Episode 9.10: Outpost

Outpost is the tenth episode of the ninth season of Walking Dead the Survival.
==Synopsis==
A new path leads to new opportunities and even greater risk.
==Episode==
The episode opens with a crow flying over woodland before coming to land on a weather beaten sign. It preens for a bit before cawing and flying off when something catches its eye. We pull back to see the faded name on the sign "Pinecrest Wild Life Park and Observatory".
Cage: Looks pretty deserted.
We pull back to see Cage, Moe, Michael, Henderson and a small group of soldiers camped out. 
Moe: Perhaps, perhaps not.
With those words we go back into the view of the binoculars view and travel past it to see the observatory from the image in the previous episode. It does indeed look like no one has been here since possibly before the outbreak began. The place has an abandoned feel about it.
Cage: Could be they just swing by every now and again like you guessed, I mean the main road we passed did not look that well used.
Henderson: Any traps?
Another view from the Cage.
Cage: Nothing obvious.
Henderson nods to himself and turns to the soldiers, giving hand signals to them and they depart into the brush. He turns to the three men.
Henderson: Alright you two know the deal, look around, only take what will not be missed, copy what you cant take and no showboating.
He looks back at the forest before back at the three again.
Henderson: And no showboating, last thing we need is someone getting egg on their face before they had to play hero.
Despite the light wordplay, they are well aware of the undertone and look at the forest with a sense of caution. Who knows what kind of traps might be lieing in wait to snare the unawares.
Moe: We understand.
Henderson: Good, set your watches and meet back here at the agreed hour.
The group splits.
We then follow a short montage of Moe, Cage and Henderson making their way around the area looking for clues. The mean search all over; looking in the back of an overgrown ranger van, a tool shed and so on. No stone in left unturned for potential clues and stores of information. They poccket of copy of a map of the area from an old box of maps normally given out to campers from the shed.
Cage: Doubt anyone will miss this.
Michael v.o: Not likely and... where's Moe?
Both realise he had wandered off.; both just see him slipping into the wood ahead of them.
Cage: Shit, c-mon.
Michael nods and they head on following after him.
Cage: Moe!
He keeps his voice low; not wanting to draw the attention of potential threats that might be lurking but, loud enough for the man to here. Moe dosent stop but, indicates that he has heard them. From his line of sight we can see he is following an old hiking trail that has almost been consumed by the untended wilds this Apocalypse began.
Michael v.o: Keep forgetting he's good at... Moe Stop!
The sharp tone in the automated voice is enough to give him pause and, not a moment to soon. Cage follows his line of sight and see's what had Michael alarmed.
Moe's foot is inches from a tripwire, without thinking the big guy reaches forward and yanks Moe back. He leads the man's gaze to the near miss and nods at Michael in thanks.
Cage: Good catch.
Michael nods and walks to the side, following the tripwire to where it is tied off. We see a concealed lever and weigh system; obviously to reset the trap when need be. He indicates the other men to step back and slowly works it. The trees above rattle and a spike trap log is lowered to the ground; had Moe not been stopped he would have skewered. 
Moe: Very good catch.
He examines the trap.
Cage: Looks like something out of that Predator film.
Moe: Crude. but affective, I suggest we leave it lowered for now and reset when we come back.
Cage gives him a look but, even he has to agree with the logic in Moe's eyes. You don't set a trap like this for nothing.
Michael v.o: Lead on, but, eyes open.
They nod and we change scenes to the inside of a room and the sound of something clicking rhythmically. Scanning the room we see it has been set up almost like a computer room from a cold war spy movie. Everything is illuminated in a faint glow from a bare bulb overhead.
Moe v.o.: The cable leads this way.
We see a door handle rattle and here the sound of a lock being open. The door opens and, a compact mirror on a stick is pushed through the door and slowly moved around.
Cage: See anything?
We see the three on the other side of the door; waiting for Michael's answer has he looks at the mirror. After a few tense minutes he gives the all clear. 
Michael v.o: Looks safe but, there is some off stuff in there.
Cage: Odd?
He follows Michael and Moe in and wee see what the fisherman means. The room; once a teaching room for visiting children had clearly been repurposed. It is filled with old looking but clearly functional computer equipment being powered by the cable Moe mentioned. The clicking has been coming from a fax machine that is currently in the process of spitting out information on a paper. 
Cage: Man this stuff looks like it should be in a museum.
He picks up a shredder and notes a bin full of ashes. 
Michael v.o: Seems a bit like overkill.
The other man is looking in a box that has fresh paper. While Moe watches the fax machine work. After a beat he brings out a pad of paper from his bag and a pencil.
Cage:... Moe?
Moe: Hmmm sorry?
Cage: I said how do you reckon they are running all this? I mean its all pretty low tech.
Moe: Timer's more than likely and they probably have the gas for the generators' topped up every other time someone comes to collect a message. 
Michael v.o: And the message?
Moe: Making a copy now, and put everything back where you found it.
He writes while he talks,
Moe: If it just printed then it means someone will be on the way soon.
Cage: and you don't want to stick around?
Moe pauses; well aware the others are worried about him and his gun hoe nature of late. To a degree he understands and, at the same time he also knows that in this case it is better to cut and run while they can. Better to leave the enemy thinking they have the lead than risk things blowing up in everyone's face. Finishing his writing he puts the note pad away.
Moe: Here they have the advantage, better let them keep thinking that for now.
Cage nods while rearranging things back to how they found them and Michael put the papers back. We then fade out and back to the meeting point with Moe handing over the notepad to Henderson.
Henderson: Make any heads or tales of it on the way back?
Moe: Still trying to work out the basics of Russian honestly but, there is what look likes quadrantes there and, numbers are numbers regardless of what side of the ocean they are on.
We see what he is pointing at on the page. It looks almost like a status report for various locations.
Henderson: Promising, match it up with the locations and we might be on to something.
Cage walks up.
Cage: Yeh but lets do that back at the city, last thing we need is to be caught out with out pants down or lets these people twig what we know.
The other two nod and Moe smiles; they are really getting on track.
Fade to Black.
End