Season 1 (Remake)

"*A horror reborn...*"
—Tagline of *Season 1: Remake*[src]

**Season 1: Remake** is a rewrite of the first season of *The Walking Dead by EDStudios* as part of *Strain Zero*. It is followed by *Season 2: Remake*.

Set in 2003 during the first year of a zombie apocalypse, the remake follows a group of survivors, most among them British exchange students, as they attempt to adapt to a hostile new world and seek out a safe place far away from the horrors of the undead.

## Plot

*Finding themselves at a pivotal point in their lives, a group of British students decide to take the trip of a lifetime to the United States, where they find themselves embroiled in a global zombie apocalypse caused by a mysterious new disease. Set over the course of a year, this retelling of the original season will show the group's development in a new light as they are forced to adapt to a hostile new world and accept the brutal survivors that hide within them all.*

## Synopsis

### "It Begins"

Searching a ruined supermarket for much-needed supplies, weathered survivors Henry, Sarah and Ben find themselves cornered by runners, zombies that have only recently reanimated. With their exit blocked by several clusters of slower "walkers", the trio are forced to climb through a wrecked helicopter up to the roof. As Henry lifts Sarah up to the roof, the helicopter collapses through the roof and Henry crashes to the ground, stuck under the helicopter blades.

Months earlier, a sleep deprived Henry wakes up in a maths class and half-listens to the teacher, Mr Dawid, who begins coughing and secretly spits out blood. At lunch, Henry sits down with his fellow exchange students - best friend James, Holly, Alex, Jess, Sarah, Ben and Aaron - and falls asleep during their conversation due to severe insomnia. All around them, teachers and older students are coughing and growing pale. Later, while the group rest at their student house, they are joined by Russian student Justinas, who has been away with the Army Cadets.

The following morning, the exchange students are suddenly rushed out of their classroom as the military turns up at the school. One by one, the adults begin to vomit blood and transform into agile, ravenous creatures that begin to attack and devour the younger students. The exchange students are pushed into a supply closet by a teaching assistant, who is promptly killed by an adult.

Many hours later, the group emerge to find the halls abandoned and bloodied, and Henry is forced to kill a ravenous Mr Dawid with a metal pole. Looking over his body, the group realize that Mr Dawid is slowly decomposing and is, technically, dead. The group are able to fortify a few hallways and classrooms, where they find a military radio broadcasting an evacuation signal. Meanwhile, James discovers a young girl, Emma, comforting special needs student Daniel and takes them in.

A week passes and nobody comes to rescue them, and the emergency evacuation signal is now playing on a loop. Realizing that they will be in the school for a long time, the group makes a plan to recover weapons and building supplies to fortify the school and secure more living space. With the rest of the group terrified and panicking, Henry takes command and assigns everyone a task, with him and Justinas heading out to find weapons. While checking out a workshop on school grounds, Henry finds and takes a hatchet, which he uses to break open an army truck and allowing them to take the weapons inside, including several Glock pistols and a single assault rifle, which Justinas takes. While on their way back, the two hear screams coming from a nearby house. Inside, they find and kill two zombies and find a teenage girl, bleeding from a bite wound to her neck. She asks the pair to kill her, revealing that being bitten causes humans to turn into zombies, but both Henry and Justinas refuse, unwilling to kill a living person, and lock her in her room while she pleads for death.

Returning to the school, Henry and Justinas find the secure zone under attack by zombies. Using a back entrance, the two are able to get to the others before the zombies break through. Handing out the weapons they found, Henry leads the group in a counterattack of the zombies, slowly clearing them out once they discover the zombies can be killed by shooting them in the head. Empowered by their victory, the group decide to call the creatures "walkers", finding "zombie" too ridiculous and terrifying to say.

### "Friend Or Foe"

Four months after the outbreak began, the group have continued to survive within Clarkson High School, but are succumbing to hunger, boredom, exhaustion and paranoia. Tensions are running high within the group, and the food is almost gone.

While on a supply run, a team led by Henry encounters a young man whose arms have been severed, under attack by walkers; despite killing most, they are unable to save him from being bitten. He tries to warn them about something with his last words but dies before he can finish.

Back at the school, Henry is joined by Jess, who reveals that she is pregnant with Alex's baby. Justinas then calls up and Henry joins him. Brothers Matthew and Kyle Mitchell from a nearby farm approach their gates and offer food and shelter in exchange for fuel and medicine. The group accepts, though remain uneasy about them. They are introduced to the farm's owner, Andre, who they are shocked to discover is an adult, possibly one of the last remaining on Earth. While there, Henry and Sarah decide to investigate Andre's claims that walkers have breached the fence in an attempt to make themselves useful. Although they deal with the walkers and share a kiss when they finish, they hear screaming in the woods. Heading into the trees, they discover a group of bandits raping a woman and run away once the bandits spot them.

Reporting back, Henry and Sarah are joined by Jess, Alex, Aaron, Ben, Holly, James and Emma; Justinas and Daniel have stayed behind to guard the school. Deciding to try and rescue the girl, Henry and Sarah recruit James, Alex, Matthew and Kyle to head into the forest. Deep inside, they discover the bandit's camp and try to negotiate for the girl's freedom. The bandits appear to know the brothers but Kyle kills their leader before they can divulge more information. The confrontation descends into a gunfight; still refusing to kill the living, Henry and his group decide to provide covering fire for the brothers. At the end, Henry confronts the brothers for what they have done but is attacked by the reanimated bandit leader. Matthew reveals that being bitten is not the only way one can become a walker; simply the act of dying can cause one to turn. Overwhelmed by this revelation, the group heads back to the farm.

While sleeping in the barn, Henry hears distant screaming and goes to investigate. Avoiding the brothers and the other farm resident, Lisa, Henry discovers a basement and descends. Meanwhile, the others are woken up by Lisa and the brothers, who tell them they are needed in the house. In the basement, Henry discovers several bags of meat, as well as dismembered human bodies, including several of the bandits and the girl that they went to rescue. Henry is confronted by Andre, armed with a cleaver, who easily incapacitates Henry.

In the house, the others are joined by Henry, at which point Andre reveals that the Family are cannibals who made a deal with the bandits to deliver living victims to serve as food; Holly realizes that the man they found that morning was one of their victims who escaped. Henry manages to free himself of his bounds and tries to attack, but Kyle easily grabs him and bites down on Henry's neck before hitting him over the head with his rifle. The others are also knocked unconscious by rifle blows to the head.

When Henry wakes up, the wound on his neck stinging, he finds himself and the others - excluding Holly, Sarah and Emma - locked in a freezing refrigerator filled with hanging, butchered bodies. With no weapons and no way out, the group quickly descends into arguing. Alex lashes out at Henry, blaming him for their situation and that the group should have left Renton months ago and headed for the origin of the emergency broadcast.

They are interrupted by Jess, who is violently sick and reveals to Alex that she is pregnant. She then yells at him for blaming Henry for everything and not taking on the burden of leadership despite all of his complaining. Alex is overcome with the news that he will be a father and comes up with the rational idea to lure the brothers to the fridge by faking an illness. With Jess only dry heaving, Henry chocks himself and vomits while Alex and James bash on the door, drawing Matthew to them. Just as Matthew deduces that Henry is not ill, Jess throws up on him, giving the boys the chance to wrestle Matthew and grab his gun. Escaping, the group grabs their weapons while Alex shoots Matthew in the hand, blowing off his fingers, before sealing him inside the fridge.

Meanwhile, in the house, Kyle becomes distracted by the sound of gunshots and decides to investigate; however, he is stopped by Lisa, who bashes him over the head with a shovel. She then lets Sarah, Holly and Emma go before killing Kyle by cracking his skull. As the girls run away, Holly sees Lisa kill herself via gunshot to the head. The group are reunited but Henry refuses to leave just yet; believing that Andre will inevitably recruit a new group, he decides to kill him and end his reign of terror. While the others raid the farm house for food and supplies, Henry descends into the basement, where he confronts Andre with a rifle. Realizing he is out of ammo, he challenges Andre to a melee fight.

At first, the taller and stronger Andre is able to overwhelm Henry, forcing him back up the surface. While the others are distracted by walkers, Henry is shoved through a glass greenhouse, marking up his face. Relying on Justinas' combat training, Henry kicks Andre in the knees, weakening him, before beginning a rageful assault on him, using his hatchet to cut and lacerate Andre's torso. With Andre defeated, Henry finds himself unable to kill him until Holly silently grants him reassurance. Henry then axes Andre over the head, killing him, before he and James use gasoline to set the farm alight.

Finally home, the group reunites with Justinas and Daniel. Henry receives treatment for his wounds from Holly and they appear to connect while James watches jealously from a distance. Outside the walls, the surviving bandits discover the group and plan an attack.

### "A Long Road Ahead"

Eight months have passed since the events on Andre's farm, marking one year since the global outbreak. Since their confrontation with the Family, the Clarkson Survivors have been living off canned food that they recovered from the farm, but once again are running low. Despite seemingly being the only survivors remaining in Renton, every house and street has been cleaned out. Jess' pregnancy has advanced significantly, and she is in her final few weeks.

Henry, Sarah and Ben decide to go out on a supply run to a collapsing supermarket, cutting forward to the prologue of "*It Begins*". Trapped beneath a helicopter blade, Henry shouts to Sarah and Ben and tells them to leave him. He is almost caught off guard by a walker, but is able to pierce its stomach with his hatchet before stabbing it in the head with a small knife. Covered in the walker's blood, Henry is able to crawl out from under the helicopter blade and prepares to attack the other walkers around him; strangely, however, they ignore him and don't appear to even know he is there. Taking his chance, Henry evades a couple of runners and flees outside, still covered in foul-smelling blood.

Making his way back through the streets, Henry sees Sarah and Ben up ahead, pursued by runners while other walkers continue to ignore him. Theorizing that the walker blood covering him is masking his scent, Henry is able to move among the dead and slowly kill them one by one. When he finally reaches Sarah and Ben, however, Henry collapses to the ground in pain, having fractured several ribs when he fell.

Waking up back at the school, Henry is cared for by Holly, who wraps bandages around his torso to apply some compression. While Holly gives her prediction for Jess' due date, Henry changes into clean clothes before hearing an argument outside his room. Investigating, he finds Alex and Sarah at odds, with Alex claiming that they should leave the school and head towards the supposed safe-zone, 100 miles away, in the state capital of Port Collier; Sarah advocates for them staying put and perhaps attracting other survivors to build a community inside the school.

In pain, Henry once more excuses himself from the discussion. After taking a nap, he decides to walk the school grounds, where he discovers a large group of walkers has breached the fence. Noticing nobody is on guard, Henry rushes back into the school and orders everyone to pack up, the herd being too big to defend against. Inside, he finds everyone has fallen asleep and hastily wakes them, ordering them to collect supplies. Shocked at the danger, the group mobilise and collect various medical supplies, weapons and other essential items.

Justinas radios Henry, telling them a large group of walkers has breached the hasily-repaired hole on the western side of the school. Rushing over, Henry finds James and Daniel carrying fuel cans full of food and water, pursued by walkers. Daniel, panicked by the dead, rushes up to the roof, with walkers, Henry and James in pursuit. The two are too late, however, and find Daniel on the roof, several walkers biting his body. Although they kill the walkers, they remember that a bite is certain death. Before Henry can calm Daniel down, however, James coldly shoots Daniel, his ward, in the head, saying it is for his own good. The two then realize why Daniel fled to the roof: they discover Emma hidden behind an air duct, having been playing on the roof and just having witnessed Daniel's demise. James attempts to comfort Emma, but she acts cold towards him. Henry shouts to them that they have to move, forcing James to carry Emma downstairs. The group evacuate the school, which has become flooded with the dead, and flee into downtown Renton.

After hours searching for a suitable hideout, they stumble upon their old student residence and seal themselves inside. Overcome with grief over Daniel and the loss of their home, the group splits up for some private time. Henry discovers a dog in a neighbouring garden and shoots it upon discovering that it has eaten its own puppies to survive. He is found by Alex, and Henry finally decides that the group need to abandon Renton and head for whatever safe-zone that may exist in Port Collier.

Alex tearfully and reluctantly confesses that he sabotaged the school fence, as he wanted to demonstrate that the group could not take on a larger group of undead and would struggle to defend the school. He adds he never intended for them to lose anyone and that everyone needed to see his point. A rageful Henry grabs Alex by the collar and shoves him to the ground, growling that Daniel's death was his fault, as is the death of anyone else. However, he agrees to keep Alex's secret as any more grief could tear the group apart for good.

The group gathers in the living room that evening to debate their plan. Although Sarah suggests that the group make their way to Andre's farm and try to rebuild it, James reminds her that they burned it down. Henry then suggests that they head for Port Collier, the origin of the emergency broadcast. With Jess' due date close, they decide to cut the journey time by taking a train from Renton to Port Collier. They plan to leave early in the morning, splitting into teams to gather anything that could be of use before all heading to the train station.

The next morning at first light, Henry and James head into downtown Renton to search through every building they find. James asks Henry if he really thinks this plan could work, to which Henry says that they have no other choice and will slowly starve to death if they stay in Renton. James then suddenly says that from now on he is only looking out for Emma and himself, with everyone else just providing safety in numbers. Henry angrily says that they have to stick together and, ultimately, Jess and her child are the priority. When James insults Jess, Henry accuses James of using Emma as an emotional lifeline, to which James briefly raises his rifle at Henry. Henry punches James across the jaw, sending him to the ground. Bruised, James tearfully admits that he spent time in a psychiatric ward as a child and is now having "dark thoughts" that he is afraid of acting on. Henry promises James that he will look out for him before helping him to his feet.

Meanwhile, another team of Holly, Aaron and Emma decide to check out the wealthier home in western Renton, but find next to nothing aside from jewelry and expensive furniture.

Reunited at the train station, the group discover mountains of corpses, presumably the students that were evacuated from the school a year ago. They suddenly come under attack by gunfire: the few remaining Chester Woods Bandits have followed them and vow to kill them for their actions eight months ago. Although the group are able to kill the bandits - with Justinas, Ben and Aaron taking their first lives - Sarah is caught by surprise and bitten on the leg by a walker. Henry carries her inside the train station and resolves to amputate her leg to prevent the spread of the infection. With Sarah's permission, the others hold her down while Henry removes her leg with his hatchet.

Several hours later, having rested, the group begin their long walk along the train tracks in search of a locomotive. Working in shifts to carry Sarah, progress is slow and they camp for two nights on the side of the empty tracks. On the third day, however, Henry spots a train in the distance and the group hurries over. They arrive to find the train mostly derailed, having collided with traffic; they find the locomotive and two train cars intact, however, and decide to get it moving. While the others rest, Henry, Aaron and Ben - a train enthusiast - investigate the train and discover a lone survivor inside, a fidgety man with a guitar named Liam; he gifts Jess some of his rations and the others allow him to rest with them.

Henry and Aaron siphon diesel from nearby cars to partially fill the train's engine, and with Ben's help they finally get it running. Before they climb aboard, however, Sarah tells the group that she can feel herself dying and she wants to be killed so as to no longer be a burden. Despite their arguments, Sarah does not change her mind and asks to be shot so she does not reanimate. Henry volunteers and carries her into the woods, where they have a final conversation about the kiss they shared back on the farm before Henry places the gun to her head. The others hear a gunshot and watch as Henry walks back, refusing to speak of Sarah and giving Alex a glare. Climbing aboard, the group rams the train through the crashed vehicles, now fast on their way to Port Collier.

With fuel low and the brakes damaged, the group are forced to run the train at low speed. Henry leaves the cab when he hears crashing waves and joins Justinas on the roof of the locomotive. The two have a conversation wherin Justinas thanks Henry for all the risks and sacrifices he has made as leader, and says he will continue to follow Henry because he believes that he is their best hope for survival. He finally agrees with Henry that they have to do anything they can to survive, even if that means killing others, and that Henry was right from the start, calling him a soldier and a warrior. While they talk, they spot Holly walking to the front of the locomotive and sit down; Justinas gestures to her, encouraging Henry to speak to her.

Meanwhile, in the front train car, Alex and Jess sit and discuss their unborn child. They struggle to agree on a name, but Alex assures her that he will be there for her and confesses that he still loves her. Jess does not answer and simply hugs him tight, thanking him for his bravery. Alex hides his guilt-ridden face from her before bursting into sobs.

At the front of the train, Henry greets Holly and sits beside her. She asks how his chest is and Henry says he has barely noticed the pain because of everything that has happened. She inquires about James' bruised face, but Henry brushes it off and asks about Jess. Holly reveals that Jess is further along than previously thought and could go into labour within a matter of days, making it imperative that they find somewhere safe for her to give birth and raise her child. Holly also admits that she quite liked the sound of Sarah's idea to turn the school into a community. Henry expresses hope that, somewhere, such an idea has been made into a reality: a community of people, working together, accepting outsiders as one of their own to create a beacon of hope in the new world.

Holly asks how Henry has remained so hopeful despite everything, to which Henry says that he credits it to the hope that Jess and her child offer to humanity, but also to Holly: "brave healers that provide a light in the darkness, ridding woes and pains". Holly asks where that is from, and Henry replies that he once made it up in a literature class. Holly brands him a dork before they share a kiss, and the two sit in silence, watching the landscape around them.

The train continues at a slow pace across Sylvania, and day turns to night. Henry is stationed once more in the cab of the locomotive when he hears an argument over the noise; Emma stomps into the cab followed by James, who shouts that he will not lose her like he lost Daniel; in response, Emma spits at him that she doesn't want to be protected and wants to look out for herself. Henry cuts in and James says that Emma wants to learn how to shoot a gun, which he refuses to show her. Henry argues that Emma is right: she should be able to defend herself, especially now that they have no home to flee to. James puts his face up to Henry and says "you do it" before storming off to the front of the train. Henry sighs and shakes his head before leading Emma to the rear car.

Henry loads his Glock with a spare clip before passing it to Emma and drawing a rough circular target on the opposite wall with a sharpie. He instructs Emma to aim for the centre of the circle, to keep her elbows loose, and to not be afraid of either the gun or the target. While she aims, she asks why James didn't want to show this to her; Henry sighs and responds that he is just worried for her and still sees her as a kid, while Henry does not. He continues to encourage her by promising to treat her as an equal, and Emma is able to fire three consecutive shots on target. Henry congratulates her and informs her to always aim for the head, be that human or walker. Emma hugs Henry and squeezes his fractured ribs. They are interrupted by Ben, drawn by the noise, who also congratulates Emma and gifts him his own Glock 22.

In the cab, Henry and Aaron decide to stop the train so as to allow the engine to cool, and to give the others a rest from the noise. Using wood pallets they find in the back of the train, the group build a fire in the rear car and huddle around it. They share stories about their favourite walker kills and drink from Justinas' secret stash. Aaron asks Liam to tell them about himself, and Liam reveals that he travelled with another group "for a while" until they abandoned him, leaving him alone to live on the train. He confesses that he has killed before, but that he had "good reason". He then plays the group a song on his battered guitar, an acoustic rendition of New Order's "True Faith", that even Justinas sings along to. For the first time in a year, they each realize that they are truly happy. Their joy is cut short when a walker appears in the open doorway, attracted by both the music and their laughter. Cutting festivities short, they decide to rest. Henry takes up watchman shifts with Justinas and falls asleep to the sound of crashing waves.

The next morning, the group discover the train surrounded by walkers, who are unable to climb up and attack them. They decide to continue their journey to Port Collier; in the front car, Henry, Holly, James and Aaron sort out what supplies they could offer to any survivors in Port Collier to secure entry to the safe-zone. Unbenknownst to them, Ben has secluded himself in the rear car to scratch his favourite lyrics into the floor with his knife before leaping from the moving train car.

Noticing Ben's absence, Henry investigates the rear cab and finds the note, as well as Ben's hunting knife. Realizing what has happened, Henry collapses to his knees and screams in agony, punching the hard floor repeatedly. Holly attempts to comfort him but he throws her off, having finally reached his emotional breaking point. He begins pacing madly before standing on the edge of the doorway. He asks Aaron to stop the train so they can fetch Ben's body, but Holly is able to break through to him that they don't have time. Henry desperately tries to convince them and collapses once more onto his knees, sobbing as Holly hugs him. Alex steps forward to offer an explanation for Ben's decision, but Henry roars at him to shut up, barely able to stop himself from revealing Alex's secret.

Some time passes and Henry returns to the locomotive, head in his hands while he twirls Ben's hunting knife. Aaron enters the cab and speaks to him; Henry does not hear him and simply says that he is fine. Aaron suddenly raises his voice, demanding to know how Henry can be "fine" given everything that has happened, and laments that, if Henry has reached his breaking point, everyone else can't have long before they break down too. Henry stands up, apologises for how he was and says that they need to focus on Jess and the child now. Aaron agrees and asks what is going on between him and Alex. Instead of answering, Henry looks past Aaron and beckons behind him. Together, they finally see the city of Port Collier in the distance.

### "Around Every Corner"

The group make their way into the city, searching for the safe-zone. While arguing about whether to stop and rest, the group are ambushed by a large, armed group that surrounds them. The group is introduced to their leader, Francis, who mocks their mission to find a safe have and demands that they accompany his people back to their community, Hopeville, claiming that is the only safe-zone in the entire city that remains. The group are saved by an unseen figure, who gives them cover with homemade smoke grenades. In the ensuing shootout, Aaron is shot in the leg but Henry is able to shoot Francis in the ear. Moving through several burnt houses, the group makes a run for it, ending up at a sealed-up bar, where they find a reanimated group who poisoned themselves with tainted beer. Having made camp at the mansion, the group debates their next move. Deciding to get out of Port Collier, Aaron suggests that they instead take a boat from the port and sail across the narrow portion of water to Michigan. With little choice, the group agree and Henry and Holly decide to head out.

Down at the docks, they find a single small cruising boat remaining that appears to be undamaged; a quick check reveals that both the gas tank and battery are empty. Henry's efforts to start the engine draw in several clusters of walkers that block the way that they came. Henry and Holly end up cornered in an ally with crowds of dead reaching for them, and they solemnly prepare to say goodbye. At that moment, something disperses the walkers and begins cutting away at them from the back of the cluster; the figure emerges and is revealed to be the cloaked swordsmen that saved them earlier. Calling himself Shadowman, the swordsman guides them back to the bar through the sewers, navigating in the dark by clicking his tongue and feeling the rough walls. He reveals he grew up in Port Collier and encountered Francis and his goons before the outbreak.

Arriving back at the bar, Henry and Holly introduce Shadowman to the group and tell them of their discovery at the docks. The group debate where they could find fuel and a battery, as well as medical supplies for when Jess goes into labour. Deciding that they cannot confront Hopeville directly, James proposes that they sneak into the community and steal what they need, and Shadowman - revealing himself to be completely blind - says that he can guide them to the community via the sewers using echolocation.

That night, they navigate the sewers and infiltrate the community, deciding to split up to find the stuff they need. Alex and Shadowman find fuel for the boat, during which time Shadowman reveals that his fellow orphans were killed by Hopeville soldiers. Holly and James search for medicine, where Holly discovers military documents revealing that zombification occurs whether or not the victim has been bitten, and that the disease appeared to mutate early in the outbreak meaning that it no longer kills those who reach a certain age threshold. Meanwhile, James confronts Francis' lieutenant Gregory, who convinces James to let go of his morality; James lets Gregory go and subsequently tries to assault Holly. Henry and Justinas break into a metal works to steal a battery, while Aaron and Liam keep watch from a guard post.

With the supplies collected, the group tries to sneak out, but they are caught by Francis and his people, who were alerted by Gregory. Before they can be killed, however, an bomb set by Shadowman destroys the main wall of the community, allowing a massive herd to enter Hopeville and massacre the residents. In the chaos, Alex is shot in the neck and Liam is presumed killed, and a vengeful Henry joins Shadowman in attacking Francis. Henry shoves Francis down an elevator shaft and the group leaves, with Shadowman departing soon after. As the ruins of Hopeville smoulder, Francis is revealed to be alive when he climbs out of the shaft, bruised, bloody and angry.

### "All That Remains"

As Hopeville burns and the zombie horde begin to disperse through the streets of Port Collier, the team returns to the bar to find Emma closely guarding Jess, who demands to know where Liam, Shadowman and Alex are. Henry reveals that Liam is missing, Shadowman departed, and falters when telling her about Alex. When she figures it out, Jess breaks down in tears. Henry, exhausted and frustrated, orders the group to pack up and head for the boat. When the others refuse, he lets out all of his pent-up frustrations, saying he never wanted leadership in the first place and is now shouldering all of the losses that they have suffered on himself. He warns them that both walkers and vengeful Hopeville soldiers are flooding the city and that they are not longer safe, and need to go. When Justinas and Holly back him up, the others quickly fall in line and pack up their equipment.

Using the zombie camouflage technique that Henry discovered in Renton, the group are able to move through the immense walker herds to the docks, where they tragically discover the boat has been sabotaged. Inside the boathouse, they are confronted by Francis and two of his surviving lieutenants, Randall and Gregory. Henry tries to talk Francis down, but he refuses and fires a single shot that ignites a gas leak. The group are separated in the following explosion, and a dazed Henry is forced to go toe-to-toe with Francis. Using Henry's condition as an advantage, Francis disarms him and almost kills him before Holly emerges from the smoke to shove Francis through a broken wall and into the water below. Meanwhile, Justinas and Aaron battle and kill Randall, while Gregory sneakily escapes in the chaos when James refuses once more to kill him. James grabs Emma by the arm and tries to drag her out, but she escapes his grasp and heads into the fire to help the others. She comes across a bleeding, coughing Jess and helps her walk.

In the smoke, the others desperately search for Jess, only for Henry to become trapped under falling debris. Aaron digs him out, only to be killed by Francis when he drives his pickaxe into the back of Aaron's head. In a fit of rage, Henry grabs a burning piece of wood and stabs it into Francis' leg. Ordering the others to clear out the incoming walkers and escape, Henry decides to battle Francis alone, armed only with Ben's knife and using his empty gun as a primitive knuckleduster. With Francis now limping, the two find themselves an even match until Jess, Emma by her side, appears and strikes Francis over the head with a metal piece of debris. Striking Francis over the face with his gun, Henry is able to almost remove Francis' hand by stabbing him in the wrist before stabbing him wildly in the torso. As Francis drops to his knees, he spits some last words as Henry prepares to finish him. However, a gunshot suddenly rings out and Francis goes limp, a hole in his forehead, before falling backwards into the walker-infested water. Henry turns to see the killer: Emma, holding her Glock out in front of her. The two exchange a look before Henry calls out once more for the group to get out.

As they flee for the entrance, the floor beneath them collapses; Henry ends up holding on for dear life as he dangles over walker-infested waters, while James helps Emma to her feet. Henry pleads for James' help, but his friend simply looks at him before leaving him. With walkers reaching for his feet, Henry tries desperately to claw his way up, but is finally rescued by Justinas, who pulls him up. Justinas tells him that everyone is out, but as they make their way out a roofbeam crashes down, trapping Justinas in a pile of burning wood. Henry tries to dig him out, but Justinas calmly pleads for him to run. Although Henry refuses to leave him behind, Justinas gives a final salute before the floor beneath him collapses, seemingly crushing Justinas to death. Henry screams in agony before he is finally - and forcefully - pulled out of the building by Holly, just seconds before the entire structures collapses. Holly holds Henry back as he tries to get back into the ruins and hugs him tight when he falls to his knees in defeat.

The remaining Clarkson Survivors are forced to move into the nearby Iron Mountain State Forest to avoid a herd of walkers. As they head further into the forest, Jess goes into labour; while Holly and Emma tend to her, an antagonistic Henry and James are forced to help each other clear out the incoming walkers. They use up their last bullets in the fight, leaving Henry's knife as their only weapon. Jess successfully gives birth to a baby boy, who she names Alex Junior.

With the herd close behind, the group are forced to head deeper into the park, hoping the trees and uneven ground will slow the herd. Exhausted, they finally make camp deep inside the forest. While James goes to patrol, Emma sleeps and Jess rests with her son, Henry and Holly head off into a nearby clearing to talk. They both accept that heading back to the train may be the best move, but they should remain in the forest until the herd clears. They then hear a chilling scream and rush back to the campsite, where they discover Emma staring in horror at a zombified Jess, having succumbed to infection and exhaustion. Holly uses her last bullet to kill Jess and then vomits in horror when she discovers what Jess was eating: her own newborn child, who has already reanimated due to his age. Out of bullets and armed only with broken weapons, Henry forces himself to crush the child's skull under his boot, a move that horrifies him and sends him to his knees in shock and horror.

James then reappears from the gloom, demanding to know what has happened. Holly stutters about Jess' death before James takes out his gun, having been hoarding bullets for himself. He begins ranting at Henry that everything he has done has led to nothing but death and misery, and he has made the decision to leave the group. He begins packing a bag and tells Emma to do the same; when Henry tries to stop him from taking food, James suddenly aims his gun at his chest, ordering him to back off. He continues to rant that he should kill Henry "to avenge everyone else" and shouts at Emma to hurry up and pack. However, he pauses when he hears a gun cocking, and turns to see Emma aiming her Glock right at him. Henry says that Emma doesn't want to go with him, and Emma refuses to lower the gun when James tells her to. A manic James then points the gun at her before he screams at her that he is her "father" and she should do as he says.

Henry seizes the chance and rushes James, getting to him just before James realizes what is happening. Henry grabs James' arm and pushes him against a tree, ordering him to drop the gun. James appears to realize what he is doing and tries to beg Henry and Emma for forgiveness; when nobody answers him, James silently packs his stuff and departs into the darkness without a goodbye.

The remaining trio wrap Jess and her child in the tent and bury them in the nearby clearing, a task that Henry does alone with his bare hands. The trio then head even deeper into the park and finally stumble upon a large shack, which they discover to be an abandoned ranger station packed with food, weapons and other supplies. Deciding to hold up there for a while, Henry heads out to check that the area is safe. Instead, he finds Holly, her pistol loaded with a bullet they found, as she puts her gun to her head, sobbing that they failed and that there is nothing to live for anymore. Determined to stop her, Henry hugs her and says they will go out together. Unable to take both their lives, Holly puts the gun down. Henry calms her by saying that they still have a reason to keep going: Emma. Holly tearfully accepts and returns to the shack while Henry heads out to a nearby cliff.

Henry reaches an outcrop offering a sensational view of the park. where he sits and broods. A flashback reveals that, while on a supply run, a drunken Henry and Jess slept together a few weeks before she revealed her pregnancy, possibly making him the biological father of her child. Consumed by guilt over his actions and how he treated Alex in his final days, Henry briefly considers throwing himself from the edge before he silently promises to "live for his crimes" and returns to the forest.

## Characters

### Main

* Henry Ward
* Holly Parker
* James Cottingham
* Sarah Terringham
* Justinas Garin
* Aaron Bailey
* Alex Sutton
* Jess Black
* Ben Appleby
* Emma Goode
* Daniel Miller

### Secondary

* Francis
* Andre
* Matthew Mitchell
* Kyle Mitchell
* Liam
* Shadowman

## Deaths

* Mr Dawid *(alive & zombified)*
* Crying Girl *(alive)*
* Bandit 1
* Matthew Mitchell
* Kyle Mitchell
* Lisa
* Andre
* Daniel Miller
* Sarah Terringham
* Ben Appleby
* Alex Sutton
* Randall
* Aaron Bailey
* Francis
* Jess Black
* Alex Junior
* At least 50 unnamed students
* At least 4 unnamed teachers
* Six unnamed bandits

## Trivia

* Below are the confirmed differences between the original and the rewrite.
	+ The zombies function drastically differently compared to the original; instead of being shuffling monsters immediately from the point of reanimation, the zombies in the remake reanimate with all of their bodily functions, including speed, strength and agility, and eventually degenerate into the more classic form of zombie.
	+ The Clarkson Survivors are now be seventeen years of age, instead of sixteen as they were in the original; this was done to accompany the darker themes that will be featured in the rewrite. Several members of the group have had their names and relationships partially changed.
		- While still referred to as "Henry", the protagonist will be named Henry Ward, with "Henry" simply being a nickname.
		- Justinas Grant has been renamed to Justinas Garin, whose surname means "guardian".
		- Aaron Ganger has been renamed Aaron Dayal, whose surname is a Sanskrit word meaning "compassionate".
		- Emma Cottingham has been renamed Emma Goode; in addition, she is no longer James' younger sister but a young American student that James begins to protect.
		- Daniel Cottingham has been renamed Daniel Miller, a special needs student that the group takes in and protects.
		- In addition, the character Ashleigh will no longer be featured.
	+ Matthew and Kyle, while remaining brothers, will no longer be members of the Mitchell Family, although the Family will appear in some manner. The brothers are also no longer related to Andre or Lisa.
	+ Shadowman will not be born blind and will have facial injuries that relate to his blindness.

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