BOYD: Previously onFrom.
[GROANING] [BONES CRACKLING]
We need to figure out where you're going to live from now on.
I don't think she's a bad person.
If it's all right, she would like to live here with you.
Okay, sure.
[GUNSHOTS] [SCREAMING]
Abby, stop! No! Stop!
[GASPS]
Hey, Abbs. I could really use some help.
No! Hey, hey! Hey, hey! [GROANS]
[GRUNTS, GROANS]
Elgin, I don't want to hate you.
This place took advantage of both of us.
There's something I need your help with.
I think we're gonna need a little bit more.
So you just... walk inside?
Then I find my dad.
Ethan called it Storywalking.
He learned about it from one of his books,
and all his books are under the house now.
Shit!
I see the bag.
What are the titles?
Grand Gooligog, the Cromenockle.
Jade, tell me you got something.
The best thing I can do is just find a way to unlock
whatever's locked in here.
Henry said Miranda started seeing this place
after an acid trip they took.
If it worked for her, it stands to reason it could work for me.
The night we arrived here, you had a dream.
Lake of Tears?
It's here, and I need you to find it.
VICTOR: Maybe Jade can help. Jade?
The lake of what?
ETHAN: Why were you meditating?
Trying to remember something that I used to know.
JADE: Hey, Victor, we got a lake to find.
ETHAN: Victor!
Hey, talk to me, son.
I told myself it wasn't real.
My wife, Miranda,
she painted things she saw here.
One of those paintings was of a man in a yellow suit.
You're telling me this could be the same suit?
You don't see a lot of people walking around here
in a canary yellow suit.
Well, Victor obviously recognized it.
He didn't just recognize it. I watched a grown man wet his pants.
My question is, if the suit's here, then...
where's the guy who wore it?
Long gone, maybe.
For all we know, this suit might have been laying out in the forest for years.
This close to town? Look, it's not like it's easy to miss.
Then maybe those things that come out at night
left it there to mess with our heads.
The point is, we don't know.
The best thing we can do right now is talk to Victor.
I'll do it. I'll talk to him. No, maybe we should all.
I...
I will talk to my son alone.
Okay.
If there's nothing else, I'll... BOYD: Yeah, no, okay.
The young boy, the one dressed in white,
he said to us that we're running out of time.
For 40 years,
that boy was nothing but a painting in my basement.
That suit, this place,
all just paintings in the basement. And now...
I think there was a part of me that was still trying to pretend
any of this was normal.
Does he know?
About his wife?
About you?
We don't even know if it's real.
It's real.
BOYD: No. No, Tabitha's right.
We need to be pretty goddamn sure.
Have you said anything to Fatima?
No, she's dealing with enough as is.
All right, then everyone who knows is standing in this room.
Let's keep it that way for now.
Understood?
JADE: The man in the yellow suit...
If Miranda was able to paint him,
that means somewhere in your mind, there might be an answer to who he is.
If this is about your fucking mushrooms... [EXHALES]
Boyd, are you seriously okay with him taking magic mushrooms
that he found in a haunted forest?
No, Donna, I'm not.
I'm also not okay with waking up every morning
and counting how many new bodies there are.
Are you okay with that?
We're losing, okay?
I'm not gonna say that out there, but in here...
whatever game this is...
we are losing.
And then that freaky little kid in white pops up
and tells Tabitha that we're running out of time,
and we still don't know the goddamn rules.
If there are answers in his head, any answers,
we need to get them out. Okay?
I'll be there with him.
Anything goes wrong, I'm right there.
Well, good luck with that.
Ellis, there are people waiting to go up to the settlement to gather food.
People still need to eat.
And you, you do this, you go on this little trip,
you know you may not come back, right?
Yeah.
Come on, let's go.
Yeah.
Boyd, would you mind giving us a minute, please?
What? Yeah, of course. Yeah.
[KNOCKING]
Come in.
I hope I didn't wake you.
I didn't sleep much.
Neither did I at first.
I, um...
I was hoping we could talk.
Okay.
I assume Kenny told you about me?
About what I did? Yeah.
So why would you want to live here?
Because when I met you, I knew you were kind.
I know what you did was terrible, but...
my father used to always say that only good people
are tortured by the bad things that they've done.
Plus, I figured here I get my own room.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
I'll go make us breakfast.
I'll be right down.
[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUTTERING INDISTINCTLY]
Ow.
[GROANS]
Ow!
[CRIES] No, no, no, no.
No, no, please!
[YELPS] No, no, no, no, please! Sara?
[SCREAMS] What's wrong?
[SCREAMS]
["QUE SERA, SERA [WHATEVER WILL BE, WILL BE]" PLAYS]
♪ When I was just a little boy
♪ I asked my father ♪
♪ "What will I be?" ♪
♪ "Will I be handsome?"
♪ "Will I be rich?" ♪
♪ Here's what he said to me ♪
♪ Que sera, sera
♪ Whatever will be, will be
♪ The future's not ours to see
♪ Que sera, sera
♪ What will be will be
♪ Now I have children of my own ♪
♪ They ask their father ♪
♪ "What will I be?" ♪
♪ "Will I be pretty?"
♪ "Will I be rich?" ♪
♪ I tell them tenderly ♪
♪ Que sera, sera
♪ Whatever will be, will be
♪ The future's not ours to see
♪ Que sera, sera
♪ What will be, will be
♪ Que sera, sera
[SONG CONCLUDES]
[DOOR CLOSES]
Why were you in the woods with Ethan?
You should really ask Ethan about that. I'm asking you.
[SIGHS]
Did he tell you he saw Jim in the forest?
Yeah.
Apparently, Jim told him that he had to find the Lake of Tears.
Does that sound familiar?
That's not real.
No, it's not.
But it is to him.
I'm not exactly the best person to be giving advice about...
Well, anything, really.
But I do know some kids just feel more comfortable
living in their imagination.
Right? It's where they go when the world gets scary.
Because sometimes believing in impossible things,
it helps with the...
It just helps.
I'm sorry about what I said in the barn.
Don't be.
You weren't wrong.
Be careful with those.
[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC PLAYING]
Everything all right?
If you can tell me the last time everything was all right,
you win a cookie.
Okay, you ready for this?
Fuck no.
Ethan?
Dad?
Can you hear me?
Please. Answer me.
Dad?
Yeah?
[SIGHS]
Why didn't you tell me about the Lake of Tears?
Why did you go to Jade and Victor and not come to me?
Ethan, I need you to talk to me, please.
I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't believe me.
He told me I need to find it.
He told me.
And when I find it, that'll prove it was real.
He's not gone.
He's still here.
Okay, then.
I need you to pack a bag.
Why? We're going on a trip.
You find anything? No, they're kids' books, Julie.
If you don't wanna help me, I can do this on my own.
I'm not saying that.
I just...
Hm.
What?
Storywalker Fred.
Who?
Who's that?
Yeah, he's the...
distant cousin of the Grand Gooligog.
Uh, here we are.
"Storywalker Fred was an elevator repairman who spent his weekends
Storywalking as he pleased through all the wondrous tales
and greatest adventures of our time."
TABITHA: Julie?
Hide the books.
Uh, yeah, we're in here.
I need you to pack your bag.
We're going out to the settlement.
Why?
Ethan's convinced he needs to find the Lake of Tears.
The magic lake he used to talk about?
Yeah.
He said he saw your father,
and then your dad asked him to find it.
S-- He saw him?
What-- What does that mean?
I don't know.
I think he's grieving.
What I do know is that if I try to stop him,
then he'll sneak out and look for it by himself.
This way I can keep him safe.
Okay.
So what do you need me for?
Well, you're not staying here alone.
I'm not going to be alone. I'll be with Randall.
Randall.
Mom, it's not like that. It's really not.
I'll stay at the clinic. Kristi and Marielle are there.
Can I talk to you for a minute?
JULIE: Mom. It's okay.
[RANDALL SIGHS]
First of all, I just want to say sorry. No, no, no. Stop talking.
Just listen. Okay.
I don't know you, Randall.
I don't know who you are or what you want.
Julie trusts you.
She feels safe around you, and she needs that right now.
So I need you to look me in the eye and tell me
you understand what I will do to you
if you ever do anything to break that trust.
I understand.
Okay, good.
Mom.
Honey.
What?
I love you. I love you too.
Promise me you'll be okay. Promise.
Yeah.
I'll be back tomorrow.
Yeah.
This is your water.
I don't need to go. [SIGHS] Ellis, it's your turn.
Yeah, but I'm sure Donna can find someone to take my place.
I'm fine.
Donna needs people out there that she knows she can rely on.
Honey, I'm okay. I promise.
Yeah.
Okay.
Tommy is responsible for the cans on the door.
Ella and Jordan will check the windows.
And then about 20 minutes or so before sundown--
Do a headcount. I know. I got it.
Just... keep an eye on Fatima,
with Ellis gone.
Yeah. I got it. Yup.
TABITHA: Donna? Okay.
Do you have room for two more?
More the merrier.
Okay. Let's, uh, move it out.
Come on.
Let's go.
[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[CHUCKLES] How's this?
This is perfect.
Thank you, Elgin.
I can help you with the rest if you tell me what this is for.
The rest I have to do myself.
You should go now.
Uh, okay.
One, two... Victor, hey.
...three, four...
HENRY: What are you doing?
I have to see if the trees have moved.
Why-- Why would the trees be moving?
Because everything is changing, and first it was snowing,
and now everything's green,
and everything is just moving too fast.
And I used to measure all the time,
and then I haven't been paying attention,
and I should have been paying attention.
I should have been paying attention.
I should have... [SNIFFLES]
Can I help?
See if the trees are moving?
Okay.
Okay, uh, what do I do?
You start with this leg like this.
One.
Two.
[WATER DRIPPING]
What the fuck?
Hi.
[HUMMING]
[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC PLAYING]
BOYD: You know what they used to call me in the army, right?
Mr. Fish and Loaves! Mr. Fish and Loaves! That's right.
[HUMMING]
Oh.
Hi.
Boyd?
What's going on?
Is Kenny in this room right now?
What?
Yes.
Never mind then. [SIGHS]
Is he on... Mushrooms found in the woods.
KENNY: Right. You need something?
Uh, it's Fatima.
I think maybe you should come up to the Colony House.
I should go.
No. Stay.
Please.
Okay.
You remember, this is the first place I met you.
It's funny how things change.
Do you still see her?
[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC PLAYING]
The woman in the kimono?
No.
Do you think it's because you did what she asked,
so now she leaves you alone?
Uh, Sara, is... is something going on?
[EXHALES]
I thought for a while
that the voices were leaving me alone.
I thought they were done with me, but turns out...
they're not.
And what do they want you to do?
It doesn't make any sense.
They said they want me to go to the diner,
pour a glass of water from the pitcher,
take a sip, and then pour it back in.
And then what?
That's it.
So how... how is that going to hurt anyone?
I don't know.
But there's always a consequence.
Sara, it's just water.
But I'll have drank from it. So?
Whatever is wrong with me, what if it's like an infection?
What if I pass it on to someone else
and then the voices start torturing them?
I don't want anyone to have to live like this.
Okay.
What if you just don't do it?
They said if I don't do it by midday,
then something bad will happen to someone that I care about.
And it will keep happening until I do it.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
How many steps?
Uh, 23.
Victor, I want to talk to you about what happened yesterday.
Nothing happened yesterday.
Can we...
Dad, you can't just stop in the middle,
'cause you'll...
You'll mess everything up.
I'm sorry.
But I need you to talk to me.
Whatever it was,
whatever you're afraid of, you can tell me.
Mm, so I... I think the tr-- I think they moved a little.
You said that you told yourself it wasn't real.
Did you mean the yellow suit?
Can you tell me about the man who wore it?
Did...
Was he someone that hurt-- hurt you?
Look, Victor, please.
Whatever it is, we'll face it together.
You can tell me.
Uh... Victor. Wh-- Victor!
Come-- Come with me and I'll show you.
Hey, just, uh, sit down and don't go anywhere.
Come on.
[KNOCKING]
Come in.
[WATER SPLASHING]
I told Kenny not to bother you.
Yeah.
Well, he, uh...
It's a lot of dirt.
Yeah.
You want to tell me what's going on?
I'm making a monster.
JULIE: Here we go.
The Grand Gooligog asks Fred about Storywalking.
"How do you choose a point in the story you wish to see?"
And?
"Fred replied, 'you have to create a bookmark.'"
"Fred discovered that by leaving a bookmark somewhere in the story,
he could choose whatever chapter he wished to visit."
[EXHALES]
We have to make a bookmark.
Julie, that doesn't make any sense. [SCOFFS]
I know what you're gonna say.
This is a kid's book, and it's crazy.
It's because it is.
What if that's not the right way to look at this?
What if Storywalking existed here first?
The fuck are you talking about?
Everything here is impossible.
Okay?
But it's also real.
We're here, right now, in this impossible place.
What if all of the crazy shit that happens here has been...
like, seeping out into...
My mom.
My mom had nightmares about this place when she was a little girl.
She didn't realize that she was dreaming about it then, but she was.
Okay? Who knows how many other kids or adults
or fucking children's book authors have had dreams about this place
without knowing it.
And what if this author had a dream about someone like me
doing what I can do?
He woke up, wrote it down, and called it Storywalking.
There's literally thousands of books that have stories and rules
about traveling through time. No. No.
Why would this book...
The one with fucking Fred the Storywalker.
Why would this book be the one that explains anything?
Because out of all of those books, this is the one my brother had with him
when we came here. Okay?
Well, maybe that means something. Mm-hmm.
Maybe it's fate.
I, uh--Fate?
Randall, if I'm right,
this could actually be an instruction manual
on how to save my dad.
And it's all I have.
So I'm going to try whether you help me or not.
So what kind of bookmark do we need?
BOYD: When you say monster...
Boyd, I know you're worried about me,
but you don't have to be.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear you saying that.
The problem is,
Fatima, this says something else.
Have you told Ellis what you're doing in here?
I wasn't trying to hide it from him.
He has been so worried lately.
I figured once he was back from the food run,
once he could see what I was doing,
it would be easier to explain.
Okay, great.
Explain it to me?
Where I grew up, beliefs were very rigid.
They defined you.
But my dad told stories of all the different faiths.
He used to drive my mother crazy
because she understood how dangerous it was.
But he would just smile. [CHUCKLES]
He'd say, "Fatima, they have it wrong."
"They all think their road is the only way."
"Don't they understand that all roads lead to the divine?"
"They simply take different paths to get there."
Fatima.
Of all the stories my father would tell,
all the fables and myths...
there's one story I've been thinking a lot about lately.
Do you know what a golem is, Boyd?
[CLEARS THROAT]
Well?
She's, um...
She's making a golem.
A what?
It's a part of a religious folklore.
It's a giant made of clay.
It protects people. It's a champion.
She said it's a symbol of hope.
Maybe for now we just... give her some space.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. That-- That's your solution?
Give her some space?
She's not hurting anybody.
That's not the point.
We have both seen this place turn people,
change them little by little until one day...
we turn around and...
and the person that we knew is-- is-- is gone.
[BOYD SIGHS]
Boyd, that person up there is not the Fatima that I know.
And I think if you're being honest with yourself,
that's not the Fatima you know either.
Mm.
DONNA: Can I ask you something?
TABITHA: Yeah.
What the hell are you doing out here?
I don't know.
I don't know what I'm doing.
I just keep walking around with this knot of terror inside me
that feels like it's going to explode.
And the whole time...
there's this question that keeps ringing in my mind.
What am I supposed to do now?
Jim's gone.
I keep looking for him, but he's gone.
I have memories in my head that belong to other people.
Memories that might have answers,
but I'm terrified of what it'll cost if I go too far,
or if I remember too much.
But if I don't...
I know I'm failing.
What's gonna happen when Ethan learns
that the Lake of Tears is not real? [SIGHS]
How am I gonna deal with that?
DONNA: Hey, everyone.
Let's just take a little break, okay?
You good?
Yeah, we're fine. Just need a little breather.
Okay.
Let's sit down.
I don't know how to do this alone.
You are not alone.
People keep saying that. Well, maybe you should fucking listen.
[EXHALES] [GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING]
I don't want to find another one of those notes
like the one on my nightstand. Oh, Donna.
You are not going to put me
in the position of having to explain to your kids
why I'm still alive and you're not.
Donna, I'm-- No--
You and those kids are as much my family
as any family I have ever had.
So from now on...
if anyone is going to risk their lives
to do something stupid...
that person is gonna be me.
[EXHALES] And not you.
[SNIFFLES] We clear on that?
I am asking,
are we clear on that? [CHUCKLES, SNIFFLES]
We're clear.
Okay.
ETHAN: Mom!
Come look at this!
Come on.
Looks like a broken wing.
[CHIRPS] Must have fallen from a nest or something.
We never see anything here but crows.
We have to take him with us.
[CLEARS THROAT] Ethan.
Mom, this is a sign.
If the lake at the settlement really is the Lake of Tears,
it'll fix him.
That's how we'll know.
We have to take him with us.
I can't imagine what this is like for her.
At least when I got here, I found you, you know?
I mean, she lost the only person she had here.
Yeah.
I can't tell if she's handling it well or...
just hasn't accepted it yet.
She prays a lot. Yes.
I don't know, maybe it helps.
[CHUCKLES] Yeah, that's...
[SMACKS LIPS]
That was always the one thing about NA that I just couldn't stand.
The whole giving yourself up to a higher power.
Mm.
If there were ever proof that no one's looking out for us,
it's here.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
[EXHALES]
[SIGHS]
Hey.
I don't see a lot of you in here.
I-- I-- I won't be long.
Well, Sara, you can stay as long as you like.
I-- I think it's really nice that you reopened the diner.
Mm. Well, I thought it'd be a good way to-- to keep busy.
You used to work here, right?
Feels like a long time ago now.
Well, if you ever want to come back,
I could use the help.
Look, I wasn't here when you did what you did.
But who you've become while I've known you...
that girl deserves a place.
Think about it.
Bakta. Yeah?
Do you mind dumping that out for me?
Oh.
Sure.
[SOPHIA SCREAMS] MARIELLE: Oh, shit.
Wait, Marielle, what? Marielle, wait! What's happening?
KRISTI: I don't-- I don't know.
I'm coming. Don't move, okay?
[WHIMPERING, GROANING]
Stay right where you are. Stay right where you are.
Where does it hurt? My arm.
Okay. Let me see.
Okay, look at me. Take a deep breath.
What happened?
SOPHIA: I was standing by the edge, and I felt like something pushed me.
[GASPING]
MARIELLE: Okay, is there anywhere else?
SOPHIA: No.
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC FADES]
[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[CHATTERING IN DISTANCE]
[DOOR OPENS]
Hey, we done here?
No. No, not quite.
[EXHALES]
Because Fatima's making a mud monster?
Sorry, I was eavesdropping.
I don't know if I should be up there stopping her...
or if I should be up there helping her.
You know, if it wasn't for what happened to me and Tabitha,
everything we remembered,
I never would have even considered taking those mushrooms.
What's your point?
My point...
is something changed.
Made me realize I had to do something drastic before it was too late.
Even if everyone around me thought I was insane.
So maybe the question you need to ask Fatima
isn't why she's making that thing.
[EXHALES]
Maybe the question you need to ask is why she's making it now.
Jesus.
These things are even creepier in person.
Jade said they're to ward off evil spirits.
[CHUCKLES]
Oh, that's, uh...
comforting, I suppose.
Okay.
The more food we collect before dark,
the earlier we leave in the morning.
So drop your bags. Let's go.
Mom, we need to get him to the lake.
Come on. Let's go.
Julie?
JULIE: I'm up here.
Got what you asked for.
Got the--
What are you doing?
[SIGHS] Last time I tried this,
one of those things grabbed me by the hair.
That's not going to happen again.
[SIGHS]
Okay.
Ready?
Mm.
Okay, so to create a bookmark...
fold up a piece of paper
and I bring it with me when I Storywalk.
Wherever I end up in the past, like whatever chapter I'm in,
I just draw the symbol...
on the paper and leave it there.
If this works, when you pull me out,
the symbol that I drew in the past
will also be here on the paper in the present.
You've been waiting to do that since we left town, haven't you?
I have, yeah.
Okay.
Let's say this thing works.
Let's say you make it out of this thing with a functioning bookmark.
How does that help us?
Because from that point forward,
whatever point in the story I want to visit,
like the chapter right before my father was killed...
Write it here, in the folds,
fold it back up, cross the threshold.
And that's where the bookmark will take me.
You're asking me to watch you have another seizure.
I'm asking you for five seconds.
I draw the symbol, you pull me out.
Randall, if this works, this changes everything.
Please.
Five seconds.
[MELANCHOLIC MUSIC PLAYING]
Come on.
Be careful.
Yeah.
[SHUDDERED BREATHING]
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[GRUNTING]
[GASPING]
[SQUELCHING]
[TENSE MUSIC PLAYING]
[GASPING]
[WHIMPERING]
Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, it's me.
It's me. It's me.
You're okay. You're okay.
You're okay.
[SHUDDERED BREATHING]
No.
Fuck! [GROANS]
It didn't work. It didn't fucking work.
[SHOVEL SCRAPING]
[VICTOR PANTING]
Victor, come on.
VICTOR: They're in there.
He came in a car just like the rest of us.
I thought his yellow suit was funny.
And we thought he was just like us. We...
brought him in and made him our friend,
but he wasn't like us.
When everyone died,
when I found Mom out by The Bottle Tree, I saw him.
[GASPING]
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
He was eating her.
Oh, God. Oh, God.
[HENRY SOBBING]
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
KRISTI: So it's definitely broken.
But we're gonna wait for the swelling to go down
before we reset the bone.
Okay. Okay?
I know all of this is a little scary.
It's just another test.
It's why we're here.
God is testing us and allowing us to prove our faith in him.
Yeah...
I know this all sounds silly to you.
No.
No, it doesn't. Do you know the story of Abraham?
Uh, no. No, I don't.
Oh.
He was a simple man with an unshakable faith
and obedience to God.
One day, God tested Abraham,
ordering him to kill his only son
as a way to prove his faith.
But at the last moment,
God intervened
and offered a ram to be sacrificed instead.
You see, God never intended for Abraham to kill his son.
He simply needed to know if he would.
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
[KNOCKING]
Hey, okay if Kenny joins us?
Look, I know how strange this must seem, guys, but...
Fatima, I need to know why you're doing this.
I told you why I'm doing this.
Why are you doing it now?
Whatever it is, I need you to tell me. Please.
Don't-- Don't let this place make you afraid to talk to me.
I still feel it.
S--
That thing I carried inside me, I still feel it.
Okay. Feel it how?
Like we're connected.
Part of me feels what he feels.
Okay.
And this thing that you're making, it's gonna,
what, break the connection?
It goes both ways.
Right.
He feels what I'm feeling too.
He feels how afraid I am. He likes it.
But making this...
it makes me feel strong.
It makes me feel less afraid. Okay.
It's the only way I know to fight back.
Right.
Jesus.
Making that thing,
you think it could actually help?
I don't know. But all things considered...
having a champion in our corner,
not the worst thing in the world right now.
I'll, uh, spread the word...
Good....to give her some space.
Keep everyone out of that room. Yeah.
Okay.
[RING CLATTERS]
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
Boyd?
We gotta go.
Now.
Boyd, what's wrong?
Just give me a minute.
[MUTTERING SOFTLY]
What?
No, it's...
[MUSIC BUILDS]
All right, new category. [GRUNTS]
Saturday morning cartoons.
Okay, I'll go first.
The Jetsons.
PATTY: Ooh.
The Flintstones.
Nice.
Okay.
Ready?
Okay. Let's do it.
[CHIRPS]
[GRUNTS]
[SHOVEL CLATTERS]
ELLIS: Roger, you good?
What the fuck?
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
[CHIRPING]
Mom?
[OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING]
Oh, fuck.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC CONCLUDES]