Lee snapped his fingers, staring directly at Carley. She aimed her gun down the sights, directed exactly at Andy. Once she had pulled the trigger, the bullet zoomed directly into Andy's skull, slapping the gun out of his hand and killing him instantly. Travis got up slowly, looking behind him with a horrified face. With Andy dead, Lee finally got a better look at all the noise in the distance. Hell, at that point the smell of the air gave it away. "Oh my god.." Lee muttered, a sea of walkers marching towards the group. "EVERYONE, IN THE TRAIN, NOW!"
The group began dashing toward the train, including Travis who was assisted by Mark and Carley. Lee looked around, panicking when he realized he left the blowtorch behind. "Lee, looking for this?" Omid asked, running towards him.
"How did you-"
"Christa took it, that's why I love her." He interrupted, smiling goofily to himself, the blowtorch being yanked from his hands.
"Thanks, now go back to the train!"
"No way! Without you, we'd still be on the road! I'm helping you!" Omid declared, sounding serious for once. Lee hesitated for a second before agreeing. The two dashed to the ladder, climbing up it as fast as they could. Upon reaching the top, they ran towards the tanker, putting down the torch and starting it up. An odd sound came from the thing and no flames came from the tip.
"Shit, there's a hole in the hose! Omid, find something to patch this hole!" Lee demanded
"Right!" Omid dashed his short legs toward a police van, opening it as quickly as he could.
"Omid, did you find anything!?" Lee asked, clearly panicked.
"Yes, gimme a minute!" Omid replied, scanning the van for anything useful. Some yellow police tape seemed to fit that bill.
"We don't have a minute, we have to go now!" It had just occurred to Lee, Chuck and Clementine were stuck inside of that building. His heart sank and he knew what he had to do. Omid ran back with some police tape, patching up the hole as quickly as possible. Lee opened the torch again, taking the fire to the tanker. It cut the material holding the vehicle together, sparks flying while Lee held his eyes shut, tears dripping down them slowly. Suddenly, he was forced backwards, landing on his ass. The tanker was close to falling but almost hit the leader in the process.
"Be careful, man. We can do this." Omid assured. It seemed as though Lee didn't hear a word he said, too busy thinking of what to do next. The tanker was a bit too far for one man to reach.
"Thanks.. Now, hurry, come here!" Lee hoisted Omid over the edge, handing him the torch.
"Are you crazy?!" The shorter man yelled.
"JUST SHUT UP AND CUT!" Lee screeched back, looking down at the walkers who were currently against the train, slamming against the closed doors.
"Okay, okay!" Omid replied nervously, closing his eyes as the tanker slowly unhinged and began collapsing. "It's going, help me up!" Lee fulfilled his request, pulling him back onto the highway just before the tanker fell. The walkers were close at this point, so Kenny just turned the train on and began moving. Omid and Lee had no other choice, walkers were already infesting where the ladder had been. Lee saw no other option.
"Over here!" Lee called, running to the other side of the highway with his new friend. The two sat on the edge of the bridge, looking down at the train from about thirty feet in the air.
"We gotta jump! Now!"
"What?! No way!" Omid shook his head frantically, way too terrified to do that.
"Fine, you stay here and we'll go with your lady!" Lee had a feeling that was a punch to the heart for the guy, and it was. Lee hopped down, landing on the train with a grunt. His leg hurt a bit but he was fine. Omid followed after, jumping down to the roof only to fall down to the dirt below.
"Ah!" Omid let out a loud scream, attracting the attention of the walkers. Christa opened the door, hearing the scream.
"Shit! Omid, hold on!" She yelled, jumping out of the train and running towards her boyfriend. Upon reaching him, she helped him up and the two began running towards the train. Oddly enough, Lee had disappeared, nowhere to be found. Christa and Omid were helped up by Mark and Carley, the latter of whom gripped Omid's wrist and stared him in the eyes with furrowed brows.
"Where's Lee? H-he didn't come in!" She yelled in his face, a scared, pained expression all over it.
"I-I don't know! He jumped on the roof, he should be either up there or in here!"
"Oh no, he must have gone after Clementine and Chuck in the station. Fuck, how the hell are we gonna know if he's okay or not?" Mark asked, not helping Carley's anger one bit.
"Look, he might be okay! That man has balls, that's for sure." Christa shot back, attempting to calm the woman down.
"Besides, Lee's smart. He'll find us, I'm sure of it. We just gotta somehow let him know where we are." Mark placed his hand on Carley's shoulder, giving her a calming look. "River street shouldn't be too hard to find. Let's worry about Omid's leg. We have some bandages from that drugstore, let's go get them."
"Yes.. Thank you." Christa nodded, watching as the two got up from their seats.
Lee slammed the door to the station, walkers were getting close but not close enough. He had to bolt it all the way here in order for them not to catch up. Chuck and Clementine were thankfully still there. "What happened?" Chuck asked, being completely ignored when Lee wrapped Clem in the tightest embrace they had ever shared, tears freely falling from his face.
"C-Clementine.. I thought I might lose you.." Lee sobbed quietly, his face looking down to the ground. The walkers were still there though, just dead now.
"N-no! We're okay.. W-why would you think that?" Clementine responded, looking at his red eyes and scratched up face.
"Shh!" Chuck shushed, crouching down as a series of moans came closer, being the loudest set he had ever heard. Everyone stayed quiet and Lee took this time to wipe the tears from his face.
"That's what I was running from." Lee whispered.
"There must be thousands.. How is everyone?" Chuck asked, obviously concerned as he sat down, going through his backpack.
"Alive. We met up with someone from our past and he had a hostage from our group, Travis. Apparently Ben sold him out to save his skin."
"Darn.. How do you feel?" Chuck asked solemnly, looking at the man's conflicted face.
"On one hand, I'm furious. Ben ratted out his only friend to save his own life. On the other hand, if he hadn't done that, we'd be short of even more supplies than we already have. Besides, I haven't heard anything from either kid since I saved them. I just hope they make it to Savannah alright." Lee answered, watching as Chuck pulled out a deck of cards.
"What are those?" Clem questioned curiously, staring at the paper in his hands.
"Poker cards. Wish we had something to bet, but it could be a fun way to pass time. What do ya say? Wanna learn how to play?"
"Sure! At least until the herd is gone." Clem replied as Lee closed off the door with a nearby desk.
"Lee? You in?" Chuck asked, ready to deal him in. Lee was leaned up against a wall, eyes closed by the time he asked.
"Nah, I'll be okay. Have fun, I need my rest." He responded, a yawn escaping his mouth. To be honest, all he could think about was Carley and Ben, how hard this must be on the two. Not to mention what traumatic memories Andy brought back for Kat, Kenny, Mark and Duck. And what about Travis? Would he even make it to Savannah? All of these thoughts led to Lee having a very restless sleep.
A couple of hours later, Chuck was the only one left, the herd basically gone with only a few walkers still passing by. Lee slowly woke up to find Clementine passed out, a drawing next to her arm. He approached her, kneeling down and grabbing the paper. It was the picture of her parents Duck had drawn. Lee frowned, hovering over her before putting it back down. "She's out like I've never seen before."
"Tough couple of nights for her. She told me all about the last couple of days. Don't worry, I'm on your side." Chuck butted in, playing with his guitar gently as to not wake Clem or alert the walkers outside. A beam of moonlight entered the room, the entire sky being pitch black aside from it.
"Thanks. You should get some rest too, old man. When did you last sleep?" Lee questioned, looking up at the rusty old guy.
"Honestly? I don't know. Been too worried about my folks most of the time or the dead gettin' the jump on me. I'll get some rest though, you're right. Thanks, Lee. You're a great leader." Chuck gave him a smile, laying back on the wooden chair he was sat in, putting his guitar back in its holster. A moment of silence filled the room, the only other sound being light breathing and the creaking of crickets. A loud static noise interrupted the calm ambience, getting the attention of both men.
"What the..?" Lee raised his brow, his mouth widening as a creepy, quiet adult male spoke.
"Can't wait for you to get to Savannah, Clementine! I got your parents right here! You be sure to find me, whether Lee wants you to or not. Now, listen-" Lee grabbed the walkie talkie where the sound was coming from with extreme anger, pressing down on the response button. Unfortunately, it was too late.
"I thought her parents were dead?" The homeless man asked in that charmingly raspy voice.
"They are. Someone's been lying to her. It makes so much sense now! That's why she recovered so fast from being told the truth. I-I don't even know what to say." Lee could feel his stomach churning on him, his fists clenching tightly and his teeth gritting.
"Looks like we're gonna have to have a chat with Clem, and get to the group before anything happens." Chuck reasoned, grabbing his stuff.
"Right. We're going now." Lee replied, nodding at Chuck's answer as he grabbed his stuff, a hard, long midnight walk ahead of them. Walkers were still outside, but Lee had an idea on how to combat that.
Relationships:
Clementine has been hiding something from you. You are not happy one bit. 8/10
Kenny is glad you made the choice that got no one killed. He was happy to watch Andy die. 7/10
Carley is very worried for you. She's glad you trust her with important decisions. 10/10
Mark is worried for you, but is staying optimistic. He's happy you made a smart choice. 10/10
Katjaa did not enjoy watching Andy die, but she prefers it over anyone else dying. 9/10
Duck was reminded of a horrible night, but is safe thanks to you. 10/10
Chuck is 100% behind you. 9/10
You are indifferent to Ben, and he is afraid of how you'll respond. 7/10
Travis is grateful you saved his life again. 10/10
Andy is finally dead. 0/10
Omid is grateful that you managed to save everyone. 8/10
Christa realizes how good of a leader you truly are. 8/10
((Hope everyone enjoyed Episode three, Long Road Ahead! It was really fun to write these last few chapters. Episode four is the longest episode so expect it to be long here as well. Russel's chapter is next, and he is my favorite of the 400 Days story so I'm very excited to write it out! Review any ideas you may have for the next couple of episodes (400 days, episode four) and I'll read em for sure! Question of the chapter: Who is your favorite character in my version of the story? Mine is actually Chuck! Very fun to write for. Special thanks to users 404, Worker72, Darkfire1220, ManHunterx, Shadow Ninja 283, sanspapyrustheskeleton, GoldManCharm and CRed 1988 for sticking around for so long and giving me ideas along the way. See you guys later for Russel's chapter!))