Abel (Video Game)

"My... my whole life, everything I ever got, I got with my own two hands... and my will. For my body... to turn on me... to take control... I'll tell you where to find Lilly! Just promise... you won't let me turn."

- Abel expressing fear when faced with his imminent death and reanimation.

Abel is a main character and an antagonist who first appears in Telltale Games' The Walking Dead: Season Four. He is a member of the Delta, and served as the secondary antagonist of the first half of Season 4.

Overview
Abel is an extremely ruthless, manipulative, and hardened survivor, willing to do whatever it takes for him and his group to survive, including robbing other survivors, hurting, kidnapping, and even killing children. He is shown to be quite brutal and violent, mercilessly twisting A.J.'s arm when Clementine refuses to cooperate. He also shows unwavering determination and loyalty to Lilly and the Delta, stopping at nothing to accomplish his mission, even after sustaining several serious wounds. When faced with interrogation, Abel shows little fear. Despite his violent nature however, Abel does not seem to take any genuine pleasure in his actions. Upon realizing he's dying, Abel begins to break down, expressing fear at the prospect of becoming a walker. Abel's fear of turning is so great that he is willing to betray the Delta, begging Clementine to not let him reanimate in exchange for Lilly's location. In his final moments, he shows signs of regret for the previous day's events, and it is later confirmed by Minerva that Abel was planning to get the kids to come peacefully, as he didn't want to kill them.

Location Unknown
Nothing is known about Abel's life before or as the outbreak began. It is possible he lived in or near West Virginia. He mentioned he had been tied up by an unnamed woman in a suggestive manner at one point.

Post-Apocalypse
Roughly a year before Clementine's appearance at the school, Abel and his group came into contact with Marlon, who was out on a supply run with a few other children. This confrontation ended with Marlon giving away two of his own people, the twin sisters Minerva and Sophie, to Abel and his group, ensuring they would leave the boarding school alone. Marlon and Brody would create a cover story that the two sisters were killed by walkers during the supply run, swearing the truth to secrecy.

"Done Running"
While Clementine helps either Violet and Brody or Louis and Aasim, Abel comes across the location that Clementine did not visit. Abel triggers and loots the respective area's traps, leaving behind one of his handmade cigarettes in the process. Clementine and the group come across the looted traps, and realize someone has robbed them, which notably causes Brody to suffer a panic attack. Later, Clementine has the option to ask Abel if he is the one that sabotaged their traps, which he readily admits to, but claims was "an honest mistake."

His first official appearance is when Alvin Jr. and Clementine are taking food from the train station. Abel quietly enters the train station and holds a gun to Clementine, ordering her to stand. Abel tells her to stay quiet, and that he won't hurt her if he doesn't have to. He tells Clementine that he just wants food, and goes to grab one of the nearby duffel bags. Abel begins questioning Clementine about whether she's alone, and if she has a nearby group, to which Clementine can either answer, lie, or avoid his questions. Regardless of her answers, Abel kneels down to collect the food, telling Clementine he's going to slowly fill the duffel bag. At this point, Abel finds the surprised AJ inside the crawlspace, who promptly points a gun at Abel, who points his gun at AJ in turn. Despite AJ's threats to shoot, Abel calmly tells AJ to lower the gun, and that he is only going to take some of the food and leave. During this confrontation, Clementine notices the open window behind the unaware Abel. At this point, Clementine can choose to attack Abel, or tell AJ to lower the gun, allowing Abel to leave peacefully. Clementine can additionally tell AJ to shoot Abel (or stay silent), but this will lead to a game over.

Attack Abel (Alive): If Clementine chooses attack to Abel, she takes him by surprise, pushing him towards the open window. Abel is promptly grabbed by the nearby walkers and pulled out of the window, angrily cursing out Clementine as he is pulled out. Abel will get bitten in the process on his left arm and then proceeds to fire three gunshots.

AJ Puts The Gun Down (Alive): If Clementine chooses not to attack Abel, AJ will reluctantly put the gun down as Abel finishes filling his duffel bag. Violet enters the train station, curious at what is taking Clementine and AJ so long, and stumbles across Abel. Abel calmly tells her not to panic, and leaves the train station without further incident.

When they make their escape from the train station, Louis asks what happened, and Clementine explains the situation on the way back to the boarding school. After returning, Brody questions where they got all the food from. Louis and Violet explain their encounter with Abel, which visibly upsets Brody. She asks if he followed her, and Clementine will explain how she either let him go or shoved him into the walkers. Brody angrily questions Clementine's decision, arguing that he will either return to the train station for more if he was allowed to leave, or that he will come looking for revenge if he was attacked. Marlon attempts to defuse the situation, but Brody angrily shoves him to the ground and tells Clementine she will hold her responsible if anything happens. Furthermore, if Abel was spared, AJ will express his disappointment in Clementine's choice, claiming that letting Abel steal from them was wrong, and that it makes them appear weak. Later that night, Clementine is awoken by a loud argument coming from somewhere in the school. She eventually follows the noise to the school's storm cellar, where she finds Marlon and Brody angrily arguing with each other. As Clementine listens in, it is revealed that Abel is part of a larger group of raiders that Marlon once came across a year earlier, and that Marlon ended up trading two of his own people, Sophie and Minerva, in exchange for the raiders leaving them alone, creating a cover story that the two girls were killed by walkers while they were out scavenging. Brody is concerned with Abel's reappearance, worrying that the raiders are back in the area, and may potentially find (and attack) the school.

"Suffer The Children"
After Clem and AJ are exiled from Ericson's Boarding School, Abel ambushes them in the forest, armed with a shotgun. If Clem shoved him into the Walker horde, he is missing his left arm - having cut it off to keep himself from turning. Clem disarms and knocks him over, but is ambushed by Lilly. Abel knocks Clem to the ground, kicking her knife away while Lilly pins her under her boot. When AJ attempts to intervene, Abel cordially greets him before bashing him with the shotgun, threatening to shoot him in the head unless Clem helps them capture the school. When Lilly recognizes Clem and lets her up, Abel is confused and annoyed; and when Clem and AJ flee he shoots the latter in the abdomen with a round of buckshot. A Walker herd stops his and Lilly's pursuit of the two, and they return to their group to prepare to attack the school.

Two weeks later, Abel is among the raiders who attacks the school, holding a grudge against AJ and Clem and intending to kill them while Lilly isn't around to stop him. He sets the admin building on fire with a molotov cocktail and corners Clem and AJ in the headmaster's office, knocking AJ over by kicking the door open. He can be slashed across his right palm, but initially overwhelms Clem and pins her to the desk. As Abel monologues about how he likes seeing people like Clem suffer and mocks her over how many people have died because of her weakness, Clem stabs him in the eye with an ornamental lighthouse before AJ stabs his foot with a fire poker. Clem tackles him through the window and onto the balcony. Abel grabs her face, but Clem knees him in the groin before smashing him through the railing. Abel manages to grab her and pull her over with him, but sustains a badly-broken leg from the fall. When Abel tries to stop Clem from coming to Violet or Louis' defense, she can kick him in the face twice - breaking his nose (Determinant) - and Rosie mauls his arm.

Abel is left behind by the other raiders and is chained to the flagpole by the remaining teens, who intend to interrogate him regarding the whereabouts of his group's base, making him their prisoner.

"Broken Toys"
Abel is bound to a desk chair in the basement of the Boarding School by either Louis or Violet, depending on who was saved last episode. If Louis was saved previously, he will mention how he couldn't bring himself to hurt Abel, even in spite of his actions. Clementine heads into the basement to find AJ standing guard over the now unconscious Abel. After waking Abel up, the two begin to interrogate him. Clementine can choose to torture him, or treat him mercifully without resorting to violence. At first, Abel gives vague answers to Clementine's questions, but seemingly relents, pointing her to one of his hand-rolled cigarettes in his pocket. Abel asks for them to light the cigarette, claiming "a smoke will clear [his] mind." Clementine can oblige his request, stub out the cigarette, or burn him on his right cheek with it.

However, the interrogation takes a sudden turn when Abel begins vomiting a large amount of blood. Abel realizes he's dying as a result of the fall from the balcony, having suffered massive internal bleeding. Coming to terms with his impending death, Abel seemingly displays regret about the events of the previous night, claiming he didn't want anyone to be hurt or killed. When AJ asks if he's going to turn, Abel cries out and expresses visible fear. Not wanting to lose control of his body as a result of reanimation, Abel begs Clementine to put him down, in exchange for the location of the raiders. Clementine can either promise to mercy kill him in exchange for the information, or use his fear of turning in order to intimidate him into giving up the location. Either way, Abel concedes, and reveals the location of the Delta's current base of operations: a boat, a few miles west of the Boarding school. If Clementine intimidated Abel, he'll direct her to a set of notes hidden in his boot, which contains more in depth information about the Delta's current location, and a series of call signs they use to identify one another.

Having gotten what she wanted, Abel begs for Clementine to keep her end of the deal, and to put him out of his misery.

In-Game Decision
Mercy Kill Abel (Dead): Clementine honors Abel's wishes and keeps her side of the deal. Clementine goes to shoot him, but Abel objects, wanting a cleaner death so he can "keep [his] face." Clementine then pulls out her knife and stabs him in the side of the head as AJ watches, killing him. Clementine and AJ return to the others, leaving Abel's body in the basement.

Let Him Turn (Undead): Clementine coldly refuses to show Abel mercy, leaving him to die from his wounds. If the player previously promised to put him down, he angrily curses Clementine with his dying breaths. Abel slowly grows weaker, muttering that no one deserves to turn, trailing off as he finally dies. A few moments later, Abel reanimates and lunges at AJ. AJ is unnerved at the sight of the undead Abel, who is left behind in the basement as Clementine and AJ return to the others.

"Take Us Back"
Abel will be seen outside the school as a warning, tied to a tree either as a dead corpse or as a walker.

Death
In "Suffer The Children", Abel is pushed from a balcony, which causes fatal internal damage. During the interrogation in "Broken Toys", the effects from his fall begin to manifest, and he starts to vomit a large amount of blood. Knowing he is about to die, he pleads Clem to stab him in the head so he won't have to reanimate, fearing the prospect of losing control of his own body. Clem can carry out his wish and mercifully stab him in the head, or leave him to die from his injuries, reanimating not long afterwards.
 * Killed By
 * Alvin Jr. (Indirectly Caused, Alive)
 * Clementine (Caused, Alive; Out of Mercy, Determinant)

Killed Victims
This list shows the victims Abel has killed:
 * Numerous counts of zombies and possibly unnamed people

Relationships
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Lilly
"Great. You know her, I know her. Point is, we got a job to do."

- Abel to Lilly about Clementine.

Abel and Lilly seem to have a good relationship, as Abel respects her leadership. However, he is annoyed by her leniency towards Clementine, whom he sees as a threat to the group. When learning of his death. She seemed to be saddened and angry.

Clementine
"Your friend Lilly ain't around this time. So we'll have a nice little chat, you and me. Alone."

- Abel to Clementine before attacking her. Abel and Clementine have an antagonistic relationship, which begins when Abel steals some food from Clementine at gunpoint. If Clementine tells AJ to shoot him, Abel will kill her - but this is a non-canonical death. Clementine can choose to attack Abel, shoving him into a herd of walkers and costing him his left arm.

In "Suffer The Children", Abel returns bearing a grudge against Clementine, not hesitating to use AJ as a bargaining chip. Unlike Lilly, Abel realizes that Clementine will never cooperate, and attempts to convince Lilly to take the rest of the kids by force. During the raid on Ericson, he relentlessly pursues her and AJ, attempting to kill her once separated from Lilly. After temporarily overwhelming Clementine, he pins her to the headmaster's desk and mocks her about how many people have died to ensure her survival, but she wounds him in one eye and knocks him out the window before he can do anything more. She seems to express some remorse for killing or leaving him to turn.

Alvin Jr.
"Good to see you again, squirt."

- Abel to Alvin Jr.

Abel and AJ have an antagonistic relationship. AJ is immediately distrustful of Abel upon first meeting him, not hesitating to hold him at gunpoint and threatening to shoot him. Abel is both amused and mildly impressed by AJ's bravery, and admits that he doesn't want to kill him if it can be avoided. If Clementine tells AJ to shoot him, Abel will kill him - but this is a non-canonical death.

In "Suffer The Children", Abel takes AJ hostage in order to force Clementine's cooperation, threatening to smash his head open if she refuses. He cares little for the boy, twisting his arm to near breaking point in an attempt to coerce Clementine into cooperation. When Clem and AJ flee, Abel manages to shoot AJ with a round of buckshot, badly wounding him and causing AJ to hold both a fear- and vengeful grudge- against him. Despite his treatment of him, Abel does not seem to want to outright kill AJ in particular, with most of his aggression being directed towards Clementine instead. Even with his hatred of Abel, AJ still expresses some level of sympathy over his death and possible reanimation. }}

Season 4

 * "Done Running"
 * "Suffer The Children"
 * "Broken Toys"
 * ”Take Us Back” (Zombified or Corpse)

Trivia

 * Abel's left eye is brown, while his right eye is blue. This is known as complete heterochromia.
 * Abel somewhat resembles his voice actor, who also has heterochromia.
 * Abel makes his cigarettes out of torn bible pages.
 * It was confirmed by Kent Mudle that this was used to help players recognize him as the person who tampered with the school's traps upon meeting him.
 * Abel is the sixth known smoker in the game, the first being Pete, second being Walter, third being Tavia, fourth being Bonnie, and the fifth being Berto.
 * His name and habit of smoking bible pages is a clear reference to the biblical story of Cain and Abel.
 * Abel is the first adult to be seen in Season 4.
 * He is also the first antagonist to be seen in Season 4.
 * He is also the first Delta member Clementine encounters.
 * He is also the only Delta member to be appeared in all episodes of Season 4, albeit as a corpse or a zombie.
 * Abel will have his left arm amputated if he was pushed out of the window in "Done Running".
 * This makes him, Clementine and Reggie the only seen survivors in the Video Game to survive a walker bite after amputation.
 * Similar to Carver, Abel shows a high resistance to pain, as he sustains several injuries in "Suffer The Children":
 * He is slashed in the hand with a knife by Clementine. (Determinant)
 * He gets jabbed in the eye by Clementine.
 * He has his right foot pierced with a fire poker by AJ.
 * He is hit multiple times with a fire poker by AJ. (Determinant)
 * He breaks his leg falling from a balcony.
 * He suffers numerous internal injuries as a result of falling from the balcony, as well as Clementine landing on top of him.
 * He has his nose broken by Clementine, and has his remaining (Determinant) arm mauled by Rosie.
 * He also endures several punches, his broken leg being kicked and mauled by Rosie, and being burned by a cigarette on his right cheek during his interrogation at the hands of Clementine and AJ. (Determinant)
 * If Abel is left to reanimate, he can have the second quickest reanimation out of any Video Game character, just behind Greg Fairbanks.
 * Abel is one of ten characters with a dead or undead status, the others being Duck, Lee Everett, the stranger, Danny, Bennett, Walt, Sarita, Michael, and Armando.