Hey all! Here's the next reworked chapter. Enjoy!
Episode starts with Rick looking over the hill at Atlanta, speaking to Morgan on the radio.
"Morgan, I don't know if you're out there. I don't know if you can hear me. Maybe you're listening right now. I hope so. I found others… my family, if you can believe it. My wife and son, they're alive. I wanted you to know that. There's something else you need to know. Atlanta isn't what we thought. It's not what they promised. The city is… Do not enter the city. It belongs to the dead now. We're camped a few miles northwest, up by a big abandoned rock quarry. You can see it on a map. I hope you come find us. But be careful. Last night walkers, and this is hard to believe, but... But dinosaurs, velociraptors came out of the woods. The same ones from that mansion in California. We lost people. Watch yourself, Morgan. Take care of your boy. I'll try you again tomorrow at dawn,"
—
Camp
Back at the camp, Andrea kneels motionless over her dead sister.
"I'm so sorry. She's gone. You got to let us take her. We all cared about her and I promise we'll be as gentle as we can," Lori said to her softly. Andrea was still to stunned to hear anything she said. The survivors of the attack start to clean up, burning the walker bodies, and even the velociraptor carcasses, and burying the dead from their group. Daryl swings at dead walkers' heads with a pickaxe as Glenn and T-Dog throw bodies in a fire.
"How did this happen?" Jacob said meekly.
"How did velociraptors?— I-I waited too long to say something. I should've said something I knew they were coming goddammit! How did they make it this far? I should've said something," Jacob questioned himself. Glenn overheard him talking.
"Hey. You ok?" Glenn asked him.
"I don't know how to answer that. I told Daryl not to take those goddamn eggs! He just had to take them. That's why they attacked. We had their eggs. But Why listen to the resident paleontologist, right?" Jacob said irritated and dumbfounded.
"Hey. We'll get through this, ok? These dinosaurs, they just attacked. It wasn't your fault. Ok? Now like you said, you're the paleontologist here, so what do we do with the dead raptors?" Glenn reassured him.
"We shouldn't burn them. If there's any other dinosaurs around, they'll smell the burning raptors. We bury them. Or take them far out in the woods and leave them there, or something. Just don't burn them," Jacob explained.
"Ok. We'll bury them, in the field along with our people. Give me a hand with them, guys?" Glenn asked T and Jacob.
"Sure," T said. Jacob didn't say anything. He picked up the scaly body of the dead raptor. It sent chills down his spine. It was scaly, but not slimy like a lizard. Glenn gave him a pat on the shoulder after they buried the raptors, and returned to the rest of the group to see Andrea still kneeling by her sister.
"She still won't move?" Rick asked
"She won't even talk to us. She's been there all night. What do we do?" Lori asked concerned.
"Can't just leave Amy like that. We need to deal with it same as the others," Shane said.
"I'll tell her how it is," Rick said. He walks over to Andrea and she pulls a gun on him.
"I know how the safety works," she threatened.
"All right. Okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Rick said as he backed off. The group the discusses what to do with Amy since she hasn't turned yet.
"Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb," Daryl said.
"What do you suggest?" Rick asked.
"Take the shot. Clean, in the brain from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance," Daryl said.
"Jesus Christ man. That's her sister. Leave her alone," Jacob said. They still have no idea what to do with her as Morales and Daryl and a few other survivors carry more dead bodies to the fire, but Glenn stops them.
"What are you guys doing? This is for geeks. Our people go over there," Glenn said.
"What's the difference? They're all infected," Daryl asked.
"Our people go in that row over there. We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand? Our people go in that row over there," Glenn yelled.
"You reap what you sow," Daryl said.
"Just shut up," Jacob said.
"Y'all left my brother for dead. You had this coming," Daryl said.
"Now hold on a second. You took those eggs from the nest back in Atlanta. They followed us. That's why they attacked! I told you to leave them but you wouldn't listen! If your brother's anything like you, I can't really blame Rick for leaving him behind. Asshole," Jacob fumed. Jacob then angrily walked away to find Zach. Back with the rest of the group, Jaqui noticed something on Jim's shirt.
"Are you bleeding?" Jaqui asked.
"I just got some on me from the bodies," Jim said.
"That blood is fresh. Were you bit?" Jaqui asked again.
"No. I got scratched during the attack," Jim said.
"You got bit," Jaqui panicked.
"A walker got him. A walker bit Jim!" Jaqui yelled to the camp. Jim struggles as they hold him down and it is revealed that he has a deep bite in his stomach.
"I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay," Jim kept saying. Later, the guys, Lori and Jacqui are talking about Jim's case.
"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it!" Daryl said.
"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane asked.
"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it," Daryl said.
"I hate to say it… I never thought I would… but maybe Daryl's right,
"Jim's not a monster, Dale," Rick said.
"I'm not suggesting…" Dale trailed off.
"He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?" Rick asked the group.
"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be," Daryl said.
"What if we can get him help? I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure," Rick suggested.
"I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell," Shane said skeptically.
"What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?" Rick asked.
"Man, that is a stretch right there," Shane said.
"Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection…" Rick said.
"I do too. If it means getting to safety, I say it's worth a shot. Might find some refuge from the dinosaurs too," Jacob said.
"Okay, Guys, you want those things, all right? I do too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning," Shane suggested.
"That's 100 miles in the opposite direction," Lori said.
"Yeah, 100 miles of things that can, and will, eat you," Jacob said.
"That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there," Shane said.
"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The C.D.C. is our best choice and Jim's only chance." Rick said.
"What ever you guys decide, I'll go with you. I just wanna keep my brother safe. But, just think of the everyone when you make a decision, okay?" Jacob said.
"Of course," Rick said.
"You go looking for aspirin, do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" Daryl yelled as he grabbed a pick axe and ran over to Jim.
"Hey, Hey, Hey!" Shane yelled.
"We don't kill the living," Rick said, pointing his gun at Daryl's head.
"That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head," Daryl said.
"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down. Go on," Shane said. Daryl put the pick axe down. Rick then takes Jim to the RV where no one will bother him. Andrea puts the necklace she found in Atlanta around her dead sister's neck, when she soon turns, and Andrea shoots her in the head. At the same time, Carol puts a pick axe through Ed's head to stop him from turning. The group of survivors later gather around for a funeral. Andrea is preparing to bury Amy.
"I can do it. I can do it. I can do it!" Andrea cried.
"Burying other people is bad enough, but the thought of one of us…" Rick said sadly.
"Are we safe now, dad? Now that we're together?" Carl asked.
"I won't leave again. I promise you that. Not for anything. Now give me a chance to discuss some things with your mom, okay?" Rick said. Rick and Lori discuss Shane blaming him for leaving to get the guns, and whether or not the CDC is a good idea. Meanwhile, Jacob talks to his brother.
"Jacob? Are we going somewhere else?" Zach asked.
"Yeah. We're not sure where yet, but yeah, we are Zach. Whatever the group decides, that's what we'll do," Jacob said.
"What if we went off on our own. Tried to find Dad?" Zach asked.
"I don't think that's a good idea Zach. I can't keep you safe by myself. If it weren't for Rick bringing back those guns, I don't know if anyone would have made it. Like it or not buddy, we need these people, and they need us, with everything that just happened," Jacob said.
"But I thought we were going to look for dad?" Zach asked.
"We were, I know that. But like I said, I can't keep you safe by myself. Maybe after we get to the CDC or Fort Benning, or whatever the group decides, we'll see if anyone will help us look for him, Ok?" Jacob explained.
"Okay," Zach said with a smile on his face.
"I love you Zach. I know that you miss dad. I do too. But I also know, that wherever he is, he would be so, so proud of the brave young man you're becoming, Zach. I love you," Jacob said with tears in his eyes.
"I love you too big brother," Zach said. The two brothers hugged and went to rejoin the group.
—
RV
"His fever is worse," Carol said, referring to Jim.
"You need anything?" Lori asked him.
"Uh, water. Could use some water," Jim said. Lori and Carol go to get Jim water, and Rick comes in to sit next to him.
"You save a grave for me?"
"Nobody wants that," Rick said.
"It's not about what you want. That, uh… that sound you hear, that's God laughing while you make plans," Jim said weakly. Jim starts to groan and becomes delirious.
"Watch the mangroves. Their roots will gouge the whole boat. You know that, right? Amy is there swimming. You'll watch the boat, right? You said you would," Jim asked.
"I'll watch the boat. Don't worry," Rick said.
"Okay," Jim said weakly.
—
Woods
Shane, Rick, and Dale do a sweep of the forest surrounding the camp, and Shane has his gun set on Rick but he puts his gun down after Dale walks up.
"Jesus," Dale said.
"I know. Gonna have to start wearing reflective vests out here. Seriously. Come on, man. Come on, man, let's go. Nothing out here," Shane said. Dale watches Shane walk away feeling worried.
—
Camp
"I've been, uh… I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Now look, there are no… There are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning," Shane said to the group.
"So... CDC it is then?" Jacob asked.
"CDC it is," Shane said.
"Okay then," Rick said.
The Next Morning
Rick was talking to Morgan again on the radio.
"We're moving out, leaving the quarry. If you heard me yesterday, you may be coming here. If you are, we'll be gone by the time you arrive. I'm leaving a note and map behind for you taped to a red car so you can follow our trail. We're heading to the C.D.C. If there's anything left, it's got to be there, don't you think? Morgan… I hope you were right about that place. I need you to be,"
—-—-
Camp
"Everybody listen up. Those of you with C.B.s, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?" Shane explained.
"We're, uh… We're… we're not going," Morales said.
"What? Why?" Jacob asked.
"We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people," Morales said.
"But, you'll be on your own out there," Jacob said.
"We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family," Morales said.
"You sure?" Rick asked.
"We talked about it. We're sure," Morales said.
"Alright. Shane," Rick said. Rick hands Morales a gun, and Shane gives him the ammo. Everybody Hugs and says their goodbyes as Morales and his Family prepare to leave.
"What makes you think our odds are any better? Come on. Let's go. Let's move out," Shane said to the rest of the group. Morales drives off in the other direction while the rest of the group head towards the CDC. Dale is driving his RV, while Jacqui takes care of Jim, who is in pain, and Glenn is next to Dale. Rick is driving a car with Lori by his side, Carl and Sophia on the backseat, followed by Shane's car, T-Dog's car with Andrea, Daryl's car with a motorcycle on the back, and Jacob in his car with Zach in the backseat. They had been driving for a while now and he couldn't help but think about what happened to the others who were supposed to testify a month ago. Claire, Owen, Vivian, and the few surviving ACU members that weren't slaughtered by the Indominus. If they made it through that first shitstorm, he hoped they were ok. Despite his view of Claire being high strung and at first only seeing the animals as cash flow, he still hoped she and Owen were alright. His thoughts were interrupted by one honk of the horn, signaling that they needed to stop. The reason was, the radiator hose in the RV burst, so the group stops on the side of the road.
"I told you we'd never get far on that hose. I said I needed the one from the cube van," Dale said.
"Can you jury-rig it?" Rick asked.
"That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape," Dale said.
"I've got some in my car. Hang on a sec," Jacob said, running back to his car.
"I see something up ahead. A gas station if we're lucky," Shane said. Jaqui got out of the RV.
"Y'all, Jim… It's bad. I don't think he can take anymore," Jaqui said.
"Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back," Shane said.
"Yeah, I'll come along too and I'll back you up," T said.
"Y'all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back," Shane said. Jacob comes back with the duct tape and gives it to Dale for him to fix up the hose.
Inside RV
"We'll be back on the road soon," Rick said to Jim.
"Oh no. Christ… My bones… My bones are like glass. Every little bump… God, this ride is killing me. Leave me here. I'm done. Just leave me. I want to be with my family," Jim sobbed.
"They're all dead. I don't think you know what you're asking. The fever… You've been delirious more often than not," Rick said.
"I know. Don't you think I know?" Jim asked.
"I'm clear now. In five minutes I may not be. Rick, I know what I'm asking. I want this. Leave me here. Now that's on me. Okay? My decision. Not your failure," Jim said in serious pain. Rick goes outside to discuss Jim's fate with the rest of the group.
"It's what he says he wants," Rick explained.
"And he's lucid?" Carol asked.
"He seems to be. I would say yes," Rick said.
"Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer," Dale said.
"We just leave him here? We take off? Man, I'm not sure I could live with that," Shane said.
"It's not your call, either one of you," Lori said.
"Lori's right. It's his decision. If he wants to die peacefully in the woods, you can't deny him that," Jacob said. Everyone agrees and they decide to bring him outside. Rick and Shane lean him against a tree in the shade.
"Hey, another damn tree," Jim chuckled.
"Hey, Jim… I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this," Shane said.
"No. It's good. The breeze feels nice," Jim said, looking up at the trees.
"Okay. All right," Shane said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.
"Just close your eyes, sweetie. Don't fight," Jaqui said. She gives him a kiss on the cheek and heads back into the RV. Zach comes up to him and hugs him.
"I hope you see your family soon," Zach said with tears in his eyes, still hugging him.
"Thank you Zachary. You remind me so much of my boys. Take care of your brother for me, ok?" Jim said sadly. Zach nodded and gave him a hug one more time and went back to his brother's car. Rick comes up to him and offers him a gun.
"Jim, do you want this?" Rick asked him.
"No. You'll need it. I'm okay. I'm okay," Jim said, slowly descending into unconsciousness.
"Oh. Hey. Thanks for, uh, for fighting for us," Dale said, smiling at him.
"Okay," Jim said. Everyone then said their final goodbyes, got back in their vehicles, and drove away. As the group drives away, Jim passes away, with a smile on his face, and the breeze on his body.
—
CDC
At the CDC, we see Dr. Edwin Jenner documenting his thoughts, and Dr. Henry Wu conducting his own research. The two men are the only remaining scientists left at the CDC.
"Jenner here. It's day 194 since wildfire was declared and 63 days since the disease abruptly went global. Dr. Henry Wu and I are the only two scientists left. There's no clinical progress to report. Item… Wu finally got the scrubbers in the east sector shut down to save power. Wish we could have done it a month ago, but it took us that long to figure it out. Wu's been busy with his own project. I almost mixed his dinosaur DNA samples with my own tissue samples the other day, so he moved his crap into the storage room. Using it as a makeshift lab. Not sure what the hell he's been doing, but it's been drawing a lot of power. Too bad I never studied engineering. Could have saved a lot of amps. Item… I'm still not sleeping well. Can't seem to keep regular hours. Living underground doesn't help, not knowing if it's day or night. I'm just feeling very off-kilter," Jenner spoke into the camera.
"Wu went to scout for supplies yesterday. Said he saw a tyrannosaur on his way back," Jenner took a drink from his bottle. "He also says that the dinosaurs have finally migrated eastward. As if we didn't have enough to worry about. Well, back to work. What ever work we have left I suppose," He spoke into the Camera. In a biohazard suit, Jenner passes through an airlock into a laboratory. He opens a tissue sample labeled TS-19 and begins an experiment. Reaching for a beaker, he accidentally knocks corrosive fluid on the tissue. An alarm sounds as Jenner runs to a decontamination chamber and strips his suit.
"Alert status. Air qualifiers indicate corrosive fumes. All personnel must clear the room. Corrosive element is deemed poisonous if inhaled. All personnel clear. Full decontamination in effect," The computer voice said.
"No!" Jenner yelled. From the safety of the airlock, Jenner watches helplessly as the lab, and all of the remaining TS-19 samples, are engulfed in flames which is an automatic safety protocol.
"Full decontamination complete," the computer said. Later, Jenner is seen drunk in the video camera again.
"The TS19 samples are gone. The tragedy of their loss cannot be overstated. They were our freshest samples by far. None of the other samples we gathered even came close. Those are necrotic, useless dead flesh. I don't even know why I'm talking to you. I bet there isn't a single son of a bitch out there still listening, is there? Is there? Except for Wu. But all he seems to care about are those damn dinosaurs. Fine. Saves me the embarrassment. I think tomorrow I'm gonna blow my brains out. I haven't decided. But tonight, I'm getting drunk," Jenner said into the camera.
"Speaking of which, how far do you think I can chuck this, huh? Pretty far I bet," Jenner said, referring to the bottle of alcohol. He throws the bottle against the wall and it shatters.
"What the hell was that?" A voice called from the other room.
"The last of my patience," Jenner said drunkly.
"Oh! It is out of the stadium!" Jenner yelled. Wu shook his head.
—
Outside CDC
The caravan arrives outside the compound. Surrounding the building are a lot of corpses, as well as swarms of flies. Rick's caravan approaches the CDC, where hundreds of bodies lay dead on the ground. The group quietly approaches the building.
"All right, everybody. Keep moving. Go on. Stay quiet. Let's go. Okay, keep moving. Stay together," Shane said quietly.
"Keep moving. Come on," Rick also said quietly.
"Shh," Jaqui said.
"Stick close to me Zach," Jacob instructed. Inside the CDC, Jenner's proximity alarm sounds. Stunned, he watches the group's approach via a security monitor.
"No," Jenner said.
"What is it?" Wu asked. Jenner didn't say anything. Wu went back to work. They reach the building which is locked and shuttered. Shane pounds on the door, no answer.
"There's nobody here," T said.
"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick asked.
"Walkers!" Daryl yelled.
"Baby come on," Lori pleaded.
"You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl yelled at Rick.
"Rick made the call!" Jacob yelled.
"It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl yelled.
"Just shut up. You hear? Shut up. Shut up! Rick, this is a dead end," Shane yelled.
"Where are we gonna go?" Jaqui asked.
"Look out! Raptors!" Jacob yelled. 5 raptors hearing the commotion, spotted the humans.
"Rick, we gotta go, now!" Jacob yelled.
"Fort Benning, Rick… Still an option," Shane said.
"To hell with Fort Benning! We need to get out of here!" Jacob said.
"Come on, let's go. Let's get out of here. Let's go. Please," Shane pleaded to his friend. Rick sees the camera move.
"Everybody back to the cars. Let's go, now," Shane instructed.
"The camera… it moved," Rick said.
"You imagined it," Shane said.
"It moved. It moved," Rick said again.
"Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on," Shane pleaded.
"No, just go away," Jenner said silently.
"Man, just listen to me. Look around this place. It's dead, okay? It's dead. You need to let it go, Rick," Shane said.
"Goddammit Rick! There are Walkers and raptors everywhere! We need to leave!" Jacob yelled while shooting at the walkers and raptors. Rick slams on the shutters.
"Rick, there's nobody here!" Lori yelled. Rick ignored them.
"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me," Rick said to the Camera. The raptors were getting closer.
"Everybody get back to the cars now!" Shane yelled.
"Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left," Rick said to the camera.
"There's nobody here!" Lori said.
"Keep your eyes open. If you don't let us in, you're killing us! Please!" Rick yelled to the camera again.
"Come on, buddy, let's go. Let's go!" Shane yelled.
"Please help us. You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!" Rick kept saying over and over until he started to tear up. As everyone was about to run to the cars, the doors to the compound opened up and blinded everyone with the light. Jenner had opened the doors.
End