Season 2 - Episode 59: Don't Say Their Name

## Synopsis

Bjorn, Henry, Sammie, and Oliver discuss their knowledge of skinwalkers. They know they can mimic their victim's voice and form, they also gain some of their victim's memories, and they can sense when someone says the name 'skinwalker.' Sammie senses there are several of the creatures, maybe two or three. She is also able to use magic to find out where her mother is. Jadis tells Sammie that they'll need jade and ash to kill the skinwalkers but she's not sure of anything more specific than that. They leave the inn and fly out to rescue Helena. Sammie heals her but she is still unconscious. They investigate the house Helena is in and Bjorn finds one of the skins the creature must have shed. Sammie notices the fireplace is sealed up and they bust it open for Henry to collect the ash from inside. They hike back to the road with the plan of having Bjorn fly Helena to their rental car and then Bjorn driving back to collect the rest of them. As Henry, Sammie, and Oliver are waiting for Bjorn, they hear Anthony's voice come from the woods behind them.

## Episode Description

The heroes have a theory about what is stalking the night around the inn, and it puts into doubt their ideas about what brought them there.

## Key Events

* The crew learns that skinwalkers can mimic the form and voice of victims it eats and gains some of their memories as well; they can sense when someone says the name 'skinwalker'; the only way to kill them has something to do with jade and ash; and that Sammie sensed multiple creatures near them.
* They find Helena tied up in a basement of a house in the woods behind the inn. Sammie heals her but she is out cold.
* Bjorn flies Helena to their rental car, leaving Henry, Sammie, and Oliver together on the side of the road to wait for him to get back. As they wait, they hear Anthony's voice in the woods behind them.

## Summary

Bjorn doesn't have any experience with skinwalkers, but he knows that the process to kill one is extremely specific and complicated. Henry suddenly remembers that any time you say the name 'skinwalkers' the creatures they know that you've said it, like an automatic detection system. They then realize they've just said the name aloud a few times already. He also says the creatures can take on the form and memories of its victims after eating them.

Sammie realizes this means its very likely that one of the creatures could have been the one to text her and not her mom. Bjorn recaps that as of right now, they've only run into one out in the woods. They don't know if these creatures are solitary or not and they don't know it's connection to the Order - it could be something put here by the Order as a trap. All they can do is look into it more.

Sammie tunes out of the conversation with Bjorn, Henry, and Oliver and chats with Jadis. Sammie asks her if she knows anything about skinwalkers and Jadis confirms that they can take on the form of a person, but their memories from that person aren't perfect. They don't know everything from the victim but enough to get by, meaning they could tell if someone was a skinwalker if they knew the person well enough. Jadis doesn't know exactly how to kill the skinwalkers either, just that it has something to do with ash and jade. Jadis then asks Sammie if she thinks Helena is dead. Sammie's not sure.

As her conversation ends, Sammie realizes that Bjorn, Henry, and Oliver are staring at her. She passes along that they need something jade and ash to kill the creatures and Bjorn asks her how she found that out. Sammie just says her 'passenger' and Oliver gulps nervously. Bjorn says the only thing they can do for now is stick together and keep looking for information. Sammie says she can try to find the creature and closes her eyes to try and connect with it. Her mind starts to jump around to multiple different locations she realizes there's not just one - potentially up to 3 - and that one is very close to them.

Bjorn decides they need to leave now, drive their car down the road to a safer location away from these creatures, make the creatures think they escaped and left, then hike back through the woods to try and find any signs of Helena or Anthony. They grab their bags and leave. Bjorn drives them down the road and they park. He emphasizes to them again that they need to stick together. He and Henry will be the best scouts as they can see better in the dark and will take the lead. Before they leave, Sammie attempts to use magic to connect with her mom and see if she's nearby.

Sammie focuses and feels her mind lift above the forest. It travels for some time and then settles on an abandoned house. Her mind sinks below the ground and she sees her mom tied up, beaten, bloody, and unconscious in the basement of the house. Sammie sees lots of blood on the floor and various cutting implements on the walls. She notices a strange pile of a bloody, gelatinous substance in the corner of the room. Sammie pulls back to herself and tells the others what she saw. Bjorn asks if she can guide them there and Sammie is pretty sure she can.

Bjorn grabs Oliver and Henry grabs Sammie as they take off into the sky. They land at the house Sammie saw and agree to get in and out as quickly as possible. Sammie says she'll need some time to heal Helena magically before they go. Bjorn looks around the ground floor for stairs down to the basement and pulls a rug back to reveal a locked, hidden door. Bjorn is able to use his claws and rip the lock off the door. He opens the trap door to reveal a room that is softly lit, seeming to be by candlelight. A metal ladder descends down into the dark room. Bjorn makes his way down the ladder first. Sammie is next, followed by Oliver. Henry looks around upstairs but doesn't find anything and is the last one to climb down.

The basement looks like it may have been storage for moonshiners. In the back of the room, they see Helena tied to a metal pipe running down the wall. Sammie runs over to her and gently tries to wake her. Oliver leans down beside Helena as well and calls her name but she is out cold. Sammie carefully begins to heal Helena's wounds. Henry points out that Helena looks like she has a nasty head wound and Sammie raises her hands up to heal it. Helena still doesn't come to.

Bjorn suggests he carry Helena and they hike out to the road. Once on the road, he'll fly down to the car with Helena and then drive it back to pick the rest of them up. They agree on the plan but take some time to look around the house first. Bjorn notices some old bottles of moonshine before he notices the odd, bloody mush in the corner. He sees a formless face and realizes it's a shed skin from one of the creatures. As they climb back up to the ground floor, Sammie notices the fireplace has been sealed with bricks and the bricks look new. She points it out and Bjorn asks if they should tear it down to see what the creatures were trying to hide. Sammie agrees and hits it with a blast of magic. The blast loosens the bricks enough that Sammie, Henry, and Oliver are able to start pulling it apart by hand. When they pull the bricks away, they realize there's nothing inside - it's just an empty fireplace. Henry grabs an empty jar and fills it with ash from the fireplace.

Bjorn carrying Helena, Henry, Sammie, and Oliver hike through the woods and make their way to the road. Bjorn tells them he'll be back as soon as he can and flies off with Helena toward their car. Henry, Sammie, and Oliver wait. About five minutes later, they hear something - a man shouting "somebody, help me!" Sammie realizes that it's Anthony's voice.

## List of Appearances

* Bjorn Olafson
* Henry Marlowe
* Sammie Overbrook
* Oliver Allen Evans
* Jadis
* Helena Overbrook