Dream Eater

Mallory, what's happening?

Alex, come back!

Possible 148 in progress.

- Alex! - All units, please respond.

Rolling.

Rolling? Do you want me to slate it for you?

Tell me what you remember from the other night.

There's gonna be a lower third, right?

With my name and info.

Stop being a dick.

Yeah, if I'm being a dick now,

it's just because this whole thing is pretty pointless.

The doctor told us to record

any parasomnia you experience

and what you remember from each episode.

This is important, Alex.

Gee, if it's important...

Besides waking up in a pool of my own piss and blood,

I really don't remember much, so...

if it's all the same to you,

I'm just gonna keep on packing.

Oh, no, don't worry, I got it.

I told you we should make two trips.

Never.

Fucking mother!

You know, for a guy with no job,

you really need a vacation.

So funny!

Here we go.

- (Menacing music) - (Eerie whistling)

So, where are we going?

Well, my beautiful,

voluptuous girlfriend...

uh, has planned a trip.

Ten days of nothing but sucking and fucking.

- We call it the fuck cabin. - No.

This is the first time we're going away for your birthday.

- Are you excited? - So excited.

Oh, yeah.

Look at all that excitement, ladies and gentlemen.

Are you gonna be shooting me this whole time

like I'm the star of one of your documentaries?

Well, Alex, the people have a right to know.

Yeah, very cute.

- (Menacing music) - (Eerie whistling)

Wow. This is so beautiful.

Yeah, it's like our very own overlook.

Jesus, look at this thing.

It's bigger than our apartment.

You know, we'll never be able to afford a house,

but I could see us living in a cute shed somewhere.

You know what a shed goes for these days?

We don't got shed money.

A girl can dream.

What the hell is this thing?

Coming up next on Haunted Playgrounds...

You're an idiot.

The kids in Chernobyl would love this.

This piece of shit's about to fall over.

What are you talking about? It looks fine.

Yeah, on the outside.

It's what you can't see you gotta worry about.

Front door open.

"Dear guests..." That's us!

"Welcome to our cozy cabin. A few things to know.

When you arrive, turn on the hot-water tank

located in the crawl space under the house."

That'll be your job.

"If you experience a blackout, don't panic.

It should turn on after a few minutes.

If not, reset the circuit breaker,

also in the crawl space."

Rolling blackouts. That sounds fun.

You said go cheap, and this was

the cheapest place without an outhouse.

Front door open.

Hey, you think this is it?

- (Door creaking) - Oh, yeah.

Just as I thought. Structural damage.

Yo, this is bad.

- After you. - Not in a million years.

Oh, I have to do everything myself.

When it comes to

creepy crawl spaces, yeah, you do.

What happened to equal rights?

Is everything OK?

- (Yells) - (Gasps)

- (Laughs) - Don't do that!

Oh, I'm sorry. I must have been sleepwalking.

Asshole.

Hello.

This place is huge.

I'm obsessed with this oven.

What?

Turn it off!

An outhouse would have been bigger.

Don't blame me. I wanted to go to Costa Rica.

Yeah, after we win the lottery.

So, what do you think?

What's wrong?

I mean...

It seems like we're spending

a lot of money on... this place.

Look, this year's been tough on the both of us.

But we need this trip, Alex.

And we have savings we can pull from if needed.

Plus, the doctor said

some time away might be good for you.

So, please try and have some fun.

- OK. - OK.

Fancy camera.

Bit overkill, don't you think?

Just don't break it.

Yeah, yeah.

Oof! Not bad at all.

Will you quit filming my ass and get the milk, please?

Well, what do we have here?

Don't you dare touch that

until your birthday. I'm serious.

Cake or ass, Mallory. I'm eating one of 'em tonight.

Oh, my God, Alex.

Alex.

He's here. He's with me.

Alex.

-I need you to go back to bed. -Who is that?

Is someone there?

It's just me. There's nobody there.

Alex, can you hear me?

Baby, I need you to go back to bed.

Everything's OK.

Shh, shh, shh, shh. You're OK.

- (Whimpering) - I'm right here.

Shh. Everything's OK.

Doctors! Can't even be on time for a fucking Zoom call.

She's giving us a discount

since we don't have insurance, so be nice.

No. It's because she wants to use me for her next book.

She already...told us that she was writing one.

She just wants to help.

- Hey, Dr Snape. - Sorry I'm late.

I got caught up with another patient.

How was your first night at the cabin?

Oh, uh, fine. Nothing to, uh, report.

Well, that's not entirely true.

Uh, Alex was sitting up in bed

last night, talking to himself.

Did you get it on camera?

Yeah, I got it.

Have you experienced other episodes of parasomnia

since we last spoke?

No, I don't think so.

Well, we've got you scheduled for

a sleep study three weeks from now,

which will hopefully yield some results.

Yeah, and, Doc, uh...

how much is this thing gonna cost us?

Typically, it's around 5,000,

but due to your financial circumstances,

we'll do what we can to reduce the cost.

However, you are responsible

for any medications you're prescribed afterwards.

And are we sure that this is absolutely necessary?

During episodes of parasomnia, individuals such as yourself

are in what's known as a dissociative state,

meaning you have no cognitive awareness

of your environment or your actions.

While people do sleepwalk,

very rarely do they lash out violently

like you did last week.

A sleep study is the only way to determine the cause.

Yeah, but, like, what if it's just a one-time thing?

And if it's not?

Alex, are you aware

that people with your disorder

have killed their bed partners?

Are either of you willing to take that risk?

Any luck tracking down your family's medical history?

Uh, no. No, no luck yet.

Parasomnia is hereditary, so it is important to find out

if anyone in your family has experienced it before.

OK, yeah, I'll look into it.

I'm at a conference next week.

If you need anything, I'll respond when I'm back in town.

And remember, keep the camera rolling.

Mallory,