Charlie Manx/Season 1

### The Shorter Way

Charlie Manx and his assistant Peter Ives break into the home of Daniel Moore and take him away in the late hours of the night. Charlie Manx, withered and old, tricks Daniel into getting into his Rolls-Royce Wraith with the promise of gits and then the car door slams shut on its own. Daniel tries to open the door, and when it doesn’t budge, he begins to beat on the car window. Manx gets into the car, starting it up, before looking back to Daniel and introducing himself. He claims that he understands what it feels like to be lonesome. Daniel, in a panic, continues to try to break his way out the car, but to no avail. Manx assures him that there’s no reason to be afraid and that the presents will return to Daniel once they arrive to Christmasland. He explains that it’s a special place where everyday is Christmas and unhappiness is against the law. As Peter Ives takes care of Daniel's mother, Manx drives off, telling Daniel all about Christmasland and how everyone there loves games.

As Charlie Manx is riding around in his Wraith with little Daniel Moore sleeping in the back seat, *The 12 Days of Christmas*, which is playing on the radio, is interrupted by static. Manx realizes this is the work of a Strong Creative.

On the way back to Christmasland, Manx scolds Peter Ives for his carelessness and the mess he left behind at the Moore house. He left bodies behind, as well as his syringe. Manx was mostly upset that Daniel had to hear his mother scream. A terrible trauma. Peter didn’t anticipate that Daniel’s mother would have someone over, but Manx reminded him of the type women their dealing with. His lack of foresight puts them in jeopardy and this isn’t the first time. Manx has grown tired of his company. Peter Ives has made Manx’s naughty list, and with that, the Wraith door opens on its own and Manx kicks him out the moving car. He dies on impact, on the side of the road. Daniel wakes from all the commotion and accuses Manx of killing him. Manx explained that Ives was a bad man who deserved to be punished. He then explained that he was taking Daniel to Christmasland, where not one in a million is allowed in. Only those who truly deserve it.

Manx awakens from his sleep. He pulled over to rest. He has visibly become younger since taking Daniel, who remains sleep in the back. Manx grabs a pamphlet out his glove compartment. It’s a map, specifically the Map of the United Inscapes of America. The Map consist of several inscapes and locations, including the Graveyard of What Might Be, The St. Nick Parkway, The Empty Forest, Lovecraft Keyhole, Pennywise Circus, The Treehouse of the Mind, and just under that, now The Shorter Way. Daniel wakes up. His skin is pale and black veins run through his face. He doesn’t feel well. Both Manx and Daniel are going through a transitional phase as they dream of Christmasland together in the Wraith. Daniel asks how old Manx is. He gives Daniel a hint. He’s as old as his nose and even older than his teeth.

A now much younger Charlie Manx drives down St. Nick Parkway with Daniel in back. As Manx and Daniel drive to Christmasland, Manx promises him that he’ll have plenty of games and rides to play on. He asks Daniel if he’s ever played Scissors for the Drifter. He hasn’t, but Manx assures him the other children will show him how. Daniel smiles, revealing a brand new set of razor sharp teeth.

### The Graveyard of What Might

A young Charlie Manx pulls up at MCS Custodial Services as Bing Partridge cleans the spray painted dick off the wall. He introduces himself as Charles T. Manx. CEO of Christmasland Enterprises, director of Christmasland Entertainment, and president of fun. He was on his way to locate a Creative. Someone with the ability to find the Shorter Way when he got Bing’s letter. Manx needs a new chief of Christmasland Security to protect the children of the world. The Wraith door opens on its own, and Manx and Bing drive off. Given Bing’s employment at SOCHEMPHARM, Manx wonders what gases he has access to. Bing replies nitrogen, helium, sevoflurane, which he calls "gingerbread smoke" given its distinct smell. It’s an anesthetic that makes people susceptible to suggestion. But if too much it taken in, the patient is knocked out. Bing informs Manx that since writing him, he’s had terrifying dreams of Christmasland. Manx claims there’s nothing to fear. Only special people are allowed to access Christmasland. Manx asks if the moon winked at Bing when he dreamed of Christmasland, which it did. Within moments, Bing is sleep from the drink Manx gave him as the road to Christmasland is paved in dreams.

Bing awakens on the road to Christmasland, located West. During their ride, they pass several waving snowmen. Once a year, Manx takes someone special with him. All children are welcome, but adults must first prove their worth. Manx needs Bing’s help in saving 10 children from their parents. Bing questions Manx’s intentions given that what he describes sound like child abduction. However, Manx claims it's a matter of rescue and retrieval. Any child would give their teeth to live an eternity in Christmasland.

Manx and Bing take a detour from Christmasland. They arrive at the Graveyard of What Might Be. Bing finds a dead girl under the ice. Manx explains that she's not dead, not yet anyways. Maybe not for many years. It’s a cemetery filled with children, who if Manx does nothing, will have their childhood stolen from them by their parents. All of them beaten with chains, fed cat food, sold to perverts, and so on. Manx points out the grave of Lily Carter. Turned to a life of sin by her father. She never had a chance. Her childhood ended before it began. Manx tells Bing that he could line all the parents up and put a bullet in their head for all he cares. Or a nail. He wishes he could’ve saved Bing when he was a child in need of rescuing, but now it's Bing's turn to do the saving. Bing agrees to help Manx save the children before it’s too late. He does warn Bing that there is someone who threatens the magic and wonder of Christmasland, someone in Haverhill. Manx asks what Bing knows about the Shorter Way.

### The Gas Mask Man

Haverhill, Massachusetts. Essex County Psych Ward. Patient Jolene July’s radio suddenly stops working. All that can be heard is static as Charlie Manx walks down the hall of the psych ward, nearing her room. The temperature drops drastically in a matter of moments. A much older Charlie Manx enters her room. The two are familiars. He remarks that time has not been kind to her and that she had such potential. He suspects her involvement with the Shorter Way, asking if she’s been building her Inscape without him. However, Jolene is bound to a wheelchair. Even still, he’s not sure if she’s telling him the truth. He has a way of learning the truth. He places roller skates on Jolene’s feet. Apparently, they’re her Knife. Manx recalls how fast she could move in them. He lifts Jolene to her feet, but she can’t stand on her own, leaving Manx to conclude that she’s not the Strong Creative he felt. He worries that this new Creative’s interests may be a threat to his, as Jolene’s once were. He throws her to the ground and leaves.

Manx pulls up to William White Memorial High School, having aged so much since their last encounter that Bing finds him to be almost unrecognizable. Bing informs Manx that the Shorter Way was an old bridge from years ago that has since been destroyed. However, Manx knows better. He knows that the bridge still exists and that it’s proprietor can’t be far.

Bing takes Manx to the Shorter Way. People stopped using the bridge when they paved the road in. And then the town eventually tore it down. A demolished bridge from a bygone town. Manx concludes that the Strong Creative he’s after has an old soul and a sentimental attachment to broken things. Manx spots the bats from Vic’s bridge flying around in the sky, however, only he can see them. The bridge tells them that they’re looking for someone who like to traverse geographical locations, who perhaps longs to escape their circumstances. Bing has a difficult time understanding how someone can use a bridge that is no longer there. Manx explains that there’s many things in the world that don’t require sight, but rather intuition.

They cross paths with Haley Smith, who is in search of her cat Mittens. Manx asks her if she knows who rides the Shorter Way bridge. Haley claims that she doesn’t, but Manx knows that she’s lying. Same as he knows her name. He wonders who’s looking out for Haley and offers her a candy cane, one in which she doesn’t not accept. Bing grabs her aggressively on her arm. Haley kicks him in his leg and runs away. Manx scolds Bing for mishandling Haley, a child.

Manx awaits Bing's return outside of the Smith house as he breaks in to retrieve Haley. Bing returns and puts Haley in the Wraith and returns to the house to take care of Sharon. As Manx waits for him, he comes across Mittens and snaps his neck.

### The House of Sleep

Haley wakes in the back of Manx’s Wraith on the road to Christmasland. She demands to be released, but there’s no escaping the Wraith. Manx assures her that he’s never hurt a child and doesn’t intend on hurting her. He saved her from her mother, who never had her best interest in mind. With Manx, Haley will never feel unwanted again. Haley looks outside the window to see passing by deer skeletons wrapped in Christmas lights. They’re currently traversing the St. Nick Parkway. It’s his own private thoroughfare to Christmasland. Manx claims it’s filled hot cocoa, candy and toys galore. However, before he can take her, he needs to know about the Shorter Way and the Strong Creative who rides it.

Haley pulls out one of her teeth and asks what Manx is doing to her. He doesn’t respond, rather playing a trick on her, which Haley appears to be amused by, but not impressed. Taking it up a notch, Manx makes it snow inside the car, which Haley points out tastes like sugar. He claims he can teach her how to make it snow and so much more once they get to Christmasland, but first he must know the name of the girl with the bridge. In that time, Haley loses three more teeth, telling Manx that she wants her mom.

On the road to Christmasland, Manx and Haley, who appears to be undergoing some kind of transformative process, discuss their similarities. His mother, Fanny Manx, was very much like Haley’s mom. She banished him to the outdoors so she could indulge in selfish pleasures. They lived in a mining town, so there weren’t many children around. And those who were there, thought he was odd, given that they lived in the back of a mortuary. From breakfast to sundown, Manx played by himself, sledding in his Fantom, building snowmen. He was a lonely child, which he knows Haley can relate to as the only friend she has is Vic, who Manx attempts to degrade in hopes that Haley will tell him who she is. He promises Haley that in Christmasland she will always be loved and will have plenty of friends. Enticed by Manx’s offer, Haley reveals Vic McQueen’s name. He rewards Haley for her honesty and then takes a detour.

Manx calls Bing, who has Vic in his basement. Manx, who is now youthful once more, tells Vic that he’s been looking for her. He knows of her and her Inscape, same as she knows of him. Manx introduces himself as Vic only knows him as the Wraith. Manx assures Vic that Haley is well taken care of. He’s only interested in Vic and her bridge. Manx arranges a face-to-face meeting between him and Vic for a later date.

Manx stops by a supermarket to buy a couple dozen pine scented car fresheners. Just outside, a woman gets an Amber Alert for a 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith. She spots Manx’s vehicle, and Haley trapped inside. She extends her hand and Haley pulls her in and attacks her with her new set of razor sharp teeth. Manx returns to the car and drives off.

Manx arrives at Christmasland with Haley. Daniel Moore welcomes her with a gift; a pair of scissors. They’re for a game the children of Christmasland play called "Scissors for the Drifter."

### The Wraith

Bing hides in the basement as Manx knocks on his door, demanding to be let in. Bing reveals that Vic found Sharon Smith’s body and told the police that he killed her. Manx doesn’t blame Bing for the discovery of the body as neither he nor Bing could’ve foreseen Vic’s resourcefulness. Bing also worries that what they’re doing isn’t right, at least according to Vic. However, Manx assures him that they saved Haley. There will always be those who don’t understand the work they do. Manx advises Bing to turn himself in to the police. Manx asks Bing what his favorite TV show is. Bing replies "Monster Trucks", which was on all last night. With that in mind, Manx coaches Bing on what to say to the police.

Manx meets up with Vic at the Peter Pan Bus Station as planned. He’s much younger than Vic imagined. She asks him what has he done with Haley. The first time she used her Bridge, he could feel it — an arrhythmia. Static came over the radio. He knew that Vic must be extraordinarily gifted to disrupt his Wraith. Then came the dreams. He never saw her face, but he did dream of things related to her. A river. A man’s watch. The bats. He warns her to be careful of the bats. Their Inscapes are manifestations of their minds, so if all the bats fly out of Vic’s Bridge, she’ll lose her mind. She asks him what his Inscape says about his mind. She knows that it involves Christmas. It pleases him to know that she’s been dreaming of him as well. While she may have used her Bridge to find Sharon, she can’t do the same to find Haley.

Vic’s body is already paying a price for using the Shorter Way. Most Strong Creatives are crippled before they even reach their full potential. But Manx is going to live forever because he’s figured out how to refill what his Inscape takes from him. He could teach Vic. "Like you taught Bing?" Vic asks. Manx explains that Bing is a simple man. Unlike him and Vic. They’re one in a trillion. Christmasland is Manx’s life work. It is a place of wonder and joy. Haley is there safe and sound with all his other children. He’s given them everything except a mother. Vic would be very welcome in Christmasland, at Manx’s side. Vic declines. He warns her that there will be consequences if she refuses him and cannot be prevailed upon to behave herself. Vic tells him of her plan to take her Bridge to Christmasland, rescue Haley, and burn it to the ground with Manx in it. However, no one has ever been able to enter Christmasland except via his Wraith.

Maggie inspects the Wraith in the parking lot of the bus station. Taking a good look at the NOS4A2 license plate. Maggie grabs the door handle on the Wraith, and Manx instantly realizes that Vic didn’t come alone. The door is locked. It suddenly swings open and knocks Maggie to the ground. The Wraith starts on its own and chases Maggie down through the parking lot and hits her just a few feet away from Vic. Manx exits the station just behind Vic and drives off in the Wraith.

### The Dark Tunnels

Saugus, Massachusetts, 1954, a young Jolene July works as a local car hop. She’s also in a relationship with Charlie Manx, who dreams of spending the rest of his life with Jolene. He describes everyday feeling like Christmas morning in hopes that she’ll say yes to joining him as he leaves Saugus and never look back. Manx proposes to Jolene, but she declines him. They get inside the Wraith, where they discuss her refusal to marry him. Jolene wishes to see Christmasland before agreeing to give him her hand in marriage. He’s told of the children and how he wishes for her to be their mother, yet she hasn’t met them. She also knows that he hasn’t been going to work as a driver for months. She pleads with him to tell her what he doing with the children. Manx claims he’s their father and that he saved them. He’s offering Jolene the same as he loves her, but she doesn’t want it. Later that night, as Jolene’s getting off from work, Charlie tries to run her down in his Wraith, but she escapes him on her roller skates that allow her to teleport out of harms way and causes Manx to crash his Wraith into a parked car.

Jolene uses her Inscape to astral project herself and Vic to Manx, who sleeps inside his Wraith, parked in a barn. Vic watches as Jolene haunts him, disrupting the radio and blowing in his ear. He comes to realize that she is the culprit. Jolene doesn’t stop there. She dismantles the Wraith, causing the engine to smoke. Manx struggles to exit the vehicle. He manages to get the door open and stumbles out the barn, morphing from his more youthful appearance into a shriveled up, feeble old man. He grabs the water hose and sprays down the Wraith. Vic watches as this unfolds. Manx yells out to Jolene, certain that she's the cause of this.

### Scissors for the Drifter

An old and feeble Charlie Manx attempts to fix the the damage done to his Wraith by Jolene. He hitchhikes to the nearest store; given a ride by a man name Travis and his son Bradley.

Travis drops Manx off at a convenience store. Bradley calls Manx old. When Travis makes him apologize, Manx rewards Bradley’s honesty with a candy cane. However, Travis declines his offer. Inside, Manx purchases 10 bottles of engine coolant and asks to use the landline to call Bing to tell him to fly out to Colorado. Bradley enters the store, where Manx offers him a candy cane and a ride to Christmasland.

Bing arrives in Colorado and loads Manx’s Wraith on the back of a tow truck. By the time they arrive at the scrap yard, Manx will be took weak to communicate with the proprietress. He’ll rely on Bing to request a new water pump and install it immediately. His life depends on it. Still inflicted with the information he learned from Vic, Bing question Manx’s intentions and what happened to Peter Ives. Manx claims that he took Peter Ives and the others to Christmasland. Sadly, they were unable to enter because they proved to be naughty. So long as Bing remains on Manx’s nice list, he has nothing to fear. He wonders where these questions are coming from. Bing tells him Vic.

They arrive at the junk yard. Manx grows weaker by the second. Wheezing with every breath and curled up on the sofa while Bing installs the water pump. As the police sirens grow louder, Mrs. Miller reveals that she remembers Manx from all those years ago, when he took her son and grandson. Bing installs the water pump. However, before he fills it with coolant, he makes Manx promise that he won’t murder him like he did Peter Ives and that he’ll get to see Christmasland. Manx doesn’t make that promise, rather reminding Bing that they’ll both be in prison if he doesn’t hurry, as the police will be there at any moment. Bing starts the car. Manx stands to his feet and morphs back into a younger version of himself. While Mrs. Miller may feign concern over her son and grandson, Manx knows the truth. He claims her son Robert was met with sour chewing tobacco and motor grease. Stricken with fear, Mrs. Miller keels over. Manx informs her that while Robert Jr. is happy in Christmasland, Robert Sr., was a terrible parent who Manx disposed of. Manx and Bing then get inside the Wraith as the officers arrive. However, they don’t even notice the Wraith as they’re too preoccupied with Mrs. Miller, allowing Manx and Bing to escape undetected.

Manx and Bing pull up to the gates of Christmasland with Joe Bly in the trunk. He asks Bing to step out the car as they made a deal that he would only be allowed in after he helped Manx save 10 children. Manx helps Sheriff Bly out the trunk and brings him to the kids of Christmasland. Daniel Moore, Haley Smith, and Millie Manx are amongst them. Time to play "Scissors for the Drifter", Millie remarks. Daniel stabs Joe with a large pair of scissors and the other children follow his lead. Millie stands next to Manx as the children repeatedly stab Joe. She takes his hand as she missed him.

### Parnassus

Manx arrives outside a bar called Parnassus. A known hangout for Strong Creatives. He runs into an old friend of his, Abe. He informs Abe that Jolene July has passed. He sensed it. She died trying to kill him with help from Vic McQueen. A Strong Creative in her own right. Manx can feel that she’s special.

Manx informs Abe of Vic and her ability to travel along the Shorter Way Bridge. Abe saw it open up on the Map, not too far from his area. Almost all the troubles that Abe has every known started with a woman, and the happiest times of his life have been free of the feminine influence. Manx adds that most men spend their lives being past from one woman to another, as he was from his mother to his wife. However, his children need a mother. Abe believes it’ll be in Manx’s best interest to kill Vic. Manx argues that Vic isn’t like the others. She’s pure. Last time Abe seen Manx like this, he proposed to Jolene. He's worried how Manx will react when Vic rejects him. Manx thinks he can convince Vic to join him if she could just see Christmasland. Still, Abe believes Manx is better of killing Vic. Manx states that Vic is worth him risking his Inscape. However, should she resist him, he’ll feed her to his kids.

### Sleigh House

Manx meets Bing on a dirt road. He has Bradley in the back with him. Much like the children who came before him, Bradley has a new pair of razor sharp teeth. Manx inquires about the scratch on Bing’s face. He reveals that Vic attacked him in his basement, which Manx refers to as the "House of Sleep." Bing claims that Vic belongs on the naughty list, but Manx would beg to differ. In fact, it is Bing who is on his naughty list. Those who can’t find their way off the list get punished. The back door to the Wraith opens and Manx tells Bing to get in, though he is reluctant, trying to plead his case with Manx, revealing how he found drugs and condoms in Vic’s bedroom. Bing even brought Craig, who he has stuffed in the trunk, to corroborate his findings.

Bing takes Craig from his trunk and puts him in the trunk of the Wraith. Manx questions why Craig attacked Bing. Craig states that he was getting back at him for what he tried to do to Vic. and what they did to Haley and Sharon Smith. Manx admires Craig’s chivalrous spirit. While Vic doesn’t need the protection, Craig did it because he loves her. And he assures Manx that she loves him too. He is devastated to learn that they’ve had sex and that Craig defiled her. Craig promises Manx that Vic will find him and kill him. Manx is amused by the notion and welcomes her to try. He locks Craig in the trunk and admits that Bing’s instincts about Vic were correct. Bing wonders if he’s off the naughty list. Manx doesn’t answer, rather telling Bing to go home, clean up, and clear out. The police will be on his tail in short order. If he can avoid detection, procure more gingerbread gas, and make his way safely to Kuchar county, Maine, he’ll call on Bing after he’s done with Vic.

Vic tracks Manx to the Sleigh House. As she hides inside, Manx calls to Vic from outside. He grabs her bike and throws it onto the Bridge. It disappears, and Vic screams out in agony. She drops to the floor as the pain is so severe. The Shorter Way is no more thanks to Manx. There's no where left for Vic to go except with him to Christmasland. Manx kicks the door in and calls out to Vic, who barricades herself in the laundry room. Manx promises Vic that she can still see Christmasland, if only she stop resisting. Vic reminds him of her plans to burn Christmasland to the ground. But there’s only one way to get there, and that’s in the Wraith. He had hoped it would be in the front seat with him, but now it looks like she’ll ride in the trunk with Craig, who Manx claims ruined Vic. She’s no longer capable of providing his children with the love and care they require. When Vic refuses to come out, Manx sets the house on fire. Within seconds, it is engulfed in flames.

### Gunbarrel

Craig breaks free of the duct tape restraining him in the trunk of the Wraith. He finds a tire iron in the trunk and punctures the tank, causing Manx’s nose to bleed and the tank to leak, forcing him to take a detour. Manx pulls up outside a convenience store. Unbeknownst to him, Vic is inside and armed.

Vic and her new friend Lou Carmody confront Manx by the gas pump. Manx address Lou by his name and informs him that taking orders from a woman is not a good habit. While Lou holds Manx at gunpoint, Vic tries to save Craig from the Wraith. Manx tries to convince Lou to put down the gun. He knows Lou’s record of petty crimes; shoplifting, vandalism, smoking underage. All a juvenile attempt for attention. He’s never known the softness of a woman’s touch. Never had an ounce of affection, not even from his own mother. And yet here he is risking his life for Vic. Manx assures him that Vic won’t reward him for helping her.

Manx tells Lou to hand over the gun. Helping Vic is pointless because when it comes to woman, nice guys finish last. The Wraith suddenly starts on its own and reverses, knocking Vic to the ground. With Lou distracted, Manx grabs a gas pump and strike Lou with it repeatedly. As Manx grabs the gun, Vic sprays gasoline allover the Wraith and holds a lighter over the hood. Vic drops the lighter, setting the Wraith a blaze and causing Manx to shrivel up and burn. As Manx burns on the ground in agony, Craig continues to fight off Bradley in the backseat. Vic attempts to intervene, reaching in through the front seat, but she can't. Vic runs for a fire extinguisher to hopefully put the flames out, but the car explodes before she can, taking Craig and Bradley with it.

In the aftermath, Manx is taken into custody. He is taken to a hospital for his burns and is cuffed to an ICU bed with a U.S. Marshal at his door. Manx is in a coma and the state police impounded what was left of the Wraith. Vic asks to see Manx for herself. Vic enters Manx’s room. She stands over his body and and professes her plan to find Christmasland and burn it to the ground.

The charred remains of the Wraith sit in a repair shop. A mechanic jump starts the vehicle, also waking Manx from his slumber in the medical center of a prison. He grabs Dr. Thornton by her wrist, startling her and causing the blood bag she had in hand to drop on the floor and splash all over. Manx speaks of her son Josiah and how there's room for him in Christmasland with all the other boys and girls. Manx could could give him a new life as well as a new set of teeth. Josiah was among the children Manx saw in the Graveyard of What Might Be. Dr. Thornton runs out the room screaming, leaving a trail of blood behind.