- You can't be serious...
Carley looked at Kenny as if he were crazy, and the man just ignored her gaze with an annoyed expression on his face.
- This is our best chance. The ONLY option we have.
As the days went by, Carley, and even Duck, began to get more and more annoyed with Kenny, who seemed obsessed with finding a boat, even after seeing that there were none left in town.
She could even understand his obsession, it was a way for him to forget his suffering for a while, a way to occupy his mind.
She sympathized with that, but his attitude was already out of line.
It's as if everything other people said, to him, was useless, bullshit, and only his opinion mattered, only his ideas, he was the only one right.
Duck watched the discussion unfold in front of him, practically used to that situation, in these last days, all they did was fight with each other, his father being the reason for all this, who ignored everything the others said.
- If you think we're going back out there after what we've been through, you're crazy. Omid was shot, you son of a bitch!
A tall, dark-skinned woman scolded Kenny, glaring at him in anger and changing her tone of voice.
- Crista I'm fine, it's just my leg that's a little hurt.
He tried to calm his wife, who looked like she was going to attack Kenny any minute.
- You're not fine Omid, you've been shot, and going out now, with those crazy people out there is stupid Kenny, even for a man like you.
She said, receiving a grateful look from Crista for sticking by her side.
- They should be out of there by now, what's with you guys?! We have to find that boat!
He ignored them again, opening the back door of the house they were in.
- There are no more boats.
He said quietly, but loud enough for Kenny to hear and turn toward him, with a disbelieving look on his face.
- Duck, you can't say that, I need you to stay on my side on this one, hope we find a boat, get out of here.
he began, walking toward the boy, who had an irritated expression on his face.
- Have you even considered the opinion of the others? MY opinion? All you' ve done until now was to give orders, even when your plan failed, without caring a bit about how the others felt, how I feel!
he shouted, looking pissed off at Kenny, who was staring at him without being able to find the right words to say.
- No more boats! You heard Molly, everything that was left in town, Crawford took, and now you want to leave again after we almost got shot! You are not thinking of others, thinking of me, you are thinking about yourself!
He wiped away the angry tears streaming down his face, feeling his chest hurt at the broken look Kenny was giving him, but it was necessary, his father wasn't thinking straight.
Despite the harsh words, Duck loved Kenny, he just wanted him to stop thinking only about himself, and start looking more at the people around him, that's all.
- Duck... how...? How can you say that? I always thought about you, all the time.
He said low, broken, regretful, hurt, but deep down, even he knew he was wrong, even he knew that the choices he made, that he was making, were wrong.
He didn't blame Duck for saying those words, he understood, his son was just telling the truth.
The problem was that the truth hurt.
The words Katjaa had said to him were still fixed in his mind, there wasn't a minute that he didn't think about what she had said.
The boy resented it, it was only a matter of time before he exploded, and deep down Kenny was even a little relieved about it.
It meant that his son would not do what he did.
- The same way you abandoned Lee? Clementine? Lilly? Was that your way of thinking about me? Leaving them to die?
Kenny felt his heart break at those words, hurting more than any bullet had ever hurt him.
- You didn't get along with Lee, you thought he was dangerous, that he would endanger us, and just because of that, because of something you "thought" would happen, you left him and Clementine behind. How is that thinking about me?
He looked deep into Kenny's guilty eyes now, watching the tears streaming down the older man's face.
- Lee took care of me, you know? He gave me part of his food, every day, he played with me and Clem. He saved mom when we were escaping from the motel, unfortunately he wasn't fast enough, but mommy only made it to the RV because of him. He wasn't a bad man. He didn't hate you, he just wanted you to open your eyes.
Duck wiped the tears from his face, took a few steps forward and hugged his father, a strong and tight hug.
- I love you dad, I just want you to get better. You're not a bad man either, but you're scaring me.
Kenny returned the hug, as strong as Duck, placing his forehead on the boy's shoulder, as he thought about all he had done so far, and all that could have been avoided, if only he had stopped, and listened.
Carley and Crista exchanged a few glances, sighing quietly as they hoped that Kenny would listen to his son.
Despite the constant bickering and the overwhelming desire they had to leave Kenny behind, they were willing to cooperate with him if he would change, the world had changed too much, and too many people had died for them to be separated now.
As Lee had said, the group was stronger together.
Ben looked at Duck in a rather intense way, wondering since when the boy had such maturity, or talked like that.
But he sighed soon after, maybe it was the apocalypse, or the fact that his mother had recently died.
- I hate to spoil the moment, but already spoiling it, the house is surrounded by walkers, and there are still some of Crawford's men looking for us, probably. What's the plan?
The girl, Molly, was leaning on the wall with her arms crossed, a little further away from the group.
- We can't leave now, not even if we wanted to, and Omid's leg needs treatment, we will have to spend the night here, it is the safest place we have found since we came to town.
Crista said, looking at Kenny, who was wiping the tears on his face with trembling hands.
- Is this okay for you Kenny?
She asked, not wanting an argument to start later, and willing to try to have a friendly relationship with that man, it was better than having an enmity with him, even more so in a delicate situation like that.
-... Yeah.
He said softly, avoiding eye contact, embarrassed.
- Okay, I'll check the second floor.
Molly turned, not waiting for an answer, and walked to the stairs.
Clementine wiped the tears from her face with trembling hands, with the image of Lee being shot several times repeating itself in her mind during the entire trip.
She was in the back of the truck, her hands tied in front of her body, with her back against the container.
Her head was down on her knees as she sobbed softly, tired from crying.
She had screamed for hours, cried, struggled, and the exhaustion in her body didn't seem as bad as the exhaustion in her mind.
She remembered the times she had had with Lee, the good times, the games, and all those good memories ended with him being shot, dead, because she had trusted a stranger, even though Lee had tried to warn her.
She didn't know how much time had passed since she had been thrown into that dark container, but at no point did she stop crying, scared and alone.
For the first time since Lee had found her, she was alone, and that lonely feeling in her chest was a thousand times worse than she had thought, or than she had felt.
She had lost everything she had, everything Lee had fought for, just because she had been careless, naive, stupid.
Occasionally she would call Lee's name, hoping in vain that he would appear in the darkness of the container and hug her as he always did, tell her that everything was all right, and that he would protect her from everything and everyone that threatened her.
Until the cruel reality became present in her mind, he would not come for her, he was dead.
Because of her.
She lifted her face forward as she saw the container's door open, not even realizing that they had stopped some time ago.
- Come on girl, we don't have much time.
The harsh, disgusting voice of the man who had kidnapped her echoed through the emptiness of the container and sent shivers down Clementine's spine.
The girl became more frightened, but she stood up with difficulty, walking hesitantly to the man, who helped her down from the truck.
- Oh Clementine, you are even more beautiful up close.
A familiar voice came from beside the girl, and she turned, looking exhausted at the voice's owner.
The man in front of her, somewhere between thirty and forty years old, crouched down to her height and hugged her tightly.
The touch of that man caused disgust in Clementine's body, and an urge to throw up ran up her throat, but she restrained herself.
- Oh, you have no idea how long I've waited for this moment, so excited, I almost left this place and went after you myself.
He pulled away and held Clementine's shoulders firmly, and a disgusting, frightening smile came over his face, sending shivers through her body.
-... You... You killed Lee...
She said softly, holding back the tears that wanted to run down her eyes, feeling a small flame of anger rising in her chest, looking at the man who ignored what she had said.
- Oh you are such an angel, your parents and I made a room for you, yes yes yes, the games we will play, the walks we will take, ah I can't wait honey.
- You killed Lee...
She said again, now a little louder, but again, the man ignored her.
- The feasts we will have together, me, you, your parents, my family. Clementine, This. Is. Awesome! We will be such a happy family together. From the moment I saw you in that motel, I think about it, every day.
He spoke dreamily, looking up with a faraway look as he ran his hands over Clementine's body, who felt her body try to pull away from his touch in revulsion.
- You killed Lee.
She said louder this time, as if just confirming what he had done, and feeling her chest burn.
This time the man looked at her, eyes deep and cruel, staring at her predatorily as if she were his prey.
- Stop talking about him! He is not part of our family, he should never have been part of your life, forget him, and we can live happily together.
He said a little angry, raising his voice in an irritated tone, and grabbing Clementine's bound hands tightly, pulling her into the building behind him.
The girl stared at him, staring intensely at the back of the man pulling her.
"He killed Lee."
