Zoo (2015–2017): Season 1, Episode 8 - The Cheese Stands Alone - full transcript

NARRATOR: For centuries, mankind
has been the dominant species.

We've domesticated animals,
locked them up, killed them for sport.

But a series of recent events
seem to suggest

all across the globe
animals have decided "no more."

And so we were hired,

a team of people
from different backgrounds,

with different specialties.

An expert in animal behavior,

a journalist,

safari guide,

foreign intelligence agent,



and a veterinary pathologist.

Our task: To find out
what is happening with the animals,

why it's happening, and how to stop it.

Previously on Zoo:

The global pandemic your father
believes was about to emerge.

- It appears it has arrived.
- We're all here because you believe

that these scientific theories
of a notorious crackpot

are now coming to pass.

Mitch Morgan, as advertised.

This is Agent Ben Shafer of the FBI.

Uh, Jackson.
Hey, now's not really a good time.

Jamie, listen to me.
Ben Shafer killed the optometrist.

He's a corrupt FBI agent.

[GRUNTING]



LEO: The Mother Cell is in
every single product Reiden makes.

It's everywhere, it's all over the world
and it can't be stopped.

The Mother Cell can cure the animals.

CHLOE:
Dr. Morgan believes so, yes.

You're talking about your daughter.

Her name is Clementine, she's 10,
she was diagnosed three years ago.

Why aren't you with her?

Baby mama married a decent guy

and I just decided to let them
have their family until she got sick

and I started beating down the doors

of every research hospital
in the country.

Then her mom put a stop to that.

He says that he has the Mother Cell.

He's willing to give it back,
but he needs something in return.

I have to tell my daughter
why she's dying.

Your drug will cure her.

I'll expect a call from you
within 48 hours,

telling me where and when
I can get my medicine.

DELAVANE:
I'm sending you back to the States.

To Pender Island, Massachusetts,
to be precise.

Why? What's going on?

Two weeks ago,
a cargo ship left Oslo, Norway,

bound for Portland, Maine.

The crew complained about
an unusually high rat population.

And while there are always rats
on a ship,

48 hours into the journey,

the crew reported the ship
had become literally infested.

That there were hundreds
of rats on board.

Eventually, the ship ended up adrift,

not far from the small
resort community of Pender.

MAN:
Rats.

Where a fisherman claims
to have seen thousands of rats

leaving the ship
and swimming for shore.

When local authorities boarded
the vessel,

they found the crew dead,

their bodies in a horrible condition,

suggesting they had been attacked
by the rats.

Among the cargo was grain
from a farm

that uses Reiden pesticides.

So, what do you want us to do?

Go to Pender Island. Conduct an
initial threat assessment to determine

if a containment protocol
is necessary.

Hopefully, it will not be.

But most importantly,
capture one male

and one female rat
and bring them back for analysis.

I'm staying here in Paris
for another week. Keep me posted.

- And good luck.
- Thank you.

JAMIE: I'm just saying, all four of us
don't need to go. I could come with you.

I could stay in a motel and go through
the Reiden documents from Paris,

and you can go
and talk all things Mother Cell

- with your friend at Harvard.
- I think you should stay with the others.

A day on the island is a good way
to stay under the radar.

And if anyone is looking
into Ben Shafer's death,

more people you have watching
your back, the better.

You keep saying things like that,
people are gonna start to think you care.

[CELL PHONE BEEPS]

It's me.

I'm in town, and I have
the Mother Cell for you,

but I'm not gonna be able
to deliver it until later today

so call me.
We'll arrange a meet.

Ripped By mstoll

How did a few rats become thousands

on the course of a trip
across the Atlantic?

Well, if Mitch is right
and the Mother Cell is an accelerant,

it may be, by being exposed to it
in a contained environment,

it accelerated
the reproductive nature of the rats.

Or we could be seeing it in rats first

because they have
a short gestation period.

What if this is just the beginning?

We could face a massive population
explosion in the entire animal kingdom.

A swarms of rats is one thing,

but a swarm of lions,
tigers, alligators...

How would we even begin to fight back
against something like that?

Okay, first things first.

We have to warn the people
on Pender Island.

I'm pretty sure they'd be aware.

Aside from a fisherman,
no one has reported any rats at all.

None? That doesn't make any sense.

What does make sense
since this whole thing began?

We need to capture
a male and a female.

It's the only way
to see how the Mother Cell

affects their reproductive behavior.

So we're going on a rat hunt.

What's the matter, rafiki?

The men that died on that cargo ship
were eaten by rats.

Okay.

It's been proven that rats that taste
human blood begin to crave it.

Well, that's just awesome.

There's something on your mind
and it's not just the rats.

We vacationed there.

When I was a kid.

Pender Island?

Before my dad got bad.

He'd rent a shack on the beach
every summer

on the side of the island
that hadn't been built up yet.

Have a big clambake,
invite all the neighbors.

So you see, you still have some
good memories about your father.

Sure.

But the last really good ones
took place on that island.

Which appears to have been overrun
with bloodthirsty rats.

Clem's just getting it together.

- How you been?
- Fine.

MITCH:
Oh, there he is. There he is.

Hey, you remember me? Hm?

I'm the guy who brought you here,
a long time ago.

- Has he been acting okay?
- He got hit by a car.

Yeah, I know. Clem told me.

So he's been acting like a dog
who got hit by a car.

What I meant was, is...

Has he been acting aggressively
in any way?

Not at all. Why?

Hello.

Hey, Clem.

Look, babe. Henry remembers Mitch.
Isn't that amazing?

It is because I don't.

It's okay. I remember you.

So, what are you guys gonna do?

You haven't planned anything?

You haven't seen her in eight years
and still, you haven't planned anything?

I just thought
we'd, you know, improvise.

Why don't you take him
to your park, Clem?

- Okay.
- I'll pack up some sandwiches.

- You can picnic.
- I'll get Henry's leash.

Oh.

Henry's gonna come?

There she is. Hey, sheriff.

Becky?

Jackson?

Yeah.

Wow, I haven't seen you since...

- Forever. Heh.
- Yeah.

- This is my friend, uh, Chloe.
- Nice to meet you.

Hello, friend Chloe.

I was his first love.
But don't be jealous.

- We were 12.
- Oh, no, no, no.

We, uh... Chloe's...
We work together.

- Yeah.
- Oh, I'm sorry.

You look, well, you look like two people
who should be together.

Again, I'm sorry.

[CHUCKLES]

So your office said
we'd find you here.

We want to talk about the rats
that came off the ship the other night.

What about them?

Billy T., the fisherman.

He has a gift for exaggeration,
a fondness for whiskey.

If he claimed he saw a hundred rats,

you can be pretty sure
he saw more like 12.

There's nothing
to be concerned about.

Actually, uh, there is.

You saw the bodies on the ship, right?

Well, you seriously think
rats killed the crew?

Rats don't eat live people.

In fact, they're more afraid of us
than we are of them.

The coroner hasn't finished
his exams yet,

but unofficially, he believes
it was a carbon monoxide leak

that killed those men.

And then the hungry rats came in
and feasted on the corpses.

It's tragic, sure, but not sinister.

Yeah.

I've sent Mitch five text messages
asking if he's arrived at Harvard yet.

No reply.

- Have you heard from him?
- No.

But I haven't reached out to him yet.
I have patience.

I don't.
What's taking them so long?

- Should we go over there?
- No.

We wait here, as discussed.

At this present time, you and any
representative of the law is a bad idea.

- I'm not a fugitive, Abe.
- Not yet.

And it would be nice
to keep it that way.

I think that you should consider
evacuating the island.

- Just to be safe.
- Are you kidding?

What is this all about, Jackson?

We've been studying animal behavior
all over the world

and there is a real danger here.

You know how much this community
depends on the tourists.

Evacuating in the middle
of peak season

would cause
a heck of a lot more damage

than any rats ever could.

If thousands of rats had shown up,
someone would have seen them.

So far, all I've heard about are
a few being spotted over by the Wilson.

- Remember the Wilson Hotel?
- Yeah, of course.

It's been closed for a while now.
It's undergoing some renovations.

All right. That's fine.
Thank you very much, Becky.

Well, it was really good
to see you, Jackson.

And if you stay on-island,
we should get together.

Just no more rat talk, you hear?

The Wilson Hotel.
That's where we have to go. It's huge.

If it's deserted, it would make
the perfect breeding ground for them,

once the ship was no longer viable.

MAN: Come on, Fitzy.
What's your problem?

What do you got
against reality TV shows?

I'm just saying, they got shows
on fishermen and repo men.

Even those duck guys
with the beards.

Why not one on pest control?

I mean, I've been called many things
in my day but boring ain't one of them.

Imagine yours truly
whipping out Old Reliable

to scorch a colony of wasps.

That's some must-see TV right there,
I'm telling you!

Hey, I gotta jump.

I got me a live one.

Hey there, little buddy.

Just stay right there.

Where you going?

Where you going, buddy?

Where's my little buddy?

Hey, little fella.

[CLANKING AND SQUEAKING]

All right.

There you are.

[MAN SCREAMING]

ABRAHAM:
Come on, you son of a...

JACKSON:
You used to be good at this.

ABRAHAM:
Got it.

JACKSON: Thirty-seven seconds.
You're slowing down.

It's the salt air. Makes the lock stick.

- Well, okay then.
- Guess they're not finished wiring.

I'll have a look for a circuit panel.
See if I can get some light.

CHLOE:
Hey, the exterminator left some traps.

Look.

ABRAHAM: It hasn't been touched.
- Neither has this one.

ABRAHAM:
Those traps are no good to us

because they are store-bought junk
intended to kill the rats.

Unlike like what we've brought,
which should merely trap them,

hopefully becoming
a honeymoon suite

for a male and female
for Mitch to observe.

The fact that it's come to this,
searching for killer rats

in an abandoned hotel.

- I should have gone to college.
- I thought you did go to college.

Should have gone to a better college.

Well, happy hunting.

Chloe and I will check the traps
on the upper floors.

You guys look down here.

Nice park you got here.
What makes it yours?

Well, Mom never really lets me out
of the house by myself anymore.

But when she does,
I'm allowed to come here.

With Henry.

Oh.

I, uh, brought you a present.

Cool.

A piece of paper.

Open it.

You do know I'm still at the age
where I would play with a doll, right?

A doll would've been fine.

Duly noted.

Just open it.

A parking ticket.

You got me a parking ticket.

A really old parking ticket.

It's 10 years old, to be exact.

I got that outside
of Brigham and Women's Hospital

on the day you were born.

Okay.

When your mother's water broke,

the neighbor had to take her
to the hospital

because, uh, I was
at a duck sanctuary in Westport.

And there was traffic and I was late.

So I had to park illegally
and I got that ticket.

But I made it there on time.

And you saved it.

Mm-hm.

To, you know, commemorate me
making it to the delivery room

to see you arrive.

Anyway, now it's yours.

It's like a family heirloom.

Yeah. Something like that.

With a ketchup stain.

- Oh, that's, uh, coffee, I think.
- Oh.

[CLEMENTINE CHUCKLES]

Last year, I just decided what the heck,
signed up for the dating service.

- And here we are. Heh.
- Yeah.

You know, there is a trick,
apparently very popular among...

the ladies on a first date.

Twenty minutes into the date,
they have a friend call on the cell phone

and if the date isn't going well,
they fake an emergency and bolt.

That's terrible.

I know about this because
it's happened to me three times now.

A little bit of a coincidence,
don't you think?

So, what do you do?

I manage a chain of hair salons.
In Queens.

Oh.

That explains why the dating service
thought we'd be a good match.

You manage hair salons
and I have this luxurious mane.

[WOMAN LAUGHS
AND CELL PHONE RINGS]

Ahem. Want to get that?
Might be an emergency.

Nope.

I'm sure that it's not an emergency.

Some of these wires
are chewed clean through.

I could maybe fix it
if I could see it, Jamie.

Sorry.

I still haven't heard from Mitch.

It's killing me, to be this close
to taking down Reiden.

So, what if we did?

What if Reiden was found guilty
of everything

you ever suspected them of doing?
What then?

What do you mean?

When I was a little boy,
my cousin Simon and I

were obsessed with finding
a particularly endangered

member of the antelope family,
the hirola.

We traveled all around the countryside
just to catch a glimpse of one.

Then, finally, in Somalia,

we found a small herd of hirola.

Yes, it was as beautiful
as we had hoped

and many photos were taken.

But when we traveled home,
we realized there was an emptiness.

We had expended so much energy
on a single-minded pursuit.

And it was over.

What now?

I appreciate what you're saying.

But I assure you,
there will be no emptiness

when we bring down Reiden.

There will be only joy.

JACKSON: Looks like Abraham found
the circuit panel.

[SQUEAKING
AND SCAMPERING]

It sounds like
there's hundreds of them.

Maybe thousands.

Thousands.

[RATTLING NOISE]

What is that?

- It's called bruxing.
- Bruxing?

It's the sound they make
when they grind their incisors.

You're saying that...

Yes, that they're sharpening
their teeth.

Looks like we have a winner.

Careful. Don't let it bite you.

Come on.
Come on to your old friend Abraham.

JACKSON: Hey!
JAMIE: Ah!

It's worse than we thought.

- You got one.
ABRAHAM: Yes.

A male.

Okay, now we just need a female.

JAMIE:
At the risk of sounding overly girly,

this is all really, really,
really disgusting.

[LINE RINGS]

- Sheriff Bowman.
- Becky, it's Jackson.

I can barely hear you, Jackson.
What's that noise?

The Wilson is literally crawling
with rats.

- We hear them in the walls.
- You're at the Wilson?

Yes. There are thousands
of rats inside.

You have to at least evacuate
all the nearby homes.

I need to stop at the station,
then I'm on my way.

- Stay where you are.
- Don't come.

You have to keep people away
from here.

Becky. Damn it, she hung up.

Come on,
the sooner we find a female rat,

the sooner we get out of here.

Let's eat.

Oh.

Okay.

I remember your mother's cooking
is not so good.

Have these been approved
by the FDA?

Afraid not.

What is it?

That's either very old cheese
or very new meat.

[CHUCKLES]

Do you have a wife? Or a girlfriend?

No.

And you've never met Justin, right?

No. Just on the phone.

You like him?

I do. A lot.

He's awesome.

But I don't call him "Dad" or anything,
in case you were wondering.

Okay.

So, um, how you feeling?

Not bad. For a dead girl.

You know,
you really shouldn't call yourself that.

Why not?
It's what the other kids call me.

WOMAN: Really?
You're checking your phone?

Are you hoping one of your pals
will call you with an exit strategy?

Ha. No.

I just... I'm worried about a colleague
of mine who vanished.

Oh.

- I'm sorry.
- No, it's all right.

I'm sure he's fine.

He's something of a prot?g? of mine.
Younger guy.

Number 12.
We call him that because he's...

He's handsome like a quarterback.

[WOMAN CHUCKLES]

You never told me
what you do for a job.

That's probably
because it's very hard to explain.

I settle differences
within my business.

Like a mediator.

Yeah, something like that,
I guess. Heh.

But, uh, Number 12 is special.
He's a good kid.

I guess since my son took off
for California, I... Well...

- I'm sure he's fine.
- Yeah, well, me too.

Hello there. Care for a ride?

- Oh, I don't know, I... You?
- Why not?

- Let's do it.
- I've never done this.

MAN: Here you go. Watch your step.
WOMAN: Thank you.

[NEIGHING]

It's all right.

My patch job must not have held.

Perhaps it worked better
than I thought.

[ELEVATOR DINGS]

- Hey, guys. The elevator's here.
- Must be Becky.

JACKSON: Through here.
- Move, move, move.

Come on, come on!

- Where's Chloe?
- Oh, my God.

[WOMAN LAUGHS]

Hey, you don't mind me asking,
how long you two been together?

Not long.

- Nothing?
- No.

Sorry.

It's okay to be worried
about your friend.

[NEIGHING]

- Whoa, Gypsy. Whoa.
- Everything all right?

No, he just got spooked.
I'm not sure why.

- Whoa, slow down. Come on.
- What's wrong?

- Come on, boy. Gypsy, whoa!
- Is there something you can do?

- I'm trying! Gypsy, slow down!
- Aah!

Come on, slow down.
Gypsy, stop.

The horse is out of control! Ah!

- No, no, no!
- I've got you. Let's go!

[PEOPLE SCREAMING]

That was a good day.

You should come around
more often, professor.

Yeah, I think so too.

Jackson?

Hello?

We're clear.

JACKSON:
She's not answering her phone.

She'll be okay.

Chloe's a badass, right?

Hold on. Do you hear that?

Yeah, it's coming
from your game bag.

Impossible.

Dude!

- Thought you said that was a male rat.
- It is male, trust me.

- Well, how could a male rat give birth?
- I don't know.

Ugh.

Some species reproduce asexually.

Insects, fish, reptiles. But not rats.

No mammals, for that matter.

- They're all male.
- Are you sure?

You want to count rodent penises,
be my guest.

I'll take your word for it.
But how can that be?

I don't know.
I don't know, but it is.

Well, is that so unusual?

It is statistically unheard of
for standardized litter

to be comprised of entirely one sex.

- I suppose it's not impossible but...
- Highly unlikely.

Okay, animals reproduce to ensure
the survival of their species, right?

What if that's changing?

Think about the mutations
we've seen in the other animals.

The lions communicating
over great distances.

The bears and their endoskeletons.

The bats, the rats. The whole thing.

What if these mutations
are not about the...

survival of one species
but the destruction of another?

Meaning us?

We gotta find Chloe.

Hello?

Jackson?

[RATS BRUXING]

Ah. Chloe.

So much for the coroner's theory
that rats don't eat people.

CHLOE: Yes, and we need to find
something better than rat traps.

Yeah.

You take care of these people, okay?

I need you to keep an eye on him.

If he starts displaying
any atypical aggression,

just put him in his crate. Call me.

- What are you talking about?
- It's a thing that I'm working on.

Certain animals are acting strange.

If you notice anything, please,
just call me, all right?

- Justin too.
- And why would I do that?

Because I'm an animal expert.

No, I mean, why would I call you?

About anything? I'm just curious.

- All right, Audra, look...
- Is this your midlife crisis, Mitch?

Where you feel guilty about
all the crappy things you've done,

like walk out on your wife
and your baby girl?

Is that what this is?

- No, it isn't.
- Buy a sports car.

Go to a nightclub
full of cheerleaders.

Have a regular person's midlife crisis.

But do not, for one second,
think that I need you here.

Okay.

But answer me one thing,
why now?

Why, after all this time, did you call
and say you wanted to see her?

Why now?

Let's assume, for a minute,

that the cargo ship loaded
with Reiden products

accelerated the reproduction
of the few rats on board.

Okay, then once the ship got close
and was no longer safe,

- they had to find another viable option.
ABRAHAM: This abandoned hotel.

Hey, guys.

It's... They don't sound right.
They're suffering.

I think they're dehydrated.

It's no wonder.
Male rats can't nurse.

Well, like, up until ten minutes ago,
they couldn't give birth, either.

Yeah, well,
something's nursing the pups.

Given how quickly the rats
are multiplying, they have to be feeding.

There's got to be females
around somewhere.

- And they must be big.
- Big? Why big?

To feed all these pups.

Wait, are you... Are you guys saying
that there are some kind rat queens?

If there are, we have to find them.

Okay, that would be crucial to
understanding this particular mutation.

How about you guys go and find
your rat queen and I go and find Chloe?

Jamie, do you really want
to be in this place alone?

How about we stick together
and find them both, huh?

WOMAN: That horse.
What was wrong with it?

I don't know.
I'm a little more concerned about you.

- See you at the hospital, okay?
- Okay.

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

- Hey.
MAN: Hey, boss. It's me, Murph.

Yeah, I'm in a bit of a situation here.
Can I call you back?

- It's about your friend, Number 12.
- What about him?

He's dead.

- What are you talking about?
- He was shot.

His body was just found
in a hotel stairwell.

In Alabama.

Any leads?

Security cam footage
from the hotel lobby.

Sending it to you now.

[SIREN WAILING]

Who are those people with him?

And what was Ben Shafer
doing in Alabama?

I don't know, but I'm sure
as hell gonna find out.

JAMIE:
Where are we going?

JACKSON: Rats build nests
to raise their young

so you'd think with this many rats
we'd see a bunch of nests.

- But we haven't seen any.
- Exactly.

So maybe if we're looking
for one big queen rat,

we should be looking
for one big nest.

Something tells me you already know
where such an area might be.

I think I do.

Well, being the wise ones we are,
we'll do our best to avoid such an area.

We shall not.

ABRAHAM:
Perhaps you are wrong.

[SQUEAKING]

JACKSON:
I'm afraid not.

JAMIE: Ah!
ABRAHAM: Dear Lord!

JAMIE:
Oh, my God.

I think we're all agreed that
these creatures need to be destroyed.

- Any suggestions on how to do that?
- I don't know, but...

I think we have a bigger problem.

What do we do?

CHLOE: Guys.
- Chloe, stay out of here.

Queens! Get the queens!

- Get out of here!
- Go, go, go!

[SIREN WAILING]

JACKSON:
Fire got them all.

Any pups that survive,
they won't last long.

Not without the females.

I called an off-island exterminator,
just to be safe.

That's a good idea.

There's something more to it,
isn't there?

Whatever it is you're looking into?

There might be.

Heh.

Well, good luck. And be safe.
And don't wait another ten years

to come back here.
This island is still great.

When it's rat-free.

Hey, Becky, wait a second.

- I need to apologize.
- For what?

For disappearing, back then.

And never explaining why.

You didn't have to explain.

I knew.

Everybody knew what... Ahem.

Was going on with your father.

Right.

Of course.

Besides, we were 12.

[BOTH CHUCKLE]

CHLOE: You had good taste
when you were 12.

I'll breathe a lot easier
when we're off this island.

CLAYTON:
This would be much more civilized

if you'd just give me your name.

My assistant told me,
"That man is here. The surly one."

That's what he called you.

Can we just get this over with?

There should be more than enough
here to help your daughter.

It's a six-week course of treatment.

The protocol is simple:
Two pills, three times a day.

[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]

The Mother Cell.

Ripped By mstoll