Something Lee never thought he would need to do someday, for sure, was strangle someone.
He always imagined himself doing this to somebody, but with his two arms, and a long time ago.
Strangling a man who was trained, and who was trying to escape his grasp violently, was certainly more difficult than he had imagined.
Squeezing his arm tighter around the man's neck, Lee kicked him behind the knee, knocking the man to the ground, who was salivating and had a desperate expression on his face as he searched for air.
Some time later, the man finally collapsed from lack of air, and Lee breathed a sigh of relief that he had finally knocked out the guard.
He lifted his eye and stared at James for a while, who was further ahead, looking with a neutral expression at the guard.
Lee began to search the man's body, checking all his pockets, and smiled slightly when he found what he was looking for.
- Here, this should give you a free pass to take his place on the guard. You already know what to do.
Lee said, handing a piece of paper with a red seal underneath to James, who took it and put it in his pocket.
- What are you going to do with him?
The boy asked, looking around.
They were alone in that small garage, which belonged to the man who was passed out on the floor.
- I will tie him up and hide his body. It should take them a day, maybe more, to find him.
Lee said, taking the tape and rope he had brought with him.
James stared at him for a few moments longer, then nodded, leaving the garage the same way they came in, through a hole in the back wall.
As soon as James was out, Lee sighed and shook his head.
He took the knife that was in his waistband and stabbed the man in the back of the head, wiping the blade on his clothes and dragging him into the house where he lived.
Lee hid his body and cleaned up the place, leaving no trace of the blood that had been spilled on the floor.
He left the garage and walked calmly towards the street that connected to the other houses.
At that time, there would be no one around, he had spent days just studying the guards' schedules, and he had to say that Lilly had helped him a lot.
He sighed once again as he remembered the woman, what he was doing with her was fucked up, he was using her, as a mere object.
A means to an end.
But, if things were different, he would love to enter into a deeper relationship with the woman, she, amazingly enough, was a good companion.
Not to mention the nights of sex, there was no shortage of that.
Well, he would try not to think about it too much, she wasn't innocent either.
As Lee moved further into the community, he looked up at the sky. Late afternoon was near, he had to act fast for the second part of his plan.
He went to his room and grabbed some vials that he got from the hospital wing of the place, stored at the bottom of it.
Then he walked over to the drawer and picked up some plastic packets with white pills inside.
It was amazing the things he could do just by knowing the hourly schedules and the daily lives of some people.
He put them in his overcoat pocket and left the room again.
At the moment, he had exactly ten minutes to get into the kitchen and pour the poison into the pots.
Because it was colorless, mixed with the smell and taste of food, they would not even notice.
As soon as he arrived at the cafeteria where he eats, he saw the chefs sitting at one of the tables in front of the place, some smoking a cigarette, and talking among themselves.
Lee snuck to the back and entered through the back door, immediately looking at the pans on the stove, and on the tables.
He opened the meat bags and poured one of the jars all over them.
Then he opened the bean bags, also pouring a full jar all over them.
Soon after, he poured the last jar into a huge pot of pasta.
And finally, he opened the plastic packets and crushed the white pills into the rice packets.
They would not notice.
Lee stowed the jars and plastics in his overcoat again and left the place, just in time not to run into the chefs.
He walked toward the northern part of the compound, and sat down on a bench near the armory that would explode, now he just had to wait.
James was probably getting ready by now, and Lilly was doing her chores.
The guards would switch shifts to eat, and soon after would return to their posts for other guards to eat.
A good number of them will not be able to move.
He had nothing to worry about at that moment.
(...)
The night took longer than Lee wanted, and now, it was time for the final part of his plan.
Lee approached the armory, and entered an alley, only a few meters before reaching his destination.
He removed some of the boards covering the propane tank on the floor and snuck to the back of those buildings, walking down the dark, damp corridor to the back of the armory.
As soon as he approached, he looked at the man in charge leaving the place, waiting for the other man who would take over the armory from that day on.
The man didn't look very well.
The poison was already taking effect.
Lee walked forward a little further and entered the armory quickly, walking to the room where the ammo was kept.
He opened the tank, and heard the sound of the gas coming out.
Good thing he was able to find out who would take care of that place, and good thing he was a smoker.
His luck was paying off, at least.
- Lee?
He was slightly startled. As soon as he left the armory, he turned to the side, looking a little surprised at Lilly, who was looking at him in confusion.
And right behind her, the main gates were opened.
"Fuck, she said she'd be out later today" He thought irritated.
Never mind, his luck was still the same shit.
- Lilly? What are you doing here?
He asked, glancing at the man who had just entered the armory.
- I have been notified that many of the guards have become sick. But more importantly, what are you doing here? The training has practically just ended.
She asked, looking at the clean clothes he was wearing, somewhat suspiciously.
Lee looked at the armory and sighed angrily, taking Lilly's hand and pulling her along with him, walking away from the place.
- Lee, wha...
She tried to say, however, the huge explosion that happened right behind her prevented her from continuing.
Lilly was pushed forward with some force due to the impact, and Lee held her against his body, preventing her from falling.
The woman recovered and looked back, confused, frightened, and shocked as her eyes followed the huge flame that was rapidly spreading across the place.
Lee let go of her and looked at her back with some regret.
She was not supposed to be there.
Lee walked past her and towards the main gates, looking at the surrounding guards, who were coughing, and some were even vomiting, because of the poison.
The passage was practically clear.
Except for one person.
- Lee?!
Lilly shouted his name, stopping him from continuing to walk, holding his arm with some force.
Lee sighed again, shaking his head.
- You're not supposed to be here.
He said, not turning to the woman, but feeling the woman's confused and shocked look on his back.
-... Did you do this?
She asked in a low tone, squeezing Lee's arm tighter.
- You should...
- Did you do this?!
she asked louder, pulling Lee back hard and looking him in the eye. The woman's eyes seemed to search within his for some hint of misunderstanding, something to prove that he had nothing to do with that explosion, and that he would not do what she was thinking.
He didn't answer; he continued to stare at the woman's face with a certain coldness, and indifference. But, he felt genuinely bad to see the few tears coming down the woman's cheeks, he never thought he would see Lilly cry, not after Larry's death.
The woman lowered her head when she got her confirmation, trying to control the small sobs that stubbornly escaped from her throat.
- I'm not staying in this community, Lilly. Not after the things I've found out. You must have known I would try to escape, no?
Lilly was silent for a while, until her sobs stopped.
-... The guards... did you have something to do with that too?
She asked, her voice trembling and choked, making Lee's stomach turn.
-... Yeah.
He admitted it, there was no point in trying to hide it, she probably already knew, she was just waiting for some kind of confirmation.
Lee sighed, he wouldn't try to tell her his motives, or the reasons behind his actions. He himself knew that what he did was wrong.
And he didn't give a shit about that.
He was reborn in the wrong, and he will die in the wrong, it was inevitable.
Lilly raised her head, looking at Lee with a mixture of anger, sadness, and betrayal.
He arched an eyebrow; in a way, he really had betrayed her.
- Was all that... was all that we had in that room a lie?
She asked, her voice, once sad and trembling, was firmer, and colder. Lilly was a strong woman, and she would get over it easily.
At least, he hoped so.
Lee even thought about saying that it hadn't all been a lie, that he had really enjoyed the woman's company, but he also knew how hypocritical that would sound.
So it was better for both of them if he lied one more time.
- Yes, it was all a lie. Just as this place is a lie. I'm not going to fight a war that doesn't belong to me.
Lee said, starting to turn around.
However, he arched his eyebrows when he saw Lilly pointing a pistol in his direction. She quickly dried the tears that streamed down her face, and controlled her emotions.
Lee smiled internally, she would forget him, sooner or later.
- Surrender... and I swear I won't kill you now.
She said, looking at Lee coldly, but you could see the woman's anger burning inside her eyes.
Lee smiled slightly, and in one swift movement, pushed the woman's arm to the side.
Lilly was surprised and pulled the trigger by accident. She recovered from the initial shock, and dropped the gun, turning her body and trying to kick Lee, however, he deflects to the side, and counterattacks with a punch to the woman's face.
Lilly turns her head with the impact, but ignores the pain she felt and moves towards Lee again, screaming in anger as she did so.
Lee was slightly surprised, and dodged one of the woman's punches, however, just like Gunner, she began to use his blind spot to her advantage.
Lilly hit him with a punch to the face, followed by a kick to the ribs, a punch to the chest, and a punch to the chin.
Lee turned around, blinking rapidly as he spat out a small amount of blood, stunned.
She hits harder than he had thought, he couldn't underestimate her, or he would be screwed.
He turned around again, narrowly dodging another punch from the woman, who seemed possessed, with hatred emanating from her every blow.
And he didn't have much time, more guards would be there any moment.
Lee's eyes widen when he sees her taking the knife from her waist.
Lilly tries to pierce the blade into Lee's chest, who deflects to the side.
The woman kicks him in the abdomen, preventing him from counterattacking, and tries a cut, again in his chest.
Lee bends down and grabs the woman by the waist, throwing his body against her and knocking her to the ground.
He punches Lilly in the face, and takes the knife from her hand, throwing the blade away.
Lilly takes advantage of this and lands another punch to Lee's face, who is knocked off her by the impact.
Lee quickly recovers and punches her in the stomach, just as she stood up.
Lilly bent over from the strong impact, feeling the air being expelled from her lungs.
Lee gets up and lands a punch to the woman's face, followed by a kick to the leg, making her kneel.
And finally, a kick to the side of the head, making the woman go to the ground, with blood dripping from her mouth, and stunned.
Lilly stood up with difficulty, blinking several times because of her blurred eyes.
As soon as she recovered, she felt her body lock up as she looked at Lee, who was pointing her pistol at her head.
She just stared at him, surprised, and with hatred still present in her gaze.
Lee was panting, he had forgotten that Lilly was an excellent fighter.
They stared at each other for a few moments, until Lee lowered his gun and shot Lilly in one of her legs.
The woman cried out in pain, and put her trembling hands over the wound.
- I'm not going to kill you, I don't want to hurt you any more than I already did. Don't come after me, Lilly. Or next time, I'll have to kill you.
He said, looking one last time into Lilly's eyes, before turning and walking towards the gates, where a bus was stopped, with some people just outside the door.
Before he left, Lilly saw Lee shoot the bus driver, before disappearing down the dark road.
(...)
The woman sighed angrily, putting a hand over her head, trying to push away those memories that kept coming to her mind.
" Fucking Lee" She thought angrily, looking at the boy who was punching her wrist, trying to get her to let go of his arm.
That boy's eyes reminded her of him, and while they filled her with anger, they also made her think of what a valuable recruit they would have.
The same thing with Clementine, however, the girl was more like Lee than she had thought, and she couldn't control herself after she punched her the first time.
She couldn't help taking some of her anger out on the girl's face.
Lilly sighed again, closing her eyes for a moment, and walking back down the ship's corridor.
