Pain. That was her first feeling when she came to. She looked down at the leg with the arrow through it. "Damn crossbow." she hissed. "Damn bandits. Damn walkers!" She had been passing through Savannah when something, someone, or some idiot had shot at her. Her! A fucking thirteen-going-on-fourteen year old! And she was pretty damn small for her age, too. Five foot three.
The girl in question was pale as porcelain. She had long brown hair-with a red streak in the bangs-pulled back into a ponytail and green eyes. She wore a plain black bag with a strap that went across her chest, a pair of jean shorts, a black watch on her wrist, and a black jacket with a hood. She also had a pistol clasped to her hip, clear for anyone to see without its holster. She was now in some sort of wooded area, having walked/drove a long ways since Savannah. It was night-time and raining.
She moaned when she sat up, the pain in her leg almost crippling her, and looked up. She let out a tiny scream when she did. A walker stood in front of her, leaning down towards her. Not bothering to grab her gun (it was empty anyways, and with no ammo in her bag, she hadn't had something to reload it with after she got shot. Not that she could fire it straight without Lady Luck giving her a huge hand anyways) she took off as fast as she could, soon reaching a full out forest.
She ran (well, limped) as fast as she could, not knowing what she was going to do when she couldn't anymore. The fastest walker she'd ever seen was right on her heels. It was, to be blunt, pretty damn fast. She glared at the ankle preventing her from escape, and in her moment of distraction, she tripped, at night, in the rain. She looked up to see that the walker was still following her.
"No, no..." she whimpered, trying to drag herself away. "No, no, no...!" A ledge behind her that she hadn't seen crumbled as she dragged herself across it. She gasped as she hit the ground about half a foot down. She dragged herself farther away from the now walking zombie, crying out when her leg smacked the ground. "No, no, no nononononono!" she whimpered, wide green eyes staring up at her impending doom.
"No, please, please, no! D-Don't... Don't...!" She ducked her head back and threw her arms up in front of her face, as if that would help. Sssshhhhhh... She heard the hissing sound of rain hitting the... Wait a minute... she realised. That's not a rain sound! Rain hitting leaves sounds different! She looked up, her hood falling off of her head, and blinked the water out of her eyes.
A tall African American man stood over her, eyes wide, holding a finger to his lips. He was the one making the "shhhh" sound. The girl leaned back a little, slightly intimidated. "It's all right!" he whispered. His voice was deep. She looked up at him, uncertain. "What's your name?" he asked quietly, looking around. The girl paused, then hesitantly whispered, "My name is Lilith."
Lilith looked at the man, somewhat suspicious. "What's yours?" He started to reply, "I'm-" but broke off, a confused look on his face. He sighed. "I'm not sure. The last thing I remember was being in a cop car, then shit hit the fan. I remember bits and pieces, but not everything. I woke up in a garage and traveled for a long while. Didn't run into anybody, hid when I had to. I saw you and was wondering if you were going to turn. I was coming to check when you woke up."
He looked Lilith in the eye. "If I'm honest, you're lucky I didn't have a gun." She raised an eyebrow. "You're lucky my gun isn't loaded." The man laughed quietly. "Touche. Anyways, we have to get out of here. Did you have a certain destination in mind?" Lilith looked at the ground. "I was headed towards Wellington. I heard from a woman named Christa that it's cold there, so the walkers are even slower."
"Christa? That sounds familiar. What did she look like?" The man's brown eyes were earnest like this was the key to his memory. Lilith thought for a moment. "She had brown eyes and poofy hair. She was with a man named Omid and they were looking for a little girl." The man nodded. "That seems right." He looked up. "The little girl is the one I'm looking for, though it would be nice to meet up with those two."
Lilith blinked. "You can come with me. If Christa and Omid found the girl-What was her name? Clementine?-then they'll be on their way there, I think." The man smiled. "Thanks." Lilith blinked. "Hey, what's that on your watch?" The man looked confused, and blinked when Lilith grabbed his arm and quickly took his watch. "Hey!" Lilith ignored him, looking at the shiny metal of the underside and reading.
She returned the man's watch and stated, "There's a name on her. So unless you stole that watch, that's your name." The man read the metal. "From, Dad, to..." He blinked at the next part.
"To...Lee!"
CHAPTER 1
Lee! Lee I'm okay! I-Oh, no! A high-pitched voice rang in his ears. It's okay, you can leave me. his own came through before the young voice was back. No, you can come with me! Please, Lee! Lee! Lee, please! "Clementine!" the man, now identified as Lee, whispered. Lilith blinked. "The little girl?" Lee nodded. "I have to get to her! I have to protect her!"
Lilith looked at him knowingly. "You made a promise, didn't you?" Lee nodded. "Kenny's gone, Ben's gone, Christa and Omid are more than likely with Clem, and I'm here. I have to go." Lilith smiled. "Let's go then!" Lee looked at her warily. "How old are you?" Lilith groaned. "I'm thirteen, going to be fourteen in two days! I get it, I'm short, okay!?" Lee blinked. "No, you're not. You're fine."
Lilith blinked. "For real?" Lee nodded. "You don't see that many kids around anymore. People just forget the size younger people are supposed to be. One question, though. Have you been on your own since the outbreak?" Lilith looked down. "Maybe." Lee looked at her in concern. "Now, why on Earth would you do that?" Lilith looked away. "I was with a group for about two weeks. Everyone underestimated me. Never let me take risks, even when it was the only way. and everyone died because of it.
"So whenever I was offered a place in a group, I denied. Safer that way." Lee frowned. "So why work with me now?" A throbbing in Lilith's leg made her cringe. "Mainly because I'm in a bit of a jam right about now." She shifted her legs so that he could see it and he winced. "Fair enough. Let's go, then. We have to find somewhere safe." Lilith thought for a moment.
"There should be a cabin nearby. There was a stream pretty close to it. I heard yelling and gunshots by the stream, so I went the other way. Then I found the cabin. It was occupied then, with walkers everywhere, but now that it's lighter, the people hiding should be gone." Lee nodded. "If not, they should be willing to let us chill there for a bit."
Lilith made to stand. "Follow m-Gah!" Her leg buckled as she stood. Lee caught her before she could hit the ground. He quickly hoisted her up into his arms. "I'll carry you." he stated, raising an eyebrow. "But how will you know where to go?" Lilith asked. "You can point, can't you? Or do you have an arrow in your finger too?" Lilith giggled. "I s'pose." she smiled, something that, though she was young, she hadn't done in a long time.
They soon reached the cabin Lilith had mentioned. They entered and Lee sat Lilith down on a crate after pushing the box in front of the double doors. He looked around for something to fix Lilith's leg with. There was a loud crack! he whipped around to see Lilith with half of a broken arrow in her hand and sliding the other one out, a poker face her only expression. He cringed and looked around, only finding a torn cloth and broken orange glass that used to have some sort of whiskey in it.
He took the cloth back over to Lilith and tied it around her leg, which had started bleeding once the arrow was out. "Why haven't you fixed your leg before this?" Lee asked as he tied. Lilith frowned. "I was either being chased by walkers or finding food and a place to hide. I never really had time to think about it. Plus, I figured that if having the arrow in my leg stopped me from bleeding out..."
"Tamponation of the wound." Lee realized. Lilith nodded. "And there was no way in hell I was pulling that thing out 'till I was completely safe. I ran into these fucking cannibals on a dairy farm...ugh. They had a legless man on their table. He looked like a nice guy." Lilith frowned unhappily. "They were getting ready to eat him!" Lee frowned and looked down. "Mark... Dammit, I knew I should have killed those three!"
Lilith looked alarmed. "You met them, too?" Lee nodded. "I was with my group and they offered safe haven. Mark got shot by a couple bandits. Arrow to the shoulder. They... they tried to feed his legs to us." Lilith scowled, though she looked queesy. "This whole apocolypse thing has really screwed some people over, good people. It's sick."
Lee looked surprised that a girl her age was talking like that, but nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, we'd better stay the night here, and get going tomorrow." Lilith nodded. "Okay." She slid down so that she was sitting in front of the box, then so the she was laying down and using her bag as a pillow. "Night." she murmured. "Night." Lee responded.
Soon, he heard gentle breaths that told him his newfound friend was fast asleep. Lee moved to the wall and laid down. He frowned at the cabin's younger inhabitant, wondering if her wound would get infected, if she'd turn. He shrugged. He'd know long before if she was infected. He shifted, then gasped when he saw his wrist. He quickly shut up in case Lilith heard him and found out.
He'd been bitten.
He ran his fingers over the bite. The holes had almost closed, surprisingly, and he didn't feel any different. You'd still take me, even bitten? His voice rang in his ears. He had said those words to-
"Kenny..." he murmured, sorrow washing over him. He sighed, remembering his old friend was gone. Every time he found something familiar, he remembered something. He'd have to keep finding things, then. "I knew, you know." Lilith's quiet voice made him jump, and he looked over to see her looking at him, eyes narrowed. "I saw the bite when I grabbed your watch. That's what I saw. The name was a happy coincidence."
"And yet you still offered to let me come with you?" Lilith smiled, eyes narrowed. "I was waiting for you to tell me. I figured that if you were bitten, you'd say no to coming with. Then you didn't, and I realized: you didn't know yourself. I thought that if you didn't know, you couldn't be infected. Plain and simple. I saw someone turn once. They knew exactly what was going on."
Lee frowned. "I did know at one point. My friends did, too." This caught Lilith off guard. "Y-You told them? And they didn't mind?" Lee frowned. "They minded, but they were my friends. We cared for each other." Lilith looked at the ground. "Huh. Alright then. Good night, Lee." Lee smiled. "Night." This time, he was the first one to go to sleep.
When Lee woke up the next morning, Lilith was already up, going through the crate against the door. She noticed he was awake and said excitedly, eyes glittering, "You have to see this!" Lee walked over and looked into the crate. There were several guns as well as multiple types of ammunition. There was canned food and bottled water, too.
"Wow." Lee said. Lilith grinned. "I know! There was also a note in here. 'If anyone finds this, I'm dead, turned or gone. If I'm any of those three, I won't need any of this anymore. There's a house about a half a mile from here. The doors are locked, but the key to the front door is under the rug. Walk out of the cabin doors, turn left, and sprint your ass off to keep away from the walkers. -Ivy.' Who's Ivy?" Lilith asked as she finished reading.
"I don't know, but this stuff must have been put in there recently. There's no dust or cobwebs." Lilith nodded in agreement with Lee's statement. "Right. I'd say a week at the very most. Should we go?" Lee blinked as the girl looked at him, leaving the decision for him. Lee thought for a moment, then nodded. "There might be supplies there that we could use. Let's go."
~*one long, tiring walk (for Lee) later*~
"I told you, you don't have to carry me!" Lilith protested. "Nobody carried you to Hershel's farm!" Lee was starting to regret telling her the parts of his adventure that he remembered. She was referencing it left and right. "Your big mouth is going to attract walkers." he teased. Lilith stuck her tongue out at him in a mock-offended manner, then giggled.
Lee rolled his eyes, then stopped walking when he saw a shed. He looked inside quickly. There was a walker with an anchor pierced through it and what looked like a hole from the spike of a hammer in its forehead. He winced. "Ooh...sss..." He hissed in a breath, glad he wasn't on the recieving end of that treatment. Lilith's eyes widened when she saw it and she quickly turned away.
Lee turned toward the house and walked up the steps. A welcome mat sat by the door. There was indeed a key underneath, which Lee quickly used to open the door. The house was well furnished, and didn't look overrun with zombies. Locking the door behind him, Lee set Lilith on one of the red chairs before checking the other door and the windows for anything walkers could get in through.
Once the downstairs was cleared, he checked upstairs. Soon, with one room left, he entered a bedroom. It had red walls and red blankets on the bed. He looked down, and looked under the bed. There were no walkers, but there were two pictures from one of those old cameras where you had to shake the picture in order to see it. He gulped. One was a girl he didn't know, and the other was Clementine.
"She was here! But why? And where did she-?" A gunshot ringing out, followed by Lilith's cry of, "Lee!" sent him dashing down the stairs. "Lilith! What happened!" he yelled, looking for her. She wasn't where he had left her. The only thing there was a broken arrow, probably from her pulling it out of her leg. "Lee!" Lilith yelled again. There was a loud smack! as Lee ran to where he'd heard her. Lilith was in what looked like the kitchen and the dining room together.
Lilith was on the ground with a walker on top of her. It had a hoodie and sweatpants, so Lee couldn't see its face. Lilith saw him and shouted, "Lee! My gun!" She jerked her head towards the pistol. It was next to the table. "Wait! Don't shoot! I'm human!" the "walker" yelled. It leaped off of Lilith and threw off its hood, revealing the "walker" to be a young teenager with black hair that fell into his face and hazel eyes.
Lilith sat up. "What the hell, man! You scared the shit outta me!" Lee snapped, "Lilith! Language!" Lilith blinked. "What?" Lee blinked. "You can't swear. You're thirteen." Lilith shrugged. "The apocolypse is no place to start worrying about words." Lee sighed. "Whatever. Anyway, where the hell did you come from?" He looked at the black-haired teen.
"A little place called Silvis in Illinois. I went to United Township or UT." Lilith gave him a deadpan look. "He meant in here. In the kitchen. He checked here already."
"Oh." There was a short silence as the black-haired teen took a second to feel stupid. "I was under the table." Lee raised a brow. "And you attacked Lilith, why, exactly?" The younger male looked offended. "She drew on me, man! I was trying to keep her from shooting!" Lilith glared. "If you hadn't been hiding under the table with your hood up, I wouldn't have thought you were a walker!"
Lee sighed, "Both of you, stop it." He saw a red mark on Lilith's face and whipped around. "Did you slap her?!" The boy cringed. "It's fine, Lee. If he tries it again I'll kick his ass." Lilith growled. "You couldn't beat me this time around." The boy snapped. Lee sighed. If this boy was going to stay with them, there was going to be trouble. "All right, kids, let's just start over. I'm Lee, this is Lilith."
"Alec." he stated. Lee smiled. "That's a good start. Now, Is there anyone else here?" Alec shrugged. "There was. But they all left. Running from some dude named Carver. Something about going somewhere called Wellington. The cold slows the walkers or something?" Lilith grinned up at Lee. "That's what I heard. That must mean that Clementine found Christa and Omid after all!"
Lee nodded. Alec blinked. "You're going there, too?" Lilith nodded. Alec looked uncomfortable. "Yes." Lilith told him. Alec blinked. "Huh?" Lilith rolled her eyes. "Yes, you can come with us." Alec blinked. "How did you-? Nevermind." Lilith grinned. "Alright. We'll grab all we can carry and leave in a couple of days." Lee raised an eyebrow. "Why are you making all of the decisions?"
"Because I'm older than him, and by all regards, you should be dead."