Kenny leaned in closer to the group and whispered to them, "Tell the truth." They nodded in understanding before Vernon halted the group.
"Kenny, I'll be interrogating you. Roman can handle Ben and Travis. Clive will talk to Duck." Vernon informed. Reluctantly, Ben and Travis walked up to a clearly upset Roman, wielding a giant shotgun.
"Alright. Just don't hurt anyone." Kenny cautiously replied, watching his son with concern written all over his face. Clive seemed gentle enough, his gun still in his pocket instead of out and about like Roman's.
"If you tell the truth, we won't have to." Roman muttered, rudely shoving Ben before pulling a chair out for himself. Kenny continued to watch his son like a hawk.
"Hey, don't worry. Clive is a good man. He'll be fine. Now, sit with me and we can get this over with. It's getting late and I'd rather have this done soon." The older man said, sitting down across from Kenny.
"You and me both. You said you can get us back to the mainland and away from Randall?" Kenny asked, joining him at the table, anxiously tapping his foot.
"Sure can. Just answer me truthfully." Vernon answered. Kenny sighed, closing his eyes to collect himself. They opened shortly after.
"Alright. First question?"
"How did you meet Randall? Why did you join up with him?" Vernon replied, taking a sip from a cantine as he prepared himself to listen.
"We were on our way to Florida after hearing some rumors about a place up north. On our way, our boat stopped in the middle of the ocean, damn battery was all outta juice. Randall found us in this fuckin' paddle boat and let us aboard." Kenny explained, leaning back in his seat uncomfortably. The seat was sticky with dirt and spilled alcohol.
"You just went on without questioning him?" He questioned, capping the beverage.
"Of course I questioned him, but we were desperate. I'm sure you know what that feels like, considering your situation." Kenny gave Vernon a half glare. He gripped his fist and sighed.
"..Continue."
"He offered us a deal: In exchange for fixing our boat, we had to find a woman on this island. If we brought her back alive, we'd be free to join his group or leave." Kenny did as Vernon told him.
"Interesting. How long ago?"
"I dunno, an hour ago? Maybe two at this point."
"Hm. I'm sure he's in no rush to look for ya when he's got plenty of goons to do that for him." The balding leader muttered, taking out a map and looking over it. Kenny couldn't see what was on it.
"Hopefully not." Kenny sighed, looking up at Vernon. "Next." Vernon cleared his throat, putting the map on the table before interlocking his hands.
"Right," He cleared his throat, "Who was the woman Randall wanted?"
"Girl named Lilly." Kenny replied hastily.
"Where is she now?" Vernon followed up.
"Dunno, she hauled ass after we let her go."
"Let her go? Why would you do that?" Vernon asked with a skeptical look.
"It's complicated." Kenny answered, getting a raised brow from the man opposite of him.
"Just tell me. It'll make things easier for both of us." He demanded with a sigh, folding his arms. The moon was starting to set in, and the sky was turning purple outside.
"Fine. She was in our old group, when Lee was still leader. She was leader for a long while until her dad died of a heart attack in a meat locker. Fucked night. She left with some of our supplies the next morning." Kenny told the story, a weird feeling developing in his chest. A twinge of pain from long forgotten memories.
"Holy shit.. You let someone who robbed you just get away?" Vernon asked, blinking.
"We didn't know, we were all asleep."
"No, I mean recently." Kenny paused and thought about his reasons why. Then, it dawned on him.
"..I guess. I never really liked her but something made me think twice. She was a part of our group, without her my son wouldn't be here right now, I'm sure." He answered confidently.
"I see.. Roman would never let me do that now." Vernon said with a sigh, looking at the decrepit floor before glancing back up. "Just a few more questions and we'll send you out. Next, and this one is a bit more personal.. Do you know what happened to Lee, Clem and the others? Last I heard Clementine was missing and Lee had his arm cut off."
"Oh uh.. No. I don't. I didn't know Lee survived the arm getting chopped. I still can't believe he of all people got chomped." The leader of the boat gang was shocked to hear this, he had no idea what happened to Lee or Clem. Still, something told him they didn't make it as far as his group did.
"Me neither. I would have expected Omid or Ben. But I know you guys already took the boat." Vernon tried to make a joke, but neither laughed.
"Yeah. Whatever happened to your group?" Kenny prodded. Vernon's face softened.
"...It's not a fun story." He said with a shake of his head.
"You don't gotta tell me. The sooner we get this over with, the better."
"..Right. Last question." The captor passed the worn out map toward Kenny, looking up at him whilst trying to regain his composure. "Where is Monroe located?"
"Actually, that's the one question I don't know the answer to. Randall never brought us there."
"Kenny.. Please." Vernon placed his hand in his face, dread that Kenny would be lying setting in.
"What, you don't believe me? I've been honest this whole time!" Kenny defended. This caught the attention of the others.
"What's going on? Is yours being difficult too?" Roman entered the frame, Travis' arm in one hand and his shotgun in the other.
"I'm telling the truth!" Kenny raised his voice. Vernon thought it over more. Ben got up from his seat, same with Duck and Clive.
"Let me go, you sonuva bitch!" Travis squealed, trying to pull himself off of the rough man.
"Easy kid, I don't want to hurt you." Roman replied, pushing the barrel of the gun against his stomach. Travis halted immediately.
"Take it easy, Roman, we can handle this. Kenny, is it? Just tell us where Monroe is." Clive questioned, his hand over his glock in his pocket.
"I would if I could, trust me, but I've never been!" Kenny yelled, holding his hands up as he stood up from his chair.
"Hard to trust complete strangers, right Vernon?" Roman asked the rhetorical question with such spite that you couldn't even cut through it.
"He isn't a stranger! Maybe he is telling the truth!" Vernon was so confused that he didn't know what to believe. Everything was happening too fast.
"Bull. Shit. I'm sick of this." Roman kicked Travis' kneecap, sending him on his knees whilst groaning. He pushed the shotgun into the teens cheek, ready to pull the trigger. "Tell us."
"This is getting out of hand!" Clive yelled amongst the chaos.
"N-no! I know where it is! Randall did tell us!" Ben blurted out, running up to the group. All eyes were on him aside from Roman and Travis'.
"Where on the map, kid?" Clive slowly asked.
"Right here, b-but further west!" Ben pointed to the left of the bridge, sounding nervous as hell and dead serious at the same time. Roman eased up on Travis, but didn't let go. "I-it's northwest from the bridge, just keep going until you find it! That's what he told us."
"There. That's all we needed. We'll mark it, send you off and pay him a visit." Vernon stated, breathing a sigh or relief. Kenny's group and Clive seemed relaxed too.
"No. You know the rules, Vernon." Roman suddenly said, roughening his grip on Travis back up.
"Roman, please, this is different." Vernon shook his head, marking the map and getting up from his seat.
"No it isn't. We can't have outsiders knowing our location." Roman raised his voice a bit, glaring at Vernon whilst holding onto a squirming Travis.
"Why the fuck did you bring us here in the first place then!?" Kenny questioned aggressively.
"Because, I couldn't attract walkers by just shootin' you out there. We'll let the guard dogs have you. At least then you can have a bigger use than just pawns in a game of war nobody wants to play." Roman mercilessly stated. Kenny's face lit up in anger.
"You motherfucker!" Travis screamed out, trying his hardest to escape Roman's grasp.
"Come on, man.. They did help us. For once, maybe we should let them go." Clive suggested, showing mercy for once. Roman turned to face him.
"They're double agents, can't you see? Don't lighten up on me too, Clive."
"Please, you have to let us go!" Duck pleaded, clasping his hands together. He always tried to act like the defenseless kid of the group, and oftentimes that worked to their advantage. Unfortunately, there are some sick people in this world who don't care who you are, not even about your age.
"Y-you psycho fuckers!" Travis squealed, making things worse. Roman faced the teen again.
"Travis, calm down!" Ben begged, knowing his life could be cut any second if he continued this.
"CALM DOWN? ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Travis almost laughed at that sentence, but he was too busy tearing up to do so. He was really going to die.
"Enough, squirming! You're fucking dead, kid. I'm sorry, this is just how the world works now. No one wants this." Roman was just about to pull the trigger, when Vernon stopped him.
"Enough!" He yelled out, charging forward just as Travis thought he was about to be shot. Vernon grabbed hold of Roman's gun, and the two began to fight tug of war style over it. Clive took out his gun and pointed at the two, unsure of what to make of the situation. Unfortunately, it didn't play in Vernon's favor.
"You always were.. Fucking weak.. I NEVER wanted to do this, b-but.. You give me no choice!" BOOM. The loud explosion of a shotgun shell exiting the gun rang throughout the forest. Ben scurried to Travis' side, helping him up as Vernon fell to the ground, his face a bloody, exposed mess. His brain and skull were merged, his eyes popped out onto the ground and blood continued to seep into the cold floor below. Clive took a shot, but it only grazed the side of Roman's cheek. All this noise would surely draw the dead forward.
"You treacherous shit! Is everyone a traitor?!" With a cock of his gun and another loud shot, Clive was shot in the stomach, causing his intestines to spill from his stomach. He fell to the floor, dead within seconds. Roman cocked his gun once again, turning back around to see Ben helping up Travis. Kenny had no idea who he'd shoot, but he had to make a choice. He was the only one who could save them, and even then only one of them. Duck had grabbed Clive's gun, but it was obvious he wouldn't be able to stop the shells from killing them.
Choices:
A: Save Ben
B: Save Travis
C: Jump in front of them
D: Do nothing
Relationships:
Duck agreed with your choice of truth. He's scared beyond all belief right now. 10/10
Travis is terrified for his life. 8/10
Ben hasn't been this scared since the walkers at the train. He is begging to be saved. 10/10
Roman has finally lost it. 1/10
Vernon went out redeeming himself. 7/10
Clive and you didn't really get to know each other. 6/10
((QNA Time!
From: ZoomerXoomer
"Also, a question for the Q&A, are any characters in Kenny's group confirmed to die right now?"
Answer: Well, you just met them. Clive and Vernon. Though, I originally did plan for Duck to die somewhere in this short episode. I ended up scrapping it since I have better ideas for him. Also I know nobody asked this, but Joyce too. She didn't die in the bandit attack, she was killed like four months after they left their original outpost. This new diner is a different one.
From: Guest
"What is your favorite cast out of all of TWD games?"
Answer: Cast like group or voice cast? If the group, I'm torn between the Boarding School from season four and the Mansion group from season one. Season one's characters are super strong, and every character in the mansion group not only has at least two subplots, but are also just super interesting characters. The Boarding School has Louis. Need I say more?
Well, yeah, I should. They're just charming! They do feel like a real family. But yeah, I absolutely love Louis.
If you mean voice cast, that would go to season two's. Carver's acting is incredible, Rebecca's screams of pain, different emotions and various tones make her so much more likeable/hateable. Luke's voice fits him so well it hurts and every other character oozes personality thanks to their vocal performances. Don't even get me started on Kenny and Jane's realistic ass acting. Oh yeah, and Clem's voice has always been perfect.
From: Welcome-to-the-404
"Alright, I guess my question is an official call on if Lee or Clementine will be our main playable character when we return to the main series?"
Firstly, thanks for being awesome as usual, 404.
To answer your question, you will get to play as both. I'll leave it at that since it really is as simple as that, but I am planning on Clem being far more playable since at the end of the day this is her story.
From: Guest
"Do you have any post Season 4 ideas for the story?
Will there be any cut season 2 content in this story? (Like the shoot Mike option. If you don't know what I'm talking about, watch In Cold Blood's Youtube Videos.)
Can Clementine die in any of the upcoming seasons?"
I've watched In Cold Blood for a while, great youtuber, I'm all about cut content.
As for your questions, I have absolutely no idea what I'll do after season four. Maybe I'll continue, but I guess that's up to you guys. Will there be cut content? Hell yeah. I've already incorporated some season one cut content such as Lee's dream sequences, Mr. Parker's alternate death (which you guys didn't get to see), the ability to actually decline the St. John's (Which you also didn't see) etc. Shooting Mike, the cut storyline of Eddie and the rest of the 400 Days cast and much more will be included. I think season two is too short and I'd like to make it longer.
Can Clementine die? Yes. She could have died this season if you remember the bad ending alt choice in chapter 92. She can die later on too, though I won't tell when she can.
From: CitrusBird386
"How does it feel to have the most reviews in the fandom?"
Like a million bucks. No joke, you guys are great and very inspirational. I'd like to recommend another Walking Dead Story I've been reading lately titled With You by StopBreakingMyHeartTelltale. s/13402781/1/with-you
Very cute Clouis story! They deserve the extra reviews.
From: Mentalhead123
"In the next season do you plan to include characters from Seasons 3 and 4 from the games?"
Nah, not yet. Definitely 400 Days characters though.
From: Sokol848
"If you could add one comic character to permanently (3 or more episodes) be in the video game, who would it be, and in what season."
Tough question. I can tell you right now that I'm satisfied with Jesus and Michonne, but I'd love to see more of Hershel's family (Specifically Maggie) or maybe even Rick in like a what if story? Would be interesting to see Clem and Rick clash or team up.
From: thedarkpokemaster
"As for QNA, which villain within the whole of the walking dead was the most underused? And what is your favorite villain?"
My favorite villain is surprisingly Norma from Michonne tied with Carver. I love what Norma could have been if they didn't just twist her into Joan fused with Lilly. Carver is terrifying, has a huge presence throughout the first three episodes (And even episode four/five if you think about it), is amazingly acted, and isn't just a survivalist of the fittest guy. I mean, he is, but he also has a unique plot to stop him from being boring. *Cough Lilly, cough Joan.*
Most underused is Nate. Like most 400 Days characters, he was cast aside for seemingly no reason. People love him and he has potential to be unique so I have no idea why this happened.
From: darkfire12200
"I have three questions:
1. If possible, could this story if we did our choices right tie into the comics? For example, depending on our choices could we find Alexandria and meet Rick's group or do you plan to keep this story tied directly to the games?
2. How big exactly was the time-jump between Season 1 and Kenny's story? It says 'years' in the chapters but considering Season 2 takes place 2 and a half years after Season 1 and I assume Kenny will be in Season 2, I think it would only be about a year since then.
3. Will we make choices as Clementine or Lee in Season 2? Will you leave the reviewers to vote who they want to see make the choices or will you make the decision yourself.
Also, I've been loving this story since day 1. Glad to see it getting recognition as you've done a great job."
Firstly, thank you, I remember you actually ahaha. As for your first question, nooope. I just don't really like the comics as much as the games when it comes to story or characters outside of like four characters. I like Michonne, Glen, Maggie, Jesus and Abraham and find everyone else to be meh.
It's twelve months, years was an exaggeration.
Already answered this, so I can tell this is a popular question haha.
From: Bad
"who the 2 people who Can't avoid death oh u Said anything we Can ask"
Already answered, Clive and Roman. Bit of a copout, but don't worry, someone in Lee's group is guaranteed to die. (Evil laughter ensues)
From: Reader 67
"My questions for the Q&A are the following:
How do you prepare before writing a chapter? Do you consult the wiki to research first, or do you watch let's plays, or play the game yourself?
If we were to go off the rails of the canon journey, would the story still continue as usual, or would it mean the story would end?
Would you prefer we stay close to canon?
Who are your favorite characters in the story to write besides the obvious Lee and Clem?"
When I'm about to write an episode, I replay the season that episode takes place in, watch clips of the episode for extra context and consult the wiki. I don't usually watch let's players since for some reason they piss me off if their names aren't Uberhaxornova or SSOHPKC.
Well, I mean, look at what's happening now. Of course I'd continue, the only point of confusion so far is post season four. I know there's stuff I can do, so just let me know when we get to that point if you guys really want to see more past that.
Short answer, kinda. Longer answer, yes because it's easier, no because it's more interesting. So kinda.
Okay, this is an interesting one. Definitely the hardest one to answer.
I love writing for Chuck and Molly, they're adorable and I gotta say make for great bromance. Feel free to ship them but it ain't happening here. I also loved writing for Lilly because she's so goddamn dynamic. She's got so much potential that season four's characterization of her makes me sick.
Also love Kenny though he's rather easy to write for. Larry was really fun too!
Overall, I'd go with Chuck for sure. But just wait for season two when I get to write for Luke and Nick. My boys will finally get what they deserve: A decent ending. Well, maybe not Luke since.. Wait, I'm rambling.
Thanks for reading!))