Say Goodbye To America/ Scatter 24

This is the third episode of Say Goodbye to America: Scatter Season 3

Synopsis[]

Two sides's leaders attempt to make a treaty while another gears up for anything

Pact[]

Out from the vehicle’s passenger seat steps Jenny Hanson. She raises both hands and spins around slowly for the guards. Nate Demarco runs outside, followed by Milo and eventually Ciara Nash. Harvey, who is already outside with his gun drawn and aimed at Jenny, motions for the others to slow

Nate: What’s happening?

Harvey: Just being cautious. Safety’s on still so hopefully she pulls nothing. Remove any weapons!

Jenny complies and pulls out her pistol and lays it on the ground

Harvey: The others can come out, too

Jenny motions for the other three to step out of the car. From the driver seat steps a man with a short beard and a goofy grin on his face, his gun in the air pointed up. From behind him steps Aaron Meyer, rolling his eyes. From behind passenger steps Reina, who calls out to the others

Reina: What the fuck, Harv?

Harvey lowers his gun

Harvey: Can’t be too careful now Reina.

Reina: They’re with me. They’re okay

She motions for the Apex survivors to follow her to the front and stops in front of Harvey, Nate, Milo and Ciara

Reina: Is this because of Ryan?

Ciara: Chester changed the rules. Need to be safe now

Reina: Right. Well then, where is Chester?

Nate: Inside Shoshana’s office. Why?

Reina: Why do you think they’re here?

Reina leads the other three inside all the way to Chester’s office. She knocks three times before hearing a faint ‘enter’. She leads the other three in. Inside, Chester stands with Richard Harris

Reina: Chester. Richard. This is Jenny Hanson, leader of the Apex community, along Aaron Meyer and Horatio Whittaker. Everyone, this is Chester Navarro. New leader of the Waterfront community. And Richard Harris, the community doctor

Chester stands up and shakes hands with all three Apex survivors

Chester: Pleasure to meet you all. What can I do for you?

Jenny: Well Chester… I’d like to propose some sort of trade between our two communities?

Chester: What do you have to trade?

Jenny: What do you need?

Chester: We don’t need much. We have plenty here. We’ve gotten along just fine without a need for much scavenging. We have generators and gas and even the ability to cook. We’re able to survive. What could you possibly have to offer?

Aaron: Information. Knowledge

Chester: >scoffs< What for? You can’t consume that. It can’t protect you.

Aaron: It’s not a basic necessity, but when we start taking this world back, we need society. We need law and order and economy and business and government. We need interconnected communities.

Jenny: How many people do you have here?

Chester: About 200 or so, once the people I sent your way return

Jenny: Did they all start here?

Richard: No. Most came this way

Jenny: And they will continue to do so.

Horatio: 200. How about 500? Or even 1,000, however long that may take. Do you really think you’ll be able to rule over that many people by yourself? You’ll need help

Chester: What if it doesn’t come to that?

Jenny: At the rate you’re going. 200 in about a year. Next it’ll be 400. Then 600. You get the idea. We have people who can work on setting up a system where people can travel back and forth between communities. From Apex for fresh fruits, vegetables and grains, on to Waterfront, for… whatever it is you have here. Maybe even more communities we don’t know about. Your outposts could become a full community. It might work

Chester leans back in his chair a moment before leaning back forward

Chester: What do you want in return?

Jenny: Two things. One is that you accept and we start working on this together. I’d get a small crew of people who can work on this over here within a week and we’d start this road of communities

Richard: The other thing?

Jenny: >looks left< Can you take this?

Aaron: Not too long ago, we were attacked by a crazy man and his people. That’s how our people found yours. All were asking for is some extra manpower in case he comes back. We figure if he does, it’ll be this month

Chester ponders and breathes slowly before standing up

Chester: Let’s work this out lunch. We’ll head down to Marla’s and we’ll write this all down. Richard, will you join us?

Richard: I left Kayleigh for a while, but she can handle it. Sure

As the six of them exit Chester’s office, a vehicle approaches the front of Waterfront and stops

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In Apex, the construction crew has finished rebuilding the church with help from the Waterfront people. The entire community celebrates wildly by having their first sermon from Scott Cleary, drunk out of his mind. In the front row sits the entire crew, Ray on the end talking with Ruben and Gavin. Sean lays sleeping with a half full bottle of vodka in his hand and Devin Nelson uses a magic marker to draw a fake mustache on his face. In the other rows sits the entire Apex community and Waterfront survivors. Dustin talks with Gina, Olivia and Miranda. Dex sits with Nathan and Octavio while Matt stands on the side tapping his foot to the wall. Evan walks up

Evan: Whatcha tapping to?

Matt: Good old Radiohead. A Punchup at a Wedding. Drunken punch up

Evan: Why?

Matt: The construction crew is all trashed right now. Someone’s gonna start a fight, and I bet it’s gonna be Ruben

Evan: My money’s on Ray

Matt: Money’s useless. How about something else?

Evan: Whatcha want?

Matt: >chuckles< You got cigarettes?

Evan: About 5

Matt: If I’m right, I get one. If you’re right… you get

Evan: I get your knife

Matt: Deal

Matt and Evan shake hands. Meanwhile, Tess sits with Niklas and Jasper. Niklas stares angrily at Izabel before noticing Nils is not there

Niklas: Where’s Nils?

Jasper: Supply run

Tess: Don’t think about it, Niklas

Phillip sits in the way back reading a book next to Will Knight and Santiago Montoya

Will: What are you reading?

Phillip: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Supposed to be good. Found it on the shelf of the house

Will: What’s it about

Phillip: I’m so lost I have no clue

Santiago: It was what the movie Blade Runner is based on

Phillip: Blade Runner?

Santiago: That movie with Harrison Ford about the androids. Really bleak

Lysander: Good movie. Rutger Hauer is really depressing in the end

Phillip: Who?

Oliver: You don’t know who Rutger Hauer is?

Phillip: No

Oliver: He was in Escape from Sobibor

Jackson: Depressing movie, man

Oliver: Which one? Escape or Blade?

Jackson: Both. Both pretty good, too

Phillip: Guys I’m trying to read this shit

Donnie: You know who else was in Escape from Sobibor? Alan Arkin

Nathan: Who?

Donnie: Alan Arkin. He was in Glengarry Glen Ross

Dex: Oh that’s a good movie. Alec Baldwin’s in that

Dimitri: Will you guys just shut the fuck up already? I think Scott is trying to speak

The others turn around and finally stop discussing films. Phillip mouths a ‘thank you’ to Dimitri, who turns and looks up front

Scott: Alright alright alright alright alright… >belches< … We built a church

Cheers come from the front pews

Scott: And sure, some jackass died here. But so did Jesus. And he… did it for our sins. Now y’all might think he and God abandoned us to live in this hell with these…. things … undead things… all around killing us. But he’s still there. They’re still there… watching over us. Giving us strength not only to keep…. Pushing… day by day… but he’s also giving us the ability… to get absolutely shitfaced right now. And I feel the Lord in me… because I need to sit down

Scott makes his way over to one empty seat in the pews, hitting Sean in the leg, who stirs and wakes up. He looks at Gavin, who just laughs in his face. Outside the church, Train finishes smoking a joint and enters the church, chucking as he makes his way to the front section of the pews. Kendall steps up front and begins to address the audience

Kendall: Ahem… So many of you knew that I dated Bentley before he unfortunately was killed by Gregory. I don’t know if anyone knows this… but he and I… we were gonna have a life together. And that started here

She holds her stomach

Kendall: I’m pregnant. I think everyone should know. God wants me to have a child even in a shitty world like this. There’s hope for the future

The church is silent for a second before the front row claps. Eventually everyone is cheering. Except for Octavio, who stands up to leave the church

Sebastián: Where are you going?

Octavio: Eli and I are going on a supply run.

Sebastián: By yourselves?

Octavio: Smaller crew is easier to take care of

Octavio leaves the church as Eli follows

Eli: What did you tell him?

Octavio: Supply run

Eli: I guess it works. Jenny doesn’t want anyone else to know. I call shotgun

Octavio: Of course you get shotgun. Can you even drive?

Eli and Octavio drive out of Apex by themselves as Izabel looks depressed in the fourth row

Taylor: What’s wrong?

Izabel: I’m worried about Nils

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Leo and Jack follow downstairs until they find Blake Miller, standing still with his gun up the other direction. Leo taps him on the shoulder

Leo: What the fuck?

Blake: There’s voices coming from the light

Leo: >turns to Jack< Find the others, get them down here

Jack runs off quickly while Leo talks to Blake

Leo: What was that shit earlier about you not taking orders from me

Blake: I was a little upset. Look I barely know you and Luka. But if it comes to choosing between staying with you and following orders while someone is missing or going to find that same person and potentially saving them at the cost of orders… well I’m sorry… but I’d have to go save that person. Or at least do the best I can, so that even if they die, they know someone cared enough about them to search for them. If I were to ever go missing, I’d want people to search for me. I have faith that they would. It’s what keeps me going

Jack returns with Elizabeth, Lewis, Julian, Nils and Stan

Elizabeth: What’s wrong?

Leo: Voices up ahead. Safety’s on, but keep your guns up

The group enters. Leo, Blake and Nils in front, Liz and Stan in the middle and Lewis, Julian and Jack in the back, watching the rears. They step out in front of the light and see a few soldiers and doctors holding Luka at gunpoint

Charles: I’mma ask again. Where did you come from? What are you doing here?

Luka: I’m by myself. Look I just fell in a hole is all

Roscoe: Bullshit. I saw your enter the hospital. There’s many of you. Hit him again

Leo: Hold it. Don’t hit the poor boy

The soldiers and doctors look at Leo and his group

Lewis: What the hell is that? Those tubes and shit

Pablo: You don’t have to answer, Hollis

Julian: Are you trying to find a cure?

Hollis: Maybe

Jack: Then why are you beating up our guy?

Hollis: He could be a spy

Stan: A spy for whom? Who the fuck would be working against you to find a cure. Fucking think about that

Elizabeth: How are you gonna test it? You don’t have a dead one

Aidan: We just lost the most recent subject. Kinda messy, too

Jeff: It’s alright. I’ll get you another shortly

Hollis and Aidan walk up to Leo and Elizabeth

Hollis: Why exactly are you all here?

Elizabeth: We need supplies for our community just in case. I’m a doctor. I knew what we needed

Leo: We’re out in Apex. 100 miles or so away

Hollis: So why here?

Elizabeth: Closest hospital we hadn’t checked yet

Lewis: Just… two doctors left? Thought this place would have more

Aidan: We did… We uh… we started to try and find a cure as soon as the soldiers got here. At the time… there were 5 of us

Aidan begins to tear up, so he wipes his left eye and sniffles a bit

Aidan: We lost uh… we lost my intern. His name was Jared Crews. When we went to the fourth floor to block it off… he got grabbed. We had no choice. He was bitten and we had to leave him there.

Hollis: Zach and Henry, the other two, they went with PFC Archie Burns. They didn’t come back

Leo: We’ve lost people, too. Many people. Did you at least put your intern down?

Aidan: Put him down?

Leo: Kill him. After he turned

Aidan: Neither Hollis nor I have killed any of the infected

Leo gives the doctor a funny look

Leo: You said you needed another dead for a test, right?

Aidan: Yes

Leo: Let me join you. I’ll help you get one

Roscoe: Lever, you take Dr. Stockdale and go with this man

Leo: Names Leo. This is Elizabeth, Lewis, Julian, Jack, Nils, Blake and Stan. And you’ve obviously met Luka

Roscoe: Colonel Roscoe Jefferson. That’s Sergeant Jeff Lever, PFC Pablo Jimenez and Private Charles Pinkley

Jeff: Uh sir?

Roscoe: Right yes… Corporal Jeff Lever. I knew a… Sergeant Lever a while back. Still mix them up. Lever… go with Leo and Stockdale and get the test subject

Leo joins Jeff and Aidan up the stairs towards the fourth floor while the others stay behind

Stan: I’ll say it. What’s the army doing here? I thought the army was wiped out

Charles: Those were the guys who didn’t know how to fight the dead. Train all your life to kill the living but the dead… that’s a different story

Leo walks next to Jeff

Leo: What was that about?

Jeff: What was what about?

Leo: The Colonel called you Sergeant

Jeff: He said there was a sergeant with my last name

Leo: I don’t buy it

Jeff gives Leo a questioning look but Leo just gives a dirty one in response. Jeff sighs

Jeff: Fine. Most people don’t know this… but I was a sergeant. One day… my lieutenant and I got into a big fight. He had been fucking my wife for years. He threw the first punch and it ended with both of us bloody and bruised. I could either leave the army then and there… or I could stay, but get demoted to corporal. I love my country and will always serve it. I wasn’t gonna let that piece of shit take that from me. Colonel Jefferson knows. But the privates… if they knew… there’d be no respect left for me

Leo: What happened to the lieutenant?

Jeff: Transferred. Haven’t seen him since

Aidan: We’re here. Let’s get one. And be careful

Aidan heads for the fourth floor door, only to find it is already opened

Leo: Yeah sorry about that. We had some guys up there

Aidan enters and immediately attacked by a biter, who latches on to Aidan’s arm. Leo steps up and stabs it in the head

Jeff: Yeah we were gonna get that one

Leo: Sorry. Force of habit

The three walks silently through the floor when Leo taps Aidan on the shoulder with the handle of a knife

Aidan: What do I need that for

Leo: Just in case

Aidan: Fine

He takes the knife. The three enter until they see the large crowd of biters around the corner. Aidan picks up a piece of debris from the cracking ceiling and throws it across the hall. Two biters notice it and head in the direction of the three. The one in the front makes its way to Aidan, who allows himself to get grabbed by it so Jeff can take it in a chokehold, loosen its grip and move it away from Aidan

Jeff: Got it

As he steps away, the second one latches on to Aidan and gets too close to him. Aidan struggles to move his knife, but is eventually able to stab it in the head, feeling the blood splatter on his face as he pulls the knife out. When the dead body hits the ground, about ten biters notice him and make their way towards them. The three begin to run, Leo in front, when a group of three block him. He begins to stab them by himself as Aidan struggles to kill one biter after the other. Eventually, Leo is able to clear the path so he, Aidan and Jeff holding the test subject can escape. Aidan shuts the door hard, but is unable to lock it, so he just runs away. The three eventually make their way back to the basement and bring their subject to Hollis, who is able to put it in the tube and begins planning his next attempt at a cure

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Gregory sits in his trailer fiddling with his knife when a knock comes at the door. He stands up and gets it

Gregory: Yes Craig?

Craig: Rick’s back with the rest

Gregory: Thank you

Gregory steps out of his trailer and heads to the two trucks. He passes a girl carrying three large pallets

“Evening Gregory”

Gregory: Hi Wendy

He continues to walk. Past Grease showing Amin how fast he can swing a sign he found. Past Adam talking with Daniel. The two notice Gregory and turn the other direction, but Gregory just shrugs it off. He passes Jane listen to Ryo drone on about nothing. He eventually reaches the truck

Gregory: How can I help?

Rick: Don’t need much

Gregory: You sure?

Brooks: I’m sure. Thanks for asking though

Gregory: Okay. Small council meeting in 30. Tell Arrowhead and John

Lottie: They on the council now?

Gregory: As of now they are

He turns and walks back to his trailer. As he sits down on his bed, he reaches over to grab an ibuprofen bottle. He takes three and then lays back on his bed. In 30 minutes, Rick, Arrowhead, Brooks, Lottie and John enter Gregory’s trailer

Arrowhead: So… what’s this about?

Gregory: Apex. I want your ideas

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Cassius and Emil sit in their respective cells. A figure brings over two plates of food for each room. The figure then leaves. In each plate is a piece of paper

Emil: Cas! You see this?

Cas: Yeah

Emil: What’s stage 2?

Cassius laughs

Emil: >nervous< What’s stage 2?

Inside the cafeteria, a large crowd gathers for whatever Marla had prepared for them. Chester sits with Richard and Reina on one end of a picnic table with Jenny, Aaron and Horatio on the other end. Surprisingly, Ivan has sat next to Chester as well, and neither Richard nor Reina are huge fans

Marla: Here you are, Chester. Meatloaf surprise

Chester: What’s the surprise?

Marla: It’s chicken. And what’ll you have, Ivan?

Ivan: Well I’d uh… like some utensils

Marla: We don’t serve utensils to traitors

Chester: Cut it out Marla. I have forgiven Ivan. As should you

Marla walks away as Chester looks at his plate. Aaron begins to dig in while Horatio smells his chicken at the far end of the table

Chester: Oh don’t worry. Marla’s cooking is still good. Stan went your way so hopefully he’ll return soon

Jenny: He actually went on a supply run with my people.

Richard: You sent him on a run?

Jenny: He volunteered

Chester: That doesn’t matter. I think this plan can actually work

Brie walks up to him

Brie: We have an issue. Jed is here

Chester: Ah good. How is that bad?

Brie: He’s not alone. Elijah’s with him

Jed walks up with another guy. He appears to be about 20 years old with reddish hair. Vazquez and Barney appear behind him

Jed: Chester! How the fuck are you?

Chester: Jedediah Armitage. I’m good how are you?

Jed: You know my birth name is Jed, right?

Chester: Of course. E. How you been?

Elijah: I’ve been fine

Jed: So… what did you call us here for?

Chester: I think this should be private

Jed: Nonsense. You can say anything in front of E.

Barney: Trust me, Jed

Jed: Chester if you can have your guys here. Why can’t I have mine?

Chester: Fine. Vazquez, Barney… take Elijah to the other end of the table. Like I said, this is private

Jed: Then whisper it, Chester

Chester leans into Jed’s ear

Chester: >whispers< We have reason to believe there are traitors in the Winton

He leans back

Jed: I trust E. We’ve been friends since we were young. He wouldn’t do that. I trust him

Chester: Who don’t you trust? Start a search there

“CHESTER”

A loud voice screams out in the cafeteria as all others go silent. A lone man, appearing to be in his mid 30s, stares down Chester. Vazquez and Barney stare at the man and then back at Chester, who has frozen like a deer in headlights. The man quickly pulls out a gun

Jed: No!

The man fires three times, just as Ivan stands up and knocks Chester down, taking all three shots to the chest. Vazquez tackles the man before he can fire off a fourth shot. Vazquez lands three punches to the man’s face until Barney tells him to stop. Chester looks at Ivan, who coughs and tries to lean up

Barney: Fucking hell, Robert. Chester, you okay?

Chester: Yeah. But Ivan’s not

Chester holds Ivan up as he begins to bleed out and breathes heavily

Ivan: Well… I wasn’t expecting that today

Chester: Thank you

Ivan: I didn’t think I would die like this.

Chester: You didn’t have to

Ivan: You gave me a chance to be part of this place again. I used that chance to save you. Remember this… Look who came to help you. Your friends? Those guys from the other community? The people you save save you

Chester: … Ivan…

Ivan: Make sure I don’t turn, please

Chester holds on to Ivan as he slowly bleeds out. He then stabs him in the head before standing up and walking over to the shooter

Chester: Take this piece of shit to interrogation

Vazquez: What about Ivan?

Chester: Bury him honorably

Vazquez and Barney take Robert to the interrogation while a few others carry Ivan out of the room. Chester sits back down at the table

Chester: Now… where were we?