The times are tough people, that's all I can say. I'm so goddamn busy, I was adding to this whenever I got a few minutes. Sorry if it's pretty bad quality wise.

Not much else to say. Keep up the reviews please you rascals. Thank you all so much.

Lee could only bring himself to nod weakly as he got to his feet. Carley was right, but how was he going to convince two parents to just simply give up all hope for their son? He didn't know what Carley expected him to do, Lee and Kenny were not on the best of terms as things stood currently, but Lee flinched at the backlash he would face from the man if he suggested such a drastic measure.

The reporter peered at Lee from the couch, sitting awkwardly as she held her wound hesitantly. Her eyes were apologetic but determined; she was clear in her words.

"Okay." Lee huffed, his voice registering at a few decibels. "Okay, I'll do it."

Carley smiled glumly.

"Thank you. It's for the greater good."

Stumbling out of the RV, Lee couldn't bring himself to look at anyone. He knew Carley was making him do the right thing, and the life everyone lived nowadays was brimming with tough choices, but none seemed as heavy as this. To deprive a family of their hope, and to try and take their own son away from them, it was horrible. Anyone else would have seen Lee as a disgusting and cruel man, but observing their current situation and the decreasingly respondent Duck, someone had to administer the inevitable truth, the elephant in the room, the unconcealable end.

Lee heard the fallen leaves rustle the cracked tarmac road as they danced in the bitter wind. They went along with the breeze, letting its unpredictable force sway them away. The scene was too peaceful for such a time of anguish. His eyes landing instinctively on Clementine, who was watching her feet dangle off the fallen log.

Duck grunted and shuffled stiffly in the arms of his distressed mother. His skin was a ghostly white, his eyes appeared sunken and shadowed. Lee felt as if there was a mountain of guilt upon his shoulders, only he could do this. Katjaa would listen.

The mother tried to force a smile at Lee as he approached her, but her oceans of misery were too dominant over her mind to put on such an antic. Lee began to thought maybe Katjaa was expecting his offer, as her grip on Duck tightened. How could he simply tell her to give up her beloved son? Much to Lee's unknowing, the group saw his opinion as mostly wise and fair, and now with Lilly out of the equation, Lee was the perfect candidate to take up the vacated role of group leader.

"We need to talk about Duck."

Katjaa nodded grimaced but nodded quietly. Lee noticed Clementine gazing worriedly at him, he couldn't discuss this in front of her.

"Away from her." He whispered the next part. He was anxious about what she would think of him if she knew that he was trying to have her best friend put down. Lee knew Clementine would strongly oppose such an idea, he would have to sit her down and explain it to her later, but as of right now, they were running out of time.

Strolling a few yards away from the little girl, Lee couldn't bear to look Katjaa in the eye. She would listen to him, Lee was aware of it, but Katjaa loved her son dearly. He couldn't just expect her to give up on Duck without some degree of disputement.

"It's Duck, I think that-

"I know what you want Lee." Katjaa butted in. Lee was astonished by her words, they weren't brimming with rage or disgust, instead, they were low and shaky. "I know what you're going to say. A-and I agree with you. His condition is not getting any better, he is becoming less responsive. I think his end is near." Her voice wobbled at the end, the thought of her little Duck slowly fading away was too agonizing to bear.

"Katjaa, I'm so sorry. But I think Duck is only going to get worse and frankly, I don't think there's too much more for us to do for him." Lee crossed his arms and tried not to sound too invading. Katjaa seemed reluctantly convinced, but her face was crumbling in torment.

"Just- just give me some time. I'll go talk to Kenny." She offered, gazing over at Duck who was nestled up against the tree, Clementine watching him despondently. Lee was grateful that she was going to negotiate with her husband, as Lee would not expect anything less than a broken nose if he himself had to suggest it to her.

"I'm sorry Katjaa. I wish things were different." Lee muttered to her retreating back. She turned slowly to him, and adorned a sorrowful smile.

"What are you sorry for Lee? You're just saying what has to eventually happen, whether Ken or myself like it or not."

Katjaa left Lee to think, scooping Duck back into her arms and heading for the train, where Kenny was currently fiddling about cautiously with controls. Lee was hit with a new wave of dread, hoping that the older man would see the reason behind his drastic proposal. With a fatigued sigh, Lee returned to his errands with a hope of peace for one little boy.

"That should do it."

The former history professor grinned victoriously as he shaded the page with a half-sharpened pencil, feeling relieved at the sight of the clear engravings, the concealed writing finally becoming clear with Clem's neat trick. Now they just needed to follow them, and they had a working locomotive to control. Strolling back over to the train, Lee felt a feeling of hopefulness wash over him. Their situation was going to improve, the feeling in his gut was a confident one.

And that feeling crumbled into a million pieces at the sight of Kenny bursting through the cabin door looking extremely pissed off.

"Where the fuck are you! LEE!"

Kenny spotted the dark skinned man and stormed down to him, fury apparent in face. Lee readied himself for his assault, raising his hands to plead his innocence, hoping the man would listen to his inadequate explanation.

"Kenny, listen, I'm only trying-

A severe right hook cut Lee's words short.

"Ken, stop!" Katjaa cried out.

"Lee!" Clementine called out in horror. Kenny continued to throw punches as Lee tried to block them in vain, the Floridian connecting savagely several times to his face.

"You sick sunnava bitch! What the fuck is wrong with you?! I oughta kill you right now!" Kenny bellowed in pure rage. Lee backed up an inch or two out of his reach. He wasn't going to hit back, it wasn't Kenny's fault for being mad. It wasn't a fight; it was Kenny letting out his rage and fear on Lee for speaking of the unspeakable truth.

"Kenny calm down-

"Calm down?! You want my son dead! I ain't calming down for shit!"

"Kenny! Stop it right now!" Katjaa yelled, catching everyone's attention. Kenny reluctantly called a brief ceasefire to his assault on Lee, spinning to his wife in slight confusion. He knew that his wife frowned upon his occasional violence, but he at least expected her to support him in dealing with the man that wanted to kill Duck.

"Lee is only trying to help, Ken! Our son in dying! He's in severe pain! Lee was only trying to inform you of what needs to happen." Katjaa remarked, her anger was uncharacteristic of her. She was always so gentle and kind, evading the various brutal instances that were thrown at the group. She wasn't holding back or playing down Duck's situation, which Lee couldn't comprehend how much it hurt for her to say it.

"No he's not-

"Look at him!" Katjaa exclaimed, gesturing to the pale boy in her arms. "He's suffering Ken. He's... he's not going to make it much longer. We have to be honest with ourselves."

Kenny's unconvinced face fell to a harrowed one, almost surprised. As he studied Duck's face, he began to see the veracious pain on his child. No one spoke as Kenny examined his son, which left the only sound to be the soft wind and Duck's struggling respiration. Lee could only wonder if the antibiotics would have made a difference at all, surely he should have at least tried?

"A-alright. We'll... we'll do it. Just give me a minute." Kenny eventually admitted, his tone crestfallen. He strolled away inexplicably, presumably to have a minute to himself. A minute to reflect on the fact that he was losing the only child he had in the world. Lee felt a hand on his shoulder, spinning around to find Carley standing behind him, adorning a grateful smile but a guilty glint in her eyes.

Nobody was safe anymore.

"Lee, can I talk to you for a sec?" Ben inquired subtly, seeming rather unsettled about something, his body language was evidently disturbed and twitchy.

"Not right now, kid."

Ben seemed oddly persistent. "Lee man, I need to-

"Can it wait Ben?" Lee muttered, he felt drained and he was still feeling the stinging pain of Kenny's punches. Ben watched as Lee walked away to sit beside Clementine. Guilt had consumed the teenager, he had to tell someone, he couldn't hold it back any longer.

He had to tell someone what he had done.

Sitting on the fallen log, Lee took a minute to listen to the birds chirping cheerfully in the trees adjacent to him. Lee had to ask himself were they aware of what was happening around them, whether they knew about the carnage that gripped humanity by the throat. It made him feel moderately better at the knowledge that some things were still the same. The birds still tweeted their songs jubilantly, the sun still rose responsibly every dawn, nature didn't seem deterred by the utter chaos happening around the world. Lee was thankful, to say the least.

Clementine sat beside him in complete silence, her mind must be in overdrive with everything that is happening. Lee thought this was as good a time as any to have a chat with her.

"How you doing, sweet pea?"

She gazed over her shoulder at him, her face smothered in misery.

"I'm okay." She lied hopelessly. Clem knew she had to be tough, but there was no logical way she could take this in her stride.

"Are you sure?" Lee asked, conscious of her true feelings. He needed to talk to her about it, the girl needed someone to talk to about what was going to happen to Duck.

"No. I-I don't know. Is Duck going to be okay?" Clementine questioned softly, unaware of what was really going to become of her friend. Lee bit his lip, processing what was the best way to phrase it both honestly but not too harsh. He had to handle this carefully as not to upset the girl more than she currently was already.

"We're making sure Duck isn't in any more pain." He murmured, but she still didn't seem to understand.

"How are you going to do that?"

Lee had to pause momentarily.

"We're gonna put him out of his misery."

Clementine's eyes widened at his words. She had an idea that Duck's end was near, but his words stuck with her.

Misery.

Her goofy, lively, enthusiastic friend was in misery. It just didn't sit right with her. Misery wasn't a word she would associate with the usually joyful Duck, he seemed so unaffected by the things he saw. But now, he was in misery. It couldn't be true.

Lee patted her shoulder, hoping to offer her some comfort during this difficult time. He had so much he wanted to say to her, to tell her that he would never let anything like this happen to her, and that he would protect her with his life. But these were wiped from his mind when he heard a yell from a distance. Jumping to his feet, Lee glanced over to Carley, an anxious look in his eye. She appeared just as concerned as he was.

"Keep an eye on Clementine!" He remarked as he sprinted in the direction of where he had heard the guttural yell. Turning the train, Lee was shocked to see Katjaa desperately holding back her husband as he wildly swung out for a frightened Ben.

"Let go of me Kat! You motherfucker! You're a cowardly piece of shit Ben! I'mma fuckin' kill you!"

"Ken, stop!"

Ben just stood there, not trying to defend himself whatsoever. He just stared at the ground in hope it would open up and drag him down away from here.

"Woah, woah, what's going on?!" Lee demanded, running over to assist Katjaa in containing Kenny.

Kenny was absolutely uncontrollable, as his feral eyes remained trained on the teenager.

"Ben said it was him who was trading with the bandits back at the motor inn! If it weren't for him, Duck wouldn't be about to die right now! You motherfucker!" Kenny bellowed, lunging for him again. Lee glared at Ben in disbelief, as the boy just stood there, allowing any beating Kenny had in store for him to commence. He just nodded pitifully to him, he was too ashamed to even speak.

"What the hell is going on?!" Carley asked, struggling to run with her injury with Clementine trailing behind her, frightened at all the yelling.

"We're leaving this piece of shit, that's what!" Kenny ordered, gesturing towards the guilty teen.

"We're not leaving anyone, Ken." Lee tried the defuse the poisonous atmosphere without success. Kenny had at least calmed down on the front of trying to rip Ben apart with his bare hands.

"Yes we fucking are! This coward was the one trading with those bandits! He fucking told me!" Kenny exclaimed, understandably giving no mercy to him.

"Please, don't leave me, I didn't mean for this to happen!" Ben tried to explain, but to no avail. Kenny was too ruthless, in too much pain over his son to care about what Ben cared about. Even Carley deadpanned in any attempt to stick up for him.

"Please, don't do this." Ben pleaded.

"I'm giving you a chance to leave with your life Ben!" Kenny growled, he was inconsolable.

Carley stepped beside Ben, staring at Kenny. "We're not leaving him! He's part of our group!"

"I don't give a shit! He got Duck bit, fuck Carley, he nearly got you killed too!" Kenny pointed out. Carley was stunned by the idea, she hadn't even thought about it like that.

Lee knew he had to intervene, to calm things down before they turned ugly. "We put it to a vote, everyone decides whether or not they want Ben to stay." Lee shrugged, not knowing any other way to deal with it.

"No that's bullshit! We can't-

"Ken, it's fair." Katjaa stated expressionless. Kenny cursed under his breath, before glaring pure hatred at the teen.

"You know my vote. That fucker goes." Kenny muttered. Lee looked to Katjaa next, not knowing what to expect from her.

"I'm sorry Ben, but this is my son. He is my everything. And he's suffering because of you. I don't want to abandon you, but we have to have lines. My vote is you leave." Katjaa icily answered, her voice sympathetic yet firm.

"I think he should stay." Carley commented. "I know he fucked up, and I'm so sorry about what has happened to Duck, but we can't just throw people out if they mess up!" Kenny scoffed at her response, disgusted that someone would stick up for him.

Lee kneeled down beside Clementine, making sure she felt included in group affairs. Despite her age, Clem was mature enough to have a valid opinion and Lee made sure to respect that.

"Ben's nice. He's my friend. We don't leave friends behind." Clementine replied, her tone was fierce compared to her usual sweet tone.

Lee nodded and stifled a smile, proud of her for her constant maturity, but soon felt eyes boring into him. Standing back up again, everyone awaited his decisive vote. Ben's fate in the group was now on Lee, but what was his choice?

(Vote for Ben)

(Vote against Ben)

Oooooooooh. A big one here. Ben's future in the group is hanging, it's up to you guys to decide whether he stays or not.

Think about it, and then get back to me. I need you guys to vote here to make this work, so throw in your opinion please!

Thank you all for reading! Have a great day!