A New Day - Act V - No Time Left

Part VI - The Marsh House

Silently, Dipper and Lee trudged down the halls of the Marsh House. They checked each room as they went, as thoroughly and quietly as they could. Every floor was dark and empty. No walkers, seldom any furniture in any of the rooms, not even any bloodstains. The silence was deafening, the lack of walker growls and gunshots made the two feel incredibly uneasy. But this was it. The girls were here, and the man, Campman, was here too.

One room on the second floor stood out to them when they peeked in. It was full of furniture, neatly set up, and had a rope tying two doorknobs together. Dipper's eyes widened. Lee signaled for the boy to stay quiet as the two entered and approached the rope.

This was the final trial.

Click.

"...I got us adjoining rooms."

Lee and Dipper turned around, freezing in place.

There stood a man, probably in his forties, holding a silver handgun. His pale skin and matted hair told the two he hadn't been healthy for weeks. The man didn't look like he was dying, but he looked far from fit either. He calmly held the gun, keeping his eyes locked on level with Lee's eyes.

Campman.

"...hello."

"...Okay...this is civil." Campman muttered. "You look horrible. And you're missing an arm."

Lee simply glanced at his stump.

"Go over there." Campman pointed his gun at a table momentarily. "The boy puts his weapons down and sits on the bed. Quietly, he says nothing."

Dipper glared at Campman and sighed. He didn't want to get shot, he wanted to get this over with. He took out his handgun and hatchet and set them down on the floor, then went over to sit on the bed. Lee stared at the boy with concern before going over to the table.

"Put your things down." Campman ordered.

Knock knock knock.

"L-Let me out! W-Who's out there…?"

Lee and Dipper collectively gasped. It was Clementine's voice. Lee turned to say something, before the gun was pressed up against the back of his head.

"Shh…" Campman muttered. "Quiet please, sweetie!

"Now...your things, there on the table."

Lee turned to the table. Lying would be too risky, so he complied and set down the meat cleaver and the walkie talkie.

"You travel light." Campman noted.

"Yeah, and?" Lee muttered. "Just be cool."

"Do I not seem cool?" Campman said. "Go sit down."

The two took their seats in a pair of chairs, facing one another. Campman kept the gun aimed at Lee.

"Do you know who I am?"

"No." Lee replied. "All I know is your name. I don't know anything else about you."

"You wouldn't. People like you don't." Campman said. "Now you're thinking, "Who would have it out for me", huh? A few weeks back...there might've been a station wagon in the forest? Full of all sorts of food, water, things you need to survive.

"Yeah...I'm not some cannibal, Lee. Some killer out in the woods. Some...villain. I'm just a...dad. I coach little league."

Lee sighed. "I'm sorry I took from you."

"You think that matters?" He glared.

"Well what do you want me to say?" Lee argued.

"...I don't want you to say anything." Campman sighed. "I want you to know what happened."

Lee nodded. "...okay."

Campman sighed. "...have you ever...hurt somebody you care about?"

"Not on purpose."

"If it were on purpose, you'd be a sociopath." Campman said. "I hurt her...so bad. My son Adam went missing. I took him out hunting even though my wife said he was too young. I figured he had to learn.

"I came back without him, and the look on her face said…"you are a monster". We all went out looking for him. We never found him. I hurt her...so bad.

"And then we came back, and all our stuff was gone. You and your people, Lee. That asshole in the ballcap. His stupid, fucking wife. I could've earned her trust back if you hadn't made our situation so desperate."

"...I'm sorry." Lee muttered.

"The hungrier we got, the more she blamed me, until she finally took our daughter, Elizabeth, and left. They didn't get far...I...found them...a day later...in the middle of the road.

"...do I look like a monster to you?"

Lee shook his head. "No."

"I'm not like you. You let children walk into a dairy full of sick people and let them get their hands on them."

"It's more complicated than that."

"You let a defenseless, grieving woman be killed."

"That's not how it went down."

"You brought them to the most dangerous place in the city where they could've died!"

"That's not the whole story."

"The whole story?!"

Lee hung his head. "...how could you know all this?"

Campman glared and slammed something down on the nearby coffee table.

A walkie talkie.

"You're a monster." Campman said. "And a murderer, and a thief. And I'm going to hurt you so bad."

"It doesn't have to be this way." Lee said.

"You can't take care of anyone." Campman said. "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 the kids were in...our plan changed.

"Lee, listen to me. I need you to hear this before what happens next. I can take care of those kids. We can have a family. I bet you don't even know how old Clementine is."

Lee eyed the man. "She's eight."

"Wrong." Campman shook his head. "She's nine. Her birthday was six days ago.

"I know how to be a dad, you know. They wouldn't be exposed to what they have been with you."

Lee simply sighed and locked eyes with the man. "Look...I was bitten."

The man's eyes widened. "You were what…?"

"Yeah...I probably don't have a whole lotta time."

"Wow….okay then."

"...you'll take care of them?"

He nodded. "We'll give them a home."

Lee raised an eyebrow. "...why do you keep saying 'we'?"

The man didn't respond. Instead, he leaned forward and peered into a bowling ball bag at his feet. "Hey honey? I think this is all gonna work out."

The rope fell.

"I'm glad to."

The door slowly opened. A girl carefully peaked out.

Clementine.

"I wish you wouldn't've had to get this bad, but...it's all over, hon...isn't it, Lee?"

Lee nodded. "Just about."

The girl slowly crept over to the table and picked up a glass bottle, then began carefully shuffling over behind Campman.

"I hate seeing you like this...I just miss your smile, honey. I miss you so much, Tess...you're gonna like Clementine a lot, though. She's not Lizzy, but she's sweet. She wouldn't hurt a fly- uhgagh!"

Clementine bashed the bottle hard into the man's head. The gun fell from his hand. Lee quickly jumped from his seat and tackled Campman. The move failed and Campman kicked him over. He grabbed the gun and pinned the man down, trying to shoot him dead. Lee forced the hand back and shoved him off.

The gun slid across the floor in front of the closet door. Campman slammed into the foot of the bed. He quickly got up and ran for the gun. Lee glared and pulled himself up, ramming into the man and slamming him against the wall. He pressed his arm against his neck, trying to strangle him.

Campman got the better of him and shoved him back, before tackling him to the ground. Lee tried to pry his hands away from his neck, but the man's grip was too strong.

"You son of a bitch...just go away!" He shouted. "Die!"

BANG!

Campman fell, collapsing on top of Lee, blood pooling from his forehead. Lee panted, pushing the man's corpse off of him.

Clementine stood, holding the gun.

She lowered it, before dropping the weapon entirely. "I… I… I-I…"

Lee knelt down by her and pulled her into a hug. Dipper blinked, breaking from his surprised gaze as he watched the fight, before he hopped off the bed and went to hug the girl.

"Clem...it's okay." He muttered. "...is...is Mabel here…?"

Clem slowly turned around, locking eyes with Dipper, before looking to her right.

Quickly, the boy followed turned to follow Clementine's gaze. His eyes fell on another door. He hurried around the bed to the other door. He grabbed the knob, turned it, and forcefully pulled the door open. He gasped, stumbling back, as he already felt tears of happiness welling in his eyes.

Mabel.

-(End Of Chapter)-