Fading

*Fading* is the title of the fourth episode of the first season of Blood in the North and the fourth session of the entire game.

This session was played on December 1st, 2019

## Fading

### Writer

Jonny Christie, Frankie Ramos, Antoine SinClaire

## Synopsis

Santos and Lulu are riding back to the house, Connor in tow. Lulu is already getting drowsy from the fever and is barely able to stay on the bike. Santos stops as a few hundred yards ahead they see a massive number of Zeds surrounding the house. August and Rachel are arriving once again into the heart of Toronto. They arrive at the apartment complex where Franklin brings his “mistresses”. August asks what the plan is if Rebecca is not there. Rachel insists they keep looking until they are certain her daughter is safe. August is a bit skeptical but he agrees to help as long as he’s able. They decide to enter the building via the fire escape. August makes it up just fine but Rachel misjudges and fall onto a nearby dumpster, alerting the dead nearby. August drops the latter for her and she narrowly escapes the claws below her. Lulu is not in the right condition to deal with the situation so Santos suggests they enter a nearby house and continue to scope out the situation. Lulu is against staying nearby but Santos reminds her that Hiro and Tyson are inside the house. She agrees to hide out for now. Connor complies. He’s still tied up however and trips, alerting some of the Zeds. They head into the nearby house as a few stragglers turn to their location. Santos gives Connor strike two and promises the third will be his last. Lulu rests on the Couch and remembers back to just past her retirement.

*Lulu is working on her garden when her Husband, David, comes out of the house to inform her that their first grandchild has been born.*

 She flashes back to reality. August and Rachel enter a Twelfth-story window and peer out into the hallway. There is no sign of the infected so they creep over to Franklin’s apartment. August taps lightly on the door to test for any noise on the other side. There isn’t any immediate response so they enter. There is a rumbling in the bathroom. Rachel calls out to Becky. The noise moves closer to the door so August kicks it in and stabs it in the head. Luckily, It’s not Rebecca. Just one of Franklin’s whores. He is also not present. The negatives out way the positives however as not only does that mean Rebecca isn’t there, but a large, billowing howl is heard in the hallway. They quickly close the front door and hide as a shadow sprints past the room on the ceiling.

*Lulu is excited to greet her grandson, Sam, who is now about fifteen. She is aware that he’s visiting to see David who is not doing “well”. The boy is upset but he still asks if he can invite his friend Tyson over. She allows it, knowing David would like to see him as well.*

 She comes back to the present. The house they are in is already getting overwhelmed and Connor begins to freak out a bit. Santos slaps the shit out of him and reminds him that he needs to man up. They decide to move Lulu upstairs to a bed. Rachel is prepared to go out and make sure whatever is out there isn’t putting her daughter in danger. August is hesitant, obviously. Rachel peers out into the hall and sees it’s clear. However, it isn’t. A Zed like no other comes from around the corner on all fours. It cracks its way up to its feet and howls before dropping back down and charging her. August blasts it with his shotgun and is slides to their feet. Protruding from it is a black smog. It doesn’t have skin or hair. August checks its pocket to find that it was actually a former worker from his company, Wil. He is perplexed and doesn’t know how to react. Rachel begins to tear up again as she realizes this world is far more dangerous than they thought. Lulu is not having a good time. She starts confusing reality with her flashbacks. Mixing up Connor with Sam. Her mind wanders to another memory.

*Sam and Tyson are in the living room playing a video game. Sam asks if they can see grandpa and she suggests he’s sleeping and to not bother him. They hear a loud bang as if something or someone fell. They rush over to find David dead. They get his body back onto the bed. Lulu goes to call the ambulance.*

 The whole time Connor is trying to figure out her mumbles and misinterprets her rambles as asking for help. He asks her if she wants him to end it.

*Lulu hears a scream from the other room. She rushes over to see a reanimated David biting Sam in the throat. She grabs a lamp and slams it into her late husband. He falls back onto the bedpost, now dead for real. Tyson is freaking out as Lulu cradles her dying Grandson. She tells Tyson to go and continue the call but the phone line is dead. Sam asks her if David is okay and she can’t bring herself to tell him what’s happening. She pulls Sam into a hug.*

 Santos comes back upstairs to tell them it’s time to get out while they can but Lulu tells him that she isn’t going anywhere. Santos begs her to keep fighting but she has no more will. She tells him to take care of Tyson and find Rebecca. Above all keep the party together. He understands the situation and they say a tearful goodbye. He leaves her a pistol and one bullet. Santos and Connor leave her to her choice. She has one final flashback.

*Lulu and Tyson pull up to a dump in a yellow convertible. In the distance they hear someone shouting and firing a gun. They get to him and help him kill the Zeds. It’s Santos and he thanks her, having not seen her since she retired. They were both there for one reason, the Truck. They decide to travel together.*

 Lulu smiles as she pulls the gun up to her chin and fires. Meanwhile, August and Rachel get down to the main lobby and prepare to head back but August wants to check the surveillance. They get into the Security office and scroll through the old footage. They watch Wil holding his dead wife as she turns and bites into him. He doesn’t let her go or try to stop it. As he falls over, his skin begins to melt off as he gets to his feet in literal seconds. Rachel mentions that he “Faded” so fast it was almost unnatural. They leave, having no real new information. They arrive at the carnage. August radios to anyone on the other side. They get a response from Gregory and Scarab who have a plan to deal with the horde. It involves the two they found, Ellie and Lexi, the missing college girls. Ellie is an incredible shot and cover fires while the others all go in melee. Santos and Connor join the fight as well and August makes it to the Truck. He gets to the Flamethrower and mows down the remaining Zeds. The party is reunited outside the house and August notices Lulu is not among them. He demands an answer and Santos informs him that she was bit while they were trying to save Connor. Lexi and Ellie greet the crew and August compliments Ellie on her marksmanship but the timing is a bit off. They are going to go inside and check if Hiro and Tyson are safe and then continue the search for Becky. Santos disagrees however. He believes if they had just accepted that the girl is dead Lulu would still be around and he suggests they move on before anyone else is killed for this child. The tension is thick but they agree to discuss it further inside.

## Cast

### Main

* August Fallon-Nox
* Sabra "Scarab" Nazari
* Rachel Bailey
* Ellie Eastwood
* Connor Mills
* Lucila "Lulu" O'Neil

### Supporting

* Robin Santos
* Tyson Greenwell
* Gregory
* Lexi Watson

### Guest

* Wil
* Gemma
* David O'Neil
* Sam O'Neil

## Trivia

* Players this session: Frankie Ramos (Lulu/Ellie) & Antoine SinClaire (August).
* Matt Christie did not attend this session. Though he is still in the cast.
* Ellie Eastwood was originally created by Angelina Christie and meant to be played by her. However, due to numerous conflicts, she could not commit to the series. So rather than eliminate the character, Frankie Ramos stepped in to portray the character since Lulu was already dying.
* Lucila "Lulu" O'Neil is the first player character to die.
* This session introduces a new type of infected, Phadez.