The people have spoken! Once again, I greatly appreciate the reviews, you guys are all so awesome. Thank you.

Someone was asking me whether this would be a weekly series, and to be honest, I don't really know. I would like to apply that format but I can be busy with college n' stuff so yeah... I'll try update as regularly as I can.

Anyway, on with the story. Left you all with a tough decision in the last chapter.


Carley stirred in her ragged slumber, her appearance was ghostly. Lee grimaced and knelt down beside his close friend, hoping she would awake and give them some knowledge of how she was feeling. Feeling the antibiotic case in his pocket, he sighed. Carley needed them, and this medication was sacred; wasting them on a whim would be the same as throwing them away. Lee knew he would never forgive himself for it, but he knew that it was Carley that needed them more. There just was no proof that they would even help Duck, as much as Lee wanted to help the poor child. Carley's pained expression made Lee cave in with pity for her.

Hesitantly, he brushed a loose strand of her deep brown hair behind her ear. Lee missed her voice, he missed her intense eyes, her helpful guidance, he missed their harmless jokes between themselves, testing their wits against each other. Lilly had gone completely overboard, and just looking at Carley put his doubts to rest about whether leaving her behind was the right choice. A desolate sigh escaped his lips as he inspected the woman, watching in slight comfort as her chest rose and fell.

"Lee?"

He snapped his head around in an instance to the unexpected voice, seeing a freshly awoken Clementine shyly standing behind him, sleep still evident in her eyes. He hadn't heard awake, or sneak up on him. Lee cleared his throat awkwardly, turning to face the little girl, who seemed a mixture of confused and concerned; standing up on her tippy toes to glance over his shoulder at the wounded lady.

"I was just checking on Carley, sweet pea. How are you?" Lee brushed off, trying to give a glow of reassurance to her.

Clementine faltered slightly; eyes trained at her shoes, as if she was embarrassed about something. "I'm fine, I think. Is Carley going to be okay? She doesn't look good."

Lee had to swallow back some of the pain which was developing in his chest. Clementine had the discreet ability of telling the situation as it was, but not really intending to do so. She said what she saw, it was just in her childlike nature, he couldn't blame her for pessimism. Behind Lee, was a woman in bad condition, and he was trying to convince himself that she Carley was going to be fine. But in truth, Lee was scared; scared of losing her.

Not scared, petrified.

The reporter was drifting away to the edge, the point of no return. It was sickening as he could only watch her descent.

"I'm sure we'll get her right Clem, we'll get Katjaa to look at her, okay?" Lee was lying to himself.

Clementine seemed skeptical, but nodded determinedly. Lee stood up straight and nabbed her hat, ruffling her curly locks jokingly; trying to lighten the sombre atmosphere. He earned a giggle from her, as she carefully repositioned her cherished cap on her head.

The crisp air of the morning was refreshing, a vast change in comparison to the musty circulation of the RV. Clementine stepped timidly out of the vehicle, taking in the scene around her. Trees as far as the eye could view, all different kinds adorned the roadside, filling her with hope of new leaf rubbing possibilities. But all of these came crashing down when she caught sight of the boy who held weakly onto his grieving mother. Clementine was aware of Duck's situation, but she was not ready for how apparent it was. This wasn't the same boy that she played and became fast friends with, the same boy that whether she liked it or not, forced her to go on imaginative and wild adventures in the confined space of the motor inn, this wasn't the same boy that she toed and froed devilish pranks with, all in the name of good humour; this was a very sick child. A boy who she could barely recognize as the enthusiastic, exuberant friend he once was, a boy so devoid of life that it seemed blinking his eyes was a massive struggle to him.

Lee noticed the drop of her face, placing a gentle hand on her agitated shoulder. Ben slinked up to the man clumsily, his reddish brown hair sticking out in all directions after an uncomfortable nights sleep.

"Why don't you and I look around?" The teen suggested, seeming rather eager to search the train and the unknown treasures it could hold within.

Lee silently agreed with the plan, turning back to the rest of the group who were resting upon a nearby fallen log. "Yeah, everyone else relax. I'll check in on Carley every now and again to see how she's doing." He remarked to the others. "Clem, stay close to Kenny and Kat." The girl nodded absentmindedly, her thoughts somewhere else.

"Lee, if you come across anything to drink, if there's a dining car or something, I think Duck's a bit dehydrated." Katjaa requested, observing her fragile son as he clutched onto her arm.

"It's a freighter hon." Kenny corrected, before glancing over at Lee. "Be careful in there." His voice was tired, the man had been driving all throughout the night. Lee had to sneer at his warning. "What, you think there might be something dangerous inside of an abandoned locomotive?" He sarcastically jested, walking out of their line of hearing.

"Hadn't crossed my mind."


The door screeched open, showering the inside of the freight car in light. Lee grimaced in slight disgust at the sight of the grimy interior. Ben peaked in over his shoulder, an unsure look about him. Lee clambered into the train car with a huff, studying the unorganized stacks of possessions in the corner of the carriage. A weary mattress, springs jutting out the sides due to age, an out-of-place lawn chair, several flattened cardboard boxes other miscellaneous trinkets cramped the back end of the car.

"Wow."

Lee glanced back at Ben, the teenager seemed to look slightly concerned about where the owner of these things was.

Somebody's been livin' in here." Lee mumbled as Ben followed him up into the train.

"Yeah, man. Shit. Think they're gone?" He asked, it was only when Ben stood beside him that Lee realized that the kid towered over him in height, he would have felt intimidated if Ben didn't give off such a harmless aura.

"I hope so." Lee sighed, crossing his arms. "But this looks recently used. Be on the lookout and have your guard up." Ben simply nodded and began poking around the carriage, scanning around for anything useful. Spotting a clipboard on the grimy floor, Lee stooped down and grabbed it, seeing if it was of any worth to them. The page contained various lines of different colours and many small fonted numbers beside them, Lee recognized and presumed it to be the map of the tracks. Lee noticed the layout of Georgia, following the yellow line to the coast, where it ended in Savannah.

Lee's eyes widened in surprise, that was where Kenny was bringing them all in the RV. The train would be unstoppable, they could barge through any army of walkers or bandits between them and the coast. Then again, remembering the deplorable wreckage this train was in, that plan sounded ambitious at best. Lee spotted the crinkled bottle of water near the door of the train; inspecting it carefully, the bottle itself was smeared in dirt, the liquid inside appeared serene.

Climbing back out of the train, Lee strolled back over to Clem, who seemed as peaceful as someone could be at a time like this.

"Hey sweet pea. You okay out here?"

Lee watched as Clementine gazed over at Duck, her golden eyes seemed dimmed and her lips were fixed into an eternal frown.

"I don't think Duck feels good." The girl admitted, her eyes a gateway of despair, Clementine was truly miserable watching her friend slowly diminish beside her. Lee could only unwillingly nod at her presumption.

"Me neither." Lee sighed.


"Are you fucking serious?!"

"Here, look."

Ben pushed past Lee and fearlessly pressed the flashing yellow button. Steam hissed out of the trains engine, making Lee's heart jump as to what was happening; prepared to scald Ben for his foolishness, but the powerful steed stood ready for its next move, and more importantly it didn't self destruct as Lee was fearing irrationally, usually you don't press buttons thats use is unknown, but that didn't apply to the curious teenager.

"It's just the breaks." Ben crossed his arms as he observed the dashboard behind them, several more lights sparking up on the wall.

"Okay, I'll give you that one." Lee smirked.

The door swung open, Kenny bounding into the booth with a large smile etched onto his wrinkled face. "This fucker works?!" He questioned, his voice rich in newfound hope.

"Seems like it." Lee shrugged in response, making sure Ben didn't press anymore switches.

Kenny climbed into the conductor's seat, studying the layout of the controls in front of him. Lee could only grin at the mans sudden enthusiasm, it was almost refreshing. "I'll be damned." He uttered. "How the hell do we get it movin'?"

"I don't know, ask Mister Amtrak over here." Lee nodded to Ben, who was dragging the previous conductor out of the compartment.

"No clue." He called back in reply.

Lee pulled the clipboard out and flashed it to Kenny. "We found this in the boxcar back there." Handing it to Kenny, the older mans face lit up in delight, relishing the chance of halving their time to reach the coastline. "Is this what it looks like?" Kenny followed the yellow line to Savannah with a grimy thumbnail.

"I think so." Lee gave a gratified smile.

"This hoss will take us right to Savannah. A hundred tonnes of steel. Put a thousand walkers between us and the ocean and we don't have to give a shit!" Kenny revelling at the opportunity. "I can't believe it..."

"We just have to figure out how to get it started." Lee proclaimed.

Kenny didn't seemed too perplexed by the matter. "I'm sure we can figure it out, how hard can it be?"

Lee shrugged, wiping some dirt onto his trousers. "No idea, but we'll find out."

"That's the spirit." Kenny grinned in captivation for the large vehicle. Ben marched back into the booth, seeming enlivened to work with the train. Kenny glanced over at the kid and sneered slightly.

"Ben, if you could keep an eye on the girls and Duck, I'd appreciate it. I'm going to make sense of these controls." Kenny hollered over to him. A look of dejection crept onto his face, as he quietly obeyed and departed back to the the front. Lee knew Ben was trying to prove himself to the group, and he wanted to examine the train some more, but Kenny appeared to not trust him, and he always treated Ben like a child. Ben was transgressing transforming into an adult, but Kenny wasn't buying it.

A sigh of solace came from Kenny. "This could be exactly what we need." His words were full of relief. This was exactly what they deserved, it was what Kenny deserved. A little let-off, some slack from the heavy burden he was carrying right now.

Lee picked around the conductors booth, looking for any clues as to get the locomotive moving again. Searching over through the plethora of scrunched up papers, he saw a picture of a family. Two young kids, a smiling wife, a burly man; but a proud one nonetheless. Lee sighed as he doubted this man ever saw his family again before he died.

Now, Kenny was losing his son. And Lee could sense trouble brewing along with it.


"Goddamn it. Goddamn it!"

Frustration bubbled up through him. Lee peered at the notepad, spotting the etchings of the writing that was on the previous sheets. Someone had ripped out the pages on starting the trains engine. Lee came up blank as to what to do, what could they do? Pacing back and forth in front of the train, Lee felt eyes trained on him; he was conscious that Clementine was watching him worriedly, she saw how mad he looked. Lee took a few deep breaths, allowing some composure to come over his clouded thoughts.

"Think Lee. THINK."

He could see the engravings on the page, he felt the surface of the sheet, his fingers running over the bumps on the page. Gazing back over at Clementine, she had wandered over to the treeline. Inspecting her movement anxiously, Lee didn't want her getting too close to the foliage. The little girl picked at the dying leaves on the ground, examining them and their shape closely. Lee could only grin at the girls antics, no doubt she wanted more material for her leaf rubbings.

Lee halted suddenly, recalling Clem's artwork from back at the motor inn.

Lee would have to rub the page with a pencil or something of the sort. Now the question was where he could find one. Lee knew Clementine hadn't the time to gather many of her drawing equipment from the motel.

Rubbing his eyes, Lee figured to check on Carley, to see if she was awake and what her current condition was like. It was times like these where Lee would really appreciate having the reporter at his side.

Climbing into the newly neglected RV, he heard some creaking from inside the vehicle. Stepping inside, he found a pale Carley attempting to slowly sit up, holding her side and hissing in affliction. Lee quickly ushered to her, kneeling down beside her and setting her back down on the couch. Lee couldn't describe how glad he was to see her awake and considerably okay.

"Relax Carley, you don't be moving around now." Lee instructed, propping her into a comfortable position.

"L-Lee?"

Her voice was ragged and faint, a stretch away from the usually confident and self-reliant woman that bolstered their ranks.

"I'm here, it's okay." Lee assured her. He tried to hide his smile, Carley was okay; but he was aware of her increasingly hazardous situation. She was vulnerable to infection, if she hadn't contracted one already. It was difficult to tell right now.

"What happened? Where are we?" She croaked, her voice was raspy.

"You're in the RV. We found a train and we're trying to get it moving." Lee informed her, before gazing down at the floor. It was difficult to tell her that their former leader had just plainly shot her, and she meant to kill. It was tough news to break to anyone.

"You were shot. You've been unconscious for a while."

Carley nodded and gripped her side, making Lee gawk at her in concern. "You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. My side just... stings like a bitch."

Lee didn't know what that meant on medical terms, but he knew it was something around the area of her antibodies fighting whatever was in her body. Taking the pills out of his pocket, he offered them to her with a nod.

"Antibiotics. You're gonna need these."

Carley glanced at the pills in his palm, and then back up at Lee. She grinned and took them gratefully, Lee would've given her water, but Duck needed it right now. She swallowed them regardless and Lee couldn't hide the sense of guilt, but on the other hand, a feeling of security. Carley was back with him.

"Who shot me?"

Lee was caught blindsided by the question. He gazed up at the reporter, who was looking back at him with those intense eyes he had missed. Lee wasn't going to lie to her as she would see right through it. Carley was able to sieve through the bullshit, it was a part of her profession.

"Lilly shot you. She thought you were the traitor." Lee muttered, watching as Carleys expression dropped in shock and betrayal. Her own leader tried to murder her. Carley found it hard to believe but knew that Lee wasn't lying to her.

"What did you do with her?"

Lee paused for a moment.

"We left her. I left her."

Carley nodded again, her eyebrows furrowed. Her silence was powerful. Lee hoped she would understand her actions, that it was beyond unacceptable to try something like Lilly had, to attempt to kill a person on a hunch in cold blood. Lee looked out the windscreen, watching Katjaa cling onto her son. Carley was completely unaware of the situation, but she deserved to know about Duck.

"Carley, there's something else you need to know."

Her gaze landed on him again, awaiting the news with slight dread. Lee had to draw in a deep breath before laying down, it wasn't getting any easier.

"Duck.. Is bitten."

Carley's eyes sparked in complete horror, her entire face went numb as she tried to fathom his words. Lee could tell she was trying to say something, but the words wouldn't come down. Lee saw her bottom lip quiver, Carley was in shock and denial. Duck couldn't be bitten; he was too innocent, he was too young, too full of life to be taken this early.

"Christ... I- I- No..."

Lee nodded quietly.

"Yes Carley. We're watching him, trying to see any changes. We've never had a bite victim before, we don't know how long it will take."

Carley just sat there in evident distress. Lee felt sick.

"What about Ken and Katjaa-

"They're just trying to make sure he's comfortable; they're waiting to see what happens." Lee butted in.

Carley seemed appalled by the scenario presented to her. The poor child was so enthusiastic, so bubbly, now his fate was almost certainly sealed. She gripped Lee's forearm tightly, staring into his eyes. Her look was almost blinding.

"Lee, we have to- We have to do what's necessary for Duck." She stated, her tone was serious. Lee raised an eyebrow at her words. "What do you mean?"

Carley paused briefly. "We have to end his misery." She mumbled.

Lee opened his mouth to strongly oppose her suggestion but she cut him off before he could. "Lee, that boy is suffering. He's in agony. You, and me, and Katjaa and Kenny all know what has to be done." She remarked, never letting go of his arm.

"We can wait and see, but we all know what's going to happen Lee. Duck is going to die. There is no avoiding it. What good is prolonging that child's pain when we all know it's going to be for nothing."

Lee was beginning to see the sense to her words, but was it their call to make?

"Kenny will listen to you. Lee, you have to talk to them, you have to tell them that their son is in pain and there's no saving him. We're dragging out his torture here. You need to tell them both to do this. Let them say their goodbyes, and then we do what's right for Duck."

Lee closed his eyes, Carley had a point, Duck's life was draining slowly, and Lee was convincing himself that the boy would be fine. Duck was dying, there was no question of that. Why drag out his torture?

Then again, how could they be sure? Also, Lee couldn't tell them what to do. It was their son, so it was their decision. But Lee knew they would leave their son's life to the last possible moment.

This wasn't about the good of the group, this was about mercy for a dying boy.


Accept Carley's plan, and out Duck down now? Or refuse it, letting Duck live and see what happens. It's your choice.

Thanks for all the reviews. You are all the most scrum-diddly-umptious people I know. You guys make the choice now, think about it.

Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for reading and have a great day!