Chapter 4 Scavenge

Jay's Log

Day 16: It's been two weeks since we left the drugstore and came to the Motor Inn. Glenn ended up leaving to find his friends somewhere in Atlanta I think. I don't think they're alive but it doesn't hurt to hope. Maybe they are - I dunno. It's none of my business. Anyway, we've started fortifying the motel. Lee, Kenny, and Lilly think it could be a good place to call home. At least until the military comes around to save us. but I don't know about that... I don't think we should stay in one place for long but the apocalypse started only a few weeks ago. So maybe it's not too bad. Doug is pitching around ideas for a security system, and maybe a way to get the power back on.

We're running low on food. Lilly ended up rationing everything. My snacks are long gone. I shared most of it with Duck and Clementine. The only food I've got left is the canned food. At this rate... we're going to have to start hunting soon or scavenge for supplies. The town closest to the Motor Inn is Macon. And that's overrun with walkers...

That's another thing. Everyone started calling the zombies "walkers". I dunno why. It's weird, but I guess it stuck because that's what everybody's been calling them now.

... That's all for now-

"Jay! You awake?"

I sat up in my bed, closed my journal, and looked over to my door. After we settled in we got to pick our rooms. Some walkers were lurking inside some of them and even in the bathrooms, so we had to kill those and dump them on the pile of bodies we collected. And then we burned them. Didn't want the place smelling like rotting corpses.

I hopped off my bed and opened the door, blinking at Clementine and Duck standing in the doorway with a grin. "You wanna play?"

I looked back over to my journal and then back at them, nodding and closing the door behind me. "What are we playing?"

"Hide and seek!" Clementine chirped.

Awesome! I loved that game!

"Who's gonna be IT? Are there any other rules?"

"We'll decide through rock paper scissors!" Duck said triumphantly. "The first one out is IT! If you last ten minutes without getting caught you win! And if you find all the hiders as IT, you win."

"Okay!" Clementine smiled and held out a hand.

I smirked, holding out mine.

"Rock!" my eyes narrowed.

"Paper!" Clementine's eyes drifted between the two of us.

"Scissors!" Duck grinned.

"SHOOT!"

Our hands shot forward like lightning. Duck chose paper. Clementine and I simultaneously chose scissors.

"YES!" the two of us exchanged a high five.

"NOOOO!!" Duck wailed in anguish, falling to his knees.

"Now you've gotta try and find us! Count to ten!"

Ignoring Duck's groan, me and Clementine made a break for it. I jumped down the stairs, bending my knees on impact, and ran off. "Where are you going?!" I heard Clementine call out, and I shot her a smirk, replying:

"Splitting off! If I'm playing, I'm playing to win!"

I turned around and yelped as I saw Lee and Kenny carrying a couch out of one of the rooms. At this speed, I'd end up crashing into it. Their eyes snapped in my direction and widened. I ducked low and rolled onto my side, sliding under the couch and stumbling up to my feet, shaking off some pebbles and dirt and taking a sharp turn around the corner. "Sorry!"

Lee watched on in surprise, while Kenny whistled. "That boy is shifty, I'll give 'em that."

"No kidding." the professor mumbled.

I hid behind a wall, exhaling harshly and chuckling a little. 'That was way too close!'

"Ready or not, here I come!"

I took a peek and watched as Duck ran down the steps, looking around. My eyes roamed the parking lot. Clementine was hiding behind one of the trucks. Duck wandered about aimlessly. I crouched down low and smirked. It didn't take long for him to find Clem, even going as far as to jumpscare her. She squealed in surprise and I heard a few chuckles from the adults.

That left me. They were looking for me...

They wandered about in confusion. Clementine was getting closer... she must have seen me turn the corner.

I backed away quietly, moving around the back. Squeezing through the underbrush. The inn was surrounded by forests. One across the street and another behind the establishment. Some gates covered the back - which provided good defense against walkers that came through from the other side. It was murky, covered with dirt, dust, trash, and a lot of other nasty stuff I didn't want to think about.

I circled the building and paused, backing up as I watched Duck pass by cluelessly. I looked around and noticed one of the windows to one of the rooms open. I snickered quietly and hopped up, climbing through it and tumbling onto the floor with a yelp and heavy thud as my back impacted the floor. "Ow..."

"Jay?"

I sat up, my gaze snapping over in Carley's direction. The woman was sitting on her bed with a book in hand. "Did you just-"

"Shhhh!" I shushed her harshly, crawling across the floor and taking a peek out of the window near the front door with a squint. Clementine and Duck met up in the center of the lot with frowns on their faces.

"I can't find him anywhere! It's like he just vanished..." Duck's eyes widened. "Like Batman."

I smirked.

Clementine pouted, looking around. "I thought I saw him around the corner before but when I went over to look he was gone."

"Maybe he's hiding in one of the rooms!"

I yelped again when I felt a hand grab me by the back of my shirt and pull me back. I looked up to see Carley staring at me expectantly with a raised eyebrow. It was the type of look Mom would give me whenever I did something stupid and needed an explanation.

"Hide and seek." I blurted out.

Carley blinked and let go. "Of course..."

There was a knock on her door and I tensed, hearing Clem's voice. "Ms. Carley, hello?"

My eyes widened and I looked over at the reporter with pleading eyes. "Don't let her catch me!"

She rolled her eyes and waved me off, walking over to the door. I clicked my tongue and dove under her bed, my nose scrunching up at the odd smell coming off the carpet. "What is it, Clementine?"

"Did Jay sneak in here?"

"... Nope. Haven't seen him in all morning, why?"

"We're playing hide and seek, and me and Duck are looking for him!"

"Oh, is that right? Mm. Maybe Lilly might have an idea."

"Oh! Okay, thanks!"

The door clicked shut and Carley called out to me. "Crisis averted."

I peeked over her bedside and gave the woman a thumbs up. The woman smiled in amusement and chuckled. "Taking this rather seriously, huh?"

"If I last ten minutes without getting caught, I win," I said seriously. "And I wanna win."

Carley hummed. "Well, staying in here the rest of the game feels too easy, don't you think? Don't wanna make it more fun by getting out there?"

I blinked and stared at her blankly.

. . .

I bolted towards the window and vaulted out of it.

Carley smirked to herself and picked up her book, flipping it open. "Too easy."

...

Lee

"Alright. Let's start with these dumpsters, now."

Lee nodded at Kenny as they set the couch down near the RV. The fisherman groaned and cracked his back. The professor idly looked around, watching as Clementine and Duck searched around every nook and cranny of the motel. He hummed, smiling pleasantly at the excited look on Clementine's face. "It's nice, ain't it?"

He turned to Kenny and raised a brow. "Hmm?"

"Them being kids, y'know?" Kenny placed his hands on his hips and sighed. "If I could rewind time to before all this I could. But seeing these kids have a good time... makes me think things will get better. Reminds me of everything before things went to shit."

"Yeah." Lee nodded. "It's good to keep that hope alive. It gives us strength. It keeps us going."

Kenny smirked. "Sounding real philosophical, there."

Lee chuckled. "Hardly. It's just some things my Dad would tell me."

"He sounds like a smart man."

"He was the smartest man I knew," Lee said softly, closing his eyes. "I miss him. Miss my family so much..."

Kenny placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "They're in a better place now. Watching over us from above."

Lee looked up at the sky and nodded. "Yeah..."

"You guys,"

The two men turned around to see Lily walking over to them with a frown. They exchanged a glance before Lee hesitantly stepped forward. "What's up, Lilly?"

Lilly frowned, sighing and placing her hands on her hips. "We're running out of food, and fast. I've been trying to ration things out as best I can but it isn't looking too good." she looked around. "And we can't sit around doing nothing while we run out."

"Shit, we're already running out..." Kenny grumbled and crossed his arms. "I'm not surprised with the amount of people we've got..."

Lee stared at Lilly. "What are you suggesting we do?"

"We need to get more food. Medicine, supplies, weapons, anything to prepare. We don't have a lot of ammunition and we're going to need to make this place defendable until the military comes." Lilly said firmly, looking between the two. "... so I want to set up a group that heads into Macon to scavenge for supplies."

Their eyes widened. Kenny was the first to interject. "Are you kidding me?! You're asking to become walker food going out there! We can't risk going in there!"

"We can't sit around doing nothing, either!" Lilly argued, glaring at him. "We have to take risks if we're going to survive. I don't like it either but it's necessary. I'm not asking you to go - hell, I'll volunteer myself. But we have to do this."

Lee stayed quiet, staring at the ground in thought. He didn't like the idea of heading back into Macon, especially after what happened... but Lilly had a point. Risks had to be taken for their group to survive. And he had Jay and Clementine to worry about... if anything were to happen to him he'd at least trust the others to take care of them.

... Except Larry.

Sighing, Lee folded his arms. "I'll go."

Kenny looked at him in shock. "Lee!"

"I know Macon inside and out. I don't wanna go out there but we'll have to take that chance." Lee said firmly. "The walkers should have cleared out by now. If we keep quiet and be careful, we can probably get something worthwhile that could last us a couple more weeks."

Lilly smiled at the man. Kenny looked between the two and sighed in frustration, scratching the back of his head. "... Shit, when you put it like that, you two got a point." grunting, the fisherman nodded. "Fuck it. I'm in. Can't let Lee over here do it alone."

Lilly nodded. "Alright. Then since I proposed the idea, I can-"

"Can I go?"

All three adults cursed as Jay appeared in front of them, staring up at them expectantly.

"Christ!" Kenny clutched his chest and let out a loud breath. "Nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Lilly shook her head in confusion. "Where did you even-"

"No," Lee said firmly, folding his arms over his chest.

"Why not?!" Jay snapped, glaring at Lee in frustration.

"For the same reason, I didn't let you go when I and Carley went to get Glenn. It's too dangerous!"

"Everything about this is dangerous! A horde of walkers could show up any day!" Jay argued, clenching his fists. "Just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I'm useless!"

"It's because you're a kid that you shouldn't go." Lee countered, narrowing his eyes.

Kenny backed the man up with a nod. "Lee's right. You should listen to 'em."

"You aren't ready," Lilly added, frowning softly.

"Not ready?! I've killed just as many walkers as you guys have!" Jay scowled. "I can hold my own! I need to know how to do this stuff! If... if you guys end up dead-"

"We won't-"

"You don't know that for sure!" the boy cut Lee off, giving him a fierce look. "Anything could happen. So why pretend like it won't? If I'm not ready then make me ready!"

"What's going on?"

Everyone turned to see the rest of the group making their way over to the four. Lee sighed, running a hand down his face. Knowing the commotion Jay was causing would grab the attention of everyone else.

"Lily suggested we head out into Macon to gather supplies and food since we're running low on both," Lee said. "Jay wants to go."

"What?" Carley's eyes widened in shock before she sent the boy a sharp look. "You aren't going."

Jay bit his lip silently in frustration.

"What's going on?" Clementine asked, squeezing through the crowd.

"Jay, sweetie," Katjaa said, placing a hand on Duck's shoulder to hold him back. "Maybe you should-"

"No! I want to go!" Jay cut her off harshly.

"Hey now," Kenny came to his wife's defense, staring the boy down. "You need to watch your tone. We're trying to look out for you, here. Calm down."

Jay grits his teeth. "So I'm just supposed to sit on my ass and do nothing while you guys risk your lives?!"

Carley gasped. "Jay...!"

Doug chimed in. "Hey, now, that isn't fair to"

"I want to get stronger! I want to help! I want to be useful! But you won't give me a chance just because I'm a kid!" Jay ranted, his eyes watering from the anger swelling in his chest. "The walkers don't care if you're young... or old, a boy, a girl, they'll kill you either way! None of you get it!"

He spun on his heel and ran off, rushing towards his room and slamming the door shut. Lee sighed tiredly, his shoulders sagging as the tense atmosphere washed away. "I'll talk to him."

Duck spoke up quietly. "... are we not playing anymore?"

Katjaa led her son away, sighing softly. "No, sweetie... I don't think so."

Larry scoffed, walking off. "Need to get a better hold on that brat."

Lee glared at Larry's back silently.

Lilly exhaled through her nose and backed off. "We'll put a raincheck on this. But we need to do it fast."

"... Right," Kenny muttered and made his way over to his family.

As Doug looked around awkwardly, he walked away back to his room. Clementine tugged on Lee's sleeve with a worried expression. "Is Jay going to be okay?"

"... I don't know. But I'm going to find out."

"Want me to go with you?" Carley asked in concern.

"No, I've got it. Look after Clementine for me?" the reporter nodded and Lee smiled.

The professor made his way up the second floor. He made his way over to Jay's room and knocked on the door. "Jay? Can I come in?"

"Leave me alone."

Lee sighed again. "Can't stay in there forever."

"Yes, I can!"

Lee smirked a bit. "That right? Guess you'll turn down candy then, too?"

There was a moment of silence before the door creaked open. The boy looked up at Lee with puffy eyes and he stepped back and allowed the man inside. Lee fished a Hershey's chocolate bar out of his pocket and handed it to Jay. He took it quietly and tore open the wrapper, biting into the treat as he took a seat on the edge of his bed.

Lee sat next to him and looked around. While Clementine shared a room with the professor, Jay had a room all to himself. Maybe it was because he was a bit older and wanted some form of independence like he had at his old house, but he didn't feel like sharing a room with anyone. Lee personally didn't have a problem with it.

The motel had several rooms that remained unoccupied. Most of the group had their own as well. The only ones who shared a room besides Lee himself were Lily and Larry, and Kenny and his family.

"Mind telling me what that was all about back there?" Lee asked softly, breaking through the silence and eyeing the boy.

Jay paused, sparing Lee a glance before quickly averting his gaze in shame. "I 'dunno."

The man raised a brow and scratched the back of his head. "Jay, you can't be snapping at everyone. I know you probably miss your home and your parents but-"

"It's not that." Jay cut Lee off and hesitated. "... I do miss my parents and my home. But I know if I stayed there I would have died..."

"... I just know how these things go. In the movies and books, the kids are always the liabilities because they're weaker and don't know how to protect themselves." he clenched his fists. "Their parents or caretakers always prioritize them. But they can't protect them forever... they'll die in the end. There are some stories where they make it out alive, but there's a lot of close calls."

"I don't want to be a liability to anyone..." Jay muttered softly, looking crestfallen.

"... Jay, nobody is expecting you to step up to something like this." Lee placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly, drawing the boy's gaze to him. "It's our job as adults to protect you kids, no matter what. You're our future. If something happens to us, it'll be up to you to pick up the pieces..."

He sighed. "If I had it my way I wouldn't want you and Clem to see the stuff you see, or do the stuff you do, but-"

"-life doesn't work that way." Jay finished with a mumble, kicking his legs back and forth.

"Unfortunately." Lee nodded. "Listen... I promised to protect you. And if I let you go on something so risky, well... I don't know. I don't want to think about it."

Jay frowned, then squinted up at Lee. "I can still be useful out there - I'm small and fast. I can squeeze through small and tight places you guys can't get through and I can evade walkers quicker as long as I listen out for them."

Lee blinked, staring at Jay in mild surprise. The boy raised some valid points. The risks outweighed the positives... but...

Lee sighed.

'I hope this doesn't bite me in the ass.'

X-X-X-X-X-X

"This is a bad idea."

"I know."

"Like. Worse than when you had me punch Larry in the mouth."

"Kenny." Lee shot the fisherman a sharp look, causing the man to sigh.

"Right, sorry." Kenny coughed, staring at the road ahead. "There's just so many ways this can go wrong."

"And so many ways this can go right!" Jay countered from the backseat with a smug grin tugging at his lips.

"Hush." Carley gave the boy a stern look. "I'm still against you being in this truck, let alone going with us."

"Oh, come on...!"

There were immediate protests upon Lee's declaration that Jay would be coming along on their first scavenging trip through the city. Carley appeared to be the most vocal. Jay was quick to counter their arguments with his own, far more rational than before now that he had Lee's support. Carley's stance was firm on the issue, but they reached a compromise. If he went, she was going too.

That resulted in himself, Kenny, Carley, and Jay heading into Macon.

It took a lot of effort to dissuade Clementine and Duck from trying to come the moment they found out Jay was going. Clementine wanted to be helpful too, whereas Duck thought it would be a cool adventure.

Both were shot down quickly. Out of the three children in the group, Jay had a better grasp of their situation and could defend himself when the need arose.

"I'll pull my weight, you'll see," Jay argued.

"Well, we're about to," Kenny said, slowly pulling up into an empty alleyway after surveying the area carefully. "We're here."

The group quietly got out of the truck. Lee pulled out a slip of paper torn out from Jay's journal. He placed it on the hood of Kenny's truck and nodded. "Alright. Now this is a quick in-and-out job. We're here for medicine, clothes, weapons, and hopefully... some food and water."

"Can't expect a lot of food or clean water here, though, all that stuff might've been picked clean," Jay added softly.

"So what's the plan?" Kenny asked.

"... We split up," Lee said after a brief pause to gather his thoughts. "Kenny and I will head into the pharmacy and gather as much medicine as we can."

"Sounds good." the fisherman nodded.

Lee looked over at Carley and Jay. "You two go check out the thrift store, grab whatever you can out of there for everyone. There should be some extra bags in there too."

"Got it." Carley nodded stiffly.

"We'll meet up near Tim's Tools and More. Last I recall they've got some rifles and ammunition stocked up there. Hopefully, they aren't all gone..."

"Maybe we should grab some bows and arrows and more blunt weapons," Jay suggested.

Kenny arched an eyebrow. "Bows and arrows?"

The boy shrugged. "They don't make as much noise as guns."

"None of us know how to use a bow," Carley muttered.

"We can learn!"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, let's roll with the plan we've got right." Lee cut them off before the conversation derailed any further. "And if anything goes wrong, prioritize your lives over equipment."

"Right."

X-X-X-X-X-X

"You're real stubborn, you know that?"

I looked up at Carley as we quietly maneuvered through the desolate streets of Macon. But it was anything but desolate. The dead lurked around every corner. We were swarmed two weeks ago... but luckily they managed to spread out after we left. Which made it easier to move around without getting nabbed.

I shrugged. "Being stubborn is a quality I'm gonna need to survive out here."

Carley's expression softened. "... Yeah. I guess so."

I pointed across the street. "There. St. Mark's Thrift Store."

The shop looked worse for wear. The windows were boarded up - or at least one of them was. The other was completely shattered and broken, along with the glass door. Something or someone broke in. Safe to assume it was the walkers... people probably tried to protect themselves inside but the growing number of undead proved too much.

"Stay close to me." I nodded at Carley, gripping onto my bat as she raised her pistol in defense.

We stepped inside, careful to avoid the shards of glass on the floor in fear of making too much noise. My eyes roamed the store and I swallowed a growing lump in my throat... this place was devastated. There was dried blood scattered across the floor, followed by dirt and soot. Clothes were thrown about wildly across the counter and floor. Racks of clothes were tipped over as well. A lot of the stuff inside was taken, but there were still things for us to loot.

A growl alerted us to see a walker slumped over in the corner of the store. It saw us and slowly climbed to its feet to approach. Carley was about to shoot it before I slowly walked over and swung my bat down, cracking it against its skull. Its decaying body slumped to the floor as it reached out again, but I continued to bash its head in until it was nothing but mush.

I stared at the corpse as it let out a final gurgle and died. Whoever this was before wouldn't have to suffer anymore.

"Good work." I perked up at Carley's compliment as she lowered her gun.

I smiled and nodded. "Told you I'd be useful."

Carley smirked. "Uh-huh... c'mon, let's not waste any more time. Let's grab as much as we can and get out of here."

I nodded. "Clothes for everyone."

We split off. Carley went into the adult section while I wandered off into the kids section, shifting through several clothes. Dust and dirt clung to the fabric but it was better than nothing. I grabbed several shirts, sweaters, jackets, and... underwear...

I cringed, shaking my head and looking around. Most of this stuff was the bare essentials. We didn't need too much stuff. Still needed room to carry all the other things we needed to get.

"Jay!"

I whirled around, jogging back to the entrance of the store. Carley came around with several clothes and two duffle bags. She dumped it all on the counter and dusted her hands off. "Help me fold all this, would you?"

She blinked and shot me a hesitant look. "... you know how to fold, right?"

I nodded confidently. "My Mom taught me!"

She grinned. "Good. Let's be quick. I want you to fold these as small as possible, make room for the other stuff we'll need to grab."

I nodded, setting my baseball bat down and getting to work.

"Have any hobbies? Things you like to do?"

I looked over at Carley and furrowed my brows. "What?"

"We're gonna be at this for a bit, may as well get to know each other," Carley said in amusement, smirking as she placed a pair of folded shirts into one of the bags. "For example... I like to write."

"I like to write too," I hummed, then my eyes lit up. "Ooh, is that why you became a reporter?"

"Yup," Carley popped, nodding. "I was always fascinated by stories on the news. The several cases and stories revealed to the world... I always wanted to share that with other people. Writing reports, looking for the next big scoop. That kind of thing."

I stared at her in surprise. "That's so cool..." I glanced off to the side with a pout. "I just wanted to write comic books."

Carley laughed. "Nothing wrong with that!"

She hummed. "... favorite color?"

"Black," I said instantly.

She raised an eyebrow. "Black?"

I puffed out my chest, huffing. "Black goes well with everything!"

"Can't argue with that..."

I eyed the reporter curiously. "What about you?"

"Me?" I nodded. Carley blinked, glancing away in thought. "Purple, I think."

"Purple's a cool color." I smiled. "... black is still better though."

"You can continue to live in delusion, kiddo."

My brows furrowed. "What does delusion mean?"

Before she could respond, the sound of growling made us tense up. With haste, we ducked behind the countertop. My breath hitched as I locked eyes with the corpse of an employee, a young woman. Couldn't have been any older than Carley herself... the receptionist, I think. A bullet hole was visible through the side of her head.

I trembled. She... did she...?

I felt a hand cover my vision. Carley shushed me quietly and peered over the counter. "Don't look. There are several walkers outside... they haven't noticed us yet."

I sucked in a breath. "H-How many?"

"Five."

I inched around the counter to take a peek. True to her word, they were shambling around the street aimlessly, groaning and gurgling, searching for something to sink their teeth into. They hadn't noticed us like Carley said, but they weren't moving beyond this point.

'Need a distraction.' I looked around, narrowing my eyes. My gaze landed on an empty clothes rack that had fallen over when this place got ransacked.

I moved to stand, and Carley roughly pulled me back. "What are you doing?"

"Walkers are attracted by noise, right?" I eyed the rack. "So what if we pushed that across the street into one of the walls... it'll distract them while we make a break for it."

Carley narrowed her eyes, chewing the inside of her cheek as she let the plan bounce around in her head. Then she nodded and took in a breath. "I'll do it. You put the rest of the clothes in the duffel bags."

I nodded and crouched around the countertop. Carley moved past me, placing her pistol on the counter, and went to pick up the rack, careful enough to not make much noise. I began stuffing the rest of the clothes into the bag.

I glanced over at Carley as she lifted the rack with a strained groan, inching towards the doorway. I zipped up the bags and grabbed my bat...

She placed it near the edge of the curve and shoved it with all her might. The clothes rack rolled down the street and slammed into a nearby truck with a resounding BANG! - the walkers turned to the sound, along with several lurkers that were hiding around discreetly. With their back turned Carley rushed back in and grabbed the two duffel bags alongside her pistol, throwing them over her shoulders.

"Let's go!"

We ran outside and took a sharp left - the opposite direction of the walkers. I let out a shuddering breath as we jogged over to Tim's Tools and More. The run was quiet, save for our hurried breathing.

"That lady..." I breathed out, my lip trembling. "She..."

"I know." Carley huffed, her heels clicking against the ground with every step. "It's horrible..."

"Why would she do that?" I babbled uselessly. I had a distinct feeling I knew why. But I didn't like the outcome. "Why would she-"

"Who knows, kiddo...?" Carley sighed as we slowed down into a walk, closing in on the store. "This whole situation is too much for some people. So they just... quit. They give up on it all. They'd rather end it themselves than let one of those... things get them."

I frowned and stopped moving, clenching my fists. Yeah. That made sense... but for some reason, all that did was make me angry. Why would anyone give up when they could fight? Fight for a new home, and - and for their friends! Their family! Isn't that... worth fighting for?

"Well, I'm not gonna give up," I muttered firmly. "Not for anyone. Not for anything. I'm gonna live this out for as long as I can."

Carley smiled warmly. "Good."

"You guys okay?!"

We turned to see Lee and Kenny Rush over, carrying small bags in their hands. Probably filled with medicine and stuff. Blood stained their clothes, though. Causing me to blink.

"Yeah." Carley nodded, adjusting the weight weighing down on her because of the bags. "Had to distract some walkers on our way out, but we're fine."

I pointed at their shirts. "What's with all the blood."

Kenny sighed. "There were still some of those fuckers in the"

"Kenny!" Carley snapped.

"What?!" Kenny blinked, then looked at me. His eyes widened in shock. "Shit - er, I mean..."

"There were walkers still in the pharmacy." Lee saved his friend from a potential verbal lashing, appearing exasperated. "We had to clear them out before we could even think of getting any supplies."

"Ohhhhh." I hummed and nodded, turning around. "... weapons are next, right?"

Lee nodded, stepping forward. "Last time I was here, they had a few hunting rifles on display. Hopefully not all of them were taken..."

Kenny narrowed his eyes. "Mm. In the meantime, I'll look for some food." he turned to Lee. "Liquor Store, right?"

"Yeah. 2 blocks down and take a right. Can't miss it."

"Gotcha. I'll be back in a jiffy!"

"Be careful!" Carley called out to the fisherman as he ran off. Sighing and shaking her head, she eyed the door in front of us. "Now then..."

Lee raised a hand towards the door and twisted the knob. His brows furrowed and he huffed, hefting his axe. "Door's jammed."

I blinked. "So what do we-?"

"HRAH!" Lee heaved the axe down on the doorknob, cleaving it off cleanly before kicking the door open. Dust billowed out of the store and I inhaled some of it, coughing. Lee pats my back gently. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Let's go before walkers start making their way over," Carley muttered and walked inside.

Lee and I followed after her, looking around. Luck must have been on our side because there were a few hunting rifles hung up on the walls, which Lee and Carley quickly gunned for. While they stocked up on ammunition, I continued to look around. I grabbed a few hammers and hunting knives off of the shelves.

This'll do just fine... too bad there are no machetes in here or something. It would have been cool to kill walkers with a sword.

"Mm?"

My gaze drifted off to the side, landing on a cool-looking crossbow. My eyes widened in awe as I approached it. "Woah..."

"Jay? What's up?"

I heard Lee and Carley walk over. The professor let out a soft whistle. "Well, I'll be damned..."

Carley nodded, not even bothering to reprimand him for cursing. "You said we should get a bow, didn't you?"

I nodded numbly. "This is a crossbow, though." and probably easier to use than a bow in all honesty.

I looked to them with pleading eyes. "Can I have it?"

The two adults shared a wary glance. Lee looked at me with a hesitant smile. "Looks a bit too big for you, Jay. But... we'll see."

I grinned. That wasn't a no! "So you'll teach me how to use it?"

"If we can figure it out ourselves." Carley mumbled.

Lee gave her a shrug. "How hard could it be?"

I pumped fists. Yes!

"Hey y'all! We gotta move! NOW!"

Kenny's voice alerted us, followed by the moans of walkers. The three of us exchanged a sharp glance before Lee grabbed the crossbow, a quiver, and some arrows and stuffed it all in the duffle bag before slinging it over his shoulder.

We rushed out of the shop just in time to see a horde of walkers shambling after Kenny. They weren't as dense as the swarm two weeks ago when we escaped the drugstore, but that could change in a matter of seconds.

"Kenny! What happened!" Lee cried out, rushing over to his friend.

"Accidentally knocked over a shelf grabbing as much as I can from that there liquor store." Kenny grumbled. "Alerted a good amount of those skin walkers."

Carley gave the fisherman an annoyed look. "What happened to being discreet, Kenny?!"

"Hey! First time for everything, right?!"

"No time to argue, let's go!" Lee dug the blade of his axe into a nearby walker's skull and wrenched it out.

Carley fired off a few shots, drilling bullets through the animated corpses' skulls as we rushed over to Kenny's truck. Their resounding growls combined with the loud gunshots made for a chaotic symphony that grated on my ears.

We ducked into the alleyway as Kenny fished out his keys and swung his door open. Carley and I leaped into the backseat and Lee hopped into the passenger side. "Let's get the hell outta here!" Kenny snapped, slamming his foot on the pedal and driving off. The vehicle lurched to the side as we narrowly avoided hitting a toppled Honda. Carley groaned.

"Damn it, Kenny!"

I ignored Carley and Kenny's vocal squabbling about driving safety or something, peering out the back window and watched as the group of walkers tried in vain to reach out for us. But we were long gone.

I smiled and relaxed in my seat, letting out a soft breath.

'As far as first times go, I say this went off pretty well!'

X-X-X-X-X-X

We pulled up to the Travilier Motel and parked into the parking lot. As we stepped out the car I looked up at the sky. The clear blue was replaced by a deep sunset orange with various purple and pink hues painting the sky. The clouds moved at a snail's pace and sound of chirping birds and rustling trees added to the calming atmosphere.

Almost made it feel like the dead weren't walking around...

"You're back!"

I grunted and stumbled, feeling a small missile slam into me. I stuttered and looked down to see Clementine latch onto me in a tight embrace. I stood there in stunned silence, only snapping out of my trance when Carley coughed, grabbing my attention and making the motions of... a hug? With her arms?

I awkwardly hugged Clementine back and pat her shoulder.

The girl beamed brightly before pulling back and rushing over to embrace Lee.

"I'm glad to see you're all okay." Lilly said in relief as she made her way over. "What did you manage to get?"

"A few rifles... lots of clothes. Some medicine to last a while," Lee listed off with a harmless shrug.

"The crossbow is mine." I informed, staring Lilly in the eyes.

She blinked at me and shit Lee, Kenny, and Carley a questioning look.

Lee coughed into his fist. "... that's pending."

"Got some food too. Should last a while." Kenny shrugged. "With these rifles I bet we can start heading out into those woods and start huntin' for some food."

"Not a bad idea..."

As the adults began to converse, I walked away. The sound of padding feet made me turn to see Clementine running after me. "What was like back in the city?"

I blinked and shrugged. "Quiet? I mean, until the walkers came in. But we came out fine... for our first run through in the city anyways."

"Was it scary?" she asked curiously.

"... No." I answered truthfully, briefly hesitating after recalling the woman who took her own life back at the thrift store. "The more I see how the world is out there, the less scary it gets..."

Clementine hummed, looking at the ground. "I wish I was brave like you... the walkers still scare me."

I smiled feeling my pride swell a bit at being called brave. But I paused at the staircase and looked Clementine in the eyes. "Don't get me wrong - it can still be kinda scary. But you just get used to it after a while. Like... this is just how the world is now."

Clementine pursed her lips and sat at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes focusing on the sky before she looked over at me with a hopeful look. "Do you think things will go back to normal? With no more monsters?"

I wanted to say no. But... I also didn't know what this virus was capable of. If the power grid already went down chances were that things were going to get a lot worse...

But I didn't want to make her sad...

"I dunno." I shrugged, sitting next to her. "It's too early to tell. Maybe things will get better. We just don't know yet."

I paused, chewing the inside of my cheek as I swung my legs back and forth. Eventually I spoke up again, grinning at Clementine. "... But, as long as we're all together, I'll think we'll be okay! Even if things don't go back to normal."

Clementine blinked at me and giggled softly, her shoulders shaking with her laughter. My cheeks warmed up and I glared at her. "What?!"

"Y-You sound like a cheesy comic book hero!" she snickered.

My face burned in embarrassment and I crossed my arms, looking away. Gah! I go out of my way to keep her spirits up and this is what I get?!

Girls are so mean!

"But..." I paused in my sulking, turning to her only to flinch at the warm smile she gave. "That sounds nice!"

I awkwardly stammered. "... uh, yeah."

We sat there in silence, my gaze falling to my feet as I rubbed my wrists anxiously. Chewing the inside of my cheek, my brows furrowed.

"Where's Duck?"

"Sleep, I think."

. . .

"Wanna put a bug in his pillow?"

. . .

"Yes."