The Good The Bad The X-Boy-I know Lee was kinda acting as leader for this story but I felt that was the event to cement him into the position. He expressed his own fears with the position but accepted that he was the only one who could do it. Now we just have to see how Lee handles new threats in the future.
Smeake-Glad to have you along for the ride man, hope you'll enjoy it.
Sweet Tree-Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy the premise so much that you feel it should be canon! I hope you enjoy the whole story just as much.
Worker72-I felt that Lee needed to connect with someone about his worries and concerns before showing up and being the tough, firm leader they needed. So I'm glad you liked each of the scenes.
I.C.2014-Thanks, hope you like this chapter!
Rev61ever-It's possible that it could happen eventually, as it would give him some use for his stump, so possibly!
TerevE eeL-Here you are, sorry to make you wait, haha!
Manwiththeplan113-Yeah, I'll miss him, he was a fun character.
Ex-Starburn-Molly could be pregnant, or maybe not, but she and Lee are close enough where they could possibly try for a child when the time was right. Only time will tell what happens to the pair.
Guest-Glad you like it!
Guest-Hope you like the start of the new arc!
Enjoy
Three weeks past as the group assimilated into Howe's, three weeks full of conversation and control for Lee. He had his hands full, convincing the last of Carver's crew that sticking together was a smart idea. He received help from Vince and Shel, but unfortunately, he also gained some headaches from Kenny and Nick. Russell and Wyatt continued to but heads with the two men but fortunately for everyone these events boiled down to little outbursts, reminiscent of Kenny and Lilly at the motel. Unlike the motel, Lee was able to keep them separated and out of each other's way most of the day.
The first week consisted of securing all of Howe's, including the expansion to the comic and convenience stores. Despite having a horde plow right through the strip Howe's stood firm, the building resisted the walkers and didn't buckle in any location. The expansion, however, wasn't as lucky. The simplistic walls were built to hold back small groups of walkers, not hordes and they were quickly destroyed during the initial attack. Despite this the other stores were mostly intact, the windows were broken, but the doors still stood.
Kenny headed up the restoration of the walls while Vince chose to lead up a cleanup detail, salvaging what supplies they could so the wall could be put back up sooner. With the cold, the process was slow going and bled into the second week. As Kenny continued to lead a team to rebuild the wall, Lee had the others work on inventory. He wanted a complete list for everything they still had, whether it be gas, bullets or food. It turned out that wasn't as much as they all expected.
Tavia and the others didn't skimp out when loading up in their truck, they took as much as they could fit. Their gas was down to a mere week if rationed correctly, meaning any power tools had to be used sparingly. Food and water were cut down to maybe a month for all of them, though, thanks to the motor inn, Lee knew he could stretch that much farther than the others could expect. Still, he was hesitant to start cutting rations as that would no doubt stir trouble.
By the third week things began to settle into a routine, the wall still needed work, but at the very least it was standing. Guards were assigned to the roof, bringing some relief to everyone, but with low ammo, any fight would be extremely costly. Despite the problems, Lee remained calm and controlled, he stayed strong showing no fear in their situation, only doing his best to keep the others busy and focused doing more constructive things with their time then worry.
On the morning of the fourth week, Lee and a few others gathered in the office, part of his routine was listening coming up with tasks based off of what he was informed on. Luckily for him, today would be a bit easier than usual, well at least for him. Lee, rested against the desk while Vince, Kenny, and Jane circled around him. "Right, so first things first, Vince, Kenny, how's the wall?" Lee asked looking between the two men sternly,
Vince let out a little sigh and rubbed the back of his neck, "Honestly it's as good as it's gonna get right now, we kinda hit a roadblock with it."
"A roadblock? What do you mean?" Lee asked in turn,
"Look, pal, we've done all we can do by hand, things sturdy alright but it's just wood. Now we made a few plans to put some metal reinforcers on it but to do that we need power tools." Kenny quickly explained,
"Meaning you'll need gas." Jane deduced with a sigh,
Lee returned the sigh and rubbed his brow, "I...I know what you want me to say but I can't. Our fuel is running out, and we need every drop right now to keep the generators running. If they go out so does out heat, and that fire pit won't be able to keep us warm for the rest of winter." Lee explained in a firm denial,
"Yeah, I totally understand that that's why I wanted to take a few guys out and go scavenging." Vince replied, "There's a town not too far out that could hold something still, I don't expect much, but you never know."
"I'll tell you what we could use, some more of those solar panels. A couple more of those and we could get the battery banks charged, solving our power tool issue." Lee thought aloud,
"So that saying you're good with me taking out a team?" Vince asked with a slightly uplifted tone,
Lee looked up at him, eyeing him for a moment before letting out a short exhale, "Who would you take?"
"I'd go," Jane said plainly,
"Must be a fucking miracle, you actually offering to help for once," Kenny grumbled out,
"Bite me, asshole." Jane shot back immediately,
"Alright, enough." Lee sharply said before looking back to Vince, "Two isn't much of a team who else?"
"Well, without leaving you shorthanded, I'd like to take Shel and Russell." Vince replied after a moment of thought, "Shel's been putting together a little list of supplies everyone needs, blankets, formula for AJ, things like that. Not to mention we could use Russell for the muscle."
Lee thought it over for a moment before letting out a nod, they caught a break when Tavia's crew left the formula here, but they were running low if Shel could find more that'd be well worth the risk. Not to mention, Russell going would solve a large part of Lee's day spent micromanaging. "Okay, sounds like a good plan, anything you find could be useful." Lee finally said causing Vince to let out a pleased smile, "But I don't want you guys out long, try to be back by dinner, if not we'll come looking first thing in the morning."
"Got it, Lee, you can count on me, man." Vince said confidently, "Jane let's go and get geared out. We should leave as soon as possible." Vince continued as the two walked out of the office,
Kenny watched the two leave before shaking his head dismissively, "Vince may be a nice guy and all but he doesn't know a damn about character." Kenny said with a scoff,
"What do you mean?" Lee replied, much more at ease now just talking with Kenny,
"Jane, wouldn't take her with me if she was the last person on earth." Kenny answered as he walked over and pulled out a metal chair for himself, "She's one selfish fucking woman."
"Where's this coming from?" Lee asked, not too surprised as Kenny usually had an issue with everyone,
"Whaddya mean?" Kenny asked with a raised brow,
"You haven't said two words about her til today, just seems a bit odd," Lee replied shrugging slightly,
"Didn't have time too, way too busy." Kenny simply said, "Her on the other hand, she's barely pulled her weight these last few weeks. Hell, even Russell's been busting his ass around here, all she does is the easy shit, and now she's heading out for supplies." Kenny said shaking his head clearly irritated, "I'd bet my life that'd she's gonna keep half of what she finds for herself."
"Really, you think that? Luke seems to think pretty highly of her." Lee retorted,
"That's only cause those two had a fucking tumble couple weeks back, Luke's acting like a fucking teenager right now." Kenny immediately shot back,
"Yeah," Lee said with a small nod, that fact seeming so distant in his mind, "Right, but Luke growing up isn't something we can solve today, what are you doing if you're not on the wall?"
"I figure I'd take the kid out and go hunting." Kenny replied returning to his focused state, "With our supply running down a deer could feed us a few days."
"Kid as in?" Lee asked with a raised brow,
Kenny looked at him slightly annoyed, "Billy the Kid, who the fuck you think? Nick."
"Nick? Are you fucking serious?" Lee replied, genuinely surprised,
"Yeah, kid's eager to learn something, figure if I put him on this, at least it'd be a good use." Kenny simply replied, "Besides, I trust him, and he's gotta learn to do something."
Lee smiled ever so slightly and shook his head, "Of course you trust him, you convinced him to steal guns for you."
"Hey," Kenny sharply replied, "I was being prepared, you didn't have your shit together at that point."
"Yeah, right, of course." Lee sarcastically said while standing up, Kenny doing the same, "Let's get down to the armory. See what we can spare for this hunt."
"If I still had my eye, I'd try and learn how to use a bow. I'm lucky my aim ain't shit." Kenny muttered out a bit bitterly as the pair walked out of the office.
As the two men walked downstairs, they walked past what used to be the pen, since their stay it was converted into more a communal area. The firepit still sat in the center, being tended at most times for heat and cooking. Vince had located a few large tables that were moved into the pen so everyone could sit and eat like an actual community, it didn't make it so, but it definitely helped to create that illusion.
Sarah sat at one of the tables, a small crib sat right next to her, holding AJ. Just nearby Clementine and Becca were seemingly sparring, working on moves that would get them out of a person, or walkers, grasp as well as giving them an open hit. Sarah didn't seem comfortable with joining them, and as much as Lee wished that was alright, he hoped the girl would start to learn how to take care of herself soon. "Where's everyone else?" Lee asked as he turned back to Kenny,
"Luke and Wyatt are on watch right now," Kenny replied as he crossed his arms, "Got no fucking clue where Molly and Bonnie went, they were just in the pen watching the girls and Nick...he's...where's that fucker got to?"
"Right behind you, old man," Nick's voice piped in, "Where are you two going?"
"You're coming with," Kenny retorted while motioning him over, "You're coming out with me today, we need to stop at the armory right now,"
Nick's brow raised and he immediately moved to Kenny's side, "Where are we going? What's the situation?"
"The situation?" Lee replied with an almost amused smirk,
Nick looked between both of the men in minor confusion, "If you two are loading up at the armory, something serious has to be going on. Is it the Russell and the others?" He lowly asked while glaring around the building, "I saw Vince gathering up a group, I got no idea what he could be planning but-"
"Whoa, cool your jets," Lee interrupted,
"Ain't no one stirring trouble, boy...well, more than usual at least," Kenny muttered back, "We're going hunting,"
"Hunting...seriously? That's what you need my help with?" Nick nearly scoffed,
Lee narrowed his brow, but before the man could speak, Kenny barked out, "Damn right! We need food, and 'bout time you put in a little effort here. You do know how to use a gun don't ya?"
Nick frowned in response, "Of course I fucking do, I hunted with my uncle Pete plenty of times,"
"You see a problem with us getting food? Is having a full stomach important to you, kid?" Nick continued to frown but nodded, "Then quit pissing and moaning, and come get a fucking gun," Kenny finally finished while reaching over and giving Nick a small shove forward towards the armory, "Or I'll go take someone else,"
"Fine, fine, Jesus," Nick mumbled back to the pair while making his way towards the armory, "Fucking hardass..."
"And you like him?" Lee asked Kenny with a slightly amused smirk,
"Yeah, the kid just thinks he needs to be a hero to be useful. If he were with us in the motor inn, he'd know how important food is, and how one good hunt could change everything," Kenny replied with a thoughtful look,
"I hear that," Lee wholly agreed. As the pair continued to walk, Lee slowed down as he noticed Molly and Bonnie coming towards them, the pair were finishing up a minor conversation, and once Molly noticed Lee, she gave Bonnie a pat on the shoulder and walked over to him. The short blonde woman flashed him a warm smile, "I'll catch up, don't leave until I know what you're talking,"
"You got it," Kenny nodded and walked away from the pair,
"Where are you off too?" Molly smirked, "Finally decided to leave us?"
"Yeah, afraid so..." Lee chuckled back, "Kenny and Nick are going hunting,"
"Really, didn't expect that, Kenny couldn't hunt for shit during our year on the road," Molly muttered as she crossed her arms,
"I know, but Nick has some, and I'm sure the two of them could get something. With the wall on hold, it's the most useful thing that they could do to help us," Lee explained, "By tomorrow if Vince's search goes well, they'll be back on it,"
"Vince is going out scavenging?" Molly asked with a raised brow, "I thought the focus was supposed to be here and here only,"
"We need gas," Lee merely replied, "We don't have a choice, Vince, Jane, Shel, and Russell need to find fuel today or our generators are going to run out in a few days,"
"If that's true, then Vince won't come back without any, he cares about this place as much as you do," Molly firmly replied before letting out a sigh, "Alright, I can't do this...those two aren't going to get a thing, I'm going with them,"
Lee went out a wince and glanced towards the armory, "Molly...you don't have to go...you know I don't want you to,"
"I know," Molly smirked while pushing up and kissing him on the cheek, "If we had it your way, I'd never do anything. I'll see you later today,"
"No, I at least need to see what you're taking," Lee weakly argued,
"Two rifles, twenty rounds and a bow with four arrows. Okay?" Molly replied with a little pat on his shoulder, "Now go on before you start freaking out, I'm sure Clem could use you for something,"
Lee let out a low sigh and looked either way, "Fine...be safe," He warmly told the girl, "I love you,"
"I love you too," Molly warmly replied as she turned away and walked towards the armory, walking inside with a broad smile, "Alright boys, let me show you how to actually hunt," She grinned while picking up her old bow.
Alright, sorry for making you wait so long, and I know the chapter wasn't that long but I wanted a nice set up chapter, next one should be focused more on Vince, Shel, Jane, and Russell to breathe some life in the new additions. Anyway if you're happy the story is back and want more, please leave me a review letting me know what you think!