26 - Who Overcomes

ComradeNarf

"Who Overcomes..."

Chapter Number	26
Number of Parts	3
Written by	Kc Wayland
Episode Details
Extras

[hide][top]Recap

[hide][top]Part 1

We begin with the landing from Chapter 25. After they shoot the zombie, Kelly asks if it is dead, and they think it was a stow-away on the helicopter. As they decide to move out further they hear and see a hummer and patrol car come around the corner. In the turret a person with a sunglasses and a kevlar vest targets them. They immediately strap their rifles and throw their arms up to show that they are friendly. Several uniformed officers move come towards them. They are kept under watch and Pegs is told to turn the helicopter off as it is wasting fuel. They are all told to exit the helicopter. Kelly tries to talk to Carl who is watching them, but he is told to watch them not talk. Michaels approaches the Private with his ID showing that he is military, but he is told not to talk to him at all, no matter his rank.
Kelly and Pegs are joking as they left and as Tanya helps Riley off the helicopter their instant reaction is that she is turning. They tell them that she is just sick. Then they notice the dead zombie and question where it came from. Kelly tells them it was a stow-away, but the person in charge gets quite angry. Michael works out that his name is Corporal Puck, and asks if it is just those five and if he is in charge of the whole fort. Puck says that there is a chain of command outside of himself and Michael wants to meet them, but puck is under orders from the base commander. Michael and Kelly are asked to clear their riles and empty the chamber for safety reasons but Michael won't. Carl calls Puck over to look at the number of the helicopter as it seems to mean something to him, but Puck doesn't recognise it. Michael asks Carl if he knows the bird, but Puck tells them not to talk.
Kelly and Pegs are quite excited about how things are looking, but Datu thinks they are being dicks, and Michael reminds them that they will have a lot of rules. The wonder if the guys are really soldiers, so Michael asks Puck what his MOS is. Puck responds with 31 Bravo and this along with how they are acting makes Michael believe they are who they say they are. They ask if they can get a better place for Riley, and they are told that she is first in line for treatment. Pegs sees that Puck is getting close to the chopper and Michaels goes to intercept him. He closes the door to stop them getting in and Puck assumes that Michael locked it. He is then called away to talk to command and they are allowed to leave the chopper. Riley is taken to hospital, and the rest are taken to the barracks after getting their bags from the helicopter. Because they can't reach the commander they have to stay in the barracks but can have a hot shower and get a hot meal.
Michael asks if it was a good place to come, and Puck says that while it is not paradise it's ok, and he will figure it out.
Victor and Saul come outside and the 50cal is still there. They head on towards the Tower and see a lot of debris and ash everywhere. When they get there there are still bodies from all sides left lying around which is different to every other similar scene they have come to. They start checking the bodies looking to see if there are any Mallers with a map. They wonder why the bodies are still around, and Saul says that because they still are they need to hurry up and get out of there. They find the remains of at least part of Kalani's chopper. They then find someone with a gun still in his hand. He has floss, a key, a pocket knife and a wallet with lots of ID's in it.
Saul finds some of the Tower folk in a busted car, Steven and Jacob, and two others.
They found some other Mallers but find nothing helpful and decide to try the tower next door to see if there is anything of interest. They find a few harnesses and try to determine if there was any other way down from the tower if the chopper wasn't there. They find the end of the zip line, but Victor thinks it isn't in a weird position. He wonders if someone abseiled down.
Saul glides down and Victor takes the stairs. Saul starts to investigate where they went, and the find the way the person went. There are rats picking at the bodies, and then Saul finds Mr Whiskers. Mr Whiskers is happy to see them and follows them as they keep investigating. They then find some tire tracks and lots of foot prints and they are fresh. That means that someone was there since the Tower had fallen.

[hide][top]Part 2

Part 2 opens with Saul and Victor still at the remains of the Tower. Victor points out the freshness of the tire tracks in the dust. Saul disagrees, saying it could be someone climbing down from the roof after the chaos. Victor retraces the path, and determines that whatever vehicle was there had pulled in, parked, then left the same way. Saul’s suspicion immediately turns to the Mallers; Victor concurs.

They continue rifling through the pockets of the corpses at the site, but someone has already beaten them to it. Saul describes finding pockets already flipped out. On a whim, Victor checks the body of a person he suspects has recently turned. He finds a wrapper with a smudged “8 Grand” written on the back of it. Saul remarks that it’s probably a debt note. Annoyed, Victor hands the wrapper to Saul. Saul looks closer and suspects it may actually say “8th & Grand.” Mr. Whiskers offers a friendly meow, soon followed by a hiss. Saul and Victor duck for cover. Peering out, they see Collectors, out to gather the bodies of the dead. Saul and Victor head for their truck and drive off, ready to see what’s at 8th & Grand.

Meanwhile, at Fort Irwin, several soldiers escort Riley into the medical center near the helipad. Puck and another solder, Carl, escort the remainder of the group to the base. Michael notes that he was there a little less than a year ago and the only noticeable change was the barracks. The barracks is now surrounded by 10-foot high Texas Barriers on all sides. There is now a solid concrete barrier around the 4 barracks buildings and courtyard. He compares the entrance to any standard checkpoint he saw in Baghdad, with patrolling soldiers behind sandbags barriers and turrets.

Puck informs the group that they are not to leave their barracks until he returns. Michael attempts to get information from Puck, but he merely states that the soldiers are under orders not to speak to the new arrivals. Puck says he’ll check on Riley and provide the group with updates, and warns the group to stay off the 2nd and 3rd floors. The group is not to be caught wandering. Their rooms are equipped with running water, and showers are normally provided every 4 days. Because of the group’s current condition, Puck tells them to shower as soon as possible. PT outfits will be provided as well.

Inside the barracks, Pegs is taken aback by the smell. Michael, apparently used to the smell, says the smell is in the walls. Kelly heads off to take a shower, while Michael claims a room and bunk. Datu cheerfully enters and informs him that the room he picked already had stuff in it, so he’ll be joining Michael. Exhausted, Michael points out there are enough rooms so sharing is unnecessary. A hurt Pegs mistakes the comment as directed towards her. Datu begrudgingly heads for a new room, leaving Pegs and Michael alone. She closes the door, then begins looking at the PT’s, making small talk with Michael. She starts taking off his boots when he falls fast asleep.

Saul and Victor stop just shy of the 8th & Grand intersection and head out on foot. Apparently the address is a construction site of sorts, surrounded by a chain link fence. Saul wants to get a closer look at the metal frame at the back of the construction site, but the fence is covered with green wrap.

Saul and Victor move to the side of the lot where they find the gate chained and locked. They enter the second floor of the building next to the site in order to observe the site better. Saul is annoyed that the site is empty, but Victor sees a garden next to the back wall – apples, oranges, tomatoes, complete with a watering setup. Victor wonders where the trees came from, as the current trees are too large to have been just planted. He mentions the Colony having a similar garden, but it would probably take years before it reached a comparable output.

Heading back down Victor hopes to cut the lock. Checking his bag, Saul finds his only tool to be a pair of pliers. Victor tries pushing the gate in hopes of opening it enough to squeeze through. Saul stops him, noticing that the gate is wired. Victor boosts Saul up so he can view the trap. Noting it’s only hooked to the gate, he climbs over. After closer inspection, he believes the wire is connected to a remote alarm. He heads to the garden to grab some supplies, then climbs back over the fence. Much to Victor’s surprise, he yanks the gate enough to trip the alarm. They retreat back to the second floor of the building and wait.

As sunset approaches, Saul is still watching while Victor reads Lord of the Flies. They soon notice someone in blue jeans and black hoodie peeking around the site. Saul notes that the nondescript clothing could be used to disguise numbers. The person draws a firearm as they go to reset the alarm. Saul heads downstairs only to find the person gone. Saul radios Victor to inform him of the bad news. Still searching, Saul suddenly takes a blow, falling to the ground and dropping his rifle. The person in the hoodie emerges from under a car with a baton. They get to their feet, point the gun at Saul, and cock the hammer.