For Those You Love

Chapter 13

"Come on, Snake Plissken." Carley heard, rousing her from her dreamless sleep. She opened her eye and snapped her eye patch down, seeing her husband sitting on the edge of the sofa and smiling at her. "Time to wake up. Kenny said we've reached an impasse."

She grumbled heavily, sitting up and kneading her eye sleepily. Hearing a chuckle, she glared at him. If looks could kill, he'd be six feet under.

"Come on, don't be like this." Lee groaned, standing up and making his way to the door. He turned back one last time. "You've got your patch now, so you can't slack off work."

"Bastard…" She grunted, standing shakily and following him outside. Her eye widened in shock when she saw what Kenny had been talking about.

"A fucking train?" She asked, turning to Lee, who was eyeing it with suspicion.

"Swear." Clementine muttered, tugging on Carley's jeans and looking up at her with big, innocent eyes.

"Sorry, sweetheart." She quickly apologised, rubbing her daughter's back gently. "Come on, let's go sit down."

"Okay…" Clementine said, hanging her head in disappointment and hugging her father as she passed him.

Duck was clinging to his mother desperately, looking as if he would fall over if he didn't as the two women hustled their children into the clearing. Two overturned logs seated them while the guys checked out the train.

"Guys! If you could find some water… if there's a dining car… Duck would appreciate it." Katjaa called out to their retreating backs, cradling Duck on her lap. Carley noticed the way Lee's forehead crinkled in sympathy before he nodded and walked off.

Clementine made as if to sneakily follow him when Carley grabbed the back of her dress and pulled her backwards, embracing her from behind and keeping a hold on the squirming child.

"Oh no, little lady." She laughed, hugging her tightly. "You're staying within my eyesight."

"Yes mom…"

With The Boys

"Hey, Lee!" Kenny laughed, looking at the scene by the clearing. "Clementine just tried to sneak by Carley. Wow, her eyesight's damn near perfect!"

"Yeah, well. Clem's like me when I was her age. I was never in the house." Lee laughed back, making his way along the side of the train car. "Plus, Carley was a reporter. Her eyesight's always been 20/10. I can't get away with shit."

"Uh, guys. Can I ask you a question?" Ben asked, seeing the two older men nod. "Is being married really as bad as everyone says? 'Cause one guy in our school got married when his girlfriend got pregnant, and he said he regretted it every day."

Lee took one look at his wife and daughter, breaking out in a grin and turning back to the young man.

"Truthfully, Ben?" He asked, seeing him nod eagerly. He reached out and patted his shoulder. "I got married when I was twenty-three and haven't regretted it since. Maybe it's just 'cause that boy from your school got married for the wrong reasons."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He grinned, lowering his hand and reminiscing. "I'm not saying that marriage is easy, though. Carley and I have had more arguments than I can count on my fingers and toes. But, it's worth it. I got to spend the rest of my life with the woman I love… Now, come on. We'll search this freight train and try to get back on track"

All three men nodded, concentrating now on the task at hand. The first thing that caught their attention was a trail of blood leading up to the driver's cab, which they saw had culminated beneath the driver's chair.

"Aw shit!" Kenny groaned, noticing the slumped body in the seat and running a hand over his face. He turned to the two other men and brought his gun out. "Follow my lead, boys. Things could go ugly here."

He slowly opened the cab door, extending his arm so the barrel of his gun hovered a few inches behind the corpses head. Just as he made to pull the trigger, the body slumped, landing face-first on the floor.

"Well, that was a let-down." Ben chuckled, walking in and dragging the body away from the control panel, accidentally bumping his arm against one of the many flashing buttons.

Back With The Girls (And Duck)

"Why can't I go with them?" Clementine whined, sitting on the ground and resting against Carley's legs. The older woman rolled her eye, chuckling to herself.

"Because you and your father are so alike." She explained, threading her fingers through the girl's curly mop. "You'll more than likely be on too much of a buzz to notice any danger. I'm sorry sweetheart, but you'll have to stay here until we're sure it's safe."

"Okay…"

"Don't mope." Carley groaned, running her hand over her face, only wincing slightly when it ran over her tender scar. "It's for your own good."

A rough cough caught both of their attentions. They looked around, finally focusing on the ill boy resting in his mother's arms. Carley's brow furrowed in suspicion.

"Is Duck feeling okay?" She asked, making her way over and kneeling down next to him. She felt his forehead, sucking in a breath when it burned at her touch. Katjaa looked as if she were about to reply when they were interrupted by the boys returning, muttering amongst themselves.

"Guys…" Lee smiled as he walked over, accompanied by an unfamiliar man with white, messy hair and who looked as if he hadn't washed for a while (even before the outbreak). "This is Chuck. He lives in the freighter."

"Hi." Clementine muttered, peeking out from behind her mother.

"Hey sweetheart." He greeted, kneeling down and waving slightly. The little girl just blushed and buried her face in her mother's leg. He returned his gaze to the adults. "I'm Chuck. Or Charles if you're fancy."

"Chuck lives in this thing." Lee explained, taking one look around the group and walking over to his daughter. He knelt down to her level and brought her around to face him. "Hey sweet-pea. Wanna come and check out the train?"

"Can I, mom?" She asked hopefully, giving Carley her best puppy dog eyes.

"Is it safe?" The woman asked her husband, clutching her daughter tightly.

"As far as I can tell."

"Okay than." She smiled, letting go of Clementine. "You can go. Just be careful."

Two Hours Later

"Okay guys," Kenny smiled, approaching the lounging adults with a smile on his face. "Thanks to Lee and Clementine, the train's good to go. We can be out of here in a flash."

"Uh, Ken." Lee interrupted, raising his hand in a silent apology. Surely the older man wouldn't kill him, would he? "I was just wondering… since we left all of our supplies back at the inn, why don't me and you take a trip to my old house."

"Why would we want to do that? It'll have been looted." Kenny shrugged, running his hand over his face in frustration.

"We always had some stuff stashed in the basement." Lee explained, standing and helping his wife and daughter up. "It'll be untouched."

"Okay." Kenny nodded, thinking it over. "How far away is it?"

"Twenty minutes' walk tops."

"Alright." He nodded, grinning happily. He turned to the girls, Ben, Chuck and Duck. "You guys need to get in that boxcar. Carley, you're in charge. Don't open the doors unless you hear one of us shouting."

"Yes boss." Carley laughed, making a small salute and clutching Clementine close to her. Lee walked over and kissed her gently, earning a small slap to the shoulder. "Come off it, you! Maybe later."

"Okay, dear…" He groaned, kneeling down to Clementine's height and hugging her tightly.

As they walked away, they heard the boxcar close.