The beginning of Episode 5 takes place in the past, when Kansas City descends into chaos and riots following the outbreak. The lynching of police officers leads to the military's intervention with increased firepower. Henry and Sam, among the surviving individuals, try to stay low and survive.
After FEDRA is defeated, Kathleen declares herself as the new dictator in charge. She expresses her desire to find Henry, but nobody reveals his location until someone steps forward and says he's meeting with an informant outside in a secure hideout, which turns out to be the attic from last episode.
Henry and Sam settle in and plan to conserve their resources, with Henry estimating they have 11 days to survive. However, Sam is afraid and Henry tries to comfort him by encouraging him to draw on the walls. Perry suggests they wait and regroup, but Kathleen insults him and orders him to move immediately, instructing him to burn the bodies instead of putting them on trial as it's "faster."
Ten days later, Sam and Henry find themselves with only one can left and no food. They make the decision to leave on foot. As they prepare to depart, they hear the sound of gunfire outside, which turns out to be the small shootout at the department store, seen in the previous chapter.
Henry spots Joel and the two change their plans, heading to the apartment complex and catching up with the events at the end of Episode 4. Henry suggests that they work together, lowering his gun and showing his willingness to trust them.
As the four of them collaborate, Sam and Ellie form a friendship, bonding over comic books. Despite Sam being deaf, the two find ways to communicate and enjoy each others company. It's nice to see the two kids laughing. Together, they devise a plan to escape from "Killer City". Henry wants to assist Joel and Ellie, as he can also benefit from their success. He explains that pointing an unloaded gun is the closest he has ever come to violence, and therefore he needs Joel's ruthlessness to find a way out.
However, escaping the city proves to be a difficult task as Kathleen has control over everything, including the four highways surrounding the city. The infected have also been driven underground 15 years ago, which is the same underground route that Henry and Sam plan to take to sneak past the soldiers. The FEDRA guy that Henry trusted reportedly cleared out the area with his team three years ago, but the plan relies on questionable intelligence and Joel is skeptical.
The four make their way to the maintenance tunnels, complete with references to the first game. They find an old community that seems to have established itself underground after Outbreak Day. Joel and Ellie enjoy the old school resources. Ellie and Henry believe it would be a good idea to linger and explore a bit, so Joel agrees to let them do so.
As they explore, Henry confesses that he had not been truthful about his killing earlier. It turns out that Sam was suffering from leukemia, and the only cure was in the possession of FEDRA. To obtain the medicine, the leader of the Kansas City resistance, who was also Kathleen's brother, was killed in the process.
Joel and his team successfully reach the other side of the tunnels, but their progress is hindered by a sniper in a building across from them. Joel sneaks into the house and encounters an old man who is in league with Kathleen. When Kathleen and her large group arrive, Joel uses the rifle to take out the truck driver. Despite her willingness to kill children, Kathleen is met with resistance from Henry who, unable to reason with her, commands Ellie to take Sam and run.
Just as Joel is about to fire at Kathleen, the ground collapses and a horde of infected including a large bloater bursts forth, charging at Kathleen's group. Gunshots fire in all directions before the bloater is killed and Kathleen's group is decimated. The four survivors find a safe place to take refuge.
Joel invites Sam and Henry to join them on their journey to Wyoming, but their plans are thwarted when Sam reveals to Ellie that he's been bitten and infected. Ellie tries to use her blood to "cure" Sam without telling Joel or Henry. Unfortunately, Sam turns into an infected during the night and attacks Ellie. In a moment of desperation, Henry is forced to kill Sam and is overwhelmed by the grief. He then takes his own life. As Joel buries Sam and Henry, Ellie leaves a message on Sam's whiteboard reading "I'm sorry". Ouch, man.
