AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, another chapter! Really happy with the kind words you all gave me after the last chapter and I really hope you like this one as well. I'm writing this note before the story, so I don't know what it'll be like, but I already know the subject matter is exciting. So, enjoy!
Chapter five:
It had been almost a week by now. The group was growing even more tired of walking with a lot more walking ahead of them. They were on a very bad streak of luck with cars and the longer they walked on, the harder it was to take the next step. Nothing was going right anymore. Not even Glenn could joke about it anymore, things were just too horrible.
Their legs were sore, the kids' shoes were in bad shape, their clothes were even worse, coated in more dirt than not. They had been walking for several hours that day and had made relatively good progress, but even with a car, it would take a while to get to the city. At some point, when Clementine couldn't walk anymore, Lee's shoulders became a vehicle, which he felt obligated to do. Clementine was like his- well not- he needed to take care of her.
"There's another gas station up ahead, we should take a second to sit down," Glenn suggested.
Lee agreed, "Yeah, maybe there's a decent car there too, we need to make better ground," he said.
Kenny didn't share his opinion, but it was clear he wasn't in the mood to stop.
"Sounds fine to me," Carley affirmed.
The group arrived at the gas station soon, but there was no car there. In fact, there wasn't much of anything there. There was clear disappointment among the group, but a break was more than necessary. There was a bench inside the place and also a fair amount of snacks, more than they could carry. Food wasn't a problem for them right now though.
"No cars, no gas, nothing, we can't just sit around, the longer we wait, the less likely we are to find a boat," Kenny remarked. He wasn't wrong, he really wasn't, but these were people, not even soldiers, just regular human beings. They needed rest.
"We know, Kenny," Carley remarked.
"Then we should get fuckin' movin already," Kenny pressed.
"Swear," Clementine added.
Lee put his hand on her shoulder, signaling to her that it wasn't the time for her to check him for cursing.
Kenny made to talk back to the girl but restrained himself as he saw Lee warn her not to do it again.
"Regardless, we still have a day, AT LEAST, worth of walking before we get to Savannah, and it's not getting any closer," Kenny finished before storming out of the gas station.
"He's not wrong, but he could at least not be such an asshole about it," Carley remarked, then looked at Clementine, who made a face at her for swearing.
"Sorry Clementine," she apologized.
The group grew silent for a moment as sounds could be heard from outside the station. It sounded like talking, but it was more than just Kenny's voice, and Duck was inside, so who he was talking to was a mystery.
Lee peered through a window and saw several silhouettes through the opaque glass.
"There's people outside," Lee warned as quietly as he could muster.
"Do they look dangerous?" Glenn asked.
"Can't tell, we need to help Kenny though," Lee said in a hushed tone.
Lee got up from where he sat and watched the worried faces of his friends as he stepped out of the door.
"You better turn around ya redneck piece of shit, Savannah's off-limits," One of the men rudely warned.
The second Lee stepped out the door, a gun was pointed at him, "Woah there Mr. Brown, the hell you think you're doing?"
Lee controlled his temper as he raised his hands above his head.
Kenny came to his defense, "Hey, watch your mouth asshole," he warned.
"Oh yeah, fuck are you gonna do about it," He antagonized.
Lee balled his fist but felt his hand get grabbed from behind. He turned his head and saw Clementine standing behind him.
He so desperately wanted her to go inside before she was noticed, but he had no such luck that day.
"I'll be damned, it's a little girl," One of the men said.
There were three of these men, all armed with automatic rifles, they had a car, that was Lee's assessment of the situation. He hoped he wouldn't have to do anything rash because the weapons were inside and Lee wasn't so sure about his odds against this many enemies.
Just as long as they didn't provoke him, everything would be fine.
"Might have to take her back to Crawford, won't we," The man said.
Lee squeezed his fist harder.
"What?" Clementine asked.
"Don't you say a fucking word," Lee warned the man.
"Or what," the man asked.
"I'll kill you," Lee said.
"Nah, I don't think so. I think that I'll kill you, then I'll take the girl and-"
BOOM BOOM
Two simultaneous shots were fired from either side of the gas station. It was Carley and Glenn, there was only one man left standing now, Lee didn't give him another moment, he had made a promise after all. He dove on the man and disarmed him immediately.
With several hooks to the man's face, blood splattered on the asphalt. The man was hardly breathing, coughing up blood when Lee stopped hitting him.
"Stop! Please, I-" the man pleaded, but Lee shut him up with a punch.
"What is Crawford," Lee asked.
"I can't- They'll kill me!" The man cried.
"No, I will, what the hell is Crawford," Lee pressed.
"It's a group of people in Savannah, they don't- It's not safe for children there, they- Don't kill me!" The man cried.
"The hell do you mean it's not safe for kids?" Kenny asked.
"They don't let weak people in, that's kids, sick people, old people, anyone that wouldn't help them," The man explained.
Lee looked back at his group.
"What- what do you guys wanna do?" Lee asked.
There was a contemplating silence among the group. Kenny seemed to be really thinking it through, the other two adults seemed to just be waiting for Lee's opinion.
"We get on a boat, we survive," Kenny said.
Lee looked to Clementine.
"I want to find my parents," Clementine said with sad eyes.
"We have to go, we can't just turn back. We go to Savannah, and now we have a car," Lee said.
…
It was not even two hours later that they were at city limits. At that point, Lee reminded the group that there was a hostile group, which they very much wanted to avoid, they would get out of the car so they could make less noise.
There was a strange lack of walkers there, the only sounds were those of the wind, which smelled rancid. The streets carried an ominous air, which was not lost among the group. Clementine's expressions were clearly terrified, but she needed to find her parents, so it was either she pushed forward, or she gave up, she wasn't taught to choose the latter.
Luckily, when Lee had asked Clementine earlier, she told Lee that she knew where her parents were. It was some place called the "Marsh House," but she first agreed to help Kenny get a boat working, then she and Lee would look for her parents no matter what. She even made Lee pinkie promise.
"So you think these Crawford people are legit?" Glenn asked.
"Probably, a lot of people in Savannah," Lee answered.
"Maybe my parents are there," Clementine added.
Lee looked down at her and smiled, ruffling her hair with his left hand.
"How far is the dock?" Lee asked Kenny.
Kenny was up ahead of the rest of the group with his son by his side. He was being quiet, too quiet.
"We're almost there," Kenny remarked.
There was silence for a few moments before Kenny spoke again, "What do you guys plan to do?"
"Clem and I are going to look for her parents, after that, I'm not totally sure," Lee answered.
Glenn and Carley didn't answer the question, most likely because they hadn't totally made up their minds.
"Seriously, you're just going to stay here? We could really last out there, with nobody else catching fish, we would never be hungry. Lee, don't you want that for her?" Kenny asked.
"We are looking for her parents, that's the end of it," Lee dismissed.
"Goddamn you Lee, you confuse me. Her parents are dead, we all know it, just grow a pair and tell her so you can save her life," Kenny aggressively suggested.
Clementine gasped.
"Shut the hell up," Lee warned.
"Or fuckin' what? You'll get my son killed too? Because that horde would have never come if you weren't rattling off rounds at the gun store," Kenny explained.
"Just shut the hell up, her parents are out there, dead or alive, Clementine and I need to know for sure," Lee finished.
Carley and Glenn observed this interaction with varying expressions. They exchanged an uneasy glance and continued walking. Clementine squeezed Lee's hand tighter after his defense.
"Whatever man, you'll get yourselves killed, but whatever," Kenny concluded.
...
The group kept walking for a while without interruption. They made it to the dock after a while, there wasn't much left, but there were several sailboats, exactly what Kenny and Duck needed.
"So, here we are," Kenny started.
"Here we are," Glenn repeated.
"Alright, I'll give you all a chance, even Lee, you can have another chance. Who wants to survive?" Kenny asked.
Lee looked down at Clementine, she was already looking up at him. He was getting better at reading her face, her choice hadn't changed and neither had his.
"We're staying," Lee said.
Kenny shook his head at Lee but ignored him all the same.
"Alright, maybe you two have some more sense. Who wants to make it,"
Glenn and Carley looked at Kenny, then each other, then, finally at the other two. Carley was the first to declare her decision. "I'm sorry Lee…"
Lee tilted his head at her before she continued.
"But you're just going to have to deal with me for a little while longer," she finished.
Kenny shook his head again, then looked to Glenn, hoping to have at least one other crewmate for the next few months besides Duck.
Glenn didn't take long to voice his opinion as well, "Yeah, I get seasick, I think I'd be better off on land," he explained.
Kenny was disappointed, but he wasn't going to beg.
"I thought I was supposed to be the stubborn son of a bitch, but you guys, you take the cake," He said.
He led his son onto one of the remaining boats and turned back one more time to give a final goodbye.
"For what it's worth, I hope you guys make it, even if you're all stupid, you're good people. I hope that it doesn't drag you down."
Lee stared directly into the man's eyes. He contemplated the man's words in a few strained moments before finally deciding to reach an arm out and hold it for Kenny to shake. The man looked at it, chuckled for a second, then gripped the hand tight, shaking it with respect. Even if neither person agreed with the other's decision, they respected each other, and seeing the other walk away would be a lot to handle.
Without much waiting, Kenny walked onto the boat and didn't look back. It only took a few minutes for the thing to get moving. Clementine watched as Duck sailed away, he stared at her the whole time. She hoped she might see him again someday, like when they get bored of fish.
"They're really-" Carley started.
"Gone," Lee finished.
"So, what? Do we just head to this 'March House', or what?" Glenn asked.
"It's called the Marsh House, and yeah, that seems like as good of a place as any to go next," Lee affirmed.
Lee turned in the opposite direction and stared down the road.
They walked in silence for a while, Lee not even turning his head to observe his surroundings anymore. Clementine didn't have much to say, but she knew that even if she did, it would have been a bad idea to speak up right now. Kenny hadn't exactly been a beam of light the past few days, but he had every right to be that way, his wife was killed, not to mention in such a gruesome fashion.
His absence was felt immediately, whether it be his tracking skills, his foresight with the weather, or even just his generally calming aura.
"You know, he was never going to come with us," Carley said, breaking the long-lasting silence.
Lee exhaled loudly, "Yeah, I know," Lee admitted.
Glenn chimed in, "He just- He wasn't built for the road, plus he's got a boy to take care of."
Lee glared back at the man before giving his piece, "Yeah? And I have Clementine, there are more important things than staying alive."
A tense silence fell over the group. Glenn rubbed the back of his neck.
Lee wasn't in the apologizing mood. He heard whisperings behind him, he wanted to comment but felt that he should ignore it for Clementine's sake.
"Lee?" Clementine asked in her typical sweet tone.
He didn't do much to acknowledge her besides looking down at her, which was good enough to warrant her to go on, "I'm sorry," she said in a somber tone.
Lee raised an eyebrow and gave her a more curious look, Clementine went on, "I'm sorry that I made you promise to look for my parents, maybe we could have went with Kenny and-"
Lee interjected before Clementine's apology could get any further, "No, I made this choice, you don't need to apologize."
"Oh, okay," Clementine said in a surprised tone.
…
"I don't like fish anyway," Lee said in a hushed tone, just loud enough for Clementine to hear.
She looked back up at him and smiled.
"How far are we," Glenn asked from behind him.
Lee looked to his side with a grin and said, "Clementine?"
"Me?" Clementine asked.
"How far are we? You've been here before, right, it would be easier if we had a map, but-" Lee started.
"Oh, it's only a little further, it's on Broughton Street," Clementine explained.
"Clementine, we are on Broughton Street," Lee said in an accusatory tone.
"Oh," Clementine said. The group stopped in place.
"Um," Clementine muttered.
"Did we pass it?" Glenn asked.
"Um, I dunno," Clementine said in a nervous tone.
"It's fine, let's just turn around," Carley said.
Slowly, the group made a u-turn, but the second they started moving in the opposite direction a voice called out to them from behind, "You four, hands behind your head, get on your knees and put down the bags."
"Shit," Lee said.
"Swear," Clementine whispered.
Lee glared down at her and she looked away. Immediately the message was passed to the girl, this was a serious situation.
"Listen, we don't want any trouble, we just-" Lee started, but was rudely cut off by a man, he wasn't sure how many there were, but he could hear that he was holding a gun, the metal sounds were unmistakable.
"Shut up!" the man yelled in a southern accent.
Lee looked over to Carley and Glenn, who looked over to him for a command. They had the gun bag, but reaching for it was suicide. Everything they had was in those bags, all their food, all of their weapons, and even all of their spare clothes. It really was everything they had.
"You're lucky that Oberson told us not to kill for a few days, otherwise you four would be missing a head."
Lee desperately searched for some way out of the situation. All there was were the bags of guns, but he couldn't ask Glenn to take that kind of risk, plus, they didn't even fully know what they were dealing with. The only logical solution was Crawford.
"We just want to head to the Marshall House, from there, we are out of Savannah, we won't mess with you, we promise," Lee explained.
"The Marshall House? That place is crawling with geeks, good luck with that, too bad I can't let you go quite yet," the man continued.
Lee listened intently for footsteps, some sort of sign that it was more than the one man, but whoever it was wasn't moving.
"I'm gonna need those bags, plus the woman, yeah, you princess, you'd make a fine addition to Crawford," the man went on, describing Carley with vivid detail.
Lee kept searching for any sort of tool but found none.
"Go to hell you rapist pig!" Carley screamed.
"Ooh, feisty," he replied.
Lee looked down at Clem, straight into her terrified eyes, then he let his head fall. He barely saw anything, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw something glimmer from Clementine's pocket.
"Clem, what's that in your pocket?" Lee whispered.
"Hey! You, shut the hell up," a woman yelled from behind Lee.
That's two, at least, Lee determined.
Clementine dropped her hands and reached for her pocket, but the woman noticed, "Hey, get the little girl's hands up, now!"
"She's just tired, leave her alone," Lee yelled back.
The woman made a frustrated groan and muttered a "whatever," under her breath.
Clementine slowly pushed the item out of her pocket. The further out it got, the more concerned and simultaneously thrilled that Lee became. He saw something that Clementine certainly should not have had, something that could have seriously hurt her if she hadn't been careful, a handgun. It was a standard 9mm with a black finish. She wouldn't have even been strong enough to hold the thing, someone had to do something about that after everything was said and done.
Clementine placed the gun onto the asphalt and slid it to Lee in one swift motion.
"So, you gonna pony up, or do we have to kill you for it," the man said as Lee listened back into the conversation.
"Just run away, you get one chance," Lee commanded.
"You ought to be the stupidest mother fu- you know what, I'm in a good mood, so I'm gonna pretend you didn't just say that," the man said.
"Shoulda taken the offer," Lee said in a flat tone.
He dropped his hands to the gun and immediately turned around. There were several enemies, by Lee's count there were two up front, then several behind them, at least four.
He aimed and fired at the woman first, he aimed for her head, but only grazed her dome, regardless, the bald black woman fell to the ground with a slight splatter of blood.
Then, Lee aimed for the man that had been commanding them, but he was shot in the shoulder and dropped the weapon. He fell onto his back with a groan.
From Clementine's perspective, she watched Lee fall and ran to his side. She turned toward her group and watched as Carley tossed Glenn a rifle, which he fired at will, killing the man as well. He was definitely dead, the head splatter made that obvious.
Carley fired off a few shots at the people that were further back, from what they saw, two of the people had run in the opposite direction, all bark, no bite. Still, two or three enemies remained from what Clementine observed.
She unglued herself from the action and looked back at Lee, there wasn't even blood coming from where he got shot, it must have been coming through the other side. Clementine was panicking, covering the bullet hole with his clothes the best she could. The more she touched it, the more he winced until he closed his eyes. Lee stuck her sobbing face into his chest as the action continued.
She heard so many bullets fired, so many screams, but it all became blurry, then nonexistent. The sounds faded into one another and she lost focus on it. She pulled herself from Lee's chest and looked at his face, his eyes were closed, but his mouth was wide open. She looked down at his shoulder and cringed.
It was at this moment, this solitary, loud, insane moment, that she remembered something she learned in kindergarten a year ago, a heartbeat. She just needed to hear his heart beating to know that he was alive. She threw herself at him with optimism and prayed internally to hear a heartbeat, even a slow one, all she needed was one, single, lonely thump of the heart, and Lee would be alright.
She listened with desperate intent and urgency. She needed to hear something, but she didn't. She never removed himself from her chest as he lay there. It was only after a full minute that she managed to hear something, the weak thumping of his heart beyond any outside noise. She let out a sigh more full of relief than she had ever felt.
Clementine turned and observed the action that she found herself in. However, when she turned her head, she saw no movement. It took her a second to even find her friends, who were luckily still alive. She saw Glenn, holding a handgun, aiming at a bad guy. From what Clementine understood, that's all they were, bad guys. And this one, held Carley in front of her, using her as a shield.
"Carley!" Clementine shouted in fear.
Glenn tensed up. His hands were shaking behind the tiny gun. He couldn't make the shot. Carley stood in obvious terror as the woman behind her held her, making threats that Clementine was too young to understand. Why did they need to swear so much, Clementine wondered.
That was the least of her worries. She needed to focus, one of her friends was in trouble.
Clementine stood with shaky legs as she watched the stalemate.
"Let her go!" Glenn shouted.
"Not a fucking chance," The woman swore.
Clementine let out a fearful noise. She felt so powerless, yet her help was so evidently necessary. Carley struggled against the woman, desperately attempting to save herself. Then she thought of it, the gun, the one she took so she could keep Lee safe from the monsters. She needed to use it, to save Carley!
She turned and tried to grab the gun, but before she could pick it up, something beat her to it, or someone for that matter. A hand with a watch, all too familiar to Clementine, if she hadn't known whose hand it was, she would have been terrified, but as usual, it was Lee. He sat there, barely conscious, seeing through half-lidded eyes, weakly lifting the gun but having no hesitation.
A loud bang rang through the air. Clementine turned to see it if hit the target, and, sure enough, a body fell. Carley fell to her knees as the lady hit the floor behind her. Clementine stared at the body, the head where the bullet hit so cleanly through. Directly between her eyebrows was a dark, red hole. Clementine wanted to throw up, then she looked around, there were bodies everywhere. This was the worst that she had ever seen it, there were holes all throughout these bodies, in their torsos, in their arms and legs, and, most importantly in their heads. They wouldn't come back. Clementine wouldn't wish that fate on anyone, to be shot, and yet, her sole protector lay on the ground behind her with a hole of his own.
"Lee!" Clementine called as she turned around to tend to him.
…
A woman in tattered and torn clothes limped down a beaten and dusty road. It was a hot day, hotter than the last. She had no water, no food, no weapons, and nothing to live for. She knew not what she wanted to do, where to go. She only walked, walked, and continued to walk as she stared down a barren road.
Lilly had been through the most traumatic day of her life only a day ago and nothing was easier now. She accepted that her father was dead, as well as she could anyway, but without anything to focus herself on, she had nothing.
What was she to do? Not like there were many options. She knew the direction she wanted to go, East. Savannah River was the easiest way she knew to get onto the ocean, so that seemed as good a place as any.
The road had treated her harshly, she was on her last legs, but giving up was never an option. She would keep walking for days, through peril, inches from death's door if it meant getting where she needed to go.
"The grass is always greener," she told herself. She couldn't complain, no matter how terrible her situation was, there would always be something she didn't have, her situation could always be better, even if she had all of the supplies in the world. Her father taught her that. She needed to take what life gave her, take it then make life give you more, take what you wanted.
She wasn't quite sure what that was, to be fair. She knew that she was going to head into Savannah, she knew her way, she had spent a lot of time there before the world went to hell. Beyond that though, she wasn't sure. She didn't know if she wanted to find another group, find her old one, or just head north a ways. There were infinite options, many of which she would thrive in, an equal amount that would kill her. She knew that. When it came down to it, she simply wasn't in any headspace to be making such a pivotal decision right now. So, as her father taught her, she would keep walking, and walk she did.
She walked for so long, even through the night. She was weak, she couldn't even feel her feet anymore, not to mention the exhaustion she felt in her legs. But she was nearly there. The city was in sight, and she wouldn't stop until she was given a sign. She would head down Drayton street and toward the docks, maybe she would find something on the way, she was content waiting.
…
AUTHOR'S NOTE: There's another chapter, and I know this one was short, I have my reasons. The next one has a lot packed into it and a lot of interactions that should be very enticing. As for Kenny, he is gone, out on a boat, surviving with his son, at any time, he could sail back in, so I didn't spend a long time dwelling on it. In this story, Kenny had only been with the group for a few days and besides Duck, there wasn't a lot for Lee or Clem to miss with him, but I will tell you this much, they will be heard from again, don't fret.
Further on this chapter being short, there was a lot that I wanted to pack into this one, but there is just so much that it feels better for me to just split it into two chapters. It's better for getting more people to see it, it's better for my schedule, and it's better for actually getting something out for you guys to read, which, based on your reviews seemed relevant.
Further further, things are in full swing with my life right now, my football season is starting, school is tiring, and I have a lot to get done, plus I like to relax from time to time. That doesn't exactly mean that the schedule for getting these out will be worse or better, but it does mean that I will have to try harder to get these out. However, it is my favorite story, I like writing it, and until I say otherwise, I will put forth my best effort to get it out.
Side note, I am using maps to make the story more realistic, so if you'd like to follow along, the fight happened on Drayton Street and the southernmost Boughton Street (there are two of them parallel to each other).
Final note, I have been getting TONS of reviews on Ao3 for this story, and every single one has been positive. These notes make my day and I enjoy reading every one of them, so please keep writing them, whether it is to leave a review for others to see, constructive criticism, an opinion/theory, I don't care, they're really fun to see, so please keep them coming.
I hope to get another chapter out soon and I hope you enjoyed this one, bye!