The sun was beginning to set beyond the horizon as the four of us continued to move across the rooftops and down to River Street, the Marsh house shouldn't be too far past the docks if my memory serves me right. Well, I wish my mind was more focused on the major task at hand, instead...I can't stop thinking about what happened. I keep looking over my shoulder expecting Kenny and Ben to just show up behind me.
Lee and I haven't said a word ever since we moved on from...what happened, I don't think either of us can bring ourselves to even speak of it. I've noticed that Lee's skin has gotten a little bit more pale, I hate myself more for not trying to cut it off sooner. It doesn't matter right now, we still have time.
"Do you guys...want to talk?"
"...Kenny was my friend," Lee spoke up first, we didn't stop and he kept his eyes forward. "He could be tough to like, but I agreed with him most of the time; so we were assholes together, I guess."
"...He was one of the bravest men I knew," I add. "He...was more of a father to me than my real one will ever be. That's three on him, now. The hijo de puta who's got Clementine has Ben and Kenny to answer for."
"Keep a clear head, Elijah."
"No, he's right," said Lee. "We wouldn't even be out here if it weren't for him, we'd all been together to defend against Vernon and we'd be out on the water. Everyone would be alive."
"We'll make him pay, Lee. I swear..."
"Look, guys. this is a shitty time, but I want to clear something up."
We stopped and paid attention to Christa and we stopped walking for a moment. "What is it?"
"Now with Kenny and Ben...gone...that means Omid, Elijah, and Ihaveto stay safe. For her."
"You three will be great for her. Keep her safe."
Christa nods. "We'd do our best, you know that."
"No doubt, man."
"I kept a promise, and I don't intend on breaking it now."
"Good. Thank you all. I know you'll keep her safe."
We continue moving forward and we eventually reach the end of the roof, a makeshift bridge of planks leads over to the next rooftop. "Fuck, be careful across here."
We cross the bridge one at a time and the four of us reach the other side with no problems, we continue moving forward until I notice a hole in the roof. And inside the building...it was crawling with walkers.
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph..."
"Whoa, careful," Omid sees what I do, and so do Lee and Christa.
"Even the buildings are full..."
"They never know where their next meal is..."
Omid's observation gets a scowling from Lee. "No. They don't."
"It's fine. Let's go."
The four of us continue moving along the rooftops, the sun is almost sent behind the horizon as we get closer to River Street. The walkers fill the streets below us and we eventually reach the end of the next buildings. The only way to get across to the other side is over a hanging sign...right above a herd of Walkers.
"The Marsh House should be around the corner up the block," I say.
"We have to cross here..." Lee looks at the sign.
"Well, at least it doesn't look like a total death trap," Omid's attempt to lighten the mood only gets him an annoyed glare from Christa. "Who's...going first?"
"You're the lightest..."
"He's got a busted leg, and you're walking for two," Lee states, I suppose he must've figured it out too. "I'm obviously not doing so hot. Decision doesn't make itself. I'll go first."
"You sure?"
"Yeah," He nods and Lee wastes no time and starts to climb across the sign, he manages to keep his grip despite only having one arm.
"Just go nice and slow."
"I'll go after," I say.
"I'm almost there! It's an easy crossing."
"Good, once we-"
CREAK!
"Oh, shit!" The sign starts breaking and it begins to fall, Lee manages to hang onto the remaining piece still attached to the building. "Lee!"
"Ah, fuck!" He grabs onto the strut to keep himself from falling. "Shit!"
"Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine, but I'm kind of fucked here."
"What are you gonna do?!"
"...Fuck it. I'm going for it!"
"What?!"
"'Going for it'?"
"What does that mean?"
"It means I'm already bitten! I just have to push my way through!"
"What the fuck?!"
"Lee, no!" He can't possibly think he can get through all of that by himself...
"But maybe you got to it fast enough. Maybe you'll be fine!"
"I can't risk losing more time on a long shot! Let's meet out of town! By the train!"
"Are you nuts?!"
"Lee, we can't just-"
"It's the only way!" He argues. "Do you guys hear me?"
"Y-Yeah, by the train!"
"Jesus...We'll be there!"
Lee starts climbing down the side of the building. He's actually gonna do it... I can't let him do this alone. I look over the edge, seeing just how many walkers are piling up on the streets. They haven't even noticed Lee climbing down. "...Man, fuck my life."
"Huh?"
"..." I grab my sickle...and I see my eye's reflection on the curved blade. "Just...fuck it." I go to the edge of the roof and start climbing down, I don't even waste another moment to think about whether or not this was a stupid decision.
"Whoa, dude! What the fuck are you doing?!"
"Elijah, get back here!"
"You two know the plan!" I look up as I keep my feet steady on the edge of a window. "...And I still have my promise to keep."
"Elijah, no!"
"It's suicide!"
I ignore their calls and continue maneuvering down the side of the building, I nearly let my feet slip but my grip on my sickle is like a vice. Just a few more feet and I'll be on the ground. Thank you, Molly. Once I was down, I saw Lee across the street and he saw me, his eyes widened when his eyes met mine. I held my index finger up to my lips to tell him to keep quiet before I peeked around the corner. Shit...I can probably make it across the street without being spotted if I'm fast enough. Lee sees how I'm taking a glance between him and the walkers, he shakes his head but I ignore it...and sprint across the street. I managed to make it to the other side without tripping over my own feet, Lee looked at me like I was crazy.
"Are you insane?!" He shouted in a whisper so as not to draw the walkers. "It's a death sentence if you follow me!"
"I don't care! I made a promise to keep Clementine safe! Now, come on!" I walk past Lee and toward the Marsh House, he follows close behind.
We're so close, just hang on a little longer, Kiddo...
Just around the block...there lies our destination—the Marsh house. Clementine has to be here still, not even a monster would want to risk moving a child through...all of this. The only thing standing in between us and Clementine now...is another herd of Walkers blocking the way into the Marsh house...and we don't have the time to find another way in.
"...There's only one way to go."
"Yeah," I sigh. "Forward."
I sling my backpack off my shoulder...it's time I start practicing with this thing. I pulled out the Desert Eagle, zipped up my backpack, slung it back over my shoulder and I checked the magazine.
"...Seven rounds," I loaded it back into the pistol and pulled the chamber. "I'll make 'em count," Next, I pull my beanie off my head and put it in my pocket, right next to Lee's watch. Last thing...I hold the gold heart pendant around my neck in my free hand...and I close my eyes. Mom, Sandy, God...give me strength. I open my eyes back up, meeting Lee's gaze. He shares the same fire as I do. No matter what it takes, we will get Clementine back. I hold the Desert Eagle in my right hand and my sickle in my left. "You ready?"
Lee nods, pulling out his cleaver. "Let's go get that girl."
Lee and I march forward...and we don't stop. A few walkers notice us, Lee takes the female one with long black hair and slashes its head, I swing my sickle and kill the two walkers on his left. Their blood stains our clothes but we keep going, we can't stop now. Lee chops another walker in the face, killing it. I slice a lady walker's face open and it falls to the concrete ground. A little bit of blood got on my face, but I didn't care. Lee's cleaver gets stuck in a walker's head and two more are getting close behind him. I know this is gonna kick like a mother fucker...
BANG! BANG!
The pistol nearly flew out of my hands after the two shots but I kept a hold of it, that's two more walkers dead and my ears were ringing from the gunshots. Looks like that'll be something that I'm gonna have to get used to. Lee nods at me before he chops another walker's head, an old man walker comes up at me and I swing my sickle down into its head. Vamos, feos hijos de puta!
BANG! BANG!
I shoot two more walkers, I have three bullets left. Lee and I are halfway to the Marsh house. "Keep pushing!"
Lee walks right past a few walkers...and they ignore him, heading right for me instead. I don't even start questioning it and just slash the first walker and go to shoot another, but the end of the barrel gets jammed into the walker's mouth. I try to pull it out but the walker has it like a fucking dog toy. Not wanting to waste a shot on just a single walker, I move its head in front of the other approaching walker.
BANG! BANG!
Both monsters fall to the ground and the end of my Desert Eagle is soaked in blood. Two left. I see Lee ahead of me and he chops a walker's head in half with his cleaver. "Come on," He looks back at me for only a second. "Keep go-"
GONG! GONG!
What the fuck? I don't know if I'm hearing things, but I thought I just heard...one of the bell towers. I'm not the only one who hears this, some of the walkers that were surrounding us started looking off in the direction of where that bell came from, completely ignoring us as they began to walk away.
GONG! GONG!
"What the fuck was that?"
"Doesn't matter, we keep going."
I followed Lee to the front of the Marsh House...and there was a car parked outside of it. Now this wouldn't be an issue after everything we've seen in this city, but...this car was completely untouched. But that wasn't the strangest part, it...looked familiar to me. Lee notices this too as he looks at the station wagon. Wait...
It couldn't be...
Lee and I decided not to dwell too much on the station wagon outside, so we headed inside the Marsh House. I suggested that they would be on the first floor, thinking that this guy wouldn't want to risk being cornered near the roof with Clementine. This fucker says this wasn't a kidnapping, so he would probably go with a safe option for living arrangements. Little does he realize that he won't be leaving this hotel alive.
We searched a few rooms, only to find them either empty or they were locked. Neither of us wants to risk making a lot of noise to alert the guy holding Clementine, but I fear that he probably heard those bells from outside. Either way, we don't stop searching.
Lee and I come upon another room, finding it...somewhat clean. Okay, this has got to be the place, but the fucker is nowhere to be found. Lee and I head further into the room, there is a chair adjacent to another...with a bowing bag in the middle of them. But that's not what I was too concerned about. There was another door in the back of the room, its doorknob was tied to the closest door with a rope. I'm guessing it's supposed to keep-
CLICK!
...Shit. The sound of a gun cocking made me and Lee turn around...and our eyes meet a middle-aged white man's. He was wearing a light brown winter coat, he looked like he hadn't slept in days, he had a noticeable receding hairline...and he was holding a gun at us.
"I got us adjoining rooms..."
"..." It takes everything I have from charging this guy and tearing him apart. If we're gonna save Clementine, we have to play smart.
"Where is she?"
"I already told you, she's fine," He takes a good look at us, his nose scrunches up once he smells all the walker blood that covers our clothes. "You two look horrible. And you're missing an arm."
"I'll only need one to kill you..."
"..." He ignored Lee's threat and pointed his gun to a nearby dresser. "Go over there."
"..."
"..." Lee and I take a few steps to the side.
"Put your things down."
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Let me out! Who's out there?"
Clementine's voice came from the adjoined room, the stranger held his gun at our heads and put his finger on his lips. "Shh! Quiet, please, sweetie!" He pointed to the dresser again with his gun. "Your things. There."
Lee sets his cleaver and the walkie-talkie down on the dresser, the fucker aims his gun after I don't even move a muscle. "Put. Your things. There."
"..."
"Do as he says, Elijah."
"..." Every fiber of my being hates it, but I do as Lee instructs and set my backpack, my Desert Eagle, and my Sickle on top of the dresser.
"Good. Now..." The fucker points his gun at the chairs facing each other. "Go sit down." Lee sits in one of the chairs and the stranger sits across from him in the other one. He points his gun at me after seeing that I haven't moved. "Sit. Down."
"Ain't enough chairs, you're a terrible host."
"Just..." He groans. "sit on the corner of the bed then." I do as he says, leaving my hands out of my pockets and resting them on my knees. "...Do either of you know who I am?"
"...Yes."
"So you saw my car out front, then. You two see anything else you want in there? Not a whole lot left."
"That station wagon was an eyesore before the world went to shit."
"Easy, Elijah..."
"I'm not some cannibal, guys. Some killer out in the woods. Some...villain. I'm just...a dad. I coach little league."
I don't think that accounts for anything these days...
"Everything was just out there for the taking. We were starving."
"'For the taking'?! Do you have any idea what you two took from me?!"
"Maybe don't leave a car in the middle of nowhere with the doors open and the lights on, don't blame us because you weren't smart enough to think ahead."
"Fuck you," He sneered at me. "You have no idea."
"Newsflash. I don't care."
"Elijah..."
"..."
"...Have either of you hurt somebody you care about?"
"...Yes," Lee answered him first. "Clementine. The girl misses her parents. I'm not them." The fucker glares at me, expecting me to answer too.
"...She wanted to find them more than anything in this fucked up world, it's one of the only hopes that little girl has left," I look down at my lap. "Thought it was 'bout time we were realistic with her...and it crushed her poor little heart."
"...I hurt her so bad," I looked back up at the stranger as he started talking again. "My son, Adam, went missing. I took him out hunting even though my wife said he was too young. I figured...he had to learn," His voice began to break. "I came back without him...and the look on her face said...'You're a monster'."
"..."
"..."
"We all went out looking for him. We never found him. I hurt her...so bad... But then you and your people took all of our things," The stranger scowls at us. "You robbed us. I could've earned her trust back, but not after that."
"You fucked up."
"Ain't our fault you left it out there."
He aims his gun at me again. "I'd watch your tone, boy."
"..."
"...The hungrier we got, the more she blamed me. Until she finally took our daughter, Elizabeth, and left. They...didn't get far," The man closed his eyes in sadness. "I...found them...a day later...in the road."
"..."
"..."
The stranger looks up at us. "Do I look like a monster to either of you?"
"We all do."
"That's just what this world does to people now," I add.
"Well, I'm not like you two," He looks straight at me. "You murdered a scared, helpless girl in a motel room!"
"I put her out of her misery, she was suffering a fate worse than death."
"You two killed those men right in front of a little girl!"
"I did what I had to do."
"They deserved it."
"You got her closest friend killed by a fucking cannibal!"
My fists tighten at the mention of Sandy. "Fuck you, you weren't there."
"You abandoned a defenseless, grieving woman!"
"She was far from innocent."
"She deserved it for killing my friends."
"The sweatshirt she's wearing was my boy's! You stole that from us!"
"It's' hers now, get the fuck over it."
"You two brought her to the most dangerous place in this city where she could've died!"
"We couldn't leave her in that house alone."
"That little girl is far more capable than three grown men put together."
"..."
"...How could you even know all this?" Lee asked the important question. The man smiled as he pulled out...a walkie-talkie from his pocket and set it down on the coffee table.
"..." No... There are only two people I know who used a radio like Clementine's...Ed and Diana. "Where did you get that?"
"...You're monsters," He ignored my question...now it's even more personal than before. "You're murderers. And you're thieves. And I'm gonna hurt you both so bad."
"Just give us Clementine back," Lee begs.
"I'd rather kill her myself. Because that's what will happen if she goes with you."
"Yeah? You don't have a good record of keeping kids safe from what I heard."
"You watch your fucking mouth!" The stranger aims his gun at my head...but he lowers it to take a breath, calming himself down. "...After I heard Clementine on the radio and realized who you folks were, I came after you purely for revenge. But the more I heard about the things you two did...and the danger she was in, our plan changed."
"..."
"..."
"Lee, Elijah, listen to me. I need you both to hear this before what happens next. I can take care of her, we can have a fa-"
"No," I interrupt. "That ain't gonna happen."
"You're not taking Clementine away from us."
"...I bet you two don't even know how old she is."
"She's eight," Lee answers.
"Wrong. She's-"
"She's nine."
"What?" The man looks at me with his eyes widened. "How do-"
"Clementine is the little sister I never knew I wanted in my life, I know her damn well more than some hijo de puta like you. Her birthday was six days ago...and I only realize that now..."
"...Even so, she wouldn't be exposed to what she has been with you."
"Shut up," Lee says. "It's not happening."
"..."
"..."
"...I'm bitten."
"What?" The stranger was shocked by what Lee just said.
"I got bit, and I'm going to make sure you end up the same way as me."
"I, uh..."
"Make sure you shoot me in the head."
"Even if you do, I'll make damn sure that happens."
"...No. I'll be with her and you two will be rotting in the streets." The stranger leans forward and looks at the bowling bag at his feet...and he starts talking to it. "Hey, honey. I think this is all going to work out."
"What the fuck?" I mutter under my breath.
"What are you..."
Lee looks off to the side and I follow his gaze, we see the rope fall off the doorknob...and Clementine peeks out of the door. The little one widens her eyes when she sees me and Lee, she looks off to the side where our stuff is, I slightly move my head and gesture to my sickle on the dresser.
"I'm glad too," The man continues talking to his bag. "I wish you wouldn't have had to get this bad, but it's all over, hon," He looks up at me and Lee. "Isn't it?"
Lee and I see Clementine holding my sickle in her hands...and we nod. "Yeah..."
"Just about."
"I just hate seeing you like this," This guy is fucking crazy, why the fuck is he talking to his bag? "I miss you so much, Tess. You're going to like Clementine a lot, though," The little one slowly sneaks up behind the stranger, holding my sickle in both her hands. "She's not Lizzy, but she's sweet," He looks back up at us...and Clementine holds the Sickle up, ready to swing. "She wouldn't hurt a fly."
"HA!" Clementine swings my weapon into the man's shoulder, it gets stuck in there and Clementine lets go of it.
"AUGH!"
Lee jumps from his chair and onto the stranger, knocking his chair backward and they wrestle on the ground. The man manages to get Lee under him and he tries to point his gun at his head. I pulled on my sickle that was still in his shoulder, he cried out in pain as the end of the blade wriggled around in his flesh. The gun falls from his hand and Lee kicks him away, causing me to fall on my back in the process with my sickle in my hand. The stranger hobbles over to try and get his gun back...but I charged at him and slammed his body into the wall. He tries to claw at my eyes but I slam my forehead into his nose. Using my sickle, I stab him in his abdomen. He gasps for air and falls to the floor, looking up at me with fear in his eyes.
"Wait, wait wait- GAUGH!" I didn't even let him finish him beg for his life...and I slit his throat. He desperately tries to stop the blood from spilling out of his jugular...but his arms fall to the ground.
"Burn in hell, mother fucker..." I stand up straight and put my sickle on my side. That's eight now...
"...He...he could come back." Clementine says.
"It's okay, sweet pea. We're leaving."
"Good."
After I put my backpack on and my Desert Eagle in my holster, I look down at Clementine. I want to smile at her, but I don't even know if she wants to even talk to me anymore.
"...I'm sorry."
"Huh?" I didn't even get a second to register what Clementine said before she wrapped her arms around my lower torso.
"I'm so sorry..."
"..." I lower myself down onto my knees, hugging the little one back as tightly as I can. "I'm the one who should be sorry, Clem. I promise...I'm never letting you go again."
I feel another arm wrap around me and Clementine, Lee joins our hug and quietly shushes CLementine as she softly sobbed. "It's okay. It's okay, sweet pea." Lee releases us and I release Clementine, she notices Lee's...condition and her eyes widen in shock.
"Your arm's gone. Why? That's so scary..."
"I had an accident," He reassured her. "We'll talk about it somewhere else."
Clementine smells the air and her nose scrunched up in disgust. "You two don't smell good."
"Yeah," I chuckle. "we know."
"Did he hurt you?"
"No," The little one shook her head. "not really. I'm sorry Lee, I'm so sorry, Elijah."
"Clem, it's okay."
"We're here now, Kiddo."
"We need to get you somewhere safe and then we have to talk, okay?"
"Yeah," She nods.
"Everything's gonna be alright now, Clem," I say. "All we need to do now is figure out how to get out of Savannah as fast as possible," I look over at the man's corpse...then back at Clementine. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
"He was going to kill you guys."
"And take you away from us," Lee adds.
Feeling my curiosity getting the better of me, I go look in the bowling bag that the stranger was talking to. What was inside...made me sick to my stomach. It was...his wife's head, and it had come back as a Walker.
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph..." I look back at the others, Lee shares my shock as he sees the walker's head too.
"Don't look in there," Lee says to Clem.
"No. I know..."
That sick fucker... "That's it, we're getting out of here," I take the stranger's gun off the floor and put it in my backpack before I make my way to the door that leads back onto the hallway. I open it and-"
"Reuagh..."
My face is only inches away from a walker's after opening the door, it must've heard all the noises from in the room and came here...but it doesn't attack me. The fuck? It's staring directly at me but it doesn't even realize that I'm right here in front of it. It turns its gaze behind me...and it sees Clementine. It was about to walk past me but I slam his head to the floor and pull out my Desert Eagle.
BANG! CLICK! CLICK!
Fuck...that was my last bullet.
"It...it didn't bite you."
"Yeah...but why?"
"You guys are covered in all that gross stuff..."
"Well, Elijah and I had to get through a bunch of them to get here," Lee looks down at the walker, then back at me. Oh, god...he isn't... "That's how we'll get out of Savannah," He grabs his cleaver from off of the dresser...and Lee kneels down by the walker's body. He is...
"Oh, no..." Clementine looks away as Lee cits the Walker's abdomen open, it takes him a few tries before he manages to get a decent hole in it. I can feel a pit growing in my stomach as Lee pulls out a few intestines out of the Walker.
"This'll keep you safe."
"..."
"It'll just be for a little while, Kiddo."
"...Okay," Lee starts smearing the guts on the front of Clementine's sweatshirt, she lets out a few shudders and whimpers as the blood soaks her clothes. "Ew..."
"We'll get you cleaned up as soon as we can."
"Not soon enough." Clementine turns around so Lee can get her back, she squirms as more guts are applied to her clothing. "Are you done?"
"A little more."
"Lee has to be sure, Kiddo."
"So...gross..." Lee finishes up his...work, he stands and looks at me.
"I need to get you too..."
"..." I nod and turn around. "Just get it over with," Perdoname, Dios... I feel the intestines squelching on my back as Lee rubs my clothes, he stops after a few seconds and I turn back around to face him.
"That should do it."
"I hope so..."
Lee looks down at Clementine and smiles. "And you're missing something," He gives Clementine her hands, and her eyes widen when she takes it from Lee.
"I thought it was gone."
"We thought you were gone, Clem."
She puts her hat on her head and she smiles at us. "Thank you. But...Elijah, where's your Mom's beanie?"
I pull the aforementioned piece of clothing from my pocket and I put it on my head where it belongs. "I never leave home without it, Kiddo." Clementine smiles as she sees my beanie.
"Alright, when we get outside, you stay in between me and Elijah and walk very slowly. Don't look around...and don't panic."
"We'll keep you safe."
Clementine nods. "...Okay."
Lee and Clementine leave the room first, I follow last and I close the door behind me...but I stop when I see the stranger's corpse come back as a walker. It ignores me and starts feeding on the head inside the bowling bag. I slam the door, leaving the happy couple in their hotel room.
Good riddance...
Once we get back outside, the street has been filled with walkers. Cono, gunshot must've brought them back. I notice Clementine's terrified expression so I carefully take her right hand in my left...and the three of us slowly make our way through the walker herd. I add a limp into my step to keep myself from being noticed by the walkers around me, Lee keeps his right hand hovering Clem's back as we make it halfway down the street. A walker bumps into my shoulder and growls at me...and I growl back, it seems to buy my act so it moves on. I keep moving...but I feel Clementine fall behind.
"Clem?" I whispered as I looked back at her, she was staring off into the distance. I followed her gaze...and I saw what she did. ...No. Ed...Diana... I knew that they were probably dead...but it was still unbelievable despite their reanimated bodies being only a few feet away from me. I'm so sorry, guys...I'll keep your daughter safe, I pro-
"Clem, Elijah...don't..."
THUD!
I looked back...and Lee was unconscious on the concrete ground. "LEE!"