A Second Chance

Chapter 11

"Clementine… Who was that?" I asked, turning to her.

"He's a friend. He's nice." Clementine stammered, guilt flooding her features.

"I said who is he god dammit!" I shouted, losing my temper. I grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at me. I calmed my tone, not wanting to scare her even more. "I need to know, Clementine. He could be anyone."

"He's got my parents. He wants to help us." She answered, still looking slightly scared of me. My heart pounded against my ribs.

"Trust me, honey. That's not what he wants. He-" Christa started, only to be cut off by Carley who returned from the kitchen. Looking at our faces, her own became more serious.

"What's wrong?" She asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the door frame. I knew I shouldn't tell her. What if she went into shock? What if she lost the baby? I had to though. She deserved the truth.

"Clementine's made a friend, apparently." I muttered, standing and turning towards her. Her face contorted with shock and rage.

"What? How did sh-" I cut her off, walking over to her.

"Walkie-talkie. Someone must have given her batteries." I explained, looking at the group.

"Um… I gave her some months ago." Lilly piped in, standing and walking over to us. I glared at her and let out a growl of rage.

"You?! Why the fucking hell would you give her batteries?!" I shouted, my voice disbelieving. I saw her flinch at the harsh sound of my voice.

"How the fuck was I supposed to know this would happen? After all, It was only a few batteries. What harm could it do?" She tried to defend, fire erupting in her eyes.

"You have no idea!" I bellowed, shocking everyone in the room. I was the calm one… The sensible one; the one who always thought of a sensible solution. I calmed down once again, regaining my composure. I looked at the small girl, bending down to her height. "Clem… I-"

"Why, Lee? What's wrong with him? He has my parents!" She cried, backing away from me.

"No… he doesn't." I said, hanging my head down and internally hating myself.

"That's not true, Lee! He has them! They're here!" She shouted, running from the room. I made to follow her when my arm was caught by Ben.

"Let her. She needs time." He murmured, his eyes boring into mine. "She'll come around."

"I hope so…" I said, shrugging his grip off and rubbing my face with my rough hands.

"Lee…" Carley tested, reaching out to me. I walked away, going into the garden to be with my thoughts. Alone.

Six Hours Later

I awoke with my head resting against the moss covered wall. I must have fallen asleep while I was out there.

"Damn…" I muttered, stretching my aching back and standing shakily. I noticed the lack of weight on my belt loop, meaning the walkie-talkie was gone. I hobbled my way over to the door, opening it quietly. Darkness met me. Silence overtook me. I tiptoed my way up the rickety stairs, excited to sleep in our comfortable bed again. I walked in and saw Carley asleep with her hand resting protectively on her stomach. I smiled proudly, shuffling in behind her.

"Who the…" She muttered thickly, her voice quiet. I kissed her forehead, feeling her relax. "Hey, honey. How did it go with Clementine?"

"Um… I haven't seen her." I replied, confused. Her eyes opened fully, confusion mirrored back at me.

"She fell asleep here. With me." She explained, looking at me, her brow furrowed.

"What?" I asked, sitting up and outwardly panicking.

"Yeah, I laid with her until she drifted off and then I went to sleep, too." She said, mirroring my actions.

"You didn't feel her move?" I asked, seeing her shake her head in response. I bolted from the bed, throwing myself down the stairs. I ran through the kitchen and into the back garden. I looked towards the shed and my heart dropped. There, in the shadow of the shed was Clementine's hat.

"No…" I whispered, collapsing to my knees next to it. A few tears streamed down my face. "Oh Clem…"

"Lee! What the fuck are you playing at?! She's probably in the house!" Carley shouted behind me, pulling her purple, quilted coat over herself. I turned to look at her, the hat clutched in my hand, my thumb rubbing it gently. Her eyes widened with shock and she kneeled down beside me, holding the discarded hat with me.

"She's gone…" I mumbled, my voice disbelieving. I ran a hand through my short hair, making it stick up more than usual.

"Oh, Lee… What do we do?" Carley asked, taking my hand and intertwining our fingers. I could tell that she was as shocked as me.

"I'm getting her back. I have to. I'm all she has left…" I muttered, making my mind up on spot. I stood and made to climb over the gate.

"Woah! Where are you going, Rambo?" Carley asked, stopping me by putting her hand on my shoulder. I turned to glare at her.

"I'm going to get… I'm going to get my daughter. She's out there, alone and scared. I'm not letting that happen again." I stated, checking the back of my pants.

"You're not going alone. I'm coming with you." She insisted, producing my gun from her pocket. I looked at her in disbelief.

"Oh no. You're not going anywhere." I laughed, making a grab for the gun. She whipped it out of my way. "You are pregnant, Carley. You're not going to go out there with all those fuckers."

"Lee. I'm not an invalid. I'm only five months gone. I'm still a good shot." She argued, handing me the weapon and taking the safety off her own. "I think you should wake everyone up. They might be able to help."

I sighed loudly.

"Fine. Will you go wake them?" I asked, making my way over to the fence.

"Sure. Don't do anything stupid, Lee." She called, going back inside. I hopped over the gate and looked at the wooden board.

"So… we meet again." I muttered, approaching it. I felt anger take me over. This bastard had made Clem cry. He caused my death. I hated him. Static from Clem's walkie-talkie didn't deter me. I yanked the board up and backed away. He was curled up, eating what used to be a rat. "Come at me, you bastard!"

It jumped at me, knocking me backwards. I reached for my gun and aimed right between its eyes. I pulled the trigger.

Direct hit.

Smiling, I stood and kicked the dead body for good measure. I strode over to the fallen board and picked up the flowery walkie-talkie, attaching it to my belt loop.

"Lee! What the hell?! Carley screamed, running to the fence. I turned and smiled at her, pointing at the dead walker. Her knuckles were white from gripping the metal fence. "Get your ass back over here!"

"I got him. He didn't get me." I grinned, hopping back into the garden. "I'm not bitten."

"No, but you'll wish you were!" She shouted, swatting me on the arm angrily. I grabbed her hands and pulled her round to face me.

"I'm here! I didn't get bitten!" I shouted, making her look at me.

"Lee! What the fuck's goin' on?" Kenny shouted, running to us and stuffing his cap on his head.

"Clementine's gone. I was gonna go for her when Carley woke you guys up." I explained, holding up the cap for him to see. His eyes widened with shock and grief.

"Oh… shit… "He mumbled, his voice cracking. I felt truly sorry for him at that moment. "What are we gonna do?"

"What else is there? We go out there and get my daughter." I said, stuffing the cap back in my pocket.

"Look, man. We need to know who took her first before we get carried away. So…" He said, looking at Omid, who had just appeared behind him. "We need to think of someone who would want to do this. Who'd wanna hurt us like this?"

"I know who's got her: The guy on the radio." I explained, becoming frustrated. Didn't they get it? Clementine was the most important thing in my life, besides Carley. "I won't be long! I can go in, get Clem and get out!"

"No way!" Carley intervened, anger showing through her usually calm features.

"Yes way. No arguments." I said, my tone showing that the argument was over.. I turned to everyone else. "Make sure no-one follows me."

"Yes boss!" Omid said, mock-saluting me.

"Good." I said, climbing over the fence and heading towards the Marsh House.