"Hey man you calm the fuck down!" Alvin shouted out.
Clementine continued to budge her way through the group, looking ahead to the people holding guns to them. She still couldn't make out who the man in front of her was. His voice felt… familiar?
"Sarah get behind me!" Carlos yelled out.
"Just tell us who you are!" Another man scoffed.
Clementine finally made her way to the front of her group, looking ahead to someone who she thought was dead. The man looked at Clementine with a look of shock in his eyes. He was speechless.
"Kenny?" Clementine mumbled out as she stared at him, the same look of shock and surprise on her face.
"Clementine?" Kenny said with pure surprise in his voice.
Clementine ran forward toward the man without another thought. She put her arms around him tightly as the two collided into a hug. Kenny kneeled down with a smile on his face and let his hand rest on Clementine's shoulder.
"You know this guy?" Luke blurted out.
Clementine looked as happy as ever since she saw Kenny, the first time she had felt truly happy since she was with Lee.
"I'll take that as a yes." Another man in Kenny's group said.
"These people with you?" Kenny asked with a raised eyebrow.
Clementine nodded in response. The smile still hadn't left her face. Kenny finally got up to his feet before being alerted to someone else's voice.
"Kenny? The hell is going on out here?" Another man blurted out from behind him.
Clementine felt her stomach drop. She recognized that voice instantly; she could already feel tears welling up in her eyes. She pushed past Kenny instantly to get a glimpse of this person.
It was him. It was really him?
Clementine gasped at the sight of Lee. He was alive? Clementine noticed his missing arm. She had almost forgotten that he cut it off. Kenny couldn't help but smile at the interaction. Clementine sprinted towards Lee, instantly latching onto him.
"I thought you were dead!" Clementine yelled out with tears in her eyes, the two not loosening the grip on the hug that they had embraced in. Lee had finally let go of the hug, putting the one hand he had on Clementine's shoulder as he rested on one knee. He looked into Clementine's eyes for a few moments, almost in complete shock that she was here. Clementine had the same look on her face, just multiplied by ten times that.
"I thought I was too, for the record." Lee chuckled. He continued to smile at the girl who he never thought he would see again. Lee stood up and looked at Clementine's group. He let out a smile towards them, "We can head inside everyone."
Everyone began to make their way inside of the ski lodge. Lee, Kenny, and Clementine headed up the small stairs which led to the main floor of the ski lodge. The lodge was fleshed out with lots of Christmas lights, along with a Christmas track echoing around the lodge.
"Oh Clem, this is Walter by the way." Kenny said as he gave a small slap to Walter's shoulder. Walter smiled in response as he glanced down at the girl. Lee couldn't help but smile ever since Clementine had arrived, he couldn't believe she was really there.
"Kenny, Sarita, and Lee here have been staying with us for several weeks. Used to be a ski lodge obviously, so we have plenty of food. And believe it or not, we still get some power from that wind turbine out front. We tend to keep most of the lights off at night to avoid drawing attention… But after we found this stuff in storage, we couldn't resist making an exception."
Kenny silently mocked Walter, Clementine giggled in response at Kenny. Walter looked towards the two as he stopped talking for a minute.
"What's funny?" Walter asked curiously, letting his hands rest on his waist. Kenny walked behind Walter giving him another playful slap on the back.
Kenny turned around to face Clementine and Lee. "Walter here is one smart son of a bitch. Makes a mean can of beans, too." Kenny said.
"Well, why don't you guys catch up while I get some dinner started." Walter exclaimed.
Clementine's group had finally made their way inside the ski lodge. They looked around in awe at the Christmas lights decorated around the lodge. It had been a long time since they had been in such an environment.
Lee stepped forward looking towards Clementine's group. "Why don't you guys go ahead and make yourself at home. You can leave your things over there." Lee said as he pointed towards a bench just to the side of the small staircase leading up to the floor." Clementine walked towards Lee's side, looking up at him with a smile, which Lee returned.
"The hell we will!" Rebecca scoffed out.
"Yeah. I'm holding on to my rifle, thanks." Nick said.
"You're our guests here. There's no need to worry." Walter exclaimed.
"Tell him to put his gun down then!" Nick scoffed as he looked towards Kenny.
Kenny hesitated for a few moments, not wanting to put his gun down. He was about to say something before Lee interrupted. Lee placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "C'mon, Ken."
Kenny looked at Lee before looking down to his rifle. He shrugged.
"Yeah…" Kenny sighed and mumbled out quietly before making his way down to the steps. He placed his rifle on the small bench near the staircase. The rest of the cabin group then followed, with Luke placing down his machete and then the rest of the group placing their weapons down. Clementine placed her bag down by the bench as well.
"If you follow me, I can show you where you can sleep." Another woman said.
The cabin group followed after her while Kenny, Clementine, and Lee made their way near a fireplace in the lodge.
"I'll let you two catch up for a bit." Kenny exclaimed. He smiled at Clementine before walking away. Lee sat on a couch in front of the fireplace, Clementine quickly sitting next to him.
Clementine and Lee smiled at each other.
"Lee… Oh my god, you need to tell me how the hell you're alive right now!" Clementine said as she laughed a bit. Lee smiled as he heard her laugh. He knew that her seeing him alive… it probably made her year.
"Hey… isn't that a swear?" Lee said as he chuckled a bit.
"I guess things have changed a bit since we last saw each other. Changed a lot." Lee said.
Lee glanced to the side. "Clementine… I-I have no idea how I lived through what happened. After I told you to leave me, I passed out. For sure I was dead, right? But no… I woke up later feeling fine." Clementine looked shocked as he talked about it.
"And to think, if I had told you to shoot me... Well, luckily, I didn't. I felt that if you had shot me, it would have been too risky. Drawing all those walkers outside to you… it could have killed you!" He said.
Clementine frowned at his words. Although he was here now, well and alive, she still felt terribly about that whole ordeal.
"It was my fault. It was my fault all of that happened in the first place." Clementine said. She glanced away with a frown, not wanting to make eye contact.
Lee placed his hand gently on Clementine's shoulder. "Oh, sweet pea… None of that was your fault. Ever since the day I met you, I told myself I would do everything I could to protect you. The only person at fault there was the sick man who took you from us."
"Did you ever find Christa and Omid? I was hoping they could take good care of you…" Lee said.
Clementine looked up towards Lee with pain filling her eyes. "I was with them for a while… Omid… well… Christa and I were together for a while, but these guys caught us. She's gone…"
Lee sighed as he looked away for a few moments.
"It hasn't been easy for you. I'm sorry about all of that, Clementine… But it's going to be better now."
Clementine wanted to change up the subject to something hopefully more light-hearted. "How did you end up finding Kenny?" She said.
Lee smiled in response to the question, "Well, after The Marsh House, I spent a whole lot of time looking for you. Spent a whole lot of time searching, coming up with dead ends. I eventually found myself at this same ski lodge, same as your group did. I never would've expected to find Kenny here. And just as I had lost hope that I would find you, here you are…" Lee smiled once more.
Clementine looked at Lee as she shrugged, "I feel like the most that's changed about you and Kenny is how big your beards are." She said as she giggled a bit. Lee laughed a bit in response.
"How are you two catching up, huh?" Kenny said, approaching the two. Lee looked up to Kenny with a smirk, "Just fine, Ken."
Kenny pushed the girl Clementine saw earlier gently in front of him, his hand resting on her back.
"Clem, this is my girl, Sarita. Ain't she beautiful?" He said.
"Nice to meet you, Clementine." Sarita said.
Kenny looked back, "Hey Walt, where's Matthew? He still out there rootin' around? "
"Of course he is. Well, I'll start dinner." Walter said.
A few of the group members from the cabin had started to bunch up behind Clementine and Lee.
"Carlos, right? Mind if I steal your daughter for a secret mission?" Sarita said.
"Stay in sight, sweetie." Carlos said before walking away.
Luke and Nick walked forward, directing their attention to Kenny. Lee and Clementine both looked at the two.
"Can we do anything to help?" Luke asked.
"Could use a hand outside. We got a lot of supplies to bring in before that storm hits." Kenny exclaimed.
"Sure." Luke said.
Kenny and the pair of cabin group members began to walk off, with Clementine and Lee getting to their feet. Lee looked down to Clem, then glanced towards Walter.
"Hey, Clem, why don't you go help Walter with dinner? I'm sure they could use my help outside." Lee exclaimed.
"Yeah, sure." Clementine said with a smile.
Clementine made her way over to the kitchen area of the lodge. She glanced around for a few moments before she saw Walter preparing some food.
"Hey Clementine. Settling in well enough?" Walter asked.
"Yeah, thanks." She said.
"Excellent. Want to help me prepare a little dinner?" Walter asked.
Clementine nodded, looking into the pot in front of her.
"Lee told me all about you, how he spent so much time looking for you. It seems you two have a very strong bond. I must say, Lee and Kenny have been a huge help here." Walter said.
"Connecting with people is so important." He exclaimed.
"I don't know what I would do without Matthew." He said as he began putting some kind of ingredient into the food that he was cooking.
"Gosh, you remind me of my students. I can't imagine what it's like growing up in the middle of all of this." He said as his face winced a bit.
"Everyone underestimates me." Clementine said.
"I expect you to use that to your advantage." Walter exclaimed.
"Sometimes." Clementine said in response.
"Smart girl." He said.
Walter took a spoonful of the food that he was cooking, it was some kind of stew. He brought the spoon up to his mouth as he tasted a bit of it.
"Hmm. Almost done. Would you do me the honor of tasting the first course, madam?" He asked.
Clementine looked into the pot once more. She thought the food looked disgusting, but she didn't want to be rude.
" Looks… great." She said.
"It looks like mush." Walter said.
"No… it doesn't." Clementine exclaimed.
"As an artist, there's nothing I like less than a friendly critic." Walter said with a smile.
Walter glanced down to a can sitting on the counter. He picked it up and hovered it in front of Clementine.
"Huh, striking resemblance." He said.
The girl on the can looked quite similar to Clementine, having the same kind of hair-do that she had. Two pig-tails in the back. Clementine looked towards the can in a bout of awkwardness before glancing away.
"Anyway, I'll take it from here." Walter said before picking up the pot. He walked away humming a tune to himself.
Clementine walked around the lodge as she took in all the sights. It was nice to be in such a place, she felt safe for the first time in a while. She eventually saw Sarah and Sarita putting decorations on a Christmas tree; she walked up to them, wanting to help out with the decorations. Sarita was humming a Christmas tune.
Sarita glanced towards Clementine as she walked over, "Clem, we could use some help. Here, Sarah, you take these and string them up over there." She said, giving a couple ornaments to Sarah. Clementine began picking up an ornament out of the box that lay at her feet; then stringing it up on the tree.
"You knew Kenny and Lee before. It must be incredible to see them again." Sarita exclaimed.
"When I met Kenny, well… he's so different now. But you must be so glad." Sarita said.
"So, how'd you meet Kenny?" Clementine asked.
"I found him holed up in an old restaurant, if you can believe it." Sarita said.
"Holed up?" Clementine asked curiously.
"You should have seen his beard then." Sarita exclaimed.
Sarita looked towards the tree as she took a step back.
"Perfect. Now we just need the topper." She said.
Sarah looked over to Sarita, letting her left hand rest on her other arm.
"We always had an angel on top of our tree." Sarah exclaimed.
"My family didn't celebrate Christmas, but I still love the decorations." Sarita said.
There was another floor of the lodge which had caught Clementine's eye while she was decorating the tree. She decided to head upstairs. Clementine was greeted by the sight of Rebecca as she made her way upstairs. Rebecca was sitting on a bed not far from the stairs. Clementine noticed that she looked sad, or at least something was on her mind.
"Are you okay?" Clementine asked, letting her left hand rest on her right arm.
"Just got a little dizzy." Rebecca said.
"I can't even take care of myself. How can I take care of a child?" Rebecca exclaimed.
"I mean how can anyone now? Everything's so fucked up." She said, glancing at the ground.
"I think it's possible." Clementine exclaimed.
"How do you know?" Rebecca asked.
"Well, I'm still here." Clementine said with a smile.
"I know it's gonna be hard. But at the same time, I already feel a little less lonely. Because I know that no matter what happens, I'll get to meet someone new." Rebecca said.
"Oh, hey, she's kicking. Wanna listen?" Rebecca asked.
"Can I?" Clementine asked as she walked forward. Rebecca nodded as Clementine let her head rest on Rebecca's stomach, she could faintly hear what Rebecca was talking about. Her eyes widened from what she heard. It was kind of weird, she thought to herself. Clementine stood back up.
"She's gonna be a runner." Rebecca said with a smile.
Rebecca looked to the side as her face winced a bit. Clementine looked worried.
"If he finds out it's not his, he'll kill me." Rebecca exclaimed.
"I don't know what to do… I can't believe I'm asking a little girl for advice. But I guess nothing's weird anymore."
"He won't kill you." Clementine exclaimed with her eyebrows raised a bit.
Rebecca looked in shock as she looked behind Clementine, "There's my man!"
"You alright, baby?" Alvin asked.
"I'm fine you big dope." Rebecca said.
Alvin looked towards Clementine who was heading back downstairs, "Thanks, Clem."
Clementine heard Walter's voice from across the lodge.
"Well everyone, dinner is served! C'mon, let's eat!" Walter exclaimed.
Clementine headed downstairs along with everyone else. The two groups had started to sit at two tables, Clementine's other friends sitting at one table and at the other, Lee and Kenny. It wasn't a big decision at all about who she was gonna sit with. Clementine hurried over to the table where Lee and Kenny had sat, sitting right next to Lee.
Luke and Nick noticed who Clementine had sat with. The two looked a bit hurt, but said nothing. Walter pushed over a bowl of food to Clementine with a smile.
"Here you go, Clem." He said.
"So, Clem, we were just talkin… What's the deal with the kid? What's his name… Luke? He in charge? You trust him?" Kenny asked.
Lee looked across at Kenny, shrugging a bit.
"C'mon, Kenny. I'm sure they're alright. Trust me, Clementine wouldn't have stayed with them if she thought they weren't." Lee exclaimed.
"Yeah? Well, gators seem alright too, until they bite your damn arm off!" Kenny scoffed.
"Kenny…" Sarita said, wishing the man would be more open to the new folks.
Clementine looked back towards Luke, "I like him. He's a good guy."
"Would you trust him with your life?" Kenny asked.
"I think so." Clementine said as she ate out of the bowl in front of her.
Kenny nodded in response. He looked towards the cabin group, conjuring up a few more questions for Clem.
"That guy… Big Al? He said they were on the run." Kenny said.
"Some people are after them." Clementine exclaimed.
Lee looked a bit shocked.
"Wait… Clem, what do you mean some people are after them?" Lee asked Clementine.
Clementine shrugged. Lee's worry then becoming her own.
"I don't know…really. They haven't told me much about them. I just know there's this one guy, Carver. They seem really afraid of him." Clementine said.
"Were you being followed? Do you know if they were following you?" Lee asked. He looked over towards the cabin group at the other table, his eyes seemingly lit up with a bit of anger.
"I… Uh- when I was using some binoculars outside, before we all met up with each other… I saw some lights in the woods. I don't know if it was them or not." Clementine exclaimed.
"Fuck. Kenny, we have to make sure we're prepared for this. Who knows when they're gonna show up?" Lee exclaimed.
"Yeah, Clem… how big is this, "Carver" guy's group." Kenny asked.
Clementine shrugged once more, "I already said they didn't tell me much about him." Her eyebrows were a bit furrowed.
Sarita and Walter left the table as they had finished up with their meals. Luke and Nick noticed, walking and sitting over at the now open spots at the table. Luke sat next to Kenny, while Nick sat next to Clementine and Lee.
The group was silent for a few moments before Kenny spoke up, "Hey there."
"Hey." Luke said.
"Hope you liked the food." Kenny exclaimed.
"Oh… it's great, thank you." Luke said.
"Peaches and beans. Great for nutrition. Not too great on the way out, though, I tell you." Kenny said before he burst out into a laughter, slapping his knee a bit. Clementine looked at him with a look of slight disgust.
"So it's Luke… and Nick. Luke and Nick. You guys sure do look like a match." Kenny exclaimed.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick asked in annoyance.
"I'm just saying you look like good friends, that's all." Kenny exclaimed.
"Could say the same about you and your buddy here." Nick said as he looked over to Lee.
Lee looked annoyed at the presence of the two.
"So what was your plan here? Hold out for the winter?" Luke asked.
"Not exactly. We were thinking about moving on. Somewhere up north. Kenny actually put me up to that idea." Lee said.
"Yep. You ever heard of a place called Wellington?" Kenny asked.
"Wellington?" Luke looked towards Kenny with a raised eyebrow.
"The hell is that?" Luke asked.
Clementine hesitated a moment before budging her way into the conversation.
"Yeah… Christa and I were going there."
"It's supposedly a big camp. Up near Michigan. At least from what Kenny and I have heard." Lee said.
"Michigan?" Nick asked.
"You got a hearing problem, kid? Yeah, Michigan. Think about it. Fresh water, lots of land, and cold ass winters, so the walkers get slow."
"Sounds like bullshit." Nick spat out.
"Listen, Vanilla Ice, I don't know what your deal is, but you're more than welcome to take off in the morning!" Kenny yelled out in anger.
"And that'd be just fine by me!" Nick said angrily.
"What's the deal with these guys, Clem?" Kenny scoffed.
Clementine looked over anxiously.
"Hey fuck you, buddy." Nick said.
Lee looked over to Nick furiously before composing himself.
"Everyone, calm down. We need to focus on the real problem we got here. How about you tell us what the hell is going on with that Carver guy chasing you?" Lee exclaimed.
"How the fuck do you know that?" Nick said furiously.
"Because Clementine fuckin' told him!" Kenny spat out.
"Please… don't fight!" Clementine asked as she glanced down at the table.
"Gentlemen, please. There's no need for this!" Walter exclaimed as he stood not far from their table.
"Now look, we've all had a long day. Please, eat." Walter said.
Nick slowly started to eat out of his bowl. Kenny looked over to Clementine, and then a can not far in front of her.
"Pass me that can, Duck." Kenny said.
Clementine and Lee both look shocked at what Kenny had said. It brought up bad memories for all of them. Kenny gasped out loud as he realized what he had said. He quickly quieted down before glancing down at the ground.
"Duck? Who's Duck?" Luke asked.
Lee looked to Luke as he began to answer the question, "Duck was his son."
Luke looked over to Kenny as guilt struck him for even asking the question. The group sat in silence before Walter interrupted, "Hey, Clementine. Would you, uh, lend me a hand outside for a moment?"
Clementine looked towards Lee, he nodded as she looked towards him. Clementine got up and began making her way outside of the lodge with Walter. Walter sighed, "I'm sorry about that. Y'know, I used to be a teacher. And I remember what it's like to be caught in the middle of two cliques. I suspect they'll find common ground soon enough. It may take a little time, but that's just how these things work. Everything will be fine."
The two began to make their way around to the other side of the lodge.
"Listen, relationships are like any machine. You don't throw them out when they break down. You get your hands dirty and you grease the wheels. What do you say? Will you help me work on them?" Walter asked.
Clementine smiled as she looked ahead, "I wanna stay with you guys. With Lee, and Kenny."
"Then stay you shall, I know that'll please them." Walter exclaimed.
"I missed them so much." Clementine said.
"And they missed you too, I can assure you. Lee never stopped speaking about you since he arrived here." The two finally stopped walking for a moment. Walter turned to face Clementine.
"They say the world is over, but I'll tell you a secret. It's not." Walter exclaimed.
"People are more political now then they ever were before." He said.
"In the end, we can't change the world. All we can do is continue to learn from each other; to emphasize and use our heads. All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal. Steinback. Have you read him?" He asked.
Clementine looked at him with silence.
"Well, we'll have plenty of time to catch you up on your reading. My partner Matthew is amassing quite the literature collection. I think you'll like him."
Clementine looked towards the ground. She felt a brick in her stomach whenever Walter had spoken about Matthew. She knew that Matthew was the one that Nick had shot at the bridge.
"In any case, the point is: as long as we have our wits about us, we can always make the right choice. Right?"
Clementine agreed with him, "Right."
Walter had picked up on the fact that Clementine seemed to have something on her mind. He knelt down to look the girl in the eyes.
"What's the matter Clementine? Is there something you wanna tell me?" He asked.
The girl stood there silently, Clementine didn't want Walter to know about what happened to Matthew. She was afraid of him, what he might do if she did tell him. She knew he was a good guy, but even the best people can hit their breaking points.
"There's almost nothing you could tell me that would surprise me." Walter exclaimed.
"I promise you that." He said.
Clementine sighed before responding, "I'm just worried about the people chasing us."
Walter looked at her with a smile, "You're safe now. Don't worry. Matthew will be back soon and everything will be fine." He exclaimed.
"What are you two talking about?" Lee asked with a smile. He walked up towards the two with Kenny along his side. Kenny was armed with a rifle, while Lee had a handgun in a holster. Walter stood to his feet.
"Oh, politics." Walter exclaimed.
"The hell?" Kenny asked.
"Oh, well… being from Florida, I would imagine you know all about politics, Kenny." Walter said.
Kenny looked towards Clementine with a smile, "Man, I know the one advantage of livin' in the apocalypse is not dealin' with that shit no more." Kenny exclaimed.
Lee chuckled a bit at Kenny's words, "Damn right, Ken."
Lee stepped forwards with Kenny following along. Lee let his hand gently rest on Clementine's shoulder, giving her a warm smile. Lee nodded before walking past Clementine.
"Kenny and I were just going to check the windows around back before the storm hits." Lee exclaimed.
"Give us a hand?" Kenny asked.
"Sure." Walter said.
The four of them began making their way around the lodge. They saw the windows, but were also greeted by the sight of a stranger with their hands cupped over them. They were trying to see inside. Clementine's heart sank at the sight of this stranger. Kenny almost pulled up his gun before being stopped by Walter.
"Hey!" Lee yelled out, stepping closer to her then the others.
The girl quickly stumbled back from the windows, her eyes filled with fear. She put her hands up in the air at the sight of them. She was silent for a few moments before she spoke. Lee hovered his hand over his holster the entire time.
"Please. Do you have any food?" She asked in a quiet tone.
"Are you okay?" Walter asked as he walked forward past Lee.
"I saw the house, and…. I have a family. We're starving. We live down there" She exclaimed as she looked behind herself, pointing in that direction.
"Of course. Why don't you come in, miss…?" Walter asked.
"Bonnie." She exclaimed.
Lee looked at Walter quickly. He quickly came to the conclusion that something was up with this; something didn't feel right.
"Walter. Hold on now, we don't know who she is or what she's planning." Lee exclaimed.
Walter looked at Lee with his eyebrows a bit furrowed, "No. It's fine, Lee."
"We don't know this girl. And just hold on a damn minute, Clementine said they had people chasing after em'. She could be one of them for all we know!" Kenny scoffed.
Clementine kept her eyes on the woman the whole time. As Kenny mentioned her being one of "them", the woman got visibly nervous.
"Then we'll have to get to know her!" Walter said.
"Right, Clem?" Walter asked.
"Check her for weapons." Clementine said coldly.
"Yeah…" Kenny said as he stared the woman down.
"Thank you, really, but that storm will be on us soon and I gotta get back to my family." Bonnie exclaimed.
"I'll bring something out to you then." Walter said.
"No… you don't have to do that." Bonne said.
"No, no, it's fine." Walter exclaimed.
Bonnie looked towards Clementine and Lee, "What about your people?"
"We've got plenty. You stay put, I'll be right back." Walter said as he then ventured back to the lodge. Lee, Kenny, and Clementine all stayed put, watching the woman. Clementine stepped out a little in front of Lee, being the one closest to the woman.
"How old are you, sweetie?" Bonnie asked as she bent over a bit to be face to face with the child.
Lee looked at her with annoyance, or even anger. He had kept his hand on his gun the entire encounter. Ever since the encounter he had with the St. Johns… the man that took Clementine, and all the people that he had encountered on the road? He wasn't planning to let those things happen again if he had anything to do with it. Especially with Clementine there now.
Clementine stared at Bonnie with a cold look in her eyes. Her arms were crossed, she refused to answer. Bonnie stood back up silently, glancing towards the ground as she crossed her arms.
Walter had finally made his way out from inside the lodge. He held a box, presumably filled with supplies. He walked up to Bonnie with a smile.
"Here you are miss." Walter said as he placed the box in her arms.
"This is too much." She exclaimed as she looked at Walter with surprise in her eyes.
"Don't mention it." Walter said.
"I don't know how to thank you." Bonnie said.
"Just help someone else down the line." He said.
"Thank you so much. I'll be going now." Bonnie exclaimed.
"You stay safe."
"You too." She began walking away into the distance.
"Hey, Clem. Go inside and get some sleep, sweet pea. Walter and I need to talk for a few minutes." Lee exclaimed.
Clementine had made her way back into the lodge. She was near the kitchen area when Luke had whispered for her attention.
"Clementine!"
"Don't freak out." He said.
Clementine looked at him with a look of uneasiness, ultimately walking towards him.
"Listen, okay. I gotta tell you something. That guy on the bridge was Walter's friend." Luke said as he handed her a framed photo of Matthew and Walter.
"See, I knew something was off, so I asked Sarita about their friend…"
"I know he was. For sure!" Clementine said.
"I don't think Walter knows yet. So we have to keep this quiet. I mean, who knows what the hell he'd do if he found out." Luke exclaimed.
"Why don't we just tell him?" Clementine asked.
"Because he's going to ask who did it. And you're gonna tell him?"
"It's the right thing to do." Clementine exclaimed.
"Is it right to get Nick killed? Because that's what's gonna happen. Now, do you… do you still have that knife? Because if it was Matthew's, and Walter sees it, he's gonna put two and two together." Luke said.
"It's with the other weapons."
"Okay, well, go get rid of it. And I'll find Walter and run an interference. Oh, and, uh… keep an eye out for Nick."
"Okay, got it." Clementine exclaimed as she handed the photo back to Luke.
Clementine headed to find her bag by the entrance. She opened up the bag, but her stomach sank when she realized… The bag was empty.
"It's gone…" Clementine muttered out.
She looked out to the entrance of the lodge and noticed Walter standing outside. She opened up the door slowly, her anxiousness building as she slowly stepped closer to Walter, "Walter?" Clementine asked.
The man had a cigarette in his mouth. Twisting the same knife in his hands that Clementine had in her bag, the one that belonged to Matthew.
"I always liked this knife." He said, pulling the knife out of the holster it was in.
"Gave it to Matthew when all of this started. I know he's dead. Who did it? Was it that kid? What's his name… Nick? Heard him talkin' earlier. Somethin' about shooting a man."
Clementine looked at the man's back anxiously, he had still not turned to face her.
"I could see it. I could see it on his face. Wasn't sure then, but now?" Walter exclaimed.
Clementine stayed silent for a moment before responding, "It was us… it was our fault." She said.
"Jesus, I don't feel good." Walter said.
"Nick shot him." Clementine said.
He took a drag of his cigarette before looking back at Clementine, "Is… is Nick a good man? Or is he just one of those… those fuckers that don't give a shit about anyone but themselves?"
"He is… he's a good guy Walter." Clementine mumbled out.
Walter turned around as he tossed the knife away.
"Does he have any idea what he's done to me? Any idea?" He mumbled out quietly before looking to the ground.
Suddenly the wind turbine in the front of the lodge had gotten exceptionally loud. It seemed like there was a problem with it. Most of the cabin group had now come outside, along with Kenny and Lee.
"Walt, what's going on?" Kenny asked.
Kenny looked towards the wind turbine in anger, "This storm's got it spinnin' outta control. That sound's gonna draw walkers. We gotta shut it down, now!"
Carlos looked back at Nick, "Nick, C'mon, help me get the guns."
"Guns?" Sarita muttered out.
Walter turned his head at the mention of Nick's name. He looked at the kid in anger as he rushed inside.
A few moments later Carlos and Nick had come back outside with a few guns. Nick offered Clementine a pistol, which she didn't refuse.
"Hey, Clem, come with me!" Lee exclaimed.
They all began to rush towards the wind turbine. Eventually stopping a couple feet from it. A loud noise back from the lodge had alerted the group, they turned around to face the lodge.
"Damn. The transformer must have just gone out." Lee exclaimed.
"I'll go check it. I could use a hand!" Kenny spat out.
Luke nodded, "I'll go with you."
"I'm going too." Sarita said.
"No! It's too dangerous. The rest of you, get this thing shut down!" Kenny yelled.
Clementine and Lee stayed back at the turbine. Lee opened up the turbine panel which was in front of them, hoping to be able to turn it off easily. Carlos, Nick, and Sarita were also with them.
"Does anyone know how to do this?" Carlos said.
"It's not rocket science." Lee exclaimed.
"Alright. We'll watch your back. Nick, watch the trees with me." Carlos said. The pair of them walking off, guarding Lee and Clementine.
"Damn. Clem, it's too dark. You got anything that can give us some light?" Lee asked.
"Yeah, actually." Clementine said with a smile. She pulled out a lighter which lit up the panel, allowing them to actually see something. The controls were now completely visible. Lee looked around the panel, his eyes eventually landing a key which hung from a small hook, he grabbed the key and inserted it into a keyhole, then turning it.
The windmill instantly shut down, the loud commotion stopping with it. Everyone began to look up at the turbine with relief, but it wasn't long before they had another problem. Walker groans emitted from the forest around them.
"Something ain't right." Nick muttered out.
"We gotta get back to the lodge!" Lee yelled out.
"They're behind us!" Nick yelled out.
The group had begun firing shots at the walkers around them.
"Clem, let's get back to the lodge. Come on!" Lee said, pushing Clem forward along with him. The two rushed forward closer to the lodge before a few walkers had blocked their path there. Lee looked down to Clementine who had brought up her gun.
"Still know how to shoot?" Lee smiled before taking out the handgun from his holster. He rushed his arm up to face the walker crowd. The pair began firing at the walkers, hitting all of them with straight headshots until they were all taken down.
"I'm out of ammo, Lee!" Clementine yelled.
"Alright, don't worry about it, just get back to the lodge, Clem!" Lee yelled out.
Walkers had now made their way behind Clementine and Lee, to which Lee responded by quickly turning around, firing shots at them. Clementine rushed closer to the lodge. Almost there, she thought to herself. The front door was just in view before a walker made his way around a small bulldozer in front of her. Clementine quickly looked around, she almost tripped over a dead walker on the ground before composing herself.
She quickly noticed a rifle under the dead walker. She got to the ground and began pushing the walker over. Once the dead corpse finally rolled over, she quickly grabbed the rifle and got to her feet. The walker was getting close, too close.
She quickly fired the rifle at the walker, she was sent to the ground from the recoil, which also made her drop the rifle. Clementine quickly grabbed the rifle again and shot the walker in the head, the walker collapsing on top of her.
"Shit!" Clementine yelled out. She noticed that a couple more walkers were heading towards her, she quickly began to start pushing the corpse off from the top of her. Just as one of the walkers almost grabbed her, their head was quickly sliced off. Lee emerged after the walker had fallen to the ground. He held a hatchet in the one arm that he had. He quickly got Clementine back to her feet.
Lee made quick work of the other walker that had headed towards Clementine, and the two quickly made their way closer to the lodge.
"Somebody help me!" Nick yelled out.
"Please help me!" He yelled.
Walter noticed Nick was in trouble and began to make his way closer to the man with a gun in his hand. He had it aimed up at the walker, but hesitated. He looked to the ground for a second before looking back up, seemingly contemplating whether or not to save the boy.
Lee quickly rushed forward, knocking the walker to the ground. He slammed his hatchet into the walker's head before ripping it out.
"Go! Get inside!" Lee yelled.
"Thanks…" Nick muttered before running into the lodge with Clementine.
Clementine noticed Rebecca in the lodge and began to rush towards her.
"Clementine, are you okay?" Rebecca yelled.
The sound of gunfire echoed outside, it wasn't just some rag-tag guns, it sounded like heavy artillery.
"What the hell?" Alvin said.
Rebecca, Clementine, and Alvin rushed to the windows to get a better look of what was happening outside. A group of people had emerged from the forest, all loaded to the teeth with weaponry. They gunned down the walkers in front of them, making their way to the cabin group members who were outside. Kenny and Lee were nowhere to be seen.
"Howdy folks." Carver yelled out.
Carver and his people began to make their way closer to the group outside. Carver circled around to face Carlos. He stopped right in front of him, staring him down.
"Where's Rebecca?" Carver asked.
"Carver?" Rebecca said anxiously from the window.
Carlos spit in Carver's face. Carver brushed off the spit onto his coat, balling up his fist.
"It's nice to see you too." He said before delivering a heavy punch to the man's face. Carlos instantly had a huge bruise on the left side of his face.
"Dad!" Sarah muttered out before rushing outside. She fell into her dad's arms, hugging onto him. Clementine kept looking outside of the window, her stomach was heavy and she couldn't stop thinking. Where's Lee? She was the most afraid she's been in a long time.
"Inside." Carver mumbled out, pointing at the lodge.
Walter finally got a closer look to Carver's group members, he saw Bonnie, which shocked him to the core.
"It's you!" Walter exclaimed.
Bonne glanced down before responding, "Keep moving."
Clementine followed after Alvin and Rebecca, they were heading upstairs. She was almost there before Carver's group had entered the lodge. She instantly shot behind the cover of a couch, not wanting to be seen. Alvin was stuck on the stairs, he was going to give Clementine the all clear for when she could move. Clementine slowly raised her head above the couch, catching a glimpse of Carver's people.
She quickly ducked back down under the cover of the couch before looking back at Alvin.
"Man, how the fuck are we going to cover these guys and look for them too?" A man in Carver's group yelled out.
Alvin signaled Clementine to move over to the stairs, to which she did. The two then climbed up the stairs, meeting with Rebecca.
"Johnny. Cover that window!" Bonnie yelled out.
It was completely silent now in the lodge. Clementine was on edge, she felt she could barely breathe. She inhaled a bit heavier than she usually would, trying to compose herself. Carver looked around the lodge slowly before dragging Carlos to the center of the lodge. He then delivered a blow to his stomach, sending him to the ground.
"Dad!" Sarah yelled out.
Carver walked behind Carlos.
"Listen, I'm only gonna ask you once. Where's Rebecca?" He yelled out.
Carlos looked ahead to his daughter, trying to calm her down.
"Sarah, look at me. It's gonna be okay!" He said before his finger got broken by Carver. He screamed out in pain before Carver threw his arm to the ground. "REBECCA! Rebecca, our baby deserves to be raised in a place of safety! I know you're out there. And Alvin. And Luke. And the girl. This is really simple. You want this over quick, you all play nice and show your faces." Carver yelled out furiously.
"Don't hurt my dad! Please!" Sarah yelled out.
"He'll kill him!" Alvin whispered.
"No, Alvin." Rebecca whispered to him.
"We gotta go down there!" Alvin whispered.
"I can't do that!" Rebecca whispered.
"Bec… the baby. You need a doctor!"
"Where's Luke and those other guys?" Rebecca muttered.
"How the hell am I supposed to know?" Alvin muttered out.
"They're still outside. They can help us!"
"We should help Carlos." Clementine whispered.
"Only way to help him is to do what the man says." Alvin spat out.
"We start shootin' and people are gonna die, on both sides!" Alvin muttered.
Carver broke another one of Carlos's fingers as the man yelled out in pain. Clementine looked through a crack, she could now see the two men in the center of the lodge.
"Clem can sneak out. Find Luke." Rebecca whispered.
"What the hell is she gonna do! And you heard him, Carver knows she's with us." Alvin said.
"We're going down there." He muttered.
"He'll kill you." Rebecca said quietly.
"FUCK YOU! Shoot him! Somebody just shoot him!" Carlos yelled out furiously before a knife got put to his throat.
"Say goodbye, Carlos." Carver muttered out.
"Rebecca! He's gonna kill him. We have to give up!" Clementine said.
Rebecca stood to her feet and overlooked the lodge's wooden railings.
"Bill! Stop!" She yelled out.
Carver instantly threw Carlos to the ground before setting his sights on Rebecca. He smiled at the sight of her. Alvin, Clementine, and Rebecca were tied up and put on their knees in a line with the rest of their group.
"Clem, can you reach my hands?" Carlos whispered.
"I-I'll try." Clementine muttered.
Clementine reached for the man's hands but Troy instantly glared down at her.
"The fuck do you think your doing, girly?" He said before giving a harsh smack to Clementine's face. She yelled out in pain as she got sent completely to the floor. She slowly got herself back onto her knees. Instantly the sound of a gunshot rang out, the bullet had passed through a window before hitting Troy in the shoulder.
"AH! SHIT!" The man yelled out.
"Watch them." Carver yelled out before grabbing Walter, whoever had shot at them, they were at the front entrance of the lodge. He threw Walter down to the ground as he aimed his revolver to his head.
"You do something like that again, and we'll have to make this more difficult!" Carver yelled out.
Another bullet passed through the window to the left of Carver, there were two gunmen on the outside of the lodge. This bullet hit another man that was guarding the windows, killing him on the spot. Carver grabbed onto Walter before retreating closer to his group, he pushed Walter onto the ground before putting a bullet into his head.
"NO!" A few of the cabin group members screamed out.
Carver then went up to Alvin, grabbing him as well.
"Hi, Alvin." He muttered before bringing him out towards the gun men. He used Alvin as a human shield.
"Do you remember George, Alvin? You see, I do. I remember a guy that was your friend named George. I remember when you murdered him in cold blood. And why? Because you didn't like me? You could have lodged a complaint. You could have… You could have been civil." Carver said mockingly.
Clementine began to get off of her feet. She was going to protect Alvin. She started sprinting forward with her hands still tied to her back. She rushed towards Carver before being hammered in the stomach by his gun. Clementine collapsed to the ground as she gasped for air. From the front entrance of the lodge, came Lee's voice.
"YOU FUCKER! I'LL TEAR YOU APART." Lee yelled out furiously.
Carver smiled as soon as he heard the man's voice. He knew how to end it now. He quickly picked up Clementine, holding her in his arms. He put his gun to her head and began to walk towards the front entrance.
"We can do this all night! Is that what you want?" Carver yelled out.
Lee quickly came through the door with his one hand raised up. Lee was quickly put down on his knees with the rest of the group. Lee kept staring Carver down, his eyes filled with rage. Just then, another gunshot rang out. This time it hit Carver in the shoulder. He fell to the ground, not moving for a few moments.
The group looked at him in silence for a few moments before he got back to his feet. Carver quickly pulled Lee up and rushed towards the window, gun to Lee's head. "LAST CHANCE! Get down here, or I'll just keep this up!" Carver yelled out.
"NO, DON'T DO IT!" Clementine yelled out, getting caught up in her words. She had tears forming in her eyes.
"I'm gonna fucking kill you, you SON OF A BITCH!" Lee yelled out. As Carver continued to hold the gun to Lee's head, Lee quickly brought his head forward before smashing it into Carver's face. The two were both hurt by the attack, Lee stumbled around a bit. Carver groaned out in pain, holding his now bloody nose.
"Funny." Carver muttered. He smashed the gun over Lee's head, sending him to his knees. He pointed the gun to his head, just about to pull the trigger.
"Stop!" Kenny yelled out. He walked in through the front entrance. Lee and Kenny were put back in the line with the rest of the group. Carver paced around in front of the group with his hands placed on his waist. "Where's Luke? Finally cut and run, huh? Why am I not surprised?"
"I warned you not to follow him. And look where he's led you. But you're safe now. We're going home." He walked up to Rebecca with a smile on his face.
"As a family." Carver muttered out to Rebecca. He started to walk outside of the lodge.
"Round em' up. We're heading back to camp." Carver yelled out.
…