(airdate: 3 Jul 96) The Beast Within sound files

Caleb looks to be sleeping peacefully, but a look into his dream shows that it is not so. He dreams that he is in a corridor lined with cells on both sides. In the distance, he sees a cell with a man who is wearing only briefs, pacing back and forth, muttering the word "Father". Caleb begins to walk down the corridor; however, not cautiously enough as hands immediately shoot out and grab him, scaring the wits out of him. Whimpering slightly, Caleb continues to proceed slowly down the corridor when a shadowy figure comes out of nowhere to block his path. Although never shown clearly, it is obvious that that figure is Lucas Buck. He is holding in his hand a shiny rectangular object.

Caleb watches as Lucas walks over to the man in the cell and hands him the object. The man thanks him, and then turns away so that his back now faces Caleb. Lucas then turns away and disappears into thin air. Caleb goes up to the cell and watches in disgust as the man slices himself in the belly with the object, which turns out to be a razor. The man suddenly turns around, thrusts his bloody hands out at the horrified boy, and says "Father" once again. Caleb then wakes up from his dream, calling out the word, "Father" as well.

It is another night and we see the man in Caleb's dreams, except he is now dressed in a soldier's uniform and in an appliance store examining a watch which has multiple functions. He bargains with the clerk for the watch but when the clerk laughingly rejects his offers, he pulls out a gun. Though startled, the clerk still has sense enough to push the alarm button hidden underneath the counter to alert the police to the robbery.

Meanwhile, Lucas and Ben are in the patrol car having a nice little chat while patroling the town. Ben is frustrated because his son still has no respect for him but instead looks up to his stepfather. In the course of the conversation, Lucas tells Ben that he believes he has potential and that Ben must convince his son that he does deserve his respect by showing him that he is indeed a hero. The radio interrupts their chat by telling them of the robbery at the appliance store so they head for it.

Lucas enters the store through the front entrance nonchalantly and feigns surprise when he finds the clerk tied up with the soldier pointing a gun at him. As Lucas is asking what is going on, distracting the soldier, the clerk reaches in a drawer and pulls out a gun on the soldier. At that moment, Ben bursts in from the back. At first he thinks it's the clerk that's the robber, but when he finally sees the soldier, he is shocked to find that it is actually his brother, Artie. Lucas is also surprised by this development, but before anything else can be said, the clerk fires the gun, wounding Artie. Artie, angered, takes Lucas hostage, not knowing that he is now in more danger than his hostage is. Not heeding to Ben's pleas to take him instead, Artie leaves the store using the patrol car, taking Lucas with him.

While in the patrol car, Artie is dismayed to find out that Lucas is actually the sheriff. He tells Lucas that he must get back to his base before 11, but Lucas, who has other ideas in his mind, suggests instead that they go to the hospital so that someone can tend to Artie's gunshot wound. Seeing that he still has some time since he can always be rushed back to the base in an ambulance, he agrees and they head for the hospital.

Caleb and Gail are at the hospital since Gail is troubled by Caleb's dream and is seeking advice from Matt about them. While they are talking about his dream, Artie appears with Lucas. Caleb immediately recognizes Artie from his dream and is frightened. Artie commands the nurse, Rita, to evacuate everyone from the hospital and then ushers the four of them--Gail, Matt, Caleb, and Lucas--into the surgery room so that Matt can fix up his bullet wound. After everyone has left the hospital except for the six of them, Artie finds out too late that the ambulance has left also and he gets a bit panicked since he desperately wants to return to the base.

The clock continues to tick on; each movement of the second hand sounds like a gunshot. Ben arrives at the scene and tries to talk Artie out of what he is doing. Artie finally agrees to talk to Ben in the hallway. Ben asks why Artie is doing this and his brother's reply is basically that he wants to be a hero like Ben. Throughout their conversation, Caleb keeps on peeking out from the surgery room at them. Angered, Artie demands that Ben gets him an ambulance quick and then takes his handcuffs with the key inside the room to handcuff Gail and Caleb to the sink. He then drops the keys down another sink's drain. Artie urges Matt to take out the bullet as soon as possible, warning him to not let his pulse level drop since that will have dire consequences.

In the meantime, by Rita's instructions, Ben finds goes down the basement to look for a waste disposal chute leading to the surgery room so that he can listen on in the conversation. He finds that the chute is actually located inside a fall-out shelter. After taking an X-ray of Artie's abdomen, Matt asks Artie what is the object in that area. Artie then tells them that he has sewn a bomb inside the fat of his belly. The bomb is set to go off at 11 and the watch serves as a detonator as well. It is also why it's important to keep his pulse steady. He planned to bring the bomb with him and let it go off in the hospital ward of the base so that he can take his friends out too as he believes that is what they want him to do. He is trying to cease their suffering. Lucas then tells them the story of how Artie had accidentally shot his own father on a hunting trip, hinting that that is perhaps why Artie is doing all this. He has this enormous burden of guilt and feels small because of it; therefore he thinks by doing this "heroic" act, he can be a real man and get over the crime he accidentally committed as a child.

As Matt is taking out the bullet, Gail and Lucas has a conversation on the side. Gail believes Lucas brought Artie here for a reason and she wants to know why. Lucas replies that he is trying to teach a lesson. Matt successfully takes out the bullet. Shortly after, Ben calls Artie and tells him that the ambulance is coming. As Artie is outside in the hallway talking to Ben, who is still trying to convince him to surrender, Lucas tries to get the handcuff keys out of the sink drain. Matt comes up with a plan to shoot Artie with a barbituate to knock him out.

When Artie returns, both Lucas and Matt actually work together to try to carry out Matt's plan. Lucas succeeds in putting Artie in a sort of trance by starring into his eyes, but before Matt can stick the needle in him, Ben breaks the trance by calling out to his brother to tell him the ambulance has arrived. Ben and Artie then get into an argument and Artie starts to shoot off the gun. Lucas tries to subdue Artie and seeing the opportunity, Matt attempts to stick him with the needle again. However, instead of doing so, he gets his hand slammed in the door, breaking it. Artie also accidentally shoots the tire of the ambulance, therefore crippling the only means he has to leave the hospital. The clock is still ticking...

Lucas, Matt, and Artie returns to the surgery room where Gail and Caleb are still locked up. Ben has retreated to the lobby once again. Lucas decides to negotiate with Artie, asking to trade places with Ben. He tells Artie that is Ben's fault that he's in this mess so he deserves to be inside with him. Matt, along with Gail and Caleb, are infuriated by Lucas' actions for they believe he is really a coward trying to save his own ass. In a moment of anger, Matt punches Lucas across the jaw; but of course Lucas returns the blow with even more power. Artie then agrees to let Lucas go for Ben.

When Lucas meets Ben in the lobby, he tells Ben of a plan he has to knock out Artie with a needle of drugs so that Ben can perform the surgery on him to take out the bomb since Matt's hand is rendered useless. At first Ben remonstrates against the plan, but when he sees there is no choices left, he relents. He gets Artie out in the hallway and distracts him by telling him how much he loves him. As the two brothers embrace, Lucas comes in and sticks the needle in Artie, who goes unconscious immediately.

A tension-filled scene follows where Ben races against time to take out the bomb (only twenty seconds left!) and Lucas tries to get the key out of the drain to release Caleb and Gail (because the sink they are handcuffed to is too close to the waste disposal). Just when there are a few seconds left, Ben finally gets the bomb out of Artie and as he tosses it down the waste disposal to the fall-out shelter beneath, Lucas is able to get the handcuffs off Gail and Caleb. Everyone escapes this ordeal safely, even Artie.

In the last scene, Caleb is once again in dreamland, back in the dark corridor filled with cells on either side. The shadowy figure of Lucas appears again, this time asking him if Caleb still hates him. Instead of replying, Caleb pulls out a gun and shoots Lucas. Smiling, he states that it is his dream and then walks off into the darkness.

1. August 2002