1.06 - The Young and the Headless

A geologist arrives to study the mysterious earthquakes that affect the hospital while Dr. Stegman is accepted as a member of the Keepers of the Kingdom. Elmer comes up with a plan to gain the affections of Dr. Massingale while Dr. Hook seems to have already gained those of Dr. Draper.

A geologist, Dr. Swartston, arrives in Lewiston and heads for the university. It is revealed that he is there to study the earthquakes that Kingdom Hospital is experiencing. It is also learned that he is a recovering alcoholic and he is warned not to have anything to drink.

One of the earthquakes hits the hospital. In the Old Kingdom, Antubis struggles beneath the fallen pipe. Paul appears and says there was an "accident" and that since Antubis was injured the only thing he could do was to put him out of his misery. He takes a knife and approaches Antubis, who snarls and snaps at him. Paul says that he will let Antubis suffer a slow and painful death, tosses the knife aside and leaves.

The earthquake is also felt in Dr. Hook's quarters where he is now drinking champagne with Mrs. Druse, Dr. Draper, Otto and Bobby. Druse hears Mary's cries and says she needs to find her and asks Dr. Hook to take her to see Peter. Dr. Hook says he cannot without Natalie's permission. Druse says she will find Mary on her own and leaves.

Dr. Abelson enters Dr. Stegman's office and places a report in his desk. She finds a gun there. Stegman enters and finds her looking at it and tells her that he has it because of "death threats" painted on his car. Abelson says she is worried about him because everyone is talking about the patient who died. He says that everything at the hospital is infantile and mentions Operation Morning Air and the Keepers of the Kingdom.

Abelson again points out that the Keepers may be able to protect him if the Klingerman's file a malpractice suit against him. They kiss and he thanks her for destroying the anesthesiologist report on the Klingerman case. She admits that she deliberately spilled coffee on it.

Elmer surprises Dr. Massingale in the Sleep Lab but she insists that she wants nothing to do with him, going so far as to say that she "doesn't sleep with children". Elmer is hurt and leaves.

Later, he is in the morgue with Dr. Gupta where they have shaved the body of the man who died earlier. They put Elmer's glasses on the corpse and Gupta points out that the body now looks exactly like Elmer. Elmer seems to get an idea. He returns after Gupta has left and cuts the head from the body.

Paul appears to Rolf and asks if he ever wanted to "set the world on fire". He then wonders aloud if there is any rubbing alcohol and a match in the room. Rolf smiles.

Mrs. Druse is with Bobby. She wants to go through the hospital records to see if they can determine who Mary is. Bobby points out that they don't know her name. Druse tells him that Peter does. Otto comes by looking for Blondie and Bobby leaves to help him search.

Back in Peter's room, Peter is worried about Rolf. Carrie enters and suggests that Natalie go get a good night's sleep. We hear Peter begging her not to go but of course she hears nothing. Natalie is reluctant at first but Carrie insists that Peter will be all right and she eventually agrees. Natalie puts a form she has been filling out down on the edge of Peter's bed and she and Carrie leave. Peter regains consciousness and manages to move his hand enough to grasp the form and a pencil. He quickly starts sketching something on the form.

Rolf gets out of bed and notices that Peter is awake. He comments on this then begins to search through a supply cabinet in the room. While he does so, Mary appears to Peter and begs him to come with her.

Somewhat later, Paul appears, apparently looking for Mary. He notices that Peter is gone and realizes that Mary has taken Peter with her. He tells Rolf that if he kills Peter now then Peter, like Mary, will be trapped "in between" forever. He again urges Rolf to find something to start a fire with.

Down in his quarters, Dr. Hook tells Dr. Draper that she can use them anytime she wants. She says she might, if she knows he won't be there. He awkwardly puts his arm around her and she tells him that she is just getting over a relationship that was "complicated" and that she doesn't want to get involved with anyone else at the moment. He withdraws his arm and moves away from her.

Abel and Christa have been in the area observing what is happening. They comment that they need to do something and both hold up pagers.

Both Hook's and Draper's pagers go off. Examining them, they find they both have a message apparently from each other saying "I need you, I just can't say it." They look at each other for a moment then kiss. Abel and Christa leave.

Dr. Stegman and Dr. Traff are in an elevator, both wearing business suits. Stegman expresses concern over the fact that someone was injured in a previous initiation. Traff brushes it off but warns him not to move suddenly.

Beneath the hospital, they enter a crowded room. Many doctors are here, standing facing each other in two lines and Stegman walks along the aisle between them. Dr. Traff, standing at the head of the room, announces that a new member has arrived and everyone makes the Keepers' sign then start to chant "Keep!" over and over again.

At the university, Dr. James is attending a banquet with Dr. Swartston. Swartston has requested ginger ale instead of champagne for the toast but the waiter gets distracted when he goes to give it to him and gives him champagne anyway.

Dr. James makes a long, rambling speech which is finally interrupted by the university head proposing a toast. Everyone drinks and Swartston looks at his glass in surprise.

Dr. Stegman kneels before Dr. Traff who asks if he swears to protect the Keepers. At Dr. Abelson's prompting, he does. He is then asked to swear to follow only science and reject all of the supernatural and the occult. He swears to this as well. Someone shoves an apple into his mouth. Traff produces a knife and demonstrates its sharpness. As the other doctors resume the chant of "Keep", Traff points the knife at the apple then raises it over his head and slashes downwards.

Elmer has apparently woken up Dr. Gupta and gives him what looks like a bowling-ball bag. He tells Gupta to go give it to Dr. Massingale and to tell her it is from Elmer who said "it was the only way". Gupta seems annoyed at being prevailed upon but agrees. He gives it to Massingale who, after hearing who it is from, hangs it from a rack unopened.

Gupta returns to Elmer who is upset that Massingale did not open the bag. They start to argue but are interrupted by the arrival of Carrie.

Carrie enters the Sleep Lab and tells Dr. Massingale that she has requested of Dr. Traff that she be transferred there. Massingale tells her that she needs to learn to stand the sight of blood someday but Carrie insists and Massingale, rolling her eyes, agrees to let her stay.

Carrie goes to hang her coat on the rack and sees the bag. Asking what is inside, she opens it.

Still outside, Elmer and Dr. Gupta hear her scream. The head bounces into the hall and Elmer quickly grabs it and runs off, hiding it under his jacket. He attempts to take it back to the morgue but another doctor is examining the headless body there. He winds up hiding the head in his locker.

Dr. James returns to the hospital to find Dr. Stegman being bandaged for a cut he received during the initiation. He tries to be apologetic but Stegman is just annoyed. Stegman sees Mrs. Druse wandering the halls and demands to know who readmitted her. James tells him he did, along with Hook and Draper. Stegman sends Dr. Abelson after her.

Once she leaves, Dr. James tells Stegman that the Klingerman's lawyer has been asking around. He says they need to make sure there are no legible copies of the anesthesiologist report left. Stegman is surprised to learn of a copy.

Mrs. Druse finds her way to Peter's room and finds Peter's sketch. It is of Mary and has her name. Druse is happy to know her name but then wonders what her last name is and what she wants. She is interrupted by the arrival of a nurse. She hides in the bathroom but realizes too late that she has left her purse beside Peter's bed. Fortunately, the nurse does not seem to notice it.

Dr. Stegman has been told by James to meet the other Keepers at a reception and gets in the elevator to go to the indicated floor. The elevator starts to rise but stops suddenly, then descends. A view of the outside of the elevator shows it descending a shaft filled with cobwebs.

The elevator arrives in what seems to be the basement but is also the Old Kingdom. Stegman steps out of the elevator, which now appears to be from the 1950's. The elevator leaves without him. He tries to summon it back but is interrupted by the appearance of what seems to be Blondie, eyes glowing red. Blondie snarls and charges him and Stegman flees screaming down the corridor.

He runs past Mary and Peter, who are also in the Old Kingdom. Peter is pushing an IV bottle on a rolling stand. Peter looks after Stegman curiously but Mary motions him forward.

Dr. Stegman continues to run and passes what seems to be another doctor standing in the hallway. This doctor, wearing long out-of-date medical attire, demands to know where the children are. Screams of children can be heard coming from the door behind him.

Somewhere else in the Old Kingdom, a headless body jumps up from a slab and starts to run about frantically.

Mary and Peter find Antubis, still trapped under the fallen pipe. Peter moves the pipe but Antubis is still in bad shape and seems to be dying. It looks up long enough to repeat "I do you a solid; you do me one. That's how it works."

Peter realizes that Antubis has lost a lot of blood. He pulls the tube from the IV bottle he has been pushing along and inserts it under Antubis' skin. Blood flows through the tube from him into Antubis, who begins to recover.

"That's called doing a solid!" says Peter. Antubis stands up and roars then lumbers off.

The headless body continues to run about and eventually comes to a bank of lockers. It bashes open one of them and retrieves the head that Elmer had hidden in his locker.

Back in Peter's room, the nurse has left. Rolf gets up from the bed and searches Mrs. Druse's purse, finding a book of matches. Paul appears and encourages him to kill Peter and Mrs. Druse, who is still hiding in the bathroom.

The door to the room suddenly opens and the strange doctor from the Old Kingdom is standing there. The doctor seems to be looking for Paul, who seems to be afraid of him. Paul and the doctor both vanish. Rolf opens the bottle of alcohol he has found and lights one of the matches, advancing towards the bathroom.

Antubis suddenly appears and lunges towards him. Rolf spills the alcohol onto himself and it instantly ignites. Engulfed in flames, Rolf staggers about the room screaming. Outside, a startled orderly yells for help. Antubis vanishes again.

Elsewhere, Dr. Swartston is staggering about his hotel room, obviously drunk. He picks up a champaign bottle but sees Mary inside of it, begging him for help. He screams and throws the bottle away.

The ambulance arrives and he is taken to Kingdom Hospital. He is having hallucinations, seeing things like a nurse crawling on the ceiling and Elmer's head distorting and bending out of shape. He suddenly finds himself in the Old Kingdom where the strange doctor comes up and says he will take care of him.

The voice on the phone who talks with Dr. Swartston as he arrives is that of Stephen King.

Is Blondie also Antubis? Notice that the entire time Antubis is trapped in the Old Kingdom, Blondie cannot be found. Also, back in the first episode when Peter first wakes up he sees Antubis standing beside his bed. Then, when Carrie enters and drops her tray in surprise, we see that Blondie is lying beside Peter's bed. Coincidence?

So, the Keeper's oath requires its members to reject the occult and the supernatural? How does Dr. Hook, who is apparently a member, explain his observation of the ghost of Mary?

It seems that Dr. Traff is in charge of the Sleep Lab as well as being the leader of the Keepers. Is there a connection?