Hard Times (DD)

"Hard Times" is the tenth episode of Season 1 of Dark Days. It is the tenth episode overall. It premiered on September 3, 2019.

Synopsis
"The students recognize their new situation. Kylie is forced into a compromising position. Warren must make a big decision."

Plot
The door to the small room suddenly swings open, Dahlia entering as a woman, who is ironing, suddenly stops and looks up at her. “Dahlia?”

“No time to talk Ms. Adams, I’m gonna need this room.” The girl holds up a hand as she approaches the woman, signaling for those outside to wait. “Leave the iron, I’ll make sure everything gets cleaned up and returned to your tent this evening.”

The woman, Ms. Adams, looks over Dahlia’s shoulder, and as if on cue, multiple people begin to enter, wrists bound together behind their backs. Most look like students, though a few people she does recognize -- Wilkes and Bob -- are there as well, training guns on them.

“W-What… ahem…” She clears her throat, meandering in place as her eyes dart back and forth from Dahlia to the hostages. “What is… going on?”

“Everything will be fine, Ms. Adams. I promise.” Dahlia turns to her accomplices. “Wilkes, please escort her to her tent, just in case.”

The man eyes the hostages, before looking to Dahlia and nodding. “Come on, Claudette…” He takes her hand and slowly walks out of the room with her, leaving Bob as Dahlia’s one remaining cohort.

The hostages, as few as there are crammed into the small room, start to speak up as they are forced to sit lined up along the wall.

“Hey, HEY!” Gina screams, starting to stand before Bob pushes her back to the ground, as a few other men walk into the room with rope. “You bitch, I’m fucking talking to you! Where the hell is Parks?!”

“Let me the-- fuck-- go!” Rocky shouts, crying out in anger and agony as he is delivered a kick to the gut, sending him collapsing to the floor beside Gina.

“R-Rocky!” Candice pushes away from the men, hurrying to her son. However, she is tripped almost immediately, and she falls to the ground with a thud. “G-Gnggh!”

“M-Mom!” Rocky clamors, starting to scoot over, but he is kicked in the side and sent back into Gina.

A commotion erupts.

“Who the fuck even are you people?!”

“''Let. Us. GO!''”

“Stop fucking TOUCHING ME!”

“Where the fuck is the bitch who did this?!”

“Get the hell off of me!”

“HEY!!” Dahlia stomps her foot down, yelling over everyone. She reaches for a cabinet nearby, rapping her fist against the metal and creating a series of loud bangs. “All of you SHUT THE FUCK UP!!”

The commotion in the room dies down rapidly, all eyes and ears tuned to the young woman. Dahlia closes her eyes, exhaling soft, barely audible, yet quite shaky breaths. A few moments later, she rolls her shoulders back, opens her eyes, and looks around the room.

“These arrangements are temporary.” She begins. “All I ask is that you bear with us for the time being.”

“Can you give us a fucking explanation?!” Rocky squawks, glaring hard at the young woman, who does not even flinch whatsoever at the sudden outburst.

“I mean… I suppose I do owe you that much at least.” Dahlia nods slowly, her voice trailing a bit, as if she is choosing her words carefully. “But I need… everyone to hear me when I say this -- we’re not here to hurt you.”

“BULLSHIT!!” Rocky suddenly shrieks, starting to get up. However, he is forcefully shoved back down and held in place by Bob. “''You stupid bitch, you don’t want to hurt us?! You got my dad killed-- GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME, YOU’RE THE ONE WHO DID IT!!''”

The boy continues to struggle, with pained, infuriated grunts escaping him as Bob keeps him seated. All of the remaining hostages look away, sans Candice who watches her son with fear, and sadness.

Dahlia herself averts her gaze, looking down at the floor. She bites her lip, clenching and unclenching a fist, before she sighs and looks back into his eyes. “I… I didn’t want anyone up there to die. I mean that.”

Rocky starts to scream another obscenity, but Bob glares with his emotionless, deformed face. “You betta watch yo’ mouth.”

That seems to silence the adolescent for the time being. He gives one more deathly glare to Bob, then turning it to Dahlia, before settling back down.

However, someone else speaks up in his place.

“Can you answer me now?” Warren asks, his voice sounding slightly casual, though with an obvious touch of unease. “Is Raye really dead?”

Dahlia snaps her head over to Warren, but her words lag behind. She looks into his soft, hazel eyes, blinking rather quickly, and feeling a little unnerved.

“... yes.” She nods slowly. “He is dead… and I killed him. But I need to explain everything… I need that chance at least, and you will have your time for rebuttal.”

“Then talk.” Warren suddenly spits back at her. “I want answers, we all do.”

All eyes fall back onto Dahlia -- even Bob has a neutral, yet expecting gaze. The girl’s eyes flutter around the room, as she tries to collect her thoughts and find a good place to begin.

“About a year ago, after Roger Mulligan -- that stranger that I let in my first day on watch -- showed up at our gates, asking for help… after Daniel Noire, our head of defense, mercilessly executed him in the office of principal Blaine Parker…” She glances around between each person, unable to make proper eye contact. “I began sneaking out of the university grounds in secret, to find more people to help. I found the people society left behind. And the people who work for me now, are the culmination of my efforts.”

“So you just brought a bunch of filthy strangers to live in our fucking basement? Huh?” Melissa speaks up, catching Dahlia’s attention. “Is that it? You felt bad one complete stranger died, so you risked everybody’s lives on even more complete strangers?”

“I gave these people a fighting chance.” Dahlia retorts, stepping towards her, looking down at her fiercely. “There were… dangers out there, well within the limits of Tuscaloosa. At least, what remains of it. They would’ve never survived out there. They had no supplies. I made a conscious effort to save lives.”

“And you did this for a whole year? Never told a fucking person?” Gina asks, groaning slightly. “You want us to pity these people? You want us to overlook the fact that they fucked us?!”

“What about the lives you took, huh?” Virgil speaks up, getting onto his knees. “Where the fuck did you take Oliver? What the hell are you gonna do to him?!”

“What about Kylie?” Warren leans in. “What the hell did she do?! Where is she??”

“And Chad, and Erika.” Rocky adds, though there’s very few mumbles of agreement.

“I separated the dangers, and the informants.” Dahlia holds up her hands, motioning to shush everyone, though the mumbling continues, despite her efforts. “I did the safe thing… the three remaining members of Ms. Gardens’ cult, whether or not they defected, are being held separately. If they can betray you once, they can do it again. As for Kylie, she’s the last person from Caroline’s party alive, and she knows what the streets of Tuscaloosa are like. I need to get information from her on what happened, and if there’s anything out there besides the dead.”

“So why’d you kill Raye?” Warren purses his lips, though as he talks, his voice escalates, and a few tears roll down his cheeks. “Tell me, please. What the hell did he do to deserve to die?? You just… you just KILLED him?! You just MURDERED my BEST FUCKING FRIEND?!”

“You think I wanted to?!” Dahlia snaps, getting closer to Warren and leaning down at him. “Do you really think I wanted to shoot him in the face? Is that what you really think?! He was my friend too, okay?!”

“You killed your best friend for no fucking reason!”

“I killed my best friend to protect my people!”

“YOU JUST FUCKING IMPRISONED YOUR FUCKING PEOPLE!!”

Dahlia retaliates by smacking him hard across the face. He winces, glaring back at her -- but his gaze softens as he sees a slightly perturbed, fearful expression on her face. She composes herself, and steps back.

“I did what I had to do, and I don’t regret it.” She shakes her head, before turning and approaching the door. “Everyone, come with me. We have a few more people to gather together, and we can hold them in here for now. As for the rest of you, get comfortable. You won’t be hurt, but let’s be honest -- if I tried to leave you all unbound and free to roam, you’d fight back, and we’d have to kill you. I’m avoiding conflict.”

“We’re gonna kill you and your bastards anyways.” Gina threatens, staring at her coldly.

Dahlia gives her one look, before turning away. “We’re stronger than you all. We have much greater numbers. Listen to us, or all of you die. And I don’t want anyone else to die… but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you fight.”

Before anyone can say another word, Dahlia departs, vanishing into the dimly lit halls, with Bob and the rest of the Homeless members who had joined trailing behind. Bob himself closes the door, and a click indicates it has been locked.

Immediately, Gina begins to squirm, trying to pull away, grunting angrily -- but the ropes had been tied to the rusty pipes behind them, leaving her and the rest of the remaining survivors almost entirely immobile.

“Gina, just stop fighting…” Kenny mutters, seated near her with Rocky and Candice between them. “We can’t do anything right now.”

“Bullshit, we gotta get out of here and we have to fight!” Gina keeps kicking and pulling, trying to free herself. “We can’t just sit here while Parks and the others are out there in danger!”

“Principal Parker isn’t the only one missing…” Grace speaks up. “There’s other students and staff still out there.”

“William’s still gone.” Melissa mumbles. She hears sniffling beside her, and Jack is curled up as best as he can manage, crying softly into his legs. “Jack… come on, chin up.”

“We’re all g-gonna DIE in here!!” Jack suddenly shrieks, trembling and crying.

“Great, can’t wait to listen to this for hours…” Melissa rolls her eyes.

Grace shakes her head and nudges him. “We’ll be fine. Will’s probably gonna get away from them and save us. Alright?”

“Assuming he’s still alive, that bitch is probably killing everyone who looks at her wrong…” Rocky mutters, before turning and noticing Warren’s empty gaze, the blonde staring at the floor. “Uh… Warren, you… okay?”

His face briefly contorts. A tear emerges, lining his eyelid on the cusp of falling, before dribbling off down his cheek and hitting the cement floor below. Warren sniffs, extra tears trickling down his face.

“... m-my best f-fr-friend is d-dead…” He chokes, his voice cracking. He shakes his head, tucking it down into his lap and pulling his legs up. “S-She… m-my Dollie… sh-she killed Raye…!”

Nobody says anything, quiet and solemn eyes locked onto Warren’s quaking figure. Gina is the one to clear her throat. “She killed Raye, and she… betrayed us, locked us up… got Daniel killed.” She sighs, shaking her head, and biting her lip. “Bitch has to die.”

“NO--!” Warren turns to shout before the door clicks and is suddenly kicked open, all heads snapping to attention as several people pour in -- the first being a young, brown-haired male with a slim build, struggling in bindings as he is forced into the room by Bob.

“DAMMIT you piece a’ shit, let me GO!!”

“W-What the-- Kevin?!” Warren exclaims, watching the young man get dragged, turned, and shoved down beside him, before his bindings are fastened to the pipe.

“'I’m gonna KILL ALL OF YOU!! GIVE MY SISTER BACK YOU ASSHOLES!!'” Kevin screams, continuing to kick and squirm, fighting Bob’s attempts to bind him -- however, he ceases when a blonde girl is brought in, held captive by Jesse. “N-Nancy!”

“Kevin--!” The girl is forced beside Kevin, tied up similarly. “D-Did they hurt you?”

“Who gives a damn!? Are you okay??” He pants, though he looks concerned.

“Uh, excuse me, but where the hell have you two been??” Rocky pipes up. “Why’d it take so long for them to capture you?!”

Kevin huffs. “Ever heard of ‘fighting back’?”

“Did you find Parks?” Gina asks quickly, leaning towards them, though she is visibly annoyed at the ropes still binding her. “Is Parks okay?!”

Kevin fidgets where he sits, eyeing the floor. “I-I… um…”

Bob and Jesse then re-enter the room, slower this time -- Bob has a bloodied and bruised Parker, and Jesse has a beaten Pam.

All eyes widen -- though none go wider than Gina’s. She fights to break away even harder. “N-No-- 'WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?! I’LL KILL ALL OF YOU ASSHOLES!!'”

“Gina.” Parker mutters, his voice slightly hoarse and muffled. He coughs slightly, glaring at her with cold eyes.

“'Where the fuck’s Dahlia?! BITCH, I KNOW YOU’RE OUT THERE!! GET READY TO DIE!!'”

“GINA THAT IS ENOUGH!!” Parker bellows, stomping his foot on the ground and glaring at the girl, who goes quiet immediately, and shuffles back into the wall. It takes a moment for his expression to soften, and his gaze separates from Gina.

As he is directed to sit on the floor to the right of most of them all, beside Virgil, Pam is directed to the back of the room, out of the way of the door, as someone else enters -- Dahlia and a taller, older man with a balding head and a white goatee.

The two of them are struggling to carry a large, white body bag. One that is obviously filled.

The two set the bag down on a table parallel to the ironing board. Pam’s shoulders rise and fall quicker with each passing second, as she looks to Dahlia. “What did you do to him.” Her voice, though strained, low, and muffled by a wounded lisp, is still commanding.

“Precaution in case Mr. Michaels dies.” Dahlia turns to the older fellow who had carried the bag with her. “Paul, I want you and Jesse to go meet Wilkes in the collective.”

“Roger that.” The man turns and exits with Jesse, leaving Dahlia with Bob as her only guard once again.

Pam looks solemnly at Parker, before staring at Dahlia as she approaches the counter, setting down some tools and a medkit. The girl takes a knife from her belt, and slices the ropes binding Pam’s hands. “There you go, Ms. Anderson… you’ll be needing free hands.”

Pam looks slowly down at her bloody palms, then back up at Dahlia.

The girl shrugs. “You’re like this cause you fought back. We have a doctor who can help patch you up, but I’m gonna need you to work together with him to help my people.”

The nurse looks at the trapped survivors, then back to Dahlia. “I need to help my people… you ungrateful bitch.”

“... I’m sorry, but… I’m telling you your priorities right now. You can’t focus on a young man who has no guarantee of surviving the procedure, and even if he did survive, it’s not like he has anyone to go back to.” That response elicits some gasps, and Pam’s eyes widen. Dahlia backpedals, shaking her head and looking away. “No, no, that… that was, I’m sorry. That was wrong. I shouldn’t have…”

Dahlia looks back just as Pam swings her arm from the counter, glaring at the girl as she drives a scalpel at her neck.

BANG!

Pam yells out in agony, stumbling back and wobbling against the counter. The scalpel falls to the floor, as blood begins to pool from the wound in her stomach. Dahlia watches with wide eyes as the woman weeps loudly, slumping to the floor and trying to keep balance, but losing strength fast.

Everyone watches in shock.

“P-PAM!!” Parker cries out, voice cracking.

Dahlia turns in a panic, seeing Bob holding a pistol, smoke billowing from the barrel. “I protected you.”

“No, goddammit, fuck!” Dahlia grabs at her hair, before pulling the gun away from Bob. “Give me that you fucking idiot, this wasn’t supposed to happen!” She looks back down at Pam, stumbling away from her. “I-I’ll go get Dr. Nole.”

She runs from the room, Bob trailing behind and closing the door. Pam’s weeps of pain soften, as she continues to cling to life.

“M-Ms. Anderson, hold on…!” Warren mutters, watching the nurse bleed out before him. He struggles to break free of his bindings, but fails.

Parker grunts, fighting the ropes as he attempts vainly to get closer to the dying woman, sitting opposite him and in dire need of medical assistance.

“N-No… st… stop…” Pam weakly shakes her head. “I… I-I…”

Warren looks up at the door, then back down at Pam, as he starts to pant anxiously.

Dahlia briskly storms down the halls of the basement, turning corners left and right as Bob quickly keeps his pace behind her. She finally reaches one set of double doors and grips the handles tight, her sweat coated palms dampening the metal bars. With a sigh, she pulls the doors open and enters the large, dome-esque half-sphere of a room. The dim hallway lights that shine in flow to the wall parallel to the doors, and a girl with pink hair, slightly curled up, looks up from her spot on an old mattress.

Kylie.

A slightly overweight man with brown, semi-balding hair looks over to Dahlia. He holds an assault rifle that’s pointed towards the trapped girl. “What’s going on?”

“Jimmy, don’t ask, but go get Dr. Nole and send him to the ironing room right now.” Dahlia snaps.

“But what about the girl--?”

“I said NOW Jimmy!” Dahlia stomps. The man nods and hurries from the room, leaving Dahlia and Bob looming over Kylie.

The girl’s breathing picks up as she looks between the two. “... w-what’s going on? What do you want from me??”

Dahlia squats down, looking into Kylie’s eyes. “I don’t have a lot of time, so I need you to talk to me about Tuscaloosa.”

“... what?”

“While you were with Caroline’s group. What the hell happened out there in Tuscaloosa?” She replies quickly.

Kylie shifts where she sits. “I-I don’t know what… what you mean. There were walkers, a-and they all got a-attacked, and then--”

“I mean, is it safe? Where did the herd go? You were the only survivor, what happened out there?? How did you get back here?!”

Kylie chokes a bit on her words, and all she can muster up is a quick shake of her head. Dahlia huffs and brings up her hand, smacking her across the cheek hard. The girl winces and jerks to the side.

Dahlia backpedals, pulling her hand back and standing back up. “... K-Kylie, I…” She mumbles, before shaking her head and turning away. “Bob, stay here and try not to fuck anything else up.”

The brunette storms from the room, and as the doors close, Bob looks over to Kylie, staring down at her silently.

Kylie meets his gaze, beginning to hyperventilate.

Dahlia opens a door, entering a dusty, bleak looking rectangular room, that resembles a makeshift apartment. The only light comes from the small basement windows on the ceiling. She enters with shaky breaths, turning to the counter and leaning against it. She exhales loudly.

“... is something wrong?”

The girl turns, eyeing Natania, who sits on the couch at the opposite end of the room, looking up from a worn book. Dahlia purses her lips. “... no, Ms. Lee. Everything is fine.”

“Are you sure?” The older woman smiles thoughtfully at her. “You know you can tell me if something is wrong.”

She slumps onto a stool at the counter. ”I’m just… stressed and trying to fix shit. Don’t worry about it.”

Natania scoffs, setting her book down and getting up to approach the girl. She takes a seat beside her, and places a hand on her shoulder. “My Dahlia… I know times are tough, but you’ve convinced me to have faith in you… now I want you to have faith in me.”

Dahlia looks up worriedly at the woman. “... people are getting hurt, and I don’t… want people to get hurt.”

“... sweetie, everyone goes through hard times.” She holds her close. “There’s always a light to look forward to. Just remember that when it’s all over.”

Dahlia locks eyes with her, staying silent for some time, before the door to the room opens. The two look over to see Wilkes enter. He clears his throat. “Um… Ms. Dwelton, someone here would like to see you.”

In steps a short, slender, teenage Hispanic girl with brown hair, wearing a tattered outfit and holding a rifle. She smiles at Dahlia. The girl stands up, shrugging her shoulders and managing a smile. “Rosa Benevidez… look at you. All grown up at only fifteen.”

She nods. “After living on the streets for so long… I wanted to get stronger for everyone, Dahlia. To protect my mom, and everyone.”

“Your mother must be so proud of you.” Dahlia nods. “Lord knows I am. Just remember, always be careful with a gun. You need to know how to kill the dead, versus disarming the living.”

“How… do I do that?” Rosa asks. “Shoot them in the arm? Leg?”

“Anything that just sends them to the ground.” Dahlia says. “And if you don’t follow those instructions… I’ll need to knock some sense into you.”

Rosa chuckles, but Dahlia begins to leave. “Where are you going?”

“I have something to take care of.” She mutters. “All of you stay here.” And with that, she exits, closes the door, and hurries down the hall.

As the struggles continue in the ironing room, the door suddenly opens, and in rushes a young male; William Knight. He disregards everyone in the room, going straight for the counter and rummaging through supplies.

Melissa looks at him for a moment before she shouts. “William! Fuck, help us!”

No response. The man just opens drawers and searches.

“I don’t care how or why you’re free, just let us out of here!” Gina yells.

Parker eyes the dying woman beside his legs. “William, HELP PAM!”

“W-William…” Pam reaches for him, taking hold of his leg.

The young man kicks her away. “No touching.” She reaches again, weakly. He angrily kicks her away, knocking some supplies and medical tools off the counter in the process. They clatter to the floor and scatter. “No TOUCHING!”

“Gnnghaah…!” Pam winces, reeling back slowly as William kicks her with his foot, starting for the door.

“What-- 'WILLIAM YOU SHIT, LET US OUT! SAVE HER!!'” Gina screams, bucking in her bondage.

“Hey man, HELP US!!” Rocky bellows.

William turns to look at them just once, looking into Parker’s quiet, pleading gaze. However, in a moment, he turns away and exits, closing the door and vanishing into the hall.

Parker begins to rock viciously in his bindings, attempting to pull himself free. “'Dammit Pam, hold on! WE’RE COMING!!'”

The uproars sound like faint, muffled blips to Warren, as he looks around anxiously, his vision blurred. It isn’t until he locks eyes with Pam briefly that he starts to realize she’s talking to him. “... W-Warren…”

“M-Ms. Anderson…??” Warren leans in inquisitively.

The woman weakly holds up her arm, pointing towards the ironing board. “... the iron… the…”

The blonde male quickly puts the puzzle pieces together. He makes a ravenous attempt to jerk himself forward, bending his arms back and up. “Gnnnaaaaagh!”

Some of the commotion stops as people watch Warren strain his body, stretching out towards the board. He hollers in pain, spastically kicking out his legs to try and reach the board.

“NNnnn… nnnNNNNEEEHHH!” His throat erupts into a staggered cry, feeling his wrists burn against the rope.

“C’mon Dotson, you’ve fucking got this!” Gina cheers, watching him tensely. “Bite your lip or something, work through it!”

“Warren, DO IT!” Parker shouts.

Finally, Warren kicks the legs of the board and tips it, knocking it down and sending the still plugged in, steaming iron towards the nurse.

The room goes quiet, people anxiously watching as Pam’s fingers carefully curl around the iron’s handle. Her arms and wrists shake as she makes an attempt at picking it up, trying and failing a few times. The woman manages to turn it on one side, the bottom facing towards her, as she slides it partially up her leg, trying to elevate it towards her wound.

She takes in one more breath, biting her lip as she presses it towards her stomach, in her one attempt to cauterize the wound.

She stops just short.

Her fingers uncurl from the iron, and it slides down her waist and clatters onto the ground. Pam exhales, her shoulders slumping, as her hands slide from her lap to her sides. That large breath she had been holding comes out quietly, and slowly.

The nurse’s body goes still.

The room is quiet.

Warren pants a bit, recoiling into a more comfortable position as he looks at Pam with wide, hollow eyes.

Gina’s lip twitches slightly, her eyes scanning Pam’s body. Rocky leans into his mother, who chokes out a soft gasp.

Parker’s head twitches, starting to shake more and more. “... no… n-no…”

Kevin is the next to stare at the now deceased nurse, and a realization dawns on him. “... guys, she’s gonna turn.”

The room goes silent once more, somehow even more so. People hold their breath as they watch Pam’s body. She’s entirely still, unmoving.

The moment she twitches, a barely audible, raspy breath escaping her, Gina begins to fidget. “Fuck, she’s turning!”

“We gotta get out of here!”

“We’re gonna 'DIE! SHE’S GONNA EAT US!'”

The commotion resumes.

The only ones not fidgeting to escape are Warren, who stares solemnly at the undead nurse, and Parker, who does the same. However, the principal’s eyes wander to the various tools strewn across the floor.

Near his foot, is the scalpel.

Acting fast, Parker grunts as he attempts to use his shoe to slide the blade towards him. He kicks it and makes it spin, sliding it between both shoes, before he manages to grip it and tuck his legs in. With the scalpel close to his rear, close enough to his hands, Parker nearly wraps his fingers around it, barely managing to take hold of it and begin to cut at his ropes.

Pam’s already pale body lets out another raspy growl, as her head cranes around the room, her body taking motion once more. The undead nurse sets her sights on the trapped students before her, all viciously kicking and screaming in vain attempts to get free. Wobbling as she gets to her feet, the reanimated Pam Anderson shuffles towards them, snarling and reaching towards Gina with her bloody hands.

The ropes around Parker’s wrists fall, and he jumps up fast, wobbling as he lunges for Pam. He grabs the zombified woman by the shoulders, as she snarls and bites at the hair before him.

“... Pam…” He gives her one final, broken stare into her cold, dead eyes, before he drives the scalpel into the side of her head, finally killing her. The snarls stop abruptly, her arms fall to her sides once again, and once Parker rips the scalpel out, she collapses to the floor in a limp, bloody mess.

He stares at her for some time, unmoving. His fists clench, shaking, before he drops the scalpel near Gina.

The girl snaps from her trance, looking worriedly up at Parks, before she snatches the scalpel with her boot, repeats the prior motions, and cuts herself free. “Sh-Shit…”

It takes another minute for what’s happened to really sink in, but soon enough, Gina’s slow efforts to cut people free speeds up. Once the students and faculty are finally free, to stand and stretch, all eyes fall upon Pam’s body.

Warren chokes a bit. “I-If… if I was just f-f-faster, I-I… I could’ve…”

“Hey, no…” Gina whispers, putting a hand on his shoulder. “No, this isn’t… this isn’t on you.” Warren looks to the girl, and she nods slowly, trying to reassure him.

The door opens.

Percival Nole enters, carrying a medical bag. He stops the moment he sees everyone free, standing there, looking at him. Even Parker turns slowly, his bloodied suit and chin coming into view.

“... ah, I… see you’re all out.” Dr. Nole nods. “That’s fine, that’s fine…” His voice shakes slightly, as he keeps his eyes down as he walks to the counter. He takes note of Pam’s body. “... I see I’m late.”

Nobody responds to him. Nobody says anything at all, in fact. That is, until Candice’s forlorn expression hardens. “... y-you were the doctor who was looking at Daniel.” His confused look catches her off guard. “D-Daniel. Daniel Noire. My husband. The security guard who was hit upstairs…”

“Oh, you’re his wife.” Nole nods, looking back at the counter. “I see.”

“Is he alive?” She suddenly asks. “Is he… is he wounded? You were checking his body for… for some time…”

“No, not anymore.” Nole sighs, a slight hint of snark in his voice. “His pupils wouldn’t dilate. Even if he did survive the initial blow, he was completely brain dead. To be entirely sure, I stabbed him in the head.”

Hearing this makes Candice shake, and she chokes out a sob as he finishes. Rocky stands close to her, as the woman scratches her leg, reaching down towards her boot.

“I’d say it’s a shame, but it really isn’t. He killed Cam, Barry, and Phoebe. Don’t you know what that means?” Dr. Nole closes the bag and turns to Candice.

The woman quickly raises a revolver and fires.

The bullet catches Nole in the chest, and he gasps and wheezes instantly, his body jerking back. He lets out a hoarse cough, looking at Candice with wide eyes. He stumbles for the door, only to nearly fall.

As the blood pools from the hole in his chest, Percival Nole lets out one more harsh wheeze, before he stumbles around and falls forward, collapsing face first on the floor beside Pam’s corpse.

Within moments, his movements cease.

Rocky looks at his mother in shock. “Y-You just-- where did--?!”

“Th-Those shitheads c-couldn’t find it on me.” Candice spits. She sniffs a bit, holding back another sob as her toxic tone continues. “What do we do now.”

“There’s no doubt people heard that.” Gina says, looking up from Nole’s body. Warren’s eyes are still trained on the carnage beneath his feet.

“Then we need to get the fuck out of here and act fast.” Rocky says. Kenny stands by him.

“Indeed, but our friends come first. We need to find them and get out.” The British boy adds.

“So then what do we do now?” Grace asks, crossing her arms.

Warren pushes past Gina, ripping the scalpel from Parker’s hand. The two look at him confused, before he drops to his knees and raises his arms up.

“NGAAAH!” He brings the scalpel down hard on the back of Nole’s leg, cutting jaggedly and spraying fresh blood all over his face and chest. People back up, as Warren’s sudden actions cause more blood to spray and pool in the surrounding area.

Upon cutting down the length of the leg, he opens the limb up and reaches inside the large wound. He grunts, pulling and tearing with speed and vigor unlike his natural behavior.

“GAH!” He stumbles back, getting to his feet as he pulls out a large femur bone, coated in blood and pieces of muscle and skin. The only sound in the room is Warren’s panting, and he readies himself as he hears muffled shouts and footsteps rushing from behind the door.

“I-I am tired of th-this sh-sh-shit…” Warren heaves, arms shaking as he glares at the door, holding the bone like a club.

The door suddenly bursts open, a large man charging Warren, who reacts by dropping the club as soon as he is grabbed, being forced against the wall. He yelps, the bearded man gripping his throat with both hands hard, slamming his head against the wall with force.

The assailant quickly with draws a knife from his belt, keeping one hand around Warren’s neck. Raising the knife, he cries angrily as he prepares to thrust it into Warren’s face.

Candice aims her pistol to shoot, but the main coughs, dropping his knife as Gina thrusts the scalpel through his neck. More blood covers Warren’s face as he is let go, and he coughs and nearly collapses. Candice catches him, keeping him supported.

Gina tears the blade from the man’s throat, and as he tries to cover the wound, more blood covers his hands and body. He gurgles on his blood and falls to the floor, spasming a bit before finally dying. The girl wipes the bloodied blade on her pants, cleaning it off slightly.

“You okay…?” She looks to Warren, who simply nods and coughs, leaning onto Candice.

The bodybag on the table jerks.

People watch it squirm slightly, and Gina stumbles back from it as it writhes. Muffled growls and other sounds come from within. The girl looks to Warren, before she slowly approaches the bag, and once it goes still, for a moment, Gina takes the zipper and pulls it open.

She stumbles back as Alex Michaels sits up, gasping for air from within. He pants, looking around and shielding his eyes from the light with his arm -- his stumped arm. He quietly takes in the missing arm, before he looks around at everyone in the room around him.

“... where’s Raye?”

Your Rating
How would you rate the Dark Days episode "Hard Times" out of ten? (If it's a low score, I'd love to hear why in the comments.) 10/10 9/10 8/10 7/10 6/10 5/10 4/10 3/10 2/10 1/10 0/10

Co-Stars

 * Rekha Sharma as Pam Anderson
 * Camryn Manheim as Candice Noire
 * Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Kenneth Jameson
 * Eve Harlow as Grace Grimmett
 * Jennifer Carpenter as Melissa Brooke
 * Dalton Gray as Jack
 * RJ Cyler as Trevor
 * John Rubenstein as Percival Nole
 * Leonard Roberts as Bob
 * Selena Gomez as Rosa Benevidez
 * Jake Thomas as Kevin
 * Chelsey Reist as Nancy
 * Matt Frewer as Paul
 * Nick Jameson as Jimmy
 * Eva Longoria as Claudette Adams

Uncredited

 * Dallas Roberts as Colton Drake
 * Tiffany Morgan as Olivia Dent
 * Matt Winston as Jesse

Deaths

 * Pam Anderson (Alive and Zombified)
 * Percival Nole
 * One unnamed male Homeless member

Trivia

 * First appearance of Claudette Adams.
 * First appearance of Paul.
 * First appearance of Kevin.
 * First appearance of Nancy.
 * First appearance of Jimmy.
 * Last appearance of Pam Anderson.
 * Last appearance of Percival Nole.
 * This episode was released at the same time as the previous episode "The Demons", to commemorate the return of the series and make up for the long wait since "Daybreak".
 * The title of this episode refers to Natania's quote to Dahlia, "Sweetie, everyone goes through hard times. There’s always a light to look forward to. Just remember that when it’s all over."