So I've recently watched Season 3 of 'The Walking Dead' game and I got myself reintroduced with the game and I fell in love with the nostalgia of Season 1. So I decided to write a story on it.
It begins a few days before 'Starved for Help' and it's a story about the everyday life of the current Motor Inn survivors and it follows the plotline of the game itself, but with different dialogue, character deaths and new decisions.
It will be kind of Lee/Clementine centric, but some eventual CarLee will also be in it too.
Hope you enjoy! Please give me some feedback about what you think of the first chapter.
Chapter 1:
It was peaceful almost. The closest they had to it since this plague broke out.
Lee sat atop the RV in the uncomfortable lawn chair, rifle sitting neglected on his lap. He scanned over the Motor Inn, and was relieved to see relative silence.
Clementine and Duck kicked a somewhat deflating ball between them, the boy seeming far more interested in the activity than his friend and often kicked it too hard at her, to which Katjaa, who looked over them from a small distance away, would tell her son to play nice.
Lilly sped around the motel, working on various tasks and checking in on her father, who was moving some useless furniture from the rooms out into the yard to used as debris for the wall. Larry would give her a reassuring smile as she asked him would he need a rest, but he would always refuse.
The newest member of their group, Mark, was inside the armoury room, loading magazines. A slow and tedious job that was more boring and time consuming than it sounded. He was beginning to settle in after initial dislike from Larry, and started to prove his worth around the place, getting the old man off his case momentarily.
Kenny and Carley were out in the forest, hunting and searching for any supplies. That was a hopeless task however, they had found an abandoned camp with some food and meds a month ago, but Lilly insists that they keep searching, but nearly every time the pair sent out would come back empty handed. It was more of a unnecessary danger at this point. They would be back soon.
Lee never got a moment to look out at the trees, Fall was in full swing and the leaves were fluttering down from the branches. Such vivid colours; golds, bronzes and browns came together in a pallet of vibrance. Lee smiled, the scene deserved a smile.
He gazed over the yard again, noticing Clementine had finished playing with Duck, the young boy racing off with the ball himself. The girl glanced over at Lee, and gave a bright smile, running over to the RV. Lee couldn't help but grin again, her blatant innocence shone through her like a blinding light.
"Hi Lee." She waved up at him.
"Hey Clem. How you doing?" Lee returned to her warmly.
"I'm okay, I don't want to play with Duck anymore, he kicks the ball too hard." She frowned. The college professor chuckled slightly.
"I'll make sure he plays nicer in the future, okay Clem?" He offered her. She nodded up at him and smiled sincerely.
"Okay. That would be nice." She replied, fixing her hat properly onto her head.
Lee saw two figures strolling up the road out the corner of his eye, the search party had returned.
"Clem, you go play something with your crayons, okay? I'll talk to you in a minute." Lee reported to the little girl, climbing out of his seat and down the ladder.
"Alright, I'll draw you a picture!" She smiled, before running off again. Lee shook his head and grinned.
"That girl is something else."
Lilly pushed one of the dumpsters aside, letting Carley and Kenny through, but frowned evidently when she saw they were empty handed.
"We couldn't find anything Lilly, that place is barren." Kenny reported, he had noticed her clear disappointment and was ready to back himself up.
"Maybe you didn't look hard enough." Lilly almost growled, venom soaking her words and a bone chilling glare upon the Floridian man. Kenny furrowed his brow, looking less than impressed about her comment. Lee could only sigh as he and everyone else knew what was going to unfold.
"I don't see you out there dodging walkers to try find supplies that aren't out there!" Kenny retaliated instantly, standing his ground.
"You probably didn't see them because you have your head so far up your ass." Lilly shot back.
"Don't talk to me like that! Like we did a bad job! Carley and I looked around for anything as best we could but there's nothing out there!" Kenny retorted, raising his voice. "Anything that was there has been taken by now."
"Kenny is right. We didn't see much out there, nothing that we could use." Carley backed him up. She was met by a cold stare from Lilly.
"Why don't you go out there yourself and look for this hidden treasure if you're so sure it's there?" Kenny questioned the woman.
"Because this whole place would fall apart if my girl wasn't here for longer than a minute!" Larry commented, jumping in for his daughter as he always did.
Everyday. This was what everyday was like. Arguing over everything and anything. Lilly and Kenny both assumed they were the leader of the group but met stern opposition in their counterparts. Lee didn't want to get involved in it, but he knew he would have to defuse the situation before it turned ugly.
"C'mon guys, look at ourselves! Fighting over something like this is pointless! We have to start getting along because we can't carry on like this!" Lee intervened, trying to calm everyone down and appearing to have succeeded, Kenny looking down at the ground and Lilly's eyes softened marginally.
"I don't see you doing any of the hard jobs around here!" Larry returned needlessly, but Lilly placed a soft hand on his shoulder.
"Dad, leave it." She asked with pleading eyes. Larry opened his mouth to say something, before pausing, then grunting and storming off.
"I'm just sayin', there's nothing out there Lilly. All the wildlife is probably dead and any supplies that were out there are already taken. We gotta find another way." Kenny stated, before walking away to his wife.
Lilly just shook her head and sped away without a word, trying to make herself busy. She wasn't in a negotiable mood from the look of it. Lee watched the group go from harmony to distrust, and couldn't help but feel very nervous about it all.
"Good save."
Lee knew who it was by their wise-cracking tone. He turned around and was met by the face of his purple-vested ally.
"Someone needed to break it up before it turned bad." Lee shrugged.
"I know, you did a good job." Carley smirked, crossing her arms.
Lee gazed over at Kenny, who was now in conversation with Katjaa over by the pickup truck, then to Lilly, who was on the motel balcony, leaning on the railing.
"We have to get those two to see eye-to-eye." Lee stated, sweeping his coal black hair to one side.
"We?"
Lee turned his head back at Carley with a raised eyebrow.
"What do you mean 'We'?" She asked again, Lee was confused to say the least.
"You and me. Hell, everyone has to help those two get along." Lee explained. Carley shook her head and looked down at the ground.
"Only you can do that, I'm afraid Lee."
The college professor seemed dazed by her answer.
"I don't mean to sound like I'm piling this responsibility all on you but, you're the only person here that both Lilly and Kenny will listen to and take heed of your advice." Carley explained. "They both seem to look on you to back them up, which at some point, is going to end in inevitable fallout."
Lee felt a twinge of dread enter his body, realizing the reporter was unfortunately right. A sharp wind blew across the yard, making Carleys soft brown hair blow across ever face.
"You are the only one that can get them to work together, so use that carefully and don't pick sides just yet." Carley continued, stepping closer to him.
"They see you as a powerful figure to have on their side. Everyone listens to you and that will come in handy to them both." The reporter admitted.
Lee began to remember all the arguments between Lilly and Kenny in which they both looked to him for support and both looked less than content when he continued to sit on the fence. Did everyone listen to him? He never gave it a thought.
"Everyone listens to me?" Lee grinned jokingly. Carley shot a smirk back.
"Yeah, they do. No matter how stupid it is." She scoffed playfully in response, the pair always sent each other harmless jabs.
Lee let out a short laugh. He never saw it that way before, but perhaps she was right. He looked up and saw Clementine waving over at him, beckoning him to join her; excitement evident on her face. He waved back and turned back to Carley.
"I'm gonna go see what she wants, I'll talk to you later, okay?" Lee said, Carley responding with a nod and a smile.
Lee strolled across the motor inn to the other side of the RV, avoiding Duck as he bolted past him. He got to the other side of the RV and saw Clementine finishing the last of her crayon drawing.
"Lee! Look at what I drew!" She beamed in excitement while handing him the sheet of paper, awaiting his verdict.
It was two people standing hand-in-hand together. One far taller than the other. They both had exaggerated smiles on their faces, the smaller person donned a light blue hat. It was a picture of Lee and Clementine.
He smiled and felt warm looking at the scrawled drawing, something about it made him feel proud. He handed it back to her as she waited for a review.
"It's very good, Clem. You're quite the artist." Lee acknowledged, seeing Clementines face light up when she heard his words.
"Really?"
"Really."
Clementine gave him a giggle and gazed up at him with innocent eyes.
"Thank you." She beamed. "Do you want me to draw one of someone else?" She inquired. Lee could tell Clementine loved drawing, and he was happy when she was happy.
"Draw whoever you want, Clem. I know you'll do a good job." Lee commented.
"Okey dokey." She replied, grabbing a new sheet of paper and getting straight to work.
Lee was amazed at how pure she was. Clementine had seen so much death, yet seemed so happy and cheery most of the time. But she also wasn't oblivious to what was happening. She often questioned him on more mature topics, leaving him confused about how she could retain such a childlike innocence through all of this.
Lee noticed that Lilly hadn't left her post up by the upstairs balcony. Deciding he should have a word with her, he took the stairs and sauntered over to the woman.
She turned around at the noise of his footsteps, and gave what he could only describe as the smallest smile he had ever seen. It was all that she could offer him.
"Hey Lee. Everything alright?" She asked off the bat.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted a word."
She sighed and leaned over the balcony again, grimacing.
"Let me guess, about earlier?"
Lee nodded solemnly. She sighed again.
"I'm sorry Lee, I'm just sick and tired of everyone thinking I'm the bad guy." She muttered, Lee shook his head.
"You don't have to apologize for anything, Lilly." He stated. "I know you have a tough job but, sometimes you make it less than easy than it has to be." Lee admitted.
"Like earlier?" She asked.
"Yeah."
Lilly stood up straight again, looking Lee in the eye. It made him feel uncomfortable.
"I was out of line, I know, but we need to find food. I don't want to ration again but I don't have a choice. We simply don't have enough." Lilly explained, showing her less seen soft side.
"I know, but you have to try get along with Kenny more. For the sake of everyone." Lee reasoned to an extent, not wanting to overdo it.
"I try Lee! Fuck, I try my best! But that idiot doesn't make it any easier on me!" She raised her voice slightly, her eyes looked fiery.
"You try your best for this group everyday Lilly, but sometimes you have to try harder with Kenny."
"You tell that asshole to try harder to get along with me. I swear to God he goes out of his way to disagree with me sometimes." She uttered quietly, leaning once again on the balcony.
"I'll have a word with him two, okay? I'll let him know." Lee informed her, before turning around to leave.
"Thanks Lee. Really." He heard her say. He didn't bother to reply. He had to speak to Kenny, who right now was glaring at him from down in the yard.
A/N: So, what do you think? Hope you enjoyed! Please give me some feedback in any reviews.
Chapter 2 will be out soon.
Thanks for reading!
