In the final episode of "We're Alive: A Story of Survival," the survivors meet their enemy in the heart of his lair.
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The Mutual Audio Network
We're Alive: Chapter 4 - The Ink Runs Dry - Series Finale(073024)
It's time for Tuesday Terror here on the Mutual Audio Network. Be sure to leave the lights on while you listen. The following audio drama is rated R and is recommended restricted for anyone under the age of 17. Broadcast powers the world's best podcasts. I've got a gay rooster named Francois. So why don't more people know this? I'm Owen Ever. I'm Laine Capon-Lovenson. And this is a field guide to gay animals. A podcast about queerness in the natural world. The animal kingdom is queer and we are a part. Find a field guide to gay animals on Spotify, Apple. Or wherever you get your podcasts. A cast helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts everywhere, acast.com. We're a lie, a story of survival. After 48, the ink runs dry. She's on her way to Dunbar. Are you going to be okay? Can we go? I'll be fine. All right. Just go. Quit. Kill that bitch. I will. Wait a minute, get there. Shit, no one's just funding. Damn it. We're pinned down. They control the stairwell, but we can at least get them off the floor, right? I'll try. Give me a gun already. Come on. You ain't getting through now. Justice is back. You hurt yourself again and just make things worse for us. Oh, I can't see a thing. Where's my flash? Get out of my ammo and keep this up all day. I can close these doors and seal them off. Protect us, fight. Hey, got her. Hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey. What? They're calling out for her. She's not on this floor then. Move up. Shit. I'll hold them off here. We don't really have her. You idiot. You're just squelting them. We have to get up there. Look at this. Hey, hey, hey, hey. Listen to me. Got it? Come down that hall and you're done. We can't get to them from here, not like this. Good pegs and hope have already gone out through the fire escape? Listen, they were on the sixth floor and there's no way to get out from there. They'd have to make it to the seventh. With all the bullet holes and the cereal, I don't think they try to run for it. And if there's a chance to do anything, I need to know exactly where they are. And now. Oh, no. I just told Scratch the pegs. Hey. You stay focused. She's not dead yet. Right? What can we do? We're stuck. Let me think. Okay. There's three of them that we know about. Two going up and one there at the end of the hall. Maybe one more if someone's by the minigun still, but they wouldn't want to shoot their own going up the stairs. Scratch will take her time checking the floors above us. They don't know how many people are here and neither do we. Pegs and the others could have gotten out by now. What we need is the cameras that be back on and to find out where everyone is. Okay. Ha. We don't have power. They cut the lines. There's a garbage shoe around the corner away from the stairwell. Get to it. Both of you. Head down and take this with you. These extension cords should be long enough. Connect us back to the generators in the basement. The cameras here are passive. If you connect the power, I'll be able to see everything again. What if they are in the basement? There's no reason for them to go there, but if they did, then be ready. What would be stuck down there? How do we get back up? There's a small arsenal in one of the cages. Remember the code A1B2. Once I see exactly where they are and you put the body armor on, I'll guide you to come up behind them. All right. I can do that. Tonya, you're the only other set of legs we got. Come in. I will not let her get near my grandson. Are you going to be okay in here? By yourself? Hold you. Give me a gun. We can put him by the door. He just has to keep them out of the hall, right? Boy, I wish I didn't just drug him. I only got to pull the trigger. Yeah. All right, all right, all right. Give me a hand with him. Okay. I got this. You got to go. Now, here, we only got two police radios left. Take one. Give yourself enough slack with the power cord and be as quiet as you can. I will. Ready? I'll cover you. Go. I'll go first. Hurry. Two. Gross. Nothing's responding on Cody. I think some of the wheels are still spinning, but that's it. What do we do now? It's ink still watching? I don't see him, but who knows? Are we going to turn around? Go back home. How can we? We're this close. It's a bit fuzzy, but it looks like he just pulled out the detonators. If we can reconnect them, there's still a chance. But we've got to go down there to do it, right? Not all of us. Just one. What? You? By yourself? No way. They already tried to bite me. They can't change me. And I can move quietly. You two are noisy as hell with all that gear. Everything I've got to do is reconnect the timer, right? And get back. I know the way to Cody. I got the map you drew. That's a lot less risky than trying to move three of us there. You know that. I got my rifle and the katana. You keep them out of gum. That's still too noisy to move with, but I've got to take the MBGs. Yeah. But no, no. You can't let him go, though. I don't care. I don't know how easy we are. He's right. Right now, it's better if it's just him. Get your earpiece in. We'll also see you on the video feed from Cody. That's still holding out. What the hell are you talking about? Who's going to have his back? Come on. Victor, we don't have time. Any minute those things could start pouring back in here from outside. All right. I think I got everything. But we're so far in already. I got to do this. Okay? Yeah. But hey. Hey, I know. I know. Yeah. Just checking. You hear me? Yeah. Go on. Hey, I got this. Just shut your door. Are you down there? Did you make it yet? Yeah. The extension curtain wasn't long enough to reach the generators, but looking for another sound work. Hurry. I don't know how much longer we have. I didn't get that opportunity on the chat. I didn't get that opportunity on the chat. I didn't get it. I missed the chat. I got it. All right. Citizen's coming up. That's where I saw it. Check it. Shit. Found her. Scratch is on the fourth, right above us. Shoot through the ceiling. Too thick. Where's our group? I'm looking. We're at the cage. Gonna open it now. Found them. Everyone's in the baby's room on the six. They're hiding in there. Well, she's going to find them if they stay. I know. Shit. I'm going to shut up so I can make sure. Come on. Come on. Think. Think. I'm going to talk to her. All right. We're getting the gun to armor. Should we head up and fix-- Wait. The monitor. What? Fine. The box. You threw away Kelly for the baby monitor. Find it quick. What are you doing? I might be able to talk to her. She won't be able to talk to me, but at least I can still see her. Kelly's looking for it now. And diapers. Hurry. I found it. Okay. What's the frequency for it? There should be some logo and small print or something. 49.3 M-H-E-Migures? Okay. Okay. Okay, pegs. Let's hope you still have it on. PEGS. PEGS. Turn off the other baby monitor I need to talk to you. I hear you. I think she can. PEGS. PEGS. It's me. Everyone's okay. She hears you. On the video monitor, I can see pegs look left for a moment, realizing that we were with her now. She grabbed the monitor and looked up at the camera. I could see on her face the panic starting to leave, knowing they weren't alone. But then I saw a scratch and the other guy coming slowly back towards the stairwell and headed in her direction. Nothing? I need to talk to her. Hold on. PEGS. Scratch is here. I need you to get to the hall right now. Oh my God. And the fire extinguisher box. There's a hidden pistol. Here? No one's in your hall. I need you to grab the gun, go to the stairwell and shoot down. No. Doesn't matter where you just need to slow down their search. No. No. No. You have to. Now. Scratch. If she makes it up there, you have to push her back. Do you hear me? Okay. Do it. Do it. No. No. What do we do? There's only three of them. But the third is in a defendable position in the stairwell. You won't be able to sneak up on him. And what do we do? Just hold on. PEGS was now in the hallway with hope and hope behind her. She grabbed the gun from the extinguisher box and headed to the stairwell. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. He's waking. Get him to me. Here. Here. Take him. Here. Take him. Here. Okay. Okay. You heard her. Go. Now. We'll wait here. Oh. There's another gun in there. Fourth floor clear. Move up. Hold up. Is that you darling? Huh? Oh no. Hope. Shh. They want it. Oh no. Hope. Shh. They want it. What is you? Isn't it? She's here. You sure? You want to start towards in the place? A baby? Oh. He's that. I knew being patient would pay off, but I don't know why we'd get everything all at once. No. You. You'll stay the fuck away from him. Oh. Look at you. There's a bunk now. We saw it inside. Silled off your windows, huh? That's too bad. Hold up on your fire. We wouldn't want to hurt the baby, would we? Pigs hasn't held back in Mr. Well. Looks like they're taunting her. Hang in their pigs. What now? Can she make it up the stairs to the seventh? Those windows aren't blocked. Once. Take it to it again. Then we need to buy her some time, right? Can we use any of this other stuff down here in the cage? Uh, like what? There are gas candisters, right? That's the us. That would hurt pigs and the baby. We have to buy her some time. She and Hope just need to get up one flight of steps. No other molars are outside, right? They might think all the windows are blocked out. Yeah, that could work. We wait much longer and they could try to elevate her shaft. Then she be screwed. Pigs. Back up. And hold this to your ear. Don't let them hear. We're going to buy you some time to run up the stairs. And out onto the next floor. We have to gas them. Um, it's gonna choke all the air a bit, but it'll give you a chance to get out. Okay. What's on clothes for you? Hope and the baby. Okay. Cover his face. Do it now. Hope. Hope. Okay. I think she's calling Hope over to tell her. There should be some gas masks still in the cage. Make sure they're on tight and sealed. Or you'll be no use once the canisters go off. Then get into position by the basement door and wait for my command. Alright, we're getting ready. For the first several minutes, the only way I was able to have any update on Saul was when he chose to call us on the radio. With every turn, he was at risk of being discovered. Victor and I sat in silence watching the video feed from Cody, waiting. You should have been there by now, right? I don't know, I didn't time it. Oh, man. I think I'm starting to sweat. You smell that? Wait, you can smell me? Not you, the gas. I think. A little bit of it. Do we need to put the masks on? Maybe too soon. We don't have a lot of air in these tanks, right? Maybe 30 minutes worth tops. You better not take that long. We got movement by Cody. Is Robert's back or is it Saul? Neither. Look. On the screen, we could see a turned woman in tattered clothes and splotches of dried old blood. On her forehead, in black ink, was the number four. That's one of mothers, isn't it? Mashes the dead one we saw in the arena. This one survived. I wonder if the little one. And then his question was answered. Coming up on her right was a pale, numbered kind, like the ones we've seen before. It was about the size of the one we saw at Radon, but I could see lines starting to wear across its face. If it were still human, I'd say it was approaching middle age. They both stood staring down the tunnel. Then, the mother continued on alone. The little one turned towards Cody sniffing the air, showing its arm in the light of the fire. Responding number four, tattooed on it. Oh man. Can we warn Saul? No, no, we give away his position. Shit! From out of nowhere, a small rock fell towards the feet of the little one. As it reached down to look at it, a silver streak pierced it through the neck. It didn't cut all the way through, but enough to silence it instantly. Another quick movement, and the katana dropped the little one's body to the floor. Saul reappeared from behind the bone pillar and rushed closer to Cody. He immediately pushed his chassis over upright again, and gave us a big smile. Holy shit! You see that? Sorry, it took so long. Does it matter? You're there. Get it armed. Yeah, give me a second. I gotta figure out where all the pieces went. Ah, time was screwed. I don't think I could get it working. Then just get the remote detonator attached. We can at least set it off that way. Alright, that piece just got pulled out. But make sure you hook all the wires back up. We can't just have half of the C4 going off. I know, I know, I'm doing that. Oh man. Hurry up, Saul. You, just watch our door. Alright, I think I got it. Okay, get him out of there. Just as Victor said this, Saul turned and moved out of view. I tried to turn Cody to better see him leave. The two working wheels spun furiously, just enough to face the tunnel that Saul was running into. Suddenly, he came flying back in front, falling to the ground, the katana flying out of his hands, and under Cody. He struggled to quickly point his rifle. Before he could get a shot off, Inc moved forward out of the dark and ripped the gun from his hands and smashed it against the ground. Saul! Holy shit! Do something! Like what? Shit! They found us, they found us, we're not. Keep them back. What's happening to him? I looked back. Inc was too strong. Saul tried to fight him off but was immediately grabbed by the throat and lifted more than a foot off the ground. Inc just stood there, looking at his face over and over. He pulled the bandage off Saul's cheek with his mangled hand, continuing to stare at his scar. Saul kicked the air wildly, looking over towards Cody. Between his struggled gasps for air, I could hear what he wanted me to do. You're not gonna set that off, are you? I don't have a choice. You can't! I have to, he's gonna kill Saul. Can't we even make it from here? I don't know. Get ready to run. But that's Saul! I know who it is. I'm sorry. Ah! No! It's not working. What? It's not going off. The detonator didn't work. Saul! Saul! I was afraid to look at the screen. What had happened to Saul? My hands shook as I focused on him, still being held close, as ink moved and bit deep into the side of Saul's uncovered neck. Blood trailed down to the ground as he tossed Saul's body to the dirt floor. At first, I feared he might have bit in too deep, hitting an artery or something. But then, Saul started to move slowly away from him on the ground. Ink didn't want to kill Saul. He intended to change him. Do it! I told you to do it! I can't! The remote's not working! Can you hear me? Michael! What are you doing? Help him! How? Wait! Saul continued to crawl toward Cody, but Ink didn't move. He just watched him, intently, almost studying him. Then it hit me. He expected Saul to change quickly. Maybe Ink never encountered slow changers. Maybe there were none when an infected bite someone that hard, but Saul wasn't going to change. And Ink didn't know that someone else had tried. As Saul crawled closer to Cody, I pushed hard on the control stick, moving the broken robot only a few inches, letting Saul see the hilt of the katana that had fallen, hidden underneath. I said nothing. Afraid that Ink might overhear, might understand. He stood there, smug, looking down at what he thought was just another subject. His face only started to show concern as Saul was within feet of the sword. Once Ink realized that he wasn't changing, it was too late. He rushed forward to grab Saul in the ground, as I slammed Cody hard into reverse. Saul swung around wildly behind him, slicing the only thing he could reach. The blade cut through both of Ink's shins, leaving only his shoes and feet in place. Holy shit, he did it. What? He cut him down. Saul, Saul, can you hear us? I still alive. Go get him! You won't get far. I have to do this. I have to. Ink was crawling away, bleeding out from behind, but Saul came back towards Cody instead. He knew before we did what had to be done. As he came into view of the camera, the ground rumbled and felt like it was coming to life. They're coming back! He called him in! Good. Go! Go! Get out of here! Saul! Saul! Now! We grabbed everything and headed out the tunnel. I looked back at the monitor to see Saul breaking open his night vision goggles and taking out the battery pack, stripping the contacts. He was going to wire the C4 directly. No! We need to go get Saul. We can't. But! I'm too far. Can't. Get to me. Are you sure we can't make it down there? Guys! Get out of here! Good. I got this. But Ink's dead! It's over! Not dead, yet. It's something else is coming from below. Get out. Now! You heard him. Go! But! No! Saul! Go! We don't have a map! Go! Keep going. Do you see a fort? Does anything go right? I see it! Go that way! Something got shaken up! It's getting bad! Gas is everywhere! Get your mask on! Whoa! Faster! Saul! Shit! Little one! You get it? Yeah, he did. Number three! Fuck it down! Hell yeah! Oh shit! Hey! You! Come here! No! Don't go to him! You want this? Huh? I'm going to blow this stuff! That's right! So! Whoa! No! No! It was going to take him out of here! And he didn't let that happen! You got to get out first! I don't love that! Back around! Didn't write! Got it! I completely lost you on the monitor! You still got him on the radio! Yeah! Yeah, I hear you! What's Ink doing? He's laying there, staring up at the ceiling. I don't think he's doing so good. Fuck the screen, not everywhere. I'm not so smart now! We'll keep talking to me! Got it? Keep going! We're next! What? What was that? We're next! Look down! Go! Go! One more fork! What was that? We're back up! We're losing the radio now! Say again, we're losing you! Left! Go! Left! That'll take you out of here! So, that's it? That's it! Go home, man! So, I love you, man! Just get out of here! You got to step up now! All right? Both of you! Take care of my boy! And my mom, all right? I'm gonna make sure Nick doesn't have to live with this shit anymore! So, I will! I love you too, amé! Damn it! They're coming up! I'm gonna shut and get 'em! No! No! Michael! Michael! I can see him! Give him a right! Give him more! Go! Go now! I can see the light! Go! Run! I'm all the same! Fast as you can! The walls were starting to crumble around us. If it wasn't for the masks, we wouldn't have been able to breathe. Dust filled the air instantly. The only thing we could still see was the one remote bit of light that we ran for with everything left in us. Run it! Go, go, go, go! And run down! I get the ground hard outside of the tunnel. Too hard. I lunged forward, away from the building, as everything started to collapse around me. I got caught suddenly on my equipment and yanked forwards, pulling out a hose on my tank, sending me gasping for air. I quickly ripped off my mask, just to have my lungs filled with dust, choking me further. I fell to the ground on my knees, crawling away from the debris, spitting out anything still left in my mouth. I tried to call out for Victor, but couldn't. He too was lost in the thick brown cloud, or worse, he might have somehow gotten trapped behind. I didn't know. I was barely able to hold my head up. As the dust cloud began to settle, the outline of a figure appeared through the haze. I searched for my M16 on the ground and found it, covered in dirt. Barely able to see, I quickly aimed and pulled the trigger. One shot went off. I must have missed, and the rifle immediately jammed. I tried to clear the chamber, but the figure was still advancing. By the time I realized the rifle wasn't going to fire again, I could see who it was. Randy! Oh God! Come on, get up! You okay? You get any of them on you? Don't think so. You dead? Yeah. Told you. I wouldn't let one get close again, huh? Come on, this way, close your eyes. We gotta go. There's still a bunch wandering around, and it's not safe here. I got ya. I got ya. I got ya. I got ya. Acast powers the world's best podcast. Here's a show that we recommend. Nature. I've got a gay rooster named Francois. It's so gay. These rams are gay! I'm studying gay animals. Does that mean I'm gay? So, why don't more people know this? I'm Owen Ever. I'm Lane Captain Levinson, and this is a field guide to gay animals. A podcast about queerness in the natural world. The animal kingdom is queer, and we are apart. Find a field guide to gay animals on Spotify, Apple. Or wherever you get your podcasts. Acast helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com <GASP> She hasn't moved. She sounds like she's alone. We could probably take her. I don't know. We might hit the baby. And I would hate to do that. There might be other ways. What do you say, pegs? A life, for a life, fuck you! You sure you want that alternative? Could walk out of here, go wherever you want. I would take very good care of them. You don't think you'll be able to run forever, do you? I will find you. Here, take it, the claw sweat. Okay, okay. You have yours? Yeah. What was that? Are you thinking it over? After all, where are you going to go? When are they going to? CG is waiting for my signal. Then do it already. We're ready. Behind me. Go! Go! Run! I can't see. I don't need to. Take my hand. I might need to shoot. I'll take him. I can manage. Don't worry. After you. Heggs in hope were already down two floors of the fire escape by the time Scratch got there. It bought them some time, but not enough. I watched them from the monitors, unable to do anything as she got closer to them. Where are you going? Damn it, I can barely see anything. Just go! Go! I'm trying. Just give him back to me. I'm careful. Don't fall. You missed. Oh my god. How many bullets you got left, huh? Heggs, I have. Just go! Each flight of metal stairs flew past them as pegs and hope approached the bottom. Hope, scrambling with her down the steps until the very end on the second floor. All they had to do was drop the ladder and they be home free. But it was stuck. Pegs struggled to get it to move. Her eyes still pouring tears from the CS gas. Here, here, take him. Drop, drop, drop, you piece of shit! Hurry! Pegs! No! Oh no! All out, huh? (coughing) Little girl! Why don't you come up here? Hand him to me. And you can go. No. I don't think you understand. You're not holding any cards right now. I could barely see anything from the camera's viewpoint. But I can see hope shift closer to pegs. With something tucked in the small of her back. Pegs seemed to notice it as hope stood partially in front of her. No! Really? That's a mistake. What did I do? Enough. What happened? Really? Really? Are you okay? Yeah. I think so. He's okay too, right? Yeah. What happened? Yeah, she... She missed. I didn't. Where'd you get the gun? It was in a drawer in the apartment. I tried to tell you before, but... It's okay. It's okay. We're okay. Hey. The building's clear. Tonya and Kelly got the other molars. Wait. She's still alive. We need to get down there. Help me with the ladder. Someone's coming. Pegs, someone's coming. Say where you are. I can't see where you are. It's Bert. It's Bert, it's Bert's team. I don't know who might be driving. Can you see? It's him! Bert! Bert! You're just doing the thing. I can't go down the ladder with Nick. Then just stay here. Thanks. Thanks! You okay? Where is she? Over here. Over here. She fell off the fire escape after I... After I shot her. Bert, no to scratch first on the ground. She was barely moving. Struggling to crawl towards her gun several yards away. Blood was now flowing freely from the right side. You weren't going for that now, were you? Are the others inside? No. Everyone's okay? All of us are, but the molars are... The molars are dead. Not all of them. What are you gonna do? Wily. I got her. What are you waiting for? Wily. No. I don't want to see this. Good. Do I even know you? Just gonna execute me, huh? On my hand. Is that what you did to Tardus? I don't seem with you. I'm not saying that they're wrapped in to serve it. Wily. Are you telling me not to? You did do it. I thought it was gonna be the old man. But... He didn't have the stomach. But you do. I could have used someone like you. A real killer. But had you do it? Gun shot to the head. Hung him? I always like the knife to the throat. Look, that's the thing about what you're doing. Bolt's too quick. Wait. What are you doing? I don't think you should do it. Oh no. I think she should. What after what she did? It's to be honest. I have no idea what I did to you. Remember Angel? Him? We couldn't save him. But I tried. He did not. You know what? If the gun doesn't work for you, I gotta not. That'll shut her up. Yeah, she's out cold. She was going for this. She was gonna force you into it. And so what? Who are you going to do? I don't want Riley to do it. You're not a killer. What are you going to do with her? Oh no. Michael. What? What is he? We couldn't get ahold of you. We're there. We need to get to the radio room now. What about her? Don't worry about Scratch. I'm not letting her out of my sight. What about me? Hope. Hope. Just go back out. Go inside. [♪♪] How long ago did you hear the explosion? Maybe around ten minutes now. You might give me a few more painkillers. You know I do need to save these for other patients. What patients? It's just me hurting here. No, you're not. If I knew it'd be this long, I could have gone to Pete to help him. Maybe we should call around. You heard him. He's fine. Don't clog the phone line. Hello? We got it. Yes! They did it! Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Yes. Yes. What about the other guys? Questions everyone okay? What about Victor? Can I talk to him? No, not now. You can talk to him later. Right? Now I have to talk to Tonya. Oh. I see. Michael says you can talk to him later, but he wants to talk to Tonya. Here, Tonya. Hello? Hey, Tonya. I have to tell you what happened. [♪♪] He did. [♪♪] Yeah. [♪♪] [♪♪] [♪♪] [♪♪] [♪♪] I know what he did. Yeah. I'm going to go to the window. [Sighs] [Sighs] [Sighs] Mike, come here. Made it, huh? We didn't screw up too bad. Victor was amazing. He saved my ass more than a few times. Yeah, there's nothing. What's the next mission, Mikey? It's Mike. You know what, screw it. Call me whatever you want, you earned it. And we are not doing anything else for a while. We need a break. He didn't. Yeah. Yeah, he did. Just leave it at that. What do we do now? I guess whatever we want. This way. You know we would have come up and seen you. It would take it too long. No, no, no, it's okay. Here, you want me to? No, no, I heard. So, that's it, huh? Is it over? Can it ever be? Those things will always be out there. Yeah, but now we have a chance. Wait, we're missing someone. Where's Bert? What? What the hell? Oh, God damn it. Let me out of here. What's going on? What the fuck? Hello? What the fuck is going on? Oh, good. I was wondering if you'd be able to hear me in there. I see this sedatives have worn off. That's pretty strong stuff in your cabin. Oh, it's weird. God, when I get out of here, I am going to... I'm sorry. I had to cut you off there. That's not going to happen. We'll see about that. You can keep trying that, but it's not going to do much good. What does it sound like? Where am I? That? Oh, that's nothing. That's just a little fan. Pay no attention to it. It's just keeping you alive, that's all. Oh, and you think that little walkie there can help you? I got the only one that responds to it. There ain't no calling for help. Get out of here! To be honest, I don't even think that's possible for me to do that right now. Even if I wanted to. Why not? Well, that coffin can't open. It's not a count of all the concrete steel above it. What? Oh, I was very sure to use the right supports and not add too much weight. I didn't want it to collapse. There were plenty of materials to use with what was left of the old tower here. And a bit of fresh concrete. Do you know what it's like? The starve. Yeah. I remember. Hell, I'll never forget. Are you gonna fucking kill you? I doubt that. You're gonna rot down there. And I'm gonna check every day until you do. You were wronged about Riley. She's not a killer. But I can be. I can handle it better than her. Lookie! I'm out of here! Please! I told you I was gonna bury you. What?! Oh, hey there, little buddy. Who are you? I'm sure our skinny. Mr. Whiskers. Come on, let's go get you something to eat. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. I'm not gonna eat you. Everything changed after that. With the molars and ink gone, we spent the next 14 years growing, rebuilding, and living here at the colony. Some of that you may have already heard, but we both figured you should know everything, especially before the training program starts. I know if it was my decision, that's what I would want. It's a lot at once, but Nick, if you have any more questions about your dad or... What about the others, the ones with the numbers, or the new kind? Are there any left? That's of all things. That's what you want to know first? Well, yeah, if there's any out there, I mean, that's the... If those survived, we haven't seen them. We think that when your dad did what he did, they were all crushed down there. And what happened to the big kind? The ones at the jail? Well, are they still in there? No, not anymore. They eventually died off. When it was clear, about a year or two after you were born, we went back to the jail to bring Robbins and the other soldiers home. They're buried next to your mom and grandmother. Did you tell them what else they found in there? Oh, no, I almost forgot about that. What? Well, with those things gone, we were able to search deeper inside. Bert and Puck found this among the books in Inc's cell. We think this is where Inc's mark originally came from. It's a petroglyph, a very old symbol carved in a rock. I've seen this picture before. That's a new Mexico. Yeah, it was found during a deep cavern excavation. The only description in the book was that it was there to warn others about a steep drop-off to protect anyone from falling. Your grandma thought whoever discovered the symbol didn't fully understand what they found. Out of all the tattoos Inc had, this was the only one that mattered. So he didn't know what the symbol meant when he got the tattoo? No. He thought it would protect him from something else entirely. But there's no way he could have predicted what it could do. So, does that mean those things came from New Mexico? I thought no one really knew. No one does, for sure. But before she got sick, Tanya spent a lot of time coming up with possibilities. She did? Like what? Why isn't that in our school books? The other stuff she found out is? Well, her research was her life. But after your dad died, it became... Well, almost an obsession. When they found that book in Inc's self, she wrote One Last Journal. But some people thought she was starting to, well, lose it, and didn't take any of what it said seriously. What did it say? Can I read it? No, I'm sorry I don't have it here. It's in the archives. But I remember what it said. There was mostly one main theory. She thought that some form of those things may have been here a long time ago, living mostly underground, similar to how we saw them in the tunnels, but much deeper. And whenever their kind died out, they rotted away, trapped down there to decompose. Unfortunately, no one's been able to dig that deep to find out for sure. But then how did the gasket out in all those different cities? I thought the outbreak happened all at once. In the end, she wasn't sure it was all at once. That it may have leaked out of the ground over a few days before the outbreak, and no one noticed. She thought people who were more susceptible might have been exposed at that time, and then traveled to places like Hawaii, or wherever, and slowly started to turn. Then, on May 8th, a whole lot more of the gas got out, rupturing like it did when she and Victor were in Inglewood. But something had to have set it off. She thinks it was just a matter of time, that deep down with enough pressure, some of the gas changed, grew unstable. So any places where a lot of those things lived became ticking time bombs. And if the hotspots were connected somehow, then when one went off, they all did, releasing whatever gas was left. Unfortunately, she passed away before she could prove any of this. Very few around here talk about that stuff anymore. Everyone's more focused with where we are now, rather than why it started. There are other ideas, but I think hers is the closest. Some people have dismissed what she wrote, but there's no one who understood those things more than Tanya. Your grandmother was a very smart lady. I really miss her. I didn't get to know her. She was an amazing woman. I feel a bit lost without her. This is a lot. Why'd you wait so long to tell me everything? I mean, some of that I already knew, but I didn't know half those things about my mom and dad. Someone told me how much they did. People look at me so weirdly. It would have been nice to know why. Well, if they do, it's only out of respect for what your parents did. It's not because they think you're different. Only a few people know about your dad and grandma's immunity. We left that out of the records to keep you safe. And I am sorry we didn't tell you sooner. It's just that we had a conversation about this with Tanya shortly after she found out about her cancer. She thought it was best to wait, and we respected her wishes. The doctors know, right? I think I'm like my dad. So why am I always getting shots? Well, it's not shots, but yes. They've been testing to see if you're immune. And am I? No one knows for sure. Tanya was never able to find out what was different. So you could be like them. And that's why a few important people who know don't want you in the training program. But it's not their choice. What do you think? Well, it's not our decision to make. You're old enough. It's yours. Can I think about it? Of course. The next cycle doesn't start for a few days, but I wouldn't wait past that. The following one is until spring. Bird was concerned that if we wait any longer, you might not fit in. It's going to be hard enough as it is. Well, it's getting a little late. I guess we should-- Wait. I thought of something else. Why did you and pegs decide to raise me? I thought you said my dad asked Uncle Vic to. Um, well... I can answer that. About the time your grandma learned she was dying, I found out something too. Michael and I had been trying for a while for a baby of her own. You know how there's so many kids younger than you, right? Everyone was getting pregnant. Except me. I couldn't. Ever. So... when you were about three, you came and stayed with us. Victor agreed it was better this way. We all loved your mom and dad, so it was pretty easy to love you. Yeah. Do you have any more questions? I can't think of any, but I'm sure I will. Well, when you do, just ask. For now, why don't you get some rest, okay? Oh, you want in? We locked him out. Poor old kitty. Come here, Mr. Whiskers. Sleep well, sweetie. And you too, Mr. Whiskers. Good night. Alright, that's it for today. For you and, uh, Grade 4, remember there will be no make-ups for the quiz next week, so come prepared. Nicholas, will you be, uh, coming in on Monday? I'm not sure yet. If you go, good luck. Um, thanks. Uh, just a reminder to everyone else, Professor, the firm, whatever. Riley, the French teacher, is having her monthly grief counseling sessions this Saturday. We'll be back. We're having a huge sale this weekend. We'll be back. We'll be back. We'll be back. We'll be back. We'll be back. We'll be back. We'll be back. Uncle Vic. Hey, little man. What are you doing here? I thought I was going to see you later. Well, I figured I'll walk with you. Michael said it was going to work on the council today with pigs. Yeah, my store's closed. They're doing inventory. What are we having for dinner? Maybe just Seattle's compoio. You can't kill her serving on the bitch tonight. To some new case she has to deal with. So I'm cooking. Oh, that's okay. I like when you make that. So, tomorrow's a big day, huh? I guess. Still haven't decided, huh? I had a time. I know. Hey, if you don't go, you and I can hang out and have Mexican food all the time. Eh? Would it be so bad? I don't know. I mean, everyone has to do some service, right? Why should I be any different? But three years of service is a long time. I've heard stories of what happens out there. And how can I even start to compare to what you all did before? The only thing I've ever shot is my pellet gun. Hey, hey, look, there's no pressure. You think that I was prepared? It just kind of fell in my lap. Back then, everyone had to... just deal with it. They're training you. And you only have to live there for, what, the first six months until the training cycle ends? We'll see you after that. What if other people there know who I am? They'll single me out and... Hey, Bert and Puck run everything. They would not let that happen. Yeah. Okay. Um, again, no pressure, but I got something for you from my store. Oh, in case you do go in, or not, you know, it doesn't matter. Just thought you should have it. Your dad had a knife just like it. Oh, wow. Thanks. And seriously, don't worry about what other people think. All that matters is what you want. All right, well, you know, for that stuff, you're here tonight, right? Yeah. Hey, you want to play Xbox again? You kidding me? You kick my ass every time. But yeah, we can do that. Hey. It's okay if you choose not to. Soldier or not, I still love you. I know. We both love you. Come on now, really. All right, on this way. Bye now. Bye, honey. It's going to be okay, right? It'll be fine. So, Michael says you haven't decided yet. You want to check it out first? Is that okay? For you, we can make an exception. But keep in mind, we're going to have to treat you the same as everyone else once you're in. I know. That's what I would want anyway. Good. So, how many others are there? About 20, I think. At least on this batch. And I'm older than all of them, huh? There's triplets who are 17 that came in from Texas about six months ago. So, no, not this round. This group here is in phase two. They'll graduate in the spring. Hey, did I say break ranks? Eyes forward. Don't look at me. Got it? Why are you standing like that? You hurt? Fall out and see the nurse. Her? That's our pneumatic? But she can barely see. What was that? You making fun of hope? She can still stick a catheter up your junk with her eyes closed. You want? I can ask you to do that for you. Yeah, like that's going to happen. What did you say? Whatever. You say something? Nothing. Nothing what? Nothing, sergeant. Good. Then fall out of formation. I don't want to hear any more lip. Hope. You got them? Yeah, no problem. Okay. Can anyone tell me the parts of the armband? It's the same as the flag if you haven't seen one before. Raise your hand. Nobody. Seriously. How long you freaking live here? The red represents the threat outside and the white on the inner circle means safety. Alfal can stand it. This guy's not even in training yet and he knows more than you. Last chance. What's the black markings in the center? That's the protection mark. Yes. Yes it is. You know nothing, huh? I don't know if I even want to give one of these to y'all now. It's important as fuck to me and everyone else in the god. Your armbands are the most vital part of the uniform. They will never touch the ground. Never get dirty. And God help you if you lose them. You hear me? I want that white bleach like snow. Got it? The best soldiers I ever knew were responsible for having this. And I will not have you disrespect them. Come on. This way. All right. Now fall out and get yours. Make sure you get the right size. If it's a tight fit, that's fine. You want to know something? Sure. Like kid back there. The one heading to the medic. That's Alex. Robin's kid. The door gunner? From Boulder? But he's... Yep. I know. Robin's had relations with someone from the colony before. Alex just moved back from Blake Matthews for training. Thought you might want to know, but just keep it to yourself. Yeah, I will. He also might have noticed we had a little disciplinary problem with him. Made me worried about you. Me? Why? Well, we get a lot of trainees to have pretty dramatic backgrounds. We got a lot more when we first started the program, but we found out the hard way that sometimes someone's past can greatly affect how they react in the field. It took time. We realized the problem. That's why I want to make sure you're doing this for the right reasons. In the Guard, kill a lot of those things. That's the only reason why you're here to do that. I think that's why I'd want to be trained. I don't know. We didn't think of that with Alex. Revenge won't make the pain go away. It lives on way past that. That's not the reason I'm here. Well, whatever reason you have, make sure it's a good one. Because there's no quitting once you're in. I understand. All right. I've said my piece. I promised you I'd treat you like everyone else. We only want people that can handle this. I know I'm one of them. I think you are. Come here. Let me show you something. Are you nervous? Yes, very. First time? No, I've been nervous lots of times. You watched it. Of course I did. It's awesome. Man, airplanes, one of my favorites. I heard there was a sequel. Yeah, well, let's not talk about that. Uh-oh, soldiers coming. So, uh, yeah. If you pass everything, then you just take up one of these three positions. Recon, scavenger, or guardian. I like these guys here. What sort of weapons do you use? Boy, after my own heart. The recon is scavenging teams use MG3s. The compressed air assault rifles. The new modigun? Really? Those are ready? Yep, but they still are great over distances. So the guardians got to use the old M16s. It's harder to make the bullets, but we'll show you how. You, uh, coming? There's something... It's just... so big. I haven't seen outside the wall in a long time. Yeah, it is. There was a lot out there. Group, let's head. I told you not to do that. Addis, carry on. Sorry, ma'am. But this place is all about standards and protocol. I told you not to address me as that either. Didn't know you were coming by today. I thought there was a council meeting and you were all busy being boring. You were rescheduled it. You, uh, here to check on Vera? Oh, please. I know better than to just show up here and interrupt my daughter's training. She takes it very seriously. Yeah, I wonder where she gets that from. Then you're here for me. Well, what can I say? You have a lot of people looking after you. You made your choice, I see. Not yet. Oh, so just checking it out. Makes the colony look small, huh? There's so many places for them to hide. That's why we take our training seriously. The threat's always out there. How is it still so bad? Wouldn't they run out of food? Well, we thought so. Now, after the tunnels collapse, they should have starved or start to die out naturally, but they didn't. Quite the opposite. We found that they age very slowly after turning, and sometimes can live with very little food. They'll outlast us unless we do something. We do our best daily to clear them out, but... It seems endless. That's why we have these walls, and so many trainees and guards, and an entire unit up at Dunbar. It's true. We already have a lot of people to do the work. Service is mandatory for most, but it doesn't have to be for you. How fair is that? No one would think less of you for not training. You're too important. I've already heard the speech. It's because I'm... special. Yes. Yes, you are, and we all promise to keep you safe. But keeping you locked in here doesn't mean you're out of danger. You see what's out there. You're old enough now to choose what feels right. Are there other places like this? There are. Now, this colony is the largest with about 10,000 people. We have another 2,000 at our outpost by Lake Matthews, and there are others beyond our borders. Some friendly, some not. And just because those infected haven't organized and attacked us in a long while doesn't mean they can't be a threat again. If we really care about you, it would be wrong not to give you the skills to survive. That's the only way we can really, truly keep you safe. So, uh, what do you think? I don't know. Think about it. That's all I wanted to say. You've got movement on the perimeter. Looks like a fighter. Let me see. It's a lone war. About 200 yards out. All right. Take it down. Wait. I want to see it. Can he? Do you mind? Well, there's no threat in the area. Why not? You mind letting me your rifle? Uh, yeah. Okay. Go ahead. Sit here. How do I zoom in? It's about as close as I'll get with that scope. Can you see it? Yeah, I do. How can you tell if they're, you know, changed? The way they look, move, their eyes, and lots of signs. After seeing enough, you can tell pretty quick. The program's designed to show you all the things to look for. Even how to deal with slow turners. Yeah. How would I shoot it? What? If I did, how would I use this gun? It's a rifle, not a gun. But how? Should I? Go ahead. Michael showed me how to shoot. You know, breathing and trigger stuff, but not on a rifle like this. I don't know. That's a long distance. It could get away. I'm pretty good with my pellet gun. At least that's what he says. You run this program, since you're a call. If you're ready for it, go ahead and rotate the switch on the side there, no, semi. It's already loaded. Just aim a little low. At that distance, the bullet arcs. He's moving. I think he scared off. I still see him. Lead a little. Don't let it get into that building there. You'll lose it. I know, I know. Bert, we can't let it get away. The other Guardian there will make sure that doesn't happen. Let's give Nick a chance. I can see its face. It's nasty. There's a whole lot more like that one. Well, what are you saying, Nicholas? What a train. I'm in. [gunshot] [piano music] [piano music] [piano music] [piano music] [piano music] [piano music] [piano music] [piano music] [piano music] [piano music] Thank you for listening to We're Alive. Be sure to check out the website and follow us on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date on our future projects. Starring Jim Gleason as Michael. Nate Geeves as Saul. Shirley Jordan as Tanya. Constance Parn as CJ. Scott Marvin as Bert. Otto Stirk as Victor. Brett Newton as Puck. Elisa Elliot as Peggs. Claire Dodham as Riley. Tammy Klein as Kelly. Jay Olegario as Datou. Blair Whalen as Lizzie. Jenna Macombi as Scratch. David Pevsner as Tardust. Sean Lewin as Moldou. Jane Lehighch as Hope. Glenn Hoffner as Glenn. Christian Vieira as Carl. Tony Ray as Robins. Zach Robins and DJ Whalen as Nicholas. And I'm Michael Swan. Also featuring the voices of Bob Bergen, Greg Miller. Austin Floyd. Reid Harris. Tony Toreko. Nick Tochelli. Katie Kean. Graham Bechtol. Seth Peterson. And James Stebick. Written and directed by Casey Whalen. Produced by Grayson Stone and Casey Whalen. Composer Daniel Burkhob Hopkins. Series Artist Ben Hosek. Editors. Grayson Stone and Casey Whalen. Zinn Turns. Lauren Crew. Ray Husky. And Jackie Zoh. Voice Cutter. Brent McLean. Print Editor. Elisa Elliot. Nine producers. Grayson Stone and Blair Whalen. For a complete list of crew, visit www.we'realive.com. This has been a Whalen production. [Music]