Lee, Omid, and Christa rounded the corner, where a good-sized horde of walkers were meandering around the Marsh House area. The three of them looked at one another, then at the hotel entrance.
"Are you ready?" Christa asked them.
"Definitely," Omid replied.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Lee added, wanting to get Clementine back safe and sound.
Omid began by killing a walker that was sneaking up behind him. If he hadn't heard the growling noises, then he would have been done for. Lee began into the horde first, killing the first walker he saw. Christa and Omid did the same thing.
They began to make their way slowly through the crowd of walkers, killing whatever was in sight. They had to be careful, because nobody wanted to get bitten. So far, their crappy plan was working out pretty well, and they were almost to the Marsh House hotel, where Clementine was, hopefully.
"Everyone good?" Omid asked when they regrouped at the entrance of the hotel.
Christa nodded. "I think so."
"I can't believe that fucking worked," Lee added. They entered the hotel, cautiously, keeping their eyes open for anymore walkers that may be lurking around the front doors. Lee was about to continue walking, until Christa stopped him by putting a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Do you want to go alone?" she asked him.
Lee thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "I'll get this guy. You and Omid stay out here until I come back with Clementine."
"But what if you need help?" Omid questioned. "I mean, this guy's dangerous. He could attack you."
Lee figured that he could probably handle the stranger himself, but he spoke up again. "If I need help, then I'll whistle."
"Good luck," Christa said.
As if on cue, they heard movement coming from one of the rooms, and that could only have been from the one where Clementine was being held captive. His weapons still in his pockets, Lee made his way to the room at the end of the hall. When he slowly opened the door, there was no one inside, but the bathroom doorknob was tied shut to a closet across the way. Was Clementine perhaps locked in one of them?
Lee decided to try the bathroom door first when he heard someone enter. Turning around, he noticed an unfamiliar man with a gun. This could only be Clem's captor.
"I got us adjoining rooms," he said simply.
"Where is she?" Lee asked bluntly, getting straight to the point.
"I already told you, she's fine," the stranger answered almost monotonously. "Go over there." Here, he pointed by the dresser with his gun.
Lee obliged to what the man said, and moved over by the dresser slowly. "Put your things down," the man ordered, and Lee was hesitant at first, but followed the man's orders, laying all his weapons down on the dresser. He was willing to cooperate, as long as Clementine was okay.
Suddenly, Clem's voice could be heard. "Let me out! Who's out there?"
Lee knew if he spoke, the stranger would do something, so he decided it was best to stay quiet. "Good," the stranger praised. "Quiet please, sweetie," he told Clementine, and Lee frowned in disgust. This guy was sick. Once Lee's pockets were emptied and all his stuff was on the dresser, he turned to look at the man.
"Just be cool," the said simply.
"Am I not cool?" the man asked. "Go sit down," he ordered, still pointing the gun at Lee.
The questioning began, slow and simple. "Do you know who I am?"
Lee decided that it would be best to stick with the truth. "No. I don't know anything about you."
"You wouldn't," the stranger said. "People like you wouldn't. Now you're thinking, 'Who would have it out for me,' huh? A few weeks back, there might have been a station wagon in the forest?"
Lee's eyes widened. This confirmed that the car that his group had taken had, indeed, not been abandoned.
"Filled with all sorts of food, water, things you need to survive," the stranger continued. "Yeah. I'm not some cannibal, Lee. Some killer out in the forest. Some v-villain. I'm just a...dad. I coach little league."
"I didn't take from you," Lee insisted.
"Your people didn't?"
"I didn't agree with it."
"That's what Clementine said. Why didn't you?"
"It wasn't right. It wasn't our stuff."
"That's real good of you," the stranger told Lee. "Have you ever hurt somebody...you care about?"
"Not on purpose," Lee replied.
"Who?" The stranger inquired.
"Clementine," Lee answered. "The girl misses her parents. I'm not them," he said simply, just thinking of the first thing that popped into his mind.
"I hurt her so bad," the stranger trailed off, glancing down at the floor. "My son Adam went missing. I took him out hunting even though my wife said he was too young. But I figured he had to learn. I came back without him, and the look on her face was one that said, 'you are a MONSTER.' We all went out looking for him, but I never found him...I hurt her so bad. And then we came back, and all our stuff was gone. Your people, Lee; that asshole in the ball cap, his stupid fucking wife. I could have earned her trust back if they hadn't made our situation so desperate," the stranger finished.
"It's not my fault," Lee replied.
"The hungrier she got, the more she blamed me. Until she finally took our daughter Elizabeth and left," he continued to say. "They didn't get far...I found them a day later, in the road. Do I look like a monster to you?" he asked once more, but Lee remained silent, not sure what to say. "I'm not like you," the stranger went on. "You walked a little girl into a dairy full of sick people and let them get their hands on her," he accused.
"I was trying to find some place safe for her," Lee defended his actions.
"You let a boy get yanked out a window and into the night, so you could protect a pretty girl with a gun!" Here, the stranger was referring to a man named Doug, whom Lee and Clementine had met during the first days. Lee had saved Carley over him in a tight situation, and that led to Doug getting devoured by walkers.
"It was impossible to save them both."
"You brought her to the most dangerous city in Georgia, where thousands of walkers could easily get their hands on her."
"We were going to find her parents, find them and escape," Lee finished. He paused. "How could you know all this?"
Without a word, the stranger pulled out his own walkie-talkie and placed it on the table in front of them. Lee's eyes went wide with shock; it was apparent that Clementine had told this guy much more than he deserved to know.
"You're a monster, you're a murderer, and a thief, and I'm gonna hurt you so bad," the stranger threatened.
"I didn't steal from you!" Lee insisted again.
"But think of everything else you did," the stranger chastised. "After I found Clementine on my radio, I wasn't even mad at you. I was coming for the others, for revenge. But the more I heard about the things you did and the danger she was in, our plan changed. Lee, listen to me. I need you to hear this before what happens next. I can take care of her, we can have a family. I bet you don't even know how old she is."
"She's eight," Lee said.
"Wrong. She's nine."
"But-"
"Her birthday was six days ago. I know how to be a dad, you know. She wouldn't be exposed to what she has been with you."
"No. Shut up," Lee demanded. He would gladly die before he would let anyone get between him and Clementine.
"It makes sense."
"It's not happening. You'll have to kill me."
"I know."
Lee then watched as the stranger bent down to talk to some kind of bag sitting in front of him, "Hey honey, I think this is all going to work out," he said.
"What-" Lee began to say, but stopped when he saw one of the doors behind him open. His eyes widened when he saw Clementine step out unharmed. The stranger continued to talk to the bag, and meanwhile, Lee was gesturing to the dresser for Clem to get his weapons. She obliged and grabbed the meat cleaver, coming up behind the stranger. She waited for the right moment, then stuck it into the stranger's arm. That's when Lee attacked, tackling the stranger to the ground.
He was able to gain some leverage and push the man away from him, causing his gun to fly out of his hands. From there, Lee pushed him up against the wall and head-butted him. Then he was able to get his arms around the stranger's neck. His hands squeezed, tighter and tighter, until the stranger was struggling for air, the slumped to the ground because Lee had killed him.
Christa and Omid ran into the room. "Is everything okay?" Christa asked, alarmed. "We heard all the noise and-"
"Holy shit, Lee!" Omid yelled, looking at the dead stranger.
"I got him," Lee said, and then turned to look at Clementine. The little girl didn't hesitate to run into Lee's outstretched arms.
"I'm sorry," she half-sobbed. "I'm sorry!"
"Shh, it's okay, it's okay," Lee comforted her. He let go and stood up.
Clementine looked over at Omid and Christa, and then turned back to Lee. "You guys don't smell good."
"Yeah, I know," Lee said, and Omid laughed a bit. "Did he hurt you?"
"No...not really," Clementine answered sadly. "I'm sorry, Lee."
"Clem, it's okay," Lee said again. "We need to find Carlos, Lilly, and Sarah, and then we need to get you somewhere safe, okay?"
"Okay."
"We really should leave," Christa said.
"Yeah...this place give me the creeps," Omid added.
Clementine turned around and looked at the dead stranger. Lee noticed him, too, and sighed. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
"He was going to kill you!" Clem told him.
"And take you, yeah."
"Don't worry, Clem, Lee wouldn't let that guy even come near you," Omid assured the little girl with a smile.
"So how are we going to get out of here?" Christa asked. "Should we go back the way we came?"
"It's dangerous, but I think it's the only way," Lee commented, then looked down at Clem. "You don't know any other ways out, do you?" he asked her.
She shook her head. "No."
"Figures," Omid commented.
"Let's get going then," Christa said. "I'm sure the others are worried."
The four of them then headed out the way they came, stopping when they got to the exit of the hotel. "Clem, I need you to stay close, you got that?" Lee questioned. "There are a lot of walkers out here, but this is the only way out," he added.
"Okay," Clementine nodded. "Stay close, got it."
Lee nodded and opened the door to the exit, when he saw a lone walker trying to enter. Surprisingly, however, it only stood there, not jumping out to devour any of them. Lee took this chance to hack it with the meat cleaver, sending it down.
"It...it didn't bite you!" Clementine noted.
"Yeah...must've..." he trailed off.
"You're all covered in all that...gross...stuff."
"We had to get through a bunch of them to get here," Lee told her. He then got an idea. "That's how we'll get out of Savannah."
He immediately bent down and started chopping the walker's stomach open. Clementine, Christa, and Omid all looked away in disgust. Much to Clem's horror, Lee began to smear the guts all over the front of her dress. She turned away, shuddering.
"Oh, God," Christa muttered. She covered her nose.
"Ugh...are you done?" Clem eventually asked after Lee smeared her back.
"Just a little more. I want to be sure," Lee told her. He smeared her for a few more seconds, before he was finally done. "There. That should do it."
"I hope so."
"And you're missing something." Lee pulled the little girl's hat from his back pocket, and she took it gratefully.
"I thought it was gone!"
"I thought you were gone."
"Thank you."
Lee advised her once again to stay close, and promised to keep her safe. It was time to belong as walkers.