For Those You Love

Chapter 19

BANG

"Little to the left… A little higher…"

BANG

"I got it, Dad! I got it!" Clem cried, smiling proudly up at Lee, who was standing behind her with his hands covering her ears. She turned to face him fully, flipping the safety on the gun (like he had showed her) and hugging him tightly.

"I know you did sweetheart." Lee grinned, ruffling her hair underneath her cap and chuckling at her excitement. "Good job!"

Clementine backed out from the hug and handed the gun over to him before running over to Carley, who was sat on one of the large wooden crates with a huge grin on her face.

"Mom! Mom! Did you see that? I got it!" Clem grinned, taking Carley's hand and tugging it gently. "I took two shots and I got it on the second one!"

"I know! Well done sweetheart." The woman smiled, ruffling Clementine's hair underneath her cap. She looked over at her husband and nodded lightly, silently telling him how sorry she was. How right he was. "You did so well! I'm really proud of you!"

Clementine simply grinned even wider and hugged Carley tightly. "I did what you said you do. Hold my breath while I pull the trigger."

"That's my girl…" The woman sighed, returning the embrace and stroking Clementine's newly cut hair.

An Hour Later

Carley and Clementine sat on the edge of the boxcar, talking happily and listening to the beats that Lee was tapping out on a nearby crate. He was hunched over his writing pad, scribbling down chords, strumming patterns and lyrics. It had been so long since he'd done anything like that. The last time being when Clementine was three.

Then, out of the silence, a shout alerted them.

"Aw shit guys! Hold on!"

Lee scrambled over to Clementine and gripped her tightly, along with Carley and kept the small girl securely inside the train.

After a screeching halt, they stood and shared a glance before making their way out of the boxcar, stopping short at the sight before them: A tanker was overhanging the tracks, completely blocking the path of the train.

"FUCK!" Kenny bellowed, having joined them on the ground and made his way over to the tanker, looking as if he would be crying if he weren't so angry. "Piece of SHIT!"

"Oh shit…" Lee muttered, running his hands through his hair and closing his eyes. He knew it was too good to be true. Everything always was. "What're we gonna do?" He asked the other man, walking up behind him and keeping his voice low so the rest wouldn't hear.

"We couldn't just… back up and ram through, could we?" Ben said from behind them, making Lee tense. He'd forgotten everything the boy had told him. He'd been in his own world for a couple of hours.

"That is luterally the most stupid thing to come out of your mouth, Benjamin." Kenny spat, bowing his head and sighing. "It's a FUEL tanker. It'll go boom."

"He's not five, Kenny." Carley quickly defended, gesturing for Clementine to stay where she was. She approached the much taller boy and laid a hand on his arm; a sign of trust and comfort. "You don't have to talk to him like that."

"It was only a thought…" Ben muttered, bowing his head and sighing. He knew he'd have to put up with Kenny's mood for a while. Especially after what he'd done.

"Keep them to yourself, Ben." Lee snapped, clenching his fist and turning to Kenny, completely missing the death-glare he received from Carley.

"Hey guys! You wanna keep it down!" They all heard, catching their attentions once again. They all looked up at the same time, including Chuck, who had been inspecting the Tanker in silence until that point. "You're gonna get yourselves killed!"

Their gaze was met with a Persian man with short dark hair and a tall black woman. It was the man who spoke, as the woman was glaring at him in disapproval. Then she spoke up, and you could practically hear her attitude.

"Look, we could have kept walking. Are you gonna cause any trouble for us?" She asked.

"N-no!" Lee called back, gesturing for everyone to stay back. When he glanced over his shoulder for a second, he relaxed, seeing Carley standing protectively in front of Clementine. "We just wanna be on our way! But you can see the problem."

"Everyone says they're friendly. I assume you've met strangers… offered people help that aren't what they seem." The woman continued, looking at Lee in pure curiosity. She didn't know about these people yet. But he seemed to be the most trustworthy.

"You could say that…" Lee said back, tensing.

"Give them a break, Christa…" The man whispered to the woman, who must have been 'Christa'. He'd saw the way the woman with the eye patch had tensed and realized there was a line his girlfriend had crossed. He turned back to the group with an apologetic expression. "Look, it's not too bad from up here. Why don't one of you come up here and take a look!"

Lee looked around at everyone before nodding and approaching the ladder. Carley reached out and grabbed his wrist. "No. I'm going with you." She said firmly, looking directly into his eyes.

"Carley…" Lee groaned, sighing loudly before continuing. "Fine. I know I'll never win this."

Lee started up the ladder before her, though. He wouldn't make her stay, but if someone was gonna get killed, it'd be him. When he reached the top, he stopped and turned, taking Carley's hand to help her up. "You okay?" He asked lowly so only she would hear.

"Yeah, Lee." Carley said, rolling her eyes and pushing past him. "I'm fine. Stop worrying."

"Hey guys!" The Persian man called, waving slightly. "I'm Omid." He grinned. He was almost like a small child who was particularly proud of something.

"I'm Carley and this is Lee." Carley smiled, nudging her head in Lee's direction.

"Christa." The woman said, nodding slightly. "What's the deal with the train?"