A place to call home

Chapter 9: you can't save them all

Hey, everyone, for those who watched the show, I think it's safe to say season 5 got off to a great start. Seriously, one of the best intro episodes yet and I can't wait for more. But going over from the show to the game, here's chapter 9. Enjoy.


The sounds of the walkers grunting and snarling could be heard through the outside of the house. They banged on the outside of the house, possibly attracted to the yells of Kenny and Ben. But there could be a slight chance they would not be able to get inside.

"Oh, no." Clementine gasped as she took a couple of steps back and stood closely to Lee.

"Fuck." Omid swore, taking his revolver out when he knew they were in for a fight. Who knows how many of the walkers were outside?

"Looks like we've got company." Chuck stated the obvious and retrieved his shovel.

"We don't have a lot of ammo," Lee pointed out as he took out his Glock 17. "We have to make these shots count. Clem, stay close."

"Right," Kenny agreed.

Kenny asked everyone how much ammunition they had left and everyone pulled out a handgun except for Clementine and Katjaa. Even Chuck had a revolver. Kenny, Lee, Christa, Omid, Ben and Chuck all counted their ammunition in turns.

"3"

"5"

"3"

"4"

"2"

"1"

Clementine and Katjaa stood back, as everyone got to shooting. Walkers fell dead in a near instant, tackling some others down, but they got back up. All you could hear was the loud gunshots and the moaning of walkers. Clementine had nearly forgotten how the gunshots used to make her ears ring.

Chuck raised his shovel and whacked a single walker down, but he eventually got cornered and struggled to fight them off. Everyone retreated upstairs, leaving Chuck alone for a moment. He managed to push through them but he remained at the top of the stairs and stood guard there. "You all go on ahead!"

The rest of the group obliged, Lee holding Clementine's hand, and stood at the top of the stairs. Too bad that didn't last long because some of them began climbing the stairs, horrifying the group.

"Fuck! In the attic!" Kenny ordered.

Chuck bravely held them off for as long as he could, but in the end, they overwhelmed him and bit into different parts of his body. With his last act of strength, he took out his gun and shot himself in the head to prevent reanimation.

The rest of the group climbed into the attic, closing it behind them. They were trapped, but were unsure if the walkers knew where they were.

Kenny closed the attic hatch and placed his hands on his knees, panting. "Holy shit..."

"Is everyone okay?" Lee called out.

("No.")

("I'm okay.")

("Chuck...")

("...")

"I'm okay." Clementine assured as she took a seat next to Katjaa on the couch.

"I'm good." Omid replied, panting a couple of times to catch his break back.

"Great. Now how the fuck are we gettin' out of here?" Kenny threw his arms up in frustration.

"I guess we could hang around and wait until they leave." Omid suggested as he eyed a statue head on the table that had him interested. "This guy looks like he knows what to do. He's got a resourceful air about him. Dixon Kent the third, industrial-

"Omid!" Christa cut him off, giving him a death glare.

"Christa, I'm just trying to lighten the tone!" Omid explained in a somewhat snapping tone, but he would never be harsh with his girlfriend.

"Look, we might need to find a way out of here," Christa explained. "Hanging around for too long might not be a good idea."

"Wasn't this house connected to another house?" Ben stated as he proceeded towards the end of the attic and pressed his ear up against the wood.

"I think so." Clementine agreed as Lee took a seat beside her. But at the moment, she was feeling doubtful. They were so close to victory and now the walkers prevented them from escaping.

"Any way we can break down this wall?" Kenny wanted to know. He picked up the statue head and threw it and hit the wall once. Much to everyone's surprise, a resounding crack could be heard.

"You ruined that dude's face." Omid spoke up.

To make certain, Kenny picked up a jacket rack and began to whack it against the wall.

Lee got up from the couch and inspected the wall. There was already a small hole leading into another bedroom, meaning that there was a possible chance of escape. "This wall ain't shit."

Kenny told everyone to rest for a while whilst he would break through the wall until he was out of energy. Everyone gathered around the couches and sat down together.

"I can't believe Chuck's gone." that was the first thing Omid had said after they sat in silence. He sighed and looked down at his feet. He liked Chuck was a friend and could not believe he was gone now.

"He was a good man," Lee added.

Clementine was probably the one who felt the most upset. She hadn't been able to prevent his death like she hoped, and now he was gone again, just like in her dream. Still, she looked at Katjaa and was glad to still have her here.

It took a couple of minutes until Kenny arrived and switched places with Omid. He found another bottle of wine in the box and decided now was a better time than any to have a drink. Surprisingly, Katjaa had a sip to and so did Christa, but Lee decided to not have one. And even more surprisingly, Kenny offered Ben a drink.

Ben was about to accept it, but instead, he declined. "No, thanks. I'm good."

Omid took the final blow to the wall, tossing the jacket rack to the side and panting from exhaustion. This caught the attention of the group, and Kenny stood up after taking a long drink.

"We got it?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're through." Omid answered in between breaths.

The group all squeezed together through the house that led into a bedroom. But what they saw next left them horrified. Two corpses lying on a bed and holding hands caught everyone's attention. It looked like they had shot themselves after being unable to take it anymore.

Clementine gasped and held her hand to her mouth.

"My God..." Katjaa covered her mouth with her hands. Kenny placed an arm around her shoulders and stared at the corpses with a profound sadness.

"How could they do this?" Lee muttered more to himself than to anyone else.

Omid and Christa looked at one another, and held on to each other as they looked on.

("Oh, no.")

("How could they?")

("It's not right.")

("...")

"It's not right." Clementine admitted, closing her eyes as she had a moment of silence in respect for them.

(?) They will remember that.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Ben replied, holding a hand to his mouth.

Omid turned towards everyone here and could not help but notice all eyes were glued to the corpses. He let go of Christa's hand and proceeded over towards a closet that was blocking the exit out of the room. "Anyone want to help me move this?"

"I'll help," Lee offered, walking over to assist Omid.

Together, they moved the closet out the way and revealed the exit. Slowly, everyone exited the bedroom-Kenny taking the couple's gun-and preceded towards downstairs where some of the windows were boarded up, but not all of them. After searching the place, everyone gathered around in the living room and sat together where walkers would not be able to find them. This time, they kept silent.

Omid snuck over to the window and peaked out the window slightly to see the house next door. The walkers were slowly moving outside, but not all of them. "Looks like they're leaving."

"Good, we may be in the clear," Kenny noted. He looked out the windows and saw that there were no walkers in the backyard. "I'll head out first and get the boat ready. Everyone else follow my lead carefully, and try not to attract any unnecessary attention."

"You got it," Lee replied with a slow nod.

Kenny opened the window and walked towards the shed, and waved his hand to beckon everyone else out.

Everyone followed and stuck close together, keeping their ways surveyed around the area for any walkers that may still be lurking around the area, but they were confident that they had left by now.

Kenny and Lee pulled the boat from the shed by the bottom, both grunting slightly.

"I think we can get the boat to the harbor quickly if we all push it together," Lee announced. "Is everybody ready?"

Ben didn't really know if he had any say in this, so he just placed his hands in his pockets and looked away awkwardly.

"Come on and help, kid." Omid said as he patted his back a couple of times. He and Christa decided to help, but Omid had a little difficulty since he was not as tall as everyone else.

Ben shrugged and helped carry the boat out of the yard and into the streets of Savannah.

("Can I help?")

("What should I do?")

("Can I have a gun?")

("...")

Clementine, who was not obviously strong enough to carry the boat, approached Lee and requested a weapon. "Lee, can I have your gun just in case?"

"Sure, Clem, you can hold onto it, but be careful," Lee replied, getting out his firearm from his back pocket. He smiled lightly at her as she took it from him. Clementine returned the smile and looked around the streets.

Using team work, the group slowly made their way down to the harbor and not a walker in sight. So far so good. Carrying a boat was not easy one bit, but if this was their ticket to freedom, then they had to put in the work with all of their strength.

"Ughhh..." Kenny grunted, taking a quick rest break. "How's everyone doin'? Tired yet?"

"Not really," Lee couldn't help but smirk.

Other than the loss of Chuck, Clementine felt that things were finally looking up. The group would be going someplace safe on a boat, and she wouldn't have to worry about Lee, or anyone, dying.


Finally they made it to the harbor and were able to get the boat into the water. Kenny hopped into the boat and attempted to get the engine started, but instead, the engine only rattled.

"What the...are you shitting me?" Kenny demanded of nobody in particular, punching the steering wheel in frustration.

"Kenny, please, calm down," Katjaa pleaded.

Kenny sighed and took off his hat, running his hands through his hair. "Well, what now?"

"Just keep trying." Omid suggested, he and the others looking off into the ocean and were not keeping an eye out.

As Kenny attempted to start the engines, the group were completely unaware of the familiar walkers appear from the streets and buildings. An entire horde slowly approached the group.

Christa turned around, hearing the noise, and her eyes widened. "Shit! We have company."

Kenny looked up hurriedly, but before he could give a warning, a walker had sneaked up and grabbed Katjaa by the shoulders, biting into her neck as she screamed out. The mustached man immediately scrambled out of the boat.

"Stay back, Clem," Lee prodded, turning towards the oncoming horde.

Kenny cried out as his wife was devoured by walkers, but he was not willing to let them take her like that. He pulled out his pistol and charged through them, firing his last remaining rounds. Although it was hard to tell, they could have sworn they heard him yell "KATJAA!"

Clementine looked back and forth between her people and the walkers. She fired a few rounds towards the walkers, but her gun clicked in a matter of seconds. She took a couple of steps back and screamed when a walker appeared and stood a mere foot away. She thought she was done for, but before the walker could attacked, Ben appeared out of nowhere with his gun pressed up against the walker and with a single shot, he fired and killed the walker. He saved her life.

"Ben!" she cried out in a grateful tone.

"Clem, are you-AHH!" Ben screamed when he felt a walker sneak up on him from behind. He quickly turned around and tried to shoot it, but he was too late and the walker had bit into his neck. "AHHHHHH!"

"NO!" Clementine screamed, unable to do anything as the walker devoured into him.

With his last act of strength, he stumbled back and slipped off the pier and fell into the water, taking the walker with him. Clementine could not believe it. She just lost Kenny, Katjaa and Ben in a matter of seconds. She turned towards Lee who was using a cleaver to fight them back.

Omid and Christa were alone together, using their weapons to fight back the walkers.

Clementine's golden eyes darted around for Lee, who had his Glock 17 in one hand and a meat cleaver that he'd somehow come across in the other. She found him about a yard away, and he was taking down any walker who dared to come across him or his remaining group.

The little girl ran over to him, but she was completely defenseless. She had no choice but to watch as he continued to slam walkers down with one shot or slice.

"OMID!"

Whipping around at Christa's frantic cry, Clementine saw a huge bite mark on Omid's arm, and Omid's already huge eyes widening in fear. But there was nothing that Christa could do, as she'd just fired her last bullet into the walker that had bitten Omid. Omid noticed more walkers coming towards him, but he and Christa backed away. Unfortunately, they didn't see the walkers coming up behind them, they were surrounded. The last thing Clementine saw was the fearful look in their eyes before they disappeared completely into a swarm of hungry walkers.

"AHHHHH!"

Clementine turned around again. No. This wasn't happening again.

Two walkers had grabbed Lee and forced him to the ground, eating him alive. Lee screamed in agony as one of them reached into his stomach and pulled out his intestines, stuffing them into his mouth. Clementine's mouth dropped open in fear and shock; there was nothing she could do as she was now defenseless.

"CLEMENTINE!" Lee bellowed. "MY GUN - IT'S NEAR RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE! YOU HAVE TO...YOU HAVE TO SHOOT ME! I'M SORRY, SWEET PEA!"

With tears flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks, Clementine picked up the gun and aimed it at Lee.

(Shoot Lee)

(Don't shoot Lee)

She pulled the trigger and fired, using up her last bullet. Now she was defenseless, and she had nobody. She was fully aware of the world going to hell around her, and there was nothing she could do. No longer caring, she placed her hands over her ears and began to scream...


And shot up in bed. Clementine looked around, tears still blurred in her eyes. Where was she? The door opened, and in ran Kenny, alive and well, but now he had that beard again. Luke and Carlos stood in the doorway, also having heard the little girl's screams.

("LEE!")

("NO!")

("HELP!")

("...")

"LEE!" Clementine screamed, holding her hands to her ears and her eyes shut closed with tears dropping out of her eyes. She was now crying heavily and this was the most she had cried since the events of Savannah. She still thought she was there, watching as her friends around her died, but it was all a dream.

Clem! Clementine!" Kenny cried out, sitting on the bed and placing his hands on the little girl's shoulders.

Clementine looked up at him with sad and fearful eyes. Right now, you couldn't tell that she'd hurt anything or anyone. Kenny hugged her close, letting her cry.

"It's all right, darlin', it's okay," he soothed, rubbing circles into her back.

"Is she okay?" Luke asked, a worried tone in his voice as he and Carlos looked on from the doorway. AJ's own cries could be heard from Rebecca and Alvin's room, as Clem's screaming had possibly woken him up.

"She's fine, I'll handle this," Kenny threw over his shoulder as he continued to rub Clementine's back gently. "Just a nightmare."

"Kenny...You're...You're okay." Clementine cried into the older man's chest and moved her arms around him. She was afraid and needed someone who she knew for comfort, and that someone was Kenny.

"It's okay, everyone." Carlos informed the rest of the group who were all standing in the hallway after hearing Clementine's screams. "She's okay, it was just a nightmare. Everyone should get back to bed." he placed his hands upon his daughter's shoulders and escorted her back to their room. "Let's go back to bed, sweetie."

Everyone else dispersed back into their rooms, Luke giving Clementine a final sympathetic look before closing the door quietly, leaving her with Kenny.

Clementine felt embarrassed with so many people seeing her cry. She didn't want to appear weak to them, especially not now.

"I'm not goin' anywhere, darlin'," Kenny whispered into Clementine's ear. "Shhhh, it's all right. You still have me. Do you want to talk about your dream?"

("Yes.")

("No.")

("...")

"It...It was back in the past." Clementine answered in a somewhat muffled voice. "I was little again...I knew everything that happened...And tried to save everyone...But...They all still died...Chuck...Christa...Omid...Ben...Katjaa...Lee..."

That was all Clementine could say before the image of Lee's intestines being pulled out of his body came to mind, and she just cried again. God, she hated crying.

(?) Kenny will remember that.

Kenny sighed, but didn't say anything as he continued to hug her. Clementine was just a little girl, only eleven years old. She didn't deserve to go through all this shit. The bearded man held her close, the only thing left that connected to his past.

"Nothing's gonna happen to me, Clementine, I'll always keep you safe," Kenny told the child.

Clementine knew that there was no guarantee in that statement, but she sniffled and looked up at Kenny briefly before laying her head on his chest, gripping his shirt tightly.

Clementine trusted Kenny with her life and now that he was back, she was certain he would take care of her the best he could. She looked up to Kenny as a father-figure and since they were reunited, their relationship was stronger than ever. Kenny was the only person she had left from her old group and she did not want to lose him to. "Thank you, Kenny. I'm glad I have you back again."

"And I couldn't be happier to see you," Kenny responded with a smile, now that Clementine had stopped crying. "Do you want to go back to sleep, or sit up for a while? I'll stay with you."

(Stay up)

(Go to sleep)

"I'm okay, Kenny. I think I can go back to sleep, thank you." Clementine assured as she lied back down into her bed and placed her blanket over herself.

"Alright then, darlin'," Kenny nodded, but he still wasn't going anywhere until Clementine fell asleep. He really didn't want her to wake up after another nightmare.

Clementine fell asleep in a bit less than a minute, not realizing how exhausted she truly was.


That brings us to the end of this chapter, folks. It turns out it was all a dream the entire time and now we are back into the reality with the group in the ski lodge. Keep tuned for the next chapter, folks.