"Try to hurry, alright?" Mike advised quietly as Lee began to climb the rope. "They see you're not in your bunk, we're all done. Those guards are no idiots."
"Got it," Lee answered with a nod. He was pretty physically strong; his rope-climbing days in gym class had paid off well.
There was a noise from outside of the pen. "Shit, Troy's coming back!" Mike exclaimed. "Hurry, grab onto something!"
Lee obliged, grabbing hold of the ladder cage. It seemed sturdy enough, even for someone his size. He looked over to the small horde of walkers just outside in the parking lot, and he shook his head. "Shit."
When he got to the roof, Lee noticed a guard patrolling the roof, meaning that he had to remain stealthy. It wasn't the easiest task in the world, as he was tall, but he managed to do it without being seen.
There were many windows, as he tried to look around and find out which one led to the stockroom. When he finally found it, he lowered himself in slowly, and carefully, trying not to fall. There were many boxes, and it was dark as hell in there, so hard to see. He could make out Tavia's voice, speaking on to someone on one of the walkie-talkies as he tried to climb down on the boxes.
Lee knew he was going to have to figure out a way to sneak and get one without her noticing. It deemed a challenging task, but he knew he could do it.
He climbed down the stock shelves as quietly as possible, managing to do so without Tavia noticing him. The oncoming horde was the only part of the conversation he really cared to make out as he began to sneak his way over to where the walkie-talkies were.
Tavia turned her head in Lee's direction, but he hid just in time. When her back was turned again, he tip-toed and grabbed two radios, placing them in his coat pockets (luckily, they fit). He had to leave quickly, as another man by the name of Vince entered the room and began talking with Tavia.
The same guard was still on the roof when Lee sneaked back across, and once again, he made it by without being seen. He climbed down the ladder and back into the pen. Mike was the only one standing there now, waiting on him.
"Mike!" Lee whispered.
"You got 'em?" the other man asked. Lee nodded. "Good job."
Lee jumped down, landing on his feet, and made his way over to the bunk. Clementine and Sarah had remained asleep, but the rest of the adults were eagerly waiting to see what had happened. With a smile, Lee pulled the two walkie-talkies out of his pockets.
"Way to go, pal," Kenny praised quietly. "Now, everybody stay where you are. No need drawin' suspicion."
"Thank you, Lee," Lilly spoke.
"It's no problem." He waived it off. "We should probably get some sleep," he added.
Everyone agreed, and headed to bed. Lee laid there, and closed his eyes, hoping sleep would come soon. Kenny, however, interrupted the silence. "I thought about Duck today...about his dumb little face," he trailed off, the pain clear as day in his voice. "The first things that come to mind are always the dumb things that he was doin'. Kid was always running in circles, every place we went. Kid would just run, and I couldn't stop him."
"I'm sorry, Ken," Lee empathized.
Kenny shook his head. "Makes it harder to remember he was a good kid."
"He was a good kid," Lee replied. "A lot of help at the motor inn."
"Anyway..." Kenny trailed off. "Long day tomorrow. One long day..."
In the morning, Kenny called everyone still in the pen over to the center for a meeting before Carver or any other guard showed up. Carlos was called into work early this morning, so he wasn't present. Lilly didn't seem too happy about attending this, but she looked to be in no mood to argue.
"Alright, we're all here," Kenny announced.
"Someone needs to get the radio out to Luke," Rebecca pointed out. "What's the problem?"
"We should probably think about who's doing what before we-" Lee began, but the opening of the pen door cut him off.
In walked Tavia, and Kenny and Lee each put a walkie-talkie into their pockets. "Time to get up," the woman announced. "Daylight's burnin'. They let you sleep in, all things considered."
"Where's my dad?" Sarah asked slowly.
"He's where the rest of you are going. To work," Tavia answered quite unkindly. "Rebecca, Nick, Sarah, Jane, if you need to take a piss, do it now. The next break won't be for a while."
"Troy's gonna be coming for the rest of you."
"Why just them?" Kenny asked.
Tavia rolled her eyes. "Like I said, Troy will be coming." She turned and left the pen with the other guards, leaving Lee, Kenny, Clementine, Mike, Lilly, Sarita, and Mike in the pen still.
Kenny turned around. "Alright, if we're going to do something, we need to do it NOW."
"I agree," Lee nodded.
"If Luke's all we got then we pair up with him."
"I can do it," Mike insisted. "Where's the meeting?"
"Mike," Kenny deadpanned. "Lee should do it."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Mike inquired. "He already got the damn radio."
"I'm sorry, Mike, but I don't know you from fuckin' Adam, all right? And if I'm trustin' someone to do somethin' this important, it's him," Kenny finished.
"If Lee can do it once, he can do it again," said Lilly.
"Kenny's right, Mike, I can do it," Lee said.
"Give me the radio," Mike argued, but before anyone could reply, the pen door opened up again. This time, Troy entered.
"Alright, little chickens, let's get to peckin'," he announced. "And today's not gonna be like yesterday, got it? No way, no shenanigans. This rooster's gonna be surveilling your every second, you hear?"
Clementine tried to sneak a glance at the radio in Kenny's hand, but nearly jumped when Troy said, "Got that?"
"Yes, sir," Clementine replied bitterly.
"Come on," he said, before leading them away.
Lee and Kenny walked carefully, considering the radios were in their pockets.
"Hey," Bonnie approached the group. "Lee and Clem are with me today."
"Shit, I almost forgot," Troy replied. "Take 'em, I don't care," he said, shoving Lee forward just a bit, causing the man to glare back at him.
"What's going on?" Lilly questioned bitterly, knowing they were all supposed to be together today.
"Just chores of a different sort," Bonnie answered. Lee and Clem then followed Bonnie while Troy led everyone else outside by the wall. "I just wanted to make sure you guys were alright," Bonnie spoke, pulling Lee out of his many thoughts. How would he get the radio to Luke now?
"We're fine," Lee answered.
"Clem looks a little anxious," Bonnie noticed. "She okay? What's the matter?"
A few moments went by, and there was no answer. Bonnie beckoned Clementine and Lee into the armory and shut the door. "Y'all know you can talk to me, right?" she questioned. "I was dishonest when we first met, but I swear on everything holy that it'll never happen again."
"I...we need to talk to Kenny," Clementine answered.
"It's important," Lee added.
After an awkward silence, Bonnie sighed. "I know this is uncomfortable, but I won't force either one of you to be around me if you don't want to. Go on and be with Kenny."
Lee nodded. "Come on, Clem," he said, guiding her away.
He had the feeling that Luke was probably waiting somewhere; Carlos had mentioned that Luke would be in the comic store, right next to the place where Walter had committed suicide the previous day. He placed a hand on Clementine's shoulder.
"Let me go talk to Luke, okay, sweet pea?" he suggested. "You go on and find Kenny and Lilly."
"Are you sure, Lee?" Clementine asked uncertainly.
"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be fine. Go on."
Clementine nodded and ran to her next task, nearly bumping into a young man by the name of Russell, who only told her to keep moving. Lee made his way outside and into the comic book store.
"Luke?" he called quietly.
But the comic store was empty by the looks of it. "Luke?" he tried again, but received no answer. He looked all around, practically tore that comic store apart looking for the man, but he was nowhere. And Lee had this bad feeling deep in his gut that something awful had happened. "Luke, are you alright?" he asked again.
That's when Troy burst through the door. "I swear to Christ you're gonna regret this!" He grabbed Lee by his shirt and slung the man around. "You ain't supposed to be out here!" He led Lee outside, forcefully, making the other man wince. "You people been here one fuckin' day! And you're already fucking up! You just wait an' see what happens! MOVE!" He shoved Lee forward, making the man stumble.
"Lee!" Clem called out fearfully where she was standing with Mike, Kenny, and Lilly.
"Hey!" Kenny barked at Troy.
But Troy only glared at him, and led the five of them back to the pen, where everyone else was standing around. Lee's eyes widened when he noticed Luke on the ground in pain, and Carlos was tending to him. Carver was pacing around, making another speech.
"-and how is it that we're repaid for our trust? With treachery? With deceit?" he was saying.
"What's going on?" Clementine inquired.
"I don't know," Lee answered.
Much to his surprise, Carver held up one of the walkie-talkies. But where had he gotten it? And more importantly, when and where was Luke caught?
"Whatever you were planning is over, it's done," he continued. "You can't just up and leave when it gets tough, 'cause there's nowhere else to go where it ain't. Tough is all we got now, get that through your fuckin' skulls."
"Luke here, he can't help you now. You gotta help yourselves, you gotta help me find the strength to forgive you," Carver continued to ramble, pacing around. "And you can start, by telling me where the other radio is." And at that, Clementine's heart leaped in her chest because she knew that Lee had the radio.
"I'm gonna count to three, and if that radio ain't in my hand by then, we'll have to make things more difficult," he continued.
"...One."
"...Two..."
Before things could get any uglier than they already were, Lee knew that he had to speak up.
"Stop," he said stepping forward a bit. Almost hesitantly, he removed the walkie-talkie from his pocket, much to the shock of the rest of the group. He sighed. "I've got it, right here."
"Lee-" Clementine cried out fearfully.
"It's okay, Clementine," Lee whispered, glancing behind him. He walked over to Carver. "Sorry, you know? Not sure what I was thinking."
"Three," Carver finished once the radio was in his hand.
There was a pause, and Lee shook his head, glaring angrily. "Motherfucker," he muttered under his breath.
Almost without warning, Carver hit Lee over the eye with the walkie-talkie, sending him down.
"LEE!" Clementine yelled.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Lilly shouted at Carver, giving the man an intense glare.
He only continued to bash Lee in the skull with the walkie, sending blood spewing everywhere. Clementine had to look away, she couldn't bear to see her guardian get beat like that.
"Jesus Christ, stop!" Nick yelled out.
"Somebody stop him!" Kenny screamed next, attempting to run forward, when Reggie grabbed him, restraining him from going any farther forward. "Goddamn it, Reggie! Let me go!" he growled through gritted teeth.
"Clementine, help me!" Reggie begged, but Clem ran forward, towards Lee, hoping she could do something to save him, but that only earned her a smack across the face, causing her to black out instantly.
"Bill!" It was Bonnie's voice who rang throughout the pen. "That's enough Bill! Please!" she begged as she approached the angry man. "There's a breach..."
"Alright, everyone come with me," Carver ordered, finally throwing the radio aside. His hands were caked in Lee's blood. "Bonnie, you stick around. Make sure these folks don't get into any more trouble."
"Yeah, okay," Bonnie responded.
"No supper for y'all tonight. An empty stomach will give you some perspective, and we'll do this again tomorrow."
Once they were gone, Bonnie knelt down, rubbing Clementine's shoulder to try and comfort her. "Do your best with him, Carlos," she said. "We need to get him up and movin', because we're leavin' tonight."
The others looked at Bonnie in shock. "What?" Kenny asked.
"We're leavin' tonight."