Arnold Weathers¶
Arnold Weathers is a wealthy Marblehead selectman who is kept chained inside his island house, a bloated worm host found in a tub of black fluid and destroyed by Huell and Andrew.
| Type | NPC / worm host |
| Aliases | Arnold; Uncle Arnold; Mr. Weathers; putty man |
| Affiliation | Marblehead Board of Selectmen |
| Relatives | Madeline Weathers (niece) |
| Status | Destroyed (Summer Service 05) |
| First appearance | Summer Service 03 (unseen, in the cold open) |
Description¶
When the team finds him, Arnold is bloated, hairless and soft, like overcooked vegetables or a rotting pumpkin, with broken handcuffs cut into his wrists (Summer Service 05). His house is a walled, late-1970s home on the bird-sanctuary island, priced by the GM at roughly $700,000 to $800,000 in 1992 money; see Arnold Weathers' house.
History¶
The Summer Service¶
In the cold open of Summer Service 03, Jester carries a tray of food at night to an ornate chained house overlooking the sea, calls "Arnold? Buddy, you feelin' any better?" and slides the tray through the mail slot. A wet, drooling, dog-like growl answers, the tray is yanked inside and the door thumps. The growl turns to crazed barking (Summer Service 03).
At the Board of Selectmen meeting, the empty plaque reads "Arnold Weathers." The councilmen nervously eye the empty seat, and his absence alarms them (Summer Service 04).
After the meeting, his niece Madeline reports him missing: he missed a meeting to help sell her car four days ago, his gate is padlocked and the police did nothing. She blames the church. The mail pile goes back about a week, longer than her four days. Gate and door are padlocked from outside (Summer Service 05).
Inside, the team fights his bloated white Doberman, Puddles. Upstairs, a trail of dark, foul-smelling fluid leads to the bathroom. When Andrew Howard switches on the light, Arnold lunges out of a tub of black liquid, trying to flee, not to attack. Andrew body-blocks him and Arnold ruptures into worms; Huell Kendrick kicks off his jaw and a strip of face, stomps the knee, and the head comes off on the sink as the body collapses into worms. The team shuts the door and moaning continues behind it (Summer Service 05).
His bedroom holds two near-identical sets of the town's financial books and a shoebox of clear marbles (Summer Service 05). See Two sets of financial books and Crystal marbles.
Abilities and weaknesses¶
Like other infected hosts, he ruptures into worms when struck. See The worms and Worm bags.
Unresolved¶
The episodes never say who chained Arnold or when he became infected. Jester feeding him in the cold open of Summer Service 03 and the chained house the team enters in Summer Service 05 point to the same man, but the cold open never shows his face.