"Are you okay?" Lee asked, as him and Mika shared a quick hug.
"Yeah.. It was a close one."
"Too close. Fucker came out of nowhere," said Dalvin, scoping out the area.
"What did yall find? Me and Kenny found a small box of pistol rounds," Bonnie said as she put them in the groups duffel bag.
"Just some bottled water. They look sealed so they should be fine," Kate gave one to Clem, who seemed thirsty.
"I don't know, but these walkers are getting like mummified or something. They've been here a while," said Lakela, as she put the duffel bag around her, and the group continued their path down the Railroad.
Lakela and Kenny led the way, as Lee and Brendon were at the back.
"I wanna thank you."
"For what?"
"For saving her."
He chuckled.
"It was for all of us. I know I might be jumping ahead, but we have higher chances of living if we keep each other alive, that's the mission." he replied.
"How far are we now? My legs are Startin' to give in." Asked Kenny. The group took a small break under some shade.
"I don't know. The trail goes cold here. I'm guessing maybe 15 or 20 miles?" said Bonnie. She was following the route, but to no avail.
They could hear leaves cracking behind them in the woods, which put everyone on guard. A large deer popped its head, then went back into the woods, not far from them.
"I got it." Dalvin reached into the duffel bag and pulled out a large box.
"What're you doing?" Asked Clem, curious to see more of the deer.
Dalvin pulled out several items and put them together, making a Archer bow.
"That deer can keep us alive long enough. I'm gonna try to take it." he put the bow on his back and went into the woods.
"Can I go?" Asked Clem.
"Just stay aware. We'll be right here." Lee granted her permission as she went in right behind Dalvin.
"Try to step where I do, it'll minimize the noise,"
"Were you like a hunter?"
"I know how to, but I never got that chance properly." He found the buck in a opening, feeding on some leaves. Clem stepped out beside him, facing the animal. It felt odd seeing a animal out in the wild, especially this type.
He pulled out a arrow, and slowly aimed at the buck. Several seconds of silence passed, as they could hear more noise, coming from the other side. He was about to release the arrow, when a bullet pierced the buck, hitting Clem in the shoulder.
Dalvin stood there, shocked as a man came out from the other side, wearing hunting gear, and with a rifle in hand. Dalvin threw the bow to the ground and aimed at him with his rifle.
"Don't you dare move, fucker!"
The rest of the group came running in, guns in hand. Lee threw himself at the ground where Clem was lying, blood pouring out of her shoulder.
"Clementine?! Stay with me, please... I'm here." He exclaimed.
"It..It hurts..." She could feel a hot, sharp pain on her shoulder and could feel the blood coming out. She was feeling tired, and sleepy.
"I... We... We can help her!" exclaimed the man, ignoring the barrel of the rifle that was aimed at his head.
"How the hell do you plan on doing that?! Shooting someone else?!" exclaimed Rosie, who was by Lee's side.
"I live on a farm, we have a doctor, he can help the girl!"
"Stop stalling and let's get going then!" Mika reached for the group bag and pulled out some cloths to help with the bleeding. Lee carried Clem, following the man's path.
"We're gonna get you help, stay with us!" exclaimed Lee, as his shirt was beginning to get stained with blood.
She could hear them, but as if they were far away, and her vision was getting blurry. She tried to stay awake, but she couldn't fight whatever it was. They exited the woods and ended up on large fields. They could see a house in the distance.
"Is that one?! Is it?!" Kenny yelled at the man, who was falling to the ground, being constantly pushed and pulled.
"Y.. Yes.." he panted. "Get to the house, and ask for Carter... He'll help the girl,"
"Go Lee, we'll catch up!" said Bonnie as Lee began to run towards the house. He could feel Clementine's steady heartbeat. The house slowly became larger in the distance. He jumped over a fence and approached the house.
He was about to step on the porch when several people came out pointing weapons at him. He looked behind him and saw his group aim back at them.
"Who's Carter?! I need him, please!"
A large man came out from the house and slipped between the people.
"Bring her in." Lee rushed inside following him into what appeared to be a bedroom. He pulled off the the bed sheets as Lee layed her on the bed.
"Adriana, I need the kit now!" one of the women in the room rushed off and came back with surgical items.
"I need you to step out...?"
"It's Lee."
"We need the room to work. Step out please," He tried to protest but was eventually pushed out back onto the porch.
"How is she..?" Asked Kenny.
"They're.. They're working on her.. They didn't let me stay there." Lakela poured some water onto a cloth and wiped his face, which had blood stains.
"It'll be okay. We just have to be patient.."
"I was gonna kill him, right on the spot. My gut told me not to." said Dalvin, wiping his forehead from the sweat.
"Who knows what would have happened if you did. She's in care now, that's what matters." said Bonnie.
"This place is pretty far from the road. No wonder they lasted this long. You wouldn't tell that the world went to hell from here." Mika observed the area around them. It was pretty open, with a barn. A typical farm.
After some time, a woman came out of the house, which drew everyone's attention.
"Lee? Cmon." They rushed back into the room where Clem was.
"How is she?"
"I stabilized her. Stopped the bleeding. But she's in a fragile state right now, she'll need several days of rest, the way she is.
"How many?"
Carter put down one of his tools and faced him.
"5, or 6 at most. I removed the bullet, but she's in a weak state. Her body isn't used to suffering that kind of damage, and she's healing really slow at this rate."
"Thank you."
Lee stepped back onto the porch with the others.
"All that matters is getting her back on her feet, then we move out," said Kenny. He wasn't feeling comfortable on the farm.
"He said it'll take more than a week. We should get comfortable around here." replied Lakela. She visited a farm when she was in junior high, but this one seemed far more superior.
"There's about a hour left of sunlight. We should look for a place to sleep." Calais unloaded his pack and began to walk back and forth on the porch.
Another woman came out of the house, with short brown hair and bright green eyes, with a box full of food.
"Carter, my dad, sent this for yall. Make it worth it." Brendon reached for it.
"Name's Claire , yours?" The group introduced themselves, not wanting to be on their bad side.
"He said you can set up a camp down there by the tree, it'll give you some shade in the morning." she said.
"Why not in the barn? We can all fit in there." suggest Mika. The barn was pretty big, they could all fit without a problem.
"Dad doesn't want any of yall in or around the barn. It'll be fine, I'll bring out some blankets and stuff," she went back into the house.
"What's wrong with the barn? They hiding something, most like," said Kenny.
"We're guests here. They're patching up Clementine. We should at least try to follow the rules," replied Lee. He didn't want to fail Carter or his family in any way.
Claire came back out with equipment so they could set up a campsite down where she told them to. The rest of the group went down to camp, except for Calais, who stayed behind with Lee on the porch.
"I know the plan was to look for the sanctuary or whatever it is but what if we can stay here?" he suggested.
"Carter hasn't mentioned anything about our stay. Maybe we can talk to him about it when clem's back on her feet." Lee thought it was a good idea. It was pretty far from the cities and main roads, they'd be safe here.
Bonnie approached him with a couple of apples in hand.
"When was the last time you ate Lee?"
He shrugged.
"I don't know. I've made it this far, haven't I?"
"Take these, you'll need it. Claire said she'd show us around their farm tomorrow. You should get some rest," she gave him the fruit and headed back to the camp, where they had a small fire going on.
Lee had a hard time getting some sleep that night. If he hadn't let Clem into the woods, she'd still be on her feet, and she wouldn't be hurt. But then again, this was the first time he'd had a comfortable place to sleep in since Ridgedale. Maybe it happened for a reason.
Brendon stepped into his tent the next morning.
"Cmon, let's have a look around." Lee rubbed his eyes. The bright, early sunlight was leaking in through the material of the tent. He put on his shoes and stepped outside.
Carter approached him. Being a older man, he had greying hair, and cane, but he rarely supported himself on it.
"Claire was just showing your people where you can get water. We all get it from our wells. They haven't been contaminated, so they're fine."
Lee acknowledged that but he was more worried about something else.
"How is she? Is she okay?"
"Yes, yes. She's still unconscious, but she's stable, more then yesterday. She's a strong girl, she'll pull through."
The pair walked around the area, Carter wanting to know more about the strangers that were on his land.
"I have to know Lee, where were you people going? My farmhand, John, said you were camping on the Railroad?"
"I don't see a five star hotel around, do you? Where else would we be?" Kenny seemed annoyed by him, for some reason.
"We were going to a sanctuary. We saw signs with directions, about 20 miles back."
Claire stepped in, listening to their conversation.
"I've heard of it. I know where it is."
"Great, so you can take us whenever you can?" Asked Ken.
Carter and Claire looked at each other.
"It got overrun. About 2 weeks ago, we saw the smoke and we could hear gunfire. John went to go look, but they were gone.."
Kenny threw the rock he had in his hand towards the ground.
"Why can't we catch a fucking break!" he stormed off towards the field, frustrated.
"We've been through alot. He lost his family in a flash, it's been hard."
"How long have you been out there? With the girl?" Asked Carter.
"Since it started. We found a community about 3 months in, we were there until it got overrun. We've been on the run every since."
"And the girl? Seeing all that violence is going to affect her in the longterm."
"It's affecting all of us. You don't know what it's like out there. This farm is paradise compared to the cities. We need a chance."
"A chance for what?"
"We've got weapons, we're all good shots. We can help keep the farm safe and maintain it in shape. We can contribute."
Carter looked off into the distance, thinking about his proposal.
"Look Lee, we don't know who you people are. I have my family on this farm. If any of you pose a danger to any of us, I expect all of you off my property. Understood?"
"So is that a yes?"
"I'll consider it. But I won't guarantee anything." He walked back into the house, Claire following him in. Lee went into the room where Clementine was resting. Her hat was on the dresser next to the bed. It had some cuts on it, but was still useable.
"We might have a chance here. I don't even know if you can hear me." he chuckled. "We might be able to stay here. You can finally have a home, to grow the way you deserve." he said, cupping his face in his hands, and taking a deep breath.
Amanda stepped in the bedroom wanting to check her out.
"How is she?" she took a seat next to her.
"Out of danger. She just needs to rest, for a few days."
"After she gets better, we hitting the road or what?"
"About that..." Lee told her about the sanctuary, that it had been destroyed a few weeks earlier.
"So is that it?" she said distraught, shaking her head in dismay. "Are we just gonna wander until we die?"
Lee told her about the deal he offered Carter, which he hoped he'd take up on.
He walked back outside and joined Dalvin in taking a look at the field ahead.
"Amanda told us about the deal you offered the old man. Let's just hope he'll accept. It's all we got."
Mike and Kate joined them on the edge of the farm.
"This place... It seems like it's been untouched by the world. I mean these people are still here." she said
"We gotta make sure it's safe. We'll check out the perimeter later today." Lee felt like while the farm was safe, the perimeter was open to anything or anyone to walk right in.
Back inside the house, Clementine was starting to come around. Her shoulder still felt sore, so she tried to limit her movement.
"Relax... You're safe. Your group is outside. I'll go get Lee," Claire reassured her, and went back out to go get him.
While Clem waited, she saw another girl, standing by the doorframe, looking at her. She was probably around the same age as her. She had dark brown hair, blue eyes.
Lee came into the room.
"We're safe here. We're on a farm, it's okay.. Don't worry."
She was aware of that, but she wanted to know who is the girl.
"Oh! I forgot to mention her. Her name is Cassandra, my younger sister. We call her Cass, for short. You didn't see her earlier because she keeps to herself most of the time," said Claire.
"It's fine. I feel better, my shoulder stings a bit that's all."
"I am considering your offer, Lee. Your people have offered to help around the farm, which is good. I need you to do something for me. For all of us," Carter told him.
"What ever you need, we'll get it done."
"I need you to head into town. There's a pharmacy there that has antibiotics for Clementine. I'll write them down for you."
"I'll go. I'll take someone else. You can stay, in case something goes down," Dalvin offered himself as he prepared his pack. He asked Bonnie to go with him, which she accepted.
"We'll be back." They walked out of the house and back into the woods, on their way to town.
Clem got on her feet and reached for her hat. The last time she took it off was a while ago, so her head felt a bit odd as she put it back on.
"That's a cool hat. Where did you get it?" Cass was at the doorway once again, but this time she got closer.
"My.. My dad gave it to me. A while ago."
"I know. It hurts when you know they're gone. I saw my mom turn into one of them, in like 3 minutes. It was scary."
"Yeah. But you have to get over it. The people I'm with right now, they keep me safe. I try to help in whatever way I can."
"You're all safe here. The farm hasn't had any Walkers since it started, when people were getting away. That was a while ago."
Clem and Cass were getting along up to that moment. She hadn't had another kid her age since Ridgedale, and they were dead. She tried not get used to kids, since they didn't see the world the way she did, but Cass was different. She was different from them, but similar to her.
"I never expected you to want to help Lee." Bonnie told Dalvin, as they ventured through the deserted town, watching every corner.
"You didn't want to or what are you aiming at?"
"We weren't exactly friends in the start. I was with another group, that was Hunting them down. Shit happened, my group got in a jam, I offered to help them escape. I've been with them since then."
Dalvin began to shuffle around the pharmacy looking for the antibiotics.
"You're a traitor then. What're you planning, to kill Lee and get away? Is that your plan?" he accused.
She waved her arms in defense.
"I'm not trying to do anything! If I would have wanted to, I would have by now, God knows I've had the opportunity to do so." she replied.
"He's done enough for my people. He's trying to keep us on that farm, which will keep us all alive. I'm trying to help, I'm a resourceful person."
"Why don't you all walk away? The plan was to get to that sanctuary, but it's gone."
Dalvin threw his pack aside and pulled out a pistol and aimed at her head.
"Watch your next words, or I'll put a bullet through your head. I don't what you're planning, but it ain't happening." he gripped the pistol and loaded a bullet into its chamber.
"Whoa... J.. Just calm down.. We got what we needed, now let's head back..." she said nervously.
"Yeah.. Let's. Go in front of me." he tossed her the bag with the items as she took the lead in the trip back to the farm. He didn't trust Bonnie from the start, and now with her behavior he knew something wasn't right. He was going to get to the bottom of it before it was too late.