- What was that?!
Luke asked, startled by the sudden explosion in the place, and watching wide-eyed as flames spread through the store, consuming all the expanses that had been built there, and drowning out the people's cries of terror and despair.
- The dinner bell. Let's go.
Lee said, turning and walking through the forest.
He knew it was likely that Carver would survive, but many of his men would not. The explosion itself was not only to kill, but to draw the attention of the herd that Carver wanted so badly to avoid.
- Whoa, are you crazy?! Don't you feel anything seeing all that you've done?!
Luke asked, almost shouting, looking at Lee with narrowed eyes and an expression in a mixture of disbelief and anger.
- Clementine is alive, they're dead. I consider this a victory. Then I am happy.
Lee said, ignoring the look Luke had on his face, more concerned with looking at his surroundings. That explosion wouldn't just attract the herd. Nearby runners too.
- Stop using the girl as an excuse! Do you have any idea how many people you've killed with this?!
Luke insisted, and Lee rolled his eyes. If he kept yelling like that, he was the one who would attract the herd.
- Do you have any idea how many people they killed? Do you have any idea how many people Carver would kill in the future? Stop acting like you're innocent, you're not.
Lee said, worried by all the noise. He didn't have a melee weapon, so if any runners showed up, he would have to try to kill him silently with the rifle he had in hand.
And should more than one runner show up, he would be practically forced to shoot them dead, and that would draw even more unwanted attention to them.
- The plan worked... and we all got out in one piece.
Jane said, walking a few steps behind Lee.
- Not all of us made it out ... Alvin.
Nick said, sighing heavily and looking at the ground as he walked behind Luke.
- Well... I am sorry about your friend.
Lee said, looking up at the sky. Little orange rays were slowly moving across the horizon, consuming the darkness of the night with each passing moment.
- Are you sorry? For some reason, I don't believe you!
Luke said, a slight tone of irony in his voice.
- I don't give a fuck if you believe me or not. If you don't like me, you're free to go your own way, I'm not forcing you to stay.
Lee said, looking at Clementine, who was walking beside him with her bag of supplies in hand and had a scolding expression on her face as she looked at him with narrowed eyes.
- swear.
She scolded him, and Lee sighed, running his hand over the back of his head.
- Look, you may not like his means, but we are alive. The fire and explosion will greatly diminish their numbers, maybe even kill them all. Cruel as it may seem, we've gotten rid of a major risk.
Jane said, arching an eyebrow at the incredulous look Luke gave her.
-...Shit, there were some decent people there...but most of them were crazy, I'm glad I got out.
Mike said, and Luke sighed in frustration, shaking his head in reproach.
- Are you guys serious? He must have sentenced dozens of people to death! It may have been necessary, it may have saved us a lot of trouble, but... it was very cruel.
Luke said, looking at Lee for a moment, before looking over his shoulder at the others.
- We've all done cruel things.
Lee said, not needing to look at Luke to know the expression on his face.
- Really? Is that what you taught the girl? How does she feel about that, huh?
Luke asked, staring at Clementine, who arched an eyebrow when she saw that she had been pulled into a conversation that had nothing much to do with her.
-...I think it lessened the chances of Carver coming after us...in case he didn't die.
She said, and Luke looked at her indignant, shocked, and even a little betrayed... what did he expect?
- Clem, you... you can't be serious...
he said, not wanting to believe the words he had heard.
- Why wouldn't I be? What would you have done?
Clementine asked, looking at him with an unchanged face.
- First of all, I wouldn't be in the same situation as him.
Luke said, looking provocatively at Lee, who just ignored him.
- Then you would allow yourself to be treated as a slave and have your actions limited every day.
Clementine said, and Luke stared at her a bit blankly.
- Well... for a while... until I came up with a plan good enough to get everyone out. In case Carver called me into his office, I would try to talk things out and not start a fight.
Luke said.
- Talk to a crazy man? Didn't you have a history with him? What if he decided to kill you? Carver was already planning to kill me, it wouldn't take long for that to happen. One way or another, I didn't have time, and I decided to take the quickest way out.
Lee said, getting slightly annoyed by the young man's childish teasing. They had other things to worry about.
- You said yourselves that Carver was the worst, and considering that you already had a past, who's to say that he wasn't already planning to kill Alvin? Or maybe the rest of you?
Clementine said, alternating her gaze between Luke, and Rebecca, who stared at her in surprise.
- Hey, man... I've seen Carver do more than enough things to know that he's not a man I want to be close to. There was no telling what he would do.
Mike said, looking at Luke for a moment.
-...Carver didn't just kill Alvin...he killed one of the guards that was in his office...for no apparent reason.
Bonnie said, drawing Luke's surprised look to herself.
- See, it's not fair for Rebecca to blame Lee for something he didn't do, and it doesn't make sense for you to be angry with him if you yourself agreed to run away with us. The way Carver was, he seemed to have a plan for everyone here.
Clementine said, turning back to face the dirt road, now more visible in the stronger rays of the sun.
- Things could have gotten pretty bad there...but they didn't, that's rare these days.
Jane said.
- Things are already bad...
Rebecca said, looking with a sad expression at the ground, drying some tears that were still stubbornly running down her face.
-... This path looks familiar.
Carlos said, speaking up for the first time since Lee had arrived.
It was clear that he was uncomfortable around the man, but it didn't seem to be only because of what he had done a short time ago. Lee had an air about him that Carlos didn't like, he felt uncomfortable.
And his intimidating appearance didn't help much.
- There is a river nearby, in this direction from what little I saw on the map Troy gave us to talk a little about the future plans they had. There are some buildings around it that caught my eye.
Lee said, looking away when he heard a noise coming from the forest, but relaxing his body when he saw that it was just a sloppy zombie.
- Parker's run...the civil war site. Tourist trap.
Mike said, and Clementine looked at Lee with an arched eyebrow.
Lee noticed, and smiled amusedly at her.
So that was why he wanted to go there.
They just sat in silence during the walk, each trapped in his own conflicting thoughts. And Lee felt glances staring at him occasionally, but, as usual, he just ignored them.
It was obvious that these people were not comfortable having him around, but if they were so afraid, or so disgusted with him, then they should just go on their way.
He wasn't Carver, he wouldn't force them to stay, and he didn't need a legion of toy soldiers to protect him.
Glancing back, he looked at them. It didn't look like they would try to attack him, they were just... cautious.
Geez.
It wasn't long before they reached their destination, and Lee's eyes almost sparkled at the sight of the statue ahead.
It brought back so many feelings for him, so many memories of when he was a teacher.
He would give anything for the world to be normal again... or to find some place that would give them a chance to get back to normal.
That life was cruel, and it was pushing him to the limit, as was Clementine.
At least they were together, because if he were alone... he probably would have gone crazy by now.
- Okay, let's search the surroundings.
Lee said, until he turned and looked at Rebecca, who was sitting at the foot of the statue with a pained expression.
- Rebecca is in no condition to walk any further...I think the baby is coming faster than we anticipated.
Carlos said, sitting next to his wife and holding her hand.
- Well, some of you stay here, the rest of you, scour the surroundings. This doesn't seem to be an appropriate place for a baby to be born. At least we picked up a few things before we left.
Lee said, looking at Clementine, who walked over to them and opened the bag she was carrying, handing them a few cans of food, along with some water.
- Oh, thanks Clem.
Luke said, smiling slightly at the girl as he received a can of beans.
- Lee's idea, thank him.
She said, looking at Luke with an arched eyebrow.
The man alternated his gaze between her, and Lee, who didn't seem to care what was going on next to him, and was staring at some point in the corner of the place.
- Has he always been like this?
Luke asked, and the girl looked at him confused.
- What do you mean?
-I mean, has he always...has he always cared so little about other people like this? What he did was just as cruel as the things Carver did.
Luke asked, looking again at Lee, making sure he hadn't heard.
- How long were you in Carver's camp?
the girl asked, and Luke looked at her confused.
- Um, I... I don't know... we met up with him sometime after it all happened, stayed with him for most of these years. We watched him build that place, and slowly go crazy.
Luke said, and the girl scratched the back of her head.
It made sense...Sarah wouldn't be that way if she had spent a lot of time on the road.
- What you call cruel, I call everyday life. The difference in the things Carver did, and Lee does, is that Lee doesn't do it because he wants to. It may not seem like it, but he doesn't like to kill. Whenever we met with some bandit out there, he always tried to talk first, without the need for bloodshed. You haven't been through this, have you?
The girl crossed her arms, staring at Luke with a strange glint in her eyes.
- We've run into bandits too... we've had to kill too.
- But you have been together since all this started, haven't you? During this time, it was just me and Lee, he was practically forced to kill all the time, because bandits saw us as easy targets. A man and a little girl... why do you think he taught me to kill?
The girl said, and Luke ran his hand through her hair.
- After so many events like these, he had learned a few things. Maybe not all those people in that community were bad, but because they had food, a place to sleep, water, and safety. People were angry with you for running away, imagine how they would be when they found out that you ran away again.
The girl said, crouching down and closing her bag, looking for some way to open that can.
- It would be risky. If Carver caught us again, we would run a greater risk of dying than he would. So try to stop judging him like that.
She said, turning and walking toward Lee when she heard him call her.
Luke sighed slightly and turned around, walking toward his group and sitting down next to Nick.
- What is it?
The girl asked Lee, who showed her a pair of scissors, and a broken piece of mirror.
- I found these lying in a pile of junk over there. I went to the river and washed it as best I could. We need to cut that bush you call hair.
Lee said, taking off the girl's cap and smiling when he saw the look she gave him.
- Okay, but only if you let me shave you.
She said, crossing her arms, and Lee looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
- What? I always wanted to shave you, especially when you got a beard that size.
She said, smiling amused to hear him sigh.
- Okay, but not to shave off the whole thing, I look weird without a beard.
He said, and the girl turned around.
She walked to a spot further ahead and sat down on the floor, while Lee sat down right behind her and began cutting her hair.
- Are you going to cut it shorter than last time?
she asked.
- Last time I almost didn't cut it much because I gave in to your pleading, this time it will be different. Then don't even try, missy.
He said, running his hands gently through her hair, and she sighed in defeat.
- It's because I look like a boy with hair too short.
- You look cute, you're just being dramatic.
Lee said, and the girl sighed again, feeling her face warm slightly.
- You know, that guy, Luke, he doesn't really know how to disguise what he's thinking.
Lee said after a while.
- Yeah, I could tell. They don't seem to like you very much.
- Well, it's a good thing I don't live to make people happy.
- But you could be a little kinder... they haven't been through the same things we have.
- How can I be nice when he makes it clear that he doesn't like me? He doesn't even try to disguise it.
- I try to be nice to Rebecca, even though she doesn't like me. That's just an excuse, Lee.
- No, it's not.
- Yes, it is.
- No, it isn't.
- Yes, it is, you're going to be a little nicer, and that's final.
- Clem...
- I don't want to hear it.
- Argh...
Lee shook his head slightly, running his hands through the girl's hair once more, before handing her the hat again.
- Ok...ideally I would use a comb here, but, we will have to do this by hand.
Lee said, handing the scissors to Clementine and placing the broken piece of mirror in front of her.
- I have one.
Jane's voice caught both their attention and they looked at the woman next to them.
- Do you have a comb?
Clementine asked, quirking an eyebrow at the woman.
- I have to keep my style to a minimum when I cut my hair.
The woman said, handing the comb to Clementine.
- And... she doesn't look like a boy.
Lee said, laughing slightly as he received a pat on the shoulder.
-... Ahm... did you lose your wife when all this happened?
Jane asked, and Lee arched an eyebrow at her.
- Yes, I lost my wife... but I'm not her father.
he said, tilting his head to the side.
- Not by blood.
Clementine said, cutting some more of Lee's beard, and ignoring the warm look he sent her.
- Oh... so, you two have been together a long time?
Jane asked, leaning against the wall beside her and crossing her arms.
- Technically... since all this happened.
Lee said, looking at his face in the mirror.
Well, he had nothing to complain about so far... although his beard was getting a little smaller than he was used to.
Not that it was any big deal.
- Are you and Mike together?
Clementine asked, almost hypnotized by the movement of the scissors.
There was something satisfying about it, she always used to get a glimpse of Lee when he shaved.
It was kind of fun, and kind of a pleasure to do.
- What? No... we met for the first time in that prison.
Jane said.
- Are you alone?
Lee asked.
- Yes... I was alone most of the time.
She said, and he arched his eyebrows in surprise.
- Well, we have someone here who really knows her way around. Surviving alone against all this, you could say, is an achievement.
Lee said.
- You survived taking care of a child.
Jane said.
- I took care of him.
Clementine said, interrupting Lee, and making Jan laugh lightly.
- What?
Lee asked, and the girl looked at him with narrowed eyes.
- Don't you remember when we were on that roof? I said that the ground didn't seem very firm, and you started to jump to prove that it was firm enough, as a result the roof gave way and I had to pull you up.
She said, and Lee tried to ignore the suggestive look Jane sent him, along with Clementine's amused look.
-... You're not going to let that one go, are you?
- Nope.
- It was an accident.
- An accident you could have avoided.
- Come on, Clem...
-... Nope.
- Argh...
Lee sighed in defeat, looking at his face as the girl finished shaving him.
- Well, it looks better than the time I did it without a mirror. I should have taught you how to do this before.
Lee said, patting her head lightly, and she looked at him happy, even a little victorious.
- See, what would you be without me?
she joked, crossing her arms.
- A caveman, probably.
He said, watching her hand the comb back to Jane.
- So, what's the plan?
The woman asked.
- Check the surrounding what that doctor said, it's only a matter of time before that baby is what that doctor said, it's only a matter of time before that baby is born. So... he's kind of the priority here.
Lee said, looking at Rebecca further ahead.
-... Are you going to stay with them?
Jane asked.
- No, they don't seem to like me very much. But I want to help that pregnant woman...not for her, or for them, but for the baby.
Lee said, running his hand through his newly shaved beard. He felt even a little different.
- Do you think they will be able to take care of this baby?
Jane asked, and Lee sighed slightly.
- I don't know... but they will have a chance. I know it's possible.
- How can you know that?
Jane asked, and Lee pointed at Clementine, who alternated her eyes between the two of them, a little confused.
- It won't be easy ... not even a little ... but, it is possible. Well, there's a map of the surroundings over there, I'll check it out and see what I come up with.
Lee said, placing his hand gently on Clementine's head, nodding to Jane soon after, and walking over to the map.