Dot [Ellie]
The passageway eventually opened up to another courtyard, a much larger one this time. The science building loomed over them, and the entrance was now within sight on the other side of the courtyard. Still no sign of the Fireflies, but that just meant that they were being careful of them… right? Tents also dotted the courtyard at regular intervals, filled with different kinds of stuff, like medical beds and mostly empty shelves.
Ledge [Lee Everett]
Off they were again, exploring the confines of what seemed to be a ghost town. The cold breeze brushed up against his face, and Lee found himself falling a tad more silent than he was before. The conversation with Joel had obviously rocked him a bit, as much as he tried not to make it apparent to Clem. Whiskers's hooves clicked and clanked away on the cold cemented surface until they finally arrived at the structure. Lee tugged on the reigns and came to a halt just before they reached the decline that led down to the gates, so he wouldn't put any strain on the horse. He found himself having to tilt his head upwards until his neck hurt to examine the full height of this science building; it was just that big. However, the topic couldn't be avoided anymore, this was supposed to be where they were hunkered down.
"Strange. No guards, no nothing." Lee noticed two gates were blocking the entrance to the science building down the hill, a large chain was wrapped around the middle of them, essentially welding it shut and holding it together. He squinted his eyes at the empty makeshift guard posts that were stationed on the other side.
After a small pause, Lee spoke up to the rest. "We gotta find a way to bust through that gate down there, don't think we're gonna be able to do it by hand."
Art [Clementine]
Another one? Really? Clementine narrowed her eyes along with Lee, disbelief being the main instigator. It wasn't bad enough that no one was there, they just had to have another locked gate on the way to the science building. It was a big one, too. Just fitting for the massive place it guarded, she supposed. Again they needed a way through, and again she couldn't think of one. Lee was spot on, for starters. Her knife wasn't gonna bust through that one, no way.
Still, just 'cause they couldn't force their way through didn't mean everything about last time's idea was a bust.
"Can we jump over?" Clem suggested, leaning forward slightly so that Lee and the rest could hear her. "Like, if we used something..." It was a bit of a reach, sure, but it was a pretty big place. There had to be a ladder around somewhere, right? Or maybe they could push a car and use it as a platform?
Kentucky [Joel]
Joel reached the point where Lee and Clementine had stopped, Ellie right behind him, holding on tight. The science building sat before them, blocked off by a rusted gate, the rust combining into a twisted guard. If that had happened, that meant that no one had been here for a long time. Joel's hope for the Fireflies being here was all but there, but something gave him that push to keep going forward. "There's a dumpster, we could use that." He responded to Clementine's question, jumping down from his perch on the horse.
The dumpster was heavier than he had expected; relatively full of ancient trash and scraps of ceramic dumped for all eternity. He pushed and pulled it through the railing it waited in, before reaching the incline where the gate sat. He pushed forward, but the wheels of the dumpster quickened and he was jolted forward. Instinctively, he let go, to not be pulled along with the mass, and the dumpster careened into the gate, smashing it open. Joel patted himself off, looking at the crashed gate before returning to the horses. "Alright. Not what I had in mind, but it'll do."
Dot [Ellie]
The gate was opened, and the four survivors filtered through it. Ellie hopped off the horse, leading it around by the reins clutched in her left hand. The area was sparse, and the double doors acting as an entrance to the building were apparently locked. She shifted her gaze upward and towards a gaping hole in the side of the building, within reach of the roof above the dock they were in front of. Ellie pointed it out while Joel shifted the dumpster towards a white box truck positioned next to the dock.
While Joel and Lee began to climb up onto the truck, Ellie looked towards Clementine next to her, sighing. "You think we'll really find Fireflies in there?"
Given how dead this entire area seemed, her doubts had grown exponentially. Surely if the Fireflies were here, they'd be all over them right now for knocking in their gate. It's not like they would be afraid of four survivors, right? This place was going to be a dead end. Just like everywhere else they've gone on this journey.
It wasn't long before her mind returned to that place she tried to avoid, where her doubt flourished and repeated the same words over and over. They weren't going to make it to the Fireflies. Ever.
Art [Clementine]
Ellie had her pretty cornered with that one, honestly. The phrase 'yes, I'm sure of it' stuck around the tip of her tongue for a long while, but even Clementine couldn't say it with a straight face. No one was around, not even the slightest hint of a 'someone.' They were well into breaking into the place and there wasn't so little as a peep from the would-be people living there. She could shy away from that fact as much as she wanted to... Clem wasn't that dumb, and neither was Ellie.
The girl winded up thinking back to the night she scolded her friend for being scared of just that. In fact, it was pretty hard not to. Worry started setting in, a feeling cold and uncomfortable, and Clementine could only do so much to hide it. "Just keep a lookout," she told her, avoiding the question altogether, before climbing on top of the dumpster leaned against the truck. They'll be there. I know it.
Dot [Ellie]
A frown etched its way across her face, and she followed Clementine up onto the box truck. Once they were through the broken window, following Joel and Lee down a hallway, her mind drifted.
Clem knew that they weren't going to find them here, just as much as she did. Seeing the state of the place, she had a feeling all they'd find here is mere remnants of their operation. Maybe something to tell them where they went, if they're lucky.
Yet the girl's words echoed in her mind. Just keep a lookout.
While Lee and Joel talked in a room nearby, Ellie leaned against the wall, her eyes following Clementine. After what felt like an agonizing moment of silence, she cleared her throat. "Speaking of keeping a lookout. How about a game of I Spy?" A smile slowly crossed her lips, and she pushed away from the wall. She glanced around the hallway, eventually making her choice: a vending machine knocked over at the far end of the hallway. "I spy, with my little eye, something that was once filled with food." Great start there, Ellie. She's totallynot gonna figure it out.
Art [Clementine]
Hallways. Dark ones, at that. It was hardly the welcome wagon Clementine expected. Then again, she didn't expect to be getting in through a crack in the wall either. Life always found a way to keep you on your toes.
If there was one word for that place - besides 'dingy' - that'd be an uncontested 'creepy.' They had these huge spotlight-looking things lying around, shining a bright light on anyone who passed through the rows and rows of junk gathered in there. The worry that something might get the jump on them was there, like a siren blasting at full sound in the back of her head. Though at that point, running into anyone would be a welcome change of pace.
What did get the jump on her was Ellie's, er- pitch, so to speak. Clem was all for playing games and everything, but right then she was one eerie noise away from pulling a gun on someone. Given the circumstances, Clementine kept any protests to herself, letting them out through a sigh. Maybe it'd be good. Help scare away all that uneasiness threatening to surface. Lee and Joel were busy anyway, so it's not like they had anything better to do. They'd yell if anything happened, right?
Or so she told herself. Any excuse to dick around a little.
Clementine unstrapped the rifle from her backpack, letting it lean against the wall to keep her shoulders from getting too strained. She knew the game: I Spy. Very basic kid stuff. The girl's hands naturally drifted toward her jacket pockets, as numerous little thoughts for answers popped up one after the other. "Uh... " Something that used to be filled with food…
The answer that reigned over the rest almost made her blush, and most definitely made her eyes trail off anyplace where Ellie's couldn't meet them. No, that's- That's dumb... Pressed by the progressively increasing period of awkward silence, Clementine ended up saying the first thing that came to her head.
"My… belly?"
Dot [Ellie]
When Clementine finally responded, Ellie couldn't help but giggle at her answer. She stifled the laugh, holding her hand over her mouth to quiet it, yet couldn't quite get herself to stop. It wasn't the answer that she'd been expecting. After all, she'd chosen something fairly obvious to get them started, but she appreciated Clem's sense of humor all the same.
"No, silly," she finally managed to say once able to contain her laughter, still assuming that Clementine had been joking about her answer. She indicated the overturned vending machine down the hall with a hook of her thumb, smiling. "It's that thing."
As the faint sound of a recording filtered through the open door where Joel and Lee were, she leaned against the wall again, holding out a hand towards Clem in a manner to show that the metaphorical ball was now in her court. "Now, you, Baseball Cap."
Art [Clementine]
Ellie pointed towards this big box with a broken glass panel. Clementine squinted at the so-called 'thing', the one that looked like a fridge and a microwave had a baby. Did they really have food in there once? Moreover, how come Ellie knew what it was and not her? Clem grumbled under her breath, now especially embarrassed over her answer. Ellie seemed to think it was a joke, so she just rolled with it, pretending to know what the thing was to save a little bit of face.
It was her turn now, and she didn't plan to go easy on her friend. In one of the labs adjacent to them were a bunch of papers scattered on the floor, all thanks to one trash can that fell over. It was kinda hard to make out what they said, most of them nothing but residue at that point, though one in particular did happen to grab her attention.
"I spy with my little eye…"
Clementine smiled menacingly, taking her eyes off the object and directing her gaze to the redhead. "... someone's worst nightmare."
Dot [Ellie]
Ellie followed Clem's gaze towards whatever object she was choosing, or at least seemed that she was choosing. She raised an eyebrow at the words her friend chose, squinting to make out anything that'd give away the answer, but found nothing.
There was a scrap of paper among those littered on the ground in the lab, but it wasn't the papers that caught her attention. An eight-legged bug with two pincers and a stinger on its tail. A scorpion. She'd rarely seen them, but they were pretty creepy. Maybe Clem hated them, too.
"Uhhhh… that paper there?" She pointed towards the sheet of paper in question, looking back towards her friend. "The one with the scorpion on it?"
Art [Clementine]
"A what, now?" Clementine's brows knitted and her head turned to the left in a hurry, the girl's eyes happening upon a small creature crawling out of the trash can. Her face contorted in mild disgust as the scorpion continued to shuffle around in its eight legs, swinging his tail. "N - No, not… Not that, " explained Clementine through a frown, the hands in her pockets now curled up into fists.
Clem slowly walked up to the trash can, where the scorpion was. That was the first time seeing one up close… Hopefully the last, too, if she had her way. Just as her frown began to curve into a grimace, Clementine kicked the scorpion away, sending him flying off to the other side of the room. There. Can't sting anyone now. Next, she got down on one knee, searching through all that mess in order to find the right thing. "Those are pretty scary, too," Clementine pointed out with a grin, right before taking hold of a mysterious torn piece of paper.
The girl brought it back to where Ellie was, clearing her throat before reluctantly reading its contents out loud. "Describe the... chemical composition of urine." She waited for Ellie's reaction with a faint smile, revealing what it was the moment after by flipping it the other way around. "It's an exam paper." On biochemistry, to be exact. At least that's what it said. "Spooky, right?"
Dot [Ellie]
When Clementine read the question off of the page, Ellie stared at her incredulously, for a moment unable to comprehend what the hell her friend was going on about. When she flipped the page over, revealing the contents, and explaining herself, the older girl let out what could only be described as a half-snort, half-chuckle.
Recomposing herself, she took the paper from Clem, looking it over with an amused smile. Finally, she let it fall to the floor. "I would've taken that over the orphanage any day." Her words were laced with amusement, though it fizzled out in the blink of an eye.
A metallic screech pierced the air, followed by a guttural roar that was all-too-familiar to her. Her blood ran cold.
Joel and Lee had already burst out of the room they'd been talking in, the latter looking down the hallway towards an open area with elevator doors lining the wall. One of them definitely wasn't closed anymore, or in one piece.
There was a fucking bloater down there, blocking their path.
Art [Clementine]
The eerie sound of something colliding against the elevator doors was a dead giveaway that something wasn't right. As the hallway began to physically shake, scattering chunks of dust throughout, Clementine found herself frozen solid, witnessing those large metal doors be torn apart like cardboard. The roar came next, and by then, her breathing had become erratic past any semblance of normality.
It was a monster… a real, gigantic monster, and it was charging their way. W - What the fuck?! At that moment, clear, concise thoughts were a commodity the girl couldn't afford. She reached for the lever action leaned against the wall, holding it with one hand whilst her other gravitated towards Ellie, urging her to back away, to let Joel and Lee handle that thing...
Whatever happened, Clem had to make sure she was safe.
Kentucky [Joel]
"Christ."
Joel had little time to react when he saw the bloater, hooping and hollering and drooling all over the floor. A wall of flesh that wanted little but to crack their heads open and pool their brains into its gaping mouth. He had seen people killed by bloaters before; the way they ripped their heads apart by their jaws, the way they crushed their heads into mush, the way they tore limbs and skin like barbeque ribs.
Joel stuffed his revolver into the back of his jeans, throwing the rifle on his back into his arms and aiming it up at the struggling bloater. "Go, run!" He responded to Lee and looked back at the girls, directing all of them out of this death trap of a hallway. They didn't stand a chance against the bloater, especially in the claustrophobic corridors of the science hall. He fired a shot at the bloater, but it missed and sunk into the deformed flesh of its shoulder. It showed no recognition of the wound, as Joel ejected the shell and put a new one in, backing up to try and get the others to run before he took off.
Shadowman [Narrator]
The bullet from the revolver barely grazed the sturdy infected, its thick fungal plates essentially acting as armour for the monstrosity. With one final shove, the door to the elevator gave way, flinging open as the bloater pushed its way through with a roar. It began to stomp forward to where it had detected the noise. Moaning out as it grabbed onto its shoulder with both of its hands, digging into its own flesh and flailing around as it ripped out a small yellow ball of mycotoxin from its body. The bulky fungus-infected creature then threw the substance in the direction of where it had heard the gunshot.
Ledge [Lee Everett]
This thing wasn't to be trifled with, and having that brawny infected staring him down merely metres away was enough to get his blood rushing. The man began to slowly back up with his rifle still raised, getting ready to follow Joel's lead as the giant clicker busted through the elevator doors.
What came next Lee, just couldn't comprehend, the creature stomped forward and came to a halt. It was… clawing at itself? The man widening his eyes in disgust, the shriek getting louder before the creature sent a large yellow ball flying their way.
"Watch out!" Lee yelled out, before just barely being able to dive out of the way. The substance exploded near him, forming into a large yellow toxic spore cloud. Gritting his teeth and scrambling back to his feet, Lee aimed the shotgun at the monster, spraying a shell directly into its gut. It made contact, sending the beast stumbling backwards a step or two, but it wasn't enough. Merely a moment later… it was getting ready to charge.
Lee turned to the girls, making a frantic shoo motion with his hand as he readied himself to flee. "Go find somewhere to hide!"
Dot [Ellie]
The bloater was out of its cage. Joel and Lee had already fired shots its way, to no avail, and Lee called out for them to find somewhere to hide. Cursing under her breath, she grabbed Clementine's arm, tugging her away from the fight and down the hallway they'd come from.
They weren't going to be able to escape that fucking monster easily, not in these claustrophobia-inducing hallways, so that meant they either had to kill the bloater, or get killed. Her brain was being turned into goo by the adrenaline, but one thought managed to push its way through the haze.
They had to find something flammable.
She remembered the last – and first – bloater they'd run into, back in Bill's town. Joel had used molotovs to burn the infected, weakening it enough to be killed with bullets. They didn't have anything like that on them now, but maybe… maybe they could find something here.
It was worth a shot anyway.
She hauled Clem into the nearest lab, the sound of the bloater roaring in its baritone screech almost drowning out her words. "Help me find something we can set on fire! Alcohol, anything!"
Without wasting a second to see if the girl had gotten the message, she went to work on searching through the lab, forcing drawers open in hasty movements. She let out a series of profanities as she continued to get empty drawer after empty drawer, only to find an old rag next to a beaker on one of the desks. It'd do the job of turning whatever they find into a Molotov, at least.
She looked towards Clementine, screaming over the noise surrounding them. "Tell me you got something!"
Kentucky [Joel]
Joel took another shot, not even checking to see where it landed before kicking the door he and Lee has just left back in. "Come here you son of a bitch!" He cried out, reloading the rifle in a desperate haze. He had no time to see where the others had gone; he just hoped they were safe. His eyes were rolling about their sockets like a cartoon and he felt like he was trying to dash across this classroom on stilts. If he could only distract it towards him...
He dived his back into the open door, firing a second bullet at the bloater again, this one finding its mark... better. It slammed into the bloater's thick neck, piercing some of the fungus, but not exactly... dissuading it. It turned its attention to Joel, lumbering towards him as he backed away into the classroom, further and further.
Art [Clementine]
Ellie dragged her into one of the dreary research labs, tugging her by the arm, and for as challenging as it might've been, Clementine managed to keep her balance. There wasn't a thing in the world she would've liked more than to barrage Ellie with questions, a decent chunk of them involving whatever the fuck that thing prancing around out there was. In spite of that, the other girl beat her to it, asking her to look for something to make a fire before she herself ran off to do just that. On the other side of those old walls, gunshots were going off one after the other, almost muffling the spine-chilling sound of that monster's roar.
Clem couldn't keep her hands steady even if she tried.
Once the rifle was properly strapped over her right shoulder, Clementine forced her feet to move, heading towards one of the many cabinets surrounding them. It was about the best plan they had: chuck fire at it until it died. For all she fucking knew, that's the only thing that'd work against something that huge.
It was one empty drawer after the next. Most only had papers. Some had trinkets and rudimentary lab equipment. She couldn't waste a second on those. Anything that wasn't useful was violently tossed to the ground, whole drawers worth of stuff. There was nothing there, not even close. Files on top of files, cogs of web, cables—
T - There!
It wasn't really what she was looking for, but it could do the trick, right? On top of one of the desks was a beaker filled with strangely-colored liquid. Whoever was around before them must've been working on something pretty hairy. Clem wasn't much of a chemistry whiz, but even she knew those things went ka-boom. They were supposed to, anyway, according to those... rambly stories with the one mad scientist in them. "Here, I got this !" Clementine told her while snatching the flask from its given place, shooting Ellie a look of concern. "Can we do it?"
Dot [Ellie]
Ellie's head perked up as Clementine held up a flask of liquid. Well, it wasn't exactly alcohol, so it wasn't a guarantee, but they had no other choice right now. She rushed towards her friend, taking the flask from her as she replied with a breathless "we're gonna have to."
She soaked a section of the rag in the liquid, pulling it back out to insert it the opposite way. Next to her, Clementine had fished out a box of matches, igniting one with a strike against the matchbox before handing it to her. A wicked smile grew on Ellie's face as she held it to the soaked rag, the flames immediately coming to life.
Now here was the fun part.
Before she could head back out into the hallway, Joel and Lee had backed into the room, the bloater outside letting out a deafening roar before charging through the tiny door frame, splintering the wood surrounding it.
This was it, now or never.
She took in a deep breath.
"Hey, dickhead!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, trying to get the bloater's attention away from Joel and Lee.
It worked. It definitely worked. It let out another roar, preparing to charge towards her.
She threw the Molotov with as much force as she could muster, silently willing it to hit its mark, right in its ugly fucking face.
Shadow Dot [Narrator]
The Molotov careened past the bloater, hitting the wall behind it in an eruption of flames. Before the bloater could react, though, Joel fired off another shot, straight through the neck, and knocking it backward. Its back hit the wall, hardened skin being melted by the searing heat of the flames now engulfing its back and head.
Its massive hands smacked at its face, trying to put out the flames, and for the moment, it was left vulnerable to attack.
Ledge [Lee Everett]
It was like a horrible game of tag, one where your life would be snuffed out if caught. Nothing was working, Joel was doing what he could… but he didn't have the ammo to take that thing out, and neither did Lee. That hulking form seemed to have some kind of armoured fungal plates that proved hard to pierce.
Then he heard a voice, which was undoubtedly Ellie screaming, they'd come to help. Jesus! I thought I told them to- Without a moment's notice, something soared over Lee's head, the flaming bottle whizzing past him and headed straight for the big guy. And with that, Joel fired off a shot through the thing's neck… knocking something off of it. Lee initially thought it was a piece of flesh… but it was too hard to tell in the heat of the moment. Nonetheless, it was a good shot, clearly hitting the weak point of the monster and sending it stumbling back into the blaze.
It let out a grotesque and pained screech, clawing at itself and writhing. Somehow… the thing still managed to keep stomping towards them, almost as if intent on taking someone down with it. Now was his chance. Lee aimed his shotgun right at the weakened infected, and fired again. This time blood spurted out of its belly and onto his jacket, the shot making a horrid slushy sound as it connected to the soft part of its skin… it dropped to one knee, severely weakened, before Lee fired another shell towards its head. The deformed thing let out a final screech, which was cut short as what was left of its head was shot clean off. It fell to the ground, lifeless… the room falling silent as all that could be heard was the soft crackling of flames in the background.
Silence ensued shortly after… and Lee was having trouble regaining his breath. He lowered his shotgun, looking down at his hands only to realise they were shaking slightly.What in God's name was that? A clicker on damn steroids?
"Everyone okay?" The man finally spoke up, still panting as he looked back to the others.
Kentucky [Joel]
When Joel left the room, the final blow to the bloater having been dealt, he leaned up against the wall next to the corpse and took in a swift breath. "Yeah." He leaned the rifle up against the wall he took refuge up against, wiping at the sweat on his forehead. Little time for rest, he moved towards the corpse and stamped at the flames that circled it, leaving it's blackening body to melt in the heat.
He looked over everyone, clarifying to see if they were okay. When it seemed like they all were, at least in his eyes, he turned around and began walking towards the room he had just left, hoping to find more about these damned monkeys or... whatever it was that was scuttling around above them. "Let's go."
Dot [Ellie]
Every ounce of breath she'd been holding released from her lungs all at once, and she leaned against a blacktop lab table, taking a moment to catch her lost breath. Everything happened so fast. They were lucky they were able to find anything flammable at all. Even luckier that Joel had managed to shoot the fucking thing into the flames, after her shitty throw.
As Lee called out to them, she answered with a breathy "yeah, peachy."
She pushed away from the table, slowly stepping towards the bloater. Seeing one this close when it wasn't trying to kill you was… something else . Its mouth was left agape, brandishing fangs sharp enough to pierce bone. A part of her expected it to suddenly come back to life, and that put hesitance in her step.
However, an object near the corpse eventually caught her eye, and she quickened her pace. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it was some sort of audio recorder that used tapes, and she held it out as Joel began to leave the room. "Wait, I found something."
Kentucky [Joel]
He spun around, nearly losing his balance as he did so. "Hm?" Joel's pace quickened in the opposite direction and towards Ellie, moving swiftly past the seared corpse and to Ellie. He took it from her hand carefully as to not be rude, nodding; a show of approval. He held it up to his ear as he hit the play button.
Shadowman [Narrator]
The recorder was connected to some type of string, presumably because someone had chosen to wear it around their neck, and that someone seemed to be the one they had just dispatched. Although the string had been torn, or shot off earlier supposedly. Luckily enough, it hadn't sustained enough damage. The device sprang to life after the button was pushed, noticeably the voice on the other end was the same as the last recording. Although now he sounded a lot more morbid in tone.
"If you're looking for the Fireflies, they've all left. I'm dead. Or I will be soon. Got me some time to reflect."
Small parts of the conversation were picked up, but the Texan only wanted to skip to the part he needed.
"...been years it felt like we were-"
"... fucking thing was a giant waste of ti-"
"...looking for the others, they've all returned to St Mary's Hospital in Salt Lake City. You'll find them there. Still trying to save the world. Yeah, good luck with that."
That was where the recorder cut out.
Art [Clementine]
Joel impatiently sped through the tape, sending Clementine's head reeling in anticipation. It was hard to expect good news - especially when they came from a corpse - but it'd be the most obvious lie out there to say she didn't have her fingers crossed.
It only made accepting the fact that the Fireflies weren't there that much more painful. For the first time in… probably forever, she wished her parents weren't there, too. It didn't look like anybody made it.
They at least had another lead, for all that was worth: a hospital. They were already getting low on food for the horses… Traveling on foot during winter was plain crazy talk, so, what then? What if it took another month to get there? In the end, behind those gritted teeth, was a girl on the verge of panic, wrapping her arms around her chest in an attempt to subdue that suffocating feeling of hopelessness. "Can we make it there?"
Dot [Ellie]
Ellie found herself leaning against another table as Joel played through the recording, sighing as the voice on the other end spoke about the fact the Fireflies were gone. "Yeah, no shit," she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
They finally had a destination, though. She wanted to believe they'd be there, despite the fact the evidence was starting to stack up against it being true.
Clementine asked a question, and she found herself wincing at Joel's expression. Clearly, this place wasn't close .
Out of the corner of her eye, a bright light distracted her from her friends, and she squinted to make out what it was. At the other end of a classroom connected to theirs was several men brandishing weapons, and while the word 'Fireflies' left her lips in the form of a question, any further comment about it died in her throat as they opened fire, forcing her to duck behind the cover of the table.
As gunshots made her ears ring, all hell broke loose.
Ledge [Lee Everett]
Salt Lake City?
It wasn't ringing a bell with Lee. The name of this hospital was unfamiliar too, so he severely hoped Joel had some kind of idea on where this place was. The previous lead they'd gotten was very much outdated as they had just found out, so what was to stop this lead from ending up the same way? A bigger question begged, did they even have the supplies to last another long trip? This was supposed to be the endgame, everything Lee strived and fought for these past few months was meant to lead here. Now it just felt like this whole trek across the country was leading them on a wild goose chase. Joel's expression did little to ease Lee's mind, and right now they needed to think smart about this.
Sighing out in near defeat, Lee pressed his back up against the table top, crossing his arms. The Fireflies weren't gonna be any good if they couldn't get there in one piece.
"Looks like we're gonna need to start making some decisions here. Depending on how far this..."
Lee trailed off, his voice dwindling down to a halt as a bright light pierced the side of his eye. He turned his head, and time seemed to slow down. Multiple figures on the bottom floor emerged, he heard Ellie ask if they were Fireflies, right as Lee got a good glimpse of their clothing… Oh, God.
They'd been spotted, and what followed after was a barrage of bullets that smashed through the window. The glass shattering and falling into tiny pieces on the ground as they were forced to duck down.
"No uniform, it can't be them!" He spoke, trying to talk over the sound of the bullets. Taking out that hulking infected made a lot of noise, which was now coming back to bite them. Lee's mind then went to their fastest method of escape. "We need to get to the horses, before they do."
Art [Clementine]
A flurry of bullets whizzed past Clementine's head, bursting through the glass, one of them grazing her hat and just narrowly missing what lied under it in one mean stroke of luck. Panic was on the edge of her mind, yet the girl stood firm, practically hugging her rifle as the chunks of glass were scattered around her feet, her back against the wall. It was impossible to tell how many they were, or even who they were, and absolutely nothing was scarier than that.
"Just gotta go back the same way we came through, right?!" She asked in a yell while another bullet tore its way through the wall, Clem pulling her feet closer to her chest in immediate response. They were gonna be dead meat if they stayed up there for another minute.
Shadow Dot [Narrator]
As if by a stroke of bad luck, Clementine's words were followed by the sound of more footsteps coming from the direction they had come from, effectively cutting them off from the hole in the wall they used to enter the building. The gunfire was practically deafening, and the bandits were pushing in quick.
The group was going to have to escape the classroom before they got boxed in. Luckily, an open door at the far end of the room revealed an empty classroom joined to theirs. It might be the only way out before they were surrounded.
Art [Clementine]
With gunfire coming down on them like goddamned rain, it was a serious struggle to hear her own thoughts, much less try to pick up on anything else. Luckily for the girl and her posse, those assholes and their firing squad weren't exactly trying to keep it on the down-low. That mess of footsteps were all climbing the dumpster outside to hop on the truck. Not even someone stone deaf could miss it. Clementine held back the dozen and a half swear words competing to roll off her tongue in favor of coming up with a plan, if only a pretty shoddy one.
She shot Lee a worried glance, leaning towards the other girl and the smuggler and swallowing hard before throwing a proposal their way. "Ellie, you stay with Joel, alright?! We can keep you guys covered while you look for a way out!" More shots rang through the halls, words she couldn't make out, all attempts at trying to draw them out. Don't be scared. Don't be scared... We can handle them. You've done it before. Clementine crawled to a different cover, far away from the windows. There was no telling how long they had until the rest of those bandits got the jump on them.
"Just hurry! And don't wait for us!"
Kentucky [Joel]
Joel looked at the other two, mind running wild as gunfire pierced the atmosphere. Heavy stomps, a creeping march aimed at their heads screamed down the building. He looked at the two of them, shaking his head at first but seeing a fire displaced in Clementine's eyes. It struck him then; it wasn't important what he wanted. It wasn't important what any of them wanted. What was important was Ellie and Joel was the best bet at getting her to the Fireflies; the best man for the occasion. He didn't like it, practically leaving two of his most well-known companions behind... but Ellie was bigger than any of them ever were.
"Ellie, come on. We'll be right back." He had killed plenty of bandits before. It wasn't like these few folks were going to be any different. He could help, there was hope; however limited that might be. Despite this, Joel led Ellie into the next room and out of the gunfire. He prepped his rifle, ready to use it as a makeshift bat and as, of course, a gun of assured destruction. Before he left, he turned to Lee and Clementine, wincing. "We meet up in front of the university with the horses, got it?"
Dot [Ellie]
"What? No-!" Ellie tried to protest as Clem suggested that they make a break for it while they cover them. She didn't like that idea at all . Leaving her friends behind… fuck , she can't do that. Not this time.
Joel, however, had already decided for them, practically dragging her out of the room and into the next. She gave one last look in her friends' directions before cursing, following Joel through the next classroom. If they died… she wouldn't be able to forgive herself.
Her face scrunched as a thought passed through her mind. You're not allowed to die, Clem, so you better fucking get out of there.
Ledge [Lee Everett]
"Yeah, we'll try to catch up… Go on." He spoke, still sitting down with his back pressed up against the dilapidated wall, which was just below the window. Lee's hands were like a vice grip around the shotgun, finger near the trigger as he readied himself for what was to come.
And just like that, the man watched the other two survivors they'd come to know retreat out of sight. Lee's discontent with the decision was hidden well, the bullets flying through the window providing enough of a distraction for Joel not to notice. After they had left, Lee looked over to Clementine, who was still distracted with trying to buy time for them, shaking his head in frustration at her. Why'd you do that, kid?
Yes, he was ashamed for feeling this way… Joel, the man who he watched play guitar while they sat out on the porch and shared a laugh. Ellie, the girl he'd come to know well and even make pizza with back at Jackson. These were people they'd known for a while, and that made it all the more harder for Lee to accept he wasn't at all happy that himself and Clementine were the ones that had to stay behind. It wasn't Joel and Ellie's fault, but he was kicking himself for letting Clem suggest an idea that put them in the literal direct line of damn fire. Now they were forced to stay here, and it was too late not to somewhat commit.
The man got to his knees, ducking by the window. He waited for an opening, and then lifted the shotgun out of the window along with half of his face, attempting to get a bead on these lunatics. Before he could fire however, a flurry of bullets were sent his way, narrowly missing his head as he was forced to duck back down, cursing and muttering under his breath.
That was the last straw for Lee. They just had to hope Joel and Ellie were already well on their way out. He wasn't going to let them be target practice up here for another damned minute.
"Clem, Listen. We've gotta get out of here too, they're gonna swarm us up here if we stay any longer." His eyes trailed off towards the door that led out, his head nodding in that direction. "Let's go."
Art [Clementine]
There were a lot of them. At least four, by Clementine's count, all coming in from one of the labs. Every step had her weaker at the knees, and they kept getting louder and louder, each and every one practically ringing in her ears. Whether it was adrenaline or pure haphazardness that had her feet moving, she couldn't tell... Clem snuck behind one of the tables, waiting, holding her breath in apprehension.
Lee made his move first, but the bandits were faster. Not only did they keep him from shooting, they'd only missed him by an inch, and they were well on their way to make a second attempt. They wouldn't get one.
Clem let her rifle rest on top of the table she cowered behind, using it to steady her aim. Her breathing was slow and anxious, and her hands were still too shaky to land a decent shot. Fuck...! It wasn't the time to hesitate. The girl squeezed the trigger with force, holding out hope that she wouldn't miss.
It looked like it caught them by surprise, all thanks to Lee's diversion. It was just the opening they needed. The bullet pierced the stomach of one of the bandits, sending him staggering backward as a gush of blood spurted from his back. Clementine quickly dived back behind cover, as did the remaining men, now concentrating their fire on the little girl who'd flanked them.
"Let's go," Lee said, and she begrudgingly nodded. They couldn't hold their own against this fucking many of them. She'd just have to hope they bought enough time for Joel and Ellie to get out of there.
Arthur [Arthur Saint]
Things have definitely gone south…
While the men that were under his orders were in the front line, fighting for their lives and trying to strike down the survivors, Arthur was hiding behind the wall, putting his hands on his ears, avoiding looking at the gunfight. He knew he shouldn't be doing that, he knew that he should be there in the front line to help them, but he, at the same time, fiercely repeated to himself that he was too valuable for the salvation of mankind to go there and take that risk. He repeated that sentence so many times in his own head that he actually started believing in it.
"Aim for the arms and legs! We don't want them to die, do we?"
Arthur pretty much yelled to his teammates in a desperate tone, he actually feared they would aim to kill. He knows that his men were brute, starving, gun-carrying apes, who were futile without someone instructing them what to do. They couldn't tell that Arthur didn't want them dead so that he could convert them. He didn't want them dead so that he could eat them and use as much of their meat as possible without tainting it with the walker infection. They had spent hours in that university, finding close to nothing, maybe taking these strangers down and bringing them home to eat them was better than coming back empty-handed.
After seeing some of his mates getting shot and bleeding everywhere, Arthur knew it was time to step up and be the leader. If he actually managed to take down at least one of the strangers, that was more than enough to prove his power among his men, proving himself to be the miraculous messiah he promised to be. At the same time, he doesn't want to jump in the middle of the rain of bullets, so he decided to do what none of his men thought of: corner the strangers from behind. Following a path through classrooms, Arthur made his way to the other side, immediately meeting only two strangers, a man and a teenager. Pulling out a small revolver from his holster, he immediately put the barrel on the back of his head.
"Tell your friend to put her weapon down or I swear that I'll turn your head into an empty shell."
Ledge [Lee Everett]
Lee's chest settled slightly, glad to hear that Clem wasn't going to fight him on this. If there was ever a time to get the hell out… it was now. After just barely making it out of the room, the duo crept along the hallway. Intent on making it back to the other two without being detected.
That was when Lee felt it, the cold barrel of a gun being pressed up on the back of his head. It sent a cold shiver filled with adrenaline down his spine, his mind spiralling in an attempt to figure a way out of this. The man let his shotgun fall to the floor, raising his arms up as he submitted. There'd be more coming soon, he was sure of it. The only option he seemed to have was to negotiate, maybe this guy was reasonable… maybe he'd be able to sway him. Regardless, Lee couldn't think of anything else that wouldn't get them potentially shot.
"Look, we can work this out. I'll tell her to put it down if you promise to let her leave. Whatever needs to be sorted out, you can do it with me. Okay?" He pleaded, hoping the other person behind the gun had a sliver of mercy.
Arthur [Arthur Saint]
Arthur was internally thanking God as the man put his guns on the ground. Had he decided to attack, he would have easily turned the tide in his favor. Arthur's hands were sweating, the guy was pretty much double his size. Despite that, he maintained a tight grip on the gun, sometimes pressing it harder on the man's head. For once in his life, someone was pleading for mercy to Arthur, a man who'd generally be on the other side. And it felt great.
He took a look at the girl mentioned by the man, she wore a cap on her head and appeared to be a teenager. Arthur could only presume she was the man's daughter, without even looking at his face. However, Arthur knew that the light still existed in her, the younger the soul, the closer to Jesus. What can only be described as dark thoughts filled the head of the 'Messiah'.
After some seconds pretty much staring at the girl, he turned his eyes back on the man, blinking many times to wake up from daydreaming.
"I can't let any of you leave, my son. You must all learn the truth, you must all be saved. The new word of God must be spread to the world, and the younger the mind, the easier the truth can be accepted. Fear not, my son, you have done wisely by putting your weapons on the ground, now help her do the right decision. The Messiah of the New World commands it." Arthur said with the greatest amount of confidence he could build, despite his fear for the man's sheer size compared to his own.
Ledge [Lee Everett]
He'd been around long enough to see the worst kinds of things. But it didn't even take ten seconds of listening to this guy for Lee to figure out that he was off his fucking chops, completely detached from reality. This couldn't be the Fireflies, no way. Unless they started referring to themselves as the 'Messiahs of the New World.'
This situation was quickly devolving into something they wouldn't be able to get out of. His adrenaline began to bubble to the surface, the harsh echo of boots hitting the floor apparent as more people started storming into the hallways. If this guy's backup arrived, it'd be over for them. They'd already stayed up here for too long… and Lee wasn't oblivious to the fact that the chances of both of them getting out of here now weren't looking too good. But… he didn't care about that, the only one that needed an opening to escape was Clementine, not him. That was the only thing that mattered right now.
His brief thoughts were interrupted at the sounds of the footsteps getting closer… they were going to be surrounded. The fear of being shot was nullified as Lee quickly turned his thoughts into action. Using his arm that was raised, Lee quickly swivelled around to grab the other man's wrist which held the small revolver, managing to get a firm grip on it.
"Clem, You gotta run!" He screamed out, still fighting with the other man as he tried to wrestle the gun from him. Right now, an opening was all she needed, and he'd just given it to her. He drove the other man backwards, pinning his back up against the wall as they continued to fight for the gun. He could feel that the stranger wasn't as strong, but his grip on the revolver was firm, Lee just couldn't manage to pry it from his hands. He gave one final glance to Clem, still seeing her in his peripherals.
"NOW!" He screamed out with a mix of anger and desperation. He needed her not to get caught, and this was her last chance… before the rest of these lunatics arrived.
Art [Clementine]
Clementine hadn't noticed it, not until any chance to prevent it had hopelessly slipped through her fingers. The girl's back remained glued to the table, gunshots still zooming by her, trying to draw her out. They were just white noise when paired with the sight of Lee with a gun against his head. Clem's heart came to a full stop, her mouth dropping open then shutting itself into a grimace. Her blood ran cold and simultaneously boiled in anger, the grip on her rifle nigh ripping the weapon apart.
With any semblance of discretion thrown out the window, Clementine stood up from behind the table, aiming her rifle at Lee's aggressor with fire in her eyes. "Get the fuck off him!" She violently shouted, finger itching to pull the trigger and end whoever it was threatening to shoot her friend. By then, everyone else in the room with a weapon in hand had it trained on her, expecting her to try it. Daring her to.
It was a lost cause from the start.
Clem heard the guy blabber on about God and a 'new world,' a bunch of nonsense strung together to get Lee to make her drop her weapon. She was waiting for it; A nod, a blink...? Any kind of sign to open fire. They'd been in that position dozens of times. Lee had to have a plan, he had to.And she was ready for whatever it was.
Or so she thought, anyway. When Lee jumped at the guy, demanding her to run away, the whole entirety of the girl's bravado evaporated into terror. Everyone's eyes were on him now, bandits rushing to pry him away from that man, giving her an opening to make it to the door, however short it was. Thoughts ran through her head, going a hundred miles a minute, her grimace dissipating and becoming a pair of trembling lips. No, no...! No way!
"NOW," Lee screamed, and her whole body jolted backwards. Just leave him behind...? Clementine couldn't do it. Not now, not ever. Please...! Y - You- One step after the next, the girl backed away, horrified. If she could get to Joel in time, then- then maybe...?!
Her quiet steps had soon turned into a sprint. By the time bullets were flying her way once more, the girl had already made it to the door, smashing it open with her shoulder. Clem had to find the others, and she had to do it before those bandits caught up to her.
Art [Clementine]
Everything around Clementine became a blurry mess beyond recognition. A grimy mixture of cold sweat and tears ran down her face, loud huffs of air exiting through her mouth as her feet pounded the floor. Every single fucking hallway looked the exact same... after a while, Clem just couldn't tell where she was running to anymore... where on earth she was heading towards.
They were going to kill Lee and she did nothing to stop it, running away in fear, stumbling like an idiot. Each step felt heavier than the last, trying to force her to stop and turn back. The words 'idiot' and 'coward' hovered in her brain, repeating nonstop like needles piercing her jumbled thoughts, torturing her.
How could she have just left him?
The endless hallways had led her to a balcony, silent and desolate. The girl's gasping for air soon turned into desperate cries, a scream for help no one could answer. "JOEL!" She shouted, straining her vocal chords, pushing them to their absolute limit. "ELLIE!"As her arms fell on top of the platform, Clem's weeping became frantic, uncontrollable. They had to be with the horses, that's where they were supposed to meet. If she could just find a way down-
"I see her!" A man howled from below, firing his rifle, and yet another shot pierced the air. Clementine ducked instinctively, wiping away her tears before making another run for it, as fast as her feet could manage. "Fuck!
It was either that or getting killed.