Knock on Wood, Season 1, Episode 1 - "The Crooked Lady of Cookeville, TN"

Marrok was napping in the back of the van while Erik and Selene went into the police station. Marrok had not desire to enter that place.

He began to wake up when Selene showed up, grumbling under her breath about incompitent cops. She asked Erik if he had any luck inside. He let her know that he didn't get his gun back, and that we needed to find the frat boy who was hurt down by the tracks.

Erik mentioned that the factory owner's name was Robert, Marrok sat up and asked them if it may have been the same Robert that they identified in the paper. They agreed that it must be, and they decided that Erik had pissed off enough people in the past couple of days, and he should stay back at the hotel with Erin for the night.

They head back and Erik offers to let Marrok and Selene take his van, slowly realising that they might not be the best people to leave in charge of something so valuable. Marrok does his best to reassure him, and Erik agrees to let them borrow it, but asks for them to be careful with his baby.
 
Erin lays in bed in a sundress, her feet wrapped in gauze and antibiotic ointment with leggings on over them, resting on a badly stained towel. She's watching General Hospital and trying to figure out why Stephanie is trying to get in between Luke and Laura's perfect relationship, again, then the show finishes.

Her stomach rumbles as she's not eaten yet today, "I suppose it can't hurt to ask, at least." Picking up the phone, she dials "0" to get the hotel phone operator and room service.

Downstairs at the front desk Ronald picks up the phone. "Front desk, what can I do ya for?" You can hear his smile through the phone.

Erin smiles, it's not Wenda! "Hello, front desk! I had an accident and stepped on a beer bottle yesterday, so it's a little hard getting around, I was hoping I could ask you to bring some things possibly?"

"Oh, is this Miss Erin? I saw you hobbling in the lobby earlier. I would be happy to get you whatever you need. Just rattle it off." Ronald picks up a tablet and pen and gets ready to write.

"Gosh, thanks! So, I've got a little homework I want to do involving the Gospels, but the Gideon that they leave up here is kind of hard to read and I know I probably need some glasses, but … do you have a, like, normal size one that I could borrow? Oh, and maybe a tablet and pen, since the others went off with the van and have my box? And... um, if it's not any trouble, maybe a side salad and pop from the Restaurant? I'm a little peckish, I guess. If you would, please?"

Erin shifts sideways a little, winces as she moves in a way her foot doesn't like.

Erin ponders, "So, I imagine Father Mulcahey wouldn't approve, but I haven't seen that Exorcist movie yet, is it any good? One of the others mentioned something about the hotel renting movies?"

Erin pauses, "Er, that's it, sorry for babbling..." and twirls the phone cord around her finger idly.

"Seems like a list of reasonable requests. Let me gather up the goodies and I will be up in a jiff. Say, do you need something for the pain? I might have some aspirin or ibuprofen laying around." There is a pause on the line as Ronald looks through the tapes under the desk. "Hey! You're in luck. 'The Exorcist' is still here. I will bring that up too. Anything else? If not, give me 20 minutes or so and I will bring you the things you need. Sound good?"

Erin cheers, "Hey, that sounds great! It's cuts, so I'm told I can't have asprin or ibuprofen since they encourage bleeding, right? But I've totally got some Tylenol in my bag, and oh my goodness you're just such a sweetie for thinking of me like that! I...uh, no, I don't think I need anything else. But thank you so much!"

"Will do. I'll be there as soon as I can." Ronald gathers the things Erin requested.

After about 20 minutes he stands outside of her room arms loaded down with the things Erin requested. Ronald knocks on the door and says, "Room service!"

Erin ohs quietly, hobbles the six feet to the door, wincing, and opens it, "Hey, great, thank you! Um, I probably shouldn't try carrying a whole lot, but let me take some of this, if you'd set the rest on the side table please?"

Erin takes the paper products and pen, not trusting herself to not end up with a salad-colored carpet.

"Oh my goodness! I should have told you to stay put. I could have used my master key to open the door. I don't know where my head was." Ronald sets the things down on the side table and helps Erin back to the bed. Then he brings the salad and drink over the to the bedside table. He grabs the VHS tape and pops it in the VCR. Then he produces a remote from his pocket. "We usually don't keep these in the rooms, because they go missing. I figured you would need it tonight though."

Erin smiles at him, "I appreciate it, thank you so very much! And... I mean, I guess I knew staff would have a master key, it's in movies and shows all the time and it never really occurred to me, but on the other hand I really hate being a burden on people and before...before the accident, mama always told me that you can tell how kind someone really is by how they treat those who are doing work for them, so … I'm sorry, I don't know where I was going with that. Can we chalk that up to blood loss maybe? By now I'd usually just pray for some healing, but Wenda didn't want me using" Erin air-quotes this, " 'magic', so I'm trying to be good and just count my blessings instead. Why, I'm here being taken care of and I get to eat in bed and watch TV instead of working in the coal mine like Grandpa did..."

Erin winces, "So, I'm talking your ear off, I'm sorry," she passes him a tip, then adds, "Thank you again, I mean it!"

When Erin mentions magic Ronald gets a look on his face that reads part fear and part smile. He moves back to the door which still stands open and shuts it with a click. "Oh, hey. I get what you're saying. I think a little healing isn't going to ruffle Wenda's feathers. You got to realize that we are quite a burden on her. She never asked for this life the same as you didn;t ask to be snatched from your normal life back in Kansas. We all just got thrown in to this together. Wenda doesn't want to draw unnecessary attention to our safe haven. If we lose this place we won't have anywhere to go."

Ronald takes a pause and looks up at the ceiling before continuing. "You know, I spent a good bit of my life dragging young people just like yourself into service of the almighty cause. I don't regret it, but there are days when I look at folks like you and the guilt of it all crashes down on me. I am more at fault for Wenda's rules than she is. I mentored her and brought her into this fight."

Erin pauses a moment, "Wait... we? You're... you're like me?"

Erin is very obviously shaken, not realizing at all that Ronald might be one of them, even if it makes sense in retrospect.

"Well, yes and no. These lines we draw around our rolls are a little hazy you know. I was more like Lolli, but that was before we really understood what was going on." Ronald looks nervous and he starts moving closer to the door. "Look, I have taken up enough of your time. I best be heading back downstairs in case I am needed."

Erin nods, dejectedly, "I'm...hey, I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be a pest, and thanks again, Mr. Ronald. They're all gone today on errands, so I didn't mean to creep you out or chatterbox your ear off. Uh, have a good night!"

"Of course you didn't Miss Erin and please call me Ronny. I will be glad to get you anything you need while you recuperate, but if you decide that magic is your best course of action then I can promise that no one will be the wiser." Ronny turns to walk out, but pauses. "Oh, and give Miss Wenda a chance. She has more invested in all of this than you might think. She will be one of your most important allies in the coming days. G'night now." Ronny gives a quick nod and walks out of the room.

Erin waits a moment, listening, then starts writing on the tablet, "Exorcism 101." She glances at her backpack and then cracks open the Bible, "You've tried the rest, now try the best. Or whatever."
 
Blondie, boring the beast to death, stayed reading and researching while ol' wolfsbane head back to see everyone. Not much came of it, but when she went to check out the books she'd found, Selene found a librarian with an interest in the Clive Barker. Confusing Pepper's sticky fingers for a genuine interest in the book, the librarian, Eileen, asked her new best friend to come on over to the local university that night, for a big spooky night of occultism and fun. Gladly taking up the chance to make a new bookworm friend and maybe learn a few things about the newest roadblock, Selene RSVP's and heads to the library with her 5 new books. Picking up a copy of the book Eileen was reading for her older, but younger friend, Erin.

Later, at the police station, on her way out, upset at the sexist pig inside, who was less qualified to be an officer of the law than she was, Selene seems to feel herself buzzing. The sort of buzzing that a bell seems to do when struck heavily at the base. Seemingly not at all, increasing in frequency at the top. Her head felt like a loose muffler and she could feel a drip on her upper lip. But why? Only time would tell.
 
We are seeing things through the eyes of a man smoking a pipe and reading. He wears a long sleeve black shirt with a large gold watch. In his hands is a paperback novel that he is slowly paging through. As he reads he occasionally dog-ears the page or slips a colored piece of paper in the gutter. He closes the books and runs a finger across the cover art is Boris Vallejo-esque depicting a barely clad muscle-bound barbarian clutching the waist of a woman with more curves than the wisps of clothes she wears can cover. On either side of the barbarian and his woman slink two massive, green iguanas with teeth like bone daggers.

There is a knock and the door startling the man from his focus.

He takes out the pipe he has been smoking and taps it into the ashtray next to his big comfortable chair. "A minute, please." He calls to the person on the other side of the door. His voice is like thick, weighty velvet. He gathers up stacks of paperwork and slips them into a briefcase already filled with paperwork, but he gets is all in and clicks the two brass latches shut. Grabbing the briefcase he heads to the door and opens it. On the other side is a short balding man in his sixties.

We can see the scene better if we change our view. We are now watching from the hallway outside of an elegant hotel room. The man with the black long sleeve turtleneck standing in the door has a sedate look on his face as he reaches to shake the shorter man's hand.

"Mister Bart! I am just so thrilled that you have agreed to join me as a guest speaker this evening. It's such a coincidence that you happen to be visiting the school at the same time as my talk on about local ghosts and legends. I mean, you sir and your show were a major reason I started writing." The older balding man has a hat in his hands that he fidgets with, then puts on the top of his head. "If you are ready we can leave now and get to the back room before the throngs of fans attack you for your autograph."

Mel Bart laughs and steps out to close the door behind him. "I think you forget that I am a radio show host Henry. Don't you know? Video killed the radio star."
 
Tap, tap, tap. Officer Jerry Lee Rand sits at his desk fuming and reliving over and over the scene that played out at the front desk a few minutes ago. Tap, tap, tap. His pen wiggles uncontrollably in his hand and he just can't concentrate on writing the report spread out in front of him. Tap, tap, tap. He stands and drops the pen on the desk and crosses the office to the coffee maker. Two sugars and two creams later and he is sipping a cup of coffee from a foam cup. He walks back to the desk and tries to focus on the report.

Outside of the police station, leaning up against the brick wall and pressing her temples stands Selene. She is also fuming and reliving the same scene, but her vision doesn't stop and repeat itself. She calms her nerves and tries to focus on relaxing and making light of the interaction with Jerry "dickface" Rand. Her headache recedes and her usual smile returns to her face. A whisper escapes her lips as if she says, "Bar the door." The words surprise her because they did not spring from her own thoughts.

Back inside the Cookeville Police Station Jerry stands and heads down the side hall of the station. He has had too much coffee and has waited far too long for the trek back to the men's locker room. Fortunately, there is no one in the hall, because this is urgent. He is already grabbing for his zipper. His focus is entirely on the small muscle that holds back the flood. The anatomical equivalent of a little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. That's it, Jerry, keep that vision in your head. We pan back and see the scene from down the hall. Jerry turns to walk through the open door to the bathroom and as he is about to reach his goal he slams face first into nothing. For a second he is mystified as he stands outside an open door and can feel an unseen wall between him and the white glistening urinal just around a low privacy wall and ten feet across the tile floor of the men's locker room. How is it that he can't walk through this door. Then in a hot, wet flood of panic that mystery is no longer the most important thing on his mind.

Zoom back to the front of the station where Selene is skipping to catch up to Erik on the way back to the van.
 
3 AM later that night, The White Lady:

Erin slips out of bed, her slender form not shifting the overly stiff mattress of the King-sized bed and its other resident. She sneaks to her backpack and pulls out an unmatched pair of slender, pointed objects and stands over her unaware roommate. She holds the strange items up to the light of the slivered moon and, satisfied, strikes. There is no scream....

In the morning, Selene... discovers that she is wearing a mismatched pair of Erin's socks.
 
Marrok and Selene pulled into the parking lot of the theater and saw the relatively small crowd waiting outside. Marrok parks and they both psych themselves up to go inside. He goes around and helps Selene out of the van and they head toward the door.

After some waiting, Selene sees the woman she had met at the library and goes over to talk to her. She lets them in and Selene pulls him up to the front row to find a seat. As they sit, Marrok anxiously looks around and keeps his surroundings in his mind.

Professor Henry Harold Capp comes out on stage and introduces his guest, Mel Bart. The crowd for this talk is a little pathetic.

"Thanks for having me Henry. I would..." Mel starts to talk, but is cut off by a voice from the back of the auditorium.

"Mr. Bart! Please tell the crowd what your actual business in Cookeville is." says the man's voice from the back of the room. "I am sure that these fine folks would love to hear a tale of the ghost you are here to find."

Marrok was thinking about how Mr. Bart might be helpful for their investigation, when suddenly the auditorium was filled with the screams of a woman coming from the lobby and the lights inside went out. Marrok and Selene immediately stood up and rushed together toward the scream.

Bursting through the door, Marrok came face to face with the creature he had come to know as "The Crooked Lady."
 
Marrok runs into the lobby and immediately sees that Eileen is on the ground and trying to back up away from the crooked lady. As he stands there trying to evaluate the situation he looks to he left out through the glass doors of the lobby. Standing under a street lamp smiling and glaring through the doors is an older man in a hat a long brown coat.

Before Marrok has a chance to react to the help Eileen Selene rushes past him toward the Crooked Lady.
 
Selene, seeing her new best friend being dangled over by the exact same woman she saw in the polaroid that same morning, reacts in the only way she can think of. Sliding into her friend to get her out of the crossfire, and substituting herself instead.

Too ra loo ra too ra loo rye aye ...
"GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU BITCH!"
and we can sing just like our fathers...
bump
come on Eileen, oh I swear what he means

And starts slashing away at the crooked arms raking her like a living tree.
 
Mel Bart turns in the dark toward where he last saw Henry on the stage and say, "What the fuck is going on Henry?" Then he moves slowly to the edge of the stage feeling for the edge. "Everyone stay calm and stay seated!" Mel reiterates to the increasingly chattering group of attendees. Mel moves toward the back of the auditorium and reaches for the door. As he opens the door he is seemingly attacked by a large hairy dog. He mutters, "What.. the fu..?" and turns to avoid getting run over by the dog. After the dog is clear of the door Mel slides through and closes the door behind him.

The scene in the lobby does not allow his heart to stop pounding but rather increases his terror. A dirty haggard woman bends over a girl on the floor who wildly slashes at the woman with a knife. Another girl scoots across the floor on her back looking for some kind of escape. The haggard woman turns her head in an unnatural way and locks eyes with Mel and charges him in a flurry of screams and wildly swinging disjointed arms.

Marrok stands and runs toward the red exit signs at the bottom of the auditorium and gets through them. Outside of the doors, he enters into a concrete stairwell and heads to the top. Just as he reaches the top steps he sees the man he was pursuing get into a green station wagon and pull away at speed.
 
Marrok swears under his breath, worrying that if this man was the one who was in control of the Crooked Lady, she might not stop without his input. He ran as quickly as he could so that he could just catch the licence plate number on the back of the station wagon.

#1MTL-DTCTR...

Marrok had an idea who the man was now, but he needed to confer with his team before jumping to conclusions. Now he needed to get the creature away from Selene and the others. He shifted as quickly as he could back to human form, not wanting Eileen or anyone else who might be in the lobby to see him. He stepped over to the chains, lifted his leg above where he figured the weak point to be, and dropped his heal down with as much force as he could. He felt a surge of power from his other side help propell his foot down harder, and the links shattered under his kick. He pulled the chains out of the door and quickly got it open.

"Selene, come on, we need to get out of here!"
 
The White Lady
Wenda's Office

Marrok and Erik come in to Wenda to ask about he police scanner. They confirm that the car belonged to Robert Williams and agree that they need to head to his place to investigate what is happening. They decide that the van is a liability for the time being and Marrok asks if they can use Wenda's car. They get Erin and head out to Wenda's Ford Granada.
 
In the van, the -een's were hanging out, one definitely more shaken than the other one was. But the other was definitely more bleedy and injured than the other. While the blonder one was talking about her days back home and humming in between the sharp inhalations of disinfecting her wounds, who knows what kind of gross ghost goo can get into there, the other one is still rather skittish and silent, holding bottles and gauze and trauma shears, cutting the adhesive tape here and there. Just kind of staring, like a nervous child in a doctor's office, waiting her turn, and just when Selene's about to finish wrapping up and maybe Eileen was going to finally maybe start speaking, there's a knock at the door. It's the man from earlier, the one that showed up and seemed to lock up the university's doors. He's knocking on the door and asking them to come out before they have to deal with his wife. So this is Robert Williams. He's awfully pushy.
Anyways, Selene tries to finish up, kinda a crucial time in the bandaging process, so she tries to open it with her shoed foot, but it doesn't work, he insists they come out, and so she drops what she's doing, as does Eileen, and they follow him. He offers they take his car, and gives the keys to Eileen. Selene does what's best for this poor girl and asks her to comply, for her own safety. They drive to the Titan Tile factory.
 
The trio of Erik, Marrok, and Erin slowly pull up to the block where they left the van parked beneath a single street light. They can see the van door is open and the interior lights are on.

Erik notes astutely, "Aw, shit."

Erin grabs the first aid kit she prepped, having left the remainder of her possessions in her "portable hole", and runs to the van, eventually noticing that some of Selene's first aid items have been strewn about and the side door is open. The small interior light is dimming as the battery in the van dies.

The van appears to be empty.

"Well, shit," Erin raises her voice, "Hey, Selene? You around here?"

"Great. And she killed my battery" Erik shakes his head. "Cops wouldn't just leave it like this, they'd impound the van. C'mon, we need to get to Robert's."

"I agree, the two of them can protect each other, Robert seems to be the more pressing issue," Marrok states."

Erin advises, "Lock up first, at least and take your keys."

There are no sounds. The residential street is quiet.

Erik plucks his keys from the van's ignition and the three of them shut the doors.

"Oh! Hey Erin can you do that thing and see what happened here, like you did with my wallet? I mean it's totally Robert, but confirmation would be good."

"Hey, good idea..." and Erin tries casting, "Locate Object" on Selene's shoes. She clears her mind and concentrates.

Marrok is visibly angry, "They could've gotten chased off by the cops, for all we know. If this was Robert's doing, why didn't we find a pair of bodies?"

Erik asks, "Really? Chased off by cops is what you're getting from this scene? Not kidnapped in the middle of first aid or whatever? They left the light on. That would draw attention."

"I'm just saying that we have no reason to think Robert is doing anything other than having his wife murder, so what would he stand to gain by kidnapping anyone?" responds Marrok

"I don't know, but he's pretty clearly the crazy evil guy here. And he saw Selene and the van when he locked y'all in the theater."

Erin's spell works as she intended and show her the van sometime in the near past: Eileen and Selene are in the van. Selene is bandaging her wounds and dong what she can to help Eileen relax. There is someone outside of the van. A man. It's Robert, from the tile factory. He leads them from the van and into his car. The vision ends when the car leaves this street.

"So, hey..." Erin starts, "That guy with the metal detector? It looks like he persuaded them to open the door and follow him, even though Selene wasn't done bandaging herself up.. They got in his car with him and they took off."

Erin and Marrok settle into the car. Marrok goes completely silent, staring at the dashboard.

Erin clicks her tongue, "So, um... I know it's bad luck to say and all, but I figured I'd let you know, right? If we find them … not in the most perfect of health, it's probably a good idea for y'all to just run maybe."

"You know, if they survive this it's probably better than the cops finding them. Not sure what the chances of survival are though."

Erik gets back in the car. "Where am I going?"

"Well, I saw the car head that way," Erin points, "But beyond that I don't know... you know his last name, right? Maybe it's in the phone book?"

Marrok gives the address in monotone, not looking up.
 
Erik climbs into the driver's seat and heads toward's Robert's house. The tense silence in the car is broken only by the bubbly music of Lindsey Buckingham's Holiday Road. Preoccupied as he is, Erik fails to notice the police cruisers parked in front of Robert's house until they see him.

"Shit," he mutters as Officer Asshole points out the car and barks something at Jane. Erin focuses for a minute, and as the officer attempts to jump into his car it's like he walks face-first into a wall. He falls flat on his tailbone, dazed for just a second as Erik drives away, beyond a bend in the road and out of sight of the house.
 
Why are you so fucking stupid. If you aren't killing people directly, you are failing to do something simple like protect them. You have all of this power, and you still screw everything up. You can't even blame these deaths on the wolf.

Marrok sits silently, staring at the dash of the car as a tear rolls down his cheek. He knew that he was responsible for whatever Selene was being put through right now. He could have made her come into the hotel, he could have circled around and found Robert's car, he had so many opportunities to keep those girls safe. He fucked it up, and now he was to blame.

"Get me close to the factory, then slow down enough for me to get out." Marrok has a look of determination in his eyes.

"Are you crying?" Erik asks.

"Fuck off," he barks back, "I can't be responsible for more deaths, just get me there!" his voice lets out a growl. He felt bad for snapping at Erik, but his bigger concern was the friend who might be dead or dying.

Erik slows down, and Marrok opens the door, rolling as he makes contact with the ground. As soon as he feels earth beneath his feet, he begins to change. Bones snapping and resetting, jaw shifting forward, teeth growing. He is becoming a large wolf as he prepares to head into the woods when he hears Erin tumble out the back window behind him.

"Hey, I'm coming with!" she shouts, holding out her hand and taking in the last few moments of the transformation. Once fully changed, Marrok turns and ducks his head, allowing Erin to climb on to his back and hold on for dear life. "The change looked uncomfortable," she whispered behind Marrok's ear.

As they began to head off, Erik drives off a bit farther and pulls over, waiting for the cops to show up.
 
They get to the factory, and there, Robert gets out of his stationwagon, pops the boot open, and pulls out a set of jumper cables. He tells them to carry the cables, then head to an office building where he'll be following behind them. He instructs Selene to tie up Eileen to a post, but she refuses completely, She's not going to let this poor librarian be subject to whatever garbage this man is leading her into. If she has to, she's taking the bullet herself. So she's tied up instead, and hopes for the best, failing to get any information about what is about to take place.
 
"This is good. Keep following orders and this will be over soon." Robert reaches a hand into his pocket and fidgets with something then continues, "I have been combing this property since the year my wife and children were taken from me. That night started here and I hope to finish it here." Robert wipes his face, but the flashlight prevents you from seeing if he is crying. "Brenda told me that I loved this company more than I loved my family. She was leaving me. She met me here to tell me that she and the kids were packed and driving out of town that night. I was caught completely off guard. In fact, I had purchased a gift for her at the jeweler downtown on that very day. I had hoped it would make up for my constant absence. I loved my family, but I did not give them my time. I thought it was better spent here building a future for them. I wanted to give them more. I gave her the locket as she left. I told her to keep it anyway. She took it, but said she would likely just sell it. The last time I saw her she was walking out of this building with the locket chain wrapped around her fist."

Robert walks away from them a little and looks out toward the garage door. "I imagine she will be here soon. I better finish my story." Again, he reached into his pocket and fiddled with something. "I was the first person to arrive on the scene. I heard the crash from inside my office and ran the length of this property to get to the train crossing. There was no way for me to help. The train obliterated the car. The children were thrown free, but Brenda was trapped in the twisted wreckage." Robert wipes his face again and stumbles a bit. His hand is in a fist in his pocket. "She was alive, for a short time. I could tell that there was no saving her. Her body was folded in half and broken. Her hand was outstretched toward me. The hand that contained the locket a few minutes earlier."

A Scream is heard in the distance. Robert looks toward the door and then back at Selene and Eileen. "I must hurry now. Of course, I had the wreckage searched for the locket, but they came up empty. I needed that locket. She must have tossed it from the car as she drove away in anger. I spent the years since then combing this property for the locket. I was sure that it would bring me peace if I found it. I have been over this land 1000 times, but I did not find it." Another scream rings out. "I did not find it until two weeks ago. The detector rang a clear tone and I bent a knee to dig yet another of the million holes I had dug. I could not believe that I had finally found it on the anniversary of the accident. In that last hole, I found the gold locket." From his pocket, Robert produces a chain with a round gold locket. "After all of these years. Can you believe my luck?"
 
The run through the woods is slower going than Marrok or Erin would have expected. The bramble and deadfall make it so that the two have to swerve back and forth as they run through the forest. As they run Marrok is able to hear a scream far off in the distance. He realizes that this is the unmistakable scream of the Crooked Lady. Trying to pick up his pace he is frustrated by the dense growth preventing him from running at top speed. He must also consider Erin on his back, so he is being more careful than if he were running through the woods alone.



Another scream breaks the rhythmic breathing and footfalls of Marrok's run through the woods. It is clear that they are converging on the same general location. A few more minutes of an exhausting trail run and there the third scream just as Marrok and Erin break through the tree line with the main building of the Titan Tile Company just a few hundred feet in front of them. From where they stand they can see a faint glow of light from inside the factory building and a figure moves awkwardly across the lot and through the side of the building.
 
Marrok won't put anyone else in more danger, so he ducks to drop Erin off 30 feet from the nearest door. He barely waited for her to dismount before taking off at full speed toward a large window. He tucked his head and let one wolfie shoulder take the brunt as he burst through the window, landing beside a very startled Robert.

Thinking fast, Marrok still expects Robert to be controlling the Crooked Lady. He tackles Robert to the ground, snarling at him as Eileen is set free.
 
Eileen rolls away from Robert, gets up and starts running in the direction of the door they used to enter the building. At about the halfway point to safety, Eileen freezes as the Crooked Lady shambles through the solid wall and pauses in front of the librarian. The Lady twists her head around and makes eye contact with Eileen and charges.
 
Erik waits in the car, jamming to Lindsey Buckingham until the cops pull up. To his surprise, it's Jane that shows up, and she gives him an opportunity to speak. Taking a chance, Erik tells her the truth about everything--what really happened the night he met the Lady, with whom he was travelling, what happened at the college, and why he was driving to Robert's house. He asks her to go with him to the factory, worrying for Selene's safety. Jane acquiesces, making sure to frisk Erik for weapons and having him ride in the back of the police cruiser as they drive off toward the factory.
 
Watching Marrok drop her off and, in nearly the same movement, bound through the glass window and land near Robert, Erin decided to join the fray.

Jogging through the nearest door, she notes Selene, tied up against a post, and Eileen, who seems to be distracted.

Oh, there was also the Crooked Lady, who she's not before met, and who appeared to be ignoring her.

"Magic Missile," Erin called, sending lances of energy firing from her fingertips into the Crooked Lady...

...and went right through her and very nearly hit Selene.

Her face paling, she glanced over and noted that the Crooked Lady, at least, was focusing on her.

"Eileen, right? Untie Selene there, wouldja?"

She started to backtrack, a horrifying spirit advancing on her.

"...crap."
 
Marrok notices the cop come in shouting orders. That won't end well. He jumped in front of her and snarled at the ghost, getting slashed instead of her.

When Erin had attacked her, Marrok had noticed that it seemed to do a little bit of something when she was closer to Selene. He noticed the locket that he was sure hadn't been there before and connected a few dots in his head.

He kept his back to the officer as he shifted his face to allow some words to escape. "Get... the locket... on her," he shouted as clearly as he could before forcing his jaw to extend outward once again. He tried to lead the lady closer to Selene once he was fully wolf again.
 
The cavalry rides in to save the day, Erin and Marrok first, Marrok tearing into Robert and Erin firing a bolt through the lady. In the scuffle, Eileen manages to untie Selene in exchange for being led out right that instant. She's entirely in favor of getting her out of there, so has no objections on that front. She allows for the librarian to escape at the cost of taking some damage herself, and takes a few steps back. She, while taking the locket off her neck, approaches her fuzzy friend and catches them up, in addition to Officer Jane and Erik, who came in only seconds after Eileen ran out. She then opens up the garage door and gives them some breathing room, walking out, handing the necklace to Marrok, and heading to the police cruiser for some first aid. There, she sees her old friend again, cowering in the backseat of the cruiser, gives her a greeting, then tries to have a conversation only to be interrupted by Jane's radio. She tells the people on the other end to send help to the factory and they, very definitely having recognized her name and description, send something her way, all she has to do now is wait and bandage herself up. Hope there are coagulants in here.
 
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