Finn Graham is a young MoonSugrr who was born and raised in Ghoulish Grove, but he’s never been happy there. In fact, he’s always hated it with a passion. Even as a young SugrrPup, Finn’s parents said he was “scared of his own shadow”, which is tough because he lived in a town that idolized the creepy Ghoul-o-ween holiday all year round. What Finn lacked in courage he made up for in determination and ingenuity, often spending his free time alone in his room building and fixing items. As he aged up enough and readied for higher education, he excitedly found himself accepted into the Galaheim Academy Blast Post Technician program in the nearby town of Lincoln Heights.

Blast Posts are conduits for magical energy that powers most of MoonMills. Blast Posts are to MoonMills what Power Poles are to Earth, so you can imagine that blast post technicians are a very important occupation. If a blast post fails for whatever reason, a technician promptly shows up to get power back to the area and essentially “saves the day”. Finn always wanted this. The news of being accepted into the program meant so much to Finn because he could finally use his technologically-savvy mind. More importantly, it meant he could finally get out of Ghoulish Grove and away from all the things he despised.

Deep down, his fear and anxiety coupled with the fellow residents’ lack of understanding of those feelings has kept Finn in a festering and angry mood. A mood he has become stuck in. He has grown resentful of the entire town and everyone in it. He’s hated the scary themed desserts, the town’s youth seizing every opportunity to prank him (“Stupid Boo Pups!”), his parents’ jubilation over the festivities even at his expense, and all the other things Ghoul-o-ween brought with it year after agonizing year.

Undoubtedly, he knew he would miss his friends but he was ready for a fresh start away from Ghoulish Grove. Every day he continued living there, he felt himself becoming more fearful and angry. For years, he felt like he had been caught in a loop and a spiral, one that he must break free of. He did not see his departure as a “want”, but a “need”. All this time that Finn has matured into a young MoonSugrr, he internalized his feelings and buried himself into his projects. He’s also felt that his parents never asked him about those projects. He didn’t feel heard, “so why bother?”

When the news came that the Blast Post Technician training program would begin two days after this year’s Ghoul-o-ween, Finn told his parents that he would enjoy one last hurrah with them. In reality, he never intended on doing that at all. Finn decided he would leave right before the festivities began, dropping the news on his parents at the last moment, effectively ruining their favorite holiday. In his mind, they’ve ruined his whole life by forcing him to grow up in this town, so it seemed small in comparison. He knew it was petty, but he didn’t care anymore. They had teased him and never tried to see things from his perspective, so it didn’t bother him to hurt them in this way.

When the morning of Ghoul-o-ween arrived, Finn was absolutely delighted. His eyes opened and he shot out of bed with more purpose than ever before. The song “Time Has Come Today” by The Chambers Brothers played as he enjoyed his final morning routine in this awful place he hated so much. He was so happy this particular morning, he couldn’t suppress the constant smile on his face. This happiness impressed his parents at breakfast, who chalked it up to his excitement for the impending celebration of Ghoul-o-ween despite his never liking it.

Finn had a knapsack packed in his room and a heart set on leaving. He exited his home, closed the front door behind him, and headed down the cobblestone road towards the Ghoulish Grove town square.

“The Witch Queen of New Orleans” by Redbone underscores the following scene of residents in town square.

The square, where the festivities would be held later that night, was abuzz with activity and townsfolk all getting ready for their favorite night of the year. Finn noted the residents’ Pups and Drops running and hopping past him with noisy screeches and the bustling sounds of excitement coming from the nearby food stalls. He grinned knowing he was finally getting out of there.

Finn had agreed to spend his last day in Ghoulish Grove with his friends and met them in the square where they were watching the setups. Some of the notable townsfolk there were Vicki, the type-A personality Ghoul-o-ween party planner. And Ozzy with his food stall full of desserts that everyone fawned over. Pumpkin Pail SugrrPups were annoyingly grabbing any candy they could find, but to Finn’s enjoyment, he noticed some equally annoying Boo Pups posing as candy and scaring the bejesus out of the Pails. That made Finn giggle. Sometimes this town gave him SOME enjoyment, but he didn’t entertain that thought very long. Because “ENOUGH with this town!”.

As Finn scanned the residents of Ghoulish Grove’s square, he noticed Mayor Toil Hatchett, a normally calm and collected figure now uncharacteristically anxious. Mayor Hatchett was intimidating when he was jolly, but now he was terrifying as he was chastising a blast post company representative about some recent outages around the outskirts of town. He was very upset about the company’s lack of a fix yet. The company rep had no clue where his techs had disappeared to after being dispatched to work on a number of downed blast posts. Mayor Hatchett thought it was either “hoodlums” causing the downed posts or possibly someone with the company was pulling the wool over his eyes. In his mind, maybe this was some sort of negotiation tactic instead of what it really was….a total mystery.

Even though Finn was a wizard when it came to anything blast post related, he didn’t care to offer any help. Instead, he decided to leave the square with his friends. Finn really enjoyed time with them. They listened, unlike his parents. They spent the day skipping rocks on Skullcap Lagoon, walking through the Pumpkin Patch where Finn contemplated kicking in pumpkins, and overall just joking about old times. Finn did not have any intention of spending time with his parents this day, because as far as they knew, they would be seeing him tonight at the party in the square. His parents had already left to get a head start on the Ghoul-o-ween festivities around lunchtime.

As the day was beginning to turn into night, Finn’s friends accompanied him home where they said their goodbyes. With his knapsack strewn over his shoulder, Finn left a half-hearted gratitude letter for his parents. He then hitched a ride with one of his friends to the Ghoulish Grove train station. On the way there, the image of massive crowds pouring into town while Finn was leaving showed how contrarian he has become about the entire affair. He hugged his friend and said a tearful goodbye. Finn boarded the empty train ready for his trip to Lincoln Heights with a brilliant light in his eyes. He finally felt like his life had a trajectory he had wanted for as long as he could remember. He could taste freedom and it was sweet. The musty air aboard the train even smelled clean and fresh to him. Nothing could go wrong. He was on his way.

“Inventions of the Future” underscores Finn’s joyful feeling of leaving Ghoulish Grove in this moment.

Just as the train began to chug, he felt pure elation. And as quickly as it trudged forward, it stopped suddenly.

“Wait”, he thought. The lights flickered.

“No, n-” he exasperated. And before he could get the second “no” out, the lights shut off and the train died completely.

“No no no!”, Finn thought to himself. “Why can’t I get out of here?!” He glanced around for answers, but found no other passengers to share in his shock and grief.

A minute later, the conductor approached. “Sorry, kid, not sure what’s going on, but the train ain’t going anywhere tonight. Tech’ll be here in the morning. Do you want a ride back to town?”

“Can I take a look at it? I can be pretty handy.”

The conductor laughed heartily. “No way, son. This is a serious piece of machinery. Dangerous, too. If I tell the travel authority I let an unlicensed kid work on this train, I could lose my job. Don’t want you going and getting yourself hurt.”

“Fine.”

“Sure you don’t need a ride?”

“No, I’ll walk” a dejected Finn muttered as he slung his knapsack over his shoulder and stood to exit the train. He also grabbed a blast rod out of his bag to use as a light source and began back down the road towards town. He was so disappointed and angry that he started spiraling thinking of all the people he would have to see again. He did not want to walk through that stupid town even one more time. He didn’t want to see a single smiling face enjoying the creepiness. As he fixated on his horrible luck, he thoughtlessly walked a good distance before he realized the road was pitch dark and he was alone in silence. Finn was halfway between the station and the town. Then he got scared. He got really scared. At the fever pitch of that fear is when he heard it. A noise in the distance.

“H3 - Season of the Witch” by John Carpenter underscores the moment Finn notices he’s alone in the dark.

It was a rustling and a clicking. It was moving from the Haunted Oak Woods beyond the train station towards the town………and FAST. He frighteningly turned off his blast rod and huddled up next to a tree. He hoped and prayed that it was someone playing a prank on him, but this didn’t feel like a prank at all. There were multiple of these things and they moved faster than anyone he’d ever seen. They moved like animals.

He heard the rustling get louder on either side of the road. The intermittent stopping and clicking built the tension in his heart and stomach. He clutched the tree he was standing next to so tight that it hurt his face. The rustling started again as the “animals” moved faster and faster towards his position. Finn was holding the tree so firmly that he couldn’t breathe. The sound shot past him as he caught a glimpse of one of the “things” from enough of a distance for it to shake Finn to his core. And it was big. Big like a beast. And beyond that, it just looked wrong, what little he saw of it. It stopped and seemingly glanced his way. In that moment, he felt true dread. A flash of a circular abyss surrounded by fiery suffering invaded his mind for a split second and then the image was gone.

The rustling sound continued towards Ghoulish Grove and Finn stood motionless for five straight minutes. An eternity stuck in that horrific moment. Finn felt the urge to breathe, so he loosed his grip on the tree only enough to take in air, but he clutched it tighter again immediately. He was shook.

POP
BAM 💥
BOOM 💥 💥 💥

A series of VIOLENT orange/blue flashes pepper Ghoulish Grove. Like a series of electrical explosions, then the entire town, square and all, went dark in the distance. Finn, still clinging to the tree and shaking, can hear nothing but random disparate screams coming from the sudden darkness of the town. Some are silenced abruptly while others seem to hang in the cool night air. Just hauntingly echoing through the open environment.

Finn knew what those violent beams and booms were. He knew as sure as anything that they were blast posts being damaged or totally destroyed. He remembers that the blast post company representative was clueless on what happened to the technicians. He doesn’t know what those beasts were, but he knows that he might be able to do something about those blast posts if he heads back to the square where those creatures were rushing.

The image of his parents crosses his mind. Finn’s arms, still tight around the tree trunk, loosen up a bit. He feels the bark of the tree lessen its pressure and he can feel impressions on his face as he lets go. He even has scratches on his cheek that he didn’t know he caused from the sheer fear of his reaction. He silently takes a single step and stops to wait for something. But there’s nothing but quiet.

His feet start to slowly move one at a time. His legs are wobbly as he no longer has the tree to support his weight. He begins to walk normally as he notices his eyes have adjusted to the darkness. Another image of his parents crosses his mind and his pace increases.

“Are they okay?” He starts jogging.

“What if they were screaming?” He tells himself it wasn’t them, but he can’t be sure. He knows that it’s a long shot but he can’t know unless he goes back to town. He’s running now.

He can hear the crunching of the gravel road under his feet and his quickened breath burns as he sprints into the town he calls home.

“I have to find them.”


“Graham’s Theme” by Michael Rubini underscores Finn’s heroic journey throughout the story.

“Night” by John Carpenter scores the following.

The fact that Finn’s feet were taking him back to Ghoulish Grove, while his mind was reluctant, felt odd to him as he darts into known danger. He got to the outskirts of town and it seems strangely desolate. He crouches low and stays quiet as he has no idea exactly what dangers await him as he ventures further, the town square is his destination. He hears a lot of screaming coming from all directions and many of the towns folk within view look very lost and confused. Finn frantically glances at the faces of anyone he can see, but none resemble his mother or father. In the mass panic and chaos he tries to help others get to safety by helping them get to some form of cover and urging other residents that appear “with it” to assist ones that need help. Bodies lie motionless, littering the streets and sidewalks. Oddly, there is no blood coming from them but there’s no time to check anyone effectively. Finn makes his way through the havoc and darkness, desperately scanning each face. After a couple blocks of this searching, monstrous wails and screeching could be heard blocks over, he finally makes it to the town square. 

“Where is the mayor?” he wonders to himself as he glances around. He doesn’t notice anyone of authority there. It seems like the residents are on their own. His fear turns to anger for a moment, but there’s no time to focus on that right now. The feeling of fight reverts back to flight (or fright to be accurate).

Finn glides into the middle of the square where the food stalls are located. Many stalls have been ransacked, turned over, or completely destroyed. Their various pieces lay scattered as obstacles to negotiate as Finn scans for one intact. A piercing screeching and subsequent clicking in the near vicinity strikes a nerve in his brain, making his entire nervous system lock up as he glances in the direction of the awful sounds. Finn is frozen as he observes what’s next. That roar is followed by terrified screams of residents. Through obscured corner shop windows, Finn sees one of the monstrous creatures. It’s dark and the shop window distorts the creature, but even with limited visibility, Finn can still see through flickered light that the beast is larger than any MoonSugrr. Much larger. It exhibits great strength as it begins grabbing and seemingly sucking the life out of residents in its grasp, moving one to another. Finn, still frozen, is horrified to see the beast’s attack method. It uses its front legs as arms in order to grab a resident by the biceps and squeezes. This boa-constrictor-like behavior renders the resident motionless. The creature begins bringing the victim to its face, the resident screams and tries to fight, but the grip of the beast only gets tighter. The air is choked from the resident’’s lungs as they struggle, the air supplying their screams and cries is shut off, muting them quickly. As Finn witnesses this unfolding horror, he unfreezes.

“Hey!” he shouts involuntarily - not knowing how stupid he could be. The creature stops and snaps its head over in Finn’s direction. Finn, his eyes wide with fear, drops behind a food stall and buries himself under a table full of desserts. The awful beast drops its potential victim, who promptly gasps for air and then rushes for cover, Finn having given them a chance to escape. The lucky resident scurries off to find a hiding place.

Finn, now cursing himself under his breath, is under the food stall table waiting for impending doom. The loud and frantic thumping of his frightened heartbeat almost drowned out the heavy, looming footfalls of the grotesque creature as it got closer and closer to the food stall he found cover under. A tablecloth draping over the table is what Finn uses as partial cover and he hopes it is enough.

“Psst!” Finn hears from another direction.

He looks over and notices Ozzy hiding behind the town square fountain. Ozzy stupidly opens his mouth like he is about to say something aloud when he makes eye contact with Finn. Finn quickly puts his finger over his own mouth indicating for Ozzy to stay quiet. 

The footsteps get closer and slower. The tension inside Finn’s head and heart build as he knows the beast can only be a few feet away now. And it is dead quiet. Suddenly Finn hears the beast jump and land on top of the table that Finn is hiding under. The sturdy oak wood of the table almost whines painfully under the immense weight of the creature, as the table legs almost buckle they make a soft snapping noise as warning. Finn’s arms raise as he prepares for the table to collapse under the immense pressure. The table creaks and pops as the creature clicks and sniffs around, tail lashing behind it almost angrily.

It hovers over, it's disgusting and excessively long tongue dangling down around the edge of the table as the creature seemingly is searching for it’s next target in the darkness. It seemed unbothered by the lack of light, and moved its head deliberately, like an animal on the hunt. Finn pinches his nose in revulsion as the creature's stench wafts beneath the table where he is sitting. The thing stinks like rotten meat. The tongue makes its way around each edge of the table. Finn makes sure to tuck his legs in to make himself as small as possible in hopes of evading the revolting appendage.

Finn looks over at Ozzy again and notices the smaller MoonSugrr is pointing at something to Finn’s right. Finn looks and notices his own blast rod has fallen out of his bag. The bag and rod were scattered among some of Ozzy’s famous desserts. Finn slowly slides his hand over the blast rod and then makes eye contact with Ozzy again as if to ask “this?”

Ozzy shakes his head and Finn furrows his brow in confusion. Ozzy adamantly points again. Finn looks down at the desserts and looks at Ozzy with a furrowed brow again as if asking a question. Ozzy nods excitedly. 

“Oh!,” Finn thinks to himself. He picks up one of the desserts as Ozzy keeps nodding in approval. Finn understands now. He then slowly extends the sweet treat out in front of him and lifts it towards the long, slobbering tongue of the creature, as if to offer it as a distraction. The table continues to whine as the monster adjusts its weight, the table legs still threatening to give out at any moment. The dessert touches the tongue of the beast and is snatched up from Finn’s hands and out of his view. He can hear the beast devour the small meal quickly, before coughing, wailing almost angrily, and then a brief series of hacking. Just as the creature does that, it coughs up slobber, whipped cream, and pumpkin filling all over the sidewalk and fountain in Finn’s view. Some of the spit up lands on Ozzy, who remains motionless and quiet but obviously grossed out.

The beast then screeches again and jumps off the table right before it is about to buckle. The creature darts away, rounding the corner. The sound of its footfalls lessen as it disappears into the darkness of town. After a few moments of unsure silence, Ozzy and Finn rejoice quietly, as a handful of others in the square hesitantly join in the small cheers as well. They were not out of the woods yet and the town had seemingly suffered some losses, but they were still alive and that was worth celebrating even if for a second. 

Ozzy comes up to Finn smiling and exasperated “man…I’ve never been so happy to see someone hate my food.” 

Finn grins. Ozzy holds out his hand to shake. “Quick thinking there. The name’s Ozzy.”

“I’m Finn. And I was just following your lead.” 

“That was quite the sight. You two make a good team.” says a third voice from the small crowd of quiet residents. It was Vicki. 

“Vicki!” said Ozzy smiling with too much excitement, which made Finn and the others wince. Ozzy realized that his reaction was a little too loud for seeing her. 

Vicki stuck her hand out to introduce herself to Finn, “You know my name. What’s yours?”

“Finn.”

“Do you two have a plan?” asked Vicki.

“Nope” answered Ozzy, still smiling. He cups water from the fountain to wipe the monster spit up and whipped cream coating his face.

“You’re in luck. Making plans is what I do.” Says Vicki.

The three discussed what to do about the situation they were in. A few others joined them in the town square. Finn explained that he was searching for his parents. Vicki and Ozzy said they hadn’t seen them with all the commotion. No one had gotten a good look at the beasts that had attacked the square and created the carnage. Ozzy had the closest look, but his eyesight wasn’t the best. None had seen the mayor since the attack began either. They could only guess he had been rushed away. 

Discussion of the blast posts and the power outages seemed to take center stage as the residents mutter about what to do next. Finn offered up his expertise in blast posts. Everyone knew the power was out and by him mentioning his knowledge, he volunteered to go take a look at the ones in town. He worked on them for a bit, but had a realization. The blast posts worked on an old system. He remembered researching that at some point. He figured it was useless knowledge at the time, but now it is coming in handy.

To better explain his understanding to the desperate group around him, he pulled down a strand of lights and used his blast rod to give it some power. He showed that, like some older strands of lights, if one light went out the remainder of the lights did not receive enough power and dimmed almost to nothing. The blast posts in Ghoulish Grove act similarly, he explained. There can be power, but not enough for the town to run properly. 

When Vicki questioned what that means for them, Finn explained that someone (and he was dreading that it would be him) would need to go to repair blast posts outside of town in order for Ghoulish Grove to fully restore its own power. Unfortunately, he deduced, the first stop was to be the Haunted Oak Woods.

When no one else volunteered to go and repair the blast posts (because no one else knew how), Finn reluctantly offered himself up as a volunteer.

“I’ll go but I am NOT going alone.” Finn declared adamantly..

Ozzy put his hand on Finn’s arm. “I’ll go with him.”

Vicki looked at both of them and smiled, “I don’t see why you two should have all the fun.”

Vicki, the quarterback of this plan, told the group that they should move indirectly, possibly stay off the roads because they never know where those beasts are. They didn’t want to create a target because the last place those beasts attacked was a heavily populated area. Finn, Ozzy, and a handful of others all agreed with her assessment. She grabbed a couple two-way radios among some other supplies. Finn had some prepackaged food from his bag that he dolled out to others in case they were hungry before the trek. No one had much of an appetite, but they appreciated the act all the same. 

The small group then set out into the night heading for the Haunted Oak Woods.

"Vacuum" by Egopusher underscores this next part.

Shortly after their departure, we see the town square riddled with the lifeless bodies of residents. It is a truly awful image. 

Suddenly, what is a still image of horror turns into a puzzling scene when there is movement in some of these bodies. Life seemingly comes back to them as some twitch and eventually stand. 

They seem different. 

Something is very wrong with them as we don’t get a look at their faces, just their movements, which are completely unnatural. They are hunched over as they seemingly “re-learn” how to walk. 

WHAT. IS. HAPPENING.

Finn and the gang have no idea of this as they grow smaller and smaller in the distance walking towards the Haunted Oak Woods.

Cut to black.

“Walkin’ After Midnight” by Patsy Cline plays.

Finn, Ozzy, Vicki, and a few others make the long trek from Ghoulish Grove to the Haunted Oak Woods with the purpose of fixing the blast post there.

On the way, some folks talk about how they are visitors to Ghoulish Grove and some are residents who also want to find their loved ones. Ozzy and Vicki let the conversation go on in the front of the group as they both drop back behind a quiet Finn. They know Finn has a lot on his mind thinking about where his parents could be. 

“Si Tu Vois Ma Mere” by The Bumper Jacksons underscores the following scene

Ozzy and Vicki both realize they don’t have much to contribute to the discussion, which makes them start talking about themselves. We find out that Vicki has always kept her options open, choosing career instead of looking for “the one”. She has always been singularly-minded and it makes her happy, but now she is starting to long for someone to spend her time with. She likes her alone time, but she is starting to want someone around. She’s always surrounded herself with members of the community, but she wants someone at home. She says that people always see her as a type-A MoonSugrr that is directing others, but she feels like a lot more than that. 

“I have a kind side too, ya know.” she blurts out as if she’s defending herself from everyone.

Ozzy hasn’t ever perceived her as “overbearing” or “bossy” like others might say. He never understood why anyone would say that. He thinks she’s one of the kindest people he’s ever met. 

“What? Who would say you weren’t kind?! I see a lot of what you do for others. You work harder than anyone I’ve ever seen and you stay so kind. It makes no sense to me that anyone would say that about you. I’d like to meet the ones saying this stuff so I can give them a piece of my mind."

Vicki laughs knowing he’s serious.

Ozzy realizes he’s gotten upset and quiets down a little but then rambles. “Sorry about that. I just don’t know why anyone would say that. I always thought you were probably the kindest MoonSugrr I ever met. Organizing events for charity. Heard you didn’t get paid for any of those. You try to hire and pay as many people as possible and give raises when the event goes well. Even if it doesn’t. Seems to me you always do the right thing. Doesn’t matter if anyone is watching or not, you do the right thing it seems like. Some of us notice."

Vicki laughs again and reaches out and touches Ozzy’s arm. “Enough about me. What about you?” she asks Ozzy realizing she’s never had a real conversation with him. 

Ozzy, on the other hand, was once married. His partner was depressed because she had always wanted to go to Earth to be a companion to a human. Ozzy historically doesn’t express himself very well and this has held him back in life, he feels. He cares, but isn’t good at thinking about or expressing his feelings. He is very kind and charming, but he has a tendency to avoid tough subjects. This lack of communication drove his partner away. He always delayed an answer or avoided a question. One day, she was fed up, packed a bag, and told him that she was leaving for Earth. She said he could come with her, but he declined. He grew up in Ghoulish Grove and couldn’t see a life outside of it. He loved her but they wanted different things. He took her to the Ghoulish Grove train station where they both cried. She gave him one more chance to come with her. But she left alone.

A few weeks later, a JugBug showed up at Ozzy’s door with a letter from her. The letter said she was sorry that everything ended the way it did. She said that she was very happy and felt fulfilled by her new place in life. It pained her to tell him that it was completely over and not to come looking for her. He didn’t. He knew it was over too. He wrote her back. The two exchanged a few more letters of pleasantries before they petered out entirely. Even though it felt like the right decision, Ozzy was still gutted over it. They had no children and while it was difficult, he was glad they didn’t. He did his best to move on, but he always treated it like a failure on his part. That was years ago.

Vicki has always seen Ozzy as a goober of a MoonSugrr, but while he was telling this story, it wasn’t for sympathy. It wasn’t a manipulation. He was just telling it and owning his parts of it. He had processed it for the most part, but Vicki can tell that it still bothers him. She sees it in his eyes. Kind eyes that she never really noticed before. She is moved by his story and she actually sees the depth in him in this moment. 

“Do you mind if I give you a hug?” Vicki asked.

Ozzy, completely taken aback, says “Uhh, sur-” 

Vicki wraps her arms around him. Still processing what caused this, Ozzy obliges and hugs her back. It’s an awkward but sweet moment that we get to see the soft side of Vicki that few others know about. But Ozzy has always seen it.

Finn is ahead of them but behind a few of the others who are still talking. He is pretty nervous about the whole plan hinging on his abilities with repairing blast posts. He had always been good at fixing things, but there was a reason he was going to a training program for it. He knew things, but he didn’t have a lot of “on the job” experience. Much of what he knew was based on working on other things, so he would need to figure out how to transfer that knowledge to this. He would need to get creative. And being creative when his tired nerves were fried was going to be difficult. He was also worried about traveling into a place called the “Haunted Oak Woods” with only the mini MoonSugrr Ozzy at his side while everyone else would keep watch outside the woods. 

When they finally arrived at the Bow (North) entrance of the Haunted Oak Woods, Vicki re-briefed everyone on the plan. Finn and Ozzy were to take a radio into the woods with them while they worked on the blast post. The few others, including Vicki, would stay outside watching for beasts or signs of any other residents that could show up. Vicki took one of the two-way radios and gave the other to her new friend Ozzy. She was worried for him now as both he and Finn set out into the woods. 

While Finn and Ozzy make their way into the deep woods, they are partially guided by will-o-wisps that light up with blue color to help them see their way. But blue is not the only color they are capable of. When Finn and Ozzy walk past them, they turn purple at first, then green, then back to blue when they understand that neither Finn nor Ozzy is a threat. 

On the way in, Ozzy finds a bag full of useful tools and rope. Finn tells him these tools are exactly what they need to fix the blast post. They realize the bag must have come from one of the poor blast post technicians that went missing earlier in the day. Probably dead.

The two finally arrive at the malfunctioned blast post. Finn still does not understand why they would put a blast post in the middle of Haunted Oak Woods, for crying out loud. He works on it as Ozzy assists him holding tools and the radio. Ozzy likes to talk while Finn doesn’t at first as he’s trying to concentrate. 

Ozzy, himself slightly nervous, has an urge to talk when he’s nervous. He also has an urge to talk when he’s not nervous. Basically, Ozzy will find any excuse to fill the air with words regardless if they apply to his current situation. He likes to go on and on.

Getting annoyed with Ozzy’s ramblings, Finn throws out a question to pull his leg. “How about Vicki, eh?"

Ozzy is taken aback. “What about her?”

“You two seemed to be getting along pretty well back there.”

“Maybe.”

Finn stiffens up to mock Ozzy’s sudden stoic tone, “Maybe” He smiles for the first time in a while. “Maybe you should ask her out-”

“-Maybe” Ozzy says to stop the conversation. Now Ozzy is slightly annoyed. But then he realizes he’s being too gruff even for a moment. Finn is a young MoonSugrr and he seems like a good one. He’s teasing out of goodness, Ozzy realizes and lightens up, “Ya know, when this is all over, maybe I will see if she wants to go on a date or something. Nothing big, just grab a cup of tea or something. Nothing too forward. Just a cup of tea. Yeah…maybe I will. Do you think she’d like that?” 

“I’m not sure. She seems to like your company, but this is basically an ‘end of the world’ type thing. There might not be an ‘after’ this. But it's not a good time at all. What do I know, though? I’m just a kid.” said Finn grinning.

“A smart kid.” states Ozzy encouragingly. 

Finn shrugs as he’s still working. “I try."

Ozzy goes on to tell Finn that he hopes he finds his parents. Ozzy lost both his parents years earlier and he feels empathy for Finn. Ozzy tells him that he’ll help Finn find them no matter what.  

Finn thanks him and Ozzy actually gets quiet as both begin to mutely contemplate what is really important to each of them. This continues for a few minutes until Finn makes a breakthrough with the blast post. The post is now working except it is flickering because the power won’t stay on consistently. Finn’s not sure why it’s not fully fixed yet.

Back to Vicki, who can see parts of the lit up blast post coming from the deep woods. “Great job, Finn!” she thinks to herself. Even though she can tell it’s flickering, she knows that any progress is a step in the right direction.

“Eye for an Eye” by Mac Quayle underscores the following scene

Vicki and company are surveying the woods and listening for motion. Around the corner, they notice the blueish hue of the will-o-wisps change to orange. 

“Did you see that?” a fellow resident asked Vicki. 

“Yes, I did.” she says as she notices the orange hue quickly turn to a bright red. 

‼️ DANGER ‼️ 

The red spreads like a wildfire as Vicki can make out a dark figure moving through the woods, but the trees (some with leaves and some bare) obscure her view. Vicki presses the talk button on her radio and begins speaking quietly but very militaristic.

“Ozzy, come in.”

On the other end, the radio has interference and is very static.

“Come in, Ozzy.”

Ozzy hears the distortion but can’t make out what Vicki is saying.

“Go ahead, Vicki.”

It is distorted and choppy on Vicki’s end too. She shakes her head. The figure is moving faster in the direction towards the blast post.

“Guys, listen to me. There is something in there with you.” Vicki says directly. The message on the other end is so choppy Ozzy can barely make it out. 

“Say again”, Ozzy says with squinted eyes as he looks up at Finn. 

Vicki on the other end says “Get out of there!” and it finally comes through clearly.

The moment they hear that, Finn and Ozzy lock eyes. Suddenly, the blueish hue surrounding them changes to blood red as they look in the direction of a dark silhouette coming toward them. “It looks different than one of those creatures,” Finn thought. “It’s walking upright…..like a MoonSugrr.”

They don't have time to run, because whatever they were staring at was staring right back at them. It lurches forward and grabs Ozzy. Ozzy is a mini MoonSugrr, but he is certainly quick. He rears back with the radio, pressing the talk button as he did it, and smacks the figure in the head. The radio breaks apart immediately. 

On the other end, Vicki hears the beginnings of a scuffle followed by silence. 

For Ozzy, the radio strike is useless as it has no effect on the figure. Now it is the figure’s turn. It slaps Ozzy so hard, he flies into the side of the blast post. The impact of Ozzy’s body actually makes the post surge in power. Finn glances at it in bewilderment. 

“okay?” Finn thinks to himself.

He doesn’t enjoy that little victory for long as he is grabbed by the unusually strong figure that just made short work of Ozzy. Finn is spun around to see the figure face to face. Finn sees that it is a MoonSugrr like any other dressed in a Blast Post Technician’s uniform complete with a name tag that reads Cecil. This must be the Technician whose bag they found earlier. It must also be one of the Technicians that went missing earlier in the day.

This didn’t just look like a MoonSugrr, this WAS a fellow MoonSugrr. But his eyes were empty and black like an abyss. There was deadness in them and pure rage in his face.

Finn, face to face with this horribly angry image, freezes up again. This was too much for him. He wasn’t prepared and he felt absolutely powerless as he felt a tractor beam pulling him into these eyes. If eyes are the windows to the soul, Finn did not want to see that soul. And he was terrified that he was about to. Finn can't do anything except muster enough strength to say one thing….”Cecil” 

The murderous MoonSugrr pauses for a split second and cocks its head.

ZAP

Cecil is agitated by something behind him. He snarls in pain as the ZAP hit him again and he turns. Finn couldn’t see what was behind Cecil’s back as he dropped Finn.

ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP

Cecil goes down like a bag of rocks…unconscious. His angry snarl deflating as he falls on the forest floor. His collapsing body reveals a banged up Ozzy holding a blast rod like a weapon. 

“I gotta get me one of these.” Ozzy declares.

“You can have it. Token of my appreciation.” Finn grins. “You okay?” Finn asks as he notices Ozzy’s scratched up head.

“I’m good. Been through much worse. You?”

“No, I have not been through worse.” Finn says cheekily.

Ozzy smirks, then looks at the blast post. “You get it to work?"

Finn, amused that they’re still alive. “Actually…..you did.”

Ozzy smiles and then motions towards the unconscious blast post tech lying on the ground, “What do we do with him?”

—————————————————

Back on the Bow (North) entrance of the Haunted Oak Woods, Vicki is clutching her radio. “Come in, Ozzy. Come in, Finn. Can you hear me? Finn? Ozzy? Come in.”

She looks very worried. One of the other residents with her chimes in, “maybe we should leave.” She doesn’t answer.

Still grasping the radio, you can hear the nerves in her voice “Finn, Ozzy….come in!”

“Hey!” Ozzy cheerily declares as Vicki looks up to see he and Finn dragging a tied up Cecil out of the woods. 

“Sorry for the lack of response,” Ozzy says as he raises a broken radio in his hand. “Radio trouble”

Vicki smiles and feels deep relief. Not just because Finn can get them out of this, but because she feels a connection to Ozzy.

Ozzy and Vicki share a small moment looking at each other in silence. Something clicks in each of their minds at the same time. Just as this moment lingers a bit and everyone can catch their breath, they hear wagons rolling up. Mayor Toil Hatchett exits one of the wagons, followed by members of his cabinet.

“Hello, Mr. Mayor,” Vicki can barely stifle her annoyance with the Mayor fleeing Ghoulish Grove when the town needed him.

“Vicki, I suppose you’re the one in charge here.” The Mayor states in a condescending and bored tone.

“I suppose, sir” Vicki responds, almost choking on the word “sir” as she felt not saying it would put her on the Mayor’s “naughty” list. That was the thing with the Mayor. He held grudges and you had to walk on eggshells around him for fear of reprisal. Everyone was either swayed by his words and “presentation” of himself OR they had to swallow their visible disapproval of him because they knew he was, above all else, a manipulative personality.

Finn and Ozzy show him an unconscious Cecil and tell him they found him in the woods. Vicki explains the situation to the Mayor even though she can tell she doesn’t have his attention. He is only half listening. His mind is someplace else. Vicki has dealt with quite a few older MoonSugrrs like this. She’s noticed that they don’t listen to her despite her being the best at what she does. She decides to do what she always does and pick out someone he WILL listen to.

“Our man Finn here fixed the blast post in the woods,” Vicki says, giving credit where it’s due. She makes way so Finn can step forward in front of her.

The Mayor is now fully paying attention as he locks eyes with Finn. “Is that right? You a technician?” The Mayor asks in an unreadable and intimidating demeanor.

“Yes, well, no. I’m studying to be one, well, not yet. I was on my way to tr-,” Finn stumbles.

“Well, which is it?” the Mayor chuckles out as he looks at his cabinet members. The cabinet, like always, chuckles on command.

“Finn…..” the Mayor puts his arm around Finn. “Seems like you just became the most important resident in all of Ghoulish Grove tonight.”

“I’d rather n-“, stumbles Finn again

“I always think that if others need help, a hero is someone who stands up to offer that help, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Um-“

The Mayor stops and squints his eyes as he gives Finn a piercing look waiting for Finn to answer exactly as he wants.

“Yes.” Finn obliges. The mayor’s toothy smile comes out. 

“Well we need help, buddy.” The mayor turns around to show to the entire group there. “We need you, Finn. You might not think of yourself as a hero, but if you were to help us in this hour of need, that’s exactly what you would be. A hero. Right, everyone?” The group audibly agrees, “yeah!” 

The Mayor plays a crowd like a musical instrument. All except Vicki and Ozzy.

“You gonna help us tonight, Finn?” making sure to say his name as much as possible.

“Sure, yeah.” Finn always wanted to save the day.

“Ladies and gents, Finn the hero!”

As the crowd quietly cheers, Cecil wakes back up. His empty eyes open and he begins to snarl again. The crowd’s cheer turns to horror.

The Mayor sees Cecil and stops smiling immediately, instead staring intensely at Cecil’s face. In that moment, it feels like there are only those two folks on the planet.

“His eyes……..I’ve…seen those eyes before.” The Mayor says hauntingly

“There are others like this?” asks Finn. “How many?”

“Many” the Mayor says quietly and chillingly. “There’s something you all need to see.”

The Mayor finally shifts his intense gaze from Cecil to Finn. “I need you to come with me.”

Cut to black.

“The Day World Went Away (Cold & Gray Salvation Remix)” by Nine Inch Nails plays

"The Grim Reavers" by Marco Beltrami plays to set the scene.

There is a collection of desolate places around Ghoulish Grove. There doesn’t appear to be any activity in the town. The streets, previously littered with bodies, are now empty. Roads are empty. The train is empty. Where have all the residents gone?

Then we see an open field full of infected walking in the same direction. Hundreds of them. They are walking with purpose, but to where we don’t know. Among them is one of the beasts. It isn’t attacking them and they aren’t attacking it. The beast moves through the group like a general commanding an army. The beast is giving the orders.

Cut to the wagon with the Mayor, Finn, and the gang all being taken someplace. The wagons go around the eerie Haunted Oak Woods and head back towards Specter Cove on the Stern (South) side of the woods. The Mayor and his cabinet, among other residents and visitors, have set up at the Specter Cove summer camp grounds. Fog has rolled into Specter Cove, so visibility is not ideal. You can’t see much of the dimly lit camp until you get close to it. As they do, Finn notices a fenced in tennis court full of erratic residents, another cage with a large tarp over it, the main camp building, and scattered cabins. The surviving residents have also set up some makeshift fencing to protect themselves. Finn notices a blast post that is not lit up…meaning it isn’t functioning. The camp has power, but it looks dim.

The wagons are let in by guards manning the fence. Everyone gets out as the Mayor starts showing Finn and the gang the camp setup. He shows them the tennis courts full of infected residents. All have the same eyes as Cecil. Guards put Cecil in the cage and close it behind him. Finn scans the group of infected for his parents without any luck. He also notices a cabin off to the side with two guards out front. “Weird,” he thinks to himself.

“We don’t know why they’re like this.” says the Mayor addressing the infected.

“We have some idea,” a mysterious figure enters the discussion. “Hello, I am Schiller, a MoonMage” He says with a creepy mad scientist demeanor. Finn is unnerved by this one. He’s never seen him around Ghoulish Grove before. Finn asks about the cage with a tarp over it.

Schiller pulls the tarp off to reveal ONE OF THE BEASTS.

Finn, Ozzy, Vicki, and the others all take a step back as they see this ghastly creature in better light.

The first thing they notice is its immense size and vibrant red fur. The light blue horns catch their eyes as the lantern light around it glint off the edges.

“It’s a beauty, isn’t it?” Schiller says with a smile. Finn did not agree.

It was currently asleep and had labored breathing. Because Schiller is a MoonMage, he has been able to give the creature a sedative to keep it docile. He sticks it with a spear-like delivery device through the cage to keep it dosed. The beast grunts.

“We have been referring to these creatures as Button Eyed Creepers. The eyes are very unusual. We cannot show them to you because they are extremely dangerous. We believe their eyes are their weapons. We put blinders on this one for our own protection. We deduced that the Creepers actually use their immense strength to trap their prey. At that point, they stare into the prey’s eyes. We believe it hypnotizes the prey by sending them into a delusional, maddening state. We have noted from witnesses who caught a side glimpse of the Creeper eyes that they felt a tractor beam effect pulling them towards dread. These witnesses also mention seeing a circular abyss surrounded by fire and the feeling of emptiness and painful rage. If someone stares into the Creeper eyes long enough, they become “infected” with madness. They are at “the brink”, as we call it. The brink of madness, the brink of the abyss, the edge of existence, whatever you want to call it. This is what has happened to the MoonSugrr you stumbled upon in the Haunted Oak Woods. This is also what has affected the individuals in the cages.” Schiller sternly looks at the Mayor.

“Among others,” Schiller says. The Mayor looks away.

Finn, shook and against his better judgement, speaks up. “I've seen and felt what you're talking about. The brink.” Ozzy and Vicki turn to him surprised that he hasn’t mentioned this before.

While there, Schiller the MoonMage explains that they believe there is one more Button Eyed Creeper on the loose. It’s bigger and meaner. With a large mane of hair around its head. They call it a King Creeper.

The Mayor tells Finn that the camp is running on power from a large blast rock. They are using it as an emergency generator, but it is slowly running out of juice. The Mayor asks Finn if he can take a look at the downed blast post. Finn agrees to help. He climbs up the blast post and begins working on it. A few members of the Mayor’s cabinet surround the post to watch Finn work.

Ozzy and Vicki go inside the Specter Cove main camp building. It is a dining hall full of open space and long dining tables. They are carrying lanterns because the group is trying to conserve power. It’s a nice building where a good deal of Ghoulish Grove residents have spent time as SugrrPups. The camp has been closed since summer, so there’s really not much to eat or drink inside. Vicki takes a seat at a table with her notebook trying to put the pieces of the night together to come up with a plan. Ozzy finds a tea kettle and starts boiling some water. He fully realizes that tonight may be everyone’s last night and he mulls over whether to approach Vicki. He knows it’s a horrible time, but he wants to tell Vicki that he likes her.

The water boils. Ozzy finds some cups and steeps the tea. He brings the steaming cups over and sets them at Vicki’s table. She is scribbling on a notepad, deep in thought.

“This seat taken?” Ozzy asks.

“Yeah……by you.” Vicki answers.

“I hope you like black tea. It’s all they had.”

“Very sweet of you. Yes, thank you.” she says with a smile but is also determined. “I apologize, my mind is someplace else trying to figure a way out of this.”

“No need to apologize.” says Ozzy as he sits down. He watches the way she thinks and writes. He doesn’t want to seem weird or anything, so he looks around the inside of the building.

Vicki, still looking down at the notebook. “Did you ever spend any time here as a pup?”

Ozzy smiles “Oh yeah, I used to love it out here.”

“Yeah, me too.” Vicki says as she stops and looks around a little.

“Really? When?” Ozzy perks up.

“The same time as you.” Vicki says.

“No way! How do you know when I was here?”

“I was a few years younger than you, but I remember seeing you holding court, telling jokes, and being a goober all the time.”

Ozzy laughs and reminisces to himself, “Yeah, that was a fun time. But what were you doing back then?”

“I sat in the back. I had these big thick glasses and I wore a bright yellow shirt alot-“

“Wait, I DO remember you now.” Ozzy chuckles. They reminisce about camp life when they were young, some of the folks they remember, and overall growing up in Ghoulish Grove. Ozzy decides not to tell Vicki he likes her. He doesn’t want to spoil the good conversation.

Meanwhile, the Mayor makes his way to the small cabin with the two guards out front. He looks around before entering to make sure others don’t notice him. Inside the cabin is his teenage daughter, Trouble Hatchett. She is noticeably infected, but the Mayor gives her special treatment rather than keeping her in a cage with all the others. She has the same symptoms as everyone else. Her condition has worsened since he last saw her. She is strapped down to the bed because he doesn’t know what to do. She is being held under lock and key. The Mayor looks defeated and scared as he holds back tears.

Finn gets the blast post up and running. Once he turns it on, the entire camp lights up brighter than before. The group of residents there are thrilled, but only momentarily. It’s a small victory in a hellish night.

From a distance, you can see the camp brilliantly lit. Even though everyone in the Specter Cove camp is happy about the light, they could not have predicted what happens next.

Finn, still up on the blast post, hears a roaring call coming from the Haunted Oak Woods. Before he can look over to see where exactly its coming from, the caged Creeper in the camp angles its head up and makes a loud guttural noise no one has heard come from it before. It sounded similar to the loud roar Finn just heard. Residents outside in the camp turn around to look at the caged Creeper. They are startled.

“What is that?” someone asks.

“It sounds like a call for help.” says someone else.

All of the infected on the tennis court turn their heads up as well and start making that same call noise.

Ozzy and Vicki hear the muffled noise and head out the front door of the camp building. When they open the door, the sound grows much louder.

In the cabin, Trouble Hatchett lifts her head back and starts making the same call. The Mayor, horrified, stumbles back and falls. His daughter has become an animal.

Finn, still up on the blast post, sees the will-o-wisps lighting up red in the Haunted Oak Woods to the Bow (North). It’s the entire wooded area that is turning red. It looks like a demonic glow spreading towards them. It looks apocalyptic.

SOMETHING IS COMING


“Army of the Dead” by Ramin Djawadi plays

“Lacrimosa” by Mozart underscores the following scene.

The infected erupt out of the Haunted Oak Woods. Finn sees them first from his perch and warns the others watching him work. He slides down and makes his way out into the open in front of the main camp building. He can see the fence around back. He meets up with Ozzy and Vicki out front. The infected make their way towards the North camp fence. All eyes within camp are on them. The infected being held within the tennis court start grabbing, rattling, and thrashing at their cage from the inside. The docile Creeper starts slamming itself against its cage, too.

Everyone is wondering if the northern fence can hold against the incoming infected army. What they aren’t thinking about is the South fence between the camp and the water. The King Creeper is using the infected army marching from the woods to act as a diversion. All eyes are on them and no one is watching the water. And they should be.

CRASH

The King Creeper has effectively crawled out of the shallow water, taken a running start, and is now blasting against the south fence of the camp. It cuts through the chain link like its aluminum foil as it attacks the camp. It moves towards the tennis courts and rips a gash into that fence as well, effectively flooding the camp. In all the commotion, a lit lantern falls to the ground and breaks. The flames ignite some brush, which begins to spread towards the smaller, caged Creeper.

Finn, against his better judgement, runs to the cage and unlocks it. He opens the door and leaves it open for the Creeper to escape. It looks at him for a moment and walks past him and doesn’t attack. In fact, it sniffs him and looks almost appreciative of Finn’s act of kindness. The Creeper’s eyes don’t look so evil anymore. To Finn, the Creeper looks more like a scared animal than a horrid beast. Just as he thinks that, it then runs off. 

The King Creeper makes its way through residents, grabbing and infecting two at a time as it makes its way to the north fence. It rips a hole in the fencing, allowing hundreds more infected to pour into the camp. They make more infected as they grab and attack the group of survivors in the camp. They hold residents for a longer period of time in order to turn them towards madness. 

Trouble Hatchett, the Mayor’s daughter, breaks free of her restraints, runs past her father, and attacks the guards outside of the cabin she is being held in. She then gets face to face with her father. He is terrified as he squeamishly can’t even look at her face. He closes his eyes and looks away. She scurries off not finishing the job. He opens his eyes in bewilderment. He is in shock. He begins to stumble out of the cabin and makes his way into the main camp building, but when he sees the chaos outside, he quickly shuts the door and locks it. 

Vicki, Ozzy, and Finn are all outside trying to help others but it’s simply overwhelming. They realize that they can’t do anything to help, really. They just need to run away. They jump in a wagon prepared to leave the war-zone of infected, Creepers, and running residents. Ozzy is driving, Vicki is riding shotgun, and Finn is in the back surveying the fiery mess that is overtaking the camp. They all look to the main camp building and see the Mayor alone through the front door windows. They wave him over but he’s frozen solid. 

Finn, fed up, jumps out of the wagon and runs over to the building. He can’t believe he is doing this. Finn tries to open the door, but the Mayor doesn’t move. Suddenly, Schiller appears from behind the Mayor, pushes him aside, and unlocks the door. Finn and Schiller grab the Mayor and they make their way to the wagon, dodging crazed residents. They help the Mayor into the wagon as a massive group of infected gets closer and closer. The fire spreads to the main camp building, engulfing it in flames. Finn turns his back to the giant group of infected as he helps push the Mayor into the wagon. An infected hand grabs Finn’s shoulder and spins him around.

Finn sees a face he recognizes deeply, but simultaneously not at all.

Finn is suddenly flabbergasted as tears fill his eyes. 

“Mom?” he says with glassy eyes.

But quickly, he realizes it’s no longer his mom at all. Its rage-filled eyes are black and empty. It grabs Finn’s arms and squeezes him. He’s helpless as it drags him in and tries to stare into his eyes the way any other infected would. 

Schiller yells “come on!” and pushes Finn’s mom back like he would any other infected. She stumbles a few feet into another infected. Finn sees the face of that one too. With tears starting to roll down in his face, Finn whispers.

“Dad?”

Schiller jumps in the wagon and pulls a shaken Finn up by his underarms. Finn stares at his former parents. He is practically comatose like the Mayor. 

“What’s going on back there?!” Ozzy shouts.

“Go go go!” says Schiller.

They take off as fast as they can. Infected walk briskly after their wagon at first, but then turn around and head back towards the blast post. Both Creepers rush towards the blast post and begin thrashing at it. The power goes down and the lights of the camp go out completely. The only light is from the raging fire that has taken over the entire camp.

Finn doesn’t understand. “They’re going after the blast posts?”

“They’re going after the blast posts! That’s it!” Vicki says 

Ozzy is handling the wagon like a very skilled driver. Vicki is scribbling in her notebook. Schiller and Finn are staring back at the camp engulfed in flames. The Mayor is staring straight ahead emotionless.

“I got it.” says Vicki

Ozzy looks over, “Got what?”

“THE plan”. 

She turns to Ozzy, “Take us to the train station.”

“Owl Hunts Rat” by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross plays

After the chaos of the camp attack at Specter Cove, the group is limited to Finn, Ozzy, Vicki, Toil Hatchett the Mayor, and Schiller the MoonMage. That is all that is left from their groups. They are heading to the Ghoulish Grove train station. Ozzy is driving the wagon as fast as it will go.

Finn is stuck in a daze. He knew this was one of the fates that could have befallen his parents, but he never really focused on it. Seeing his mother and father as mindless creatures really shook him. The wagon is speeding, but all the sound is muffled in Finn’s ears. He can see Vicki and Schiller talking, but he can’t hear them at all. Finn sees the Mayor too. The Mayor looks how Finn feels right now. He looks like his soul has been snatched from his body. Finn didn’t know why he decided to do this, but he puts his hand on the Mayor’s shoulder to comfort him. The Mayor looks over at Finn, his teary eyes sunken a bit but he was still Toil Hatchett. Not infected, just sad. Toil turns back. He puts his own leafy hand on top of Finn’s on his shoulder and starts weeping. As bad and as lost as Finn feels, he still sees the need to comfort someone who seems even worse off. Vicki turns around to see a weeping Toil Hatchett. She makes eye contact with Schiller.

“His daughter is an infected.” admits Schiller. “She was at the camp.”

In that moment, Finn can’t imagine how the Mayor feels. Finn saw his parents like that, but he can’t imagine losing your own child to “the brink”.

Vicki realizes that the Mayor isn’t capable of giving direction anymore. She tells herself she needs to step up. No more casualties. She looks down and notices her hand shaking a little from the shock of everything the night has brought. Ozzy gently places his hand on top of hers. She looks over at him. He is still driving without looking at her. The tremors in her hand slow and then stop.

Ozzy reassures, “It’s okay. We’ll all figure this out.”

Vicki realizes in this moment that she really likes Ozzy. And even if the world is ending, she feels like she’s spending the last bit of it with someone truly special. Ozzy already realized his feelings for Vicki when they were at Specter Cove talking about their old summer camp days. Vicki allows a small smile to come across her face only for a second as she looks straight towards the direction of their destination, a little hopeful for things to get better.

An hour of riding later, the Train Station comes into view.

The group pulls up to the train station and are greeted by a few town refugees who have made their way to the station at various points throughout the chaotic night. The survivors let Finn, Vicki, Ozzy, Schiller, and the Mayor into the building with them. Some of the folks there were star-struck by Mayor Hatchett at first, but not for long when they realized he is still in some form of shock. One of the survivors is the Conductor from the night before.

“Hey, kid!” He says to Finn. “Nice to see you again! I should have just let you work on the train last night. Maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess.” the Conductor continues with a friendly tone.

Finn laughs knowing full well that the reason the train was down was because the Creepers took out the nearby blast post. It was not a train issue. Vicki glances at the train cars and grounds around the blast post. After introductions are made, Vicki gathers everyone together to ask if anyone is in charge. They supposed that the Conductor was in charge, but he claimed to have no path forward on how to get out of there without power to the train. Vicki offered up the fact that she had a plan, asking if they wanted to hear it. Everyone was interested in what she had to say.

Vicki takes out her notebook and begins to lay out her plan. She asks the conductor about the integrity of the train cars.

“Those babies are as tough as nails. They can withstand extraterrestrial travel.” says the Conductor with a hardy chuckle. Ozzy chuckles too.

“Can the train doors be operated manually?” asks Vicki

“Yep,” he answers

“Schiller, do you still have some of that sedative you used on the small Creeper?” asks Vicki

“Enough for two darts. I have my dart gun I used to capture the small one the first time.”

“Finn, do you still have your blast rod?”

Finn holds up the blast rod. He places it in his bag.

“Okay, we have a big advantage. We know how to bring the Creepers to us. They will attack working blast posts and anyone who fixes them. If Finn fixes the blast post here and turns it on, we can lure the Creepers in. They’ll target the post and if they see Finn nearby, they will target him next. At that point, Finn will run the 100 paces from the post to the nearby train car. If the Creepers follow him into the train car, we shut the doors and trap them inside.”

“How am I getting out of the train car?” asks Finn, a hint of fear in his tone.

“The other end will be shut until you and the Creepers are inside. Schiller will shoot the Creepers with sedative darts to distract and slow them down once they get locked in. The moment the entrance is shut behind the Creepers, the exit door on the other end of the train will be opened for you to escape. The reason the exit door is left closed at first is because we don’t want the Creepers to enter both doors and box you in from both sides. Believe me, that would be worse.” says Vicki.

“So in one end and out the other? And don’t get killed? Got it.” says Finn sarcastically, attempting to mask the nervousness welling up in his chest.

“Ozzy and I will close the entrance door after Finn and the Creepers fully get inside the train. We need a volunteer to man the exit door.”

The room was quiet for an uncomfortable amount of time, the fear obvious in everyone’s faces. Vicki was becoming disheartened until something at the corner of her eye caught her attention. The Mayor, who has been quiet this entire time, slowly raises his hand to volunteer. “I’ll do it.”

Vicki smiles, happy to see the Mayor “with it” again and proud of him. “It’s good to have you back,” she says.

He humbly smiles and slowly nods.

“I’ll help him with the exit door.” says the Conductor. The Mayor gives the Conductor a nod as a salute of appreciation.

“But what about the infected? The Creepers used them once before as a diversion. Don’t you think they’ll use them again?” asks Finn.

Schiller speaks up, “From what I’ve seen of this King Creeper, it is an arrogant beast. It only used the infected because it needed them against the entire camp. There were many more residents there, so the King Creeper needed a big diversion. He’s not going to wait for the infected to arrive to deal with us. It will think we’re small potatoes. Plus there are now two Creepers out there again…thanks to Finn.” says Schiller, cutting a look in Finn’s direction.

“The Creeper you caught was going to burn to death in its cage.” retorts Finn a little hotly.

“Then we would have only had to deal with one of them instead of two!” Schiller growls with obvious annoyance.

“Schiller!” shouts Ozzy. No one has heard Ozzy get upset until now.

“This pup’s stupid bleeding heart has hurt our odds!” yells Schiller, motioning towards Finn.

“This pup saved your life!” Ozzy scolds Schiller. “If it wasn’t for Finn, I would have left you and the Mayor back there at the camp. So remember why you’re still here. Apologize and thank Finn.” Ozzy declares.

Schiller, now calmed down, feels ashamed for his outburst. “Sorry, Finn.”

“It’s okay.” Finn says.

“Don’t forget to thank him too” Vicki says, staring daggers at Schiller.

“Thank you,” Schiller says quietly.

“You’re welcome,” says Finn, looking at Vicki and Ozzy like “it’s okay.”

“But we could use the train to get out of here. If Finn fixes the blast post, the train will have power. We could all just jump on it and leave.” says one of the folks in the train station, their voice quivering with desperation to leave.

“I don’t want to run anymore. I’m going to fight for my home. What do you all want to do?” says Vicki adamantly.

Everyone looks at each other for a few pondering moments.

“Fight!” says the Mayor, getting more pep with each passing minute. His ability to work a crowd returns.

“Fight!” yells everyone, minus a couple hesitant folks.

“Let’s take back our home!” yells Vicki triumphantly.

Everyone cheers.

Everyone is now preparing diligently for the plan ahead. Schiller is filling darts with sedative and checking his dart gun. Radio earpieces are distributed among Vicki, the Mayor, Schiller, and Finn. Folks hide inside the train station building with eyes peering through windows to watch. Finn goes through his bag again to make sure he has everything. Everyone takes their positions.

Ozzy and Vicki crouch under the entrance steps of the train car to remain hidden from any Creeper’s view. Ozzy thinks this is the time to tell Vicki how he feels about her.

“Vicki, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. Well, it’s actually something I’ve been meaning to tell you. If something happens to either of us, I don’t want to not have told you.” Ozzy fumbles, he is obviously a bit nervous and jittery.

Vicki cuts him off, “Ozzy…tell me after, okay?” She nods to reassure him. She truly does not want to handle those emotions at a time like this. She feels like she’s barely holding it together as it is.


DAWN ARRIVES

"The Gentle Hum of Anxiety" by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross underscores this part.

The sun is peaking over the horizon and brings a little light to a night full of darkness. The air has grown colder. Finn sees his breath as he approaches the blast post to begin repairs. The post has deep claw marks which he deduces were from the night before when the train station initially lost power. His earpiece allows him to hear Vicki and the others over the radio. He speaks into the mic, “check check, can you hear me?” he notes his voice is a little trembly and he clears his throat to regain his composure.

“I can hear you.” Vicki responds. She and Ozzy are still crouched under the steps on the south entrance side of the train car. “Radio check, everyone, just to make sure we can hear everyone.”

“I can hear you.” said the Mayor crouched under the steps on the other end of the train car along with the Conductor.

“I can hear you, too.” Schiller sounds off as well. He is crouched under the middle of the train car with his dart gun in hand loaded with tranquilizer darts.

“10-4,” says Vicki.

Despite the trashed look of the blast post, Finn realizes he can fix it pretty easily. He does just that in a relatively short amount of time.

“Blast post fixed,” he utters as he climbs down and starts placing his tools back in his bag slowly, making sure to make a lot of noise. As Finn is deliberately taking too much time packing up, he lets his thoughts be known.

“I don’t love this whole 'worm on a hook' feeling,” says Finn with a nervous chuckle, trying to mask the pretty intense fear he was experiencing.

“I don’t either, buddy. Not one bit,” responds Vicki.

Finn is startled by a rustling sound in the nearby tree-line. “I hear something,” he says as he freezes in place.

The silhouette of a Creeper emerges from the brush. Finn quickly straightens up, “It’s the small one.” He whispers into the earpiece.

Vicki clicks her radio mic to speak, “Move, Finn!”

“Wait, we need both of them,” utters Finn, attempting to be brave, as he squints at the Creeper. Just as he does, the King Creeper emerges from the same trees behind the smaller, red Creeper. It walks up beside the red Creeper, stops for a second, then steps forward towards Finn with realization and then hate in its button eyes. It is now clear to the King Creeper that Finn was the one fixing the blast posts. The smaller Creeper makes a guttural clicking noise at the King Creeper, which makes it snap its head back to glare at the lesser Creeper.

“Finn, get out,” says Vicki adamantly.

“No, wait,” whispers Finn as he prepares to take in what happens next. The King Creeper makes a deeper guttural clicking sound back towards the smaller Creeper. Finn thinks this looks like a disagreement that is escalating into an argument between the Creepers as they click and snarl at each other. It looks like the smaller Creeper is trying to distract and divert the King Creeper’s attention to protect Finn.

“But why?” he wonders.

“Oh!” Finn realizes that the smaller Creeper is protecting him because he freed it back at Specter Cove. The King Creeper, now squared up facing the smaller Creeper, lunges at it. It grabs and pins the smaller one, thrashing it and beating it into brutal submission until it’s knocked out. Just as this beating commences, Finn snatches up his bag and darts towards the train car as fast as his feet will carry him. The King Creeper, on top of the smaller Creeper’s body, hears Finn take off. The King Creeper spins around and accelerates forward intent on ending Finn.

“The Shape Strikes Again- Halloween II” by John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter, Daniel Davies underscores the next part. Play it on repeat if you have to.

Finn sprints to the train, up the steps over Ozzy and Vicki, through the entrance door, and into the train car. The King Creeper hits peak speed as it gallops towards Finn, almost nipping at his heels. The King Creeper follows him up the steps and partially enters into the train car, then stops suddenly.

Finn turns around to see the King Creeper standing in the entrance doorway looking around the train car.

“We can’t close the door until he’s all the way in, Finn.” says Vicki frantically, still under the entrance steps.

Finn desperately searches his mind for options. The King Creeper looks suspicious. It’s wondering if this is a trap. Finn reaches in his bag and searches for his blast rod. As Finn scrambles, Schiller slowly makes his way from under the train and raises up into the window’s view with his dart gun drawn. The King Creeper catches a reflection of Schiller in its peripheral vision. Just as Schiller looks to have a shot through the gap of the window, the King Creeper uses its lightning fast reflexes to swipe the barrel of the dart gun diagonally just as Schiller pulls the trigger. The combined motion makes Schiller fire one of the sedative darts into his own leg. The shot knocks him off balance and he falls to the ground immediately succumbing to the sedative’s effects. Finn witnesses all this and freezes in fear, both his hands in his bag.

With the attack on Schiller, the King Creeper steps forward making it possible for Ozzy and Vicki to finally shut the entrance door. They both lunge forward with all their might and slam the door shut. The closing door makes the King Creeper turn around immediately and raises its claws to hit it open. A second before it connects, Ozzy slides a bar through the door latches to brace it from the Creeper’s blow. The King Creeper’s paw smashes against the door, but the bar keeps it shut. The King Creeper turns back around to face Finn, shows its teeth and kneeling down as if it was readying to launch itself at him.

Ozzy, outside the train car, jumps down the steps and heads for the dart gun that Schiller just dropped. Ozzy grabs the gun, then bursts up to get a view through the gap in the side window of the train. He shoulders the dart gun and aims it as he is beginning to peer into the window. As Ozzy’s eyes reach high enough to see in, he notices that he is face to face with the King Creeper on the other side of the gap. In the blink of an eye, the King Creeper’s paw reaches through and clutches Ozzy. Ozzy fits in the King Creepers giant claws easily. The King Creeper stares into Ozzy’s eyes and he begins pulling him in, literally and figuratively. Ozzy is helplessly trying to free himself but he doesn’t stand a chance. Vicki looks on in horror as she sees what happens to Ozzy. Everyone can see the life drain out of his face.

“Ozzy!” yelps Vicki as she runs to him.

Finn, stuck being a spectator, snaps out of it and once again goes back to riffling through his bag in a panic. He finally finds what he’s been looking for. He takes out the blast rod now ready to do battle, his fear melting away at the sight of his friend in need.

“Hey!” Finn yells.

The King Creeper, still holding Ozzy, turns it’s head to look at Finn and smiles a sadistic grin as if he enjoys what he’s doing.

Finn lights up the blast rod and it makes a sizzling, zapping sound.

“Put….my best friend….down,” Finn says through gritted teeth.

The King Creeper roars trying to intimidate. It’s still holding Ozzy’s lifeless body, then suddenly…

SHUNK!

The sound of the dart gun firing. Ozzy is able to lift the dart gun and fire the final dart directly into the King Creeper’s chest. It angrily pulls Ozzy’s body forward and hits him into the outside of the train window glass, then drops him. Ozzy topples onto the ground beside the train. Vicki tries to slide under Ozzy to break his fall, but is a moment too late as he folds on the ground. The King Creeper looks down at the dart lodged in its chest. It rips it out and tosses it. The dart clangs off the train floor.

That dosage was based on the smaller Creeper, but it might not be enough for the King as it makes its way towards Finn.

The Mayor, manning the exit door, desperately tries to unlatch it. But without any luck.

“How’s that exit door, Mayor?!” Finn asks as he stares down the King Creeper who is walking towards him.

“It’s stuck!” cries the Mayor.

The King Creeper lunges at Finn and receives a ZAP to the face. This stuns the King Creeper for a second as it recoils, letting out a horrific screeching sound. Finn’s eyes widen as he realizes he actually has a fighting chance. The Mayor and the Conductor are both trying to unjam the door. Finn, with blast rod sizzling in his hand, is keeping the beast at bay waiting to zap or pop it if it snaps at him again. Finn is backing up and nearing the jammed door. He can hear the Mayor and Conductor struggling to open the door from the other side. The King Creeper, with rage filled eyes, rears back preparing to launch itself at Finn. The exit door finally unjams and is thrown open. Finn, hears this and takes a leap of faith, diving backward through the freshly-opened door just as the King Creeper lunges at him. Finn lands and catches himself before he tumbles down the steps. The Mayor and the Conductor slam the exit door at the same time as Finn passes through it and just as the King Creeper leaps towards them. The moment they shut it, the King Creeper collides with the inside of the exit door, making it bulge outward. The Mayor and the Conductor are pushing with all their might trying to keep the door closed. Finn hops up and puts his body against the door as well. The King Creeper is still fighting and pushing the door slightly outward. Vicki, kneeling beside Ozzy’s body, leaves his side to run to help them. Vicki braces against a part of the door, pushing it with all her strength. With the combined might of the Mayor, the Conductor, Finn, and Vicki, they were still losing the tug of war over this door as it started to inch open. Just as they realize their entire plan was about to fail, a large red Creeper paw comes from behind all of them and pushes the outside of the exit door. It adds the strength they need and the door closes. It clicks shut and the Mayor slides the bar through to brace and lock it.

The King Creeper is successfully imprisoned in the train. It thrashes against the doors, the windows, and the roof without damaging any of them. It starts ripping up the interior of the train, which is fine because it can’t get out. It slows down as the sedative starts to take effect. It eventually stops and lies down, succumbing to unconsciousness.

The Mayor, the Conductor, Vicki, and Finn turn around to look at the owner of the Creeper paw that helped them shut the door. It was the smaller, red Creeper!

It was now backing away as the group realizes they have just been saved by one of the very beasts they were trying to trap.

Finn makes eye contact with it. He realizes that showing this Creeper kindness and allowing it to escape was what saved them all in this moment.

“Thank you,” Finn says

The Creeper looks at Finn as if to say the same thing. Then suddenly turns around and darts into the woods.

The group runs over to Ozzy’s body, who is still unconscious. Finn and Vicki kneel by Ozzy’s side. His eyes are sunken and closed. Vicki can’t tell if he’s turned yet. She cries while she holds his head in her hands.

Finn looks up and sees a large group of infected in the distance walking towards the train station.

“November” by Max Richter scores the following scene.

Finn has an idea that might work. It’s based on everything he’s experienced tonight. It’s outlandish but it just might work. He stands up and starts walking towards the infected, leaving his friends behind.

“What are you doing?” asks The Mayor.

Finn doesn’t answer him as he continues walking. The morning is lit up by the sun and you can see the infected on the horizon. The Mayor starts to slowly follow behind him.

“Finn, you’re gonna get yourself killed. What are you doing?” The Mayor asks unsure and nervous.

“The only idea I have left,” Finn turns around and says.

He remembers the change in the small Creeper when he showed it kindness. It lost a lot of its rage. Its eyes relaxed.

Finn spots his parents in the front of the pack walking towards him. But he shows no fear as he runs to cover the gap between them. Just when he reaches them, both his infected mother and father grab him and pull him towards their ghastly faces. Side by side, they each hold one of Finn’s arms firm and render him motionless. He is stuck as they force his eyes open and stare into them. He feels the dread, the beam pulling him forward into the abyss. He is so scared. He thinks of how he was emotionally neglected by them his entire life, how much they had hurt him, how much he was angry at them. He thinks of all the bad things and feels the abyss pulling him down and consuming him.

Then he remembers his mother singing and his father dancing with her in the kitchen. He remembers going to the movies with them. Or laughing with them. Something was happening. Something inside Finn pushes back against the bad thoughts, against the brink.

He remembers his mom telling a story at the dinner table. He remembers his father chasing him around the yard to playfully tickle him. He remembers taking pictures with them doing silly faces.

The anger and sorrow begins to melt away. The light inside of him grows larger and larger and starts lifting him from the abyss. The more good memories that pass through Finn’s mind, the larger and more powerful that light inside him grows. And the more powerful he feels. He opens his eyes and sees his infected parents staring at him. He stares right back into their eyes, battling their madness with the light. They go from enraged to confused. The infection just met the cure and the brink wasn’t ready for that. The infected eyes of his parents wince. The brink is worried. Finn effortlessly musters the strength to move his arms, grabs each of his infected parents, and pulls them both close. He feels so many emotions at once that he opens his mouth and lets them all pour out.

“I hated you for making me stay here! I’m sorry, but I wanted to hurt you! I didn’t feel listened to! I wanted to be gone from this place so bad! You teased me all the time and never took me seriously! You never listened to me! And you never tried to see things from my side! I was scared my entire life and you just let me wallow in it! I didn’t want this! I don’t want to hurt you! I don’t want you to go! I love you both! We’ll talk about all of it after! You just have to come back! JUST COME BACK! COME BACK!” Finn cries. The cry turns into a whimper, “…just come back.” He puts his head down, emotionally drained, and hugs them while weeping.

“……Finn….”

Finn lifts his teary face up, “Mom?”

“Son…”

Finn glances over, “Dad?”

Both his parents have their normal eyes again, except they are full of tears at the honesty Finn just shared with them. They were vulnerable enough to actually hear him and empathize with what he was saying.

“We’re so sorry, Finn. We’re so sorry. We love you.” says Finn’s mom. His dad follows it up with, “We should have listened to you and tried to understand how you felt.” All three hug and cry together.

The crowd that has formed behind Finn sees the effect his words have on his parents. Somehow, this raw emotional honesty and openness has broken through all of the anxiety, pain, anger, suffering, and madness “the brink” has brought upon his once-infected parents. Finn’s love and honesty BROUGHT THEM BACK!

Vicki, still holding Ozzy’s unconscious head in her hands, hears the conversation over the earpiece and feels inspired by Finn’s words. She looks at Ozzy’s closed sunken eyes and starts speaking, “Hey! I like you! You talk too much, but I like that! I really enjoy being around you! You make me feel comfortable and I want to get to know you!”

Ozzy’s eyes open and the sunken look has vanished. He smiles. Vicki is the happiest she’s ever been in her life.

“What did you want to tell me before?” she smiles through tear soaked cheeks.

“That I like you too!” Ozzy says. Vicki smiles, laughs, and cries as she hugs and kisses him. Ozzy winces from his sore body as she hugs him, but he hugs and kisses her right back anyway.

The Mayor, also overhearing all of this on the radio, spots his daughter in the crowd of infected. He approaches her and locks eyes, “I’m sorry I lie all the time and put on such a fake show for everyone! I don’t even know why I do it anymore! I want to change! I love you, honey!” Trouble Hatchett’s eyes change back to normal, no longer sunken and empty. She comes back from the brink. The Mayor weeps while hugging her. She hugs him back and cries. This is the first time they’ve hugged in a year.

The remaining folks start spotting their loved ones in the crowd of infected and begin showering them in the same raw emotional honesty and empathy that Finn started. All of their emotions from the fear of the night powers their words. They begin bringing their loved ones back. Those that wake up find others. The spread continues as the entire group of infected, one by one, is brought back. Emotions are talked about that haven’t been discussed in years. And others that haven’t been expressed or explored ever. There is pure genuine love and honest joy spreading faster than the infection ever could. Love is the cure, and it’s winning. The remaining infected, now outnumbered, begin turning to leave. They are chased down by folks and brought back. The entire moment is a giant homecoming full of tears, joy, love, laughing, hugs, understanding, happiness, memories, and acceptance.

Finn, in a group hug with his parents, asks softly “can we go home?”

The answer is “yes.”


——————-..—————-

“Destinations” by Alesso underscores this next part.

With the town saved, the residents all return to Ghoulish Grove. Other infected throughout the town and surrounding areas are located and turned back by their loved ones. For those that don’t have loved ones, they were brought back by strangers who eventually became friends and loved ones.

The town’s community grew much stronger as a result of the horrors of this year's Ghoul-o-ween night. In the coming days, Finn’s parents took him to the Lincoln Heights academy, where they helped him move in. He still left Ghoulish Grove, but he felt much better about it now. He felt it was on good terms rather than a plot to get back at his parents. Finn had also grown a deep love of Ghoulish Grove from that night. He had met some remarkable folks that he would never forget.

Schiller disappeared after he passed out from the sedative dart. The residents looked around the train and he had vanished. Authorities handled the train situation and properly caged the King Creeper, taking it to a secret facility. The smaller Creeper, nicknamed 'Ransack' by Finn, was still on the loose somewhere. That didn’t worry Finn and the others because it seemed to change its demeanor after Finn showed it kindness.

———

A few weeks after leaving for the academy, Finn is invited back to Ghoulish Grove for a special ceremony. He is welcomed with open arms by the entire town. The Mayor hosts the event, honoring “the heroes of Ghoulish Grove”. The Conductor, Ozzy, Vicki, and Finn are all recognized as saviors of the town. Ozzy and Vicki hold hands while on stage, which warms Finn’s heart. He is so happy for them. The Mayor brings Finn up to rousing applause and even tries to publicly pressure him to return to Ghoulish Grove to live full time. The Mayor hasn’t totally shaken his manipulative side just yet. Finn just smiles and declines to answer, then effectively steers the crowd back to the Mayor, “Give it up for Mayor Hatchett! He was with us every step of the way, even if we had to push him for part of it!”

The crowd laughs and cheers simultaneously. The Mayor smiles at Finn as if to say “touché” and nods. He then spreads out his arms and waves, accepting the crowd’s adoration.

Finn backs away from the microphone to stand next to his friends Ozzy and Vicki onstage.

“The heroes of Ghoulish Grove, everyone!” declares the Mayor with a huge grin on his face. Trouble Hatchett and Finn’s parents are among the massive crowd cheering, hooting, and whistling as our main characters stand onstage smiling and taking in the love. Heroes for a day.

Cut to black.

The End

“Heroes” by David Bowie plays.




Thank you for reading “Night of the Creepers”. We hope you enjoyed it. Happy Halloween to each and every one of you. Take care of yourselves and stay safe out there!