there's just a meanness in this world.

i want you to concentrate.

good guess. but wrong.

incredible. that's five for five.

you're not cheating me, are you?

you only have seventy-five more to go, okay?

i'm getting a little tired of this!

the effect? i'll tell you what the effect is. it's pissing me off!

you can keep the five bucks.

you may as well get used to that.

you're no fluke.

i'm right in the middle of something, [name].

i want you to get right down there, check it out, and get back to me.

you're coming with us on this one.

you are a legitimate phenomenon.

this is big, [name], this is very big. there's definitely something here.

this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole through your head.

i don't remember seeing any legs, but it definitely had arms.

my uncle thought he was st. jerome.

back off, man. i'm a scientist.

you're right. no human being would stack books like this.

listen! do you smell something?

[name], your mucus.

one of us should actually try to speak to it.

okay, i have a plan. i know exactly what to do.

do exactly as i say.

"get her." that was your whole plan. get her.

i just got overexcited.

you know what this could mean to the university?

i think we have an excellent chance of actually catching a ghost.

we could really bust some heads. in a spiritual sense, of course.

i'm always serious.

[name], i'm gonna take back some of the things i've said about you.

this is preposterous. i demand an explanation.

but the kids love us.

your theories are the worst kind of popular tripe. your methods are sloppy, and your conclusions are highly questionable.

they wouldn't touch us with a 10-meter cattle prod.

you're always so concerned about your reputation.

you don't know what it's like out there.

for whatever reason, [name], call it fate, call it luck, call it karma, i believe that everything happens for a reason.

where are we gonna get the money?

you're never gonna regret this.

you didn't even bargain with the guy.

the franchise rights alone will make us rich beyond our wildest dreams.

i think this building should be condemned.

the neighborhood is like a demilitarized zone.

you gotta try this pole.

we should stay here tonight, sleep here.

i taped 20-minute workout on my machine and played it back at high speed so it only took 10 minutes. i got a great workout.

no sweat. i'll take a rain check on that.

i always have plenty of low-sodium mineral water and other nutritious foods in the house.

i'd like you to stop by, being that you're my neighbor and all.

the creep down the hall phoned the manager.

are you troubled by strange noises in the middle of the night?

do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic?

have you or any of your family ever seen a spook, specter, or ghost?

we're ready to believe you.

you don't think it's too subtle?

everybody can relax, i found the car.

don't stare at me. you've got the bug eyes.

you're very handy, i can tell.

i bet you like to read a lot too.

some people think i'm too intellectual, but i think it's a fabulous way to spend your spare time.

i collect spores, molds, and fungus.

what i have to say may sound a little unusual.

that was two days ago, and i haven't been back to my apartment.

well, of course i'm telling the truth. who would make up a story like that?

i don't believe in any of those things.

if something's gonna happen here, i want it to happen to me first.

i like to torture them.

you're more like a game show host.

you actually eat this stuff?

i don't think you're crazy.

all i have is my work. there's nothing else in my life.

i meet you, and i say, "my god, there's somebody with the same problem i have."

i am madly in love with you.

you are so odd.

i'll prove myself to you.

and then you'll say, "[sender name]'s a guy who can get things done."

i'll bet you're gonna be thinking about me after i'm gone.

no kiss?

hey, slow down. chew your food.

the guests are starting to ask questions, and i'm running out of excuses.

what are you supposed to be, some kind of cosmonaut?

bite your head off, man.

i'm sorry. we thought you were someone else.

yeah, we can do more damage that way.

disgusting blob.

it's right here, [name]. it's looking at me.

i feel so funky.

save some for me.

there's something very important i forgot to tell you.

i'm fuzzy on the whole good-bad thing. what do you mean, "bad"?

try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.

nice shooting, tex!

i've always wanted to do this.

that wasn't such a chore, now, was it?

we came, we saw, we kicked its ass!

my grandma used to spin yarns about a spectral locomotive that would rocket past the farm where she grew up.

how is elvis, and have you seen him lately?

do you believe in ufos, astral projections, mental telepathy, esp, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full-trance mediums, the loch ness monster and the theory of atlantis?

uh, if there's a steady paycheck in it, i'll believe anything you say.

i gotta get some sleep. i'm dying.

you don't look good.

someone should tell him it's not gonna do much good to scream at us in german.

i don't have to take this abuse from you. i got hundreds of people dying to abuse me.

if we could get together thursday night, i'm thinking nine-ish, you know, we could exchange information.

i'm making a special exception in your case because i respect you.

i'm glad you're feeling much better. you're still very pale, though.

i've quit better jobs than this.

because you did not use the magic word.

frankly, there've been a lot of wild stories in the media.

i'll sue your ass!

that's a big twinkie.

you're missing a classic party.

you think it's too warm in here for the brie?

okay, who brought the dog?

are you the keymaster?

i guess the roses worked, huh?

take me now, sub-creature.

i make it a rule never to get involved with possessed people.

i want you inside me.

what a lovely singing voice you must have.

what an asshole.

i have a terrible feeling that something awful is gonna happen to you.

bad news, honey, i gotta go to work.

hey, will you stay here in bed until i get back?

i love jesus's style, you know?

how about a little music?

oh, no. hold on. i've seen tv. i know you can't come in here without a warrant or a writ or something.

don't patronize me. i'm not grotesquely stupid.

i think there's just been a slight misunderstanding, and i want to cooperate in any way that i can.

now it is my turn, wiseass.

yeah, i'm not interested in your opinion.

my friend, don't be a jerk.

you do your job, pencil-neck. don't tell me how to do mine.

oh, shit. clear the building!

your mother!

everybody getting this so far?

i guess they just don't make them like they used to.

just tell me what the hell is going on.

no offense, but i gotta get my own lawyer.

yes, it's true. this man has no dick.

hey, come on. knock it off. hey, break it up!

i think it's a sign from god. but don't quote me on that.

i have seen shit that'll turn you white.

old testament. real wrath-of-god-type stuff.

dogs and cats living together. mass hysteria.

i like that shirt, friend.

gotta run. got a date with a ghost.

okay, whatever happens, let's be professional.

wanna play rough?

i'm gonna throw up.

art deco. very nice.

when someone asks you if you're a god, you say, "yes."

this chick is toast.

let's show this prehistoric bitch how we do things downtown.

oh, very cute.

there's something you don't see every day.

i tried to think of the most harmless thing. something i loved from my childhood.

i'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought.

mother pus bucket.

funny, us going out like this.

we get this guy laid, we won't have any trouble.

there's definitely a very slim chance we'll survive.

i love this plan. i'm excited to be a part of it. let's do it.

see you on the other side, [name].

i feel like the floor of a taxicab.

it smells like barbecued dog hair.

go check on that little guy.

boy, the superintendent's gonna be pissed.

you know, mr. [last name], you are a most fortunate individual.

we'd like to get a sample of your brain tissue.

Oh? Eyebrows raise above her glasses, but beyond that she makes no comment of surprise. Dolores simply nods, hikes her poor, beat-up briefcase higher on her shoulder, and fishes a mirror ball keychain out of her pocket. "It's a few hours worth of arraignments if you want to sit in the gallery or hang out in the cafeteria." She informs him, motioning for Mutt to follow her outside. "I'll cover dinner during the break." Jingle goes her keys, lock goes her front door in all its faded glory, and the CLOSED sign in the window hums its neon song. "There's a place not far from the courthouse that's constantly changing. Was Greek last week, 'Mexican' before that."

"jee-sus christ," comes the repairman from above, much like the name he took in vain, only more north jersey than nazareth, "you're a real piece'a work, aren't you? kid's just trying to help."

mutt gives what's his name—dante, he reads, stitched in blue on his chest—a look. it isn't much different from his perpetual indifferent scowl, but still leaves the recipient feeling judged. he's the one down here with him, and there's no good that can come from raising to the bait. he can see it in dante's eyes, the acquiescence, then the confused realization that a pipsqueak made him feel so, well, small, right on its heels.

"okay," mutt repeats not through clenched teeth. the terse patterning in harold's speech might injure another, but he remains unfazed. he wants to get out, needs to. and if harold pitches a royal fit at the first fucking suggestion, he's seen enough in the roughly ten minutes they've been stuck to draw some conclusions about his character. it's not like he feels very comfortable about all this either, asshole.

He talks too much like a grown man, but at this point it doesn't bother her anymore. That's just Mutt. "Sometimes." She answers and a small shrug follows. "Sometimes life's a bitch and you keep living." Another file gets tucked away in her briefcase along with a transcript and a couple more bits of miscellaneous, boring paperwork. "Need anything while I'm out?" Dolores doesn't know why she bothers. It's the same answer every time, but she'll ask it again and again on the off chance he ever says yes.

he's the embodiment of dolores's rejoinder, but he doesn't give her the satisfaction of a philosophical or personal conversation.

he stands beside mutt at the edge of the bridge as he raises an eyebrow down at the meandering stream. threading line into one of the fishing rods.

maybe he's intentionally being contrary for contrariness sake, but there's a kernal of truth in there somewhere. he's so used to urban jungles. cold freshwater gives him the same feeling bare earth beneath and between his toes does. wakes him up. makes everything else seem like bullshit, dwarfed by nature's indifference.