The River Episode 1.06 Doctor Emmet Cole

After narrowly escaping a terrifying encounter with The Exodus our crew still stands strong at ten. However, as The Magus treks onward and deeper into the mysterious Sahte region our numbers appear destined to dwindle.

Lena has decided to go home. Now that she has closure on what she came to this mysterious place looking for, her father, Lena has no reason to stay in the Boiuna. It's time to leave The Magus and the crew and travel back home to Colorado.

Tess and Lincoln argue about whether or not to go to the last known place Emmet was -in the Sahte Falls- or to drop Lena off first. But that disagreement ends quickly as Lena interrupts them and says "Don't wait for me. There's still a chance you can find your dad."

Hacking, slashing and trudging their way through the thick Jungle our crew search the Sahte Falls desperately looking for any sign of their captain, friend and father, Dr. Emmet Cole. When they approach the falls themselves Jonas finds Emmet's pocket knife. With a sign they're in the right place the crew spreads out to cover every inch of the falls. It's not long before Lincoln finds a camera bag. Inside the crew finds tapes safely preserved in waterproof bags.

Hustling back to their tried and true home, The Magus, Clark, Jonas and AJ frantically work their way through the tapes. Loading, scrubbing, cutting and lining up any and all footage they can trying desperately to answer the very question these people came here for. What happened to Emmet Cole?

Exhausted physically and emotionally from their hectic work and their journey as a whole the crew sits down together to see what has become of their beloved doctor. As they begin to watch the tape:

Emmet sits on the floor of his room seemingly meditating when a Dragonfly lands and crawls into his mouth. He snaps awake.

Now in a tizzy Emmet is excited to pack up and head off into the jungle in search of The Source. Russ Landry, tries to talk some sense into him. They can't go out there, after all they have been through it's not safe. People have died. But Emmet won't be, can't be, stopped. The debate turns into an argument, and the argument turns heated. Frustrated Emmet tells Russ that "Lena would be ashamed of you... She's in it whether you like it or not. She's marked for it!" Russ knew that he was sending tapes to Lena for back up but this whole thing about her being marked for it? Emmet dragging Lena deeper into his dangerous obsession? A father can't stand for that and the heated argument comes to blows! Russ punching Emmet square in the face! Once best friends these two men are being torn apart by Emmet's passion or obsession as Russ puts it.

Separated by Manny, one of Emmet's cameraman, Emmet finishes packing up. Moments later Emmet, Manny , Rabbit, a cute and tough female camera operator, and their dog Salsa (found in a previous episode) push off The Magus and set forth to find something extraordinary.

Now on land and four days deeper into the jungle our crew follow their Captain blindly no more. Rabbit and Manny demand to know what exactly Emmet is looking for. He begins to tell them by describing a mythical tribe called the Xulos. "They ritually flay the flesh under their shoulder blades scarring their backs. As if they were removing wings. Because they believe they're angles. Angels guarding a secret. In the Boiuna the line that we thought exited between life and death it blurs. You think of the things we've seen... ghosts, and the spirits and the magic souls insisting on life when they should be gone. What if everything we've seen... what if it all comes from one Source. The Xulos can lead us there." Stunned, the two decide to carry on with their Captain.

Night comes and the crew settles in. Emmet has gathered some delicious leaf cutter ants for dinner. Tired from a long day of hiking, Manny heads off to bed leaving Emmet and Rabbit alone by the campfire. As a romantic a setting as you're gonna get, Rabbit seizes the opportunity to tell Emmet how she really feels about him. Ever since she was a kid she's been a huge fan and even now, all these years later, she harbors a crush. As she places her hand on his thigh Emmet stops her. He and Tess may be separated but in his heart? No.

After a long day of hiking and an awkward campfire moment it's time for bed as Emmet and Rabbit join Manny in the tent. All is quiet as they sleep but silence in the jungle is never pure silence. There are sounds and sights that are normal and then there's the other...

A noise startles Emmet awake. An eerie howling that seems to carry on in a particular pattern. "It's calling us," Emmet says. He flicks on his flashlight and camera sitting... waiting... when slowly, behind him a face presses against the outside of the tent! Emmet, Rabbit and Manny scramble to their feet and out of their tent! Salsa takes off into the jungle! They run after him only to have Salsa lead them to what appears to be a pelt of a monkey. Then they see it. Hanging in a tree above them is a completely skinned monkey.

Morning brings sunlight but with it a lot of questions, for which Emmet has the answers. Yes, they are being stalked but it's because they are on the right path. It's a spirit, the threshold guardian Il Tunchi-

The tape stops. Back on The Magus Jahel corrects Emmet. "Il Tunchi is not a spirit.. She is a demon. It is better for us not to watch. Il Tunchi does not come to scare you. She comes to kill you."

Still on The Magus, crying on the ships floor, Lena confides in Jonas, "Emmet's beacon. The one that gave everyone hope. The one that brought us all down here... I set it off." It was the only way that she could get anyone to look for her dad.Back on the tape:

Sick of bugs, Emmet, Rabbit and Manny try their hand at some fishing. With a moment of down time and some prying questions from Rabbit, Emmet sits along the bank of the Boiuna and tells the story of how he was going to give up the adventure lifestyle when Tess got pregnant with their first born. However, that all changed when a week after their child, Alice, was born she died due to a heart defect." He felt like he couldn't go on but it was Tess who helped him. She got him back out into the wild and doing what he loved to do.

Then suddenly Salsa starts barking. The howling, almost whistling now is back. Turning to the jungle they see the brush start to crumble and peel in and coming right at them extremely fast! Emmet, Rabbit, Manny and Salsa take off running from Il Tunchi afraid they will be the next mammal without its skin.

Running for their lives, panicked through the Boiuna, branches and razor sharp plants swipe across their exposed skin. Emmet and Rabbit seek refuge behind a tree and some thick brush. The whistling stops. Manny is nowhere to be found. All day and night Rabbit and Emmet look for their lost teammate until they find his abandoned camera and look up... Manny, like the monkey before him has been skinned and right at that moment it's back.

The whistling growing louder. Windier. Scarier. Closer! Emmet racks his mind for a solve. There has to be something he can do but the tune is driving him crazy. Finally he's got it...Emmet answers it with a whistle of his own. He whistles the exact same tune back to the spirit... and then? Calm. Emmet's done it. He's figured it out. It's a riddle. You have to answer the spirit.

Scared beyond her wildest dreams Emmet has to calm Rabbit. He finally is able to do so and the two make camp for the night. But this time it's not night that brings the horror but rather day as, when he returns from foraging, Emmet finds out that Rabbit has fled taking most of the supplies with her. Emmet is left with hardly anything to survive. If he is to live he is going to have to do so with his years of training and strong mind.That night Emmet makes camp. Moving through the jungle at night is dangerous, being on the jungle floor is boarder line suicidal. Alas, Emmet has no choice. With his materials gone his only hope is to make a fire, so the smoke will at least help keep some of the bugs away.

Then a noise. Emmet prepares for the worst. Crouched and ready to defend himself. Then, running from around a tree is... Salsa. He's found his way home. Finally some good news.

It's days later and Emmet looks worn but not beaten. He's surviving. Eating what he can find. Physically still able, but his mind slipping, Emmet hopes The Source he will be able to help him see his lost daughter, Alice.

Days later and Emmet has fallen ill. He looks awful. He's not finding food at the same rate he was and he needs the calories to keep going.

That night, with his camp set up, Emmet takes out his satellite phone and in this moment of need dials his son, Lincoln. With terrible reception Lincoln can barely hear his fathers words and Emmet can't bring himself to make his son aware of his situation. With that Lincoln, who doesn't know any better, blows his father off like he has done so many times before.

Watching on the boat Lincoln beats himself up over the phone call. The last time he spoke to his father. Heck, he wasn't even going to pick up.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Lena searches for the meaning of "marked for it." Finally she finds it. On the back of her neck, under her hairline is a birthmark. In the exact same pattern of the necklace that Emmet once gave Lincoln so many years ago. As the story goes a shaman gave Emmet the necklace, to give a child, "That was strong enough. He would know the one." As it turns out, Emmet was initially mistaken.

In the edit bay the tape continues.

Back on the tape.

Emmet walks slowly. Barely able to put one foot in front of the other he stumbles through the thick jungle brush. Day turns to night, night into day, and finally some hope comes in the shape of a mango tree. Excited, and feeling rejuvenated for the first time in days Emmet scales the tree. He reaches out for the mango. Inches from the fruit and the strength he needs to carryout his goal... he reaches... almost there... and... snap! Emmet falls landing awkwardly on his ankle and a loud pop is heard. His ankle is broken. Malnourished, weak and now with no way to walk Emmet is forced to crawl along the jungle floor. No way he can make it to the falls now. He must turn back to the river.

Unable to put weight on his broken foot Emmet now crawls. But even he knows that now, sick, unable to find food and without the ability to walk, death is certain. As he prepares his final goodbye Emmet sees his only hope at food-at survival and he can barely bring himself to look. Salsa. If Emmet is to survive, he must do the unthinkable.

As he raises a knife to his defenseless, loving and loyal friend... Emmet breaks down. He can't bring himself to do it. He's sacrificed and now lost everything in the world he once loved and now this animal that sits before him unflinching must not fall like all the others. Laying on the ground accepting his fate he apologizes to his wife.

Emmet now lies along the jungle floor accepting his death, alone, and that's when we hear... the whistling of Il Tunchi. Like we've seen before the whistle grows and the winds swell and because Emmet doesn't even have it in him to whistle back we are certain Emmet Cole is going to die. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a whistle answers back! Mysterious feet appear and arms sweep him up and carry his limp body back to what appears to be a native village where he is nursed back to health. Once able to move under his own power the tribe, with visible markings on their shoulder blades just like Emmet said they would have, pick him up and drop him off outside something we have yet to see. Something that is the least expected here in the depths of the jungle. Dr. Emmet Cole is dropped off at a bustling compound. A chain-linked fence. Vehicles? Civilization?

Back on The Magus hope rises to an all time high. The crew runs out into the jungle without another thought and upon their arrival at the fence they find the compound... empty. As if all life paused. Like at a moments notice everything just stopped. The place deserted. Inexplicably empty. Where is everybody?