Carley had her eyes fixed on some random spot in the RV, her gaze downcast and lost, giving her a dead look. And that's kind of how she felt, empty, like she was really dead, like she and the walkers were the same, just a shell of what used to be something alive, wandering aimlessly through the deserted roads of the world.
Her mind wandered to the people in the motel, all those deaths, all the things they had been through together, to just end up like that, everything being in vain. She didn't like Lilly, but she tried to be civil to her, she tried to put his enmities aside, and for a few days, she succeeded, the other woman seemed to try the same thing too.
Mark was a good friend, a good man, smart, until he had a part of his body served on some plates of a family of cannibals.
And of course, Lee, God, Carley still couldn't believe Kenny's cruelty, how he could just abandon his friend, leave him for dead. And what's worse, he didn't even think about Clementine.
A sweet little girl who definitely did not deserve this.
She, Lee and Clementine had a great relationship, whenever he was on watch, or out looking for supplies, he would ask her to keep the girl company, and she loved to spend time with the younger girl, it was a difference from the somber mood the rest of the group was in, and made her forget that the outside world was over, at least for a while.
She may not have spent that much time with Lee, she had only known him for three months, but in that time he had proven himself to be a truly good man, and Carley couldn't help but feel drawn to him, wanting to know more about him.
It was kind of funny, if it wasn't sad. A murderer who beat a state senator to death was actually one of the kindest people she had ever met, even in such a cruel world.
And maybe that was exactly the reason she was so attracted to him, he didn't give in to all that cruelty, he didn't stop trying to do the right thing, even when it put him in danger. He always put others above himself, always trying to help.
It was obvious the love he felt for Clementine, the way he looked at her, talked to her, always making sure to pay attention to the little one whenever he could. And just like Clementine, he didn't deserve any of it.
If it weren't for the rather delicate situation she was in, she would have walked away from Kenny hours ago, would have simply gotten off the trailer, and walked as far away from that man as possible.
However, she didn't feel it was right to leave Duck alone with him, she feared for the boy, even though she knew Kenny wouldn't hurt him, but he was unpredictable, you couldn't tell what kind of dangers he would leave the boy exposed to, all because of his stubbornness, and for thinking that only his ideas were right, that only he knew what he was doing.
At the moment, the boy was sitting in the passenger seat, hugging his own body while hiding his head between his knees. It had only been a few hours since Katjaa had taken her own life, saying that she couldn't ask anyone to do it for her, least of all her own husband.
Who, although he looked different than before, was still her husband.
The vehicle had been silent since then, saved only by the sound of the engine, which got louder and louder as Kenny accelerated around a corner.
Carley sighed heavily, feeling the tears that she had spent hours trying to hold back stubbornly streaming down her face once again.
She didn't want to cry, even though she knew that no one there would notice her, Ben had his head down, with his upper body lying on a table in the back of the RV.
She just didn't think it was fair, maybe Lee and Lilly got away, maybe they both died back there, it hurt not knowing the answer to her questions. She had just lost everything they had fought for for so long, and she didn't even know if she still had any hope of finding the others.
She saw no reason to keep going, she didn't know where to go, she didn't know what to do, she didn't know if it was worth it to continue wandering the earth without a definite direction.
And this was the first time she even considered suicide, even though she abandoned this absurd thought a few minutes later.
With the accumulated fatigue in her body, both physical and mental, she falls asleep on the small sofa, with her back to the darkness of the forest.
Lee held Clementine's hand tightly, while he wielded his newest machete in his left hand. He had decided to leave the pharmacy early and look for a vehicle, even though he hated the idea of walking into that zombie infested city, he was practically forced to, walking around aimlessly on the highway was not an option, he had to get a vehicle, a map, supplies if he could, and come up with a plan for his next steps, and he had to do it fast, or they wouldn't last long.
They were walking through a more remote area of the city, where he knew fewer people lived, so there would be fewer zombies roaming the area. But still, no matter how many walkers he killed with his machete, or how many times he looked at that deserted street with watchful eyes, he never felt safe, never let his guard down.
Clementine scanned the environments they passed by with an attentive and...curious gaze. She was used to seeing dead bodies walking towards her, and she was used to seeing Lee killing them, but she wasn't really used to the sight of the streets, as if she were in the middle of a battlefield.
So many bodies scattered in the streets, destroyed and abandoned vehicles almost everywhere, the city had a ghostly look, and now it was nothing more than a ghost town.
She remembered some books she had read, the way they depicted scenarios similar to this one, and now she finally understood what they said. She understood the "smell of death" that she had read about so many times, and she felt that horrible odor on her skin, which irritated her nose.
She couldn't help feeling frightened, even though she was used to death. It was as if she saw a place ravaged by darkness, where hope had long perished.
Her golden eyes focused on the man beside her, her protector, the person who had protected her from so much, so many evils that walked the world, evils she couldn't even see in her nightmares. For a while, she thought that he was afraid too, just like her, that he felt the same way she did.
But there he was, with a determined look in his eyes, serious, focused on the road ahead, without an ounce of fear in his eyes, without an ounce of hesitation in his steps. He faced that terrifying scene head on, he always moved towards danger without a second thought, and always dealt with it so calmly, so stubbornly, that sometimes, just sometimes, she thought he felt no fear.
She admired him. Lee was strong, he was smart, and everything he did, the way he moved, or simply, the way he said a few simple words, made him look so imposing, it was as if he was invincible, as if he was invulnerable to the evils of the world. He always knew what to say, what to do, even if it meant he would be hated, he didn't care, it didn't stop him from acting.
It was as if he was one of those superheroes that she always heard Duck commenting on.
And to her, he was the closest thing to a hero she could think of, he saved her and protected her, that's what heroes do, right?
They walked for a while longer, avoiding the few scattered zombies, or eliminating the ones in the way, until they reached a dirt road, a more rural part of town, away from the center.
An old mechanic lived there; he had been dead for some time. He had a car that he was passionate about, he wouldn't let anyone touch it without him being there, and when he died, he put it in his will to leave the car in his garage, to leave his most cherished object in the place where he always lived, where he had so many memories kept, and forgotten.
It didn't take long before they arrived at the old workshop, abandoned, but in better condition than the workshops in town.
Lee observed the interior of the house, right next to the workshop, through the window. It didn't look like anyone had ransacked the place, in fact, it didn't look like anyone had set foot in that house in a long time.
He checked the door, smiling with relief that it was open.
They entered carefully, their eyes scanning the inside of the empty house.
- Careful Clem, stay behind me.
He warned, taking his machete and walking through the abandoned living room, heading towards the kitchen, and from there, walking towards the garage.
He almost celebrated with joy when he saw that the car was still there, in perfect condition, although a bit dusty.
Going around the vehicle, he opens the driver's door and sits down on the seat, checking that the keys are in there;
Clementine leans on the passenger door, a little behind Lee, watching him.
Suddenly, she feels something grab her leg and pull her, knocking her to the ground. Her golden eyes focus on the walker that had grabbed her.
Despair grew in her chest as she saw the walker trying to bite her, and she struggled violently, trying to get out of its grasp.
Her eyes widened, and she calmed down as she saw the blade of the machete pierce the zombie's skull.
Her eyes turned to Lee, who had crouched to her height and held her firmly by her shoulders.
- Are you all right?!
he asked, his nervous eyes searching the small girl's body for any injury, and calmed down when he saw that she was fine.
Clementine stared at him, with the same glint in her eyes whenever Lee saved her.
This only reminded her that she was not like him, she wasn't strong.
Lee sighed with relief, calmed his breathing and lowered his head slowly.
- You know, you have to learn to take care of yourself.
