"What the hell happened?" Kenny asked no one in specific as he ran his eyes around the interior of what was left of Carver's camp.

The whole place was destroyed, but it didn't seem to be just because of the horde. There was a trail of fire and something that looked like an explosion in a corner near the expanse. The whole place was open, the walls were destroyed.

"There are still cars out there..." Duck mentioned loudly, standing in front of the expansion's access location.

"Ah, that explains why they didn't use the vehicles to escape." Jane said, drawing their attention in their direction.

"What?" Duck asked.

"Gasoline. However that fire started, it spread through the interior until it reached the gallons of gasoline. They were close to the yard we were in. Which explains it being destroyed now." Jane explained, putting her two hands on her waist and looking at the destruction of the place.

There was no way they could stay there for long.

"Even the ceiling is destroying." Clementine muttered, looking at the hole in the cracked, fragile ceiling. "It doesn't look like anyone survived..." Clementine said to herself, more like a confirmation. It had been her idea to lure the horde in.

So in a way, that destruction was her fault.

"Oh, honey, don't be like that." Kenny said, noticing the girl's condition and looking at her tenderly.

"Killing survivors, forced labor, kidnapping... these people were not good. They knew what they were doing with the excuse that they had no other choice. What you did allowed fewer of these assholes to go after us. Not to mention that it was me who made the shot." Kenny said, staring at the girl for a while until she nodded at him, and he continued to rummage through the remnants of that place.

And despite Kenny's words of comfort, that same guilt didn't leave her chest. Because of her, Carver's community was destroyed and he decided to retaliate against her group.

Perhaps the killings that occurred days ago had also been her fault, even though she wasn't the one who had pulled the trigger.

"The place is pretty much finished, but... there may be supplies left here. We don't have much left of ammo and food. Anything will do." Jane said, walking beside her to some fallen storage shelves and rummaging through the rubble.

Clementine sighed and shook her head. There was no use in those thoughts other than to demotivate her, and she didn't need that right now.

Looking at her group for a few moments, she turns and makes her way to the armory.

A sigh escapes her lips as she sees that the place had also been caught in fire. But it wouldn't hurt to check.

Any bullet would help.

Opening the door, she shrinks her body and widens her eyes in alarm as she sees the wooden structure fall to the floor in a loud thud.

"Clem?!" Duck called out to her worriedly.

"I'm fine. The door just fell down." She replied, running her eyes around the interior of the place.

The bullet box was destroyed, there were several holes all over the floor and signs of gunpowder. The fire must have made the bullets shoot.

Entering the place, she runs her eyes around looking for something.

There wasn't much there. It was probably the first place the people there ran to when the horde was approaching.

Or when things got ugly.

She did find a few weapons, though. Knives mostly, and an axe.

Too big and heavy an axe for her or anyone there to use effectively. Especially when more than one walker was approaching them.

Leaving the axe aside, she picks up the knives and puts them in her backpack. It was always good to have more than one weapon with her, just in case.

After some more time searching the place, Clementine gets out of there and walks over to Duck with one of the knives she had found in hand.

"Duck, here. I found these." She said, handing the knife to the boy, who arched an eyebrow as he observed the blade in his hand.

An ordinary hunting knife, but a beautiful black color just the same.

"Oh, thank you. I could really use one." He said, brandishing the knife a few times and placing the blade on his waist.

"You know, Clem? When I look at you, I kind of miss those times in that motel." Duck said somewhat nostalgically, and Clementine arched an eyebrow.

That was not like the boy.

"I miss it too. Just don't cry on my shirt, crybaby." Clementine scoffed, smiling amused at the sight of Duck's angry expression.

"Oh, you little... I'll still get my revenge for those bugs on my pillow." He said, and Clementine laughed. "What? Did you think I had forgotten? Not at all."

"Oh, I'm so scared. The big, bad crybaby is going to get his revenge." Clementine scoffed again, laughing louder as Duck slowly put his hands around her neck and pretended to strangle her.

Kenny, not far away, watched the scene with his arms crossed and a smile on his face. It warmed his chest to see two children acting like children again.

"Hm... who knew our two tough kids could have sides like that." Jane said beside him, and Kenny arched an eyebrow.

He hadn't even noticed when the woman approached.

"Come on, they're just kids, of course they do... no matter how much it seems otherwise. They act way too mature." Kenny said.

"Yeah, I know. Not that it's their fault. I just... I have to admit it's nice to see a scene like that, you know? For a change. Being the way they are, in excess, is not very good." Jane said, sighing slightly shortly after.

"Say, what did you see in Clem?" The question made Jane stare at him slightly confused. "I noticed how you acted and still act around her. It's not the same way as the others. You seemed to have an interest in her since you saw her." Kenny said.

"Hm, I seem to have underestimated you. Is it that obvious?"

"Hehe, no, I just paid attention. You see, I have two kids to take care of. Even if they don't need that much."

"... She reminds me of my sister." Jane said, hugging her own arm as she felt Kenny's gaze on her. "We were close, but... I never wanted others to think we knew each other. When all this happened, she always said she wouldn't get up anymore. And I would always push her. When I lost her, I realized that every time I took her with me, I never really saved her. She just... gave up."

Kenny was silent, just listening to the girl's story, a certain gleam of sympathy in his eyes.

"Then that girl came along and surprised me. She reminds me of my sister, but she's so different. Before her, I thought that kids surviving in this world was impossible, that they all had the same mentality, but... well, I was obviously wrong. She's one hell of a girl." She said, and Kenny let out a nasal laugh.

"Yeah, I have to agree. You know, you're not as weird as I thought." Kenny said, and Jane looked at him with a small smile.

"I mean, just a little." He said again, receiving a gentle nudge on the side of his torso.

"Well, I didn't find much. This place is pretty trashed. But I did find a few things. I think we'd better go." Kenny said, calling the two children forward, who soon walked toward him.

"I'll just finish searching my side and we'll meet up." Jane said, turning and walking away at a quick pace.

They watched the woman walk away for a few moments, until the sound of something creaking caught their attention.

Kenny became alert and already grabbed his pistol, standing in front of the two children while looking around with restless eyes.

Jane, just ahead, did the same, but she slowly backed away towards where they were standing.

Once again, the creaking noise was present, along with the sound of something breaking.

Jane jumped in fright when the sound of something hitting the ground behind her made itself present, feeling something cold splash onto her clothes.

As she turned, her wide eyes fell on the walker who had fallen, and now lay motionless on the ground.

The sound of something breaking made itself present again, and they looked up.

"We have to go!" Kenny shouted as he saw the ceiling cracking more and more, and shortly after, begin to fall.

They turned and ran toward the exit, hearing the sound of the huge chunks of concrete falling and feeling the small debris hitting their bodies.

Clementine, still running, looked back at the exact moment.

Jane was running towards them, but the woman was thrown off balance when a piece of the roof fell on one of the only shelves still standing, causing the shelves to fall just in front of the woman.

Jane stopped running immediately, and it was at that moment that she looked up and could only gasp as she saw a huge chunk of the ceiling fall exactly on top of her.

"Jane!" Clementine screamed, feeling Kenny's grip on her arm grow stronger and she was pulled closer to the entrance, where the ceiling didn't look like it was going to collapse.

The three looked into the interior of the place, dust cloud covered most things and obstructed their view.

The trio looked hopefully at the dust cloud in the hope that Jane would approach. But after the dust had settled, this hope was extinguished when they saw, in place of the woman, only a large chunk of concrete and blood streaming on the ground.

Kenny lowered his head and Clementine closed her eyes tightly, placing her two hands in front of her face.

"Fuck... fucking hell!" Duck growled beside Kenny, his teeth grinding against each other and his fists clenched in frustration.

Another family member died in the blink of an eye.

Just like that.


"This is where we agreed to meet." Luke said, watching Lee walk around the place with a neutral expression.

From the short time he had been with him, Luke realized that he was an enigma... no matter what he said, or did, Luke simply couldn't figure him out. He couldn't know what Lee was thinking, and that scared him.

He seemed to be suspicious, that much was obvious at least. He had been watchful at all times since Sarah had taken Alvin in her arms.

But beyond that, he didn't show anything.

The only time he showed anything was when Sarah told him that they were traveling with a little girl named Clementine when Lee told them his name.

It was something totally accidental on the girl's part, who simply found it a coincidence that he had the same name as the man Clementine had mentioned several times.

The shock on Lee's face, followed by the wide smile was a huge contrast from his neutral expressions now.

And even though he wasn't showing anything, Luke couldn't help but feel intimidated by him. Lee was big, and despite having only one arm, if he had survived all that time on his own, then he was very capable.

Not to mention that his neutral expression looked like it was a frown. His physique, his beard, his look, all made him look quite unfriendly, even though Luke was more than grateful that he had rescued AJ.

"If what you say is true... they were here not too long ago." Luke was taken out of his thoughts by the deep voice of Lee, who was propped up on the fence of the observation deck and looking at a spot on the ground below.

"We arranged to meet here... if we couldn't meet outside the city. But... that place was infested. The sewer had as many bodies as the surface and... well, it took us a few days." Luke explained, moving closer to the fence and looking down as well, a little away from Lee because he was still cautious around the man.

There was a campfire below. Or rather, what was left of a campfire. However, in that cold, there were still one or two embers burning, meaning that they really were there until recently.

"Well... I guess we're too late. Damn." Luke muttered to himself, sighing and putting his hands on his waist as he glanced at Sarah.

The girl had stood right next to him. Her eyes watched the campfire though she tried to focus only on the baby in her arms.

She was sad... but she didn't look like she was going to cry.

Which was progress, considering that the girl was still grieving and she was very emotional.

"...Did you guys agreed to meet somewhere else?" Lee asked, bringing Luke out of his thoughts again.

"No. Like I said, there wasn't time. The horde was already on our tail." Luke replied, watching Lee walk to the stairs of the place.

"They can't be far. Is there any place nearby they could have gone?" Lee asked, looking at the surrounding forest for a few moments, before focusing his eyes on Luke.

"I don't know. I mean... the only place nearby is the camp of the man who kidnapped us. The place was hit by a horde." Luke explained, noticing the change in Lee's expression.

His body had tensed and he looked even more on alert than he already was.

"There was this guy, a crazy psychopath who was the leader of this community, his name was Carver. We were part of the group for a while but decided to run away. He found us again and captured us. Those bodies in the town were his men. And he was the one who killed Aj's mother." Luke explained quickly, lowering his gaze with regret as he remembered those events from literally a few days ago.

Lee continued to stare at him for a while, until he sighed.

"... Well, my condolences. Even if it's not much help." Lee said, and Luke looked at him again, slightly surprised.

"Thanks... I don't know if they went there. Like I said, the place was hit by a horde, but... it's the closest place. And the most likely." Luke said, walking toward them.

"Is that camp far from the main road?" Lee asked.

"No... I mean, not really." Luke replied.

"Great. Let's go there then. Lead the way." Lee said, and Luke nodded, nodding to Sarah and walking down the stairs shortly after the girl.

Luke felt a little uncomfortable. Not just the fact that he had a man like Lee walking right behind him with weapons at his disposal and watching his every move, but also the fact that the long walk to Carver's camp was progressing in complete silence, save for Aj's grunts.

And even though he wasn't really into it, Luke realized that it was better to at least try to be friendly with Lee.

Not just because he was a scary man. But because when they found the others, he would surely stick around because of Clementine and Kenny.

That is if he really is who he says he is. You never know.

"So, Lee..."

"How did you meet Clem?" Luke was surprised to be cut off and by Lee who started a conversation.

Well, just one question, but it was already an opening.

Better for him.

"We found her in the woods, injured. We helped her and she stayed with us for a while. Things started to go wrong, Carver saw her, and then she was practically forced to stay with us." Luke explained, slowing his steps a little to get even just a little closer to Lee.

"I'll tell you, she's the toughest little girl I've ever met. So young and she already does what needs to be done, no matter how hard it is." Luke said, noticing the twinkle in Lee's eyes and the effort he was making not to crack a proud smile. One could tell just by looking that he loved the girl.

Maybe he wasn't that bad.

"Although all this maturity is a detriment to her sometimes. She's not one to open up much." Luke said.

"... She has her reasons. Bad encounters with strangers." Lee said and Luke became attentive. Not only curious to know more about those two strangers that was him and Clementine herself, but also because Lee seemed inclined to continue that conversation.

Clementine was his weak spot, apparently.

"Yeah, she mentioned something like that. Cannibals?" Luke said, and Lee sighed slightly.

"Yes... I knew there was something wrong with those men. But our group was literally starving to death. And the offer was too good. I knew I should have trusted my instincts... but if that hadn't happened, maybe I wouldn't have had the idea of teaching Clementine to survive in that time." Lee said, noticing the girl, Sarah, looking back with a refinement of curiosity.

"She killed a friend there." Sarah said, catching Luke's attention and causing Lee to look at her somewhat seriously.

"What do you mean?" Lee asked.

"A man named Omid. She killed him." Sarah said, and Lee widened his eyes slightly, becoming a little uneasy at the information.

"Omid? A man of short stature?" Lee asked, and Luke nodded. "But why? Clementine wouldn't kill for no reason, I told her that. Especially Omid, I knew him. He wouldn't hurt her."

"He didn't hurt her. Omid lost his wife." Luke said, and Lee relaxed his body, but sighed in regret and lowered his shoulders for a few moments.

"Oh... Christa."

"Yes. Carver killed her, from what he said. Omid then snapped and took Aj's mother hostage." Lee arched an eyebrow in doubt.

"There was a chance that the baby was Carver's. And after knowing that, Omid took her hostage in order to destroy one of the only things Carver seemed to care about. Some people could die in the slightest movement. But Clem killed Omid before things got any worse. She saved a bunch of lives." Luke said, watching Lee with some interest.

He looked proud, but kept his eyes on the ground with a distant look.

"... I see." That was all he said, turning his gaze back to the road.

"Is that all you're going to say? You don't feel concerned?" Sarah asked in genuine confusion, and Lee arched an eyebrow.

"Of course I'm concerned. But I'm proud of Clem." Sarah blinked a few times, digesting what she had just heard.

"Proud? For her killing a friend?"

"Hah, no, girl. Proud because Clem is strong enough to make the tough decisions. It can't have been easy for her to be forced to kill a friend. But she did it to protect those around her. I would give anything for her not to have to do things like that, but, knowing that she is able to do what is right to keep her and the people around her alive, even though it is hard, is great. It means that she has learned what I wanted to pass on to her, and that makes me really proud."

Lee said, his eyes falling on Sarah. The girl looked strange, confused perhaps. An inner conflict in which was palpable on the girl's face.

Almost like envy... almost like...

"Sarah, right? Have you ever killed?" The question made the girl's eyes widen and she turned to him on the spur of the moment.

There was his answer.

"No." He answered himself, he didn't need any more proof than that.

"Sarah... Sarah has barely even held a gun. She doesn't even know how one works." Luke said, and Lee stared at him.

"And why is that?" he was genuinely confused and even incredulous. A girl like that, in a world like that, and still alive? That was something almost impossible.

"Well... because... her father treated her differently... it's complicated." Luke said a little nervously, scratching the back of his head.

"I watched my mother get devoured in front of me by those things." Sarah said with regret in her voice, her head lowered and her eyes focused on the ground.

Lee stared at her and Luke sighed lightly.

"Yeah... after that, Carlos promised himself that he would protect Sarah. He literally treated her like a doll, never letting her stay in places he considered dangerous without him around. He wouldn't tell her a lot of the things that were going on out here, and he practically wouldn't let her leave wherever they were." Luke explained, and Lee clenched his frown.

"Are you serious? I mean... I'm sorry, but that was dumb." Lee said, watching the girl cringe slightly at his harsh words.

"Yeah, well... I wouldn't use that word, but I didn't agree with it either. Carlos and Sarah found Carver early on. And even though he was a psychopathic maniac, he had guns, people, he was smart. They were safe with him, which allowed Carlos to continue treating her that way." Luke explained.

"Hm... and where is he?" Lee asked.

"He's dead." Sarah was the one who answered, and Lee sighed as Luke scratched the back of his head.

"Ahm... so, err... if you don't mind me asking... what happened to you? I mean, Clem said you were dead for sure." Luke asked, staring at Lee intensely, evidencing that he had had that question in his head for some time now.

"I was bitten." Luke's eyes widened.

"Oh..."

"Some asshole kidnapped Clem. He had tricked her by saying he was with her parents. That's probably one of the reasons she doesn't talk much." Lee sighed, running his hand down the side of his neck and looking up at the sky.

It was going to be dark soon.

"I was bitten shortly thereafter. I ripped my arm off in an attempt to stop the infection. Only at the time, I didn't know if it would work or not. When I found her, I was pale, weak, covered in blood, and I thought that cutting off my arm was not of much help. I really thought I was going to become one of those things, and I told Clem to leave me. I told her to find the others." Lee said.

"I could have had her shoot me, I was so weak I couldn't lift a gun. But I didn't want her to get blood on her hands at that time. Not yet. She was still too young... I've been wandering ever since." Lee finished saying with a sigh, glancing at the pickaxe that was stuck in the side of his backpack.

"Wow... damn. What a situation... but, Jesus, your death still affects her, you know?" Luke said, and Lee stared at him. "She mentioned you a few times, she misses you a lot... imagine her face when she sees you again! Hah, I'm getting anxious and it's not even me." Luke said with a half happy, half nervous smile.

The girl was too serious... that would certainly make her soften. She needed it.

"Tell me about it. I haven't felt my heart beat like this in a long time..." Lee said, already able to see a building in the distance.

Probably the place.

"I mean, she certainly opened up a little more when she found Kenny, but..."

"What?" Lee asked out of the blue, having no control of his own voice and for the second time in those days, his guard was completely blown off.

Luke's eyes widened from the startle, but soon his expressions softened and he smiled slightly.

"Kenny and Duck. They were with us too." Luke said, crossing his arms as he watched Lee.

"... They survived..." Lee muttered to himself, placing a hand on his chest as old memories returned to his mind.

He had always refused to believe that they were dead precisely because he had never seen the bodies. But it was hard, anything could happen in that world.

A life could end in the blink of an eye.

But after having the confirmation that they were really alive, he couldn't help but feel happy.

His heart was beating fast and strong.

And for the first time in a long time, he smiled with genuine happiness.