The police arrive at the Yolen house and secure the crime scene. Amy looks at Jessica's corpse lying in the wading pool.
The next day, Amy drives to Marla's house.
Marla makes breakfast for Lily and Mike comes in. He says that he had a good dream for once, and then winces in pain as he bites into a piece of toast. Amy knocks at the door and Amy tells her what happened to Jessica. The wounds and footprints suggest that kids were responsible. Amy says that they also found Daphne dead a couple of days in Frances' basement, and Candle Cove props there as well. She asks Mike to meet her at the station to help, and he agrees.
Once Amy leaves, Mike tells Marla what happened to Jessica. He admits that he thought it was over, and then winces in pain again. He goes to the bathroom and checks his mouth in the mirror, and discovers that one tooth is loose. Mike examines it as Marla yells to tell him that Erica is there.
Erica asks about Lily, and the girl runs over to greet her mother. Mike comes out, his mouth bleeding, and Erica tells Lily to say that it's time to leave.
At the station, Amy figures that Frances killed Daphne herself and directed the kids to kill Jessica. One officer disagrees, insisting that kids aren't capable of murder. Mike comes in and says that kids are capable of anything, and Frances could have taken advantage of their suggestibility. Amy says that first they pick up the four kids and then they find Frances. Afterward, Mike tells Amy that he needs to see Frances' house for himself and asks Amy to come with him. She insists that she has to help find Frances, and Mike tells her that not everyone is busy. Amy refuses to let Gary out, but Mike points out that its unique circumstances.
Later, Mike and Gary drive to Frances' house. As Mike checks the basement, Gary rinses off his face in the sink and sees something out the window. He goes outside and finds three bloody teeth on a piece of firewood. In the basement, Mike examines the Candle Cove props. He looks at the skeleton and realizes that it isn't the one he remembers. The phone rings upstairs and Mike goes to answer it, and realizes that Gary is gone. When he answers the phone, Frances says that she has so much to tell him.
1988
Eddie visits Frances in her classroom, and she asks if there's anything he wants to tell her about. He says that he's fine, and Frances says that he can come to her anytime she wants. As Eddie turns to leave, Frances has a seizure and collapses. Jacob is in the room and goes to her, and Eddie tells Frances to stop convulsing. She does, and Eddie walks over and tells Frances to get up. She does so and stares at Eddie.
Now
Frances is in the woods near the house, and tells Mike over her cellphone that she has something wonderful to tell him. She asks Mike to meet somewhere privately, just the two of them, and then gets in her truck and drives off. Gary comes back in and sees Mike drive off. He calls Amy and says that he won't be there when she sends men to get him.
The children are watching Candle cove. They then all go outside and walk down the street as music from the show echoes in the distance.
Gary goes to Katie's room at the hospital and discovers that she's gone.
Dane and Katie walk hand-and-hand to join the other children.
At the station, Amy checks with her officers. They confirm that none of the four children are at home, and Amy tells Simon to find Mike.
Mike goes to an abandoned ice cream parlor and Frances calls him. She says that she killed Daphne to protect him, and that he should come inside. Simon arrives in a squad car and explains that Amy sent him to get her. Mike says that he'll head back in to the station, and they see some children in a nearby field. When Simon starts to go after them, Mike stops him and warns that they don't know how much danger they're in yet. He tells Simon to give him a second and goes inside.
Inside, Mike calls to Frances.
Simon hears the children giggling behind the building and finally goes to investigate. He sees some of them running through the woods and goes after them.
Inside, Mike gets no answer. He finds her phone on a jacket.
Simon finds the children and tells them to come to him.
Mike checks the jacket pockets and finds a matchbox filled with human teeth.
The children grab Simon, and the Skin-Taker emerges from the woods and approaches Simon. Mike looks out the window and sees the Skin-Taker kill Simon, and then clutches at his tooth in pain. He runs outside and sees Frances takes off the Skin-taker mask, and then collapses.
Erica drives Lily back to New York, but suddenly skids when children appear on the road ahead of them. When she recovers and gets out of the car, the children are gone.
At the station, Amy is manning the phone. One mother, Beth, calls, and Amy prepares to go to meet her. However, she hesitates and then turns to the computer monitor, where the Skin-Taker's face has appeared. Gary comes in a minute later.
Mike wakes up next to Simon's body. The Skin-Taker is standing nearby with Lily, and Mike stands up. He sees them and starts to head over, only to discover that he's been strung up on wires leading overhead. He jerks awake from his nightmare and realizes that he's alone, and takes out his phone.
Erica checks into a motel and calls the rental agency. Mike's call comes in and she ignores it, an. Meanwhile, Lily is coloring and looks at the V screen. After a moment, she starts to walk outside. Erica sees her and tells her to stay inside.
Marla is filling the birdfeeder when she hears something inside the house. She goes inside and finds Frances working at the counter. Frances tells her to call Mike and come alone.
Mike soon arrives and goes inside, and finds Frances and Marla sitting at the table, Frances holding a gun. Frances tells Mike to sit down, and says that he should have come alone before. She serves them both food, and Marla accuses her of taking Eddie away. Frances says that now she's there to reunite them, and Mike asks her about Candle Cove. He asks why and why them, and Frances says that he's a stubborn man. She explains that she had a life without purpose, and then the world opened up and then she understood her purpose. Frances says that she was powerless to help Jacob, and then she found herself in the presence of something greater. She tells them that Eddie created Candle Cove. Mike doesn't believe it, and Frances says that what Eddie was born with it and he's the beacon. She tells them that Eddie is coming back, and Mike only needs to let him in.
1988
That night, Eddie meets Frances at her house. She wonders how he did what he did, and he says that he's special. Frances asks him if he showed her the place she saw, and Eddie says that he's not strong enough yet. He needs her to give him something. Once Eddie explains, they go into the house where Jacob is watching TV.
Now
Frances says that she fed her son to a fire so it could burn even brighter. She tells Mike that he'll make Eddie a hundred times stronger just by being there, and Eddie needs him. He needed Mike to put him to rest, and has broken him down to make him ready. Eddie will come back through Mike and live again in flesh. Frances says that the sooner Mike lets Eddie in, the sooner he'll take his pain away. She tells Mike to go with Eddie and leaves.
Lily runs in and calls to Mike, and he asks where Erica is. His daughter runs upstairs, and Mike goes after her to the bedroom. He says that he has something cool for her, and shows her the baling hook in his hand. Mike prepares to kill Lily... and wakes up back at the dining room table with his mother.
As Erica sleeps, Lily watches the TV and Candle Cove comes on. The puppets scream hysterically, and the Tooth Child comes into the room. Lily pulls the blanket up over her head and the screaming stops. After a moment, she looks out and sees the Tooth child standing there. Lily smiles at it and giggles, and it crawls under the bed. The girl crawls to the edge of the bed and looks underneath.
Frances returns to her camper trailer where the children are hiding. She tells them that they should sleep because they'll be there soon.
Mike gets a pair of pliers and pulls the offending tooth out. The TV comes on in the next room, and the Candle Cove music plays over the static. The door slams shut, trapping Mike inside. Lily appears in the cave on the TV, calling to Mike.
Written by Gadfly on Nov 9, 2016