Honey Queen

Honey Queen features as the only story in the first episode of Nightmare Time 2, and is the first story of the second season of the livestream reading series. It was livestreamed on October 23, 2021, and released on YouTube on May 20, 2022.

Summary[]

It’s that time of year again… time for the Hatchetfield Honey Festival! And, of course, the whole town is wondering, “Who will be crowned this year’s Honey Queen?” When upper-crust socialite Linda Monroe sets her sights on the crown, she makes an enemy of cutthroat barista Zoey Chambers. Soon, what’s meant to be a pleasant pageant becomes a bloody nightmare as the two bitter rivals lie, cheat, steal, and kill their way to the top. It’s a battle to the death for the coveted throne of the Honey Queen.

Synopsis[]

The story opens with Dan Reynolds reporting on the Hatchetfield Honey Festival. He mentions how the whole town is a-buzz wondering who is going to be crowned Honey Queen in the Honey Queen Pageant. As Dan reports on the TV, The Monroe Boys are seen encouraging their youngest brother River to put a fork in a power socket. They're stopped by their mother Linda who instructs them to get ready to visit their grandfather Roman Murray. After encouraging her husband Gerald to get ready, the Monroe Family travels to the Murray Estate to have dinner with Roman. While dining, the family begin to discuss the upcoming Honey Festival, Linda insults the Honey Queen and her father reprimands her for it using her childhood nickname "Piggy". This irritates Linda but her father continues to do it. Later, as the Monroe's are driving home, Gerald says he dislikes how Roman insults Linda while praising the Honey Queen. This prompts Linda to decide to run in the pageant.

Days later, Linda appears at the Hatchetfield Community Center to apply for the pageant. As she's about to sign up, Zoey Chambers cuts in front of Linda and applies for the contest. Linda tries to say she's not allowed to compete but Zoey mocks her and warns her not to fuck with her as she's her worst nightmare. Later that night, Gerald finds Linda in the garden practicing twirling a baton for skill section of the contest. Linda is upset as she feels like a failure and Gerald comforts her, reminding her of how she sabotaged a Snow Bunny Broad to win a skiing competition and this prompts Linda to begin sabotaging her competition.

Linda is then shown sabotaging her competition in a number of ways: Chloe Patterson she strands on a boat trip, Martha Wright she prevents from getting collagen injections and Liz Cunningham she spreads rumours about how she's from Clivesdale forcing her to be encouraged to drop out of the contest. Soon there's only one person left on her list: Zoey.

The next day, Zoey goes to visit her Mima at her retirement home Chestnut Estates and sits and watches Fox News with her. After a while, Zoey outs her brother Zach to her grandmother causing him to be cut from her will, making Zoey the sole inheritor. Zoey is collected from the retirement home by Sam and the two go and find a spot near the edge of Witchwood Forest where they have sex and share a joint. While this is happening, Linda's personal investigator Malone snaps pictures of Zoey and Sam together and gives them to Linda the next day.

That evening, Zoey and Linda attends rehearsals for the pageant, led by the volunteer director Professor Hidgens. After rehearsal Linda approaches Zoey and shows her the photos Malone took, threatening to show them to her grandmother. That night, Sam visits Chestnut Estates and uses his status as a cop to get him into Mima's room. He changes her charts causing Mima to be given the wrong medication and die.

The next day, Linda is horrified to discover that Zoey hasn't dropped out of the competition and to learn of Mima's death and she starts to formulate a new plan. Linda employs the help of the Homeless Man and he and Gerald visit Zoey at Beanie's. The Homeless Man pretends to be a Broadway casting director and Gerald pretends to be his assistant. The two pretend to be looking for a lead for a new Broadway show, prompting Zoey to want to prove herself to him. Linda pays people entering the coffee shop to tip Zoey, causing her to continue to sing all day, wearing out her voice.

The next day is the day of the festival and Zoey awakens to find she's lost her voice due to all the singing. That evening, Zoey is sitting in a dressing room attempting to get her voice to come back when she's approached by Linda who reveals she sent the Homeless Man to pose as a casting director to purposefully get Zoey to spend the day singing. Later, the Honey Queen Pageant begins with the first section being the questions portion of the show. While Hidgens asks the other girls questions, Zoey slips off stage and threatens the Cineplex Teen into giving her an easy question, which she answers flawlessly, quickly getting the crowd on her side. She also gets him to give Linda a difficult question. Linda struggles with the question and promises to fund Hidgen's musical Workin' Boys if he helps her, he does but Linda fails to get the crowd on her side.

The next portion of the pageant is the talent portion and soon Zoey is called up to perform a song. Despite sending Hailey get honey to try and heal her voice, Zoey is unable to and she is booed off the stage. After this, Linda arrives on stage to perform, she does a rap and dance routine and the crowd goes wild. Zoey is horrified thinking she's lost when she begins to formulate a plan: she gets Sam to kidnap River. She uses Linda's love for her son to try and blackmail her into dropping out of the competition.

While distracting Zoey, Linda is able to grab a baton and hits Zoey over the head with it, sending the girls phone flying. The two begin to fight in the dark shadows of the Starlight Theater. Meanwhile, Gerald goes to the bathroom to look for River and receives a call from Linda who tells him that River has been kidnapped by Sam and she tells him to go and find him in the squad car. Gerald goes outside but is unable to find the car as it's an undercover car and calls Linda to tell her so. Linda is annoyed and then discovers Zoey's phone next to her. She texts Sam and instructs him to honk and then get out of the car. Sam obliges and is attacked by Gerald. Sam then pulls out his gun and shoots the man.

Meanwhile, Linda is hiding under a workbench when she is discovered by Zoey who tries to hit her with a fire extinguisher but misses, hitting her own phone instead. While Zoey mourns her phone, Linda runs and begins to climb up a ladder to the catwalk above the stage. While this happens, Sam stalks the bloody trail left by Gerald and tries to find him but is unable to, giving Gerald time to get in the car and he hits Sam with it, killing him. Linda and Zoey fight on the catwalk, with Linda wrapping a rope around Zoey's neck. Zoey manages to throw Linda over the catwalk so she's hanging on only by her hands. Zoey stamps on Linda's hand breaking her fingers, causing her to be forced to only hang on by one hand. Zoey gloats at Linda saying she wants her to die knowing she will be Honey Queen. However, as Zoey gloats Linda grabs the sandbag attached to the end of the rope around Zoey's neck and throws it over the catwalk, causing Zoey to be lifted into the air and hung. Linda pulls herself back onto the catwalk and gets a text from Gerald telling her that River is ok. Meanwhile, at the wheel of the car, Gerald dies from his gunshot wounds.

After the talent portion ends, the judges announce the winner of the pageant: Linda. The woman is overjoyed and rings her husband telling him that she won, not knowing he's dead. She is then approached by her father who congratulates her on her victory and tells the girl to come with him.

Roman takes Linda in his car into Witchwood Forest. Linda questions where they're going and Roman explains how they're going to a ceremony of the Church of the Starry Children. Linda gets out the car and finds a gathering of people in long black cloaks surrounding a pile of dead pigs. Linda is horrified and watches as the pigs' flesh melts and combines to form the body of Nibbly who then eats the woman, ending the reign of Linda as honey queen.

Cast[]

Creative Team[]

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Trivia[]

• The synopsis for the episode as well as the cast list was released on October 21, 2021.
• Originally, the episode was supposed to pit Becky and Linda against each other but the Langs decided Becky would be too nice to match Linda's competitive spirit
• There was a cut song from the story called One Foot in the Grave.