Outed
What if Lee's past was exposed to everyone by Larry? Prompt Submitted by Darkwubs on AO3
Lee sighed, listening to the group argue. Larry had told everyone, Carley was advocating for him to stay, while Kenny believed he was too dangerous to keep around the kids.
"He's got to go." Snarled Kenny, as he stormed out of the room and advanced towards Lee, "Get outta here!"
"Kenn—" Lee was cut off by Kenny punching him.
"Go!" Bellowed Kenny, as Lee rubbed his jaw.
Glancing around, Lee saw Katjaa holding Duck and Clementine close to her, Lilly was standing behind her father, who had a triumphant look on his face. Mark, a guy Lee had saved from an airbase with Kenny and Lilly, was aiming a rifle at him and Carley looked like she was trying to deescalate the situation.
"Fine." Lee turned and started walking away.
Kenny glared at Lee's retreating back, "If you ever come back here, I'll fucking kill you!"
A few hours later, Lee was in an empty house, carefully making sure there weren't any Walkers he'd missed.
"Lee?" Carley's voice got his attention, "Are you here?"
"Kenny send you to kill me?" Asked Lee, getting a sigh from Carley.
"No, Clem's asking for you." Responded Carley, as Lee stepped into the light, "She keeps asking the others to let you to come back."
"How successful is she?" Asked Lee, crossing his arms.
"She isn't," Answered Carley, "Kenny's yelled at her a couple of times, she's turned into a terror. I think she'd trying to annoy them into breaking."
"I'm just glad it wasn't Larry," Said Lee, sighing, "look, I need you to do something for me."
"I'm not going to shoot you." Said Carley, automatically.
"I need you to look after Clementine." Said Lee, "I need you to keep her safe."
Carley frowned, before looking at Lee, "I will."
Lee gave Carley a smile, "Thank you."
O
Lee shrugged the rucksack he found off his shoulder, looking around his family's pharmacy. Satisfied that he'd got everything, Lee stood up. He made his way out of the store, making sure he wasn't drawing the attention of any Walkers. He'd gotten close to minivan he'd been hunkering down in, when a noise got his attention. Immediately grabbing his gun, Lee turned and pointed it towards the sound, freezing when he saw Carley and Clementine.
"What are you two doing out here?" Asked Lee, lowering his gun.
"Things have gotten tense," said Carley, as she and Clementine walked up, "Kenny and Lilly seem like they're struggling for control. It's not safe there."
Lee frowned, before nodding, "Well, it's a bit small, but the minivan works."
Carley nodded, as Clementine scampered up to Lee and wrapped her arms around him. Lee gave the child a small smile, as Carley put some of the supplies she had into the minivan, before walking up to Lee.
"We might want to get moving," Said Carley, "I think they'll have noticed our absence by now."
Lee frowned, before nodding, "C'mon, let's go."
The group of three got into the minivan, before Lee drove off.
O
"We don't have enough for ourselves, much less for an extra mouth to feed!" Snarled Lilly, glaring at Kenny.
"So what?" Glared Kenny, "We leave them to die?!"
"And what if they're like Lee?" Asked Mark, "Who knows what secrets they're keeping."
"Or they might be like Carley." Said Lilly, "Wait for us to sleep, before stealing from us!"
Katjaa watched as the group argued, her heart sinking as the group slowly fell apart.
O
Lee frowned, as they drove down to Savannah. Clementine had asked to look for her parents, which Lee agreed to. They'd run into a roadblock in the shape of a train, after scouting it out and detaching the derailed cars, they'd managed to get the train to work. Carley was teaching Clementine how to defend herself, while Lee and Chuck, a man who'd been staying in the train before they arrived, were up in the cab.
They were approaching a bridge with something blocking the tracks. Lee stopped the train and hopped out.
"Great." Muttered Lee, as Carley and Clementine joined him and Chuck, "Road's blocked."
"I can see." Said Carley, as someone yelled down at them.
A few minutes later, the four of them had introduced themselves to Omid and Christa, Lee decided to tell them about his conviction, Omid just asked him if he got any prison tattoos. Lee took Clementine to get something to cut down the tanker, leaving Omid and Christa with Chuck and Carley.
Together, Lee and Clementine put down some Walkers and got a blow torch, Christa joining them when she heard the gunshots. The three made it back to the train, Lee and Omid started working on cutting the tanker free. While they were working, Lee spotted a herd of Walkers in the distance. Just them, the tanker fell free, and Lee and Omid hurried down the ladder and quickly got on the train. Before long, the train was on its way to Savannah, leaving the herd behind.
O
Kenny, Ben and Mark quietly trudged after Andy and Danny. He wanted nothing more than to get in the RV with Duck and Katjaa and head for the coast, but they didn't have the supplies for it. Lilly had started hoarding the supplies for herself and Larry. Kenny's thoughts turned to Lee, the man had gone out of his way to protect Duck, and Kenny had been the driving force for getting rid of him, but he felt he was justified. Lee lied to him, he was a murderer and probably would've killed them if given the chance. Carley and Clementine were most likely dead, since they vanished shortly after Lee was kicked out.
"So, who runs things at your place?" Asked Andy, jerking Kenny from his thoughts.
"It's mostly a power struggle between Lilly and Kenny here." Said Mark, glancing back at Kenny, "You know, differing opinions."
"Thanks." Grumbled Kenny, casting a dark glare around them. They'd gotten so low on food, since Lilly was hoarding it, that they'd started to starve. Honestly, Danny and Andy were a blessing, they had food and were willing to give them a decent meal.
So why did he feel off about them?
O
Lee looked around, carefully guiding the others through Savannah. They'd learnt from Omid and Christa that, while it will kill you, the bite isn't what makes you turn. They'll turn either way, if they've been bit and if they haven't. Clementine had asked them to look for her parents, after some planning, they found that they'd been staying at the Marsh House, which was where they were going now.
They'd just reached the doors of the hotel when a bell suddenly tolled. Thinking quickly, Lee ushered all of them in and blocked the door. Sighing, Lee turned around and saw Clementine staring out the glass at a pair of Walkers.
"Oh no." Breathed Carley, as Clementine's parents limped around.
"Judgin' by the decomposition," Said Chuck, after a moment, "they've been dead for about three months."
Closing his eyes, Lee slowly turned to Chuck and gave him a look, "Not the time."
"Sorry." Muttered Chuck, as Clementine started crying.
"We'll look around." Said Christa, "See if this place has anything useful."
"Running water would be nice." Muttered Carley, hopping over the check in desk, "How many floors does this place have?"
"Four," Said Omid, "there's sixty rooms, give or take. I was hoping to bring Christa here."
"But you're cheap." Scoffed Christa, playfully.
"Eh, I prefer economical." Shrugged Omid, as they started their search of the hotel. A couple hours, and several dead Walkers, later the group was convened in a large suite.
"There's some dry food," Said Christa, sipping a bottle of water, "some tools, but it's as if they've been picked at."
"I noticed something similar." Said Carley, "The medicine supplies are the same."
Lee frowned, before looking over at Chuck. The man had been quiet, for a moment, Lee was worried that the man had been bit and died. Then Chuck let out a loud snore.
Sighing, Lee looked at Carley and Clementine, wondering how the others were doing.
O
Kenny felt sick. He'd left Ben and Mark at the Dairy, going back with some food, before bringing Katjaa, Duck, Lilly and Larry back with him. He'd returned to Ben missing and Mark looking around the barn, a little while later, after they'd all eaten the food the St Johns made for them, Mark went to check on Ben. The man came running down, yelling that Ben was missing his legs. Then, they'd all been restrained and forced into a meat locker in the barn.
Larry ended up having a heart attack, Mark and Lilly started giving him CPR, but Kenny didn't want to take the risk, and taking what Ben had told them, destroyed Larry's head with a salt lick. Mark took some coins from Larry's pocket and used them to unscrew an air conditioning unit and sent Duck through to open the door for them.
He knew that he didn't have a choice, but Lilly and Mark didn't see it that way. Kenny killed Danny St John and made his way to the house, arriving to see Brenda step back into Ben's reach and get bitten by the newly turned Walker. Brenda's last act was blowing Katjaa's brains out, Kenny stumbled out of the house to see Mark shove Andy St John into their electric fence. They'd managed to leave before the Walkers got them, but Kenny worried what Lilly and Mark would do to him. They kicked Lee out for killing a guy they didn't know before everything went to shit, and he'd put Larry down. Dismissing it, Kenny straightened up, Larry had turned, he didn't have a choice. They'd understand once they've thought things over.
O
They'd been holding out in the hotel for a couple of weeks now, they'd blocked the windows on the ground floor and made sure that they had a way of escaping in case the Walkers got in, Lee was glad they still had the rucksack. A massive herd of Walkers flooded Savannah a couple days after they arrived, but it passed through without much issue. A Station Wagon arrived, carrying a man, Mitch, his wife, Tess, and their children, Lizzie and Adam, and some meagre supplies. Clementine had gotten in touch with them by accident, while playing with her radio. They'd come across a group of people stealing from them, only for those people to run off with what they were already holding.
Then, a week or so later, a familiar looking RV turned up, breaking down outside the hotel. Lee frowned as he saw Mark hop out with Kenny.
"You've got to be kidding me." Muttered Carley, as Lilly got off, followed by Duck.
"You know these guys?" Asked Christa, looking at them.
"You know that group we were in, that kicked me out because I didn't mention that I killed a guy?" Asked Lee, before nodding his head at them, "That's them."
"Those are the people that stole from us." Said Tess, frowning, "They're looking worse for wear."
"So," Carley looked at them, "Who wants to talk to them?"
Predictably, no one volunteered. So, what they did do, was throw an empty box, with Clementine's radio wrapped in some sheets, down to them. A moment later, Lilly's voice came from the radio, "Clementine?"
"Nope," Chuck responded, "She's sleepin'."
"Who the fuck are you?" Demanded Lilly, sounding angry.
"You gonna shoot at us if we show ourselves?" Asked Chuck, as Carley glanced down at the small group.
Down on the ground, Lilly glared at the radio, before pressing the button down, "No." She couldn't tell them that they didn't have any bullets, but she needed to see who she was talking to.
"Alright," Said the man, "A couple of our people will come down to you."
Lilly scowled, the group waiting for a few minutes, before the door to the hotel opened and a familiar face stepped out. Carley and a tall woman walked up to them.
"Carley?" Gasped Mark, before sighing, "What a relief."
"What are you doing here?" Asked the tall woman, as Carley frowned at them, "Who are you?"
"I'm Mark," Said Mark, introducing them, "this is Lilly, the guy over there is Kenny and the boy is his son, Duck."
The tall woman raised an eyebrow, looking over them, before glancing at Carley, "So, do we let them in?"
"They did steal from Mitch and his family," Said Carley, "but, Clem's gonna want her radio back."
The two women looked at the group, before Carley sighed, "Get Larry and Katjaa and come inside."
Mark winced, as Carley walked back into the hotel. The tall woman gave them a suspicious look, before she followed after Carley, leading the small group inside.
"So," Kenny looked at the tall woman, "You got a name or are you just gonna ignore us?"
"Christa." Said the tall woman, "Clementine's talked about you, but Carley refuses to answer any questions we've asked."
Mark looked around them, "Have… have they mentioned a guy called Lee?"
"The guy convicted of murder?" Asked Christa, giving them a look, "They don't need to, he's upstairs with the others."
Kenny stopped, with the rest of the group following suite. Christa, after a moment, looked at them, "What?"
"What… what's Lee said about us?" Asked Kenny, as Duck looked up at them.
"Not much, just that you found out he killed someone before all this and kicked him out." Answered Christa, "Come on, if we take any longer, the others are gonna start looking for us."
O
Lee frowned as he watched Lilly and Kenny argue, Kenny mentioned looking for a boat, while Lilly thought the hotel was the better choice.
"This is starting to feel familiar." Muttered Carley, as Tess watched the kids in the other room.
They watched Lilly and Kenny continue yelling at each other, before Lee cleared his throat, "What the hell are you two talking about?"
"Nothing." Said Kenny, shortly.
"Where're Larry and Katjaa?" Asked Carley, folding her arms, "They should've been with you."
"Things went bad, after you left." Said Mark, after a moment, "We were starving and Lilly and Kenny were barely cooperating. We ended up bringing a kid, Ben, back to the Motel and we met a couple of guys. They had food, medicine, everything. So, we went with them to their dairy. It… it was like nothing had changed."
"Okay," Said Carley, slowly, "what happened then?"
"They were cannibals," Said Mark, "they took Ben and fed us his legs. I went to check on him and they put us in a fridge. Then, Larry… had a heart attack and Kenny crushed his head."
"Kenny murdered him." Scoffed Lilly, making Lee raise an eyebrow.
"He was turning." Protested Kenny, making Lee hold up his hand.
"Mark, continue." Ordered Lee, looking at him.
"Kenny killed one of the cannibals and Katjaa was killed by another." Said Mark, "We… we came across a car, and it had everything we needed."
"Then you got caught stealing." Said Carley, frowning at them.
"Yeah." Mark looked down, before looking around, "Still, it's a nice place here."
"It's not going to be permanent." Said Lee, folding his arms, "As soon as we have a plan, we're going to be leaving."
"Where are you going to go?" Asked Lilly, looking at them.
"Don't know, keep away from cities, maybe." Shrugged Lee, "Keep moving."
"What can we do?" Asked Mark, making the group freeze.
"What do you mean 'what can we do'?" Demanded Christa, glaring at them.
"What can we do to help?" Clarified Mark, looking around them, "If we're going to stick around—"
"Why do you think we'd take you with us?" Scoffed Christa, glaring at them.
"Well—" Mark swallowed, before Lee walked towards the door.
"I'm going to abstain from this," Said Lee, sounding tired, "for obvious reasons."
Carley nodded, as Lee walked out of the room.
O
Lee frowned as he followed Kenny and Mark. The six remaining members of the group ended up being split down the middle, with Carley, Mitch and Christa voting for keeping them out of the group, while Chuck, Tess and Omid voting for them to join. Meaning Lee had to be the tie breaker. Initially, Lee was for kicking them out, but then he had to take Duck into consideration. The boy had lost his friend, his mother, his home and was imprisoned by cannibals in quick succession.
It was that fact, and that fact alone, that made Lee decide. So, here he was, watching Kenny and Mark's backs. Mark had been grateful, but Kenny insisted that it didn't change anything between them. Lee ignored Kenny and Mark talking, opting to watch the surroundings. The last time Lee had gone on a supply run, he'd met a girl called Molly and learnt about Crawford.
He was glad he hadn't met anyone from that community. Lee was vaguely aware of Molly dropping down next to him.
"Who're these guys?" Asked Molly, pulling her mask down and lowering her hood.
"Some guys," Answered Lee, "they're looking for a boat."
"Did you tell them that Crawford stripped everything here?" Asked Molly, looking at Lee.
"Yep."
"Did they believe you?"
"Nope."
Molly nodded, "You might want them to hurry up, the Geeks are going to be back here soon."
Lee nodded, letting Molly scavenge around.
"Who's that?" Asked Mark, making Kenny look at Lee.
"Molly, she's been surviving here since the beginning." Answered Lee, before looking at his watch, "We're going to be wanting to get back to the hotel soon, the Walkers are going to be on their way back."
Kenny grumbled under his breath but followed Lee back to the hotel.
O
Lee sighed, waving Mitch and his family off. They'd decided to get moving, wishing Lee and his group luck. Looking back, Lee sighed, realising that the group was now consisting of their original group.
"Crawford has everything we'll need." Said Kenny, looking around them, "It'll have a boat, too."
"How do you plan on moving it?" Asked Christa, her arms folded, "If there is one."
"We'll figure it out, somehow." Said Kenny, stubbornly.
"Well," Lee spoke, "Crawford might have some more medicine and bullets. It'd be a good idea to stock up before we leave."
"Might also have some warmer clothes too." Said Carley, glancing down at Clementine. The girl had been given a hoodie by Adam, Mitch's son, before they left.
"I heard Molly say leather was a good material to wear." Said Omid, "And, they might have canned food."
The group was silent, before Christa looked around, "So, who's going?"
O
As Lee, Clementine, Christa, Chuck, Mark, Kenny, and Molly trudged through the sewers towards Crawford, Carley and Omid were packing their supplies into bags.
"Has…" Lilly's hoarse voice got their attention, "Has Clementine…?"
"Been taught how to deal with Walkers?" Asked Carley, "Yeah, it was one of the first things we did after leaving. She's got a good aim."
Lilly was quiet, "I should've said something, when Dad outed Lee's secret to everyone. I knew Lee wasn't dangerous, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't bother looking for him, make sure he survived. I just… stood there, and watched as Kenny kicked him out. We didn't think that through, since Lee was often the tie breaker between us."
"Hmm." Carley zipped up a bag, before working on packing another.
"Then Dad started grouching, saying he had to do all the heavy lifting." Continued Lilly, "I think he was starting to regret what he did."
"Then he died." Finished Carley, looking at Lilly, "I don't know why you're telling me this, you should be telling Lee."
"I know." Sighed Lilly, running her hands down her face, "I just, don't know what to say or do. Kenny's all big on 'we can't trust him, he's a murderer', but, I think, Kenny's worse. He hides behind the 'protecting the group' excuse. I wouldn't be surprised if the others came back saying Kenny drew a gun on them."
O
So far, Crawford had been quiet. They'd found it to be overrun with Walkers, with some of them commenting that salvaging from Crawford would be easier. They'd managed to find an armoury, medicine cabinet and some food stores. Molly took Kenny to where they could get a battery and some gas for the hypothetical boat they were looking for. They were just finishing up in the armoury when Kenny and Molly rushed through.
"Car alarm went off, now we've got Walkers on our asses." Gasped Molly, as Lee started to kick the door down. After getting it open, the door to the armoury was broken down, resulting in Molly fighting with a Walker, with Clementine taking out a couple of Walkers with ease. They were running up the stairs, when Chuck shoved his gun into Lee's hands.
"I ain't gonna be needin' those anymore." Said Chuck, before beating the Walkers back with his shovel, "I'll hold 'em as long as I can!"
Lee gave him a nod, before ascending the stairs, being forced to listen to Chuck's dying screams. Lee was halfway up when Mark and a Walker tumbled down to the floor, where both were killed as soon as they hit the ground.
Soon, Lee, Clementine, Christa, Kenny and Molly stood on the roof, taking stock of their new situation.
"That," Christa looked at them, "was too close."
Sighing, Lee looked at Kenny, only for the man to shoot him in the side.
"What the hell!" Yelled Christa, before Kenny shot her and tried to grab Clementine. Molly intercepted him, taking the gas can and bag with the battery in it and hit Kenny on the back of his head. The man recoiled and staggered back, he raised his gun, only to have Clementine shoot him in the hand.
Groaning, Christa slowly got up, holding her shoulder, while Molly helped Lee up.
"Jesus Christ." Muttered Lee, "Let's… let's get back to the other. We can decide… we can decide what to do from there."
O
"He's a danger to the group." Argued Christa, as Carley applied the first aid she'd learnt from Tess to Christa and Lee's gunshot wounds, "He's got to be cut loose."
"What about Duck?" Asked Lee, wincing as Omid prodded at the hole in his side.
"You're not taking him!" Snarled Kenny, making Carley sigh.
"I'm voting that we leave them." Said Carley, looking over at Lee, "Lilly's got a good aim, and she could be an asset. Kenny… we let them in, and he tried to kill two of us."
"He probably pushed Mark too." Muttered Lilly, frowning as Clementine pointed a gun at Kenny, "Clem, he's restrained, I doubt he can do much."
"There's an RV not far from here," Said Molly, "it's missing a battery, but it's still in one piece. Crawford's guys must've not gotten to it."
Sighing, Lee looked at Kenny, "So, we've got a way of getting out of Savannah, supplies to last us a while and a guy who we can't trust."
"We can't take him with us." Said Carley, folding her arms, "I doubt he was going to keep you from turning."
"We can't take him with us, we can't separate Duck and Kenny," Groaned Lee, "and we can't leave Duck to fend for himself."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Demanded Kenny, getting a sigh from Carley.
"You're so fixated on getting a boat, you're not taking Duck's wellbeing into consideration." Snapped Carley, "He doesn't know how to defend himself, he can't scavenge for the life of him and he's got no idea how to apply first aid when he'll need it!"
"He doesn't need to know all that!"
"Because you're here?" Asked Lee, "Kenny, you're not going to be around forever, Duck'll need to know what to do when you do end up going."
The group was silent, as Carley carefully guided Lee over to another room.
"What," Omid spoke up, "What if we took him with us, but kept him restrained?"
"You mean like a prisoner?" Asked Lilly, frowning.
"Kinda." Shrugged Omid, getting a low groan from Lee.
"Let's talk about it in the morning." Said Lee, before he and Carley vanished into the room.
O
Clementine watched at Omid drove the RV through Savannah. Kenny was sitting in the back of the RV with his hands tied, Duck and Lilly were across from him, Christa was up front with Omid, Molly was lounging in a seat near the cupboards, and she was nestled between Carley and Lee. Sighing quietly, Clementine turned and nestled herself into Lee's side and slowly went to sleep.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Murmured Carley, making Lee look up from Clementine, "Bringing Kenny with us?"
"I don't know yet." Answered Lee, "Hopefully, things will turn out good for us."
"Hopefully." Echoed Carley, quietly, falling asleep.
Sometimes, Lee thought, hope was all they had. Sighing, Lee joined Carley and Clementine in sleep.