Lee sighed, shaking his head. He knew that Ben was too dangerous to bring along, being a teenager and all. Everyone would be safer if Ben stayed and protected the house. Lee approached the kid and stared him in the eye. "What's up, Lee?"
"Ben.. I'm sorry to change my mind, but I think that you should-"
"Stay here?" Ben interrupted, full well knowing this would happen.
"..Yeah. I'm sorry again, but I feel like the entire group would be safer if we brought less people and had at least one competent shooter protecting Omid and Travis with the kids. You get me?" Lee asked, hoping he could raise Ben's morale and let him down easy. He slumped his shoulders and frowned, not a good sign.
"Yeah, I do.. I'm bummed, but I'll do my job right and protect my friends." Ben gave a more confident look, picking himself back up.
"Just make sure nothing happens to anyone." Lee stated in that strict, leader voice.
"You can count on me, Lee. Good luck." That went.. Smoothly! Ben handed the hatchet in his hand to Lee and walked back into the house. Lee, with a much clearer conscience, joined Vernon and Brie at the head of the group, standing in front of everyone at the gate.
"Alright, everyone, listen up because this isn't going to be an easy night. We're going to follow three simple rules to ensure our survival: Rule 1. Stick together. Under no circumstances do you part away from the group. Rule 2. Keep quiet, I don't want to hear a peep out of anyone unless you have something important to say or ask. Rule 3. Keep your weapons ready. Crawford will undoubtedly be on the lookout tonight, and there could be a lot of guards out. Once we get out of the sewers, Vernon will explain the plan. Any questions?" Silence. Everyone looked either terrified or determined, though Lee could guess that even those who were really ready were quivering in their boots. "Good. Let's go."
Meanwhile, Duck and Clem stayed at the house, looking out the window solemnly. Ben popped into their room to check on them but didn't stay long, heading off to Travis' room. Clem was drawing whilst Duck just.. Stared out the window, his pistol held tightly in his hand. The two hadn't spoken since Lee left and they were both in Clem's room, alone. Omid and Travis were in a deep sleep due to the pain, and thanks to the painkillers Vernon was able to give them. It wasn't much, but the cancer survivors couldn't risk giving anything more than two tablets. Luckily that meant Ben wouldn't awaken Travis by opening or closing the door.
"Hey, Duck, wanna color with me? We can have a competition." Clem offered, holding out a piece of chalk. He glanced at it, then at her before shaking his head.
"No, I'll pass. Someone has to keep watch." The boy replied quietly, looking down the barrel a few times and checking the magazine.
"Oh.. Okay." More silence, the sounds of rough material dragging against paper was the only sound in the room aside from the crickets chirping outside. That and Omid's distant snoring from the hallway. Clementine found that a bit funny, but it didn't distract much from Duck's sour mood.
"See anything yet?" Clem asked in a teasing tone, knowing she could get under his skin.
"No, not yet." He responded with a sigh, finding her incredibly annoying at this point.
"Then come on! Let's draw together. Lee said nothing is going to happen and Ben will protect us."
"You don't know that." More awkward silence.
"Duck.." She reached out, looking at him with those classic puppy dog eyes.
"Look, just.. Fine, I'll draw. Gimme a piece of chalk." Going back to a smile, Clementine happily handed him a piece, going back to drawing what appeared to be the train. Duck took his own piece of paper and began drawing a very simple face. This was followed by a circle comprising the head, and a smile. He proceeded to color in the circle yellow, all the while starting up a new conversation with Clem.
Upon arriving at the end of the underground route, Vernon halted the group and pointed towards the man-hole cover. "This is it. Everyone get ready to start sneaking. First we'll stealthily take out anyone in the front, then infiltrate the front doors. We all split up after that to either the medicine, gas or battery. Finally, we'll meet up outside right near this sewer. Anyone not here in an hour will be presumed dead and left. Let's go." The old man explained. Lee opened up the manhole, allowing for himself and Vernon to climb out first.
"Kenny, Lee, you go ahead. The rest of us will watch your backs. No guns unless absolutely necessary." Vernon ordered as the rest of the group carefully clawed their ways out of the manhole. Eventually they all got out and hid behind a nearby wall. Two guards were facing away from the group around twenty feet away.
"Gotcha." Kenny complied, planning out a route of attack with his eyes. Lee followed him, the two spotting a pair of guards standing idly. Kenny brought out a hammer he had found in the shed, whilst Lee wielded the hatchet. Upon finally creeping up to a guard and readying his hatchet, Lee and everyone else in the group was shocked to see a walker! The guards were walkers!
"What the fuck?!" Lee tripped from the shock, landing on his ass. Carley readied her gun to fire but Molly slapped it down to the ground, sprinting towards Lee before giving the walker who was about to go for a lunge a swift swipe of her hook through its skull.
"You're welcome." The blonde woman spoke behind her mask, pulling it off when she realized that there were no human guards. Lee found it weird she wore it in the first place here but there were bigger things to worry about now. Kenny slammed the blunt end of his hammer against a walker's face, causing it to fall to the ground and expire.
"They're all walkers! The place is overrun, we have to get inside now!" Kenny ordered, spotting the front entrance. "This way!" He pointed at the doors, running directly toward them. Walkers began crawling out of the woodworks, most of them wearing the same leather jacket and bandana which may have very well been Crawford soldier attire.
The rest of the group hastily dashed inside, avoiding any walkers until they got into the school. The front doors were slammed shut, and Lee made sure it stayed locked by shoving his hatchet into the door handles. "There, that should.. Hold it." He said, panting aggressively.
"They're dead.. But how?" Brie asked.
"This is good, trust me." Vernon replied.
"He's right, I'd rather deal with brain dead walkers than armed guards." Christa agreed, slowly putting her gun away. She felt more at ease, but they could all still hear banging on the indoor walls. The doors were mostly blocked off though, thankfully.
"Thank god.." Molly muttered, shoving her hook back in it's holster.
"Well.. Did y'all have a plan for if this happened?" Chuck asked Vernon and Brie.
"Our plan actually doesn't change much. It's now just slightly easier. C'mon, I know a better place for us to discuss things." Vernon began leading the group through the hallways of the schools, darkness and growling being the only substance in the depressingly child friendly halls. Carley tapped Lee's arm and pulled him to the side.
"Hey, there's something else I forgot to tell you." She started, causing Lee to shrug.
"Uh, yeah?"
"There's this guy, a shadowy figure. He was stalking us at the mansion while we were burying Katjaa.. You didn't run into him, did you?" Carley questioned.
"Now that you mention it.. That does sound familiar. What did he sound like?" Lee had a sneaking suspicion that this was the same stranger on the radio. Leaving Clem and Duck alone was starting to sound like a horrible idea..
"Not sure, he didn't make a peep. He certainly wasn't a walker." Carley replied, finding that question a bit odd.
"Shit.." Lee hissed, looking down at the walkie.
"Lee, do you know this guy?"
"I.. I'll explain when we get the boat working. To everyone, I swear." Lee answered hastily, forcing a nervous smile.
"Better than nothing, I guess." Carley responded after a couple of seconds of silence.
"I just don't want to start a panic, y'know?"
"Remember Lee, whatever you're hiding will be ten times worse if you don't tell anyone and they find out later." Carley finished, going ahead of Lee as they gathered in a colorful, large classroom with a chalkboard, TV, desks and a door labeled 'Armory'.
"This is it. Does anyone have any questions or concerns before we get into the new plan?" Vernon asked. Now was Lee's chance to warn everyone about the stranger, but.. Should he? What if others get upset at him for not saying something earlier? What if Carley gets upset at his dishonesty? He had to make a choice.
Choices:
A: Confess now.
B: Confess after Vernon's plan.
C: Don't say anything until the mission is over.
Relationships:
Clementine is happy you let Ben stay and overall in a better mood, even if she is still a bit scared of the stranger. Plus, she may or may not cling to the possibility of her parents being alive. 8/10
Kenny is happy that you left 'that fucking shitbird' at the house. Not only are the kids safe, but now he is sure that nobody can fuck this up. 8/10
Carley wants you to spill whatever info you're hiding. 10/10
Duck is kinda mad you left him at the house. 9/10
Chuck wishes you had brought Ben so he could prove himself, but he doesn't mind if it means the mission is safer. 10/10
Ben is kinda bummed you left him behind. He's still determined to stay and protect the kids and his friends. 7/10
Travis is happy you didn't let Ben screw anything up, even if he is unconscious. 10/10
Molly is getting stranger and stranger. She doesn't care about Ben enough to care about your decision. 6/10
Vernon seems nice though what Carley said earlier still irks you a bit. 7/10
Brie is happy to be on the team after realizing her mistake in letting Mark die. 7/10
Christa is okay with you leaving Ben, as she feels like he's a screw up. She just wants to get these meds to Omid as fast as possible. 8/10
Omid awaits your return. 7/10
The Stranger hasn't used the radio in a while, but is for sure still a threat. 3/10
((Question of the chapter, what is your least favorite season and why? I'd go with Michonne for sure but since that isn't really fair, I'll go with New Frontier. Shitty romance, shitty characters (Except for my boys Conrad, Jesus and Javiar) and horrible villains. Not to even mention what they did to a few certain returning season two characters.))