Hello! I'm updating again since I had a nice review! Thank you for that btw! I also got a couple of follows so thanks to you guys as well! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Just another reminder! Each chapter is based off of a chapter in the game. When it crosses over to the TV/Comic series the chapters will change up in length.
Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Walking Dead games, comic books, and TV series.
IN THE LAST CHAPTER
"Don't watch this sweetheart." Pip manages to say before pulling the little girl into her. Clementine buried her head into Pip avoiding the gruesome scene before her. When a final crack is heard the commotion stops and Pip looks back to see Lee is a bloody mess.
EPISODE I: A NEW DAY | CHAPTER 3: IN YOUR CHARGE
"Man..." Lee grunts standing up to catch his breath, "I think I understand your case a little clearer." He claims referring to what he heard the cops say earlier. Pip's only response was a sad smile. She glances down at the little girl tucked into her tightly before patting the young girl's head in a comforting manner. When Clementine finally pulls away they both get a glimpse of the gruesome scene before them. Pip was concerned about Clementine's reaction, but was also disgusted at the black colored blood pooling around the now still figure. She knew for a fact that blood should not come out of a person black.
"Hi there." Lee seems to breath out looking at the small child who couldn't be more than eight years old. Clementine glances at the dead body before backing into Pip more trying to avoid the pooling blood around her feet.
"Did you kill it?" She asks frightened causing Lee to glance at Pip for an answer. She however shrugs and gently places a hand on the younger girl's shoulder.
"Yes." He answers reluctantly which gets Clementine to nod.
"It's okay." She seems to reassure him before glancing up at the female behind her, "I think she was a monster." She confesses backing a little more into Pip to further avoid the black blood.
"I think she was too." Pip voices slightly childish which causes Clementine to lighten up a bit.
"You've been all by yourself through this?" Lee asks bending down to her level. She looks at him before shifting from foot to foot slightly. Pip smiles softly realizing she was nervous.
"Yeah..." She finally says before looking at both Pip and Lee, "I want my parents to come home now." She whimpers placing her hands behind her back. Pip smiles sadly at the poor child as Lee furrows his eyebrows in distress.
"I think that might be a little while." Lee tries gently causing Clementine to glance down at her feet with a soft 'oh.' Pip remains silent not trusting her mouth around the younger girl. She'd probably only make things worse. Lee suddenly moves forward to gently take the little girl's hand to offer her comfort.
"Look," He hesitates, "I don't know what happened. But I'll look after you till then." He states firmly causing Clementine to look up at him with her large eyes. He glances at Pip for a second as if to ask for approval catching her by surprise. Did he really think she wouldn't allow this cute little girl to tag along with them to wherever they were going? In reality, Pip was completely lost and confused. She had no idea what was going on or where any of this was taking her, but she knew she didn't want to be alone through all of this. So, she was not about to leave this little thing all by herself. Remaining silent for a bit longer Clementine shyly glances over at her as well.
"You don't have to worry about anything while me and him are around." Pip finally states as a contagious smile spreads across her pleasant face. Clementine seems to calm down hearing the comment and allows a small smile of her own to show. Lee nods determinedly, happy that his newfound and supposed criminal companion through this crazy apocalypse at least had a good heart.
"What should we do now?" Asks Clementine as she stares at the two older figures. They seem to glance at each wondering the same thing. Lee seemed to hesitate, not wanting to make such a crucial decision and Pip took notice of it.
"You decide Lee. I'll support and go along with whatever you choose to do." She verifies much to Lee's relief. He seemed to be able to think a little more freely knowing that he had someone who would have his back through all of this.
"We need to get out of this neighborhood its not safe." He finally says shooting a sideway glance to gauge Pip's reaction, "We're less likely to be seen if we move at night." Pip seems to grow concerned at the thought of wandering around with those horrifying creatures in the dark, but remains silent.
"My parents might come home!" Clementine warns causing the two adults to glance at each other once more.
"We won't go far." Lee soothes, "We'll try to find shelter and come back here with others." He states standing up to his full height. Pip catches the fleeting look Clementine obtains and places her hand on her head.
"Plus we need you to come with us!" Pip states enthusiastically, "Who else is going to save our aa…" She halts receiving a warning glare from Lee, "Uh… butts from those monsters? You were alone through all this! We need someone as brave as you with us." Clementine seems to smile slightly as Lee shakes his head at the joking female in front of him.
"Okay. That sounds good." The younger girl agrees as Pip seems to rub the top of her hat covered head good naturedly. "We can hide in my treehouse till then." She says while turning to glance at her small and dainty hideout.
"It'll be a tough climb with this leg, but that's a good idea." Lee responds slowly to the little girl's offer. Pip glances down at his wrapped leg and can't help but feel bad for him. Her head pounded a bit, but that couldn't compare to the pain Lee's probably experiencing especially with all the moving they've been doing.
"Don't worry old man I'm sure you'll make it." Pip chirps jokingly as she takes a step out of the door checking the perimeter for any more of the walking dead. Clementine grabs Lee's hand for comfort and Pip smiles at the childish, but cute gesture. Once Pip is sure that the coast is clear she seems to wave Lee and Clem over.
"Let's go." Lee states causing Clementine to grip his hand tighter. " Stay close to me." He says as they both make their way over to Pip's figure by the tree.
"You two go on up first." Pip says. Clementine heads up and Lee glances over at Pip as if to argue, but she cuts him off. "Your leg is hurt. If one of those things were to come around the corner you'd be stuck trying to get up the ladder while me and Clem were safe. If I'm down here I have a better chance at distracting it and outrunning it while you get up there to safety." Pip says gently causing Lee to shut his mouth. He didn't quite know how to take the caring gesture, so he continued to stare at the girl.
"She needs you." Pip continued gesturing up to where Clementine was just climbing into the door of her treehouse. Laughing slightly at Lee's expression she continued, "Don't worry so much about me. I can outrun those things." Lee seems to accept this and begins to slowly and painfully make his way up. Halfway through climbing he glances back down at the younger ex-convict.
"She needs you too." He calls back down to her, "You do know that, right?" He finishes causing the female to laugh and wave him off.
Once they were all inside of the treehouse Clementine fell fast asleep after laying her head down on Pip's lap. She had taken off the small girl's hat and was soothingly brushing her tangled mess of hair with her fingers, careful not to pull at it too much.
"She's so small and cute." Pip says softly staring at the small girl. She never had any younger siblings, in fact she didn't think she had any at all. Her roommates were the closest thing she had that could be considered family and that was quickly taken away from her. She took the time to really look at the small girl in her lap. Clementine seemed to be a mixture of African American and could even have some type of asian in her if you looked close enough. She looked a lot like her parents which were in the photo that her and Lee previously glanced at.
Lee on the other hand chose to remain quiet and stare questionly at Pip. The girl was strange to say the least. Earlier when they first met and he had confused her for a boy, she seemed insane to put it quite literally. There was no doubt that she was fast and strong when she needed to be after witnessing her fight off those officers and her ability to hit those things in the head hard enough to knock them back. However, looking at her now she didn't seem like a criminal at all. He knew that anger could make you do some crazy things, but she seemed almost childlike and incapable of committing murder.
"Do you think her parents… You know… Made it?" Was the soft question that brought Lee out of his reverie. He focused to see that Pip was now staring at him as well. He thought about the question and wasn't too sure himself.
"By the sound of those messages… It doesn't look to be in their favor." He states causing Pip to glance down at Clementine's sleeping figure sadly.
"She's too young to be on her own." She states sadly. Lee seems to hesitate before deciding to ask her the question that was killing him.
"I hope you don't take offense to this." He starts catching Pip's attention once again. "But you don't seem like the criminal type." He finishes as she begins to nod with a soft smile on her face.
"I tried to tell them I didn't do it." She states simply catching Lee off guard. He tried to think back to what the two officers said she did; Tore two people apart, beat another guy's head in, and shot a bullet clear through the last one's.
"I know it's none of my business." He says after letting out a long sigh, "But if you didn't do it, what exactly happened?" Pip seemed to lean her head back against the wall and scrunch her eyes closed at the question.
"Like I said… I didn't kill them." She began opening her eyes to look at Lee, "They were all my roommates, but one of them weren't." That statement sent him into a state of confusement.
"I was with one of them, Nick. We came through the doors to meet my other two friends... But what we saw was this crazy guy… he was eating them! I couldn't even begin to comprehend what was going on. I'm pretty sure I emptied everything in my stomach after catching a whiff of the awful smell." She blurted out rubbing her eye slightly causing Lee to feel a bit bad for her. "He was one of those things that were in the forest! He came at me and Nick, but Nick shot it." She grew quiet as Clementine shifted a little, but began again after she was still for a bit.
"He shot the thing in the chest, but it kept coming at us and eventually bit into Nick. I panicked and grabbed something and began to beat it. It wouldn't die so I destroyed his head after it snapped it's teeth at me." She glances up to look Lee in the eyes, "That's how I knew you had to shoot them in the head to kill them." Everything began to piece together for Lee as he connected what she explained to what the officer's described. The two that were tore apart were actually eaten. The one with his head beat in was the infected one.
"Nick didn't feel well after being bit. I tried to patch his wound up, but it seemed to be terribly infected. Which is crazy because he was just bit at that time! I called an ambulance in fear for my friend, but he became crazy like the other guy who bit him before they got there! He tried to eat me. So... I shot him with his own gun." She finished with a vacant stare. Lee felt guilty all of a sudden. This girl in front of him wasn't a murderer like previously thought, she was just trying to survive. Movement caught his eye to see she was rubbing at the duct tape wrapped around her arms. He meant to ask about that as well, but decided to leave it for another day.
"So you were never really guilty of anything." Lee states finally able to understand the girl in front of him, "What were you doing in that building anyways with a complete stranger?" Pip seemed to glance up sheepishly at this question.
"Well that's the thing. I'm not completely innocent. We were suppose to rob that house." Lee seemed to glance up at her with an almost fatherly look that scolded her. She quickly held both of her hands up trying to explain herself, "We did it to pay for our tuition! To be completely honest we stole often which is why I'm able to move so quickly. We only did it to people who wouldn't really miss it! We didn't know the guy would still be at home, or that he'd go crazy and try to eat us. I guess that's what we get for stealing, huh?" She spits out almost bitterly. Lee couldn't help himself and chuckled at the girl's strange sense of humor.
"You aren't sad about your friends?" He asks carefully. Pip let out a long sigh before answering.
"Of course I'm sad. They're gone and they were the only family I knew. It's just that there's nothing I could do about it. I honestly rather them dead than to be cursed to walk around like those things." She finishes looking at Lee with the most fragile expression he's seen from her so far.
"I understand." He states causing Pip to send him a small smile of thanks. After some silence Lee began to get a little nervous. He knew that since he asked about her conviction that it would only be common knowledge to ask about his.
"I know you're probably wondering…" He began, but quickly stopped when she spoke suddenly.
"About your case." She states finishing Lee's interrupted statement. He hesitated before nodding. Pip flashed him a sardonic smile, which only intensified his prior anxiousness. He really didn't feel like sharing that with her. He'd be judged and he knew it. What he did wasn't right by any standards whatsoever.
"Nah." She said letting the smile slip into a more relaxed one. The response left Lee surprised to say the least. "I don't know what you did to land yourself in this position, but I do know that a bad man would not be risking his life for no little girl." She explains while glancing down to the quietly snoring girl in her lap. When she receives no response she glances back up to stare at the wide eyed Lee.
"I quite honestly don't care what you did. You've proven yourself trustworthy to me so far and that's enough for me." She finishes going back to stroking Clem's hair soothingly. Lee remained silent at Pip's statement. After a few moments Pip catches a glimpse of Lee dozing off.
"You should get some rest." She states causing Lee's eyes to shoot open.
"I'm fine." He argues, but Pip only shakes her head.
"You need rest so your body can fight off the potential infection your wound may cause. I'll keep watch and wake you two when the time comes to leave." She answers glancing at Lee's painful looking leg wound.
"What about you? You need just as much rest." He states stubbornly causing her to smile brightly.
"Nah, I shouldn't sleep just yet with a head wound like this." She states tapping her noggin slightly, instantly regretting it when she hits the place she hurt. "Plus you fought off a lot of those dead guys today. Just go to sleep." She says lightly. Lee seems to hesitate for a bit, but after receiving a glare he seems to agree.
"Alright, just wake me up if anything happens." He states closing his eyes. Just as he was about to fall asleep he could hear Pip chuckle and mumble something along the lines of, "Yeah yeah what are you my dad?"
"Now let's stay quiet." Lee states as Clementine get's down from the ladder. Pip glances around quickly frightened by how dark it was. Clementine seemed to be just as scared as she moves a little closer to her.
"We'll head out to the front yard and follow the road out of the neighborhood." He explains to the little girl as she glances around nervously.
"It'll be okay." Pip seems to whisper to the younger girl trying to calm her nerves. She glances at Lee almost as if to verify that her statement would be true.
"Just stay close to us and we'll move as fast as we can." Lee says before making his way to the front of the house. Pip seemed to lag behind a little, but seeing Clementine glance back at her she hurried forward to meet up with them. She wasn't a huge fan of the dark, but she was more afraid of being left alone.
When they reached the front gate Lee pushed it open and they cringed slightly at the loud and squeaky noise it let out. Pip seemed to glare at Lee as he shot them both an apologetic look. They stepped out from the yard and closer to the street. Pip seemed to look around at the deserted road crowded by abandoned cars and shiver at how silent it was.
A shot was fired causing the three of them to duck quickly. Lee hid behind a car and Pip quickly pushed a frozen Clementine there as well.
"I found the bastard!" A deep voice shouted causing the three to shutter slightly.
"Are we going to die?!" Clementine asks shaking in fear causing the two adults to glance at each other.
"No, don't worry." Lee quickly states.
"Yeah, I'm sure we're fine." Pip manages to say as well successfully helping Clementine calm down just a little. Lee turns to peak around the car while Pip keeps an eye out on the other side.
"Stay down! Georgia state patrol!" The voice calls out causing Lee to look back at Pip with wide eyes. Pip seemed to understand the look and grew anxious as well. They were both technically escaped convicts so this could potentially be bad for the both of them.
"Dude, he won't listen to that." Another voice says causing Pip to raise her brow in doubt. Were these people trying to play them? Clementine tugged on her sleeve causing her to look down and offer the small shaking girl a comforting smile. At least as comforting as she could offer in their current situation.
"We're friendly!" Lee shouts while standing up. Pip and Clementine stood up as well copying Lee as he rose his arms up to show they meant no harm, "There's a little girl here!" He calls out as well. Pip could only hope that this statement would help and not cause them more three stood there as they saw two figures grow closer. After further inspection they could see a cop holding a gun at them as well as another male who seemed to be in his mid twenties lagging behind.
"Oh shit." The cop mutters catching a glimpse of the three frightened figures, "You're not one of those things." He statess completely lowering his gun.
"None of us are." Pip calls out catching the trooper's attention as the three lower their hands. Clementine let out a small breath as she reached out to grab Pip's hand gently.
"Ah damn... You've got a little girl." The cop says while glancing at Clementine who seemed to hide slightly behind Pip. The male behind the cop continued to stare at the three in what seemed to be relief.
"We're sorry about that." He replied kindly before gesturing to the cop, "Well, Andre's sorry about that." He finishes gaining himself a glare from the cop referred to.
"It's Officer Mitchell." He introduces himself. The unnamed male makes his way over to them with Officer Mitchell straying behind.
"I'm Shawn. Shawn Greene." He introduces himself. "This is Andre." The Officer quickly corrects him before Shawn moves on, "Did you see any of those things!" He asks while looking at both Pip and Lee.
"One of them just got our buddy Chet." He reveals sadly causing Pip to cringe slightly at the thought.
"We saw a lot of them in the forest, but that was awhile ago." Lee states. Pip glances at him curiously as she catches his lie. They literally just encountered that lady in Clementine's house. She chooses to remain silent however as Clementine clutches her arm. Officer Mitchell seems to stare at Lee and Pip with a look of suspicion.
"Yeah…" He responds after a bit, "One we're looking for is still in the neighborhood." He states finally before continuing to glance at the duct tape on Pip's arms and legs.
"Oh shit!" Shawn says catching Officer Mitchell's attention, "You hurt your leg pretty bad." Lee glances down to see that his wound had bled through Pip's makeshift bandage.
"Look, help us find the thing that got our buddy and we'll take you, your wife, and daughter down to my dad's farm to safety." He offers causing Pip's cheeks to flare slightly at the accusation. "He should be able to fix your leg."
"We're not her parents." Lee spoke up causing a now composed Pip to nod showing her agreement. Shawn and Officer Mitchell seem to stare at them in suspicion. " We're…" Lee seems to hesitate only further prolonging the doubtful looks.
"We're just some people who found her." Pip states finally stepping forward more to be illuminated by the overhead streetlamp. She had hoped this would make her look less suspicious and put an end to the critical look she was receiving from Officer Mitchell. Shawn and the Officer glanced at her catching a good look before furrowing their brows.
"Just some random people?" Shawn asks slowly. Pip couldn't blame the guy for being suspicious. Here were two random people with a scared little girl covered in bloody clothing. It didn't look too good. Especially when you add the fact that they were technically criminals, but they didn't know that. At least she hoped they didn't know that.
"Yeah." Answers Lee glancing back at Clementine who was still holding Pip's hand.
"She's alone?" Shawn asks a little more quietly. The look he sported now showed more concern for Clementine as she let go of Pip's hand and nods at the statement.
"Whoever you guys are let's get a move on." Officer Mitchell states causing Lee and Pip to look up in surprise and relief.
"We just want-" Lee was cut off as groaning could be heard.
"Oh shit! It's Chet!" Shawn shouts in distress as they all turn to look at the walker coming towards them.
"Let's go!" Officer Mitchell says while pointing his gun at the oncoming zombie. "Get in my car!" He states as Shawn waves them over. Lee grabs Clementine as Pip lags behind a bit staring at the Officer.
"Pip!" Clementine shouts causing Lee to continue shoving her in the car before shouting back at Pip as well. She glances back at them before turning to look at the Officer again.
"If you're going to shoot him you need to shoot him in head." Pip warns before running back towards the car. The Officer seems to debate this before quickly pulling back his gun and running towards the car as well. Once they were all in he quickly starts the car and steps on the pedal to get out of there. He swerves the car just enough to barely avoid hitting the zombified Chet. Pip, Lee, and Clementine glance back at the lone figure now watching them leave.
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