"What is your happiest memory after the apocalypse began?"

Lee repeated that question in his head more times than he wished he had. He remembered, almost daily, when he heard it.

That woman, Emilia, had taken the biggest card on the table and asked Scott that question. He had answered something vague in which Lee could no longer remember, or simply did not want to remember.

But he was incredibly thoughtful after that, and the question wasn't even asked to him.

His happiest memory since that hell began, by far, was when he taught Clementine to swim.

It was a very special memory, because she meant the little spark, the little flame of "normality" and "purity" that had not yet been consumed by the world.

It reflected well the pure relationship between an adult and a child.

A father and his daughter.

There were other relatively "happy" memories after that one, but none that could reach his feet.

And he thought about it almost every day since he first heard that question.

And that had been weeks ... months since it happened.

Lee didn't know exactly how long they had been there in that community, but he knew it was long enough. Things had changed, the village had expanded... not much, but enough to have more space, more rooms...

They started planting, managed to make a relatively safe path to the river, and the number of people increased, which contributed to the guard against the zombies and made the community stronger.

Lee could see a future forming in that place, it was like a piece of paradise for many people who arrived there in that period of time. A little spark of hope and light in a world covered in darkness.

And if things continued in this way, the place would only prosper. Which was great, but at the same time dangerous.

People would want to take what they had, and the people in that community should be ready for when that happened.

Lee knew that many people were more than ready in case an incident happened, but the vast majority had let themselves be dominated by that false sense of security, where they completely ignored the dangers outside those now reinforced walls.

It wasn't a bad thing that they clung to that normalcy, what was bad was that they allowed themselves to forget about the dangers, about what the world was really like, and Lee was slightly worried about this.

But he hoped that Lilly and Ellen would be able to talk some sense into these people, since the two toughest women in the place had put the new people through a training regimen. There were plenty of supplies, and things were only about to get better, so they were able to make a small physical training area.

And even Lee was caught up in the process, where he had to train every single day.

"They don't take it easy just because I don't have an arm..." - He thought amused, remembering the military-style training that Lilly practically forced him to do.

Of course, it was training adapted for him, but it was heavy nonetheless.

His mind immediately thought of Brenda. The girl was getting closer and closer to the people there, which was great. She had become practically friends with almost all the women in the community, maybe because they felt sympathy for the girl for everything she had been through, or maybe it was just a "female" thing.

She had become, practically, a different person. More smiling, more cheerful, a little more normal, although she still had her moments when she remembered everything she had been through and looked a little gloomy around her.

But, those moments were relatively rare now, and only happened when she was sad about something.

Lee sighed. He had waited long enough, Brenda was already much better than when he found her, the girl no longer needed him.

And he had another girl to meet at the moment, it was not easy to contain the anxiety in his chest all this time. He felt that he couldn't hold it in any longer, and it was time to go.

He lowered his head and ran his hand through his hair as he lay down on his bed, it was no surprise that he was wanting to leave, practically everyone at that moment already knew his story. But that didn't mean it would be easy, he had become much closer to the girl than he had thought.

And although it hurt him to have to do this, Clementine was someone he simply could not leave behind. He will find her, even if it is the last thing he ever does, and no one can change that.

Besides, he knew that Brenda could take care of herself and was surrounded by people who cared about her. The girl would be fine.

Maybe, someday, he would see her again.

The door was opened, and Brenda entered the room while chatting about something with Zoey, somewhat excited.

- Okay, tomorrow, don't forget.

He heard Brenda say to Zoey with a smile, to which the woman just nodded and looked at Lee.

- I'm on it. Hey Lee.

She greeted him, and Lee waved back at her, until Zoey turned and walked down the hall while Brenda closed the door.

- Are you guys making plans already? An all-women party?

Lee asked amused, as he lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, feeling Brenda's gaze on him.

- I'd like to, but no. I'm going to help do some work on the community expansion, Zoey has agreed to help me.

She said, taking off her sneakers and lying down next to Lee, starting to stare at the ceiling next to him. Alog which she began to do a lot of whenever she came into the room after her activities.

- Have you been here all this time again?

She asked after a while, closing her eyes and just letting her body rest, but not wanting to sleep.

- Yes, I'm old, and Lilly doesn't take it easy in training... let me rest.

Lee answered. He just made an excuse to Brenda, anxiety was not letting him focus on his work, not anymore. And he had already talked to Ellen about leaving the camp, the woman gave him a few days to think it over, but didn't try to convince him to stay. Even though she wanted to.

- Uhum, yeah, I know, old man... alright, make up some better excuses.

She said, slightly ironic, making Lee smile slightly. She had learned to see better through lies, which would be a great skill in the outside world.

It also gave more credence to the thought that she would be fine without him.

He sighed softly again, thinking of some way to tell her that he was leaving.

Wellington had already waited too long, Kenny might even be there by then, he had to take a chance.

-What are you so worried about?

Brenda's voice brought him out of his thoughts, and he looked at the girl with an arched eyebrow.

- You have a troubled expression, the way you look when you're worried about something.

She explained, and Lee looked away again.

"Of course she would notice...how long have we been together?" - Lee asked mentally, defeated that she already knew his expressions.

-I'm leaving the community... I'm going to look for Clementine.

He said after a while, and felt the girl shiver a little beside him. He expected an immediate response, some reaction, but Brenda just remained quiet.

Silently, for a while.

He turned his face to the girl and took a deep breath when he saw the sad expression on her face.

- I know...

She said after a few moments of silence, looking deep into Lee's eye, who was slightly surprised.

- That's what you were doing before you found me. You practically mention her every day, you get anxious all day long. You wake up scared in the middle of the night, calling her name.

Lee arched an eyebrow, now really surprised. He had always thought that the girl was fast asleep when these moments happened.

Brenda sighed sadly, looking ruefully at Lee, as if she didn't want this moment to come.

- We slept in the same bed for, I don't know, months. Did you really think I wouldn't notice?

She asked, a sad smile escaping her lips and Lee realized that the girl was trying to swallow the urge to cry that insisted on rising in her throat.

- ... Yeah, I should have known you'd notice... you're a smart girl.

He said, looking into Brenda's moist eyes.

-... I always knew that there would come a time when you would leave... I always feared that it would come too soon. And all things considered, I should be happy that it took months for you to decide to leave, but...

she said. Her eyes were red and a few tears streamed slowly down her face. Lee felt his chest burning, felt that horrible feeling of having made Brenda cry...

He placed his hand gently on Brenda's face, and dried her tears with his fingers, without looking away.

-... Can I come with you?

She asked, and Lee looked at her with a heavy face. And even without saying anything, Brenda knew the answer.

- This place, Brenda, is amazing. Strong walls, lots of people, good people, lots of weapons, food. I don't want you to go back out there. You can start your life here, there are people who care about you. Besides, you already know how to take care of yourself.

He said, slowly removing his hand from the girl's face and sitting down on the bed, looking at the window with a distant look.

The girl sighed tearfully, trying to control the few sobs that were trying to escape her throat.

-I don't want you to go... I know it sounds kind of selfish of me, but... after my parents... after that camp... you became an important part of my life... do you expect me to just accept you leaving it like that?

She asked, sitting down right next to Lee as she tried to wipe the heavy tears that were streaming down her face.

Lee felt horrible to see her like that, especially knowing that he was the reason she was crying so hard.

He didn't know what to say at that moment, he had never really said goodbye, not like that.

Lee bowed his head and turned to the girl, pulling her into an embrace.

Brenda wrapped her arms around his torso and sank her head into his chest. Lee placed his hand gently on the girl's head, feeling her sobs tremble her whole body.

She cried for a few minutes, with Lee trying uselessly to find something to say, something to comfort her, but found nothing.

After a while, Brenda finally stopped crying, but kept hugging Lee tightly, perhaps afraid that he would disappear the moment she let go.

Lee looked at the window once more, it was night, he planned to leave at dawn. He sighed lightly, he still had to talk about this with Ellen, or with Lilly.

- ... I'm sorry it has to be this way, Brenda... I'd like to stay here, I really would, but... Clementine is out there, somewhere, I have to find her.

He said softly after a while, taking the girl's chin gently and lifting her head to look at him.

Red eyes stared into his brown one, and it felt horrible to see her like that, since even when Alice died she didn't cry that way.

- It's something I have to do, it's why I left a zombie-infested city, it's why I've survived so many unimaginable things. I won't forget you, Brenda, there is no way I can forget you. And maybe, someday, we'll meet again.

He said, those being the only words he could think of to at least try to comfort the girl. He didn't know if it had worked or not, but he said what he should have said.

Brenda swallowed and took a deep breath, gently undoing the hug and running her hands over her swollen face.

- ... Promise me. Promise me you'll come see me when you find her.

She said after a while, in a tearful, but at the same time serious tone, as well as looking at him intensely.

Lee looked at her with a certain regret, he would like to make that promise, he really would, but there was no guarantee that he wouldn't die when he found Clementine... or that he would die before he even found her.

-I promise... that I' ll try.

He answered after a while, that being the best promise he could make in the world.

Brenda looked at him with a certain gleam in her eye for a while, but then lowered her head, nodding slightly.

It was not the promise she wanted to hear, but it was good enough.

Lee put his hand on the girl's shoulder, before getting up from the bed.

- I ... have to talk some things over with Lilly, tell her I'm leaving ... I'll be back in a few hours at the latest ... we ... can talk some more in the morning.

He said with some regret, he didn't want to leave the girl alone, not at that moment.

Brenda looked at him for a moment, and nodded, turning away from him and going back to bed.

Lee felt worse as he saw her body trembling slightly, but he knew she would get over it.

She was a strong girl, for sure, she would get over it in no time.

He walked out the door, taking one last look at the girl before closing it.

He walked with a certain melancholy in his steps, a certain regret on his face, but he was determined to do what he had to do, no matter how much it hurt others around him.

No matter how much it hurt himself.

After some time walking through the streets of the village, and responding to a few nods in his direction, he sees Lilly coming out of the main building ahead.

As soon as she saw him, he waved, and she stopped walking, waiting for him with her arms crossed.

- You walking out at night? What a surprise.

She said, looking at him with a slight smile, which died when she saw his slightly heavy expression.

- Yeah, right... just something really important to make me go out at night...

He said vaguely, but Lilly already knew what it was about.

-... So you decided to leave... I won't say I'm surprised, Clementine has always meant a lot to you.

She said, putting a hand on her waist as she bowed her head slightly.

- Yeah, I... I'm planning to leave tomorrow morning. I've been here too long already, I can't hold back the anxiety, I have to find her.

He explained, looking around a bit nervously, anxious to finally get back to his main objective, and sad to give up so many things.

-I understand.

She said, nodding towards the building next door, and started walking soon after, with Lee walking beside her.

- To tell you the truth, I'm surprised you didn't leave sooner, you know. The way you talk about Clementine makes it sound like you're going to leave any minute now.

She said, looking at him for a few moments as she walked up the stairs of that building.

- Yes, I wanted to, but I felt that this was not the best time to leave. Brenda was still not doing very well, not well enough. Now she has more friends, she is more lively. It's the right time for me.

He said, slightly confused where he was going, but ignoring it.

Lilly looked at him with a small smile.

- How very noble of you. Not many people would care that way about a practically strange girl.

She said, stopping her walk as soon as they arrived in front of a room.

- You know, when I saw you again, even though you were covered in blood, I kind of wished it wasn't you.

She "confessed," putting her hand on her waist as she looked at Lee, mildly amused to see the confused expression on his face.

- And why was that?

he asked.

- I remember when you spared the St. John's, of course, after beating the crap out of them, but, you didn't kill them, which could have been risky, and you know why. When I recognized it was you, I was happy, and worried at the same time. For a moment, I thought that you were still the same man who refused to kill people, no matter how dangerous they were.

She explained, taking a key from her pocket and unlocking the next door.

- If that were the case, I wouldn't be alive.

He said, looking curiously at the interior of the apartment.

- Yes, I realized this when I paid closer attention to your situation. Scars, covered in blood. That's when the worry went away, and I was genuinely happy to see you again.

She said, approaching Lee and putting the keys in her pocket, smiling slightly at the man's confused expression.

She reached for Lee's shirt and pulled him down, at the same time standing on her tiptoes and lifting her body, narrowing the distance between them and pulling him into a kiss.

It was a confused, even shy kiss at first, but it deepened and found its way in as they became more accustomed to each other's bodies.

After the initial shock, Lee pulled her around the waist and deepened the kiss, increasing the heat and intensity of the sensations exchanged by their lips.

They pulled away after a while, a little breathless, and looked deep into each other's eyes. A small smile broke out on Lilly's lips as she felt Lee's hand running over her body.

- Won't you come in? We still have plenty of time before dawn. You can be back with Brenda in an hour or two.

She proposed, a somewhat sensual voice that made Lee feel a slight shiver spread through his body as he looked into the woman's desire-filled eyes.

- Or three.

He said after a few moments, causing the woman's smile to broaden.

She pulled Lee into the apartment with some haste and closed the door, a little harder than she wanted, but not much caring about the noise.

Especially the loud noises and moans that echoed from her room for a few hours.

( :D )

Lee looked once more at the interior of the community, already feeling slightly nostalgic before he even left.

There weren't many people there at the moment, it was still very early and the first rays of sunlight were still kissing the horizon.

He looked at the small group around him.

His gaze fell on Brenda, who was hugging him tightly by his torso, trying to have a little more contact with him before he left.

Then he looked at Victor and Ellen, who was showing on the map the place where Lilly and Scott would drop Lee off so that he could continue his journey.

Despite not wanting to, the two insisted on accompanying Lee, at least to the nearest highway, and he was grateful for all that "attention" he was getting.

He stared for a while at Lilly's back, with the memories and sensations he felt a short time ago still fresh in his body.

Since the apocalypse began, he hadn't imagined he would feel a woman's body again, especially a woman like Lilly, and he could say with all his might that that night was wonderful.

He even got a few scratches and hickeys all over his body, a little parting gift.

After a while, Brenda turned away from him with a sad look on her face, clearly controlling her tears from streaming down her face. She had cried a lot when Lee was away, she didn't want to cry again.

At least, not now.

Victor finished explaining a few things and closed the map, handing it to Lilly as he walked towards Lee, extending his hand.

- It was a pleasure to meet you, man. Good luck in your search.

He said sympathetically, squeezing Lee's hand firmly as they nodded to each other.

- The doors of the community will always be open for you, and your girl, when you find her.

Ellen said, standing next to Victor as she shook Lee's hand, looking gratefully and sympathetically at him.

- Thank you very much.

Lee thanked her, and looked again at Brenda. He gave the best smile he could at that moment and put his hand on the girl's head, who held his arm gently.

He didn't need to say anything, he had said enough.

- Well, we're ready.

Lilly said, standing beside Lee as she looked at Ellen, who nodded.

Brenda held Lee's arm until the last moment, where he slowly pulled back and began to walk away, giving her one last smile before turning his back to her.

Brenda stared at his back as he walked further and further away, already unable to hold back her tears. She hugged her body, and felt the warmth Lee gave her leave her and the cold of loneliness take its place.

Once again, the girl felt alone to see someone important abandon her. But at the same time, she felt happy to have met Lee, the man who taught her and opened so many doors for her.

She felt grateful for him, and wanted to do more things for, and with him. But all she could do at the moment was stand by and watch him walk out of her life, forever.

This hadn't been easy for Lee either, and he had to control himself to keep the tears from streaming down his face. He even felt like turning around and taking Brenda with him, but he controlled himself.

She was in a good place, surrounded by good people, she would have a good life there.

Lee bowed his head slightly and sighed, feeling his chest hurt, but he was used to this pain.

He had lived with it for a long time, he could even say that it was part of his being.

He was slightly surprised to feel Lilly's hand squeeze his. He looked away and smiled at the sympathetic look she gave him, also squeezing her hand.

After a few minutes of walking, the sun finally appeared on the horizon, and they finally reached the highway.

Scott, who was further ahead, turned and arched an eyebrow at the sight of Lee and Lilly arching their hands. He made a mocking expression, but kept quiet, he wasn't up for a beating that day, especially not so early.

Lilly turned to Lee and pulled him into a kiss. She wrapped her arms around Lee's neck as she moaned softly when she felt his strong grip on her waist.

A warm, passionate kiss, one last kiss before they parted again.

As they pulled apart, they both looked at Scott, who was looking at them somewhat incredulously.

- Scott...

They said together, smiling slightly at their friend who held his hands up.

- Don't worry, I didn't see anything... Jesus.

He said, looking down and trying to forget what he saw.

-Good luck out there. Hope to see you again someday.

Lilly said, giving Lee a quick kiss before walking away from him.

- Thanks. Someday, maybe, we can meet again.

Lee said, smiling at the woman as he looked at Scott, who raised his hand in his direction.

- It was a pleasure to meet you, pal. I'd say going out on your own is crazy, but after what I've seen, I think you'll be fine.

Scott said, squeezing Lee's hand firmly as he waved to him.

Lee looked at both of them once more, before turning and starting to go his own way