Episode 53 (E2)

"White Flower Garden" is the third episode of Season 6 of KeepOnKeepingOn's Walking Dead: Edition Two. It is the 53rd episode overall. It premiered on January 23, 2018.

Synopsis
"A family reunion is cut short when a power failure strikes the cabin."

Plot
The walkie-talkie clicks off and Trace stares at it in silence, before he slowly releases the button and sets it down on the table. Gripping his survival knife in his hand, he turns and faces the bruised, bound survivor seated in the chair in the center of the room. Amy is standing behind him, arms crossed.

"Well?" She asks. "What did Ethan say?"

"... to let him go." Trace glances around, tightening his already firm grip on his knife. "Look, I'm... I'm just on edge. There's something really weird going on here."

"P-Please, if you just let me--"

"Shut up." Amy smacks the survivor in the head, shooting him a fierce glare, before looking back to Trace. "What's on your mind."

"Well, there's just... this will sound weird but, this is all so... linear. Too perfect. There's something up here. Something really intricate. And I might be paranoid but..." Trace sighs. "Two years of being homeless. We suddenly find a turbine-powered cabin with food, protection, and a family. Then, barely even a day later, random survivors show up to approach the cabin. Ethan gets held at gunpoint, we have this dude just show up..."

"Trace, really, I think you're just paranoid." Amy says. "Look, Ethan has good judgment, and I'm sure he's not being threatened right now. He didn't sound freaked out when he was talking. We're not gonna untie this guy just yet, but we should keep him alive. Maybe we can use him for ransom."

"Or we can just let Ethan decide. These people could be part of a bigger group." Trace says.

"Y-You two are all over the place..." The survivor groans. "If you'd just let me--"

"I said shut up!" Amy shouts.

"NO!" The man shouts back, startling the two. "Look, my name is Trent Ford. Those people out there, that's my brother Tate, and my son Max. Please, we mean no harm... we're not bandits. We've just been through hell and we aren't about to go back. We thought you were bandits. We had to scout, figure out how to get around... we don't trust anyone. Not anymore."

Trace stares at Trent in silence, before he presses a gun to his temple.

"You're gonna sit there until we know for sure this is legit." He says. "And if shit hits the fan, you're not gonna see tomorrow."

As Trace finishes his sentence, the light bulb above him sparks. He looks up as the lights cut completely, leaving the three in darkness. Silence fills the room as Trace and Amy exchange glances before they rush out of the room, leaving Trent in the darkness.

"Hey! What the hell, what happened? Don't leave me! Hey!" Trent shouts, trying to escape the ropes. "HEY!"

The rest of the survivors gather in the living room, with Larry pacing back and forth uncomfortably. The moment he notices Trace and Amy enter, however, he immediately turns to face them with discomfort.

"Well? What about that man? What do we do with him?" He asks.

"Leave him tied up, until Ethan gets back. Let him make the final say." Trace says. "My concern is, what the fuck happened with the power?"

"I think something might have happened with the wind turbine." Larry replies, visibly distressed.

"Hold on, couldn't it have just... settled down outside?" Dwight asks.

"It was windy this morning, I doubt it." Skylar replies, looking out the window. "Larry, where's this turbine at? We might have to send a group up there to check it out."

"I'll go, it's north of the cabin." He replies, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I'll need to know that I can trust you with Charles, though."

"We've already had kids in the group, they'll be fine here, the baby will be fine. But you can't go alone." Carol argues. "It's safest if a group goes and the rest stays. That way, the situation will be better handled."

Larry sighs. "Alright, well... I'll have to lead the way."

"And I'll go with, someone else will need to know the way in case you become decommissioned." Carol says rather conversationally, making Larry eye her with concern.

"I'll go too. I wanna feel useful." Stefan says.

"And I'll go." Zach adds. "So that's... four people going?"

"Not enough, I'll go too." Mike says. "Skylar and Dwight, you join us. Everyone else stays here, waits for Ethan, and keeps this place safe. Got it?"

The survivors nod in agreement as they gather their gear, the group stepping out of the house and down the patio steps. Mike is the last to go and he looks to Amy and Trace.

"Keep an eye on that man, okay? Just... don't let shit go south, at any cost." He says. "And whatever you do... do not kill anyone. I know tensions are high, and we took a serious risk with Larry, but we saved him, he gave us residence. These are just wood people. If they shoot first, kill them. But we can't be that paranoid."

"Mike, we get it. It'll be fine." Trace replies.

Amy nods. "Nobody has to die today. We'll handle everything when Ethan gets back. Just go turn the power back on."

Mike nods and follows the rest of the group out of the cabin and straight into the woods.

"Larry, hold on, you don't have to go so far ahead." Carol says. "What if you get taken by surprise by a walker?"

Larry says nothing as he continues on, when the sudden growl of a walker sounds as he is lunged at. However, he simply steps back as the walker topples forward, an he holds out a knife to catch it by the head. The undead is stabbed right through the eye and is killed immediately, as Larry pulls the knife right back out. Another walker follows and he trips it, stepping hard on its head, crushing the skull.

The others watch in amazement as he shows no sign of pain, discomfort, or fatigue, despite his age. "You were saying? C'mon now."

With no more words, they continue on, unaware of the man watching them from the treelines.

"Maybe now this will be easier..." David says to himself, lowering his binoculars. "Half the group is splitting up... I can approach the smaller portion and question them. Though I should be careful, considering Mr. Ford was taken in the blink of an eye..."

"Look, if my brother is dead, you will be sorry." Tate says, still following Ethan to the cabin, Max closely behind his uncle, unnaturally quiet.

"My people listen to me. He won't be dead. I'm the one trusting you that you don't have a bigger group." Ethan replies, not even looking back at Tate. "You're about to be a part of something bigger. But don't think about crossing us. You'd be the sorry one."

Tate doesn't respond. He just squeezes Max's hand to reassure the boy he will be safe. The cabin comes into view within moments, and the boy beams again.

"Whoooa, it's so big...!" He mutters in delight.

"Holy hell..." Tate slows to a stop as he looks up. "I didn't think the cabin was this big up close."

"It surprised us, too." Ethan says, walking up the steps. "We've only been here since yesterday, though. This is our home and we don't intend on losing it in the span of twenty-four hours."

"Fair enough. Now take me to Trent." Tate demands, walking up the steps to the cabin's front door. "Take me to my brother!"

The moment he brushes past Ethan and kicks the door open, a gunshot sounds. Tate falls back.

Alive. The man pants as a bullet zips past his head, right into the woods behind him.

Ethan steps in front of the grounded survivor, looking at Trace, the young man looking shocked as he drops his pistol.

"E-Ethan?" He runs a hand through his hair. "Fuck, sorry, shit, is he dead--"

"He's alive, you missed, stand the fuck down." Ethan glares. "That was too fucking close."

He steps in as Tate pants more, getting up with a slight struggle. He walks in slowly, Max following. The remaining survivors look them over in the dim, sunlit cabin.

"What happened to the power?" Ethan asks.

"Where's my brother?" Tate asks, his demanding tone sounding slightly panicked.

Trace glances to the door to the other room in silence. He enters without another word, and soon returns with Trent, not resisting Trace as he is brought into the main room. His wrists are untied and the man is allowed to stretch.

"Dad!" Max sprints across the room, surprising everyone, as he envelops Trent in a tight embrace.

Trent winces in pain but returns the hug with a soft chuckle. "Ha, hey kiddo..."

Tate walks over with a smile, placing a hand on Trent's shoulder. "I should've been the one keeping my eye on you."

"I'm the resident idiot of the family, I'm the one who rushes right into danger." Trent smirks back at his brother.

Amy smiles at the reunion briefly before she approaches Ethan. "Larry, Mike, and a few others went out to check the wind turbine, to see if something was up."

"Damn, I hope they make it okay... and make it back in time. It's only high noon, but..." Ethan sighs. "I thought today would be hectic. Maybe I was right. But I just don't feel comfortable with people going too far out."

"What was that?" Tate turns around and looks to Ethan. "You have people out there?"

"... yes?" Ethan raises an eyebrow. "They're... north, right Amy?"

"Yeah." Amy nods. "The cabin is powered by a wind turbine. Some of us went north to check it out to see if it can be fixed. It's a ways away though, apparently."

"Fuck." Tate sighs. "That's bad. That's really bad."

"What? Why?" Trace asks.

"We've been trying to go south. Going north is dangerous." Trent responds.

"There's a huge herd north of here." Tate says. "Your friends are wandering right into the eye of the storm."

"... fuck. What if the herd fucked up the turbine?" Amy looks to Trace and Ethan with wide eyes. "There could be a bundle of zombies stuck in the wiring or something."

"I'd call it a stretch, but anything is possible now... dammit." Ethan curses. "Fuck, okay, Trace, you and I are gonna go north and find them."

"Alright, Amy, you stay here and protect the kids." Trace says, rushing to grab his gear as Ethan does his.

"Got it." Amy nods and looks down at Max. "Bud, what's your name?"

"Max... yours?" Max looks shy and confused.

Amy smiles. "Hi Max, I'm Amy. We've got kids your age here, want to meet them?"

Max smiles. "Yeah, totally!"

"Keep Max safe, cause we're going too." Tate says, grabbing a rifle from a shelf.

"Are you sure? You barely know us." Ethan asks.

Tate smirks, handing another rifle to Trent. "You kept me alive, and my brother alive. I'd be an ass to let your group scamper to their deaths."

Ethan stares at him in silence for a moment before he nods. "... thank you."

He hurries out the back of the cabin, Trace, Tate, and Trent in tow. As they run off, Max watches them go, frowning.

"Where are they going...?" He asks.

"To save some lives. They're gonna be heroes." Amy smiles. "Matthew! Sarah! C'mon up!"

After a moment, there are footsteps coming up the basement stairs as Matthew and Sarah exit into the living room.

"Something wrong?" Sarah asks.

"... who's the new kid?" Matthew asks.

Instead of appearing shy, Max smiles brightly. "Hiya! I'm Max Ford, you guys are?"

"Holy hell, is that it?" Skylar asks, Larry finally leading the group onto a path, approaching the large cylinder sticking right out of the center of the small clearing.

"Obviously." Zach walks towards it and looks up at the massive structure. "... the hell?"

"Hm? What's up man?" Stef looks up with him. "... oh, shit."

Larry watches the survivors look up, and when he looks up himself, his eyes widen at the sight above them. "Oh dear lord, no..."

The entirety of the top portion of the turbine is destroyed, rust and charred metal chunks and jags hanging off with frayed wires sprawled all over. The survivors break away for a moment and walk around the cylinder to find the remains of the top half of the turbine scattered about the woodland area, and it's only then they smell smoke.

Amidst the small fires and wrecked metal chunks, through the trees, the survivors see a large, smoking hunk of metal.

"Oh my god..." Dwight mutters. "... a helicopter crashed into it."

"Where the fuck did a helicopter come from?!" Zach shouts, kicking a large piece of scrap metal to the side. "What the shit is this, what fucking moron decided to end their lives by crashing into a goddamn wind turbine?!"

"Zach, calm down! Don't shout!" Stefan yells as he shoves Zach. "You'll fucking attract walkers if you keep pissing about this!"

"I have every right to be pissy, we've been suffering for two years, and the day after we get a break, this bullshit happens!" Zach shoves Stefan back. "What are the odds, Stef? Huh? What are the fucking ODDS?! A helicopter crashes into a wind turbine in the middle of the zombie fucking apocalypse. Let that bullshit sink the fuck IN for one GODDAMN MOMENT!"

The moment his argument finishes, Zach grunts and shouts as a walker grabs him from behind and starts to bite on his neck. However, just before it can land any form of wound on him, Stefan aims his gun and shoots it in the head, saving Zach from a fatal wound. He collapses, holding his neck. There is no bite or scrape, a close call.

More walkers start to pool out of the forest as Stefan aims and starts to shoot. "See?! Shut the fuck up and save your own skin!"

"Everyone fall back, we're surrounded!" Mike shouts, starting to shoot at more walkers as they come towards the group. "Don't get in the way of anyone! Stay out of people's way and nobody will get shot by mistake!"

Larry breaks away from the horrifying sight of the helicopter and the destroyed turbine long enough to ready his rifle. He fires several rounds into oncoming walkers with ease, surprising Carol.

"How old are you? You fight these things like you're twenty!"

"I'm seventy-three!" Larry shouts, quickly pulling his knife out to stab a nearby walker. "You need to be ready to fight off anything to get what you want!"

"In this world? Yeah!" Carol agrees, gunning down more oncoming walkers. "Where the hell did these all come from?!"

Zach is still gasping for air on the ground, unable to realize what is going on. He continues to try and process his near death experience just moments ago. Another walker approaches him, and he barely realizes that it is there before it collapses towards him as he locks eyes with it.

And in an instant, it is shot in the head and it falls before him.

Zach looks up, expecting to see one of his friends, but instead he sees an older woman he doesn't recognize.

"Well? Get on your ass and move!" She shouts. Zach stands up and stumbles, seeing more unfamiliar survivors exiting the woods and shooting down the remaining mini herd. As they fight, the woman grabs Zach and pulls him along with the rest of the group, being guided by other men and women.

They escape through the woods with the other fighting survivors finishing off the undead, as they travel west and down a large hill into a huge, natural ditch-type clearing.

Zach pulls away and gasps for air as he collapses against a rock, the rest of the survivors stopping as they stand outside a wooden gate that leads into a large area full of tents and barrels.

"What... the fuck...?" Mike tries to regain his breath.

"Hold on." The same woman from before has Mike sit down, the unknown survivors piling into the gated campsite. "Try to breathe. You'll pass out if you don't give your body a chance to relax."

Mike looks to Larry, who looks to Carol, who looks to Dwight. They all look amongst each other, surprised, confused, and concerned.

Zach is the first to speak up, as the woman approaches the gate. "Who... the hell are you people?"

She stops, turns, and smiles, as a few of the other survivors gather behind her, watching them.

"I'm Diana Hemsworth. This is my community. Welcome to the White Flower Garden."

Deaths

 * None

Trivia

 * First appearance of Trent Ford. (Physical)
 * First appearance of the White Flower Garden.
 * This group's name is a reference to the game Pikmin 2 for Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Wii. In it, there is a dungeon with the name "White Flower Garden".
 * The characters introduced in this episode remain uncredited, as to not spoil their appearances. This was meant to add an element of surprise to the ending.