Chapter Eleven: Another Day
"So," Lizzy whispered like a kid enjoying an engrossing story while sitting on the edge of her bed. "What happened next?"
"I finally got up the nerve up to ask Lee what happened to everyone else from our group." Carley replied in a hushed voice as she finished making her cot.
"What did he say?"
"Lee told me that they're all dead. " Carley could only shake her head helplessly, unable to believe that Kenny and the rest of them were truly all gone. Lee didn't give the details as to what happened to all of them and she didn't really want to know. Carley slowly sat down on her cot, feeling empty like a deflated balloon .
"I'm so sorry." Lizzy said sadly.
A couple of hand crank lanterns helped to light their room. It was night time at the Nest and except for the few night sentries guarding the walls, everyone else was now turning into bed.
"It's not your fault, Liz." Carley whispered before continuing. "Well, after that depressing bit of news we managed to talk for a while longer before Saul brought back Doctor Cottle and he asked all of us to leave so he could check Lee."
Carley glanced over at her own bed along the far wall. Curled under the blankets, Clementine slept peacefully. Carley had no problem giving her own bed to the girl so she could get a good night's sleep.
After a moment of silence, Lizzy asked. "Are you going to be okay sleeping on that cot?"
"I'll be fine." Carley answered.
"Clementine is not taking up much room on your own bed so you could sleep with her."
Carley shook her head. "No, she has been clinging a little too much to me all day. I shouldn't encourage that any further."
"Well," Lizzy looked at her bed. "It's small but you could sleep with me."
Carley thought about it but finally declined. "No, but thanks anyway and besides, you snore."
"No, I don't," Lizzy whispered defensively. "I'm sure you are exaggerating."
"If I had a tape recorder, I could prove otherwise."
Lizzy's eyes gleamed mischievously. "But that would mean you'd have to use batteries."
Carley glared back and replied in a low voice. "Don't you start on that!"
Lizzy ignored her. "Thank goodness our hand crank lanterns are all Carley proof."
"That's not fair."
"Or finding out the hard way that red is positive and black is negative on a car battery," Lizzy went on, grinning ear to ear. "Didn't Datu banish you from coming within twenty feet of the garage for a month after nearly burning it down? Or how about…"
"Okay, I won't say another word about your snoring." Carley surrendered.
After a moment of silence, Lizzy finally broke it to ask another question. "So, you and Lee, uh?"
Carley's good eye darted over to the blonde. "What about us?"
"Well, you told me you two briefly flirted before, you know, got separated and you did tell me a while ago you had a thing for men who saved your life. Are you planning to pick up where you left off?"
"I don't know," Carley said quietly. "He's still recovering from that nasty bump on the head. It's just too soon to tell and besides, we've got bigger problems, like survival."
"Yes, of course but you sound like he's no longer interested," The blonde watched as Carley looked away and grew silent when Lizzy suddenly realized the problem. "Are you worried that he might not find you attractive anymore?"
Carley looked down at the floor. "I've got a hole in my face where my left eye used to be, Liz. I can't even stand the sight of myself in the mirror without my eye-patch on. I wouldn't blame him."
"You don't know that. How did he react when he saw you?"
"Like he saw a ghost and was horrified to know that I was still alive after being left on the side of the road."
"Well, he might surprise you. Besides, didn't you tell me that some of the men here were hitting on you? You might be just too hard on yourself."
Carley quietly snorted. "Yeah, but only because the men here outnumber the women almost three to one. They're desperate."
"Don't sell yourself short." Lizzy countered. "You are still beautiful."
"Please," Carley almost laughed. "Two years ago I almost freaked out when I got a cold sore on my mouth. I was a reporter once and it was drilled into me how important appearances can be."
"Exactly what did Lee say to you?"
"Well, he said he was glad to see me." Carley answered.
Lizzy stared at her for a moment. "And?"
"And that's it."
"Well as you said, he's still recovering from a concussion and might be distracted from that halo of little birds flying around his head," Lizzy laughed slightly before glancing over to Clementine to make sure they hadn't woke her.
"I don't know." Carley muttered somberly, not in the mood to laugh. She thought it was dumb to worry about your love life in the middle of the apocalypse but sometimes a person needs more than simple survival to exist. They require companionship, friendship and even love to help them get through the next day.
"That's what you think of Lee?" An increasingly concerned Lizzy pressed. "That he cares more about your looks than just you?"
"I…" Carley hesitated. "I'm not sure I want to know the answer."
Morning came and despite Doctor Cottle's insistence that he should remain in bed for another day to fully recover, Lee didn't feel like laying around. He needed to get up and do something.
In his room, Lee stood up to get out of bed and get dress but felt slightly dizzy. Thankfully, the sensation quickly passed and he was able to dress himself without passing out on the floor. Then he sat on the edge of his bed to put on his shoes, and for once he was looking forward to facing the day more than the ones where it was just him and Clem wandering on the road in that tiny blue car.
Carley and Clementine had stopped by early this morning to check on him. Lee couldn't describe how good it was to see them both alive and safe. Clementine was excited about this place and told him about everyone she had met so far and how nice they had been to her. It was really good to see her smiling again.
However, Carley acted a little distant with him today. Even though she told him that she held nothing against him for what happened, Lee still couldn't forgive himself for leaving her behind. Why hadn't he taken a moment to check her himself? Somehow, he will find a way to make it up to Carley.
Some of the other inhabitants here also came by to visit him in the morning just to say hello. They honestly seemed to be good people as Carley assured him. It was then that Lee permitted himself to believe that this might be the place that they were seeking since fleeing the motel, a safe harbour to shelter them from all the insanity they saw on the road for months. Things that haunt you to your very soul that are impossible to forget.
It was at that moment he heard a knock on the door.
"Yes?" Lee answered.
The door opened to reveal their leader Michael. Lee saw him once before but they never spoke. He watched as the army sergeant closed the door behind himself.
"How are you feeling?" Michael asked, standing several feet from their recovering patient
"Been better but I'm alright." Lee replied as he finished tying his shoes.
"Our doctor wanted you to remain off your feet at least another day."
"He did but I can't stay still. I need to get up and do something useful."
"That I can understand," Michael said glancing around the room for a moment. "Is everything okay? Have you or Clementine had any problems?"
"None I can think of," Lee shrugged slightly before smirking. "Except I think Clementine has gotten get a little spoiled with all the attention everyone is giving her."
"Having her around gives a few of us a sense of normalcy and you can't fault them for that." Michael said, remembering his tours in Iraq with the threats of IEDs lurking seemingly along every road whenever their patrols left the safety of their bases. People, even soldiers seek needed distractions, anything to allow them to escape the cruel reality around them, even for a few minutes.
"I'm not complaining, it's seems to be helping her too." Lee replied and the two men stared at each other and that's when Lee realized that Michael wasn't there for an idle chitchat. "I take it that you came by for another reason."
"You would be right," Michael said evenly. "Carley told us a little about your history and that you're a convicted felon. Mind you, she told us after she had all but given up on ever finding you again."
Lee shook his head, glancing down at the floor before looking up again. "It's something I regret but I can't change it."
"You killed a man because you caught him having an affair with your wife. I don't care if it was an accident or not."
"What do you want to say that I haven't said a thousands times before?" Lee calmly replied in a tired voice.
Michael studied the man before him for a few more seconds. "I will be honest and tell you that you could be a potential headache I don't need right now. Only a few of us know of your secret but there are others like Chad that will use you against me if the truth gets out."
Lee should have known that this place might be too good to be true but he won't fight it. "I know the drill, but as long as Clementine can stay here under the guarantees of making Carley her soul guardian, I'll leave peacefully."
Michael wasn't surprised by Lee's willingness of being exiled just to protect the little girl. He nearly starved himself so she could eat. A very selfless act and they could definitely use more people like that here. Michael finally raised his hand up to silence him. "You're getting ahead of yourself. I have no intention of asking you to leave but what I am asking is don't make me regret in letting you stay."
"Thank you…" Lee frowned before asking. "What do I call you? Do I use your rank?""
"Just Michael will do just fine," The army sergeant said before continuing. "Let me make this clear, never tell anyone else of your past, regardless if you feel you can trust them. Luckily, the only other people that know about your secret are Saul, Riley and Burt because Carley told them but thankfully they all agree to keep that bit of information to themselves."
"I appreciate this and I won't be a problem, Michael."
"Good. Now I have a few more questions that I need to ask."
What else does he want to know about me? Lee thought but he didn't have much of a choice because he's the boss here and he was allowing him to stay.
"Go ahead."
"You're about the only person outside of our group we came in contact within months that didn't end in gunfire. I would like to hear from you since you travelled all the way to the coast, what is happening out there?" Michael asked.
"It's bad," Lee replied grimly. "Really bad."
"I would appreciate some details," Michael said. "I worked in army intelligence and I need information if I'm going to effectively protect everyone here."
"Fair enough," Lee started counting off on his fingers. "There's starvation, madness, cannibalism, death, murder, blood thirsty bandits, barren cities, barren food shelves, tin pot dictators, crazy cults, and lets don't forget about the walkers. Which one do you want me to start on first?"
Instantly, Michael regretted asking the question.
After about an hour, Lee finished giving his own personal experience to Michael on areas their patrols hadn't even touched yet. It was a rather depressing wider view of the state of Georgia but Michael listened and asked a few more follow up questions before finally thanking Lee. Michael then reminded him that food was about to be served in the lounge area before leaving.
Now alone again, Lee left his room and moved downstairs that led to the large entrance hall. To his left he heard voices of people coming from the lounge area, which once looked like the living room area. It was wide and spacious enough to seat everyone with several eight foot long folding tables and chairs. From where he stood, Lee could see perhaps 30 people eating and talking to each other.
Lee noticed that all the windows on the first floor were partial boarded up. They went up about halfway before stopping, high enough that walkers couldn't reach in while at the same time letting in plenty of daylight. Stacked in the odd corner were piles of boards, a bag of nails and a couple of hammers. Probably extra insurance if they needed to seal every entry point to keep out the walkers if they should ever breech the walls and try to get into the main building.
Just outside the doorway to the lounge area was a serving table being operated by a tall pretty woman with sandy blonde hair and a large older man with a grey beard. On the table were a couple of boxes and several glasses of water. The woman smiled and the man merely nodded as Lee approached.
"Hi Lee," The woman said. "I thought the doc wanted you to stay off your feet for another day."
"Yeah but I'm doing better," Lee told a small lie, still not feeling back to full strength yet as he briefly struggled to remember their names. They briefly came by this morning to visit him. "It's Pegs and Burt, right?"
"That's correct," The old ex-marine said in gruff voice before extending his hand to Lee. "Carley will be happy to see you up on your feet."
Lee shook his hand and the old fellow had a grip like a vice but he sensed no suspicion from him since Burt was one of the few here that knew his secret. "Thanks. Quite a setup you have here."
"It is when we're not at each others throats." Burt replied.
"I hear that," Lee said in sympathy. "The group that Carley and I were in was always fighting over something."
Burt chuckled. "Yeah, when there's no one knocked out cold on the floor here, then I know we had a good day."
Lee hoped he was joking. "Uh, sure."
"You must be hungry," Pegs spoke up before reaching into an opened box and handed him a brown package about the size of a brick.
Lee took it, looking it over and read the lettering on it. Meal Ready to Eat.
"What is this?" He asked.
"Army food, if you can call it that." Burt answered. "What you are holding in you hand is meant to give the nutritional requirement for a soldier all day."
Lee nodded. "Thanks."
"Are you going to ask how it taste?" Pegs joked.
Lee shook his head. "When you're hungry enough to consider eating grass then army food sounds great."
Peg's smile disappeared when she realized that he was not joking. "I'm sorry, I didn't…"
"It's all right," Lee replied softly. "Thank you for the food. Now, is there a trick to eating it?"
"It comes with clear instructions," Burt started to point to the MRE package in Lee's hand. "What you need to do after opening it is…"
"Lee?" Suddenly, Carley walked out of the lounge area towards them, holding what looked like a cup of coffee in her hands. "I thought I saw you. Didn't the doctor want you to stay in bed?"
"He's like you," Burt said with a grin. "He does whatever he wants to."
"Like you're any different, Burt." Carley sarcastically replied before taking a tiny sip from her cup.
Burt cocked an eyebrow. "Trying to hurt my feelings, Rooster?"
Lee looked confused between the two as Burt and Carley teased one another "Rooster?"
"Yeah," Burt explained, gesturing to Carley. "That's her nickname here."
"But roosters are male birds." Lee commented.
"Thank you, Lee. That's what I have told them," Carley said. "But Burt has a thing for westerns and John Wayne."
"As in Rooster Cogburn?" Lee suddenly said. "I remember that movie."
Burt looked surprised. "You watched westerns? I thought I was part of a dying breed."
"No, I was a history professor," Lee confessed before explaining. "Once I had my students do a report on historical inaccuracies in period moves situated between the 18th and early 19th century America and one of them did their report on True Grit."
"Historical inaccuracies in a John Wayne movie," Burt mused aloud. "Never!"
"Okay, okay, enough about John Wayne and westerns," Carley finally interrupted before turning to Lee. "We should get some more food into you."
Pegs handed Lee a glass of water. "This is for your MRE. Carley can help you with the rest."
"Thanks," Lee replied before taking the glass. "I'll see you both later."
Burt quietly watched Carley lead Lee back into the lounge area. From his first impression, Burt got nothing but a good vibe from him. He seemed an okay guy, even risked his health to look after that little girl. All of this made it hard to believe that Lee actually beat a man to death after catching him with his wife. Then again, in the moment love and passion can make people do crazy things.
Lee should have done what Burt would have if dropped suddenly in that situation. Just grab a gun and just shoot the bastard. Then claim to the police and the judge that the weapon just went off by accident and you were just trying to scare him. That would be more believable than saying your fists just went off multiple times against his face.
Lee followed Carley into the lounge area and the first thing that struck him was the number of people here. Not since the day he crawled out of that police car had he seen this many people in one place before. Carley told him that including him and Clementine, the Nest now had thirty-four people.
Thirty-four people. That's not even enough to populate a tiny village but to Lee it was comforting that the world didn't feel barren anymore. Still with this many people, it had a way of creating its own problems as it solved.
Seated at their tables several people stopped and stared when Lee entered the room. A few people that came and visited him that morning smiled and waved. A couple gave polite nods or curious glances but Lee also received one or two hostile stares. The nasty looks didn't surprise Lee. He was new and from experience an extra mouth to feed always meant less food for everyone else.
Finally, Carley led him to a far table and a welcoming sight as a small figure racd straight towards him.
"LEE!"
He dropped down to one knee as the little girl ran up to him and the two quickly embraced. "Clementine! How are you doing sweet-pea?"
"Great!" Clementine cheerfully said as she pulled back, before taking him by the hand. "Come and meet my new friends."
Smiling and feeling a bit better and now seeing her doing so well, Lee stood back up as Clementine led him back to her table where Carley was waiting with its two other occupants. One which he quickly recognized.
"Saul, nice to see you."
The US army soldier stoodup from his chair and greeted him with an outstretched hand. "Great to see you up, Lee but didn't the doc wanted you to rest?"
Lee laughed slightly as the two men shook hands. He had been getting that line all morning. "Yeah, but I get bored easily."
"Well, have a seat and after you eat we'll show you the place," Saul said before gesturing to a pretty blonde sitting on the opposite side of the table with Carley. "I would like to introduce you to Elizabeth Fabre."
She stood up and shook Lee's hand as well. "Just call me Lizzy or Liz."
"Pleased to meet you, Lizzy." Lee smiled warmly.
With the greetings out of the way, Carley and Lizzy sat down on side of the table, while Saul and Lee took their seats on the other. Clementine climbed up into a chair close to Lee and listened as the adults talked.
"I'm glad to finally meet you in person, Lee." Lizzy said. "Carley told us a lot about you and Clementine."
Even thought she barely showed it, Carley was intensely nervous. Months before she told a few people about Lee's real past, like Saul. After rescuing Lee and Clementine and knowing the truth, Saul convinced Carley that they had to tell Michael so he wouldn't get sideswiped by any surprises if someone here should recognize Lee. After breaking the news to Michael, he was definitely not happy to hear this, especially after locking horns with Chad who wanted to kick Lee out. Regardless of all of his good deeds, Lee was still a convicted murderer and in the minds of many people, that was still a pretty big deal.
For a moment, Carley thought she would have to beg Michael not to throw Lee out but ultimately, the army sergeant decided to have a private talk with Lee before doing anything.
That was over an hour ago, Carley had no idea what had happened when Michael visited him that morning but considering Lee was not under armed guard or anything, then the meeting must have went well. Still, Lee's past would be a potential land mine land if the wrong person should ever discover it.
The situation felt like the motor inn all over again, worrying that someone would find out the truth about Lee's past.
"It's good to be here," Lee answered, snapping Carley out of her deep thoughts. She was sitting across from him, holding her cup of coffee on the table between her nervous hands. He must have known what she was thinking because Lee slowly reached over and gently took one of her hands into his.
"And to be welcomed." He added.
He looked at Carley and gave a slight nod as if to say, everything is okay, don't worry. Carley smiled and squeezed his hand in return.
Lizzy watched and took the gesture as a sign of affection. "Maybe you two would like to be alone and catch up."
"Huh?" Both Lee and Carley almost said in unison before releasing each other's hands.
"It's okay, we're just about done eating anyway," Lizzy said before looking to Saul. "We should go. Hey Clementine, do you want to go outside and see where our new garden is going?"
"You guys don't have to go." Carley said in surprise.
Lizzy was already on her feet, moving. "We'll be gone just for an hour and we'll be back to talk to Lee later and show him the place. You two enjoy yourselves."
"Is it okay if I see the garden?" Clementine said to Lee.
"Uh," Lee said hesitantly before looking to Saul who was rising up from his chair. "Is it safe to go outside?"
"Don't worry," The soldier said. "We're not leaving the grounds and this place is completely surrounded by an eight foot high brick wall that's over a foot thick."
Lee glanced at Saul's sidearm holstered on his belt and honestly felt comfortable letting Clementine go with them. These people did a good job looking after Carley and after all and she trusted them and most of all Lee trusted Carley completely.
He finally turned to Clementine, saying. "Stay with Saul and Lizzy and do what they say, okay?"
The little girl nodded. "I will."
Clementine then gave Lee a quick hug. "I'm glad you are feeling better."
Lee returned it happily. "Me too, sweet-pea. Now, go with Saul and Lizzy and enjoy yourself."
"Thank you." Clementine replied before giving Carley a wave good-bye and walked off with Saul and Lizzy.
Watching them leave, Carley finally said with a humorous tone. "Well, alone at last," She then reached for Lee's MRE laying on the table and checked its label. "Let's see what you've got here, Chicken Breast. Hmmmmm, this one actually sounds good."
Lee was still looking over his shoulder, watching Clementine leaving and felt better seeing Lizzy reach down to take the little girl by the hand as Saul moved up front to lead them.
To Lee, the basic lesson for survival in groups is the ones most capable or better armed leads to protect the rest. Even though this place might be secure, Lee also learnt to practice being constantly on guard for anything because no place was safe, only safer. When Saul, Lizzy and Clementine walked out of the room and out of sight, only then Lee turned back to face Carley as she continued explaining about eating an MRE.
"When opening your MRE, you just cut the top open so you can use the bag later to put any leftovers back in it." Lee watched her reach for a leather sheath on her belt, pulling out a knife. Lee heard a click and a three inch razor sharp blade immediately sprang forth to his surprise. Carley had a switch blade knife.
She quickly cut the top to the MRE open and upended it, allowing the contents to spill over the table between them. Lee was amazed to see the amount that these MRE packages held.
After taking another sip of her coffee, Carley pointed out the plastic wrap items the MRE contained to Lee.
"Here's the main course, Chicken breast… or something close to meat," Carley shrugged. "It'll keep you alive and that's the point. Over here is wheat snack bread, pineapple pound cake, pretzels, peanut butter and your MRE heater to warm the main meal and making coffee. I'll show you the dos and don'ts, like not using it indoors because of the fumes it gives off. Hmmmm, here is the all important spoon so you can eat your meal properly. This clear package holds your moist towelette, matches, sugar and Tabasco sauce."
"Tabasco sauce?" Lee questioned.
"For flavour," Carley answered. "Saw dust has more taste to it than MRE food." Then she looked over the remaining items. "What's left… package of peanut butter, powdered orange juice, coffee, coffee cream and for some reason, chewing gum."
Lee nodded. "Now I see where you got your coffee from."
Carley held up the tiny package of Taster's Choice from Lee's MRE. "I save theses until I have about four because this little pack alone barely gives you a quarter of a cup."
"You want it?"
Lee watched as Carley hesitated before shaking her head and putting the coffee package down. "No, it's yours."
Lee picked it back up and tried handing it to her. "I know how much you miss having coffee and to be honest, I wasn't much of a coffee drinker. I'd rather have a tall glass of orange juice in the morning."
Carley eyed the tiny package of coffee in Lee's offering hand before taking it. "You can have my ration of orange juice, deal?"
"Deal." Lee agreed and he watched her excitedly slip the small package of coffee in her pocket. He enjoyed seeing Carley's radiated smile and that his small gesture made her so cheerful but then his attention fell to her eye patch and his moment of feeling happiness vanished quickly. Carley's wound was a painful reminder.
"I'm so sorry." He uttered.
Carley looked at him, confused. "For what?"
"Leaving you behind." He replied sadly.
Carley froze for a second. "Don't," She finally said firmly. "Don't do this to yourself Lee."
"You were my friend," Lee's voice was low, filled with anger, anger aimed at himself. "More than my friend and I left you. It's doesn't matter if leaving you there actually saved you but what bothers me the most was that I didn't even bother checking you."
"Ben made the mistake of declaring me dead and didn't Kenny physically drag you back onto the RV because of approaching walkers?"
"How do you know that?" Lee said in surprise. "I thought you told me that you couldn't remember that night?"
Carley didn't want to mention it, at least not right now, especially when it involved her but it was an honest question. She drew in a breath and explained. "Months ago I was helping on a food and fuel patrol run when we received a distress call from an Atlanta News copter. It went down outside of some town called Woodbury. When we got there, we quickly located the wreck except we couldn't find any survivors but we did eventually encounter survivors from the town and guess who was with them?"
"Lilly." Lee answered. He shouldn't have been surprised that she survived. Even abandoned in the middle of nowhere and at night Lilly found a way to beat the odds.
Carley nodded. "Burt and Michael met her and a few of the Woodbury people and they recognized her name when both sides introduced themselves. However, Burt quickly noticed how strange she started to act when they explained how they knew her last name and that I was there with them."
"Carley," Lee interrupted her. "If you know what happened that night then you already know that after she shot you, we left her behind." He didn't like what he had done to Lilly but he was so angry when she shot Carley and he wasn't about to risk letting her become a threat to the rest of them.
"Yes, I know because she confessed everything to me and I think she was honestly sorry for what happened."
"What did you do?"
Carley looked completely frank. "I forgave her before blowing her brains out."
Lee's jaw dropped in shock.
Carley laughed at the reaction she got from Lee. "No, I didn't shoot her but part of me still wished that I had... bitch."
Lee sighed in relief. "I'm glad you didn't."
"Because killing someone who tried to kill you in cold blood is bad?"
"Yes, there's that," Lee replied. "But you would have regretted it. You have to put it behind you."
She pointed to her face. "How can I forget it when this is staring back at me every time I look into a mirror? She should be in prison or better yet, a prison surrounded by hungry walkers trying to break in."
"You don't mean that." Lee pleaded.
"I do mean it."
"You're better than this, Carley. You're the one that I go to and get pointed in the right direction."
"Lately, I don't even know which direction I'm pointed at," Carley said with a frustrated frown. "I would like to go back in time when everything was a bit easier but this is our future. I can't believe I miss that damn motor inn some days, back when I didn't know how bad the rest of the world was."
Lee didn't say anything. He just sadly stared at her, maybe trying to find the magically words to make her feel better. Carley hated feeling this angry and what Lilly did to her face.
Slowly, Carley looked down at her nearly emptied cup of coffee resting on the table and between her hands. The silence between them became deafening until Lee reached across the table and gently took her hand in his.
"I have been thinking about you." He whispered with the softness of a lover.
Carley lifted her eye towards him. The words were a step back in time to a happier period they shared together and she surrendered herself to the moment. "I have been thinking about you too."
Lee's smile grew as she responded. "Our group has gotten bigger."
His smile was infectious and Carley returned it. "I'm still small."
"No, you are not," Lee corrected. "You and Clementine are the world to me."
At that moment, even if for a brief period, everything became just a little brighter for Carley.
