Lee smiled slightly as the woman approached him.

She hadn't changed much, those serious and hard expressions still dominated her face, the only thing that really changed was her hair, which was now shorter.

- ... Is that really you? What happened to that kind-looking professor?

She asked, putting a hand on her waist while looking at Lee amusedly. He bowed his head slightly, returning the smile.

- I'm surprised you could recognize me with, you know, all this on my face.

He said, looking back at her as he put his machete back in his waistband, running his hand through his now large beard shortly thereafter.

- The scar under your eye gave you away. It's from when you fought with the St. Johns. Other than that, you are almost unrecognizable. Especially when you're covered in blood. I never thought I'd see you like this.

She said, a faint hint of hatred in her voice when she mentioned the St Johns.

Lilly focused her gaze on his arm, and then on his eye. Lee noticed the spark of curiosity that passed in the woman's eyes, before she turned her face and seemed to look for something around her, stopping her eyes for a few moments on the two girls next to him.

-... Where's Clementine?

She asked, and Lee could notice a bit of hesitation in her voice.

- It's a long story. We got separated because of an ... incident. I can tell you about it later.

He answered, bowing his head again as he remembered the last time he had seen the girl.

Lilly stared at him for a while, with several questions forming in her mind, and curiosity still lingering in her eyes. But, she turned to the others, apparently, they were from her group.

- What happened to you? We were supposed to meet two days ago.

Lilly asked, walking towards Victor, looking at the two boys soon after.

- We were kidnapped by a bunch of lunatics. We saw a lot of people die. They threw us into a fucking soccer court and unleashed zombies on us while an audience watched.

Victor replied, looking up at the sky, focusing his eyes on the slowly receding rays of the sun.

- What the hell?

Scott said, surprised, alternating his gaze between Victor and Zoey.

- I would have died today for sure. Your friend over there is pretty tough, Lilly. If it wasn't for him, we probably wouldn't be here.

He said, pointing at Lee slightly while still looking at Lilly, who looked at Lee with a suggestive look.

Surprised, and even more curious.

- Yeah, I've seen him do something like that before.

She said after a while, looking back at Victor.

They talked for some time, explaining things, updating them on what they were going to do.

- There are plenty of supplies in the factory. If we take the vehicles, we can fill them, it's a lot of food. It will last a long time.

Lee said, walking towards them as soon as he saw Victor finished explaining the situation, drawing their eyes to him.

- Do you know where these supplies are?

Lilly asked, turning to him.

- If they haven't taken them somewhere else, yes.

He said, turning back to face the dirt road. It was getting darker and darker, which was good in a way.

The guards at the factory will be less likely to notice them approaching.

- Okay. Six guards, eleven people, including the youngest, and lots of weapons. Let's go.

She said after a while, opening the backpack she had on her back and handing a pistol to Lee.

- You can use one of these, right?

She asked amused, already knowing the answer to that question.

He stared at the gun for a while, then picked it up and slipped it around his waist.

He probably wouldn't use it if he could. Ammo was getting harder and harder to find.

Besides, he was used to feeling the flesh of the people he kills ripping apart, to feel their blood squirting from their necks.

- Yes, don't worry.

He said, turning and looking at the two girls for a while, walking down the dirt road soon after.

It didn't take long before they reached the outskirts of the factory. Night had already fallen, there was nothing to light the front of the place, and all the guards seemed to be inside.

They approached crouching by the front yard, hiding behind the two trucks parked just behind the wagon, hidden by some tall bushes, which would explain why Lee had not seen the vehicles earlier.

He crouched forward toward the door ahead. Lilly followed him with a military rifle in hand.

He took his machete and placed his fingers on the doorknob, standing still for a few moments, trying to hear some noise coming from behind the door.

He turned the knob slowly and opened the door after a few moments of silence, and entered the factory, seeing the stairs a few meters ahead.

As soon as they entered, they heard some muffled voices.

The guards were talking loudly, and they seemed to be coming from down the next hallway.

Lee and Lilly went ahead, the others followed behind.

Some footsteps were heard approaching down the hall. Lee leaned against the wall holding his machete steady, waiting for the person to get close enough.

As soon as the man appeared in his line of sight, Lee stabbed his machete into his neck and pulled the man backwards, knocking him to the ground.

The man dropped his rifle, surprised, and tried to put his hands on his neck, desperate.

However, Lee grabbed the red handle of the machete and pulled the blade from inside the man's body, stabbing him in the head soon after.

Lilly stared at his back for a few moments, remembering when he had "spared" two cannibalistic men who had tried to make them eat their friend.

To see him kill a man like that was surprising, to say the least. Although she knew she shouldn't be surprised.

Lee would not have survived this long if he had continued to spare the others.

They made their way down the corridor, walking slowly.

Lee recognized that place. Turning right at the end of the corridor, he stopped in front of a closed door.

He put his bloody hand on the doorknob and slowly opened the door.

Lilly looked into the room, and her eyes widened when she saw how much supplies were there.

- Holy crap... Where did these guys find all this stuff?

Scott said, right behind the two of them, looking surprised at all those boxes and bags of food, along with some other important supplies.

- Looting, stealing, killing. I bet half of these things they got by killing and taking from someone.

Lee answered, turning and looking at the door ahead, the same door that led to the huge room he had passed through earlier.

- What's your name girl?

Lilly asked softly, looking at Brenda, who was crouched down right beside Zoey.

- Brenda.

The girl answered, looking a little uncertainly at Lilly, and giving Lee a quick glance. As if silently asking if she could be trusted.

- You, Scott, and Zoey will stay here with the children. There are too many supplies to leave like this, let's make sure they are ours.

She said, and Brenda looked at Lee, staring at him with a questioning look.

Lee noticed, and nodded to the girl, who entered the room, standing next to Scott, who still looked incredulous at the amount of food.

- We'll be back in a few minutes. But in case something goes wrong, get out of here as soon as possible.

Lilly said to Zoey, who nodded to her and entered the room, closing the door immediately afterwards.

Lilly walked towards the door, standing next to Lee, who was peeking through the gap.

- Two guards talking further ahead, I saw one going up the stairs. The other two must be upstairs.

Lee said softly, opening the door a little wider and stepping through it, walking crouched behind one of the side pillars.

- Damn, man. This is the first time that a fight in the arena has taken this long. Why is it my turn and I have to stay here?

One of the guards said loudly in a melancholy tone, leaning sloppily on the wall while sighing angrily.

- Bro, I swear to God, if I hear you complain one more time, I'll throw you in that arena myself!

The guard next to him said, also irritated, taking a drag on his cigarette right after he said it, shaking his head in denial at the man next to him.

- Don't you feel even the slightest bit irritated by this? Hell, we've been standing guard in this factory for a week, while everyone else has been out having fun in the arena every day!

Lee heard the man complain again. He was crossing the room calmly. Lilly would take care of the one on the left, he, the one on the right.

They were both sneaking up on them, taking advantage of the distraction of both guards.

Lee looked at Lilly, and they nodded to each other.

They both advanced toward the men, who were startled by their sudden steps.

Lee stabbed his machete into the right guard's chest, stabbing him multiple times until his body fell motionless to the ground.

He looked at Lilly, who had just cut the other guard's throat.

They looked at each other for a few moments, and then turned to the stairs, where Victor, and three other people that Lee didn't yet know the names of, were already coming up the last steps, aiming their rifles at some point out of Lee's line of sight.

As soon as they climbed the last step, they opened fire, shooting at something in front of them, and both Lee and Lilly could hear the muffled sound of something falling to the ground.

- All clear.

Victor said after a while, standing up and putting his rifle on his back, taking one last look at the three fallen bodies in front of him.

Lee crouched down to the man Lilly had killed and wiped his machete on his clothes, cleaner than the ones he was wearing, at least.

- Collect their weapons and take them to the trucks. We will search the place, then we will leave.

Lilly said loudly, with that typical bossy tone she had, something Lee didn't even know he had missed.

- Still the same as always, bossy.

He said amused, tucking the machete around his waist, and looking at her with mocking eyes.

She smiled slightly at his comment, and turned to him.

- I'd like to say that you haven't changed either, but I'd be lying.

She said, crouching down and picking up the two rifles that were on the ground.

(Some time later...)

Lee stared at one of the trucks, its wagon filled with boxes of food. It was surprising, he had not seen so much food in one place for some time, since he left that building in Savannah.

- Derik went to get that car you said. I'm glad you agreed to come with us.

Lilly's voice brought him out of his thoughts. He turned to the woman, who stood with her arms folded a few steps away from him as she stared at the truck.

- Yeah, well, after all that, I'd feel better relaxing behind some walls than in a car in the middle of nowhere.

He said amidst a sigh, almost crossing his arms as well, but remembering that he didn't have one.

"...What the fuck" - He thought, amused at his own foolishness.

- Where were you guys going? Before you ran into a bunch of lunatics?

She asked, looking back at him.

- A place called Wellington. I hope to meet Clementine there.

He answered, looking back, watching the spark of curiosity in Lilly's eyes.

- Wellington... a lot of people seem to be going there. I heard a bit, they grow their own food, zombies are almost a zero threat due to the cold. A huge community, apparently. Built as soon as the apocalypse started. Many people have heard about it.

She said, putting her arms around her waist as she sighed slightly, looking at the children, who hesitantly entered the container of the second truck.

- It's like you said, a lot of people have heard about it. I'm going there in the hope of finding Clementine. Carley probably heard about it too, and unless they found another community, that's where they are going.

He said, walking towards the truck beside Lilly, taking one last look at the factory behind him. Another place that would be forgotten by time.

They entered the container. Lee looked at Brenda, who was talking about something with Zack, and Alice was trying, in her typical animated way, to get Francis to say something.

Lee looked at this with a raised eyebrow, it was good that they were interacting with other people besides him for a change.

- Okay, have a safe trip trapped inside this thing. This shit makes me choke just looking at it.

Scott said, just before he closed the container.

Lee sat forward a little, leaning his back against the metal structure and looking forward, observing the darkness of the place, with only the silhouettes of the people becoming barely visible.

He heard her sit down next to him, and she put the gun down.

The truck began to move a short time later.

- So, I guess it's going to be a long trip. How about telling me what happened to you?

She said softly after a while, leaning her arms on her legs as she stared into the darkness.

- Aarh... where do I start?

He asked thoughtfully, bowing his head and sighing tiredly as he remembered everything he had been through.

There were so many things, he had suffered so many injuries, killed so many people, faced so many near-death experiences, endured so much pain, been to so many places, seen so many things, done so many things, that even he was surprised at himself.

- You can start from when you left that motel. Where did you go? What did you do?

she said, a few moments later.

- Well... In short, I took Clementine on my lap and ran through the forest, being followed by three other bandits, who, by luck, or by their own stupidity, were only holding iron bars, the most dangerous one having a machete.

He began, running his hand over his head as he tried to organize the furious mess of memories.

- I put Clementine in a car, turned around, took advantage that there were several zombies on the street and used them to my advantage, killed all three. We went to my family's pharmacy after that.

Lilly turned her head towards him, even though she couldn't see anything, being slightly surprised by the tactic. It was a clever thing, she had used it a few times herself, but it took a while for the idea to cross her mind.

- I managed to find some supplies, a car, I taught Clementine to shoot, to use a knife, to be smart. Until some asshole kidnapped her.

She arched her eyebrows in surprise. She couldn't think of a reason why someone would kidnap a little girl. At least not one that didn't involve something sick.

- I... almost died when it happened. When I woke up, they had already taken her. I dragged myself to the car and stayed there for a while, as soon as i could, i went straight to Savannah.

Lee ran his hand through his beard, slightly bothered by how long it was, he probably looked like Santa Claus that way.

- I managed to find her. The son of a bitch had taken her to a college, he was using the place as a commune, lots of people, guns, food. I think he wanted Clementine to be part of his family, or something, I don't know, I wasn't in the mood to hear that shit. I found a way in, killed as many as I could, filled the place with zombies.

Lilly leaned her head against the metal frame, trying to imagine that scene. The last time she had seen Lee, he had been acting in the gentle, quiet way he always did, it was even a little hard to imagine that he would do something like that.

And well, in a way, he wouldn't do something like that. Not if Clementine wasn't involved.

- This seems to have been... intense.I mean, I can imagine you doing something like that because of her, but still, it's surprising.

She said, taking advantage of the moment of silence, the moment when Lee had become thoughtful.

- Yeah, believe me, I didn't think I was capable of that either. Anyway, this guy had kidnapped others too. Ben, Kenny, and two other people I don't know the names of.

Lilly closed her face a little when she heard Kenny's name, she remembered well when he had abandoned them, she would never forget that.

- I let them go, and went after him. I can tell you it was not easy to find him. I got into a fight with two other men, one of them stabbed me in the eye, I fell out from the second floor window with the other.

She arched her eyebrows again, imagining the scene. That must have hurt like hell, besides being very dangerous, he could have broken some bone with the fall, or worse.

- It must have hurt like hell. You've been through a lot.

Lilly said.

- The best comes later. I was bitten.

She turned her face toward him again, speechless, surprised, especially to see him well. Well, not "well" exactly, but well enough, considering.

- I was desperate when I saw the bite on my arm. I went into the building again, and did something I feel to this day.

He said, and Lilly understood perfectly what he had done, it explained why he was missing an arm.

- I still feel the pain of cutting my own arm off. It's something I doubt I'll ever forget. Anyway, I found the man who kidnapped her, stabbed him in both legs, cut his wrists and left him for dead. I found Clementine soon after. I was too weak to get out of there, so I explained some things to her, and told her to leave me.

He sighed tiredly, those memories hurt much more than having cut his own arm, it was as if he had been stabbed multiple times in the chest.

- I was going to die there, in that empty room, in a building full of zombies. But guess what?

he said, making Lilly think for a while.

- Carley showed up?

She asked after a while.

- Hah, no. Kenny saved me.

That definitely surprised her. Lee would laugh at her surprised expression, if it wasn't so dark in there.

- You're kidding...

she said, still not believing it.

- No. He took care of my injuries for a while. We were together for quite a while after that, until we parted again. The roof of an airport collapsed, we had to get out of there, each on our own way. I have been on the road ever since, met those two girls, then a group of lunatics, and well, here we are.

Lee finished saying, he had left out a lot of things, told "his story" in a vague way, but told enough.

Those were memories he didn't like to remember much.

-... Fuck. It would make a great movie. You've been through some pretty fucked up shit, no wonder you've changed so much.

She said after some time in silence, just thinking about what Lee had told her. She imagined herself in his place.

Would she have the courage to do all that?

To cut off her own arm, alone, right after being stabbed in the eye?

Maybe, if she had a "Clementine" in her life. But she didn't have any person who could make her go that far.

She liked some people, had a good relationship with others, but would not risk her life for them.

- That's right. What about you, what did you do? What did you go through? Although you have become a little more bossy, you don't seem to have changed much.

He said, slightly amused. Lilly smiled slightly and shook her head, running her hand down her neck.

- I haven't been through anything as "intense" as you, although I have run into some pretty fucked up stuff.

She said softly, sighing slightly as she rested her arm back on her knee.

- After the motel, I spent some time wandering alone, surviving as best I could. I ran into some bandits along the way, actually, several bandits, it seems that they have increased with the apocalypse.

She began, leaning her head back against the cold metal frame, feeling her mind being flooded with memories.

- I always saw those rape cases on TV, I always thought that if something like this happened to me, I would be able to handle the situation. I must say that watching it on TV, and actually experiencing it happening to me, were totally different things.

She said with a heavy tone, causing Lee to turn his head toward her, shocked.

-Were you...?

He tried to ask, but couldn't finish the question. He didn't know how to ask something like that, especially if it was something that could leave a permanent mark on the person.

-... Almost. It's more desperate than I thought it would be. It was night, I was sitting in front of the fire, having just finished eating the rabbit I had hunted. I heard a noise behind me, I tried to get my gun, that's when two men came out of the forest and advanced on me, one of them immobilized me while the other tried to take my clothes off.

Lilly said with a voice full of anger, mockery. If she could go back in time, she would surely kill those men in the worst possible way.

- He managed to get some of it off. I had to put up with him running his hand over me, over my body. I had to control that urge to throw up, it was the first time I felt so desperate. It was different, they hadn't even hurt me, they hadn't stabbed me or shot me, they just ran their hands over my body, and it was one of the worst things I've ever felt.

She said, pausing for a while, maybe to control her anger, or to stop those feelings she felt before from coming back to her again.

-I...

Lee tried to say something, but couldn't, he didn't know what he could say in a situation like that. In fact, he didn't even know if he had to say anything, especially to Lilly. She wouldn't accept words like "I'm sorry", because he knew it was useless. And Lilly knew it too.

- You don't have to say anything, I'm over it. It's not as if I hated all men after that, or especially distrusted them. I'm suspicious of everybody. Anyway, when he went to take off his pants, I took advantage of his friend being distracted, punched him in the face, grabbed the knife he had in his waistband, and slit his throat. Then I took his gun and shot the other guy, I discharged the whole mag into his body.

Cold, but Lee wouldn't judge, if he had been in her place, he probably would have done the same. Maybe worse. And those men definitely deserved it.

- After that, their friends came running at the tail of the shots. I was shot in the leg. I saw when one of them pointed the gun at my head. Until Zoey came along, along with Victor and Scott. I have been with them ever since. We found this community after we met. I won't say they have the best people in the world, but at least they are decent enough.

She finished saying, crawling slightly forward and lying down, using her arm as a pillow.

- We saw some pretty grotesque things whenever we went out looking for supplies. People cutting others in half like animals, some cannibals. People in such a deplorable state that death had even become necessary for them. A way out, something that would set them free.

Lee just stayed put, he knew what it was like. There were people in a state of complete misery in that world, and he was thankful that he had never reached that point, even with all the difficulties he had gone through.

- Sometimes I wonder how I managed to survive. With so much shit going on in the world these days, it seems like a miracle.

He said after a while, leaning his arm on his knee and leaning his head against the metal frame of the container.

- Simple. Because you did what was necessary. Well, most of the time, anyway. Even I am surprised to see you here. Stabbed in the eye, bitten, ripped off your own arm. Damn, you really are unlucky.

Lilly said, laughing lightly at her last line, surprised at how much shit had happened to him.

Lee laughed along with her, sighing slightly shortly after.

- Yeah, I know that. You got lucky, you found a community of decent people.

He said, closing his eye, feeling the tiredness begin to reach his body.

- Yeah...you can't stay there like that.

She said, and Lee opened his eye again, confused.

- What? Why?

He asked, arching an eyebrow.

- Because you look like a guy who could kill everyone at any time. That beard and hair has got to go, and you need a shower, I'm surprised you didn't scare the kids with all that blood covering your body.

She said amused, turning her body and closing her eyes as well, hearing Lee's light laughter next to her.

- Yeah... I kinda didn't get a chance to shave.