Chapter 7: A Decision
Disclaimers: I do not own The Walking Dead or The Loud House or anything related to either of them, all are owned by their respective owners and companies.
"Goodnight Lincoln." Clementine said as she got comfy in her sleeping bag.
All she got in response was a grunt. Making her smile. Soon she went to sleep.
Lincoln on the other hand was still awake. Thinking about all that's happened and what he was going to do. He found his family and found out that Lily was alive! She made it! The only one who didn't throw him out and wanted nothing to do with him.
Sure, he wondered about the others. Like his parents, Lori, Lisa and… Lynn. But that shipped sailed a long time ago. All he cared about is getting out of here. And taking Lily with him.
He was too tired to think about anything else. So, he gently went to sleep. Yet he wouldn't dream. All he would do is remember.
Outside
It was late, very late. The moon was out and shined bright as it could be. It looked almost peaceful. But when you stopped and listened hard enough. You could hear the moans of the dead.
The walkers.
Luna Loud, the third oldest sister of the Loud family. Was standing outside on the cabin's big porch. She had a lot on her mind. A lot on her heart too. She liked to come outside to think. It gave her a sense of normalcy.
Today was a nightmare.
When she woke up this morning she wasn't expecting to reunite with her long-lost brother. Not at all, she thought he died a long time ago. But he didn't. No, he's been alive and alone through this whole nightmare. Hating her and their family for what they did to him.
It was surreal for her and sisters to see Luke come running carrying Lincoln in his arms. At first, they thought it was a mistake or something. A boy who just resembled him. But it wasn't, their brother was alive and he hated their guts. So much that he pulled a gun on her. Her baby brother almost killed her. Yet even then she wasn't afraid. Not one bit when she saw that gun pointing at her. At that moment, all she could feel was shame.
She was ashamed she left her brother, ashamed she gave into some stupid fucking superstition. Because of that she lost her brother… and her Pop-Pop. Hearing Lincoln's words hurt. But it's not like she didn't deserve it. After all she and their family did to him.
But finding out that Pop-Pop was gone. It was too much.
She was glad Lucy and the others weren't there to hear it or there to see Lincoln pointing that gun at her. Still she, Leni, and Luan would have to explain everything to them.
Luna looked up at the moon with a depressed expression. She didn't say a word as she reached down her pocket and pulled out two things. A pack of smokes and a lighter.
She opened the pack and sighed. She only had one cigarette left. With a grumble she put the cancer stick in her mouth then lit it up with her lighter. She took a deep breath then eventually exhaled.
Smoke blew out into the cold night air.
"Guess you wouldn't have another one of those?"
Luna turned around and saw Pete coming out of the cabin. A small friendly smile on his face.
"Sorry, just used the last one."
"You look troubled" Pete asked as he walked up next to her. "Wanna talk about it?"
Luna chuckled as she shook her head.
"Guess you haven't heard yet have you?"
Pete sighed deeply as leaned up against the porch's railing.
"You mean about you and your family leaving that boy to die? No, I heard."
Luna grew silent after that.
Pete looked over in the night sky. When his nephew Nick was younger, he took him out hunting anytime he could. It wasn't always a good hunting trip. Yet it was fun. Just him and Nick. Enjoying each other's company.
"What do you think?"
A sigh escaped from Pete. He shook his head lightly.
"I don't know Luna. What you and your family did was wrong. Leaving someone all alone, especially family. It ain't right." Pete explained as turned to Luna. "Look, right now we have other things to worry about. About Carver, Rebecca's baby and trying to find a safe place. What we going to do about your brother?"
All Pete got was silence. Though the look on Luna's face spoke volumes. The poor girl was conflicted.
"I… I don't know Pete. I—we made a terrible mistake, I know that." Luna muttered taking a look up at the night sky with solemn eyes. "I want to make up for it, but I think all Lincoln wants is to see us dead. Not that we don't deserve it. I was terrible sister, a shitty person. I think I still am."
She wanted to Lincoln to come with them. But Luna knew that wasn't going to probably happen. First thing he would do is leave at first light. With that girl and dog.
"He changed Pete. My brother, I don't know if that's him anymore. I want him to come with us. Get somewhere safe for everybody. Though I doubt he'll go for that." Luna went on taking another drag from her cigarette. "What can I do Pete? I… I still love him. My sisters and I still love him."
Pete stood there looking up at the night sky. Letting Luna's words sink in. Finally, he spoke.
"I don't know Luna. All I know is if that was Nick, I would do anything to protect him. Even if he hated me for it." Pete explained turning back towards Luna. "Whatever you decide I know you'll do what is best. Whether for the group or your family, that's up to you."
Giving Luna a small pat on the shoulder, Pete left. Heading back inside the cabin. Leaving Luna alone. Taking one more drag from her cigarette. She dropped it on the ground and smashed it under her shoe.
It was a lot to take in. Regardless of what she should do, Luna knew tomorrow wasn't going to be an easy day. She just hoped it wasn't too bad.
Inside Upstairs
"Why can't we see him!"
"Because you can't!"
"Why! He's our brother! Your brother! We thought he was dead!"
Upstairs in the cabin a tense scene was taking place. Between members of the Loud family, if you can still call it one. Right now, Leni and Luan were arguing with their younger sisters. Lucy, Lana and Lola. Lily, the youngest barely 3 years old kept quiet on the bed. She had water proof jacket a lavender shirt and brown trousers purple running shoes and short blonde hair.
Lucy was tall, long past the height she was years ago. She wore a long-sleeved black leather jacket, underneath that was a black dress with a striped black and white. She also wore a pair of black jeans and black sneakers along with a holster on the side which held a strange ritual dagger. Her hair was shorter, she no longer had any bangs to cover her eyes.
Both Lana and Lola had changed too.
Lana had on a dirty and stained white shirt with regular blue overalls. She wore brown work boots with a small tool belt which held a hammer, screwdriver and wrench. Her hair had gotten a little longer and her pigtails were gone. She still had her hat which was dirty and beat up.
Lola wore a rough denim jacket with a pink dirty jacket underneath. She had a pair of cut up jeans and red pink shoes, with some rough up pageant gloves. Her hair had gotten longer and was tied up in a braided pony tail. On her side was a holster which geld a small hunting knife.
They were the only ones in the room, earlier Sarah. Carlos's daughter and friend to the youngest of the Loud sisters. Had left with her dad downstairs to give the Loud sisters privacy. Which was all her dad's idea. Thankfully he was right to do so.
"We want to see Linky now!" Lola demanded harshly, Lola and Lucy quickly agreed with their sister. "He's our brother! We know we made a mistake but we want to apologize for it. Please!"
"I know you guys want to see him, I do too but it's not safe." Luan desperately tried to explain. "Lincoln he's… not the same."
"What do you mean not the same?" Lucy asked wondering what she meant by that. "Did it have something to do with all that yelling we heard downstairs?"
Both Luan stayed silent while Leni visibly flinched a little. This only worried the girls further, finally Luan sighed and decided to tell them everything.
"Look, what I'm going to tell you isn't going to easy to hear so brace yourselves…"
All the girls started to listen to Luan as she told them everything. From what Lincoln did after waking up and what he said, what he almost did. They couldn't believe it.
"Bullshit! You're just trying to keep us from seeing him!" Lana yelled her arms shaking in anger. "Lincoln would never do that! That's not him!"
"It's the truth guys…"
Everyone looked to see Leni as she walked and sat down next to Lily. Who was getting a bit scared by the yelling, so she pressed her head against Leni's arm and letting out a small whine?
"I was there with everyone; Lincoln had a gun pointed at all of us. He looked totally shocked at first when he saw us, then he got so angry. Angrier than I've ever seen him. The things he said… and how he had that gun against Luna's face. He was going to pull the trigger, if not for that little girl he probably would have. Lincoln isn't the same and it's our fault. We hurt him so bad… why?"
Leni started to cry as she looked at her sisters. Luan frowned with a regretful look while Lana and Lola tried to process everything. Lucy kept silent along with Lily, Lucy clenched her hands into fists. Lily just sat there until she scooted closer to Leni and gave her a hug. Something Leni gladly accepted while still crying.
The door to the room started to open causing everyone to look and see who it was. It was Luna who looked ragged, today has been hard. For each of them. Unfortunately, the night wasn't even over yet.
"Guys… I need to tell you something."
All the girls just wanted this stressful day to be over.
The Next Day
First thing Lincoln felt when waking up was how sore he felt. He got up to look around the room to make sure everything was okay. It was just him and Clementine, he wasn't in handcuffs so pretty good so far. He could see everything more clearly since it was now morning. Though it was still kind of dark out as far Lincoln could tell. Probably around 4 or 5 in the morning.
It would be useless to try and go back to sleep, he could never do it without help from his pills. Even then it was difficult, with nothing better to do Lincoln decided it would be best to get things ready for when they go. He also wanted to look for Lily but she was probably asleep with her sisters.
Part of Lincoln wanted to wake Clementine up, pack up everything and quietly snatch Lily away and get Sam. Then run away as fast as they could.
Thankfully Lincoln was not that stupid.
Originally, he was okay with leaving along with Clementine and Sam, that all changed when he heard Lily's name. While he didn't give a shit about the others, he wanted to see Lily. As far as he was concerned, she was his only family left. He had no idea what he was going to do but he wasn't leaving here without her. No way he was just going to leave Clementine and the mutt too.
What to do?
Sighing, Lincoln knew it was best to get pack just in case. While getting off the bed and carefully making sure not to wake Clementine up. Since his pack and stuff weren't here, they were most likely downstairs. Walking over to the door Lincoln was about to leave but stopped to take a look back at Clementine.
Oddly it made him feel good to see her sleeping peacefully. Clementine, she deserved to sleep like that every night. Not be wandering the woods or god knows where with someone like him. She was a kind, tough, smart and brave girl. She deserved better.
Unlike him.
No matter what happens, Lincoln was going to make sure she finds a safe place. Maybe do the same for Lily?
Shaking his head to snap himself out of his daydreaming. Lincoln walked out of the room closing the door softy so not to wake Clementine up. Still a bit uneasy, Lincoln took a look around and saw no one. As he went on his way Lincoln found himself walking down the stairs of the cabin. Reaching downstairs, he saw that he wasn't the only one awake. He saw Pete keeping watch by a window armed with a hunting rifle. While Nick was on the couch asleep and Luke was on the floor in a sleeping bag asleep.
"Early bird too I see."
Lincoln looked over to see Pete had noticed him.
"Usually I'm the only one up around this time. Carlos and Luke do as well sometimes but things have been pretty lax here lately." Pete said letting out a yawn. "You need something son?"
Normally Lincoln would have just kept silent and do what he needed to do without saying a word. Or tell Pete to fuck off especially since he didn't like Pete calling him son but he was willing to let it slide.
"Just wanna check on my stuff."
"Ah, we put your stuff in the closet with your weapons." Pete explained pointing to the nearest closet. "We took some stuff from your pack just like you said. Don't worry we only took some ammo."
Took a lot of effort for Lincoln not to roll his eyes and let out a snort. He only nodded and walked over to the closet, opening the door he saw his pack and weapons. Not wanting to give these guys more of a reason not to trust him, Lincoln left his weapons and only got his pack. Walking over to an empty chair Lincoln sat down and groaned a little as he felt his arm throb in pain. Taking a better look at his arm he noticed it was stitched up. Guess he would have to thank that Carlos guy later.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just my arm." Lincoln answered Pete as he opened his pack and rummage through it. Some of his handgun and rifle ammo were gone just like Pete said but Lincoln didn't really care. "Well, I can always scavenge for more supplies down the road."
Lincoln sighed as he eased into his chair. Pete looked over at him with an odd look, one that was both critical and worried. Not being an idiot Lincoln noticed it but ignored it until Lincoln finally gave Pete a glare.
"What the fuck are you looking at old man?"
Now Lincoln expected Pete to call him off for saying that or be shocked but it was Lincoln who was shocked as he saw Pete chuckled softy while shaking his head slightly.
"You sure got an attitude on you son, reminds me of myself when I was your age. Tell me, what do plan to do exactly?"
Letting out another sigh Lincoln kept his glare on Pete.
"Okay first off, I'm not your son, second of all it's none of your damn business. Besides, from the looks of your group I can tell you guys got no idea what to do next. No way you guys are going to stay here considering how undefended it is. A herd could tear this cabin to shreds and bandits would make short work of this place. Given the state of the cabin and how light on supplies you guys are, it's safe to say you are one of those groups who travel place to place a lot. Just scraping by to survive… hoping to live through another day. Just like me, the girl and the mutt. Honestly, I don't have a damn clue what comes next, all I know is that my friends and I are still going to be alive and that's all that matters."
Saying all he wanted to say, Lincoln looked over at Pete to see if he had anything else to add. For a good minute Lincoln and Pete just stared at each other. Until Pete smiled sadly.
"Damn, nothing gets past you son. Yep, our group here is just barely scraping by but we're managing it somehow. It's been hard, especially traveling with this many kids and a pregnant woman. If I'm being completely honest, we could use some help. We don't really have a plan on where we're going but if it's safe and far away from here then that's fine enough for us. Plenty of trouble between here and there I'd reckon, we could use more able bodies to help us get there. I know you have problems with some of the folks in our group, if I were you I would definitely hold a grudge. Still though, I think it would be best for all of us if we traveled together. At least until we reach where we're going, once we get there you and your friends can leave if you want. Hell, we'll give you all our supplies if that's what you want."
For some odd reason, Lincoln couldn't help but think about Pete's words. They made sense even though Lincoln hated to admit it. He didn't want to stick around here, he wanted to get Lily, Clementine, the mutt and get the hell out of here. But he knew that was a dumb idea as he thought about it. He was still injured and they barely made it out of trouble last time. It made sense to join a group, for now at least. Until he could think of a better plan of getting out of here with Lily and his friends, he also needed time to heal up. However, Lincoln didn't like the idea of staying in a group that consisted of half of his estranged family. Deep down he still felt the urge to make them pay but he couldn't do anything.
Not yet anyways.
'It'll probably be best to go along with things, this group can keep us in one piece until I can think of a safe and easy way for us to slip away with Lily. We'll play along for now… but this doesn't mean I trust any of them. Especially not them, they'll all get what's coming to them. For now, we need them.'
After thinking about it some more, Lincoln finally came to a decision.
"Look, if we do this I wanna put some ground rules first. If that's okay?"
Pete's face lit up as he nodded.
"I don't want any of them to try and talk to me, I won't start anymore drama unless they push it. My weapons and gear from here on out are off limits. The only ones who get to use them are myself and Clementine, if you need ammo or anything then ask me. If I don't like how things are going then myself and my friends can leave. Wherever the heck you guys are going doesn't matter to me. Once we get there, I'll take your gear and we'll never see each other again. You promise me all that, I'll help you every step of the way. Can you do that?"
Lincoln waited to see Pete's expression, he could tell the old man was giving it some thought. Pete didn't know how to answer, after his talk with Luna last night he didn't want to get involved with that serious family drama. He knew quite well how family drama can get ugly. There's also the fact he couldn't really guarantee everything Lincoln wanted since he needed to talk to the others first. Pete knew that this wasn't going to be easy but he didn't want to leave two kids out here alone by themselves. No matter how capable or armed they were. Somehow, he needed to make this work or at least give himself some time to really think of a plan. That's when he had an idea.
"Tell you what, how about you and your friend come with me and my nephew to check out our fishing traps we've placed at the river? You can show the others you and your friend can contribute, it'll make it easier for me to tell them what you're asking. Besides, I'm sure you'll like to stretch your legs a little. It'll also give you a proper excuse to not see them right away, your sisters I mean."
A sudden urge to curse or smash something came over Lincoln but thankfully he suppressed it. There was nothing he hated more than hearing someone call those people his sisters. They weren't his family; his only family was already gone. He knew that his demands would cause a few problems with the group. Still, it didn't matter since it was probably up to Pete, Luke, and Carlos. No doubt Carlos won't like it but Pete and Luke will go for it. The only reason Pete was suggesting this is because he's worried and is stalling for time.
It didn't sound like a bad idea, it would give him a chance to get Clementine up to speed. It will also spare him from talking with his sisters. Although he really wanted to see Lily, this was probably for the best.
"When do we leave?"
"In about another hour or two, I'll wake up Nick while you get geared up and wake up your friend. We'll get some breakfast then head out. That okay with you?"
"Sure, I wanna get the hell out of here soon."
Pete smiled a little after hearing that. While he didn't like how Lincoln talked since it reminded of him when he was a youngster himself. This was a good idea, a simple little check on the traps will give himself some time to figure out how to sway the others.
What could go wrong?
An Hour Later
It felt strange to Lincoln as he walked down the dirt path with Clementine, Pete, and Nick. What felt strange was that he wasn't used to this feeling, not being alone. Well, it was mostly Lincoln, Clementine, and Pete since Nick lagged behind to take a piss. Pete told them it was okay for them to walk up ahead, saying Nick knew where the river was. Not really giving it much thought, Lincoln followed Pete's lead with Clementine close behind him.
Although they were only going to check some traps, it was best for them to be armed if they were to run into something. Lincoln had his crossbow and his quiver of crossbow bolts while he let Clementine use one of his handguns, the Glock 19 to be precise. He left his other weapons and gear behind since this was just a quick run. Pete was armed with a hunting rifle just like Nick, who hasn't caught up with them yet.
"Hey, should we wait for your nephew?" Lincoln asked as they kept walking. "You aren't the least bit worried about him? You know, walker infested forest and whatnot."
"Ah, he'll be fine. That boy isn't always the most reliable and he's stubborn like a mule but he can handle himself. He'll be fine, he's probably already cursing up a storm trying to catch up with us."
Both kids looked at each other before Lincoln shrugged, Clementine seemed a little worried about something. It didn't take long to notice she was looking at Pete's rifle before looking at her own handgun. Pete noticed this and smiled kindly.
"Anyone teach you two how to shoot?" Pete asked both kids. "By that I mean taught proper, any idiot with a finger can shoot."
"My friend Lee taught me." Clementine answered while keeping up the pace with both Lincoln and Pete. "What about you Lincoln?"
Lincoln frowned a little after hearing the question, he thought about what to say as they came up to a gape in a barbed wire fence. While they carefully made it through, Lincoln thought about what to say before letting out a sigh.
"My Pop-Pop taught me after everything went to shit. He was in the military and a little bit of a survivalist, he taught me a lot. He made sure I knew how to properly use a few weapons. First it was guns, then crossbows and knives. He even taught me how to hunt, track, and skin an animal. I wasn't the easiest of students to teach since I made plenty of mistakes but he was always patient. I really owe him a lot…"
Shortly after saying that, Lincoln smiled before frowning. Thinking about Pop-Pop always brought back feelings both good and bad. Clementine and Pete seemed to notice this as they kept walking. Pete was the first to speak.
"He sounds like a good man."
"Yeah… he was."
His frown never leaving his face, Lincoln decided to walk up ahead everyone else. Clementine wanted to follow him but Pete stopped her by raising his hand.
"Best leave him be for a minute, I know that look pretty well." Pete frowned while looking at Lincoln move ahead of them. "He'll be fine, the river is just up ahead. How about I tell you a little story while we walk?"
Clementine looked ahead at Lincoln with a worried look before turning to Pete and nodding. She was still worried about Lincoln, yesterday and last night really took a toll on him. However, it was probably best to give him some space. Lincoln gave her space when she was going through the same thing the other day. She knew Lincoln could handle himself but she was still worried about him. There was no helping that.
While walking up ahead, Lincoln thought about his past and Pop-Pop. He often hated thinking about this kind of stuff but it also brought him some peace of mind. Still, it hurt when he thought about him. Getting this done should take his mind off it. Lincoln thought about slowing down for the others to catch up until Nick unexpectedly showed up looking peeved about something.
They both walked in awkward silence until Nick's expression soften as he looked at Lincoln.
"Hey um, I just wanna say sorry for the other night." Nick explained with a remorseful look. "You know, for pulling a gun on you."
The silence got awkward as Lincoln didn't say anything. Nick seemed a bit put off by this but as he was about to speak, Lincoln beat him to it.
"Look, it's in the past so let's forget about it alright?"
Nick was so surprised that he stopped walking for a moment. This caused Lincoln stop but he didn't turn around to acknowledge Nick.
"This doesn't mean I accept your half ass apology; it just means I don't wanna cause anymore bullshit. If you want to be sorry then go right ahead. That doesn't mean we're buddies… leave me the fuck alone and I'll leave you alone. Now, let's get this done."
Lincoln left after that, leaving a shocked Nick behind. He didn't know whether to angry or shocked, Nick didn't expect a little kid to say something like to him. Letting out a scowl, Nick resumed walking while saying something under his breath.
"And I thought my uncle was an asshole."
The walk towards the river was pretty quiet so far for Lincoln. The young archer enjoyed the silence, it was better than talking with Nick that's for sure. Things were going pretty well until Lincoln spotted the river up ahead, and that wasn't the only thing he spotted.
"Oh shit…"
Upon arriving at the river, Lincoln was welcomed by the sight of a massacre. There were dead bodies scattered all around the riverside, on this side of the shore and the other side of the river. There were even a few on a little mass of land in the middle of the river. Taking a look around with his crossbow at the ready, Lincoln stopped when he noticed a particular dead body. From the looks of it, the body was a bald man with a leather jacket with a strange logo on the back. When Lincoln saw it, he immediately recognized it and was shocked. He quickly walked over to the body, once arriving at the body. Lincoln turned the body over to get a better look at it.
"Roman?"
The dead body was a ghost from Lincoln's past. It was Roman, the man in charge of the group from Gil's Pitstop. The group he and his Pop-Pop were a part of before things took a turn for the worst. It was also the group that took everything from him, they took away his Pop-Pop from him. Soon a surge of rage came over Lincoln as he started to kick Roman's dead body!
THUMP!
THUMP!
THUMP!
Ever since he was left alone, all Lincoln thought about was killing those who were responsible for ruining his life. What Roman and the others did was unforgivable. He wouldn't be crying over their deaths, the only regret he had was that he wished he could have killed them himself.
"Lincoln!"
Stopping his assault on Roman's body, Lincoln turned to see Clementine and the others staring at him in shock and mild horror. When he saw the look on Clementine's face, Lincoln quickly calmed down. He then took a look down at Roman's body. After doing so he spat on the dead man's mangled and bloody face.
"Did you know him?"
Lincoln could tell it was Pete who was asking him, he thought about lying to them but he decided to not do it. Last thing he wanted is to lie to Clementine. He had enough on his plate so he decided to come clean.
"Yeah… his name was Roman. He's the piece of shit in charge of the group that killed my grandpa."
Clementine and the others were caught off guard when they heard this. None more so than Clementine as she slowly walked over to Lincoln's side. She knew the look of anger and loss on his face pretty well. That kind of look is something she was sadly accustomed to seeing, she had that look every time when she remembered losing someone. She didn't know much of Lincoln's past other than what he's told her. But she knew Lincoln experienced what lost felt like, when she lost Lee and her friends. That was the same face she had.
"Are you going to be okay?"
Before Lincoln knew it, he felt Clementine softy hold onto his free hand. He looked up to see his friend giving him a very kind and warm expression. When saw the look in her eyes, almost all the rage he was feeling disappeared. It felt nice to feel her hold his hand, her hand wasn't that soft but it was pretty close. Although he still felt a bit of anger, Clementine had helped him. It was a warm feeling.
"I… I don't know." Lincoln hesitantly answered slowly pulling away from Clementine's hand. "But thank you for asking, I really appreciate it Clem."
Clementine smiled softy at her friend before she frowned when looking down Roman's dead body then at the rest of the dead bodies close by.
"What happened here?"
Lincoln and the others wondered the same thing. Pete approached a nearby body, he then poked it with the end of his rifle.
"Full of holes, this wasn't your average gang of thugs." Pete explained taking a look at the others with a troubled look. "You recognize anymore of these guys?"
Taking a quick look around the carnage, Lincoln shook his head.
"Nope, none of these guys are old enough and there's no women. Roman's group had women and old people, most of them were cancer survivors. The others from my old group are either dead or took off. I can't say I blame them since Roman was always an asshole. From the looks of these guys they're probably bandits or scavengers. My best guess is that they fucked around with the wrong group. Whoever did this are pretty damn good at killing, each of these shots are killing shots. This wasn't some usual gang or bandit bullshit."
Pete seemed to agree with Lincoln as he nodded.
"You're probably right, we should check the rest of them to get a better idea of who did this." Pete stated as he looked over to the rest of the bodies before turning back to the others. "Nick, check those guys over there. Lincoln and Clementine, you check the rest of them."
Nick was the first one to move but he seemed troubled by something, like he was going to say something. He kept quiet as he noticed Lincoln look at him suspiciously. Lincoln knew something was up but he decided to play it off like he didn't notice. He and Clementine split up to take a look around the rest of the bodies. As each of them were checking on the bodies, they all found out they were all killed by gunshots to the head or chest area. Lincoln approached one body with his crossbow raised, when he saw that they weren't killed by a headshot. He aimed and fired a bolt right into their head. Which got everyone's attention.
"What the hell you doing?"
Bending down over the body, Lincoln carefully pulled out his bolt from its head. He looked to see that it was Nick asking him while looking confused.
"Second rule I've made when dealing with dead bodies, always make sure they died from a headshot. If they didn't then always double tap them for good measure."
The others were surprised and a little confused when they heard Lincoln's reasoning. They all eventually went back to checking on the bodies, Lincoln smirked as he bent down to loot the dead body. He was disappointed to find nothing. As Lincoln got up, he noticed more bodies on the sandbar and on the other side of the river. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, Lincoln slowly made his way towards the small island through the water which wasn't deep.
"What the hell are you doing?"
This time Lincoln decided not to answer Nick since he was asking stupid questions. Pete was the first one to figure out what Lincoln was doing, the old man quickly followed after the boy.
"Ah shit, what the fuck are you both doing! We need to get out of here!"
"Gotta check the rest."
"What! Why!"
"Calm down and think about it, son!"
"Calm down? We gotta get out of here, now!"
Pete grunted with a frown as he turned around to look at Nick and Clementine.
"Jesus Christ, get a hold of yourself!"
Clementine appeared to look a little worried by what was happening. She didn't like being here, what if whoever did this came back?
"Nick's right, this doesn't look good."
"No, it don't. But one of these folks might still be alive, and they might just be inclined to tell us who did this. We gotta do this now."
Still not thinking this was a good idea, Clementine sighed as she jumped on top of a big rock in the river. She then hopped onto the sandbar with ease. Pete kept his eye on Nick, who didn't look happy or calm.
"Stay here, keep searching these."
"This is a dumb idea."
"Will you both please shut the fuck up!" Lincoln hollered softy as he was already on the other side of the river. "Because I don't want a bunch of geeks or whoever did this to come investigating. Nick just grow some balls and be on the lookout, Pete come over here and help me. Clem just stay there and keep checking. Do that and we'll be out of here in no time."
Lincoln wasn't in a pleasant mood as he kept checking on the bodies. He saw that dead body with no head injury, he quickly shot it in the head with another bolt. He could hear Pete slowly approaching him from behind.
"You don't talk very nice but you got the right idea, son."
Simply letting out a grunt and a nod, Lincoln walked over to the corpse and pulled out his bolt. He then resumed checking on the bodies with Pete. After checking another body, Lincoln looked over at the small island to check on Clementine, he was happy to see she was doing okay while she carefully approached a body with her gun raised. Lincoln turned back to checking bodies, after a few minutes of checking around. He quickly noticed a corpse move right by Pete. Upon looking more closely, Lincoln realized it was a walker!
"Look out!"
Without any hesitation, Lincoln fired his crossbow at the walker as it was about to lunge at Pete's leg! The bolt hit the walker right in the eye and it fell dead to the ground.
"Jesus! I didn't even notice the fucker!"
Lincoln quickly pulled out another bolt from his quiver, he had a feeling this wasn't over. To his displeasure he was right as familiar groans and moans could be heard getting closer. Like a scene from a horror movie, walkers began to slowly rise up or shamble out from the woods on both sides of the river!
"Fuck! I knew you assholes were too loud! Get ready!"
In that moment, Lincoln got into survivalist mode as he was quickly firing bolts at the incoming walkers. Pete and Nick were firing off shots while panicking. While firing his rifle, Pete cursed as he ran out of ammo!
"Son of bitch! Dammit, you get your asses over here, both of you!"
Nick looked to have plenty of ammo left as he kept shooting at the growing number of walkers!
"I'll cover you! We gotta get of here!"
"Get over here goddammit!"
During all the chaos, Clementine looked scared as she tried to figure out what to do. She needed to reach the others but who? Lincoln fired another bolt at a walker coming closer to Pete, as he pulled out bolt arrow from his quiver, he noticed the predicament Clementine was in. Lincoln quickly looked to Pete then at Nick, right now he could cover Pete but Nick was wide open. Even though Nick had plenty of ammo, Lincoln knew all it takes it was one walker getting the jump on you before you get swarmed. He thought about calling for Clementine to come to him and Pete but knew that was probably a bad idea since Pete was out of ammo and he was slowly losing arrows. Nick had more ammo and he was on the side of the stream where the cabin was at. Clementine's chance of getting out of here was better with Nick than with himself and Pete.
Lincoln hated it, he wanted nothing more than to run towards Clementine and get out of here. Forgetting both Pete and Nick but he couldn't do that. Much as he hated to admit it, he kind of liked Pete. The old guy reminded him of Pop-Pop and he wasn't an asshole. God knows there aren't a lot guys like that left. Besides, if Clementine's chances were better on Nick's side then that was okay for him.
"Clementine! Go with Nick! I'll be with Pete so go!"
Clementine looked conflicted even more, she wanted to help Lincoln and Pete but Nick also needed help. She didn't want to leave anyone behind, least of all Lincoln.
"Clem! Just go, I promise I'll find you again! Go now!"
Seeing the desperation and determination on Lincoln's face caused Clementine to finally move. She raised her gun and fired at some walkers while making her way towards Nick's side. Lincoln sighed in relief as he turned back to the walkers closing on him and Pete. He quickly killed a walker that was about to grab Pete.
"Pete we gotta fucking go! Nick and Clem will be fine! We're the ones in serious trouble, we need to leave now!"
Pete wanted to argue but he knew Lincoln was right, from the looks of it. Both Clementine and Nick could handle themselves.
"Fine, I trust you, son! Nick take Clementine and run! Me and Lincoln will catch up!"
"What! Are you fucking nuts! I ain't leaving you!" Nick exclaimed in panic while killing another walker getting closer. "I ain't losing anyone else!"
"Dammit, just go Nick!" Pete yelled as he rushed behind Lincoln, who was shooting walkers as they got closer. "We'll be okay so fucking go! NOW!"
From the look on Nick's face, he didn't want to leave but he saw that his uncle was being serious. He could see Lincoln was covering both Pete and himself from the walkers. Clementine finally reached Nick's side; she was killing any walker that got too close. Nick knew that they will get overrun any second now. Eventually Nick muttered a curse before looking at Clementine.
"We gotta go!"
Clementine was quick to nod but before they ran off into the woods, she looked over at the other side of the river at Lincoln. Just after he was killing a walker, he turned to give Clementine a small smile and nod. Clementine didn't want to leave him, the boy who saved her life and became her friend. But she needed to if they all wanted to get out of this alive. Although she was worried about Lincoln. She knew better than anyone that Lincoln could take care of himself, but she still worried about him. She hoped both him and Pete will be okay, Lincoln promised he would find her. Promises never really worked out for her, she remembered Lee. She really hoped Lincoln could keep his promise.
After seeing both Clementine and Nick escape, Lincoln nudged Pete and they both took off running downstream. Suddenly a walker came from behind a tree and lunged at them, thankfully Lincoln was able to shoot a bolt through its eye. When it fell down dead, Lincoln and Pete hopped over its body and kept running. While running Lincoln couldn't help but think of how unlucky he was lately.
'Pretty sure this is god or something else fucking with me!'
That's the last thing Lincoln thought before he and Pete took a turn to disappear into the woods.
To Be Continued
AN: Holy crap, it has been 2 freaking years since I last updated this story and it feels like the walking dead outside. Got a bullshit virus messing up our lives, and we got assholes worse than Carver making all the decisions. Anyways, I just wanna say sorry for leaving you guys hanging. I've just been busy with a lot of shit and I've been thinking. My sister, my dog, and my grandfather unfortunately passed away in these past 2 years. It's been hard… I think a lot of you can relate. I've also been busy at Job Corp trying to get my stuff done but Covid-19 changed that. With everything going on and a ton of time in my hands I thought it'd be best to go back to my other stories. Either try and finish them or rewrite them, looking back on it I can say that wouldn't be such a bad idea but I wanna hear your guys thoughts. Should I finish this or do a rewrite? Please leave a review and tell me what you think I should do. If you're wondering about my other older stories, I'm telling you right now I'm going to update them eventually and ask the same question. Hope you like the newest chapter, tell me what you all think in a review if you like. Sorry for any mistakes but I don't have a beta reader. Hopefully I'll see you all again real soon. In the meantime, stay safe. See ya!