Feral

**"Feral"** is the fifth episode of *The Fatal Frontier*. It was released on September 28th 2020.

## Plot

*Caught in a trap, the two wolves face new and old dangers.*

## Synopsis

### Prologue

A cold breeze rustled through a thick, dense forest that is uncomfortably silent, sparse even of an evening bird-song. A foreboding manor rises amongst the trees, the windows dimly lit by candlelight. On the steps on the manor, it is possible to barely hear distant screams. A stooped figure, revealed to be a walker, looks up at the high building, moaning. Inside the manor's dark halls, the screams become louder and sharper, expressed with every little piece of breath. At the end of a dimly lit brick corridor is a single metal door behind which the screams are coming from, although they have now become weaker, transformed into whimpers. At the foot of the door, a dark pool of blood steadily flows.

Behind the door, a body hangs chained to the ceiling, dripping blood into the growing pool beneath, completely skinned and gutted save for the face, which is twisted into a permanent look of anguish, its cheeks red and its eyes wet; the teeth have been filed down to fangs, its gums completely burned away. On the other side of the room, a second person hangs chained to the ceiling by their wrists, weeping and sobbing, begging under their breath for the pain to stop. Their entire lower half and most of their chest has been completely skinned, the muscle from the legs ripped apart; like the other, their teeth are filed into fangs. The victim continues to mutter, delirious from the pain, begging for it to stop. It looks over to a small girl, washing her hands in a nearby basin. The girl whispers under her breath "*Fehu Uruz Thurisaz Ansuz Raidho Kenaz Gebo Wunjo Hagal Naudhiz Isa Jera Eihwaz Perthro Algiz Sowelu Tiwaz Berkano Ehwaz Mannaz Laguz Ingwaz Dagaz Othala*" as she cleans herself. Once done, still muttering the chant under her breath, she hovers her hand over a tray of bloodstained tools, selecting a skinning knife, its blade rusted from the copious amounts of blood. She returns to the weeping victim, her face unemotional, her eyes wide with interest. She holds the knife to the victim's right breast, pressing against the nipple and drawing blood. The barely alive victim continues to beg, but the girl ignores him. She leans over and whispers into his ear: "Who am I?" she says, in English. The victim whimpers but does not answer. The girl places her hand on the victim's shoulder and proceeds to carve the nipple from the skin, causing the victim to scream in pain. She throws the nipple into a nearby furnace and holds the knife against the victim's lips. "Who am I?" she repeats. The victim once more does not answer. The girl, still unemotional, stares down at the victim's still-remaining penis. She gives a smile and swiftly removes his penis with her knife, causing him to let out the biggest scream yet. "Who am I?" she says once more; through his screams, the victim cries out "Death! Death! DEATH!". The girl's face returns to blank as she tosses his penis into the fire, "No" she says as she comes closer to him, "I am Life". She proceeds to thrust the knife into his jaw, gushing blood onto the floor. The victim slowly chokes on his own blood and dies.

The metal door opens; the girl turns to great them. The person is revealed to be a much younger Interith. He bows to the girl and takes a look at both bodies, impressed with the girl's work. "*Wuonparith*" he says. He looks back into the corridor and snaps his fingers; two young boys, both of whom possess fangs, step into the room and remove the bodies. While the girl cleans up, the two boys take the bodies into the manor's atrium, where the young Shark-Toothed Man waits.

In the present, Kyther cleans herself and applies fresh oil to her face and around her eyes. She grabs a pair of ferocious knives and a bow before leaving her quarters, where the naked skinned corpses of three young boys hang from the ceiling. The corpses, and the room, are engulfed in flames as Haven burns.

### Chapter 1

In the overgrown town, members of Seth's group continue to fight against the incoming herd led into the town by the Pale Men. Edwards lies with the arrow still between his ribs, passed out, while Jules inspects him. Seth comforts Lupa as she gains her senses, and she tries to walk over to Edwards. Seth stops her, "Rest," he says. He stands up and walks over to Jules, looking over the unconscious Edwards. His eyes stop at the arrow embedded firmly in his ribs and moves to pull it out. Jules quickly stops him, telling Seth that pulling out the arrow in the open will most likely kill him. "We must hurry," Seth grunts, "The dead do not wait,". He looks at the approaching walkers and then back at Edwards, "I will grant mercy," he says and takes a knife from his sheath. Jules stands up to stop him, "We can't! Do you know who this is?". The much stronger Seth simply pushes Jules aside and to the ground, bending down to stab Edwards in the head.

This time, Lupa grabs Seth's arm, shaking her head violently. Seth yanks his arm away and goes for the strike, but Jules unsheaths his sabre and holds it to Seth's throat, "He is *Mye'Akal*" he says, "He can help us". Seth growls, "How? He is *Moinis*. Outsider. Already dead". Jules slightly lowers his sabre, telling Seth to trust him, "I am an outsider. And here I am". Seth lowers his eyes to Edwards, then sheaths his dagger. The sound causes Edwards to stir, and he lifts his head. Noticing this, Jules crouches down beside him, "Can you hear me?" he asks. Edwards weakly nods. "Grit your teeth. This will hurt," says Jules. He tries to lift Edwards up, but fails until Lupa lends a hand. "Clear a path," Seth yells. The warriors form a strategic formation, surrounding Lupa and Jules as they carry Edwards over the rough terrain.

### Chapter 2

Edwards finds himself in an endless meadow under a purple sky. His vision blurred, he realizes that his left eye is covered by a patch, and he is wearing his old black overcoat. "Hello asshole," a voice says. Edwards turns and is suddenly stabbed in the chest with a dagger, directly in his heart. Edwards looks up at his attacker: Bart Rhodes, a yellowed gunshot wound in his temple. "Can I see it, one last time? Last time wasn't for that long, after all" he says, reaching for Edwards' eyepatch. Rhodes tears the eyepatch away, and, in an out of body experience, Edwards sees his eye covered in maggots.

Edwards awakens from his nightmare, panting and sweating. He tries to sit up, but a burning pain in his ribs forces him back down. His vision clears enough for him to see a dimly-lit room illuminated only a single oil lamp. He sits up more gently, but the pain is almost overwhelming. He takes a deep breath but finds himself struggling. He places his feet on a wooden floor covered in straw and is surprised to see Lupa curled up on the opposite side of the room. He tries to stand, but the effort is near-excruciating. He clutches his chest and continues to struggle to breathe. "You should be resting," a voice says, possessing a strong British accent. Edwards looks up to see Jules in the doorway, "The arrow near-missed your lung. I'm not sure how you're alive".

Edwards shrugs, "I've had worse. Got stabbed in the neck once".

Jules looks taken-aback, "How the hell did you survive that?".

Edwards brings his fingers to his neck, running them over the small scar just beside his throat, "Guy had bad aim," he says.

Jules walks into the room, "You're British, I see," he says, "Not often you see a fellow Englishman in these parts".

Edwards nods, "I guess not," he replies and reaches out his hand, "Edwards. Thank you for saving me".

Jules shakes his hand, "Jules. And these guys did most of the work. I mostly just held a cloth".

Edwards finally manages to stand with Jules' help, "So," he begins, "How long have you been here?".

Jules shrugs, "I'm not sure. About six weeks, I suppose".

Edwards shakes his head, "No. I meant, how long have you been in the states. How long after you got here did the dead start walking,".

Jules pauses, before finally saying, "Like I told you. Six weeks,".

Edwards pauses and takes a step back, "Maybe you're not understanding me," he says.

Jules sighs, "I'm afraid I am understanding you. Six weeks...both here and...well, *here*,".

Edwards narrows his eyes, "Look. I've been putting up with a lot of bullshit since I got to this fucking hellhole," he takes a threatening step towards Jules, "And I just got shot in the fucking chest by a....*creature*. Some bitch tortured me for two weeks. I burned down a whole village. So I don't want *any more bullshit*,".

Jules holds out his hands in surrender, "I best explain," he replies, then looks over at the sleeping Lupa, "Perhaps best in private?".

Edwards nods, "No more bullshit,"

"Follow me," Jules says. He beckons Edwards to follow him. Before he leaves the room, Edwards picks up his tomahawk and goes for his jacket, before deciding to leave it. He follows Jules out of the cabin and out onto a muddy road. He takes a quick look around, realizing he is now in an overgrown, partially burned-down town. All around him, tribals sharpen their weapons or care for their families. Their architecture and weapons resemble those of the Norn, but he spots a few wandering guards wielding Old World weapons such as rifles. Jules leads into an open area, where a small group of farmers attend to muddied crops. Jules finally leads him to a cabin on the outskirts of the community. Inside, it is heavily furnished with mechanical and construction equipment and lit by a single oil lamp suspended in the rafters.

"Have a seat," says Jules, beckoning to a homemade chair. Edwards looks around at a vast collection of homemade wooden furniture. "I have something of a hobby," Jules adds.

"Impressive," Edwards grunts, "So. It would be nice to hear something that isn't bullshit,"

"Well you might want to settle in," Jules smiles, "Cause I don't know how much of this you're going to believe."

"I'm from England, like you," Jules begins, "It's been a long time since I've seen home, but I know it was in the north. It was rural; when the dead started walking we were mostly safe. Bunch of kids in the area managed to take over this rundown farm: huge fence, cattle, even a small windmill. We had electricity, meat, butter. It was a good life. As good as could be. It didn't last long, though. A couple of years in, our cattle caught a disease. We had to start hunting for rabbits, birds...not enough to feed so many kids. Difficult to do over hilly terrain. We started losing people; they died or just left. Our fence started to break down. Walkers would come through almost every night. We could barely maintain the windmill. It wasn't looking good. It got to the point that I wanted to leave with a few others. Thank fuck I didn't.

"One day we were out hunting. We got barely anything, just enough to feed two people, maybe three if we starved. We found something...actually, *someone*. A kid with a fancy accent, all the camping gear you could imagine...and *this*," Jules holds up his sabre, "Said his name was Alistair. We brought him back to the farm. He stayed the night. Helped us clear out the dead when they came to the fence. The next morning he shared some of his food. We asked where he got it, and he told us. Every word was a word of truth.

"He said he was from London. A community. A big one. Said it was his job to bring others to his community. Said this was the furthest north he had ever been. This community...it was in the Tower of London. London fared better than anyone thought it would. Bunch of kids managed to get behind the Tower's walls, kept the dead out. They were organised by this army cadet. After just a few months, they spread out into the city, recruited everyone else who survived. Slowly, it became a city. Formed a network with a few other camps; together, they were clearing out every street, every building, every deadite - that's what we call them - until they had a network of roads for trade. It sounded too good to be true. Few of us wanted to kill him, or take him hostage. That was until he showed us photos. Photos that couldn't have been tampered. They showed everything he was talking about: the Tower, the roads...shit, they even built a *barge* to sail down the Thames.

"A few of us decided to join him. A couple of them didn't. Those of us who did, we left the next morning. Damn, it was a long walk. But we made it. And it was every bit as glorious as he said it would be. I became a scout. I joined the teams clearing the streets, the buildings. I impressed some people, and eventually, I became Alistair's partner. We went all around the country, finding new people and bringing them to our community. The two of us brought...I don't know, close to 200 hundred people to London over the years. Then one day, Alistair got careless. A deadite got him on the rib. I had to...make sure he didn't turn. When they read his will, he left me his sword.

"Not long after Alistair died, the leaders wanted to meet with me. They had something to tell me. A new mission. A team had cleared out a radar station outside London at an old airfield. Thought they could use it to find other communities outside London. Took us years, but we got it working. And yes, we did find more people. Thousands, all over the country. And...*outside* of it.

"They told me that they made contact. Here, in the States. A massive group, the largest we'd ever seen. They said that they were rebuilding, had people all over the country working together to restore it. But they needed our help. We agreed. We worked out some sort of exchange mission. Cut a long story short...one day a plane lands at the airfield. Inside was a single pilot, an American. He brought stuff with him to prove he was telling the truth. And he was. He was one of them. He said he was from the southwest, from a huge community of thousands. The plan was for someone on our side to take the plane back across the sea. Make contact. They picked me.

"They loaded the plane with fuel. Gave me enough supplies to last for months. Said I would be well taken care of. And off I went. Across the sea...something I'd never think I'd see. Non-stop flying, and I made it. Land. The great United States of America. I aimed for the coordinates given to me, and I was close...then I hit a storm. A big one. I crashed. I don't know how I survived, but what I do know was that Lupa saved me. She took me back here, to her people. Said I fell from the sky. They call themselves the Heathens. Said a man from the sky was destined to help them. The place where I was supposed to land...it's not far. A matter of miles. They said that would take me there if I helped. And I've been here ever since,"

### Chapter 3

Edwards sits, silent. As Jules finishes his story, the chair collapses under his weight. Jules helps Edwards to his feet and onto the bed. "So," says Jules, "Am I bullshitting?". Edwards looks at him, "No. You're not,". Jules smiles, "All I want is to get home. Where I belong. Away from these *savages*. They believe you are *Mye'Akal*. World-Ender. You'll bring the Norn's apocalypse,"

"And be their saviour," Edwards retorts.

"They've spent fifteen years degenerating," Jules says, "First in that manor, and then in that damn village."

"What manor?"

"The Dark Place," another voice says. The two of them turn to see Seth in the doorway, "They came from there. In the Black Wood. They came and they burned our crops, raped our woman, skinned our boys, burned our girls. Brought hell to Earth."

"What the hell do they want?" Edwards asks.

"We do not know," Seth says. "Only that the answer resides in the Dark Place."

Edwards stands and rubs his chest. "Where is this Dark Place?"

"The Black Woods," Seth replies. "Where the breeze carries the whispers of the dead. We dared not tread there...until now."

"Why now?"

"You are *Mye'Akal*," Seth says. "They fear you. My people fear you. You will help us. We will take you to the Dark Place."

"And why would I help you? I've had enough bullshit,"

"You are Outsider. Like Sky Man, we will help you home,"

Edwards walks over to Seth and extends his hand. "Fine. I help you at the Dark Place, and you help me home,"

Seth takes Edwards' hand, "*Malv kyeet, Mye'Akal*,"

Miles away, as Haven continues to burn, the Norn march from their old home. Kyther watches her people, before looking over at a far off forest as strange whispers follow the breeze. All around her, Pale Men chant, matching the voices on the wind.

## Trivia

* This episode is the first of *The Fatal Frontier* to be delayed, having been delayed twice from September 22nd and from September 26th.
* This episode once more features several callbacks to previous episodes and events in *The Walking Dead by EDStudios*.
	+ In his nightmare about Bart Rhodes, he dreams that Rhodes stabbed him directly in the heart, rather than just above it as what really happened.
	+ When showing his neck scar to Jules, Edwards is referencing his fight with Christopher Neil in the finale of *Season 11*.
* This is the second episode to feature flashbacks involving the highest-ranking members of the Norn, this time featuring Kyther and Interith. The manor featured in these flashbacks is finally given a name: the Dark Place.
* Lupa and Seth's group is revealed to go by the "Heathens".
* Jules' hobby of making wooden furniture is likely an inspiration for Edwards' similar hobby in *Season 22* and onwards.
* The American network that Jules mentions in his story is likely to be the MRA; in '*Beyond the Grave*', it is mentioned that they have a base in northern Colorado, not far from southern Wyoming where *The Fatal Frontier* is set.
* This episode marks the first time that Edwards has worn a shirt since "*Bloodshot*".

 **Part II** | "**Feral**" • "Lies" • "Worship" • "Sins" • "Wolves"