"The Siren, clothed in barbs"

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***"The Siren, clothed in barbs"*** is the first episode of KOllOK 1991.

## Plot

The year is 1991. Because it is. Because that is when this collective moment takes place The last era of isolation from information. The place is Kollok, Washington, residing in the famous Stone Valley. A place majestically nestled between mountains with an elevation of 3500 feet that sees no annual snowfall and very little precipitation outside of the daily thick fog that envelopes the sunrise. We open on a young woman perched in a pristine apartment, overlooking the valley. She looks at herself longingly. And then turns to address us. This is not her story. Not today. It is Rachel's.

Rachel, a 17 year-old Asian woman, bursts out of her house and her face lights up as she sees her friend, Skye Hawkins, waiting for her in a Jeep Wrangler. Rachel has been out of school since last Monday, supposedly for being extremely ill. It is Monday, March 4th, 1991. Rachel gets into the car and buckles up. Rachel greets Skye and refers to her as "Nine", seemingly by mistake. The two catch up as they haven't spoken while Rachel was sick. She hasn't spoken to her boyfriend Marcus either.

Rachel asks if they can stop somewhere before school. Rachel has recently lost her car, and cannot drive to the place herself. They make their way to the South side of time, while Rachel prepares a couple hundred dollars. She exits the car and goes to a rundown house with a beaten-up couch on the lawn. Rachel exchanges money with the man, puts something in her pocket, and gets back into the car. Skye asks she picked up drugs and Rachel says yes. Skye seems happy to be an accomplice and asks when they are doing the drugs. Rachel confirms that she has marijuana in her pocket.

Rachel tells Skye she has something else to tell her. Skye asks if she is pregnant. If she is, she will kill "him". Rachel says no, as they drive towards school. Rachel tells Skye that she is considering asking Marcus to have sex for the first time. Rachel mentions that it is now or never, which confuses Skye. Skye says she has plenty of time, and is concerned that Marcus is pressuring her. Rachel assures her that isn't the case. If anything, she is pressuring him.

Skye suddenly swerves to miss a man wearing a long, black raincoat with a backpack on his back. He doesn't acknowledge the oncoming car. Trying to be cool for her friend, Rachel pulls the emergency break to perform a Tokyo Drift. Two wheels of the Jeep come off the ground and the hub blows off her tire, as the back-right side skids across the road. Sparks fly out in all directions and a small fire breaks out. Both occupants of the car are okay as the Jeep stops. The man that they were about to hit is gone.

Rachel and Skye come up with a story to explain the accident. Skye asks Rachel to punch her, so she can have a bloody nose for the story. Rachel punches her as hard as she can, dislocating it. Skye readjusts her nose, feeling no pain. The police then arrive, and Skye explains that she swerved to miss a deer. The police promise to take care of the car, and they walk the rest of the way to school.

They cause a scene as the approach the school (with the burning car up the road and Skye's bloody nose). Rachel asks if Skye can pick her up from Billy Baker's, who she is tutoring, place after school and take her to Taco Bell Express. Rachel sees Marcus in the parking lot and calls out to him. She runs and jumps into his arms. Rachel refers to him as "One", although she says she doesn't know why. Skye and Marcus start to get in a fight -- it's obvious that they do not get along -- and Rachel breaks it up by explaining that Skye broke her nose in a fight with a homeless guy on the way to school. Marcus falls for the trick, but Rachel immediately tells the truth. She asks to meet Marcus after gym to talk.

Together, they walk into the school. Marcus feels an eye on him, and see Sammy Reilly staring at him. Rachel goes to handle the situation and have a talk with her ex-boyfriend. Sammy does not appear to be happy with the conversation. On her way back to Skye and Marcus, Billy Baker skids across the floor on his back. Wallis Ronnie (Jr.) tells Billy to stay down, calling him "Coma Boy", or he'll get hurt. Wallis is upset that Billy has been talking about his mom's breasts. Billy doesn't help the situation by continuing to talk about them. Marcus gets involved and intimidates Wallis into backing down. He offers the other boy free tacos if he leaves Billy alone.

The first period bell rings, and they all go to class.

Rachel catches up with Mickey Jones in gym class, and refers to her as "Zero" and apologizes afterwards. She also apologizes for missing work, forcing Mickey to pick up extra hours. Just the same, Rachel asks if Mickey can cover for her that night, but she'll be back to work afterwards.

Rachel meets Marcus at lunch, after gym. They head to the front steps, and Rachel tries to tell Marcus that she's ready to have sex with him. Marcus appears reluctant, and Rachel tells him it's "now or never". The comment confuses Marcus, as they have plenty of time for that sort of stuff. Marcus is afraid of being caught by his parents. Rachel storms off, rejected. Marcus notices an odd coin with a face on both sides, and text saying "aspire to be more".

The rest of the school day passes uneventfully. After school, Rachel goes to Billy's house for his tutoring session. Billy doesn't really need a tutor. He's not exceptionally smart, but he's not stupid either. Even after waking up after a ten-year coma, he knows quite a bit. Rachel asks if he knows why he has ten fingers, despite being a Kollok native. Billy says that he's never asked. Rachel says that she think her parents had her finger cut off so that she would fit in.

Skye arrives at Billy's house. Rachel packs up her stuff, leaving Billy's borrowed camera behind before she leaves. Once in the car, Rachel says that she and Marcus got into a fight. As they talk, Skye admits that's she's afraid of losing Rachel. She asks for Skye to try to be friends with Marcus.

Meanwhile, Mallory Jenkins and Marcus are working at Taco Bell Express. Mallory tries to amuse Marcus, but Marcus isn't up for it. Marcus tells Mallory about the situation between him and Rachel. They've only been dating for two months and he doesn't want to move to fast, but he wants to make her happy. Mallory has no real advice for him. As they talk, Skye rolls into the drive-thru and Rachel asks if she can talk to Marcus. Marcus takes a break so he can talk to his girlfriend.

Rachel and Marcus both apologize to one another. They talk and try to work things out. Rachel leaves, still a little upset. Skye drops Rachel off at the Kollok Cinema. Mickey is already working. Rachel tells Mickey that she can cover her own shift, and that Mickey can leave early if she wants; she'll cover for her to make up for missing work so much. Mickey agrees, and leaves.

Later that night, Billy practices pick-up lines for Rachel in the mirror. He notices his camera in the bag that Rachel left. He finds a pale blue diary also inside. He tries to open it, but it's locked.

The next morning, Billy is up at 4AM to start his paper route a his bag full of the morning's Stone Valley Chronicle. He makes his way out the front of the garage until he reaches the corner. There, he drops the bike and picks his skate board from behind a trash can and stuff some of the papers into his backpack. He circles through the East side of town, and stops at the Reilly river to spit in it. But before he does, he sees someone standing on a bridge. He approaches the figure and realizes it is Rachel, smoking a joint. She is wearing a red robe and gold platform heels. She seems surprised to see Billy, but not concerned. She seems disappointed, not with herself but rather the situation. She greets Billy, and says

> "Today's the day, Billy. Soon, I think. I didn't think I was gonna see you out here. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
>
>

> I didn't try to stop it, Billy. Not really. What does that say about me? Do you though? Do any of us... though? We let it come... only keeping it at bay until it's literally knocking on our doorstep. Maybe we all secretly wanted it. We just don't talk about it. The one thing everyone of us can't escape. Then again I might be completely wrong about that."
>
>

A sound emits behind Rachel. She lets out a sigh, and a calm sadness pushes through her. A light that starts like a thread appears hovering. The thread widens to the size of a pencil. It trails down an interlocking thread like a flashlight pushing through a zipper. Each individual individual interlocking thread rips apart aggressively. Two figures walk through the widening gap. The figures appear to be wearing suits with their eyes and mouths zipped shut, and tall Mohawks. They start speaking:

> "Pay it you will. To the end. Slight was the thing that you bought. Small was the debt you thought."
>
>

A thunderous boom awakes Marcus, Mickey, Skye, and Sammy. A fierce wind blows the blankets off their beds. They see a bright light and Rachel floating above their beds. A mirage. An illusion. Her dark robe falls, revealing her bruised naked body beneath, as she writhes in pain. Billy watches as the robe sways in the wind, falling into the river below. She cries out, "I don't know what I did. This isn't fair. This isn't fucking fair. I'm not ready. I'm not ready. I didn't do this. Please. Please. I don't... I don't want to... I'm not fucking ready."

As her body gets pulled in the gelatinous, but sharp, light, she grasps for the edge. All the kids hear her yell out, "Wait. I know why. I know why I said it. Don't forget what I said. Okay? Whatever you do. Don't forget what I said." Her body is ripped, zipped, torn in two. And the zipper closes. The kids sees what she sees, and feels what she feels. The light takes them all in.

6:30 AM. Billy wakes covered in a clear, viscous liquid. He lies in the dirt beside Crater Lake. Billy calls out for Rachel, but there is no answer. He grabs his backpack and skateboard, and runs to the police station. Realizing how far the station is, he stops at an affordable living apartment complex. He tells someone in the lobby that he needs to call the police. He says he can't explain, but his friend Rachel is missing. Billy calls the police and tells them that Rachel Jewell is missing. The 911 dispatch says that they do not know anyone by that name. The person says that the Jewell family has no children. Billy is insisted that Rachel is missing. Dispatch tells him to stay where he is and that they will call his parents.

Billy immediately leaves the area once he gets off the phone, saying that he needs to tell someone that cares. He heads for Rachel's house, which is right next to Skye's house.

Skye awakens, covered in a viscous liquid. Her room is a mess with things pushed all around. Without hesitation, Skye heads over to Rachel's house. She bangs on the door, and a man answers the door. She asks if Rachel is there. The man is upset about being woken up so early and tells her to get off his front porch. Skye refuses to leave until she knows Rachel is okay. The man opens the door, strongly places himself in front of Skye and menacingly tells her to go home. The man reeks of alcohol. Skye sees Billy as she leaves. Billy seems troubled.

Skye warns Billy not to talk to the man, Jacob Jewell. But Billy says that his daughter is missing. Skye asks him what he saw, and he explains. They realize that they both saw the same thing. When Billy tells Mr. Jewell that they need to find Rachel, the man grabs a baseball bat. He threateningly tells them to leave, but Billy continues. When Billy effectively calls him "trash," he starts moving towards them with the baseball bat in hand. They decide to go to Skye's house before thing escalate any more.

Skye's parents ask what is going on, and Billy and Skye tell them. They suggest that Billy report it to the police, and he promptly says that he did. Billy asks for their help because he doesn't think the police took him seriously. When Skye mentions how important Rachel is to her, her father says that he doesn't know a Rachel. Skye gets upset, and asks why he doesn't care. Skye's mother becomes angry by the way she is talking to her father, but her dad tries to ensure his wife that it's okay. Skye apologizes. Her father reiterates that he doesn't know Rachel. Billy makes a rude remark, and runs out the door.

Skye starts slapping herself to see if she's real, but her father stops her, concerned. Skye and her mother get into an argue about her apologizing (although Skye has already apologized). He mother breaks a dish in the kitchen and storms off. Her father tries to calm Skye and and says that they'll talk more about it later. Skye leaves the house, but instead of going to school, she goes to the bridge where Billy saw Rachel.

Marcus wakes up. Everything that was on his wall is now on the floor. He is covered by a viscous liquid. Marcus calls the police, and asks if they have seen or heard anything around the Jewell residence. They tell him that Billy called them earlier and said a Rachel Jewell jumped off a bridge, but the Jewell family doesn't have any kids. The person on the line asks for Marcus' name. Marcus hangs up.

Marcus goes through his drawer to look at photos that he and Rachel took together. Rachel has been removed from all the photos; Marcus is by himself in them. Marcus runs into his parents downstairs on his way out of the house. He asks them if they know who his girlfriend, Rachel Jewell, is. His mother laughs at the prospect. Neither of his parents know who she is. Marcus gets upset. He says that he's talking about a missing girl, and that he "thought they would understand ever since", but cuts off before he finishes. His mother makes light of the situation, while his father maintains that it's serious. Marcus leaves the house to find Billy. Marcus grabs his bicycle and decides to follow Billy's paper route to find him.

Mickey wakes up in her two bedroom apartment. She can smell her father from the other night. Her room is destroyed. She's wet with a sticky, substance. She takes a shower and encounters her father on the way out. He asks if he yelled at her last night, and she says not that night. She suggests he get some water and some sleep. Her father says he's going to call into work and take the day off.

As Mickey leaves the building, she runs into someone talking to the police. Mickey asks if something happened. The person said that someone prank-called the police earlier and then took off. Mickey asked who did it, and the person reveals it was Billy. The person relays that Billy claimed some woman jumped off a bridge. Mickey asks if it was Rachel, and the police officer's attention turns to the conversation. He asks for Mickey's name, which she supplies. The police officer mentions that the Jewell family does not have a daughter, and that the suggestion that they have children is hurtful to the Jewell family.

Mickey says she doesn't understand, and that Rachel exists. She mentions that the the books at the movie theater will show that she clocked in and out. The officer tells Mickey to hop into the cruiser and they'll head over there.

Meanwhile, Billy rides his skateboard back to his house. His parents are not home, and his little brother and sister are also gone. Billy notices a note that says he's in deep trouble if he gets back before his parents do. Billy start to leave the house again with no real destination, but before he does he notices his camera bag. He checks it, and Rachel's diary is still inside. He takes it and heads out.

Skye makes it to the bridge where Billy said he saw Rachel. She searches for any sign of her friend. She finds two gold platform heels. She's never seen Rachel wear the shoes or ever mention them, but she picks them up.

Marcus rides around looking for Billy. While riding, he sees a man wearing a long, black raincoat staring at him. Marcus calls out to him, but the man ducks out of view. Marcus follows him, but the man has disappeared. A bus passes by, although school shouldn't be starting for another hour. He checks his watch. An hour has passed since he left his house.

The police officer and Mickey arrive at the Kollok Cinema. The officer is annoyed, and asks her to end the gag/prank. Mickey says it's not a gag, and unlocks the theater with her key. They go to the back to look at the books, but there's no evidence of Rachel back there. The officer asks Mickey politely to end the charade. Mickey insults the officer, making him upset. She says that she'll walk to school from there. The officer pulls away, as Skye drives up. She recognizes Skye as Rachel's best friend. They compare stories and realize they have been going through the same thing. They decide to go find Marcus to see if he has any evidence of Rachel's existence, and head towards the school to find him.

Billy rides up to the school on his skateboard. He stops to check on the diary. A strange, blue light starts to emit. A hand grasps his as he goes to grab the diary. The fear of the situation causes him to wet himself, but he manages to pull out the diary. He takes a picture of the diary. Marcus spots Billy and approaches. He tells Billy about the diary. Marcus seems to think Billy is involved with Rachel's disappearance and becomes threatening. Billy explains everything that happened. He mentioned that Skye also knows about Rachel.

A squirrel asks Marcus why he's picking on Billy. Marcus thinks it's a prank and the squirrel isn't actually talking. The squirrel moves up to Marcus' shoe. The squirrel asks if Marcus needs to find Rachel. Marcus grabs the squirrel and starts squeezing it, but it bites him, forcing him to let go.

Skye and Mickey walk up and see Billy and Marcus. He asks Skye to name her best friend, which she does immediately. They confirm that they all know who Rachel is. Marcus mentions that Billy has Rachel's diary. Billy explains how he got the diary and tells them that it is locked. The use the numbers that Rachel referred to them as to unlock the diary. Skye finds pictures in the diary. There's a picture of Marcus. A picture of Michael Jones' Cutlass Supreme, Mickey's father's car. The first journal entry is on January 5th, 1986. There's a picture of the gold heels. And there's a picture of an alleyway that's directly next to the law offices of Slater & Jewell.

Skye says that there's a page ripped out where the photos were. She starts reading, "The dreams are getting worse and worse. I can see reflections of people with Mohawks."

Billy interrupts that he has seen people with Mohawks, the zippermen that took Rachel.

The next page says, "I'm a goner. If my time on this planet is coming to an end, I'm going to lose my virginity to someone who actually gives a shit about me. I'm sorry for getting you all involved. Be careful. Stay safe." The last page has been ripped out.

Sammy walks up to the group. He is visibly upset. He says that he saw Rachel last night. He says that he saw her taken. Marcus asks what Rachel said to him the previous day. Sammy replies that she didn't say anything; she just handed him a piece of paper, which he shows to them. Billy, Mickey, and Skye suddenly realize they have something in their pockets. They reach in and all pull out a piece of paper. They put the pieces of paper together to reveal the last page of the diary. It's a picture of a horrible humanoid with the name "The Gorgon".

While turning the pages of the diary, Skye finds another picture taped to one of the pages. It is a picture of the town and it says that the debt will be collected on March 5th.

Skye finds another page that says that, while walking around, Mickey's dad pulled up to Rachel and handed her a pair of gold platform heels. He says that "they should fit her" and that "he would be seeing her soon". Rachel writes that the man was still following her.

Rachel goes on to say that she doesn't remember what happened. She remembers getting into an elevator, and standing outside with the photo of the town that Skye found. Rachel says that the sheriff just left, and he had photos of her getting into the elevator and leaving 30 minutes later.

They turn to leave to question Mickey's dad when a tall man in a tailored suit approaches. They've seen this man before around town. He is carrying a briefcase. He reaches out his hand and holds out a small piece of paper. Skye takes it and pulls it up to her face. The paper reveals that she has been summoned. And in that instant, a hole opens up below Skye and she falls down into the earth, and then closes shut.

## Cast

* Andre Meadows as Marcus Bennett
* Lucas Eubank as Billy Baker
* Meghan "Strawburry17" Camarena as Skye Hawkins
* Shelby "Shubble" Grace as Mickey Jones
* Zac Lim Eubank as The Driver

## Rumors

1. Rachel is having an affair with a teacher (winner)
2. Some toothless redneck is stealing pets and feeding them to his goat
3. The janitor was old Mrs. Wells pool boy, if you know what I mean
4. A local mechanic has been stealing parts of of kid's cars