Several Weeks Later...
Alright...here we go again...
Lee, Kenny, and I, run through the streets of downtown Macon for our weekly supply run. Let's just hope that this goes better than the last few times. I carry my pistol and have my backpack on me while Lee has his rifle and Kenny has his own pistol and backpack. Lee peeks around the corner of a building before moving out into the street, guess that means the coast is clear.
"Looks like this is our lucky day, boys," Kenny remarked.
"Yeah," Lee agrees. "this might actually go smoothly."
"We deserve it after last time."
"Don't remind me..."
All three of us almost didn't get out of Macon alive, damn Walkers keep coming out of nowhere. Plus, It didn't help that Lilly practically bit our heads off when she saw how little we brought back. If she thinks it's so easy to get the supplies we need then why isn't she out here instead of us, at least we're getting shit done.
Lee and Kenny look through the partially boarded-up windows of a local hardware store while I keep watch. I sigh in annoyance. Half the supplies we get just go straight to the fucking bandits. That woman was right about one thing, they were keeping an eye on...that fucking dairy. I still have nightmares of that horrible place...mostly about her. I shake my head, ridding any rising sadness so I can focus on the task at hand. Lee and Kenny join me as we head to the pharmacy. Something must've gone down with the military here, there's an abandoned military blocking the entrance to the pharmacy and a military chopper that crashed on top of the building.
"...I should at least get a shot at this," I say, holstering my pistol and taking my camera from my backpack. I take a quick photo of the pharmacy, making sure that the jeep and helicopter are in the shot. I take the photo and stuff it in my backpack along with my camera.
"Still taking pictures, son?" Kenny asks me and I nod.
"Someone has to."
Kenny happily smiles at me, guess he's happy to see that I haven't really changed. Especially after... He groans in pain and holds his side, I guess he hasn't fully recovered yet from his gunshot. "...Man."
"You okay, Ken?" I ask.
"I'm alright, son. Just a tad sore is all." We walk a little further down the street before Kenny brings up an important question. "Lee, Elijah. Where do you two come down to stayin' or goin'?"
"You mean packing up the motel and getting in the RV?" Lee asked.
"Yeah. We've been talking about it, but you two made up your mind yet?"
"We should go," Lee says
"The Motor Inn is a dead end," I add. "Plus we need to get away from those fuckin' bandits."
Kenny likes our answers. "Damn right. We pile into the RV and don't pull over 'til we see water. And if Lilly's dead-set on staying, then, well...that's the way it goes."
"..." I keep my mouth shut about that woman. She's been losing what's left is her sanity ever since we put down her father like the dog he was. She's even been giving me nasty looks, especially for the past week.
"Okay, boys, just like last time," Kenny says as we get to a truck container blocking the street. "Over the rig, into the pharmacy, and scrape together whatever supplies are left."
"We didn't leave much in there."
"I wouldn't be shocked if there's nothing left," I add.
"Well, we're out of options. Somethin's better than nothin'." Kenny climbs up the ladder on the side of the trailer. As he reaches the top, the latter comes unattached and hangs by a thread. "Shit!"
"You okay?"
"The ladder's come loose," Kenny says as he crouches down. "I'm not sure how many more trips she's got in her."
"I'm not sure how many more trips we got in us," Lee remarked.
"You could say that again."
"No kiddin'."
"Hmm..." I think the ladder could be fixed, all I would need to do is just realling the ladder back into its place. I grab the ladder but it immediately falls to the ground. "Damn..."
"Looks like she's had it," Lee said.
"What now?"
"We'll find another way up."
"Well, y'all better get a move on."
Lee and I nod and begin to look around. There's a few barrels, a wrecked car, and...the jeep. I take a closer look, seeing a hook and winch attached to the front. Huh, looks like it still works. "Hey, Lee."
"Yeah?"
"This jeep could be useful," I say as I pull the hook from the winch and pull it toward the trailer.
"...Lilly's not doin' so good, huh?" Kenny asks us as I continue pulling.
"Well, we killed her dad."
"We did kill her dad," I added.
"...We did kill her dad," Kenny sighed before I attached the hook to the trailer axle.
"Alright, Lee, we're good. There should be a little switch somewhere on the jeep, give it a flip. Lee nods at me and goes to the jeep. After a few seconds of searching, the winch begins to pull the jeep towards the trailer. Some rubble falls over and the tires leave some skid marks on the road.
"Clementine still upset with y'all agreeing to ta that stuff from the station wagon?" Kenny asks as the jeep is pulled to the trailer.
"...I'm not sure. I wouldn't blame her."
"I think she understands," I try to reassure them.
"Hope so. Not like we had much choice."
"...Right."
The jeep reaches the truck, giving me and Lee a stepping stone to get up to Kenny. Lee climbs on top of the jeep first while I wait. "Duck was thinking about that guy at Hershel's farm last night."
"Shawn?"
"Really?" Lee asked. "I wasn't sure it phased him."
Kenny bears a sorrowful expression. "Of course, it did."
"Is that why I heard screaming last night?" I hesitantly ask.
"...Yeah. Duck woke up in the middle of the night, screamin' his head off. He thinks he killed Hershel's son."
"Jesus..."
"Christ... I'm sorry."
"Fact of the matter is...we did."
"We can't keep blaming ourselves for that, Kenny," I say. "...That kind of blame shouldn't be put on any of you."
"...You okay, son?" Kenny must've noticed the slight change in my tone. "That sweet girl's death ain't yours to blame, you know that?"
"...I know, I just can't get that damn image out of my head...no matter how much I look at our last picture together."
Lee kneels and pats me on my shoulder. "You'll be alright."
"You're a tough boy," Kenny encourages me. "tougher than most I've seen."
"...Thanks, guys." I wipe my eyes. "Enough of that, let's get this done."
"You betcha," Kenny reaches his hand down to Lee, ready to pull him to the top of the trailer.
"You sure you're up for this?" Lee asks in regard to Kenny's recent injury.
"Lee, I'm fine," He reassures. "I've got this. Gimme your hand."
Lee takes it and begins to climb up but Kenny groans in pain and holds his side after he drops him. "Shit!" Lee crashes his head into the windshield of the jeep.
"Lee!" I look around, making sure that no potential Walkers in the area heard that loud crash. Thankfully, I think we're fine for now.
"Jesus, are you okay?" Lee asked Kenny.
"I'm fine. Shit, I'm sorry, pal, I thought it'd be healed up better."
"Well, we're lucky it wasn't that bad. We should just-"
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" The three of us turn to the sound of a blood-curdling scream coming from a few blocks down the street. "No! No! Go away! Go go-" A woman covered in grime comes out of a store and trips onto the street. She's soon followed by...a Walker. "Help me! Aaahhh! Somebody help me! Oh, God! Oh, God!" More of them are being drawn to the girl's screams.
"What the...what the hell is that?! A walker?!"
"Walkers don't scream! Do they?!"
"Not the last time I checked!" I add.
Lee holds up his rifle and looks through the scope, getting a better look. "It's a girl, we have to help her!"
"How? There's no gettin' to her!"
"We have to do something!" I shout. I see a crawling walker bite the woman's leg...fuck.
"Fuck, we gotta shoot her!" Lee stated. "Put her out of this misery!"
"They don't know we're here."
"What?" I ask Kenny.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we leave her alive and she draws them all to her, buying us time."
"Ken..."
"You can't be serious!" I get it, but this girl doesn't deserve this.
"Think about it, y'all! We're always worryin' about the ones we can't see. She stays alive and brings them all out of their holes!"
"..."
"...Maybe you're-"
BANG!
Kenny and Lee turn at me, seeing the smoke coming out of the barrel of my 1911. The girl's body falls to the concrete and some of the Walkers begin to feed off her bones...and some turn to see us.
"What the fuck did you-"
"I couldn't just let her suffer, Kenny!" I climb on top of the Jeep. "Let's go, we don't have a lot of time now."
Kenny just shook his head and brought Lee up, I followed after. Once were on top we jumped down to the other side and headed to the backdoor of the pharmacy. I close the door behind us.
"It's sturdy as hell but we ain't got much time," We enter the pharmacy. "You two get everything you can out of these racks. Don't y'all forget underneath the counter this time! I'll clear down here and then we gotta go!"
Lee moves a shelf upright and begins to take many scattered supplies across the floor and pharmacy shelves. I get to work underneath the counter and grab two energy bars, a box of ibuprofen, and a small box of bandages.
CRASH!
"Shit!" I hear the Walkers break through the door of the office.
"Incomin'! Come on, boys!" Zombies begin to pound on the door of the pharmacy, and Kenny hops over the counter. "Up and over!"
I follow him and Lee is right behind me. Kenny finds a small hole the three of us can escape out of. A loud crash from behind me gets our attention, turning around to see Lee pinned down by the door to the office after a bunch of walkers knocked it down.
"Guys, help!" Lee calls to us and Kenny and I don't waste a second getting over to him. We lift the door off of himself, he crawls out from underneath it and he stands as Kenny and I draw our guns.
"Fridge!" Kenny calls out. Lee looks at the fridge and pushes it over, blocking the door and crushing a walker underneath it. Kenny and I fire a few shots, killing two or three walkers. "Out! Let's fucking get out!"
Kenny runs to the front, Lee follows close behind, and I follow after him. "Reaugh!" A walker wearing a pilot's uniform and helmet jumps out in front of me, trying to claw at me. I whack it in the head with my pistol, it stumbles back but it still comes at me. I see some nearby debris with some rebar sticking out from it...and I get an idea. I kick the walker, sending it back and impaling it through its chest.
"Let's go, boys!" Kenny shouts and the three of us crawl through the hole and escape from the pharmacy. We don't stop running until we're out of downtown Macon.
One thing's for sure, this town is officially dead. This means...we have to leave as soon as possible.
Lee
The scavenging team returns to the motor inn, the familiar sight of the makeshift wall riddled with bullet holes and arrows makes them feel a sense of slight relief. They enter the gate and head for Lilly's room. As they walk, Lee notices Clementine having one of her 'pretend talks' on her walkie-talkie. What made Lee feel a sense of relief was the fact that Clementine was finally wearing the hoodies they took from the Station Wagon.
"You're back!" Clementine notices the men's return and happily rushes over to them. "Ben found some stickers in a drawer, and I put 'em on my walkie!" The little one holds out her radio, showing the sun and flower stickers on it.
"Hey, Sweet Pea," Lee smiles "That's neat."
"Makes it look unique, Kiddo. Lee and I will find you in a minute, okay?"
Clementine nods and goes back to her drawing board. Lee and I joined Kenny as he waited for us by Lilly's room. Lee knocks on the doorway, Lilly soon opens the partially opened doot so she can speak to us.
"Looks like we got the kid on watch again," Kenny pointed out as he look back at Ben who's been sitting on a lawn chair on top of the RV with a rifle in his hands.
"What'd you get?" Lilly gets straight to the point, taking the rifle from Lee and giving him back his pistol.
"We might as well leave out a sign that says 'the men are gone, come and rape our women and children'."
"Ha..." Lilly said humorlessly as she set her rifle on a nearby dresser. "So, what did you three get?"
"Not much," Elijah answered. "At least it's something."
"Well, maybe we coulda got more," Kenny says before handing Lilly the backpack of supplies. Elijah knows exactly what Kenny is implying, causing the young man to cross his arms. "Half of it's probably expired."
"There just wasn't a lot left," Lee added.
"...This is it?" Lilly asked, expecting more.
"Yeah, well, we've been pickin' Macon clean for weeks."
"Fuck..."
"I think it's time we face facts."
"Which is why I've been sayin', and I don't mean to sound like a broken record here, but we gotta hit the road."
"Because piling into an RV with you three, after what you did to my dad, is so appealing."
"Why wouldn't it be?" Kenny states. "You know I'll do what it takes to keep everyone safe."
"We're already safe," Lilly retorted.
"Take a look at the wall, Lilly. That's not graffiti, those are bullet holes. And we got enough arrow shafts sticking out of it to dry our laundry. And that's all beside the fact that Macon is busting at the seams with walkers."
"We don't have walker problems."
"We will eventually," Elijah added.
"We have to go eventually, Lilly," Lee agrees.
"We don't have to do anything."
"You didn't want to go because of your dad's health," Kenny pointed out. "but he's gone now."
"Easy there, Ken," Elijah warned.
"At it again, are we?" Carley joins the returned group along with Doug and Katjaa.
"Is it, uh...another disagreement?"
"Can it, you two," Kenny said.
"Don't boss people around," Lilly puts her hand on her hip.
"I don't think you have room to talk..." Elijah muttered.
"I'm sorry," Kenny continues. "Somebody needs to make executive decisions for the group though, and I don't think you're capable anymore." He says in a non-condescending way, more concerned than anything.
Lilly only hears what she wants to hear. "And don't start with me, either."
"Ken," Katjaa speaks up. "we're all losing it with the attacks and lack of food..."
"Look, we all make good points," Elijah says, getting tired of the rising tension. "This place was a good one to defend for a while, but it's falling apart. We can't just stay here in one spot and just hope it'll just work out."
Lilly sighed. "I don't remember asking for your input, kid."
"He has a name, Lilly," Lee said, getting defensive. "Use it."
"Boy's gotta point. What about the food situation? What about protection? What about when this place falls? Somebody's gotta be thinking about this shit."
"How has this not been working?"
"Well, first off. The bandits take half of our shit so they don't kill us, that's not a fair deal if you ask me."
"We still have everything we need!"
"Because of the three of us, Lilly."
"That's BS, Kenny, and you know it. Everything that happens to us is another excuse for you to pull this crap about leaving. All I want is a week's peace; of not hearing it!"
"We wouldn't even be fighting about this if Elijah hadn't fucked up downtown."
"What do you mean?"
"Some girl came screaming out of an alley. She had dead hanging all over her. She was makin' enough noise that we woulda had plenty of time to get what we needed. 'Stead, smart boy here shot her."
"..." Lilly looks to Elijah in slight shock. "...You just can't seem to get enough, can't you?"
"Lilly," Lee scowled.
"She was suffering, I couldn't just stand there and let her be eaten alive by those things."
"There was no saving her?" Doug asked.
"She was already bitten, poor girl was suffering enough."
"We've been putting our lives on the line doing these runs into the city. You wouldn't believe the shit the three of us see."
"We all appreciate it, Ken..."
"Y'all should be giving Elijah hell for not doing what needed to be done."
"Kenny..." Katjaa tried to calm her husband down.
"It's already easy for him to kill anyway."
"Lilly!" Lee shouted, surprising everyone. "Drop it..."
"...Look," Kenny continued after a few seconds of silence. "Macon and its people aren't savable. It's not a town, it's full of walkers. and the people who were left are dying and wandering out onto the streets. It's hell on Earth, and it's coming this way."
"It's not going to be easier out on the road!" Lilly shouted, turning away from them.
"How would you know?"
"What I know?!" Lilly turns back at Kenny, looking furious. "I know you're not above murder! I know somebody has been stealing our supplies! That's right, stealing, and I know the list of people I can trust here gets smaller every day!" She turns away again, shouting. "Now, everybody, get out!"
Having their fill of Lilly's rising paranoia, they leave her room and she slams it as soon as Elijah is the last one to leave. He gives Kenny a look of discouragement before he storms off.
"Son, I...shit. I didn't mean to-"
"He did what he thought was right. Hell, I was about to shoot too, I wouldn't want anyone else to suffer like that."
"...I better have a word with him, if he'll let me."
"Just give him time, hon. Elijah's a good boy."
"...Lilly is right about one thing," Kenny said to Lee. "None of this is gettin' any easier." He and Katjaa leave.
"Uh, rough day, I guess?" Doug questioned.
"Yep," Lee nods. "I've just been calling 'em 'days' lately."
"Well, I'm gonna go back to working on the wall. I'll catch you guys later." Doug leaves Lee and Carley alone and she sighs.
"Things are coming to a head."
"You could say that."
"Well, I think you guys did good today, especially you. And I've been thinking that most days."
Lee smiles, now facing Carley. "Thanks."
"It's probably worth following up with Lilly about what she said about missing supplies," Carley suggested as she gently stroked Lee's cheek, wiping some grime away. "With her wound up the way she is, I don't want to see her paranoid."
"...No question."
Carley's hand falls back to her side. "And I'd like to talk...when you've got a minute." She leaves, but she looks back and smiles at Lee just as she reaches the staircase.
Lee goes back to Lilly's room and opens the door, she has her head in her hands but looks up as Lee approaches. "I'm sorry."
Lee sits in a chair opposite her. "You should be apologizing to my boy. He only did the right thing."
"Did you just come to give me hell?"
Lee shook his head. "No. I wanted to follow up on what you said about stolen supplies."
"Do you know what's going on?"
"I don't, I just heard you mention it."
"And what," Lilly burrows her brow. "you came in here to confess?"
"I'm not stealing shit, I came to help."
"...There's a traitor, somebody, one of us, out there. He or she or they have been taking things."
"Paranoia isn't going to help us."
"I know what this sounds like, but I'm not paranoid. The counts off...and it's the good stuff. Antibiotics, oxy, fuck, anything with opium in it."
"I see the count," Lee retorted. "and it's fine."
"I keep my own. That one is getting messed with. I'm a fucking mess right now but I'm not stupid. I know what happens if I start a witch hunt."
"So you want me to start one?" Lee asked in an annoyed tone.
"I want you to poke around."
"...What's there to go on?"
Lilly reaches under her bead and pulls out a large broken flashlight, which she hands to Lee. "I found this tossed in the garbage."
"Hmm..."
"We don't toss out equipment. We fix it. You'd only try to get rid of a flashlight if you were using it when you shouldn't."
Lee raised an eyebrow. "Seems like you're manufacturing this from nothing."
"Prove me wrong," Lily scoweld. "Or I'll just assume it was you, or perhaps that kid of yours."
"...Accuse me all you want, Lilly, but don't you go wrapping him into this." Lee stands and storms out of Lilly's room, he closes the door and sighs in slight annoyance with what he's tasked to do.
"A mystery!"
Lee turns around to see that Duck had been listening in on their conversation. "Jesus, Duck!"
"I'm sorry. I...heard you guys talking."
"You need to un-hear all of that!" Lee begins to walk away but Duck stops him with a question.
"Can I help?"
Lee turns around and looks at the boy with a face that just screams, 'are you fucking serious?' "What did I just say?"
"You're the greatest detective and I can be Dick Grayson! Your ward!"
"..."
"That's Robin."
"I know who it is," Lee thinks about this for a moment. He knows that Duck will probably help no matter what he says. He sighs. "You can help. Don't tell anybody!"
"Secrecy!"
Lee crosses his arms. "Yeah. Good."
"...What do I do?"
"I-I don't know! Go look around. Let me know if you find anything...weird."
"I'm on the case!"
Duck leaves with enthusiasm, allowing Lee some peace for a moment. But he remembers how Carley wanted to speak to him so he heads to the second floor of the Motor Inn, finding Carley leaning against the railing with her head in her hands.
She glances over to Lee as he approaches. "Talk to Lilly yet?"
"Yeah. She thinks supplies have been walking away."
"Really?"
Lee nods. "There's some broken equipment too. I'll look into that."
Carley smiles. "Thanks for doing that. What I wanted to say was, I've been thinking a lot," She stands up straight and looks at Lee fondly. "About you."
"I think about you too," Lee says with a smile and Carley returns it.
"Our group is small."
"You're small."
Lee's retort causes Carley to giggle, bt her smile is quickly replaced by a small frown. "...You're a convicted killer."
"Carley, Jesus..."
"And I think people should know," Carley continues. "Not because they deserve to and not because you're a bad man. I...think the opposite of those two things. People need to know because we're hanging by a thread here and I can't see Lilly talk about you without thinking it's the next thing she's going to say. You don't have to tell everyone, but think about who you trust and take the opportunity while you have it."
"It was a lifetime ago."
"Which is only going to make the feeling that you hid it and that there was even more to hide that much worse."
"..."
"People might be pissed. And telling them might cause some trouble, but it will be a star cry from what'll happen if they don't hear it from you. I know that Elijah knows and so does Clementine, but do they even know the entire story?"
"...No. I only said that I killed someone."
"Above everyone else, I think they should at least know. They think the world of you, you know?"
"...Yeah."
"So you'll do it then?"
"...I'll let people know, you're totally right."
Lee's answer makes Carley smile. "Good. I think it's for the best," But what she does next surprises the taller man. Carley places a hand on his shoulder, leaning herself up and plants a small kiss on Lee's cheek. "Don't call me small. And you'll thank me later." She whispered into his ear before she took a few steps back.
"...Right."
Lee leaves Carley alone and heads back downstairs to the parking lot, taking note of where everyone is. Clementine is currently drawing on a pallet, Elijah is strumming on his guitar by his room door, Kenny and Katjaa are having a conversation with each other on a couch, Duck is off...'invesigating', Doug is tending to the wall, and Ben is still on watch. Lee knows that he will tell Clementine and Elijah the full story of his past, as for the others... Lee feels that Kenny should know, they're practically brothers in arms at this point, so Katjaa should know too. Doug...? He's a dependable guy, so he should at least know. Ben... He may make a few mistakes every now and then, but he's pulling his weight at the least. As for Lilly... Larry already knew and of course, he would've told Lilly so there's really no point in talking to her about it. Plus with the way she is, he might just use it against him.
"Damn this whole thing..." Lee muttered before he approached Clementine, not only to check on her but to tell her the truth as well. Lee kneels down to her and she looks up from her drawing. "Hey, Clementine."
"Hey, Lee."
"What's that you're working on, Clem?"
"It's called a 'leaf rubbing'. My teacher Ms. Moore showed us how to do 'em when we went to the botanical garden once," Clem picks up a leaf and the piece of paper she was drawing on with some chalk. "See? It's the same! Um, kind of."
Lee smiles. "Now that's really something."
"I'll make one for you, too!" She says with enthusiasm. Clementine sees Elijah out of the corner of her eye, her smile turning to a frown. "Lee? Is Elijah Okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, he just seems...sad? Do you think he's...thinking about...?"
"No, I don't think it's that, Clementine. I'll talk with him in a bit and check on him."
"Okay..."
"On another note, do you like it here, Clem?"
"I don't like it here..."
"Do you want to leave?"
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere else."
"Elijah keeps saying we should leave, maybe if I knew where."
"Yeah, that'd be a good thing to know. You didn't accidentally break a flashlight, did you?"
Clementine shook her head. "No, did Duck say I did?"
"No. Did...Duck break a flashlight?"
"I don't think so. He's just always blaming me for stuff."
"Like what?"
"Putting a bug on his pillow."
"Did you do that?"
"..." Clementien smiles. "Yes."
This brings a light chuckle out of Lee but he covers it quickly, now for one last thing. "Okay, Clem, one last thing and you can go on back to your things."
"Okey-dokey."
Lee takes a second to figure out how he should say this to Clementine. "Before I met you and Elijah...and Sandra, before everything, I killed someone."
Clementine remembers the conversation she had with Lee back in the drugstore. "Oh. So that's what..."
Lee nodded, confirming her rising question. "Yeah, that's it. It was a bad thing and there's no explaining it."
"...Why are you telling me?"
"Because I didn't want to keep it to myself anymore. Do you...have any questions?" Clementine just shakes her head. "Okay, Clem, you can go back to your things." Lee heads over to Elijah sitting in a lawn chair by his room, he's still strumming on his guitar with a solemn expression on his face. "Hey..."
"...Hey, Lee," Elijah doesn't even look up at him.
"Look, about what happened out there..."
"What about it? I made a call, we made it out. What's done is done. I'd do the same for any of you guys, none of us deserve to suffer like that, not even...Lilly."
"...I know you would. Are you getting any better sleep?"
"...No. I'm still having nightmares about that damn place."
"I don't blame you."
"...Hey, Lee," Elijah looks up at him. "I've been sneaking out at night."
Lee tilts his head. "What do you mean?"
"...I've been taking what I can from the dairy, it's abandoned and all the walkers have gone."
"You what?!" Lee shouted in a whisper.
"They had a lot medical supplies, a few weapons, and ammo. I stashed a good majority of the ammo and meds in the RV in case those bandits show up and we need to leave in a hurry."
"...Did you take a flashlight with you?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
Lee holds out the broken flashlight to Elijah. "Was it this one by chance?"
He shook his head. "Nope, I have my own. I don't know anything about that one."
"...Alright then," Lee believes him, he'd never put Clementine at risk. "Can we talk?"
"Aren't we doing that already?"
"Haha...fair point, but I meant more serious."
"I'm all ears, Lee."
"...You should know that I killed someone before...all of this."
"Yeah?"
"...I think it's time you hear the full story."
"...You sure, man?"
Lee nods. "Yeah. My wife...she traveled for work, I didn't like that. I...I wanted a family. So..we fought, and it made my biggest fear come true. Got sick on my way to our class, canceled it, and went home. I found her there with someone else...and I killed him."
"...Damn. I'm...so sorry, Lee."
"...I was mad at her for so long," A small tear falls from Lee's cheek. "But I can't imagine how much pain she must've-" Lee is cut off but Elijah's surprise gesture, the boy had stood up from his chair...and hugged his mentor.
"...I know we can't change what happened," He says before pulling away. "But we can move forward together. You have a family now, Lee. You, Me, Clementine, Kenny and his bunch, Carley and Doug, even Ben. All of us look out for each other now."
"..." Lee wipes his eyes, smiling at him with pride. "Thank you, Elijah."
He nods. "Of course."
Now that Lee had his talk with Elijah, it was time to move on to Kenny and Katjaa. Lee heads over to the married couple on the couch. "Hey, you two, how are you doing?"
"We're okay," Katjaa answered.
"Just havin' a little spat..."
"We all carry guns now," Katjaa looks down at the pistol resting between her and her husband and frowns. "and, well, I don't like it."
Kenny scowls at this. "It's the way it's gotta be."
"I know, but I'm not getting used to it," Katjaa shook her head before returning her attention to Lee. "I'm sorry, how are you Lee."
"I'm fine. Do you guys know anything about this broken flashlight?" Lee shows them the broken appliance.
"Fuck, we don't got many of those."
"Yeah, it's a problem. The glass and the bulb are all busted out."
"I saw some broken glass over by the ice machine," Katjaa pointed out. "I meant to clean it up before the kids hurt themselves on it; I forgot though."
"I'll look into it," Lee looks to his mustachioed friend. "Kenny, you got a second? I need to tell you something.
"Sure, pal. What d'ya got?" Kenny stands and follows Lee a good distance away where no one can hear.
"It's serious."
"Oh, no." Kenny puts his hands on his hips. "What'd the she-devil do to you?"
"Shut up, man..." Lee takes a deep breath before he speaks again. "I killed someone. Different than Larry or Danny. Different for everything. This was before the Walkers."
"Uh..."
"I know. I didn't say anything when I met you because I was with the kids, and you know, I was worried..."
"...I just smashed a guy's head in with a fifty-pound block of salt. You saw me do that right?"
"Yeah, I did."
"And you're talking about who we were? The fuck does that matter? It's everything this mess has got us doin' now, Lee. Shit. Look, is Duck safe around you?"
"Of course."
"Then shut it. You don't owe anybody any kind of explanation." Kenny looks back to where Elijah is sitting, he's now sharpening the same sickle he used to kill Andy St. John. "You think I was a little harsh on him?"
"I think 'a little' is putting it lightly."
Kenny sighs. "Dammit... I know he did what he thought was right, I do. But-"
"He understands, Kenny. But he just doesn't want to see anyone else suffer anymore, not the ones who don't deserve it anyway."
"...Maybe you're right. But that's not the only thing that concerns me."
"What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean, Lee. You saw how that boy killed that asshole. I ain't sayin' that he didn't deserve it, hell, I'd probably do worse. Kid like him shouldn't have to do something like that."
"No, he doesn't. But he's not a kid, not anymore anyway."
"Damn right about that..." Kenny goes back to Katjaa...and Lee follows him to tell Katjaa the truth.
"Katjaa, can I talk to you about something?"
She nods. "Sure. Is everything okay?" Katjaa stands and follows Lee, he and Jenny share a glance and the Florida man nods.
"...I was...on my way to prison three months ago. You've always looked at me with kind eyes, and I wonder of you could still do that if you knew...I was a convicted felon."
Katjaa's eyes widen at this. "My goodness, for what? How much trouble can a teacher get into?"
Lee crosses his arms. "Well, plenty, but it had nothing to do with that...It was for murder."
"Why?"
"He and my wife...were..."
"That's enough..." Katjaa didn't need to hear everything, but there was at least one thing she needed to know. "...Tell me what happened when you were locked in the fridge. At the dairy."
"..." Lee knew this wouldn't be an easy answer, but Katjaa should at least know what horrific events happened. "...I held Lilly back, Elijah covered Clementine's eyes from seeing, and Kenny...he made sure Larry didn't get up."
"...What did he do?"
"...He smashed his head in." Katjaa gasps in shock, unable to look Lee in the eye. She turns away from him, sounding like she's about to cry. "Katjaa..."
"...Everything keeps changing," She says in a breaking voice before she returns to Kenny on the couch.
"..." Lee moves on to Doug who's working on the wall, it looks like use using pieces of the furniture from the spare rooms to patch up some spots. "Hey, Doug."
He stops what he's doing and stands to face Lee. "Hiya."
"What are you working on?"
"I'm just trying to focus on the wall. Anything I'd like to contribute needs batteries or tools I just don't have. I'm tearing down this furniture to patch up the wall. If we go on like this, we'll have half the Travelier piled up out here before we know it."
"The wall is important."
"I guess. I feel worthless on watch because I'm not wild about guns and I just wish I was more helpful."
"I know, Doug. You gotta second to talk?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"...I was...on my way to prison before all of this."
Doug tilts his head. "What are you talking about?"
"Before...all of this. I was on my way to jail...for murder."
"...Are you serious?" Lee nods. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I'm tired of keeping it to myself, and I trust you. You're a dependable guy."
"Wow...thanks for trusting me, Lee."
"It's no problem. On...a somewhat better note," Lee shows Doug the broken flashlight in his hand. "Do you know anything about this flashlight?"
"Well, I can tell you-"
"Wait, wait, wait," Lee cuts him off before he starts his usual ranting. " I know you know everything about this flashlight. I'm asking if you know how it got busted. Lilly found it in a dumpster."
"Oh, no, no, I don't. I'll keep my eye out for some suitable parts, though. That'll give me something useful to do."
"Thank you," Lee leaves Doug to tend to the wall, he sees Ben on top of the RV and decides to check on the kid. "Hey, Ben."
"What's up, Lee?" He looks down from on top of the vehicle.
"Have you seen anything weird on watch? Is there anybody out there up to anything?"
"Nope," He shook his head. "Really quiet."
"Really?"
"Yeah, totally. Which is good."
"...What do you think of Lilly?"
"She scares the crap out of me."
"That's a reasonable thing to feel."
"How does Elijah stand up to her so easily?"
"I don't know. He's just been through a lot," Lee removes the broken flashlight from his pocket. "This flashlight got broken. Was it you?"
"No."
"You're not in trouble if it was. I know you get nervous and maybe you went out to go to the bathroom, broke it, got worried, and tossed it."
"What's with the third degree? I didn't break any flashlight!" Ben's voice cracks.
"...Okay, then," Lee decides that Ben should be trusted with his past. "I need to tell you something."
"Sure, Lee. Is it about my watch? I know I'm not as good as Elijah, but I am trying."
"You're doing fine. I was on my way to prison before this."
"...Whoa, seriously? What, uh...were you in for?"
"...It was for murder."
"Oh..."
"You're a part of this group now, and you should know."
"I've never met a murderer before. Well, I hadn't, I mean."
"I know what you meant."
Lee leaves Ben to resume his watch and goes to the other side fo the Motor Inn where the kids have been drawing with chalk. He finds a few of their drawings along with the broken glass that Katjaa mentioned before. Lee picks up a shard of glass and sees that it fits perfectly in the broken flashlight.
"Hmm..." Lee follows the broken glass until it eventually leads to around the corner where the ice machine is. On the wall, there's a drawing of a pink 'X'. Lee feels it with his fingers and it stays on them. "Huh... Chalk."
"Pink," Duck appears, bringing his index finger and thumb to his chin in deep thought. "Hmm..."
Lee crosses his arms. "Duck..." He says in a warning tone.
"A clue!"
"Maybe."
"What do you think it is?"
"I don't think it's anything."
"Maybe it's a sign!"
"..." Lee looks at the mark on the wall, thinking that Duck makes a good point. "It could be. It's pink chalk, which is... weird."
"Okay," Duck turns away, ready to search for more clues to solve this mystery. "back to investigating!" He ran off.
Lee takes note that Clementine was using chalk earlier for her leaf-rubbing picture. He knows that she's the last person to be suspected but she would at least know something about where the pink chalk is. Lee goes over to her and kneels.
"Hey, Clementine. Do you have any pink chalk?"
The little one shook her head. "No. It's gone somewhere. Do you want blue?"
"No, no, it's okay."
"Psst! Lee!" Duck, now appearing by the rear bumper of the RV, calls the adult over, "I found something!"
Lee steps over to the kid. "What is it?"
Duck holds out a piece of chalk. "I found this pink chalk and a scuff of it over by the gate!"
"Totally!" He nods with enthusiasm. "I was combing the scene for clues and-"
"Yeah, Duck, I got it. Good job," Lee cuts him off and heads over to the gate to check for himself. Duck immediately follows and stands by the gate, holding up his hand for a high five. "..." Lee decides to not leave Duck hanging and gives the boy a high five.
"Cool!" Duck now thinks Lee is incredibly awesome.
"Have you found anything else?"
"Just the chalk. I also found some bugs underneath the stairs. Don't tell Clementine."
"...Okay, I won't. You seem to know a bit about this...the chalk, you found the scuff here, this is going to sound crazy, but you're not involved, are you?"
"No! I'm a good guy!" Duck smiled.
"...Alright then," Lee investigates the chalk scuff underneath one of the dumpsters used as the wall gate. "Somebody was over here too."
"See, I did good, huh?"
Lee nods. "Yeah, Duck, you did. I should go out there and look around. You stay here this time. Seriously."
Duck nods his head. "Okay."
Lee moved the dumpster and steps outside the wall and met with the sight of the many arrows and bullet holes in the wall. Those bandit's been giving us hell, but they've been quiet for days now. As he walked along the wall, he noticed a small gate near the ground. Lee crouches down and pulls it off of the wall. Inside, a small brown paper bag. Upon opening it, Lee finds...
"Son of a bitch..." He heads straight back inside the wall, storming straight into Lilly's room.
"You haven't come up with anything, have you?" Lilly turns to Lee after he opens the door.
"I came up with this," Lee hands her the paper bag. "It's got a bunch of medicine in it. Antibiotics, peroxide, shit like that. It was in a grate on the outside wall...and there's a sign on the other one."
"Holy fuck..."
"Yeah."
"Okay. We line everybody up. Everybody."
"Lilly..."
"Somebody is killing us," She ignores Lee. "Stealing from that supply is the same as slipping into your room at night and cutting your throat while you sleep. You die. What is the difference? What if Clementine gets sick and we don't have what we need?"
"It won't come to that."
"Well, what if it..." Lilly squints her eyes, seeing what's outside her window. "What the hell?!"
"You don't fucking steal from us!" A voice comes from outside.
"Who the fuck is that?!" Lee peeks outside the window, seeing everyone being lined up by the bandits who've infiltrated the Motor Inn. They've been put on their knees with their hands behind their head. "They've got our people out there!"
"Y'all better get your asses out here! We ain't fuckin' around!"
"Oh, shit!" Lilly grabs her rifle off the dresser. "They're gonna start kicking in doors any second!"
"Lilly, what are you-"
"Stall them."
"What?"
Lilly starts opening the bathroom window. "Just keep them talking. Do whatever it takes to stop him from pulling the trigger!" She climbs out the window.
"You made the biggest mistake of your lives!"
Lee sighs at the sound of the bandit leader. "Shit..."
Elijah...moments before...
I take one last look at my sickle, it should be sharp enough to slice through walker flesh like butter. Although, I can't seem to get the blood off the handle. At least it'll remind me that Andy is now dead. I lightly chuckle at the sudden reminder. I got to kill him twice. Once as the monster that he was, and the second time as the Walker, he returned as. I internally sigh. Maybe I should tell the others about how I snuck out...
"Hey, son..."
The awkward voice coming from Kenny causes me to groan. I really don't want to hear anything from him, but I don't have anything else to do. "What is it, Kenny?"
"Look, about what happened...back in Macon..."
I sigh, knowing I don't want to have this conversation again. "If you want an apology from me, then just forget it."
"No, that ain't..." Kenny sighs, rubbing his eyes. "I didn't mean to be so harsh on ya, son. I didn't like seeing that girl suffer either, but...I got my family, Lee, Clementine, and you to look after. I was only thinking of y'all, you know that right?"
"...I know. It's not like I didn't understand your idea. If it were anyone else in that poor girl's position, I would've let 'em go. But that girl was alone, horrified, and in pain, I couldn't let her suffer any more than she had to," I look up, remembering...the first person I've had to kill. How many does that make it now? Three, I think.
"You're a good boy, and...I'm sorry if I made you feel like you made a mistake."
"..." I smile. "don't worry about it, Ken-"
"Don't y'all fuckin' move." A voice from outside the wall causes Kenny and I to turn our heads, seeing a guy holding a gun toward us. "Drop the sickle, boy, now!"
"..." I do as he says and drop my weapon to the floor. Kenny and I raise our hands in surrender, the man gestures with his pistol to move over by the gate where I see four other men in masks. Great, Jake and his lackeys are here.
"You don't fucking steal from us!" He yells as he forces Katjaa to her knees.
"You mother fuck-"
"Kenny," I cut him off in a whisper. "Just do as they say, for now..."
"Y'all better get your asses out here! We ain't fuckin' around!"
I get on my knees as the other bandits gather the rest of our group, only Lee and Lilly are nowhere to be found. What do they want this time? I take note of how many bandits there are, I count five now but there could be more waiting in the woods. How did they even get this close without Ben seeing them?
"You made the biggest mistake of your lives!"
No, you did... I may not have my sickle, but I still have my knife hidden in my pocket. If we can't resolve this peacefully, then I'll kill as many of these fuckers as I can before we leave this god-forsaken place. Let's just see what happens for now.
"Enough of this bullshit!" Jake yells. "Drew, start putting your boot to these doors!"
"Yeah!"
I notice Lee coming out of Lilly's room with his hands raised, looks like he's here to talk things down. But where the hell's Lilly? Jake also notices Lee approaching and draws his pistol, his lackeys do the same.
"Hold it, asshole!"
"Take it easy..." Lee says, slowly walking to us. "We have more supplies. We can keep the deal going."
"Too late, shithead! We ain't giving second chances!"
"It was a mix-up! We'll make it worth your while!"
"I'm listenin'."
"We can split the supplies. Spread 'em around!"
"Or we could just kill you and take it all!"
"And-And what about when they run out? When you don't have us out there collecting them for you?"
"..." Jake lowers his gun, thinking over Lee's option. He has a point, without us, these guys wouldn't even have their supplies. "Well, I suppose we oughta has out some terms then."
I sigh in relief, maybe we don't have to... Wait...what the hell is Lilly doing?
"I don't like no hash," Drew said to Jake to which he got angry.
"Man, shut up, or I'll-"
BANG!
Jake is shot in the head thanks to Lilly shooting him from the second floor balcony. You fucking idiot!
"Christ!"
"Oh, shit!" Katjaa takes the kids and runs for cover.
Son of a bitch... I pull my knife from my pocket and swiftly stab the woman behind me in the throat. Carley takes Jake's pistol and shoots two other bandits in the head, she tries to shoot the last one but the gun runs out of ammo. Carley and I run to take cover as Lee tries to shoot the bandit as he climbs over the wall, I grab my sickle and my backpack off the ground before I join her, Doug, and Ben behind a couch. Lee shoots him in the ass but the bandit manages to fall on the other side of the wall. He whistles, causing me to peek out from cover...and that's when I see more of them come from the woods.
"Shit! Everyone, get to cover!" I call out. Kenny comes back with a rifle in his hands and gives it to Lee.
"We gotta get outa here!"
"No shit!"
"Get those bastards! Cover our people and get to the RV!" Kenny gets inside the vehicle to get it started. Lee looks at the four of us.
"Lee! Shoot these fuckers! I can't get an angle on them!" I shout.
"I'm working on it!" He retorted, peeking out from behind the RV, firing his rifle and killing a few bandits. "Now! Get over here! Hurry!"
Carley and Ben run first, I peek out with my pistol in my hand and my backpack over my shoulder. After Ben and Carley make it to the RV, I soon follow...but I accidentally trip and fall to the ground.
"Shoot that fucker!" I got to my feet as soon as I saw a bandit pointing his gun at me.
"Look out!" I feel something push me toward the RV. When I look back, I see...Doug getting shot in the head. He falls to the ground, now lifeless.
"DOUG!" I grip my pistol firmly, feeling a rage burn through my body. "I'll kill you mother fuckers!"
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
That makes...five now...
"Help!" Katjaa calls Lee, she has Duck and Clementine with her as the bandits start closing in.
"Katjaa, hang on!"
"We're coming!"
Lee and I take our guns and shoot any mother fucker who dares try to hurt them. "I'm scared!" I hear Clementine say.
"It's alright, Kiddo!" I try to reassure her.
"We won't let them hurt you!"
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Six...
Once Lee and I have killed more bandits, Clementine runs out of cover and hugs the two of us. "Clem, get inside the RV!"
"It's gonna be okay, Go!"
"AHH!" Katjaa is knocked over by a Walker that managed to sneak up thanks to all the gunfire, her head hits the edge of a board and bleeds from her forehead. The Walker lands on her and Duck and tries to bite them.
BANG!
I shoot it in the head, Kenny soon comes out from the RV. "Kat! Oh, Christ!" He helps Katjaa and Duck get up and they run to the RV.
"Lilly!" Lee calls out to her as she keeps shooting. "Get in the RV!"
"Screw her!" Kenny says. "Let her stay!" He gets in the RV and starts it up.
"She started this, let her finish it!" I add before I get inside with the others.
"Lilly, last chance! Get down here!"
I hear Lee shout before he steps inside with me. Clementine holds onto my arm as Kenny turns over the engine. Just as he was about to drive, Lilly got in the RV. "Kenny, go!" I say. He slams his foot on the gas and runs over a few walkers and one bandit before the RV breaks through the fence.
We're finally leaving...but we lost Doug... He saved my life and lost his own in the process...
"...Sorry, Doug. I don't have any food to give you."
"That's okay, Elijah. You don't need to be saving my life all the time."
I roll my eyes. "Seriously, dude? How man times are you gonna play that card? I already told you it was nothing."
"And I keep telling you that I'll repay you someday. You saved my life man, and I got your back."
I nod. "I'll...keep that in mind, Doug." I look to my right and see Lee signaling me to come over.
"...I'm sorry, Doug." That's a debt I'll never repay you.