Chapter 3: New Home

"JAY!!!"

'My bat...!'

The zombie lunged at me. I blocked its bite with one of my arms and grabbed it by the face with the other. It's teeth dug into the duct tape covering my arms but it didn't break through. "Get--OFF! ME!" I slammed my fist against its temple. It snarled, hardly affecting the thing. This is the second time this has happened, AND IT'S NOT FUN!

"HOLY SHIT, HE'S BEEN BITTEN!"

"LEE!"

"Get off of him you son of bitch!" the man rushed around the store, stumbling over himself in the process. He made his way over and curb-stomped it, knocking it off. I scooted back, my heart slamming against my ribcage as he started stomping it out.

BANG!*

A bullet drilled straight into its skull. It stopped thrashing and dropped dead, a pool of blood leaking from the wound. I inhaled sharply, clenching my eyes shut. I almost died. I almost died... I almost died... I almost died again! Almost... Almost...!

"..ay...!"

C-Can't think straight... cold... dark... people are talking...?

"...anic...tack...!!"

"...breaking...in...!"

"Jay!"

I want to go home. I want to go home. IwantogohomeIwanttogohomeIWANTTOGOHOME!

"JAY!"

GASP!*

I opened my eyes, breathing heavily. I was surrounded by Lee, Clementine, and Kenny's family. The reporter, Carly, the dorky guy Doug, and the Asian man Glenn were amongst the group looking at me in concern. I took in another breath and shivered. "W-What?"

"You were having a panic attack..." Lee muttered, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"After something like that? I'm not surprised..." Glenn muttered and got an elbow to the side by Carly.

"I-I'm okay..." I stuttered, looking down at my arms. The teeth marks were deeper into the tape than before. But I didn't feel any pain, so it protected me from getting infected. "Phew..."

Everyone paused at the sound of gunshots ringing outside and roaring vehicles.

"Is that the military?"

"... I don't know."

"Thank God for whatever it is."

"We almost got killed because of that bitch's itchy trigger finger! That was stupid! They almost got in here! And now that boy's been bitten! We're going to ugh...!" Larry collapsed in the background, causing Lilly to gasp in horror.

"Dad!"

Everyone backed up and turned to the new situation. The conversation faded in and out for me as I caught my breath. Something about him having a conversation and needing pills...? I don't know. As far as I'm concerned that guy can suck it. He's a big jerk...!

Inhale...*

Exhale...*

I grunted when I felt a pair of small arms wrap around me. I blinked. Clementine was... hugging me. But she quickly pulled away, looking down at her feet in shame. "I-I'm sorry..."

I blinked. "F-For...?"

"I-I was rushing to use the bathroom and then you opened the door and... and..." she teared up. "You almost... got eaten because of me."

Oh. Yeah. That did happen.

I feel like I should be angry but... "It's okay..."

Clementine blinked in surprise. "You're not mad...?"

"No - I should be..." she wilted, "but I'm not. I'm just glad I'm alive. No point in getting angry over old stuff." I sighed, chuckling. "Arm coverings come in handy, you know?"

"Y-Yeah..." she rubbed her arm awkwardly, frowning.

Ah... that didn't work. What do I say now...?

"Don't you uh... have to use the bathroom?"

She blinked, then squeaked and rushed inside, closing the door behind her. "...ewwww! It smells gross in here...!" came a muffled complaint from inside. I laughed, stumbling to my feet.

"Well, yeah. It's a bathroom." I snarked.

"S-Shut up... doofus!"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, dweeb."

"Hey! That's not nice!"

"You said something mean first!"

"... Oh. Yeah..."

We shared a brief laugh. Lee walked back over, letting out a small sigh. "Glad you're alright, Jay."

I looked up at Lee and nodded. "So am I... thanks, Lee." I glanced around, eyeing Larry in the background who was being watched by Lilly. "What's with the old guy?"

"Heart condition. We're working on getting him his pills..." Lee hummed and jabbed a thumb in Carly's direction. "But if you wanna thank anyone, thank Carly. She's the one that took the shot."

"Oh." I glanced in Carly's direction and then squinted at Larry. "He's a jerk."

Lee chuckled. "You can say that again." he turned to the bathroom door, "You okay in there?"

"Y-Yeah," Clementine awkwardly replied.

I shared a glance with Lee and shrugged, idly glancing at the corpse of the zombie near the door and kicking it with a scowl. "Happened again..."

"What do you mean?" Lee crouched down to meet my eyes and I chewed the inside of my cheek.

"... I almost got eaten. Again." I grimaced, clenching my fists nervously. "There are times where I freeze up... or - or I just, I don't know, lose it... I don't wanna end up like those things. Like my Mom."

Lee looked like he wanted to say something but clicked his jaw shut. Eventually, he grabbed my shoulders and gave me a serious look. "I promised to look after both you and Clementine. So I'm going to do my best to protect you two, alright?"

I stared at Lee blankly and nodded quietly. "... Yeah. Alright."

He stared at me a bit longer before sighing. The sound of the toilet being flushed made us turn as Clementine sheepishly stepped out of the bathroom. She looked up at Lee. "It stinks in there..."

I smirked. "I thought all you had to do was pee? Gross~"

Clementine pouted at me and turned to Lee. "Lee! Jay's being mean!"

My jaw dropped in shock.

SNITCH!

Lee chuckled and shook his head. "Alright, alright. Settle down, both of you." he turned to Clementine. "By the way, Clem... I want you to keep an ear out. Glenn's got the other walkie-talkie. He went out to get some gas for Kenny's truck. Let me know if he needs any help, alright?"

Clementine fished her walkie-talkie out of my jacket's pocket, blinking. "Like... a mission?"

Lee blinked owlishly and nodded. "Yeah, something like that. Think you can do that for me?"

She nodded determinedly. "Yeah...! I can do that!"

"Great." Lee smiled. The professor got up and began to walk away...

"Where are you going?" Clementine asked.

"I'm gonna check the back office. See if there's a way to get into the pharmacy."

Clementine's expression brightened. "Can we help?!"

Lee paused, then smiled. "Sure."

I watched Lee and Clementine walk off. I moved to follow them but I stopped for a moment and turned to where Carly was. I quietly walked over and tugged on her sleeve. She was fiddling with a radio, I think.

"Oh - uhm hey... little boy." she awkwardly muttered, crouching down to eye level with a smile. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to say thanks for saving me," I said.

"O-Oh!" her eyes widened in surprise, and her smile widened slightly. "Of course." her gaze drifted down to my arms. "Are you...?"

"The coverings protected my arms from the bite. Their teeth can only go so far." I scratched at the tape. "I might have to add another layer."

Carly raised a brow, humming. "Smart."

"Thanks," my smile brightened slightly. "We've got food in the basket on the counter if you guys are hungry - weeks' worth, I think."

Without another word, I ran into the office to catch up with Clementine and Lee. My eyes honed in on the sign, where the words 'Alive Inside' were written. Clementine stood near the doorway while Lee looked around inside. My eyes widened, seeing a pool of dried blood staining the floor near a mat. Two doors were covered up and boarded up. Probably to prevent zombies from breaking in...

"This placed is fucked." I blurted out.

Clementine gave me a shocked look. "You said a swear!"

I blinked and instinctively covered my mouth. Then I paused and furrowed my brows. "... Hey, it's the apocalypse. Who cares!"

Lee snorted, moving one of the wooden boards out of the way as a cane dropped to the floor. "Let's avoid swearing until you're older, huh? Don't need people questioning my guardianship more than they already are..."

I huffed. "Fine..."

Clementine pointed to the cane. "What's that?"

Lee paused and crouched to pick it up. A nostalgic smile crossed his lips as he rolled it in his hands. "... This was my Dad's cane. He'd zip around with it from time to time."

Clementine squinted at the item in confusion. "Was he sick?"

"Nah, he was okay. I actually saw him whoop shoplifters with it. This cane's protected this store better than any guard dog ever could... plus he knew how to make it look cool." he smiled. "Like you two with that hat and bat."

Clementine smiled, reaching up to hold the aforementioned item. "My Dad gave it to me!"

I rubbed my wrist, humming. "Same,"

Lee chuckled. "See, Dad's are smart like that."

I blinked. "So your Dad owned this place?"

"Yep... him and my Mom," Lee muttered, placing the cane up against the wall. "Brother worked here too."

"Maybe... you can keep it?" I suggested, eyeing the cane curiously. "You could use it as a weapon! To beat up zombies 'n stuff."

"Hmm..." Lee hummed. "Maybe."

His gaze drifted over to the desk covering one of the doors. I glanced over at it. "Is that the door to the pharmacy?"

"Yeah... guess I've gotta move it."

"Ooh! Can we help?!" Clementine rushed forward with sparkling eyes.

I nodded at Clementine's words, looking up at Lee expectantly.

The man gave us looks of surprise before nodding with a small smile. "... Sure."

We walked over to the desk. Lee and Clementine stood near the front while I handled the side. Lee then looked between the two of us. "Alright. Careful now. Watch your fingers between the drawers... ready?"

We nodded.

"Okay. One... two... three!" with a strained grunt, we started pulling the desk away. But the manpower between the three of us combined, it wasn't that difficult of an issue. Lee broke through the silence with a question, allowing us to catch a brief break. "How are you two holding up? In regards to everything?"

"Almost died twice... so not good," I grumbled. "But you were there to save me those two times... so also good? I dunno. It's a lot."

"Being good is... good. Despite the circumstances."

I gave Lee an awkward look. "... Yep,"

"Mm." Clementine nodded and frowned. "It's scary, not knowing why everyone is so crazy."

"Nobody does, I don't think," Lee mutters.

"I think my Dad would." Clementine mumbled under her breath.

We went to start pushing again before Clementine abruptly asked: "Do you have kids?"

Lee stopped and averted his gaze. "No."

Her brows furrowed. "You don't have a family?"

I pursed my lips quietly. "Clem..."

"What?"

"Let's just... keep moving this desk, yeah?" Clementine frowned at Lee's response but reluctantly grabbed the desk and began pulling. "You two play any sports?"

"Baseball." was my automatic baseball. "I wanted to grow up to be a professional baseball player like Javier Garcia before lurkers started roaming around."

"Javier Garcia, huh..?" Lee hummed. "I think I've heard about him."

"I played soccer," Clementine chimed in. Then she paused for a moment. "I didn't like it very much."

"Why? Didn't like getting all dirty?" I smirked at her.

"No!" she pouted. "... I always lost."

I hissed. "Oof."

Lee chuckled. "You can't give up on something just because you're bad at it. If you keep trying and trying, you'll improve. Who knows? You may end up having a talent for it."

"I guess," Clementine mumbled.

"Alright, you two. A little further."

We pushed the desk to the side. Before we could finish, Clementine abruptly stopped. "Why don't you wanna talk about your family? Do they like - hate you?"

I shot Clementine a wide-eyed look.

Lee closed his eyes and sighed, frowning to himself. "... I hope not. It's... complicated."

She tilted her head. "Why?"

"It just is..."

"But don't you love them?"

"Of course I do." Lee sighed and turned to the girl. "... look, they're gone now and I just wish things could've been different."

Clementine hesitantly frowned, averting her gaze. "Oh."

His expression softened. "I got into some trouble and we stopped talking after that."

I leaned against the desk, interjecting. "My Mom wouldn't talk to me when I got in trouble,"

Lee smirked a bit. "I can relate."

Clementine looked up at Lee. "What would you say to them if you could see them again?"

Lee's lips parted in shock and he stood there in silence. After a while, he quieted down and sighed, "... I don't know, Clem. There's a lot I'd wanna say. But I just don't know what."

"... Oh. Okay."

I waited until they were ready to push the desk again. When they were, we moved it against the wall. That was when Clementine surprised me with a sharp cry of pain. "Ow-!"

We looked at her in surprise. "Are you alright?"

She whimpered. "I hurt my finger..."

"Is it bleeding?"

"A little..."

"Let me have a look." Lee picked her up and placed her on top of the desk, wincing at the bloody cut. "Ouch..."

Clementine sniffled. "It hurts..."

"Jay, check and see if there's a bandaid in that med box over there."

"Okay." I walked over to the other table and grabbed the box, moving it over to the desk and opening it. There wasn't much in there. Some Tylenol, bandages, cough medicine... oh! There's a bandage. "Here,"

"Thank you." Lee nodded at me and took the bandage, gently cleaning Clementine's cut and wrapping it around her injured finger. "There we go... all better."

Clementine eyed it, smiling. "Thank you,"

I hummed. "Maybe you'll get a cool scar once it heals!"

Her eyes widened with a spark of hope.

Lee chuckled. "I doubt it."

We groaned.

I backed up as the professor walked over to the pharmacy door. As he tried fiddling with it, my attention wandered elsewhere throughout the office, humming to myself.

"Tsk, figures... need the keys from that employee outside."

I blinked, my curiosity bleeding through when I noticed a picture on the floor. It was sitting within a shattered picture frame. I carefully picked it up and gasped in surprise. "Hey, Lee. Is this you?"

The man paused as he searched through the drawers on the desk. Clementine hopped off to get a closer look as the man turned around and walked over. "Woah, it is Lee! Is this your family?"

Lee took the picture from my hands and stared at it, a slew of emotions swimming through his eyes as he gripped the family photo. "...I..."

The door creaked open and Carley stepped inside. "Did you guys find anything yet?"

Lee jumped in surprise, dropping the photo. "No - urgh-... just a photo. The door needs keys to unlock..."

Carley's eyes drifted towards the photo on the floor. Her eyes narrowed and she looked up at the man, cutting him off. "I know who you are."

Lee stood there in shock as she continued. "You're Lee Everett. You're a professor at Athens who killed a State Senator after you caught him sleeping with your life."

Clementine and I shared wide-eyed glances, and then I blinked... so THAT'S where I knew Lee from! He was on the news before the outbreak! Huh... I'm being taken care of by a murderer...

Surprisingly, I'm not scared about that.

"This is your parent's store. Folks around town know their son got a life sentence, but I'm a reporter for WABE. I paid attention to that trial..." Carley paused, folding her arms over her chest. "You may be a murderer, but frankly I don't care. Honestly, that might be a skill we can use."

Wut?

Lee shook his head and scoffed, glaring at the woman and crossing his arms. "Hmph."

Carley locked eyes with the man and sighed. "Look. I'm not trying to cause problems. That isn't needed. But I want to know if you told anyone about who you were. That you were tied to this place?"

Lee stared at her blankly. "I told Kenny and Katjaa that my parents owned the store. But that's it." he narrowed his eyes. "The dead are roaming the streets eating the people alive. Who cares about what happened before?"

Carley gave him a sharp look. "It matters because others might care about that little title of yours. If this lasts more than a few days we need to stick together, and that type of thing will cause friction in this group. Like I said before, we don't need that. We're already dysfunctional as is."

Lee withheld a biting remark, considering her words and sighing as he averted his gaze. Carley's eyes softened and she stood up straighter. "... You seem like a good guy despite what the reports say. You're going out of your way to protect a little girl and boy who aren't even related to you and you've stood up for others when it wasn't needed. For what it's worth, I won't tell anyone your secret... but you should consider telling the others in case we make it out of this."

Lee recalled Hershel's words to him.

"You're gonna have 'ta depend on the honesty of strangers if you're gonna make it. And if those same people start questioning yours... you're gonna be in trouble."

Lee nodded slowly, taking in a deep breath and picking the photo back up. "I'll think about it."

Carley smiled and nodded, her gaze landing on us. She blinked in surprise before looking at Lee and coughing awkwardly, patting him on the shoulder. "I'll uh... leave you with those two."

She left the room, leaving the three of us in suffocating awkward silence. Clementine shuffled on her feet nervously, glancing up at Lee. "Is the reason your parents are mad at you... was it because you killed someone?"

Lee looked over at her in surprise, then turned to me and sighed. He focused on the both of us and nodded. "Yes. That's why."

"Were they a monster?"

"No. They weren't..." he ran a hand down his face. "... it's a complicated mess. I did a bad thing that I regret and I paid for it. I'm always looking back wondering if I could have done things differently, but..."

"You can't," I mumbled despondently. "... you can't go back and change what happened."

"That's... that's right." Lee let out a worn-out breath, the action looking like it drained him of nearly his energy. He gave us a look of conviction and warmth. "But even though I did a bad thing, I still promised that I'll look after the two of you. It's alright if you're afraid - I wouldn't blame you. But I won't break my promise."

I chewed the inside of my cheek, flexing my hands awkwardly. "... you saved my life twice so... I don't care. It doesn't matter now - or uhm won't matter, soon, so..."

"I trust you," Clementine said confidently with a bright smile. "You've been nice to me. I dunno what you did but whatever it was... I'm sure you didn't mean to do it!"

A grin slowly began to tug at Lee's lips. "... I-"

"... Uh, hello? Little girl?"

We heard static followed by the sound of Glenn's voice. Clementine squeaked in surprise and fished her walkie-talkie out of her pocket, staring at it in surprise. "Mr. Glenn?"

"Oh, thank God...! Hey - uh, sorry, could you put your daddy on the phone - erm talkie... whatever."

Clementine looked up at Lee and held it up to him. The professor took it hastily, his eyes wide. "Shit, Glenn! Are you okay?!"

"Ugh - I wish I could say I am. I was getting gas for Kenny's truck when a bunch of roaming ones came in and swarmed the place! They got the jump on me. I'm hiding over here but they won't leave!"

Lee cursed and jogged outside the office. We followed after him. Kenny must have overheard because he looked over at us. "What happened?"

"Glenn's stuck at the motor inn." noises of shock and worry rumbled throughout the store. Lee focused on the walkie-talkie. "Hey, Glenn. We're gonna work on sending a rescue team to come and get you, so sit tight, aight?"

"Phew... sounds good. I'll stay here then."

"Sounds good."

Lee gave Clementine an apologetic look. "I'm gonna hold onto this until we get Glenn back, okay? I'll take good care of it."

"O-Okay..."

Kenny walked over and folded his arms with a concerned frown. "What's your plan?"

Lee hummed. "I don't think Doug's good around zombies... you've got your family and Lilly is taking care of her Dad..." the man began formulating a plan in his mind and nodded swiftly. "I'll take Carley's deadeye down to the motor inn, get Glenn, and get back here as fast as we can."

Kenny sighed reluctantly. "If that's what you wanna do..."

Lee shrugged. "Somebody's got to."

Carley stepped forward with a nod. "I'm in. I could use a jog."

"Good... think you got any clips to spare?" Lee asked, pulling Mom's pistol from his waistband.

"I got a couple." Carley nodded, grabbing her purse and tossing one over to the man.

Lee reloaded the firearm as he made his way to the office. "Alright, let's go."

I clenched my fists and frowned, stepping forward. "Can I go?"

Lee whirled around and frowned. "No."

Carley looked at me in horrified shock. "Absolutely not!"

Kenny shook his head. "Out of the question."

Guh-!

I grimaced in frustration. "Why not?!"

"Jay you're a child. You're too young for this." Lee cut me off before I could retort. "You may have killed a few zombies but that was through luck. There's no telling how many are out there, and I'm not going to risk your safety out there."

"But...!"

Lee crouched down and placed a hand on my shoulder, giving me a firm look. "Not. Now. Maybe when you're older or when I think you're ready, I'll prepare both you and Clementine for something like this. But today is not one of those days."

My jaw clicked shut and my brows creased deeply. I glared at the floor and stepped back with a scowl. I felt Clementine's hand enrope my fist as I tried to reign in my temper and irritation. Lee gripped my shoulder, making me look him in the eyes. "I need you and Clem to look after each other while I'm gone, alright? Can you do that?"

I sighed... "... Yeah. Okay."

"My man." Lee grinned, patting me on the back before gesturing for Carley to follow him. The reporter spared Clementine and me a glance and followed after him.

I watched Lee leave, my grimace worsening. I felt Clementine squeeze my fist, and I glanced at her. "... He'll come back."

I stared at her and then at the empty office, letting out a weary sigh. "... Yeah."

X-X-X-X-X-X

"And then, a baby crab crawled onto my hand!"

"It didn't pinch you?"

"Nah. I ate it!"

"..."

Clementine stared at Duck in horror as Kenny and Katjaa laughed at the girl's expression. Jay remained quiet, biting into a biscuit with a frown. It'd been an hour since Lee and Carley left to get Glenn and they still haven't come back... and he was worried. Worried that maybe they didn't make it... what if something bad happened? Not having a definitive answer agitated him.

It wasn't like they could check in on them either. Glenn and Lee had both the walkie-talkies...

At the very least Duck was back to his usual chipper self. Small solaces...

Jay perked up at the sound of the office door creaking open. He leaped out of his seat to see Lee, Carley, and Glenn come out. "You're ba-!" His growing smile faded at the despondent expressions on their faces. Almost as though they experienced some sort of tragedy. It made the boy pause in his steps and hesitate, swallowing the lump in his throat.

What happened out there...?

"Holy shit. You're back!" Kenny walked over to greet the three. He paused upon noticing the look on their faces. "What happened?"

"... got gas for your truck," Glenn muttered and walked off to another corner of the store.

"I need to sit down..." Carley sighed and moved away from the group.

Lee exhaled through his nose and shook his head. "We had some close calls back there. Glenn's fine, and..." he hesitated, closed his eyes, and sighed. "... we're okay. That's all that matters."

Kenny focused on Lee's face for a moment and eventually sighed, nodding. "I can tell when something's up but alright, I won't pry."

Lee nodded. "Thank you." he rubbed his face and shook his head. "Now I have to get those pills..."

"I'll leave you to it, then."

Clementine walked over to Jay, glancing over at Lee as the professor made his way over to Doug and conversed quietly with the man before they stepped outside "Is Lee okay?"

"I dunno." Jay frowned. "I think something happened at the motor in - but I don't think they'll tell us even if we asked."

"Oh..." Clementine frowned. "Maybe we can cheer him up somehow?"

Jay ran a hand through his curly hair, shrugging. "Any ideas...?"

"...well-"

Lee and Doug burst through the front door and slammed it shut, alerting everyone in the store. Both the men gasped heavily as Doug slumped to the floor and groaned. "That was too close...!"

"What did you two do out there?" Carley stood up in alarm, looking between the two men. She narrowed her eyes at Lee. "We JUST got back."

"I know. I know." Lee grimaced and held up the keys. "We got the keys, though. That's all that matters."

"Holy shit...!" Lily stood up with a grin. "You're amazing! Let's get in there already!"

"Alright, alright. Slow your roll." Lee chuckled, setting his axe down. Both adults made their way into the office.

Jay blinked owlishly. "That was quick."

Clementine nodded. "Mhm."

Alarms began blaring throughout the entire store, and the boy looked up towards the ceiling in exasperation. "Oh, COME ON!" the group was set on edge immediately as Lee and Lilly rushed out of the office, with Kenny running over.

"What the hell happened?!"

"Security alarm got triggered inside the pharmacy. It's automatic whenever the store is put on lockdown." Lee said in rapid fire.

"This is gonna alert all the zombies in the town!"

The growls of the dead were like a pin drop in a silent room, breaking through the grating noise of the alarm. Eyes collectively began to widen in horror as they could hear the various noises begin to surround the store. That's when they all burst into action.

Katjaa picked Duck off the counter and grasped his hand. "Duck, baby, it's time to go.

Kenny made a break for the office. "I'm gonna get the truck pulled up 'round back!"

"Do it fast! I gotta get my Dad out of here!"

"I don't plan on dilly-dallying!" Kenny rolled his eyes at Lilly's remark. "Honey, get Duck into the office and barricade the living hell out of the door behind me! Glenn, when you hear me honking start getting people out of here!"

"You got it!"

"Doug, Carley, and Lee, you guys make sure our defenses stay up 'till then! And Lee, I'm gonna need that axe in case I run into any of those fuckers out back."

Lee nodded and tossed the weapon to Kenny while taking out Mom's pistol. "Here you go!"

The sound of the gates bursting open sent alarm through everyone in the room. Doug trembled in fear. "Guys, that gate isn't holding them off anymore."

Catching the axe, Kenny nodded and rushed out the room. "You three get on it! I'll be back as fast as I can!"

Lee turned to Clementine and Jay. "I need you two to stay away from the windows." he pulled Clementine's walkie-talkie out of her pocket and placed it into her house. "Holler for me if you get snuck up on."

"We can help!" Jay said fiercely, grabbing his backpack and bat.

Lee was about to deny Jay but paused, frowning and nodding. "Alright. Jay protect Clementine. I need the two of you to find anything that can be used to hold up our defenses-"

"Glenn, we need your help back here!"

Glenn cursed under his breath and backed away from the front door and dashed into the office. Lee grimaced. "Alright. Time to go. And like I said before, stay away from the windows!"

Jay and Clementine nodded and ran off. Lee exhaled and rushed over to help Doug and Carley as the horde began banging on the door, trying to force their way inside. "Things went to shit really fast, didn't they?" Carley grumbled, gripping onto her gun as she pressed her shoulder against the door.

"It was only a matter of time," Doug grimaced. "If I knew it was on lock down, maybe I could have disabled the alarm...!"

"What's done is done-!" Lee grunted as the doors slammed open for a solid second. He pushed back and slammed it shut again, letting out a brief sigh of relief. "Don't blame yourself for something we couldn't control!"

"Right... uh, hey Lee..." Doug stammered, pressing against the door. "I just thought you should know, that if we don't make it through this... I think you're a great guy!"

Lee shot the man a stunned look before shaking his head in exasperation. "We will make it through this! Now focus up!"

"Save the bromance for later!" Carley snapped and gasped in horror. "Shit! The window!"

Glass shattered the shelf toppled over. Zombies began pooling into the store and Carley fired at them with the precision of a master marksman, mowing down the swarm that tried to breach their defenses. "I've got this!"

The woman ran off. Lee clicked his tongue. "JAY! CLEMENTINE! DID YOU FIND ANYTHING!? WE NEED TO KEEP THIS DOOR SHUT!"

"Nothing!" they called out. The girl looked around and gasped. "Oh, wait!"

"That window isn't going to hold!" Doug shouted in alarm.

Lee turned to him. "Go!"

Doug hesitated for a second and nodded, dashing off. Lee growled to himself as the horde continued to pile up and beat down on the door harder. Being one man made it all the more difficult to keep them from breaking in. Their rotten hands clawing through the small gap, trying to grab him and pull him into the swarm. He turned around and pushed with all his strength, driving them back bit by bit. Additional weight was added to the door when Jay ran up and shoulder-checked it. Lee didn't allow his surprise to distract him, as the two slammed the door shut with their combined efforts.

"Here!" Clementine ran over and offered his father's cane to him.

Lee reached out and grabbed it, his expression softening. 'Still protecting this place even when you're gone, eh, Pops...?' he drove the cane in between the door handles and backed away as the zombies continued to beat against the door, snarling and growling. But the cane held strong.

The three let out sighs of relief.

"AHH!! GET THEM OFF! GET THEM OFF!"

"SHIT...!"

They jolted upwards in alarm. Their gaze swimming across the store. On one end, several hands grabbed onto Doug and threatened to pull him through the window. While on the other, a crawling zombie had grasped Carley's ankle, rooting her in place as she tried to reach for her purse to reload her gun. Undead were beginning to break into the store. Lee's heart hammered in his chest and time seemed to slow to a crawl.

Who does he save? Can he save them both? He won't make it to them in time... if he got Carley then maybe she could-

"GRAAAAAAH!!!"

"JAY!" Lee screamed in alarm as the boy ran passed his legs with a roar, maneuvering through the isles and bashing the zombie's skull in. Carley backed away and snatched a clip from her purse, reloading her gun and pushing the boy behind her protectively as she killed several more zombies that billowed in through the back door.

Lee spun his heel and rushed towards Doug. He trusted Carley enough to know she'd protect Jay, so he focused on the man about to become zombie food. He grabbed Doug and yanked him away from the offending hands that threatened to pull him under just as the boards gave away and shattered. Lee backed up and began shooting down any shambling corpse that crawled in through the window. "Get out of here!"

Doug nodded fearfully and ran through the office, with Carley quickly following behind as she grabbed Jay by the wrist.

"B-But Lee and Clem!"

"They'll be okay! Now come on!"

"AHHH!!" Clementine's scream of fear made his hairs stand on end. He whirled around to see her fall to the floor as a zombie grabbed her by the ankle and tried to take a bite out of her leg. He scowled and ran over, shooting it dead before it could have the chance. "L-Lee!"

"I got you," he pulled her up to her feet and pushed her towards the office door. "Go! I'm right behind you!"

She nodded, stumbling on her feet and running into the back. The front door burst into splinters as his father's cane finally gave out. A wave of zombies began flooding into the store and he continued to fire at them, scraping by with a few headshots, hitting them in the chest and shoulders, or missing altogether. His hopes to stall them long enough for everyone to get out ran dry when he ran out of bullets. The empty clicks of the pistol in his hands filling him with an overwhelming sense of dread.

He spun on his heels and ran towards the office. Larry got in his way, pushing the professor back, "You're not coming with us you son of a bitch!" his fist slammed into Lee's jaw, sending him sprawling to the floor with a pained groan. His vision blurring as he tried to collect his bearings. He could barely make out the muffled cry of Clementine as he desperately attempted to push himself to his feet.

'What the fuck is his problem...!' Lee scowled in pain, his jaw throbbing as he grit his teeth. He began to recover. The sound of zombies drawing closer. He looked up to see one reach for him, only for it's head to be chopped clean off by an overhead swing.

His gaze drifted over to Kenny. The fisherman holding out a hand to the professor. "C'mon! I'm not letting a good friend die today!"

Lee gave Kenny a grateful nod, firmly grasping his hand and stumbling to his feet. They rushed through the office door and Lee turned around, his heart aching terribly at the sight of the undead flooding his parent's store. He inhaled sharply and clenched his eyes shut, briefly recalling having to put his brother down before he slammed the door shut and ran off after the others...

And left his old life behind.

X-X-X-X-X-X

The sound of crickets and the chilly air added to the tense atmosphere of the night. After the drugstore got overrun we booked it to the motor inn. Zombies were roaming around the place by the time we arrived, so we cleared them out and piled up the corpses, along with the dead bodies already there. We were lucky enough to get out with no casualties, but it was still a bad situation for everyone involved. Right now we were trying to calm down from everything.

Carley and Doug were unloading the supplies we managed to scavenge before the fall. Kenny and Katjaa were talking about their next move, Duck was running his mouth to Clementine, Lilly went to use the bathroom, Larry was brooding somewhere, and Lee... I dunno what Lee was doing.

As for myself, I sat near the bottom of the staircase that led to the rooms upstairs, staring at the full moon and basking in the silence. I was tired and wanted to sleep badly. Today was just... very stressful overall and sucked. My eyes roamed the motel and I hummed to myself.

'This could make a good base...' I thought, tapping my foot against the floor. I scratched my nose and sniffed myself, cringing. 'and I need a shower.'

"Hey, kid," I looked up to see Carley walk over to me.

"Hi, Ms. Carley." I waved.

The reporter took a seat next to me and sighed, staring up at the sky in silence. I didn't mind. I enjoyed the silence - the loud noises always got on my nerves after a while. She broke the silence after a minute of sitting there. "I guess I've gotta thank you for saving me, there."

I blinked, looking up at her. I averted my gaze and shrugged, shuffling awkwardly. "O-Oh. Well, you saved me, so..."

Carley chuckled. "Then how about we call it even, then?"

I nodded, smiling. "Yeah. That sounds good."

She nodded, pausing as she gathered her thoughts. "What do you think of the group?"

I looked at her, then looked around. "... I dunno. I like Kenny and his family... Lilly seems a bit mean but her Dad is a lot worse." I scowled. "Clementine told me he punched Lee and was gonna leave him for dead..."

Carley's eyes narrowed as she looked over in Larry's direction.

"... Doug seems cool but I haven't talked to him at all. Same with Glenn." I sat up straighter and looked up at her. "And you're really cool - with a gun and stuff,"

Carley blinked in surprise and chuckled sheepishly. "Heh, uh... thank you. That means a lot."

"Do you think you could teach me? How to shoot, I mean?" I mumbled, looking at her hopefully. I chewed the inside of my cheek and quickly looked away. "... I'd rather learn how to shoot sooner than later. To defend myself."

I felt Carley place a hand on her shoulder. "... I think you're a bit too young for that-"

I scowled.

"-but you're right about one thing. The sooner you learn the better. I'll talk about it with Lee... but I'd rather you and Clementine to never have to hold a gun." she finished, smiling softly.

I sighed. "... Yeah, I get it."

I yawned, leaning against her side. I felt the woman stiffen but I was too tired to ask why she froze up. "Thanks... Carley..."

"... of course."

All the lights in the motel abruptly shut off, followed by the street lights. The surrounding area was engulfed in darkness, with the only light giving us clarity being the moon's luminescence. There was shouts of alarm from everyone around, and I sighed.

The power grid finally went off.

"Shit."

"Language."