We're Alive

We’re Alive: Descendants - Chapter 12 - The Price for Freedom - Part 2 of 2

36 min
Mar 28, 2023about 3 years ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

This episode concludes the Descendants arc with a climactic escape from a zombie-infested city. Multiple factions race to evacuate via helicopter and plane, with betrayals and sacrifices reshaping alliances. The episode ends with a mysterious infection spreading among the undead and hints at an impending military conflict.

Insights
  • Survival narratives reveal how trust and betrayal fundamentally alter group dynamics under extreme pressure
  • Leadership emerges not from authority but from decisive action and willingness to sacrifice for others
  • Infection mechanics in zombie fiction can evolve beyond simple contagion to suggest coordinated intelligence
  • Evacuation scenarios expose how resource scarcity forces impossible moral choices between individuals and groups
Trends
Serialized audio drama format sustains complex multi-season narratives with interconnected character arcsZombie fiction increasingly explores post-apocalyptic governance and faction-based conflict rather than survival basicsAudio production quality and ensemble voice acting elevate podcast storytelling to cinematic narrative depthCliffhanger endings drive listener retention and Patreon subscription models for independent audio producers
Topics
Zombie apocalypse fictionCharacter betrayal and redemptionEvacuation and escape scenariosFaction-based conflictInfection evolution mechanicsLeadership under crisisAudio drama productionPost-apocalyptic governanceMilitary conflict escalationSacrifice and moral choice
People
K.C. Wayland
Created and directed the We're Alive: Descendants series
Geno Jang
Handled editing, sound design, and mastering for the episode
Alexander J. Neu
Executive producer overseeing the series through Rusty Quill
Quotes
"You really want to shoot me, Michelle? How do you think that'd turn out? I suspect a lot like if you did the same."
BurtEarly episode
"She's my best friend, damn it. I am your best friend. Used to me. You haven't been big attention. You're my best friend too."
NicholasMid-episode
"Every wind is fair when you're flying from misfortune."
MiraLate episode
"I can feel it. Inside of me. I can feel."
ColeFinal scene
"Ready the Guardians. We are going to war."
MiraFinal moments
Full Transcript
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SuperCharge, your business today with the help of Zerro Search Zerro with an X. We're alive. Descendants. Written and directed by Casey Wayland. Chapter 12. The Price for Freedom. Part two of two. Hello there. Burt. Mira. Oh, shit. Hello, Boar. Why don't you drop your gun? You first. Did not expect to see you up here. Likewise. I took the first monorail over, guessing you followed me. That wasn't our intention. So, what do we do now? That's a very good question. Are you going to shoot me? Are you? Or we could just stand here looking like fools and wasting our time. You really want to shoot me, Michelle? How do you think that'd turn out? I suspect a lot like if you did the same. Uh, what the hell are you two talking about? You know, Burt, I wasn't lying when I said I enjoyed your company. Hmm, so why do we have to do this at all? With everything else going on, we just want to kind of get the hell out of here. You know what? Fine. You're right. You want to leave? Leave. Get out of my city and don't ever come back. Gladly. Uh, uh, yeah, there just is one other thing. Pseil took Shirley. Who? Oh, your gun? You came all the way back here for that? You really are obsessed. She's, uh, she's in her room. Well, go on then, Burt. I won't stop you. Well, uh, alright then. Just be going over there to get Shirley, okay? Just so you know, families are still very active. Things may be different now, but we're very much the same. I'm starting to get that. I wanted to make sure you knew. One thing at a time. You may not be fully aware as to what's going on here, but you will. Founder! Ha ha! Reunited at last. Ain't gonna let you out of my sight again. Are we done? That's it. Good. Go. I have bigger things to attend to now. No thanks to all of you. Well, maybe if you hadn't been a gambling, kidnapping, two-bit slave driving bitch, none of this shit would have happened. Burt! I am gonna miss you. Safe travels. But seriously, get the fuck out. We're gone. You just can't keep your mouth shut, can you? Hey, I'm old. Huh? The jaw comes unhinged more easily with age. Yeah, you know how it is. Uh-huh. Did you get it? Can we go, finally? Yeah, come on. You know, the elevator is working. We could use that. It's faster. You sure? The quicker, the better at this point. You got what you needed? Yep. Golden Shirley. How I missed thee. Here, take the rest of your bullets. It's the last thing I was able to get from the truck. You gotta tell me. Tell me the whole story about what happened to my poor bastard. You really have a hard time letting go of objects, don't you? Well, you notice that? And naming them. You should see his DVD collection. It's huge. But you won't let you borrow any. Because you never return them, or they end up scratched, or you put the wrong disc in the wrong jackets, or... We gotta get the checkpoints. Push the infected back, kill whatever we can. And if anyone spots one of those Westport assholes, then we... Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Oh, shit. Well, ha-ha. Well, speak of the devil. Uh, we're, uh, just passing through. Don't mind us. Stop! Right there! The board told us we could go. She just said to leave the city. She's up on the penthouse floor, you can ask her. Did she now? More and more lies. This is a slippery bunch. I shit you not. She actually said that? Yep. Did you find anything about running into her? Didn't have time to. You know what? I don't care. Kill them! Kill them all! Yeah! Get under cover! Shirley's time to shine! Glad we have this now. Move, get to the exit. Duck one! I have no weapons! Speak for yourself. The one just stuck behind the slot machine. Focus on moving to the exit. We have to get out of here. Stay low. Rush between cover. Come on. Oh, shit. Riley! Grab her! Shit! I got you. I got you. Okay. Maybe I don't. I can carry her. I got you Riley. Get outside! I'll cover you. Go, go, go! Oh, no. That's a lot of blood. Don't look at that. Abwound. Shit. Just keep pressure on it. Move behind the cars. I got our rear. Easy now. Don't worry about it. Focus on who keeps shooting. Bert, cover her asses. I am! Keep them from coming out of the building. Riley! Riley! Bert, focus! I have her. How about this one? It's not great. Not horrible. Bullets stuck in there deep. Just shut up! Riley, hold still. I wish it! Alright, change your plans. We're on the airport now. Riley needs help none of us can provide. Oh, big, unimportant America! What about the rally boys? Listen, if we don't get her to a hospital, it'll just end up being four of us that leave this place. Shit. But we fly out of here, right? Whatever we have to do. She's my best friend, damn it. I am your best friend. Used to me. You haven't been big attention. You're my best friend too. Alright, Bert and Kelly, cover our exit. Head south. Head south. Which way, will through this door here? I got it, I got it. Then go. Come on, man. Come on. These readers are old. Weathered. Give me a second. Look, we don't have many more. Give me your motto pistol thing. Nikola, hang on to me better. Yeah, alright. Will, come on, man. How do I reload this thing? Almost. Will! Got it. Woo! Man, that was too close. Here, I'll reload that for you. Three more shots. Make it count. Oh, so that's how you do it. Woo! We weren't even! Oh, look who's feeling better now. Much. Can't walk still, but... But you can talk. Wonderful. Did you guys see that last one? It was like a first gen or something. The infected are turning people in there. Most likely one of the other guests who got trapped. This is gonna be a shit show. Okay, uh, not much further. We got about ten minutes left. Oh, man. No stress at all, alright? The planes and the airstrip are going to be on the other side of the freeway. Wait, could Vincent have left already? He couldn't have gone the same way as us. He'd have to go around. He'd have to... Plains! I see planes! Just hold on to me tight, okay? We need to get across the road. I got this side. Will, you're shaking, man. Breathe, okay? We'll be alright. We're almost there. No, no, it's not that. It's something else. It's my... I haven't had my medicine. I mean, do we need to go back or...? No, no, no, no. Just keep going. Come on. My feet are funny. Nick, there! Over by the gate. Trying to get into the airstrip. Is that...? Uh-huh. Vincent. And that's Vera on the ground. Give me the pistol. Okay. Reload. You do it. Sure. The hell? Again! At a distance, it doesn't seem... Very accurate. That's all the cartridges. You're empty. Nice, Huber. More than one way to take them down. Will, hold Nick home. I can handle... Just give me one of those planes. I got her, Nick. Go! The fuck you doing? The fuck are you doing? Why the hell are you doing this, you fucking traitor? Get the hell back here! Hey, where are you going? What does it look like? Out of here? Surprised you made it through that attack. Thought the infected got you. Damn lucky, I tell ya. Come on now. Leave Vera behind. Put her down. Walk away. I don't give a shit where you go after that. This is your last chance. My... my last chance? You don't understand. I can't. Why not? I can't tell you that either. Tell me something then. Do yourself a favor. Get on one of these other planes and go home. This is your chance. Take it now. I am not going anywhere without Vera. You sure? I bet your mom definitely needs you right now. I'm sure Peggs is already going through a lot with your dad and all. The fuck did you just say? Oh. You didn't know. I probably shouldn't be the one to tell you. How the hell do you know her name? What the fuck happened? Go home. Find out. Tell me. I did! This plane will work. It should take us all the way. No! I said you're not going anywhere! Uh-uh! Back up! You know how quick I can be with this? I won't warn you again. You got no weapon, Nicholas. This won't end well. Why? Why are you doing any of this? I don't need to explain myself to you. I fucking saved your ass, Vincent! I should have let them tear your ass apart! Huh. You know what? You have a point. You're saying I owe you? Let's... Vera... go. Tell you what. I dropped the spear. That'll make us even. Then, if you can still stop me, you can keep her. Just give me the chance. This is it. Ah! I'm a bitch! Alright. I've had enough. Now, now, Nick. I gave you a shot. You could have had her, but you made a choice. The wrong one. Sorry about this. We did make a good team. Good night. We get it. This is your business. This is your business. Supercharged with the help of zero accounting software! This is managing cash flow. This is managing your cash flow with the help of zero accounting software! These are your customers paying you. These are your customers having more ways to pay you with the help of zero accounting software! This is your business. Supercharged with the help of zero helping you show your cash flow by giving your customers more ways to pay, so now you can focus on making your business boom! Supercharged your business today with the help of zero. Search Sarah with an X! And now, we continue with Descendants. Nick! Nicholas, can you hear me? Wake up, please! Wake up! We don't have much time left! Oh, you got me down bad. I choked out like a chicken. What? What? Where's Vincent? He left! I couldn't stop him! Wait! No! No! No! No!aria! He took off with her on the plane. We can't! We can't! Let him get away! They're asked to be away! Help me out here Will, okay? What can we do? The D'Bor has other planes. The only possible chance you have now is to follow him, but I- Which one? I- I- That plane. It'll have enough range, same as the one that he took. Great, great. I don't know how to fly. I do. Grab her feet. Come on! I don't think she's in any position to fly. Sorry. I'm coming around. I have a bit of a tolerance. Look! I can move my pinky now! We'll make it work. Alright, move! Move! They're getting away! Oh man. She's getting heavy. Excuse me? At least we're here. Why so many planes and helicopters? It's how the spectators got here. Well, it's one. Look, that's one of Westport's choppers. That'll do. Are you sure? Can you fly that? Of course. It's what I did for the UA on the frontier. Look, just don't worry about me. Get her on board! Come on, Riny. Almost there. Yeah. I've never been shot before. I do not like it. You're one tough girl. Keep pressure on the wound. The black swan. Hey, this one looks familiar. Was this Nick and Vera's chopper? Maybe. Now load up. Oh god. They're infected all over the city. They're everywhere now. Last helicopter out of Saigon. Alright, I'm warming it up. Strap in! There you go. Sit back. You can have her lie down, but tie her into the seats. There should be a first aid kit underneath. Use the quick clot. It'll help stop the bleeding. Found it! Ow! Wait a second. Look. I'm the other side of the fence. Holy hell! I can't believe it. It's Nick! Nick! Nick! Nick! Does he see us? Nick! Come on. We need to take off. Vincent is already in the air. Put me in the cockpit. I can tell Will what to do. What? Me? Why not? You can figure out anything, right? What? No, but I... Come on, Nick. Close the hatch. Oh, oh, oh. Hold up. Is that... Bert and Kelly? They're getting in one of the choppers. I mean, that means they're safe at least. Hey! We're gonna lose her. He sees us. Should we try to get to him? Don't know if we even can, but if they're getting on a plane, they'll be fine, right? We need to take off now! But... Bert. He'll be okay. They all will be. I didn't need any of us, did they? Coming here only made things worse. Well, I wasn't gonna say it, but... They can handle themselves. We should have trusted them. Let them go. Come on! Get in here! Go on, Nick. Vincent, I take it off. I'm coming! I'm coming! They're going. We should too. We'll lose the other plane for sure if we don't take off right now. Get us in the air. Don't let that son of a bitch get away. Alrighty then. Have a seat. Push that red button there. Okay. And the black one there. No, no. That one. The next to it. Oh, boy. Breathe. Okay. You got this, Will. Have you seen his hands? They're shaking like a leaf. I can't help it right now. Then strap in. This might be a bumpy ride. Look, whatever you have to do, just follow her. I can't lose Farron. Okay. Is that the last of them? I think so. We're free of this damn city. I can't begin to thank you enough. I just can't believe you all had to live like that. Gloria! The tunnels are empty. We gotta move. Died. Everyone, keep heading east. We need to distance ourselves. Come on! Hey, you were one of those kids from Westport, right? Yeah. Why? Well, I'm from Westport, too. Grant. Alex. They made you fight in those games. I just heard about them grabbing some of our guardians. But that's about it. You don't hear much inside the camps. We were able to get out. But how the hell did you end up here? Prim bastards took our train. That was you? Are we headed home? My daughter's probably worried sick. No, that's too far away to travel for these people. Wherever we go, it's gotta be on foot. Uh-oh. What the hell is that? Duh it. Something's coming through the tunnels. Infected! Shut it! Quickly! Sealed right! Alright, people. We have to move now. We can't stay here. Head southeast. We'll find our way from there. Get as far from the city as possible. What about the rest of my friends? I told them to meet us here by the tree. If we leave... Alex, if they're not already out, they're not going to be. And if we don't leave now, we won't get very far. That's just how it is, right? Damn it. They better not have gotten stuck in there. Alex! What? Look! Oh, that's one of our helicopters. It's heading in the direction of Westport. Maybe they did make it out. Duh it. Yeah, that's great and all. But we have a hell of a long way to go with these people to get them to safety. Hey, put the weakened and firm in my truck. We'll transport who we can and there. The rest of you, move like your lives depended on it because they probably do. They all listen to you. They trust you. Well, it doesn't hurt to be an international celebrity. Now does it. Honestly, I don't think many of them have seen your films. Well, that's a shame. I mean, I just have to change that. So, does that mean we're taking them to the... To the Atlas. Only place I know that would be safe for now. Might be a little cramped, but... Sure you want to do that? You'd have to share everything. That's only stuff, right? Right. Come on. Get a move on. We don't have much time. Help each other out. Any chance we have now depends on all of us working together. Ma'am, Bor... The city has evacuated all the guests. We're doing the best we can to control the outbreak, but... But our workers, they're heading out of the city too. They were let out? If we lose them, there will be no chance to rebuild this place. What do you want us to do? Leave half the company behind to retake the city. The other half will come with me. Yes, ma'am. Right away. Load up the trucks and tactical vehicles. We need to retrieve our workforce. Bor, do you copy? This is Boris. Come in. Go ahead. I'm in the air about 50 miles outside of Prim now with the blood sample. Shouldn't take me long to get to the Republic. Good. Stay on course, Walrus. Hopefully I'll be able to deal with this and join you shortly. I gotta say, ma'am, there's a shit ton of planes in the air right now, and they're going in all directions. The hangars were getting picked clean when I left. You may run out of ways to get out of the city. Don't worry about me. I have bigger problems to handle. Every wind is fair when you're flying from misfortune. Are you sure you want to do this? Last chance to back out is now. This is the only way. The longer we wait, the less chance we have of Nick being there. Once they know we're gone, I don't think Westport's going to be happy. You know, I don't really care about that. Flight control, this is November 9, 04 Delta X-ray requesting permission to fly. Delta X-ray, I don't have any record of your flight manifest. There seems to be an issue with... Three, two... Oh, wait, okay. Yeah, I see the orders now, okay? Delta X-ray, you are clear to take off from runway three. Thanks, Mom. Honestly, you people are scary. Only when we're not on your side. Uh, everything okay? Yes. Yes, it is. Um, okay, uh... Oh, it's this one. Sorry, hi. I may be a tiny bit rusty, but I have this. I've got this. Oh, boy. Okay, Nick. I'm coming. I'm coming. They're gone. Aren't they? I can't believe this. Godspeed, Nicholas. Will, wherever you are. Now if I can just make it to the monorail depot, then I might... Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no. Forget this. It was safer back inside infected management. No, no, no, no, freaking keycard. Read it. Come on, read it, read it. Come on. Work, damn you. Who's there? Oh, damn it. Oh, shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Hello? Buffalo Bill, I... What's happened to your eyes? All of your eyes are the same. They turned black? What the hell is going on? Why aren't you attacking each other? Frito? You're not fighting? What the hell happened? Oh, no. I remember you. You remember me? Cole? What did you do to them? What are you going to do to me? Spar-Dark. No. No! No! No! No. I can feel it. Inside of me. I can feel. Is that you? No. Go ahead, Cole. I'm listening. I'm listening. To be continued in the next season of We're Alive, Descendants. And now a word from our sponsors. This is your business. This is your business, SuperCharge, with the help of zero accounting software. This is managing cash flow. This is managing your cash flow with the help of zero accounting software. We get it. 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T's and C's apply fits all media as an appointed representative of Pet Plan Limited. You've been listening to We're Alive. Descendants. Produced by Wayland Productions. Written and directed by K. C. Winnett. Starring Jitann Gilbert as Nicholas. Austin Trace as Alex. Hayes Donlap as Dean. Jim Gleason as Michael. Alyssa Elliott as Pex. Constance Parn as CJ. Rusty Carlson Romano as Gloria. Scott Marvin as Bert. Claire Dodin as Riley. Tammy Klein as Kelly. Otto Sturk as Victor. Carol Kaufman as Mira. Lauren Kroon as Secretary Dora. Vanessa Bourne as Nakoma. Michael Ursu as Vincent. Briarly Bishop as Dot. Sam Skolnick as Will. Skip Pippo as Alvin. Gigi Gisavo as The Boar. Josh Petersdorf as Walrus. William Leon as Jackal. Leonard Kelly Young as Conductor Grant. Brandon Bro as Westport Soldier. And I'm Michael Swan. Additional voices by Phil Nietto. Nassaka Malimba. Kyle Pottig. Shannon Zimmerman. Hero Carlisle. Victoria Chang. K. C. Wayland. Michael Keen and Geno Jang. Produced by K. C. Wayland. Editing and sound design by Geno Jang. Assistant editing by Tim Mulher. Infected sound design by Michael Keen and Geno Jang. Mastered by Geno Jang. Original music by Robert Mai. And Danny Birkov Hopkins. Score assistance by Evan Timani. Recording and engineering by Wayland Productions. Recording engineer Victoria Chang. Script supervisor Geno Jang. Production assistant Isabella Miller. And Holly Megan Scott. Audio production manager Victoria Chang. Social media manager and videographer Geno Jang. Co-produced by Rusty Quill. Executive producer Alexander J. Neu. Chief marketing officer Callum Dowry. Marketing assistant Hattie Quinlan. Network liaison Tom Park. For more info about the show and a complete list of cast and crew, visit us at www.we'realive.com. Access exclusive content and lore on our Patreon and follow us on social media for regular updates. This has been a theater for the mind by Wayland Productions. What should I do, Vera? What would you want of me? What? Madam! There's a... they just... I know. The Scouts report... at least 100 Republic Tangs in Korea. And the Scouts report... that the Scouts report... at least 100 Republic Tangs in countless red coat troops. How far are they now? About 500 miles. But they are on their way here. That's for sure. I never thought it would actually come to this. Wait, what... what are you thinking? There's only one possible response. Ready the Guardians. We are going to war. We're alive. Descendants will return.