Tower Prep (2010) s01e08 Episode Script
Field Trip
Previously on Tower Prep There are rumors that there are outsiders trying to infiltrate the school.
[Gabe.]
You and me, C.
J.
and Suki, we're making plans to escape.
- Piece of cake, right? - [as Ian.]
Piece of cake.
You never get tired of that.
Suki is a hottie.
Such a hottie.
Hey.
Now, C.
J.
, which guy do you like? - You want to dance? - Thought you never ask.
Everybody knows me and Cal are practically rivals.
[crowd gasps.]
- Knock it off! - This is not over.
[chattering.]
[Ian.]
Those voices aren't just human.
They're students.
[Ray.]
Phillips tried to escape.
[panting.]
[monster roars.]
[Ray.]
He was in the part of the forest that no one had ever seen before.
[monster roars.]
Phillips almost made it.
[monster growls.]
Say a few more inches, he would have been up and over that wall.
But then Redfang caught his scent.
Can you imagine e terror? The fear Phillips must have felt knowing that he'd never see his home again.
Hearing and knowing that Redfang grew closer, his shadow within arm's reach.
But there was no escape.
There's no escape from this story.
He could smell the beast's rancid breath.
"Phillips And The Forest Run.
" Classic Tower Prep spook story.
Then suddenly, Phillips shoots out of the woods.
Phillips shoots out of the woods! The salvation lies just ahead in the near distance.
Phillips was almost home, but Redfang would not be denied.
[cries out.]
[Redfang roars.]
[yells.]
The Headmaster, he covered it up.
And all we know for sure is that Phillips is gone.
But Redfang remains.
Redfang roams the forests of Tower Prep.
Tower Prep 1x08 Field Trip Field trip.
Tomorrow's field trip will provide Tower Prep freshmen the opportunity to identify and experience Tower's unique ecosystem.
You will work in pairs.
Here's your checklist of the flora and fauna you are to photograph and document.
Any living creature must work-- - Suki.
- to know and understand its environment.
Now, are there any questions? [male singer.]
Let's ride, ride, ride with me There's so much do, so many people to meet Got a good plan from a good friend Now, I'm free like a dog, free like a dog [Ian.]
Redfang? Let's focus on what's real.
All right, they have given us a whole day out there to work on planning our escape.
Biology says we'll be working in teams.
To keep from attracting any attention, Gabe and I will be one team.
You guys will be the other.
Now, we'll each have a specific escape plan assignment.
While one partner is working on the escape, the other will be doing the class assignment.
Even class work can help us.
We can cross reference all the plant and animal life we find through Whisper.
If she identifies her specimens as native to, like, the Amazon basin, then we'll know Tower Prep is in South America.
Everyone clear on their assignment? I'm setting my PDA to measure the exact distance from campus to the security wall, so we can calculate time to reach it.
Hydrochloric acid.
Sulfuric acid.
- What? - Yep.
I had to volunteer for a lot of lab cleanup to get these out.
Nice.
One of these has got to be powerful enough to eat through the wall.
I like it.
While you guys are doing that, I'll be scouting for gnome guard check points.
I'll listen for them using this gnome voice translator we snagged.
I'll map any secret routes into the forest.
If we can chart their movements, hopefully we can avoid them when it comes time to escape.
And I'll photograph the wall from different locations.
I'll try to get on high ground or up in a tree, you know, something with a vantage point.
That way I can see how long this wall actually is.
It's important to know your environment so you can get the heck out of it.
[Female singer.]
Let's work it out [Whisper.]
Good morning again, Gabriel.
This is your final wake-up call.
- [alarm stops.]
- [groans.]
Yep, now I have proof that Tower Prep is run by sinister villains.
Who else would schedule a field trip for 6:00 a.
m.
? Come on, Gabe, it gives us all day to map the woods.
Yeah.
Well, woods later.
Espresso now.
Okay, I'm up.
[Whisper.]
Field trip orientation will begin in five minutes in the dining hall.
Oh, good morning, Gabe, Cal.
- What's his problem? - Forget him.
He means nothing to what we're doing.
Let's get Gabe some coffee, pair up, and get going.
Glad you could join us.
Now we can get stared.
Well, you must all be very excited going out on a biology field trip today, so I won't keep you waiting.
I'm here to assign your pairings.
Owen Lloyd and Clarence Touchton.
Suki Sato - and Ray Snider.
- Yes.
Oh, God.
Ian Archer and Calvin Rice.
[murmuring.]
Gabriel Forrest-- Uh, you know what, sir-- I'm sorry to interrupt, but is there any way you can just, you know-- Uh, of course, I apologize.
Student Body President Gabriel Forrest and Vice President Emily Wright.
Oh, come on.
And Fenton Capwell and C.
J.
Ward.
Excuse me, sir.
Wouldn't it be more productive if we chose our own partners? Well, not only should one learn about one's environment, but also about the other lives that share that environment.
As you make discoveries about the forest today, you'll also make discoveries about your classmates, some of whom you might have not sought out on your own.
Good luck.
[Whisper.]
All field trip participants should report back to campus by sundown.
Yeah, he's got that right.
How are we supposed to do our assignments if we have someone watching us? No, guys, this actually works out all right.
We can just have our partners do the assignment while we, you know-- We just have to make it look like we're helping when we're actually-- Well, you get it.
[clears throat.]
Oh, God.
You might be student class president, but out there it's a government of two.
I think you know what I'm saying.
Totally.
[chuckles.]
No-- Yeah, it's gonna be awesome.
Good luck.
Was hoping we'd get thrown together one of these days.
Thrown? Look, I get it.
I do.
I don't come off as the nicest guy in the world all the time.
Look, for what it's worth, I've always thought you were pretty cute.
I know-- Oh, thanks.
I've always thought you were-- Uh, I always thought you were-- I've got to go.
Have fun.
Well, I must say, I have been looking forward to this excursion for weeks.
Reminds me of those rousing days at opera camp.
I can't stand this weirdo.
I am right here.
I am not taking it back.
Oh, well, never mind.
I happen to be something of an experienced woodsman.
Behold my utili-vest, with a pocket for every conceivable emergency.
First-Aid kit here, mosquito repellent here, my rain poncho here.
And of course a knife with a serrated edge for sawing.
Serrated edge, huh? Of course, Archer.
A serrated edge provides much greater sawing capabilities.
Vital in a wooded area.
That belongs to Fenton.
Just looking at it, towel boy.
Look, Headmaster made us partners, and I'm not wild about it, either, but I'll set it aside if you will.
He might have made us partners, but there is no partnership between you and me.
These rivalries and petty conflicts that seem all so consuming right now, they're feelings that fall away after your school years.
Your enemies today may very well be your allies tomorrow.
What are you looking for? A tree to climb? What? No.
I'm, uh, looking at the sky.
Right.
Because that's where you're gonna find a dozen examples of soil erosion to photograph.
For your information, Headmaster said find new ways of looking at things, and that's exactly what I'm doing.
Like, look at this.
See that-- See that cloud right there? That looks like a fuzzy little kitty cat, okay? That one right there looks like a valentine.
[chuckles.]
[clears throat.]
Of course that one right there looks like a pickup truck with a 5.
7-liter hemi.
It would be great if you'd get your head out of the clouds and actually help me with the assignment since you're not even working on it.
I'm gonna need you to slow your role, okay? I'm the president, not you.
Well, you're not the president of nature.
Would be if they had an election.
[cuckoo cuckoos.]
Now, according to my compass, we're traveling precisely 2 degrees west-northwest, but did you know, C.
J.
, that even if you don't have a compass, and some people don't, there are still ways that you can tell in which direction you're traveling by reading clues in nature-- 14 ways, to be precise.
You can look at the moss around the base of a tree.
It grows thickest on the northern side.
Spider webs, of course, tend to be found on the south side.
Or you can rub a needle against a piece of hematite and float it in a shallow dish of water.
If it's properly magnetized, it will spin so that it points north, unless, of course, you find yourself in the Southern Hemisphere.
Oh, my God.
Shall I tell you how to make a sundial out of two sticks and a rock? Quit acting like such a Boy Scout.
- [sighs.]
- Webelo.
What? I was not a Boy Scout.
I was a Webelo in the outside.
It was my dream to become a Boy Scout as soon as I turned 12 and was old enough to join a troop, and then a week before my birthday, I woke up at Tower.
Fine.
Tell me how to make your stupid sundial.
Well, you'll need two sticks and a rock, and the rock may seem like a trivial matter-- choosing the rock-- but in fact it is an essential component of the dial because without that you just You following me? I was headed this way first.
Besides, what's so special you need to see over here anyway? Just doing the assignment, towel boy.
Please, "assignment.
" You haven't even looked at the assignment, let alone taken one picture.
[shutter clicks.]
Happy now? That's an awful lot of sandwiches for one afternoon, Cal.
You planning on staying out here longer than that? Oh, dude, you're not trying to escape, are you? More interested in what's in my bag.
What's in yours? Never mind.
It's all the way over there.
[gnome rasping.]
Those are gnomes.
Not nearby.
I'd hear them.
[rasping stops.]
Are they on a radio? What is that? A transmitter or something? Where'd you get that? So what is that thing anyway? Uh, a step counter.
You're counting our steps? You know that's not part of the assignment, right? Don't worry about it.
Just make field observations.
Okay, I've got a field observation for you.
What's brown and sticky? [sighs.]
- A stick.
- [groans.]
Get it? 'Cause stick-- Come on.
Don't you, like, ever laugh? I do when something's funny.
Okay, I'll tell you what's funny-- your buddy Gabe practically bursting into tears at the very thought of Redfang.
[mocking.]
You mean he hasclaws? - Please.
- Still not laughing.
What do you think he'd actually do if he actually saw Redfang? - [sighs.]
- Or how about heard him? [howls.]
That's all you got? Because that wouldn't scare a baby.
I don't suppose you could do better.
[roars in normal voice.]
And? What, is that supposed to be some kind of, like, dog or something? - Okay, you want wild? - Please.
- I've got wild.
- Be my guest.
[clears throat.]
[loud, guttural roar.]
- What was that? - Fascinating.
Awesome.
Yes, do it again.
Okay.
[roars.]
I believe that was the hunting cry of the Ringdocus or perhaps the Mapinguari.
- The what? - Cryptids-- mysterious animals, unclassified by science.
Oh, I've long suspected that the environs of Tower Prep could be a spawning ground for such creatures.
Let's take a look at the beasts.
Fenton, play Crocodile Hunter on your own time.
We've got an assignment to finish.
Come on.
All right, again.
This time put a little teeth into it, though.
Oh, put some teeth into it.
- Yeah.
- You sure? - Yeah.
- Don't wet your pants now.
[shrieking roar.]
[growling.]
[roar resumes.]
Okay, let's go.
- It's just Suki.
- You sure? That sounds kind of far away.
Positive.
I can hear them laughing about it.
Yeah, I figured that.
Redfang-- he's out here.
- [Emily.]
No.
- Yeah.
- Gabe.
Gabe.
- Yes, yes.
There he is! - [screams.]
- Gabe! - [scream echoes.]
- [Gabe thumps.]
[laughs.]
That was your buddy Gabe.
I know that thump anywhere.
[Gabe, whimpering.]
Help me.
Help me.
We should see if we can find him.
Make sure he's alright.
What for? He's got a partner.
Man, are you the only person you care about? Nope.
I care about three people-- me, myself, and I.
Must get pretty lonely.
No.
Plus we all get each other's jokes.
Yeah.
Well, I'm going to go see if I can find him.
I'll catch up with you later.
You know, it wouldn't hurt you to do some of the assignment.
[Suki.]
Can you move your foot at all? Move it? Is it even attached to my leg anymore? I don't think you broke it.
It's just a sprain.
Just a sprain? Are you aware of how many people die a year from a sprained ankle? Um, like, none? Probably right.
Doesn't mean they don't wish they were dead.
Oh, the pain.
The pain.
No, the horror.
The horror.
[groans.]
Is he okay? Ian, take care of Señor Guapo for me once I'm gone, and when I say take care of him, I mean bury him with me.
He just sprained his ankle.
Oh, there we go with the "just" again.
You think you can keep going, or should we take you back? - [monster growling.]
- [Gabe.]
What? What? I can't hear you.
I think my ears are bleeding.
Your ears aren't bleeding, Gabe.
You just sprained your ankle.
Oh, no.
Now you're starting.
I'll take him back to the nurse's office, see if she's got something to keep him quiet.
I'll take him.
He's going to need someone to lean on for support.
No, he's my partner.
It's part of my duty as vice president to do everything I can to support our fearless leader.
Whoa, now I understand why they shoot horses.
I'll go get our stuff.
[growling continues.]
[Gabe grunts.]
Careful.
Careful.
No.
Ian, listen.
Before she comes back-- Oh, wait.
Hey, listen.
Listen, man.
I didn't take pictures of the wall.
I never reached it.
No, buddy, it's all right.
I finally managed to shake Cal.
Now I can do a little of my own recon work.
- Good.
- Come on, Barbaro.
Ready? Yeah? - All right, be careful, Emily.
- Yep, mm-hm.
- You can do it.
- [Gabe grunts.]
Yeah.
[static crackling.]
[Man, faintly.]
Sector five wall.
- Kid spotted One more guardian.
- [gnome rasping.]
- Sector two.
- [Man #2.]
Sending team 3 over to reinforce.
[shuts off.]
What happened? He just slipped and sprained his ankle.
Oh, poor guy.
- [Nurse.]
Does this hurt? - Ow.
Ow, that hurts a lot.
I haven't applied pressure yet.
Let's X-ray it, make sure it's not broken.
[bag plops.]
[Gabe.]
Ow.
Ow, gentle.
I'm fragile.
[Nurse.]
Going to need some bandages, a splint, and some ice.
Does that-- Does that mean, you know, we have to remove my pants? No.
I think we can just rollup your pant leg.
You're in professional hands now, Gabe.
I'm going back to finish our assignment.
Just a reminder-- Greater presidents have been brought down by lesser scandals.
Behind every great man there's a woman telling him to keep his pants on.
[clears throat.]
Let's go.
Okay, gentle, nurse.
I'm fragile.
Thank you.
[radio crackling.]
[Man.]
Redfang spotted.
[Man #2.]
Sector 4.
- [gnome rasps.]
- [Man chattering.]
[Man #2.]
Kid spotted.
Hey.
Suki, I think I found a fungus.
[chuckles.]
Not surprising.
It's, like, family recognition for you.
This might actually be a slime mold.
Slime mold? Ew.
That's slime mold, all right.
- [groans.]
- Hey, Suki.
What's your deal? We were supposed to be doing this assignment together.
All you've been doing all day is just walking off in a straight line.
Look, we all have our methodology, okay? What are you doing? Don't take my picture.
Don't have to worry about it.
You look really beautiful in this light.
I'd hate to think what you'd do with a picture of me.
All right, relax.
I'll just frame you out.
Frame me out of what? - [shutter clicks.]
- Poison ivy.
You're standing in a patch of it.
[gasps, screams.]
[Suki crying, screams.]
[beeps, crackling.]
Look, Fenton, I've got this part of the forest covered.
Why don't you wander over there and look for some Mapinguari tracks or something? If you insist.
Well, well, well, what have we here? Well, C.
J.
, it's not on the assignment list, but I seemed to have discovered a rather rare sample of scat, otherwise known as stool, most commonly known, of course, as poo.
- [flies buzzing.]
- Poop.
[Fenton.]
Appears to be from a rather large animal with a healthy digestive track, and if I'm not mistaken, a certain fondness for berries, but if you think this will dampen my spirits and my enjoyment of the great outdoors, I say to you pshaw.
Whatever creature did won't be exotic as you, Fenton.
Did you really just say pshaw? That, I did, and I'm about to exclaim tallyho.
Did you find another sample for our assignment over there? Umno, I'm just tying my shoe.
- [fly buzzes.]
- Ow.
[Fenton.]
Careful.
Don't tie them too tight.
Many is the time that I've cut off the circulation to my own feet out of sheer exuberance.
No.
This thing just bit me.
Odds Bodkin.
Is that s-sulfuric acid? This fly just bit me.
It's swelling.
This fly did this? I guess.
It really stings.
Well, Webelo training, don't fail me now.
C.
J.
, I must suck out the poison.
You try it, and the only thing you'll be sucking out is my fist from your face.
- Understand? - Understood.
Ow, it really hurts.
Does it have to be so cold? It is ice.
See, that's why you're so amazing.
I mean, you have such a wonderful way of explaining things.
[door opens.]
[Gabe.]
Suki, what's wrong? Poison ivy.
So why is he carrying you? [Ray.]
Can't be too careful.
Besides, it's not like it's a problem for me.
Let's get something on this.
Here.
Hey, Suki.
It's going to be okay.
I'm going to go back outside.
I'm going to do the whole assignment for us, all right? [Gabe.]
Give it up.
You don't have a chance with her.
Hey, you know what? [gasps, groaning.]
[crackling.]
[panting.]
[Ian.]
This must be Phillips.
[grunting.]
Okay, I-- I almost made it over the fence, but something pulled me back.
- [monster growls.]
- It's after me.
No.
No! No! No! No! - [Redfang growls.]
- [Phillips screams.]
- [Phillips screaming.]
- [tearing, roaring.]
Hello! Phillips! Hello! [monster growls.]
[growling.]
Why are you following me? There's a trap here.
For what? I found this video.
I think it's of Phillips-- I'm not telling you again.
Get away from me.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Cal.
[chuckles.]
Give me a hand.
1, 2, 3.
Ladies first.
Here's the culprit.
We'll take good care of her.
Don't worry, C.
J.
I'll finish the assignment.
They'll be fine.
It's just an insect bite.
Yes, and you'll be fine because they will be.
You can read everyone, but people have trouble reading you.
Well, not me.
It's easy to see if you know where to look, and I only have to look at you and Ian and Cal.
As the jock is fond of saying, "They'll have each other's backs" because each one of them knows how much the other means to you.
They may not have much regard for each other, but neither one of them wants to see you hurt.
[flies buzzing.]
Smells like a zoo down here.
Oh, what, the smell reminds you of home? Wait, you were looking for this place, weren't you? You came out here to try to find it.
You're escaping.
I spent over a year finding out this place is here.
Best I can figure it's some sort of gnome bunker, but Redfang, they say, lives down here, too.
Come on, man.
That's just a legend.
What if it is? Legends are more frightening than reality.
I'm going to become a legend, Archer.
[Ian.]
You're not alone, you know.
There are others.
We're planning to get out.
To get out? Others? Who? That can only mean C.
J.
, Sato, and Forrest.
No.
Ceej would've told me.
Cal.
We need to find a way to mark our path so we don't get lost.
What do I look like, Hansel and Gretel? [Ian.]
Hold on.
All right.
We should be out there.
We blew our chance to gather information.
Hey, Ian's still out there.
Ceej, he'll come through.
Besides, it wasn't a total waste because now that we've identified some of the indigenous life forms surrounding the school, we should be able to narrow down our location except the species we did identify, it doesn't make sense.
See, poison ivy is unique to North America, right? U.
S.
and Canada.
It's unknown in Europe or Africa.
But we've all known that the stars aren't the same as above the United States.
Right, they're not, and this, the fly that bit you-- it's not a house fly.
It's a Tsetse fly.
Tsetse flies are only ever found in the savanna regions of mid-continental Africa.
The plants and animals surrounding Tower are from all over the Earth? I can't tell where we are.
[groans.]
This itches.
That string was a good idea.
You know, in the Buffer team, you're all about teamwork.
Underneath it, you're really just all about you.
No, man.
I can see how you think that, but I used to be a lot more trusting.
Back home I had friends, a school I liked star athlete.
Things came easy to me, way easy.
- Then-- - You heard the static.
Just like everyone else.
I couldn't get any answers from anyone around here, so to keep from going nuts, I threw myself into what I did best-- sports.
I took out all my frustrations in Buffer.
So while you were playing the jock, you were busy putting together an escape plan to get off this island.
Island? Yeah, island.
[shirt fluttering.]
[monster growls.]
[growls.]
Where's that coming from, that way or that way? It's all echo.
I can't pick up where it originates.
[growling continues.]
[gasps.]
You ready for this, partner? What? If gnomes are running, we should, too.
[monster growls.]
[snorts.]
[growling.]
Dude, down there must be, like, Redfang's territory.
Looked like it chased them out of there.
I only thought it would be gnomes down here, not that thing.
If gnomes are afraid of it, what are they doing down here? Cal.
Wait, stop! Stop! [Redfang growling.]
[growling continues.]
Oh, come on.
Ow.
Gabe.
- What are you doing? - Oh, Jenni, hi.
Yeah, I was just taking it for a spin.
[groans.]
Jenni, can I ask you a question? Um, do you know if anyone's heard from Ian? My battery on the PDA died, and I can't get a hold of anyone.
It's getting pretty late.
The field trip must be over by now.
Come on.
[groans.]
Oh, yeah, you're such a sweetheart, but you know what, though? Yeah, here's the deal.
I-- I need to know if they need my help.
Now, Gabriel, you cannot stand on that foot.
I know the X-rays were negative, but you can't walk on it.
You have a serious strain, so just relax.
Stay here with me.
It's quiet here now.
You can stay here all night.
I'm fine with it, but there's no reason for you to get on that foot.
Okay.
Thanks, Jenni.
[Redfang growls.]
[gnomes rasp.]
Come on.
[crackling.]
[Cal.]
Ian if you are listening on that transmitter deal you got-- Cal.
this is why I ce.
[footsteps.]
Keep an eye on C.
J.
for me.
[crackles.]
[knocking transmitter.]
Come on, come on, come on.
[sighs.]
How are we supposed to escape from here if we can't even walk through the woods without hurting ourselves? - [Person grunting.]
- Ian? Gabe, what happened? Oh, my God.
[Gabe.]
Let me put this down.
Yeah.
Just grab that chair.
- Here, hold that.
- Thanks.
- I really hurt my ankle.
- We know.
So, wait, no word from Ian? [footsteps.]
[Suki.]
What happened? - [Gabe.]
Are you okay? - It saved me.
[C.
J.
.]
What? [Suki.]
Redfang? This thing protected me from the gnomes, threw me out of its lair.
[Gabe.]
Are you serious? I don't know why.
Look, Ceej I have something to tell you.
Something happened to Cal.
What were they really doing out there? Closer and closer.
There was no escape.
Cal Rice could smell the beast's hot breath, but the gnomes grabbed him, and because he was trying to escape, they made him one of their own, so Cal Rice is out there, and so is Redfang.
Both are waiting for anyone, any student, to stray from Tower Prep.
It's too late to save Cal, but our best weapon against the gnomes-- the legend of Redfang lives.
[Redfang growl sounds.]
[Gabe.]
You and me, C.
J.
and Suki, we're making plans to escape.
- Piece of cake, right? - [as Ian.]
Piece of cake.
You never get tired of that.
Suki is a hottie.
Such a hottie.
Hey.
Now, C.
J.
, which guy do you like? - You want to dance? - Thought you never ask.
Everybody knows me and Cal are practically rivals.
[crowd gasps.]
- Knock it off! - This is not over.
[chattering.]
[Ian.]
Those voices aren't just human.
They're students.
[Ray.]
Phillips tried to escape.
[panting.]
[monster roars.]
[Ray.]
He was in the part of the forest that no one had ever seen before.
[monster roars.]
Phillips almost made it.
[monster growls.]
Say a few more inches, he would have been up and over that wall.
But then Redfang caught his scent.
Can you imagine e terror? The fear Phillips must have felt knowing that he'd never see his home again.
Hearing and knowing that Redfang grew closer, his shadow within arm's reach.
But there was no escape.
There's no escape from this story.
He could smell the beast's rancid breath.
"Phillips And The Forest Run.
" Classic Tower Prep spook story.
Then suddenly, Phillips shoots out of the woods.
Phillips shoots out of the woods! The salvation lies just ahead in the near distance.
Phillips was almost home, but Redfang would not be denied.
[cries out.]
[Redfang roars.]
[yells.]
The Headmaster, he covered it up.
And all we know for sure is that Phillips is gone.
But Redfang remains.
Redfang roams the forests of Tower Prep.
Tower Prep 1x08 Field Trip Field trip.
Tomorrow's field trip will provide Tower Prep freshmen the opportunity to identify and experience Tower's unique ecosystem.
You will work in pairs.
Here's your checklist of the flora and fauna you are to photograph and document.
Any living creature must work-- - Suki.
- to know and understand its environment.
Now, are there any questions? [male singer.]
Let's ride, ride, ride with me There's so much do, so many people to meet Got a good plan from a good friend Now, I'm free like a dog, free like a dog [Ian.]
Redfang? Let's focus on what's real.
All right, they have given us a whole day out there to work on planning our escape.
Biology says we'll be working in teams.
To keep from attracting any attention, Gabe and I will be one team.
You guys will be the other.
Now, we'll each have a specific escape plan assignment.
While one partner is working on the escape, the other will be doing the class assignment.
Even class work can help us.
We can cross reference all the plant and animal life we find through Whisper.
If she identifies her specimens as native to, like, the Amazon basin, then we'll know Tower Prep is in South America.
Everyone clear on their assignment? I'm setting my PDA to measure the exact distance from campus to the security wall, so we can calculate time to reach it.
Hydrochloric acid.
Sulfuric acid.
- What? - Yep.
I had to volunteer for a lot of lab cleanup to get these out.
Nice.
One of these has got to be powerful enough to eat through the wall.
I like it.
While you guys are doing that, I'll be scouting for gnome guard check points.
I'll listen for them using this gnome voice translator we snagged.
I'll map any secret routes into the forest.
If we can chart their movements, hopefully we can avoid them when it comes time to escape.
And I'll photograph the wall from different locations.
I'll try to get on high ground or up in a tree, you know, something with a vantage point.
That way I can see how long this wall actually is.
It's important to know your environment so you can get the heck out of it.
[Female singer.]
Let's work it out [Whisper.]
Good morning again, Gabriel.
This is your final wake-up call.
- [alarm stops.]
- [groans.]
Yep, now I have proof that Tower Prep is run by sinister villains.
Who else would schedule a field trip for 6:00 a.
m.
? Come on, Gabe, it gives us all day to map the woods.
Yeah.
Well, woods later.
Espresso now.
Okay, I'm up.
[Whisper.]
Field trip orientation will begin in five minutes in the dining hall.
Oh, good morning, Gabe, Cal.
- What's his problem? - Forget him.
He means nothing to what we're doing.
Let's get Gabe some coffee, pair up, and get going.
Glad you could join us.
Now we can get stared.
Well, you must all be very excited going out on a biology field trip today, so I won't keep you waiting.
I'm here to assign your pairings.
Owen Lloyd and Clarence Touchton.
Suki Sato - and Ray Snider.
- Yes.
Oh, God.
Ian Archer and Calvin Rice.
[murmuring.]
Gabriel Forrest-- Uh, you know what, sir-- I'm sorry to interrupt, but is there any way you can just, you know-- Uh, of course, I apologize.
Student Body President Gabriel Forrest and Vice President Emily Wright.
Oh, come on.
And Fenton Capwell and C.
J.
Ward.
Excuse me, sir.
Wouldn't it be more productive if we chose our own partners? Well, not only should one learn about one's environment, but also about the other lives that share that environment.
As you make discoveries about the forest today, you'll also make discoveries about your classmates, some of whom you might have not sought out on your own.
Good luck.
[Whisper.]
All field trip participants should report back to campus by sundown.
Yeah, he's got that right.
How are we supposed to do our assignments if we have someone watching us? No, guys, this actually works out all right.
We can just have our partners do the assignment while we, you know-- We just have to make it look like we're helping when we're actually-- Well, you get it.
[clears throat.]
Oh, God.
You might be student class president, but out there it's a government of two.
I think you know what I'm saying.
Totally.
[chuckles.]
No-- Yeah, it's gonna be awesome.
Good luck.
Was hoping we'd get thrown together one of these days.
Thrown? Look, I get it.
I do.
I don't come off as the nicest guy in the world all the time.
Look, for what it's worth, I've always thought you were pretty cute.
I know-- Oh, thanks.
I've always thought you were-- Uh, I always thought you were-- I've got to go.
Have fun.
Well, I must say, I have been looking forward to this excursion for weeks.
Reminds me of those rousing days at opera camp.
I can't stand this weirdo.
I am right here.
I am not taking it back.
Oh, well, never mind.
I happen to be something of an experienced woodsman.
Behold my utili-vest, with a pocket for every conceivable emergency.
First-Aid kit here, mosquito repellent here, my rain poncho here.
And of course a knife with a serrated edge for sawing.
Serrated edge, huh? Of course, Archer.
A serrated edge provides much greater sawing capabilities.
Vital in a wooded area.
That belongs to Fenton.
Just looking at it, towel boy.
Look, Headmaster made us partners, and I'm not wild about it, either, but I'll set it aside if you will.
He might have made us partners, but there is no partnership between you and me.
These rivalries and petty conflicts that seem all so consuming right now, they're feelings that fall away after your school years.
Your enemies today may very well be your allies tomorrow.
What are you looking for? A tree to climb? What? No.
I'm, uh, looking at the sky.
Right.
Because that's where you're gonna find a dozen examples of soil erosion to photograph.
For your information, Headmaster said find new ways of looking at things, and that's exactly what I'm doing.
Like, look at this.
See that-- See that cloud right there? That looks like a fuzzy little kitty cat, okay? That one right there looks like a valentine.
[chuckles.]
[clears throat.]
Of course that one right there looks like a pickup truck with a 5.
7-liter hemi.
It would be great if you'd get your head out of the clouds and actually help me with the assignment since you're not even working on it.
I'm gonna need you to slow your role, okay? I'm the president, not you.
Well, you're not the president of nature.
Would be if they had an election.
[cuckoo cuckoos.]
Now, according to my compass, we're traveling precisely 2 degrees west-northwest, but did you know, C.
J.
, that even if you don't have a compass, and some people don't, there are still ways that you can tell in which direction you're traveling by reading clues in nature-- 14 ways, to be precise.
You can look at the moss around the base of a tree.
It grows thickest on the northern side.
Spider webs, of course, tend to be found on the south side.
Or you can rub a needle against a piece of hematite and float it in a shallow dish of water.
If it's properly magnetized, it will spin so that it points north, unless, of course, you find yourself in the Southern Hemisphere.
Oh, my God.
Shall I tell you how to make a sundial out of two sticks and a rock? Quit acting like such a Boy Scout.
- [sighs.]
- Webelo.
What? I was not a Boy Scout.
I was a Webelo in the outside.
It was my dream to become a Boy Scout as soon as I turned 12 and was old enough to join a troop, and then a week before my birthday, I woke up at Tower.
Fine.
Tell me how to make your stupid sundial.
Well, you'll need two sticks and a rock, and the rock may seem like a trivial matter-- choosing the rock-- but in fact it is an essential component of the dial because without that you just You following me? I was headed this way first.
Besides, what's so special you need to see over here anyway? Just doing the assignment, towel boy.
Please, "assignment.
" You haven't even looked at the assignment, let alone taken one picture.
[shutter clicks.]
Happy now? That's an awful lot of sandwiches for one afternoon, Cal.
You planning on staying out here longer than that? Oh, dude, you're not trying to escape, are you? More interested in what's in my bag.
What's in yours? Never mind.
It's all the way over there.
[gnome rasping.]
Those are gnomes.
Not nearby.
I'd hear them.
[rasping stops.]
Are they on a radio? What is that? A transmitter or something? Where'd you get that? So what is that thing anyway? Uh, a step counter.
You're counting our steps? You know that's not part of the assignment, right? Don't worry about it.
Just make field observations.
Okay, I've got a field observation for you.
What's brown and sticky? [sighs.]
- A stick.
- [groans.]
Get it? 'Cause stick-- Come on.
Don't you, like, ever laugh? I do when something's funny.
Okay, I'll tell you what's funny-- your buddy Gabe practically bursting into tears at the very thought of Redfang.
[mocking.]
You mean he hasclaws? - Please.
- Still not laughing.
What do you think he'd actually do if he actually saw Redfang? - [sighs.]
- Or how about heard him? [howls.]
That's all you got? Because that wouldn't scare a baby.
I don't suppose you could do better.
[roars in normal voice.]
And? What, is that supposed to be some kind of, like, dog or something? - Okay, you want wild? - Please.
- I've got wild.
- Be my guest.
[clears throat.]
[loud, guttural roar.]
- What was that? - Fascinating.
Awesome.
Yes, do it again.
Okay.
[roars.]
I believe that was the hunting cry of the Ringdocus or perhaps the Mapinguari.
- The what? - Cryptids-- mysterious animals, unclassified by science.
Oh, I've long suspected that the environs of Tower Prep could be a spawning ground for such creatures.
Let's take a look at the beasts.
Fenton, play Crocodile Hunter on your own time.
We've got an assignment to finish.
Come on.
All right, again.
This time put a little teeth into it, though.
Oh, put some teeth into it.
- Yeah.
- You sure? - Yeah.
- Don't wet your pants now.
[shrieking roar.]
[growling.]
[roar resumes.]
Okay, let's go.
- It's just Suki.
- You sure? That sounds kind of far away.
Positive.
I can hear them laughing about it.
Yeah, I figured that.
Redfang-- he's out here.
- [Emily.]
No.
- Yeah.
- Gabe.
Gabe.
- Yes, yes.
There he is! - [screams.]
- Gabe! - [scream echoes.]
- [Gabe thumps.]
[laughs.]
That was your buddy Gabe.
I know that thump anywhere.
[Gabe, whimpering.]
Help me.
Help me.
We should see if we can find him.
Make sure he's alright.
What for? He's got a partner.
Man, are you the only person you care about? Nope.
I care about three people-- me, myself, and I.
Must get pretty lonely.
No.
Plus we all get each other's jokes.
Yeah.
Well, I'm going to go see if I can find him.
I'll catch up with you later.
You know, it wouldn't hurt you to do some of the assignment.
[Suki.]
Can you move your foot at all? Move it? Is it even attached to my leg anymore? I don't think you broke it.
It's just a sprain.
Just a sprain? Are you aware of how many people die a year from a sprained ankle? Um, like, none? Probably right.
Doesn't mean they don't wish they were dead.
Oh, the pain.
The pain.
No, the horror.
The horror.
[groans.]
Is he okay? Ian, take care of Señor Guapo for me once I'm gone, and when I say take care of him, I mean bury him with me.
He just sprained his ankle.
Oh, there we go with the "just" again.
You think you can keep going, or should we take you back? - [monster growling.]
- [Gabe.]
What? What? I can't hear you.
I think my ears are bleeding.
Your ears aren't bleeding, Gabe.
You just sprained your ankle.
Oh, no.
Now you're starting.
I'll take him back to the nurse's office, see if she's got something to keep him quiet.
I'll take him.
He's going to need someone to lean on for support.
No, he's my partner.
It's part of my duty as vice president to do everything I can to support our fearless leader.
Whoa, now I understand why they shoot horses.
I'll go get our stuff.
[growling continues.]
[Gabe grunts.]
Careful.
Careful.
No.
Ian, listen.
Before she comes back-- Oh, wait.
Hey, listen.
Listen, man.
I didn't take pictures of the wall.
I never reached it.
No, buddy, it's all right.
I finally managed to shake Cal.
Now I can do a little of my own recon work.
- Good.
- Come on, Barbaro.
Ready? Yeah? - All right, be careful, Emily.
- Yep, mm-hm.
- You can do it.
- [Gabe grunts.]
Yeah.
[static crackling.]
[Man, faintly.]
Sector five wall.
- Kid spotted One more guardian.
- [gnome rasping.]
- Sector two.
- [Man #2.]
Sending team 3 over to reinforce.
[shuts off.]
What happened? He just slipped and sprained his ankle.
Oh, poor guy.
- [Nurse.]
Does this hurt? - Ow.
Ow, that hurts a lot.
I haven't applied pressure yet.
Let's X-ray it, make sure it's not broken.
[bag plops.]
[Gabe.]
Ow.
Ow, gentle.
I'm fragile.
[Nurse.]
Going to need some bandages, a splint, and some ice.
Does that-- Does that mean, you know, we have to remove my pants? No.
I think we can just rollup your pant leg.
You're in professional hands now, Gabe.
I'm going back to finish our assignment.
Just a reminder-- Greater presidents have been brought down by lesser scandals.
Behind every great man there's a woman telling him to keep his pants on.
[clears throat.]
Let's go.
Okay, gentle, nurse.
I'm fragile.
Thank you.
[radio crackling.]
[Man.]
Redfang spotted.
[Man #2.]
Sector 4.
- [gnome rasps.]
- [Man chattering.]
[Man #2.]
Kid spotted.
Hey.
Suki, I think I found a fungus.
[chuckles.]
Not surprising.
It's, like, family recognition for you.
This might actually be a slime mold.
Slime mold? Ew.
That's slime mold, all right.
- [groans.]
- Hey, Suki.
What's your deal? We were supposed to be doing this assignment together.
All you've been doing all day is just walking off in a straight line.
Look, we all have our methodology, okay? What are you doing? Don't take my picture.
Don't have to worry about it.
You look really beautiful in this light.
I'd hate to think what you'd do with a picture of me.
All right, relax.
I'll just frame you out.
Frame me out of what? - [shutter clicks.]
- Poison ivy.
You're standing in a patch of it.
[gasps, screams.]
[Suki crying, screams.]
[beeps, crackling.]
Look, Fenton, I've got this part of the forest covered.
Why don't you wander over there and look for some Mapinguari tracks or something? If you insist.
Well, well, well, what have we here? Well, C.
J.
, it's not on the assignment list, but I seemed to have discovered a rather rare sample of scat, otherwise known as stool, most commonly known, of course, as poo.
- [flies buzzing.]
- Poop.
[Fenton.]
Appears to be from a rather large animal with a healthy digestive track, and if I'm not mistaken, a certain fondness for berries, but if you think this will dampen my spirits and my enjoyment of the great outdoors, I say to you pshaw.
Whatever creature did won't be exotic as you, Fenton.
Did you really just say pshaw? That, I did, and I'm about to exclaim tallyho.
Did you find another sample for our assignment over there? Umno, I'm just tying my shoe.
- [fly buzzes.]
- Ow.
[Fenton.]
Careful.
Don't tie them too tight.
Many is the time that I've cut off the circulation to my own feet out of sheer exuberance.
No.
This thing just bit me.
Odds Bodkin.
Is that s-sulfuric acid? This fly just bit me.
It's swelling.
This fly did this? I guess.
It really stings.
Well, Webelo training, don't fail me now.
C.
J.
, I must suck out the poison.
You try it, and the only thing you'll be sucking out is my fist from your face.
- Understand? - Understood.
Ow, it really hurts.
Does it have to be so cold? It is ice.
See, that's why you're so amazing.
I mean, you have such a wonderful way of explaining things.
[door opens.]
[Gabe.]
Suki, what's wrong? Poison ivy.
So why is he carrying you? [Ray.]
Can't be too careful.
Besides, it's not like it's a problem for me.
Let's get something on this.
Here.
Hey, Suki.
It's going to be okay.
I'm going to go back outside.
I'm going to do the whole assignment for us, all right? [Gabe.]
Give it up.
You don't have a chance with her.
Hey, you know what? [gasps, groaning.]
[crackling.]
[panting.]
[Ian.]
This must be Phillips.
[grunting.]
Okay, I-- I almost made it over the fence, but something pulled me back.
- [monster growls.]
- It's after me.
No.
No! No! No! No! - [Redfang growls.]
- [Phillips screams.]
- [Phillips screaming.]
- [tearing, roaring.]
Hello! Phillips! Hello! [monster growls.]
[growling.]
Why are you following me? There's a trap here.
For what? I found this video.
I think it's of Phillips-- I'm not telling you again.
Get away from me.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Cal.
[chuckles.]
Give me a hand.
1, 2, 3.
Ladies first.
Here's the culprit.
We'll take good care of her.
Don't worry, C.
J.
I'll finish the assignment.
They'll be fine.
It's just an insect bite.
Yes, and you'll be fine because they will be.
You can read everyone, but people have trouble reading you.
Well, not me.
It's easy to see if you know where to look, and I only have to look at you and Ian and Cal.
As the jock is fond of saying, "They'll have each other's backs" because each one of them knows how much the other means to you.
They may not have much regard for each other, but neither one of them wants to see you hurt.
[flies buzzing.]
Smells like a zoo down here.
Oh, what, the smell reminds you of home? Wait, you were looking for this place, weren't you? You came out here to try to find it.
You're escaping.
I spent over a year finding out this place is here.
Best I can figure it's some sort of gnome bunker, but Redfang, they say, lives down here, too.
Come on, man.
That's just a legend.
What if it is? Legends are more frightening than reality.
I'm going to become a legend, Archer.
[Ian.]
You're not alone, you know.
There are others.
We're planning to get out.
To get out? Others? Who? That can only mean C.
J.
, Sato, and Forrest.
No.
Ceej would've told me.
Cal.
We need to find a way to mark our path so we don't get lost.
What do I look like, Hansel and Gretel? [Ian.]
Hold on.
All right.
We should be out there.
We blew our chance to gather information.
Hey, Ian's still out there.
Ceej, he'll come through.
Besides, it wasn't a total waste because now that we've identified some of the indigenous life forms surrounding the school, we should be able to narrow down our location except the species we did identify, it doesn't make sense.
See, poison ivy is unique to North America, right? U.
S.
and Canada.
It's unknown in Europe or Africa.
But we've all known that the stars aren't the same as above the United States.
Right, they're not, and this, the fly that bit you-- it's not a house fly.
It's a Tsetse fly.
Tsetse flies are only ever found in the savanna regions of mid-continental Africa.
The plants and animals surrounding Tower are from all over the Earth? I can't tell where we are.
[groans.]
This itches.
That string was a good idea.
You know, in the Buffer team, you're all about teamwork.
Underneath it, you're really just all about you.
No, man.
I can see how you think that, but I used to be a lot more trusting.
Back home I had friends, a school I liked star athlete.
Things came easy to me, way easy.
- Then-- - You heard the static.
Just like everyone else.
I couldn't get any answers from anyone around here, so to keep from going nuts, I threw myself into what I did best-- sports.
I took out all my frustrations in Buffer.
So while you were playing the jock, you were busy putting together an escape plan to get off this island.
Island? Yeah, island.
[shirt fluttering.]
[monster growls.]
[growls.]
Where's that coming from, that way or that way? It's all echo.
I can't pick up where it originates.
[growling continues.]
[gasps.]
You ready for this, partner? What? If gnomes are running, we should, too.
[monster growls.]
[snorts.]
[growling.]
Dude, down there must be, like, Redfang's territory.
Looked like it chased them out of there.
I only thought it would be gnomes down here, not that thing.
If gnomes are afraid of it, what are they doing down here? Cal.
Wait, stop! Stop! [Redfang growling.]
[growling continues.]
Oh, come on.
Ow.
Gabe.
- What are you doing? - Oh, Jenni, hi.
Yeah, I was just taking it for a spin.
[groans.]
Jenni, can I ask you a question? Um, do you know if anyone's heard from Ian? My battery on the PDA died, and I can't get a hold of anyone.
It's getting pretty late.
The field trip must be over by now.
Come on.
[groans.]
Oh, yeah, you're such a sweetheart, but you know what, though? Yeah, here's the deal.
I-- I need to know if they need my help.
Now, Gabriel, you cannot stand on that foot.
I know the X-rays were negative, but you can't walk on it.
You have a serious strain, so just relax.
Stay here with me.
It's quiet here now.
You can stay here all night.
I'm fine with it, but there's no reason for you to get on that foot.
Okay.
Thanks, Jenni.
[Redfang growls.]
[gnomes rasp.]
Come on.
[crackling.]
[Cal.]
Ian if you are listening on that transmitter deal you got-- Cal.
this is why I ce.
[footsteps.]
Keep an eye on C.
J.
for me.
[crackles.]
[knocking transmitter.]
Come on, come on, come on.
[sighs.]
How are we supposed to escape from here if we can't even walk through the woods without hurting ourselves? - [Person grunting.]
- Ian? Gabe, what happened? Oh, my God.
[Gabe.]
Let me put this down.
Yeah.
Just grab that chair.
- Here, hold that.
- Thanks.
- I really hurt my ankle.
- We know.
So, wait, no word from Ian? [footsteps.]
[Suki.]
What happened? - [Gabe.]
Are you okay? - It saved me.
[C.
J.
.]
What? [Suki.]
Redfang? This thing protected me from the gnomes, threw me out of its lair.
[Gabe.]
Are you serious? I don't know why.
Look, Ceej I have something to tell you.
Something happened to Cal.
What were they really doing out there? Closer and closer.
There was no escape.
Cal Rice could smell the beast's hot breath, but the gnomes grabbed him, and because he was trying to escape, they made him one of their own, so Cal Rice is out there, and so is Redfang.
Both are waiting for anyone, any student, to stray from Tower Prep.
It's too late to save Cal, but our best weapon against the gnomes-- the legend of Redfang lives.
[Redfang growl sounds.]