A/N: I'm sorry if there are any glaring mistakes in this, it's so late and I was distracted while trying to edit it. I plan on looking it over again in the morning, hopefully, I won't be ashamed of what I see! I will add review responses tomorrow. I don't have a question this chapter! So right now I'll just ask that you give me your honest opinions. I hope you enjoy!

Update: 8/18/17

Review Responses:

Cottoncandyman: I love seeing your reviews! You're pretty much the only person who answers my questions at the start of the chapter so I appreciate it! Anyway, I really did love Omid and Christa, especially Christa. I agree, Omid's death literally minutes into episode 1 was stupid. They weren't even determinant. Also agree with the Kenny thing, I'm unsure what I'm gonna do with him as of now but I definitely wanna give him less attention. I love the man but jesus, all the new season 2 characters that lost development so they could further develop Kenny was embarrassing. The season 2 cast is severely undeveloped, most of my focus at the moment is on them.

Percabeth4lyfee: Thank you for your kind words! I'm a really slow reader with a ton of fanfiction, I've read chapter 1 of your fanfiction and plan to review it at some point. Thanks for the review.

For Her Future:

Chapter 3: Separation Anxiety

x

roseabellaaa

When the sky was enveloped by black, covered in the white specs of stars, an announcement was made for everyone who did not have night shifts to head to bed. The man from before named Troy, who she and Lee had only seen for a few brief moments earlier, alongside the redheaded woman, called for them to come over so they could find out where they would sleep. The arm around her went stiff and Clementine could feel the way her guardian's body tensed before walking to them.

She held onto Lee's sweater tightly as they approached, Bonnie's tired blue eyes met hers and she extended a hand. "Come with me."

She took a step away from her, biting her lip in confusion. Most adults addressed Lee, not her, she may have preferred it that way. A frigid breeze met her neck and shoulders when Lee's arm slipped off of her, she turned her attention to him and watched as he walked away from her and toward Troy.

"Lee?"

"I have to go now, sweetpea. Don't stay up and get lots of sleep, I'll see you soon."

The realization hit her like a splash of ice cold water. Ever since they had first met, he was by her side. She had spent many of her nights alone in her treehouse wide awake, the fear of the monsters figuring out their way up was always on her mind. The horrors remained for her first weeks with Lee, eventually, though, he was able to give her the sense of security she longed for. If there were walkers, he'd save her, if there were bandits, he'd defend her, if there were nightmares, he'd hold her. Clementine had never even thought of the idea of spending a night without him. She had been told beforehand by Luke that everyone's sleeping arrangements were separated by gender, it didn't sound as scary then, it hadn't really hit her but now it was, and it was hitting her hard.

Her eyes stung with the salt of her oncoming tears, her shoulders shook and shuddered, her throat went dry and her lips chapped. Lee made the move to come towards her, but Troy roughly pulled on his shoulder and commanded he follow him.

Lee looked over his shoulder at Clementine, and she reached out for him, he did not move to grasp onto her hand. "It'll be okay, Clementine, I promise you." With that, he was off.

She ran after him, she had to, but Bonnie had blocked her before she could really make any distance. Then she was screaming and the woman was panicking, she knew she was being troublesome but she couldn't stop, she needed him, he couldn't leave her. What if something happened?

Familiar faces started showing up, starting with Nick, who regarded her with not the slightest drop of sympathy. "Hey, kid! You need to shut the fuck up, okay? Do you want to get us all in shit!?"

Pete appeared beside him, his face angled with a rage she'd never seen in the man. "How dare you speak like that? Do you have no empathy, Nick?" He said sternly.

His harsh words made her all the more desperate, she shimmied out of Bonnie's grasp and shoved her away when she tried to regain her hold, squeezing her eyes shut as she ran away, until she slammed into the someone's abdomen. Her eyes snapped open as she glanced up, meeting the face of Luke, who brought his hands up to hold onto her shoulders.

Clementine tried with all her might to escape his grasp, knowing he'd only try to convince her to stay from Lee for the night, but his hold only tightened the more she pulled away. Soon, he was picking the girl up and throwing her small form over his shoulder, carrying her away, farther and farther from Lee.

"No please!"

"You can't let him leave me!"

"I don't want to be alone!"

She shrieked, louder and louder, begging him to let her down, going as far as to tell him she hated him. She punched Luke's back and kicked at his ribs, hoping to hear a yelp of pain, a grunt, a growl, anything. Yet, he didn't react and before long, her body had slumped over his shoulder. The tears on Clementine's cheeks went cold as her breathing slowed.

She was ashamed, she felt so stupid, so over the top and dramatic, she never expected herself to be in such a situation, but in the heat of the moment, like a puppet under someone else's control, she had. She was still fearful, very much so, but much more in control of her emotions, she didn't know what had come over her back there.

Her eyelashes fluttered, her outburst had depleted most, if not all of her energy, but she still held back from sleep.

"Luke…?" She whispered gently, breaking the silence.

She knew he heard her, he still took his time with answering. "Yes, Clem?"

"I'm sorry…"

Before she could get an answer, she had succumbed to her exhaustion and was fast asleep.

Luke finally spoke. "If you promise not to run away, I'll let you down."

There was no response, he swallowed thickly.

"Clementine?" He shook her form lightly.

Once the sound of soft snoring reached his ear, he ever so gently brought her onto the ground, trying not to wake her as he carried her in a more comfortable bridal style instead, her body nearly weightless in his arms.

He tried his hardest, but he couldn't hide the guilt that overwhelmed him, when he and Nick had heard her screams on their way to their rooms, Luke assumed the worst. Luckily, once he had rushed from his room and down the hall to where she was, she was unharmed, but her crying and screaming still shook him to the core. He was still for awhile, in shock by the little girl's sudden vulnerability. Nick called her out almost immediately but Pete was quick to put him in his place, after that she pushed Bonnie away and haphazardly ran into him.

Looking back on it, he should have hugged her, comforted her, that's likely all she needed. However he knew the danger she was causing by making a scene, if Carver were to stumble upon them, she as well as everyone there was sure to get in loads of trouble. More than just yelling, the leader was already pissed with their entire situation, he had the bruises to show it.

He knew he couldn't let that happen, to Nick, to Pete, to Bonnie and definitely not Clementine. Luke prayed that a child would be the one thing Carver would have some compassion for, if anything.

She said she hated him. It was a little embarrassing to realize how sensitive he was to the opinions of a little girl.

Luke was able to pull a few strings, if 'pulling a few strings' meant convincing a lovestruck Bonnie, to get Clementine in a room with a few familiar faces. Those being Sarah and Rebecca.

Still carrying Clementine, he shifted around to weakly knock on the door and was quickly greeted by Rebecca's gaping face.

"Is she okay? What happened?" She questioned as Luke walked past her and placed the girl's small frame onto the bottom of the bunk bed, Sarah sat atop it and rose from her lying position, leaning off the edge to get a peek at her new friend.

Looking down at her, he could see the lines of dried tears running down her scarlet tinted cheeks, leftover teardrops still laced in her dark eyelashes, her hair and clothes disheveled, he could understand their concern.

"She panicked once they tried to take her away from her...guardian, I think she was having an anxiety attack…"

"That's terrible…" Sarah uttered.

Rebecca sat on her bed, across from Clementine, slouching as she frowned at her. She gnawed at her lip, seeming to think of her words carefully. "Did Bill…?"

Luke shook his head. "No. I...I picked her up and brought her down before anythin' bad could happen, she fell asleep 'long the way."

Rebecca's mouth twitched into a smile, the rush of relief clear on her face. "Yeah, of course, Bill would never-"

She didn't continue. The farm boy folded his arms, a chill going down his spine from both the unheated room and the thought of the lengths their leader would go to reinforce the community's rules. "I'm kinda worried."

"I'll try to look out for her," Rebecca assured. "I had a hard time being separated from Alvin on my first day too, I can barely imagine what it must be like for her."

Luke ran his fingers through his hair, memories shuffling through his mind. He along with Pete, Nick and his mother, Margaret, were just a handful of the very first to work along Carver to create the community that was Howe's Hardware. It was just the very beginnings and many still had faith in the world returning to normal and with that, a fair amount of trust in fellow survivors. All there was of Carver's group was Tavia and Troy, who had previously worked in the hardware store part time. The fences were more secure than anywhere Luke had been before, large spaces made into makeshift bedrooms, more than enough for his group as well as Carvers.

Carlos and Sarah were when their small group really started becoming a community, the father and daughter had been traveling across the country in their family van when Luke had come across them one evening. Searching for gasoline but all in all coming out unsuccessful, his daughter had clumsily impaled her leg in the process. It became clear to him then as the Hispanic man went into full parent mode and pulled out all the medical supplies he had to heal his daughter's injury, he was a doctor. The girl screamed in pain as Carlos stitched her wound, lurkers coming out from all sides only moments later. Luke fought against each and every lurker effortlessly, earning their trust and with a little convincing, bringing them into their group.

A few months later came Alvin and Rebecca, brought in by Tavia. It was obvious that Alvin had most to do with them being there because Rebecca was as stubborn as ever, beyond reluctant to communicate with anyone other than her husband, but leave it to Margaret to be the only one able to befriend the woman.

It was great then, at least as great as it could be. More faces had started coming in at such a fast rate, Carver was desperate to see his group grow, no matter what consequences it could bring and oh how it brought consequences.

"Luke, I know you mean well but this isn't good for you."

Rebecca's words snapped him out of his thoughts, Luke turned his gaze away from Clementine. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean." She stole his eye contact and kept it, her almond orbs piercing into his. "You can't make yourself responsible for everyone, that's insane, even Bill doesn't worry about everyone as much as you."

Offended, Luke's face pinched, he responded defensively. "You can't expect me not to be worried about a child."

"I understand being concerned for a little girl in these circumstances but you do this with everyone, Luke."

When they had first met she threw insults at him left and right, mostly teasing him for his southern accent, he persisted nonetheless at making her and her husband feel welcome.

Even if he felt as if her worries were coming from nowhere, he was grateful nonetheless, smiling warmly at her. "You ain't gotta worry bout me, Bec."

She said nothing after that, giving him a quiet and tired goodnight before settling back into her bed. Wishing Sarah a good night, he watched as the teenager went on a tangent as she said her goodbyes to him, leaving him standing there for at least five more minutes than he had originally intended, but his smile never dropped.

Before leaving, he took a blanket and placed it over Clementine, her baseball hat barely poking out of the sheets.

The next day, everyone was put to work. Clementine included. The redheaded woman from last night had come to wake her from her slumber and soon she was reunited with Luke. She was evidently worried, sweat on her brow and eyes wide. Luke tried his best to console her, swearing he'd look out for her.

They entered the greenhouse. "Today we're harvesting. We got some broccoli and peppers that are ready for picking."

Clementine nodded quietly as he guided her to another side of the greenhouse, Clementine hadn't seen a garden in years. Memories of sitting atop her treehouse, peeking through her door to observe her mother water their flower garden well humming cheerfully came to mind.

Luke circled a small garden of budding broccoli plants. Surrounded and hidden in large leaves was a big, bowl sized plant of broccoli, that Luke grasped. "If you see a big plant like one of these, feel it, it should be tight and compact." He let go of it for a few moments and gestured for Clementine to touch it herself, the plant was firm in her hands.

The young man pulled a pair of garden shears from his back pocket. "To harvest, you just gotta get it at the stem, right at the base." The garden shears opened as they began to cut at the plant, with a couple of snips it finally detached, and was held gently in his hand.

Luke pointed at the pot next to it, it mirrored the other plant he had just picked from, except being smaller in size, with small yellow flowers sprouting from it. He pointed at them. "This plant is smaller than the other as you can see, but when you see these little yellow buds, you harvest em regardless of their size." He handed her the shears, "You try cuttin' this one off and be patient, it may take a couple cuts till it's off the plant."

She was hesitant when opening the shears, as she shakily brought the tool to the stem of the plant, right where Luke had shown her before. With a few uneven cuts, the broccoli head dropped from the plant on to the table, where Luke caught it before it could hit the ground.

"Be careful, I know you're a lil' short to be able to grip em' as you cut but at least be ready to catch em' once they fall," Luke instructed.

Clementine covered her mouth as she let out a yawn. "Okay."

He smiled, taking notice of her drowsiness. "Sorry to have you up so early, broccoli tastes best harvested when the soil is cold"

"You know a lot about gardening for a guy," Clementine said bluntly.

Luke badly faked an offended expression, crossing his arms as he spoke. "Are you saying guys can't garden?"

She paused. "No."

"I went to school for agriculture, ya know?"

She raised a brow. "They teach that?"

"Yeah, yeah they do."

"My mom used to garden." It was a mumble, more of a thought said aloud than a contribution to their conversation, but she caught the way Luke's facial expression changed.

Things went quiet for awhile after that, Luke still hovering around her for most of his time, only leaving for less than ten-minute intervals and warning her every time he did so. She could see him constantly glancing at her from the corner of her eye, but ignored it as she focused on the job at hand.

Curiosity got the better of him. "Where...uh…" He cleared his throat, "Where are your parents?"

"In Savannah somewhere."

He was sniping at one of the broccoli plants beside her, waiting for her to continue. "Savannah?"

Clementine felt waves of energy surge through her, it'd been so long since she had been asked about her family or her life from before. At least it started that way, but as she began to explain, she remembered why Lee stopped bringing up her parents so long ago. "Yeah, they were on vacation there, before all of this. They had a babysitter take care of me, when all the walkers started showing up...she locked us in the house. She left to look for people but when she came back...she had a bite on her leg."

Luke frowned. "So she turned into one of them?"

She gave a quiet nod. "She attacked me so I ran into my treehouse and stayed there for a few days...Lee came into our house one day, calling for help, he found me. He promised...that he'd take care of me." It was only a year ago but it felt like such a long time ago, nevertheless she could recount the memories vividly, the horror and betrayal of her babysitter turning around and chasing her across the yard, the chill that went down her spine when she shuffled around her treehouse trying to sleep, the quick beating of her heart when Lee first entered her property. "...I miss them."

Luke nodded in understanding. "I'm sure you do. My parents still come to my mind every single day."

She started to cut at one of the broccoli heads. "I want to go to Savannah one day and find them."

Luke's eyebrows rose. "They're...alive?"

"Of course!" Clementine cried, pulling back her shears, the broccoli barely hanging off the stem. "They're survivors! They fight! Just like you and Lee. I know they're out there...somewhere."

His expression softened, looking down at the small girl sadly, seeming to understand the meaning behind her words now. He didn't pry any longer. "You, uh, look like you got everythin' handled over here. I have some herbs I have to get to, so call me whenever you need me, alright?"

Clementine watched his back as he retreated. "Okay…"

Regardless of Lee's paranoia and caution, Howe's Hardware was a nice place. Lee and Clementine would have already been confronted with multiple walkers, as well as bandit attacks, had they still been in their old camp in the middle of the forest. Within the walls of Howe's, time passed rapidly, it wasn't long until they came to the realization that they were almost a month into their life at Howe's.

Even with being given one of the most dangerous jobs of working construction outside their walls, with the hammering of nails and cutting of wood sure to draw walkers to them, or 'lurkers' as most of the community had taken to calling it, he had come across few. All of which were easy to advert, especially when there were other people working alongside him.

He had adjusted to the place and the people around him. Luke tried his hardest to keep updated with Lee and Clementine, visiting either of them whenever he had time. Lee wasn't sure whether the man was super friendly, or if watching over new recruits was standard protocol. Either way, he had to admit, he enjoyed the young man's company.

Most members of the community ignored both of their existences. Carlos and Sarah were always friendly to him whenever they crossed paths, and thanks to Sarah's interest in Clementine's friendship, Lee always had a place to go whenever lunch came around.

Nick always seemed to be around, he followed Luke like a mosquito. Whenever there was a Luke, there was a Nick. The only way Lee and Nick would be able to get away from each other is if one of them dropped Luke, Lee wasn't willing to do that, he didn't think Luke would even obey his request if he did ask. Shockingly, neither was Nick, and Lee became all the more aware how attached he was to him as time went on. They came to a silent truce of some kind, neither speaking to the other unless necessary.

Lee had taken a liking to Pete, whenever he felt rage bubbling in Nick, he was sure to silence it, and Lee appreciated that to no end. They both often got assigned to construction and Pete was an easy man to work with, they had a lot in common and were a good team.

Rebecca showed up at their table more and more, complaining about her husband, Alvin and his friends, George and Doug. From what she had to say about them, they were all obsessed with electronics, and putting them in a room together was a dork fest she couldn't handle.

Luckily, most of Clementine's health had been restored and Lee was beyond thankful, the child was more radiant than ever. In the walls of the community, her outgoing and social side was allowed to be on full display. The only downside to it, Lee saw her much less than usual. She worked in the greenhouse, which left them separated the entirety of the working day, Luke and Sarah probably saw her more throughout the day than he did. Although happy to know she had familiar faces around, he couldn't help but feel envious.

The recollection of his last couple weeks came to a halt when the brunette woman beside him began obnoxiously hammering a nail into a panel of their fences. Lee whipped his head around to her and narrowed his eyes, even if he wasn't spared a glance, he couldn't get the feeling out of his head that she had done that on purpose.

Carley wasn't assigned to construction often, at least not from what he could see. However, when she was, they both kept their distance. Pete wasn't there to distract him from her presence today, which left them side by side, awkwardly silent. With his many years of teaching experience, he was well aware of the damage rumors could cause, and from the words of his friends, he knew Carley had many. Always alone, talking to no one but Carver himself, he often fought back to go against his friend's wishes to befriend her, not that he should expect much.

Earthy eyes glared at him. "Are you just going to stand there well I do all the work or are you actually going to make yourself useful?"

Taken aback by her accusing tone, Lee picked up the saw he had long forgotten on the ground and got to work on a piece of wood. He made the mistake of facing the wall rather than the open space behind him, an open space that had unknowingly begun to fill with walkers.

At least until one of them grasped a rotting hand onto the collar of his shirt and dragged him onto the ground. His vision blurred when the back of his head hit the surface, blinking up at a slack jawed walker as it leaned towards his neck.

One of his hands tightly grasped the walker's shoulder, pushing the rank body away from him as the other went on a search for the gun in his back pocket, only to find it missing and in the hands of his female construction companion, not the slightest bit of worry or fear crossing her features.

For a second…just a second, he thought those sweet chocolate irises married with lighter hues would simply stare and watch as the walker's gums dug through the tender flesh of his neck. Her expression, as always, never changing, not unless she wanted it to.

That thought was silenced by the gunshot that echoed through the area and the sting he felt on his cheek, soon accompanied by a warm, thick liquid running down his face. Blood. She had not watched him die, yet had openly shot through the head of the walker above him, she could've shot his face off and he was sure she was aware of that.

He threw the walker off him and placed his large palm over the slice of his cheek, his expression absolutely livid. "What the hell is your problem!?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

"You could've killed me!" He shouted, "a-and pickpocketing my gun? How long have you had it!?"

"Since this morning. I don't trust you with a gun."

The words came out before he could stop himself. "If Carver can trust me with a gun, I think his slave can too."

Lee reacted more to his own words than Carley had, his face twisted in pain at his own misstep, automatically regretting his words. He was sure the rumors retold by his friends had drifted by him, that they hadn't truly affected his thoughts on her, he truly believed that. His outraged words proved him wrong however and he was left guiltily staring at the blank faced woman.

She scoffed. "I knew it. Only a matter of time."

Lee stood up slowly. "I'm sorry, just nearly getting...it really...I-I shouldn't have said that."

"It's fine."

He continued. "I promise that I don't...judge you or anything for-"

"Judge me, don't judge me, I don't give a shit what you think," the words come out surprising calm despite her word's insulting meanings, "-and tell your friends that too."

Even if he could have given her a response, he wouldn't have had one. Behind him came the shuffling of running feet coming towards them.

"Who the fuck is shooting guns around here!?" Troy yelled harshly, his face as stiff as usual but his eyes stayed on Lee, almost as if he had already made his decision on who would take the blame.

Carley raised her hand, his handgun barely hanging off her fingers. "I am."

Lee exhaled shakily, his eyebrows rising at the brunette's fearless admittance, it was pretty damn obvious that Troy had suspected him long before he was given any information on the events, she had no reason to surrender then. Every single action she performed left him even more lost and confused, her personality felt impossible to pinpoint.

Troy's dark eyes switched from him to the slim woman standing beside him, his lips parting ever so slightly to expose the yellow tinted teeth grinding together with rage. "Are you trying to bring a herd our way!? You stupid bitch."

It went quiet then, she placed the gun on the ground gently and rose her hands, her attention not moving away from the enraged man in front of her.

Lee could feel the menace in the grin that curved on Troy's lips.

"I'd send you over to Bill but he was pretty busy last I saw him, I think he'd be fine with me figuring out what to do with you this time 'round." He said smugly.

"What exactly would that be?"

For the first time since he had first stumbled upon the scene, Troy's attention went to Lee. "Go to Carlos and deal with that gash on your cheek."

What felt like for the first time ever, from the corner of his eye, he saw Carley flinch. It was only for a moment, she had returned to normal seconds later but it was there. He saw it.

People said that the apocalypse made everyone evil, and maybe it had. Losing those you love was hard, having your entire view on the world change with no sign of return was hard. But people have always been like this. To Lee, the world in this age was the rawest and honest it's ever been. Laws were gone, police were gone, in societal terms, people were free now. Too free.

Lee stirred his oatmeal absentmindedly, with so much work to be done, there was no time for a break in the lunchroom. The sun beamed down on the back of Lee's neck as sweat dripped down his brow. All of a sudden, the soggy oatmeal was becoming unappetizing to him. Yesterday the hardware store was hit by a large horde of walkers. Fortunately, they didn't break through, but their defenses had taken a considerable amount of damage. If they weren't fixed immediately it would leave them vulnerable, so Carver put more workers than usual to work outside.

He, Pete, Carley, Doug, Wyatt, Shel, George and even Sarah were sent out despite at least a quarter of the group never having done construction for the hardware store before. He was pretty sure Sarah hadn't ever touched a hammer in her entire life. Lee and Pete had tried their best to instruct her on hammering nails and sawing planks, but after a close call of her nearly sawing off her thumb, they gave her the simple task of watching and alerting them if she saw anything suspicious heading their way from the woods.

"Could you hand me a nail?" Came the quiet voice of Carley.

The tension from before still hung in the air, however, something about the atmosphere shifted in a way Lee couldn't describe. It seemed everyone else working with them could sense it, the group was unusually silent, Lee couldn't get much more from Pete other than a few small comments. He wouldn't call himself antisocial but he wasn't going to attempt to pull a few words from any of the other workers, who he was unacquainted with. Instead, he concentrated on his work and thoughts.

Long nimble fingers reached towards him, his calloused hands just barely grazed her skin as he placed the nearly rusted nail in her palm.

"You shouldn't have acted out yesterday," Carley whispered to him.

Lee's frown deepened. "What should I have done?"

"You should have gone to see Carlos like Troy told you to. Do you know how much shit you're probably in right now?"

Lee ignored the sting that burned once his hand made contact with the tender flesh of his scabbed over cut. Without Carlos's treatment, he felt that it was still healing quite well.

Troy's grin that day would likely be seared in the back of his mind, behind the simple expression were a million words and a million implications. All of which definitely wasn't good. Lee wasn't going to stand for it, he couldn't.

"I don't regret a thing."

Carley swung her hammer as she nailed down the wood of the fence. "I don't need your help."

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I walked away from that."

Listen here, you little shit." The memory of Troy's sharp words echoed in his mind.

Lee wordlessly took another step towards Carley, his defiance was on full display.

The guard scowled and rose his rifle. "I swear to god if you don't move your ass!"

Lee caught the side of his mouth in his teeth and bit down. He'd be lying if he said he didn't question himself then. He wasn't sure whether or not shooting at him would be permitted, though Troy looked enraged enough to pull the trigger either way.

Lee finally spoke. "Who do you think you are? Fuck you."

Surprisingly Troy dropped his rifle back to his side, however, the younger man was shoving him away before Lee could feel any relief.

As he stumbled back, the consequences of defending himself flashed through his mind, but when Troy's fist connected with his jaw, his choice had been made for him.

Lee was incredibly lucky that Pete was the first to stumble upon the brawl, even if he wasn't afraid to show what little tolerance he had for either of their actions. He pulled them apart forcefully, ranting about how lucky the two were that he was the one to have found them, as well as how childish and idiotic the two were acting. He searched for Carley but found that she had vanished from thin air shortly after the fight had begun, that might have been for the best.

They said nothing to each other as they went their separate ways, their confrontation caused nothing more than a few bruises, Troy's glare, however, gave Lee the haunting feeling that so much more damage had been done that day.

Turning her back to him then, Carley gave up on their conversation and continued her work.

She was right, he was going to be in shit.

But to him, Troy was one of those people who were truly evil to the bone, evil before the apocalypse and just as evil after. Every hit, every kick, Lee would never want to take it back.

"Lee!" The man in question turned to see Nick taking booming strides toward him, the look on his face wasn't promising. "What the actual fuck is wrong with you!?"

His dark eyes narrowed. "Calm down."

"You tell Carver to send a little girl out?! Are you trying to get her killed?"

That caught his attention, Lee stood from his crouching position, seeing faces of the other workers glancing between him and the younger man from the corner of his eye.

Pete approached his irritated nephew, making an effort to keep he and Lee a fair distance away from each other after the events he witnessed yesterday. "What's going on here?"

Nick pointed an accusing finger. "He let Carver send Clementine out on today's supply run!"

He raised his brows then, sure the man was simply jumping to conclusions. He had never allowed such a thing, other than announcements, Lee had not even seen Carver since their first meeting. If anything, the teacher had been avoiding him since yesterday, Troy was one of Carver's most trusted allies, if word of their fight were to reach the leader Lee was sure he'd be the one to blame. Lee didn't know Carver well enough to predict how he would deal with the situation, but he was sure it wouldn't be anything to look forward to.

He had no doubt that Troy was twiddling his thumbs somewhere, trying to figure out how to enact his revenge on him. It was quite comical really.

Everything clicked then. "Where is she!?" Lee said abruptly.

"The truck is leaving in like two mi-"

"Take me to her."

"Why should I-"

"Take me to her." He commanded.

"Do it, Nick." Pete cut in.

They ran, Nick was too slow, if he weren't leading the way Lee would have long passed him by now. Troy could insult him, humiliate him, beat him, kill him, but to bring Clementine, a ten-year-old girl, into their problems was low.

He wanted it to be a misunderstanding, he truly did, but when he and Nick finally snuck into the parking lot and watched as Clementine stepped into the van, her body shaking and eyes wide, it was obvious that it wasn't.

Lee lost every bit of oxygen left in his body right then.