Small Fires, Little Pools

Odyssey Community Church is struck by vandals who break windows, spray-paint the building, smash eggs on the steps, and damage pews. Pastor George Barclay cannot understand why anyone would attack a church. Mayor Tom Riley announces that the police are responding to a wider rise in vandalism and petty crime by increasing their patrols, but reporter Brock Peterson observes that, for the moment, the vandals appear to have won.

Before dawn the next morning, Jack Allen awakens from a frightening dream in which something precious and safe is being destroyed. A police officer immediately calls him to Whit's End, where vandals have scattered garbage, torn up plants, broken sprinkler heads, and painted the front of the building. Finneman's Market has also been damaged. The destruction matches the feeling of Jack's dream so closely that he believes the dream is connected to what is happening in Odyssey.

Jack tells Tom that in his dream he stands in a forest where little fires spring up all around him. Each time one appears, however, a small pool of water rises and puts it out. Jack has been having other unusual dreams, and Tom urges him to discuss them with Pastor Barclay. For now, Jack is angry and frustrated by the helplessness of watching people damage places that matter. When Connie wishes for someone who could prevent the crimes, Jack rejects Sam Johnson's joking idea of a superhero. He murmurs instead about “a lot of little pools of water,” then makes a private telephone call to someone in Connellsville.

Tom announces city money for cleanup and repair, increased police patrols, and a special task force. Radio host Bryan Dern and Bart Rathbone use the crisis to attack the mayor, accusing him of favoritism because Whit's End belongs to a friend and portraying every response as failed leadership. Tom promises that those responsible will be caught, but the guilty party remains unknown.

Lucy Cunningham-Schultz and Sam ride to Trickle Lake for a fishing trip. They tease each other over who catches the most fish and whether Sam has fallen - or merely stepped - into the water. Their joking ends when they return to the tree where they locked their bicycles and find both bikes gone. The police can do little more than watch for them, leaving Sam and Lucy to walk all the way back to Odyssey.

At Whit's End, Sam receives a mysterious telephone call. A disguised voice promises to return the bicycles if he comes alone to the Wonder World treehouse. Sam follows the masked caller through the woods to a cave, where both bikes lie hidden under a tarp. He grabs the stranger and pulls off the mask, revealing Butch, an old friend who has become involved with the Bones of Wrath.

Butch insists that taking the bicycles was a mistake. He had tried unsuccessfully to stop the others, and now he only wants Sam to take the bikes and leave. Sam suspects the Bones are responsible for the wave of vandalism and pleads with Butch to remember their old friendship. He offers him a chance to leave the gang and enjoy good, harmless fun again. Butch admits they once had good times, yet he refuses Sam's invitation and walks away.

As Sam prepares to retrieve the bikes, someone suddenly seizes him. The man is with Jack, who assures Sam that he is a friend. Jack says the stranger will help them with something very important, and he leads a bewildered Sam away with much to discuss.