Worker72: Hey, not now xd
Carley stares at nothingness as thinks and strokes Lee's head, both still engulfed in Lily's blood, either from the face of the man she tried to wipe almost without much success or from the clothing of both of them.
What an awful mess. All of it. She can't believe how chaotic the medicine incident became, with perhaps the shootout against the bandits being the most important inflection, except that now something much worse happened... Lily finally broke down. If it wasn't for Lee, anyone would have been dead...
"Carley" Katjaa calls from the passenger seat of the vehicle. "Could you come here for a second?"
Fuck, and what timing to be called just as she was falling asleep, imploring not only that but also that Lee wouldn't wake up before she did and some more misfortune would befall them.
She looks at Clementine, cuddled up to Lee in the seat, lying next to him. She feels pity and concern. The little girl witnessed her guardian's most vulnerable side, perhaps and understands the importance of the situation being that he told her of his past. An action she would have questioned, but in the end she recognizes that it made sense; they were practically family now.
Struggling with sleep and the hope that Lee will not react to her act, she carefully gets up from the seat. The vehicle travels at a moderate speed while, out of the corner of her eye, she notices Ben totally distant and affected by what has happened. She denies with her head, hoping that he can get through this, as well as everyone else...
"Yes." She mentions, catching his attention. She notices a certain sadness, worry and even uncertainty in both of them. She knows that whatever that refers to is implied in Duck, their son, who is certainly downcast in her eyes. "Something wrong with Duck?" she mentions as seeing him resting but with a certain heaviness.
"I..." Kenny mutters. "I'd rather tell Lee, as I trust his judgment a lot. But now you'll have to be the one to lend us that hand on this..."
It is then that Katjaa tugs at the boy's shirt, revealing a bite mark on the side of his abdomen. She quickly becomes overwhelmed, covering her mouth with her hand, unable to get more emotional after all the crying over Lee.
"God... When...?"
"On the run." Kenny explains ruefully. "Lee saved both of them from a walker that lunged at them, but in escaping from it, the teeth dug into Duck..."
She doesn't know what to say. They've never been through this; no one in the group has ever been bitten in the multiple opportunities that could happen. She thinks of Lee. What would he do?
"How do we proceed?" she queries them both. "I bring it up from all parts of my being right now..." Clarifies with longing for an understanding of her empathy and why she leaves the choice to them.
Katjaa looks at Kenny with some seriousness, whether reflection as some... Sorrow? It was strange since she never saw that in the woman. This one then sighs as she concludes.
"I'll keep an eye on him and do my best from a medical perspective."
"We stick with the plan until something abrupt changes it. Heading east." Kenny confirms as firmly as he can muster.
"I understand." She assures them. "I'll... I'll take care of informing Lee and Clementine. Ben too when the time is right..." Then nods as she walks away." Cruel and ruthless, such was the world they found themselves in now, all the more reason to remain steadfast and sane in the face of whatever happened...
And then is surprised to see Lee awake and stroking Clementine's head with an absent and somewhat calm look. His tiredness is evident... She approaches calmly so as not to overwhelm him and likewise herself by having to tell him what was going on.
"Lee... Go back to sleep, we have a long journey..." She pleads as longs for him to listen and to avoid telling him right there about the situation.
"I'm fine, Carley." He affirms. Total lie, evidenced by his tired eyes and perhaps the sick look that assured he must have been having a nightmare... However, now that she thought about it, how many times was he like that; a man who was down to the last drop of his energy to help the rest.
She doesn't argue anymore, but sits back as she tries to ponder how to tell him. She looks at him, knowing it's important to get to the point about it with the subject.
"Kenny and Katjaa asked me to inform you that Duck was bitten." She drops an admittedly rushed and direct explanation. Notice in him that his gaze is even more lost in surprise, lowering his head solemnly as he hears it. "I know this isn't the time, but..."
"No, it's okay. It's very important..."He comments in a tone of voice so muffled that she feels like is going to cry again for the dearth of escence it had. Even when there was so much pain, so much chaos, they couldn't lose themselves in their own sorrows. Not yet... "How did it happen, have they talked about what steps they are going to take next?"
"A walker who threw himself on them in the escape from the motel; Katjaa will keep an eye on him. Kenny follows until something changes."
"God..." He murmurs ruefully. She understands that gesture; Kenny begins the steps of denial in the face of the situation and Lee senses it.
She looks at Clementine, him stroking her hair and twisting his fingers in her curls. His gaze between lost and determined. She is afraid to understand that gesture; it is clear oath of any means necessary to protect her.
"Clementine..." She murmurs. He denies.
"I must tell him...As well as about her parents. I can't hide it from her any longer. I... I don't know how much longer I can protect her."
"Lee!" she whispers in concern at such a statement. He doesn't look her in the eye; fear, shame. He saw himself no longer as a good man she used to declare he always was.
"I have no way to find forgiveness anymore, Carley. What happened back there..."
"It wasn't your fault! She was the one who wanted to hurt us! You saved us!"
"I killed her..."
"Was it really like that?" She asks calmly. He doesn't look at her, which makes her furious because she knows it wasn't like that and that he's just punishing himself for the situation.
"I should have stopped her when I could. I was just pretending to stand up to her to get her to drop the issue, but I should have done more..." He mutters, his broken tone no longer tearful, still showing his vulnerability at not knowing how to move on.
"None of us would have laid a finger on her; maybe Kenny, but none of us would have because we never thought any of us would do something like that... And since while I don't trust Kenny's decisions, I think I should remind you that we would all be happy to have you lead us..."
"Carley..." He asks her, in an attempt not to hear anything positive about himself.
"No, Lee. You need to hear it; like I said when we were back there. You've helped everyone so much, I know perfectly well that your decisions were for the greater good... Geez, even when I'm a better shot than you, you went and asked me to get in the van before you did! You even worried about Lily, to get her to the vehicle safely in the last hour..."
She touches Lee's chest. She feels his heart beating with speed, perhaps for reasons yet to be clarified between the two of them, which makes her smile slightly; they both look at each other in that instant, which allows the steady gaze on both of them to be pivotal to what comes next.
"You're a good man, Lee. Nothing you've done so far negates that; one can't do everything, but everyone can try to make a difference... And, to me, it would be ideal if you could be a little selfish once in a while..."
It's brief, perhaps even inopportune around the situation and all that concerns, but they kiss. Just for a second, but it serves to calm them both down and make them understand everything about each other; separating just makes them understand a little more how nice life is in this horrible lost world.
From the rearview mirror, Kenny watches the couple briefly with some melancholy. For some time now, despite their love for each other, he has always had difficulty sustaining their relationship with Katjaa over the choices he has made in this new world. He has no regrets, as he is sure they were for the greater good for the group, but it overwhelms him to know that each one of them takes him further away from his wife... It's that point where he killed Larry that might ruin everything if she knows... He killed a man, even though he could turn into a walker, but he killed a human being at the end of the day.
Lee and he were not so different now, but at the same time they were still different; he thought about avoiding trouble if possible for his survival, but at the end of the day he also had a son and a wife to take care of and he would never let that go. Lee, on the other hand, was sacrificing more and more of himself for the rest... This last time it cost him part of his being. Having been an ex-convict, it's hard not to imagine a bit of the pain his partner felt when it came to reliving old traumas.
Lee was the first to apply the "let go" and it looks like this time he will have to remember to do it again...
...
Awakening. Lee can assure that he didn't think he could sleep after what happened before, but fortunately, he was able to rest without anything to think about... His eyes open, reflecting the beautiful sunlit landscape that is peeking out at dawn. Carley and Clementine lying on top of him, being that this one doesn't take long to look at the surroundings doubtfully; Ben sleeps leaning on the table, Kenny drives, looking at him from the rearview mirror just to give him the news.
"We've got something out front." He informs him, which gains Lee's full attention. Struggling a bit to get away from Carley, who refuses to wake up and let go, he successfully slips away from both of them and approaches his companion.
The driver's and Lee's gaze, both irritated with fatigue, fixed straight ahead. The road now blocked by what appeared to be an abandoned train...
"Great; or rather, bad... We're stuck between brush and a train." Comprehends the man in the bloody shirt with disgust. "Ben and I will look around, Kenny, you take care of the rest and, well, try to get some rest with some fresh air. Especially you, man, you've been driving all night..." He suggests, something to which his friend can't help but laugh at Lee's haggard appearance. Always worrying about the rest before him...
The vehicle comes to a stop, which is why the sleeping beauties react with confusion at the act. Ben wakes up, just as Lee approaches and nods to him, to which he understands, getting up and getting out almost in despair. Carley mumbles the black-haired man's name, but he gestures for her to sleep on with a weak smile. She clearly doesn't accept that and watches as Kenny and his wife get out of the vehicle. They leave her to look after Clementine until she wakes up. Perfect.
Fresh air after so much violence. Lee prays to himself that it stays that way for a while longer as he focuses on his new target: the stopped train. Along with Ben and Kenny, they approached the vehicle and noticed the huge, imposing metal wall in their path.
"Is there any way around it?" Ben asked.
"There doesn't seem to be a detour. On foot, perhaps. But I can't afford it now." Kenny replies, evidencing his son's situation to Lee, who nods as he looks around.
"This place looks safe. We're in the middle of nowhere and all the brush will keep anything from surprising us..." Informs the former history professor as he turns just to see Carley and Clem getting out of the vehicle onto a log to rest... Duck looked very tired before him. "Ben, you're coming with me. Kenny, as soon as I see everything is safe, I'll let you know and we'll act as we can. Carley, Clem. Together and quiet, you look prettier that way." He joked at the end to lighten the mood. Carley arranged her bangs with an awkward embarrassed laugh and the girl fixed her gaze on that gesture with a smile and a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, Lee. If you get to see anything to drink, Duck I think is dehydrated and will be very helpful."
"It's a freighter, honey." Kenny acknowledged. "Be careful."
"We are." Lee assured, watching as Ben was already pawing around, poking his head wherever he could.
Watching in the distance, by the cars, allowed Lee to feel some sorrow at the obvious mess behind the train. The derailed cars, generating an evident destructive chaos that led to the impediment of the access to that place. The door of the next car, which was still clinging to the tracks, was in perfect condition, but closed. He could see that the lock was not padlocked, so he was able to open it without a problem, pushing it down the rail until he released the foul looking thing inside.
"Wow..." Ben acknowledged at the disgusting appearance of the place.
"Someone has been living here." He acknowledged with some caution.
"Yeah... Shit, do you think they left?"
"If they did, well, not by much. Everything looks fresh and that bottle still has water in it." He denoted among the muck a person bottle with mineral water in perfect condition and unused. "Be alert."
That's when, among the muck, he saw a clipboard with a map on it. Picking it up he raised an eyebrow as he noticed that it was the route where the train was going. He then looked forward to seeing how this route ended up leading Savannah along Route 27, towards the coast. Right where Kenny was taking them. He went down the other side, noticing a "natural" barricade caused by the automobile that led the train to crash and derail its other cars. After going to the rear, he noticed that the entire system was in excellent condition as he saw the cars' bolt clamp in place and without pressure or damage. Then he noticed the bar coupler and sighed. The breakage was total; there is never an easy way out of trouble.
He walked out the door to the vehicle and climbed in. Noting that it was in perfect condition, it was not hard to get his hopes up about how little trouble it would be to get it running. He opened the engine compartments and saw only the engine with its injector, a tool rack (from which he removed the spike remover) and two compartments with nothing of note. He then reached the driver's cab where he was horrified by what he saw before he entered; the driver was in the seat, apparently dead from a brutal blow to the head from the crash when he nailed the vehicle's brakes. However, he leaves nothing to the obvious and prepares to move. Ben is docked on his back as Lee already raises the spike remover. He hits the back of the guy's head with a sharp blow, but the dead didn't even make a sound other than shaking against the ground. Lee didn't even take long to match the hole with dried blood on the window with half of the corpse's dented face.
"Looks like he never came back." Ben muttered empathetically.
"God..." Attested Lee not wanting to imagine what could be worse; dying like that or becoming a walker. He then fixed his attention to the orange light on the dashboard. "There's a light flashing..."
"Push it!" insists Ben, almost like a toddler full of curiosity.
"Push it?" He queries him, dumbfounded.
"Why not?"
"Are you fucking serious?"
"Yeah, look!" the boy stepped forward, tapping the button without further ado. Whatever he was doing, it allowed the brakes to release and everything seemed to work again. That got Kenny's attention, who walked over to them. "It was just the brakes."
"Okay, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on this one." Gave up Lee on the topic, just as the fisherman excitedly entered the cockpit.
"Does this shit work?!"
"That seems to be the case. The wagon still has to separate from the mess it derailed. I was going to keep an eye on it with this tool... Oh, and I found a map."
"Fuck..." Genuinely rejoices the fisherman. "So how do we make it work?!"
"Ask Mr. Amtrak about it." Joked Lee referring to Ben, who was dragging the corpse out of the cabin. The latter looked at them with clear obviousness.
"No idea."
"Ten tons of steel to Savannah - the walkers won't be a problem for us with this!"
"If we can get it fired up..." Lee understands with obvious uncertainty.
"I'm sure we can do it. How hard can it be?"
"We'd better not touch anything until I can find some indication for the controls... I'll get right on it."
"That's the spirit." Kenny acknowledges with pleasure, plus some pity for his friend as he remembers what happened earlier. "Duck was bitten." He blurted out abruptly, managing to stop Lee from his inquiry with noticeable concern. "I know Carley could have told you, but I wanted you to hear it from me or Katjaa. It's the least I can do after you trusted us so much..."
"It's okay, Kenny." Thanks the ex-professor with a soft smile. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, man... I'll help in any way I can, as I know you'd do the same for Clem."
"Always." Confirms the mustachioed one with assurance. "Now... Let's settle this! Oh, Ben..." Acknowledges Kenny as he sees him enter with noticeable distress. Lee senses the uncertainty in the young man, perhaps from overhearing the earlier conversation. "... I'd really appreciate it if you'd keep an eye on Duck and the girls. I'll be busy evaluating these controls." Ben didn't answer, but the obvious sadness in his expression led to a possible resignation at the request.
Lee is finally able to wander around the cramped space with ease. His gaze fixes on a photo. The family of the dead driver... He can do nothing but wish success to those in the photo if they are well.
The maps are covered by Kenny's focused body. He doesn't seem to need them now anyway so...
Bingo! Boot notes...! Which unfortunately are found torn off... How convenient. Luckily, he sees that from the adjacent sheet he has the trace of the remarking of the sheet that brought the instructions. Now he needed something to reveal the marked paper.
He exits through the front of the cabin. Between the putrid odor of the previous body and the poor departed man's rotten, smelly lunch, Lee is thankful that the air is once again pure. After confidently climbing down, he is startled by a walker that was right next to him; a poor dead man in the seat, strapped in with the seatbelt of one of the cars the train hit. The cookies under his feet caught his attention with relish.
"Everything all right?" a familiar voice consulted, calling out his surprise. Carley was smiling at him with Clementine at his side. "Don't be mad. It was her idea."
The little girl only flashed her innocent look to know that Lee would only resign himself to not complaining. He was grateful for the company anyway.
"The train looks fit to travel all the way to Savannah. I was panning around to make sure everything was secure, but this one surprised me. No gunfire." He states to Carley as he was about to assess the door that appeared to be broken and faked. It wouldn't fit the vehicle... But it sure would crack heads. "This is going to hurt."
As Carley pulled the little girl away from Lee's obviously risky maneuver, He manages to pull the walker's seatbelt out of his seat to get ready for action. Just as he gets his head close to the edge of the seat, he soon gives him a solid blow with the door, finishing it off with a kick that causes the door to become embedded in his head. Clem seems used to this brutality already, and especially to the differentiation of humans and walkers, so it only disgusts her.
"Hey, Clem. You don't happen to have a pencil or something to write with, do you?" Lee consulted as he held up the box, unable not to smile at the sight of the girl's attention on it.
"No... I wish. there's plenty of drawing paper here! If you find one, and you don't need it, could you give it to me?"
He didn't even take long to give her the box with cookies. "Go on. Share them with Duck... And if I find anything, I'll give it to you."
"Thanks, Lee! You're the best!" the girl quickly walked away under the gaze of both of them. Carley then looks at him with a sweet smile.
"I think there's a pencil in the van. Also, I see you found what Katjaa needs."
"Oh, yeah." He acknowledges as he forgets about the bottle in his pocket. "It was used recently. There was someone here." He explained seriously, managing to surprise Carley as she reaffirms her weapon in her jeans. "Let's be alert."
They return to the group gathered near the van, Lee quickly arranging the drink for Duck. While he is sympathetic, crouching down to the level of the mother and son, Carley stands beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder with the same sympathetic expression.
"He's allergic to bees." Katjaa explained calmly as she expressed what it meant to her that they knew all about her son. "I just think about it. As if it somehow matters..."
"It doesn't define anything." Replied the brunette calmly.
"No, you're right... But there's always a maybe..."
Going to the van, Lee picks up a pencil that luckily was on the passenger seat. Fortunately shaking it fortunately makes her companion smile with amusement as she continues to tell the group about her life. She seems anxious to break away to get back to him, but Lee is quick to head for the train to corroborate the discovered instructions.
Bingo. Done with the reveal, he sighs with relief to see that nothing was completely lost, proceeding to look at the control board to his right which seemed easy with all the directives obtained. Following the steps successfully, he smiles with satisfaction to see the entire panel light up. Just in time to see Carley walk in with surprise at Kenny's shouts of elation after the success.
"Hey." Lee greets with amusement. He tosses the tablet of papers at her, startling her and catching it by surprise. "Shall we light this at once?"
Both go down the narrow path right up to the engine compartments where they see the mechanism after opening the hatches. Lee never noticed that he could be as close to Carley as he was at this moment; he holding the board while she followed the last step.
And after the success of feeling the machine purring calmly, they both hug each other with euphoria. Luck at last. Kenny withdraws just as he was about to enjoy the moment too, seeing them so close, perhaps with some guilt or envy for their current situation...
Carley pulls him by the hand towards the group to give the news. Seizing the moment, Lee checks in with Katjaa about Duck. He had eaten very little of the cookies and also drank. The ex-professor only encourages that Duck was probably fighting what's inside him, but the look on the vet's face doesn't bode well even though she responds positively to the expressed hope. The talk turns to Clem, who expresses her uncertainty for her friend, something to which the ex-journalist and ex- convict are unable to reply.
The train receives a small jolt after apparently moving. Lee remembers the jammed plectrum. Perhaps it has now been freed by that abrupt act. Kenny peeks out from the cab to report.
"We're still stuck. Work that out while I watch how the throttle works."
The pair, now seemingly inseparable, decide to head for the car. Clementine is quick to follow, to which Carley helps her up.
"Yikes... It's dirty." Murmurs the little girl with a disgusted expression.
"Yeah... Don't touch anything." The woman orders her as she looks at Lee seriously to which he nods.
As the three of them go down the other side, they look at the situation with the baton as Lee exposes his physical effort to get the baton free. Once this is accomplished, they alert Kenny who seems to have heard them. He finally climbs up, being surprised by a man who looks at him with a threatening posture to his surprise at the stealth of the moment.
"Did you touch any of my stuff?" Demanded the guy seriously to which Lee quickly calms Carley from grabbing her gun as she secures Clementine.
"Yes." Confirmed Lee in reply, calmly. "I took the train route map."
"Ah, that." Instantly relaxes the apparent drifter. "It's okay, keep it. I have that map well memorized anyway... I see you didn't touch much. Appreciate it. My name is Chuck. Charles if you're the serious type."
"Lee. This is Carley and Clementine." He introduced to which they both relaxed, keeping their distance.
"Then I can think that's your group out there. And the one in the booth."
Well observed. Lee notes that this one studied them before surprising him, noting their excellent perception.
"That's right."
"I see... I was thinking of giving you quite a scare, but it wouldn't be wise in this day and age."
"Well, if you like to know, I almost hit you with the spike lifter."
"The locomotive driver must have been more frightening than that if you hit him that hard... I already introduced myself to them and they were quick to greet me. I'm grateful to see you're not so dense."
"We're going through a rough time." Carley expressed as she helped Clem up. He seemed to understand and nodded.
"I see... Well, you'll see me with the three over there if you need anything."
Settling that they all knew each other while Kenny determined the machine's operation already ensured taking some time to rest...
...
Getting to know Chuck was no problem. In fact, he was open about what he was doing there and where he was from. Asocial, clearly, but from his pre-disaster origins it seemed. Lee just sat for a second next to Carley to snooze for a while until needed to continue.
Kenny gathered what gas and oil he could from the vehicle just in case. From that to taking as much as possible, an hour passed. Lee was fully functional when someone asked him to be.
And then, the train ride was secured... Although Duck didn't seem to be any better at the sight of anyone and Kenny's obvious refusal to discuss the topic.
With the train moving, the tension in the air is palpable in the face of impending tragedy. It's only a matter of time before the worst happens... And the distractions stop working.