Episode 16 - Moth Boyz II Men

## Summary

On the way to meet up with the rest of the Monster Hunters Adam is sent on an unexpected solo adventure that tries him physically, emotionally and mentally. And we finally get to meet his secret master.

## Previously On...

Tyler: Okay, so I'm going to jump you into it, Adam Miller, and it is as follows. You told your mom everything. You told her you're the Moth Man or really a Moth Boy. She knows that you sold your soul. And because she sold hers, you sold it and got protection for your friends and yourself. I believe it was 'keep my friends safe with some sort of devilish protection'.

Jeff: Yeah. And also a walk on, I asked for a walk on roll.

Tyler: And a walk on roll on the reunion episode of Boy Meets World. Yes.

Jeff: For Netflix, right? Is that what they said?

Tyler: Yeah, that's right. You told her you're a monster hunter and that you were actually leaving to go deal with a monster. You walk away from your house then. And obviously, you know from what she reported, the CEJ went to the old Navy to buy pants or something. It's still fairly early in the morning. It's probably like 7:30 in the morning.

Jeff: Seems early for pants.

Tyler: You know, that kid, he loves his pants. And they've been getting tore up. So you make your way to meet up with the ladies at the Quivik House on Manateau street.

## Plot

### DOWNTOWN HAVERFORD

Adam makes his way to the Quivik house that morning, ready to meet up with the Club. Driving his mom's '92 brown Oldsmobile, and blaring Freak on a Leash, Adam gets about a block away from Manateau street. The sun is rising high, hot and bright, and when Adam lost his soul, his sensitivity to light became overpowering. Adam's powers forcibly break through his control and he bursts into his caterpillar form.

### THE FOREST

His clothes rip and he tries to keep the car from crashing with his little mandibles. He grabs air. Adam is no longer in his mother's car. There is no car. He is in a clearing in the forest with a full moon shining above him in the night sky. Adam tries to read a bad situation and instead, he seems to give away information on his own abilities. Something bursts into his mind as a force mentally dominates him. Trying to keep the alien mind out of his brain, Adam fills his thoughts with the Korn song he had just been playing. While trying to fight this other force, Adam realizes that it feels really familiar.

The Moth Man approaches the clearing. The creature has 8-foot high wings, huge red eyes, dangling antennae, and a long proboscis protruding from its face. Every moth leg is jacked, and looks a bit much. The Moth Man wears not a scrap of clothing below his waist, and where its genitals should be is just a black hole with a swirling galaxy inside.

To Adam's surprise, more Moth Men appear. Adam had always thought that there was a single Moth Man, and he was an exceptional case. He realizes that he is possibly just the newest member of this strange clique. The originator Moth Man has a strong pull, that every other monster seems to feel. He is the largest and most imposing creature. Scraps of an old night watchmen's uniform are visible around his torso, and a faded patch for the Haverford Generating Station hangs near his chest.

Adam can hear the originator Moth Man in his head as it asks him what has happened to him. He knows the bond has changed and that Adam has lost his soul.

'Do you attempt to escape us?'

Adam tries to play it cool, but while trying to answer, he turns to flee. He can't as he is completely mentally dominated.

'Do you seek to spurn our gift?'

Adam denies that, and rambles about selling his soul. One of the other Moth Men seems amused by Adam's rambling, which he can feel through one of the channels in his mind that connect him to the horde of monsters.

As Adam communes with the originator Moth Man, or Moth Man Prime, he realizes that he's actually been communicating with two different secret masters. The originator...and someone else.

Prime asks Adam if he seeks the next step to becoming a Moth Man. When Adam says yes, the challenges begin. It starts with intense pain as Prime scours through Adam's memories. He seems especially drawn to Adam's fat years, spending time on Adam's t-shirt wearing, lake trips that fully embarrassed him. Adam is able to see a parallel memory of Prime, when he was human and at Lake Mystery in the 50s.

Adam closes his eyes, and when he opens them, he is in a cocoon. He is told to consume one of three cloths, only one being correct. One is deep, red silk and another is fake denim, while the final cloth is a musty, old burlap sack. Adam bites into the silk shirt, and it is perfectly delicious. It was the correct choice. Prime praises him, but then tells him the next challenge.

'Dominate this man.'

Behind Adam is Harry Herman. A construction worker from Haverford, with three kids. Adam tells Harry to give him his hat, and Harry puts his stormy kromer cap on to Adam's head. Adam grabs it and eats it. Harry is devastated as it was a gift from his father from his first deer hunt. Feeling the pain from Harry, Adam is hit with guilt, but can't stop eating the delicious hat.

Feeling Prime's gaze, Adam struggles with what to do next to dominate Harry. He tells him to go home, but Prime shakes his head and puts a hand on Harry's head. Harry collapses to the ground.

'Again. Dominate this man.'

Adam feels some of his luck dissipate as he utilizes it for dominating Harry again. In doing so, he takes on an additional curse. He feels a new streak of cruelty comes to the fore and he has the need to indulge in a cruel act.

He tells Harry to beat himself up, and he enjoys it.

Harry slumps over, teeth missing and bleeding freely, broken hand at his side.

The Moth Men wait and watch for what Adam will do next.

'I want you to leave your family and this town forever.'

Harry begins to cry as he crawls away from Haverford, never to return.

Adam feels resounding approval from Prime, but someone else is experiencing deep regret, which Adam only senses for a brief moment. One of the Moth Men seems to have other motives and feelings from the rest of the group, but is being extraordinarily cautious.

As Adam stares at the broken form of Harry crawling away, Adam tells him to send him a postcard from the Motel 6 in Rhinelander.

Prime gives Adam the final challenge. A small bright light forms above Adam and Prime urges him to take it, and use it as a light that will prevent him from ever losing his way.

Before Adam can take the light, a demon bursts into the clearing.

'I fucking knew it! I have been looking all over for this little shit stain and I fucking knew you had something to do with it! You piece of shit!'

The demon tackles prime, and other demons flood the clearing, and a brawl breaks out. Adam tries to hide, but he gets picked up by one of the Moth Men and a familiar woman's voice assures him that she is taking him somewhere safe. Adam knows this voice. It belongs to Rebecca Ernst.

She takes him to a tree away from the clearing, and Adam watches the battle below. He realizes that the demons have come due to the deal with his father, protecting him.

'Oh fuck, I fucked up.' He says to himself. His aunt Rebecca responds that 'Yeah, but we all fucked up.'

'Adam, I am so sorry that this has happened to you.'

Adam starts to lose it, and tells her that he was going to find Harry later, and get him back home. He was going to fix everything. He is rambling, and Rebecca forces him to stop talking by dominating his mind. She tells him that she is sorry that she is the one who turned him into a Moth Man, but she needed him to keep CEJ safe.

Adam asks about CES, and Rebecca looks incredibly guilty and disgusted with herself. She mentions the hunger that Moth Men feel and the lack of control. Adam quickly changes the subject.

He mentions that CEJ has gone to the Old Navy, and Rebecca is immediately on alert.

'Not the Old Navy!'

She tells Adam that CEJ is one of the 36 and that Lailah knows and is planning to kill him. She tells him that the 36 are normal people whose existence keeps the world in balance and the continuity of the universe. If one of the souls is gone, then everything will be over. Lailah wants to end the world and try again.

Adam says the dealt with Lailah at the Fallentine's Dance.

'Did you go to the power station?'

Adam tells her they didn't, and Rebecca informs him that Lailah is still alive and dangerous. Rebecca tells him to run and flies back to Prime and the others. She assimilates and seems to lose herself again.

Adam runs.

Then he is back in his mom's car. Waiting at a stop light. Cars behind him honk. He drives forward, finds a safe spot to pull over and takes a moment to get a grip on himself. He feels something in his mouth and pulls out the felt ear flap of a stormy kromer cap.

He revs up the car, and speeds off to Old Navy.

## Characters

**Main Cast**

* Jeff Murdoch as Adam Miller
* Tyler Samples as Secret Master, Rebecca Ernst, and everyone else.

## Introductions

Tyler: Welcome to Mystery County Monster Hunters Club, where we use dice to tell a story of horrible hauntings and pesky pubescents. I'm Tyler Samples, your Keeper of Monsters and Mysteries. Let's meet our player!

Jeff: Hi, I'm Jeff Murdoch and I'm playing the character Adam Miller, the Monstrous, and I'm alone. All alone.

## Notable Quotes

* "It's not a Motel 6, it's a Motel 5." - Adam Miller on the Motel 6 in Rhinelander.
* "That's the thing, you know, you think Scorsese started out like Scorsese? Yeah, he was like a Score-zero, you know?" - Jeff Murdoch (stinger)

## Links

* Apple Podcasts
* Spotify
* Google Podcasts