Fear the Walking Dead - Season 5 Rewrite

Click here for Episode 11

Episode 12 – As One

Plot: An emissary from a new group comes to visit.

Synopsis:

The start of this episode begins at the San Juan river community, with a hammer slamming down on some nails. We’ll see it’s Yoana, helping to construct a garden and smiling as she hammers in the last nail for the base. We’ll cut multiple times after that, showing her assisting all throughout the river community in several ways including: Preparing food, caring for kids, guarding on the walls, and repairs to housing/ structures. This montage could indicate a couple of days have passed since the last episode. After all that we’ll see her doing exercises to keep herself limber, then going through preparations to go to bed. In the morning she awakes, gets dressed, puts on her yamaka, and sets out props and décor for a temporary church/ synagogue. People begin to arrive, including Daniel and Annie, taking their seats and Yoana prepares her sermon. Now I have never attended a Jewish sermon or even stepped in a synagogue, so I’ll stick with just this amount of detail.

Once the sermon with those in attendance. With a thump, the shuts her copy of the Torah and watches her audience begin to leave. One of them stays behind though and asks for a confession. Smiling, Yoana takes the young woman with her to a private place for them to talk. As they sit down, the young woman confesses how she has been having nightmares about the day she lost her brother. It was during the beginning of the outbreak and while her parents were at work she and her brother were left to be cared for by their elderly neighbor. But she sneaked out while the woman was having a nap to hang out with her friends. When she came back though she saw blood and the old man was on his knees, pulling out flesh from her brother’s neck. As the stories continues a look of distressed begins to form on Yoana’s face as memories of her leaving the synagogue begin to bubble up. The noise around the rabbi begins to dull some as she feels terror and guilt begin to take over her body, along with faint voices and screams of people from her past. But she snaps back to reality when the younger woman asks what’s going on. After taking a deep breath, Yoana puts a hand on the shoulder of the confessor and tells her that nobody could have predicted the apocalypse. She then adds it's not her fault and gives her further reassurance before patting her on the shoulder. The woman leaves with a big of a smile on her face, but as she walks away Yoana’s normal smile fades away as the memories return. As we zoom a bit on her face the intro will play.

After the intro, Tobias is seen helping to tend some crops with Annie at Navajo Lake. We can see the two have grown closer to each other since reuniting after the horde attack. As they work together, we’ll see their parents come by and tell them that their work is over and both will hand their tools off to the next group of workers. Together, both teens will walk off together as their guardians take over. Following Tobias and Annie, we watch both go looking for John, who is about to perform another round of training with people. When Annie asks if it’s necessary, Tobias says that their time on the road isn’t the end of their troubles and that they should be able to protect themselves fully. Annie agrees, though we can see she doesn’t like having to learn to use guns.

As the two line up, John will give them all a similar speech as the previous time we saw him instructing the group that included Alicia. Once that speech is done, he’ll hand everyone a pistol and instruct to hold on waiting to fire until ready. After stepping back John will give the go ahead and the shooting will begin. Just like last time everyone will only have a single clip to fire. We see Tobias doing well with his shots, but Annie not so much. Once everything is over, John will give everyone advice and eventually get to Annie. His main words of advice to her are to practice and she’ll be perfect. Once he moves on though, Annie leaves and Tobias follows her. As he catches up to her, Annie will say she’s still uncomfortable using guns, explain it by say, “It still feels too soon for me to use one.”

She’ll sit down on a bench and put her head in her hands, a slight look of misery on her. Tobias will sit next to her and says he feels the same, talking about how over a year ago his biggest worry was if he was going to be stuffed into a locker. This will get a chuckle out of Annie, who says Tobias seems too cool to be stuffed into a locker. Returning the chuckle, Tobias will say he used to be a nerd and got beaten up a couple of times. He’ll raise a hand to his face and trace his fingers of the former bruises that Captain Peter’s soldiers put on him during his interrogation. Then, after putting his hand down, he’ll then talk about how he learned though to find ways to stop his enemies, giving a callback to the first episode where he talks to Madison the bully he started to tutor math to, saying that the best way to defeat an enemy is to make them your friend. Continuing from there, he’ll say that he misses the old days when he had to worry about grades, what clique he was in, and if somebody had a crush on him.

Smiling, Annie will recount her own time in high school, how she wanted to read comics with her friends, try to ignore all the popular kids showing off how rich and/or popular they were, and how she tried to start being a writer with small stories. She’ll then chuckle again, saying how maybe one day she’ll write down all these adventures someday, stating that this world, this life must never be forgotten. Reaching out, Tobias will take her hand and say he’d like to read that someday. Annie will smile at this and grip his hand, then talk about how Yoana that while we’re alive there is hope for a better world. Tobias nods and both look out at the community, saying that she’s right… when they’re alive, things can happen. Here they’ll hear their parents call out that they’re going back and both will head over to the vehicles.

We’ll move here to Daniel at the San Juan River Community as he returns to his home. Immediately as he enters, Skidmark will walk up to him and meow, causing the old man to pet the cat and whisper some Spanish to it. Walking to his couch, he’ll sit down on it and just play with the cat. We’ll watch him do it for a while until his vision will swirl about some and he’ll hold his head. Blurred voices permeate his head as he holds his face, especially around where he scar once was. As the pain blooms further, Skidmark will keep hitting him in the face and meowing until finally he gets control of himself. Back to himself, Daniel takes several deep breaths and talks to himself that it’s been getting worse… But he tries to muscle through it, saying it’s alright. The cat though just looks at him as he stands up and if it could speak it would say, “Daniel, you don’t have to act so tough. You should go see June.”

After pouring a bit of food for the animal, Daniel goes back outside and makes his way towards the southeast wall. As he’s walking, Yoana joins him, trying to get back into her normal attitude. As they walk in step, Yoana will notice her friend not looking so good and ask what’s wrong. The former mercenary will deny anything is wrong, noticing that Yoana isn’t fully herself as well and asking about it. Her serious expression turns into a small smile as she tries to resume her natural self, though she does mention that she had a tough time with her last confession. She’ll continue by saying, “I never really had to take confessions like these before… there was no need. We were living happily and peacefully. Or at least everyone I knew. But now we all have to do terrible things to live.”

Daniel will keep looking at Yoana silently while she speaks, then briefly go into how he used to kill people before the dead and how he eventually escaped it, contemplating out loud that the “bad” we’ve done will always be with us. It’s how life was back then and how it remains now. Yoana will stop here and Daniel will quickly follow her lead as she tries to argue that what everyone is going through right now is a trial in which humanity has to survive or else all will fall. Maybe Daniel did do horrible things before, but he risked his life to save Strand and Farah, as well as protect the school during the horde attack. That means the evil that people commit isn’t always evil and that he, her, and the people of the communities have to stay strong because they survived so far and they can keep surviving until the dead are gone. Shaking his head and muttering how she’s full of puffed up words, Daniel starts to walk away. But the rabbi isn’t done and calls out to him why he’s still alive then? Why has he not given up? Daniel will stop and look back at her and ask her the same question.

Yoana points at the sun and answers: “You see that?”

The former mercenary will look up slightly and then back at Yoana, who continues:

“It is life. Without it, nothing can live. The day that is gone is the day I give up.”

Daniel silently turns away and walks off, leaving Yoana watching him with an unanswered question and with a look wanting to help on her face. We’ll cut here to two guards on the southeast wall. Both have cover from the sun and are lazily watching the desert ahead for any infected. We’ll observe them doing this for a long moment until one of them spots something in the distance and pokes her companion. The other guard notices a small dark blot on the horizon and raises his rifle. The camera will for a small moment be straight down the barrel/ sight until the guard lowers it as we cut back to the dark blob. It’s not the dead… it’s small group of people that seems to be three men. Two of the men are garbed in what looks like leather with buffed metal pieces all over the bodies like armor. The man leading the two is in a more simple outfit. As the approaching party moves closer, the female guard calls out for them to stop, her own gun in hand. The leading man halts some meters away from the gates, his escort stopping with him and straighten at a soldier-like position. Smiling genuinely, the leader greets the two guards before we cut to black.

When we return, we go to John and June playing with their new scrabble set. It’s a fun, casual game that I feel is perfect because I haven’t gotten to show them playing it yet. As they’re playing one of them will trying to make a word that the other doesn’t know and they have a fun time disputing whether the word is legal or not. As they’re playing, June will ask about John’s family, since she hasn’t heard much about them. John will smile and reveal that his mom died when he was young when she tried to have another kid. It didn’t go well and his father had to raise him on his own, which took a lot of him, but he always had a smile for him. That’s why John wanted to be a police officer, to be like his dad. He’ll explain more about how his dad was a very talented cop and he taught John his manners. When John asks about June’s family, she’s less cheerful, but just as open to telling him that her family was a mess as well, with multiple siblings and she and one of her brothers were the ones keeping things together. We’ll have some more banter until suddenly their fun is interrupted by a voice on John’s walkie, telling John to get to the wall quick. We’ll get a shot of both John and June looking at each other before suddenly they run off camera.

Going back to the wall, a few other guards are watching the new group stand outside their walls while others observing the scenery around them for others. The leader of this small party and his friendliness causes some of the guards to lower their weapons slightly. It just feels very uncomfortable to have such a friendly stranger talking to them, but the man’s armed guards definitely keep them tense. Daniel, who was already close to the wall, is the first the main group to reach it. One of the guards breaks away slightly to catch Daniel up with what’s going on. Daniel steps up in front of everyone and speaks down upon the three, asking for their intention. The main stranger starts to step forward, but turns it from a large step to a small one, considering the guards still have their guns on him. He’ll introduce himself as Jason Riley, a representative of The Family. He and his two guards have come to meet the community and spread the word of The Family. Immediately Daniel is suspicious, glaring at the man below. He’ll ask what the family is, making a mocking remark as he does this, and Riley will explain how his group take in people to build up a community capable of surviving the undead (or as he calls them, the Sin). Riley’s words do not sway Daniel, who decides that these newcomers have to go.

Here John comes in and asks for what’s happening. Daniel tries to brush it off, saying that these newcomers are preaching some nonsense, that they’re blowing wind. The former cop though says that they’re still people, they should listen to them. Stepping away from the edge, Daniel tries to explain that these are religious people who are spouting nonsense. Giving his friend an odd look, John answers that they have their own religious person too. Shaking his head, Daniel says that Yoana is different, she’s from an actual religion, unlike these people. Still adamant, John says that they can at least hear them out, they’re people after all. Still Daniel has a look saying this is a bad call, but John steps ahead of him and says they can come in. But only Riley.

Riley agrees to these terms and tells his companions to step back. Make themselves comfortable. Both nod and follow his orders, one of them pulling out an umbrella or some type of cover to shield both from the sun’s rays some. Riley steps forward, putting a pistol, a knife made from a wrench, and his satchel on the ground first before raising his hands as the gates begin to open. He’s quickly brought in and patted down for any other weapons, to which there are none. Guarded by two people and watched by Daniel, John, and June, Riley is escorted to a building where he sits down with hands together on a table as the three sit across from him. As the four walk, members of the community, including Yoana, Tobias, and Annie watch this stranger with interest. The smile has not wavered from Riley’s face as he greets the three and once more introduces himself. John and June in return introduce themselves, but

Daniel pours the satchel onto the table. Out comes a notebook, a pen or pencil, some food,

Daniel takes the notebook and flips through the pages, seeing notes on people and groups that he has met, along with a few not-so-good drawings of said people. The mercenary will turn the open notebook to face Riley and ask about it, to which the man will explain those were some of the people that he met on the road with his group. Some they took in, some were too far gone, and then explains he was hoping to note down about their group as well. June will speak up here, asking how Riley knew where they live, to which he’ll answer that he and his escort were on a hill and spotted the town, implying that the open spaces can give people plenty to see. A little discomfort is on June’s face and John is about to speak up to try and calm things down, but Daniel comes in and begins asking more personal questions about Riley. He wants to bore into the newcomer’s head and see if he can’t get something out of him.

“Where did you come from?”

“Chicago. Though I came from Texas when the Sin began to appear.”

“The Sin?”

“Yes. They’re us, but the sins of evil have turned them into monsters. How else can this be?”

Here Daniel has no answer and does not reply back when Riley asks him what his group calls the dead. The questioning will then continue.

“How many people in your community?”

“Several hundred.”

“Where do your people live?”

“I can’t tell you yet.”

“Why not?

"We’ve only just met you. We’re only looking good people to join us. No bad apples. Our mission is to destroy the dead and keep good people safe. We need as many people as possible in order to do this.”

Another pause will happen as Daniel looks over this smiling man.

“Who are you really?”

“I’m just a man looking to keep humanity alive. The dead have taken too much from us and all this fighting among each other is nothing but helping them win this war.”

Then Daniel will ask what exactly The Family is, adding that just having a name is nothing special. Anybody can have an impressive name now-a-day. Riley looks a little offended, but begins to speak of his group, praising The Family as a force intending on wiping out the dead and to restart civilization. John and June both raise an eyebrow while Daniel finds this to be rather ridiculous, asking Riley if he knows that it doesn’t matter how people die, they always come back as the dead. Riley nods and says he's seen it before and yeah… that’s life now. But this doesn’t mean this war for the living isn’t hopeless. Riley will explain how his community grew ever since they escaped Texas, how every trial they fought has made them stronger, and how the dead can be beaten. If they joined with The Family, there’s a better chance that humanity can be brought back from defeat.

There is silence from everyone until Riley continues:

“I can see it in your eyes… You’ve all lost people. Wives… husbands… sons… daughters… friends… This world has taken and continues to take from us, the living. I’ve said it already, yes, but it’s a just a fact of life now and it’s one me and my people don’t want to keep happening. Don’t you want this to end? To live in peace again like before? What’s the point of living anymore if there’s no future to fight for?”

Everyone just stares at Riley as he speaks and we can see John and June are moved by his words. Daniel is as well, but as a man who’s had to deal with all sorts of dangerous (and potentially dangerous) people throughout his life, he more inspects the man in front of him, trying to catch him lying. But Riley’s face never changes in its seriousness. We’ll stretch out the silence some to build a bit of tension until Daniel asks why he thinks his group is good enough for “The Family.” Looking Daniel dead in the eyes, Riley talks about how he’s not an idiot. He was watching them before he approached. And why else did he bring guards with him if he wasn’t prepared for an attack.

Daniel then asks Riley, “And why do you think we’ll let you go?”

Riley will look at Daniel and respond with, “I’m supposed to signaling back before nightfall. If that doesn’t happen, they’ll come for me and you and I don’t want any of you to die.”

This is enough for Daniel and, against his wishes, he puts Riley’s items back into his satchel and hands it back to him. We’ll cut away to outside the door here, where we see Yoana is eavesdropping on the conversation. She moves behind the door as it opens up and everyone walks out. Riley has his satchel once more as he’s walked to the gates. The guards on the wall are still watching the two men outside under their cover. As the outsider is walked to the gate, John indicates for the guards to open it up and they do so, but still watch the guards outside. Riley walks out, but just as he passes the gates he turns around and waves at the group, calling out that he hopes to see them again. He’ll then turn around and we’ll cut to a break as the gates shut close.

When we return, everyone is looking at the now closed gate. John and June both agree that Riley, though odd, could be a useful ally, as well as The Family. But Daniel, even moved by Riley’s confession, still finds it a little odd, declaring at something still doesn’t feel right about him. Yoana wants to side with John and June, but feels she needs to know Riley more in order to full understand the man. At this, Daneil tells the rabbi to track him down. Both the former cop and nurse begin to protest, but Daniel says that even if Riley was telling the truth, he knows where they live. If The Family is as big as he says, they would then have the numbers to possibly take over. They need to be prepared, especially since Riley was watching them before he came to visit.

Here, Daniel walks off, pulling Yoana with him to their armory and supplying her with a rifle and some other gear before telling her to watch them carefully. When she asks why her, Daniel says he knows she was listening in because the door didn’t fully open. He then explains that she heard, so she knows some of what he’s told them. Yoana feels a little worried at this sudden task, but Daniel tells her they need to know because if there is a large group not far from them they need to be ready. The rabbi though interjects that what if Riley is being truthful, what then? Stubborn, Daniel responds that with friendship is earned through more than just words. They need to know.

At this point, both hear a noise behind them and turn around to see Tobias and Annie. Tobias vocally requests to join Yoana. Annie feels less inclined, more following Tobias’s lead. Immediately Daniel says no, they can’t. They’re just kids and this is a serious mission. Tobias replies that this is a serious issue, and this needs to be taken care of because people don’t just walk up and be friendly anymore without wanting something. Still, Daniel says no. But Tobias persists, adding that he kept people alive and took his group captured when they first met, so he can do this. Knowing Tobias is right, Daniel turns to Annie, asking her if she’s ready for this. She’ll nod and say she is, but Daniel can see she’s not as hardened as her friend. Tobias takes Annie’s hand and steadies her, giving her some courage. Reluctantly, Daniel agrees, but tells Tobias personally to watch her, to which he’ll respond he absolutely will.

We’ll cut away here to all three at the opening gate, Daniel behind them with a car and watching the group as they hop in. As Yoana takes the wheel, Daniel tells them not to go too far. They’re on foot, so they can’t be too far, and being prisoners could make their situation even worse. Yoana nods and turns the key in the ignition, starting the engine and driving out the gate. We’ll watch the car move off and the doors close up, with the car heading west along the path the guards pointed out. As they begin to travel into the ravine, it doesn’t take long for them to notice three figures turning a corner in the distance. Knowing they can’t use the vehicle much longer, they move it to the side in a place that’s open to the guards on the wall. All three get out and Yoana takes the lead, indicating to the other two to be quiet. Following the trail, they reach a corner and peek beyond it.

From their position, they see that Riley’s group encounter a group of infected, I’ll say around 13. We’ll cut closer to Riley’s team as the infected shamble towards them. One of the guards draws a sword made from a lawnmower blade. The other takes out an axe make from a sharpened sawblade (which I’m basing on/ referencing the “Esteemed Mortal” axe from The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners). The one with the sword offers the other to go first, to which his friend offers the same. The sword wielder moves forward, easily decapitating the first infected walking towards him and braining the next one. His companion follows up, braining the next infected with his axe and stabbing another through the face with the opposite, pointy end of his weapon. This combat will clearly indicate that The Family (or at least some of them) are highly skilled, maybe up to Rick’s group at season 5 of the main show, which is around the same level OUR group is at. Riley will join in the fight as well, using his wrench knife to stab on in the head, dodging a lunging corpse and tripping it with a kick to the shin. He’ll stab the fallen attacker in the back of the head, then wrestle another infect that grabs him. We’ll get some close up shots of him struggling, a look of anger on his face, before he headbutts the snarling skull and uses the moment of freedom to stab it from under the chin.

By this point, all the infected have been slain and all three are cleaning their weapons, though the man with the axe looks at the guts still hanging from the sawblade, knowing that won’t be easy to remove. The guard with the sword asks if Riley is alright after that headbutt, to which the man says he is after wiping his forehead off with his sleeve. As he does this, he’ll notice a long shadow moving slightly from the main shadow of the hill. Knowing he’s being followed, he calls for the pursuers to reveal themselves. Both of his guards immediately slam their weapons into the ground and pull out their rifles, but Riley raises a hand and tells them to wait.

“Let them come out. They just want to talk.”

Both guards lower their rifles a bit at the command, but don’t put them away. We’ll cut back to Yoana, Tobias, and Annie as they stay hidden. Riley calls out once more, saying that he won’t shoot if they don’t shoot. Yoana thinks on the decision and decides to trust Riley, walking out as Tobias angrily whispers for her not to. Just like the guards, Yoana has her gun lowered as she comes out of cover, eventually standing a few yards from the three outsiders. From behind cover, Tobias curses and joins Yoana, with Annie not far behind him. It’s a face off between both groups of three, with the leaders of both at the most relaxed. Riley is smiling and says he knew Daniel would send people after him, he could tell it and explain that he could tell that Daniel was a military man because Riley once was too. The representative of The Family understands that they just met, so trust isn’t strong. He gets that. We’ll have our usual kind of speech about “having to do terrible things to live”, but then Riley will talk more personally about himself. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his wallet and from it he pulls out a folded piece of paper. Unfurling it, Riley shows our three members of the river community a picture of an ultrasound. This was his kid that he never got to see. He had to leave his wife to go on tour in a submarine and this was what his wife gave him before he had to go. Then the dead began to rise on the vessel he was on and he and his fellow crew members had to beach and abandon the sub to escape. And once he got on land he called his wife and…

“I had to listen to them die…”

There is clear pain in Riley’s face as the hand holding the ultrasound begins to shake slightly.

“This is why I’m still alive. Not for him… but so this will never happen again. And to make sure the dead are purged from this world. I want a world where kids like you can be happy and not have to fight for your lives every day.” He’ll indicated Tobias and Annie as he says this last part.

Tucking the ultrasound and wallet back into his pocket, Riley will tell them that The Family needs their group.

“Whether you join us or not, we’re all in this together. We’re all against our true foe. Because when we’re one…”

“We are strong!” continue the guards.

Riley then tells our heroes to go back. They’ll see them again soon and hopefully things will be better then. All three outsiders turn away and as they walk off, we’ll linger on our heroes’ stunned expressions at Riley’s story before cutting to black.

Upon return, we see all three of our group return with their vehicle. As they get out, John and June meet them and ask what happened. Yoana will say they let them go, explaining that Riley seems like a good person. We’ll see Daniel join them all and ask Yoana what happened. She’ll give the same answer she gave John and June, but unlike them Daniel will not be happy, telling her angrily that she can’t just listen to pretty words and believe them. Yoana shakes her head and tells Daniel that what Riley believes in is not pretty words. That man has determination, a sense of justice to him that isn’t used for tricking people. He believes in his purpose. Glowering, Daniel orders the guards to stay on watch for any other newcomers before departing to call Madison.

John will comfort Yoana, saying that it’s good to give trust to people in these dark times. June is a mix between her lover and Daniel, believing that it shouldn’t be so easy to make allies and that they should indeed be on guard for trouble. The nurse will dive deeper into this, explaining about the bad people she’s met on the road and that this world brings out the bad in some people. “They’ll say words that’ll make you feel safe and when you lower your guard, they’ll strike…”

June’s fiancé though says that not everyone can be bad. These people walked up to them and didn’t fire a single shot. She though looks at him with some exasperation and tells John that could mean more of a concern if what Riley told them is true. And now his group knows where they live. John nods, feeling a bit of her and Daniel’s arguments are making sense, but tries to be optimistic. He’ll then conclude that they’ll follow Daniel’s lead and keep an eye out, but they can’t throw away this possible opportunity. Especially since they were once strangers and when people let them in they all began to improve in some way. John will add that it was like how he met June, he let her, a total stranger, into his life and both became better people. June and Yoana will smile at this and both John and June will walk off together back to their home.

Yoana, now alone, will go on her own from here, thinking about Riley, The Family, her confession at the start of the day, and some other thoughts as she strides across the community. She’ll soon pass by her makeshift synagogue, stopping a second to pull out her closed holy book. Closing her eyes, the rabbi openly hopes to herself that she made the right choice by letting Riley go. She’ll put the book back and continue walking. Here we’ll cut to Tobias and Annie on their own walk. Both are close to each other and Annie reaches out and takes Tobias’s hand and gives it a squeeze. The boy looks at her curiously and she’ll ask him if he’s worried at all about The Family. Tobias nods immediately, talking about how Riley felt too nice to be real. Annie will nod, but there’s a look on her face that Tobias, after watching her, asks what’s up. Sighing, Annie admits that she wants to believe Riley because people can’t just be bad out there.

“We might be working together as one here, but we’re on our own too… No army, no government, we’re going to have to live and fix it ourselves. And I think Riley wants that. He wants to keep people safe. Not just his people, but others as well. Or at least… that’s what I think.”

Both find a bench near the river and sit down on it, staring at the flowing water below. Annie will continue by saying that it isn’t just them, the community, that has suffered. People all over have suffered and grown or died. Only somebody strong could be like Riley and people like that might want to help. Tobias’s suspicion though keeps him from agreeing. He’ll talk about how the CRM tried to make them trust them, but stabbed them in the back. Raising a hand to his face, Tobias will recall the beating he got from Captain Peter’s men. Annie though will remind Tobias that he trusted Madison and look what happened. Nodding, Tobias will look more at the river some more. Taking his hand again, Annie will then reassure Tobias that they’ll find out and they’ll get through it. Both will watch the river continue to flow and we’ll cut to black.