Chapter 4 – To Leave or Stay?

The Next Morning

Kenny blinked his eyes opened groggily and found himself sleeping on his back staring at the metal ceiling of a train car. A ray of yellow sunlight shone through the window on the door at the end of the car. It was morning, and Kenny's back ached like no other. Sleeping on the bare floor of a freight train wasn't exactly conducive to comfortable sleeping. Then he remembered he wasn't supposed to be sleeping at all. He was supposed to be keeping an eye on Lee. He bolted up straight with that realization, startling Clementine awake.

Clementine looked around sleepily, rubbing her eyes and wondering why she was awakened so violently. She looked up at Kenny. "Kenny? What's going on?"

Kenny ignored the question as his eyes fell on Lee who was in the same position he had been when he went to sleep. It looked like he hadn't moved an inch all night and Kenny tried to think if that was normal. Don't people usually move around when they sleep? He was worried that maybe Lee had died during the night and just hadn't reanimated yet.

He took a deep breath and slowly crawled over to Lee's form. He peeked over him, trying to get a look at his face, but it was hidden in shadows. Since the lamp had long since gone out, the only source of light in the car was the shaft of sunlight shining through the one window at the end of the car. He slowly reached his hand out towards Lee's shoulder, intending to roll him over so he could get a good look at his face. Just as he was about to make contact, Lee rolled over on his own. Startled, Kenny jumped backward with a yelp, landing on his butt.

Lee jolted awake at the noise and sat up straight. Looking around confusedly, he saw Kenny sitting on his butt with an indignant look on his face and Clementine giggling next to him.

"Kenny? What's up?"

"Jesus fucking Christ, Lee! You scared the shit out of me!"

"Swear," Clementine said.

"Oh, sorry, Clem."

Lee laughed. "Sorry, Ken. You startled me."

"I startled you? You almost gave me a fucking heart attack."

"Swear," Clementine said, a little indignant this time.

Lee smirked. "Glad to see I'm not the only one she does that to. I'm afraid you got your work cut out for you, Clem, if you're gonna try to get Kenny to stop swearing."

"Very funny, smart ass," Kenny said lightly.

Clementine crossed her arms across her chest and glared at Kenny at his use of foul language yet again, which made Lee laugh even harder.

Kenny, realizing he did it again, smacked his hand on his forehead before looking back at Clementine. "Oh jeez, Clem. I'm sorry. Sometimes I just can't help it. It just rolls off the tongue."

"I rest my case," Lee said, smirking.

"Alright, alright. That's enough of that," Kenny said as he stood up and gave Lee hand up as well. "So, I guess this means you really are ok."

"Yeah, I guess so. I feel great." Lee's smile got impossibly wider. He hadn't felt this happy since before the dead started to walk the earth. Words couldn't express the joy he felt at the thought that he would never become one of those ravenous monstrosities.

"Oh man. That's fu…" Kenny began, but stopped himself as he glanced down at Clementine. He didn't want her scolding him about his harsh language again. "That's great, man," he corrected himself, which made Clementine smile. "I'm happy for you."

There was a groan from the other end of the train car. "What is all the noise about?" Cassie asked as she rolled over to face the two men. "Some people are still trying to sleep."

"Sorry, Cassie, but we're just celebrating the fact that Lee's going to be fine," Kenny replied, a huge grin on his face.

Cassie blinked the sleep from her eyes as she sat up and looked at Lee. "Well I'll be damned. Guess you aren't going to become one of those things. Congratulations, man. That's awesome."

"What are you talking about?" Clementine asked. She looked up at her guardian. "Lee, what do they mean? Why wouldn't you be ok?"

"Uh, look, Clementine. I've got to tell you something," Lee said as he knelt down to her level.

"Oh no. Did something bad happen?" Clementine asked, worried.

"Yes and no. Um…" he paused as he glanced at Kenny and Cassie.

Kenny, taking the hint, turned to Cassie. "Hey, why don't we check out the area, make sure there aren't any walkers wondering around nearby?"

Once Kenny and Cassie were gone, Lee returned his attention to Clementine. "Look, Clem, I gotta tell you something, and I don't want you to get upset, ok?"

"What is it?"

Lee sighed. He knew it was going to be difficult for her to hear, but he felt she deserved to know the truth for future reference in case it ever happened again. So, he lifted up his arm and showed her the wound on his wrist.

"I got bit, Clem," he explained.

Her eyes widened as she stared at the bite in horror. Her eyes immediately began to tear up as she shook her head. "Lee, no," she cried.

"But it's ok. It's ok," he rushed to assure her, "I'm fine. I'm not going to become one of them."

"But isn't that what happens when you get bit? It happened to Duck."

"Yeah, normally. But I got bit yesterday morning. If I was going to turn, it would have happened already. Trust me, I feel fine. Do I look sick to you?"

Clementine looked into Lee's eyes and noticed that he didn't look the way Duck did after he got bit. "No," she replied, her voice a bit shaky, "but how?"

"I'm not sure. I think I'm immune." Lee replied.

"Oh. Does that mean you won't become one of them?"

"Yeah, it does."

"Good," she said with sigh. "I don't want you to become a walker."

Lee pulled her into a hug, rubbing small circles on her back. She wrapped her small arms around his neck tightly and squeezed her eyes shut, the tears that had been building in her eyes finally spilling onto her cheeks. He could feel her shaking in his arms a little bit and whispered soothing words in her ear to help calm her down. After a few minutes, she finally spoke.

"Lee?"

"Yeah, sweet pea?"

"Did…did you get bit while you were looking for me?"

Lee tensed slightly remembering how he got bit because he had been so focused on finding Clementine that he hadn't noticed the walker hiding amongst the trash nearby. He knew she was going to blame herself for that just like she did for what happened to Kenny. He pulled away from her but kept his hands on her thin shoulders.

"Yes, but it wasn't your fault."

"But if I hadn't listened to that man…" Clementine began, her eyes staring at the floor. She felt so guilty she just couldn't look him in the face.

"Clem, look at me," Lee said. He waited until her eyes met his once more. "It's his fault, not yours. He did this. He lied to you, and he manipulated you to get you to come outside. You're going to meet a lot of people like that, Clem, people who will lie and steal, and you've got to learn how to tell who you can trust and who you can't."

"How do you do that?" Clementine asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"It's not easy, trust me," Lee replied, thinking about all the people he shouldn't have trusted but did, first and foremost being the St. Johns and Vernon and his group. One tried to eat them for dinner, and the other stole their boat right out from under them. "But we'll work on it together."

Clementine nodded with a small smile.


Kenny and Cassie climbed out of the train to give Lee and Clementine some privacy to talk. It was a bright and clear morning. The sun was warm, but there was a slight chill in the air. There was a gentle breeze that blew through the trees noisily, letting them know that nature, if nothing else, was still alive and flourishing. It was probably the only thing that remained untouched while everything else in the world went to shit. Savannah could be seen in the distance. It looked so surreal, like any city when looked at from afar. You'd never know that the city was now ruled by the dead.

They both kept their eyes peeled as they walked a little bit away from the train, both keeping an eye out for any walkers in the vicinity. Kenny noticed Cassie glancing back at the train as they walked and followed her gaze to where Lee was kneeling down in front of Clementine talking. Kenny assumed he was telling her about his bite. He hoped she didn't take it too harshly.

"So, they're pretty close, huh?" Cassie asked.

Kenny nodded as they continued walking. "Yeah. They're like two peas in a pod. I don't know what they would do without each other."

"Where are her parents?" Cassie inquired as she kept an eye out for any stray walker that may be lurking about.

"I'm not sure. Lee told me that they were here in Savannah when all this got started. I get the feeling that their already dead."

"Damn. Poor kid," Cassie said sympathetically. She looked to her right past Kenny and noticed a lone walker shambling along a few feet from them. "Walker, 2:00." She indicated with a flick of her head.

"And there's one at 10:00," Kenny said, pointing at the walker he had spotted in the opposite direction but a bit further off.

"I'll get this one, you get that one," she said as she took out her dagger and expertly spun it around in her palm so the blade was facing downwards.

Kenny's eyebrows rose at the way she handled that knife before nodding, and they both went their separate ways, Kenny going for the one he had spotted while Cassie went for the one she saw. Kenny took out the dagger Cassie had given him and approached the lone walker limping along seemingly aimlessly. It hadn't noticed him yet. He saw that its right ankle was broken so badly that its foot was actually sideways as it walked, and he wondered how it was even standing with its ankle like that.

As he neared, the walker turned around, and upon seeing him, lurched toward him with a growl. It lifted its decaying arms up intending to grab him, but Kenny easily sidestepped out of its way and jabbed the knife right into the walker's skull. Blood poured from the wound and sprayed everywhere as he pulled the knife out again. His job done, he turned toward Cassie and saw that she had already taken care of the other one and was walking toward him while wiping the blood off her blade with a red bandana she had pulled out of her pocket.

"Nice job," Kenny said.

"Thanks. You too. Here," she said as she handed him the bandana. "If you're going to keep it, you better take care of it."

He looked down at the blood covered dagger in his hand before accepting the bandana. "Ok. Do you always carry one of these around?" he asked as he began to wipe off the blade.

"Yes," she replied in a tone that said, doesn't everybody. "These daggers aren't easy to come by. So, like I said, you better take care of it."

"I've been meaning to ask you, where did you learn to use a knife like that?"

She gave him a half smile as she looked at the dagger. "Well, when all this started, my husband and I were lucky enough to meet up with this man. His name was Eli, and man, what he could do with a knife was insane. He was like ten times better than I am. He must have been learning since he was a kid. He taught us everything there is to know about how to use a knife. He even gave each of us one of his daggers and a few throwing knives."

Kenny looked down at the dagger in his hand as he realized why she had two of them. "So, this one was your husband's?"

Cassie sighed. "Yeah, it is."

"Are you sure you want me to keep it?" Kenny asked.

Cassie looked at the dagger in his hand sadly. She hadn't thought much about it when she handed him that knife since they were in a dire situation at the time, but she had thought about it afterwards when he tried to give it back. She had been holding onto that knife like a lifeline ever since Patrick had died. It was like she was afraid if she lost it, she would lose her connection to him, her memories of him. But now she realized that wasn't true. She didn't need a knife to remember him. All she had to do was close her eyes and she would see him, the way he laughed at her stupid jokes, the way he caressed her cheek when she was feeling down. Yes, she decided, she was ready to give it up, and she knew Kenny would take good care of it.

She looked Kenny in the eye and nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. You need it more than I do right now."

Kenny felt honored that she would give him something that meant so much to her. "Thanks, that means a lot," he said as he put the dagger back in its sheath. "I promise I'll take good care of it."

"I know you will," she said with smile.

They heard footsteps behind them and turned to see Lee approaching them, looking dismayed.

"Hey, how's Clementine?" Kenny asked.

"She's ok, I think," Lee replied.

"Did she take it hard?"

"At first, but I think she understands. It's not just that though. We, uh, saw her parents on the way out of the Marsh House. They were walkers."

Kenny closed his eyes, feeling horrible that that little girl had to see her parents like that. No kid should have to go through that. "Oh man. Is she ok?"

"It's just now sinking in. I think she'll be ok. She just needs some time," Lee replied.

Cassie glanced back at the train sympathetically. "Poor kid." She looked at the two men before her and decided to change the subject. "Well, I think you two have a decision to make."

"What do you mean?" Lee asked.

"It's obvious that your friends haven't made it back. Now you guys have to decide whether or not you want to wait here for them or move on."

"Are you suggesting that we leave them?" Kenny asked.

"Look, I don't like it any more than you do, but I'm just playing devil's advocate here. You've got to think about the group, about Clementine. I mean, unless you guys are carrying groceries on your person, which is highly unlikely, I'm guessing that you have no food, no water, no supplies of any kind, and Savannah is pretty much tapped out. We really can't afford to stay here another day. I have a little, but not enough for all of us. How long has it been since you've eaten?"

Lee thought about it for a second. When was the last time they had eaten? The more he thought about it, the more he realized that the last time he remembered having food of any kind, was back at the motor inn. That was about a day and a half ago. His stomach growled, confirming his suspicions. He didn't realize until that moment how hungry he was.

"I guess it has been a while," Lee admitted.

"That's what I thought," Cassie said with a nod. "Look, you guys talk it out. I'm going to go grab something from my backpack."

She left the two men to talk as she made her way back to the train. She climbed inside and pulled her backpack close to her. She opened it and started rummaging about inside. She paused when she heard sniffling. She looked up and saw Clementine sitting against the side of the train with her legs tucked close to her chest. Her eyes were red, and Cassie could tell she had been crying. She sighed as she pulled a granola bar from her pack and crawled over to where Clementine sat.

"Hey, Clementine. Are you ok?" Cassie asked gently.

Clementine looked at her with watery eyes. "I miss my parents."

"I know you do," Cassie said as she moved to sit against the wall next to Clementine. "We've all lost people we love. But hey, at least you're not alone. You've still got Kenny and Lee."

"I almost lost both of them," Clementine muttered, a few stray tears making their way down her cheeks.

"But you didn't. And that's the most important thing."

"But what happens if I do?"

Cassie sighed as she thought about how best to answer that question. "Look, Clem, it's best if you don't worry about what might happen. You just enjoy the time you have with the people you love, and deal with things if and when they happen. You won't be losing them anytime soon, I promise. And they'll take good care of you. You understand?"

Clementine nodded as she wiped the tears from her cheeks with another little sniffle.

"And hey, you have me now too," Cassie said with a smile as she handed the little girl the granola bar.

Clementine looked at the granola bar and then looked up at Cassie with a small smile. "Thank you," she said as she accepted the food.

"You're welcome."

"Are we going to be leaving soon?" Clementine asked as she ripped open the wrapper.

"I don't know. I'll have to go talk to the boys," Cassie said as she stood up. She picked up her backpack, pulled out two more granola bars, and then slung the pack on one shoulder. "Something tells me, they need a woman around to tell them what to do."

Clementine giggled at that.

Cassie smiled as she looked at the little girl. "Now that's what I like to hear. Eat that. I'll be right back."

Clementine nodded and took a bite of the granola bar.

Cassie hopped down from the train and walked toward Lee and Kenny who were presumably still discussing their current situation. She could make out part of their conversation as she approached.

"I just don't feel comfortable leaving them behind," Lee said.

"I know, man," Kenny replied. "I don't either, but Cassie's got a point. We don't have anything in the way of supplies, and Savannah is pretty empty thanks to those Crawford assholes."

She thought now might be a good time to interrupt. "Heads up," she called as she tossed one granola bar to Lee and one to Kenny.

Lee looked at the granola bar in surprise. "Thanks, but what about you?" he asked, noticing that she didn't have one.

"Unfortunately, I only had three. I gave the other one to Clementine."

Although Lee was grateful that she took care of Clementine, he felt guilty about leaving her with nothing to eat herself. "Hey, we can't take all your food," he said, trying to hand it back.

"Don't worry about it," she said with a shake of her head. "You need it more than I do. So, did you guys…" She trailed off as her eyes strayed to something behind Lee and Kenny. "Oh shit."

Both men turned around at her expletive and their eyes widened. Dozens of walkers were heading their way. The train would be overrun in a matter of minutes.

"Fuck! Why the hell are they coming this way?" Kenny asked.

"Who the fuck cares? We gotta get out of here!" Cassie yelled as she ran back towards the train.

"Shit! She's right, Lee. We gotta go now," Kenny said before running after her.

Lee hesitated as he looked back at the horde of walkers shambling their way towards him. He really didn't want to leave Christa and Omid, but they had no choice now. This place wasn't safe anymore.

"Damn it," he muttered as he too ran back to the train. He ran to the open door on the side of the train and beckoned Clementine forward. "C'mon, Clem. We have to go."

Clementine immediately got up and ran to the side door. Lee helped her down from the train, and the four of them ran as fast as they could away from Savannah. Lee looked back one last time, hoping that Christa and Omid had made it out of the city safely and that they would see each other again someday.