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