AN: This chapter's going to switch between two points of view. Hopefully it's not too confusing for you guys :P

Lee's POV

"See anything yet?" I ask Luke and Bonnie as we trek through the snow; guns out and at the ready. Luckily for us there were some footprints left behind going away from the campsite, so it'd be a lot easier to track them down. God, when I get my hands on the guy…

"Nothing," Luke admits, grunting in frustration as he combs through some more bushes. "We've been out her for over a damn hour and there's no sign of the bastard. Any luck on your end, Bonnie?"

"Just snow over here… do you guys have any idea who might've done this?"

"I barely knew the guy, but I don't know why anybody would want to kill him. Arvo seemed pretty decent to me," Luke replies before looking over in my direction. "I'm guessing you wouldn't know anything about this either?"

No, not a clue. I can't think of one single reason why anybody would kill him just out of the blue like that. Did this Arvo guy piss the wrong person off? Or was there a different motive?

…It couldn't be that dumbass on the road though, could it?

I mean, I'm not the best judge of character, but that trucker guy certainly didn't seem like he could pull something like this off. He looked way too dumb, and even if he did come back, it would've been after me, right? Not some twenty-something year old kid that he never knew!

But I don't say anything to them, because I don't have a real connection between the two events just yet.

"There's a walker up ahead," I whisper as I motion for them to crouch down. No use in letting it know where we are. Thankfully I had been smart and decided to bring my backpack with me before I left, so I quickly unzip it and clutch Molly's old grappling hook in my hand. Over time I had gotten used to the weight in one hand, so it's not a problem for me as I sneak up behind the monster and plunge it straight into the back of its head.

"You handle yourself pretty well there," Bonnie compliments as I yank the hook out.

"Years of practice," I explain, getting weird looks from the two of them. I don't think Luke trusts me very much at all. "Come on – there's some tracks that lead out this way. Maybe we can take him by surprise…"

"Don't move!"

So much for that plan – there's a young man shakily holding his rifle out in front of us as he passes out of his hiding spot in the bushes. He's got a light brown wool sweater with dark blue jeans and running shoes. He's definitely a Caucasian male, and he's not a particularly tall guy which makes him slightly less intimidating. The guy must be pretty nervous being out here, and there's no doubt in my mind that he's the one who killed Arvo back at Wellington.

He's not getting away.

"Put it down, man," Luke says, trying his best to diffuse the situation. "We just want to talk. That's all."

"It's too late for that," he replies sharply, still shaking the gun between the three of us. "Now that you've seen me, I can't let you leave. I'm sorry, but this is how shit's gotta go."

"Doesn't have to," Bonnie interjects, looking at Luke for the go-ahead. "Why did you kill our friend?"

"Shut up!"

Luckily for me, the guy doesn't seem to notice that I'm creeping around silently, and I put a finger to my lips as Luke glances my way. Noticing what I plan on doing, Luke continues the distraction while I make my way over.

"Why don't you just tell us who you are? Who are the people you're with?"

"No! You'll… you'll kill them if I tell you…"

"Come on, bud, just relax. We're not going to do anything to you – all we want to know is why you came over to our camp and slaughtered him?"

"You are going to do something! I can tell!" the man hyperventilates, twisting his head around to no doubt try and find me. "I've… I've got the gun here! Don't try anything or I'll shoot! I swear to god I'll do it! I'll – "

Banging my pistol against the side of his head, I incapacitate him before forcibly shoving him to the ground and kicking his rifle away from his grasp. Luke and Bonnie quickly join me in surrounding him.

"Here's how this is gonna go," I instruct, unlocking the safety and holstering it in front of him, "You're gonna tell me who sent you, where your friends are and why they did this… why YOU did this, got it? Now start talking!"

"Are you… are you going to kill me?" the man asks, quaking in fear at my menacing posture.

"I'm considering it," I inform him, not removing my stare. "But I think your chances would improve if you started explaining. Clock's ticking, Rambo – what's it gonna be?"

"Okay, okay I'll talk! Just please don't shoot!" he begs as sweat beads down his forehead. "I was told to kill a person with glasses in your group! The guy would've killed me if I didn't listen to him – his name's Nate. All he told me was that the glasses guy and some other man with him took off with a whole bunch of medicine from his old camp, as well as some weapons and stuff! When he found out they were at Wellington, he forced me to kill him! I didn't want to do it – but Nate's crazy!"

"Alright," Luke nods, believing his story for the most part, "Now where's this camp of yours?"

"Over in that direction," he shakily points to the west of us, right where that trucker guy had told me he was set up. I wonder if they're the same person. "That's all I know – I swear! Please let me go!"

You know, if he had just been sneaking around our camp and not done any actual harm to one of us, then I probably would've just let Lassie here go home. But Arvo's dead, and he put Clem's life at risk with that shot. She was practically right beside him when it happened, for crying out loud! No, this can't happen. I won't let this happen – not to my sweet pea. Not to the only thing of value I have left in this shit-hole of a world.

Leaning back slightly, the man sighs in relief as he thinks that I'm letting him go…

…and then I pull the trigger.

"What… what the fuck, Lee?! What the hell's wrong with you?!" Luke asks, shocked as to the act I just committed. "You tell him he's gonna live and then you shoot him down?"

"First off, he killed Arvo," I state matter of factly, though slightly guilty about lying to the poor kid. "Second, he would've gone back to his friends and told them what happened. And once that would happen, then whoever this Nate guy is would come back again. He wouldn't stop until we're all either dead or gone."

"Some role model you're turning out to be," Luke hisses, glaring at me intently. "Are you just gonna try and turn Clementine into some murdering psychopath?! Is that what's going on here?!"

"I've heard enough of your bullshit for one night, Luke. I'm keeping Clementine alive – that's my job. If I have to do some unspeakable shit, then I do it. The rules have changed over the last two years, kid. You need to get used to it."

"Sounds to me like you're doing fine out here with the walkers," Luke spits, trying to hurt my feelings somehow. Admittedly, I do feel a twinge of guilt, but it's overshadowed by my need to keep Clementine safe. That's all that matters.

"I'm going on to scout ahead for that camp of theirs," I state, "Just let Clem know that I'm safe, alright?"

Bonnie and Luke take off without another word, probably heading back to camp to tattle on me for being such a ruthless villain. I think with time they'll come to understand why I did what I did, but until then I've got a camp to find.

I'm going to make those bastards pay.

Clementine's POV…

"We… we should try to move him out of the way."

"Are you sure? Lilly said to stay here!"

"We can't just leave a dead body around camp, Sarah," I inform her, dropping my crutches and hoping that Arvo's prosthetic holds on me. "Let's work as a team – you grab one arm, and I'll grab the other."

"What if he comes back though…"

"He won't," I reassure, though slightly sick to my stomach when I look down at the damage. There's blood everywhere, and if you look in close enough you could probably see directly into his brain. So gross! "They shot him in the head – he won't turn into a walker."

As a team, we carefully drag him aside while a few onlookers gather around our campsite – probably wondering what the hell is going on here.

I wish I knew the answer to that.

A few of them offer to help move him, but I just tell them that we can handle it. The last thing we need is for Lee and the rest of them to come back and find that some strangers are skulking around our camp. Kenny would probably shoot them on sight.

"Clementine… is somebody after us? Are they going to kill us like Arvo?" Sarah asks as we dump him unceremoniously outside the gate. If we don't bury him when the rest of them get back, then the snow eventually will and we might forget where he even is. And if the rats come to eat his remains, well… let's just say that won't be a welcome sight.

"We'll keep each other safe, just like before," I encourage, though not sounding outwardly confident as we gaze upon the deceased heap that used to be Arvo. What did this guy ever do to anybody? It couldn't have been some random nutcase in the woods – this seemed more like a professional assassination than just some bandits. But the question remains: why?

"Let's just head back inside, okay?" Sarah asks, wrapping her arm around my shoulder and leading me away from the grizzly scene.

…..

The two of us sit in our own sleeping bags, with neither of us able to catch any shut-eye whatsoever. This eventful night's just got both of our minds racing over the possibilities, and (at least in my case) has me worrying about the rest of the group. I don't like how they just ran off into the dark like that, especially considering how cold it is out tonight. I suppose that the assailant would've left some footprints for them to track down, but even then it might be a longshot.

"Do you think they're okay?" Sarah whispers into the darkness; pulling her blanket up towards her chin to get warmer.

"I hope so, Sarah," I sigh, folding my hands behind my head. "I sure hope so."

Suddenly, we hear some voices coming from outside – sounding vaguely familiar, but different at the same time. Maybe that doesn't make any sense, but that's just how I interpret it.

"Should we check it out?" I ask, hobbling over to the entrance of the tent.

"What if it's more of the guys who shot him?" Sarah whispers, her voice uneasy. "I don't want them to get us, too!"

"I don't think it is, though," I reply, sticking a finger through the flap of the tent and slowly peeking outside. All is quiet out here, except for the fire that's still burning and a couple of older men playing cards down the pathway. But it also looks like there's two people walking into the gate… but it's not Lilly, Lee, Luke or any of them. It's…

"Jane! Mike!" I call out waving to them as they move forward. They have to squint their eyes to see who's calling their names, but once they realize it's me they casually wave back. I'm surprised that they're here, especially after everything that happened back at the museum. But I can only assume that they were having trouble surviving in the cold out on their own. So much for being a lone wolf, Jane.

"Never thought we'd bump into you guys here," Mike says, smiling slightly as Sarah steps outside with me. "We kind of assumed the worst after all that shit went down, but… What the fuck?! Kid, what happened to your foot?"

"It's a long story," I brush off, not wanting to get Sarah upset again. "You guys didn't happen to bump into Luke and the rest of them, did you? They're out looking for people right now."

"Why wouldn't they just go in the morning? Seems pretty dangerous to me," Jane replies, setting her bag down and warming herself up near the fire.

"There… was an incident," I say sadly, twirling my good foot around nervously, "One of our friends was killed and they're out looking for the person who did it. They've been gone for a long time, though. We're starting to get worried."

"Wellington – safest place we could find. Isn't that the line you fed me with, Mike?" Jane asks, smirking as he rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, well…"

"Please don't leave again!" I find myself saying, giving Mike my famous puppy-dog eyes. I've got a feeling that this wouldn't work on Jane. "We need all the help we can get, and we're safer if we stick together! There's a lake just down there, and we get plenty of food from – "

"You'd be a natural saleswoman, Clementine," Jane compliments, shaking her head as she warms up her hands.

"Is that a "yes", then?"

"…For now. I'll see how this goes."

Hearing the creaking of the gate again, we all look to see Bonnie, Luke, Lilly and Kenny walk back in – all exhausted and out of breath. But why do I only count four heads? Where's Eddie? Where's Lee?!

"Luke…" I say, just hoping that his answer won't mean the end of my world. I don't think my little body can handle the heartbreak again, especially when this time it'd be for real.

"Come with me, alright? I think we need to have a little chat."

Why does Luke look… pissed off? There's a huge lump in my throat, and my stomach is doing backflips as my mind races with worry. Why won't he just come out and tell me?

"Please don't tell me he's dead…" I beg, tears forming in my eyes as he leads inside his tent. "Oh my god, Luke… Please…"

"Take it easy, alright? I'm sure he's fine… He just went to check on a few things."

"Then what did you want to tell me?" I ask, wiping my eyes as quickly as possible.

Sighing, Luke sits on the edge of his bed as he tiredly rubs his face with his fingers. What could've possibly happened out there? You see – this is what I get for not being able to help them with anything! Stuff always falls apart when I'm not around!

…okay, maybe that's not entirely true…

"Your friend's losing it, Clem," he says, looking at me directly in the eyes, "We found the guy who killed Arvo, but we told him that we'd let him live if he cooperated. The kid told us everything he knew, but then Lee just… didn't even give him a fair shot. Just a bullet to the head, and then said something about scouting out for the enemy camp."

"He…" I stutter, trying to disprove him as best I can, "Lee's a good guy, Luke! He's my friend, and he'd only do that to protect the group!"

"He only cares about you."

"That's not true… I know Lee – he tries his best to help everyone. That's the kind of man he was… he's still that way!"

"Clementine," he breathes out, shaking his head in sadness. "I know how you feel about him, I really do. I get that you two are close – hell, anyone can see that. But Lee Everett is a changed man – he's not the same guy you remember from two years ago."

"How would you know?" I ask, crossing my arms defiantly, "What gives you the right to judge him? I know him a lot better than you!"

"Look, I know this kind of thing, alright? It's the personality – Carver had it, Kenny has it, Lilly might have it, and I can tell that Lee does too. He's dangerous, Clementine, and he's going to get someone killed."

"No!" I yell, shaking my head like a three year old, "You're wrong about him! He looked after me! We've been through more together than you can imagine, and I'm not abandoning him!"

"That's not what I'm saying, kiddo," he tries to calm me down, placing a pleading hand upon my shoulder. "Just… be careful, alright? You're the only thing tying him to this place… this group. You're his last anchor, and I don't want you getting hurt because of it."

Lowering my head in grief, I shudder and nod silently as I walk out into the cool, winter air without another word. You know, never in my wildest dreams did I imagine things would turn out this way. Of course, I didn't even think Lee was alive for all that time, but when I saw him stroll up to the gates at Wellington, I thought for sure that things would be different. I thought that we'd all just get along like a real family would – with no arguments, not having to worry about food or walkers, and not having people dying for no reason. There was something so hopeful about that notion – it was something I was striving for. It was a chance to start living instead of just surviving.

What a naïve fool I turned out to be.

Lee's POV

I've got to admit – this place is a fucking dump. Scratch that – it looks like a dump on top of a dump. This isn't a campsite! This is more like a landfill with all the shit that these people have sprawled out over here. Either they don't plan on staying very long, or they're the sloppiest people I've ever seen. Didn't any of them have houses before all of this?

The location of this place isn't the worst I've ever seen, as it almost looks like they've dug themselves right into a valley of sorts. I bet during the warmer months this place would be blooming with green life; creating a beautiful atmosphere that you'd see in one of those nature magazines that my ex-wife used to read. Instead, most of it's covered by a thick blanket of snow, with a whole platoon of guards patrolling the area for suspicious activity. They seem pretty organized, but I wonder how many people there actually are?

Holding my pistol at my side, I consider my options. The best choice would probably be to head back to Wellington and warn the rest of them while coming up with a plan to keep them from harming us again. Another choice would be to sneak around a little bit; trying to see any weak points or just taking a look at what's going on inside. The third choice would be to try and shoot the guards before taking off, but that's pretty stupid (even by Kenny's standards).

Maybe I can do a bit of both. I'll simply walk tiptoe to the side of their base, poke my head inside and then get out before anyone notices me. That sounds pretty good to me.

"You fucked up, asshole," a bigger woman with curly, puffy hair snarls behind me, and I turn around slowly to make sure that she doesn't kill me on the spot. In her hands is a heavy-duty machine gun that's similar to the one that that trucker guy had earlier, while I hold my hands up in surrender.

Fuck.