The Walking Dead: The Neverending Search
Chapter 1: Re-awakening.
Savanah. The city Kenny thought would bring safety for their group, only for it to lead to the demise of several of them including Kenny himself. Ben was put out of his misery by Kenny before walkers overran them, Chuck ended up becoming a distraction for the walkers finding himself alone in the sewers with a single shot, which he used for himself. And then there was…Lee. The brave leader of the group all though none of them realized it. His last day on Earth spend searching for the only family he had left in this world, ending in him sending his girl off for this hellish world ready. Clementine had left him to turn, Lee's final gift to his sweet pea. He didn't want to put her through the horror off pulling the trigger on a loved one even if it meant he would have to turn in a walker himself. His final gaze was off the little girl before he passed out against the radiator, thinking it to be the last thing he ever saw…He was wrong.
The jewelry store was cold, empty. The cold, sharp air was the first thing Lee filled as his eyes slowly began to flutter. His breathing was slow but steady he took a few heavy and deep breaths before finally opening his eyes fully.
"Ow…What? Where I am?" Lee asked himself as he brought his stump up to his eyes before realizing that his left arm had been cut off. He gasped in shock before the memory of Christa cutting it off came back to him, he sighed and shook his head. Then his eyes darted open and he looked down at himself, at his body finding it to be in normal condition, no undead skin, no pain, not counting the pain of the still fresh wound of the cut off arm, no blood gushing from him. Lee jumped to his feet and ran over to the glass on the floor next to the counter of the jewelry. It had been smashed been to pieces but he could still his reflection in it. He picked up a larger piece of glass, careful not to cut himself, before holding it up to his face. He looked closely at the reflection he saw and all he saw was himself, the same man he had been all his life. Dropping the piece of glass, Lee walked a few feet ahead of himself before falling onto his knees in front of the walker Clem had killed before they said their final goodbyes. Bringing his right hand to his face he covered his mouth and started to cry, he felt the tears stream down his cheeks as he started to laugh faintly.
"I'm alive…I…I survived the bite" he muttered out as he wiped away the tears, letting out a chuckle before getting back to his feet. Wiping away the final tears, Lee took a deep breath and looked around the room. Gathering his bearings for a moment Lee leaned against the wall and rested his head against it.
"I have to find Clementine…" he muttered to himself as his good spirits were immediately shattered. He realized he had no clue where Clementine was. Hell he didn't even know where Omid and Christa went to after they god split up. Not only that but Lee had no clue how long he had been out. Minutes? Hours? A day? It couldn't have been to long or he would have died of dehydration. Lee rushed to the door Clementine had went through and without fear he ran up the stairs. Coming to a closed door at the end of the stairs he barged through it only to find himself on the roof of the store he had been in. The sun was rising over Savanah, it was early morning and Lee sighed. He had been out for several hours, Clem…would be far away. Letting out a deep sigh Lee slowed his pace and looked around the roof he had stumbled on, it seemed secure seeing several extinguished cigarette buds scattered across the roof. It seems the former employees came here to smoke. Besides the buds there was nothing else on the roof, pacing across the roof Lee noticed a latter from the corner of his eye that let down to the alleyway besides the building. For a moment Lee's heart stopped, he remembered what had happened not to long ago with Kenny and Ben…The ladder was a nasty reminder. Looking up to the clear morning sky, Lee realized he had no plan whatsoever to get out of Savannah, no supplies or weapons. Just himself and…The radio. Looking down to his belt Lee saw that radio that Clementine had used to speak with the stranger he killed to safe her. Taking it off his belt he looked down at it holding it firmly into his hand.
"I promise I'll find you, sweet pea…I promise" Lee whispered bringing the radio up to his face and pressing it against his forehead before placing it back onto his belt.
"Wait a minute. That man had a car in front of the Marsh Hotel, it should still be able to drive if that's the case." Lee thought out loud as he walked over to the edge of the building to look down at the streets. The streets were still as thick with walkers as it had been the last time he had seen it. However it looked like the walkers were walking away from the Marsh House, going into the opposite direction. It was possible something happened that got the walkers attention before Lee had woken up.
"If they keep moving like this I'll be able to get to the Marsh House without a problem" Lee said crossing his arm and stump over each other observing the walkers. He turned his head towards the ladder before looking at the door that led back down to the store.
"Might be a smart idea to cover myself in a bit more walker guts before heading down…Just to be safe" Lee mumbled as he walked over to the stairs and walked down back into the store. After Lee had walked down the stairs he saw the legs of the lifeless walker whose brains were smashed in by Clem. Kneeling down besides it Lee turned the walker on it's back. Besides the smashed in head there was an easy way to get guts or blood out of the walker.
"Hmm. I need something to cut him open with…The meat clever!" Lee said as he ran his hands across his pockets finding them empty.
"Shit…Must have left it in the Marsh House without realizing it" he cursed to himself before noticing the decoration that had hit his head when Clem was fighting off the walker. The tip seemed pretty sharp, should be enough to cut walker open.
Lee ripped the shirt off of the walker before placing the tip of the decoration against the stomach of the walker, forcing it across several times Lee began to cough as the walker his guts spilled out.
"Right, this shit smells gross" he said, making a mental note this time as to not forget the next time. Pulling out the intestants of the walker Lee smeared his entire body with the guts, covering himself as best he possibly could with a single arm. His arm remained a bit exposed after he had completed smearing himself. He let out a sigh and knelt down besides the walker again.
"Sorry buddy. I won't like this either" he said to the corpse before forcing his hand and arm as deep he could into the guts before pulling it out, it was now covered as well and Lee wiped his forehead clean of sweat only to cover it in walker guts too. Lee looked to beside the walker and noticed the baseball bat Clem had used to kill it. He picked up and swung to the left and then to the right.
"I should probably take this with me. Just in case." Lee said softly as he wrapped his fingers firmly around the base off the bat. Walking back up the stairs Lee left the jewelry store behind once and for all. Arriving back on the roof top Lee made his way over to the ladder he had spotted early.
"How am I going to get this bat down without making to much noise for the walkers" Lee pointed out as he looked to the bat and his right hand that held tightly onto it. He wouldn't be able to climb down those stairs by just using his stump and trying to hold both the bat and the ladder could result in losing grip on either and falling down to the alley. A missing arm Lee could work with, two broken legs…not so much. Lee noticed a dumpster and besides it at least a dozen garbage bags. The building wasn't to tall, if Lee dropped the bat on the bags it wouldn't break nor make to much noise. Taking a deep breath Lee held out the bat over the edge off the building and dropping it. The bat landed perfectly on the garbage bags, making only a soft thud when it landed. A sigh of relief escaped past Lee's lips as he slowly got onto the ladder and made his way down one step at a time. Climbing down the ladder, Lee looked to the alleyway it was empty besides for the dumpster and the garbage bags. But it didn't feel that way. Looking into it all Lee could see were Kenny and Ben. Ben laying crippled on the floor and Kenny standing over him with a gun, the last image he had of two of his friends. Lee snapped out of his thoughts as he reached solid ground, he picked up the baseball off of the garbage bags before walking towards the streets. With each step he took it sounded like the moans and growls of the walker grew louder and louder, like it began to echo. Finally arriving amidst the walkers Lee looked around. Just like it had seemed from the roof, the walkers were walking away from the Marsh House, all of them moving to the left. Taking a deep and quiet breath Lee turned right and walked through the enormous horde of walkers. Pressing the bat against his side Lee took one step at a time, avoiding contact with the walkers best he could. Lee felt his feet kicking against something and he nearly stumbled over whatever it was. Nearly losing his composure Lee, hopped over it before continuing his way. Peaking over his shoulder to see what it was Lee saw the body off one of the walkers he had killed on his way to the Marsh House. He needed to be careful, he couldn't remember how many there were but there were plenty. After what seemed like hours Lee arrived in front of the Marsh House again, standing beside the car the stranger had left behind. Lee looked through the side windows into the car and at the ignition. No keys.
"Shit, he must had them on him. Figures" Lee sighed and walked up to the door of the Marsh House. To his surprise it was wide open, he was sure he and Clem had closed the door on their way out. From what he could see it was still clear. Slow but steady Lee walked into the Marsh House and towards the same room as last time. The silence in the Marsh House was unnerving, even more so then last time. The echoes of his footsteps through the hallways send a shiver down his spine as he turned the corner, seeing the one open door in the distance. Last time he knew what to expect but this time, even knowing that no being in that room should be alive, his nerves were through the roof. Peaking his head into the room he saw a walker kneeled over the body of the stranger. It was digging into the stranger's gut and chest, having him all to itself. Lee slowly walked into the room and before raising the baseball bat and letting out a sharp whistle to alert the walker. It turned around and looked to Lee before it slowly got up. It's face was drenched in blood as well as it's hands. The walker slowly made it's way to Lee, but before it got to close Lee swung the bat against the head of the walker causing it to be send tumbling over to the right and falling lifeless on the floor.
"Hoped you ate his heart too, he wasn't using it anyway" Lee said to the now dead walker as he walked over to the stranger, dropping the bat as he got close. The stranger's body laid lifeless, a gunshot to his head having stopped him from coming back after Lee had choked him to death. Standing over the torn apart body of the stranger Lee felt an anger rush through him. Last time he saw him all he felt was the desire to get Clementine back, now all he felt was anger. Anger that this asshole ruined everything. Had he and Clementine never gotten into contact Kenny and Ben would still be alive and the group would have never gotten separated from each other. Inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth, Lee calmed himself down before kneeling to the same level as the stranger and started to pick his pockets. First his front pockets. Nothing. Then his back pockets. Nothing.
"Where the hell are they..?" Lee muttered to himself annoyed as he noticed the two pockets on the orange jacket the stranger wore. They were covered in blood from the walker that had been eating him but Lee reached in the left pocket and he felt the cold metal of the keys as he quickly pulled it out of his pocket. He held up the key and smiled before darting his eyes to the key chain that was attached to it.
"Mr. Perfect…" Lee read out loud seeing the letters stitched into a piece of cloth. Lee shook his head, the anger returning to him as he lout a sigh and tightly held onto the key, pocketing it before picking up the baseball bat.
"At least I have a ride, the streets seem clear too. Maybe now is my chance to get out of Savanah" Lee said to himself as he walked out of the apartment leaving the stranger behind, for good. Making his way trough the empty hallways Lee got back to the reception area and towards the door. Just as he was about to step outside he saw a sillhoutte dash past the door, immediately hiding behind a pillar in the reception area Lee peaked from behind it to see if he could make out what, or who, that was. Taking a deep breath, Lee began to tiptoe towards the door slowly he approached and peaked his head outside. He noticed the car door was open and somebody was inside, rummaging through the bags in the backseat of the car. He couldn't make out who was in the car so Lee stepped beside the open door and raised the baseball bat.
"Step out of the car…I don't want to hurt you" he said sternly. His tone was serious, but not angry at all hoping to reassure whoever was in the car.
"Wait, Lee. Is that you?" the voice asked surprised as a head popped out of the car. Dirty blonde hair came from underneath an orange hoodie and a young girl in her early 20's looked back at him.
"Molly?" responded back just as surprised lowering the bat in response as Molly got out of the car and looked Lee over from head to toe.
"I haven't been gone, what, two days? What the hell happened?" she asked concerned as she looked over Lee's bloodied body before her eyes ending up at his stump. Her jaw dropped as Lee let out a big sigh.
"Well…That's a long story…" Lee said softly before Molly nodding her head, ready to hear all of what Lee had to tell her…
A/N: Well it certainly has been a while since I posted anything. I honestly haven't been into writing for a long time. I constantly make stories in my head (or what if stories for my own personal life) but I just never have the energy to put it onto paper. Ironically all of this was written whilst I was tired as hell and just unable to sleep. Anyways enough about me. Let's talk STORY(IES).
Regarding this story: I want to see where this goes, Lee surviving has always been an intriguing story to me but this was the first that I had ever truly thought of it myself. As the title suggests this story is all about Lee's search for Clementine. There's still lots of details about this story that I haven't sorted out yet, so if any of you have advice/story points you wish to share do let me know. Perhaps I'll use them into the story. We'll see. For now this will simply be a 'work in progress' with no known time table of new chapters. I'll try to update frequently (keyword being TRY).
Regarding The Son: Ah, the story I have technically been working on since 2014 or some s$%t like that. Yet have never gotten past Season 2 with but have thought out plot points for Seasons 3 and 4. Will I ever finish it? No goddam idea. Will I ever continue it? No goddamn idea. If you know me because of the Son then let me know. I'm interested in seeing if someone even still cares about it.
That's all from me for now. See y'all soon(ish). I hoped you enjoyed and will continue to enjoy my content
-BBB