The Bay (2012) Movie Script
We begin tonight with
an environmental mystery.
...debris along the beach
as far as the eye can see.
(news reports
overlapping)
A large fish kill
has struck
along the shoreline of the
Sebastian Inlet State Park.
Biologists tell us there
were up to a million...
She captured reams
of dead fish
Fishery staff are
baffled at what caused
these hundreds
of dead fish...
Up to 5,000 blackbirds
fell within
a one-mile area...
Roughly two million...
Dead fish on the shores
of Rio de Janeiro...
Two million fish
here along Chesapeake Bay...
Thousands of birds started
falling from the sky...
(voices coalesce)
...investigation
is ongoing...
They got me up 4:00
in the morning,
told me we had birds
falling out of the sky.
Reporter: Scientists don't
know what killed them.
Man over speaker:
To your left...
look over to your left.
Okay, you can see
that's where the footage
about where you can,
uh, address...
- what that was about, okay?
- Okay, sounds good.
Okay, why don't we start off?
If you could just
fill us in
with basic details...
Okay.
Uh, my name
is Donna Thompson.
I was a
Communications major
at American University
covering the July 4th
festivities
in Claridge, Maryland,
on July 4th, 2009.
No cam... hey.
This is the first time
I am speaking publicly
about the disaster
that happened.
(clamoring)
- I was there.
- (sirens blare)
Let's follow it.
(sighs)
Man over computer:
You okay, Donna?
Donna?
- Yeah.
- Okay?
- Are we gonna be all right?
- Yeah, I'm sorry.
I thought this was gonna be
a little easier to talk about.
Okay, tell me when
you're ready and, um,
you can continue.
- Okay.
- I know it's hard. Go ahead.
Um...
my name is
Donna Thompson.
For three years,
I and a few others
have been trying to speak out
about what happened
in Claridge,
Maryland,
on July 4th, 2009.
But sometimes words
have no impact.
But now, with the help
of a website
- all of the digital information
- (crowd chattering)
That was recorded that day
has been obtained.
All of the digital information
that was confiscated.
Now, I don't know
if anyone
is gonna be watching this.
I don't know if anything
is gonna happen to me
as a result of me
putting this out there,
but I do know that
I can't move on
with my life
until this story
is told.
You know,
it's just, um...
it's hard to explain
what this town used to be like.
Well, it's 6:00
in the morning
with "Mike in the Morning"
on this beautiful day,
Good morning, Chesapeake,
and good morning, America.
- Listen, I'm your marathon man.
- (bell rings)
- (firework pops)
- What does that mean?
Hopefully you're gonna be
with me day and night
as I am with you
and we can celebrate.
I can't think
of a better way to celebrate
than a little music
from the heartland.
Donna's voice: I used
to come here every summer
with my folks.
It's hard to explain what
this town used to be like.
I mean, it was fun.
It was where I had
my first crab dinner,
my first summer kiss.
So, uh, that's the mayor
right there.
Mayor John Stockman.
He actually used to run
a vacuum cleaner shop,
and then one day he just
up and got everyone
to vote for him for mayor.
Right there, that's Martin
and Helen Wycoff.
They were both involved in a lot
of community service programs.
Um, their whole family
actually died that day.
Cameraman:
Three, two, one.
Good morning,
Maryland.
- Oh, wait. Sorry.
- Cameraman: It's okay.
Donna's voice: Honestly,
why didn't anyone tell me
my pants
were too tight?
I'm sorry. It's just that every
time I look at this footage,
it's...
it's a little difficult,
and I have this tendency
to overcompensate
a little bit.
- So... - Man over computer:
So you use humor, uh,
to hide those emotions.
- I understand.
- Right.
I mean, maybe
you should've gotten
a voice actor
or something to do this.
- I don't know.
- (record scratches)
Okay, okay.
I gotta stop this.
I've been getting
too many phone calls,
too many complaints.
For those of you
who do care,
it is Aaron Copland.
That's a piece
from "Our Town. "
What do you say we kick
the energy up a little bit, huh?
Donna's voice:
I was just a summer intern.
I was just so excited
I was gonna be
actually interviewing
people.
I think it's every girl's dream
to be Miss Crustacean.
I hope it's the beginning
of something much, much bigger.
I want to thank my parents
for their support
and my sister Taylor
for always being there for me.
Good morning, Maryland.
This is Donna Thompson,
and I'm in Claridge, Maryland.
Claridge is the host
of our annual
Eastern Chesapeake
July 4th party.
And I will be here all day
to cover the events.
It is my great pleasure
to announce
the beginning
of the 57th Annual
Claridge Crab Eating
Spectacular.
(cheering)
Am I in the frame?
Donna's voice: So, this
is good old Claridge.
It was founded in 1903,
supposedly by a fisherman
who ran around here
and liked it so much that
he started a crab restaurant.
- What's your name?
- Tyler.
And have you been preparing
for a while for this?
Not very.
Donna's voice:
All of it is, or was,
a whole population
of 6,200.
There's a pretty big
chicken industry,
a bunch of restaurants,
and a whole lot of money
is made from summer tourism
on the water here.
(water splashes)
Barker: Good job!
Who's next? Who's next?
- Me! Me! Me!
- I wanna get dunked.
Who's been playin'
around with you?
A real cool cat
with eyes of blue...
Donna's voice: Oh, God. This
is my first interview ever
I think I made him do this
interview like four different times.
I think I even told him
his hair dried fast
because he's bald.
- Yep, it does dry fast, yeah.
- (laughs)
So, I think we can show
just about everybody
that comes on down
a really good time.
Yeah. Cool.
I had no idea
how culpable he was
for what was
about to happen.
- (water sloshing)
- (police radio chattering)
Donna's voice: The first signs
that something was very wrong
happened six weeks
before July 4th.
It was on the news,
but I don't think anybody
- and knew what was going on.
- (splashing)
Newscaster: The bodies of
two scientists were found
in the Chesapeake Bay
last night after having been
reported missing
for more than 36 hours.
The cause of death
was listed as unknown,
although medical examiners
found numerous wounds on the body
that might be consistent
with shark bites.
The two scientists
were oceanographers
working to measure
pollution levels in the bay.
Donna's voice:
These were two oceanographers.
One from
the Cousteau Institute
and another from
the University of Maryland.
They were keeping a video diary
of their research
and sending it to the
Chesapeake Environmental Council.
Red algae here and here
does indicate
bacterial growth.
Now Natural Resources,
they think it's feeding off
the nutrients in the water
from the chicken runoff.
- That's a strange attack.
- Yes, it is.
Anchor: You don't hear about
shark attacks in the bay, normally.
Anchor #2: Well, I think
bull sharks can be aggressive.
- A couple of attacks last year, maybe?
- Here and there.
- Anchor #2: Yeah.
- It is brackish throughout the Chesapeake Bay
and bull sharks
have been known
Anchor #2: I gotta tell ya.
It makes me a little nervous.
We have a boat and go out
in the bay all the time.
Sam: They got the results
on the water analysis.
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah.
What do you have?
Uh, mercury levels
way above standards,
polycyclic acids, OPs,
PCBs that haven't
been legal in 20 years.
- (camera clicking)
- Sam: Endocrine disruptors, pharmaceuticals,
Viagra, estrogen, DDT,
- trace amounts of GRDF.
- Jacqueline: Phew.
I mean, pretty much
you name it,
- it's in there.
- (police radio chattering)
I mean, looky here.
Naw.
(heavy accent) This whole stream
of toxin is following the current.
The what's
following the what?
- You have a very thick accent sometimes.
- Sam.
This whole stream of toxin
is following the current.
- Yes.
- Look. It's going next to this little town.
Claridge.
Claridge.
(clears throat)
Donna's voice: There were
people who were concerned
With some of the townsfolk,
it did cause arguments.
Your chicken plants are putting
chicken shit in my bay...
- (crowd protesting)
... and they're killing.
The important thing,
Jerry...
Jerry? The important
thing to understand
is that the EPA continues
to test the bay.
- And it is really...
- (clapping)
It's really their responsibility.
It's their responsibility.
Man's voice:
Each one of these sheds has
approximately 32,000
chickens in it each.
Those chickens eat about
10,000 pounds worth of food.
They do this all
very mathematically.
You know, I don't care what
people say about the bay.
I know it looks
a little different,
but all our kids
have grown up
in the water
in the bay.
So I don't know what all
the doom and gloom
is all about.
Man's voice: There's 45
million pounds of chicken shit
dumped into the bay
each year.
I mean, look at that.
That is entirely
chicken shit.
And over here.
Look how close we are
to the water.
It's right there.
Chicken shit.
Water.
Woman: We gotta have
improvement in the economy.
We got to develop.
I say we develop
the hell out of the bay.
And then we can pay
to clean it up.
(cheering, clapping)
You know,
a lot of people...
a lot of people...
gave me a hard time
when we put up
the desalination plant.
With that desalination plant,
we increased the capacity
for poultry farming
in the area.
Donna's voice:
The desalination plant
filtered water
from the bay
so that people
could drink it
and use it
for the chicken industry.
And everyone just assumed
it would take anything
harmful out of the water.
Your lawns benefit
from that.
We have pools
that are in operation.
And last but not least,
I don't know about you,
but I think this is
the best darn water
I've ever tasted.
(cheering, clapping)
Donna's voice: People were worried
about the economy and the water,
but mostly that
wasn't their focus.
They were just doing
the American thing.
You know, trying
to make a living,
dealing with their children,
enjoying their lives.
And everything seemed
really pretty good.
(bell ringing)
Someone do something.
Do something!
(girl screaming)
What's going on?
Girl: Mommy!
(kids screaming)
- What's going on?
- What happened?
Oh, my God.
Has anyone seen
my husband?
What's happening to me?
Please help me.
I need my husband
and my kids.
I need to go
to the hospital.
Someone needs to get me
to the hospital.
Almost done.
We should have a report
of who the winner
is shortly.
I need to go
to the hospital.
Someone needs to get me
to the hospital.
Woman: I've never seen
anything like that.
(clapping)
Ooh, are you getting that?
Are you getting that?
He just vomited.
Are you getting that?
(spectators groaning)
Donna: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my God.
It's okay... miss, cut
the cameras, please.
It's all right, Tiffany.
You're almost done, sweetheart.
Danny, where are you?
This is a lens cap?
- Am I in frame?
- Donna: Mm.
Donna's voice:
This is Dr. Jack Abrams.
He was the head physician
in the emergency waiting room
at Atlantic Hospital.
He would actually end up
treating over 350 patients
over the course
of that day.
And he would die
later that night.
Abrams: Could you take
off your shirt, please?
Just... can you... turn around
a little bit more?
I'm just gonna point
this out to the camera.
Operator:
CDC. Is this an emergency?
- Abrams: Yes, it is.
- Are you a health professional?
- A doctor.
- Okay. Hold, please.
- CDC: Emergency operations.
- Abrams: Yeah, hi.
This is Dr. Jack Abrams
over at the Atlantic Hospital
- How can we help you today?
- We're in the middle of some kind of bacterial outbreak.
This is Dr. Williams
in Communicable Disease.
Uh, you believe you may
have a bacterial case?
Abrams:
Uh, not one. 30.
What?
I got 30 people
in the waiting room
- at my hospital right now.
- What are the symptoms?
The entire group has broken out
in blisters, boils, lesions...
- Where?
- Face, legs, neck, chest.
I got a woman whose entire
backside is covered in boils.
- All right. When did this begin?
- This morning.
Today.
What do
you think it is?
I have no idea
what it is.
I'm gonna walk you through a
list of associated symptoms.
Okay.
Okay.
I'm gonna ask you
a couple more questions.
You been around any
livestock? Agriculture?
- No.
- Farm animals?
You spend a lot of time
in the sun?
No, not really.
More than usual?
Less than usual? Same?
Not really.
You know, it hurts
What concerns me is we've had
a lot of people in today
who've had similar
symptoms to that.
Frankly, that's why
we're doing this.
If you wouldn't mind just
looking right into the lens
and saying your name?
- My name is Lamya Jezek.
- Abrams: Great.
What am I supposed to say?
I'm gonna ask you
a couple questions.
Man: I didn't know it was a big deal.
I'm just asking to go
through a drive-through.
Man #2: You're insane.
You do this every day.
- Okay, Grandma. Okay.
- It's like clockwork.
I'm sorry. Grab the food, you're out.
That's why it's
a drive-through.
It's not a big deal.
Just go through.
Can you do it?
Donna's voice:
This is Officer Paul.
He's the one on the left.
He was actually the best man
at Officer Jimson's wedding.
- (siren blares)
- What is that?
- What is that?
- They reported the first death
in Claridge
at 12:42 PM.
Is he shot?
Jimson:
Check his pulse.
Oh, gosh.
I don't wanna do that.
(door closes)
He's dead.
I don't see any
bullet holes, though.
All right. Central, this is SM 10-12.
We got a young white male
laid out on
the corner of, uh,
Center and Hyde.
He's dead.
Go ahead and dispatch
EMS as soon as you can.
- (dispatch chattering)
- Is there anyone around?
(sirens blaring)
- Woman: Hi.
- Hey.
- Huh?
- Whoo.
What do you think, Andrew?
Oh, you like that foot.
We're gonna go to Claridge,
see the fireworks, huh?
- Do you know what fireworks are?
- (laughs)
Donna's voice:
This is Alex
and Stephanie Talmet.
He was a very young,
very successful dentist
from Townsend.
And Stephanie,
she grew up in Claridge
before becoming a big-shot
lawyer in Baltimore.
We're gonna call them later
and they're gonna meet us there.
- That's their baby.
- Alex: You sure? They're gonna meet us?
Donna's voice: They
rented a boat in Wilmington
to sail to Claridge
for the fireworks.
Alex: All right. We're gonna
get this motorboat going.
We ready for this?
(phone ringing)
(operator speaks)
(woman speaking)
(woman crying)
Operator:
Where are you, ma'am?
Woman:
My God. She's bleeding.
- Operator: Ma'am?
- (woman crying)
Woman:
I just got my camera.
Operator: Can you tell me
what your address is right now?
Woman: I'm in my home, I'm in my home.
Operator: And what
street is your home on?
Woman: She's bleeding. You
gotta send somebody, please.
Operator:
Where is she bleeding from?
Woman: Just send help.
Send somebody now.
Send somebody quick.
Please.
114 Maple St.
(screaming)
(siren blaring)
Cameraman:
Donna? Donna?
Hey, Donna.
Come here.
Did anyone tell you
what this was?
Do you know
who's in there?
All right.
Let's go.
Let's follow it.
(sirens blaring)
Dispatch: Hey, we got a situation
over at the 9-1-1 Call Center.
And the system's
about to go down.
We're just overloaded
with calls.
Atlantic Hospital's
overcrowded.
75 at St. Alban's Clinic.
Clinic on Dorsey? Check out all
those people out on the curb.
Some sort of killer virus,
they say.
You know?
So, wash your hands
and keep your gloves on
and whatnot.
Dispatch #2: I need you to
respond from the west side.
Come up to Prince Street
and stop short
of St. James
and check back
to the south side.
That's the one showing the body
was laying behind the yard.
At the address
123 St. James.
Hey, John.
Whew. Marla Spatafora.
- She got it bad.
- (door slams)
I mean, somebody
really tore into her.
Bill and I found her
over on the lawn.
Her guts were tore out.
- And her tongue cut off.
- Her tongue was cut off?
Yeah.
I imagine
it's a domestic.
Do we know anything
about the husband?
A Jason Spatafora?
I am at the scene
of the crime right now
with a man named Jerry.
He's a fisherman
in the town.
And, um, you knew
Ms. Sporafina, is that correct?
Spatafora.
I apologize.
They... they sent us
the wrong name.
She was a wonderful woman.
Very calm, very quiet.
Does this go on
in the town a lot?
Domestic violence
cases?
- It just seems...
- I'm sorry, what?
Cameraman: Try it...
do that one more time.
Donna's voice: I thought I
was following a murder story.
I was just going through
the motions,
almost trying to imitate
what I thought a reporter
should sound like.
No.
(scoffs)
Makes me cringe
when I watch this now.
- Cameraman: All right, just do an ending...
- God, I feel bad.
I didn't seem
too pushy, did I?
No, no, no.
You have to, like, pretend
you don't feel anything
about the situation
when you're a reporter.
But it's...
no, you did a good job.
You weren't overly emotional
and you weren't too...
too much of a reporter
with him. It was good.
- It was a good conversation.
- All right.
Hey, hey.
Are you excited?
Stephanie: We're gonna go
and see Grandma and Grandpa.
Yeah.
Very exciting.
You know what? We're not gonna
say anything about Grandma's hair.
Where did he go?
Where's Daddy?
Oh, look at this.
I need you to look
at this, okay?
Just... just look at this.
It's like some kind of
blister
or something.
Donna's voice:
This girl... Jennifer...
she was using FaceTime
with her phone
to show a rash that suddenly
broke out on her body.
- This stuff on my arms...
- Girl: Oh, my God, Jennifer.
- That's disgusting.
- Look at my leg.
When we looked at
her phone call list,
it turns out she was trying
to stay in contact
with her friend
throughout the entire day.
- Girl: Did you put something on it?
- Nobody's answering.
It just goes straight
to voicemail.
Girl: I know. Service is sucking ass.
Every time I watch
these FaceTime videos,
it makes me feel sad.
My parents left
like an hour ago.
I don't even know
where they were going.
They didn't even tell me
they were leaving.
They were just
out the door
and they pulled out
before I had a chance
to even say goodbye
or ask them where
they were going.
- Does it hurt?
- Yeah, it does really hurt.
Is this gonna be okay
for the audio?
- Jacqueline: Yeah.
- The rain on the...
- I think it's okay.
- I'll speak loudly.
Um, okay. Hello.
That was very formal.
Okay, we have now seen
one infected fish.
And we are going
to be using this
borescope... hello...
to go inside
the fish's mouth
and see if it was
an isolated incident or not.
Come with me.
Sam: Inside.
Okay, secure.
And okay.
This, everyone,
is parasite larvae.
Ew.
Jacqueline:
Explain for them.
Uh, well,
a parasite larvae,
it's, uh... it's a creature
whose eggs are
swallowed by fish
and then they hatch
inside the belly.
It's fun stuff.
I've never really seen
larvae like this, though.
I don't know where
the parasites are coming from.
Cameraman:
What'd he say?
I just heard
on the car radio
that there was
another murder.
- A second murder?
- Yes.
Only 12 blocks
from the murder
of Marla Spatafora
this afternoon.
And now authorities
are telling us
the body was found
in a rather
mutilated condition.
And I believe
police believe
that the husband could
be involved in this.
Some reports, perhaps,
of a history of abuse there.
Anchor #2: You can follow
her throughout the day
by going to
- Uh, sir. Channel 33...
- You are pushing your luck.
This could be
a career-maker for her.
- What are the odds?
- Unbelievable.
- Unbelievable.
- Is she gonna be able to handle this?
I just had to show you
these off-air comments.
I mean, they're wondering
if I can handle this
and they're right.
I'm chasing a murder mystery.
- A small town celebration.
- Yeah. We're gonna do the parade.
- I'm from American University...
- You're out from college?
That's it, guys.
Off the property.
I wasn't asking
the right questions, and...
Now she's covering what's gonna
be the biggest story of the year.
Donna: Sir, we do have press passes.
- Press passes...
- Cameraman: Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Donna's voice: Looking
back, I just don't understand
how I still thought
it was a murder case.
Donna:
Jim, are you getting it?
Abrams:
I can only assume
that whatever this is
is going to continue
to eat away at the leg
and at the knee
and probably move
to the upper body
and into the gonads.
I think that what we're
talking about here
are two separate strains
of some kind of parasite.
Something that is
literally eating its way
into the body
from the outside.
Uh, there are lesions
and there's boils
and also there's something
eating its way out
from inside.
What I need you
to do
is figure out
what the hell this is.
Interviewer:
John, what is going on?
Stockman:
Oh, man. You know...
- We've never had murders...
- Well, you know...
...reported here
in the city.
You know,
actually, um...
I've been so busy
with the reelection
and July 4th.
I mean, the sheriff
office is...
I've made contact
with them.
- It's not even labeled murder yet.
- Yeah.
- It isn't.
- Just an ongoing investigation.
- It's a totally open investigation, yeah.
- Okay.
(button clicks)
All right, we're back.
It's "Radio on the Bay. "
George Khouri.
Uh, we've got
our podcast 24-7,
all the updates,
KhouriRadio. Com.
Right now we're just
gonna get right to it.
We've got our esteemed
mayor, John Stockman.
He's got a very important
announcement for the town,
so right now
we're just gonna
turn it over to you,
Your Honor.
- I really appreciate this opportunity.
- Absolutely.
Stockman: There's a lot
of rumors being spread.
And rumors can get you
into nothing but trouble,
as we all know.
So, let me give you
a little more clarity
as to what's going on.
And we all know that
during warm weather
bacteria levels can rise.
And because of that,
sometimes there are those of us
who pick up some kind
of digestive problems
It's unfortunate, but it's a
fact of life here on the bay.
However...
and I hope everyone
is paying attention to this...
let's not go around
scaring one another
with crazy
and outlandish stories
that serve
no one's benefit.
So, and I can't
stress this enough,
if you have a sensitivity
to that type of bacteria,
or if you just want
to take special precautions,
you can limit your time
in the water today.
The bacteria level here
is much, much higher
than even the high level
we see after a storm,
and the fertilizer
from the farm
- run into the water.
- You're rushing on the fertilizer.
- Slow down on that.
- Okay.
And the fertilizer
from the farm
are running
to the water.
Um...
It's, uh...
not good at all.
It's very, very high.
Yeah, that ending
is kind of sloppy on that.
Stockman: And if I have any information,
and I do mean
to stress this,
if I have any information
that would alter those facts...
and I say facts...
I'll be right back here
talking to you again.
And Khouri and everyone
out there,
I just want to wish you
the happiest of 4th of Julys.
Thanks again.
(man whistles)
There he is.
- There he is.
- Oh, yeah!
- Man #2: Who's buying dinner?
- (man laughs)
Woman:
Let's see it, let's see it.
Man #2: That's so big, I don't
think he fits in this boat.
- (shutter clicking)
- There you go, huh? Nice.
- That's not right, Danny.
- Look at that, Brad, huh?
- Man #2: That thing's huge.
- Brad: That's not right.
It is right.
Look at that thing.
Danny, you ever see
anything like that?
What is that?
- I've never seen nothing like that.
- What the heck is it?
Ow! Son of a bitch!
- What the...
- (screaming)
Get it... get off of me!
Woman: What is that?
- Step back!
- Move away!
Man #2:
That thing bit me.
Brad: Holy shit, that thing is nasty.
All right. Welcome back.
"Radio on the Bay. "
It's George Khouri.
We are live on the air,
and of course 24-7,
we got our podcasts.
You can grab 'em.
RadioKhouri. Com.
Now there's a lot of speculation,
a lot of phone calls coming in.
People not quite sure
what to make of this,
but theories do abound,
my friends.
Maybe a satanic cult
has invaded the town.
There's drugs loose
in the air.
We've got theories
running wild.
Caller: I think it's al-Qaeda,
or whatever it's called.
It's a terrorist plot
to poison the food supply.
Caller #2: Gathering a lot of
information about the flu shots
Caller #4:
I saw this strange cloud.
It was hovering over the water
down by the bay.
It was this
very circular shape...
Caller #5: Biological warfare. Um, Iran,
and they're probably trying to
get people out of Guantanamo.
Caller #6: I bet everybody's gonna
say it's about global warming.
I still can't get them.
It's going to voicemail.
Alex:
Well...
We said we'd meet them
at the pier.
That's what we'll do.
We'll meet them at the pier.
- Okay.
- That's the plan. We'll just...
do that.
Jacqueline: Okay, we have
some more dead fish here.
- All mutilated.
- Sam: What?
- All mutilated.
- Oh, mutilated.
We have... here, we have...
the tongue is missing on these.
- No tongue?
- And on these others,
the flesh looks almost
like it's been bitten.
- It's very confusing.
- Why is that?
(Jacqueline sighs)
I'm not sure what does this.
Um, fish don't bite fish.
There she is.
- Come on, let me film you.
- No, no, no, no, no.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Oh, God.
I don't wanna end up
on the Internet.
Girl: Come on. It's not like I'm
gonna put you naked on my Facebook page
- and see what the comments are.
- (laughs)
Well, I might, actually.
Now that I think about it.
Who knows? I could end up
being a pretty big star.
Uh-huh. Sure.
A big star. Whatever.
Donna's voice: This was
Denise Button's digital camera.
She was a star pitcher
for the softball team.
A little shirt off.
- Denise: Um, I don't think so.
- Let me see this.
- Aw, come on.
- Why do you want me to do that?
'Cause I wanna see
how beautiful you are.
- You already know.
- (laughs)
You know my mom doesn't like us
being together in the first place,
so why would I do
something even worse?
Because you like me.
All right, but you
better come in with me.
You're coming in,
no doubt about it.
Whoa.
(laughs)
You better come
in after me.
Whoo-hoo!
- How's it feel?
- Awesome. Come on!
- No. Mm-mm.
- Come on, baby.
Naw, that's okay. I think you can
just get stung by the jellyfish.
What?
(screams)
Oh, ha ha.
Very funny.
No, there's seriously
something in the... ow!
You're not getting to me.
(screaming)
You're just jeal...
are you okay?
(screaming continues)
Donna's voice: That camera was
apparently found a month later
by a 12-year-old
on the shore.
Their bodies
were never discovered.
(wind blowing)
Samantha:
It's so pretty here.
- Alex: Isn't it?
- (Samantha chuckles)
(kissing)
Hey.
Behind you.
It's like a sign.
- Oh, is it?
- Yeah.
It's a sign you wanna
make a little love?
(laughs) Knock it off.
It's not a sex sign.
Oh, well.
It is to me.
- It is a sex sign to me.
- No, everything is...
Hi.
Come on. It just helps
it a little bit.
Donna's voice: Sometimes
when I watch this footage,
this private footage...
They're being playful.
They're loving one another.
And they have no idea that
something so much darker
and sinister
is about to happen.
...you get in the mood?
- Oh, definitely.
Oh, my God. Oh, my
God. What are you doing?
There we go.
Let's just cool off a little.
Oh, my God.
Alex, Alex, Alex.
- The camera. Put me down.
- Oh, the camera, the camera.
- Asshole.
- Ouch!
(laughing)
- Serves you right.
- Wow.
(spits)
Wow, it tastes...
How does it feel in there?
(coughs)
Some went in my mouth.
- Oh, you're coming in at some point.
- Looks so good.
You know that,
don't you?
Look at you, up there
on your high boat.
Jacqueline: About a hundred years ago,
the sea floor was entirely grass bed,
with enough oysters to
self-clean about every four days.
Today, the bay
is 40% dead zone.
There's nothing here.
Sam: Wait, I don't understand.
Are you saying that 40%
- of the bay is a dead zone?
- Is good? Is okay?
No, no. It's not clear
that 40% is dead.
(P.A. System chattering)
Dr. Abrams.
The CDC
is on the line.
They're on right now?
Can you get somebody
to get an orderly?
Get that guy out
of the hall.
Put him in 104.
Well? Well?
Uh, yeah. You said
that you have 30 of these...
I have about 60 people
with some kind of blister
and lesion outbreak.
- I have wart overgrowth...
- Excuse me, you said now you have 60 cases?
I just saw three people
with their tongues half gone.
Okay, that's a lot
of information.
Did you administer methicillin
to the lesion victims?
Abrams: Of course I gave them
methicillin. It had no response.
- What do you mean?
- It kept spreading.
- In how many cases?
- In all of the cases.
Okay, that's important.
Yeah, I know that's important
because they still have
Do you have any
new information for me?
Not at this time.
This could be
any number of things.
It could be fungal
or bacterial.
- Fungal?
- We had a tropical fungus outbreak
last year in Vancouver.
Spread in about
three hours, actually.
Vancouver?
Three hours?
Yeah.
With, uh, about 30...
we lost... about 30
people died, I think.
But it was just
the fact that
we hadn't seen it in
the northern hemisphere before.
Now, I did wanna ask you.
Did you say that
you had people
with half their
tongues gone?
Uh, yeah. Hold on.
You didn't get pictures?
Did you send those pictures
to the CDC?
You did?
You should have an attachment
with pictures we sent you.
Do you have them?
Okay.
Okay,
we're coming to you
from the straits
at Claridge,
where we think
we have found...
dun-dun-dun...
- the culprit.
- (thunder crashes)
Let's go take a look inside
the laboratory here.
See what we got.
As you can see here,
we have these parasites
that seem to have latched
onto the gills.
(Jacqueline gasps)
Oh, my God.
- This is disgusting.
- Right here.
You get it?
There.
This is called
an isopod right here.
It's one of the world's
oldest creatures.
Dates back from the
Carboniferous period.
Here.
- Look at that.
- What is that?
- (gasps)
- Look at that.
It ate right through
the fish's tongue.
This is enormous.
Do you think
this is an anomaly?
Do I think it's...
"omelee"? What?
No, do you think
it's normal?
Oh, anomaly.
I think it's... it must be
some kind of mutated version.
Isopods shouldn't even
be in the brackish water.
This is a huge one.
(groans)
Look at this.
All these isopods
are eating this fish alive.
I don't understand this.
This doesn't make
any sense.
Man: What is it?
(groaning)
It aches.
The pain in my...
there's something
really wrong.
Help me.
(panicked chattering)
Girl:
What's happening?
I think... I think
you need to see this.
- What's that noise?
- Look how many people are here.
- Oh, my God.
- Look at this.
- Look.
- What's wrong with everyone?
- Look at all these people.
- That's Mr. Long.
Jennifer:
They need help.
(all clamoring)
(loud thump)
Did... did you just
hear that?
Look.
Look at this.
Look at this.
Look.
- Somebody help me!
- Jennifer: Please, please. Somebody.
Woman: They were just
there for a car show.
Within 24 hours,
he got ill.
And they said with
this parasite,
that is what happens.
Reporter: Only his
feet touched the water,
but a short time later,
he became sick.
Doctors say he
was infected by a bacteria
called Vibrio vulnificus.
If he'd survived,
he would've lost
his arms and legs.
When walking through brackish
water or at the beach,
if you get a cut, don't just
think it's gonna go away.
You have to seek medical
attention immediately
if it starts to turn red or
you start to feel really bad.
Reporter: The Vibrio vulnificus bacteria
can lead to heart failure,
loss of limbs, or death.
All right, this is the leg
of a man treated today
at Atlantic Hospital
in Maryland.
This is the IR slide
of the same infection.
Notice the bruising
below the skin.
It looks like
Vibrio vulnificus.
Now, it's a bit different than
the normal symptoms of a vibrio
or a Cryptosporidium
outbreak.
And we got people up there
with their tongues half gone.
So, what have
we got here, people?
Stephanie, where are you?
You're not answering your phone.
I've been trying
to reach you.
I'm at the hospital.
Your dad is
at the hospital.
They're taking him in. He has
some kind of very bad infection.
And I think they're going
to amputate his leg.
It's crazy here.
I mean, really crazy here.
So the most important thing
is to know
that I do not want you
to get off that boat.
Do you hear me,
Stephanie?
Don't get off the boat.
- Alex: Hey, Stephanie.
- What?
Stephanie's mother: And there is
something else I want you to know.
Alex: Look at this
boat. It's just adrift.
- Alex: Grab this camera.
- I have lesions.
Stephanie's mother: I think a lot
of people here are not gonna make it.
I'm gonna come up over...
here it comes.
But remember,
I love you,
and I will try
to call again.
Alex:
There's nobody in it.
Hey, you see anyone
in the water?
I don't think we can rule out
a food-borne virus
or anything airborne,
but this looks
like a water vector.
I agree. The blistering
looks like echinococcosis.
The lesions could be
Mycobacterium marinum
or schistosomiasis.
I mean, Jesus, there could
be cholera in there.
Yeah, but I don't see
it spreading this fast.
If the water's being polluted
with anything chemical
on top of the bacteria,
we could easily
be looking at
a new form evolve.
Maybe a fungal bacteria,
maybe a mutated tapeworm.
Who knows?
I need labs back in two.
I need labs back in two. I
need Prolix and I need morphine.
- Somebody call Materials Management...
- Dr. Abrams.
- I need 4x8...
- Dr. Abrams.
- What?
- It's the fellow you amputated.
- What about him?
- It's on the other leg.
- What?
- It's on the other leg.
Christ.
I need morphine in two
and I need labs back.
I need labs back STAT.
CDC operator:
I have EPA on the line.
What the hell's going on
at the Chesapeake Bay?
What are you
talking about?
Is there anything in there
that could cause disease,
bacterial outbreak,
or mutations?
Well, the bay has been
found to have pollutants,
algae,
agricultural runoff,
chicken excrement,
um...
Go on.
There was a small leak from
a nuclear reactor in 2002.
- God damn it.
- But we weren't expecting it to hit the bay
till 2014.
But it is coming
through the ground,
so it could've
hit earlier.
Are people drinking
this water?
Of course not. The bay is
brackish. You can't drink it.
There is a level of seepage
into local wells
and of course the
desalination plant in Claridge.
Stockman:
With that desalination plant,
we have increased
the capacity
for poultry farming
in the area.
Those chickens
drink about
2,000 gallons
of water a day.
I think the NEF said it was
0.3 liters of dirty water,
so there could be radium
or tritium in there.
Sam's voice: ... endocrine
disruptors, pharmaceuticals...
EPA: Algae, agricultural
runoff, chicken excrement...
There was a small leak from
a nuclear reactor in 2002...
And you don't warn anyone?
Well, it's not under
our regulations
to test for
radioactivity levels in water.
Look... half the water in America
probably has some leaks in it.
Don't you regulate
the water?
The filtered water has met
all regulatory standards.
- That dome over there...
- Activist: 5 million pounds of chicken shit
dumped into the bay
each year.
This is the best darn water
I've ever tasted.
(saw buzzing)
Donna: What are you doing?
Let's go back this way.
- Jim: Just hold on.
- What are you doing?
I can't...
I'm burning up.
Let me just put
some water on my face.
Jesus.
Donna's voice: That's
my cameraman, Jim Hoyt.
- Hey, Katie Couric.
- Donna's voice: Um...
Can you just chill
the fuck out for two seconds?
I think that's the only time
we actually ever see him.
- That's not an insult. I like her.
- He died that night.
- Jim: I know you do.
- A lot of this footage
is thanks to him.
Man on phone:
Governor's office.
Abrams: Yeah, hi.
This is Dr. Jack Abrams.
I'm at the Atlantic Hospital
in Claridge.
I need to speak
to the governor immediately.
Man: The governor is away from his desk.
Jennifer: I don't
understand how the nurses
are just hurrying by
and they're not even stopping.
Look at that.
She didn't even stop.
- Man: Look, I am.
- There are like 20 feet in front of us.
- Woman: Jesus.
- Daughter: Dad!
- (honks horn)
- Stop honking the horn!
- Please stop texting.
- I'm not texting.
Daughter: Oh, my God. She
just said "YouTubeing. "
Abrams: We're having an
outbreak of some kind here.
A medical outbreak
down here in Claridge.
People are dying here.
I have been speaking
to the CDC
They are moving
at a snail's pace...
- as soon as he gets back.
- What do you mean, you have it?
Well, go. Go out there and
document everybody that you see.
Don't document me.
Don't waste the damn film.
Donna's voice: Nobody
ever got off that bridge.
It was shut down
for three days, actually.
Um...
I did a lot of research.
There's no record
of who ordered it shut down.
Alex:
I got it on autopilot.
- Oh, good.
- Yeah.
- GPS is amazing.
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah, well...
- They said take the next right, though.
And I don't know
what they're referring to.
- Just go around in circles.
- That's fine by me.
Jim: You know, we don't have to be here.
They're not gonna
post any of this.
The FBI are not
gonna allow it.
Donna: Well, there's a little
something called the First Amendment.
- Is it rolling?
- Yeah, we're rolling.
Good evening.
This is Donna Thompson
reporting from what used to be
the fairgrounds
of the July 4th party...
(man yelling, moaning)
- Did you hear that?
- Yeah, what was it?
What the fuck is that?
- (people screaming)
- (microphone drops)
I'm sorry,
I'm sorry.
(woman screaming)
Man over computer: You say
you were hearing these screams
all across...
(transmission scatters)
I'm sorry. The Skype
broke up a little bit.
What did you say?
Just echoing
through the air?
I mean, all different
directions?
Oh, yeah.
I mean, there...
it was very faint,
but it was very,
um, prominent.
I heard them
coming from here.
I've heard them
coming from there.
It was far away,
but...
it was very
ghostlike.
You know, I...
And the pain in the people's
voices, I could hear them.
They were
like cries or...
like cries for help.
But you didn't know
where anyone was?
No. I had no idea
where anybody was.
Dispatch: Be advised.
Need you to respond
to the corner of
St. James and Highmarket.
We just got a phone call
in reference to
hearing some screaming
or some type of
loud verbal noises
from across the street.
(siren blaring)
You think it's, like,
a group or one person?
- I don't know.
- Like, maybe one of those cults, you know?
Like they were talking
about on the radio?
I don't know.
All right.
Stay here and keep
your eyes out, huh?
- (woman screaming)
- Man: What was that?
(man screaming)
Did you hear that?
(baby crying)
(knocks on door)
Jimson:
Police, open up.
(continues knocking)
Police, open up.
I'm gonna go in.
Hello?
Hello?
This is Donna Thompson
reporting from what used to be
- the fairgrounds of the July 4th party.
- (screaming continues)
Um, at the moment, we are not
quite sure what's going on.
(Jimson screams
over radio)
(gunshots echo)
Paul on radio:
Central, this is SM 10-12.
Be advised,
shots fired,
shots fired
at 352 St. James Street.
Send assistance
immediately.
(door slams)
Central, advise.
Did you copy?
Central, please advise.
Do you copy?
Send backup.
A shot has been fired
- Jim?
- At 352 St. James Street.
- Central, be advised...
- Jim, are you in there?
I don't know if
anyone's listening there.
I'm gonna enter
the premises now.
SM 10-18 is
currently inside.
- Please send backup.
- Jim?
Jim!
I'm coming in!
I'm coming in!
- Paul: Oh, my God. What's this?
- Man: Please!
What are you doing?
Jim: They're all dying, they're
all dying. Look at them all.
Paul: No way. What have you done, Jim?
Oh, my God.
I don't know...
I don't know what they are.
- What is on those people?
- I don't know what it is.
It's crawling
on their bodies.
(man screaming)
Let's get out of here!
- (man moaning)
- Did you cut it off?
Paul:
You can't do this.
You can't do this!
Oh, my God!
Get it off,
get it off!
(screaming)
(gunshot)
Jim, wait.
Jim, no, no, no, no!
It's me, Paul.
(gunshot)
This is Cessna 1-5-7.
Man:
Go ahead, Cessna 1-5-7.
Cessna 1-5-7: I'm just trying to
figure out what the hell's going on.
I know they shut down all
the roads going into Claridge,
but now I'm flying over
the water here
and there's just, like,
a shitload
of dead fish everywhere.
Man:
Did you say "dead fish"?
Cessna 157: I don't
know how many, but, um...
it goes as far
as I can see.
So you just got this?
CDC staffer: Yeah, from
a research professor
at the University
of Maryland.
And this, uh,
Cymothoa exigua?
Do we have any
information on this?
Sacerdoti: Yeah, the exigua
is a crustaceous isopod
normally found
in the Pacific.
It's been making a number of
appearances in the Atlantic.
Last year, they found a
two-and-a-half-foot one
trying to burrow its way
into a submarine.
The thing thought it
was a dead whale.
(scoffs) Are you making this
up? This looks Photoshopped.
No, it's real.
So, how's that getting
into the water supply?
Sacerdoti: Well, at normal
scale, they're quite common.
The fishermen
call them "sea lice. "
Yeah, but, I mean,
it's this big.
How's it gonna get through
a filtration system?
Well, what about
the larvae?
All right, now we're bringing up
more questions than we can answer.
We gotta find out what
happened to those two divers.
Yeah?
Let's go.
Okay, here we are.
We got a nice break
in the weather.
So, we're gonna go catch
the current out to Claridge,
take an up-close, personal
look at these parasites.
See what we're dealing with.
See, you take
a look around,
it's beautiful.
It's breathtaking.
One of the most beautiful
estuaries in all of America.
You'd have no idea
what's underneath.
How was that? Was that
not very good at all?
- Jacqueline: Great.
- What?
(laughs)
- That was very good.
- Okay, one more time.
A little crisper.
I feel like I'm sitting
very strangely.
Do people sit
like this? Okay.
Now bring
the camera to me.
I'm gonna get us
some beauty shots here.
Get a sense of place here.
You wanna see the vista,
here, and the sun.
Beautiful water.
Beautiful, placid water.
You have no sense
of how the ecosystem's
actually being affected.
You have no idea of the
nightmare underneath here.
(splashing)
Take an up close and personal
look at these parasites.
See what we're actually
dealing with.
We'll go take
a look ourselves.
(breathing)
(muffled screams)
Donna's voice:
You can see in this footage
that the oceanographers dove
right into a school
of fully-grown isopods.
This is not
the sea lice variety
or the larvae.
This is what killed them.
And what killed
those young teenagers.
The question we
continue to ask is,
did the authorities
not look at this footage?
Or chose not to reveal it?
Donna: Jim?
Jim?
Do you hear that?
(faint music playing)
I hear something.
(faint moaning)
Jim:
Yeah, I hear it.
(whispers)
It's this way.
(moaning intensifies)
Do you fucking
hear that?
It's like a moaning
or something.
Can you come closer?
(screaming)
Oh, my God!
Oh, my God!
Donna: Oh!
(wheezing)
What do I need
to do, Doctor?
What do I need to do?
Well, I would suggest that
you and your staff
leave the hospital.
My staff left
20 minutes ago.
Well, good.
That's wise.
Wise? That's...
why is that wise?
Well, because
the bacteria...
uh, the... once it's
entered the human body...
it's a miracle you aren't infected
already, as a matter of fact.
- I'm... I'm fine.
- Well, that's good.
But what I'm
saying is that,
at this point,
it is too late, Doctor.
And I strongly suggest
that you leave immediately.
Look, I have people
in pain here.
I'm amputating feet,
I'm amputating legs,
I'm amputating arms.
You want me to get up
- and just leave the hospital?
- Yes, we're aware of that,
Doctor,
and we are sorry.
You need to get...
you need to get somewhere.
But don't come here 'cause
they're not gonna help you.
And they're not helping me.
It looks like there
are dead bodies up there.
- Dead people. They're not breathing.
- How can people be dead?
They just collapsed and no
one's coming out to get them.
- Nothing. Nope. No one.
- And no one's helping?
Jennifer, is
your tongue hurting?
Mine hurts so badly.
I'm just...
I'm really scared.
I don't know
what to do.
I just... I don't
wanna hang up.
I don't wanna be
by myself.
I can't get anyone...
Stephanie: Can you see
my parents? Are they here?
There's a bunch of dead shit
in the water.
- Stephanie: Whoa.
- What is that stuff?
That is weird.
Sheriff: Have you heard
anything from the governor yet?
Stockman on radio:
Yes, Lee. I talked to him.
The governor wanted to know
if we should call
And I told him to give us
a few more hours
Some of the folks have nothing
wrong with them, for heaven's sake.
And the CDC doesn't even know
if it's contagious.
- We've got the National Guard isolating us...
- (man screaming)
...from surrounding communities
as a preventative measure.
If we get people in here
with those hazmat suits,
all hell's gonna
break loose.
Now listen, Lee. Right now
we've got no media on this
except that student running
around with a camera.
And the FBI
shut down her blog.
And, Lee, you
and your deputies
have got to get
on top of this.
Sheriff: I lost all
contact with my deputies
about 30 minutes ago.
Stockman: What?
I'm not getting any
response from my guys.
(groans) Well, we shut
down all the towers
to kill the cell phones,
but it shouldn't
affect you guys.
Why don't you swing by
and pick me up right now?
I wanna get a firsthand look
at what's going on out there.
All right, I'll be by there
in about five minutes.
Jim:
You okay?
I don't think I've ever been
so scared in my whole life.
Is the blood off my face?
- What?
- Is the blood off my face?
No, you've got
a ton on your side.
What the...
- Donna: What?
- What is that?
Donna:
What is it?
Jim:
Holy shit.
- Donna: Fuck.
- What the fuck?
- Donna: Oh.
- Oh, my God.
- (Donna gasping)
- Look at his face.
- Donna: Oh, my God.
- Jim: Look at his face.
(Donna screaming)
Donna's voice:
Oh, my God.
Look at me,
I was running in a circle.
I mean,
if it wasn't...
if this wasn't
a tragedy situation,
it would actually
be somewhat comedic.
Um...
I was just
so fucking scared.
L... I never reported
another thing after that
until I made this film.
I...
(sighs)
That was actually
the last footage we shot.
Alex: Well, I'll come and
get the rest of the stuff
when we figure out
where we're going.
(scoffs)
Where are you leading us
other than off of this dock?
Alex, where do you think?
I have no idea.
I can't get
a hold of them.
This is quite a greeting,
isn't it?
- Oh, come on.
- This is pretty nice.
You know,
would you please...
- it's...
- All documented.
This is the quietest
4th of July I have ever seen.
We missed the fireworks?
What the hell's going on?
Yeah, what's with that?
Is it necessary
to get video of this?
Yes, I am filming
the lack of fireworks
so we can show your parents
we were here
- for the nonfestivities.
- Oh, great. You know, they'll...
Donna's voice: When Alex and
Stephanie got to Claridge,
more than 700 people
had died.
And here they were,
coming in with a baby.
Alex: ... this celebration
for 4th of July.
If you would turn the damn camera
off and help me look for them,
that might be
a little more useful.
Oh, you're doing great.
You're doing just...
- This is fantastic. I love it when you...
- This is ridiculous.
Make me be the grown-up and
you don't do any of the work.
- They all look...
- What the hell is that?
Stephanie:
Oh, my God.
Alex:
Oh, God.
- Alex, Alex...
- Holy shit.
- Stephanie: I wanna get out of here.
- Oh, my God.
- Look at this.
- Do not get any closer.
- I want to get out of here...
- Where are we gonna go?
I don't wanna be out here with
a dead body and Andrew here...
- Aw, Jesus.
- Stop.
- No, just...
- Get away from... don't touch her.
Yes, of course.
A toxic soup of chemicals
could produce
certain mutations.
What's also concerning
is the level
of chicken excrement
in the bay.
I mean, if the numbers
you gave me are correct,
the amount of steroids
in that amount of manure,
um, could be
accelerating growth
by 50, 60 times.
That's both in size
and quantity.
This stuff has so much
chemical steroid in it,
it will take a little birdie,
turn it into a fullgrown birdie
in 42 days, what Mother Nature
would take six months.
They think it's feeding off the
nutrients from the chicken runoff.
We've noticed
a five-to-one
female-to-male ratio
among these fish here.
We could easily be looking
at a new form evolve.
- Ow! Son of a bitch!
- (screaming)
Must be some kind
of mutated version.
Isopods shouldn't even
be in the brackish water.
I would like
to give Buzz
a big round of applause
for getting these
misters going.
(clapping, cheering)
Are people drinking
this water?
Some went in my mouth.
(coughs)
How's it gonna get through
a filtration system?
What about the larvae?
The desalination plant
in Claridge...
(voices overlapping) A new
form evolve... Steroids...
So much chemical steroid...
Mutated version...
They found a
two-and-a-half-foot one
trying to burrow its way
into a submarine...
Jane? Jane.
Get me...
Will you get me
the White House?
Stephanie: Oh, my God.
- Alex: Oh, my God.
- Careful, please.
Oh, you're kidding me.
Holy shit.
- Oh, my God.
- What the fuck?
- (doors slam)
- Stephanie: Oh, my God.
Alex:
Where the hell are we?
Donna's voice: Apparently, a lot
of people came up to Main Street.
And they were
just waiting for an EMS
or an ambulance
or someone to come by.
- Alex, I wanna go.
- Where do you want to go?
They were just
waiting and hoping.
Are we gonna get back on the boat in
the middle of the night without any gas?
Stephanie:
I wanna call the police.
Alex: You just told me that
there's no cell phone service.
- You just told me that.
- Can we go someplace where we have service
- so we can call the police?
- Look, look.
This place is open.
- Will you look inside...
- Let's just go in here and regroup.
- Are you okay?
- Yeah, yeah.
Come on.
- Oh, my God.
- Oh, shit.
Um, here.
Let's set this stuff down.
- Where?
- How is Andrew?
He's fine.
He's sleeping.
Stephanie: Well, this
couldn't be creepier.
- Can we make sure there are no more dead people in here?
- Yes.
I'll make sure
they're not.
Okay.
No, this is good.
This is good.
Let's stay here.
I'm gonna see if
I can find a landline.
Maybe I can get
one to work.
Okay.
I'm gonna go out
and see if I see anyone
on the street at all.
Cops, something.
- Stockman: We'll find 'em.
- Sheriff: Find 'em?
Stockman:
We'll find 'em.
Nothing's happened.
We just... we just...
have some deputies
off radio.
You know, if I find these guys
are playing a joke on me...
Well, they're fired.
Sheriff:
I've never had this happen.
Sheriff: I'm gonna make the next
town meeting, I can tell you that.
- We're gonna have to get some...
- Come on, Lee.
- (beeping)
- That's the last thing we need right now.
- What's that?
- Put your seatbelt on.
Oh, Jesus.
You're riding
in a police car.
Yeah, I'm worried
about my seat belt.
That's what I'm
worried about, right?
Stockman:
Whose car?
Sheriff:
I think that's Jimson's car.
- I can't be for sure.
- Is that him in the car?
I don't know.
- Whose house is this?
- What the hell is he doing, Lee?
- Now, wait a minute.
- I had to kill 'em.
That's Jim.
- What's wrong with him?
- What's wrong with him?
He looks like
he's done something.
- Is he drunk?
- He's got his gun out.
- Go away!
- What's the matter, Jim?
Come here, buddy!
Come here!
Stockman: Something's
wrong with his face.
- Oh, God, he's got...
- Oh, Christ.
- Go away!
- Jim?
- Go away!
- Come on, Jim.
- Just chill out, buddy!
- Just go!
Come on!
Come on and get
in the back of the car.
Get in the back
of the car, Jim.
I'll take you
to the hospital.
- Come on, we'll take you somewhere.
- Just go!
Come on, bud.
Don't let me lose you, Jim.
Come on, now.
We're all gonna die.
- We're all gonna die.
- Oh, God.
- I don't wanna die like this.
- It's okay, buddy.
- I'm coming to get you!
- No, Lee. Lee, stay.
- No, no, no, no.
- Let him go, Lee.
No, no, no. We gotta
get him somewhere.
- You stay here.
- Lee, for God's sake.
- Jim.
- They're eating my flesh.
- Let's go somewhere. Come on.
- We're all gonna die.
- Come on. Hey, what's that?
- We shouldn't have to die like this.
Huh?
No, you're not gonna die.
Nobody's gonna die.
Get in the car.
You don't have
to die like this, sir.
I can't touch you,
but get in the car.
Jim, now, wait a minute.
No, Deputy!
Put that gun down!
Bill, just hang on
for a second.
I'm gonna go
and get Alex.
Okay?
Don't go anywhere.
Alex. Alex?
I got Bill
on the Skype.
- Bill, can you hear me?
- Yeah, what's going on?
Okay, we came
to Claridge
- And, um... - Where are you,
at an antique store or something?
There are these...
there are dead bodies
- everywhere, Bill.
- What?
- And...
- Bill, the entire town is covered
- in dead fucking bodies.
- Oh, yeah. Okay.
That's a good one.
All right.
- Bill, please!
- What, are you guys serious?
Yeah, we are entirely
fucking serious here, Bill.
Oh, okay.
Call the cops, guys.
No, we called the cops.
We can't get through to them.
We can't get through
to my parents.
Our cell phones aren't working.
We can't get service.
We need for
you to do something.
Okay, all right.
Where are you?
Claridge.
- Claridge?
- Claridge.
- Call somebody, anybody.
- All right, hey.
Just get us
some help here, please.
Tell me, what
happened to you?
We don't know
what happened.
I mean, what is that
on your neck?
What's on my neck?
- Oh, my God, Alex.
- What is it?
Alex:
Oh, holy shit.
My name is
Dr. Jack Abrams.
I am a physician
at the Atlantic Hospital
in Maryland.
I'm making this video
in the hope that
I will be able to watch it
at some point in the future,
and I'm gonna show the world
what happened here.
Uh, coming out
into the hall now...
I locked myself
in the ICU for...
The CDC stopped
taking my phone calls.
Contacted FEMA.
Help hasn't arrived.
I think I now know
what is killing people.
We were looking
for some kind of virus,
some kind of viral outbreak.
And when we called CDC,
they needed to send
a fucking army down here to put
some goddamn minds together
to find what I know now,
which is this is not a virus.
This is an organism.
It is an organism
that has somehow
infiltrated these
people's bodies.
The blistering...
that's a symptom.
It is not...
that is what...
that is what threw us off.
It is the isopod.
It's eating their organs.
It's... it's... it's literally
eating them from the inside.
It is eating their intestines,
it is eating their liver.
It goes for kidneys,
lungs, tissue.
This is a rapidly growing,
accelerating organism.
How it's growing this fast,
I have no idea.
Um, I noticed this rash
about 45 minutes ago.
And I'm gonna continue
to take the camera
and I'm gonna document
everything that I see here.
If you find this tape,
just please get it out.
(isopods chirping)
Get it out.
(siren blaring)
(car stalls)
(Alex choking, vomiting)
Alex? Alex, Jesus!
- Alex?
- Stephanie, would you please talk to me?
- What's happening?
- What's wrong?
Talk to me.
What's wrong?
- Alex?
- There's something crawling
inside of my stomach.
- (retches)
- Alex.
Please explain
to me what's going on.
- Okay.
- (helicopter approaching)
- They're coming, they're coming.
- I can't...
They're gonna come.
Help is here, okay?
You're okay.
You're gonna be fine.
- It hurts.
- I know, darling.
I know it hurts,
but we gotta get you outside.
No!
I'm in too much pain.
I can't handle it.
- Alex... no.
- Take it, take it!
What's wrong with you?
Come on!
- Please. It's too much.
- No.
- Help me.
- Alex, come on.
Help.
Finish...
- (Stephanie screaming)
- (flesh squelching)
Donna's voice:
Alex died at 1:26 AM.
The larvae he swallowed
in the bay
had grown into
a full-sized parasite
in eight hours
from the toxic soup.
(Stephanie crying)
Hi, this is Steve Slattery
over at Homeland Security.
I just wanted
to get back to you
on that message
about Chesapeake Bay.
Yeah? And?
Slattery:
Yeah, uh... turns out
we did hear something
a few weeks back
about a couple
divers' bodies
being found in the water.
Natural Resources Police
thought it was
a bull shark bite.
And they were getting ready
to pull people out of the water
and put up a shark alert,
but a medical examiner
determined
that it was not
a shark bite at all.
They weren't sure, so they
sent reports over to us,
and then we sent them over
to the Coast Guard
and they said it didn't make
any sense to them,
so then we sent it to FEMA
and they never responded,
so I figured
we'd send it to you.
Yeah, that's good.
Williams:
What did the report say?
Slattery:
Well, uh...
kinda strange stuff.
It said the cause of death was
"undetermined due
to a multiplicity of parasites
and a variety of infections. "
Do you want a copy
of this report?
Williams:
Oh, yeah.
Funny enough, I would love
to see a copy of that report.
- Here we are, baby.
- (baby crying)
Williams:
So let me get this straight.
Two divers are found
with a bunch of holes in them
and all that we know is that
they're mysteriously being eaten
by parasites
and infections.
Williams: Nobody knows what
happened and it takes 16 days
to get this
information to us?
Slattery: Listen, we
set up an incident center
without cause and we're
in deep doo-doo here.
Williams: Really? Well, I've
got a town full of dead bodies.
Slattery: A small
town. I think we need to
keep this whole thing
in perspective here.
Williams: What kind of
perspective are you talking about?
(screaming)
(muffled)
Help me! Help me!
Get off of me!
Get off of me!
(baby continues crying)
Slattery: Listen, it's not that easy to
pull the trigger on something like this.
We...
(sighs)
We blow up a nonissue and shut
down the entire Chesapeake Bay...
I mean, we're talking about beaches,
restaurants, vacation fishing.
The public panics if word gets out
we're setting up an incident center
about a spreading disease
or for a spreading disease.
You don't just shut down the
Eastern Seaboard without approval
from a higher authority.
Great, I understand. Thank you
very much, Officer Slattery.
That's it?
Okay.
Thanks.
Donna's voice:
Um, then at about 5:30,
they came in
the hazmat suits,
and then they quarantined
the town for another three days
and that was when they
confiscated
every single camera
they could find.
You know, there were
those who survived,
and for some reason,
they never became sick.
Uh, the town as a whole
reached a financial agreement
with the government.
I don't know how much
money changed hands,
but I do know that silence
was part of the agreement.
I tried to reach out
to people like Stephanie,
but she didn't want to
participate in this film.
Oh, and by the way.
The official line
from the government
was that the outbreak
was due to
unseasonably high
water temperatures.
This is Donna Thompson...
signing off.
(music playing)
an environmental mystery.
...debris along the beach
as far as the eye can see.
(news reports
overlapping)
A large fish kill
has struck
along the shoreline of the
Sebastian Inlet State Park.
Biologists tell us there
were up to a million...
She captured reams
of dead fish
Fishery staff are
baffled at what caused
these hundreds
of dead fish...
Up to 5,000 blackbirds
fell within
a one-mile area...
Roughly two million...
Dead fish on the shores
of Rio de Janeiro...
Two million fish
here along Chesapeake Bay...
Thousands of birds started
falling from the sky...
(voices coalesce)
...investigation
is ongoing...
They got me up 4:00
in the morning,
told me we had birds
falling out of the sky.
Reporter: Scientists don't
know what killed them.
Man over speaker:
To your left...
look over to your left.
Okay, you can see
that's where the footage
about where you can,
uh, address...
- what that was about, okay?
- Okay, sounds good.
Okay, why don't we start off?
If you could just
fill us in
with basic details...
Okay.
Uh, my name
is Donna Thompson.
I was a
Communications major
at American University
covering the July 4th
festivities
in Claridge, Maryland,
on July 4th, 2009.
No cam... hey.
This is the first time
I am speaking publicly
about the disaster
that happened.
(clamoring)
- I was there.
- (sirens blare)
Let's follow it.
(sighs)
Man over computer:
You okay, Donna?
Donna?
- Yeah.
- Okay?
- Are we gonna be all right?
- Yeah, I'm sorry.
I thought this was gonna be
a little easier to talk about.
Okay, tell me when
you're ready and, um,
you can continue.
- Okay.
- I know it's hard. Go ahead.
Um...
my name is
Donna Thompson.
For three years,
I and a few others
have been trying to speak out
about what happened
in Claridge,
Maryland,
on July 4th, 2009.
But sometimes words
have no impact.
But now, with the help
of a website
- all of the digital information
- (crowd chattering)
That was recorded that day
has been obtained.
All of the digital information
that was confiscated.
Now, I don't know
if anyone
is gonna be watching this.
I don't know if anything
is gonna happen to me
as a result of me
putting this out there,
but I do know that
I can't move on
with my life
until this story
is told.
You know,
it's just, um...
it's hard to explain
what this town used to be like.
Well, it's 6:00
in the morning
with "Mike in the Morning"
on this beautiful day,
Good morning, Chesapeake,
and good morning, America.
- Listen, I'm your marathon man.
- (bell rings)
- (firework pops)
- What does that mean?
Hopefully you're gonna be
with me day and night
as I am with you
and we can celebrate.
I can't think
of a better way to celebrate
than a little music
from the heartland.
Donna's voice: I used
to come here every summer
with my folks.
It's hard to explain what
this town used to be like.
I mean, it was fun.
It was where I had
my first crab dinner,
my first summer kiss.
So, uh, that's the mayor
right there.
Mayor John Stockman.
He actually used to run
a vacuum cleaner shop,
and then one day he just
up and got everyone
to vote for him for mayor.
Right there, that's Martin
and Helen Wycoff.
They were both involved in a lot
of community service programs.
Um, their whole family
actually died that day.
Cameraman:
Three, two, one.
Good morning,
Maryland.
- Oh, wait. Sorry.
- Cameraman: It's okay.
Donna's voice: Honestly,
why didn't anyone tell me
my pants
were too tight?
I'm sorry. It's just that every
time I look at this footage,
it's...
it's a little difficult,
and I have this tendency
to overcompensate
a little bit.
- So... - Man over computer:
So you use humor, uh,
to hide those emotions.
- I understand.
- Right.
I mean, maybe
you should've gotten
a voice actor
or something to do this.
- I don't know.
- (record scratches)
Okay, okay.
I gotta stop this.
I've been getting
too many phone calls,
too many complaints.
For those of you
who do care,
it is Aaron Copland.
That's a piece
from "Our Town. "
What do you say we kick
the energy up a little bit, huh?
Donna's voice:
I was just a summer intern.
I was just so excited
I was gonna be
actually interviewing
people.
I think it's every girl's dream
to be Miss Crustacean.
I hope it's the beginning
of something much, much bigger.
I want to thank my parents
for their support
and my sister Taylor
for always being there for me.
Good morning, Maryland.
This is Donna Thompson,
and I'm in Claridge, Maryland.
Claridge is the host
of our annual
Eastern Chesapeake
July 4th party.
And I will be here all day
to cover the events.
It is my great pleasure
to announce
the beginning
of the 57th Annual
Claridge Crab Eating
Spectacular.
(cheering)
Am I in the frame?
Donna's voice: So, this
is good old Claridge.
It was founded in 1903,
supposedly by a fisherman
who ran around here
and liked it so much that
he started a crab restaurant.
- What's your name?
- Tyler.
And have you been preparing
for a while for this?
Not very.
Donna's voice:
All of it is, or was,
a whole population
of 6,200.
There's a pretty big
chicken industry,
a bunch of restaurants,
and a whole lot of money
is made from summer tourism
on the water here.
(water splashes)
Barker: Good job!
Who's next? Who's next?
- Me! Me! Me!
- I wanna get dunked.
Who's been playin'
around with you?
A real cool cat
with eyes of blue...
Donna's voice: Oh, God. This
is my first interview ever
I think I made him do this
interview like four different times.
I think I even told him
his hair dried fast
because he's bald.
- Yep, it does dry fast, yeah.
- (laughs)
So, I think we can show
just about everybody
that comes on down
a really good time.
Yeah. Cool.
I had no idea
how culpable he was
for what was
about to happen.
- (water sloshing)
- (police radio chattering)
Donna's voice: The first signs
that something was very wrong
happened six weeks
before July 4th.
It was on the news,
but I don't think anybody
- and knew what was going on.
- (splashing)
Newscaster: The bodies of
two scientists were found
in the Chesapeake Bay
last night after having been
reported missing
for more than 36 hours.
The cause of death
was listed as unknown,
although medical examiners
found numerous wounds on the body
that might be consistent
with shark bites.
The two scientists
were oceanographers
working to measure
pollution levels in the bay.
Donna's voice:
These were two oceanographers.
One from
the Cousteau Institute
and another from
the University of Maryland.
They were keeping a video diary
of their research
and sending it to the
Chesapeake Environmental Council.
Red algae here and here
does indicate
bacterial growth.
Now Natural Resources,
they think it's feeding off
the nutrients in the water
from the chicken runoff.
- That's a strange attack.
- Yes, it is.
Anchor: You don't hear about
shark attacks in the bay, normally.
Anchor #2: Well, I think
bull sharks can be aggressive.
- A couple of attacks last year, maybe?
- Here and there.
- Anchor #2: Yeah.
- It is brackish throughout the Chesapeake Bay
and bull sharks
have been known
Anchor #2: I gotta tell ya.
It makes me a little nervous.
We have a boat and go out
in the bay all the time.
Sam: They got the results
on the water analysis.
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah.
What do you have?
Uh, mercury levels
way above standards,
polycyclic acids, OPs,
PCBs that haven't
been legal in 20 years.
- (camera clicking)
- Sam: Endocrine disruptors, pharmaceuticals,
Viagra, estrogen, DDT,
- trace amounts of GRDF.
- Jacqueline: Phew.
I mean, pretty much
you name it,
- it's in there.
- (police radio chattering)
I mean, looky here.
Naw.
(heavy accent) This whole stream
of toxin is following the current.
The what's
following the what?
- You have a very thick accent sometimes.
- Sam.
This whole stream of toxin
is following the current.
- Yes.
- Look. It's going next to this little town.
Claridge.
Claridge.
(clears throat)
Donna's voice: There were
people who were concerned
With some of the townsfolk,
it did cause arguments.
Your chicken plants are putting
chicken shit in my bay...
- (crowd protesting)
... and they're killing.
The important thing,
Jerry...
Jerry? The important
thing to understand
is that the EPA continues
to test the bay.
- And it is really...
- (clapping)
It's really their responsibility.
It's their responsibility.
Man's voice:
Each one of these sheds has
approximately 32,000
chickens in it each.
Those chickens eat about
10,000 pounds worth of food.
They do this all
very mathematically.
You know, I don't care what
people say about the bay.
I know it looks
a little different,
but all our kids
have grown up
in the water
in the bay.
So I don't know what all
the doom and gloom
is all about.
Man's voice: There's 45
million pounds of chicken shit
dumped into the bay
each year.
I mean, look at that.
That is entirely
chicken shit.
And over here.
Look how close we are
to the water.
It's right there.
Chicken shit.
Water.
Woman: We gotta have
improvement in the economy.
We got to develop.
I say we develop
the hell out of the bay.
And then we can pay
to clean it up.
(cheering, clapping)
You know,
a lot of people...
a lot of people...
gave me a hard time
when we put up
the desalination plant.
With that desalination plant,
we increased the capacity
for poultry farming
in the area.
Donna's voice:
The desalination plant
filtered water
from the bay
so that people
could drink it
and use it
for the chicken industry.
And everyone just assumed
it would take anything
harmful out of the water.
Your lawns benefit
from that.
We have pools
that are in operation.
And last but not least,
I don't know about you,
but I think this is
the best darn water
I've ever tasted.
(cheering, clapping)
Donna's voice: People were worried
about the economy and the water,
but mostly that
wasn't their focus.
They were just doing
the American thing.
You know, trying
to make a living,
dealing with their children,
enjoying their lives.
And everything seemed
really pretty good.
(bell ringing)
Someone do something.
Do something!
(girl screaming)
What's going on?
Girl: Mommy!
(kids screaming)
- What's going on?
- What happened?
Oh, my God.
Has anyone seen
my husband?
What's happening to me?
Please help me.
I need my husband
and my kids.
I need to go
to the hospital.
Someone needs to get me
to the hospital.
Almost done.
We should have a report
of who the winner
is shortly.
I need to go
to the hospital.
Someone needs to get me
to the hospital.
Woman: I've never seen
anything like that.
(clapping)
Ooh, are you getting that?
Are you getting that?
He just vomited.
Are you getting that?
(spectators groaning)
Donna: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my God.
It's okay... miss, cut
the cameras, please.
It's all right, Tiffany.
You're almost done, sweetheart.
Danny, where are you?
This is a lens cap?
- Am I in frame?
- Donna: Mm.
Donna's voice:
This is Dr. Jack Abrams.
He was the head physician
in the emergency waiting room
at Atlantic Hospital.
He would actually end up
treating over 350 patients
over the course
of that day.
And he would die
later that night.
Abrams: Could you take
off your shirt, please?
Just... can you... turn around
a little bit more?
I'm just gonna point
this out to the camera.
Operator:
CDC. Is this an emergency?
- Abrams: Yes, it is.
- Are you a health professional?
- A doctor.
- Okay. Hold, please.
- CDC: Emergency operations.
- Abrams: Yeah, hi.
This is Dr. Jack Abrams
over at the Atlantic Hospital
- How can we help you today?
- We're in the middle of some kind of bacterial outbreak.
This is Dr. Williams
in Communicable Disease.
Uh, you believe you may
have a bacterial case?
Abrams:
Uh, not one. 30.
What?
I got 30 people
in the waiting room
- at my hospital right now.
- What are the symptoms?
The entire group has broken out
in blisters, boils, lesions...
- Where?
- Face, legs, neck, chest.
I got a woman whose entire
backside is covered in boils.
- All right. When did this begin?
- This morning.
Today.
What do
you think it is?
I have no idea
what it is.
I'm gonna walk you through a
list of associated symptoms.
Okay.
Okay.
I'm gonna ask you
a couple more questions.
You been around any
livestock? Agriculture?
- No.
- Farm animals?
You spend a lot of time
in the sun?
No, not really.
More than usual?
Less than usual? Same?
Not really.
You know, it hurts
What concerns me is we've had
a lot of people in today
who've had similar
symptoms to that.
Frankly, that's why
we're doing this.
If you wouldn't mind just
looking right into the lens
and saying your name?
- My name is Lamya Jezek.
- Abrams: Great.
What am I supposed to say?
I'm gonna ask you
a couple questions.
Man: I didn't know it was a big deal.
I'm just asking to go
through a drive-through.
Man #2: You're insane.
You do this every day.
- Okay, Grandma. Okay.
- It's like clockwork.
I'm sorry. Grab the food, you're out.
That's why it's
a drive-through.
It's not a big deal.
Just go through.
Can you do it?
Donna's voice:
This is Officer Paul.
He's the one on the left.
He was actually the best man
at Officer Jimson's wedding.
- (siren blares)
- What is that?
- What is that?
- They reported the first death
in Claridge
at 12:42 PM.
Is he shot?
Jimson:
Check his pulse.
Oh, gosh.
I don't wanna do that.
(door closes)
He's dead.
I don't see any
bullet holes, though.
All right. Central, this is SM 10-12.
We got a young white male
laid out on
the corner of, uh,
Center and Hyde.
He's dead.
Go ahead and dispatch
EMS as soon as you can.
- (dispatch chattering)
- Is there anyone around?
(sirens blaring)
- Woman: Hi.
- Hey.
- Huh?
- Whoo.
What do you think, Andrew?
Oh, you like that foot.
We're gonna go to Claridge,
see the fireworks, huh?
- Do you know what fireworks are?
- (laughs)
Donna's voice:
This is Alex
and Stephanie Talmet.
He was a very young,
very successful dentist
from Townsend.
And Stephanie,
she grew up in Claridge
before becoming a big-shot
lawyer in Baltimore.
We're gonna call them later
and they're gonna meet us there.
- That's their baby.
- Alex: You sure? They're gonna meet us?
Donna's voice: They
rented a boat in Wilmington
to sail to Claridge
for the fireworks.
Alex: All right. We're gonna
get this motorboat going.
We ready for this?
(phone ringing)
(operator speaks)
(woman speaking)
(woman crying)
Operator:
Where are you, ma'am?
Woman:
My God. She's bleeding.
- Operator: Ma'am?
- (woman crying)
Woman:
I just got my camera.
Operator: Can you tell me
what your address is right now?
Woman: I'm in my home, I'm in my home.
Operator: And what
street is your home on?
Woman: She's bleeding. You
gotta send somebody, please.
Operator:
Where is she bleeding from?
Woman: Just send help.
Send somebody now.
Send somebody quick.
Please.
114 Maple St.
(screaming)
(siren blaring)
Cameraman:
Donna? Donna?
Hey, Donna.
Come here.
Did anyone tell you
what this was?
Do you know
who's in there?
All right.
Let's go.
Let's follow it.
(sirens blaring)
Dispatch: Hey, we got a situation
over at the 9-1-1 Call Center.
And the system's
about to go down.
We're just overloaded
with calls.
Atlantic Hospital's
overcrowded.
75 at St. Alban's Clinic.
Clinic on Dorsey? Check out all
those people out on the curb.
Some sort of killer virus,
they say.
You know?
So, wash your hands
and keep your gloves on
and whatnot.
Dispatch #2: I need you to
respond from the west side.
Come up to Prince Street
and stop short
of St. James
and check back
to the south side.
That's the one showing the body
was laying behind the yard.
At the address
123 St. James.
Hey, John.
Whew. Marla Spatafora.
- She got it bad.
- (door slams)
I mean, somebody
really tore into her.
Bill and I found her
over on the lawn.
Her guts were tore out.
- And her tongue cut off.
- Her tongue was cut off?
Yeah.
I imagine
it's a domestic.
Do we know anything
about the husband?
A Jason Spatafora?
I am at the scene
of the crime right now
with a man named Jerry.
He's a fisherman
in the town.
And, um, you knew
Ms. Sporafina, is that correct?
Spatafora.
I apologize.
They... they sent us
the wrong name.
She was a wonderful woman.
Very calm, very quiet.
Does this go on
in the town a lot?
Domestic violence
cases?
- It just seems...
- I'm sorry, what?
Cameraman: Try it...
do that one more time.
Donna's voice: I thought I
was following a murder story.
I was just going through
the motions,
almost trying to imitate
what I thought a reporter
should sound like.
No.
(scoffs)
Makes me cringe
when I watch this now.
- Cameraman: All right, just do an ending...
- God, I feel bad.
I didn't seem
too pushy, did I?
No, no, no.
You have to, like, pretend
you don't feel anything
about the situation
when you're a reporter.
But it's...
no, you did a good job.
You weren't overly emotional
and you weren't too...
too much of a reporter
with him. It was good.
- It was a good conversation.
- All right.
Hey, hey.
Are you excited?
Stephanie: We're gonna go
and see Grandma and Grandpa.
Yeah.
Very exciting.
You know what? We're not gonna
say anything about Grandma's hair.
Where did he go?
Where's Daddy?
Oh, look at this.
I need you to look
at this, okay?
Just... just look at this.
It's like some kind of
blister
or something.
Donna's voice:
This girl... Jennifer...
she was using FaceTime
with her phone
to show a rash that suddenly
broke out on her body.
- This stuff on my arms...
- Girl: Oh, my God, Jennifer.
- That's disgusting.
- Look at my leg.
When we looked at
her phone call list,
it turns out she was trying
to stay in contact
with her friend
throughout the entire day.
- Girl: Did you put something on it?
- Nobody's answering.
It just goes straight
to voicemail.
Girl: I know. Service is sucking ass.
Every time I watch
these FaceTime videos,
it makes me feel sad.
My parents left
like an hour ago.
I don't even know
where they were going.
They didn't even tell me
they were leaving.
They were just
out the door
and they pulled out
before I had a chance
to even say goodbye
or ask them where
they were going.
- Does it hurt?
- Yeah, it does really hurt.
Is this gonna be okay
for the audio?
- Jacqueline: Yeah.
- The rain on the...
- I think it's okay.
- I'll speak loudly.
Um, okay. Hello.
That was very formal.
Okay, we have now seen
one infected fish.
And we are going
to be using this
borescope... hello...
to go inside
the fish's mouth
and see if it was
an isolated incident or not.
Come with me.
Sam: Inside.
Okay, secure.
And okay.
This, everyone,
is parasite larvae.
Ew.
Jacqueline:
Explain for them.
Uh, well,
a parasite larvae,
it's, uh... it's a creature
whose eggs are
swallowed by fish
and then they hatch
inside the belly.
It's fun stuff.
I've never really seen
larvae like this, though.
I don't know where
the parasites are coming from.
Cameraman:
What'd he say?
I just heard
on the car radio
that there was
another murder.
- A second murder?
- Yes.
Only 12 blocks
from the murder
of Marla Spatafora
this afternoon.
And now authorities
are telling us
the body was found
in a rather
mutilated condition.
And I believe
police believe
that the husband could
be involved in this.
Some reports, perhaps,
of a history of abuse there.
Anchor #2: You can follow
her throughout the day
by going to
- Uh, sir. Channel 33...
- You are pushing your luck.
This could be
a career-maker for her.
- What are the odds?
- Unbelievable.
- Unbelievable.
- Is she gonna be able to handle this?
I just had to show you
these off-air comments.
I mean, they're wondering
if I can handle this
and they're right.
I'm chasing a murder mystery.
- A small town celebration.
- Yeah. We're gonna do the parade.
- I'm from American University...
- You're out from college?
That's it, guys.
Off the property.
I wasn't asking
the right questions, and...
Now she's covering what's gonna
be the biggest story of the year.
Donna: Sir, we do have press passes.
- Press passes...
- Cameraman: Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Donna's voice: Looking
back, I just don't understand
how I still thought
it was a murder case.
Donna:
Jim, are you getting it?
Abrams:
I can only assume
that whatever this is
is going to continue
to eat away at the leg
and at the knee
and probably move
to the upper body
and into the gonads.
I think that what we're
talking about here
are two separate strains
of some kind of parasite.
Something that is
literally eating its way
into the body
from the outside.
Uh, there are lesions
and there's boils
and also there's something
eating its way out
from inside.
What I need you
to do
is figure out
what the hell this is.
Interviewer:
John, what is going on?
Stockman:
Oh, man. You know...
- We've never had murders...
- Well, you know...
...reported here
in the city.
You know,
actually, um...
I've been so busy
with the reelection
and July 4th.
I mean, the sheriff
office is...
I've made contact
with them.
- It's not even labeled murder yet.
- Yeah.
- It isn't.
- Just an ongoing investigation.
- It's a totally open investigation, yeah.
- Okay.
(button clicks)
All right, we're back.
It's "Radio on the Bay. "
George Khouri.
Uh, we've got
our podcast 24-7,
all the updates,
KhouriRadio. Com.
Right now we're just
gonna get right to it.
We've got our esteemed
mayor, John Stockman.
He's got a very important
announcement for the town,
so right now
we're just gonna
turn it over to you,
Your Honor.
- I really appreciate this opportunity.
- Absolutely.
Stockman: There's a lot
of rumors being spread.
And rumors can get you
into nothing but trouble,
as we all know.
So, let me give you
a little more clarity
as to what's going on.
And we all know that
during warm weather
bacteria levels can rise.
And because of that,
sometimes there are those of us
who pick up some kind
of digestive problems
It's unfortunate, but it's a
fact of life here on the bay.
However...
and I hope everyone
is paying attention to this...
let's not go around
scaring one another
with crazy
and outlandish stories
that serve
no one's benefit.
So, and I can't
stress this enough,
if you have a sensitivity
to that type of bacteria,
or if you just want
to take special precautions,
you can limit your time
in the water today.
The bacteria level here
is much, much higher
than even the high level
we see after a storm,
and the fertilizer
from the farm
- run into the water.
- You're rushing on the fertilizer.
- Slow down on that.
- Okay.
And the fertilizer
from the farm
are running
to the water.
Um...
It's, uh...
not good at all.
It's very, very high.
Yeah, that ending
is kind of sloppy on that.
Stockman: And if I have any information,
and I do mean
to stress this,
if I have any information
that would alter those facts...
and I say facts...
I'll be right back here
talking to you again.
And Khouri and everyone
out there,
I just want to wish you
the happiest of 4th of Julys.
Thanks again.
(man whistles)
There he is.
- There he is.
- Oh, yeah!
- Man #2: Who's buying dinner?
- (man laughs)
Woman:
Let's see it, let's see it.
Man #2: That's so big, I don't
think he fits in this boat.
- (shutter clicking)
- There you go, huh? Nice.
- That's not right, Danny.
- Look at that, Brad, huh?
- Man #2: That thing's huge.
- Brad: That's not right.
It is right.
Look at that thing.
Danny, you ever see
anything like that?
What is that?
- I've never seen nothing like that.
- What the heck is it?
Ow! Son of a bitch!
- What the...
- (screaming)
Get it... get off of me!
Woman: What is that?
- Step back!
- Move away!
Man #2:
That thing bit me.
Brad: Holy shit, that thing is nasty.
All right. Welcome back.
"Radio on the Bay. "
It's George Khouri.
We are live on the air,
and of course 24-7,
we got our podcasts.
You can grab 'em.
RadioKhouri. Com.
Now there's a lot of speculation,
a lot of phone calls coming in.
People not quite sure
what to make of this,
but theories do abound,
my friends.
Maybe a satanic cult
has invaded the town.
There's drugs loose
in the air.
We've got theories
running wild.
Caller: I think it's al-Qaeda,
or whatever it's called.
It's a terrorist plot
to poison the food supply.
Caller #2: Gathering a lot of
information about the flu shots
Caller #4:
I saw this strange cloud.
It was hovering over the water
down by the bay.
It was this
very circular shape...
Caller #5: Biological warfare. Um, Iran,
and they're probably trying to
get people out of Guantanamo.
Caller #6: I bet everybody's gonna
say it's about global warming.
I still can't get them.
It's going to voicemail.
Alex:
Well...
We said we'd meet them
at the pier.
That's what we'll do.
We'll meet them at the pier.
- Okay.
- That's the plan. We'll just...
do that.
Jacqueline: Okay, we have
some more dead fish here.
- All mutilated.
- Sam: What?
- All mutilated.
- Oh, mutilated.
We have... here, we have...
the tongue is missing on these.
- No tongue?
- And on these others,
the flesh looks almost
like it's been bitten.
- It's very confusing.
- Why is that?
(Jacqueline sighs)
I'm not sure what does this.
Um, fish don't bite fish.
There she is.
- Come on, let me film you.
- No, no, no, no, no.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Oh, God.
I don't wanna end up
on the Internet.
Girl: Come on. It's not like I'm
gonna put you naked on my Facebook page
- and see what the comments are.
- (laughs)
Well, I might, actually.
Now that I think about it.
Who knows? I could end up
being a pretty big star.
Uh-huh. Sure.
A big star. Whatever.
Donna's voice: This was
Denise Button's digital camera.
She was a star pitcher
for the softball team.
A little shirt off.
- Denise: Um, I don't think so.
- Let me see this.
- Aw, come on.
- Why do you want me to do that?
'Cause I wanna see
how beautiful you are.
- You already know.
- (laughs)
You know my mom doesn't like us
being together in the first place,
so why would I do
something even worse?
Because you like me.
All right, but you
better come in with me.
You're coming in,
no doubt about it.
Whoa.
(laughs)
You better come
in after me.
Whoo-hoo!
- How's it feel?
- Awesome. Come on!
- No. Mm-mm.
- Come on, baby.
Naw, that's okay. I think you can
just get stung by the jellyfish.
What?
(screams)
Oh, ha ha.
Very funny.
No, there's seriously
something in the... ow!
You're not getting to me.
(screaming)
You're just jeal...
are you okay?
(screaming continues)
Donna's voice: That camera was
apparently found a month later
by a 12-year-old
on the shore.
Their bodies
were never discovered.
(wind blowing)
Samantha:
It's so pretty here.
- Alex: Isn't it?
- (Samantha chuckles)
(kissing)
Hey.
Behind you.
It's like a sign.
- Oh, is it?
- Yeah.
It's a sign you wanna
make a little love?
(laughs) Knock it off.
It's not a sex sign.
Oh, well.
It is to me.
- It is a sex sign to me.
- No, everything is...
Hi.
Come on. It just helps
it a little bit.
Donna's voice: Sometimes
when I watch this footage,
this private footage...
They're being playful.
They're loving one another.
And they have no idea that
something so much darker
and sinister
is about to happen.
...you get in the mood?
- Oh, definitely.
Oh, my God. Oh, my
God. What are you doing?
There we go.
Let's just cool off a little.
Oh, my God.
Alex, Alex, Alex.
- The camera. Put me down.
- Oh, the camera, the camera.
- Asshole.
- Ouch!
(laughing)
- Serves you right.
- Wow.
(spits)
Wow, it tastes...
How does it feel in there?
(coughs)
Some went in my mouth.
- Oh, you're coming in at some point.
- Looks so good.
You know that,
don't you?
Look at you, up there
on your high boat.
Jacqueline: About a hundred years ago,
the sea floor was entirely grass bed,
with enough oysters to
self-clean about every four days.
Today, the bay
is 40% dead zone.
There's nothing here.
Sam: Wait, I don't understand.
Are you saying that 40%
- of the bay is a dead zone?
- Is good? Is okay?
No, no. It's not clear
that 40% is dead.
(P.A. System chattering)
Dr. Abrams.
The CDC
is on the line.
They're on right now?
Can you get somebody
to get an orderly?
Get that guy out
of the hall.
Put him in 104.
Well? Well?
Uh, yeah. You said
that you have 30 of these...
I have about 60 people
with some kind of blister
and lesion outbreak.
- I have wart overgrowth...
- Excuse me, you said now you have 60 cases?
I just saw three people
with their tongues half gone.
Okay, that's a lot
of information.
Did you administer methicillin
to the lesion victims?
Abrams: Of course I gave them
methicillin. It had no response.
- What do you mean?
- It kept spreading.
- In how many cases?
- In all of the cases.
Okay, that's important.
Yeah, I know that's important
because they still have
Do you have any
new information for me?
Not at this time.
This could be
any number of things.
It could be fungal
or bacterial.
- Fungal?
- We had a tropical fungus outbreak
last year in Vancouver.
Spread in about
three hours, actually.
Vancouver?
Three hours?
Yeah.
With, uh, about 30...
we lost... about 30
people died, I think.
But it was just
the fact that
we hadn't seen it in
the northern hemisphere before.
Now, I did wanna ask you.
Did you say that
you had people
with half their
tongues gone?
Uh, yeah. Hold on.
You didn't get pictures?
Did you send those pictures
to the CDC?
You did?
You should have an attachment
with pictures we sent you.
Do you have them?
Okay.
Okay,
we're coming to you
from the straits
at Claridge,
where we think
we have found...
dun-dun-dun...
- the culprit.
- (thunder crashes)
Let's go take a look inside
the laboratory here.
See what we got.
As you can see here,
we have these parasites
that seem to have latched
onto the gills.
(Jacqueline gasps)
Oh, my God.
- This is disgusting.
- Right here.
You get it?
There.
This is called
an isopod right here.
It's one of the world's
oldest creatures.
Dates back from the
Carboniferous period.
Here.
- Look at that.
- What is that?
- (gasps)
- Look at that.
It ate right through
the fish's tongue.
This is enormous.
Do you think
this is an anomaly?
Do I think it's...
"omelee"? What?
No, do you think
it's normal?
Oh, anomaly.
I think it's... it must be
some kind of mutated version.
Isopods shouldn't even
be in the brackish water.
This is a huge one.
(groans)
Look at this.
All these isopods
are eating this fish alive.
I don't understand this.
This doesn't make
any sense.
Man: What is it?
(groaning)
It aches.
The pain in my...
there's something
really wrong.
Help me.
(panicked chattering)
Girl:
What's happening?
I think... I think
you need to see this.
- What's that noise?
- Look how many people are here.
- Oh, my God.
- Look at this.
- Look.
- What's wrong with everyone?
- Look at all these people.
- That's Mr. Long.
Jennifer:
They need help.
(all clamoring)
(loud thump)
Did... did you just
hear that?
Look.
Look at this.
Look at this.
Look.
- Somebody help me!
- Jennifer: Please, please. Somebody.
Woman: They were just
there for a car show.
Within 24 hours,
he got ill.
And they said with
this parasite,
that is what happens.
Reporter: Only his
feet touched the water,
but a short time later,
he became sick.
Doctors say he
was infected by a bacteria
called Vibrio vulnificus.
If he'd survived,
he would've lost
his arms and legs.
When walking through brackish
water or at the beach,
if you get a cut, don't just
think it's gonna go away.
You have to seek medical
attention immediately
if it starts to turn red or
you start to feel really bad.
Reporter: The Vibrio vulnificus bacteria
can lead to heart failure,
loss of limbs, or death.
All right, this is the leg
of a man treated today
at Atlantic Hospital
in Maryland.
This is the IR slide
of the same infection.
Notice the bruising
below the skin.
It looks like
Vibrio vulnificus.
Now, it's a bit different than
the normal symptoms of a vibrio
or a Cryptosporidium
outbreak.
And we got people up there
with their tongues half gone.
So, what have
we got here, people?
Stephanie, where are you?
You're not answering your phone.
I've been trying
to reach you.
I'm at the hospital.
Your dad is
at the hospital.
They're taking him in. He has
some kind of very bad infection.
And I think they're going
to amputate his leg.
It's crazy here.
I mean, really crazy here.
So the most important thing
is to know
that I do not want you
to get off that boat.
Do you hear me,
Stephanie?
Don't get off the boat.
- Alex: Hey, Stephanie.
- What?
Stephanie's mother: And there is
something else I want you to know.
Alex: Look at this
boat. It's just adrift.
- Alex: Grab this camera.
- I have lesions.
Stephanie's mother: I think a lot
of people here are not gonna make it.
I'm gonna come up over...
here it comes.
But remember,
I love you,
and I will try
to call again.
Alex:
There's nobody in it.
Hey, you see anyone
in the water?
I don't think we can rule out
a food-borne virus
or anything airborne,
but this looks
like a water vector.
I agree. The blistering
looks like echinococcosis.
The lesions could be
Mycobacterium marinum
or schistosomiasis.
I mean, Jesus, there could
be cholera in there.
Yeah, but I don't see
it spreading this fast.
If the water's being polluted
with anything chemical
on top of the bacteria,
we could easily
be looking at
a new form evolve.
Maybe a fungal bacteria,
maybe a mutated tapeworm.
Who knows?
I need labs back in two.
I need labs back in two. I
need Prolix and I need morphine.
- Somebody call Materials Management...
- Dr. Abrams.
- I need 4x8...
- Dr. Abrams.
- What?
- It's the fellow you amputated.
- What about him?
- It's on the other leg.
- What?
- It's on the other leg.
Christ.
I need morphine in two
and I need labs back.
I need labs back STAT.
CDC operator:
I have EPA on the line.
What the hell's going on
at the Chesapeake Bay?
What are you
talking about?
Is there anything in there
that could cause disease,
bacterial outbreak,
or mutations?
Well, the bay has been
found to have pollutants,
algae,
agricultural runoff,
chicken excrement,
um...
Go on.
There was a small leak from
a nuclear reactor in 2002.
- God damn it.
- But we weren't expecting it to hit the bay
till 2014.
But it is coming
through the ground,
so it could've
hit earlier.
Are people drinking
this water?
Of course not. The bay is
brackish. You can't drink it.
There is a level of seepage
into local wells
and of course the
desalination plant in Claridge.
Stockman:
With that desalination plant,
we have increased
the capacity
for poultry farming
in the area.
Those chickens
drink about
2,000 gallons
of water a day.
I think the NEF said it was
0.3 liters of dirty water,
so there could be radium
or tritium in there.
Sam's voice: ... endocrine
disruptors, pharmaceuticals...
EPA: Algae, agricultural
runoff, chicken excrement...
There was a small leak from
a nuclear reactor in 2002...
And you don't warn anyone?
Well, it's not under
our regulations
to test for
radioactivity levels in water.
Look... half the water in America
probably has some leaks in it.
Don't you regulate
the water?
The filtered water has met
all regulatory standards.
- That dome over there...
- Activist: 5 million pounds of chicken shit
dumped into the bay
each year.
This is the best darn water
I've ever tasted.
(saw buzzing)
Donna: What are you doing?
Let's go back this way.
- Jim: Just hold on.
- What are you doing?
I can't...
I'm burning up.
Let me just put
some water on my face.
Jesus.
Donna's voice: That's
my cameraman, Jim Hoyt.
- Hey, Katie Couric.
- Donna's voice: Um...
Can you just chill
the fuck out for two seconds?
I think that's the only time
we actually ever see him.
- That's not an insult. I like her.
- He died that night.
- Jim: I know you do.
- A lot of this footage
is thanks to him.
Man on phone:
Governor's office.
Abrams: Yeah, hi.
This is Dr. Jack Abrams.
I'm at the Atlantic Hospital
in Claridge.
I need to speak
to the governor immediately.
Man: The governor is away from his desk.
Jennifer: I don't
understand how the nurses
are just hurrying by
and they're not even stopping.
Look at that.
She didn't even stop.
- Man: Look, I am.
- There are like 20 feet in front of us.
- Woman: Jesus.
- Daughter: Dad!
- (honks horn)
- Stop honking the horn!
- Please stop texting.
- I'm not texting.
Daughter: Oh, my God. She
just said "YouTubeing. "
Abrams: We're having an
outbreak of some kind here.
A medical outbreak
down here in Claridge.
People are dying here.
I have been speaking
to the CDC
They are moving
at a snail's pace...
- as soon as he gets back.
- What do you mean, you have it?
Well, go. Go out there and
document everybody that you see.
Don't document me.
Don't waste the damn film.
Donna's voice: Nobody
ever got off that bridge.
It was shut down
for three days, actually.
Um...
I did a lot of research.
There's no record
of who ordered it shut down.
Alex:
I got it on autopilot.
- Oh, good.
- Yeah.
- GPS is amazing.
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah, well...
- They said take the next right, though.
And I don't know
what they're referring to.
- Just go around in circles.
- That's fine by me.
Jim: You know, we don't have to be here.
They're not gonna
post any of this.
The FBI are not
gonna allow it.
Donna: Well, there's a little
something called the First Amendment.
- Is it rolling?
- Yeah, we're rolling.
Good evening.
This is Donna Thompson
reporting from what used to be
the fairgrounds
of the July 4th party...
(man yelling, moaning)
- Did you hear that?
- Yeah, what was it?
What the fuck is that?
- (people screaming)
- (microphone drops)
I'm sorry,
I'm sorry.
(woman screaming)
Man over computer: You say
you were hearing these screams
all across...
(transmission scatters)
I'm sorry. The Skype
broke up a little bit.
What did you say?
Just echoing
through the air?
I mean, all different
directions?
Oh, yeah.
I mean, there...
it was very faint,
but it was very,
um, prominent.
I heard them
coming from here.
I've heard them
coming from there.
It was far away,
but...
it was very
ghostlike.
You know, I...
And the pain in the people's
voices, I could hear them.
They were
like cries or...
like cries for help.
But you didn't know
where anyone was?
No. I had no idea
where anybody was.
Dispatch: Be advised.
Need you to respond
to the corner of
St. James and Highmarket.
We just got a phone call
in reference to
hearing some screaming
or some type of
loud verbal noises
from across the street.
(siren blaring)
You think it's, like,
a group or one person?
- I don't know.
- Like, maybe one of those cults, you know?
Like they were talking
about on the radio?
I don't know.
All right.
Stay here and keep
your eyes out, huh?
- (woman screaming)
- Man: What was that?
(man screaming)
Did you hear that?
(baby crying)
(knocks on door)
Jimson:
Police, open up.
(continues knocking)
Police, open up.
I'm gonna go in.
Hello?
Hello?
This is Donna Thompson
reporting from what used to be
- the fairgrounds of the July 4th party.
- (screaming continues)
Um, at the moment, we are not
quite sure what's going on.
(Jimson screams
over radio)
(gunshots echo)
Paul on radio:
Central, this is SM 10-12.
Be advised,
shots fired,
shots fired
at 352 St. James Street.
Send assistance
immediately.
(door slams)
Central, advise.
Did you copy?
Central, please advise.
Do you copy?
Send backup.
A shot has been fired
- Jim?
- At 352 St. James Street.
- Central, be advised...
- Jim, are you in there?
I don't know if
anyone's listening there.
I'm gonna enter
the premises now.
SM 10-18 is
currently inside.
- Please send backup.
- Jim?
Jim!
I'm coming in!
I'm coming in!
- Paul: Oh, my God. What's this?
- Man: Please!
What are you doing?
Jim: They're all dying, they're
all dying. Look at them all.
Paul: No way. What have you done, Jim?
Oh, my God.
I don't know...
I don't know what they are.
- What is on those people?
- I don't know what it is.
It's crawling
on their bodies.
(man screaming)
Let's get out of here!
- (man moaning)
- Did you cut it off?
Paul:
You can't do this.
You can't do this!
Oh, my God!
Get it off,
get it off!
(screaming)
(gunshot)
Jim, wait.
Jim, no, no, no, no!
It's me, Paul.
(gunshot)
This is Cessna 1-5-7.
Man:
Go ahead, Cessna 1-5-7.
Cessna 1-5-7: I'm just trying to
figure out what the hell's going on.
I know they shut down all
the roads going into Claridge,
but now I'm flying over
the water here
and there's just, like,
a shitload
of dead fish everywhere.
Man:
Did you say "dead fish"?
Cessna 157: I don't
know how many, but, um...
it goes as far
as I can see.
So you just got this?
CDC staffer: Yeah, from
a research professor
at the University
of Maryland.
And this, uh,
Cymothoa exigua?
Do we have any
information on this?
Sacerdoti: Yeah, the exigua
is a crustaceous isopod
normally found
in the Pacific.
It's been making a number of
appearances in the Atlantic.
Last year, they found a
two-and-a-half-foot one
trying to burrow its way
into a submarine.
The thing thought it
was a dead whale.
(scoffs) Are you making this
up? This looks Photoshopped.
No, it's real.
So, how's that getting
into the water supply?
Sacerdoti: Well, at normal
scale, they're quite common.
The fishermen
call them "sea lice. "
Yeah, but, I mean,
it's this big.
How's it gonna get through
a filtration system?
Well, what about
the larvae?
All right, now we're bringing up
more questions than we can answer.
We gotta find out what
happened to those two divers.
Yeah?
Let's go.
Okay, here we are.
We got a nice break
in the weather.
So, we're gonna go catch
the current out to Claridge,
take an up-close, personal
look at these parasites.
See what we're dealing with.
See, you take
a look around,
it's beautiful.
It's breathtaking.
One of the most beautiful
estuaries in all of America.
You'd have no idea
what's underneath.
How was that? Was that
not very good at all?
- Jacqueline: Great.
- What?
(laughs)
- That was very good.
- Okay, one more time.
A little crisper.
I feel like I'm sitting
very strangely.
Do people sit
like this? Okay.
Now bring
the camera to me.
I'm gonna get us
some beauty shots here.
Get a sense of place here.
You wanna see the vista,
here, and the sun.
Beautiful water.
Beautiful, placid water.
You have no sense
of how the ecosystem's
actually being affected.
You have no idea of the
nightmare underneath here.
(splashing)
Take an up close and personal
look at these parasites.
See what we're actually
dealing with.
We'll go take
a look ourselves.
(breathing)
(muffled screams)
Donna's voice:
You can see in this footage
that the oceanographers dove
right into a school
of fully-grown isopods.
This is not
the sea lice variety
or the larvae.
This is what killed them.
And what killed
those young teenagers.
The question we
continue to ask is,
did the authorities
not look at this footage?
Or chose not to reveal it?
Donna: Jim?
Jim?
Do you hear that?
(faint music playing)
I hear something.
(faint moaning)
Jim:
Yeah, I hear it.
(whispers)
It's this way.
(moaning intensifies)
Do you fucking
hear that?
It's like a moaning
or something.
Can you come closer?
(screaming)
Oh, my God!
Oh, my God!
Donna: Oh!
(wheezing)
What do I need
to do, Doctor?
What do I need to do?
Well, I would suggest that
you and your staff
leave the hospital.
My staff left
20 minutes ago.
Well, good.
That's wise.
Wise? That's...
why is that wise?
Well, because
the bacteria...
uh, the... once it's
entered the human body...
it's a miracle you aren't infected
already, as a matter of fact.
- I'm... I'm fine.
- Well, that's good.
But what I'm
saying is that,
at this point,
it is too late, Doctor.
And I strongly suggest
that you leave immediately.
Look, I have people
in pain here.
I'm amputating feet,
I'm amputating legs,
I'm amputating arms.
You want me to get up
- and just leave the hospital?
- Yes, we're aware of that,
Doctor,
and we are sorry.
You need to get...
you need to get somewhere.
But don't come here 'cause
they're not gonna help you.
And they're not helping me.
It looks like there
are dead bodies up there.
- Dead people. They're not breathing.
- How can people be dead?
They just collapsed and no
one's coming out to get them.
- Nothing. Nope. No one.
- And no one's helping?
Jennifer, is
your tongue hurting?
Mine hurts so badly.
I'm just...
I'm really scared.
I don't know
what to do.
I just... I don't
wanna hang up.
I don't wanna be
by myself.
I can't get anyone...
Stephanie: Can you see
my parents? Are they here?
There's a bunch of dead shit
in the water.
- Stephanie: Whoa.
- What is that stuff?
That is weird.
Sheriff: Have you heard
anything from the governor yet?
Stockman on radio:
Yes, Lee. I talked to him.
The governor wanted to know
if we should call
And I told him to give us
a few more hours
Some of the folks have nothing
wrong with them, for heaven's sake.
And the CDC doesn't even know
if it's contagious.
- We've got the National Guard isolating us...
- (man screaming)
...from surrounding communities
as a preventative measure.
If we get people in here
with those hazmat suits,
all hell's gonna
break loose.
Now listen, Lee. Right now
we've got no media on this
except that student running
around with a camera.
And the FBI
shut down her blog.
And, Lee, you
and your deputies
have got to get
on top of this.
Sheriff: I lost all
contact with my deputies
about 30 minutes ago.
Stockman: What?
I'm not getting any
response from my guys.
(groans) Well, we shut
down all the towers
to kill the cell phones,
but it shouldn't
affect you guys.
Why don't you swing by
and pick me up right now?
I wanna get a firsthand look
at what's going on out there.
All right, I'll be by there
in about five minutes.
Jim:
You okay?
I don't think I've ever been
so scared in my whole life.
Is the blood off my face?
- What?
- Is the blood off my face?
No, you've got
a ton on your side.
What the...
- Donna: What?
- What is that?
Donna:
What is it?
Jim:
Holy shit.
- Donna: Fuck.
- What the fuck?
- Donna: Oh.
- Oh, my God.
- (Donna gasping)
- Look at his face.
- Donna: Oh, my God.
- Jim: Look at his face.
(Donna screaming)
Donna's voice:
Oh, my God.
Look at me,
I was running in a circle.
I mean,
if it wasn't...
if this wasn't
a tragedy situation,
it would actually
be somewhat comedic.
Um...
I was just
so fucking scared.
L... I never reported
another thing after that
until I made this film.
I...
(sighs)
That was actually
the last footage we shot.
Alex: Well, I'll come and
get the rest of the stuff
when we figure out
where we're going.
(scoffs)
Where are you leading us
other than off of this dock?
Alex, where do you think?
I have no idea.
I can't get
a hold of them.
This is quite a greeting,
isn't it?
- Oh, come on.
- This is pretty nice.
You know,
would you please...
- it's...
- All documented.
This is the quietest
4th of July I have ever seen.
We missed the fireworks?
What the hell's going on?
Yeah, what's with that?
Is it necessary
to get video of this?
Yes, I am filming
the lack of fireworks
so we can show your parents
we were here
- for the nonfestivities.
- Oh, great. You know, they'll...
Donna's voice: When Alex and
Stephanie got to Claridge,
more than 700 people
had died.
And here they were,
coming in with a baby.
Alex: ... this celebration
for 4th of July.
If you would turn the damn camera
off and help me look for them,
that might be
a little more useful.
Oh, you're doing great.
You're doing just...
- This is fantastic. I love it when you...
- This is ridiculous.
Make me be the grown-up and
you don't do any of the work.
- They all look...
- What the hell is that?
Stephanie:
Oh, my God.
Alex:
Oh, God.
- Alex, Alex...
- Holy shit.
- Stephanie: I wanna get out of here.
- Oh, my God.
- Look at this.
- Do not get any closer.
- I want to get out of here...
- Where are we gonna go?
I don't wanna be out here with
a dead body and Andrew here...
- Aw, Jesus.
- Stop.
- No, just...
- Get away from... don't touch her.
Yes, of course.
A toxic soup of chemicals
could produce
certain mutations.
What's also concerning
is the level
of chicken excrement
in the bay.
I mean, if the numbers
you gave me are correct,
the amount of steroids
in that amount of manure,
um, could be
accelerating growth
by 50, 60 times.
That's both in size
and quantity.
This stuff has so much
chemical steroid in it,
it will take a little birdie,
turn it into a fullgrown birdie
in 42 days, what Mother Nature
would take six months.
They think it's feeding off the
nutrients from the chicken runoff.
We've noticed
a five-to-one
female-to-male ratio
among these fish here.
We could easily be looking
at a new form evolve.
- Ow! Son of a bitch!
- (screaming)
Must be some kind
of mutated version.
Isopods shouldn't even
be in the brackish water.
I would like
to give Buzz
a big round of applause
for getting these
misters going.
(clapping, cheering)
Are people drinking
this water?
Some went in my mouth.
(coughs)
How's it gonna get through
a filtration system?
What about the larvae?
The desalination plant
in Claridge...
(voices overlapping) A new
form evolve... Steroids...
So much chemical steroid...
Mutated version...
They found a
two-and-a-half-foot one
trying to burrow its way
into a submarine...
Jane? Jane.
Get me...
Will you get me
the White House?
Stephanie: Oh, my God.
- Alex: Oh, my God.
- Careful, please.
Oh, you're kidding me.
Holy shit.
- Oh, my God.
- What the fuck?
- (doors slam)
- Stephanie: Oh, my God.
Alex:
Where the hell are we?
Donna's voice: Apparently, a lot
of people came up to Main Street.
And they were
just waiting for an EMS
or an ambulance
or someone to come by.
- Alex, I wanna go.
- Where do you want to go?
They were just
waiting and hoping.
Are we gonna get back on the boat in
the middle of the night without any gas?
Stephanie:
I wanna call the police.
Alex: You just told me that
there's no cell phone service.
- You just told me that.
- Can we go someplace where we have service
- so we can call the police?
- Look, look.
This place is open.
- Will you look inside...
- Let's just go in here and regroup.
- Are you okay?
- Yeah, yeah.
Come on.
- Oh, my God.
- Oh, shit.
Um, here.
Let's set this stuff down.
- Where?
- How is Andrew?
He's fine.
He's sleeping.
Stephanie: Well, this
couldn't be creepier.
- Can we make sure there are no more dead people in here?
- Yes.
I'll make sure
they're not.
Okay.
No, this is good.
This is good.
Let's stay here.
I'm gonna see if
I can find a landline.
Maybe I can get
one to work.
Okay.
I'm gonna go out
and see if I see anyone
on the street at all.
Cops, something.
- Stockman: We'll find 'em.
- Sheriff: Find 'em?
Stockman:
We'll find 'em.
Nothing's happened.
We just... we just...
have some deputies
off radio.
You know, if I find these guys
are playing a joke on me...
Well, they're fired.
Sheriff:
I've never had this happen.
Sheriff: I'm gonna make the next
town meeting, I can tell you that.
- We're gonna have to get some...
- Come on, Lee.
- (beeping)
- That's the last thing we need right now.
- What's that?
- Put your seatbelt on.
Oh, Jesus.
You're riding
in a police car.
Yeah, I'm worried
about my seat belt.
That's what I'm
worried about, right?
Stockman:
Whose car?
Sheriff:
I think that's Jimson's car.
- I can't be for sure.
- Is that him in the car?
I don't know.
- Whose house is this?
- What the hell is he doing, Lee?
- Now, wait a minute.
- I had to kill 'em.
That's Jim.
- What's wrong with him?
- What's wrong with him?
He looks like
he's done something.
- Is he drunk?
- He's got his gun out.
- Go away!
- What's the matter, Jim?
Come here, buddy!
Come here!
Stockman: Something's
wrong with his face.
- Oh, God, he's got...
- Oh, Christ.
- Go away!
- Jim?
- Go away!
- Come on, Jim.
- Just chill out, buddy!
- Just go!
Come on!
Come on and get
in the back of the car.
Get in the back
of the car, Jim.
I'll take you
to the hospital.
- Come on, we'll take you somewhere.
- Just go!
Come on, bud.
Don't let me lose you, Jim.
Come on, now.
We're all gonna die.
- We're all gonna die.
- Oh, God.
- I don't wanna die like this.
- It's okay, buddy.
- I'm coming to get you!
- No, Lee. Lee, stay.
- No, no, no, no.
- Let him go, Lee.
No, no, no. We gotta
get him somewhere.
- You stay here.
- Lee, for God's sake.
- Jim.
- They're eating my flesh.
- Let's go somewhere. Come on.
- We're all gonna die.
- Come on. Hey, what's that?
- We shouldn't have to die like this.
Huh?
No, you're not gonna die.
Nobody's gonna die.
Get in the car.
You don't have
to die like this, sir.
I can't touch you,
but get in the car.
Jim, now, wait a minute.
No, Deputy!
Put that gun down!
Bill, just hang on
for a second.
I'm gonna go
and get Alex.
Okay?
Don't go anywhere.
Alex. Alex?
I got Bill
on the Skype.
- Bill, can you hear me?
- Yeah, what's going on?
Okay, we came
to Claridge
- And, um... - Where are you,
at an antique store or something?
There are these...
there are dead bodies
- everywhere, Bill.
- What?
- And...
- Bill, the entire town is covered
- in dead fucking bodies.
- Oh, yeah. Okay.
That's a good one.
All right.
- Bill, please!
- What, are you guys serious?
Yeah, we are entirely
fucking serious here, Bill.
Oh, okay.
Call the cops, guys.
No, we called the cops.
We can't get through to them.
We can't get through
to my parents.
Our cell phones aren't working.
We can't get service.
We need for
you to do something.
Okay, all right.
Where are you?
Claridge.
- Claridge?
- Claridge.
- Call somebody, anybody.
- All right, hey.
Just get us
some help here, please.
Tell me, what
happened to you?
We don't know
what happened.
I mean, what is that
on your neck?
What's on my neck?
- Oh, my God, Alex.
- What is it?
Alex:
Oh, holy shit.
My name is
Dr. Jack Abrams.
I am a physician
at the Atlantic Hospital
in Maryland.
I'm making this video
in the hope that
I will be able to watch it
at some point in the future,
and I'm gonna show the world
what happened here.
Uh, coming out
into the hall now...
I locked myself
in the ICU for...
The CDC stopped
taking my phone calls.
Contacted FEMA.
Help hasn't arrived.
I think I now know
what is killing people.
We were looking
for some kind of virus,
some kind of viral outbreak.
And when we called CDC,
they needed to send
a fucking army down here to put
some goddamn minds together
to find what I know now,
which is this is not a virus.
This is an organism.
It is an organism
that has somehow
infiltrated these
people's bodies.
The blistering...
that's a symptom.
It is not...
that is what...
that is what threw us off.
It is the isopod.
It's eating their organs.
It's... it's... it's literally
eating them from the inside.
It is eating their intestines,
it is eating their liver.
It goes for kidneys,
lungs, tissue.
This is a rapidly growing,
accelerating organism.
How it's growing this fast,
I have no idea.
Um, I noticed this rash
about 45 minutes ago.
And I'm gonna continue
to take the camera
and I'm gonna document
everything that I see here.
If you find this tape,
just please get it out.
(isopods chirping)
Get it out.
(siren blaring)
(car stalls)
(Alex choking, vomiting)
Alex? Alex, Jesus!
- Alex?
- Stephanie, would you please talk to me?
- What's happening?
- What's wrong?
Talk to me.
What's wrong?
- Alex?
- There's something crawling
inside of my stomach.
- (retches)
- Alex.
Please explain
to me what's going on.
- Okay.
- (helicopter approaching)
- They're coming, they're coming.
- I can't...
They're gonna come.
Help is here, okay?
You're okay.
You're gonna be fine.
- It hurts.
- I know, darling.
I know it hurts,
but we gotta get you outside.
No!
I'm in too much pain.
I can't handle it.
- Alex... no.
- Take it, take it!
What's wrong with you?
Come on!
- Please. It's too much.
- No.
- Help me.
- Alex, come on.
Help.
Finish...
- (Stephanie screaming)
- (flesh squelching)
Donna's voice:
Alex died at 1:26 AM.
The larvae he swallowed
in the bay
had grown into
a full-sized parasite
in eight hours
from the toxic soup.
(Stephanie crying)
Hi, this is Steve Slattery
over at Homeland Security.
I just wanted
to get back to you
on that message
about Chesapeake Bay.
Yeah? And?
Slattery:
Yeah, uh... turns out
we did hear something
a few weeks back
about a couple
divers' bodies
being found in the water.
Natural Resources Police
thought it was
a bull shark bite.
And they were getting ready
to pull people out of the water
and put up a shark alert,
but a medical examiner
determined
that it was not
a shark bite at all.
They weren't sure, so they
sent reports over to us,
and then we sent them over
to the Coast Guard
and they said it didn't make
any sense to them,
so then we sent it to FEMA
and they never responded,
so I figured
we'd send it to you.
Yeah, that's good.
Williams:
What did the report say?
Slattery:
Well, uh...
kinda strange stuff.
It said the cause of death was
"undetermined due
to a multiplicity of parasites
and a variety of infections. "
Do you want a copy
of this report?
Williams:
Oh, yeah.
Funny enough, I would love
to see a copy of that report.
- Here we are, baby.
- (baby crying)
Williams:
So let me get this straight.
Two divers are found
with a bunch of holes in them
and all that we know is that
they're mysteriously being eaten
by parasites
and infections.
Williams: Nobody knows what
happened and it takes 16 days
to get this
information to us?
Slattery: Listen, we
set up an incident center
without cause and we're
in deep doo-doo here.
Williams: Really? Well, I've
got a town full of dead bodies.
Slattery: A small
town. I think we need to
keep this whole thing
in perspective here.
Williams: What kind of
perspective are you talking about?
(screaming)
(muffled)
Help me! Help me!
Get off of me!
Get off of me!
(baby continues crying)
Slattery: Listen, it's not that easy to
pull the trigger on something like this.
We...
(sighs)
We blow up a nonissue and shut
down the entire Chesapeake Bay...
I mean, we're talking about beaches,
restaurants, vacation fishing.
The public panics if word gets out
we're setting up an incident center
about a spreading disease
or for a spreading disease.
You don't just shut down the
Eastern Seaboard without approval
from a higher authority.
Great, I understand. Thank you
very much, Officer Slattery.
That's it?
Okay.
Thanks.
Donna's voice:
Um, then at about 5:30,
they came in
the hazmat suits,
and then they quarantined
the town for another three days
and that was when they
confiscated
every single camera
they could find.
You know, there were
those who survived,
and for some reason,
they never became sick.
Uh, the town as a whole
reached a financial agreement
with the government.
I don't know how much
money changed hands,
but I do know that silence
was part of the agreement.
I tried to reach out
to people like Stephanie,
but she didn't want to
participate in this film.
Oh, and by the way.
The official line
from the government
was that the outbreak
was due to
unseasonably high
water temperatures.
This is Donna Thompson...
signing off.
(music playing)