El Lobo Solitario

"El Lobo Solitario" is the seventh episode of season two of The Last Ones and the twenty-third episode overall. It was published for the first time on August 29th 2016. 
==Plot==
More about Javier's backstory is revealed as he begins to question his place at Midway. Meanwhile, Sean and Annette head out on an adventure. Elsewhere, Lorna makes an ally when searching for the next target on her list. Also, Angie's worry for Bobby causes her to break the rules. 
==Synopsis==
As Lorna closes in on a train station, the last known location of Blaine given to her by Drake before she killed him, she comes face-to-face with a wolf, which stares at her for a while before turning around and walking away. Lorna discovers that the camp is deserted, aside from a teenage survivor, who sneaks up behind Lorna, raises her gun at her and tells her to leave her camp.
In a flashback, Ramon Rodriguez and his wife Lola Rodriguez, the parents of Javier Rodriguez, argue over Ramon's absence and his life of crime. Lola tells Ramon to leave and insists she means it this time. The door rings and Ramon answers. He is shot in the chest by an unknown attacker. He collapses to the floor as the assailant leaves and Lola rushes to phone for an ambulance. A young Javier makes his way upstairs briefly and is horrified by what he sees. He goes back upstairs as Lola comes back in the room. During this time, Ramon quickly passed away. Lola screams in horror. Upstairs, Javier's young brother Miguel comes out of his bedroom after hearing the commotion. Javier picks up his brother to return him to bed.
In the present, Javier is sat around the campfire at Midway with Georgie, who notices he has gone quiet. She shares with him her amazement at Midway and how they never have to worry about being eaten in their sleep again. Javier reminds her that there are bigger threats than the dead. Georgie maintains that Midway is amazing and says she wishes Joy could have seen it. Javier excuses himself and walks over to Angie and asks for a private word.
The two go into the bed area where Angie expresses her surprise that Javier is speaking to her as he hasn't for a few days. Javier tells Angie she knows she is keeping something from him and he had hoped she would come to him with it herself, but she hasn't. Angie, who is keeping the information that Bobby and Charlotte are living in Alexis's complex to herself because Henry asked her to do, tells Javier she cannot say. He reminds her of the bond they have. Angie tells Javier she made a promise. Javier jealousy says "Oh, to Peter? I should have guessed," but Angie coldly corrects him and says it was to Henry actually. Irritated, she walks away.
Annette approaches Sean and apologises to him for being cold to him the last time they spoke. He tells her to relax and says it's all water under the bridge. Annette sits alongside Sean, where she asks him about his alcoholism. She then confesses to being an addict herself, having battled with heroin in the eighties. Sean is surprised by this. Annette jokes that she isn't just the charismatic, drop-dead-gorgeous chef everybody thinks she is.
Henry walks over to Shiro and Aimi for a chat where he asks the two if they have information on a thief in camp who has stolen a lot of cheese. Both tell Henry they haven't seen or heard anything. Henry then leaves. Aimi tells Shiro she can tell he's lying. He admits he caught Drew stealing the food. He explains that he didn't tell Henry as Drew was drunk and made a mistake. Aimi is angered by this and asks Shiro why he's covering for Drew when he wouldn't do the same for him. Shiro points out that he can't win with Aimi, as when he acts all unsociable she criticises him and when he actually gives people the benefit of the doubt she does the same. Acknowledging this, Aimi says "touché."
Back at Blaine's camp, Lorna questions the girl about the camp and what happened to it. The girl is irritated by the questions, but answers them nonetheless. She explains that she went for a run and when she got back the camp was gone. Lorna then asks about Blaine. The girl asks if Lorna's a friend of his. She tells her she isn't. The girl says if she was a friend of Blaine, she would kill her. Lorna tells the girl that she actually came to kill Blaine and she thinks she might be of some help. The girl wonders why she should waste her time and seek out Blaine as he's now out of her hair. Lorna looks around at the desolate camp and sarcastically asks what else she's going to do with her time. Lorna tells the girl to lower the gun, as it's clearly obvious she's not there to do her any harm. The girl complies and asks Lorna if she wants any food.
In Summerlyn City, Michael visits Alexis, who asks why he's not left town to conduct his experiments yet. He explains that they've hit a bump in a row. The pair visit Charlotte and Bobby, who explain that they want Luke to come out with them for extra protection. Alexis is angered by their tactics and is reluctant. Michael asks to speak to her outside, where he talks her round and explains that Luke is trustworthy and that he wouldn't pull anything when his younger brother is in the compound. Alexis tells Charlotte and Bobby that Luke can join them but they are to not try and get their own way like this again. They agree. Alexis then leaves after walking past Jasmin, who is furious about Alexis's presence in their house. Luke tells Jasmin to calm down when she asks him why they're all running around like her lackys. Charlotte, Bobby and Luke then depart. Jasmin asks Bernadette, who is reading a book, if she has anything to say, and calls her an interfering old trout. Jasmin leaves as Bernadette doesn't respond. Under her breath Bernadette says "young people."
In Midway, Angie tries to talk Henry into allowing her to tell Javier about Bobby and Charlotte being in Victoria. Henry refuses and says they can't risk the information getting out yet and explains its sometimes necessary to keep things from the group. He also tells Angie that it's not just her keeping secrets, as he and Peter, who is also present with Beatrice, hasn't told anybody either. Angie asks Henry if he has yet come up with a way of getting Bobby out of the complex. Henry assures Angie he has every intention of getting her brother back to her alive. She points out that's not what she asked. She asks Peter for back-up, but he sides with Henry and points out they rushed things with Eli and ended up playing right into his hands, and they shouldn't make the same mistakes again. Annoyed, Angie walks out. 
Angie bumps into Javier, who tells her that he's leaving camp, and wants her to come with. He tries to explain that he doesn't belong in Midway, which Angie disputes. Angie explains that living alone out there is no way to live and reminds him how he went before whilst surviving alone, as he almost killed Bobby when the two first met. Javier says he trusts his instincts. Angie points out they have a good thing at Midway with good people to survive alongside, and to walk away from that would be lunacy, but Javier is determined to go. He tells her they can go and find Bobby and the three of them can make it together. Angie says she wants to make it Midway, but that doesn't mean she wants Javier to leave. He tells Angie he'll be waiting for her by the lake where Midway gets it water until sunset, and if she doesn't turn up, he'll take the hint.
In another flashback, Javier gently scolds his brother Miguel for getting drunk at a family party. He tells his brother to go to sleep and then heads downstairs where his mother, Lola, is apologising to Javier's Aunt Gloria on behalf of her son for ruining Gloria's daughter's party. Gloria insists he didn't ruin the party. The two get to talking about Javier, as he listens from outside the room. They praise him for getting a good job and for looking after them all and claim he has done more for the family than Ramon or his brother Vicente ever did. Lola wonders how she ever got so lucky to have a son like Javier.
Back in Midway, Jai once again asks the doctor there, Felicia, if there's anything he can do to help out. She tells him she has a system in place. He offers his services again, but she rebuffs him. Jai walk away irritated and walks into Angie, who tells him about Bobby and Charlotte being in Alexis's complex. She requests his help in creating a distraction so she can sneak out of Midway and head to Summerlyn. Jai refuses to allow her to go alone, so she instead asks him to accompany her. Jai is reluctant, but agrees. When Peter and Henry come over, Henry tells Jai that Felicia will eventually come around and accept his help. Angie tells them both that Javier has left town and tells them where to find him. They ask if she wants to come with them, she tells them it might be best if it's just the two of them. They head off to leave. Jai asks Angie if she told them that because it was true or whether she wanted them out of the way so it would be easier to sneak out of town. She replies "two birds."
Michael, Charlotte, Bobby and Luke take the zombie Michael's been keeping alive to the woods by Summerlyn to conduct an experiment. They gather round in a square shape as Charlotte restrains the zombie from moving. She then releases it and it begins to walk directly ahead, where Luke is standing. Luke remains completely still and doesn't make a sound. Charlotte, however, raises her voice and yells for the zombie to take attention. To everyone's surprise, it turns away from Luke and begins walking to Charlotte. The group try it again. Charlotte remains silent and motionless as Bobby calls for it. The zombie once again moves on from Charlotte and heads to Bobby. Michael is amazed.
At Blaine's old camp, the girl admits to Lorna that she ate a cat a week ago, which troubles her as she used to have them as pets. Lorna explains you do what you have to do to survive. She then asks if she's killed anyone. The girl says she hasn't. Lorna lies and says she hasn't when the girl asks her the same question. Lorna explains her reasons for wanting Blaine dead, and the girl is stunned when Lorna asks for her help in killing him. The girl explains that she hates Blaine because he's responsible for the death of her friends. Lorna asks if her friends don't deserve to be avenged. The girl still refuses. She then tells Lorna the location of Blaine and the rest of his people. Lorna then leaves, but not before giving the girl some parting advice: if she wants to live and survive long-term then she had best get used to killing worse than cats.
On their way to meet Javier, Henry asks Peter about him and what sort of man he is. He also mentions that he knows he was in prison at the start of the outbreak. Peter says his crime wasn't murder, rape, or anything that you feared being around him or sleeping in a sleeping bag beside him of a night. Henry says it still makes you wonder. Javier, having overheard, tells Peter and Henry they don't have to worry, as he's going his own way now.
In another flashback, a teenage Javier, having been let go from his job, pays a visit to his estranged Uncle Vicente, who has been shunned from the family since the day of Javier's father. Vicente is happy to see Javier, but admits it comes as a surprise. He apologises for not coming to the funeral all those years ago and tries to come up with an excuse but Javier admits he knows Lola banned him from attending. Vicente explains that Ramon was killed because he had a bar fight with the wrong guy and it had nothing to do with their work. Javier cuts to the chase and seeks his Uncle's help in teaching him how to steal and modify cars, like he and his father used to do. Vicente refuses and tells his nephew to stay clear of a life of crime, but Javier insists that he's going to do with or without his help. Vicente still refuses, and goes to leave, until Javier brings up Vicente's children, all of whom need financial support, which only Javier can give him. Vicente is angered to be blackmailed, but sits down nonetheless.
In the present, Peter tells Javier that nobody wants him to leave. Javier remarks that they're all indifferent. He is also hurt to see that Angie sent them, but didn't care to come herself. Peter remarks that he never realised Javier was such a needy man. Javier is angered by this and is further annoyed when Peter tells him he's acting like a spoilt child who needs attention. Henry says things doesn't have to get nasty. Javier tells Peter he hasn't earned the right to judge him. Javier insists he's better off on his own, but Peter disputes this and reminds Javier everyone has treated him as part of the group. Javier then gets upset when he remarks that Angie refused to leave with him. Javier tells the two men to leave.
During a walk, Sean and Annette come across a group of zombies stuck in mud. The two decide to have some fun by using the stuck zombies as a shooting range.
Lorna approaches Blaine's current base and spots Blaine and his people surrounding a person on the floor. The man, Frank, is called a waste of space by Blaine, who says he should have been the first to die when the apocalypse started. He then amends this and shoots Frank in the head, killing him. One of Blaine's followers, Reginald, asks Blaine who attacked their old camp if it wasn't Frank. Blaine explains it was some military survivors they were stupid to cross and that Eli was supposed to deal with them. They discuss Eli's death briefly before Blaine asks for Frank's body to be taken away and burnt. He then leaves to get some sleep. Lorna sneaks into the base and kills three of Blaine's men: Austin, John, and Bailey. She is caught by Blaine, and taken at gunpoint.
In the woods by Summerlyn, Charlotte tells Michael that what they found out changes everything. Michael states that the zombies will still respond to movement as well as sound. Bobby points out that the zombie didn't attack when they kept still, but Michael suggests they don't use that tactic as still or not, the undead will still bite them. Michael says they have to test more than once zombie and see how they react and if it changes over time. When asked about the zombie they're keeping alive, Michael explains that he is the most important as they can tell if his behaviour alters at all and everything they do in the future will involve him. As he said this, an oblivious Luke walked up to the zombie and killed it. He looks at an annoyed Michael and a mildly amused Charlotte and realises he has messed up.
On their way to Summerlyn, Angie tells Jai he doesn't have to look so nervous. He explains what they're doing won't go down well with Henry. Angie explains she doesn't care as her little brother could be in peril. When Jai points out the hostility between Alexis's camp and Henry's after the fight between Jenson and Dwayne, Angie explains she's left Javier behind and gone against Peter's wishes, and thus needs a friend. Jai assures her he is her friend but if they're going to do this they're going to do it right. They suggest they go on foot the rest of the way so nobody sees them coming.
Sean and Annette take out the zombies stuck in the mud. Sean expresses his guilt for wasting ammo, but Annette shrugs it off. When Sean notices a change in her personality, he asks what's going on with her. She admits she's tired of being shacked up on that rooftop all day, cooking and cleaning and not much else and she wanted to remind herself that she's alive. She then leans in and kisses him. He asks if she did that because it meant or something or because she wanted to feel alive. She says both. The two then return to camp.
Blaine and the rest of his people gather round Lorna, whom has Blaine's gun against her head. She reveals she's killing them all because they worked with and aided Eli. Blaine goes to shoot Lorna, but is distracted when Don, one of his men, is shot in the head and killed. Blaine is also shot, in the shoulder. He and the rest of his people believe themselves to be under attack by a group and so they flee, unaware it was only the girl firing at them. Lorna follows her and escapes.
As Angie and Jai make their way towards Victoria, they come across Michael, Charlotte, Bobby, and Luke in the woods. They overhear Luke apologising to Michael for killing the zombie he was keeping alive. Angie almost walks over but Jai points out they don't know close Charlotte might have got with Alexis, and that it's too dangerous to go over there as they don't know how they will react. Angie watches in sadness as Bobby walks away with Charlotte and the others, to return to the complex.
Upon arriving back, Michael fills Alexis in on the zombie's behaviour, which she finds intriguing. She's irritated when Michael reveals that Luke killed it, but he explains he needs somewhere more suited to conduct his research. She asks what he means. He requests a lab.
Angie and Jai arrive at the lake where Peter, Henry and Jaiver are and there they confess where they've been, much to Henry and Peter's annoyance. Angie calls them both hypocrites and says they wouldn't sit back and do nothing if the people they loved most in the world were in that complex and they didn't know for sure if they were alive. She points out that whilst they've suffered losses, Henry still has his son and a girlfriend, and Peter has Beatrice, whilst Angie, Javier, and Jai have nobody, as Jai lost his wife and daughter and Javier presumably never found out what happened to his family as he was in prison at the start of the outbreak. Javier corrects her.
In a final flashback, Lola pays a visit to Javier in prison. She tells him that Miguel and his cousin Natalia have got into college and are going to lead normal, crime-free lives, which she explains is all she ever wanted for him. She then says Javier saw what she had to go through with his father, and yet he followed in his footsteps anyway. Javier explains he needed to look after them all and was desperate after losing his job. Lola tells him he always did look after them, and it never was about money. She then departs.
Back in the present, Javier reveals that he initially left Eli and his group after escaping from prison and wen to find his family, only to find his mother, brother, aunt and cousins all turned. He took them all out but was so traumatised by the experience that he didn't even have it in him to bury them. Angie uses this to get her message across to Henry and Peter, that they have something worth fighting for, and that she needed the same and thus wanted the confirmation that Bobby was alive. Henry tells Angie he will get him back to her. The group then decide to return to Midway. Javier remains still, but Angie tells him "don’t even think about not coming with us."
As night falls back at the abandoned train station camp, Lorna sleeps as the girl sits, clearly troubled. She mentioned that she killed Don. Lorna sits up and tells her she did the right thing. Lorna admits she came close to dying for the first time since setting out on her mission and says she'll be better prepared for Blaine next time. She thanks the girl and they exchange names, where Lorna is surprised to discover her name as Lydia-Jean Norton. She asks if she is related to a woman called Alexis. Lydia-Jean is taken aback by this.
Back at Midway, Sean tells Annette she's a gifted shot. She explains her Grandfather used to drag her along to hunting as he was never blessed with any sons or grandsons. The two hug and bid each other goodnight. Sean walks over to Georgie, Shiro and Aimi, who tease him upon seeing how happy he looks.
Elaine welcomes Henry back as he and the others return. She asks where he's been and when he responds that it's personal, she walks away, infuriated. Henry remarks to Peter that he's in the dog-house tonight. Angie hugs Jai and thanks him for helping her. Javier and Angie are then left alone. He asks her if she sent Peter and Henry after him because she wanted him to stay or whether she used it as an opportunity to sneak out. Angie tells him she's not going to baby him and his insecurities, and tells him to figure it out for himself.
At the train station camp, Lydia-Jean is shocked to discover Alexis is alive and leader of a safe-town. She tells Lorna how she hates Alexis, who is her Aunt, and was estranged from her as she blames her for the death of her alcoholic mother as Alexis stripped her of her family, thus making Lydia-Jean's mother lose the only support she ever had. Lorna is amazed by this and admits she was going to take Lydia-Jean hostage to use against Alexis until she heard that Lydia-Jean hates her. She asks Lydia-Jean if she wants to help make Alexis pay for everything she's done.
==Deaths==
*Ramon Rodriguez (Flashback)
*Michael's test subject zombie (Zombified)
*Frank
*Austin
*John
*Bailey
*Don
==Trivia==
*First appearance of Lydia-Jean Norton.
*First appearance of Blaine Monteghue.
*First appearance of Reginald.
*First appearance of Noreen.
*First appearance of Carlos.
*First appearance of Nate.
*First (and last) appearance of Lola Rodriguez.
*First (and last) appearance of Ramon Rodriguez.
*First (and last) appearance of Miguel Rodriguez.
*First (and last) appearance of Gloria Rodriguez.
*First (and last) appearance of Vicente Rodriguez.
*First (and last) appearance of Frank.
*First (and last) appearance of Austin.
*First (and last) appearance of John.
*First (and last) appearance of Bailey.
*First (and last) appearance of Don.
*The episode title is Spanish for "The Lone Wolf," signalling the wolf Lorna comes face-to-face with at the start of the episode as well as Javier facing the temptation of leaving the group and surviving alone.
**It is the second Javier centric episode to have a Spanish title, the first being season one's Mi Familia.