A Good Man

The group move into the motel and are acquainted with a new friend. Edward dwells on a tough decision. A daring trip for supplies at a nearby mill goes terribly wrong.

You can read the transcript here.

## **Synopsis**

After the rest of the group moves into the motel, Ed Anderson is moving some wooden planks while deciding how he'll defend the place. Meanwhile, Randall Forster and Jon Matthews are hauling some zombie corpses out of the lot and far away where they plan to burn them.

Kate Bloodstone, along with William Reynes, Rebecca Dawson and Albert Hanson are in one of the motel rooms with Brenden Trevors getting to know him. Brenden elaborates on what he said earlier: he and his bandmates were looting a cereal factory nearby when they were attacked by zombies, forcing Brenden to run back here. Brenden then confirms Kate's question about there being very little supplies in the motel. With Garden City known to be full of the infected, Rebecca asks if he knows any places they could scavenge, and Brenden says he could point out a few places on a map if they had one. Kate nods with a smile. "Ed."

Ed sprawls a map on the trunk of one of the vehicles, and Brenden first points out the cereal factory he lost his bandmates at, and then at a small drive-in theater which he thinks could also provide some supplies. Ed thanks Brenden for his help while Kate starts devising a plan for how to scavenge the two locations. Randall overhears this as he's moving a zombie corpse nearby, and stops to tell them that they're dangerously low on ammunition. William knows that they can't allow themselves to run out of ammo. Ed points out the police station in Garden City, and William thinks it might be worth the risk--but not at the moment.

Later, William and Rebecca are walking through the parking lot. Rebecca says she's thinking about going to the drive-in alone, but William convinces her to at least bring one person. Smiling, Rebecca says she has someone in mind to take. As Rebecca strolls off, Jared Kellings wanders over to William, asking if there is anything he could do to help. William thinks about it, and eventually he looks over at Albert and Brenden sitting nearby, telling Jared he could join them on a trip to the cereal factory.

While sitting, Albert asks Brenden if he thinks his bandmates are still alive, and Brenden is honest in saying that he isn't sure, but he needs to find out. Albert hopes that they're alive too. William and Jared come walking over to them, where William informs them that Jared will be going with them. Hearing this, Albert takes William aside, letting him know that it might not be a good idea to bring Jared--since Daniel Rockwell and Lolida Windfield said they were going as well. William says he'll talk to Daniel.

Rebecca finds Lloyd Waller moping around in the parking lot. She asks him if he'd like to tag along with her to loot the drive-in. Excitedly, Lloyd hops up and says he'd love to go.

Daniel and Lolida are loading their limited ammo into their pistols when William comes walking up to them. He asks to speak with them peacefully, and although he still isn't friends with him, Daniel looks up and listens. William asks him kindly to drop the Jared thing, telling them that Jared was going with them. Daniel is angry, questioning what William was thinking letting Jared come. He tells him that this is a mistake, and then asks if he even trusts Jared. William hopes that he will be able to one day, which angers Daniel even more, but he isn't going to keep arguing. He says they'll do it his way, before getting up and walking away.

Near the entrance of the motel, Daniel is addressing everyone going to the factory. He hands out a pistol to Albert and Brenden, telling them that they each had two bullets, and only to use it as a last resort. Lastly, he places a pistol in Jared's hand, warning him that he wouldn't hesitate if he saw Jared looking at him funny with the pistol. After making it known that he was in charge on this mission, the group sets off, with Brenden leading them to the factory.

From the second story of the motel, Edward Remar is watching Daniel's group depart when he sees Clyde Rollins, Claire Noble and Ed carrying some wooden planks over to the fence. He stares at them intently until William's voice asking what he thought about the motel compared to the mall snaps him out of it. Edward says that he's glad to be out of Willamette, and is hoping to focus on new things now. William, nodding, tells Edward that even if he chooses not to talk to people - he still belongs in the group. Edward thanks William for his kind words, remarking on how William hasn't changed much, if at all, since the beginning of the outbreak. William replies by recalling Jacob Feldman's death--his best friend, and how that changed him. After telling Edward that he wasn't planning on staying at the motel long-term, he smiles and walks off, reminding Edward once more that he belonged in the group.

In their bedroom at the motel, Kate and Marcus Downes are talking about how nice it is to finally be able to sleep properly in a safe place. Marcus tells her that the people he's fighting for are Fraser Stiller and Zac Barnes, and how he wants to do them proud, keep everyone safe, and settle down somewhere. "We will," Kate tells him. She then gets up to go find and check up on Dean Howards.

In one of the rooms, Dean is settling in when he discovers an unopened bottle of whiskey. He considers what he should do--but in the end, he unscrews the lid and starts drinking again. When Kate comes knocking on his door and steps in, he frantically tries hiding the bottle, but there's no time. Knowing he's already caught, he continues drinking, telling Kate that he needed a drink because of all the stress. He doesn't believe that the motel is going to work--and they'll end up having to run again. Kate responds by remaining hopeful that the motel will serve as a break from being on the road. Dean continues to drink, remarking about how he thought he'd gotten over drinking. Angry, he tosses the bottles away and it smashes off the wall, referring to himself as being "the same fucking weasel". Kate tells him that he's not, and that he's changed since then. She says that having a little bit to drink is alright--and that Dean should get his energy back and find a hobby while they stay at the motel. Before leaving, Dean pleads with Kate not to tell anyone about his drinking. Kate promises she won't, and knows that if Austin Kingston managed to stop drinking, so can he.

Rebecca and Lloyd arrive at the drive-in, where Rebecca swiftly deals with a zombie in their way with her nunchucks. Lloyd comments on how good she is with the nunchucks and asks why she chose to use them of all weapons. Rebecca admits that although they aren't the most effective, she's the best with them. While going through the drive-in, Lloyd reminisces about seeing movies with Kyle Douglass before the apocalypse. As they search the place, Lloyd wonders if they'll find some car parts, which reminds Rebecca about the time she first met the group--when she needed them to hotwire a car for her. She remarks on how it was William and Jacob who changed her opinion on trusting strangers. Upon hearing Jacob's name, Lloyd goes quiet, which Rebecca notices. She tells Lloyd that he can talk to her if he needs to. Lloyd considers what she's saying before telling her that he feels like a bystander. He doesn't feel like he has control over anything important--and when he does make important decisions, like giving Jacob the grenade, and searching the convenience store with Kyle and Bernie Ortan, they lead to deaths. Lloyd wants to make William proud, but doesn't feel like he's doing enough. Rebecca tells him that he needs to stop blaming himself for things--she says that Jacob would have gone down the same path regardless of what Lloyd did. She tells Lloyd about her old boyfriend and newborn baby, who she tried desperately to protect - like Lloyd did with his friends, but that they'd died all the same. She concludes by telling him that he needs to stay positive and move on from the deaths of others, promising that it will make him stronger. Lloyd stands there for a second before hugging Rebecca and crying, before pulling away and thanking her for everything. Now with his chin up and feeling better, Lloyd walks off with Rebecca to finish searching the drive-in.

Daniel and the others arrive on a hill outside the cereal factory. After he whispers to Lolida to keep an eye on Jared, Daniel stands before the rest of the group, organizing Brenden and Albert into one team, while he, Lolida, and Jared are in another. The first team heads down to the left side of the factory, while Daniel's team goes right.

During their short walk down the hill, Albert notices Brenden's fingers twitching. Brenden says that he doesn't wanna be faced with the truth if his bandmates are really dead. Albert tells the boy that at some point he'll need to face the truth--but that he hopes he won't need to, and that Brenden's bandmates will be alive. When Brenden questions what it is that keeps Albert going, Albert tells him it's the people back at the motel--the people he calls family nowadays. The two of them find a hole along the fence surrounding the factory and squeeze through. Seeing several zombies up ahead, Albert goes forward to take on the larger group, while instructing Brenden to deal with two zombies. As Albert deals with his zombies, Brenden is only able to kill one of his--unable to kill the second one, as he stands there in a state of shock. Albert rushes over and saves Brenden, wondering what he was doing. Staggering with his words, Brenden says "That was one of my friends." After taking a moment to process that one of his bandmates was dead, Brenden gets back up, and the two of them quietly make the trip around the factory to meet up with the others.

Daniel, Lolida, and Jared hop over the fence on their side of the factory and begin clearing the area, all while Jared bickers with them, and Daniel tries to keep his cool. Soon, they stumble across a large circular hole in the ground with a bunch of corpses and a few zombies growling at the bottom. Jared wonders if some of Brenden's friends are down there, a comment that Daniel and Lolida ignore. The three of them continue inside the factory, hoping to find some working trucks to fill with cereal. Turning a corner, they bump into Albert and Brenden, who tell them about the discovery of one of Brenden's bandmates. Quietly, Daniel begins handing out flashlights to everyone, explaining that they were going to move in and secure the main floor of the factory, before turning on the power via a backup generator and hopefully filling up a couple of trucks to the brim with cereal. After everyone acknowledges the plan, Daniel opens the door to the main floor, makes some noise, and then waits for the zombies to stumble over. Everyone gets into a formation as the undead funnel through the door. They work together to take out every zombie, and afterwards, head into the main area. Albert heads off in search of the generator, while Brenden and Lolida scout the rest of the factory to ensure it's clear. Daniel stays with Jared next to a row of trucks that they found.

Brenden and Lolida go ahead, scanning the area with their flashlights. Lolida questions his companion on what he did before the outbreak, and Brenden says he was a lead guitarist in a band with his friends, which Lolida finds to be pretty cool. The two of them then hear some munching coming from up ahead--and as Brenden shines his light ahead, he sees another one of his reanimated friends staggering towards him. Brenden falls and lets out a scream. A panicked Lolida urges Brenden to get up and get back, but Brenden manages to overcome his fear, getting up and killing his reanimated bandmate. After a final farewell, he continues moving, trying to forget. As they head up to a second floor, the two of them come across a large window, where below them, in one of the different factory floors, they see a gigantic horde banging on one of the doors. Realizing they should get back and inform the others, they quickly leave.

Daniel steps out of the last truck following his inspection of the vehicles when Brenden and Lolida come running over with the news of what they'd seen. Brenden points over to the door that the horde is banging on, and swears that there's thousands of them. Albert returns from the basement of the factory, confirming that there was in fact a generator, and he turned it on. Daniel instructs Albert to open the garage doors with power now in the building--and it works. Daniel assures everyone that they'll simply fill the trucks up and leave before the horde breaks out. Albert is the only one who sort of agrees with Daniel's plan, while the other three, including Lolida, say they shouldn't risk it and should leave. Daniel ignores their concerns and walks up to a control panel, hitting a button and causing cereal to come shooting out of a large tube. Albert grabs the tube and connects it to one of the trucks. The group sit around, waiting for the truck to fill, while Brenden keeps an eye on the horde.

Back at the motel, the sun is beginning to set when Clyde finds Edward on the second floor of the motel. He invites Edward over to dinner to Claire and himself, but Edward declines the offer, claiming that he's already eaten. Before Clyde walks off, Edward tells Clyde that he's a good friend, nodding to him. Clyde nods and says the same, before heading back to his room. Frowning, Edward limps over to his room, retrieving a note from his pocket and leaving it on the bed. He then makes his way down the stairs and into the parking lot, where it's quiet; nobody is outside at this hour--except for Solomon Reed, who approaches Edward after seeing him open the door to one of the cars. Trying to cover for himself, Edward claims that he's going for a drive, but Solomon isn't buying it. Sighing, Edward confesses that he's leaving the group for good; he believes that there's a whole world out there for him to conquer. Solomon considers this for a second before asking if he could go with him; he's known Edward since meeting him at the bus depot in Willamette, and would like to go off exploring new places with him. Edward thinks carefully, before he nods and allows Solomon to come with him. After grabbing his belongings, Solomon hops into the car with Edward, and the two of them drive off.

Sometime later, William is by the motel gate when Rebecca and Lloyd return from the drive-in with multiple bags of supplies. They happily tell William that everything went well, and soon the both of them head to their rooms to prepare for bed. As William remains by the gate, Kate wanders over, wondering if he was waiting for Daniel's group to return. William says that he's hoping they return soon. Looking around, Kate notices they're missing one car from earlier, and mentions how she heard somebody driving off earlier, but didn't see who. William believes that whoever left will hopefully be back soon. Kate tells him not to dwell on it, before she exits the motel, saying that she was going to go look in the woods for a missing Dean--who she suspects might've been the one who left.

While searching through the woods, Kate stumbles across Dean--who's surrounded by zombie corpses. Dean drops a bloody whiskey bottle, falling to the ground. His eyes watering, he tells Kate that he was out here trying to prove that he was still capable of something--but that he's now proven to himself he's the same old pathetic drunk. Kneeling down next to him, Kate, in a quiet tone, tells Dean that things will get better--and he'll overcome this. Shaking his head, Dean is tired of her saying the same things. He no longer believes in anything she says, telling her that everything they're doing is hopeless. Kate, raising her voice, says it's not hopeless, and that everything they've been doing is for each other. She takes Dean's hand and pulls him to his feet, helping him walk back towards the motel. Dean begins going a bit delusional, bringing up Jim Butterman, and it was his fault he died. "Jim was killed by a monster. You're not a monster," she tells him, and they keep walking.

In their motel room, Claire notices Clyde acting a little odd, and asks him what's on his mind. Clyde, although refusing to admit anything is wrong at first, admits that he's worried about Edward, all because he was acting all nice during their last conversation. Although Claire doesn't think it's anything to worry about, Clyde has a bad feeling, so he goes over to Edward's room to check on him. Inside, Clyde finds a note from Edward addressed to him. In it, Edward writes that he appreciates everything Clyde has done for him, but that he must move on and pursue the things he wants. He finishes the note by writing that Clyde has become a far better person than when he first met him, and hopes to be able to hear the rest of Clydes' story one day. After finishing, Clyde drops the letter, a look of sadness dawning on his face.

Back at the cereal factory, things are going well, although it's taking longer than expected. Suddenly, one of the electrical machines near the control panel starts making loud noises, and soon sparks fly out. As everyone is trying to figure out the problem, the tube that's flowing the cereal into the truck suddenly bursts. As Daniel rushes to the control panel trying to fix the problem, he accidently opens up the garage doors leading into the other factory floor with the hundreds of zombies. Seeing the chaos, Brenden makes a run for it, leaving everyone else and escaping the factory. As zombies funnel in, Daniel and Jared hop into one truck, while Albert and Lolida jump in the other. However, the horde quickly surrounds the vehicles, making it impossible to escape with them. While Jared is yelling at Daniel for screwing everything up, Daniel is trying to look for a way out. He decides to open the window and climb out and onto the roof of the truck. He yells out for the others to do the same, and as they're climbing out, the garage doors in front of the trucks close, making the room almost pitch black. Daniel tells Lolida and Albert, conveniently forgetting to mention Jared, that they'll have no choice but to jump down and fight their way through. First, Daniel jumps down, followed by Albert and Lolida, and they fight their way towards the nearest door, not knowing where it led. However, when Jared tries hopping down after them, he gets latched onto by a zombie. While Daniel and Lolida keep going, leaving Jared behind, Albert can't bring himself to do the same. He rushes back towards the trucks, saving Jared from the zombie.

Daniel and Lolida make it to the door, and when they enter, they find that it's a small storeroom with no way out. Daniel puts his back to the door, trying to keep the zombies out, while pointing out a vent in the top corner. Lolida begins climbing up the shelves toward the vent as Daniel assures him he'll be right behind. As Lolida pulls himself into the vent, the zombies break through the door. Daniel tries climbing up to the vent, but the horde grabs into his leg, pulling him back down. Lolida tries pulling Daniel up, but he's not strong enough, and Daniel forcibly lets go of him, holding onto the shelves for dear life. He yells at Lolida to go look for a way out, promising that he'd be okay. Although reluctant, Lolida does as he's asked, and begins slithering through the vents.

On the factory floor, Albert and Jared are fighting for their lives, looking for anywhere they could get up high. Albert notices a stack of crates nearby, and yells at Jared to follow him there. When they arrive at the crates, Albert jumps and climbs up first, immediately turning around and pulling Jared up. The two of them become stranded on the crates with zombies all around them, and this time, there was nowhere to jump. Albert, although panicked, calmly looks around for any way they could escape. Meanwhile, Jared begins hyperventilating, terrified that they were going to be killed. Suddenly, Jared calms down, as something comes to his mind. He looks at Albert and thanks him sincerely for saving his life. He then approaches him and says, "You're a good man, Albert," before pushing him off the crates and into the horde. Albert is ripped apart almost instantly, and while the zombies are distracted by his screams, they form an opening, allowing Jared to jump down and make his escape. Nearby, from within the vents, Lolida had witnessed it all.

## **Cast**

#### **Starring**

* William Reynes
* Kate Bloodstone
* Randall Forster
* Jon Matthews
* Marcus Downes
* Rebecca Dawson
* Clyde Rollins
* Dean Howards
* Lloyd Waller
* Edward Remar
* Jared Kellings
* Albert Hanson

#### **Also Starring**

* Ed Anderson
* Claire Noble
* Daniel Rockwell
* Solomon Reed
* Lolida Windfield

## **Deaths**

* Albert Hanson
* Three of Brenden's bandmates *(Confirmed Fate, Zombified)*