03x01 - Insidious Onset

[bunniefuu]

There's a lot of, um...
I don't know...

urban legends in this city.

People tell stories.

What kind of stories?

Like, uh, really
specific ones...

As far as urban legends, I mean.

I've been here almost a year...

and, uh... people we work with,

they tell you some crazy sh*t.

[FOLKSY GUITAR MUSIC]

Like, for example, you
got to the city when?

Oh, this past weekend.

So you've seen the
graffiti, right?

Yeah.

[HORN HONKING]

♪ ♪

So there's these two kids,

and they're tagging by the park.

My grandpa used to
work at Peach's Meats.

- Yours too?
- Yeah, yeah.

[CHUCKLES] No thanks.

Know what his job was at
the meat-packing plant?

Mm-mm.

- He took out tongues.
- What?

Yeah, yeah. Cow's
head comes down

the line... I'm okay...

Um... rip out the tongue.

[CHUCKLES] That's disgusting.

30 years.

Must have taken out 200,000
of those ton... [HICCUPS]

Tongues.

So they decide to cut
through the park...

which, like, you
should never do.

[CHUCKLES] Why not?

It's dangerous.

At this point,
it's just a forest

in the middle of the city.

[HICCUPS]

I ever show you my
cure to hiccups?

[BOTH CHUCKLE SOFTLY]

Did it work?

[TALKING INDISTINCTLY]

[THUNDER RUMBLES DISTANTLY]

[BUILDING DISCORDANT MUSIC]

♪ ♪

What the hell?

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

Where'd that come from?

Let's get out of here. Let's go.

What do you mean "staircase"?

Believe it or not,
this is a thing:

staircases in the park.

We've even heard
cops talk about it,

like, old-timers
from the forest.

They'll tell you. If
you ever see one,

don't stop to look at
it, don't go near it.

Whatever you do, don't go up it.

- Let's go back.
- No.

- Let's go up it.
- No.

Okay, listen. I don't
know what that was.

- [LAUGHS]
- Let's just go.

[LEAVES RUSTLING]

Come on.

No. There's something
over there.

Uh, Kara...

- Come on.
- I think we should just

keep going.

[LEAVES RUSTLE]

Kara.

Hey.

[THUNDER CRACKLING DISTANTLY]

I think it's a kid.

Okay, I'm leaving. Kara.

Kara! [SIGHS]

[SCOFFS]

Hey.

[LEAVES RUSTLING]

Hey.

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

Hello?

[EERIE, BUILDING MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[PANTING]

[PANTING, WHIMPERING]

[SCREAMING]

[DISTANT SCREAMING] Run, Kara!

Ben!

[DISTANT SCREAMING]

Ben!

Ben!

Ben!

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

Ben! Ben!

- Ben!
- [CHEWING NOISILY]

So why here? Why-why Garret?

Well, my old professor,

he told me about the
job, and then...

I read this really great
article in "Mother Jones"...

BOTH: "The Worst Little City
You've Never Heard Of."

Yeah, and so I just
figured, you know...

why not? [LAUGHS]

Uh, are you going that way too?

Yeah, I am.

So where are you staying?

Well, right now we're
staying at this Airbnb.

You know, it's really
cool, really hip,

but we're about to move into

this place we found
on Craigslist.

- So "we," that's...
- My sister and I.

So you're roommates
with your sister.

- You guys must be tight.
- Yeah, we are.

You know, we're like sisters.
[LAUGHS]

Um... but yeah,

Zoe's really cool.
She's just in a...

she's in a transitional
phase in her life.

[GRUNTS SOFTLY]

[SIGHS]

[SNORTING]

[SWEEPING VIOLIN MUSIC]

[LEE HAZLEWOOD'S "SOME
VELVET MORNING"]

♪ ♪

Don't be weird

when we meet the new
landlady, okay?

♪ I'm gonna open up your gate ♪

She said she'd be
home, right, Alice?

- Zo.
- What?

Pop the trunk.

[MURMURING INDISTINCTLY]

Welcome to the neighborhood!

Oh, there she is.

- Hi, I'm Alice.
- Hey, Alice.

Are you lost?

No, we found our way just fine.

- Good.
- Thank you so much for...

Listen, couple things
you should know.

- Okay.
- This neighborhood

is safe as mama's lap,

but up that way across
the park, no, no, no.

The system has... How
do I say this...

Fully broken down in
Butcher's Block, so...

Okay, and that's a neighborhood?

Yeah, they will cut
you up like a pizza

and eat you by the slice.
[LAUGHS]

Have you got any scissors?

Um, no, not on me at the moment.

Hm. How about you?

You got any... any scissors?

What for?

I have to take off my bandages.

- What bandages?
- Hey!

I believe I asked you nicely
not to hang around here.

Oh, wait. Are you Louise?

That's me. I'm your landlady.

- Hi.
- Grab your stuff and come on in.

Okay.

It's nice to meet you.
I'm Alice.

I thought so. Hello, Alice.

And that's Zoe right there.
Zoe, come on.

Diane.

Take a hike.

99% of the time she's
totally harmless.

Just don't ever
give her scissors.

I was trying to help!

['70S POP MUSIC PLAYING FAINTLY]

Oh, thank you.

♪ ♪

- Oh, this is cozy.
- Uh-huh.

You can just put your
stuff down there.

We'll get it upstairs later.

So I Googled you and I saw that
you used to be a reporter.

Yeah, believe it or not, that
used to be an actual job.

[LAUGHS]

Whoa. So furry...

No, no, no, no, no.
Don't touch that.

- It's fine.
- It's not ours.

So cute, though.

Oh, I read this article
about your brother.

Yeah, I didn't know
it was online.

Yeah, it is. I'm
sorry about that.

Yeah.

- Is this your study?
- Uh, yeah, it's...

research on a book I'm going.
Local history.

- Excuse me.
- Sorry.

Didn't mean to pry, I just... I
actually wanna know about...

local history, especially...
whoa.

- Hello, baby.
- [CAT MEOWS]

This is Andre.

Ooh. Good boy.

Eat your nummies.

You will excuse
me if I sit down.

My sciatica is k*lling me today.
[GROANS]

Well, if you're gonna be
a social worker here,

you're gonna learn a
lot about the history.

Yeah, well, it's "family
advocate," actually.

You know, it's working
with low-income families

that fall through the cracks.

They all have mental
health issues

or addictions and stuff
like that, so...

And you're working with them...

in what way, exactly?

I'm teaching them
about the system

so that they can use it.

Using the system.

- Wow, that is optimistic.
- Why?

Well, in my experience,
I have found that...

when you set out to
the change the world,

the world changes you instead.

[ANDRE MEOWS]

Oh, baby, let's get
these ladies upstairs.

If you will walk this way...

[THE BUOYS' "TIMOTHY" PLAYING]

♪ Timothy, Timothy ♪

♪ God, why don't I know? ♪

[PHONE VIBRATING]

- Hello?
- Ali, hi.

I miss you. I've been
trying to call you.

I wanted to tell you
happy birthday.

It was last week, Mom.

How's your sister?

Are you taking good care of her?

- Yeah, of course I am.
- Good, that's...

where are you?

I told you we moved.

Yeah, I know.

Where?

You don't want me to know.

Ali.

- I wasn't myself.
- Yeah, I know, Mom.

I'm sorry.

[UNSETTLING STRING MUSIC]

- Look, I gotta go.
- No, don't!

Please, honey. Please, no.

I just... I need to get
out of this place.

Ali, I wasn't myself.

You just don't understand.

Can you please just...
Just let me talk to Zoe?

- She's not here right now.
- Well, then

give me her number.

- You don't get to decide this.
- It's not good for her.

- I have to go.
- Ali, please.

I just miss you. I
miss you so much.

Tell me where you are.
Please, just tell me.

Where are you, honey?

[SNIFFS]

- I miss you too, Mom.
- Ali?

Honey, wait, wait...

[SWANKY JAZZ MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[SOFTLY] How you doing?
Almost done.

You got a gorgeous coat on you.

We're gonna do something
real nice with you.

You'll be upstairs in
the main house too.

That'll be nice, huh?

So what do you think
you want to be?

Drinking from a stream?

We could put you by
the kitchen sink.

Wanna do that?

You're the only raccoon
in the house, dude.

[KNOCKING]

- Hi.
- Yes?

Um... I just wanted
to talk to you quick

- about my sister.
- Sure.

So, as I said over the phone...

You know, just at first glance,

I have to say, she
seemed normal.

Yeah, no, she is when
she's on her meds.

But I also just wanted
to let you know

as a little FYI, she's
also in recovery.

So no dr*gs, no alcohol.

So if you could just avoid
offering her a drink

or anything, that would
be really great.

I usually drink alone.

And honestly, I... you
know, I took this job

for her... you know,
it didn't even matter

where it was. We just
needed a fresh start...

Yeah, well... I'm
not your mom, okay?

I'm not even your cool aunt.
I'm just the landlady.

You give me a check every month.

I cash it. That's it.

I-I have no kids, and
that was by choice.

Got it. Thanks.

Renters, huh?

First day.

So you're gonna be
meeting Tanya Marcus

and her daughter Isabelle, okay?

Izzy.

CPS is going to be coming today

and removing her from the home.

And we're gonna be there?

No one said this job was
"Chicken Soup for the Soul."

And Butcher's Block,

that-that's the area
we're going to?

No, that's where we are.

Shin Street, up here.
It's Butcher's.

[FIREWORKS CRACKLING,
KIDS SQUEALING]

[LOW, EERIE MUSIC]

"Peach's Meats."

I've been seeing
that everywhere.

Yeah, the city was built
around meat-packing plants.

Butcher's Block is where
the workers lived.

There were run by this
guy, Joseph Peach.

One day he disappeared

and the whole
operation shut down.

You know the term
"sacrifice zone"?

No.

It's an environmentally
used-up area,

like a dead mine.

No school programming,

no mental health funding,
no public works.

It's... a socioeconomic
dead zone.

Cool street art, though.

Yeah, it has that.

♪ ♪

Hey.

Don't ever come down
here alone, okay?

Or at night.

[FAINT BESTIAL SNARLING]

Uh, let me do the talking, okay?

Okay.

[DISTANT ARGUING]

This is bullshit. I'd
never harm my child.

Izzy! Is it okay
if I grab a chair?

So when CPS gets
here, don't resist.

Our job is to try and help
you get your daughter back.

You can call us at any time.

[CLEARS THROAT] I'm
gonna give you, uh...

Tanya's number, and, uh...

if you can put it
into your phone.

It's the number to the landline.

Izzy!

- Hey, Izzy.
- Hey.

Tell them what you
told the people.

How you got bit.

- By playing in the park.
- Yeah.

I told you, stay out of there!

But kids, they f*ck
around, they get hurt.

Thanks, Izzy.

Look, we take no position on
what you did or didn't do.

- We're just trying to...
- On what I did or didn't do?

I just told you. She
got bit by a dog.

She made up a story about
this or that bit her...

and they act like I did it?

- Nobody believes me.
- Let's just keep it calm.

I used to fall down the stairs.

When I was a kid, my sister,
she got all of the attention.

So I used to throw
myself down the stairs

to try and get some
attention for myself.

Kids do f*ck around.
They do get hurt.

I believe you.

See? She gets it.

Tanya?

We have some, uh, forms
you need to fill out.

Yeah, whatever.

[SNIFFING]

So I have a few...
for you to sign...

[FAINT RASPING,
CREAKING BEHIND WALL]

[TANYA AND NATHAN
TALKING INDISTINCTLY]

[LOW, SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[FAINT FOOTSTEPS]

[OBJECT RATTLING]

[HUMMING]

Hey.

I'm Alice.

"Smart mouth"?

Is that your nickname?

No?

I found this at the park.

You found it at the park.

Oh.

- Where?
- On the playground.

On the playground.

[FAINT RATTLING]

[FAINT BREATHING]

[FAINT CLATTERING]

Sometimes when I get scared,
I hide in the park.

When I was little,

I used to hide when
I was scared too.

My mommy wasn't always nice.

- Where's your hiding place?
- By the lady tree.

The lady tree? What's that?

It's a tree by the park.

Oh.

Will you make sure nothing
happens to me and my mom?

Yeah, of course.

[FAINT RATTLING]

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

- Hey, Nathan?
- [OBJECT RATTLING]

Nathan?

[WHISPERING] I think there's
something inside the wall.

- What?
- There's something

inside the wall.

[OBJECT CLANKS SOFTLY]

It's probably a raccoon.

[DOOR SLAMS, LOCK CLICKS]

- Hey, Izzy?
- [DOORKNOB RATTLING]

- Izzy? Hey, Izzy.
- What the f*ck?

- It's locked?
- What's going on?

- Hey, Izzy!
- Come on...

- Open the...
- [WOMAN SCREAMING]

- Oh, my God.
- Mrs. Marcus?

- Izzy?
- Mrs. Marcus?

Nathan, open the door.

- Nathan, open the door!
- [GRUNTS]

Open it!

Izzy?

[GRIPPING MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Police! Open up!

[GASPS]

[PANTING]

[INDISTINCT, OVERLAPPING VOICES]

[INDISTINCT WHISPERING]

[INHALES DEEPLY]

Afternoon.

It's Zoe, right?

[GRUNTS] Mind if I smoke?

Sure.

Here.

[LIGHTER FLICKS]

You, uh... gonna
let me hit that?

You know, your sister told
me that you were clean.

Yeah, I don't like
to stress her out.

Huh.

Okay, fair enough.

- Thank you.
- Mm-hmm.

So that doesn't trigger your...

Never mind. None of my business.

[SCOFFS]

Of course she told you.

You know, it's funny because,
like, most of my life,

my brain was this, like,
perfect red little apple.

I mean, I would say I was like...
I was pretty smart.

But, um...

it's-it's actually when
I turned 26 that...

uh, it was like this...

just like... like, a thing.

It had been hibernating.

[SOFT, EERIE MUSIC]

And it woke up, and, um,
it-it started to...

slowly eat its way
towards the surface.

They call it, um, an
"insidious onset."

[STAMMERING] It's, um...

It's the beginning
of the end of you.

So you just... You
don't believe us?

We don't think you're lying.

We just think that you're
lacking in experience.

Okay, someone took them.

An hour before CPS arrives
to remove the kid?

Think about it.

Okay, you didn't
hear her scream.

Okay, okay. Um...

was she the only one
screaming, or...

Is your name Vancyk, as in...

Yeah. He's my dad.

Oh.

Look, I'm really sorry
to break it to you,

but when Mom knows
CPS is arriving,

sometimes... they just ghost.

And that's all you have to say?

What happened to protecting
and serving the community?

Community? [SCOFFS]

More like persistent infection.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER
ON POLICE SCANNER]

We'll let you know if
they turn up, okay?

Does that sound good?

What, do you guys
have somewhere to be?

- He's gotta feed his dog.
- [SCOFFS]

Seriously. His dog's deaf.

You gotta stomp on the ground
so he can feel the vibration.

It's true. Just... [FEET
STOMPING] So sad.

Hey, take care, okay?

Have a good day.

Hey, let's go by Tony's.

- I want a quesadilla.
- Yeah, well...

- I don't.
- Well, I do.

Uh-uh. I'm driving.

Get rid of that, please.

[THUNDER CRACKLING DISTANTLY]

[CRICKETS CHIRPING]

Hey.

Where are you?

Sorry, I just...

can't stop thinking
about earlier.

Maybe the cops were right.

Yeah, but...

you didn't hear that
woman screaming.

Something happened to them, and...
nobody cares.

You do.

People don't sound like that

unless something
awful is happening.

So what made them scream?

Not "them." It was only the mom.

What is it, Alice?

The little girl, she
said that she hides

when she's scared, and
what if she's still there?

[FAINT GROWLING]

[ANTICIPATORY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Doesn't look like
anyone's around.

Hey, hey! Welcome to
the neighborhood!

Hi. I-I found some scissors.

[CHUCKLES]

I cut off my bandages.

Oh, my God.

Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa.

Why have they...
restrained you like that?

I could... I could cut you free.

I could. I will.

No!

[ALL SCREAMING AT ONCE]

[SHOUTS]

[BOTH PANTING]

[INDISTINCT OVERLAPPING VOICES]

[LOW WHIRRING]

[LOUD RUMBLING]

[DEEP GROWLING,
OVERLAPPING VOICES]

[HEART b*ating]

[DISTORTED] Mom? Mom?

Mom?

Izzy?

[SIGHS]

[DOG BARKING DISTANTLY]

Zoe?

I'll be right back.

I have to check something
outside real quick.

[DOGS BARKING]

[THUNDER RUMBLES]

Alice?

A...

Izzy.

Izzy?

Izzy!

[GRIPPING PERCUSSIVE MUSIC]

Izzy!

[PANTING]

Izzy!

♪ ♪

[CRICKETS CHIRPING]

[TENTATIVE PIANO MELODY]

♪ ♪

Izzy?

[SIGHS]

Izzy.

[LEAVES RUSTLING]

♪ ♪

[SOFT FOOTSTEPS]

[LEAVES RUSTLING]

Are you lost or something?

Who are you?

Joseph.

What's your name?

What are you doing out here?

I'm taking a walk.

You're just taking a walk
in the middle of the night

in Medallion Park?

I've lived here for
a very long time.

We used to own this place.

I like to listen to the birds
before the sun comes up.

You owned the park?

My family did.

I travel the world and...

this is the city I come home to.

When I walk here, I...
I'm in two worlds

at the same time:

the one you see and
the one I remember.

[ANIMAL SQUEAKS DISTANTLY]

Oh, don't worry. That's an owl.

[SQUEAKING]

He lives close to where
my house once was.

It's a playground now.

Where do you live?

Close.

[MYSTERIOUS REVERBERATING MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[WHEEZING]

[COUGHS, PANTS]

Iz...

[LOW, BOOMING TONES]

♪ ♪

[DEEP, BUILDING TONES]

♪ ♪

[SQUELCHING, CHEWING]

[CHEWING NOISILY]

- [GRUNTS]
- [SCREAMS]

[SHOUTING INCOHERENTLY]

[SHOUTS MOCKINGLY]

[SHOUTING INCOHERENTLY] No, no!

[WHIMPERING]

[SMOOTH BIG BAND MUSIC
PLAYING FAINTLY]

♪ ♪

[RASPING]

♪ ♪

- [GRUNTING SOFTLY]
- [GROWLING QUIETLY]

♪ ♪

[PANTING]

[DOOR SQUEAKS CLOSED,
MUSIC STOPS]

[AIR RUSHING]

[PANTING]

Oh, my God. Thank God.

Zoe. Hi.

[BOTH BREATHING RAGGEDLY]

Are you okay? What happened?

Come on, let's go.
Let's get out.

Zoe, what happened out there?

I saw something. I don't even...

- Zoe...
- I don't know if it's...

if it's inside, or... if
it's outside my head,

or... no, I don't know.
Maybe it's...

You know, maybe it's both.

I just... I-I need
to get out of here.

[STAMMERS]

How long have you
been using again?

Since those meds
stopped working.

But this is different.

We-we need to get
far away from here.

- [WHISPERING] Far.
- And go where?

- Back home?
- Yes, home.

Do you seriously think
that that's healthy?

- What are you so scared of?
- I'm not going back there.

Zoe, I am not living back
at that house again!

I get it!

[QUIETLY] I get it.

You're the same age I was.

You're the same age Mom was.

That is not what this is about.

Your worst fear is

that you're gonna
become me, isn't it?

That is not true.

Well, guess what, Alice.

There's nothing you
can do about it.

It's either a part
of you or it's not.

And if you can't just-just-just
come to terms with that...

it's gonna eat you alive.

You can't leave me, Zoe.
You need me.

[SCOFFS]

[SNIFFING]

Um...

Maybe-maybe you need me.

It's not gonna happen to me.

'Cause it's not just genetic.
It's environmental.

And I don't do the
things that you do.

I'll take the bus.

[DOOR CLICKS OPEN]

[KNOCKING]

Come.

Hey, I'm... I'm sorry
if we were loud.

She's gonna be back.

So long as somebody
pays the rent.

So what is all of this, anyway?

It's my book...

about what happens
in Butcher's Block.

What does happen in
Butcher's Block?

People go missing.

[APPREHENSIVE PIANO MUSIC]

♪ ♪

And is that your brother? The
one that you wrote about?

Yeah, I always thought, uh...

you know, he got into some
abandoned house and d*ed

and that's why we never
found his body, and then...

I found out there were a
lot of others like him...

- [LOW RUMBLING]
- Who wouldn't be missed.

[GRUNTS]

♪ ♪

God damn it.

Do you think that someone's...
doing this?

Yes.

Not one somebody.

Could be one family.

Well, I guess that this
would be the city for it.

You know? Peach's Meats.

Exactly.

[MAN SPEAKING FAINTLY]

[GRUNTS]

[INDISTINCT, OVERLAPPING VOICES]

[RASPING WEAKLY]

Look to your right.
Those are the Peaches.

In 1952, they all disappeared,

except I think some of them
are still hanging around.

Still hanging around doing what?

k*lling.

It would've begun
with the founder.

He was a recluse...
fundamentalist religious nut.

[LOW, CHILLING RINGING]

♪ ♪

[INDISTINCT, OVERLAPPING VOICES]

I used to sing in a
choir in this church...

when I was very young.
Then my voice changed.

They kicked me out.
The bastards.

[MAN SPEAKING FAINTLY]

Who's that?

That's him. Joseph Peach.

He would be almost 130, though,
today, if he were still alive.

Do you know where the
bus will take us?

Uh, Central Station.

And the son... [MAN
SPEAKING FAINTLY]

My name's Joey, by the way.

[CHUCKLES]

Uh... Zoe.

Nice to meet you... Zoe.