Save the Last One

"Save the Last One" is the fourth episode of the second season of The Walking Dead Rewrite. It is the tenth episode of the series overall.

Plot
The group desperately awaits Shane's return. Shane finds himself trapped in a school, surrounded by the undead. Meanwhile, the rest of the Atlanta group discover a new possible ally.

Day 71
In a scene shown later in this episode, after showering in the bathroom at the farm, Shane stares into the mirror at himself after clipping all of the hair from his head. As he wipes away the steam off the mirror, there's a look in his eyes that says something about him has changed.

Earlier, Rick and Lori wait patiently at Carl's bedside for Shane and Otis to return from the FEMA command post at the high school, so that Hershel Greene can perform the surgery that will save their son’s life. Rick, weak from multiple blood transfusions to keep Carl alive, tells Lori a familiar story about a prank Shane pulled on the principal when they were in high school. Focused on her son's health, Lori begs him to eat to keep his strength up, while Rick tries to convince her that Carl will be fine. Rick says that he can’t blame Otis for getting Carl shot anymore since he risks his life for him to survive. Lori isn’t really sure about that, but can understand that Otis didn’t do it on purpose.

In the RV on the highway, Carol Peletier is crying over Sophia's disappearance in the bedroom, keeping Daryl, Morales, Eliza and Louis bitter and awake. Morales pleads Carol to sleep, thinking for his children first. Daryl leaves the sleeping area, only to find Andrea still awake. She got the gun from Daryl, which he took from the tent last time. Andrea explains that Lori gave her the gun during their way back to the highway. Daryl takes it back from her when he decides to go out looking for Sophia. With nothing else to do, Andrea decides to go with him. When Dale tries to object to them heading out in the middle of the night, Andrea reasons with him and says that they can’t let Carol live without the knowledge about what happened to Sophia. Dale, not feeling very well about their decision, agrees and announces that he will look for something else in the meantime.

Otis and Shane, still with a full head of hair, have made it in to the high school's auditorium and on to the bleachers, they determine that they still can't outrun the walkers as there are too many. When Shane spots a window and suggests they try to jump through, Otis rejects the idea on account of his size. He instead tells Shane to go for the windows on his own while he draws the walkers away to the locker rooms - he says that the windows there are larger and he can escape easily.

Otis' plan works, and he's able to draw most of the walkers from the auditorium, growling and reaching for him as they go, while Shane shoots at the dead from atop the bleachers. Shane makes it to the window and is almost out, but a walker makes it up the bleachers, grabbing for him through the broken window frame. He grabs his gun and shoots the walker, but loses his grip on the window and falls two stories below and lands hard on his ankle.

Glenn and T-Dog arrive at the farm and nervously discuss whether they're supposed to knock; they hadn't knocked on anyone's front door in months. But they're surprised by Maggie Greene, sitting in a darkened corner on the porch, listening in on their conversation. As she asks if they closed the gate when they drove into the farm, Glenn just sputters a yes. Maggie smiles and invites them inside, where they find Rick and Lori at Carl's bedside with Hershel. They have a short greeting moment, as Rick asks for T-Dog’s condition, his injured arm. T-Dog states he should be okay soon. Maggie says that Patricia can have a look on his arm, even be able to treat the wound, to which Glenn agrees for his friend’s sake. As this happens, Maggie asks her sister, Lacey Greene, if she can go get Patricia, who takes a break from the day and the worries about her husband, Otis.

Hershel states then to the others that Shane and Otis are taking too long to return and that Carl's condition is growing worse. He informs Rick and Lori that he may have to attempt the surgery without the equipment, and that they’re going to have to make a choice sooner rather than later. The two talk it over and Lori wonders if Carl might be better off dead, but Rick doesn't want to hear it.

He asks her what's changed since the CDC, when Jenner offered them a way out. Remembering how Jenner committed suicide, Lori sobs. She thinks this new world isn’t something where a child should grow up anymore, also mentioning how Sophia got lost and that Eliza and Louis lost their mother, which will haunt them forever from now on. Then, she begs for him to give her a reason why it would be better to live. But Rick still decides to fight for his son as Shane fights for his life at the school.

Limping, Shane shoots various walkers but is about to be overrun when Otis saves him from the approaching walkers, though they both use their last rifle rounds. They start to limp away as the walkers tear at the fences.

Carl wakes for a very brief moment, and talks excitedly about the deer that he saw and how he wanted to find Sophia, but he then has a seizure. His blood pressure drops and Rick desperately offers to do another transfusion. Hershel doesn't want to take any more blood from him in case he goes in to a coma or suffers cardiac arrest, but he begins to take out his kit anyway - it's the only way to keep Carl alive until Shane and Otis get back. Rick insists that Hershel takes more of his blood.

While they search the dark forest, Daryl tells Andrea about the time he was lost in the woods when he was a child. As they discuss Sophia’s chances, Daryl is still hopeful and thinks that being on his own can make everyone to a survivor. Andrea agrees to his words, also apologizing when she didn’t believe him about what happened to the Vatos. Suddenly, they hear loud noises of movement in the bush and Daryl and Andrea take their guns out, ready to shoot if they need to. A man stumble out of the bush and is shocked when he sees both of them aiming at him. He begs them not to shoot, as Daryl asks who he is. The man ignores him and recognizes the gun in his hand instead. Still shocked, the man says that the gun Daryl is holding is his and asks where he found it. Daryl doesn’t give up and wants to know his name, but Andrea tells him that they found the gun in a tent in the woods when they looked out for someone, asking the man if he saw a little girl.

Daryl tries to hold Andrea back, but the man answers that he didn’t saw anyone since two weeks, also mentioning that he doesn’t want to know if anyone is out there in the woods, as there could be dangerous people around. Daryl questions him again, but gets ignored again. Andrea wants to know if the man saw the big walker herd from the highway yesterday. The man shakes his head and pleads to get his gun back to protect himself against walkers. Daryl and Andrea then argue about what to do with him, coming to the result that they will take him with them back to the highway, as Daryl adds that he will keep an eye on him. The man accepts their plan and introduces himself as Matt.

Unable to sleep, Carol joins Dale who tries to get a car radio to work, without any success. Carol can tell that Dale is woried about Andrea, and she tries to comfort him. Dale states that he doesn’t want to lose another human he cares for. Carol understands him and they bond each other as they talk about their worries. They are unaware that Morales is nearby and listens to them. He gets worried and angry when he hears them saying that they fear what Morales could do to himself or to others because of his condition. He returns to the RV and looks at his children, which are sleeping. Morales is in thoughts, as he isn’t sure if he is able to protect his children from the new world, as he couldn’t save his wife.

At the farmhouse, Patricia is busy, stitching up T-Dog’s arm, while Lacey talks with Patricia about Otis. Outside, Glenn is trying to pray for the safety of Carl before Maggie interrupts him on the front porch. He's never prayed before, and he and Maggie discuss if God exists. Before she goes back inside to leave him alone, she tells him that he can believe in God but he will be the one who makes it okay to himself somehow.

Few minutes later, as Carl sleeps, Rick returns to his conversation with Lori, having left it with her wondering if the world was worth living in anymore, and needing Rick to tell her something to hold on to. He says that Carl's reminisces about how beautiful the deer was and that his strength to look for Sophia isn’t giving up when he woke up told him that there was still a world out there for them. But the latest transfusion wasn't enough, and Rick's hope is able to convince Lori to allow Hershel to do the surgery without the anesthetic. Patricia pulls the shade off a table lamp as Hershel sterilizes his equipment, and they place Carl on a metal trey. He's getting ready to start when the pick-up pulls in to the driveway, the headlights shining in through the window.

When the group goes to investigate, they find that Shane has returned with the supplies, but without Otis. Shane seems stunned, quiet. He tells them they were overrun, and claims that Otis sacrificed himself so that he could escape. Hershel demands that no one needs to tell Patricia until after the surgery, and Maggie sobs as Rick embraces Shane for bringing back the equipment and comforts him saying that Otis wanted to make it right.

As Daryl and Andrea heading back to the highway with Matt, a walker appears from the dark and overthrows Andrea to the ground. Matt immediatly comes to her help, throws the walker off her. Daryl then shoots it dead with an arrow from his crossbow. Andrea thanks both men, as she takes Matt’s hand. She feels strange when she touches him, as he do the same. Daryl says that they should keep moving, ruining their moment. A few minutes later, they return safely to the RV. Carol sees them and returns tearfully to bed, as she can’t see Sophia.

Dale comes to them and wonders who Matt is. Matt introduces himself and says that he helped Andrea back then from a walker. Daryl corrects him and informs Dale that they found him in the woods and that he will keep an eye on him. Dale welcomes Matt into the group and mentions that the group has children, which confuses Matt. He gets the message a few seconds later and promises he won’t harm any child or any person around him. Daryl still insits that he sleeps in a car next to the RV, to which Dale agrees. Andrea thinks that they can trust Matt enough, as she confirms that Matt helped her.

Dale reasons with Andrea and she accepts Dale’s and Daryl’s worries. She then announces that she will keep the watch for the rest of the night. Daryl and Dale head inside the RV to sleep, as Andrea joins Matt at a nearby abandoned car. She promises him that he will sleep well while her watch, to which he feels comfortable.

Glenn comforts Maggie and Lacey over the loss of Otis, and they tell him about their stepmother, brother and stepbrother, who became walkers. Hershel is able to stabilize Carl, which leaves Rick and Lori near tears. Rick offers to help Hershel with informing Patricia about Otis. As she sobs, Shane looks on from the living room.

Shane goes to Carl's room, where he finds Lori at his bedside and stands back nervously. She says that he can stay, but he can't. Maggie finds him in the hallway and hands him some overalls, as she adds that they won’t fit very well as they were Otis’.

Shane goes to the bathroom and has his shower, and with his full head of hair he finds a bald spot, where it looks as if hair has been pulled from his scalp. He remembers what happened at the high school as he looks around the bathroom in various drawers and cabinets for an electric razor.

In a flashback, Otis pulls Shane along after he collapses from his ankle injury. They shoot at various walkers and manage to get to the parking lot, a herd of walkers behind them. They are both down to their last round of ammunition. Shane tells Otis to leave him and take the supplies, but Otis refuses to leave him and pulls him up, helping him.

Shane hobbles as the walkers descend on them. With no other option of survival, he looks at Otis. "I'm sorry," he says, and Otis looks at him, confused, as Shane shoots him in the leg with his last bullet.

Otis screams in pain, falling. Shane grabs for Otis' backpack with the supplies Carl needs inside, but Otis fights him, grabbing at a chunk of his hair and punching him. Shane is eventually able to overpower him, take his gun, and leave him as bait for the walkers. The walkers descend on Otis, devouring him while Shane is able to hobble away unnoticed.

Back inside the Greene's bathroom, Shane shaves his head to hide the bald spot and protect his secret.

Co-Stars

 * Maddie Lomax as Eliza Morales
 * Noah Lomax as Louis Morales
 * Pruitt Taylor Vince as Otis
 * Jane McNeill as Patricia

Deaths

 * Otis

Trivia

 * First appearance of Matt.
 * Last appearance of Otis. (Alive)
 * The title of the episode, "Save the Last One", refers to the well known rule in zombie apocalypse stories that survivors should always save the last bullet for themselves if surrounded by a group of zombies. In this case, Shane used his last bullet to sacrifice Otis and not to kill himself.