The group have been at the motel for 3 months now. They met a man called Mark who was allowed to join the group because he had a massive stock pile of food that was enough keep everyone fed for a while. While Lee, Kenny, and Mark were hunting for food, the others stayed at the motel, keeping it safe. Larry was fortifying the fence to keep it secure. Lilly is sitting on a chair on top of the RV, keeping watch. Ellie is playing soccer by herself, kicking the ball against some barrels. Duck is lying down, drawing on a board on the floor.
Lilly hears the leave rustling in the forest, so she picks up her gun and points it at the forest. She whistles, and everyone stops what they're doing to hide. Lee, Kenny and Mark come out the forest with two strangers. "Get the gates open! We've got wounded!" Lee shouted.
Lilly lowers her gun. "Shit, what the hell are they doing?"
The rest of the motel group runs to the gates as Lee and the others approach.
"Come on, come on!" Kenny shouted.
"Oh, my God!" Katjaa said.
Lee pushes open one of the dumpsters blocking the gate and the group enters. Everyone begins talking at the same time, speaking over each other.
"What happened?!" Katjaa asked.
"Where should I put him?" Mark asked.
"Who the hell are these people?!" Larry demanded.
"Who's that?"
"What's going on?"
Lee interrupts them. "I don't have time to explain."
"Lee, are you okay?" Ellie asked.
"Get him into the truck, I'll see what I can do, okay?" Katjaa said as she gave Duck a brief hug. Mark puts the stranger into the truck.
"Kat, can you fix him?" Kenny asked his wife.
"Jesus, Ken! I... I don't know!" she said as she attends to the stranger.
"Lee! Lee! What the hell?! You can't just be bringing new people here! What are you thinking?!" Lilly shouted.
"Hey, you wanna calm down for a fucking minute?" Kenny said.
"Hey, watch your mouth!" Larry snapped.
"No, I don't! I want to know why you thought bringing more mouths to feed was a good idea!" Lilly shouted.
"I thought we could save his life! I'm the one who took his leg, that makes me responsible," Lee explained.
"Well, that was a stupid thing to do!" Larry sneered.
"We are not responsible for every struggling survivor we come across! We have to focus on our group! Right here. Right now," Lilly said.
"Jesus Christ," Mark said to himself.
"Well, hang on! We haven't even talked to these people yet! Maybe they can be helpful!" Carley said.
Mark tries to reason with Lilly. "Come on, Lilly, these are people! People trying to survive, just like us. We've gotta stick together to survive!"
Lilly turns to face Mark. "The only reason you're here is because you had food. Enough for all of us. But that food is almost gone, we've got maybe a week's worth left." Lilly now turns to face the stranger. "I don't suppose you guys are carrying any groceries, are you?"
"Um, no," The stranger replied.
Mark sighed. "Fine. You guys fight it out, then." Mark looks at the stranger "Welcome to the family, kid," and then walks away.
Ellie walks over to the stranger. "Come over and here and see what I drew." She tugs on his sleeve.
"What? No, I-"
Ellie takes the strangers hand and tries to pull him away. "Just come on, okay?" Ellie leads the stranger over to her drawing. "Do you like it?"
"Um... Yeah."
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Ben."
"That's a cool name."
"You know, you like to think you're the leader of this little group, but we can make our own goddamn decisions! This isn't your own personal dictatorship!" Kenny said to Lilly.
"Oh, come on! You're being dramatic! Everything always turns into a power struggle between you two! I'm not gonna be a part of that!" Carley said, then walks away.
"Hey, I didn't ask to lead this group! Everyone was happy to have me distributing the food when there was enough to go around, but now that it's running out, suddenly I'm a goddamn Nazi!" Lilly argued.
"Kenny's right. Yeah, you're in charge of the food and the schedules, but you're not in charge of people's lives!" Lee said.
"Really?" Lilly asked.
"You weren't there! Lee made a choice! End of story!" Kenny said as him and Duck walked away.
"Look, once Katjaa patches that guy up, you can kick them outta here. Send 'em out on their own, I couldn't care less. But they at least deserve a fighting chance against the walkers. And for the record, Kenny wanted to leave those people behind!"
"If Kenny would pull his head out of his ass for five seconds, he'd realize that I make these decisions to protect his family! We simply don't have enough food!"
"I don't see any of you stepping up to make the hard decisions! My girl's got more balls than all of you combined!" Larry said angrily.
"Dad, please. Why don't you go help Mark with the wall?"
Lilly walks over to where the backpack next to the RV is sitting and takes out some food. "You think this is easy for me? Everyone's starting to hate me because I'm the one that rations the food, but nobody else wants to!" She hands Lee the food. "You know what? I'm not doing it tonight. You do it. There's today's food rations, but there's not enough for everyone. Good luck."
Lee takes the food and everyone looks up at him knowing he's the one in charge of who gets to eat. Lee walks over to where the kids are sitting. "How ya doing, Ellie?" he asked.
"Okay," she replied.
"Where's your hat?"
"I don't know. Can you help me find it?"
"Sure. When did you lose it?"
"I had it a couple days ago. My dad gave me that hat."
"I promise, if I find it, I'll let you know."
"Thank you."
"Here, Ellie, you need something to eat." Lee hands Ellie some food.
"A sundae would be better next time," Ellie giggled.
"I'll keep that in mind," Lee chuckled.
Lee gives some food to Duck. He wanted to make sure that the kids got fed. "How are ya doing, Duck?"
"I'm okay. Me and Ellie are coloring."
Ellie holds up her drawing. "Guess what it is?"
"I don't know...a dog?" Ben guessed.
Ellie shakes her head. "Nope."
"Oh, I know! It's a goat, right?" Duck guessed.
"No!" Ellie gets frustrated. "It's a dinosaur!" she exclaimed.
Lee laughed. "Okay, Ellie. I've got to take care of some things. Why don't you go back to playing with Duck for a while?"
After Lee made a difficult decision on who gets to eat and who doesn't, he approaches Lilly.
"Not such an easy job, is it?" Lilly asked.
Lee looked around at the people who couldn't feed. "Never said it was. I don't envy you. I don't know how you have the strength to do this every day."
Lilly sighs. "I don't have a choice."
Larry comes storming over to Lee. "You're out?! What happened to my food?!"
"There's none left."
"You keep treating people like this and your days in this group are numbered!" Larry said angrily.
"Ken! Lee! Come here, please," Katjaa called.
Kenny and Lee approach Katjaa. "He didn't make it, did he?" Kenny asked his wife.
"He lost too much blood," she replied.
"Goddamn it! I'm getting sick of this shit!" Kenny throws something against the RV and storms off.
"Ken, come back, there's nothing..."
"Let him go, Katjaa," Lee tells her softly.
"But..."
"He just needs time. It's been a rough morning."
"That man you brought... I tried, but he was never going to survive."
"Well, at least he's not our problem anymore."
"What about the other kid?"
But before Lee could reply, the zombified corpse of the man grabs Katjaa's shoulder and face. Katjaa let's out a scream.
"Shit, Katjaa!" Lee called out. He rushes over and pushes the walker away from Katjaa. He then turns around to talk to the others. "The axe! Hurry!"
The walker grabs onto Lee and pulls him into the truckbed. Lee smashes its head against the sides several times. Mark runs up to him holding the axe. "Move, move!"
Mark raises the axe, preparing to strike. Lee shoves the walker away, and its head hits the back windowshield; it slumps down just as Mark swings, missing and completely shattering the window. "Shit, it's stuck!" Mark tries to pull on the axe to free it.
The walker crawls toward Lee and he places his foot on its chest, trying to push it away.
Lee kicks the walker away. The walker grabs Lee's foot, and he kicks it a few more times. Lee crawls backward, falling over the edge of the truckbed and onto the ground. The walker jumps onto him, and Lee gouges its eyes. Carley appears above him, holding her gun.
"Shoot it!"
Carley shoots the walker in the head and Lee pushes the corpse off himself. Carley crouches down next to him. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks," Lee said, before he stands up again. Larry comes walking over. "Why'd you bring him here in the first place, asshole?!"
"Dad, calm down." Lilly said.
"You're gonna get us all killed!" Larry sneers, before walking away with Lilly trailing behind him.
Kenny hugs Katjaa, and Ben approaches the group. Kenny walks toward him. "Why didn't you tell us he was bitten?!"
"What?!" Ben asked, confused.
"He was bitten and you didn't say a goddamn word!"
"But he wasn't bitten, I swear!"
"Well, your "not-bitten" friend here came back to life and tried to kill my wife!"
"What?! Wait, you all don't know?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Everyone moves closer to Ben to listen to his explanation, including the children. "It's not the bite that does it! You come back no matter how you die. If you don't destroy the brain, that's just what happens. It's gonna happen to all of us." Ben explained.
"He's right," Ellie said quietly.
Everyone turns around to look at Ellie with confusion. "What?" Lee asked.
"A scientist who worked at um..." Ellie pauses, trying to remember the name of the building. "...CDC! Told my dad that everyone is infected."
"CDC?" Carley asked.
"Yup, he was the only person left. Then he wouldn't let us leave because the whole CDC was going to blow up. Luckily we were able to get out."
"Jesus."
"But how did this guy know?"
"Well my dad killed his friend but then he came back to life as a walker. That's why you have to hit their head."
"We're all infected? Everyone?" Lee muttered. "God help us."
"It makes sense. In those first few days it spread so fast," Mark said.
"Car accidents, suicides, everything was making more of them," Lilly said.
"Back off!" Carley suddenly said, as she points her gun at two men outside the fence and they put their hands up. One of them holds a gas can.
"Whoa, lady, relax! Me and my brother, we...we just wanna know if y'all can help us out," the man said.
"I said back off!"
"Carley..." Lilly warns.
"We don't want any trouble," Lee said.
"Of course. Neither do we. I'm Andy St. John. This here's my brother Danny. We're just out looking for gasoline. Looks like you folks got the motel locked down, which is fine, but if you could spare any gas we'd be much obliged," Andy said.
"Why do you need gas?" Carley asked.
"Our place is protected by an electric fence. Generators provide the electricity..." Danny started.
"Our generators run on gas. Look, we own a dairy farm a few miles up the road. If y'all be willing to lower your guns, we can talk about some kinda trade," Andy continued.
"How y'all doing on food? We got plenty at the dairy," Danny asked.
"Lee, why don't you and Mark check the place out? See if it's legit," Lilly said.
Carley puts her gun away. "I'm going with you. I got your back if anything seems fishy."
"So, what do y'all think?" Andy asked.
"You've got a deal. We'll bring some gas to your dairy. In exchange, you give us some food to bring back. We'll see how it goes from there." Lee said.
"Sounds fair. A couple of gallons should power one of our generators for a while." Andy said.
Lee, Carley, Mark, Ben left with Andy and Danny to check out the dairy farm. After a while, Carley and Ben returned to the motor inn with food. They said it was safe to go but they stayed behind to look after the motor inn just in case.
When the others arrived, they saw Mark with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. "Mark! Oh, my God, what happened?!" Katjaa asked.
"He got shot with an arrow," Lee explained.
"Christ! Are you gonna be okay?" Lilly asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I should just... pull it out..." Mark said.
Andy and Danny's mom goes over to Mark. "Oh, no, honey, c'mon, Brenda's got you. C'mon inside now. We'll have you all sorted out." Brenda, Katjaa, and Mark walk towards the house.
"What kind of shit is this?" Larry demanded.
"We ran into some people on the way up here... bandits, I guess. I think it was them that attacked us," Lee said.
"They gave us a lot of problems in the beginning, killed a bunch of our farmhands. We were able to get 'em to stop by makin' a deal," Andy said.
"You knew about these people?" Kenny asked.
"Food for protection. Not like we had much of a choice, but they did stop hasslin' us." Danny explained.
"Goddamn it! Carley said this place was locked down tight!"
"Maybe it isn't as safe here as we thought." Lee said.
"We're sorry! We've never had them screw with us like this! Not since we started givin' 'em food!" Andy apologised. "Listen, we may have had an agreement with those people, but we will not stand for this shit," he continued.
"Ain't no way we're gonna let those sons o' bitches get away with this!" Danny said.
"You know where these assholes are?" Kenny asked.
"They're hard to pin down, but I think I know where at least one of their camps are. When you're ready to go scope out that bandit camp, come find us," Danny said.
Andy and Danny walk away.
"Bandits? Are you serious? This place isn't safe, we can't stay here," Lilly said.
"Not safe?! This place is a hell of a lot safer than that motor inn! I think all of us and our guns can handle a couple of punks with bows and arrows! What we need to do is find a way to get our whole group out here to stay. Take this place over if we have to," Kenny said.
"Whoa! Cool your jets there, Rambo. These are nice people. Let's not do anything to get us thrown out before we eat!" Larry said.
"I'm gonna head out and help Dan deal with these bandits. You guys should try to make friends with Andy and Brenda while I'm gone," Lee said.
"Well, that's easy. I got charm coming outta my ass."
"Yeah, that's... real charming, Dad."
"Where's Ben and Carley?" Lee asked.
"Since Carley and Ben ate some of the food on the way back to get us, she volunteered to stay behind and watch the motor inn until we get back," Lilly answered.
Andy and Danny are talking to each other. They turn around and go back to the group. "Hey, I remembered seeing kids in your group, so I went ahead and fixed that swing while you were out. Hope you kids like swings!" Andy said.
"A swing! I love swings! Just like at my treehouse! Come on, Duck!" Ellie said excitedly.
"Why don't you kids go and play on the swing, huh?" Kenny said to the kids.
"Yeah!" Duck said happily.
Kenny and the kids walk away. Duck sits on the swing and Kenny pushes him. Lee walks over to where Ellie is standing, watching Kenny push Duck on the swing. "Hey, Ellie, do you like the swing?"
"Yeah, it's fun!"
"Be sure to tell Andy "thank you", okay?"
"I will!" Ellie promised. "Will you push me on it?"
"Sure, happy to push you on the swing." Lee turns to talk to Kenny. "Mind if Ellie takes a turn?"
"Alright, Duck, let Ellie have a try for a bit," Kenny told his son.
"Okay." Duck jumps off the swing and sits on a nearby tree stump with Kenny standing beside him. Ellie sits on the swing while Lee pushes her. "How are you holding up, Ellie?"
"I'm okay, I guess. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm just a little worried about Mark."
"Is Mark going to be okay?"
"He got lucky out there. Could have been a lot worse."
"Are you going to find the people who hurt Mark?"
"We have to make sure they don't hurt anyone else."
"Be careful. I want you to stay lucky, too."
"Ever since I've met you I've had good luck, so don't worry."
"Okay."
"What do you think of the dairy?"
"It's pretty. It reminds me of how things used to look before."
"Yeah, it does."
"Do you think things will ever get back to how they were?"
"I'm not sure, Ellie. I hope so."
"I hope so too... Lee?"
"Yeah?"
"I miss my family."
"I know, Ellie. I miss mine, too. Alright, Ellie, that's enough for now."
"Okay. Thanks for pushing me."
"Of course," he said to Ellie with a smile. "It's all yours!" he told Kenny and Duck.
"Yeah!" Duck shouted.
Kenny roles his eyes. "Okay, Duck, don't pop a gasket." Duck returns to the swing, and Kenny pushes him.
Lee goes off with Danny to deal with the bandits. When they were at the camp, Lee finds Ellie's hat sitting in a tent. After dealing with a woman named Jolene, they headed back to the dairy farm.
"Man, that was a hell of a ride, huh?"
Lee tosses his rifle to Danny. "Jesus, Danny."
"What? You ain't gettin' soft on them, are ya? Not after what they did to your friend!"
Brenda stands up from her seat on the porch stairs. "You're back! What happened?"
"Handled it, Mama," Danny said, before walking off. Brenda sits down again and Lee approaches her. "This isn't what Terry would've wanted..."
"Who's Terry?" Lee asked, confused.
"My husband. Miss him every day."
Before Lee could reply, they heard Kenny and Lilly are arguing in front of the gazebo. "Then screw it up for everybody then, why don't you?"
"Oh, calm down, princess. I'll do it myself," Kenny said, before walking off. Lilly returns to the gazebo.
"What's going on with them?" Lee asked.
"Dunno. Squabblin', looks like. A lotta tension with y'all, huh?"
"They have different ideas about how we should run our group. If they don't find any common ground, this whole thing's gonna fall apart."
"Nah, it's just tough times. Everyone's hungry and people get a little stir-crazy when their tummy's empty. And, Lee, don't worry your head about them bandits. I'm sorry you've seen more violence than I'd'a thought in your short time, but y'all are safe here. Don't worry."
"Think I'll go have a look around."
"Don't wander too far. Dinner will be ready before you know it. And thank your friend Katjaa again for me. She and the kids are in the barn with the cow. That woman is a lifesaver!"
Lee walks down the steps and Ellie waves at him from the barn before closing the door. Lee looks at her hat before putting it away again.
Lee walks over to the gazebo where Lilly is standing with Larry sitting next to her. She sees Lee walking up the steps. "Hey, so what happened at the camp? Did you guys find any more of those guys that hurt Mark?"
"We found a woman in the woods. She was talking all crazy and had a crossbow...so Danny killed her."
"Holy shit. Was she one of those bandits?"
"I don't know. I think she was trying to tell me something, but then he just went off."
"I don't like this, Lee. I still say we should go back to the motor inn where we at least know what to expect."
"What were you and Kenny arguing about when I came back from the camp?"
"He's losing it, Lee. He comes over and starts talking about searching the barn and that these people are hiding something."
"But you told him to mind his own goddamn business, right? We are guests here, and we don't need to be overstaying our welcome more than we already are," Larry said.
"The way I see it, we need to just skip the dinner and get our food to-go. But I'm starting to think your friend over there has another agenda."
"I'm gonna go check things out."
"Just don't get too nosy. These kinds of people are usually pretty protective of their privacy." Lilly warns. Lee nods his head and leaves the gazebo and approaches the barn. He enters the barn, where Katjaa, Duck, Ellie, and Andy gather nearby the cow. "It's okay, Ellie, you can pet her," Katjaa told her.
Ellie looks at Lee. "It's okay, go ahead," he told her.
Ellie slowly approaches the cow and pets her. "Whoa... Katjaa says Maybelle could have her baby tonight!"
"We'll see, Ellie," Katjaa chuckled.
Lee notices a salt lick nearby. "What's this thing?"
"They said it's called a salt lick," Duck replied.
"Yeah, but don't lick it. It's gross," Ellie wrinkles her nose in disgust.
"Did you lick it?" Lee asked, in amusement.
"I don't know..."
"How do you like that cow, Ellie?"
"She's pretty."
Lee gives Ellie's hat back. "Here, Ellie."
"My hat! You found it!" Ellie takes the hat and puts it on. "I knew you'd find it! You said you would!"
"Listen, did you give your hat to anyone?"
"No."
"Did you see any strangers around the motor inn who might've taken it?"
"No. Why?" Ellie asked, confused.
"It's probably nothing. Just let me know if you ever see anything like that."
"Okay, I will. Hey, Lee. Do you think you'll ever have kids?"
"I'd like to, someday. Maybe a little girl like you."
"That's nice. You'd be a good daddy. Well, thanks for finding my hat."
"You're welcome, Ellie."
"Do you wanna pet the cow with me?"
"Nah, but you go on ahead."
Lee leaves Ellie to pet the cow and walks up to the back of the barn to check the door out. Kenny walks up to him. "You found it too, huh? Lee, they're hiding something. Behind this door. I got a quick look. They got boxes of stuff. And something metal and sharp."
"Don't get paranoid."
"It's my job to be paranoid, Lee. I got my whole family on this farm right now. How about you? What about Ellie?"
"I'll protect her, no matter what."
"I know you will. Look, that guy with Katjaa. What's his name? He locked it up real tight the second we came in. I definitely heard a noise back there, Lee."
"What?"
"My point is, we gotta know for sure. So go find a hammer or something, and I'll have this thing off in a second. You back me up in case them farmers come running."
"Hang on, man. Think this through. You smash the lock. Then what if it turns out you're wrong? You just fucked your chance to get a good meal in those kids you're trying to protect. Use your head, Kenny."
"Alright, professor. What'd you have in mind?"
"Let me have a look at what we're dealing with first."
Lee looks at one of the screws or the lock. "Hey. Lee. You know how to pick a lock, right?" Kenny asked.
"No! Why would you say that?"
"Well, you're... you know, urban?"
"Oh, you are not saying what I think you're saying."
"Jesus, man! I'm from Florida! Crazy shit just comes out of my mouth sometimes. Sorry."
"Hmm..."
"What?"
"See those screws? Instead of breaking the padlock, we can just take off the assembly, have a peek inside, and then replace it all again, like nothing ever happened."
"Alright. Sounds like you have a plan. I'll hang around and keep an eye on that guy with the cow."
"Andy," Lee said, reminding Kenny of his name.
"Shit. I thought that was Danny. Whatever."
Andy suddenly approaches them. "Can I help you boys find something?"
"Kenny thought he heard a noise," Lee lied.
"He's a little jumpy, eh? Well, we're all sure glad his wife is here. She's a lifesaver, you got no idea," Andy said. "Hey, uh... do me a favor. Don't fuck around with this door, okay? Just, you know, Mama gets nervous."
"Andrew, I need your help again," Katjaa called.
"No problem! Right away, doc!" Andy returns to Katjaa and Kenny leans against one of the stalls.
Lee goes outside to see if there is anything to distract Andy with. He finds a toolbox and takes the multi-tool out and heads over to where the generator is located. He uses the multi tool to unscrew the panel and turns the generator off. After he switches it off, he removes the belt. Andy comes out of the barn and walks over to the generator to examine it.
Lee reenters the barn and go over to the door at the back and when he's about to open it, the dinner bell rings.
"Mom, Dad, dinner time! It's dinner time!" Duck shouts.
"Okay, honey, let's get back."
Duck runs up to Kenny. "Dad! Dad, c'mon! Let's eat!"
"Kenny, come along, honey. Kenny, c'mon, don't make the children wait!"
"I'll make an excuse for you! Get that thing off!" Everyone leaves the barn except for Lee.
Lee unscrews each screw with the multitool. The lock falls off and he opens the doors. Inside are various sharp tools, including buzzsaws and bear traps. There is blood smeared all over the room and bathtub.
Andy appears behind Lee. "Boy, didn't you hear the bell? Dinner time."
"What the hell you got in that back room?!"
"Look. We have food here, but Danny and I still gotta do a lot of hunting to keep everyone fed. When we catch something in the woods, we skin it and dress it back there. Mama doesn't like us to make a mess in the house. So you see? Nothin' to worry about."
Lee and Andy head inside the house. They enter the dining room. Everyone except Brenda is already sitting down. Andy takes a seat.
"Everybody sit down and I'll go get the meal! Ooh, this is a delight!" Brenda said.
"I could eat a horse," Kenny said.
"Where's Mark?" Lee asked.
"Now, don't you worry about him. I've already brought some food up. You just let him rest," Brenda answered.
"Mind if I wash my hands first?"
"Bathroom's right outside in the hall. And be sure to get under your nails, you've been muckin' around in the dirt all day," Brenda replied.
Lee nods and enters the hallway. He then heads upstairs to find Mark. Lee finds a power cord and turns it on, he notices that it goes through a hole in the back of the closet and lights the room beyond.
Lee goes into another room and notices that the area behind the bookshelf is lit up,. He pushes the bookshelf out of the way to reveal a door. Lee opens it to discover Mark lying on the floor of the bathroom, bleeding everywhere, with both his legs severed above the knee.
"Lee," Mark said, weakly.
Lee kneels down next to Mark. "Mark! What the hell happened?" He asked, horrified.
"Brothers..."
"What the hell happened to your legs, man?"
"Don't... eat... dinner..." Mark warned, weakly.
Lee gets up, horrified at realizing what everyone will eat for dinner. "Lee, did ya fall in?! Dinner's on the table and everyone's havin' at!" Brenda calls from downstairs.
"Ellie!" He thought. Lee runs down the stairs and burst into the dining room. Ellie is about to take a bite of "dinner".
"Don't eat that!" He shouts. Ellie stops and looks up at him, startled. She puts her fork down on the table.
"Wha...?" Lilly began.
"Lee, Jesus, man! Did you find something?" Kenny asked.
"Sit your ass down, Lee. This lady has made you a meal." Larry said, angrily.
"Yeah, Lee, what's gotten into you?"
"He just had a start."
"He could use some goddamn manners."
"This woman right here is fucking insane." Lee looked at Brenda.
"This woman made you a homecooked meal, you ungrateful shit! Show some respect!"
"Thank you, Larry."
"You don't even have the decency to take a handout when you're offered one. It just makes me sick, it really does."
"That's enough, Larry."
"Ken, maybe we should-"
"Hang on, Kat. Just keep Duck close."
"That woman just fed you a man's legs!" Lee exclaimed.
"And she's the insane one? Ha!"
"Lee, what the hell is wrong with you?!"
"Don't indulge him, Lilly. It's always something with this guy."
Duck takes a bite of food; Katjaa snatches the plate from him and sets it aside. "Mom, I was eating that!"
"They're picking us off to trade as meat." Lee said, truthfully.
"You're outta your skull!" Larry said.
"Mark is upstairs right now with no legs! Brenda, tell me he's not being eaten right now."
Everyone looks at Brenda. "It's true," she admitted.
"Everything coulda turned out okay for you folks." Danny said.
"He woulda died anyway! We gotta think about livin'!" Andy said.
"Settle down, honey. Growin' up in rural Georgia, you're taught not to waste. It's how I was raised and how I raised my boys. Now, you got monsters roamin' around that do nothin' but eat people. And for what? To continue to rot 'til they eat some more. We think we can put that meat to better use."
"You're all sick... sick in the head!" Lee said in disgust.
"Lee, that's not a very nice thing to imply," Brenda said. "Andy is right. We go after folks who were gonna die anyways, one way or another."
"Like y'all."
"Ellie, run!" Lee said.
"Nobody's going anywhere!" Andy said, as he draws his pistol and stands up. Danny gets up as well and draws his rifle. "We got lots of use for y'all right here." He said.
"What the... what... the fucking... what... fuck!" Larry stammered.
"Put your guns down! We're walking out of here!" Lilly announced.
"You don't go near my fucking family!" Kenny shouted.
"Everyone, everything will be okay!" Lee said, trying to reassure everyone.
"Lee! Lee...!" Ellie called out.
Ellie yelps as Andy grabs her hair and yanks her backwards to stand beside him, pointing his gun at Lee.
"I'll kill you!" he shouted. He charges forward but stops and takes a step back after Danny puts his rifle at Lee's neck. Noises are heard in the hallway, and everyone turns to see Mark dragging himself along the ground. "Please... someone!" Everyone gasps in shock and horror. Lee then turns to Ellie. "Ell-" Danny whacks Lee with the end of his rifle and he blacks out.
Lee eventually regains consciousness a while later. Larry is banging on the door and Lilly is coughing and gagging.
"Open the goddamn door! You can't keep us in here! Open up! I will tear you fuckers apart with my bare hands!" Larry shouted.
"Will you stop that banging?! We gotta find another way out of here!" Kenny said.
Lilly vomits in the corner of the room. Ellie stares at her in shock.
"You sick fucking bastards! Open this door, goddamn it! I will knock the goddamn door down!" Larry continued yelling.
"Dad, stop!"
"Lee!" Ellie noticed that Lee is awake and runs over to him. "It... it was a person! They tried to make us eat a person!"
"But you didn't do it?"
"No..."
"The rest of us did, goddamn it! If you hadn't dragged your feet..." Larry said.
"C'mon, Dad. Now's not the time."
"You okay, Ellie? They didn't hurt you, did they?"
Ellie shakes her head. Larry is still banging on the door. "Open up!"
"Lee, those psychos have my family, and we're stuck in a damn meat locker! We gotta get the fuck outta here!"
"This goddamn thumbsucker was the one who brought us here!" Larry shouted.
"Will you all just shut the fuck up?!" Kenny shouts at him.
"I'm scared!" Ellie told Lee.
"Don't be. It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna find us a way outta here," he assures her.
"Can I help?"
"Sure, honey! You keep your eyes open for exposed screws or loose panels...anything we can pry away to open a passage out of here."
Lee walks over to the air conditioner and examines it. "Hmm..."
"I'll break the damn door down!" Larry shouts, still banging on the door.
"Dad, you can't get-"
Larry grabs his chest. "Ah!" he grunts. "Oh, god..."
"Easy... Dad?"
Larry collapses and Ellie gasps. Lilly puts her hands on either side of his face. "No! Dad, come on! Dad! Oh, God, he's stopped breathing. I think he's had a heart attack!" Lilly starts performing chest compressions.
"Shit, is he dead?" Kenny asked.
"He's not dead. Somebody help me!" She pleads.
"Fuck, if he's dead..."
He's not dead!" she snapped.
"You know what has to happen, Lee. Think about it. You saw that poor bastard at the motel. How fast he turned."
"What are you saying?"
"Lilly, I'm sorry. I truly, truly am. But in a few minutes, we're gonna be stuck in a locked room with a six-foot-four, three-hundred-pound, seriously pissed-off dead guy!"
"Fuck you! We can bring him back! Lee!"
"We'll mourn him later. But right now, we have to keep him from comin' back."
"No!" Ellie shouted.
"Goddamn it, Kenny! He's not dead!"
"Lilly can still save him."
"I wish she could. Believe me, I do. But that man is dead. You both know what happens next."
"Look, Kenny, back at the drugstore when we all thought Duck was bitten, I gave him the benefit of the doubt! Maybe we should do the same now!"
"That was different, Duck wasn't bitten! But come on, we know this guy's not gonna make it! Remember what Ben said. Gotta destroy the brain," Kenny said. "Come on, Lee, you can't be in the middle on this one! You've gotta have my back this time!"
"Goddamn it, Lee! I need you! Please help me! Come on, Dad. Come on! Wake up. Wake up! Come on! This has happened before-"
"Is he breathing at all?" Lee said, as he walked over to Larry.
"No! No, I don't think so!"
"Okay, let me take over! Keep checking his pulse!"
Kenny looks at the salt licks behind him. "Are you stupid?! He's gonna turn! You're putting all of us at risk, you son of a bitch!"
Lee started doing chest compressions. "One! Two! Three! Four!"
"You're fucking worthless, Lee!"
"Five!" Kenny drops a salt lick on Larry's head, smashing it.
"No!" Lilly sobbed.
"Kenny, what the fuck?!"
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I just... It had to be done!"
"You don't know that!" Lee said angrily.
"Yes, I do, Lee! And so do you! I was counting on you, man!"
Kenny approaches Lilly, who is hugging Larry's body. "I'm sorry, I know it-"
"Don't you fucking touch me!"
Ellie is crying in the corner, covering her eyes. Lee walks over to Ellie. "Are you okay?"
"Is it over?"
"Yes. For now. But we still need to find a way outta here."
Lee hugs Ellie as she sobs. "Shh... I know, I know. but you gotta be strong right now. I need you to be strong. Think about something else, something hopeful."
"Like what?"
What about dinosaurs and space? You love those don't you?
"Yeah I guess" Ellie replied, as she rubbed her eyes. "We're gonna get out, right? You found a way out?"
"I'm workin' on it." Lee stands up and Ellie sits down with her back against a box. Lee goes over to examine the air conditioner again. "There oughta be an air duct behind this unit, maybe big enough for one of us to fit through."
Kenny shrugs. "I dunno, Lee. Seems like a long shot."
"Does the air conditioner come off?" Ellie asked.
"I think I could take it off, if I had something to remove the screws. The multitool!" Lee checks his pockets. "Of course they took it. Shit."
"Maybe there's something else we could us. I've got a rock." Ellie said.
"A rock won't help, but a coin might do the trick. Do you have a coin?"
Ellie shakes her head. "Uh-uh."
Lee gets a coin of Lilly and heads to the air conditioner to unscrew the screws. He and Kenny remove the air conditioner unit and place it on the floor. "Well, there's our way out, Lee," Kenny said. "Looks like it'll probably lead right into that back room..."
"It's too small for us to fit through."
"I can do it," Ellie spoke up.
"You know you don't have to do this, right?"
"I know. I just wanna go home."
"This'll help us get back home," Kenny told her.
Ellie sighed. "Okay."
Lee lifts Ellie into the vent. "You're gonna be fine."
"What do I do when I get out?" she asked.
"See if you can get to the other side of that door and open it."
Everyone listens as Ellie crawls through the vent. When she gets to the other side of the vent she gasps. After a moment, she opens the door to the meat locker.
"Are you okay? Did anyone see you?" Lee whispers.
"No. But there's a man outside."
Kenny looks out the door. "Lee, I can see him." Kenny leaves to go to the other room. "Get in here, I got an idea."
"Lilly, I'm sorry. We gotta go." Lee told Lilly gently.
"I know. I just need a minute to say goodbye. Hey, we're good. Okay?"
"Stay here. Take care of Lilly, okay?" Lee told Ellie.
"I will."
Lee exits the meat locker and enters the room filled with blood, jars of human meat, and killing devices.
"I told you there was something up with this room! It's a goddamned human slaughterhouse!" Kenny whispered.
Lee picks up a sickle and then walks over to Kenny. "So, what's the plan?"
"That dumbass is so caught up in his own rant that we could probably sneak right up on him. Just stick behind me in case anything goes down. When we get to the front, grab his gun."
"Sounds good."
Kenny and Lee crouch and sneak a little ways into the barn. Danny sits on a hay bale at the front entrance, his gun resting on the bale. Kenny and Lee look at the gun and then each other. They sneak forward through the barn.
Andy walks up to Danny. "Dan, what are you doing outside the barn?"
"Oh, shit!" Kenny and Lee hide in a stall.
"Just guarding the place, like you said."
"Well, quit sittin' out in the rain like a damn weirdo. Mama says we can't keep that many folks alive and not expect trouble. Pick one to keep and kill the rest."
"Can I pick which one to keep alive?"
"Not the kid. Not enough meat on her to trade," Andy said, before leaving.
Lee looks out the stall and sees Danny setting up an altered bear trap in the barn, then he closes the barn door and moves to the right where Lee cannot see him. Lee and Kenny discuss how they're going to take Danny out. When Lee goes to look out the stall again, he finds Danny standing in front of him, pointing his rifle at him.
Lee grabs the gun and moves it away from him as it fires, then covers his ear after the loud sound hurts his hearing. Danny reloads the rifle. Lee stabs Danny and Danny punches Lee to the floor. Danny then removes the sickle from his shoulder.
Danny aims his rifle at Lee again but before Kenny helps Lee out, Lilly stabs Danny's shoulder with a sickle, making him drop his gun, then stabs him again in the same place. Danny falls onto the floor and his left leg is caught in the bear trap that was previously set earlier.
"Where's my family, asshole?!" Kenny demanded.
"You can't have 'em! We need the vet."
"No!" Katjaa shouted in the distance.
"Kat! Lee, come on!"
"Just go. I won't be far behind." Lee said. Kenny runs of to get his family. Lee picks up a pitchfork and points it at Danny.
"You see? You understand now, don't ya?! You can have me! It's how the world works now! Give part of yourself... so others can live!"
"I should fucking kill you right now!" Lilly said.
"That's why you killed that woman in the woods! She was about to spill everything!" Lee realised.
"You weren't ready to hear yet, Lee! Had to stop her! You gotta keep me alive! If you kill me, the meat gets tainted! You can't eat it!"
"You're already tainted!"
"You ain't gonna kill me, just like you didn't kill Jolene! You don't have what it takes! Fucking coward!"
Lee stabs Danny in the chest, killing him. "No!" Ellie hides behind Lilly and Lee approaches her.
"God, no!" Katjaa shouted again in the distance. Lee turns around at the direction her voice came from. "Katjaa!"
"Just go. I'll keep Ellie safe."
Lee leaves the barn. It's thunder and lightning outside. He hears rustling in the cornfields and a walker approaches, but is axed by Carley. "Carley!" Lee said. He was happy that she was here.
"Lee?"
"Ow!" Ben said, as he walked through the cornfield.
"Shh!" Carley shushed him. "Is everyone okay?... You guys have been gone way too long!"
"We need your help!"
"Yeah, when you guys didn't come back I figured something was up. What can we do?"
"Larry's dead! They chopped off Mark's legs and tried to feed them to us!"
"Shit! Is everyone else okay?"
"They've still got Duck and Katjaa in the house and I don't know where the fuck Kenny is!"
"Alright, we're coming in to help."
"The main gate is too dangerous, go around the fence and see if there's a back way in. I'll keep looking for Kenny. Do you have a weapon?"
"I don't leave home without it," Carley said as she loaded her gun. "Ben, stick close. And, Lee, be careful."
Lee sneaks up to the house. When he reaches the front door, Brenda has taken Katjaa hostage and is pointing a gun at her. After trying to convince Brenda to let Katjaa go, Lee slowly walks towards her. Every time Lee moved forward, Brenda would step backwards. Eventually, Mark who has turned into a walker now grabs into Brenda and bites her neck as she screams.
Katjaa breaks free and runs to Lee. "They took Duck! Where's Kenny?!"
"I said don't move, asshole!" Andy said, from outside.
"Don't you fucking hurt him!" Kenny shouted.
"Oh, my God!" Lee and Katjaa run outside. Andy is pointing a rifle at Duck and Kenny stands a distance away.
"Let him go, goddamn it!"
"That ain't gonna happen!"
"Andy, don't!"
"Shut up!"
Kenny rushes forward and Andy shoots him in the stomach. Katjaa screams and runs to Kenny as he falls on the ground.
"Who the fuck do you people think you are?! Look at what you've done!" Andy exclaimed.
"Calm down." Lee told him.
"Calm down? What for, huh? All we wanted was some goddamn gasoline!"
Carley shoots Andy's left ear. Duck runs away. Lee charges Andy and they wrestle with the rifle. Lee smashes the rifle into Andy's face, and they fall down the hill and crash through the picket fence. As Lee tries to get up, Andy runs over and kicks him in the head, making him fall to the ground. Andy starts the generator and the fence turns on.
"Get up! Get the fuck up!" Andy drags Lee by the back collar of his jacket as Lee struggles against him. Andy holds back Lee's arms and tries to shove his face into the electric fence. Lee notices Lilly and Ellie standing at the entrance to the barn.
"Lilly!" Lilly shoots Andy's shoulder. Lee punches Andy's face to a bruised and bloody pulp with both his arms, the group observes this. Carley walks over to him. "Lee, that's enough! He's had enough."
Andy sits back up, his face his swollen and bruised with a bleeding ear. "Is that all you got, Lee? You ain't shit!"
"It's over!" Lee shouted.
"Fuck you! As soon as Dan and Mama get out here, you're... you're all fucked!"
"I said it's over! Just walk away!"
"Don't you dare walk away from me, Lee!" Andy falls to his knees. "Get back here and finish this, Lee!"
Lee walks back to the group. "Get back here and fight me like a man, Lee! Lee!" Andy continued to shout.
The generator turns off. The walkers climb over the fence. "They're getting in!" Ellie stated, as she points to the walkers.
"Lee!" Andy shouts.
"Let's go." Lee said as he led the group away from the dairy.
"Lee!" Andy shouts once more. Walkers began swarming the dairy.
Lee and the group walk through the forest quietly. As he leads the group, Carley walks up to him. "Hey, Lee, I'd say I'm sorry for leaving the motel unattended, but, ya know."
"I'm glad you showed up when you did. If you hadn't taken that shot at Andy, we might not have gotten out of there."
"Were they really killing people? For food?"
"Yeah, and Ellie almost ate some."
"But?"
"I stopped her. I can't leave her alone, Carley. This fucking world now. It's hiding just unspeakable shit at every turn."
"Katjaa managed to grab this while she was in the house. She said it was with your stuff." Carley hands him Jolene's video camera.
"Yeah. I found it while I was looking for the people who shot Mark. Do you want it?"
"Why don't you keep it? Sometimes it helps to have something you can document your thoughts on."
Kenny hunches over in pain and groans. "How are you doing?" Katjaa asked.
"I'll be fine. I'm just not as young as I used to be," Kenny notices Lee heading towards them. "Hon, go on ahead and give me and Lee a second?"
Katjaa and Duck walk away.
"There's gonna be fallout." Kenny said.
"For killing Lilly's dad? Yeah, I would imagine so."
"What do you think?"
"You're no hero. You destroyed two lives in that meat locker," Lee said. "Kenny, you're not a bad man. But, fuck... What the hell are we gonna do now?"
Kenny just sighs and shakes his head before walking back to Katjaa and Duck. Ellie walks towards Lee.
"Come on, Ellie, stay close."
"Lee, did you have to kill those men?"
"I'm sorry you had to see that. But I only did it to protect us."
"Because they tried to hurt us?"
"Yes."
"Okay."
The group hear a noise and they sneak out to find an abandoned car on the road with its lights on and doors open.
"Don't shoot. We're here to help." Lee sneaks up slowly to the car. He notices that the gas is empty and takes the keys out the car. "Figures."
"Oh, crap! Baby, you gotta see this! There's a shitload of food and supplies back here!" Kenny said. Everyone goes up to the car.
"This food could save all of us!" Katjaa stated.
"Not all of us." Lilly glared at Kenny. Kenny sighs.
"Look, we don't know if these people are dead." Ben said.
"If they come back, then we're just monsters who came out of the woods and ruined their lives." Lilly said.
"This stuff isn't ours," Ellie piped up.
"Dad, whose car is it?"
"Don't worry about that, Duck, it's ours now."
"It's abandoned, Ducky, don't worry."
"What if it's not? What if it's not abandoned? What if it is someone's?" Ellie asked.
Lee kneels down in front of Ellie. "We have to take this, Ellie. We need it to survive."
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but it's not about right and wrong anymore. It's about survival." Katjaa said.
Lee uses the key to open the trunk. He starts passes out boxes of food to everyone. Lee then picks up a hoodie and shows it to Ellie. "This hoodie looks to be about your size. Why don't you hold onto this, it might get cold."
"It's not mine."
"Well, think of it like you're holding onto it. You can give it back if we ever meet up with them. Okay?"
"Okay." Ellie turns away from him and crosses her arms, looking upset.
"Hey, there were some batteries in one of those boxes. I thought they might work in your camcorder. Here, you can have some too... for your walkie-talkie." Carley hands Ellie the batteries.
"Batteries, huh? Think you can handle those?" Lee teased.
"You're not gonna let me live that down, are you?" Carley looks at the camcorder. "Oh, God. Lee. You're gonna wanna see this..."
She shows the video to Lee. "Oh , shit."
The video shows the group at the motor inn. Larry and Mark carry a couch out of one of the motel rooms, and Lee and Kenny push a car away from the front of the motel. The video zooms into Ellie drawing on the floor and Lilly approaching her to talk. The video turns upside down as Jolene drops the camera.
"Jake, Bart, Linda, and all y'all fuckin' sickos from the Save-Lots! They call y'all bandits, but you're fucking rapist monsters-" Jolene said from behind the camera.
The video shows the motel group from earlier in the day, after Ben has arrived. The video zooms onto Ellie, then follows Lee as he walks up to her.
"Oh, darlin', baby. Look at you. Look at you. Oh, you need a mama, sweetheart. We won't let them bandits get you, will we?" Jolene said from behind the camera.
"How are you doing, Ellie?" Lee asked.
"Okay."
"Where's your hat?"
"I don't know. Can you help me find it?"
"Sure. When did you lose it?"
"I had it a couple days ago."
"I promise, if I find it, I'll let you know."
Jolene turns the camera around to her face. "All thinkin' you're safe, sittin' there actin' like things are the way they used to be. The dead don't kill their own. It's the living you gotta be afraid of...the people I used to call friends... The people who took... Don't worry, little girl. Bandits got their eye on that dairy. As long as they keep getting food from them, you'll be safe. I promise."