A Second Chance
Chapter 6
Three days had passed. It had gone relatively well. The odd walker here and there; nothing we couldn't handle. The group still didn't know about our impending parenthood. I say that, however, people were starting to notice her little quirks. Once, Carley threw up while we were making the fence. When she was asked about it, she said it was just the lingering smell of walkers. They were having NONE of it. Now, more than ever, it was important that I kept her alive.
I awoke on that morning to Clementine hovering over me.
"Hey, Lee!" She greeted, stuffing her cap on her head.
"Hey sweet-pea… Happy birthday." I replied, seeing her face break into a smile.
"You remembered!" She buzzed, obviously ecstatic. I sat up to hug her. Beside me, I felt the slight weight of Carley sleeping.
"Of course I did. How can I forget my favourite girl turning nine?" I replied, bringing her in for a hug.
"Wanna come out for breakfast? Everyone's up." She asked, tugging my hand slightly.
"Sure, you wanna wake Carley up while I get ready?" I asked, earning an enthusiastic nod.
"Yeah!" She replied, bounding over to Carley's side of the bed.
"Carley! Wake up!" She said. I noticed that she was hitting the bed quite close to Carley's stomach. I was about to intervene when she woke up.
"Morning sweetheart…" She yawned, ruffling Clem's hair. "Happy Birthday!"
"Are we going now?" She asked, looking at me. Luckily, I slept in my jeans the night before. So had Carley. We recently found a baggy green shirt that would do for at least seven months. We started sleeping in our day clothes, in case of Clementine surprising us in the morning.
"Of course. Lead the way." I said, opening the door and gesturing them through. We walked over, Clementine in between us, holding our hands.
"Aw, look at them. A little family." Kenny teased as we took our seats.
"Shut it asshole." I joked, throwing a random piece of trash at him.
"Hey! Lee, none of that language!" Carley chastised. I laughed slightly, earning a playful slap on the arm.
"Yes dear…" I joked, earning a nod of approval from Kenny.
"Way to go, buddy! Already under the thumb!" He joked, clapping his hands jokingly.
"Yes sir! Well…" I said, turning to the little girl on my left. "You want your present now or later?"
"Um…" She considered, thinking hard. "Can I have it now please?"
"Of course, I'll get it." I said, standing up. I kissed Carley lightly on the lips and turned.
Five Minutes Later
"Hey, I'm back!" I called, sitting back down in the breakfast area. I handed Clementine a small parcel, hastily wrapped in a brown paper bag and tied with string.
"Wow! Thanks Lee!" She replied, taking the parcel and untying the string. The bag fell away and revealed a photo frame, a colouring book and some crayons. The photo was of her and her parents. "Where did you find it?"
"When I was angry that day, I went to Macon and dropped by your house. I went in and got those for you. The colouring book and Crayons were on the Kitchen counter and the Photo was on the phone table." I explained, watching tears stream down her face.
"Thank you Lee." She said, hugging me tightly, allowing me to pull her onto my knee.
"You're very welcome, sweet-pea. Everyone needs a photo of their parents." I replied, kissing her forehead lightly.
"Thank you… I …I… I don't know what to say…" She said, hugging into my chest.
"Don't say anything. You deserve this." I assured, smiling slightly. We had a grand time, sitting laughing and talking. I stood after an hour. "I need a pee."
"Okay, honey." Carley said, smiling at me as I went. I felt something drop out of my pocket. I thought nothing of it at the time.
Ten Minutes Later
I emerged from the bathroom feeling better than I had when I went in. I listened intently, not hearing any talk or laughter.
"Weird…" I muttered. Creeping to the corner for a better look at the main area. What I saw made my heart drop.
"DREW! Start puttin' your boot to these doors!" A man in a cap and sunglasses shouted, talking to a much younger man.
"Okay Boss!" The boy, obviously Drew, replied, walking to the nearest motel door. I saw Clem, Lilly, Katjaa, Kenny, Duck, Ben and Carley gathered in a circle. This wasn't meant to happen for another two days!
"Hey! Take it easy!" I said, emerging from my hiding spot and slowly walking forward.
"Hold it asshole!" The leader shouted, pointing his gun at me. Carley looked up and saw me approaching.
"Lee! Sto-" She shouted, only so be silenced by Drew. He grabbed the back of her hair, still holding his gun towards me.
"We have more supplies. We can keep the deal going." I compromised, fully aware of the glare that Lilly was sending my way.
"Too late shithead! We ain't giving second chances!"
"It was a mix-up! We'll make it worth your while." I stated, hoping that one of them would let their guard down.
"…I'm listenin'." He replied, lowering his gun slightly, obviously interested.
"We can split the supplies. Spread them around!" I replied, earning a satisfied nod from him.
"Or…" He started, "We could just kill you and take it ALL."
"And what about when they run out? When you don't have us out there collecting them for you?" I asked, stating the truth.
"Well," He said, lowering his gun fully. "I suppose we oughta hash out some terms, then!"
"I don't like no hash!" One of the others intervened.
"SHUT UP OR I'LL-" We never got to hear the end of his sentence. Lilly shot him swiftly in the head. Taking advantage of their defencelessness, Carley grabbed Drew's discarded gun and popped two of them in the head.
"EVERYONE! In the RV! NOW!" I bellowed, herding everyone. I knew that Duck and Katjaa were inside. One down, God knows how many to go.
Fifteen Minutes Later
"Well…" Lilly snarled, looking at Carley and I who were hugging on the seat, Clementine in between us.
"What?" I asked, turning my head to look at her.
"What the fuck just happened?" She asked, standing and supporting herself on the cupboards.
"I think someone has been slipping meds." I replied, tensing slightly. It can't happen. I can't lose her again. Not now.
"You say that like it doesn't matter." She growled, directing her anger at me.
"There's nothing we can do now. What's the point of "what if's"." I asked, my anger rising.
"Well, we know that we have a traitor in the group." She said, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "Is there anything you want to tell us, Carley?"
"Please." Carley stated, hurt at the accusation.
"We have to get it out of you then?" The taller woman threatened, standing to her full height.
"Back off."
"You're in no position to make demands."
"Woah, woah, woah! You're just pointing fingers!"
"Why her? This seems like a stab in the dark, Lilly." I asked, standing and squaring my shoulders.
"She's always SO eager to see what supplies we found. She never talks about her family. She could be related to those bastards for all we know." She explained.
"Woah, my family's not a bunch of meth-riddled forest people. They're fucking Lutheran!" Carley countered, her anger showing through.
"You're not saying it wasn't you."
"It wasn't ME."
"Like, look, maybe we should, uh, vote or something like that." Ben suggested.
"Vote? What?" Lilly spat, rounding on him.
"Lilly, stop waving the finger at everybody. We know something's going on and we can get to the bottom of it if we keep our heads." I stated, grabbing the kitchen sink for support.
"I know what we found."
"I know, Lilly. I know." I agreed, hopefully soothing her.
"Nobody was stealing ANYTHING!" Ben shouted, dropping himself in it.
"Was it both of you?" Lilly asked, leaning towards him.
"WHAT?!"
"I've seen you two together. Was. It. Both Of You?"
"Look, just let me out. I didn't do it, but I don't like where this is headed." Ben begged, starting to sweat.
"Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't have anything to do with it." Lilly tested, staring him in the eyes.
"Lilly, lay off of him." Carley warned.
"I-" Ben started, only to be cut off by Kenny.
"Shit!" He shouted, pulling the RV into a nearby cut-out.
"What's going on up there?" Lilly asked.
"I hit something!" He replied, walking out of the driver's compartment.
"All right, well, we can deal with this now, then." She suggested, turning as if to walk out.
"Lilly…" I warned, my voice croaking.
"Out." She insisted. We all followed her (except Clem, Duck and Katjaa) and stood on the dirt road. I looked over at Carley, earning a smile and a small thumbs up.
"You know what, we shouldn't just kick you out, we should hear what everybody thinks."
"I think you should chill out." Ben stated, panicking.
"I'm not going to take this! You can push Ben around but you can't push ME around!" Carley shouted, her anger rising.
"I'm really sorry you feel that way." Lilly replied sarcastically.
"I'm not doing this." I said, turning to Lilly.
"Come on, Lee. You're the one who found them! You can't just abstain." She replied, hitting my chest with the back of her hand.
"Fuck all that; this is nuts. We're out here on the side of the road!" I shouted.
"Okay, fine then. Kenny?"
"I don't know! Fuck! Just, stop, would ya?!" Came his answer.
"We don't need all these VOTES! What do I have to do for you to TRUST me? I'll do ANYTHING!" Ben shouted, finally cracking under pressure.
"Stop panicking. Seriously Ben, you need to stop and just take a breath." I advised.
"Do we need any more evidence than this?!"
"Fuck EVIDENCE. Stop treating him like this." Carley snapped, displaying her hormones.
"Shut up, Carley- I've heard enough out of you." Lilly snarled. "Kenny! What's it going to be?"
"Just give me a damn minute!"
"Ben, you have until that walker is dealt with to tell me it was her and not you."
"Stop this! You're torturing him!" Carley interrupted, her maternal side opening.
"Tell her. Just do it, Ben." I asked, looking at him.
"Lee! Jesus, who are you right now?"
"Tell her what?! She'll kick me out of the group!" He answered his voice cracking.
"We won't." I said, shaking my head. "We'll understand."
"Tell me. Now." Lilly growled.
"You think you're some tough bitch, don't you? Like nothing can hurt you, but you're just a scared little girl. Get the fuck over it." Carley raged, crossing her arms. "Take a page from Lee's book and try helping somebody for once."
The sound of squelching hit my ears. I saw Lilly reach for her gun. I saw her raise it to Carley's turning head. I jumped in front of it.
BLAM!
A shooting pain ran through my ribs, indicating that I was successful.
"What the fuck, Lilly?!" I heard Kenny shout, grabbing the gun.
"Lee!" Carley's and Clem's voice combined, making my head snap up. I saw them bending over me, each holding a hand.
"I'll be fine. I just- ow!" I exclaimed, standing hesitantly and putting my full weight on my right side. I felt the bullet lodged in my ribs. I locked eyes with Lilly and glared.
"Lee… I-" She started.
"Save it." I growled, my voice sounding less human and more animal. "I don't want to hear it."
"Lee… I think we need to talk about this…" Kenny muttered, tapping my shoulder.
"There's nothing to talk about." I stated, directing my gaze to ben. "That didn't have to happen. Carley was almost killed. Is there anything you'd like to say?"
"No." He replied, his focus shifting to his feet.
"Well..." I said, limping over to Carley and grabbing her hand in mine. "Everyone get in the RV we'll figure this out later."
"What?! Lee, she almost killed Carley! You can't just let her get back in! She'd be a murderer if you hadn't stopped her!" Kenny shouted, striding over to us.
"I'm a murderer? You've had Lee with you this whole time!" Lilly shouted back, gesturing towards me.
"What are you talking about?" He replied, shock taking over his features. He looked at me, hoping for some trace of lies.
"It's true…" I admitted, feeling Carley swueeze my hand gently. I felt Clem's tiny hand drop.
"Fuck… Were you EVER gonna get 'round to telling me that?!" Kenny bellowed, disbelieving. "Just get in the RV."
Slowly, we all made our way into the vehicle. I cuffed Lilly to the table and sat with my two girls, my ribs still hurting.
(AU)-Hi guys! I'm Adam and LOVE this game! There's a story called 'Lee's return' by WanderersShadow101 and I believe it deserves a HELL of a lot more recognition! Please check it out and review? Also, tell me what you like/don't like about this. I can't tell you that it will be definitely taken on board but it WILL be taken into consideration. Thanks so much for reading!