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 shit.
Like, for example, you got to the city when?
Oh, this past weekend.
So you've seen the graffiti, right?
Yeah.
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.
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.
That's disgusting.
30 years.
Must have taken out 200,000 of those ton...
Tongues.
So they decide to cut through the park...
which, like, you should never do.
Why not?
It's dangerous.
At this point, it's just a forest
in the middle of the city.
I ever show you my cure to hiccups?
Did it work?
What the hell?
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.
Let's just go.
Come on.
No. There's something over there.
Uh, Kara...
- Come on. - I think we should just
keep going.
Kara.
Hey.
I think it's a kid.
Okay, I'm leaving. Kara.
Kara!
Hey.
Hello?
Run, Kara!
Ben!
Ben! Ben!
Ben!
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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"...
"The Worst Little City You've Never Heard Of."
Yeah, and so I just figured, you know...
why not?
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.
Um... but yeah,
Zoe's really cool. She's just in a...
she's in a transitional phase in her life.
Don't be weird
when we meet the new landlady, okay?
She said she'd be home, right, Alice?
- Zo. - What?
Pop the trunk.
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.
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!
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.
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.
This is Andre.
Ooh. Good boy.
Eat your nummies.
You will excuse me if I sit down.
My sciatica is killing me today.
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.
Oh, baby, let's get these ladies upstairs.
If you will walk this way...
- 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.
- 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?
- I miss you too, Mom. - Ali?
Honey, wait, wait...
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.
- 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 drugs, 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.
"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.
Uh, let me do the talking, okay?
Okay.
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.
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 fuck 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 fuck 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.
So I have a few... for you to sign...
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.
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.
Hey, Nathan?
Nathan?
I think there's something inside the wall.
- What? - There's something
inside the wall.
It's probably a raccoon.
Hey, Izzy?
- Izzy? Hey, Izzy. - What the fuck?
- It's locked? - What's going on?
- Hey, Izzy! - Come on...
Open the...
- Oh, my God. - Mrs. Marcus?
- Izzy? - Mrs. Marcus?
Nathan, open the door.
Nathan, open the door!
Open it!
Izzy?
Police! Open up!
Afternoon.
It's Zoe, right?
Mind if I smoke?
Sure.
Here.
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.
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.
And it woke up, and, um, it-it started to...
slowly eat its way towards the surface.
They call it, um, an "insidious onset."
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?
More like persistent infection.
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.
Seriously. His dog's deaf.
You gotta stomp on the ground so he can feel the vibration.
It's true. Just...
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.
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?
Doesn't look like anyone's around.
Hey, hey! Welcome to the neighborhood!
Hi. I-I found some scissors.
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!
Mom? Mom?
Mom?
Izzy?
Zoe?
I'll be right back.
I have to check something outside real quick.
Alice?
A...
Izzy.
Izzy?
Izzy!
Izzy?
Izzy.
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.
Oh, don't worry. That's an owl.
He lives close to where my house once was.
It's a playground now.
Where do you live?
Close.
Iz...
No, no!
Oh, my God. Thank God.
Zoe. Hi.
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.
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.
- 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!
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.
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.
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.
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 died
and that's why we never found his body, and then...
I found out there were a lot of others like him...
Who wouldn't be missed.
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.
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?
Killing.
It would've begun with the founder.
He was a recluse... fundamentalist religious nut.
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.
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...
My name's Joey, by the way.
Uh... Zoe.
Nice to meet you... Zoe.
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