"Are we almost there yet?" Clem asked, watching the scenery pass by, as she sat on Alex's lap. Alex just sighed softly, instead of responding to the girl; how often could he say, "just a little while longer," before she stopped?
The group had left the train early that morning, but by mid-afternoon, everyone was getting a little restless. Kenny seemed determined to make it to Savannah before nightfall, even though it looked like he could keel over at anytime, while both Chuck and Lee seemed to be poring over a map of the town, trying to figure out good locations to stock up at. Ben, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in thought on the couch, but from the look on his face, they weren't very good thoughts.
Also, for some reason, Clementine had decided to join Alex up front, with almost a worried look on her face. From time to time, she would check the walkie-talkie, almost as if she was expecting someone to call her, but then would just set it back on her lap and continue to stare out the windshield.
"Don't worry Clem,"Alex finally answered, feeling her jump a little, "it won't be long now until we make it to Savannah." Clem turned her head and stared into Alex's eyes, almost giving the appearance that she was struggling with something, when she just shook her head, and went back to leaning on the teen.
As the hours passed, Clementine eventually fell into a deep sleep, not moving at all once she was out. Once and a while, Alex would catch Kenny glancing over at them, with the ghost of a smile on his face, before turning his attention back to the road.
"How are we doing up here?" Lee asked, as he suddenly appeared beside Alex. It took all of Alex's self-control from jumping and sending Clem to the floorboard. God, I wish he would stop doing that!
"It's going alright; we should be in Savannah in the next hour or two," Kenny replied, continuing to focus on the road.
"Good to hear," Lee stated before turning his attention to Alex and Clem. "How's she doing?"
"Fine, as far as I can tell. She fell asleep about an hour ago," Alex answered, trying very hard not to look at the man. Alex heard Lee sigh.
"Look, Alex, I'm sorry about-"
Suddenly, the crackling of the walkie-talkie caused them all to pause, with different looks of shock and disbelief on their faces. Alex watched as Lee slowly reached over and picked it up from Clem's lap, all without her even stirring. As Lee appeared to be studying it, a creepy voice came came out, leaving chills on Alex's arms.
"Can't wait for you to get to Savannah, Clementine. I got your parents right here, and you be sure to find me, whether Lee wants you to or not. Now, what I need-" The device cut out, leaving an uneasy silence.
"Holy shit," Alex thought out loud, as Lee continued to stare at the walkie-talkie in disbelief.
"I thought you said that thing was broken," Kenny questioned, trying very hard to continue to focus on the road.
"So did I," Lee responded as he attached the device to his belt. The silence that followed was almost overwhelming. Finally, Alex decided to break it.
"So, what are we going to do about it?" He asked softly, trying to make sure that Clem didn't wake up. The men glanced at each other, discussed in hushed tones for a little bit, before stating that the group would have to be very cautious in Savannah; at least, until they got a hold of a boat.
"Also, don't say anything about this to the others; at least, not yet," Kenny finished, as they reached the outskirts of Savannah. Alex nodded, as Lee gently picked up Clementine from Alex's lap, mentioning something about going to wake her up.
The rest of the ride felt very uneasy to Alex, as if they were walking into a trap. Not only does someone know we're coming, we don't know what we are going to find there, Alex thought, as he glanced toward Kenny, who was staring at the road with a mix of determination and something that looked akin to...fear.I really hope Kenny knows what he's doing...
As Kenny drove the RV through town, Alex began getting worried; not about the guy who already knew they were coming, but by the lack of walkers that he was seeing. While he was just hoping there weren't a lot left, the fact that since arriving in Savannah, Alex hadn't seen a single one, gave him enough reason to be on edge.
Suddenly, the RV began sputtering before coming to a halt. Kenny tried to start it several times, cursing the whole time, before finally kicking the console and getting up.
"Alright, looks as if this is as far as the RV is going to take us; grab what you can, and let's hurry. The sun's about to set."
The group quickly grabbed what they could fit into backpacks and hurried out of the vehicle, following Kenny as he hurried down a road, swearing that it would lead to the riverfront. It was slow process, having to stop at each intersection to check for zombies, but the weird thing was, none were ever there. Apparently, the RV had stopped in a wealthier part of town, forcing the group to walk alongside massive walls, designed to keep people out. They had only made it a few blocks before a loud, ringing sound caught their attention.
"Is that...a church bell?" Ben asked, looking around in an attempt to locate the source. "Is there someone ringing it?"
"No," Kenny said dismissively, "it's probably just on a timer."
Lee glanced down at his watch. "What church bell rings at 6:18?"
Suddenly, just as quickly as the ringing had started, it stopped, leaving Alex and the rest of the group glancing around, looking for the culprit. Maybe it was the person who was on the walkie-talkie...
It was just Alex's luck when the device attached to Lee's belt crackled to life."If I were you, I would get out of the street. Now."
"I thought you said that was broken," Ben stammered out, as he backed away from Lee.
Lee grabbed the walkie-talkie and demanded who was there, only to receive silence.
"Ask not for whom the bells toll, for the bells toll for thee," Charles muttered under his breath, with Alex to barely hear it. Alex was about to ask why he had said that, when he realized the group was all staring at something farther down the street. When he realized what it was, Alex took a step back in fear.
The street ahead of them was filled with walkers, all shambling towards them. Kenny motioned the group to turn onto a side street, only to find it being filled with walkers as well. Then, the zombies, as if noticing them, began shuffle toward the group more quickly, moaning loudly.
"Move!" Lee shouted, as he grabbed Clementine and hurried back toward the last intersection, with the rest of the group following close behind. Alex and Chuck stayed at the back, allowing the rest of the group to pass them before following.
Alex felt his heart thumping in his chest, terror spreading through him. I can deal with a few zombies by myself; even a larger group, with a little help, he thought, as the group got closer to the last intersection. But this many...if we make it out of here, it will be a miracle.
"Shit!" Lee shouted, as he tried to turn the corner, only to find it completely blocked by incoming zombies. Looking at the other side street, Alex could see that it too was overrun, as well as the main street they had come down moments earlier.
"To the wall! Go!" Chuck yelled, hurrying over to the nearest wall, quickly followed by the others.
"What's the plan, Chuck?! Back us up against a wall to be eaten?!" Kenny shouted angrily, as the horde slowly drew closer.
"We're gonna lift someone up, who in turn, will help the others up. Whoever isn't lifting, helps defend." Charles replied sternly, before moving to make sure that no walker got through. The rest of the group looked at each other, before moving to follow Chuck's plan: Ben, Alex and Chuck formed a semicircle around Clementine, while Lee began to lift Kenny. Right as they got into position, the walkers struck.
Alex aimed his pistol at the nearest walker and began to fire, trying to make sure that every shot counted. Bang! Five...Bang! Six... As walker after walker fell, Alex began to feel better. We might just make it...Then, he heard the scream.
Whirling around, Alex saw that Ben, who was supposed to tell someone when he was going up, didn't, allowing a walker to make it through and go after Clementine. Alex aimed at the biter's head and pulled the trigger, only to hear an empty click. Frantic, Alex was about to go help her, when Chuck smashed its head against the wall, before turning his attention back on the rest of the horde.
"Go help 'em up and then, I will help ya up." Chuck ordered Alex, who stowing his gun, ran over and began to help Lee up the wall. Alex couldn't lift them both very high, but luckily, Kenny was able to grab a hold of Clem and pull her up, before helping Lee.
As soon they were on the other side, Chuck, as if knowing it was time, raced over to Alex before helping him up the wall. As Kenny grabbed ahold of him, Alex looked down to see Chuck still swing his shovel, taking a few down with each swing.
"Come on Chuck! Jump and we'll grab you!" Alex shouted, stretching his arm as far down as possible. Chuck just looked up, giving a quick, little sad smile, before going back to bashing down walkers as they closed in all around him.
"We gotta go, kid," Kenny said, as he took a hold of Alex's arm and began to drag him off the wall.
"Kenny, let me go! We can still help him!" Alex resisted, struggling to hold onto the wall, but Kenny managed to start pulling him. As Alex was slowly fell off the wall, all he managed to see of Chuck was the man swinging his shovel around, bashing walkers left and right, as the horde slowly surrounded him.
AN: To those who have been waiting so patiently, thank you guys so much. Sorry if this took way too long, because I agree: it really did. If you must know, a mix of writer's block, personal issues, with a tiny bit of college issues, made this one of the hardest chapters to write.
So, anyway, thanks for hanging in there with me; you don't know how much I really appreciate it. Now, I plan on attempting to put out a chapter every week or two, but no guarantees. Also, I'm been attempting to figure out what to do after this...maybe go to season 2? I don't know, but any ideas would be helpful.
And finally, any critiques, reviews, PMs, that you could do to help craft this into a better story would be greatly appreciated it! So, once again, thanks again guys!