Welcome back to Second Chances. I encourage you to review or Pm with any suggestions, questions, or critiques. All of those will be appreciated.

AN: I was asked if Shepard had the default ME 3 and the answer is yes. Its what I used and this is my Shepard.

Second Chances

Chapter 2: A Close Call

The truck came to a slow stop.

"That's as far as she goes." Kenny commented

"It'll have to be enough." Shepard commented

Shepard gently nudged Clementine until she woke up. Thankfully Clementine had actually gotten some sleep during the trip.

Shepard had tried to sleep ... but she would always end up in the forest.

So Shepard spent the entire trip trying to figure out how she was sent back in time to an alternate Earth. She knew the Crucible was to blame but that was all she could figure out. She was a soldier, not a scientist.

Clementine hopped out with Shepard right behind her.

The place was a ghost town. Well … except for the abandoned cars.

Crap

There was no way the whole town would have evacuated on its own, and if the military had done it then there would have been signs that they had been here.

There wasn't, and it put Shepard on edge.

However, the rest of her group was more lax.

Guess I have to be cautious enough for all of us.

Shepard wished her team was here. If they were … Shawn would still be alive for one.

Shepard turned to see a body lying on the ground.

It looked, and smelled, pretty old. It had suffered what appeared to be a single head-shot.

Oh no

Everyone was spread out and Shepard was about to get everyone regrouped when Duck yelled "Look!"

Shepard cringed and ran over to the rest of them, who had started to group near Duck.

Shepard could see a lone figure crouched over a prone body … though most of the view was obscured by an overturned car.

Scavenger or walker?

"Hey there! You friendly? Truck's run out of gas."

Shepard wanted to smack Kenny upside the head for that.

Especially when it turned and they could see the lack of its left eye ball.

Damn it!

"Fuck!" Kenny yelled

I hope he realizes how stupid that was.

Walkers immediately appeared from everywhere.

They sure know how to catch the stupid off guard.

Thankfully Shepard didn't forget her weapon this time. She fired a total of five shots. And earned five kills.

"WAHHH! AHH! NO! NO!"

Shepard turned to see Duck pinned under one of them.

CRACK

A woman was standing over Duck with a pistol in hand, and a dead walker at her feet.

"RUN!" Yelled a man with her

Shepard and this woman shot a few more walkers before following the group into what looked like a drugstore.

The man locked the outlying metal gate behind them.

As soon as he was inside she closed the store door.

"We can't take risks like this." Said a woman

Shepard turned to see a few more people in the drug store.

"And we can't just let people die, either." Retorted the woman who saved Duck.

"When I say that door stays shut no matter what I fucking MEAN it! We don't know who these people are they could be dangerous."

The group's leader she guessed … though it looked like she didn't have that much control over the group.

Shepard crossed her arms over her chest.

"Worse they could have led them right to us!" Commented another man. Not the one who said run.

He was an older fellow, but not too old if she had to guess.

Damn this guy is big.

He looked as big as James. She guessed that he might have had close to as much muscle when he was younger. He was a full head and half bigger than her.

Though this didn't faze her that much, if at all.

She had taken on bigger.

"Where the Hell is your humanity? They would have died out there." asked the woman with the gun.

"We have kids with us, does that not mean anything to you." Shepard interrupted

"I see one little girl." The big man commented

Shepard felt Clementine tap her side.

"Yes?"

"I … I have to pee."

"Go, I'll be here when you get back."

Clementine nodded and headed off towards the back.

"They've got kids, Lily." The Chinese man replied

"Those things outside don't care." Lilly coldly remarked

A real charmer

"Then maybe you should go join 'em, then. You'll have something in common!" Kenny retorted

"God damn it Lilly, you have to control these people."

"Carley and Glenn just ran out there." Lilly replied

At least I know our saviors' names.

"I don't give a flying fuck! We're in a war-zone!"

"She's the leader here. But it looks like she's losing control of her people." Shepard commented over her shoulder to Kenny.

Lilly heard her.

"If you were in my shoes you'd be the-"

"Holy shit" the older man breathed, looking at Katjaa and Duck while he said it.

"Son of a bitch, one of them is bitten!" he yelled

Shepard turned towards Duck. He was fidgeting against his mother's attempts to clean him.

If he had just lost a chunk of flesh wouldn't he be crying?

Shepard turned towards the man and calmly replied "No, he wasn't."

"Hell he wasn't!"

"We have to end this now" He stated as he walked towards Duck

Kenny got in the way and replied "Over my dead body."

"We'll dig one hole."

Wow, this guy is an asshole.

"No, I'm cleaning him up! There's no bite! He's fine!" Katjaa frantically replied

"Don't you fucking people get it? We've already SEEN this happen. We let someone with a bite stay and-and WE all end up bitten!" he yelled

"Shut up!" Kenny retorted

"We gotta throw him out! Or smash his head in!" The man said to his group.

"KENNY! STOP HIM!" Katjaa yelled

"Shepard, what do we do about this guy?"

We can't afford a shootout in here.

"Dad, it's just a boy."

"Lilly, I'll handle this."

"Dad, your heart. You need to stay calm."

"We reason with him." Shepard replied

"With the bloody end of an ax-handle, maybe! Nobody threatens my boy." Kenny yelled

Then why did you even ask me if you are just going to resort to violence.

"Everyone CHILL THE FUCK OUT!" Carley yelled

"Nobody is doing ANYTHING!" Lilly interrupted

"Shut up, Lilly!" the Lilly's father barked

He then turned to Carley and said "And YOU. Shut the fuck up. They will find us and they will get in here, and none of this will fucking matter. But right now, we're about to be TRAPPED in here with one of those things."

Huh?

"What the Hell are you talkin' about?" Kenny asked

"He's bitten! That's how you TURN!"

"He's not bitten. Shepard, stop this! It's upsetting him!" Katjaa replied

"Calm down, now. Or else." Shepard ordered

"You gonna whoop me princess?" he sneered

Shepard clenched her jaw.

"Little boy! Before you EAT your mommy, you can watch your dad get his nose broken."

"I'm gonna kill him Kat! You just look after Duck."

"Shepard!"

Shepard turned to Clementine.

"Yeah?"

"There's someone in there."

Shepard could see the key lock on the door from where she was.

"It's probably just locked. Check for keys behind the counter." She replied

It's where she'd put the keys after all.

"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. I'm just looking out for my daughter!"

I can respect that. Your presentation is atrocious, however.

"No, you're just the guy arguing for killing a kid!" Kenny retorted

"He's covered in muck! She'll find the bite. WATCH!"

"She won't!"

"And if she does?"

As much as Shepard hated to admit it, that was a good question.

"The first thing he'll do is sink his teeth into his mom's face. Then once she's dead he'll probably pounce on your little girl." He said to Shepard

"He's a little boy; if he turns I think we can handle him." Shepard pointed out

"A little boy?! He'll be an uncontrollable man eater!" Lilly's father scoffed.

"It's not going to happen!" Kenny yelled

"It is and we're tossing him out NOW!"

Shepard had enough of this guy.

So she slugged him right across the face.

Hard.

He toppled backwards into one of the shelves, though he quickly recovered.

He threw a punch, a punch that Shepard pivoted around. She grabbed the back of his head with her left hand and his right arm with her right hand.

She slammed his face straight into the counter and pinned his arm behind his back.

"ENOUGH! We have bigger problems right now! If Duck turns we will deal with it, but I firmly believe that he is fine. In the mean time we have a horde outside our very door! So either calm done or I WILL knock you the Hell out! Understood?"

He didn't answer.

She twisted his arm some more.

"UNDERSTOOD!?" She screamed

He mumbled something that sounded like an acknowledgement so she released him.

"AHHH!"

Shepard looked over to see a walker come out of the bathroom and attack Clementine.

"CLEMENTINE!"

Shepard jumped over the counter and threw the walker off her.

Being the relentless idiotic enemy that it was it came straight at her.

She shot it point blank to the head. As expected, it didn't survive.

Shepard turned around slowly towards Lilly and her father.

Everyone had a look on surprise on their faces.

"You bitch to us about bringing someone who COULD be bit and you have a FUCKING WALKER in the bathroom, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW!" Shepard screamed

No one had a good enough answer to that one.

That's when the banging started.

Everyone stayed silent and waited …

Then machine gun fire went off at then the banging soon stopped.

Everyone slowly stood up.

"We almost DIED because of this bitch and her fucking trigger finger. That was stupid! That was-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence though as he collapsed, clutching at his chest.

I heard Lilly say something about heart problems.

"DAD!" Lilly yelled as she ran over.

"Is he going to be ok?" Shepard asked

"It's his heart!" Lilly explained

"My pills …" he mumbled

"Uh-um … nitroglycerin pills?" Katjaa asked

"YES. We're out. We've been trying to get into the pharmacy since we got here! Please, try to get in there! Behind the counter, where the pills are!" Lilly begged

"We'll get in there somehow." Shepard replied

"Thank you so much. We need nitroglycerin pills. Please get in there. I'll keep an eye on my dad."

"Everyone else should get comfy and look for anything useful. We could be in here a while." Kenny suggested

"I'm starting to think this drugstore isn't a permanent solution." Glenn added

"You're right, this ain't exactly Ft. Knox."

"What do you have in mind?" Shepard asked Glenn

"We need as much gas as possible so we can ALL get out of downtown Macon. Fast."

"Agreed" Shepard replied

"Then I'll head out and get gas. There's a motel not too far from here, out towards the end of Peachtree. I'll work my way towards it and then loop back, siphoning what I can."

"Are you sure?" Shepard asked

"Well, it's gotta get done. Plus, I'm quick and I know Macon."

"Local?"

"Born and raised."

He was about to head out when Shepard remembered the walkie-talkie.

"Hey, wait take this. Call if you get into trouble."

"Cool."

"Clementine has the other one. Check in with her and get back here as soon as you can."

"What's your name?" Kenny asked looking towards Lilly.

"It's Lilly. My dad's Larry."

"Keep a good eye on him. These people will work on getting you your medicine."

Shepard nodded in agreement.

Shepard turned towards the one person who had been silent this entire time.

"You, we need a lookout. Keep an eye on that door." Shepard said to the short haired blonde.

"It's Doug. You got it."

"And I'm Carley."

"You'll shift in with Doug every so often. I saw your shooting outside. Impressive work. Get some rest and keep it that way." Shepard ordered, shifting back into her role as Commander.

No retirement for me huh.

"You got it boss." She responded

"I'll work on getting those pills." Shepard said

"Kenny, start looking for anything that could be of use. And if you can find a map of Macon, that would be great. Haven't been here before."

He nodded.

Everyone went off into their assigned roles.

Shepard was not oblivious to the bitter look that Lilly had.

No one likes to have their command taken away from them. But this group needed to get its shit together.

Shepard took a look around the main room for herself. Even managed to find a couple of energy bars.

"Where did you learn to shoot like that?" Shepard asked Carley

"Well, you don't fuck with a reporter, especially one that's three days out from her last cup of coffee."

A reporter that's on my side. I'd never thought I'd have seen the day.

"What are you working on?"

"The radio. Can't get it to work though."

"Let me have a look." Shepard replied

Shepard tried the obvious solution. She pushed the power button.

Thankfully it didn't turn on. That would have been embarrassing. So the next step was to check if the thing needed batteries. It did, and there was none.

Shepard looked up.

"Figure it out?"

Shepard turned it around so Carley could see the empty battery holder.

"Um …"

"I'll try to find some for you."

"Thanks. I doubt I would know what to look for." She hastily replied

Doug was keeping watch so she moved on. She'd talk to him later.

"Hey, Shepard. Sure gave that old man a beating." Kenny chuckled

"Yeah. When push comes to shove I start swinging."

"I can tell. You should have seen all of our faces when you pinned him. It was priceless."

"Glad I impressed."

"Duck, Katjaa, and I appreciate your support." Kenny said seriously

"Shepard. Thank you." Katjaa said

Shepard nodded.

"How's Duck."

"He's okay, just the shock." Katjaa replied

"We're lucky as Hell nobody got nabbed getting in here." Kenny noted

"No kidding."

"How's she doing?" Katjaa asked, nodding towards Clementine.

"Her parents are dead and she knows it. So … I don't know. I'm surprised she's doing as well as she is."

"She's a tough one."

"She's just a little girl Ken."

"Shepard, didn't you say that she spent DAYS surviving on her own?"

"Yeah, she did."

"Not just any little girl can do that. I think she'll be fine … eventually."

"I sure hope so, she deserves better than this." Shepard replied

"How are you all doing?" Shepard asked

"We've all been through a lot." Katjaa remarked

"Shepard, you got a second?"

"Yeah, Kenny."

Shepard and Kenny got some distance from everyone.

"Back on Hershel's farm … I panicked, you know. I'm not proud of it."

"It happens, Kenny."

"I guess, but I can't stop seeing him in my head." Kenny said, unconvinced

I know how you feel.

"I killed that boy. We could have saved him together."

"Kenny, it's not your fault. Panic hits everyone hard."

"Not you. You managed to save Duck, and you almost saved Shawn."

"Kenny, I'm Special Forces. I'm trained to deal with panic. I've been through Hell like that before. That was your first glimpse. Everyone panics the first time. You need to let it go."

Kenny looked surprised.

"Geez, are you serious. Black ops, that kind of thing?"

"Yeah"

"I'm glad you're here then. At least someone knows what the Hell they're doing."

Shepard nodded, and put her hand on his shoulder before he could leave.

"Kenny, none of that was your fault. Hopefully, you can believe me eventually."

Kenny nodded glumly and walked away.

Shepard went to Clementine.

"You doing alright?" Shepard asked

"I guess."

Shepard frowned.

"Is something wrong?" Clementine asked

"I'm just worried, that's all."

"About?"

"You."

Clementine looked away.

"I don't really want to talk about it."

"I don't blame you. Just know that if you ever want to talk I'll be here."

Clementine nodded.

Shepard gave her a small smile.

"Oh, I found this for you." Shepard said, handing her one of the snack bars.

Clementine's face lit up instantly.

"Thanks!"

Shepard remembered that she had one more so she passed it along to Duck. Kenny and Katjaa were grateful.

It was time to go look for a way inside the pharmacy. There was a door that was labeled office. It seemed like a good place to start.

"Can I come with you?"

Shepard looked down to see Clementine next to her.

She is surprisingly quiet.

"Sure." Shepard replied

Clementine grabbed a hold of Shepard's hand. Shepard couldn't help but smile.

The office had a bloody bed in the corner.

Poor people

The door to the pharmacy was blocked, but nothing that wasn't movable. There were a few objects of note that Shepard had taken note of it.\

She moved to the desk.

Shepard was about to start moving it when Clementine stopped her.

"Can I help?" asked Clementine

How many times have I heard that in the last few years? Probably less than twenty times to be honest.

"Sure, just watch your fingers."

Shepard grabbed the left side of the desk.

They pulled a bit together.

"Things have been scary, huh?"

"Yeah … It's not good. I don't know why everyone is crazy."

"Neither do I. I bet no one does."

Clementine opened her mouth to speak then clamped it shut.

Clementine grunted as she struggled to carry her half.

"Do you have kids?"

"No" Shepard replied

"You don't have a family?"

Shepard was quiet for a second.

"You play any sports Clementine?"

"Yeah, I play soccer but I don't really like it. You didn't answer my question."

Perceptive little girl.

Shepard started to push the table to the side.

"Why don't you want to talk about your family? Do they like … hate you."

I wouldn't blame them.

"My family … died. My mom, dad, and my little brother and sister were murdered when I was sixteen. I saw the whole thing hiding up in a tree." Shepard replied, closing her eyes as the memory rushed back.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"You didn't know."

"I'm just sorry for being mean." Clementine explained, looking at the floor when she was done.

Shepard crouched down.

"Clementine"

She didn't look up.

Shepard gently put her hand under Clementine's chin and forced her to look at her.

"You weren't being mean and I didn't get angry at you."

Clementine had this sad look in her eye.

She put her arms around Shepard's neck and hugged her.

Clementine didn't say anything, but she did rub little circles in Shepard's back just like she had when Clementine realized her parents died.

Shepard had to admit she was touched by the action.

"Thanks" Shepard replied once Clementine let go.

Clementine nodded and took her position by her side of the table.

They gave it one last push when Clementine yelled out in pain.

Clementine held out her finger in front of her. Shepard could see the blood coming down the side.

"You okay?"

"I hurt my finger."

Shepard lifted Clementine onto the table.

"Let me see." Shepard said, holding out her hand.

The finger had a minor cut at the end. It really wasn't that bad but they would still need to do something about it.

"I'll go find a bandage."

It didn't take long as she had spotted a first aid it earlier.

As one would expect the first aid kit had a bandage. Unfortunately the kit was out of about everything else.

Before Shepard turned to leave she spotted a remote.

She checked for its batteries, pleased to find them.

Shepard pointed it at the TV and pushed the power button. It turned on but all the channels were static. It wasn't that surprising really.

She just turned it back off.

"Let's get this covered up."

"Yes, please."

Shepard wrapped the bandage around Clementine's finger.

"Better?"

"Yes" Clementine replied before jumping off the table.

The doorway was clear but the door was going to be a problem.

It was reinforced, no doubt to keep junkies from sneaking into the pharmacy when the owners weren't looking.

The window might be smash-able but that would make a lot of noise. And noise was not their friend right now.

Another problem with that plan was that the only thing they had to smash in the window was an old wooden cane.

"Do you think the owner was sick?" Clementine asked when Shepard picked up the cane.

"Maybe, but I think that the owner was just old."

"How do you know?"

"I found a family picture."

Shepard handed Clementine the family picture.

"Oh"

Shepard might be able to smash in the glass with her hand but that would hurt … and waste medical supplies.

Shepard turned back to Clementine and asked "You want to go back in the drugstore? It doesn't look like we can do anything more here."

"I have a question?"

"Oh, what is it?" Shepard replied

"Is Shepard really your name?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Shepard asked, tilting her head to the side in a questioning nature.

"Well, it just seems like a strange name. There's Larry, Lilly, Kenny, Katjaa, Glenn, and Carley. Shepard just seems … weird."

"Honey, that's because it's my last name." Shepard chuckled

"Oh" Clementine said, looking away in embarrassment.

"If you promise to keep it a secret … I'll tell you my first name." Shepard said light-heartedly

Clementine turned back towards Shepard.

"Promise?" Shepard asked

"Promise"

"It's Jane."

"Jane, why do you keep it a secret?"

"I don't actually care, I was just joking. I'm just used to Shepard."

"Why?"

"Well I was in the military ever since I was eighteen. In the military you usually get called your rank then followed by your last name. So for example I am usually called Commander Shepard."

"Really?"

"Yeah, to be honest I doubt that more than a few dozen people alive today know my first name. Even fewer than that actually use it."

"Can I?"

"Of course. Ready?"

Clementine nodded.

Nothing really had changed outside though.

Kenny was able to find Shepard a map, however.

Shepard was reading it when Clementine tapped her on the side.

Shepard looked down to see Clementine holding out the walkie-talkie to her.

Glenn

"It's Shepard. Something wrong?"

"So … I'm down at that motor inn and, well, I'm stuck."

"Stuck?"

"Yeah, I, uh, saw a chance to get some supplies for the group and a bunch of the roaming ones got the jump on me. I'm hiding over here but they won't leave." Glenn explained

"What's up?" Kenny asked

"Glenn's trapped down at the motor inn." Shepard replied

Turning her attention back to Glenn she said "Glenn we're going to figure out a plan and send a group to come get you."

"Phew, awesome. I'll sit tight 'til then."

"Be there soon."

Shepard turned towards Clementine.

"Hey I need to borrow this until we can save Glenn."

Clementine nodded.

"What do you think?" Kenny asked

"I think Carley is the best one for direct fights here. You stay here with your family and guard everyone. I'll be back soon."

"If that's what you want to do." Kenny said, sounding just a bit disappointed.

"I'm in." Carley replied

"Good. We better get moving." Shepard responded

"Let me know when you want to leave. I could use a jog." Carley stated

Shepard nodded.

"Jane"

Shepard looked at Clementine and asked "Yes?"

"Please be careful."

"I promise." Shepard said with a small smile.

Clementine nodded.

Shepard and Carley took the back way out.

It took half an hour to get there but it would have been a lot worse if she didn't have that map.

They were closing in when Shepard heard the guttural moans of one of the walkers. Shepard pulled herself and Carley down behind a wall.

Just in time too, Shepard could hear the things footsteps, which slowly walked away from them.

"Close" Shepard muttered

"Thanks"

"No problem"

The pair stood back up.

"Wait did you see that?" Carley asked, pointing towards an ice chest.

"What?"

"The top moved."

"Alright, get ready." Shepard said, moving to open the door.

Shepard held out her hand and counted down.

Three … two … one

She opened the door to find a hidden Glenn inside.

"Oh man, I'm glad you're here."

"Jesus, Glenn!" Carley whispered

"Well that was easy." Shepard noted

"Can we get out of here before any of these things notice us?" Carley half asked half demanded

"Not yet. There's a survivor trapped up there." Glenn said, pointing at one of the doors on the second floor.

"No way, we gotta go. NOW." Carley insisted

"LISTEN, I was out looking for gas. And then, up there in the corner room, I heard crying coming from inside."

"Who is it?" Shepard asked

"It's a girl. We talked and she got frightened. I was trying to get in and help her and she started yelling and saying I was bitten. I tried to convince her I wasn't and that's when all these guys came out of the forest. A couple almost got me, and I ended up hiding in the ice machine."

"Lucky you; now let's go!" Carley said

"We can't just leave her." Glenn argued

"You're right." Shepard agreed

"You guys are suicidal." Carley objected

"I'm saving her, with or without you." Glenn replied

Shepard turned to Carley.

"Wasn't it suicidal coming to save my group?"

"Obviously not" Carley said, trying to resist this line of reasoning

"What makes her different than us?"

Carley was quiet for a moment.

"Fine. Let's go save Glenn's damsel in distress."

"Alright, since we don't know how hard it's going to get her out of that room, we have to kill all of them … quietly. No guns."

Carley sighed.

From the wall they had moved to Shepard could see a pillow around the corner.

Shepard quickly grabbed it.

"Good luck smothering them to death." Carley noted sarcastically

Shepard looked over towards an RV. It would be good enough cover if they could get to it.

"Follow me."

Glenn and Carley nodded.

They took off in a crouched sprint.

They surprisingly made it.

Shepard leaned out the side when she heard "Really Glenn" come from Carley.

Shepard turned back to see a flustered Glenn staring at what apparently was an interesting spot on the ground and Carley shaking her head disappointingly.

It took Shepard less than a moment to figure out that he had been staring at her ass.

Shepard sighed, and Glenn winced when she figured it out.

Shepard nodded back towards the wall they had come from. There was nothing they could do here.

They quickly made it back.

There was a truck further down so the three made their way over to it.

Inside the truck was a screwdriver.

"I think that would be a good, silent, weapon," Shepard muttered

"Now we have to get to it. Door's locked." Glenn pointed out.

Bashing out the window would make too much noise.

However there was one problem Shepard realized they could deal with. There was a walker sitting down against a car in front of them. They could use the pillow as a muffler.

"Carley, follow my lead."

She nodded.

Shepard pinned the walker down, the pillow also doing well to muffle the walker's moans.

Carley stuck her pistol up to the pillow and fired.

It worked, none of the walkers seemed to notice.

"That was sick!" Glenn quietly exclaimed

The window to the driver's seat was already knocked out.

Shepard reached in and opened the door.

There was nothing inside.

Shepard looked at the gear shift. It looked just like the Mako's.

Shepard reached in switched the gear shift around until the car started to slowly move.

That's when Shepard noticed something on the driver's seat. It was a tiny little mechanical part.

"That's a sparkplug. Hold on to it." Glenn said

Shepard nodded.

Shepard started to push the car … straight towards the unsuspecting walker towards one of the rooms.

It hit dead center.

The walker thrashed around but the others paid it no mind.

The three survivors got back to the truck.

"Hey, give me the sparkplug." Glenn said

Shepard handed it to him.

Glenn proceeded to step on it.

"The porcelain inside these things turns car windows into tissue paper." Glenn explained, as he handed the porcelain to Shepard.

Glenn was right, the window broke with barley a sound. Shepard picked up the screwdriver.

The three made it back towards the wall corner where you could make it to the RV.

Unfortunately they must have been too loud as the walker near the RV got up.

"Shit" whispered Carley, as she pulled out her pistol

"No, I got this." Shepard whispered

As soon as the walker could be seen over the wall Shepard pulled it over the wall, and stabbed it through the skull before it could react.

"That was amazing." Glenn whispered

Shepard chuckled.

Shepard moved towards the RV.

There was one more walker around the corner, but it was alone.

Shepard sent out a whistle.

The walker slowly approached.

As soon as the walker got close she rammed the screwdriver straight through its eye socket.

It went down without a sound.

The walker trapped by the car was an easy kill too, though she lost her screwdriver to it.

"Where'd you weapon go?"

"Into that ice pick sized hole in his head." Shepard chuckled

"Sick" Glenn whispered

"You two done?" Carley remarked

"It's cool, now we have this." Glenn said, pointing at the ax

Shepard picked it up.

"This'll work."

All the walkers were dead, on the ground floor anyway.

Two left

"Hey, keep back just in case this doesn't work out so well."

They nodded, though not with much enthusiasm.

Shepard slowly made her way up the stairs, wary of creaky stairs. Thankfully that wasn't a problem.

She looked back down at the pair.

She caught Glenn staring again. His face looked liked it had caught on fire, it was so red.

She returned to the task of fighting walkers. Shepard got the jump on the one on the left, it went down without a fight.

The second one noticed and advanced.

Shepard took the damn thing's head off.

"Rad" Glenn whispered from down below.

When Glenn and Carley made it upstairs Shepard knocked on the door.

"Hello? We're here to help." Shepard said strongly, making sure the sound went through the door.

No answer.

"Guys, we should go." Carley stated

"In a minute." Shepard replied, brushing Carley off for the moment.

Shepard turned to the door.

"We have a group in town. If you open the door you can come with us, it'll be safer." Shepard explained

"NO! NO! NO!"

"She's in trouble!" Glenn noted

"We're coming in." Shepard told the woman

Shepard axed the beam across the door, but when she tried to open the door it still refused to budge.

Shepard gave it a hard kick. It budged but the door still held, however a few more kicks would finish the job.

"Stop, just stop. I'm coming out." The woman replied

The woman slowly opened the door.

She looks pretty pale

Shepard noticed the wound on her side after she fully emerged.

"You're hurt." Shepard noted

"Oh God." Carley gasped

"I … I said stay away." the woman weakly replied

"We need to get you help." Shepard said

"It's too late for me."

"Guys, she's been bitten." Carley noted

"What!?" Glenn exclaimed

"I told you. I said go away, I'm bit. But you wouldn't just leave."

"Calm down, you could be fine." Shepard said

"I won't be fine. My boyfriend was bitten. You get sick and you die and you come back and you kill anything you can find."

A moment of silence passed before Glenn ended it the worst way possible.

"You have a boyfriend?"

Shepard shot him a very nasty glare.

"Glenn" Carley sneered

Either the lady didn't hear or she didn't care.

"I don't want that. It's not Christian. Please, just leave me, please go."

"Come with us, we can find help." Shepard asked

The woman stared at Shepard's holster.

"You have a gun."

Please don't ask that. Please.

"So?" Carley asked, oblivious to the woman's meaning.

"Can I … borrow it?"

"What do you mean 'borrow'?" Carley said

Is it not obvious?

"Give it to me. I can just, you know, end this and then – then there's no problem."

"Whoa whoa whoa." Carley said, taking a step back.

"PLEASE! I don't want to be one of them. They're … they're … satanic." the woman begged

To be honest the wound didn't look that great. Even if it wasn't a bite she would probably die anyway. Shepard really didn't see any choice. Plus it was the woman's choice to make.

Shepard pulled out her pistol.

Carley however got in the way before Shepard could pass on the gun.

"What, you can't be serious?!" Carley asked

"Move" Shepard said sternly

"NO!" Carley yelled in objection

"Look at her, Carley. There isn't a happy ending here. The best we can do is help her end her suffering." Shepard explained

Carley looked down at the ground.

"Alright, fine."

Carley moved and Shepard gave the girl her gun.

"Thank you so much, I know how terrible this must be." The girl sobbed

"We can't watch this, let's go." Glenn said sadly

"We can't go yet." Carley replied

"WHAT?! Why not?"

"Because someone needs to pick up the gun. Can't leave it. This was my choice, you two get back to the car." Shepard said

"Ok" Glenn said before making his way back to the car.

"You sure?" Carley asked

Shepard nodded.

Carley left.

That just left the girl and her.

"I'm here for you."

"You're a good person, thank you."

She put the barrel of the gun up to her head.

"Goodbye." Shepard whispered

"G-Goodbye." The woman replied

She pulled the trigger.

Shepard sighed sadly.

Poor girl

Shepard picked up her gun and holstered it.

Glenn and Carley were already in the car. Carley was behind the wheel.

The ride back was unbearably silent, but Shepard didn't say anything. She didn't have the right to ask for small talk after asking for that.

When they got back Kenny was waiting for them.

"You guys ok?" he asked

"We're fine" Shepard muttered as a response.

"I've got a couple of gallons of gas for your pick-up in the trunk of my car." Glenn told Kenny

"Good to hear it."

"And things back here?" Carley asked

"Quiet. Our 'friend' is still in and out over there. He won't survive anymore stress." Kenny replied

"Then I guess we need to get into that pharmacy next."

Shepard took a second look around the pharmacy. She found a couple of batteries for the radio and gave them to Carley.

"How's it look out there?" Shepard asked Doug

"Not too bad. Want to go outside for a look?"

"I'm not suicidal yet." Shepard jokingly replied

"The front gate is still locked. Should be fine if we stay quiet."

"Alright then, let's go."

Shepard noted that Doug had a strange idea of 'not too bad'. The place was swarming with walkers.

"Damn they're everywhere." Shepard whispered

The pair watched in horror as the walkers consumed a corpse.

"I think it's going to take more than a couple of days to fix this." Doug commented

"Yeah" Shepard mumbled

There was a pregnant silence as they both considered the ramifications of that statement.

"So how'd you get here?" Shepard asked

"I moved here to live with my uncle. He does tech stuff and it just made sense."

"So you know the people that live around here then?"

"No, not really. I've only been here a couple of months and I spend a lot of time …"

"On the computer?"

"No. Just, doing my own thing. What about you?"

"Clementine and I were catching a ride with Kenny. They were on their way back to Fort Lauderdale. Truck ran out of gas … and then we met you guys."

"Alright."

Shepard was about to take a final look when she saw him.

It was the kid in scrubs in the family picture … or what was left of him trapped under a telephone pole.

"I think the keys are on that guy over there." Shepard said to Doug, pointing to him.

"How do you know?"

Shepard handed him the family picture.

"Oh. Nice catch. But what happens if it's with the one on the left?"

"We'll have to break the door down then."

If that man didn't have the keys there was a good chance Larry wouldn't get the meds he needed.

"What do you think of everyone in there?" Shepard asked

"Oh … well, Carley is pretty nice, you know."

Shepard agreed.

"Lilly doesn't take any crap. She's been running the show, keeping people on watch, things like that. And her dad …"

"Yeah, him."

"He's kind of a dick. Pardon my French."

"No kidding. What do you think of the people that came with me? Don't worry you can say anything you want. I won't hold it against you."

"I feel bad for the kids. Duck and … Clementine, right?"

"Yes"

"I can't even imagine what that's like."

"No kidding."

"I worry about Kenny though. He gets pretty angry when some diplomacy would solve the problem."

I agree. Man has a temper.

"Yeah, I agree with what you said. Thanks for your opinion."

Doug nodded.

Shepard had an idea.

"Doug, I'll be right back. Stay here. I have an idea."

"Alright, don't take too long."

Shepard ran back into the office and grabbed the remote she had used earlier. When she brought it back she tried to turn on the TVs. Didn't work.

"Think you can do anything with this?" Shepard asked Doug

"You know what I could do …"

"Yes?"

"It's universal; I could program it to work with those TVs across the street. Let's just hope the power is still on." Doug said while he tinkered with the remote.

"You can do that?"

"I memorized all the codes when I was in AV. Let's try."

He pointed it at the TVs and hit the power button.

It worked.

"Well done Doug." Shepard said while she patted him on the back.

Several nearby walkers turned to look at the TVs.

It didn't hold their attention long.

Shepard looked around for something she could throw at the glass.

There was a brick near the gate. A little far out of her reach.

"Can we get that gate unlocked?"

"We don't know the combination to that lock."

Shepard sighed, "Of course."

Well I still have the ax. I bet that can cut it.

Shepard stood up and readied her ax, and swung.

Shepard barley opened the gate and then grabbed the brick.

She waited until none of the walkers were watching her, then she threw it straight at the glass. It shattered.

Even better the walkers all swarmed the TVs.

"I'll be back."

"I'll keep watch."

Shepard carefully made her way across the street to the kid. He was a walker. Poor bastard was trapped.

She axed the poor kid out of his misery.

As she had guessed he had the keys on him.

She showed the keys to Doug.

"HOLY CRAP! RUN!" Doug yelled

Of course just as she got the keys the walkers saw her.

She sprinted right back inside. They closed the door and waited a few seconds.

As soon as the danger had passed Shepard said to Lilly "We've got the keys."

"Great! God, you're amazing. Let's get in there."

Shepard and Lilly walked into the office, where Shepard opened the pharmacy door.

A few seconds later some kind of alarm went off.

Shepard swore under her breath.

"Oh no …" Lilly mumbled

Lilly and Shepard grabbed what they could.


"I need to get my dad out of here!" Lilly yelled out to Kenny before taking her dad out through the back.

"Honey, take Duck into the office and barricade the living Hell out of the door behind me. Glenn, when you hear me honking in the alley start getting people out of here." Kenny started screaming

"The rest of you make sure he defenses stay up until then."

Everyone nodded.

"Shepard, I'd better take that ax in case I run into any trouble."

Shepard tossed him the ax.

Shepard heard the gate open.

"Guys, that door isn't not locked anymore!" Doug explained

"I'll get back as fast as I can!" Kenny yelled as he was leaving.

Shepard turned back to Clementine.

"Stay back from the windows."

Clementine nodded her agreement.

"Glenn, we need your help! Please hurry!" Katjaa said from the office.

Shepard took Glenn's spot on the door.

"Shepard if we don't …"

"WE ARE GOING TO MAKE IT!" Shepard screamed

"Doug, if we don't make it through this, you should know-"Carley started to say.

The door nearly burst open, causing Shepard to stumble away from the door.

She threw her entire weight against the door. It shut.

"I should know what?!" Doug yelled

"Huh"

"You said I should know-"

The shelf blocking the window to the left of the door collapsed. Letting some of the walkers in.

Carley started to open fire.

Shepard focused on keeping the door shut.

"I'm on it." Carley said

She ran off.

"Clementine!" Shepard called out

Clementine ran over to her.

"Can you look for something to stick in-between the handles!? Something real strong, ok?!"

"Ok!"

Clementine ran off to find something.

The walkers knocked her off the door again.

She pushed back hard. The door closed.

"Did you find something?!" Shepard yelled

"Nothing! Oh wait!"

Clementine ran off again.

"That window is SCREWED!" Doug said pointing at the window right to the door.

"GO!" Shepard yelled back

Shepard had to knock the door back into place again.

"I found something!"

It was the old cane.

Good enough

Shepard slipped it in-between the handles.

It seemed to hold.

Then both Carley and Doug started to scream out for help.

Doug is great with tech, a skill no one else has. Carley is a great shot. We need as many people like that as possible. Carley has a gun on her. Doug has nothing on him at the moment.

These thoughts had been processed by Shepard in less than a heartbeat.

"Carley. CATCH!" Shepard yelled as she tossed Carley her own weapon.

Carley caught it.

Shepard was able to pull Doug off of the window.

Kenny burst through the door at that moment.

"Let's go."

They didn't need to be told twice.

Shepard followed Doug and Carley towards the door.

"JANE!"

Shepard turned to see Clementine being grabbed by a walker.

There were dozens right behind her.

Carley still had her weapon. There wasn't time to get it back.

Shepard sprinted back for Clementine.

Shepard brought her foot down hard repeatedly on the walker attacking Clementine crushing its skull.

Shepard lifted Clementine to her feet.

When they turned around to leave they discovered that walkers had gotten in behind them somehow.

Shepard lifted Clementine onto her back.

"Clementine … hold on no matter what, and I need you to trust me no matter what."

Clementine grabbed hold.

Shepard crouched down and started to charge her biotics.

The walkers got closer and closer.

Shepard could hear Clementine whimpering but she did not let go.

As soon as they got within a foot Shepard released her saved up energy in a Nova.

Nothing was left standing. But more importantly Clementine was still holding onto her.

Clementine gasped

"Hold on, sweetie."

Clementine held on just a little tighter.

Shepard bolted towards the office.

The back door was partially blocked with a cabinet, with walkers crawling over what was left.

Shepard raised her arm and used the last of her biotic power to channel an area of effect slam.

It splintered the blockage into tiny little pieces, as well as the walkers.

Shepard bolted out of the drugstore, going as fast as she possibly could.

There were walkers outside waiting for them.

Damn it, why is no one guarding this alley.

Shepard used one of the fragments of the cabinet to knock her way through the walkers in the alleyway.

It got easier after that as it was a straight shot where the cars were supposed to be.

Shepard turned the corner to see the cars leave.

NO!

Clementine gasped.

Shepard took off in a sprint to the right.

The plan that was hastily said before everything went down was to meet at the motel. Shepard remembered the path there, thankfully.

They still had a chance.

Shepard tore through the alleyway, just avoiding the walkers if she could. There was no way she would be able to fight without any weapons.

Shepard and Clementine lucked out. Most of the walkers that they passed were on the street … heading towards the drugstore.

After about ten minutes it appeared that they had gotten past the horde.

They were as safe as they were going to be.

Shepard put Clementine down.

"I'm scared." Clementine whispered

"Me too, Clem."

The pair continued on in silence.

The trip to the motel was a slow one as Clementine was too tired to move quickly.

It was a good two hours before they finally made it to the motel.

Clementine almost collapsed on the way there so Shepard had carried her for the last hour.

Shepard was right outside when she heard an argument.

Not surprised.

"WHY! WHY THE FUCK DID WE DO THAT?!" Shepard heard Carley shout.

Clementine stirred almost immediately. Appeared she didn't sleep deeply anymore.

Shepard helped Clementine down.

"We didn't have a choice." Lilly replied

"Maybe if you hadn't abandoned ship so early she could still be alive." Carley sneered

All the little sounds of activity stopped.

That hit a nerve.

"How DARE you call my daughter a coward, BITCH!" Larry screamed

"Well I didn't see your daughter ever fight. She was stayed with you the entire night. I don't even think she has even seen a walker tonight."

This was going to get ugly fast.

"What the Hell were we supposed to do?" Lilly asked

"What about wait about two more minutes." Shepard called out

Somehow it got softer than complete silence.

Shepard turned the corner to see the complete surprise of the entire group.

Shepard gave everyone a long bitter stare.

Almost everyone squirmed under her stare, usually quickly discovering a very interesting pebble or piece of dirt.

Unsurprisingly, Larry held her stare.

She was convinced that he was a man that used to be in the military, most likely someone of command. Not just because he could hold her gaze but just by the way he acted.

That didn't mean she respected him anymore for it. In fact the opposite was true.

Never leave a man behind.

It was an ideal that she had always tried to live up to.

It seemed to be an ideal that he had forgotten.

"SO WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!" Shepard screamed

No one answered.

"Doug and Carley left when all of a sudden walkers POURED through the back door. What happened?" Shepard snapped

If she had been by herself she would have been a little irritable but nothing this bad.

But the second that you endangered the people that she cared about. Well … it got ugly.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Shepard screamed again

Again no answer. At least not a vocal one.

The true answer was simple. They panicked and in their panic Shepard and Clementine were left behind.

Shepard started to laugh.

Everyone took a subconscious step back, well all except Clementine who stood right next to her.

"It's so simple. You all got scared. Well guess what? I'M SCARED TOO! But I didn't abandon ANY of you, even when I could, maybe should have. But just be warned, the next time that anything like this happens again I. AM. GONE. I will not be there to pull you from the window, or throw you a gun, or save your child, or save your dad … I will take Clementine and go. Because no matter what YOU do, you will NOT kill me or HER." Shepard yelled

Again silence was her only answer.

Shepard stormed off towards one of the nearest rooms not giving a damn about the apologetic looks she was been given, she was not in the mood for it. Shepard slammed the door behind her.

Shepard had only been gotten in such a foul mood once before. That was after Admiral Han'Gerrel had the Geth dreadnought destroyed … while she was inside.

That had been a very bad day.

Shepard didn't care if it was her life at risk, it was when others put the people she cared about at risk. To Shepard, that was unacceptable.

Shepard heard the door squeak open.

Shepard turned around to tell the offending person to get the Hell out.

But it was a teary eyed Clementine.

"I-I'm sorry. P-Please don't hate me."

Shepard's jaw hit the floor. Thankfully Shepard was able to compose herself before Clementine left.

"Clem … come here."

Clementine did as she was asked.

Clementine hopped onto the bed right next to Shepard.

"Clem, I wasn't getting mad at you. I'm sorry if I made you think that."

"It's my fault. If I didn't get grabbed, none of that would have happened."

"Clem, it's not your fault,

I promise. And no matter what happens I will always come back for you. No matter what." Shepard said while patting Clementine's leg lightly.

"Will you forgive them?"

Shepard sighed "Yeah, and I don't really blame them for leaving me behind. I DO blame them for leaving you behind. That's why I'm so angry."

Clementine crawled into Shepard's lap.

"I have a question."

I knew this was coming.

"What happened … in the drugstore?" she asked

Shepard sighed.

"Clementine … will you promise me that you will never talk about that, to anyone?"

Clementine nodded.

Shepard rolled down the sleeve to her shirt. She took Clementine's hand and traced it down the small scars that Project Lazarus left on her body.

They had healed but Shepard could always feel the cybernetics underneath them. Something that she just had to get used too.

"What are those?"

Shepard smiled.

A very perceptive girl.

"They're … wires, sort of. They're implants, machines underneath my skin. I have them all over my body. They do a lot of … interesting things."

Such as heat up when I start to get angry.

Shepard had felt them start to warm when she gave her rant to the rest of the group.

"Like that blue stuff?"

"Yeah, they let me use those powers."

It wasn't completely accurate but it was mostly true. The implants didn't truly power the biotics but they did let her focus the energy enough so that she could actually use them.

"Can you do that more?"

"I'm not sure. It takes up a lot of energy. Plus I'm not sure if the group would really approve."

Clementine looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"People tend to be afraid of the unknown, and people do stupid things when they're afraid."

"Like what happened tonight?"

"Exactly." Shepard said with an approving smile.

They sat in a comfortable silence.

The door creaked open again.

This time it was Carley at the door.

She didn't make eye contact with Shepard, but she did with the floor.

"Shepard … I wanted to apologize for what happened."

Shepard didn't reply.

"You saved my life … and then I ran, like a coward. I promise that will never happen again."

"I know."

"Just know that you have my thanks … and your back."

Shepard nodded.

Either minutes past or hours did before Shepard spoke again.

"So I guess this is your room. I'll go-"

Clementine grabbed her hand.

"Please don't go."

Shepard nodded.

At first Shepard slept in the bed closer to the door and Clementine in the one further into the room. That changed after Clementine had nightmares and crawled in next to Shepard.

Shepard had to admit that she liked having Clementine so close.

The rational part of her mind would scream that she was trying to replace Clementine's parents so she could feel like she had a daughter. Espically since she hadn't known Clementine for more than a couple of days.

She conceded that she was probably doing that.

However Shepard always wanted to have a child, and Clementine probably wanted a parent right now. Was that so wrong?

She's a grieving scared little girl, and you're using her to get what you want.

Shepard just ignored logic after that.

She felt like she had earned a lot for what she had to endure. She felt like she deserved this, no matter how selfish it was.

Shepard slowly awoke to feel a little body stretching next to her.

Shepard looked down to see Clementine sleepily stretching.

It was an adorable sight.

"Sleep well?"

Clementine nodded.

"Come on, let's see what's going on." Shepard suggested

The pair hopped out of bed and went through the door.

Everyone was working outside, most starting to work of some sort of barricade at the entrance of the parking lot.

Everyone looked like they half expected her to take Clementine and go. But as she had said last night that was what happened next time.

As Shepard started working on the barricade she couldn't help but smile.

Everything was going to be all right. They had food, water, and power. It was going to be safer.


We finished episode one. I just wanted to inform you that I'm not going straight to episode two yet, I'm going to write out some of the three month skip. Some of it ,not all, not sure how much yet.

Some of you might be wondering why I saved both Doug and Carley. Mainly it was a chance to show Shepard's quick-trained thinking that she has, plus it would have been impossible for Shepard not to save both of them while she had her pistol. Don't worry as I said last chapter this is not Shepard saves everyone. In fact she almost lost Clementine as the walkers since they didn't have something to feed on and distract a few of the walkers. It was a price Shepard almost paid. Next time I doubt everyone involved will be so lucky, in fact I can guarantee it.