In Whom You Trust

1938: Japan has been at war with China for over a year. Hitler has seized control of the German army which soon rolled across the Austrian border to restore his homeland (and a chunk of Czechoslovakia) to the Third Reich.  The Nazis took over Austria and expelled all Jews and other political opponents from the universities. 

March, 1938 (west of Manaus, Brazil aboard the Lady Rita): “Click. Slap. Click, slap, slap. Click.” Bob Kemfer launches into another tirade, “Damn mosquitoes and bugs. Can’t take a decent picture. Soon as I get the scene framed, another bite just as I’m snapping.” His complaints fall on deaf ears…3 straight days’ worth and you tend to tune him out. In a strong German accent, Dr. Schultz rings out his handkerchief causing a sudden downpour at his feet, “Oppressive heat. Why couldn’t we have gotten a boat with a cabin? Mr. Kemfer, I suggest you lather up like I told you; these tropics hide an abundance of still undiscovered tropical diseases. Why I could list two dozen just from those mosquitoes you are so fond of.”  Toward the rear of the boat, Dr. Adams ladles another swig of water, “Hydration. Best cure to fight the heat and avoid headaches and foul temper such as our good National Geographic photographer displays.” Capt Weber continues chewing on a large wad of something with the occasional head-turn spit into the river, “Hope you brought good medicine. Quinine for sure for malaria, usually from those mosquitoes. As for me, gin&tonic. Aye, I’ve seen the strongest man wither in this jungle. Tiny little fishee that can swim up a man’s pecker; that’ll drop ya to your knees.” 

Captain Weber (Keith)	Dr. Adams (Tony)	Dr. Schultz (Brian)
Bob Kemfer (Max)	Carl Rosenburg (GM)

The young man (Carl, age 22) standing at the forward railing tries to fit in with the older passengers as he puffs on a pipe, “Tell me Dr. Schultz, you were supposed to be on the original Haswell Expedition team but were delayed."

"What exactly is the purpose of the expedition beyond researching new flora and fauna? I mean the team already has a doctor and nurse and other skilled members. Why this influx of more doctors?” But the doctor is elusive in his replies. At a later opportunity, Carl approaches Bob to whisper, “I’m surprised to see Dr. Adams; a rival of my father, Professor Rosenburg. Not certain what exactly happened between them, but Adams soon left Miskatonic University. Please, help me keep an eye on him.”

Six days of boredom and bug bites as they chug westward up the Amazon river, against the current. A cacophony of nature: the buzz of insects, chatter of monkeys swinging in the trees along the shore, an occasional cat roar deep within the jungle, and the constant rhythmic chugging of the diesel boat motor. Till they round a bend and spot the clearing on the north bank. “BAAWAA.” Capt Weber tugs the boat-horn multiple times to announce their arrival. The trees come alive as a flush of birds climb into the sky. The branches bouncing as monkeys jump from tree to tree. But the banks remain clear. Weber angles the bow toward the new jetty (wasn’t there when he dropped off the original expedition team). Bob readies to jump to the jetty to tie off the boat. Carl screams at the top of his lungs, “FATHER? Prof Rosenburg?” Deserted. Except for a noticeable blanket of spiders throughout the camp.

As the team climbs off the boat, the captain begins unloading the crates, “Damn it. In and out they said. Meet me at the dock for my pay they say. Jungle boys to do the offload. My bill just went up!” Meanwhile, Dr. Adams and Bob walk toward a stack of 6 cages to the east.

Their arrival draws the attention of 2 caged monkeys…alive but severely malnourished. Picking at the bloody remains of a dead monkey in the cage between them. Adams finds a food bin and tries to feed them but their snarl and snip cancels that humanitarian concern. Meanwhile, Bob has found 2 journals on a side table. A furtive glance over his shoulder to make certain Adams not watching, then tears out the last pages to stuff inside his shirt.

At the same time, Dr. Schultz avoids spiders as he walks towards another large canvas-tented structure; a laboratory. Inside, he finds a work-table topped with a dissected monkey. Beside it, a jar containing a preserved spider in fluid.

More cages: two with decomposed dead monkeys labeled “subjects 14 and 18.” Another caged dead malnourished monkey labeled “subject 13 received compound 13.” Unable to unlock a desk, the Dr. turns his attention to a map on the wall (shows the 3 sinkholes, two camps, and a temple further west). This he folds and stuffs in his shirt.

Finished stacking the resupply, Weber enters the camp stomping on spiders along the way. At least those that don’t jump out of the way or at him. He approaches a locked shed in the back of the camp. Unsheathing his knife, he works the lock hinge free. And staggers back, swatting at the swarm of fat flies billowing out. While gagging at the stench wafting out of the shred. Spiders crawl over the bloody remains of a melted corpse. Female by the looks of the cloths. A smashed radio on the shelf behind. “I got a dead one over here.” The team coming together at his announcement. 

Unbeknownst to the team, each has suffered spider bites. Painless. In fact, if they hadn’t felt the spider crawling on their skin, they wouldn’t have known it present. Adams and Kemfer have become infected, suffering bad headaches and lost appetite. Weber feels something inching down his leg, looking to find blood leaking from a bite he didn’t really feel (not infected, yet). He stomps the spider as it crawls away. Dr. Schultz is the lucky one: nauseous and running a fever. Too weak to do anything strenuous. But his symptoms will subside in an hour (he is immune to the bite).

Wanting to inspect the body, Dr. Adams remembers the tongs he used to attempt to feed the monkeys in the cages. He returns to the cages and happens to glimpse the journals on the side counter. A quick flip thru the pages hoping to find useful entries proves useless as many pages missing. None-the-less, he carries the journals along with the tongs back to the storage shed. Thus, he is able to pull ID from the body… Sarah Morris (one of the grad assistants). “Why was she killed? Why did her killer think it necessary to pour acid to dissolve her body?” Weber takes action, “I’ll search the remaining tents.” Bob offers to help, after discretely checking the torn journal pages still secure inside his shirt.

Weber approaches the nearest tent, surprised at the shredded canvas… a gapping hole. He enters to once again gag at a spider-infested bloody mess. The signs of struggle: a cot overturned, blood splattered everywhere, and a shotgun in the middle of the tent. Ignoring the shotgun as he already has his .303 rifle, the hardened captain reaches for professor Haswell’s blood-encrusted journal tucked under a bed.

A quick scan before he calls out to Dr. Adams, “Do you speak German? What is Unausprechlichen Kulten?” Adams translates ‘Nameless Cults’ as he too looks thru the journal entry. Lab notes about monkeys used to test various compounds. “Captain, was there mail as part of your deliveries? Maybe that cult book and personal letters reveal just what they were doing at this camp.”

Meanwhile, Kemfer also checks tents; an empty one near camp center, and the tent of the two female grad students. A jolt finding one bed stained with dried blood and swarming with spiders. He pauses to pull out the torn journal pages. Emma Bedford’s notebook mentions her work at sinkhole Alpha; which has Sara Morris jealous. The spiders quite vicious and bite. How Sara became ill. Her last entry concerns discovering the sinkhole site deserted. Sara’s journal is more detailed. Describes the difference in monkeys from the base camp versus those gathered near sinkhole Alpha. Bitten by the spiders, how 2 Alpha monkeys and one base monkey fall ill. Start weeping blood and soon die within 48 hours. Grotesque deaths, vomiting their liquefied insides. One monkey even trying to escape squeezing thru the cage wires only to slice itself apart. Kemfer shutters at the implications he has sailed into.

Weber continues to the next tent. Empty. Obviously, the vet Dr. Smith and an unassembled cot for Dr. Shultz. Bob checks the next closest tent which must have been for the guide Sapiro. A locked trunk and an empty double-barreled shotgun. Failure to unlock the trunk and the swarm of spiders has Bob quickly departing. No call for anyone else about the trunk. Thus, the captain moving to the last tent. Meaningless (failed Occult check) squiggles drawn in the dirt around the tent. The ragged clothing identifying this as the laborers’ tent. He spots a large stone under one bed. As he lifts it with both hands to inspect, spiders climb out of holes carved within the design. As he swats at the spiders, the stone shifts in his lone hand revealing a nest of spiders gathered on its back. He drops the stone attempting to smash the spiders. “Hey Doc, what’da’ya make of this stone?”

Meanwhile, with a blood-encrusted crowbar retrieved from the storage shed, the doctors scour the resupply crates stacked on the jetty. Adams at one end and Schultz at the other. Luck that Schultz finds the mail first; an envelope addressed to him from Haswell. In German. An excerpt from the Unausprechlichen Kulten: a passage describing an Amazonian cult of the Red Masque. Worshipped a vast monstrosity called ‘The Bloat’ that lives in a nearby temple. The entity comprised from the remains of its sacrifices gathered randomly thru a process of ‘submitting.’ Temple. Bob unfolds the map he had stuffed in his shirt. There, to the west, another camp between this camp and the temple.

And that’s when the others hear the captain’s announcement of the stone. Schultz fumbling to stow his map. Realization his fever broken. Kemfer looking up to see spiders drawn to the captain. All gathering to analyze the stone etchings. Adams testing whether the spiders are drawn to the captain or stone. Shultz finally sharing his information: revealing his mail that mentions the Red Masque cult and temple of ‘The Bloat’. And that too is the timing when other members discover a rash of insect bites on their ankles or legs… some itching like crazy while others strangely painless. Both Kemfer and Adams hearing voices in their head; startled realization they share thoughts.

Adams fights the urge to lead the others to the temple to then slit their wrists for sacrifice to his master. Kemfer mentally insists his brother-in-blood join in deception. Adams eventually succumbing to his master’s orders, “It’s getting dark; too late to travel to the next site and temple. I suggest we sleep on the boat then travel in the morning.” Little effort to convince the others as Schultz suggests they anchor the boat in the river to separate themselves from the spiders. Kemfer at the bow as they back out, sees his other brothers-in-blood (the spiders) forming a bridge with their bodies from the shore out into the river. But the strong current constantly washing out the bridge. Schultz too peers into the darkening night but sees something else in the flickering torch lights that illuminate the boat: blood leaks from the tear-ducts of both Kemfer and Adams. Glistening reflections from their skin as if it is slowly melting. Realization his partners are acting strange; he pats his chest to confirm his 9mm pistol secure in his underarm-holster.

The captain sets the watchbill; conveniently him last to arise in the morning hours. 2.5 hours each with Adams on 1^st watch, then Schultz, then Kemfer. The captain sleeping at the stern, Kemfer and Schultz on opposite sides of the engine boiler in the middle of the boat. Soon snoring drowning out the night symphony of insects. Adams and Kemfer make their coordinated approach to the rear to 1^st subdue the captain and take control of the boat. But Schultz has been sleeping with one eye open; he hears the creak of boards and spies Kemfer creeping rearward, “Stop where you are. Not another step.” Same timing when Adams raises the captain’s rifle high to then slam the rifle-butt into the captain’s skull.

A glancing blow against the hard-headed captain, “What the fuck are you doing?!” The captain awakes and now stares at the face of his assailant hovered over him. Torchlight revealing the bleeding tear-ducts and melting face. He grabs Adams’ legs and yanks hard. Adams falling backwards and over the railing; “Splash!” A shot rings out as Kemfer moves toward Schultz… miss. Adams secures the rifle strap over his shoulder then tries to swim back to the boat, but the current too strong and thus him washed away. Kemfer dives into the water. Another shot rings out but Schultz misses Kemfer who has dived under water.

Schultz rushes to the captains’ side to treat his wounds. Thus, he cannot see Kemfer swimming toward the bow to grab the anchor rope. Telepathy between the hive minds to regain control of their sacrifices. Kemfer cutting the anchor-rope hoping the powerless boat swept aground. Adams swimming toward the shore where he expects the boat to run aground. Weber and Schultz stumble when the boat sways free in the current. The captain quickly starting the motor as Schultz rushes to the bow to spot Kemfer. With the motor roaring to life, the captain gives orders, “Sing out bearing so I can run over that son-of-a-bitch.”

At full throttle, the Lady Rita cuts thru the waters on an arching bearing towards the swimming target. Range and bearing adjustments, “30 yards, 15, 10 degrees left, 10 feet.” And that’s when the shot rings out from the shoreline. A metallic “thunk” in the side of the boiler. Realization Adams still has his rifle and is aiming to kill. The captain abandons his attack and swings the boat about, “Forget it. Let the jungle have them.”

As the boat chugs eastward out of range, Adams and Kemfer trade mental thoughts as they realize their host bodies are falling apart. They must get to the temple quickly to sacrifice their own blood to ‘The Bloat’.

EPILOGUE: As soon as the boat docks back in Manaus, Schultz quickly rushes to his German contacts. “We must send another team to the sight where I have discovered a tropical disease that can be weaponized for the Führer. Yes, myself and the captain must be immune which explains how we escaped.” And so, within days another team is organized. Enough time for Schultz to find the captain wallowing at a local bar. “I’ll make it worth your while. $2000 marks.”

It’s another boring 6 days sail westward as the captain ignores the German conversations aboard his boat. For he does not speak German and thus does not understand the whispered instructions between the new team when Schultz is distant.

Once again, the Lady Rita is tied up to the camp jetty. Soldiers storm ashore with flamethrowers to drive back the horde of spiders to reclaim the lab and cages. Doctors unload their medical supplies and setup the lab. Only then does Hauptmann (captain) Müller escort Weber and Schultz to the lab while in idle English conversation. As he throws open the lab door, he announces in German, “These men are immune to the disease and thus your first subjects. Dissect them and preserve their blood for our first tests.”

Schultz’s screams fall on deaf ears. Weber doesn’t need to speak German to understand the screams.

Without aide of the Haswell’s expedition notes, the German team soon becomes infected. Chaos repeats itself first with the boat scuttled then sacrifices delivered. Less than two weeks when the jungle reclaims the camp. All signs of human life outside ‘The Bloat’ wiped away. Sacrifices limited to the jungle animals that stray into its realm.