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Season 2 Finale
In silence, Lou and Ally glue their eyes to the porthole, watching the clouds slowly float through the sky, refusing to pay any attention on their final moments, rather enjoying the time they have left with each other. “Did your parents like me?” Lou asks, a dazed, confused, yet surprising aware Ally laughing at the question. “What?” Lou asks with a smile, “where we are now, this is probably as good a time as any!” Resting her chin upon Lou’s shoulder, Ally gazes at the wall in silence, not wanting to answer the question at first, only to offer Lou a choice between the truth and a lie. Looking back at the woman, Lou considers his options, choosing truth and watching the woman’s chin begin digging into his neck. “Not really” Ally replies, unable to make it through the response without laughing, Lou responding with the same reaction. “Really?” Lou asks, breaking his laughter for a moment to request clarification, Lou wanting her mother’s opinion first and foremost. “She thought you and I wouldn’t last longer than a few months” Ally replies, she and Lou unable to do anything other than laugh throughout the conversation, Ally explaining that her mother did try to be supportive.”What about your dad?” Lou proceeds further, Ally’s laughter ending with a mocking grin, veins in her neck protruding at the mention. “He thought you were a bum” Ally replies, Lou’s enjoyment breaking into an uncontainable fit of laughter, wiping the tears from his eyes before admitting her father to have been correct. “I was going absolutely nowhere before all of this” Lou mutters aloud, looking Ally in the eyes, the woman unable to stop herself from laughing alongside the man. “You’re not a bum anymore, though” Ally replies, Lou losing his composure, laughter prevailing again amidst the confession. “But you were my bum” Ally asserts, looking the man in the eyes, “and I loved you regardless… Just as I do now.” The metal bars between them falling to the same fate as their parents once did, Lou and Ally remain joined by the hip, unphased. Their noses pressed against each other through the one obstacle stood between them, their lips soon couple together as Lou caresses the woman’s cheek in his hand, the tear from her eye warm. “You proved my parents wrong” Ally proclaims, the kiss having broken up as her eyes begin to cloud with tears. “Together until the end, as it was always meant to be” Lou replies, his hand taking hers in his own, their foreheads pressing together as they wait for the end to come, “we are the best part of each other.” With a smile, Ally shares a gaze into Lou’s eyes, holding her tears back as the smile becomes a permanent fixture of her expression. “Never has anything been more true” Ally whimpers, her voice broken up from the emotions coming to the surface, the pair closing their eyes as any second can be their last. In a brief moment, the floor vibrates, the couple opening their eyes as they realize what is about to happen, pulling their heads away from the bars and keeping their hands interwoven together. In a split second, the ground goes from vibrating to being shot up with what feels like an infinite amount of force, the impact of which propelling the pair a few inches from the ground, hands still locked together through it all. In almost the same moment as it had come to life, the floor suddenly dies down, the room becoming still once more as Lou and Ally finally return to the ground, their hands breaking apart upon contact, forcing them in opposite directions. A few seconds passing, Lou and Ally stare around the room, awaiting another eruption similar to that they had just experienced, before their eyes finally return to each other. In an instant, Lou’s eyes depart from Ally’s almost as quickly as they had found their way back, his focus belonging to the bludgeoned locks of the cell door, now broken beyond repair, allowing the collection of metal bars to slowly glide outwards, releasing Ally from captivity. His mouth agape, Lou pushes himself to his feet as Ally pulls herself back to her own, the woman stumbling out of the cell and into Lou’s embrace, their reunion coming with a newfound hope for survival. Holding the woman close, Lou begins to understand the nature of the events that had just unfolded, breaking the embrace suddenly to glance out of the porthole, a tear in the ship’s starboard flooding the lowest of compartments with sea water at an alarming rate. “They actually fucking did it!” Lou exclaims to himself, eyes widened in shock for a moment before turning back to Ally, his hand taking her arm over his neck as he guides her from the all-too unattractive metal walls of the holding area. = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = The ship quickly falling into irreparable damages, the residents of the Euronam begin escaping through any means they can afford. Some leaping off the ship and plummeting into the frosty waters below, others ripping hatches open to escape into the bowels of the ship, only to allow more access to the undead lurking within to the surface. “We ain’t gonna have long, guys!” Jules exclaims, cracking one of the undead over the skull with a table leg as the group marches on. “Where are the lifeboats!?” Lee calls out, Terry pointing them to the opposite side of the ship. “I’m going after Theo!” Lee exclaims, apologizing to the rest of the group, but insisting he do what he feels is best. “You’re not guaranteed he lived!” Jenn exclaims, Jules doubling down on the woman’s statement, pointing out the massive demand for space on the boats. “If he’s not dead by now, he will be by the time we get off this boat!” the man exclaims, taking Jenn by the arm and personally apologizing to the woman. “If it were Lou, you’d all be doing the same thing” Lee explains, Jenn’s eyes dropping as she accepts the truth behind the man’s statement, shaking his hands as he departs. Goodbyes forcibly quick, Lee splits away from the group, Jules directing the trio into one of the many previously opened hatches, their goal unclear. “We find who we can!” Jenn exclaims, the orders being given out as the trio takes advantage of the electricity while they still have it, opening the skulls of the undead whenever confronted. Hand waving towards the other end of the ship, Jules directs the small band of survivors towards the center of the blast, the lights aligned along the walls all dying out shortly thereafter. “Get that night vision kicked on quickly, guys!” Jules exclaims, ripping a door to the other end of the ship in, the struggle at first made understandable when a rush of water pools out from the other side. “Oh fuck, it’s going down fast!” Halston exclaims, choosing to be brave and diving into the murky waters, pushing her way through the flooded hall in an effort to reach those they fight for on the other side. | “Everyone alright!?” Terry exclaims, his ears having been covered before the blast, though he still remains partially deafened from the sheer force to which the explosion presented. A thumbs up from the other end of the room, Terry knows of it to belong to Elsie, his eyes now dancing across the room as it begins to allow water to seep in, Josie still unaccounted for. “Josie!” Terry and Elsie collectively call out, the woman finding a flashlight in the corner of the room to aid in their search, the carpet beneath their feet quickly moistening with every second. “On the ground!” Elsie shouts, her leg trapped beneath a bookcase, having found Josie from across the room, the woman spread out upon the ground, hand pressed against the back of her head, blood splattered across the wall she lays before. “She’s hurt!” Elsie shouts, watching Terry race for the woman as she struggles to lift the shelf off herself, water flooding the room quicker with each attempt she makes. “Can you hear me, Josie?” the man asks, his voice making it into her ears despite lacking the strength to respond, instead moving her fingers as best as she can to indicate her remaining life. “Her fingers are moving and I’ve got a pulse!” Terry shouts, throwing Josie’s arm over the back of his head and looking at Elsie, the woman remaining helpless beneath the shelf. “Are you good? Can you get out?” Terry calls, Elsie placing her hands against the shelf again to no avail, the little ground she can muster bringing a new rush of water into the room. Placing Josie against a desk, Terry hurries over to Elsie, telling her to place her hands against the bookshelf and assist him in his efforts. Shaking her head, Elsie looks up at Terry, telling the man that the little feeling she has in her legs is that of pain. “My leg’s all fucked up, dude” elsie admits, Terry refusing to allow the woman to give up so easily, telling her to help him anyway. “I’m not gonna make it, Terry!” Elsie shouts, her hair soaked and water droplets left lingering on her nose as the cracks in the busted wall poor in greater amounts of water. “I already left two people I care about behind because they wanted me to!” Terry shouts, the rushing waters increasing in volume, forcing him to yell, “I’m not about to let that happen to another!” Taking it on his own, Terry drives his feet into the ground and drapes his hands over the corner of the shelf, using his entire lower body to force the shelf off the woman. The soppy ground splashing water over his face as the shelf crashes into the ground, Terry takes Elsie’s arm over his shoulder and returns to do the same for Josie, both women led by the man away from the outright dangers and into the foyer, their fight for survival only just getting started as the lights die out. | With a broken pool cue, Lee fights off the undead as he hurries across the main deck of the ship, his eyes locked on the crowd of people pooling together along the bulkheads. “Stop pushing together, you’re only making yourselves bigger targets!” Lee exclaims, his orders directing the passengers to different areas being followed by the desperate survivors. “The boats can only fit eighty people per person!” Lee exclaims, “spread out and board one after another, anyone at the back of the line, hold off the dead!” Finding a row, Lee takes a stand at the very back, turning away from the ship and eyeing down the horde, the survivors he called orders out to taking the man’s lead and doing as told, a line of defense allowing the boats to board as safely as possible in the moment. The undead attacking one by one, Lee finds himself being aided by fellow survivors waiting to board, the more that fail to find an immediate spot turning back to help. With a small army, Lee calls out for a simple pattern to be followed, two steps forward to kill, two steps back and repeat. “Create distance and don’t give them anything to grab onto!” Lee shouts, continuing his efforts before turning his orders to the people in the boats. “Whoever’s at the helm, aim for the coastline, move inland and take refuge in the first neighborhood you find!” Lee exclaims, continuing to put down the horde, which only grows the longer they fight. Finally finding his time to board, Lee takes his place on the ship, changing the course of action for those within his lifeboat. “We go back a few hundred yards!” Lee shouts, “we’ll meet back up with everyone at the neighborhood, I’ve got someone to find first!” Having trusted the man to take them this far, those in control do as ordered, dignifying Lee as their captain for the moment while their ship lowers into the seas. With a deep breath, Lee looks around at the tens of new survivors he had never said a word to prior, now understanding the lack of familiar faces to be his new family as the bottom of their safety net finally touches the surface. | Spilling into the kitchen, Jenn, Jules and Halston pull themselves up and quickly glance around the room for weapons, the section of the ship they find themselves inhabiting being the final with functioning electricity. “Knives, hammers, something sharp, something blunt!” Jenn exclaims, the group rummaging through the drawers and cabinets as the undead take notice of their presence, “anything that can kill one of these creepy dead bastards!” Upon the conclusion of her statement, Jenn retrieves a meat mallet from one of the sinks, taking the spiked end against the skull of one of the undead, the final blow not having been dealt. Glancing back towards the woman, the undead marches forward for a second shot, the fatal blow coming at the blade of the kitchen knife in Halston’s hand. One his lonesome across the room, Jules removes a bottle of wine from one of the coolers and shatters it over the skull of another undead, sticking the jagged end through its eye socket for the final shot. Ready to move, the trio marches through the exit, the restaurant grounds they emerge into filled with a swarm of the undead. “Time for the second plan!” Jenn shouts, leading the trio across the room and into a quartered-off door, allowing them to emerge into a flooded gambling hall. “I’ll take water over the dead right now” Jules exclaims, the first to march forward, leading the trio towards the massive staircase before being grabbed from below. The bright lights flipping on for a split second, Jules spots the undead lurking beneath the surface and quickly stomps away at its skull, splitting its head open and allowing its brains to turn the water red. Reaching out, Jenn fails to take the man by the hands, Jules falling just out of reach into deeper waters. Calling out for the man, Jenn watches Jules fall beneath the surface and fail to reemerge, turning towards Halston and telling her to get back to the surface. “I’m not going without you!” Halston exclaims, Jenn forcing her way through the water and leaping into the flooded pit, diving beneath the surface with her hand held out. Extending her arm, Jenn reaches out for Jules, her hand splashing around beneath the surface for anything to grab onto. Finally catching her fingers on something, Jenn reaches further and takes what lays out of sight to the surface. Emerging from beneath the waters, Jenn pulls Jules to the surface, catching her breath as she looks on in confusion, still pulling what lays below to the surface as Jules fends off the undead a few feet in front of her. Finally emerging, the undead Jenn accidentally led to the surface captures the woman in his view, pushing her back towards the former viewing platform as Halston calls out in desperation. Keeping the corpse as far from her as she can, Jenn keeps a part of her attention of the fight Jules keeps himself alive to pursue, the situation becoming dire as Halston calls out Jenn’s name once more. “The waters aren’t safe!” Jenn shouts, “don’t come past the-!” As she attempts to beacon an order out to her girlfriend, her head is jolted back when the fight in her arms completely fades away. Suddenly, a rebar pipe flies through the skull of the corpse in her arms, its length long enough to split the skull on the reanimated body in Jules’ hands as well, two birds knocked out with one stone in nearly the most literal way plausible. His hand held out, Lou pulls Jenn to the surface, Jules swimming over to what has now become the ledge before being pulled from the waters as well. “You beautiful son of a bitch!” Jules shouts, wrapping his arms around Lou the moment he finds him, expressing his joy that the man didn’t turn out to be dead after all. “There was a time there, y’know?” Lou humors, returning the gesture before suggesting both parties check themselves for bites. “I’m clear” Jenn exclaims, Jules following with the same statement, again pulling Lou into a hug before promising to get him a prosthetic. “You won’t believe how well I’ve done without one” Lou proclaims, turning towards the pool to watch his rebar pipe submerge below, the collection of corpses taking their rightful places at the bottom of the pit. “I liked that pipe, such a shame” Lou mutters to himself, helping Ally stay on her feet and following the trio up the runny staircase. | Finally able to put weight on her leg again, Elsie helps Terry assist Josie through the halls, cramped and dark leading to the light at the end of the tunnel, sunlight appearing through an open hatch just ahead. Ascending the tough climb, the pair finally break into the sunlight once more, the ship tilting to one side as the surface of the cold, unrelenting Pacific becomes visible from deck level. Mostly quiet aside from a few castaways taking on the undead in some heroic final stand, the group races for the opposite end of the ship, avoiding the undead losing their balance and sliding down towards them. After a few minutes, the group reaches out onto whatever structure they can, the water finally reaching the other side of the boat, evening out the flooding and righting the ship, the sinking vessel quickly finding its gravesite to reside off the Pacific Canadian coast. Calling for the group to hurry, Terry marches onward, Elsie volunteering to lead the way, her tomahawk readied to defend. The ship now balanced out once more, the undead flood out from the safety of their hatches quicker, covering the deck and tearing into any unsuspecting survivors they can come across. “We need to get her into the lifeboat right now!” Terry exclaims, noticing the sickly expression on the woman’s face as Elsie buries her bladed weapon into an undead face. Pushing forward, Elsie picks off the undead as they appear, one bad leg unable to keep her from defending those that were there to defend her. Breaching the wall of undead cutting them off, the trio hurry to the very end of the ship, tossing Josie into the boat and standing ready to defend it. “Are you ready?” Terry asks, his knife paired with Elsie’s tomahawk as the woman glances at him. “Were you not just watching?” Elsie asks with a smile, standing to fight by Terry’s side. | Continuing to push, the final set of lights go out in the vessel, engulfing the final hallway towards the surface in an endless sea of pitch black. Forcing their way through waist-high waters, the group suddenly comes to a complete stop, the sound of metal buckling beneath its weight suggesting the ship to be within its final minutes of life. “It’s either now or never” Lou exclaims, continuing to march forward, the sight of daylight only impeded by another wave of the undead. With a sigh, Lou looks around for something to fight with, his pipe submerging beneath the frosty Pacific waters ensuring he’s left defenseless and out-armed. Calling out the man’s name, Jules tosses Lou a steel frying pan, explaining his desire to use it as a shield, but understanding it to be of better use in Lou’s hands as a weapon. “Thank you for the assist, my friend!” Lou exclaims, Ally’s arm draped over his own as the pan rests beside his head, ready to ward off anything thinking this fight will be easy. When the undead make their move, the group makes theirs, establishing a line of defense for Lou to take cover behind, trusting the man to be able to put away their remnants. In defiance, the group continues to fight, marching forward in the name of survival as the undead pool out of their rooms, one after another spilling into the rising water-leveled hallway. Not doing enough on the first shot, Jenn lets one of the undead pass through, Lou taking two shots at it wit the frying pan to fair effect. Leaping off the ground, Lou floats to the surface and places his boot over the corpse’s head, forcing it beneath the surface and popping its skull like a pimple. Another undead passing through with half of its skull caved in, Lou prepares another shot, Ally tripping over the body of the undead prior and falling from the safety of her boyfriend. Glancing back in an effort to catch her before it’s too late, Lou takes his eyes off the undead, hitting it in the face as it lunges its jaw towards him, only to be pressed against the wall for his efforts, hand across the corpse’s throat as the pan floats off from his reach. “How’s it going back there?” Jules calls out, his eyes aimed forward, leaving him clueless to the events unfolding behind him. “Definitely not great!” Lou calls back, trying to shove the undead in such a direction that would afford him leverage to no avail, his body remaining pressed against the wall with no room for error. Grunting as his strength depletes, Lou watches the jaw of the undead inch closer, his head pressing as far back against the wall as he can manage with little hope afforded. Teeth clenched, Lou tilts his head to the side as the undead closes the gap, its teeth inches away from his earlobe until its skull quickly zips out of view with a thud. Cracked across the head with the frying pan, the undead staggers to its feet with its eyes on Ally, wielding Lou’s weapon and reigning down a fatal blow, the side of the pan splitting through the top of the corpse’s skull, the woman finally present enough to hold her own. With a nod, Ally kisses her boyfriend and returns his weapon to him, the pair finally catching up to the group just ahead, the light at the end growing nearer with each undead kill. The final dash to the light ensuing, the group spills out onto the main deck, their fight with the undead still not over as the same remains true for their battle against time, the metal screaming in pain as if to warn those still aboard that the moment is just around the corner. Dashing through the undead, the group marches on their final push, Ally tearing the American flag from the pole it once rested upon, turning the decoration into a makeshift spear. All armed, the group makes the push through the undead, clearing a path that brings them towards the captain’s nest, their sighting bringing a moment of honest relief from Elsie and Terry, who reconvene with the group in the most crucial of times. Filling the boat, the group packs into the vessel one after another, their weapons held safely by their sides as the boat slowly fills, the horde still a fair distance away from them. “Where to?” Jenn asks, Lou pointing towards a visible clearance in the Vancouver skyline. “If we can get there, we’ll be able to get our hands on whatever the scavengers didn’t pick” Lou proclaims, assisting Ally into the boat before taking the first step in himself. Hand pressing the button to lower the ship into the water, Lou pulls his fingers away to ultimately feel them never leave, his eyes glancing up to figure out why before widening in shock. In the same moment he presses the button, Lou’s hand remains shoved against it, his arm ripped back aboard the ship as the boat lowers without him, his group calling out his name as he vanishes over the edge. Staring up in confusion, those deboarding the ship look on at the platform they just departed from, Lou having vanished over the edge, not to return. When the sun from above is cut off by the figure to which is responsible, the group comes to the same conclusion as the man himself, Jenn specifically dropping her jaw as what stands above in triumph smiles down at her, walking away from the platform with its presence known. “You never answered ny question, Lou” the figure explains, turning away from the ledge to stare the one-armed man in the eyes, “I try to make you a star, and you leave me for dead.” Covered from head to toe in the blood and muck of the undead, Matt stands between Lou and the platform for which he has lost out on the final safe ticket off the ship through. “You’re not all there mentally to be trusted in a world like this, Matt” Lou replies, the man staring him down removing a gun from his waistband, trapping him between himself and a wall of the undead. “I’m perfectly there mentally, Lou” Matt replies, Lou silently shaking his head as he backs away from Matt, the distance between himself and the undead closing in. “I tried to make you a king in this world and you completely abandoned me!” Matt exclaims, the barrel of his gun held at Lou’s head while the ship slowly loses its last remaining fight, slowly sinking into the Pacific within its final moments. Nowhere safe other than higher up, Lou eyes the crows nest above, slowly walking onto the steps that lead him to the top as Matt follows after him. “If there’s anyone that isn’t mentally stable enough for this world, it’s people like you” Matt exclaims, “people that can’t see how this world has changed, unwilling to do what it takes to survive.” His head shaking, Lou points his finger towards Matt, the man turning around to fire a bullet at the undead, presenting the facts to Lou that the man he left in the pit has all the chance to blow his head off without question. “Brunskill didn’t want this, that’s why he sunk the ship” Lou explains, Matt cutting the man off before he can lie any further. “Brunskill only found out because your girlfriend wouldn’t stop yapping about you!” Matt explains, “and none of this would have happened had you trusted me!” Ascending the stairs, Lou finally reaches the highest point, walking to the opposite end as Matt hits the final step, the pair both sharing the crows nest, only the spire towering into the sky between them. “That’s still not a good enough answer, Lou” Matt exclaims, “all of this happened because of you, now just tell me why you let all of this happen!” Hand held, Lou pushes himself up against the crows nest, a plummet into the ever-closer ocean an easy leap from his current place. “It would never have worked, Matt!” Lou replies, his hands held out as a sign of surrender, Matt looking on, devastated. “I told you it would work” Matt replies, his hand shaking as the gun wavers in the air, Lou’s fate resting in the balance of an insane gunman as the ship sinks into the sea. “I told you that you could trust me, that you could believe in me!” Matt exclaims, Lou’s eyes staring at the ocean as it inches closer, the deck of the ship plummeting into the cold waters, “you didn’t believe in me.” His eyes falling, Matt’s disappointment takes over, Lou watching on at the man’s face, his expression changing in real time. The sadness suddenly turning into rage, Matt takes his eyes away from the platform and returns them to Lou, his hand calming and the gun steadying. “You didn’t believe in me…” Matt exclaims, finger moving itself from the grip of the gun to the trigger, Lou noticing the change and taking his chance. Pressing his hand against the spire, Lou shoves the metal tube down, prompting Matt to duck out of the way of the falling object, buying the man his moment. Leaping onto the bannister, Lou propels himself through the air, plummeting through the skies as Matt watches on from above, the platform he stands upon quickly sinking into the frosty, Canadian-coastal waters. With a deep breath, Lou closes his eyes and braces, breaking through the surface and disappearing beneath the waves. From above, Matt tucks his firearm into his waistband and leans over the railing, the mob of the undead beneath him still awaiting his return, Matt watching the surface come closer with a scowl. “You’re going to believe, Lou” Matt mutters to himself, watching the bulkhead, deck and horde vanish beneath the waves before taking in a breath, the crowsnest vanishing beneath the waves further and further before the platform meets the same fate, Matt nonchalantly entering the icy waters. | Breathing into the hand he holds in front of his face, Lou rests on the Canadian beach beneath a fading skylight, the sands void of life, either living or dead. Dropping from his side to his back, Lou stares off at the darkening skies above, the only sound he’s left to endure being the waves crashing upon the coastline. Glancing out at sea, Lou stares at the absence of the ship from the waters, few pieces of debris left behind, floating where boats once did. Pushing himself to his knees, Lou stares around at his surroundings, a lack of life in total awaiting for him in that very moment. Unfamiliar with such a sight, Lou forces himself to his feet and takes another look around, an empty beach feeling the early effects of the start of a high tide. Completely alone, Lou is left in isolation, only the wet sands to greet him, scattered debris lining the end of the sand and the start of the sea. Stumbling through the sand, Lou finds a grassy hill to climb up, his fingers digging into the dirt as he forces his way above. Rolling onto his knees, Lou pushes himself to his feet once more, looking around at the sights that await him on the other end. No living, no dead, no undead, just a set of empty streets, a roadside of shacks and storefronts set before a larger, more metropolitan landscape of towering skyscrapers and abandoned city life. Vehicles lining the streets, Lou navigates the surroundings of tables and chairs thrown about, the sights of a city up and vacated practically in the middle of the night left to be found. Holding his ribs, Lou continues walking forward, his feet finally touching down on the asphalt of relatively freshly-paved roads, its one pathway leading into a city left for Lou to explore. Formerly unaware of the outcome the general public was left to once everything fell apart, Lou sees it all in one swift moment, everything hitting him all at once. The sights he once knew left desolate, completely and totally deserted, empty to the most unusual degree. His eyes wandering through the scenery, Lou brushes off the welcoming sign stationed at the street corner, more interested in figuring out where to go from here than the flimsy welcome. Now in completely foreign territory in the most literal of ways,, Lou mockingly thanks the sign for welcoming him to Vancouver Island, his new home now seemingly presenting itself as the forefront of Canada’s western-most coast. Completely empty, the daylight continues dying out on the eventful day, leaving Lou to walk aimlessly through the Vancouver Island streets beneath the warm, orange glow of the sunset sky, forced to search for his identity once more. == RISE and REVOLT ==
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Using the strength he has left to push himself up, Brunskill winces at every move, feeling the sharp, jagged pains increase the harder he fights. Finally able to rest upon his chair, the man takes the moment to catch his breath, glancing out at the sights before the boat as he struggles to take in air. Multiple ribs broken, the pain skyrockets as Brunskill leans in, looking out ahead of the ship to the landmass appearing over the horizon.
“Shit” the man mutters to himself, spinning his chair around and beginning the long journey to the door. Collapsing to his knees, Brunskill drags himself to the paneled divider, using the handle to get himself stood up before using his broken body to rip the exit open, collapsing backwards as he does. Suddenly, the cool summer air begins wafting over his face, the sensation of the sweat dripping from his brow disappearing in one, cold moment. A new rush of adrenaline, Brunskill rolls himself back onto his knees and stumbles out of the cabin, his arms draped over the bannister as he collides with the railing just beyond the doorway. Glancing below, Brunskill watches the ship operate as normal, the events of the past number of days making such a thing feel like an abnormality. With a grunt, Brunskill pulls himself to the stairs, the man throwing himself down the flight almost as soon as he reaches them. Some catching onto the sight and knowing who the man is, a small crowd hurries over to the captain, the man refusing assistance, and instead, offering advice. “Get everyone... you know off this... ship... right now” Brunskill explains, taking one woman by the shoulder and telling her to get her family to safety before the time comes. Brushed away, the crowd leaves Brunskill to his quest, hurrying off to prepare for the worst as the man hurries into the depths of the ship. Continuing deeper into the vessel, Brunskill overhears the sound of fumbling footsteps, forcing himself into cover to avoid detection. Head tilted up in preparation for his final breaths, Brunskill closes his eyes, wincing in pain more while the footsteps grow closer. “We’re gonna find her!” a voice calls out, forcing the captain’s eyes open, the familiar tone easing his tension for the moment. “Lou?” Brunskill calls out, the footsteps coming to a quick stop before hurrying in the man’s direction, his body keeping him from saying much else. Within seconds, Lou races to Brunskill’s side, Lee and Jenn asking how any of this happened. “You need to stop, Matt” Brunskill exclaims, Lou smiling towards the man as he assures him that such business has already been taken care of. Disappointed at what it had to come to, Brunskill lets out a smile of relief, the pain subsiding in the moment he comes to realize that the trauma has come to an end. “Was it quick?” Brunskill asks, the question resonating like rash breaths through worry and suffering. Lifting the man’s blood-soaked white t-shirt, Lou admits that it was anything but. “We locked him in the pit he made” Lou exclaims, “may not have been quick, but it was ironic to say the least.” Sucking in another breath as best as he can, Brunskill looks towards the sky, apologizing to Matt’s spirit for having let it come this far. “You couldn’t have known, Captain” Lou explains, “Matt wasn’t all there… He took things too far, that wasn’t on you.” Letting the breath he took in escape his lungs, Brunskill admits that things don’t get better despite that fact. “I still let it happen… by holing myself up… and letting him run it all… on his own” Brunskill explains, looking Lou in the eyes and making it clear that the truth is that he failed as a captain. His head shaking, Lou informs Brunskill that he refuses to believe such a thing, the look on his face no longer showing attention to the conversation, but rather to the extent of Brunskill’s injuries. “I’m not a doctor by any means, but none of this looks good” Lou admits, eyes travelling down the length of the man’s abdomen, ribcage a dark purple and breaths hard to come by. “Captain, I don’t think this is going to end well” Lou exclaims, his hand letting go of the man’s shirt, moving its way to his side until Brunskill suddenly catches his arm mid-descent. “You can’t put me out just yet” Brunskill explains, desperately keeping Lou from thinking about such a thing, “I still need to hold up my end of the bargain.” Confused, Lou looks at the captain with curious eyes, Brunskill admitting that he told Ally he wanted something done, and he now needed to do it. “There’s only one way to put an end to everything on this ship” Brunskill explains, “and if I’m not gonna make it off this thing, I’ll volunteer to take it down.” Mouth agape, Lou looks towards the captain with confusion, asking the man to explain in more specific detail what he means by such statements. “This boat cannot be allowed to port in Vancouver with all that’s happened” Brunskill explains, forcing himself up by dragging his back along the cold, remorseless metal walls. “You need to get your people off this ship” Brunskill explains, folding Lou’s hand over a key to the lifeboats, “I’ll take care of the guards.” In an act of reverence for the group having delivered such truth to him, Brunskill forces his weight further towards the darkest depths of the ship. “You all need to go now” Brunskill exclaims, nearly vanishing down a staircase as Lou calls back out for him. “Where is everyone else?” Lou asks, Brunskill explaining how to get to the holding cells from their position. “I’ve given them... a leg up, so they might... already be out by now” Brunskill explains, “if so… Well, they’re your people… They’d have some sort of… tricks up their sleeves.” With a blood-covered, missing-teeth smile, Brunskill descends from the view of the trio for the final time, preparing his own grave for the best interest of the ship. “To holding?” Jenn asks, Lou watching the man walk off before turning around and refusing. “Not you… Just me” Lou replies, Jenn and Lee left watching the man as he tells them to get everything else situated for departure. Tossing Lee the key, Lou tells the pair to look out for anyone in the event they had escaped. “I have to do this on my own” Lou explains, “I’m going right from holding to the captain’s nest, meet me there before we line up with Vancouver.” With a deep breath, Lou takes the hallway towards the holding cells before Jenn calls back out, prompting the man to turn around without a second thought. Without the words to adequately describe what she wants to say, Jenn walks up to Lou and pulls him in for a hug, the man responding in kind as Jenn voices her wishes that they will meet again. “I have a hard time thinking this is the last we’ll see of each other” Lou explains, shaking Lee’s hand before going on his way. As the man vanishes around the corner, Jenn and Lee are left in the corridor, the pair glancing towards each other as the focus becomes returning to the main deck. Now on his own, Lou marches onwards with his rebar pipe in tow, eyes narrow as tunnel vision takes over, only one destination in mind, and prepared to make anyone that happens to step in his way a non-issue. = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = “Word is starting to spread about something” Theo exclaims, he and Halston unable to avoid talking about the quickened frenzy of residents suddenly becoming paranoid survivalists. “Whatever’s got them spooked, at least it’s another thing to keep the guards off our backs” Halston explains, taking the course pointed out to her by Theo as more residents continue to scramble out from their rooms with large suitcases in hand. Checking down each hallway as if they were children looking both ways before walking into traffic, Halston and Theo swarm their way into the crowded center of the ship. Suddenly, the few families hurrying by their sides turns into a mob of people all demanding they be allowed to deboard at the next exit. Forced to deal with the mass populous, the guards begin to realize how big the meal on their plates have become, Halston and Theo slipping between the crowd unnoticed as a result. “Why are you doing this?” Halston asks, Theo left confused by the question, the pair continuing to sneak their way through the sea as a few eyes take interest in their adjusted course. “Check those two out, Harris” one of the men stationed at the head of the mob calls out, pointing to the pair of residents sneaking through the center in a casual line. “I think we’ve got eyes on the convicts, Drew” Harris exclaims, his words shooting the eyes of the man on the other end of the radio wide open. “Don’t let them out of your sights!” Drew orders, continuing to look around every corner of the ship in search of Matt. “Matt, we’ve got a horde at the front gates!” Harris responds, “we move an inch and we’ll be taken over by the mob.” Refusing to acknowledge the severity of the situation, Drew downplays the issue, demanding Harris do as ordered or face charges for his inaction. His eyes rolling, Harris severs communication by powering off the radio, hurrying off of his platform and beginning to fight through the angered public in search of the criminal pair. “I think we’ve got one on our tail” Halston calls out, the change in the mob’s attitude suggesting a shift in the guards’ focus. “If we’re on limited time, let’s stir it all up while we can!” Theo exclaims, reaching across the woman and pulling the fire alarm, sending a beacon shooting through the air waves. “I fail to see what that was for” Halston replies, Theo laughing before telling Halston to start practicing situational awareness while she can. “Create a disruption loud enough for the guards not to hear orders on the first command” Theo explains, “it may be a few seconds, but we buy our time making the guards repeat themselves.” With a nod, Halston ducks behind cover upon their destination, Theo taking the crowbar to the floorboards and ripping up the already splintered wood. Glancing in each direction, Halston keeps an eye out on the pair’s behalf, looking out for imminent danger until a different sight captures their eyes. Calling for the man, Halston tells him to hurry his efforts as he finally retrieves the hidden sack of wagers, running after Halston as she takes her chance to march on. “Halston, what are you-” Theo exclaims, chasing after the woman before finally stumbling upon the same sight, calling out those before them. In surprise, Jenn and Lee turn around to find the familiar faces awaiting them, the blonde rushing off from Lee’s side and into Halston’s arms, the tensions of the crowd blocked out in the moment it takes for them to reunite. “What the hell happened after I left?” Jenn asks, Theo cutting the celebration short by reminding the foursome of the limited time they have to work with. Keeping the warm welcomes for another time, the new group rush off into the ship, Harris chasing after the pair from a distance. Before he can uncover the identities of the new pair joining them, Harris eyes the white sack in Theo’s hand, immediately turning his radio back on to announce his findings. “We’ve got the wagers in sight!” Harris exclaims, Drew left on the other end with wide eyes, demanding the entire fleet of guards switch their focus. “Let them all jump off the side of the boat for all I care!” Drew exclaims when reminded of the public, “get that bag even if you have to die for it!” His own intentions changed, Drew hurries away from the pit, a sea of the undead aimlessly roaming on, nowhere to go and no one to attack, the bannister along the viewing platform broken on the east wing. | Head resting against the cold metal bars, Ally awaits her fate to arrive as Terry’s first victim reanimates before her eyes. The figure, metal hinge still protruding from its neck, begins growling as it sits up, noticing Ally’s sickly demeanor and moving after it. It’s teeth clattering together, the undead drags itself to Ally’s cell, the woman staring the monster in the eyes as it presses its jaw between the bars, trying to get its teeth within the closest inch of her. Woozy and partially unaware of where she is anymore, Ally remains slumped against the cell, staring into the eyes of the reanimated corpse, blank lifelessness the only thing hidden behind pearly white pupils. “You’re not so scary” Ally responds to the undead’s efforts, her words slurred like a woman just waking from a drunken stooper as she propels herself forward. “You’re just a big, dumb corpse” Ally says to the monster, still knawing away at the air in hopes of the woman coming closer. “We all die eventually, little guy” Ally exclaims, taking a seat on her knees beside the cell door, staring the corpse in the eyes, “the only difference between you and I is that you died first.” Hands on her knees, Ally continues staring into the undead’s eyes, repeating the last line over and over again as the undead growls louder, the woman holding her face closer and closer to its eyes. “What are you thinking up there, dude?” Ally asks the corpse, her fingers wrapping around the bridge of its nose and holding it closer, “what am I in for?” Leaning in, Ally’s nose comes within an inch of the undead’s teeth, her eyes staring into those of the corpse’s as she begins to flutter in and out of consciousness. “What am I in for?” Ally asks herself, the words aimed at the undead, but the question truly left for the fate she faces to determine. Feet shuffling, Ally refuses to mind the noise, repeating her question as she finally loses her ability to stay awake, falling forward just as the undead’s head welcomes a rebar pipe in its skull. Pulling the corpse away, Lou watches Ally’s head fall into the cell bars, the woman completely unconscious and awaiting her fate to determine what comes next. “Where are the keys?” Lou asks the woman, her eyes flickering open for a moment as she musters the strength to point towards the window behind the man. Desperate, Lou holds his head out of the window, seeing nothing but the cold, Pacific waves awaiting him below. With a sigh, Lou walks back to the undead corpse and rips the metal latch from his neck, slamming the flimsy weapon against the porthole rim and snapping the piece in two. Pulling a few small metal rods from the one deadly weapon, Lou begins inserting them into the lock, one at a time to no avail. “I’m gonna die here” Ally mutters to herself, Lou holding back tears as he rests his hand upon her face. “You’re not gonna die here, honey” Lou explains, Ally’s eyes allowing tears to fall without issue, the droplets hitting the ground whilst the woman smiles. “I found you” Ally whispers, her hands resting on the man’s cheek as he responds in the same, Lou confirming her statements, managing a whimper of “yes, you did” to the woman he is helpless to free. “I did” Ally whimpers back, the pair pressing their foreheads together as they come to accept the truth that stares them in the face, no longer able to deny the unavoidable truth. | Descending further into the madness of the doomed vessel, Elsie, Josie and Terry rush against time, passing the holding cells to see Lou and Ally left sat, patiently awaiting the end. “Holy shit!” Terry exclaims, Lou staring at the man in complete surprise, his friend running into the room and pulling Lou into a bear hug. “bro, how the fuck did you live!?” Terry exclaims, “I thought you were gonna bleed out!” “I have no idea, I just woke up and didn’t ask questions” Lou exclaims, his sadness finally allowed to co-exist with something resembling happiness, finally reunited with those he knows are alright. “What are you guys doing down here, aren’t you getting off the ship?” Lou asks, Terry explaining that while everyone else made it out, they knew they needed to do something drastic. “There’s no way they let us off this boat, and there’s no way we live a few hours in the water” Terry explains, “if we can make a frenzy, our best chance is to blend in with the crowd at the lifeboats.” Glancing between Terry and the two women behind him, Lou begins to notice the device in the pairs hands, glancing back to Terry, who is left nodding, confirming the man’s suspicions. “We’re gonna rip this thing open and bury it out at sea” Terry explains, “there’s no other way off this thing otherwise.” With a deep breath, Lou explains that Brunskill’s preparing something drastic, ultimately supporting the decision to sink the ship. An anxious silence falling over the group, Lou cuts the tension with his version of a hot knife, explaining that the crowd should be used as a distraction. “Jenn and Lee are out looking for the rest of you right now” Lou explains, “they’ve got a key to the captain’s lifeboat… Fully automotive, it’ll take you right to the coast.” Hurrying up to Ally’s cell, Josie tries her hand at picking the lock, Lou admitting that a miracle wouldn’t have been performed regardless of how many hands he had. “Fuck!” Terry exclaims, “I lost the filling we used to pick it up on the main deck!’ Pressing his hand against his head, Terry tells Lou that they may have a chance to force the doors open. “If we get enough force close to the lock, we may be able to force the doors open” Terry exclaims, “go a few floors down, line it up properly and the rest is history.” With a smile, Lou pats the man on the shoulder, telling him that such longshots don’t just happen in the world anymore. “Miracles aren’t gonna save us this time” Lou explains, Terry looking at the man with grief, Lou left to admit to what comes next. “I’m not gonna get Ally out of this one” Lou explains, Terry looking the man in the eyes, “and I’m not letting her go out alone.” Lip quivering, Terry tells the man that something else can be done, ultimately for his suggestion to be shot down, Lou refusing to hold him back any longer. “You get our people off this boat and you get them to safety, okay?” Lou asks, Terry pleading with the man to rethink his decision, Lou refusing to do such a thing. “This is it for me” Lou explains, Elsie and Josie left with little understanding of Lou like Terry does, but ultimately feeling the pain of a man they know to mean so much to many others. “I need you and everyone else to keep fighting” Lou explains, holding Terry’s head up to him, “keep going forward.” Continuing to shake his head, Terry refuses to give up, reminding the man of everything they’ve fought through just to make it here. “Survived two outbreaks at the school, your arm being ripped off, a gang of dipshits and now all of this!” Terry exclaims, “you can’t stand there and tell me that, after all of that, this is how it ends.” With a smile, Lou takes a step back, one step turning into multiple as he backs against the cell door, Ally’s hand taking his into her own. “I’m gonna die today, Terry” Lou explains, “and that’s alright as long as all of you make it out.” His head shaking, Terry is left without words, Lou telling him go on and keep moving forward, Elsie and Josie left hanging their heads, nothing to do other than what they’re told, a hesitant Terry walking towards the door with his head hung. Glancing back, Terry watches Lou slides down against the cell doors to sit beside Ally, the couple, from opposite sides of the cell, giving Terry a smile as the man looks back. With a nod, Terry drops his head again, leaving the pair behind with a broken heart, Lou resting his head against the cell as Ally rests her chin on his shoulder, the pair staring out at the window to enjoy what is to be their final moments. | “Stop right there!” Harris shouts, the crowd he aims his gun at including Jenn, Lee, Halston and a runaway Theo. “Give me the bag and we wont have problems here” Harris shouts, Theo the first of his group to turn around, his eyes staring into the face of the man incredibly interested in the property he holds. “If we’re gonna have problems, you should probably make sure you don’t shoot the wrong person” Theo exclaims, Jenn, Halston and Lee all presenting bags of their own. “From my perspective, if you shoot one of us, you’re left with three more” Theo explains, slowly taking a few steps back, “and if we split into three directions, you’ll have to make the kind of gamble that made these things possible.” Hands shaking as the crowd around the area grows silent, Harris demands the person with the correct bag in their possession suggest so now, events unfolding as suspected with none of the four presenting their hands. “I’m not fucking around right now” Harris explains, pulling the hammer on his weapon back before taking aim at Jenn. “One of you fess up or I’m gonna-” Harris shouts, immediately collapsing before his statement can be finalized as Jules bludgeons him in the top of the skull with a table leg. Ears ringing, Harris’ jaw drops completely, the crowd beginning to yell in horror as the man slinks around, watching Jules reign down the final, fatal blow. Stepping over the man’s corpse, Jules suggests company to be appearing soon, a fleet of guards demanding the group stop almost immediately after the statement is made. “Go!” Jules shouts, the group ducking behind whatever cover they can manage as bullets begin flying, Theo leading the way with the bag in his hand, held high and in sight. Before long, the group reaches the captain’s nest, cornered by the guards as they finally catch up. “You’ve got nowhere to go!” Drew shouts, ready to fire upon the entire group if that’s what it takes, Jenn, Lee and Halston joining Theo at the back of the group, hidden behind a wall of their fellow survivors until Theo talks them down. “If you’re looking for your little bag of bets, they’re in my hand” Theo exclaims, Drew taking one hand off of his weapon and stretching it out, telling Theo to deliver them back to their rightful owner. “Brave of you to take such a stand” Drew exclaims, “now give us back what doesn’t belong to you.” With a smile, Theo corrects the man, explaining that none of this is intended to be an act of bravery. “All of you are deprived and sick, I’m just making sure you don’t target my friends” Theo exclaims, raising his foot up to the bulkhead and lifting himself higher than the rest. “Get down from there, kid! Don’t make shoot you!” Drew shouts, second hand placed back upon the gun as it wavers in the air, one eye closed as the second holds an aim at Theo. “You won’t do that, because then what you want falls overboard with me” Theo exclaims, his second hand holding onto the line as he guides himself upon the bowsprit. “You see, what we’re doing here is taking part in a stalemate” Theo exclaims, “there are only two ways out of this… I think you’re gonna have to figure out which you’d rather take.” Taking it upon himself to play the hero, Theo takes charge the way he had prior to meeting with Lou’s group, using his environment to his advantage and pulling all others into his territory. “You’re either gonna shoot me, kill me and lose everything” Theo explains, “or you’re gonna do as I say and hope that I keep my word when I say I’ll give you all of these back.” Biting into his lip, Drew tells Theo to stop playing games and start treating this with the severity that it requires. “Oh, trust me… I’m doing everything that I need to!” Theo exclaims, stepping farther out on the bowsprit before declaring his first order of business. “First thing you’re gonna do is order your men to stand down and leave” Theo explains, a smile coming over Drew’s face as the man becomes helpless to do anything other than laugh. “How is that going to help you in any way?” Drew asks, Theo’s smile fading as his head begins to shake, hair flowing with the wind as he responds. “It’s not” Theo explains, looking over to the group he left aboard the ship, “it’s gonna help them.” Eyes narrowed, Jenn begins to realize with the group what has begun unfolding before them, Theo left on a ledge with nowhere to go but overboard, all in order to give them a chance to live. Hesitant, Drew makes the decision Matt demanded he make, ordering his men down and suggesting they return to the crowd. Unmoved at first, the guards stand with their guns drawn until Drew repeats the command, the loss of Matt becoming more public turning Drew into their leader figure. As told, the men stand down, returning their guns to their hips and slowly walking off, leaving Drew with his gun pointed at a helpless Theo, and an entire group of capable survivors eyeing him down. “I don’t see this ending well for you, so quit while you’re ahead and stop making me mad” Drew exclaims, “I want that bag in my hands right now or I’ll shoot.” His head hung, Theo gives in, slowly walking forward with the bag held out, telling Drew to step onto the bulkhead with his gun by his side. “I’m real glad things could work out this way, Drew” Theo explains, the man before him silently reaching out for the bag as quickly as possible, “I almost thought they were gonna be longer.” “Who?” Drew asks, his question more or less for show, not paying much attention to the man’s words until he pulls the bag back into his chest. “Did you think this was the whole plan?” Theo asks, Drew looking up at him in confusion. Glancing back at the group, Theo signals for the man to do the same, raising the question that never crossed Drew’s mind to ask. “Don’t you remember there being more of us?” Theo asks, Drew glancing back towards Theo in shock. “What are you doing?” Drew asks, Theo tossing the bag to the man without care before staring out at the sea. Suddenly, Theo looks down at Drew, who wraps his hands around the bag in relief whilst staring up at Theo in paranoia. “I bought us time” Theo replies, “I got us a way out.” Within seconds, the ship shakes, a sudden explosion bursting a hole into the ships starboard, the explosion rocking the ship to the side, forcing Theo to hold onto the cables for dear life. “The bag didn’t matter, Drew” Theo explains, Drew looking back at the man in awe and drawing his gun before Theo makes his dying statement, “it was never going to.” Despite a desperation shout to call the man off, Drew fires his weapon at Theo, the man toppling over the cables and falling from the ship, crashing into the cold water with a vicious splash, leaving behind the aftermath. In a frenzy, Drew turns towards the group with his gun raised, demanding they not move as he calls out for the guards. As if he were a beacon in the night, the guards rush to Drew’s aid until a hatch from the stairwell bursts open, revealing the innards of the ship to the surface. Stunned by the sound, Drew leaps back, falling into the awaiting arms of Lee, who holds Drew in a choke hold as the figure having opened said hatch walks onto the deck. A lack of air turning his face purple, Brunskill emerges from the tunnel, Lee looking on in shock until another sound overtakes the surprise. Following after the man, the horde once locked away now ascends to the deck after him, Brunskill firing a gun at the guards as they hurry to close the hatch. Staggering forward in a manner similar to that of the undead behind him, Brunskill stares down Drew, a horrified group of guards left shooting at the horde as it spills into the ship. “Give ‘em to me!” Brunskill shouts with his dying breath, Lee unravelling his arms as Jenn removes the firearm from Drew’s hand, the guard kicked by Lee into the embrace of Brunskill. Nothing more to do other than watch, Lee sees Drew stare at him from within Brunskill’s arms, eyes widened as if to tell Lee that he was responsible for what comes next. Ready for what comes next, Brunskill pulls Drew back in the sleeperhold, yanking the man into the horde and allowing it to tear them both to pieces in a poetic act of murder-suicide. “We’ve gotta go!” Jenn shouts, Halston reminding her that they still have people aboard the ship they have to wait for. All eyes on her, Jenn is presented with the decision of her own, Halston looking at her as if to ask they leave no one else behind. “Then we go after them ourselves!” Jenn shouts, the only key to the captain’s lifeboat in their possession, their ride able to wait for them until matters have been taken care of. As they have become accustomed to, the group rushes into the hostile ship, crowds screaming in horror as the undead are unleashed upon them. In the matter of moments, the halls of the S.S Euronam go from the control of the corrupt to the control of the undead, its current voyage set to be its last. == RISE and REVOLT == “Don’t force my hand into this, Hane” Matt exclaims, his hands and knees doing what they can to drag the man away from the imposing man hell bent on ending the cycle of suffering. “You do not match up with me in any way, Matthew” Brunskill replies, unbuttoning his captain’s shirt and tossing it over his chair, nothing more than a plain white t-shirt covering his bare chest, “I don’t think you have much of a say in the matter.”
Ready to do what he deems necessary with his bare hands, Brunskill pulls Matt to his feet and shoves him into the wall, Matt continuing to make an attempt at talking his way out of dire measures. Breathing heavily through his teeth, Brunskill stares Matt down, eyes practically bulging out from his skull while the blood continues to run down his victim’s face. “We could have done things differently, we could have had it all!” Matt exclaims, the lack of response from Brunskill’s lips made up for in the contact his fist makes against Matt’s face. Struck with the force of a body builder, Matt goes limp for a moment, his shirt still kept in the clutches of Brunskill, who returns the overpowered youngster to the wall, watching him smile despite the beating he has and will continue to take. “You never saw the world for what it needed to be, Hane” Matt explains, “it is evolving for a reason… We were supposed to be the ones that took advantage of it!” His head shaking in disappointment, Brunskill admits that he used to have so much hope for Matt. With another punch, Brunskill throws Matt back against the wall for a third time, watching the pleasure the man takes in the abuse, feeling it all to be worth it to stand by his strongest of beliefs. “When the world gave us metal, we made machines” Matt explains, “and when it gave us machines, we made industries. Redefined what trade was meant to be.” Wiping his nose, Brunskill asks Matt what he truly takes all of this change to mean. “I don’t want any of this pyramid scheme bullshit, I want statements” Brunskill explains, “tell me how this is meant to be capitalized on.” Spitting a string of blood from his mouth, Matt turns back to Brunskill with a bloody smile, telling him that man that no explanation is necessary. “You either see it or you don’t… There’s no middle ground” Matt replies, “everything that happens in the world is meant to be capitalized on. You either do or you don’t.” Disgusted, Brunskill shakes his head, suggesting Matt to be too sick to be trusted with what’s left fighting for its survival before dropping him with another strike. Relinquished from Brunskill’s possession, Matt is allowed to collapse to the floor, the man having beaten him now slowly walking over to the fire extinguisher in the corner of the room. Ashamed of himself, Brunskill takes the weapon into his hands, understanding what he needs to do in order to put an end to the suffering aboard the ship. “I wish you hadn’t made me do this” Brunskill says, taking in a deep breath before turning back to the wounded Matthew. “I’m sorry, but you can’t be here any more” Brunskill exclaims, Matt gasping for breath with a smile as his killer inches closer, “you’re only going to hurt more people, and I can’t let you do that.” With a nod, Matt does as he feels best, lifting himself to his knees and bowing his head, preparing to meet the maker that brought him upon the world. Swallowing his pride, Brunskill resorts to the darkest depths of his mind, preparing to carry out an execution. Hoisting the extinguisher over his head, Brunskill keeps his eyes on Matt, the man beneath him looking up, maintaining eye contact as Brunskill stands there. “Can’t do it, can you?” Matt asks, face still bloodied and red from the beating, watching Brunskill fight within himself to carry out what he knows must be done. With another nod, Matt swiftly takes advantage of Brunskill’s inaction, delivering an elbow to Brunskill’s inner knee before knocking the weapon from the captain’s hands. Despite the pain coursing through his body, Matt fights to live another day, countering the physical response from Brunskill with a few well placed punches of his own. Upon the seventh shot, Brunskill goes down, his back plastered across the cold and bloody ground of his quarters, opening the opportunity for Matt to retrieve what would have been the cause of his demise. Knowing what little chance he has when faced with the fire extinguisher, Brunskill throws himself to his feet and tackles Matt into the wheel, redirecting the ship once more. Still stronger when in hand to hand combat, Brunskill uses his body weight to hold Matt down, knees pressed against the inside of his elbows as he rains down one punch after another. “You can’t be here any more!” Brunskill shouts, ready to kill Matt with his bare hands alone. Lifting his hand into the air for the sixth time, Brunskill finds himself suddenly in a great deal of pain, Matt’s knee having been able to lift high enough to hit Brunskill below the belt. “You gotta be better than that Hane!” Matt exclaims, spitting out the few teeth knocked from their place in his mouth before delivering a headbutt to the man’s orbital bone and crawling over to the bright red beacon of death. Fire extinguisher in hand, Matt pulls himself to his feet and drags the weapon along the ground, finally finding the might to level Brunskill with it the moment he tries to return to his feet. “Not such a big guy now, are you?” Matt asks, properly standing tall over Brunskill as the man tries to ascend to his feet again. Pushing himself up by the wall, Brunskill stands against it to catch his breath before it’s taken from him again, Matt shattering his ribs with extinguisher in an instant. “How does it feel, Hane?” Matt asks, Brunskill angering Matt by going unresponsive, crumpled over with his arms over his ribcage, “I said how does it feel!?” Pulling Brunskill by the hair, Matt bounces his head off the window before delivering a second shot to the man’s ribs, this time watching Brunskill collapse before hitting him a in the back for a second time. Gasping for air, Brunskill lays motionless in the corner of the quarters as the extinguisher drops from Matt’s hands. “We should have had it all, Hane” Matt replies in disappointment, walking away from the man and leaving him to die, pushing his way through the door and walking off. Without remorse, nor care, Matt turns the lights off and closes the door, walking off to whatever comes next. = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = “What do you guys think happened to our parents?” Ally asks, the remainder of her group diligently trying to force their way out of captivity while her concussion only gets worse. “Ally, we’re gonna need some quiet right now” Jules exclaims, Terry growing more frustrated with each failed attempt. “Let me try” Halston exclaims, taking over the efforts for the man while Terry walks off, slamming his fist against the wall. “You’re gonna get free” Ally explains, Terry silently pressing his head against the wall as the woman continues encouraging him, “you’re not gonna die like this.” Appreciative of the sentiment, Terry smiles, Theo on the other hand, preserving Ally’s hope where she fails to. “It’s not just us that are gonna make it out of this, it’s gonna be you too” Theo explains, the woman pleading with those she’s faced it all with not to put all of their hope in a pointless plan. “If push comes to shove, leave me behind” Ally replies, “I’ll just slow you down, and they’ll catch us all… If that happens, we all die anyway.” Refusing, Theo presses himself against the metal bars, assuring the woman that they can all make it out alive. “Halston’s pretty good at this stuff, we’ll be out of here soon” Theo exclaims, Terry jokingly telling him to ‘fuck off’ before he can finish the second half of his sentence. “We’ve still got our people out there right now, we’ve got allies on this ship” Theo explains, “and when it comes down to it… I have something they want.” Finally taking his skull away from the wall, Terry turns towards Theo, asking if he’s found something to do with the notes. “If they wanted them when they took us in, they’ll want them again” Theo explains, “if they haven’t found them yet… I can buy you guys time at the least.” “What do you mean ‘buy us time’?” Halston asks, pressing one of the fillers between her teeth as she works with the first alone. “I’m saying that I’m willing to bite a few bullets if it means you guys get off this thing and head for land” Theo replies, “lead them on a goose chase while you guys head for the exits.” “We’re not leaving you behind either” Jules replies, Terry doubling down on Jules’ statement. “You may be an annoying motherfucker, but we’re not leaving you here to die” Terry explains, “so let’s start figuring out where to go with plan C.” Before another voice can be heard, the clicking of the inner mechanisms of their prison bars rattle through the room, the door opening with ease as freedom elicits a quick response. Turning to Ally’s cage, the group begins to hurry up the pace, the woman’s hope returning for a mere moment until dread begins kicking in. Despite the heavy effects of the concussion, Ally glances back and forth between the lock and the door, knowing that the success of one or the other is the difference between a shot at life, and being shot to death. Minutes pass and the cell door remains locked Ally’s hope finally escaping for the final time as the main door begins to spin unlocked, the mechanisms adjusting in such a way that grants access to the dark secret contained within. Taking their cue, the group deviates from the strategy, readying their weapons as the opening finally moves in, a familiar face and her friend emerging from the other side. “Stand back, bro!” Terry shouts, almost too thrilled to finally find himself with a chance to take on those responsible for locking him up, his excitement remaining for a different reason when Elsie and Josie emerge. “Oh thank fucking god!” Terry exclaims, not caring over how little he still knows about the girl, instead wrapping his arms around the pair and thanking the powers that be for offering them familiar faces. “Did the guards do this?” Elsie proceeds, her question answer by Halston as she returns to the lock continuing to keep Ally restrained. “We’re gonna need somethi-” Elsie begins, her words stopped at the sound of unfamiliar footsteps leading their way towards holding. “Stand back, I want these clowns for myself” Terry exclaims, a metal latch from one of the cabinets at the back of the room held in his hands. “Surprise motherfucker!” Terry shouts without concern, driving the sharpened metal end into the throat of Luke, yet another guard falling at the hands of their group. “Payback’s a bitch!” Terry exclaims, his enthusiastic shout immediately turning sour when the radio on Luke’s person reactivates. “Luke, what’s going on in there?” the voice on the other end calls out, Terry removing the radio and throwing it out of the window. “He must have had the thing on just in case” Halston exclaims, speeding up her efforts as the group begins to realize that they’ve been discovered. “You guys need to go right now” Ally exclaims, pushing herself towards the cell door as Halston refuses to do any such thing. “Does he have any keys on him?” Jules asks, Terry unable to come up with anything inspiring from his search. “Not a thing” Terry replies, disappointment beginning to overwhelm him as the rest of the group begins understanding what they need to do. Though understanding what is necessary, Halston refuses to do what’s necessary, continuing to diligently work away at the inner locks against Ally’s demands. Stubbornly refusing to allow Halston to die for nothing, Ally lunges towards the door and shoves Halston away, placing her hands over the key hole and blocking it. “You need to go right now, Halston!” Ally exclaims, the woman pulling herself back up and trying to pry Ally’s hands away from the lock. “We are not leaving you to die down here!” Halston exclaims, continuing to unsuccessfully gain any traction on removing the woman’s hands. “Halston, you need to go… I’m not letting up on this” Ally replies, continuing to stand her ground, even whilst Halston gives into biting her fingers to remove them. With a free hand, Ally takes Halston by the face and shoves her back, demanding she go. Ready to do it all over again, Halston picks herself up and marches right back, Terry’s arms wrapping around the woman before she can go for round three. “Let go of me, Terry!” Halston shouts, the man telling the woman that they don’t have any more time. “We tried, but we failed!” Terry exclaims, “you either die down here for Ally, or help us find Jenn.” Hair dangling over her eyes, Halston tells Terry not to force her to make that choice, which the man responds by absolving himself of the blame. “It ain’t me, Halston” Terry explains, “I wouldn’t wanna make this choice either… But you’ve got to.” Wrapping her fingers around the bars, Ally tells Halston to go, refusing to allow her to blame herself for whatever happens to her next. “I’ll gladly die if it means you guys make it out of here alive” Ally explains, “so go stay the fuck alive, Halston.” Stood in place, Halston progressively goes more limp to Terry’s pull, eventually giving into the man’s grip and allowing herself to be hauled to safety. The woman she came within inches of saving becoming farther away each step. With a smile from behind her prison cell grave, Ally waves goodbye to her group as they vanish from sight, accepting her final moments. | Calling out for the man, Matt groggily stumbles into Drew, the latter helping him remain upright while inquiring about the pit. Confused, Drew holds Matt against the wall, unable to support the body weight himself while he asks for clarification. “The pit, the horde getting out, what happened with it?” Matt proceeds, Drew perhaps even more lost than he was before. “I have no idea what you’re talking about dude, I’m heading towards holding” Drew replies, Matt beginning to question what’s actually unfolding. “The prisoners, the ones from holding?” Drew clarifies, “they killed Luke and made an escape… We’re looking for them now.” Taken aback, Matt asks how they managed all of that, Drew left as curious as Matt himself is. “All I know is they left the amputees girlfriend locked up, which is pretty fucking cold” Drew replies, immediately asking for Matt’s desired action. Beginning to put two and two together, Matt insists Drew keep the girl alive, understanding what needs to be done in order to right the ship in the figurative sense of the phrase. “Don’t let them escape!” Matt exclaims, “if any one of those fuckers make it off the ship, I’ll have all of you hanged on the main deck.” Moods having turned too quickly to truly be understood fully, Drew calls out to Matt as the man shoves himself away. “What’s going on?” Drew proceeds, Matt exclaiming from his stooped further into the hallway that the ship is under attack from within. Taking the man’s word for gospel, Drew calls in Matt’s order, returning to his hurried dash into holding. | Leading the group back to where they originated from, Elsie and Josie collapse onto the floor whilst Halston locks the doors behind them, taking the moment she has to herself to disgrace her actions. Hair falling from her head, Halston presses her hands against the door and catches her breath, her teeth clenched as she refuses to forgive herself for leaving Ally behind. With a sigh, Terry rests his hand upon the woman’s shoulder, telling her to stop holding it all against herself. “If you keep it up with this ‘it’s all my fault’ thing, I’m throw you overboard” Terry jokes, doing little to lighten the woman’s spirits, but managing very little in the least. Leaving his statement as is, Terry lets his hand slowly drift away from the comfort of the space upon her neck whilst returning to the group. “We need to figure out where to go next” Elsie explains, Jules casually complimenting her new weapon of choice as it hangs by her side. “With the ‘hi, how are you’s’ aside, we still have people out there” Terry explains, “Jenn and Lee, Lou even, possibly.” Remaining a realist, Jules makes it known to the group that they won’t fare well without those still apart. “Lou got us here, and Jenn’s his appointed successor” Jules explains, “Elsie and Theo can speak for Lee, but the rest of us are down our first two leaders.” Head hung, Terry places his hands on his hips before telling Jules to retract his statements. “Nevermind what I just said then” Jules exclaims, a smirk on Terry preceding his declaration of intent. “However long I have to be, I’ll take the leader responsibility while we’re short handed” Terry exclaims, the group nothing but compliant. “First measure of business is finding our guys… Then we get the fuck off this boat” Terry exclaims, “so let’s figure out how we’re gonna get this done.” Without hesitation, Halston calls upon Theo, the group immediately allowing their gaze to dart towards the woman, who remains pressed up against the door. “You said you had papers that they wanted” Halston points out, regaining her cool and solemnly returning to the center of the group, “where are they?” Giving it a good thought, Theo begins pacing around the room, double checking his surroundings in order to not have to regret not doing so at a later time. “How the hell do you think they knew I had the papers?” Theo proceeds to ask, “I didn’t say a word to anyone other than you, and they practically burst through the door the second I did.” “Are you suggesting they had our rooms bugged?” Elsie asks, Halston answering the woman’s question by admitting that it makes all the sense in the world. Finishing his sweep, Theo returns to the center of the room, describing a splintered piece of floor board along the main deck where he stashed them away. “The main deck?” Terry proceeds to ask, “your big lifeline is tucked away in the one floor everyone on this boat steps on?” “I didn’t forsee us being held prisoner on what was supposed to be a safe haven, so yeah” Theo replies, “it’s on the main deck and I know they want it badly.” Her hands on her hips, Halston nods to herself, thinking over her options in the moment before volunteering to make the journey out there with the man. “I can get them by myself” Theo replies, desperately trying to ensure any potential life lost is relegated to only his own, an attempt that falls unsuccessful. “You’re not going out there alone, and I’m not staying cooped up in here” Halston replies, glancing towards terry to take it from there. “I guess that leaves it all up too how we’re getting off this thing” Terry exclaims, Elsie explaining that she might have an answer to that. With a deep breath, Terry looks back at the woman, leaving the floor open to her. Reaching behind her, Elsie drags a box out and throws it into the center of the room, allowing it to come to a stop at the feet of Jules. “What’s this?” the man asks, reaching into the box before freezing up, his hand still submerged within as his jaw drops. “What is it?” Terry proceeds, Jules looking up to him with his eyes widened, immediately darting back to Elsie, who remains vague about it all. “We might not have to find a way off it we just force their hands” Elsie replies, her eyes glancing back towards Halston and Terry, who stare at her in shock once they discover the box’s contents. | Bouncing off the hallway walls, Matt staggers closer into the ship’s unknowns as the lights begin dying out. In anger, Matt takes a few swipes at the dying lights, knocking one clean off the wall as the remainder in place yet untraveled go out at once. “Do you think this is funny!?” Matt calls out, his paranoia rising to levels unreasonable, calling out to those which he cannot see and daring them to continue their charades. Talking to himself, Matt gingerly descends the massive staircase leading into the gambling halls, each light he passes dying out immediately. “Real spooky shit you’ve got going on down here, big guys!” Matt shouts, tripping over the final stair and colliding with the ground while the final light bulb burns out. “How cute” Matt calls out, throwing himself back to his feet and strolling through the casino. “A lot of good times were had here” Matt exclaims, pressing his hand against a virtual slot machine, the electronic display powering on at the slightest touch, causing Matt to jump. “Enough with this bullshit!” Matt exclaims, growing tired of the games before growing antsy at the sound of an amused laugh. “I think we’re far from done!” a man exclaims from within, the blacked out casino making it easier to trace the source of a voice. “I’m not fucking around anymore, Lou!” Matt shouts, his hands pressing against his head as he demands the man present himself. Upon request, the hall glows bright with amusing, warm, and welcoming colors, a bundle of noise suddenly triggering at once, disorientating Matt. Allowing himself to get caught up with the change in scenery, Matt calms himself down, rubbing his eyes and catching his breath until he looks up, seeing Lee across the room with his hands folded. As if he had seen a ghost, Matt charges forward, still heavily beaten from Brunskill’s attack, tripping and falling over one machine after another as Lee walks away. “Come back here you backstabbing son of a bitch!” Matt shouts, “I know what you saw the other night, I can have your ass held on murder charges!” The sounds becoming too much, Matt is forced to his knees, where he ducks his head beneath one of the blackjack tables and unloads his lunch. Upon alleviating his stomach, Matt pulls his head free, the lights dying out and music coming to a close all at once. “Fuck you, you son of a bitch!” Matt shouts, his vigor aimed at Lee, whom he no longer has enough track to follow, instead hurrying in the general direction of him. His knees colliding with what seems like every obstacle in the hall, Matt eventually fumbles his way into the back wing, a narrow corridor leading towards the basement, which he takes in a heartbeat. Much to his displeasure, the lights return, engulfing Matt once more and prompting yet another pause. Wiping away his eyes, Matt looks back the way in which he came, Jenn stationed at the door before disappearing behind it, Matt watching her as she locks him in. Throwing himself back, the man begins slamming against the metal, watching Jenn through the window as Lee whistles from the tunnel’s other end. His eyes fixated on the man, Matt hurries forward again, the lights going out with a new target in sight for the deranged Matthew. Descending the boisterous metal staircase, Matt descends into the final stretch, the lights powering on again for the final few feet. This time welcomed with warm yellow lights, Matt’s eyes adjust well enough for him to notice the sound of a coin dropping into the pit when it happens. Knowing where to go next, Matt runs into the locker room, quickly dashing through what used to serve as the final area of safety with retribution in mind. Squeezing through the entry, Matt steps into the pit, faced with a maintained fence holding the undead back and a lack of life. From behind, the door closes in, sealing Matt into the home he once took pride in creating, only to now wish he was responsible for anything else. Within a moment, the presentation lights power on, Jenn speaking through the loudspeaker that the live event has finally reached it’s main event. “How’s it feel down there?” Lee asks, pacing around the viewing platform, his arms draped over the bannister, “roomy, ain’t it?” “Do you think is a joke? All just a funny game for you to play at my expense?” Matt questions, his eyes directed towards Lee and Jenn to the west while his question is answered from the east. “You seemed to think of it this way when I was in there, why shouldn’t I do the same to you?” Lou asks, string in his hand as he stands alone on the bannister overlooking the horde. “Why?” Matt asks, rephrasing the question to present Lou a request. “I tried to make you a star, I tried to make you the kingpin of all of this!” Matt exclaims, “why would you throw it all away for them… For these people?” Rolling up his sleeve to make up for the lack of an arm caused by Matt’s orders, Lou reminds Matt of what the people he locked away mean to him. “You have my girlfriend, my childhood friends, the people I survived through this ordeal with locked away in a cage!” Lou exclaims, “why wouldn’t I fight for these people?” Spitting on the ground he stands upon, Matt reminds him that he’s still just a kid in the grand scheme of the world. “You would just be around finishing high school, you don’t know love yet… You don’t know who your people are!” Matt explains, “I could have been your people… This could have been your home.” “Could have, would have, should have” Lou replies, “the bottom line is… You’re not… They are.” Rolling his eyes, Matt stumbles back into the door before fixing himself up, his eyes firmly placed upon Lou in hopes of sparing his life. “Things don’t have to end like this, Lou” Matt explains, “you still have the chance to make a choice that gets you both.” With a smile, Lou grants Matt the chance to plead for his life and present the points he wishes to, the string in his hand determining whether he is successful or not. “Your people escaped a few minutes ago” Matt replies, watching Lou’s expression alter slightly from afar, “well… almost all of your people.” Clearing his throat, Matt begins struggling forward, the palms of his hands resting upon the fence, too high for the undead to be able to nibble at. “The little love of your life you’re doing all of this for got left behind in the mess” Matt explains, “but I made sure she’d be left alive in the event you and I got to share a few words again.” Teeth clenched, Lou watches Jenn and Lee walk up to him until Matt calls for his attention back. “When we’re talking, your eyes stay here” Matt explains, “and if you wanna make sure Ally stays safe and sound, you’re gonna have to pull me out of here to lead you to her.” “You can’t trust him” Jenn replies, Lou glancing towards her as she glances down at the man in the pit, “he’s desperate… So he’ll lead you there and then take you prisoner for betraying him.” Shaking his head in denial, Matt promises Lou that he’ll take him to her and give him a free pass. “As a matter of fact, however many people of yours are left alive, I’ll spare them all! You hold all the cards!” Matt exclaims, “I just want us to be a team again… Like we were supposed to be!” With a deep breath, Lou glances back towards the pit, his hand held out as Jenn begins to speak, signalling for her to leave him in silence. “Lou, I’m telling you… No, I’m promising you” Matt explains, Lou’s eyes lifting towards the man as he concludes, “we’ll fix this.” With a smile and a laugh, Lou ties the rope to the bannister and leans forward, reminding Matt that he once promised him something before. “You couldn’t keep your word then, why should I believe it now?” Lou proceeds to ask, Matt swallowing his pride and letting his hands drop by his side. “I’m desperate now” Matt responds, a subtle dose of honesty giving Lou all the information he needed to know to make an informed decision. “I actually believe you there… The way you spoke, the way you looked at me… Hell, the way your heart sunk made me believe you” Lou responds, “I didn’t feel that before.” Nodding to himself, Lou explains to Matt that desperate men do desperate things, and he has yet to determine whether or not they are to be trusted in this new world. “But I know right now what I think of you and this stardom you speak of” Lou explains, “and you’re both dead to me.” Without hesitation, Lou reaches down and pulls the string, allowing the fence to fall and the undead to be released. “Why, Lou!?” Matt exclaims, stumbling back from the gates as the undead viciously close in. “Because…” Lou exclaims, joining Jenn and Lee in walking away from the sights, “...you’ll be dead to everyone else, too.” Scores settled, Lou leads Jenn and Lee away from the pit to the chorus of horrified screams and desperate pleas for mercy. “Let’s find the others and get out of here” Lou exclaims, ascending the staircase and turning out the lights on the way out, only eliciting more terrified screams from the pit of hungry growling and ferocious hissing. == RISE and REVOLT == Holding conversation with his fellow bettors, Matt is torn from his discussion at the sound of the Brunskill turning down his end of the hallway and calling out his name. Apologizing for the interruption, Matt turns around to greet Brunskill, long coat flowing with his body as Brunskill pulls him into one of the many vacant rooms. “You can call shots on this boat but don’t you dare pull me to the side like I’m some toddler” Matt warns, Brunskill disgusted at the importance of the man’s image.
“Do you understand what just happened in there?” Brunskill asks, waving off Matt’s concerns as the man brushes it off as a run of the mill incident. “Run of the mill? How often does this happen?” Brunskill asks, momentarily calmed by the assurance that this was the first time, but returning to a state of panic and fear. “How could you even let something like that happen?” Brunskill inquires, Matt passing it off as the woman having gotten past the restricted areas. “I’ve got her group of criminals all locked up, so I wouldn’t expect her to be anything less than them” Matt explains, only leaving Brunskill confused further. “You locked up their group?” Brunskill questions, Matt explaining that it was necessary after they confessed. “We found two bodies in the inventory room, overheard their confession through the mics” Matt explains, Brunskill left to request a further explanation for what he means when he says ‘mics’. “The bugs we put in their rooms” Matt replies, Brunskill’s hand rubbing his forehead as Matt reminds him that they needed to keep a close eye on them. “They boarded under mysterious circumstances, I’m almost positive they had something to do with the bodies in the water now!” Matt continues, the captain of the ship needing to take a seat with the ease in which his legs grow unsteady. “You’ve been spying on them since they got here and just locked them up for murder?” Brunskill questions, Matt nodding his head in compliance as if nothing about that sounded out of touch with reality. In a rage, Brunskill takes a tight grip over a seat beside him and hurls it across the room, leaping to his feet and staring down upon Matt, the seven inch height advantage he holds enough to cast a small shadow over Matt’s face. “Let me make this easier for you to understand, Matthew” Brunskill explains, continuing to speak in order to brush off Matt’s request that he not use such a version of his own name. “There is one captain on this ship, and that captain is me” Brunskill explains, “so if I give you an order, you are expected to either fulfill that request or deboard the ship.” Taking notice of the conversation finally turning down a lane he cares about, Matt’s face rubs the lack of cern away, replacing it with an angry scowl. “Don’t kid yourself, Captain… You’re only the captain in name…. These people listen to me” Matt replies, Brunskill left surprised at the disobedience, “I’m in charge of this ship, you just drive it… And if I wanted you gone, I’d see that outcome to in thee snap of a finger.” Pushing the man back, Matt creates separation between the two, ordering Brunskill to either return to his familiar quarters or continue pressing his luck with the man. “One way or another, things will not end well for you…” Matt continues, stepping back for the door and concluding as he steps through it, “do yourself a favor and don’t push my buttons.” In a rage, Brunskill remains seated there while Matt disappears into the bowels of the ship, anger consuming his every action before his body has had enough. Throwing himself out of the room, Brunskill ventures down the hall and into the wider corridors of the boat, taking the stairs deeper into the boat before finally stumbling upon the lowest point, a cramped corridor meant for operation when the ship was formerly run off coal. Hand pressed against the latch, Brunskill pushes the heavy, metal door in and finds a sight completely unexpected. In the abandoned wing, hundreds upon hundreds of the undead stagger around aimlessly, hoping for food to present itself, and finally having such hopes answered. Noticing this change in events, the undead latch onto Brunskill’s presence marching towards the man until he exits the way he entered, disappearing as quickly as he appeared. Back pressed against the door, Brunskill listens to the army of the dead pound their hands against the single thing between them and a meal, sounds of faint drumming behind him. Catching his breath, Brunskill takes the chance to return the way he came, hurrying for the higher end of the ship, stumbling into different directions before finally seeing something familiar. Now aware of where he stands, Brunskill’s path becomes targeted, every turn and shift he makes leading him to one specific direction. After another few minutes of wandering, Brunskill pushes himself through the door separating himself from the holding area. “Captain?” Ally calls out, her head still bleeding whilst the remainder of her group sits hopelessly in the cell next to hers. Looking around the room, Brunskill’s eyes eventually lock upon a set of keys left in the middle of one of the unoccupied cells. Without thinking, the man walks over to the tiny beacons of hope until the sensation of two pairs of hands shoving him down accompanies a collision with unforgiving steel. Injured and laid out upon the ground, Brunskill watches Matt’s hands reach for the keys and remove them from their place, having served well as bait. “I told you not to push my buttons, Cap” Matt exclaims, Drew locking the cell doors behind the captain and locking them shut. “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” Matt proceeds to ask, the man’s shoulder in tatters, however, not enough to keep him from pressing himself against the bars, clutching them in his hands and telling Matt that nothing he’s doing is right. “I don’t care if it’s not right, get that through your head!” Matt replies, “this is an opportunity just like everything else in the world!” Disappointed, Brunskill drops his head, Matt reminding him that he gave him plenty of warnings. “I told you to stay in your deck, I told you to stay out of my business, and I told you to know your role here” matt explains, “three chances, three failures to comply.” Extending his hand out, Matt is given the keys by Drew, taking them to the porthole across the room from the prisoners and tossing them through the opening. “You don’t get freedom, you wasted it while you had it” Matt explains, “now you’ll sit there and die so you don’t cause me any more problems.” Wiping his nose, Matt leads Drew out of holding, slamming the door shut behind them and allowing the cool breeze of the cold sea water to flutter in through the opening. “Well what the fuck are we going to do now?” Terry exclaims, his question the same as the one on everyone else’s mind. “What do you mean?” Brunskill asks, the group silent, everyone looking in the man’s direction as he states the obvious. “We find another way to get free” Brunskill explains, laughing when Jules asks how that’s going to happen. Reaching into his mouth, Brunskill glides his pointer finger over his teeth and continues laughing, muttering “this is gonna suck” under his breath. = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = Shattering the glass it was thrown through, a folding chair collides with the ground before sliding an extra few feet atop an army of glass bits. Like animals escaping their enclosure at a local zoo, Elsie and Josie make a break for their newfound freedom and rush into the bowels of the vessel. Descending staircases and throwing themselves into different corridors, the pair continue their journey, refusing to slow down until their attention is taken by something worthy of it. “Down here!” Elsie says, suddenly tugging Josie by the arm, ripping her through a vast maze of rooms before finally settling upon the one. Like a bat out of hell, Elsie pries open the door keeping them from the inside, nearly ripping it off the hinges as the pair dive into sanctuary. Sealing the only entrance or exit, the pair catch their breath and survey the new area they’ve discovered, what is mostly a room tossed aside with little purpose now being called home for the moment. Not one to be settled with the blank space, Josie looks for more, quickly uncovering an entire side of the room littered with boxes of discarded valuables. “Is this a lost and found?” Elsie asks aloud, her friend sifting through the boxes in search of something worth taking. “Whatever it is, they’re here and we’re taking them if we need to” the woman replies, removing a tomahawk felt case from the bottom of one box and tossing it to Elsie. Fixated on leaving no stone unturned, Josie tosses anything possibly of use to the side whilst Elsie undoes the mechanisms keeping the felt top shut. With a gentle graze of her finger, Elsie reveals the box’s contents, a tomahawk in pristine condition left waiting for her touch. “New toy?” the woman asks, still seated at the boxes like a child beside a tree, opening her presents on Christmas morning. “Sure” Elsie replies, removing the weapon from its place and waving it in her hand for a brief moment, the weight in her hand quickly becoming familiar, as if it were meant to be. Continuing to shuffle, the pair look through their abundance of makeshift goodie bags until Elsie’s eyes attach to the porthole at the back of the room. Confused, the woman leaves the boxes behind and approaches the view, calling out Josie for confirmation. “Aren’t we on the eastern side of the ship?” Elsie asks, Josie taking the signs along the walls as proof that they at least should be. “Does it matter which side we’re on?” Josie inquires, asking as a joke and turning back to the boxes until Elsie replies in agreement, prompting her head to turn back towards the woman. “Why does it matter?” Josie asks, standing up and joining the woman beside the window. “Because the eastern side should be facing the coastline right about now” Elsie replies, Josie gazing out into the sea of endless blue sea. “What are you talking about?” Josie asks, getting worried that Elsie’s train of thought is taking her to the station she worries about. “What I’m saying is that we should be seeing the coast right now!” Elsie replies, her hands pointing towards the vast ocean before the glass, “where the fuck is the coast?” Jaw dropped, Elsie can’t help but look out at the lack of life anywhere to be seen, she and Josie staring out at the fearsome sight as the realization that something has gone wrong begins to dawn upon them. | “What are you talking about!?” Lou shouts, Jenn apologizing for even considering cleaning up Theo’s mess. “Shit happened, that’s all that can be said!” Jenn replies, Lou left placing his head in his hands as he reminds Jenn that her statement is far from all possibly to say. “Going down there for any reason would’ve put suspicion on everyone” Lou explains, knocking at the door cutting his response short. Opening the entry to his room, Lou’s aggravation turns into rage, his hand reaching through the opening and ripping Matt into the room. Exactly where he wants the man, Lou slams his door shut and locks it, marching back into his room and pulling Matt to his feet. With little concern over whatever effects could be brought by this, Lou shoves the man onto the terrace and holds him over the bannister, begging the man to give him any reason to let him fall overboard. “You might be wanting to wish for the opposite right now” Matt replies, “if you needed a reason not to let me fall overboard, how about I just say ‘Ally’ as one?” Anger devolving into rage, Lou tells Matt to be more specific with his words. “Fine, kill me… She dies!” Matt replies, “let me live, I can get her out for you!” His words not holding fear, Matt sounds eager to fight, enthusiasm in his voice as he pleads for his life, his offerings ultimately sparing him from a certain demise. “What the fuck did you do to her?” Lou asks, slapping the man across the face as he stands to his feet, forcing him back against the wall almost instantly. “I have done absolutely nothing to her!” Matt replies, his back pressed against the wall with the collar of his shirt firmly in Lou’s grasp. “However, I did have her and your friends locked up on murder charges if that’s what you’re asking” Matt replies, Lou instinctively punching the man in the face as a coping mechanism. Not done, Lou shoves the man back against the wall, demanding Matt get to the point. “You showed up at my door for a reason, so out with it!” Lou shouts, Matt insisting he be released from Lou’s hand if he wants an answer to his questions. Reluctantly, Lou obliges, throwing Matt towards the patio and standing between the man and the room’s only safe exit. “Every room other than this one has been bugged since you came aboard” Matt replies, “I got Theo’s confession on tape… In full.” Enraged, Jenn keeps herself from blowing up by shutting her eyes and hanging her head. “I brought Lee to the pit to figure out whether or not some of the people behind bars could be of better use alive rather than dead” Matt explains, “that tape has enough for me to sentence everyone not in this room to death.” “You’d need Brunskill’s blessing for that, wouldn’t you?” Lee proceeds, earning a chuckle out of Matt, who explains that he’s the captain now as far as he’s concerned. “What did you do to the captain?” Lou inquires, Matt holding his hands up, admitting that he has not killed him. “Though, he is making friends with the rest of your group in holding” Matt replies, “and if you wanna get your friends out, we’re gonna have to come to an understanding.” Eyes squinting, Lou approaches Matt, getting close to his face and asking the man what understanding the ships’ new captain has planned. “I run this ship, what I say goes” Matt replies, “I spare everyone other than Theo, the rest serve as my muscle… You included.” Crossing his arms, Lee refuses the deal on Lou’s behalf, telling the man that he won’t allow Theo to remain locked up. “He’s guilty of two murders, he’ll be executed” Matt replies, “but I’ll make sure he wont have to suffer.” Waging expletives, Lee continues to refuse the deal, Matt left to remind him that it isn’t his deal to agree to. Turning away from Lee, Matt looks towards Lou, who stares him down with fire in his eyes, asking him what the choice is going to be. Swallowing the spit in his mouth, Lou glances towards Lee and tilts his head, apologetically glancing back at Matt. “Deal” Lou replies, Matt overcome with joy while Jenn and Lee look at the man they trusted to lead them on this ship agree to a deal with the devil. “I knew I saw something in you” Matt replies, holding his hand out and shaking that of Lou’s, walking by the man and leaving the room. “You son of a bitch” Lee exclaims, storming past the man and slamming the door shut on the way out. “Why would you do that?” Jenn asks, standing from her seat and looking Lou in the eyes, the one-armed man unable to meet her gaze, disappointed within himself. “Look me in the eyes, Lou” Jenn exclaims, the man slowly glancing in her direction as she repeats the question. “Spare the one to save the many” Lou replies, shedding a single tear and looking back towards the view of the patio, “that’s how it has to be now.” Shaking her head, Jenn opens her mouth to speak before falling short of the right words, instead brushing past the man and leaving the space. Allowing the door to shut on her way out, Jenn leaves Lou on his own in the room, the man stepping onto the terrace and gazing out into the ocean. With a deep breath, Lou glances back towards the structures on the boat, the captain’s deck being the first thing to catch his eye. From his pocket, Lou retrieves a compass, looking back out onto the water and nodding when the sights match up with his compass’ suggestion. Closing the top, Lou returns the indicator to his pocket, his eyes traveling from the sea to the captain’s quarters once again. With a smirk, Lou walks away from his patio, taking his rebar pipe and leaving his room, allowing the door to slowly slide to a close behind him. | “Ready?” Halston asks, Brunskill nodding in place of his voice, a string dangling from his open mouth as a bloody hammer rests in his hand. With a shout, Halston yanks on the rope, freeing a brass incisor filling from the man’s mouth, watching it dance across the floor and into Ally’s hand. With disgust, Ally takes the tooth and hands it to Terry, asking around for anything resembling the end of a hammer. “I have a rock if that helps” Jules replies, a visibly enthusiastic Terry dancing where he sits. “That’ll do the trick” Terry replies, taking the stone and wailing against the filling, flattening it to a point. Carefully, terry holds the flattened filling in the air, blood still dripping from the sides, running down the length of his fingers. Before anything can be done, Matt bursts through the door making it understood what is about to happen. “Your friend here is gonna fix the mess he made before he got himself into trouble” Matt explains, unlocking Brunskill’s cell as he goes into further detail. “When he’s done with his work, he will be discarded of” Matt explains, “and once that has been concluded, I’ll have someone come back here to deal with the rest of you.” Pulling the large maan to his feet, Matt meets minimal resistance, Ally asking if she can see Lou for good measure, leaving the man overseeing their fates to laugh. “However long it’s been and you still haven’t learned” Matt jokes to himself, shaking his head in disappointment as he leads the captain away from his new friends. The moment the door closes, the group sits in silence, waiting a further few seconds before making it known that they have little time to waste. “Do what you can, leave me if you have to” Ally explains, Terry assuring the woman that he will not do such a thing. “Jenn, Lee and Elsie are all still out there” Ally explains, “if Lou hasn’t shown up yet, he probably won’t… Save the people you actually can.” In refusal, Jules tells Ally to stop thinking of the worst case scenario, Terry pleading with the woman to shut her mouth if she can’t speak out of hope. “We have a lifeline out of a death sentence, stop thinking of reasons to squander it” Terry explains Ally refusing to allow retaining her life to take more importance to the assurance of the group’s safety. “If shit hits the fan, you go… That’s final” Ally replies, telling anyone that disagrees to stop talking if they’re just going to make another failed attempt to sway her decision. As instructed, the group quiets down, all eyes focusing on Terry as he fits the filler into the key slot, their hope resting on a last ditch effort working against a time crunch. | Looking around the decks, Jenn comes off paranoid and unwelcoming, her worried stumble pushing her into the lap of one of the ship’s guards. “Sorry” Jenn exclaims, brushing Chris’ hands away from her once he becomes slightly too touchy. “Watch where you touch, dude” Jenn mutters, the guard telling the woman that she should be more grateful to the guards. “They could’ve killed you in those halls last night, but they let you live” the guard explains, “and even now we should have your head on a pike… You can thank Matt for that.” Brushing the encounter off, Jenn attempts to walk away, only to be pulled back by the arm, Chris suggesting the woman thank him for his hospitality. With a smile, the woman turns and and presses her finger to Chris’ chest, with a smile on his face, the man back up against the railing while Jenn pulls the key from his waistband. “You can’t do th-” Chris begins, his words stunted when Jenn drives a fork into the side of his neck, aiming his head over the edge before tossing his body over to avoid any further blood stains. Looking around, Jenn deems the area clear enough for there to be no witnesses to take care of, moving back the way she came and meeting back with Lee. “I’m glad to see you still have your schemes about you” Jenn exclaims, a smiling Lou taking the key out of sights of the cameras. “Did you really think I’d let one of our own bite it without a fight?” Lou jokes, heading in the opposite direction of the pair, his eyes set on the captain’s quarters at the end of the ship. | Lonnie slamming the door shut behind them, Matt leads Brunskill into the captain’s chair, welcoming him to have a seat and fix the course. “Do well and I’ll make sure your death is painless” Matt exclaims, Brunskill stumbling into his seat, requesting a course to guide the ship towards. “Take it to Vancouver” Matt replies, the Canadian west serving as his preferred destination. “It’ll take almost a day before you see that coastline come into view” brunskill replies, Matt leaving the man to consider the actions that led him to his death sentence to pass the time. His head hung, Brunskill gives into the demands, telling Matt that he’ll find payback coming for him for what he chooses to do today. “I don’t care about some ay, I care about today” Matt replies, “and today, I want this ship in Canada.” With a sigh, Brunskill does as instructed, grunting through the pain each time he has to move his bad shoulder in any direction. After a few seconds of standing over the man’s shoulder, Matt turns around at the sound of the door being pushed in, Lou bursting inside exclaiming that there’s been a problem in the pit. “I left my tape in the locker room and heard the fence buckling while I was down there” Lou exclaims, “if we don’t act now, that thing’s gonna fall and this place will be swarmed.” With little more than a grunt to respond with, Matt tells Lou to look for another set of guards that are less busy than he is. “I can’t find any of the other guards” Lou replies, “either you or Lonnie… One of you needs to come with me A.S.A.P.” With another grunt, Matt glances back at Brunskill as he reaches through the pain in his shoulder for further controls. His head shaking, Lou enters the room much to the displeasure of Matt and forces Brunskill’s arm back into its socket. “Now you can get your shit done” Lou replies to Brunskill, turning back to Lou and asking him which one will follow him. Understanding Lou’s concern, Matt gives Lonnie the greenlight to follow the man into the vessel’s greatest depths, leaving Matt with a gun pointed towards the captain as the door shuts. “I wish things could have worked out better” Brunskill explains, an amused Matt telling him to give his actions better thought in whatever world comes next. “I’ll keep that in mind” Brunskill replies, the sarcasm in the man’s voice not sitting well with the man attempting to play god. Pulling the beaten man from his chair, Matt pins Brunskill against the wall telling him to repeat what he just said. “I said I’ll keep that in-” Brunskill explains, his words cut short when Matt slaps him across the face, telling him to respect authority. “You just made me captain” Brunskill replies, “as far as authority goes, you’re below me again.” Backing away from the man, Matt returns his gun to Brunskill’s head, daring him to be so confident again. “What does it matter?” Brunskill replies, “you’re gonna kill me anyway, at least it’ll be quick.” Without concern, Brunskill places his head against the gun, telling Matt to get the deed done with. A smile on his face, Matt lowers his weapon, telling Brunskill that he doesn’t get to escape his punishment that easily. With a chuckle, Brunskill tells Matt that he expected nothing less. “You suffer from the same key issue you always have” Brunskill explains, “too hot headed for your own good, but not smart enough to keep yourself from looking like an idiot.” Matt’s enthusiasm lowering, the man tells Brunskill that one way or another, he’s in charge. “I don’t care what I do when I’m in charge, I just care that I’m in charge!” Matt exclaims, Brunskill left quietly shaking his head in disapproval. “It’s better to keep your mouth shut and have people think you’re an idiot” Brunskill explains, “than it is to open your mouth and prove them right.” Taking his free hand, Matt holds Brunskill’s face towards his own, the skin of his chin indented with the grip of Matt’s fingers. Refusing to allow Brunskill any satisfaction, Matt takes the wad of spit in his mouth and hurls it over Brunskill’s face, watching the saliva run down the man’s nose as he shoves him back towards the wheel. Frustrated, Matt turns towards the door with the intentions of calming himself down, any more time spent in the same room with Brunskill threatening to create a fatal reaction. Hand outstretched, Matt presses against the handle and pushes forward, a lack of give greeting Matt in a curious way. Repeating his motion, the result remains the same, the door refusing to budge against the sound of steel. Understanding what is occurring, Brunskill looks back at the confused Matt with a anger-fueled frown. Quietly stepping away from his chair, Brunskill loosens up his injured arm and wipes away the line of spit. Knocking of the window, Matt calls for assistance from the outside, oblivious to the threat looming behind him. In a moment, Brunskill’s hand lifts from his side and grabs the back of Matt’s head, forcing his skull against the bulletproof window. Inside, Matt collapses to the ground in pain, Brunskill left standing over the man, looking down at him before glancing back up at the window. Greeting the man on the other side, Lou nods towards Brunskill, removing his bloodied rebar pipe from the handle and moving forward. Inside the quarters, Brunskill watches Lou walk off, his eyes trailing away from the sight and back towards Matt, unfinished business fueling an unshackled, vengeful rage. == RISE and REVOLT == Steps heavy and slow, a man with a long, gray coat enters the medical ward with a blade in his hand, the back of his boot kicking the coat every few steps as he approaches one of the beds. Growling sounding louder with every step towards the figure takes, the figure pulls his weapon to his side and forces it forward, blood spewing from the head of the undead cuffed to its final resting place.
“Awfully merciful of you” Lou exclaims from the opposite side of the room, half of his left arm having been removed, the other half handcuffed to a railing beside him. “Glad to see you awake, kid” Matt replies, the start of a beard beginning to form on his face. “If you hadn’t woken up soon, I would’ve taken you for dead” Matt explains, “so I guess this is a promising sign.” Nodding, Lou looks towards the porthole window a few feet away, fingerprints scattered along one portion of the otherwise clean glass. “I suppose you’ve found yourself a burial site already?” Lou wonders, he and Matt both having glanced at the window, the man left to throw his hands out and back away, returning to the new corpse. “We need a way to discard of the dead while we’re aboard a ship” Matt explains, wrapping each side of the bedsheet over the body. “I’m not gonna argue an effective way of clearing out space” Lou replies, watching Matt struggle to pull the body towards the window before tossing it out as if it were another piece of trash. Looking down, Lou pulls his arm back, the rattling cuffs locked around his wrist ringing out against the cold metal, the man glancing towards Matt as if to ask for his release. Tilting his head to crack his own neck, Matt takes a seat beside Lou, explaining that he has a few questions for the man before he can feel confident enough to release him. “I guess I should start by asking what you can do around here, aboard the ship I mean” Matt begins, watching Lou begin to consider his choices. “I was never a guy to have a plan” Lou replies, “whatever I learned to do came with learning on the job.” Folding his hands, Matt looks at Lou with curiosity, the man left with only and arm and a half to survive noticing this almost immediately. “You have other plans for me than typical house work, don’t you?” Lou proceeds, Matt taking this inquiry as his moment to float the question out. “You just survived an infection most people would have died by a long time ago” Matt explains, “it’d be sad if you died so soon after, but there’d be so much potential with you doing something else.” Playing along, Lou allows Matt to explain what the other potential would be, surprised when Matt explains his statement in further detail than Lou anticipated. “We’ve got a severe lack of people for our gambling halls, and I think you’d be the perfect fit for the entertainment” Matt replies, Lou immediately shoved into a world of confusion. “I’m not much the singing and dancing type” Lou replies, Matt sprouting a devious smile while he implores Lou to see the dream before it’s realized. Having been released from his bed, Lou is guided by Matt through the tunnels of the Euronam and into the darkest and deepest depths the vessel has to offer. Continuing onward, Lou is taken through water damaged halls, concrete-built holding cells, dented metal-walled tool sheds and more before finally being shown the main course. Having to lower his head to squeeze through the opening, Lou follows Matt into a spacious lower deck with viewing platforms in every direction one floor above. “I don’t think this is going to make me want to sing for your entertainment” Lou replies, a gleeful Matt looking at Lou and promising him much more than that. “I don’t want you to sing for me, Lou” Matt replies, his hand pressing against the man’s shoulder as if he were installing wisdom, “I want you to fight for me.” Their eyes locking onto each other, it is Matt to separate them first, glancing towards the opposite end of the room, where two doors, one on each side of the deck, release a string of the undead. “It’s not the most impenetrable system, but it’s more than efficient!” Matt explains, “and I want you to be the main event every evening.” Casually drifting closer to the fence, Lou inspects the structural integrity of what would be his only safety whilst inside, asking Matt what the incentive to agree would be. “For a start, I wouldn’t have to add you to the wall” Matt replies, “but because I’m fair, you’d get a split of the profit.” Turning back, Lou’s looks over his shoulder and repeats the final word Matt had just uttered. “Exactly what profit do you expect to gain from all of this?” Lou asks, Matt removing something from his pocket before tossing it to the man. Without issue, Lou catches the piece, Matt joking that the man’s hand-eye coordination gives him confidence. Holding the piece to his eye, Lou begins to notice the light from above reflecting off of it’s smooth surface. “Gold?” Lou inquires, Matt responding in kind. “Every dead you kill will be piled up and counted at the end of each night” Matt explains, “for every one dead discarded, you’ll earn one golden coin.” With a chuckle, Lou tosses the coin back to Matt before glancing back towards the wall again, more interested in the waves he’ll have to encounter than the value of a few gold coins. “Why are you doing this?” Lou asks, his natural curiosity getting the best of him, “the world’s falling apart and you’re still interested in making money.” Shaking his head, Matt returns the coin to his jacket pocket, assuring Lou that he has it all mistaken. “The world isn’t ending, it’s just evolving” Matt replies, “it’ll return to some sort of noramalicy eventually, and when it does, I’ll have tapped into a completely new market!” His eyes squinting, Lou tells Matt that he’d be delusional to believe that the world could ever return to normal after all that has happened. “Any new normal would never come close to what it used to be” Lou explains, “the days of capitalism are over, it’s time to accept that.” In complete disagreement, Matt assures Lou that capitalism is what caused all of this to begin with, as the concept ate itself from the inside to create a new definition of the term. “When shit hit the fan, everyone began looting rather than purchasing because no law and order was there to stop them” Matt explains, “as soon as authority gets involved, people go back to making purchases rather than committing crimes.” His finger pointing towards the wall, Matt catches up to Lou, telling him that taking part in the pit of Euronam’s darkest depths will equal the fame to that of any athlete or musician. “You’re an artist and I’m your producer” Matt explains, “or if it suits you better… I’m your head coach, and you’re my quarterback.” Walking to a corner of the room and grabbing a stick, Matt begins rattling the fences, riling up the horde and further increasing the audible groaning. “You’re only interested in making a profit, aren’t you?” Lou proceeds, Matt turning around with his hands held out triumphantly, “the only point of being alive, in this world or any other, is to turn a profit!” With a deep breath, Lou thinks about his options whilst Matt further tries to convince him, reminding the man that he’ll be the apocalypse’s first true celebrity. “I’ll do it in return for all that you’ve promised and a little bit more” Lou replies, Matt sarcastically suggesting he took the head coach-quarterback analogy literally. “If I’m doing business with you, and I’m supposedly the next big celebrity, there’s gonna be some negotiation” Lou replies, Matt offering the floor to the man. “I want just one more guarantee” Lou replies, Matt more than willing to negotiate if the right offer is made. “I don’t know where you get the dead, I don’t want to know, and I don’t care to know” Lou explains, “I just wanna ensure that anyone I came aboard with, and anyone they associate with, are spared from every being added into this thing. Either as a fighter, a spectator, or one of the dead” His hands waving at the wall of undead with disgust, Lou looks towards Matt, more than happy at this outcome. “I can fulfill that if you agree right now” Matt replies, putting Lou on the clock, the man not needing much time before accepting the offer. With a salesman smile and an outstretched hand, Matt shakes on the deal with Lou, sealing the future of both men. = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = Hands sweaty and forehead glistening in perspiration, Lou’s three other colleagues for the evening worry over the following proceedings, but almost marvel in Lou’s composure. “Are you not scared dude?” one of the men asks, his hair long and blonde, his arms and legs thin and mostly without much muscle. “Nope” Lou replies, taking a roll of tape and using his mouth to cover his hands and arms. “Lou Jack?” a man calls from off to the side, approaching the man with one arm and handing him a prosthetic. “Matt didn’t want you to be at any disadvantage” the man explains, casually walking away as Lou places the prosthetic on. The feeling weird at the moment, Lou uses the prosthetic to tape his arm over, a thick layer of duck tape covering his forearm before removing the prosthetic and tossing it across the room. “What was that for?” one of the men ask, this one wearing shorts and a tank top much as he had when he originally boarded. “I don’t need it” Lou replies, the first man with long blonde hair called into the pit almost right after. Walking into the center with a high level of anxiety, the man is greeted with a roaring crowd, ready to watch one of two outcomes prevail. Introductions out of the way, bets are halted and the gate is lifted, the opening wave consisting of around ten undead. Taking an axe, the man shoves away the first few before beginning to put them down, wasting time and energy in heavy swings to the skull. Patiently awaiting their turn in the pit, the remaining fighters lean against a viewing window and watch the events unfold, perhaps holding the best seat in the house. “How long do you have him going?” Lou asks, the other two unable to answer with the level of fear coursing through their bodies. Continuing to swing for his life, the man begins to take too long removing the axe, having to abandon the weapon once the swarm collapses too far. Shoving his way out, the man returns to the corner of the room, looking through a garbage bin for anything resembling a sharp object. Finally finding his choice of weapon, the man runs around the deck trying to distract the dead in any one direction, beginning to change his strategy into evading the dead, much to the audience’s displeasure. “I’m Lou” the man explains in the back, offering his hand out to two men he now knows as named Nico and Warren. Amused, Lou watches the events unfold through the window, both men stood beside him staring in amazement at his ease of it all. Continuing to run around, the man in the pit takes a few potshots at the dead before eventually running off again. The displeasure from the crowd above turning into boos, the man becomes enticed to bring the action once more, lunging towards one of the dead with his dagger in hand before slipping on one of the prior corpses. “It’s over” Lou exclaims, walking away from the window to prepare for his own fight once the man disappears into the pit. His fall taking him directly into the center of the remaining dead, the man’s fate is sealed, his flesh being torn at by the undead until the guards put a stop to it. Dressed in heavy military gear, the guards storm into the horde without worry and shove the dead away, picking the bite-covered, flesh-exposed man up and dragging him towards the fence. With a nod, the guards signal for one of the men stationed in the unseen corners of the pit to wheel out a ladder the likes of which normally found in local supermarkets and bulk stores. Groaning in pain, having been ripped into by the undead, the man thanks the guards as coherently as he can for saving his life. Without response, the guards carry the body up the ladder, much as they do with the undead, and dump it over the top, allowing it to plummet into the horde. Covering their mouths at the sight, Warren and Nico can’t help themselves from watching the remainder of what is left of the man being torn from the bone by the caged undead. “I wouldn’t waste so much time with a heavy weapon if I were you” Lou exclaims, finally ripping the sights of Warren and Nico away, insisting they go with lighter weapons. Now up, Nico rushes towards the can and retrieves a syckle, slashing the face of one of the undead before the first wave can even emerge from captivity yet. Backing away to create distance, Nico glances around the room to put a strategy into mind, an action that Lou takes appreciation in from his own captivity. Seeing his opportunity, Nico leads the dead into one corner against the fence before scaling the chain link, leaping for a clear section of the deck before stumbling. With a grunt, Nico continues fighting, his ankle hurt in the process of his stunt, forcing Lou to shake his head and walk away from the view, determining the man to be nothing more than a wounded piece of meat. Despite the circumstances looking grim, Nico continues battling, hacking away at the dead and using whatever he can locate for an advantage. Removing a hatchet, Nico plays the same evasion the man earlier had, only picking his spots as they appear. One by one, the dead begin to fall, a wounded Nico being given a second lease on life. Like a warrior, the man continues fighting, Matt impressed in the viewing decks at the heart on display. One after another, the dead fall until just one remains, half of its face cut off by Nico’s earlier efforts. His sights set on ending the first wave, Nico readies his hatchet and walks towards the undead, lifting his weapon into the air before freezing at the sound of a gun. Confused by this sound, Lou races to the window to look out at what happened, Warren’s jaw dropped at the sight of the hatchet falling from Nico’s hands. Eyes directed towards Matt, Nico watches the plume of smoke billow from Matt’s gun, a bullet having ripped through his chest and ended his life. Still stood on instinctive strength, Nico is left helpless to the final of the undead catching up to him and digging in. Spoiled at the feast, the final undead rips into Nico, putting great concern in the faces of both Warren and Lou. Eventually, the guards break it up, the chorus of booing at Matt serving as the backdrop for their disposal efforts, pulling both Nico and the undead away from the deck and tossing them into the horde much as the man earlier had suffered the fate of. Addressing the concerns, Matt obliges to the demands of the crowd, apologizing for his interference and vowing not to do it again. As a show of good faith, Matt tosses his weapon into the pit, symbolically wiping his hands clean of the evidence and leaving the next fight to occur uninterrupted. Backing away from the window, Lou shakes his head in disgust, a worried Warren left to fear being the next in line to a similar fate. “He’ll find a way to put you down” Lou exclaims, Warren glancing back to the man, who keeps his composure and continues preparing. Both arms wrapped in duct tape from top to bottom, Lou tells Warren to figure out how to evade interference as best as possible. Baffled, Warren asks Lou how he’s meant to do that without getting torn apart by the horde. With a look of disgust, Lou groggily looks up, reminding Warren that he now has a gun. The third fight of the evening taking place, Warren quickly dashes into the pit and grabs the firearm, aiming it at Matt before the horde’s gate can even be opened. Gasps from the crowd at the sight of one of their own being taken aim at, Matt is left simply staring at Warren, almost as if he were daring him to steady his hand and pull the trigger. “Come on you gutless son of a bitch” Lou mutters beneath his breath, watching the staredown between two levels unfold. No longer keen on wasting time, the guards release the horde and allow the decision in Warren’s hands to be put on a timer. Hands pressing against the bannister, Matt continues staring down at Warren, whose hand shakes at the sight of the man, knowing the horde to be growing closer. “Do it” Matt mouths, Warren pulling the hammer on the gun back before redirecting him aim. Taking the gun from Matt and placing it beneath his chin, Warren pulls the trigger, splattering his brains against the blood-stained pit grounds to a chorus of booing. Their opportunity presenting itself, the horde dives in on their meal, the guards beginning to prepare for another extraction. Boiling over in anger, Lou hurls expletives at the newly-deceased man and punches the wall, moving ahead of schedule and bursting through the pit door. The booing coming to a halt at the sighting of Lou, the work begins to take effect. One and a half arms to use, Lou retrieves the firearm and directs the guards to stay back. Emptying the clip into whatever dead rest atop Warren, Lou tosses the empty gun back to the man that signed him into this effort and goes to work. Removing a rebar rod from the garbage can, Lou begins twirling it around as if he were a martial arts expert, putting the dead down with ease. Within the blink of an eye, the first wave Lou has to face goes down in an instant, the crowd erupting into an ovation as Matt flashes a devious smile to his star recruit. Bowing his head as if he were tipping his cap, Lou responds in kind, the voice over the loudspeaker calling for the next wave of fifteen to be released, only for Lou to shout out that there will be a change of plans. Intrigued, the crowd dies into a complete silence, Lou planting his rebar pipe into the ground and demanding the entire horde be released from its captivity. In astonishment, the crowd collectively wonders in amazement, Matt himself stricken with fear at the possibility of a single man being able to wipe out a sizable horde with nothing more than a piece of construction material. Refusing to let the man’s demands go unheard, the guards nod to themselves and drop the gate completely, the metal fencing falling to the ground at once as Lou goes to work. One after another, the dead fall, very little ground being gained on Lou in the time it takes for him to flatten an entire deck’s worth of undead. Jaw dropped, Matt watches Lou clean house easily, the man he nearly expected to succumb to his coma now looking like he was built out of pure stamina and precision. One after another, the dead continue to fall until Lou gets bored, now beginning to take interest in toying with the undead. Considering them to be nothing more than slow, weak wastes of time and energy, Lou treats them like they’re children playing in a man’s game. Taunting them, Lou holds his arm out and allows them to sink their teeth into his duct tape-covered nub of an arm before backing them against a wall and using his hand to crush their skulls against the cold metal. Within moments, the dead continue to fall, one after another until the final corpse remaining finds its head caved in by the sole of his boot. In the blink of an eye, the hungry horde found its release and demise at the hands of the man ready to do it all over again. Erupting into cheers, the crowd are greeted by the sound of any wagers placed on Warren to be paid out as winners. Glancing up towards Matt, Lou nods again, bowing his head whilst Matt gives him a well deserved applause. “How about another?” Lou calls out, Matt taking his eyes away from Lou and placing them to the guards, who do as instructed and free the doors in the back. Upon request, Lou is granted access to the ships supply of undead, one corpse after another pooling into the pit and finding their fates to be similar to that of each other. | Unwrapping his arms, Lou prepares for a cold shower until Matt comes barging into the locker room, unable to stop shouting pleasantries at Lou, who he nicknames “the Silver Slayer.” With a chuckle, Lou lets the water run, promising him that a nickname is not necessary. “Just get me my gold and let me know when next” Lou offers, Matt refusing to leave the efforts go with such little reward. Abruptly, Matt turns the water off, telling the man to get dressed and follow him out of the gross changing space. As told, Lou follows Matt through the way he entered and into the rest of the ship, the luxurious orange glow of the halls leading up to his room beginning to fill with people taking interest in Lou’s presence. “I told you I’d make you a star” Matt explains, arm wrapped arm Lou’s neck, proclaiming the man to all under the Silver Slayer monicker. Some residents entering the halls simply to applaud Lou’s efforts, others nodding to him with poorly hidden smiles as he walks by, Lou is drenched in admiration from those that now know his name. His walk of fame coming to an abrupt end, Lou is led to a room at the ver end of the hallway, a massive suite waiting for him on the other side, lined with decour from top to bottom and accompanied with a pile of gold coins left atop the bed. “You deserve much better circumstances than that craped medical ward” Matt explains, “we figured we’d introduce it to you the way you earned it.” In awe, Lou fails to put his thoughts into words, the sights of what is to be his new home being what most would have to spend a fortune just to rent for a few measly days. “This is mine?” Lou asks, the words being the only ones he can manage to say at the time. “The room, the coins, the view, everything” Matt replies, walking up to the man and patting him on the back, “it’s all yours, slayer.” With that, Matt returns for the door, explaining that it’ll be a few days before they can get more dead aboard the ship, so he’s more than welcomed to lounge around for the next week until they can fill their supply once more. Attempting to leave, Matt is called back by his new recruitment, Lou asking about the well-being of his group. “They’re a bit skeptical of us” Matt admits, acknowledging this to be normal for people entering a new situation, “but they’re alive and healthy.” With a smile, Lou thanks Matt for keeping his word, the man holding his hands by his head and reminding Lou that they’ve agreed on a deal. Attempting to leave once more, Matt is beckoned for again, Lou asking Matt if he can do him a favor smaller than anything their agreement holds. More than happy to oblige, Matt hears Lou’s request, confused by it at first before ultimately agreeing. “Don’t let Ally know that I’m alive” Lou asks, Matt nodding without a word, silently agreeing to the statement before finally succeeding at leaving Lou to his new space. With a deep breath, the one-armed man looks towards the balcony, still getting used to the feeling of being disabled, but being afforded a nice enough view to not worry over it too much. Sliding the glass door open, Lou walks onto his balcony and closes the door behind himself, his room giving him access to two different sights, one facing the ocean, the other facing the lounging area. Leaning over the bannister, the man takes in the sights of the endless body of deep, blue water as he slouches into a cushioned seat and takes the first chance he can to relax into something that feels more permanent than anything else he’s seen since the outbreak began. | Doing as he had the week prior, Lou goes to work in the pit, clearing out another wave and dropping one body after another. Finally at the end of the first horde, Lou glances up towards Matt, the curious sight of Lee’s familiar face baffling the man currently awaiting the next swarm. Almost enraged, Lou stare down Matt, almost as if to condemn him for his betrayal. With a smile, Matt puts his hands out and shrugs, an angered Lou ready to snap until the sound of unfamiliar squeals fill the room. The crowd dying to silence, all eyes are placed on the space behind the contained horde, Lou left completely in the dark as the lights go out, the pit illuminated by only one, dim fire’s orange glow. Before the dead can pile into the next wave, Lou catches the glimpse of the figure having unceremoniously found her way inside. Eyes widened, Lou stands in shock at Jenn on the other end of the fence, faced against the next wave he was meant to endure. On instinct alone, Lee leaps over the bannister and drops himself into the pit, the curious crowd questioning each other as to what is happening. Shouting the woman’s name, Lee rushes towards the bin of discarded weapons and picks up a broken baseball bat, hurling it over the gate and into the hands of Jenn. His own mallet in hand, Lee looks towards Lou, nodding to the man as Lou demands the next wave be freed. To a standing ovation, the crowd erupts, gate falling as the bright white lights return overhead, the three survivors waging war on the next wave from all sides. Using the strands of wood protruding from the broken bat, Jenn puts down one undead after another, Lee doing his part whilst Lou mimicks a helicopter fan, taking down the undead at an alarmingly fast rate. Having cleared a passageway, Lou hurries through the horde, taking out the undead trying to close in as he pulls Jenn back to his favored side of the pit. Tossing her bat at Matt, Jenn watches the man easily tilt his head away from the oncoming danger, brushing this gesture off and grabbing a golf club. “Release the whole fucking thing and give me my lot!” Lou shouts, the guards doing as told and granting the request made just as they had the week prior. The dead falling at an inhumane rate, blood is splattered all across the pit, enough for pockets of the deck to be covered in enough gore to create a puddle. Lee whacking away at the dead whilst Jenn tees off, Lou cleans house until the dead begin piling atop each other. Finally reaching the end, Lou takes the final dead and places his nub in its mouth, the tape covering his flesh from exposure as Lou demands the gate be raised up once more. Doing as told, the guards lift the fencing whilst Jenn and Lee watch on, Lou pressing the undead against the fence by the throat and pushing in, its brains being turned to mush against the steel grating. His job done, Lou receives a standing ovation, looking up at Matt, who gives him a familiar applause. Disgusted, Lou keeps his rebar piping on him, spitting towards Matt and telling him to have his payment by the end of the night. Leading his survivors through the showers, Lou breaches into the luxury spaces of the ship to another familiar applause, the much on his shoes staining the carpet with each step he takes. “I want you to tell me everything, top to bottom, leave nothing out” Lou demands, directing the pair into his new home. “I’m not gonna allow this shit to fly” the man concludes, peering out into the hallway for another moment before slamming the door shut, harboring the pair in his quarters and shielding everything within from the outside. == RISE and REVOLT == Door unlocking upon clearance, Ally emerges from her room and into a ship scarred by situation. Every deck seemingly outfitted with an armed patrol man, the ship transforms from a sanctuary vessel to a prison boat in the blink of an eye, each step being one made with caution. “Everyone be weary of what you say” Ally whispers, those behind her made aware that something is off.
“Everyone gather the-” Ally starts, her orders impeded when a disguised Theo grabs her by the inner elbow and leads her away, directing his remaining survivors into a small and quaint corner. “We need to figure out how to get off this ship” Theo says, his words kept brief, but the vagueness of his statement causing the need to say more. “They’ve got some fucked up system that I don’t understand working as currency on this thing” Theo explains, further confessing to the murder of a ship worker in the inventory room. “What the hell did you do!?” Jenn asks, Theo explaining the events as they happened, holding a pillow case out with his hand, ruffled papers within shuffling around with every slight movement. “I’m telling you, there is something wrong here and shit is about to hit the fan” Theo continues, “so we need a way off this thing and we need it now.” Shaking her head, Ally refuses, the group still without the man they were led aboard by. “Until we get Lou, we’re not leaving this ship” Ally explains, “if you want to talk about this plan, we’ll talk about it when we get Lou back.” With a deep breath, Theo informs Ally that they’re no longer certain he’s still alive. “Look at this place!” Theo mutters, his hand extended towards each corner, all guarded by patrol. “We’ve been here just a few, short weeks and we’ve already seen what happens when shit gets bad” Theo continues, “we don’t wanna be around when it all comes crashing down.” “Did you put the worker out or did you leave him?” Jenn asks, the question needing to be asked for a full picture. “I left him” Theo replies, disappointment draining the life behind his reply, making it clear that the potential for another outbreak is coming quickly. “We’re on a boat in the freezing Pacific, probably hours away from being overrun” Theo explains, “I don’t wanna believe Lou’s dead, but this boat either goes down with just Lou dead, or all of us dead.” Her head hung, Ally stops listening to any further point in the conversation, her eyes glazing over while her head shakes from one side to another. Every word spoken being dulled down, her own name brings her back, her eardrum almost expanding upon it’s verbalization. Wiping her eyes, Ally glances back towards the woman who called for her, Jenn telling Ally that the decision is being left up to her. Biting her lip, Ally tells the group to put a plan together with the intention of informing her when it’s made. “Until we have a way off this boat, I’m using the time I’ve got on it to find Lou” Ally explains, splitting away from the huddled core and travelling into the depths of the vessel. Her travels taking her to the captain’s deck, Ally places her fist against the metal door and opens upon invitation. “You said you’d rather this ship go down than stay afloat if what you think is happening actually is, right?” Ally asks, Brunskill looking back to her with a worried face. “I have it on good authority that an outbreak is about to occur on this ship and I need Lou back right now” Ally explains, Brunskill taking in a deep breath before allowing it to gradually leave his lungs. Leaving his post, Brunskill approaches Ally, his hands extended and placed upon each of her shoulders. “I’ve been informed that Lou is no longer on board this ship” Brunskill explains, his eyes lifting towards a confused Ally. “Where the hell could he have gone? We haven’t docked for passengers yet!” Ally replies, her response immediately bringing the eyes of bewilderment over Brunskill, who asks her to specify what she meant behind that. “Jenn and Halston scouted out the entry deck the last time we docked and they said it was left completely empty” Ally replies, “no passengers on, no passengers off… Just cargo.” Having followed along through the first portion of the response, Brunskill is taken aback by the final. “Ally, this isn’t a cargo ship” Brunskill replies, Ally informing the captain of exactly what Jenn and Halston had reported with. “The boat loaded a bunch of crates on and off the boat at the port!” Ally replies, “she saw the big door open and all the stuff be loaded on. She wouldn’t lie about that.” His hands no longer pressed to each side of the woman, Brunskill steps back to his wheel, his hands left to his side as his eyes press against the rippling surface of the water. “Captain!” Ally calls out, her final statement yet to be responded to, the man just eerily staring out into the water with a horrified expression. His lips puckered, Brunskill removes his hat and captain’s shirt, returning to the woman and handing them to her. “I need you to man the ship while I’m away” Brunskill replies, his voice showing a stern, unmoving confidence in his orders. “The ship is headed for still waters for the next few hours, you should have no problem steering the vessel” Brunskill explains, the hat and shirt a few sizes too big on Ally. “If I’m not back in the next few hours…” Brunskill begins, pausing for a moment to think about such a conclusion to his life and story, “...Run this son of a bitch into whatever beach, building or island you can find.” Her mouth agape, Ally can only muster the captain’s name again before he disappears behind the heavy metal door, his intentions set and unwavering. Left to her lonesome, Ally tosses the captain’s hat over her head and pulls the shirt over her body, hands barely able to peer through the sleeves. Cautiously approaching the wheel, Ally stands in place, statue-esque with a full view of the vast ocean before her, all to be travelled beneath her watchful eye. = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = “Tell me more about this currency” Jenn requests, the trio returning to Theo’s cabin in time for the man to dump every slip he kept on his person atop the bed. “There has to be hundreds, and they’ve all unique” Theo explains, “not one is the same, they all have a recipient, they all have a seller.” “Does this have anything to do with the murder?” Halston asks, “none of this means anything unless we can fit it with something else.” With a sigh, Theo reiterates what he said minutes prior. “It could be within a matter of minutes or hours before this boat goes up in an outbreak” Theo restates, “we’ve got no time to put the pieces together here.” Her head shaking, Jenn ruffles through the papers and hopes for something to catch her eyes, every name, recipient and wager all falling into the same category. “I don’t know what to do with these” Jenn admits, “keep them in case they come in handy, but let’s not put all of our hope in them.” Looking towards the porthole, Jenn places her hands to her hips for a few seconds before noticing the ever-present silence. Her head turning back to the group, Jenn notices all eyes left on her, remembering her voice to be representative to that of the leader’s. “Spotlight’s on you, Jenn” Terry mutters, “take us home.” With a nod, Jenn walks up to the porthole and unclasps the latch, allowing the cool sea breeze to encompass the room. “We can’t be too far from the next coastline” Jenn suggests, a sigh following the statement as she has to admit a harsh truth to herself. “That said, it’s too far out to get to before shit hits the fan” Jenn concludes, “if we’re going to make it to Seattle, we’re going to need more time.” In aggravation, Jenn reaches into the mini-bar and pulls a travel-sized bottle of rum, popping the cap off with ease and taking a healthy swig. Her arm wiping the remaining drink from her lips, Jenn makes a dash for the door, the group behind her calling her back. “Where are you going?” Halston asks, Jenn halfway out of the door before her response can begin. “I’m buying us time” Jenn replies, slamming the door shut behind her, disappearing into the ship with her bottle in hand. | The sight of him out of his quarters enough to be amazed at, Brunskill walking with authority, his expression being that of an angered man elicits a silent stare from all that he passes. Hands unmoving, pointed straight downwards by his sides, Brunskill navigates the halls as if he had grown up on them, eyes without a blink. Without hesitation, Brunskill descends the staircase into some of the lowest available depths of the ships, pushing the door to one of the rooms open without knocking. “Captain!” Matt exclaims, fixing himself into a suit as the sun begins to set upon the Pacific, “what brings you out of your quarters?” Walking in the rest of the way, Brunskill closes the door behind himself and asks a fairly straight forward question. “What are you doing?” Brunskill inquires, Matt shrugging his shoulders, simply exclaiming that he’s getting ready. “Why do you look like you’re hosting a funeral?” Brunskill follows, a laugh coming from Matt as he tells Brunskill that he’s a funny man. “I’m not joking, Matthew” Brunskill replies, “what are you getting dressed up for? You’re one of the lead guards in our ranking.” Finger raised, Matt corrects Brunskill in his statement, cockiness dripping from the man like water drips from a shirt upon exiting a pool. “I’m the lead guard in our ranking, Captain!” Matt replies, “that gives me a few perks that most don’t have.” Returning to his mirror, Matt fixes the basics, straightening the tie and perfectly mirroring the cuffs of the shirt beneath his blazer to that of the one of the opposite arm. “What’s the occasion?” Brunskill proceeds, Matt explaining the addition to weekly events since the last time Brunskill showed interest in the boat. “I’ve always shown interest in the boat” Brunskill replies, a smile on Matt’s face beginning to present itself when Brunskill explains that it’s his boat. “Anything done upon this boat is something done upon my boat” Brunskill adds, “if there is an event that you must attend tonight, I am to be informed of it as always.” With a chuckle, Matt tells Brunskill to reach the bottom of a bottle by the end of the night and hole himself back into his nest behind the wheel of the Euronam. Preparing to walk past the man without confrontation, Matt is shoved against the wall, Brunskill pressing his arm against the chest of his head guard. “Repeat what you just said” Brunskill orders, Matt laughing off the attempt to look strong, telling his captain to stop holding the truth against him. “You’re the most notorious drinker aboard this ship bar none” Matt replies, “so if you really don’t like the fact that I’m having myself a night of fun, finish a bottle by the time sundown comes and you’ll forget all about it.” His face subtly shaking with anger, Matt watches it all seem to slowly drift away, a smile coming over Brunskill’s face as his head calms to a still. “Go have fun, kid” Brunskill replies, releasing his grip on the man and patting him on the cheek. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do” Brunskill concludes, moving aside for Matt to walk off, watching the man disappear around the corner before his smile fades away, making room for the angered expression to return. | Her knife ready, Jenn navigates the halls of the ship towards the inventory room, the further she descends into the ship, the worse the atmosphere and feeling becomes. Each wall getting tighter the further she goes, each breath getting thinner the further she dives, and each light getting dimmer the farther Jenn attempts to sink into the ominous vessel. Her heavy boots clambering against the cold steel floors, Jenn turns onto the final hallway before coming to a complete stop. Knife in hand, blade dangling from behind her fingertips, Jenn stands in place with a thousand yard stare towards her destination. Stood there in silence, multiple guards await the arrival of someone beside a pile of two undead corpses. Having gotten bored enough to sit around stare at the walls, the men finally notice the woman having discovered their presence, immediately calling for her to stop. Knowing the warning signs when they are presented, Jenn makes a dash back for the way she came, squeezing through each hallway and pushing herself away from every wall and into a new direction. Demands for her to stop the chase continuing to echo throughout the cramped walls, Jenn remains stranded in refusal, taking little time to look down each new passage before taking it. Guns drawn, the guards begin to fire, knowing that any further distance created would result in the loss of the suspect. The first few bullets fired serving as warning shots, all those that follow are shot with the intent to kill, Jenn continuing to take any route she can to avoid detection. Suddenly, the passages Jenn finds herself getting lost within become darker the deeper she delves before the entire stretch of hallway she traverses becomes pitch black. Out of breath, Jenn throws herself against a wall and slumps into the corner, intending to hide beneath the nature darkness surrounding her. Head tilted up, Jenn calms her breaths until they become nearly silent, her chest heaving up and down as the footsteps of her pursuers grow closer. “I’m not hearing her!” one of the guards shouts, the response from his radio bellowing throughout the halls at the highest volume possible. Over the next few seconds, the footsteps grow softer and softer, a run seemingly becoming a walk, and a walk seemingly becoming a stroll. “We lost her” the guard radios in, the dark tunnels becoming gradually brighter the closer the footsteps near. Swallowing the spit in her lungs, Jenn takes in a final breath and holds it, the two guards finally stopping at the end of the hallway she hides within. Headlamps upon their heads illuminating even the darkest of tunnels, all it takes is the moment when the men turn in her direction for cover to be blown. “Stop!” the first guard shouts, gun drawn in Jenn’s direction as the woman throws herself to her feet and dives within one of the halls, narrowly escaping a bullet. Back up, Jenn continues running, the guards having reached the final stretch of space available, turning their lights in her direction to bring light to a dead end. Eyes widened, Jenn notices her only hope at survival rests in a door just a few feet away from her, dodging every shot that pops off before her hand grabs at the handle and pulls. It’s back slamming against the wall, the door is forced open, Jenn dashing inside at the sight of a faint, orange glow as another shot is fired, missing her neck by inches. Pulling the door shut, Jenn locks the men out and places her back against the cold metal, catching her breath for a moment before she opens her eyes, smile fading. Mere yards away from her, a horde of the undead take notice of her presence, turning around to notice the woman now caught between two fates. | Huddled together, speaking with a hushed tone, Halston, Terry, Jules and Theo speak about their next moves when their door is forced in by a stern boot. Door splintering into pieces, Drew leads his guards inside, demanding those huddled together present their hands into the air. “What’s going on!?” Halston exclaims, Drew approaching her first before slamming the stock of his gun into her jaw, knocking her to the ground with a thud. Infuriated, Jules leaps to his feet to defend the woman, meeting a similar fate from his blindspot, Terry and Theo left to do as told to avoid a similar fate. “Where are they?” one of the guards demands to know, his rifle and question aimed at Theo. At first confused, Theo slowly comes to realize what he’s being asked, his expression shifting into one of silent declaration that no questions shall receive answers. Taking the expression for what it was intended to be, the guard declares all the inhabitants of the room to be held under arrest, Terry explaining that they have no probably cause to hold them. “As Matt said a while baack, the law is dead” Drew exclaims, “we’re all the probable cause we need.” Without further response, Terry places his hands above his head, allowing the cuffs to be placed on him as Theo does the same. One after another, the foursome are led from their rooms and towards the cells, the sight of their capture being visible to all still trapped within their homes on the deck. “Where are they being taken!?” Elsie shouts from within her sanctum, Josie and herself still unable to escape the confines they’ve been placed within. Her demands for answers being left unheard, Elsie shouts through the soundproof glass to no avail, one guard walking past her window flipping her off with a smile before walking off. “We’re gonna get out of here” Josie explains, nodding to herself as Elsie stands at the viewing lens, hand balled into a fist against the glass. | Metal door squealing upon being pushed open, Ally exits the captain’s deck and ventures onto the tiny platforms just outside. The cool air ripping through her hair and dashing against her face, Ally takes in the sights she may never get to experience again, nearly missing the one path she had left untaken in her time in the captain’s seat. Approaching the center of the platform, the woman reaches out and begins crawling up thee arching ladder, the platform she scales taking her higher up than anyone else on the ship. Nearly losing her balance multiple times, Ally reaches her end point, grabbing onto the thin post in the center of the small basket she stands upon. Going from the captain’s nest to the literal nest, Ally presses her hands against the railing, watching the ship she stands in control of sail. Tied to the railing, a pair of binoculars dangle with the wind, easily picked up into the woman’s hands and pressed to her eyes. Through the cloudy layer of fog, the dark Seattle needle towers into the sky, the coastal town left weathered by the outbreak, blanketed by nothingness. With a smile, Ally leaves the binoculars to flow with the wind, enjoying the view for a few further moments before returning to the cabin. Walking in, Ally notices a man left waiting for her in the seat she once occupied, a gun held in one hand, resting in his lap. A shared moment of silence between the two, the unnamed man dressed in civilian clothing apologizes for the work that he has been ordered to do. “Who ordered you?” Ally asks, a smile coming from her would-be murderer as he shrugs, insisting that it no longer matters. With a nod, Ally reaches beside her and yanks the fire extinguisher from the wall, blowing a puff of smoke and filling the cabin with a dusting white. Both coughing amidst the flurry, Ally composes herself enough to begin swinging with the hefty weight of metal, anything before her falling victim to a crushing impact. After the first few blind swings, Ally finally connects with a fair swing, the crunching sound of bone preceding a crash and a thud. Door to the cabin opening, the smoke begins to dissipate, the violent sight presenting itself through the foggy haze. “Hands in the air!” the voice shouts, gun drawn towards the unresponsive figure wailing away at what rests beneath her. Smoke finally clearing out enough for a presentable picture to be made, Drew’s jaw drops, his eyes widening as the sights are made clearer. Stood over the man with a crushed skull and gun by his side, Ally swings the large, red cannister down time after time again, splattering blood all across the room. Finally gaining the understanding of the situation, Drew fires his gun, a bullet striking Ally in the back of the shoulder, pushing her into the wheel before she collides with the ground. Gun still drawn, Drew approaches the woman, passing by the body of the man with the grapefruit skull and declaring the woman to be under arrest. Hands behind her back, the cuffs lock into place, the wounded woman being escorted through the ship with a blood splatter covering her face. Dragged into the depths of the ship, Ally is thrown into a single cell of her own, dropping to her knees after colliding with the cement wall. Grunting in pain from the wound the bullet tearing through her body left, Ally slinks herself against the ground and stares towards the ceiling. Cracked from a failure to provide proper upkeep, the ceiling allows drops of water to fall onto whatever lays beneath, this instance happening to provide a wounded Ally to receive such droplets. With a sigh, Ally glances upwards, a decaying yellow tube light across the dirty concrete wall her new home behind a set of thick steel bars. Not wishing to subject herself to the sight any longer, Ally closes her eyes, whispering to herself that she’ll open her eyes to reveal this as nothing more than a horrible dream. With three breaths, Ally allows her eyes to open to no change, a single tear running down the side of her bloody face. “They’ve got it out for us” a familiar voice calls out, Ally taking interest in the sound enough to push herself to a seated position, the back of her head against the bars between herself and the source. With her good side, Ally pulls herself around, looking at the four recognizable faces welcoming her into the underbelly of the Euronam’s underbelly. “What’s going on?” Ally asks, Terry dropping his head as Jules explains that they’ve all been led astray. “There’s something going on inside this ship that they’re keeping quiet” Halston explains, “and I’d put my money on us being the scapegoats if push comes to shove.” With a faint breath, Ally proclaims that they need to find a way off the ship, which is a concept agreed upon by all five parties. “The question isn’t should we, the question is how” Theo replies, Ally looking out into the tiny space they’ve been holed into, the makeshift prison being completely vacant aside from her group. “We’ll find a way” Ally replies, slowly drawing her head back to those she shares being held in captivity with. “We’re going to get out of here, and we’re going to make them pay” Ally reiterates, a look of confidence providing her fellow inmates with hope there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. | “That’s good to hear, thank you” Alex replies, the volume on his radio soft and concealed, Lee meeting with him in the break room as they had agreed upon. “Sorry if it’s not the most presentable” Lee explains, Matt’s business suit being accented by Lee’s business casual appearance. “There’s not much to dig up on this ship, you’ll be fine” Matt replies, leading Lee down the corridor and into the lesser travelled halls of the boat. As they venture into new territory, the welcoming lights of a luxury cruise ship turn into the bright whites of an environmentalist’s green room. Feeling changing from that of comfort into that of necessity, Lee finds Matt leading him to a familiar site, one shrouded in as much myth as realism. “It’s nothing to be scared of” Matt explains, his hand pushed out towards the sanctioned off sections of the ship, the tape usually dignifying the route as off limits no longer present. “What’s down there?” Lee asks, Matt reaching out and pulling Lee’s in his direction, a smile of anticipation falling over the man as they close in. “Our destination for this fine evening” Matt replies, taking the first step down the staircase and into the boat’s unknowns. Hidden from sight, Brunskill keeps pace, slowly following after the pair, his hand waving off anyone attempting to formally greet him. Descending the staircase, Brunskill reaches the bottom, the sights of a gaming center ripped straight out of a steampunk novel left to greet him. “Captain Brunskill!” the figure manning the counter exclaims, Brunskill left to wave the man off as he walks after Matt. Passing by white boards and chalk boards, Brunskill is met with the appearance of a familiar name written across the signage. Eyebrows lowered in anger, Brunskill marches on, his pace quickening as his anger becomes harder to conceal. “We’re just in time for the big event!” Matt exclaims, looking at all those writing upon small pieces of paper with eager eyes before the lights above dim. “It’s time for your main event, ladies and gentlemen!” the figure blasting his voice over the loudspeaker shouts, suggesting everyone place their wager cards in before the betting counters close for the night. Not wanting to cause a disruption, Brunskill approaches the terrace, walking towards the other side of the pit from that of which Matt and Lee occupy, a sickening sight greeting him below. One level down, a horde of the undead are kept held behind chain link fencing, a small door easily able to be opened and closed the only thing keeping them from their side of the grounds. “Send in the big man!” the announcer calls out, abruptly ending the intake of wagers and signalling for the counters to roll their steel barricades down. Lights lifting back into the harsh white, the appearance of a sporting event begins, crowd cheering and the dead being riled up by men armed with clubs below. Within seconds, the doors to the depths of the boat are opened, a man armed with nothing walking into the center of the level below. “Oh my god” Lee mutters beneath his breath, not only understanding what’s happening, but understand who it is happening to. Their jobs done, the men with clubs shove a large crate over, allowing cinder blocks and other small weapons to fall across the floor. At the sound of a buzzer, the large fencing collapses to the ground, the army of the undead left with full access to their next meal. Unmoving, the man at the center of it all stands completely still, staring the army of the dead down with vicious eyes as a concerned Lee watches on. “Trust me, he’ll be fine” Matt assures, his calming tone suggesting to Lee that this outcome has played out multiple times before. Finally moving his hand from his side, the figure reaches towards the ground and retrieves a piece of rebar and marches forward. Eye twitching, Brunskill can only stare angrily at the events unfolding below, his eyes reaching back towards Matt at the same moment as the man on the opposite side finally notices him. An expression of disappointment coming over Matt’s face, the man returns to his viewing, watching the bloodshed below. Armed with nothing more than what he picked up, the figure below goes off on the undead, picking them off one after another, bodies stacked upon each other. Finally, the figure reaches the final group, the five that remained standing now dropped in nearly the same breath they were released. One final undead left having gotten caught beneath another corpse, the figure marches forward and kicks the body from atop it, setting it free and backing away. With a deep breath, the figure lets the rebar spin between his fingers or a moment whilst the dead closes the distance, his time to strike affording itself. In one breath, the dead has its skull split in a cross-section, the first wave cleared out to a massive ovation. “Round one to the big man!” the announcer shouts, the lights above now brighter than before, illuminating the man’s face to those stood above. A sigh of relief paired with an anxious expression, Lee glances down at the man, the familiar face staring back at him with shocked eyes. Head tilted up, Lou crouches on one knee with the rebar still in hand, amazed at the sight of a familiar face whilst another horde is gathered. Slowly stood to his feet, Lou turns his attention away from Lee and onto Matt, eyes of contempt staring a hole into Matt’s soul. With a smile, Matt puts his hands out and shrugs, an angered Lou ready to snap until the sound of unfamiliar squeals fill the room. The crowd dying to silence, all eyes are placed on the space behind the contained horde, Lou left completely in the dark as the lights go out, the pit illuminated by only one, dim fire’s orange glow. Before the dead can pile into the next wave, Lou catches the glimpse of the figure having unceremoniously found her way inside. Eyes widened, Lou stands in shock at Jenn on the other end of the fence, faced against the next wave he was meant to endure. On instinct alone, Lee leaps over the bannister and drops himself into the pit, the curious crowd questioning each other as to what is happening. Shouting the woman’s name, Lee rushes towards the bin of discarded weapons and picks up a broken baseball bat, hurling it over the gate and into the hands of Jenn. His own mallet in hand, Lee looks towards Lou, nodding to the man as Lou demands the next wave be freed. To a standing ovation, the crowd erupts, gate falling as the bright white lights return overhead, the three survivors waging war on the next wave from all sides. == RISE and REVOLT == “Something’s wrong” Jenn exclaims, emerging from Ally’s room alongside Halston, Jules and Terry to find a corridor filled with the boat’s own armed security. “Get back inside, right now!” one of the various guards shouts, the small pairing doing as told so as not to start a fight. With their hands up, the survivors return to their rooms, Ally startled when turning around to close the door, one of the security having already slammed and locked it shut.
“Did they just lock us in?” Halston asks, Ally assuring everyone that there are much greater fish for them to fry than those inside the tiny space. “Remember, this ship has a lot more than just a few measly mainlanders” Ally explains, “if they wanted to rid of us, they wouldn’t be holding us prisoner.” Shoulders jerking forward, Terry asks what the point of any of this is if not their immediate inclination. “They could have found something wrong with the ship and decided to improve their chances of claiming lifeboats” Ally replies, the first suggestion also ending in their demise. Her head turned towards the wondrous group, Ally continues to keep spirits up, explaining that there’s more than one way out of the room if push comes to shove. “What if there’s an outbreak?” Jules asks, Ally responding with the implication that stranded in their room is probably the best place for them. Preferring not to think about the various reasons behind these protocols, Ally walks towards her bed and takes a seat atop it, wishing not to get ahead of herself. “Are we just going to wait?” Jules asks, his eyes towards Ally, who throws her hands out and shrugs. “Unless Jenn says otherwise, that’s what I’m doing” Ally replies, her eyes travelling towards the blonde atop the second bed, “I don’t see a point in doing anything without knowing what’s going on.” Her head turning to Halston, Jenn thinks about their choices for the moment and decides to follow Ally’s lead. “Like she said, they’d do something more than put us on house arrest if this had anything to do with us.” Every step moderately muffled by the small window peering into the lobby, the survivors are left to hear the partial conversations they can piece together as guards pass by. “When did it happen?” Terry can piece together, Matt and Drew walking by, armed with a set of heavy, military rifles and dressed in army camo. “It’s unknown, we don’t have witnesses with any viable timeframe’ Drew replies, “most of the lower deck hadn’t been given out anyway, so this likely isn’t her room.” Eyes curbed, Matt asks Drew who the woman was, he and his counterpart turning the corner to descend the main staircase. “No idea, we never boarded anyone with her name or likeness” Drew replies, “but in fairness, we don’t really know what her likeness actually was anymore.” Confused, Matt begins to ask Drew what he means by that statement just as he enters the scene of the crime, the answer to the question he was ready to ask coming immediately. Across the woman’s face, stab wounds are sported like lines of paint splattered across a canvas at random. “Whoever did this either hated her with a passion, or treated this like some obscene art” Drew explains, “either way, I’d never want to meet him after something like this.” Inquiring about what they know of the killer, Matt becomes lost for words, the rubber boot dangling from the porthole at the end of a trail of footprints. “So we think he killed himself?” Matt asks, Drew stopped before he can get the answer out, Matt finding a fascination with the footprints. “Don’t answer that, this already did” Matt exclaims, the footprints all adding up to suicide until the realization dawns on the only man unfamiliar with the scene. “These are all left footprints despite ‘supposedly’ being from both shoes” Matt proclaims, Drew stating that it all equals to a frame job. “So the question now is who was trying to frame who?” Matt asks, Drew sporting a smile on the face of the man having been greeted by an answered wish, something new to do aboard the Euronam. = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = Foot tapping against the ground, Theo sits in an empty room, the chair he sits on creaking with every movement he makes while he watches one guard after another pass by. Suddenly, the silent wait parts as a few spaced-out knocks come against the glass window. At first, Theo leaps to his feet, ready to hurry for the window before taking a second to think of his options, the eagerness to get out of the boxed-in space being hidden beneath a layer of confidence. With a few short breaths, Theo answers the knocking, keeping a common greeting buried with the burning desire to leave. “The name is Theo, the birth year is 1999” the man explains, the guard stationed at the window looking in confusion as to what any of what was just said meant. “I was told to give you my name and year when I boarded if something like this happened” Theo explains, “it’s something about a clearance?” Playing the guard for a fool, Theo explains that he counts stock for the boat and is amongst the first to be cleared during lockdowns. “Boss gets pissed off if we’re behind on schedule, and the last thing we need is rations being restricted, y’know?” Theo continues, the guard putting off any confusion and asking for Theo to get to the point. “I was told to give you my name and year in the event of a lockdown” Theo explains, “you’ve already got me ten minutes late, I’m not gonna keep adding minutes and pissing the big guy off, okay?” Looking around the corridor as if he were looking for someone that spoke the same language, the guard is left baffled until Theo tries to break it down as simply as he can. “I need to get to work, I’m cleared from being put under lockdown in the event I’m due in for work” Theo explains, “so unlock the door and guide me to withholding, please.” Shaking his head, the guard informs Theo that he is not allowed to do such a thing, Theo immediately getting angry, his confidence taking a quick turn into bitterness, the expression on his face changing in such a way that forces the guard into worry. “If you don’t get me to work, I’m gonna make sure you and your loved ones are reported for violating my clearance, do you understand?” Theo asks again, the guard hesitant to respond. Clearly unfamiliar with the process he’s involved in, the guard takes the threat for the intent it was intended with, unlocking Theo’s door and allowing the man to pass. “Thank you, it’s about time” Theo exclaims, putting a hat on and heading for the back stairwell, the awestruck guard left watching. | Pushing the bathroom door in, Matt stands at the sinks, his hands pressed against the counter until he hears a familiar voice call out. “Someone in here?” a man questions, Matt turning around in surprise before noticing a pair of legs beneath the stall behind him. “What are you doing in here?” Matt replies, his own question bringing the man in the stall to his feet, the figuring emerging from behind cover with apology. “I didn’t know where else I would go” Lee replies, apologizing for just hanging out in the bathroom. “Your guards came walking down the hall and told me to go back where I came and stay there, so that’s what I did” Lee explains, Matt turning around to face the man as he leans back against the counter, arms crossed. “Lee, right?” Matt asks, the survivor caught by surprise when Matt appears to remember him. “You helped me play that one hand in the breakroom, remember?” Matt asks, Lee already more than aware of where he would have recalled him from. “Is something wrong out there?” Lee asks, “I know the boat is heavily guarded, but I didn’t expect something like this?” Tossing his hand forward, Matt replies with reassurance, explaining that it’s a simple drill everyone needs to follow every few weeks. “Keeps residents on their toes, keeps the guards on their best… Works for all parties!” Matt exclaims with glee, his statement followed with curiosity. “You have a bathroom in your cabin, right?” Matt asks, Lee explaining that he was on his way to the janitorial closet. “Someone called me about throw up in the lower halls” Lee replies, such a statement immediately bringing curiosity into Matt’s mind. “The lower deck?” Matt asks, Lee shrugging it off as just another term for the halls. “But yeah, something about some sick in the lower deck” Lee replies, Matt immediately uncrossing his arms and pulling free a pad and paper. “Do you remember anything about the guy?” Matt asks, noticing a hesitant Lee pull back once he begins to notice the conversation taking the turn into interrogation. Fearing his lead being lost, Matt assures the man that it’s only precaution. “We had a trespasser in the lower halls last night” Matt explains, “if you know who it was, we’d like to catch up to him and let him know that those halls are off limits.” “Why are they off limits?” Lee proceeds, “they look a lot better than some of the other rooms on the upper decks… No offense.” With a smile, Matt promises Lee that no offense has been taken, but explains that the lower deck is held off in the event a mass-boarding occurs. “We don’t see a big crowd ready to board in the big cities we land in” Matt continues, “but in the event we do, that’s the place we take ‘em to sort out the healthy from the infected.” Clearing his throat after a moment of silence, Matt repeats his question, Lee left to think of the blandest of things. “It was a man with a deeper voice, it could have been gravelly, but the connection was poor” Lee explains, “and his breaths were quicker… Like he was walking.” The end of the pen pressed to his lips, Matt asks Lee if he can remember anything else about how the man sounded, the intriguing custodian left with little else to offer. “Those were the only things that stuck out, the call was pretty quick” Lee explains, “but if it was the lower decks, I’m pretty sure that would explain why the connection was poor.” With a nod, Matt blankly stares off, Lee left standing there for a few seconds in silence as Matt travels to somewhere else mentally. “Is everything alright?” Lee asks, Matt snapping back into reality after another few seconds before assuring Lee of the statement he made earlier. “We’ll never know when we’ve gotta fill the lower decks until it happens” Matt explains, “it’s better if he knew that ahead of time so he doesn’t get caught up where he doesn’t belong.” With a nod, Lee watches Matt walk away, the man with the notepad instructing Lee to go about his day, telling the guards that Matt cleared him to return to duty. Closing the bathroom door behind himself, Matt begins overwhelmed with second thoughts, popping his head back in for another moment. “Do you like gambling, Lee?” Matt asks, the janitor caught by surprise at the question. “I was a hunter before all of this and I’m a janitor now” Lee replies, “I like the card games and all, but I never played them in a gambling environment.” With a smile, Matt tells Lee that he seemed pretty confident in the break room, Lee suggesting he just knew what he saw and used that for his own gain. The lightbulb in his head going off, Matt tells Lee to meet him in the breakroom the following evening. “We’re fans of doing our bigger gambles somewhere other than the breakroom” Matt explains, “so if you’re interested… Meet me there and I’ll show you where the big room is.” With a nod, Lee watches Matt disappear behind the closed door, waiting a few moments before rushing back into the stall and throwing up whatever lunch once remained in his stomach. | “Did you ever think about what you would’ve done had all of this not happened?” Josephine asks, Elsie having been too caught in the quiet room to hear the question. “I said, what do you think you would’ve done had the world not ended?” Josephine reiterates, Elsie left shaking her head. “I haven’t thought about it since the first few days” the woman responds, “truth be told, after a while it didn’t seem like a question that needed to be asked anymore.” Taking the answer for what it’s worth, Josephine quietly nods, Elsie left to repeat the question back to it’s originator. “I would’ve finished college and tried to find a job” Josephine replies, the woman seated in the opposite corner of the room wishing the alternative Josie luck with the debt. “Yeah, I’m sure the world will find a way to get back to normal and hold that over my head again” Josie replies, getting a laugh out of the woman who has now spent two hours waiting to be released. “What the hell is taking them so long?” Elsie asks aloud, the question directed at herself as she approaches the window, glancing out to an empty corridor. Her hand stretched out for the door, Elsie tries to turn the knob to no use, all doors locking from the outside. “When did you leave your camp?” Josie asks, both she and Elsie getting perturbed at their confinement, still content with discovering new ways to pass the time. “I, uh… My group and I ran into another group… The people I’m with now” Elsie replies, “we didn’t know them at first, but our leaders knew each other. And that’s all she wrote.” Eyes squinted, Josie asks how all of that worked out, the woman admitting that everything sailed smoothly for the short time that they shared command. “Our leader chose to follow this guy named Lou, so that’s who became my leader in turn” Elsie replies, Josie amused. “Why is this Lou guy the leader by default?” Josie asks, Elsie continuing to stare out of the window, awaiting attention as she answers. “From what Theo tells us, this world was kinda made for him” Elsie replies, “the guy got his people out of a swarmed school twice and got them to the ship with one arm… It’s not bad for a high school senior.” With a chuckle, Josie quips about how she’d like to meet the guy some day, Elsie left muttering beneath her breath that she hopes he’s still alive for that to be possible. | The key in his hand turning the mechanisms within the door into their proper directions, Theo slowly slides the door to the inventory room open and sneaks in. Usually a heavily-guarded area, Theo discovers himself to be in awe of the serenity behind this visit. Machine powered down, no guards stationed at any sector of the wing, everything remains quiet, a calmness completely departed from its natural state of noisy scatter. Taking this chance as his best one, Theo ventures through the assortment of bins and folders, searching for the same crate he found the day earlier. One shelf after another, one corner of the room after another, no chest resembles that of the luxurious nature Theo had discovered the day prior, everything within the massive room colored in a shade of beige or gray. Frustrated, the man punches a metal filing cabinet, leaving a dent in the door, which fails to become the primary focus. Rather, the sound of the metal being pushed in resembles nothing similar to that of a hollow cabinet, anything large behind its closed doors necessary to be around the size of the desired trunk. Discovering a crowbar resting in the corner of the room, Theo returns to the large sheets of metal, the indentation upon its doors only adding to the need to find what is contained within. Digging the end into slight crevasse and pushing out, Theo shatters the locks, forcing each metal panel to burst open, the sounds of the latch once responsible for keeping the doors shut ringing in such a way that forces Theo to cover his ears. The danger settling for the moment, Theo turns back to admire the work he had done, finding the sight he was hoping for greeting him. With a deep breath, Theo rips the trunk from its place amongst the cabinet and drops it to the ground, closing the doors on the cabinet as best he can before pulling it into a darker corner of the room. | “I was called for?” Ally asks, poking her head into the captain’s post, Captain Brunskill affirming her question. “I know you had nothing to do with the murders, so I figured I’d talk to you while I had the chance” Brunskill explains, Ally bewildered at the new information. “I assume you hadn’t heard of the murders yet, had you?” Brunskill corrects himself, Ally shaking her head in the negative. “Please, have a seat” Brunskill offers, two folding chairs having been placed on the opposite side of the room from the door. “Other than simply anting to be left alone, do you know why I chose to ensure my sailing would be done in isolation?” Brunskill wonders, the woman left without an answer worthy of sufficing. “There’s something that’s happening on this boat that I don’t like, but more importantly, that I’m not aware of” Brunskill explains, concern in Ally’s voice present. “I don’t trust Matt and his guards, they’re all to close-knit and protective” Brunskill explains, “I see too many guards sticking to the shadows for my liking.” Before Brunskill can continue, Ally holds her hand out, wanting to know why Brunskill would trust her with this information. “I know you’re aware of this too” Brunskill explains, “Dawson’s told me about how incensed you’ve been with finding your boyfriend ever since you boarded… I know you feel it too.” Her nerves settling, Ally explains to Brunskill that if they’re going to talk any more about this, it will be with Jenn present. “I understand and appreciate that you wish to share this with me” Ally explains, “but Lou made it known that he wanted Jenn in charge, so anything you tell me, you can tell her.” Clearing his throat, Brunskill asks Ally one question, a question simple for some and difficult for others. “Do you trust her with your life?” Brunskill asks, Ally not needing anything more than one second to answer in kind. “If Lou trust her to succeed him, I trust her with my life as much as he trusts her to lead.” With his lips pressed together, Brunskill nods to himself with a smile and returns to his wheel, explaining to Ally how their first days of the apocalypse began. “This vessel doubles as a bulk carrier” Brunskill recalls, “there’s a little town up in the northernmost point in Alaska that depends on this ship as a lifeline when the water is warm enough to not be covered in ice.” Clearing his throat, Brunskill explains that they were out in the desolate waters just after unloading a few crates in the town when they saw the first signs of something being wrong. “We were a few days out from reaching Vancouver at the time” Brunskill recollects, “we tried constantly to get in touch with the Vancouver ports to no response.” With a deep breath, the man recalls the first moments those aboard encountered the dead. “We answered a distress call not too long after. A fair-sized fishing boat had capsized in the northern Pacific” Brunskill explains, “they had turned by the time we arrived. Never even made an attempt at checking on their well being.” Wiping away a tear, Brunskill explains that everything took a turn for the worst when they docked on time to find a number of bodies being devoured by the undead. “It was a dehumanizing sight, but it was a sight nonetheless” Brunskill explains, “it was made all the worse when we saw the fires in town burning from the distance.” The decision to record and air a distress call from the ship, pick up survivors and afford them a place to stay all coming after that, Brunskill confesses to making decisions abord the ship as his own. “From the way I saw it, this ship was now mine… Not that of my employers” Brunskill confronts, “any decision I made, I would make with the best interest of those on land, and those aboard the ship.” With a scorned expression on his face, Brunskill explains that he’d rather die aboard the vessel as it sank into the sea than allow it to continue as anything other than a beacon of hope to those strong enough to survive. “Not only are you different from most in the fact that you’re young and intelligent, but you’ve survived to get here” Brunskill explains, “so if it comes down to what I just suggested, I’d prefer it if you were not amongst those killed in the process.” With a heavy heart, Ally explains to the man that there’s more than just a doomsday button strategy for fixing the vessel. “The ship doesn’t need to sink because of the bad that happens on it, only the people responsible do” Ally explains, Brunskill beginning to sport a smile. “I’m glad you’re so open to learning new things, even in today’s world” Brunskill jokes, “but sinking those responsible rather than the vessel itself makes us no better than the people we sunk.” Her mouth opening to counter, Ally thinks better, fighting off the urge to debate and promising to return the following day, once things have cooled down, with Jenn. “Please do so” Brunskill replies, watching Ally return to the door before calling her back. “I’ll do what I can to get some answers about Lou” Brunskill exclaims, “if he got you all here, I’m quite positive he’s the best choice to get you all out of here.” With a smile, Ally nods, unable to overcome the emotions long enough for a simple ‘thank you’, instead leaving Brunskill to his duties as she shuts the door behind herself. His radio removed from his belt, Brunskill calls Matt in, wishing to inquire of a passenger’s whereabouts. | Running his thumb down each group of paper slips as if they were a flip book, Theo reads off different services offered ranging from different bets of all kinds. “These are all bets, but the question is where all of these bets came from” Theo mutters to himself, the words quietly leaving his lips stopped at the sound of the door coming unlocked. In a rush, Theo returns each slip to its rightful place in the trunk, keeping himself hushed and hiding behind the largest of objects available. The lights all flickering on at once, some dying out just to return seconds later, the room becomes engulfed in a light that strains Theo’s eyes instantly. Not one to let his own survival be halted by a wake-up call, Theo peers his head around the corner to find a guard half-intoxicated taking a seat by the door, escaping the job for a mere moment. Humming to himself, the drunken man downs the remainder of the liquor in his bottle before kicking his feet onto a desk and slouching back. Ready to close his eyes and take a nap, the man suddenly begins to feel the sensation of being watched, the mysterious seventh sense kicking in without hesitation, no delay in play despite the heavy amounts of alcohol flooding his system. Despite his senses working perfectly fine, the man staggers when brought to his feet, his feet unsteady amongst the ground, bottle still in his finger tips. Sneaking back into cover, Theo prepares for a fairly simple escape until the clatter of something being kicked across the room prevails. Jaw dropped at the sound, Theo instantly knows what was kicked, the latch from the cabinet sliding across the floor and landing beside him almost in the same moment it was kicked. With a deep breath, Theo prepares for the worst, the drunken guard looking up from the ground to notice the cabinet doors no longer locked. His instincts telling the remainder of his intoxicated body that something is wrong, the man draws his gun and demands the individual he shares the room with the show himself. In an instant, the drunkenness wears off, the guard returning to his duties as if nothing were different, his response time only sporting a slight delay. One foot in front of the other coming simply enough, the guard surveys the area, his gun pointing in each direction quickly, moving on upon the sight of yet another empty space. Finally reaching the back of the room, the man surveys just as he had many times before, the sights before him captivating him upon this sighting. At the end of the room, a trunk sits halfway opened, just left on its own for the guard to collect. Having found a pair of scissors, Theo snips the cord of the guard’s radio before he can call anything in. Muscle memory having kicked in at this point, the guard attempts to call in the instance, knowing something to be off when he gets no response. Looking towards his shoulder, the man notices something out of the corner of his eye that forces him into action a second too late. When turned around, the guard aims his weapon forward before it falls from his hand, the crushing sound of his skull cracking upon contact resembling that of a boot being driven through a watermelon. The crowbar dropping to his side, a bloodstain on the hooked end, Theo watches the guard drop, his body folding up like an accordion as he loses consciousness. Not yet dead, Theo chooses to leave the guard as is, the injury being more than enough to kill him in due time. More pressing matters to be dealt with, Theo removes a cardboard box from the space beneath a table it was stuffed into, piling every receipt inside before closing the trunk and returning it. Dressing the scene up as nothing other than the dead guard out of the ordinary, Theo pulls his hat back on and closes the flaps of the box, the light being turned off as the door closes behind him. A few minutes turning into a few hours, the room remains only further darkened by the absence of the sunlight in the room outside, cloaking everything hidden within in darkness. Lip quivering, the body of the deceased guard slowly begins to regain its basic functions. Eyelids opening for cold, pearly eyes, the corpse begins to hiss and growl as it pushes itself upright again, captivated by the sound of the door being opened once more, and light being thrown on as another night shift begins. “Wrong move” Lee mutters under his breath, swiping his mop across the floor as Matt stares back at him, fingers pressed against the tip of a card. “What was that?” Matt asks, Lonnie and Luke opposite him with equal confusion, Lee left with his hands folded over the tip of the handle. “They’re bluffing you” Lee replies, the expressions on Lonnie and Luke’s faces quickly changing as Lee explains that they sport the same mannerisms in every game.
“That one bites the corner of his lip when he’s trying to bluff” Lee explains with his finger pointed towards Lonnie, “and the other one tilts his head too far to the right.” Impressed, Matt looks back to his cards, taking his fingers away from one and placing them upon another. “You’ve got higher than both of them if I’m correct” Lee explains, “it doesn’t matter which one you pick.” Convinced, Matt pulls the card he chose as an alternative, the ‘9 card’ beating out the hand both Lonnie and Luke sport. “What did you say your name was, again?” Matt asks, Lee replying in kind, leaving the break room with a smile on his face, Matt repeating Lee’s name beneath his breath, intending not to forget it. “I’m in” Lee proclaims, Ally taking her eyes away from Lee as he finally returns to their collective quarters, her attention resting on Halston. “The depths of the ship are still under renovation” Halston explains, “they’ve got crews going in and out all day and night long… It’s a no-go.” Head hung, Ally feels confident in Lee being able to get something done in regards to his potential friendship. “What’s the next step, Jenn?” Ally asks, the woman left seated in the corner of the room, taking all of this new information in. “How far along in stocking are you, Theo?” the woman asks, the answer leaving the group with great suspicions. “They keep increasing supplies” Theo replies, “They say they never leave the boat, but I keep finding the stock of everything from medicine to ammo getting replenished constantly!” “How does a ship full of people that haven’t disembarked since all of this started collect more?” Ally asks, Theo’s arms being thrown out, admitting that it makes as little sense to him as it does the rest. “These aren’t small numbers, either” Theo adds, “when I’m talking about these things being replenished, I’m talking about stacks of it all… Not just a few extras thrown in every now and then.” “They’ve gotta be getting their shipments from somebody” Ally exclaims, “I don’t look at these people as being able to go out there and fight for all of this, it’s all being delivered.” The question now being how these shipments are being taken on, the group begins to formulate another plan. “Halston and I will hang around the boarding deck tonight, see if we can catch a glimpse of anything being loaded on” Jenn explains, “everyone else I want figuring out who your target’s going to be.” = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = Her mind wandering to distant places, Elsie traverses the grounds of the ship, her eyes latching onto anything that could stand out amongst the scenery. Her guard down and suspicions at a high, Elsie collides with another woman as she turns towards another sector of the ship, knocking her to the ground and immediately feeling sorry for doing so. “I wasn’t looking where I was going!” Elsie explains, the woman assuring her that it’s perfectly fine as she dusts off the dirt on her pants. “You must be relatively new” the woman states, Elsie confirming her suspicions, admitting the ship to being very different from life on land. “Well, you’re fine” the woman explains, her hand held out to greet the woman, who takes the offer kindly. “I’m Josephine” the woman replies, Elsie reciting her own name before beginning to walk in separate directions. Called for by the woman upon second thoughts, Elsie turns to find Josephine with a nervous grin as she struggles to hold the confidence to say anything further. Finally, Josephine asks Elsie if she knows anyone on the ship, the woman explaining that the only people she knows are the people she boarded with. “So no other friends?” Josephine asks, Elsie assuring her that she hasn’t had the time to attempt to make friends. “I’m somewhat new to the ship too” Josephine admits, “I came alone, so I’ve kind of been doing my own thing since I boarded.” Swallowing her pride and putting the fear of not knowing the response aside, Josephine asks Elsie if she wanted to go to the bar for a drink later tonight, just in a casual way. “I don’t really know how to make friends, so this is the best I’ve got” the nervous woman explains, Elsie flattered and intrigued by the offer. “I can use a drink after what I’ve seen since this whole thing started” Elsie replies, not passing up on the opportunity to indulge in an alcoholic beverage, “I’ll meet you there around sunset?” With a nod, Josephine and Elsie return to their separate paths, Elsie’s blonde head tilting to the side when she thinks over how well that turned out. | “I’m ready for the next one!” Theo calls out, sliding a crate of ammunition across the ground, half of the trunk sticking through transparent flaps to be placed into storage. Looking back to the rows of supplies left scattered about the shelves, Theo hears the next crate glide into storage and brushes it off for the moment, double-checking his list. Reassured of his proper count, Theo kneels before the box and reaches for its latch, only to finally widen his eyes when he takes a deeper look. Having failed to notice it at first, Theo identifies the box as something other than the one supplies are typically stored in. The bland, green wooden boards lining each side replaced with a maroon and gold colored, hand-crafted luxury. The simple key lock on the front replaced with a large medallion of sorts recreated as a specialty lock, one elegant in appearance but simple in solution. Opening his mouth, Theo thinks better of calling for his second half of the job, opting to keep the mishap quiet for a moment. Taking this as his opportunity to gather whatever intel he can, Theo unlocks the trunk and lifts the top away. Within, all divided in different slots categorized by name, tickets with the name of a recipient and what they have ‘won via wager’ hide within the confines of the box, very little being clarified, the waters only being made to appear murkier. Taking his chances, Theo looks through the receipts, reading off different names, some familiar and others not, and what they have received as a result of their alleged victory. Unsure what to make of this, Theo continues to carefully sift through the notes before him, reading off the different benefits before coming to the realization of what these are. Not wanting to dirty his hands any further, Theo calls out for the man on the other side to take the trunk back. “I’m ready for the next one!” Theo calls out, his hands to his hips as the trunk is taken away, not minding the next one gliding in, head down as he tries to answer his own questions. | Her hand pressing against the latch on the door, Ally pushes forward and peaks her head into the room, just as she had been doing for a short time prior. This room different than the others, Ally notices a spacious hall with everything from a line of clocks pointing towards different hands, to a man stood in the center behind a large wheel. “Can I help you, young lady?” the man asks, Ally not having noticed the man’s apparel at first, instead apologizing. “I was looking for the engine room” Ally replies, “Matt told me to check a reading but he never told me where to go… I’ve been doing this for hours.” With a nod, the man points the woman in the general direction, informing her of which turns to take and levels to descend into. “Thank you, I’m new… So I’m not quite familiar with the layout just yet” Ally explains, attempting to deart before thinking about what she had just seen for a moment and looking back inside again. “I’m sorry, are you the captain?” Ally asks, a smile spread across the man’s face as he holds his hands out, not needing to say a word to affirm her suspicions. “I’m so sorry, captain!” Ally exclaims, “I didn’t put two-and-two together at first, and now I’m embarrassed.” Hand waving, the captain promises her of her actions being no issue, admitting that even his introverted self appreciates the surprise company every once in a while. “The captain of a ship doesn’t like going out?” Ally rephrases, the smile on the captain’s face admitting of his equal awareness to the irony. “Something tells me introversion isn’t often found sailing an entire continental coastline” Ally explains, the captain admitting that the desire to be alone is less than the desire to do other things. “I’m sixty-eight years old, intended to retire at the end of the year… And now look at me!” the captain explains, “keeping the world’s lifeline afloat!” His voice sounding like that of a man nearing seventy, his appearance is anything but, the love for the ocean inspiring a youth not often found in those considered ‘elderly’. “It’s better than just doing nothing in retirement!” Ally replies, assuring the man that his vessel is a better home than the mainland, both before and after the outbreak. “What’s it like out there?” the captain asks, admitting that he is fascinated by how suddenly things turned when new passengers board. “A ton of them don’t make it, not realizing how the bites work and all” the captain explains, “seeing the look on their faces makes me realize how bad it must be out there.” With her head hung, Ally informs the captain that it’s not too pleasant to be outside of the safety the sea offers. “Not a lot survived out there, for better of for worse” Ally informs, the look on the man’s face turning to disappointment, “not enough people figured out what they needed to do in time.” His head hung, the captain admits that he worried such a fate would befall people when things began. “There was a small part of me that hoped we’d all overcome it and figure out how to live life defending against it” the captain explains, “but part of me worried we’d be too stubborn for it to be anything other than an extinction event.” Feeling the man’s words voice disappointment in those on the ground mix with that of her own, Ally admits that there are still good, decent people still fighting. “I don’t know how much longer that’ll last” the captain explains, “far too many people will resort to doing whatever they need to survive. It won’t be long until the people out there start becoming no better than the people we once used to look at as criminal scum.” A moment of silence falling over the starboard, the captain glances back to Ally and asks her to be honest with him, the hardest part of asking the question being the source of its origins. “Would an elderly lady, perhaps of physical stature similar to that of her age, living in a big city have survived?” the captain proceeds, Ally’s eyes dropping when the captain reminds her to be honest with him. “I didn’t see the city very much, I spent most of my time on the outskirts” Ally replies, “but from what I’ve heard… Probably not.” His head hung, the captain thanks Ally for her honesty, the woman asking for the man’s name before she departs. “I’m Captain Brunskill” the man replies, “and if no one has already, I’d like to welcome you to the S.S Euronam.” With a smile, Ally states her name and thanks the captain for both his time and his greeting. “I’m sure I’ll see you around” Ally concludes, the man nodding silently as Ally disappears behind the cabin door, leaving the man to look back out at the landmass the boat slowly approaches with a well-hidden sadness. | “Pretty nice weather out here” Elsie remarks, Josephine turning towards the woman at the sound of her voice, surprised that she came. “Of course I did” Elsie replies, “Amongst many other things, we’re aboard a ship in the middle of the ocean during an apocalypse… What else would I have to do?” With a laugh, Josephine apologizes for the low standards, admitting to not often having seen people follow through on plans. “Well most people suck because of that” Elsie replies, “until I met the majority of my group, it was just myself and two guys… I kept it simple.” Admitting that it becomes rather easy to not have to worry about other people, Josephine acknowledges a partial reasoning behind that being due to not actually giving an effort. “After being ditched kinda became the norm, I guess I stopped having expectations and just got used to it” Josephine explains, “I was less disappointed being alone than I was actually being around others.” Her head nodding, Elsie finds ground more than simply common with the woman, college having brought on the newest of experiences. “Your roommate becomes your friends, their friends become your friends… And then it just spaces out after that” Elsie recalls, “but it’s simpler at nineteen than it is at thirty.” Raising her glass to that, Elsie inquires about how she got onto the ship, the events leading up to it being held in comparison to her own. “I’m not familiar with how a ton of others started to realize something was wrong” Elsie explains, “I just kind of see them after their indoctrination, for lack of a better term. “My story was and is pretty boring” Josephine replies, Elsie more than intrigued enough to latch onto every word, simply craving something different. “I was leaving my internship early, wanted to prep for a trip out to visit family” Josephine runs down, “and that’s when some news began circulating around my dorm and the school’s staffers started being really sketchy.” Taking another sip of her drink, Josephine admits to Elsie that it would have been a little different to if she were in the same position. “I’m twenty-one, so even if it’s only a two year difference… There’s a big change in reaction” Josephine informs, “we tend to go out at night less than people younger… The desire to drink kind of passes after the first few weeks where you legally can.” Fascinated by this effect, Elsie wonders what the differences ended up being. “Well the younger side was more optimistic” Josephine explains, “brushing it off and just wanting to keep it from trying to ruin their night.” Beginning to recall the events in detail, Josephine becomes less inclined to sip from her cup every other minute, growing more comfortable with the conversation, her nerves dropping and anxiety levels bottoming out. “Most of the people I knew were just at or above twenty-one and the campus was open all year to every resident” Josephine continues, “so I texted some that stayed behind to try and figure it all out.” Thinking back to the initial announcement, Josephine recalls it all sounding too much like another story blown out of proportion, one that shouldn’t have been taken too seriously at first despite that having been the case. “There was something about it that made it feel real” Josephine admits, “something that made at least me feel like I was in danger.” With a smooth breath, Josephine recollects having gone to her car and getting on the road on instinct, something deep inside her having convinced herself that this was as bad as it had appeared. “There are some things that sound as otherworldly as a ton of other things that still feel so convincing” Josephine admits, “this was nothing different.” With another swig, Josephine recalls having avoided a few people that looked sickly, ultimately learning at a later date that they had, in fact, been infected. “You knew something was up when you saw their eyes” Josephine responds, “the people that were succumbing had glassy eyes, anyone else had all the colors in them faded.” Shaking off the chills running down her own spine, Josephine admits to only caring about one thing out of the whole ordeal. “The signal to board the Euronam came around an hour after I started driving and I headed for it immediately” Josephine explains, “but had that instinct not told me this was serious, I would’ve have been caught out there to suffer worse.” Catching herself thinking too deeply into what could’ve been, Josephine laughs the awkward moment off, apologizing for having gotten too dark. “It’s totally fine” Elsie replies, assuring the woman that it’s of no concern, “it’s a shitty world out there, not every story can end with sunshine and rainbows.” With a smile, Josephine stiffly takes her glass and hoists it high, Elsie meeting her offer by tapping the glasses together, downing what remains within. | “Where the fuck did you get a flask?” Halston whispers, Jenn shrugging her shoulders with a smirk, responding “wouldn’t you like to know?” Her head shaking, Halston requests that Jenn remain sober enough to complete what they’ve come out to achieve, both women hiding behind the counter of the fruit stand just near the point of entry. Looking out from their cover, Halston takes interest in the sights at the entry station, the ship having come too close to the docks for the lack of security to be acceptable. “Something’s wrong” Halston exclaims, “are you sure we’re at the right gates?” Still more than sober enough to recall her original plans, Jenn reminds Halston that their station is not only the right one, but the only cleared one on the entire ship. “It’s clearly not since they’re not boarding people onto the ship through it” Halston replies, taking her chances by removing herself from cover. Approaching the edge of the boat, Halston glances over the railing to find the ship slowly floating into the space, the empty dock suggesting there to be no reason to dock the boat. “Where are we right now?” Halston asks, Jenn catching up and recalling that nearly a week into their stay should make this station one belonging to Seattle. Glancing over the edge, Halston finds everything in place to suggest a full-on dock. “The anchors are lowered, the ship is barely moving, it’s fitted into the space… Everything’s in order” Halston runs down, Jenn refusing to allow that statement to go without it’s necessary baggage. “Everything’s in order except for the new passengers” Jenn concludes, walking off, Halston left with little choice other than to follow her. “What are you looking for?” Halston asks after a few minutes of nonstop walking before finally joining her girlfriend at the opposite railing. Peering over the edge, Jenn and Halston spot what they notice to be something much different than a few survivors from the mainland. “Something tells me those aren’t new passengers” Jenn proclaims, watching a fleet of trunks being loaded into the boat, the lowest levels of the ship housing a loading bay never mentioned. Where are they getting these things from?” Halston whispers, Jenn pushing her away from the railing as she notices one of the loading crewmates staring towards the top of the ship. “We should get back to the group” Jenn explains, taking Halston by the hand and leading her away from the curious sights, finally having a slight amount of confirmation that there is more to the ship than they are being made aware of. | Beneath the cover of night, Lee returns to his room, concluding his job for the evening and intending to take a much needed load off at his cabins. The sensation going unnoticed at first, Lee begins to feel the sensation of his hairs standing on ends, the gentle breeze feeling colder than a gust of wind in the middle of a northeastern December. Looking around, Lee feels himself amongst the presence of someone else, the lonely man stood in an empty hall, a staircase on each end of a circular passageway made dangerous by a massive, multi-story drop in the center. “Hello?” Lee calls out, opening the window for communication that would make any presence eventually found less worrisome by default. His requests for a response coming without answer, Lee continues cautiously wandering throughout the hollowed halls of the ship, his slow approach in the direction of his destination coming with great concern. Finally reaching the staircase towards the next level, Lee glances down a hallway, the only light in the tunnel of darkness coming from the cold moonlight originating from one of the room’s opened doors. Despite the heavy darkness, Lee spots something at the end of the hallway, the moonlight leaving enough visibility to present the outline of something stood still as stone. “Who are you?” Lee calls out, hoping for a response to validate his assumptions, only to find nothing of the sorts. Knowing his expertise in combat to be greater than that of someone hiding away from the hordes he once surrounded himself with, Lee builds the confidence to inspect. Removing his foot from the bottom step, the man keeps his hand to his side, readying himself for a fight in the event one were to break out. Despite nearing closer, Lee finds the figure remaining coldly stiff to be just as visible to him as when he first encountered it, the chills on the man’s spine coming from the concern that he’s simply walking directly into an attack without even noticing it. Almost near the open door, Lee extends his free hand outwards, knowing this to be a tactic he can use for an advantage, but find himself to suffer through just as easily. With a deep breath, Lee picks up his pace, his hand finally reaching through the final inches to a great relief. Still unmoved, the statue of the greek god of Phonoi reacting to the touch of Lee’s hand against its perfectly sculpted head. With a breath of relief, Lee lets out a chuckle, his body bathed in the moonlight from the open door directly to his side. “Holy shit” the man mutters to himself, turning over in a combination of near laughter and outright panic, finally regaining his composure. With his concern alleviated, Lee straightens himself up, his eyes lined directly with the open door, widening once his original fears have finally dispersed. Before his eyes, a man stares at him through a large mask, the imprint of a pair of horrifyingly widened eyes freezing Lee in fear. “I-” Lee begins, his lips trembling at the dreadful sight, a bloody knife and plastic bag in the man’s hand, his feet placed at the edge of a bed inhabited by the bloodied body of a murdered woman, laid in what has become a pool of her own blood atop a stiff mattress. “What the-” Lee exclaims, his free hand pointing at the man, his mind caught up in too much fear to provoke a proper reaction. Knowing himself to have been caught, the killer drops the bag and rushes towards Lee with the knife, his free hand holding the weapon away from himself as the pair crash through a door on the opposite side of the hallway. With a resounding grunt, both men collapse to the ground, the blade once in the killer’s hand now aimlessly tossed to some random corner of the room. “What are you doing!?” Lee shouts, dodging the executioner’s attempt at a tackle, allowing him to run his head into a bookshelf near the door. With the advantage, Lee looks around the room, intending to find something to incapacitate the criminal with, only to run out of time once the killer relocates his knife. With ill-intentions, the murderer begins his rush towards Lee, his blade finding itself stuck through the drywall upon another dodge from the experienced fighter. Seeing his chance, Lee slams the killer’s head into the handle of his knife, staggering him before driving his elbow between the man’s eyes. With a large thud, the man drops to the ground, Lee taking the chance to breath for a moment upon assuming the man to be unconscious Planning out his next steps, Lee takes his chance while it remains present, calling out for help before feeling the grip of the killer’s hand wrap around the circumference of his ankle. His balance taken out from beneath him, Lee falls to the ground, hitting his head on the doorframe as everything suddenly becomes hazy. Despite not being fully aware of his surroundings, Lee instinctively crawls towards the hallway, using the Phonoi statue to get himself up. Upon looking back into the room, Lee watches the source of his potential demise crawl to his feet and reach for the restricted knife, not wanting to start his group’s stay aboard with a vigilante murder. With the time to weight his options, Lee walks back into the room, the killer still struggling to gain any support beneath himself, plastered against the wall with his fingers stretching towards his weapon. Removing his own hidden knife from his pocket, Lee drives the blade into the killer’s hand, causing him to shriek out in pain before reaching towards his mask. Tearing the Halloween-inspired cover from the man’s face, Lee reveals an unfamiliar face, one struck with an equal amount of desperation and anger. Horrified in the expression from a man nearing death, Lee allows his instinct to judge the killer’s fate, the decision not a difficult one to make. With authority, Lee rips the blade impaled through the wall and drives it into the abdomen of the murderer, continuing to pull and push until the life finally leaves the assailants’ eyes. Needing to ensure his hands remain wiped clean, Lee pulls open the porthole window and removes his dagger from the killer’s hand, dumping his body through the slot and leaving the glass open. With a deep breath, Lee tosses his shirt and the killer’s knife out of the window for good measure, making sure to have kept just one of the culprit’s boots for good measure. For his final act, Lee takes the boot and dabs it in the woman’s blood, apologizing to the corpse for disrespecting her body before creating footprints leading to the porthole exit. Smearing the blood down the wall, Lee drops the boot and makes the scene one of murder-suicide. Exiting the room, Lee closes the door to the deceased’s residence and returns to the main foyer, ascending the staircase and returning to his quarters, the harrowing silence serving to be backdrop to the man’s first true kill. Sat behind a cold, metal table within a concrete-walled room lacking any visibility to the outside, Ally patiently awaits the figure she was informed would be arriving shortly. Lacking any clocks or sunlight, the room keeps those that inhabit it within the dark, the harsh light directly above only affording visibility in the literal sense. Unphased, Ally remains calm, her hands coupled together atop the platform in front of her, not wanting to show any signs of hostility or secrecy.
After a few additional minutes, a man dressed in seaman attire finally enters the room, an automatic thermometer in hand. “I’m gonna check your temperature now” the man says, Ally unmoving and unresponsive, just patiently waiting for someone to share the space her eyes coldly sit upon. The machine ringing favorably, the man pops the cover from the tool into the trash and takes a seat opposite Ally, who immediately changes her demeanor. “What did you see out there?” the man asks, Ally refusing to answer, first asking for the man’s name. “My name is Matt, I’m with the Euronam staff” the man replies, his response sounding scripted to the letter, as if he had performed it dozens of times, “I’ve been asked to ask you a few questions regarding your time on the mainland.” Unmoved, Ally remains docile, her hands folded atop the table whilst her eyes present the face of a woman not yet finished with questions of her own. “Where’s Lou?” Ally asks, her question being left unanswered, Matt attempting to ask another question of his own until Ally repeats herself. “Where is Lou?” Ally asks again, Matt hiding a sigh from the woman, knowing what it will take to get to his line of questioning, opting to not waste the time they still have bickering. “I want to know where Lou is, tell me where Lou is” Ally replies a third time, Matt hanging his head as he notices the figurative corner he’s been backed into. “Lou is in surgery” Matt replies, trying his best to keep the information as vague, yet assuring as he can. “He’s still in surgery?” Ally asks, challenging the man’s logic, Matt remaining poised and affirmative in his statement. “What is he in surgery for?” Ally asks, “no one will tell me what my boyfriend is in surgery for, and if you’re gonna ask me questions, I’m gonna get my answers first.” Nodding, Matt closes the folder he brought with him, offering the sign to Ally that he’s ready to get her answers situated first. “Lou is having his arm amputated from above the left elbow down, the infection was too severe for any less” Matt replies, Ally visibly taken aback, but refusing to show any signs of weakness or concern. “Where is the rest of my group?” Ally proceeds, Matt suggesting that she wouldn’t be kept for questioning if the rest of her group wasn’t. “Why should we trust you?” Ally asks, Matt smirking, the pen in his hand rocking back and forth in the soft palm of his hand. “You boarded the ship” the man replies, the woman opposite him finally taking her eyes away from him for the first time since he entered the room. “Now, if you don’t mind, we have some questions for you, too” Matt responds, slowly tilting his pen down and using the tip to open the folder once more, finally encouraged to begin his questioning upon the lack of rebuttal. “You said you left the mall, started driving for the docks and then helped Lou back into the truck cab” Matt explains, “when was all of this?” Staring towards the loose papers contained within the folder, Ally responds. “Last night” the woman mutters, the man understanding that the appearance she’s taking on is nothing more than a front to not be tread upon. “I’m not looking to discourage you, Alison” Matt explains, the woman’s eyes finally stumbling upon him again. “I simply want to know we haven’t let a group of maniacs and padded room-needers aboard the last ship still operating on the west coast” Matt explains, sliding a plastic cup of water towards the woman. Appreciative, Ally smiles, taking her index finger and knocking the flimsy cup over, the water spilling over the edge of the table and upon the floor. “I can’t trust you yet” Ally replies, “keep asking your questions.” With a nod, Matt caps the pen, giving up on the notion that he’ll easily take some notes and call it a day. “That’s fair enough” the man admits, leaning back in his seat and crossing one leg over another. “You’ve said you loaded him back into the truck and started heading for the drydocks” Matt explains, “how about you tell me what happened after that.” = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = “Are you sure this is the right place?” Ally calls out, Jules promising the woman that he’s not only read the map correctly, but can recognize landmarks in the immediate area supporting his claim. “Why is no one here?” Theo asks, Jules and Ally both without an answer, only the scattered remnants of what used to be a camp. Pressing on the horn twice, Ally continues to drive around the camp, looking into each broken tent as it passes her window to find nothing. “It’s abandoned” Elsie points out, noticing a portable stove top still powered on inside one of the empty tents, “it looks like they left this place in a hurry.” Her mouth agape without her having noticed, Ally starts fearing the worst, asking back to Elsie how long the stoves are meant to be powered before they run out of use. “No more than a few hours” the woman replies, Ally slowing the truck to a stop before pressing her forehead against the wheel. “We didn’t miss it” Terry reassures Ally, the woman refusing to believe in the most optimistic point of view, declaring the exact opposite. “We spent too much time in that fucking horror show that we missed the motherfucking ship!” Ally declares, Jules turning the dial on the radio in hopes of hearing the incoming signal. Upon locating the correct station, the group hears the offerings of safety, the welcoming tones of the voice only working to fuel Ally’s anger. In a moment of frustration, Ally slams her fist against the radio, cracking the transparent covering over the display. “Okay, you definitely did not need to break my radio” Jenn replies, Ally throwing her head back at the response. “Fuck off, Jenn” Ally replies, her hand reaching for the handle before throwing the door open and bolting from the seat. Walking to the back, Ally watches Theo and Terry collectively struggle to keep Lou down, the man refusing to sit and wait. Letting the man make his own decisions, Terry and Theo let go of his arm, watching the man to push himself up with the one arm afforded to him. “Lou, you’re in no condition to do anything other than sit the fuck down and hope we didn’t miss anything” Terry determines, the man continuing to pathetically fail to even get to his knees. “I can’t sit around waiting for-” Lou replies, stopped when a wave of vomit rushes from his mouth and splatters against the pavement. “-for some stupid fucking ship” Lou finishes, pushing himself out of the back and onto the ground, Ally the first woman to greet him upon his hopeless escape. “Lou, I want you to look at me” Ally asks, Jenn walking up behind her with a flashlight, the head of which shoots directly into Lou’s eyes. “What the fuck was that for!?” Lou asks, both arms lifted over his face to shield him, Jenn immediately noticing the speed at which his reaction came. “He’s not in good shape, he shouldn’t have reacted that quickly” Jenn replies, the heightened senses not convincing the man himself. “You blinded me with a flashlight, what else do you want me to do!?” Lou asks, his shoulders draped over the truck’s end. “Dude, we’ve got nothing else to do anyway, there’s no reason to just run around and get yourself more fucked up” Theo replies, Lou continuing to push the notion of rest being needed away. “If I sit down and play dead, I’ll start going quicker” Lou replies, the man terribly low on strength refusing to do anything other than assist the group in making themselves comfortable. “I want everyone looking around the camp for any food and water you can find” Lou exclaims, the majority of the remaining survivors left frustrated at the man’s continued stubbornness, “we don’t know how long we’ll be here, so let’s make sure we’ve got enough to last a few days.” Staying behind with her boyfriend, Ally tries to convince Lou to not deplete the remaining strength he has, hoping he’ll listen to her if she pleads enough. “I think they’ve got other plans!” Halston calls out, pointing at the blinking lights in the sky a good distance away. “Are those the choppers from back at my place?” Terry asks, Ally hurrying Lou into the backseat, admitting that whilst she doesn’t know, she certainly doesn’t want to find out. “Where are we going?” Jenn asks, Ally brushing off her concerns by parking the truck beneath a massive servicing crane, hiding it from the sights above and powering it off. “Everyone start piling in!” Ally demands, the remainder of the group turning off any light sources they can come across before returning to the vehicle. “Why can’t we trust these guys?” Lee asks, still confused at the vague nature of how Lou’s group operates. “Something just doesn’t sit right with me” Ally replies, hiding the fact that it’s actually Lou’s lack of trust in the structures of aviation that she’s operating on. “They’re not out there to help us” the man says, fully conscious, but his words slurred as if he were anything but. “Are they the military?” Theo asks, Lou admitting that he has just as much knowledge on them as the rest of the group does. “I still don’t understand why we’re afraid fo them” Lee admits, Lou telling the man that they’d be sending help to them if they had help to offer. “I think it probably is military” Lou replies, pushing himself back into his seat in order to remain upright, “I just don’t know how much of the military is truly left.” “So what, they’re just flying aimlessly and shooting at any piles they find?” Jenn wonders, Lou refusing. “They come down to refuel, but then they just go back up again” Lou replies, “there’s now way they consistently fly in a pack of four.” Curious, Theo amusingly asks why Lou has latched onto that bit of information. “The military always prefers an odd number that’s not one” Lou explains, “for example, three choppers means one can help another downed bird without the third diverting.” “It’s a tactic to sustain whatever their efforts are” Jenn replies, having stumbled upon her conclusion, a smiling Lou telling Jenn to make sure she’s the last to die. “If we all get wiped out, make sure you are left to tell the tale at least” Lou replies, Jenn’s eyebrows immediately dropping. “You’re the only person that realizes these things quick enough for it to be of use” Lou replies, “if we missed the ship and I don’t make it, I want you using that brain of yours to keep everyone safe.” “You’re not dying, bro” Terry replies, sat beside the man having made peace with whatever happens next. Looking back to the gross combination of colors having spread across his wound, Lou glances back to Terry, a frown on the group’s current leader telling all there is to tell. “Yeah, I am” Lou replies, a tear running down his girlfriend’s face as the truck goes numb, the whirring sounds of the choppers passing overhead serving as the soundtrack of a somber group. | “We just waited there” Theo admits, his hands folded in his lap as his leg taps against the ground, the man opposite him sat with a folder in front of him and a pen in his left hand. “Did Lou tell you he was going to die?” the man asks, the shiny badge on his shirt collar reading the name “Drew”, the light above reflecting across the surface and spotting itself on the cold wall behind the man interrogated. “He told all of us” Jules replies to the question, sat alone in a cold room all of his own, the man opposite him sporting the nametag of “Harris.” Sternly, Harris leans forward, telling Jules to be honest with him, and making it known that repercussions can be made if honesty is left out. Feeling threatened, Jules tells the man to stop challenging his composure, and instead, get to his question. “Did you kill the crowd we found floating around the docks?” another man with the nametag “Lonnie” asks, Jenn’s eyebrow lifting as if the man had asked her whether or not aliens existed. “What makes you think a small group of nine teenagers could wipe out a crowd of fifty people?” Jenn asks, clarifying, “not undead, I’m talking about living, fighting, people.” “What kind of force do you think we have?” Halston asks, leaning over the table with her right index finger planted against the table. “I’m not accusing you, I’m simply asking of your innocence” a man with the nametag “Luke” replies. “Fine, I’ll answer the question again” Halston replies, her reply coming with a brief pause between each word, “We didn’t kill those fucking people.” “Would you call yourself a killer?” a man with the nametag reading “Connor” asks, sat back in his seat with a smirk. “I think I’d call myself a bro” Terry replies, head against his hand, elbow pressed against the table, “but if your pasty-ass is gonna keep pushing this ‘did you do it’ shit, I think I’d call myself anything I damn well please.” The grin disappearing, Connor remains pressed against the back of his chair, brushing off the one-off question that follows. “What kinda dopey-ass parents name their kid ‘Connor’ anyway?” Terry asks, “make sense you’d be white as hell.” “How long have you known the people in your group?” a man with the name “Aiden” asks, the woman opposite him giving him a cold stare, her answers brief. “A few days” Elsie replies, a look of interest coming from the man opposite her. “And you speak as if you know them so well?” Aiden proceeds, the woman stating that Theo vouched for them. “Why would you just take Theo on his word?” a man with the nameplate reading “Chris” asks, Lee responding the same way Elsie would to the same question. “Because we trust Theo, and Theo trusts Lou” Lee concludes, leaving Chris with just one more question. “How can you all be so young, and still follow the lead of a man with as much experience as all of you unquestioned?” Matt asks, the same question repeated verbatim by every one of his counterparts. Without hesitation, Ally responds in equal verbatim with every other one of her fellow survivors, offering the stamp of approval the ship needed to understand who the brains behind the group is. “We trust Lou.” | “How do you think it all happened?” Halston asks, the car having been completely silent for far too long to be comfortable. “I think we fucked up somewhere” Theo replies, his refusal to believe the government to do anything without ulterior motives fueling his belief they quietly slipped up. “They probably made an attempt at something and it backfired” Theo continues, “tried to contain it and fucking up some more ‘cause they’re incompetant. Just shut up and let it happen.” “I can get on board with that theory” lou jokes, his finger placed into the air with a smile on his face, his eyes closed as if he were half-asleep. “If the military had any involvement, good or bad… This is all probably bioterrorism” Ally replies, “someone that caused far more chaos than even they anticipated. One massive Chicago bottlecap tampering gone horribly wrong.” “How did you guys manage all this time?” Lou asks, Theo admitting that it was much less than a favorable start. “We were all camping out in the woods for a weekend with some pretty shit equipment” Theo jokes, “came back into town and it was obvious that something was off.” Arm draped against the back of the truck, Lee admits that they didn’t realize anything was wrong until they started noticing the helicopters. “Once you saw cars left everywhere and helicopters pretty much replacing birds, we figured we should go back to the campsite and stay there for a while” Elsie replies, Theo finally asking how everyone else survived. “There were a few more of us back then” Terry replies, “lost one on the first day from a bite, lost another who had an accident, lost the last one that kept us all going.” “So you saw the dead?” Lee asks, Halston humorously responding that they were forced out by the dead. “We had to cut our losses, started driving out to Terry’s place, then had to cut through the woods where we found you guys” Ally concludes, her head looking back over the headrest of her seat, “that’s our story.” The conversation dying off for a moment, the group begins to notice something unusual, the sound of whirring helicopters slowly fading off into the distance as if it were a sign. Having noticed this, the group departs their vehicles, slowly emerging from cover to watch the fleet in the sky departing the scene, leaving the group to their vices until help arrives. Her eyes having instinctively looked back towards what the helicopters were flying away from, Jenn begins to call out for the attention of her group. “I think we might be alright” Jenn exclaims, the countless hours of waiting finally coming to an end as a massive ship slowly comes into view against the backdrop of a warm, orange sunset. An uneasy feeling being left in his stomach, Theo takes the group’s attention back to himself, raising the fair question being left unanswered. “If the ships hadn’t come yet, where did all of the people go?” the man asks, the joy of the crowd beginning to fade as Theo starts walking off, deciding to quickly survey the area as the ship blares its horn for the survivors to hear. “Wait up!” Terry calls out, admitting that his mistrust of the man doesn’t equate to wanting him to stumble into some terrible fate just before help arrives. “I appreciate it” Theo replies, Terry shaking his head, not wanting this to be the start of some common ground, replies with a simple, “shut up.” Continuing to aimlessly walk around in the pursuit of answers, Terry stumbles across a sight in the corner of his eye that interests him. Noticing the man to have caught something, Theo follows Terry, approaching the ledge of the docks and looking out into the water, the picture of what is left behind causing their jaws to drop. “We’ve got bodies!” Terry shouts, the group having overheard the declaration and hurried over at the immediate mention. Upon meeting Theo and Terry at the waterfront, the group finds the countless pool of bodies floating atop the water, scattered throughout the seas from the relative calm waves. “Who did this?” Jenn asks aloud, the dock being completely clear of anything that could endanger the lives of at least fifty people. “Let’s just make our innocence known before we board and not risk the only safety we’ve got” Elsie replies, the group returning to the loading dock with caution. | Led from the interrogation room, Ally follows Matt across the ship, passing my spacious areas and narrow corridors. Soon, the burning daylight in the sky that once presented itself for the first time since the group boarded disappears behind the artificial structures, the passageway becoming increasingly dimmer until the only source of light is a set of unsteady, flickering tube lights hanging from the ceiling. “Someone will be knocking on your door later this evening to welcome you to whatever you choose for this boat to be” Matt replies, Ally looking at him as if to ask if this is all over. “You said you had nothing to do with the bodies lining the shores” Matt replies, turning the knob and pushing the door open to reveal a room filled with all eight survivors, “we believe you.” “I want to see Lou” Ally replies, Jules assuring her they already tried and failed at that request before her. “I’m his girlfriend and I want to see him” Ally replies, doubling down on her request, which is again denied. “He’s still in surgery” Matt responds, “we can’t exactly allow anyone other than qualified staff to be present in the midst of a surgical procedure.” “I don’t care what I can and can’t do” Ally replies, stubbornly refusing to enter her cabin without her request being granted, “I have the right to see my boyfriend, so I’d expect to be taken there right now.” Growing agitated, Matt looks the girl and speaks with a calmer voice than before, breaking the scene down for her. “When the union went down, the idea of you having rights died” Matt responds, an evil declaration chilling the group, “if we say get in the cabin, get in the fucking cabin.” Left without any option that doesn’t directly force her group off on the next stop, Ally gives, storming into the room and slamming the door on Matt, the cramped group awaiting the greeting. “I have a bad feeling we made the wrong choice” Halston exclaims, Jenn immediately refusing to believe in such a line of dialogue. “It will all have been worth it once Lou gets up and walking” Jenn replies, “we can figure out what to do after that when we get there.” “Let’s hope he does start getting up and walking around” Theo replies, “the last thing we need is to have done all of this for nothing.” Refusing to take the pessimistic route now that they’ve made it abord, Ally reminds Theo that they gave Lou a fighting chance, which is more than he had before. “Now we wait” Jenn exclaims, resting her head on the backboard of the chair she sits the wrong way in, awaiting their official welcoming party. As the hours turn into half a day, the resting group begins slowly joining each other in concluding their sleep, Ally the only one having not closed her eyes once with such intentions. “No knock?” Terry asks as he wipes his eyes, a “nope” coming from Ally’s lips, the woman remaining sat upright against the wall, her eyes never once leaving the door. “I didn’t get much sleep last night, either” Jenn replies, a dark red line beneath her chin from the weight of her head pressing against the chair. “At least we have a view” Jules quips, the cabin low enough on the ship to nearly touch the ocean’s surface, every other second forcing a massive wave to engulf the circumference of the sights before settling for a nother brief moment. “Not ominous at all” Terry replies, sitting up and continuing to wait before a knock at the door finally gets the group moving again. Those awake leaping to their feet, others still asleep finally begin to wake up, Ally beating all others to the door. “Good morning” Drew greets, Theo rolling his eyes and muttering “uh, it’s you” under his breath. “Yes, it is me” Drew replies, requesting the group follow him out of the depressingly cramped cabin. Given the tour, the group is informed that they are being relocated to a more preferable sector of the ship, and being split up. “You can bunk together if you’d prefer, and it’d probably go a long way for your status on the ship.. Helping us and all” Drew informs, looking through the crowd for potential volunteers. “Terry and I will!” Theo cheers gleefully, the humor in his voice being met with quick refusal “This dude’s lying, don’t trust this bro” Terry shouts back, “I’ll room with Jules, but keep this bro away from me!” Shrugging, Theo offers to room with both Elsie and Lee. “You finally finding the chance to plot against us?” Jules asks, Theo suggesting sharing the same bathroom hole in the woods makes rooming together less bad in hindsight. “I’ll sleep with Jenn” Halston offers, Terry amusingly suggesting that everyone already knew that. Taking her moment to play into the joke, Halston adds to the offer, “I’ll also room with her” to the laughter of the majority of the group. “Any other takers?” Drew calls out, Ally the first to respond, her obvious offer pressing the limits the man’s patience can offer. “Speaking of rooming with Lou, I’d like to see him” Ally continues, Drew refusing, having to improvise an answer that only further worries the woman. “He’s in surgery, you can see him later” Drew replies, attempting to move on until the group as a collective begins to question him on that statement. “bro, get your facts straight” Terry demands, “you and all of us know damn well an amputation doesn’t take a whole fucking day. What’s going on?” The crowd turning on Drew, the man is forced to admit the truth, explaining that the medical wing is off limits from anyone without signs of an illness or harm. “We keep the infected in that wing, and we dump their bodies overboard when they die” Drew responds, “we don’t let anyone in there because we don’t know if there’s a chance you can catch the virus by contact.” Approaching the front of the group, Terry looks Drew in the eyes and tells him to swear that he’s not lying. Doing as told, Drew recites the request, leaving Terry to turn around and hide away a wink. “Fine, let’s go” Terry replies, tapping Ally’s hand. As Drew turns back, Terry winks at Ally, who nods at the man, fully aware that her worried sentiment is shared. Finally told that they will be tasked with jobs, the group is left to their new cabins, each room filled with multiple beds, some to be removed at a later date. Drew having walk away, Ally directs everyone into her room, the door closing behind them. “I don’t believe that for a second” Terry begins, “if they were so cautious about people touching the bodies, they wouldn’t be letting anyone on the fucking boat to start with!” The point agreed upon, the group begins to fear the worst. “I don’t know what they’re doing in there, but I don’t like Lou’s chances right now, even if they really did just fix him up and leave him in bed” Jenn explains. “We need to figure out what’s going on” Lee explains, “I’ve been given clean-up, so I’m pretty sure they’ll have me wipe up some vomit and such… Maybe I can use that somehow?” In agreement that any plan will need to be made with caution, the group begins to dissipate, wanting to settle in for the night before any further planning commences. “Hold on!” Ally calls out, the group stopping in the doorway and turning back, staring at the woman as she reminds everyone that Lou isn’t in charge. “Even if it’s temporary, he wanted us to make one thing certain” Ally continues, the group all turning towards Jenn, who stands amidst the group. “Jenn’s in charge right now” Ally concludes, the woman shaking her head in refusal, Ally refusing to give her any other choice. “Lou wanted you to be in charge if he couldn’t do it” Ally replies, “the way I see it, I’m going to make sure Lou gets what he wants.” Still in refusal, Jenn approaches Ally, assuring her that she is not the same leader as Lou, and things beneath her can only get worse than what Lou can do. “Lou’s a fucking folk hero, Jenn” Ally replies, reminding the core that they would have never survived the schoolyard without him, “you’re not supposed to be another Lou. You’re whatever Lou saw in you.” “I’m not the leader” Jenn replies, her head shaking in stubborn refusal until Ally tells her the opposite. “Lou said you were the leader when something like this happened” Ally replies, “so I say you’re the fucking leader.” Swallowing the anxiety that comes with the imagined title, Jenn glances back towards the group, who all suggest the same as Ally. Biting her lip, Jenn watches the group disperse, turning towards Ally, who smiles. “Lou knows his shit, which is why we made him the leader” Ally replies, “so if he says you should be the leader, I’m not gonna argue with him.” Her heart full despite her mind racing, Jenn hugs Ally, thanking her for getting them to the boat. “Now that we’re on this thing, figure out how to safely get us off it” Ally responds, tapping the woman’s shoulder as she walks away, leaving Ally to hope for Lou’s return. Drops of water leaking from a set of pipes in the back of the room protruding through the harsh silence, Terry and Jules sit upon the dirty ground back-to-back, held together by thick rope. “I’m Rory, by the way” the leading figure of the set of survivors holding the pair hostage says as he finally introduces himself. “The rest of the lads are Mark, Victor and Shane” he concludes, pointing towards each with a blade before continuing to slice bits from an apple.
“Where you two coming from?” the man asks, licking a slice of the fruit from the edge of the knife, watching the expressions of the two shift. “What do you mean?” Jules asks, he and Terry refusing to speak unless told to, a sign of both defiance and amity. “We’re covered in dirt and you’re both clean aside from a few wrinkles” Rory replies, his point posing a fair stance, “you must have someplace to at least take a shower.” “We don’t have anywhere” Terry replies, begrudgingly giving the man an answer, who immediately calls his bluff. “We haven’t had a place since a few days ago” Jules replies, “he’s not lying.” Gloves over his hands shredded from years of use, Rory looks at both men before swallowing the apple slice between his teeth, asking where they’re coming from once more. “An old school on the skirt of LA” Terry replies, Rory’s glance towards Jules being redirected amongst the offer from his counterpart. “Got overrun for a second time a few days ago, we had to flee” Terry reiterates, looking back towards the lead scavenger, “I’m telling you, I ain’t lying.” Continuing to slowly chew his food before allowing the remains to glide down his throat, Rory tells the man that something about his statement fails to make sense. “You mean to tell me that two of you have been hunkered down in a big ole’ school building since, what? This whole thing started?” Rory asks, Terry shrugging his shoulders. “Like I said, we got overrun for a second time” Terry replies, “we were lucky to have figured shit out the first time around.” Again shaking his head, Rory finds himself unable to trust Terry completely, the colors in the picture still not perfectly aligning with the paint on the pallet. “Truth be told, I think I’d probably believe you if I was less focused” Rory explains, “but it’s hard to believe the two of you could control a horde when you don’t even show up to a mall with at least one gun.” Slicing another piece away, Rory places his teeth on the edge before taking his mouth away, admitting that Terry speaks a nearly convincing game. “You come in here with knives and a hook” Rory replies, “those aren’t the kinda tools used for crowd control.” His bluff called once more, Terry thinks over a response, his tongue placed in the corner of his mouth before turning away from the man and looking up in refusal. “If you’re gonna try to latch onto everything thinking it’s a ‘gotcha’ moment, I’m not even gonna bother trying” Terry replies, immediately forcing curiosity over Rory’s face. “If there was ever a time to not give up trying, it would probably be now” Rory replies, taking the slice into his mouth this time. “There’s no use when a guy doesn’t understand how a school is laid out” Terry replies, Rory immediately latching onto that statement, inquiring the step-by-step process of holding off a horde with a knife and a hook. Painting the picture for the man, Terry clarifies having taken the hook from the corpse’s back, the rest having been opportunity. Citing narrow hallways and an entire unused wing of the building, Terry clarifies that they simply trapped the horde and continued on. “We didn’t need to kill anything, just pick our spots” Terry explains, “if you can’t figure out how the dead look at the concept of a doorknob, perhaps you’re not as focused as you claim.” Lips puckered, Rory takes off the final slice of his fruit, tossing the core against the back wall and nodding, returning to the toppled shelving he sat upon minutes prior. “So, you wanna grill me on how they got loose, or are you satisfied?” Terry asks, the confidence putting a smile on Rory’s face. = RISE and REVOLT is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series from Season 1 onwards belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media = The sun beginning to set on the mall, Jenn and Halston return to the main center of the building, its lifeless interior shaded orange from the fading skies above. Upon taking the sights in for a moment, the girls return to the parking lot, the welcomed sight of the truck paired with the questionable lack of the other two-thirds of their group. “They not out yet?” Jenn calls, her arms extended as Ally emerges from the vehicle. “No, you’re the first ones out since you left” Ally replies, the response not installing confidence in the returning women, who look towards each other as if to question whether or not to share their findings. “What did you see?” Ally asks, reading the shared glances well enough to know that at least some information is being withheld. Following Jenn and Halston into the mall, Ally, Lee and Elsie take in the sights of the decaying complex, the pair of women quietly leading them down the west wing and into the dining hall. “This place looks like it hasn’t been touched in years” Elsie mutters, the state of the building unheard of for something simply left to the elements for little more than a month. Finally turning the final corner, the trio stumble upon the same pattern of smeared blood on the floor. Bypassing the sight, Ally leads Lee and Elsie into the bathroom, finding the pile of deceased all stacked upon each other. Jaw dropped with her arm held over her face, shielding her nose from the stench of decay, Ally watches Lee approach the corpses, cautiously stretching his hand out towards one of the bodies. Finger outstretched, the man pulls the eyelid of the body open, revealing a pearly-white, glassy-eye remain indicative of a recent kill. “Look at the bodies on the bottom” Lee calls, the rotting corpses buried beneath the pile in the worst state of the lot, “those have been dead for a month at least, this one definitely hasn’t.” Curious, Ally asks what Lee is trying to get at, the picture less obvious when painted to her than Jenn, Halston and Elsie. “It means these kills have taken part over a long stretch of time” Elsie replies, “some recent, some old… Means whoever did this has been hiding out here for a while.” “So they could still be here?” Ally quickly asks, her worries beginning to rise as she glances back to Jenn and Halston, realizing what they all allowed the rest of the group to walk into. “Not only that, but these corpses are all from the living” Lee replies, pointing to the stab wounds to the head on most of the bodies, “these weren’t undead kills, these were straight up murders.” Tensions mounting, Ally inquires where the remainder of the group went, splitting the remaining survivors into pairs. “You and Halston go looking for Lou and Theo” Ally directs, removing a pocket knife from her boot, “Lee, Elsie and I will go after Terry and Jules.” Their sights travelling from Ally and onto Theo’s counterparts, Jenn and Halston question the decision for a moment, their curiosity quelled when Ally doubles down on her plan. “We’ll be fine, we all want the same thing after all” Ally replies, waving the girls to get searching before it becomes too late. “Come on, we don’t have much daylight left” Ally orders, the sacrifice to put her trust in them motivating Lee and Elsie to follow directions without question, following the woman’s lead as she directs them towards the decrepit wing of the mega-structure. | “I want the truth out of you!” Rory shouts, a heavy grunt originating from his throat as his fist rattles Terry’s jaw, forcing a line of spit intermixed with blood to slowly descend from Terry’s lip. “He’s telling you the truth, man!” Jules shouts, Rory striking the interjecting man in the abdomen for his interruption causing Jules’ efforts to halt. “We’re alone, bro” Terry replies, his arms restrained by Mark and Victor as Shane keeps Jules from retaliating with a gun held to his head. Another punch following, Rory continues to ask the question, Terry’s face beginning to welt in response to the abuse, the inner refusal to give into Rory’s demands fueling a defiant rage. “Eat shit, bro” Terry replies, spitting at the ground before Rory’s shoe, the disrespect further fueling the anger the man holds. His arm loading back in preparation for another strike, Rory watches Terry brace for the impending shot before the sound of a voice finds its way within. “Get o-!” Terry attempts to shout, Rory cutting him off by shoving his hand over his mouth and listening for a follow-up. “We’ve gotta head out now!” the voice calls out again, enticing the smile on Rory’s face to stretch an evil way. Without wasting another moment, Rory directs a shot to the bridge of Terry’s nose, putting him under as the same is done to Jules, leaving the door open for the savage pack of wanderers to slowly approach their new prey. Cautiously returning to the run down storefront, Rory directs his men towards the windows, informed of three survivors, two of which baring firearms. Nodding, Rory sends the signal for Shane and Victor to depart, he and Mark arming themselves before leaving cover. “Hands up, you’re surrounded!” Rory shouts, he and Mark covering the opposite side of Victor and Shane, forcing Ally to place her hands in the air as Elsie and Lee draw their weapons in each direction. “There’s two of you with guns, and four of us with guns” Rory calls out, “even if you’re a good shot, it doesn’t take much for this to be a fatal mistake to make.” Surprised at being outnumbered, Ally is left to approach things from an analytical perspective, looking for something to buy time with the savages over. Her eyes darting to each inch of Rory’s gear, Ally notices a deep stain on the left side of his jacket, putting the puzzle together in her head. “Did you make that pile back there?” Ally asks, beginning to notice similar staining on Mark’s apparel as well, “the stack of bodies over near the cafe?” A smirk, Rory congratulates the woman on her awareness, joking that she’d have been rewarded a cookie if they weren’t amidst an outbreak. “Why’d you do it?” Ally asks, Rory intrigued by her inquiry, “what did they do to you?” With a chuckle, Rory replies with a simple, “nothing” as if he were proud of his work, “this is a fight for survival, girl… Ain’t no room for error nowadays.” Rory’s reasoning sending a chill down the length of her spine, Ally begins to understand the mindset of the individual she’s dealing with, beginning to fear that common ground or typical reasoning has been thrown out the window before it could even be introduced. “So you didn’t think they had anything valuable of use?” Ally asks, continuing to hold out hope for reasoning to be found, “didn’t think it’d be easier to grow numbers in this world than decrease them?” his lips puckered, Rory eyes the woman’s chest, noticing the jewelry hanging from around her neck. “That the Christian cross?” Rory asks, noticing the symbol long enough to nearly reach the part between her cleavage. “No one would wear such a big cross if they weren’t, I guess” Rory replies, answering his own question, “I assume that means you’re familiar with the concept of mortality?” Beginning to choose her words carefully, Ally responds with a short, “I know of it” to humor Rory, hoping to keep Rory preoccupied, assuming the standoff to last as long as Rory decides for it to. “I don’t like to look much the part, but I used to practice that shit when I was a kid, too” Rory replies, “it stopped making sense after a while, and now… Now it just seems silly.” With a deep breath, Ally asks the man for his reasoning, explaining that continuing to be afforded life appears as the most undisputed proof of his existence. With a laugh, Rory asks if the woman has recently stopped taking medication, poking fun at the optimistic thought. “How’re you gonna tell me some all-powerful fuck upstairs would let something like this happen?” Rory asks, “we’re human beings, we evolve with the culture.” Eyes squinting, Ally begins to slowly find interest in the line of communication, challenging Rory’s standpoint. “Didn’t he give us free will?” Ally asks, “if there was any chance in culture, wouldn’t it only be possible because we decided that it needed to be?” Tilting his head to the side, Rory genuinely asks whether or not Ally believes in what she’s repeating to him. “To an extent, I do” Ally replies, “I’m not the biggest practicing Catholic, but I think I’d blame this violent culture we established even before this all went down on us instead of the ‘big guy’.” “He wouldn’t have let it get this far” Rory replies, Ally immediately asking him why he wouldn’t have. “Wasn’t the whole idea of him to be that he tested us on whether we were good or bad?” Ally asks, “why would he interrupt his test just to feed us the answers?” Lips puckered, Rory shakes his head, admitting that he can’t see a line of dialogue with Ally working in any way other than one that defies logic. “Oh really?” Ally asks, her hands dropping and the pocket knife in her hand being tossed aside, the woman walking over to a bench on the opposite end of the wing. Taking a seat, Ally looks back to the man after taking one of two seats facing each other. “Put your gun down and try me” Ally responds, a look of amazement spreading across Rory’s face. “Deal” Rory replies, his gun placed to his feet before he approaches the chair, taking the seat opposite Ally and letting her begin. | On his lonesome at the bottom of on flight of stairs, an undead begins to notice the sound of footsteps coming closer as the source descends. Finally, the undead catches the sight of Lou, his injured arm held behind his head as his free one reaches out, taking the corpse by the forehead and crushing its skull against the cement wall at the bottom. With a moment to catch his breath, Lou overhears the sound of the horde finally making their way to the top of the staircase. “Giving me little room for error, huh?” Lou mutters beneath his breath, beginning to return to his descent until he comes up with another idea. The grunting from the man as he fights past the pain of removing his shirt and tying it around the open injury beginning to heighten the horde’s desire to catch up, Lou soon begins taking the bottom of his foot to the corpse’s chest cavity. Breaking the bones within well, Lou rips at the weakened flesh, revealing a gross underside that Lou quickly forces himself to bare. With one hand, the man slathers the guts within across his chest, back and stomach, making sure to cover every inch of his skin as the horde grows nearer. Now wearing the innards like a shirt, Lou takes the moment to lose his lunch where he stands before slowly continuing onward. | Their weapons ready, Jenn and Halston slowly walk deeper into the bowels of the mall, cautious to leave any scene unchecked. Her finger pressed to her lips, Halston looks to Jenn and points to her own ear, the faint sound of heavy breathing coming from a corner of the wing. Looking around, Jenn spots an open elevator shaft, the sound of the struggles clearly resonating from that direction. Their weapons held at neck-level, Jenn and Halston quickly approach the shaft, standing on each side of the doors and preparing themselves for whatever appears from within. Pressing her elbow against the structure’s frame, Jenn puts her foot out and forces the door open, the empty space within unsettling once the sound only grows louder. “Come out, now!” Jenn calls, the sound of struggle above turning into a fearful shock, only to be followed by a cry of human error. Slipping from his position on the floor above, Theo falls from the second level and crashes into the elevator roof below, quickly continuing to drop through the open hole he and Lou left behind. Calling his name out in confusion, Jenn helps Theo to his feet, the man having escaped without injury, but not without suspicion. “Where the fuck is Lou?” Halston asks, her trust of Theo having taken a fall before it could even begin as soon as he and Terry began the morning off on a sour note. Despite her lack of trust in the man, Halston patiently waits for the man to catch his breath before hearing his explanation of events. “We wanted to see what was left behind in the theater section” Theo admits through bated breaths, “but we booked it when we saw the horde up there.” Demanding Theo get past the pleasantries, Jenn is forced to bare the remainder of the story. “We covered ourselves in those corpse guts and tried to go through the emergency exits, but Lou started bleeding through his bandages” Theo explains, “then he ditched me and ran off.” Looking towards her other half, Jenn admits to Halston that the story sounds a lot like something Lou would do. “Yeah, of course it’s something Lou would do” Halston admits, “but who else would know what Lou would do other than his questionable childhood friend?” Making a fair point, Halston finds her stance immediately depleted when Theo reminds her that he and Lou never had a history of burying themselves in corpse-guts prior to their reunion. Looking back to Halston, Jenn’s eyebrows lift, suggesting her belief in Theo’s story, the conversation immediately turning into a quest to find Lou. | “The moment you lose faith in something is the moment everything else comes into question” Ally states, Rory intently listening to the point made, “how is that not the question we ask?” Hand pressed against his knee, Rory opens his mouth to follow the statement, only to overhear the subtle shouts called from the depths of the mall, a voice sounding like Jenn’s calling the names of all those missing within her group. Grabbing Ally by the arm, Rory holds the woman against him, hand covering her mouth as Mark, Victor and Shane all hold their weapons towards Lee and Elsie. “Drop your weapons!” Rory shouts, his voice responding before anyone can come within view. “We’ve got your friends and bad things will happen if you don’t do as we say!” Rory continues, Jenn, Halston and Theo all turning the corner with their hands held high. “We didn’t come here for trouble” Jenn replies, hiding a smile deep down as she notices the faces of each savage appear with the look of increasing paranoia. “How many more of you are there?” Rory calls, Jenn responding in few words that there’s only who he can see. “Bullshit!” Rory replies, his intention of debating having turned into the tone of a man having felt betrayed by his own incompetence, “your friend tried telling me the same thing!” “Did our friend attack you?” Jenn asks, Rory responding with an honest refusal, replying in the same fashion when Jenn asks if Ally, Lee or Elsie did either. “Why would they tell people that have held them against their will the truth?” Jenn asks, “it doesn’t seem like you’re very honest or trustworthy people.” “They’re not!” a voice shouts from the depths of the building, the faces of every surviving individual within the halls turning with surprise. Within seconds, the sound of a metal door being quickly slammed against its framing begins to put the groups on edge, Rory immediately demanding to know what’s happening. “It sounds like my boy here had a plan” Theo replies, the surprise on his face met with a look of enjoyment. “Who’s your boy?” Rory asks, the sound of the slamming metal originating from the emergency exit behind him, but the full force of the remaining group left in the opposite direction. “A pretty makeshift motherfucker” Theo replies, Rory immediately looking back and forth, his eyes setting on the door behind him and the numbers before him. “You scared, bro?” Terry asks, having emerged from the broken storefront to retrieve Rory’s weapon whilst Jules stands behind him. “From the way my blurry as sees it, you probably should be” Terry exclaims, Rory’s paranoia increasing as he demands the figure creating the conflict behind him show himself. Within moments, the sound of heavy footsteps tapping against the concrete stairs begins to appear, each step followed by a pause. “These your friends!?” Rory calls out, the paranoia only increasing as the horror-movie sounds continue without answer. “Show yourself or I’ll break this chick’s neck, I swear!” Rory shouts, removing his hand from the woman’s mouth and repositioning them. “Lou, it’s not great out here!” Ally calls, admitting the situation to be less than favorable, prompting a silence from within the stairwell the moment those words begin to leave Ally’s mouth. An extended silence following, tensions remain where they were left, anxiety coursing through Rory’s veins before the door slowly creeks open, a muck-covered Lou stumbling out. Hand pressed against the door, Lou kicks the door-stopper down and lets his arms hang, the hissing and groaning from behind him only helping to further the serial killer-like scene. “Let her go” Lou replies, Rory shaking his head, demanding Lou order his group to stand down. “He’s scared Lou” Terry calls out, Theo admitting from the back that he does indeed look rather creepy. “Is he?” Lou asks, looking towards Terry before slowly stumbling forward, Rory instinctively backing away the closer Lou gets. “He probably should be” Lou replies, the horde of undead slowly swarming out from the stairwell, Rory’s eyes shooting open at the sights. “He didn’t choose the right people to pick a fight with” Lou concludes, standing in place as the horde catches up, Rory’s eyes nearly falling out of his head as the army of the dead walk around him, ignoring his presence and aiming for the living. “Open fire” Lou declares, Terry, Lee and Elsie taking out Rory’s savages in succession, leaving Rory to staggeringly glance back at his own army falling. Jaw dropped, Rory accidentally loses his grip on Ally, who pulls away from Rory and kicks him backwards, Lou having emerged from the horde to catch the murderous deviant. “Game over, buddy” Lou whispers, having kept a rib bone from the undead he bathed within the guts of and buried it within Rory’s kidney. Changing positions, Lou holds his hand over Rory’s mouth and aims him towards the horde, waiting for the dead to catch up before leaving them to their meal. “And the dead take their revenge” Lou mutters to himself, watching Rory collapse beneath the pile of the dead now piling atop the fatally wounded meal. His job done, Lou nods towards his group to retrieve the weaponry and return for their vehicle. “We’ve still gotta get to the coast” Lou exclaims, declaring Ally as the designated driver once more and leaving fate up to the hands of the docks. Returning to their vehicle, the group returns to the road, Lou and Theo stationed in the back of the truck with Elsie, Lee, and Terry. “Good call to pick up the dude’s gun when you did” Theo utters to Terry, “it was bad ass.” Looking back to the man, Terry informs Theo that he still doesn’t like him any more than he did this morning. “We ain’t friends, dude” Terry replies, “don’t get that twisted up in your head.” Nodding to himself, Theo accepts the improper timing, the escape from the mall itself not having wiped the fact that Theo has yet to be seen as trustworthy in the eyes of most. “I don’t know you, I don’t know what you fuckers did before all of this began” Terry clarifies, “and just ‘cause you ain’t fucked us over yet, don’t mean you ain’t gonna fuck us over at some point.” “Alright, fine” Theo replies, “had Lou not been with you in those woods, we would’ve robbed and left you all for dead, so I get it.” Both parties nodding, Terry looks back to the man, offering him a piece of advice. “The only reason we’re cool with you is because Lou vouches for you” Terry responds, “so if you really wanna prove you aren’t some shady assholes, don’t take that privilege for granted.” Accepting that fact, Theo comes to an agreement with Terry, admitting that it’ll take some time before any proper integration is made. “Most important thing is that we all made it out of there” Theo exclaims, looking towards Lou with a smile, “and it’s all thanks to this son of a bitch and his horror-movie shit.” Patting his friend on the knee, Theo notices his head resting against the top of the cab, having taken a seat atop the edge of the truck bed. Still smelling of the decease, the shirtless Lou sits wiped off of his undead-coverage, looking sickly and frail. “You good, Lou?” Terry asks, the man lifting his head up and nodding as if he had just woken up, wiping the exhaustion from his face as he leans from one side to another. “You really don’t look so good, man” Terry explains, Theo standing from his spot and holding the man’s eyelids open, only for him to disappear over the edge in a moment. “Holy shit!” Theo exclaims, slamming his fist on the hood of the cab, “stop the fucking truck!” The mostly smooth-roadway offering no sudden bumps or potholes along the way, no explanation other than his condition explains the reasoning behind Lou’s collapse from the truck. His shirtless body skidding and rolling across the pavement, Lou comes to a stop, face-down as the truck’s tires burn to a halt. The first to leap off the bed of the vehicle, Theo and Terry race over to the man, checking for signs of life the moment they reach him. “What the fuck hapened!?” Ally asks she she and Jenn dash over to help save the man’s life. “I was checking his eyes and he just fell over!” Theo shouts, “I think he passed out!” In a daze, Ally ponders whether or not he remains breathing, Terry hearing his lungs fill with air despite the weaker pulse. “He’s got a pulse, but it’s weak” Terry exclaims, Theo smacking the sides of the man’s head as he clammers for the man to show any sign of consciousness. “We’ve gotta get him in the truck!” Terry calls out, Theo reminding them to be weary of a neck injury. “The last thing we need to do is paralyze him by moving too quickly!” Theo exclaims, Halston rushing over with a neckbrace taken from terry’s residence. Knowing how to use it, Theo wraps the brace around Lou’s neck and assists Ally, Jenn, Halston and Terry in bringing the body back into the truck bed. “We’ve gotta get to that boat now!” Theo exclaims, ordering Terry to hold Lou steady as Ally steps on the gas, flooring the truck and its inhabitants towards their final destination. |
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November 2022
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