Drift Away (LTF)

"Drift Away" is the fifth episode of season 2 of Xx_Diictodon_xX's Live to Fight, and the eleventh episode of the series overall. It aired on November 10th, 2017.

Summary
Weeks later, Fisher’s group attempts to appease the voracious leader of The Living, while managing to abide by their barbaric rules and lead an unnoticed resistance. At the college, Evan finds out that a member of the military group appears to be more than meets the eye.

Plot Synopsis
Evan, Mark, and Troy work on a garden that they’ve started just outside the building as Brianna stands by in watch, while Carmen and Beth sit around with Emma, revealing that they’ve all stayed at the college campus. As the men work, Evan soon takes a break, stepping aside next to Brianna. She teases him for being tired, and he playfully shoos her off.

The two talk for a moment before Brianna veers the conversation toward Samantha and how she’s taking being away from her father. Brianna reveals that she’s been isolating herself from the group over the previous days. The two both seem concerned.

A scream suddenly erupts nearby.

Meanwhile, Samantha sits in one of the college dorms that she’s managed to turn into a room for her. She sits on the bed silently, thinking.

In a flashback, her and her father stand atop the Space Needle in Seattle, just the day of the outbreak, before meeting her mother and younger brother, and she peers down from next to him. Douglas asks jokingly if she likes what she sees, but Samantha doesn’t respond, instead staring down into the streets below with a shocked expression. She points down, telling her father to look. Douglas follows her finger to find a realistic painting of two daddy-long-legs atop a building below, positioned just so it looked like they were giant and standing atop the building for real. Douglas pretends his hand is a spider, it crawling up Samantha’s back as he whispers jokingly that they’re coming to get her. Samantha pulls away frantically, trying to shake off the fake insect, before cursing at her father, and then bursting out with laughter.

Douglas can’t help but laugh as well, and eventually things seemingly turn serious as Samantha asks where her mother is. Douglas says he doesn’t know, but what he does know is that she’s bringing Samantha’s brother. Samantha nods. Douglas tells her that he’s sorry that he’s let him and her mother’s relationship go so downhill. Samantha only nods once more, staring back down at the painted daddy-long-legs.

Douglas gives her another look before pulling out his phone and checking his text messages. Samantha continues to stare at the ground below, where she finds what looks like somebody jumping out at and biting another person. Surprised, she jumps back and Douglas asks her what it was. Samantha tries to find what he saw, but ultimately fails, and tells her father that it was nothing.

Back in the present day, Samantha pulls out her phone and turns it on. Seeing that it’s at only two percent battery, she quickly opens the gallery and browses through photos of her and her father. She begins crying, and she sets down the phone after it shuts down, knowing that the last photo was probably the last she’ll see of her father.

Samantha suddenly hears the scream from earlier. She perks up, running out of her room and into the hall. She continues outside to see a walker on top of Jayden. She screams for somebody to help him, but otherwise doesn’t move for him herself. She stands by as Troy and Liam pry the walker off and stab it in the back of its neck. They both attempt to check over Jayden for bites, but he refrains, saying that he’s fine, yet very shaken.

Elsewhere, Fisher stands by as Fletcher beats a civilian girl in the center of civilian housing. King stands next to him, clearly horrified, and Adele, Gavin, and Owen watch from their living areas, unable to do nothing.

Fisher expresses to King that he feels horrified that he brought the others into this. King, reminded by this, asks where Arthur was sent to work. Fisher says he’s doing laundry.

As the beating finishes, Fletcher tells the crowd not to do anything to help the poor girl. However, as soon as he leaves, Fisher and King help her up and drag her to Dr. Baker. Baker seems to clearly oppose Fletcher and the other soldiers. He patches up Marcie and tells the two to keep her in her room for the time being. Fisher notices Lee a few cots down and asks how he is. Baker says he’s doing better; the wound is healing well.

Lee opens his eyes, and upon seeing Fisher, he asks him about the resistance against the Living. Fisher says that they aren’t making progress as expected, but with enough time, they should be able to make some sort of impact on the Living. Lee acknowledges, and groans in pain after shifting in his cot. Baker settles him down, advising Fisher to leave so Lee can get some rest. Lee wants to keep talking to Fisher, but Fisher respects Baker’s request and leaves the place with King.

As the two leave, Cabrera approaches Fisher, pulling him aside to talk to him. Cabrera starts by saying that what he’s about to tell him is something he refrained from for a while, and Fisher begins to get curious. His curiosity is quelled though, as Cabrera tells him the news that his family’s dead.

Fisher doesn’t know how to respond at first, but it’s soon that he regains his speech and simply acknowledges Cabrera. Cabrera offers to replace his place in a supply run the coming night so Fisher can get a drink to help with the shock. Fisher absentmindedly agrees, and Cabrera also volunteers to take Fisher’s place in a mission for the resistance, simply shutting off the water to the showers for the soldiers. Fisher agrees to this too.

Later, as Douglas finishes his food waste management duty, he goes to Adele’s makeshift room to find only her there, Gavin missing. Adele tells him that Gavin has gone with Owen for lunch. Douglas acknowledges, sitting down next to her on her cot. The two talk about Samantha and where she could be, noting what Fisher said about being separated from them. Adele gets concerned because Samantha should be at the base by then, but Douglas reminds her that they’ve been travelling on foot the whole time. The two begin kissing, Adele too upset to say any more.

Meanwhile, Owen sits with Gavin and Sean as they eat lunch. He notices Autumn as she carries a basket of clothes through the room. He excuses himself, leaving Gavin with Sean as he runs to Autumn. She seems surprised to see him, and sets down the basket to face him with a smile.

Owen asks how she’s been, and she says that she’s been fine. She admits that she’s gotten used to her new routine. Owen laughs, and the two continue a nice conversation before a soldier approaches her, telling her that she needs to keep moving.

She looks at the soldier with anger, picking up the basket and marching along. The soldier glances back at Owen with a smile, telling him to keep to his own business. Owen glares back at the soldier as he walks off with a confident stride, before walking back to Sean and telling him what happened.

Back at the campus, the group prepares for night as it falls. Mark and Troy patrol outside, making sure the perimeter is up to date, as Carmen, Beth, and Robin prepare dinner. Samantha still sits in her room, seemingly not having moved at all.

In another flashback, taking place seemingly days before the first, her and Douglas walk through the vegetable aisle of a grocery store. Samantha asks her father if she can have a sleepover with a few of her friends, and Douglas tells her that she’ll have to tell him who first. She lists off the names, and Douglas seems not to approve of one of them, mentioning how she had gotten into a lot of trouble recently with shoplifting.

Samantha promises that her friend is better now, but Douglas still doesn’t seem to agree. Changing the subject, he tells her that he got a call from Adele saying that she wanted to meet up with the two of them as a family. Samantha seems a little concerned at this, and Douglas tells her that the details haven’t been worked out yet. Samantha asks if they can go to the Space Needle for the meeting, but Douglas tells her that it costs too much. Samantha pleads with him, saying that it’s a special occasion.

Douglas thinks about this for a moment before reluctantly agreeing, telling Samantha that he’ll tell her mother and set a date.

In the present, Samantha is roused to reality by a knock at the door. She tells the person to come in, and looks up to see Liam standing at the door with two plates of food. He tells her that dinner is ready.

Samantha nods, reluctantly getting up and walking to the door. Liam hands her a plate, but tells her that she can eat in her room if she wants. She asks him if the others will approve of that, and he tells her that he will cover for her by telling them that she doesn’t feel good.

Samantha smiles slightly, taking a small bite before telling him that she’ll stay. Liam winks at her before turning away and closing the door. He takes a seat at the large table they’ve set up by connecting smaller ones, telling them that Samantha has a stomach ache.

As they begin to eat, Jayden gets up, saying that he too has a stomach ache. He excuses himself to the hall, and from there walks into the nearest bathroom. He rolls up his sleeve there, revealing a large bite on his arm. He seems fatigued, and he leans against the wall before sinking to the floor, where his eyes slowly close and his head lulls to the side.

Meanwhile, the group continues to eat. As they finish, Emma complains that she has to go to the bathroom. Carmen, impatient, explains to her daughter where the bathroom is, and tells her while she’s gone to see if Jayden is in his room. Emma nods and runs off.

She checks Jayden’s room to find it empty, and from there runs to the bathroom. She knocks on the door, and after a moment she hears shuffling on the other side. She calls out for Jayden to see if he’s in there, but with no response, she opens the door.

A zombified Jayden falls out of the room, right onto her. She screams as they both fall to the ground. At the table, Carmen immediately goes running, followed shortly by the others.

Jayden bites into Emma’s arm, and she screams even louder as Carmen runs up to her, prying Jayden off. She slams Jayden against the wall, where Troy grabs his head by the hair and stabs him. Carmen jumps to Emma’s side, sobbing hysterically as she holds her child’s bloody and frail body in her’s.

It’s soon that Emma dies, and Evan tells her sorrowfully that they’re going to need to prevent Emma from turning. Carmen snaps at him angrily that she’ll do it herself. Troy turns to the others and tells them that she’ll need some alone time. The others wander off, Troy staying with his fiance.

Samantha steps out of her room as Liam passes, and she asks what happened. Liam tells her, and she begins crying. Liam embraces her, trying to comfort her, and she returns the kind act.

Meanwhile, Evan and Brianna walk down the hall to the other side of the building. Brianna expresses how heartbreaking everything has become, and Evan tells her that he probably can’t take any more. Brianna reassures him that he’s stronger than he thinks, but Evan disagrees. Brianna begins talking to him about positivity before Evan stops her. Brianna seems offended at first, before Evan points something through the doorway next to them.

The doorway leads through to the boiler room, and on the other side lies two bodies, belonging to Bell and Cameron. Brianna immediately notices Cameron, and she bends down to figure out what happened. She notices a gunshot in the side of his head, but no visible bite mark on his body. With the help of Evan, she flips him over and thoroughly examines him, but still doesn’t find a bite mark. Bell looks the same way, except she was shot in the neck and looks like she bled out. Again, Brianna finds no bite mark.

Both her and Evan know immediately what this means; somebody killed them, and Brianna tells him that the only person with them was Jordan. Before they can get up to warn the others, though, Bell reaches up and grabs Brianna. Brianna struggles as Bell tries to bite her neck, but Evan successfully pulls Brianna away, and then grabs Bell and slams her head into the wall repeatedly. Her head eventually cracks and blood spills everywhere. Evan pulls away

Meanwhile, Carmen sits with Emma, sobbing quietly as Troy stands apologetically above her, comforting her. Carmen eventually sets Emma down, saying that she needs to get it over with so that her daughter doesn’t turn. Troy generously asks if she wants him to do it, but Carmen says that it should be her. Emma’s her daughter, and it’s her fault she’s dead; she thinks she should have escorted her to the bathroom.

Troy hands her his silenced gun and Carmen, after singing a short song named “Drift Away” and  saying a prayer, shoots her daughter. Her sobbing intensifies as she sets down her limp daughter, and drops the gun to her side. Troy comforts her, but the depressing moment is ruined as Evan and Brianna go running past them, in search of Mark.

When they find him, they lead him to the boiler room, Liam and Samantha following as they pass her room. There, Mark stares down at the bodies as Brianna explains what she thinks happened, and soon Mark glances back at her, telling her that they need to find Jordan before he causes any more harm.

Other Cast

 * Beth
 * Jayden
 * Robin
 * Marcie
 * Flynn
 * Kelli Bell
 * Cameron

Death

 * Jayden
 * Emma Callahan
 * Kelli Bell (Confirmed Fate; Zombified)
 * Cameron (Confirmed Fate)