Ick

During a high school football game on the Eastbrook High field, Hank Wallace suffers a devastating leg injury after a hit by the Ick parasite. The injury halts his promising playing career and shifts his life onto a different path. The event foreshadows the growing threat the town will face as the Ick spreads.

Staci ends her relationship with Hank and begins seeing their classmate Ted Kim. The breakup compounds Hank's sense of loss as his future becomes uncertain. Eastbrook's social circle begins to fracture under the Ick's shadow.

Over the following years, the parasitic Ick spreads gradually across Eastbrook, appearing largely harmless at first. People grow used to strange growths and odd illnesses that nobody connects to a single cause. Hank keeps an eye on it while continuing his life in the town.

Hank settles into life in Eastbrook as a science teacher at Eastbrook High. He applies curiosity-driven methods, often researching the Ick's biology in his spare time. His role places him at the center of the community's next crisis.

Ted Kim and Staci are married and operate a local realty business, embedding themselves in Eastbrook's everyday life. The Ick's creeping presence continues to loom, unseen by most until it becomes deadly. Their success makes Eastbrook feel stable, which makes the coming disaster more shocking.

Hank purchases a run-down bar from Ted and Staci, hoping for a fresh start. He learns that Grace, one of his students and their daughter, could be his biological child, a possibility that unsettles him. Grace provides a saliva sample for a class assignment, which Hank intends to test later.

One night, Hank is attacked by the rapidly growing Ick. He survives thanks to a UV light therapy mask which prevents the parasite from taking hold. This close call pushes him to pursue a scientific explanation for the organism.

Hank is assaulted in the bar by a customer who has been infected by the Ick, but he uses his wits to escape. The encounter confirms that the Ick can infect people directly and is spreading through Eastbrook. This event forces Hank to take the threat seriously.

Hank travels to a house party attended by Grace and her classmates to warn them about the Ick, but the party is overtaken by infected students. The Ick begins killing, and a military unit arrives to subdue the outbreak, temporarily restoring order. The town's safety nets begin to crumble as fear spreads.

At a town meeting, the unit's leader urges residents to stay indoors until the Ick subsides. He informs the town that the unit is prioritizing a neighboring town, leaving Eastbrook largely to fend for itself. The lack of local guidance sows confusion and fear.

Grace accepts a ride from Hank after a falling out with her boyfriend, and the pair are attacked by the Ick as their car is overturned. They scramble to safety while the town spirals deeper into chaos. The incident intensifies Hank's resolve to uncover the Ick's biology.

Before the prom, Hank meets with Staci to discuss the possibility that Grace is his daughter. The Ick, unfazed by prior warnings, pulls Staci underground and kills her. The event heightens Grace's anger and loyalty to her father figure.

Prom night becomes a nightmare as the Ick consumes many students and faculty, including Ted. Hank rescues Grace from an infected Dylan, and they, along with Grace's friends Heather and Griffin, escape the chaos. The school transforms from a celebration into a battlefield against a spreading parasite.

The Ick expands into a giant, tentacled monster that emerges from the ground. The town uses the football stadium lights to try to stop it, but the creature sinks underground and destabilizes the ground beneath the lights. The attempt buys the survivors a narrow window before sunrise.

As sunrise approaches, Hank, Grace, Heather, and Griffin climb a nearby radio tower to escape the Ick's reach. Sunlight causes the parasite to go into stasis, offering a fragile reprieve. In the aftermath, Eastbrook erects UV lights to ward off the Ick, and Grace reveals the saliva test results, creating a tense sense of foreboding.