- What do you think of this place, honey?
Ed asked, pushing Clementine gently on the swing, enjoying the scene of his daughter enjoying something normal for a change.
- It's pretty. It reminds me of the way things used to be.
she said, smiling slightly as she felt the wind whip across her face.
- Yes, it's really beautiful here... what do you think of the St. John's?
he asked.
- I don't know ... they scare me a little.
She answered.
- Oh, you don't have to be scared honey, Daddy won't let anything happen to you.
He said, glancing at Lee, who was talking to Danny about something. Distracting them while Kenny searched the place, or something.
He didn't know, he hadn't cared enough about the conversation to pay attention.
He was just waiting for an opportunity, which was sure to come, to act.
-... Do you think that someday things will be like they used to be?
the girl asked, snapping Ed out of his thoughts.
- I... no, I don't.
he said with a sigh.
What was the use of having positive thoughts? The world wouldn't change, wouldn't get better.
In fact, why should the world change? Before the apocalypse, things were not so good.
He was not who he was now, the person he had become. He didn't see the truths he sees now.
He was not free.
-... I wish it would change... that those monsters would disappear... Lee said that he has faith that one day they will be gone.
The girl said, and Ed's expression became a little more rigid, and he started to push the girl in the swing a little harder.
- Oh yeah, why does he think that?
he asked, looking at Lee.
- He said that monsters will disappear after a while, they are decomposing bodies, even if they last longer than normal corpses... the world has a chance to go back to the way it was, people just have to cooperate with each other again.
She said, and Ed closed his eyes.
Lee was an idiot for thinking like that. The world would never change, people were no longer what they used to be, human beings had revealed their true cruel face.
Why not accept this?
Why stay in the vague hope that the world would change?
Why be foolish to believe in something that will not happen? It was just a waste of time, hopes thrown in the trash.
That thought would only bring them both down when reality hit them, when things didn't get better.
- Lee is wrong. The world will not go back to the way it was before.
He said after a while, in a serious tone, causing the girl to arch her eyebrows, even though he couldn't tell.
- But...
- You've seen how things are, you've seen the state of people. Those monsters, that man Lee killed, people aren't good anymore... it can't get any better in a situation like this.
He said, and the girl fell silent, with her father's words wandering through her head.
To the girl, her father was still had hope, they were still alive, and they were good people... why couldn't the others be?
- But don't worry, honey. Daddy will do everything to find a safe place for us, where you won't have to worry about monsters, or people again.
He said, softening his expression and looking away from Lee.
- For all of us?
She asked after a while, and Ed grimaced disgustedly for a moment, but broke it off and hid it behind a friendly expression.
- Yes, for all of us.
He said, following Andy, with his eyes, walking towards the barn, where Ketjaa, Diana and Duck were, tending to the sick cow they had.
- Okay, I think that's enough for now.
Ed said, stopping rocking the girl, who got up off the swing.
- Okay, thanks, Dad.
She said, turning and looking up at him with a small smile, causing Ed to smile as well and place his hand gently on her head as she began to walk toward the barn.
Ed sighed slightly and leaned on the wooden fence beside him, thoughtfully.
That was a good place, but that generator needed a lot of gasoline, not to mention the fact that Andy kept fixing the thing, from what he said.
It didn't seem like a permanent solution, despite the nice place they were in.
Ducking his head, he looked down at his hands.
They looked like they were missing something...apart from the wedding ring that was no longer on his finger.
"You're going to be sorry"
"Don't listen to him...you are getting freer by the moment"
"She'll resent it, you still have a chance"
"She'll feel safe, that's what matters"
He closed his eyes and ran his hand over his face. The more answers he had, the more questions appeared in his head.
The more he saw, the less he could see.
(...)
- What is this?
Lee asked, crouching down and looking at the object a little further behind Duck.
- Dad said it's called, the salt lick.
The boy said, looking at it over his shoulder.
- Yeah, but don't lick it, it's gross.
Clementine said, and Lee stood up, crossing his arms and looking at the girl with an amused look, a small smile on his lips.
- Did you lick it?
-... I don't know.
The girl answered with a silly look, causing Lee to chuckle softly, and then turn and walk toward Kenny, who was standing in the back of the barn.
Ed glanced around, leaning on the entrance doors. He had kept an eye on the barn ever since Mark had been shot with an arrow by some bandits on the way to the farm.
They had never run into bandits before, and knew nothing about a deal they had mentioned, meaning that this was the St John's doing.
After a while, Andy and Lee came out, where Lee said that he would go out with Danny into the woods and go to one of the bandit camps.
Ed arched an eyebrow, and smiled slightly. Without one of the brothers, and especially without Lee, he practically had a free pass in there.
(...)
- Are you sure you want to go with us? Won't your father be upset?
Lee asked, looking at Lilly with a raised eyebrow.
He had gone to inform her that he was leaving with Danny to go after those bandits, and she had offered, saying that it was too dangerous for them to go with only two men.
And even though she was going, it was still dangerous.
- I guess I'm old enough to make my own decisions.
She said, arching an eyebrow and walking past Lee, who shook his head.
- It's not far from here, we'll be there in a few minutes.
Danny said, taking the lead and walking through the trees, with Lee and Lilly close behind.
The forest could be a bit treacherous at times, with places similar to the ones they had just passed, it wasn't hard to get lost, even being so close to the city.
But, in a way, Lee even enjoyed walking through the forest. He didn't usually get too involved with nature in his old life, and now, he kind of made up for lost time. Plus nature was something extremely alive, unlike other things.
It took the apocalypse for him to start doing that, ironic.
- Kenny said he didn't want Katjaa to go to the farm...why did you tell them we had a vet?
Lilly asked after a while, in a low tone so that Danny wouldn't hear.
- It was Ed who said it. Making up an excuse that everyone could have a feast tonight. He knew it was a risky idea, but he did it anyway.
Lee answered, also in a low tone, focusing his eyes on Danny's back for a while, until he looked away to the forest.
- And why would he do that?
- I... I don't know. But you must have noticed that he's different. He's been changing for some time now.
Lee said and Lilly sighed slightly.
- Do you think he will be a threat?
She asked, and Lee looked at her with wide eyes.
- What? No, I...I don't think so...he's just...affected, with all of this, like all of us.
Lee said, although Lilly could tell very well that even he didn't believe his own words.
-... You haven't changed.
she said, and Lee looked at her with an arched eyebrow.
- I think I have changed a lot.
-... Maybe... people have changed the way they look at you.
Lilly said, glaring at him.
- Well, what can I say? My charm worked, apparently.
Lee said amused, looking at the forest.
- It worked on me.
Lilly said, but too low for Lee to hear clearly, sounding only like a whisper to him.
- What do you...
- It's up ahead.
Danny's voice interrupted Lee, who stared at the man for a moment, before hiding behind a nearby tree.
(...)
Ed glanced slyly at Brenda, who was busy in the kitchen.
With Danny gone, and Andy helping Katjaa in the barn, he could explore the house with some ease.
He had seen them take something hidden through the back doors, and heard them moving some furniture around earlier.
Strange enough to start investigating.
He smiled slightly and turned around, walking down the hall and up the stairs cautiously, running his eyes upstairs.
Apparently, everything was normal.
Narrowing his eyes, he entered the room ahead of him, opening the door quietly and running his eyes around the inside of the place.
Nothing out of the ordinary, a closet with a table beside it, a window in front of it, a double bed beside him, and a closet leaning on the opposite side, right in the center of the wall.
Entering the room, he opens the desk drawers and the closet, finding nothing but personal items and clothes.
Turning, he walks forward and bends down, looking under the bed, checking to see if there is anything, anything at all, hidden there.
Sighing softly, he stands up and runs his eyes around the room again, this time focusing on the closet just ahead.
Walking with silent steps, he approaches the closet and opens its doors, arching an eyebrow when he sees that the closet was empty.
Shaking his head in frustration, he closes the doors and turns around. However, something catches his attention.
Looking down, he sees marks on the floor, as if something heavy had been dragged across the floor several times.
Narrowing his eyes, he moves and slowly pushes the cabinet forward, looking with surprised eyes at the hidden door.
Once he has pushed the wooden object far enough away, he sighs softly and opens the door, his eyes widening when he sees Mark lying on the floor, two of his legs missing, pale, soiled with blood which Ed assumed was his own.
He was asleep, or passed out, whatever, which made sense, no one could take the pain of having their legs cut off without screaming.
But the question now was, why would they rip Mark's legs off?
What would they get out of it?
"Maybe they're just psychopaths."
"Psychopaths rip other people's legs off for nothing?"
"I don't know how a psychopath acts."
"Even if they were just psychopaths, what would they gain by cutting off his legs?"
"I don't know, food?... oh never mind"
" No, think...it could be, don't you remember Brenda said she would have barbecue for dinner?"
Ed's eyes widened again as he heard the voices in his head.
That voice was right, he remembered Brenda saying something similar to Duck when the boy asked.
A small startled gasp made itself present behind him, and Ed slowly turned to Brenda, who was looking at him with wide eyes.
- What... what are you doing here?
she asked, but the man just ignored her.
He alternated his eyes between Mark and the woman for a few moments, and shortly after, began to walk towards Brenda.
He was excited that he had actually met some dangerous, and best of all, crazy people. Once Clementine found out that he got rid of people like that, Lee would be out of her head.
(...)
- Jesus Christ!
Lilly exclaimed, looking at the woman who had just fallen to the ground with a hole in her head.
- What the fuck, Danny!
Lee exclaimed, looking reproachfully at the man, who had just shot the woman.
- What? She was going to shoot one of us!
he replied, looking angrily at Lee.
- She was going to tell us something first. She said that you farm people are monsters. What did she mean about knowing what you do?
Lee asked, glaring at the man, and Lilly stood beside him.
- I don't know! She probably meant about the deal we made with those bandits!
Danny replied, but neither of them seemed to believe him.
- Bullshit! You wouldn't have cared about that if it was the truth. What do you do to make her see you as a monster?
Lilly asked, looking with a rigid expression at Danny, who, though trying to remain calm, seemed to be getting more and more nervous.
- I don't know, okay?! We've all done horrible things to stay alive, I'm sure you're no different!
he said, alternating his eyes between the two of them nervously.
- This is bullshit! You killed her because you didn't want us to know something! Either you tell me, or I'll shoot you!
Lilly said, pointing her pistol toward Danny, who took a few steps back.
Lee looked at the woman for a moment, but didn't stop her.
- I... i-i don't know what the fuck she was talking about!
Danny tried, but Lilly wouldn't put it down.
- Don't make me do this!
He said, pointing his rifle at the woman, and then Lee pointed his gun at the man, who became a little desperate.
- If you shoot one, the other will kill you. Do you really want to throw your life away like this?
Lee said, looking coolly at Danny, who lowered his gun in frustration.
- You better start talking.
Lilly said.
Danny alternated his eyes between the two, and hesitated for a while, until he sighed in defeat and shook his head.
-... The people... the people that we traded with before, that we made deals with... they were also hurt by the bandits... we took them home and took care of them... but we always caught one.
He said, and they both arched their eyebrows in doubt.
- We took the wounded, always the wounded... killed them, and traded the meat.
He said, and they both widened their eyes, looking at him in disbelief, and anger.
- What... Mark?! You did the same fucking thing to my friend?!
Lee shouted angrily, taking a few steps towards Danny and squeezing his rifle harder.
Lilly stared at him for a moment, the first time she had ever seen him truly angry.
- This is how the world works now... give part of yourself so that others can live! That's what we are doing, surviving!
Danny said, and Lee ran his eyes around in anger, trying to control himself from doing something stupid, or that would make him regret it later.
-... How is he now? You didn't kill him, did you?
Lee asked in a dangerously cold tone, glaring at Danny.
Cold, murderous eyes, making the man swallow dryly, and shiver at the way he was being stared at.
Danny didn't respond, and with a sigh, Lee shot one of the man's legs, causing him to fall as he let out a cry of pain.
- I'm not going to ask you again!
Lee said, walking over to Danny and taking the rifle from him, stepping on the wound on his leg soon after.
Lilly stared at Lee's back; this was not the way he acted every day. He always had a nice, friendly, calm air around him.
- No... he is still alive... for now. We can't kill it, the meat gets tainted.
- Did you cut him up like a fucking animal?!
Lilly asked, standing again beside Lee, ignoring what he did.
She would have done the same.
-...We...we got the legs...for dinner tonight.
- You what?!
Lee shouted in disbelief, turning around and running a hand through his hair as Lilly stared at Danny.
- We have to survive. It's not as bad as it sounds... the taste, it's like barbecue, and...
The more he spoke, the more irritated Lee became, and this was the last straw for him.
Turning around, Lee fires one more shot, hitting Danny in the center of the abdomen, who bends over as he groans in pain.
- You know, dying from lack of blood is one of the worst ways to die. It takes time, a lot of pain, your body collapses, trauma... and when you come back, you won't have changed that much, you and the walkers are the same anyway.
Lee said, looking disdainfully at Danny, before turning to Lilly, who was staring at him with a strange glint in her eyes.
- Come on!
She had never seen Lee like that, it was as if she was looking at someone else.
Those eyes that appeared so much in her dreams were different, more fervent.
The killer side of Lee.
She liked it.
Looking at Danny once more, she turned and started to run after Lee.
(...)
It didn't take long for them to arrive, and they definitely didn't expect to find what they saw.
The people were standing together, forming a small circle as they stared statically at a point further ahead.
Lee and Lilly looked at each other, and ran to the small group of people.
- What the fuck! You're fucking crazy!
Kenny shouted, putting Duck and Katjaa behind him. Next to him, Diana was doing the same with Clementine, but she looked forward not only with an incredulous expression, but one of pain as well.
As they got closer, they understood the reason for the shocked, even frightened, expressions.
Further ahead, inside the barn, was Ed, with a saw in hand, looking at the two bodies tied to the tables further back.
Both bodies had their limbs cut off by the saws that lay on each of the tables on which they lay. And probably by the same one that Ed was holding
Brenda and Andy, already dead, not long ago.
- Ed?!
Lee called out the man's name, and as soon as he turned toward him, he smiled slightly.
- Oh, look who's back. Hey, Lee. While you and Lilly were playing house with that piece of shit, I discovered something very interesting.
Ed said, throwing back the saw and walking a few steps out of the barn.
- These guys cut up our dear friend, Mark! And they were planning to make us eat their legs. See, I can take care of the problems.
He said, and his gaze went from Lee to Clementine, who had most of her body hidden by Diana.
- Hey, sweetie. No need to be afraid, they won't hurt anyone anymore.
Ed said, opening his arms, hoping that the girl would run towards him.
But she didn't, she just put her head a little to the side and looked at him hesitantly.
And he could see genuine fear in Clementine's golden eyes.
How could the girl run and hug him when he was all covered in blood? After what he had done in plain sight?
But, he didn't seem to understand that.
In fact, in his mind, Diana was the one who was making the girl look at him in fear, because she was the one who was preventing Clementine from going to him.
- Diana, let go of our daughter.
He said, standing up and looking seriously at the woman, who shivered at his gaze, and cringed a little.
But she didn't move.
- Diana!
Ed said her name with a little more anger.
But the woman, still, did not move.
Sighing angrily, he takes a few steps toward the woman, but stops when he sees Lee standing in front of her, between them.
A puzzled expression formed on Ed's face.
- What are you doing? Can't you see that she is making my daughter afraid of me?!
He asked, walking a few more steps toward Lee, who did not move, or feel intimidated by Ed's gaze.
- You're scaring her.
Lee said simply, and Ed arched an incredulous eyebrow.
- What? What are you talking about? I discovered the threat, and eliminated it! She doesn't have to be afraid! No one here has to be afraid!
He said, almost shouting, and Lee pointed to the side.
- Look around.
He said, and Ed did, becoming increasingly confused as he saw the various expressions of fear and nervousness being thrown in his direction.
- Wha... why are you all looking at me like that? Didn't you hear? They wanted to make us devour Mark! He is our friend!
he shouted again, running his angry and nervous eyes over the people, who said nothing.
- And you think you did the right thing? Lilly and I found out that they are cannibals, and we planned to get everyone out. Sure, we would kill Andy and Brenda if we had to, but to rip their limbs off?
Lee said, looking Ed deep in the eye, who was getting more and more irritated, confused and frustrated by the whole thing.
He should be being thanked, shouldn't he?
Clementine should be in his arms right now, telling him how well he had done, how safe she was now that the threats had been killed.
So why wasn't she doing this?
Why was she hiding scared behind her mother?
- And why not?! They tore Mark's legs off!
Ed shouted, annoyed by the way Lee was looking at him.
Then a snap echoed through his mind.
It was all their fault.
"No, it's your fault. You scared them away."
"Don't believe him. They are manipulating your daughter."
"What? No, he's the one who..."
"They've made her afraid of you. They're all against you."
"Stop lying to him. He's the only one..."
"They pretend to care. And you already knew they would do something like that, but just like Lee, you allowed yourself to get carried away, you did nothing to stop it. But, it's not your fault, you want the best for your daughter, and they are getting in the way of that."
"No, he..."
"They have always lied to you, and you know it."
"No, that's..."
"It was only a matter of time before they acted this way. And it's only a matter of time before they kick you out, and take her away from you."
"But..."
"You know what you have to do."
-... I'm sorry...
Ed said, lowering his head and running his hand across his face, staring at the floor, hiding his eyes, and his expressions.
Everything was fine... everything would be fine... he just had to lie, as he always did... but this time, he would not try to open the eyes of those people.
Soon, he would be alone with his daughter, his little angel...