Fail Safe is the eleventh episode of season three of The Walking Dead the survival.
Summary[]
Searching for leads on Penelope and the children the group falls into a deadly trap.
Episode[]
We open on a deserted military base, a weather beaten sign reads Fort Clementine. There is dried blood and signs of battle and a crashed helicopter in the background. A walker mulls into the scene.
There is a metallic sound and before the walker can pin point the noise it has been shot by an unseen source. We pull back to a sign "Tresspassers will be shot"
We switch to the survivors most recent camp. everyone is eating in silence. The events at the zoo and the abduction of Penelope and the children by the Las Angeles military is waying heavily on their minds.
Adam: Anyone want another helping of rabbit?
No answer. Adam sighs, his attempt at small talk stopped for now.
Karina: We should get going soon, want to make a few more miles before dark.
Still everyone is silent.
Later the survivors are camped on the roof of a gas station, viechles tucked out of sight. Moe is on watch with Slade and Tobias.
Moe: Its quite.
Slade: Yeh,
Tobias: Look we can not keep putting this off what happened back at the zoo has left everyone shaken.
Slade: That's an understatement.
Tobias can feel the anger directed at him and Michael but ignores him.
Tobias: Look I wont pretend to know what most of you went through in there but we have to focus on the main issue at hand.
Moe nods, whatever they will find at the final destination they have to try and catch up with the army convoy and recue their friends.
Slade: So any suggestions, whoever those grunts are they got a wicked head start.
Moe: Well they could not have gotten to far ahead of us, the main roads would be a death trap with the swarms.
Slade and Moe nod from bitter experience from season 1
Tobias: That still leaves a lot of backroads to cover.
Slade: Still don't see we can not just keep going.... I mean if they are already there....
Moe: Its a gambit I do not fancy taking unless we have to and what if that place turns out to be no good.... I have dealt with enough false profits in this world to last me the rest of my days.
The indirect mention of Cole puts everyone on edge.
Slade: So what do we do then fearless leader?
Moe: Right now we do our jobs then we check the map in the morning, go from there.
The next day a few of the survivors are gathered around a map while waiting for the scouts to return. The sound of a push bike coming to a stop draws their attention and we see Michael arriving.
Slade: Dang guy should have been a ninja instead of a fisherman.
He hops off the bike and we can see Tamera in the background arriving on her own bike.
Slade: So how was it?
Tamera: Well we can forget route 16, there must be 500 cars and other viechles clogging the road.
Karina: Any chance of moving them?
Tamera: Not much... its one big ball of metal back there.
Cage: Kid what about Highway 9?
Michael goes over to Tobias and whispers in the old man's ear. After a few moments he sighs.
Tobias: Its no good, looks like the army blew the bridge..... on the plus side it seems to have contained a herd in the debris.
Moe: How big.
Tobias: Big, but it looks like we can cut through the back roads to get past it.
Adam: Where by?
He pulls out a map for everyone to look at. Michael comes over and point to a road that goes to Fort Clemantine and then continues to rejoin the main route to Los Angeles. Amy: A military base is that wise?
Tamera: Well its a chance to pick up some extra ammo, a better car to put James in.
Amy has gone as white as a sheet and is shaking slightly.
Tamera: You ok?
Amy: I.... I need to check on James.
She wanders off with a blank look on her face.
Adam: Shit, I forgot all about that.
Nathan: What?
Adam: Back in Amy's home town the military tried to "steralise" the hospital she was working at.
Moe: So, they tried with a lot of places like that.
Jacob: Yeh except they went in guns blazing on everyone, poor thing hid under a pile of corpses for two days before bolting.
Moe:..... Im sorry but this is the only route we have to go on and besides she's been fine around Nathan.
Nathan: Yeh both of me.
Adam: Hey I'm not a shrink but your ex army.... ill talk to her.
He heads off after Amy and the group gets ready to move.
Later we see the viechles pull up on the outskirts of the base.
Cage: Dang this place is a mess
Slade: Well I think the maids whent on strike just before the apocalypse.
Moe: Tobias can you see anything?
The old man is scanning the base through a pair on binoculars. Tobias: Path looks clear but there are a lot of bodies down there....
Nathan: Any lurkers?
Tobias: Impossible to tell from this distance.
Slade: There is one thing we can try.
Karina: And what's that?
Slade has gone to one of the Jeeps and returns with a flare gun in hand.
Tank: What are you going to do with that?
Slade: Wait here, and keep an eye on the party old man.
He jogs off until he is out of sight. A few minuts later we se the streak of a flare has it takes off and lands in the middle of the courtyard. For a moment all is quite then a sudden twitch has the remains of an army medic rises.
Moe: Here we....
Before he can finish speaking there is an automated sound followed by rapid gunfire and the walker is ripped apart by rapid gunfire.
Tamera: What the fuck.... Tobias did you catch all that?
Tobias: Machine guns, to fast to be human.
Karina: An auto system? How the hell could it still be up and running now.
Tank: No clue.... back up generator perhaps?
Nathan: No, genearator would have burned out months ago.
Amy: Then what someone's down there?
Moe: Or someone is at least looking after the system.
They do not like the way this is looking but they know they can not sit around thinking. Every minute wasted is another the trail goes cold.
Down in the courtyard we see the surviors mulling outside the gate deciding on the next best course of action.
Slade: First we need to figure out how many of those turrets their are.
Nathan: That's not going to be easy.
Amy: How so?
Nathan: Things like this can be programmed for heat and motion..... there maybe a back up power supply that could be just about anywhere on the base.
Cage: Dam your army buddies thought of everything.
Nathan bristles at the comment but says nothing.
Slade: So how do you suggest we figure it out?
Tobias: Well we can try this for a start.
We se the old man has retrieves a nearby trash can. Flipping it on its side. He looks to Cage who nods and gives the metal a good kick. The can rolls in and in a second the can in riddled with holes.
Slade: Well that answers one question.
He had another flare in hand which he shoots into the courtyard. No walkers rise up and the flare fades with out incident.
Nathan: Well its not heat, guess they figured walkers dont give much of a heat signature.
Adam: So what do we do now? If we take the viechles through we will be cut to swiss cheese and cooked like fondu.
Karina: Can the cars go around?
Cage: To risky, who knows what other booby traps are lying around.
Moe: Then our best bet is finding the turrets and taking them out, or at the very least a blind spot.
Nathan: In the meantime we are going to need some cover.
We switch scenes to Moe and Amy securing James to an improvised stretcher, while the others are fitting some metal together.
Slade: And your sure this is going to work?
Nathan: No clue?
Slade: That's good to know.
Nathan: I do not want to be here any longer than we have to.
He sighs, and checks the fixtures will hold. Nathan: Besides I think we should focus on the task at hand instead or worrying about what might happen and right now we need to get James through.
The other man nods and they pass the fixed metal to Cage, who gets to work fixing it to a retrieved trolly they will put James on. We see 2 others have already been made up. It will be enough to hide the group but they have no clue how long it will hold up to the bullets. Its an insane gambit but its all they have.
Moe: Ok Nathan and Adam will go in first, find the guns or their power box and disable them, we will cover you then we head on to the hangers.
Adam: And in the mean time we try not to get shot.
Slade: Sounds easy.
Tamera: Don't say that.... you wanna jinx it?
Cage: Well now or never.
Adam and Nathan nod and begin out into the courtyard. Their movements are as slow as possible, uncertain of the range of the guns. Adam: So Patton, where should we start?
Nathan: Please don't call me that.
Slade(From behind the fence): Hey I suggested he call you Churchill.
Nathan: Please.
He shakes his head and they continue on eyes wary for the guns. They look at the various carnage, hopeful for a clue or hint at the location of the turrets. Behind them the others are following as slowly and carfuly as they dare. Their supplies are spreed out between them or stacked on the trolly around James; offering him a little extra protection.
Adam: What was that?
A clicking catches their attention.
Nathan: Everybody down.
All duck as low has they can behind their makeshift shields has the guns whir to life. An arking shot cuts across the courtyard, ripping though several overturned viechles and punches holes through the tops of the shield before focusing fire on the cause of the motion.
Cage: Un-fucking belivable.
We see a zombie, majority of its body riddled with bullets, one still intact arm is tangled in the leather of a gun strap that is tangled if various items from a crashed lorry that have pinned the walker. Though it cant move its arm is mobile enough to tug at the strap and had caused a small landslide of items which are now being shot along with the walker.
Tamera: This rackets gonna bring in every walker in the base at this rate.
She draws her weapon, from her position she can just make out the walker's arm. Shooting it will stop any further landslides.
Moe: Don't
Tamera: What are you high? That thing is going to get us killed at this rate.
Moe: No look.
We see all the gunfire is focused on the pinned walker. Enough for us to se now their four gun turrets it total. Two which are shooting the walker and another two that have come online in reaction to the other two. All are shooting in the same direction.
Slade: Dang that undead son a bitch just gave us our way out.
Adam: Well lets use it.
The group uses the distraction. Getting out and heading to safty.
End