Say Goodbye to America/ Scatter 7

Gone
''Niklas wakes with a start. One of his leg hairs had been pulled off. One near the top of his foot''

Alex: Surprising! I thought it would take awhile to wake him up. Well, Nils, I owe you a Crunch bar

Nils: Yes you do. Pay up

Alex reaches in his back pocket and pulls out a half melted chocolate bar

Nils: It’s half empty and half melted, dammit!

Alex: You said you wanted a Crunch bar

He turns to Niklas, who is glaring angrily

Alex: Woah! Be glad it was leg hair! Izabel wanted it to be pubic hair. I’m not going near that thing. >sighs< Nils, get Gregory

Nils: But Niklas here is my buddy. Gregory said so---

Alex: But Gregory left me in charge and I said go get him. Copy?

''Nils walks away. Alex sighs''

Alex: Asshole, right?

Niklas doesn’t respond

Alex: C'mon. It's true. Admit it

Niklas doesn’t respond

Alex: Hey. Respond dammit!

Niklas says nothing

Alex: >grabs Niklas’ face< Look at me when I talk to you God dammit!

''Niklas spits in Alex’s face. Alex slaps him. Niklas sniffles a bit''

Alex: The fuck? You gonna cry, kid? You gonna cry?

Niklas: Fuck off

''He hits Niklas again. And then again. Niklas sucks the blood back into his nose, but to no avail. The blood pours faster than Niklas can breathe in. It reaches his upper lip and moves down the side of his mouth. Gregory walks in with Nils and sees Alex’s “masterpiece”''

Gregory: The hell happened here?

Alex: Wouldn’t talk. Wouldn’t listen. Wouldn’t pay attention

Gregory: You know they’ll be looking for him, right? They’ll want to make a deal. We can’t make a deal if he looks like he was attacked by a bear. You stupid fuck. Go… go get Maxwell and Reid and scout the area. No doubt they’re searching for us too

-

Dex: Should we split up now? It seems as though the tracks go off in another direction

Jason: I think so. We don’t know if the dead or the living made these tracks

Leo: Alright, but be careful. They could be hunting us, too. Take these walkie talkies and keep in contact if you need help

''Dex goes to the right while Jason and Leo go straight and left, respectively. Dex thinks of his days as a baker. How in the hell does baking help tracking? It doesn’t. He just picked it up quickly working with Leo. He stands by a tall oak and remembers baking a cake for his best friend’s wedding. Oh boy, what a disaster the wedding turned out to be. His friend, Andrew, and Andrew’s wife, Abigail, couldn’t decide whether or not to get vanilla or chocolate, so they went with both instead. Two or three layers? That took a week to decide. What kind of frosting? That also took a week to decide. Can you make it gluten-free? That was an easy question to answer: No. But the worst was when Abigail assumed Dex was bringing a male “friend” to the wedding. All because he was the baker. If it wasn’t for Andrew, Dex would have told her to get another baker. Dex never really knew what sex preferred. He had a boyfriend once. He had three girlfriends as well. Then he had a girlfriend who wanted to be a man. And even after the sex change, he stayed with him for several months before his partner’s untimely death in a helicopter accident. Dex was devastated, but strangely relieved. Remembering his past, he forgot to watch and listen. Right into the grasp of Maxwell''

Maxwell: Well, well, well. What do we have here?

Dex has no time to act before he is hit in the head with a wooden bat and dragged by the legs to Alex

Maxwell: Gregory was right. They are hunting us, too

''Jason is having the best of luck compared to his blond friend. He found Niklas. He looked, from a distance, inside his tent and saw the poor boy, beaten and bruised. Jason felt sorry and scared for the boy. He begins to head back the way he did and calls Leo on the radio''

Jason: Leo, I found him. He’s in a tent out my way. I’m heading back now

''Leo, hearing Jason’s voice, begins heading back himself. He tries to bring Dex on the radio, but gets no response. He stupidly shrugs it off. He gets another call from Jason, asking him to instead meet him halfway, as Jason went farther and faster than he realized. Leo begins to head back towards Jason, stopping near Gregory’s campsite to see four men standing near him, Dex on the ground. Jason is in an uncomfortable position, Reid’s knife against his throat''

Reid: Hey there Leo. How are you doing today? Jason and I were just talking

Maxwell: Dex and I were, too. Although, he isn’t saying much now

Jason: Help me, Leo

Alex: Shut up!

''Alex hits Jason across the face. Leo draws his gun''

Alex: Woah, woah. We’re not here to harm anyone. We’re here to talk. Right Reid? Maxwell?

Both: Right

Alex: You see, Niklas wasn’t cooperative. We had to, cut a few things loose. You know. His belt loop, his binds, his throat

Jason: Don’t believe him! Niklas is alright!

Alex: I said shut up

''Alex raises his hand to slap Jason when he hears the click of Leo’s safety coming off. Alex slowly lowers his hand''

Alex: Like I said, we’re just gonna talk. But only Leo and I, not you, Jason

He boops Jason on the nose

Alex: So! Let’s talk. Hermano a hermano. I took spanish for the required two years in high school. I know some here in there. Nevermind. Niklas told us you have almost sixty people! That’s a lot of people nowadays. Surely, though, they don’t all know how to fight. Now, we’re reasonable men and women. Normally, we kill three or four before introducing ourselves. With you, though, we killed the girl who looked like she was gonna attack you. You’re welcome. It was my call by the way. Brooks took the shot. Anyway, Niklas failed to mention where y’all are located. It would be easier if you told us now. You see, we can strike a deal. Some people in our group, like our buddy Reid here, like killing and raping. In exchange for half the supplies you come across, we’ll protect you from these sick bastards, and even the dead ones. But we need to know where you’re located

Leo: We’re good thank you

Alex: Are you sure? This is a good offer

Leo: We could meet you here, by the Target then. Exchange there. It looks like you guys happen to grow some crops here. We could exchange canned and boxed goods for home-grown goods. No one has to die. Bring this up to Gregory, he’ll be fine with it. Or I could meet with him and explain the offer

Alex ponders this suggestion for a moment

Alex: You know, that’s a good idea. And I mean it. I can get Gregory and you can explain this further

Reid: Are you fucking serious?

Alex: Gregory isn’t too pleased with me right now, so this might be better. He’s not insane, just angry at times

Alex walks off, leaving Maxwell and Reid with Jason, Leo and the still unconscious Dex

Jason: >looks up towards Reid< This could work. We could be adversaries, not enemies

Reid: >looks towards Maxwell< What do you think?

Maxwell: I think you should do it. >Looks towards Leo<  See, Alex might have liked the idea. But Reid and I, we don’t like it very much. We don’t like it at all

Leo has a perplexed look on his face

''Reid has a closed mouth smile and chuckles a bit before pressing his knife deeper into Jason’s throat and pulling his right arm to the right. Both Jason and Leo’s faces turn to that of horror. Reid lets Jason’s body flop to the ground''

Leo: NO!

''Leo fires his gun at Reid’s head. It hit’s the big man in between the eyes. Maxwell looks in disgust at Reid’s now disfigured face as Leo fires at him too. The bullet grazes Maxwell’s right cheek and he flops on his side to the ground. Leo walks up to the bleeding man''

Maxwell: >Clutching his cheek< Augh! Please man, don’t kill me

''Leo, seething with anger, shoots Maxwell again, this time in the leg, right around the femoral artery. He hears Alex and Gregory moving closer to the the sound of the gunshot. Only they’re being followed by a larger group, too many for Leo to take on his own. Leo picks up Dex and carries him out of sight''

-

''Tess and Meredith are searching for clothes down in the women’s section. Mostly bras''

Meredith: Alright, spill it

Tess: Spill what?

Miranda: Why you came here

Tess: I wanted to help. And it stinks in the laundromat. Not a huge fan of weed smell. Jason and Fish still stink of pot even days after they toke.

Meredith: Well, I came for the search for Niklas. I figured you did, too. He’s a good kid. We can’t lose another. I’m worried about Leo, Dex and Jason, though. They haven’t returned yet

- Leo: Fuck! Dex, stay with me you bastard!

''Leo lifts Dex onto his back and begins to carry him back the way he did. There is no blood coming from his head, but the blond man still does not move. Leo increases his pace, certain his attackers will follow. Instead of turning back towards the Target, however, he turns to his right and leads his attackers in another direction. Gregory, finding where Leo’s tracks turn, stops his group. It consists of eight other soldiers''

Gregory: Elena, take Patrick and Bryce follow these tracks. Michael, you stay here with Spencer and spread out, in case he heads back. I’ll keep going forward with the rest of you to see if they were stupid enough to return to the Target. Understood?

Elena: Yes Gregory. Patrick, Bryce, you heard him. Let’s move

''The two groups split off, leaving Spencer and Michael standing in the same spot, armed and ready. Michael attempts to engage in small talk to pass the time''

Michael: Spence! You want some gum?

Spencer: What flavor you got?

Michael: Juicy Fruit. My favorite

Spencer: Sure, I’ll take a piece

''Michael reaches into his pocket and pulls out a stick of gum. He tosses it to Spencer, who just barely catches it. He unwraps it, sticks it in his mouth and begins chewing. Instantly, he is hit with a mixture of banana and pineapple, which soothes his tastebuds''

Spencer: We should spread out, cover some more ground, in case they decide to do a big loop

Spencer begins to walk towards the left, leaving Michael behind, alone

-

Elena, Patrick and Bryce make their way through the woods, following what they assume to be Leo’s tracks.

Patrick: How many bullets you got, Elena?

Elena: Full clip. You?

Patrick: Half

Elena: Where’d the rest of your clip go?

Patrick: Used it on Thursday. Didn’t want to waste five bullets. Save them for when I needed them. How about you, Bryce?

Bryce: Full. I came prepared

''The three carry the same kind of gun: Colt 45. Standard issue for Gregory’s group. How he got that many, they’ll never know. Rumors spark throughout the camp, but Gregory has neither confirmed nor denied any. The mystery keeps them up at night. Most have revealed their former lives, but not Gregory. Elena was a high school math teacher in her fourth year. Patrick worked as a custodian in a mall. Bryce was a Youtube celebrity with over 5 million subscribers. But Gregory, one could only imagine what he did. How he became who he is now''

Bryce:  I feel like I’m in Call of Duty. Or maybe Richard Connell's The Most Dangerous Game.

Patrick:  Stay focused, bud. They could be anywhere. I don’t wanna die because you weren’t paying attention

Bryce:  Don’t worry, Patrick. I’m focused, I’m calm, I’m alert, I’m ….

''He is suddenly cut short of his sentence by a sharp pain in his solar plexus. He gasps for air as he looks down and sees the handle of a knife sticking in his chest. He drops to his knees as the other two look on in horror. As Bryce drops, the other two see a figure standing in front of him, gun aimed right at them. Leo holds his Colt Anaconda and cocks the hammer back. Elena and Patrick look at him with fear in their eyes.''

Leo: Drop the guns. Now!

''The pair comply. Patrick begins to slowly back away''

Leo: Stop!

''Patrick turns and begins running. Leo fires at him, but misses. Elena reaches down for her gun, but Leo quickly cocks the hammer and shoots her hand before it can reach her gun. He cocks it again, with his final bullet, and shoots her in the head''

-

''Spencer walks aimlessly around the woods. He can not stand Michael, and Gregory knows this. So why, Spencer wonders, would he have to be with his least favorite person in the group? Michael constantly annoys Spencer with random trivia from the days before the outbreak. Whether it’s useless facts about possibly deceased actors and actresses or it’s about everything inside an Arby’s Loaded Italian sandwich, Michael will be on the topic for hours. If Spencer hadn’t split off, Michael probably would have gone in depth about how the Juicy Fruit is made and packaged for sale. Spencer keeps walking, keeping pace to the song in his head, tapping his left hip with his left hand with the beat of the drum, humming along to himself. He thinks about turning back to the camp, about leaving Michael alone in the woods. He begins walking back towards camp''

-

''Michael stands exactly where Spencer left him. He looks to his left, then his right, and sees nothing. He thinks about what he had for breakfast this morning. Maria made coffee. She wouldn’t explain how she made it, but she still did it anyway. He was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted. He took it black, how he always enjoyed his coffee. “Cream might cool it down”, he used to say, “but I always like it hotter. And if I add sugar, I’ll want to keep adding it until it’s only sugar and not coffee”. He was a sugar fan.''

''Suddenly, he heard a snap of a twig in the woods, and rustling leaves. He looked to his left, then his right. It was a squirrel. And now, Michael forgot what he was thinking about. So he tried to sing a song to himself.''

Michael:  Do-do-do do do, ba-do da do do. Do-do-do do do, ba-do da do do. Fly like an eagle… to the sea. Fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me. I want to fly

He hummed the beat and looked to his left, then his right

Michael: Time keeps on slipping… slipping… slipping. Into the future

''He suddenly hears more rustling in the leaves off to his right. He heard the gunshots a few minutes earlier, but there were too many and too spread out to be Elena’s, Patrick’s or Bryce’s. He feared the worst for his people. He saw what Leo did to Reid, saw the tracks of how far away he was. He knew Leo was a good shot, able to pop a bullet between the eyes from that distance. This had to be Leo coming towards him. He aims his gun right towards the sound of the footsteps, waiting to catch a glimpse at the man. Beads of sweat drip down his forehead. He is nervous. He has never shot at a living person before, only the dead. To calm himself, he sings the song''

Michael: Time keeps on slipping… slipping… slipping. Into the future

''There he is! The shadow of the figure moving towards him. He puts his finger on the trigger, waiting for the large man to come into his view. He sees his leg move forward, then chest. Michael squeezes the trigger, spraying several bullets into the other man’s chest, until he runs out and the gun clicks. Michael lets go of the trigger and watches the man drop backwards. Michael runs towards his victim with a smile on his face. He is ecstatic, he killed a bad guy! He keeps running towards the dead body. He stands over, and his face turns to horror. On the ground is not the body of Leo, but the body of another man. Patrick Henderson, a man of only 32 years, lies on the ground, with blood pooled from his chest, eyes wide open, as though he is staring up in shock at his accidental killer. Michael looks around in fear, in case anyone nearby heard the shots and is running towards him. He looks to his left, then his right. He cannot leave Patrick to turn. Michael aims the butt of his gun at Patrick’s head and smashes his skull three times, before running off back to his camp''

-

''Gregory leads a small group of Rick, Gavin and Colin. He stops at the edge of the woods, near the Target.''

Gregory: There it is. I knew they’d be stupid enough to come here

Rick: Should we enter? Make ourselves known

Colin:  Did you hear the gunshots? Chances are, they heard it too, and are on alert. We cannot enter now

Gavin: Yeah, but that was so many gunshots. I don’t think everyone made it back alright

Gregory: But we know where they are. We can sneak around back, make them know not to mess with us. Alex said Leo proposed a deal, which I do not doubt. But it was a trap, so he could kill Maxwell and Reid. But at least we got one of his. Move to the right, we’ll attack midday tomorrow

-

''Michael moves slowly through the woods, still singing the song. If he sings, his group will know not to shoot him like he did Patrick. That’s right, Michael can’t be at fault for Patrick’s death. Patrick didn’t make his presence known. Anyone would have shot him''

Michael: Time keeps on slipping… slipping… slipping. Into the future. Time keeps on slipping… slipping… slipping. Into the future

''He stops next to a tree and plops himself on the ground. He holds his knees and places his head in his arms. He begins to cry. Through his tears, he sings the song''

Michael: Time keeps on slipping… slipping… slipping. Into the future. Fly like an eagle. To the sea. Fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me. I want to fly

''He hears twigs cracking very close to him. He lifts his head up, then slowly lifts himself off the ground. He bends down and picks up his gun, then walks around the tree. He looks to his left, and is suddenly attacked by a dead one. It has the build and face of Maxwell, with the hunger of a biter. Michael is unable to fire a single shot from the empty chamber of his gun. He pushed the biter away with his arm, but Maxwell bites down on it without struggle, tearing away the skin''

Michael: AAAAUUUGH!

''Maxwell pushes the frail Michael down onto his back and tears into the poor boy’s throat with his teeth. Michael stops screaming, only managing a gurgle from the blood flowing out of his mouth. Maxwell turns to the next chunk of flesh on Michael’s body and begins tearing at his stomach''

-

''Spencer begins running towards the sound of the screaming. He knows not who it comes from, but he moves as quickly as possible to help. He stops short when he sees the awful sight. He cannot see the face of the man being eaten, but he can tell by the clothes of the biter that it is Maxwell, who was not put down after being shot in the leg and bled out. Spencer aims his gun at the inattentive biter’s head and fires once. The body of his former friend slumps down onto his victim’s legs. Spencer moves closer. The face, although bloody, becomes recognizable to Spencer. Michael. Although Spencer did not enjoy his presence, he cannot leave him like this. Michael might be dead, but Spencer’s code is to never let anyone suffer life after death. He sighs, before aiming his gun at his ally and pulling the trigger''

-

''It is dark now. Leo carries Dex out of the woods and walks in the direction of the Target. He hears the sound of guns being aimed in his direction. He stops''

Leo: It’s Leo. I’ve got Dex on my shoulders

Dimitri and Otis lower their guns

Otis: Jason? Where’s he at?

Leo: Gone. They killed him. Sliced his throat

Dimitri: >sighs< We heard the shots. Aaron has more people on watch now. Eric and Phillip are watching from the road

Otis:  Did you at least put Jason down?

Leo: No, I had to run. I picked up Dex and ran. Killed two who followed me and made my way back here

Dimitri: So they’ll be coming this way?

Leo: I don’t think so. I went in a curve. They’ll only be finding their dead and undead

''The three stop talking with the sound of two trucks approaching. They stop out on the edge of the Target''

Eric: Stop! Who is it?

Tim:  It’s Tim! Paul and Warren are here, too. Scott called and said he needed us

Phillip: He’s inside right now, getting rest

Warren: We’ll see him in the morning, then

''The three walk in the direction of Leo, Otis, Dimitri and Dex. The trio stop when they see them''

Warren: Leo, always good to see you

Leo: What are you three doing here?

Paul: Scott sent for us to help reinforce this place. Make it a stronghold. It’s big enough to fit all 60 of us in here. Did you find Niklas?

Leo: He’s alive, but we couldn’t rescue him. We’re going out with more tomorrow. Otis, Dimitri, Gary, Nathan, Meredith, maybe Tess.

Dimitri: And how’s Dex?

Leo: >sighs< He’s alive. I can hear him breathing. He got hit on the head or something. I don’t know

Eric: Bring him inside. Taylor will check on him tomorrow. Besides, Scott is up for watch

''Eric and Dimitri open the doors. Leo, carrying Dex, Warren, Paul and Tim walk inside. Eric nudges Scott to wake him up and hands him the rifle. Scott rubs his eyes, picks up his portable MP3 player and headphones, grabs the gun and walks outside. He stands on guard and clips the player to his belt loop. He presses play. Porcupine Tree’s “Hatesong” begins to play. The bass opens the song while the drums kick in. Scott nods his head to the beat. This is his fourth favorite track on the album, but still a classic. He begins to walk around. The lyrics kick in as he sees a biter move towards him. He pulls out a knife. “This is a hate song just meant for you. I thought that I'd write it down while I still could”. He stabs the biter in the head before turning back to his position. “Oh it's a lonely life in my empty bed. And it's a quiet life that leaks from my head”. He turns and looks out back at the night.''

Main:
Daniel Day-Lewis as Todd Andrews (Does Not Appear)

Edward Norton as Phillip James

Wayne Brady  as Aaron Meyer (Mentioned Only)

David Henrie  as Garrett Smith (Does Not Appear)

Rachel McAdams as Jenny Hanson (Does Not Appear)

James McAvoy as Timothy West (Does Not Appear)

Chris Pine as Ryan "Fish" West (Does Not Appear)

Christa Miller as Elizabeth Hill (Does Not Appear)

Martin Csokas as Leo

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Otis

Michael Madsen as Gregory Ames

Also Starring:
Nicholas Hoult  as Matt Graham (Does Not Appear)

Cory Smith as Eric Dugan

Ellen Hollman as Meredith

Will Tudor as Dexter Hubbard

Brandon Jay McLaren as Alex

Samm Levine as Scott Cleary (No Lines)

E. Roger Mitchell as Warren Smith

Josh Helman as Spencer

Co-Starring:
Jason Momoa as Nathan (Mentioned Only)

Carmen Bicondova as Tess

JoAnna Garcia as Taylor Burns (Mentioned Only)

Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Niklas

Jason Earles as Nils

Daphnée Duplaix as Maria (Mentioned Only)

Eugene Byrd as Gavin Foxx

Jamie Pressly as Elena

Lawrence Kao as Paul

Domhnall Gleeson as Jason LePage

Christine Evangelista as Izabel (Mentioned Only)

Marcus Henderson as Tim

Seth Numrich as Michael

Oliver Stark as Patrick Henderson

Lincoln Castellanos as Bryce

Mike Seal as Colin

Kenny Wormald as Reid

Nathan Jones as Maxwell

Guest Starring:
Tom Hardy as Dimitri Vanderbilt

Quentin Tarantino  as Rick Murphy

Deaths
Jason LePage

Reid

Maxwell

Elena

Patrick Henderson

Bryce

Michael

Trivia

 * First Appearance of Spencer
 * First Appearance of Colin
 * First (And Last) Appearance of Michael
 * First (And Last) Appearance of Reid
 * First (And Last) Appearance of Maxwell
 * First (And Last) Appearance of Patrick Henderson
 * First (And Last) Appearance of Bryce
 * Last Appearance of Jason LePage
 * Last Appearance of Elena
 * The song Michael sings is Fly Like and Eagle by the Steve Miller Band
 * Eight  Series Regular Cast members Do Not Appear: Daniel Day Lewis, Wayne Brady, David Henrie, Rachel McAdams, James McAvoy, Chris Pine, Christa Miller, and Nicholas Hoult