A/N : In this fic Ellie is the daughter of Rick and Lori Grimes. Some characters will not be in this like Clem (sorry!) Glenn & Hershel (due to the fact that Ellie has already met them) as this takes place some point during season 4 of TWD show after the prison incident.
Also I have posted this fic to ao3 and decided to finally post to this site!
I don't own any characters.
Ellie sat inside her tree house. She has been separated from her family and the rest of her group. She doesn't know how she managed to find her way back home but she's glad that her tree house is still in good condition with the ladder still attached to it. Her tree house was her safe place. It was where she hid after finding out her dad, Rick was shot. In her hands she is holding the walkie talkie that her dad gave her and on top of her head she is still wearing the same hat that her dad gave her when she was a bit younger. Her hat was a black with a stegosaurus wearing a space helmet surrounded by little stars. She loves dinosaurs and space. So when her dad gave her the hat as a present, it was a huge struggle to convince her to take it off. She also has her switchblade that she keeps with her at all times.
She always keeps her walkie talkie with her at all times just in case her dad tries to contact her. Ellie found some food that was still in good quality around her house, she has been eating that so she won't starve to death. But she ate the last bit of food that was in her house and she's too scared to find more food.
Ellie hears the sound of a gun going off and shouting so she climbs down her tree house to see what's happening. In the distance she could see a man. The man notices her and calls out to her. "Help! Go get someone! There's been an accident!"
Ellie runs back to her garden hoping that the man wouldn't follow her. She hopes that the man would just leave and find help somewhere else. She's just a little girl, she can't do much to help the man. She climbs back up her tree house and pulls the ladder up so no one or any monsters can get up. She feels safe in her tree house as no harm can get to her up there. She could hear the man still shouting and the groans from walkers getting closer. Ellie heard the man shouting for help and saying that he's hurt. She saw the man jumping over the fence.
"I thought I saw a little girl in the forest... Are you up there? I'm not one of those things,'' the man called up to the tree house. Ellie stays quiet, scared to move a muscle. She thinks about dropping a hammer on his head but decides against it.
The man got fed up waiting for an answer and wanders into the house. Ellie wonders what he's doing. Maybe he's looking for food? She wish she had food left, she's starving. She sees the man walking around the kitchen looking in the drawers.
Ellie speaks into her walkie talkie hoping that her dad would answer. "Daddy?"
"Hello?" the man answers.
"You need to be quiet," Ellie said.
"Who is this?" the man asked.
"I'm Ellie. This is my house."
"Hi Ellie. I'm Lee."
"You're not my daddy.''
"No, I'm not," Lee said. "How old are you?"
"Eight," Ellie answered.
"And you're all alone?" Lee asked.
"Yes, I don't know where anybody is. How old are you?"
"I'm, uhh... 37."
"Okay."
"Are you safe?" Lee asked.
"I'm outside in my treehouse. They can't get in."
"That's smart."
"See?" Ellie opens the door to her treehouse. "Can you see me? I can see you through the window." She waves at Lee and he waves back. She could see a walker behind him and let's put a scream. She has no idea where that walker came from cause last time she was in her house, there was no signs of a walker being there.
Ellie can see Lee struggling with the walker so she climbs down the treehouse and runs up to the glass door and opens it, holding a hammer. The walker attacks again and Lee pushes it away, continually kicking it in the head and crawling backwards. Ellie hands Lee the hammer so he could kill the walker. Lee takes the hammer, and whacks the walker with it. He continues to smash it in the head until it stops moving.
"It's dead now," Ellie said.
"Yeah, you're right." Lee kneels down to be at Ellie's eye level. "You've been all by yourself through this?" he asked, hoping she hasn't been.
"No, I was with my family but we got separated. I really wish I was with them," she replied sadly. She misses her family so much.
Lee picks up a photo of Ellie and her family. "Is this your family?"
"Yeah."
"So it's just you on your own then?" Lee questioned the young girl.
"Yeah, my mom died giving birth in a prison." Ellie frowns at the memory. "But I think my dad and my brother, Carl are alive somewhere out there along with the rest of my group."
"I'll look after you until we find your dad," Lee said.
Ellie nods her head. "What should we do now?"
Lee thinks for a moment. "We need to find help before it gets dark."
"Yeah, it's not safe at night," Ellie agreed.
Lee gets up and holds onto Ellie's hand. "Let's go. Stay close to me," Lee said. They leave the house and Ellie closes the door behind them.
Ellie goes ahead of Lee and he follows her. Lee approach's the gate and notices a family of three. A man was trying to push a car. Ellie opens the gate and they approach the man.
"Hey, man!" Lee shouts. The man turns around startled. "Sorry didn't mean to scare you," Lee said. "We're not gonna hurt you," he added.
The man seems to relax at that. "Phew, thought for a second you and the little one were both gonna give us the chomp."
"What are you doing?" Lee asked the man.
"Trying to get home, what about you and your kid."
"I'm not her dad. I'm... just looking after her until we find her dad," Lee replied. "Name's Lee," he added.
"I'm Kenny."
A young boy runs up to Kenny trying to get his attention. "Come on dad! Hurry up, I'm bored!" the boy complained.
"That's my boy, Ken Junior. We call him Duck, though," Kenny said.
"Dodging or quacking," Lee asked.
"Quacking," Kenny replied.
"Dad!"
"See? We're trying to get back to Fort Lauderdale," Kenny said.
"I think me and the girl will try and get to Macon if we can. My family's is from there," Lee said, while looking down at Ellie.
"Well, Macon's on the way and, personally, I'd appreciated the company of a guy who can knock a couple of heads together if he has to."
"Sure, we'll... tag along."
"It's a plan, then."
Lee, Kenny and Ellie walk towards Kenny's wife and son. "Katjaa, Duck, this is Lee and, uh, what's the girl's name again?" Kenny asked. Ellie hides behind Lee.
"Ellie," Lee replied.
"Ellie," Kenny repeated.
"That is a very pretty name," Katjaa said.
"Thanks," Ellie said, with a shy smile.
"What happened to your leg?" Katjaa asked Lee, while looking down at his injury.
"Oh, just some accident."
"Well let me take a look at it. We have stuff that can help it."
"You're a doctor?"
"No, I was a veterinarian before all this started but I know what I'm doing."
"Okay, fair enough," Lee chuckled.
Ellie remembers Hershel who was a veterinarian. He was the one who saved her brother's life. She wished he was still alive. Katjaa takes a look at Lee's leg and patches him up.
"Hey man, when you're feeling up to it, help me push the car out of the way," Kenny said to Lee.
"Okay."
Lee checks with Ellie before standing up and heading to where Kenny is standing, next to cars.
"Do you need help?" Kenny asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, in taking care of that little girl. You know what you're doing? You got kids of your own?"
"Nah, nah. No...no kids but I think I've got it handled okay. As long as I keep her safe, I think I'm doing alright," Lee said.
"You gotta ask yourself if you're the type of guy who can do better than that if her parents don't show up," Kenny said. "She's a sweetheart. We saw some crazy shit getting here. The kind of stuff might mess up a little angel like that."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Let's get this car moved."
Once Lee and Kenny pushed the car out of the way, the group got into Kenny's truck and started their journey to Macon. Ellie looked out the window for most of the journey. She hopes she can be reunited with her dad.
"Hey Ellie, are you okay?" Lee asked.
"I hope my dad is in Mah... what's the place we're going to called again?" she asked.
"Macon," Lee chuckled. "There's only one way to find out," he added.
"Macon," Ellie repeated. "How long until we arrive there?"
"Shouldn't be too long now."
The group finally arrived in Macon when all of a sudden Kenny's truck sputters to a stop. "Well, this is as far as we're going," Kenny huffed.
"Then it's far enough," Lee replied.
The group gets out of the truck and walk down the street. Lee briefly stops in front of his family's pharmacy. Duck points to what he think is a person near a car in the distance.
Kenny waves his arms to try and get their attention. "Hey there! You friendly? Truck's run out of gas!" he shouts. The person looks up to reveal that it's actually a walker eating a dead survivor.
"Fuck!" Kenny shouts. Many walkers start approaching the group, surrounding them.
"We're trapped!" Katjaa yelled.
Duck screams when a walker knocks him over and tries to attack him. Someone shoots the walker that was trying to attack Duck and it collapses on him. Duck who is now covered in blood, returns to the group and gets a hug from his parents. The woman who saved Duck continues to shoot the walkers that keep on approaching.
Another person stands at the entrance of the pharmacy. "Run!" the man shouts at them.
The woman fires a few more shots at the walkers and everyone runs into the building behind the man. He closes the and padlocks the metal gate in front of the pharmacy and joins the others inside as the walkers begin to pound on the gate.
As soon as the group were inside the pharmacy, arguments started. Ellie didn't like it when people argued but she just stayed quiet.
"We can't take risks like this!" someone shouted.
"And we can't just let people die, either," the woman who saved them said.
"When I say "that door stays shut no matter what" I fucking mean it. We don't know who those people are, they could be dangerous!''
"Worse, they could've led 'em right to us!" an old man shouted.
"Where the hell is your humanity?! They would've died out there!"
"Then we let 'em!" the old man said.
"We have kids with us," Lee said.
"I see one little girl..." the man scoffed.
Ellie holds onto Lee hand and looks up at him trying to get his attention.
"What is it?" Lee asked.
"I... I have to pee," Ellie stated. She was desperate as she has been holding it in for a while.
"In a minute, Ellie," Lee said.
While the others continue arguing, Ellie let's go of Lee's hand and heads to where the bathroom is located.
"They've got kids, Lilly."
"Those things outside don't care," Lilly said.
"Maybe you should go join 'em then. You'll have something in common!" Kenny shouted.
"Goddamn it, Lilly, you have to control these people!"
"Carley and Doug just ran out there!" Lilly shouted.
"I don't give a flying fuck! We're in a warzone!"
"Lee, can you believe this lady?" Kenny said.
"That lady's my daughter," the man said.
"I can see the resemblance. My son won't grow up to be a raging fucking lunatic, that's for certain."
"Son?" the man said confused. "Holy shit." The man looks behind him to see Duck sitting on one of the chairs near the bar and Katjaa attending to him. "Son of a bitch, one of them is bitten!"
"He wasn't bitten," Lee said.
"Hell he wasn't!" the man said. "We have to end this, now."
The man walks over to where Duck is but Kenny stands in front of him, blocking his view. "Over my dead body."
"We'll dig one hole."
Katjaa tries to wipe away the blood on Duck, searching for a bite. "No! I'm cleaning him up! There's no bite! He's fine!"
"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 shouted.
"We gotta throw him out, or smash his head in!"
"Kenny, stop him!" Katjaa cried.
"Lee, what do we do about this guy?" Kenny asked.
"Dad, it's just a boy, it's-"
"Lilly, I'll handle this."
"But your heart, Dad. You need to calm down. We'll get this kid out of here," Lilly said.
"It's either him or your son. I say it's him," Lee said with his arms crossed.
"Goddamn right, out on his ass with those things!" Kenny agreed.
"Everyone, chill the fuck out!" Carley shouted.
"Nobody is doing anything," Lilly said.
"Shut up, Lilly!" the man said Lilly. He then turns to Carley. "And you, shut the fuck up." He turns back to the group. "They will find us and they will get in here, and none of this will fucking matter. But right now we're about to be trapped in here with one of those things."
"What the hell are you talkin' about?" Kenny asked.
"He's bitten! That's how you turn!"
"He's not bitten! Lee, stop this! It's upsetting him!" Katjaa said.
"Oh, I'm "upsetting" him? Upsetting is getting eaten alive!"
"Dad, we get it, it's a big deal."
"Do you? You're not fucking acting like it!"
"What if this was your daughter?" Lee asked.
"Never woulda happened. She's not some snot-nosed toddler, okay? She's United States Air Force," the man bragged.
"Oh, fuck you and her!" Kenny said. "I'm gonna kill him, Kat! Just worry about Duck."
Ellie stands outside the bathroom but the door won't open. "Lee?" she called out.
"Yeah?"
"There's someone in there."
"It's just locked. Key's behind the counter. Probably."
"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here, I'm just looking out for my daughter!" the man stated.
"No, you're just the guy arguing for killing a kid!"
"He's covered in muck! She'll find the bite. Watch!"
"Larry stop," Carley said.
"She won't," Kenny argued.
"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! She'll turn fast and then they'll be three. And that, boy, is the ballgame."
"No! You don't touch that boy, you don't touch anybody!" Lee shouted angrily. "I've got a little girl I'm trying to protect in here too. You want to get violent, you old fuck?! Well, come on! You better have a plan to kill me, though, because it's me, before anyone else in here!"
Ellie lets out a scream when the bathroom door opens and a walker emerges from it, trying to attack her.
"Jesus!"
"Ellie!" Lee shouted.
Lee tries to run over to her, but bumps into Lilly and falls to the ground, hitting his head. His vision is blurry, but he can vaguely see the walker grabbing Ellie. Lee gets up and runs over to Ellie, pulling the walker away from her. "Get away from her, you son of a bitch!"
The walker gets up and attacks Lee, and he tries to push it away. "Ah, God, get off! Ugh..."
The walker gets shot and falls to the floor.
"Man..."
Carley lowers her gun. "You okay?"
"Just great, thanks."
"Uh... guys?"
Walkers growl and pound on the door. "Everybody down! Stay quiet!" Lilly whispered.
Kenny and his family huddle together, Ellie hides behind Lee, and everyone else kneels down behind the shelves.
"They're gonna get in!" Larry whispered.
"Shut up," Kenny whispered.
A few gunshots went off that led the walkers away from the pharmacy. Everyone left their hiding positions. Larry gets up and marches across the room. "We almost died because of this bitch and her itchy trigger finger! That was stupid! That was-" Larry groaned and grabbed his chest, falling to the floor.
"Dad!"
"Shit," Kenny whispered.
Lilly runs over to Larry, who is lying on his side on the floor.
"What's wrong with him?!" Lee asked.
"It's his heart!"
"My pills..." Larry said weakly.
"Um... Nitroglycerin pills?" Katjaa asked.
Lilly stands up. "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!"
"There's probably another entrance. Maybe through the office," Lee said.
"How do you know that's an office?" Carley asked.
"Educated guess," he replied, with a shrug.
"It doesn't matter. 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."
"You're right, this ain't exactly Fort Knox," Kenny replied.
"What do you suggest?" Lee asked.
"We need as much gas as possible so we can all get out of downtown Macon. Fast."
"Agreed."
"Then I'll head out and get gas. There's a motel not too far from here, out towards the end of Peachtree. I'll work my way towards it and then loop back, siphoning what I can," Doug said.
"You're insane," Lee told him.
"Well, it's gotta get done. Plus, I'm quick and I know Macon."
"Local?"
"Born and raised."
Lee gives his walkie talkie to Doug. "If you're gonna do that, here's a walkie-talkie if you get in a tight spot. Hopefully you won't need it."
"Cool."
"Ellie's got the other one. Check in with her and get back here as soon as you can."
"And, you, what's your name?" Kenny asked.
"It's Lilly. My dad's Larry," she replied.
"Keep a good eye on him. These boys will work on getting you your medicine."
"That's right," Lee said.
Kenny walks over to the front door. "I'll be on lookout. I'll keep an eye on the front door." Kenny turns to Carley. "You're Carley right? You'll shift in when I need it. For now, get some rest. You're a good shot and I'd like to keep it that way."
Carley nods. "You got it, boss."
Kenny looks out the window near the entrance. Lilly is kneeling next to Larry, who has now propped himself up on the shelves behind him. Carley is working on a radio and Ellie is sitting on a cardboard box nearby, holding onto her walkie talkie. Lee walks about exploring his families pharmacy. He finds some food and batteries. Lee gives an energy bar to Ellie. "It's not much, but here you go."
"Thank you," Ellie replied.
"Of course."
Lee walks over to Carley. "Here, I've been finding some stuff to eat." He takes out the energy bar and hands it to Carley.
"Oh, uh, thanks."
"You're welcome."
"Are you sure your girl doesn't need it?"
"She's good. I've been trying to keep her fed and watered."
"You're a good caretaker."
"Thanks."
Lee goes and checks on everyone before heading to the office door to see if there is a way to get the pills for Larry. He opens the office door and enters the room. Ellie follows him inside. Lee looks down at Ellie. "Everyone out there seem alright to you?"
"Yeah. Well, maybe not the sick guy."
"Yeah. We'll keep an eye on him."
"There was that thing in the bathroom. It tried to get me."
"I know."
"But you stopped it."
"Yeah, I did."
"Can you do that more?"
"Well, I'm not gonna go looking for them."
"I mean, get the dangerous ones."
Lee picks the wooden pallet blocking the door, and a cane falls out from behind it. He leans the pallet against the wall next to the door and picks up the cane.
"What's that?" Ellie asked.
"This was my dad's cane. He'd zip around here on it from time to time."
"Was he sick?"
"Nah, he was okay. I actually saw him whoop shoplifters with it." Lee chuckled. "This cane's protected this place better than any guard dog ever could." Lee leans the cane against the wall near the pallet. "Plus, he knew how to make it look cool. Like you, with your hat."
"My dad gave it to me."
"See, dads are smart like that." Lee said as he prepares to move the desk. "Better get this door clear, huh?"
"Can I help?" Ellie asked, moving towards the desk.
"Sure."
Lee and Ellie grab onto the desk. "Here we go. Watch your fingers in the drawers," Lee said.
They pull the desk backward, then stop. "How are you doing?" Lee asked.
"Yeah. It's not that heavy," Ellie answered.
"How about with everything outside?"
"It's not good."
"No, it's not."
"But I think it'll be okay," Ellie said, hopefully.
They move the desk backward again, then Lee begins pushing it to the side, but pauses when Ellie speaks to him. "Do you have kids?"
"No," Lee simply said.
"You don't have a family?"
"What do your parents do?" Lee asked, changing the subject.
"My mom was a housewife and my dad was a cop."
"Those are good jobs."
"What was your job?"
"I, uh, taught history and writing and things like that"
"Like... um... social studies?"
"Yeah, like that."
Ellie nods, then looks back at Lee. "You didn't answer my question."
"Let's not talk about that. What's your favourite interests?"
"I love dinosaurs and space!" Ellie said excitedly. "I really want to go to a museum but I don't think that it's safe there right now."
"That's cool! Maybe one day I'll take you to a museum."
Ellie's eyes shot up. "Really!?"
"Yeah." Lee smiled.
"My mom was going to take my brother and I to a museum to cheer us up because our dad was in the hospital having a big sleep but then we had to leave our home because the walkers."
"Your dad was in a coma?"
"Yeah, he got shot at work and we had to leave him behind because it wasn't safe. My dad's friend, Shane told us he was dead."
"But he wasn't."
"Nope, my dad found us again."
"Alright, a little further."
Lee and Ellie rotate the desk so that it's vertically in front of the door. "Why don't you want to talk about your family? Do they, like...hate you?" she asked curiously.
"I hope not. It's just complicated, that's all."
"Why?"
"It just is."
"But you love them, right?"
"Yeah, of course." Lee kneels down in front of Ellie. "Look, my family is gone and I just wish things would've been different."
"Yeah."
"I got into some trouble and then I didn't talk to them for a while. This used to be their store. But let's just keep that between you and me, okay?"
"Okay. Because of the trouble?"
"That's right. Now, let's get this done."
Lee and Ellie start pushing the desk against the wall. Ellie suddenly jumps back. "Ow!" Ellie holds her right finger as it bleeds.
"Are you okay?"
"I hurt my finger."
Lee picks up Ellie and sits her on the desk. "I'll find you a bandage."
While Ellie is sitting waiting for Lee to find her a bandage she talks to Lee. "Lee?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think my dad will find me?"
"Yeah, I think he'll track us down. Don't worry."
"Yeah. Okay. We should keep a lookout."
Lee finds a first-aid kit and retrieves a bandage. He walks back over to Ellie and holds her hand, inspecting her injured finger. He wraps the bandage around her finger. "How's your finger?"
"It's okay. Thanks for fixing it."
Lee looks around the office and sees a photo lying on the ground. He picks up the photo, which shows Lee, his parents and his brother on the ground in front of the pharmacy. Lee smiles slightly then looks sad. He tears himself out of the picture and puts the side of his family in his pocket.
"Find anything?"
Lee looks surprised, and turns around to look at Carley. "Just a picture of whoever was here. I think," he said, as he lets the picture shred of himself fall out of his hand.
"I know who you are." Carley stated. Lee just stares at her while Ellie listens to the conversation on top of the desk.
"You're Lee Everett. You're a professor at Athens who killed a state senator who was sleeping with your wife. This is your parents' store. Folks around town know the owner's son got himself a life sentence, but I'm a reporter for WABE in Atlanta. I paid attention to that trial. Maybe you're a murderer. But I don't really care. Frankly, that's a skill that might come in handy." Carley continued.
"Hmmph."
"Did you tell anyone out there who you were, or that you were tied to this place?"
"No. I've been sticking to first names for a reason." Lee replied.
"Well, good." Carley nods. "You seem like an okay guy, and the last thing we need is drama out there. You've got this little girl to take care of, and...look, don't make me wrong on this."
Lee takes a step closer to Carley. "I don't plan to."
"Good. Because we could be together for a while and if you're a detriment to the group, then we'd have a problem."
"I hear you."
"I'll just keep it to myself."
"Thanks."
"Don't worry about it." Carley said, then turns to walk out of the office. Lee approaches the door, preparing to leave. "Want to head back into the drugstore with me?"
"Okay." Ellie jumps of the desk and picks up the photo of Lee when he's not looking at her. Ellie walks up to Lee. She then holds onto her two fingers bashfully. "Lee?"
"Yeah?"
"You're not bad, right?"
"I, uh...why are you asking me that?"
"That lady said you killed someone. Was that because he was one of the things trying to eat you?"
"It's complicated. Sometimes things happen or...you do things and you can't explain them." Lee said. Ellie just nods.
"Let's, uh...head back to the others," he said.
As soon as they went back into the drugstore, Doug calls Ellie's radio. "Hey, there, this is Doug, and, uh, I'm kinda in a jam here. Uh, little girl, if you're there, can you put your friend on the phone? Or on the talkie, or whatever?"
Ellie hands her walkie-talkie to Lee. "This is Lee, what's up?"
"So... I'm down at that motor inn and, well, I-I'm stuck."
"Stuck?" Lee asked.
"Yeah, I, uh saw a chance to get some supplies for the group and a bunch of the roaming ones got the jump on me. I'm hiding over here, but they won't leave."
"What's up?" Kenny asked.
Lee turns to Kenny. "Doug's trapped down at the motor inn." Lee then talks to Doug on the walkie talkie. "Hey, Doug, we're gonna talk it over and send a group to come get you, alright?"
"Awesome. I'll sit tight 'til then."
"Sounds good." Lee turns off the walkie-talkie, then talks to Ellie. "I'm gonna hold onto this until we get Doug back, okay? I'll take good care of it."
"What do you think?" Kenny asked.
Lee turns to Kenny. "You've got your family here so I'll take Carley and her dead-eye down to the motor inn, get Doug, and get back here as fast as I can."
"If that's what you want to do..."
"Somebody's got to," Lee said.
"Yeah, I'm in," Carley agreed.
"Good. Doesn't sound too bad there right now."
"Let me know as soon as you wanna head out. I could use a jog."
Lee goes over to where Ellie is sitting. "I know I'm not your dad, but if you need anything, I'm your guy, okay?"
"Okay. Same."
"You're my guy?" Lee asked in amusement.
"Oh-no. You know..."
"We're gonna try to take care of each other."
"Yes. Deal."
"I'm going to head out and get Doug. You just stay here, okay?"
"Okay."
Lee and Carley head out to get Doug. Ellie stays sitting in the same place and eats the energy bar that Lee had previously given her. She wish that there was something else to eat but doesn't want to complain as some people didn't even get an energy bar to eat. She hopes that Lee comes back soon.
Ellie sighs and takes out her switchblade and plays with it. Lilly looks up at Ellie and watches her. She walks over to the young girl and sits down next to her. "That's a cool trick. Where did you learn to do that?"
Ellie looks up at Lilly. "Um... I don't really know, I sort off just did it."
"I love your hat by the way."
"Thank you!" Ellie smiled brightly. "It has a dinosaur on it, and it's wearing a space helmet. Dinosaur's and space are my favourite things!"
"Wow!"
"Do you know when Lee will be back?"
"I don't know, sorry. I'm sure he'll be back soon though."
Lilly leaves to check on Larry again. Ellie sits and waits patiently for Lee to return. She likes Lee, he's been very caring towards her. She wonders where her dad could be. What felt like hours, Lee and Carley eventually returned to the pharmacy with Doug.
Lee and Lilly enter the office. Lee unlocks and opens the door to the supplies. He and Lilly enter and an alarm goes off. "Oh, no." Lilly said.
"Ah, shit." Lee said.
"We gotta hurry!" They both run through the aisles, searching for the pills. Outside the store, walkers are drawn to the alarm and begin pounding on the door and windows.
"Duck, c'mon, baby, time to go," Katjaa said.
"I'm gonna get the truck pulled up 'round back!" Kenny said.
"Do it fast, I've gotta get my dad outta here!" Lilly said, helping Larry up.
"I don't plan on dilly-dallying! Honey, take Duck into the office and barricade the living hell outta the door behind me. Doug, Carley, and Lee, you guys make sure our defenses stay up 'til then. And, Lee, I better take that axe in case I run into any of 'em on the way to my truck."
"Here you go." Lee tosses the axe to Kenny.
"Guys, that door's not locked anymore!" Doug states.
"Shit! You three, get on it! I'll get back as fast as I can!" Kenny said, before running of. Doug and Carley try to hold the doors closed.
Lee turns to face Ellie. "Stay away from the windows."
Lee runs to help Doug and Carley hold the doors closed.
"Hey, Lee, if we don't make it through this, you should know that... I think you're a great guy," Doug said.
"We will make it through this!" Lee grits out.
"Doug, if we don't make it through this, you should know-" Carley begins but is cut off by a walker pounding on the door and partially opens it, knocking Lee forward. He rushes back to push the door closed again.
"I should know what?"
"Huh?!"
"You said I should know-" Doug begins.
"Shit!" Carley shouts, interrupting him. The walkers manage to push back a shelf blocking the window next to Doug and start climbing into the store. "On it." Carley steps away from the door and draws her gun.
"Are you sure?" Lee asked.
"Oh, shit!"
"Wha...? Oh, shit!"
Carley shoots several walkers that are getting close to Doug. Carley runs off to shoot down more walkers.
"Ellie, can you look for something to stick in between the handles? Something real strong, okay?!" Lee asked.
"Okay!" Ellie runs off to search. Walkers partially break the door open and Lee pushes it closed again.
"Ellie, did you find anything?"
"Nothing! Oh, wait!" Ellie runs off again.
"That window is screwed!" Doug said.
"Go!" Lee tells Doug.
Doug runs off, and Lee struggles to hold the door closed on his own. Ellie runs up to him, holding Lee's father's cane. "I found something!"
Lee takes the cane and shoves it through the handles of the front door. Near a boarded-up window, walkers have grabbed into Doug. "Get off, get off! Lee, help! Get off me, get them off! Get them off me!" he screams.
"Shit, I'm out! I'm out!" A walker grabs hold of Carley's ankle. "Lee, help! Ammo! In my purse!"
Lee runs over to Carley's purse and takes out a magazine. He tosses it to her and she reloads just as another walker appears in front of her. She shoots both walkers.
"No! Get them off me!" Doug screams. He is dragged out the window and screams while devoured by walkers. Carley covers her mouth with her hand, horrified. "Oh, my God..."
Carley shoots more walkers. Kenny bursts through the back door. "Let's go!"
Larry enters, and Carley runs over to him. "They got Doug. They... they..."
"It doesn't matter, you've gotta move!" Larry tells her.
Ellie screams as a crawling walker grabs onto her. Lee stomps on the walker's head, immobilizing it, and Ellie crawls away. Larry holds the door open as everyone runs out except Lee, as Larry puts his hand on Lee's chest to prevent him from leaving. "You're not coming with us, you son of a bitch!"
"No!" Ellie cried.
Larry punches Lee and he falls to the floor, his vision fading. Kenny rushes back in and kills the walker next to Lee with an axe, then holds out his hand. "I'm not letting somebody else get eaten today." Lee takes Kenny's hand and he helps him stand up. "Especially a good friend,'' he continues. Lee closes the door behind him as walkers swarm the store.
The group travel to the motor inn, where Lee and Carley rescued Doug from. They take out the remaining walkers, to make it safer.
Lilly adds another walker to the pile of dead walkers and she then wipes her hands on her clothes. Ellie looks on in sadness and disgust. She walks back to the group and Duck tries to talk to her. "Oh, man, Ellie! It was so awesome..."
Lee walks over to where Kenny is standing. "Hey, Ken."
"Close call back there."
"Thanks for picking me up."
"No problem." Kenny and Lee shake hands.
"We have to take care of each other."
"Yeah, we do." Lee agreed.
"Hey, about Ellie."
"Yeah?"
"Earlier, I said there's some stuff out there that might screw up a precious little girl like her."
"You did."
"Well, I still think that's true. But after what I saw today, I think between you taking care of her and her taking care of herself, you two are gonna be just fine."
"Thanks, Kenny."
"I got your back, pal."
Lee goes over to check on Carley. She is searching through the boxes that are nearby. "How are you doing, Carley?"
Carley looks up at Lee. "I'm okay. You know, considering."
"I do, yeah."
"I can't stop thinking about Doug. We couldn't have saved him, could we?"
"I don't think so. It happened pretty fast."
"I know it's stupid. We'd just met... and he was such a... it's just that... I think that I liked him."
"I'm sorry, Car."
"It's okay. Thanks, though. There's been a lot of deaths since the world went to shit. Anyway, I'd rather be alone, I think."
"I understand."
"Wait, Lee?"
"What is it?"
"How did you choose? We both needed you. You picked me."
"I was gonna help you both," Lee answered truthfully.
"But you helped me first."
"Yeah, I did."
"I guess it doesn't matter... I just wish we both could've made it, you know?"
"Me too, Carley."
Lee goes over to check on Ellie. She is sitting on the back bumper of the RV, and Duck is nearby, talking to her. "And then this one time, Derek and Super Dinosaur got ambushed by Squidious, but Derek had an underwater mega-laser, it was so awesome!"
As Lee approaches Duck and Ellie, Larry watches him, glaring and crossing his arms.
"Oh, and then, check this out, Doometrodon had this mini-gun on his shoulder, it's all, like, pow, pow, pow! I thought Super Dinosaur was toast! But you know what? He wasn't. Oh, and then..."
"Hey, Duck, you wanna cool it for a minute?" Lee asks the young boy. Lee kneels down in front of Ellie. "I'm sorry, there's, uh, not a lot of kids here."
"No, it's not that. It's... I got grabbed again."
"I was there, though."
"I fell, and my walkie-talkie broke. Doug had the other one so that's gone too."
"Aww, I'm sorry."
"Thanks. I know I need to be tough, I'm just sad," she said, tearfully. "It's how I would talk to my parents with but now I can't. My dad will never find me."
"Maybe we can find you another one."
"I'll just keep this one, I guess."
Lee leaves Ellie alone to talk to Duck. He walks over to where Kenny and Lilly are standing.
"This motor inn's pretty damn defendable. We block off the entrances with some cars and keep someone on watch, we could stay here until we can figure out someplace else to go to," Kenny said as the three walk to the entrance of the motel, onto the sidewalk.
"I actually agree with that plan," Lilly agreed.
"Me too," Lee said.
"We've got beds, we've got water, and most importantly, we've got light. There are worse places to call home," Kenny said.
"Yeah. You're right. You know, guys, I think it's going to be okay," Lilly said, before all the lights around the motor inn suddenly turned off.