Same Stitch

**"Same Stitch"** is the upcoming seventh and final episode of *Season 3: Remake* of *Strain Zero*, the remake of *The Walking Dead by EDStudios*. It is the seventeenth episode of the series overall.

## Plot

*The plan is triggered. A war begins. With everything on the line, our group face their greatest challenge yet in a battle that will decide the fate of hundreds.*

## Synopsis

Henry dreams of solitude in a small boat on an endless sea. As he sees a reflection of his younger self in the water, he is suddenly joined by Alex's spectre. Henry tries to apologise as a bloody wound slowly opens on Alex's neck, but the spectre only says "Do the right thing".

Henry awakens, calm, his body purple with bruises, with Holly sleeping beside him. He places his hand on her stomach and smiles. Boy wakes up and places his paws on the bed.

The sun rises over the overgrown Briarwood. Henry pulls a brown coat over his shoulders and heads outside, where his group load up their share of the vehicles. Henry approaches Drew, still recovering from his beating, who reveals a plan to rescue Justinas from the Black Building.

As the pair talk, Garrett approaches and asks to speak to Henry privately. In the rear yard of a nearby house, Garrett asks Henry for his group's assistance to take down Bart and his lieutenants once and for all. He points out that Briarwood is an excellent site for a surprise attack, and that Jane can be used as bait to draw Bart out, but the domers simply do not have the numbers for a full-on assault.

Leaving Garrett to organize his people, Henry approaches his group and asks them to meet inside their house. The group gathers in the living room; when Henry enters, he overhears Drew's plan to rescue Justinas. Henry says that it won't be necessary, revealing that Garrett has asked for their aid in taking the Innocents down. Henry then reveals his own plan: a prisoner exchange - Jane for Justinas - during which the group can ambush the Innocents from behind, giving the group and the domers a tactical advantage. He further suggests using the armoured vehicles to form a wall between the houses. Mike immediately steps forward to comment about the danger of the plan, and how Henry can be sure Bart will even take the bait. Henry says that he has to trust his gut, before telling the gathered group that his gut got them all in this situation in the first place, and they can move forward with Drew's rescue mission and leave the domers to take care of the Innocents alone.

Stunned by the subsequent silence, David steps forward and claims that the group have an obligation to aid the domers. He says that they have searched for Adams Air Force Base, gone through and lost so much, to build "something better" than everywhere else that they've come across, and that they can't stand on a moral high ground if they are all unwilling to defend the innocent and the helpless: "How can we defend our home, protect one another, if we can't defend others?" he finishes. Moved by David's sentiment, Drew voices his support, despite the risks to the group. Bethany suddenly steps forward and passionately endorses the new plan, wanting revenge for her treatment at the Black Building.

The group looks to Henry for a final decision, but he raises his hands in surrender. He states that a decision this significant cannot be made by one person; he will lead them through whatever decision they vote upon. He removes his knife from his belt and carves the words "STAY" and "GO" into the wall before drawing a vertical line between them. One by one, the group approaches the wall and casts their vote.

Henry heads outside to meet Garrett and the domers. He asks for a walkie-talkie and then asks Ben if he remembers what frequency the Innocents use. He tunes the radio to the given frequency before speaking into it: "Bart. You know who it is. We have your sister,"

...

Ignoring the pain in his ribs, Henry finally grasps the single flare strapped to his belt. He says to Bart that he used to be afraid of death, only to then say he doesn't feel "a goddamn thing" anymore before igniting the flare and pressing it against Bart's head.

Bart screams in agony, the right side of his head burning to a crisp. Henry forces the flare harder down onto Bart's temple, causing Bart to fall backwards and yank his blade from Henry's lower abdomen. Ignoring the searing pain in his stomach and fingers, Henry presses harder before Bart finally escapes and falls to the ground.

The flare falls from Henry's grip and into the dry grass, setting it aflame almost instantly. Bart's screams descend into a whimper, the stench of cooking flesh filling the air. Henry falls to his knees and grips his abdomen, the fingers on his left hand singed.

Henry looks up to see his opponent, stuttering and whimpering, the entire right side of his head blackened and bloody, his ear reduced to a stump.

...

Elsewhere, at the base of an old radar station, a survivor dressed in military fatigues rushes through a camp, a paper message in hand. They ask to see the "Commander" and is allowed into a guarded tent. Inside, the unseen "Commander" looks at the message and gives an order to find the "Adams Air Force Base" mentioned in the note. A commotion outside draws the Commander's attention and he leaves the tent to meet a group of soldiers, armed with assault rifles, joined by exhausted survivors. The Commander asks who the survivors' leader is and one steps forward, revealed to be Albert. The Commander offers the survivors a place in "Delta Force".

## Deaths

* Garrett Feingold - killed by tank shelling
* Mikhail - skull bashed open by Justinas Garin
* Bart Rhodes - partially devoured by a darkdweller
* 1 darkdweller - burned in a fire

## Trivia

* This episode's title comes from Bart's quote from "*One Way Out*".

 **Season 5: Remake** | "Blood" • "Rules" • "Dissent" • "The Game" • "The Coming Storm" • "Brotherhood" • "Call to Arms"

1. ↑ In the mentioned episode, Bart comments on his and Henry's similar backgrounds by saying they are "Two threads in the same stitch".