Episode One: Choices We Make

Chapter Seven: No Longer Safe

Donald was still awake when Alex came to his tent to wake him up, although that didn't stop him from complaining about Alex's timing. Alice, however, was fast asleep, and even Donald was scared to interrupt her pleasant rest, the first she had gotten in a while. Alex had insisted that it was very important that they both followed him. But Donald had no idea where he was planning on leading them.

When Alice opened her eyes, her husband was telling her to get dressed and follow him and Alex. She answered in the form of a loud yawn and rolled over to go back to sleep. Donald sighed and shrugged at Alex. "What can you do?" his gesture seemed to say.

Donald got dressed and followed Alex. They didn't speak on the way, but Donald trusted him enough to follow him without questioning. He led him to the campfire, where Clementine and Johnny already sat. Johnny looked relaxed as he warmed his hands above the fire, but Clementine, sat on a log beside him, clearly didn't look so at home.

"I'll go and get Omid and Christa," Alex told Johnny, earning a smile from Clementine and a nod from Johnny.

Donald tried to get comfortable on another log opposite Clementine, to Johnny's left.

"Where's your wife?" Johnny asked, his raspy voice sending a chill down Donald's spine.

"She's sleeping. We all should be," Donald told Johnny bluntly. "What is this about, Johnny?"

Donald was cut off by the return of Alex followed by Omid and Christa, who quickly found Clementine and sat with her. Christa sat on Clementine's right, Omid on her left, and Clem got comfy between them. Christa held Clementine tight, waiting for answers from Johnny. Once Alex had found a seat opposite him, Johnny got started.

"So well all know, or have come to realise, Tom has some anger issues," Johnny said, making Alex laugh out loud. Alex assumed Johnny was trying to be funny, but stopped laughing when he noticed everybody looking at him.

"So far, we've been able to handle him. Sure, he's threatened to kick people out before, but he hasn't crossed that line yet. But things are getting crazier every day. New people are showing up, and are bringing all sorts of trouble with them," Johnny continued, looking at Donald. When he realised Johnny was talking about him, he turned away, but he knew everyone's eyes were on him.

"We've been surrounded," Johnny said, deciding not to beat around the bush. "Take a look over the fence and you'll find that a herd of walkers has gathered around the camp. They're closing in on us, and it won't take much for them to find our camp." Clementine could really hear the seriousness in Johnny's voice now.

"How many are there?" Christa asked, breaking the silence Johnny's words had caused.

"A lot. Too many for us to stay here and still feel safe," Johnny told them. Donald was starting to see where he was going with this. "That's why I suggest we take Tom's RV, use the gas Donald and Alice have kindly offered us, and get the hell out of here."

Everyone was looking at each other for answers. No one knew how to react at first, but Christa soon spoke up.

"What about Tom and his family? And Lilly too?" Christa asked him, wondering if he was actually suggesting what she thought he was.

"If Tom agrees to the plan, then he's welcome to join us. It is his RV after all. But he's still convinced that staying here is the best option for all of us. He still thinks a helicopter might fly over here and spot us. The man's in denial."

"Maybe he's just optimistic," Omid suggested, only partly joking.

"Well, his optimism is about to get us killed. Coach's gunshots attracted those walkers here. Any noise like that will bring them to our doorstep and then, even if there is anyone out there that can help us, it'll still be too late."

"Whatever, we can convince Tom to leave with us. I know we can," Christa insisted.

"No, we can't," a voice responded from afar. Lilly stepped forward, revealing herself to the secret group. "His daughter is dying," she explained, noting the worried look Johnny exchanged with Alex, "He's not going to want to leave here if he thinks it's the best chance of finding rescue. Walkers or no walkers, he's not coming with us."

"Then we have no choice," Johnny concluded. "We can try and talk some sense into him and his wife, but if they're set on staying here, we're not going to change their minds."

"If worse comes to worse, we're going to have to get the keys to the RV from Tom," Alex pointed out.

"I can do that," Lilly announced. "He trusts me. If we have to leave him behind, I can get those keys."

Suddenly, Johnny got off his feet. His eyes were on something behind Lilly. Walker, were her first thoughts. She turned sharply. Towering above her stood Tom. She could feel his cold breath on her face as he looked down at her.

"You fucking bitch," he spat at Lilly. She didn't know how to respond. All she could think was how she had predicted this ending right. There was no happy ending in sight.

"Let me make this absolutely crystal fucking clear," Tom started, "You're not going anywhere – none of us are!"

Everyone was on their feet now. Johnny and Alex kept one eye on Tom and one eye on each other, whilst Christa and Omid stood with Clementine held close. Each one of them wanted to intervene, but none of them knew where to start. Finally, Christa stepped forward. Omid tried to follow, but Clementine was clinging onto his arm so tightly that he could barely move. He put his arm around Clem and watched his girlfriend try to save the day once again.

"Tom, we don't have any choice," Christa said as she put herself between Tom and Lilly, "Those things have us surrounded. We have to go."

"Allow me to correct myself. You're all free to leave, but you're not taking my RV. If you have to go, you can walk," Tom said, although he was certain nobody would actually dare leave the camp on foot if Johnny's talk of the walker herd was true.

"I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I went to you to make things right between us, and for what?" Lilly paused, she had been waiting to tell Tom what she really thought of him since she first met him, "You're a real piece of shit, you know that?"

"Everyone keep it together!" Omid spoke up, "We can't turn on each other. We keep this up and we're no better than those things out there…" He turned around, just to make sure "those things" were still "out there" and not in here.

"Omid's right," Christa told them both. "Tom, I'm so sorry about Lisa, but staying here won't help any of us. The best thing we can do now is get back on the road."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too," said Omid sincerely, "I didn't even know she had been bitten."

"She wasn't bitten," Tom said, now suspicious of Omid. "She's just sick. She's going to be fine." Tom had pushed Lilly aside as he approached Omid. "What made you think she was bitten?" Tom then asked, now right in Omid's face.

"I don't- I-" Omid stumbled, unsure how to respond. Lilly had told them all Lisa was dying. What had happened to the little girl if she hadn't been bitten?

Omid stumbled some more, he was now starting to sweat. Then, he realised something had caught Tom's attention. He was looking around now, his eyes searching for something.

"Where's Donald?" he finally asked?

The second time Alice was woken by her husband that night, she could tell right away that the situation was far more grave. By the time Alice got off her back, Donald was already packing. Alice was starting to panic - what had her husband so spooked that had changed his attitude so radically since she last saw him? She wanted to ask Donald what had happened with Alex, but he looked determined to get everything packed as quickly as possible. Alice finally put the pieces together and realised: Donald was getting ready to leave.

"What are you doing?" Alice asked her husband. She had already worked it out, but she needed to hear it from him.

"We're leaving, Alice. I'm taking Tom's RV and getting you out of here. These people are going to end up getting us all killed!" Tom told her as he threw their bags of supplies out of the tent into a pile.

"Wait!" Alice told her husband as he left the tent. "We can't leave these people, Donald!" She peered out of the tent to find Donald with his hand under the RV's wheel.

"Aha!" Donald cried out with spirit. Smiling, he revealed the keys to the RV.

"Dammit, Donald," Alice said with her head bowed. She looked disappointed in her husband. "Look what you've done…"

Donald turned. Behind him stood Tom and the rest of the group. And not a single one of them looked impressed as he span the keys with his finger. Donald gulped and dropped the keys.

"Oh shit," Donald uttered, having nothing better to say. Tom, Lilly, Christa and Omid, Johnny and Alex and even Clementine stood before him, each of them looking more disappointed than the last. Donald was half expecting Tom to punch him, but instead he simply held out his hand, waiting for Donald to return the stolen keys.

Donald knelt down to pick up the keys. He found them again, picked them up and looked up to see the front of a boot coming swiftly his way. The blow from Tom's kick almost took him off his feet. He was sent flying back and landed on his ass in a pile of mud. He heard Alice scream as Tom approached him again. At first, Donald had thought the entire group were here to attack him. But through his left eye that, for now, he could still see out of, he saw Lilly and Christa trying to pull Tom back. But even their combined strength wasn't enough to contain Tom, who now had a hold of Donald's hair with his right hand as he sent a left hook flying his way.

Clementine could no longer keep count of the punches. It felt as though the fight had lasted a lifetime. Although, this could hardly be called a fight. This was more like punishment. But Clementine couldn't help but think that someone needed to punish Tom instead. She began to wonder when someone would step in and help Donald. That was when she saw Lilly raise her gun and point it at Tom. She clicked off the safety, and Tom's ears pricked up.

"That's enough, Tom." Lilly had the gun aimed at Tom's head, like she was ready to shoot a walker. "Leave him."

Tom delivered a final right hook to Donald before stepping out of the pile of mud, now infested with blood and saliva. Upon seeing Lilly with a gun raised at him, Tom put up his hands sarcastically. Clementine thought she could see him smile, and that truly scared her.

"This is what happens!" Tom shouted to the group. "This fucker tried to abandon us. He would have happily left us here to die!"

Tom looked back at Donald. Alice held his bloody and battered head in her hands, trying to wipe away the mud and the blood. "So go ahead and shoot me if you want to. But before you do, do tell me, how exactly does that make you any better than me?"

Hearing his words, Lilly lowered her weapon. The night sky crackled as a storm began. Lightning showed its face for the first time that night, and thunder roared in the night. The rain beat down on their faces as each of them considered Tom's question. It was silent besides the sound of the brewing storm until the arrival of Donna. Lilly first mistook her tears for raindrops, but she soon realised she was crying.

Donna went to her husband and fell into his arms. He embraced her, although he still didn't understand her reasons for crying. Had she seen what he had just done? Would she understand why he did it? These thoughts raced through Tom's mind, but it all became clear when Donna said a simple couple of words to him.

"She's gone," Donna said, trembling in Tom's arms. "I'm sorry, Tom. She's gone…"

Everyone understood what Donna's word meant. Clementine bowed her head with the rest of the group. She took Omid's hand and squeezed it hard.

Tom returned to his tent in silence. His wife followed. One by one, the group returned to their tents until only Lilly was left. Alice, with her husband still laid in her arms, looked to Lilly. The look in her eyes made Lilly think she was asking for help, but Lilly turned around and walked away.

Above them, the storm slowly brewing erupted again, and the night was brightened by the flash of lightning, and the distant cry of thunder followed.

Well, I hope you guys all enjoyed this chapter, the penultimate chapter in the first episode of Season Two. Episode Two is currently in the works, so I'll probably publish Chapter Eight sometime next week. Remember, the sooner you review/favourtie/follow this story, the sooner I'll upload the next chapter. I also can't write this without giving huge thanks to IzzyandDesRoxSox, who posted my first review last week! Izzy, thank you for your kind words and motivating me to stay on top of my work! It's thanks to Izzy that this chapter is up so early too. So thanks everyone who is reading this, who has followed and favourited my work and supported me in general. I'll see you next week for Chapter Eight. Hope you guys are ready, it's going to be a big one! ;)

-George