Trust Issues (SWB)

Synopsis
The split group struggle to survive without one another.

Plot
Two trucks are speeding down a road. In one, Sydney is driving while David is focused on the map beside her. In the bed of the truck, Spencer, Kenny and Nathan are sitting together.

It’s getting close to dusk. The sun is starting to set, the sky is colored as it slowly goes down.

“How did you find them?” Spencer asks.

Nathan shrugs. “Well, Lilly and I were left in that cabin for a few hours. Biters were everywhere, I thought for sure we’d be dead… But then Kenny arrived and shot them down. He helped me get Lilly out of there and we were found by David on the road.”

“At first, he only offered us help for Lilly. But then we met Gale and he offered us a place there.” Kenny said. “Rochelle and Matthew were there and I recognized them. They said some positive things about us.”

Spencer is frowning, looking between them.

“We spent about 15 days at The Reserve and found out Jeff was a monster. We weren’t even at Peter’s camp a week without everyone turning on us. Kenny, can I trust that they won’t hurt us?” He asks.

Kenny’s smile fades to dismay. “It’ll be another rough transition for you... I don’t really know what happened with Peter, or Jeff for that matter, but I know what happened to everyone was painful. But I swear to you, Spencer. Gale is a good man. I’ve seen him do some amazing things for people.”

Spencer still doesn’t look sure, but nods. “Alright. I’m trusting you.” He looks back to where they’re coming from. “I’m planning on bringing my entire group there. And I’m not allowing them to be in danger.”

At night, in some part of the woods, Mike and the survivors with him are all sitting around abandoned campground. There’s a tent set up and a truck and RV closeby. Mike is kneeling beside a fire pit, trying to start a fire while Maggie brings over firewood. She sees Mike start a spark. He smiles to himself as the fire slowly rises.

“You got it!” Maggie exclaims, kneeling beside him. He thankfully smiles to her, nodding. “Zelma and I used to go camping when we were young. I’m just glad I remember how to start a fire.”

Maggie takes a moment to look at him. “Hey,” She says. “I just want to thank you for taking care of Billie while you guys were away. You know, he’s all I have left and seeing him in the church that day…” Her voice trails off before she sighs.

Maggie looks over her shoulder to the RV, where Billie and Stevie are inside. “I should go check on him. Make sure he’s okay.”

As she stands, Mike stops her. “Wait, Ashleigh needs a break from keeping watch. Take over for her.” He says, standing up as well. “He has Stevie. I’m sure he’s fine.”

Maggie lets out a disappointed sigh but does as told and starts walking to Ashleigh. The younger girl sees her and smiles. “Hey. Mike said I should take over.” Maggie says.

Ashleigh nods, handing her the rifle. “Okay. I need to talk to Mitch anyway.” She begins walking to the tent, where Rikki and Mitch are both resting. Ashleigh opens it and says, “Wake up, Mitch, we need to talk.” She says.

The two inside both groan, Rikki rolling over and covering her head with the pillow while Mitch covers his eyes and peeks through his fingers, glaring at his sister. “I’m sleeping.” He grumbles.

“And I’m this close to caring.” She says, making a gesture with her fingers. “I need to talk to you.”

Rikki sits up and hits Mitch with the pillow. “Christ, dude, get out and talk to her!” She says before throwing the pillow down under her and trying to sleep again.

Mitch lets out an aggravated sigh and starts crawling out of the tent. Ashleigh pokes her head back in. “Sorry, Rikki. Good night.”

“Whatever.” Rikki’s voice is muffled by the pillow.

Ashleigh and Mitch begin walking side by side to two chairs by the fire, both of them sitting. Mitch is distant, not wanting to talk. He seems to have a weight on his shoulders.

“I know you’re upset about dad.” Ashleigh says.

“And you’re not?” Mitch asks. “If this is all we’re talking about-”

“No, listen to me.” Ashleigh says with a hint of anger. “I’m not letting you start distancing yourself. Alright? He may not have been my real dad, but he still was one to me. I know it’s probably harder for you, but you can’t start shutting us all out, Mitch.”

Mitch looks down slightly, his hands together in his lap. Ashleigh grabs one of his hands and squeezes it. Her voice is softer now. “Please, Mitch… You’re all I have. I can’t lose you, too.”

He sniffles and wipes his eye quickly before nodding. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s just… I can’t believe I did it… I didn’t want to, but he… he was going to hurt Billie.”

“Speaking of, you need to talk to him. Him and Stevie have been alone in the RV since we got here. It’s been hours.” Ashleigh says.

He is about to reply, but they are interrupted when they hear a gasp and something heavy hitting the ground in the woods. They both look over to where Maggie was and find she’s disappeared. Mike, only a few yards away, notices, too.

Mike quickly runs to the tent and tells Rikki, “Get your pistol ready.” Rikki snaps up and grabs her gun from her sleeping bag and bursts from the tent as Mike knocks on the RV door before opening it.

Billie and Stevie are sitting at the table and give him a questioning look before seeing his worried expression. Stevie grabs her knife while Billie gets behind her, both of them exiting with Mike.

“Where’s Maggie?” Billie questions as they approach the fire. Mike hushes him before whispering, “We don’t know. We’re think someone’s here.”

A voice calls, “You’re right about that.”

They all jump, turning around and see a group of people, all smiling evilly. The leader is holding Maggie at gunpoint, one of the women holding her rifle. “Now… How about you drop those weapons before you all get yourselves hurt.” He says.

In Asheville, darkness has fallen as Tobias leads his group back to the house. As they enter, they all gasp at the sight of Eliza, Peter and Javiers’ bodies.

Amber steps forward and starts running through the house. “Mom?!” She shouts.

Angel looks around, devastated. Devil grabs her arm as she uses her other hand to cover her mouth. “Wh-What… Where are the others?”

“They probably got out.” Dale says.

Tobias looks out the open front door before hearing Amber run down the stairs. “Th-They’re not here! Tobias, where could they go?!” He grabs her shoulders and tells her, “Amber, you need to calm down!”

She nods and starts to take deep breaths. When he thinks she’s okay, he says, “Look. There’s no sign of anyone turning, no one else’s bodies are here. She’s alive. And if she’s with Spencer, then she’s in great hands.”

“We can go looking for them now.” Devil says, but Tobias shakes his head. “It’s too dark. We’re staying here for now.”

Amber looks at him frantically. “But, Tobias-”

“I’m doing this to protect all of us. If they got out of here, they’re safe.” Tobias says.

Amber shakes her head, frowning at him. “But what if they’re not? What if someone else found them? Or what if they’re too far at this point?”

“Amber, breathe.” Angel says, letting go of Devil and grabbing her by the shoulders. Amber breaks down and turns, hugging Angel as she bursts into tears. Angel comforts her as Tobias looks at the girl pitifully.

The trucks carrying Spencer’s group pull up to a baseball stadium, all of them looking up at the lights illuminate the area. They drive through a gate, biters being pushed out of the way as the gates open.

Sydney and David get out of the truck, everyone else doing so as well. Chase, Caroline, Lana, Matthew and Rochelle get out of the other.

“Alright, everyone. Welcome to The Trading Post.” Sydney says with a small smile before leading them all inside.

A man on one of the guard posts looks at them and raises an eyebrow at the new people. “Are you sure Gale will be cool with them?” He asks.

David looks up at him. “They’re friends of Rochelle and Kenny. Trust me, they’re good.”

Axel shrugs as they keep walking. Spencer looks around at all the people walking around, all of them chattering. There’s booths, stands and tables set up, people sitting at them. There’s an area where everyone is sitting with alcoholic beverages in their hands.

“See, Gale wanted a safe spot for people to come to. He wanted people to feel safe and get supplies. Currently, he has about twenty vendors here, all of which selling land, food, water, medicine… You name it, we sell it.” Sydney explains.

David adds, “Unfortunately, not everyone here is too kind. Some vendors like to sell other things, like biter body parts, human body parts, hell… Some even sell living people.”

Chase looks uncomfortable, him and Lana both looking to one another. “How pleasant.” He says sarcastically.

They walk into the stands. “See, the field is used for a little thing we call, 'Biter Fighting.' It’s like gambling. People bet on who can take down the biters without weapons.” They all look down and see the cages filled with biters. Spencer looks at Kenny with disbelief, but he shrugs. “They have it under 24 hour surveillance. None of them are getting out.” Spencer stares him down before following Sydney.

Sydney and David lead them out and they walk into an office, where a man looks up from his book. “And this here is Gale.” David says with a smile before letting Spencer, Lana, Chase, Monet and Caroline in.

Gale closes his book and gazes at them. “Leave me with them, please.” He says.

David nods and closes the door. Spencer grips his knife, which Gale notices. He chuckles. “Well, I see we have trust issues.” He says as he stands, walking around the desk to them. “Well, you can trust me. I promise.”

The others look to one another. “Heard that before, huh?”

“My friend Eliza mentioned you before. Said you were bad news.” Monet says. Gale looks to her and smirks.

“Eliza Monroe?” He asks, which she nods to. “Yeah, her and I met a few weeks ago. I tried making a deal with her. The thing about her is that she was a good woman, but she never knew when to stop talking. Always making enemies with her mouth.”

Gale sits on the desk. “How is she anyway?”

Spencer looks to him. “Dead.”

Gale’s smile falters and he stands up straight before clearing his throat. “I’m sorry. Truly, I thought she was a good woman.”

The group doesn’t respond, making Gale sigh. “Look, Nathan used the radio to tell me who you were. I don’t mind if you stay and I understand, you guys have been severely fucked by those other groups. But let me make you a promise: As long as you all are behind my walls, you’re safe.”

Chase crosses his arms. “And how do we know you’re serious?” He asks.

Gale shrugs and chuckles. “That’s just it. You don’t. I can try to prove it to you overtime, however. If you’ll let me.”

Spencer stares at the man, who steps forward and holds out a hand. “Do we have a deal?” He asks. Spencer looks down at his hand, then to his group. He nods, grabbing Gale’s hand and shaking it. “Yeah. We have a deal.”

He suddenly pulls the older man closer to his face. “But mark my words: If anyone in my group is hurt or, God forbid, killed by someone here, I will feed you to those biters in the diamond.”

Gale smirks at the teen. “I can tell we’re going to be good friends, Spencer.”

Co-Stars

 * Tyler Hoechlin as Donavan
 * as Kelsie
 * as Riley
 * as Arnold
 * as Freddie
 * Tye Sheriden as Axel

Special Guest Stars

 * Sean Bean as Peter Baren (Corpse)
 * Emma Caulfield as Eliza Monroe (Corpse)
 * Ruben Carbajal as Javier (Corpse)

Deaths
None

Trivia

 * First appearance of Gavin.
 * First appearance of Donavan.
 * First appearance of Kelsie.
 * First appearance of Riley.
 * First appearance of Arnold.
 * First appearance of Freddie.
 * First appearance of Axel.
 * First appearance of Gale.
 * Last appearance of Peter Baren. (Corpse)
 * Last appearance of Eliza Monroe. (Corpse)
 * Last appearance of Javier. (Corpse)