The Walking Dead: The Neverending Search

Chapter 2: Walk With Me.

"So that's basically what happened after you went off on your own" Lee said to Molly as he leans against the car. Having seen Lee missing an arm and being alone raised several questions for Molly. No Clementine, no Kenny, no Omid or Christa. They all seemed as thick as thieves for them to be separated all the sudden seemed odd. After having heard about what had happened the day after she left, Molly felt guilty. Maybe if she had stayed, perhaps things would have turned out different.

"I'm sorry, Lee. You guys made a good group together…" she said softly, rubbing her arm and avoiding Lee's gaze. It was clear to Lee she wasn't the best at comforting people. Lee let out a sigh and shook his head.

"Don't be sorry, Molly. I'll find them, I have to find them" Lee stated as his fist clenched shut, his nails digging into his skin as Molly looked back up and at Lee.

"I want you to find them, Lee. I really do, but do you have any idea how unlikely it is that you will see them again? You have no idea how they left Savannah and which way they are headed" Molly's tone was serious, she knew what Lee really meant. It was obvious he cared about Omid and Christa, but they weren't the reason he'd walk through legions of the undead just to find them again. Clementine. The moment Molly met the two of them back at the docks, she felt the connection the two of them shared. Lee expected himself to die to save her, but he lived and all he cares about now is finding her again.

Lee fixed his gaze on Molly, he glared at her for a moment before shaking his head and looking out in front of him. Lee pushed himself off of the car and set a step forward, nearly collapsing before he quickly regained his composure.

"Wow easy there, Lee. Are you sure you're okay?" Molly asked concerned as she stepped over to make sure Lee was standing stably.

"I haven't eaten much lately, or even drunk any water" Lee thought out loud as Molly turned back towards the car and rummaged around a box for a bit before holding out her hand offering Lee a half full water bottle.

"There isn't much in there, but there's enough to get your strength back, old-timer" Molly said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Lee chuckled hearing how she referred to him as an 'old-timer'. He gladly took the bottle from her and took of the cap, chugging it down greedily. Lee emptied the water bottle swiftly before putting the cap back on and tossing it into the car.

"Thanks…I guess we'll share what's left in there" he said pointing towards the car with his stump as Molly looked to it a bit, appalled. Lee followed her gaze and moved it back down, looking down at it.

"Something wrong?" she asked as Lee shook his head before letting out a faint chuckle.

"Not really. It's just…It still feels like my fingers are there so I thought I was pointing towards the car" he explained, his gaze fixed on the stump.

"You've been used to having fingers for how many decades? Them being gone all the sudden must be a huge change" she said as Lee moved his one remaining hand besides the stump. He moved his fingers around a bit before nodding his head.

"It is, but I'll get used to eventually" he looked back up at her and walked over to the car.

"We've been talking endlessly about what happened to me, but what about you? Still scavenging?" Lee asked as Molly nodded her head before letting out a huge sigh. Lee turned towards her and raised a brow as Molly took a deep breath and fixed her eyes onto Lee's.

"Remember when I told you, I picked this city clean?" she asks as Lee nods, remembering she mentioned something like that back at the docks.

"Well, I wasn't kidding. Last night I ate the last bit of food I had left and I'm almost all out of water too" she admits as Lee's look sours a bit.

"You're absolutely sure there isn't anywhere left you can look?" he asks as he starts shaking her head before stopping. Her eyes widen as she looks towards Lee with a faint glint of excitement in her eyes.

"There's one place I haven't looked yet! Crawford" she exclaims with a faint smile on her face. Lee's eyes widen in response, he was speechless at the thought of going to Crawford to look for supplies.

"Molly, that's-" Lee started but she quickly interrupted him.

"Crazy, I know, but you said that you and Clementine walked through the horde, right? That means if we cover ourselves in their guts we can simply walk into Crawford, raid their supplies and leave" she explains, seemingly having thought of it on the spot. Lee brings his hand to the back of his head and rubs it, he was skeptical of the idea. They were lucky they got out last time, however this time they would have the advantage of being able to walk through the many walkers unnoticed.

"It has potential Molly, but there's one uncertainty. If we start picking up cans of food or water bottle for instance they make noise" Lee started as he turned to the car and grabbed the water bottle from it again this time squeezing into it. The empty bottle got squished in Lee's hand causing it to make some noise.

"I have no idea how the walkers will react to it. They might be smart enough to figure out we aren't one of them, maybe they'll only be interested in the bottle I don't know. It's risky" Lee said as he put the bottle back into the car as Molly rubbed her chin. She shook her head.

"Risky, yeah, but we don't have a lot of options Lee. Besides one of us could always distract the walkers while the others gets the supplies" she pointed out as Lee let out a sigh. Arguing with Molly seemed pointless, this was a risk they would need to take, but the least they could do was make sure the walker's attention was elsewhere…

"Okay, you're right. Let's do this but let's do this right" Lee stated as Molly nodded in agreement as Lee pointed to one of the bell towers in the distance.

"We need to make sure there are as few walkers as possible nearby when we go to Crawford. Let's split up for now, you and Hilda make some noise before coming to meet me there. I'll take the car there so we can pack it full with whatever they have then you can lure them away again and we'll meet back here. Then we can discuss what we do after, okay?" Lee said to Molly whom nodded eagerly. Lee felt a bit uneasy at the eagerness Molly showed, things didn't exactly go smooth last time and Molly had history with the place too.

"The plan we made last time was much worse, this will go okay. I'll make sure on my way there I'll take down a geek so I can cover myself" she pointed out as Lee nodded, having slipped his mind to add the detail to his plan. Turning his attention back to the car, Lee got into the driver's seat and tossed the baseball bat in the passengers seat.

"Hey, Lee?"

"What is it?"

"Drive slowly…I'll be quick, but I think it's for the best to take some time" Molly pointed out as Lee nodded slowly unsure of the meaning before Lee closed the door and Molly shut the passenger door. She took Hilda from her backpack and waved towards Lee before running off into the alleyway Lee had came out of not to long ago. Lee put the keys into the ignition and started the engine before beginning to slowly starting to drive. Thanks to having spend a day on the roof tops of Savannah, Lee had a faint idea where to go as he slowly drove through the streets of the undead city.

Stopping the car for a small group of curios walkers, Lee began looking through the box in the backseat finding three protean bars in it along with some clothing. It looked like that was all that was left after the group had emptied it after the 'incident' at the ST. John's Dairy. Unwrapping one of them Lee took a bite out of it and began to chew, leaning his head back into the chair as he closed his eyes for a few seconds. This was the first time after he had woken up he actually took a second to catch his breath. His chewing began to slow as Lee's realization began to sit in. He was missing an arm, survived a bite, covered in the blood of the undead from head to toe, driving three miles per hour through a city filled with walkers on his way to take supplies from a fallen community. A shiver was send across his spine before he swallowed his bite. He looked out the window, seeing a walker faintly scratching the window before losing interest and continuing on to roam. Everyone he had come to care about was gone one way or another, only Molly remained. Clementine, Omid and Christa were far away and hopefully safe. Everyone else was dead or he didn't know their fates. Lilly, his parents, even his ex-wife…Lee had no idea what this world had done to them and thinking to much about it started to make Lee's heart race.

"Focus, damnit. Focus. Just get this Crawford thing done. Then go find Clementine, please find her" Lee said to himself, rubbing the palm of his hand against his forehead trying to regain his composure before he grabbed the protean bar and took another bite starting to slowly drive again.

As Lee turned a corner with the car, he found himself looking at a giant herd of walkers roaming through the street. He let out an annoyed murmur and rested his head against the head rest of the car. Even at full speed the car wouldn't be able to make it through, all he could hope for was that Molly ringing the bells would cause the walkers to move out of his way so he could continue to Crawford. Leaning forward a bit Lee noticed a walker amongst the herd that looked all to familiar. Clementine's mother. He remembered seeing her and her husband back before he passed out after leaving the Marsh House with Clem. Looking around the herd he tried to see if he could spot Clem's father anywhere but it seemed the two had been separated. It was a surprise those two were still together when Lee and Clem saw them to begin with. When Lee heard the last voicemail Clem's mom left her he was sure he heard walkers in the background and she did mention her husband having had a run in with another man in the voice mails before it. But those messages were before Lee had even found Clementine, they were left days before it seemed like. Lee turned his head to the baseball bat and thought about going out there and putting Clem's mom out of her misery, but he didn't know how big the chances were that he would get attacked by the walkers surrounding her. As Lee turned his head back to the herd he saw Clem's mom turn around and move into the heard as if she knew what Lee was thinking about.

"She's strong…She can live without you, your husband or me. But I promise that I will do anything I can to find her and make sure she's safe, just like I have since it begun. You have my word." Lee said softly, as he finished speaking Clementine's mom had disappeared into the ground as Lee's hand clenched around the steering wheel staring down the sea of death.

Bells began to ring in the distance as Lee looked out of the window seeing the bells in a bell tower far away swing from left to right. He reached for the key and quickly made sure the engine wasn't running as the walkers reacted to the noise and started to walk towards it. They made their way past Lee, just walking around him totally focused on the sounds the bells were making in the distance. Waiting patiently, Lee looked around to make sure all the walkers were out of sight and waiting several minutes even then before starting the engine again and continuing his drive towards Crawford.

After driving through several more blocks, Lee arrived at Crawford. Turning off the engine, Lee opened the car door and grabbed his baseball bat before getting out and closing the door behind him. Slowly walking around, Lee began looking to see if Molly had already made her way here. As he made his way around the outsides of Crawford, he spotted several walkers roaming the school grounds. It seems they hadn't been able to find a way out, so they couldn't reach the bells. Lee shrugged faintly, knowing the walkers inside would have been an issue regardless.

Having walked a full circle around Crawford, Lee returned back to the car before leaning against it. Raising his right arm he looked to his wrist before realizing his watch was still on his left arm…his severed left arm.

"Hope Zahra doesn't find out I left the watch she bought me on the floor, she'd throw a tantrum if I left it anywhere other then my nightstand" Lee said softly to himself letting out a faint chuckle. Thinking back to the arguments he had with his ex-wife, Lee felt a sense of guilt run over him. He wanted so badly for them to become a perfect family, two parents, children, maybe even pets. It never happened. The night before he found out about the affair he promised himself to fix everything that was wrong with their relationship. Instead…he sealed his fate by killing the man she was having an affair with. Then again, had he never committed murder he would have never run into Clementine. It seems some good came out of the murder after all. Lee shook his head and let out a sigh and looked around trying to see if there was any sign of Molly.

Hearing a sharp whistle from behind him Lee quickly turned around and raised the bat only to realize it was Molly making her way over to him. Lowering the bat again, Lee looked her over from head to toe. She had indeed stopped to gut a geek and cover herself in it's blood. She had been very thorough, every inch was covered by more blood then Lee could have thought possible.

"You know, it didn't have to be that much" Lee pointed out as Molly got closer who simply shrugged in response.

"Rather be safe then sorry. Either way, you ready? Daylight's burning" she nodded her head towards the sky before walking past Lee. Lee followed after her and raised a brow. Once again he felt that Molly was to eager to go back to Crawford, she didn't exactly have fond memories of the place and last time they nearly died. Quickening his pace Lee walked past her and stood in front of her.

"What is it?" she asked as she placed her hand on her hip.

"You seem overly eager to come back to this place. Is there anything specific you'll be looking for here?" Lee asked as Molly fixed her gaze into his.

"You really think I want to go in there for fun?" she retorted irritated, it was obvious Lee had struck a nerve. Lee's eyes narrowed as he remembered how Molly split up with him last time to find a picture of her younger sister.

"I never said that. But, last time you left me alone to go and find a picture of your sister. Which, mind you, I don't mind but if we do this together I'd be glad to know if you're planning to get any more personal things" Lee said as Molly's bitter look faded away and her eyes darted towards the ground, seemingly a bit ashamed. She didn't respond instead she walked past Lee, her head still hung.

"Lead the way, we'll get those things then look for supplies" he said before following after Molly whom simply nodded in response, still a bit reluctant to speak at the moment.

Making their way to the ladder they had used to escape Crawford last time, Molly held out her hand.

"Let me carry that bat for you, I don't think you'll be able to climb up without any hands" she said teasing Lee a bit with her tone, attempting to lighten the mood bit. With an eye roll Lee handed her the bat before the two of them started to climb, as they reached the top Molly's pace slowed. She made sure to make as little sound as possible as she got near the window they had gotten out of last time. There might still be walkers close by and she was scared as how to they would respond to her climbing a latter. As she reached the window she peaked inside and saw only one lonely walker roaming around. She climbed into the room and before giving the walker a chance to react she hit him as hard she could with the baseball bat killing the walker in a single blow. The body fell to the floor with a thud as Lee climbed into the room with a bit of trouble.

"Hope you don't mind me using it" she jokes before offering the now bloodied back to Lee. He shrugged and took it back.

"No more talking for now, follow me" Lee said softly, looking down to see a few walkers walking across the stairs that let towards Crawford. Molly nodded and took a deep breath as she slowly paced around as Lee made his way towards the staircase.

"Don't run, Don't talk. Just walk" he whispered towards Molly before he slowly made his way down the stairs with Molly right behind him. One step at a time the two made their way down. As the walkers got in Lee's way he tossed them over the side, making them tumble to their deaths at the bottom of the stair.

When they reached the ground floor, Lee walked to the door he opened last time. He knew that behind it would be dozens of walkers. Turning his head to Molly he gazed deep into her eyes, wanting to make sure she was ready. Molly nodded her head in response as Lee opened the door and stood behind it, waiting patiently. A curios walker walked through the door opening and started walking around the room, paying no attention to the guts covered Lee and Molly. The pair made their way into the hallway filled to the brim with walkers as Lee pointed towards the right corridor. Lee nodded slowly in response as the two slowly walked past the walkers, making sure neither of them bumped into any of them. Lee tilted his head slightly, looking at Molly to make sure she was still doing well. Lee noticed Molly looking around, left, right, up and even down. She was anxious and who could blame her? She was surrounded by enough walkers to take down an elephant let alone a young woman. She was out of her element and it showed tremendously.

Turning his head forward again Lee and Molly got to a fork in the road. A corridor to the left or keep going straight. Molly walked up beside him and tapped her chest before pointing forwards, afterwards she pointed to Lee and the left corridor. Lee shook his head, not wanting to split up. He pointed towards her, then to himself before making a fist around his baseball to signify for them to stay together. Molly flipped him off in response before starting to walk ahead. Grumbling under his breath Lee started to make his way down the left corridor.

The walkers were far less here then the other parts of Crawford so Lee began to pick up the pace. Every room he walked past, he peaked inside but most were in utter chaos and seemed like they had already been picked clean before Crawford fell. Walking to the end of the corridor he got to a room that was closed and as Lee tried to open the door he found it to be locked. Putting the baseball bat besides the door Lee looked into the room through the glass in the door, from what he could see it was empty but he couldn't be sure. Turning his head back to the large group of walkers at the end of the corridor, breaking in the glass wouldn't be a good idea. They'd swarm his position and end up getting in the way.

"Just pick the lock, pal" Lee heard a voice say. Quickly grabbing the baseball Lee turned around with a swing only to find the hallway to be empty. Shaking his head Lee was sure that he had heard a voice just now. One that was oddly familiar…Having no time to think about it for deeply Lee looked around the hallway seeing if there was anything he could use to get the door open any other way then shattering the glass, to no avail. Taking a deep breath, Lee raised his bat and slammed it through the glass of the window shattering it in one strike. The sound attracted the walkers whom were already making their way towards him. Putting the bat aside, Lee reached inside and unlocked the door before opening it and going inside. Taking the bat with him Lee closed the door after he got inside.

"Holy shit…" Lee muttered to himself as he looked around the room. It seemed some people of Crawford had gathered here to hold up when the place fell, but ended up killing each other. Half a dozen bodies littered the ground, each of them having a bullet hole in their head. One of the bodies was against the wall, the top of his blown out and the gun fallen into his lap. He was the last survivor and ended up taking his own life. Walking to the body, Lee knelt down and picked up the gun in it's lap. Picking it up, Lee examined the revolver. It still had three bullets in it. Lee tucked it into the back of his pants, where he always kept it. Upon further examining the room Lee saw torn up bags and tons of different foods scattered across the floor. Canned food, bags of chips, candy, soup to name a few. Even a few rotten apples where laying on the floor. Lee smirked a little to himself, realizing he had the jackpot before turning around as the walkers had reached the door and their hands came through the opening Lee had made with his bat. Taking a quick breath Lee grabbed a duffel bag from the floor and slowly zipped it open filling it to the brim with as much as he could. The faint noises of the cans and even the guns he was picking up made sure the walkers remained interested in the room.

After about five minutes of looking over every inch of the room, Lee had filled up a duffel bag with food and a shotgun and a backpack with two pistols and all the ammo he could find. The bags were insanely heavy and he could barely lift the duffel bag from the floor with his one arm.

"Shit" Lee hissed under his breath as he slowly put the bag back down. He shook his head annoyed, if he still had two hands he could have carried it much more easily. He needed to get used to his missing arm as soon as possible, otherwise he'll make a mistake that might cost him his life. Turning his attention to the window, Lee carefully opened it up and looked outside looking for any alternative escape routes. He could definitely toss the duffel bag out of the window without any of the contents getting damaged, since he was on the first floor, then make his way to the car and wait for Molly so the two of them could get the duffel bag and get the hell out of Savannah. At least that was Lee's plan, he wasn't entirely convinced Molly would go with him. Thoughts for later, not now. Lee put the backpack on his back before lifting the duffel bag out of the window, before climbing out himself. He looked towards the bag lying in a bush and nodded his head before starting to walk back towards the car.

After a short walk Lee arrived at the entrance of Crawford he and the others went through the last time they were there. He looked to the entrance and sighed before turning his attention towards the fences surrounding the place. The fences cut him off from the car causing them to find another way out.

"Maybe I can cut a hole in the fence, would safe time" Lee whispered to himself as he started to look around the school grounds, walking past the fences to see if there were any holes. No luck. Lee took of the backpack and rested it against the fence as he started to look around to see if he could find anything sharp to cut through the fence. After looking around for several minutes Lee found nothing, walking back to the backpack he started looking at the walkers roaming around him. There were maybe six or seven of them, one of them might carry a knife or something. He could handle them if need be. Just as Lee arrived at his backpack he heard the slamming of a car door and the sound of an engine roaring through the sky. Not even grabbing the backpack Lee ran over to the part of the fence he could see the car from. As he arrived he someone sitting in the drivers seat before the car started to drive away.

"Wait! Wai-shit!" Lee yelled out as he tried to keep up pace with the car, running alongside the fence keeping up with it as long he could. Calling out to the car Lee waved around his hand trying to get the drivers attention to no avail. Then, Lee's hard sank as he stopped in his tracks after he got a glimpse of the driver of the car. He couldn't believe his eyes and pure shock and awe took over his body because Lee was sure of what he just saw. As the walkers started to walk towards Lee, his outburst having revealed his true nature to them, Lee simply stood looking out in front of him before slowly and softly whispering: "Kenny…"