Soon: Ah, man. Last chapter somehow ended up being the lowest reviewed chapter of the story so far. How on earth did that happen? I thought y'all wanted to save Clementine, huh? Well, I just granted your wish, didn't I? Come on, guys! You should've been happy to see little Clem safe and sound.
Perhaps I'll simply assume (for my own peace of mind) that not everyone has read the chapter yet, rather than it being a case of me failing to live up to any expectations that you all may have had of me. ;)
Reply to ZombieSlayer995: Ah, so Clementine changed your mind about Ben, did she? Because I believe I recall you saying that you would have left Ben for the Carley & Kenny outcome, right? That's pretty interesting...
"Also, Clementine's guilt trip is just brutal." - Yes, Clem's guilt-tripping powers are unmatched throughout the land. Even Lilly's stubborn resolve was shaken there for a split second. XD
As for continuing on after this chapter ... nah, that's unlikely. This story was specially designed to be a three-piece event (with the reader getting to choose their own individual ending), so I see no point in carrying on any further, even though I would agree that most (if not all) of the outcomes could quite easily pass for the beginning of some greater adventure.
However, the thing is ... what you're suggesting right there is basically what Salvation Lost is eventually going to become (minus the choice aspect, of course). So, I can't very well have two different stories that both feature cross-country adventures of the season 1 characters, can I? Even if I tried my best to distinguish the two somehow, they'd eventually end up being somewhat similar, regardless, which isn't really an appealing prospect to me. Why write two extremely similar stories when you can just focus all of your creativity on making one of them truly great, y'know?
Still, I appreciate your input, man. It's nice to know what the readers would like to see ... even if I'm too stubborn to actually listen to 'em most of the time, haha!
Reply to santiagoponcini20: ... *deep breath* ... THANK YOU!
So your group now consists of Lee, Lilly, Clem & Ben, does it? How d'you feel about that outcome? Are you satisfied? Do you reckon that they're in good shape to survive? Do you believe that Lee can keep Lilly on side? I'm merely curious to know your thoughts, is all...
Reply to smeake: Hey, thanks a lot. Coming from someone who apparently hates Lilly, it's nice to know that my writing is still engrossing enough for you to enjoy a chapter where Lilly was featured heavily throughout. Or are you simply happy that Kenny wasn't pronounced dead on the scene? ;P
Also, you didn't say what you would have done with the Ben choice, man. Are you going to be bringin' him along with your merry little band or not?
Oh, and "Soon" will be fine, if you feel the need to refer to me in your reviews at any point. When I first saw the letters "STA" I was like - "Who the hell's that?" - hahaha!
Reply to leafs nation: That sounded like a Kenny-esque apology right there ... just so you know. Haha!
And did you seriously just review the "Help Lilly" chapter without even mentioning the two star attractions? I thought you'd been looking forward to seeing Lilly & Clem in action together, but then you pretty much bypassed 'em completely. What's the matter, huh? Did I not live up to the hype on this occasion? :P
As for the story in general - nope. This is the end of the road, right here. I did say at the beginning that this was only a short story, didn't I? The only way that I might consider continuing this (which would be awkward to make work, at any rate, and would also constitute a rather large upheaval in my immediate plans) is if there was a ridiculous amount of support shown for the idea, which ... seems unlikely, given the apparent lack of interest in the last chapter. Seriously, Clementine dying received more coverage than Clementine actually surviving, for crying out loud. XD
Anyway, thanks for reviewing again, man.
Soon: Here I come again with the last of the three different outcomes to this story. I'm about to show you what happens if you choose not to make a decision, when it comes to which pair of characters you'd like to save from the dreaded drop.
This one will be slightly shorter than the last two were (I'm sure that you can probably guess why that might be), but will still be of decent enough length to merit its own chapter. Also, although it may seem like parts of this chapter are merely a cut and paste of the past two chapters, try not to get too discouraged and stop reading, won't you? Not only have such events been re-typed in full (with slightly different wording), but there are also gonna be some big differences later on in the chapter, so ... stick around if you wanna see some good, old-fashioned Lee Everetty goodness - Soonian style.
Also, look out for more crowd favourites, such as - Lilly "Murder Glare" Caul, Kenny Houdini, and the always popular Carley-on-the-rocks. ;P
And make sure that you read on after the end of the chapter too, as I'll be giving a thorough run-down of this story (and its "perilous" choices) after we're done here, which you ... might find makes for relatively interesting reading.
Right! Let's wrap this all up, shall we? I should probably warn you now, however - this is easily going to be the most depressing chapter that I've uploaded here to date. So, be ready for that, won't you?
Outcome 3: No Decision
He couldn't. He just couldn't choose. There was no time left to think, and yet an immediate decision was required. Lee had always been the indecisive sort, but now he found that his friends lives were in his hands. What could he do? If he went for Lilly and Clem first, then Kenny and Carley were screwed. And yet, if he went for Kenny and Carley instead, how on earth would he live with himself if something then happened to Clementine and Lilly, because of his decision?
Time was up. And so his choice was made for him.
"Lee!" Kenny yelled angrily. "What the hell are ya jus' standin' around for?! We ain't got time t'- F-Fuck!" He was cut off by his own panicked cursing, as the few remaining clumps of earth which Kenny had hold of broke clean away from the rest.
"Kenny!" he heard Carley cry out. "What's ha-"
Her voice died in her throat as Kenny plummeted, startled, from Lee's line of vision, with Carley no doubt following him. Lee took a few hurried steps towards them, unable to quite process what had just happened. He heard Kenny scream something, and then there was a series of crashing noises, signalling that what remained of the ledge (plus Kenny & Carley themselves) had made contact with the jagged rocks below.
"LEE!" came Lilly's furious bark, cutting through Lee's state of disbelief like the sharpest of knives. "What the fuck are you-? ...Oh." Her tone had changed in an instant, anger and incredulity being replaced by shock and trepidation. "Oh, no…"
With the reality of his current situation returning to him in a flash, Lee spun around on the spot, and literally sprinted back across the ledge, his body screaming in protest, as he urged his tired muscles to use every last ounce of power they had left. He wouldn't allow this to happen. He couldn't allow his own foolish indecision to cost the lives of his last remaining friends and loved ones. He simply had to save them.
And yet ... too little, too late.
The rock which Lilly had been clutching split clean in two, and she and Clementine both plummeted downwards with strangled cries of fright. Lee had arrived a split second too late, his momentum almost carrying him over the edge with them. And what he saw next made him wish that he had gone with them.
Both Lilly and Clementine were hurtling towards certain death, their bodies being tossed ruggedly around like rag-dolls, as gravity made mockeries of them both. He saw Lilly make a desperate dive towards the overhanging branch of a tree as she fell, and hope sprung up inside him. Lee flinched as she collided painfully with the first branch, unleashing a howl of pain into the night, but she succeeded in locking her arms around the second branch directly below it, and then hastily threw out an arm to try and catch Clementine, too.
It was impossible. They both knew it.
And so, they watched, as the young girl - the girl whose cheerful presence had meant so much to their fractured group - dropped like a stone into a wishing well, her frail body flailing around madly, as she tried to find some non-existent object to help break her fall.
"LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
With a series of sickening crashes and bangs, Clementine's tiny form disappeared into the treetops below - a fall which no one could have hoped to survive, least of all a small child.
Lilly drew her arm slowly back in, and then began the rather awkward task of clambering across the branch to safety, an effort which was clearly hampered by her freshly sustained injury. Lee watched her, almost absent-mindedly, as she drew her hands up, shakily, to cover her face, her entire body quaking like a leaf in the wind.
Lee couldn't believe this. He simply couldn't take it in. Clementine … was gone? It couldn't be. This had to be some kind of bad dream. It just couldn't be real.
Before he had a chance to even gather his thoughts, a sudden movement from Lilly below him caught his attention once more. And the way that she looked at him then would have been enough to give even the hardest of men cause for concern. Her expression was as he had never seen it before - total rage; all contemptuous and vengeful, with not even the slightest slither of forgiveness or compassion present there. It was in that moment he knew, even with such distance between them, that this was more than mere anger. This was more than a heated debate about rations, or some petty quarrel over group politics. No... She wanted him dead.
And then they heard it - both of them did - the wailing moans of the dead - of countless mutilated souls - calling up to them from the landscape below.
The walkers were coming for them.
He saw Lilly's gaze dart about nervously, but then she doubled over suddenly, seemingly having finally remembered her own injured side. After a moment's pause to catch her breath, he saw her tear off a piece of her own tattered clothing to act as a make-shift bandage, and then place it firmly onto the wounded area. He couldn't tell how badly hurt she was from here, but he could see that she had at least taken the necessary measures to stem the bleeding. Whether these measures would be in any way sufficient, however, Lee genuinely had no idea.
If he had still required a reminder as to the status of their current relationship, then Lee received it but a moment later. Once again, Lilly cast her gaze upwards, and once again, he was left in no doubt as to how she now felt towards him. Her icy glare could well have frozen fire, and Lee would have not been the least bit surprised. There was no longer any caring there, no form of reassurance - only loathing and disgust. If they both made it through this alive, then she intended to make him pay for what he'd done tonight. That message carried up to him through the dusk just then, as crystal clear as the first light of dawn.
And then she was gone, setting off to begin her own personal task of negotiating a safe passage down the mountain-side. It wouldn't be easy for her to make it with such an injury, that was for sure … and Lee found that terrible thoughts came to him then. He shook them away with a frantic beat of his head. Now was not the time to dwell on such darkness…
Clementine was dead. That was the only real truth that had managed to penetrate the cloud of stunned disbelief which was now enveloping his entire being. The girl - the sweet, innocent girl who had brought so much joy and purpose to his life over the last few months - was gone forever.
He had done it. He had somehow managed to do it again. His own poor decisions - his own inability to cope with the stresses and pressures that had been placed upon him by the world - had led to him losing the one person that he had treasured above all others. And once again … it had been entirely his fault.
The faint cry of a walker suddenly caught his attention. He raised his sullen head, peering dispiritedly around at his immediate surroundings. Although he could really give less of a damn about anything at this stage, his turbulent mind had at least noted one thing from that torturous echo - this walker was closer than the others, by far.
To say that he was intrigued would have been tantamount to a lie. And yet, still his feet turned and carried him off in search of the creature that was issuing those dreadful sounds. Perhaps his body was just desperate for something to do - to keep itself moving, lest his vitals give out on him completely.
He found that his feet had soon carried him over to the northern side of the ledge … or what remained of it, at least. His brain seemed dull and sluggish just then, but something in the back of his mind was informing him that this was the spot where Kenny & Carley had fallen to their apparent doom. Feeling that what he was about to witness couldn't possibly make the pain in his chest any worse, he slowly leaned out to look over the edge of the cliff.
He had been wrong. What he saw down there had definitely made him feel worse … if such a thing were even possible at that point.
Carley's body was on full display, almost directly below his line of vision. As expected, she had been killed by the fall - or rather, the impact against the rocks which had proceeded the fall. She had been impaled upon a sharp rock some fifty feet or more below the summit, and yet ... her body was not lifeless at all. She was still moving, and noises were still issuing from her throat. These were not the noises of a woman in pain, however. These were not the noises of a woman at all.
She had turned. Carley was one of them now. The undead - a walker.
He watched her quietly, his expression set in lines of grim misery, as she made her feeble attempts to free herself from the rock which held her prisoner. But she was too weak. There was no strength left in her muscles to free herself with. And yet, as Lee stared down at her - and her cold, lifeless eyes locked onto his - her efforts were suddenly redoubled; her body frantically twisting this way and that, squelching disgustingly, as her hands clawed fiercely in Lee's direction, scraping her finger nails against the rock in her eagerness to get to him. Just like the rest of them, he could now see it in her eyes - the hunger. She was desperate to feed.
Had Clementine also met such a fate? Would Lilly? … Would he?
Suddenly realising that he was missing someone, Lee tore his eyes away from the creature previously known as Carley, and began half-heartedly scanning the multitude ledges and ridges around hers. Although, in all honesty, the knowledge would come as little comfort to him at this stage, it was entirely possible that Kenny had managed to survive his fall, just as Lilly had ... though, he knew that it was perhaps equally likely that Kenny had merely fallen beyond his line of vision. It was getting very dark now, after all, and Kenny was certainly nowhere to be seen.
Was he dead? Had he grabbed hold of something on his way down, and then pulled himself to safety, just as Lilly herself had done? Had he perhaps already fled into the night?
Perhaps Lee would find out eventually … or perhaps not. Either way, he couldn't honestly say it mattered much to him anymore. For sure, he supposed there would be a small part of him that would rejoice upon seeing his friend alive and well again, but … it would have only served as the smallest of consolations at this stage, in truth - like discovering that the family picture had survived a house fire. A small pinprick of light in the endless darkness … and no more.
He was then dragged from his thoughts by yet another sudden groaning sound - this time altogether different to the spine-chilling rasps and moans that were being issued from Carley's dead body below. No, these were the sounds of a living person.
Well, there was only one other person who could still be living atop this mountain now, he thought dully.
Wrenching himself away from the edge at last (before the urge to step over it overwhelmed him completely), Lee turned and traipsed back across the now unstable earth, towards this not-so-mysterious groaning noise. Sure enough, it was little more than ten seconds before he had arrived at the source: Ben. The teenager was still partially trapped beneath the carved stones which he, himself, had brought down upon them all. The low moans coming from the boy were quite faint, but he was still alive, for certain … and might even be nearing the point of regaining consciousness, from the look of things.
Lee stood there, gazing down on him, as the boy's semi-conscious body made a few half-hearted attempts to free itself, his legs jerking feebly. As he watched Ben's continued struggles, Lee's expression was a strange one indeed - an unstable mixture of pity and contempt. Which emotion was the truly dominant one, however, even Lee himself might have struggled to say.
Ben had played his part in this tragedy, there was no doubt about it. And while Lee could blame no one but himself for the death of young Clementine, it would also have been true to say that she and others would probably have never been placed into such peril, were it not for the foolish actions of the boy laying before him. And yet … that foolish boy may have been all that Lee had left in the world now. Clementine & Carley were both dead, for sure. Kenny was who-the-fuck-knows where - quite possibly dead as well. And Lilly, while well and truly still among living when he had last laid eyes upon her, had given him the distinct impression that she had no intention of exchanging simple pleasantries when next their paths should cross.
While part of him would have quite gladly walked from this place alone, and left Ben to his solitary fate, Lee had to admit that setting off into the night by himself was not an appealing prospect, even for a mind as battered and broken as his currently was. Ben was an irrepressible fuck-up, it had to be said - one who had just needlessly cost Lee everything that he held dear … and yet, such a description could also well be labelled against Lee himself now. Perhaps they deserved each other after all. Or perhaps they both deserved to be punished for their foolishness, by being left to face this nightmare together.
Whatever he was going to do, Lee thought, he should probably do it now. Although no genuine fears still permeated Lee's heart at that moment, he knew that there was no point in waiting around here for the walkers to corner them both.
No. If death was to claim him on this night, then he would march into its jaws of his own free will. And he would go down fighting - tearing at the flesh of each and every undead bastard who dared to cross his path.
The only question was … would Ben be there beside him when the time came at last?
Take Ben
Lee's chest expanded momentarily as he drew breath, and then contracted again as he released it into the night time air. "Fuck me", he cursed to himself, as he bent down to begin the task of removing the larger rocks from around Ben's feet.
He just couldn't do it. Even after everything that he had lost - that this boy had cost him - he couldn't just leave him behind, to die here like a wounded animal in a bear trap. Was it genuine compassion for the boy that had driven him to this point? Or was he simply afraid of facing his oncoming death alone? Either way, Lee had made his decision … and he had tried to make a point of never going back on his word - although, he was well aware that such a vow had already been shattered beyond repair tonight.
Finally freeing him from the rocks that had him pinned in place, Lee shifted the boy clumsily out from where he lay, and then flung one of Ben's long arms haphazardly over his own shoulders.
"Come on, kid", Lee murmured heavily, as he began the slow process of hauling the lanky boy towards their only known escape route. "Let's go get killed."
Tossing Ben's body down to the next level with the flippancy of a man who was now past the point of caring, Lee then hopped down after him, with an altogether new feeling gradually starting to bloom out of the toxic smog that was currently filling his soul - suffocating him. Although Lee was still fully prepared for either one of them to die in the upcoming struggle, it stuck him that carrying Ben's weight seemed to have somehow evened out the scales a little in his mind. It had given him some small crumb of comfort - the delusion that he once again had something to protect.
And that lie was more than OK with Lee right now. He needed it. He needed that purpose to survive.
Whatever would be would be. It was entirely possible (and altogether probable) that painful death awaited them both below. But now, at least Lee had given himself a reason to resist - a reason to go on living. Lee thought of Kenny, conspicuous by his absence. He thought of Lilly, and the murderous intent that had been born from his purported betrayal. He thought of Carley, possibly trapped to rot upon a rock for all eternity. And then he thought of Clementine … his sweet pea … killed by his own desire to protect them all from harm.
None of that mattered to him right now. It couldn't. It was all just a meaningless distraction.
The only thing that mattered now was the limp boy draped across his shoulders. Whether the pair of them made it through this or not, Lee had vowed to himself, one last time, that he was going to do this right. That he was going to go down as he had always intended - fighting to protect those who could no longer protect themselves.
One jaded man and an unconscious boy against an approaching army of the undead. Lee knew fully well that these were not odds that he could hope to overcome alone. And yet, despite this harsh reality, only one thought continued to cross Lee's mind, as he and Ben made their gradual way down the mountainside...
Bring it on.
Leave Ben
Lee's chest expanded momentarily as he drew breath, and then contracted again as he released it into the night time air. "Sorry, kid", he mumbled heavily, his expression still completely despondent. "I've gotta go."
He ran his right hand wearily through his hair again, releasing a small sigh as he did so. He didn't really have the capacity to feel any more guilt and remorse than he already was - he was full to the brim with such feelings already. Even so, he felt no joy about having to leave Ben like this … despite a small voice in the back of his mind persistently telling him that Ben deserved this … that he was to blame … that he had brought this on himself. Whether or not these voices spoke the truth, Lee wasn't sure. The only thing that he was certain of was that he could not afford to take Ben with him. He had no will or desire left for such a mammoth challenge, which keeping the unconscious boy alive long-term would most certainly have become.
"This is goodbye."
He steeled himself for the task, and then turned to leave - after all, abandoning someone to die in the wilderness was not something which came naturally to the man. He didn't get more than a few feet away before his own muddled thoughts caught up with him again, however. He glanced back at Ben - still lying there, in amongst the dirt and the rubble, unconscious … helpless.
"This isn't personal, kid, I promise you", Lee uttered quietly to the boy after several further seconds of thought, for all the world as though Ben were able to hear him. "Chances are we're both gonna wind up dead, either way." He shook his head. "You're better off on your own, trust me. I couldn't protect a damn thing anyway, even if my life depended on it…"
Thoughts of all of his friends came swarming to his mind just then…
Carley, touching his face with an affectionate smile; Carley, sobbing for her life as she hung, helpless, over the edge of a cliff; Carley, now a reanimated corpse, impaled upon a rock, hungry for his flesh.
Kenny, bumping fists with his "pal", smiling in confidence that their friendship would last the distance; Kenny, desperately clinging to the crumbling ledge with merely his elbows, his terrified eyes seeking out Lee's, pleading for his help; Kenny, now missing and presumably dead, and certain not to be pleased with him, were they ever to meet again in the land of the living.
Lilly, flashing him the smallest of smiles, as she stalked off to protect Clementine in his stead; Lilly, digging every available limb that she had into the fractured rock face, holding on for dear life, as she demanded him to take action that would never come; Lilly, broken and wounded, now glaring up at the man who she once considered her closest ally, her expression mirroring something straight from a nightmare.
And Clementine… It was just too painful to think about. As soon as her warm smile permeated his thoughts, he balked, trying desperately to block her out. Her inquisitive nature, her (at times) startling intellect, her playful trickery, and the immense kindness and compassion with which she had lived - all of it, gone in a flash ... and all because of him. Lee couldn't bear it. He couldn't bear to live with the sadness or the guilt that was tearing at his insides any longer. He needed it to be over. He just … wanted it all to end.
To give his flailing mind some sense of clarity, he once again found himself glancing back to the boy behind him - the one person who he hadn't yet managed to either maim or kill on this night. He wasn't about to give himself the chance to lose someone else. True, Ben would probably die anyway - and if so, then so be it, but … he couldn't find himself on the scene of yet another tragedy tonight. He couldn't face what was about to happen to the boy. He didn't want to witness anymore death. And if that made him weak? … Then so be it.
Company was not what he needed right now. If death was coming for him, then Lee needed to face it alone. And maybe then he would also come face-to-face with the harm that he had truly caused ... and all of the mistakes that he could no longer take back. He could now fully understand what it felt like to be Ben, Lee realised with a humourless smile. How ironic that, at the exact moment when he was coming out in sympathy with the boy at last, he was also choosing to leave him behind...
"…I'll try an' draw somma them away from here", Lee whispered to his stricken companion. "That should at least give you a decent shot at making it."
Then, finally, Lee's body started to move of his own volition once again, carrying him steadily off towards the gap in the rocks which was to serve as his escape from this infernal place. "Who knows?" he called back to Ben's still motionless form, though without stopping this time. "Maybe they'll get their fill from feastin' on me, and you'll be able to slip by them unnoticed!"
The sheer thought of it almost brought forth a laugh from his throat. Now, wouldn't that be ironic? Ben Paul - the last man standing.
He paused as he reached the drop-down point, attempting to scan the vast terrain below, but it was now far too dark to see anything of note. All he knew for sure was that there were walkers down there. A lot of them. More than one man could ever handle, even if he had an entire arsenal of weapons at his back.
Well, Lee thought…
Fuck it.
Pulling out his gun from the back of his jeans, he hopped down to the next level with a fearless abandon now filling his soul. He took one last look back at Ben - who was now stirring feebly again - and said hoarsely, "Good luck, kid. And if not, well … I'll probably see you soon, anyway. On the other side…"
And with those parting words uttered, he was off - making his way purposefully down the mountain-side, with little regard for the safety of his own footing.
Would he make it? He doubted it, honestly.
Was Kenny still alive? And if he was, would he ever see him again? Unlikely, he thought, on both counts.
And he hadn't entirely forgotten about Lilly, either, who had definitely still been drawing breath when last he saw her. Her injury was bound to slow her down, but he knew it was not beyond the realms of possibility that she could make it. She was a tough woman. As tough as they come, in truth. And if he were to meet with her again now, how exactly would that meeting go? Would words be exchanged? Or did she have a bullet waiting for him, with his name on it? Either way, he wasn't too concerned about it. In times past, he might have been … but that would have been when he still had something left to lose. He no longer feared death. And if Lilly's gun found its way to his forehead before the walkers got hold of him, then he knew exactly what he was going to say to her before she pulled the trigger. Only two words - "I'm sorry."
First things first, however. He had to make it through the teeming horde of corpses that were after his blood, before he'd have the chance to potentially face Lilly's wrath as well. One way or another, he wasn't going to make it through the night - be it the damn walkers or sheer human contempt, his death was almost certainly assured.
But he wasn't going down alone. He was going to take every last undead piece of shit who dared to stand in his way with him, even if he had to beat their rotting brains in with his bare hands. Eventually he would tire, and eventually they would claim him, but … he would at least leave a trail of bodies in his wake - a scene of pure carnage that could be seen for miles around, if he had his way.
He could not bring Clementine back now, he knew that.
But before the night was done, this cruel fucking world was going to feel her loss, through him. And of that ... he was certain.
Soon: Well, well, well. There you have it, folks. That was the third outcome (and final chapter) of this short-story, "A Perilous Choice". Rather depressing, wasn't it? But before you all lynch me for writing something so dark and brooding, let me at least say that this chapter allowed me to explore an entirely new aspect of Lee's character - a hopelessness so vast and complete that it threatened to consume everything that he was and is. And that alone, I would say, made this additional choice worth the effort, wouldn't you agree?
Now, let's have a final set of Skits to cheer you all up, shall we? Then we can finally move on to my closing thoughts and sentiments about this story. Just as in the previous two parts, I'll be giving you a double this time. Enjoy...
Skit 7 (No singing!)
Lee: "I'm all alone, there's no one here beside~ me!"
Lee: "My problems have all gone, there's no one to deride~ me!"
Lee: "But you've gotta have friends~"
Lilly: "BLAP!" *shoots Lee in his left arm*
Lee: "A-ARGH! Wh-What-? … Lilly?!"
Lilly: "You asked for that, asshole!"
Lee: "L-Look, I'm sorry about before, alright? I dunno what came over me. I just ... sorta ... froze up, an' then-"
Lilly: "Oh, I didn't shoot you because of that. I shot you because I couldn't stand your damn singing!"
Lee: "…And that's a good enough reason to shoot someone these days?"
Lilly: "Yup."
Lee: "…Man, I can't believe I'm stuck with only you for company."
Lilly: "Yeah? Well, whose fault is that, I wonder?"
Ben: "H-Hey, I'm still alive, right? At least you've still got me, Lee." :]
Lee: "…Yeah, that's, er … great, Ben-"
Lilly: "BLAP!" *shoots Ben in the face*
Lee: "Wh-What the fuck was that for?! He wasn't even singing!" D:
Lilly: "Hmm? … Oh, I just didn't like his face."
Lee: "…An' I suppose that's a good enough reason to shoot someone, too?"
Lilly: "Yup."
Lee: "...How did you recover from your wounds so quickly, anyway? I thought you were badly hurt..."
Lilly: "Well, I found some green herbs on my way down the mountain side, so..."
Lee: "You just ate them?"
Lilly: "Yeah. My friend Jill told me about their healing properties. They're perfectly safe to eat."
Lee: "...Was that a Resident Evil reference?"
Lilly: "Yup."
Colonel Beaverford of the Eastern Locke: "There she is! That's the traitorous wench who murdered our Lord Squirrelton in cold blood! Seize her, comrades! Strike her down, if you must! Her and her male accomplice!"
*a stampede of wildlife charges forth from the trees*
Lilly: "Hmph." … *raises rifle* … "BLA-" … "Uh-oh."
Lee: "What's the matter? Shoot 'em already!"
Lilly: "I can't. I'm, uh … out of ammo."
Lee: "WHAT?! Well, wha - what are we gonna do?! I can't shoot accurately with only one working arm!"
Lilly: "Hmm... Time for a tactical retreat, I think."
Lee: "…Wait, you don't mean-?"
Lilly: "Race you to the love shack~!" *tears off into the trees*
Lee: "Lilly?! Hey, wait up! I'm - I'm fuckin' shot here! Lilly!"
Lilly: "It's every man for himself, Lee! Sorry!"
Lee: "...Yeah, but you ain't a man! So get back here!"
Colonel Beaverford: "Get the bastard! Tear him asunder!"
*a horde of forest critters pounces on Lee*
Lee: "AGH! N-No, wait! It was her, not me! She's the one you-! OW! L-Lilly! Somebody! HELP!"
Kenny: *from high above him* "I'd love to help ya, pal, but I can't really seem to control my super-awesome floatin' powers just yet! It looks like I'm on mah way to the moon or somethin' at the minute! … Oh, wait, that's kinda bad, isn't it? … Sh-Shit!"
Fairy-Clementine: "Don't worry, Kenny! I'll save you~!" *whizzes up to help him*
Walker-Carley: *strangled groaning noises*
[Official Translation, as written by Ms. L. Caul]: "How come I'm the only one who doesn't get some bullshit, Deus Ex Machina revival during these things, huh?!"
Lee: "I AM SO DONE WITH THESE MOTHER FUCKIN' SKITS!"
Skit 8 (Closing Thoughts)
Soon: "Well, that's that, guys. How're you feeling now, having watched that all unfold from the sidelines?"
Katjaa: "My goodness, that was just awful. So much sadness and death, and … oh, I do hope that Kenny's alright."
Larry: "What in the name of sweet FUCK was that all about?!"
Mark: "…Yeah. Wow. That last chapter there kinda got to me a little bit, not gonna lie. If only we'd been there with them, we might've been able to help…"
Soon: "Mmm. But that wouldn't have made for a very compelling story now, would it?"
Mark: "…Wait, what?"
Soon: "Uh, n-nothing! Anyway, uh … what - what do you guys think you'd have done with Ben? If you'd been there, I mean?"
Mark: "I'd have taken him with me, of course. I mean, who in their right minds would abandon a kid in the middle of-"
Larry: "I'd have left his ass there to rot!"
Katjaa: "…I don't know. It would have been a difficult decision, either way. There are just so many different variables to consider. If I'd had one of the children with me, then … I may not have had any choice but to leave him."
Mark: "Seriously? … Damn, you guys are cold."
Duck: "I'd have put Ben in a modified, high-tech, walker-proof suit of armour, and then gone to look for help!" :D
Ben: "…I'm OK with that outcome, honestly."
Soon: "Ah, here comes the main cast themselves! How ya doin', guys?"
Lee: "That ... took a lot outta me."
Mark: "You okay there, Lee? You're lookin' a little pale, man."
Lee: "Y-Yeah, I'm fine."
Larry: "Nice death glare, sweetheart. Top quality work right there."
Lilly: "Thanks, dad." ^_^
Lee: "Tell me about it. I'm gonna be havin' nightmares for a month after that."
Lilly: "Well, I was practising in front of the mirror for several days, trying to get it just right. I knew that I'd finally found the perfect one when I ran and hid in fright of myself."
Kenny: "…Wait, you scared yerself?"
Lilly: "Yup. I'm literally that hardcore."
Duck: "Dad!"
Katjaa: "Kenny! Are you hurt?!"
Kenny: "Naw. I jus' did my little disappearin' act, is all. Boy, were those guys shocked! I betcha didn't know that I could just up and vanish int'a thin air like that, huh?"
Lee: "But … how?"
Kenny: "With this awesome lookin' ring that I found the other day."
Clementine: "Wow! Can I see it?"
Kenny: "No! Nobody touches the Precious but me!"
Clementine: "Oh … O-Okay." O_O
Duck: "You should'a seen it when you fell, Clementine. It was so cool! Just like when Mufasa died in The Lion King! And Lee must have been playing Simba, 'cause he was all like - 'NOOOOOOOOOOO~!' - and then Lilly was all like - "Lee, what have you done?" - an' then Lee was all like-"
Clementine: "…Gee, thanks, Duck." -_-
Soon: "Aaaaaaaand that's all we have time for today. Until next time, guys!"
Lee: "Wait. What about Carley? Where is she?"
Soon: "...Oh, yeah. Oops."
Walker-Carley: *aggravated rasping noises*
[Official Translation]: "Will someone come and get me off of this fucking rock already?!"
Soon: Hehe. Poor Carley. I was so mean to her in this story...
Ah, well. She'll be back in future stories and updates (as will many of the others), don't you worry. Now, let's finish this off with some final musings about the story as a whole...
Author's Notes:
* So, first of all - what was the point of this story, you may ask? Well, the point was, ultimately, about testing your devotion to Clementine's character.
You see, my goal here was to give you all a difficult choice - to either sacrifice two fan-favourite characters and assure Clementine's safety for certain, or try to save everyone and run the risk of losing Clem in the process. As we've seen by the limited number of results so far (as of typing, at least), this test has to be considered something of a failure, sadly, as barely any of you were willing to risk Clementine's safety for the good of the others.
Honestly, I probably could have balanced the choice a little better. I was planning to tweak things slightly prior to posting - mostly just to prevent the rock that Lilly was clutching from cracking until after the choice had already been made - but I simply couldn't be bothered in the end (most of this material was typed up many months ago now, after all). And it cost me too, as the current version of this choice was nowhere close to being well-balanced, unfortunately.
Still, at least we've got our answer now, right? You guys aren't willing to risk Clementine's safety for anyone, even two of the most popular characters from the first season of the game.
* And that brings me nicely onto why I selected the characters that I did for this choice.
Clementine was obviously the basis for writing the whole thing (kind of like the main game, in that regard), so I needed some greatly beloved characters to compete against Clem's immense popularity, for the purpose of balancing out the final decision a little bit.
Carley was the most obvious choice, as she was actually rated as the third most popular character from season 1 (after Clementine & Lee) in an official poll that Telltale staged shortly after the end of the game. However, I knew that Carley alone (while ridiculously popular in her own right) would not have been enough to sway you all away from Clementine, so I needed to add some additional weight to the opposite side. And that's where Kenny came into the picture.
Now, although Kenny's popularity among the greater fan-base has always been quite divided (particularly now, after the passing of season 2), he is still comfortably one of the most beloved characters to have been produced from the game so far. And just to hammer home this point, I even recently saw a poll (containing several hundred votes) where Kenny had ranked as the second most popular character in the entire game franchise (with Clementine obviously coming out on top), placing even ahead of Lee on that occasion. So, although Kenny has amassed his fair share of haters over the course of his time in the game, it's also fair to say that there are still a large number of people out there who love him more than any other character. So, he was clearly the optimal choice when it came to a secondary character to complement Carley's presence, and thus compete against Clementine for your affections.
But even that wasn't enough. I needed to even the scales a little more, and so I decided to add an additional character to Clementine's side, rather than bloating the opposing side any further. And yet, I couldn't really afford to add a popular character to Clementine's side (as that would have only made you all that much more desperate to save them both), so I instead cast my eyes around for an influential character who might instead drive you away from choosing Clementine ... and the character who my eyes fell upon was Lilly. Now, this tactic would probably have worked much better several years ago (when season 1 was still fresh in the mind), because Lilly's popularity has strangely grown since her departure from the game. Two years ago you were often looked at like a weirdo if you even dared to suggest that Lilly was anything other than a murderous bitch, whereas now you can not only get away with openly admitting to being fond of her, but will also be likely to hear a number of voices calling out in agreement as well. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I guess? Hehe.
In any case, Lilly is still a much-hated character (despite her steadily growing fan-base), and so I felt that she could still prove to be useful for the purpose of this story. Because, if there was someone on Clementine's side of the divide who the readers didn't particularly want to save, then that would only make the option of saving Carley & Kenny look all the more appealing, you see? After all, there's a fair portion of fans who would probably quite happily see Lilly thrown over the side of a cliff.
I deliberately played to this as well, since I wanted to make Lilly seem to have a slightly negative influence on the group, particularly during chapter 1 (which of course was used to set the general tone for the upcoming story).
Ben was pretty much thrown in as an afterthought just for the hell of it, to be honest. I figured that having him get involved in events could not only help to spice things up a little, but could also grant the reader the chance to make a further choice after the dust had settled, which would then allow for your individual ending to be a little bit more personalised, y'know?
It's also worth pointing out that I tried to balance things from a survival point-of-view as well. I knew that some people out there would look at it and say - "Two armed adults on one side, one armed adult and a child on the other side, no contest." - so I purposefully disarmed Carley directly before the choice was made. After all, although Carley is fairly deadly with a gun in hand, she immediately becomes rather helpless as soon as you take away her weapon, which would have greatly helped to balance out the "power scales" of the choice. I mean, sure, Carley eventually ended up with a gun anyway, if you choose to save her (at the expense of Lee losing his weapon, mind you), but you weren't to know that heading into the choice now, were you?
Of course, looking back on it now, such an alteration was completely meaningless, as all it did was help to cement the choice even further in Clem & Lilly's favour. Plus, when you've already got Lilly (arguably the most capable survivor in the group) on Clem's side of the fence, carrying the group's most powerful weapon (in the rifle), no less ... yeah, I don't really think that such matters needed to be tampered with at all.
As it was, the choice didn't end up being particularly balanced (with the scales still being firmly tipped in Clementine's favour), but I genuinely believe that the initial concept of this choice was fairly solid ... it was only the execution that let me down, unfortunately.
Just quickly on the "survival" front, however - perhaps it has escaped the attention of some of you that there are actually more (confirmed) survivors when you allow Clementine to die? So ... if your goal was strictly to preserve as much life as possible, then maybe saving Carley & Kenny could be considered the more prudent choice, no? Although, this of course assumes that you're going to take Ben along with you as well ... and, given the circumstances of her departure, you may not exactly consider Lilly surviving to be an entirely good thing, but ... even so. Life is still life, y'know?
Maybe you're one of these people who prefers a functional, working group over sentimentality, in which case I can see why Kenny & Carley might be the more appealing option. After all, you've got your loyal "wing-man" in Kenny (assuming that you keep siding with him, of course), as well as a ready-made love interest in Carley. True, you could potentially consider Lilly to be a love interest as well (on top of being a capable partner), but ... eh, Lee would have to really put the effort in if he wanted to make that work. Lilly isn't like Carley - she's not just going to willingly fall into Lee's lap at the first request. He'd have to be quite persistently charming ... or perhaps charmingly persistent, haha!
In the end, I suppose it really comes down to how much Clementine's life really means to you, personally. Are you willing to let her go to try and preserve a larger portion of the group? For most people, it would seem that the answer to that question is quite clearly an adamant "no".
* My second goal for this story was to explore Lee's possible reaction to losing Clementine, which means that I naturally needed to have her die if (or when) some of the readers opted to save the others instead. I could so easily have gone the opposite way, of course, and had Clementine survive either way (which would have obviously resulted in everyone who chose to save Clem letting Kenny & Carley to die for nothing), but that just didn't appeal to me as much, from a writing perspective.
I mean, yes, it would have been an extraordinary mind-fuck to try and trick the vast majority of you into letting Kenny & Carley die like that, but ... I dunno. It just wouldn't have been as dramatic for me, and seeing the surprise and regret from all of you would not have fully compensated for the loss of that additional tension and drama, I don't think. I certainly like the way that the current version turned out better, at least in that regard...
That's just my personal opinion on the matter, however. Besides, seeing as in most of you have so far been electing to save Clementine anyway, I suppose that you should all be quite pleased that I chose to do things this way, as otherwise you'd have all more than likely ended up regretting your decision, wouldn't you? :3
* Now, let's have a round up of what actually went down in this fic, shall we? You can finish off this story with a total of six different group compositions. You can have...
Group 1: Lee. This occurs if you choose to make no decision during the main choice, and then elect to leave Ben behind during the following outcome chapter. Clementine and Carley are both dead in this version of events, while Kenny is missing (possibly dead), and Ben has been left to his own fate. Lilly is also quite possibly still alive, and so this version of Lee may potentially be faced with a solo confrontation at a later date. An epic showdown, of sorts! ... Hmm. I kinda wanna write that now. As this Lee has pretty much already accepted death, however, it probably wouldn't be much of a fight, sadly.
Group 2: Lee & Ben. This also occurs if you again make no decision, but then elect to take Ben with you instead. All of the above fates are still intact, except that you've now got an unconscious Ben to protect as well ... on top of having both Lilly (seemingly) and the walkers now out for your blood. So... Good luck to anyone who chose these two options, is what I'd say. Hahaha! I wouldn't rate their chances of survival very highly at all.
Group 3: Lee, Kenny & Carley. This happens if you choose to help Kenny during the main choice, and then leave Ben behind during the follow-up choice. The two aforementioned characters are still alive and well, with Kenny still completely on side (Team Kenneh), but Carley not being best pleased with you. Clementine is dead, but Lilly is still on the prowl somewhere, and apparently out for vengeance. Their chances of surviving the walkers are fairly high here, I would say ... it's only really Lilly they'd have to worry about. You gotta be careful that she doesn't head-shot you from off screen ... 'cause she's a sneaky-sneak like that. Hehe.
Group 4: Lee, Lilly & Clementine. This is what happens if you choose to help Lilly during the main choice, and then leave Ben behind afterwards (you might call this one the choice for "Lilly Purists", haha). You've built up a pretty strong bond with Lilly in this outcome, but may have slightly damaged your relationship with Clementine in the process. Carley has died and reanimated, while Kenny is once again nowhere to be found. I'd say that this group has a pretty strong chance of surviving. Both Lee & Lilly (two highly capable individuals) are set on protecting Clementine, and both are also armed and ready for combat.
Group 5: Lee, Kenny, Carley & Ben. The first of the "four-man cells", haha! You can get this outcome by electing first to help Kenny escape from the cliff, and then choosing to take Ben along with you afterwards. Your bond with Carley is still strong here, while Kenny is feeling a little miffed. Lilly and Clementine's fates are the same as in Groups 1-3. The addition of an unconscious Ben has now made survival that bit harder for the group, but I would still say that these three should have enough man power to push their way through. After all, you've still got two armed adults on hand, should things go bad.
Group 6: Lee, Lilly, Clementine & Ben. I'm thinking that this is probably the most popular outcome overall (although, I can't be certain, as a lot of the people who originally voted didn't follow up their votes for the "Ben choice"). You achieve this through opting to help Lilly at the summit and then taking Ben along during the following chapter. Clementine seems to be delighted with your decision, while your relationship with Lilly is slightly tenser than it was for the opposite outcome with Ben. Kenny & Carley's fates are identical to the ones they have for Groups 1, 2 & 4. I would say that the chances of this group's survival are ... kinda dodgy, honestly. Unlike with the opposite group, there are no longer two adults left to fend off the advancing walkers, as Lee has now been partially incapacitated by the unconscious Ben. I would stop short of saying they're completely fucked (having Lilly on side is a massive advantage, and Lee certainly wouldn't go down easy), but ... it's going to far more difficult for them all now, put it that way.
So, which of those six groups have you ended up with? And are you happy with your decisions? Do you get the impression that your team of survivors is going to make it through the horde and reach safety at last? Or are they all walker chow? Hahaha!
And how about the vast number of loose ends left in the story? How long do you think that Ben would make it if left to his own devices atop the plateau? A day? An hour? ... Ten minutes? Hehe.
And then there's Kenny's mysterious disappearance as well. Do you think that he managed to survive? Did he die? ... Or will he merely resurface in a couple of years' time, sporting an epic beard and saying that he "got lucky" ... "real lucky". ;P
And let's not forget about the now-vengeful Lilly, either. Can she be talked around, do you think? Will she even survive her injuries? Could she bleed out? Or get cornered by walkers? ... Or perhaps she could simply come back and shoot you in the face when you least expect it, haha! I mean, who knows, right? I was certainly trying to abide by the impression given in the game for this story - which is that Lilly can be either a powerful ally, or an extremely dangerous enemy, depending on your actions towards her.
Share your thoughts about this story with me, guys, as I'm deeply curious to know how you all interpreted these various events and outcomes. If this story receives a positive enough reception, then I'll consider posting more choice-based short stories in the future ... or perhaps I'll even consider making a sequel to this one, if that's what you all would like to happen. :)
Either way, I need support to make this happen. If you don't tell me your thoughts on this, then I'm just going to assume that no one is interested and leave this concept to gather dust. If you genuinely enjoyed this story and would like to see more, then be sure to let me know about it, yeah?
Soon: And that was the conclusion to this fan-fiction. It's been a pretty manic five days, trying to get all of this story uploaded on time, but hopefully it was worth the effort. Some of you seemed to enjoy it at least, and hopefully others will in the future as well. It's not going anywhere, after all.
In regards to my current plans, well ... My intention is to go back to my original story, "Salvation Lost", and upload the second installment of that rather lengthy adventure here next. I'm already in the process of re-typing the next chapter, so it should be on its way at some point in the near future.
If you enjoyed this story, but haven't yet read my other one, then feel free to go and check it out at some point. It may be a little on the sluggish side to begin with, but I can guarantee you that it will eventually surpass anything and everything that you've seen so far in this story. Creating genuine drama and lasting character relationships is so much easier when you give yourself the necessary time to build things up from the base, y'know?
I'm hoping to try and upload something new here on a monthly basis (doing so in rapid spurts, as I have done with my first two entries), but that honestly might prove difficult to maintain, long-term ... I've got a lot going on right now (both online and off), and so writing new material is pretty far down on my priority list at the moment. If you're eager to see more of Salvation Lost (or just me as an author in general) then the best thing that you can do is go and show support for that story. As I've said above, letting me know that I'm entertaining you is by far the best way to motivate me to continue with this, as I've now burned through all of the material that I had pre-typed on my computer. Those handful of extra reviews can sometimes make all the difference, trust me.
Anyway, hopefully you all enjoyed this little jaunt into the horrific world of The Walking Dead. I'll be back again soon, I promise ... although, quite how soon may partially depend on all of you, I suppose. Remember to give me your thoughts about the story as a whole, won't you?
And I'll see you all next time, guys. ;)