Clementine shot at one of the walkers ahead of Kenny and Duck, clearing the way for the man to pass with Sarita still in his arms.
Because of the gunfire, the herd was still following them, even though they were delayed by the several abandoned cars on the wide street.
Not to mention that more and more walkers were approaching and joining the horde, making it even bigger.
" There's no end of these things!" Duck grumbled as he reloaded his gun.
At one point while they were running, Clementine groaned in surprise as she felt her leg being grabbed and her body being thrown to the ground.
"Clem!" She hears Duck shout, and gunshots are heard.
Several walkers were crawling under the cars toward the girl, and some were trying to grab the two men in front of her.
Clementine desperately kicked the walker who was crawling over her body after having the arm that held the gun grabbed by a corpse with only the upper part of its body.
The girl screamed in desperation as she found herself more and more surrounded by the dead and more and more icy hands grabbing her body.
The walker who was grabbing her arm crawled dangerously close to her and opened his mouth to bite her neck, however, Kenny appeared first and stomped hard on its head.
More shots were heard, the walkers around the girl were killed and Clementine felt her body being lifted by Duck.
"Clem, are you okay?!" Kenny asked with obvious concern in his voice.
"Yeah... yeah, I think so! Thank you!" She replied, feeling the adrenaline leaving her body and trying to calm her trembling hands.
Kenny stared at her for a few more moments looking for any injuries, but finding none, he sighed in relief and turned around, starting to run soon after.
The two children followed him, listening to the sound of gunfire through the confusing streets of that unknown city.
After a few minutes of running, they reached a crossroads and turned left, the same way they could see, at a glance, Luke following.
However, the three stopped running panting and widened their eyes when they saw that one of the streets leading out of the city was literally infested.
The gunfire attracted the walkers from all over the area, and a new horde formed, blocking the few exits they had from that place.
Just in front of the second horde, Carlos was down. Sarah screamed and tried to go towards her father, but was stopped by Mike, who held her tightly and pulled her back.
Luke and Jane were right behind them. Jane was trying to open the door of a building just around the corner while Luke ran to help Mike.
The city streets were getting more and more crowded. Two hordes were approaching at the same time and the street with fewer walkers could not be passed, because although few in comparison to the hordes, there were still too many for them to handle.
Kenny and Duck ran to Jane to help her with the doors of the place while Clementine ran to Luke and Mike.
"Sarah! Snap out of it! There's nothing we can do!" Luke shouted, pulling the girl back, who continued to watch her father being devoured and her screams of crying got louder and louder. Heavy tears streamed down the girl's face.
"We don't have time for this! We have to go!" Mike said, holding the girl by the waist and lifting her over his shoulder.
Clementine stood at Mike's side and shot at the approaching walkers, retreating with them while giving them cover.
"What happened?!" She asked Luke, forming a small circle around Jane and Kenny who were trying to open the blocked doors of that building.
"He got hit back there, I think! I don't know! He just fell!" Mike was the one who explained, grunting slightly as he felt the girl struggle on his shoulder and scramble to get out of his grasp. "Sarah! Calm down!" he shouted, but the girl didn't even seem to hear him, still crying loudly.
"Jane, Dad, they're getting closer!" Duck yelled, shooting a few more times at the surrounding walkers, hoping to buy as much time as he could.
Which wasn't much, since the two hordes were very large, what those shots did was knock down a few bodies and barely get in the way of the horde walking at most.
"This place is barricaded!" Jane shouted, watching Kenny throw himself against the door a few times and force it open wider and wider each time he did so.
"Shit! How much ammo do we have?!" Luke asked, walking over to Clementine and opening the girl's backpack.
"Plenty! But Bonnie had some of it!" Clementine explained, reloading her pistol as fast as she could and returning to shooting.
Soon, the sound of the door being busted open caught their attention.
"I did it! Let's go!" Kenny said, turning to Duck and taking Sarita again in his arms before stepping inside.
Mike went first, making sure that even if Sarah managed to get out of his grasp, she wouldn't run blindly towards her father and be devoured by the horde.
The others came through the door soon after. Mike put Sarah down and helped Luke close the doors, placing the furniture that blocked them before in front of the entrance again.
"Do you think this will hold?" Mike asked, moving away from the entrance as he heard knocks and more knocks on the doors. A few moments later, on the windows as well.
"A horde that size? I doubt it. Let's go." Jane said.
Clementine turned and ran her eyes around the interior of the place. There was a hallway leading straight to the elevator in front of her, and a few steps beside her, a staircase.
"I'll check the back and see if there's any way out." Mike said, walking down the hallway ahead as the others climbed the stairs.
"I'll go with you." Luke said, looking at Sarah for a few moments before following Mike.
Kenny and Duck hurried up the stairs and into some apartment with some haste.
Clementine and Jane stood on the second floor, the younger girl was panting and sweating. Her nervous eyes stopped on Jane for a moment, and then on Sarah.
The girl was still crying loudly, sitting on the first step of the stairs, hugging her legs.
Clementine stared at her thoughtfully for a while, and then sighed.
What would they do? She wasn't very good at comforting people, and she was sure that Sarah would barely hear two words she says.
She didn't know what to say to the girl.
And as Luke had said the day before, or that morning, she didn't even know anymore, Sarah was broken with Carlos' death.
"Sarah..." Clementine called out to her, but the girl didn't even look at her, still crying with great intensity. Her whole body was shaking.
"Sarah, please. You have to listen to me." Clementine said with a slightly stronger intonation as the grunting and banging on the doors got even louder and louder. "Sarah, look at me."
Clementine kept trying. She came close to the girl and placed her hand on her shoulder. Sarah startled and screamed loudly, pulling away from Clementine almost immediately and slapping her hand hard.
"... Shit..." Jane muttered to herself as she watched the girl, and Clementine had her eyes slightly wide at the girl's condition.
"Sarah, I understand what you're feeling, but you're not alone." Clementine said with firmness in her voice, having to sound loud when she heard one of the windows shatter.
"I am... yes, I am!" Sarah said amid sobs, her voice hoarse from screaming so much and trembling with emotions running high.
"No, you're not. What about Luke? You've known him almost since all this started. What about me? Kenny? Jane? Duck? This is a group, Sarah. We're your family now!" Clementine said, hearing the footsteps of Mike and Luke approaching in a hurry, and worried looks on their faces.
"What's going on? We have to get out of here." Luke said, alternating his gaze between the three girls.
"Sarah's bad, okay? She gets crazy even when you touch her." Clementine said.
"Well, of course. She saw her father..." Mike said, but cut off his own speech as he saw the girl cringe even more.
"A lot of people saw the same thing. It's like Luke said. Now that Carlos has died, she... just broke." Jane said, watching the girl who acted as if she was hyperventilating.
The thudding noise got louder and another one of the windows shattered.
"Can't we just carry her?" Mike asked, approaching the girl and putting his hands around her waist.
Again, Sarah struggled in an attempt to get away from Mike, elbowing the side of his face and kicking him to get him to move away.
"Fuck." Mike grumbled.
"Guys. We don't have time! I've seen this happen before. If she doesn't get up, we'll..." Jane said, also cutting off her own speech.
But everyone there knew exactly what she meant. And deep down, they knew she was right.
In fact, they had all had that thought in mind since before Carlos died.
"We can't just leave her here. Even if she doesn't want to, we have to carry her." Luke said.
The door opened slightly and they were startled.
"Damn it. We have to go!" Mike exclaimed.
"Clem, can you do something? I don't know! You guys were friends, right?!" Luke asked agitated.
"I...I'll try." Clementine said, crouching down in front of Sarah.
"No! I can't! Daddy, I-" Sarah struggled again, however, Clementine slapped the side of her face hard and held her head firmly, looking deep into the older girl's red, swollen eyes.
"Listen to me carefully. We can't be children anymore, Sarah. That's what we were trying to tell you and Carlos before. You have to grow up, or you die. There aren't any other choices." Clementine practically growled those words, irritated by the way the girl was acting, but also concerned for her well-being.
As she said before, she didn't want to see Sarah die.
The door was destroyed and the furniture that blocked it was dragged sideways by the large number of bodies that entered.
Clementine climbed a few steps and grabbed Sarah's arms, forcing her to stand up. And without any delicacy, Clementine pushed Sarah up the stairs, being followed by the others soon after.
"Ah, I'll check the outside fire exit!" Luke said, running down the hallway and into one of the rooms.
"Shit! Where's Kenny?! We have to leave now!" Mike said, shooting at the walkers coming up the stairs and pushing their bodies back, slowing the others coming up and making their passage difficult.
Clementine ran down the hallway alternating her gaze between rooms, until she found the one Kenny and Duck were in.
The two of them were standing in front of a couch on which Sarita was lying. Blood stained her stomach and dripped onto the floor.
She had a pale appearance and was clearly weak. She had lost a lot of blood.
Clementine didn't want to get in the way of the two, but as she looked back and saw the bodies getting closer and closer, she had no choice.
"...You are a wonderful man, Ken. I'm glad to have met you." Sarita said, that same sweet tone even in her husky, weak voice.
Kenny squeezed her hand gently, his hand trembling and his watery eyes not leaving the woman's pale face.
"I say the same to you, Duck. You're not mine, but... I love you like a son." Sarita said, and Duck lowered his head.
Unlike Kenny, his whole body was shaking and he was breathing harder, more breathlessly.
The two men in front of her were strong, capable, independent, and often seemed afraid of nothing. Seeing them like that was... different for Clementine.
"... Kenny..." The girl called out to him, almost without strength in her voice because she was interrupting that moment.
Kenny didn't turn around, but Sarita looked at her and smiled slightly in his direction.
"Hey, Clem... would you mind looking after these two for me?" She asked weakly, and Clementine swallowed dryly as she felt a lump forming in her throat.
Usually, she didn't have time to say goodbye to the people she loved.
The only person she had that opportunity with was Lee. The rest died quickly and as a thud, a reality shock.
And although she didn't love Sarita, she liked the woman.
A nod. That was all Clementine did to respond.
"...The walkers are coming in. They are already coming up. We have to go." Clementine said, hearing Luke's shout calling for them just down the hall.
For a few moments, they just stood still, until Kenny removed his hand from Sarita's and slowly stood up. It was evident the effort he was making to move.
"... I'm sorry... for everything. And thank you." Kenny said with a low, embattled voice, breaking on the few words he had said.
In response, Sarita smiled, looking lovingly into Kenny's eyes, making that even harder.
"... Do you... want me to do it?" Clementine asked carefully, alternating her gaze between the two men.
"We appreciate it, Clem. But... you don't have to." Duck was the one who answered.
"It'll be quick... help the others." Kenny said, turning slightly toward Clementine, but still not facing her.
The girl nodded, even though she knew they wouldn't see, and quickly turned back to the hallway with her gun in hand.
"Clementine! Where are they?!" Jane asked, shooting at the walkers who had already climbed to the top of the stairs and backing away slowly.
"Busy! Luke, the exit?" Clementine turned to the man, who was reloading his pistol and keeping Sarah protected behind him.
"We can't get down! The fence down there, although still standing, is too fragile against a horde of those things! But we can jump to the roof right next door!" Luke said, shooting a few more times.
Mike was the one furthest ahead, pushing the walkers against each other to buy time.
After taking down a few he points his gun at others and shoots a few times, rolling his eyes as he runs out of ammo.
"Ah, shit!" He grunted when one of the walkers threw himself in his direction. In reflex, he put his arms forward and stopped the corpse from biting him.
Clementine aimed her pistol at the walker that was trying to devour Mike, but the man was fighting with the body and moving around a lot, making it difficult for the girl to get a clear shot.
However, soon the walker who was grabbing him fell to the ground with a hole in his head.
Surprised, Mike turned around for a few moments and nodded to Kenny, who had his pistol pointed at where the walker was before.
"Let's go!" Kenny shouted, turning and running to the end of the hallway, being followed by the others.
As soon as they entered one of the rooms, Luke closed the door and, with Mike's help, placed a closet in front of the entrance.
Duck opened the window and climbed onto the outside fire escape, looking down and running his eyes over the large number of walkers who were throwing themselves against the chain link fence that surrounded the place.
It was obvious that that fence would not last long.
"Duck, come on up!" Luke said, and the boy did, being followed by Kenny and the rest.
After climbing a few flights of stairs, they stopped when they were facing the roof that Luke had said. It wasn't very far, but it was easy to miss the jump.
"Okay, Jane, Kenny, you guys go ahead." Luke said, he being the last of the small line of people on that ladder.
Jane was the first one who jumped, making it to the roof without much trouble. Kenny was second, groaning slightly after landing nearer the edge.
"Come on, Duck. It's not too far. Not too high either, just look forward." Kenny said, extending an arm toward the boy who took a few deep breaths before jumping.
Clementine was next, and she landed just in front of Jane, who helped her.
Mike was next, and everyone waited for Luke, who was trying to convince Sarah to jump.
However, the girl was breathing hard and with obvious fear in her eyes.
"Sarah, hey, look at me. It's not that high, okay? It's an easy jump. Hey." Luke was saying, holding by the girl's shoulders and looking deep into her eyes. "Just don't look down. We... we can jump together, okay? Can you do that?" He asked and the girl nodded, even though she was still wary.
"Oh, they'll both fall like that." Jane muttered to herself, but loud enough for Clementine to hear.
And even though she didn't like it, the girl had to agree with Jane. Luke would certainly be able to make the jump, but if Sarah couldn't, he would fall right along with her.
Luke took Sarah's hand and positioned himself, preparing to jump.
"Don't think, Sarah. Just look ahead, and when I tell you, jump, okay?" Luke said, trying to comfort the girl once again.
"I... I can't! It's too high!" Sarah said in trepidation, moving a few steps away from the edge and squeezing Luke's hand.
"No, no, Sarah. Calm down, okay? We have to do this. It's not a hard jump." Luke said, getting a little desperate at the girl's fear.
"I'll help you guys, don't worry." Mike said, positioning himself on the edge of the roof and facing the two.
"You hear that? Mike is gonna help us, there's nothing to be afraid of, okay? We can do this, right?" Luke said, gently pulling the girl close to him.
"Okay. One... two... three!" They jumped, and as predicted, at the last instant, Sarah let her fear take over and the strength in her legs diminished.
Everyone realized that they would not hit the jump.
Luke's eyes widened and he extended his hand toward Mike, who quickly grabbed the man's hand. However, the weight of both Luke's and Sarah's bodies caused Mike, who was already on the edge of the roof, to fall with them.
Kenny even tried to help, but before he could grab Mike, they had already fallen.
Luke hugged Sarah and tried to take most of the damage.
The three of them fell onto a weak roof of the place where the cars were parked and the garbage was put in the back of the building. The roof broke and a small cloud of dust formed.
"Jesus!" Kenny exclaimed.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Duck shouted.
"Luke!" Clementine screamed in desperation as she saw the man fall, standing on the edge of the roof and looking down hoping to see him there.
But nothing.
Minutes passed, the chain link fence was almost falling down from the frequent swinging of those corpses, and the despair in her chest only increased.
Clementine didn't even notice when she started to pant. Her hands became shaky and a knot formed in her throat.
"Hey... hey, guys..." Relief was almost immediate upon hearing Luke's voice, and Clementine almost smiled as she saw the man walk into her line of sight.
His clothes were soiled with dust and some other things that were probably from the trash he fell on. There was blood on the side of his head, which means he must have hit his head in the fall.
Which explains why it took so long for him to respond.
Luke was a little dizzy, and he was gasping for air.
"Mike? Sarah?!" Luke shouted for them, walking in a staggering fashion toward where the two had fallen.
"Luke!" Clementine called out to him again as one of the site's fences was torn down and the walkers began to enter.
"Fuck... Fuck! Mike!" The young man's cry of desperation made the whole group tense up, especially as the walkers approached.
"Luke, you have to get out of there!" Duck shouted, shooting at some of the walkers who came too close to Luke. "Damn, no ammo!" The boy grumbled, getting up and walking over to Clementine's backpack.
"Shit! Fuck, Mike's hurt, but... I think he can walk!" They heard Luke shout. "Sarah, come on! Get up! You're okay! Let's go!" Luke shouted again, and soon they could see him helping Sarah walk.
The girl had a pained expression on her face and was holding her right arm. But other than that, and the dirt on her clothes, she looked intact.
Mike, right next to him, was walking leaning on Luke's other shoulder, his leg was turned the other way and he groaned with every movement he made.
"Holy shit! Mike! Luke!" Kenny yelled, shooting at the walker who was walking a few steps behind them.
"Oh, fuck! You can't climb up there!" Luke said, looking around for any place he could use to get out.
But there was nothing. The wall was too high to climb and there was no opening to any other alley.
They were surrounded.
And the horde was getting closer and closer.
Clementine ran her eyes around as desperately as Luke himself, hoping to find something that might help him.
It was then that, remembering a similar situation, her eyes focused on a manhole a few steps ahead of the beginning of the horde.
"Luke! The manhole!" Clementine shouted, shooting at the approaching walkers and giving Luke the opportunity to run into it.
"Luke, hurry up! Shoot them!" Duck yelled, reloading his pistol and watching Luke push the walkers aside with his body.
"I don't have any ammo!" Luke yelled back, pulling Sarah to himself and killing a walker by stabbing his machete into the head of what had once been a man.
"Me neither!" Mike said, trying to stand upright as he killed one of the walkers who went towards him.
He stepped on his overturned leg and a cry of pain escaped his throat, his body meeting the ground.
However, to both his surprise and the surprise of the others, Sarah helped him with her good arm, and the two of them struggled to get him back on his feet.
"Thank you." He thanked the girl, staring at her awkwardly for a while, until he faced the walkers again.
Kenny stood up and opened Clementine's backpack again, taking out a pistol clip.
"Luke, Mike! Take it!" He shouted, and the young man turned toward him, just in time to be able to grab against his chest the ammo Kenny had thrown.
"Hah, thanks!" Luke said, reloading his gun and firing at the walkers, creating his path to the manhole.
Sarah bent down and picked up the ammo that had fallen to the ground, quickly handing it to Mike, who reloaded his pistol and covered Luke.
As Luke approached, he bent down and picked up his machete, using his blade as an aid to open the manhole cover.
"Luke! We don't have all the time!" Jane shouted, reloading her pistol and looking at the man below.
"Haha, I got it! Sarah, go!" Luke yelled, pulling the girl toward him and helping her down the manhole.
"Mike!" Luke yelled. The man stopped shooting at the surrounding walkers and practically dragged himself to the manhole, descending the stairs with great difficulty and pain.
But, he made it.
"We'll meet you outside of town! We'll try to get back to Parker's run if we don't meet in a day!" Luke shouted, just before he descended the manhole stairs.
The group on top of the roof sighed in relief, and they straightened their postures.
"Well... that could have ended a lot worse." Jane said, putting her hands on her waist after putting her gun away.
"... It ended bad enough." Kenny said, voice bitter, almost in a whisper, but loud enough for the others to hear.
An uncomfortable atmosphere formed between them, and Jane scratched the back of her neck in shame for having said that without thinking.
"Well... we'd better go. You heard Luke. If we don't meet in a day, we'll go back to Parker's run." Duck said, turning and walking across the roof without waiting for the others.
Kenny went soon after.
Clementine and Jane stared at the horde for a while longer. The woman watching the girl, and Clementine with her thoughts far away.
Bonnie, Rebecca, Carlos, Sarita... all those people dead in just one day. That was the first moment she really had a chance to let that fact sink into her mind.
And they almost lost Luke, Mike, Sarah in those last minutes.
Her chest hurt, but she didn't feel like she was going to cry. Maybe if she lost Luke too.
She would remember them, honor them, and carry on with what she had learned in their time together. Sure. But she should feel devastated that she had lost most of her group that morning. Something that didn't happen, despite the clear sadness.
Well... like Luke, maybe she was just used to losing people.
Sighing, the girl turned and walked towards the two men ahead of her.
They managed to get out of town. They used what little food they had and made a small camp on the main road just outside of town. If Luke managed to escape that sewer, he would certainly pass through there.
A day passed. Nothing. No sign of Sarah, Luke, Mike... barely any walkers passing by.
Clementine, and even Jane, seemed inclined to wait a little longer. Kenny and Duck accepted it, they didn't feel much like doing anything, they were having their grief. The loss of his second wife, for Kenny, and second mother, for Duck.
The two didn't talk much, and Clementine gave them the time they needed together. Neither she nor Jane tried to force a conversation.
When they felt well enough, they would say.
Meanwhile, Clementine tried to stay hopeful, but the second day passed with still no sign of them, and the hope she tried to keep alive eventually dimmed in intensity. It didn't die, but the spark was too small to continue there for another day.
Mike and Sarah were wounded, they were low on ammo in an infested city... anything could have happened.
With no choices, they headed back to Parker's run, where Clementine once again felt hopeful of finding Luke and the others already on site. But, the result was only a disappointment that she had already expected.
Night came, and part of the interior of the place was lit only by moonlight. No one there seemed to feel like sleeping.
The nights had grown colder, and they were curled up in a corner. Jane and Clementine hugged their own legs.
Kenny and Duck, next to each other, in a similar position.
And although they had arranged to meet there, that place was not very comfortable. At least, for Clementine. It was hard to look there and not imagine Rebecca sitting in the spot that Kenny is now.
Imagining Carlos and Sarah in the spot where she is. Luke on the wall next to her.
It hadn't been long since that place had been packed with people.
"Hey, Clem...?" Kenny's gruff voice brought her out of her thoughts, and the girl looked at the man's silhouette, since it was all she could see in that darkness
"... When Sarita... when I heard you say that, that you would do what was needed for us... I immediately remembered the first day I saw you. In that barn." Kenny was saying, and Clementine closed her eyes, allowing herself to go back to the past in her mind.
She almost smiled as she remembered when he mentioned that she was lucky she hadn't woken up with spiders in her hair.
"So different. But so the same. So grown up, but still that sweet little girl. Which also reminded me of a few moments after that." Kenny seemed to let out a nasal chuckle due to nostalgia. "Lee walked me to the car and asked if I needed help with the engine. So I asked if he needed any help, you know? Taking care of a little girl. I asked him if he knew what he was doing. And he, in that usual honest way, said he had no idea."
Kenny sighed loudly, while Clementine, despite staring at the floor, listened intently to what he was saying.
"But from the moment I met you again, I realized... he taught you well. He may not have been a father, but he taught you well. He was able to mold you to grow up in this world without changing what was essential about you... you are identical to him." Kenny said, and Clementine allowed herself to let a few tears stream down her face.
It was dark, no one would notice.
"I'm really glad I have met you, Clementine." Kenny said with genuine gratitude in his voice.
That whole situation... those last few days, had weighed on the girl's back. And those words, so remarkable to the girl, were the trigger for her to release those feelings that had been trapped inside her for so long.
At least, a little. Enough for her to feel lighter.
Talking, or thinking, about Lee always helped in some way. And hearing from the mouth of one of the most important person in her life that she was equal to a person she admired and was inspired by, and who was equally important to her, made her chest warm.
Several different feelings, but pride and sadness being the predominant ones.
"What you did today, I mean tried to do... I appreciate it. Because, just like Lee, you have shown that you will be there for me when I need you. You will be there for Duck... and I want you to know that we will be there for you too. You may not show it, but I know that Lee's death affects you to this day." Kenny said, and they were silent for a while.
Clementine bit her finger in an attempt to stifle a sob that almost escaped her crying. Heavy tears streamed down her face and dripped onto her clothes. Her hands trembled and her heart burned, even though she knew that the weight on her back was getting a little lighter, and her chest warmed knowing that Kenny and Duck would always be there for her as long as they were alive.
A mixture of pain and relief, happiness.
"...Thank you." That was all she could say, she didn't have the strength to say anything more or continue a conversation.
Her choked voice did not go unnoticed by them, as she could catch a glimpse of their silhouettes turning in her direction.
But, to her happiness, they decided not to ask her, and to simply let her have her moment alone.
Everyone needed a hug in those days, but... everybody needs some time on their own. Even if it seemed like she had been alone for all those years since Lee had gone.
"Ahm... Jane...?" Kenny called out for the woman, knowing that she was listening. He seemed a little nervous, even conflicted. "You said you were alone for quite a while, and... you might think I'm just saying this because I'm emotional over grief, but... if you decide to stay, that includes you."
Jane arched an eyebrow, even in the darkness.
"We can't guarantee that things will be easy, but we guarantee that we will cover your back. As mentioned before, this group is a family. If you decide to stay, you will be part of the family... many members have died, sadly, but... we will do what we can to keep the rest alive and well, not forgetting those who are gone."
Kenny said, propping his head against the wall and closing and his eyes.
He wasn't really expecting an answer from the woman, but he couldn't help but feel at least a little cheerful when he heard her whisper a low "thank you" in response.
Two days passed... Luke never showed up.
And then they left.
Setting up his temporary camp, Lee sighs slightly as he sees another walker quietly approaching him.
He had left that town some time ago, and was already considerably far away, but some walkers seemed to have followed him to his small camp.
He was forced to stop by the simple fact that he knows nothing about babies. And after having come across a guidebook on how to take care of a baby by chance, he had to grab that chance.
The sooner he learns, the better. Both for him and for Aj.
Shaking his head, Lee walked over to the walker and kicked that scrawny leg, knocking the corpse to the ground, making it easy to puncture that already rotting skull.
Aj grunted slightly, and Lee turned to him, smiling slightly at the baby.
"Oh, little guy, I don't like those things either. Sorry you had to see that." Lee said, wiping the blood from his machete on the walker's clothes and putting the blade back in its sheath.
Lee liked to "talk" with Aj. It was a great way to keep him from going crazy and pretending to talk to someone else.
As he walks back to where the boy was, Lee feels his body lock up as he hears screams, not too far away.
First, a man's voice. From the intonation, worried.
Then a girl's voice, a young one at that. This one had fear, guilt even... immense sadness.
Lee sighed. Now with Aj there, he would be twice as cautious with strangers. That boy was his priority, whether he wanted it or not.
And if he had strangers that close, he had to be careful.
Tucking the pistol in his waistband, he walked over to Aj and put him in an animal carrying case. Not the best place to put a baby, he admitted, but there was nowhere else he could hide Aj.
And no chance he would just hide the boy on the ground, and cover him with leaves and twigs.
Staying on his tiptoes, Lee places Aj on a high branch of that tree and picks up his pistol, making sure there were no walkers around before heading towards the voices.
As he approaches, he arches an eyebrow.
A dark-skinned man was lying on the ground. His leg was turned the wrong way round and it was possible to see the bone piercing his flesh. His body was covered in blood and he was breathing with difficulty.
The bite mark was clearly visible on his neck.
Around him were two people.
One man, young by features, was looking at the other with painful eyes, his two hands were on his head as if he couldn't believe his eyes, and he looked tired. Also dirty with blood, he was holding a pistol without ammo and had a machete on his back.
Next to him was a very young girl. She was short, wore glasses, had dark straight hair that was a little long. There was blood on her clothes, but, compared to the other two, not much. She was crying and looked at the fallen man mostly with guilt.
"Do you guys... do you guys still... still have any ammo?" The fallen man asked in a weak voice, alternating his tired and melancholy eyes between the two.
"... No... we don't..." The young man said, lowering his head and sighing ruefully.
"Well... I have..." The fallen man said, picking up a pistol that was in his waistband and handing it out to the other.
The young man stared at the pistol for some time, until he took it from the other's hand and looked at him with a sympathetic look.
Lee just remained still. They didn't seem to be dangerous, but you never know. He wouldn't do anything with them, just make sure they didn't go down the path on which he was camping.
There was a certain interest in his gaze, though. It wasn't often that he saw a situation like that, although it had already become quite common in that world.
"... I'm sorry, Mike..." The girl said amid sobs, her head was down and she didn't seem to have the strength to look at the man.
"It's okay... it wasn't your fault." The man said, taking a few deep breaths and seeming to grow even weaker.
The two men faced each other, and the one lying down nodded his head in mute request. The other man sighed again and raised his pistol to the other man's head.
Lee sighed as well. It was a pretty sad situation, for anyone.
A gunshot echoed through the forest, and all was silent afterwards, save for the sobs of the girl who was crying on her knees.
Even the young man standing there seemed to shed a few tears, although, he was quick to dry them and turn to the girl.
"Sarah... look... we have to go, okay? I liked Mike too, but we have to go. Maybe... maybe they still..." The man was interrupted by the loud crying of a baby, and both he, and Lee, widened their eyes.
"Oh, damn, little guy..." Lee muttered, as the man immediately looked to the spot in which he was hiding, and spotted him.
The man immediately pointed his gun towards Lee and stood in front of the girl protectively.
"What do you want? We don't have anything! Just go away, we don't want any trouble!" The man said, and Lee sighed. There was no point in staying hidden anymore.
Getting up slowly, Lee takes a few steps forward and doesn't bother to raise his hand.
"I'm not a thief. I heard voices near my camp and decided to see what it was. You can-"
"Is that baby yours?" The girl asked, interrupting Lee.
From the way she stood up, from the way she looked at him, Lee arched an eyebrow.
"What's it to you?" he asked seriously, but without hostility in his voice. However, it was enough for the girl to cringe.
"Nothing. Nothing, I'm sorry. We just... we lost some people in town... that's all. She didn't mean anything." The man said, nervous apparently because he thought the girl had made him angry.
Lee narrowed his eyes slightly and looked in the direction Aj was. He didn't need to worry about walkers, none would reach him in that tree.
But what the man said to him caught his attention.
"In town..." Lee muttered.
"Yes... yeah, why?" The man asked, moving a few short steps away from Lee, who just stared at him for a while.
"You say you lost some people. Two women with their bodies shot out by bullets, one of whom was a redhead and had a backpack of supplies on her back?" Lee asked, and seeing the incredulous expressions of the two people in front of him, he already knew the answer.
"... How... how do you know?" The girl asked.
"I've been there... I found them." He replied, watching the man slowly lower that gun.
"So... so... that cry..."
"Alvin Junior. A good name. His mother's body protected him." Lee said, looking sympathetically at the man, who fell over with the news.
He could sympathize with that feeling, with that situation.
But he still wouldn't let his guard down.
Even if they helped take care of Aj at some point, they were still strangers...
But what kind of person he would be if he didn't let that man and that girl see the baby they thought was dead?
