- ♪ ♪ - [mobile creaking]
[clattering nearby]
[breathing shakily]
[scraping nearby]
[loud clang]
- [girl panting] - [heavy breathing]
- [door closes] - [TV playing indistinctly]
Now who could that be?
If I were a little chickadee,
where, oh, where would I be?
Chickadee-dee-dee.
[screaming on TV]
- Chickadee! - [whimpers]
Daddy, stop.
- [groans] - I'm not a chickadee.
It is very late.
You know the rules.
- Daddy, it's there again. - Oh, come on.
Not this again. [stammers] Look.
There is nothing under your bed.
- I promise. - There is.
There is nothing under your bed.
There is!
Okay.
Okay, how about this?
Tomorrow morning, I'll fry up
some griddle cake and bacon, extra crispy,
just like on your birthday.
But in order for tomorrow to come, you got to be brave
and go to sleep.
Can you be brave for me, chickadee?
[exhales]
Sweet dreams, chickadee.
[breathing shakily]
[rattling nearby]
[hyperventilating]
♪ ♪
[screams]
[birds singing]
You okay?
Yeah.
Yeah, it was just a dream.
Were you just laying there, staring at me?
Mm-hmm.
Creeper.
- Baby? - Hmm?
My app says you're ovulating.
Mm. [chuckles softly]
Uh, I told Megan
I would help her at the store today.
- Jillian. You promised. - Hmm?
Yeah, I know.
Uh...
I'm just not really in the mood right now.
Is that okay?
And here we go.
What?
We have to try.
But once again, you conveniently have one of your dreams
- and then you're not in the mood. - [laughs]
Mark, my nightmares are not convenient for me.
Okay? It's a medical condition.
Which you have medication for.
But you choose not to take.
Yeah, because they make me feel like a zombie.
Having a babies means making sacrifices.
- [short laugh] I-- - Uh--
Our lives don't just get to be all about us anymore.
Hey.
We agreed we wanted this.
No?
Yeah, no, I know.
I know.
It's gonna be amazing.
And you're gonna be amazing.
[smooches]
Come here.
♪ ♪
- [groans] - Ew, knock much?
Oh, hey, can you grab my phone? It's gonna be a while.
[Megan] Oh, you know what I was thinking?
- [Jillian] Hmm? - When the store opens
I want to hire exclusively, like,
little gay fashionistas with
killer granny-chic sensibilities.
[exhales] Oh.
I mean, can you imagine? I'm just, like,
lording over my very own battalion of twinks?
[laughs]
Chickadee.
Yeah.
You have one of your dreams last night?
Uh, yeah.
Yeah, same one.
The one with the little girl.
And then there's, just, like, something...
terrible looming... and I don't know.
I always wake up before I find out what it is.
What can we infer?
I mean, the symbolism is obvious.
You, concerned about the welfare of a little girl.
You and Mark, trying to have a baby.
Yeah, no, the only thing there is to infer,
is that I have an unspecified parasomnia disorder
that just gives me some weird-ass dreams.
Yes, which you sometimes act out in real life.
Oh! What was it?
Remember when you were, like, stuffing the throw pillows
- with what was that? Spaghetti! - Stop. It was spaghetti.
- [laughing] - Yeah. Okay, Mom was livid.
- Oh, my God, she lost her mind. - Yeah.
No, but seriously...
when are you gonna have Mark's spawn, hmm?
I am so ready to be
the funnest aunt in history. [vocalizing]
Okay, more like the most unstable aunt in history.
Hey, everybody's got to have one, right?
- [Mark] Hey. - [Jillian] Hmm?
You know what I'm thinking?
Mm.
[loud thud]
- What was that? - I don't, I don't know.
- Um, can-- - Uh...
- Anything? - No. Weird.
I-I definitely felt something.
Earthquake?
Maybe.
[grunts]
- [screaming] - Mark? Mark!
Mark! Mark, what's happening?!
Jillian, please!
- [Mark shouting] - No! No! No!
- No! No! Mark! - Jillian, please!
[both shouting]
- [Mark screaming] - Mark! Mark!
No. No!
No. No.
Wha-- [panting]
What?
Oh...
[whimpering]
♪ ♪
[birds chirping]
♪ ♪
nce]
- Whoa! Watch the hood. - Hello again.
- Hi. Yeah. - Hi.
Um, unfortunately, what you're doing here, this is trespassing.
- Really? - So I'm gonna need you to vacate the premises.
[laughs] It's a public thoroughfare.
I'm sorry, what was that?
My sister is not a suspect.
Nobody's a suspect.
Everybody's a suspect.
Wow.
Deep.
- Oh, there it is. - Mm-hmm.
Got to get that camera out. Yeah, okay.
- Here we go. - Okay. Hi.
- Yep. - Can't be a full day without the camera.
- Hi. - That's a New Jersey plate.
- This gentleman here... - Hello.
- That's me. Detective Watts. - And he has been here
every single day.
- Say hello. - Hello.
You have a wonderful day.
And you have a wonderful day, too.
[door slams]
- Hey. - [Megan] Hi.
Fucking detective is out there.
Oh. Did you film him again?
Yes. I'm collecting evidence.
You know, in case there's, like, a class action lawsuit or...
I don't think you know exactly what that is.
[sniffles]
At least the reporters have moved on, right?
I found something.
What is it?
[Jillian] This woman.
Samantha Blair.
She disappeared from her bedroom.
Middle of the night.
Her mom was in the house, said she heard screaming,
went into her bedroom
and she was just gone.
No suspect, but...
they found blood under the bed.
I mean, it's just like what happened to Mark.
When was this?
This was, like, three months ago.
Like, ten miles away, and...
I've already found two other cases just like it.
Look.
- "Vanished from their bedroom." - Yeah.
Just disappeared. And they're all near here.
Okay, um, Jilly?
Hey, Jill?
I don't know if this is a super healthy habit for you.
I don't think anyone would blame you for moving on.
Blame? Everyone blames me.
The-the police blame me, Mark's family blame me--
- they won't even talk to me. - Yeah, yeah, but fuck 'em.
You didn't do anything.
You deserve to live your life.
What life?
This happened to me for a reason.
And I'm not gonna stop until I know the truth.
♪ ♪
[doorbell buzzes]
Uh, Mrs. Blair?
Hi. My-my name is Jillian Fletcher.
I'm here to talk to you about your daughter Samantha.
Why?
A-About her disappearance?
I think that the same thing that happened to my husband
happened to your daughter.
You were home when it happened, right?
Did you see anything?
I have nothing to say to you.
Please, t-there's-there's other disappearances like this.
- Please. - [Watts] These people have been through enough
without you bothering them.
What are you doing, Jillian?
I'm doing what you should've done a month ago.
These cases have nothing to do with what happened
in your house that night, and we both know it.
There were no signs of forced entry.
I mean, Jillian, they found you with blood on your hands.
That, with a motive, is enough for the D.A.
This will go to trial.
Okay, and what exactly would my motive be?
For murdering the person I was in love with,
the man I was trying to have a child with?
When it comes to marriage,
there's always more to the story.
I'll keep looking.
And I will find something.
[engine starts]
[tires screech]
- [door closes] - [Megan] Hi.
- Mail. - Yes, thank you.
[sighs] I need a fucking drink.
Whoa, you okay?
Yeah. No, I'm good.
- You're not. - [exhales] No, I'm great.
Um, everywhere I go, I'm just a fucking pariah.
No one will talk to me, no one will look at me.
Fucking and-- this is just my life now, I guess?
- I know this sucks, like, really bad... - Mm-hmm?
...but this is gonna blow over.
People forget about this stuff.
You just got to give it a little time.
I don't...
They're gonna make a case against me.
That's what they said, like, they just need a motive.
Jill.
You and Mark were so in love.
You were, you were planning a future together.
You were trying to have a baby.
That's like the opposite of a motive.
Mm-hmm.
I know.
Except, um...
[whispers] Meg, I was...
I was still on the pill.
I don't, um...
Uh, your statement.
I don't... you told the police
- that you were trying to get pregnant. - I know. No, I know. [sniffles]
We were trying-- he was ready.
And I... I didn't...
♪ ♪
[thud]
Look, sometimes they just knock themselves out, you know?
Like, you think they're dead, but then... [whistles]
...off they go.
Jilly?
I feel like I just have to ask--
not that you meant to,
- but is there any chance that you-- - Wh...
What are...
You think I killed him?
Not on purpose, of course.
It's just...
- Uh-- - You-you do have a condition
that sometimes makes you do things
- that are out of character, and I just... - I can't believe this.
- I just want to make sure. - I can't believe this.
- I can't believe I didn't see it. - Wh-- Don't do that, Jill.
- I'm on your side. - Okay, so this-this, actually,
must have been great for you, seeing me like this.
[scoffs] What is that supposed to mean?
Y-You've always hated that I had my dreams,
it's something that makes me special.
- Jillian. - And-and you have spent
your whole life trying to be quirky
and unique because deep down,
you know the truth, which is that you're ordinary.
You realize you're not the only one in this, right?
- This has been hell for me, Jill. - Oh, has it?
I'm sorry this has been hell for you. Fuck.
And this whole time, I thought you were trying to protect me.
You know what? I'm gonna go.
- If it's been hell for you... - Oh, really?
- ...why don't I go? Yeah. - Really? Great.
- Yes. - Okay, go ahead and find
another place to live, hmm?
Yeah, someone else to buy all your groceries.
Oh, and you know what?
Your fan mail.
What? What is this?
Wh...
- Is this hate mail? - Yes.
- You know, I've been hiding it from you... - Okay...
...but now feels like a really good time
for you to take a look.
[Jillian] "...don't want murderers in our neighborhood."
Yeah, well, that's a good point. And why would you?
- "Die cunt." It's to the point. - Stop.
- You know, at least, I mean, they could've used a comma. - Stop, Jill.
I'm sorry, just stop.
What? What is it?
Niles Taylor.
Came from Saint Benjamin's Hospital.
Jillian, this is a crazy person, okay?
- Please don't get any ideas. - No. No, this is...
someone who actually believes me.
Jill?
Can we just hit the reset button, please?
- Jill! - [door opens, closes]
[woman over P.A.] Charge nurse, dial 2257.
Charge nurse, 2257.
Hi. Excuse me, I'm looking for Niles Taylor.
Hi, I'm Jillian Fletcher.
♪ ♪
I know you, don't I?
You should not be here.
- Well-- but you sent this. - That-that was a mistake.
- Forget it, I, um... - You know something.
I don't want to get caught up in this.
I-I could lose my job.
Please. No one believes me,
no one cares, and you wouldn't have sent this if you didn't.
This will keep happening.
[whispers] Follow me.
You told the police that your husband was killed
by someone under the bed.
- Yeah. - And this person
just disappeared, poof.
Along with my husband, yeah.
Where are we going?
- Hey, Mary. - [monitors beeping]
How are you today?
[latch clicks]
I want you to meet Jillian.
This is Mary Gentile.
She's been in a persistent vegetative state
for the past ten years.
I've been with her since the beginning.
I knit this blanket for her.
[chuckles] That's-that's so sweet.
What does this have to do with me?
We don't know much about what happens
in the mind of a coma patient.
But we do know that Mary dreams.
And when she dreams, things happen.
What kind of things?
Well, with a regular dream, nothing much, but...
when she has a nightmare...
[beeping fast]
[panting]
[Niles] ...the lights flicker on and off,
machines go haywire
and, during one of them...
I saw it.
- [monitors beeping] - [Mary panting]
♪ ♪
I told the other nurses about it.
They called security.
There was no one under the bed.
We were struggling to know what it all meant.
And they decided
that it was just something in my head, a dream.
And I have always had nightmares,
really bad ones,
especially when I was a kid.
Me too...
But I know what my dreams are.
This was not one of them.
It was real. I am certain of that.
I believe you.
Did it ever happen again?
Mary had other nightmares,
but I never saw that "thing" again.
These other nightmares, do you know when they were?
Yeah, I-I've been plotting the data.
This is Mary's normal brain function.
But when she has a nightmare,
it results in a spike in her EEG.
All these dates...
they correspond to the disappearances.
I know.
So, what about January 10?
That's the day that my husband...
[stammers] This can't be possible, can it?
This is crazy.
I haven't told anybody else about this.
I'm not even sure if I believe it.
But when I heard what happened to you...
What do you know about her?
Not much. Uh...
I know she lived on a farm with her dad, alone.
He found her passed out one day and she'd had a stroke.
She's been here ever since.
Where was the house where they used to live?
I'm not sure. Uh...
Maybe out on State Route 6? Why?
♪ ♪
[engine shuts off]
[birds singing]
[lock clicks]
[chickadee singing]
♪ ♪
[man] If I were a little chickadee,
where, oh, where would I be?
Daddy, stop.
I'm not a chickadee.
[footsteps approaching]
What are you doing here?
I'm sorry, I didn't think anyone lived here.
How did you know I was coming?
A birdie told me. What are you doing in my house?
I'm here to find out about Mary Gentile.
Out. Now.
You called her your little chickadee,
you told her you would make her griddle cakes
and bacon, extra crispy, in the morning
just like her birthday.
I think Mary and I are connected.
And I'm not leaving here until you talk to me.
What happened that night?
After you sent Mary to bed?
[Earl] Mary was special.
Sensitive.
And she had vivid dreams.
Some of them nightmares about...
about the thing under the bed.
We took her to the doctor, but,
you know, they just gave her pills to make her sleep.
It didn't do squat.
Okay, but-but there was
something under the bed that night,
wasn't there?
[Mary] Daddy! Daddy!
- Daddy! - [Earl] His name was Jacob Holler.
He was a patient
at Longview Sanitarium.
Daddy, help me!
Daddy!
[Earl] He'd escaped the week before.
Broke into our house
and hid under Mary's bed.
Daddy!
[Jillian] Where is he now?
- Jacob Holler? - He's dead.
[panting]
I killed him
with my bare hands. - Dad!
[Earl] Mary...
she was never the same...
That's everything I care to tell you.
It wasn't just 'cause Mary was afraid, was it?
After that, something, something else came out of there.
Look, Mr. Gentile, I want to help Mary.
I-I think... I need to spend some time here.
[sighs]
Don't expect pancakes and bacon in the morning.
♪ ♪
[Earl] Sweet dreams, chickadee.
[chickadee singing]
- Hi, Jillian. - What is this place?
This is where I live.
[Jillian] It's beautiful.
[Mary] The subconscious world.
Most people can't access it unless they're dreaming,
but people like us, we're special.
We're evolved.
Niles.
Your nurse at the hospital.
Him, too.
In this place, you two have shared lifetimes.
Are there more people like us?
[Mary] So many.
[chuckles softly]
- [Earl] Sweet dreams, chickadee. - [Mary] So many.
They wander in from time to time...
[laughing] And when they feel something,
we feel it, too.
Mwah.
Kee-chee, kee-chee, kee-chee.
[Jillian] Could you feel what I felt that night?
Where you with me that night, Mary?
Did you feel what I felt?
January 10, the night my husband...
- got taken? - [girl] Stop it!
You're hurting me.
[Earl] Sweet dreams, chickadee.
No. No. No!
You're hurting us. Stop it!
- [young Mary] You're hurting us! - Stop it!
[young Mary] You're hurting us!
- [crying] Stop it! - Mary, stop.
- He's not stopping. - Mary. Mary.
- Stop it! - Sweet dreams, chickadee.
I hate you. I hate you!
- Jillian, wake up. - What are you doing? Stop it.
- Jillian, wake up. - Stop it! You're hurting us.
I'll kill you!
[Niles] Jillian, wake up.
Jillian, wake up!
[gasps for breath]
[phone rings]
It's happening again.
[monitor beeps fast]
She's having a nightmare.
She could be hurting someone right now.
- Where, though? - [chickadee chirping]
[reporter] The mother and father of Ethan Gonzales
have told police they last saw the 12-year-old
when they tucked him in for bed.
This morning, the child was missing.
[camera shutter clicking]
[indistinct conversation]
You're hurting me.
- Help us. - Stop it. - Stop! You're hurting us!
Stop it! Stop it!
- I'll kill you! I'll kill you! - [growls]
Why are you here, Jillian?
He was only 12.
Was?
Right now, he's just missing.
Unless you know something I don't.
Under the bathroom mirror?
We found the birth control pills.
You didn't want a baby, did you?
You were lying to your husband.
Didn't know how to get out of it.
It's over, Jillian.
[Jillian] No.
No, it's not.
But it's going to be.
[knock on door]
I have an idea.
[kettle whistling]
[Jillian] I was prescribed a drug
called prazosin. Do you know it?
[Niles] I do.
- Stops you from dreaming. - [Jillian] Yeah.
Stopped me from thinking altogether.
I stopped taking it.
What if there's something like that
that we could give to Mary?
Like, maybe something even stronger?
[Niles] But...
dreaming is all she has. It's her entire world.
But, Niles,
this is bigger than Mary. It's bigger than us.
[stammers] We can't let this happen to anyone, ever again.
I could talk to Dr. Kelner,
see if he could prescribe something, but...
Do you think...
What if she knows?
I mean, she's connected to our subconsciousness.
What if she's listening to us right now?
No. No, 'cause we're not dreaming,
so of course not.
- Right? - [phone ringing]
- Oh. Sorry. - Yeah.
[phone continues ringing]
Hello?
Hey, you asked me to call you
if there was an EEG spike.
Well, there's a big one happening
right now.
[Niles] No! No! Jillian!
No! Help me! Help me! No! No!
[screams]
I saw it. And it was as vivi
as my most vivid dreams, but then seeing again,
seeing the-the blood under the bed,
u-under Niles's bed--
Okay, okay, so let me understand. Um...
- This monster lives in the dream world... - Uh-huh.
...but then, through Mary, it appears
under random people's beds?
Well, not random people.
No, like, other people that are also connected
in this subconscious dream space, like me.
You know, like how I've always known, like, my dreams
meant something.
It's like you always say, like, there's so much more
going on in the universe than we could even understand.
Jill, I meant, like, astrology.
This is like...
- You know what? I need to think. - [Jillian] No.
I'm done thinking.
I know what needs to happen...
and I'm the one who has to do it.
- Jilly, hey, hey. - Huh? Huh?
You're really scaring me.
What are you, what are you gonna do?
No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to freak you out. I'm sorry.
- I love you. - [machine beeping rapidly]
[gasps]
Mary?
Daddy?
Chickadee.
She's awake.
Nurse! Anybody! Mary's awake!
[Earl] You were right. You're awake.
You need a room with a view.
Thank you, Daddy.
[text whooshes]
[Earl] Mary?
[elevator bell dings]
[Earl] Mary, no. Mary, Mary, stay with me.
Mary?
I just need to sleep for a little bit longer.
[sighs]
Mary.
No. Mary. Mary. Mary!
Mary!
[grunting] No. No, no, no. No!
[shrieks]
No!
[creature snarling]
Mary?
Sorry.
I tried to help you, Jillian.
You were trapped in your marriage.
You didn't want to have a kid with him, and I...
I set you free.
I showed you my world.
I trusted you.
But you...
you were gonna take it all away.
Mary, you are really powerful,
but you don't have any control over it.
[laughs]
[Thing/Mary] Oh, you dumb bitch.
I am not the victim of this power.
I am the master of it.
Mary, you don't have to do this.
Of course I don't.
I want to.
Jill?
[doorknob rattling]
[Megan] Jill?
Open the door, Jill.
[Jillian whimpering]
I'm so sorry.
[screaming]
No!
[crying] No!
She was there.
She was right there! He took her.
He took her under the bed!
- No! You don't understand. - It's okay. It's okay.
- Jilly... [sobbing] - No. It's okay. Look. Look.
- I'm sorry! - It's okay. It's okay.
- He took her from me. - It's okay.
[Megan crying]
- [gasps] - [Earl] Chickadee.
Don't ever leave me again.
I never left you, Daddy.
I was always here.
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org