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In the immediate aftermath of the virus, when
no adults were left alive, Amber and Dal decided to flee the
City and to find somewhere in the country to live. Somewhere
where they could grow their own food and be self-sufficient.
Easier said than done. Zoot, and his tribe the Locos, regularly
patrolled the City, rounding up "strays" and all too
frequently using them as slave labor.
Whilst taking cover from the Locos, Amber spotted Cloe, in a
world of her own, and bound to be snatched by the Locos, now
closing in fast. Amber risked her own safety to rescue Cloe,
and stayed with her to keep her safe. Cloe then took Amber and
Dal to meet her friends Salene, Patsy and Paul.
Meanwhile, Lex, Ryan and Zandra, were on the run from the Locos.
They found Amber's group by chance and demanded food. But then
the Locos arrived, and then the Demon Dogz, their arch rivals.
In the fight that ensued, Lex's group escaped one way, and Amber's
group another, finding the Mall by chance.
The sole inhabitant at this time was Jack. He allowed Amber's
group safe entrance, because he needed people to help him survive.
But then Lex's group showed up, still demanding Amber's food.
Jack pulled a few levers and Lex, Ryan and Zandra were trapped
between the two grilles.
So while Lex's group were left to stew, Jack showed Amber's
group around. Not only would the Mall provide shelter and protection,
they also found comfy beds in the furniture store to sleep in.
Dal still wanted to fulfill his dream with Amber, but she knew
it wasn't to be, and thought they should settle in the Mall. |
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With the exception of Jack, who is so attached
to his workshop that he even has his bed in there, everyone
else sleeps in the bedding/furniture store, at least for the
first night. That's Amber, Salene, Paul, Patsy, Cloe and Dal.
There's one set of bunk beds in there, and whilst Cloe grabs
the lower one, Amber gets to sleep in the bed above her.
From the beginning Amber's qualities as a natural leader are
obvious. In just about every crisis or situation requiring action
or a decision, it is Amber who takes the lead. Even the day-to-day
organization, such as setting up the duty roster, Amber is the
one who does it. |
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| Unfortunately, people don't like being told what to
do, and in a world without adults, this is even more so. Despite an
infestation of rats in the Café, and Amber's attempts to bring
in measures to keep the place clean, many in the tribe shirk their
allotted chores. With dishes festering unwashed, Amber gives up trying
to maintain order. |
Things rapidly come to a head, and after a fight
between Bray and Lex, Amber challenges Lex to an election to
decide who should be rightful leader. Lex has always wanted
this role, though most everyone else knows he's the worst person
for the job. Strangely Amber wants him to win and asks her supporters
to vote for Lex. Why? Because if she wins, Lex will be on her
case, bullying until he's leader. If Lex wins, he'll soon lose
interest and let someone else do it. "Trust me" she
assures Dal.
The election goes ahead, and Lex predictably wins. |
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| Lex's first task as leader is to put Jack on trial
for hoarding food. Whilst many would like to see Jack thrown
out of the tribe, Amber recognizes that he is a valuable asset
and this must not happen. Lex on the other hand is desperate
to have the charges dropped. Why? Because Jack knows about Lex's
own water stash and has promised to tell everyone in court about
it if the trial doesn't go his way. |
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Lex's taste of Leadership proves disastrous. His
people skills consist of threats and bullying. He begins by
allocating all the chores to the girls. In response Amber organizes
a strike: the girls will do absolutely nothing for the boys
including preparing meals. The boys smell the food, including
Salene's fresh bread, but by the time they arrive it's all gone!
Further crises follow, including a water shortage. The boys
(other than Lex) begin to cooperate with the girls, and Lex
finds himself out on a very lonely limb. |
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Lex makes a total fool of himself when he leads
the boys against a suspected attack or invasion by what turns
out to be Cloe's calf bluebell. Lex tries to turn the situation
around by promising everyone hamburgers, but when it comes to
it, Lex cannot kill the calf, but invents a story that the Locos
attacked him.
Amber doesn't believe Lex's the story for an instant. And soon
Cloe's account of losing Bluebell in the woods will totally
discredit him.
Amber offers Lex a way out. She suggests a 3-way split of responsibilities,
with Lex concentrating on his strong point - Mall security.
Lex wisely makes an announcement to this effect soon after. |
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It wasn't long before people started to move out of
the furniture store and find their own living space. Dal and Trudy
had already done this and then it was Amber's turn in episode 12,
choosing the room next to Trudy, the Sweet shop (i.e. candy store),
taking her bed there from the furniture store. In episode 13 she effectively
becomes the Leader of the Tribe, so having her own space enables people
who need her advice to come to her privately. Amber is now responsible
for the day-to-day running of the Tribe.
In Episode 15 Tai-San joins the tribe, bringing a spiritual/mystic
influence. Hearing that the tribe has no name she conducts an informal
ceremony whereby they become the "Mallrats". In Ep.17 Lex
and Zandra are about to get married when Ebony shows up in the Mall,
and freaks everyone out. The wedding is put on hold. Ebony is captured
and put in the cage, but she escapes during Lex's watch. While Amber
and Lex get ready for an attack by the Locos, Bray makes a secret
deal with Ebony that guarantees they will be left alone at least for
the time being. |
While Amber deals with the big stuff, she also
has to mother Trudy. Still suffering from post natal depression
she is moody and unstable at the best of times. Her main fear
is that Salene will take Bray away from her. When Bray and Salene
develop feelings for each other, Amber fears the whole tribe
might fall apart.
In Ep.20 Trudy reaches breaking point and takes an overdose
of sleeping pills taken from Dal's bag. Once again it is Amber
who takes charge of the situation with a lot of help from Dal.
Trudy makes a full recovery, but her basic unhappiness is never
resolved. She leaves the Mall with Dal in Ep.23, leaving Brady
to be cared for by the rest of the Tribe, which mostly means
Salene. |
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With Trudy gone, the atmosphere in the Mall is
certainly calmer. One exception is Jack's workshop where Dal's
engineering expertise is no longer available. As a result progress
on the wind turbine project grinds to a halt, until new arrival
KC proves himself amazingly adept!
Bray and Amber find time to talk without Trudy as a constant
all-demanding distraction. They don't know it yet, but the seeds
of their future relationship are being sown. For now, Bray is
still interested in Salene, but she herself shuns his advances
out of guilt for her part in making Trudy leave; above all for
having discovered the sleeping pills and leaving Trudy to die. |
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| Trudy returns to the Mall in Ep.25 without Dal.
Life has been far better without her, and most don't welcome
her back at first. Salene has formed a real bond with Brady
and it is really hard for her to hand her back. Nevertheless
Trudy shows a real change in her life and is determined to face
her responsibilities at last and to build relationships. |
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During her short stay with the Nomads Trudy learnt
important news about an upcoming Tribal Gathering. Amber and
Bray are interested. Because it is being organized by Ebony,
Bray decides to go see her and check it out. Only Amber knows
about Bray's mission.
Bray brings back a favorable report. Bray and Amber see the
Gathering as a real opportunity to make peace among the tribes. |
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| The
Tribal Gathering & Sasha Ep.28-36 |
| From day 1, Bray and Amber were destined
to become an item. But this would be no whirlwind romance. Neither
wanted to be the first to show their true feelings, plus there was
the complication that Trudy and Salene both wanted Bray. Late in the
first half of Season 1 there have been the first hints. But then came
the Tribal gathering... and Sasha. |
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Even though the event was being organized
by Ebony, both Bray and Amber had good feelings about it as a peaceful
venture. But things turned out more as Lex had feared. Amber found
Dal at the Gathering. Instead of being happy with the Nomads as Trudy
believed, he was in fact a slave, sold by them to Ebony. In an effort
to get Dal back, Amber makes a wager with Ebony - and loses, thereby
also becoming Ebony's slave. At this point, Lex takes matters into
his own hands and starts an intertribal, all-out riot. Ryan frees
Amber, Dal and Sasha, and the Mallrats are lucky to get out pretty
much unscathed.
Back at the Mall, Sasha is a charmer. Much to Bray's annoyance he
devotes his time to teaching the kids music, dance, drama, and charming
the ladies, specially Amber, who readily falls for him. It is largely
Sasha who persuades Amber to perform the ceremony to marry Lex and
Zandra (Ep.33).
After the wedding, Sasha persuades Amber to spend the day with him.
One day turns to three, and she agrees to spend her life with Sasha,
returning to the Mall only to say good-bye. At the last minute, she
looks back; to the people who need her; the tribe now at the Mercy
of Lex's bullying. It's a hard choice, but she sends Sasha on his
way without her. For weeks she sits alone, remembering him. |
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| With Amber pretty much out of it, Bray tries to keep
the Mall running smoothly, filling in for her. Lex doesn't like this
at all, and neither does KC. Together they frame Bray for hoarding
water, in hopes this will get him thrown out of the Tribe. |
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Tai-San and Trudy ask Amber to hold a trial to uncover
the truth. Amber is the only one who can stand up to Lex, and has
little choice than to accept. Even so, things go badly for Bray, and
Lex is almost sure to get his way. Bray decides to leave the Tribe
without waiting for the inevitable verdict.
Amber and Lex have a public shouting match. She accuses him of destroying
the tribe. As Bray is leaving Jack breaks his silence, willing to
reveal the truth despite Lex threatening to give him two broken legs
instead of one. KC confesses, to everything. Amber contemplates putting
KC on trial - at least to force Lex's hand - when Patsy walks in with
Glen. Old Glen. The virus is back. The trial is soon forgotten, for
the virus could spell death for everyone. Patsy and Lex (who have
had contact with Glen) are put in quarantine, though not for long.
What they need is a long-term solution |
Bray and Amber realize that the first step in finding
answers is to gather as much information as they can about the virus,
and how it started.
The following day, two teams set out from the Mall. Lex and Dal head
for the offices of The Daily Times. Bray, Amber and KC set
out for the Ministry of Health. What they find, though it seems insignificant
at the time, is a reference to a science project on Hope Island.
When they get back to the Mall, Glen is already dead. They cremate
his body on some open ground.
Next day Lex, Bray, Amber, Dal (and Bob) find a small boat and row
across to Hope island in the Bay. Despite a minefield, and a security
system that traps them in the airtight laboratory, they come back
with samples of a viable antidote.
Unfortunately, while the leaders were away, KC decided to have some
fun - at the casino. He trades Jack's batteries and Cloe's pig for
gambling chips. Fortunately Cloe insisted on going with him, to see
why he was taking Porky. She escaped with her pig, but KC got caught.
Just where did he get those batteries and the pig???? Top-Hat, leader
of Tribe Circus, will want to know... |
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At the end of the day when Jack is the only other
person still awake (He's working on the computer files from
Hope Island), Bray and Amber share a cup of cocoa.... and then...
their first kiss!
The following morning Tai-San greets them and knows instinctively
of the new development. It will bring powerful medicine to the
tribe! The rest of the day (and Ep.44) is devoted to Lex embarking
on a spiritual quest in exile to find a cure. For Lex has has
caught the Virus.
With Lex gone, attention focuses on the continued absence of
KC. People start to realize he might be in real trouble, and
might bring it back to the Mall. |
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| In Ep.45 Trudy is the first to find out that Amber has
moved in with Bray when she comes in asking him to attend a "Council
of War". She is not at all happy about it, sarcastic and bitter
in fact. |
| Trouble
and more trouble Ep.46-47 |
| Tribe Circus arrives as expected (caused by KC's reckless
stupidity), and although the Mallrats put up a good fight, they are
soon defeated. |
| Most of Tribe Circus, including Top-Hat,
have been lured behind the grille before Jack releases it. Unfortunately
an obstacle gets in the way, leaving a gap large enough for Tribe
Circus to squeeze through, and nothing Amber can do will hold them
back forever |
Amber threatens to drop and destroy the
Antidote rather than let Ebony steal it. Ebony counter threatens to
drop Bray over the Balcony. Amber gives in and gives the box to her |
| Tribe Circus trash the Mall. Before leaving they trap
the Mallrats behind the grille, and set fire to a pile of furniture
in front of it. Lex brings Ebony and the Locos to rescue them, but
she in turn steals not only the Antidote they had brought back from
Hope Island, but also Lex (who has the virus) to test it on, and Bray
- as revenge on Amber. |
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With Bray gone, Amber returns to her own room in the
Sweet Shop, sick for worrying over him. She volunteers to go out food
foraging, but the real reason is she wants to discover Ebony's HQ.
She finds it!
Dal and KC get a radio helicopter going and fly it over the Hotel
with a camcorder attached. In the footage they bring back, Amber watches
Ebony rubbing Bray's back with sun-lotion. Amber is distraught. She
cannot know that Bray in fact had little choice. In the days following,
Amber makes everybody's life hell, picking fault with everything.
Such is the effect on her temperament of losing Bray.
Jack and Dal decode some of the Hope Island computer files and conclude
there's something big on Eagle Mountain, at least 20 miles away. Tai-San
has a dream that seems to support their findings. The Mallrats set
off for Eagle Mountain. Meanwhile Spike leads a Loco rebellion against
Ebony. Bray helps her to escape to the Mall.
They catch up with the Mallrats in an old bus Ebony has been keeping
under wraps, and take them some of the way before the bus breaks down
permanently. Bray doesn't understand why Amber's love has turned to
hate. |
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Eagle Mountain turns out to be a satellite tracking
station. While Jack and Dal attempt to break into the computer system,
Lex acts as go-between and Bray and Amber kiss and make up. Then a
satellite passes in orbit broadcasting its message concerning the
Antidote. The tracking station picks it up and gives the Mallrats
extremely important information. But then there's an explosion. Zandra
is killed and so too, apparently, is Amber. Bray mourns for her, and
is set on leaving the tribe to find his own path, but reconsiders,
for Amber would have wanted him to continue as leader.
In Season 2, Bray finds a new girl, Danni. The Mallrats find the Antidote
formula, and supply the City, thereby becoming the dominant tribe.
But the City is taken by a Zoot cult, the Chosen. Amber is all but
forgotten, until in Season 3 a small band of rebels (against the Chosen)
led by Bray discover that Amber is very much alive! |
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