Chapter 11 – Attack at the Stream
Lee opened his eyes to a semi dark room. For a moment, he didn't know where he was or what had happened, but as he looked around the room he remembered meeting a group of people at a cabin and then feeling like he was going to pass out. He also remembered being helped up some stairs and into this room where the doctor—Carlos, was it?—had taken a look at his wound. He didn't remember much after that. He figured the doctor must have given him some pain meds which knocked him right out.
He shifted a little on the bed, intending to sit up, but stopped when he felt a slight weight at his side. He turned his head and smiled when he saw Clementine snuggled at his side, fast asleep. His smile turned into a frown however as he remembered the look on her face when he had basically collapsed outside. She had looked so scared. He hoped she would be okay now.
Slowly he began to sit up, careful not to jostle the bed too much as he didn't want to wake Clementine. He smiled again when he saw Kenny and Cassie asleep on a makeshift bed on the floor. Now I feel like this is a slumber party, he thought with a silent chuckle. He tested the movement of his shoulder and was grateful that there wasn't much pain. It definitely felt better than it did a few hours ago. He glanced out the window and saw that the sun was just coming up, indicating that it was pretty early in the morning.
Deciding that he had had enough sleep, he began to slowly crawl out of bed. Stepping over his two friends on the floor, he tiptoed out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He slowly made his way down the stairs and saw Luke nestled in a pile of blankets on the floor. There was a blanket at one end of the couch, indicating that someone had slept there as well. Then his eyes met Pete's as he was walking in from the kitchen.
"Well, it's good to see you up and about. How are you feeling?" Pete asked in a genial manner.
"Better. Thanks."
"Glad to hear it. Lee, right? I don't think we were properly introduced. Name's Pete. Good to meet you." Pete held out his hand which Lee shook cordially.
"Yeah, you too," Lee replied. "So, what are you doing up so early?"
"My nephew, Nick, and I are going to check the fish traps down by the river," Pete replied.
"Mind if I tag along?" Lee asked. He definitely wasn't going to be getting anymore sleep, and it was better than sitting around doing nothing while he waited for the others to wake up.
Pete looked a bit surprised at first but then he seemed to shrug it off. "Sure, if you're feeling up to it. There should be a few breakfast bars left in the kitchen if you're hungry. I'm going to go grab the guns."
Lee nodded and wandered into the kitchen. He stopped just in the doorway, however, when he saw Nick sitting at the table, munching on his own breakfast bar. Nick stiffened when he saw Lee enter and slowly lowered the half-eaten bar to the tabletop. They stared at each other a moment. Lee saw the guilt in the man's face, and he knew that what happened the day before really was an accident. So, he decided to make the first move.
"Any of those left?" Lee asked, indicating the breakfast bar still in Nick's hand.
Nick glanced down at it and nodded. "Yeah, over there on the counter."
"Thanks," Lee said with a warm smile as he headed over to the counter to grab his breakfast. He noticed there were also a few bottles of water sitting on the counter and grabbed one of those as well. The first thing he did was twist open the cap and guzzle down about half the contents in a matter of seconds. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was until he felt the clear liquid touch his tongue. He suspected it was because of the blood loss.
"Hey Lee," Nick called as he stood up.
"Yeah?" Lee replied, lowering the bottle of water and turning around to face him.
"Uh, listen," Nick said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what happened yesterday. I really didn't mean to pull that trigger. You guys just sort of surprised me and the gun went off."
"Don't worry about. It's okay. No harm done." Lee waved away the apology as he grabbed a breakfast bar and started to rip off the wrapper. "Although, do me a favor, don't put your finger on the trigger unless you're ready to shoot someone."
"Uh, yeah. Guess I should try that."
"Then we'll get along fine," Lee said with a smile as he took a bite of the breakfast bar.
"Okay, we about ready to head out?" Pete asked as he walked in carrying two rifles. He handed one to Nick and turned to Lee. "You got a gun?"
Lee finished his breakfast bar in about two bites and threw the wrapper away before pulling his gun from his waistband and showing it to them. "Never go anywhere without it."
"Good. Let's go then."
They walked through the woods in silence. It was a clear morning. The sun was shining and the air was cool. There was a slight breeze that sent a sudden chill through Lee's body, making him regret leaving his leather jacket back at the cabin. It was too late to go back and get it now though, and it wasn't freezing cold, so he could manage without it for the moment. Then, Nick announced that he had to take a piss and went to find a tree. Pete and Lee kept going however.
"How's the shoulder?" Pete asked.
"It aches a bit, but it's better than it was," Lee replied.
"Good." Pete paused before asking, "So how old is Clementine?"
"She's eleven."
"How long has she been with you?"
Lee glanced at the older man and saw only curiosity in the man's face. "Two years. Her parents died when all this started. I've been taking care of her ever since."
Pete nodded as he walked across a door that served as a bridge across a small gap. "She know how to use a gun? I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job, of course. Just curious."
"Yeah, I taught her myself. She's become sort of a crack shot now. Although she still has trouble with fast-moving targets like those runners."
"That's good. That's important nowadays, and I'm sure she'll get better."
They climbed through a gap in a barbed wire fence and continued on.
"Nick was about her age first time I took him hunting. Came across this beautiful thirteen-point buck just standing there on the ridge line. Boy aims his rifle, lines up the shot just like I showed him." Pete stopped walking and aimed his rifle forward in demonstration. "And then I hear him start whining. He turns to me and says, 'I can't do it. I can't shoot it, Uncle Pete. Please don't make me shoot it.'"
"Really?"
"Hey! Why didn't you guys wait for me?" Nick called as he came running up behind them.
"You want us standing around while you piss on a tree?" Pete asked. "You know where the river is, boy." He started walking again while also continuing his story. "So, I go to grab the gun out of his hand before the big buck runs off, when BANG! Boy nearly gut-shot me, and of course the buck gets away."
"What're you going and telling him this shit for?" Nick asked, annoyed.
"Cause you almost blew his face off yesterday. Seems relevant. Just trying to let him know that it's nothing personal with you," Pete answered.
"Why are you always giving me a hard time?" Nick asked, irritably.
"Because you're always giving everyone else a hard time."
"I apologized already. He accepted."
"Okay, well I didn't know that."
Lee looked between the two as they argued like he was watching a tennis match. He thought about speaking up just then but decided not to. He got the feeling that they argued like this a lot, and nothing he had to say would stop them. So, he just let them go and decided to keep an eye out on their surroundings in case their shouting attracted any walkers.
"You're always trying to embarrass me," Nick said.
"You're doing a good enough job of that on your own," Pete shot back.
Nick angrily pushed past Pete, hitting him in the shoulder on purpose.
"Leaving us again," Pete said.
"I know where the fucking river is," Nick snapped back as he continued on.
Pete watched in him go for a moment before turning to Lee. "Anyway, I found that buck later that season. Shot it clear through the neck. I brought it over to my sister's, figuring she'd want to freeze some of the meat. Nick didn't speak to me for weeks. You gotta play a role, even if the people you love hate you for it."
Lee looked at the older man and saw a hint of sadness on his face. "I'm sure he doesn't hate you," he said reassuringly.
"Nick's father wasn't there much, and he was a piece of shit when he was. So, it fell to me to keep him in line, raise him right. Meant I couldn't just be nice Uncle Pete."
"Uncle Pete!" Nick yelled suddenly.
Pete and Lee were immediately on high alert as they both sprinted toward the river where they found Nick standing there staring.
"Nick," Pete called but stopped in his tracks as he caught sight of the carnage before them. Bodies littered the ground all along the water's edge, and by the looks of it, they were all shot to the death. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," he muttered as he scanned the scene. He walked up to one of the bodies and tapped it with the barrel of his rifle, making sure that it wasn't going to get back up. "Full of holes," he commented.
"Who do you think did this?" Lee asked as he too surveyed the scene.
"Not sure yet. But it ain't your average gang of thugs, that much I know," Pete replied.
"Think about it. You're Carver, what do you do?" Nick said.
"Who's Carver?" Lee asked.
Pete and Nick exchanged glances, which didn't escape Lee's attention. When it became clear that they weren't going to answer, Lee pressed for more information. "Look, there's obviously something going on here. This is the second time I've heard the name Carver mentioned. In fact, your whole group seems to be terrified of the man. I've got my group with you guys, including my girl. If there's a danger to them, I'd like to know about it."
Pete looked back at Lee and sighed. "William Carver is the leader of a camp a little way away from here. We used to be a part of his community."
"Yeah, until he went bat shit crazy," Nick commented.
Pete gave his nephew a sideways glance before continuing. "We didn't like the way he was running things, so we decided we needed to get out. But he won't let us go."
"Is he dangerous?" Lee asked.
"I'd say so. There's no telling what he'll do if he finds us."
Lee took a deep breath and looked at the bodies once more. "Do you think he did this?"
"Like I said, not sure yet," Pete replied. He looked at the bodies too. "Check those guys there," he said. "And be careful. Some of them might still be moving." He walked over and knelt down by the closest body to inspect it more closely, while Nick went to check the furthest one that was leaning against a log near the trees.
Lee walked over to the body wearing a black jacket that was lying on its side facing toward the river. He knelt down and glanced over its shoulder to the face. Seeing the large, bloody hole that mangled the face, he cringed a bit. "This one's shot too," he commented.
"Through the head?" Pete questioned.
"Yeah."
"Check the rest. And look for ammo, we're running low."
Lee stood up and noticed a few more bodies scattered on the sandbar. "There are more out there."
"I'll tell you one thing. This wasn't no rinky-dink pissing match," Pete stated as he stood up from his crouched position.
"What was it then?" Nick asked as he joined them.
"FUBAR," Pete replied as he started making his way toward the river.
"Where are you going? We need to get the fuck out of here!" Nick protested.
"Gotta check the rest," Pete said.
"What?! Why?"
"Calm down and think about it, son," Pete said calmly as he began to wade through the water towards the sandbar.
"Calm down?! We gotta get out of here, now!" Nick demanded.
"Jesus Christ, kid, get a hold of yourself," Pete said as he climbed up on the sandbar and turned to face his irate nephew.
"What if someone's alive, Nick?" Lee reasoned.
"Who cares?"
"Because just maybe they might be inclined to tell us who did this. We gotta do this now. Stay here, keep searching these," Pete told Nick as Lee used a rock to jump across to the sandbar.
"This is a dumb idea," Nick said, nervously taking a step back and looking around wearily as if afraid that whoever did this would jump out and start shooting at any moment.
"You know what, Nick, I don't like this either, but sooner or later you're gonna have to realize the simple truth."
"What? That you're an asshole?" Nick shot back, aiming his rifle at the tree line.
"That nobody in this world is going to give a god damn if you like something or not. You gotta grow up, son."
"Whatever," Nick said and walked off.
Lee watched Nick walk away. He turned to Pete. "He seems to have an attitude problem."
Pete sighed. "Yeah, he gets that from his mother. Makes it damn near impossible to get through to him sometimes." He walked over to a struggling walker that had been stabbed through the chest with some kind of spear. "Hmm. Same deal. Shot to pieces. Hope this isn't anyone you know."
Lee glanced at it briefly. "No," he replied as he walked over to two more bodies lying nearby and knelt down to inspect them. He felt kind of weird going through their pockets, feeling like he was looting the dead—and he kind of was—but he had to see if they had anything useful on them.
"Good," Pete said as he pulled the spear from the walker's chest and, using his foot to keep it in place, stabbed it in the head. With that task done, he took a look around and saw more bodies on the other side of the river. "Damn it. More on that side." Looking at Lee, he asked, "Find anything on those two?"
Lee stood up and shook his head. "No, nothing."
"Alright, then. C'mon. Let's go check the rest."
They made their way to the other side of the river. While Pete knelt down to check out one of the bodies, Lee kept an eye on their surroundings, making sure no one and nothing snuck up on them. As he was looking around, he caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking over, he saw one of the bodies, now a walker, crawling towards Pete, who didn't seem to notice the danger approaching him.
"LOOK OUT!" Lee cried. He quickly grabbed Pete's shoulder and pulled him backwards as he pulled out his gun and shot the thing in the head.
"Shit!" Pete yelled.
"Uncle Pete!" Nick cried from the other side of the river.
"I'm fine," Pete said quickly. "We're both fine." He looked at Lee with gratitude. "God dammit. That thing almost had me. Thanks."
Lee gave him a nod in return.
"Shit, lurkers!" Nick cried as a group of walkers came stumbling out of the forest and started crowding around him. He took aim with his rifle and started shooting any one that got close.
"Nick!" Pete yelled.
Both Pete and Lee started to go help Nick until they saw walkers on their side as well coming straight for them. Muttering expletives, they both took out their guns and started shooting. After a few shots, however, Pete ran out of bullets.
"Shit! I'm out of ammo! Nick! Get your ass over here and help us!"
"I've got ammo! Come this way!" Nick yelled back, frantically shooting at the approaching walkers.
"God dammit, Nick! Just listen to me, for once in your life!" Pete shouted. He took a step back as Lee continued to shoot at the ones coming towards them, until he noticed more of them coming up from behind. "Shit! Behind us!"
Lee glanced back and realized they were pretty much surrounded. This is not good, he thought. After shooting a walker that was getting dangerously close to him, he pulled out his knife and handed it to Pete.
"Here, take this and get the ones behind us."
"I'm on it!" Pete said as he accepted the knife and stabbed a walker that was reaching out to grab him.
Lee continued shooting, his sole focus taking care of the threat in front of him. After the last walker fell to the ground in a heap, he lowered his gun with a sigh of relief and turned toward Pete just in time to see the man stab one last walker up under the chin. His attention was drawn across the river, however, when he heard Nick scream. Nick had apparently run out of ammo too as he was using his rifle as a club to fend off the crowd of walkers coming at him.
"NICK!" Pete screamed.
"Go help him. I'll cover him from here," Lee said as he raised his gun once again.
Pete nodded and hurried back across the river as fast as he could. "Nick! I'm coming! Hang on!"
Lee took careful aim and started shooting any walker that he could get a clear shot on. Nick continued to beat them back with his rifle, while Lee thinned out the herd one by one. Pete reached the other side moments later and started killing more of them in a desperate attempt to reach his nephew. Lee watched this from the other side while continuing to shoot, hoping that neither of them would get bitten.
Together they managed to dispense of every single walker until none were left standing. Nick and Pete were left standing amongst a pile of bodies, surprised that they had managed to survive the onslaught without a single scratch.
"You alright," Pete asked.
Breathing heavily, it was clear that Nick was still a little shaken by the close call he just had. "Yeah," he replied. "Thanks." He paused a moment as he looked at his uncle. "I'm sorry, Uncle Pete, for being such a dick lately."
Pete blinked in surprise before a slow smile formed on his face. "That's alright, son. I'm kinda used to it by now," he said as he squeezed the back of Nick's neck affectionately.
Lee watched the byplay between uncle and nephew with a smile, happy that they made it out of that situation alive. The smile slowly slipped from his face as he heard the growling of a walker to his right. He whipped his head around to see one of the monstrous creatures too close for comfort and coming closer.
"Shit!" he exclaimed as he stumbled backwards a few steps. He raised his gun, pointing it right between the eyes, and pulled the trigger. His heart plummeted in dread as he heard the ominous click, signifying that the gun was empty. "Fuck!"
Before he could do anything else, the walker grabbed onto his arm and sank its teeth into his forearm. With a cry of pain, Lee pushed the thing off him, causing it stumble and fall backwards. He then stomped on its head a few times until its skull was mush.
He stood there for a few moments, breathing heavily, as he waited for his heart rate to return to normal before looking at his arm. Blood soaked through a tear in his shirt sleeve and he could clearly see the outline of teeth marks that were oozing blood. It hurt like a son of a bitch, but at least the thing hadn't bitten a chunk of his flesh off. It didn't look like it was too bad once he got it cleaned up. Of course, it still presented a problem as he raised his eyes to look at the two men across the river. Both were staring at him with wide eyes. It was clear they had seen him get bit.
"God dammit," Lee whispered. This wasn't going to be fun trying to explain his immunity. He'd had a tough time trying to believe it himself when it was happening to him. Trying to explain it to other people wasn't going to be easy. Taking a deep breath, Lee started to work his way back across the river, hoping that these people were reasonable enough to hear him out and not just shoot him right off the bat.