Episode 21: A Priestly Possession

## Synopsis

Henry finds the names of some suspects after talking with a deacon of the church who is able to give him some inside information. Bjorn and Sammie investigate the scene and have an encounter with whoever is following Sammie, but are unable to figure out who it is.

## Episode Description

In the aftermath of the fight with the possessed priest, our heroes take some time to investigate. They all talk to the priest, this time without getting The Book thrown at them. Henry takes some names from a friendly Deacon. And Sammie and Bjorn have a confusing encounter in yet another alleyway.

## Key Events

* Father Sanford has no memory of the event, just like Mr. Watkins. There were no drugs or alcohol in his system and his muscles are torn from overexertion.
* Henry learns the names of 3 possible suspects: Kim Sharp, Ben Lasky, and Chris Heimler.
* Sammie and Bjorn have a run-in with whoever is following Sammie. The person seems to be able to make themselves invisible and disappeared in a flash of light.

## Summary

Henry does some digging online to see if the teacher, Mr. Watkins, and the priest, Father Sanford, are related to each other somehow. He doesn't find anything that says they know each other, but he does see that Mr. Watkins is telling the truth about being sober and caring for his students while Father Sanford has a clean record as well.

Sammie and Bjorn think going back to where they saw the priest to look for clues is a good idea and Stanley suggests they talk to the priest. Sammie is nervous about someone following her around, but Bjorn reminds her that they seem to want to keep her safe. Henry shares the information he found and they all decide to go to the hospital together to talk to the priest.

Father Sanford is handcuffed to the bed, but appears to be calm at the moment. Bjorn approaches him and talks to him about what happened. Father Sanford doesn't seem to have any recollection of the event, saying he was preaching his afternoon sermon. He says the last thing he remembers is noticing a boy jumping up and down on the pews in the back before he came to on the ground in front of the church. Henry asks him about the boy and Father Sanford says his name is Dennis and that he's a regular attendee at the church, but he doesn't think the boy has anything to do with it.

A doctor comes in and tells the crew they need to leave because Father Sanford needs his rest. Sammie asks the doctor about toxicology reports and the doctor says that there were no drugs or alcohol. The only weird thing they found was that Father Sanford's muscles seem to be torn from overexertion.

The crew head to the church to look for more clues. Henry heads inside the building while Bjorn and Sammie look around outside. Henry doesn't find any obvious clues, but sees an older man sitting near the front of the church. He goes to talk to the man, a deacon at the church named Deacon, and asks if he knows anything about what happened. Henry asks Deacon some questions about the Father and Dennis, but the man isn't able to offer any helpful information. Henry asks if there was anyone new in attendance at the sermon today. Deacon lists off three people he noticed that he didn't expect to come back: Kim Sharp, a girl caught by the Father making out with a boy in the church; Ben Lasky, a boy who had been caught egging the church; and Chris Heimler, the leader of a local atheist group that's been harassing the church since his son started attending. Henry takes note of the people mentioned and heads out to meet Bjorn and Sammie.

Sammie is looking around for clues outside and can tell the presence she felt here before is gone. She then feels a different magical presence. She follows the pull of the other magical source to a nearby alleyway. Bjorn asks if she sees anything and Sammie explains that she senses some kind of magic nearby. Sammie puts her hand out in front of her where she can sense the magic. She feels like she is touching fabric for a moment before she hears a gasp. There's a flash of bright light and the presence is gone.

Bjorn and Sammie explain to Henry what happened to them with the magical presence and Bjorn guesses it has to do with whoever is following Sammie. Henry tells them what he learned from Deacon. Bjorn then notices where the stop sign was torn out of the ground and he realizes that he's not even sure if he'd have the strength to do that, which proves his theory that whatever is possessing people is giving them superhuman strength.

In the middle of a clearing, in a completely different part of Thornvale, two imprints appear in the grass like footprints. They take a few steps and then pull down the hood of their cloak. The cloak seems to be what is keep them invisible and the shimmer in and out of view with the movement of the cloak. The person is a beautiful woman, she has long black hair, striking blue eyes, and red lips. She has a pained look on her face as she cradles her hand. It looks as though something has exploded in her hand. She shakes her head and says, "Dammit Sammie."

## List of Appearances

* Henry Marlowe
* Bjorn Olafson
* Sammie Overbrook
* Stanley Marlowe
* Father Michael Sanford
* Deacon Deacon
* Mysterious Figure