Author's Note: Man, it's the finale already? Well then, I guess I should say a few things right?
To start off, thank you all for going on this journey with me, even if it wasn't exactly a long one. With university going haywire, trying to balance that and this took a bit of time, but we made it. Thank you all for the support you have shown the story over the last few months, and I hope you continue to return to read my future stories!
Without further adieu, I give you Day's Gone: Chapter 9.
Disclaimer: I do not own Telltale's The Walking Dead, only my characters.
P.S. There's a little surprise for everyone at the end, so stay tuned!
Apartment Building, Savannah
October 21st, 1243 Local Time, 2003
When Zoey and Carley returned to the house, they could tell something was off almost immediately. Nobody was returning their calls on the radio and the house was eerily quiet from the outside. On top of that, the front door was halfway open, something Zoey was sure they had kept locked earlier that day.
Worried for the group's, especially Clementine's, safety, Zoey ran through the now open front door. "Is everything ok?" She shouted, her voice echoing off the walls.
When there was no response, panic began to set in as nobody responded. Desperately looking around the first floor, she was met with the sight of Duck kneeling over Kenny who had a large gash on the side of his head.
"Holy shit, Kenny!" Zoey exclaimed, shocked at what had happened to her friend. "Duck, what happened?"
"I- I don't know. A stranger got into the house and dad fought him, but the guy hit dad really hard and he hasn't gotten up." He explained before shaking Kenny again. "C'mon dad, wake up!"
A heavy banging came from the second floor along with what sounded like yelling. Zoey instructed Carley to take care of Kenny while she and Molly went to check out the noise. Genuinely curious about what was going on, Molly didn't complain as she and Zoey rushed up the upstairs to the second floor.
I wouldn't be surprised if this was Oberson's doing. Crawford's not that far away in the first place, and this is something he would definitely do to new people. Damn you Oberson. Molly thought whilst making sure to not trip over the steps on the way up. When both of them finally made it to the second floor, they quickly determined that the source of the sound was coming from one of the rooms, a bedroom if Zoey remembered correctly.
Opening the door, they were met with none other than Christa standing at the doorway, her face a deep red from all the shouting. "Oh thank God you're back. Where is he?! Where is that bastard?!" Christa shouted furiously, not paying any attention to Molly's presence.
"Who's he? What happened and where's Clementine?" Zoey asked. It was crucial she got information on what had happened while they were gone now, as Kenny was injured and Clementine was nowhere to be found.
"There was some guy in a brown jacket and jeans who managed to get inside while you guys were gone. Kenny fought him but got overpowered, and when I tried to help he locked me in here with Omid." Christa frantically explained. "Zoey, He TOOK Clementine!"
The last statement was like a shot to the chest, as if the knowledge was a dagger that had just stabbed her directly in the heart. "No, Clementine!" Zoey shouted, her volume loud enough to cause Molly to turn away for a moment.
Zoey ran back downstairs and burst through the front door. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she shouted, "Clementine, CLEMENTINE!"
The cackling of static on her radio caught her attention. Taking it from her pants, she held the device up to her ear. "If I were you, I would keep my voice down. You don't want to attract any unwanted attention now, do we?" The stranger antagonized.
Zoey growled at the voice. It was clear as day who was responsible for taking Clementine, so now she wasn't going to be as nice as she was earlier with their first 'communication.' "Who the hell are you? Where. Is. Clementine?" She angrily questioned, her tone filled with hatred for whoever the person on the other side of the radio was.
"Now now, we're both adults, aren't we Zoey? Oh wait, that's right, you're not even twenty yet. You should be more respectful to your elders, and if I were you, I would be very careful about what you say next." The stranger then said, further infuriating Zoey.
"Where's Clementine you piece of shit." Zoey demanded, her tone unwavering amidst the subtle insults.
"... You disappoint me Zoey. I tell you one thing and you decide to ignore it, just like most other youth. I know you, and I know you'll come after me, after the girl. I'm letting you know now that what I'm doing isn't out of spite for you, but out of necessity for her." The stranger explained. "Until we speak again."
With that, the radio cut out as silence replaced the regular static. "You bastard, I'll make sure to beat you until you're nothing but a fucking puddle!" She shouted into the radio. With no further response, she kicked the ground and shouted, "Dammit!" After shouting a few extra expletives, Zoey hooked the radio back onto her pants and went back inside to let everyone know the news.
Upon reentry, she closed the front door behind her in the chance that walkers did hear her. Going to the living room, everyone had gathered around the coffee table with Carley doing her best to wrap fresh bandages around a now awake Kenny's head. Even Molly was sitting in one of the chairs, having decided to join the group from the offer.
"Guys, bad news. Whoever that guy over the radio is is the one who took Clementine." Zoey said as she stood next to Molly with her arms crossed.
"Ok, can someone please fill me in? I haven't exactly been with you people long enough to know anything, if you haven't noticed." Molly spoke, confused about whatever the hell was going on.
Kenny gave the blonde a short glare before answering. "In case it wasn't obvious, Clementine is one of the kids we have in the group. Zoey here has been taking care of her ever since this whole thing started, but now that she's been taken, we can't just up and leave like we thought we could. Speaking of which, what's the deal with the boats? We find any?"
Carley shook her head. "None, all gone. The few that were still there were damaged beyond repair, meaning our next best bet is to get back to the train."
"Not without Clementine." Zoey added.
Carley nodded. "But not without Clem."
"Fuck. FUCK!" Kenny shouted as he stood up in anger before clutching his head and hissing in pain.
"Kenny, you have to take it easy for now, ok?" Carley comforted, helping him sit back down. Duck just stood next to the chair with a worried look on his face for his dad.
"Well what do we do now? We don't even know where to start and they could be god knows where at this point." Christa pointed out.
"Then what are you- we still doing here? It's not like you're going to find her by just sitting here." Molly sarcastically stated.
Christa stood up with balled fists at her sides. "Oh I didn't realize a genius joined us. Tell me, if you're so smart, where should we go first?" She frustratingly asked.
"Hey, don't get angry with me. I barely know you people, but from what it looks like you're not exactly the quickest bunch to get moving when it matters." Molly replied, quick on her wits.
Christa crossed her arms and spoke with a greater attitude than before, her hot headedness coming to the forefront. "I'm sorry, but who are you again? Please, enlighten us, because I don't trust you. Hell, with Clementine gone and that bell ringer still out there, I'm not exactly confident in our chances of being outside anymore."
"The name's Molly, and if you're worried about 'that bell ringer,' well you're looking at her. If I were you, I would focus on whoever this 'guy on the radio' you keep talking about is, because he seems like a bigger problem than me!" Molly shot back, her anger rising as Christa continued to argue.
"Wait, that was you?!" Kenny exclaimed, breaking his way into the argument. Standing up once more, he clenched a fist at the young blonde. "Do you realize what you've done?! You ringing those bells got our friend and MY WIFE killed! Hell, I outta kill you right FUCKING NOW!"
Before Kenny could do anything drastic, Zoey stepped in between the trio making sure to keep Molly separated from the others. "Kenny please, we have to focus on finding Clementine! I know it's tough, you know damn well just how much I understand, but we have to stay focused! We can't go turning on each other, not now!"
Keeping his attention on Molly, Kenny could see that the blonde was looking away from them with guilt ridden eyes. He had seen them enough times to know them when he saw them, so that combined with Zoey's words got him to calm down. "... If she thinks she's coming with us, then she's got another thing coming. After what she's done, there's no goddamn way she's-"
As Kenny neared the end of his tirade, Zoey's radio sprung to life as a fresh static came through. Reaching for the device, Zoey brought it up to her mouth and was about to speak when a young voice came through.
"Zoey, can you hear me? I'm at the place my paren-" Clementine briefly spoke before the radio suddenly cut out again.
"Clementine? Can you hear me?" Zoey said. There was no response, leading her to believe the stranger had caught Clementine in the act.
"What does she mean by that? She's at the place her parents are, or were?" Omid asked from the couch.
Sighing, Zoey clipped the radio back onto her pants. "It means she's at the Marsh House. That's where her parents were staying when they went on vacation here." Zoey explained.
"Well? What are we waiting for, let's go." Christa declared, nudging everyone forward with their new plan on going to the hotel.
Just when they thought they were safe, a large group of walkers had shown up outside the building, no doubt thanks in part to Zoey's yelling some time earlier. They began to bang against the front doors and windows with varying degrees of success, with some windows slowly starting to crack under the constant pressure and the doors shaking heavily.
"Shit, they must've heard us!" Omid called out to the rest of the group as he quickly got up and stood next to his girlfriend.
"Well what are you waiting for? Barricade the entrances!" Molly instructed, taking it upon herself to push the chair she was just sitting in against on the windows, further protecting the group from the walker's onslaught.
Quickly following suit, Zoey had Carley and Kenny help her push one of the couches against the front door, reinforcing it and making it much more difficult for the undead to break in. Sadly though, they weren't quick enough, as one of the windows found itself smashed in and a walker began to crawl in between the boards that made up its barricade.
Before the walker could make it halfway inside, Zoey took out her bat and bashed its head in until it was nothing more than a bloody pulp. That wouldn't last long however, as the rest of the barricade would give out and more walkers would begin pouring in, slowly pushing the survivors further into the house.
Zoey and Molly did their best to kill the ensuing wave of undead with their melee weapons, giving the rest of the group enough time to reconvene at the stairs with their pistols and begin shooting walkers as their numbers increased. It wasn't enough, however, as the amount of walkers that were starting to get inside were more than Zoey and Molly could handle, forcing them to fall back towards the others.
Within minutes, there were too many walkers for them to fight, so much so that the survivors had no choice but to retreat to the second floor as the rest of the first floor succumbed to the undead, entrapping them and leaving them nowhere else to run but up.
"Shit! Everyone upstairs now! Zoey, Molly, slow them down!" Kenny shouted as he shot one last walker before running up the stairs, with the rest of the group quickly hot on his heels.
Zoey and Molly did as they were told, each of them grunting as they swung their bat and climbing axe at one walker after another. One walker got close enough that Zoey had to use her bat and hold it back by its neck. Thankfully their new ally was there to help as she swung her climbing axe up through the walker's jaw and into its head, killing it.
"Thanks for the save." Zoey said as she swung her bat again.
"You can thank me once we get out of here." Molly replied before falling further back up the stairs a little more.
All of a sudden, a shot rang out and hit the walker closest to Molly. "You two get to the attic, c'mon!" A familiar Floridian voice shouted before another walker got shot in the head.
Without wasting another second, Zoey and Molly turned and fled up the second flight of stairs. Upon reaching the top, they saw Carley waving at them from next to a ladder leading to the attic Kenny had mentioned. Another bullet whizzed by the pair as they ran over and climbed the wood steps, ascending into the attic above. Once the last person was safe and sound, Christa pulled the attic door shutting out the undead.
Now that they were safe, everyone took a moment to catch their breath. "Is everyone ok?" Carley asked after a few tense minutes in silence.
"I- I think so, just a bit shaken up is all." Zoey replied, somewhat shaken by her near brush with death. That walker she had blocked was so close that she could feel its horrific breath on her face, almost causing her to gag and lose her focus. It was only thanks to Molly's presence that she was able to get out of that unscathed.
"Yeah, that was a LOT of them." Omid commented from a couch that was conveniently placed up there with them.
Kenny let out a sigh as he held his terrified son close. "Well we just went from one shitty situation to another. I've already searched up here and didn't find anything useful, so unless we have enough supplies to sit around and wait for the walkers to clear out, we're stuck."
"Ugh great, stuck in an attic with no way out. I knew I shouldn't have taken your deal." Molly said as she stared directly at Zoey.
"Deal? What deal?" Christa asked, confused as to what Molly was speaking about. Almost right off the bat she didn't take too well to the blonde, but now she was down right troubled about her appearance.
Molly rolled her eyes. "Your friends here," she began to say while pointing at Zoey and Carley, "Offered me a spot on your guy's train if I helped them get back here safe and sound, but now I'm starting to remember why I go alone."
Upon hearing this, Christa turned her attention towards the convicted duo. "You two seriously offered this… this sarcastic asshole to come with us?! What the hell were you thinking?!" She shouted with a furious tone.
"I'm sorry ok?! It was either get her help or wait for who knows how long before we could get back, so can you give us a damn break already?!" Carley snapped back, her mood shifting in an instant.
"GUYS! C'mon we're all friends here. Babe, let's just let it be at this point, alright?" Omid interrupted, surprising everyone by being speaking up and a mediator.
"Fine." Christa replied before giving Molly one last dirty look before going to sit next to Omid, something that didn't faze the blonde whatsoever.
Carley on the other hand needed to vent her newfound anger and annoyance, settling on a small statue and throwing it at a wall, breaking some of the boards and allowing a sliver of light to pass through. Curious about the new light source, Zoey went over and studied the wall for a moment before unexpectedly kicking it and making the hole ever so slightly larger.
"Hang on a second, I think we might be able to break through here." Zoey informed before sitting down, raising her leg, and delivering a powerful kick to the wall, shattering more of the wood.
"Here, let me see." Kenny said as he stood behind her. Zoey did as told, and once she was out of the way Kenny got down and kicked it himself, smashing more of the wall than Zoey did. "Holy shit, you might be right!" He then commended. "Ok, I think we might've just found our way out of here. You two can go rest." He said, pointing a finger between Molly and Zoey. "You've done enough for us, so now it's our turn to repay the favor." Whatever ill intent remaining for Molly seemingly died down after that, finally giving the blonde a reprieve from all the arguing.
"…I'm sorry." Christa said after a few minutes of silence. Hearing the loudest advocate against her arrival apologize, Molly turned her attention to her. "We've been through so much shit in such little time, and now with Zoey's girl missing, I took my anger out on you, and that wasn't right."
"I'm sorry too. It was my fault your friends died, and I know my words don't mean much, but I do mean it. Normally this kind of stuff wouldn't bother me, but..." Molly admitted before pausing. Unbeknownst to everyone else, the guilt of knowing she was responsible for the death of someone so important to the group, especially someone so close to who she saw as one of its leading voices, was eating away at her.
Before anyone could get her to elaborate, Kenny cut into the conversation, "Okay, I think fit through here."
The room on the other side was bright and colorful with beige wallpaper, a strong shift from the monochromatic brown that made up the previous house. The size of the room was quite small in comparison however, being something more akin to a moderate apartment than anything else. On the opposite side of the room was a set of double glass doors that led out to a small balcony, allowing a strong amount of sunlight to come through and brighten the room.
Christa was the first to step through with her pistol drawn should there be any surprises. Everyone else followed behind with their own guns, or in Molly's case her climbing axe, at the ready. After making sure the rest of the small apartment was devoid of walkers, they all regrouped to get their bearings.
Pulling out the map, Zoey traced her finger from the house they were just in to the marsh house. "Alright, the Marsh House is that way." She informed while pointing past the double doors.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get Clementine and get the hell out of Savannah." Christa firmly stated. Carley's face slightly sunk, her reaction not going unnoticed by the group. "Is there something wrong?" Christa asked.
"Yeah, about that…" Carley began to speak up, "The streets may or may not be filled with a fuckton of walkers."
"W- what?! How?" Omid questioned, surprised.
It didn't take long for Zoey to put two and two together. "...The train. The horde that followed us finally caught up."
By now, Kenny had reached his breaking point. First Katjaa's death, then Clementine's kidnapping, then learning that there weren't any boats, and now hundreds of walkers were blocking the path? Yeah, hell no. Clenching a fist, Kenny huffed as he turned and punched the wall making a hole.
"You ok there Ken?" Zoey asked, genuinely concerned for Kenny's wellbeing.
It took a few more seconds before Kenny finally calmed down enough to answer. "We get that girl back, and we get the fuck out of here by whatever means. I don't want to hear ANY complaints. That's. The. Plan."
"Well for once, I completely agree." Christa said. Her decision was quickly reaffirmed as the others jumped aboard on Kenny's plan.
"Since it seems like we're all on the same page, I know a way that can get us to that hotel of yours without much trouble. If we stick to the rooftops, we should be able to avoid any more geeks." Molly explained.
"Geeks?" Zoey wondered aloud.
Molly nodded. "Yeah, geeks. Look, let's just focus on getting to the hotel." She said as she opened the double doors and climbed onto the balcony railing.
What followed was the group jumping from the balcony onto the opposing building's roof one by one, until it came time for Omid's turn. Perhaps the balcony was heavily rusted, or four people previously jumping from the thin metal weakened it, or maybe both. Either way, as Omid jumped across, the balcony collapsed, stranding Carley, Kenny, and Duck in the apartment, with Omid barely making it across.
The balcony landed with a loud crash, attracting the attention of a few walkers into the alley which rapidly filled with more. Duck was understandably freaked out and reacted by hugging his dad's waist tightly.
"Shit! Omid, you ok?" Zoey asked as she and Christa pulled Omid up from certain death.
"Y- yeah, I think so." He replied with heavy breaths.
Looking over the ledge, Zoey knew that trying to cross through the alley to reach the building's ladder was suicide, and with their current lack of ammunition, it would be impossible to cross the six foot gap on the ground. On top of that, the jump was too far for neither Kenny nor Carley to make, meaning that they were stuck.
"What about us?" Kenny called out from the apartment.
"I don't think there's another way across." Zoey responded. "Especially not with all that." Zoey pointed out the undead.
Kenny thought over it for a moment. "What if we jump and you try to catch us?" He suggested.
"I'm sorry Kenny, but the gap is too wide." Zoey told him. "See if you, Carley, and Duck can get back to the train. It's too dangerous to try and reach us right now."
Kenny nodded. "Ok. Good luck, all of you. Get that girl back."
The four survivors all nodded before turning and followed Molly from rooftop to rooftop, taking the quickest and easiest route the parkourist had laid out.
Rooftops
October 21st, 1309 Local Time, 2003
Crossing from building to building was slowly proving to be more challenging as they got closer to the Marsh House, with the gaps between them increasing in distance. The fog had dissipated by now, leaving nothing but a clear view of the streets below. It would have been a lot less terrifying if it wasn't for the flesh eating corpses that roamed said streets only about a hundred feet down.
Coming across the largest gap yet, Molly was forced to use her climbing axe to hook onto the ledge as she jumped across. Seeing as the best free runner amongst them had barely made it across, the others were starting to have their doubts about being able to make it.
"Hey Molly, how are we gonna get across?" Zoey asked.
"Well for one, you're going to have to drop some of that gear you have. Just by looking at you I can tell that you'll never make it." Molly said with a hand on her hip.
Thinking over her words for a moment, Zoey looked back at Christa and Omid. "She's right." She said before taking off her backpack and giving it to Christa. "Go meet Kenny and Carley at the train. I'll keep going. If we're not back by tomorrow morning, assume the worst."
"Now hang on a second, you're not just leaving us. We're a team which means we have to stick together." Christa countered.
Zoey shook her head. "Unless you guys want to go on without me, you don't have much of a choice. I have to be there for her, no matter what." She pointed out. Before Christa could retort, Zoey made sure her rifle, pistol, baseball bat, flashlight, and radio were secure before getting a running start and leaping across the gap. Molly caught her with a heavy grunt since the athletic female was heavier than she anticipated.
Zoey thought the walker only thirty minutes ago would have been her closest brush with death. Well right now this felt much worse than the walker. With that her friends could have at least shot it and helped her, but here the only thing keeping her from falling eleven stories to her death was someone she had only met a few hours prior.
The worst part was when she accidentally looked down causing her adrenaline to spike to whole new levels. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK, pull me up!" Zoey exclaimed. With Molly's help, Zoey managed to make it onto the next roof, although she had to take a minute to recompose herself.
"Fuck me that was a long way down!" Zoey shouted for everyone to hear as she clutched her chest, her heart racing at what felt like a million miles an hour.
"Welcome to my world kid." Molly teased.
Zoey shot her a short glare. "I'm nineteen thank you very much." She retorted with an emphasis on the number. "And you don't look much older than me anyways."
Molly rolled her eyes. "Still older than you." She pointed out.
"Then what's an old woman like you still doing this kind of stuff?" Zoey countered.
True to her nature, Molly's wit was quick to turn the joke back on to Zoey. "Well if it weren't for this 'old lady', and I'm only twenty two by the way, then you'd be nothing but geek chowder right about now."
The pair glared at each other for a moment before the tough façade broke, with Molly's frown slowly turning into a grin. Soon enough, Zoey and Molly were left laughing at the sheer absurdity of the situation. Here she was doing the craziest and most death defying thing she had ever done for a girl she had only known for a few months, but like hell it was entirely worth it.
"Come on kid, let's get your girl." Molly said as she stood up and offered Zoey a hand.
Giving Christa and Omid one last wave goodbye, Zoey kept right behind Molly as she continued towards the Marsh House, each leap getting them closer to their goal. From one decrepit building to another, they made sure to avoid collapsed holes in the roofs with some of the buildings being filled to the brim with walkers. As they went from rooftop to rooftop, street to street, each building seemed a little more worn than the last, with a few even having planked walkways running across the top; some created by Molly, others created by Crawford.
All good things must come to an end however, as did the buildings they were able to cross. From atop a random apartment complex, they could see that they were close to their intended target, only two more streets and they would have been there. But there were no more buildings to cross, as the gaps in the alleys were now too great for even Molly to clear. In fact, the only visible way forward now was to cross an old, rusty sign that barely looked sturdy enough to hold them.
It wasn't all bad though, as from their spot they could see a hint of movement from a pair of figures in one of the second floor windows of the Marsh House. "Look! That's gotta be Clem and the radio guy!" Zoey exclaimed as she pointed towards where she had seen them before closing her eyes and muttered to herself, "It's gotta be them. Please be them…"
Molly recognized Zoey's strife instantaneously, a flash of similar events playing through her mind, reminding her of the incident in Crawford. That was months ago. I have to keep going… for her. She thought. "We're almost there Zoey, just one last stretch and we'll get Clementine back."
Releasing a sigh that she had unknowingly built up, Zoey silently nodded and watched as Molly descended onto the sign and froze for a moment when the sign creaked under her weight. It was clear that the sign was under stress by Molly alone, meaning that for Zoey to cross as well she would have to wait until her new partner had made it to the other side.
"Be careful!" Zoey called out to her as Molly slowly and steadily pulled herself along.
"I am, but I don't know how many trips this thing will support!" Molly replied. After a tense fifteen seconds, Molly had managed to make it to the other rooftop.
Now it was Zoey's turn.
Carefully dropping herself onto the sign, it let out a louder creak than before but held strong. Learning her lesson to not look down, Zoey focused solely on looking at where her next hand and foot would be. She took deep breaths to keep her flaring nerves in check. Her mind was racing with every thought and muscle in her body telling her this was a bad idea, but she pushed that aside. Everything she had done up to this point was for Clementine, so there was no way in hell she was going to just back out of this.
As Zoey neared the other side, the sign visibly shook and, unable to take the stress anymore, collapsed behind her leaving her with only a fraction of the metal supports to hang on to. Once again, Molly came to the rescue as she grabbed Zoey's wrist and pulled her along the last foot across.
"Thanks." Zoey graciously said.
"That's twice now I've saved your ass. Now you owe me." Molly joked. "But in all seriousness, now we just have to get through that." Peering over the edge, there must have been more walkers than ever before blocking the final road between them and Clementine. If Zoey had to guess a number, it would at least be a thousand, if not more.
After pushing herself up, Zoey dusted herself off. "What about that bell we saw over there?" Zoey pointed out. "If you can get over there and ring it, I could get inside."
"Wouldn't it be better if you waited for me to come with you?" Molly asked, wondering why Zoey planned to initially go in by herself.
Zoey nodded. "It would, but I don't know how much time we have left before he takes Clem and leaves. I'll make my way in and see if I can find them, you just try to catch up." Zoey explained.
As much as Molly disliked the plan, Zoey's reasoning had well placed logic. With a sigh, Molly gave Zoey her input. "Fine, but make sure you just focus on stalling him until I get there. I don't want you to go fighting him or something, at least not alone."
Zoey was hesitant with this variation of the plan. Clementine was waiting on her, depending on her to be there and save the day, so the longer she waited to take action would certainly have negative effects. On the other hand, Molly had a good point which was something she couldn't ignore.
"…Fine, but whatever it is you have in mind, you better do it fast." Zoey instructed.
"You just focus on getting across here in a minute." Molly replied before running off. Confused at the sudden course of action, Zoey turned away from the ledge to see what Molly was doing with a puzzled look.
Her curiosity was short lived as the familiar chime of a bell a few buildings away rang, it's deep tone echoing throughout the heartland of Savannah. It didn't take a genius to realize what Molly was doing.
As walkers began to flood the area around the building with the bell, it gave Zoey the path she needed to cross the street. Dropping off to the side onto the fire escape, Zoey made a mad dash for street level before the walkers decided to come back. The bell rang three more times before finally stopping, and Zoey saw Molly running for the same fire escape Zoey took to get down.
Upon entering the front doors of the Marsh House, the building was eerily quiet, something not helped by the fact that there were no lights. Even worse was the setting sun outside, something Zoey failed to pay proper attention to, meaning that it would be not only dark inside and out, but that it would be dark with thousands of walkers roaming the city.
She skipped over checking the first floor since she had seen them on the second roughly five minutes prior. Being cautious as to remain quiet, Zoey gripped her rifle like her life- Clementine's life depended on it.
Which it well and truly does. Zoey thought.
Reaching the second floor proved that hotels really weren't just creepy in movies, what with the lack of windows and long narrow halls only reinforcing that sentiment. Since the floor was carpeted, it made it easier for her to sneak down the hall, listening for any out-of-place noises that could alert her to whichever room the stranger had taken Clementine to. After what seemed like an endless amount of doors, one in particular caught her attention when she believed she heard a gasp of air and a shushing sound coming from one of the rooms further down the hall.
The carpet did it's job well at muffling her footsteps and keeping anything from giving her away. She was so focused on getting quietly closer to the doorway that she failed to hear the person coming up behind her, instead reacting when said person put their hand on her shoulder. Turning around and raising her rifle at the person's torso wasn't necessary however, as the other sneaky individual turned out to be Molly who had managed to catch up with her.
"Jesus Molly, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Zoey complained in a whispered voice.
"Yeah well I'm trying to stay quiet just like you." Molly retorted. "Have you found Clementine yet?"
Zoey didn't respond, alternatively deciding to simply nod before pointing at the door she was walking towards. She then held a finger to her mouth and Molly nodded knowingly. Once they were at the doorway, Zoey handed Molly her Glock before taking position on the side of the door with the doorknob whilst Molly leaned against the other side.
Zoey used her fingers to visibly count down from three before giving the door a powerful kick, breaking it open. Molly was the first to enter, resulting in a gun going off and her shouting in pain as she dropped the pistol and clutched her shoulder.
Without a second thought, Zoey aimed her rifle at the door and fired a few rounds through it. She knew she was successful at hitting something when something fell with a thud and a male voice too shouted in pain. Rushing inside she was able to see a man, presumably the stranger from the radio, holding a bloody hand against the side of his torso.
Giving him an indifferent look, she aimed her rifle at his head. "Where is she?" Zoey demanded to know.
The stranger gave her an angry look in return. "Wouldn't you like to know? You'll just put her in danger again." He replied.
Not wishing to deal with the stranger's bullshit, she marched up and kicked the side of his torso where he was bleeding, causing him to cry out in pain again. "I won't ask again, where is SHE?!"
"...Zoey?" Clementine's muffled voice suddenly asked.
"Clem?" Zoey answered, turning her head for a moment to see where the voice had come from.
A big mistake.
With the distraction, the stranger was able to get on his knees and lunge at Zoey, sending her to the ground. Now with the advantage, he climbed on top of her and pushed her rifle away giving him access to try and choke her out.
With each passing breath Zoey was losing more oxygen. With all her strength she kept him from completely cutting off her air supply, although it was getting more difficult to breathe as the seconds ticked by. It got to the point where everything was starting to go black before she heard a shout and crash.
Zoey coughed as she gasped for air. Turning over, she saw Molly and the stranger interlocked in a fist fight of sorts, with each combatant landing blows on each other. Looking for a weapon, the closest thing she could reach was her baseball bat that she must have dropped when the stranger tackled her.
Clenching her hand around its wooden handle, and used it to help herself up. Walking up behind the stranger, she swung the bat as hard as she could against his head. He fell against the wall with a sickening crack as blood quickly began to pour from the large wound in his head. The women stood over the stranger with heavy breaths and Molly clutching her left shoulder.
The stranger lifted a hand in front of him as if he were trying to shield himself from an attack. "P- please, spare me. I- I did it for her safety. Please, you must understand..." He begged as he clutched his bleeding head.
"You took a little girl against her will. You KIDNAPPED her. If anyone's to blame for all this, it's you. You may think of yourself as a hero, but good people nearly died because of you. I nearly died because of you." She said, her voice dripping with venom. Here this man was begging for his life after nearly having claimed hers. A small part of her thought about letting him live, she really did, but she had also learned a harsh lesson: those who go out of their way to hurt you won't ever stop until they're dead.
And that part of her was much louder.
Letting out a rage filled scream, she brought the bat down onto his head, causing him to recoil in pain. He cried out for mercy again, although this time in a smaller, pitiful voice. She didn't care, raising the bat and bringing it down again and again, channeling all of her anger into her strikes and letting it all out onto this one poor bastard.
It wasn't until Molly intervened that Zoey was forced to stop, the blonde grabbing Zoey's waist and pulling her away from the dead stranger. It didn't matter though as the stranger's head had caved in, his flood staining the wall, floor, and Zoey's bat.
"Zoey stop! He's already dead!" Molly shouted trying to get through to Zoey. "Think about Clementine!"
That last one got Zoey to stop resisting. "Clementine… Clem!" Zoey exclaimed before running over to the closest and opening it up. Thankfully she was met with the sight of an unharmed little girl who quickly ran forward and hugged her. "Oh thank god you're ok. Did he hurt you at all, Clem?" Zoey questioned.
Clementine shook her head. "No." She answered.
"Good, good." Zoey repeated. Molly soon joined them still clutching her shoulder, a look of pain etched onto her face. "Shit that's right. Wait here a sec Clem." Zoey said. Her bandages and other medical supplies were in her backpack which was now in possession of Omid and Christa, meaning she would have to do the next best thing. Making her way over to the dead stranger, she zipped open his jacket and began tearing at his shirt until she had enough cloth to wrap Molly's wound.
"Thanks." Molly said, grateful to not have a bleeding hole in her shoulder anymore.
"Don't mention it." Zoey replied.
"What do we do now?" Clementine asked.
That got Zoey thinking. They couldn't just leave since the area around the building was completely surrounded, and last she checked there weren't any buildings close enough for them to traverse in their current state. This left her with only one real option.
"We wait."
"What? What do you mean we wait?" Molly demanded.
Zoey let out a weighted sigh. "With your shoulder we wouldn't be able to cross any buildings safely, and there's way too many walkers out there to move about without getting caught, therefore we have no choice but to wait." She explained.
Molly couldn't argue with that. After all, she did feel like shit after getting shot in the shoulder, and they both knew that Clementine would agree with whatever Zoey decided to do. "Fine, we'll rest here until morning, then we need to go." She conceded.
"But what about my parents?" Clementine spoke up. That was the original idea for her and Zoey to come to Savannah in the first place, and now they were just going to leave?
Kneeling down to Clementine, Zoey placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "We looked everywhere for them on the way here but couldn't find them, so we believe that they managed to get out with the military." Zoey lied. She had to, for all of their safety.
We can't risk looking for them Clementine, I'm sorry. Zoey thought immediately afterwards.
Clementine to the ground in sadness as tears began to fill her eyes. Her parents were gone and she was left alone on the mainland, or so she believed. Tears began to run down her face as she sat down on the ground.
It wasn't a pleasant night.
Outskirts of Savannah
October 22nd, 0628 Local Time, 2003
Fallen leaves crunched beneath heavy boots as Zoey, Molly, and Clementine trudged forth through the hills of Georgia on their way back to the train. They had come so far in the last hour, having managed to sneak past hordes of walkers that had indeed moved on from the area by the time first light had hit.
Zoey shifted her weight to fix the strap of her backpack, having found it in a store. On their way out of Savannah, Molly had managed to locate the bodies of Christa and Omid inside of an arts and crafts store. Upon further inspection of the bodies, they figured out that Omid had been bitten on the leg, and since they knew he wasn't going to make it as well as Christa, no doubt not wishing to leave him, killed themselves. It was a depressing display because Zoey knew they were strong and kind people.
They could see the train in the distance. It wasn't far now, only a hundred or so yards away. When the trio finally made it to the steel beast, they found it empty and lacking any signs of use. The trio looked around for Kenny and Carley, but after a thirty minute search decided the best course of action would be to wait for them.
Going over to the conductor's seat, she set her backpack down and removed the guitar from its straps. Molly and Clementine would give her criticism as she practiced, doing their best to help the teenager learn an instrument none of them knew anything about.
One hour turned into two, then three, then four. By the fifth hour Molly and Zoey would have no choice but to discuss their next course of action. They couldn't wait there forever, not with their lack of supplies. After a ten minute discussion of possibilities, as well as some input from Clementine, the adults came to the conclusion that they could wait no more.
And so it was with heavy hearts and sorrowful minds that Zoey had to start the train without their friends, leaving them to whatever fate had or would befall them. It was a part of survival, she understood that, but that didn't mean she hated it any less.
She would keep going no matter what. With Clementine at her side she always had something to fight for, survive for.
And nothing was going to take that away.
Author's Note: Welcome all to the conclusion of my story... or at least Season 1. That's right, Zoey and Clementine's story is not over. In fact, far from it. Make sure to keep watch of our survivor's eventual sequel: Hope is the Way Forward