Marionastalczyk09102000- I'm happy you see it that way as that's how the start may feel, not much will change at first but then it'll be all different before you know it!
Guest- Thanks my friend, I hope you'll like where it goes
Whitetiger789- As soon as Carver hits the scene a lot will change, I also intend on using all the characters a lot more, giving them some depth. Not to mention changes in deaths, and the arc of many characters as well.
Welcome-to-the-404- I personally didn't notice inconsistencies as I edited the first two chapters paragraphs before putting them out but I apologize if I missed something that made it confusing for you. Regardless, I won't be copying any chapters after the intro chapters so any paragraphs that are word for word will stop very quickly. And yes, I will be mainly looking to touch up these early chapters and work out Lee's personality so it can be consistent throughout the story though the main changes for him will be later on.
Worker72- Carver will for sure be taking a huge spotlight this time around, I want to show him as a real person, and what his outlook is on things so he isn't some one-faced villain. I want him to be complex this time as well as actually humane, showing that he genuinely wants to protect his people. But I'll stop there and wait to show you, Carver, in the future.
Supernova1219- Yes Clementine is definitely going to be different when Lee reunites with her, they both will be. It'll be hard for the pair at first to hit their tempo again but eventually, they'll get on the same page just as before. Hope you enjoy the story!
Deadly Ice 88- Glad to hear you'll be sticking around! And yes, I know right now it's pretty similar other than a few more added details or mini dialogue changes but I promise things will be changing completely before you know it.
Edixlvl- Thanks pal, will do!
Enjoy
Three weeks came and went as Molly and Lee lived on the road, using the stranger's station wagon as their home. They stuck to the highway mainly, traveling up the coast, and for the first week, Lee insisted stopping at every house, store, or garage along the way. Despite knowing he did the right thing, every minute he wished he had asked Clementine to stay with him. He couldn't bring himself to imagine what may have been happening to her without his protection. With every house looked over and Clementine nowhere to be seen Lee began to lose hope and on the dawn of the second week silently gave up the search.
Molly didn't hear much from Lee after that, beyond yes or no answers to any questions she forced him to answer. As much as she wanted to pissed off with how he was handling things, she just couldn't. Molly knew better than anyone the living hell Lee was currently living in, how much he was reliving every moment leading up to the end wondering what he could have done differently. It damn near killed her when she lost her sister and despite not being related she knew well enough that Lee just lost a daughter. Keeping that in mind, Molly did her best to give Lee his space, though by the end of the third week, she realized living in pure silence wasn't an option these days.
The pair had been driving north the entire time, only stopping to eat, get more fuel, or find someplace to check over for supplies. The only problem with this for Molly was a simple fact that there was no reason for them to be doing this. They had no plan on where they were heading and no reason to be heading this far north either. Unfortunately, Lee didn't seem to care, he didn't want to look for a spot to hunker down, try and set up a camp for them, he just wanted to drive. If they were going to make it Molly needed to break through to him...somehow.
"So, I gotta know, does it bother you?" Molly asked while looking over to Lee with a small smile, internally feeling like a jackass, now believing that's the best she could come up with,
"Huh?" Lee hummed back, taking his eyes off the empty highway for a moment, "Does what bother me?"
"The arm," Molly clarified feeling Lee almost tense at the question, "I just figure...you know...gotta be fucking weird, I don't know," Molly continued with a shrug, turning her head to look out her window,
To her shock Lee let out a small chuckle, "You know what? Yeah, you're right, it's pretty fucking weird," Lee admitted with a miniature smile. Molly looked over her eyes slightly wide as she hadn't expected much of a response, "Strangest thing, I can still feel my arm, my hand, even my fingers."
"Bullshit," Molly grinned,
"Serious, I'm wiggling my fingers right now," Lee easily replied as he looked at his phantom arm, "But I can't deny, it's a pain in the ass. Learning how to do everything one arm is irritating, hell, at least I can load a gun and fire it...don't need much more than that these days,"
Molly watched as Lee's smile slowly faded off, returning to a stern stoic one. Trying not to lose him, she leaned forward and began to look through the glove box of the station wagon, "So who the hell was this sick fucker? Was he one of these monsters that liked little girls?" She asked,
"He was a father," Lee softly replied, "He was a father who lost his family,"
"That's it?" Molly nearly scoffed while slamming the glove box shut and kicking her feet up on the dash, "So why the hell did "nice father" guy all of a sudden steal Clementine and try to run off with her?"
A long exhale left Lee's mouth and he lightly shook his head, "A few months ago, back before we came to Savannah and met you, our group was surviving just outside of Macon. One night, after weeks of only surviving off of snacks and half apples, we were walking in the forest. All of a sudden, we stumbled upon this car," Lee explained while motioning his head to the vehicle they sat in, "It was out of gas, doors open, and full of supplies. No one was around and we were starving...so we took what was inside and left. That man...it was his, he had gone off looking for his son with his wife and daughter. Came back to nothing and that caused his wife and daughter to die too," Lee continued causing Molly to slowly take her feet off the dash and sit up straight, "Hard to blame him for hating me and thinking Clem was in danger...still his mind was broken, and I couldn't let him take her. She would have been dead in a week," Lee finished before sulking a bit,
Molly shook her head, her teeth nearly grinding as she thought everything over, and to her surprise it was all targeted at Lee, "So you just stole his shit...screwed him over...you had this coming," Molly seethed before a moment of clarity hit her, causing her to look over to Lee ready to immediately apologize.
Lee, however, clenched the wheel and suddenly slammed his foot on the brake, skidding the car to an abrupt halt. Molly let out a short yell as her body pushed against her seatbelt before slamming back against her seat, "Don't you think I know that?!" Lee shouted, causing Molly to flinch, "That's all I've been thinking about! I made that call! I knew it was wrong but I decided to ignore what was right and my friends, the only people I had left in this world, are all fucking gone because of it! So I don't need you to fucking sit there and tell me I got what I deserved!" Lee finished, his body trembling with anger and his breaths turning to sharp pants,
Molly's mouth hung agape for a moment, a mixture of breaks and stammered gibberish was all she was able to utter for a short moment before calming herself, "Lee, I am so sorry, I didn't...I genuinely didn't mean to say that. It was a scummy thing to say, blaming you for what that fucked up asshole did to you,"
Lee hung his head, letting it rest against the steering wheel, no longer having the energy to even be angry with Molly, or anyone for that matter, "Doesn't matter, you're right...it's my fault, I made the call...I made the call,"
Molly rolled in her lips, holding them tight for a moment before continuing, "Back in Crawford, all anyone cared about was getting more and more. Nothing mattered but the bottom line and surviving, it didn't matter at what cost. Even after my sister, I saw so many of those guys in the city just ripping apart buildings, or robbing people on the street for what they had. I hated it, the stealing, the way those assholes acted like it was their right to have it. Lee, what I said, that was at them," Molly clarified, "What you did, it sucked, it wasn't exactly right but hell, what else could you have done? I'm sure if you didn't do it, someone else would have. You can't blame yourself, it's not fair, and...fuck it, I'll just say it, you can't change it regardless,"
Lee shut his eyes taking a few more moments of silence for himself before lifting his head and looking at Molly, "I'm sorry I yelled at you," He calmly said to the blonde,
"Please, I got worse from my parents at eight," Molly smirked causing Lee to weakly return it, "Lee, we need a plan," Molly finally said causing Lee to start driving once more, "We can't keep driving aimlessly,"
"I know," Lee almost gulped back, "I've been avoiding it for weeks, pretending that I could just ignore what's happened and that eventually, I'd find everyone walking along this highway alive and well," He continued before shaking his head, "But I won't, and I need to focus on us now, what keeps us alive,"
"I get it, trust me I do," Molly reassured him,
Lee let out a slow exhale through his nose, "I think we could just find a place for a few days, hash this all out and come up with a plan,"
"Sounds good to me, I could use a damn break from this station wagon if I'm honest," Molly chuckled,
"Alright, I saw a sign for a truck stop not too far from here, we'll stop there," Lee replied,
"A truck stop? Fuck, maybe I'll keep the station wagon," Molly sarcastically replied,
"Easy, it'll only be for a day or two, hopefully, they'll have a map and maybe some more food," Lee replied as he sped up, attempting to reach the location faster,
"Hell, better than no plan at all," Molly lamented while crossing her arms, "Just leave the scavenging to me, I've got the talent after all,"
"Fair enough," Lee agreed as he went back to focusing on the road. Five minutes passed by before Lee spoke again, "Here we go, right there," He said to Molly while pointing out the windshield to a pull in that had one medium-sized gas station along with a restaurant and diner combined building. Off to the side was a very tiny garage for a mechanic along with a few porter potties. A few wrecked and looted cars dotted the parking lot and gas pumps but as they pulled into the lot they both noticed a truck parked not too far from the building, still in clear working condition.
"I don't like it," Molly immediately said to Lee who silently got out of the station wagon and walked over to the truck, his hand slightly raised, ready to grab his pistol, "Hey, what the fuck are you doing?" Molly hissed as she opened her door and jumped out from the car following him,
"Quiet," Lee grunted back, easily moving to the truck's window, looking inside before backing away, "It's empty," He said before placing a hand on the hood of the truck, "But it's still warm, people are either here or just were,"
"Sonofabitch," Molly growled, "We should go,"
Lee looked back to Molly, his eyes empty of any concern, "No," He muttered back, pulling his gun out while approaching the convenience store, "This was our plan,"
"Lee?!" Molly hissed, a mixture of anger and concern washing over her as Lee walked directly to the front door, "Don't be fucking stupid! Hey, stop it dickhead! Lee!" Molly fervently whispered out trying to stop Lee to no avail,
Lee gave a short glance to Molly who glared back at him before turning back and entering the store without hesitation. Lee raised his pistol and slowly took a few steps forward, scanning the aisles as well as the front counter for these survivors. He wasn't sure why he was doing this, it was almost like he was on autopilot, watching his body from afar, and he didn't have the will to stop it either. As he approached the front counter he quickly aimed his gun down, looking for anyone who could have been hiding behind it, and still nothing.
Lee's nostrils flared in frustration and he turned back, heading further into the store, attempting to find the office. Suddenly Lee felt the cold press of a gun on the back of his neck, "Put it the fuck down," A gruff voice ordered. Lee stood unmoving, only trying to glance back at this survivor but he felt the gun jam harder into his neck, "Do it, or I shoot you down," Lee frowned and finally did as told, letting his pistol fall to the floor, "Good, now you-" The man attempted to continue, however, he stopped dead as a window in the front suddenly shattered.
Lee wasted not a second and raised his arm, elbowing this man in the face with all his strength. He turned back, seeing the man cupping his nose while stumbling back with his pistol rocking either way. Lee lunged into him, tackling the man to the ground, his gun slid up the store and the pair began to wrestle against one another, "No, please, stop! Don't hurt him!" Another voice suddenly cried out causing Lee to look up.
His gaze focused on the sight of a young Indian woman who had her hands raised non threateningly. Before he could try to act Lee saw Molly jump through the window, rushing the woman, swinging her leg low, kicking out the woman's legs, sending her to the ground. The woman let out a scream as Molly reached for Hilda, ready to end the pair without a second thought.
"No! Don't you touch her!" The man under Lee suddenly howled out. Lee looked back only to feel two hands grab his shirt, yanking him down, allowing the survivor to headbutt him. Lee's head snapped back from the collision and the whole room spun around him, he felt his limp body get tossed to the side and could just make out the man scrambling for Lee's dropped gun. In the next moment, Lee felt himself get dragged to his feet, an arm wrapping around his neck and his own gun now being pressed against his head, "Back off or he gets one in the fuckin' head!" The man growled at Molly.
Lee lightly shook his head and blinked a few times, the man's southern voice replaying in his head a few times. Lee tried to turn his head back and weakly asked, "Kenny?"
The man grunted back for a moment, ignoring Lee's words before they finally registered in his head. "W-What?" He repeated back while loosening his hold on Lee's neck allowing him to step away, turning to look at each other fully. "Lee?" Kenny asked with eyes as wide as the moon.
"No fucking way," Lee stammered back, refusing to believe who he was seeing,
"H-Holy shit, pal, is that really you?" Kenny asked lowering his gun completely,
"Yeah, Ken, yeah it's...it's me," Lee replied unable to stop himself from breaking into a smile,
"Well whatdaya fucking say?!" Kenny wildly laughed as he pulled his lost friend into a quick hug, "I didn't think I'd see ya again! I was sure you...hell, I don't even know!" Kenny all but cheered as he pulled back, looking Lee over, "Shit man, it worked! Taking your arm fucking worked!"
"It did," Lee nodded as he glanced to his stump for a quick moment, "But what about you? I saw you and Ben in that alley, there was no fucking way out, none. How'd you make it?" Lee asked back while Molly reluctantly put Hilda away and helped the other woman to her feet,
"I tried to save the kid, it didn't work, and I don't really know how it happened, pal. It's like as soon as I shut that gate, everything becomes a blur. I remember putting Ben down, fighting off a few of them things from biting me while pushing through the pack. Next thing I know I was in the street, ended up ducking in a building then got to a rooftop. Worked my way to the edge of town and just started running," Kenny explained with a bit of uncertainty, barely able to recall that day clearly, "It's a damn miracle to see you, where's Clem, outside?" Kenny guessed while glancing back towards the front,
"No...no she's not," Lee lowly replied causing Kenny's smile to disappear,
"What?" Kenny asked almost a sense of fear in his voice, "Where is she? She did make it didn't she?"
"I don't know," Lee admitted more to himself,
"Does that fucker still have her?!" Kenny exclaimed, his eyes flaring up,
"No, he's dead," Lee sharply replied, his voice filled with disgust at the thought, "I got her away from him, made sure he would never do something like that again but in the end, she had to leave me. I couldn't make it out with her, and if she stayed, she could've died. She went looking for Omid and Christa...I tried to look, but I couldn't find them,"
"Oh hell," Kenny lowly said with sympathy, "I'm sorry pal, but you did your job, you saved that girl from that piece of shit," Lee let out a small shrug in response and silence hung between the two for a few moments before it was broken by Molly clearing her throat loudly,
"Kenny, who are these people?" The other woman asked while looking between the two,
Kenny looked over to Molly who lowered her hood and gave the man a grin, "Glad to see you're still kicking gramps,"
"Molly?" Kenny said in some disbelief before glancing over to Lee shortly, "I'm guessing you're the reason he's "still kicking" too, huh?"
"That's putting it lightly," Molly not so humbly replied. Molly turned her head to the other woman and awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, "Uh, yeah it's Molly, sorry for...you know, fucking you up back there,"
The woman couldn't help but let out a slightly embarrassed laugh in response, "It's quite alright, there was plenty confusion on what was going on, I'm Sarita, it's nice to meet you...well, on two feet this time," Molly let out a short chuckle and nodded as she looked over towards Lee, "And you would be...Lee, if I heard correctly, hmm?" Sarita asked,
"Lee Everett, one smart and tough sonofabitch," Kenny nodded while patting Lee on the shoulder with pride, "Without this man, I'm sure I'd have been dead three times over by now,"
Lee let out a short scoff, "Hell with all that,"
"I'm serious," Kenny affirmed with a smile, "Ain't nothing could stump this, ain't nothing he couldn't figure out. He knows what needs to be done and when," Lee lightly shook his head, silently denying Kenny's praise once more,
"My, that's quite the glowing recommendation," Sarita lightly teased, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lee,"
"You too," Lee nodded back,
"Are you two alone?" Sarita asked while looking between the pair,
"Just us, been that way for almost a month now. We were gonna try and figure out where and what to do next when we ran into you two," Molly replied as she crossed her arms, "I'm guessing you're gonna be a part of that equation now, huh?"
"Already got that all figured out, actually," Kenny replied causing the pair to look to him in some minor surprise,
"What do you mean?" Lee asked back,
"Allow me to answer that," Sarita interjected, "We're heading up north, towards Michigan or perhaps Ohio, I'm not sure exactly where however I do know it's right on the border of Canada," Sarita explained,
"Why the hell would we want to go out there?" Molly almost scoffed back,
"Because there is a settlement there, I was traveling with another companion of mine and before he...passed on, we both heard some rumors from other groups about a large settlement built up north in the wilderness. Tall walls, real protection, food and water, shelter, and most importantly no walkers." Sarita smiled back, "I was heading there alone when I bumped into Kenny,"
"Thank god," Kenny smiled back before clearing his throat and looking back to Lee, "You hear that though? A whole settlement of people who've got this shit figured out, no need to keep looking for a boat or anything else because folks really do got things figured out! All we gotta do is drive north, avoid walkers, and we're home free!"
"Yeah," Lee slowly nodded in agreement, "The cold's gotta slow these things down and up there, winter's gotta last long, so less walkers, good people, safety...almost too good to be true, it's worth trying," Lee agreed, a small ping of hope rising in him as he thought that perhaps Clementine was with Christa and Omid and they might hear about this place as well,
"Exactly, so it's settled, we're going to Wellington?" Kenny asked while looking between the three survivors in front of him,
"Go to Wellington, or stay in this shit hole...uuuuhhh, god, that's a tough one," Molly sarcastically sighed,
"Smartass," Kenny muttered back, "Right, I got a truck out front in rough shape, I was gonna go check that mechanic's garage for parts and see if I could-"
"We got a good running car," Lee spoke up causing Kenny to look over at him with a smile,
"No shit?" Kenny replied,
"No shit," Lee nodded back,
"Alright, now we're talking," Kenny grinned, "Lee let's go siphon whatever fuel my truck's got left, along with these other hunks of junk then get moving,"
"And you want us to, what, sit here with our thumbs up our asses?" Molly frowned as she watched Kenny and Lee start heading towards the door,
"Molly, you and I can search for any food remaining hear and in the diner," Sarita suggested,
"Nah, you two hold off on that, we don't know what still could be lurking around here," Kenny instantly denied,
"Asshole, we need food you now," Molly muttered back, "Unless you're gonna chew on that fucking hate until Ohio,"
Kenny rolled his eyes at Molly's response and shook his head, "It's too risky, we should all do it together. Lee, you gotta agree with me on this, hell, you lost an arm picking up a damn walkie talkie!"
Lee felt his pride take a small hit as Kenny pointed that out, "Kenny, Molly, and I will take a look around this building only, we'll wait for you and Lee before going anywhere else. Is that acceptable?" Sarita sweetly asked,
"Yeah, grandpa, is that okay with you?" Molly dryly added on,
Kenny's jaw locked as he immediately was ready to deny the girls a second time though this time he could sense Lee's gaze on him, "That's fine," Lee firmly stated causing Kenny to look over at him with a raised brow, "Anything in here would have come out looking for us by now, they'll look here and we'll deal with the fuel. Come on, we need to get moving," Kenny let out a slow exhale and nodded back reluctantly, "Holler if you need us,"
"Will do," Molly droned back, tossing an arm up as a silent, "Just leave" while heading down the nearest aisle in the convenient store. Sarita gave a warm smile to Kenny before doing the same, looking at Molly with a raised brow, already intrigued by her and Lee.
Alright, so here's the second chapter, some dialogue is the same but most are tweaked and made to be more in character with who is speaking. I decided to end the chapter here instead of continuing as I was to expand the next chapter with some longer interactions between Molly and Sarita and of course Lee and Kenny. Let me know if you liked the little changes, and I really appreciate all the support I already got, and the next chapter will be up pretty soon as these ones are gonna be quick to crank out!