You've got Book Time.
No, we don't do online orders.
We're an actual brick
and mortar book store.
Yeah? Thank you for
the business advice.
I'll keep that in mind.
Mr. Cooper.
Sarah. Still knockin' em dead,
I see. Hm.
What can I do for you today?
Well just a reminder.
The new lease kicks in next week.
I haven't signed it.
Well that's your problem.
At a glance, I'm guessing that's
the least of your problems.
Seriously, who buys books anymore?
Readers. Readers buy books.
I happen to be a reader, Mr. Cooper,
and I've been reading up
on tenant's rights.
You can't just double
the rent on a whim.
It's illegal.
Is it? Since the redevelopment began,
real estate prices in
the area have skyrocketed.
There's nothing like a new
high-end housing development
to cure a few ills.
And as such, it's within
my rights to command
fair market value
upon the expiration
of your current lease.
He's right. It's not illegal.
It's immoral.
Immoral.
Oooh. Another reader.
My mother stuck by you, Mr. Cooper,
through thick and thin.
All of your other tenants bailed.
You owe her.
Martin, we have a customer.
You want to see if
she needs help, honey?
Ooh! A customer.
Now!
Scoot.
Oh, I'd hire her in a heartbeat.
Ew.
That is illegal.
I'll be back at the end of the day.
New lease in hand.
You'll either sign it or you won't.
It's strictly business, dear.
It's k*ll or be k*lled out there.
k*ll or be k*lled.
Come on.
So? How's it going?
Guess. You know, this is literally
the computer they used
to land Apollo 11.
Well that would make it
a collector's item.
Maybe we could sell it?
Ha. Ha.
I hate to admit it, honey,
but you were right.
Book Time needs an online presence.
Tomorrow we go shopping
for a new computer.
How? I heard that jag-off.
We can't afford jack.
We'll find a way. We always do.
If you're thinking
about f*ring me, forget it.
I don't get paid as it is.
I would never fire you.
But it looks like
Dawn?
I'm sorry, I really am.
She's a sweet kid, but we need
to cut down on overhead.
Starting with her?
Jesus, Mom. We were gonna do
dinner and a movie this weekend.
"Night of the Flesh Eaters."
Is that the name of the movie
or the dinner?
Ha, ha!
Oh, trust me.
If she really likes you,
and what's not to like?
It won't make any difference.
God, you're such a mother.
That's my job.
I'll tell her at lunch.
I promise, I'll be gentle.
Please let me let me do it.
Ok.
Hey. I'm halfway through
clearing out the cellar.
Who knew roaches came in
so many shapes and sizes?
Uh, it's that ass-hat again, isn't it?
She's not an ass-hat,
she's just out of options.
Who? Wait, what are you talking about?
My mother.
- Oh.
- She needs a miracle.
Where'd you find this?
It's just a bunch of stuff
under the stairwell.
"Image 10, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania." Image 10.
- I don't know.
- Let's open it.
Ok. Here.
- Holy sh*t!
- What is it?
A miracle.
A what?
Image 10 is the company that
made "Night of the Living Dead."
Wait, the-
"Night of the Living Dead".
This must have been Romero's
office and if I'm not mistaken,
these could be the unfinished
horror comics of George Romero.
These must be worth a fortune.
They were never released.
"When there's no room left
on the page,
"the dead will walk the earth."
Hey, 3D glasses inside.
I know he loved 3D.
You know what this means, don't you?
I think so, but tell me anyway.
Well, for starters it means
you're unfired.
f*ck! I was fired?
Um, forget it, forget I said that.
Hey, do me a solid, grab some
plastic sleeves from storage.
You got it.
What the f*ck?! f*ck!
Hey, whatcha doing down there?
I fell on my ass.
Yeah, I see that.
This 3D is phenomenal. Try it.
Ok, first things first,
we need to get this
fortune into plastic.
You should go tell your mother
what you found.
What you found.
Hello?
Is someone there?
Neat.
Mom here it is, here. Check it out.
All our problems are solved.
It's a miracle.
Eww.
Brain Rot.
Ulgh. Looks like a pretty
cheesy miracle to me.
That's cause you're not wearing
the special 3D glasses.
It says they were designed
specifically for these comics.
3D doesn't really work on me, honey.
Excuse me, could one of you
point me to your horror section?
Martin is an expert.
Would you like to help the gentleman?
Yes. Here. Right this way.
We've got everything alphabetized.
Aliens, blobs, creepy kids
all the way down to xenomorphs,
yetis and zombies.
This is my favorite part of the store.
- You got good taste.
- Thanks.
Oh, my god.
Martin!
Martin, what is that scream?
The dude in aisle three!
- What?
- Mom, wait.
What?
Honey
Martin, what is going on?
It's gone.
What's gone? Who did this?
We gotta move before it finds us.
sh*t!
Dawn. Come on.
Oh, my God.
- Sir Sir, are you ok?
- Please.
- Come on, please.
- This can't be happening.
- Oh, come on.
- Is this real?
Mom, we gotta go! We gotta go now!
Martin, we have to help him.
- The cellar's the safest place.
- What are you doing?
- Come on!
- Why are we running?!
Let's go!
What is happening?
Martin!
Martin, look at me.
Who is on the other side of that door?
You wouldn't believe me.
Give it a sh*t.
- A flesh eater.
- A what?
A 3D zombie att*cked
the dude in aisle three.
A 3D zombie.
Ok. So this is a prank.
You're getting back at me
for f*ring your little friend.
It's not a prank.
It came out of the book
after I tried on the glasses.
Alright, this is not funny!
It stopped.
Dawn's calling.
Bro, where are you at?
Store room. Where are you?
I'm in the office
working up some pricing.
I swear this is the computer
that landed Apollo 11.
I love her so much.
What?
Listen, do you trust me?
Sure.
Then don't ask questions.
Lock the door and wait
until we get there.
Something's in the store.
You can't see it but it's there.
Wait, what do you mean I can't see it?
So
An invisible zombie att*cked
our only customer.
Ouch, that blows.
Right?
Um, something just slammed up
against the glass.
Lock the door.
I gotta save her.
An invisible zombie? Really?
Martin!
Damnit! It's jammed.
Wait a minute. If the glasses
brought it out,
maybe I can bring out
something else to help us.
Oh, you are really pushing it.
I mean, I could ground you.
It just never seems to work.
I just don't, I don't
Perfect.
Hello there!
Hi.
Which convention is this?
Hey, this used to be my old office.
Image 10?
Right. Who are you?
I'm Martin. This is my mother, Sarah.
Nice to meet you.
Who are you talking to?
I'm sorry, she's not being rude
it's just that she can't
see you without these.
That's alright.
I can't see her too well
without these.
Oh, just Martin, stop!
Hello there.
Mom, meet George Romero.
Please, it's just George.
Hello George.
If it's alright, I have about
a hundred questions.
First, how did I get here?
Second that's all I got.
Oh, God!
Mr. Romero, George
First off, I'm a huge fan.
I saw you on Chiller Theatre
with Bill Cardille
when you guys ran "Night
of the Living Dead" uncut.
And "Dawn of the Dead".
I changed my learners permit
just so I could get in
on opening night.
You did what?
I'm kidding. And these brilliant.
But, they did bring one of your
Brain Rot zombies to life.
Zombies aren't real, kid.
The ones I created technically
aren't even zombies.
I called mine ghouls.
And bringing a comic book to life,
well that sounds like something
straight out of a com
Far out.
I always wanted to work in 3D.
- Mr. Romero.
- Please, it's George.
George, our stock girl's trapped
inside the office,
and the door is jammed.
Does she have any weapons?
A machete, molotov cocktail,
screwdriver in the ear?
Uh, she's got like a like a Kn*fe.
Your friend's a goner.
You're king of the zombies.
Ghouls.
So you invented the genre.
You'd know how to stop them.
So so what's he saying?
What's he saying right now?
Um, just general info.
Our best bet is to sh**t it
in the head.
Destroy the brain, destroy the ghoul.
A ghoul.. a ghoul?
He insists on calling them that.
Oh, my God!
And be ready to improvise
if a g*n's not available
make do with whatever's handy.
Hold that thought, George.
Incoming call.
Hello?
Martin, there's sh*t
moving by itself in here.
Whatever you're doing, do it fast!
Yeah, I'm working on it.
I'll call you back.
Ok.
Martin, what's your friend doing now?
He's improvising.
Ok.
Oh!
Come on.
Here! I'll take this.
Dawn!
Oh, my god!
What?
Oh f*ck!
Bend at the knees, Martin honey.
Don't want to hurt yourself.
I totally dig what you've done
with the place.
Family owned and operated?
Yep, my late husband and I
took out a small business
loan 15 years ago.
Almost to the today.
And you've retained
creative control ever since?
Far out!
Mom!
Mom, the glasses!
Um, I can see that too.
What?
sh*t. That's a real
zombie. We are majorly f*cked.
There's another pair of glasses.
What happens
if it puts them on?
It means they're learning.
They're actually learning.
Jesus, it's bringing out more.
What?
Can they get through?
Oh, definitely.
They have strength in numbers.
Also, I'm not exactly known
for my uplifting endings.
Yeah, he says yeah.
How is this possible?
I think I might know how.
Back in the day, we delivered
our first six comics
to the printer and the stuff
looked dynamite.
When the guy we hired to do
the glasses demanded more bread,
So, my publisher filed a lawsuit
and all our hard work got tossed
into a crate.
As it turns out, the glasses guy
had an uncle
who, get this, was a voodoo
priest in Trinidad.
So, the uncle cursed the glasses.
A punishment beyond
our wildest comprehension.
Give me a break, right?
It's a funny story!
And no one's laughing.
Yeah, we're not laughing
cause invisible zombies
are about to break in.
Ghouls, but I see your point.
Wait, he's their creator, right?
Ask him how to k*ll them.
Unfortunately, movie rules
don't apply to comics.
I was all set to lay down
the new rules in issue 7
but we got screwed over by
the whole voodoo curse thing.
Wait a minute, that's it!
Now is your chance.
Just write us a happy ending!
Finish the story.
I only write em how I see em, kid.
And from where I'm standing,
the odds are stacked against you.
Mom!
Mom!
Let go of her!
Mom!
Thanks, George.
That's not how I envisioned it, kid.
Fix this. Your words, your rules.
Ok.
There's no power.
- Old school. Pen and paper.
- What?
Dawn!
Improvise. I don't need
paper, I am paper!
Destroy the glasses,
destroy the ghoul.
Now's your sh*t kid. Get it in one!
Now that's a George Romero ending.
See you around the graveyard, kid.
Goodbye, George.
Time to pay the piper.
What the f*ck is this?
I got a realtor coming in
an hour to take pictures.
Where's your mother, hm?
That bitch is gonna pay.
I'll own her!
Sweet Jesus!
Help me!
No can do, Mr. Cooper.
It's strictly business.
It's k*ll or be k*lled out there.
Took us a while to knock her out.
She is a strong-willed girl.
Couldn't tell if she wanted
to k*ll me or kiss me.
Bit my finger then told me I was hot.
With dr*gs?
That was before we
administered the dr*gs.
Hi, baby! Wakey wakey.
We extracted the teeth.
Mom, I can't feel my tongue.
You can't feel your
- My, my
- Her tongue.
The numbness is temporary
and should wear off soon.
- Mom, mom
- Oh.
Shelby, honey.
She said the numbness is temporary.
Tastes like blood.
If you're gonna yack, do it in this.
Mommy's here.
I will never leave you.
My own mom left when I was a kid.
No note.
Took off one day.
Oh, sorry.
Or she was taken.
I just need to be there
for every single second
of Shelby's life.
Keep her safe.
Miranda.
Oh, yes, sorry.
Here's the list of post-op
instructions
to avoid dry socket,
Shelby's pain meds, no solid foods.
You took off her necklace?
I had to, for the surgery.
Right, of course.
Ok. But we gotta get this back
on as soon as you feel better.
So we match!
Fu
You want to keep gauze in there
till the bleeding stops.
you.
Oh, I love you too, sweetie.
Kids, right?
They grow up too fast.
You just gotta savor every minute.
Bi
Maybe not every minute.
Oh, do you have the teeth?
It's just that I've saved
all of Shelby's baby teeth
and I want to add these
to the collection.
Now I'll have a complete set.
Gross.
What?
Here they are.
How are you feeling, Shel baby?
Fantabulous. Fabulous.
It occurs to me that this would
be the perfect time to get into
that hard head of yours.
Hm. Fire away.
Ok, well this will be fun.
Keeping any secrets from me?
Mm. Mom, it's anesthesia,
not truth serum.
Fine.
But, if you really want to know,
I have been a bad, bad girl, Mother.
Boing!
I told you no.
Yeah, well I told myself yes.
When did you do this?
Last Saturday.
- Where?
- Kaitlyn's house.
You did it yourself?
Mom, it's fine.
I disinfected the needle
with hand sanitizer.
I'm like responsible and sh*t.
Stuff.
Your perfect tummy.
I used to blow kisses on this tummy.
I'm ready to try new blows and kisses.
Shelby!
At least you were safe at Kaitlyn's
and not traipsing around town.
But then we snuck out
and we went to this party
at this guy Connor's house.
And he's friends with James
and Matias and I tried Schnapps
and it was minty like toothpaste
Like, the Tooth Fairy.
And it made me feel like woo
like this.
It was nice.
I don't want you hanging
around Kaitlyn anymore.
She is a bad influence on you.
I influence myself, Mom.
Whichever way the influence went,
you snuck out and went drinking.
I didn't know where you were.
Anything could have happened to you.
You could have been kidnapped by them!
Trafficked by perverts!
You could be on some pedophile's yacht
halfway around the world by now!
Mom.
I have seen the movie "Taken"
and I know how these things go.
You could have been tortured
by some underground sex ring
and leave me alone.
Shelby, you're my everything.
I am locking you down
for your own good.
You are never leaving
this house again.
Mom, you tried that with Dad.
Didn't work.
Shelby, that is not fair.
You smothered him
until he had to leave us
- just to breathe again.
- Enough! Stop it! Stop it.
Yeah, ok, Mom. Good talk.
Can't wait to get as far away
from here as possible.
Everyone leaves, Mom.
Everyone.
And Mom, what's the common
denominator?
It's you.
Everybody leaves you, Mom.
Congratulations, it's a girl!
We are going to name
her Shelby.
Rock-a-by baby
on the treetop, ♪
when the wind blows,
the cradle will rock. ♪
Everyone leaves you.
I'll be all alone. ♪
Hey, Mom.
Shelby got her wisdom teeth out today.
I'm gonna put it in your old box
with all her others.
I've saved every one.
Anyway, I hope you're happy.
Wherever you are.
Aw, Shelby.
Hmm.
Complete set of baby teeth.
Oh, Shelby.
I wish I could box you up
and keep you forever, Shelby.
Mm.
Oh well.
Shelby? You have a visitor.
Kaitlyn!
You can go, Mom.
Bring Jell-O!
Who's there?
Iron repels them.
Oh my gosh. How are you?
You didn't text me back all day.
I thought you d*ed.
Oh my gosh, did you die?
Like, how even was your surgery?
Did the doctor slice you up
Friday the 13th style?
Sorry, yeah I slept all day.
I still feel puffy.
Do I look like a chipmunk?
No chipmunk whatsoever.
Cross my heart.
Yeah, good.
I spent all day with bags of
frozen peas pressed on my face
to minimize the damage.
Well, your hard work paid off.
Minimal puff.
Less chipmunk, more early Miley Cyrus.
The Hannah Montana years.
Cheeky. Not puffy.
So, honestly, how was it?
My mom says I have to get
my wisdom teeth out
so they don't grow in
and wreck all the money
they paid for braces
and I'm not loving that idea.
What are wisdom teeth even for?
Do you feel dumber now
that they're gone?
Well, the actual event was a blur.
And it hurts like a mother,
I'm not gonna lie.
I do think though,
the scariest part is that
my mom kept the teeth.
And apparently she kept all my teeth.
Oh. Serial k*ller.
I wonder what else she'd save.
I hope you never have to lose
your appendix or kidney.
Right? I'm traumatized.
I mean, it's not like I believe
in the Tooth Fairy anymore.
I know my mom took the teeth,
but I didn't know she kept them.
Wait, there's no Tooth Fairy?
Sorry to destroy your childhood.
Childhood's been destroyed for years.
You're good.
And when I figured out there
was no tooth fairy
and it was her this whole time,
she was more upset than I was.
And like, I'm the one she was
lying to all those years.
And she kept denying it, like,
"Mom, let it go. I grew up."
Anyway ew, somewhere in this
house is a pile of teeth.
You can't have her.
Everyone leaves you.
Don't mind if I do.
Sure, help yourself.
I have a brilliant idea.
- Oh really?
- Hmm.
We should go hunt for your teeth!
Oh my god.
I'm filled with excitement and dread.
Come on, it'll be fun.
Like an Easter egg hunt.
Like if the Easter Bunny
and Tooth Fairy teamed up
for the grossest holiday ever.
Maybe the nursery?
Yes.
I'm right behind you.
I need another pain pill.
Woah.
This place is f*cking crazy.
Ah!
Ugh.
Shel?
Is your mom superstitious?
My Irish grandma told
me about growing up
with iron sewn into her clothes.
It's supposed to repel
Oh! Tooth Fairy.
Hey, I think I found the teeth!
Never mind.
Hey, Shel, get in here.
Ah! Ah!!
Shelby! Shelby!
Did you find the teeth?
Come back! Don't leave me all alone.
Ow.
Mom, where's my freaking Jell-O?
What, what are you grinding up
the horse hooves from scratch?
What happened?
You and your friend
trashed the nursery
while I'm getting the Jell-O
you asked for?
We didn't do this.
Oh, of course you did.
You don't care about me
and all the things that I do
to keep you safe.
I'll make you care.
Things are gonna change around here,
starting with the company you keep.
The teeth. What happened to the teeth?
Maybe the Tooth Fairy
finally came to collect.
Tooth Fairy.
There's no such thing
as the Tooth Fairy, Mom.
Quiet.
What, worried she might hear you?
Shh!
Yeah, well my Tooth Fairy's the worst.
You know, she only left me one
stupid quarter per tooth.
You know, Kaitlyn's mom, I mean,
Tooth Fairy, left her $5.
But then I guess she's not a
low-income single mom Tooth Fairy
who got dumped cause
she's a big clinger.
Never anger the fey, Shelby.
They are vengeful spirits.
Shelby, your necklace!
You didn't put it back on!
We can go two seconds
without our dumb
matching pendants, Mom.
Iron protects you!
Protects me from what?
The fey!
The fey?
Fairies aren't real, Mom.
You're just really delusional.
They took your grandmother.
That's a story you made up
to avoid the truth.
She left you.
She saved me.
They were going to swap me
with a changeling.
I would love to escape
to fairy town like Grandma.
Anything to get away
from your insane delusions.
- No!
- Hey, fairy. Hey Tooth Fairy!
- You're not real, are you?
- Shh!
No one believes in you.
You're just an old fairy tale.
Just a stupid, motherfu-
Shelby!
It's your teeth, Shelby.
Those are your baby teeth.
Mom, why didn't you save them?
This is your fault. I hate you!
Is that?
Oh sh*t.
That's Kaitlyn's.
No!!!!!
Oh teeth!
Stop! Stop! Stop!!!
The box!!!
Shelby.
Don't leave me all alone.
Oh, no, no.
No, no
A changeling!
Hi, it's ok. It's ok.
Oh
Mommy's here.
You'll always be my baby, won't you?
Together forever.
Rock-a-bye baby, ♪
on a tree top ♪
When the wind blows ♪