Season 2 - Episode 31: Shakedown

## Synopsis

Bjorn introduces Judson to Salem with hopes that Judson will be able to help Salem adjust to 'undead' life. Sammie has a nightmare about Jadis, but when she wakes up she can still hear Jadis' voice in her head. Henry is staying with his dad on the mainland. James gifts him with his old sword, a cold iron falchion named 'Eclipse' as well as a blow gun. Bjorn asks River to meet him and the others at the hotel so they can discuss the Blackout Society. They don't learn much.

## Episode Description

Henry visits his dad and receives a great gift. Sammie has a nightmare. And River is interrogated.

## Key Events

* Sammie has a nightmare about Jadis. Oliver assures her it was just a dream, but even though she's awake she can hear Jadis' voice at the back of her mind.
* Henry receives a falchion made of cold iron from his father, James. The blade is nicked near the bottom from a minotaur horn and bears a symbol on the pommel which gives it the name 'Eclipse.'
* Bjorn questions River about the Blackout Society and finds out they are a group of people who believe there are weird things happening on Thornvale and meet up to investigate them.
* Oliver agrees to be their 'inside man' in the Blackout Society and try to find out more about them.

## Summary

Bjorn meets up with Judson to introduce him to Salem. Bjorn thanks him for coming to the hotel and Judson says it'll be nice to help someone 'like him' - undead. Bjorn and Judson walk into the room to find Salem and Ben playing video games in Salem's room. Salem seems to be struggling keeping up while Ben dominates the game. Bjorn introduces Judson to them again and Ben excuses himself from the room. Salem asks if Bjorn can leave so that Salem and Judson can have a private conversation.

Sammie is asleep, dreaming. She floats through calm, disjointed memories before settling on a beach day with Oliver. Oliver is reading 'Frankenstein' and Sammie is sitting beside him. This dreams feels nice, but she begins to grow unsettled. Something is wrong. A voice begins to speak from her other side and Sammie looks over to see Jadis.

Jadis is looking at Sammie with glittering green eyes. Sammie tells herself it's a dream and tries to wake up but Jadis asks if it's actually a dream. She gestures around them to the beach and says that the beach is a dream, but her and Sammie? That's real. Sammie tries to tell Jadis that she's dead, that she's not real, and Jadis reminds her that is was real when she took over Sammie's body. Sammie insists she won't let her take control of her again and Jadis tells her that she won't stay strong forever and she'll be there when the time comes. Sammie tries to wake up and Jadis 'helps' her by grabbing tightly onto her throat.

Sammie shouts herself awake, Oliver also jumping awake beside her. He tries to comfort her that it was just a dream, but Sammie insists it was more than that. Sammie explains what happened and Oliver, again, assures her that it just sounds like a really bad dream. Sammie agrees, but here's a voice at the back of her mind say otherwise.

Henry has gone to stay with his dad on the mainland for a bit. While he's excited to spend time with his dad, he also has a one track mind for trying to find information on the Empty Man, even though he's been coming up empty so far. One day, James comes into Henry's room and tells him there is something he wants to show him. Henry follows James to his bedroom and James pulls out a box from his closet. It's about 4 inches wide and 3 feet long. James holds the box out for Henry and he takes it. Henry puts the box on the bed and opens it. The box is velvet lined and sitting atop the velvet is a falchion. The falchion has a blue tint to it like the iridescence of an oil spill.

Henry asks James where the sword came from and James explains that it was his dad's and when he started monster hunting he passed it down to him. He adds that Stanley got his gun so James got his sword. Henry picks up the sword and begins to examine it. He asks why James gave him the sword now and James explains that Henry didn't have an interest in monster hunting before he starting living in Thornvale, but now he seems ready. James also points out that he's clearly retired and won't be using it.

Henry carefully examines it and notices a small nick at the bottom of the blade near the handle. He asks his dad what happened and James answers that teenage hubris happened - he tried to take off the horns of a minotaur with it and was unsuccessful. Henry asks to hear the whole story and James says he has one more thing to show him first. He opens another compartment in the box and pulls out a specially designed scabbard that will fit around his wings when they're manifested and keep the sword concealed along his back. He also makes a comment that the falchion is over 400 years old. Henry asks if he has anything else in his closet and James also gives him a blow gun and some paralytic darts. James takes the falchion from Henry for a moment to turn it over and show him the pommel. He points out a symbol on the pommel - it's a black circle with a corona around it. James explains they don't know where the sword came from exactly, but they've always called it Eclipse because of the symbol.

Bjorn wants to talk to River about the Blackout Society. He texts Henry and asks him for River's number. Henry texts River to ask permission to send Bjorn her information and they have a short texting conversation about whether or not Bjorn will 'Men in Black' her or not. Henry assures her he won't and River agrees. Bjorn texts River and coordinates a meetup with River and the rest of the crew that are still on the island - Sammie, Oliver, Stanley, and Miguel.

River meets them at the hotel and Bjorn starts to ask River about the Blackout Society. River says that she doesn't know a lot about it, just that she started to hear about it a couple months ago. She says that all she knows is they believe something weird is happening on Thornvale and investigate odd occurrences. Bjorn presses her for more information and Sammie points out that they know what happened a couple months ago, referring to the hydra, but River clearly doesn't. Bjorn says that makes sense. River explains that she doesn't know much, just that her friend was talking about her brother going to a meeting with the Blackout Society where they were going to talk about a guy that saw something weird at the police station but that she thinks the guy died. The others in the room all realize this was the man that videoed them trying to stop the poltergeist and then ended up being the first victim of Zane Grimwood, who was killed at the community center.

River says she doesn't know anything else and Bjorn tries to drop the conversation, but River wants to know why the Blackout Society popping up 'a month and a half ago' 'makes sense.' River then realizes someone must have mind wiped her. River asks what happened and Bjorn explains there was a hydra that attacked the town. River then says that she needs to go do trigonometry homework and leaves the hotel. Everyone begins to discuss what the Blackout Society could be.

Bjorn asks what Miguel thinks about the Blackout Society being a result of mind wipe spells not working well enough. Miguel says that magic can be finnicky and it's possible some people remember more than others after being mind wiped, plus there are a lot of other people on the island and there was no way to mind wipe everyone after the hydra. Sammie points out that the man River said the Blackout Society was trying to talk to had photos and videos of them. They agree that it's concerning to think this group of people might know who they are. Sammie asks Oliver if he can get in on a meeting and Oliver agrees that he would love nothing more.

A week goes by. Henry is on his way back from visiting his dad. He's on the ferry, heading back to the island. The water is smooth, almost glass-like. At the same time, everyone across the island feels the ground begin to shake...

## List of Appearances

* Bjorn Olafson
* Judson Stone
* Salem Pierce
* Ben Lasky
* Sammie Overbrook
* Oliver Allen Evans
* Jadis
* Henry Marlowe
* James Marlowe
* River Hanson
* Miguel Rodriguez
* Stanley Marlowe