Everyone, minus Kenny, is in the boxcar as the train continues on down the track. Lee and Chuck stand on the opposite side and watch as the trees and brush pass us, Clementine hugs her knees a few feet away from me, Ben leans his back against a box, and Katjaa holds Duck in her arms by the door that leads to the engine car. The boy's condition...it's only getting worse.

"Got to be hard on ya, eh?" Chuck asked Lee. "Four adults taking care of three kids," The old timer looked down at Ben as he frowned. "No disrespect, son."

"There were more of us," said Lee.

"Dead get 'em?"

"No," I answer.

"Ah. Livin' got 'em."

COUGH! COUGH!

I turn my head back as Duck begins coughing, I see...a small trickle of blood pour from the corner of his mouth. Shit..."Lee! Elijah! I need you both. Right now." Lee and I go over to her, the former sees the boy's blood. "Would you get that off his face? My hands are full."Lee kneels, grabs a nearby rag, and cleans off the blood from the boy's mouth. "Thank you. He's out of time. We need to stop this train."

"Okay."

I look to Clementine before I follow Lee, "Lee and I are gonna go get Kenny, hold onto something in case the train stops fast, okay?" She nods and I follow Lee to the engine cab.

Inside, Kenny keeps his eyes forward, he's always been moving forward. But...this is happening and we have to stop this train...no matter what. Part of me wants to beat it into him, to wake him up from his delusion, but that's not what he needs.

"Kenny, you need to stop the train," I say. He glances back at me for a second before he looks ahead again.

"Kenny," Lee grabs the bloody rag from his pocket.

"What?"

"Ken!"

He finally sees what Lee's holding. "What the hell's that?"

"Your son's blood," I answer.

"Get outta here, boys..."

"You know he's dying," said Lee.

"Nobody knows shit! He'll be fine."

"He won't be, Kenny," I say. "He's dying and you know it."

"What is the goddamn deal? He's a little sick, but we can't just quit. It's a scratch! He's not like the others. Jesus, all y'all are just makin' it worse."

"You're in denial!" I shout.

"Andyou'vegiven up! On Duck, on everyone!"

"Just stop it, goddamn it!"

"Fuck you both."

"You're gonna listen to us."

Kenny stands, scowling at the both of us as he balls his fists. "Or what?"

I don't want to fight him, and I'm sure Lee doesn't either. "Calm down and-"

"How do you 'calm down' after a day like today?!"

"By talking to your friends," Lee answered and Kenny sat back down in the engineer's seat. Why the hell is he doing this, surely he knows the reality of what's happening to his son, why would... Wait a minute... This can't be because of... Shawn, can it?

"You think you're the reason Duck was bitten... Like you had this coming, or something." Kenny jolts a little at my accusation.

Lee notes what I said and Kenny's reaction, knowing exactly where I'm going with this. "You didn't kill Hershel's son."

Kenny puts his hand over his eyes, trying to keep himself from crying. "Yes, I did. And now it's catching up to me."

"That's not what went down," said Lee. "You looked out for your kid and a bad thing happened to someone else's.

"..." Kenny looks ahead, his voice beginning to break. "There ain't no way this world lets my son live...when I helped put someone else's in the ground."

"That's not the way it works. You know that."

"But right now, you need to be there for him," I add...as I remember how I had to do the same thing for her. "I had to be there for Sandy, and now..." I rest a hand on his shoulder. "Duck needs his dad now more than ever."

Lee joins me and rests his hand beside mine. "Stop the train, man."

"..."

Kenny pulls back on the throttle and the train starts slowing down. I let out a long sigh of relief through my nostrils, I didn't even realize I was holding my breath. Once the train comes to a stop, the three of us leave the cab and head back to the boxcar. Clementine, Ben, Chuck, and Katjaa have stepped outside as Duck just lies on the floor of the boxcar. The boy's breathing has gotten more ragged and his skin is a lot more paler than before.

Katjaa sees us approaching and looks at her husband. "Ken, it's...I think it's time."

"..." Kenny sees the state of his son as if reality hasn't already sunken in, now it really has. "The boy's been bit," He says to Chuck. "In case you haven't figured that out." Chuck just crossed his arms and looked down at the ground in sadness. He may only have known us for what's only been an hour, but it's a bad thing when a kid dies no matter the circumstances.

"Take as long as you need," Lee says to Kenny and Katjaa.

"...There ain't no time left to take." I hate to say it, but he's right. Who knows how much longer Duck can hold out? "What are we gonna do?"

"...We can't allow him to become one of those things," Katjaa says as he holds her son...for one last time.

"But...what if...what if he doesn't?"

"Kenny, I love you very much. I love our son more than life itself," Katjaa's voice cracks with sadness. "I need you to hear me. What you're saying, that he may not turn, is foolish."

"But-"

"No!" She says more firmly.

"There's..." Kenny tries to come up with a better solution to put his son out of his misery rather than in a gruesome way. "Come on, Kat..."

"If you think of one, let me know."

"Isn't there some sort of pill, or something else that Elijah has gotten we can just give him...?"

"Stop it."

"He can just drift off to sleep, right, hon? I mean, Jesus," Kenny brings his hands up to his eyes for a moment before they go back to his side. "this is our son!"

"I know! But we know it's...here," Katjaa points to her head. "Or nothing."

"Well, fuck! Just...who, then? You want me to?"

"You don't have to."

"I'll do it."

"No. You don't have to."

"Katjaa, fuck, I...I can. I can do this."

"...I'll do it," I say. I know it's messed up, but I can't let them do this to their own son.

"No," Katjaa says to me, "It should be a parent."

"No parent should ever have to do something like this."

"And if he can't, I will," Lee added.

"They're right, Kat. We can say our goodbyes and...just let that be it."

"...Lee, Elijah, you'd be doing this family a great service," We offer a nod in return, Katjaa glances at Clementine for a second before he turns back to her son. "Why don't we take him into the forest? So Clementine doesn't have to see."

"Yeah," Kenny agrees.

"Give us a moment to say goodbye?"

"Of course."

"Yeah."

Katjaa picks up Duck in her arms and she follows Kenny deeper into the forest. I feel a tug on my jacket, Clementine has walked up to me. "What's happening?" She asks us. Lee and I look at each other knowing well that she knows what's happening, but she needs to hear it from the two people she looks up to the most right now.

"Duck is dying, Clementine," I answer.

"I know."

"..."

"..."

This kid doesn't deserve to grow up this fast...

"What are you gonna do?"

"...We're putting him out of his misery," said Lee.

"So that he doesn't come back," I add.

"Oh..."

"Look, Clem. Things will-"

BANG!

Lee and I look to the forest at the sound of the gunshot, one of us was supposed to shoot. "What the?!"

"The fuck happen-"

"NO!" Kenny's voice echoes from deep within the woods.

"Ben, take Clementine into the train! Go, it'll be fine," Lee orders him and rushes into the woods, I follow after him.

After a minute or two of running, we find Kenny...over Katjaa's dead body, Duck is resting against a nearby tree stump, still alive. There's a pistol next to Katjaa. Did she...? No. "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph."

"Kat! Kat! Katjaa!" Kenny cried. "Why, Kat? Honey, oh fuckin' God!" He sobs as his head rests against her chest.

"Oh, my God..." Lee couldn't believe it either.

"I...I..." Kenny brushes his hand over Katjaa's face, closing her eyes. He picks himself up along with the gun and stands between me and Lee. We all look at Duck...his breathing getting slower by the second. "What do we do?"

"I'll do it, you don't have to."

"Are you sure?" Lee asked me in concern.

"...No, but I can't let him do it."

"You don't have to, son."

"..." I pull out my 1911 and check my magazine, there's still one bullet left. I load back the magazine and pull the chamber back. Despite the slight shaking in my arm, I raise my pistol and aim it at Duck's head. ...I'm sorry, brother.

BANG!

Seven...

I lower my gun back to my side as my ears begin to ring, Lee holds onto Kenny's shoulder as he holds back his sobs. Before we leave, I want to make their final resting place a little more peaceful. With Kenny's permission, I move Katjaa's body rest her beside Duck's, and place her arm around her son.

He was like an annoying little brother to me... What fun we had just chasing each other around the Motor Inn... What a goddamn mess...