I bet you he is alive. Kirkman is like that, throw you a bone and hope you go fetch. But it's a fake, and he was still holding it
. But seriously, if Ben dies, there are ways to get out. There are doors and windows :P. And if Ben doesn't die, despite what looks like he got bit, there was something in the alley. Couldn't see it well, and it is a hunch, but I just feel he's alive lol. In the credits it says he was 'lost' like Tyresse, Morgan, and the Woodbury citizens. Doesn't mean he is dead. Team Kenny!