Season 2 - Episode 35: Re(percussions)

## Synopsis

Bjorn, Henry, and Sammie get back to the hotel to do some research. They find out some information on the creature and decide this isn't something they can kill. Bjorn calls the Council to get permission to open Rifts to send the crystal worm back and they agree to send someone out. Another sinkhole opens on East and they rush to try and save people trapped at a bank. As Bjorn is jumping across with the last trapped civilian, he falls into the sinkhole.

## Episode Description

It's another day above ground for our heroes, but for how long? When another earthquake rocks the islands, they must rush to save lives on East Thornvale.

## Key Event

* Henry discovers the creatures they are facing are known as crystal worms - they are relatively common creatures that sleep beneath the earth's surface for centuries, only starting to wreak havoc when disturbed. They have been to known to sink entire towns.
* Bjorn doesn't think they can fight this creature and calls the Council to get permission to open Rifts so they can send it back to where it came from. The Council tells him they'll have a representative to him in two hours.
* Another earthquake shakes the island as a second sinkhole opens on East. Bjorn, Henry, and Sammie rush to East Thornvale to save civilians trapped on the second floor of the bank. As Bjorn is jumping across with the last person, he falls into the sinkhole.

## Summary

An ambulance comes to assist Jose and carefully loads him in. Judson comes with them and collects Craig's arm. They start to walk back to where Bjorn's car is parked. Now that they have reception, Sammie's phone begins to buzz. She gets another text from Elise and several messages from Oliver. Both of them are asking where she is. She texts Oliver that she's fine and she'll explain later.

They pile into Bjorn's SUV and then head over to the hotel. They hope to do some research and try to find out more about the creature. Henry makes himself some lunch and gets a text from River asking if he's okay. Henry says he's fine and River says she is as well other than a shattered vase. Bjorn calls Angelina to tell her about the situation. He says because this creature doesn't seem like something they can kill, he wants to know if Angelina has permission from the Council to open up Rifts. Angelina is surprised Bjorn doesn't already have permissions. Angelina says they could use several people to hold the Rift open as the larger the portal the harder it is to open it and close it.

Henry goes to talk to Stanley about the crystalline tooth he found. Stanley hasn't seen anything like it before and definitely doesn't know what kind of creature it belongs to. Henry goes over to talk to Miguel. He has to pound rather loudly on the door to his room to be heard over his music. Once inside, he sees Miguel is working on a pair of brass knuckles. He asks Miguel for a bit of healing and the questions him about the tooth as well. Miguel starts to pull some books off the shelves and they begin reading to try and find out what it is. Miguel finds some information about a giant, crystalline covered worm. It says they usually lie dormant underground for centuries, then, if something bothers them, they begin to tear up the ground. They have been known to sink entire towns at a time. They also find the females of the species are the ones that grow to huge sizes, while the males stay smaller. Henry walks back out to the main room where Bjorn is still talking on the phone to Angelina.

Bjorn continues to talk over the dangers they encountered with the creatures and makes sure Angelina is fully informed on the situation. Angelina tells him that he'll need to call the Council to get permissions to open Rifts so they can take care of this thing. Bjorn also calls Agent Thor to tell him their plan. Agent Thor says he'll seize control of sinkhole perimeter so they can make sure it stays secure. Once he's finished with his phone calls, Henry tells Bjorn that Miguel wanted to talk to him. Bjorn heads back and Henry shares his research with Sammie. Sammie has been doing research of her. She finds that the armor is extremely tough to get through, but once you can get through it it's not hard to damage the creature. She also finds that it seems to be scared of or not like the light.

Bjorn goes to talk with Miguel. Miguel hands him a set of brass knuckles and tells him this is what he's made out of Bjorn's old assault rifle. They appear like normal brass knuckles except that there is a small opening on the part that wraps around the knuckles. Miguel explains that it fits a small vial of a poison so that whenever he punches someone he can poison them as well. Bjorn thanks Miguel, saying that he really needed this. Miguel gives him some other vials for refills and then Bjorn goes back out to talk with the others.

Sammie and Henry share what they've learned with Bjorn. Bjorn says that the information doesn't change their plan, that he still thinks the best course of action is to open a Rift large enough to send it back. As they finish their discussion, the ground begins to shake again. They hunker down until the shockwave subsides. Miguel soon finds that a sinkhole has opened up by a bank on East Thornvale and they need to get there before the building comes down. Bjorn quickly calls Holland to let her know and Holland says she'll send the fire department over.

Bjorn, Henry, and Sammie pile into Sammie's Jeep and she drives them over to East. On the way, Bjorn calls the Council. He asks them if he and Henry can get permission to open Rifts here in Thornvale. Bjorn knows from experience that asking for permission to open Rifts isn't an easy ask. The Dragon Council has complete control over who can open Rifts. No one should be able to open Rifts without their permission. So, when asking for permission to open Rifts, the representative of the Council that has control over that area's Rift portals has to physically confer 'permission' to open Rifts onto the person through a magic ritual. The Council member on the phone tells Bjorn that it's going to take two hours for the representative to get there, but Henry won't be allowed permissions as he's a minor.

Bjorn, Henry, and Sammie arrive at the First Regional Bank of East Thornvale. A sink hole has opened up directly beside it. The bank has been essentially torn in half, however the second floor has not yet collapsed. Something has caught fire at the back of the bank as well, which firefighters on scene are trying to get under control. Bjorn walks up to the police cordon and Angelina silently joins their group. Bjorn asks an officer what the situation is and the officer explains the ladders aren't long enough to cross the sinkhole and get to to the bank to get the people out who are trapped there. As Bjorn takes in the situation, he realizes the whole building is slowly falling into the sinkhole.

Henry comes up with a plan to throw a fire hose up the second floor and have someone tie it off, then use it to get people down from the second floor. He tries to ask a firefighter to give him the hose he's using, but the firefighter refuses. Bjorn tries to use his badge to get the hose from the firefighter, but again he refuses. So, Bjorn decides to steal the fire truck. Bjorn moves the truck to a different position by the building and extends the ladder as close as he can to the bank. There is still a six foot jump between the ladder and the second floor of the bank.

Bjorn jumps across the gap. He lands on the second floor of the building but cuts his arm on some rebar. Sammie uses magic to make herself stronger and jumps across next but rolls her ankle when she lands. Henry stays at the top of the ladder to help catch the civilians jumping across. Angelina holds his ankles to keep him steady. Bjorn tells the people trapped on the second floor they need to jump and the first person does so. Henry and Angelina catch them successfully. The next person jumps across and Henry catches them before realizing the ground the firetruck is parked on is starting to crumble and fall into the sinkhole.

Sammie is by a man crouched over an unconscious woman. Sammie tells him he needs to jump across and he says that he can't leave his wife. Sammie picks up the woman and then Bjorn helps the man jump across. Henry is able to catch him. The ground crumbles and a wheel of the firetruck is now over the edge of the sinkhole. Henry climbs down the ladder and heads to the ground. Bjorn takes the unconscious woman from Sammie and tries to jump across the gap, but falls into the sinkhole.

## List of Appearances

* Bjorn Olafson
* Henry Marlowe
* Sammie Overbrook
* Judson Stone
* Elise Romano
* Oliver Allen Evans
* River Hanson
* Angelina Ripley
* Stanley Marlowe
* Miguel Rodriguez
* Agent Thor
* Jolene Holland

## Trivia

Hannah, now involved in the fire service almost 2 years after this episode was recorded, experienced physical pain while listening to everything unfold at the bank.