The Walking Dead: Fight for Survival
Chapter 17: rescue
Lee leaned from around the mobile trailer they were taking cover behind and stabbed the corpse laying next them to make sure it was dead. The 'corpse' turned out to still be alive, but it was dead in a matter of seconds. He checked it's pockets for anything useful, but unfortunately, there was nothing on it.
"Good thing you were listening to what I said." Jane said, now wondering what would have happened if they just left the corpse like that.
Lee moved back into cover as they tried to figure out how they were going to do this.
"It's going to be difficult to get to them." Jane admitted, looking over the barricade where the walkers were banging against the mobile home, desperate to get in. She could still here Luke and Carley inside, trying to calm Sarah down from screaming.
"There's too many for us to take on." Clementine stated, unable to figure out how they were going to do this, and this is why she left stuff like this for Lee to decide.
"We won't stand a chance while they're there." Jane replied, folding her arms together as she thought this over. "We need to get them to leave somehow."
Lee turned his attention towards the pickup truck nearby and thought of an idea that may just work. If the truck was still working, maybe they could use it to make a noise by using the horn. But first they would have to get to it, and that would mean they needed to take out those two walkers by the barricade. "We might be able to get them to move with the truck."
"Good thinking." Jane agreed, pulling out her scratch awl and preparing to take them down. "All right, let's take them."
Clementine remained where she was for now as Lee and Jane snuck towards the two walkers by the barricades. As they got closer, the two walkers turned around and spotted new targets for them to feast into and focused their attention towards them, limping closer towards the two humans.
Lee was about to take down the walker marching towards him, but instead, he decided to try out that little technique Jane suggested. He kicked the walker directly in its knee and down it went towards the ground. He proceeded to finish it off with a stab to the back of its head.
Jane finished off the other walker and pushed it towards the ground, but she had been watching Lee the entire time, too. "Used my advice, huh? Neat trick, isn't it?"
"Yeah...It was a pretty good trick." Lee admitted but not before he walked towards the barriers with Clementine and Jane beside him. He peaked up over the barricade to see the many walkers surrounding the mobile home.
"That is a lot of walkers." Clementine stated the obvious. "They're desperate to get in there, all right."
"And what gets the dead interested?" Jane asked Clementine like it was a school question, but the answer was quite obvious, of course.
"The living." Clementine answered, keeping her eyes locked towards the small group of walkers as she tried to help figure what they were going to do next. "How are we going to get past them?"
"I got an idea." Jane suggested, kneeling down behind the barricade to avoid being noticed by any of them. "If we can make enough noise, we can draw them over him..."
"And while they're distracted, we sneak over unnoticed through that other trailer, right?" Lee finished, already aware of what she was getting out with this plan.
"Bingo." Jane grinned, but she still had no idea as to how they were going to distract the walkers. She shifted herself back towards the walkers, on the lookout for anything loud. "Now how can we attract them and bring them here?"
Lee shifted his attention back towards the pickup truck nearby and beckoned for them to follow him. "Let's see if we can find anything in that truck."
The trio made their way over towards the truck whilst Lee would be the one to check it. He searched in the back of the truck for anything useful, but there was nothing inside. He proceeded to search inside the truck that was still unlocked fortunately, and it seemed to still be in working order.
Lee opened the car door that was open fortunately, and pressed his hand against the horn a couple times to get the walkers attention. Clementine and Jane prepared themselves just in case things got out of hand.
A couple of the walkers surrounding the mobile home did shift their attention towards the sounds of the car horn, but it did not last long when they shifted their attention back towards the mobile home, more interested in the voices inside.
"It might work if we can use something to keep the horn going." Jane suggested whilst she kept an eye out for anything around the area that they may be able to use to their advantage. She watched as Lee approached one of the walkers they killed and prepared to pick it up. "What are you doing?"
"If we can lean this walker against the horn, then it should keep it going long enough to attract the others." Lee explained as he grabbed the walkers arms and prepared to lift it, but he remember the last time he did that on the St. John's farm that almost got him killed. "Give me a hand."
"Sounds like a good idea." Jane agreed as she moved towards the opposite side of Lee and grabbed the walkers legs. "Just like brining moths to a flame. Okay, on three. One...Two...Three."
The duo picked up the walker by its arms and legs, and made their way back towards the pickup truck. Since Clementine could not really help at this moment, she decided to keep watch on the walkers and inform them if anything changed. Although it looked quite obvious the walkers were desperate to get inside.
Lee and Jane eventually made it over towards the pickup truck and sat the walker down inside, making certain it would stay there. Once it was secured, Lee leaned its head down against the horn that would now hopefully draw the walkers away. The trio prepared to make a run for it through the mobile home once the walkers were here.
As the horn continued to send noise through the area, the walkers surrounding the mobile home shifted their attention towards the source of the sound and began to limp their way over towards the barricade. Lee's plan was a success so far.
"We did it!" Lee said, praising himself, Jane, and Clementine as they ducked down to avoid being seen by the oncoming group of walkers. He watched as the walkers reached the barricade and attempted to break through that they could eventually do with another effort. "All right, let's go!"
The trio ran through the mobile home beside them, hoping this would take them to the other side. Once they were inside, they already spotted trouble ahead. A walker had pressed itself against the window, attracting to the sounds of the truck horn.
Lee raised his hatchet up and prepared to attack it, but Jane placed her hand in front of him and pulled out her scratch awl and began to quietly sneak towards the walker. "She's mine." she whispered.
While Jane was sneaking towards her prey, Lee and Clementine were completely unaware of the danger behind them. Clementine arched an eyebrow when she could have sworn she heard something. She turned around and a fearful expression rose across her face when a walker emerged from the darkness, only a couple of feet away. "Lee!"
Quick as the speed of light, Lee swiftly turned around like a ninja and pulled Clementine out of harm's way, and proceeded to kick the walker directly in its kneecap, causing it to collapse directly towards the ground. He finished it off with a good stab in the back of its head.
"Let's go." Jane ordered, pushing the walker down she had just finished off. She did not seem to be aware that they were close to death, or that she didn't care.
Before leaving, Lee was the first to notice that the truck horn was no longer beeping. He looked out of the mobile home window and noticed the walkers were no longer attracted the truck, and began making their way back towards the mobile home. "Shit! We got to move, now!"
Lee quickly ran towards the door and kicked it open, running as fast as his legs would carry him. He charged up the steps and towards the mobile home door and quickly tried to open it, but unfortunately, it was locked. "Fuck! It's locked!"
"Get it open somehow!" Jane ordered, raising her weapon as she prepared to hold off the group of walkers.
Lee had to think fast before it was too late. He quickly handed his hatchet over to Clementine, trusting her to help defend him while he got the door open. "Clem, help Jane hold the walkers back!"
"On it!" she nodded, running back down the steps and stopping besides Jane, preparing to take a stand against the walkers.
Lee at first tried knocking on the door, but that did not seem to work. He tried shouting for them too. "Carley! It's me!" but that did not work either. Running out of options, Lee began to kick the door with all his strength, attempting to force it open.
After a couple of kicks, the door eventually burst open, but he refused to go inside without making sure everyone else was with him first. "Jane, Clem, let's go!"
Jane finished off one more walker before heading back towards the mobile home. She grabbed Clementine's hand whilst doing so, refusing to leave her behind. The duo was the first to run inside, followed by Lee, who slammed the door. But he now realized now that he broke the lock, the walkers had more chance to get inside now.
The second they were inside, Lee's first thought was to make sure they could not get in. He noticed a wooden cabinet leaning against a wall, and immediately, he jumped on the other side and attempted to push it on his own. "Guys, give me a hand!"
Jane and Clementine got on the other side of the cabinet and helped Lee move it towards the door. They were unable to push it; so instead, they tipped it over on its side and blocked the door. The impact noise of the cabinet hitting the ground had caused Sarah to scream again, fearing the walkers had got in.
"Sarah, just calm down." Luke could be heard in one of the rooms nearby. He raised his voice slightly when hearing the sound of something hitting against ground shot through his eardrums. "Is someone in hear?"
"Luke! It's Lee!" Lee called in return, running towards the bedroom door with Clementine beside him.
The door opened from the inside, revealing Luke whom armed himself with his machete in case walkers got in. He looked somewhat relived to see familiar faces come to rescue them. "Lee? Clementine?" he stood outside the room and placed his machete back into his holster whilst he held his hand against his ribs. "Thank God you guys are here. Could do with a hand."
"Luke, are you all right?" Lee inquired, but he was more concerned for Carley whom was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Carley?"
"She's in the room with Sarah." Luke groaned, still in bad condition after his injuries from Carver. He struggled to stand whilst explaining the situation to them. "Sarah's...Well...She won't move, she keeps crying...I just...Don't know what to do."
"We'll handle it." Lee assured as he stepped around him and proceeded into the bedroom, Clementine walking beside him. For now, Luke helped Jane keep watch on the door.
Lee walked into the room and could not be more relieved to see Carley safe and sound. She was kneeling down to Sarah, whom was sitting against the wall with her arms around her legs. She looked different without her glasses. "Carley!"
Carley stood up when hearing her boyfriend's voice and stood up to greet him. Despite her small height, she was more than happy to hug after thinking she would never find him again. Lee returned the hug, grateful to have her in his arms safe and sound. Well, then again, she wouldn't be safe until they got out of here. "Lee, I'm glad you're safe. Is Clementine safe?"
"Yeah, she's safe. She's here." Lee replied, slowly leaning from the hug but he kept his hands placed upon her shoulders. "We're going to get out here, I promise. The others are waiting for us at Parker's Run."
"That's good, but we got a little problem." Carley admitted, nodding her head slightly to the side for Lee to understand who she was referring to. "I can't get her to move or anything."
"I'll handle it. Don't worry." Lee assured, planting a kiss upon her cheek. He took his hands from Carley's shoulders and knelt down towards Sarah, but he was unable to figure out the right words to convince her to move.
Carley merely watched as she was already out of ideas. She hoped Lee would be able to take some sense into her. She shifted her attention back towards the door where Clementine was standing, and greeted her with a hug. "Hey Clementine. You all right?"
"I'm fine." Clementine assured, returning the hug to the person she considered to be her adoptive mother. "How about you?"
"I'm fine, but Sarah's completely devastated." Carley replied, taking her arms from around Clementine as she focused her attention towards Sarah, her expression looking worried. "Think you could help her?"
"I'll try." Clementine replied, moving towards Sarah and kneeling down beside Lee. She did not know how to convince Sarah to move. Without her dad, she was too dramatized. Nevertheless, she was determined to help her best friend.
Lee shifted his attention towards Clementine when she arrived, and this gave him a couple of ideas he could use whilst he attempted to convince her. "Look Sarah, its Clementine, your friend. See? She's still here with you. It's going to be okay, but we need to leave soon."
Sarah did lift her head up when Lee mentioned Clementine, but she still did not say anything.
"Are you okay, Sarah?" Clementine inquired, but she got no response from the older girl. She turned towards Lee for advice. "What's wrong with her?"
"She's in shock." Lee answered. "After Carlos...She...She just lost if and ran away. Let's just try and talk to her."
The walkers outside began to bang on the door even harder, desperate to get inside. Carley took her knife and decided to go and help Luke and Jane secure the area. Lee got back up and stood a couple of feet away with his arms folded together whilst he and Clementine tried to convince Sarah to move.
"She'll listen to me, Lee." Clementine assured, keeping eyes focused to Sarah, who seemed to be struggling to breathe like she did back at the cabin when Carver had arrived. "Hey Sarah. It's me, Clementine." she reached out her arm towards Sarah, but the young girl cried for a second and flinched.
"We know how you feel, Sarah." Lee assured, trying to convince her that she was not the only one who lost someone they cared for. "It's a tough feeling that never gets any better. Ever since all this began, people I loved for have died. Some for stupid reasons."
"We know you feel alone right now, Sarah, but you're not." Clementine reassured, considering Sarah and the rest of their friends to all be one family now. "We're all here for you."
"No...I am alone..." Sarah mumbled, and this was a slight surprise to everyone. These were the first words she spoke since they had arrived at this mobile home.
"No you're not alone." Clementine declined, reminding her of the rest of their friends they were with. "We're all here. Me, Lee, Carley, Luke, Jane, Rebecca, Mike, and Bonnie. We're all family now."
Sarah was now crying even more heavily. Outside of the mobile home, a walker banged on the window from the outside. They were surrounded and heavily outnumbered. If they were going to make a plan to get out of here and back to Parker's Run, they would have to think fast, but Lee and Clementine refused to leave without Sarah. They did not want anyone else to die.
Jane ran back into the room after noticing they were surrounded. She shifted her attention up towards the ceiling where a skylight that was more than big enough for all of them to get through. "We can get out through the skylight. Guys, we got to move."
Clementine realized she was right, but still refused to go yet. "The rest of us are not far from here, Sarah. Rebecca, Mike, and Bonnie are waiting for us. All of them miss you, Sarah, and want to make sure you get back to them. They love you. We'll make it out of this and be with them again, okay?"
"Sarah, I hate to say it, but you can't be a kid anymore." Lee said, giving her a similar piece of advice that he gave Clementine a couple of years ago. "Sarah, you have to grow up now. Walkers, bandits, and other bad people won't care about your age. If you don't grow up, you'll die. Clementine's younger than you, and she's handled herself more times than I can remember. If she can do, so can you. I believe in you, Sarah."
Sarah stopped crying and paid close attention to every word they both had been saying. Before she could answer however, the door was forced open slightly from the outside by the walkers. Carley and Jane quickly ran towards the door.
"Everyone, get to the skylight now!" Jane ordered as she and Carley held the cabinet against the door, trying to hold the walkers back for as long as they could to buy time sometime.
Lee still wanted to help Sarah, but first he had to help the others. He placed his hands together and knelt down towards Luke, offering him a boost. "Luke, come on! I'll give you a boost."
Luke grunted as he placed his foot onto Lee's hands and tried to reach up towards the skylight, but his bad ribs made that difficult. He placed one hand upon the skylight as Lee continued pushing him upwards. With some effort, Lee pushed Luke all the way up with all his strength and was able to lift him out of the skylight.
Luke got down on his stomach and reached his hand down, ready to start lifting everyone out of there. "Come on, guys!"
"Carley, Jane, come on!" Lee shouted to the duo who continued to try and hold the door back, but they were not strong enough and eventually, they were forced to move when the cabinet came collapsing down.
The door swung open and multiple walkers emerged inside, limping towards the closest living person. Carley and Jane used their melee weapons to hold back the oncoming walkers, but there was just too many for them to take on.
"Girls, hurry!" Lee shouted, refusing to leave with them.
Carley and Jane each took down one more walker before running back to the bedroom. Lee slammed the bedroom door shut and held his back against it. "Everyone, get up!"
Jane was the first go. She was given a boost by Carley, who struggled to lift her since she did not have that much strength, but fortunately she was able to lift her high enough for Luke to take her hand and pull her up.
Once Jane was up, she looked back inside towards Clementine, who still tried to convince Sarah to get up. Even in the current situation they were, Sarah was still in too much shock to move. "Clementine, we need to go! She's not going to move. Don't let her take you down with you!"
"I'm not leaving Sarah!" Clementine shouted, attempting to convince Sarah one more time. "Sarah, we need to go!"
"I can't...I just can't...I want my daddy..." Sarah cried hysterical, flitching wildly even more.
"Sarah, you need to snap out of it!" Clementine demanded, she did wish to sound harsh, but it was necessary if she wanted her to live. Running out of options and time, Clementine rose her hand and slapped Sarah's cheek. "SARAH GO!"
Lee was in slight shock to what she just did, but nevertheless, he was relieved when he saw it worked and it got Sarah up onto her feet. He continued to hold the door shut while Carley lifted Sarah up to the skylight, and did not struggle as much since Sarah was lighter. Once Sarah was up, Carley then proceeded to lift Clementine up, but had a little trouble lifting her all the way since she was not that tall.
Jane and Luke took Clementine's hands and pulled her to safety, and then proceeded to pull Carley up, but due to her small height, they could not reach her. With one big jump of faith, Jane and Luke were able to grab her hands just in the nick of time and pulled her up to safety. Now there was only one left.
"Lee, come on!" Carley called out, holding her hand down as she prepared to help pull him up.
Lee eventually moved away from the door and ran towards the skylight. He jumped up towards the ceiling and was grabbed by Jane, Luke and Carley whom all struggled to pull him up. The bedroom door broke open from the outside and dozens of walkers emerged inside. The trio pulled Lee up to safety just in time, a second later and it would have been a goner.
Everyone panted a little as they sat on the roof of the mobile home, shocked that they made it out of there alive.
"Let's go." Lee said, standing up as he proceeded over towards the edge of the roof and jumped down over the fence.
Everyone followed Lee in suite, except for Clementine and Sarah, who stayed just for a few more seconds. Clementine retrieved Sarah's glasses out from her pocket and handed them back over to Sarah.
She accepted her glasses and placed them back onto her face. One of the lenses was cracked on the left side, but she could still see at least. Sarah managed to raise a slight smile, secretly thanking Clementine for saving her. The two best friends jumped down off the mobile home and followed the rest of their friends through the woods.
That's it for this chapter, folks. Everyone has made it out safe and sound...For now, anyway. Stay tuned for chapter 18 that might be here tomorrow.