Lee...
Darkness...followed by the sounds of two familiar voices calling for the man one called their guardian..and the other called his friend and mentor.
"LEE!"
"W-What happened?!"
"Clem, come on! Into that jewelry store!"
Lee's vision comes back to him as he slowly opens his eyes, his gaze meets Elijah and Clementine shaking him by his shoulders. "Lee, come on, man! Wake up!"
"Please don't be dead! Please, no!" Once Clementine sees Lee waking up, her shoulders stop tensing up. "Lee...I was so scared... I...I thought you left us. I...I... I saw my parents."
"...Come here, Sweet Pea," Lee hugs Clementine, she nuzzles her little head against his chest despite the smell.
"They're dead...they really are!"
"I'm so sorry, Clem," Elijah holds her shoulder, trying to offer the little one even the slightest bit of comfort. "I'm so sorry..." Clementine pulls away from Lee and Elijah helps him sit off the floor. He was even more pale than before, and his eyes were bloodshot.
"Clementine, Elijah, we have to get out of here as fast as we can."
"We can't!" The little girl exclaimed. "There's thousands of them outside!"
"We have to. I'll protect you both. We'll push through them."
"Lee, don't be crazy," Elijah retorts. "We got lucky the first time, Clementine and I brought you here and saved you."
"We're safe in here," Clementine adds. "I locked us in."
"Get that door open."
"We can't!"
"Lee, we'll just-"
"DO IT!"
"Lee!" Elijah stops him from moving to the shutter door. "It's locked tight, even with all three of us we can't get it open anymore! We'll just find another way out!"
"...Clementine. Honey," Lee looks to the little one, holding out his amputated arm. "My arm is gone because I asked Elijah to cut it off."
Clementine's eyes widened as she glanced back and forth between Elijah's eyes and Lee's missing arm. "Why...Why would you-"
"Because I was bitten, Clem."
"...What?" She couldn't believe what she had heard. "PLease...no... No... That's not true!"
"...It is, Clementine." Elijah confirms, his hands tightening in fists as his eyes meet the floor.
The Little girl sobs, holding onto Elijah's leg and avoiding their gazes...avoiding the reality of the situation. "I'm sorry, Clementine. I'm supposed to take care of you two...I can't now."
"I know!" She cried out...but she eventually stopped holding onto Elijah, turning her gaze to the next room. A security office. Through the glass window, she sees a walking sitting and trapped in a chair. "I think there might be a way out over there."
"Good. Good girl," Lee struggles to get up to his feet, using the jewelry display cases to pull himself up. "Let's go. I might be a little slow," He takes a few steps forward, stumbling and leaning on the glass display case. "Augh!"
"Lee!" Elijah is quick to hoist Lee back up, he uses himself as a support beam for him. "Let me help you."
"I'm okay, I'm okay..."
"I'll help you too," Clementine rushes the the other side of Lee, holding out her hand. "You can lean on me if you have to."
"That's okay...I'm alright..."
"I thought Elijah and I were helping by bringing you in here..."
"Oh, you did, Honey. It's awful out there, they woulda chewed me up."
"It was hell..."
"I don't know how you two did it, but both of you did good, okay?"
"Come on, Lee," Elijah continues dragging Lee along the cases. "We're almost there." They both reach the end of the piece of furniture and Elijah loses his grip as Lee slumps onto the floor next to a radiator. "Shit!"
"Lee!" He takes long, deep, ragged breaths as he leans his head back on the wall. "Get up, Lee. The door's right here!"
"..." Lee tries to get back onto his feet...but he falls back down again. "...I can't."
"You have to!"
"Come on, man!" Elijah grabs his right hand. "Not here! Not like this!"
"Elijah...I can't move. This is it for me here."
"No! I won't let you die like this!" Elijah clenched his teeth...fighting back his tears.
"Please, please, try to get up!"
Elijah tries to pull Lee up to his feet...but Lee isn't even trying anymore. "I can't," The young man reluctantly lets go of his mentor. "You two don't have much time. You gotta do something, fast."
"Like what?" The little girl asks.
"...You two have to make sure I don't turn."
"You won't, though."
"Clem, I will. You know what you have to do. Both of you." Lee looks up to Elijah. "...I need you to tell her what to do."
"What?" Elijah was confused by Lee's request.
"She needs to learn how to take care of herself...and I can't do that for her anymore. If things get bad, then you can step in. Right now...you're her teacher."
"..." Elijah wasn't sure about this. He knew that Clementine could handle herself but in such an emotional state? He didn't even know what to do, even though he could never say it out loud. "...Okay."
Lee smiles at his former college student and nods. "Thank you, Elijah."
The young man looks around the jewelry store and sees a baseball bat underneath the register counter. "Clem, grab that bat over there. Smash the security door window with it."
"..." The little girl runs and grabs the bat, Elijah stands back as Clementine swings it and breaks the glass. She sets down the bat against the wall and tries to open the door. "It's locked."
"Over there," Elijah points to a rolling chair nearby. "Use that to unlock the door from the other side, watch out for broken glass."
Clementine nods and pulls the chair in front of the door, she climbs on top, reaches through the broken window, and unlocks the door. After stepping off of the chair, Clementine opens the door and the walker trapped inside claws at the air toward the little girl as it growls.
"Good work, Kiddo."
"Don't be afraid of him, honey," said Lee. "You're smart. He isn't. You're smarter than all of them."
"He's...he's trapped."
"This'll be easy then," Elijah grabs his sickle but he stops at the sound of Lee speaking up.
"No...let her do it."
"But-"
"She has to learn, Elijah..."
"..." The young man is highly against it...but he follows Lee's order and puts his sickle away. "...He has keys and a gun, Clementine. We need them both."
"...Okay," Clementine nods.
"Wait..." Lee speaks up. "Those handcuffs on the ground... Get them, Clem."
"Okay, Lee," The little one picks up the handcuffs from off the ground and Looks back at Lee.
"...Put the handcuffs on me. Attach me to the radiator."
"What?" Elijah exclaimed.
"Why?"
"No matter what happens, you two will be safe then."
"I don't know..."
"...Go ahead, Clem."
"Just do it. Clementine, make sure they're tight."
"..." The little one kneels down to the one-armed man, cuffing him to the radiator. "I don't...I don't wanna do this."
"You have to. It'll keep you and Elijah safe." Lee looks past Clementine and to the trapped walker inside the office. "You only have to deal with him now."
"...Arlight, Clem. He's trapped. If you're careful, you can get what we need from him."
"The keys...and then the gun."
"Yeah," Lee nods. "The keys and then the gun. Just don't be afraid. If anything gets dangerous, you're faster than he is."
"..." Clementine looks up at Elijah. "What should I get first."
"...The gun, Kiddo. Always the gun."
She nods, going into the security office and right towards the walker...but suddenly, the walker breaks free from the chair and lunges at Clementine. The little girl tries to run away, but the monster grabs her leg.
"Ah!"
"Clem!" Elijah grabs onto his sickle, ready to kill the Walker.
"No...she has to kill it..."
"Lee!" Elijah was baffled by Lee's decision...but he saw Clementine grab the bat from off the wall and start swinging it against the walker's head. It lets go of the little girl and she hurriedly stands back up, swinging the bat over her shoulder and slamming it down on the monster's skull again...and again...and again...and again...until its blood and brains spilled all over the floor. Some of it even got on her face in the process.
"...I...I did it. I got him."
"Hell yeah, you did, Kiddo."
Lee smiles at Clementine. "You can take care of yourself, see?"
"No," The little one shakes her head. "not all the time."
"Yes you can," Elijah kneels down to her level, holding the little girl by her shoulders. "You think any little girl can do what you just did?" The young man shakes his head. "No. Only you."
"..." Clementine smiles, grabbing the keys and gun from the dead Walker.
"Come here, you two," Lee says, and both Elijah and Clementine kneel beside him. He looks at them both...and he smiles with gratefulness in his eyes. "You're strong, both of you. You...you can do anything as long as you're together."
"But...I'm little." Clementine squeaked.
"Don't mean nothin'," Lee remarked.
"Hell no, it doesn't," Elijah adds...and his voice starts breaking too.
"You're going to see bad stuff...but it's okay."
"Like my parents?" Clementine sniffs as she begins crying. "It's so horrible."
"I-I can't imagine, Sweet Pea."
"I'm so sorry, Kiddo..."
"And now...you? Please!" The little one begs. "Please don't be one of them. Please don't become a walker."
"..."
"There's only one thing that has to be done. Both of you know that." Lee looks away for a moment, knowing exactly what they must do. "...You have to shoot me."
"Lee, no..."
"Not you too..." Elijah held his head in his hands. "Lee, I can't do this without you. I've already lost too much..."
"Elijah..." The young man dropped his hands to his side after hearing his name come from his mentor. "When you stood over Duck, holding your gun, It must've been so hard for you. I'm sorry both you and Clementine are in this position now. I'd give anything for you not to be. But...you just have to point it at me, close your eyes, and be thankful you and Clem never have to see me as one of them."
"Lee...please, there has to be something...anything..." Elijah could no longer hold back his tears.
"You can do it. I know you can."
"..."
"..."
"Find Omida and Christa. They're outside of town...by the train. Both of you remember how to get back there?"
"...Yes."
"Yeah..."
"Good," Lee smiles. "They'll help Elijah take good care of you." Clementine starts crying...and so does Elijah. This isn't what Lee wanted, he wanted more than anything to find a place for them to be safe. But here he was...leaving them on their own. "And, Clem...keep that hair short."
She sniffs, wiping her eyes. "I will."
"I'll cut it for her," Elijah adds.
"Great...Good..." Lee smiles weakly. "Elijah...keep her safe, no matter what, you hear me?"
Elijah nods, his eyes stinging from tears. "Always. Where she goes, I go."
"Good...and also..." Lee's eyes slowly started to close...and his breath was slowing down. He doesn't have much more time left.
"What...what is it?"
"Lee?"
"...No," Lee weakly shook his head. "don't worry...alright..." He looks at them both...taking in their faces one last time...and smiles. "I love you both..."
"We love you too, Lee."
"...Elijah?"
"Yes, Lee?"
"...Could you sing...one last time?"
"..." The young man nods, his tears falling down his face. "Okay, Lee. I'll...I'll try." Elijah takes a deep breath, desperately trying to compose himself and keep his voice from breaking even further. "...Amazing grace...how sweet the sound..." Despite the pain in his heart, Elijah keeps going. "That saved...a wretch...like me..." The young man clears his throat, getting rid of the frog in his throat. "I once...was lost...but now...I'm found... Was blind...but now...I see."
"...Thank you."
"...Goodbye, Lee."
Elijah stands with Clementine, she takes out the gun and hands it over to her big brother. He takes it from the little girl...and aims it at his mentor. The pistol shakes in his hands as he sees Lee smiling at him. Taking in a long deep breath, Elijah looks away...but he can't bring himself to pull the trigger. The gun nearly falls to his side...but a small hand keeps it upright. Clementine wraps her fingers between Elijah's...her index finger over the trigger. She looks up and nods at the young man...ignoring the downpour of tears. They look away from their friend...and Elijah and Clementine pull the trigger.
BANG!