Just a quick author's note before we begin. I thought up this idea for a fic a while ago now and have been thinking about it and planning it my head for a quite some time. The idea came to me directly from the line when Lee says that if the house is full they may have to take turns sleeping in the barn, this spawned the idea and it has formed into this story. I also wanted to give context to the group's struggles since episode 1 so the first 3 chapters are kind of ripped from the game. I've attempted to rewrite them slightly but it's especially prevalent in this chapter that not an awful lot has changed, in the next two chapters certain details are different and beyond that everything is different. Also I would like to thank you for checking this fic out and ask you to please leave a review to let me know what you think about it and how it can be improved. So without further ado let us begin.

The Fortress St John

Chapter 1 - A scream in the woods

Lee gripped his axe tight as he crept up on the unaware walker. Mark, the new guy of the group, had spotted it just moments ago in the underbrush and Lee, armed with a silent weapon, had decided to go and take care of it. As he crept up on it he saw that it was feeding, but on what he couldn't tell. He lifted his axe high up above his head and brought it down hard into the walker's thick skull, which caved with a sickening crunch. It slumped over as Lee struggled to remove the embedded axe head from its brain cavity.

"Damn it, what did they get this time?" Mark asked as he joined Lee.

"Looks like a rabbit," Lee replied as he saw the heap of meat and fur.

"Well, that's another meal lost," Mark sighed as he and Lee set off deeper into the forest. They'd been tasked with shooting something to eat, no easy task considering how the walking dead ate anything they could get their hands on with a ravenous hunger. Mark had barely escaped being eaten himself when he first met the motor inn survivors. He had been holed up inside the Robins Air Force Base and although he had had plenty of food it had quickly become overrun with those monsters. With no other option than to run he had fled the base. Luckily he met the motor inn survivors soon afterwards who had accepted him into their community; and although not all of them had been happy at first once Mark had mentioned the stockpile of food he'd amassed all resistance to his joining had soon subsided.

But that all had gone down a while ago, autumn was now in full bloom.

"I still can't believe we went through all that food in three months!" Mark said to Lee. "It seemed like so much at the time".

"Maybe you shouldn't have opened the door," Lee replied.

"Yeah, except I'd probably be food by now. Trust me I have no regrets".

"A rabbit's hardly a meal, but… I'd take it. We're all hungry."

"You're not wrong" Mark replied. The pair walked for a while longer, keeping an eye and an ear out for anything to eat. Lee ready to fend off walkers with his axe and Mark nervously thumbing the safety of his rifle.

"Last night I heard your friend Doug laying in bed just naming types of pie, it was driving me nuts." Mark broke the silence. "I think he's starting to lose it".

"He's not the only one...", Lee replied. "Won't you cut him some slack?".

"Yea, you're right. You think Kenny's having any more luck out here than we are?"

"I sure hope so. We've haven't found shit."

Some time passed before Mark spoke again. "I wish I knew for sure how much food we have left"

Lee thought for a moment before answering. "Not enough. According to Lilly, we've just about hit the last of our food reserves. Some people might have to go without tonight."

"You mean 'Lilly's Lottery' again. Kenny's gonna be pissed."

"She thinks that everyone should have an equal chance of missing a meal. And besides Kenny's just worried about his kid getting enough" Lee reasoned. "I worry about Clementine too".

"Yeah, between the lack of food and Kenny and Lilly fighting all the time, things are getting pretty tense back at the motor inn. It sure is nice to get away from it all and just enjoy the forest" Mark smiled. "You know Kenny's been talking about taking off in that RV if he can get it running?"

"He's got a wife and kid to look out for, Mark. He just wants to keep them safe."

"And they're safest in a big group! Going out on his own will get them all killed." Mark exclaimed. "Can't blame him for wanting to leave though, did you hear Larry going off on him on last night?"

"Yeah, I did. Honest to god thought we'd have to break up a fight."

"What's that old guy's deal anyway? Seems to have a big problem with you in particular"

"He's just an old racist asshole. That's his deal." Lee said coldly. And although Lee knew that wasn't the whole truth he at least suspected it to be half of it. The other half of the story was that Larry knew who Lee was, and the crime Lee had committed before the dead started to reanimate. Larry did not trust him one bit.

"Well, he needs to get over that and start finding a way to pull his weight. Heart problems or not we should all be out here trying to find food!" Mark said. "And I know Lilly thinks he's getting weaker but the guy's all muscle! He's a walking pile driver, I know I wouldn't want to be stuck in a room with him. And didn't he punch you in the face one time?"

"Knocked me flat" Lee growled, remembering the incident in the drug store well. If it hadn't had been for Kenny he would be a reanimated corpse by now.

The silence of the forest was broken by the beating of wings as a bird flew over their heads and came to perch on a tree a number of yards away. Mark rushed over to a rock and kneeled, using the rock to steady his rifle. Lee looked up at the bird and back to Mark, who had flicked off the safety on his rifle with a mechanical click.

"Can you make that shot?" Lee asked. "I'd hate to waste the bullet."

"Don't worry Lee. If I don't think I can hit it, I won't shoot." Mark whispered.

As Mark lined up the shot Lee waited with baited breath, Mark was an alright marksman but this was by far the longest shot Lee had seen him take. Lee heard Mark cock the rifle and an almighty explosion as Mark shot at the bird, but watched in despair as it flew harmlessly away. "Shit Mark, I thought you said you had it!"

"I thought I did! Shall we try following it?"

Suddenly a blood-curdling scream reverberated loudly throughout the forest from somewhere behind the pair. Lee spun around as he searched desperately for the source of the noise. "Shit! Was that Kenny!?" Mark asked him apprehensively.

"I don't know, come on!" Lee replied as he got up and ran to where yet more mutilated screams emanated from. The two ran for what seemed like a couple of hundred yards, following the noise of the screams before they ran out into a clearing.

"Jesus Christ..." Mark muttered, in shock of what he was seeing before him. In the middle of the clearing were two teenagers crowding around a man with a bloodied leg caught in a bear trap.

"Oh shit!" one of the teenagers exclaimed as he saw the pair. "No… no please don't kill us! We just want to help our teacher, we'll leave I swear!"

"Lee! Mark!" came a familiar voice from the other end of the clearing as Kenny joined them. "You guys okay?"

"We're fine, Kenny. But he's not" Lee answered, pointing to the man in the bear trap.

"Get it off, get it off god dammit! Get it off me!" the man begged.

The second teenager turned to the first, "Travis! These guys could help us-"

"Shut up Ben! My dad was special forces I know what I'm doing!" he hissed back. "They might be the same guys who raided our camp!"

Seemingly unperturbed the teenager turned back to the three men "Please, you've got to help us. Just see if you can get him out. After that, you can leave us or something, I don't care!"

"Lee, this is fucked up" Mark hissed. "We have to do something.".

"Agreed" Lee replied. "Was he bitten by one of those things?" he asked the teenagers.

"Bitten? No no, I swear!" the same teenager cried.

"Alright we'll help, but you'll have to keep your voices down", Lee told the pair.

Mark bent down and started examining the bear trap, the man in it whimpering like a dog. "This trap's been altered" Mark exclaimed. "There's no release latch!"

"Shit, we got walkers Lee!" Kenny announced as he took aim. Lee looked up as he saw ten or fifteen walkers approaching them slowly from across the clearing. They must have been attracted by the man's screams.

"Can we carry him, Mark?" Lee asked.

"No, the trap's been chained to that tree" Mark pointed. Before he knew it Lee's legs had carried him to the thick chain, Lee swung his axe with all his might, desperate to break through it. Kenny was firing like an expert marksman now, each bullet leaving a circular hole in a walker's forehead. But more and more kept coming. The axe did nothing but bounce off the chain, leaving not even a dent. "Lee, we used a chain like that to carry ordnance back at the air force base," Mark exclaimed. "You are not cutting through that!"

"Well, how the hell do we get him out then?"

"You'll have to cut him out, there's no other way," Kenny said as he reloaded his rifle. Mark had now joined him in taking down walkers and there was a circle of dead walkers surrounding the group, but yet more were coming.

"No please, there has to be another way. I want my leg! I want my leg!" the man begged. Fear like wildfire in his eyes.

"I'm gonna have to cut you out, I'm sorry," Lee told the man.

"Please, just try the trap again. Anything but that! Please!"

"There's no time," Lee said solemnly as he raised the axe above his head.

"Oh god..." the man whimpered before Lee swung his axe down hard just below his knee. A mutilated scream filled the clearing as Lee pulled the axe free and prepared for a second swing. Blood spurted from the wound as Lee chopped it, again and again, each wail sickening Lee to the stomach. After another three swings, the leg was attached with but a sliver of nerve and sinew and one last swing severed the last remaining link between the man and his left foot. The man looked down in disbelief at his now free leg, gushing onto the floor, creating a disgusting mix of dirt and blood. The colour from his face vanished as he lost consciousness.

"Shit, is he dead?" one of the teenagers asked as the other began to throw up.

"No, just passed out," Lee replied. "We've got someone back at our base who'll be able to help him.".

"Yes, my wife," Kenny explained. "If he's alive then grab him and let's go!" he told Mark who promptly lifted the man into a fireman's lift and began the journey back to the motor inn.

"Come on kid, let's go," Lee told the teenager as he prepared to leave.

"Wait where's Travis?" the teenager asked. He spun around quickly, looking for his friend. "Travis, look out!" he screamed.

The other teenager had run off to vomit and had gotten himself surrounded by the monsters, he looked wildly around as he searched despairingly for an exit. He shrieked progressively more and more panicked cries for help as he ran around in the ever constricting circle. The walkers closed the distance quickly and had soon overwhelmed him. They bit great chunks of meat from the boy's neck as they forced him to the ground and feasted from his still living, still howling flesh. Lee was pulling the remaining teenager back from going to help, to do so would mean certain death. The boy fought against him, desperate to run to his friend's aid, kicking and shoving hoping to escape the older man's grasp.

"We gotta go, he's dead," Lee begged. "There's nothing we can do." With an almighty tug, he pulled the horror struck teen away and dragged him through the forest back to the motor inn.

"Oh shit… oh shit… oh shit..." the teen muttered, unable to control his breathing or his speech.

Lee gripped his axe tight in his right hand and the boy's jacket in his left. He desperately checked the shadows for walkers attracted by the noise as they ran through the forest. The teenager started slowing, heaving for air. "Come on kid, we gotta keep moving", Lee hissed as the boy collapsed onto a log in tears of utter despair. Lee scanned the area they'd just come from and saw that there were no walkers following them, they were probably too busy eating that teenager to chase them down. He grabbed the boy and practically dragged him to feet, "Come on, our base isn't far now". They soon caught up with Mark and Kenny, who were going much slower owing to carrying the man through the thick brush.

"Which way do we go? The trees all look the fucking same!" Kenny hissed.

"This way, follow me!" Mark took control. Years of exercises in the military had given him a keen sense of direction.

They ran for what seemed like forever before the familiar sight of the motor inn came into view as the group emerged from the tree line.

"GET THE GATE OPEN, WE GOT WOUNDED", Lee bellowed. This seemed to have a response as he saw the motor inn come alive with movement. He ran down from the tree line and pushed against the gate as Doug released the latch from the other side. Knackered, Lee stepped inside as Mark brought the wounded man into the facility. Everyone seemed to erupt into a cataclysm of noise and shouting.

"Who the HELL are these people?" Larry demanded. Giving Lee that hateful look he'd come to know so well.

"No time to explain," Lee answered. He looked to Katjaa who had just directed Mark and Ben to put the teacher on the back of the truck.

"Kat, can you fix him?" asked Kenny

"Jesus Ken, I don't know!" retorted Katjaa as she looked at the man's amputated leg.

"Lee, LEE!", Lilly's voice rained loud above the rest. "What the hell, you can't just be bringing new people here! What were you thinking?"

"He would have died if we left him," Lee pleaded.

"So what!" Larry shrugged

"We are not responsible for every struggling survivor out there, we have to focus on our group. Right here! Right now!" Lilly shouted as she jabbed her finger at him.

"Come on Lilly, they're human beings! What would that make us if we just left them to die?" Mark said as he came to Lee's aid.

Lilly slowly turned to look Mark in the eye, "The only reason you're here is because you had food, enough for all of us! But guess what, that food's nearly gone and now you think bringing yet more mouths to feed is a sensible idea?"

"Fine, you guys fight it out." Mark stormed off. "Welcome to the family kid" he quipped to the teenager who had done nothing more than squirm in his shoes.

"Come over here and see what I drew" Clementine pleaded as she pulled the teenager away from the argument to save him from hearing any more. Even now Lee felt he was constantly being surprised by the 8-year-old's intelligence.

Kenny started once again on Lilly, "You like to think you're the leader of this little group but we can make our own god damn decisions! This isn't your own personal dictatorship.".

"Hey, I didn't ask to lead this group. Everyone was happy to have me distributing the food but now that there's not enough to go around suddenly I'm a god damn Nazi!"

"It doesn't matter who's in charge", Lee appealed, "Those people are here now and we have to decide what to do with them.".

"No Lee it does matter!" interrupted Kenny. "One person can't be in charge of everything! I know it might be easy to sit on the damn fence but sooner or later you're gonna have to decide whose side you're on." At that Kenny left the argument, running to help his wife with the wounded man.

"I don't see any of you stepping up to make the hard decisions," Larry jabbed at all of them. "My girl's got more balls than all of you combined."

"Dad please, why don't you go help Mark with the wall?" Lilly said softly to her father, she didn't want him to get too stressed and put his heart at risk. Larry seemed to consider arguing before giving Lee one of his meanest looks, twisting on the spot and storming off. But not before barging Doug out of his path.

"You think this is easy for me, Lee?" questioned Lilly. "Everyone's starting to hate me because I'm the one rationing the food. But nobody else wants to!". She walked over to the RV in the centre of the motor inn's square and produced something from her backpack. "You think I'm doing such a shit job then you do it! Here are today's rations, good luck!" she said as she held out a meagre amount of food. Lee took it tentatively from Lilly before she spun around and climbed back on top of the RV to resume her lookout.

Lee looked to see what Lilly had given him: half an apple, some beef jerky and two packets of cheese and crackers. Four snacks to last the entire group for a whole day. Oh how he wished Mark hadn't had missed that bird earlier on, they could be gutting and preparing it right now. But a whole bird still couldn't feed 10 people, and all Lee had to work with was four measly half-portions. He looked up from his thoughts to see that nearly all the inhabitants of the motor inn were gazing longingly towards him. All were hungry people needing feeding, he didn't envy Lilly's position at all.

He slid down the RV to the ground as he took in everything that had just happened, still knackered from the mad dash to the motor inn. As the adrenaline started to wear off Lee found he could think a lot more clearly, his thoughts ceasing to bounce around the inside of his skull. He had cut off a man's leg! He had made the conscious decision that the best course of action in that situation was to remove a person's leg, he felt sick to the core, the man's horrific screams still ringing in his ears. He hoped that Katjaa could save him, although he didn't think it likely. The group's medical supplies weren't top notch, they were a ragtag collection of over-the-counter antibiotics and a handful of bandages. At least they didn't have to worry about him reanimating and attacking them, the man wasn't bitten! Lee thought back to the other teenager as well, the one that had gotten himself surrounded. As incredibly sorry as he was for him, Lee couldn't help but feel that that teenager caused his own death, running off like, putting himself at risk. And whilst he didn't exactly deserve his fate, the teen had done nothing to prevent it.

He could hear Kenny muttering to himself angrily on the other side of the RV. From what Lee could tell it was about the group's latest scuffle, which had been becoming more and more frequent the longer they had stayed at the motel. Lilly and Kenny's power struggle was becoming a raging inferno which threatened to burn up them all up, much more of this and Lee knew that the group would become too divided to stand. The pair of them had such differing ideologies and moral codes that neither would let the other take charge, and considering they were the only two stepping up to take charge it left the group in a status quo with no real direction.

As Lee's senses started to return he realised he was hungry, very hungry. You don't realise how bad the hunger gets when you simply can't get anything to eat. Lee had gotten so used to his old lifestyle of refrigerators and fast-food joints he'd never considered the idea of simply having not enough food. And now he here he was with the option of taking some food for himself, he could claim it was his turn for some grub, but deep down Lee knew it wasn't true. To take it when others had gone for longer than him without food would be a crime. He struggled to his feet and looked around for Clementine, before anything else he was going to make sure his little girl was fed.

Clementine was with Kenny and Katjaa's son Duck in the middle of a circle of chairs which served as the group's common area. Doug had recently placed a section of plywood down to allow the children to colour on something other than the asphalt, and since then Lee had become overwhelmed by Clementine's own personal collection of art. As Lee approached he noticed that her hat was nowhere to be seen, which was unusual because the only time Lee had seen Clementine part with it was to comb her hair.

"Hey sweet pea, how're doing?" Lee asked as she got up from her drawing to greet him.

"I'm okay" she replied cheerfully

"Where's your hat Clementine?" Lee inquired

"I don't know, can you help me find it?" she asked as she patted her head as if to check it was still gone.

"Of course, I always find it's best to retrace your steps when you've lost something. Where did you last see it?"

"I dunno, I know I had it yesterday. I went to sleep and when I woke up it was gone."

"Well alright, I promise if find it you'll be the first to know," Lee told her reassuringly.

"Thanks, Lee!" Clementine beamed. Then she reached down and picked up her drawing "Can you have a look at what I drew?"

"Wow Clem, this is very good!" Lee said as he examined the picture of some kind of animal.

"Can you tell what it is?" Clementine asked apprehensively.

Lee examined the drawing closely. "I think it's a-"

"-it's a goat!" interrupted Duck as he looked up from his own drawing.

"No, I don't think so Duck. A goat doesn't have strips," said Lee. "Is it a tiger Clem?".

"No it's my neighbour's cat Oliver," she said smiling. "Mrs Ferguson would let me play with him whenever we went round."

"Ahhh I see it now. I've never been one for cats, always been a dog person myself" Lee said as he handed her back her drawing. He spied Clementine's walkie-talkie sitting on the floor next to her crayons. "That thing still doesn't work does it?"

"No, not since it broke at the drug store."

"You just gonna hold onto it then?"

"If that's alright, I.. uh… need it" she stammered.

"It's okay hon," he replied. That walkie talkie was the last thing connecting Clementine to her parents, for her to let it go would be like her letting them go. As if she were reading his mind Clementine's face fell and turned into one of great sadness.

"You said they'd find us and that they'd come looking for us.".

"I know I did," he said softly.

"And until then-"

"-look, Clementine...".

Lee scratched his head, how was he going to tell her about the things he'd heard on the answering machine in her house? About her dad being bitten and hearing her mother's last words. They were both dead and he knew it.

"I'm not stupid Lee," she said suddenly. "I know it's just pretend, but it makes me feel better".

Once again Lee was moved by her intelligence. "Alright," he said to her. "Keep it safe then."

"I will" she smiled, giving the walkie talkie a little pat.

"How about a little food Clementine?"

"Yes please, Lee!"

"Alright, what about some cheese and crackers?" he said as he offered them out to Clementine, who eagerly took them and had soon opened the packet.

"Thank you, maybe a sundae would be better next time" She giggled with a mouth full of food, "If you have more I think Duck is hungry too".

Duck once again looked up from his drawing, "Yeah! When am I gonna get some food?".

"Don't worry Duck, here you go. How about an apple?"

"Oh heck yes!" he exclaimed. "Is there any peanut butter?"

"What do you think, Duck?"

"No. Probably not"

"Nope", Lee confirmed. Kenny's son really was dumber than a bag of hammers. "So what are you drawing Duck?" Lee asked

"It's a brachiosaurus! They're the ones with the really long necks!" he said as he handed over the drawing. There was no doubt about it, Clementine's drawing was a lot neater.

"That's very good Duck," Lee complimented as he handed the drawing back.

Lee looked up as he saw that the teenage boy they'd saved from the woods was just sitting staring into space. He looked traumatised and Lee couldn't help but feel incredibly sorry for him. "Clem, I've got to take care of some things. Why don't you go back to playing with Duck for a while?".

"Okay, Lee" she smiled

Lee walked over to the boy, who met his gaze at he sat down in a chair next to him."Hey, is my teacher gonna make it?" he asked Lee.

"I don't know, but Katjaa is doing everything she can, I promise."

"Is she a doctor?"

"A vet", Lee replied. "But how different is an animal to a human anyway, though?" he asked, to no improvement of the teen's horror-struck face. The boy stared at the ground, lost in his thoughts.

"I can't believe you chopped off his leg"

"I'm sorry but there was no other way," Lee said sadly. "Who are you people, anyway? Our group is going to want to know."

"I'm Ben. Ben Paul. The man whose leg you cut off is Mr Parker, he's the band director at our school. We were all on a school trip to the football playoffs when… everything happened."

"What happened to the rest of your group?"

"A few days ago a group of bandits attacked us and... they killed anyone they saw. Me, Travis and Mr Parker escaped but I don't know if anyone else did," said Ben.

"That's... rough. How are you holding up?"

Ben stared into space for a while before answering, "I dunno. I can't believe Travis is gone… one minute he was there and the next he's dead, just like that. I keep thinking maybe there was something I could have to done to help, some kind of.. uh… I don't know… something".

"I don't know, but you can't beat yourself up over it. You gotta move on. Do you fancy some food?" Lee offered, as he felt that this high school student hadn't eaten in days.

Ben looked up, "Yes please, I am really hungry"

"Here you go," Lee said as he handed Ben the beef jerky.

"Thank you, your name's Lee right?" Ben asked.

"Sure is, and I'm sure you'll get to know us in no time," Lee reassured, "If you decide to stay that is. Anyway, I'm gonna go check on the others" he said as he stood up from his chair. "Ben? Don't worry about your friend, we'll get him sorted in no time". This seemed to provide some small degree of comfort to Ben, as he sat chewing on his beef jerky.

Lee searched through his pockets to find that all he had left was one packet of cheese and crackers, he'd already given out 3 quarters of the day's rations. Lee thought about who had eaten most recently and decided that Doug was probably the person to have gone the longest without food.

Doug was a resourceful man and was constantly thinking up clever little ways of improving the security of the motor inn, today was no different. As Lee approached he saw that Doug had strung up a series of bells to the wall, for what though Lee couldn't fathom.

"Hey Doug", Lee greeted. Doug seemed to be particularly on edge today as he jumped out of his skin and hit his head on one of the bells.

"Ahh shit.." Doug groaned as he got up and rubbed his head. "Hey Lee, you startled me".

"What's this you're working on?" Lee asked, interested to see what the bells were for.

"It's an early warning alarm system I've rigged up," Doug answered.

"How does it work?"

"Well, I've hooked up these four bells to four tripwires that I've strategically placed outside the motor inn. Any walker so much as steps on one a bell will ring and we'll know there's a walker near and roughly where they're coming from." Doug replied, eager to tell Lee all about it.

"That's great!" Lee exclaimed. "Where'd you get the bells from, though?".

"Katjaa found them in a box under the desk in reception, I asked if I could have them since she wasn't gonna use them."

"I'm glad Duck didn't get his hands on these, he'd be ringing them like nobody's business! Would'a drawn walkers."

Doug chuckled. "No, I managed to get to them before he did!"

"I don't suppose I could interest you in some food, Doug?" Lee asked, extending the last packet of cheese and crackers to him.

"Actually, why don't you keep my share for today?" Doug said as he pushed Lee's hand back. "I know you said it didn't matter why you saved me and not Carley, but… I owe you a lot more than half a day's rations."

Lee shook his head, Doug was obviously still suffering from his survivor's guilt.

"Hey, if dough-boy doesn't want his food hand it this way!" A voice shouted from across the courtyard. Lee looked up to see Larry approaching the pair.

"It doesn't work like that Larry. I'll decide who eats not you."

Larry had closed the distance quickly and leant forward into Lee's face threateningly, "Well decide smart, you don't really want to piss me off do you?" At that, he turned and returned to work on the wall with Mark.

"Jesus…" sighed Doug. "Didn't he eat yesterday?"

"That he did. I'll see you later Doug" Lee said as he turned away and starting walking down the length of the wall towards where Mark and Larry were patching up a hole with a section of plywood. Larry was berating Mark for something or other as Lee arrived and he saw that Mark was barely managing to hold the plywood in place he was so weak. Well if Doug wasn't going to accept food Mark certainly would.

"Hey, Mark, fancy something to eat?" Lee called out as he held out the cheese and crackers. Mark eagerly took it.

"Thanks, Lee. I can barely stand!" Mark exclaimed as he took the food. The two of them were working on a pretty big hole that looked like it would take more than just them to patch it.

"Do you two need any help with that?" Lee asked.

Larry simply stated "Nope" without even looking up.

However, Mark looked down towards Lee's axe. "Actually we could use that axe of yours, it would be better than that rock" and indicated towards the stone Larry was using to hammer in some nails.

Larry stopped hammering and turned around. "Yeah, give us that thing for a bit".

Lee wasn't sure about giving Larry the axe but he complied because Mark was too weak to hold a board steady yet alone swing an axe. "Here, this should help, try not to make too much noise, though-"

"-yeah yeah" Larry spat as he snatched Lee's axe. "We're not stupid!"

"Come on Larry, give it a rest man," Mark stared him down. "Things are different, being a racist is outdated."

"Oh, that's what you think this?" Larry sneered at Mark. He turned to Lee and jabbed his finger in Lee's face "Is that what you've told him?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Lee told Larry defiantly, holding his ground.

Larry got close up to Lee's face, "Well, what're you gonna do about it?"

"Look, I don't care what it is," Mark's voice interjected, attempting to cool down the situation, "but you two have got to start getting along".

Larry slowly turned back to Mark, "Listen son, the only thing I have to do is protect my daughter. And right now that means fixing this damn hole, so I'd appreciate it if you two would shut up and let me get back to work.". With no other option than to leave Lee gave Mark a disapproving look and turned away.

He walked up to the front of the RV that Lilly was on to let her know that the rations had been handed out. She looked down and met his gaze. "Not such an easy job is it, Lee?"

"Never said it was," he sighed. "I don't envy you. I have no idea how you have the strength to do this every day."

"I don't have a choice" she replied sadly.

Lee went off to check on the teacher, he wanted to see if Katjaa would need any help when Kenny approached him and flagged him down. "Lee, I need to talk to you," Kenny said, as he beckoned for Lee to join him.

"Okay," Lee said as he met Kenny round the side of the RV. "What's this about?".

"You've probably heard that I'm thinking about leaving the motor inn," said Kenny.

"That I have, Mark told me earlier today"

"You've been good to me and my family. You saved Duck from those monsters at Hershel's farm and you stood up to Larry in the drugstore. I won't forget that. You and Clem are welcome to come with us."

"But we need you here, Ken! We have a better chance of surviving as a group," he reasoned.

"Our best chance of surviving is to find a boat and get away from the mainland. My mind is made up! Besides, we definitely can't survive here much longer, those things'll starve us out well before winter sets in."

"Okay, Kenny. Thank you, I'll certainly think about it. And I'm sorry I couldn't get you fed earlier, I ran out of-"

"-hey it was a tough choice and I know you didn't get to eat either. But you took care of my boy and that's what a real friend does." Kenny smiled. "I'm serious about that offer to come with us, though, you've more than earned a ride on the RV with me. Still, I guess some people aren't gonna be happy with your choices."

Suddenly Larry's voice boomed from just behind the pair, "You're out! What happened to my food!?"

"There's none left, Larry" Lee answered.

"You keep treating people like this and your days in this group are numbered!"

"You're one to talk old man," Kenny said coldly.

"Yeah? Well, I don't see you working on that wall!" Larry stormed off, outraged at the way he was being treated.

"I swear to god, I could swing for that man," Kenny muttered.

"Well don't," warned Lee. "That man could kick your ass 10 times over".

"He could kick your's t-"

"-Ken! Lee! Come here please!" Katjaa's voice rang out across the courtyard, interrupting their conversation. The pair went over to her and saw she was covered in the teacher's blood. The teacher himself lay dead on the back of Kenny's pickup truck.

"He didn't make it, did he?" Kenny asked solemnly.

"He… lost too much blood" she replied sadly.

"God dammit. I'm so sick of this shit!" Kenny exclaimed, chucking a spanner at a wall and storming off.

"Kenny, come back. There's nothing-"

"-just let him go Katjaa," Lee said.

"But.."

"He just needs time. It's been a rough morning."

"It's been a rough morning for everyone, not just him," she sighed. "That man you brought… I tried, but he was never going to survive."

"Well, at least he's not our problem anymore". It was a harsh thing to say, but Katjaa wasn't the sort of person to appreciate being beat around the bush with.

"What about the teenager you brought back, who's going to tell him?"

Lee looked over towards Ben, who still hadn't moved from his seat, still staring into space. He supposed he would have to do it himself, considering he was the one who cut the teacher's leg off. He was about to volunteer himself when he saw a dark mass moving behind Katjaa. The man who they thought had died grabbed Katjaa from behind.

"SHIT, KATJAA!" he shouted as she screamed for help. He got between the two and saw with horror that the man had been turned into a walker! He tried to pull them apart but the teacher was not letting her go, desperate to get a bite out of her. He pulled with all his strength and managed to get her free, he pushed the walker down onto the bed of the truck. "THE AXE, HURRY!" he shouted across the courtyard to Larry. He felt a great pull on his back as the walker toppled him into the back of the pickup. Lee grabbed its shoulders and desperately tried bashing it against the sides of the pickup, but the walker as too strong. It looked down at him, howling and snapping its jaws, pulling him in with its long cold arms.

"GET OUT THE DAMN WAY LEE!" Larry shouted as he prepared to swing his axe into the beast's head. Lee shoved the walker towards the front end of the pickup, smashing its head against the glass. Larry now had a clear shot and swung with all his strength, but too high. The axe hit just inches above the walkers head and embedded itself into the bodywork of the truck. Larry struggled to remove the axe as the walker came out of its stupor and once again attacked Lee who kicked at it, desperate not to let it sink its teeth into his flesh. The walker climbed on top of Lee, its jaws snapping at him, eyes like wildfire.

"I got 'em!" Doug exclaimed as he raised a wooden board above his head. He brought it down hard upon the walker, but the board just splintered over the walker's head, having no effect but to rain Lee with chunks of wood. Lee kicked the man off him and started backing up, trying to get as far away from it as possible. He moved backwards suddenly finding no metal under his hand as he toppled off the back of the pickup, the wind being knocked out of him. The walker, which had instantly resumed its attack on Lee, fell on top of him, crushing him with its weight. He pushed the walker's face away and stuck his thumbs into its eye sockets, doing anything to get it to stop. A lumpy red fluid covered his hands.

"LEE, GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Larry ordered, he had freed the axe and was ready to swing again determined not to miss this time. Lee pushed the walker off to the side of him, holding its head out to Larry like an offering. Larry swung and hit the walker in the back of the head, the impact travelled down Lee's arms like a shockwave. The walker ceased its movement immediately.

Lee pushed the corpse off him and rested his head on the ground, heaving for breath. He could only manage to get out a quiet "thanks" to Larry.

"Why'd you bring him here in the first place asshole!?" Larry roared.

"Dad, calm down" Lilly pleaded.

"You're gonna get us all killed!" he continued, ignoring his daughter.

Kenny had run off during the commotion to fetch his rifle and when he returned he instantly started on Ben. "You said he wasn't bitten!"

"What?" Ben replied panicking.

"We asked you point blank 'Was he bitten?' and you said 'No'!"

"He wasn't!"

"Well, your 'not-bitten' teacher just came back to life and tried to kill my wife!"

"What?! Wait y'all don't know?" Ben asked, in disbelief.

"Don't know what?" Lilly exclaimed, everyone gathering around to hear what the teenager had to say.

"It's not the bite that does it!" he exclaimed. "You come back no matter how you die… if you don't destroy the brain that's just what happens. It's gonna happen to all of us."

"You're lying," Lee said in utter disbelief, how could this be true? People have been dying for millions of years without coming back as flesh-eating monsters, why would they start now?

"It's true, I swear it."

"Maybe he's right..." said Katjaa. "I didn't see any bites, and it would explain why there are so many of those things."

"Jesus Christ" Kenny added. "If you just die and that's all it takes, then shit, one fatal car crash turns a family of five into a family of walkers."

"All I can say is that I've seen people turn who I know were never bitten." Ben began, "When I first saw it happen we were all hiding out in a gym, and everybody thought we were finally safe. But one of the girls, Jenny Pitcher I think, I guess she couldn't take it. She took some pills, a lot of them. Someone went into the girls' room the next morning and… god..." Ben stopped, unable to finish his sentence.

The group stood in silence, each reflecting on what they'd just heard, their hopes for things to one day return to normal diminishing even further. The sound of a bell ringing drove everybody to crouch for cover, it was Doug's early warning system, there must be something approaching the motel. Lee thought that perhaps it might be walkers attracted by the commotion.

"Doug, it works!" Mark whispered.

"Of course it works, I told you it did," he whispered back. "That's the north road bell, something must be coming from that direction," he told the group, pointing down the road.

"I'll have a look," Kenny said before slowly sticking his head above the wall. "There's two men, definitely not walkers. They've got rifles," he said, returning his head below the wall.

"Are they people who raided your camp?" Lee whispered to Ben. The last thing the group needed was a raiding party.

Ben stuck his head above the wall. "I don't think so. But the bandits all had their faces covered so I don't know."

"There's just two of them, we need to make a stand." Kenny hissed to Lilly.

"No, we have a routine. We don't confront them if we don't have to" Lilly hissed back.

The two men's voices grew louder as they approached the motel, Lee could hear that they had thick Georgian accents.

"Sorry Lilly, we gotta do this..." Kenny whispered. He stood and took aim with his rifle, "THAT'S FAR ENOUGH!" he shouted at the pair.

"Oh shit!" Lee heard one of them cry. "Okay, okay… no problem!"

"We don't want any trouble!" Lee shouted as he stood up. Now that he could actually see them he saw that one of the two men was a lot bigger than the other, both in height and muscle mass, although even he still couldn't compare to Larry.

"Of course, neither do we!" the larger one replied. "I'm Andy St. John, this here's my brother Danny. We're just out looking for gasoline. Looks like you folks got the motel locked down… which is fine, but if you could spare any gas... well, we'd be much obliged!"

"What do you need gas for?" Lilly asked the pair.

"Our place is protected by an electric fence" Danny, the smaller one, shouted. "Generators provide the electricity..."

"Our generators run on gas," Andy clarified. "Look, we own a dairy farm a few miles up the road. If y'all be willing to lower your guns maybe we can talk about some kind of trade."

"How y'all doing on food? We got plenty at the dairy," asked Danny. The group was shocked, this seemed to be the answer to their prayers, perhaps they could food from these people and they wouldn't starve in a rundown motel.

However, Lee didn't trust them. Two men stumble upon them and are suddenly offering to take them to their farm with the promise of food? It seemed too good to be true. "I think we should stay here at the motel," he told the group. "We're starting to develop a good vibe here".

"A good vibe?" Larry laughed. "Well, Christ daddy-o, I'm sorry the folks with a food supply and defences didn't tickle your pretty pink ass!"

"We need to think like a group Lee," Mark reasoned. "This affects everyone".

"Then we vote," Lilly appealed. "If everyone agrees then we'll send you guys with some gas to check the place out".

"And if we don't?" Kenny asked.

"Then we'll stay in this wretched motel with your recreational paper weight over there," Lilly said as she gestured to the RV. "Kenny, Katjaa?"

Katjaa looked at her husband and nodded. Kenny smiled, "We go," he said.

"Dad?" Lilly asked.

"You betcha, pumpkin" he replied.

"Doug?"

"I say we go"

"Mark?"

"I'm in. I mean, if they're offering food, we gotta at least check it out."

Lee could tell he was clearly in the minority, but he still wanted to hear what Clementine had to say. "Clementine, what do you think?" he asked.

"Lee... I'm very hungry" she said.

"Alright" Lee sighed. "Looks like we're going to a dairy."

"Lee, why don't you and Mark check the place out and see if it's legit?" asked Lilly.

"I'll come too, it'll improve the numbers in case we run into anything dead," Doug offered.

"So.. uh, what are y'all thinking?" Andy shouted from outside the wall.

"You've got a deal" Lee replied. "We'll bring some gas to your dairy, in exchange you'll give us some food."

"Sounds fair, a couple gallons should power our generators for a while."

Kenny syphoned the gas from the RV whilst Katjaa invited the two men in. The brothers seemed friendly enough, they sat and chatted with Katjaa whilst Mark, Doug and Lee prepared to move out. Lee fetched his axe and prepared to say goodbye to Clem.

"Are you going now, Lee?" she asked.

"In a couple minutes. You stay safe, okay?"

"Okay Lee, you too" she smiled.

"Y'all ready to leave?" Andy asked once Doug had retrieved his stuff. The five of them had hardly exited the gate when the new kid caught up to them.

"Hey, is it alright if I come too?" Ben asked.

"Sure, mama loves seeing new faces!" Danny replied. And so the six of them set off down the road, eager to reach the dairy as soon as possible.