Outside Gil's Pitstop: Though the surrounding forest is buzzing with the dead, three broken groups reunite under the night sky.
Lee couldn't believe his eyes, watching tearfully as Clementine burst through the diner doors. She ran into his arms with impeccable speed, leaping at the man as the two squeezed each other for the first time in a long time.
"You're alive!" Clementine cried, burying her head in the man's chest. Lee stroked her hair, removing her hat. Around them, the rest of the group huddled in with blurry eyes. The man stayed silent as he cradled his little girl. Even if he did speak, his voice would be drowned out by his quiet sobbing.
Lilly and Doug stepped forwards from the small crowd. Their eyes were wide open as if they had seen a ghost.
"Not to ruin the moment," Shel started, dropping a faint smile she had worn at the sight of the hugging pair. "We have to get ready to move. The two of them saw Nate. Apparently, he killed one of their friends."
Eddie looked down, his eyes scanning the pavement for something to focus on.
"We were only a few miles out when we found them, so he must be close." Carley added, looking at Lilly. "I think we need to go ahead and move on."
"Right, and we can find Becca on the way."
"Where, Shel?" Omid asked, sporting a guilty expression that his wife mimicked. Lilly however, looked at the younger woman with a narrowed glance.
"I don't think now is the time to be wandering around the woods." She said dryly.
"That isn't up for discussion." Shel returned, obliviously raising her voice.
"We're not leaving her, Shel." Omid stepped in, holding his hands up to ease the tension. "But Lilly is right. If that guy is as close as they say he could be right outside the station."
"And?" Shel continued to argue, throwing her hands up in defense. She took a step back, taking in the view of the group all nodding in agreement. "She's my sister. She's the only reason we've been waiting here for days. I'm not letting her stay out here any longer with that fucker."
Omid took another step forward but was intervened by Stephanie. The long-haired woman walked calmly to her defensive friend and without hesitating wrapped her in a gentle hug. Her voice was calm, but stern in Shel's ear.
"We won't leave Becca. You know that." Her words soothed the frantic woman's pulse. "But we have to get somewhere safe first, or we won't be alive to rescue her."
Admitting defeat, Shel's abrasive attitude deflated and Stephanie let go.
"We've been out here long enough, all of us." Christa addressed the group, catching Lee looking up from his embrace. Two shared an introductory smile before the woman continued. "If we're going to be sticking together for a while then I say we head further up the road for as long as we can."
"Let's put some miles between us and this guy. If he follows us then we'll deal with him as a group instead of getting picked off one by one." Omid chimed in, attempting to rally the uneasy group in the middle of the night. Nobody was truly sold on the deal, but a hesitative nod from Carley reassured him.
"When should we leave?" Doug asked. At that point, Lee stood up and set Clementine back on her feet. The little girl still clung to Lee's leg, her eyes shut like she was afraid to wake from a dream. He looked at Lilly and smiled, causing the ghostly woman to give what seemed to be her first genuine smile in weeks.
"Now. There's nothing left for us anyways." Stephanie responded immediately, clutching Shel's hand loosely. The two women stood apart from the group, illuminated in the moonlight. Lilly nodded her head in agreement, and so it was settled.
Christa turned and walked back to the gas station entrance, leading the remainder of her group inside as the old motel group stood in happy silence.
"Lee." Doug said with a dopey smile, pulling the taller man into a tight hug. Lee chuckled, grabbing Doug by the shoulders.
"Thank god you all made it out okay. If anything would've happened…"
"That doesn't matter." Carley spoke up from behind the two men, catching their attention. "We all made it out, and we're all together."
Lee nodded, looking back at a smiling Clementine and kneeling down again. When the two matched eye levels, Lee playfully pushed her hat down over her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, sweet pea." He said in a suddenly somber tone. Clem shook her head, wanting to hug Lee again.
"You found us, and I'm okay. Don't be sorry."
Lee nodded and pulled his girl into another tight hug. With the smiling child in his arms, Lee suddenly looked up at Carley.
"Where's Ben? I was with him before everything fell, and I didn't see him when I woke up."
Everyone remained silent, so Lee looked back to Clementine and closed his eyes. Lilly shifted uncomfortably behind him.
"I can't believe we lost everything." She hissed with a tinge of pain in her voice. "And for what? There wasn't anything left to take. It was just violence."
Looking up from his loneliness behind the reunited group, Eddie caught Lee's conflicted side-glance. The man's heart dropped further into the pit of his stomach. Lee opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, then addressed Eddie.
"Everyone, this is Eddie." He said slowly, motioning his free hand towards the sulking loner. The group nodded in response, with Doug showing the man a bright smile. Lee cleared his throat.
"I wouldn't have made it out without him. He's good people."
Lees' words assured Eddie, and the stone lifted his head up to face the group.
"Hi, Eddie. It's good to have you with us." Doug chirped. Eddie returned the smile, though he was at a loss of words. Lee sensed this and changed topics, turning his attention to Lilly.
"Are the others good people?" He asked, knowing Lilly was the harshest critic when it came to character. Though she hesitated, the woman answered with a confident shrug. Lee nodded and looked to Clementine. The small child had yet to stop smiling.
"So, looks like we're heading out. You ready sweet pea?" He asked almost playfully. Clementine matched his energy, nodding with content. Standing up, Lee held Clementine's hand softly.
"Lee." Carley said, facing the former professor as he turned around. She reached out for a side hug that was met with warmth. Once the two released one another and their smiles faded, Carley looked cautiously down at Clementine. "Keep her close. From what we've heard, that guy out there is one sick freak."
Lee nodded, furrowing his brow. He knew there was little that could get in-between Clem and himself, but the past proved that anything could happen. Behind them, Lilly stepped out past Doug and cleared her throat. The sound caught the attention of the man, and he moved his attention from one brunette to the other.
"I know you just got back from being out on the road, and I'm sure everyone is ruling in favor of staying with these people- "
"Not this shit again, Lilly." Doug exhaled, putting his head in his free hand. Lilly shrugged off the man's complaints, staring Lee dead in the eyes with a sure intent.
"They've been here for the past week waiting for a little girl to find her way back before leaving. That man they ran into, apparently, he took her and has been looking for them too. There's no telling when he's going to show up."
"We can't just leave them, Lilly." Doug voiced, losing his normal chipper attitude. Though his tone was far from malicious, their leader understood his seriousness and turned around.
"Why not? There's nothing we can offer them that we don't need ourselves. They barely have food here for the four of them."
Doug shook his head. "Either way we're back on the road with nothing. Who knows when we'll see more genuinely good people?"
"We don't need more people. We need walls and a steady supply of food. More people means more mouths to feed and more food to be found."
"Hey, wait a second." Eddie piped up, looking to Lilly. His intrusion cut the tension between Lilly and Doug in half. "I don't you people much, but I'm with the scary chick on this one. You all should've seen that guy. He's fucking nuts."
Lee nodded as he locked eyes with Lilly. "He gunned down a man we were with without saying a word."
"Yeah, and he took one of my people too."
Lilly shook her head apologetically and turned back to Doug. "What if that happens to one of us?"
Doug failed to come up with an answer, prompting Lilly to continue her rant.
"We can't risk it. We put ourselves first, and we don't take risks."
"I'm not just going to abandon these people." Carley suddenly added, moving into Lilly's view by standing at Doug's side. This only infuriated Lilly, who turned away from the duo to face Lee.
"There has to be a way to help them, Lilly." Lee reasoned, giving Lilly a calming wince.
"No, Lee. There isn't." She lost the anger in her voice. "I won't risk our lives to chase a cold trail."
"God, that's so selfish of you." Carley scoffed, her tone riddled with disgust. Lilly's head practically spun around in place.
"I'm sorry that you feel the need to put us all in danger to play hero, Carley." Each syllable rolled off her tongue like sharp ice.
"Fuck you."
The air was sucked from the group's lungs, leaving only the lingering weight of nervousness. Even Lilly was speechless, staring at the angered reporter with a pointed glare.
"Alright, guys." Doug started slowly, dropping his defensive stance. "Let's all just-"
"Fine." Lilly spat, straightening her posture. Doug's mouth shut, watching as the frail woman turned to face Lee. The two conversed through their expressions, leaving Lee to shake his head cautiously.
"Come on, Lilly." He said quietly, though his words were pointless. After shooting Carley a spiteful glare, the woman broke out of the circle of her group and walked off towards the road. At first, nobody called out to stop her. They only watched in silence as the woman stomped off down the road. Finally, when the flicker of her silhouette passed into the thick forest, Clementine called out into the night.
"Lilly!"
Though the former motel group could no longer see their fallen leader, Clem knew Lilly stopped and looked back.
Hey everyone, sorry for the late chapter! I just started my next semester of college so the next few chapters may be short. Anyways, I'm excited to be nearing the end of this phase of the story, and I hope you all are safe and enjoying this chapter! 3