Lee sprints in the direction of the elite's bedroom, counting on Luke to defend himself. On his run down the hall, he encounters Bonnie's lifeless, zombified corpse and stops, frowning at the sight before turning towards the storage closet and pulling it open. Justin's eyes widen, his gag preventing his ramblings from being heard very well, along with the sound of gunfire from the armory. Lee kneels down to the blue collar's level.
"Listen to me carefully: I'm going to undo your bindings and gag, you will run up to the roof with me and Luke and you will do it as fast as you can. You will not betray us, you will not go for your gun, I am trusting you. I am trusting you because Danny and Wyatt and Eddie vouched for you and because you don't deserve to die down here. Do you understand?"
Justin nods erratically, a pathetic glimmer in his eyes. Lee frees him from both restraints. Justin breathes heavily before swallowing. "T-thanks, man." He whispers, his voice rugged.
"Go!" Lee demands. Justin runs in front of him. Lee chases him to the armory, gunfire ceasing as he gets closer. The horde of dead close into the armory, swarming the door. "Luke! No!"
"I'm here! Go, Lee, go upstairs, now!"
"We need those weapons, Luke! Spray those motherfuckers!"
No response.
"Luke!"
Suddenly, walker after walker is gunned down by a spray of light decorating each deadite with a bullet to the head or neck. A path is cleared. Lee rushes into the window he has. "You're okay!"
"We ain't outta the woods yet. I got everyone's weapons, this should be enough." Luke replies, throwing Lee the bag. The leader puts the strap around his shoulder, the weight of the guns and melee weapons inside pulling him down. More walkers lurch towards them, hungry. Luke pulls the trigger on his assault rifle; nothing but a few clicks come out. He looks down at the weapon, horrified. "Shit, I'm out! We're cornered!" Lee takes Carver's pistol out of his pocket, firing on two or three walkers before running out of ammo.
"Me too!" Lee stammers, putting the gun back in his pocket.
"This can't be happening. This can't be how it ends!" Luke shouts, frustrated with a tremble in his voice. The duo walk backwards away from the horde. Lee bumps his back into the barrel of an assault rifle, turns around and spots two of them left over.
"Over here!" He shouts, grabbing the first one and holding it by his hip. Luke grabs his too. The walkers are nearly on them, infesting the store.
"Ready?!" Luke screams, not waiting to say go to spray and pray. Lee copies him, the gun's metronome pounding against his ribcage like a prisoner in alcatraz pounding on cell bars. It aches, but it's better than dying. A path is cleared of dead walkers, allowing the duo to dump the rifles and make their escape, rushing up the stairs.
"That was way too goddamn close." Luke exhales through labored breath, holding onto his knees, his throat ablaze. Lee joins him, but lifts himself up to speak.
"Yeah.. but we did it. That's all that matters."
"Damn right. And I got this little number back." Luke pulls his machete out, admiring the blade.
"Good find." Lee commends.
"Thanks. Let's go, stickin' around here don't seem like a great idea." Luke replies, the groaning of walkers overwhelmingly loud. Lee nods and leads the way upstairs.
On the roof, Lee and Luke enter. "You're back!" Clem exclaims, standing up to greet both of them. Luke holds out his arms for a hug.
"Nice to see you too, kid." He says with a grin. Clem looks up at Lee, exhaling with relief.
"And you saved them, too." Clem says, looking towards Justin and Tisha, who stand and argue with Stan, Shawn, Wyatt, Eddie and Danny in the distance. Lee gets a bad feeling from their body language.
"We did our best."
Pete wheels himself forward, with Nick in tow. "Any updates on the herd?"
"They're inside." Luke says.
"Goddamn. Already?" Nick questions.
"Well, that's why we oughta block off the door and keep on our toes. Jane, wanna help me find something to block it off?" Luke asks.
"Sure, I could use the distraction." Jane answers, following his lead. Molly gives her a look, then looks back out at the lot.
"Great. Take a rest, Lee. You deserve it." Luke says, leaving the group to their own devices. Lee looks around at the group. Clem, Nick and Pete go away from him. Arguing, mourning, healing, resting. There were some he wanted to talk to more than others, that's for sure. Who should he check up on?
Choices
A: Check on everyone but Kenny, Carlos, Molly and Sarita.
B: Check on everyone but Kenny and Sarita.
C: Check on everyone but Carver's gang.
D: Check on everyone.
Relationships
Clementine: 15/15
Carley: 15/15
Molly: 15/15
Kenny: 5/15
Ben: 14/15 (He has more trust in you now that you've proved yourself further)
Sarita: 7/15 (She recognizes that you did save those men)
Luke: 15/15 (You helped save him and listened to his word. He's indebted to you)
Pete: 15/15
Nick: 15/15
Carlos: 13/15
Rebecca: 12/15
Jane: 7/15
Danny: 10/15 (You actually saved them. I mean, he knew you would, but he's extremely grateful)
Stan: 8/15 (He trusts you, you saved his people when you didn't have to)
Shawn: 10/15 (You saved his friends, proving yourself)
Justin: 6/15 (He appreciates you going back for him, even if he isn't sure if he wants to stay with a guy like you)
Wyatt: 8/15 (He respects you a lot more that he knows you kept your word and saved his friends)
Eddie: 9/15 (He respects you a lot more that he knows you kept your word and saved his friends)
Shel: 9/15
Becca: 9/15
Tisha: 5/10