Everyone walks through the empty streets of Savannah. Lee, Ben, Christa and Kenny have drawn their pistols, and Chuck carries a shovel. Omid limps along, his injured leg now bandaged. Ellie walks beside Lee and looks at her walkie-talkie attached to his hip. "Can't I just hold it? Just for a little while? We're getting real close to where my dad could be, maybe I can-"
"Not now, Ellie. Maybe later, okay?"
"Okay," Ellie mumbled.
"How's Omid?" Lee asked Christa.
"His leg's pretty bad," Christa replied.
"I'm fine," Omid spoke up.
"You're not fine, you need to rest. He needs to rest."
"Kenny, how much farther to the riverfront?" Lee asked.
"Should be just a few more blocks up ahead," Kenny replied.
"And there'll be boats there?" Christa asked.
"There sure as hell better be," Lee answered.
"There'll be boats. Have to be. Have to be," Kenny said.
"It's going to be okay. Kenny knows what he's doing," Ben said.
The belltower starts ringing.
"What the hell?" Ben asked.
"Maybe this city's not so dead after all..." Christa stated.
"Keep moving. No one's ringing that bell, it's automatic, on a timer," Kenny explained.
Lee notices a figure climbing on the rooftop. "Someone's up there."
"Are you sure?" Ben asked. "I don't see anything."
"I know what I saw. I'm telling you, there's someone up in that belltower! Someone alive!"
Ellie's radio crackles again. "If I were you, I'd get out of the street. Now."
"I thought you said that thing didn't work!" Christa said.
Lee presses the button on the radio. "Hello? Hello? Are you there?!"
"What the hell was that?" Omid asked. "Is someone trying to fuck with us?"
"Sounded more like a warning," Ben stated.
"Ask not for whom the bell tolls..." Chuck said.
"What are you yammerin' on about?" Kenny asked.
"It tolls for thee..."
Dozens of walkers start to approach the group. The bell has stopped tolling.
"Everybody, run!" Lee shouted.
The group kills several walkers and run through the street. A walker trapped under a car grabs onto Kenny's ankle, making him fall and drop his gun. He grabs onto a pole and tries to pull himself toward the weapon.
"Kenny!" Lee shoots the walker.
"Little too close, don't ya think?" Kenny asked.
"Ben!" Ellie shouts. Lee turns around to find Ellie and Ben cornered against a brick wall by walkers.
"No! Ben, help her!" Lee shouted.
Ellie panics as Ben runs away.
"Goddamn it!" Lee shoots several of the walkers near himself and Ellie. She yelps as a walker gets close to her.
"No!" Lee shouts running towards her.
Chuck knocks over the walker and drives his shovel through its chest. Lee hugs Ellie.
"Get her the hell out of here! I'll catch up with ya!" Chuck said.
Lee and Ellie run ahead.
"Move your asses! River Street's right up ahead!" Kenny shouted.
"That's not all..." Ben said, watching more walkers approach them.
"Oh, give me a fucking break!" Kenny shouted.
"Wait, where the hell's Chuck?" Christa asked.
Chuck continues to kill walkers with his shovel as more of them swarm around him.
"Shit, he's in trouble! We gotta help him!" Omid said.
Kenny looks at the walkers approaching them. "There's no time! We've gotta go, now!"
"I'll be fine! Just go!" Chuck assures them.
The group runs into the backyard of a house.
"I'll get the door!" Kenny shouted.
Lee closes the gate. Omid falls down and Christa kneels next to him. Ben and Kenny try to open the boarded-up door.
"You okay?" Lee asked.
Omid moves to a sitting position. "Ugh... Yeah."
"You've opened up your wound, you're bleeding! Shit, that's gonna get infected. We've gotta get him inside, clean him up!" Christa said.
"Kenny? How's that door coming?" Lee asked.
"I'm working on it, I'm working on it!" Kenny replied.
"Well, work faster, would you? Won't be long before those things outside figure out where we went. You know they can smell blood!" Christa said.
"Lady, I ain't the one who's bleeding."
"Quit it, the pair of you! You're gonna bring more of 'em down on us! I'll see if I can find a way in." Lee said.
Lee walks over to where Ellie is standing. She is standing by the gate. "Do you think the walkers saw us come back here? Are they going to find us?" She asked.
"No, they didn't see us. We were too fast for them."
"I can still hear them out there. It sounds like they're getting closer."
"It's just your imagination."
"I'll feel safer when we're inside the house," Ellie said, before sitting on the ground next to Christa and Omid.
Lee walks over to the door and notices a pet door. "What's this? Looks like there's some kinda pet door here."
"I tried it already, that's locked too," Ben said.
"Who the hell ever heard of a locked doggy door?" Kenny asked.
"I have. My neighbor had one just like that. It's radio-controlled, the dog wears a collar with a chip in it so the door only opens when the dog gets close to it," Omid explained.
"Well, shit. Every day's a school day."
"Alright, so... where's the dog?" Ben asked.
Lee picks up a shovel and prepares to dig up the dirt mound.
"Hey, be careful. Digging up dead things isn't what it used to be, you know what I mean?" Omid said.
"Yeah, I hear you."
Everyone but Omid approaches the grave as Lee digs up the grave.
"What's buried down there?" Ellie asked.
In the grave lies a dog's corpse with a collar still on.
"Whatever it is, it's been here a while," Lee said.
Ellie holds her nose. "Ew, I can smell it from here. Gross!"
"Ellie, honey, come sit with me and Omid. Let Lee work," Christa said. Ellie goes over and sits with Omid and Christa.
Lee finishes digging up the grave and sits the shovel aside.
"Oh, God, the smell," Ben said, in disgust.
Lee picks up the collar. "Ugh... I can't get it off." The dog's head falls from its corpse and the collar comes off. "Ah!"
"Okay, that is not cool!" Ben said.
Christa vomits.
"Are you okay?" Ellie asked.
"I'm fine, honey. It's just the smell."
"Are you sure you're-" Omid starts.
"I said I'm fine, okay?"
Lee takes out the collar and places it near the pet door. "Here goes nothing..." The pet door unlocks.
"Yes! Goddamn!" Kenny exclaimed.
The group approaches the door. Lee looks through the pet door.
"You see anything in there?" Ben asked.
"No. Looks like it's been empty a while."
The sound of walkers can be heard nearby. "Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast," Christa said.
"Okay, lemme see if I can reach up in there."
"Be careful, man," Ben warns.
Lee tries to reach the door handle. "It's no good, I can't get it," Lee grunts.
"Here, let me try. I think I can-" Ben starts.
Ellie crawls through the pet door.
"Ellie, are you okay?" Lee asked, in panic. "Say something!"
Ellie opens the door and raises her hands. "Ta-dah!"
"Good job, Ellie!" Lee praised.
"Yeah, way to go!" Ben said.
"I did good, right?" Ellie asked.
"Yes, you did. You did good!" Lee agreed.
"Can we maybe have this conversation inside?" Omid asked. "My leg's starting to hurt like hell."
Kenny steps inside the house. "Looks okay from here, everybody in."
Everyone enters the house. Christa help Omid onto a couch in the living room.
"Argh!" Omid groans.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Christa apologised.
"No, it's okay. I'm good. Feel better already just being off my feet. Thanks, babe," Omid reassures her.
Christa joins the group in the kitchen. "So, when were you going to tell us about the radio?"
"Tell you what?" Kenny asked.
"That it's working! That there's someone else on the other end of that thing! You didn't think that might have been worth sharing with the rest of us? Well?"
"I was going to tell you. Kenny and I only found out yesterday," Lee answered.
"So both of you were keeping it from the rest of us? Great."
"Who gives a shit about the damn radio? I'm more worried about whoever it was out there ringing that bell and bringing the dead down on top of us! It's like they didn't want us to make it to the river!" Kenny said.
"What makes you think it's not the same person?" Christa asked. "Whoever was on the radio was close enough to see us in the street. And we didn't see anyone else other than the guy in the belltower."
"Because that doesn't make a lick of damn sense. Why would they bring out the dead like that and then try to warn us about it?" Kenny asked.
"How much sense does anything make anymore? In case you haven't noticed, there's a lot of twisted folks out there these days. At least the dead don't play games with you."
"I don't know who it was." Lee said. "All I know is, they're no friend of ours."
"Damn right. I'm telling you, they don't want us getting to the river. Maybe they want those boats all to themselves. Well, we'll see about that," Kenny said.
"I'm not going back out there any time soon. Omid needs to rest," Christa said.
"I think we could all use a little time to rest up and gather our thoughts, Kenny," Lee said. "At least until those walkers outside wander off and Omid's feeling better."
"He best feel better quick. I ain't gonna wait around here too long."
Ben looks around. "Place seems secure, at least."
"I'll feel better when we know that for sure. We need to check the whole house," Christa said.
Kenny sighs. "Alright, fine. You and me'll take the upstairs. Lee, you've got down here. Make sure you check every door, understand?"
"Okay," Lee replied.
"Can I help? What if there's another locked door?" Ellie asked.
Lee pats Ellie's head. "I think you've been helpful enough for one day, kiddo. Why don't you just see if Christa and Omid need anything, okay?"
"Okay."
After checking the rooms downstairs, Lee checked double doors in the hallway. He pushes open the double doors, drawing his gun. A broom falls over. "Jesus!"
"What? What happened?" Ellie asked.
Lee places the broom back. "It's nothing. Just... nothing."
Lee returns to Christa, Omid, and Ellie. "Well, the place ain't got much. We should be okay here for a while, at least until it quiets down outside."
"Good. Thanks," Christa said.
"Is he okay?" Lee asked.
"Yeah, for now. But I'm really worried his leg might've gotten infected. Don't suppose you turned up any meds while you were poking around?"
"Nah, just dog food. And there's some whiskey in the back."
"I was just asking Ellie if she knows who the man on her radio is. It's okay, honey, you can tell us. Who is he? What does he want?" Christa asked.
"Go ahead, Ellie. It's okay. You're not in any trouble," Lee said.
"It's just a friend. I don't think he wants to hurt us," Ellie answered.
"What has he been saying to you? What have you been saying to him?" Christa asked.
"I told him I was trying to find my dad and that we were looking for him in Savannah. He really seems nice, I think he wants to help me find him."
Christa sighs. "Ellie. Honey, trust me, that's not what he wants. He-"
"Lee!" Ben runs partway down the stairs. "Lee, you need to get up here now."
"What's wrong?"
"It's Kenny."
Ben and Lee go upstairs and stand in front of the stairs to the attic.
"Kenny said he thought he heard something up there, went to go look."
"He's up there?"
"I can't get him to come down."
"Stay here," Lee climbs up the attic stairs. Kenny is kneeling on the floor.
"Kenny? You okay, man? Oh, Jesus. What the hell is that? Oh, my God." Lee notices the shriveled walker corpse of a young boy. It takes a step forward, then falls, unable to support its own weight.
"Kinda looks like Duck, don't he?" Kenny asked.
"It's just a kid. What the hell happened to him?"
"Ain't nothing on him. Guess he must've been hiding out up here. Starved to death."
"Jesus Christ..."
"I don't know if I can, Lee. Couldn't do it before. Can't do it now."
"Before it was your own son. Now it's just a kid who needs your help. You can do this, Kenny. You need to do this."
"I know. I just... oh, God..."
Lee sets the gun down on the floor. "Here. This'll make it clean and quick."
"I don't know that I can do it, Lee..."
"I know that you can."
"I couldn't even help my own boy..."
"That was your own flesh and blood. No father could have done that. But you can help this boy. Do what's right for him. Send him on his way."
Kenny picks up the gun and stands up, then shoots the walker. "We should bury him."
"I'll take care of it." Lee picks up the walker's body and goes downstairs.
Lee carries the body to the backyard. He places it in the grave with the dog and covers the grave with dirt as Ellie and Christa briefly watch from a distance before going inside. Lee finishes filling the grave and notices a figure behind the fence but runs away as soon as Lee sees him.
Lee grabs the fence. "Hey. Hey! Who are you? What the hell do you want from us?!"
Ben and Christa run out to the backyard. "Lee, what's going on?" Christa asked.
"I saw someone standing there by the fence. Watching us."
"A walker?" Ben asked.
"No, too fast. Took off like a bat out of hell when I spotted him."
"Was it a man or a woman?" Christa asked.
"Didn't get a good enough look."
"What does it matter?" Ben asked.
"I'm wondering if it's the same guy who's been following us. The guy on the radio," Christa replied.
Kenny steps out of the house.
"Kenny?" Lee asked.
"I'm fine. Just... I'm fine. What's all the ruckus?"
"Lee saw someone watching us from outside the gate," Ben answered.
"What? Who?" Kenny asked.
"I can't be sure. They ran off before I could get a good look."
"I don't like this one bit. Not one bit," Ben said.
"Me either. Walkers are one thing, but the thought of someone out there actually stalking us..." Christa said.
"Alright, that's it. We've stuck around here long enough. It's time to get back on track, time to get down to the river and find ourselves a boat," Kenny said.
"I don't know if Omid's well enough to move yet," Christa said.
"Well, he'd better get ready. Because I'm going down to River Street right now to find a boat, and as soon as she's ready to go we're moving out."
"We only really checked the house to make sure it's secure, we didn't really toss the place. We're low on food, water, meds, ammo...we should make sure there's nothing here we can use before we move out," Lee suggests.
"You search it if you wanna. I'm done with this house. We came to this city to find a boat, and that's just what I'm gonna do."
"Maybe it's not such a bad idea to check the place one more-" Ben starts.
"I SAID I'M DONE WITH THIS HOUSE," Kenny shouts. Everyone becomes silent for a moment, while Kenny looks down sadly.
"We can do both. Ben, you take one last look around the place, grab anything that looks useful, while me and Kenny go down to the river to get us a boat." Lee decides.
"Wait, can't I come?" Ellie asked. "My dad could be near here, maybe we can look for them on the way to the river."
"Ellie, honey. I think it'd be best if you stayed here with Ben. I need you to watch out for Omid and Christa, help them get ready to move out."
"You said I'm supposed to always stay close to you," Ellie reminds him.
"I know. It's just this once. Sometimes we all have to put aside what we want for the good of the group. Hey, don't worry. I'll be back before you know it. Okay?"
Ellie pouts. "Okay."
"Daylight's burning. Gonna go grab my gear, then we'll head out," Kenny said.
"Come on, Ellie, let's go see if Omid needs anything," Christa said, leading Ellie back into the house. Lee and Ben stay outside.
"So, you're just gonna leave me on the bench here?"
"That's not how it is, Ben. I need you to stay here and keep an eye on Ellie."
"I can do that."
"Well, just so we're clear. While I'm gone, anything or anyone tries to get inside this house, you shoot them. Don't even think twice about it. Understand?"
"I got no problem shooting walkers."
"Did you hear what I said? Anything or anyone," Ben nods. "Good," Lee continued.
When Lee and Kenny away, Ellie decided to go look for them. Christa was to busy taking care of Omid and Ben wasn't around so she sneaked out of the house. She doesn't know where they are but all she knows is to head to the river where the boats are. She hopes she could maybe find her dad on the way.
Ellie walks around a corner where she sees Lee gets smacked in the face with his own weapon by a woman and falls to the ground. The woman tosses the weapon away and raises her ice pick.
"No!" Ellie shouted.
"Ellie?" Lee asked looking behind the woman and spotting Ellie.
"Please... don't hurt him!"
The woman lets Lee stand up. He walks over to Ellie and puts his hand on her shoulder.
"You're not from Crawford," the woman said before removing her hood and mask.
"Crawford? The hell are you talking about? And who are you? Lee asked.
Kenny steps out from his hiding spot, pointing his gun at Molly.
"Kenny, don't!" Lee warns.
The woman sweeps Kenny's leg, and he falls, dropping his gun as it fires. She kicks his gun away and brings down her ice pick, stopping at the last second.
"No! He's with us!" Lee said.
Kenny gets up and the woman puts her weapon away. "Who the hell are you people?"
"I asked you first," Lee said.
"The name's Molly," she replied.
"Molly, I'm Lee, this is Kenny and Ellie. We're not looking for any trouble."
"Hi," Ellie waves to Molly.
"You guys really aren't from Crawford, are you?" Molly asked.
"I don't even know what that is."
Molly points to the barricade. "Everything beyond that barricade."
"What the hell happened here?" Lee asked.
"You sure you wanna know?" Molly asked.
Lee nods.
"When everything went to shit, some people got together and sealed off that whole neighborhood. Folks willing to do anything to stay alive, stop the dead getting in. I try to avoid 'em."
"Why?" Kenny asked.
"Let's just say they have a zero-tolerance policy for anyone who won't... or can't... live by their rules."
"So how'd you know we weren't them?" Kenny asked.
Molly looks at Ellie. "Because there are no children in Crawford. Not anymore."
"What do you mean, no children? Why not?" Lee asked.
"No children, no elderly, no one with an advanced medical condition. Basically, no one who might be a burden on the community. Crawford's all about the survival of the fittest. That's how they survived, while the rest of the world went to shit around them," Molly explains.
"Jesus Christ..." Kenny whispered.
"Well, just the opposite, when you think about it."
"What exactly did Crawford do with all these "burdens"? Lee asked. "What happened to them?"
Molly gestures to barricade full of trapped walkers. "Well, you met some of them already."
"Fuck me..." Kenny mutters.
"Yeah. Anyone who got sick, anyone too old, anyone they figured wasn't strong enough to survive. To them those people were just mouths to feed, a drain on their precious resources."
"How do you know all this?" Lee asked.
"Everyone in Savannah knew. What was going on inside Crawford got passed around like a ghost story. Except this one was true."
"Do you know who's been ringing those bells all over town?" Lee asked.
"Yeah, that would be me," Molly replied.
"I knew it! Lee, I knew she was the one who's been following us, fucking with us!" Kenny points at points at Molly.
"Get that finger out of my face, grampa, before I jam it straight up your ass. I haven't been following you. I don't even know who the hell you people are."
"Calm down, Kenny," Lee said. "The voice on the radio was a guy, remember?"
"Yeah, well, whoever you are, ringing those bells this morning nearly got us all killed, raised the dead all around us!"
"That's the idea, genius. It's how I get around. I ring a bell in one neighborhood to attract the local geeks toward it, buys me some time to scavenge the areas they cleared out."
"Geeks? Is that what you call them?" Kenny asked.
"Yeah. You know, like at the carnival. They'll eat anything, alive or dead."
"That's pretty smart, with the bells," Lee said.
"Doesn't take much to outsmart the dead. Bunch of dumbasses. You just gotta move fast, get in and out before they start to wander back again," Molly said. "Look, I'm gonna ask you people again. You're not from Crawford, so who the hell are you? What are you doing here?"
"We're just trying to survive, same as you," Lee answered.
"And the only way we're gonna survive is by getting on a boat and gettin' the hell outta here," Kenny said.
"Yeah, good luck with that. Anyone with a boat took it out of here as soon as people started eating each other. Any that got left behind, Crawford stripped 'em for parts. Cars too," Molly explained.
"There's gotta be something."
"If there was, do you think I'd still be here?" Molly asked. "I've been over every inch of this city, this whole place is picked clean."
"Goddamn it! Fuck!" Kenny raises his voice.
"Hey, moron! You wanna keep your voice down?" Molly spat.
"Shit," Kenny whispered.
"Since you're not getting on any boat, I'd advise you folks to go back to where you came from, before-" Walkers start to appear. Molly sighs. "Great. Just great."
"Isn't that the-" Kenny starts.
"The way we came," Lee continued.
"Fuck, gunshot must've brought 'em back."
"Isn't there another way back to the house?" Ellie asked.
"Molly, is there a-" Lee turns around to see Molly run into the alley. She wall climbs with her ice pick to get up to the fire escape. "Is there another way out of here?" he asked.
"Don't know, don't care."
"So what the hell are we supposed to do?" Kenny asked.
"I refer you to my previous answer."
"But you have to help us! Please!" Ellie begs.
Molly turns around sees Ellie's sad expression and reaches out her hand. "Come on! Make it fast!"
Lee and Molly help Ellie climb up. Walkers start to fill the alley.
"Oh, fuck me..." Kenny said.
"Come on, come on, hurry!" Lee said.
Lee and Molly help Kenny climb up.
"Lee! Come on!" Ellie shouts.
Kenny reaches out his hand. "Come on, man, one good jump!"
Lee jumps to grab Kenny's hand but is accidentally dropped.
"No! Lee!" Ellie cried out.
Lee pushes the dumpster to the side.
"Hurry!" Ellie shouts.
There are walkers on the other side of the alley too.
"Come on, Lee, get your ass outta there!" Kenny said.
Lee tries to open the manhole cover. "I can't get it open!"
Molly tosses down her climbing pick. "Here! Use that to pry it open!"
Lee takes the climbing pick, pries open the manhole cover, and climbs down.
"Lee!" Ellie calls out again.
Ellie, Kenny and Molly make it back to the house. Meanwhile Lee is walking through the sewer. Lee distracts some walkers that are consuming a corpse. Once those walkers were away, he walks pass the corpse only to notice that it is Chuck with his gun nearby. "Oh, my God. Chuck. He must've tried to hide out down here. The poor bastard." Lee picks up the gun. "No bullets. He must've saved the last one for himself." He puts gun away. "You deserved better, old man."
Lee continues down the sewer where he comes across a bunker. He then opens the door and enters the next room, where he finds people who are members of a cancer survivors group that used to meet in the hospital. He manages to convinced a man called Vernon, to guide him back to the house.
Lee and Vernon made it back and enter the house. "Ellie? Ellie?" Lee calls out.
Lee looks over and sees Molly searching the kitchen cupboards and drawers. "Molly?"
"Oh, hey. You made it back."
"Who's this?" Vernon asked.
"He didn't tell you about me?" Molly asked. "Understandable, I guess. I'm the one who put that beating on him when tried to jump me back at the river. Who's the fossil?"
"This is Vernon, he's a doctor, he helped me get back here after we got separated," Lee answered. "Where's Ellie?"
"She's around here somewhere. Relax, I got her and Kenny both back safely. You're welcome, by the way," Molly walks towards Lee. "I think you have something that belongs to me"
Lee hands her the climbing pick. Molly walks away, and Christa rushes down the stairs and into the kitchen.
"Lee. Thank God, you're back."
"Christa, what's wrong?"
"It's Omid. He's gotten worse. Much worse."
Lee turns to Vernon. "We have a man wounded."
"Who's this?" Christa asked.
"This is Vernon, he's a doctor," Lee replied.
"Oh, thank God!"
"Could you take a look at him?" Lee asked.
"You have to help us... please?" Christa asked.
"I'll see what I can do. Take me to him," Vernon replied.
Vernon, Lee, and Christa enter the bedroom Omid is resting in. Christa kneels down beside the bed. "Omid, honey. You're gonna be alright. Lee brought a doctor."
"Alright, let's take a look at him... I work better without an audience. I'm sure you have more things of your own to attend to." Vernon said.
Lee leaves the room and continues to search for Ellie. He heads outside to look for her. He walks over to the shed when something bumps against the shed door from the inside. Lee opens it as Ellie pushes against it, and she accidentally knocks Lee to the ground.
"Lee!" Ellie runs over to Lee and hugs him.
"Hey, girl. "
"Come look! Look what I found!"
Ellie walks up to the shed and Lee opens the doors all the way, revealing a boat.
"Whoa."
"I know, right?"
Kenny walks up to the shed and smiles, dropping the whiskey bottle. Some time later, at sunset, Molly, Omid, Christa, and Vernon sit in the living room as Lee paces across the room.
"Omid's doing okay?" Lee asked.
"As well as can be expected under the circumstances. I did what I could for him, cleaned out the wound. But he's got a real infection, running a fever. Without antibiotics..."
"Will you quit pacing? You're making everyone nervous," Molly said, interrupting Vernon.
"Why are you even still here?" Christa asked.
"Hey, if your friend really can get that boat working, you're taking me with you as payment for saving your asses. I figure that's fair enough, don't you?"
Ben and Kenny enter the living room.
"Well?" Lee asked.
Kenny sighs. "You want the good news or the bad news?"
"I think we could all use some good news," Lee replied.
"Good news is, the boat's seaworthy enough. In pretty good shape, mostly."
"Mostly?" Christa asked.
"That's the bad news. Gas tank's empty and her battery's dead. We need to fix both before she's taking us any place."
"Well, how are we supposed to get that stuff?" Christa asked.
"Sounds like Crawford is the one place that has everything we need. Maybe we should try there," Lee suggests.
Vernon frowns. "Now, hold on a minute."
"Surely, we have to try. If there are people left in this city who are still alive, who still have supplies...what harm can it do to ask?" Christa said.
"Trust me, you don't know these people. I do. You showing up with a wounded man? Might as well put a noose around his neck. They don't exactly welcome children with open arms, either," Vernon explains.
"What the hell kind of a place are we talking about here?" Christa asked.
"The worst kind. But I don't see what other choice we have," Molly answered.
"And just how exactly do you figure we do this?" Kenny asked. "Because, from what I've heard, that place ain't exactly friendly to outsiders."
"There's got to be some way we can sneak in there undetected." Lee said.
"There might actually be a way." Vernon said. "I know the sewer system that runs beneath Crawford like the back of my hand. Y'all wouldn't happen to have a map by any chance?"
"Yeah, actually..." Lee unfolds the map and places it on the coffee table.
"I think I could lead us through so we could pass under the perimeter and right into the center, where they keep their supplies. We come up right underneath 'em, take 'em by surprise, grab what we need and get out before they even knew what hit 'em."
"That's actually not the worst idea I've ever heard. I mean, it's close. But I don't know, maybe it could work."
"I've thought about it before, just never had the people to do it. But I think if we all work together, we could pull it off."
"And what do you want in return for all this help you're giving us?" Kenny asked.
"Crawford doesn't just have what you need for your boat, they're also well-stocked with medical supplies. Medicine that my people could use, just as yours could," Vernon explained.
"We can do this. We have to!" Christa said.
"So, it's decided, then? We're going to Crawford?" Kenny asked.
"We can do this. I know it," Lee said.
"Hell yeah, we can." Kenny said.
"Are we seriously talking about this? I mean, what about the risk?" Ben asked.
"I don't know about you, kid, but I'd rather take a chance on doing something than just sitting around here waiting to die. That boat out there is an answered prayer, we just gotta push a little bit farther. Are you in or out?" Kenny asked.
Ben stays quiet.
"We should go tonight, under cover of dark. I'll go let my people know, give you all a chance to prepare. I'll be back before midnight."
"Be careful," Christa warns.
"That's how I'm still alive," Vernon said.
The group separates. Lee walks toward the stairs where Ellie is sitting. "I told you to stay in your room. How long have you been there?"
"Is it going to be dangerous?" Ellie asked.
"Is what gonna be dangerous?"
"Crawford," Ellie replied.
"I can't lie to you, Ellie. Yeah, it's gonna be dangerous. But it's the only way to get the things we need to make Omid better, and get the boat working. That's why we have to do this. Do you understand?"
"I don't want anyone else to die."
"Neither do I, but sometimes we have to take that kind of risk."
"I guess I should go get ready," Ellie said, standing up.
"Uh, say what now?"
"You said you'd need all of us to do this. And you said I'm a big help, remember? Molly said Crawford is the only place left in Savannah that still has people. That means it could be where my dad is, right?"
"Where I'm going, it's just too dangerous. For children, especially."
"You said I'm supposed to always stay close to you. Can't I come with you?"
Lee sighs. "Okay, you can come. But you have to promise to stay quiet and do exactly what you're told the whole time we're there."
"Okay. I'm gonna go get ready," Ellie said before running up the stairs.
It is night time when everyone but Omid gathers in the backyard. Christa loads her gun, Molly studies the map, and Kenny searches the shed.
"Check out what I found in the garage. Hatchet, hacksaw, some other tools. Might come in handy on this little break-in."
"Nice," Lee replied.
Kenny tells Lee that the boat is a 30 footer meaning that there will be a capacity problem. Vernon and another woman enter the backyard.
"Who the hell is this?" Kenny asked.
"This is Brie, she can help us." Vernon said.
"Help us how?" Lee asked.
"I was a student at the school where Crawford keeps their supplies. I know the layout," Brie explained.
"With her help we're in and out faster. Anyone got a problem with that?" Vernon asked.
"I guess not," Lee replied.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get moving," Molly said.
The group starts to move out.
"Hold up just a sec." Lee kneels down in front of Ellie. "You ready?"
"Ready." Ellie replied.
"Whoa, hold on a minute. You're not taking her with us. Did you not hear anything I said about the kind of place Crawford is?" Vernon asked. "If you take her in there and they find her-"
"I'm not leaving her alone in the house with only Omid to protect her. Just not happening," Lee states.
"For what it's worth, I don't think it's a great idea either," Molly spoke up.
"She's coming. Deal with it."
"You heard the man. Let's move out," Kenny said.
The group stands beneath a manhole cover in the sewers.
"This should be it. We're right underneath the center of Crawford, the old school should be directly above us," Vernon explains.
"Okay, people, this is it. Remember the plan. We stay quiet, we stay hidden, and we stay together. We find what we need and we get the hell out before anyone even knows we're there. Got it?"
Everyone nods.
Lee kneels down in front of Ellie. "And that part about staying close? That goes double for you."
Everyone gets out of the sewer and hides in the bushes near a building.
"Where is everybody?" Vernon asked. "There should be guards patrolling."
"What, are you disappointed?" Kenny asked.
"It's just strange, is all," Vernon replied.
"I think I see one. Over there, by the door," Christa points out.
"Okay, me and Kenny will sneak up, try to take him out quiet. The rest of you wait for our signal and then follow us over. Everybody got it? Okay, Kenny, let's do this quiet. No shooting unless there's no other choice."
"Right behind you."
Lee takes out his hatchet and sneaks up to the guard. "What the fuck?!"
The "guard" turns around and is revealed to be a walker. Lee chops the walker in the face killing it. The rest of the group comes out of hiding.
"What the fuck is a walker doing inside here?!" Lee asked.
Many more walkers start to approach. "Get inside, fast!" he shouts.
Everyone runs inside the school and Lee closes the doors behind them. They run up the stairs and burst through a door into a hallway of lockers. Vernon and Brie close the doors behind them.
"Fuck. Fuck! Do you think they saw us?" Kenny asked.
"I don't think so. I think we're good, for now, at least," Lee replied.
"What the hell happened here?" Christa asked. "I thought this place was supposed to be secure!"
"What always happens, I guess. In the end, the dead always win," Molly answered.
Ben groans. "Oh, man, we are so screwed..."
"No, this is good." Vernon said.
"What? How the fuck is this good?" Lee asked, confused.
"Before, everyone in Crawford was smart and they had guns. Now they're dumb and they don't. Hey, trying to look on the bright side here," Vernon replied.
"I agree. So long as we don't let 'em box us in, we can still do this. The plan hasn't changed," Kenny said.
"The plan hasn't changed? Every time walkers show up, the plan changes! Do you even have any idea how many of them are out there?" Ben asked.
"No. You wanna do a headcount, or do you wanna get what we need and get the hell out of here?" Christa asked.
"Come on, I think I know which way to head," Brie said leading the group down the hall.
"I got a bad feeling about this," Ben muttered before following the rest of the group.
The group walk down the hallway and they reach a door at the end of the hallway. Lee cautiously opens the door. "It looks okay. Everybody in." The group enters the abandoned classroom. Lee tries to open a door marked 'Armory'. "Figures."
"Looks like they were using this room as some kind of command center." Kenny said, looking around the room.
"Okay, so now what? Where do we start looking?" Molly asked.
"Here." Brie looks at hand-drawn map hanging on the wall. "Just give me a sec..."
"Where would be the best place to look for medicine?" Lee asked.
"Right here." Molly points to the map. "Nurse's station, they were using it as a medical facility."
"How do you know that?" Christa asked.
"Just makes sense, doesn't it?" Molly replied.
"Any idea where we could find a battery?" Lee asked.
"Maybe at the auto shop?" Vernon points to the map. "There used to be one in the alley outside the fire escape."
"Yup, it's called Herman's, you can't miss it," Brie said.
"What about the fuel? Where should I start looking?" Kenny asked.
"There's a maintenance shed across from the playground here," Brie points to the map. "If they were storing fuel that's probably where it'll be."
"Okay, I'll make the run to the maintenance shed for the fuel," Kenny said.
"It'll be faster if I go with you, I can take you right to it," Brie said.
"I'll come too," Ben said.
"No, two people's enough. You stay here, see if you can use any of those tools we brought to get that armory door open. We might need to shoot our way out of here," Kenny said.
"I'll go for the medicine," Christa decides.
"I'll come with you, I know what to take," Vernon said.
"Okay, I guess that leaves me to go find us a battery," Lee said.
"I'll go with you, watch your back," Molly said.
"Okay, we've got a plan," Lee gives his hatchet to Kenny. "Everyone be careful, stay close to one another, we'll all meet back here. Good luck."
The group splits up. Lee, Ben, and Ellie are left in the room.
"What about me, what can I do?" Ellie asked.
Lee kneels down in front of her. "I need you to stay here with Ben and watch over our command center. I'm putting you in charge of it. Okay?"
Ellie looks over at Ben trying to open the armory door. "You're leaving me with Ben?"
"I'm not leaving you with Ben. I'm leaving him with you. Understand?"
"Oh... Okay."
"Back before you know it." Lee said, before walking over to where Ben is trying to open the door. "Hey, you need any help with that?"
"Thanks, I got it. Just once, I'd like to do something useful, you know?"
"You're plenty useful."
"Ha! Yeah, right. Seems like all I ever do is get us into trouble."
"Well... I'll let you get on with it." Lee turns to leave.
"No, wait. There is something you can help me with. Something that's been on my mind, I could use your opinion."
"What is it?" Lee asked.
"It's Kenny. Since I've been helping him work on the boat, I've gotten to know him a little better. He's a good guy, you know? And it's eating me up, knowing what I know. I've been thinking about telling him the truth."
"Ben, c'mon. This again?"
"It's my fault Duck and Katjaa got killed. If I hadn't screwed up back at the motor inn, they'd still be alive. How am I supposed to just carry something like that around? I have to tell him."
"Ben. No offense, but have you lost your motherfucking mind? Kenny's barely hanging on, you tell him you're to blame... I don't even want to think about what he might do."
"I know. I've thought about that. But I don't know how much longer I can keep looking him in the eye. I feel like I'm lying to him by not telling him."
"I'm telling you, man, it's a bad idea. Real, real bad."
"Hey, maybe you're okay walking around with somebody's blood on your hands, but that's not who I am! I can't just pretend it never happened."
"Look, we need Kenny. We need him to hold his shit together if we're ever going to get out of here, so you need to keep this to yourself. For the good of everyone. You hear me?"
"I hear you."
Before he walks out the door, he sees Ellie sitting down in one of the school chairs. "You okay, Ellie?"
"Yeah. This desk is just like the ones we have in my school. I know it's weird, but I kinda miss it. Being in school."
"It's not weird at all. So do I."
"But you haven't been in school since forever!"
"Hey, I'm not that old. And I used to be a teacher, remember? Tell you what-when we find ourselves a safe place, we'll set up a little classroom. Just you and me."
"Will there be homework?"
Lee chuckles. "No homework."
"Do you think things will ever be normal again? Just like the way they were before?" Ellie asked.
"I don't think anybody knows the answer to that, Ellie. Maybe there's somebody out there working on a way to fix this. Some kind of cure, maybe. There's just no way to know." Lee answered.
"I hope so."
"That's good. You hold onto that hope. It's the one thing none of this can take away."
Lee heads outside to look for Molly. He walks over to a shed and enters it. He looks at the hole in the ceiling, then climbs on the shelves to get to the roof of the shed and jump over the gate with barbed wire. Lee walks to the end of the alley, then back. As he returns, a walker body drops down in front of him. He leans down to examine it.
"Leave him!" Molly jump down from the roof and takes out her pick. "He's mine."
"Where the hell have you been?" Lee asked.
Molly kicks the walker several times and repeatedly stabs him with the pick.
"Molly... MOLLY!"
"What?!"
"I think you got him."
"One more." She stabs the walker.
"He's wearing medical scrubs. Some kind of scientist or doctor, maybe?" Lee asked.
"Yeah, well, he ain't shit now." Molly kicks the walkers. "Did you find us a way in?"
"Yeah, but the garage door's jammed, can't raise it." Lee tries to lift door.
"Not a problem. Look what I found." She shows him the carjack.
"Oh, yeah. That'll work." Lee takes the carjack. Walkers start clawing at the fence, pushing it over more and more. "Shit..." Lee places the carjack under the garage door.
"Come on!"
The walkers knock over the fence and start approaching. Lee hurriedly pushes up the garage door and he and Molly crawl inside.
"Take a look around. I'll make sure no stragglers get under this door."
After Lee finds the battery, he puts the battery in Molly's backpack. They climb up the semi-truck as walkers start to surround it.
"Great. Now what?"
"Skylight," Molly said pointing at it.
"It's stuck!"
"Shoot it out!"
Lee shoots the skylight. Molly jumps and uses the pick to climb up to the roof, then helps pull Lee up.
"Okay, so now we're on a roof."
"Do you ever stop complaining? Come on." Molly said before jumping to the other rooftop. "Come on, what are you, chicken? Jump!"
Lee jumps to the other rooftop and grabs onto Molly's hand; she helps pull him up. They arrive back at the school, and Lee drops down through the hole in the ceiling.
"Come on." Lee said, staring up at Molly who was still on the roof.
"Later. Something I gotta do first."
"What?" he asked.
"Catch you later."
"Wait, you've still got the battery!"
"Yeah, I think I'll hold onto it, make sure you don't leave without me. See you back in class!" Molly said before running off.
"Molly! Goddamn it, what the hell is she doing?"
Lee walks down the hallway. Kenny and Brie run inside the door, holding gas cans.
"Little help here?" Kenny asked.
They drop the gas cans and the hatchet. Lee, Kenny, and Brie push the doors closed as walkers try to get in; the doors get stuck on a walker's head.
"Fuck, the doors won't close all the way!"
"Lee, do something!" Brie said.
Lee shoots the walker and they successfully close the doors.
"We got it!"
"Brace the door with something!"
Lee picks up the hatchet and sticks it between the door handles. "Think that'll hold?"
"It damn well better." Kenny said.
"There's so many of them..." Brie said.
"You got the fuel!"
"Let's not start high fiving each other just yet. Let's get the hell back to the classroom. Give us a hand with these fuel cans, they weigh a goddamn ton."
Lee, Kenny, and Brie bring the cans to the classroom. Ellie runs up to them. "You're back!" she said happily.
"Yeah, and we made out pretty good too."
"Great work, Kenny!" Ben praises.
"How're you doing with that door?" Kenny asked.
"Not so good." Ben replied.
"Here, let me give you a hand." Kenny tries to help Ben with the door. "You get that battery yet?" he asked Lee.
"Yeah, Molly has it, she should be back here soon."
"She'd better be."
Lee goes out to check on Christa and Vernon. He heads to where the nurse's office is, when he sees several walkers have surrounded the door.
"Shit," Lee crouches behind a piece of furniture. "Christa and Vernon must be trapped in there."
Lee takes out his gun and shoots one of the walkers, drawing the others attention toward him. He kills the remaining walkers. He enters the office and Christa points her gun at him but puts it away after recognising him.
"What the hell happened?" Lee asked.
"They wandered into the hallway after we got inside. I think they must have heard us rooting around in here. The whole place is infested, they're everywhere!" Christa replied.
"Calm down. I took care of them. What about the meds, did we find what we need?" he asked.
"Yeah, that's our other problem. Take a look. Looks like they were keeping all the prescription meds in that safe. Locked up tight." Vernon answered.
"There's no way we can bust it open?" Lee asked.
"Maybe with enough time. But I don't know how much of that we have. Be a hell of a lot quicker if we just knew the four-digit combination." Vernon replied.
Lee finds two tapes and puts one of them in the camcorder that shows a doctor putting in the code. Vernon inputs the code and unlocks the safe.
"We're in business," he takes the supplies out. "Antibiotics, morphine... we'll take as much of this as we can carry. Okay, I think we're good. This is more than enough for your people and mine. Let's go!"
"You go on ahead, I want to make sure we didn't miss anything. I'll be right behind you." Lee said.
"Don't take too long!" Vernon said before leaving with Christa.
Lee puts the last tape in the camcorder and watches Molly with the doctor. After watching it, he takes it out. "Well, shit."
Lee leaves the room and enters the hallway. Molly climbs down the hole and walks up to Lee.
"Jesus Christ. You scared the shit out of me. Where the fuck have you been?" he asked.
"Sightseeing."
"I'll take that battery now."
"Oh... yeah, about that," Molly notices Lee's shocked face. "I'm just kidding," she takes the battery out of her backpack and hands it to Lee. "Here ya go."
Lee notices Molly holding a photo in her hand. "What's that?"
"Nothing." Molly replied.
"You can quit with the act, Molly. I know you're from Crawford." Lee confronts her.
"What? Who told you that?" Molly asked.
"I saw you on a security tape. Why'd you lie to me?" Lee asked.
"I said there were stories about Crawford, I never said that's how I knew about it. I never lied to you. And even if I did, so what? I don't owe you anything." Molly replied.
"You saved my life twice, but you can't tell me the truth?" Lee asked.
"Are we really gonna do this now?" Molly asked.
"I guess that's up to you."
"I used to live here with my sister. She was fourteen years old. When the dead started walking and Crawford shut itself in, it seemed like a pretty good deal at first. We were safe, we had everything we needed to survive. Then the rules started coming down. No one who couldn't justify their place, earn their keep. No one who required special care. My sister was diabetic, and by Crawford's rules, that made her a liability. I kept it a secret. Kept her safe for as long as I could. But in the end, I couldn't protect her. That's when I got out. Crawford, they always talked about how their system worked, how anything was better than becoming "one of them". But I saw what they'd already become. I just wished I could have seen it before it was too late. Before they came and took my sister away," Molly wipes away a tear. "This is all that I have left of her," she shows the photo of her sister. "I didn't have time to take it before I got out of Crawford. I just wanted it, okay?"
"It's okay, Molly. I understand. I'm sorry for what happened to your sister."
Bells start tolling.
"What the hell?" Molly asked.
"I think that's our cue to get the hell out of here."
As Lee and Molly are about to turn the corner, Ben jumps out with the hatchet. "Ah!"
"Jesus!"
"Shit! Ben!"
"Sorry, sorry. I just got spooked by those bells, and then I heard someone coming."
"Did you leave Ellie alone?" Lee asked.
"No, Kenny's with her. We still can't open that armory door. He sent me out to look for something we can use to bust it open," Ben replied. "I found this," he shows the hatchet.
"Uh, Ben... where did you get that?" Lee asked.
"I just found it. It was stuck in the door handle at the end of the hallway back there."
"Oh, no. Shit!"
Walkers bust through the doors. Lee draws his gun, and Molly kills several walkers with her pick. One of them grabs onto her arm, and she punches it, trying to get free.
"Lee, shoot this fucker!"
The walker is shot in the head.
"Thanks!"
"It wasn't me." Lee said staring at his gun.
Lee and Molly see Ellie standing nearby, holding a gun.
"Good going, kid, nice shot!" Molly praised her.
"Thanks!"
The group runs to the classroom and Brie holds the doors closed.
"What the fuck is going on?" Kenny asked.
"They're coming!" Lee answered.
"Oh, shit."
"That oughta hold 'em!" Vernon said.
"Sure, but now how do we get out?" Brie asked.
Kenny continually tries to knock the door down by slamming his shoulder into it. "Through the armory, if we can just get this damn door open!"
Ben offers Lee the hatchet, and he angrily grabs it.
"This is my fault, all my fault." Ben said.
"What the hell's he babbling about?" Christa asked.
"Ben, we talked about this." Lee warns.
"No, wait, I want to know what he meant," Christa tells Lee. "What do you mean, this is all your fault?" she asked Ben.
"Kenny, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, man..."
"Kid, this ain't the best time! Whatever you did, save it for later!"
"Ben! Shut the fuck up!"
"Fuck you, Lee! I can't do this anymore!" Ben snaps. "It's been me all along. Putting all of us in danger. Katjaa and Duck, it was all me. It was all me!"
Kenny kicks the door open. "Wait a minute, what are you saying?"
"It was me who made the deal with the bandits at the motor inn, slipping them supplies. I thought maybe I could keep them off our backs. When it got discovered, that's when they attacked. That's when Duck..."
Kenny lunges at Ben, and Vernon and Lee hold him back.
"Kenny, man. I agree with you, you should kick his ass! But now's not the time! We gotta focus on getting out of here!" Lee said.
"You little pissant! You are fucking dead, you hear me? Dead! My wife and child, you got them both fucking killed!" Kenny shouts.
"Kenny, listen to me! You can whoop his skinny little ass later! But right now, we gotta go!"
"Nice group you got here." Molly said sarcastically.
"Not the time, Molly!"
"If this asshole thinks he's getting on my boat after what he did, he's out of his motherfucking mind!" Kenny shoves Ben. "You hear me, shitbird?! You can stay behind and fucking rot!"
"Kenny, we'll sort this out later. After we get out of here, okay?" Lee said trying to calm Kenny down.
"Ain't nothing to sort out! I just told you the way it's gonna be!" Kenny said. "The boat's not big enough for all of us! Somebody's gotta get left behind! Might as well be this piece of shit right here!"
"Well, I vote we leave him. I'm sorry, Ben. I know you mean well, but all I want to do is get back to Omid. And you put that at risk." Christa said.
"Wait, don't I get a vote?" Ellie asked.
"Of course you do." Lee replied.
"Ben's nice. He's my friend. We don't leave friends behind. That's my vote."
"On second thought, I think I'm gonna abstain. Lee?"
"I can't do this right now. I abstain. We'll figure this out later." Lee replied.
"What about the rest of us, don't we get a say in-" Brie screams as a walker breaks through the door and grabs her. Walkers grab onto her and bite her, then rip out her guts with their teeth.
"Brie!" Vernon shouts.
"Now, can we go?" Molly asked.
"Damn right! Vernon, come on!"
The group runs through the armory door. Lee tries to slam it closed but it won't stay shut. "So much for the armory."
"What's left of it." Kenny said.
"A few rounds, that's it." Christa said looking at the guns.
Lee holds the door closed.
"You didn't close that door behind us?" Kenny asked.
"I couldn't, the lock was busted!" Lee replied.
"Great, just fucking great. Come on, there's gotta be a way out down here!"
The group walks down the stairs and opens the door, finding a bunch of walkers that instantly head toward them. Lee hurriedly closes the door.
"Fuck!"
"It's not gonna hold! Back upstairs!" Lee shouts.
Kenny takes a rifle from a nearby corpse as the others run upstairs. "Lee, look!" Kenny tosses Lee the rifle and joins the group.
Lee fires at the walkers as they walk through the door. Lee backs up the stairs and continues to shoot the walkers. His foot breaks through one of the steps. Lee shoots some walkers then tries pulling his leg free. Eventually he gets free and tries to keep walking up the stairs but finds there are walkers there too.
Christa kills some of them. Lee takes out the hatchet and kills walkers as he continues up the stairs. His hatchet gets stuck in the back of one of the walker's heads; he pushes it over the edge, but it grabs onto his gun. Lee shoots the walker and it loses its grip, and falls. He reaches the top of the stairs, where the rest of the group is. Vernon looks out the window.
Ellie hugs Lee. "It's alright, Ellie. I'm fine," he said, reassuring her. "Any way out of here?" he asked the group.
"This leads to the roof, we might be able to find a way down from there." Christa replied.
"You didn't come into town from the railroad, did you?" Vernon asked.
"Yeah, why?" Kenny answered.
"Never mind. I can see the sewer where we came in from here. I think we can do this."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Go! Go!"
Everyone except Lee and Kenny climbs out the window.
"Ben, come on, let's go!" Lee said.
The bell starts tolling. As it moves back and forth, the walker hanging from the bell swings toward Ben and grabs him.
Lee shoots the walker; the rope around its neck snaps and it falls, taking Ben with it, but he manages to grab onto the edge. His hand slips, but Lee grabs his arm.
"Hold on, Ben! I've got you! Ben, climb up! Come on, you can do it!"
"There's no time! You have to go, now!"
"Quit fucking around, Ben! Come on!"
"Let go, damn it!"
"Lee," Kenny stands in front of the window. "I'll see you when you're done," he looks at Lee, implying what he should do, then leaves.
"Lee, we both know."Ben lets go, but Lee continues to hold on to his arm."Let me go!"
Walkers get closer to the top of the stairs. Lee pulls Ben up.
"Why?" Ben asked.
"Go, go, go!"
The group arrive back at the house. Christa and Vernon walk up the stairs to check on Omid and the rest of the group follow shorty after.
"Christa? Everything okay?" Lee asked.
"Omid!" Christa runs over to Omid and holds his hand.
"Ellie, stay back. Don't get any closer." Lee warns.
"I never should have left you. I'm so sorry." Christa cried.
"Christa, get away from him!" Vernon said
Omid wakes up. Christa and Lee jump back.
"Hey. Back already?" Omid asked.
"We got you medicine." Christa said.
"Good, feel like I could use some."
Vernon gives Omid some pills.
"You okay, kid?" Omid asked Ben. "You look worse than I do."
"We almost didn't make it out of there because of this asshole. Shoulda left him behind when we had the chance."
"Guys, what the hell happened out there?" Omid asked.
"Let someone else tell you, I got work to do." Kenny replied.
"Okay, with a little luck you should start feeling better pretty soon. I'll stay here for a few more hours to check on him. Let me know if you need anything." Vernon said.
"Thanks, doc."
"Yes, thank you so much!"
Vernon turns to Lee. "Maybe now's a good time for you and me to have a little talk. In private."
Lee and Vernon leave the room.
"Listen, man, about what happened to Brie..."
"Don't beat yourself up over it, it was nothing you could have done. You want to know the worst part?"
"What?"
"I don't feel much. I mean, I don't feel enough. Shouldn't I be broken up over what happened to her? That's how I was when I lost my daughter, when I lost my friends in those first few weeks. But now, it's like I just take something like this in stride. Like this is what our world is now, and we'd better just get used to it."
"What did you wanna talk to me about?" Lee asked.
"I know you care about Ellie. Anyone can see that. And I know you want what's best for her. But this plan of yours, putting everyone on a boat, with no destination... do you really think that's her best chance of finding somewhere where she can be safe? Because I don't. So I wanna make you an offer."
"What kind of an offer?"
"I'll take her off your hands. Take her back with me, to my people. We're well-supplied, well-hidden, and a lot of us have had kids of our own. And now Crawford's fallen, we got nothing left to fear from them. She'll be safe with us. Safer than she will be if she stays with you, I promise you. That's what you want for her, isn't it? To be safe?"
Lee glares at Vernon. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't say any of this and give you the chance to walk away. Which you oughta do, right now."
"I know you think you're doing what's best for her. And if you were her real father, we wouldn't be having this conversation. But you're not. And staying with you is not what's best for her. If no one else around here will tell you that, then I will."
Lee slams Vernon against the wall. "That little girl's in my care. We've been through more together than you can imagine. Anyone who tries to get between me and her - anyone - is gonna wind up dead! You hear me?"
"Take your hands off me."
Lee lets Vernon go and he walks past Lee and heads down the stairs. Lee notices Ellie sitting in a room. Before lee enters the room, he sees Molly about to walk down the stairs.
"Hey. Going somewhere?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm about to head out. I just wanted to say thanks. For everything. It's been fun." Molly replied.
"What are you talking about?" he asked. "Kenny's working on the boat right now. I thought you were coming with us. God knows you've earned it."
"Yeah, I've been thinking it over. It's not for me. Sounds like it'd be pretty crowded. And I never did like the water."
"You sure about this?"
"I'm sure. I've always done better on my own anyhow. Listen, I'm not much for goodbyes, tell the others for me?"
"Sure. You take care of yourself, Molly."
"You too, Lee."
Molly and Lee hug.
"And you be sure to take care of that little girl. You know she thinks the world of you."
"Good luck."
"Ain't nothing to do with luck." Molly said, before walking down the stairs.
Lee enters the study, where Ellie is sadly looking out the window.
"Hey, sweet pea."
"Kenny's working on the boat."
"I know."
"What are we going to do? After he fixes it? Where will we go?" Ellie asked.
"Someplace else. Someplace better... Ellie, honey, what's wrong?"
"Is Ben going to be okay?" Ellie asked. "He doesn't seem the same, since he got back."
"Ben's a good kid. I think he's just feeling guilty, about some of the decisions he's made. He's gotten to feeling like he's a burden on the rest of us."
"Before we leave tomorrow, will we have time to look for my dad?"
"I'd like to, Ellie. But I don't think we'll have time. We really shouldn't stay here any longer. It's not safe."
Ellie starts crying. Lee reaches out to her, but stops, deciding to give her space. Ellie then lies down and turns away from Lee, still crying. Lee sets her radio on the desk and sits in the sofa.
Lee wakes up some time later and yawns. "Ellie?" He looks around and notices that Ellie and the radio are gone. "Ellie?"
He goes downstairs to find it empty, so he goes to the backyard. "Ellie? Ellie!"
Lee notices her hat on the ground in front of the shed. "Oh, God." He walks over to her hat and picks it up. He hears the radio crackle nearby and climbs over the fence. The radio is lying on the ground near a pile of junk. Lee picks up the radio. Suddenly, a walker behind the bins lunges at Lee and bites his left arm. Lee pushes him against the fence, then stomps on his head. He puts the radio on his belt, then picks up Ellie's hat and notices a bite mark on his wrist. "No, no, no, no. Oh, fuck!"
"Lee? Lee? You out here? Lee?" Christa calls out.
Christa, Kenny, Omid, and Ben leave the backyard and approach Lee.
"Are you crazy?" Kenny asked. "What are you doing out here, it ain't safe!"
"Lee, where's Ellie?" Omid asked. "She's not in her room!"
"Vernon ain't in the house either! What the hell is going on?" Kenny asked.
"Whose blood is that?" Christa asked.
"It's mine." Lee states and shows his bite.
"Oh, my God," Christa whispered.
"No way. No, no fucking way!"
"There's no time to worry about me. Ellie's gone."
"There's no chance she just wandered off on her own?" Omid asked.
"No, no way."
"Then who the hell took her?" Kenny asked.
"I don't know. Last night, Vernon came to me and offered to take her with him. Said she'd be better off," Lee replied.
"Son of a bitch. I knew we couldn't trust that fucker!"
"Wherever she is, I have to find her."
"Okay. What do you need from us?" Christa asked.
"Ellie may not have much time. We have a better chance of finding her if we all go together. Who's with me?" Lee asked.
"We're all responsible for Ellie. And in your condition, you may not make it to her in time. She needs our help. All of our help." Christa replied.
"Damn right. We can't let you do this alone," Omid agreed.
"So that's settled then. We'll look for Ellie together."
"Hell yeah. What're we waiting for?"
"Thanks, you guys. I appreciate it. Really."
Lee turns to face Kenny and Kenny sighs. "Lee, man... you know I care about Ellie. And I am a Christian man. But I keep asking myself, if this was me asking you for help, asking you to put your life on the line, would you be there for me? Because there've been plenty of times when you ain't been."
"Kenny, you know what Ellie means to me. She's my family now. She's all I've got."
"Hell, in the end, family's all that matters. And you were there for Katjaa and Duck when it mattered most, I guess. Alright. I'm in."
"What about you, Ben?" Lee asked.
"Now hold on a damn minute. I'm not going if this little shitbird is too. Lee, you want to bring Ellie back alive you'll leave him behind, he fucks up everything he touches!"
"Deal with it, Kenny. The way I see it, Ben still has a chance to make things right. If he wants it. How about it, Ben?"
"I don't know. Whatever you think is best," Ben said.
"Ellie's one of the few good things left in this world. She stood up for you in Crawford when Kenny wanted you gone. Don't you think you owe it to her to stand up for her now?"
"You're right. I owe her. I wanna do this for Ellie. But I wanna do it for Kenny too. I gotta make it right with him. Somehow, I gotta make it right."
"Okay, guys. We should go find Vernon. See if he took her. Let's head out."
"What about the boat?" Kenny asked. "We're just gonna leave it unguarded?"
"If someone was gonna take it, they'd have done it already. Besides, what choice do we have?" Christa answered.
The group go through the hole in the wall in the sewer and approach the morgue where the cancer group lived. Lee draws his gun and opens the door, but the room is empty.
"Where the hell are they?" Lee asked.
"Looks like they got out of here in a hurry." Kenny said.
"Vernon, get out here! There doesn't have to be any trouble here, all I want is the girl! Give her back and nobody needs to get hurt!"
Lee leans on one of the beds, his head in his hands. He hears walkers outside and sees them walk past the window. The radio crackles.
"Lee?"
"Ellie, are you alright? Where are you? Vernon, you son of a bitch!"
"Hello, Lee."
"Who is this?"
"It's not Vernon if that's what you're thinking. And you should really watch your tone. Ellie's fine. But if I were you, I'd choose my next words very carefully."