Kenny groans in pain once again as his last wound is cleaned, and then he sighs, lowering his head and closing his tired eyes.
- There. That wasn't so bad.
Clementine said, and Kenny looked at her appreciatively.
- Thank you, darling.
he said. The girl smiled, and turned to Lee just after she handed Aj to Kenny, and began to clean his wounds.
- I have to say pal... when was the last time you shaved? You look like a caveman.
Kenny asked, and Lee smiled, only to grit his teeth as he felt Clementine clean his wound harder.
- You don't look much different.
Molly said from the front seat, looking at him in the rearview mirror.
- Hey, Sarita would never allow me to turn into a caveman. I may have a big beard, but it's not that big. Besides, it looks like this little guy here likes it.
Kenny said, looking smiling at Aj, who was clutching his beard.
- It's been a while, I admit. But I just got used to the big beard. And I think Aj got used to pulling it.
Lee said, propping his head on the seat.
- What happened to his mother?
Molly asked.
- She died. A crazy man who claimed to be Aj's father shot her in the head.
Clementine said.
- A crazy man, huh? Did he kill her just because he wanted to?
Molly asked.
- No, apparently they had a history.
-... And? Tell me more.
- Long story. Very long.
Clementine said, smiling with amusement as she watched Lee squirm. There was something peculiar about seeing a big, strong man groan in pain from a few cuts.
He could take having his hand chopped off, his eye gouged out, but he couldn't take a damp cloth on his wounds. It was funny, to say the least.
- We still have a long way to go.
Molly said, and Clementine shrugged.
- A few years ago we were in these woods, denied entry to a camp called Wellington.
The girl began, and Kenny stopped playing with Aj, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.
- Wellington? That community that claimed to have fresh water, cold fucking winters, and all that bullshit?
Kenny asked, and the girl nodded at him.
- We were thinking about going. But we decided not to risk it.
Kenny said, going back to playing with Aj, who seemed delighted with his beard. Probably because it was already a bit gray, and unlike Lee's, it was somewhat tidy.
- Well, we took our chances, and found it, but we couldn't get in. Anyway, we ran into three men in the forest, they threatened us, we killed them. Turns out, there was a herd of runners nearby. Lee and I ended up separated.
The girl said, finishing cleaning Lee's wounds, and putting the rest of the supplies in the backpack at her feet.
- I found Luke, he helped me. He was in a group with some people, among them Aj's mother. It turned out that they had a history with a crazy guy, a cruel, manipulative and very intelligent dictator. His name was Carver. We were captured and taken prisoner, and I kind of got involved by accident.
She said, gently patting Aj's head, who was smiling at Kenny's antics.
- Lee had also been taken prisoner after killing some men who worked for Carver.
Clementine said, and Kenny laughed amused.
- Same old Lee, always getting into trouble.
He scoffed, and Lee smiled, shaking his head.
- I didn't want to kill them, but they tried to kidnap me.
He said in his defense.
- Anyway. Carver wanted me to take his place in that community when the time comes, he said I was the perfect heir or some bullshit like that. He and Lee had a fight, Lee beat him up, he got angry so we were forced to leave.
She said, and Lee looked at her dumbfounded as he saw the look she was sending in his direction.
- It wasn't my fault if he wanted to fight. I didn't plan to humiliate him... not much.
Lee said, scratching the back of his head and giving a dull smile.
- The point is, Lee put runner's blood in the guards' food and used Aj's mother as a key to get out of there. With the guards sick, it wasn't hard to get to the kitchen, throw alcohol in the place and set it on fire.
The girl said, and both Kenny and Molly looked at the two of them in surprise.
- Are you serious? You set an entire fucking community on fire?
Kenny asked, staring at Lee.
- No one in that place was a good person. I wanted to make sure they didn't come after us. If I hadn't done that, I doubt that Luke, or maybe me, would be alive today.
He said, shrugging his shoulders.
- I'm not judging you. I would have done the same. Maybe I would have shot the first sons of bitches I saw.
Kenny said, and both Clementine, Lee, and even Aj looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
- He found us where we were when I, Lee, Luke and a woman who was with us had gone in search of supplies. That's when he killed Aj's mother. A shot in the head. This woman, Rebecca, she had been having an affair with Carver, and he insisted that the child was his, even though it belonged to Alvin, Rebecca's husband.
Clementine said, and Kenny grimaced.
- Jesus. What a great time for a lovers' quarrel.
Kenny said.
- What did you two do?
Molly asked, and the girl sighed, glancing at Lee, as if silently asking him if she could tell him, or just hide this fact.
But, he didn't seem to care much.
- He had orphaned a girl that day, killed many people, taken others hostage. He wanted to take Clementine with him. So, I kept my promise that I had made when he and I fought in that office.
Lee said, looking out the window with a distant look.
- Really? What promise?
Kenny asked.
- I said that if he failed to kill me, I would break half his bones.
Lee said, and Kenny stared at him for a while, a little uncertain.
- So you...
- He couldn't kill me... and I couldn't break half his bones either. He didn't put up with having his arm broken and crumbs. So I just killed him.
Lee said, sighing. Kenny continued to stare at him for a while, until he turned his gaze back to Aj.
-... Jesus... it looks like things haven't been easy for you guys.
He said, gently stroking Aj's face.
- Chased by a crazy man you had nothing to do with. Destroying an entire community, years later, doing the same thing. You're a pretty tough guy, old man.
Molly said, looking at Lee in the rearview mirror.
- I'm not that old. I'm only forty-one.
He said with a small smile.
- Oh, shit. Forty-one? I'm forty-six.
Kenny said, and Lee laughed softly.
- You look like two elderly people with those beards. And Kenny, your hair is too long.
Molly said, and the two men grumbled softly.
- My beard is a little long, I admit.
Lee said, running his hand through his beard. He could braid that beard.
- A little? Lee, you have a lion's mane on your chin.
Kenny said amused, and Lee rolled his eyes, becoming slightly grumpy.
- I have to agree with Kenny on that one.
Clementine said, sitting down in the front seat.
- Aj, do you think my beard is too long?
Lee asked, stepping a little closer to the boy, who grabbed both his and Kenny's beard, smiling as he pulled both of them.
- Ow! I guess it doesn't matter to him.
Lee said amused, straightening his posture, and looking at Kenny with a raised eyebrow.
- You seem to have become quite attached to this boy.
Lee said, and Kenny looked at him a little embarrassed.
- Sorry. It's been a long time since I've seen a baby. And, well, it kind of made me miss when Duck was a baby. I wasn't around much, I was away a lot.
He said, swinging Aj slightly with his leg.
- No need to apologize, Dad. I understand you.
Lee teased, laughing softly at the look Kenny gave him.
- You still have a chance to have more children. You said you've been in this community for a while.
Clementine said, looking over Kenny's shoulder.
Kenny sighed lightly.
- I want to have another child. Maybe a little girl this time. Duck has been enough trouble already. But, I don't think Sarita and I are ready yet.
he said, feeling Aj grab his finger.
- And what about you?
Kenny asked, looking at Lee, who also sighed.
- I already have two.
Lee said, and Kenny smiled slightly.
- Yes, but like it or not, you don't share the same blood. I mean a son of yours, blood of your blood.
Kenny said, and Lee scratched the back of his head.
- I... I don't know. I don't think I'll ever have a child. You have to consider a lot of things.
- You're already capable of being a father. There's two pieces of evidence of that in the car.
Kenny said.
- Clementine helped me a lot in taking care of AJ. In the beginning, I was totally lost.
- And she will be there to help you take care of your own child. Besides, you took care of her all by yourself on the road.
- It was different. She was always smart.
- Well, if that is what you think. You will still have plenty of time to consider this idea. The community we are in is quite prosperous. Who knows what might happen from here on out.
Kenny said, and they were silent for the rest of the trip.
Lee stared out the window with a distant look. He had never imagined himself having a child of his own, for a while now, he just couldn't. Not even with his ex-wife. But, he doubted it was because he didn't want to, or because he was afraid. As Kenny said, he was already capable of being a father, he already had some experience.
Every time he thought about the subject, a bad feeling permeated his chest. So he simply avoided thinking about it.
Time passed rather quickly for Kenny and Lee, who were sleeping in the back seat. Both tired from their fight, and all the effort they had put in.
They awoke to laughter between Clementine and Molly, who as soon as they saw that they were waking up, stayed put.
- Good night, beautiful sleepers.
Molly teased, and Lee scratched his eyes, while Kenny leaned his body to the side and looked at the community walls ahead.
- Are we there yet? Jesus... it's night already. How long have we slept?
Kenny asked, a little disoriented, trying not to move too much to wake Aj, who was still sleeping in his arms.
- For hours. Don't worry, we understand that old people need to rest longer.
Molly teased again, and Kenny grumbled.
- Are you never going to stop this shit?
Kenny asked, and Molly just laughed, parking the car and waiting for the guards to approach.
- What were you two talking about? It's kind of rare to see you laughing with someone else.
Lee asked Clementine, who looked at him a bit dumbfounded for a while, then smiled.
- No big deal. She was just telling me about things she had been through with Kenny and some of the groups she had been in before she got here. And I found out that Jane is here too.
The girl said, and Lee arched an eyebrow. She was hiding something, but he just shrugged.
It was refreshing to see her hiding secrets shared with people other than himself. If Kenny trusted Molly, then he did too.
Molly chatted with the guards for a while, who alternated their eyes between Clementine and Lee, a little suspicious, but let them pass.
Lee looked around. The community was surrounded by two rows of walls. The first being large wooden pickets. The second, walls built of concrete. Between the walls was a platform that seemed to run all the way around the community, being where the guards were located.
Further ahead was a large open area with tents around the dirt road. Lee had to admit that he was surprised to see all these buildings.
Especially when he saw a large garage nearby, and the armory of the place. They had many vehicles, and apparently even more guns.
- As Kenny said... the community is quite prosperous. Prescott was a small community, relatively new, compared to the other affiliates.
Molly said, and Clementine whistled at the size of the place.
After a while, the woman parked the car in front of a very large house. The place looked like it had been a farm before it had all those buildings around it and all those people.
Whoever was in control was doing a great job.
They got out of the car, and that same woman they had seen earlier, Lenna, approached.
- You took your time... Viviane was already getting worried.
She said, looking at Kenny with a very unfriendly expression, but he just rolled his eyes, hugging Aj more carefully and returning her gaze.
- Can you be an asshole some other time? He's asleep.
he said, walking past her and toward the house.
Lenna stared at him for a while, until she turned to Clementine, and Lee.
Apparently she was still upset about what they had done to those two men...not that it was any big deal.
- Did you know that they are still in the hospital? Will is in danger of not being able to use his hand anymore.
The woman said, and Lee grimaced slightly and shrugged.
- Well, I would lend him mine, but... I think I need a hand too.
Lee said, showing his severed arm, and walked towards the house, with Clementine right beside him.