- 3 hours ago
After They Threw Me to the Horde, Their Regret Drove Them Insane - Full
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Short filmTranscript
00:00By year four of the outbreak, I'm the only lucky charm in the entire safe zone.
00:04A sip of caramel latte allows me to fend off the zombies, for sweetness keeps my pacification field stable.
00:10Commander Cole Medox and his people protect me like I'm made of glass.
00:14That lasts until they drag Mason Rock back from outside the perimeter.
00:19X Marine, big on survival rules, bigger on judging people.
00:23The second he gets here, he can't stand the sight of me eating canned peaches or sleeping on the softest
00:28mattress in camp.
00:29He keeps saying the same crap over and over.
00:31Nobody gets special treatment. No freeloaders in a dying world. If you eat our food, you pull your weight.
00:37A hold presses in on the walls. Everyone else is out there reinforcing the perimeter.
00:42I'm sitting off to the side with an iced caramel latte in both hands. Sugar helps keep me calm. Mason
00:48storms over.
00:49Everyone else is out there bleeding and you're sitting here drinking sugar? Nobody gets special treatment.
00:55If you're so damn important, prove it. Get on the line.
01:00I hit the mud hard. The tears come fast.
01:03Please, don't do this. I'm not combat class. I don't have to go to the front and kill them.
01:11Excuses. You're nothing but dead weight in a pretty dress.
01:14A thick sewed boot comes down. Sweet coffee splashes across my face.
01:20You want a drink? Jesus. You're a damn joke. Look out there. That's the real world, princess. Not the safe
01:28little bubble Mattis built for you.
01:30My eyes lock on the hoard. It rides like one living thing. Less than 500 yards from the wall.
01:36Kual tells me before, I'm not a weapon. I'm a luck. As long as I stay calm enough, clean enough,
01:42safe enough, my peacification field keeps those dead things miles away.
01:46But now I'm covered in mud. My dress is torn. And I can feel it. The field is collapsing. Piece
01:53by piece. The infected pick up on it at once. Their cloudy gray eyes turn toward me in perfect sync.
01:59Low, hungry grouse rise from the mass. My whole body is not shaking.
02:03Please. I can't. My ability isn't for fighting. Maddox said I keep them out. I'm not supposed to kill them.
02:12Maddox isn't here, so stop hiding behind his name. You still lying to me? All that crap about staying clean?
02:19Not getting touched? You're spoiled, this is. Spoiled and scared. Today you're gonna see blood. Go!
02:25I slam down again. Daenerys infected is less than 50 yards away. Its head hangs at an angle, while that
02:31white, choking sound leaks out of its throat. It shambles closer. I squeeze my eyes shut and lock my arms
02:37over my head.
02:39One second. Two. The pain never comes. Instead, everything goes weirdly quiet. I crack my eyes open. The infected stops
02:4810 yards away. Its whole body is locked up, frozen in place, like it doesn't dare take another step.
02:53My dress is filthy now, but there's still enough of the fuel left in me. As long as even the
02:58leave it remains. They won't touch me.
03:01You all see that? These dead freaks are just stupid. They're not scared of her.
03:08I knew it. She's been playing all of you. The infected out there move like rotten meat, and you're scared
03:12of this?
03:13No! They won't come near because I'm here. Let go of me. I need to wash up, and I need
03:18clean water. If I lose the field, they'll break through.
03:20Still talking about a bath?
03:22Mason lets go without warning.
03:23I slam onto the concrete in the loading yard. People from the mess line start crowding around.
03:28Some still hold down to trays. Some clutch unopened cans. Back when Maddox was here, nobody dared say any of
03:34this out loud.
03:35Now the jealousy finally spills over.
03:37Everybody listen up. This is your saint. I threw her right in front of the infected, and they didn't even
03:42touch her.
03:42So what does that tell you? It tells you the infected outside aren't half as scary as you've been told.
03:46You got played. She's been feeding off your fear. Made up stories. Ate your food. Took yours not a miracle.
03:51She's a parasite. Dead weight gets people killed.
03:54Yeah. I saw it too. They didn't jump her.
03:57So what? She lied the whole time? There's no field?
03:59Fuck. Almost lost a leg trying to find her shampoo once.
04:03I shake my head, trying to explain, but my throat is so dry.
04:06Nothing comes out right.
04:07What? Still making things up?
04:11You like pretty things, don't you?
04:13You love being clean.
04:15Fine. Let's fix that.
04:17What are you doing?
04:24No!
04:26Cole gave me that!
04:29Maddox, Maddox, Maddox, that's all out of your mouth.
04:31What, you can't survive without a man?
04:33This is the end of the world. Only fighters make it. Not women like you.
04:36The knife calms down again and again.
04:39The white dress that's been against my skin this whole time
04:41turns into scraps at my feet.
04:43Cold air rushes over me.
04:45All I have left is a thin slip.
04:47The shame cuts deeper than the cold.
04:49A few low whistles sound from the crowd.
04:51A couple people laugh under their breath.
04:53Their eyes drag over my bare shoulders.
04:55My legs.
04:56Eyes off!
04:58Mason snaps at them, then kicks something dark and heavy toward me.
05:01It lands at my knees.
05:03A set of tactical fatigues, stiffed with old blood.
05:06The fabric is caked with grease and dried gore.
05:09The smell hits me so hard, my stomach twists.
05:13Put it on.
05:15Put it on.
05:17Stripped it off a body from perimeter duty yesterday.
05:19I stare at the bundle and nearly gag.
05:21Cleanliness, sweetness, low stress.
05:24Those are the things that hold my field together.
05:25If that rot and blood touch my skin, the field won't survive it.
05:28I'm not wearing that.
05:31Please, don't make me touch it.
05:33Just give me something clean, please.
05:36Clean?
05:37Where the hell do you think you are?
05:39Don't push me.
05:41You either put this on, or you stand here half naked in front of everybody.
05:44The rough fabric scrapes over my skin, with his hands still forcing it down, leaving hot
05:48red tracks everywhere it drags.
05:50And then it's on me.
05:51That stink.
05:52That blood.
05:53That rot.
05:54The second it settles against my body, I feel it.
05:57The field dies.
05:58Just like that.
05:59A deep rumble rolls across the sky.
06:02Overhead, a sick, dark red starts bleeding through the clouds.
06:05The floodlights on the wall flicker.
06:07The alarm system spits static, like something is chewing through the wires.
06:12I only need one look.
06:14My heartbeat stutters.
06:16That's not thunder.
06:17That's the field collapse warning.
06:19The horde is about to hit back.
06:23You hear that?
06:25Something's wrong out there.
06:27Get everybody into the bunker, right now!
06:31Quit feeding people bullshit.
06:34It's thunder.
06:36What, you scared of rain too?
06:40See this?
06:42This is your saint.
06:44One little noise and she's fallen apart.
06:47Starting today, there's no princess.
06:49No saint.
06:50She works like everybody else.
06:52If you eat our food, you pull your weight!
06:54He points toward the decom bay behind the infelry.
06:57They've got blood-soaked gear stacked in there from perimeter pickup.
07:00You're washing it.
07:03If it's not done by tonight, don't expect rations.
07:13Rocco, don't!
07:17She can't go into the decom bay.
07:19That stuff's contaminated.
07:20If she's got even one cut on her, it could go bad fast.
07:23You need labor.
07:24Send me.
07:25I'll wash it.
07:27Shut up, old man.
07:29You don't get a vote.
07:31You want to play hero for her so bad?
07:33Fine.
07:35No!
07:40No!
07:42No!
07:42No!
07:44No!
07:44No!
07:48No!
07:48No!
07:50No!
07:50No!
07:51No!
07:51No!
07:52No!
07:54No!
07:55If anybody else wants to stand up for her, go ahead!
08:00You see that?
08:02That's what weakness costs.
08:05Anybody who sticks their neck out for dead weight gets broken with it.
08:11I hate you.
08:14You're gonna regret this.
08:18Drag him out.
08:22If he can't work, he doesn't stay.
08:25No!
08:27He runs the kitchen.
08:29He can still work.
08:30He still feeds everyone.
08:33Feeds everyone?
08:37Anybody can stir a pot.
08:49Live, kid!
08:51You hear me?
08:52Live!
08:53And right then, the last thread in me, still tied to the word human, snaps.
08:57The pain goes quiet.
08:59The fear goes quiet.
09:00All that's left is hate, claiming through my blood, one slow inch at a time.
09:06If none of you want my field, then all of you can die with it.
09:10Miles beyond the wall, the ground splits open.
09:13An apex fruit, covered in black bone armor, starts hauling itself up from on the ground.
09:29The Dicken Bay reeks of disinfectant and gore.
09:32The metal sink in front of me is packed with blood-soaked gear.
09:35The water turned black-red a long time ago.
09:39A greasy film flows on top.
09:41My hands are numb.
09:43High-concentration disinfectant mixed with infector residue has eaten them raw.
09:48Red, welts, blisters, split skin.
09:52I keep scrubbing anyway, over and over.
09:55All I can see is the look Welk gives me before they drag him out the gate.
09:59Move it.
10:00One of the guards banks his rifle stock against the metal door.
10:04He used to sneak me wild flowers he found near the wall.
10:08Now, there's nothing in his eyes but disgust.
10:12Mason tells everyone the same thing.
10:14If these clothes aren't finished, everybody gets half-rations tonight.
10:18He knows exactly how to use people.
10:21Just one little sentence, and suddenly, I'm everybody's scapegoat.
10:25Left.
10:26I lower my head, and keep scrubbing.
10:29Then the floor jolts under.
10:33An earthquake?
10:43I lurched my feet, and fall right back into the basin of filthy water.
10:48I know what that is.
10:50It's here.
10:51The apex lord, my pacification field, has held down for three straight years.
10:58I drag myself to the window, with one hand on the wall.
11:02Through the dirty glass, I see a massive break ripped open in the perimeter wall.
11:07Tens of thousands of infected are climbing over each other to get inside.
11:11At the front is a three-meter apex route.
11:15Every blow it throws takes a life.
11:17The screaming, the gunfire, the crying, all explode at once.
11:22The same people laughing at me a little while ago are now running blind in every direction.
11:28They're inside!
11:30How is this happening?
11:31Why are they so fast all of a sudden?
11:34We can't hold them!
11:35Run!
11:36Run!
12:01This is your fault, isn't it?
12:03You're on them here!
12:05There's no way the infector get this strong this fast, unless you did something!
12:13I told you.
12:16I'm the one keeping them out.
12:19Bullshit!
12:21If you brought them in, then you're gonna fix it.
12:24What are you doing?
12:27What are you doing?
12:28What are you doing?
12:29What are you doing?
12:30What are you doing?
12:32What are you doing?
12:33I'm hanging you from the mast.
12:35They like meat, right?
12:36If they're busy eating you, you get time to pull out.
12:39Maybe this is the one time in your life you're actually useful.
12:42Die for everybody else.
12:45He drags me through a crowd in full collapse.
12:48Roger, you really think this will work?
12:50Shut up!
12:52You want to live?
12:53You listen to me!
12:56One life for hundreds!
12:58Worth it or not!
12:59Eyes flicker, faces tighten, then they all go quiet.
13:03A few of them even step in to help hold me down.
13:06I'm sorry.
13:07We want to live too.
13:09Jake, just think of it as saving everyone.
13:12I look at those numb, twisted faces, and the last bit of warmth in me goes cold.
13:16These are the humans I protect for three years.
13:19God, they're disgusting.
13:20They drag me to the base of the watchtower.
13:23Mason finds a thick rope and starts wrapping it around me, around my waist.
13:26My arms, my chest, it bites deeper and deeper into flesh.
13:30The winch starts turning.
13:32My body rises into the air, inch by inch.
13:35Wind slams into me so hard, I swing.
13:37Below me, countless rotting hands stretch up toward the sky.
13:40The apex brute stands out front, pounding its chest in excitement.
13:44I hang there, tears nearly gone.
13:46Staring at the sky soaked dark red, like fresh blood.
13:50Cole?
13:51Where are you?
13:53You said you'd protect me.
13:54Look!
13:58They're really moving toward her.
14:01Open fire while they're distracted!
14:03Even with bodies all over the compound, he still thinks he's the hero in this story.
14:09Then, at the far edge of the horizon, a blinding blow streak ignites.
14:13Real cannon.
14:14The apex brute blocking the main gate loses its head in one shot.
14:19The giant body crashes down.
14:21Right after that, an armored truck tears straight through the infected, plowing them aside as
14:26it roars into the compound.
14:27The mounted machine gun on the roof spits fire without mercy.
14:30It's slaughter.
14:32Absolute, one-sided slaughter.
14:34The truck fishtails hard and stomps right under the watchtower.
14:37The door gets kicked clean off its hinges.
14:40A man steps out, a long blade in his hand, still dripping blood.
14:44Cole Maddox.
14:45He's back.
14:46Silence drops over the whole compound.
14:47Even the infected seem to feel the killing intent rolling off him.
14:52The movements hitch for half a beat.
14:54Maze's hand twitches.
14:55His throat to work once.
14:57Maddox?
14:59He forces out a smile and points up at me hanging in the air.
15:02Good timing.
15:03I found out this woman's a traitor.
15:05He's the one who brought him here.
15:06I was just about to execute her!
15:08Cole doesn't look at him.
15:09Not once.
15:10He just slowly lifts his head and looks up at me.
15:13Hanging from the mast.
15:14Fealty.
15:15Broken.
15:16Barely conscious.
15:16And in that moment, I see something I've never seen on this man before.
15:22His eyes go red.
15:23His whole body starts shaking.
15:25The blade slips from his hand and hits the ground with a high punch.
15:29No.
15:30No.
15:30No.
15:31Die.
15:32He throws down the long blade and starts climbing with his bare hands.
15:36Fast.
15:37Messy.
15:38Nothing like him.
15:39The metal pole shreds his palms open.
15:41But he climbs like he can't feel any of it.
15:44Maddox!
15:45Are you insane?
15:46The infected are still attacking!
15:49I'm executing dead weight for the sake of this compound!
15:53You're the commander!
15:55You'd really throw everybody else away over one woman?
15:59Shut the hell up!
16:00The rower comes from diarrhea's coal as a mounted gun.
16:03The XO is usually solid as stone.
16:05Now his face is white as paper.
16:07And even his grip on the weapon is shaking.
16:10You stupid son of a bitch!
16:12You have no idea what you've done!
16:14Why the hell do you think we protected her all this time?
16:17Why do you think Maddox nearly killed himself finding her clean dresses and sweet coffee?
16:22You think it was love?
16:24She's the only thing holding this hell down!
16:27At the top of the mast, the rope gets sliced.
16:30I drop.
16:31Straight down.
16:34Coal catches me in mid-air.
16:36His back slams into the ground.
16:37Hard enough to shake him.
16:39A white cough tears out of him.
16:40And blood spills from his mouth.
16:42But even then, the first thing he does is reach for my breathing.
16:46His fingers stop under my nose.
16:48He freezes.
16:49Then the sound that rips out of him doesn't even feel human.
16:52It's raw, torn straight from the deepest part of his throat.
16:55No, no, no, no!
16:57Mason actually takes half a step back.
16:59Seriously?
17:01It's just some dead girl.
17:03She's not dead.
17:04Coal lifts his head.
17:05His eyes are so rad, they've gone dark.
17:08He holds me tighter against his chest.
17:10Caked in mud.
17:11Half broken.
17:12But the lock is.
17:14The hell are you talking about?
17:15What lock?
17:17Mason.
17:18Aren't you the one who believes in survival of the fittest?
17:22Aren't you the one preaching no free-ploaders?
17:24That only the strong deserve to live?
17:26He lowers his head and gently wipes the mud from my face with his thumb.
17:31Congratulations.
17:32A smile slowly poos across his face.
17:35Not sane, not warm.
17:36Something twisted.
17:37You just unleashed the most terrifying monster left in this world.
17:41The battlefield goes quiet.
17:43Not slowly.
17:44All at once.
17:45The infected tearing into survivors.
17:48Stop mid-bite.
17:49Even the wind seems to die.
18:14What the hell is this?
18:18No.
18:19No.
18:23No, that's not possible.
18:25This isn't real.
18:27Coal rises slowly, with me still in his arms.
18:30My eyes are closed.
18:32My whole body is covered in blood and mud.
18:34But the air around me has changed.
18:36That softness is gone.
18:38That meekness.
18:39That sweetness.
18:39All of it.
18:41All of it.
18:41What replaces it is pressure.
18:44The kind that makes people forget how to breathe.
18:47Everybody down!
18:49If you want to live, get on your knees!
18:53Keep your heads down!
18:55Do not look into her eyes!
18:59Cheap trick.
19:01I'm not buying this.
19:05Put her down!
19:07This is some freak control stunt!
19:09That's all!
19:10Kill her and it's stopped!
19:29How?
19:30How?
19:33How is that possible?
19:34The infected?
19:36They're protecting her?
19:37Protecting Coal too?
19:38Coal looks at him, and finally says the thing, his parrot for three years.
19:43You always thought this disaster had a cure, didn't you?
19:46It doesn't.
19:48She is Patient Zero.
19:49She is the source of the infection.
19:51She is this new world's...
19:53Queen.
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