab was able to salvage a few hard drives found in the rubble.
But the information on those drives...
poses more questions than it does answers.
That's where you come in.
We already know you worked under him for the last few months.
I need to know what made Henry Moorehouse murder those people.
I'm thirsty.
We can get you some water.
Now, start from the beginning.
[ Alarm Beeping ]
[ Shower Running ]
[ Ticking ]
[ Buzzing ]
[ Man ] You're ready? [ Gemma ] Give me a sec.
Okay.
[ Sighs ]
Hello. I am Dr. Henry Moorehouse.
During my tenure at Baxter Pharmaceuticals,
I was on the brink of developing the basis for a genetic-level vaccine...
that could provide the human body with a type of blanket immunity.
- What I'm about to show you-- - So this is what, a cure for cancer?
May-Maybe. Think bigger.
Bigger than cancer?
This is a cure for everything.
Hepatitis, rabies, influenza, HIV, even cancer.
A universal cure that could save millions of lives every year.
How is that even possible?
Baxter didn't believe me either.
"A waste of time and money,"
I believe was their exact wording.
Is that why you left?
I didn't just leave.
I took what was rightfully mine.
Say hello to ELA.
[ Gurgling ] I designed her myself.
ELA is a living incubator, in vitro and in vivo.
She's a breeding ground for a meta-virus...
with a unique genetic signature...
that absorbs, replicates and re-codes...
any viral load introduced into her system.
And from the meta-virus I can engineer a retrovirus.
And from that-- A universal vaccine.
Well, in theory anyway.
[ Sighs ] Is it alive?
ELA continues to mature at an astonishing pace.
At this rate, we'll be able to begin phase-one serum trials...
a full six months ahead of originally anticipated.
She's proving to be every bit the miracle I had hoped and planned for.
Gemma-- I fear she doesn't quite grasp...
the importance of what we're doing here...
and what Baxter would do if they ever found us out.
Still, her presence has been... a welcome addition.
Remember, kids,
don't try this at home.
[ Henry ] Initiating phase one...
now.
Here we go. That's it.
[ Gemma ] Phosphorene levels are stable.
Pulse ox normal.
Perfect. That's my girl.
[ Gurgling ] [ Rapid Beeping ]
[ Beeping Continues ]
Wait. Wait. Wait. No, that's--
Oxygen levels are spiking.
Shit.
We're red-lining, Henry.
We're red-lining. No, no, no. She should be fine.
The serum should be working.
Hang on. Hang on.
Give me 20 cc's of atropine.
Jesus. Where?
It's not working.
Henry, it's not working.
[ Rapid Beeping ]
[ Gemma Gasping ]
[ Beeping Stops ]
[ Slow Beeping ] [ Sighs ]
[ Clears Throat ]
The new cultures have been stacked and packed.
I'm gonna call it a night.
Doc?
[ Groaning ]
[ Laughs ] [ Backpack Drops ]
[ Gemma ] Ladies and gentlemen,
I give you the cure for cancer.
[ Gurgling ]
Oh! Fucking gross.
[ Henry ] Gemma!
[ Gemma ] We're rolling.
[ Whispering ] Why didn't you tell me?
Today is a very special day.
[ Gurgling ]
If my calculations are correct--
and they are--
today is going to be the turning point in man's evolutionary journey.
[ Gurgling ]
[ Gemma ] So much for survival of the fittest.
This is survival of the fittest...
but on a cellular level.
The, uh, meta-virus generated within the host body...
is designed to attack weaker cell structures and replace them with its own.
These new cells are hard-coded...
to be resistant to the introduction of outside virus cells...
or even cancerous cells generated within the body.
So, here we go.
First, I'll be extracting 50 cc's of fluid...
from one of the lymphatic nodes--
Henry! Don't-- Don't touch me!
Henry, your hand. Don't touch me.
Your hand. Don't--
Henry! Henry?
Henry.
[ Muffled, Fading ] Henry, can you hear me?
Can you hear me, Henry? Henry.
[ Heavy Breathing ]
Ready?
[ Gasps ]
[ Heavy Breathing ]
What the hell just happened?
From...
all appearances,
a spontaneous defense mechanism...
in response... [ Heavy Breathing ]
to a...
perceived threat.
[ Grunts ]
Sa-Save those.
[ Coughing ]
I thought you said it wasn't sentient.
It's not. Not--
Not in the way that-- that you and I would perceive it.
What if you're wrong?
How's-- How's that?
Well, what if this is a sign from the universe...
that... we're not supposed to be fucking around with this kind of thing?
Language. I'm serious.
We're supposed to get sick...
and grow old... and die.
What happens when you take that out of the equation?
You're-- You're underestimating what I'm doing here.
What-What I'm doing is much more important than that.
Is it?
You give it time. You'll see.
[ Henry ] Recording?
It's okay.
She's dormant now.
[ Respirator Wheezing ]
What's up? We cure cancer yet?
Okay.
Guess not.
I just don't understand why it's not taking.
By all accounts, it should be working.
All right. Well, I'm out.
Get some sleep, okay?
[ Rumbling ]
I wasn't gonna hurt you, you know.
[ Gurgling ]
Yeah, yeah. I get it.
Do not touch.
[ Gurgling ]
[ Mouthing Words ]
Excuse me.
[ Marker Rattling ]
Adding an amino acid string to the base...
may help prevent the meta-virus from cannibalizing the host cells.
The only question is how to prevent the molecular burnout...
that occurs-- How about adding a protein receptor?
It inhibits replication of the meta-virus, rendering it unusable.
- Yes, but if we were to-- - Will you please just...
let me concentrate?
Doc?
You're gonna want to come see this!
So, what are we looking at exactly?
I'm not entirely sure.
Although ELA's cell structure was designed to mimic our own,
she has and continues to accelerate at an exponential rate.
Huh.
So?
I would be remiss in postulating any theories...
until I've had a chance to run some proper tests.
[ Clicks ] [ Whirring ]
Yeah, that's it.
With any luck I should, uh, know more in the morning.
Perfect!
Let's go.
Go where? Food time. I'm starving.
Let's go.
Mmm, mmm!
Cherry pie sounds pretty good about now.
Cherry pie, a vanilla Coke...
and a big cup of coffee.
For dinner?
What's the point of being grown up...
if you can't have dessert for dinner?
You okay?
Yeah. I'm fine. I just-- [ Clears Throat ]
- I don't really get out much. - I've been there, done that.
Got the T-shirt.
During my, uh, little stint in rehab,
I pretty much shut myself away from the world.
- Hey. You guys decide what you want? - Yeah.
I will have the, uh-- uh, the burger.
How you want that?
Rare. [ Clears Throat ]
Still mooing, if you can.
Got it. You?
- Um, pie-- - She'll have the burger as well.
Hey.
Yeah, okay, I'll-- I'll have a burger.
How you want that?
Burn it. Give me extra fries.
You got it.
- What the hell? - You need a proper meal.
Uh, geez, thanks, Dad.
- So-- - So yourself.
Rehab?
Yeah. Um--
High school was a pretty tough time for me.
I, um--
It was just me and Dad,
and Dad wasn't exactly around all that much.
I was a stupid kid doing a lot of stupid shit,
and... I got myself into a lot of trouble.
Dad caught on during the worst of it...
and threw my ass into rehab for a summer.
I cleaned up my shit,
actually started going to school,
and I've done pretty okay for myself ever since then.
So boom!
This huge fireball explodes right in his face.
Burns off, like, half his beard.
And by this point, we've nearly burned down, like, the entire chem lab.
And Natalie Patterson, she nearly blows the whole thing for us...
because she can't stop laughing.
And you guys weren't caught?
Hell no.
You've never seen a pack of freshmen girls run so fast.
When's the last time you changed that?
This is disgusting.
You begging for an infection or what? I've-- I've been busy.
Shit. Shit. What's the time?
7:30.
I gotta bail.
Um, i-it's my dad's birthday.
Yeah. Of course.
Are you okay for a ride home? I'll call a cab.
Are you sure? Yeah.
Okay.
Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Doc.
Take care of that hand, okay?
Get some rest!
Good night, Gemma!
Hey, where'd your girlfriend go?
What?
Your girlfriend.
Oh-- Oh, no. She's not my girlfriend.
Huh. Does she know that?
Fuck!
[ Groans ] Come on. Come on.
No, no, no, no.
[ Screaming ]
[ Clattering ] [ Skittering ]
[ Gemma ] Doc? Henry!
Where you at?
Doc!
[ Gurgling ]
Jesus! What the hell happened in here?
You look like dog shit on toast.
Henry, you're burning up.
Come on. Let's get you to a hospital.
[ Weakly ] I don't need a hospital.
I need to finish the formula.
It can wait.
Come on.
I had a son once.
I...
married a...
truly awful girl.
I was young and... dumb...
when it came to that sort of thing.
But Jacob--
he was something else.
There was this...
light in his eyes.
I...
can't really explain it.
It's called...
lymphocytic choriomeningitis.
[ Gurgling ]
Horrible thing.
We did the best we could, but--
[ Laughs ]
She blamed me for his death...
if you can imagine that.
I guess I did too.
[ Gurgling ]
She left me immediately after.
And--
And within a month,
I was transferred...
to Baxter's Special Biologies Division.
ELA.
She was just a hypothesis then.
But...
if there was...
any way...
to prevent what happened to Jacob,
it was...
up to me...
to find it.
[ Sniffles ]
My dad is dying.
He was a scientist, like you, once.
Well, not exactly like you.
He worked, um,
with nuclear fission mostly.
He was a really,
really smart guy.
I think, um--
I think it started...
right around the time I got home from... rehab.
Little things at first.
He'd be, um-- [ Sniffles ] absentminded.
He started, um,
talking to himself-- more than normal.
Then he started talking to...
people who, um, weren't really there.
And then the tremors came.
Parkinson's...
with dementia?
Most of the time...
he doesn't even know who I am.
I'm losing him...
piece by piece.
Did Moorehouse have a drinking problem?
No.
Do you?
What about after the accident?
Did he exhibit any unusual mood swings...
or angry outbursts?
Anything out of the ordinary.
Everything Henry did...
was out of the ordinary.
But it got worse after that, didn't it?
How bad did it get?
Gemma!
How bad did it get?
I was...
- incorrect... - [ Alarm Beeping ]
[ Beeping Stops ] in my assumption...
of ELA's new evolutionary step.
[ Water Running ]
Fluid retrieved from the new growth...
was amniotic in nature.
Damn quills,
not a defense mechanism, as I had hastily presumed,
rather a type of genitalia,
meant to deliver its offspring...
into a secondary host body.
Me.
[ Gurgling ]
Baxter.
[ Metronome Ticking ]
[ Groaning ]
[ Neck Cracking ] [ Moans ]
[ Fingers Cracking ]
¶¶ [ Piano: Classical ]
¶¶ [ Continues ]
[ Beeping ]
By all accounts,
I should be dying of 13 different incurable illnesses right now.
Intelligent design dictates...
that anything less than the complete form wouldn't work at all.
It'd be so detrimental to the organ...
that it wouldn't survive the process of natural selection.
That makes you the anomaly.
¶¶ [ Hums ]
"Methinks we have hugely mistaken...
this matter of Life and Death.
Methinks what they call my shadow here on earth...
is my true substance.
In fact, take my body who will.
It's not me."
[ Retches ]
[ Gagging ]
[ Door Buzzing ]
[ Henry, Weakly ] Hello.
Hey, how come I'm locked out?
Gemma?
What-- What time is it?
I know. I know. I'm late.
It's-- It's after 10:00. Traffic was a bitch this morning.
Late? No, you're--
[ Sighs ] You're far too early.
What are you--
[ Sighs ] Come back later.
Tonight.
Come on. Let me in, Doc.
[ Door Buzzes ]
What the hell was the deal this morning?
Do a little remodeling while I was gone?
The lab was too bright.
It was too sterile.
Which is the point, no?
Science isn't meant to be constrained,
to be confined to a pristine environment.
It's an organic thing, and it needs to live and breathe.
- Okay. - Don't they teach you anything at that school?
You know, I don't know what the hell has gotten into you lately, but here.
Picked you that up before I knew you were gonna turn into Dr. Asshole.
Gemma?
Let go of me!
I'm sorry.
I'm an idiot.
I'm sorry.
Open your gift... jerk.
[ Paper Rustling ]
Now...
you're the perfect...
mad scientist.
I don't know what to say.
"Thanks" would be a good start.
Thank you.
[ Ticking ]
[ Neck Cracking ]
[ High-pitched Tone, Volume Increasing ]
[ Groaning ]
What's the deal?
Baxter. Th-They're spying on me. Surely you saw them out there.
Are you okay?
I'm fine. I'm fine. I-I'm better than fine.
You don't look fine. Will you just sit down?
Huh?
- How's your hand? - Fuck my hand!
Never mind.
Where is it?
Where is what?
The rest of the damn blood.
I don't know what you're talking about.
There's barely 10 pints in here.
And I specifically requested...
40 pints.
They must have made a mistake at the warehouse. I'll go back tomorrow and--
[ Shouts ] And?
Are you trying to kill me?
I am trying to--
- You irresponsible child! - to help you, to attempt to--
You know what? You're fucking useless.
Wh-Where are you going?
Fuck you, Doc.
I don't do bat-shit crazy.
Wait. Gemma?
Gemma? Let go of me!
Gemma! Get the fuck out of my way!
[ Groaning, Grunting ]
The anomalous becomes the singular, becomes the natural.
The nature of the natural is burned down in the fire of creation/re-creation.
The snake choking on its tail!
Only in belief of a God does man temper his beliefs like a lowly worm.
Worm... must rise... up.
[ Grunts ]
[ Metronome Ticking ]
¶¶ [ Ringtone ]
What?
I need to see you.
It's 4:00 in the morning.
Please, uh, just come over.
I'll explain everything.
I can't keep doing this, Henry.
Please.
It's important.
I wouldn't ask otherwise.
Fuck. Fine.
You win.
Thank you.
Hello?
Henry?
Hello, Gemma.
Jesus! You scared the shit out of me!
You wanna tell me what's going on?
[ Grunting ]
Jesus! What the fuck, Henry?
I'm sorry.
That was wholly inappropriate...
and stupid of me.
What's going on with you lately, anyway?
I mean, one minute you're acting like I'm this horrible, clueless beast,
and then the next... you know.
It's been a crazy...
few days.
Apparently.
Did you bring me all the way out here just so you could kiss me?
No.
I have a favor to ask.
Take off your pants.
Pardon?
Those.
Off.
I cannot believe that I let you talk me into this.
Satisfied?
Sit.
Vein in my arm not good enough for you?
[ Groans ]
[ Exhales ]
[ Moaning Loudly ]
Henry! [ Groaning, Whimpering ]
[ Gasps ] No! Henry!
[ Screaming ]
Do you need a minute?
Why, Detective?
Are you here to comfort me?
Do you recognize this man?
Should I?
His name was Harrison Palmer.
Spent most of his time...
chasing down cheating husbands...
and insurance fraudsters.
Until Baxter Pharm put him on payroll...
to check in on Moorehouse.
So they were spying on him.
Baxter says Harry stopped reporting in with them...
several weeks ago.
His girlfriend reported him missing...
after he left for work one evening and never came home.
You know anything about that?
[ Whimpering, Crying ]
Excuse me, ma'am.
Fuck you!
[ Whimpering, Sobbing ]
[ Car Door Opens, Closes ]
Dr. Moorehouse?
[ Car Engine Starts ]
Henry?
Beautiful, isn't she?
Moorehouse.
- [ Grunting ] - [ Groaning ]
You were right.
I do feel much better.
I should have listened to you sooner.
[ Buzzing ]
They're in my blood.
Blood is the key.
They're in my blood.
Blood is the key.
[ Metronome Ticking ]
¶¶ [ Speakers: Mid-tempo Blues Rock ]
¶¶ [ Continues ]
[ Man ] ¶ They say she's a curse ¶
¶ A kiss of death ¶
¶ The fall of man ¶
¶ And all the rest ¶
¶ Don't get too close ¶
¶ You could be next ¶
¶ I chose to ignore ¶
¶ This advice ¶
¶ The way she looked ¶
¶ So divine ¶
¶ One embrace ¶
¶ Never looked back ¶
¶ Yeah ¶
¶ For life ¶
¶ For good ¶
¶ Got the midnight ¶
¶ In my blood ¶
¶ For life ¶
¶ For good ¶¶
What?
Yes, I know.
Yeah, I know!
I should be careful next time.
Of course.
No, I don't know!
Would you just give me a chance to think!
Would you quit acting like you know everything!
I'm the smart one here!
You'll see.
Hello, Henry.
[ Henry Groans ]
Why are you here?
I didn't know where else to go.
He's gone.
You shouldn't have come back.
Did you hear me, you asshole?
There's nothing left for me there! Do you hear me?
[ Whimpering, Screams ]
I'm not afraid of you.
You should be.
- [ Grunts ] - [ Gasps ]
You're sick, Henry.
We need to get you help.
Sick?
On the contrary.
I've never felt better.
Everything that I've been working towards?
This is it.
And now...
I understand everything.
I've been cured.
Cured of what?
My mortality.
- I can cure you too. - [ Gemma Whimpering ]
- Let me show you. - No. No!
You don't have to do this!
Man is nothing but an ape pretending to be God.
And now we can be gods.
You're wrong. This isn't you.
This isn't the man I fell in love with.
I love you.
I fucking love you.
[ Spits ]
I love you, Henry.
They're...
inside of me.
Eating me alive.
Help me.
[ Blow Lands ]
Gemma?
All I want to hear out of you right now...
is what the living fuck is going on.
- Let me out. - Henry.
Have you ever heard...
of a Glyptapanteles?
What the fuck does this have to do with anything that--
A horrifyingly...
disingenuous wasp...
that lays its eggs...
into an unsuspecting caterpillar.
And with the help of a poly-DNA virus,
it can not only disable...
the caterpillar's immune system,
but it can control its motor skills...
while its larvae feed on it.
She's...
the wasp.
And you're?
The caterpillar.
In order for a virus...
to survive and sustain,
it must continually infect.
By ingesting large quantities of fresh blood,
the parasites do their job...
without devouring me completely.
The transfusion.
That's why you wanted my blood?
You drank my fucking blood?
You have no idea...
what it's like.
The hunger.
The need to constantly feed.
I wasn't the only one, was I?
How many?
How many others were there?
It's complicated.
What happened?
What happened to them? What the fuck did you do?
You don't understand, do you?
My body...
doesn't belong to me...
anymore.
I'm a prisoner inside myself.
Gemma.
Let me out.
Gemma.
[ Crying ]
Gemma.
Let... me... out.
Gemma!
Let... me... out!
[ Birds Chirping ]
Gemma?
Shh.
It's okay.
What are you doing?
Everything is going to be okay.
I understand everything now.
[ Screams ]
Good morning.
I'm thirsty.
What are you doing?
I'm finding a way to save you.
There's nothing you can do.
This-- What is it?
Nothing.
It doesn't exist.
You're wasting your time.
Whatever is happening to you, there has gotta be a way to reverse it.
What good is one little girl...
against the legacy of evolution?
There's no place in science...
for a junkie like you.
Your daddy was right to abandon you.
I'm gonna kill you,
you fucking Judas.
You hear me, bitch?
I am going...
to destroy you.
[ Muttering ] Fucking bitch.
Die.
[ Mutters ]
[ Exhales ]
Gemma?
What is that?
It's your formula, Henry.
Impossible.
You couldn't have completed my work.
Why?
'Cause I'm just some stupid fucking girl?
You know, you never...
actually gave me a chance...
to show you what I was capable of.
But you're right.
I didn't finish your formula.
You did.
This whole time...
you were looking for the "X" factor...
when it was right there in front of you.
You don't know what you're talking about.
Your infected blood, Doc.
You're lying!
You... are lying.
Am I?
When I am free,
I'm going to rip you...
from cunt to throat.
And then I'm going to drain...
every last drop of you.
This is gonna hurt.
A lot.
No--
[ Gagging, Spitting ]
Henry?
[ Reverberating ] Henry, wake up. Wake up!
Wake up!
[ Sobbing ]
[ Gagging ]
[ Gagging, Grunting ]
Fuck.
Language.
[ Crying ]
What happens next?
Are you sure about this?
When you find...
something in this world that's...
so unique, incredible...
and beautiful,
the first thought is to cut it open...
and see how it works.
But the next thing you know,
it's just a bloody mess,
and you don't know why you had to tamper with it in the first place.
The beauty is gone.
Never get it back.
The cure is too dangerous...
for us to risk it getting out into the world.
If anyone were to find out what we had,
it'd be the end of mankind as a species.
And us?
We go on living.
Cheers. [ Chuckles ]
I love you.
I, um, I lo--
I'm sorry.
[ Henry ] Gemma.
In time...
I hope...
you will come to understand why it had to be this way.
Despite our best efforts,
I fear I remain cured.
Although the parasites have been destroyed,
my physiology has been...
irrevocably altered.
The hunger,
the primal need for blood...
remains unchanged.
For your safety--
Dare I say, the safety of all mankind--
I cannot be permitted to remain...
a wolf among the sheep.
That's quite the story you've got there.
I told you you wouldn't understand.
What I understand...
is that Henry Moorehouse...
is a sick fucking monster!
We're all monsters.
Henry?
He transcended that.
He really was on to something.
So Moorehouse...
destroyed all his work...
and killed himself,
leaving you as a convenient sole survivor...
to tell his story?
He didn't destroy everything.
Henry's blood...
is inside of me.
I've been cured.
[ Grunting ]
Honey. Mmm.
Come on, baby.
Finish your dinner. We gotta hit the road.
Okay, Mommy.