Season One Episode 10 Part Two
"Northern lights, come in." Warren said into the radio as they all made their way back to the reactor
"I don't know what you want with that old piece of junk" Homer said "Nobody to call"
"We got somebody that might pick up. Northern light, come in"
They came to a stop at the mental fence again where a female zombie was struggling to get through on the other side. Homer was at the front followed by 10k, Ellie and Cassandra followed by Warren. Doc and Amelia and Murphy was at the back.
"Something wrong Homer?" Cassandra asked when she seen him hesitate
"I knew her, that all" Homer explained looking sadly at the z "Her son was one of Max's buddies. Did you ever go back to the house you grew up in only to see it's falling apart in a bad neighbourhood? That's what this feels like... times ten"
"Well where I grew up, the zombie Apocalypse only improved things" Doc said
"I'll never know what happened to my family or where I grew up. Wales is so far away from here. I suppose its a blessing in disguise really not knowing what really happened so I can choose to hope they are safe as they can be or hope they didn't suffer and are now at peace. But I know they would want me to keep fighting and not let the apocalypse win. So that's what I'm gonna do" Ellie said sadness in her voice but also determination. She felt someone grab her shoulder and squeeze it trying to comfort her and she knew It was Warren.
She saw Homer turn to look at he too with a fond look on his face, he knew that some of what she said what aimed at him too. She saw the look on his face in the bunker and she knew he was ready to give up and she hoped what she said would encourage him to keep on fighting and the look on his face she had succeeded. Homer looked towards 10k and nodded letting him know it was ok to mercy the zombie. So he pulled his knife out and made his way over.
"Alright back to business" Homer said once the z was dead "From here on the areas hot, right? You got two clean rad suits in there. One for me and I need somebody to back me up" He said looking towards 10k who immediately stepped forward but Warren interrupted him
"No I'll go"
"Well you cant go" Doc denied " Who's gonna get him to California if something goes wrong?. Don't look at me"
"Okay. Alright" Warren agreed looking back to 10k "Just remember you have ammo now but not an infinite supply"
"Lets do this" 10k said nodding
"Be careful 10k" Ellie spoke up before he could leave "You are a valuable member of this team and I am not ready to loose anyone else, you hear me"
"Ill be fine" He said nodding, before him and Homer took off towards the reactor
10K'S POV
As they entered the building they could hear the alarms going off. They came to a set of red double doors which led to corridor which led to some stairs. Once they were up the stairs they ran down another corridor to come across a glowing zombie which 10k easily took care of with his gun.
"We made it to the control room" Homer said into his radio to the others. He then sat down in front of the computer "And there's our problem. Cooling pool three"
"Can you Scram it or not?"
"According to the controls, all the rods are enabled" He explained "But something is physically blocking the insertion.. we need to remove it"
"By hand?"
"Not by our hand" Homer said standing away form the computer and he went towards a cupboard and pulled something out and showed it to 10k "This is Robbie, he will rill into the cole and do a manual SCRAM, he can cut through anything. This little darlin' can vaporize steel"
"I get it" 10k said "It's like a drone"
"Only he never leaves the ground"
They set the drone off and Home held the control they got it so far before they ran into a problem.
"There too many z's" 10k announced "Back it up Homer"
"I'll do the driving, we need to go forward" Homer said dismissing what 10k said and he pushed a button on the control which set of a laser which cut of the z's foot sending it to the floor. Which enabled them to keep going forward a little bit until they went straight into another z and this one was curious
"Damn Z's got us" Homer snarled "You're an ugly one" He said to the z as it leaned down to have a look. Homer then activated the laser and sliced of the top of its head. "Damn z's. I don't have time for this" He said to another z as they went forward and he used the laser again and the zombies head exploded. But they had attracted the attention of all the other z's who picked it up of the floor and fought over it.
"Get him outa there" 10k said
"Damn Z, leave" Homer said as he struggled to get the machine out of the z's hand. When they lost the video signal "We lost Robbie" He sighed.
Ellie's Pov
Once she saw 10k and Homer make their way back she knew they hadn't been successful and once they had changed out of the suits they explained.
"So what now?" Murphy asked coming to stand next to Ellie "Plan B or is it c? Give me a D,E,F" Murphy said sarcastically and Ellie whacked him across the head to shut him up.
"Hey,hey,hey,hey,hey" Warren said at the same time walking over to them "Not helpful"
"All right. Robbie failed" Homer said "But I can still do a manual SCRAM"
"How? That place is filled with Z's" 10k said
"We'll go in heavier" Doc said taking off his sunglasses "Take us along this time"
"We probably only got one more shot at a SCRAM" Homer said standing up "But we'll need heavier suits to reach the control room"
"Where do we find them?" 10K asked
"In the lab, not far from where we lost Robbie, four can go in, two in these suits. Me and the kids in the heavies. Okay"
"But what happens if plan C doesn't work and we wind up with our very own Fukusima Chernobyl whatever?"
"You mean what happens to you?" Cassandra clarified
"Hey, I didn't ask for the job of saving the human race" Murphy snarled and she just rolled her eyes
"Amelia, Would you be willing to fly him out o the radiation zone?" Warren asked
looking guilty "To be honest, I don't have enough fuel. I lied to my dad else he never would have let me stay behind.
"Oh great" Murphy grumbled throwing his hands to the side then sitting down next to 10k on the rock
"If I had a few gallons, I might be able to get myself and on other person outside the blast zone if we are lucky"
"Okay a buddy and I once converted a dodge dart to run on alcohol. A light plane isn't that different, You had a serious supply of vodka" Warren said looking towards Homer
"You're welcome to it"
"Okay... Doc and Cassandra go with 10k and Homer. You can cover them. Murphy, Ellie and Amelia, come with me"
"Given we have no other choices, I shall embrace the inevitable" Doc said taking a sip out of his water canteen.
"if this works, we'll meet back here to celebrate" Warren said
10k Pov
Once again 10k found himself back in the orange suits along with Homer walking down a corridor with Doc and Cassandra in the yellow suits covering them. They were several glowing zombies in the corridor but they were taken out with ease.
"That's not good. We have 30 minutes till boom" Homer said
"Brave little dude" 10k said sadly as they passed the fallen Robbie who popped and crackled
"Too bad we have to leave him here like this" Cassandra said
"Sentiment is a fatal flaw in this ugly world" Homer said
"We should let Warren know where we are in case we need backup, right?" Cassandra asked but was interrupted when another alarm started blaring loudly
"Warren, this is Doc" He said through the radio from the rear of the group "Please be advised we have entered the tunnel to the reactor core. Over and out"
Ellie's Pov
They had just made their way back to the small plane on a golf cart when Doc had informed them off where they were and Ellie couldn't help but worry. This group had become her family and she wasn't ready to loose anyone else, so she just had to hope everything would turn out all right.
"Lets see what's going on with this baby" Warren said getting out of the golf cart and walked towards the plane.
"So Amelia, my dear" Murphy said as he got out of the cart followed by Amelia who had a crate of vodka in her hands. "Where exactly might we be headed in this fine piece of aeronautical hardware?. Considering it's only my life and the human race at stake" He said condescendingly
"You should be more grateful Murphy2 Ellie said standing at the back of the golf cart to grab a crate of vodka and Murphy turned to look at her "She doesn't have to take you, we don't have a clue how to fly a plane. Be grateful that she is willing to risk her life for yours" Picking up a crake Ellie groaned not used to being carried anything heavy in a while and she saw a flicker of worry in Murphy's eyes.
"Do you think you should be really carrying that" He said voicing his concern before he tried covering it up "I mean your still wounded what if you drop it"
"He's right Ellie Doc said to not over do it" Warren said looking towards the young blonde
"I was shot in the stomach, I didn't loose the use in my hands. And thank you for the concern but I can hardly feel any pain just a little twinge every now and then"
"You were shot?" Amelia asked shocked
"Yeah long story" Ellie said dismissing the subject as she carried the crate over to Warren "But I'm fine, it's gonna take more than a bullet to keep me down"
"Aint that the truth" Murphy mumbled " So our destination" Murphy asked Amelia again
"Sheridan,Wyoming" Amelia explained "It's to the Northwest, and the fallout will be to the Southeast, far enough away, and my dad and I heard there's some real humans"
"I just hope it works" Murphy grumbled taking a swig of vodka out of the bottle he was holding
"Piece of cake. A ll I need is some tools" Warren said wiping her hands of the rag she had after checking the engine. Murphy, could you quit drinking your fuel and fill up the dang tank?"
"I dint know where the tank is" Murphy complained
"Well it's not in your mouth" Warren countered "Let me get a screwdriver" She said to Amelia who was kneeling next to an open tool box.
"Come on Murphy" Ellie said walking towards him and she grabbed the bottle out of his hand making him scowl at her "The tank is not gonna fill up itself I'll show you were it is"
"You know where it is so you do it" He denied trying to grab the bottle out of her hands
"Well according to you I am I liability because I am wounded so I might drop it. So you can help"
"I'm sure you'll be fine, one bottle at a time isn't heavy" He said trying to reach the bottle again but she pulled it back.
"Would you risk it though? The more I drop the less likely you're gonna be able to get out of here. And you being the saviour of humanity need to survive. So if I was you I would help"
"I'm not gonna help you what if it blows up"
"Why would it blow up?"
"Because vodka doesn't belong in there"
"Okay now this is getting silly, Murphy help me put the vodka in the tank"
"I do-"
"Murphy"
"Why s-"
"Now"
"N-
"Move"
"Yo-"
"Murphy get your arse by the plane and help me with the vodka"
"Okay, fine!" Murphy grumbled as he stomped over to the plane like a sulking five year old and Ellie turned to look at Warren and Amelia with an accomplished look on her face to see that they had big grins on their faces too.
Once Warren had adjusted the Engine and Murphy had gotten over his ego and stopped sulking they had finally managed to fill up the tank and got it out to an empty patch of field where they could take off safely.
"Okay, so that was 22 gallons" Warren said to Amelia who was standing next to the plane "Sheridan is 250 miles as the crow flies. Here's a couple more" She said handing her some more vodka "Is that gonna be far enough to clear the blast zone?"
"It'll have to be"
"Well this is vodka, not avgas. So the mileage may vary" Warren explained giving her a quick salute which Amelia did back before walking over to Murphy's side "Listen I uhhh..."
"Oh shit, you're not gonna try and say goodbye,are you?" Murphy said with a big smile on his face
"I was going to say be grateful for all the sacrifices everyone has made" Warren said seriously and Murphy's face dropped. And when he didn't say anything she turned to give the plane space to take off and Ellie just smiled softly before going towards Warren.
"Hey" Murphy shouted making them pause and turn back to him and he smiled softly and pointed a finger at them and nodded his head. Making them smile
Letting out a small chuckle Warren copied the action "Back at you" They walked away then so they were at the back of the plane and watched it take off before they took the Golf cart back to the reactor.
"Doc this is Warren and Ellie, back at the plant, coming in the same way" Warren said into the radio as they pulled to a stop back where they started "Doc, Warren"
"Hello, Roberta, Ellie. Welcome back. Please be advised we're now entering the reactor core on the other side of the facility"
Is there something we can do?"
"Oh, just the usual prayer. What's the status of that precious cargo? Has the mouthy package taken off?"
"Yeah he's in the air"
"Then we'll fix our little problem and see you on the way out"
"Alright" Warren said as she placed the radio back on her belt and started walking towards some cars "which one of you fine vehicles is our ride out of here"
Ellie went towards a red pick up truck while Warren tried another one and it wasn't long before they were joined by some unwelcome guests in the form on three glowing zombies.
"Try Citizen z again Warren, see if he knows anything about our glowing friends"
Taking out the radio Warren tried it again and they finally got a response "Hello, Delta X-ray"
"This is Delta x ray, copy, I need a little information on glowing zombies" Warren said
"Okay. Checking Zombie-pedia"
"Are you kidding?"
"For now, but it's not a bad idea... okay. It's called 'Angel's Glow'. Comes from nematode bacteria. Somehow the radiation affects zombie skin and lets bacteria grow there. The bacteria glows when exposed to high levels of radiation. First observed at Fukusima"
"I just need an answer. Are they hot or not?" Warren said taking out her knife as the two z's got closer and Ellie lifted up her cross bow
"Don't let them... spatter you" Citizen z said they both looked at each shocked not expecting that information
"Shoot" Warren said taking out her gun and Ellie quickly fired her cross bow at the closest one sending it to the ground while Warren shot the other one and once Ellie had loaded the crossbow again she shot the zombie a little further away from them.
"Still there?" Citizens z's voice asked through the radio and Warren looked around to see where she threw it. They found it on the floor closest to Ellie so she picked it up, while she picked up her abandoned knife
"Yeah" Ellie said to the radio "We got no other place to be, thanks for the help"
"No problem, nice to finally speak to you Ellie, heard a lot about you"
"You too, speak to again soon. Ellie out"
Ellie gave the radio back to Warren before she went to retrieve her two arrows. She wiped them down with a dirty rag before throwing that and putting them back it the holder. They both then carried on searching the vehicles to find one which worked but wasn't successful. But they had managed to find a car battery which should work for a while. They checked in with Doc again and he left the radio on so they could listen in, then they made their way back to golf cart and made their way back to the where they began.
Cassandra's Pov
It wasn't long after that that, that Doc and Cassandra had made their way back outside not being able to go any further. Once they were out of those suits they made their way down to the river to freshen up while they were listening to 10k and Homer over the radio.
"I'm gonna have to go out there and unstick those rods" They heard Homer's voice "Be careful not to drop me into the reactor pool. I'll be cooked instantly"
"We shouldn't have left them alone" Cassandra said
"Got it" 10k said
"We couldn't stay. We were at our limits" Doc said trying to ease her guilt
"That thing goes off and limits won't matter"
"Homer knows what he's doing", and the kid is awesome"
"Here I go" Homer said
Once they were finished In the river they made their way back to the entrance and waited for them still following the conversation and it wasn't going well.
"No, no, no, no" Cassandra heard 10ks voice shout out a and it brought tears to her eyes knowing how much 10k was suffering and the thought of Homer sacrificing himself to save them and looking at Doc she saw that he was thinking the same thing.
"Here he comes" Doc said and they saw 10k storming his way back down when he reached the gate him and Cassandra opened it and when Doc handed him is bag he threw it on the ground and started walking away from them "Hey kid! Wait! Wait up!" Doc said sadly as he followed him and so did Cassandra
"Homer saved us!" Cassandra shouted
"That's right he saved the whole town!" Doc agreed and 10k spun around to face them
"It's not that... I couldn't save him" He said sadly verging on tears
"I know, I know. We heard" Doc said trying to comfort him as he placed a hand on his shoulder but 10k pushed him off and turned his back on them as he grabbed his head in his hands
"You did everything you could" Cassandra said "You gave him mercy"
10k looked like he was gonna say something but they were all interrupted by the sound of a vehicle approaching and as they turned around to look they saw Warren and Ellie pulling to a stop in the golf cart.
"You remind me of my ex- wife, back from Costco" Doc siad
"Who'd marry you" Warren joked as they both got out
"Several woman, ill have you know" Doc said defending himself "None with very good taste or staying power"
"You were too good for them Doc" Ellie said
"Thank you" Ellie "At least someone appreciates me"
"So it all worked" Warren said "We're safe"
"From the meltdown, Nothing else" Cassandra said sadly looking towards 10k who was a bit further away from them now.
She then saw Ellie walk past them and towards 10k. She placed a hand on his shoulder making him tun to look at her and she could see tears running down his face. 10K quickly turned to face Ellie and pulled her into a hug and he buried his head into her shoulder and she could hear Ellie whisper words of comfort. Cassandra looked at them fondly she knew they didn't like each other romantically and she was happy that 10k felt comfortable to express his emotions if only to Ellie. When they had first met 10k he was so closed off and he didn't like to be touched and it was nice to see him open up, he seemed more comfortable around them all but especially Ellie.
"Is this a battery charger" Doc asked pulling it out from the back of the golf cart and Cassandra turned to see he did indeed have a battery charger in his hands.
"Yeah we couldn't find a truck that I could fix, so that'll keep us going" Warren explained
"All right, so we can get back on the trail. But where to? Given the fact that we've lost patient zero"
Ellie's Pov
"Great new" Murphy said announcing his arrival as he walked up the path behind them. And Ellie's head shot up and looked towards him"The vodka made perfect fuel for ten minutes!"
"What happened?" Warren asked
"Crash landing about hundred miles out of town"
"Wow you covered a lot of ground. Did you hitch-hike" Doc asked surprised
"Ten miles whatever" Murphy said taking his jacket off "It felt like a hundred miles when your walking"He made his way to the golf cart and sat down while pulling out another bottle of vodka and drinking some.
"So what happened to Amelia?" Warren asked and Murphy just gestured to where he just walked from and they all looked to see Amelia following slowly.
"Oh no" Cassandra said
"You didn't give her mercy?" Doc said
'It didn't feel right somehow"
"So you just let her follow you?" Warren said
"That.. felt..right somehow"
"How is that better?" Ellie said
"Okay, what do you want us to do?" She said walking towards Murphy with her gun raised and the rest did the same including 10k who had composed himself and had his rifle aimed.
"No, no, no, no ,no, no!no!" Murphy shouted as he started running to get in front of them and in-front of Amelia forcing them to stop "She is not hurting us!, I don't know maybe its time for a different kind of mercy" And everyone just looked at him with confused looks on their faces while Amelia jut stood there
"Okay" Warren said quietly Climb abroad" They all climbed into the golf cart Murphy next to Warren, Doc and Cassandra in the seat behind and 10k and Ellie at the back.
Warren started the the engine and they made they're way down the path with a snarling Amelia slowly following behind and they all watched on sadly thinking about today's events until Amelia was out of sight.
They made their way back to Homers to grab some food supplies, 10k stayed outside with Ellie not having the heart to go in.
But once that was done they made they're way back to their own truck on the golf cart which didn't take too long and once Warren had attached the battery charger to the trucks battery all they had to do was wait. Murphy got straight in the passenger seat saying he needed the sleep while Warren fiddled with the engine. Making sure it had water and some other stuff, while Doc and Cassandra were sat in the bed of the truck eating some stale crisps. 10K and Ellie were also in the bed of the truck but right at the front and 10k had his rifle perched on the edge waiting for any z's while Ellie was sat there watching the horizon. She wanted 10k to know she was there. Today at had been a hard day for all of them and she could only hope it would get better.