Hope (SWB)

Synopsis
The survivors face struggles on their travels.

Plot
“Why were you even leaving in the first place?” Mike asks angrily, disappointed that Stevie would leave.

“You weren’t even going to wait for me. How would I find you or know what happened to you?” Devil says to Angel, arms crossed.

“I wasn’t just gonna let her go alone, Damon! I knew that somehow we’d find each other and, look at that, we did!” Angel says to him.

Stevie continues to argue with Mike. “You weren’t there, Mike! We had to fight. We had to fight for our lives after you left. They had killed a family to take the place, they don’t even own it!” Stevie then remembers Cal is there and turns to him. “So, did you kill any of that innocent family? Which one? The daughter, the son?”

“I didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t agree with how they handled that situation.” Cal sneers at her, the two both staring each other down.

Mike pulls Stevie’s arm so she can face him. “I’m responsible for you now, Stevie-“

“No, you aren’t, you were responsible during the field trip! I’m allowed to make my own choices!” Stevie argues.

Amber watches with her arms crossed as they argue back and forth. She rolls her eyes before turning to the truck, walking towards it. Ashleigh turns to watch her, curious as to what she’s doing as the other girl opens the truck door.

Amber reaches into the vehicle and takes Mike’s pistol, stepping out of the truck. Ashleigh sees the pistol and gasps before Amber points it to the sky, firing a single bullet.

The other survivors jump, the gunshot scaring them into looking frantically for the source before seeing it was Amber, who lowers her gun. Mike gives her a disappointed look.

“That’s going to attract the people at the restaurant.” Mike says to her.

“Your bickering is going to attract the biters. This isn’t the time to fight each other! We were just being shot at, we’ve had enough violence for one day. Let’s just get to the mansion and sort this out!”

Mike nods at her, then turns his head to Stevie. “Stevie, please, just come back so we can settle things.”

“No!” Stevie refuses, staying where she is. The Andrews group all look to her. “Mike, I told you. I didn’t feel safe there. I made my choice and I’m not going back. There’s about to be a war between them and The Mob and I’m not going to sit by and wait for it. I’m especially not fighting for that woman.”

“That woman is my mother.” Cal says.

Stevie’s eyes dart to him. “That woman might end up being the reason why I lose my friends.”

Ashleigh steps forward now. “Stevie, please… What about Billie, he’s there. He would want-“

“Billie left with Maggie last night.” Stevie interrupts, sighing with disappointment.

The news makes Amber and Ashleigh look at her in disbelief. “You’re fucking kidding...” Amber whispers.

“Oh, no...” Ashleigh whispers.

“They didn’t feel safe, but... I stayed to defend the group. But when I found out about the family upstairs, then I knew they were right. No one else wanted to leave, so Angel and I left with Mike’s group, but we haven’t found Billie yet and now-” Stevie begins choking up but clears her throat and rubbing one of her eyes. She gazes down at the guitar case she has next to her bag. She takes a quick breath and looks to the others again. “Sorry... I just don’t... I don’t think I’ll find Billie for a long time... Maybe even ever. And I don’t have anything left there, so I’m leaving.”

Ashleigh walks up to her, her eyes filled with worry. “Stevie... Before you go, who's still at the mansion?"

Stevie nods to her. “Mitch, Caroline, Tobias and Rikki are all alive as far as I know, but if you all really want to save them, go now. And go fast, because war is coming.”

Devil looks at Angel. She has an apologetic look on her face. “Babe… she’s right, we weren’t safe there.”

“I know, baby.” Devil says before taking her hand. “And where you go, I go.”

Upon hearing this, Angel lets out a relieved sigh, kissing him.

Mike approaches Stevie and looks down to her, crossing his arms. “Is this really what you want?” He asks her. Stevie nods to him. “I can’t go back, Mike. I love them all, and I love you, too, but I can’t.”

He nods, pulling her in and hugging her. Stevie hugs him back. “Just come back this way if you have to. If you don’t find us at the mansion, go north. That’s where I’ll take the others if something happens.” Stevie nods into their embrace before pulling away, looking at him one more time with a smile. “Goodbye, Mike.”

Angel, Devil and Stevie continue to go say goodbye to Ashleigh, Amber and Cal, Mike watching with a small smirk. Mike and Mike Andrews walk to one another.

“Mike Andrews.” Mike greets, nodding his hand. “You’ll be traveling alongside them?”

“Yes, sir.” Andrews says before gripping Mike’s hand in his. “Believe me when I say that I will watch after them as best as I can. See, we were heading to this place we had heard of. It’s west, in the northern part of Texas. I believe it’ll be safe. In fact, you should go that way if things go sideways over here.”

Mike nods. “I’m trusting you. See, Angel and Stevie are two of the last surviving kids from the bus I was on. They’re my students and they’re special to me. I’ve watched them turn into survivors. I don’t want them to get hurt.”

“I understand, Mr. Danvers. I’ll try my best.” Andrews says.

Mike looks to the other man’s family, smiling as Abbie, Tina and Tori are chuckling by the truck. “Take care of your family, too. Especially your wife. This world… It’s unpredictable. You need to hold your loved ones close and make sure to never let go.” He says, looking away slightly, grief in his eyes.

Andrews frowns, looking pitiful to the other man before looking down to his hand, seeing a wedding ring. “Did… did you have a wife, Mike?” He asks.

“I did. I lost her a couple weeks back. She was truly the light in my life.” He says with a small smile on his lips.

Abbie yells, “Mike! We’re ready to go!”

The two men nod to one another. “Take care.” Mike says before Andrews walks to his family, Angel, Devil and Stevie.

Mike realizes they’re heading right towards the tavern and shouts, “Wait! There’s some people down that way that were shooting at us.”

Andrews and the others stop, turning to him. Mike nods to him, smiling. “Don’t worry. We’ll handle them if we must.” He says, tugging on the gun strap hanging on his shoulder.

Stevie and Angel both wave to their friends, who wave back. The group turns and starts walking.

Mike and the others watch them. “Come on… Let’s get back to the others.” He says, walking to the truck.

That night, Mike and the others return to the mansion to find it dark, the gate closed.

Cal opens his door and stares at the house with concern. “Parker? Lorenzo?” He calls. The others get out as well. “Anyone?”

“Why isn’t anyone keeping guard?” Amber asks with annoyance before mumbling to herself, “God, no wonder Stevie didn’t want to come back.”

Cal opens the gate and they all enter the property. As they walk forward, Mike stops them as he sees something on the ground beside the house. Cal turns on his flashlight and they see it’s a body of one of The Mob members.

“Who the fuck is he?” Ashleigh asks Amber. When she doesn’t respond, she looks at Amber and sees she is looking at something else on the ground. She looks with her and sees two more bodies. She looks to the right and sees three more.

They realize the yard is full of dead bodies. Cal sees Valentina’s corpse and his eyes widen. “Mom?!” He yells, running inside.

Mike immediately runs after him. “Cal, wait!” He yells.

“Oh, fuck!” Amber whispers, running in after them.

Ashleigh watches them run in before sighing, running in after Amber.

“Mom, are you here?” Cal calls, walking into the next room and grabbing the matches, striking one and lighting a few candles.

“Where is everyone?” Amber whispers to Ashleigh.

“Mitch?!” Ashleigh yells.

They hear footsteps upstairs and look to the top as a pair of boots step down the stairs. Coming into the light, Rikki reveals herself with a rifle in her arms. “You’re back.” She says quietly. “I… I didn’t think you’d come back.”

“Where is everyone, Rikki?” Mike asks with concern, stepping up the first couple steps.

“What happened here? Why are there bodies outside?” Amber asks.

Rikki doesn’t answer, just stands with her rifle aimed. “I forget you’ve been gone for the past few days.” She says, her voice not leaving her hushed tone.

“That’s right, we’ve been gone. Now fill us in, damn it.” Amber demands.

Rikki lowers her rifle, looking down. “It’s a long story… But to put it this way, these people came here after you left and tried to take this place. We managed to fight back, but they sent more people. But then this other group had burst in and killed a bunch of them, killed Valentina and Walt, and took our friends to their camp. Clair and I hid upstairs-”

“Is my mom up there? Mom?!” Cal interrupts, starting to walk up.

Rikki’s eyes instantly go wide and she practically shoves the boy back to stop him. “No, no, Cal, don’t!” She shouts suddenly, surprising everyone.

Cal’s face sinks, his eyes widening. “What… What happened to her?” He asks.

The woman opens her mouth to answer, but nothing comes out. She looks down, clenching her eyes shut as she begins to sob. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry…” She whispers.

Cal immediately runs up the stairs, Mike watching as he does. “Cal, wait-” He calls, but is too late as the teen turns into the dark hallway.

Mike looks down to Rikki, who is hugging her rifle as she sobs. He then looks back to the girls. “I’ll be right back. Start lighting up some candles, get her some water.” Mike says. The teens nod, Amber going to find the matches while Ashleigh walks to comfort Rikki.

Mike walks up the creaking steps, entering the darkness of the hallway when he reaches the top. He looks down the hallway, seeing one door open with a dim, flickering light illuminating from it through the crack.

“Cal… Is everything alright?” He asks, stepping towards the cracked door.

As Mike approaches before the door, he takes a deep breath before pushing his hand against the wood lightly, the light shining on him as he opens it. His jaw drops at what he sees.

Cal is standing over his mother in the bed. Her wrists have bloody bandages over them, her skin is pale and she is unconscious.

The teenage son stares at his mother, heartbroken and glassy eyed. “I don’t understand… How could she have done this to herself?” He asks.

“We thought you were all dead.” Rikki’s breaking voice says from the door. Ashleigh is holding her up as Cal and Mike look to them. “She said she wasn’t sure if you’d come back and I tried… I tried to get her to wait, but I went to get some water and I came back to find her on the floor. I stopped the bleeding, but she hasn’t woken up. I’m sorry, I… I didn’t know what to do.”

“When was this?” Mike asks.

“Just a few hours ago.” Rikki says.

Mike quickly walks to the other side of the bed, untucking the sheets. Cal looks at him with confusion.

“Hurry, grab the other corners!” Mike tells him, the younger boy doing as told and untucking the sheets. He grabs the corners at the foot of the bed.

“Alright, on three-”

“What?! What are you doing, where are we taking her?!” Cal shouts.

Mike releases a corner to hold a hand up. “Calm down. We’re taking her to the truck, then we’re driving and looking for help.”

“From who? One of our many allies?” Amber asks sarcastically.

“Amber, stop it. Go get the truck started. You’re driving.” Mike says.

Amber rolls her eyes, but does make her way out the door, the survivors hearing her rushing down the stairs as Cal and Mike lift Clair up. They carry her down the stairs and outside to the truck, where Amber is waiting.

“Cal and I will sit in the back with her.” Mike says as Rikki opens the bed, pulling herself up.

Cal hands her the sheets and her and Mike slide the woman on. Cal climbs in as Rikki jumps down. As she walks to the front with her head down, Mike stops her. “Hey. You did what you could, okay? This isn’t your fault.”

Despite his effort to help her feel better, Rikki just pushes past him. “Not right now, Mike.” She sighs.

Mike shakes his head before closing the bed, climbing in and sliding open the truck window. “Alright, Amber, any suggestions as to where to go?”

“I was thinking back towards the post. We could see if The Tavern Survivors made it or we could meet a survivor from the post willing to help.” Amber says with a shrug, starting up the truck.

“Sounds as good of a plan as we can get. Let’s go.” Mike says.

Amber nods, pressing her foot against the gas. She turns the truck around and drives out the gate.

Cal watches the mansion as they leave, looking down to his mother with worry.

In the morning somewhere on a road, Micah and his group are surrounding Tobias, Mitch and the others as they walk. They had been going all night, the captives all tired.

“What do we do to get out of this?” Mitch questions Tobias as he walks faster to catch up to the man.

“Absolutely nothing.” Tobias responds sternly. “Just cooperate with these guys, will you? You’ll get someone killed.”

“We can’t just let ourselves be taken.” Mitch argues back with a hushed voice.

Micah has them all stop and turns to them with a smile, making some survivors give worried looks. “Alright, take a water break. Nick, Chaney, Ganj!” He shouts, the three looking at him. “Watch over them. You know what to do if one acts up.”

“Yes, sir!” Nick calls.

Ganj and Chaney have the captives sit down. As he sits against an abandoned car, Ganj hands Billie a water bottle. “Make it last, kid.” She says as she sits on top of said car, placing a blunt between her lips.

Billie looks up at her questionably. “Is that pot?” He asks meekly.

Ganj looks down. “Uh… Yeah?”

“Could… could I have some?” Billie asks.

The woman takes it from her lips as she chuckles and passes it to him, the boy taking it and placing it between his lips. “Man, kid. Micah should go easy on you. You’re already scared of your own shadow.” She slurs.

Jefferson, Sylvester and their group are sitting beside some cars, Rusty and Ellen watching them.

“Why haven’t they killed us yet?” Alison questions. “They killed our entire group, but not us.”

“Hey, I don’t care why they kept us alive, I’m just glad they did.” Ben says.

Sylvester looks at the other group. “I was thinking… what if we teamed up with them to get out of this?” He asks Jefferson.

“Hm.” Jefferson scoffs. “Us working with the good guys, huh? We’ll see.”

“I think we should do it.” Sylvester says.

“I told you. We’ll see.” Jefferson says. “I’m still in charge. What I say goes.”

Sylvester rolls his eyes at the younger man, then continues to stare at the other survivors.

Meanwhile, Billie takes a hit, watching the smoke rise from the ember.

Mitch sits beside him before noticing the drugs. “Billie, wha- Since when do you smoke?”

“I… I needed to calm down. Stevie and I used to smoke after each bad day at school.” Billie responds.

Mitch shrugs it off. “Whatever. Listen, Bill, we’re getting out of here.” He whispers. “Alright, you take out the stoned one when I give the signal.”

“No.” Billie denies, placing the drug between his lips again.

“No? Billie, we have to get back to the mansion. The others could have gotten back.” Mitch says.

“He warned me, Mitch. If I try anything, I end up like Maggie.”

“But we’ll get away, Bill.”

Billie looks at him. “I told you to do what was best for the group. This is dangerous and could get us all killed. Don’t go through with it. Use your head, Mitch.”

Mitch rolls his eyes. “I’m trying to get us free.”

Billie’s hand grabs Mitch’s, pulling him down. “Listen to me.” He says angrily. Mitch looks at their hands, eyebrows raised. He looks back to Billie. “What you are about to do could get every survivor here killed. I’m not suggesting you don’t do it, I’m telling you. Don’t you fucking dare go through with this plan.”

Mitch nods, smiling a bit. “Alright.”

Billie lets him go, leaning back against the car again as Mitch stands, turning away and walking back to Tobias. Billie is surprised by Ganj’s laugh beside him.

“You should have gone through with that shit. It would have been fucking epic to watch.” Ganj says.

He rolls his eyes, putting out the blunt and shoving it in his pocket.

Mitch approaches a small clutter of survivors, including Caroline, Tommy, Lorenzo and Jessie, scooting between them.

“Who wants to get out of here?” Mitch asks.

Jessie looks up to him with interest, but Caroline shuts it down. “Mitch, don’t you dare.”

“Seriously, what is it with you people? We can take them! We were just outnumbered the other night and we killed all of them!” Mitch says, rolling his eyes.

“That was different. We had a place to protect, we had guns, we had defense. We have nowhere to go. And Billie is horrified of this man, and you know what he did to make sure Billie was scared of him.” Caroline argues, staring at him with disbelief.

“He’s scared of everything.” Mitch says with a roll of his eyes. “And Micah is only scary when he has a gun. If we can disarm them and kill them, we can go. But I need everyone’s help.”

The others all look torn between choices.

Caroline shakes her head. “I’m not doing it. Count me out.”

“It’s risky… But we’re just going to have to hope it works.” Tommy says, causing Mitch to smile.

Mitch has Jessie, Tommy and Lorenzo follow him, leaving Caroline alone, frowning at them.

Later on, the survivors are continuing on their route to Micah’s camp. They have been walking for about ten minutes.

Mitch turns his head to make eye contact with Tommy a few feet behind him. He then looks to Cleo to his right. He looks forward and starts walking faster, getting close behind Micah.

As Rory turns his head to look at the treeline, Mitch takes the opportunity to grab the man’s pistol from his holster, managing to pull it out.

Micah turns to the teen angrily as Mitch points the pistol at Rory, firing at his thigh. The man screams in pain before collapsing to the floor, hands gripping his bleeding thigh. Mitch looks at Micah as the man lunges for him.

Tommy turns around and punches Chaney in the jaw, knocking the unsuspecting man down. He takes his assault rifle from him, firing at the other men in Micah’s group.

The survivors scatter, many hiding behind cars and trucks.

Tommy shoots one woman down as she runs away, then turning to see a man running to him. He steps out of the way, the man swinging his hatchet at him. As he prepares to attack again, Tommy uses his gun to hit the man in the stomach before shoving him down, then shooting him in the head.

“Carter, run fast!” Jen shouts, pushing her son towards the trees. “Hurry, hurry!”

The mother and son have their heads ducked as they hear the assault rifles behind them, making it into the woods.

Tobias curses under his breath, running behind a car.

Caroline grabs Billie, aware he is under the influence. She leads him behind the car Tobias had hidden behind, the two of them ducking down beside the man.

“Fucking idiots! What were they fucking thinking?” Tobias growls, colliding his fist with the vehicle behind him.

“Tobias! Calm down.” Caroline says.

Jefferson and the other Mob members all kneel behind a truck.

“This is fucked!” Alison shouts.

“I say we go for the fuckin’ trees. We can escape!” Ben says.

Jefferson raises his eyebrows. “You have been paying attention to what’s happening, right? There is a fucking shootout three feet away from us.” He waves his arm towards the woods. “But hey, Ben. Be my guest.”

Ben sneers at him. “You want to stay here, so be it. Have fun being executed by those assholes, assholes.” He stands, running for the woods. His former companions watch as he runs full speed.

“Is he gonna make it?” Leo asks, eyes widening.

Ben is only a few yards from the protection of the trees when the bullet goes through his ankle, his leg giving out.

Ben cries out in pain, his former friends all gazing in surprise. Jefferson glances from the screaming teen to his group. “So, anyone else want to try the woods?”

Rusty and Ellen run towards Ben, Rusty kneeling beside the boy. He takes his knife and stabs him in the head.

Meanwhile, Tobias sits up and nods to the woods. “Run into the woods on three. Okay?”

“What?” Caroline shouts.

“One… Two-“

Before they can go, Nick suddenly appears from behind the vehicle, pointing his gun at them. “Stay down, fuckers!” The three all freeze.

Mitch and Micah, meanwhile, are wrestling for the pistol. The teen is pinned to the ground and has the weapon in his grip, Micah trying to take it from him. Mitch, however, is pushing him away from him, attempting to get him off of him.

The teenager manages to turn himself so he’s almost on his side, taking the opportunity to push Micah away before swinging the pistol and hitting Micah’s head, making the man yelp in surprise.

Mitch then shoves him back harder, Micah finally rolling off him. Rory is still in pain, gritting his teeth as he holds his wound.

Micah makes eye contact with Mitch as they sit up, glaring as the teen aims the gun at him. He smirks at him. “Not bad, Lawyer’s Son.”

Mitch doesn’t break eye contact, but the tension in his shoulders goes away. Suddenly, Nick hits him in the back of the head with his gun, knocking the teen on his side, his fingers releasing the pistol and gripping the back of his head in pain.

Micah grabs it, standing up.

Cleo is crouched behind a car, looking as Tommy and Lorenzo dart for the woods, Jessie close behind them.

Lola is hiding behind the car next to Cleo’s, her breath shaky. She looks around nervously, worried about someone sneaking up on her.

Cleo begins to crawl forward to see what’s happening. As she does, Kenzie runs around the other side of the car. They both see each other and Cleo stands, ready to run.

Seeing her girlfriend stand, her eyes widen. “Cleo, stay down!” She calls before a gunshot could be heard, Lola gasping in horror as Cleo collapses behind the car.

The girl doesn’t hesitate. She lunges forward onto her hands and knees, crawling around the car only to see Cleo laying there lifelessly. Her eyes were open, staring blankly at the sky. There was blood on the ground next to her head.

Lola covered her mouth with her jacket sleeve, muffling her whimpers.

Hearing Micah’s footsteps approach, she darts for the woods. Kenzie is kneeling behind the car, watching her run, a pitiful look on her face.

Micah watched the girl disappear into the woods as he approached Cleo’s body. His glance goes down to the corpse, tilting his head at the girl.

He turns, walking back to the spot where Mitch is being held down by Rusty. Kenzie stands from behind the car, following. The remaining survivors are shoved into the center of the circle made of the members of Micah’s milita.

Jefferson sighs, looking to Mitch. “Thanks, bud. Now we’re all dead.”

Micah shakes his head as he paces before the survivors. “Now…” He chuckles a bit. “Now, I thought we got each other. I thought you understood! But clearly… you don’t!”

Micah pulls out his pistol and smirks, looking towards Cleo’s corpse. He smiles to himself, looking at the other survivors. “I hope all of this sticks as a reminder to you all. Don’t fuck with me.”

Micah looks to Rory. “Someone help Rory get back to camp. Let’s get moving. We’re almost home.” He says, starting to walk on.

The survivors are all forced to stand, continuing their walking. This time, the guns are pointed at them.

Mitch and Tobias are walking side by side, Tobias shaking his head with disappointment. “You really did it this time, Mitch.”

“I thought we’d have the upper hand. It was a mistake-“

“Cleo is dead. Our group is even more separated and we’re still captives.” Tobias says. “Just- Stop making stupid choices.” The man shakes his head, slowing down so he isn’t next to Mitch anymore.

The sun is setting. It’s almost dark.

At the end of a long dirt road was a two story house. Outside, the van was parked with Rochelle laying on top of it. Matthew was pacing by the door, keeping a look out.

“Are you gonna do something besides sleep?” Matthew calls to Rochelle, earning a middle finger from her.

“I’m keeping a lookout from up here, okay?” She yells back, looking down the road.

Matthew chuckles. “Sure you are.” He says sarcastically, trying to annoy her.

Rochelle lifts her head up, glaring at him. “Fuck off, Matt.”

“No need to get so defensive.” Matt says.

Rochelle gets up, sitting down with her legs crossed. “Well, you’re annoying.”

The front door to the house opens, Chase stepping out. Matthew smiles to him as he does. “Hey.”

“Have you seen Spencer anywhere?” He asks him.

Matthew shakes his head. Rochelle yells from the van, “Ashleigh, he went over to the lake.” She smirks at Matthew challengingly. “Now who’s sleeping?”

As the two of them begin to argue about who’s been keeping watch, Chase continues walking around the house.

The house is on the lake. It’s the only one on it. The family who owned it had several chairs scattered around the backyard, some circling a fire pit.

At said fire pit, Spencer was seated alone at the chairs, eyes scanning the area as the fire he lit burns before him. Two of the other chairs were overturned, one of them had blood splattered on it and there was a corpse a few yards away.

As Chase approached, he stepped over the corpse and approached the seat next to Spencer, sitting down beside him.

“How’re you doing? Everything okay?” Chase asks.

Spencer nods, not looking to him. He’s still scanning, searching for some threat. “Just concerned. You know, the usual.”

“Why don’t you let yourself take a break? Since I met you, you’ve never once just tried to settle.” Chase says.

“I can’t. If I settle, I lose focus and something bad happens, that’s what went wrong at The Reserve. Since then, things have gone downhill.” Spencer explains to him, now making eye contact with him.

“The things that happened at The Reserve didn’t happen because you settled there, Spence. They happened because Jeff was insane. Peter killed everyone because he lost himself trying to be in control. Nothing has been your fault, Spencer, everyone knows you’re trying your best.”

“Everyone is separated because of me.” Spencer says, shaking his head as he looks down to his hands in his lap. “I let Mitch leave. I let Mike and Tobias leave. Now Eliza’s dead, Monet’s missing and the entire group is scattered.”

The two are silent in the night. The only sound heard is the crackling of the fire.

“I let them all go. I… I can’t help but think if any of them are dead, then it’s my fault.”

“But it isn’t-”

“Chase.” Spencer raises his voice to interrupt him. Chase gives him a pitied stare as the teen shakes his head at him. “There’s no reason to defend me.”

Chase gives a sigh of defeat. He stands, turning to go inside. “I don’t know why you think that everything is your fault. But when you’re ready to accept what I have to say, come talk to me.” He mutters with disappointment as he begins to walk towards the house.

Spencer watches him as he does, feeling bad. He lets out a sigh and starts walking to follow Chase.

“Chase, wait.” Spencer calls before he reaches the house. The young man turns to him, crossing his arms. “I know you’re trying to help me, and believe me, I appreciate it. But you can’t stop my mind from thinking those types of things.”

“Why do you even think like this? I mean, what makes you think any of the things we’ve been through are your fault?” Chase questions.

Spencer looks down slightly. “My… my best friend, Alex, used to blame me for a lot of things. My parents fighting, our friend’s leaving, my sister’s death-“ When Spencer looks up, Chase is staring in disbelief.

“Spencer… Jesus… I’m so sorry.” Chase says.

Spencer shakes his head, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s just my life.”

The teen is surprised when he is pulled into a hug by Chase. He just stands there for a second before hugging Chase back.

“I’m here. Okay?” Chase says to him before pulling away. “If you need help, if you need to talk or just need someone to listen, I’m always here.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to be a bother.” Spencer says.

“Spencer. I’m here.” Chase repeats with a small smile. “Now come inside with me. You haven’t eaten yet and Lilly found some food.”

Spencer smiles at Chase. “Thanks. I’ll come in soon. I’m just gonna enjoy the fire for a few more minutes, alright?”

Chase nods before opening the back door and entering the living room. Chase crosses the room into the kitchen, where Lilly is sitting in her wheelchair with a variety of canned foods at the counter. She is looking through them.

“Anything look good?” Chase asks as he enters.

Lilly shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know. What about Spencer? Is he coming in?”

Chase sits down at the table as Lilly rolls her chair over next to him, the two continuing their conversation.

Meanwhile, out front, Rochelle is now standing on top of the van, her body moving as she watches the area for walkers or people. Matthew is pacing around the lawn, also watching.

In the darkness of a few trees, a young man exits with a gun in his hand. He smirks at the house.

Rochelle’s eyes dart to him as he comes into view. Her eyes widen as she points her gun to him. “Stop right there, asshole!”

The teenager nods at them, holding his hands up to surrender. “Alright. Alright. I’m cooperating. Don’t shoot, okay? Let’s just be calm about this. Please?”

“Rochelle, he’s got a gun.” Matthew says, his rifle aimed.

“He’s cooperating, Matt, stand down!” She shouts to him.

Matthew is about to pull the trigger when a gunshot is heard from the woods, Matthew’s head being whipped back by the force of the bullet hitting his skull.

Rochelle’s eyes widen in horror as she turns to see her friend collapse lifelessly. Quickly, she tosses her gun on the grass before getting to a sitting position and jumping off the van, grabbing her gun before running to the front door.

She pushes the door open, slamming it shut behind her.

Chase and Lilly, who were just laughing at something Chase was saying, hear the door slam and look towards the sound with worry.

Rochelle locks the door frantically before looking out the small window next to the door, seeing a few more people exit the woods. She steps away and runs to find the others.

“We have company!” She cries as she races down the hallway into the kitchen.

Chase and Lilly are staring at her with confusion and worry. She looks to the door as the people outside push on it, trying to get in. She turns her head back to the others. “They’re gonna get in.”

“We have to move now!” Chase yells.

“Chase!” Lilly calls anxiously, Chase being reminded she can’t run. Before he can speak, Lilly points to the rifle on the counter. “Grab me that and go!”

Rochelle hears the door break off its hinges, all of them looking in horror.

“Chase, now!” Lilly shouts, snapping him back in reality.

His arms reach to the counter, grabbing the rifle and handing it to the girl. She aims the weapon to the door. “Run.” She says darkly.

Chase and Rochelle take their chance and bolt into the living room, running to the back door. Rochelle opens it, the two of them running towards the firepit. Upon discovery, Chase notices Spencer is gone.

“Spencer?!” He yells.

A gunshot makes the two of them jump, both of them turning around to face the house. Another shot is heard, followed by two more. Rochelle pulls on Chase’s arm, pulling him back.

“Chase, we need to get out of here.” Rochelle says.

“We can’t leave Lilly and Spencer. What if they’re alive?” Chase turns his head to her.

“What if they aren’t?” She says back.

“What if it was you in her position.” He states before another gunshot is heard. “Would you want to us to leave? She could survive.”

Rochelle gives him a frustrated look before they hear the door open. Dewey steps out, Clarice and Bryce behind him.

Dewey points his rifle and fires at them, Rochelle pulling Chase down. Rochelle stands quickly and fires at Clarice, shooting the woman in the neck. She screams in pain, grabbing her wound before Rochelle shoots her in the head, killing her. She ducks back down before Dewey shoots at her.

“What’s the plan?” Rochelle asks Chase.

He pulls out his pistol from his holster. “Kill the bastards.” He says before standing, shooting at the other two.

Bryce runs for it, running to get behind the shed as Chase shoots at him, firing a round in his head.

Dewey and Rochelle both aim to one another, Dewey firing first. Rochelle is hit in the chest, screaming in pain before collapsing to her knees. Chase looks back to her, kneeling next to her, grabbing her shoulders.

“Fuck, Rochelle!” He tries pulling her up. “Come on, we need to go!”

She manages to stand with his assistance, Chase helping her run. Dewey aims his rifle and fires, the bullet going through the back of Rochelle's head. Her body goes limp, pulling Chase down. He looks at his dead companion quickly before attempting to run again, but he trips, falling back to his stomach.

He rolls on to his back, crawling back as Dewey approaches him. “Your turn.” He points the rifle at the young man.

Before Dewey can pull the trigger, Spencer hits him over the head with wood, making the man grimace in pain, grabbing the back of his head and dropping his gun.

Spencer uppercuts him with it, knocking him back. Chase grabs the rifle from off the ground.

Griffin runs out from the house, pointing his pistol at Spencer. He fires, missing Spencer, but alerting him and making him duck down. Chase shoots the boy in the chest, his body dropping in the doorway.

Looking down at Rochelle, Spencer and Chase both stare in sorrow at their deceased companion before Spencer sees Dewey out of the corner of his eye, the man trying to crawl to his gun.

Spencer walks over and steps his foot on top of the rifle, glaring down at the man who stares back up.

“Who the fuck are you?” Spencer demands, sneering down at the man. “Where did you come from? What do you want?”

Dewey releases the rifle as Chase approaches with Rochelle’s rifle in hand, glaring down as well. “I don’t have to tell you shi-“

Spencer quickly hits him on top of his head, glaring down as the man shouts in pain. “Answer my damn questions!”

Dewey looks up. “My name is Dwight Ackerson. I’m from a community known as The Lincoln Settlement. I was sent this way to find more survivors.”

“And kill them?” Chase says before looking to Spencer. “I say we kill the fucker and his friend cowering behind the shed.”

“There’s been enough bloodshed, Chase.” Spencer says. "Take any guns they had and get ready to go."

Chase raises an eyebrow. “Go where?”

“To their camp.” Spencer says before looking down to Dewey. “And you’re taking us there.”

The truck pulls up to The Rusty Tavern, Mike looking to Ashleigh and Amber. It's dark inside again, the group is unsure if they want to go inside.

"I'll go again." Ashleigh says.

Amber nods to her. "I will, too. Mike, you stay here and watch out for Cal and Clair. If you see any sort of thing you think is a threat, holler to us and we'll go."

Mike nods, smirking at her. Amber raises an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"Nothing. Just noticing that you're becoming a better leader each day." Mike says to her, making Amber turn away to get out, hiding a smile to herself.

The girls get out and walk towards the building, entering the dark restaurant. What they find inside makes Ashleigh and Amber's jaws drop.

Ed, Donna and Sam's corpses are all on the floor. Each of them has a bullet hole in their head, Sam and Donna having more scattered around their bodies.

"What happened here?" Amber whispers.

Ashleigh looks around to see if anyone else is there. She sees a dark figure standing from behind the counter. "Keyshawn?" She questions.

A gunshot is heard.

Amber hears a loud thud next to her, turning to her companion.

Blood pools around Ashleigh from the bullet wound in her head, Amber staring down in horror as she realizes she's gone.

Amber snaps back, looking to the figure and ducking down before they can shoot again, rolling under one of the tables. "MIKE! HELP!"

The door bursts open, Mike running in with a shotgun in hand. "Drop your fucking weapon!"

The man ducks behind the counter, Mike and Amber unable to see him. Amber rolls out, pointing her rifle. They both watch, holding their breath, eyes searching for the man.

Amber sees him start to rise from the edge of the counter and fires a shot, killing the man.

The two sigh with relief, standing. They both approach Ashleigh's body, staring down at it with grief. "Fuck... Ashleigh..." Amber whispers. "You deserved better than this."

Mike kneels down, taking her pistol and knife, then closing her eyes. "Well, let's go."

Amber looks at him. "What do you mean? Don't you want to figure out what happened here?"

"Clair's still in the truck. We have to find help for her." Mike says.

From outside, they hear Rikki. "Uh, guys? You okay?"

"We're fine, Rikki. What's up?" Mike calls.

"There's someone here you'll want to see!"

The two exit the dark building and walk to the truck. Standing around it is Rikki, Spencer, Chase and Dewey, who is held at gunpoint.

Mike and Amber both stare in shock and relief, Mike approaching Spencer. "We waited for you guys until night. What happened?"

"After we found Mitch's group, walkers surrounded us. We had to leave the city and ended up finding a mansion, where we met these two."

Spencer crosses his arms, looking down. "Did we lose anyone?"

"Yes." Mike responds. "Maggie... Dani... Lana and Dale... Ashleigh's inside..."

Spencer's eyes shut as he takes a deep breath. Chase gives him a pitied look, stepping closer to him.

"We lost Eliza at the house. Lilly, Rochelle and Matthew a few hours ago." Spencer says.

Amber is staring at Dewey, who has taken notice and glares back. "Can I help you with something?"

Amber looks at Spencer and Chase. "Who is this guy? Where are you taking him?"

"He's the man that killed Lilly, Rochelle and Matthew. We're going to his camp." Spencer says before glaring at him. "And we intend on getting justice for our friends."

"Wait, why go to his camp?" Cal questions.

Chase looks back. "Because he shot first. Even if they're violent, we're stronger than they are, and we will get what we came for."

"Well, I say we go with. Maybe we can get help for Clair, too." Mike says. "Plus, you two will need some help."

Spencer smiles at Mike. "Thank you."

The group load up, piling in the truck before they drive towards Dewey's camp.

Co-Stars

 * Emma Bell as Tina Andrews
 * Danielle Campbell as Abbie Andrews
 * Madelaine Petsch as Tori Hill
 * Jeremiah Clayton as Carter
 * Catherine Dent as Jen
 * Zena Grey as Alison
 * Denzel Whitaker as Leo
 * Ben Barnes as Nick
 * Jeremy Jordan as Rory Motta
 * Traci Dinwiddle as Ellen
 * Stuart Greer as Chaney
 * Lindsay Pulsipher as Talia
 * Emma Roberts as Kenzie Monroe
 * Gabourey Sidibe as Ganj Granger
 * Martinez as Bryce
 * Logan Miller as Griffin
 * Lindsey Garrett as Clarice

Deaths

 * Four Unnamed Ridgeway Airport Survivors.
 * Ben
 * Cleo Mara
 * Spencer's Sister (Confirmed)
 * Matthew
 * Lilly Keller
 * Clarice
 * Bryce
 * Rochelle
 * Griffin
 * Donna (Confirmed)
 * Ed (Confirmed)
 * Sam (Confirmed)
 * Ashleigh Harris
 * Unnamed man

Trivia

 * First (and last) appearance of Clarice.
 * First (and last) appearance of Bryce.
 * First (and last) appearance of Griffin.
 * Last appearance of Ben.
 * Last appearance of Cleo Mara.
 * Last appearance of Matthew.
 * Last appearance of Lilly Keller.
 * Last appearance of Rochelle.
 * Last appearance of Donna. (Corpse)
 * Last appearance of Ed. (Corpse)
 * Last appearance of Sam. (Corpse)
 * Last appearance of Ashleigh Harris.
 * This episode marks the 25th appearance of Chase Adamson.