Season 01, Episode 08: "Still"

*The scene opens with a horde of walkers. They are slowly making their way near a freeway. A gunshot is heard and the group suddenly changes course, walking towards a forest.

The scene changes to show Art and Ash in the truck, driving along as the sun starts to set. They are driving along a road in what appears to be a heavily forested area. The trees are full of brownish leaves, the wind rustling as leaves are blown around on the ground. The shot goes from the side view of the cab, to the back passenger side tire. We see more leaves being heaved behind the car as the shot changes back into the cab. Art is driving, as Ash sits in the passenger seat. Zero and Katniss are sleeping in the back seats.*


"Tautou" by Brand New

I still don't think I've come to grips with all of this. I mean, here I am, driving along this dirt road on my way to Antioch with my ex girlfriend. I haven't gotten a hold of my best friend, I have no idea where my family is, and I feel like I'm living in an episode of The Walking Dead. I wonder, how long til it finally hits me? And how will I take it? I think I'm worried that I won't be able to handle it well, or that these feelings will start to drive me insane.

*Art looks over at Ash and smiles.*

I'm glad that she's here with me, I really am. But part of me worries all the time. I worry that she's mad that I saved her, or that she's mad that she has to be on this journey with me of all people. It's hard. I feel like we've been walking on eggshells ever since we left town, but then there are moments, glimpses of the girl I used to know; the girl I used to love.

*Ash looks at Art and smiles back.*

I want to hold on to hope, but I can't let this take me over. There are much bigger things to deal with in life now. Unfortunately for us this isn't the routine visit to her dad's house. We are running, for our lives. We're getting closer, and making progress. So at least that's a good sign. We haven't fought the entire way here, but then again we haven't really talked. But we should be there soon. I'm only hoping for something to be out there, because if it isn't, we're 60 miles away from home, with nothing but a truck with two bad back tires, and a dog and a cat. I don't know how much longer we can last with what we have, but at the very least we'll have each other. At least I hope that's how she sees it.

*Art looks off down the road, focusing on driving. Ash looks over at him and realizes that he's in his own head-space. She smiles and sits up, looking at him.*



"What are you thinking about?" Ash asks me, looking at me with an inquiring look on her face.

"Just stuff."

"Good stuff? Or bad stuff?"

I look at Ash, and say the only thing I thought I could say at that time. "I don't know yet."

"Yet?"

"I guess it's a work in progress."

"Just like you?" Ash smiles at me and nudges me.

I smiled a bit, said, "Yeah, I guess," but then got back into my own head-space.

It's hard to have moments like this, when the thought of her not feeling the same as I do creeps back in my head. I feel bad to admit it, but part of me knows that I wouldn't have gone back to save her if I didn't care about her the way that I do.



"Are you thinking about us?" Ash asked, to my surprise.

"What? No."

"You are. 'What' means you're stalling. You needed to think of an answer."

"When did you become a psychologist?" I asked, smiling at her, trying to throw her a curve-ball, but I don't think it worked very well.

"Sarcastic jokes are another form," she said. By this time I knew that curve-ball completely missed the mark. "So what about us where you thinking about?"

"Why do you think I was thinking about us?" I asked, hoping that this would derail her train of thought.

"We're on our way to my dad's after you made your way across town in a zombie apocalypse to save me and take me with you. You had no plan of action, and now you're driving me where I wanted to go because I threatened to leave. You obviously want to make sure I'm alright. So I think it's safe to assume that you are thinking about something to do with me, or us, or this trip. Am I wrong?" she asked, smiling at me. I almost hated her at that moment. I felt as if she had hung out with me way too much when we were together, because this seemed like the kind of shit I would pull. Unfortunately for me I don't know how to defend against a tactic like this. So I would try the typical guy thing, and piss her off.

"Allow me to quote you...not everything is about you," is all I could say. Ash's smile was quickly wiped away by my stupid comment.

"Whatever," Ash said with a tone. She looked up at the corner of the window and ignored me, muttering the words, "I'm over it."

"You keep saying that. I don't know why you have to keep bringing it up if you are indeed over it."

"Well, I just want to make sure. You can keep thinking about 'us', but it won't do you any good. I'm over you. I still don't know why you even bothered to come get me."



At that moment I stopped the car, got out and slammed the door behind me. I needed to get some air before my temper got the best of me. I leaned against the side of the car to catch my breath.

Ash got out of the car and looked at me with a sort of concerned look on her face. "Are you having another bipolar episode? I can't handle those if you are."

"I'm trying not to have one, okay?"

"What? You're mad at me now?" asked Ash.

"I'm trying not to be. It's hard, alright."

"So that's a yes on if you were thinking about us."

"Do you really have to be so condescending right now?"

"I can walk from here if you want. I'd hate for you to have to feel any discomfort. No one asked you to come save me you know. No one asked for you to do any of this. But you keep feeling sorry for yourself, why? Because I'm not in love with you anymore?"

"You're not in love with me anymore?" I asked.

"I mean, I can't be. It's just like you said, it's just too hard."

"Alright." I start to open the door to the truck, getting back in and sitting down, putting the key back in the ignition, but not starting it just yet.

Ash gets back into the truck and sits down in the passenger seat. She reaches over and puts her hand on my arm. "I thought you already knew this."

I look down, not making any eye contact. "No. I didn't. But it's fine. I was wrong to come get you. But I did. Nothing can change that now. I'll make sure you get to your dad's, then I'll be on my way."

"Please don't," Ash says, gripping my arm.

"Don't what?"

"Don't do this. I'm sorry. I thought you knew. I'm not in love with you because it's just too hard. I do care about you, but I can't be with you anymore. Especially when you get like this. I can't handle this. Right now we need to stay focused on what we need to do. We need to get to Antioch. After that we can talk and we'll figure everything else out. But I don't want you having this mindset of getting me there then leaving. We'll talk about everything when we get there, alright?"

I started up the car and started to drive a little, noticing that the ride was bumpier than usual. I stop the car and park it, turning off the engine, starting it up again, driving a few more feet, still feeling it. I park and turn off the truck again, getting out to see what's wrong, as I see the back passenger side tire is flat.

"What's the matter?" asks Ash.

"We have a problem."

*The scene changes to show Art working on lifting the truck with a jack, getting the spare tire ready.*

"I told you months ago that those tires were looking horrible." Ash says, pacing back and forth.

"Thanks, mom," is all I could say, looking up at her, smiling a condescending smile.

"Don't you start. We need to get this tire on and get back on the road."

"You think I don't know that?" I asked, looking up at Ash with an annoyed look on my face. "I'm going as fast as I can. It would be nice if I didn't have to look over my shoulder every three seconds. Maybe you should keep watch."

"Why don't you have your dirty mutt do it?"

*We see Zero in the back seat get up and look around. Art looks over at Zero as he motions for him to stay. Zero goes back to laying down, curled up with Katniss.*

I stopped what I was doing, dropping the tire iron to the ground, standing up and looking Ash in the face. "Don't you dare bring Zero into this. Why don't you have your little kitten stand watch, huh?"

"You're such an asshole, Art."

"Yup, that's me," I say, going back to work on the spare.

"I don't know why I ever dated you. You're such a jerk. All you ever cared about was work and yourself. And you only cared about work because of how good you were at it, because it made you look good. It was always all about you."

"Ash - " at that moment I realized that three walkers were heading our way. "Get under the truck!"



*We see Art grab Ash and force her under the truck as he starts to close the passenger door quietly. He quickly covers Ash's mouth as the first walker walks past the truck. Ash's eyes grow wide as she starts to realize what's going on. The second walker walks past the truck, then the third makes his way past the tail gate before Zero starts to bark and scratch at the back window.*

"Fuck. Zero, shh!" is all I could whisper. I realized that the walkers were turning around. The third walker started to hit the window, snarling at Zero. I could hear Katniss start to meow in the truck. I looked over at Ash and pulled out my knife. "I need you to stay here, and stay perfectly still."

"Don't leave me again."



"I'll be right back." I say, slipping out of under the truck, getting behind the walker. I stab him through the back of the head, throwing him down to the ground. I look at Zero and make a face. "Shh. Down boy!" I look over and realize the other two walkers are coming right at me. I manage to stab one of them in the head, but it starts to fall on me. I push him over as the third walker grabs my shoulders. I start to wrestle with him.

*We see Art knock the third walker down, but in the process he drops his knife. The walker lunges in to bite Art as he flips the walker over, grabbing his knife. We see a fourth walker starting to come over, then a fifth. The fifth walker grabs Ash's legs from under the truck and starts to pull her out. Ash screams as she is being pulled from under the truck. Ash tries to grab at whatever she can, getting a hold of the tire iron in the process. Art stabs the walker he has on the ground in the head, then quickly pulls the knife out and stabs the other walker that was coming towards him. Art gets up and runs over towards Ash.

Ash is pulled out from under the truck as the walker starts to lean in, ready to bite her. Ash smashes the walker in the head with the tire iron. At that very moment we see four walkers start to make their way from out of the trees. Art picks up Ash as they stand back to back. Art lunges forward, stabbing a walker in the head as Ash hits another in the head with the tire iron. We see the two fighting off the walkers, as more and more start to make their way out of the forest.*

"Ash! Get in the truck!" I yelled, making sure she got in, getting Zero and Katniss to be quiet. I grabbed my shotgun and started to shoot at the walkers.

*The shots ring out, as we see a horde of walkers take notice to the sound, as they change their course and head towards Ash and Art.

Art shoots every walker down, one by one. We see Art starting to relax thinking that he has killed every walker, as one comes up right behind him. Ash shoots the walker in the head before it can even touch Art.

We get a shot of Ash standing on the passenger side step of the truck, holding the gun as Art looks at her.*

"Holy fuck." I just stood there, staring at Ash as she held the gun out. "Good shot." Ash put the gun down and rushed over to me, hugging me tightly.



"Are you alright?" she asked, holding me close.

"Yeah, I'm good. Are you alright?" I asked, holding her at arms length in order to get a good look at her. I looked all over for any bite-marks or scratches.

"I'm fine," she said. Ash hugged me again, holding me close.

"Are you sure?" I asked, in a joking manner. Ash let me go, smiled at me and nudged me. She reloaded her gun and said, "I'll keep watch." She handed me the tire iron, walker blood dripping all over it as Ash laughed.

"Sorry about that," she said, still smiling.

"It's fine." I grabbed the tire iron and went back to work on the spare. Ash held her gun and kept watch.

*The scene changes to show Art and Ash get back into the truck, successfully changing the tire, as the two start to drive down the road, smiles on each of their faces, as the sun starts to set.*

"Where did you get the gun?" I asked.

"It was my step-dad's. I've had it, since the house."

"Why did it take you til now to use it?"

"Because of what I was going to use it for originally." I stopped the car, put it in park and looked over at her. "I didn't get a chance to. You got there just in time. I didn't want to you to know."

"Ash, why didn't you - " At that moment I felt something terribly wrong as I looked over and out of the windshield. The hill started to narrow down and I looked down, seeing a lot of movement. "Holy fuck." I got out of the car and started to walk down the hill slowly. I walked a little ways down, as the sounds of what was coming grew louder. I started to run back to the truck, turning the key all the way and pulling it out. I made sure all the windows were up and the doors were locked. I started to freak out a little bit, gathering whatever I could. Food, my shotgun, blankets, whatever. I started to toss them into the back seats as I looked over at Ash. "Don't say a word."



*We see Art continue to throw things into the back seats of the truck. He leans his chair back and moves into the back, moving Zero and Katniss in the process. He looks over at Ash and motions for her to come into the back.*

"Art, what are you doing?" Ash asks.

"Trust me on this one. Come back here, don't make any sudden movements, and don't make any noise." I pulled Ash to the back seats of the truck. I covered all four of us in blankets and laid down in the back perfectly still.

"Art, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Ash looked at me with a concerned look on her face as I petted Zero, trying to get him to be calm and go to sleep.

"Ash, trust me. We need to be quiet and still."

"Please tell me what is going on. I can't take this. What is going on?" Ash looks at me with a very angry and very concerned look on her face. I motion for her to be quiet, softly whispering 'shh' with a finger up to my lips. I let her come closer to me, lifting up the blanket so that she can look out the side window.

Ash lifts up the blanket looking around. By this time the sun was almost entirely set. "I can't see anything, Art." Ash kept looking around, then turned around to look at me. "Are you sure something is going on?"

"I'm positive. Just keep looking, but don't pull too much of the blanket up."

*We see Ash start looking around, squinting her eyes. She notices some movement, as she starts to make out what is going on. She is able to narrow her vision on one walker, then another. At that very moment the truck starts to shake a little. Ash looks back at Art as he keeps Zero down, holding Katniss close, petting her. Art nods at her, then Ash looks back out the window, as she starts to realize what is happening. Ash quickly drops the blanket and huddles with Art. Ash's jaw drops as she covers her own mouth, looking up at Art with a terrified look on her face.*

"What the hell are we going to do?" Ash asked.

"We're going to stay in here, and be as quiet and as still as we can. We have to get through this."

"How are we gonna do that?" Ash asks, the concern on her face growing as I see tears start to swell up in her eyes.

"Trust me. We'll be fine. We'll get through this, together."

*Ash reaches over and holds Art's hand. Ash sinks lower into the back seats of the truck as it starts to shake even more.

We get a shot of the view going out from the side of the window, over the truck, looking down the hill, as we see miles upon miles of walkers heading their way. The sea of walkers has already started to move past the truck, bumping into it, shaking it, not noticing that the truck contains any living beings. The walkers continue to walk past very slowly as the groans start to grow louder and louder. The sun finally sets over the horizon, darkness setting in as the trucks is almost lost in sea of walkers. We see a sign a few miles down, saying 'Welcome to Antioch', which is then knocked down and engulfed by the horde of walkers. We see the city of Antioch, it's in flames, cars turned over, bodies scattered. The city looks like a war zone. The scene fades to black.*

*The scene changes back to see Art and Ash under the blankets in the back seats of the truck. Zero and Katniss have fallen asleep, and the two talk very quietly.*

"Do you remember that?" asks Ash, smiling at me.

"That random dude eating a corn dog while driving? Priceless." Just as I finish making that comment the truck shakes more, groans getting louder as Ash moves from one side of the truck to the other, curling up next to me. I just kinda looked at her, wondering what she was thinking.

"Please don't ask me what's on my mind. I know you're thinking that right now."

"Damn, you're good." I smiled at her, then moved a little so she could get comfortable.



"You aren't going to leave me, are you?" Ash asks, looking up at me.

"Why do you have this weird obsession with me leaving you?"

"Because you've done it before."

"When?" I say in a surprised tone.

"When we broke up. You said we'd stay friends, but then you just disappeared."

"I -" I couldn't really say anything, because I realized that it was true. I looked at Ash, and I could see fear in her eyes. "I'm not gonna leave you. I couldn't if I wanted to. Not to mention that there are about a billion walkers in every direction at the moment." Ash smiled at me, scooting closer.

"Promise?"

"I promise." I say, just as Ash extends a familiar pinky. We used to pinky swear all the time. A smile formed across my face as I realized what this was.

"You have to pinky promise." Ash said, smiling at me. But it was a different smile. Not the ones that she had been flashing me all day, but a smile I hadn't seen in months.

I took her pinky in mine, smiled, and said, "I pinky promise."

Ash yawned right then. "I'm tired."

"Then go to sleep."

"I can't sleep knowing there are walkers everywhere. What happens if they break in here? They'll hear your snoring," she says, nudging me teasingly.

I laugh a little and smile at her. "Then I won't sleep. I'll stay up."

"All night?"

"All night. I'll see us through this. I promise."

At that moment Ash curled up next to me, laying her head on my chest. "If anything happens or you try to leave, I'll know by feeling you move." Ash wrapped her arms around me, holding me close as she yawned again.

"Good," is all I could say.

Ash curls up even more, sighing, then closing her eyes. She whispers, "Thank you."

"For what?" I asked.

Ash smiles, her eyes closed and says, "For everything."


"All Through The Night" by Sleeping At Last

I just sat there, trying to hold back a tear, as I said all I could, "You're welcome."

*The view starts to pull back, seeing Ash curled up with Art, Zero and Katniss sleeping close by, curled up as well. We see a close up on Art as a single tear runs down his face, as he lets his head fall back, as we get a montage of flashbacks.

The scene changes to see Ash and Art, sitting in a restaurant, talking. We see the two now sitting on a couch watching football, smiling at each other. We get a shot of them on the same couch leaning in awkwardly as they kiss. We get a new shot from behind as Art tries to hold Ash's hand, but Ash corrects him. They continue to walk down the road. We see the two in a store trying on peacoats, then the scene changes to see the two in Art's truck as they look over to the right, seeing a man in a car eating a corn dog, as the two of them laugh at the random sight. The scene shows the two at a party, wearing these really silly hats as lights flash in a room, the two pose next to each other for a picture as we see the couple smile, and then kiss after the picture is taken. We see the two sitting on a couch playing Mario Soccer as Ash gets up after scoring a goal, taunting Art, as he sits on the couch making a face. The scene shows the two near a Christmas tree, opening presents as Art holds up a shirt that says 'Trust Me, I'm A Jedi' as he smiles and kisses Ash. The scene now shows the two in bed, as Art spoons Ash, kissing her neck softly as she smiles, Ash turns around and kisses him on the lips. The two curl up as Art holds her, as they fall asleep. We see Art and Ash in her room, Ash is crying as Art holds her close, rubbing her back softly, kissing her cheek. We get a shot of the two arguing as Art throws his arms up in the air. Ash leaves the room as Art follows close behind. We see Art trying to talk to Ash while she sits in a car. Ash rolls up the window and drives off as Art stands in the street looking furious. We see the two now sitting in a car, Ash in the driver's seat, Art in the passenger's seat as the two hug, and Art shrugs. Ash tries to kiss Art but he pulls back. He makes a comment then the two smile and hug. We see Ash driving away as Art stands in a hospital parking lot, a single tear running down his face, as we see Ash in her car, a single tear also running down her face.*

I really don't know what to make of all of this. For some reason I couldn't help but think about everything. That word, one single word, just opened the flood gates. "Everything." Just like that I relived everything, and now, now I'm sitting in a car, where I should be fearing for my life, but all I can think about is how lucky I am that I even get this chance. I don't know what to make of any of this, I really don't, but maybe I don't have to. I know one thing though, I can't leave her. I don't think I ever really did.

*Art leans in and kisses Ash's forehead, whispering, "Good night, princess," to her, as a smile appears across Ash's face. The scene starts to move out of the truck, showing the walkers traveling past the truck, as the view goes up, focusing on the moon.

The scene changes to show Jace, bloodied, battered, and chained up to a grey wall. We see a shadow appear on the wall right next to him, as we hear a voice say, "Good night, princess," as the lights turn off, and the scene fades to black.*

Music From This Episode:

"Tautou"

Brand New

Deja Entendu

"All Through The Night"

Sleeping At Last

All Through The Night Single

Season 01, Episode 07: "Moonlight"

*The scene opens with the view slowly descending from the sky, down into the church where we last left Jace and the survivors. Jace is still hugging that girl. He smiles and takes the machete from the older gentleman. The crowd of survivors starts to gather around them. Jace looks into the girl's eyes, and smiles.*

"I've missed you so much, Alexa," says Jace, as he looks into her eyes.

"I've missed you too. I honestly didn't think you were going to come."

"Well I'm here now. That's all that matters."

"That's so incredibly cheesy," says Alexa, shaking her head with a smile on her face. "What made you come here?"

"Your text. I wanted to make sure you were alright. I couldn't stand not knowing, so I rushed over here."

"Where is your mom, and Art?"

Jace looks down for a second, and sighs. "They're gone."

"I'm so sorry," says Alexa, hugging Jace tighter. "So you don't have anyone?"

"Well, I have you." Jace smiles at Alexa, as she smiles back.

"That's sweet, but so incredibly cheesy." Alexa smiles and kisses Jace on the cheek.

*The older gentleman coughs and gives Alexa a look. Alexa moves her hands from Jace's shoulders to her sides and nods at the older gentleman.*

"Jace, I have some people I'd like you to meet." Alexa walks over to the older gentleman and puts her hand on his shoulder. "This is my uncle, Ben."

"Nice to meet you, sir," says Jace as he reaches out to shake his hand.

"Likewise, young man," says Ben as he smiles and shakes Jace's hand.

"The rest of the group are Jim, his fiance' Selena," Alexa points towards the front steps of the church, "out here we have the Harris'; Don, his wife Alice, and their two kids Tammy and Andy." The Harris' smile and wave at Jace. "Then we have Frank, his son Mark, and..." Alexa opens the door to the confessional booth and makes a face, "are you coming out?" A little girl comes out of the booth, holding on to Alexa's arm.

"Hey, Hannah," says Jace, smiling.

"Hey, Jace," says Hannah, still holding on to Alexa's arm.

"Well, you obviously remember my little sister."

"How old is she now?" asks Jace.

"She's about to be seven, next week," says Alexa, nudging her little sister.

"We really need to get going. We can't stay here for much longer. We need to find a place to stay," says Ben.

"What about weapons, and supplies?" asks Jim. "We could go to sporting goods stores, Bass Pro - "

"Umm, yeah. Bass Pro went up in flames. I was just there. I have a car out front full of supplies. Does everyone else have transportation?" asks Jace. "We could split up the supplies and go find somewhere to stay for the night."

"Always prepared," says Alexa, smiling at Jace and nudging him.

"You know me," says Jace, smiling back.

"Alright. We better get a move on. It's going to be night soon," says Ben. Leading the group out of the church.

*The scene changes to show the group starting to split up the supplies. They start to go into different vehicles, Jace's car, and a van. We see shots of them driving through town, Jace driving with Alexa in the passenger seat. We see them looking at each other, and smiling. Then suddenly the scene changes to show the group standing next to the van that seems to have broken down. The angle changes and focuses on Jace.*



I don't know if I was more annoyed that the van broke down, or the fact that I felt kind of stuck with this group now. I wanted to make sure Alexa was fine. After the walkie fiasco that's all that I could really think about. I really don't have anyone now, except for her. But now I guess I have Ben, and Hannah, and the rest of this group as well.

"We can walk from here. We just have to stick together, be on the lookout, and we can find a place to stay," says Ben as he starts to gather his things. I looked at Alexa, she shrugged and starting to gather things.

"What about my car?" I asked.

"Park it for now, Jace. We'll remember where we left it, that way we can come back for it later," says Ben. I was concerned, so I looked at Alexa for some sort of support, but she kept gathering supplies. "Look, son. I know you don't want to leave the car here, but we can't split up, and we can't all fit into your car. We will just have to walk from here, and we'll have a small group come back in the morning."

I started to open my mouth, but Alexa quickly covered it. "Let's just do what he says for now. We can come back for your car later, and we'll find some other form of transportation for everyone else. Let's just take what we can right now, and we'll come back tomorrow for the rest. Please, trust him. And don't argue with him like you do everyone else."

I take Alexa's hand off of my mouth and shrug. "I don't argue with everyone."

"You're arguing with her right now," says Hannah, smiling up at me as she grabs a bag of Poptarts.

"You see? Even a seven year old knows better." Alexa says, smiling at Hannah.

"I'm six."

"Alright, Hannah," says Alexa as she grabs more things. I strap the crossbow to my back, made sure the machete was in my belt, and grabbed the aluminum baseball bat. I grabbed a few more bags of guns, ammo, and food.

*Jace slams the trunk of his car as the scene changes to the group walking through town. Tammy is standing next to Alexa, talking to her.*

"Is he your boyfriend?" asks Tammy. I looked up, waiting to hear Alexa's response.

"No. He used to be," said Alexa. She looked back at me and smiled a half smile, then turned around and kept on walking. I guess that's a fair response. Ben walks over to me, not even looking at me and starts to talk.

"I appreciate you risking your life for my niece like that. But I don't want you thinking that she's going to fall in love with you and run away with you over this. If you are going to be part of this group there are a few rules you'll need to abide by. Number one, when it comes to Alexa and Hannah, I make the decisions. Number two, don't argue with me. I'm an old man, I know more than you. Number three, stop being so reckless, not everybody loves a hero - "

"What's number four? Only breathe when I ask? Number five; is it that I can only speak when spoken to? Let me guess number six; you have absolute power?" I lost my cool and started to pop off. I couldn't really stand him. I wasn't a child, and I didn't need all these rules put in place for me.

"Jace, stop!" Alexa drops her things and rushes over to me, getting in between us.

"Young man, you will talk to me with some respect." At that moment I lost it, dropped my things and started to move closer to him. I saw Frank and Don start to hold Ben back as Alexa held me back.

"You need to stop, Jace. This can't happen." Alexa holding me by my shoulders looks into my eyes. "Please, Jace. You need to stop this. Your temper isn't going to win you any popularity contests here."

"I don't give a fuck. He needs to stop talking to me like I'm a child."

"In my eyes you are a child."

"Uncle Ben, please!" I push Alexa's arms off of me and walk right up to Ben. I stand up tall, and look him right in the eyes.

"I'm not gonna hit you. I just want you to understand that I will not be talked to like that."

"Like what?!" says Ben, dropping his things and standing his ground.

"Like a child. Don't you disrespect me after I saved your lives."

"For Christ's sake, Jace." Alexa looked worried, looking down at the ground, pinching the area between her eyes, an annoyed look forming on her face.

"You saved our lives? If I remember correctly I saved your life out on the steps, and Alexa had to learn to use a crossbow in five seconds in order to keep a zombie from biting your neck."

I felt stupid at that moment, realizing what my mouth has just caused. I looked down and sighed, but decided to keep going. "Fine. But would you all have made it out of the church without me?"

"Jace, for fuck's sake! Shut up! It's not always about you. You're still doing it. After all this time, it's still The Jace Show, starring Jace." Alexa picked up her things and started to walk over to me. Her bottom lip quivering, she said, "That's why we aren't together anymore, Jace. It was always about you." Alexa then walked off, continuing down the road. The rest of the group started to pick their things up and carried on, but not before giving me dirty looks.

I just stood there, not knowing what to say. Why did I do this? I was so mad at Art for doing the same thing, and now I'm here letting my mouth dig me into an even deeper hole. I'm pushing away the only person I have left now.

I stood there, as Ben put his hand on my shoulder. "Son, I know you care about her, so I'm going to tell you this. Control your temper, help the group. Be part of the group. Help protect us, make that your primary goal. This isn't about you. We want to survive. If you want that too then please, stay and help. But if all you want is to win her back," Ben points to a parallel road, "then that's the path you may want to take."

Ben continues on walking as I stand there, not knowing what to do. I shrug it off and continue on with the group.



*The scene changes to Jace and the group in a house. Night has fallen, and Jace sits in a corner, looking at the fireplace. Alexa comes up to him, sitting next to him. She looks at him, Jace glaces off into the fire. Alexa nudges him.*

"Hey little troublemaker," is all I could say. I didn't really want to talk. I felt embarrassed about today. I had made such an ass out of myself that I couldn't even stand to look at her.

"What's on your mind, big troublemaker?"

"You're right. It's always about me. I realized that today. That's why we aren't together. That's why I push everyone away."

"Jace - "

"No. It's true. I thought maybe I could do right by you. Come back and make things right. But I did it for me, not for you. I wanted to be the hero. I wanted you to fall in love with me all over again."

"How could I fall in love with you all over again if I never stopped?" Alexa said, smiling at me. I look over and notice a chain around her neck. I reach over and pull the locket from under her shirt.

"You still have this?" I ask, realizing what it was. It was this locket that I had given her a long time ago, with the design of a tree on it. I was almost certain that she had thrown it away after we broke up.

"Yeah, I never let it go. I couldn't." Alexa looks off into a corner, tears swelling up in her eyes.

"Baby," that's all I could say, as I reached in and hugged her. We kissed for a second, then I broke the kiss to say, "I'm so sorry. I'm stupid. I should have never pushed you away."

"You didn't push me too far."

"I want to do right by you, Alexa. This is my last chance. I can't push you away. Not again."

"This is our last chance, Jace. You aren't in this alone," Alexa says, as she leans in and kisses my cheek, then my neck. I laugh a little, looking at her as she pulls back and smiles at me. "So a fresh start then?"

"Yeah. I'd like that."

"Well then, let's get reacquainted." Alexa gets up and grabs my hand, pulling me up to my feet. I look at her with a confused look on my face as she motions upstairs with a familiar grin.

"Ohhh!" I say, kind of making a face, looking around at the rest of the group. "What about them?"

"We'll be quiet. We've done it before, haven't we?" Alexa says, with an evil grin. "C'mon, baby."


"Real Love (iTunes Session Version)" by Beach House

*The scene shows Alexa leading Jace up the stairs. They both make their way as quietly as possible. Alexa finds an empty room, leads Jace into it as she closes the door behind her. Alexa pushes Jace onto the bed and smiles at him. Jace smiles back, then Alexa starts to reach down, pulling her shirt up over her head. She leans in and kisses Jace as he starts to move her bra straps. The two look into each others eyes as we see Alexa climb on top of Jace.*

"I love you. I always have, and I never stopped," says Alexa as she kisses me once again. I couldn't pinpoint the feeling, but I was just overtaken by this calmness, like everything was right, this was right, she was right, and that nothing could ruin this. I kissed her back and smiled.

"I love you too, baby." I started to reach over, trying to take her locket off, but she stops me.

"Leave it on. I never take it off for anything." Alexa looked at me, and all I could do at that point was smile, and kiss her. I let her keep the locket on. It didn't even get in the way at all. Actually, I kind of found it to be really romantic. But don't you find everything romantic when you're in love?

*The scene starts to slowly change, showing the two start to shed more clothing and get under the covers. We see Alexa start to kiss Jace, then his shoulder, down his chest, down his body. Jace smiles and pulls the covers up to see, as we get a side view of Jace smiling. Alexa comes back up and kisses Jace as we see her climb back on, then both let out a slight moan as we see the two getting adjusted. The two kiss once again as the scene starts to move out the window, focusing on the moon as it fades to black.

We see morning hit, as the two are in bed together. The two look at each other and smile. The scene cuts to the group walking down streets in town again. Jace and Alexa standing almost right next to each other within the group. Glances back and forth, smiles being exchanged, as we see Ben walking behind them, shaking his head in apparent disapproval.

The scene changes to see the group fighting off a few walkers. Alexa is taken down, but Jace quickly comes to her rescue. He pulls Alexa up after killing the walker and kisses her, while another member of the group is being attacked not even five feet away. Ben shoots that walker down and looks over at Jace and Alexa. Jace sighs and picks up his crossbow as Ben gives him a look.

We now see the group in a new house, the fireplace is lit and the group is huddled around on couches and sleeping bags. We see Jace and Alexa curled up together, Jace's arm around her as they sit together a little removed from the group. Ben walks over and motions for Alexa to come with him. We see Ben and Alexa arguing in another room, as Jace gets up and walks over to them. He grabs Alexa's hand and leads her back into the living room where everyone is. Jace turns around and stares at Ben as the two make their way back to the rest of the group.

We get a cut to another scene seeing the group walking in town again. Days must be going by as we see the group start to get bloodier, and dirtier. Jace walks up to Alexa and holds her hand, walking right next to her. Alexa smiles and holds Jace's hand tighter. Jace looks back and gives Ben a dirty look. Ben starts to walk a little faster, but is held back by Frank. Frank looks at Ben and shakes his head.

We see the group go into another house as night starts to fall. We see them moving the couch in front of the door. We see some of the survivors starting to board up windows, getting things ready for the night. Jace starts to look through the supplies, realizing that they are running low on food and ammo. Alexa comes up to Jace and hugs him from behind, changing the expression on his face. Jace smiles and looks back at Alexa and kisses her.

Ben walks over to the couple and tells Jace to come with him. They have a discussion in a separate room, but Jace isn't listening. Jace throws his arms up and begins to yell. We see the other survivors notice walkers starting to come up to the house. Frank runs into the separate room and covers Jace's mouth. Jace pushes Frank off of him and punches him in the face. Alexa runs up to Jace and covers his mouth as walkers start to come up to the front door. We hear the groans of the walkers as they start to bang on the door. The survivors hit the ground and stay quiet and still. The walkers eventually lose interest and walk away. Everyone gets up and looks over at Jace, his mouth still be covered by Alexa's hand as the scene starts to fade to black.*



*The scene changes to show the group in a different house in front of a fire. Most of the group is asleep, scattered around couches and sleeping bags. The front door is barricaded, the windows all boarded up. Jace sits by himself in front of the fire, looking into it as Alexa walks up behind him and holds him close.*

"You can't keep doing this," says Alexa as she holds me.

"Doing what?"

"Being so rebellious and letting your temper get the best of you. I love you, Jace. I do. I never stopped loving you, but I just can't handle you like this. I'm glad you're here, and I am so grateful that you came to find me, but you are pissing everyone off. And if you continue being like this, the group won't have it. They think you're a loose cannon."

"I don't care what they think. I came here for one reason, and that's you. I love you too, Alexa. I want to make sure you're okay. That's all I care about right now."

"You can't be like that though. You have to care about yourself, and about the rest of the group."

"Fuck the rest of the group!"

"Jace, shh, they're trying to - "

"I don't care! None of them like me. You're uncle Ben sure as hell doesn't like me!" I keep yelling as the group starts to wake up. "I only came here for you. You are the only one I care about. I don't have to take this shit from your uncle, or these other people!"

"JACE! SHUT UP!" Alexa screams at me.



At that very moment all that can be heard is the sound of walkers pounding at the walls. The group huddles close and grabs their weapons. We hear more and more walkers start to walk up to the house. At that very moment we hear a gunshot ring out some fifty yards away. It grabs the walkers attention and they start to head in that direction. I turn around and notice Ben.

Ben stands up, holding his rifle. He looks straight at me. "If you ever put this group in that kind of danger again, so help me God, I will strike you down. You may not care about the rest of the group, but we all sure as hell care about each other." Ben then walks away, as the rest of the group looks at me with disapproving glances.

"Jace. I just, I just can't." Alexa gets up and walks away from me.

*The scene fades to black, then reappears as the flame of the fire starts to die out. Jace wakes up, looking around as Ben, Alexa, and Hannah are all walking around the room, staring at empty couches and sleeping bags.*

"They left," says Alexa, looking at me. "They all left, because of you."

"I didn't mean to - "

"I don't care, Jace! You always do this! All you ever do is push people away!" Alexa grabs her things and starts heading out the front door. Hannah goes off chasing after her.

Ben looks at me, then begins to say, "Jace, you did this to yourself. And now you did this to us. Why can't you understand that - "



At that very moment all I could hear is a scream. I grab my crossbow and run out, only to see Alexa being hoisted up onto this guy's shoulder on a motorcycle. Then I see Hannah being pulled by the collar of her shirt by another guy on a motorcycle. Both men wearing black vests with a weird logo on the back. The two men on motorcycles ride off, the sound of their motors filling the sky. I watch as they start to ride off. I start chasing them down the road, trying my hardest to keep up, but I run out of breath. I look back and notice another one of them trying to get on his motorcycle. I pull him off of his bike and punch him in the face. I knock him down to the ground and start to get my crossbow.

"Where did they take them?!" I yell, pointing my crossbow at him.

"Jace, don't do anything stupid," says Ben.

"You gonna shoot me? Do it, punk," the biker says. I stand there, anger in my eyes as I put my finger on the trigger.

"Tell me now, or I swear to God I'll put an arrow through you."

"Jace - " says Ben, looking worried. He holds up his rifle, looking around to make sure the coast is clear.

"You don't have the guts," the guy in the vest says. I lick my bottom lip and start to pull on the trigger, quickly aiming the crossbow at his leg. The arrow goes clean through his thigh. I reload and point the crossbow back at him.

"You were saying?" The man starts to scream out. He grasps the spot, crying out in agony. "Now, are you going to tell me where they are? Or do you need another arrow to convince you?"

"Jace. This isn't the way."

"Ben, you need to stop talking to me like a kid. I'm not your damn kid!" I look back at the biker, rage in my eyes, holding the crossbow at him, aiming right between the eyes. "Now, are you going to talk?"

"Fuck off!" he says. I do it again, quickly shooting him through the other leg, right below his knee. He screams out in agony again, I move closer and step right on the arrow, driving it further into him.

"Now, is that how you talk to someone? So should I make it three, or are you going to talk now?"

"ALRIGHT! I'LL TALK!" the biker screams out. He lays back on the ground and breathes in. "They're going to Toys R Us!"

"Don't fuck with me, man. I'll put another arrow right through you, I swear to God."

"I'm not fucking with you! We took that store over. We figured no one would go into a toy store during a zombie apocalypse. They're taking the girls there."

"For what?" asks Ben, a concerned look on his face.

"What do you think, old man?" I start to lose my cool, stepping on the arrow again. "FUCK! STOP! PLEASE STOP!"

"Then answer his question," I say, still pointing my crossbow at him.

"A gang of dudes, and no chicks? You do the math." I shoot him again, this time in his right arm. He screams and instantly grabs the arrow, starting to pull it out, he stops and continues to scream.

Ben pulls me aside, and starts to talk to me. "We have to get there, otherwise they will - "

"I know, Ben. I'm not stupid."

"We have to do something, Jace. We don't have a car."

"I can ride the motorcycle to my car. I'll come back, pick both of you up. We can't kill him. Besides, we need him to show us where they are, and to make sure he isn't lying."

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" the biker yells, trying to tug away at the arrows.

"Trust me, Ben. You watch him, I'll be back in no time."

"Son, I don't know about this. We aren't supposed to be doing this. This isn't right."

"Will you just trust me? They are going to hurt Alexa and Hannah if we don't do something. Ben, they're going to -"

"Please, Jace. Don't say it."

"Trust me on this. I'm not your kid, Ben. Quit talking to me like I am." I start to walk away from Ben.

"If you're going to do this and help me find them then you might as well be," says Ben, looking down at his gun. "I wanted to protect those girls. And now so do you. Anyone that loves my niece the way you do, well then, I want to make sure I protect them as well. Look, I don't know you all too well, but I know that Alexa cares about you, maybe even loves you. That's enough for me. I'm going to talk to you like a kid because to me, you are my responsibility."

"I'm not your responsibility. The only thing you have to be responsible for is helping me get Alexa and Hannah back. You watch him. I'll come right back."

"You sick son of a bitch! I'm gonna make sure they chop your balls off and feed them to -" Before the guy can finish his threat I shoot him again, this time on his leg below the knee, just to match the other one. "FUCKING AYE!" the guy screams out, again in pain.

"Ben, he isn't going anywhere. Just get him to shut up before any walkers hear."

"Walkers?" Ben asks.

I sigh and nod. "Zombies. If he keeps yelling like he is he's liable to attract a whole group of them. And in his condition he isn't going to be running anywhere soon." I look over to the guy, still talking to Ben. "So it's in his best interest to shut the hell up, unless he wants to be zombie bait."

"FUCK YOU!" he says, looking up at me.

"Ben, keep him quiet. He's no good to us dead." I start to walk off, getting on the motorcycle. "And don't let him break any of those arrows. I need them back in one piece."



*Jace rides off on the motorcycle as the sun starts to come up. The scene quickly changes to Jace dumping the motorcycle and unlocking his car. He gets in and starts it. The scene switches to show Jace returning, getting out of his car, walking up to the biker, pulling every arrow out of him quickly. The biker screams out in pain. Ben and Jace pick him up and put him in the back of the car. Jace now driving as Ben and the biker sit in the back seats. We get a shot of the car speeding off quickly as the sun continues to rise. The scene changes to show Jace pull up to the Toys R Us parking lot. Ben and Jace pull the biker out of the car, sitting him next to it, facing away from Toys R Us. Jace opens the trunk of his car and starts to collect guns and ammo, filing his pockets with them as Ben looks at him in shock. Ben starts to shake his head as Jace makes sure every gun is locked and loaded. He hands Ben a gun then walks over to the biker.*

"Now you swear to God that they are in there?" I asked the biker, pointing my crossbow at him.

"Yes. They are in there. Don't you see the bikes?" he points over to the bikes that are parked in front of the store. "They will be in the back of the store, in the back rooms. The storage section. Now please, don't shoot me anymore." I pick him and up drag him along with me.

"Ben, I'm taking him with me. If he's lying he's getting a bullet to the head."

"Jace. We don't do this. We don't kill the living." Ben says, setting the gun I handed him down.

"Ben, I'm going to do whatever I have to to get Alexa and Hannah back. You stay out here, behind the car. If anything happens you shoot. Don't worry about me. Just focus on getting the girls back." I dragged the biker into the store and held a gun to his head. "You scream and I'll pull this trigger, and I swear to you there will be a special on 'My Bloody Barbie', so help me God."

"You won't get away with this. They are going to kill you. You don't get it do you? You can't beat The Aces & Eights."

"The Aces & Eights? What are you, a biker gang?"

"No. We're your worst nightmare."

We walked into the store, pushing the doors apart. I toss the stupid biker into the store, looking at the back of his vest. It's a symbol, a skull with playing cards. I smile a little as I start to take the vest off of him.

"My worst nightmare huh?"

"Exactly. You won't win. They are probably raping the girls right now. Both of them. Then you are going to try to be the hero. You're gonna fail. They are going to beat you down, and make you watch. You can't win, boy."

"What makes you so sure about that?"

"You shoot a bunch of arrows into nothing but flesh. You don't have it in you. You're spineless." The biker looks towards the back as we start to see some movement. We hear some men talking as he looks back at me. "It's only a matter of time before they notice we're here. Then they are going to beat you like a dog, make you watch as they take your girl in front of you. They'll slit her throat, right in front of you, let you watch as she bleeds out, then they'll beat you down, leaving you there to let you die a slow and painful death."

*We see another biker start to move around the store. He sees Jace, taking aim at him with his gun. He moves closer, looking at the injured biker, nodding at him. The injured biker smiles as he notices his fellow group member. Jace holds his gun at the injured biker, looking at him.*

"You really think that's what's going to happen?"

"Absolutely."

*The other biker inches closer, holding his gun, taking aim at Jace's head.*

"The way I see it, they are going to find out sooner than later that we're here. And you're going to find out sooner than later that I'm not spineless as you say. But tell me this. How many of them will come out once they notice that we're here?"

"Maybe ten, twenty, who knows. It all depends on how many of them have their cocks inside of your girl right now."

*The other biker gets right behind Jace, taking the safety off as he puts his finger on the trigger.*

"That's nice. Well, maybe they'll come running once they hear a bullet go through one of their own."

*Jace turns around and shoots the other biker in the head. The sound of the shot rings out through the store as we hear the rest of The Aces & Eights shuffling around out of the back room.*

"HOLY FUCK! YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH!"

*Jace points the gun at the injured biker and picks him up, holding the gun to his head. The sunlight starts to shine through the store windows as the sun continues to rise. We see a shot of Jace moving forward, holding the injured biker with a gun to his head.*

"Who's that stumbling around in the dark?" another biker says, holding his weapon close.

*Jace steps out into the sunlight and stares right back at the group, holding the gun to the injured biker's head.*

"Who are you?" the biker asks.

"I'm your worst nightmare."


"Django" by Luis Bacalov & Rocky Roberts

*The scene ends with Jace holding the injured biker at gunpoint. The angle starts to pull back as we see the dead biker behind Jace and about twenty bikers all with guns pointed at Jace, as the scene fades to black.*

Music From This Episode:

"Real Love (iTunes Session Version)"

Beach House

iTunes Session EP

 

 

"Django"

Luis Bacalov & Rocky Roberts

Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

FREE DOWNLOAD: "The Last Pale Light In The West"

Download the single from

Season 01, Episode 06: "Unchained"

By clicking HERE

Season 01, Episode 06: "Unchained"

*The scene opens with Jace closing his door and locking it. His breathing is heavy, and he is visibly shaken by the news of the outbreak. He turns away from the door only to be startled by his mother.*

"Jace, what is going on?"

"I don't know...just make sure all the doors are locked. Turn the news on. I need to lay down," he says, as he starts to turn away from her, heading down a hallway.

*Jace makes his way to his room. As Jace opens his door the view switches from behind him to his own point of view. We see everything from his eyes. He wanders around his room a bit, closing his blinds, looking around. The view is mostly of white walls, only partially covered by Vans Skateboard Posters, and a big Django Unchained movie poster in the corner parallel to his bed. Jace lays down, covers his face with his hands and sighs. He rolls over and plugs in the walkie. Jace turns the walkie on as it sits on the charger. He checks his phone and looks at the time. It is now 12:55pm. Jace lays back, grabs a pillow, grips it tight, as his breathing gets heavier, and his eyelids start to close, as we fade to black.*

*A gunshot rings out loudly, as Jace is startled. His eyes open, and we see the act of him getting up. The view goes from his eyes back to looking at him. He gets up, grabs a backpack, and makes sure he grabs the walkie and the charger and puts them in the bag.*



*Jace starts to collect other things from his room; a knife, an aluminum baseball bat, a few bandannas, a wrap, etc. Jace then walks out of his room, the view now on him from behind as he walks down that dark hallway. His mother looks at him, a worried look on her face. We can't hear anything anymore, as Jace's mother says something to him. Jace puts a hand on her shoulder and turns to the right, making his way to the front door. His mother tries to pull him back, but he unlocks the door and continues on. He unlocks his car with the remote control, gets in it and drives away.

He tries to use the walkie, realizing that the button is broken. He sighs and mouths the word 'fuck'. Jace continues to drive, as he is looking around, seeing the sights of walkers and people fighting on the streets, overturned cars, small fires, and people ransacking places for supplies. A montage starts of Jace's stops, making his way into gas stations, super markets, sporting good stores, collecting as many supplies as he can, filling his car up.

We get a shot of him leaving a gas station, his bat covered in blood. He closes the car door as we cut to another scene. Jace is now driving, blood on his grey shirt, wiping off sweat from his brow as he pulls up to another small store. Jace exits the car and immediately swings his bat. The scene cuts to a walker on the ground, his head bashed in, bleeding heavily, as we see Jace's legs, Jace walking towards the store as we see his silhouette swing away at another walker. Jace continues on his path, not stopping for anything. We cut to another scene, Jace is now sitting in his car, drinking Powerades and eating Pop Tarts, as he checks his phone. He tries to use it, apparently calling someone, but it's not working. He gets frustrated and throws his phone to the back seat, as we see his screen flashing 'Call Failed' with Art's name right above it.

Jace drives down an empty street, going at least 80. Jace stops at a gas station and begins to pump some gas into a few gallon jugs. Jace starts to stack them up in the back of his car, looking around, being alert, in case any walkers try to attack.

Jace then gets in his car and drives off. We see him heading down some familiar streets, as he pulls up in front of Art's house. He knocks on the door, no answer. He looks at the driveway and sees the skid-marks.

We cut to Jace pulling up in front of his house, seeing the door cracked open. He grips his baseball bat and walks in. He walks down the hallway, checking every room as he walks past. He goes into his room, looks around, grabs a few more things and walks out. Jace then heads down the hallway to the living room, where he finds his mother hanging from the ceiling.

She has a note taped to her chest reading, 'I'm sorry Jace. I wasn't strong enough.' Jace looks down, sighs, grips his bat, and starts to walk out the front door. Right before Jace exits the house he stops, lifts his head up and says, "Bye, Mom," and walks out the front door towards his car.*



*The scene quickly changes to Jace's face. His face is covered in blood and dirt, and we can hear him breathing heavily. As the scene begins to pull back we see that Jace is walking down a tattered and war-torn street. walkers are around him, feeding on corpses. Jace continues to walk down the road with a blank look on his face, as the angle continues to be on him. We can see his car in the background, doors closed, supplies intact. He grips the aluminum baseball bat tight, continuing on his path. Jace walks past a walker, feeding on what appears to be a little girl. Jace walks past, looking down at it, and continues on his path. The walker gets up and attacks Jace, only to be tripped up by Jace. Jace then swings his bat down at it's head, smashing it in with one hard swing. Jace continues on, as the angle starts to sway to the side. We start to notice other cars and walkers. The scene suddenly reveals that Jace is in a parking lot. We start to see smoke filling the air, as Jace's expression changes. The angle pulls back and we see Bass Pro Shop in flames. Art's black truck pulls out of the parking lot quickly, as Jace looks over at it.

"Jace, it's Art again. If you can hear me, we are going to Antioch. Walkie me as soon as you can." Jace pulls the walkie out of his pocket, and throws it at the burning Bass Pro Shop. Jace notices a man in a hooded sweatshirt looking at the burning building. The man looks at Jace then walks away. The expression on his face changing from worried to angry, as he grips his baseball bat and walks into the store.*


"The Last Pale Light In The West" by Ben Nichols

*A single tear runs down Jace's face, but he quickly wipes it off. He sees a walker feeding on an old man. The walker stands up and heads towards him. Jace grips the bat tight, grits his teeth, mutters, "Fuck you," and swings away. We see an angle of the walker falling down, it's head beaten in, as we see Jace's legs walking deeper into the store. We get a montage of Jace killing walkers as he screams. The scene changes to Jace standing in the burning store, breathing heavily, surrounded by the walkers that he has killed out of his fit of rage. He collapses, trying to catch his breath, baseball bat in hand as his body is sprawled across the corpses of the walkers. He looks to his left and notices something. Jace picks it up; it's a crossbow. Jace smiles, straps it to his back and walks down an isle, collecting arrows.

The scene cuts to Jace inside of the archery room. He is practicing with the crossbow. There is a walker against the archery wall, arrows through his arms and chest, holding him up against the wall. The walker snarls at Jace, trying to get free. The glass door behind Jace is shut, but we can see at least a dozen walkers pressed up against the glass, groaning, knocking on the glass, as Jace smiles, reloads, and shoots again, hitting the walker straight through the head.

The scene changes to see the walkers that were standing by the glass door of the archery room all slain, each one of them with arrow holes in their heads. The scene pulls out, and we see Jace collecting guns and ammo, putting them into his backpack. Jace then picks up a machete, smiling still, he tucks it into his belt and walks down the isle.

Jace starts to walk down another isle as he sees a big burly man, a single gunshot through his head. Jace sighs, steps over him, and picks up a hat that was on a rack next to him. He puts the hat on, tips his hat to the dead man, smiles, and walks towards another isle.

We see Jace leaving the store with a cart full of supplies as Bass Pro continues to burn down in the background. The scene cuts to see him driving off, the cart empty and knocked over. We see Jace from the side, smiling, rolling down his window and tossing out the walkie charger.

We see shot after shot of Jace going into houses, collecting what he can. The town seems to be abandoned now, as nothing is left but turned over and abandoned cars, half-eaten bodies, and walkers. Jace is walking down the road, as he walks past the cemetery. He looks over, seeing walkers in the lot. He grips his crossbow and hops the fence. Jace walks up to the first walker, takes aim, and shoots him clear through his skull. The scene cuts to Jace sitting on a tombstone drinking a beer as walker corpses are scattered across the lot. Jace has a smile on his face as he lays back, looking up at the sky, leaves rustling around him in the breeze. He takes another swig of his beer, and leaves around half of the bottle full right next to the tombstone. Jace gets up, dusts himself off, looks at the tombstone, and says, "Bye, Pops," as Jace walks away, the angle pulls out to see the name Joseph Olivine, as Jace hops the fence and walks back to his car.*



*The scene changes to Jace sitting in his car. He is looking down at the wheel, as he lifts his head and looks to his left. The angle pulls back to see his house. Jace walks in and sees his mother still hanging from the ceiling, now turned into a walker. He loads his crossbow, sighs, and says, "You were strong enough...just not for this. I'm sorry, Mom." Jace shoots an arrow through her head, killing her. He starts to pull on the arrow a bit, then hesitantly decides to leave it there. "I'm so sorry," Jace says, as he starts to walk down the hallway.*



*Jace makes his way to his room, collecting more supplies. He fills his backpack with more stuff, rummaging through drawers and his closet. Jace makes his way out of his room and down the hallway, he looks at his mother again, puts his hand on her, looks down and walks out of the house. Jace sits on the steps in front of his house. He looks up to the sky and says, "What the fuck do I do now? What the hell am I supposed to do? Huh?! They say you have a plan for everyone. Is this what's supposed to happen?!?" Jace covers his face, sighing. He fights back the tears as he lays back on the steps. He winces a little, reaching back into his pocket as his phone pokes him. He pulls his phone out and looks at it, realizing that he has a text that he hasn't read yet. Jace looks at a text message; one message from him reading "Where are you?", a reply saying, "I'm at the church on Union." He tries to reply, but the phone flashes "NO SERVICE." Jace grits his teeth, gets up, puts his phone back in his pocket, gets in his car and speeds off.

The scene quickly changes to Jace standing in front of the church. Jace slowly walks up the steps, as he hears walkers groaning. He turns and quickly shoots one through the head. He takes out his machete and kills another as a large group heads towards him. Jace kills them off one by one.

Jace, finally able to catch his breath sees another group of walkers heading at him from the other side of the church. Just as Jace prepares himself for this group of walkers the church doors open up and a hoard of walkers starts to head towards him. "Holy fuck..." Jace starts to fight them off, killing as many as he can by himself. He hits another one with the machete but it gets stuck in it's head as the walker falls down. "Shit!" Jace says, as he tries to reload his crossbow. He can't reload in time so he swings away with it, hitting one walker into another, then he quickly swings at another walker heading towards him. Jace starts getting pushed back as we see a walker putting his hands on Jace, opening his mouth and leaning in to bite Jace's shoulder. We hear a gunshot ring out as the walker falls back to the floor. Jace looks over to his left and sees an older gentleman, shooting at the walkers. The two now battling the hoard as we see even more survivors hitting walkers with bats, hammers, and knives.

"There are survivors in the church!" The older gentleman yells, as he shoots down even more walkers.

"I got it!" Jace says, pushing walkers away, smashing their heads in with his crossbow.

Jace busts into the church, running down the isles, shooting at any walkers that are around. He kicks a walker that's in his way and boot stomps it on a pew. He looks up and sees a group of survivors hiding in the confessional box, surrounded by walkers. He runs towards them and begins to fight the walkers off one by one. He shoots one through the head, the velocity of the arrow jerking the walker's head back as the arrow goes through another walker's head. Jace grabs the cup of holy water and throws it in the face of another walker. Nothing happens as Jace shrugs and says, "Worth the try," as he aims the crossbow and shoots through it's head. He hits another walker with the crossbow and he sets the crossbow down and takes out his knife. He stabs a walker through the head as it starts to take Jace down as it collapses. Jace tries to get the walker's arms off of him, but the death grip is too much as the walker dies from the stab wound. Another walker starts to approach, snarling at Jace as the walker opens her mouth, leaning in to bite Jace's neck. Jace starts to groan, trying his hardest to break free from the walker's death grip as he gets his left hand free. He pushes the walker away from him, his palm pushing against her neck as she continues to snarl. Jace loses his footing and the walker lunges in, mouth open ready to bite Jace, then suddenly an arrow goes through her head. The snarling walker falls down, revealing a girl standing with Jace's crossbow. Jace gets the other walker's death grip off of him and stands up.*



*Jace stands up, dusts himself off, and pulls the arrow out of the walker's head that nearly killed him. He puts his hat back on, looks at the girl with his crossbow, smiles, tips his hat and says, "Hey little troublemaker." The girl sets the crossbow down, smiles and says, "Hey big troublemaker. Took you long enough." The girl smiles as Jace walks over towards her. Jace wraps his arms around her, picks her up, spins her around, and then kisses her. A single tear running down Jace's cheek as the two embrace. The kiss is finally broken, and the two stare into each other's eyes as the rest of the survivors in the church start to surround them. We see the older gentleman walk up to Jace and hand him his machete. The scene ends with the view pulling away from the survivors, out of the church, seeing the carnage that these people just went through, as bodies scatter pews, empty isles, and the church steps.

The scene is quickly focused on the sunny day, as leaves start to fall off of trees, rustling in the breeze. The scene is switched to leaves rustling on the road, behind Art's truck. The scene changes into the inside of Art's truck, as Art is in the driver's seat, and Ash in the front passenger's seat.*

"Are you okay?" Art asks, as he looks over at Ash.

"Why do you always ask me that?" Ash asks, looking over at Art.

"I just want to make sure you're alright." Art says, taking his eyes off of the road for a second to look at Ash.

Ash starts to smile a little, taking a swig of her Powerade. "I'm fine. Thank you." Ash smiles, and looks at Art.

Art smiles back, saying, "You're almost home."

Ash looks into the back seats of the truck, as Zero and Katniss are curled and cuddled up. Ash continues to smile, takes another drink, looks at Art as her facial expression starts to change. "I know."

*Art looks at Ash, smiles, and looks back at the road, as the scene pulls out of the truck, to behind it, watching as the truck drives on down the road, leaves still being kicked up as the sun starts to set.*

Music From This Episode:

"The Last Pale Light In The West"

Ben Nichols

The Last Pale Light In The West EP

SPECIAL FREE DOWNLOAD: "The Beginning/28 Theme (Party Poison's Zombie Apocalyspe Remix)"

Download the special single from

Season 01, Episode 02: "Welcome To The End"

By clicking HERE

I've been asked a lot about the track from Episode 2, so I decided to make it an available download for all of you. Yes, it's John Murphy's "The Beginning" & "28 Theme" from the film 28 Days Later. I put the two tracks together with some sound effects and sound clips of "news reports" from the zombie apocalypse. Enjoy!