Scrambling to button up his shirt, Luke frantically searches for a gun in his bag while also trying not to trip over Bonnie. They both look rather ridiculous right now – especially after… well, whatever it was they were doing. But as Kenny stops the canoe onto the sand, that becomes the least of our worries.

"Stay in here," Kenny orders, not looking for an argument.

"Are you serious?!"

"Yeah, I am!"

"Urgh!" I grunt, huffing and sinking down into my seat. Why does everyone think I'm so incapable of doing anything?! Just because I only have one foot doesn't mean I can't contribute!

And I'm gonna prove that!

Reaching to the bottom of the canoe for the gun that Lee had given me earlier, I aim it at one of the walkers while also trying not to tip myself over. I'll admit – it'd be pretty difficult to fir if I was standing up, since the crutches would most likely just get in the way. But from this position I've got a clear shot.

"Hold still…" I instruct the walker, as if it would actually listen to me. Pulling the trigger, I smirk in victory as it goes down, but look sort of guiltily towards Kenny as he glares at me. He seems to have taken the rest of them down without much incident, while Luke and Bonnie are still trying to put their jeans on and hide the blush on their faces.

"Thanks, umm… guys," Luke replies sheepishly, looking as red as a tomato, "Guess they must've got the jump on us."

"Seemed to me like you two must've gotten the jump on each other, as well," Kenny comments sarcastically, muttering profanities as he reloads his weapon. "And Clementine! What part of stay put and don't move was confusing?"

"Well, to be fair I never left the canoe…"

"Don't be a smart-ass, Clem! You know what I mean!"

"I just want to help," I explain quietly, shifting my leg a bit so it's not quite as sore. "I can do this kind of stuff if you let me."

"I think I'm, uh, gonna head back," Bonnie says embarrassingly, keeping her head down and jogging out of sight. I still don't understand why they'd take off their clothes out here. It's way too cold out here to be doing something like that.

"We'll talk about this later, Clementine. And you," Kenny finishes before turning his attention towards Luke. "Why in the actual fuck are you two rolling around like a bunch of teenagers out here? If Clem and I hadn't come along, you two would've gotten yourselves killed for sure – all so you could have a little pleasure!"

"Come on Kenny, you're being overdramatic," Luke sighs exasperated.

"Oh, am I? 'Cause it seemed to me that you were caught with your pants down over here! Of all the childish bullshit… Maybe you should start thinking about the group's safety before living off your fantasies!"

"You know what, Kenny?" Luke says, turning around and raising his hands in the air. "In case you haven't noticed, we're in a shitty world out here, alright? I mean it's fucked! This whole thing is FUCKED! So forgive me for wanting to enjoy one good thing of something else!"

"Do you see any of us waddling around in self-pity out here?"

"Don't make me say something hurtful, old man," Luke warns, a nasty glare on his face. "Because I've seen what you've done before we got here – why don't we just go spread around about how well you've adapted? Yeah, killing Ben was so heroic of you! Fucking typical… And I bet you must've pissed off the new guy something fierce, with the way he looks at ya!"

"I'd watch my ass if I were you, boy," Kenny snarls, holding a pistol at his side. "You don't really know what you're dealing with."

"What are you gonna do? Shoot me? Go ahead! Go right the fuck ahead, Kenny!" Luke yells, patting his chest as if he's daring him to do it. "And then while you're at it, why don't you go and shoot her too?! In fact, how about the whole fucking camp?! You seem to be pissed off at everyone here anyway! Come at me!"

"KENNY STOP!" I screech, sending a scared deer that was prancing about nearby to bolt deeper into the forest. Kenny's got his pistol aimed straight at Luke's forehead, and is just seconds away from pulling the trigger. "If you do this, then they won't let you back in! Don't let that happen! Luke's just… tired. He doesn't mean it!"

"Oh no. He meant every fucking word…"

"Kenny, please… this won't change anything! I don't want to lose you too…"

This strikes a chord within the fisherman – I can see it on his face. Most people will just yell at the guy or hate his guts like Lee appears to, but I know how to get through to him. Sometimes I think I know Kenny more than he knows himself.

"Fine…" Kenny hisses at Luke, lowering the gun and walking back towards me. "Do what you want, Luke. Just don't expect me to help you when the stakes are down."

…..

That was one long canoe ride. One awkward, long canoe ride. We both kind of just listened to the nature surrounding us – I actually heard some sort of loon or something out on the lake, but neither of us could see where it was coming from. Aren't birds supposed to fly south for the winter?

Anyways, I get myself stable on the crutches and hop away on them without a word, as Kenny insists that he'll put the stuff back himself. With the headless fish in one hand, I struggle to maintain my balance.

As for me, I think I might as well find something useful to do near our campsite.

The sleeping arrangement of our group is as follows: Arvo and Eddie, Sarah and I, Bonnie and Lilly, Kenny and Luke (how fun), and Lee's by himself. I'm pretty sure he gets lonely a lot of the time – especially since he barely knows anyone here, and he didn't exactly get off to a great start with the new people. But I always try to include him in things when I can.

Speaking of which…

"Looks like you got quite a catch there," Lee compliments, seemingly less aggravated than he was earlier. "You'll be a seasoned pro in no time."

"Thanks… Is Lilly back yet?"

"I was just looking for her myself, actually," he admits, "But I think that Arvo guy wanted to see you about something. He says it might get you off the crutches soon, but I don't know about him. Does he seem a little bit… off to you?"

"What do you mean?" I question, fairly certain that I know almost everything about him.

"I get the feeling he's not quite as he seems to be – as if he's hiding something. But… maybe I'm just getting paranoid. Anyway, I'm going to look for Lilly, so I'll probably see you later tonight."

"Okay…" I respond uneasily, noting how suspicious Lee's becoming. Since when did he start judging people he's never met? I specifically remember him when I was younger telling me not to judge a book by its cover!

I hate to admit it, but I think my relationship with Lee is becoming strained. We're not on the same page as we were before. Back then, Lee and I were practically inseparable. The only time I ever remember disagreeing with him was when we tried looking for my parents, and even then he still came with me to find them.

But now…

Now, he barely talks to anyone at all – I think he'll occasionally talk to Lilly about something, but their conversations are short. With me, it's a bit different. I can get him to open up about some things, but most of the time he keeps to himself. It's hard to describe, but the connection we once had is covered in potholes.

As I watch him walk away, I can't help but think to myself… why did he come back at all?

…

Lee's POV

Where the hell could she have gone? Lilly told me that she would be back with the rest of her scouting party in like five minutes, but that was about thirty minutes ago. She couldn't have gotten that far, right?

I bet it was that kid in the orange sweater that messed up somehow… what was his name? Luke? He certainly didn't come off as friendly to me when I first arrived. Clementine seems to vouch for him, so I guess I can give him the benefit of the doubt, but still.

You know, I think maybe things would've been a lot simpler if it was just Lilly, Clementine and I out on our own. It's not as if we don't care about each other, and I still haven't properly thanked Lilly for looking after the kids for me. That was huge of her to take on that responsibility. But fucking Kenny… every time I see him my blood boils. We just unleashed verbal assaults on each other in that tent, and I swear if Clementine wasn't inside with us, we would've ended up tearing each other to pieces.

Venturing outside the gated fences of Wellington, I search around for any sign of the woman. Hopefully nothing bad happened to her, but you never know. She could've slipped and fallen somewhere, or gotten eaten alive by –

No! Stop thinking that way, man! Lilly's probably fine; she's been through worse things than this before.

Some snow falls off of a tree branch and lands directly on my head, showering me in the powdery substance. Wiping the shit off, I shiver slightly and look out onto one of the dirt paths I took to get here (though now it's also covered in snow).

I think there's someone coming this way!

I reach for my pistol, really hoping that I won't have to use it, but… of course I didn't get it back from Clementine. Shit!

"Howdy neighbour!" the stranger calls out, casually strolling towards me as if he's asking for a cup of sugar. "Sorry if I startled you, but you know how things are. We don't exactly have cell phones or shit like that these days, huh? Otherwise I'd be hitting up the ladies right now!"

His attempt at a joke doesn't come off as funny at all. In fact, I'd say it'd actually downright creepy, seeing's how we literally just met. He looks like a trucker type of person, with his redneck hat on his head, his dark jean jacket and brownish pants.

I already don't like this guy.

"What are you doing out here?" I ask suspiciously, noticing the cigarette in one hand while he adjusts the gun on his back with the other. Where the hell did this guy get an AK-47 anyway?

"Well, me and my crew are set up a ways down in that direction," he points slightly to the west, "But it's tough shit out here, ya know what I mean? We're low on food and clothing and junk, and I thought that you could possibly help us out. You're a part of that camp over there, ain't ya? Wellington or whatever the hell it's called?"

"There's nothing for you there, I'm afraid," I interject, not liking where this is going. Fucking hell… I should've brought a gun with me. "We're all full."

"Mind if I take a look with you, neighbour?" the strange man asks, throwing the cigarette butt to the ground and stomping on it. "Maybe we could work out some sort of trade. What do you say?"

"I already said no, man. Now I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Take it easy there, big guy," he replies, holding his hands up in defense. "I'm just a fellow survivor trying to live out here. Nothing to go ape shit over."

Without another word, I slowly walk away from him, though not turning around in case he decides to fire at me. With nut jobs like this, you never know what you'll find.

Especially ones with wolfish grins like his.

"Ain't you the paranoid one?" he calls out, laughing as he shakes his head. "I reckon we'll be seeing each other again real soon. Take it easy, you fucking prick…"

"Don't come around here again!" I warn as I sprint off in the direction that I came from. If he follows me back, then I'm royally fucked since he's carrying around that big, old machine gun on his back. He'd strike me down in an instant.

Thankfully though, it doesn't look like he's tailing me in any way. Maybe I should've asked what his name was – that way if he does come back I'll know who I'm shooting beforehand. He's the kind of person that parents would have to keep their children away from, and I could tell the second I set eyes on him that he'd be trouble.

And if he was serious about coming back, then he'd be sure to bring friends along that might be just as shit-faced as he was. I'm pretty sure he was a high as a kite.

….

"Umm, hey there," I greet Luke awkwardly as I walk over to him, "Do you know where Lilly went off to? I thought you guys were out hunting together?"

"Yeah…" Luke replies sheepishly, running his hand through his hair as a nervous habit, "She's around the camp somewhere. Bonnie and I… we, umm, kind of got separated from her in the woods, so we came back a little bit late. But everyone's safe."

Nodding solemnly, I convince myself not to ask how he and the redhead managed to get lost out here. It'd probably just be some lame excuse he'd cook up anyway.

"Where's Clementine?"

"Inside with Arvo – they're fixing her up."

"WHAT?!" I yell, worried about the possibilities. How could something have happened to her within twenty minutes of me last speaking to her? "What happened?!"

"Easy, relax man," Luke backs away slowly, trying to control the beast inside of me. "Arvo found a prosthetic foot in one of the medical tents. It ain't perfect by any means, but hopefully she'll be able to walk eventually without having to use crutches all the time."

Relief slowly sweeps over me as I register what he's telling me. Able to walk again? That's great! Awesome, even! Maybe she'll finally not have to keep being cooped up in here all the time… well, if the rest of these assholes will let her do it. She'll definitely need time to get used to it though.

"Well, then I'll just pop in and see how things are going – "

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Luke interrupts, blocking the entrance. "Just give them some space, Lee. Arvo knows what he's doing – don't interrupt him."

"I don't need your permission, Luke. She's…" Why is it so hard for me to finish that sentence?

"She's what?" Luke asks, putting his hands on his hips as if he's got the authority over me.

But really though, what is she to me? Clem's definitely not my daughter, but to just call her a friends feels… weird, to me. It's complicated, but I feel like we've been through so much together that calling her just a friend doesn't make sense.

The only problem is, I don't know her anymore as well as I thought I did.

"Whatever…" I puff out, walking away slowly, "I'm going to see Lilly, so come find me when Clem's finished in there, alright?"

Not getting a reply, I shake my head and wander about trying to find the woman. I swear, Lilly's a freaking ninja sometimes. Doesn't she realize that we might be in trouble soon?

That trucker douchebag is putting our safety at risk… which means that Clementine's safety could be at risk. I won't allow that to happen ever again.

She's all I've really got left, and I'll die before I let anything or anyone harm her.

It's what I promised myself I'd do from the first day in Macon.