Episode 110 - Walks

## Walks

A black background with a double white dotted border. Within the border a large white severed human hand with webbing between the fingers. It is bubbling at the stump and positioned as if crawling. Around its wrist is a red collar and leash, on the collar "BFFs A+H" are written also in red. Bellow this image but still within the border the words "110.WALKS" are depicted in white

### Author

William A. Wellman

Johannah gets some direction, Hector surveys the road so far, and Harrow goes for a stroll. The theme of tonight’s episode is Walks.

> ***Content warning**: Parental Abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty or animal death (hunting rabbits mentioned), Violence, Kidnapping and abduction, Death + Injury, Blood, Mental illness, Homophobia, Gun Mention, Static (including sfx), Emotional Manipulation, Bugs, Body horror, Alcohol Use, Religious Violence*
>
>

## Intro - One More Day

Nikignik narrates to the Dreamers someone who walks and does not know how long they have been walking as the days bleed together despite them wishing otherwise. They walk until their shoes turn to rags and the sun dries their skin to leather. When they do finally come to a rest and fall to their knees, it is upon the back earth of the Hallowoods.

Nikignik lurks in the barrel of the gun held by Johannah Wicker, continuing on from the end of Story 1 - Two Explorers Episode 107 - Absences.

## Story 1 - An Angel's Hand

Picking up from where Story 1 - Two Explorers Episode 107 - Absences left off, Johannah Wicker tells Russell McGowan to hurry in handing over his belonging, and he sets Al Buckley's drum down from where he still held it. He asks her again if she lived around where they were, if they were close to Fort Freedom, but she tells him it was none of his business. He tells her that they were lost too, taking off his jacket to hand it over but slipping the Library Card from the pocket to behind his back. Johannah tells him that she didn't care, as Mrs. Wicker had told her that people from Scoutpost Two were 'sissies'. He tosses her the jacket; she demands that he does the same with his backpack and he cooperates but points out that she wasn't going to shoot him. She tells him that her brothers took her out hunting. She puts on the jacket and backpack and tells him that she also wanted whatever he had in his pockets.

He starts to panic, telling her that he didn't have anything else, which she calls out as an obvious lie, so he tries to tell her that he needed it and it didn't belong to him. She tells him that it belonged to her now. Al tells her no, suddenly appearing in front of her, startling her and causing her to fall back. Russell starts to approach her and tell her that Al was friendly. He explains to her that they'd run away as well, taking the Library Card from his pocket and explaining to her that it had directions to a school where they could spend the night. He offers for her to come with them, and after some trepidation she accepts.

### Interlude 1 - First Snow

Nikignik tells the Dreamers about how the first snow had arrived in the Hallowoods (Episode 108 - Apprehensions), and all that lived prepared to wait out the winter, or face the cold. He tells them to be aware that although the snow was beautiful it was still a form of water, so they should avoid melting snow to drink that is specked black and white and beware of lakes for although they were frozen over their denizens did not sleep easy.

## Story 2 - One Last Change

Hector Mendoza walks along Jonah Duckworth with the rest of the expedition north (plus Big Mikey) (see Episode 107 - Absences). The two of them pause to briefly catch their breath, and Hector announce that last time he'd seen the neck of the woods they were in he'd promised himself he'd never see them again (see Episode 6 - Frogs), Jonah mentions that for him he'd work up to find Hector trying to resuscitate his own corpse (see Episode 6 - Frogs), but at least this time it was a winter wonderland. The briefly talk about Christmas, and Hector makes a remark about his drunken and abusive father, causing Jonah to pause. Hector apologises, but Hector tells him it was okay, but it could be alot to process when he dropped things like it into normal conversations. Hector tells him that he was okay with it, it was life, and they'd have to accept the truth of it if they were going to live with it. He notices Jonah crying, and he tells him that his dad had never abused them physically but he was mean. He'd always felt bad about leaving Zelda Duckworth with him, but if he hadn't gotten out, he would have hurt him.

Hector asks if Jonah's dad knew he was gay, and Jonah tells him he didn't, but he had his suspicions, asking if Hector's dad knew. Hector tells him that he had, and had kicked him out for it, the last time he'd seen him was in the rearview of his motorcycle. Jonah embraces and kisses him. Hector tells him that it felt life a lifetime ago that it'd happened, that he wondered if his dad had known about the rains if things would have gone different. Jonah asks what he'd talked to Cindy Lockheart about (see Episode 108 - Apprehensions), and Hector tells him that he'd told her that she should keep on open mind, telling him that they had to focus on fighting the Faceless King. Jonah announces that he had an idea on how to get past it.

### Marketing - Sacramento

Lady Ethel Mallory interrupts Nikignik's broadcast with her 'marketing' segment. She tells the Dreamers that she thought something may be wrong with her. She says that when she was undertaking a new enterprise, she would become very excitable, but after a time the enthusiasm disappeared. Such as how she was now feeling about her description to voyage across America (see Episode 106 - Departures), she was tired and sore. She was in Sacramento, dead where she thought it should be alive. She has a brief moment if reflection that she was the reason it was so, she'd been the one who emptied the world and reduced the cities to ash.

### Story 2, Continued - One Last Change

Hector helps set up camp for the night while Big Mikey prepares to depart from the group and makes his goodbyes. Mort telling him that he'd miss him, and Mikey responding by telling Mort how he could find him again. Riot Maidstone thanks him for not killing or abducting anyone, asking if he would be able to get back safe, and Mikey tells her that he would. Mikey departs, and Jonah calls the attention of the remaining expeditioners, reminding them that they were entering Night-gaunt territory and the Northmost Hallowoods, so all of their navigation equipment would be useless. He tells them about the Faceless King, Hector describing it and telling them that they'd know they were getting close when the trees started to look like oil spill. Hector tells them that he could set a trap for it, but Jonh tells him that wasn't a good idea, that he was planning on talking to it and attempting to appeal to reason. Cindy tells them that if they were coming to an obstacle, and it was violent they would destroy it.

Diggory tells her that something they just needed to have sympathy, and Cindy tells them that she was trying to, but if a threat put them in danger, she would not try to engage it in polite conversation, as she was there to protect the group. Percy Reed tells that they sometimes when they gave people a chance to do better, they'd take it, but Cindy tells him she wasn't talking about people she was talking about monsters. Diggory asks if there was a difference, but Cindy tells them that they were only the thoughts and bodies of people who deserved to rest animated and puppeted (see Creations of Irene Mend), restating that when it all was over that would be no more monsters, only people. Hector tells her that she was right, for a long time he would have agreed with her, but Heidi had changed his mind. He understood that her wife had ended up as a part of Diggory, relating to her through his experience in dating Jonah. Cindy sighs and tells the party that she didn't have to like any of them, they just needed to put the world back together. They finish setting up the tents, and Hector lays awake next to Jonah, reflecting on his life, wondering how much change one life could hold, and which would be his last.

### Interlude 2 - Little Walks

Nikignik reflects to the Dreamers about his time with Marolmar, telling them that he remembered the quiet moments with him the most. The conversations, the walks, and these were what he missed the most - the companionship. He felt loved most when Marolmar impressed it upon him the least, the time being set aside for him, the shared though, the understanding of the nature of each other's souls. He wonders if he missed Marolmar, or if he missed having someone there to respond when he spoke.

## Story 3 - A Stroll In the Garden

Harrow Blackletter stands in the gardens surrounding Downing Hill Public Library with the severed hand - having regrown up to his forearm - of Arnold Eggers (see Episode 82 - Failures), keeping him on the end of a piece of string tied to a friendship bracelet. Harrow does not like the outdoors but had been putting in an effort to take care if Arnold's slowly regenerating body properly, and so had been reading books on parenting all of which said that being outside was important. Aronl's hand did not seem to care either way, Arnold's hand accepted alot, including whichever facets of identity Harrow wished to try that week. Harrow wonders aloud what would happen when Arnold began growing vital organs, acknowledging that it was getting late and asking Arnold if he wanted to go back in. Arnold's hand digs into the dirt a bit and Ze takes this to mean that he wanted to stay out a little longer, telling him that he could have five minutes.

Ze hears a branch cracking off to the forest far closer then ze is comfortable with, and ze goes into high alert fearing that it may be Winona Carline come to kidnap zir. Instead, though ze sees Al Buckley floating at the edge of the garden. Al greets zir, tells zir not to be afraid as they were friends, 'they' being quickly revealed to also be Russell McGowan and Johannah Wicker. Harrow picks up Arnold and prepares to run away, but Russell calls out to zir, showing zir their library card, telling zir that they were cold and asking to stay the night. Harrow has a brief moment of contemplation, knowing what C. S. Blackletter would do to them if ze reported them. Ze tells them to come with zir, to keep quiet, and not tell anyone they were there.

## Outro - Walks

Nikignik waxes poetics about walks, that It’d been a while since they'd gone on one, as walks necessitated legs, and they were vast and immaterial those days. They confess that they did sometimes miss the rigor of exercise, that they would recommend it. But although he had no more muscle or bone, no flesh or fur to speak of, their journey did stretch on. As the expedition marched north, they marched to his intention. He tells Marolmar that he meant his memory no harm, but if those people were to survive, this machine must quiet and still. It would not be the end of his creation. There would always be the Hallowoods, diluting ever a little more into the earth beyond, and Nikignik.