Original subtitles

I miss you.

I'm shocked with how much I miss you.

Maybe you'd be shocked as well.

Um, just so you know, I've been wearing the tie you gave me

almost every day.

Yes, it's an awful color.

And the pattern is not great.

But I'm wearing it just for you.

Listen.

The newspaper is saying that I've performed some kind of miracle.

It now seems I'm famous for something I've never believed in.

People treat me like I'm a movie star now, you know, like…

Shoukry Sarhan.

Except, of course…

He's definitely better-looking than I'll ever be,

but that's just genetics.

It's out of my hands.

But if you think about it, um…

He and I have a lot of similarities.

Um, what are you doing with that?

- Uh… - Where is the coagulation test?

- Um… I'm not sure. - And the ESR.

And what about the EPG?

- I'll check right away. - Do that.

And hurry, please.

I came as soon as I could.

- We're all praying for Howaida. - I appreciate that.

If you need money, I want you to know...

- There's no need. - Just take it.

- I have money. - I'm serious.

Please. You resist more than enough.

Has anyone found a cure for her?

Not yet.

There's going to be a medical conference soon.

I'm hoping that one of the foreign doctors will see something that we miss.

You should go. I'll stay. You look terrible, Refaat.

Go and get some rest.

How can I?

I won't be able to sleep knowing something else could happen.

Can I ask you something?

What, what?

Is something going on at the house?

We can talk about it later.

Tell me if anything happened.

Well, yes.

Just so happens someone bought it, some outsider,

wants to tear the place down.

How about we just focus on this?

Shiraz.

Could Shiraz be causing all of this?

I must really be losing it to even consider this, but…

Assuming there is a ghost,

why does she turn up now?

Is it because I've turned 40?

Hates me for getting old without her?

Or maybe she's jealous?

But if she's jealous, why Howaida?

Why not Maggie?

Maybe like all women, it's only real for her when there's a ring involved.

I'm afraid there's bad news.

They've decided to move the conference.

Instead, it will be held in Tripoli, Libya.

No, they can't.

How can they cure a disease if they haven't even seen it?

I did everything I could.

Frankly, they're scared.

And who can blame them?

We've never seen anything like this in the whole region.

Like it or not, we're headed to Tripoli.

My passport.

- Good evening, doctor. - Can I help you?

Mashallah, you're becoming popular!

So, doctor, I have a relative

who's possessed by a demon from the underworld.

I was hoping that maybe you could…

Doctor? Doctor?

"Dear Refaat, I'm afraid I don't have a maze for you.

I'm too busy preparing for the blood diseases conference.

Regards, Louis."

I thought you weren't coming.

I know how you hate conferences.

Normally, that's true, but it's on the agenda for my expedition.

What if I hadn't called you, would you have gone without telling me?

I don't have to tell you everything, Refaat.

Doctor Ramzi.

He said the antidote for the curse is in Libya.

There's a certain flower called silphium.

I know this sounds out of character,

and that it seems like I believe in things that are impossible.

All of us can change. Even you.

They don't know anything.

Well, what do you expect? No one's ever seen this.

Mm, Louis's lecture! Are you coming?

Yeah.

Good afternoon, I'm Dr. Louis.

Some people believe that resurrection takes three days.

I'm going to show you a shortcut.

If Louis, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and a circus performer

who shoots fire out of his ears were all in the same room,

everyone would still look at Louis.

Meet Micey, my friend, the mouse.

Because of complete blood coagulation,

the mouse will die in less than 30 seconds.

Complete blood coagulation.

However, we injected the mouse with a rare drug

extracted from a plant venerated by the ancient Romans and Greeks,

who believed in its ability to cure paralysis and skin diseases.

They called it "the treatment for the untreatable."

Here, we see Micey come back to life.

This plant is known as…

Silphium.

…Silphium.

Known to the Arabs as "al-angadan."

But its scientific name is Ferula assa-foetida.

Unfortunately, this experiment was conducted five years ago,

and these were the last samples I had.

Today, the plant is thought to be extinct.

But its natural habitat is right here, in Libya.

This experiment aims at bridging the gap between popular

and experimental medicine.

Some people think the two should not be mentioned in the same sentence.

But I think, after today, they may change their mind.

Refaat Ismail, all this time, you haven't aged a day!

Well, at least that's true for one of us.

Ahh! I have a maze for you. Couldn't send it in my last letter.

You still play this game?

Looks like we'll never finish.

So, have you seen any of our friends from college?

I see Andrew and Tabitha sometimes, and Refaat since I've arrived in Egypt.

Ahh, make sense.

If you're looking to meet with our old friend Refaat,

you have to go with him.

I'm shocked he had the initiative to come to Libya.

Well, I'm shocked that you've abandoned medicine to sell snake oil.

What's that, Refaat? You got engaged?

You finally took some action,

but unfortunately, a little too late.

Refaat's Law number 23.

"Energy cannot be created from nothing,"

the same applies to jokes from old friends.

I need a sample of silphium.

Why? So you could sell snake oil like me?

Well, I have a special case.

Howaida, she's his fiancée.

I'm sorry. That's awful.

The last I heard about silphium.

Is that you can find it among tribes called Tuareg.

But it is almost extinct.

And how can I find these tribes?

Even if you find them, there's no guarantee

they can help you get the flower.

I'm out of options. I need that flower.

In that case, I have friends who organize safaris.

They'll get us started.

I am done here. Shall we?

Count me in!

You can't come. It's far too dangerous.

It's the desert, we have no idea what's out there.

What's your point? "If you got hurt, I'd never forgive myself"?

Maggie, you're not coming with us.

Yes, I am.

Classic Refaat and Maggie.

Why are you stopping?

My apologies, but this is far as I can go.

This is where we're starting to go into tribal land.

You see those rocks? They mark their borders.

This is the land of the Tuareg tribes.

We'll find them here.

How many cards?

Pick three.

One, two, three.

Oh. Oh, you had a nice childhood. You had a cat named…

Something with a "C." I think it is…

Chucky?

Yes, how did you know?

The cards say everything.

What are you doing?

You've heard of tarot before.

Next, he'll be pulling a dove from out of his sleeve.

The cards show him things no one else knows about me.

It's not worth it, Maggie.

Refaat is far too scared to try anything like this.

What will that be?

Come on, it can be more than a little terrifying

to face the past or know the future.

I'll play.

How do we start?

Past, present, or future?

My past.

Pick three cards.

Mm, the tarot seems to be saying you're fighting something your the past.

Ah.

I see what you're doing.

The Barnum effect.

Archetypes that more or less anyone could apply to their own lives.

This guy here is using a bunch of sticks to fight something he can't see.

What it means? I don't know.

Perhaps that's just it.

You're fighting something maybe you don't know what it wants.

Interesting.

What's next?

The second card, the Queen of Cups,

this deals with love.

But the card is upside down.

This could mean your beloved is in danger.

Really?

Louis, Maggie told you my fiancée is sick.

- I think I'm done. - As you like.

Refaat, Louis, look.

Who gave you permission to come here?

We're looking for silphium.

The angadan.

That plant has been extinct for generations.

It no longer exists.

Extinct.

Now listen carefully, if we find you on our land again,

you will pay with your lives.

Be gone by tomorrow.

Refaat's Law number 22.

"If Refaat Ismail wants something, that thing must be extinct

or impossible to find."

You can't sleep?

I have to find that flower.

Anyway…

It seems neither of us will be asleep any time soon,

wanna finish the reading? We can do the present.

Come on, we're just killing time.

Pick a card.

Nine of Swords.

Tough one.

This card tells me there's something in the present that you fear,

you need to overcome.

You must follow and confront this fear, Refaat.

- Shit. - Don't be afraid.

Ezz El-Din is my name. I'm from the tribe.

Listen, I have what you want.

I won't do this for free.

But meet me at the hill, and I'll show you.

Refaat, what's going on?

Shh.

But I'm warning you, if the others find out, I'll deny it all.

What's in the bag?

It's my treasure.

I collect everything I find in the desert.

And where's the flower?

The flower's in a cave nearby. I will show you the way.

Why did they did tell us it is extinct?

My tribe fears the one who guards the cave.

The custodian.

The custodian is not human, or any other creature we know.

Its roar is enough to terrify even the bravest man.

They say anyone who opens the cave and release it

will open the gates of hell itself.

And we're going to meet this thing?

Don't worry. I've bought something that will protect us.

I'm really impressed that you're willing to trust a Bedouin that you've just met.

Do you have another guide?

Quicksand.

Whenever there's soft sand like this, make sure not to step in it.

If you step in it, you will get sucked down.

If you get stuck, don't fight it.

The flowers are in there.

Stay back.

We have to make sure we have permission before we enter.

What if I don't?

You won't to be able to go in.

Why?

I'm supposed to believe a creature nobody's ever seen before

has some kind of protocol?

Really? What, so this thing has manners now?

Refaat.

I've told you everything I know.

And told you we cannot enter the cave without the custodian's permission,

This is a pact, we've had it for generations.

If you don't believe me, then I can leave.

No need for that. Get us permission, please.

So now you trust him?

You said it. We have no choice.

The custodian has not given us permission.

Everyone, kneel down.

Refaat!

Refaat?

Refaat!

Refaat!

What are you doing?

I'm taking the action.

Louis, you head in this direction. Maggie, that way.

We'll meet back here in half an hour.

Where's Ezz El-Din?

No!

You're alright. Catch your breath.

Refaat, Maggie!

- Are you all right? - I thought it was you screaming.

Ezz El-Din.

Ezz El-Din!

Ezz El-Din!

Ezz El-Din?

Ezz El-Din?

Ezz El-Din!

Ezz El-Din!

Ezz El-Din!

We need to get away from this cave.

A large animal could've done it to him.

A wolf maybe.

But it certainly wasn't some monster this tribe's been dreamed off.

Well, no wolf could've made those tracks we found.

And the sound we heard, a wolf?

All right, some other animal. Maybe we can't explain everything.

But we didn't see what happened.

You're only saying this, because you're afraid you killed him.

Refaat, have you ever seen an electron?

No. What does it have to do with this?

Nobody can actually see an electron, but we still know it exist.

We observe its effects.

As for Ezz El-Din, maybe we don't know what killed him,

but we saw its footprints, saw the body,

maybe it's not so impossible.

I never should've opened the cave.

Everything you did was to save Howaida.

Whenever I care about something,

a disaster strikes.

I remember when I started out years ago,

I worked the night shift in the ER,

and one night, a father came in to his son.

I'd always been calm in situations like that, no matter what.

But this time, it was different.

I cared.

Suddenly, I was so afraid, I forgot everything I learned.

The nurses were asking me questions, but I couldn't answer.

The father was standing next to me, screaming while I was… I was silent.

I just froze.

I lost the boy.

I learned that day if you love someone, you can't do anything to save them.

You know, sometimes it helps to be detached, you can remain objective.

But remember…

If fear make you put too much distance between yourself and those you love.

You'll lose yourself.

Louis was right.

I don't know how to take action.

And even when I do,

it's already too late.

Refaat, Maggie.

We have to go.

I heard strange sounds coming from over there.

What kind of sounds?

Run!

Refaat!

I've seen these hills before.

Now we're just walking in circles.

Louis, are we on the right path to the cave?

What's wrong?

Louis, what's the matter?

Maggie, pick a card.

Your turn, Refaat.

We keep getting the same card.

What does this mean?

This is card means death. It means… What do you think it means?

The Death card means what I think it means.

Brilliant!

Louis, everyone dies. Those cards are just a game.

When a card of Death appears to a group of people on the same place,

it holds a deeper meaning. It says we're still in danger.

- And what is that danger? - I don't know.

You're telling me you don't know?

- Why don't you ask the cards? - Listen...

- Or read my palms? - Enough!

Bot of you, we need to be careful.

I'm going back to the cave.

Refaat!

I can feel his pulse. Do you have anything in your bag?

Refaat, one of them is alive.

Can you hear me?

You released the custodian.

And now…

Every one of you is… is…

Every one is going to die.

It says we're still in danger.

…you will pay with your lives.

I have what you want.

You must follow and confront this fear, Refaat.

He's gone.

Refaat!

Refaat!

Refaat!

Refaat!

Refaat!

Refaat!

Maggie!

The custodian was not protecting the flower, though.

Refaat!

Maggie!

Good thing I defused the dynamite.

What dynamite?

That dynamite.

I got help.

What happened?

After all this, he still manages to look like a movie star.

Refaat, I'm going to check out.

Assalamu alaikum. I'm just checking out.

What do you need? Oh, my keys? Oh, yes, of course.

Louis. Thank you.

Thank you for everything.

I'm proud of you. You found the silphium.

The future.

I would like to know my future.

All right.

Pick three cards.

I'm very sorry, Refaat.

The card is saying you're gonna lose someone you love.

Who do you mean, Louis?

Howaida?

I'm not sure, but that's what the card means.

Look at that, the High Priestess.

This card symbolizes the subconscious, your dreams.

It could mean your dreams hold the answers.

Refaat. We'll be late for our flight if we don't leave soon.

Bye, Lou.

Don't worry. I'll be responsible.

You have no idea how worried Refaat was when you were sick.

He didn't sleep or wink.

It won't be too long until I'm helping you two move into your new home.

That's so nice of you.

Bless you, dear.

- This is the last one? - Yes, that's everything.

Grab your purse and let's go.

Where's Refaat?

He must be outside smoking.

I AM SORRY, HOWAIDA REFAAT

What's wrong?