Francine wakes up at the crack of dawn. She looks out her window and it's still dark. She rolls to her side and sees her boyfriend, Richard, sleeping next to her soundly. Francine smiles and kisses Richard lightly. She takes a quick morning shower, and Richard stirs awake from the sound of the shower running. He smiles as he watches Francine drying herself off. She walks back into the room with her towel, and she smiles seeing Richard awake.
Francine: Morning, babe.
Richard: Morning. Where you going?
Francine: Nowhere. Just wanted to get ready.
Richard: At 6 in the morning?
Francine: (smiles) I don't wanna spend our time in Atlanta sleeping.
Richard reaches his arm out to Francine, and she jumps in bed next to him. They share a passionate kiss, and Richard slips his hand down to touch her. Francine moans lightly and she kisses his lips, jawline down to his chest, stomach. She throws the blanket and covers aside as she continues kissing Richard down south. Richard moans as Francine pleases him with her lips on his member. He feels himself about to finish, and he brings Francine back up before he does. He lies Francine on her back so he can get on top, and they make love until the sun comes up. Richard finishes Francine off, and he comes inside her feeling her walls clamp around him. They both shudder as they come down from their climax. Richard strokes Francine's cheek softly with his thumb, looking deeply into her eyes.
Richard: God, (smiles) you're so beautiful.
Francine laughs sheepishly and pushes Richard off of her.
Francine: Get ready. My sisters and Joe should be awake soon.
Richard: C'mon, babe. We got Mina tonight so let's do as much as we can now.
Francine: You already came, babe.
Richard: Yeah, but I can go again.
Francine: (raises eyebrow) Oh really?
Richard: (smiles) Yeah.
Richard leans Francine back down on the bed and kisses her. They go for a second round, and they lose track of time. Francine is riding on top of Richard when a knock comes on their hotel door.
Jenny: Children, are you awake?
Francine: U-Uh, yeah. We're just getting ready now.
Jenny: Alright. We'll be downstairs in the lobby then.
Francine and Richard wait a moment looking at the door. They then look at one another.
Francine: We have to make this quick.
Richard: Here.
Francine gets off of Richard and goes into her favorite position as Richard starts pounding quickly. In a record time, Francine climaxes and Richard finishes inside her again. Richard rolls on his side, exhausted and satisfied.
Francine: (panting) Alright, get ready now.
Richard: (panting) Yes m'am.
Richard washes up as Francine cleans herself. They put on their clothes, and they head down to the lobby in half an hour. Jenny and her fiancee Joe are sitting on the lobby couch as Mina sits with them looking at pictures in a magazine. Joe has his arm around Jenny as she's resting her head on his shoulder. They see Richard and Francine walking into the lobby, laughing and playfully joking with one another.
Jenny: (chortle) Look at them.
Joe: Young love, huh?
Jenny: Who knew they'd last this long.
Joe: I thought you always liked Richard. A lot better than Scott.
Jenny: I do. But I didn't think they'd last this long.
Joe: Why not?
Jenny: I don't know. I just feel like Franny is too good for him, you know?
Joe: (chortle) Franny's too good for any guy she'll date.
Jenny: (smiles) Yeah. (to Mina) Mina, baby, look who's finally ready.
Mina looks up from the magazine and sees Francine and Richard walking towards them.
Mina: Franny!
The 3-year-old baby sister of Jenny and Francine puts down the magazine and runs towards Francine and Richard.
Francine: (smiles) Hey, my little baby girl.
Francine picks Mina up in her arms and kisses her.
Francine: Did you miss me, doll?
Mina: (nods) Yes.
Francine: And what do you say to Richard?
Mina: Good morning, Richard.
Richard: (smiles) Good morning, Mina. You excited to head out to the water park?
Mina: Yes! Look, I have my sunglass.
Francine: Sunglasses, baby.
Mina takes off her sunglasses hanging from her shirt, and she puts them on. She grins at Francine and Richard, and it melts their hearts.
Richard: (laughs) Aw, you look like a star, Mina.
Richard and Francine with Mina in her arms walk towards Jenny and Joe.
Jenny: Finally, you two.
Francine: Richard took too long with the shower. (looks at Richard) Right babe?
Richard: Yeah. (eyes Francine with a smirk)
Jenny: Right. (smirks) Let's go.
They all walk out of the hotel building and wait out at the street for a cab. They take a cab to the water park, and they first head to the area with auto-currents that's like a mini-beach. Jenny and Francine are lying on beach chairs relaxing while Joe and Richard play with Mina in the shallow parts of the water. Francine and Jenny are watching their boyfriends playing with their baby sister.
Jenny: So where are you and Richard heading?
Francine: Uh...I don't know. We kinda like where we are now.
Jenny: Have you two ever talked about anything serious?
Francine: What? You mean marriage? (scoffs) No.
Jenny: Why not? You two have been dating for over a year.
Francine: So? Did you and Joe talk about marriage after a year of dating?
Jenny: Actually, yeah.
Francine: Yeah, well Richard and I aren't you and Joe, Jenny. Hey, let's take a picture and send it to Johnny!
Jenny: (laughs) And Philip. Let's rub it in their faces how much fun we're having here.
Francine smiles and takes out her phone. She takes a nice selfie with her older sister, and she sends it to their two brothers back in California.
Francine: Man, Johnny and Philip are gonna regret not coming on vacation with us.
Jenny: Totally.
Woman: (at the top of her lungs) HELP! HELP ME PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP ME!
Francine and Jenny jump from fright at the sound of the woman's shrieks for help. Her shrieks are in such contrast with the beautiful day. Everyone in the area look and panic seeing the woman running to them bloodied. A part of her face is missing from being chewed off.
Jenny: What the hell... / Francine: Oh my god...
Jenny stares at the woman in shock while Francine runs over to Richard, Mina, and Joe who are also staring at the woman. Richard holds Francine's hand tightly while holding Mina in his other arm.
Richard: What's happening?
Joe: I'm gonna check to see if she's alright.
Francine: No, Joe! She's clearly not alright. Look at her face.
Joe: Yeah, but that woman needs help.
Francine: No, Joe, wait!
Joe and a few other people run towards the bleeding woman, but they all freeze in their tracks when they see a large group of bloodied humans walking towards them, all lifeless and hungry for flesh. The people standing closer to the bloodied people are attacked by these walkers, and all hell breaks loose. People scream and run in every direction away from the hoard of walkers entering the area. Joe watches in shock as a walker tackles down a little boy who's barely older than Mina, and the walker rips a hole in the boy's stomach with its teeth. He watches blood squirting everywhere mixing with the water, the walker eating the boy's insides, the boy's lifeless expression of utter shock and pain from being ripped apart by a monster. Joe turns around and runs back as fast as he can back to his family. Richard and Francine can't see Joe through the crowd of people running away, and Francine looks back and sees Jenny standing there frozen.
Francine: Come on.
Francine pulls Richard, and they run to Jenny.
Jenny: Where's Joe?!
Francine: I don't know. But we gotta go, Jenny.
Jenny: NO! No, I'm not leaving without Joe!
Francine: Jenny!
Joe comes running to the family through the panicked crowd.
Joe: Run! RUN!
Joe grabs Jenny's hand as the family runs with the crowd of people. They manage to run out of the water park, but they see the zombie massacre in the streets. Bodies are on the floor chewed up or being chewed on by walkers, and the walkers are lunging after the running and screaming people as a free-for-all. The family is frozen with shock at the horrible zombie apocalypse, unable to understand what's going on. No one sees a walker approaching Jenny, and it takes a huge bite out of her neck. Jenny screams in absolute pain, and Joe sees what's happening to his fiancee. Francine screams in horror, and Joe kicks the walker off of Jenny. Richard pulls Francine close to him as he looks around for a way out of the pandemic streets.
Joe: Jenny!
Jenny is crying and screaming with her hand on her neck, bleeding tremendously.
Joe: Take your hand away, Jenny. Take your hand away so I can see how bad it is.
Jenny takes her hand off her neck, and she sees the look of horror on Joe's face. She puts her hand back onto her neck to try and stop the bleeding.
Joe: Holy fuck, Jenny!
Richard lets go of Francine's hand, seeing that she's too shocked at what happened to Jenny to focus on getting a way out. Richard runs to the nearest car and shatters the driver's seat window with his elbow. He unlocks the car and puts Mina in the back seat safely.
Mina: Richard...
Richard: Stay here, Mina. I'm getting your family out of here.
Richard runs back to Francine and pulls her towards the car.
Richard: Joe! Get Jenny in the car now!
Joe helps Jenny into the backseat with Mina as Richard makes Francine get in the passenger seat. Richard then runs to the driver's seat and hot-wires the car.
Francine: R-Richard, Richard, watch out!
A walker lunges its face in through the broken window, but Richard moves out of the way just in time. With all her might, Francine kicks the walker's face making it bleed all over Richard.
Joe: Drive! Drive! Drive!
Richard immediately floors the car, driving away and swerving around the people being eaten by walkers on the street.
Richard: (panics) Where do I go? Where do I go?
Joe: We gotta get help for Jenny.
Francine quickly looks back to her sister, and she sees how pale Jenny is already. Jenny is having trouble breathing, and Francine breaks down into tears. She understands that some sort of zombie apocalypse has spread like an epidemic in the city, but she doesn't understand why and she doesn't know what will happen to Jenny now that she's been bit.
Francine: (to Mina) Here. Come here, baby.
Mina climbs into Francine's arms, and Francine holds her baby sister tightly. Mina can feel Francine trembling with fright.
Mina: (looks up at Francine) What's happening, Franny?
Francine: (tries to stop crying) I don't know. I don't know, sweetheart.
Joe: (to Richard) We gotta get to the hospital, man.
Richard: I don't know where the hospital is.
Joe: There isn't a GPS in the car?
Richard: (to Francine) Check.
Francine looks in the compartments but there's no GPS.
Francine: No. No GPS.
Richard: We gotta get back to the hotel.
Francine: (nods) Y-Yeah. Yeah, the hotel.
Pandemonium hasn't broken out at the hotel yet, and Richard parks where the cabs are supposed to.
Valet man: Sir, you can't park here. Sir!
The family runs out of the car, and everyone is in shock seeing Jenny's bloodied state and blood all over Richard's shirt. The people panic seeing Jenny, and they all steer clear from the family running into the hotel. The hotel manager quickly greets the family in the lobby to stop them from going anywhere.
Manager: Excuse me, what's going on here?
Joe: We need a doctor now! Please, my fiancee was bit!
Manager: Bit? By what?
Joe: Some kinda...zombie or something!
The people in the lobby talk to one another, and the manager breaks a sweat knowing this is going to ruin his hotel business.
Manager: Sir, I'm going to have to ask you and your family to leave. You're creating a panic here-
Francine: Please, you don't understand. There are zombies out there killing and eating people!
Manager: Alright, all of you, out now! Now!
A woman shrieks as a group of zombies enter the hotel and start attacking the nearest people around them. The family push the manager out of their way and they immediately take the elevator upstairs to their floor. They quickly arrive to their floor and see couples waiting for the elevator.
Richard: Don't go down there!
Woman: My god, what happened to her?
Richard: There are zombies down there. Don't go down there! Just stay in your rooms!
Richard runs off with the family into Jenny and Joe's room. Richard puts his back to the door and quickly puts all the locks in place as Joe helps Jenny to their bed. He lays Jenny down, and Francine puts Mina down. Francine walks over to Joe and Jenny, and she whimpers seeing how much blood her sister is losing.
Francine: (bursts into tears) Jenny.
Jenny: (shivering from excessive blood loss) Franny.
Francine drops to her knees and sobs for her sister.
Jenny: Sh, sh. Look at me, Franny. Look at me.
Francine looks up at her sister. It just makes her cry more seeing the big hole in Jenny's neck.
Jenny: (pants for breaths) Take care of Mina. Keep her safe.
Francine quickly wipes her tears away with her hand to hold onto Jenny's hand. Francine tries her best to calm down to talk to Jenny.
Francine: (trembling) Jenny, y-you're gonna be alright. You're g-gonna be fine. (sniffs) We're all gonna get out of here, okay? You just...(tears) you just have to hold on, alright? Please, just hold on.
Jenny: No, Franny. It's too late for me. Just keep Mina safe. Get back home. Johnny, Philip.
Francine bursts into tears again.
Jenny: (breathing heavily) Look at me, Francine.
Francine looks at Jenny, sobbing for her sister.
Jenny: Survive. You hear me? Survive. (gasps for air) Richard, I know he'll take care of you.
Francine: Jenny...
Jenny kisses the back of Francine's hand weakly. Jenny starts tearing up and cries looking at Francine, knowing that the end is nearing for her.
Jenny: (cries) I love you, little sister. I love you so much, with all my heart.
Francine: (sobs) I love you too, Jenny. I love you too. I promise I'll keep Mina safe. I promise I'll get back home. I promise you, I'll live.
Jenny smiles as tears continue to stream down her eyes. She then looks to Joe, and he breaks down by her side. Joe goes on his knees, and Jenny turns to her fiancee. Francine looks over to Richard still by the door, watching the family with tears in his eyes. Mina is standing in-between the door and the bed, watching with confusion. Francine is shocked that Mina isn't crying at all, but she knows Mina's too young to understand what's going on. Francine crawls over to Mina, and she cradles her baby sister in her arms. Richard walks over to Jenny, and she looks up at him. He kneels down by her bedside next to Joe.
Richard: I'm so sorry, Jenny...
Jenny: Richard, promise me you'll keep Francine safe.
Richard: I promise. I'll protect Francine with my life. And Mina.
Jenny: (smiles weakly) You're a good guy, Richard. You keep my sisters safe.
Richard: (nods) I will. I promise.
Richard kisses the back of Jenny's hand, and he leaves Joe to be with his dying fiancee. He walks over to Francine, and he holds her in his arms. She can feel him trembling, and she digs her face in his chest. Richard holds Francine tightly and kisses her head, watching Joe and Jenny's last moments together. A loud bang comes on their door, and Francine jumps from fright. Mina holds onto Francine tighter, afraid now. Francine bursts into tears again as the banging doesn't stop. The family can hear people screaming outside in the hallway, the sound of teeth crunching bone and flesh.
Francine: (cries and whimpers) Oh my god. Oh my god.
Richard: (cups Francine's face to look at him) Hey, hey look at me, Francine. Look at me.
Francine: (sobs) I don't wanna die, Richard. I don't wanna die.
Richard: You're not gonna die. You're not gonna die. I promise, I won't let anything hurt you, Francine. But you gotta be strong. You gotta be strong for your baby sister, alright? If you can't stay strong for Mina, she won't have a fighting chance. She needs you, babe. She needs her sister to be strong.
Francine looks into Richard's eyes. She finds strength in him and his words. She knows she has to take care of Mina with her life, and the only way to do that now is to be strong. Richard kisses Francine's lips, and he matches foreheads with her still cupping her face in his hands.
Richard: I promise you, Francine, I'm going to protect you with my life. You just gotta promise me you'll do the same for Mina.
Francine: (nods) I promise.
Richard wipes Francine's tears away with the stroke of his thumbs.
Richard: Good. (kisses her) I love you, babe.
Francine: I love you too, Richard.
They share another passionate kiss, and Joe breaks down as Jenny dies in bed.
Richard: We gotta figure a way out of here.
Francine: We should get to the rooftop.
Richard: (nods) Yeah. But we gotta go with some kinda weapon or something.
Francine: The shower pole.
Richard is glad Francine is back on her own two feet, thinking straight. He runs into the bathroom and takes down the shower pole. He rips the curtains off and holds the metal pole in his hands.
Francine: And a lamp?
Richard: (nods) Yeah. Good idea.
Francine: Joe, you still carry around duct tape?
Joe is too busy mourning Jenny to answer Francine. Francine quickly rummages through Jenny and Joe's belongings, and she finds the roll of duct tape.
Francine: We should cover our arms and legs with blankets and duct tape. In case they try to bite us.
Richard: (smiles weakly) Damn. Good idea, babe.
Richard looks to the bed, and he takes off the blankets and covers under Jenny's body. Francine wraps the covers around Richard's arm as protection, and no one but Mina sees Jenny sit up on the bed looking right at Francine and Richard.
Mina: Jenny?
Francine and Richard look back and are shocked seeing Jenny sitting up. Francine is about to walk to her sister, but Richard stops her.
Richard: That's not Jenny.
Francine: She's...turned into...
Richard: Yeah...Joe, get away from the bed quietly.
Joe looks up and is in shock seeing Jenny sitting up.
Richard: Joe. Get away from the bed now.
Joe: Jenny!
Jenny looks at Joe, and he's frozen seeing her turned into a walker. Jenny crawls in bed over to him, snarling with her mouth open to take a bite out of him.
Richard: Joe!
Richard runs to Joe and pushes him away from Jenny's bite. Francine grabs onto the shower pole, and she sees Jenny walking over to Richard and Joe.
Francine: I'm so sorry, Jenny. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!
Francine shoves the shower pole through Jenny's heart, but she's still not dead. Mina screams loudly in shock, and Richard runs to Mina to hold her. He takes her away from the sight to calm her down. Francine drops the shower pole in shock, and Jenny falls to the ground with it. Francine cries as she grabs the lamp and smashes it in Jenny's head, finally killing her as she smashes Jenny's brain to bits. Francine sobs, and banging resumes at their door when the walkers outside the hallway hear Mina and Francine's crying. Richard runs to Francine with Mina still in his arms.
Richard: You have to be quiet, babe. They hear you outside.
Francine puts her hand to her mouth and she watches Richard trying to calm Mina down. Francine then looks at Joe and sees him completely in shock at what she did to Jenny.
Francine: (wipes her tears) Joe, we have to get out of here.
Joe can't hear anything.
Francine: Joe, please. We have to get out of here. We have to get to the rooftop.
Joe doesn't respond. Francine walks to Richard, and she holds Mina for him.
Francine: Talk to Joe. He's not listening.
Richard nods and walks over to Joe while Francine calms Mina down.
Mina: (crying) Why did you do that to Jenny?
Francine: (teary) I had to, baby. Jenny...Jenny wasn't human anymore.
Mina: What do you mean?
Francine: She wasn't alive.
Mina: But she was moving.
Francine: She was, but she wasn't herself. Mina, listen to me, baby. Something...something bad is happening here. But I promise you, I'm going to keep you safe. I won't let anything hurt you. Do you understand me?
Mina: (nods and wipes her tears away) Uh huh.
Francine: But in order for me to protect you, you gotta listen to me. Okay?
Mina: Okay.
Francine: And right now, we have to be very quiet. We need to be quiet or else those things outside will hear us.
Mina: (nods and whispers) Okay.
Francine: Good. That's my girl. That's my good girl.
Francine kisses Mina and watches Richard talking to Joe.
Richard: Joe.
Joe: She killed Jenny. She killed my fiancee, her own sister.
Richard: No. You saw Jenny. She wasn't human anymore, man.
Joe: ...she...she turned...into those things out there...
Richard: Yeah, she did. I'm sorry. I know this must be hard for you, but you have to think about yourself and us. We gotta get outta here. You know that.
Joe: Go where, man? Those things...those...they're out there.
Richard: We got this pole and lamp. We're gonna cover ourselves with anything thick in case they try to bite us. But we gotta try to get to the rooftop. We have to see the layout of the damage to the city.
Joe: You really think that's gonna work?
Richard: If you got a better plan, let us know.
Joe: ...no...we'll do it your way then.
Richard: Alright. Come on, man.
Richard helps Joe onto his feet, and he wraps blankets around Joe's arms and legs with the duct tape. Richard does the same for Francine, and there's no more blankets for Richard. Francine looks around and sees the phone book. She wraps it around Richard's other arm, but his legs are open for attack. Richard takes the pole, and Joe takes the lamp while Francine holds onto Mina. Richard is up front, Francine and Mina are in the middle, and Joe is at the back. They wait a few minutes until they don't hear anything outside. Richard quietly opens the front door and looks around. It's disturbingly empty of walkers, but there are traces of flesh and blood all over the floor. Richard motions for everyone to follow, and they enter the stair shaft. They quietly walk up, and when they're on the 20th floor, there's a walker. Richard doesn't have much room to maneuver with the pole, and the walker walks forth with its mouth wide open. Richard quickly lifts his arm wrapped around the phone book up. The walker bites into the phone book but doesn't touch Richard's flesh because of the thickness of the pages, and he uses the pole to puncture the walker's head. The walker doesn't come off the pole, and Richard tries to shake it off but accidentally causes it to fall down the flights of stairs, making a huge ruckus. They all freeze, and they hear a bunch of snarling approaching. They see walkers coming out through the doors below them, chasing after them.
Joe: Go go go!
They immediately start running up as fast as they can, and as they're about to reach the rooftop, the door to the 28th floor opens in-between the back of Francine and in front of Joe. Joe screams as a walker bites into his protected arm, but there are too many walkers that start biting into his neck and back.
Francine: (shrieks) Joe!
Joe: Go! Just run! RUN!
Richard: Come on!
Richard grabs Francine's hand and makes her continue running. Joe shoves his way past the walkers and follows the family up the stairs. Richard reaches the rooftop door, but it's locked with metal chains on the other side.
Richard: No! No fucking way!
The door can open a crack, and he sees a group of people there on the other side looking at him.
Richard: Hey! Hey, open this door now! Open it now!
3 men approach the door cautiously.
Richard: We have a child with us! Please, open this door now!
Charlie: Come on, help me get these chains off.
Two men run to the door and quickly unravel the chains on the door. Francine looks down the stairs and sees Joe running up to them with walkers chasing behind him. They all run through the door, and the men lock the door shut with the chains once more. The walkers don't make it through, but they try their best to push against the door.
Deana: Those things will push through the door. It won't be long till they get us!
Richard: The city. Is it...
Charlie: Take a look for yourself, kid.
Richard and Francine look out across the rooftop to see the entire city demolished by the walkers.
Francine: This isn't happening...this isn't happening...
Richard: Hey, hey.
Richard cups Francine's face in his hands to look into her eyes.
Richard: It's gonna be fine. I'm still here.
Francine: (gasps) Joe.
Joe falls down and leans against the wall as the people all back away from him, seeing that he's been bit.
Richard: Keep Mina away from him. I'll go talk to him.
Francine watches Richard walking over to Joe, and he kneels down to Joe.
Richard: I'm sorry, man. This is all my fault. It's all my fault.
Joe: No, man-
Richard: It is. I made so much noise after throwing that thing down the stairs. I was so fucking stupid!
Joe: Hey, what's done is done. You can't blame yourself. Look at me, Richard.
Richard looks at Joe, unable to handle two tragic deaths in one day.
Joe: You and Francine...you're gonna be making tough choices. You're gonna have to start making tough choices to stay alive with Mina. No matter how many people you come across, no matter how much you want to help others, your priority is to keep Francine and Mina alive.
Richard: (nods) Yeah.
Joe: It doesn't matter how many of those damned things you gotta kill...or even if you have to hurt another person...you gotta keep them safe.
Richard: (tears up) I will.
Joe: (breathing heavily) I mean it, Richard. You're gonna have to start making tough decisions...and you can't second-guess yourself. You can't blame yourself, you can't doubt yourself. You need to be strong for Francine. She depends on you, man, so you gotta be strong for her, you hear me?
Richard: Yeah.
Joe: Good. Keep them alive. No matter what you have to do, keep them alive.
Richard: (nods) I will.
Joe: ...I want you to do it. I want you to kill me before I turn into what Jenny turned into.
Richard: Joe...
Joe: You gotta get used to killing these things. Start practicing now. Francine already got down her first, right? Now you get one too.
Richard: (uncomfortable) Joe, man...
Joe: Do it. (sighs and groans) I can feel myself slipping away. Grab the damn pole, and do it before I turn.
Richard wipes his tears away quickly, and he walks off to grab the shower pole.
Francine: Richard...
Richard: Just stay back with Mina. Don't let her see.
Francine weeps and makes sure Mina doesn't see. Richard stays with Joe, sitting by his side.
Joe: You're a good kid, Richard.
Richard: (looks at Joe) You're a good man, Joe.
Joe: (looks at Francine and Mina) I'm gonna miss this family. But at least I get to be with Jenny again.
Richard: Yeah. Tell her I said hi.
Joe laughs and coughs out blood.
Joe: Jesus, look at me.
Richard sighs and is quiet.
Richard: You know, I was planning on asking Francine to marry me when we get back to California.
Joe looks at Richard with a weak smile.
Richard: I know it's only been a year, but...she's the one, man. (looks at Francine) I know she's the one. (looks down at his hands and scoffs) But I don't think we're gonna get to California anytime soon.
Joe: Go ahead and do it, man.
Richard: (looks at Joe) You think?
Joe: Hey...life's gonna be full of surprises now. Do what you can today before you have another tomorrow that might get cut short.
Richard looks at Francine talking to the 4 men and woman on the rooftop with them.
Joe: (weakly) She's a beautiful girl.
Richard: Yeah, she is. I just...I just wish I could get my ring from my bag. It's back in our hotel room.
Joe doesn't respond, and Richard looks at him. He sees that Joe is dead. Richard sighs and looks up at the sky, trying to hold back his tears. Richard sits with Joe for a while, watching Francine still talking to the people. Richard gets up and holds the shower pole in his hands.
Richard: Bye, Joe.
Richard punctures a hole into Joe's head, and he breaks down. There were just too many deaths for one man to handle.
Francine: Baby...
Richard walks over to Francine, and they embrace one another. Francine is hurt that Richard is sobbing, and she holds him lovingly.
Francine: (crying) Sh. It's okay, babe. It's gonna be fine. We'll be okay.
Richard can't answer. All he can do is sob in Francine's arms like a little boy.
Francine: I love you, Richard.
Richard: (sobbing) I love you, Francine.
Francis: I'm sorry about what happened to your friend, son. But we got a problem here. Those walkers are gonna push their way through the doors before nightfall.
Richard: (wipes his tears and composes himself) I'm sorry. This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for us.
Dennis: You're damned right it wouldn't have.
Francis: Dennis!
Dennis: It's true. These goddamn kids are gonna get us all killed if we don't get a way off this damn rooftop! I told you we shouldn't have helped them! Now we're all gonna die!
The two men start arguing, and Francine hands Mina over to Richard. She takes the blanket off his arm, the blankets off her arms and legs, and the blankets off Joe's arms and legs.
Richard: What are you doing?
Francine: Making a rope.
Deana: What is she doing?
Francine starts tying all the blankets and covers together, making a super long rope. She does a tight devil's knot with the rooftop rail, and she drops the rope down. Everyone looks and sees that it's about a 2 story fall from the end of the rope.
Francine: There. That's our way out of here.
The 4 men and woman look at Francine impressed at her quick-thinking and handiness.
Ronald: You sure that won't break?
Francine: I'm sure. I've been a girl's scout for 11 years. I know how to tie a knot.
Richard: What we should be asking is where we're gonna go.
Charlie: We won't be safe in the city.
Deana: The woods. They're about 3 miles Southwest of the city.
Richard: Do you know how to get there?
Deana: (glares at Richard) I'm a damn tour guide for this city. Of course I know how to get there.
Francis: Excuse our language, son. We're all a bit jumpy today.
The 4 men, woman, Richard, Mina, and Francine get ready to climb down the rope once it hits nightfall. In the meantime, they all sit around together. They each share their stories about why they're in Atlanta. Charlie, Ronald, and Dennis are all friends from Virginia on a business trip in Atlanta, and Francis is just an old rich man traveling around the country. Everyone looks at Francine because it's now her turn.
Francine: My sister and I were here for a business seminar.
Charlie: You have a sister?
Francine: Yes. She...was bit. Joe, he was her fiancee. And...if you haven't already guessed, Richard's my boyfriend. Mina is my baby sister.
There's still a few hours left until nightfall so Francine lets Mina get some sleep on her lap while Richard sits with her. He watches Mina sleeping, and Francine leans her head on his shoulder. They hold hands.
Francine: Do you think we can make it back to California?
Richard: (looks at Francine) Yeah, we will.
Francine looks down at Mina, and Richard puts his arm around Francine to hold her close.
Richard: I'm gonna protect you with my life, Francine. No matter what I have to do, I'll keep you and Mina alive.
Francine: (looks at Richard with tears) I believe you.
Richard kisses Francine passionately and tries to hide his fear as best he can to help Francine stay strong.
Richard: I love you.
Francine: (smiles weakly) Love you back.
Richard smiles as he looks into Francine's eyes. He knows that what Joe said is true, that Francine depends on Richard for her source of strength. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have stayed strong and think of ways to get out of the hotel room, to think of protection provided by the phone book that saved his life. He looks at Francine, determined to keep her and Mina alive. He just wants to take them back home to California, to keep his promise to Jenny and Joe.
Richard: It's getting dark. We should wake up Mina.