I wasn't sure when I started this chapter, but I got more confident with it the more I wrote. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! (Have you noticed I am trying to make the chapters longer?) Reviews are always appreciated!
Lee froze up mid-step.
"Ben..." Lee sighed angrily. Anger heated his blood, but also felt bad for the poor teenager in front of him. Ben's eyes were red and slightly swollen from crying.
Ben sniffed, "They said they had my friend. I didn't know what to do."
Lee frowned seriously, letting his pissed off side take control, "Ben, do you realize that you put everybody's lives at risk! What if I hadn't seen Lilly pulling out the gun? What would've happened, Ben!? What if the bandits ended up killing somebody? People could have died," Lee snapped. He wasn't angry about his injury, but Ben's foolishness had risked so many lives.
Ben, looking distressed, managed to choke out with a sob, "You're right, Lee...and Duck getting bitten is my fault, too. Every time I look at Duck or Carley or you, I feel guilty. I couldn't take it without telling someone."
Lee shook his head gently, his fit of rage subsiding, "No, Ben. It's true you put the group at risk, but Duck getting bitten was not your fault. It was nobody's fault. You understand?"
Ben nodded unconvincingly, and put his head back in his palm. Lee took this as a signal that Ben wanted to be alone to think, probably about the pain he has caused. Lee climbed the short ladder that hung from the side of the next train car and walked down the metal pathway that jutted from the bottom of the car. His hand trailed along the railing as he walked towards the front of the train. He opened the door silently and stepped inside. Kenny sat in the conductor's chair, a map held tightly in his hands.
"Hey, uh, Ken?" Lee asked gently, seeing Kenny's expression - a blank stare - as he gazed unseeingly at the map.
The older man jumped slightly and looked back at Lee.
"Oh. Hey, Lee," he muttered, returning his attention to the paper clutched in his hands.
Lee took a step forward, only to almost trip over a large object. Looking down, he spotted a rotted corpse lay a beside his feet, part of its head smashed in beyond recognition. Probably used to be the engineer, judging by what it was wearing. Used to be a person. Lee shivered and looked away. You never really get used to seeing things like that; thinking about their lives before the apocalypse made it even worse. He stepped over the corpse so he stood beside where Kenny sat in a chair.
"Kenny, what are you looking at?" he asked, looking at the map over Kenny's shoulder.
"A map," Kenny stated obviously in a tone that meant he didn't want to talk. Lee noticed a blinking button on surrounded by levers and knobs. His heart fluttered.
"Wait. Does this...work?" he asked, reaching towards the rapidly blinking button. This got Kenny's attention. The map was thrown across the room and Kenny was looking at the button in a split second. Lee took a breath and pushed it.
The train let out a loud hiss.
"I'll be damned. How the hell do we get it movin'?" Kenny questioned enthusiastically, leaning forward to check out the controls.
Lee studied the maze of random knobs, levers and buttons for a moment, "I don't know."
His eyes caught on a legal pad hanging on some sort of small metal separation wall. He leaned down to look at it more closely. The page was torn, but the top was labeled 'Engine Startup'.
"Shit, this is it! Instructions on starting the engine!" Lee paused a moment after his exclamation, "Damn. Pages are gone," he muttered frustratedly. Sure, the train worked, but how were they supposed to go anywhere when you can't start the engine?
Peering at the paper more closely, he noticed something.
"I can kinda see the indentations from the writing," he observed hopefully. But there was no way you could read them like that. Hell, he could barely see it.
Clementine! He realized suddenly as he remembered when he had seen the girl doing something called a 'leaf rubbing', where you put a leaf under some paper and shade the paper with pressure, and a picture identical to the leaf appears. Lee smiled - Clem would be so happy when he told her that she had given him the information that would help him get the train started.
Lee left the cab in a hurry, speed-walking down the metal pathway with a spring in his step. He climbed down the short ladder hastily, skipping several bars at once. He ran towards the where Clementine was sitting on a log in the clearing, along with Ben and Katjaa, who was clutching Duck in her arms. Lee felt guilt punch him in the stomach. He forgot to give Katjaa the water for Duck. Turning away from Clem for a moment, he crouched down next to Katjaa, looking at the little boy in her arms. Duck was ghostly pale and coughed feebly, his whole body shaking. It was obvious that he wasn't going to make it.
Lee took out the bottle of water which had been tucked in his pocket and presented it to Katjaa.
"Here. Carley found some water and told me to give it to you for Duck," he explained with a quick nod down at Duck.
Katjaa smiled appreciatively, "Ah, thank you. Perfect."
Lee was about to turn away when she said quietly, "He's allergic to bees."
Lee looked at her.
"Is that right?" he asked, confused.
"It's all I can keep thinking about. Like somehow that matters," she explained. Her eyes looked pained and her she wore one of the most defeated frowns Lee had ever seen. He realized then that she, unlike her husband, knew what was going to happen and wasn't trying to lie to herself.
Lee was worried about Katjaa. He had seen a fair share of emotional pain, but it paled in comparison to the expression of her face and the darkness in her eyes.
"It doesn't," Lee told her, looking at Duck. He could imagine Duck before, when humans roamed the earth instead of monsters. A smile always on his face, and always so loud. A little boy allergic to bees, but never was scared of them. Hell, Duck probably played with the bees. He also probably got in trouble with the teachers a lot for not paying attention (he never really does). Suddenly, Lee wanted to know everything about the boy in front of him, the boy in front of him whose breaths were coming in gasps and his fingers unable to twitch. He wanted to know everything before this little boy was gone.
In response to what Lee had stated earlier, Katjaa sighed, "I know. Well, I don't. But you're probably right."
Lee gave her a simple nod and stood back up. He still wanted to learn more about Duck, but he had things that he needed to do. Walking to Clementine, he squatted to be at eye-level with her.
"There's a notepad on the train. Do you have any pencils or anything in your pack?" he asked her.
"No, I wish. Maybe in the RV?" she suggested, but then added curiously, "What do you need it for?"
Lee smiled, "There used to be something written of the notepad that I need to know about. I remembered what you did with the leaf-rubbing and I thought it would work in the same way."
Clementine's face brightened, "Maybe when you're done with it, I could have it? I'm out of paper and there's all sorts of new leaves around here!"
Clementine's smile made Lee happier. If she could be cheerful at a time like this, then he could try a little harder.
Lee strode towards the RV, hoping that Clem was right. He pulled the door open and stepped up into the RV. He closed the door behind him, even though it wasn't necessary. Old habits die hard. He looked over to see Lilly, still sitting in the RV. He hadn't noticed until now, but her hands were bound behind her back. She glared at him, but remained silent.
No wonder she's been in here the whole time, he thought, I was wondering why it was so quiet.
Ignoring Lilly, he surveyed the room, searching for a pencil. He spotted one protruding out of the cup holder.
Eureka! He thought as he grasped it in his fist. No way he was losing this pencil.
He thought about when he was a history teacher in the UGA. Pencils were everywhere, lying on the ground uselessly or snapped in half. He never thought something as simple as a pencil would help him start a train.
He swiveled around, only to be startled by Lilly. She was standing up, her hands unbound. How had she undone them so fast? Was she faking it before?
"I'm leaving," she said simply with a slight turn of her head and shrug of her shoulders.
Lee stopped. What exactly did she mean?
"I'm going to stop you," he warned her. No matter how she was going to leave, she knew that the rest of the group had let her stay for a reason. What reason, he did not know.
"No you're not. I'm not going to hurt you," Lilly responded darkly, "Come with me. We could take the RV right now."
There was no way he was going to leave.
"Come on, Lilly..." he reasoned with her, but she interrupted him before he could add to his statement.
"I didn't think you would say yes," she looked disappointed.
In an attempt to convince her to stay, Lee rationalized, "I can't let you take the RV. Don't be crazy."
She scowled, "You're not letting me take it," her face fell, "I'm sorry, Lee. I really am."
The next thing Lee felt was Lilly's hands shoving him harshly backwards, his back hitting the door, and the ground rushing to meet him face-to-face.
When I first typed this, I used Katjaa's name way to much. Its just really fun to say and type . Also, did you guys notice what I did? :) If you did, I didn't even do it intentionally. It worked out perfectly, though.