Lee faced the street ahead from the alley he was in. Walkers crowded the street to the point that it was almost impossible to pass between them. It seems that while he was unconscious, more of these things appeared and joined the previous herd.
Leaning on his baseball bat, Lee walks to some stairs next to him and climbs them with some effort, standing on the roof of the building next door.
He walks with staggering and dragging steps, the way he was, it was likely that the walkers would not tell him apart from one of them, but he was not in the mood to walk in the middle of a herd with his body in that state.
Still on the roof, his eyes focus on a broken skylight just beside him, and he observes the interior of the place.
It was already daylight, and the interior was well lit. It seemed to be a radio office from the gadgets around the room. The interior was just like the interior of almost every other place he had been. Tables overturned, dried blood on the floor, a few fallen bodies.
His gaze fell on a rib cage beside one of the barricaded doorways. The spinal cord connected to the deformed skull, all the flesh was gone, leaving only a few pieces still attached to the bones. A horrifying and frightening sight. It didn't look like those remains were alive, and even if they were, they couldn't move without muscles.
On a chair in the corner of that room sat a man. A hole in his forehead, a gun on the floor, a paper on the table beside him stained with blood with a pencil also stained with blood. A bag at the man's feet.
It was clear. He had shot himself in the head, he couldn't bear to see everyone he knew die or the world around him crumble. He wrote a note to some still surviving colleague or friend, or just to any living soul passing by.
Lee was tempted to go down and get that gun. It didn't look like it was unloaded, not to mention that that backpack looked full.
His throat felt like it was on fire and he was starving, not to mention he had nothing but a baseball bat, he had to take the chance.
Looking around, Lee grunts as he picks up an iron bar from the side. Not too heavy, and not too sturdy to use as a weapon, but it would certainly make a considerable noise if dropped from that height. Positioning himself in front of the skylight, he lets the iron bar fall to the ground and waits.
The noise echoed through the place, and possibly the nearby corridors, and after a few minutes, only one walker appeared in that room.
Lee ran his eyes around again. The skylight was way above the floor, if he jumped there, he would have no way to climb back up.
"... I can use that..." He muttered to himself as he saw a desk cabinet next to a small table in the corner of the room.
All things considered, it seemed like a safe enough place to rest. Of course, right after he kills that lone walker below him.
Taking a few deep breaths, Lee positions himself on the skylight, preparing to fall exactly on top of the walker and kill it as quickly as possible.
Letting his body fall, he lands on top of the walker, and the sound of both bodies going down echoed through the place.
Lee grunted as he tried to get up quickly, he was still very weak and tired. But considering that the walker fell face first to the ground, he was in no danger of being bitten by that corpse.
Grabbing his bat, he stood up and consecutively hit the skull of the biter at his feet, until its head literally split open by the various impacts.
Lee leaned on his baseball bat, panting. His muscles were burning. Brandishing a melee weapon of that size with only one hand was not very practical. Not without habit.
His eyes fell on his amputated arm. It was a curious sensation. He could still feel his fingers. He felt his forearm itch at this exact moment, but there was nothing there. He could still feel it moving his fingers, and more than once he had tried to use that arm for something in the short time he had been standing.
Shaking his head, he looks around. There really was only one walker in that room. Although there were other bodies on the floor.
That dead man in the chair did a good job of barricading that room. For now, at least, it didn't look like Lee would have to worry.
But, one could never be too careful. Straightening his posture, he grabs the baseball bat as firmly as he can and begins to inspect the place. This time, using his bat to explore the corners and places that might hide some unwanted creature. He had learned from his mistake, he would not run the risk of being bitten again.
After a while, he heaved a sigh of relief when he found no hidden walkers. Lee followed the blood marks on the floor, and from the stuff, it looks like the man in that chair dragged every body he could out of the room before he killed himself.
Turning, he walks over to the man. Placing the bat propped up against the wall after making sure once again that he was alone, he bends down and picks up the gun from the floor. He has been armed enough to notice the difference between a loaded gun and one without ammo.
A relieved sigh escaped his lips. But soon he encountered another problem. How would he reload a gun?
Grimacing, he put the remaining part of his amputated arm against his body and removed the magazine from the pistol, leaving the mag resting on his biceps. The gun was not fully loaded, but it still had enough bullets in it.
Placing the gun over the mag, he arches an eyebrow as he manages to put the mag back into the pistol. It was not a practical way, besides being time consuming, especially in a dangerous situation. But it was what he could do for the moment, he would have to get used to it.
Placing the pistol on the back of his waist, he looks at the man's body. He hadn't killed himself for a long time, a few days at most. Those clothes would fit him. Much better than walking around covered in dried blood, both his own and the walkers'.
But before he could change clothes, he reached down and picked up the backpack. By the weight, it was full of something.
"Please be food." He whispered to himself, opening the backpack soon after. Another sigh of relief escaped his lips. The first thing he saw was a bottle of water right next to a protein bar.
With some haste, he picked up the bottle of water and opened it, drinking almost all of it. Then he grabbed the protein bar and tore open the package, also eating it in a hurry.
The relief was almost immediate, the burning in his stomach ceased, and he felt that he had gained more energy right away.
Breathing slowly, he inspects the other items in the backpack.
Three cans of beans.
Two cans of peaches.
Three more bottles of water.
One protein bar and one chocolate bar.
A small flashlight with two batteries. Rope, and a pocket knife.
"Thank you, God." He closed his backpack and sat down on the ground, lowering his head between his legs.
He could rest there for a while, but he didn't want to take too long. He knew that if he left in that state he wouldn't get very far, but he didn't want Clementine to get further and further away with every minute he stayed there.
By this point, maybe the girl had already found Kenny and the others, since they had arranged to meet outside the city, near the train.
He hoped that this was the case. He couldn't even imagine the possibility that the girl had gotten lost, or that something worse had happened.
He shook his head, there was no point in thinking about it, he didn't want to think about it. He knew what the girl was capable of, she would be fine. At the moment, he had to worry about his own situation first.
Looking down at his arm, he sighs. He had to change those bandages, but he couldn't find any in the backpack.
No chance to use a piece of his clothes, they were stained in blood and he was liable to die if he did.
In the distance, the ringing of a bell was heard, drawing Lee's attention, and he looked at the boarded up window, leaving only a small gap to observe the outside activity.
Getting up, he walks to the window and observes the street infested with dead people. Slowly the walkers were attracted by the noise. Good, he could stay there until the street was empty enough.
"Thanks, Molly." He whispered, smiling as he remembered the woman. Maybe Clementine would become just like her, independent and handling herself well on her own. They were both smart.
Turning around, he walks over to the man sitting on the chair and knocks him to the floor, beginning to pick up his clothes.
After some time with cleaner clothes, he rips off a piece of the sleeve jacket and uses it as a replacement for the bandages. It would do for now, better than being left with dirty bandages.
Backpack on his back, bat resting on the backpack, gun at his waist, new clothes and supplies. Lee walks toward the window again and looks out into the street. The bell was still ringing, and most of the street was already clear of infected.
Turning around, he pushes the table and the cupboard under the skylight and uses them to get out of there, grunting slightly from the effort it took to pull his body up with only one arm, but with more energy than before, at least.
After climbing back up onto the roof, Lee walks to the edge and observes the street once more. Very few walkers were there now. His eyes stopped on the dead couple already at the end of the street.
Clementine's parents.
Lee shook his head in a wistful sigh. It must have been quite a shock for the girl. He should have insisted that her parents were dead, even if the girl became angry with him. Maybe then, despite the certain pain, it would be somewhat more bearable.
Soon he looked in the direction of the bell ringing, it was not very far from there. Then something else caught his attention.
The car parked in front of the hotel next door. The stranger's car.
Just thinking about it again made his blood boil. He was thankful that at least this guy wouldn't have the chance to come back to life, he made sure of that.
And in death he would even be useful, for that car was his means of exit from that city.
He walked down the same path he had used to get there, only this time, leaving that alley and walking down the street. He didn't want to stay in the same place that forced Clementine to abandon him, he would feel too melancholy by the image.
With hurried steps, though still groggy, he walks to that room, approaches the body of that stranger, controlling himself not to stare at him more than necessary.
Bending down, he searches his body until he finds the car key.
Lee hurries to get out of there. He knew the stranger was dead, but the discomfort of being near his body was still there.
It still followed him.
After leaving the hotel, he stared at the car. He could leave the city right now, he knew that they were supposed to meet outside the city, near the train. But he felt that he should stay there a little longer.
Maybe some member of his group was in trouble, maybe they met somewhere else.
And there was also Molly. As far as he knew, the girl also wanted to get out of town, she made that clear when she said she wanted a place on the boat they found. They could get out of there together. And considering the direction in which the ringing of the bell was coming, he would say that Molly would pass nearby.
Getting into the car, he started the vehicle. It had enough gas for hours of driving, great.
Looking through the rearview mirror, he backs up a little until he is in front of the alley with the stairway that led to the roof of that building.
Lee gets out of the car and looks around again. He puts the keys in his pocket and arranges his backpack as he goes up to the roof again. It was high enough to spot Molly, who was used to walking on the high ground.
Looking at his watch, he grunted as he realized that it was almost noon. He had found Clementine as soon as it was dark. All things considered, he woke up pretty early even considering the state of his body. Or, maybe, he woke up a day after all that... too late.
"Hey, big guy." Lee was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Molly's voice, and he turned around. The woman was looking exactly the same way from the last time he saw her, which was not too long ago.
She had her arms crossed and a curious expression on her face. Her eyes were focused on his arm, as expected.
"You seemed quite caught up in your thoughts, you didn't even notice me coming. What the hell happened to you?" she asked, and Lee sighed softly.
"I... suffered an accident. A stupid slip." The woman arched an eyebrow.
"An accident? Hm, I can't say you're the careless type, so that's a surprise." Molly looked away and began to look around, as if searching for something. "Where's the rest of your group?"
Lee lowered his head, placing his hand on his forehead for a while. "They...I don't know. They're fine...I hope."
Molly stared at him awkwardly for a while, until she sighed and approached him with careful steps. Which left Lee a little confused.
"That guy with the kid. Kenny, right? Do you even know where he is?" she asked, and he arched an eyebrow.
"...No...he went after Katjaa along with Duck, and-" Lee stopped talking when Molly showed him a cap. At first, just an ordinary cap, but soon his eyes widened slightly.
"I found this cap not far from here. At first I didn't take much notice, but... that woman, Katjaa... well, she was lying on the ground right next to it. A bite on her neck and a bullet in her head. There was a devoured body next to it."
Lee lowered his head and closed his eyes somewhat tightly, unable to stop the sigh of frustration that escaped his mouth. Worry rose in his chest and his thoughts soon fell on Kenny.
He knew his friend could take care of himself, but... if Katjaa was dead, and as Molly said, there was a body next to it...
"Look, I don't want to sound negative or anything, okay? The body may not be his. But the woman is dead. I would say I'm sorry, but, that wouldn't help."
Molly said with a certain sympathy in her voice, looking at him with warm eyes. Lee took a few deep breaths, controlling his already raw emotions.
The body might not be Kenny's, yes... but it might be Duck's. It was a chance, and although his mind wouldn't go away from the possibility, he tried his best not to think about it.
It could be the body of some walker. Or of some surviving man from that community, Crawford.
He clenched his fist and bit his lower lip, soon letting out another sigh.
"...Look, we arranged to meet outside the city, near the train we used. If he survived, he went there. I have a car, and for all I know, you don't want to stay in this town any longer." He explained quickly, ignoring, or at least trying to ignore, his feelings.
Molly looked at the vehicle parked in front of the alley, looking thoughtful for a few moments.
"...Where's the little girl?" she asked, not needing to turn around to know the expression Lee had on his face. It was noticeable only by the small grunt he gave.
They were silent for some time. Without looking each other in the face.
"She is alive. Because of that accident of mine, she had to go on without me. But she is alive." He answered after a while, only then, Molly turned toward him.
From the woman's eyes, Lee could tell exactly what she was thinking. Of course, he knew that there was a chance that she was not alive. There had always been that chance since the walkers had appeared. But he would refuse to think that until he saw the girl's body.
She will survive, he was sure of that.
"...What's left of Crawford is also leaving. There isn't much left in Savannah, and with this herd, the city has become even more dangerous. If your friends aren't trapped here, they must have left town long ago." She said, walking to the stairs and down to the alley. Lee followed her a few steps further back.
"Good. As long as they're alive, I don't mind if we don't meet now." Lee replied, turning the car around and sitting in the driver's seat.
"You know the chances of seeing them again are low, right?" Molly asked. Lee's look at the girl was already an answer, and she just sighed.
"If you think so. Can you drive with only one hand?"
"It's not exactly a problem. Not many drivers these days." He started the car, shifted gears, and drove off with it.
"Do you have food in that backpack? I couldn't get my breakfast." Molly asked, and Lee nodded, not taking his eyes off the road.
Not out of caution about walkers, but in hopes of finding someone from his group on the streets.
"So, what happened to you?" Molly asked, already chewing on a piece of the protein bar.
Lee sighed, looking at the empty streets searching for a road he knew.
"...I got bit."
"Well, that much I expected from the fact that your arm is gone. But like I said, you're not the careless type." Molly said, looking out the window toward one of the bell churches she's used to get around town.
"...Clementine was kidnapped. It happened shortly after Katjaa and Omid got separated from us by those men from Crawford. Her cap was lying in front of a pile of garbage. At the time the desperation was so great that I didn't even think to reach the trash first." He replied after a while, feeling the girl's gaze on him.
He shook his head slightly and squeezed the steering wheel as he observed the sign at the entrance to Savannah.
"Oh... so... where is this guy who kidnapped her?"
"Dead."
"I see. Who cut off your arm when you found her? Or did they cut it off before you found her?"
"I went after her alone. Kenny and Duck, as well as Christa and Ben went after Katjaa and Omid. Kenny and Duck left first, I convinced them that I could find Clem. I also had to convince Ben to go with Christa."
"Oh, so you cut your arm yourself?" he didn't answer, but the answer was obvious. It was in the look in his eyes. "I have to admit, you are tough. That takes a lot of guts."
"Wouldn't you?"
"Well, in desperation, in your situation, I guess I would. But a lot of people don't, especially not alone."
They were silent again, eyes glazed on the deserted road. Lee's grip on the steering wheel evidenced his anxiety.
"What about the girl?" Molly asked after a while.
"I...I thought I cut my arm too late. I was weak, passing out quite often. I told her to move on and not to look back. To meet the others outside the city, near the train."
"How long has it been?"
"I don't know. It was night at the time. Did you find anyone else besides Katjaa? Or, I don't know, anything?"
"No. Just her and some assholes from Crawford who were still prowling the streets. But I saw that boat get shot at by gunfire. I was surprised to see you on that roof."
Lee snorted, shaking his head at hearing that.
"Vernon. He stole the boat." Molly stared at him.
"Well, he didn't get very far then. Before I lost sight, smoke was coming out of the boat's engine."
"Really? Well, I would say I'm sorry for him, but... I guess I'd just be lying. But I don't blame him for stealing the boat. He saw an opportunity, and he risked his chances." Lee wriggled in his seat as he saw the place where they were supposed to meet, the train stopped not far ahead.
He parked the car and exited the vehicle almost immediately after picking up his bat. His eyes ran around the scene frantically as he approached.
"Christa?" He called out as he approached the train, tapping the steel a few times with his bat. No response.
"They could be in one of the cars, hiding, you know? Crawford's still out there." Molly said, trying to sound hopeful for him, but they both noticed her somewhat contradictory tone.
Lee, however, remained hopeful as he ran through the locomotive and opened the boxcar. His frustrated stared at the empty interior of the train with a certain sadness and agony.
There was no one there.
No sign that anyone had actually passed by, for even the tools were still in the same place.
Molly crossed her arms and leaned on the side of the train, staring at it for a while, until she turned her eyes to the visible buildings of the city not far away.
"...No sign of them." He said with some regret, closing the train gate and approaching the woman.
"Don't you want to wait? On top of the train, we have a good view of our surroundings. And with that herd, anything could have happened." Molly suggested, and Lee sighed, leaning his head against the steel of the train.
His closed eyes were still restless and his mind raced furiously through the various possibilities of what might have happened to his group, the worst being the death of all the members.
Something he certainly didn't want to think about, and he quickly tried to push those thoughts away.
"You don't have any food, right?" He asked Molly, even though he already knew the answer.
"No. Just my water bottle."
Lee lowered his head, placing his hand on her neck as he made his decision.
"...We have food for a day, a few at most if we cut out some meals. We can stay here until tomorrow morning at the latest. Do you have a map?"
The girl took off her backpack and placed it on her feet. After a while, she pulled a piece of paper out of it and placed it on the train platform just behind her.
"The next stop we can make is here. A roadside hotel. Not far from the next town, and a little over half an hour from here. Hopefully, we can find something useful there."
He explained, handing the map back to Molly and walking to the wagon.
"I'll take a look around. You stay on top of the train, do you have any ammo?"
He turned to her after placing his backpack inside the carriage. The girl approached with an arched eyebrow.
"I think I'd better take a look around and you stay here."
"What?"
"You don't look well at all. You're tired, it's obvious. I don't even know how you're standing right now. You stay here and I'll look around."
Lee continued to stare at her, prepared to refuse, but he had to agree that he didn't feel very well. Despite the food and water, he was still exhausted.
In the end, he realized that he didn't have the energy to argue with her about it.
With a victorious smile, Molly turned around, feeling Lee's gaze on her back.
The day passed, and soon evening came. Night passed, and day came again.
No one showed up.
Molly drove the car in complete silence, just as Lee was at that moment, his tired eyes focused only on the road. He was already looking better than the day before, despite his sad expression with a hint of frustration.
And although the girl had gotten used to only the noise of the walkers and her own thoughts, she had to admit that Lee's silence made her uncomfortable. From what little she had seen of him, she knew he was a more reserved man, but with a friendly air around him. That silence was different.
"You...you wanna talk?" She asked after what seemed like hours of driving, receiving only a quick glance from Lee as an answer. Which for a few moments, worried her even more.
"It's not like I'm grieving... I mean, maybe I am, for Katjaa, but... I don't think they're dead. It's just frustrating not knowing their whereabouts."
His husky voice caused goose bumps to run down Molly's skin, and she eyed him. He hadn't said much since the night before, and although he tried to look impassive on the outside, she could see the desperation in his eyes.
Of course, his mind was thinking the worst. But at least he was trying to sound positive in the midst of that rain of shit. He might not have found anyone, but that didn't mean that they were dead. And as long as they were alive... argh, he would try to learn to live with that thought.
Although, even his positivity wouldn't stop him from feeling lost...
"So, what's the plan?" Molly asked the exact question that Lee had no idea the answer to. He propped his head against the seat, without answering her for some time.
"... That's the question. I don't know."
"Really? Didn't you and your friends discuss where you were going? Why did you go after a boat then?"
"Kenny is a fisherman, he knows more isolated places that coincidentally are great fishing spots. That was the only reason we decided to risk our chances in a city. Even though we know that cities are too risky." Molly sighed.
"Well, that sucks." She muttered softly, and Lee looked at her with an arched eyebrow.
"What about you? Where were you planning to go?"
"As you said yourself, cities are too risky. But I'm used to walking the streets, or rather rooftops of Savannah. I was planning to go from town to town northward looking for something. I learned that some communities had sprung up in the midst of the apocalypse. Different communities than Crawford."
Lee widened his eyes slightly, surprised, although it was to be suspected by now. It's not as if they were the last people on the planet.
"How did you find out?"
"Crawford. I said I was part of them at some point. It's nothing confirmed, but it's something, at least. A goal."
Lee squirmed in his seat after seeing the location up ahead. A large roadside hotel. The sign out front still looked in perfect condition, if you took the dust off. As soon as they approached, they ran their eyes over the few vehicles at the site. Which meant that there were a few walkers around.
In the large courtyard, for example, there were at least a dozen. But they were too spread out, too far away from each other, to be an extreme danger.
Molly parked the car near the entrance, but hidden by some surrounding trees, you never know. "So, Grandpa, do you think you can handle killing a few idiots?" Molly asked teasingly, and Lee just snorted.
"I can handle it. Don't worry." He said, picking up the bat that was in the back seat and getting out of the car.
"Are you sure? You didn't look so good yesterday. And, not for nothing, but you're missing an arm."
"But I'm better today, although a little tired. Besides, being without an arm, while extremely inconvenient, is not the end for me. I don't know, maybe I'll find a hook and kite to add to the package?" Molly stared at him for a while in a strange way, until she laughed lightly while shaking her head.
"Look at that, you have a sense of humor. But you need to grow that beard a little longer." They approached the yard, watching the scene intently, focusing their eyes on the few walkers who noticed them.
"Jesus, no chance. My beard is already too big the way it is." Lee said, walking towards a walker, and with one swift motion, hitting his head hard with the bat, sending the corpse to the ground, and stomping on his head soon after. Carefulness could never be too much around those things.
"On that I have to agree." Molly said, stabbing her pickaxe into the side of the head of another approaching walker, shoving him to the ground soon after.
"Let's deal with those things before we inspect the place." Lee said, looking at the building just beyond the gas station. From a distance he could make out the sign for the restaurant.
Molly nodded to him and quickened her steps toward the other walkers, stabbing her pickaxe into the head of the first one and quickly throwing her body backwards as another approached. She would not make the mistake she made in Savannah, where her pickaxe got stuck in a walker's body. It was a situation she did not want to see repeated.
Lee, not far away from there, just watched the approaching walker. A man, in his forties, maybe fifties, with pieces of flesh missing from his torso, face and legs. His right leg being the worst of them, as the bone was visible on the side of his thigh and across a large expanse of his calf.
The walker staggered closer, threatening to fall with each slow step he took, and Lee just watched him.
Now without one of his arms, his approach would have to be different than before. He could no longer advance with his axe, or any two-handed weapon. And like it or not, this irritated him.
He knew he had to adapt, and with that thought, along with his observation of the walker, that an idea ran through his mind.
Approaching the corpse with calm steps, he kicks the side of his bitten leg, knocking the walker to the ground and pressing his foot against his icy back. A walker was slow, and occasionally walked in a staggering manner...which made them easy to knock down.
"Perfect method for someone who uses lighter weapons, has a short stature, or doesn't possess much brute strength. Shit, I should have taught this to Clem." He muttered to himself, striking the walker's head with his bat and observing the deformation in its skull.
Although he had taught her how to use a gun and a machete, that technique would certainly help her... but she was smart, maybe she would figure that out on her own.
Turning around, he does the same thing to the next walkers, until they have killed all the walkers in that yard. It didn't take long, there weren't that many.
The two of them looked at each other for a few moments and then walked towards the restaurant ahead, right next to where the rooms were.
As they approached, they stood one on each side of the door and looked inside through the broken glass.
Overturned tables on the floor, broken chairs, dried blood staining the walls and floor. Nothing different.
Extending his bat, Lee knocks three times on the door and observes the interior of the place again. Four walkers had risen from the floor, and one was approaching the hallway leading to the kitchen.
Molly opened the door as the first walker approached, and with one swift motion, pierced the skull of what used to be a woman with her pickaxe, dropping the body to the ground soon after. The woman bent down and pulled the body back, making room in front of the door.
The next walker approached, and just as before, Lee kicked the walker in the leg, knocking the walker to the ground and stomping hard on his head. Molly stared at him with an arched eyebrow, and he just shrugged.
At the third walker, she did the same as him, and it was easy to pierce that corpse's skull with her pickaxe. Much easier, in fact, as she didn't have to exert as much force.
"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" She asked, watching him step over the fourth walker's head and into the restaurant, hitting the last one in the head with the bat until he mutilated its skull.
"Because I just recently found out. I can't use both my arms, I need another way to kill these things." He replied, looking around the interior of the restaurant and ignoring Molly's gaze at his back.
He hit the wall three more times with the bat and waited, but this time, no walkers appeared and all was silent.
Placing the bat on his back next to his backpack, he walked towards the kitchen with calm steps while Molly began to search the front of the restaurant.
The smell of the place wasn't the worst they had ever smelled, but it was disgusting all the same. Rot and death came up her nose and she was forced to put her mask on in there.
She didn't find much, just unmasticated pieces of human flesh and bodies. Besides a little money, but it wasn't that important.
A short time later, Lee returned from the kitchen with his backpack restocked with some canned goods he found.
The two of them left the restaurant after a while of searching. Although it wasn't much, they were satisfied that they managed to find something.
"I'll put this backpack in the car before we continue." Lee said. Molly watched him for a few moments until she turned and leaned against the wall, waiting for him.
Her eyes ran over the surrounding yard. All was quiet, a silence that, although uncomfortable, the woman was used to.
"Okay, let's go." Lee snapped her out of her thoughts, and she blinked a few times. She hadn't even noticed him approaching.
The two walked to the front of the hotel, and stopped when they saw that the front desk was blocked off by furniture. A barricade to prevent walkers from entering... or leaving, perhaps.
They walked around the hotel, looking for some entrance, but even the windows were blocked and they couldn't see inside.
"Not here either." Molly said after trying to open the back door, which was locked.
"Well... maybe we can take a look through the roof. If there's nothing, we'll look for some gasoline and be on our way." Lee said, looking at the surrounding forest once again, making sure there was nothing sneaking up behind him.
"How much food did you get in the kitchen?" The woman asked, walking beside him toward the ladder that led to the roof.
"Not much. Along with what we already had, it should last us a few days. I'm not too inclined to go into that city. I was hoping we'd find something here."
He said amid a sigh, climbing the ladder in the back corner of the hotel just behind Molly. Once they reached the roof, they ran their eyes across the flat surface until they stopped at a skylight up ahead.
They started walking up the roof toward the skylight, until Lee suddenly stopped. Molly, not hearing the sound of the man's footsteps, turned and looked at him with an arched eyebrow.
"What is it?"
"Listen."
She remained silent, still staring at him. At first, the woman was confused to hear nothing, but after a while in complete silence, she could hear muffled grunts coming from just below her. Not just a few, but many.
Too many.
"Let's get out of here." Lee said.
Molly widened her eyes slightly and started walking towards the stairs again. However, the moment she took the first step, she heard the sound of something breaking, followed by several other similar sounds.
They both felt the ground beneath their feet crack, and before they could do anything, the ceiling gave way, and they fell into the hotel.
They both groaned in pain as they felt the impact of their bodies against the floor. The initial confusion soon faded, and the sound of grunting echoed everywhere.
They forgot about the pain almost immediately and stood up.
As soon as he did, Lee jumped backwards in reflex when a walker tried to grab him, and quickly grabbed his baseball bat, hitting the walker in the head.
However, as soon as he did, another piece of the ceiling fell, and more light entered the place, that's when they saw the large amount of walkers surrounding them.
Now it made sense why the place was so barricaded. There must have been at least a couple of dozen walkers in there.
Lee put his bat on his back again and picked up his pistol, shooting the walker that approached from behind Jane's back and the following ones.
"What the fuck! What do we do her?!" The woman asked, knocking down a walker and killing him with her pickaxe. Before she could pull her weapon back, another walker threw himself on top of her, grabbing her arm.
Molly, in reflex, held the walker's head by the forehead, preventing him from tearing off a piece of her flesh, until Lee shot what had once been a man in the head, giving the woman the opportunity to grab her weapon again.
Lee turns to continue shooting, however, his arm is grabbed by one of the walkers. Lee's eyes widened as he saw, almost in slow motion, the walker open his mouth to bite him. His heart beat faster and in desperation, or reflex, or something, he headbutts the already decomposing corpse and kicks it heavily away from him, shooting the nearby walkers around him soon after.
"Shit! No bullets!" He shouts, just before a walker stumbles and falls between him and Molly, who walk away in fright.
Lee's shoulder was soon grabbed once more, and he held the neck of the walker who was trying to bite him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see two more of those things approaching him.
Gritting his teeth, he pushes the walker he was holding toward the other two and knocks the three bodies to the ground. Picking up his bat, he hits those things in the head a few times, until he forces himself away.
"Lee! The entrance!" Molly shouts, knocking over a few walkers around her.
Lee faces her, and takes a quick look at his surroundings. He was at the end of the hallway, near a closet that blocked one of the windows. He could escape through that window, if it wasn't nailed with boards in front of it.
Kicking a walker away from him, he turns around and pushes the heavy closet forward, crushing a few bodies that were advancing toward him.
He quickly leaps over the closet as another walker hurls himself toward him, and runs toward Molly with his bat in hand.
His path was blocked by a body of what was once a man, by his clothes, someone who worked in that hotel. Without slowing his speed, Lee throws himself against the walker, colliding his shoulder against the corpse's chest and 'running him over' with his body.
Ahead, three more walkers stood in front of him. Molly stuck her pickaxe in the head of one of them, and gritting her teeth, threw it towards another, knocking two of them out of Lee's way.
Another part of the roof fell off, just after Lee left that hallway and approached the blocked entrance.
"Shit! You're stronger than me, move the furniture out of the way, I'll buy you time!" Molly said, killing another walker, a few steps behind Lee.
Lee ran over to the couch, that being the first piece of furniture that impeded his passage. With a little strength due to having only one arm, he pushed the piece of furniture aside, focusing his eyes on the next cabinets.
Just past the sofa was a desk, a small one, so it didn't take much strength to push it over, although, it did take longer after Lee felt something grab his leg.
Looking down, he widens his eyes and grits his teeth as he sees an icy, thin hand grab his ankle. He quickly takes his bat and hits the walker in the head, literally sinking one of his eyes into his skull.
"Lee! I won't be able to hold it forever!" Molly shouted, shoving another walker toward the others that were approaching, buying her a little time to kill the one she was currently stepping on.
Lee rushed over and pulled the cabinet in front to the back. This being a heavy piece of furniture. An idea flashed through his mind.
Using his legs, he positioned himself behind the cabinet and pushed it back a few inches. "Molly, back off!" He shouts, and the woman does so, standing right next to him.
Lee then pushes the top of the cabinet forward, watching the piece of furniture fall on top of some of the walkers and difficulty the bodies passing through the narrow hallway.
"Great!" Molly turned and began pushing the furniture out of the way, with Lee's help soon following.
They pushed one more cabinet, just before Lee turned and hit the head of one of the walkers who managed to jump over the fallen furniture. Although, they didn't need to push the furniture away anymore, since there was only one table left in front, not too high, and it was easy to jump over it.
As soon as they had done so, they both looked breathlessly at those bodies crowding the entrance. Blood that they hadn't even realized was staining them dripped down their faces.
"Okay... don't get me wrong. But I'm never going up on a roof with you again." Molly said, turning around and walking toward the car at a hasty pace.
"Me neither." Lee muttered. More to himself than to Molly, just before he escorted his wife to the vehicle.
