Abby Stevens

**Abby Stevens** was the wife of Boyd Stevens and mother of Ellis Stevens. Like her husband, she is a military veteran, having served as a marine and earned the nickname "Iron Abby." Like her husband and son, she becomes trapped in the mysterious Town, which takes a steep toll on her.

## Biography

### Background

Like her husband Boyd Stevens, she served in the United States Armed Forces. While her husband was tasked with handling logistics, she was a soldier in the Marine Corps, and became known as Iron Abby.

After the two spent nearly 30 years in the military, the two retired. One day, the family was driving from Petersburg, Virginia towards Wilmington, North Carolina. As they listened to If I Had a Boat” by Lyle Lovett, Boyd muses about how peaceful the song sounds and how nice it would be to have a boat. Abby tells him that they still cannot afford a boat, but Boyd believes they can manage it. Abby and Ellis tease Boyd, but Boyd recalls his nickname from the army, “Mr. Fish and Loaves,” and his logistical expertise. Ellis points out that his mother’s nickname was “Iron Abby,” which she tells him not to forget. As Boyd continues to talk about the boat, Abby looks through her bag and asks Boyd to hold something. Boyd takes the object and realizes that it’s a boat key, and realizes they bought him a boat, delighting him. However, Ellis interrupts their celebration to stop Boyd from hitting the Fallen Tree on the road. Boyd exits the car, and hears the sound of crows calling.

The Stevens try to drive through Town, not realizing they are trapped, and they grimly note the "SAVE US" sign painted on the Barn. Boyd asks where all the people are when Father Khatri runs in front of the car, shocking them. Khatri begins to explain their predicament, but tells them that there isn’t a lot of time and they need to get to safety. Abby tells Boyd to drive away but before he can they hear an inhuman screech. This convinces them to follow Khatri, who leads them to an underground location where Donna and Dale are also sheltering for the night. Donna tells Abby she can put the gun away, as the only things that will hurt her are outside, and the gun will be useless against them. Khatri says he understands they have questions, but they can talk in the morning. They hear footsteps and screams up above as the Creatures find and kill one of the people.

The next morning, they emerge from their hiding place and find the street littered with the mauled corpses of the Creatures' victims. Khatri sympathizes with them, and promises to explain more at the Diner. Abby asks Ellis ok, and he answers that he is not. In the Diner, Khatri finishes his explanation of their predicament, and Boyd is shocked that their solution is to hide and pray every night. Abby asks if they know anything about the Town, and Khatri says that they know what they see, and that everyone is just trying to live through the night. Boyd says that they need to start working together and taking care of each other. Khatri and Donna are interested, and ask where they can start. Boyd organizes their supplies to be rationed, and puts Donna in charge of doling them out. Abby draws up a system for where they hide during the night, and Boyd says that they will be constantly rotating to avoid being caught by the Creatures.

However, the Town begins affecting Abby, and she becomes withdrawn, which Ellis notices. He tries to warn his father, who promises they will talk that night after he has finished scavenging for supplies in the forest. However, Boyd is delayed in returning after getting lost in the forest.

The next morning, Abby begins shooting randomly at the townspeople, killing several. Boyd, who was able to survive the night after discovering a cave filled with Creature-repelling Talismans, rushes to the scene, asking what is happening as Abby shoots another person. She aims at Donna, who asks her why she is doing this, and Abby answers that it isn’t real and they are in a nightmare, and the only way to escape is to wake up. Abby says it will be okay, because it is impossible to die in dreams. Boyd draws on his wife, who turns to him and says that it is impossible that he survived out in the forest after dark if their situation was real. Abby insists that they have to wake everyone up, and she begins singing “If I Had a Boat.” Ellis then come running up, and Abby begins to aim at him, prompting Boyd to shoot her to save their son.

After her death, she was buried in a secluded spot instead of in the Town graveyard. Ellis blamed his father both for failing to tend to her when she was clearly deteriorating, and for killing her, and the two became estranged.

### Season One

After the death of the Pratt family and the arrival of many newcomers, Boyd decides to visit Abby's grave. After putting flowers by the grave marker, he apologizes for his absence, explaining that recently the Creatures killed a family and several others at the Clinic. He adds that they were doing well for a while and things almost began to feel normal. He then reveals that the began getting tremors in his hand, just like his father did meaning that the clock is ticking for him. However, he has a crazy idea that might get everyone home, but if he fails it will leave everyone even worse off. He remembers how she always made all the hard calls, laughing as he does. Although he doesn’t believe in signs, he says he could really use one and needs a little help.

Boyd tells his son that he is preparing to venture out into the forest to find a way out to the normal world, but receives a cold response. Afterwards, Fatima tells Ellis that she will say something that may make him hate her, but she is ok with that. She tells him that what happened was neither his nor Boyd’s fault, but the fault of the Town. While she may not have been there, she knows that if there was anything else he could have done, he would have. Fatima acknowledges that what happened filled Ellis with rage and made him inconsolable, and he directed that rage at his father, which his father accepted, because that is what parents do. Fatima asks Ellis if he has ever thought about what that day was like for Boyd, and what he has carried with him ever since. Fatima tells him that if he does not get up and go after his father now, he will regret it for the rest of his life. This convinces Ellis to run after his father and apologize to him for blaming him for his mother's death, and the two tearfully reconcile.

After spending the night in the Forest during their search for answers or escape, Boyd and Sara wake up to find the area around them covered in massive spider webs. Boyd then hears a woman’s voice calling for help, which Sara cannot hear. Boyd continues deeper into the forest, and finds Abby, trapped in a web, but the apparition grabs him and begins screaming. Boyd then gets covered by spiders, several of which bite him before Sara helps remove them. Sara asks what he saw, but Boyd does not answer.

### Season Two

Boyd, Donna, Jim and Randall get trapped in the RV overnight. After they hear the music box over the radio, Boyd realizes that it is unsafe and decides to test the bullets dipped in the bile of the dead Creature while allowing the rest of them to run to the van and pick him up. However, Randall gets scared and breaks a window before running off on his own. Boyd has Jim and Donna run to the van, and fires his gun at the Creatures. A vision of Abby then says his name, telling him to come back to her. However, she disappears, and Boyd continues to fire at the Creatures, but the bullets have no effect. Boyd then runs to the van, which Jim successfully starts and they drive off.

Boyd returns to the Dungeon in order to destroy the music box and save Julie, Marielle and Randall, who have fallen prey to the Musicbox Monster. There, he is confronted by a vision of Abby, who tells him that destroying it will only prolong all of their suffering. The three victims of the monster then begin screaming. Abby tells him that he believes he needs to be a hero, but none of it really matters and he no longer needs to suffer and he can join her. Boyd recoils from the vision of his wife and asks why this monster is letting her talk to him. Vision Abby responds that hope is what feeds their suffering and pain, made him abandon her when she needed him most, and is what feeds the forest, not fear. Abby tells him to leave the three prisoners, saying they will just die tomorrow if not today. Boyd then smashes the music box with the torch, and all three wake up.

## Appearances

### Season One

* Broken Windows, Open Doors (flashback)
* Oh, the Places We'll Go (vision)

### Season Two

* Ball of Magic Fire (vision)
* Once Upon a Time? (vision)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Broken Windows, Open Doors
2. ↑ Silhouettes
3. ↑ Oh, the Places We'll Go
4. ↑ Ball of Magic Fire
5. ↑ Once Upon a Time?