The Colony – Week 9: The Virus

And then there were 8, but we’ll get to that a bit later on.

Survival, true survival is a twofold strategy. If you wanted to create an acronym of sorts to help prepare yourself, TS = TS would be a good start. In addition to providing for the most basic of needs like food, water, medicines or the “inner necessities”, one must always be looking outward, keeping an eye on the horizon.

In urban survival, shelter from the weather is just the beginning. You need protection from so much more than just the climate. Survival is about minimizing and mitigating external influences.

At the top of the show, 21 invaders violently attack the Colony and the battle begins. Instantly, you see the benefit of Tick taking charge. For the very first time this season, the survivors exercised a well thought out plan. Tick, Jim, Reno defended the front yard; some went to the roof, some stayed inside locking the doors and reinforcing them with their bodies. Amber was a trooper. The assault rages full on with the intruders both burglarizing and vandalizing the compound. The Colonists fight valiantly, repelling the incursion. Their celebration is barely tainted by the knowledge that things will only get worse.

Jim announces that his Christian faith, and it’s inherent compassion, are difficult to maintain when he is tired, hungry and mad.

So the plan? Get the large boat seaworthy. The Colonists realize that their only hope of surviving the next attack is to be somewhere else when it hits. The group decides to split the force, sending Michel, Amber, Tick and Jim on the smaller vessel to scout the area! After a bit of rainwater bailing, the boat is ready to go. The four explorers pack their gear and say their goodbyes.

Sally begins work on the scavenged, 80 horsepower airplane engine that will power the evacuation boat. Sian and George work on hand crafting a wooden propeller while Reno and DeVille get the tractor running and devise a plan to move the boat across the compound to the edge of the water. Becka fills the day complaining to the camera. You feel she would have been the first one “voted off” if there was a Tribe to do so.

Michel, Amber, Tick and Jim paddle amongst the ruins of the bayou and finally find an abandoned “fishing camp” supported above the water on stilts with a fully functional roof. They enter cautiously, survey the situation and secure it for themselves.

Sally Dawson, 27, an auto mechanic/shop owner from Stoneham, MA.

Tick and Jim set out to hunt and do so successfully capturing snakes, rodents and crabs. Michel and Amber leave the camp to scavenge the surrounding area and come back with so much more then they bargained for.

Without notice, a lone assailant jumps from the swampy bushes, attacks Michel and Amber instantly infecting them with the virus. They leave a charcoal written note of explanation on a piece of plywood for Tick and Jim and vanish into the woods.

And then there were 8.

Tick and Jim are stunned. They gather the remaining gear left at the house and start the 5-mile paddle back to the Colony. At the end of the journey they shoulder the responsibility of telling the others that they lost two friends.

The Colonists are shocked. As they all voice their individual brands of remorse Becka announces, “Well, they were never really part of our group anyway.” She draws instant and universal condemnation from the group. Once again her self-centeredness is revealed as anything but shallow. If you polled the group, they would surely vote to leave her in the clutches of her earlier abductors.

As the show draws to a close, Tick and Jim spot a spy at the edge of the property. They decide to track him and see where it leads. Hours later they discover the camp the invaders have been using to stage the attacks against the Colonists. They have finally uncovered the source of their main security concern.

Returning to the Colony, they begin to pack the large boat for their exodus. Jim decides he cannot leave without exacting “revenge” on the marauding assailants. In a move that shocks those that have become fans of Tick’s calm, focused demeanor, Tick concurs and they plot a counter attack.

Jim, and the Colony would have been tremendously better off if he had focused on his compassion and left his revenge in the compound.

Brian Brawdy is a former New York Police Officer turned survival expert/political analyst. He is a frequent contributor to Off The Grid News, the co-Host of Off The Grid News Radio and the editor of BrianBrawdy.com