And we're now on chapter three! Please read and review, gaara king of the sand and I are working pretty hard on this.
Enjoy~
The group had grabbed everything they could think would be of use.
They packed the trucks full and begin their drive toward Macon.
The first ten minutes of the ride were fine. Clementine and Duck had talked for a while. But after a while Clementine started to grow annoyed of Duck's excessive talking. She started to only respond to him with one word sentences.
Duck then became bored and he decided to start poking the older girl, trying to further push her buttons.
Clementine managed to keep calm as she spoke, putting on an air of authority to hide her irritation, "Stop it." Clementine finally groaned out.
"I'm not doing anything." Duck claimed.
"You keep tapping me," Clementine said, rolling her eyes.
"Am not!" Duck exclaimed with a laugh.
Clementine didn't respond.
She looked away only for the little boy to start poking her again.
"Oh my God." Clementine grumbled. "Please stop. You're invading my personal space."
The boy raised a brow, "What?"
"Stop touching me." Clementine ordered.
"I'm not." Duck replied..
"Kids, knock it off." Katjaa called out.
"It's him." Clementine said, shooting Duck a look.
"This is why we didn't have two kids." Kenny said with a laugh.
Despite her annoyance, Clementine was starting to feel a bit more comfortable riding with the family.
She still felt homesick, but their presence helped her just a little bit.
Clementine glanced back, looking out the window.
Hershel, Shawn, and Beth were all riding in Shawn's truck behind them.
Clementine turned to face forward, leaning back in her seat. She huffed as Duck started poking her once again.
A few more minutes passed and Duck had finally stopped bothering her. Clementine looked over to see the little boy had fallen asleep and it wasn't long before Clementine followed suit.
By the time Clementine had woke up the car was slowing down.
"What's going on?" The girl asked, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.
She looked out the window as the car slowed to a stop. "This is as far as we're going."
Hershel pulled up beside them, rolling down the window. "What's the problem."
"Car's out of gas." Kenny called back.
Hershel gave a nod.
Clementine looked to Duck, giving the boy a tap. Duck batted at the girl's hand.
"Duck, wake up." She shook the boy a few times.
Soon the child opened his eyes. "Are we there yet?!"
"Yeah, kids." Kenny spoke, "We're here."
The group exited the car, staying as quiet as possible. Clementine took a look around. The streets were deserted, car windows were broken, and blood was everywhere.
The group of seven stood the middle of a street, many stores surrounding them.
"Beth, stay close." Hershel called to his daughter.
Beth nodded.
The group moved carefully. Clementine sending a worried glance to Shawn who was using his crutches, while trying his best not to trip over any of the things that littered across the ground.
Once the group reached the corner of the street Duck called out, "Look!"
Everyone looked in the direction Duck was pointing to see a person crouched low.
Kenny took a few steps forward, waving his arms. "Hey there! You friendly? Truck's run out of gas!"
"Uh…Kenny..." Clementine called slowly.
"What is it?" Kenny asked.
Clementine only stared to the figure with a look of horror. Suddenly the person stood from their crouched position and growled at them. The group realizes that the figure is one of the monsters and Kenny lets out a yell. "FUCK!"
His shout attracts more of the things, and they start coming forward until the group is surrounded.
"We're trapped!" Katjaa exclaimed.
The group looked around frantically searching for an exit. Duck lets out a cry, as one of the things push him over, attempting to bite him.
"NO! NO!" The boy yells.
Clementine quickly reaches for her fathers gun but before she can do anything a loud bang fills the air. Blood covers the boy and Duck pulls himself up, staring forward in shock.
Everyone looks to see a young woman, dressed in a long-sleeved white dress shirt and black skirt. She has brown hair that falls to her shoulders.
She fires a few more rounds while Kenny and Katjaa pull Duck into their arms.
"RUN!" Another voice yells, a male this time. The group looks to see an Asian man wearing a cap.
The group does as he commands, running quickly into the drug store.
Their saviors follow behind them. The man slams the gate closed and does a quick job of locking it.
The second everyone gets inside the drugstore Clementine took a look around.
Katjaa starting cleaning a traumatized Duck off while Hershel did his best to comfort Beth who was whimpering in fear.
"We can't take risk like this!" A woman angrily spat, walking up to the woman who had saved them.
"And we can't just let people die, either." The sharp shooter snapped back.
"When I SAY "that door stays shut no matter what" I fucking MEAN it! We don't know who these people are; they could be dangerous." The woman spat.
"Worst, they could've led them right to us." An old man butt in.
"Where the hell is your humanity? They would've died out there." Their savior hissed.
"Then we let them!" The old man growled.
"We can't trust anybody. We already know that."
Clementine crosses his arms.
Shawn, who had taken a seat, needing to get off his leg, spoke, "Everyone calm down, please. We're just people trying to avoid those things, just like you."
"You think I care about that." The angry woman growled.
"Please, we have kids." Shawn said desperately.
"You'll have to excuse her-" The woman in the skirt spoke.
"The hell he or ANYONE will. This is about survival; do you guys not see what's happening?" The other woman snapped.
"We have kids with us…" Shawn repeated.
Beth tapped her father on the shoulder. "Daddy...I...I need the restroom."
"I'd go out there again in a second." The Asian man said.
"I bet you would." The woman snapped.
Beth continued to tap her father who didn't respond, but instead spoke to arguing adults. "Everyone calm down. We don't mean any harm.
Beth let out a sigh and decided to just go. She looked around until she spotted a door in the corner of the room. She started to make her way towards where the restroom was.
"They've got kids Lilly." The Asian man said.
"Those things outside don't care."
"Maybe you should go join 'em then, you'll have something in common!"
"God dammit, Lilly! You have to control these people!"
"Carley and Glenn just ran out there!" The woman, Lilly huffed.
"I don't give a flying fuck! We're in a warzone here!" The old man grumbled.
"Jesus Christ! Can you guys believe this lady?" Kenny asked in disbelief.
"That lady's my daughter."
"I can see the resemblance. My son won't grow up to be a raging fucking lunatic." Kenny snapped.
"…Son?" The old man repeated turning to face Katjaa and Duck, his eyes widened. "Holy SHIT! Son of a bitch, one of them is bitten!"
"No!" Clementine said quickly. "None of us were bit!"
"He wasn't bitten." Shawn stated firmly.
The old man shot Shawn a glare. "Hell he wasn't… We have to end this now."
Kenny moved to stand in front of him. "Over my dead body."
"We'll dig one hole." The old man replied.
"No! I'm cleaning him up! There's no bite! He's fine!" Katjaa shouted.
The old man shook his head. "Don't you fucking people get it? We've already SEEN this happen. We let someone with a bite stay and-and WE all end up bitten."
"Shut up." Kenny snapped.
The old man only continued. "We gotta throw him out or…Smash his head in."
"KENNY!" Katjaa shouted, horrified by the old man words. "STOP HIM!"
"Dad it's just a boy. I-Its-" Lilly tried.
"Lilly, I'll handle this." Lilly's father cut her off.
Lilly shook her head, "But your heart, dad. You need to calm down."
"He's not bit! You're just making wild assumptions!" Clementine chimed in.
"You think I'm going to listen to what a little girl has to say?" Lilly's father replied to the teen who fell silent.
"And you think I'm going to let you put your hands on my family?!" Kenny shot at the man. "Nobody threatens my boy. I'm protecting my kid with my LIFE."
"Everyone CHILL THE FUCK OUT!" Carley yelled.
"Nobody is doing ANYTHING." Lilly growled.
"Shut up Lilly!" The old man snapped at his daughter before turning to Carley, "And YOU. Shut the fuck up. They will find us and they will get in here, and none of this will fucking matter. But right now were about to be TRAPPED in here with one of those things!"
"What the hell are you talkin' about?" Kenny growled.
"He's bitten! That's how you TURN!"
"He's not bitten!" Katjaa said. "Please, stop this! It's upsetting him!
"Oh. I'm upsetting him? Upsetting is getting eaten alive." The man huffed.
"Dad, we get it, it's a big deal." Lilly said, tugging her father's arm.
The man shook his daughter away, glaring at her. "Do you? You're not fucking acting like it."
"We can figure this out without killing anybody! There's another way!" Shawn said, trying to calm the angry old man.
"He's right." Hershel spoke. "We can all just talk this out.
The angry old man scoffed. "Yeah, with a shovel."
Kenny growled. "Do you really want to fucking DIE so badly? Because if you keep on pushing I'm going to fucking MURDER YOU!"
"Everyone, please, calm down." Clementine begged. She always hated seeing people fight.
"Dad..." Beth called but her soft voice went unheard.
"Listen man…We don't have to go this route." Shawn called.
"Then what route do you wanna go? I'm not about to sit in here and wait to die!" The old man snapped at Shawn.
"Shut the FUCK up!" Kenny snapped.
"Or what? You gonna whoop me? You and what homo parade?" The man laughed. "Little boy! Before you eat your mommy, you can watch your dad get his nose broken."
"Stop fighting!" Clementine begged.
"Kenny, he's upsetting the children." Katjaa said, trying to make sure ever
"I'm gonna kill him, KAT. Just worry about Duck!" Kenny said angrily.
"Will you please stop, he wasn't bit!" Clementine exclaimed.
"Shut it kid!" Larry snapped at the girl.
Kenny glared at the man. "Don't you fucking talk to her like that."
"Everything will be fine, if everyone just calms down." Hershel said in a calm voice.
"Dad!" Beth called a little louder.
"Yes, darling?" Hershel responded finally.
"There's someone in there." Beth said, motioning towards the door.
"It's just locked. Key's most likely behind the counter." Hershel replied.
"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here, I'm just looking out for my daughter!" Lilly's father said.
"No, you're just the guy arguing for killing a kid!" Kenny snapped.
"He's covered in muck. She'll find the bite. WATCH!"
"She won't." Kenny growled.
"And if she DOES? The first thing he'll do is sink his teeth into his mom's face. Then once she's dead he'll probably pounce on YOUR little girl." He said to Hershel, who's face paled at the thought.
"Then we deal with it then. But right now we're just freaking everybody out." Hershel said, trying to stay calm.
"Then get ready to deal with it because that boy is BITTEN. He's bitten and he's gonna bite his mom, then he's gonna bite your girl." The angry man said. "She'll turn fast and then there'll be three. Then he'll probably go for the kid over there." He motioned towards Clementine. "That boy is the ballgame! Which pretty much seals the deal for me. We're throwin' him out!
"He's a little boy; I think we can handle him." Hershel replied.
"A little boy? He'll be a uncontrollable man eater!"
"Hey, man. Just sit down!" Shawn called.
"You shut the fuck up. You think I'm going to take orders from a cripple?" The old man snapped at Shawn.
Shawn shot him a glare. "I'm not going to let you threaten these people."
"Oh, believe me, it's not a threat."
"It's not gonna happen!" Kenny growled.
"It is is and we're tossing him out NOW!" The angry old man yelled.
"NO!" Clementine shouted terrified, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Meanwhile Beth was shaking the bathroom door handle trying to get the door open.
"No, he's not bitten! Look! Look, he's clean! Not a scratch!" Katjaa spoke a hint of urgency in her voice.
The old man hesitantly walked over and checked the boy, staying on his guard as if he was scared the child would turn and attack him from there. Finally the man straightened up, pausing for a moment before he huffed. "I'm sorry."
"Not a goddamn scratch, what do you think about that." Kenny snapped once the old man had finished checking the little boy.
"I said I was fucking sorry." The man grumbled.
Kenny nodded. "Good."
"Look," Lilly started, "We're fish in a barrel here. With all the commotion we could be under siege and any minute."
"Then we better start fortifying this place." Kenny said firmly. "I'll work on getting that window barricaded."
"Good. Dad, sit down." Lilly ordered.
Larry shook his head. "I'm fine, Lilly."
Suddenly, a high-pitched scream filled the air.
Clementine flinched as Hershel quickly race towards the bathroom.
Shawn immediately forced himself up and made his way toward his sister as fast as he could on crutches.
The girl was on the ground, kicking at a walker, a look of fear in her eyes.
"Jesus!" Larry exclaimed.
A look of shock and fear crossed everyone's face.
"BETH!" Hershel yelled out rushing to the child's side.
"Get away from her you bastard!" Hershel yelled, shoving the monster away from his daughter.
The little girl sat, crying on the ground, Clementine quickly rushed to her to comfort her.
Hershel was struggling with the walker. Shawn let out a shout as it moved closer to biting his father. "DAD!"
Before anything could happen, a gun sounded and a bullet flew straight into the monster's head, killing it instantly.
Hershel quickly ran to his sobbing daughter and wrapped his arms around her. "Beth, look at me." He demanded. "Are you okay?"
The little girl only cried more.
Clementine patted the child's back to calm her.
"Uh, Guys..." Glenn called gently, turning towards the doors.
The loud gunfire had drawn the attention of more walkers that were now pounding against the boarded windows.
The chubby man who stood on lookout took a step back in fear, before quickly running to the farthest wall.
"Everybody DOWN. Stay QUIET!" Lilly whispered harshly.
Worry and panic kept the group quiet as they listened fearfully to the banging.
"They're gonna get in!" Larry whispered.
"SHUT UP." Kenny ordered.
Suddenly the sound of gunshots rang through the air.
"Is that the military?" Hershel asked.
"I don't know." Lilly replied.
"Thank God for whatever it is." Glenn muttered.
They all stood once the noise faded away.
Once the coast was clear Larry started to go off again, "We almost DIED because of this bitch and her itchy trigger finger! That was stupid! That was-"
The man cut himself off with a groan of pain.
"DAD!" Lilly cried out, rushing to her father's side.
Larry clutched his chest, shouting in pain before collapsing onto the floor.
Clementine let out a gasp. "What's wrong with him?"
"It's his heart!" Lilly explained.
Larry groaned, "My pills..."
"Uh-um Nitroglycerin pills?" Katjaa asked.
"YES. We're out. We've been trying to get into the pharmacy since we got here! Please, try to get in there! Behind the counter, where the pills are!" Lilly begged
Kenny looked away.
"Kenny, we have to do something." Hershel said, standing up once his daughter had calm down some.
Clementine made sure to stay beside the younger girl to keep her calm.
Kenny let out a sigh, "Fine. We'll figure it out."
Lilly gave a small smile, "Thank you so much. We need nitroglycerin pills. Please get in there. I'll keep an eye on my dad."
"Everyone else should get comfy and look for anything useful. We could be in here a while." Kenny said.
"I'm starting to think this drugstore isn't a permanent solution." Glenn spoke up.
"You're right, this ain't exactly Ft. Knox."
"What do you suggest?" Hershel asked the young man.
"We need as much gas as possible so we can ALL get out of downtown Macon. Fast."
"I'll agree with that." Hershel stated.
"Then I'll head out and get gas. There's a motel not too far from here, out towards the end of Peach-tree. I'll work my way towards it and them loop back, siphoning what I can." Glenn suggested.
"That would help quite a bit." Hershel said.
"Yeah, it's gotta get done. Plus, I'm quick and I know Macon." Glenn said.
"That's not too safe..." Clementine spoke up.
The men looked to her.
"You could get hurt." Clementine said."
"I'll be fine. I know the ends and out." Glenn replied.
"This is a bad idea..." Clementine sighed.
"But it's all we got." Kenny said.
Clementine nodded. She quickly dug into her bag, pulling out her walkie talkies. "We should at least have a source a communication. Here's a walkie-talkie, in case you get in a tight spot. Hopefully you won't need it."
"Clever girl." Hershel commented.
Glenn accepted the walkie smiling at the teen's quick thinking. "Cool."
"I got the other one." Clementine informed.
"That's good." Hershel said. "Check in with her and get back here as soon as you can."
Glenn nodded, attaching the walkie talkie to his belt loop.
Kenny was speaking to the others, taking on the role of leader. "And, you, what's your name?"
"It's Lilly. My dad's Larry." Lilly calmly introduced herself.
"Keep a good eye on him. We'll work on getting you your medicine."
Lilly nodded.
"And you," Kenny nodded towards the chubby man who was standing on guard. "You keep an eye on that front door. You're our look-out."
The man gave a nod in return, "It's Doug, you got it."
"And I'm Carley." The sharp shooter spoke.
"Ok, Carley, you'll shift in with Doug when he needs it. For now, get some rest – you're a good shot and I'd like to keep it that way."
"You got it boss." Carley agreed.
Lilly narrowed her eyes as Kenny gave out orders. She didn't like some stranger coming in and taking charge of her people, but giving the situation she had no choice.
Shawn spoke up, "I can help out too."
"Shawn..." Hershel called gently.
"It's okay, dad." Shawn said. "Just take care of Beth."
"Be careful." Hershel said, letting out a sigh he went to attend to his daughter.
"Why don't you go check in that room for anything that might be useful?" Kenny suggested.
"I'll help." Clementine offered.
"Sure." Shawn nodded, "Let's go."
Clementine nodded and the two made there way into the room that had a sign on it for "AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEES ONLY".
Clementine opened the door, holding it open to allow Shawn to enter before letting it swing shut.
Shawn looked to the young girl, her face was filled with sorrow as she looked around the room.
There was a mattress on the floor that was stained with what was clearly blood.
Clementine swallowed and walked towards the blood covered mattress. She spotted a photo and picked it up.
She slipped the photo out from the frame and examined it. Her heart clenched as she stared at it. It must've been the family that owned the store.
She let out a sad sigh, dropping the picture back to the mattress.
"You okay, kid?" Shawn asked.
"I'm fine." Clementine answered quickly.
"Well," Shawn motioned towards a door that was blocked off by a large desk. "I guess we should get this desk moved."
"Yeah." Clementine said. "I can do it."
Shawn chuckled. "Really?"
"Yes." Clementine said. "Just watch."
She moved to the desk and gave it a push, it didn't move. Not one bit.
Clementine tried again, it wasn't budging.
"Come on!" She continued to try and push the desk, but it still didn't move she wasn't strong enough to move it on her own.
"Here, let me help you." Shawn offered, leaning his crutches against the wall.
"But your leg." Clementine said.
"It'll be okay." Shawn assured her. "Come on, help me move this thing. Watch your fingers."
Clementine gave a nod.
With Shawn's help the desk started move, slowly but surely.
"Do you think Beth is okay?" Clementine asked.
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Shawn said. "She's a tough one."
"Okay..." Clementine mumbled.
They fell silent, groaning as the both shoved the desk another few inches or so.
"What do you think of everyone?" Shawn asked.
Clementine shrugged. "They're okay...Well, maybe not the sick guy."
"Yeah, I hear that."
"Hopefully we can get his medicine soon." Clementine said.
"Don't worry, we will." Shawn replied.
Silence fell once again.
They pushed the desk some more when Shawn stumbled a bit. "Ow!"
"Are you okay?" Clementine asked concerned.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Shawn said.
"Your leg." Clementine looked down the his bandaged limb. "You hurt it didn't you."
"It's okay, kid. I'm okay." Shawn reassured her.
"If you say so." Clementine said softly.
"Yeah, lets just hurry up and move this." Shawn said.
Clementine nodded and gave another push, using all her strength, she was so focused on moving the desk that she hadn't noticed the draw slide open until the force from them pushing the desk caused it to shut on her finger.
The girl let out a yelp, pulling back quickly. She looked down at her now bleeding finger, giving it a shake hoping to lessen the sting.
"You okay?" Shawn asked her.
"I hurt my finger." Clementine shrugged. "It's no big deal."
"Let me see." Shawn mumbled.
"It's okay. It's nothing." Clementine tried, but the man ignored her.
Shawn took her hand into his own, looking at the teen's finger, "You're bleeding."
"I'm okay, seriously." Clementine mumbled, feeling her face heat up in embarrassment.
"No...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you do this." Shawn let her go.
Clementine shook her head. "It's not your fault, Shawn. You told me to watch my fingers, I should've been more careful."
"There's a first aid kit over there. Go check it for a bandage." Shawn ordered.
Clementine looked to the table where the first aid kit was sat on. She sighed and walked over to it. Opening it up, it didn't take her long to find a bandage and she quickly turned to see that Shawn had moved the desk the rest of the way. "You did it on your own..."
"It wasn't that heavy." Shawn shrugged.
"I'm sorry. I wished I could've help more." Clementine looked down.
"Don't worry about it, kid." Shawn just offered her a smile. "At least the doors cleared."
Clementine moved forward and tried the door, "It's locked."
"Shit. Guess we'll need the keys." Shawn said.
"Or another way in." Clementine added.
Shawn nodded before looking to the teen, "Lets head back out."
Clementine agreed, handing him his crutches. The two made there way out of the room.
"Find anything?" Kenny asked as the Clementine and Shawn reentered the room.
"The medical supplies is in there. But the doors lock." Shawn explained.
As the two talked Clementine went over to check on Beth, who had calmed down, but was looking rather ill.
"Hey, Beth." She greeted.
The girl didn't respond.
"Are you feeling okay?" Clementine asked the child.
Beth let out a small cough, but gave a nod.
"She has a fever." Hershel said. "I think she might have a cold or something."
Clementine gave the little girl a sympathetic look. She knelt down beside the little girl, offering her a small smile. "I hope you feel better-
Clementine quickly cut herself off, eyes suddenly growing wide and she froze in terror as she noticed little Beth's pants had been ripped at the ankle and blood was seeping from them.
Clementine's breath caught in her throat and she slowly reached out shaking hands. "Oh no..."
Hershel watched the teen in confusion as she mumbled quietly, "Clementine?" He called.
Clementine didn't respond. Instead, she lifted the child's pants leg and her fears were confirmed. "Oh God..."
"What's wrong, darling?" Hershel asked.
The girl stammered, nervously looking up to meet Hershel's eyes. "S-She's...She's... She's been bit."