Narrator: The Curious.
They say he collects strange tales.
And if you ever hear his whistle,
you know something creepy is about to unfold.
No one knows where he's from or where he's going to
or if he ever gets scared.
(whistling)
Do his tales ever linger in his mind?
You know that feeling
when you get something stuck in your head?
What if it was really stuck
and there was nothing you could do to get it out?
♪
God, that was so heavy.
I've paired you with patrol second in command Janie
to show you the ropes.
Welcome to the Donner troop.
Oh, wow.
Your uniform.
It's so... blank.
I've never seen one with no badges before.
Not one.
Do you think I want to be here?
Patrol Leader Paxton?
Can I talk to you for a moment?
She doesn't even have a bravery badge.
Paxton: The Hedgehog Ranger Patrol
is an inclusive organization, Janie.
You've even got the badge to prove it.
And everyone has to start somewhere, hmm?
Alright, ladies!
We've got a long way to go,
and we need to get there before dark.
♪
What does Ana-Ciall mean?
Death.
♪
(coughing)
What is that?
Insect repellant.
All natural ingredients.
No bites, plus no harm to the environment.
Win-win.
You really are loving this, aren't you?
Nature's our best friend.
That relationship goes both ways.
(coughing)
Ladies, campfire, pronto.
Storytime is limited to 15 minutes.
So, then this woman climbs out of her car, right?
She looks down and...
Ooh!
There it is, on the door handle.
The hook.
What hook?
Arlene: The one the guy's been stalking her with.
Jo: You never said he had a hook.
Um, yeah, I did.
No, you said hockey mask.
Well... I meant hook.
He had a hook, alright?
Well, thanks, Arlene.
Though I think the idea was to scare,
not to send everyone into a coma.
Alright, let's get real for a moment, shall we, ladies?
Have you noticed how overgrown it is here, yeah?
There are no footprints, tracks.
No traces that another human was ever here.
That's no coincidence.
It's because no one has ever dared
to stay the night here.
Not in this spot, no.
Do you want to know why?
Surrounding us...
I mean beyond the trees, deep in the darkness,
lives an evil.
Can you feel it?
Wh... what's out there?
This is the most remote spot in Britain.
Parts of it are unmapped.
Rumour has it there are things living here
that nature doesn't want you to know about.
Hidden in the woods.
Waiting.
Watching.
But... we'll never know for sure, though.
Do you want to know why?
Because no one brave enough
or dumb enough
to venture anywhere near
this exact spot
was every heard of again.
Right, then, Rangers!
Bed!
Jo: I'm scared, Janie.
It's okay, Jo-Jo.
Here.
Makeshift nightlight.
Dent: How do you know all this stuff?
Were you, like, born in a tree?
Basic training.
If you took your headphones out for once,
maybe you'd actually enjoy it.
Nature is our friend, remember.
And your only friend, I'm guessing.
You don't like camping.
You don't like badges.
You don't like the Rangers.
Why are you even here?
No choice.
Mum wanted a fancy cruise.
No kids allowed, so...
here I am,
in a tent...
with you.
Yay.
There are other badges, you know,
like music-making, song-writing.
Really?
Yeah.
Tons of cool ones.
Wow.
I had no idea.
Hey, is there a badge for being mute?
Maybe you could try for that bad boy.
Where are you going?
To the little girls' room, if that's okay with you, Mum.
Here.
Nature's loo roll.
Um, I think I'll stick with my own, thanks.
But you can't!
Not in the woods, not alone!
Arlene: What, is this about Paxton's story?
Get a grip.
There's nothing out there.
Jo: Please, Arlene.
I don't think you should.
I'll be right back.
(Arlene laughing)
(unzipping tent flap)
(bug buzzing)
Food chain bug.
(music playing faintly)
(same short tune repeating over and over)
(something skittering)
(tune repeating)
(something skittering)
Ah.
Ow.
Oh.
Ah.
Ah, ah.
(singing the same tune)
♪
(rock music playing in headphones)
Dent: Wow.
You two look really awful.
The sounds in the dark kept waking me up all night.
Which, in turn, kept me up.
You want to get yourself some tunes.
Slept like a baby.
Wait.
Here, try these.
Dock leaves.
Perfect for reducing bags under the eyes.
Nature's natural anti-inflammatory.
Ow!
This stings!
Um, looks to me like poison ivy.
Jo: What?
Jo-Jo, I'm sorry.
I'm so tired.
I picked the wrong ones.
Nice one, second in command.
It really hurts!
Let's hope...
(shouting) Paxton...
(normal voice) doesn't see this.
Don't.
Shh.
Hate to know what...
(shouting) Paxton...
(normal voice) would say.
What's the situation?
(Moaning)
Janie?
I made a mistake.
I'm so tired.
Of all the people.
What if it had been berries?
Sorry, Ranger.
You leave me no choice
but to take your foraging badge.
Jo-Jo: Arlene?
Arlene, Arlene!
What's wrong?
It's Arlene.
She's missing.
What?
Well, she's not in the tent.
Maybe she got a taxi home.
Maybe we should all get taxis home.
She did go to the loo in the night.
We assumed she'd crept back in.
Arlene!
Alright, everyone.
We, uh...
we have a missing Ranger.
I suggest we divide into two companies and search.
Yeah, good thinking, Janie.
Alright, this side, first team, led by me.
This side, second team, led by my second in command...
Oh, don't say it.
...Janie.
Any questions?
Right.
Let's bring our Hedgehog Ranger home.
Arlene!
Arlene?
♪
Arlene?
Arlene!
Arlene?
Arlene!
First 24 hours after a person goes missing are crucial.
Aren't all the hours crucial?
Girl: Arlene!
Maybe if we head back towards the trail.
If I was lost, that's where I'd be headed.
We have to have a system,
blanket the area in a grid pattern
so that we don't double back on ourselves.
We need to resist the urge to wander aimlessly.
'Cause we're doing such a great job of that now.
Look, I have an emergency search badge.
What do you have?
Lucky for me, these.
Jo: Arlene!
What are they doing?
(all singing the same tune as Arlene)
Go get Paxton.
Janie, wait.
Patrol Leader Paxton, there's trouble with your group.
(singing the same tune)
(girls singing in unison)
(singing in unison)
I think... we should leave.
For once, I agree.
(singing)
Run!
(panting)
♪
It's like they've lost their minds.
Whatever it is, it's contagious.
We've got to stay as far away from them as possible
if we don't want to become...
(girl singing the same tune)
...infected.
Run.
Go, go, go!
♪
Did we lose her?
What is this place?
As if today couldn't get any creepier... this.
We should go.
They could be on us any minute.
Wait.
I recognize this.
Look at this symbol.
This is the Hedgehog Rangers.
What?
An outdated version, anyway.
Guys?
Guys!
I really think we should go now!
I think I know what this is.
I mean, I've heard the story,
but I never actually believed it.
The Lidland troop.
What's the Lidland troop?
A spooky campfire story...
at least, I thought it was...
about a Hedgehog Ranger patrol called the Lidlands
that went camping in these woods 30 years ago.
Jo: And were never seen again.
Just say it.
And were never seen again!
Dent: Jo, don't worry.
We're gonna get out of this.
Jo, you keep watch.
You hear anything, you let us know, okay?
Okay.
♪
Dent: Look at this.
"They get in."
"They"?
What are "they"?
Dent: That's the last entry.
♪
(same tune playing)
What is that?
"Whatever you do, don't let them in."
(same tune playing)
Ah!
Janie: Jo-Jo?
What's wrong?
Look.
Jo: I can hear something,
and it's not stopping.
What is it?
What?
What was that look?
I saw that.
Nothing's wrong with me, if that's what you're thinking.
I'm fine.
Guys... I'm totally fine.
(buzzing)
Jo-Jo?
The noise, it's so loud.
What's happening to me, Janie?
No, no, I'm fine.
Aren't I, Janie?
(buzzing)
(singing the tune)
♪
(singing)
Janie, you okay?
I don't want to talk about it.
Rule number one, alert an adult.
In the absence of an adult, blow your whistle.
An adult should come running.
If an adult does...
What are you doing?
Going through the Hedgehog Ranger protocol
for getting help.
My protocol for help.
(beeping)
Ah, no signal.
I could have told you that.
If you knew the Hedgehog Ranger protocol for help,
you would know that we could create a smoke signal.
Mother Nature always provides the answer.
You'll see.
For every problem, nature provides a solution.
Don't you get it?
Mother Nature isn't your friend.
She hates your guts.
(rock music playing in headphones)
At least I'm trying.
All you want to do
is block everything out with your stupid music.
Hey!
You don't solve problems by burying them,
like your mum did by putting you here.
Give... them... back.
Not until you acknowledge
that the only way we're getting out of here
is the Hedgehog Ranger way.
(rock music playing out loud)
Chill out.
It's not that bad.
(music becoming muted)
You can hang around here all you want.
But that lot back there, they're gone.
It's game on, man.
I'm not waiting around just to turn into one of them.
Good luck.
Dent... please.
Please help me.
(Buzzing)
It must have been back at the tent.
I started to hear the tune,
driving me mad, but I suppressed it.
Why didn't you say something?
I'm a Hedgehog Ranger.
I can stop it.
I have to.
(tune playing)
It's getting too strong.
(tune playing)
I can't drown it out.
Janie.
(tune playing)
(singing the tune)
(all singing)
♪
(grunting)
(singing)
♪
(singing)
(horn honking)
(singing)
The music.
(singing)
(rock music playing out loud)
Ah!
(all crying out in pain)
(skittering)
(others moaning)
(pop music playing loudly)
Ah!
(girls moaning)
(music stopping)
Paxton: Is everyone okay?
♪
I've got this serious ringing in my ears.
I'm sorry about before.
You know, getting your badge taken away.
Uniform was getting crowded, anyway.
You've earned it.
Your first badge.
The bravery badge.
(girls singing the tune)
Both: Arlene.
(singing)
She found them.
I don't know how, but she found them.
Who?
Janie: Who do you think?
The Lidlands.
(singing)
(rock music playing loudly)
(tune playing)
Narrator: Don't fear the creatures
you know and recognize,
because it's the undiscovered ones,
those mutants of Mother Nature
waiting in the darkness...
Those are the ones that really keep you up at night.
♪