A New Day – Act II – Starved For Help
Part II: Handling Rations
A person like Mabel is a valuable addition to your group in the zombie apocalypse. Depression can easily set it without some happiness, and Mabel is the personification of enthusiasm. Filled with optimism, the girl seemed to be as carefree now as she was in the beginning of the outbreak, grinning happily as she lay on her stomach on the pavement within the boundaries of the motor inn, drawing on a sheet of paper, using a panel of wood as a somewhat smooth surface, a makeshift 'table' of sorts. She was now wearing a pink rain coat over a purple long-sleeve shirt to keep herself warm. The past three months hadn't been forgiving in weather, it got colder by the day.
The motor inn was indeed, as Kenny stated three months earlier, "pretty damn defendable". The entrances had been blocked off with reinforced fences made up of scrap metal torn off of old cars, wood, barbed wire, old furniture from the rooms like shelves and bookcases, some concrete, and two large blue dumpsters used as gates for the motor inn. Lilly sat on top of the RV on watch, now wearing a black leather jacket over a white shirt. She had a hunting rifle on her lap as she sat in a foldable lawn chair.
Attached to the roof of the RV and hanging off to one side was a blue tarp used as an awning. Underneath it was an old green couch with a rickety brown table next to it, a pot on top with fake flowers inside. Resting on the couch was Carley, who wore a purple vest over her regular outfit. She wasn't entirely asleep, but it looked like she wanted the fatigue built up inside to take her away into dreamland and away from the stress that was the current reality. Mabel really liked Carley. She would draw with her and Clem and Duck on occasion, even join them in a soccer game at times (they had found a soccer ball in one of the rooms and decided to keep it). Most of the time, though, the woman was on watch, as she was the best shot out of everyone in the group.
Katjaa came over to check on Mabel and Duck, who was coloring as well. She wore a brown sweater over her normal attire, as well as gray sweatpants. Duck wore a white shirt under a red and green plaid button-up shirt as well as black jeans. Mabel looked around at the other members of the motor inn. Lilly was on watch, Larry (who wore a turquoise plaid sweater now) was reinforcing the wall, Carley was resting, Wendy (who wore the same outfit, only red this time instead of green) was reading a magazine on the second floor overhang, and Clementine was playing soccer by herself. Smiling, Mabel got up and walked over.
"Hey Clementine." She greeted with a grin.
"Oh, hi Mabel." Clementine returned the greeting. "Wanna play soccer with me?"
"That's the reason I came over!" Mabel smiled again as the she and Clem kicked the soccer ball back and forth, trying to score goals by getting the ball past the opposing player.
After a few minutes, Lilly whistled.
Mabel stopped the ball with her foot and she and Clem ducked down behind some rusted barrels. Carley got off of the couch and was watching the girls before she ducked down beside them. Katjaa and Duck hid behind the RV, Lilly had her rifle at the ready, and Larry crouched down behind the wall.
"What's wrong?" Clem asked Carley.
"I don't know, Clem." Carley answered. She got ready to grab her gun. "Just stay down and stay quiet, okay?" The two girls nodded.
Then, out of nowhere, yelling.
"Get the gates open! WE'VE GOT WOUNDED!"
It was Lee.
"Shit, what the hell are they doing?!" Lilly muttered as she lowered her rifle. Lee, Dipper, Kenny, Mark (who was still carrying the injured teacher), Robbie, and Ben sprinted out of the woods towards the motor inn. Larry walked over as Katjaa and Carley pulled open the gates, Lilly jumped down from the RV and approached them as well. Clementine ran over at the sight of Lee. Mabel looked around before seeing her brother appear in the mix of people. She sprinted towards him.
"Dipper!" She called out. The boy barely heard her before noticing her approaching.
"Oh…hey Mabel." He muttered.
"What happened?" Mabel asked. Tons of other questions broke out.
"Who the hell are these people?!" Larry shouted.
"Lee! Is everything okay?" Clementine asked in concern.
"Kat, you think you can fix him?" Kenny asked.
"I-I don't know, Ken…what…just…" Katjaa stuttered. "Just put him in the truck."
"LEE!" Lilly's shrill shout silenced the group. "What the hell were you thinking?! We can't just bring in new people!"
"They were gonna die out there if we left them!" Lee argued.
"So what?" Larry retorted.
"We can't just keep bringing more mouths to feed!" Lilly shouted. "We have to focus on our group! Right here, right now!"
"Hey, you wanna calm down for a damn second?!" Kenny shouted.
"Don't tell my daughter what to do, asshole!" Larry shouted.
"Guys just shut up! They're here now, deal with it!" Robbie shouted.
"Shut up Robbie, you don't have a say in this!" Lilly glared at the gothic teen. "We were planning on abandoning you and Wendy if Lee hadn't shown up!" A look of shock crossed Robbie's face before he stormed off towards the second floor.
"Come on Lilly, these are people! People trying to survive just like us!" Mark tried to reason.
"The only reason you're here is because you had food, enough for all of us!" Lilly said. She turned to Ben. "And I don't suppose you're carrying any groceries on you, are you?"
"Um, no?" Ben answered in confusion. Clementine tugged at his sleeve.
"Come over here and see what I drew." She said.
"What? No, I-"
"Just come on, okay?" Clem pulled Ben away from the drama and towards the drawing area.
"You know, you like to think you're the leader of this little group, but you're not." Kenny said. "This isn't your own personal dictatorship!"
"Will you just QUIT ARGUING?!" Mabel screamed, causing the others to stop abruptly. "Does this matter right now?! Is this really that important?! Or are you two just using this as a reason to shout at each other till you end up in hell?!" She stopped herself abruptly, embarrassed at how her screaming made her cuss and possibly attract walkers.
Before anyone could respond she pulled her brother away towards the drawing area. She situated herself and Dipper right next to Duck, who sat next to Ben, who sat next to Clem. Carley walked over to supervise them after the argument settled. She saw Katjaa start trying to fix up the one-legged-man on the back of Kenny's pickup, Lilly situating herself on top of the RV, Wendy and Robbie talking on the second floor, Kenny fiddling with a pipe on the couch, and Lee holding something in his hands. Curious, she got up and walked over to Lee.
"Oh, hey Mabel." Lee greeted. "How are you doing?"
"Fine. Kinda hungry." Mabel shrugged. "Then again, we're all hungry…what happened out there?"
"We ran into some other survivors who needed our help." Lee explained, kneeling to her level. "One of them was caught in a bear trap, and, well…you know."
"Oh…" Mabel looked solemnly at the ground.
"…you've been pretty optimistic, considering the circumstances." Lee said, trying to brighten the mood. Mabel looked up at him, feinting a cheerful grin.
"That's because I know everything will work out eventually!" She said. "We'll all find ourselves in a safe haven with sparkles and rainbows and endless happiness where we can survive forever!" Lee chuckled a bit.
"Who knows, maybe that will happen…" He said.
"I know it will happen, Lee! It has to happen!" Mabel said.
"…Lilly has me handing out food rations. I only have five to give out." Lee said.
"Oh…do you know who to give them to?" Mabel asked.
"Not really…want anything?" Lee offered her some crackers and cheese. She smiled and took them.
"Wow! Thanks, Lee!" Mabel hugged the former history teacher, who returned the gesture.
"You eat up and stay safe." Lee said.
"…give something to Dipper. He seems pretty stressed." Mabel said. "I don't know why…but maybe he's hungry."
"I'll see to him, then." Lee said. He stood up and walked away from Mabel and walked towards the drawing area. It was there that Clementine approached him. "How're you doing, Clementine?"
"Okay." Clem replied.
"Where's your hat?" Lee asked, making note of the absence of the girl's signature hat.
"I don't know…" Clem muttered. "Will you help me find it?"
"I promise, if I find it, I'll let you know." Lee said.
"Thank you." Clementine said.
"I bet you're hungry, Clem." Lee said. "Want something to eat?" Clem smiled at the sight of an apple in Lee's hands. Lee smiled and followed her gaze, handing the apple to her.
"Oh boy, I love apples! Thank you!" She said. "Are there more?"
"No, Clem, sorry. That was the last one." Lee said.
"Oh, um…" Clementine seemed unsure of eating.
"Enjoy it. You deserve it." Lee smiled at the girl. Clementine smiled back and sat back down with the others, happily biting into her apple.
Meanwhile, Dipper, who was slouched against one of the buildings, had taken his hat off of his head and was staring at the dried blood stains on it. Most of those stains were from three months prior; the crashed bus, the Greene farm, Macon and the drugstore, supply runs, etcetera. So far it was just blood…but when was it going to mean something? Eventually the random blood stains would evolve into guilt, blood coming from lost loved ones, ones he could not protect, ones he could kill. He was already a poor shot, taking his accidental murder from earlier into consideration. This would eventually bite him in the ass, he just knew it.
"Hey Dipper."
The boy jumped a bit as his thoughts were interrupted. He placed his hat back on his head and stood up to face Lee. "Heya, Lee."
"How're you doing after that…thing?" Lee asked.
"…fine." Dipper lied.
"You sure? I highly doubt you'd be feeling okay after killing somebody." Lee crossed his arms.
"...I know. I just want to forget about it, okay? It was an accident. I had a bad shot." Dipper sighed.
"...alright then." Lee said, uncrossing his arms. "You want anything to eat?"
"...did you give Mabel anything?" Dipper asked.
"Yeah, I gave her some food." Lee confirmed.
"Then that's it. As long as she has food, I'm fine." Dipper said.
"You sure you're fine?" Lee asked once more.
"Yep, I don't want anything." Dipper shook his head. He turned and looked at Ben. "Maybe give something to the new guy? I mean, he says he lost everything to bandits."
"Yeah, good idea Dip." Lee said. "See ya in a bit." He turned to leave.
"Hey, Lee?"
"Yeah?" Lee faced Dipper again.
"Do you think that...maybe...I should train Mabel?" Dipper asked.
"You mean how to survive?"
"Yeah."
"Of course." Lee said. "She needs to learn to survive if you want her to be safe."
"...I know." Dipper said, sitting back down. "See ya later, I guess."
"Alright then." Lee said. "Just come get me if you need anything." He walked away, leaving Dipper to his thoughts.
Then, he had an interesting idea.
Standing up, the boy walked over to Carley, who was sitting in a chair, watching over the kids as they drew pictures.
"Oh, hey Dipper." The woman greeted.
"Hi Carley." Dipper greeted back. "Can I ask you a small favor?"
"Sure."
"Can I have a gun to give to Mabel?"
"...why do you ask this?" Carley asked.
"I need to train her how to survive." Dipper said.
"Sorry Dip, but I can't just give you a gun for Mabel. Lilly would be on my ass in a second." Carley said.
"Please, I need to keep her safe!" Dipper pleaded.
"...fine, but don't tell anyone. Tell her to keep it hidden." Carley walked over to a nearby box and took out a small black handgun. She passed it to Dipper without Lilly noticing.
"Thanks." Dipper smiled and hid the gun in his jacket, walking over to Mabel. "Hey Mabes, can I speak to you in private for a second?"
"Sure." Mabel shrugged and followed Dipper to a corner between to buildings. There was a gate near it that was closed, and it was sometimes used for the survivors to sneak out or in of the motor inn or to get to another part of Macon.
"I need you to not tell anyone about this." Dipper hushed his voice and checked behind him.
"Tell anyone what?"
Dipper cautiously held the gun out to her. Mabel stared at it wide eyed.
"Dipper-"
"Take it." Dipper interrupted.
"...I don't even know how to shoot."
"Just hold on to it in case of an emergency. I'll teach you later." Dipper said. Hesitating slightly, Mabel took the gun. It felt heavy and cold as she held it. She put it in her pocket. Without another word, she uneasily walked over to the other kids and feinted a smile. Dipper smiled at her before hearing Katjaa's voice.
"Lee! Ken! Come here, please."
-(End Of Chapter)-