Episode 5 - Forests

## Forests

A white drawing on a black background of a pine cone with a red eye looking out at the viewer from the center, the image is framed in a white border.

### Author

William A. Wellman

Clara deals with anxiety and other monsters, the Instrumentalist comes for Riot, and the Hallowoods still manage to surprise Hector. The theme of tonight’s episode is Forests.

***Content Warnings:** Static, animal death, mental illness, abuse, violence, death + injury, blood, kidnapping + abduction*

## Intro - Gnarled Roots

Nikignik speaks to the Dreamers about the trees in the Hallowoods. They wake and soak up the new water around them, unlike any previously tasted, and slowly gain awareness. Slowly the awareness becomes two trees, then a dozen, then a whole forest. Those who cut and harvested the trees now seek refuge in them and the trees welcome them to the Hallowoods with grasping roots and limbs.

Nikignik is speaking from the dining table of a recreational vehicle. Near them is a dog, or what was once a dog, which can see them but is not bothered by their presence. It knows that there are more dangerous things in the woods beyond.

## Story One - All Your Anger

Clara Martin and her father are sat in front of a fireplace. She is crying and shaking from an argument with her father. She tells him that her mother is "getting worse every day" and being unreasonable. Her father says that her anger is good, justified even, but if they are to survive whatever predicament has befallen them he and Clara's mother must work together.

Clara snaps out of her memory and is sitting in front of an RV cooking on a camp stove. She has a blank journal on her lap, given to her by Riot since she left her own journals when she escaped her family's home. She thinks to herself that if only Riot had been as thoughtful when they were escaping the Instrumentalist instead of jumping out of the RV with a bat and no plan, they might still be together.

She hears a noise in the surrounding forest and calls out, hoping that Riot has returned. The phantom dog moves in between her and the trees. As she looks more closely at the woods she spots multiple creatures watching her, growling. Clara sprints for the RV's door as they jump out at her.

In a memory, Clara's father tells her to control her emotions, especially her anger. She is stronger than them and will remain long after they are gone. In the memory, Clara thinks how ironic it is that this is the most her father has ever discussed emotions with her but that he's telling her how to crush them.

Back in the present, Clara kicks the RV door shut but it doesn't latch. She can hear the ghost dog baying and the lake's ice cracking as she reaches for a compound bow in the passenger seat that Riot gave her as a romantic gesture. The head of a massive creature shoves the door open. The phantom hound is attempting to defend her outside the RV, but there are too many creatures. As Clara begins to freeze, choking on her own fear and panic, she remembers her father telling her to let go of her fear and breathe. Focusing on containing that, she notches an arrow and shoots the creature. As black ichor spews from the wound, she lunges for the steering wheel.

### Interlude One - Wandering Night-Gaunts

Nikignik warns listeners in the Hallowoods who are hiking or camping to leave the forest as pristine as they found it. Wandering Night-Gaunts have begun to gather the trash (and other delicious items) from campsites. Although they cannot see you, since they are blind, they can easily sniff out a campfire and silently close in on your camp. Nikignik reminds travelers, for the sake of Wandering Night-Gaunts and other native fauna, to take only memories and leave only footprints on their one-way trip into the Hallowoods.

## Story Two - Steal No Longer

Riot stands watching a storm in a watchtower at the Scoutpost and wishes she could be back with Clara when Bern interrupts her thoughts - she is playing with the stolen skeleton key from her pocket. Bern offers her licorice and says that she is no good with social cues, but asks if Riot has been avoiding her. Riot denies this. Bern predicts that the Instrumentalist will attempt an attack later that night since he likes the rain and the dark. She says that although everyone at the Scoutpost arrived running from something, they have lost many people to the Instrumentalist. They will try their best, though, to protect Riot.

The music of the Instrumentalist begins. Warning sirens sound and Riot grabs her bat. Riot thinks she sees ghostly figures in the forest and realizes that one, a woman, is rising to meet her. The phantom woman, whose movements seem to be controlled by the music, is frozen in a silent scream and wears the remains of a marching band uniform.

Riot swings her bat at the woman, but falls off the watchtower platform. She injures her arm as she lands on the ground. Riot sees the figure of an old man wearing a red coat. He is holding a violin and a bow and tells Riot that she has stolen something from him and that there is much work to be done. As he approaches her, Riot realizes that she can't move.

### Marketing - For Safety Reasons

Lady Ethel Mallory reassures the Dreamers that they are safe within their Dreaming Boxes. Their power source cannot fail. Power to the Dreaming Boxes will last forever, and the security system will handle any intruders within a quarter-mile radius. For the safety of the Dreamers, leaving the Dreaming Box is strictly forbidden.

### Story Two, Continued - Steal No Longer

Nikignik apologizes for the interruption and says they will handle it themself.

The Instrumentalist has ordered his ghostly instruments to surround Riot and she is overwhelmed by the cacophony of music. Bern tells him to get away from her, and she fires her crossbow at him. The ghostly woman suddenly appears and catches the bolt, burning it to ash with white fire. The Instrumentalist sends the woman to attack Bern, who screams with each movement of his hand.

The Instrumentalist asks again for his key, calling her a wicked child. As he comes close, Riot hits him in the shin with her bat. As she does so, the music falters. Despite her pain and broken arm Riot gets up and hits him again, this time in the face. The music stops and the ghostly instruments fall to the ground as he roars in pain, His left eye, which was glass, shatters. The end of the bat is wet with blood. Riot, victorious after having bested the Instrumentalist twice, passes out and dreams of listening to the rain in the RV with Clara.

### Interlude Two - Favor To A Friend

Nikignik explains their reasons for taking an interest in humanity and bringing these stories to the realm of our nightmares. Their peers tell them that "fleeting mortal things" are not worthy of their time. They admit that part of their reason is a promise to an old friend who is now gone. They had promised her that when her kind began its decline, they would remember them. Another part is nostalgia. The Hallowoods remind Nikignik of an earlier universe, when they were wild with abandon.

Nikignik reminds listeners not to laugh at or dismiss humans. Although they are small all things, even the listening dreamers, will one day come to an end.

## Story Three - For The Best

Hector and his dogs return to the site of what Hector assumes to be Jonah's death. As they walk, Hector wonders how he will tell Zelda that her son is dead. He also notes the changes in Heidi. She now has pale, lidless eyes and a cracked jaw after the Fisher's attack.

He pushes aside his discomfort and decides to accept his dog as she is now. The dogs investigate the scene, which causes Hector to notice the new footprints that lead into the forest. They were not there when he passed through two hours ago. He follows them warily, wondering whether or not he wants to meet the dead man walking at all.

## Outro - Forests

Nikignik speaks again about forests. Forests represent the unknown, and if you listen you can hear the call of the forest singing as it watches you. If you follow it you will find forest floors where the sun has not shined in centuries, caves untouched by human hands, and corpses you cannot even identify. Confront the forest inside yourself. You have been there before and, eventually, you will return there.