On The Right Track
The Next Day:
"I don't know how much more of Memory Lane I can take," Clementine said, as they walked out of the city.
"I know staying in that house wasn't what you wanted," Jeff replied. "But better there than the Marsh House."
Clementine nodded in agreement, before returning her attention to where they were going. They were walking in the direction she remembered heading into Savannah from, looking for any signs of their suspect, and hoping to end the chase as soon as possible. As they walked, they cleared the brush and trees on the outskirts and came upon a set of railroad tracks. They looked left, then right… and nearly jumped when they saw the train right next to them.
"It seems we can't avoid trains, even after society's collapse," Jeff said.
Clementine didn't reply. She was too busy studying the features on the locomotive in front of them, trying to remember why it looked familiar. Then, she remembered.
"This is the train we took to get to Savannah," she said.
"Wow," Jeff said. "Sure has held up well, after so much time just sitting here. Then again, it hasn't had the same amount of time that so many other abandoned locomotives have had to rot."
Without another word, Jeff went to check the fuel tank while Clementine became lost in thought.
The rumble of the locomotive's motor and 'click-clack' of the train's wheels were the only sounds Clementine could hear, as they rolled toward Savannah. The ride had been mostly peaceful, but the concern over Duck was building. Katjaa had sent Lee to get Kenny to stop the train, but he hadn't returned yet.
"I hope Lee can get Kenny to stop the train," Clementine said. "I don't think Duck's gonna live much longer."
"Yeah," Ben replied, with concern. "Poor kid. I hate to say it, but he needs to be put out of his misery. He's suffered long en-"
"AAAAH!" Katjaa screamed.
The pair gasped as they turned to see Duck on his back and Katjaa holding her neck.
"Oh no," Clementine said, in fear. "It's too late."
Duck moaned as he slowly stood up. He then turned to Ben and Clementine and began to walk toward them. His eyes were that of the undead, with a hunger for flesh. Clementine was frozen in fear as he walked toward her. She screamed as she tried to run… only to trip over her own feet and fall. The being that was once a friend was almost to her when Ben suddenly stepped in and picked him up, with intentions of throwing him off the train. However, the new walker quickly sunk his teeth into Ben's shoulder, causing the teen to drop him. Clementine had backed away and shut her eyes, too afraid to try to run to find Lee and Kenny. The next thing she knew, she was being grabbed. The next couple of moments were a blur, but she heard Katjaa tell her she would be safe, the wind as they jumped, and the fading sounds of the train, after they had landed on the ground.
"Clem? Clem? You okay?" Jeff said.
"Huh?" she replied, snapping out of her thoughts.
"I said there's still fuel in the locomotive's tank," he said. "Weren't you listening?"
"Sorry," she replied. "I was thinking about the day I rode this train."
"Not a good day, if I recall your story correctly," Jeff said.
"No," Clementine replied. "It wasn't."
They stood in silence, for a few moments, as they stared at the train. Finally, Jeff spoke up.
"We could use this to catch up to the kids," he said.
"How?" Clementine asked. "That boxcar-thing is gonna make it hard to see, if we take it in reverse."
"Not sure it's even a boxcar, with that door and walkway in front," he replied. "But we can drop it off at the nearest siding, before we leave Savannah. Should make it easier to see."
Clementine nodded and they climbed on board. After some looking around, they found the note that held the instructions to start the locomotive, went through the steps, and were soon on their way.
The sounds of nature were drowned out as the locomotive rumbled down the line, at track speed. In the cab, Jeff was looking out the rear window of the engineer's side, keeping an eye out for anything that could hinder their progress. They had been travelling for a while and were making good time. Soon, he saw a bring, in the distance, and what looked like a tanker truck, to one side of the track.
"We need to stop here," Clementine said, from the conductor's seat.
"Why?" Jeff asked.
"Just trust me, Jeff," she replied.
Jeff quickly, but carefully, applied the brakes and soon they were stopped. Moving carefully, Jeff followed his friend down the steps to the ground. They looked around for a few moments before Jeff noticed some human remains.
"Clem," he called.
Hearing her name, she walked over and gasped when she saw the remains.
"Ben," she said, closing her eyes.
"So this is Ben," Jeff said. "Well… what's left of him. Was he an important part of the group?"
"No," Clementine replied. "But he was nice. He didn't quite have the same courage and determination Lee and Kenny had. In fact, he was a bit of a coward, at times. That cowardice is what got Duck bit."
"What'd he do?" Jeff asked.
"He stole supplies from the group to give to bandits in the area," she replied. "I don't know why, but I guess they tricked him and he was too scared to confess before Lee discovered what he was doing. Before anyone could find out it was him, the bandits attacked. During the chaos, walkers joined in… and that's when Duck was bitten."
"Wow," Jeff said. "What a mess. If only he'd had the courage to go to Lee or Kenny for help. We'll never know how things would've turned out, if he had." He paused. "Go get that shovel we took out of the boxcar before we dropped it off. Despite all his mistakes, I believe Ben deserves a proper burial."
Clementine nodded and went back to the locomotive's cab. Fifteen minutes later, the last shovel full of dirt was dumped onto the newly dug grave. Clementine stared and the grave and sighed.
"I can only imagine how Kenny felt, when he saw Ben," she said.
"I can remember him talking about it, after we walked away from Wellington," Jeff said. "It hurt him to talk about it, so long after it happened. I can't even begin to imagine just how much it hurt to discover the aftermath."
"I saw the guilt, first hand," Clementine said. "He was a wreck."
They stood in solemn silence for a moment.
"Come on," Jeff said. "We still have two kids to rescue."
Without another word, they re-boarded the locomotive and moved on down the line.
Many Miles later:
"Stop the train!"
Jeff barely had time to react as he pulled the throttle back and applied the brakes, believing something was seriously wrong. The locomotive hadn't even fully stopped before Clementine ran out the front door and carefully jumped off the front steps on the engineer's side. He grabbed the shovel, suspecting they would need it, and followed her as soon as he had stopped.
"What's going…. On?"
Jeff stopped in his tracks as he spotted his friend kneeling down between two corpses, crying. Slowly, he approached to see what he could do to help. He studied the remnants of the clothes each corpse had and quickly realized what he was looking at. Quietly, he kneeled down beside Clementine.
"Lee and Duck?" He asked.
Through the tears, Clementine slowly nodded.
"I never got to properly say goodbye to Duck," she said. "But I can remember talking to Lee before he died."
"Did he have anything important to tell you?" Jeff asked.
"He told me to keep going to Savannah after I shot him in his head to keep him from turning," she replied.
"And you did," Jeff finished for her. "Look where you are now, because you did what he told you to." He paused, thinking over his next words. "I'm not him, but I think he'd be proud of you for finding someone like him who could teach you how to survive in this chaotic world. You've come a long way from the scared and lonely nine-year-old girl I found five years ago."
"I don't think I could ever repay you for that," she replied.
"How many times do I have to tell you?" He asked. "No need to thank or repay me. I didn't do it for glory or praise. I did it because I cared about you… and I still do."
Wiping another tear away, Clementine turned and hugged him, before taking the shovel from him and taking on the task of burying Duck and Lee. Despite the sorrow she felt for having to do it, she was thankful to finally give them the proper burial they deserved. With a final goodbye, she and Jeff re-boarded the locomotive and moved on down the line.
Hello again! Finally got over writers block (and more procrastination) to complete this chapter. That said, only a few more to go to complete this one. I'll try to get this completed sooner rather than later, so I can finally give you the conclusion you deserve and move on to other projects. Until then, take care!