Whitetiger789-I'm glad you enjoyed it, hope you'll like this one!
Woker72-An alliance between Wellington and Lee's group is an interesting thought to be sure, and I won't deny the impossibility, but it'll be a few chapters at the least before it shows up. However as we learn from the seasons, Ohio ended up to be quite the dangerous place. As for Javier's group only time will tell if and when they will show up, so keep reading on to see!
Thedarkpokemaster- Read on my friend, as a lot is too come in the future!
Don 77- Not only is it fun to explore the 400 days characters but the story is going to being ramping up very soon!
Enjoy
Vince walked ahead of his fellow scavengers, his crossbow was raised and scanned the empty snow-covered streets ahead of him. Jane followed a few steps behind, much calmer than the others but looking at each building carefully for any sight of other survivors stalking them. Shel was close behind, inspecting each of the buildings themselves, hoping to find shops that would hold the supplies they needed to gather while Russell brought up the rear, clutching his assault rifle, spinning around every so often to make sure nothing was trailing them.
"I don't know man, this shit is too quiet for me," Russell said in a hushed tone, "Hearing nothing is worse than hearing something in my book,"
"He's got a point, I can't remember the last time I was in a town that wasn't swarmed with walkers," Jane admitted, "Or the living,"
"Let's just get what we need and get the hell back home," Shel said in some minor urgency,
"Stay relaxed guys," Vince calmly said only to hear the sound of snow crunching in front of him. The four paused, Vince tightened his grip on the crossbow and aimed towards the sound. Slowly a rotting corpse lumbered around the corner. It was covered in snow yet it's arms seemed frozen to its chest, it let out a weak snarl as it spotted the group but Vince shot and quickly sent a bolt through its brain. "Guess it's not so quiet, huh?"
"That was a good sign," Jane insisted as Vince retrieved his bolt, "It was starting to freeze, which means others could already be frozen stiff, frozen walkers make this whole trip a breeze,"
"Unless there like that one where they are only half frozen," Shel reminded the woman, "Better to stay cautious,"
"We'll never get done what we need to in that time, we should stay close by but split up," Russell interjected, "Me and Jane could take that shop over there," He continued while pointing to a small corner store at the end of the block,
"He's got a point, we do need to cover as much ground as we can in the next few hours," Vince reluctantly agreed, "How about it Shel, think we can hit up one of these shops on our own?"
Shel pursed her lips and thought for a moment before letting out a confident nod, "Yeah, I noticed a little drug store, if we're lucky we can get AJ what he needs from there,"
"Then let's get to it," Jane said before turning to Russell and glaring, "Do not shoot that fucking rifle unless you're about to be a walkers lunch, get me?"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it, silence is golden, don't worry about it," Russell muttered back as he pulled the rifle over his shoulder and pulled out a crowbar from his pack, "Let's see what we can find,"
As the pair walked up the street Vince and Shel headed across the road to the drug store, the windows were shattered and the door was kicked off the hinges. The shelving was toppled over and trash littered the floor from the early days of looting. In the far corner of the store sat the pharmacy which too was a wreck, the security gate was pried open and the shelves in the back looked just as destroyed as the others. "Heh, don't know what I really expected," Vince smirked as he hopped over the window and into the store,
"Yeah, this place has definitely seen better days," Shel lightly laughed back, "But i'm hoping that they didn't take everything for babies. Medicine, food, sure I can see that but just maybe they left the baby stuff alone,"
"I hope so too, but I wouldn't count on it," Vince said as he made his way to the pharmacy, "I'm gonna check this out, holler if you need me," He said with a grunt while hopping the counter,
"Got it," Shel nodded as she knelt down and began to search what items remained on the floor.
Back at Howe's Lee made his way to the roof of the hardware store, spotting Luke who was slowly patrolling around the edge of the building with a rifle. He turned as he heard Lee's foot steps and gave him a small half smile, "Hey, what's going on?"
"It's quiet?" Lee asked the man as he reached his side, peering out into the distance,
"Yeah, Wyatt and Bonnie checked around the building and only had one walker that was getting too close," Luke replied with a nod, "Strange huh?"
"What's that?" Lee asked back,
"The quiet, after everything that's been happening during this last month, hard to know what to do during it all," Luke said with a slow exhale, "Makes me think about everyone who never got a chance to make it to these quiet moments,"
Lee let out a slow nod of agreement, "It's been a long road for us all, but for the first time in awhile, I feel like we all have a chance to make it from here on out,"
"Hell of a thought to have, but I really hope you're right," Luke replied with a small smile,
"Me too," Lee lowly replied while turning and heading back to the roof access door,
Halfway there, however, Luke called out to Lee, "Hang on for a second," Lee turned back seeing Luke lightly jog over before hesitating to speak for a moment, "I...Fuck, alright, Lee I just wanted to say I'm sorry,"
"Sorry?" Lee asked back in confusion, "For what?"
"Everything that happened between you me since we met, I was trying hard to look out for everyone in my group, to keep them all safe and I sometimes thought you weren't doing that.. It was tough to handle that and I know I didn't make your job any easier out there sometimes. But you saved us Lee, you saved as many as you could and gave us all a home again. Nick, Sarah, they'd probably be dead by now if it wasn't for you. So thank you," Luke said wholeheartedly, "And I'm sorry for..you know...being a real dick out there,"
To Luke's surprise he saw Lee's lips curl into an understanding smirk, "I get it, I know things weren't going anyway that we expected and I know that group that you met us with at the lodge were your friends. If it were me, with my people, I'd have done the same thing. The way things are, they are the only real family we got left. So don't apologize, it's not needed,"
Luke nodded and let out a short exhale, "They were, now I only got Nick and Sarah left, and I'm gonna do whatever I have to do to save 'em,"
"Good," Lee said while reaching out and patting the man's shoulder. Luke gave Lee a short smile before turning back and heading back on watch.
Back in town, Russell and Jane were slowly making their way through the corner store, checking each area for walkers, which to their surprise, they didn't find. "This one is clear," Russell said as he finished checking the office,
"Clear over here too," Jane said while sheathing her knife and leaving the bathroom, "I can't remember the last time I was in a town and didn't see a single walker,
"Think they all left with that last herd?" Russell guessed causing Jane to shrug in response while she began to search the store, "Hey, just wanted to say thanks for saving me back there,"
"You need to keep your eyes open," Jane simply retorted,
"Yeah, guess I can't argue with that, but that thing did just kinda jump up on me," Russell said in a light defense of himself, "Still, it probably would have taken a chunk out of me for sure if not for you,"
"Uh huh," Jane dryly replied,
"Plus, I think I should probably apologize for being such a shithead lately," Russell continued, "When you showed back up with Lee's group I figured you guys were just gonna rob and kill us,"
"Funny, pretty sure Lee was assuming the same thing about you," Jane grunted as she lifted a toppled shelf back up,
"Yeah, probably," Russell nodded before a long silence lingered between the searching pair,
Suddenly Jane let out a sharp exhale and glared over at the young man, "What are you doing?"
"Huh?" Russell replied in confusion,
"Why are you trying to be so buddy buddy?" Jane asked with a frown, "Are you trying to make a play for something?"
"What? No, it's not that," Russell swiftly assured her,
"Oh no," Jane hissed, "You aren't seriously trying to get into my fucking pants,"
"What?! Whoa, what the fuck? No, hell...I still thought you were with Luke," Russell exclaimed,
"I'm not "with" anyone, get me? So what, what's your issue? What do you want?" Jane finished with a glare,
"Nothing," Russell said with an exasperated exhale, "Look, I know I haven't been easy to get along with, and that's because I didn't trust you or anyone else in your group. I figured you guys were gonna be trying to pick us off one by one, or something. But when push came to shove, you saved me, you could have let me die and gotten rid of me forever but you didn't." Russell explained before giving a small shrug, "I don't know, I just figured you deserved some kind of apology from me for that,"
Jane stared at Russell for a long moment, seemingly getting a read on him before slowly turning back around and returning to her search. Russell in turn let out a short exhale relieved to get that off his chest. A few more minutes past before Jane spoke up, "So, what happened to you that got you so concerned with trusting people?" She asked with a semi rough tone,
"That's one hell of a long story," Russell merely replied as he grabbed a can off the top shelf behind the counter, tossing it into his bag,
Jane glanced back over to Russell expectantly, "Well, it's not like we have any other way to pass the time,"
Russell looked back in minor surprise that she was pressing him to talk, "Well, if you got the time...all goes back to two sideways ass holes named Steve and Nate…" Russell began while the pair turned the corner store upside down looking for the last of the supplies that remained inside.
Meanwhile back in the drugstore Vince and Shel were faring quite well for what they needed to find. On the counter at the pharmacy Vince had put together a small collection of straggler bottles of medicine. Shel on the other hand was putting together a small assortment of things for AJ, clothes, toys, and a very lucky pack of diapers were among the few items she found. "How's it looking Shel?" Vince called from the back of the store while he hopped over the counter,
"Alright, I mean I found almost everything I was looking for except…" Shel replied with a low exhale,
"Except?" Vince asked with a raised brow,
"Formula," Shel answered while standing up and grabbing her pack, "There's nothing here and we're gonna need more if AJ is going to survive, he's gonna need enough for four months at least, after that we can put him on real food,"
"Fuck, I mean if we stretch what we have back at camp it wouldn't even be close to a four month supply," Vince groaned as he tossed the medicine into his pack,
"Why do you think Carver kept a constant crew scavenging? He knew what AJ needed to make it if Rebecca died...and he was right," Shel hardly admitted,
"Hey, listen, nothing's gonna happen to AJ. We're gonna find what he needs and he's gonna be fine," Vince swiftly assured her rushing over, "Now come on, we got more places to search, and this town isn't empty. Who knows what could still be hidden around here." Shel couldn't help but softly smile towards Vince as he turned and headed towards the exit. After so long under Carver's heel, it was nice to see him making decisions again, being in charge, keeping them safe.
A few hours passed by as Vince's group searched the town, only getting through the first block before finally meeting back up. The day so far had been a relative success, Jane and Russell had found a bit of food which would go a long way to help their dwindling food supplies, as well as finding a bit of ammo which they were sure would fit something back home. Vince and Shel had located a bit more food as well as some luxury items that could provide some comfort. However, they still lacked two of their big items on the list, formula for AJ, and any gas to for their power supply.
On top of the town being quiet it was also seemingly vacant of ever housing human life. They hadn't come across a single car in the streets and of all things to be bothered by, it worried Vince the most. The Asian man continued to check his watch repeatedly watching the clock until he finally felt comfortable saying, "Guys, I think it's time to turn back, huh?"
Jane frowned and shook her head, "It's barely one Vince, Howe's is a two hour walk at most, and we may never get a better day to search this town. This has got to be the safest town I've come across in a year,"
"She's got a point man, and we haven't found any gas yet, we need that," Russell reminded him,
"Forget the gas, we need food for AJ, we can't go back without that Vince!" Shel nearly exclaimed with pleading eyes,
"I know, trust me guys, I hear all of that, but I'm getting a funny feeling about all of this," Vince replied while looking around the street, "It's weird, no cars, only walkers I can tell are ones who have wandered in, it's just...unsettling, like something is here but we just don't know about it,"
"You're probably right," Jane simply replied, "But that doesn't matter, keep that feeling, use it so you stay on guard but no matter where we go there's gonna be something off, we just need to pick the times to take a risk. And this place, this time, it's worth it,"
Russell and Shel both nodded their heads in agreement, "I'm not saying I like this place either Vince, but we need to find AJ formula," Shel gently pressed,
"Don't worry man, I got your back if anything goes down, but since it's not right now, I saw we stay," Russell added,
Vince let out an exasperated sigh and hung his head, "Alright fine, but we just finish off the rest of this block and then we turn back."
"Yeah, I can agree with that, we probably won't have much time after anyway," Jane replied while leading the trio to a side entrance on a store, "Upper floor is probably going to be apartments, so be on guard,"
Shel turned to Vince as Russell followed Jane up, "Should we stick with them this time?"
"Yeah," Vince instantly agreed, "I don't want us split up anymore," Shel nodded and followed as Vince entered the building as well.
Back at Howe's Lee spent some time making his way around the store and even out through the expansion. The walls that Vince and Kenny rebuilt were firm, by far stronger than the ones Carver had initially put up. With the possibility of making them even better and more resistant to whatever dead would be against them Lee felt comfortable enough with the idea of actually using the extra space of the two stores inside their safe zone.
As Lee approached the comic store he heard a yell from above, "Hey Lee, hold up there a sec would ya!" The one armed man looked up and saw Luke quickly handing Wyatt his rifle, "Just a sec, be right there, I wanted to ask you something!" The southern man shouted in almost panic while rushing towards the roof access door.
Lee let out a small laugh through his nose and put his hand in his pocket, waiting for Luke. Moments later the man burst out of Howe's and down the street towards Lee, "Easy, I'm not going anywhere,"
Luke doubled over in front of Lee and took some deep panting breaths, "Sorry I just...fuck...I just needed to talk to you about something," Luke explained,
"Okay? So what is it?" Lee replied as the man stood up,
Before Lee could reply Clementine came bursting out of Howe's as well, "Luke, Lee, you okay?!"
"Yeah Clem, everything is fine," Lee calmly replied with a wave of his hand,
"What? But I just saw Luke run out of here like a crazy person!" Clementine exclaimed while looking over to Luke,
"Sorry Clem, I didn't mean to scare you I was just running to catch Lee so I could talk to him about-Ow!" Luke yelled as Clementine swiftly socked him in the arm,
"You're such an idiot!" Clementine berated the twenty-seven year old, "I was freaking out!"
"I said sorry, geez," Luke winced while rubbing her arm,
Lee couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh, "Guess I won't have to tell you not to do that again,"
"Yeah no kidding," Luke agreed with a side glance to Clementine who was still glaring at him, "Anyway back to what I was saying,"
Clementine began to turn away but Lee quickly stopped her, "Clem stick around, you can help me decide if Luke's got something here," Lee quickly said,
Clementine turned back with a smile, "Okay, sure,"
Luke looked between the pair making sure they were set before finally continuing, "So, what I was thinking was this," Luke began while leading the pair into the comic shop, "Back when I snuck in here trying to save y'all from Carver, I stayed in here for a few days. At first it was just for safety, you know, but thinking back at it, this store was perfect. Even without a heater it kept warm all night, not to mention the blinds and open space, I think this could make a damn good bunkhouse," He said with a smile,
"A bunkhouse?" Clementine asked looking to Lee in minor confusion,
"Basically a giant bedroom," Lee clarified for the girl, "And I don't know Luke, once we get the power going for good, the old bunk room in Howe's should-"
"Lee, I was here a long time before y'all showed up, Howe's is good for a lot of things but it was never good for sleeping. Even when we weren't in the pen, the bunk room wasn't any better, it was still cold and uncomfortable. This place would be perfect for it, I'm sure Vince or Kenny could start building some bed frames, or maybe we could even just grab a few from a store or something. Then after that, we just hit up a few hours, take the mattresses and we got a perfect place for everyone to sleep."
Lee let out a slow nod before looking to Clementine, "What do you think, Clem?"
"Well, I think staying here would be a lot better than staying in the pen anymore," Clementine replied, "And if Luke says it's better than inside there...then I trust him,"
Luke gave the girl a thankful smile before back to Lee, "What do you say, I'll even lead the runs for the beds,"
Lee let out a slow exhale while he looked around the store once more, "Alright fine, but you're in charge of finding people to clear it out," Lee replied. "You're gonna have to deal with the shelves and the counter for starters,"
"No problem, I'll get Nick in here tomorrow, maybe Bonnie too," Luke grinned, "What about you Clem, want to help me out?"
"Didn't I just do that by agreeing to this?" The little girl replied with a sarcastic smile,
"You've been spending too much time with Molly," Lee noted only to hear the walkie talkie on his belt go off. Instantly he grabbed the device and held it up to his mouth, "What was that? Say again?"
"I said, get your ass to the door and open it up, were back and you're gonna wanna see this," Kenny's voice replied through some short static.
Lee looked to Luke who nodded and quickly jogged over to the loading bay doors quickly pulling the rolling door up. "Holy shit," Clementine gasped as she saw the trio walking up the parking lot towards them. Kenny had a large deer slung over his shoulder while Nick and Molly both carried close to a dozen squirrel and rabbits.
"Dinner is served," Molly called out with a smile.
Back in the town by the river Vince's group were entering the final second floor apartment on the block just around four in the afternoon. "Guys were gonna have to make this one quick, we gotta get back before five or Lee's gonna freak,"
"Yeah, yeah, Vince, don't worry we'll make it fast," Russell replied as he set his rifle down on the table and began to search along with Jane.
Vince let out a small frown before making his way towards a window and peering out, looking over the town. After a long few moments he leaned closer and squinted his eyes, "The hell?" He whispered under his breath before quickly pulling his pack off and digging out a pair of binoculars. Putting them up to his eyes he looked over by the church tower and saw the clear sign of black smoke rising into the air.
Vince lowered the binoculars and blinked a few times, making sure he wasn't just seeing things. He then looked back through the binoculars and began to look around again. He couldn't make out a lot at first but then he noticed a row of solar panels on a few roofs. "What the fuck?" He hissed under his breath before finally looking a bit further down and seeing a large gate made out of wooden scraps with cars wrapping around the edges of a man made wall.
Vince's jaw dropped and he lowered the binoculars slowly, he hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to react. Vince finally began to utter the start of a sentence only to be silenced as he heard a click of a gun and the feeling of a cold barrel pressing against the back of his neck, "Don't move." The voice hissed out.
Okay so here we are, a big chapter to be sure, and I have some big plans for this new community that Vince discovered as well as other things to come! I hope you all liked the chapter and I'd love to hear your thoughts on what happened or what you think will happen. Either way, I will be back soon with the next one so I'll catch you all then!