Author's Note: Hey y'all, I'm back. I'm gonna focus on getting this story done so then I can start on Season 2 at a later date. I'll surely go slower on that one so I don't burn myself out. Also, if any of you wish to be a beta reader for my story, sequels, or other stuff, pm me.
Solidghost, Grimaldus - Scratch that, I could do military to take place of Season 3 because we all know that it was the worst of the games.
Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or TWD as they belong to Microsoft/343 Industries and Skybound.
"Quotes."
"Radio Messages."
Thoughts and/or reading
Outskirts of Savannah, Georgia
November 17, 0744 Hours, 2012
Cal was in the cabin with an observant Kenny and sleeping Clementine. The two adults had been talking about and nailing down the specifics of the plan. Find an operable boat, repair it if need be, get it out to the water, get the fuck out of dodge. Clementine had slept through the night, as did most of the others due to having to ride through the night.
Cal thought about the girl and how she had been through so much at her age. She had seen broken families in her line of work, sure, but having personal ties to a child really has opened her eyes to just how devastating it can be. Her mission was to keep Clementine safe, no matter the cost.
The outskirts of the city began coming into view, it's old, yet modernized antebellum architecture screaming its presence. Kenny looked to her, a big smile on his face and relief bouncing in his eyes. She gave him a nod, keeping in mind that he was still a grieving father trying to move forward the best he could.
"I can't fucking believe it…" He murmured.
"We're almost outta here. Just a little further and we can leave this hellish state. Hopefully things up north are better, or the military has taken control. I'd take either at this point, anywhere but here." Cal said softly as to not wake Clementine.
"If New York or hell, even D.C. are safe zones, I'd gladly walk into the mil -"
Static suddenly came over both Cal's and Clementines' radios grabbing both adult's attention. "Hel - oooooooo there Cleme - ine. You're par - ts are safe with me. I don't care what that bitch Cal wants, but you and -" The signal began cutting out. Cal adjusted the frequency to try and listen to the unknown man's communications, but the signal was just too weak for a small, handheld radio.
Kenny stared at her with wide eyes, his happy state replaced with one of concern. "Someone knows we're coming, and I doubt they like us from the sounds of that."
Cal dug her face into her hands and sighed, thinking of every possibility that came with this new figure. They all came to the same conclusion; he was their new enemy. "It doesn't matter who they are, from this point forward, they're considered hostile."
"Sounds like a plan. I just hope we find a working boat before we meet'em." Kenny suggested.
"So do I, for his sake." Cal said with an underlying threat.
Kenny put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, we're in this together, for her sake." He said, motioning to Clementine. "Now I don't like the fact that someone else knows who we are let alone that we're here. I don't want a repeat of... " Kenny started choking up at trying to finish his statement.
"I know Kenny. I promise you to high hell that even if it means my death, I will make sure she's safe." Cal assured the man.
"... Good, good. Now let's get this boat and leave this god forsaken place." Kenny said, a newfound determination slinking its way into his voice.
Savannah, Georgia
November 17, 0802 Hours, 2012
The train slowed down to a halt. The ten survivors onboard disembarked their steel beast, finally arriving in the city of saints & sinners. They stretched their legs and looked around at their surroundings, seeing the Savannah suburbs down the hill from the tracks.
"So where do we go now? There's no way we'll be able to find a boat in a city this big." Christa asked.
Cal looked at the sun to determine the cardinal directions. "We head east to the waterfront, it's our best bet at finding one."
Travis grunted from the pain in his injured leg, having to lean on Mark for support. "Cal," Mark spoke up. "I don't think Travis is going to get far in the state he's in. We should look for a place to settle down before anything."
Carley agreed. "I'm going to agree with Mark on this one. It's just not safe for him to be moving around."
Cal didn't even hesitate. "Alright, change of plans. We find a fortified structure before searching for a boat. I'm not going to put you guys in harm's way for this."
"Thank you, thank you." Travis said gratefully.
The group got on the move, heading down the hill that led to the old southern city. Reaching the bottom, they found themselves in a suburb and got to walking the empty streets. The eerie silence made Cal's instincts flare similar to if a sniper had her in its sights. She gripped her M4 tightly, looking around to find some hidden entity. The others took notice of this and asked her what was going on.
"My gut says we're being watched." Cal told them.
They all started looking around, searching high and low for anyone who could still be alive. Their search paid off when Omid spotted someone in the church tower and pointed them out. Cal raised her rifle at the figure, noting that they hadn't spotted them yet. That was because the large bell started going off before the figure ran for it.
Putting two and two together, Cal turned back to the group and pointed down the street. "Everyone, move your ass!"
They took off, hearing the sounds of groaning coming from behind them. That just made Cal grip her rifle even tighter, hating how exposed they were in an urban area. The first zombies made their debut in front of them, to which Cal answered in the form of two consecutive shots to the heads. Lee, Carley, and Kenny were doing similar actions, running and shooting any zombies that got too close.
The sound of two people falling over and one grunting loudly in pain made Cal turn back to see that Mark had been grabbed by his leg. She shot the zombie in the head, releasing him. He released but a single heavy breath before expressing his thanks to her. She simply nodded and picked up Travis, dropping her rifle and throwing him over her shoulders.
"I got him, go GO!" She ordered the ex - desk jockey.
Continuing down the road, a horde came around the corner, which Kenny and Carley shot a small window through. Most of them made it, but a shriek from Clementine alerted them that she was in imminent danger. Cal spun around so fast that it gave Travis whiplash. She saw that Clementine and Katjaa had been boxed into a corner and they were being swarmed by the undead.
Lee was quick on the draw, firing six rounds into the horde until it jammed from lack of maintenance, yet created a short opening for the pair. Clementine, frozen in fear, couldn't move. Katjaa kept looking between Kenny and Clementine, her mind running a thousand miles a minute. An expression of remorse caught her husband's eyes before she grabbed Clementine and practically threw her at Lee.
The group of zombies grabbed Katjaa's arm, pulling her down and started chewing her apart. Lee held Clementine close, not allowing her to witness the event. Kenny stood there frozen in shock, unable to comprehend what just happened to his wife. Cal simply grabbed him with a free hand and dragged him along, all the while he kept stuttering Katjaa's name.
Those ahead of her turned and ran down an alley. Following them, she found herself running to a gate that led into a yard. After she, and eventually Lee, arrived with those they were carrying, Christa slammed the gate shut. Everyone stood still as the sounds of the roaming horde rose and fell, intent on finding the survivors.
After a few minutes, the noise died down, to which everyone had a sigh of relief. Now in the "calm", they actually took a look at where they had ended up. Their surroundings were that of someone's elaborate and expensive backyard, complete with a fountain, doghouse, and boarded up house.
Cal let go of Kenny, the man instantly falling to the ground, weeping. Poor bastard. She thought solemnly. He's personally lost more than all of us. I wouldn't blame him if he just stopped for a while. Setting down Travis against the wall, saying that he thanked her would be an understatement.
"So what now? We can't go back out there." Carley asked no one in particular.
"We find a way inside. This building looks large, so it has to have some fortifications we can use to wait them out." Cal responded.
Mark tried opening the door. "It's locked. Cal, can you use your superhuman strength and rip it off?"
"No, we might need it as protection. Lee, do you still have your knife?" Cal asked.
"Uhhh yeah, but what could a knife do to a door?" He asked, holding it out.
Cal grabbed the bladed weapon. "This." She simply answered. She stuck the blade of the knife in between the door and doorframe, slicing down. Putting some weight onto the door and motioning the knife back and forth, the door eventually unlocked.
The group entered the house, those with guns had them drawn in the event anything was still alive inside; in which a quick investigation came up empty. Closing the door behind them, they unanimously collapsed onto whatever furniture was available.
"Good job getting off the streets. Too bad you lost one of your own." The voice from earlier crackled over the radios.
Cal quickly grabbed her radio. "Who the fuck are you?! If you're the one who caused Katjaa's death you're fucking dead!" The anger that left her voice was something new; like an unbridled rage akin to that of a Brute Chieftain.
"Now now, that ain't no way to talk to someone. I'm just congratulating you on a job well done considering the circumstances." The voice said calmly, toying with her.
The last remark sent Kenny into a spiral. The Floridian fell to the ground, unable to control his emotions and wept even worse than before.
"Listen here and listen well. Whoever you are, you better hope to whatever god you believe in that we do not cross paths." Cal threatened.
"Don't worry about that Cal, I'm not here for you." The voice taunted. "Speaking of which, you should really watch out for your friends. You never know when they might just -"
The radio cut out before they could finish. Cal set her radio down, got up, and smashed the living room table. Omid and Christa were stunned at the display of strength while the rest simply looked at her with sympathetic eyes.
They knew their de facto leader was calm, calculating, only showing negative emotions when danger reared its ugly head at the group. They had all been through hell in the last two days, and now with the added bonus of someone stalking them, they recognized there would be some pent up anger.
After having taken a few deep breaths to calm herself, Cal looked around the room at the others. "I'm sorry for losing my temper like that. We've already lost too many, I don't want this shit to happen again to any of you. I'm going to look for a boat so we can get the hell outta here. You guys stay put, especially after the hell we just went through."
"Bullshit we will. You're clearly capable, but what if this guy gets the jump on you. I'm coming with you. You should have someone watching your back." Christa asserted.
"I'm with Christa on this one. I'm coming too." Mark said.
"So am I." Lee said with crossed arms. "It's about time I return everything you've done for us."
Ca's gaze shifted between the three volunteers. "No. Christa and Mark can come, but Lee, I need you to watch over Clementine and Kenny with Omid and Carley. I can't have this place under - strengthened. And with the way Kenny is, he needs someone who knows him well."
Lee's eyes softened. "I understand."
"Good. Christa, Omid, let's move." Cal ordered the pair. Exiting the house, Clementine ran up to Cal.
"Please promise that you'll come back." She begged.
Cal smiled and knocked a finger on the brim of her hat. "I promise Clem. We're all getting outta here. No one else is dying today."
Being a satisfactory enough answer, Clementine went back inside. The trio slowly left the backyard, creeping their way to the street. The street had cleared with stragglers continuing to roam around, aimlessly searching for their next meal. Cal pulled out her knife and passed it to Mark.
"Melee only." She whispered. "Christa, you stay here. Mark, go left while I go right."
"Right." He stated simply.
Motioning a go signal with her hand, the two of them crept up behind some zombies. Mark raised his knife, slamming it into the head of the unsuspecting undead, killing it on the spot. Cal punched the one by her, caving its skull in with no effort. Repeating this process over and over, they soon cleared out the remaining undead from the street, clearing a path to head east.
"So, how did you and Clementine meet?" Christa asked Cal.
"It was the first day of the outbreak. I just saved Lee from being a large meal when I found her hiding in her tree house. Good thing I did too. Who knows what would've happened to her if I hadn't." Cal replied.
"With how shitty our luck has been lately, I'm glad it's you that found her." Mark complemented. "She's going to need someone strong if she wants to grow up properly, and you've got the best chance out of everyone on Earth."
"Hey, I'm tough but not invincible. Me dying should have let you know."
"Wait, hold on. What do you mean by you died?" Christa asked, confusion written on her face.
"Long story short, I'm not from this world. I'm a super soldier for humanity in the 26th century during a war of extinction against an alien coalition and on my last mission I died saving one of the teammates. I can fill you in on the full thing later." Cal briefly explained.
"You better because everything you just said doesn't make any sense." Christa remarked.
"It will." Cal said firmly.
Finally arriving at the waterfront after a few minutes, their hopes for an easy way out were dashed. They stood there, unwavering, looking at the destroyed docks and wrecked boats.
"God dammit. GOD FUCKING DA—-" Mark cried out in frustration and anger.
Cal quickly put her hand over his mouth to stop him from drawing attention to them.
Christa released a sigh. "Since that plans a bust, what's plan B?" She inquired.
"We should head back to the train. There were tracks that led to other rail lines that we passed by. With no boat, it's our only option." Cal answered.
"And what do we tell Kenny? The man's a wreck. I doubt he'd be able to even move after we tell him about this." Christa remarked.
They began making their way back to the house being the bearer of bad news. Not even making down the block, another bell rang in the distance.
"Oh yeah, and we have to contend with that asshole." Christa said with frustration.
"Keep your guard up, single file. If they head this way, shoot to wound. I want to have a talk." Cal ordered.
The walk back was silent. Cal was in the lead, keeping her rifle up and sweeping it left to right whenever they turned onto a different street. A couple streets away from the house, Cal heard the light shuffling of items. Raising a fist, Mark and Christa stopped dead in their tracks as Cal peeked around the corner of the building they were against. She saw someone in a red hoodie with their back facing her. Turning back to Mark and Christa, she placed a finger over her lips before swiping down.
The two of them crouched behind their cover as Cal began creeping towards the individual. Once she got within 20 yards of the individual, she firmly ordered, "Drop what's in your hands and put your hands behind your head."
There was a moment of hesitance before an unmarked can fell to the ground. The unknown slowly put their hands behind their head and stood up.
"Stay on your knees." Cal stated.
Once they did as she wanted, she motioned her hand to signal for Mark and Christa to rally on her. After catching up to her, she had each of them keep their pistols trained on the individual while flanking left and right. Cal walked up to them, gabbed the neck of their jacket, and pushed them onto the floor.
"A little rough don't you think?" They asked sarcastically.
Cal pulled the hood off of the individual revealing a short, blonde haired woman. She quickly looked at Mark. "Check her bag."
Nodding, Mark searched the female's small backpack. He found an ice pick, a couple cans of food, and a bottle of water. "She's got no radio, can't be our guy."
"What's your name?" Cal asked the woman.
"Why should I tell you Crawford fucks." She angrily replied.
Cal pushed on her neck a little harder. She didn't have the time nor the patience to wait for an answer. "If you want to live, what's your name?" She asked a little more forcefully this time.
"M - mol - ly." She said between gasps of air.
Cal loosened her grip. "Molly? Nice name. Now, what did you mean by calling us Crawford?"
A moment of confusion swept across Molly's face. "Aren't you assholes from Crawford?"
"What the hell is Crawford?" Christa spoke up and asked.
"If you really want to know, get off me." Molly directed.
Cal complied by holstering her rifle, grabbing her pistol, and hoisted Molly to her feet. "That better?" She asked sarcastically. "Now, tell us what Crawford is."
Molly sighed, knowing the only way out of this would be by giving them what they wanted. "It's an area of the city a group of people sealed off. After they got settled into their new domain, they began weeding out anyone they felt was a burden to their 'society'. It was a shit show. The old, the young, the sick, the weak, anyone unable to fully contribute was kicked out."
"Sound like a bunch of assholes. Let's say I believed you, what would you know about their capabilities? I want population, resources, everything." Cal said, emphasizing her point by touching her pistol to Molly's back.
"If you really want to know that bad then you'll have to see for yourself. What I DO know is that they have a lot of weapons and medical supplies. The last week or so I haven't seen any guards patrolling which I thought was weird but haven't had the time to check it out. Happy?" Molly finished.
"Very." Cal hit the woman in the head 'lightly' with the stock of her rifle. Catching her before she hit the ground, Cal threw her over her shoulder and had Mark pack up Molly's bag.
"Well I can say we've done worse before." Mark commented.
"Gotta agree there. I'd say this is on the lower end of evil shit we've done." Cal agreed.
"What have you guys done before meeting Omid and I?" Christa asked, the group now on the move.
Cal thought for a moment, shuffling through five months of experiences.
"I would definitely have to say the cannibals were the worst thing that I've witnessed so far. Even when fighting the Covenant, Elites at least respected you."
"If those are from your Shakespeare short story I'm still skeptical." Christa said.
"Like I said earlier I'll explain when we get back to the house. She seems to know her way around so she'll be useful for information."
The walk back to the house was uneventful as it was tense. Wanting to get back before the sun set was ideal.
The sound of the back door opening got everyone's attention. Cal, Mark, and Christa had finally returned with someone they didn't recognize slumped over the large female's shoulder.
Cal set Molly onto a chair and ripped up her jacket to use as a makeshift binding. Once she was secure, Cal faced the group.
"Hey! Did you guys fin…" Carley began asking before seeing the person. "Cal, mind telling us who this is? Furthermore, why she's tied to a chair?"
"She's someone who knows things we don't and I want. Her name's Molly and she's already told us of some supposed assholes who are hoarding supplies and getting rid of people they see as burdens. I say we pay these guys a little visit for redistribution of supplies."
"And who just might these guys be?" Omid asked.
"There's a settlement called Crawford down by the waterfront and the way Molly described it, they aren't the most humanitarian bunch. They also have a lot of supplies we need because…" Cal sighed disappointingly. "There are no more boats."
"No boats? How? What do we do now?" Travis started asking in a rush.
"Calm down, don't worry. We can make our way back to the train and take some diverted tracks north. The plan hasn't changed. We get the hell out of the southern U.S." Cal said, trying to get a new plan into the group's minds.
"So you plan on raiding from a bunch of people just for us to run further away?" Lee clarified asking.
"Pretty much. And we're not just raiding from other people, but we're taking from people who don't take care about kids, elderly, sick, etc."
"The hell? What kind of 'perfectionist' society have these people sprung up?" Carley demanded.
"I don't know. But I'm thinking they aren't the friendliest bunch. First thing come nightfall, I'm heading in and grabbing everything I can. After that, we haul ass out of this city and back to the train. You guys alright with that?" Cal asked, wanting some input.
"If that's all we have, I'm in." Christa said.
"I'm with the lady on this one." Omid chimed in.
"You've led us this far, I've got no reason not too." Carley said.
The others followed suit and agreed with the idea.
Cal nodded and smiled. "Good. Now that we've got that settled, here's the plan."
Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry for this shorter chapter. I've got finals this week and wanted to get this out beforehand.