Season 5 (Remake)

"*Fear reigns,*"
—Tagline of *Season 5: Remake*[src]

**Season 5: Remake** is the fifth season of *Strain Zero* and a rewrite of the *Call to Arms* story arc of *The Walking Dead by EDStudios*. It adapts material from the *The Fear Itself* arc of the original series.

Immediately following their battle with the Frontiersmen, our group are forcibly drawn into the goals and ambitions of the much larger Delta Force, pitting Henry and his loved ones against someone with a stronger connection to him than he ever could have imagined.

## Plot

*In the aftermath of a great battle, their homes reduced to embers, our group turn to Delta Force, a much larger group with great ambitions and overwhelming influence. Faced with sacrifices that they are unprepared to make, and an old enemy that refuses to back down, our group are forced to navigate an unfamiliar world of treachery and deception, looking to one another for the hope that yet remains.*

## Synopsis

### "Blood"

Armed only with a revolver, Henry and the surviving Greencole guards reluctantly open the town's front gate to greet Albert, who agrees to be disarmed. He reiterates the Commander's invitation to visit Adams Air Force Base and offers the aid of his subordinates, Robbins and his deaf brother Greg, around town in exchange for Henry joining him on the return trip to the base. With Emma's reassurance, Henry disarms himself and asks to bring others along; Albert agrees and Kyle, Ben and Katrina volunteer to join him. The five climb into Albert's truck and drive away. David directs the Robbins siblings to various sites in the town just as a heavily-bruised Holly emerges from the medical tent.

On the road to the base, Henry inquires about Delta Force and how Albert came to join them; Albert reveals that his group splintered after escaping the forest, leaving just him, Cara and a few others to stumble across a Delta Force patrol. Instead of robbing them, as the group had come to expect, they offered Albert and his people roles within their group; with nowhere else to turn they accepted and came to believe in Delta Force's cause due to the leadership of the Commander. Albert adds that the mysterious Commander served in the Iraq invasion and is the only person in the group to have seen combat before the outbreak.

As the truck approaches the gates of Adams Air Force Base the group grow more apprehensive, still haunted by their escape and the horrors they witnessed. Albert assures them that all of the cannibals that Delta Force encountered when they arrived at the base are long gone, although another group had already killed most of them. Passing the gate the group are shocked to discover a thriving, well-organized community, complete with soldiers, a market and even a radio station. Albert reveals that more than 1000 people, mostly civilians, are living at the base. Guided by a patrol, they are led to the Commander's office where only Henry is allowed upstairs.

Apprehensive, Henry enters the office to find the Commander studying a map and struggles to get his attention. The Commander is vague and fires off about Greencole, including how many people live there and whether Wolf Dam is operational. Henry demands to know what Delta Force wants with Greencole; after a pause, the Commander answers: for the past four years, Delta Force has been building a network of communities, all within Montana, in the hope of building a new civilization. He introduces the communities already in the network: the farming settlement of Fairbanks; the army depot at Prescott airfield; a newly-cleared survivalist town called Graystone, currently empty aside from a few Delta Force soldiers; and a missle silo called Site 65. All of the communities provide resources to Adams Air Force Base, which then assigns troops to protect the communities from raiders and walkers. The resource that the network currently lacks in sufficient quantities is electricity; fuel is running low across the network and only Fairbanks has wind power.

The Commander makes Henry an offer: Delta Force will absorb Greencole into the network, complete with all the benefits, in exchange for control over Wolf Dam and its power generation. The offer insults Henry, who points out all the sacrifices that his people have made to get the dam to its current condition. The Commander claims that Delta Force has engineers to finish the work, causing Henry to realize that, due to Greencole's geographic position, they will be completely isolated if Delta Force controls their northern border at the dam. Henry's arguments are muted when the Commander states that he can take the dam by force, although he would rather work with the Pioneers than fight them.

Before their conversation grows hostile, the Commander offers Henry a drink, which Henry accepts. As they drink, Henry inquires about the Commander's past and his service in Iraq; the Commander is silent in response until Henry asks if he knew his brother, Corporal Worth, who was in the first wave of the Iraq invasion. The Commander smiles at the apparent coincidence and admits his surname is "Worth" and that his rank was corporal; he suddenly grows suspicious and asks where Henry is from. Henry answers that he is from the UK and came to the U.S. on an exchange trip, hoping to find his half-brother. Both men slowly realize the truth; although reluctant to admit it, Henry finally realizes that the Commander is none other than his half-brother Kieron Worth.

Back at Greencole, Holly is forced back into bed by David, who assures her that Henry will be fine and the Robbins siblings are being closely watched. Holly replies that it is not Henry she is worried about, but Delta Force, which she believes might be too big for them to fight. David leaves her to rest and Holly examines the ring Henry gave her; she hides it as Emma and Hope enter and the trio hug tight.

At the base office, Henry and Kieron share stories of the past eight years, including all the places they mutually visited such as Fargo and the base. Kieron reveals that his first group was wiped out and he was separated from the lone survivor, forcing him to survive in the wilderness. By chance he found a working radio and detected a Contingency signal that led him to a secluded bunker filled with around thirty survivors. The signal instructed all surviving soldiers at the facility to form "Delta Force" and build a safe-zone at a site of their chosing. Given the limited space the bunker offered the newly-formed Delta Force was forced to move on; Kieron eventually rose to leadership and absorbed other survivor groups into his new army. He ends by recounting that they settled the base four years ago and made contact with Site 65 a month later, forming the core of the network. Henry talks about his family, including Kieron's biological half-niece Hope and his adoptive nephew Kyle.

Having bonded, Henry tries to make a new deal: Delta Force troops could be deployed to the dam with the Pioneers overseeing them, and in exchange the uninhabited by newly-safe town of Graystone will be handed over to Henry's people, with a small group still living at Greencole. Kieron brands the deal preposterous and that he cannot make accomodations; Henry points out that they are family but Kieron replies that they just met and that blood counts for nothing when considering what is at stake. Kieron summonds Albert and orders Henry be escorted back to Greencole, adding that he will arrive tomorrow to inspect the town. As the door opens, Kieron is greeted by Kyle and they recognise each other, putting Kyle is a state of shock as they drive back to Greencole.

Upon his return, Henry orders a town meeting at Gideon's church while Albert and the Robbins brothers wait outside the gate. In a speech, Henry informs the frustrated Pioneers of what's to come: the occupation of Wolf Dam by Delta Force and Greencole's absorption into their network. The townsfolk are angered by Henry's apparent unwillingness to fight, which Henry counters by pointing out Delta Force's vastly superior manpower and supplies. Holly, still exhausted and bruised, enters the church and asks why they should follow Henry, who indirectly led the Frontiersmen to their doorstep. Henry responds that he has a plan but wants a vote, since this decision can't be made by just one person.

Albert and his soldiers enter the church just as voting concludes in favour of Henry's mysterious plan; to their shock, they are forced to their knees and bound.

Early the next morning, Kieron and a group of soldiers prepare to cross the dam, only to be met by the entire gathered townsfolk with Henry and the captive soldiers at their head. Henry correctly assumes that Kieron cares for his soldiers too much to see them killed needlessly and demands that Kieron agrees to his counter-offer: Greencole and Graystone will belong to the Pioneers, while the dam will be shared between their factions. One of Kieron's soldiers asks whether they should fire on the Pioneers; Kieron sees his niece Hope and refuses to give the order before telling Henry that he is lucky "she's my blood". Kieron and his soldiers withdraw while Albert and his soldiers stay behind to monitor the Pioneers; an angry Holly demands to know what Kieron meant and Henry finally reveals that Kieron is his long-lost brother. Holly says nothing and walks away.

Elsewhere, Nathan awakens in a straw bed, a bandage covering half his face. He suffers flashbacks of his fight with Henry and tears off the bandages, revealing his missing eye. He is calmed by a woman named Lydia, who welcomes him back to the Frontiersmen capital Archangel.

### "Rules"

Within a week of the dam confrontation, Henry, Gideon and Katrina have been drafted into Delta Force under Albert's command while the rest of Greencole's population, led by Holly and David, relocate to the town of Graystone; only a small group led by Jane and Drew decides to remain at Greencole and support the Delta Force soldiers now stationed at Wolf Dam. Henry and his team are driven to D.F.'s Forward Operating Base at Prescott, one of the other communities, and meet the airfield's leader Katherine; on his tour, Henry discovers barrels of a chemical called "carbofuran". From Prescott, Henry and his team are driven to the farming settlement of Fairbanks, led by the eccentric Samuel Fairbanks and his wheelchair-bound deputy, Ashleigh. Henry and his team are vaguely told that their purpose is to guard Fairbanks from raiders, who are revealed to be Frontiersmen assault parties led by Isabella, who has rejoined her tribe. Henry and Albert clash over how to deal with the Frontiersmen when Henry refuses to fire on them.

At Graystone, everyone settles in their new lives: Becky opens a store, Nicolas a bar, and Holly takes over leadership from David. The townsfolk are introduced to D.F.'s lead doctor, Tanya Steele, who has invented an "Overlord Protein Test" to track the progress of infection; she introduces Holly to "Lazarus Brain Infection", or LBI, D.F.'s name for the zombie pathogen that has infected everyone. Tensions quickly escalate between the Graystoners and the Delta Force soldiers stationed in the town, who restrict peoples' entry and exits; this results in a physical confrontation between David and the soldiers and later between Holly and Maldoon, the head soldier. When Holly finally receives her OPT results from Dr. Steele she discovers two surprising facts: her overlord protein levels are steadily dropping, something unforeseen, and she is ten days pregnant.

Meanwhile at Archangel, Nathan, still recovering from his injuries, is told by Lydia, chief elder of the Frontiersmen, that he and the other surviving Rams - Joseph's exiled followers - will face the Ritual of Thorns in order to earn the tribe's forgiveness. Faced with this deadly trial, Nathan makes a tense alliance with Eduard, a horrifically burned Frontiersmen extremist, revealing that the Ritual involves battle with "The Thorn", a zombie implanted with spikes.

### "Dissent"

Still guarding Fairbanks, Henry and his team help to prepare the farm for the upcoming winter storms: they dig trenches to drain the fields, reinforce the fence and put fertilizer in storage. During his work, Henry discovers a grave site at the edge of the farm; over dinner, Samuel explains that, a couple years ago, a bad crop harvest poisoned several people, including Ashleigh (paralysing her) and the Frontiersmen that the farm was trading with, after which the Frontiersmen turned hostile and the farm joined Delta Force's community network. Curious, Henry asks Samuel about carbofuran; Samuel reveals that it is an extremely toxic pesticide that is lethal even in small doses. Now suspicious, Henry struggles to sleep and goes for a walk; at that moment a Frontiersmen raiding party attacks the farm and sets the south field on fire with a primitive catapult.

With Gideon and Katrina covering him, Henry charges behind enemy lines to disable the catapult; he is attacked mid-sabotage by Isabella, angered by Henry's alliance with her enemy. Henry tries to calm her during their fight to no avail and is forced to place a knife to her throat, only to be stabbed shallowly in the flank. Isabella reveals that Fairbanks' tainted crops killed several women, children and even Father Ajax, which caused the split between the elders and Joseph; all this ultimately resulted in the Frontiersmen attack on Greencole. Henry deduces that Albert was responsible for spreading carbofuran on the crops, forcing Fairbanks to join the network and supply Delta Force with food. Henry angrily confronts Albert and holds a knife to his throat; Albert confesses but reveals that Commander Worth never ordered him to do so, and that nobody, especially the Commander, will believe him. Henry is forced to back down because of his group's precarious status. With Fairbanks secure the team return to Prescott's FOB; overcome with frustration, Henry is met by a man named Achilles, who tells him to meet at an abandoned church nearby. Intrigued, Henry accepts and sneaks out to find the church; when he arrives, he smiles at who else has decided to attend.

At Graystone, in the midst of a depressive episode, Ben decides to sneak out; he is immediately found by a patrolling soldier, but both are suddenly attacked by a revenant. Ben and the soldier are bitten; the soldier reanimates but Ben is rescued, resigned to his fate.

Elsewhere, Nathan, Eduard and the other Rams endure the Ritual of Thorns; most of the Rams are killed within minutes by The Thorn. Eduard manages to avoid it thanks to his charred skin while Nathan is forced to confront it one-on-one.

### "The Game"

At Greencole, Drew is woken up in the middle of the night by Mike and Emma, who tell him that they need his help for a "secret mission". They steal a trio of horses, supplies and weapons and head out in secret, with Mike stressing that nobody else can know their plan. Before they leave Drew discovers Laika, who has heard everything and demands to join; wanting to keep their mission secret, the trio are forced to agree. They agree that they need to get back home within ten days, before the incoming storm hits. To avoid the Delta Force soldiers at Wolf Dam they take the long way around the lake and into the hills, planning to take the rural roads before joining Interstate 90 and then 94, the same route that the Pioneers took from Fargo. Laika, believing that their mission is to get revenge on the Frontiersmen, is surprised when she learns that the group are heading for North Dakota.

At Graystone, Ben is still alive and checked by Tanya; his OPT reveals he is a rare "slow turner", still in the early stages of infection, but will inevitably turn. Despite his impending death, Ben demands to continue working on Wolf Dam, without the interference of Delta Force. Maldoon reluctantly agrees, hoping doing so will settle the tension between her soldiers and Graystone.

### "Call to Arms"

Henry, Gideon and Katrina are retrieved from their cell and marched into Prescott's courtyard, where a hastily-built gallows awaits them. They are bound and placed in nooses while Albert reads out their charges, including insurrection, before sentencing them to death before the horrified crowd. Henry is allowed some last words and uses them to rally the crowd, only to be gagged by Albert before he pulls the lever to drop Gideon, killing him. As Albert pulls Katrina's lever, however, Samuel and Ashleigh appear with Cara and the other freed prisoners, all armed, just as Achilles crashes through the gate. Samuel calls for the crowd to rebel and seize the soldiers' weapons; soon the courtyard becomes a battlefield, with a stray bullet freeing Henry from his rope that allows him to save Katrina before she suffocates. The soldiers are quickly subdued and Albert, unable to reach Delta Force command, escapes on a bike. Henry forces a soldier to divulge the location of a radar tower, which Albert will use to summon reinforcements, and Henry gives chase in a truck.

At Graystone, the Delta Force soldiers begin randomly firing upon the residents in revenge for Robbins' sudden execution. Under Holly's command, the residents prepare their barricades and seal the town's centre off from the soldiers that surround them. Maldoon agrees to stand down if the town hands over David; despite David's willingness to surrender, the residents prevent him from leaving.

Henry finally catches up to Albert but struggles to apprehend him due to the terrible state of the roads. Despite bursting a tire he manages to keep pace, but Albert arrives as the radar tower and enters before Henry can stop him. With no other option, Henry hits the gas and crashes the truck through the wall of the station. He survives, dazed and confused, and exits the truck to find Albert pinned against the station console by the truck. Albert asks if Henry knows what he has started; Henry replies that he knows what he has finished, and executes Albert with a gunshot to the head. He uses the still-working radio to contact Ben and initiate the sabotage; Kieron hears Henry's order and sends troops from Greencole to the dam.

In the dam's boiler room, Ben's hallucinations worsen and he begins convulsing, signs that death is near; despite this, he continues working and redirects the steam back into the boilers. The turbines now spinning, the boilers begin to overheat. He radios the soldiers to tell them they should leave and follows them to the surface; he enters his death throes as the boilers overheat and violently explode, triggering a series of ruptures that blow open the front wall of the dam, causing water from Wolf Lake and burst through and surge the waters. Ben collapses as the top of the dam breaks apart and the entire structure collapses, draining the lake as the water rushes downriver. Kieron watches in horror from Greencole while Henry rests at the radar station, mourning the loss of his friend.

At the oil field, the Crew remain pinned down by the sniper. With no cover between them and the shack, Emma decides to use her explosive arrows to ignite the oil wells and hide behind the smoke, while the others lay down covering fire.

## Characters

### Main

* Henry Ward: Greencole's former leader and its current head of security
* Emma Goode: Henry's ward who serves as a scout and hunter for Greencole
* Holly Maxson: Henry's long-time partner and David's deputy
* Kyle Granger: the adoptive son of Henry and Holly
* Ben Appleby: Greencole's chief mechanic and leader of the Wolf Dam restoration project
* Drew Stanton: Greencole's lead hunter and Sarah's father
* Becky Grace: defence teacher and member of the town's leadership council
* David: the current leader of Greencole and adoptive father to Lawrence
* Mike Trapp: a former resident of Greencole who lives along the road to Wolf Dam
* Jane Rhodes: a former soldier of the Innocents and chief guard at Wolf Dam
* Shadowman: a blind survivor rescued and brought to the community by Henry and Justinas
* James Cottingham: Henry's childhood friend and member of the Frontiersmen who is now known as "Nathan"
* Kieron Worth: the leader of Delta Force and Henry's estranged half-brother

### Supporting

* Katrina: a former Innocent who joined the Pioneers after the escape from Fargo
* Jimmy: a former Innocent and Ben's romantic partner
* Gideon: a former soldier for the Domers and a worker at Wolf Dam
* Nicolas: Greencole's cook and blacksmith
* Abigail: a newcomer to Greencole who forms a bond with Emma
* Lawrence Carter: the biological son of William Carter and adopted son of David following Bethany's demise
* Sarah Stanton: the daughter of Becky Grace and either Drew Stanton or William Carter
* Laika: Justinas' adopted daughter who is now fluent in Russian and English
* Boy: the Ward family pet
* Hope Ward: the young daughter of Henry and Holly
* Isabella: a Frontiersmen hunter and devout follower of the Father who aided the Pioneers during the attack on Greencole
* Albert: the former leader of his own group that was absorbed into Delta Force
* Cara: a former member of Albert's group and a soldier for Delta Force
* Samuel Fairbanks: the leader of a community in Delta Force's network
* Katherine: the leader of a community in Delta Force's network
* Achilles: a courier for the Delta communities
* Lydia: chief elder of the Frontiersmen
* Eduard: a Frontiersmen soldier and follower of Joseph held prisoner in Archangel
* Carldweller: the former Carl McKenzie who succumbed to cancer and transformed into a darkdweller

## Deaths

* Lydia *(alive)* - shot in the neck by Nathan
* Greg Robbins - executed by David
* Gideon - executed via hanging by Albert
* Runaway - suicide via self-inflicted gunshot to the head
* Albert - crushed by a truck and shot in the head by Henry
* Ben Appleby - committed suicide by destroying Wolf Dam
* At least five unnamed Delta Force soldiers

## Trivia

* *Season 5: Remake* is the second season to consist of seven episodes after *Season 3: Remake*.
* This season introduces Delta Force as a primary faction, having previously only appeared in a small capacity in *Season 3: Remake* and *Season 4: Remake*. It will also feature Kieron, Albert and Cara as major characters.
* The Frontiersmen will return as antagonists, making them the first group in *Strain Zero* to serve as villains in more than one season.
* The season introduces Fairbanks and Prescott, two communities from the Original Series.