The group quickly walked down the stairs for a way to escape. The sun was beginning to rise, so they didn't have trouble seeing. But when Lee opened up the bottom door, some more walkers were meandering on the other side. They looked up and growled hungrily.
"Fuck!" Kenny cried as Lee slammed the door.
"That's not gonna hold. Back upstairs!" Lee ordered.
No one needed to be told twice, but Kenny noticed a dead body with a loaded shotgun, and briefly struggled to get the gun. "Lee, look!" he called, and tossed it over to his friend. The door finally opened, and Lee carefully aimed the rifle.
He was able to shoot some walkers down while cautiously going backwards up the stairs until his leg got caught in a loose step. Hurriedly, he began prying it out, having to shoot some more walkers in the process.
Once his leg was free, he was finally able to run up the stairs and catch up with the rest of the group. Carlos was looking out what seemed to be a broken window, "Any way out of here?" he asked.
"This leads to the roof," Christa said, "We might be able to find a way down from there."
"I can see the sewer where we came in!" Carlos said.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kenny asked. "Let's go!" Each of them climbed down from the window, hurrying so the walkers wouldn't catch up to them. Ben was the last to climb out the window, and finally the group was hurrying, trying to get back to the sewer that they came from.
They were lucky enough to get through the sewer and back to the house without any problems, and entered through the backyard.
"Omid?" Christa called.
"Clementine!" Lee reciprocated.
"Sarah?" Carlos was the last to speak up.
At that, two thundering sets of footsteps came running down the stairs. Sarah and Clementine brightened at the fact that everyone had returned safely.
"Lee!" Clementine cried.
"Dad!" Sarah exclaimed. "You're back!"
Both girls ran to hug their respective loved ones, both men returning them without a second thought.
"You made it back!" Clementine nearly yelled.
"Told you we would, didn't we?" Lee smiled.
"Did you find my parents?"
"No, Clem, I'm sorry. Crawford...there just wasn't time," Lee answered honestly.
"Oh..." she replied, unable to think of a more proper response.
"How's Lilly and Omid?" Lee asked.
Clementine shrugged. "Lilly is fine, but Omid..." she trailed off, and Lee frowned. That could only mean that his condition had worsened overnight while they were gone collecting supplies. He just hoped that they weren't too late, and they were still able to save him.
"Carlos?" Christa called from upstairs. "Can you come check on Omid?"
"I'll be right back, Sarah," Carlos said, and walked upstairs with Lee following him. He needed to make sure that Omid was still okay. When they arrived upstairs, they saw Christa kneeling beside Omid, who looked nearly unconscious. Maybe it was too late after all.
"Stay back, Christa..." Lee warned.
"I never should have left you..." Christa trailed off, talking to Omid. "I'm so sorry." Suddenly, Omid awoke, and Lee pushed Christa back, just in case he had turned.
"Back already?" Omid asked.
"We got you some medicine," Christa told him, smiling, glad her boyfriend was okay.
"Good, feel like I could use some," he replied.
Carlos opened one of the medicine bottles they had retrieved and placed some pills into Omid's mouth. At that, Christa seemed more content that Omid would be fine. Omid sighed and looked around.
"Guys, what the hell happened out there?" he inquired, but no one answered, as Kenny had left the room.
"With a little luck, you should start feeling better pretty soon," Carlos informed Omid. "Let me know if you need anything."
"Thanks, Doc," Omid acknowledged him, lying back down to try and get some more sleep.
"Yes, thank you so much," Christa agreed wholeheartedly, still smiling.
Carlos nodded and walked out of the room to check on Sarah again and ask her how things had gone the previous night. He found her sitting on the couch, cleaning up the board game that she had won yesterday.
"Oh, hi, Daddy," Sarah greeted him with a smile.
"Hey, honey," Carlos returned the acknowledgement. "Everything went okay last night? How was Lilly?"
Sarah nodded. "I read to Clementine, and after she went to sleep, I found Lilly in one of the rooms, and we talked. She let me stay with her last night, too."
"That's good." Carlos was relieved that nothing awry had happened, and it seemed like Lilly hadn't lashed out again.
"Carlos," Kenny said, coming into the room, "I think we need to get the group in here and have a little talk." Then, he lowered his voice. "About your girlfriend?"
"My...what?" Carlos was confused, and gave him an odd look.
Kenny rolled his eyes. "About Lilly."
"What about her?" Carlos asked simply. To him, she seemed to be making improvement with her mental state. Kenny only ignored him as he called everyone into the living room except the kids, Lilly, and of course Omid who was still upstairs getting rest. The antibiotics and painkillers probably made him drowsy.
"What's all this about, Kenny?" Lee asked. It was unlike him to call group meetings and whatnot. And the rest of the group was just as equally confused. They were all tired from the trip from Crawford, and just wanted to get some rest. None of them felt like hearing a lecture from Kenny.
"You know what it's about," he retorted.
"Well, go on," Christa prompted.
Kenny crossed his arms. "There ain't enough room on the boat for all of us," he said bluntly.
"And what are you implying?" Molly asked, giving him a stern look. It still seemed as though she were expecting to get on as payment.
"She's a 30-footer," Kenny replied, telling her what he had told Lee and Carlos before leaving last night. "That's only big enough to hold five people, even with two kids here. We need to talk about who's going along, and who we're gonna cut loose."
Carlos now seemed to understand what the situation was all about. "And this is why you wanted to mention Lilly," he stated.
"With her state, she ain't gonna be fit to hold on for much longer," Kenny pointed out. "The first thing she'll do is start destroying the place, attracting enough dead things for miles. She's gonna get someone killed."
"Now, hold on a minute, Kenny," Lee spoke up then, holding up his hand. "We don't know if that's true or not. She's grieving, same as you; we need to give her time."
Kenny opened his mouth to reply when Ben stepped into the room, looking incredibly guilty about something. The older man grumbled to himself and said, "Can't it wait, kid? We're kind of in the middle of somethin' here."
Ben sighed, looking everyone in the eye with full remorse. "I have something to say, and it can't wait. I-It's important."
Lee seemed to know what the teenager was coming on about, and frowned. "Ben, we talked about this," he cautioned.
Ben shook his head. "I can't keep walking around with this on my chest. I need to tell him," he said sadly.
"What's he talking about?" Christa asked.
"This is all my fault," Ben started.
"Ben..." Lee warned again.
"No Lee! I need to say this," he nearly yelled. His voice got lower then, "It's been me all along, putting all of us in danger. Katjaa and Duck, it was all me. It was all me!" He confessed.
Kenny's eyes widened in realization. "Wait a minute... What are you saying?"
"It was me who made the deal with the bandits!" he said. "I was the one slipping them our supplies. I thought I could keep them off our backs, you know? But it didn't work...it's all my fault. Katjaa, Duck, Carley, and even Larry. If I wouldn't have messed up at the motor inn, we still would have been safe there." He finally finished, and Kenny couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Before any of them could say anything, Lilly stormed into the room. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY?"
"What the fuck, Ben!?" Kenny's voice was quiet, but you could tell he was upset.
"Lilly, calm down," Carlos grabbed her shoulders in an attempt to get her to stay calm.
She turned to look at him. "Carlos, if you know what's good for you, let me go." Her voice was harsh, and Carlos could tell she was serious. Meanwhile Lee had to hold Kenny back, he was infuriated.
"Kenny, calm down!" Lee scolded.
"YOU LITTLE PISSANT! YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD, YOU HEAR ME? DEAD!" Kenny hollered, ignoring Lee. Carlos was helping hold him back now. "MY WIFE, AND CHILD! YOU GOT THEM BOTH FUCKING KILLED!"
"Kenny, this'll only make the situation worse!" Lee continued. "Now stop struggling!"
Kenny struggled for only a couple of seconds, before obliging and falling limp. Lee and Carlos let go of him, and he didn't lash out again.
"Nice group you got here," Molly commented sarcastically, a smirk crossing her lips.
"Not the time, Molly!" Lee chided.
"IF THIS ASSHOLE THINKS HE'S GETTING ON MY BOAT, AFTER WHAT HE DID, THEN HE'S OUT OF HIS MOTHERFUCKING MIND!" Kenny screamed, and it was a wonder how neither the girls or Omid had come downstairs.
Lilly had a dangerous look on her face, angrier than anyone had ever seen her. She pulled out a gun that she had somehow acquired from her back pocket, and pointed it straight between Ben's eyes.
The only other person who noticed was Lee, and he ran over and grabbed her arm right as she pulled the trigger, moving it away. The bullet left a rather noticeable hole in the wall, and Ben was shaking with fear.
"LILLY!" Carlos yelled.
"This is the shit I'm talking about!" Kenny said. "She's fucking batshit crazy!"
"I AM NOT FUCKING CRAZY!" she screamed right back.
"You almost shot Ben!" Lee exclaimed.
"He got everyone in our group killed, including my father," she spoke.
"And my whole fucking family," Kenny spoke up.
"I'm sorry," Ben said sadly. "If you want, you can leave me behind."
"Well, you sure as fuck aren't coming with us," Kenny sneered at him as Lee snatched the gun from Lilly's hands. Lilly whipped around and shot Lee a ferocious glare, not much unlike the one she was giving Ben.
"It's for your own good, Lilly," Lee scolded her.
"For my own good?" Lilly snapped back. "What the fuck were you expecting me to do, Lee? He's only gonna get more people killed! Think about Clementine, for God's sake!" The last part caught Lee off guard.
"I'm sorry. I'm so, SO sorry," Ben said again, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.
"But sorry won't bring my dad back, will it?" Lilly retorted, whirling back around to face him. "Sorry won't bring anyone back! Sorry won't bring back the supplies you cost us! You fucked up, and you know it!"
At that, Molly laughed a bit sarcastically, muttering something under her breath. Lee swore he could hear the word "Crawford," but couldn't catch anything else.
"Wait a sec," Christa spoke up. "Ben didn't get Carley or Larry killed, or even Chuck for that matter..." she added, "It was the bells."
"Bells?" Lilly questioned, and her eyes widened it realization. "It was you." She was glaring right at Molly.
"Now wait just a minute before you start throwing your accusations over here," Molly retorted. "I didn't do shit." Indirectly, though, Lilly was right. Molly was the one who had rang the bell sending the walkers to the area that they happened to be in. Those walkers killed Larry, Carley, and Chuck. "Somebody better get her," she added.
"Lilly, please, you're not thinking straight," Carlos said.
"She got my father killed...that selfish bitch killed my dad," Lilly spoke. It was as if the group was falling apart right before their eyes.
There was a tense silence in the air for what seemed like hours, though in reality it was only a few seconds. Since she didn't have her weapon anymore, Lilly tried to lunge for Molly, only to be held back by Lee. Molly jumped back and took out her ice pick, ready to attack at any moment if she needed to.
"LET...GO...OF ME!" Lilly screeched. She continued to struggle, but Lee was much physically stronger, and it only had to take him to hold her back. "SHE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! HE WAS ALL I HAD, AND SHE KILLED HIM! LET...ME...GO!"
"Lilly, stop it right now!" Lee ordered, tightening his grasp around her torso.
Carlos snuck up behind Molly and grabbed her ice pick from her hands, pocketing it. "Hey!" Molly yelled, turning around and glaring at the doctor.
"We don't need to settle things like this," Carlos spoke up to everyone, trying to help calm the situation.
"This is getting way out of hand!" Christa agreed, holding her hands up.
Lilly eventually gave up, and quit struggling altogether. Lee decided that it was safe enough to let her go, and he did so slowly. Lilly dropped to her knees and began letting out shaky breaths. "Nobody fucking touch me," she warned dangerously.
"Okay, enough with this," Lee spoke up. "Everybody just go get some rest, and we'll talk about the boat later," he ordered, and everyone seemed to agree with that. After all, they were all tired from the trip. He headed upstairs to the room that Clementine was already fast asleep in. Good thing she was asleep, or else she might have heard the whole argument downstairs. Lee then laid down on one of the many sofas, closing his eyes, he was asleep in an instant. Hours later, when he woke, Clementine seemed to be gone. He headed downstairs and the house seemed to be eerily empty.
"Clementine?" he called out, but received no answer. Even outside the house, he didn't get an answer from her. Where could she have gone?
"Clementine? Clementine!" he yelled out again, but there was still silence. He looked straight ahead and noticed her hat on the ground by Larry's grave, lying there without its owner. "Oh my God..."
Lee walked over and picked it up, before hearing a static noise just outside the fence. He climbed over it and saw Clementine's walkie-talkie on the sidewalk, and picked it up.
Suddenly, a walker jumped out of nowhere, but Lee was quick enough to jump back. He kicked it down and stomped on its head until he heard the cracking of the skull, and inspected his body. Luckily, he wasn't bitten, and he sighed with relief.
"Lee? Lee? You out here? Lee!" Christa called. He turned around and noticed everyone with the exception of Molly walking over to him.
"Are you crazy?" Kenny asked. "What are you doing out here? It ain't safe!"
"Lee, where's Clementine?" Omid asked. "She's not in her room."
"Yeah, I woke up and she wasn't there," Sarah added.
"I can't find her," Lee admitted. "She's gone."
"There's no chance she just wandered off on her own?" Omid asked.
Lee shook his head. "No. No way."
"Then who the hell took her?" Kenny asked.
Lee shrugged. "I don't know, unless..." He looked down at the radio in his hands that he had picked up.
"That fucker on the radio," Kenny muttered.
"Wherever she is, I have to find her," Lee replied.
"We will find her, Lee," Carlos assured. "She couldn't have gone too far," he added, and the rest of the group agreed.
"I just hope she's okay," Lee said. "We should get going right away."
"Now hold up," Kenny stopped him, "you're not thinking about bringing Ben with us, are you?" he asked.
"Deal with it, Kenny," Lee told him. "The way I see it, Ben still has a chance it make things right, if he wants it. How about it, Ben?"
"I don't know," Ben said hesitantly. "Whatever you think is best."
"I can't make that decision for you, Ben. You have to decide that for yourself."
"You've been good to me, Lee. Even when it's not been easy. Whatever I can do to help, you can count on me." This made Sarah smile.
"What about the boat? We're just gonna leave it unguarded?" Kenny questioned.
"If someone was gonna take it, they'd have done it by now," Christa spoke up. "What other choice do we have?"
"Let's head out," Lee said.
So the group began walking away from the house, Lilly glancing back at her father's grave. Carlos didn't like the idea of Sarah coming along, but he couldn't leave her at the house alone, and he didn't exactly trust Molly (if she was still there). Lee was determined to find out whoever took Clementine, and soon.