[Child giggling]
Tonight's one of those meetings
I always have mixed feelings about.
It's sad because Frank's family moved
and we've lost one of our members,
but it's exciting because we have to find a new member.
Who did you bring?
Nobody! I brought him.
Tucker's gonna nominate somebody?
Why not? He's a friend of mine.
You say that like it's a good thing.
So, who's the new meat?
Hi, babe.
Oh! No. No, no. Anyone but Stig.
You know this guy?
Yeah. He's a virus.
Don't let him next to the fire. He might explode.
Tuck, I don't know about this.
Aw, come on. Give him a chance.
Yeah. Is this about telling a good story
or winning a popularity contest?
Excellent. Sit over there, Stig.
Hey! That's my sweater.
What? The log was wet.
Don't push it, grungy boy.
All right.
I figure I've gotta impress you guys,
so I'm taking my best shot.
A lot of people don't like the way I am.
They're always telling me I've gotta clean up my act.
But sometimes, things are the way they are for a reason.
If you go making changes that shouldn't be made,
you're gonna end up with a whole mess of trouble.
Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society,
I call this story...
Charlie, you sure it's OK?
['50s rock 'n roll music plays]
Yes. Just be careful.
Yah ha ha!
You're the lifeguard.
Shouldn't you be guarding my brother's life?
You want me to leave?
Not really.
Ugh.
P-U. What is that smell?
What the--
Charlie!
Charlie, there's something in the pool!
[Screams]
[Poof]
Aah! Aah!
Oops.
I'm sorry.
I didn't expect the reaction to be so intense.
Apparently your calculations were a little flawed.
Don't move. I'll get the custodian.
Zeke Matthews was one of those dips
who lived for schoolwork.
I guess you might call him the smartest loser in school.
What a geek.
I think he's cute...
Like a puppy you want to take care of.
More like a puppy you have to clean up after.
Come on. Let's help him.
Forget it.
Hey. What went wrong?
Nothing.
If you mix maganite with water,
the reaction is always the same.
Kaboom.
Lava surprise.
I just miscalculated the ratio.
How interesting. My education is complete.
[Bell rings]
We'll continue next time, people.
Charlie can do this, Zeke.
Actually, school work wasn't the only thing on Zeke's mind.
Hi. Clorice?
You're on the swim team, right?
Yes. So?
I'd like to show you something
I think you might find interesting...
Because you're on the team, I mean.
What is it?
I'd rather show you. How about after school?
I have practice. I'm on the swim team, remember?
Right.
What about tomorrow, before school?
Just tell me what it is.
That's no fun.
Fun? You're telling me what's fun?
OK, beaker boy. You're on.
Great. Meet me tomorrow at the gym at about 7:30?
I forgot. This is the boys change room--
Hello? Is anybody here?
If this is your big surprise,
I've seen it already.
Watch this.
What are you doing?
Last week I was trying to calculate
the volume of the school.
I found out there's more to this building
than meets the eye.
Oh, man.
I didn't know this was here.
Strange, isn't it?
After I found it, I did some research.
It was built in the 1950s,
but they only used it for a short time.
How come?
I don't know.
Unbelievable.
Hey! Maybe I can get the school to open it up again.
I doubt it.
Why? We shouldn't have to drive
an hour to practice if there's a pool right here.
True, but they'll never--
Uh, stop.
Excuses are for people who never get things done, understand?
Good. Thanks. You did a real cool thing here.
I did?
Hey, maybe we can get together sometime--
Don't push it.
[Whistle blows]
Clorice wasn't kidding.
She got in the face of everybody at school
and wouldn't take no for an answer.
After a few weeks, the swim team had their pool.
Not bad, huh?
I don't know how you did it, but...
Oh, man.
What's that smell?
The pipes must still be dirty.
It's gross.
C minus?
I hate science.
It could be worse.
No kidding.
If I don't bring this grade up,
I'm off the swim team.
Maybe I could help you.
How?
Maybe I could tutor you.
Chemistry is kind of my subject.
What's in it for you?
How'd you get in?
Stole the key from my coach.
I wonder if we get caught.
I'm not doing anything wrong,
and we're the only ones here.
You ever teach anyone to swim before?
Yes. Enough questions. Dive in.
Hey, you really are afraid of the water.
OK. We'll take it slow.
See? It's not so bad.
What is it that scares you so much?
It's dumb. Really.
Tell me.
When I was a kid,
I was swimming in a pond.
I got my foot tangled in some underwater plants
and couldn't get loose.
The harder I tried, the worse it got.
Almost drowned.
Then what happened?
My brother saw me, cut me loose.
But ever since, I've had this feeling
that there's something down there...
Waiting, because I cheated it once.
It wants a second chance with me.
Zeke, I guarantee you,
in the pool there's nothing down there to get you.
Try putting your hand in the water.
See? That wasn't so bad.
Now try--
Clorice! Clorice!
[Coughing]
What happened?
Boo!
Not funny, Greta!
I thought you didn't like puppies.
He's helping me with chemistry.
Yeah. Right.
What was that about puppies?
Nothing. Are you OK?
Yeah. I think.
Maybe we should go.
No. I want to help you.
Now, relax. There's nothing down there.
Yeah, I know. Just...
Take a look. Nothing's there.
See anything?
No.
OK. Put your hand in again.
You smell that?
[Sniffs]
Yeah. What is it?
I don't know. Smells like acid.
Zeke!
Hold my hand.
What happened?
[Coughing]
Something grabbed me. It tried to drown me.
What?
There's nobody down there.
I'm telling you, it grabbed me.
Do you think maybe it was just because of your fear?
You mean, like I imagined it?
There's nothing in the pool, Zeke.
Yeah. I guess you're right.
It's not logical that--
What was that?
What's happening?
It's gonna dump us!
Let's get outta here.
[Screams]
There is something in the pool.
We can't paddle. It'll grab us.
It's OK. We'll stay right here.
Someone will find us.
Wait. That smell.
That acid smell.
[Screaming]
Hang on! I got you.
Grab this!
Charlie, what was that?
It's back.
Or maybe it never left.
What's back?
I was the lifeguard when this pool first opened.
My girlfriend's little brother drowned
on my watch, but...
It was no accident.
I tried to save him, but it wouldn't let me.
It pulled him away from me,
and then... Then he was gone.
Nobody believed me,
until 3 more people drowned.
Hey--closed down the pool,
people forgot all about it...
Until now.
What is it? What's in there?
When they built the pool,
they had to get rid of an old cemetery
and move the bodies.
Nearest I can figure is they missed one,
and its spirit wants revenge for being disturbed.
The same thing's gonna happen.
No one's gonna believe us until someone gets hurt.
Maybe not.
Maybe there's a way to even things out a little bit.
Nobody believes in this thing because it's invisible,
but maybe we can get a look at it.
How?
It smells, remember?
Like rotten eggs.
Like acid.
Here. Methyl orange.
We're gonna do a little experiment.
Methyl orange reacts with acid.
If this thing is really part acid,
we should get a nice, red snapshot.
How can you be sure to--
Wait. You smell that?
That's it.
It's coming.
Look.
What is it?
I can't tell.
Wait. It's taking shape.
It looks like...
It's...
[Screams]
Water. It's made of water!
He's in shock.
Charlie, are you OK?
Come on, Charlie. Focus.
We've gotta get out of here!
He needs a doctor!
What about that thing?
Why'd it come out now, after all this time?
Because it can't hide anymore.
Come on, Charlie. Focus!
Let's just get a--
Oh, no.
[Screams]
We can't leave Charlie with that thing!
I don't know how to stop it.
Maybe I do.
It's made of water, right?
What's your recipe,
mix water with maganite, and kaboom,
lava surprise?
My volcano. That's brilliant!
Why'd you do that?
There's moisture on your hands.
It'll burn you. You need gloves.
I'm going after it.
Clorice!
Got it!
Clorice! It's coming! Swim!
Get outta there!
Clorice!
Hurry up!
Get outta there! Swim!
I gotcha, kid!
Yo, red! Catch!
You did it.
You really did it!
Finally. After all these years.
It's over.
Thank you, kids.
Thank you.
The evil spirit never bothered anyone again,
and Charlie was no longer tortured by his memories.
As for Zeke and clorice,
Clorice figured it was OK. To be a science geek,
and she showed Zeke there were a lot more fun things to do
than study all the time.
You wanna go for a swim?
Sure.
Though Zeke still didn't care much for water.
The end.
Tell me that wasn't the best.
OK. We've gotta vote.
Hey!
Eww. Ugh.
Listen, um,
you told a great story,
but the vote has to be unanimous, and...
It wasn't.
But it's not fair.
Yeah, well...
Thanks for the shot.
Wait! We're giving you another chance.
Come to a couple of meetings and tell another story.
If by then--
If we don't think you're a total puke...
Then you're in. Fair enough?
I can handle that.
Then handle a shower.
Captioned by Grant Brown