Randall Kirkland

Randall Kirkland
Personal Information
Full Name:	Randall Kirkland
Gender:	Male
Status:	Alive
Nationality:	American
Relationship Status:	Single
Family:	Nephew
Behind the Scenes
Portrayed by:	AJ Simmons
First Appearance:	Strangers in a Strange Land

Randall Kirkland is one of the passengers on the Grand Rapids Runner Bus who gets trapped in the Township. However, his abrasive and volatile nature, combined with his paranoia, makes it difficult for him to adjust and makes his fellow Townsfolk wary of him.

Biography

Season 2

As the bus drives, one of the passengers, Elgin, begins panicking, and says they have to turn around. He stands up and tries to convince the driver, but another passenger, Randall, tries to restrain him. As the driver, Bakta, orders them to their seats, Elgin vomits on Randall, who asks for the bus to stop. Bakta then pulls over in front of the Diner. Randall and most of the passengers wait outside, trying to take shelter from the rain outside the locked Diner while Bakta tries to clean up the bus. After watching Tillie dance, Randall returns to the bus, where Elgin is being tended to by Marielle and Brick. Randall begins scolding Elgin, who apologizes. Randall calls him a freak, and Mari tells him to back off. Randall grabs his bag, and complains about how bad it smells.

After Tom informs everyone that Tabitha Matthews is trapped in the basement of her home and they need volunteers to help retrieve her, Randall and Brick volunteer. Bakta says that they need to stay with the bus and that emergency services will handle it, prompting Randall to sarcastically call her a peach. The three meet Jim Matthews in his basement, Jim explains to Tom that she had been digging to see where the wires went. Tom asks if she was digging in the basement, what caused the main floor to collapse. Jim asks for them just to help, and Randall assures him that they will get his wife out. As they begin removing debris, the floor above them begins to shake. As the four try to carefully remove debris, the house begins collapsing. Randall is able to make it out in time unscathed, but the other three are trapped underneath the rubble. Chaos ensues as Bakta tries to lead everyone back onto the bus, while Julie Matthews tries to help her trapped father. With sunset approaching, Donna Raines fires a shotgun into the wheel of the bus and orders everyone into the Diner. Deputy Kenny Liu helps her in corralling the passengers inside, but several people run away in fear.

Once everyone is inside, Donna cocks her shotgun to try and get the crowd under control. Bakta tries to get her to let them go, but Donna tells her that she has no idea what is waiting for them outside, and orders them to sit down. Donna says she understands they are scared, but promises that they are not the enemy, which is outside. Randall scoffs, and Tillie says that is an odd thing to say. Donna begins to explain their situation, beginning with the Fallen Tree.

As the night goes on, Donna observes Randall whispering conspiratorially with two other passengers. Later, Randall makes a run for the door but Kenny stops him, pointing out the screams and howls they are hearing. Randall says they cannot leave the people outside to their deaths and points out that they have guns, which Donna says are useless. As they are distracted by a scream, Randall gets ahold of Kenny’s gun and aims at Kenny, leading to a standoff between him, Donna and Matthias. Randall demands they open the door, but Donna refuses, saying doing so would put everyone in danger. Randall tries to rally the other passengers, reminding them that Donna shot out their tires. Donna says that they are all scared, but Randall refuses to listen, threatening to shoot Kenny, but Donna says he will have to shoot Kenny, and she will have to shoot him. Randall then gets distracted by a knock at the door, and Kenny regains control of his weapon while Donna whacks Randall in the face with the butt of her gun.

The next morning, Julie is the first to realize that the sun has risen and rushes outside to check on her father. The rest of the people inside follow her, and find Tom's eviscerated corpse, but Jim is alive.

Randall and the rest of the passengers unpack their belongings. Donna tries to confiscate Randall’s rifle, but he refuses to give it up. Boyd arrives, and explains that the rule is that residents don’t carry guns. Randall rudely refuses again, and Boyd, losing patience, tells him he can either follow the rules, or try making it on his own in the woods. Randall, cowed, hands over the rifle. Boyd tells the bus passengers that they will have their questions answered, but they are all in this together, and need to work through it together. Donna then leads the bus passengers to Colony House.

The next day, the passengers continue to unload the bus, and Randall criticizes Tian-Chen Liu for taking the belongings of the deceased. Back at Colony House, Randall argues with someone who is going through his belongings. Randall gets angry and beats the man. Donna arrives, and when Randall explains, she tries to remind him of the rules but Randall angrily cuts her off and insists that people stay out of his stuff. Donna tries to say they have a way of doing things in Colony House, but he says that his way is to beat anyone who touches his belongings, and leaves a furious Donna.

Later, Donna confronts Randall, ordering him to leave if he does not like the rules. Randall refuses, and Donna swings the axe into the wall above his head. Donna then escorts him to the bus, which is being parked by the side of the road. They find Bakta, who explains that she didn’t want people to have to stare at it while they are eating, and leaves. Donna tells Randall that this will be his new home, and explains how to use the Talisman to ward away the Creatures. Randall says she’s made her point, but Donna tells him that not wanting people to go through his stuff is one thing, but attacking her people is another. Donna says that even after all he has seen, he can’t process that it’s all real, so he will live in the bus, with no shades on the window, so he’ll realize that there is no way out.

That night, Randall struggles to sleep while the Creatures knock on the windows of the bus. Fed up, he goes to the door and prepares to exit to confront them before remembering. Outside, the Old Lady Creature asks if he is comfortable. Randall asks them if they think this is scary, and taunts them about how they can’t get inside because of the Talisman. Randall tells them he is not afraid of them, and they leave him alone. Randall yells at them not to walk away from him. The next day, Boyd observes Randall trying to hoist some seats from the bus onto its roof. At sunset, he sits on the bus roof and whittles a block of wood as he waits for nightfall.

After Jim Matthews notices Randall flying his drone around Town, and approaches him. He begins by thanking Randall for trying to help dig out Tabitha. Randall points out that given that Tabitha wasn’t even down there, it seems like he got Tom and Brick killed for nothing. Jim asks him if it felt good saying that, and Randall asks him what he wants. Jim asks how much he thinks the drone can carry. Randall is confused, and Jim invites Randall to take a walk with him outside Town. Randall says that Jim sounds like a pervert who hangs out at playgrounds, causing Jim to lose patience and say that the drone could help them get home for his nephew’s birthday, for which the drone was supposed to be a gift. Jim and Randall walk while Jim explains his theory about the Town and about the voice on the radio tower. Jim points out that there have been experiments like this going on for a long time, and when they get declassified, one wonders about the ones that are still kept hidden. They then arrive at the crashed RV, and begin discussing how to strip the antenna down so they can fly it over the trees with the drone. Randall asks that if Jim believes that this is all an experiment, whether or not he’s considered that some of the people are in on it.

At the RV, Jim and Randall prepare the drone to fly the antenna over the trees. Randall asks Jim what the point of this place is if it’s all one big experiment. Jim believes that there is a lot of value in seeing how far people can be pushed before they break, as with Sara. Randall tells Jim that he has more restraint than him, for if Sara had tried to hurt his kid she would be dead. Jim replies that he refuses to let the Town turn him into something he isn’t. Randall jokes that if they really want to break people, they can hire his ex-girlfriends. Once the antenna is ready, Randall tries to fly the drone over the trees, but it cannot fly very high carrying the antenna. Randall then asks even if they can get the radio to work, why would the people on the other side want to talk to them. Jim points out that they’ve done it once, but Randall asks if they are trying to help or mess with his head. Jim tells him if he doesn’t want to help he can leave. Randall says he still wants to help, but thinks that they should look at the people in the Town with them who might be in on it. Jim worries about throwing around accusations, but Randall says they aren’t accusing anyone and asks who explained all the rules when the Matthews arrived. Jim tells him Boyd, Donna and Father Khatri, explaining that the latter was killed the night the Creatures broke into Colony House. Randall asks if he saw Khatri die, and Jim says no. Randall continues to ask if he has seen any of the people killed since he arrived actually die. Randall theorizes that the people who are dying are actually in on it, and are being “killed” in order to frighten everyone. Jim asks about Brick, but Randall says he only saw the body the next day. Jim then points out Nathan, who Sara accidentally killed. Randall is still skeptical, and continues to theorize that it was either an inside job or Sara was actually pushed to the limit.

Jim and Randall go to the Church where they find Sara, and ask if they can talk to her. Jim asks how she arrived in Town, and Sara says she and Nathan were heading back to Boston. Randall asks where they were heading from, and Jim explains that they are trying to determine a pattern in how people arrive. Sara answers that she had been living in New Hope, Pennsylvania, but Nathan was helping her move back. They then ask about the day Nathan died, and Sara refuses to talk about it. Jim tries to sympathize with her, but Randall bluntly asks if Nathan is still alive. Donna then arrives, which Randall declares convenient. Donna asks Sara if she can stitch up some clothes from Colony House. Randall asks Donna if she thinks she’s a bigshot and calls her a tollbooth operator. Jim drags Randall out, and Donna asks Sara if she is ok. Sara asks why they asked about Nathan and think he is alive. Outside, Jim asks Randall what happened, and Randall says he is trying to get answers, not be everyone’s friend. Jim says they cannot assume every little thing, but should instead watch and observe at night in the RV. Later, Donna confronts Jim about the questions they were asking Sara, and Randall observes them from his perch on the bus. Randall secretly follows Donna, and spots her and several others standing around a shrouded corpse outside the Clinic. Randall then approaches Donna, telling her that he wants to apologize for his behavior and hoped to talk to her. Donna is suspicious, but agrees. On the road, Jim finds the van parked near the RV and calls out for Randall. Donna answers, and Jim runs down the hill and finds that Randall has tied Donna to a tree at knifepoint. Randall tells Jim that he has a new plan.

Jim is shocked while Randall insists that Donna is in on the conspiracy and he saw her burn Smiley’s body, asking if it was a faulty animatronic. Donna says Boyd managed to kill it, and Randall says she is changing the rules. Randall tells Jim this was his idea, and Jim calls him crazy. Randall insists Donna is part of the reason they are trapped. Jim moves to free Donna, but Randall grabs him and voices the possibility that Jim put all these ideas in his head to see what he would do, and asks how he knows Jim isn’t a part of it too. Jim angrily points out that his house collapsed on top of him and asks what is wrong with Randall. Jim tries to untie Donna but Randall throws him down and draws his knife. Boyd then arrives and fires his gun in the air and orders him to drop the knife. Jim apologizes for what’s happened and cuts Donna loose, while Boyd says they have five minutes to get to safety before dark. However, Randall throws the keys away, and says they will have to stay the night and see what happens.

In the RV, Donna and Boyd set up the Talisman, but Randall criticizes Jim for turning against him just as they were about to get answers,  and tells him that he is the reason his family is a mess. Jim and Randall begin to physically fight, but Boyd breaks it up and hand cuffs Randall, telling him to keep his stupid ideas to himself so as not to get any of them killed. Boyd then turns to Jim and admonishes him for treating their situation like a game after all they have been through. Jim apologizes for how things happen, but Donna tells him he shouldn’t be surprised. Jim says he has to return to his family, and thinks he can probably hot wire the van, but Boyd refuses to take the risk. Randall stands up, refusing to obey Boyd because he thinks Boyd is either part of the conspiracy or simply an idiot. Boyd restrains Randall, and tells him that he lost his wife and best friend as a result of this place, and threatens to tie Randall to a tree outside so Randall can find out the truth for himself.

Later, Boyd finishes explaining what happened with Smiley at the Clinic as he coats his bullets in the Creature’s bile. Donna suggests letting Randall go outside and test it. As several Creatures advance on the RV, Boyd offers the gun to Randall, who agrees. As Boyd uncuffs him, Donna notices that the Creatures have stopped moving, as does Jim. Donna is worried because this is abnormal for the Creatures. All four of them hear the music box, and realize the noise is coming from the RV’s radio.

Boyd prepares to leave to test the bullets. Donna tries to restrain him, but Boyd says he has heard this music and every time he does, bad things happen, so they have to leave. As he prepares to exit, something thumps the bottom of the RV, scaring them all. Jim says this is impossible because there is no space underneath them. The lights then begin flickering, and Randall breaks a window and runs away on his own. Donna and Jim head for the van, while Boyd fires his gun at the Creatures. A vision of Abby then says his name, telling him to come back to her. However, she disappears, and Boyd continues to fire at the Creatures, but the bullets have no effect. Boyd then runs to the van, which Jim successfully starts and they drive off. Meanwhile, Randall runs through the Forest, and is surrounded by a swarm of cicadas, which knock him down and crawl all over him and into his mouth.

The next morning, Donna Raines leads Dale and Elgin in searching for Randall, assuming that they will find a corpse. Dale quickly finds Randall’s body, which is comatose like Mari and Julie, and notices that there are no dead monsters. When the three move to pick up the body, Randall begins screaming, along with Julie Matthews and Marielle, who are also possessed by The Musicbox Monster. Eventually, they move Randall's body to a bedroom in Colony House. Boyd Stevens, Kenny Liu and Sara Myers visit the ruins of the Dungeon to see if they can learn anything. Sara hears the music box, and the Monster speaks to her, and she learns that Randall, Julie and Mari are dying and once they expire, the Monster will be too strong to stop. Boyd is able to save them when he returns to the Dungeon and destroys the music box, freeing Randall and the others from the Monster's possession.

Season 3

Chaos ensues as word spreads that the last batch of crops is rotten. At the Barn, Randall tries to take Alma the goat, despite Ethan’s protests. As Ellis arrives, Victor draws his gun on Randall. Boyd calms Victor down and convinces him to hand him the gun. Boyd acknowledges to the gathered crowd that they have experienced a setback, but the animals are their remaining source of food. While they are scared and hungry, they still have to work together and make things last. Boyd tells them that the Township will not break them, and asks for time to figure things out. Randall reluctantly gives the goat back to Boyd who leads it with Ethan back to its pen. That night, the Creatures unlock the Barn and animal pens, letting the livestock roam free. Boyd and several others try to round up the sheep and cows. Awoken by the commotion, Randall notices several Creatures drawing near and alerts Boyd and the others by honking the Bus horn. He then ushers Julie, Ethan and Sara to safety after they get caught outside. The next day, Randall attends the funeral for Tian-Chen Liu held in the Church.

Randall has a vision of being swarmed by cicadas. Boyd arrives and asks if he is alright before thanking him for helping the night the animals got loose. Boyd offers to have Randall stay in the Sheriff’s Office so he can stay overnight in the bus and watch the Creatures. When Randall asks why, Boyd says it is time to change things up.

That night, Boyd watches out for the Creatures with Randall, who is skeptical of Boyd’s plan to catch a Creature. Boyd asks why Randall declined his offer to sleep in the Sheriff’s Office. As the two argue, Randall explains that if there is a plan, even a foolish one, to try and get more answers or even escape, he wants to help. Randall admits he was profoundly changed by his experience with the Music Box Monster, and no longer believes death to be the worst fate. As the night goes on, Randall grows nervous, noting that the Creatures should be walking around. He explains that they have a pattern which they repeat every night. Meanwhile, the ambulance draws closer as Tabitha urges them to get to Town, while Acosta and the EMTs continue to disbelieve her. Boyd and Randall notice their arrival, as do the Matthews from their house. Boyd and Randall exit the bus to help as Ethan comes running out of his house. Boyd grabs him and they run to the house. Ethan explains that the voice on the phone told him that his mother was on the ambulance.

After hearing gunshots, Randall, Boyd and Jim run to the ambulance and are shocked to find Tabitha Matthews in the back. However, she is cuffed to a bar attached to the wall. Randall runs and fetches a toolkit from the bus, where he begins hallucinating cicadas and ignores them. However his patch back to the ambulance is blocked by the Creatures, who he fails to repel with the Talisman. Randall throws Boyd the toolkit and tries to rush back to the bus, but is overpowered by a hallucination of the cicadas. After the Waitress Creature offers him the ambulance keys in exchange for Randall, Boyd takes the keys and drives off with the Matthews, leaving Randall to the Creatures. Later that night, they leave Randall, mutilated but alive, propped up on the hood of the ambulance.

Randall is brought inside Colony House and tended to by Mari. Randall begins struggling, and as Boyd tries to restrain him, accuses him of abandoning him to the Creatures. The next morning, he is brought to the Clinic, where he is stitched up. As he convalesces, he frequently writhes in pain.

Marielle arrives to change Randall’s bandages, much to his chagrin. Neither wound has any sign of infection, but Mari warns that there will be pain and discomfort. Randall demands that he see his wounds, and Mari finds a mirror for him before giving him some privacy. Later, as Randall prepares to leave, Marielle instructs him to apply disinfectant every time he changes the bandages. Randall asks why she is pretending like she is fine after her ordeal with the Music Box Monster. Marielle refuses to answer, and Randall says they experienced the same things. Randall remarks that it must be easier to cope with someone to sleep beside at night, but he is alone on the bus and is terrified. Mari tells him that he does not need to stay at the bus and offers to put him in one of the Clinic’s rooms, telling him that no one has to be alone.

At the bus, Julie finds Randall moving his stuff out. After joking that he is moving to an oceanside condo, he explains that he is moving to the Clinic on Marielle’s offer. Julie asks how she is doing, and Randall answers that she is pretending that nothing happened. Randall asks how Julie is doing, and she says she gets stoned a lot, which helps, and he asks if she has anything with her as she holds up the bag.

Julie arrives at the Clinic as Randall is leaving, preparing to go for a walk. Despite his saying he wants to be alone, Julie joins him. As Julie and Randall walk, Julie explains her mother’s visions while her father is afraid because the last time he tried to figure things out, he almost died. Randall, who is not listening, explains he is looking for a specific kind of mushroom. Julie asks what he was doing on the bus, and he explains that he was heading to Detroit. As they talk, Julie reveals that she never got her learner’s permit, shocking Randall, who tells her to follow him. The two go to Colony House, where they get in the van and Randall begins teaching Julie how to drive. As the two drive, Julie asks for a turn at the wheel. However, Randall begins seeing cicadas. He stops the van and becomes overwhelmed. After he recovers, he says they should go home and storms out into the Forest. Julie follows Randall, and they find the ruins of the Dungeon. Julie begins feeling something, and is drawn toward the ruins, but Randall stops her from going further. Julie asks if he feels it too, but Randall says he does not and they need to get the van back to Colony House.

In the Clinic, Julie asks Randall if he’s seen Kristi or Marielle so she can thank them. She then says that they should return to the Dungeon ruins. Randall does not want to, believing that it may just make things worse. He tells her that nothing in the Township wants to help them, and advises her to stay away. Later, Elgin arrives at the Clinic and finds Randall. Elgin asks for a bandaid, and the two briefly discuss Tillie before Randall apologizes for being a jerk to Elgin the day they arrived. Elgin apologizes for vomiting on him.

As Randall checks the bandages on his face, he becomes overwhelmed by the sound of cicadas. The sounds stop when Jim arrives, and he asks what they were doing in the woods. Randall is defensive, and Jim explains that he knows she is going through something after her shared ordeal with him and Mari, but she refuses to discuss it. Jim admits that he cannot understand, but figured that Randall might. Randall says he was teaching her how to drive when they ended up at the ruins. Randall confesses that even he cannot explain what happened, but he told Julie not to go to the ruins because they inexplicably felt wrong. As Jim leaves, Randall suggests he teach Julie to drive, because there is nothing they can do and none of them will escape alive. Jim retorts that he cannot accept that before leaving.

While Randall is working out, he becomes overwhelmed by the sound of cicadas, ripping the bandage off his face in frustration. He barges inside and asks Kristi and Mari where the ambulance equipment is. After they tell him it is downstairs, he retrieves a defibrillator and tries to use it on himself, as the sound of cicadas grows louder. Mari finds him and stops him in time, assuring him that he will be alright. The two sedate him to allow him to rest.

Appearances

Season 2

• Strangers in a Strange Land
• The Kindness of Strangers
• Tether
• This Way Gone
• Lullaby
• Belly of the Beast
• Forest for the Trees
• Ball of Magic Fire
• Once Upon a Time?

Season 3

• Shatter
• When We Go
• Mouse Trap
• There and Back Again
• The Light of Day
• Scar Tissue
• These Fragile Lives
• Thresholds
• Revelations: Chapter One
• Revelations: Chapter Two