Lee looked out the window towards the city. He couldn't help but imagine the old ways, the old life they all had. Being back in the city was a choice, and they decided to take it.

Coach walked up next to him.

"Don't you think they've taken too long? Somethings up."

"Give them a bit more time. If they both aren't back, I'll go out and look for them myself."

Cristy saw that Lee regretted his decision of coming after Lanius. They'd gotten Brendon killed, and they were caught in a conflict that didn't have anything to do with them.

" I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't realize they were in it with the zealots."

"You led us to them, which is what we wanted. I talked about it with the others, but I'm going to tell you now."

"What is it?"

"This place is dead. Atlanta, Macon, everywhere. As soon as this mess gets sorted out, we're moving out of Atlanta. There's nothing for us here. Maybe there's something out there, somewhere safe for Clem, and all of us."

"We could try going back towards Carolina. We had a good run up there, whatever it lasted." added Bonnie. She hadn't said much in the last few days. Losing Kenny really affected her, but she was starting to get over.

"Wherever, but well get to it. Once Claire and Mika get back."

"I expect my daughter back here, alive. She went out there, risking her life." said Carter. Despite being mostly friendly toward Lee, the risk of losing one of his daughters put him on edge.

"She'll be back. Don't rush it-"

"Rush it? She's out there and the city is full of walkers!"

"She's not the only one out there. I hate to break it to you but Mikaela is out there too. If you're with us, we all gotta care and look out for each other. Understood?" said Dalvin, in a deep voice. They had enough issues going around for one of their own to start another one.

" Did something happen to them?" Asked Clem.

"I don't know. We're in a tight spot, but we'll figure it out."

Lanius came into the room, unarmed. He clearly wanted to be on their good side, but his real intentions were unknown.

"Looks like recon is running late. Might have to send a scout out there to check out the scene."

"What for? Just so that you'll lose more people? Seems smart enough." scowled Zoe.

"We aren't losing anyone. We've lost enough to the zealots, and we won't stand to lose more."

"Mark those words.." Emile mumbled under his breath.

The unknown soldiers were escorting Mika and Claire through the back alleys of Atlanta, walking for quite some time. They seemed friendly enough, to not take their weapons from them after learning that they were friendly. They entered a manhole, followed by a tunnel towards a large fallout bunker. It seemed like a base, with more than 2 stories of floor, with several dozen people inside.

"So, quick question. What're you doing in Atlanta?"

"To avenge our friends. I guess we could ask the same thing to you." said Claire.

"This might seem like a shocker to both of you, but we aren't the enemy."

"They have plans to take you down. We saw you attack the Crawler," added Mika.

"Part of a miscommunication," said the man, who was leading them towards a back room.

"Something else you might wanna keep in mind, Lanius isn't the enemy either."

"That's bullshit. He has it all out for you."

The man sighed. And looked at one of his partners, who was working on a laptop. There was a large generator in the back room, powering the bunker.

"Evelyn, care to tell them what's going on?"

"Lanius, may seem as the leader of The Wanderers, in anyone's eyes. But the truth is, he's just a pawn of something bigger. And he's being used for their own personal benefit." she said. Her blue eyes reflected off the sun coming through the vent on the ceiling.

"That doesn't make sense. Why would he want to have you killed then?"

"We've yet to find them, but he's being told orders that are completely false. They tell him that we kill and destroy communities. Which is false, we keep to ourselves. We attacked the Crawler because we thought we could figure out the truth, but walkers attacked as well."

"Why did you join them? You're only gonna get killed, and for no reason."

"We didn't join. We have our own group, but we just happened to be in town."

"Good. You're safe then. We need to figure out who's giving orders to Lanius, before it gets us all killed."

"The building they're in is heavily fortified by his people. That's why we need to convince him that he's being played with. I know Lanius, he's a very smart man, if given the right tools. That's why any evidence you can find will be helpful," Evelyn said.

"Wait, why us?"

"We can't risk blowing our cover and giving them this location, or we'll all die. They don't know we found you. As long as it stays a secret, we can stay in communication to keep us updated on whatever you find."

Mika and Claire shared a quick glance. This might be bigger then just two groups trying to kill each other, things just seem to keep going downhill all the time.

"If we were to look, what should we even look for?"

"Anything that provides evidence that Lanius and his people are being used. A letter, voice recording on whatever you can find, notes, anything is useful. But be careful, Lanius is still the enemy unless proven otherwise."

"Don't you think it's been too long? We shouldn't have let them out in the first place." Kate reached for their weapons that they have placed on the table.

"Yeah. We're going out, see where they are." Mike opted to go look for them. He knew they were in a tight spot right now.

"Can I go?" Clem asked.

"You want to go, out there? It's full of walkers, it's dangerous." replied Lee.

"But they're out there, somewhere. Mikaela saved me several times, maybe I can do the same."

"Keep an eye on her please. Get her and the others back here safely." Lee told Mike and Kate, as they went out the building. Lanius was letting them come and go as they please, since they had sent the recon team out a few hours ago.

"I like the role you're taking, Lee." Lanius approached him.

"What?"

"You're willing to risk your own life and the others to look for every one else? Shit, that's a real ballsy move."

"They're all I have. That's the closest we can get to family these days."

"Once we deal with the zealots, we'll all be on our way. No harm done."

Lee watched Mike, Kate and Clem running down the street and disappearing around the corner. He trusted them enough. All they could do is wait.

Back on the streets, Mika and Claire walked back towards the wanderer camp. The information they were given by Evelyn and the group was enough to try to look for something proving Lanius is being toyed with.

"How are we gonna figure this out? I don't think we should mess with them, we should just grab our stuff and leave," said Claire.

"We're neck deep now, like it or not. We can still stop whatever is going on," she replied, as the pair took out some walkers on the way back.

Clementine dragged her feet along the concrete. It was raining, not alot, but enough for her to see puddles in the ground, allowing her to see her reflection. What she wouldn't give to relive the years when the world was normal, before it ended. Now they're just memories, that hurt.

"Over there!" Kate pointed towards them, as they reunited with them.

"Is everything okay? Is my sister okay?" Asked Claire.

"Everyone's fine. We told Lee that It had been a while since you all left, we wanted to make sure you were... Um.. Still alive."

"What happened to the recon team? Did you..?"

"We didn't kill them. We got to the checkpoint, we waited a while and we found some Zealots. For some reason they only shot them. Not us." Mikaela told them. As they walked back, they explained the whole plan to them, wanting to see what their opinion was.

"As long as it keeps everyone from killing each other, let's do it. I'm sure the others will support whatever you got worked up."

Once they got back, they managed to get the group alone from the others and explained the plan.

"I don't see another way out without alot of people dying, either by others, or by walkers. We'll figure it out." said Amanda. Ever since Brendon died it looked as if a dark cloud was always hanging over her, but with the support from the others, she hoped to recover from it.

Some hours passed as Lee gained access to what appeared to be Lanius' office, with the help of Cristy. It consisted of one bunk, several pieces of clothing on the floor, and a rifle leaning against the wall.

"I think I got it." She pointed towards the small drawer that was next to the bed, which contained a radio. They quickly turned it on to the frequency, and began to hear chatter on the other side.

"I don't think they know we're on it."

"Once Lanius disposes of the others, he'll no longer be of us to us. Once the deed is done, make sure he doesn't live to tell the tale." said the other voice via the radio. While the voice didn't sound familiar, it had the tone of authority.

Cristy clicked off the recorder as evidence, as they headed back to where the group was holding up, a couple of rooms to the east of the building.

Lake and Mike rushed over towards Lee and Cristy.

"shit just hit the fan, Lanius just launched a attack on the other group, they're on their way now."

"Fuck. We gotta go, before it's too late." said Lee as they all grabbed their gear.

"You know there's a chance this might not work?" Asked Bonnie, who wasn't too keen on going back out to war.

"Worth a shot." They all ran out the building, killing some walkers that were on the sidewalk.

They went around the corner of a building and could see the remains of one of Lanius' men, being devoured by a walker. They put him out of his misery as they followed the noise and gunfire.

"Find Lanius, before he gets us killed." Emile and Dalvin nodded as they went different ways, going in between the wanderers, and some walkers.

"Hey, stop!" Lee yelled out.

Lanius turned around, as he stabbed a man in the head, tossing his body to the ground.

"You're a little late for the party Lee. We found them, and we end them here, now."

"It's a misunderstanding. Whoever you're getting orders from, they're using you."

He gave him full attention.

"What're you talking about?"

Cristy pulled out the recorder and played the file. It played on a loop several times. It took Lanius by surprise, as what appeared to be he was processing the information somehow.

"How did you know?" Asked Lanius. They killed the remaining walkers that were attacking, giving them a few minutes to talk.

Evelyn came out of the base, armed.

"We've had Intel on whoever it is for a while, but we needed confirmation that it was true. And it is."

"Who is that man?" asked Emile.

"His name is... Charon. The wanderers... I gave them that name after we were sent out here. But he's in control of the whole thing, alongside a few other heads of command.." he replied. His voice was cracking, he couldn't believe he was being toyed with the whole time.

"So what're they called?"

"The Union. They're heavily armed, they use walkers to pray on their enemies. If i remember correctly, they should be held up at Robin's air force base."

"This isn't our fight Lee. And you know that. Whatever problems these people have, it doesn't involve us." Coach said.

"He's right. Let them kill each or do whatever, but we have our own goals. Our own life," added Zoey.

He sighed.

"I can't lie. They're right. We came in at the wrong time, but this is a war between you two, not us, not me."

"There's a vehicle in the back of the building. It has a few gas tanks, should get you out of state, as long as nothing is blocking the way." said Evelyn, who agreed with the idea that it wasn't their war.

"Grenade!" Bonnie yelled out as she saw a frag grenade fly towards them. They all jumped in any direction, trying to avoid the blast.

Clementine could feel her ears ring heavily, her vision was heavily disoriented, but through the blurriness, she could see several walkers approaching them.

Lee could feel the heat of the bullets being fired, his vision was blurred too, but he knew what was at stake, and tried getting up quickly, not being aware of his surroundings.

"Get up, pal."

"What?" He looked around and saw Kenny, standing a few yards away.

"No... I saw you die.."

"Did you?" he started chuckling, brief moments passed and Lee came to his senses. Kenny turned out to be a walker, and that he'd been hallucinating.

"Fuck!" Bonnie tackled the walker to the ground and killed it.

"We have to get outta here, now!"

"Where's Clem?!"

"I.. I don't know!" she replied in frustration. Several bodies were already on the ground, being devoured by walkers, but neither of them belonged to the group. They made their way around the buildings, while the walkers were focused on the others.

"Let... Me go!" Clementine tried fighting against whoever was pulling her away, but she was too weak to even make a effort.

"Shh!!" Zoe crouched in front of her to assure her she was okay. Beside her was Mika and Dalvin, but no sight of the others.

"We have to go, there's too many of them for us to handle!" he grunted, as he shot the walkers that noticed them.

The trio hesitated, while Clementine didn't want to leave, knowing Lee was still somewhere in the mess.

"Keep going, don't stop!" Mike ordered the rest of the group, as they ran in the opposite direction that the walkers were coming from. Whoever threw the grenade had to be dead, since the humans weren't firing at them, only at the walkers.

"What about the truck that lady mentioned? If we can get to it, we might have a shot.." said Kate, as they took cover inside a ruined building.

"It's on the other side of the building, we'd have to cross the field, which is a death trap," said Cristy, who didn't know what was going on, but she knew they were lead into a trap.

"This is not what we're supposed to do, we have to get away, that's it!" said Carter, who suddenly was being negative towards everything.

"Hey, um.. Dad? Now's not the time, we need to find the others!" replied Claire, keeping Cass close to them.

Back at the building, Dalvin, Zoey, Mika and Clem forced open the back garage, revealing a heavy duty truck, with weapons in the back.

"Go on!" they all climbed in as Dalvin started the truck, noticing it had a full tank, and a few gas tanks in the back.

Zoe handed Mika a rifle that was in the backseat, which was fully loaded.

"If you're gonna put that to good use, aim it at the windshield and get ready to fire." Dalvin said as he pushed down on the accelerator, backing out of the garage just before walkers started to crowd them.

The gunfire had attracted dozens of them, crowding the truck, but at the high velocity it was going, they all flew in different directions.

Cristy observed the truck, several yards away as it plowed through the walkers. She needed a way to get their attention, or at least give them a chance at getting to it.

"You.. Um.. Coach? Throw this far, it should give them a chance to get the dead off." She handed him a molotov, hoping that he could throw it far enough to attract walkers towards it.

"It's worth a shot." he prepped it and threw it, about 30 yards away, causing a explosion, lighting several walkers and attracting more of them.

The group was dispersed throughout the whole courtyard. There was no sight of Lanius and his people, nor Evelyn and the others, and whoever threw the grenade was nowhere to be seen, dead or alive.

They found Emile, who was perched a top a old cargo car, taking cover. Apparently he'd thought they were under attack, so he took up position.

Bonnie and Lee made their way out of the courtyard, but knew what was left behind. She observed them with the truck with binoculars, hoping maybe they'd notice them.

"Over there, next to the alley!" Dalvin noticed some of the group members taking cover, so he did his best to get the truck close, while walkers got closer.

"Jump!" He jumped onto the back of the truck, and received them one by one. Once Carter was about to make the jump, a walker caught him by the leg.

"Shit!"

"Don't.. Let go! He exclaimed, as much strength Dalvin had, it was no match for the walkers, who kept pulling towards them. Mike and Claire used whatever they could to pull him up, causing one of the walkers to rip off part of his jeans, but he got to the truck, as Mika punched the accelerator, driving out of the courtyard.

Emile threw a rock at the truck, hoping to draw their attention as the heavy engine of the vehicle attracted them. They ran as fast as they could and jumped onto the truck, fleeing the area.

"Get us out of the city," said Mike, as they all struggled to catch their breath for a few seconds.

They drove until the reached the outskirts of the city and they pulled over on the side of the road. They hoped they could at least be safe for a few minutes while they planned what to do next.

"What the hell happened back there?!" exclaimed Mike.

"What else, someone tried to kill us, they threw a grenade. Luckily it didn't but we almost did trying to get out," added Carter, as he examined his leg. Thankfully, he didn't notice any bites or scratch marks.

"You heard what it was all about. These guys are at war, and won't stop until either of them is dead. It was a ambush, what else."

Lee sighed and wiped his face with his shirt. He exhaled, feeling grateful that he was still alive, especially that Clementine was still alive.

" We find a place to stay, for the night. We'll plan out what to do next."

"You said getting out of Atlanta was the goal. I'm guessing that's what we're sticking to?" Asked Kate.

"Last time we left, things didn't go so well." said Mika, in a sad tone. While they did find shelter at Ridgedale, she experienced the loss of her friend Derrick, who at the time was loyal to the group.

"And we learned from that. We won't make the same mistake again, I promise." he replied.

"This road... It leads out of Atlanta. There should be some houses along the way. We can clear one out, should make things easier." said Dalvin, as he reloaded his rifle, putting in its holster.

"I don't like this.." Clem told Lee.

"Me neither. I know it's dangerous, but having a safe place to sleep is what we need now."

The group drove down the road a few more miles until they could see a house, about 60 yards away. They brought it whatever stuff wasn't left behind, and entered the house.

"Seems empty. I'll check upstairs." Bonnie said, as she headed up the old stairs, making creaking noises as she stepped on it.

After some minutes, they established that the house was clear. The sun was going down, and they needed the rest. They set up some makeshift beds in one of the rooms. Kate and Amanda set up a nest near the window, to watch for any intruders.

"We'll head out tomorrow. Atlanta isn't safe, we're on borrowed time." said Lee, as he gave Clementine a old blanket he had found.

"First light seems ideal. Catch a good one." said Zoey.

"I'm just worried about those militia bastards, if they find us here.." said Coach, who couldn't get Lanius and the others out of his head.

"Relax. They're mostly likely someone's food right now. We're in the clear, for now." said Emile, as he wiped his traditional blade with a old rag, leaving dry blood on it.