Hey hey! I'm finally back! Sorry for taking so long, but I just kept getting distracted from the story. That said, here's Chapter 5!

Howe's

The morning sun was just beginning to rise as Jeff and Clementine woke up. They ate a lite breakfast, gathered their supplies, and carefully made their way down the stairs of the gift shop, watching for any walkers that could be at the door. As they exited, they looked around and made sure it was safe before heading toward the next stop on their trip down Memory Lane.

After a good amount of walking, they reach a clearing and stop. There before them was the place where their friendship was nearly destroyed: Howe's Hardware. They looked at each other, as if unsure they really wanted to continue, before walking again. They nearly make it to the old truck door when Clementine stops, looking at the ground.

"Clem?" Jeff asked. "Are you okay?"

"Look," she replied.

Jeff looked where she was staring and gasped. There, half eaten by walkers, was what was left of Carlos.

"Ugh," Jeff said. "He deserved better than this."

"They all did," Clementine replied.

"Still," Jeff began. "He'd be happy to know that Sarah made it long enough to at least make an attempt to save someone's life before she died."

"What could've been," Clementine said. "If we had been to take the time to do as we promised and teach her how to handle the way the world is, now…"

"She might still be here," Jeff finished for her. "I know, Clem. But we really don't know that. Come on. We need to keep going."

"Right," Clementine said, snapping out of her thoughts.

Carefully, they moved forward, quietly taking out their weapons as they go. As they reached the door, they saw more chewed up remains. As they took some time to examine the body, Jeff recognized the clothes.

"Troy," he said.

"Got what many believed he had coming," Clementine said.

"Even though he was a complete jerk," Jeff replied. "He didn't deserve this."

They quickly moved inside, minding their surroundings for any surprises, and quickly encountered another gruesome sight: There, laying on the floor, were the remains of Carver.

"So he did end up dying here," Clementine said.

Jeff looked at his friend, then the remains, then sighed.

"During the days we were separated," he began. "I circled back here, hoping to find the place abandoned. Instead, I found him still hanging on. Swearing revenge on us for the collapse of his community."

"What'd you do?" She asked.

"I gave him a nice reminder of what he had made me do to you, days before," he replied. "Then I shot him right between his eyes. Guess it was both for revenge and out of mercy."

"How does that even work?" Clementine asked.

"I don't know," Jeff replied. "Just seems to make sense, somehow."

There was silence as they slowly moved away from the scene and checked the rest of the building. As they walked, they saw several walkers that had been turned into swiss cheese by Carver's people, along with the bodies of some of the latter who didn't make it out in time. They approach the stairs to Carver's office and find Alvin's body still laying where Jeff had seen him fall.

"So this is where he gave up his life to save you," Clementine said.

"Yes," Jeff replied, with a somber tone. "I tried to get him to come with me, but… he knew only one of us could rejoin the group. He took two of the guards down, before being shot himself."

"We'll have to remember to tell AJ that, when we get him back," she said. "He has to know that his dad was a hero."

"To the very end," Jeff added.

Slowly, they resumed their search, finding the place eerily quiet, but thankfully empty. After finding what was left of the expansion to be vacant, they remembered they had one more place to check: The Pen.

Slowly, they crept into the makeshift jail and looked around. Finding it empty, they holstered their guns.

"Nothing, yet again," Clementine said, in frustration.

"Yeah," Jeff replied. "But, you know they would've likely been here, had be decided to ignore this horrible place."

Clementine nodded in agreement, as they started for the door. Just as they were about to walk through, Jeff took one last look and spotted something he didn't see before: A piece of paper on one of the beds. Picking it up, Jeff read whas had been written on it and gasped.

"What?" Clementine asked. "What does it say?"

Jeff took a deep breath and read the note aloud.

"Want the kids? You'll have to keep retracing your steps to even have a chance at getting them back! Want to know where to go next? Here's your clue: You were captured and dragged away from the place by the man who used to run the community you helped bring down. Good luck."

They looked at each other in stunned silence, for several moments, before Jeff finally spoke.

"This has to end," he said, as he turned away. "We will make them pay for putting us through all of this. They will regret crossing us!"

Oh Boy. Things are about to get nuts! But before that, there's more steps for our team to retrace. Safe to say you already know where they're headed next. Until next time...