Twisting Pathway

Erica Colburn overhears a chilling threat at Novacom: her father has one week to deliver Whit's Imagination Station, or he's finished. Desperate to save his job, Erica cuts a secret deal with the sinister Bennett Charles herself. All she needs is a way in - so she sweet-talks Nick into showing her the dismantled machine and the hidden tunnel beneath Whit's End. Meanwhile Aubrey, fresh from her own brush with the law, must decide whether to forgive the girl who once let her take the blame. Then a broken window empties the shop, someone traps the two girls in the library, and the Imagination Station vanishes into the night. But Charles double-crosses Erica, firing her father anyway... and the Colburns must leave Odyssey for good.

Found on Battle Lines Album 38 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0486 Plan B, III: Cross-fire A mysterious informant's true identity is revealed just as tragedy strikes, drawing Whit and Connie deeper into a dangerous game of surveillance and espionage.

0487 Plan B, IV: Resistance As a hidden surveillance war escalates around Whit, Connie searches for a way to say goodbye to someone she never told how much she cared.

1 of 2 0488 Under the Influence A teenager's reunion with a wealthy old friend pulls her into a widening web of small deceptions that tests her honesty, her family, and her faith.

2 of 2 0489 Under the Influence A homeschooled teen's secret loyalty to a rebellious new friend pulls her deeper into lies, testing how far her family and true friends will go to reach her.

1 of 2 0490 The Black Veil When an inexplicable wave of rage and exhaustion sweeps through two towns thousands of miles apart, Whit and Jason each begin searching for the source before their communities tear themselves apart.

2 of 2 0491 The Black Veil When a mysterious illness of anger and paranoia strikes two towns thousands of miles apart, Whit and Jason race to uncover the one thing both communities have in common.

0492 Twisting Pathway A desperate teenager's scheme to save her father's job pulls her into a dangerous bargain that puts Whit's End's most treasured invention at risk.

0493 Sheep's Clothing While tracking a package that could complete a dangerous corporate scheme, a charming stranger in Alaska earns Jason Whittaker's trust - but her story doesn't quite add up.

0494 Box of Miracles When a revolutionary new device arrives in Odyssey promising miracles, Whit must decide how far he'll go to warn a town that doesn't want to listen.

0495 The Unraveling While grieving Connie travels to Maine seeking answers about Mitch's past, the kids in Odyssey investigate why their neighbors are suddenly buying things nobody wants.

0496 Exceptional Circumstances With Mitch's fate finally revealed, Connie must guard a dangerous secret while Jason's search for the truth behind Eugene's research uncovers what the NovaBox really costs its users.

0497 Expect the Worst As Novacom's true agenda comes into focus, a desperate act at the broadcast tower puts lives - and one man's freedom - on the line.

0498 Exactly as Planned As Tom Riley's trial exposes the staggering depths of Novacom's conspiracy, Whit follows a hunch that the real bomber may still be out there.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 5 more roles

5 supporting roles

Thomas (b) Steve Bridges Erica Colburn Lawren Donahue Kevin Colburn Corey Burton Kid at Whit's End Actor Unknown Maria Colburn Dyana Ortelli

Made by

Chris Anthony Host John Fornof Writer · Director Bob Luttrell Sound Designer · Producer Bob Hoose Producer Marshal Younger Producer Paul McCusker Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 3 min

Erica Colburn arrives at Novacom expecting her father, Kevin, to take her shopping. While she waits, she accidentally hears Bennett Charles threaten him over the intercom. Charles gives Kevin one week to obtain the Imagination Station and warns that he will take control of the operation if Kevin fails. Erica realizes that her father’s job is in danger, but Kevin refuses to explain and tells her not to get involved.

At Whit’s End, Aubrey Shepard is nervous about returning to work after all the trouble she has caused. Nick Mulligan tries to encourage her while showing her how to serve customers, though he is easily distracted when Erica enters. Erica apologizes to Aubrey for blaming her when the police investigated their shoplifting. She has heard that Aubrey is now a Christian and asks for forgiveness and another chance at friendship. Aubrey is not ready to trust her again.

Erica claims that she needs the Imagination Station for a school report on Abraham Lincoln. Aubrey tells her that Whit has removed the machine from the Bible Room for maintenance but does not know its new location. Erica returns when Aubrey is away and turns her attention to Nick. Flattered by her interest, he admits that the dismantled machine is locked in the basement. Erica persuades him to let her see it after Whit’s End closes and promises that they can get pizza afterward.

That evening Nick takes Erica into the basement. They find the Imagination Station in pieces, but Nick also shows her the secret tunnel leading from Whit’s End to the woods. He even reveals that he has a key. By pretending that the tunnel will help with her history project, Erica learns the route and the building’s alarm schedule without telling Nick what she really wants.

At home, Erica hears her father tell her mother, Maria, that he intends to resign rather than wait for Charles to fire him. The family fears losing its income, home, and comfortable life, and Erica begs him to keep trying. Kevin agrees to remain until the end of the week. Determined to save his position despite his warning, Erica secretly visits Charles. She offers to tell him how to reach the Imagination Station if he guarantees that Kevin can keep his job and never learns of her part in the scheme.

Charles agrees, then adds a threat of his own. If Erica is caught and connects him to the theft, he can place enough blame on her father to send Kevin to prison for years. Frightened but already committed, Erica tells him what she knows.

Soon afterward, someone breaks a window at the Connellsville Whit’s End, drawing Whit away just before the Odyssey shop closes. He entrusts Aubrey with closing the building and cautions her to watch for anything unusual. Erica appears after he leaves and tells Aubrey that she is scared and trapped into doing something wrong. Aubrey is still struggling to trust her, but she remembers the forgiveness Whit and Connie have shown her. She apologizes for refusing Erica a second chance, forgives her, and offers to pray with her.

Before they can pray, Aubrey notices a shadow outside the library. Someone wedges a chair against the door and traps both girls inside. Whit returns, frees them, and discovers that Aubrey forgot to set the alarm after Erica distracted her. In the basement, the Imagination Station is gone. Aubrey accepts responsibility without lying or making excuses, but Whit assures her that she has been used as part of a larger plan. He is proud that her new path is already changing the way she responds to failure.

Whit reasons that the broken window was a deliberate distraction. Because the doors were locked, the thieves must have entered through the secret tunnel. Only a few people know about it, and Aubrey realizes that Nick has recently shown it to Erica. Whit hopes she is wrong, but he knows he must question Nick.

Charles proudly tells Kevin that another person succeeded where he failed, then reveals that the helpful person was Erica. Kevin angrily warns Charles to stay away from his daughter, only to learn that Erica approached Charles herself. Although Erica believed that stealing the machine would protect her father’s position, Charles fires Kevin anyway. He also warns that the Colburn family must leave Odyssey at once for its own safety. Kevin confronts Erica with the consequences of her deception and announces that they are leaving immediately.