"Okay Clementine, remember that a gun is just a thing; there is no reason to be afraid of it." Alex said, holding his pistol out. Clementine looked at it warily, as if she wasn't sure to believe him, before nodding and slowly taking it out of his hand.

It had taken Alex a little while, but he had managed to find a few empty, rusted cans near the train. Setting them up along the log that they had been sitting on, he moved Clementine a few paces away, before turning her and setting up her shot.

"It's heavy," she complained, the gun shaking in her hands. Alex chuckled, remembering when he had said something similar to his uncle, years ago.

"When I was close to your age, my uncle and father taught me how to shoot and I had the exact same problem," he said, as he watched her study her hold on the weapon," but don't worry; after a while, you get used to it." She looked skeptical but didn't say anything.

"Alright, there are a few things you need to know before you actually can shoot it:

First, always know where your trigger finger is at all times. The only time you want to put your finger on the trigger, is when you want to fire the gun." Alex noticed Clem quickly moving her finger away from it, making sure it was nowhere near the trigger, causing him to smile.

Second: to aim, look right down the top, through that notch; you will want to line up the sight at the end with your target," He continued, watching as she tried to do everything he had said, with limited success.

"And third, take a deep breath, hold it and squeeze the trigger steadily to fire."

"How do I hold my breath? Like, when I'm swimming?"

"No," Alex chuckled at the thought of her attempting to do that, "you just want to hold for a quick second. Its much harder to do, but it will be much more accurate."

Clem thought about it carefully for a moment, before nodding, and turned her attention to the cans. He was about to remind her not to lock her elbows, but she when raised her arms, she kept her arms loose. Guess she was paying attention to earlier gunfights, he thought, as she took careful aim down the notch. Either that, or it was one good guess.

He watched as she took a deep breath, and fired, hitting the log just underneath a can. She glanced at him, with a frown on her face, but when he nodded, she brightened up and continued firing. After about three shots, she managed to hit one, causing it to fly off the wood.

"I did it!" She exclaimed as she gave a little jump for joy. Alex smiled, glad she had managed to hit one, but he did feel slightly jealous. It took me two clips before I even managed to get near my target when I was her age.

"Good job Clem. Not for the-"

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Alex and Clementine jumped at the sound of the voice and turned to see Lee jumping down from the boxcar and marching toward them, looking more angry than Alex had ever seen him before. The man walked up the Clem, and after snatching the pistol from her hands, focusing all of his rage on the teen.

"What gives you the right to teach a little girl to shoot?!" Lee yelled in Alex's face, as Alex took a few steps back, surprised at the reaction that he was getting from the man. "Its dangerous, and she could get herself hurt!"

"Look, you and I both know its dangerous, but its a dangerous world now!" Alex shouted back, planting his feet. Anger and frustration raced through him as he tried to figure out why Lee was so upset. "She needs to know how to protect herself!"

"Lee, I wanted him to teach me," Clementine said, as she tried to placate her guardian. Lee glanced at her, before turning back to the teen.

"She doesn't need to know if I'm there for her!" Lee replied, shoving Alex, causing him to stumble to the ground. The man tossed the gun at Alex's feet, but just before Lee could do anything else, a voice called out to him.

"But what happens when you ain't there for her?"

All three of them looked over to see Chuck slowly walking toward them, with a slightly frightened Ben watching from the boxcar. Alex thought he saw Kenny watching from the window of the train, but when he looked again, he couldn't see anyone. Chuck stopped a few paces from them, before turning his full attention on Lee.

"The kid is right; this is a dangerous world now, and in dangerous times, things happen. Like, for example, you not being able to protect her when she most needs it."

"Are you trying to say something?" Lee asked tensely, as he walked over to the hobo, prepared to do anything to protect Clementine. Chuck just watched him calmly.

"Yeah, I am. I'm sayin' that you are goin' to need to teach her how to survive, not just try an' protect her all the time."

"It wasn't his place to teach her how to shoot!' Lee replied, glaring down at Alex.

"You ain't wrong." Both Alex and Lee looked at him in surprise, but before they could say anything, the man continued. "The kid shouldn't have taught her; that was supposed to be your job, but you took too goddamn long. From what I've heard, with the way ya'll are goin', none of you are gonna make it, especially her. In this world, you're either livin' or not. You ain't little, you ain't a girl, you ain't a boy, you ain't strong or smart; You're just alive, plain and simple and that livin' person over there," he indicated toward Clementine, who had been quietly listening the whole time, "needs to know how to survive. So, make you have a plan in case things go south, and for Christ's sake, cut that hair; its just beggin' to be grabbed."

Lee stood still, trying to process what the man had said as Alex slowly grabbed his gun and got up. Lee glanced at the teen for a moment, before heading to the boxcar, only stopping for a moment to ask Clem to go with him. She was hesitant, before agreeing and following him.

"Thanks Chuck. I appreciate it." Alex said shakily, as he brushed dust and dirt off himself.

"Nah, don't mention it. Just thank common sense, but, if I were you, I would give em' some space for a bit. Just to be safe." Alex nodded, still slightly unnerved the whole incident. "Now, I'm goin' to see if that hick needs any help movin' my train." With that, the hobo gave Alex one quick smile before heading back toward the locomotive.

Alex went over and picked up the can that Clem had shot, planning on giving it to her later as a gift. I never thought that Lee would react like that, he thought as he sat down on the log among the cans. It was as if...he could have killed me. Was that what happened with my uncle? The man just lost control in his anger? I know I've forgiven him, but maybe, just to be safe, I better keep an eye on him. For mine and Clementine's sake.

The rest of the day went quickly for Alex, considering that that he wanted to be nowhere near Lee if he went off again. Apparently, besides figuring out how to get the train going, Chuck also knew a thing or two about motor vehicles, managing to patch up the engine block. While Kenny was initially reluctant to actually allow the hobo near the RV, he started came out of his slump that he had been in since the death of his family when he heard the sound of a running motor.

Alex was surprised when Kenny told the group that they were going to be taking the RV to Savannah, instead of the train. He expected Chuck to try and argue, or even just leave the group to stay with his beloved train, but Alex guessed since he was a hobo for so long, he was able to just leave things behind, even things he cared about. While Chuck said nothing and just went to go pack up his meager belongings, Ben seemed to be more torn about not using the locomotive than anyone else.

As the sun began to set, with a lot of effort, Lee managed to convince Kenny that it was better to stay there for the night, and leave when it was light out in the morning, instead of leaving right then. Considering what had happened last time they traveled during the night, Alex couldn't agree more. He knew that Carley's death was still fresh on their minds, even though it had been nearly a day.

The campfire that Kenny had decided to build was a nice change of pace anyway. Although it was a little too large for Alex's liking, it was nice to feel, well, normal for short while, even if everyone had their weapons, in case any unwanted guests showed up and decided to steal a meal. Chuck pulled out his old guitar and was playing some old country song, while Clem was slowly falling asleep, leaning against Lee, as he finished cleaning his gun. From time to time, Alex felt the man glance at him, but he ignored him, not wanting to ruin this moment. Alex did notice, however, that Clementine's hair had been reduced considerably. It was so small now that it was simply tied back into two small pigtails, making her look even cuter than before.

Even though Kenny had built the fire, he quickly excused himself and went to go work on the motor home, mumbling something about trying to make sure the fix would hold, while Ben appeared to be trapped in his thoughts, with momentary flashes of something akin to fear going across his face. Alex was worried about Ben; after the talk they had had earlier that day, Ben seemed to be on the edge of spilling his guts to everyone, including Kenny. If he did that...Alex wouldn't have to worry about protecting the other teen much longer.

Alex felt his eyes close, and no matter how much he tried to force them back open, they stayed shut, until he felt the gentle touch of sleep grab him and pull him into its sweet embrace.

AN: Hey there folks! Sorry about the long wait; I just started college and man, let me tell you, its a big change from high school. Anyway, here comes the good and bad news. Good news: I will be continuing this story during college, just because I really don't want it to end. Bad news: My updates may take longer, due to the big adjustment I'm going through. I hope you will be understanding, and I hope to try and get you the next chapter as soon as I am free.

PS: Don't forget to review, follow, fav, PM me, whatever. Suggestions and critiques are appreciated.

Also, final thought: I'm thinking about not including Omid and Christa in this, simply due to different locations. I might be able to change some things so that they meet up with the rest of the group sooner or later, but I want to know your thoughts. So, let me know! :)