The trip to Macon was tense for a number of reasons. Katjaa could see that Kenny and I obviously had words that needed to be said. Kenny had a mixture of shame, built, and misplaced anger flowing through him. And me?

Well… I was just disappointed. I knew Kenny really well last time through. He had essentially been my best friend. And he was capable of both great loyalty, and great compassion. But he has always had one massive flaw. He is only ever concerned with his family.

Now that is not a bad thing per say. I would both kill and die for clementine. For fucks sake I did die for her. But I always made sure that other people were ok as well. I did not leave everyone to my own devices and only focus on clementine.

Kenny on the other hand has left us all in the lurch and made really shitty decisions because he wasn't willing to help people because of his family.

I don't think he's a bad guy. I really don't. But if we're going to get through this, he's gonna need to learn that saving others saves his family as well.

"Lee…?" Clementine said quietly.

"Yeah sweet pea?"

"I need to use the bathroom."

"Ah. Kenny? Can we stop for a moment? I think we could all use the bathroom."

"…sure." Shit… he's gonna be a bit of a hard case right now.

We pulled over to the side of the road. I pulled the shotgun off my back and load it with a number of shells.

"Alright. We'll go in shifts. Katjaa, Duck and Kenny, you go to the bathroom first. Once you're done Kenny you take the gun and watch for walkers."

Kenny and his family went over by some trees farther down the side while Clem and I talked for a bit about strategy.

"So what are we gonna do about Doug and Carley?"

"Well hopefully that situation won't even come up. If I can remember the alarm code for the Pharmacy, we'll be able to grab Larry's Heart meds and be out quiet as a fox."

"But if it does?"

"Then you grab Carley's gun and give it to Carley. I'll help Doug."

"Ok." Her face looked… a little sad. "What's wrong sweet pea?"

"….do you think my mom and dad are still alive?"

Aw shit…

I sigh and kneel down next to her.

"Its possible hon. But I don't think so."

"But… we got sent back! Maybe if we moved quickly we could find them!" Her voice raised, pleading with me to give her some hope.

God I wish I could.

"Clementine… did you ever listen to the phone messages?"

"N- No."

"The last message was from your mom to Sandra your babysitter. She said your dad had gotten bitten by some Feak in Savannah. They were in a hospital getting him treated."

Her eyes grew misty. " …. They were gone before you ever found me… huh?

"… I think so sweetie."

"…. I was just… I was hoping I could at least say goodbye. I never got to… I never… I was so scared, your arm was gone, and then they were there and you were dying!"

I pulled her into a hug, her arms clenching around me tightly.

"Promise me Lee. Promise me you won't die this time… promise you won't leave me alone!"

"I'll be with you forever sweetie. For as long as we are alive I will always be there for you."

"… You better."

I ruffle her hair. "… Shit. We forgot to cut your hair. Do you mind if we wait until we get to the motor Lodge?"

She touches it. "Sure."

I hear a crack and I point the gun in that direction.

"Jesus! It's just me!"

Kenny had his hands up, his face pale.

"Shit. Sorry about that. Just a bit jumpy. Ya'll done there?"

Duck and Katjaa made their way back in the car. "Yes. Thank you for looking out for us Lee."

"Here Kenny. Your turn." I hand it over to Kenny, leading clementine off into the woods.

"Call out if you need me ok sweetie?"

"Ok."

We part ways so we can take care of our business. Couple minutes later we head back to the truck, Kenny on high alert.

"We good to go?"

"Mostly. " I look over at Clementine. "Hey... why don't you go on in the car? I'll be in there in a minute."

She looks between Kenny and I and nods, climbing into the cab.

A moment passed between Kenny and me, before I finally said something. "Hey… thanks for watching out for us. " I reach for the gun and he hands it to me.

He still looks wary. "You're welcome."

"So… I think we need to talk."

"About what?" he bites out quickly.

"About back at the farm."

"What do you want me to say huh? I froze! I panicked! I had to make sure my son was ok!"

"And when he was in no danger? What then?"

"…. "His face was riddled with guilt, and frustration.

"Look… I get it. Your son is the most important thing in your life. But you have to understand something… in this life we're living now, we're gonna have to help each other to stay alive. If you only help yourself, and those closest to you, who is gonna help you when you can't help them? Who'll want to help you, if you never help anyone?"

"Dammit… well what am I supposed to do? Just not worry about my family?!"

"No. you need to trust that there are other people who care, and want to keep your family alive as much as you do!"

"Like who smart guy?!"

"Me for one. And clementine. We want you guys to stay alive and we'll do whatever it takes to keep it that way."

Kenny just kind of looked at me, shocked at what I said.

"You really mean that don't you Lee?"

"Absolutely Kenny. "

"Shit… alright. I'm gonna trust my family to you, if we need help. And I'll help you if anything happens to Clementine ok?"

"Good plan. We should probably head out. Oh. We should also try and siphon some gas off of abandoned cars on our way. "

"Shit… why didn't I think of that? I've got a siphon in the Back!"

"Alright then… let's get back in, I want to go over some important shit before we get to Macon..."

We head back into the truck, Katjaa looking at Kenny concerned. "Is everything ok Ken?"

"No problem Kat. Lee and I were just hashing some stuff out. He said he's got stuff to tell us on the way."

He starts up the truck and heads back down the road.

"So…. What exactly do we need to know Lee?" Kenny directed his question my way.

"Well first off… we need to talk about these monsters. Clem and I decided to call me walkers. Now… walkers ain't smart. They're more… instinct. Pure instinct. No intelligence. What they do have however, is an excellent sense of hearing. So no yelling out to people, unless you're already screwed and they know where you are."

I look around, to make sure they all understand. Especially duck.

"You get me little man? You got to be real quiet unless you know they aren't around."

"Ok. I'll be real quiet. Like Batman!"

Heh… I'd forgotten how cute this kid is.

"That's right Duck. Like Batman. Now… onto the rest of what I have to say. This shotgun will be good in emergencies but not as a first resort. Too loud. So as soon as we can, we need to find some knives, or long screwdrivers. All in all… just be quiet, trust each other, and we'll be ok. My family owns a pharmacy in Macon. We should be able to stock up on a little food, and plenty of meds."

"You're willing to share your family's supplies with us?" Katjaa asked shocked. "We couldn't possibly accept. "

"Katjaa. We won't survive in this world if we don't take care of each other. Just accept it. Ok"

Her face screwed up in indecision, but she finally replied, "Ok. But you must accept what little we have as well, ok?"

"Of course."

Seeing that everyone was as prepared as I could make them in a short period of time, I decided to take a nap.

Several hours later we arrived in Macon. Luckily we still had gas in the truck, so we managed to pull up, right in front of the Pharmacy…. Mom….Dad…. Shit.

I had almost forgotten… My brother… I look over at the trapped walker off to the side of the pharmacy….

I understood how Clem felt, asking about her parents. It felt like…. If only I moved faster, or if the Kid had sent me back earlier…. What could I have been able to do? Could I have saved them?

I felt a small hand grab mine. "You ok Lee?"

I shake my head to clear it, and look down at Clem. "Yeah… I will be hon. let's go inside huh?"

"Ok."

I signaled Kenny and his family to follow me, raising a finger to my lips to remind them to be quiet. We all walked up to the Door of the pharmacy, and I tried to open it. Locked. I knocked firmly.

"Anybody in there? We need some shelter!"

I could hear voices inside. "Don't let them in Lily! They could be bit."

"But it's not safe outside! We need to help these people!"

"Oh Shut up you stupid reporter!"

"Fuck you old man! Not all of us are heartless!"

A new voice popped up. "Hey! Don't you talk to my dad like that?"

I interjected, "please! We got kids out here, a little boy and girl! We need to get them safe!"

There was silence for a moment, until finally I heard a lock click and the door opened in front of me.

"Well get in then. " Lily. Lord… it feels like yesterday that I saw her, shooting Carley and then stealing our rd.

"Thank you. "I usher in everyone to the ransacked interior where we are met with the sight of long dead people. Carley, Larry, Doug…. And even glen, who we only knew for a short period of time before he left.

"Dammit lily! You don't know these people! They could be bit! "

"Dad I couldn't just leave them out there."

"Humph. And what happens if one of the little ones was nibbled on? Then we've got a hell of a situation on our hands."

Larry, that old big imposing fucker…. I'd almost forgotten how much of an ass he was.

"What do you expect me to do then dad?"

"They all need to be checked for bites, and if they're bitten, throw me out."

An uproar started, with everyone arguing about whether that should be allowed.

I let the hubbub go on for a moment before I cut in.

"Enough!" Everyone quieted down in shock. "Look. We're more than willing to submit to a check. Yes Kenny we are! These people don't know who we are, and we need to make sure things go smooth."

Kenny was looking mutinous for a while but he finally nodded and accepted my words.

"Thank you. We'll make it quick."

"But let's make something Clear." I said, hardening my voice. "Even if there was a bite on one of us, you would not be throwing anyone out. I would deal with it? Ye get me?"

"Now that's not"

"No. you listen. This is my family's pharmacy. My family is probably dead now. So that means that everything here belongs to me."

The room went quiet. Glenn piped up. "Seriously? Does that mean you know how to get to the meds?

"As a matter of fact? Yes. So ya'll be cool, and I'll more than gladly outfit us with as much medication as we can carry. In fact, we got a truck outside that can cart almost all of it."

Larry got huffy quickly. "Who the hell put you in charge?"

"Me myself and I. seems like I'm the only one here who will fucking listen to all sides of the matter without getting hysterical. If you have a problem with that you're more than welcome to leave my Pharmacy."

I was bluffing of course. As much as I dislike Larry, I wouldn't leave him to die like he did me. But Larry is ex-military. I need to prove myself his superior, otherwise I'll be dealing with his bullshit for the rest of our time here.

Larry looked at me, looking like he either wanted to laugh, or tear my head off. He stepped close to me towering over me. "And I suppose you're gonna make me little man?"

"If I have to. Now stand down. Before I make you."

Lily rushed in between us putting a hand on both our chest.

"Enough! This isn't helping anything. Dad, your heart isn't strong enough to be dealing with a bunch of emotional stress! And you! …. What's your name?"

"Lee."

"Well Lee, if you want to help, prove that you can get us in the pharmacy. I need heart meds for my father. And we could us painkillers, antibiotics, all of it. "

"Gladly. In the meantime we need to find us a better place to stay. Anybody here know the area well?"

"Well… I used to deliver pizzas everywhere around here. I know the area well." Glenn piped up.

"You know where the Motor inn is?"

"Yeah. That's where a lot of people ordered pizza. "

"Can you check out the area for us? If we took out any walkers that might be around, we can fortify that area. Have some decent beds, maybe even electricity if we can find a manual storage generator."

"Um…. We don't have any but I could provably rig one up." Doug mentioned, with his quiet tone.

"Fantastic. What do you say glen? Can you do that?"

"No prob. I'll take a walkie-talkie, and call you with what I find out."

"Thanks. Here, take this." I hand him a screwdriver. "If you find a small amount of them, you can stab them through the brain and take them out quietly."

He looked at the screwdriver and then the shotgun. "Um… there a reason I can't have that?"

"It's too loud for a first resort. This is for when shit goes to hell. "

"Fair enough."

He grabbed the warlike talkie and slips out the door.

I took a good look around. "Alright everyone, lets chill for a bit while Clem and I Look around for the keycard, and the password."

Larry glared at me, while Lily had a blank look on her face, waiting to see how I do. Kenny nodded at me and took his family to the far side of the pharmacy.

I glance over at clementine who had started tugging at my hand. "What is it Clem?"

She pointed at the bathroom.

Oh. Balls. Right.

"Alright folks? There's a walker in the bathroom. I'm gonna need to open it up and take care of it."

The store erupted in protests. Larry in particular. "Are you fucking insane? Just leave it locked!"

"And what about using the bathroom? Look, if I let it out, I can trip it up and take it out quickly."

Lily piped up. "But is it worth the risk?"

"It's not that much of a risk. We know what's in there, no other surprises. That's what usually screws people up."

Larry snorts but says nothing.

"Alright everyone. Back away while I open the door. Clem? Can I borrow your screwdriver? I gave mine to Glenn."

"Yeah... here."

She hands it to me and goes to stand with Kenny and his family.

I take a deep breath, then throw the door open. Instantly, the walker comes at me, eyes glazed, teeth gnashing. I dodge to the left, and throw it down to the ground.

It lands with a thump and I drive the screwdriver through its head ending the danger.

"And there we go."

The group just stares at me, surprised that I took care of it so easily.

"They aren't unstoppable. We're smarter than they are. Faster. Stronger. All they have is numbers. We can take back our world if we stick together."

And what was interesting was, they seemed to start to believe me. I think I even saw a spark of hope in Larry's eyes.

"So let's get the medicine, and then try to hole up somewhere to prepare."