- Do you see something?

Luke asked, leaning against a tree, looking at Lee, who had his body leaning slightly to the side, observing the area ahead.

- Most of the zombies are gone. There are a few runners along the way, but... it's possible to get through.

He replied, leaning back against the tree and looking at Clementine.

- Stay close. I'll deal with the runners.

He said, and the girl nodded.

Lee came out from behind the tree, and the others followed him. Walking briskly, he advanced against the first runner and struck him hard on the head with the piece of wood, sending him to the ground with part of his skull sunk in.

Looking over his shoulder, he catches a glimpse of Jane killing a zombie with her ice pick, and Clementine shooting an arrow at another one approaching from the side.

Brandishing the piece of wood in hand, Lee sinks the head of the next runner and runs over it as it falls to the ground, striking the other one that approached, sinking its rotten nose into its skull.

Moving forward some more, Lee strikes the next runner, not hard enough to kill him, but enough to make him turn his body around and get his back to him.

Grabbing him by his battered shirt, Lee uses the runner as a shield and runs toward the next approaching runner, knocking them both to the ground.

Positioning himself next to both bodies, he hits them both in the head with the piece of wood a few times, until there is nothing left but pieces of skull and crushed brains.

Looking back, he looks satisfied, proudly at Clementine, who had knocked out one zombie, shot the next, and killed the one she had knocked out.

In a while, she will be doing this with runners.

Ah, they grow up so fast.

Turning, he analyzes the place for a few moments. The part of the expansion he was building had also caught fire, and smoke was still pouring out of the place, the fire must have stopped a short time ago.

Lee arches an eyebrow when he sees the open door, but, he already expected someone to have survived, so he ignores it, although he keeps an eye on his surroundings.

Entering the place, he runs his eyes through the destroyed store. Smoke still permeated the place, and right next to it, he could see the destroyed wall and marks from the explosion of the cooking gas.

- Jesus... do you really think we'll find anything here?

Luke asked, standing right next to him and scanning the place.

- Maybe.

Lee said, walking toward the center of the place. The pantry was next to the kitchen, but too small to accommodate all the supplies the place had. It was mostly used to store the food they would use during the week.

There were still a few places that were on fire, but compared to how it must have looked hours ago, it was nothing too serious to worry him.

Especially when what was on fire were the bodies of people who had not been able to get out of there in time.

Lee stared at the burning body ahead for a while. He wasn't proud of killing, but he no longer felt as much empathy as he used to.

He would surely go to hell after this one.

Looking away, Lee walks to a farther part of the warehouse. The fire had consumed everything.

Everything but a box of supplies that was hidden under a shelf that had fallen over.

"It's not much...but it will keep us going for a while"

He picked up the box and looked around. Maybe there was a bag nearby to put those supplies in.

Turning around, he walked towards the expansion of the dormitories at the main entrance of the store. There should be some bags and other useful items around there...if they haven't been burned by the fire, of course.

Lee sighs as he approaches... that's just what happened. The expanse was gone, nothing but ashes, as was a nice part of the entrance.

"Carver's office... maybe..."

Lee turned again and walked toward the stairs to the office. That being the place with the most smoke as it was higher up.

Upon entering the office, he focused his eyes almost immediately on the partially burned body of Alvin, now on the floor with a hole in his head, and the melted chair right beside him.

Looking away, he runs his eyes around the place and focuses them on two bags on one of the cabinets further ahead.

Footsteps echoed behind him, not too fast, and too light to be from an adult.

- Have you found something?

Clementine's voice caught his attention, and he turned to the girl.

- Two bags for carrying supplies that are in a box just below.

Lee said, and the girl looked at him a little excited.

He walked towards the two bags, while Clementine stared at Alvin on the ground.

- It's a shame... he seemed like a good man.

The girl said, looking at his body with a certain amount of regret.

- Did they tell you what kind of history they had with Carver?

Lee asked, taking the two bags and walking back towards the girl, handing her one of the bags.

- No... they just said they wanted no part of what he was doing.

She said, turning and walking out of the office next to Lee.

- Hm... but why Alvin?

Lee asked, raising an eyebrow.

- I don't know... maybe a problem with him specifically... maybe Alvin killed someone close to Carver... but he didn't seem like the type who would do that.

Clementine said, watching Lee tear open the box of supplies and put the things in the bags.

- Oh, no...Carver mentioned something about "my child" when he called me into his office, I saw Rebecca come out crying.

The girl said, crouching down beside Lee.

- Wasn't Rebecca Alvin's wife?

Lee asked with a raised eyebrow, and the girl just shrugged.

- Ha, and I thought I've seen everything in the apocalypse... kind of like me.

Lee said, and the girl cocked her head slightly to the side, looking at him a little confused.

- Don't you remember? My wife cheated on me too.

He said, finishing putting the equally shared supplies in each bag, and stood up.

- The difference is that you killed the guy.

The girl said, and Lee looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

He still regretted it, but it was no longer as sensitive a subject as before.

- Well, it was an accident, I didn't really mean to kill him.

- What if it had been Carver?

-... Well, I would have killed him for sure... why didn't Alvin try to kill him?

Lee asked, picking up his bag and walking through the destroyed site.

- Maybe he couldn't... or didn't want to risk it... Carver had too many people.

- We are looking like two old ladies, talking about other people's lives.

Lee said amused, and the girl laughed lightly.

- Did you find anything?

Luke asked, walking toward them with a backpack on his back, but what caught both of their attention was the axe with a black blade and a black hilt he was carrying.

- A few supplies, and you?

Lee asked, staring at the weapon with a certain intensity, ignoring the backpack Luke was carrying.

It was beautiful, and reminded him of his beloved fireman's axe.

- Some melee weapons, and well... you said you had an axe, I found this one... it's all yours.

Luke said, handing the axe to Lee, who stared at it with an arched eyebrow.

- I thought you didn't like me ... well, thank you.

He said, tossing the piece of wood aside and picking up the axe.

It was heavy... the perfect weight, and brought him that feeling of invincibility that his old axe gave him.

Oh, how he missed that feeling.

- Well... you have your reasons for acting the way you do... besides, this axe is too heavy for me, I don't know how to use it that well.

Luke said, putting his backpack on the ground and looking curiously at Clementine, who sighed.

- What is it?

he asked, and the girl alternated her gaze between him and the axe.

- I was glad he lost that axe... it's too heavy, he should use easier weapons.

The girl said, looking with narrowed eyes at the happy little smile Lee had on his lips...

Ok, it wouldn't be all bad to have that axe if he kept that expression more often... but still.

- Come on Clem... an axe is the best weapon I can have... no blade can replace this feeling...

Lee said, still in awe of the axe.

He would miss his old one, that axe would always have a little place in his heart, but this new one seemed to be a good replacement.

- But a smaller, lighter blade is faster.

She said.

- Do you think I would feel safe with a butter knife? I wouldn't be able to fight the runners with a simple knife... it's just not my style. But it's perfect for you.

Lee said, looking at her amused.

- I agree with that ... here, Clem.

Luke said, handing a combat knife to the girl, who just as Lee stood with his axe, she stood in awe of the black blade.

The girl brandished the knife a few times, getting the great feeling of a quick, clean cut.

- Thank you, Luke.

She thanked him, smiling slightly as she watched the blade in her hands.

Luke stared at her for a while, then smiled slightly at the girl, and stood up.

- Did you find a good weapon for yourself?

The girl asked, and Luke put a hand on his back.

- Yes.

He said, pulling a black-bladed machete from its sheath, and holding the weapon out in front of him.

- Carver might be crazy, but he had a good stock of weapons, I have to admit.

Luke said, putting the machete back into its sheath.

- I think we've been through everything.

Jane said, approaching them with a box of supplies in her hand.

- All things considered, I think we got quite a bit.

Luke said, taking the box of supplies from Jane's hands, and handing her a knife.

The woman stared at the blade for a few moments, and took the knife, probably comparing it to her ice pick.

- We should get back now... it was more productive than I really expected.

Luke said, and they nodded, walking out of the destroyed place.

The way back was relatively smooth. One or two runners appeared along the way, but nothing too worrisome.

In fact, Lee even thought this was good, as he had a chance to test his newest axe. And he was not disappointed, it was a great weapon.

After walking for some time, they finally reached the building where the others were, however, they couldn't advance very far.

The path was littered with bodies scattered on the ground. Corridors and a few zombies in between.

Bullet holes in their heads.

- Jesus... the others!

Luke exclaimed, trying to run towards the building, but Lee stopped him, holding him by the shoulders.

- It's dangerous to go like this, and we have to hide these supplies first. At the same time we try to find out more about what happened here.

Lee said, walking backwards with quick steps, and placing both his, and the bag Clementine was carrying, hidden among the pile of trash at the back of the place they were standing.

- There are too many bodies... too many bullets, maybe too many people...

Jane said in a thoughtful tone, looking at the slaughter ahead.

- Who...? Wait ... could it have been Carver?

Luke asked, anxious and worried about the rest of his group.

- That's a possibility.

Lee said, leaning on the wall beside him and running his eyes over the surroundings. He wasn't enjoying being there, the nearby forest was hiding anyone who might be trying to do them harm.

A gunshot echoed through the room, and the bullet hit the wall, just inches from Lee's head.

They were startled. Lee took Clementine in his arms and ran for cover with the others.

- There's no use hiding!

Carver's voice echoed loudly through the room, and Lee sighed in irritation. He knew Carver was alive, but he didn't think he would be foolish enough to follow them after suffering a tremendous loss.

- I opened my arms for you! My home! My community! And you destroyed everything!

he shouted again, this time a little closer, shooting at the wall they were covering.

Lee looked at Clementine, and they both nodded.

By the looks of things, either he had too much ammo, or he was too angry to think straight.

- All you assholes! You destroyed our chance for a better future! You've killed us! And I will kill you!

He shouted once more, and now, Lee could hear more footsteps approaching, probably the guards who were with him.

- And you, Lee! I'll leave you last! I'm going to kill the girl in front of you, and rip her guts out like a pig! And make you suffer so much, you'll wish you were dead!

Carver shouted, and Lee just rolled his eyes.

Looking to the side, he sees Clementine pulling the bowstring to her chest, and pointing to where one of the guards would appear.

Taking a deep breath, he looks at Luke and Jane, and prepares himself, holding his axe tightly.