The Stakelander

Once upon a time, a very long time ago...

...back when the first vamps showed up, there was a man.

- Mister. - Yeah, Mister.

Well, Mister was the best hunter that there ever was...

...and he traveled the Stakelands, killing vamps.

And then one day...

...he came upon this boy.

He was in real trouble.

You see there was a big bad vamp that was gonna eat him up.

- No. - Yeah, but Mister showed up...

...and they staked that vamp right through his heart.

Yay!

And after that...

...they came up north and they met a girl...

- Mommy! - Yeah, it was Mommy.

And the boy and this girl, they fell in love...

...and then... you came along.

What happened to Mister?

I don't know, baby.

One day, I woke up and, uh, he was gone.

I found this necklace hanging on the side of a car.

He left it so that I'd always remember him.

They're dead.

You're alive.

Act like it.

I'll be right back, baby.

Do you want me to come with you?

No, not this time. I want you to stay with her.

- All right. - Okay, bye.

- Bye. - Bye.

They've got bezerkers! They're gonna kills us all!

Not me. So you stay close, you understand?

- I want to stay. - Hush, baby. You have to stay quiet.

Martin?

Martin?

Put it away, boy.

We don't do history.

The world didn't die with a bang.

It died with a scream...

...lots of them...

...and I heard 'em all.

There's nothing left.

A dying landscape.

People stopped trying to rebuild a long time ago.

We let it all fall apart...

...and now everything's quiet, empty.

You can go for weeks without finding a soul.

Days come and night falls...

...and we survive...

...or we die.

All you really got are memories...

...and tomorrow, if you're lucky.

New Eden was the only home I had left.

And she...

...she took it from me.

The Brotherhood called her "The Mother."

Those vamp worshipers finally found their messiah...

...the one sent to wipe the Earth clean of sin.

I was heading south into the Stakelands.

If he was still alive, that's where I'd find him.

Mister.

The closest thing to family I had.

People knew of him...

...of his one-man war against the Brotherhood and the vamps.

He was legend.

He's the last hunter.

If I wanted to get to her...

...I was gonna need his help.

Drop it, son.

They've been coming out earlier, chancing the light...

...getting desperate.

Where are you coming from?

Up north, New Eden.

You're a long way from home.

What are you doing here?

I'm looking for someone. He's called Mister.

Yeah, heard of him.

Thought he was dead.

The poor boy looks hungry.

You try anything, son, I'll cut you in half.

Oh, shush, Karl. Can't you see he's a nice boy?

Come on. She won't be satisfied till you're fed.

It'll be dark soon anyway. Best get inside.

It's good, ma'am, thank you.

Sorry there's no meat. We got to make do with what we have.

You, uh... you're not eating?

We ate already.

Our boy Walter went to Canada...

...had a child up there...

...never came back.

Maybe you know of him. Walter Armstrong?

Come on, Jean. It's been years.

Walter's dead or as good as.

Give up hope, you might as well lay down and die.

The boy's lost and alone in a world of woe...

...and yet here he is looking for something.

That's hope.

Times like these...

...it's all we got to keep us going.

Make up Walter's bed for him, Karl.

Thank you, ma'am.

Bad things happen to good people.

The world ain't fair...

...never will be.

But there's good to be found.

People pass through now and again.

I get what news they have, update my maps, write down their stories.

Why?

Just a hobby.

Who knows, if this thing ever ends...

...people might want to know what happened.

Yeah, strange times we're living in.

It's the New Dark Ages, that's what this is.

- You okay, son? - Yeah, I just gotta...

Whoa, you should sit down.

Yeah, strange times.

You seem pretty tired.

Probably best you sleep right here.

Oh, no, Jean! Honey!

Oh, honey, I'm so...

Brothers, sisters...

...the mother of our blood has risen.

The devout will be saved.

The heretics will die.

Join us. Join us.

Brothers and sisters...

...we build a world in her image.

You need not be sick, hungry, tired.

The Brotherhood will clothe you, feed you, shelter you.

The Mother's love knows no bounds.

Join us.

The Brotherhood serves her and her alone.

Brothers, sisters...

...the mother of our blood has risen.

The devout will be saved.

The heretics will die.

Join us. Join us.

Brothers and sisters...

...we build a world in her image.

You need not be sick...

...hungry, tired...

Hey there.

Shit, man, you scared me.

- Where are you coming from? - Canada.

Whoa.

How's things here?

Quiet.

What do you got for trade?

You keep that. I'm just looking for somebody.

Yeah, nobody here but me.

You... you looking for the hunter.

Yeah, you and them Brotherhood boys.

Oh, they don't like him much.

- No, sir. - What about you? You seen him?

Yeah, yeah.

- Yeah, I seen him. - Where?

A few months back.

- Where was he headed? - Lockdown.

West...

towards, uh, Donnersville.

Donnersville? Where is that? How do I get there?

The quickest way is up 71, past the old brick plant.

Good folk, yeah.

That's the only safe place around these parts.

Okay, all right. Well, thank you very much for your help.

See you around, Canada.

Hi.

Don't worry, sweetheart, I'm not gonna hurt you.

I'm Martin. What's your name?

Most of the good in the world is gone.

Hate...

...hate seems to be the only thing that grows anymore.

You don't need fangs to be monster.

They're worse than the vamps.

They chose this.

Ladies and gentlemen...

...feast your eyes on the Behemoth!

But first, an appetizer of mayhem...

...a mano-a-mano no-rules death match!

And now, the bane of bezerkers...

...the viceroy of violence...

...the undefeated... the Stakelander!

Mister?

Mister.

Mister, it's me.

It's me, you fucking idiot.

Martin?

Yes!

Fight or die!

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

- What? - Back up.

It's a precaution.

Was it Brotherhood?

It was a she-vamp.

She was working with the Brotherhood.

They ambushed us...

...came out of nowhere.

She had other vamps with her, bezerkers...

...and they were organized...

...like an army...