Running From The Dead

"Running From The Dead" is the fifth episode of season one of The Last Ones. It was originally published for the first time on Wednesday 16th July 2014.
==Plot==
The survivors begin to make preparations to leave Winterhodge Hollow after Sean accidentally lured zombies to town. Meanwhile, Henry grows concerned about a troubled Karen as things begin to get too much for her.
==Synopsis==
The survivors are still held up at Joyce and Gilbert's house after a few days despite their original plan to just stay for the night. Sean setting fire to his local pub a few days before attracted a large group of zombies to the town. Peter, Sean, Henry, Aimi and Shiro defend the house and shoot a group of incoming undead. As they do, Karen sits alone in the dark, thinking back to the night she and Henry escaped from the school they were using as a base. She in particular thinks of a young boy called Tommy, who was one of the many children who died and turned.
After the large group of zombies are dealt with, Lorna greets Peter and the other defenders as they enter the house. They decide that they need to move out as there are probably more undead approaching. Henry formulates a plan for the group to head to the country where there's shelter from the zombies and access to fresh water. Shiro complains about Sean setting fire to his pub and blames him for the group being unable to stay in the big house for longer. When Sean reacts in anger, Peter and Henry have to calm the situation.
Sometime after, Lorna asks Karen if she would mind watching Beatrice while she and Georgie search for some clothes. Karen shortly refuses and walks away, leaving Henry to apologise to a confused Lorna and Georgie on her behalf. They speculate on what's going on with Karen after Henry leaves to follow his troubled wife.
On the porch outside, Henry finds Karen, who asks to not be given grief and she says she'll apologise to Lorna later. Henry asks Karen if she's all right and she insists that she's fine but she doesn't want to talk. Henry is adamant however and demands to know what's going on with her. She asks him if he remembers Tommy, the child who took a liking to her after he lost his family. Henry tells Karen she needs to stop blaming herself for what happened at the school, but she doesn't listen. Karen admits that she can't get the images of that night out of her head. Henry tells her she needs to try and overcome her trauma as it's the world they're all living in now. After a discussion about their own children and how much they miss them, Henry asks Karen if being around Milo and Beatrice is what constantly reminds her of the school. He suggests the two of them going off alone, but Karen refuses. To Henry's dismay, Karen then calls the conversation short to go and pack their belongings so that they're ready to leave with the rest of the group later on in the day.
Milo approaches Shiro, who is sitting alone in the lounge. Shiro reacts tetchily to Milo's curiosity about what he's up to, leading the two to throw insults at each other, with Shiro calling Milo annoying and Milo calling Shiro grumpy. Milo then leaves, much to Shiro's relief, but not before telling the man that he has an attitude problem. Shiro smirks as Milo walks away, hinting that he actually enjoys talking to the kid.
In the garage adjacent to the house, Peter, Aimi and Sean come across Gilbert's old, but expensive, car, which Peter reveals was his pride and joy. Aimi wonders if it's appropriate to take it and Sean jokingly responds that Gilbert won't be needing it, what with him being dead. Peter says that Gilbert would have wanted the car to serve a purpose rather than leaving it in the dark to rust.
Lorna continues on their search for clothes that fit Georgie. She asks Georgie if she has any clothes in her bag, but Georgie confirms she doesn't. When Lorna asks Georgie what the bag contains, she brushes her off and replies "just stuff". The two then joke with each other as they continue looking.
Later that afternoon, the group get ready to move out on the road. They all agree that they're going to miss the big house, but Henry reminds them they have to move on as he scouted the outskirts of Winterhodge Hollow and discovered more undead on the way. Inside, Jai fetches Sean from the kitchen, who is enjoying a a drink or two. Sean tells Jai that Winterhodge is decent and that he's sad to be leaving it, which Jai agrees with. When they arrive outside, Joy cools a tense discussion between Sean and Shiro, who cannot believe that Sean is still drinking. When Jai asks if the group know where they're heading, Peter says he knows a place.
The survivors pile into cars and drive away from Joyce and Gilbert's house. Sean misses the journey as he has drunkenly passed out in the back of one of the cars. Lorna requests that Peter lead the survivors East, so they won't have to drive past their old house, which would be too painful for her. He agrees.
After hours of travelling, Peter leads the group into a clearing in the woods to stay for the night. Shiro, again, is the only one to complain, as he doesn't understand why they can't continue travelling when they have just a few more hours to go. He then asks the group why Peter is suddenly their leader, and when he says that Ollie was incapable of making good decisions, Aimi snaps at her brother.
Sometime after, the survivors have set up a place to sleep and most of them are relaxing, except for Shiro, who is still complaining about Peter. Aimi apologises to Jai and Lorna for her brother's behaviour, but they insist she has nothing to be sorry for. Jai shares his theory that Shiro only acts the way he does because he's scared, which Aimi agrees with. Joy steps up and gets Shiro to shut up by threatening banishment if he carries on. He backs off. 
Karen stands alone by a lake, overlooking mountains. She thinks back once again to the deadly night at the school and how Tommy screamed for her her help, only for her and Henry to flee. Karen is approached by Henry, who asks if she's all right. She tells him again that she can't get that night out of her head. He tells her to be strong, but she says she doesn't know if she can. Henry comforts his wife and promises to help her through it.
During the night, everyone but Sean and Aimi are asleep, as they patrol the camp. He offers to keep watch alone so she can get some sleep, but she declines and mentions that she hasn't slept properly since Ollie died. Sean asks if he was the one who taught her how to shoot and when she confirms that he was and wonders how he knew, Sean jokes that Shiro doesn't seem like the mentoring type, which makes Aimi laugh. They spot a lone zombie wandering through the woods. Sean is about to shoot it, but Aimi tells him not to as it hasn't spotted them or the camp and will likely pass on through, which it does. Sean comments that Peter was right about their spot being secluded.
The following morning, Peter wakes to find Jai standing over the campfire, which has gone out. Jai tells Peter they need more wood, but he's told not to bother as the group are moving out soon. Peter asks if Milo or Beatrice have woken up at all. Jai tells him they haven't but that Ben the dog has been awake for as long as he has but he's been lying beside the children, as if he's guarding them.
Shortly after, the group get ready to move. Milo asks Peter if he can sit on the back of the van with Ben. When Peter isn't sure, Milo reminds him that Lorna will be driving. Peter agrees, but only under the condition that he remain seated and behave himself. Milo is thrilled and joyfully tells Peter he loves him, which he reciprocates. Elsewhere, Henry and Karen make their way to the cars. Karen reveals her intention to also sit on the back of the van as she needs the fresh air. Henry tells her that she'll be riding alongside Milo but that he's a good kid and she'll like him. Karen remarks that's what she's afraid of.
After a few hours on the road, Milo complains to Karen about feeling cold. She tells him they seem to be slowing down so he should ask to get in with his Dad in the car he's travelling in. She's unaware, however, that the cars have stopped because of a huge herd of undead in the road ahead. Karen soon discovers the threat when even more zombies approach from the woods. Shiro, who is driving with Aimi and Jai in the car, doesn't want to risk getting stuck and swarmed so he drives straight through the crowd and manages to get away. Peter sees that Shiro got through and tells Joy, the driver of the car he's travelling in alongside Beatrice, Sean and Georgie, to follow suit, but she points out Lorna's car behind that is getting surrounded by the undead.
Milo begs Karen for guidance on what to do and she tells him to stay down. Karen stands up and says to herself that she can't watch another child die. Henry screams at her from the front seats but she doesn't listen. She says she loves him and then she jumps from the car and into the opening in the woods, where the undead follow and pile on top of her, much to the horror of Henry and the others. Her dying words are "GO! DRIVE! I’m sorry… I’m so sorry." Milo screams for help as the undead try to grab him and Ben. Henry demands that Lorna let him out the car to save Karen, but she sorrowfully refuses, as she can't risk the zombies getting in. She tells him they're after Milo so they've got to drive away, much to Henry's upset. Lorna takes an alternate route through the woods. Peter tells Joy they need to follow, but she points out that Lorna knows where they're headed so she'll meet them there. She then steps on it and drives the car to safety.
Sometime later, everyone but Lorna, Henry, Milo and Ben have arrived at the spot that Peter decided would make a good camp; a beautiful valley in the hills that's close to a large waterfall. Shiro and Aimi inform Peter that there's no sign of Lorna or the others from the East. Sean arrives from a look-out and also has no news to give Peter, which worries him immensely. The others try to comfort him, but he knows that something must have gone wrong. He sadly looks at Beatrice as the remaining survivors stand in quiet reflection. Watching them from the hills, is a strange man.
==Deaths==
*Tommy (Flashback)
*Karen Jones
*Numerous counts of zombies.
==Trivia== 
*First appearance of Eli Loche, without lines.
*First (and last) appearance of Tommy.
*First appearance of Gilbert's car.
*First appearance of the survivors camp.
*Last appearance of Joyce and Gilbert's house. (Present time)
*Last appearance of Karen Jones. (Alive)
*Last appearance of Milo Thompson. (Alive)
*This episode marks a long-term spell of disappearance for four characters. Lorna's fate is revealed in the penultimate episode of the first season: The Choice, whilst the fate of both Milo and Ben is discovered in Dead Man's Trigger, the first season finale. Henry's status was finally revealed in the season two episode Old Friends, New Enemies.
* The title of this episode is rather self-explanatory, as the group spend the last part of the episode trying to escape from the undead.
* After Karen's death, the remaining members of the original group are Peter, Lorna, Milo, Beatrice, Sean, Henry, Shiro, Aimi, Jai, Joy, Georgie, and Ben.