What We've Lost

**"What We've Lost"** is the first episode of *Season 2: Remake* of *Strain Zero*, the remake of *The Walking Dead by EDStudios*. It is the sixth episode of the series overall.

## Plot

*After almost a year of living in seclusion, Henry, Holly and Emma find their peace shattered by the arrival of deadly strangers. A fateful chain of events begins as battle-hardened Drew Stanton leads a hunt.*

## Synopsis

### Prologue

A lone walker stumbles through a howling snowstorm. Barely able to move thanks to its frozen joints, the walker is suddenly killed by a flying arrow. A lone figure emerges from the mist to retrieve his arrow before looking the walker over. Not recognising it, the survivor pulls down his face mask, revealing himself to be Drew Stanton. He carefully studies the mist and wind for other walkers before standing up and continuing through the mist.

Breaking through the stream of snowy winds, Drew finds himself at the edge of a small cluster of trees. Taking shelter among the trunks, he once again attempts to peer through the snow. A snap, loud enough to be heard over the wind, brings him to attention, and he takes cover behind a tree. Carefully listening, he hears definite, rapid footsteps in the frozen undergrowth, somewhere in the mist. Readying an arrow, he moves out from cover and trudges slowly through the frozen undergrowth, remaining alert of his surroundings. A walker wanders into view and Drew stops before silently killing it with an arrow. Crawling over to the frozen corpse, he checks it over before leaving it behind. He continues to listen carefully over the deafening winds and once more picks up the sound of rapid footsteps in the near-distance.

Drew follows carefully and readies another arrow, using the wind to mask the sound of his crunching footsteps. Peering behind a tree, he sees another figure moving stealthily in the wind. Drew manages to get behind the unaware figure and prepares to launch an arrow; he stops, however, when he recognises the figure's winter jacket. He calls out to the figure - "Harold!" - who turns to face him with a look of both surprise and relief. The pair ask one another if they have spotted their target, to which Drew says that he can't be far. With Harold watching their rear, Drew leads them through the blizzard in the direction of the footsteps. He stops when he finds a cracked branch, followed by a shallow bootprint etched into the snow. He spots droplets of blood and grimaces, growling to Harold that their target can't be far.

Seconds later, a yell is heard nearby. Drew readies his arrow and Harold turns off the safety on his pistol as they head in the rough direction. Through the fierce winds and snow, they see a figure grappling with a walker whose snarls can be heard over the winds. Harold fires a single shot that kills the walker, while Drew moves into a better position and fires an arrow. Carried by the wind, the arrow hits its mark in the figure's shoulder. The figure screams in agony and takes off running with Drew and Harold in pursuit. Drew shouts that the figure give up and fires another arrow while on the move; the wind shifts the arrow's path and it grazes the target in the side, hurting him enough that he falls over beside a tree.

Drew and Harold approach the figure, a young man who begins begging for his life. His sobs are interrupted by Drew, who strikes the man across the face with his bow before barking insults at him. Harold tells Drew to calm down, and a rageful Drew demands why he should, "given what he's done". Harold retorts that they cannot sink to "their" level and calmly reassures the man that they don't want to kill him. The man sobs that he "never wanted any of this" and never wanted to hurt anyone, and Harold says that it can all end if he tells them where their camp is. The man refuses, triggering Drew to deliver a sharp kick to the man's torso wound, causing him to scream. Harold tells Drew to back off and promises the man freedom if he just tells them what they want. Through his groans, the man asks Harold to swear that he will be let go, and Harold agrees. The man clutches his wound and prepares to speak.

A gunshot erupts from the blizzard, striking the man in the forehead. Drew and Harold spring to action and ready their weapons as a figure emerges from the snow, pistol in hand. Harold lowers his weapon upon realizing who the figure is: "Do you know what you just did?"

### Chapter 1

Deep within Iron Mountain State Forest, a red fox struggles to free itself from a snare. Its efforts double as a figure emerges from the bushes. The figure unsheathes their knife, kneels down to grasp the fox by the head, and stabs it in the throat, killing it quickly. The figure is revealed to be Henry, now noticeably thin, with messy hair down to his shoulders, a sparse, dirty beard, and heavy dark bags under his eyes. He sighs with regret as he removes his knife - Ben's old knife - from the fox's neck and closes its eyes. Removing the snare from its legs, he carefully and expertly guts the animal, throwing the scraps into the undergrowth and listening carefully as he works. He ties the legs together with string before hooking it onto a buckle on his backpack. He takes one more look around him and picks up a dirty, battered hunting rifle beside him.

He makes his way from the undergrowth onto a footpath and carefully follows it up a hill, keeping an eye out for walkers as he moves. He checks his catch several times to make sure it is attached properly and scans the area for landmarks. He spots a felled tree and heads beyond it. After walking for a good two miles, he finally sees the ranger station in the distance. Still keeping watch, he approaches the cabin and rhythmically knocks on the door. After a few seconds, sounds of locks being opened erupt from the other side and the door slowly creeks open. Holly's face emerges from the dimly-lit interior, and she sighs with relief upon seeing him.

Henry enters the cabin with little welcome. As Holly secures the locks, she asks him what he caught. Henry grunts "fox" in reply and places the animal in front of the stove. He notices a small basket of potatoes, as well as a few tins of figs, and smiles, quipping that they will eat good tonight. Holly replies that they are the last large potatoes from the garden, and the soil won't support anything larger from now on. Henry remarks that he could go hunting for some compost before asking where Emma is. Holly replies that he knows where she is, and Henry decides to check on her while Holly begins crudely butchering the fox. She looks at a homemade calendar on the wall that reveals it has been approximately eight months since the events of Port Collier.

Henry exits through the station's back door and heads for a nearby gap in the trees. Climbing over a small hill, he passes a shovel embedded in the dirt and stops to stare at it. Frozen in place, he is brought to attention by the sound of soft grunting nearby and heads for it. Over the hill he finds a small clearing, where Emma, her back to him, stands with a crudely-made wooden bow. Henry watches as Emma prepares an equally-crude arrow and fires it at a target board. The crooked arrow strikes below the board, causing Emma to grunt in frustration. As she walks over to retrieve the arrow, Henry silently trudges down the hill into the clearing. Emma pulls the arrow from the tree and freezes upon seeing him. Henry sternly tells her to always be aware of her surroundings before congratulating her on her improvement. Emma replies that she hasn't improved and has yet to hit the target; Henry reassures her that she is a fine shot and just needs to get used to the bow. He offers to help her out like he did on the train, but she refuses, saying she needs to teach herself. Henry nonetheless watches her as she repeatedly tries to hit the target; he tries several times to give pointers but stops when she glares at him. She eventually tries aiming with both eyes open, and finally hits the outer ring of the target. Henry smiles as she celebrates her feat.

That evening, Henry clears the table of maps and books as Holly prepares dinner. She reveals the cooked fox, fashioned into a dish with potatoes and roasted figs. The three eat in silence and with little etiquette, having obviously not eaten this well in a while. Holly breaks the silence by asking Henry if he spotted anyone while on his hunt; he shortly replies that he didn't, and adds that he never has and "hopefully" never will. As he cuts into a potato, he discovers it has rotten inside. Holly spots it and begins raising her voice at him, saying that all of their potatoes are beginning to rot in the ground and soon nothing they've grown will be edible. She further points out that all three of them are underweight, especially Emma, and they can't live like this anymore. She sternly demands that they find a group - "good people we can trust" - and find somewhere safe to settle.

A frustrated Henry cuts her off by violently dropping his cutlery, insisting that they are safe in the forest and that the only people who could possibly survive out there are those that are "cruel and vicious". He adds that he won't risk losing anyone else.

Holly stands up, towering over both of them, and questions just how "safe" they truly. She angrily points out that large game is few and far between; there are more walkers in the forest than ever; and the well that supplies the building with water is running dry. Henry says it would be no better out on the road; Holly coldly says that he didn't feel the same way a year ago. Hurt by the statement, Henry falls silent. Holly sits back down and apologises for what she said; Henry rebuffs her and says they should finish eating. The rest of the meal continues in silence.

That night, Henry wakes in mild panic from a nightmare, having been sleeping top and tail with Holly. Sweating profusely, he makes sure to keep his heavy breaths muted. As his eyes adjust to the darkness, he spots Emma sound asleep in her own bed on the other side of the cabin. Holly, also awake, asks him if he is okay, startling him. Holly reveals she also couldn't sleep and asks Henry about his nightmare, commenting that they are getting worse. He tries to brush it off, but Holly insists. He replies that the nightmare was the same as always: him watching helplessly as both Jess and her newborn son are consumed by a raging fire. Holly sits up and attempts to reassure him, but he brushes her off and rolls over. Holly apologises again for what she said, but Henry replies that she was right. They both admit they are scared of what's out there, with Holly accusing Henry of losing hope. Henry argues that he never lost hope that things will be better, and agrees to begin plans to leave the forest. The pair reconcile their past romance and have sex.

The following morning, while returning with water, Henry spots six bandits approaching the ranger station. Arming himself with a pistol and knife and with Holly providing cover, Henry tries to talk them out of whatever they are about to do, to no avail. While Holly distracts the bandits, a ferocious Henry brutally kills all but two of them; after breaking his knuckles on a tree trunk, however, he is thrown down the hill by an exploding grenade, burying him under dirt and leaves.

Henry wakes up in the evening, bruised and bleeding. Although he manages to crawl out of the dirt and back to the station, he finds it abandoned. Recognising Holly and Emma's bootprints, he painfully resets his knuckles and digs up a container he buried nearby, from which he retrieves his bulletproof vest, a machete, his old rifle and his blood-stained coat. Heading west, he comes across one of the injured bandits and incapacitates him; torturing him with his knife, Henry learns that Holly and Emma were brought to the bandit camp a few miles west. Henry forces the bandit to lead him there; when they reach it, Henry hesistantly lets him go. While sneaking in, Henry discovers the camp in disarray, but is caught and thrown in a cage. He is stripped of his supplies and brought before the camp's leader, William. After taunting Henry that he will serve as a slave, he proceeds to strike Henry in the gut; as Henry is dragged out, William winces as he makes an adjustment to a metal plate in his cheek.

Over the next five days, Henry learns from other captives, led by Albert, that Holly and Emma escaped with a larger group just hours before his arrival. Forced to chop firewood for the bandits, Henry learns the camp's layout and manages to sneakily take a sharp piece of wood. When the bandits are distracted at night, Henry cuts his bounds and agrees to set Albert's people free if they help him escape the camp and tell him what direction Holly and Emma went. The small group works their way through the disorganized camp and they manage to seize weapons and supplies from a truck; at one point, Albert holds Henry at gunpoint and attempts to take his supplies, but is talked down by one of his own. Albert informs Henry that the group that escaped earlier headed west with Holly and Emma in tow. Using Molotov cocktails and gunfire, the group are able to escape the camp, and split up in the woods. Sprinting through the forest, Henry uses the path of a nearby river to guide him west.

## Characters

### Main

* Henry Edwards
* Holly Parker
* Emma Goode
* Drew Stanton
* William Carter

## Trivia

* First appearance of Drew Stanton
* First appearance of Harold Carter
* First appearance of William Carter
* First appearance of Albert
* First appearance of Cara

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